Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has issued an update on guitarist Tony Iommi’s condition as the guitarist battles cancer. Writing on his own website, Butler says: “Today (January 19) we got the engines back up and running at Tony’s home studio. Far from being down and depressed about his lymphoma diagnosis, Tony had already written the music for two new songs, and I must say it has given us all a kick up the rump – it’s great to hear him churning out those riffs again, assuaging the Demon C. Takes more than that to stop Tony. Can’t wait for you all to hear our workings; it has been great working on this stuff. “I want to thank the lovely encouraging emails sent to this site giving Tony love and encouragement and great vibes. It really does help, not only Tony, but us as a band — it raises up our spirits and restores our faith in this tarnished world. “Sabbath fans are good people. Time and again, you have proven your faith in us and boosted our endeavour. “Thanks, love, peace.” Read more...

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have unleashed an official mobile app that will keep fans up to date with the band and offer exclusive premieres of new videos, songs, and more. RHCP recently had to postpone their tour after Anthony Kiedis underwent surgery to repair a foot injury — this is the perfect example of the type of news you would get early notification of with the new RHCP app. The new app is now available for free on both the Android Market and iTunes Store and will also offer exclusive sneak peeks at upcoming Chili Pepper projects — like a behind-the-scenes look at their upcoming music video for 'Look Around.' The app also includes music, photos of the band, videos, a fan wall, tour dates, and more. Read more...

Godsmack confirmed the rumors that they are teaming up with Staind for a tour this Spring and also announced that the trek will include Halestorm. On Tuesday Godsmack posted a message about the tour on Facebook and put a call out to fans to help name the trek. They wrote: "It's official. Godsmack Staind and Halestorm are all going out on tour this Spring and we're asking for you, the fans, to help to name the tour! All you have to do is post your tour name suggestion in the comments section below. Thursday we will reveal the top 5 contenders from each band's pages and ask you to vote for your favorite. The winning tour name will be announced on Monday, 1/23. We will also be announcing the official tour dates sometime next week is well, so be on the look out!" Read more...

www.gibson.com Few people really know exactly what Dave Grohl is up to, but his new project is boasting big names. Following news two weeks ago that Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy and Warren De Martini had recorded a song with Grohl, Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour has revealed that he has been working with the Foos man. In a Tweet on January 18, Taylor said: “HUGE checks off the Bucket List today – did a song with Dave Grohl and Butch Vig. Do the words ‘holy s--t’ say enough about it?!?” It could well be a project about Sound City Studios. In 2011, Grohl said he was working on a film about the Los Angeles studio. “When Sound City closed last year it was a very sad day. That place was like a church. The list of people that recorded there is like a virtual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We recorded Nevermind there back in 1991. That funky old place had the best drum room in the world. The drum sound at the beginning of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit?’ That’s Sound City. I decided to make a film about that feeling when you put five guys in a ... Read more...