Jack Black, Dave Grohl And More Release New Track "I Feel Alive"
Jack Black has released "I Feel Alive," a high-energy song featured in the upcoming “A Minecraft Movie” soundtrack with an all-star band. The ensemble includes Mark Ronson on bass, Dave Grohl on drums, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Roger Manning on synthesizer. It’s not the first time fans have heard the song; Black premiered "I Feel Alive" live on Twitch on March 19, engaging over 250,000 viewers. Andrew Wyatt and Ronson were responsible for the hit “I’m Just Ken” from the “Barbie” movie, which Jack reportedly loved, prompting the teamup. “A Minecraft Movie” is set to premiere nationwide on Friday.
CREED Adds Five More Stops To 2025 'Summer Of '99' Tour
Creed's successful reunion tour has added five new dates to their Summer 2025 North American outing, bringing the total to over 1 million concert tickets sold since the reunion began last year. The new shows will take place in various locations, with support from bands like Mammoth WVH, Hinder, and Daughtry. A Live Nation pre-sale for most of the new dates starts Thursday, with a general on-sale beginning Friday. The tour extends from July 9th to August 30th, including a two-day festival in Wisconsin. Prior to the summer tour, Creed will headline a cruise featuring other bands like Sevendust and Hoobastank.
GODSMACK's SULLY ERNA Says There Will 'Probably' Be A Second Book About His Life
GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna recently discussed the documentary "I Stand Alone: The Sully Erna Story" in an interview with Bulgaria's Z-Rock radio station. The film, based on Erna's memoir "The Paths We Choose," was released in November 2023 on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video. The documentary, which took six years to make, focuses on Erna's life before GODSMACK and highlights his journey of perseverance through challenging times. Erna praised the re-enactment scenes in the film and expressed pride in the portrayal of his life story.
Ghost Drops A New "Message From The Clergy"
Tobias Forge of Ghost said in a recent interview that the lore surrounding the band and the mysterious church behind them would be ending soon. Obviously, “soon” didn’t mean “now,” because the group released the NSFW Chapter 20 of the ongoing “Message From The Clergy” series on YouTube. While the new frontman for the band, Papa Perpetua V, doesn’t make an appearance, he’s still the obvious focus of this chapter. It does reveal more of the backstory of the last Papa, who started with the band as Cardinal Copia, unveiling the fact that the new Papa is the fraternal twin of Copia that Copia didn’t know he had. Yes, it’s more complicated as a soap opera, which is a good description of the band’s lore.
Marilyn Manson Announces 29 New 2025 Headlining Tour Dates
Marilyn Manson has announced 29 new 2025 U.S. and European tour dates that'll span over the summer and fall in support of his latest album "One Assassination Under God - Chapter 1." The tour includes headlining shows at various venues and kicks off in Sturgis, S.D. on Aug. 7, wrapping up in Lisbon, Portugal on Nov. 30. Tickets go on sale this Friday and the opening act for the tour leg is currently unknown.
RICHIE FAULKNER Says JUDAS PRIEST Has Already Talked About Follow-Up To 'Invincible Shield': 'We'll Have To Wait And See'
Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner revealed in an interview that the band is constantly working on new ideas for their next album. They are currently focused on their "Shield Of Pain" tour in Europe, celebrating the 35th anniversary of their album "Painkiller". Their latest album, "Invincible Shield", reached No. 2 on the U.K. chart, marking their fifth Top 10 album. Judas Priest will continue to rock hard and ride free in South America and beyond, with plans for future tours and possibly a new album in the works.
LAMB OF GOD Announces 2025 Headlining Dates
Lamb of God has added new headlining dates to their 2025 schedule, including a special performance in their hometown of Richmond and stops in Springfield, Mass., Monterrey, Mexico, and more. The band will be joined by special guests like Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, GWAR, and others. Tickets for the shows will go on sale this Friday, April 4, at 10 a.m. local time. In addition to these headlining dates, Lamb of God will also join Black Sabbath for their Back to the Beginning send-off and headline festivals like Inkcarceration, Unhinged, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock. The band will also host their Headbangers Boat cruise this Fall, featuring performances from various artists.
