KISS and Motley Crue to tour together

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil has revealed to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun that the band will be co-headlining a massive U.S. tour with KISS from July through September. Expect the official announcement from Los Angeles next week.

"It's going to be really cool because KISS is bringing their full stage show, and MÖTLEY will be bringing our full stage show, so you are going to see two huge headliners at the same time," Vince said. "It's going to be one of the biggest tours of the summer, if not the biggest." read the full story here

Malice new album cover art

Jay Reynolds posted an update on his official facebook page, and revealed the new album cover. message posted below

Here's a sneak peek at the cover art for the new MALICE album.
We are finished recording and it is a KILLER. Release is planned for May 2012 ,
and we are finally ready to start booking the tour....Hell Yeah !!!!!

CD Rewind: Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Artist: Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Album: Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Released: 1986

Rating: ***

KISS fans may remember Vinnie Vincent from his days as Lead Guitarist for the band from around 1982 to about 1984. If you talk to Gene and Paul, they let Vincent go because he wanted too much control in the band. Vincent, however will tell you a different story. Oddley enough though, the same story was told by Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum, who were members of the Vinnie Vincent Invasion for a few years. The pair even wrote a song about good ol' Vinnie on Slaughters first album. The song, "Burning Bridges". Seems that Vincent has more of a high opinion of himself and his music, than he has for anyone else, and that's fine if you want to be a solo artist. But all too many times, that type of attitude doesn't work in a Band situation. I can tell you that myself, first hand, since I spent over 20 years fronting bands. Every now and then, you get someone in the band that thinks that his or her opinion matters more than anyone else in the band. Sadly, there were even times I, myself suffered from this disease.

But, I digress. This review isn't about me, it's about Vinnie's 1986 debute self titled album. The one thing that you notice right off is that, hmm... maybe everyone that has come into contact with Vinnie have been right about this guy. The guitars are very loud and overbearing. Not to mention that Vincent's solos are just all over the place and really seem to have no real direction. They sound more like they gave my 5 year old the guitar to pound out a guitar solo. I seem to remember Gene Simmons putting it best in the "KISS: Extreme Close - up" video. Vincent sounds more like an angry Bee behind a pane of glass trying to escape by any means possible. I actually know 5 year olds that could compose solos better than this guy! I've tried, over the years, to sit through this album for more than just one run through, but I just can't and have never been able to do it without ending up with a headache at the end of it. Each time I listen to it, I end up wondering were the hell the Bass guitar is?! And if it wasn't for the constant click of the snare drum, I'd ask the same thing about the drums. Luckily, you do get to hear Robert Fleishmen, all though, I don't know how lucky. He's okay, but he's no Mark Slaughter, who doesn't make an appearance on a Vinnie Vincent album until the second release. And believe me, Mark is ten times the vocalist that Robert is.

And then there is the music itself. Really, the songs themselves, musically, are not half bad. They do show a lot of promise, which, if Vinnie really would have taken his time with them, the songs on this release could have been some top notch stuff. Vinnie is capable of writing material that is top shelf, as evidence of his work with KISS. Vinnie was actually better when he was with KISS, as they were able to harness the energy of this guy and keep it focused. If anything,  Vinnie should have learned from Gene and Paul, because had he done so, this debute would have been better for it, because Vinnie would have been a better person and guitarist.

Stand Out Cuts:  Believe it or not, I know by what you have read up top, you would think that I wouldn't have any. But, there are some hidden gems here that do rise up above the rest. "Boyz Are Gonna Rock" has always been one of my favorites from that time period. It's strong and rebelious, despite Vinnie being overbearing. Then there's "Shoot U Full Of Love", "Animal" and "Do You Wanna Make Love". Now, just because I've picked these songs as Stand Outs, doesn't mean that they couldn't use some improvement, I'm just saying that these are the tunes that show the most potential for this recording. If your looking for albums from great guitarists of the 80's, anything from Vinnie Vincent's own albums would not, and should not be your first choice. There are plenty of other 80's guitarists that are 20 times better. But, there is a certain amount of fun in his albums, which is why I gave the debute three stars.

