The Great Rock News Report 07.01.09

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 07.01.2009

Paramore reveal new album details, Metallica set live DVD release, Fall Out Boy done, or not, Deftones scrap Eros, updates on Every Time I Die, Panic at the Disco, Breaking Benjamin, Kittie, Blink-182, The Killers, All Time Low and more, plus, a tribute to the incomparable Michael Jackson.



Typically, I do not discuss anything in this news report outside of the rock realm but this past week Michael Jackson tragically passed away and when that occurred, music lost its greatest ever asset, a man who transcended genre. And as such it's only fitting that I pay tribute to the King of Pop despite this being a rock-based news report. Unfortunately, I can't quite put into words a fitting tribute for Jackson, and that could be for a number of reasons; perhaps the feeling of loss is still too fresh and my mind still too numb, perhaps I'm just not eloquent enough a writer to do it, or perhaps Michael Jackson was such a talent, an icon, that no tribute can ever adequately describe what he meant to millions of people around the world.

I was not born until after the release of iconic albums Thriller and Bad, and in fact, I was born not long before the first criminal allegations were made against him in the early-nineties. And yet, MJ and more specifically his music have had such a profound impression on me, as well as many others. His music, as previously stated, transcends genre, but also transcends race, age, creed and religion. The likes of "Billie Jean", "Thriller" and "Beat It" do not discriminate. Regardless of what you thought of the guy on a personal level, there is no denying his talent - talent which I believe to be unparalleled in the music industry.

Death is an inevitability. It comes as more of a shock when it falls upon the likes of Michael Jackson, who was only 50 years old and was just weeks away from the biggest comeback in music history. Unfortunately, death is still inevitable however significant one's talent is; great artists are merely mortals just like everybody else. But thankfully, great art is eternal, and those who remain can celebrate the lives of those who have affected us positively by holding on to the memories we have of them, and in this case that means throwing on Off The Wall or Thriller or Bad or Dangerous or all of those and more, and simply losing yourself in some of the greatest music of all time.

Of course, it may be a little too much to bear to know that a talent like that will likely never come along again, and thus future generations who may not have such found memories of their icons to hold on to. In that sense, we are the lucky ones.



"Billie Jean", the greatest song of all time, by Michael Jackson, the greatest recording artist of all time, taken from the album Thriller, the greatest album of all time.



Paramore have released details of their upcoming third studio album. The record, produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance) is entitled Brand New Eyes and will be released September 29 in the United States through Fueled by Ramen. The track listing is as follows;

1. Careful
2. Ignorance
3. Playing God
4. Brick By Boring Brick
5. Turn It Off
6. The Only Exception
7. Feeling Sorry
8. Looking Up
9. Where the Lines Overlap
10. Misguided Ghosts
11. All I Wanted

Paramore are also set to star in their own edition of MTV Unplugged. The band will film the acoustic performance at a New York City studio later this month, with a broadcast currently planned for mid-September.


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Metallica's July 7, 2009 concert in Nimes, France at Arènes de Nîmes will be professionally filmed for a forthcoming DVD release. The disc will be made available on October 19 through French music stores and online shops only, as well as via the band's official web site, Metallica.com.

Metallica's French record company and WorMee are giving fans tickets and a chance to participate in the making of the DVD. Winners will film the show and record a report from there, two minutes of which will appear as an extra in the final release.

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Deftones have decided to re-record their upcoming sixth studio album and shelve contributions from bassist Chi Cheng who has been left comatosed since his car accident last November. In a post on their MySpace blog, the band said the original version of Eros "doesn't best encompass and represent who we are currently as people and as musicians".

"The decision to hold off on releasing Eros has no connection with Chi's condition or anything associated," they added. "This was, and is, purely a creative decision by the band to write, record, and deliver an amazing product. As a result we feel like this is the best record we've ever written. And although Chi is not playing bass with us, his presence is dramatically felt in our hearts and on our minds everyday when we step into that studio, and you will feel it in the music."

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Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz told fans during an online Twitter chat earlier this week that the band's latest album, Foile A Deux, may well be their last.

When asked by one fan "Can we expect a new FOB CD next year?" Wentzy replied, "I'm not sure. This may be the swan song. But we might have another in us. We'll see."

However the bassist is now trying to back peddle and in an interview with MTV he said, "No, we're not calling it quits, but we've no future album plans right now. We can't quit, we're waiting to get fired. There aren't any new Fall Out Boy songs because we don't write for the sake of it," he added. "We will stop doing Fall Out Boy when it stops being fun."