Ice Nine Kills Announce Biggest Ever UK Tour
Ice Nine Kills have announced a UK/European tour with Creeper and The Devil Wears Prada, including their biggest-ever UK show at London’s OVO Arena Wembley on December 12. Frontman Spencer Charnas is excited for the A Work Of Art Tour, promising the bloodiest gigs yet. The tour will culminate at Wembley Arena, with the band hoping to summon famous ghosts who haunt the historic London venue. Tickets for the tour go on sale this Friday, April 4.
GEOFF TATE Says He Will Start Performing Songs From Upcoming 'Operation: Mindcrime III' Album 'Soon'
Geoff Tate, former frontman of Queensrÿche, will perform the band's classic concept album, Operation: Mindcrime, in its entirety for the last time at The Clyde Theatre on April 13. The album, released in 1988, was a challenging record to make but received critical praise. Tate's current tour, Geoff Tate's Operation: Mindcrime — The Final Chapter, will feature the full album played in sequence, along with selections from Operation: Mindcrime II and other career highlights. Fans can also expect new material to be released song by song, with the full album expected next year. Tate promises a world-class experience with an amazing light show and sound quality at the upcoming show.
“All these men were like, ‘Lose your brother, lose the band, lose your buddies – you should be in pop’”: Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale reveals industry pressure to start a solo career
Halestorm's singer/guitarist, Lzzy Hale, reveals that she faced pressure from music industry figures to abandon her heavy metal band and pursue a pop solo career during her teenage years. Speaking at a Women Of Metal roundtable, Hale shared her resistance to the idea of going solo despite the encouragement she received. Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia also reflected on the challenges faced by female metal vocalists in the late '90s. Halestorm recently released their album "Back From The Dead" and are working on a new record with country producer Dave Cobb, maintaining their heavy sound. The band is set to tour North America and Europe in the coming months.
Babymetal Recruit Spirit Box and Poppy For New Album
The Japanese group BabyMetal are entering a new music era, and they're recruiting Spirit Box and Poppy for their new album. Yesterday Babymetal announced that "Metal Forth" would be out this summer. The ten-track album features Spirit Box, Polyphia, Bloodywood, and Slaughter to Prevail. To fuel excitement for the album, BabyMetal will release a new single, "From Me to U," featuring Poppy. The song drops this Friday, while the full album will be out on June 13th.
Billy Idol on Rock Hall Nomination: It Would Be an "Incredible Honor" to Get Inducted
Billy Idol has been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the first time, expressing his excitement at the prospect of being inducted. The nomination coincides with his upcoming album release and North American tour with Joan Jett. Idol is nominated alongside other notable acts, with the inductees set to be announced later this spring. He reflects on his experience at last year's induction ceremony and is thrilled that his guitarist, Steve Stevens, may also be inducted with him.
THE BEATLES: Are Coming Again
Production on the films about each member of The Beatles -- The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event -- is moving forward. Director Sam Mendes has cast his John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and three of them are the same ones we reported on last June -- Harris Dickinson will portray Lennon, Paul Mescal will take on McCartney, Joseph Quinn and not Charlie Rowe is the new Harrison, and Barry Keoghan will do his best Ringo. Each of the four films, which will be told from the perspective of one of the four Beatles, will take over a year to film with the goal to have them premiere in April 2028. These
are also the first-ever films to be granted music rights to The Beatles’ discography.
