Weezer 'Memories' Tour Dates

Weezer have announced further dates on their upcoming 'Memories' tour. The group will now perform their 'Blue' and 'Pinkerton' albums in Boston, Massachusetts on December 14 and 15, followed by shows in Chicago, Illinois on January 7 and 8.

As previously reported, Weezer will also visit Los Angeles and San Francisco on the gig-run, with each show also set to feature a selection of the their greatest hits.

Weezer also have a series of previously confirmed gigs in support of their recently released album, 'Hurley'.

Weezer will play the following:
Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre (September 30)
Las Vegas, NV Mirage Hotel And Casino (October 1)
New Orleans, LA Voodoo Festival (29)
Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre (November 26, 27) *
San Francisco, CA Nob Hill Masonic Center (29, 30) *
Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre (December 14, 15) *
Chicago, IL Aragon Entertainment Center (January 7, 8) *
* Weezer will perform their 'Blue' album on the first date and their 'Pinkerton' LP on the second

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Limp Bizkit drummer 'feeling much better'

Limp Bizkit drummer John Otto "is feeling much better today and is on his way to recovery" after being diagnosed with pneumonia, according to a new Twitter message from the band's frontman, Fred Durst.

Limp Bizkit was forced to cancel a show in Oslo, Norway last night (Monday, September 27) after Otto was taken ill. The drummer has since been undergoing a series of tests to determine the seriousness of his condition.

Limp Bizkit is next due to perform in St Petersburg, Russia on October 1. Earlier in the year, Limp Bizkit canceled its planned U.S. summer amphitheater tour in favor of a possible trek through the nation's arenas. Durst made the announcement via his official Twitter account, adding that he hoped the changes would result in "a better Limp experience" for rock music fans. Limp Bizkit recently completed work on its new studio album, "Gold Cobra", but has yet to announce a release date for the effort.

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Nickelback's Chad Kroeger Plan New Album

After wrapping up their current tour, Nickelback intends to take a short breather before diving into a new album. The band's final U.S. run to support Dark Horse wraps up on October 30 in Las Vegas. Frontman Chad Kroeger already has a few new songs in the can and he'd like to get back in the studio this spring, but he may face some resistance from his bandmates.

"Everyone's at a really comfortable stage in their lives with their relationships and kids. They're just enjoying life," he told Billboard.com. "Instead of always being on the road or in the studio or shooting videos, it's nice to just kick back and be able to go Trick-or-Treating with your kids. So they're going to want me to focus my creative juices in a different direction, I'm sure."

Nevertheless, Kroeger knows they will get back to work after a short break and he already has "about four tunes" that are almost ready to go. Chad Kroeger expects to start writing more vigorously around February, and he'd like to work with co-producer Mutt Lange again, but most likely "only in a writing capacity." He has been traveling to Nashville for songwriting sessions and he also is featured with Zakk Wylde and Ludacris on the single "Porn Star Dancing" by My Darkest Days, a Toronto band that's signed to his 604 Records imprint. Lastly, Kroeger is also promoting a new guitar he designed, the Gibson Blackwater Les Paul.

As for the new music, "The rockers tend to come while we're in the studio. Just noodling around, you wind up with rock riffs," Kroeger stated. "It's the other ones that are harder to craft, the ones you sort of pine over a little bit more...

We've got so many of the 'How You Remind Mes,' the 'Somedays,' the 'Far Aways.' We've got a couple of the 'Photograph'-type things and a few of the 'Rockstar' and 'This Afternoons.' The record company always wants to push the more accessible material, but it's always a concern [whether] we have enough rockers in the set when Nickelback play live. You've got to save room for the 'Burn It to the Grounds' and that kind of stuff." It's good news for rock music fans.

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311's Profile

311 (pronounced “three eleven”) is a band from Omaha, Nebraska. Their musical structure incorporates a variety of musical styles including hip hop, alternative rock, punk, reggae, metal, and funk. Since their self-titled album in 1995, all but one of their albums (the exception being Live) have been in the top 15 of the Billboard 200. Nineteen of their singles have received significant radio airplay since Do You Right in 1993; five of those songs being top 3 hits on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Various writers and critics define 311 by a number of genres. They are generally known as an alternative rock band, but they are also classified as rap rock, rap metal, funk rock, funk metal, ska punk, reggae and jazz fusion.

Current Member :
* Nick Hexum - Vocals, Rhythm guitar, Programming
* Doug "SA" Martinez - Vocals, Turntables, DJ
* Tim Mahoney - Lead guitar
* Aaron "P-Nut" Wills - Bass
* Chad Sexton - Drums, Percussion, Programming

In 1997, a rumor started that the band’s name was a reference to the Ku Klux Klan because K is the 11th letter of the alphabet. It was also rumored that Nick Hexum was a member of The National Front, which is a white supremacy group.