Reviewed By: JT

MEGADETH AND ROB ZOMBIE ANNOUNCE CO-HEADLINING TOUR

TREK KICKS OFF MAY 11; INCLUDES HIGH-PROFILE ROCK FESTIVAL APPEARANCES
AND WRAPS MAY 26 AT ROCKLAHOMA

Metal heavyweights MEGADETH and ROB ZOMBIE have just announced a co-headlining tour guaranteed to raise the temperature on the planet. The trek–which marks the first time the two bands have toured together–kicks off Friday, May 11 in Holmdel, NJ and encompasses high-profile rock festival appearances including Rock On The Range and Rocklahoma, where the tour wraps on Saturday, May 26. A list of confirmed dates is below.
For additional information on purchasing tickets, visit www.megadeth.com.



The tour will come on the heels of MEGADETH’s critically acclaimed return of the traveling festival GIGANTOUR, created and curated by frontman DAVE MUSTAINE. Rave reviews have poured in for the festival, which also features MOTÖRHEAD, VOLBEAT and LACUNA COIL. “The return of Gigantour, a nicely curated package tour of heavy metal bands, is just one more step in a great run underway by Megadeth,” wrote the Boston Globe. “It was a smart and well-paced show, one that illuminated metal’s various angles (1/31/12).”



2011 also marked the release of MEGADETH’s 13th album, the appropriately titled Th1rt3en. Released November 1 on Roadrunner Records, the album debuted #11 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and #1 on the Billboard Hard Rock chart. The album also landed on international charts including Top 10 placements in Argentina, Finland, Korea and Japan. MEGADETH– MUSTAINE, drummer SHAWN DROVER, guitarist CHRIS BRODERICK and bassist DAVID ELLEFSON–also received their tenth Grammy nomination for this project, earning a “Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance” nomination for their single “Public Enemy #1.” The “Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance” category was, eerily, category #13.



This will be ROB ZOMBIE’s first concert tour since last summer’s “Hell on Earth” co-headline trek with Slayer. ZOMBIE spent last fall and winter shooting his sixth feature film, “The Lords of Salem” that he wrote and directed and is making with the producers of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. With principal photography completed, the film is currently in post-production. Never one to play it safe, ZOMBIE–with guitarist JOHN 5, bassist PIGGY D and GINGER FISH on drum–will bring his legendary stage show out in full force on these dates.



With more dates to be added, check out MEGADETH and ROB ZOMBIE in the following cities:

DATE CITY VENUE

5/11 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
5/12 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion
5/16 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
5/18 Grand Rapids, MI The Deltaplex
5/20 Columbus, OH Rock On The Range
5/22 La Crosse, WI La Crosse Center
5/24 Sioux City, IA Tyson Center
5/25 Wichita, KS Hartman Arena
5/26 Pryor, OK Rocklahoma

Michael Thompson Band Bring It With "Future Past"

Artist: Michael Thompson Band

Album: Future Past

Release: February 28th, 2012

Rating: **** 1/2

The Michael Thompson Band have been around for quite some time. For me, this is the first I'm hearing this band. So I guess you could say that "Future Past" is my baptism into the experience that is the Michael Thompson Band. And they are an experience! I'm not saying that in a bad, sarcastic kind of way, I'm saying that because it's most definitely the truth. They are a band that any Melodic Rock fan needs to experience.

The album title itself is pretty explanatory of this album. It pretty much melds the past of Melodic Rock with it's future. Not sure what I mean by that? Well, it takes elements of old school Melodic Rock, and brings them in with some modern highlights. I know that there are fans of this genre who would say that it's not right to be doing such things. But take one listen to this release, and you'll hear that not only is it right, it's down right magic! Blending the Future with the Past has never sounded better!

Michael's choice as lead vocalist for this outing couldn't be any better. Larry King (no, not the old guy from CNN!), has a killer rock vocal with a pretty decent range. His vocals fit beautifully with this band and it's music! From the opening rocker "High Times" you get to thinking that there's no way this album could get any better than this. Then as the album goes on into tunes like "Can't Be Right", the title track "Future Past", the awesome Power Ballad "When You Love Someone" all the way to the powerful "Fight For Your Life" that closes out this amazing set, you realize, "Hell Yeah! This can get better"! And so far, it stands at the top for me for Rock releases in 2012. I know, I know, the year has only begun. And with so many other bands yet to put out new releases this year, maybe it's a bit premature for me to be saying that this will top my Top 5 list for this year. But when this thing drops on February 28th, I recommend you buy this effort, give it a good listen, and then try and argue that with me! By the time your through this entire album, I would be willing to bet that you will feel the same way, or at least this album would be in YOUR top 5 albums of the year!

