C101 HITMAN ROCK REPORT

While appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Sharon addressed the Waters comments shortly after Ozzy's death and had a few choice words for the former Pink Floyd leader.

Ever since drummer Josh Freese was let go by Foo Fighters back in May (two years after he replaced the late Taylor Hawkins), he – as well as fans – have been asking one basic question: “Why?”

The news comes from Brian May's wife, Anita Dobson, who recently told the "Mirror" that there won't be any world tours in the band's future.

We told you last month that Guns N' Roses was embarking on a 2026 North American tour, but we didn't tell you who was opening for them (because we didn't know). Yesterday, the band revealed who would provide support for their 2026 trek.

Gene Simmons has always been quick to speak his mind, but it's not often he walks something he's said back.

Sharon Osbourne says that the night before Ozzy died, he asked her to kiss him and hug him tight.  She also says he was incredibly happy in his final weeks because of the Back to the Beginning concert.

As if announcing their "Dos Amigos Tour" with Dwight Yoakam last month wasn't enough, ZZ Top has doubled down, announcing a second tour to run alongside that one. Yesterday the Top revealed "The Big One!" tour, which adds 19 more dates to their already busy 2026.

We're a quarter of the way through the new millennium, so Pollstar thought it time to tally up the biggest live draws in music. Yesterday, the site posted the "Top 25 Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium," and if you're automatically putting Taylor Swift or the Rolling Stones at the top, think again.

Jack Osbourne has just announced that he and wife Aree are expecting their second child together; he also revealed that dad Ozzy Osbourne was told he was going to be a grandfather again shortly before his passing back in July.

Coming off the glow of being honored this past weekend at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, Gene felt it necessary to speak out on the passing of KISS co-founder and guitarist Ace Frehley.

Stage fright can be quite concerning for a singer, but according to I Prevail singer Eric Vanlerberghe, his previous bouts with it have not come from playing to their biggest audiences. In fact, as he tells Full Metal Jackie, it's quite the opposite.

Turns out we were right. Last week we told you that Aerosmith seemed to be teasing a collaboration with Yungblud and country superstar Lainey Wilson.

The songs are the first new material from GN'R since 2023, when they released "Perhaps" and "The General" a few months apart from each other. The band initially teased these two new tracks for a Dec. 2 release, but they came out this morning (Dec. 4) instead.

Avenged Sevenfold have released new music as part of a video game tie-in that allows players to hear it before anyone else.

Could Lainey Wilson be taking her skills into the rock world (at least temporarily)? Aerosmith made a rather intriguing IG post yesterday, showing Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Yungblud (who just collaborated on the joint EP "One More Time" ) with the caption "A 'Wild Woman' feature coming soon.

Another pepper is breaking loose! Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea will release his debut solo album next year on Nonesuch Records, but it’s not what you think.

Judas Priest have announced their first tour dates of 2026. The Faithkeepers tour will see the tireless heavy metal legends perform in 10 European cities in July and August. You can see the complete schedule on their website.

Evanescence have announced a massive world tour for 2026 and they're bringing along some heavy-hitting opening acts. The tour will be Evanescence's first as a headlining act in nearly four years.

Back in the old days, you held a celebration with fireworks. In 2025, those archaic means have been replaced with high-tech drone shows.

Nikki Sixx and Mötley Crüe were serious ten years ago when they called it their "Farewell Tour." As the bassist explained to Portland, Oregon's "KPTV Fox 12," the band was done and they were "cool with it." But music fans weren't done with them.

Tool recently kicked off their November/December 2025 tour by playing two consecutive nights at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. In addition to performing many fan favorite regulars, they surprised audiences by also pulling out a handful of tunes that they haven’t done in concert in over 20 years.

Guns N' Roses have announced their 2026 tour plans, and fans in North America are going to be pumped. The upcoming tour includes visits to Mexico and Brazil ahead of additional EU markets, mixing in two dates in Florida May 5 and 7.

Great White guitarist Mark Kendall has revealed he's battling Stage 4 kidney cancer. On his Facebook page, Kendall wrote "Just wanted everyone to know I was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer a few months ago.

Lenny Kravitz says a female fan in Australia ripped four dreadlocks out of his head when he went into the crowd during a show.  But he won't stop doing it.  Quote, "That's our moment together."