The name actually came from a skinny dipping incident when the bassist P-Nut was charged with indecent exposure by the Omaha Police Department and escorted home handcuffed and naked. The police code which appeared on the citation was “311”. Nick Hexum has said:

After the humor of the name wore off, we still kept it because we liked that it was just abstract and that it did not define us in any way. The name did not describe our sound or our politics, it just let the music speak for itself.

Released in 1994 on Grassroots, long before the KKK rumor surfaced, Silver provides some strong words about racism:

Of the racist institutions, simple minds belong;
Not happy being human, no wish to get along.
Little people need exclusions; sucker groups to throng.
It makes them feel special; it makes them feel strong.

In response to the rumors, Nick Hexum began to write a song for the 1997 release Transistor titled “Fuck the KKK”. After thinking about the title a little more, he revised it and ended up with Electricity, the sixth track on the album.

First two lines from Electricity:

This song started as a rant against haters
But that’d be giving into the instigators

Last verse:

A call out for unity
In every province and city.
What do you think we’ve been saying
Since we first started playing?

(These last lines can be seen as a reference to the early 311 song Unity.)

It should also be noted that singer Doug “SA” Martinez is of Latino heritage.

Recommended songs of 311: Amber, Love Song, Beautiful Disaster, All Mixed Up, Down.

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Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns Review

A Thousand Suns is the fourth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on September 14, 2010 in the United States through Warner Bros. Records. The album was written by the band and co-produced by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who previously worked together to produce Minutes to Midnight (2007). The lead single for the album, "The Catalyst", was released to radio and digital music retailers on August 2, 2010. The band is currently promoting the album through the A Thousand Suns Tour.

With A Thousand Suns, the LP has certainly moved beyond the mediocre, but this is no revitalization. The album is a slick, full-bodied leap in the direction of self-parodying melodrama and fashionable faux-revolution, rather than actual redemption through self-evolution. A grandly orchestrated mechanized mess of sentimentality and rage against the machine, the 15 track collection is entirely unconvincing as a call to action for uprising and activism. Not even Rubin can keep this from being a patronizingly flaccid mess.

MTV reviewer James Montgomery called the album Linkin Park’s very own “all grown up” version of Kid A – which is, thus far, the most hackish and misleading assessment the album’s been given. Kid A represented a tidal shift in the music scene, a complete stylistic leap away from what made Radiohead the guitar-rock superstars they had become in the mid-nineties. Dangerously experimental, awash with digital paranoia and completely unselfconscious, it was a musical turning point on such a grand scale that we’ll still be referencing it a full generation from now as the catalyst for the mainstreaming of the electro-indie explosion.

A Thousand Suns, on the other hand, is a high-reaching and fantastically produced melodramatic farce that once again finds the California sextet taking themselves far too seriously, trumpeting the urgency to stand up to The Man, the ever-shifting Great Oppressor that gives these young millionaires such rebellious, heavily-autotuned fire. Heavy-handed sound-byte touchstones ’round every bend remind us of the looming danger that we’ve lived with for time untold: Oppenheimer’s Bhagavad Gita quote after the first testing of the atomic bomb in 1945. Savio’s “bodies upon the gears” speech from 1964. Martin Luther King Jr’s declaration that our modern horrors “cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.” Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns Tracks: The Requiem, The Radiance, Burning In The Skies, Empty Spaces, When They Come For Me, Robot Boy, Jornada Del Muerto, Waiting For The End, Blackout, Wretches & Kings, Wisdom, Justice, And Love, Iridescent, Fallout, The Catalyst and The Messenger.

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Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown's Review

Kings of Leon release the highly anticipated fifth album, Come Around Sundown. It was recorded in New York at Avatar Studios and produced once again by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King.

Come Around Sundown to be released in the Republic of Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the UK on October 18 and North America on October 19.

The official album covers and tracklist were revealed on 3 September. The lead single, "Radioactive", along with its accompanying music video, premiered on 8 September on the Kings' official website. The following day, it received its official radio premiere on Australian radio.

Honestly, I think Come Around Sundown would be the great album. It's awesome that Kings of Leon constantly changes their sound. It has to be hard to step out of their comfort zones and produce something original and fantanstic every single album. Because of high popularity, they could have easily made another Only by the Night Album and people would listen to it.

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Kings of Leon's Profile

Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee, United States in 1999, consisting of brothers Anthony “Caleb” Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan “Nathan” Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael “Jared” Followill (bass guitar, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron “Matthew” Followill (lead guitar, backing vocals). Each member of the family group is known by their middle name (second given name) as opposed to their first given name .

The band’s early music was an upbeat blend of southern rock and blues influences but the band has gradually expanded their sound to include a variety of genres, including alternative rock.