Stand Out Cuts: Definitely "High Times" tops them out. Then there is "Can't Be Right", "Future Past", "Here I Am", "Beautiful Mystery", ah, this list goes on. Truth be told, this whole album is just amazing! You have to pick this one up when it hits the streets on the 28th!

Reviewed By: JT

CLUTCH and HELLYEAH Unite For North American Co-Headlining Tour

Maryland rockers CLUTCH are teaming up with HELLYEAH for a North American Co-Headlining Tour this Spring. Both bands will play full headlining sets. The tour kicks off April 13th in Providence, RI and runs through May 11th in Joliet, IL. Throughout the tour there will also be dates that feature Clutch only and Hellyeah only as well as radio festivals and shows. A list of complete dates can be found below.



Hard rock supergroup HELLYEAH is touring in support of their new album Band of Brothers which is scheduled for a June 5th release in North America. The album, the band's first effort for their new label home, Eleven Seven Music, was recorded in Dallas at drummer Vinnie Paul's home studio, VP's Upstairs Studio, and was produced by the band and Jeremy Parker (Godsmack, Evanessence), who also served as engineer.



Having produced track after track of heavy-hitting, in-your-face, feel good rock and roll on their previous two albums (2010's STAMPEDE and 2007's self-titled debut), Band of Brothers sees HELLYEAH taking a slightly different musical direction. Drawing on their former bands' collective metal roots for inspiration, the influences and style of Mudvayne, Pantera, Damageplan and Nothingface are immediately recognizable. More information regarding Hellyeah's highly anticipated new album can be found HERE.



CLUTCH is hitting the road in support of their double vinyl edition of Blast Tyrant which is being released February 28th via Weathermaker Music. This 180+ gram expanded vinyl contains 16 songs and includes six mini-posters taken straight from Blast Tyrant's "Atlas of the Invisible World". Each illustrated poster is sized (8.5" x 11") and depicts one of the various characters featured within the Blast Tyrant storyline. Prior to February 28th, the double vinyl edition of Blast Tyrant is exclusively available via www.Clutchmerch.com. CLUTCH will also be releasing a picture disc single of the new track "Pigtown Blues" on April 24th. This is the first new studio material from CLUTCH since 2009's Strange Cousins From the West.



CLUTCH will also be returning to Europe this festival season. The band has been confirmed for the Sonisphere Festival in Madrid Spain on May 26th and the Peace and Love Festival in Borlänge, Sweden on June 29th. Additional festival appearances are expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks.



In other CLUTCH news, the band's music will be featured in the soon to be released film "The Baytown Disco" starring Andre Braugher, Billy Bob Thornton, and Eva Longoria. A six minute preview of the film can, featuring CLUTCH music can be viewed HERE. And for all you hockey fans, CLUTCH's "Electric Worry" is still the goal music for the Vancouver Canucks. Check it out HERE.



CLUTCH AND HELLYEAH CO-HEADLINING NORTH AMERICAN TOUR



4/10: Norfolk, VA @ The Norva (clutch only)

4/11: Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club (clutch only)

4/12: Albany, NY @ Northern Lights Ground (clutch only)

4/13: Providence, RI @ Lupos

4/14: Atlantic City, NJ @ House of Blues

4/15: Long Island, NY @ Paramount Theater

4/17: Stroudsburg, PA @ Sherman Theater

4/18: Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall

4/20: Traverse City, MI @ Ground Zero

4/21: Ft. Wayne, IN @ Pierre's

4/22: Toledo, OH @ Headliner's

4/23: Dayton, OH @ McGuffy's House of Rock (clutch only)

4/24: Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theater

4/25: Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom

4/28: Lincoln, NE @ Box Awesome's Bourbon Lounge

4/29: Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater

5/1: Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theater

5/2: Wichita, KS @ Cotillion

5/3: Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom (clutch only)

5/4: Sauget, IL @ Pops

5/5: Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29

5/6: Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theater (clutch only)

5/6: Atlanta, GA @ WLKS Project Cinco Party (hellyeah only)

5/8: Libertyville, IL @ Austins

5/10: Rock Island, IL @ Rock Island Brewery (clutch only)

5/11: Joilet, IL @ Mojoes

5/12: Detroit, MI @ St Andrews Hall (clutch only)

5/13: Flint, MI @ Machine Shop (clutch only)

