Joe Strummer (real name John Graham Mellor), one of the key members of the seminal British punk rock band THE CLASH, died died on Sunday at his farmhouse in Somerset, southwestern England at the age of 50. The cause of his death was not announced.

A message dated Dec. 23 on strummersite.com confirmed the singer's death. "Joe Strummer died yesterday," reads the message. "Our condolences to Luce and the kids, family and friends."

The star was the band's guitarist, singer and songwriter alongside Mick Jones.

He had been touring with his most recent band, THE MESCALEROS, until last month, rounding off a tour in Liverpool.

Hein van der Rey, managing director of Epitaph Re ...

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SAXON frontman Biff Byford has addressed the ongoing legal battle over the band's name with fellow original members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson via a lengthy statement posted on the group's official web site.

The statement reads as follows:

"Hi, I hope everyone is well!

"I have been reading the message board with interest just lately and it seems as though the recent press release from [OLIVER/DAWSON SAXON] has pissed you all off, so I thought I would write and fill in a few gaps (it could take awhile, so bear with me).

"As you may know or may not know, OLIVER DAWSON [sic] tried to register the name SAXON in 1996. They were successful but they did not tell us, th ...

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Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says that Voivod, the veteran Canadian thrash band he recently joined, can kick Metallica's ass.

Says Jason: “I have to show respect to them, but at the same time I can offer the challenge. I'd like to play on the same stage, Voivod and Metallica, and we're gonna see who's what. That's really important to me, as a fan of Metallica, to see them come on and kick ass again. But also at the same time, I think that I'm in a band now that can kick their ass. So that's where it's at, guys. The offer's out on the table.”

“It would only happen if James [Hetfield] called me and asked m ...

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The following is a quote from Timo Tolkki in the forums sections of the Stratovarius homepage and can be found here.

"I just got back from the promo tour and received the news that it´s on the net already. I have taken the necessary steps to find out the persons, who have put it there. I have contacted our lawyer and the internet department of the Helsinki police. I already have in my possession some ip numbers and there´s more to come. We have obtained a list of journalists who have received the promo copy. We will find those people who did this and they will face a court ...

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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of BATHORY's formation, Black Mark Records will re-release the group's albums in the classic vinyl format. All LPs will be re-mastered and will include an enhanced original layout and sheet of full lyrics in full color.

The records set to be reissued are the following: "Bathory" (1984), "The Return…" (1985), "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" (1987), "Blood Fire Death" (1989), "Hammerheart" (1990), and "Twilight of the Gods" (1991).

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WHITESNAKE have finalized and confirmed their 2003 touring lineup. It is as follows:

Vocals - David Coverdale
Drums - Tommy Aldridge (OZZY OSBOURNE, THIN LIZZY)
Guitar - Doug Aldrich (DIO, LION, BURNING RAIN)
Guitar - Reb Beach (WINGER, ALICE COOPER, DOKKEN)
Bass - Marco Mendoza (TED NUGENT, THIN LIZZY)
Keyboards - Timothy Drury (EAGLES, DON HENLEY)

The band will make their live debut as part of a three-band North American package — also featuring THE SCORPIONS and DOKKEN — beginning in late January. European dates will follow in the spring.

The first month's worth of dates for the forthcoming tour are as follows:

Jan. 29 - Jacksonville, ...

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Guitarist Patrick Lachman has left HALFORD in order to commit himself fully to his band DIESEL MACHINE.

The following is frontman Rob Halford's official statement on Lachman's departure:

"Last month, November 2002, Pat Lachman notified all of us at HALFORD Central that he had decided now was the time to commit himself fully to his band DIESEL MACHINE. Further, he wanted to focus on collaborations with several other musical contemporaries this coming year. Therefore, he would be unavailable for the forthcoming HALFORD tours.

"Although we respected Pat's decisions, we did make multiple efforts to sway him into keeping the option of touring with HALFORD open. Sadly for us, Pa ...

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Yngwie Malmsteen threatened to kill a fellow passenger on a flight to Tokyo, Japan after the woman poured a glassful of water on the guitarist. The passenger, who had no prior contact with Yngwie, allegedly overheard Malmsteen making derogatory comments about homosexuals and decided to show her disapproval by emptying the contents of her glass on the hefty axeman. A member of Yngwie's touring entourage, who was traveling with Malmsteen at the time, had a tape recorder running and managed to catch Yngwie's reaction on tape immediately after the guitarist was "assaulted" by the offended passenger.

To download an MP3 file containing Yngwie's response to the "water attack," i ...

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Sweden's OPETH have completed the recording process for their new CD, "Damnation", at No Man's Land studios in London, England under the watchful eye of PORCUPINE TREE frontman Steven Wilson. The CD, which will be mixed by Wilson for a March 2003 worldwide release, has a "strong '70s vibe both in material and production," according to the band, and will feature material that sounds "nothing like anything we've ever done before."

In other news, OPETH have confirmed two gigs during December. They will be sharing the stage with AKERCOCKE at Mean Fiddler/Astoria 2 in London, England on Dec. 4, and will be traveling to Athens, Greece for a one-off concert there on Dec. 6. Proper worldwide t ...

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It has now been officially announced that the remainder of the North American tour has been cancelled apparently due to health problems within the band.

GUNS N' ROSES fans at Philadelphia's First Union Center began rioting after being told that the group were a no-show Friday night (Dec. 6).

About 14,000 people in the center were informed over the public address system at approximately 11:15 p.m. that a band member had fallen ill and the concert had been postponed.

GUNS N' ROSES played in New York City's Madison Square Garden Thursday night. Tickets for that show sold out in 15 minutes with the other cities doing close to capacity business, according to the band's official ...

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