Steven Adler continues to exorcise his demons

Ex- GNR drummer Steven Adler told Billboard.com about his new autobiography, “My Appetite For Destruction: Sex & Drugs & Guns N’ Roses.”

“It’s so healing, getting all those things out of my system. You can’t take 30 years of pain and all that stuff and just get rid of it immediately, but at least I’m starting to get it out and I’m starting to become my own person again. I wasted so much of my life, it’s great to have survived and be living again.”

“I know the four of us besides Axl would love to do it,” he said. “I know besides millions and millions and hundreds of millions of dollars that would be involved, I think if we played for the whole world, it would be such a relief…like, ‘God, they’re finally playing!’ It’s what so many people really want, y’know?”

This blog has posted many times on Adler’s obsession with his past, and, as always, it’s good to see him have a release. Here’s hoping this autobiography is the last of it. Then it’s time to finally move on. For Steven, Adler’s Appetite is the future, not Guns N’ Roses.

Testament joins the American Carnage

Testament are getting ready to tour North America with fellow heavy metal heavyweights Slayer and Megadeth on the highly anticipated AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR — the first time in 20 years since joining forces for the Clash of the Titans Tour in 1990.

“We’re gearing up to start what will be known as the heaviest thrash event ever,” states TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson. “Slayer, Megadeth and Testament haven’t shared the stage since the original and first tour in 1990 of Clash of the Titans in Europe. New thrash fans that only heard rumors and never were able to witness Clash of the Titans will be delighted because all three bands are just as heavy and lethal as ever, if not more. Old school thrash fans, if you missed the line-up before, you don’t want to miss this!” Peterson added, “We’ve had great success during the two and a half year The Formation of Damnation campaign, and feel honored and excited to end the campaign with a tour like this. After the AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR, we head straight into the studio to work on new material for our forthcoming record, releasing mid 2011 through Nuclear Blast Records.”

Front man Chuck Billy reflected on the VIP experience that Testament fans can expect this summer:

“If there is one thing true about us, we love our fans so much that we want to hang out with them, give them special shit and then throw them INTO THE PIT! This tour is huge, with three of the greatest bands in metal reuniting after 20 years. We want to make you a part of this special event. So hook yourself up with a TESTAMENT AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR VIP Pack today.”

Wow. He’s a natural pitchman!

The exclusive AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR VIP package includes:

- One general admission ticket with early entry (where available)
- Exclusive Meet & Greet with the members of TESTAMENT
- Personal photograph with the band
- Autograph session (includes 8X10 photo)
- Exclusive TESTAMENT Affliction Shirt
- Collectible Tour Poster (limited, numbered)
- Exclusive TESTAMENT Music Skin
- Official VIP Meet and Greet Laminate
- Official set of TESTAMENT Guitar Picks

See below for all AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR dates, as well as more recently announced international dates:

CATCH TESTAMENT ON THE 2010 AMERICAN CARNAGE TOUR

7/23 Quebec City, QC @ Pavillon de la Jenuesse

7/24 Montreal, QC @ Heavy MTL @ Parc Jean Drapeau

7/26 Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre

7/27 Moncton, NB @ Moncton Coliseum

7/29 Toronto, ONT @ Molson Amphitheatre

7/30 London, ONT @ John Labatte Center

8/11 Albany, NY @ Glen Falls Civic Center

8/12 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center

8/14 Boston, MA @ Tsongas Center at UMASS Lowell

8/15 Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center

8/16 Wallingford, CT @ Chevrolet Theater

8/18 Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre

8/19 Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena

8/20 Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion

8/21 Minneapolis, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium

8/23 Kansas City, @ Cap Fed Park @ Sandstone Arena

8/24 Denver, CO @ Magness Arena

8/25 Albuquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum

8/27 Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre

8/29 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

8/30 Long Beach, CA @ Long Beach Arena

8/31 San Francisco, CA @ Cow Palace

9/1 Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena

9/3 Seattle, WA @ Wamu Theatre

9/4 Portland, OR @ Washington County Fairgrounds

AUSTRALIA

8/6 Melbourne, AUS @ Billboard

8/7 Sydney, AUS @ The Manning Venue

8/8 Brisbane, AUS @ HiFi

A Little Kiss

Nice. At least Kiss doesn’t take itself so serious anymore.

AC/DC grossed a staggering $226 million in last year

Second to U2, according to Forbes:

“This Australian heavy metal group has been shaking audiences all night long since 1973 and shows few signs of stopping. Second only to U2 in band tour earnings, AC/DC grossed a staggering $226 million on a worldwide tour that included 99 dates and brought in more than $2 million a night.”

AC/DC surpassed even Beyonce. It has to make rockers everywhere feel good about seeing a hard rock band like this do so well.

Mike Portnoy: “Luckily, Dream Theater was never a hit band”

Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy:

Luckily, Dream Theater was never a hit band, because I would hate nothing more than to always go out and play the same exact songs because that’s what people want to hear. I’m seeing this with Iron Maiden right now, because they chose to do a set list on this tour that is, basically, from the last 10 years. And there’s a big backlash amongst some of their fans. On one end, I can understand the fans’ point of view, the ones that do want to hear the hits, but, on the other hand, I understand Maiden’s point of view, that they don’t want to be stuck playing the same songs for the rest of their lives. They put out new albums; they want to play the new music. Usually, when I write set lists, it is a wide-open palette that I can choose from. I like to pick over 100 songs and not feel like we have to play anything.

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