5/19: Hartford, CT @ WCCC Big Gig (hellyeah only)

5/27: Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma (hellyeah only)

Machine Head live in San Antonio 2/12/12

Machine Fucking Head! Machine Fucking Head! Machine Fucking Head!. That was the chant for the night at a packed Back stage live for Darkest Hour, Suicide silence, and Machine head. It was obvious that everyone was there to see machine head as there was a sea of MH shirts everywhere. Machine head of course is on tour in support of their new album "Locust" As soon as the lights went out, the crowded chanted calling for the band. Robb Flynn(Guitarist/singer) slowly approached the stage and addressed the crowd and began to play! From the first note, people started moshing and crowd surfing. In the midst of the madness was a small boy roughly about 8 years old on top of his dads shoulders throwing up the horns. The crowd was very much into the music and grunted word for word each song.

After about half way, Robb took a break and talked to the crowd. Told them how much he loved playing in Texas, and the last time he was here. He then mentioned how he toured with pantera and began to talk about Dime bag. It was a great story about how Dimebag was more like a metal fan than a famous musician. He then saluted Dime and Texas. Robb also mentioned that his drummer Dave McClain is from san antonio and that they happened to come to town on the Anniversary of his Mothers death. He told the crowd to give it up for our hometown hero!!! Robb then noticed the little boy and talked to him, and asked if it was his first metal show. He said "no"and Robb applauded him. and dad said that he was raising him right! While the crowd was applauding, he took a drink and then said, Here's to Dime!! and went on with the set!


After then next couple of songs, the crowd begin to get very rowdy to the point where Robb told the bouncers to bring the boy up on stage and have him watch from front! It was awesome. I would say the highlight of the night was the song "Davidian". That was the song where the whole crowd sang the loudest and pumped their fist the hardest. It was a good mixture of old and new songs from each album. Not a bad song to be played. Every song had alot of energy and the crowd was eating it up. Machine head played roughly about an hour and 20 minutes. At the end of the night All of the members threw out guitar picks, drum sticks, drum heads etc. As they left, the crowd again began to chant! Machine Fucking Head! Machine Fucking Head!



Review by Ernie Herrera

HELLYEAH ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM BAND OF BROTHERS

FIRST RELEASE FOR ELEVEN/SEVEN MUSIC SET FOR SPRING



New York, NY – Hard rock supergroup HELLYEAH is back with a their third album, entitled Band of Brothers. The album, the band’s first effort for their new label home, Eleven Seven Music, was recorded in Dallas at drummer Vinnie Paul’s home studio, VP’s Upstairs Studio, and was produced by the band and Jeremy Parker (Godsmack, Evanessence), who also served as engineer.

Having produced track after track of heavy-hitting, in-your-face, feel good rock and roll on their previous two albums (2010’s STAMPEDE and 2007’s self-titled debut), Band of Brothers sees HELLYEAH taking a slightly different musical direction. Drawing on their former bands’ collective metal roots for inspiration, the influences and style of Mudvayne, Pantera, Damageplan and Nothingface are immediately recognizable in tracks such as “Band of Brothers,” “War In Me” and “Rage Burn,” while the party anthem “Drink, Drank, Drunk” retains the essence of earlier HELLYEAH.

Frontman Chad Gray comments, "I'm really excited about what we've done on this new album. I've always separated Mudvayne and HELLYEAH as much as I could, even though it was my voice. Melodies, lyrics and just the overall style of writing were different. With Band of Brothers, I just quit being afraid of who I am in relation to this band. I think we've all really gotten back to the original roots of what we've done individually and brought it together on this album. As an artist, as long as you’re painting with your own brush, no one can compare or challenge you. I just painted with a bigger, heavier brush than I had with HELLYEAH in the past. I think this is what fans have always expected to hear from us, and now were giving it to them."

Vinnie Paul echoed the sentiment in a recent interview for Loudwire.com : “On our first two records, we were a new band. We really wanted to branch out and expand and experiment with all different styles. We all come from traditional metal bands and backgrounds, so it was a great breath of fresh air to play in a band that was rock ‘n’ roll, blues and Southern rock. We got that out of our system and got really focused on going back to our metal roots. It’s heavy, focused, groove-oriented and I’m excited about it.”

Jeremy Parker said, “It's impossible not to have a good time jamming this record. It has the anger and violence of Pantera and Mudvayne, but a party vibe that can
only be HELLYEAH!”

