Judas Priest Win Grammy for Best Metal Performance

Judas Priest have been honoured with a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category. The award was bestowed upon the band during the pre-telecast ceremony at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards which are currently underway at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Judas Priest was nominated for “Dissident Aggressor,” a track from the band’s 2009 live album A Touch of Evil: Live. Lead vocalist Rob Halford and drummer Scott Travis accepted the award.

“The fifth time is the charm,” said Halford during his acceptance speech. He went on to mention that Judas Priest has been making metal for twenty-five years and still love what they do. He also thanked the radio stations and press that supported the band and then dedicated the award to heavy metal fans everywhere.

The nominees in this year’s Metal category were as follows:

Judas Priest – “Dissident Aggressor” (from A Touch of Evil: Live)
Lamb of God – “Set to Fail” (from Wrath)
Megadeth – “Head Crusher” (from Endgame)
Ministry - "Señor Peligro" (from Adios...)
Slayer – “Hate Worldwide” (from World Painted Blood)

The only albums considered for this year’s Grammys were those released from October 1, 2008 through August 31, 2009. The nominees are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals, all of which belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).

A complete list of Grammy nominees can be found here.

Gilby Clarke Rocovering After Motorcycle Accident

On January 10, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke was riding his motorcycle when he found himself the victim of a hit and run accident. Clarke recently posted the following message on his website, detailing his recovery:

"Yes, some asshole in his pick up truck pulled a left as I was going through an intersection on my bike. JD and I were riding back from Pomona Easyriders show when it happened.

"Not only did this dumb ass driver pull in front of moving traffic, but he split the scene after he hit me. He doesn't know if i'm dead or what. I have three broken bones in my left foot and one broken bone in my right foot. My new Joe King helmet saved my skull, but I won't be walking for awhile. There were some really wonderful people at the scene that helped out quite a bit and I've heard from everyone i know, sending best wishes and speedy recovery. So to you, we will rock n' roll again!

"My 1st surgery went well and I'm home from the hospital. If everything looks good Friday, I can have the second surgery next week. Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and prayers...they're working."

Megadeth Announce Rust in Peace 20th Anniversary Tour Dates

It's official: Megadeth are set to join forces with Exodus and Testament for a month-long tour. The thrash titans will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Megadeth's Rust in Peace. The band will play the entirety of its landmark 1990 album along with other fan favourites.

Endgame, Megadeth's latest studio endeavour, was released in September 2010 and received a critical response that has been among the best of the band's career.

The anniversary tour is scheduled to kick off on March 1 in Spokane, WA and tickets go on sale today (January 29). Dates are as follows:

3/1 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
3/2 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
3/3 - Medford, OR - Medford Armory
3/6 - Calgary, AB - Big Four (Testament with Special Guests)
3/7 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre (Testament with Special Guests)
3/8 - Saskatoon, SK - Prairieland Exhibition Hall
3/11 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater
3/12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Palace Theater
3/13 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
3/15 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
3/16 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
3/18 - Scranton, PA - Scranton Cultural Center
3/19 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
3/21 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
3/22 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
3/23 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
3/25 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
3/26 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Amphitheater
3/27 - Lubbock, TX - The Pavilion
3/28 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
3/30 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
3/31 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Palladium (Testament with Special Guests)

Joe Perry Talks Early Influences and Guitar Setups

In a recent interview, Premier Guitar picked the brain of Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry. The following are some excerpts from that interview.

Premier Guitar: What was the spark that ignited your desire to play guitar?

Perry: It was a series of things, really. I had an uncle who owned a homemade four-string instrument that looked like a ukulele. He would probably get mad if I called it a ukulele, but that's what it looked like. During the holidays, he would play Portuguese folk songs and then let me play with it. I must have been five or six at the time. I used to go to school and listen to the orchestra, and I didn't like any of the wind instruments, but I did like the guitar. I begged my parents for an acoustic guitar, which they bought for me. It came with a 45-rpm record that taught you how to tune, how to strum, and all that. This must have been around 1961 or 1962 —definitely before The Beatles came out. I bought a fake book and learned chords from that. I never took lessons. Once I discovered The Beatles, their music and movies, and all the other British bands like the Stones and Yardbirds, I was captured by rock 'n' roll.

Premier Guitar: You were influenced by Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix specifically, but how did Peter Green fit into the equation?

