Big day at hardDrive here in NYC! Theory Of A Deadman (you have to hit their Facebook to watch some pretty funny videos) and Bush will be talking to us today. Looking forward to both! If you want to submit questions, please do so now!…..In the news today, Blabbermouth reported Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil told the Sydney Morning Herald the band plans to make a new album in the next few months for a 2016 release.Thayil said, “No studio has been chosen and no songs are written yet. When we finish these shows in Australia (as part of the Soundwave festival), we’ll spend a month or more working on it. It’s definitely going to happen.” He also hinted Adam Kasper, who did Soundgarden’s Down Through the Upside and King Animal albums, might just be the guy they pick to produce. Thayil told us 2015 would find Soundgarden spending less time on the road and more time in the studio: “We’re going to focus on the creative aspect of being a band and start doing some more writing and recording and come up with another album. But I think we’re probably gonna draw back the touring for that purpose.” The new disc will be Soundgarden’s seventh studio effort and will follow up 2012’s King Animal. King Animal was the band’s first album in 16 years and followed a lengthy hiatus that lasted from 1997 to 2010. Meanwhile, lead singer Chris Cornell also recently revealed that he is working on his first solo album since 2009’s Scream….A bunch of albums drop today, including the new First Kiss from Kid Rock! In its review of First Kiss, Billboard said the record is “hardly (Rock’s) most adventurous project, but it is perhaps his most easygoing, tuneful one. The production is crisp and clean, the guitars are sparkling, the vibe is rollicking but relaxed. And surprisingly, kicking back suits Rock: He sounds better here than he has in a long time.” He’s our Featured Artist of the Week on hardDrive XL with Lou Brutus! First Kiss is Kid Rock’s 10th studio album. The new disc follows up 2012’sRebel Soul and is the second in a row Rock has produced himself at his own home studio in Michigan. Rock explores his rock and country side on the new disc and told us he has no regrets about leaving his rap roots behind: “There was some hip-hop stuff that I recorded, and to be honest my chops just aren’t up in that world still. It’s not something that excites me anymore. So just doing good blues-based music, something that I think people are gonna get off to at a show or just have a good time with, or if I could say something in a song to move somebody, you know, that’s kind of where we’re at.” The title track from First Kiss is the album’s first single and currently sits at Number 21 on the rock radio chart. Rock is bringing back his popular “Best Night Ever” tour for a second year. All tickets on his upcoming U.S. trek from the second row to the lawn will be priced at $20, with reduced parking and service fees keeping the total cost below $30. Rock is holding the first row open for random fan upgrades and is making 1,000 tickets from each show available through a special program to ward off scalpers.Support on the tour will come from classic rockers Foreigner. The jaunt kicks off on June 24th in Hartford, CT and will continue into early September…M. Shawn Crahan, aka Clown of Slipknot, will be directing his first feature film entitled “Officer Downe.” It is based on a graphic novel about a police officer who is killed in the line of duty, but is resurrected and returns to the streets to find his killers. Kim Coates, aka Tig Trager of Sons of Anarchy, is casted in the lead role. Clown told us he’s been working his way toward directing a feature for a long time: “I’ve been preparing myself with art my whole life, and preparing myself for directing and scriptwriting, and this is what I’ve been doing for 10 years, is learning and studying and taking it in. You know, I honestly believe that, you know, we are gonna create the next Clockwork Orange and I’m gonna die trying because that’s my life.” Production begins next month…..Pulse of Radio also reports Shinedown frontman Brent Smith revealed at the band’s Twitter account over the weekend the group is “four weeks into recording” its new studio album for a tentative “late July (or) early August” release. The first single may arrive as soon as late April. Smith added that “survival” is a theme for the new disc and stated, “It’s a devastating album — beautifully brutal.” I am hearing a July theater tour is in the works as well. Dates are already confirmed are festivals, though, at the Moondance Jam in Walker, MN on Jul 18th and the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Jackson, MI on Aug 9th. Smith revealed last year that Darren Doane, director of the band’s music videos for “Devour,” “Sound Of Madness,” “Bully” and several others, would be shooting a feature-length documentary to accompany the new album’s release. Looking forward to hearing what they are up to…..Also out today, All That Remains releases its seventh studio album, The Order Of Things. It follows up 2012’s A War You Cannot Win and continues the New England metal act’s musical evolution. Frontman Phil Labonte told us his band isn’t afraid to change up its sound: “There are some bands that want to carry the standard for metal and, you know, they worry about, is it metal enough? But for us, like, we’ve never been those kind of people and honestly I feel like the attitude in the band really kind of reflects the attitude of, like, New England, you know. We’re a little bit coarse and we do what the hell we want, and if you don’t like it, screw ya (laughs).”….Also out today, Rob Zombie‘s Spookshow International Live. Rob has made a video clip available (don’t watch at work unless you have headphones) for the song “Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga.” The live version of the track is taken from Zombie’s new concert album, which features 19 songs from all eras of Zombie’s career….Happiest of birthdays today to: Slipknot Chris Fehn-33, “Uncle Junior” of The Sopranos, Dominic Chianese is 84 and Abe Vigoda of “Barney Miller” & “The Godfather” is 94! (He lives on the Upper West side and I run into him on the street from time to time!) Stay warm, America! Brrrrr.