Marshall Of Rock

The fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards presented by Epiphone will take place Thursday, May 2nd, at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. For the first time ever, the event will be broadcast live on national television through AXS TV and broadcast in the US and key international markets through Xbox LIVE and Facebook. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

Fozzy frontman and WWE pro-wrestling legend Chris Jericho will reprise his role as host for the fourth consecutive year. The nominees in 11 different fan-voted categories, plus the recipients of this year’s prestigious Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Ernie Ball), Golden God Award (presented by Sumerian Records) and Riff Lord (presented by EMG Pickups), were revealed at a press conference at the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood in Los Angeles.

Host Chris Jericho was on hand, along with Sebastian Bach, Five Finger Death Punch, Halestorm, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Maria Brink and Chris Howorth (In This Moment), John 5 (Rob Zombie), Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan) and Zakk Wylde to announce the nominees. Halestorm performed a special live set, including a guest appearance by Sebastian Bach on a cover of the Skid Row classic Slave to the Grind.

Fans everywhere can cast their vote to decide who will take home the awards for Best Guitarist (presented by Epiphone), Best Drummer (presented by Drum Workshop), Best Vocalist (presented by Rockstar Energy Drink), Album of the Year (presented by Orange Amplification), Song of the Year, Best Live Band (presented by Samson/Zoom), Best New Talent, Most Metal Athlete, (presented by Roadrunner Records), Comeback of the Year, Paul Gray Best Bassist (presented by Dean Markley) and Most Dedicated Fans (presented by Xbox LIVE).

Voting is now open at GoldenGodsAwards.com and ends April 15th.

The Golden God Award (presented by Sumerian Records), which is given to one special honoree a year who embodies the spirit of hard rock and metal, will go to Rob Zombie, who commented, “What can I say? It is a complete honor to receive this award and have my name join the list of such legendary past winners as Alice Cooper and Gene Simmons. Pretty cool deal to be part of the Golden God club.” (The other previous honorees are Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth.) Rob Zombie will be releasing his brand new album, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (Zodiac Swan/T-Boy/Ume), on April 23rd, and his latest feature film, The Lords of Salem (Anchor Bay), on April 26th.

The Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Ernie Ball), will go to hard-rock and metal icons Metallica, who will release the 3D movie Through the Never in August. (Previous honorees include Rush, Motley Crue, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead and Ozzy Osbourne.)

Metallica’s Lars Ulrich commented, “Since the Revolver Golden Gods Awards is fast becoming THE most rocking awards ceremony in the hard rock world, we are beyond psyched to be at the receiving end of this shout out and in the distinguished company of Rush, Lemmy, Ozzy and Motley Crue. I was hanging out and presenting at the shenanigans two years ago and the energy in the room and the vibe backstage was beyond fucking cool, so Metallica is chomping at the bit to partake in this year’s event. Once again, we are honored to be recognized as achievers (!!) and we can’t wait to get up and jam onstage and sweat for and on everybody gathered.

The Riff Lord Award, (presented by EMG Pickups) is given each year to a legendary guitarist in the field of hard rock & heavy metal. This year it’s going to none other than Black Sabbath axeman, Tony Iommi, who had this to say about the honor, “What a great honor to receive the Golden Gods Riff Lord Award for 2013, especially with our new Sabbath album coming out. I hope there will be some new favorite riffs in these songs.” Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver won the award last year.

Adding to the celebration, the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods Awards show will feature one-of-a-kind special performances and collaborations that honor both the past, present and future of heavy music. The night’s hard-rocking musical performances will include sets by Metallica, Five Finger Death Punch, Anthrax, Stone Sour, Dillinger Escape Plan and Halestorm, with more performers to be announced in the coming weeks.

Returning as well is the “Black Carpet” pre-show that will be hosted by legendary heavy-metal frontmen Sebastian Bach and Dee Snider. Bach and Snider will be interviewing all the nominees, honorees and performers on the Revolver Black Carpet before show time for the special, which will air on both AXS TV and Xbox LIVE.