Perry: A lot of English bands came to Boston before they hit New York back then. I guess they wanted to warm up first there. I had a friend who got a lot of free tickets to the Boston Tea Party club. Fleetwood Mac took up residence at the Tea Party for weeks on end, and I must have seen them thirty times or more. I saw them on great nights, terrible nights, nights when they were all drunk. Peter Green's style, attitude and sound really got to me. These guys didn't care about being rock stars. It was all about the music for them. I became a big fan of Fleetwood Mac. I guess you could say I was most influenced by the second wave of British bands, like The Yardbirds, Mac and The Who.

Premier Guitar: The first time I saw Aerosmith, you guys were opening for Mott the Hoople.

Perry: We toured with them a lot in the beginning. I can't say enough nice things about those guys. They were very good to us. They took us under their wing, you might say. All they wanted to do was play rock 'n' roll and party. They're back together with all the original members playing shows in England, and I heard they sound great.

Premier Guitar:Let's talk specifically about guitars. What are you using on tour right now?

Perry: I'm using a few Strats right now, including the first upside-down one I had back in the early days of The Project. I got that one out a while and ago and began playing it again. A left-handed Strat played righty just has a whole different vibe and sound that a standard right-handed one doesn't have. I have a black Jeff Beck Strat, not a normal color for that guitar. I have both of my signature Gibson Les Pauls, my Billie guitar, a reissue Gibson Custom Shop flametop, a Gretsch White Falcon, a Dan Armstrong see-through Plexi guitar for slide, and a Supro Ozark that's strictly used for slide. I rotate guitars a lot out of the collection. I really don't like changing guitars that much onstage, but I have so many great ones that I like to play. I went through a ton of Strats over the years trying to find the best ones — the same with Les Pauls. You want to play good guitars all night. I also have a guitar that was put together for me by RS Guitarworks that has a Fralin P-90 in the bridge and Joe Barden pickups in the middle and neck.

Read the rest at Premier Guitar.

Metal on Metal Listener Poll Brings Top Honours for Megadeth

WJCU's annual Metal on Metal listener top 25 countdown show has given the No. 1 spot to Megadeth's Endgame. Runners up for top spot were Slayer's World Painted Blood and Heaven & Hell's The Devil You Know respectively.

The poll, which has become an annual tradition in Cleveland, Ohio and is one of Metal on Metal's most listened to programs, is now in its 26th year.

Metal on Metal host Bill Peters said: "I received an incredible response to this year's poll. When all was said and done, 1,195 votes were registered.

"My listeners really look forward to this 'best-of' show each year and I enjoy doing it for them. It's their night to program the show.

"The list they have put together is very diverse with several surprises. There are some albums on the list I do not play on the program and several of my personal favourites did not make it, but that's okay.

"My listeners are very knowledgeable and passionate when it comes to their love for the music. I always rave to people around the world just how great they are and this is another reason to prove this fact true.

"This list holds up to and is better than most lists I have seen. I like it because it comes from the fans, not the so-called music industry insiders who are often out of touch with what the true metal fans like. The fans are the ones buying the music and supporting the bands. Their voices need and deserve to be heard!"

Metal on Metal can be heard every Friday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (EST) on 88.7 in the Cleveland area. It can also be streamed worldwide at www.wjcu.org.

The show's top 25 albums of 2009 are as follows:

01. Megadeth - Endgame (Roadrunner)
02. Slayer - World Painted Blood (American)
03. Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know (Rhino)
04. Wolf - Ravenous (Century Media)
05. Kreator - Hordes of Chaos (SPV)
06. Warbringer - Walking Into Nightmares (Century Media)
07. Primal Fear - 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) (Frontiers)
08. Saxon - Into the Labyrinth (SPV)
09. Satryicon - The Age of Nero (Koch)
10. Anvil - This Is Thirteen (VH1 Classic)
11. Lick the Blade - Graveyard of Empires (Auburn)
12. Fu Manchu - Signs Of Infinite Power (Century Media)
13. Tim "Ripper" Owens - Play My Game (SPV)
14. Amorphis - Skyforger (Nuclear Blast)
15. Immortal - All Shall Fall (Nuclear Blast)
16. Doro - Fear No Evil (AFM)
17. Mastodon - Crack the Skye (Reprise)
18. Outloud - We'll Rock You to Hell and Back Again (Frontiers)
19. Epica - Design Your Universe (Nuclear Blast)
20. Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue (Virgin)
21. Iron Fire - To the Grave (SPV)
22. Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day (Century Media)
23. Kiss - Sonic Boom (Kiss)
24. Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse)
25. Suede Brothers - Ill Knew You (Bad Breaker)

