Black Sabbath Legend Tony Iommi Diagnosed With Lymphoma

Birmingham born Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with cancer. The devastating news was announced just a couple of months after the original Black Sabbath lineup revealed plans for a world tour and a new album. Iommi is currently discussing the best course of treatment with doctors and remains upbeat. The rest of the band have moved from LA to London so they can carry on working on their new album while he guitarist undergoes treatment.

The Sabbath axeman is widely regarded as the godfather of metal guitar and is much loved by generations of fans all over the world. We wish him all the best with his treatment.

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Van Halen, complete with David Lee Roth,  have announced they are going on tour during 2012. Although there is no news of any dates or locations, the rockers have posted a few videos on their official website to let everyone know their intentions. According to the videos, the first tickets will go on sale January 10th.

We are also waiting to hear if the rumours are correct about a new album. We are sure to be hearing more soon as a date of February 7th is widely being suggested on various websites.

Van Halen – Panama Trailer from Van Halen on Vimeo.

The Peavey AmpKit LiNK Guitar Interface has been named as one of the best products of 2011 by Music Inc magazine.
The Peavey AmpKit LiNK Guitar Interface lets you connect a guitar directly to the headphone socket of an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and using the free AmpKit app gives you collection of amp simulations and effects at your fingertips.
Music Inc.’s editorial staff wrote “Peavey’s AmpKit LiNK electric guitar adapter provides users with a powerful way to play, practice and record high-quality tones anytime, anywhere,”

Epiphone proves that small is beautiful

Epiphone have unveiled two new guitars. The ES-339 and the Ultra-339. These shrunken ES series guitars are sure to prove a hit!
Many people love the sound of a classic semi-acoustic guitar but simply can’t stand the feel of such a big instrument. These new guitars aim to please these people by retaining the classic looks and sound of the bigger guitars but shrinking them down into a more manageable form.

 Epiphone – ES-339

Featuring a laminated Maple body with a solid center block, the ES-339 follows a familiar design and spec. The slim mahogany  neck and 22 Jumbo frets should provide a comfortable playing area while the electronics have been thoughtfully designed to create an even wider range of tones than a regular ES series guitar. Epiphone have fitted the ES-339 with it’s ProBucker™ humbucker pickups, the usual ES controls and push/pull coil taps for extra versatility.

Epiphone Ultra-339 

With the Ultra-339, Epiphone have taken the regular 339 a step further. Or quite a few steps!
Not only does The Ultra feature Epiphone’s ProBucker™ humbucking pickups, modeled on the Gibson BurstBuckers, it also includes a Shadow Germany patented NanoMag pickup to provide acoustic style tones. As you can imagine, combining these pickups will give you plenty of options but Epiphone haven’t stopped there with the electronic trickery. The Ultra-339 also has a USB socket to accompany it’s regular stereo 1/4″ sockets. Using the USB socket allows you to connect the guitar directly to a computer for recording purposes. Native Instruments GuitarRig™ 4LE is included so you can get recording straight away!
It doesn’t stop there either.  Take a look at the side of the bridge pickup ring and you’ll notice the built-in tuner.
This is one tech packed guitar!

Both guitars are due for release in December 2011. The ES-339 with a list price of $449 and the Ultra-339  priced at$799.

Blues legend Hubert Sumlin has passed away at aged 80.  Best known for his work with Howlin’ Wolf, the much loved guitarist continued to perform for as long as possible before his death on December 4th 2011 of  heart failure. Sumlin’s playing influenced many guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page when the Brits were listening to as much American blues as possible back in the 50′s and 60′s and no doubt their playing and subsequent influence on future generations of guitarists would have been very different if it wasn’t for people like the Mississippi born Hubert Sumlin.

RIP Hubert Sumlin 1931-2011
Your influence will live on.

Along with the release of  “Made In Stoke 24/7/11“, Eagle Rock Entertainment have made available a free download of the live video for “Back In Cali”.

Made In Stoke 24/7/11 was  recorded at the Victoria Hall in Stoke On Trent on July 24th and has been released on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and digital download. The show is the first concert Slash has played in his hometown and features material from all through his career

The free video download is available via the widget below.

Ace Frehley has been forced to cancel three UK tour dates due to a fractured arm. He announced the news on his official website and offered his apologies to fans who wouldn’t be able to see him perform.

The cancelled dates are -

Dec 01 – Cardiff, Wales – Coal Exchange
Dec 03 – Pontins Prestatyn, North Wales – Hard Rock Hell Festival
Dec 04 – London, England – Islington Academy

Hopefully Ace will be fighting fit again soon and rescheduled dates will be announced.

Corey Taylor has never been overly positive when asked about his time working with Rick Rubin during the making of Slipknots Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) but he finally let his true feelings be known about the legendary producer at a recent question & answer session with fans.

Taylor said: “There are some people who would love for me to tow the party line, which is basically, ‘Working with Rick Rubin was a very enriching experience.’

“Let me give you the fucking truth of it, Rick Rubin showed up for 45 minutes a week. Rick Rubin would then, during that 45 minutes, lay on a couch and have a mic brought in next to face so he wouldn’t have to move.

“Then he would be like, ‘Play it for me,’ The engineer would play it. And he had shades on the whole time, never mind the fact there was no sun in the room. You just look like an asshole at that point.

“He would stroke his huge beard and try and get as much food out of it as he could. He would go, ‘Play it again,’ then he’d be like, ‘Stop – do that over.’

“He had an assistant who was seven feet tall. He basically ran Rick Rubin’s life. About half way through our precious 45 minutes he would bring in this plate of shit – I assume it was food. It was bluish green and smelled like someone had just plunged a fucking toilet somewhere. He would eat it as fast as he could, just get it in there, all over himself. Which, when you’re working, is so wonderful to look at.”

Taylor added – “The Rick Rubin of today is a thin, thin, thin shadow of the Rick Rubin that he was. He is overrated, he is overpaid, and I will never work with him again as long as I fucking live.”
Don’t expect the two to be working together any time soon then!

Slash, the former Guns N’ Roses guitar god, has been a busy guy lately. He recently revealed in an interview on Planet Rock Radio that he’s been working with Myles Kennedy on his next album.

“Myles and I have been writing all throughout the tour so we’ve got a lot of material,” says Slash, “and at this point we’re probably gonna start a little bit of pre-production in June and then do the tour in July. In September we’re going to [do more] pre-production and the album is slated to come out in March or April [next year].”

Slash also posted a message on his Facebook page saying -

“Ok, 13 songs ready to record. 3 already done. 2 more to finish writing before Dec. 12 on the record, 6 bonus trx, Woohoo!’”

Keep your fingers crossed for a 2012 release Slash fans!

The legend that is Bruce Springsteen has announced on his official website that he’ll be touring with the E Street Band in 2012. This is very welcome news for fans of The Boss after the sad loss of Clarence Clemons last year.

The first dates to be announced are:

A new album is also in the works so it looks like 2012 is going to be a fantastic year for Springsteen fans.