Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Korn ‘s former guitarist, Brian ‘Head’ Welch , is spending more and more time with his one-time bandmates. After saying yes to joining the band for shows overseas , it was announced earlier this week that Welch would be playing with Korn at the upcoming Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. Welch, who also just released an album with his other band Love and Death , is looking forward to balancing both of his musical loves. He tells ARTISTdirect , “This is going to be crazy for me in a great way.” Speaking about his reunion with Korn, he explains, “It’s a bit surreal because I didn’t expect it to happen. We have no hate for each other like some of these other bands that haven’t talked in years. People grew. Everyone went to different places in life. I don’t know. It was so long that I didn’t see it happening, but then when it crept up on me last May during Carolina Rebellion, I saw the emotion. Nothing else mattered except reconciliation, brotherly love, and that family feel with the guys and the fans. People were in tears. I thought, ‘This is a really good thing.’” The guitarist adds, “When they hit me up about the shows this year, to me, it was time. This is the proper time. The reason I felt like it would never happen because it wasn’t the proper time yet. As soon as the day hit when I felt it was right, it felt so good. I’m really excited about this year with them.” Welch will pull double duty over Rock on the Range weekend, as Love and Death are also part of the bill. “It’s going to be great,” he concludes. “I can’t wait to hook up with my old friends and the old fans, and it’s really cool Love and Death is opening.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/brian-head-welch-on-upcoming-korn-gigs-its-the-right-time-to-reunite/” title=”Next: Brian ‘Head’ Welch Discusses Korn Reunion” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Sick Puppies are inching closer to their return and bassist Emma Anzai has checked in with an update on their album progress. Anzai reveals that the group has been extremely productive coming up with new material and they’re in the process of narrowing down that tracks that will make the final disc. In her Tumblr posting , Anzai explains, “Because we are perfectionists and don’t want to mess this up, we are taking our time to make sure this is right. We wrote over 70 songs and could potentially release more of these than 12 for the album, but the truth is, we have a need for this to be perfect and just right … and sometimes it takes a little more time for this to be the case.” This would be the band’s first album since their successful 2009 effort, ‘Tri-Polar,’ which spawned four charting hard rock singles — ‘You’re Going Down,’ ‘Odd One,’ ‘Maybe’ and ‘Riptide.’ Anzai adds that as Australian transplants in the U.S., she recently took the time to return home and found it “very rejuvenating and revitalizing.” She adds, “It got me ready to come back and start a fresh new year with brand new music to show you guys.” Sick Puppies spent time on the road last fall as part of the ‘Triple Threat’ tour with Seether and Kyng . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/2013-albums/” title=”Next: 10 Most Anticipated Rock Albums of 2013″ align=”center”]
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images The Black Keys were the big winners of the 2013 Grammy Awards, taking home three trophies (plus one for frontman/producer Dan Auerbach) and performing a memorable version of ‘Lonely Boy’ with Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney got a good jump on the night during the Grammys pre-telecast ceremony. Toward the end of the event, they won back-to-back honors, taking home the Best Rock Song for ‘Lonely Boy’ and following that with the Best Rock Album for ‘El Camino.’ Frontman Dan Auerbach then received the final award of the pre-telecast, winning for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. In addition to helming the Black Keys record, Auerbach also oversaw discs for Dr. John and Hacienda. Dr. John’s ‘Locked Down’ also won for Best Blues Album. During the show itself, the Black Keys added Best Rock Performance for ‘Lonely Boy,’ but missed out on the Record of the Year trophy to Gotye ‘s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ and Album of the Year to Mumford & Sons ‘ ‘Babel.’ For more of our coverage on the Grammys, click below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/category/grammys/” title=”Full Grammy Coverage” align=”center”]
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images The Black Keys were the big winners of the 2013 Grammy Awards, taking home three trophies (plus one for frontman/producer Dan Auerbach) and performing a memorable version of ‘Lonely Boy’ with Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney got a good jump on the night during the Grammys pre-telecast ceremony. Toward the end of the event, they won back-to-back honors, taking home the Best Rock Song for ‘Lonely Boy’ and following that with the Best Rock Album for ‘El Camino.’ Frontman Dan Auerbach then received the final award of the pre-telecast, winning for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. In addition to helming the Black Keys record, Auerbach also oversaw discs for Dr. John and Hacienda. Dr. John’s ‘Locked Down’ also won for Best Blues Album. During the show itself, the Black Keys added Best Rock Performance for ‘Lonely Boy,’ but missed out on the Record of the Year trophy to Gotye ‘s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ and Album of the Year to Mumford & Sons ‘ ‘Babel.’ For more of our coverage on the Grammys, click below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/category/grammys/” title=”Full Grammy Coverage” align=”center”]