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Pete Wentz: Big douche, or biggest douche?
Speaking of Pete Wentz, he just recently worked with Every Time I Die on their new album.

"Just laid down some vox on [the new Every Time I Die] record;" wrote Wentz on his Twitter account. "Hopefully I didn't ruin it. Sorry if I did, dudes (dudes in the band, not internet dudes that hate me)."

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And speaking of Every Time I Die, the band has parted ways with long-serving drummer Mike Novak. Although the band have yet to make an official comment, Novak has issued a statement on his departure.

"I have officially quit Every Time I Die due to personal conflicts," says Novak. "I feel like I'm getting myself out of an uncomfortable, unhealthy situation, and it's for the best for everyone, and I'm ready to move on with my life. I still plan to play and be involved in music and am looking for a new project to pursue. This is a new exciting chapter in my life and hope anyone who has enjoyed me as a person/drummer in this band for the last 11 years, sticks with me for whatever endeavor the future brings me," he adds. "Thanks to all the ETID fans throughout the years."

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Breaking Benjamin announced last week that "We Are Finally In The Studio." The band is working on the follow up to their 2006 hit album Phobia.

Here is what they had to say, "It is with much joy, we announce we are finally in the studio working again with the love guru David Bendeth. The first song in the works is called "I Will Not Bow" and it is coming along nicely. Stay tuned for more updates and announcements coming soon!"

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Panic at the Disco will send the new track "New Perspective" to radio for August 17, with a new album due in September.

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Canadian metallers Kittie have signed a new record deal with E1 Music (formerly Koch Records). The band will release their new album, In The Black, on September 13 in the US.


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Seemless has called it quits. Formed in 2002, the band featured ex-members of Killswitch Engage and released two albums with Equal Vision Records. The final Seemless show will take place on September 12th at the Lucky Dog in Worcester, MA.

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Blink-182 have completed their first post-reunion song "Up All Night." A post on Mark Hoppus' official Twitter page says the track will be released "soon."

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Black Dahlia Murder have set Deflorate as the title of their new album, with a release date set for September 15.

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Templar the Australian "darkwave" metal outfit, will release Dark Circus on July 21.

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The Killers are planning to record a covers album later this year. The band's Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vanucci recently leaked word of the project during an interview with NME, telling the mag that the record may include songs by the likes of Iggy Pop, Genesis and Tom Waits. And if that wasn't already a mixed enough bag, the Vegas rockers have also recently been "messing around with a couple of Fleet Foxes songs."

"It's something that we've always talked about doing and we're still talking about," Flowers said. "It's difficult for each of us to pick songs that represent us as individuals. I mean, I have a lot of personalities myself! I've gone through everything from Neil Diamond to the Cars."

The pair went on to explain that the Killers are planning to work on the album while they are out on the road and that they've been using a mobile recording rig to lay down the tracks. "It sounds excellent," Vanucci said. However, whether the public eventually agrees with that is yet to be seen.

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Bob Dylan has made a guest appearance on the new Beastie Boys album. According to the trio, the legend was sampled on Hot Sauce Committee Pt 2 after talking about the band on his radio show. "He played one of our songs and was talking about us," Ad-Rock has revealed. "He's a big fan." The album will be released September 15.

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Johnny Foreigner have released details of their new album. Grace and the Bigger Picture will be released on October 26. They have made a three-track EP, Feels Like Summer (the title track of which will appear on the new album), available to download for free at their official website, Johnnyforeignerband.com.

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All Time Low have responded to criticism labeling them as a "haircut band," but have actually agreed with such criticism.

"We are a haircut band, for sure. We've been lumped into that category, but what a lot of people don't realize is that we've been doing this since we were freshmen [in high school]," front man Alex Gaskarth said. "This is, like, our sixth year of this band now. We definitely notice it too, and it was definitely a conscious effort to kind of try and grow outside the box a little bit."

"That's always been the point of this band. This band is admittedly very image driven ... and that was never intentional, and that's what sets this band apart from all the other 'haircut bands,' " he continued. "Those kids get signed because they have the haircut, not the songs. This band got signed because we had the songs ... and so, I truly believe in everything we do we try to set out and prove all the naysayers wrong."

ATL will release their new studio album, Nothing Personal, on July 7.

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"Good Girls Go Bad" [Feat. Leighton Meester] by Cobra Starship, from the forthcoming album Hot Mess