Gary Mani Mounfield, bassist for The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, has died at age 63. His brother Greg announced the sad news on Facebook, saying Gary has been reunited with his wife Imelda, who died from cancer in 2023.

After Vince Neil's health issues and extended hiatus from performing, his return to the stage was, in some fan's eyes, a little rough. The Internet was filled with videos of Vince sounding...less than optimal.

OK, so we broke the hearts of Audioslave fans by reporting new music with Chris Cornell is not coming any time soon. However...we have good news for fans of Cornell's work with his band Soundgarden.

Sorry, Audioslave fans, but Tom Morello says you'll have to keep waiting for that last album featuring the late Chris Cornell.

Mötley Crüe is going back on the road. The band has announced "The Return of the Carnival of Sins," an extensive 2026 North American tour that will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking 2005-2006 Carnival of Sins Tour and the 45th anniversary of the band. 80s rock fans take note: the 33-date tour will feature openers Tesla and Extreme.

The Welcome to Rockville festival has announced its full lineup for 2026 with more than 160 bands performing. The four-day festival runs May 7th through the 10th at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

While fans of KISS have been lead to believe the band is wrapping up their illustrious career, Paul Stanley says "Hold up a second."

How do you insure that people - fans and non-fans alike - remember you for years after you end your career? Dave Mustaine of Megadeth has just the idea. He wants the band's final concert to take place in outer space.

The three Thanksgiving Day NFL games will include halftime performances from Jack White, Post Malone, and Lil Jon.

A Limp Bizkit show in Estonia has been canceled, because Fred Durst once called Vladimir Putin "a great guy with clear moral principals" and supported Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra and Ezra Ray Hart Talks abour his friendship with Emerson Hart of Tonic and his Whataburger Order. Hear the entire interview on "Classic Hitz" with Hitman Podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

AC/DC's show in Melbourne, Australia registered low seismic activity on Wednesday night.  But Taylor Swift's Eras Tour gave off larger signals from the same venue.

With Ace Frehley passing just weeks before KISS was to be honored at the Kennedy Center Honors, it's only fitting that the three remaining original members of the legendary band honor their fallen brother.

Call it "The Long Goodbye"...the really really long goodbye. For fans of Megadeth hoping to see the band on their farewell tour, you'll have plenty of opportunities, according to Dave Mustaine.

KISS legend Ace Frehley's official cause of death has been announced. The rock legend passed away nearly a month ago, on October 16, at the age of 74.

Hellfest 2026 has announced 183 bands for its four-day festival happening June 18-21 in Clisson, France. The headliners are Iron Maiden, Bring Me the Horizon, Limp Bizkit, and The Offspring.

Three Days Grace have announced a massive 2026 world tour featuring support from I Prevail, the Funeral Portrait, Sleep Theory, Finger Eleven and Royal Tusk at various stops.

There are quite a few rock and metal musicians who've served in the U.S. military, so we thank them and all the other U.S. veterans for their service.

Hundreds of music legends and legends-to-be gathered Saturday night at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles, and it was an evening of once in a lifetime collaborations, laughter, tears and most of all, music.

To honor the 30th anniversary of the album, the band has announced a deluxe box set will be released early next year. The box set will be a veritable closet full of music and merch, including three seven-inch singles and a cassette, ten custom art prints, 12 tarot cards, and two double-sided 24 by 24-inch posters.

It's almost the end of the road for Journey. Yesterday, the legendary band announced that next year's tour will be their last.

The phrase "Death was a great career move" has proven true once again in the case of Ozzy Osbourne. At the beginning of the year, TouchTunes jukeboxes began publishing their TouchTunes charts, a quarterly accounting of what artists and which songs are being played on TouchTunes jukeboxes (60-thousand of them) around the world.

Wolfgang Van Halen doesn't want generative A.I. to create music.  Quote, "A.I.should be doing the stuff that we don't wanna do, so we can focus on the creative stuff."

CORE featuring Chris Iorio formerly of Adelitas Way and mark Morales formerly of Sons of Texas are opeing for Stone Temple Pilots and the Toadies in Corpus Christi. They tell us about their latest single "Wasted Time".

Just days after Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke insisted that he and Paul Rodgers would be playing two songs at the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Rodgers has said he's not going to be there.