Black Candy Publishing AFI singer Davey Havok is certainly an accomplished and celebrated musician, and now the vocalist is about to delve into the world of books to make his debut as an author. In Havok’s upcoming novel ‘Pop Kids,’ the singer explores the modern teenage obsession with social networking, reality TV, internet porn, fashion, film, music, sex and drugs. The most recent AFI album, ‘Crash Love,’ was released back in 2009, and since AFI has constantly been releasing new material since their ‘Dork’ EP in 1993, fans may be wondering what exactly Havok has been up to since AFI’s 2009 record. In addition to his side project Blaqk Audio, the apparent answer is ‘Pop Kids,’ which has been given an April 4 release date by Black Candy Publishing. The publishing company offers an in-depth analysis of what readers can expect from ‘Pop Kids’: Acknowledging the power of popular culture to serve as both a corrupter and a creative force, Havok welcomes readers into a world where wearing the right clothes, listening to the right music, and indulging in a vicious cycle of self-gratifying behaviors is more important than anything else. Parents, teachers, and other adults are but vague shadows in the lives of these teens. Pop Kids may shock some readers with its unflinching portrayal of a generation weaned on modern media and the cult of celebrity. But according to Havok, this is a world that really exists. He captures it with his trademark use of wordplay and his eye for detail. Pop Kids is destined to become a classic story of teenage angst, nihilistic behavior, and longed-for redemption. A video teaser has also been unveiled for ‘Pop Kids,’ depicting a young male character staring into a fiery blaze, almost hypnotized as he flicks a yellow-and-black Zippo-style lighter open and closed. The teaser also contains an intriguing string of dialogue from within the mind of the video’s protagonist, creating a gripping osmosis of curiosity within the viewer. ‘Pop Kids’ will hit bookshelves on April 4, and a special embossed edition signed by Havoc himself is now available for pre-order . ‘Pop Kids’ – Official Trailer #1 – Prologue [button href=”http://loudwire.com/afi-girls-not-grey-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”AFI – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, shewillshootyou.com Metallica may not be releasing new music until 2014 , but that doesn’t mean you won’t still hear them next year. In fact, the band has just announced a headlining appearance at the 2013 Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Just to make sure their fans have enough advance notice, the group is giving their faithful followers a full 11-month head start on planning for the event. This will be Metallica’s sixth time playing the festival, and they’re set to perform on Sept. 19. Pre-sale tickets will be available Oct. 23 for those who have Rock in Rio membership cards, which are exclusively for Brazilian residents. Further information can be found here . For those outside of Brazil, there will be an international ticket sale beginning in April 2013. Metallica will have further details on that sale posted on their website once the info becomes available. In addition to Metallica, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Iron Maiden have been named as headliners for next year’s event. For further Rock in Rio information, visit the festival’s website . At present, the only other shows on Metallica’s schedule beside Rock in Rio is their appearances at Australia’s Soundwave Festival early next year and at New Orleans’ Voodoo Music Festival on Oct. 27 of this year. The band recently stepped in to headline Voodoo when Green Day bowed out as frontman Billie Joe Armstrong continues rehab for substance abuse. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kirk-hammett-excited-for-metallica-headlining-set-at-voodoo-music-festival/” title=”Next: Kirk Hammett Discusses Metallica’s Voodoo Fest Appearance” align=”center”]
A&M/Octone Big news out of the Flyleaf camp today, as longtime lead singer Lacey Sturm has announced her departure from the band. The news comes right before the group’s final album with Sturm, ‘New Horizons,’ will arrive in stores and online on Oct. 30 via A&M/Octone Records. Bassist Pat Seals has already announced that Kristen May, formerly of the group Vedera, will perform with the band on future tour dates to promote ‘New Horizons.’ “When listening to ‘New Horizons,’ I would hope that fans would be able to lose themselves in the story of each of these songs and form their own connections to them—as we have in the band,” Seals added. “There is a great deal of our souls laid bare on this record, and I feel like it really comes through on the tracks.” Here’s the official statement Pat Seals on Sturm’s departure: As Flyleaf begins this new cycle to introduce our third record New Horizons, we feel our fans should know that Lacey has stepped down as lead vocalist of the band. Her statement below expresses her reasons for leaving. In order to continue on with ‘New Horizons,’ Sameer, Jared, James, and myself have selected Kristen May, formerly of Vedera, to assume lead vocal duties for future tour dates. We are excited for this new chapter in the history of Flyleaf, and hope that our fans will accompany us as we continue on this journey to bring hope and inspiration through our music. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years and we are looking forward to playing for you again soon. This is what Sturm has to say about her departure: I have been beyond blessed to be in Flyleaf for the past ten years, touring with 4 amazing men and the Flyleaf crew, whom I love like my flesh and blood family. They have all given so much. It took everyone on our team to make the beauty in Flyleaf possible. I am honored to have met so many wonderful people who love Flyleaf music all over the world. Your incredible stories continue to inspire me. I am very thankful to have recently become a mom to one of the greatest blessings of my life, my son Jack. You may have also heard that we recently lost our brilliant sound engineer, Rich Caldwell, in a devastating car accident. Now, more than ever, I understand the phrase Memento Mori. I understand that, for me, living life to the fullest in this season means to step down as the lead singer for Flyleaf. I wish the best to Jared, Pat, Sameer and James and I know that as I continue to pursue the highest heights of what I am created for, it will free them all to pursue that for themselves too. The guys will continue to tour and write music together. I’m so very grateful that they are able to do what they desire and that there is a beautiful and talented, warm hearted girl like Kristen May to sing for them. Because of this, you will all get a chance to see a new Flyleaf show and support the new album. As I take this first step on a new journey, I pray that each one of you would pursue your highest calling with reckless abandon as well, understanding that sometimes the fullness of life comes in doing things that are only understood by you, God, and the special people God has put in your life that truly love you for you… not for what you do, but for who you are. I love you guys so much and in many ways, I will stay in touch. May God bless you all with healthy hearts, full of courage to weather the journey to your own ‘New Horizons.’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/flyleaf-bassist-pat-seals-talks-upcoming-album-new-horizons-more/” title=”Read Our Recent Interview With Flyleaf’s Pat Seals” align=”center”]