Ex-GUNS N' ROSES drummer Matt Sorum says that he feels "truly blessed beyond [his] wildest dreams" to have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame alongside his former GN'R bandmates.

After being inducted by GREEN DAY's Billie Joe Armstrong last night (Saturday, April 14) in Cleveland, Ohio, Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Sorum gave short speeches. They then proceeded to perform three "Appetite For Destruction" songs with ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy handling lead vocals. He sang "Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City", with "Use Your Illusion"-era member Sorum sitting behind the drum kit on "Brownstone" and the man he replaced in GN'R, Adler, pounding the skins for the other two songs.

In a series of tweets from yesterday and today, Sorum wrote, "From today forward, I will not be commenting on GUNS N' ROSES. Or making any remarks about the future.

"Thank you to all the fans.

"The legacy continues without my commentary.

"Feel truly blessed today beyond my wildest dreams.

"I was a kid that just loved rock and roll and never new I would see this. Honored and emotional to the core.

"Eternally grateful to Steven Adler for sharing the stage with me. Proud of how far he has come to get to get to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Congrats, my friend. Your music is a piece of rock and roll history.

"Let's honor the music and its legacy. This is for how great it was to be in a band with a bunch of pirates!!!! AXL!!!!! AXL!!!!! AXL!!!!

"I said I wouldn't comment to the press. I will do whatever I choose on my Twitter. Have already been offered 25 press things today and have turned them all down."

Former GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke performed three "Appetite For Destruction" songs with Myles Kennedy at the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last night (Saturday, April 14) in Cleveland, Ohio. Kennedy, who handles lead vocals in Slash's solo band and ALTER BRIDGE, sang "Mr. Brownstone", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City", with "Use Your Illusion"-era member Sorum sitting behind the drum kit on "Brownstone" and the man he replaced in GN'R, Adler, pounding the skins for the other two songs.

Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"I am overwhelmed," McKagan said of the honor. He also addressed singer Axl Rose's absence during his acceptance speech, saying, "I don't know if it matters who's here tonight because it's about the music that band created."

Slash said, "We have new fans who have never seen the original lineup and they're pulling for us."

Adler quoted QUEEN's "We Are the Champions": "You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it, and I thank you all."

Comedian Chris Rock, during his introductory speech for GN'R's fellow inductees RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, stated about Axl Rose towards the end of the night, "A lot of people are disappointed that Axl Rose isn't here. But let's face it, even if he was going to be here, he still wouldn't be here yet."

GREEN DAY's Billie Joe Armstrong delivered the induction speech for GN'R, saying, "The first time I saw GUNS N' ROSES on MTV, I thought, 'One of these guys could end up dead or in jail,'" He raved about "Appetite For Destruction", calling it "the best debut album in the history of rock and roll."

Here's Armstrong's speech in its entirety:

"The first time I saw GUNS N' ROSES on MTV, I thought, 'One of these guys could end up dead or in jail.'

"The opening riff for 'Welcome To The Jungle' is a descending trip into the underworld of Los Angeles. This ride was not about parties, glamour or power ballads. It was about the seedy underworld of misfits, drug addicts, paranoia, sex, violence, love and anger in the cracks of Hollywood. It was a breath of fresh air.

"Needless to say, I bought the record.

"'Appetite For Destruction' is the best debut record in the history of rock and roll. [wild applause] You could name a few others if you want, but tonight? GUNS N' ROSES owns that crown, for sure. Every song hits hard on all emotional levels. It takes you on a trip through the seedy underworld of Los Angeles in brutal sequence: 'Welcome To The Jungle', 'It's So Easy', 'Nighttrain', 'Out Ta Get Me', 'Mr. Brownstone', 'Paradise City', 'My Michelle', 'Think About You', 'Sweet Child O' Mine', 'You're Crazy', 'Anything Goes' and 'Rocket Queen'.

"Jamming in a sweaty hole in the wall, writing songs on pizza boxes and bar napkins, looking for a free drink and a place to crash, and they did it for the love of playing loud-ass rock and roll music. The thing that set them apart from everyone else is guts, heart and soul. And most importantly, they told the truth and painted a picture of the mad world that they lived in.

"I fucking hated power ballads. I hated jock party anthems. As a young musician, I craved something more.

"'Appetite For Destruction' delivered. Ultimately, they became the biggest and best rock and roll band and that was off one album.

