BLACK STONE CHERRY are heading to the UK this week and in anticipation of their arrival, Classic Rock has posted a stunning webisode showing the band touring in Europe and discussing whether or not they get pre-show nerves, especially when it comes to performing live on TV. Check it out on Classic Rock’s website by clicking here.

Find tickets for the band’s upcoming tour by clicking here.

Never has there been a more brutal advert for not illegally downloading music: a man from Hull has been given restricted access to his daughter after trying to illegally download the upcoming SLASH album, ‘Apocalyptic Love‘ – but instead of downloading the album, he ended up downloading child pornography instead!? The man reported the images to the police, who promptly removed his laptop for investigation. That’s one to keep in mind next time you’re tempted to download your favourite album from a torrent site, eh?

You can read more about the case on The Huffington Post website by clicking here.

Point your mouse in this direction to keep up to date with all things SLASH and to find out how you can get your hands on a copy of his upcoming album without downloading dodgy porn in the process!

‘Amaryllis‘ is the long awaited fourth studio album from Jacksonville based post-grunge outfit SHINEDOWN and is released on the 26th of March. Our friends over at Base.com have an awesome competition up online where you can win a signed SHINEDOWN skatedeck! All you need to do is head over to their website by clicking here and answer the simple question, ‘What year was Shinedown formed?’. Easy, huh!

Terms And Conditions

The closing date for the competition will be 13th April 2012. Entries are limited to one per household. Winners will be notified by email. If we cannot contact a winner within a reasonable timeframe after the competition has closed then we may choose an alternative winner. We will only deliver the prize to a UK delivery address. No purchase is necessary and no proof of purchase is required for entry into the competition. Entrants must be 18 or over and live in the UK. Employees of Online Commerce Ltd, their families, or anyone directly connected with the competition are not eligible to enter. By entering the competition you are deemed to have read and understood and agreed to these rules and Terms and Conditions and to be bound by them. This competition is run by Online Commerce Ltd., Rissington, GL54 2QB

Dawsons recently helped out US Rockers HALESTORM when they urgently needed to borrow some guitars for a session at Real XS radio in Manchester recently and to say thanks, the band sent the store a Halestorm t-shirt, a signed HALESTORM Pro-Mark drum stick and signed copies of their eponymous debut album and “Hello, it’s Mz Hyde” EP. Dawsons are running a comp for you to win these prizes and all you need to do to enter is click this link and follow the instructions on the store’s Facebook Page.

Terms and Conditions
Competition ends 18/03/12. This competition is open to UK residents only. This competition is not open to employees of Dawsons Music Ltd or their families. All prizes must be claimed within 30 days of the competition closing. This competition is in no way associated with Facebook. If you wish to enter the competition without using Facebook please email marketing@dawsons.co.uk. Monkey not included.

HALESTORM have confirmed the tracklisting and formats for their upcoming album ‘The Strange Case Of…‘, which is out on the 9th of April 2012. The album will be released as both a standard edition and a limited special edition, with the special edition featuring some killer bonus tracks. Both versions of the album are available for pre-order from Play.com by clicking here. The tracklist for both versions of the release is as follow:

STANDARD EDITION CD

1.Love Bites (So Do I)

To celebrate the release of ‘Amaryllis’ – SHINEDOWN & Roadrunner Records have teamed up with EA Games, EMP UK, Monster Energy and Scuzz TV for a series of killer album launch parties across the UK! Head down to the any of the nights listed below to hear tracks from ‘Amaryllis’ and be in with a chance of winning an array of goodies courtesy of SHINEDOWN and the above partners; from stickers and posters to full Rockband kits (taxi home anyway? N.B. this will be a struggle on the night bus!).

Tuesday 20th March
Chester – Metal Pig @ RB’s

Weds 21st March
London N*A*S*I*N @ The Borderline

Friday March 23rd
Aberdeen – Rampage @ Korova
Glasgow – The Cathouse
Newcastle – Toxic Metal Night @ Legends
Plymouth – Rock Show @ C103

Saturday March 24th
Birmingham – Eddies Rock Club
Cardiff – Bogiez
Camberley – Agincourt
Leeds – The Garage @ The Cockpit
Liverpool – Rage @ The Krazyhouse
Nottingham – Hey Hey Hey @ Rock City
Sheffield – Reservoir Rocks @ Corporation

**To preview the parties – fans of all things rock should tune into Scuzz TV from Friday March 16th for the chance to win a Shinedown autographed skatedeck, ‘Bully’ lyrics handwritten by Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith, a

US funny man DOUG STANHOPE has hit UK shores this week with the first date in his UK tour kicking off yesterday. Upon landing on UK soil, Doug spared some time to catch up with both The Guardian and Q Magazine. Doug gave his brutally brillaint opinion on music for lucky Q readers – check out an extract below:

We can talk about music, but you’re going to be sadly disappointed because I don’t like music. I don’t listen to it much. I did just load-up an iPod with Count Basie and Duke Ellington because I feel music should always be background. I don’t want to listen to music as a thing to do. I like it as a soundtrack to whatever you’re doing, non intrusive, so the stuff I listen to is so random and weird.

