The Great Rock News Report 10.01.08

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 10.01.2008

Limp Bizkit to make a comeback, Zeppelin rumors, new My Bloody Valentine material, details on Slash solo effort, plus Priestfest is coming! All of this, vintage Britney pics and more in the latest Great Rock News Report!

Intro

Welcome to another edition of The Great Rock News Report! It's a good one today, folks. Try not to sound too surprised, yeah?

Do you know what I miss? No, of course you don't. How would you?

I miss Britney Spears. Not the crazy umbrella-wielding, bald Britney, but the sweet and wholesome Britney that made cheesy but cheerful pop music. She's got another new album out soon that's supposedly a return to form, but I've heard some of the new material and it's still shitty R&B.

We here at The Great Rock News Report wish Britney the best in all her future endevours, but also wish to provide a reminder of who she once was;






She had so much potential.

Oh, this is a rock news report? Well I'll be damned.

As I said, it's a good one today. There's plenty of big news to get through, a new feature (though they never last), and some other stuff. So let's get right to it.


Priestfest is coming!


Long-time readers of The Great Rock News Report will be aware that I dropped reporting on tour dates a while back, but this particular tour cannot be ignored due to its sheer awesomeness.

Judas Priest will headline a string of shows in the UK in February, with support from (and here's the best bit) Megadeth and Testament. The run will be dubbed Priestfest with shows in Birmingham, Manchester, London, Cardiff and more. Four full Priestfest dates, click here.

Led Zeppelin: will they, won't they?


And at this point, do we care?

OK so the answer to that is probably "yes" for most people, but these rumors have been going on for the best part of the year and I'm bored of it now. But to recap the major Zeppelin news from the past week;

- Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham and John Paul Jones were reported to have given Plant an ultimatum; "join us on tour or be replaced".
- It was then confirmed that Zeppelin had been trying out a few new vocalists and writing new material.
- Days later, The Sun reported that Plant had agreed to a 2009 tour with Zeppelin.
- Plant's official website released a statement denying the rumors and stating that once Plant's tour with Alison Krauss was done, Plant would look to take a two-year break.

And again, I'm beyond not caring at this point. Ticket prices would be extortionate anyway and as great as they once were, they are no longer relevant to my interests.

Limp Bizkit find new guitarist; prepare for comeback


Limp Bizkit may be back in business. The band haven't released any new material since their 2005 Greatest Hitz CD which featured a couple of covers. Since then, rumors that Fred Durst was working on new material turned out to be false and former guitarist Wes Borland has put out a couple of albums with his new project Black Light burns and joined forces with Marilyn Manson.

New reports are suggesting that the band have picked up a new guitarist in the form of Terry Balsamo. For those not in the know, Balsamo was a part of the early Limp Bizkit line up way back in 1995 and has since been a part of Cold and Evanescence.

A live DVD of a 2001 performance was put out earlier this year. There is currently no word on whether or not the band are working on new material or even planning to in the near future.

Limp Bizkit are one of those bands a lot of people love to hate, partly because Fred Durst has got to be one of the biggest douchebags in rock history. Personally, while I'll admit they got shitty towards the end, Chocolate Starfish… was a top quality album and they hadn't had a bad album before that either. I would welcome a comeback.

Fuck Chinese Democracy; Slash solo effort on the way


More details have become available about Slash's new solo album. Velvet Revolcer and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash has revealed that he has demoed 14 songs for his forthcoming solo album.

He told NME Radio that he has recruited a slew of singers to appear on the album, but would not reveal who he has enlisted yet.

He added that he wasn't sure whether the album would be released before the next Velvet Revolver album. The band is currently in the process of recruiting a new singer, following the departure of Scott Weiland earlier this year.

"I've been carrying a tape recorder with me on the Velvet Revolver tour and putting down ideas," Slash explained. "When I got back from the UK at the beginning of the summer listened to what was cool on them, then elaborated and came up with new stuff."

I have no problem with Velvet Revolver, other than the fact that they suck, but I have great interest in a Slash solo effort.

My Bloody Valentine working on two albums


In much more pleasing news for most of the readership, My Bloody Valentine are working on not one, but two LPs. The first is a collection of brand new material, while the second is the completion of the infamously unfinished 1997 LP.