"After that, GUNS N' ROSES delivered with 'GN'R Lies' — half live album and half an acoustic record. Most people think acoustic records might show off the more sensitive side of a rock musician.

"[Laughing] It's not sensitive. But this record made them come across as outlaws and they never lost their edge for one second.

"(At that point, an audience member shouted, 'I used to love her!,' to which Armstrong responded by finishing the chorus, "But I had to kill her!').

"The song 'Patience' is an eternal ballad about love and anxiety as if the character was trying to talk himself off the edge of a 20-story building. There's also the humor of 'I Used To Love Her But...'

"[Here, he let the audience finish the line 'I had to kill her!']

"Who knows if that's humor?

"As they say, every joke has its truth.

"And 'One In A Million', that's when the shit hit the fan. It basically told the story of an ignorant farm boy that moved to a diverse unknown city and that's all I will say about that...

"And then they delivered not one, but two albums. 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'Use Your Illusion II', the new GN'R records that had fans literally crashing the record stores to hear what GUNS had come up with next. These records showed off a wide range of rock anthems — 'Right Next Door To Hell', 'You Could Be Mine' to grand piano ballads like 'November Rain' and 'Don't Cry', then taking the listener into unknown head trips that maybe a serial killer could understand?

"This era of the band took them to new global heights, touring arenas and stadiums, big-ass expensive videos and public pretties, outcry, meltdowns, controversy and playing in countries that Duff can't even remember being in.

All the ingredients of a great rock and roll band.

"Steven Adler, your drumming (wild applause) on 'Appetite For Destruction' was perfect. It was like the perfect combination between slamming hard rock songs and laying into a great groove. It's fucking unbelievable, man. Great.

"Matt Sorum. You took over seamlessly and you brought in, um [Armstrong pauses] What did you bring in? You brought in new dynamics and power and your first gig was Rock In Rio. Welcome to the band!

"Dizzy Reed, you play a mean keyboard. Keep up with the good job.

"Duff McKagan. The Seattle transplant punk rock kid. You're like Johnny Thunders with a bass. The bass line to 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is so good, you can sing along to it. And you got a great family over here, all proud of you and (expletive). And you were in a band called THE FARTS.

"Izzy Stradlin. Wherever you are, I hope you can hear me right now. You're probably driving an RV across Egypt right now. You're like the Miles Davis of rock and roll. The way you played and weaved with Slash was an effortless craft. You've got that Ronnie Wood mojo, I'll tell you right now.

"Gilby Clarke. I love you. Where are you? Gilby Clarke. He's out there somewhere.

"Slash. [loud applause] While every guitar geek in L.A. was riding on the coattails of Eddie Van Halen, you took a totally different approach. You bridged the gap between Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Joe Perry and you brought it into your own modern era.

"I can immediately identify your leads and riffs because you embodied them. Your guitar playing is an extension of your heart and soul. To see you without a guitar and a top hat is just plain weird.

"You know, originally, they wanted us to play GUNS N' ROSES songs. GREEN DAY. Play GUNS N' ROSES songs. So I've got a 13-year-old son that's learning how to play guitar from YouTube. And so he's playing like STROKES songs and he's getting really good at it. And they asked us to play and I thought, 'Well, I could learn how to play 'Paradise City' from YouTube, yeah, because my son's doing it.'

"And there was this 12-year-old kid on YouTube playing 'Paradise City' better... He was a better guitar player than I could possibly ever be. And I just thought to myself, 'Guys, we are not going to play... there's no way we could do this justice — it's impossible.'

"So thanks for making me look bad in front of my 13-year-old son, Slash.

"And let's see, who am I missing?

"[Crowd boos at the first reference to Axl Rose, who refused to show up.]

"You know... No, shut the fuck up. Shut up. Shut up. This man's a bad-ass fucking singer. One of the best frontmen to ever touch a microphone. Your lyrics are heartfelt, passionate, angry.... And you tell the truth, no matter what the cost.

Your vocal range goes from a quiet whisper to a powerhouse until you're screaming bloody murder. [Sings] And you're fucking crazy.

"Most singers are crazy. I can vouch for that right now. But you know, being in a band, is a very complex thing. You go through eras and chapters of your life. Most people don't go through any eras or chapters. They just sit around and watch TV and do the same thing over and over again every single day. But being in a band, your eras and your chapters are your albums. That's your craft. You can name that time of your life. That's an era of your life right there. You talk about where you were at when you wrote this song. You talk about where you recorded it. You talk about the first time that you ever played it. This is your life. This is our lives. This is what we do.

