Ugh. Sleet and ice wakes me up this morning. I hate it when the city is a glazed donut. I have to walk everywhere I go!…..Well, it’s confirmed! Pulse Of Radio reports drummer Chris Slade confirmed on Sat (Feb 7th) he had returned to the lineup of AC/DC, just one day ahead of the band’s performance at Sun night’s (Feb 8th) Grammy Awards ceremony and telecast. Slade said in a statement, “This is an amazing opportunity for me. After all, most people don’t ever get to play with their favorite band once, let alone TWICE!” Slade added, “I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support I have been shown personally, on the Facebook page and other social media. Not one comment has gone unread and it has been very humbling. Thanks so much. We apologize for the secrecy. Please understand this was for all the right reasons.” The return of Slade — who will also join the band on its upcoming world tour — resolves the question of whether drummer Phil Rudd would remain a member of the group after his recent and ongoing legal troubles. Slade’s name was mentioned early on a possible replacement. He played on AC/DC’s 1990 album The Razor’s Edge and toured with the group until 1993, when Rudd rejoined after an 11-year hiatus. Speculation about Slade grew after he had to bow out of a personal appearance last weekend. Photos later surfaced of him participating in a pre-Grammys event with AC/DC. The Grammy Awards marked AC/DC’s first appearance on national TV in 14 years and its first live performance since the December release of its new album, Rock Or Bust. The band is scheduled to headline California’s Coachella Festival in April, with European and North American tours planned for later in the year. Rudd was arrested last November at his home in Tauranga, New Zealand on charges of “threatening to kill” and drug possession. A scheduled February 10th court appearance to address the charges has been delayed until April due to Rudd’s attorney quitting the case. Meanwhile, the band is reportedly filming a music video this week in LA for “In God We Trust.” Stay tuned for dates for the AC/DC tour for later this year!…I totally forgot to watch the Grammy’s last night. Tenacious D won Best Metal Performance. Now granted, their tune “The Last In Line,” from the Ronnie James Dio tribute album is probably noteworthy, but I am so puzzled but the Grammy choices. Jack White won Best Rock Performance for “Lazaretto.” Best Rock album was won by Beck for Morning Phase, a lovely record, but hardly ROCK. I am sorry. We need these categories to be fair and there seems to be a bias. The Grammys need to separate active rock, metal and alternative rock. All ROCK is NOT THE SAME in my eyes. Harder rock bands get the short end of the stick when it comes to the Grammys and there’s nothing we can do about it. Oh well. Maybe when people stop watching, a message will be sent!….Five Finger Death Punch may have the Number Three on the rock chart with “Wrong Side Of Heaven,” but the band is already deep into production on its sixth studio effort. Guitarist Jason Hook told The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show that the group even has a title for the album picked out, explaining, “We do. But you’re not gonna get it.” He added, “I have all these funny things I’m dying to say right now, but I’m not gonna say anything. ‘Cause we’ve always thought about good joke titles, like . . . Keep Your Receipt . . . orNot Our Best Work. No, I can’t tell you the title.” Hook added there were no official song titles to divulge yet, saying, “Ivan‘s (Moody, singer) sketching lyrics, but until they come together, we name them . . . anything, just so I can refer to it. So there’s one that I just finished called ‘Pulled Pork.’ It won’t be ‘Pulled Pork’ by the time it gets on there.” Hook admitted that the band was on a tight deadline to get the new disc finished, saying, “Deadlines make for a focused work.” Guitarist Zoltan Bathory told us recently Five Finger Death Punch is always tweaking its songs right to the very end: “Up until the last moment, up until the moment the record has to be wrapped and sent to the label, we change things. Because you recorded a song, let’s say, in October and maybe by February, March, you heard it enough and you can go back and say, like, you know what? I want a different guitar solo on it, you know.” A summer release is expected for the new Five Finger Death Punch album. Drummer Jeremy Spencer was recently asked about the band’s new material, saying, “I’m digging it, man. It’s actually more brutal, with more extreme dynamics. There are some really mellow parts and then some really brutal parts. So we’re running the whole gamut of sounds.” Five Finger Death Punch released its last effort, The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, in two parts, with the first arriving in July 2013 and the second following in November 2013. It was good seeing Jason in Las Vegas last month. Love his new haircut!….Young Guns have announced that their third album, Ones And Zeros, will arrive on June 8th in Europe, June 9th in the states. The news was accompanied by the posting of a brand new track from the album called “Speaking In Tongues.” Frontman Gustav Wood told us a while back how the band goes about writing songs: “It’s just kind of try everything and see what works. Usually I suppose John (Taylor, guitar) or Fraser (Taylor, guitar) will bring either a riff or a vague kind of idea for a finished song, and then we’ll all sit down and kind of tear it apart and build it into something that we’re all happy with.” The British act recorded Ones And Zeros in the town of Bath, England….Sorry I missed this! Foo Fighters performed a nine-song set on this past Saturday’s (Feb 7th) edition of PBS’ Austin City Limits. The band’s show, which was recorded Nov 20th, 2014 at ACL Live, included hits like “Times Like These” and “Rope” as well as songs from their latest disc, Sonic Highways. Guitarists Gary Clarke Jr. and Jimmie Vaughn joined Foo Fighters for a cover of the Fabulous Thunderbirds‘ 1986 classic “Tuff Enuff.” Austin City Limits will close out its 40th anniversary on Feb 14th with a Hall of Fame special. (Rolling Stone)….Van Halen has confirmed reports that it will release its first-ever live album with singer David Lee Roth, titled Tokyo Dome Live In Concert, on March 31st as a double CD, four-LP vinyl set and digital package. The 23-song set was recorded on June 21st, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan. On the same date, two of the band’s first six studio albums, 1978’s Van Halen and 1984’s 1984, will be reissued in newly remastered editions. Reissues of Diver Down, Women And Children First, Van Halen II and Fair Warning will arrive later in the spring. (Blabbermouth)….Adelitas Way has confirmed that its new EP, titled Deserve This, will arrive on March 17th. The EP is the first taste of new music coming this year from the band, which recently launched a PledgeMusic campaign to help fund its next full-length album and accompanying tour. Adelitas Way is already on the road as part of the 2015 SnoCore trek, which pulls into Stafford Springs, CT on Tuesday (Feb 10th). The first single will tentatively be “I Get Around.” Rick DeJesus played a bunch of the songs for me and they are all really great. Happy for the band. Check them out when they are in your area!….Here is video footage shot by Korn videographer Sebastien Paquet of Korn‘s performance with Corey Taylor, Clown, Sid Wilson and Chris Fein doing a cover of The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” on Jan 23 in London at Wembley Arena. Slipknot singer Corey Taylor said online doing the song was Korn bassist Fieldy‘s idea, explaining, “We all kinda dug it, we got together, we jammed it out, and the rest is history. So, good on you, Field.” (Blabbermouth)….Saw American Sniper this weekend. Amazing story told by one of the best directors in America. Enjoyed it. Sad for Chris Kyle‘s family, especially now the trial of his murderer is starting this week. And buy your PowerBall ticket! Hey, ya never know!