The three Followhill brothers (and one cousin) who formed Kings of Leon grew up being driven around the Southern States by their preacher father. Their indie-rock sound belies these influences in its fervent religiosity and southern rock riffs. Their debut album Youth and Young Manhood (2003) won much praise in Europe and the band began to build a following in their homeland after securing support slots on tours with U2 and The Strokes. Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) consolidated their fanbase and included the single, "The Bucket", which broke into the Top 20 in Britain. Third album Because of the Times was their most successful yet, winning wide critical praise and topping the album charts of Britain, Ireland and New Zealand.

Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band’s albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album Because of the Times also reached the number one spot. After the release of Only by the Night in 2008 they finally achieved chart success in their native United States. The singles Sex On Fire, Use Somebody and Notion peaked at number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, while the album itself was their first ever platinum-selling album in the US. For more informations about Kings of Leon, just visit Kingsofleon.com, www.myspace.com/kingsofleon  and twitter.com/kingsofleonfans

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Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns to #1 Album

Linkin Park are on track to sell between 250,000 and 260,000 copies of their new album, A Thousand Suns, according to Hits Daily Double. The sales are likely to place Linkin Park at the top of the U.S. album chart next week.

A Thousand Suns, released on September 14, plays down the hip-hop and metal aspects of the band’s sound in favor of a darker, more atmospheric and electronic sound, interspersed with a post-apocalyptic, Orwellian narrative. It is the band’s fourth studio album, and was co-produced by vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin (Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Slayer, Johnny Cash, Metallica).

To promote the album, Linkin Park made available the individual track stems from the track “The Catalyst” for fans to remix. The band selected NoBrain, an English teacher from Swidnica, Poland, as the winner.

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Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee Recruit Fans For "Mayhem"

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee said he "just wanted to do something different" for "A Public Disservice Announcement," his first Methods of Mayhem album in 11 years. That turned out to be working with a cast of thousands -- literally -- on the 11-track set which comes out Tuesday. Nearly a year ago, Lee and chief cohort Scott Humphrey began posting the album's songs online and invited fans to contribute parts via ProTools, Logic, Garage Band or Riff Works.

Submissions came in droves, leaving Lee and company to sift through about 1,500 per week. "It was great," Lee told Billboard.com. "If it was any greater, I probably wouldn't be talking to you 'cause the record still wouldn't be done. Thank God we only dealt with 13 tracks. Otherwise it would've been a much longer process."

Lee said he ultimately used about 50 of the public contributions for the album, though he promised that he lent an ear to everything that came in. "It's not one of those processes where you can just go, 'Well, we'll kind of pick and choose what we listen to,'" he explained.

The most dramatic contribution, Lee said, came from someone in Paris, which resulted in a wholesale makeover for the song "Back to Before." "It was a straight-up, midtempo kind of rock track," Lee noted, "and this guy sped the song up I think about four or five beats per minute and totally remixed it.

"What it did was just inspire me to scrap the song and start over with that concept in mind. So what you're hearing now is a full, 360-degree re-work, which is pretty cool." "A Public Disservice Announcement" features guest contributions from some well-known folks, too.

Nickelback's Chad Kroeger sings on "Fight Song," while Deftones' Chino Moreno appears on "Only One." Sum 41's Deryck Whibley is part of the opening track "Drunk Uncle Pete." Lee suspected that some of his famous friends and popular person may have also submitted ideas via the public process.

"A lot of people sent in video submissions," he said, "and there was a handful of guys playing guitars and wearing masks. I don't know if there was anybody that I know or if they were friends who wanted to jump on and rock for a second." The group plans to perform "Time Bomb," the first single from "A Public Disservice Announcement," on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Wednesday.


Tommy Lee said Methods of Mayhem is rehearsing for a tour that is currently being booked for fall and winter. Next year, however, will find him back on the road with Motley Crue, whose Cruefest tour will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the group's first album. The Crue, he said, has also "talked about making some new music" for the long-awaited film adaptation of the band's autobiography "The Dirt." "It just keeps moving around," Lee said of the project, "but we did talk about getting some music ready for it so when it does get going we're not playing catch-up."

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Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon, A7X Confirmed For 2011 Soundwave Festival

Dates for the 2011 edition of Australia's Soundwave festival are set to take place in late February/early March. Organizers have issued the following update:

"We are thrilled to bring you the 2nd and final Soundwave 2011 artist announcement. Joining IRON MAIDEN and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE as our headliners is ONE DAY AS A LION, the explosive collaboration between RAGE AGAINS THE MACHINE frontman Zack de la Rocha and former MARS VOLTA drummer Jon Theodore. Their set at the Fuji Festival this year was the undisputed highlight of the festival and we are proud to have secured not 1, but 5 rare appearances by this artist.

Rounding out our new arrivals are triumphant recent visitors BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and BRING ME THE HORIZON; horror punk killers MURDERDOLLS; legendary metal monster DIMMU BORGIR - making their Australian debut; punk rock gods MILLENCOLIN presenting their seminal album Pennybridge Pioneers (and more); prog rock’s finest flag fliers COHEED & CAMBRIA, and a band whose amazing live shows needs little introduction to Australian audiences, THE AMITY AFFLICTION.