"But sometimes, you gotta look back at the old chapters if you want to move forward. And the reason why you have to look backwards, is to know where you fucking come from.

"Ladies and gentlemen, GUNS N' ROSES!"

Clarke played guitar with GN'R in the 1990s but was not inducted.

Some 7,000 fans packed Public Auditorium for the sold-out event.

Check out photos:

* Wire Image - Inside
* Wire Image - Show
* Wire Image - Arrivals
* Wire Image – Press Room
* Film Magic - Show
* Film Magic - Press Room
* Getty Images - Show
* Getty Images - Press Room
* Getty Images - Arrivals







Artisan News video report:

Char Tupper of MetalTitans.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Shane Clark of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD. You can now watch the chat below.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD's new album, "Long Live Heavy Metal", was released on March 27 via Century Media Records. According to a press release, "fans can expect a blast of pure metal assured to leave no face unmelted."

For "Long Live Heavy Metal", 3 INCHES OF BLOOD reunited with producer and engineer Terry "Sho" Murray (CITY OF FIRE, EXHIBITIONISTS), who worked with the band on their seven-inch single, "Anthems For The Victorious".

3 INCHES OF BLOOD teamed up with Kim Thiessen to perfect their artistic vision for the album, which was released as a digipack and when opened, lays out similar to that of a book.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD is currently taking part in the "Metal Alliance Tour 2012" alongside DEVILDRIVER, THE FACELESS, DYING FETUS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, IMPENDING DOOM and WRETCHED.

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with vocalist Jamey Jasta of Connecticut hardcore metal masters HATEBREED on the red carpet of the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards, which was held on April 11 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the chat below.

HATEBREED is in the middle of a seven-date tour of South America and Mexico with LAMB OF GOD and LACUNA COIL (on select shows).

Writing on Twitter, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton said, "I wish every tour could be with HATEBREED. I laugh constantly when I'm around those dudes."

HATEBREED made pre-production recordings of some of its new material before embarking on the current tour.

In a recent interview with Australia's Loud magazine, Jamey Jasta stated about where he sees HATEBREED's next CD going musically, "Well, there probably won't be any melody whatsoever. (laughs) It'll be fast, heavy, I would say very reminiscent of the last record's faster, heavier songs like 'Merciless Tide' and 'Hands Of A Dying Man'."

On the topic of a tentative release date for the next HATEBREED album, Jamey said, "I don't know. We were talking about that the other day and we were thinking about whether we should put something out in October, or should we try to maybe just wait until next January and tour more on the 'Perseverance' ten-year anniversary tour. Because originally we thought about doing some dates and just doing the whole 'Perseverance' album. But then we scrapped that idea and decided we were going to tour all of Europe and all of the festivals in the summer, and then promoters asked us to come to other places and we're going to do some more touring. So I don't know, I'm not sure yet."

The self-titled album from HATEBREED sold 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 37 on The Billboard 200 chart.

EX DEO, the Ancient Roman-themed arsenal fronted by KATAKLYSM singer Maurizio Iacono, has completed work on its sophomore album, "Caligvla", for an August 31 release via Austria's Napalm Records. The CD was mixed by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX and DESPISED ICON, among others. The artwork and layout for the album were handled by SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton.

Commented the band: "Eight months in the making and we are sure we have a classic album in our hands, producer JF Dagenais has done a fabulous and great production, all guests appearances are massive, the gods are pleased. Expect the artwork to be unveiled very soon and also a new teaser trailer. Where all have failed in the past... EX DEO will succeed, Roma caput mundi!! Epic Roman-inspired metal!!"

EX DEO debuted a brand new song "I, Caligvla", on April 1 at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of the "Paganfest America Part III" tour with TURISAS, ALESTORM, ARKONA and HUNTRESS. Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

In addition to the previously announced guest appearances by ALL SHALL PERISH guitarist Francesco Artusato and TRISTANIA singer Mariangela Demurtas, "Caligvla" will feature contributions from SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton and GRAVEWORM's Stefano Fiori. Every invited guest on the album is of Roman or Greek descent.