People who are grandstanding in music and saying, What we’re trying to do in this album… Well make your lyrics decipherable, you fucking assholes! I feel if you want to make a statement, make a statement. Don’t hide it in art. People are too dumb to get it. People aren’t reading the liner notes. If you have something to say, say it. That’s what I love about comedy, if I have a statement I’ll say it and then throw a fist-fuck joke in at the end so it fits under the umbrella of comedy. I don’t just hope people find the message in my art.

There’s more….oh yes! Click here to read the full Q article. And in case you missed it, Doug was also interviewed by The Guardian and you can see a few of those questions below:

What got you started?

I couldn’t do anything else for attention. I couldn’t sing, I wasn’t athletic or physically attractive. But I was funny, so I could go up on an open mic night and tell five minutes of masturbation jokes the same way a fat girl goes up and does karaoke.

What was your big breakthrough?

Not having to work for a living. Back when I was young, with a mullet and a piece-of-shit car, going on stage for 30 minutes and 100 bucks: that was success.

You’ve often been accused of being controversial in your choice of material. Do you set out to shock?

You say it like being controversial is a crime. Honestly, the controversy is you [the media]. People go, “Oh, you got into trouble for some things you said.” No – you wrote that I got into trouble; maybe one guy got mad at a joke, but that happens at every show. At my last show in Cincinnati, I had someone walk out because I made a passing, flippant reference to Syria. I was like, you’ve sat through [jokes about] rape and paedophilia, and that made you walk out?

Do you suffer for your art?

I hate doing it a lot, but even poor, suffering people in our western culture aren’t really suffering. And look at people like Charles Bukowski and Hunter S Thompson: I’d rather sell shoes than live that kind of lifestyle. When it comes to properly hard living, I’m a pedestrian.

Be sure to read the whole interview by poitning your mouse in this direction.

The digital version of Doug’s latest offering ‘Before Turning The Gun On Himself…’ is out now and the physical DVD and CD release is happening on the 12th of March – click here to pick up the digital version if you just can’t wait! You can also catch Doug at one of his UK shows by clicking here and heading over to our Tour Page.

The Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards reaches its tenth incarnation (yes, really!) and this year the mag has teamed up with Orange Amplification, Hobgoblin and a select crew of Defenders of the Faith and they’re looking to make it the biggest and greatest awards bash of them all! The Golden Gods will land at London’s Indigo2 on Monday June 11 and you can help choose who picks up this year’s gongs – as well as come and party with us at the awards themselves! So, get those voting fingers out and check out below which Roadrunner artists have been nominated – and don’t forget to vote for Best Video over at Scuzz by clicking here!

BEST EVENT
Mustaine Jams With Metallica – click here to vote…

DIMEBAG DARRELL SHREDDER
Adam D – click here to vote…

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND
Lamb Of God – click here to vote…
Opeth – click here to vote…

SCUZZ VIDEO OF THE YEAR – click here to vote…
Trivium – In Waves
Mastodon – Curl Of The Burl

TRIVIUM‘s bassist, Paolo Gregoletto, spoke to The PRP recently and the website is revealing parts of that interview on a daily basis. Yesterday’s part of the interview was Paolo’s response tp the backlash about TRIVIUM touring with Asking Alexandria. Paolo explained the band’s reasons incredibly succinctly saying, “We were just like “You know what, we should do this. It’s going to be way different.” A lot of people that are into our band might not like that we’re doing it, but to stay relevant and to keep new people coming into our music, we have to do tours like this. I am definitely looking forward to it because if it really is as many new kids as I’m hoping it is and kids that are that young, there very impressionable.” He went on to point out “If they’ve never heard us, we could be their gateway into this side of the heavy world. And that’s just the way I look at it. Either way, we’re playing the same music that we would be playing on these kind of tours“. Read the full interview ove ron the PRP website by clicking here.

Pick up a copy on TRIVIUM’s latest album ‘In Waves’ by pointing your mouse in this direction.

Power trio RUSH was elevated into the upper chambers of the Canadian cultural elite Tuesday, when their name was announced as recipient of the 2012 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. The Governor General’s Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement are the foremost honours presented for excellence in the performing arts, in the categories of dance, classical music, popular music, film, and radio and television broadcasting. The winners were selected by peer juries from more than 300 nominations made by the general public over the past year. Congratulations guys!

You can read more about the awards by clicking here.

Keep up to date with all things RUSH by pointing your mouse in this direction.