The lineup for 2026's Download Festival has been announced. There's a retro vibe to many of the acts, though current rock is also well represented.

The Thunder from Down Under rolls on! AC/DC has announced their tour plans for 2026. Their "Power Up" tour will now extend into next fall, with a number of North American dates added.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl have given Korn a rather fashionable shoutout online and it was met with excited joy by multiple members of Korn.

So what was the big announcement former KISS drummer Peter Criss was teasing last week? It was revealed Friday that he was releasing a new solo album. Simply titled "Peter Criss," the album is due out next month.

To mark the 25th anniversary of their "Awake" album, Godsmack has announced the collection will be reissued with plenty of bonus material. The expanded edition of their sophomore album will be available on a dual LP smoky green color vinyl and on CD.

Alice Cooper and illusionist Criss Angel are teaming up for a very special limited Las Vegas engagement.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is keeping details on the performances for the upcoming 2025 induction ceremony under wraps, but some details have gotten out.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced yet another wave of big names who will serve as performers and presenters for the upcoming 2025 Hall induction ceremony. Per usual, they're not saying who does what, but the new names include both musicians and non-musicians.

Fans of Faith No More, prepare to be disappointed. While it should come as no surprise, with drummer Mike Bordin saying in an April interview that frontman Mike Patton was “unwilling” to do anymore FNM shows, keyboardist and founding member Roddy Bottum is also not willing to reunite with the band.

A Perfect Circle announced a 2026 European tour that will serve as the band's first headlining trek since 2018.

Chappell Roan and The Killers have been added to the lineup for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  The show goes down November 8th.

Last night (Oct. 25), Linkin Park kicked off the South American leg of their ongoing world tour (in support of 2024’s From Zero) at Vive Claro in Bogotá, Colombia. They’ll be joined by Poppy for the entire run, and concertgoers were treated to a special surprise when Poppy joined Linkin Park to perform one of the band’s biggest songs: “One Step Closer.”

Bad Omens will embark on a North American arena tour next spring with support from Beartooth and President.

The first single "My Only Angel" came out last month, but the band decided to take another swing at it, adding a long-time friend to the mix. Reaching out to comedian (and banjo legend) Steve Martin, the band felt he had something to add to the track.

Slash doesn't think the Las Vegas Sphere is rock 'n' roll friendly because of the focus on projected visuals.  He says Joe Walsh, who's played there with the Eagles, agrees.

Head bangers, get ready. Iron Maiden has announced they're bringing their "Run For Your Lives Tour" to North America in 2026, and they won't be alone. Megadeth will be on all shows, and Anthrax will open the bigger shows.

Ace Frehley was laid to rest on Wednesday in New York City.  The small, private ceremony was attended by the other three original members of KISS:  Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss.

40 years on, Axl Rose is still gonna be Axl Rose. The fiery Guns n' Roses frontman showed that he can still engage in some attitude on stage at the band's recent concert in Buenos Aires.

More names have been added to the growing list of performers and presenters for the upcoming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

UPDATE 10/21/25: Two more men have been arrested in connection with the death of Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins.

Judas Priest just engaged in a significant bit of philanthropy. The legendary band wrote a check for $100-thousand to the Los Angeles Fire Department before their show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Slipknot have filed a lawsuit against an alleged cybersquatter who's been using the URL slipknot.com to advertise counterfeit merchandise for nearly a quarter-century, Billboard reports.

Perhaps they read the Rush subreddit, where fans were complaining about the limited number of shows and tickets available for the band's "50 Something" tour. Yesterday, Rush announced the addition of 17 more shows to their 2026 reunion tour, the second time they've added dates to the upcoming trek.

We've heard from Neal Schon. We've heard from Jonathan Cain's reps. Now let's hear from Cain himself on the conflicting, confusing stories about his status in Journey.

Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers died Saturday, at the age of 48.  There's no word on the cause of death, but he did have liver disease.  He took a hiatus from the band in 2015, but returned in 2018, following a transplant.

KISS co-founder and original guitarist Ace Frehley has passed. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had what was first described as a "minor fall" in his home studio last month, but as the weeks passed and more concert dates were canceled, fans grew concerned. Yesterday, the shocking news came that Ace had been put on life support and the prognosis was not good. Hours later, his family announced that the guitar legend had passed away.