Add to that FEEDER, H2O, THE ROCKET SUMMER, SAXON, SILVERSTEIN, FUCKED UP and WE THE KINGS and you have an announcement worthy of being its own festival!"

The official Soundwave 2011 lineup:

30 SECONDS TO MARS
36 CRAZYFISTS
A SKYLIT DRIVE
ALESANA
ALL THAT REMAINS
THE AMITY AFFLICTION
ANBERLIN
ASKING ALEXANDRIA
THE ATARIS
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BAYSIDE
THE BLACKOUT
BREATHE CAROLINA
BRING ME THE HORIZON
THE BRONX
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
DEVILDRIVER
DOMMIN
EVERY AVENUE
FEEDER
FOXY SHAZAM
FUCKED UP
GANG OF FOUR
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
H2O
HIGH ON FIRE
I SEE STARS
ILL NINO
IRON MAIDEN
KYLESA
LESS THAN JAKE
MAD CADDIES
THE MAINE
MAYDAY PARADE
MELVINS
MILLENCOLIN
MONSTER MAGNET
MURDERDOLLS
MXPX
NEVER SHOUT NEVER
NEW FOUND GLORY
NONPOINT
ONE DAY AS A LION
PENNYWISE
PRIMUS
PROTEST THE HERO
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
RISE TO REMAIN
THE ROCKET SUMMER
ROB ZOMBIE
SAXON
SEVENDUST
SILVERSTEIN
SLASH
SLAYER
SOCIAL DISTORTION
THE STARTING LINE
STONE SOUR
SUM 41
THE SWORD
TAKING DAWN
TERROR
THERE FOR TOMORROW
THIRD EYE BLIND
TRASH TALK
VEARA
WE THE KINGS

The dates are as follows:
February
26 - Brisbane, Australia - Showgrounds
27 - Sydney, Australia - Eastern Creek Raceway

March
4 - Melbourne, Australia - Showgrounds
5 - Adelaide, Australia - Bonython Park
7 - Perth, Australia - Steel Blue Oval

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Music Review - Phil Collins

Phil Collins is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist.

When Gabriel quit the group in 1975, the music press jumped on the 'Genesis to split' bandwagon, the band of course carried on and Collins stepped up to the microphone and ended up sounding more like Gabriel than Gabriel did. In 1996 Phil Collins stunned many fans by announcing his departure from Genesis after 26 years. He decided that a solo career was all he needed, plus the odd soundtrack, world tour etc.

His solo career as a soft rock superstar saw him achieve estimated sales of 100 million records. As his fan, I think he is one of the most successful songwriter in U.K. singles chart history. He has a great tonal quality to his voice, and his music has moves from the impudent to the sensitive and soulful.

There are a lot of great hits of Phil Collins such as "(Love Is Like A) Heatwave", "Another Day in Paradise", "In the Air Tonight", and many more. All you need is get Music Downloads and enjoy his music. I'm sure you'd be satisfied.

Going Back is Phil Collins's eighth studio album. It features covers of 60s Motown & Soul standards. It also was his first full solo release in eight years. There are two editions of the album; one with 18 tracks and a limited special edition with all 29 songs Collins recorded. At the press release, Phil Collins said the idea behind the album was "not to bring anything ‘new’ to these already great records, but to try to recreate the sounds and feelings that I had when I first heard them. My intention was to make an ‘old’ record, not a ‘new’ record".

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Download Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

Avenged Sevenfold's blend of raw power, emotion, heavy riffs and storytelling are what make the band one of the world's biggest and best bands of recent times, but no album displays these characteristics better than their fifth studio album 'Nightmare' released 27th July.

The band was struck down with a tragedy during the recording of their newest album when their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan died on the 28th of December from an accidental overdose, and in honour of his memory, the band soldiered on with the album, hiring the talents of The Rev's favourite drummer, Dream Theatre's Mike Portnoy to fill in on drums.

Honestly, This "Nightmare" album is pretty incredible, achieving greatness on many different levels. Musically... the songs are well constructed, interesting in both lyrical content as well as progression and instrumentation throughout.

Most of the songs are typical of recent A7X offerings: slightly more progressive/metal and less thrash/grind, which some fans like and others don't... but a few songs pack an extra punch based on knowledge of the band's loss of the Rev: So Far Away; Fiction; and the final track. In particular Fiction is pure haunting, with the band using the Rev's own scratch track vocals (with Shadows harmonizing most of the way). A piano line in this song fits very well with the haunting: I had goose bumps on first listen. If they do this song well live, there won't be a dry eye in the arena...