"Caligvla" track listing:

01. I, Caligvla
02. The Tiberius Cliff (Exile To Capri)
03. Per Oculos Aquila
04. Pollice Verso (Damnatio Ad Bestia)
05. Divide Et Impera
06. Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light
07. Teutuborg (Ambush Of Varus)
08. Along The Appian Way
09. Once Were Romans
10. Evocatio: The Temple Of Castor & Pollux

The "Caligvla" cover artwork can be seen below.

EX DEO recently canceled its participation in the "Paganfest America Part III" tour due to delays in the production of "Caligvla". The band still performed with Paganfest on April 1 in Montreal at Club Soda and April 2 in Toronto at The Opera House.

EX DEO last year completed a North American tour with NILE, PSYCROPTIC and KEEP OF KALESSIN.

"Romulus", the debut album from EX DEO, landed at position No. 90 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Legendary rock band RUSH will herald the release of its new album, "Clockwork Angels", with a new single, "Headlong Flight", landing at rock radio on April 19.

The cover artwork for the single can be seen below.

RUSH's first new collection of original material in over five years and their first studio release via Anthem/Roadrunner Records, "Clockwork Angels" will be released on June 12.

The recording of "Clockwork Angels" began in April 2010 with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES) — who also collaborated with the band on their last studio album, 2007's "Snakes & Arrows". RUSH co-produced both records. The first two songs, "Caravan" and "BU2B", were completed during that first session at Nashville's Blackbird studios and performed nightly during the wildly successful Time Machine Tour, which ran from June 2010 to June 2011. Work on "Clockwork Angels" resumed in the fall of 2011 at Revolution Recording in Toronto after the tour's finale, with additional strings (arranged by David Campbell) recorded at Hollywood's Ocean Way Studios earlier this year. Lyrically, "Clockwork Angels" chronicles a young man's quest across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy as he attempts to follow his dreams. The story features lost cities, pirates, anarchists, an exotic carnival, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life. The novelization of "Clockwork Angels" is being written by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson in collaboration with RUSH drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.

"Clockwork Angels" track listing:

01. Caravan
02. BU2B
03. Clockwork Angels
04. The Anarchist
05. Carnies
06. Halo Effect
07. Seven Cities Of Gold
08. The Wreckers
09. Headlong Flight
10. BU2B2
11. Wish Them Well
12. The Garden

MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman Vince Neil joined SIN CITY SINNERS on stage last night (Saturday, April 14) at his Girls, Girls, Girls strip club, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, to perform a cover version of the AC/DC classic "Highway To Hell". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

A deal between America's premier adult entertainment super power Déjà Vu and Neil created Las Vegas' newest adult entertainment spot. The deal, constructed by celebrity dealmaker Michael Politz, married the two brands into Neil's 1987 mega hit "Girls, Girls, Girls". The club name is based on the band's 1987 album of the same name paying homage to hard-living lifestyle, their love of riding fast, large motorcycles, drinking whiskey, and spending long nights at strip clubs.

It was almost inevitable that one of the MÖTLEY CRÜE bandmembers would eventually open a strip club with the same name. Neil has promised that it will provide an "edgier" strip club experience, Girls, Girls, Girls will be a "rock 'n' roll strip club" and Neil has said all his entertainers will look like they've "stepped out of a music video. Bringing back the vibe of the Sunset Strip in the days [he] ran the streets. Tattoos, hot, provocative and edgy." Neil also claimed, "I know what guys want in sexy girls, and we'll have more than enough of that. I'm going to orchestrate the sexiest girls in town. I've always wanted to have a strip club, and this one is going to be the best there is. I'm going to be there to guarantee that. There won't be any house or generic strip club music. This will be full-on rock 'n' roll. It will be a blast from start to finish. Yeah, we'll even play a little MÖTLEY."

In a recent interview with Sally Steele of Vegas Rocks! magazine, Neil stated about why he decided to open his own strip club, "I've been going to strip clubs my whole adult life, I think. With the song 'Girls Girls Girls', we got inducted in 2007 into the Stripper Fall Of Fame. So it was just something that has been coming for a long time."

He added, "I love new businesses. It's just another cool thing, and I think it's great for Las Vegas. It's something different in a city that has everything. . . I literally live, like, five minutes from [the club]. So I'm gonna be here a lot when I'm in town and come here and hang out. It's a great place to hang."

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford on the red carpet of the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards, which was held on April 11 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the chat below.

