No Retirement in Sight for Metallica

Metallica's members, all in their 60s, are physically fit and mentally sharp.

With this in mind, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett expressed a desire to continue performing as long as they are healthy.

Hammett reveals that the band's drummer, Lars Ulrich, is also in great shape.

Bassist Rob Trujillo shows no signs of aging, attributing their vitality to playing music and being in the band.

Carlos Santana Announces Fall Vegas Residency Dates

Carlos Santana has announced a series of fall 2025 performances of "An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live," to take place at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The new dates include weekends in September and November. These performances are in addition to the eight dates set for May 14-25. Presales start today at 10am local time. Tickets for the new dates go on sale to the public this Friday at 10AM Pacific. Check out the added show dates below.

·September 17

·September 18

·September 20

·September 21

·September 24

·September 25

·September 27

·September 28

·November 5

·November 6

Foreigner Announces Canadian Tour Without Kelly Hansen

Foreigner's headed to the Great White North but lead vocalist Kelly Hansen will be sitting this trek out. The band announced yesterday a series of Canadian shows that will instead feature vocalist Geordie Brown. Brown played the male lead of the 2018 workshop production of Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero, The Musical" in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, so he obviously knows the material. No word on why the change in lead singers, or how long that will last. See Foreigner's Canadian tour dates below. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday. See the band's website for more info.

Oct. 21 - St. John’s, NFL @ Mary Brown’s Centre

Oct. 23 - Sydney, NS @ Centre 200

Oct. 24 - Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre

Oct. 25 - Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre

Oct. 27 - Montreal, QC @ Place des Arts

Oct. 28 - Ottawa, ON @ The Arena at TD Place

Oct. 29 - Kingston, ON @ Centre Slush Puppie

Oct. 30 - Sudbury, ON @ Sudbury Community Arena

Nov. 1 - Sault. St. Marie, ON @ GFL Memorial Gardens

Nov. 2 - Thunder Bay, ON @ Thunder Bay Community Auditorium *

METALLICA: Kirk's Prepping a Solo Album

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett said that he's preparing to make his first solo album.

Hammett's first solo release was the 2022 all instrumental EP Portals. He told Rolling Stone

that this time around he expects to have some tracks with vocals. He says, “I guess the best way to describe it is it’s gonna be a fusion of all sorts of styles…. All of a sudden I’m writing classical progressions, and all of a sudden I’m writing more heavy stuff and all of a sudden I’m writing like a funk thing…. There will be vocals because the songs that I wrote scream for vocals this time around." As for who might sing Hammett says, "I don’t know. I hope I’m not—I already have too much to do on stage." As for what's next for Metallica, Hammett said he's got a ton of riffs for them to work on. "I have 767 new ones for the next album. It is such a nightmare going through this stuff, too. And I’m the one responsible for all of it and I can’t do it…. I don’t foresee us starting the next album for at least another year because we’re still finishing the tour."

LED ZEPPELIN: Sketches of III

A collection of design pages for the Led Zeppelin 3 cover were recently discovered in an estate sale. The spinning wheel cover was designed by Jimmy Page's friend Zacron, whose real name was Richard Drew. Zacron died in 2012, and recently his estate held a sale where collector

Joseph Robert O’Donnell stumbled upon six pages of sketches documenting the progress of the cover, along with Zacron's handwritten instructions on how the wheel would function.

O’Donnell was recently in the news as the guy who discovered a piece of leftover toast that once "belonged" George Harrison that was sold at auction for an undisclosed sum. O'Donnell sold the sketches to Led Zeppelin collector Brian Knapp, who served as an archival consultant on Becoming Led Zeppelin. Knapp tells Louder, "Zacron was a very important artist, and his friendship and connection with Led Zeppelin are equally significant to the band’s legacy. I am pleased to add these to my collection, which I hope to exhibit at some point in the future.

U2 To Become Ivors Academy Fellows

The Ivors Academy is announcing that U2 is the latest artist to become Academy Fellows. The honor makes Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Junior the first-ever Irish songwriters that the organization has inducted into Fellowship. The Ivors Academy is a non-profit professional association for songwriters and composers in the U.K. With U2's inclusion, there are now 21 Ivors Academy Fellows.

An American Who's Embarrassed

Heart's Nancy Wilson said she was embarrassed by the United States 50 years ago -- and now she's embarrassed by the country right now. Wilson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that "Crazy on You," the band's response to the Vietnam War, is even more relevant in the current political climate. "We were kind of embarrassed at that time to call ourselves American because of the dirty politics of the Vietnam War. To be as subtle as possible, it's more embarrassing now." Wilson added that "Barracuda" -- which she said was about "a real sleazeball with a satin jacket" who in the '70s "wanted to make more money out of the sexy chicks in Heart" -- "is even more relevant in the salacious billionaire culture with the grab-them-by-the-(expletive) mentality."