The nominees for the 2013 Revolver Golden Gods Awards presented by Epiphone are:

Best Guitarist presented by Epiphone:

• John 5 (Rob Zombie & solo)
• Stephen Carpenter (Deftones)
• Alex Lifeson (Rush)
• Misha Mansoor (Periphery)
• Brendon Small (Dethklok)
• Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)

Best Drummer presented by Drum Workshop:

• Abe Cunningham (Deftones)
• Mario Duplantier (Gojira)
• Arejay Hale (Halestorm)
• Gene Hoglan (Dethklok & Testament)
• Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour)
• Neil Peart (Rush)

Paul Gray Best Bassist presented by Dean Markley:

• Rex Brown (Kill Devil Hill)
• Steve Harris (Iron Maiden & solo)
• Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead)
• Geddy Lee (Rush)
• Jason Newsted (Newsted)
• Sergio Vega (Deftones)

Best Vocalist presented by Rockstar Energy Drink:

• Phil Anselmo (Down & solo)
• Maria Brink (In This Moment)
• Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)
• Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
• Chino Moreno (Deftones)
• Corey Taylor (Stone Sour & Slipknot)

Best New Talent:

• Device
• Ghost
• Kvelertak
• Miss May I
• Of Mice & Men
• Young Guns

Most Metal Athlete presented by Roadrunner Records:

• Tom Crabtree (Green Bay Packers, NFL)
• Tanner Faust (Rally and drifting car racing)
• Clay Guida (Mixed Martial Arts fighting, UFC)
• Triple H (WWE wrestling)
• Geoff Rowley (Skateboarding)
• CJ Wilson (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, MLB)

Best Live Band presented by Samson/Zoom:

• Anthrax
• Five Finger Death Punch
• Hatebreed
• Lamb of God
• Slipknot
• Volbeat

Comeback Of The Year:

• Aerosmith
• The Darkness
• Quicksand
• Refused
• Soundgarden
• Tenacious D

Song Of The Year:

• Asking Alexandria, Run Free
• Avenged Sevenfold, Carry On
• Black Veil Brides, In The End
• Dethklok, I Ejaculate Fire
• Halestorm, Love Bites (So Do I)
• In This Moment, Blood

Most Dedicated Fans presented by Xbox LIVE:

• Black Label Society
• Black Veil Brides
• A Day To Remember
• HIM
• Rammstein
• Slipknot

Album Of The Year presented by Orange Amplification:

• Deftones, Koi No Yokan
• Gojira, L’Enfant Sauvage
• Halestorm, The Strange Case of…
• Marilyn Manson, Born Villain
• Soundgarden, King Animal
• Stone Sour, House of Gold & Bones Part 1

Metallica announced that they have taken ownership of all their master recordings, including all music and videos. It is an almost unprecedented move for musicians signed to recording contracts. Under a provision of their renegotiated joint venture agreement with the Warner Music Group in 1994, all masters reverted back to the band as of November 30, 2012. The band have also announced their new record label, Blackened Records.

"We would like to thank everyone at the Warner Music Group for 28 years of a fantastic relationship, particularly since 1994 where we truly felt we had partners in every aspect of our business in North America," said James Hetfield.

The band's new label, Blackened Recordings was created by the band for all of their audio and visual recordings, and anything else related to the band for release. Blackened Recordings will handle all marketing and promotion duties and have a North America distribution and manufacturing deal with Rhino Entertainment. Blackened Recordings will license their releases to the Universal Music Group internationally.

"It's always been about control for us as a band," said drummer Lars Ulrich. "Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, giving us 100% control and putting us in the driver's seat of our own creative destiny."

Blackened Records first release is the "Quebec Magnetic" live DVD capturng the two World Magnetic live shows from Quebec City in the fall of 2009. The setlist for the DVD was voted on by over 35,000 fans at Metallica.com this past September.

Metallica posted an official statement in regards to the new label for their fans: "We like to make it a point here not to bore you with the not-so-exciting business aspects of making and sharing music, but we're so psyched about our new adventure that we just had to tell you about it as we officially launch our very own record label, Blackened Recordings.

"Some of you, who have followed along throughout the years, are aware that in 1994 we renegotiated our contract with the Warner Music Group, which resulted in a joint venture with our record company for releasing all of our recordings including longform videos. Per that agreement, as of today we have taken ownership of all of our master recordings and Blackened Recordings will be the home of all of our current albums and videos along with all future releases including the December 10 release of the 'Quebec Magnetic' DVD and Blu-ray.

"You may have heard us say it once or twice or a thousand times before, but it's always been about us taking control of all things 'TALLICA to give you 110% on every single level every single time. Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, putting us in the driver's seat of our own creative destiny. We're looking forward to making more music and getting it all out to you in our own unique way."