Mike Portnoy, deserves special mention in any review - he amazingly channels the Rev to a T. Only occasionally can you tell it's Mike, and that's only when he's really working the cymbals as only he can, and perhaps on an especially blistering run towards the end of the final track... mostly though he does just as you'd expect to hear done on an A7X album. I'd really like to see them live just to witness Portnoy playing some of their back catalog... another notch in Portnoy's long list of mind-boggling achievements. Depth... finally, as with all truly great albums, Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare album will require many, many listenings to really settle in.

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Bob Dylan's Profile

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was at first an informal chronicler, and later an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest.

Although his career began in 1959, much of Dylan’s best known work is from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and reluctant figurehead of American unrest. Some of his songs, such as “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin”, became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements. His song “Like A Rolling Stone”, released in July of 1965, was named “The Greatest Song of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, placing #1 in a list of 500 titles. Dylan remains an influential and popular artist; his most recent album of new songs, 2009’s Together Through Life, reached #1 on the charts in the US, Britain, France and several other countries. You can also see Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits.

Dylan’s early lyrics incorporated politics, social commentary, philosophy and literary influences, defying existing pop music conventions and appealing widely to the counterculture of the time. While expanding and personalizing musical styles, Dylan has shown steadfast devotion to traditions of American song, from folk and country/blues to rock and roll and rockabilly, to Gaelic balladry, even jazz, swing and broadway.

After becoming a Christian, Dylan explored themes of faith, redemption and love while mining the gospel vein. In a few years he found an equilibrium. His last albums can be seen as new highlights in his important career.

Bob Dylan performs with the guitar, keyboard and harmonica. Backed by a changing lineup of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s. He has also recently performed alongside other iconic artists, such as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton. Although his contributions as a performer and recording artist have been central to his career, his songwriting is generally held as his highest accomplishment.

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MTV Video Music Awards

Lady Gaga was the big winner at last night's MTV Video Music Awards as the singer took home a total of eight trophies. Wearing a different outfit each time she took the stage, Gaga won the prizes for Video of the Year, Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Dance Video, Best Collaboration, Best Choreography, Best Editing and Best Direction. At the end of the night when she accepted her Video of the Year award for "Bad Romance" from veteran diva Cher, Gaga said that she promised herself if she won that award, she would announce the title of her next album. After telling fans that it will be called Born This Way, Gaga belted out a few bars from a new song.

Eminem was the night's other big winner as he earned Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video for "Not Afraid." He also made his triumphant comeback by opening the show with a few verses of "I'm Not Afraid" before Rihanna made a surprise appearance to join Em for "Love The Way You Lie," during which she donned a red wig and a fairy princess outfit.

Despite the awards, the performances were the true story of the night. For his first-ever VMA performance, Justin Bieber offered a medley of "Baby" and "Somebody To Love" on an outdoor stage before jumping behind the drum kit for a solo. His mentor Usher was the next to take the stage for another medley which featured his recent hit singles, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" and "OMG," as well as an army of dancers and Usher's Michael Jackson-inspired dance moves.

Florence + the Machine also made her Video Music Awards debut with a performance of "Dog Days Are Over," and Taylor Swift performed a brand new song for the very first time that was most likely written about Kanye West. After showing a brief video montage of last year's VMA debacle with West, Swift was shown sitting in a chair with an acoustic guitar while her band played on a set that looked like the living room of an old haunted house. "It's all right, just wait and see, Your streaming lights are bright to me," she sang. "Who you are is not where you've been, You're still an innocent. It's OK, life is a tough crowd, 32 and still growing up now. Who you are is not what you did, You're still an innocent."

After Justin Timberlake introduced him as "the most exciting artist in new music right now," Drake took the stage with Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz for the song "Fancy," and later, Bruno Mars got behind the piano and began crooning "Nothin' On You" before B.o.B. appeared for his energetic Rap verse. Then Hayley Williams emerged to sing her collaboration with B.o.B., "Airplanes."

Finally, after Linkin Park played an electrified version of "The Catalyst" live on an outdoor stage from the Griffith Park Observatory, Kanye West closed the show with a new tune called "Runaway." With assistance from Clipse's Pusha T and a trio of ballerinas, the humorous song gave "a toast to the douchebags... a toast to the assholes" as West rapped on an all-white set. He left the stage in a shower of fireworks as the audience chanted, "Kanye! Kanye!"

Here is the complete list of this year's VMA winners:

Video of the Year: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Male Video: Eminem – "Not Afraid"
Best Female video: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best New Artist: Justin Bieber (featuring Ludacris) – "Baby"
Best Hip Hop Video: Eminem – "Not Afraid"
Best Pop Video: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Dance Video: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Rock Video: 30 Seconds To Mars – "Kings and Queens"
Best Collaboration: Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé – "Telephone"
Best Choreography: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Editing: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Art Direction: Florence + the Machine – "Dog Days Are Over"
Best Direction: Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"
Best Cinematography: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – "Empire State of Mind"
Best Special Effects: Muse – "Uprising"
Breakthrough Video: The Black Keys – "Tighten Up"

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Jordan Rudess Talks About Mike Portnoy

Jordan Rudess, keyboardist of progressive metal icons Dream Theater, has issued another statement in regards to the band's recent developments of the departure of drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy.