Lita Ford will release her new album, "Living Like A Runaway", on June 19 in North America via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort will be available in four configurations: double LP, limited-edition CD, standard CD and digital download.

Commented Lita: "This CD is truly a dream come true. It took me one year to write this CD along with producer Gary Hoey and songwriting partner Michael Dan Ehming. We have dumped out hearts and souls into this amazing CD. Along with a lot of tears, pain, heartache, laughter, ripping out hair, going hungry, losing sleep and a lot of frequent-flyer miles. 'Living Like a Runaway' is like being able to walk through fire and coming out the other side unscathed."

Coinciding with the album's release, Lita will hit the road this summer with DEF LEPPARD and POISON on the "Rock Of Ages Tour".

Lita is looking forward to the tour and getting to play the new songs live.

"We are honored with this awesome tour and being able to play with these brilliant musicians," she says. "So strap in tight, it's going to be one powerful journey."

Best known for her work with THE RUNAWAYS and her solo career, including hit singles "Kiss Me Deadly" and the Billboard-charting duet with Ozzy Osbourne, "Close My Eyes Forever", Lita is ready to make a return to the throne as the queen of metal.

"Living Like A Runaway" was co-written and produced by Gary Hoey and represents a return to form for Lita, who drew inspiration from her "ugly divorce" from NITRO singer Jim Gillette.

"Gary Hoey and I wanted to approach this record by getting back to basics," she said. "We want to strip away all the electronics and plug-ins and keep it to vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Going back to basics is going back to what punk, metal and THE RUNAWAYS was for me."

She added, "[The album title] 'Living Like A Runaway' means freedom and empowerment. To do what I want and to pursue my dreams while answering to no one."

In a 2011 interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Lita said that "Living Like A Runaway" will be her "real comeback album." She explained, "The last album I did was called 'Wicked Wonderland', I put it out with Jim Gillette, and we were married at the time. It is kind of a Jim/Lita album and not a really true Lita album. I got a lot of spiel about that. A lot of people have told me that they want a real Lita album, and I know what they mean. They are going to get it."

She continued, "I really wasn't that comfortable with 'Wicked Wonderland' — not at all, to tell you the truth. There are parts of it that are good but it doesn't sound like a Lita record. When it got released, a lot of my fans felt weird about it and said it wasn't a Lita album. This time I want to do it on my own. The last one turned out to be more of a Jim album. We worked pretty well together. It doesn't suck, it's not a bad album; it's just not a Lita album."

Lita and Jim are the parents of two sons, Rocco and James.

Marko Osterholz of Rockvoice HQ recently conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. frontman Udo Dirkschneider. You can now watch the chat below.

U.D.O. will release a "rare-tracks" album with some very special gems for the fans. Entitled "Celebrator", the effort will be made available on May 4 via AFM Records.

"Celebrator" track listing:

CD 1:

01. Stormbreaker ("Rev-Raptor" Japan BONUS)
02. Tallyman (Taken from the "Rev-Raptor" recording session)
03. Run! (Remix)
04. Free Or Rebellion (bonus "Leatherhead" Single)
05. Bleeding Heart ("Dominator" Japan bonus)
06. The Silencer (Taken from the "Dominator" recording session)
07. Bodyworld (bonus "Infected" Single)
08. Systematic Madness (bonus "Infected" Single)
09. HAMMERFALL feat. Udo Dirkschneider - Head Over Heels
10. Balls To The Wall (piano version)
11. Artificialized (Taken from the "Mastercutor" recording session)
12. LORDI feat. Udo Dirkschneider - They Only Come Out At Night
13. Streets Of Sin (bonus "Wrong Side Of Midnight" single)

CD 2:

01. Tears Of A Clown ("Classical Version")
02. Man A King Ruler ("Mastercutor" Japan bonus)
03. Hardcore Lover (remix from "24/7" single)
04. Scream Killers (bonus "24/7" single)
05. U.D.O. feat. Faktor2 - Platchet Soldat (remix with national Russian artist)
06. Borderline ("Thunderball" Japan bonus)
07. U.D.O. feat. Doro - Dancing With An Angel (remix)
08. X-T-C (remix from "A Tribute To ACCEPT Vol. 2")
09. Azrael (remix from "No Limits")
10. The Key (remix from "No Limits" Japan bonus)
11. Metal Gods (from "A Tribute To Judas Priest")
12. RAVEN feat. Udo Dirkschneider - Born To Be Wild

Check out the cover artwork below.

