Van Halen Confirm 2012 Tour

It’s confirmed: 2012 is going to be a huge year for Van Halen, as the hard rockers have confirmed that they will hit the road after the New Year. The news came out Monday (Dec. 26) via a YouTube video showing David Lee Roth and the rest of the band rehearsing together on stage. Individual tour dates have yet to drop, but the video announces that the first round of tickets will go on sale starting Jan. 10. Watch the official, two-minute announcement video, below.

Van Halen recently signed with Interscope Records and are planning to release a new album in 2012. The set is a long time coming, as the band’s last full-length album with Roth was 1983’s 1984. Today’s Van Halen lineup features Roth, original members Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Eddie’s 20-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen, the latter who joined the group in place of bass player Michael Anthony in 2006. (Anthony now plays with former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar in Chickenfoot.)

Who’s stoked for the latest creation from Roth and company? Let us know your thoughts in the comments area!

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Staind Confirm New Studio Album Coming Later this Year

Staind have confirmed they will release their much-anticipated new studio album later this year. As reported by NME.com, guitarist Mike Mushok told Michigan-based radio station WGRD that the album, titled Seven, marks something of a return to the harder-edged style of Staind’s early albums.

“It’s a modern-sounding version of a heavy Staind record,” said Mushok. “It’s completely different than the last record [2008’s The Illusion of Progress]. It’s more of a throwback to where we came from. [But] I don’t think there’s any rehashed riffs; I definitely think it’s fresh.”

Mushok went on to say the album, which the band began working on in late 2010, has been difficult to make. “It was a tough one,” he said. “And it wasn’t even the music or writing it; it’s just that there were a lot of things going on, and it made for a long, drawn-out process, it seemed. But I’ll tell you what – looking back, now that it's done, I’m really, really happy with it.”

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