SHEERAN, ELTON, COLDPLAY, PLANT: Supporting Music Education in U.K.

Annie Lennox, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Eric Clapton, Harry Styles, James Bay, Myles Smith, Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon, Robert Plant and Elton John are among the artists who have signed a letter written by Ed Sheeran asking for funds to support U.K. music education. Sheeran posted the open letter to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his social media asking him to approve a music education package of more than $300 million to “repair decades of dismantling music.” Sheeran asks for funding music in schools in the same way that sports are; stopping the closing of university music departments; training up to 1,000 music teachers and launching 500 music apprenticeships in the U.K. Sheeran wrote, “Learning an instrument and getting up on stage – whether in school or a community club – is now a luxury not every child can afford. As an industry, we bring [nearly $10 billion] into the U.K. economy, yet the next generation is not there to take the reins.... The time to act is now.”

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Guitarist Mike Campbell Tells Own Rock n’ Roll Story in New Memoir

Guitarist Mike Campbell, from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has released a memoir titled "Heartbreaker: A Memoir." The book covers the band's journey from its inception in 1976 to Tom Petty's death in 2017. Available for $24.78 on Amazon, the memoir offers insights into Campbell's life and career in rock and roll. The audiobook version is also available on Audible for $0.99 for subscribers. Fans can also purchase the book at BookShop.org and Barnes & Noble.

Stevie Nicks to be inducted into the Pollstar Live! Hall of Fame

Stevie Nicks is set to be inducted into the Pollstar Live! Hall of Fame, which honors artists, executives, and venues who have made a significant impact on live music. The ceremony will take place on April 16 in Los Angeles. Other honorees this year include promoters Barrie Marshall and Louis Messina, as well as the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The Hall of Fame was launched in 2018, with Garth Brooks as the first-ever inductee.

Les Claypool Selling His Tour Bus "Large Marge"

Want a big piece of rock history? It doesn't get much bigger than a whole tour bus. Primus and Les Claypool have announced that their tour bus, "Large Marge," is for sale on eBay. The 1998 Prevost Marathon XL 45-foot Tall Boy is currently listed at $152-thousand and sleeps up to six people. It boasts wood floors, twin sofas, smart TVs and what is being described as a "very unique rich 'regal' interior.'" The possible downside... the bus has logged over 300-thousand miles over the years. That's "rock star" miles, which has to mean even more wear and tear. Check out the listing here.

DISTURBED: We Didn't Start (the Banners on) Fire

Disturbed drummer Mike Wengren called the claims by Chicago's United Center that their pyro damaged the Bulls championship banners "fake news." In an interview with Metal Universe Wengren said, "That's actually false. So one of the stagehands ran with the story and now it's turned into something… We didn't burn anything." He added that "We have extensive pyro and the flames are very high, but it gets tested every day. The fire marshals look at it… Everybody looks [at it] before [the concert] during the day. There's no way we could come even close to the banners." Wengren said that the story is "frustrating for us. Because on one hand, the fan perspective is, 'Wow, their pyro is that incredible, so I've gotta see the show,' so maybe that's kind of cool but then the other hand is as we're continuing on this tour with the same show, every building we go into is now nervous about us causing damage to their building." Wengren also said they would never want to damage anything from the Bulls championship era. "We would never be disrespectful to anyone's building. We are hometown Chicago boys. Why would we desecrate our own team? It's ridiculous."

Amazon Announces Buy Two, Get One Free Sale On Vinyl And Blu-Ray

Amazon is having a "three for the price of two" sale on hundreds of vinyl and Blu-ray titles. To participate in the buy two, get one free sale, add three qualifying items in your cart. The cost of the lowest-price item will be removed at check out. Some of the promotional items include albums by The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Prince and more. It also includes several Blu-ray movies like "Blade Runner: The Final Cut," "Seven," and "The Substance." The buy two, get one free sale only applies to products sold by Amazon.com or Amazon Digital Services.

IN OTHER NEWS

Bruce Springsteen has been added to The Music of Patti Smith tribute concert on Wednesday at New York's Carnegie Hall. He'll join Chrissie Hynde, Susanna Hoffs, Michael Stipe and others on the bill. The house band includes Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Benmont Tench

of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan and Tony Shanahan, who has been in Smith's band for decades.

Dead & Company closed the first weekend of their new residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas by playing "Box of Rain" in tribute to Phil Lesh, who died on October 25th of last year. The residency resumes on Thursday.

98ROCK