ROCK NEWS REPORT 28 FEB 18

SHOWTIME DEVELOPING DOCUMENTARY ON STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

Cable channel Showtime is developing a documentary about Stone Temple Pilots. Kent Sevener, Showtime executive VP of content acquisition & business & legal affairs, revealed the existence of the project in an interview with Broadcasting & Cable, promising "a compelling story" and explaining that "not a lot has been done about the band." Sevener did not indicate when the documentary would air or if footage has already been compiled for it.

  • STP will releases its self-titled seventh album on March 16th. The set marks the recording debut of singer and one-time The X Factor contestant Jeff Gutt as the third vocalist in the group's history.
  • Gutt made his live debut with the band last November at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles.
  • Before that, STP had been without a vocalist since November 2015, when the late Chester Bennington -- who joined the group in early 2013 -- departed to spend more time with his main band Linkin Park.
  • Scott Weiland, who reunited with the group in 2010 after an eight-year hiatus but was dismissed in 2013, died in December 2015 of a drug overdose while on a solo tour.
  • STP will begin its first tour with Gutt on the mic this Friday (March 2nd) in Santa Clarita, California.

Story source: Broadcasting & Cable

GHOST TO HIT THE ROAD IN NORTH AMERICA THIS MAY

Ghost has revealed the dates and venues for its "Rats! On The Road" North American tour, which kicks off on May 5th in Riverside, California and ends on June 1st in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Swedish occult metal act has been working on new material since last year and is expected to release its fourth studio album in late spring or early summer. The tour is named after one of the songs on the LP, "Rats," although it has yet to seen if that is the album title as well.

  • Ghost's new LP will follow up 2015's Meliora, which featured the Grammy-winning breakthrough hit "Cirice."
  • Forge told Revolver about the upcoming disc, "It is loosely themed around the concept of death and doom. It's a themed album around medieval times, but it's definitely clinging onto a lot of very current things."
  • Newly confirmed Ghost tour dates (subject to change):
    May 8 - Houston, TX - Revention

Story source: press release

SIDE NOTES:

  • All of Ghost's social media channels have switched to blank red backgrounds, possibly in advance of more new announcements.
  • The new album and live show are expected to feature Forge appearing as Papa Emeritus IV, after his Papa Emeritus III was dragged offstage last year during the final date of the band's European tour. An elderly character called Papa Emeritus Zero also appeared at that gig warning of changes to come.
  • Although Ghost has allegedly done each of its albums and tours with a new Papa Emeritus, it's been Forge -- the only original member of the group -- under the mask and robes all along. He revealed his personal identity last year while responding to a lawsuit by four former members of Ghost, who were known in the band as Nameless Ghouls.

MUSE ASSEMBLING BOX SET OF EARLY, RARE RECORDINGS

Muse has revealed that the band is in the process of assembling a vinyl box set titled Origin Of Muse that will collect early material including unreleased songs and demos, as well as photos and videos. The package will cover the era from the trio's formation through its first two albums, 1999's Showbiz and 2001's Origin Of Symmetry.

Speaking on Beats One, the band members admitted that the set was "still in progress," with drummer Dominic Howard saying, "There’s some really early versions of some of the Showbiz tracks and a really early version of ‘Plug In Baby’ which is actually quite an old song and it didn’t make the first album."

  • Howard added, "There was some really old live recordings that we found as well from the early days. We’re still just debating whether they’re actually listenable or not! I think it will happen eventually . . . it’s a big old wormhole of old footage and music and cuttings and ridiculous pictures of us at school and stuff.”
  • Frontman Matt Bellamy explained that there were unreleased songs from later albums in the vault as well, saying, "There’s a track called ‘Soaked’ we did that was going to be on the (2004) Absolution album but it felt like an Elton John tune . . . Everyone sort of agreed that even though it was a good song it wasn’t really right for Muse. We recorded it. That’s buried somewhere."
  • Muse released a new single and video on February 15th called "Thought Contagion." The track follows "Dig Down," which was released last year. The band intends to issue two more singles in the coming months, with the full album arriving either in the fall or early 2019.

Story source: NME

CHECK IT OUT: Watch Muse perform its early hit "Plug In Baby":


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