Dream Theatre Announces Mexican Tour Dates

Dream Theatre has announced that they will be heading to Mexico in March 2010. The progressive metallers are scheduled to perform three shows:

March 5: Monterrey, Mexico (Esenica)
March 7: Mexico City, Mexico (National Auditorium)
March 8: Guadalajara, Mexico (Diana Theatre)

Dream Theatre has recently been noted for contributed a new instrumental song - "Raw Dog" - to the digital EP soundtrack for PlayStation 3's highly anticipated God of War III. The EP, titled God of War: Blood & Metal, is set for release in March and will be a part of the God of War III: Ultimate Edition package. The release will also feature five previously unreleased tracks from artists such as Trivium, Taking Dawn, Killswitch Engage, and Opeth.

When asked about the exclusive instrumental track for the soundtrack, drummer Mike Portnoy said, "This is the first time in 24 years that we've written and recorded a song for anything other than one of our own albums, so we're up for the challenge and excited to have been asked."

Those who purchase God of War III: Ultimate Edition will receive a voucher code that will allow them to download the EP soundtrack. They will also receive a code that enables them to download the director's cut of God of War: Unearthing the Legend - a full-length documentary detailing the history of the God of War franchise. Fans will also be able to access an exclusive God of War Challenge Arena environment containing up to seven challenges, a limited edition art book, and a Kratos skin. The Ultimate Edition will retail for $99.99 USD (MSRP).

For more info, visit www.godofwar.com.

Hail! Members Talk about Chi Cheng Benefit Concert

Hail! memebers Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals; Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen, ex-Judas Priest), David Ellefson (bass; F5, ex-Megadeth), and Mike Portnoy (Dream Theatre) took part in an all-star jam on Saturday, January 16, at The Sidebar in Fullerton, California. The jam was a benefit for Deftones bassist Chi Cheng.

Hail! commented on the benefit concert saying, "The show last night at The Slidebar went amazing! The place was packed to the rafters and the line extended around the block 'till long after we played.

"Thanks to all your wonderful support, the event was a tremendous success and over $100,000 was raised to help offset Chi Cheng from the Deftones' medical expenses.

"It was an honor to be able to contribute to this benefit event.

"We wish you the best, Chi, and hope for your continued and full recovery.

"We originally planned a six song set of 'Ace Of Spades,' 'Breaking the Law,' 'Grinder,' 'Paranoid,' and 'Run to the Hills', but as we are prone to do, we threw in two more that even we didn't know we were going to play! We were having such a good time that we spontaneously broke into 'Cold Gin' and ended the night with 'The Trooper.'

"As Andreas [Kisser; Sepultura/Hail! guitarist] was not with us (he was in Brazil), Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel and The Letter Black guitarist Mark Anthony filled in and did an amazing job. These guys both killed it and we thank them profusely.

"Mike Portnoy played drums and was his usual ridiculously great.

"Due to the nature of the event, we weren’t able to rehearse or even soundcheck, so when we stepped on stage, it was literally the first notes we ever played together.

"Most surreal memory of the evening was that there were no dressing rooms in the club, so we changed and hung out in the kitchen of the restaurant as the staff actively cooked all around us.

"Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff, who owns the venue, along with the event promoter, Danny Hill, took good care of us and we thank them.

"It was a fun warm up for our shows in New York and Boston next week. We're looking forward to them and will see you all soon."

Cheng was seriously injured in an automobile accident in November 2008. The accident left Cheng in a coma. He also suffered a near-fatal septicemia infection and underwent surgery to replace a bone flap in his skull that had been removed after the accident in order to relieve intracranial pressure. Since the accident, Cheng has been in a semi-conscious state. His family has accumulated an overwhelming amount of medical bills that their insurance cannot entirely cover.

The 39-year-old Cheng is noted as being a poet as well as a musician. In 2000, he released a CD of his poetry entitled The Bamboo Parachute.

Cheng has played with Deftones since the band's formation in 1988. The band's debut album - Adrenaline - was released in 1995. In 2000, the band went platnum with the release of White Pony.

For more information on the Chi Cheng benefit, visit OneLoveForChi.com.