The album was aborted in 1997 due to the band's label, Island Records, cutting off finances. Shields, who was still legally tied to Island until 2001, reportedly delivered another 60 hours worth of material, which also never saw the light of day. "It just got dumped," Kevin told KUCI radio in 1999, "but it was worth dumping. It was dead. It hadn't got that spirit, that life in it."

Now, it would appear that the guitarist has changed his mind. The NY Times caught up with Shields before My Bloody Valentine's headlining slot at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York: "I realized that all that stuff I was doing in 1996 and 1997 was a lot better than I thought."

As for the new material, Shields hints at an altogether more upbeat affair than previous work: "I definitely don't think you need to suffer to be creative. I've written some of my best songs when I've been happy."

Hot Chip to work with Peter Gabriel on new album?


Hot Chip's Joe Goddard has revealed that the Putney band have asked Peter Gabriel to work with them on their next album. Gabriel and Hot Chip recently recorded a cover of Vampire Weekend's 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' - the song that mentions Peter Gabriel in its lyrics.

Speaking of the recording session, Goddard said: "We said we'd love to do more stuff with him in the future and asked him to contribute to the next record. So, we'll see."

Goddard added that Hot Chip vocalist Alexis Taylor has just finished recording a solo album, Rubbed Out, set to be released on London independent label Treader. "They're sketches of new songs, short improvised pieces. A scrapbook, in a way," he said of Taylor's songs.

The band are readying songs for the follow-up to 2008's Made In The Dark, including 'Alley Cats', which they have been playing live. They plan to release the album early next year.

News In Brief
Here's a few less exciting tidbits;

- Way too many people have an interest in checking out AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour. They're not that good, and never were.

- Oasis will release a 10-track version of their new album available in mp3 format. It will suck regardless of its format.

- Both Travis Barker and DJ AM were released from hospital this week following their tragic recent plane crash.

- Pete Wentz threw a hissy fit for because the new Fall Out Boy video had too much product placement.

- Michael Jackson wants to top Thriller with his comeback album.

- The Beatles are reforming, putting out a new record, and it's going to be better than Sgt. Peppers.

- Nickelback have titled their new album Dark Horse. They could call it "Pile of Wank" and still sell millions, because some people just don't know any better.

- MCR's Gerard Way will release a second series of his award-winning comic book The Umbrella Academy this November. Yay!

- Chinese Democracy will be released in November.

- Hell froze over this week.

Speaking of that new Fall Out Boy video;


"I Don't Care" – Fall Out Boy
See, they're being all rebellious and showing that they don't care about what people think about them (probably because most people think they suck). Original and witty!

Wilcox Recommends…
Here's some album recommendations from me. Some of these are already out, and some are yet to be released, but they're all worth a look.


The Rasmus - Black Roses: The Rasmus have come up with the term "death pop" to describe this album's sound. It's very dark, very hard and very rocking, but I'm not sure where the pop aspect comes into it, other than some tracks are very radio-friendly. Black Roses combines elements from their previous two albums but adds much better instrumental working, making for a worthy to successor to their last album, the fantastic Hide From The Sun.


Queen – The Cosmos Rocks: I don't have too much to say on this one. It's not like the Queen of old, but it's still a pretty good album and really worth a look if you're any sort of Queen fan. This is out in the middle of the month.


Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty: Considering how good I thought their first album was, I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, it's not as good as Robbers and Cowards but it's still a damn fine album. The last few tracks in particular are really strong. I love this band.


TV On The Radio - Dear Science,: This is just so, so good. If you haven't heard any TVotR yet, you must do so immediately. This is one of the best bands around today and Dear Science, is one of the albums of the year. A must have.

Outro

I have nothing witty for the Outro. Not that I had anything witty for the rest of the News Report. I was going to embed a Britney video, but YouTube are like communists when it comes to Britters.

So I'll just leave you with a bunch of links, all of which you should check out immediately.

Patrick Robinson reviews T.I.'s Paper Trail here. He got some stick for his high rating, but to an extent I agree with him; this is a fantastic album and a must-have for hip hop fans. P-Rob also has a review of Nelly's Brass Knuckles here. I think he underrates this one, as I'm really feelings this effort. Robinson completes the trifecta with a review of LL Cool J's Exit 13, here. He's spot on with this one.

Elsewhere, Jesse Coy reviews U2's new live set here while Marsicano asks What The Hell Happened To... Brutal Truth.

And that's all. Be sure to be back here next week for more Great Rock News and keep it 411.