Band of Brothers is set for worldwide release in early June. HELLYEAH will be announcing North American tour plans soon. They are confirmed to tour Australia and Japan in the coming months. Dates are as follows:

Feb 25 Brisbane, AUS RNA Showgrounds
Feb 26 Sydney, AUS Showground
Feb 28 Melbourne, AUS The Forum
Mar 01 Sydney, AUS The Metro Theater
Mar 02 Melbourne, AUS Showgrounds
Mar 03 Adelaide, AUS Bonython Park
Mar 05 Perth, AUS Claremont Showgrounds
Mar 31 Jakarta, IND Carnaval Beach Ancol
Apr 02 Nayoga, JAP Diamond Hall
Apr 03 Osaka, JAP Big Cat
Apr 05 Tokyo, JAP O-East
Apr 06 Tokyo, JAP O-East

Iron Maiden announce "Maiden England World Tour" with extensive dates in North America this summer

Very Special Guest Alice Cooper to July 21, Coheed and Cambria after July 21.


Following the massively successful Final Frontier World Tour 2010-11, IRON MAIDEN are back on the road this summer with a series of Arena, Amphitheatre and Festival shows in the U.S.A. and Canada, opening in Charlotte, NC, U.S.A. on June 21, and finishing in Houston, TX, on Aug 18 (dates listed below), to be followed by further dates around the World in 2013. The MAIDEN ENGLAND WORLD TOUR will closely mirror, in terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour”. This opening section of the World Tour is the band’s most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of cities the band have not played in a very long time, such as Charlotte, Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.

In most venues, tickets will go on sale on March 2 and 3 but watch this site or check local venue information for fuller details. Fan Club members should check out ironmaiden.com for exclusive first day ticket presales and contest to be ‘First To The Barrier’.

MAIDEN ENGLAND marks the third chapter in the History of Iron Maiden, a journey which began in 2004 with The Early Days DVD and subsequent 2005 Early Days Tour. Part Two followed in 2008 with the Live After Death DVD - the seminal 1984 concert recorded at Long Beach Arena (L.A) during the World Slavery Tour - and the band embarking on their groundbreaking Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008/9, which saw them play to over two million fans in almost 40 countries.

Comments vocalist Bruce Dickinson, “We have great fun playing the History of Maiden Tours because it gives us an opportunity between new albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue. It’s always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live before, and of course we know our longstanding fans will enjoy seeing the original Seventh Son Tour re-visited - with many other surprises! Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list of Maiden England (shown below*), including some songs we have not played live in a very,very long time, plus other favourites we just know the fans are going to want to hear! We always try to give our fans a great show musically, but we have always tried to make it as entertaining and memorable an experience as we can visually. And we all feel this show is going to do that splendidly! We can't wait to get started in Charlotte”.

Iron Maiden are delighted to announce that the extraordinary and legendary Alice Cooper will be their Very Special Guest on all shows up to July 21. After that date, Special Guest will be Coheed and Cambria, the inspiring, cutting edge band from New York.

Iron Maiden continue to be actively dedicated to ensuring their fans always have full access to the best possible tickets in the fairest possible way. Manager Rod Smallwood comments:

“We are trying to ensure that our fans get the tickets they want in the prime positions without paying over the odds to ticket scalpers. Maiden get infuriated with the way fans sometimes have to pay more than the ticket price to get good positions at our shows. So we will, wherever possible (Festivals excluded), with the assistance of the Promoters, arrange a paperless ticketing system at least for the front sections to try to eliminate as much of the ticket scalping and exchanges as we can. We put this into practice on our North American Tour in 2010; it worked well and we received many positive comments back from our fans, so we intend to increase this where feasible. With paperless ticketing, only those who actually pay initially for the tickets will get into the show so scalping is generally avoided (please see the comments from Ticketmaster below). We are also doing everything we can to avoid any drain of prime tickets going to the Secondary Ticketing sites which we feel make unfair profits from music fans.

As we consider all our fans to be VIPs, no tickets will be held specifically for VIP use. At some venues, the Promoter may provide the option for fans to pay extra for “VIP Parking”, early access, access to “VIP Bar” etc. But these will be purely optional for ticket holders only and will not be tied to ticket locations – the ability to get the best tickets should be the same for everybody outside of the usual presales.

