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Proving that no one does Metallica better than Metallica, acts such as Sum 41, Limp Bizkit, Korn and Avril Lavigne gamely covered songs by the hard rock group at MTV’s annual tribute concert on Saturday while fans impatiently awaited a set by the honorees themselves. Playing in public for the first time with new bassist Rob Trujillo, Metallica ran through a fast and furious medley of songs, including “Creeping Death” and “Sanitarium,” before unveiling the speed-metal song “Frantic” from their upcoming album, “St. Anger.” Still a little rusty from a long layoff, Metallica performed “Frantic” twice after deciding that the… Read more »

The woman who locked horns with Sharon Osbourne in a Los Angeles restaurant last week has fired back with her own version of how the scrap happened. Renee Tab, a talent agent whose war of words with the metal matriarch escalated to violence at the Japanese restaurant Koi, claims Osbourne spat on and kicked her and made threatening and ethnic remarks. Osbourne “started screaming racial slurs,” Tab’s lawyer, Najila Brent, told New York’s Daily News. She called the Iranian-born Tab a “Persian carpet cleaner” and threatened to “send someone to slash [her] face and break [her] leg,” according to the… Read more »

In a pairing that would alter the architecture of the music business, Apple Computer Inc. is in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, for as much as $6 billion, sources said. Such a seemingly unlikely combination would instantly make technology guru Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and chief executive, the most powerful player in the record industry. Universal, which reaps about $6 billion in sales annually from artists such as 50 Cent, Shania Twain, U2 and Luciano Pavarotti, would be controlled by a maverick who revolutionized the computer market and coined the mantra… Read more »

EMI Group, home to stars from the Rolling Stones to Norah Jones, came under more pressure to find a suitor on Wednesday after its debt was slashed to “junk,” sending its shares to their lowest level in more than 10 years. EMI, the world’s third-largest music company, saw its stock slump 13 percent after Moody’s slashed its debt below investment grade late on Tuesday on concerns about the weak outlook for the music industry, stoking fears about the group’s profits and dividend. Faced with an increasingly gloomy outlook, EMI has been in talks in recent months with two rivals –… Read more »

Former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has rejoined with guitarist Slash, drummer Matt Sorum, and guitarist Izzy Stradlin to form a band that’s basically back together except for singer Axl Rose. The enigmatic frontman continues on with a current Guns N’ Roses lineup consisting of guitarist Robin Finck, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarist Richard Fortus, guitarist Buckethead, and drummer Brian “Brain” Mantia. The only current member that was around playing with the old band is keyboardist Dizzy Reed. McKagan was asked his thoughts on the current Guns N’ Roses-and Sorum added his two cents. “It’s not Guns N’ Roses, you… Read more »

Could 2003 be the year that EMI finally finds a mate? Frenzied gossip among executives at this year’s Midem music industry conference on the French Riviera would suggest so. As a new group of suitors eyes the EMI dowry, which includes the Beatles back catalog, bets among the glitterati at Cannes are that the world’s third biggest music company will pair up with one of its old flames: BMG or Warner Music. Yet some still hold out hope for a more dramatic swoop by private equity houses led by an industry guru – cash-rich Clive Calder being one contender after… Read more »

When Guns N’ Roses announced they were going on tour this fall after a nine-year hiatus, fans of the heavy metal band snapped up tickets. Axl Rose was back and there was talk of a new album. But the comeback has been no “Paradise City.” Rose, the mercurial frontman whose disappearing acts have long irritated fans, failed to show up for the opening show Nov. 7 in Vancouver, prompting thousands of ticket holders to riot outside the venue. The band was a no-show again last week in Philadelphia, and fans got unruly. By then it became apparent that the “Chinese… Read more »

In a dark world, we’re drawn toward fire. But within the fire, there is danger, and a different kind of darkness. On Precious, the new album from OURS, Jimmy Gnecco is the fire. His voice seduces, soothes – then slashes through the skin of indifference. The songs are a shout of anger or a cry of pain, unleashed from inches away. The band’s debut album, 2001’s Distorted Lullabies, also seemed wrenched from the guts of someone who, for all his youth, had weathered a lifetime of turmoil. But Precious comes like sonic surf from a place even more unsettled. Though… Read more »

Members of the Cult, Guns N’ Roses, and Red Hot Chili Peppers will play as Camp Freddy for a pre-Halloween show on Wednesday, October 30 at an as-yet undisclosed venue in Los Angeles. The Camp Freddy band (named for a character in the 1969 Michael Caine (news) film, The Italian Job) features bassist Billy Morrison of the Cult, drummer Matt Sorum from Guns N’ Roses, and guitarist Dave Navarro (news) of both the Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, along with vocalists J.S.Clayden from Pitchshifter, Scott Ford, and Donovan Leitch, the son of 1960s U.K. folk-rock icon Donovan. Confirmed guests for… Read more »

Pop heart-throb Robbie Williams has signed the biggest record deal in British music history, The Sun newspaper said Wednesday. The shares of EMI Group Plc climbed five percent in London after tabloid reports that the record company had signed a $125.5 million deal with the former Take That singer hailed as the new Frank Sinatra. The deal, thought to be for four albums, will give the performer unique control over his work and includes a commitment to try to make him a star in the United States, a market he has failed to break into, the newspaper reported. EMI representatives… Read more »