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Van Halen: An (Almost) 60-Year Timeline

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Anthrax's Scott Ian and Charlie Benante Forced to Sit Out Tour Dates

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On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian contracted a bad viral infection that caused him to be hospitalized near his home in Los Angeles. He was put though a battery of tests, and received fluids intravenously. While he was allowed to go home to await the test results, ER doctors told him he could not fly for at least 24 hours; consequently Ian missed Thursday's show in Kansas City and will miss tonight's Indianapolis show. He is expected to rejoin the band in Fort Wayne on Saturday.

Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante is taking a short leave from the band's concert tour to be with his mother who is terminally ill. Immediately following Thursday's show Kansas City, Benante flew to New York to join his family at his mother's bedside.

In Ian's absence, guitarists from Testament and Death Angel have stepped in to play his parts on various songs; starting with Friday's show in Indianapolis, Testament's drummer Gene Hoglan will fill in for Benante.

Rush Photographer and Juno-Winner Andrew MacNaughtan Dead at 47

Acclaimed rock photographer Andrew MacNaughtan -- who worked with several groups including Rush and Barenaked Ladies -- died earlier this week. He was 47. According to the Toronto Star, the photographer suffered a heart attack in California where he was on assignment photographing Rush.

"We're deeply shocked and heartbroken to learn of the sudden passing of our close friend and long-time photographer, Andrew MacNaughtan," the band said on their official site. "He was a very sweet person and a very talented artist. Words cannot describe how much he will be missed. – Geddy, Alex & Neil"

MacNaughtan's own site shows a photo with "Feb. 25 1964 – Jan. 24 2012" below it although some reports indicate he died Wednesday, Jan. 25. Meanwhile, tributes appeared on his Facebook page, including photos of MacNaughtan on location for a photo shoot with Celine Dion.

Every Time I Die Found the Photo for Their New Album Cover Via Twitter

Epitaph Records

On March 6, Buffalo, N.Y. thrash 'n' rollers Every Time I Die will be dropping their sixth studio album, 'Ex Lives.' If the rest of the Joe Baressi (Queens of the Stone Age) produced album is as heavy as lead single and video 'Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space' is, then we're all in for an ass beating of epic proportions.

The gripping photograph that was used for the 'Ex Lives' album cover (see below) actually came to the attention of Every Time I Die vocalist Keith Buckley through a fan of the band on Twitter. Check out the video below to hear Buckley's explanation of the album cover.

KISS Action Figures: New Dolls Inspired by 'Love Gun' Album Coming Soon

Chiaki Nozu, FilmMagic

Yesterday we posted a gallery of some of the strangest KISS merchandise items we've ever come across. Now we've just learned, from our friends at Blabbermouth, that a toy company will be issuing a new set of action figures based on the original KISS dolls from the late '70s.

"I never understood why 8-inch KISS action figures were not produced back in the 1970s when the Mego toy company had already released the 12-inch versions," said Figures Toy Company CFO Anthony Balasco about the new dolls, which will be released in March.

Each 8-inch KISS action figure will come with a mini replica of their classic 'Love Gun' album cover, and the 12-inch dolls comes with 1 of 4 retro mini KISS concert T-shirts. You know you want one!

Check out the new KISS action figures below:

Scorpions Frontman on Losing His Voice: 'I Thought My Career Was Over'

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They might have announced their retirement in 2010, but the Scorpions have been running the kind of schedule bands half their age couldn't even keep up with. Not only have the German hard rock elder statesmen been out on an exhaustive farewell world tour for the past year or so, they also managed to record a new album in between their treks.

Half of 'Comeblack' features re-recorded versions of some of the most revered songs from the Scorpions catalog. The rest of the new album features the band covering some of the artists that helped influence them in their earlier years, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Small Faces, and T. Rex.

The Scorpions may be closing shop on a high note, but little do most people know how close the band was to losing their beloved frontman, Klaus Meine. In 1982, Meine developed nodes and a polyp on his vocal cords. The condition wreaked havoc on his singing voice, and forced him to walk away from the band during a pivotal point in their career.

"During the early days of the Scorpions – when Michael Schenker was in the band – my voice was really nice and clean sounding. But the problem was we were playing all of these rock 'n' roll cover songs, and I wanted my voice to be trashier sounding. So I started really messing up my voice by screaming during those early days for hours.

Korn Frontman Gets DIY During the Making of 'Sanctuary' -- Video Exclusive

Roadrunner Records


After almost 20 years together, Korn are celebrating a creative high with 'The Path of Totality,' their recently released 10th studio album. The record features the California quintet collaborating with some of the leading dubstep and electronic producers in the world, including Skrillex, Excision, Datsik, Noisia, Kill the Noise, and 12th Planet.

One of the more interesting tracks on 'The Path of Totality' is 'Sanctuary,' a collaboration between Korn and cutting edge DJ/producer Downlink: "He introduced us to a lot of ideas, equipment, items we don't normally work with. It was really cool. Our sound engineer, Jim Monti learned a lot from recording with Downlink, and Downlink learned a lot from Jim, so it was a great experience," Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis told Noisecreep about working with the Canadian DJ.

In this exclusive video, we get a behind-the-scenes look at Davis in a Manila, Philippines hotel room tracking the vocals for 'Sanctuary.'

Orange Goblin Take Us on Set of Their Video for 'Red Tide Rising' -- Exclusive

Candlelight Records

Do you want to go behind-the-scenes on the set of a killer heavy metal video? Okay, then come with Noisecreep and Orange Goblin, as we exclusively share the "making of" documentary of the band's video for 'Red Tide Rising.' It's certainly going to get you psyched for the actual vid, which is set to premiere a few weeks down the road.

The clip is loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft stories and was shot in a series of creepy, spooky, rundown buildings, which are fitting backdrops for the UK band's sludgy music. You'll feel like you are on set with the band, as the director explains his vision. You effectively get a bird's eye view of the creative process.

'Red Tide Rising' will appear on 'A Eulogy for the Damned,' Orange Goblin's seventh studio album, which drops next month.