Rock News: January 2025
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1/2 Lords Of Acid Get A New Member
Lords Of Acid’s manager Marc Jordan confirms former Butcher Babies singer Carla Harvey has joined Lords Of Acid.
“LOA had me hooked from the moment I heard ‘I Sit On Acid‘ as a teenager dancing the night away at Detroit’s goth Industrial Haven City Club,” shared Harvey. “Now I get to record an album and go on tour with my industrial heroes! Pinch 16-year-old me!”
Harvey left Butcher Babies last July following a 15-year run.
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1/4 U2’s Bono Honored
Bono is one of 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U.S.’s highest civilian honor, from President Joe Biden at the White House.
In honoring Bono, the White House recognizes “the frontman for legendary Rock band U2 and a pioneering activist against AIDS and poverty. He brought together politicians from opposing parties to create the United States PEPFAR AIDS program, and is co-founder of campaigning organizations ONE and (RED).”
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1/5 Nine Inch Nails Frontman Wins Golden Globe Award
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor (pictured) and his musical partner Atticus Ross won Best Original Score at the Golden Globe Awards for Challengers, a 2024 romantic sports drama.
Reznor and Ross accepted the award from Elton John. Reznor did not speak at the podium but Ross did give a short speech: “This really means a lot. First, I’d like to thank my best friend, my musical partner, the great Trent Reznor. The music never felt like a safe choice, but it always felt like the right one.”
Reznor and Ross were also up for Best Original Song – Challengers‘ “Compress/Repress” – but lost to “El Mal” from the French language Spanish musical crime comedy Emilia Pérez,
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1/6 KISS Frontmen Settle
Bassist Gene Simmons and guitarist Paul Stanley (pictured) settle the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by the band’s longtime hairstylist.
Plaintiff David Mathews alleged he was the victim of a retaliatory termination linked to his ’21 complaints about “unsafe” COVID protocols while on tour.
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1/7 Construction Company Apologizes For Demolishing AC/DC House
Burwood Square Pty Ltd., an Australian construction company, has apologized to AC/DC fans after mistakenly demolishing the childhood home (from ’65 to ’73) of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. The company vows to create a space for AC/DC fans.
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1/10 “The End Will Show Us How” Released
Guitarist/songwriter Mark Tremonti (Creed/Alter Bridge) issues “The End Will Show Us How,” the sixth album from his solo career. The set includes “One More Time.”
“It started with the pre-chorus and chorus idea,” explains Tremonti. “When I came up with the opening riff, it really solidified the song. Now, it’s one of the heaviest tracks on the record.”
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1/10 The Halo Effect’s “March Of The Unheard,” Is Released
The Halo Effect features five former In Flames members. “I knew there would be a lot of comparisons and there would be talks about rivalry (with In Flames) and stuff like that,” offered bassist Peter Iwers. “And if you know me and you know people around me, you know that there’s no such thing as rivalry.
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1/11 Three Days Grace Tops Chart
Three Days Grace have scored their 18th #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart with “Mayday.”
It’s the band’s first single since the return of original frontman Adam Gontier – sharing lead vocals with Matt Walst.
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1/10 Iron Maiden Guitarist’s Malibu House Destroyed in L.A. Wildfire
Adrian Smith’s wife, Nathalie Dufresne-Smith, posts on Instagram that that their home was destroyed by fire.
“We are safe. We have each other. We will start again,” writes Dufresne-Smith. “Thank-you for your support during these trying times.”
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1/11 Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In The Name” Surpasses The One-Billion Steams On Spotify
The song, with lyrics that protest police brutality appeared on RATM’s ’92 self-titled album.
“Righteous proof that rebel music and irony are alive and well,” writes RATM guitarist Tom Morello on X.
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1/12 Cheap Trick Frontman Sings The National Anthem
Robin Zander sings the National Anthem prior the Wild Card play-off game in Tampa between the hometown Buccaneers and the Washington Commanders. He does a great job – tasteful yet moving.
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1/12 Tommy Lee Criticizes Fellow Musicians Self-Promotion During The L.A. Wildfires
Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee doesn’t think much of musicians who are promoting their tours and album releases while wildfires level areas of Los Angeles.
“Makes me f*cking sick to see most people just caring on posting on lame ass social media,” the drummer wrote on Instagram. “Guys right now nobody gives a flying f*ck when your record drops or the next concert is when so many people are in the middle of one of the biggest disasters of all time!”
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1/12 Nonpoint Drummer Hospitalized
Nonpoint drummer Robb Rivera is taken to the hospital after his heart rate increased significantly during the performance at the Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, KY.
At the hospital doctors were able to lower the drummer’s high heart rate and he was released the following day.
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1/13 Metallica Announces Major Donation
Metallica’s All Within My Hands (AWMH) foundation grants $500,000 for Los Angeles area wildfire relief efforts carried out by the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Pasadena Community Foundation’s Eaton Canyon Fire Relief And Recovery Fund.
Nearly 100,000 people are under evacuation orders. 40,000 acres have burned, and more than 12,000 structures — commercial and residential —have been destroyed.
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1/14 Dave Grohl Stirs The Pot For Fire Relief
The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl celebrates his 56th birthday by stirring a large batch of chili with other volunteers at Feed The Streets, a local nonprofit that distributes meals to displaced families and inmate firefighters in the SoCal area.