Jordan Rudess commented by saying: "Closing this chapter is difficult because Mike and I are really close friends, have been great musical partners and he has been a vital part of Dream Theater. Still, opening up the next chapter is really exciting because Dream Theater is full of ideas and energy about the future. Mike is the ultimate rock drummer and I know he will be successful at whatever he does. Meanwhile, Dream Theater is moving forward quickly and looking forward to creating some great new music. Everyone is asking me to comment on my thoughts about Mike Portnoy leaving Dream Theater and this huge change that has happened in all of our lives. I have always been able to express my feelings and do my best 'talking' through music. Hope you 'understand."

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Brandon Flowers has topped the album chart

The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers' debut solo effort has followed his band's three studio albums to the top of the UK albums chart tonight (September 12). 'Flamingo' knocked Katy Perry’s 'Teenage Dream' from the top slot. The Killers' albums 'Hot Fuss' (2004), 'Sam's Town' (2006) and 'Day & Age' (2008) all reached the summit too.

The xx's eponymous debut goes up to Three from 16 following their Barclaycard Mercury Prize win last week (September 7), having previously only gone as far as 10. Hurts are straight in at number four with debut album 'Happiness' and US rockers Stone Sour's new effort 'Audio Secrecy' is straight in at Six.

The 2008 winner of 'The X Factor', Alexandra Burke, goes straight to the top of the singles chart with 'Start Without You', which features American rapper Laza Morgan. It's Burke's third UK chart-topper.

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Stone Sour and Avenged Sevenfold Has Announced European Tour

Stone Sour, the Iowa alternative metal act featuring Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor, has announced a long list tour dates set to take place in Europe throughout October and November. Support on the tour will come from Avenged Sevenfold and HellYeah.

Stone Sour European tour dates:
Oct. 22 - GER, Berlin Huxleys / C-Hall
Oct. 23 - GER, Cologne E-Werk
Oct. 24 - GER, Stuttgart Longhorn LKA
Oct. 26 - SCO, Glasgow SECC*
Oct. 27 - ENG, Manchester Academy*
Oct. 28 - ENG, Birmingham NIA*
Oct. 30 - ENG, Hammersmith Apollo
Oct. 31 - ENG, Hammersmith Apollo
Nov. 02 - ENG, Newcastle Academy*
Nov. 03 - ENG, Leeds Academy*
Nov. 04 - ENG, Manchester Academy*
Nov. 06 - ENG, Plymouth Pavilion*
Nov. 07 - ENG, Brighton Centre*
Nov. 09 - HOL, Tilburg 013
Nov. 11 - SWI, Zurich Volkshaus
Nov. 12 - ITA, Milan Live Club
Nov. 14 - GER, Hamburg Docks
Nov. 16 - DEN, Copenhagen Vega Main Hall
Nov. 17 - NOR, Oslo Sentrum Scene
Nov. 18 - SWE, Stockholm Arenan
Nov. 20 - GER, Dresden Strasse E / Eventwerk
Nov. 21 - GER, Herford X / Ringlok
Nov. 22 - GER, Munich Kesselhaus

*Avenged Sevenfold's only scheduled dates

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Phil Anselmo Discovered Some Surprising Things

2012 may see a deluxe reissue of Pantera's epic "Vulgar Display of Power." Gibson reports: In preparing the deluxe reissue of Pantera's 1990 album Cowboys From Hell, singer Phil Anselmo discovered some surprising things about the metal band's major label debut. "It had definitely been a long while since I sat down and listened to Cowboys From Hell from front to back," Phil Anselmo told Billboard.com. "Basically it was trickier where I thought things might be simplified. We would build these massive intros into songs, and the solo sections, the way they were written was just very, very, very clever. And I can see very clearly how we upped the production. It's been quite an experience."

The new, three-disc edition of Cowboys will feature a remastered edition of the original album, a disc of demos and a disc of live material. Phil Anselmo said he hopes another Pantera album, 1992's Vulgar Display of Power, will get the same treatment on its 20th anniversary.

"I guess we have to wait 'til 2012, but I've got my fingers crossed," Anselmo said. "I think if you ask your average Pantera fan what their favorite Pantera record would be, nine times out of 10 it's Vulgar, so it would certainly make sense."

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Mike Portnoy leaves Dream Theater

Mike Portnoy dropped a bombshell on Dream Theater fans on Wednesday, announcing that he is leaving the group after 25 years. Portnoy is currently playing with Avenged Sevenfold, taking the place of drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan who was found dead in his home last December.