Disturbed have now issued a statement after their Belgian concert originally scheduled for Brussels on Oct. 15 was called off with local officials citing safety concerns.

It seems as though the concert may be turned into an annual memorial event to honor the life and legacy of Ozzy as an application has been submitted to trademark the "Back to the Beginning" name in the U.S., according to U.K.'s Mirror. 

Following the success of the first two, Iron Maiden is getting a third volume in the "The Official Iron Maiden Colouring Book" series. "Volume III" is specifically designed to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, and their "Run for Your Lives Tour."

LYLVC rocked the house at Brewster Street Icehouse last night wrapping up their tour with Saliva. I recently asked Alyse from LYLVC that her day job is a hacker?

There's a lot of Nickelback hate out there (though Ryan Reynolds is a staunch defender), but if you're one those that slags the band, you at least have to recognize that Chad Kroeger is a beast.

A tribute to Ozzy Osbourne utilizing over 10-thousand pumpkins has caught the attention of his family. A massive pumpkin mural made in honor of the late legend at Sunnyfields Farm in Totton, Hampshire, England is made entirely of black, white and orange pumpkins.

It was a heavy metal wedding, from the bride and groom to the officiant to the guests. Anthrax/Pantera drummer Charlie Benante and Butcher Babies/The Violent Hour singer Carla Harvey were wed over the weekend.

Police have now reportedly arrested two men in the prison attack on former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins that claimed his life.

It seems like everything Journey does ends in some sort of disagreement. On Thursday, Neal Schon said in a social media post that Jonathan Cain had "announced his farewell" from the band.

It's been 17 years; almost time for a new Guns N' Roses album, right? It was 17 long years between 1991's "Use Your Illusion I & II" albums and 2008's "Chinese Democracy" (not counting their covers album, 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident?" So, quick math tells us that it's been 17 years since their last collection of original tunes. So....? Isn't it time?

We'd heard from Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee about the 2026 Rush tour, but one voice remained silent: new drummer Anika Nilles.

Chevelle frontman Pete Loeffler and drummer Sam Loeffler revealed in a podcast episode that they haven't spoken to their brother and ex-bandmate Joe Loeffler in 20 years.

On Tuesday, Gene Simmons landed in the hospital when he passed out behind the wheel of his Lincoln Navigator in Malibu, crossed several lanes of traffic, and hit a parked car.

The legendary trashed home from Slipknot's "Duality" video is about to go on the auction block again, according to The Des Moines Register.

For heavy metal fans looking for that one-of-a-kind conversation piece, have we got news for you. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler is giving fans a chance to own a piece of history.

Bring Me The Horizon has announced their "N. American Ascension Program 2" tour for April and May 2026 with Motionless In White, The Plot In You and Amira Elfeky. The tour kicks off April 28th in Toronto and includes a show at New York City's Madison Square Garden on May 2nd.

Rush is back, for a "fifty-something" anniversary tour next year.  Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be joined by German drummer Anika Nilles, who has the unenviable task of sitting in for the late Neil Peart.

When Chris Daughtry set out to finish his latest EP, Shock to the System (Part Two), he admitted that it felt like a daunting task.

Dickinson has been tapped to sing the National Anthem prior to tomorrow night's Los Angeles Kings-Colorado Avalanche hockey game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles as part of the National Hockey League's first day of regular-season play.

In a recent interview with Des Rocs I asked him what his dream duet would be with and you would be surprised who he says it would be! Check out the full interview on "Classic Hitz" with Hitman #podcast on the @iHeartRadio app!

The Smashing Pumpkins' breakout album "Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" turns 30 years old later this month.

We just got new music from Judas Priest last week (the charity single "War Pigs" featuring Ozzy Osbourne), but fans will be psyched to know there's more new music coming.

Nine Inch Nails will return for their second leg of North American tour, announcing their first 20 tour dates of 2026.

Earlier this year, Alice Cooper reunited with his original band for the first time since the early 70s, and the resulting album, "The Revenge of Alice Cooper," was a critical and commercial success.

A federal court has ruled in favor of the members of Nirvana in a case brought by Spencer Elden, the now grown man who was the naked baby that appeared on the band's iconic 1991 album cover for Nevermind.