Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows Promises “Bigger Riffs” on Next Album
Avenged Sevenfold is heading into the studio next month to begin recording their follow-up to 2010’s Nightmare. Frontman M. Shadows says that fans can expect the band to deliver an album that features some heavy guitar work.
"This [new] album's a little more groove orientated," he tells NME. "There's a little bit more groove to it, a little bit more focused on bigger riffs. So that's where it's headed -– every song has gotta have a huge riff and every song has to have a groove to it."
Frontman Jacoby Shaddix Gets Ghostly in Papa Roach’s “Before I Die” Video
Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix becomes a restless spirit in the video for “Before I Die,” a cut from the band's latest album, The Connection. The story line follows Shaddix as he gets poisoned by a beautiful woman, becomes a ghost and fights to save the love of his life from drowning.
In other Papa Roach news, the band will hit the road next month for a co-headlining tour with Stone Sour. That outing begins on January 20 at the Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, PA. Visit PapaRoach.com to view the full itinerary.
Fiona Apple, fun. Top Entertainment Weekly's Best Music of 2012; Marilyn Manson, Muse Among the Worst
Entertainment Weekly is out with its annual Best & Worst of the Year issue, and Fiona Apple was the top rock pick on the Best Albums of 2012 list. The magazine slotted Apple’s The Idler Wheel… at #2 on their tally, describing it as a “thrilling mood-tornado.” fun. also appears on the list at #10 with Some Nights.
And the worst albums of 2012? According to EW, their #3 choice is Marilyn Manson’sBorn Villain. While the mag praises the singer’s earlier work, they feel that Manson is now “just another sad goth with a sack of dirges and a melty face.”
As for the Best Singles of 2012, Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" took the #2 spot while fun.’s “Some Nights” came in at #4. In addition, Alex Clare’s “Too Close” scored the #8 slot, and The Lumineers rounded out the top 10 list with “Ho Hey” at #10.
EW adds that the Worst Single of 2012 was Muse’s “Survival,” which was the main official song of the London 2012 Olympics.
Queens of the Stone Age Working with Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears?
Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears may be contributing his talents to Queens of the Stone Age’s upcoming album.
Shears tweeted a picture of himself and members of QOTSA on Thursday with the message, “Jake Shears + Queens of the Stone Age = satanic cabaret.” The Scissor Sisters singer offered further proof that he’s collaborating with the band, tweetinganother picture the next day featuring Shears with QOTSA frontman Josh Homme along with the message, “After singing together for awhile, Josh Homme and I settled down to watch some educational films. #newQueensOfTheStoneAgeAlbum”
If Shears is working with the band on their new release, he’ll join previously-announced guest stars Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Foo Fighters frontman/formerNirvana drummer Dave Grohl and former QOTSA bassist Nick Oliveri.
A title and release date for the forthcoming album has yet to be announced.
Green Day Pays Tribute to Cassette Tapes in "X-Kid" Video
Green Day takes us back to the days of cassette tapes in the new video for “X-Kid,” the lead single from ¡Tré!, the final album of their trilogy. The four-minute clip features footage of a cassette player playing a tape of the track in its entirety before rewinding to the beginning and stopping.
In other Green Day news, the band will release a new documentary, ¡Quatro!, sometime in 2013. The film profiles the recording process of the band’s album trilogy, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!and ¡Tré!, as well as footage of a number of the group’s live performances in select cities across the U.S.
Jack White Talks “Obsession” with Self-Producing Debut Solo Album, Blunderbuss
2012 was a big year for Jack White as the singer went solo with his debut album,Blunderbuss. The album was written, recorded and produced entirely by the ex-White Stripes frontman, which White says was the only way he could ever consider making a solo record.
“I have an obsession with being hard on myself because I really need to feel proud of what I do,” he tells U.K. newspaper The Sun. “If I look back and see that I got the best engineers, that someone mixed the record for me, that it was just a bunch of people playing the parts, I couldn’t live with throwing my name on top of it.”
Fans can look forward to more solo music from him in the near future, as White reveals that “another album is on the way already.”
Watch Papa Roach Perform “Still Swinging” from UpcomingGuitar Center Sessions Episode
Papa Roach is the next guest scheduled for the Guitar Center Sessionsseries, which airs on DirecTV. A sneak peak of the band’s episode has been posted online, featuring a performance of “Still Swinging,” from the band's latest album, The Connection.
Each episode of Guitar Center Sessions is filmed in front of a live studio audience and includes a performance as well as a Q&A segment, sponsored by the Guitar Center chain of music stores. Papa Roach’s episode will premiere on Friday, December 28 at 9 p.m. ET.
