It’s official. The Thomson Brothers had to have been reinacting a scene from The Walking Dead! Pulse Of Radio says Slipknot guitarist Mickael “Mick” Thomson has been charged with disorderly conduct after an incident earlier this month in which he and his brother were involved in a knife fight with each other and arrested. According to the Des Moines Register, a police investigation concluded both the 41-year-old Thomson and his 35-year-old brother Andrew were responsible for the March 11th confrontation. The two brothers were both charged with disorderly conduct by fighting or violent behavior in a public place. Disorderly conduct is a simple misdemeanor under Iowa law, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of $65 to $625, or both. Police said that the altercation between the brothers started around 4:25 a.m. inside Mickael’s house in Clive, IA and spilled onto the front lawn. When officers arrived, the two men appeared to be intoxicated and had sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Mickael suffered a stab wound to the back of his head. Both men were transported to local hospitals in separate ambulances. Neighbors reported nothing unusual happening at the house earlier in the day. The brothers’ next court appearance is scheduled for March 30th. The two siblings have declined to press charges against each other. Slipknot will launch a spring U.S. trek on April 25th in Fort Myers, FL, ending on May 16th in Grand Rapids, MI…..Pulse also says Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell revealed in a post at his Facebook page he has completed the recording of his fourth solo studio album with producer Brendan O’Brien. The yet-to-be-titled disc is expected to come out later this year. Cornell’s previous solo outings include 1999’s Euphoria Morning, 2007’s Carry On and 2009’s Scream, an ill-advised attempt at urban pop produced by Timbaland. After Euphoria Morning failed to achieve the same kind of success Cornell had reached with Soundgarden — who disbanded in 1997 but reunited in 2010 — he joined the instrumental members of Rage Against The Machine in Audioslave, which made three albums between 2002 and 2006. Cornell has done solo performances throughout his whole career and told us a while back why he enjoys them: “You get, in a sense, addicted to that feeling of not so much the intimidation beforehand, but like the feeling of it afterwards when it actually worked and people liked it. And there’s also this, a thought that’s always followed me, which was, how much of a musician are you, really, if you can’t walk into a room, pick up an instrument and entertain people by yourself playing some songs?” Cornell also recorded “Heavy Is The Head” with The Zac Brown Band, performing it live on SNL a couple of Saturdays ago The single is doing quite well at rock radio, too…..Say it ain’t so! Just read on Blabbermouth Sharon Osbourne announcing Black Sabbath‘s farewell show will take place Nov 21-22 at Ozzfest Japan in Tokyo. Here’s the evidence. Korn will also be on the bill. Hmmmm. Does this mean a final tour is in the works?..The main acts for this year’s Heavy Montreal bill Aug 7-9 is Slipknot, Faith No More, Korn, Lamb of God, Iggy Pop, NoFX, Bullet For My Valentine, Arch Enemy, Meshuggah and more! www.heavymontreal.com….This is kind of kookie. Van Halen will promote the release of its new concert album, Live: Tokyo Dome In Concert, with an appearance on the April 2nd edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. A post at the show’s website stated, “They are ‘what dreams are made of’ . . . a legendary, ‘unchained’ world-renowned rock band that continues to tear up the stage four decades since their beginning. Van Halen is here! In a daytime exclusive, the California rockers will take over Ellen’s stage to perform one of their favorite songs as they embark on their greatest hits tour!“….Sad news on Friday when we heard about the passing of Anthony Jude “A.J.” Pero, best known as the drummer in Twisted Sister, who died at the age of 55. Pero was on tour with the band Adrenaline Mob at the time. After members of that group failed to rouse him on their tour bus Friday morning (March 20th), he was taken to a Poughkeepsie, NY hospital and pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack. Pero joined Twisted Sister in 1982, leaving the band in 1986 but returning in 1997. He remained a member of the group, which has toured on and off over the past 15 years, to this day. He played drums on six of the group’s seven studio albums, except for 1987’s Love Is For Suckers. Twisted Sister rose to prominence from the New York club scene in the early 1980s. Their biggest album, 1984’s Stay Hungry, contained the hits “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock.” The surviving members of the band — who toured last year to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Stay Hungry — issued a statement saying, “The members of Twisted Sister are profoundly saddened to announce the untimely passing of our brother, A.J. Pero. The band, crew and most importantly the family of A.J. Pero thank you for your thoughts and prayers at this time.” Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider said in a separate statement, “A.J. was the final piece in a band that would become an international sensation and one of the greatest live rock acts to ever hit the stage . . . My heart breaks knowing I will never feel the power of his beat behind me, or turn to see his face smiling broadly from the sheer joy he got from doing what he loved. I will always remember that smile. RIP my friend.” In addition to touring with Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob, Pero also recently played with former members of Iron Maiden and Disturbed in a band called The Foundry. He also hosted drum clinics and seminars. Very sad….Celebrating life today is Ric Ocasek of The Cars, who turns 66.