U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 perormance at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria was professionally filmed for the band's next official live DVD, tentatively titled "Rev-Raptor Tour - Live from Sofia", for an August/September release.

U.D.O.'s latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records. The recordings for the CD took place between June 2010 and February 2011 at Roxx studios (owned by U.D.O. guitarist and ex-ACCEPT drummer Stefan Kaufmann) in Pulheim, Germany. The effort was mastered by Manfred Melchior at MM Sound Digital studios in Steinhagen, Germany. The album's cover artwork is once again a comic-like motif: but the "Dominator" character is this time "a lot more effectual and colorful," according to a press release.

ADRENALINE MOB — the band featuring featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen, guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP) and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer — performed at the third installment of Samson's "Metal Masters" series, which was held on Thursday, April 12 at the Key Club on the famed Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the group's appearance can be seen below.

ADRENALINE MOB travelled to Los Angeles last month to film a video for the song "Indifferent". The clip, which was directed by Scott Hansen (A DAY TO REMEMBER, UNEARTH, WILLIE NELSON), was shot in the desert in California and throughout Los Angeles and should be making its debut in the next couple of weeks.

"Indifferent" comes off ADRENALINE MOB's debut album, "Omertá", which sold around 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 70 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in Europe on March 19 in Europe via Century Media Records and in the U.S. on March 13 through the newly formed Elm City Music in conjunction with EMI Label Services.

The 11-song effort — which was produced by ADRENALINE MOB and mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked on ANTHRAX's "Worship Music" and STEEL PANTHER's "Balls Out" — includes a blistering reinterpretation of DURAN DURAN's classic "Come Undone" featuring guest vocals by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM.

ADRENALINE MOB and KILL DEVIL HILL will join forces for a short co-headlining tour in May. The trek will kick off on May 10 in Cleveland an will make stops in Dallas, Chicago and Orlando before wrapping up in Charlotte on May 22. The shows will feature KILL DEVIL HILL followed by ADRENALINE MOB and then end in all-out jam between the two groups. Special VIP packages, including exclusive items and meet-and-greets will be available for each band.

ADRENALINE MOB will embark on a European tour in June.

Before he suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency operation in late March, Jerry Gaskill, drummer for legendary rockers KING'S X, was busy demoing material for his upcoming solo album with Nashville-based songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist D.A. Karkos.

In a new online posting, Karkos writes about Gaskill's upcoming CD, "As of now, we have 11 killer songs that we believe will be some of Jerry's (and my) best work to date. And when the time comes, we plan on having some very special guest musicians/friends lend some of their talents to the record as well. Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway), we are very excited about all of this!

"And to quote Jerry, speaking of his recent heart attack and recovery from his public thank you video: 'This is a really bad situation that I think has turned into a really good situation.' There is no doubt in our minds that we we'll see evidence of this truth on this record."

In 2005, Karkos was guitarist and backing vocalist for Gaskill's well-received solo performances on the East Coast and became songwriting foil and producer afterward. He helped Jerry write and arrange the song "Julie", which appeared on KING'S X's fifteenth album.

The Karkos/Gaskill partnership will bear further creative fruit in a 2012 album on EMMJAM Records.

Norway's TRAIL OF TEARS recently finished recording its seventh album at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. The band is currently seeking a suitable record label to release the effort.

A two-minute video clip featuring footage from the vocal-recording sessions for the new CD can be seen below.

Commented the band: "Cathrine [Paulsen] came through the extreme schedule with flying colours, putting the finishing vocals on the end result and delivered a performance for the history books!

"We believe that we have created something extraordinary and can't wait to share it with you all. Never before has a recording process involved so much blood, sweat and tears!"

TRAIL OF TEARS last month announced the addition of drummer Bjørn to the group's ranks.

The band's longtime drummer Cato Jensen left the band in January in order to focus on other priorities.

TRAIL OF TEARS in 2010 parted ways with guitarist Pål Olsen and opted to carry on as a five-piece.

TRAIL OF TEARS's sixth album, "Bloodstained Endurance", was recorded and mixed over a six-week period at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Finland. The cover artwork for the album was designed by acclaimed artist Travis Smith (AMORPHIS, OPETH, NEVERMORE).

In 2007, TRAIL OF TEARS was rejoined by vocalist Cathrine Paulsen, who sang on the group's 2002 album, "A New Dimension of Might".

