Jeff Hanneman’s death was felt at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, which took place just hours after his passing. Anthrax took to the stage to open the festivities, and were joined by two former members of Pantera, singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown, for a version of that band’s “This Love.” The set wrapped up with the players doing the opening riff of Slayer’s “Raining Blood.”
Metallica turned the heat up to boiling when they accepted the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award and hit the stage, tearing through live versions of “Disposable Heroes,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Seek and Destroy” and Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire” (with Priest frontman Rob Halford at the mic). Check out some snippets of all the performances (including Metallica, Danzig, Anthrax and more) here.
On a pathetic note, Kansas-based hate mongers in the Westboro Baptist Church have announced plans to picket Hanneman’s (as yet unnanounced) funeral, tweeting various messages and warning that they will sing its “parody” of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” “at full voice” at the gathering. Said Ozzy of the move, “I am sickened and disgusted by the use of ‘Crazy Train’ to promote messages of hate and evil by a ‘church.’ ”
Wonder how all that’s gonna go over at a funeral for a much-loved thrash metal icon? Check out this photo making the rounds on Facebook….
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is back in rehab; Adler, his self-named band, has postponed its planned summer tour with plans to rebook dates in the fall. “I picked up a bottle and drank,” says Adler, who has struggled with addiction for the majority of his life.
“This occurred a few times and that is a few times too many. I knew that this had to permanently stop. That is the moment I picked up the phone, before it got out of hand, to get help. I had kicked hard drugs several years ago and now it is time to get rid of the urges of drinking alcohol. I am at a great facility and will stay here until I am comfortable to be home to work the program on my own. I love you all for understanding, being patient and supporting my decision. Like my peers, I will beat this too, so I can return to music and beat my drums!”
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars had a not-so-happy birthday last Saturday night (May 4) when he got knocked to the ground by an over zealous, stage-jumping fan. The Crue were performing in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, when the fan rushed the stage, ran into Mick, then grabbed at singer Vince Neil before he was restrained and yanked off the stage. Mick, who turned 62 on that day, suffers from ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a painful disease that causes the spine to fuse (and the reason Mick walks slow and bent over). Yelled drummer Tommy Lee at the stage jumper, “What the f*** is wrong with you, you f***ing idiot?”
The band left the stage and made sure that Mick was okay to go on…and they all returned to finish out the set. He later tweeted, “Thank all of you for your concerns about me being knocked down last night. I’m alright; nothing [is] broken. My bodyguard Rhyno got two busted ribs.” See fan footage of the incident here.
They are never ever ever ever…getting back together. No Led Zeppelin reunion, even for charity, and even if a former President of the United States personally asks. The surviving members of Led Zeppelin said no to President Bill Clinton’s request to play at last year’s 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy benefit concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden, which went on to raise over $50 million for storm victims.
And while we’re on the subject…Led Zep singer Robert Plant has taken out a temporary restraining order against Alysson Billings, a woman who he says is “delusional and love-struck” and has been harassing him for three years (she believes they are in a relationship; the two have never met).
Plant says she leaves hotel keys for him, sends flowers, random packages, and shows up to his concerts all over the world. She’s now allegedly harassing Plant’s girlfriend and collaborator, Patty Griffin, penning alarming notes like, “Your betrayal with another woman still stabs my mind”; “She’s got you so p***y whooped and henpecked, it makes me want to puke. . . and I’m telling you that rotten crotch is ruining you”; and “This woman is literally evil for you and your life. . . you are about to fall for that dirty old crotch. And I’m not joking, I cannot, will not, shall not live this way anymore.”
Hope In Hell is the new studio album from Canadian headbangers Anvil. It’s due out on May 27. Check out the songs “Badass Rock N Roll” and the title track.
Here’s your first look at Whitesnake’s upcoming new two-CD live album, Made In Britain/The World Record, due out (in Japan) on June 19th.
That’s Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett taking on the National Anthem during “Metallica Night” at last week’s Giants game at at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Aerosmith, Extreme, Boston and more are joining forces for Boston Strong: An Evening Of Support And Celebration, a concert to benefit those affected by the Marathon bombing last month. The gig will be held at TD Garden on May 30th.
Hope In Hell is the new studio album from Canadian headbangers Anvil. It’s due out on May 27. Check out the title track.