BILLY JOEL: The Reveal
Billy Joel was the first major act and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to publicly come out in support of why Joe Cocker should be nominated for induction, having written a letter to the nominating committee in 2014. Until now, the content of that letter, which Joel hand-delivered to the Rock Hall, has not been revealed and had been the subject of speculation. Late last week, Joel re-posted a video from Joe Cocker’s social media platforms from 2016 in which he read the letter to filmmaker John Edginton minutes before taking the stage at Madison Square Garden. Edginton shot Joel’s reading during the filming of his documentary,
Joe Cocker: Mad Dog With Soul but left it out of the film. In the letter, Joel wrote that Cocker was, “The most powerful rock and roll interpretive male singer” he had heard “since first hearing the iconic early recordings of Ray Charles... In my opinion no one has since come even close to him as one of the great primal rock and roll vocalists of all time.”
In addition to Joel, other Hall of Fame members singing Cocker's praises are Paul McCartney,
Billy Gibbons, and Elvis Costello & The Attractions' drummer Pete Thomas, who, like Cocker, grew up in Sheffield, England. As for what Cocker would think of all these accolades, his widow Pam says, "He was an advocate for so many of these people that he felt were deserving but was never angry or upset that he, himself, had been overlooked. Though he certainly wanted that honor he wasn’t covetous of it and felt that it would someday come. He would have been delighted to have this recognition not only for himself but for other great artists he thought were deserving of it.” And his brother Vic Cocker adds, "Joe often closed his show with the words ‘Rock and Roll!’ It was a reflection of his musical passion. To be recognized among his heroes would be the greatest privilege he silently wished for.”
Cocker, who died in 2014 at 70, sits at number-six in the Rock Hall's Fan Vote. You can vote once a day through April 21st at RockHall.com. The top five artists selected by the public will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with the other ballots to determine the 2025 Inductees. The Class of 2025 will be announced in late April with the ceremony set for the fall in Los Angeles.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Lost & Found
Bruce Springsteen has something in the works. He's posted a photo of a recording log sheet from his home studio in Colts Neck, New Jersey, Thrill Hill Recording, with a note that says, "What was lost has now been found." It also has a date of April 3rd, which indicates that all will be revealed this Thursday. Sources tell us it's Tracks 2: Lost Albums, a seven-CD set. Tracks
was released in 1998 followed by 18 Tracks in 1999. In 2022 he told Rolling Stone, “I have a box set of five unreleased albums that are basically post-1988. People have always wondered … People look at my work in the Nineties, and they go, ‘The Nineties wasn’t a great decade for Bruce. He was kind of doing this, and he wasn’t in the E Street Band …’ I actually made a lot of music during that period of time. I actually made albums. For one reason or another, the timing wasn’t right or whatever, I didn’t put them out.” Springsteen's last archival release to focus on one album was The Ties That Bind: The River Collection in 2015. His last album of new material was the covers project Only the Strong Survive in 2022.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Mourning Days
Bruce Springsteen is mourning the loss of another childhood friend, and this one was the inspiration for his 1985 hit "Glory Days." Joe DePugh, who Springsteen played Little League baseball with in Freehold, New Jersey, died at the age of 75 from cancer. Springsteen released a statement, saying, "Just a moment to mark the passing of Freehold native and ballplayer Joe DePugh. He was a good friend when I needed one. 'He could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool'….Glory Days, my friend."
The inspiration for the song came about in 1973 when Springsteen and DePugh ran into each other at the Headliner bar in Neptune City, New Jersey. “I was tickled pink I would even get into the song," said DePugh in 2011. "I certainly wasn’t going to complain about what he decided to write about. It’s about living in the past and letting go, especially for jocks, to get out of that and live in the present. That certainly wasn’t the first time I was accused of that.”
DePugh used to joke that he and his teammates used to call Springsteen "Sadie" because "he hardly ever played." In 2020, Springsteen was inspired to write his album Letter to You following the death of another friend, his former bandmate George Theiss.
Lou Gramm Has ‘Let Go’ of Issues With Foreigner & Mick Jones After ‘Life-Changing’ Rock Hall Induction
Lou Gramm has opened up about how Foreigner's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 helped him let go of his animosity towards the band. The event was described as "life-changing" by Gramm, who reflected on the impact it had on his perspective. His issues with Foreigner largely stemmed from disputes with band founder Mick Jones, but the induction ceremony seemed to quell the bad blood between them. Gramm recently made a surprise appearance with Foreigner and is set for a few more guest appearances with the band in Latin America later this year.