Norwegian singer Liv Kristine (LEAVES' EYES, ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY) last year entered Mastersound Studio in Steinheim, Germany — the facility owned by her husband, Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES) — to begin recording her fourth solo album. She is collaborating on the effort with Dutch musician J.B. van der Wal (ABORTED, DR. DOOM), who recently joined LEAVES' EYES and ATROCITY as the two bands' new bassist.

One of the tracks from Kristine's forthcoming CD is called "Vanilla Skin Delight" and is a duet with German singer Tobias Regner, the third-season winner of "Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar", the German reality show in the style of "American Idol".

Commented Liv: "[Tobias'] voice just fascinates me, and as soon as we had made the decision that we would want a male singer on 'Vanilla Skin Delight', I thought it would be just perfect having Tobias' powerful and warm voice completing this composition, i.e. turning it into a real rock song duet. Fortunately, our friend and movie-maker Konrad Hollenstein was able to provide us with the necessary contact information, thus we were able to get hold of Tobias the very next day. 48 hours later, Tobias knocked on the door and I was very happy and grateful that he had found his way to Mastersound Studio. We realized straight away that we have so much in common (sports, both being born on the country side, good and bad experience with the music business, touring, red wine, art...), despite the fact that we come from completely different musical backgrounds: Tobias winning 'Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar', the German version of 'Pop Idol', in 2006, compared to my own revolutionary beginnings with THEATRE OF TRAGEDY in the Nineties.

"Here we are, being duet partners in the same song. Moreover, it felt like we had known each other for a long time.

"Tobias is a very open-minded, warm-hearted and fine guy, with whom I really would like sharing stage with sometime in the future. He is a fantastic rock singer, and he is highly professional. I asked him to sing in the way he felt the most comfortable with. 'Vanilla Skin Delight' will blow you away!"

Added Tobias: "To be honest, I have to admit that the style of music that [Liv] is doing with LEAVES' EYES is not 100% my favorite one, so I don't know Liv as good as her fans do. I got to know her as a very open-hearted person who is happy with what she's doing and loves to sing and compose music. She was so down to earth that I didn't feel like standing in front of a star. We exchanged experiences concerning our musical past and after a glass of red wine we started recording. I think this must have been one of the most effective days of recording I've experienced so far. The atmosphere was so relaxed that there was absolutely no need to get nervous. I just felt very focused and into it. So after a few hours it was done, and Liv was very happy with my work."

Liv debuted one of her new tracks, "Libertine", at a special concert on December 2, 2011 at Alte Seminarturnhalle in Nagold, Germany under the banner "One Night With Liv Kristine". Liv performed acoustic versions of her original songs as well as a few covers, including tracks from LEAVES' EYES and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.

Liv Kristine's third solo album, "Skintight", came out in North America in September 2010 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Enter My Religion" was recorded at Mastersound Studio and the artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann.

Legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, May 21 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with Slash by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625).

For more information, visit RocklineRadio.com.

Slash's second solo album, "Apocalyptic Love", will be released on May 22 via Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI. In the U.K., the album will be made available on May 21 in exclusive Classic Rock Fan Pack form — providing a unique collectable package containing the studio album with bonus tracks alongside a specially created magazine with unseen behind-the-scenes content put together by Classic Rock. The Fan Pack format will also come with free gifts, including a pin badge and artwork poster and will be available to buy via more than 2000 retail outlets on newsstands nationally as well as the traditional high street and online music retailers. Roadrunner Records will simultaneously release the record digitally. The standard physical release of the Slash album will follow through Roadrunner Records on June 18.

For the new album, Slash — along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) — teamed with producer Eric Valentine, who also produced the "Slash" disc. All the songs were written together by Slash and Kennedy, and cameras have been rolling throughout the entire making of the album.

On Saturday, April 7, Slash shot a "dark" video for the song "You're A Lie" with director Anthony Leonardi III. Leonardi is also helming the first feature film produced by Slash, called "Nothing To Fear", which was recently picked up for distribution by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The movie is the first of a proposed series of horror films produced by Slash's company, called Slasher Films, which he launched last year in partnership with two other producers. The film began shooting last month in Louisiana, with Anne Heche and others confirmed for the cast.

Pennsylvania-based rockers HALESTORM have posted a video documentary of their life on the road. The 13-minute film, which was directed by Greg Kaplan for The Warner Sound, can be seen below.