Finally, we are of course once again arranging exclusive ticket pre-sales for our fan club members so they can be quick off the mark for great tickets and will also continue to run the contest in appropriate venues for fan club members so they can be ‘First To The Barrier’ prior to the show. We hope that these measures will help our fans as much as possible and ask that they keep checking for details on our website.”

TICKETMASTER comments:
Where possible the North American Iron Maiden shows will operate a paperless ticket policy. Select tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster’s Paperless Ticket delivery, which means fans will not receive a physical concert ticket for their entry into the event. Buying paperless helps ensure fans have secure and convenient access to event tickets at the intended original sale price. On the day of show, concert goers just need to bring the credit card they used for the ticket purchase and a government-issued photo ID to the concert. All members of the ticket purchaser's party must be present at the same time to enter the venue. The venue’s ticket usher will swipe their credit card upon entry and present each person in their party with seat locator slips for quick access into the show. To purchase paperless tickets or for more information, fans should visit www.ticketmaster.com/paperless or call the Ticketmaster charge-by-phone number at 1-800-745-3000.


*Maiden England 1988 Longform Video VHS Tracklisting
Moonchild, The Evil That Men Do, The Prisoner, Still Life, Die With Your Boots On, Infinite Dreams, Killers, Can I Play With Madness, Heaven Can Wait, Wasted Years, The Clairvoyant, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, The Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden.


MAIDEN ENGLAND 2012 TOUR DATES:

21st June - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
23rd June - Atlanta, GA - Aarons Amphitheatre
26th June - Boston, MA - Comcast Center
27th June - Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach
29th June - Philadelphia, PI - Susquehanna Bank Center
30th June - Washington, DC - Jiffy Lube Live
2nd July - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
5th July - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank
8th July - Quebec, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
11th July - Montreal, QC - Bell Center
13th July - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre
14th July - Sarnia, ON - Bayfest
16th July - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
18th July - Detroit, MI - DTE Music Theatre
19th July - Indianapolis, IN - Klipsch Music Centre
24th July - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Center
26th July - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
27th July - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
29th July - Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum
30th July - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
1st August - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
3rd August - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
6th August - Phoenix, AZ - Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
9th August - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
12th August - Albuquerque. NM - Hard Rock Pavilion
13th August - Denver, CO - Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
15th August - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
17th August - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
18th August - Houston, TX - The Woodlands

Van Halen are back, with "A Different Kind Of Truth"

It's been nearly 30 years in the making, a new Van Halen album with Diamond David Lee Roth on vocals. February 7th saw the release of "A Different Kind Of Truth" the first song released was called "Tattoo" which was easily the weakest song on the album, and many agree. so I was hoping for the other songs to be kicked up a notch, and indeed they were. and as I was listening to these songs, I couldn't help but think that they sounded so much like classic VH. turns out there was a reason for that. some of the songs actually came from the vaults, songs that were originally featured on the 1976 Van Halen demo tape produced and financed by Gene Simmons. "She's The Woman" is the only song out of 4 that kept it's original title, and sounds almost alike, other than its got a new middle section, "Outta Space" which is my personal favorite off the new disc, was originally called "Lets get Rockin" "Big River" is a re-working of "Big Trouble" and "Beat's Workin" was called "Put Out The Lights" but I think it's fine that they chose some old classics and re-recorded them, why not right?

other great songs are "Blood And Fire" the song sounds like something right off the 1984 release, very catchy with trademark Eddie Van Halen all over it. "As Is" reminds me of "Hot For Teacher" and a 2nd personal favorite of mine is 'Stay Frosty" this song is vintage Van Halen. the only thing missing on "A Different Kind Of Truth" are the backing melodies of Micheal Anthony, who's been replaced by Eddies son Wolfgang, I'm not taking anything away from Wolfgang, but Micheal's vocals were an important part of Van Halen. and if you think Eddie Van Halen has lost his edge through the years, listen to "Big River" it's given me a whole new respect for the man. all in all, its a very strong release. any Van Halen fan will be satisfied

Track List for A Different Kind of Truth:

“Tattoo“
“She’s the Woman“
“You and Your Blues“
“China Town“
“Blood and Fire“
“Bullethead“
“As Is“
“Honeybabysweetiedoll“
“The Trouble with Never“
“Outta Space“
“Stay Frosty“
“Big River“
“Beats Workin’“

5/5*****

review by Guillermo Rascon