Both Dream Theater and Portnoy have issued statements about splitting but Portnoy summed us his reasons for leaving by saying, ""After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater"

Here is his full statement: "I am about to write something I never imagined I'd ever write: After 25 years, I have decided to leave Dream Theater....the band I founded, led and truly loved for a quarter of a century. To many people this will come as a complete shock, and will also likely be misunderstood by some, but please believe me that it is not a hasty decision...it is something I have struggled with for the last year or so....

After having had such amazing experiences playing with Hail, Transatlantic and Avenged Sevenfold this past year, I have sadly come to the conclusion that I have recently had more fun and better personal relations with these other projects than I have for a while now in Dream Theater... Please don't misinterpret me, I love the Dream Theater guys dearly and have a long history, friendship and bond that runs incredibly deep with them...it's just that I think we are in serious need of a little break...

Dream Theater was always my baby...and I nurtured that baby every single day and waking moment of my life since 1985...24/7, 365...never taking time off from Dream Theater's never-ending responsibilites (even when the band was 'off' between cycles)...working overtime and way beyond the call of duty that most sane people ever would do for a band...

But I've come to the conclusion that the Dream Theater machine was starting to burn me out...and I really needed a break from the band in order to save my relationship with the other members and keep my Dream Theater spirit hungry and inspired.

We have been on an endless write/record/tour cycle for almost 20 years now (of which I have overseen EVERY aspect without a break) and while a few months apart from each other here & there over the years has been much needed and helpful, I honestly hoped the band could simply agree with me to taking a bit of a 'hiatus' to recharge our batteries and 'save me from ourselves.'

Sadly, in discussing this with the guys, they determined they do not share my feelings and have decided to continue without me rather than take a breather...I even offered to do some occasional work throughout 2011 against my initial wishes, but it was not to be...

While it truly hurts for me to even think of a Dream Theater without Mike Portnoy, I do not want to stand in their way...so I have decided to sacrifice myself and simply leave the band so as to not hold them back against their wishes....

Strangely enough, I just read an interview that I recently did that asked me about the future of Dream Theater and I talked about 'always following your heart and being true to yourself'...sadly I must say that at this particular moment, my heart is not with Dream Theater...and I would simply be 'going through the motions,' and would honestly NOT be true to myself if I stayed for the sake of obligation without taking the break I felt I needed.

I wish the guys the best and hope the music and legacy we created together is enjoyed by fans for decades to come...I am proud of every album we made, every song we wrote and every show we played....

I'm sorry to all the disappointed Dream Theater fans around the world...I really tried to salvage the situation and make it work...I honestly just wanted a break (not a split)...but happiness cannot be forced, it needs to come from within....

You Dream Theater fans are the greatest fans in the world and as you all know, I have always busted my ass for you guys and I hope that you will stay with me on my future musical journey, wherever it may lead me....(and as you all know my work ethic, there will surely be no shortage of future MP projects!)

Sadly... Your fearless ex-leader and drummer, MP

Dream Theater issued this statement: "To all of our loyal fans and friends: It is with profound sadness regret we announce that Mike Portnoy, our lifelong drummer and friend, has decided to leave Dream Theater. Mike's stature in the band has meant the world to all of us professionally, musically, and personally over the years. There is no dispute: Mike has been a major force within this band.

While it is true that Mike is choosing to pursue other ventures and challenges, we can assure you that Dream Theater will continue to move forward with the same intensity and in the same musical tradition that you have all helped make so successful, and which is truly gratifying to us. Fans and friends: File this episode under 'Black Clouds and Silver Linings.' As planned, we begin recording our newest album in January 2010, and we'll follow that with a full-on world tour. 'The Spirit Carries On.'

All of us in Dream Theater wholeheartedly wish Mike Portnoy the best on his musical journey. We have had a long and meaningful career together. It is our true hope that he finds all he is looking for, and that he achieves the happiness he deserves. He will be missed.

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Kings of Leon's UK Arena Tour

Kings Of Leon have announced a UK arena tour for this December.

Kings of Leon, who release fifth album 'Come Around Sundown' on October 18, will return to Britain this winter.

They play:

Manchester Evening News Arena (December 13)
Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (14, 19)
Birmingham NIA (16, 17)
London O2 Arena (21)

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Kurt Donald Cobain's Profile

Kurt Donald Cobain was born on 20 February 1967, at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, to a waitress, Wendy Elizabeth Fradenburg and an automotive mechanic named Donald Leland Cobain. His father was of Scottish, Irish and French ancestry, and his mother, was of Cuban, Spanish, Irish, German and English ancestry. Cobain's Irish ancestors migrated from County Tyrone of Northern Ireland in 1875. Further research found them to have been shoemakers, originally named Cobane, who came from the village of Inishatieve near Pomeroy, who settled in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, and then in Washington. Kurt Cobain had one younger sister named Kimberly, born in 1970.