Grohl, an L.A. resident, is part of the music community’s efforts to raise money through benefit concerts and other activities for people displaced by the wildfires that erupted on January 7th, killing at least 25 people and damaging or destroying more than 12,000 homes and buildings
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1/15 Ice Nine Kills Raises Funds For Wildfire Relief
Ice Nine Kills announces they have raised over $100,000 for victims for the California Wildfires with their “Heed The Call For California” benefit shirt.
““Most of us live in California, and like many people here, we felt powerless as we watched the devastation unfold.,” offered the Metalcore band’s frontman Spencer Charnas.
All proceeds go to the California Fire Foundation Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund.
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1/17 Spiritbox Launches Wildfire Relief Raffle
Spiritbox announce a raffle of band equipment on their social media pages to aid L.A. wildfire victims.
“(We) want to not only donate” but to “raise as much as possible to help,” wrote guitarist Mike Stringer. “Watching the destruction and its impact has been heartbreaking. It has directly affected our own Josh Gilbert, who lost his home in the Eaton Fire.”
Stringer says all proceeds from the raffle “will go to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles and Altadena Girls, which accepts donations to help teenage fire victims.
Raffle items include an “Aristides 070R guitar,” a “Jackson Pro Plus Series 7-string guitar,” a “Fender Tonemaster Pro” and “50-watt EVH 5150 head.”
A “$20 donation gives you one chance to win” gear that was used in the studio and on the road.
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1/18 Bob Dylan Lyrics Sold At Auction
Bob Dylan’s typewritten early draft of the “Mr. Tambourine Man” lyrics sells for $508,000 at Julien’s Auctions’ “Celebrating Bob Dylan: The Aronowitz Archive” featuring 60 Dylan items from the collection of late Rock journalist Al Aronowitz.
The sale of all items totals $1.5 million.
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1/19 Kid Rock Plays The “Make America Great Again” Rally
Ardent Donald Trump supporter Kid Rock is one of the musical acts onstage during the “Make America Great Again” rally in Washington D.C. on the eve of Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Kid Rock, a longtime Trump supporter and MAGA advocate, has vowed to lobby the Trump administration to regulate the concert ticketing industry.
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1/20 Guitarist John Sykes (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake) Passes Away
“It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer,” reads a statement on social media. “He will be remembered by many as a man with exceptional musical talent but for those who didn’t know him personally, he was a thoughtful, kind, and charismatic man whose presence lit up the room.” Sykes was 65.
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1/21 Doro Goes Gold… In Germany
At the German Universal Music office in Berlin, the Metal queen is presented with a gold award for selling more than 250,000 copies of her ’89 solo debut “Force Majeure.”
“I am overwhelmed and very happy,” enthused Doro. “My big thanks go to my beloved fans worldwide and the great team. On to further deeds.”
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1/21 The Band’s Garth Hudson Dies
Hudson (second on the right) dies in his sleep in a nursing home in Woodstock, New York, at the age of 87.
The multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist for The Band which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
He was a principal architect of the group’s sound and was described as “the most brilliant organist in the Rock world.”
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1/22 Jeff Beck Guitar Goes for $1.3 Million
A guitar owned by Jeff Beck is sold for £1,068,500 (approximately $1,317,111 U.S.) at auction.
Beck’s Oxblood Les Paul, which came into his hands in ’72, was immortalized on his “Blow By Blow” album cover had a pre-auction estimate of £300,000 – £500,000.
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1/24 Case Against Marilyn Manson Dropped
Following a four-year investigation, L.A. District Attorney’s office announces that domestic abuse allegations against Manson are dismissed.
Actress Esme Bianco had accused Manson of ongoing violence that included repeated sexual assaults and rape over the course of a two-year domestic relationship that ended in 2011.
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1/25 Linkin Park Is #1… Again
Linkin Park earns its seventh #1 on Billboard‘s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with “Heavy Is The Crown.” It’s the second #1 off the band’s eighth studio album “From Zero.”
It’s also the first Linkin Park album with vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Brittain.
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1/29 Bring Me The Horizon Covers Oasis
Bring Me The Horizon issue two exclusive tracks for Spotify – a Metalcore rendition of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and a revised version of “YOUtopia (EarthcOre Remix).” All profits from “Wonderwall” streams and lyric video will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust.
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1/30 System Of A Down’s “Toxicity” Crosses YouTube’s Billion Threshold
System Of A Down’s “Toxicity” music video officially passes a billion views on YouTube. It is the title track from System Of A Down’s sophomore album.
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1/30 Foreigner Scores On Spotify
Foreigner’s ’99 remastered version of the ballad “I Want To Know What Love Is” officially enters Spotify’s Billions Club (signifying one billion streams on the platform).
“This achievement is a testament to the lasting power of ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and the incredible support from our fans around the world,” noted Mick Jones, the song’s composer and band founder.
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1/30 “FireAid” concerts in L.A.
Rock musicians played at two venues to raise money to aid in rebuilding after wildfires devastated the L.A. area.
Performers at the Intuit Dome included Jelly Roll. Rod Stewart, Sting and Stevie Wonder.
At the Kia Forum Green Day (pictured), Alanis Morissette, No Doubt (pictured), Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Nicks took the stage.
Also, the surviving members of Nirvana performed with guest vocalists including Joan Jett, St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl’s daughter Violet.
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