HALESTORM's new album, "The Strange Case Of…", is likely to sell between 18,000 and 21,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on April 10 via Atlantic.

HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio that the band is often in awe of its fans' devotion. "We've experienced some absolutely out-of-their-minds rock fans, and I have to say that with the utmost respect," she said. "You have to respect the crazy ones, and the ones that will drive six hours to see a 30-minute set or camp out in the wintertime to get their ticket. Seriously, it's a huge part of what we do and it's a huge part of what any band does."

According to Lzzy, fans are "going to be hearing and tasting a lot of different sides of HALESTORM" on "The Strange Case Of…", adding, "It's us really not boxing ourselves in. On our last record, we were trying really hard to make sure everything is consistent, that there was a theme, everything was on 10. With this new one, we just kind of let it be what it was going to be . . . this record is a lot more human than the last record. I decided to be brave on this record and go to all extremes."

Hale told The Pulse Of Radio that the writing process for "The Strange Case Of…" was split in two distinct halves. "We went into it right off the road, so the first half of the record that we wrote was very… We were writing some of the most aggressive songs that we've ever written, I'm screaming my head off, you know," she said. "And then halfway through, started writing some of the most personal songs that, you know, we've ever written, and some things that I've never talked about before, and it's interesting — there's two definite sides and very real sides to what we do and who I am."

Hale also said about the new disc, "With this record, we had just a better concept of our fans and a lot of what we did was inspired by them and the feeling that we got during our live shows.? Also, the music is bridging the gap between what we do live and what we can do in the studio."

"The Strange Case Of…" follows up HALESTORM's acclaimed 2009 self-titled debut, which featured the hits "I Get Off" and "Familiar Taste Of Poison".

"The Strange Case Of…" track listing:

01. Love Bites (So Do I)
02. Mz. Hyde
03. I Miss The Misery
04. Freak Like Me
05. Beautiful With You
06. In Your Room
07. Break In
08. Rock Show
09. Daughters Of Darkness
10. You Call Me A Bitch Like It's A Bad Thing
11. American Boys
12. Here's To Us

The band is the opener for the Mass Chaos tour, starring GODSMACK and STAIND, which kiced off on April 13 in Augusta, Georgia.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach performed at Carioca Club in São Paulo, Brazil last night (Saturday, April 14) as part of a short South American headlining tour. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

After the show, Bach posted the following message on his Facebook page:

"Well, that was crazy. Thank you, São Paulo, for being an incredible crowd tonight.

"It is frustrating for us to play in smaller venues sometimes. The crowds are insane and we just got physically attacked trying to leave the venue. Hair was pulled, crew members got punched, my ears are blown because of the sheer excitement and pandemonium playing this place tonight.

"I know you all want a picture, but we can only do so many pictures with you all. It's impossible to take a picture with every single one of you.

"After playing stadiums here for years, playing the theatre tonight just didn't make sense. We had to do an early show to make room for the samba band coming in after us and it really wasn't fair to the band or the fans.

"Doing four cities in four nights by plane is insanely gruelling and it's hard for the fans to understand how physically demanding this is.

"I would love to hang out with you all, but everyone gets so excited they just grab and pull and scream and it's not that much fun to be grabbed and yanked and pulled at for hours on end.

"We try to give all our energy onstage, so please try and realize we are just human beings when we are done with the show.

"If I dont feel like posing for pictures for hours on end, it doesn't mean I don't like you. It means that I would rather maybe talk, hang out, relax a little.

"I love you all!

"Please try and understand we are people just like you.

"If I walked up to you and pulled your hair or screamed at you, maybe you wouldn't like it either.

"We are on a crazy schedule, so please bear with us.

"Don't shoot me — I'm only the piano player, okay!

"Thanks, São Paulo. See you again in a couple of days!"

Bassist Jason Christopher — who filled in for Shawn Economaki during STONE SOUR's spring 2011 tour and who previously played with SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor in the JUNK BEER KIDNAP BAND — recently joined Bach's solo group. Bach said, "I have known Jason for years, ever since he tried to pickpocket me at the Rainbow [in West Hollywood] aeons ago."

Bach completed a short run of North American dates in February and is scheduled to take part in the Rock 'N' Roll Allstars tour, which will hit the road in South and Central America in late April/early May.

Sebastian's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer's previous CD, "Angel Down", opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.