He was the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Seattle grunge band Nirvana. He served not only as the band’s frontman, but as its “leader and spiritual center”. With the band’s success, Kurt Cobain became a major national and international celebrity, an uncomfortable position for someone who claimed to be “ill at ease with fame and ill-equipped to handle the responsibility that accompanies success”.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were highly influential, popularizing what came to be known as “grunge music”. In 1991, the arrival of Cobain’s best known song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, marked the beginning of a dramatic shift of popular music away from the dominant genres of the 1980s: glam metal, arena rock, and dance-pop. The music media eventually awarded “Smells Like Teen Spirit” “anthem-of-a-generation” status, and, with it, Cobain ascended as the reluctant “spokesman” for Generation X. Kurt Cobain changed the course of music forever even though it was never his intention.

Kurt Cobain battled drug addiction during his fame, and though desperate to get clean in the end was unable.

Kurt Donald Cobain was found dead on April 8th, 1994 in a greenhouse above the garage of his house in Seattle. The cause of death is a shotgun wound to the head, the estimated time of death is believed to be the late evening of April 5th. He also injected himself with a lethal dose of black tar heroin beforehand. A note proclaiming he was done with mainstream music was found near him.

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Slipknot Frontman conflicted about continuing Slipknot

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor says he doesn't want to make any rash statements about the band's future following the recent passing of bassist Paul Gray and is focusing, for the time being, on promoting "Audio Secrecy", the new album from his other band, Stone Sour.

"It's kind of a gray area right now," Corey Taylor tells in Fmqb Productions' radio special, "Inside Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy". "Everybody is still feeling it. It's too soon to tell.

"I'm very conflicted about whether or not I want to do anything with Slipknot, because to me, Paul was such an integral part of the band. He was the whole reason that the band was the way it was... Paul was the glue and the orchestrator behind some of the best music we ever wrote. He was the soul of the band.

"I don't want to make any statements that I'll look like a fool in retrospect, but to me, right now, it just doesn't make sense," Taylor says. "Until it does, that's the way it stays for me. That's why I've been saying it's too soon to tell... you never know."

"Inside Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy" is airing on radio stations nationwide from September 3 to September 7.

Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, who was recently out with Rob Zombie on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, told The Pulse of Radio that there have actually been talks about Slipknot's future following Gray's passing. "Shawn (Crahan) just came out, the 'Clown,' he just came out to the Mayhem festival, and we sat down and we talked and we're starting to map out the game plan right now," he said. "So there is another Slipknot record already kinda in the making. You know, we're getting timelines set and, you know, it's gonna be a little bit but there's definitely another record. Paul would always want us to make another record. He wouldn't want the band to stop - Slipknot was his life."

Paul Gray's body was found on May 24 in a hotel room in a Des Moines, Iowa suburb. A coroner ruled that the 38-year-old musician died of an accidental overdose of morphine.

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Kings of Leon Talks About First Single

A music video teaser for first single "Radioactive" which hits radio Sept. 13 was released on Kings of Leon's YouTube account, and it features lead singer Caleb Followill playing guitar inside a sunlit barn with a children's choir.

Although "Radioactive" might be new to the public, bassist Jared Followill says the band has been kicking the song around for a while. "Kings of Leon played it forever. We started playing it around the time right after we wrote [2005's] 'Aha Shake Heartbreak.' It was kind of in between 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' and 'Because of the Times,' and there was actually a few songs like that that didn't make it. You know, we save songs until we get them right."

Judging from the video, the band appears to be aiming for an even more expansive sound with "Radioactive," using the children's choir for the song's background vocals. "We went into the studio and we tried it and it wasn't really working, so we were going to scrap the whole song. But then Caleb went back to this old spiritual song that we all sang growing up," Jared said.

Drummer Nathan Followill joked, "After my Grandma sees this video, she definitely won't think we're going to hell as fast as she did think we were going." Here is the tracklist for "Come Around Sundown" due Oct. 19:
"The End"
"Radioactive"
"Pyro"
"Mary"
"The Face"
"The Immortals"
"Back Down South"
"Beach Side"
"No Money"
"Pony Up"
"Birthday"
"Mi Amigo"
"Pickup Truck"

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A7X Making History With Nightmare

The title track to Avenged Sevenfold's new album, Nightmare has hit the top of the Active Rock Radio chart in the U.S. this week.

According to their label, Warner Bros. Records, this is the first time the band has achieved Number 1 in radio airplay. It has enjoyed airplay at Active Rock, Mainstream, and Modern Rock radio stations across the country and was the No. 1 Rock Song on iTunes in the U.S. and the U.K. in its debut week.

"Nightmare" is the title track to the band's highly personal new album, which bowed at No. 1 on Billboard's album chart and also topped Billboard's Rock, Hard Rock, and Digital charts. Its No. 1 debut is the band's highest first-week chart position ever.

Produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem) and mixed by noted engineer Andy Wallace, Nightmare was in the works when the band's beloved drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, passed away.

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