The band have also announced a music streaming deal with Spotify, releasing this statement: "We're beyond excited to announce that music from every single Metallica album is now streaming on Spotify! In our never ending quest for total control of the way our music is presented, we always make it a point to be sure that we are offering you the very best service by partnering with ground-breaking technology companies. So with that said, we are extremely proud to be a part of Spotify, who not only has a proven track record, but is by far the best streaming service.

Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 and has grown into a massive world-wide service with on-demand access to over 20 million songs. You can create and manage all your play-lists, share them with your friends and add to them by importing MP3's you already own. Now you can also take Spotify with you through their new mobile app.

We're always looking for more ways to get our music out to you, whether it's streaming live videos through our tour page on this site or offering downloads of live shows through LiveMetallica.com. Connecting with Spotify was the next logical step and we can't wait to see what the future brings!"

We now know who the richest drummers in the world are, and it really should be no suprise who is #1. Celebritynetworth.com compiled all information including salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements to come up with the figures. The final net worths come from a formula that takes out taxes, manager’s fees, agents fees, and lifestyle. Check out the Top 30 below.

The 30 Richest Drummers in the World:
1. Ringo Starr – $300 Million (The Beatles/Solo)
2. Phil Collins – $250 Million (Solo/Genesis)
3. Dave Grohl – $225 Million (Nirvana/Foo Fighters)
4. Don Henley – $200 Million (The Eagles)
5. Lars Ulrich – $175 Million (Metallica)
6. Charlie Watts – $160 Million (The Rolling Stones)
7. Larry Mullen Jr. – $150 Million (U2)
8. Roger Taylor – $105 Million (Queen)
9. Joey Kramer – $100 Million (Aerosmith)
10. Chad Smith – $90 Million (The Red Hot Chili Peppers/Chickenfoot)
11. Travis Barker – $85 Million (Blink 182/The Aquabats)
12. Stewart Copeland – $80 Million (The Police)
13. Alex Van Halen – $75 Million (Van Halen)
14. Nick Mason – $75 Million (Pink Floyd)
15. Tommy Lee – $70 Million (Motley Crue)
16. Bill Ward – $65 Million (Black Sabbath)
17. Jon Fishman – $60 Million (Phish)
18. Carter Beauford – $55 Million (Dave Matthews Band)
19. Rick Allen – $50 Million (Def Leppard)
20. Tre Cool – $45 Million (Green Day)
21. Danny Carey – $40 Million (Tool)
22. Tico Torres – $40 Million (Bon Jovi)
23. Max Weinberg – $35 Million (Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band/Conan O’Brien)
24. Mickey Hart – $30 Million (The Grateful Dead)
25. Bill Kreutzmann – $25 Million (The Grateful Dead)
26. Neil Peart – $22 Million (Rush)
27. Taylor Hawkins – $20 Million (Foo Fighters)
28. Questlove – $16 Million (The Roots, Jimmy Fallon)
29: Steven Adler – $15 Million (Guns N’ Roses)
30. Mick Fleetwood – $8.5 Million (Fleetwood Mac)

A three-minute trailer for for the new Deep Purple tribute album 'Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head' due for release on Sept. 25th from Eagle Rock Entertainment can be viewed below. The compilation CD features re-interpretations of classic DP songs from former band member Glenn Hughes, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Chickenfoot, Black Label Society, Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa and more.

'Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head' will be made available initially with Classic Rock magazine's upcoming Deep Purple fanpack on September 4th.  The fanpack will include a band-endorsed 124-page magazine with exclusive new interviews with guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai and the members of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Chickenfoot, and more talking about recording these classic songs. There will also be brand new interviews with Deep Purple, with one of the last interviews with the late Jon Lord. Look for previously unpublished photographs and artifacts from the archives in the magazine as well.

After hearing of Jon Lord's passing, Glenn Hughes assembled some friends to cut 'Highway Star' as a tribute to his dear friend. Drummer Lars Ulrich of Metallica, who are also recording a song for the upcoming Ronnie James Dio tribute album, has previously said, "We were asked if we'd contribute to the anniversary of 'Machine Head' — we can't turn that down. We're circling the Dio and PURPLE catalogs and hopefully we'll come up with something that is worthy of these wonderful men."

'Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head' track listing:

1. Smoke On The Water - Carlos Santana/Jacoby Shaddix
2. Highway Star - Chickenfoot
3. Maybe I'm A Leo - Glenn Hughes, Chad Smith, Luis Maldonado
4. Pictures Of Home - Black Label Society
5. Never Before - Kings Of Chaos (Joe Elliott, Steve Stevens, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Arlan Schierbaum)
6. Smoke On The Water - The Flaming Lips
7. Lazy - Jimmy Barnes, Joe Bonamassa
8. Space Truckin' - Iron Maiden
9. When A Blind Man Cries – Metallica
10. Highway Star - Glenn Hughes, Steve Vai, Chad Smith, Lachlan Doley (exclusive track)

Sutro eyewear has announced the launch of the 'Hetfield,' a limited-edition sunglass frame that is the product of a design collaboration with James Hetfield of Metallica

The Hetfield is a classic shape with a rock-star edge. This frame is as smooth and as fast as James' Lincoln Zephyr v12. Using Zeiss optics and the Sutro stainless steel 3Click hinge, this frame is designed to take whatever a 24-stop Eastern European tour can throw at it. It will not lose screws, is 10 times stronger than a traditional hinge and gives the frame a structure that stays tight over time. Zeiss polycarbonate lenses block 100 percent of both UVA and UVB sun rays and provide the ultimate in impact resistance with the industry's toughest hard coating for superior scratch resistance. These limited-edition frames are road-worthy and built to last!

"Built to look faster than a speeding riff and to handle the life of a road dog like me," says James.

"James was very particular in what he was looking for and he just wasn’t finding it out there, so we sat down and after extensive prototyping we put his vision into this frame," says designer Jeff Sand.

Founded in 2006, Sutro produces durable luxury eyewear in both sunglass and optical frames.

Price tag for the shades: $219. Sutro eyewear is currently available through boutiques and specialty retailers in the U.S., Japan and Germany. Go to www.metallica.com for more info.

'Mission To Lars,' the uplifting documentary film about Tom Spicer, who has Fragile X Syndrome (a form of autism), and his transatlantic quest to find his much-obsessed-over hero, Lars Ulrich of Metallica is currently being shown in theaters across the U.K.

After 20 years and asking his journalist sister, Kate, countless times when he was going to meet Lars, she finally cracked. Kate and filmmaker brother, William, break Tom out of his care home in Exmouth, and hit the road, from Bristol, to Heathrow, to Los Angeles, to Las Vegas and beyond.

This is a film that looks beyond disability, and uncovers the soul of a very cool guy. Lars Ulrich had a chance to screen the movie last summer and told NME.com, "I thought it was deeply moving. I haven't seen the whole thing, but I saw a rough cut last summer. Meeting Tom, meeting Kate, when they came out to film it was an experience in itself. But seeing the film last year and reconnecting with the whole team was another experience."

He continued: "It's not something we're directly involved in, it's their film, their journey, but we're supportive of their endeavour. We don't want to take it over and have it turn into some kind of vanity project. It's a great testament into a world I didn't know much about, and a great testament to the importance of music and what it means to different people."

All profits go to Mencap, and the film has charity status. Mencap is the leading U.K. charity working in partnership with people with a learning disability, and all of their services support people to live life as they choose. Mencap is the leading voice of learning disability. Everything they do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability, and their families and careers.

In raising money for the film, the producers also raised over £25,000 for Mencap. The film's cinema release is being used as an outreach opportunity with talks and events following every screening. Many people, from color graders, sound mixers, Bob Dylan, screening rooms and the production assistant have given their talent and/or time for free. The profits from 'Mission To Lars' will continue to be paid to Mencap for as long as the film has a life, DVD, international sales, etc. Mencap have been closely involved in the making of the film. Their belief is that the film, in an entertaining and universally understood way, tells the story of the confusing family dynamics around learning disability, and portrays Tom as a complex and likeable character, and not as someone one sees first as learning disabled and everything else second.

'Mission To Lars' was made by William Spicer and James Moore, veterans of music and brand promos, but complete movie novices. A new interview with William and James conducted by Pop Culture Madness from Metallica's two-day Orion Music + More Festival has been posted. Orion took place on June 23rd and 24th at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Get more info on the movie here: www.missiontolars.com