REO SPEEDWAGON: Hi Questionability
Former REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall has weighed in on the band's former singer Kevin Cronin being upset with not being part of the band's June 14th reunion show in their hometown of Champaign, Illinois.
On Facebook, Hall says, "Happy to set the record straight. We were all (including Kevin) invited to participate in this event in early January. Kevin states he’s been 'falsely accused' of turning down the invitation. I’ve seen no where it’s been said he turned it down and I know he’s been asked to participate virtually. I truly hope he does. "This event was created to provide the founding fathers, original singers and classic REO lineup a chance to reunite and say a proper goodbye. A chance to honor [guitarist] Gary Richrath and [bassist] Gregg Philbin’s memory.
"Most importantly, proceeds are going to the REO Speedwagon fund for rare GU Cancer Research at Moffitt Cancer Center, the hospital that saved my son’s life. How anyone can be 'deeply disturbed and hurt' by this is beyond me. "Neal [Doughty], Alan [Gratzer] and I are not being paid. We are thrilled to have this amazing chance to rock together one last time and raise money and awareness for such a wonderful cause." We reached out to reps for Cronin, who tell us, "Kevin will not be commenting any longer on any of this. We’re moving forward.
Over the weekend, Cronin reacted to an online post about him not being part of the event.
He said, "The organizers of the Champaign event could have picked a date when all of the former members of REO were available to participate. Instead, they chose June 14th, 2025, a date where it was public knowledge that I was previously committed to perform with Styx and the Kevin Cronin Band in Bend, Oregon. "Bottom line, I am being asked to participate in an event on a date when I can’t possibly be there in-person. And then being falsely accused of turning down the invitation. I am deeply disturbed and hurt by all of this. "After all I have done to help build the legacy of REO Speedwagon, I feel I have earned and deserve to be included in any event honoring that legacy. Instead, I have been knowingly excluded. "[And] 35-year REO veterans Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt were not even shown the respect of being invited to the Champaign event."
That event, Back Where It All Began, will feature, in addition to band founder and keyboardist Neal Doughty, drummer Alan Gratzer, bassist Bruce Hall, guitarist Steve Scorfina, and singers Terry Luttrell and Mike Murphy, with the previously mentioned in memoriam segment for guitarist Gary Richrath and bassist Gregg Philbin. Hall, who, along with Doughty and Cronin, owns the name REO Speedwagon, says, "So excited for this ONE night only event, back where it all began, in MY hometown! Looking forward to reminiscing, rockin' with the founding fathers and saying a proper goodbye. Most importantly, this celebration benefits the REO Speedwagon Foundation for rare GU cancer research at Moffitt Cancer Center. I truly believe Gary is proud and smiling down on us. Let's rock!"
The decision to retire the REO name last year came about after Cronin wanted to continue without Hall, who was sidelined with a back injury that required surgery. Doughty and Hall voted against Cronin's continuing under that name unless Hall was part of the lineup.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Rolling Stones are teasing an announcement for this Friday. The video shows band T-shirts being sewn with the occasional glimpse of the words “Europe 2025.” It’s captioned, “Rare. Reworked. Ready to make history again.” Earlier this year there was a report that they postponed their European tour this year to next.
Queen guitarist Brian May plays on ”Once in Forever” on Bumblefoot…Returns, the new instrumental album by former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.
Ringo Starr has posted on Facebook a behind-the-scenes video of his debut in February at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.
Sammy Hagar has posted a video on Instagram of himself and his wife Kari aboard his private jet taking their oldest daughter Kama to Maui to celebrate her 29th birthday.
Sting has posted a video on Instagram to plug his Record Store Day -- April 12th -- release, Sting 3.0 Live.