In over-the-hill hard rock news: The Quietus reports that Black Sabbath and Metallica will be teaming up to release a limited edition (only 1,000 copies) split picture disc on April 17th, otherwise known as Record Store Day.

The vinyl disc, which will displays the band’s respective logos on either side, is set to feature an alternate version of Sabbath’s “Paranoid” (different lyrics), while Side 2 will feature Metallica’s “Frantic” as remixed by UNKLE.  As only 1,000 copies of the record will be made available, it’s sure to become a collector’s item, though I’m going to assume that it’s the Black Sabbath side of the disc that’ll be moving units, rather than the already-available remix of one of Metallica’s worst songs from their undeniably worst album.

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It’s Metallica time! A rare demo from Metallica — one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time  – has been dug up by the people over at The Metal Den. The demo is a recording of Diamond Head’s “Sucking My Love” featuring Lars Ulrich on drums, James Hetfield on vocals, and former members Dave Mustaine on guitar, Ron McGovney on bass. Check out what Metallic historian Bob Nalbandian said about the discovery:

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Oh my God… Because cruising around in a Trans-Am littered with Hardees wrappers, crinkled pictures of you ex and dog-eared copies of Metal Hammer is, well, bitchin’, L.A. metal mashup band Rock Sugar has crafted the soundtrack to your aimless drives up and down PCH as you reminisce about high school.  Their “Don’t Stop the Sandman” is a merging of the rock of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and the sugary cheese-pop of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”  “Because rock pops.”  Get it?

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It’s that time of year again when we show appreciation to the men who we owe our lives to. No, I am not talking about your future ex-husbands (you know I’m right, have you seen the divorce rates these days??), I am talking about your father! 

Now even though I was generalizing and not all children are blessed to have a father who is always there for them and who always provides them with the love and affection they need but, for the sake of this editorial, we are going to pretend we all have the perfect father and we are trying to get our perfect father the perfect album for a Father’s Day gift.

Not all fathers are alike but they tend to fall in one of the following categories. Find your “father” and check out what kind of music he would prefer…

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The wireless-capable microphones that shipped with Microsoft’s singing video game, Lips, will be compatible with Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Rock Band 2. Being hooked up to a video game console by a short cord impedes many of the more enthusiastic vocalist moves, so singers can revel in this forthcoming freedom.

Today, Microsoft officially announced that  Guitar Hero: Metallica supports the wireless microphones, and Rock Band 2 will be updated this summer to add the feature. Microsoft also stated that “additional titles” will support the Lips microphone, which probably includes Harmonix’s upcoming Rock Band: Beatles.

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Too many headlines, too little time. But never fear! BeatCrave has taken the liberty of scouting out the weekend’s top stories and tightening them up for your speed-reading pleasure. Take a look at the latest scoops:

• Austin Powell of the Austin Chronicle has printed a story that he’s received confirmation that Metallica will take a giant step outside of arena-land to play this Friday (March 20) at Austin, TX’s legendary Stubb’s BBQ for SXSW‘s “Guitar Hero: Metallica” showcase. The venue holds only 2,100 people, so if you plan on going and want to make it in by 10 p.m. to see the band, I recommend getting in line the night before if possible. SXSW won’t publicly affirm Powell’s statement, but I’d say get your metal horns ready, just in case.
• UK’s pop-rockers Klaxons are the latest victims of overbearing label execs. Or at least that’s how the situation appears, because the band has admitted that they will re-record parts of their second album after Universal rejected the first take, which band member Jamie Reynolds described as “really dense” and “psychedelic.” Reynolds indicated that the tweaked tracks, which will be done in four weeks, would be more pop-oriented, but it’s not clear if this is more the band’s decision or the label’s. At any rate, it’s sad knowing that the album in stores won’t be what the band was originally shooting for… bands need to stand up for their music!

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Singstar Queen to be released in March, GDC Awards go to music video game designers, and the Slayer track on Guitar Hero: Metallica looks pretty complex. All in today’s round up:

• Queen fans can rejoice! Out in March, Sony’s SingStar Queen will feature 25 tracks on the Playstation 3, including Somebody to Love, Bohemian Rhapsody and I Want to Break Free. Given Queen’s wide range of style and eccentric fanbase, it’s a difficult task reducing the band’s catalogue to 25. Check out the full track list, have they done a good job? [Kotaku]
• The Game Developers Choice Awards at the San Francisco’s Moscone Center March 25th will be honoring Harmonix Co-Founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, co-developers of a groundbreaking decade-plus long line of music games including Guitar Hero and culminating in the Rock Band franchise, with the Pioneer Award for their work; and Tommy Tallarico, co-founder of the Video Games Live concert series and founder of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), with the Ambassador Award for helping to advance the game audio community. [Video Games Live]
• Slayer’s contribution to Guitar Hero: Metallica is War Ensemble off their album Seasons of the Abyss. This video, from Pelit, shows Neversoft staff playing the difficult song. You can see some quick double pedaling, complex guitar solos and screaming vocals. Check the video out, pure awesome:

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With less than a month before the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival reveals its 2009 lineup, to take place June 11-14 in Manchester, TN, music fans are getting antsy. And we all know what happens when music get antsy about lineups: they start rumors. Here’s are some band names floating around so far:

Led Zeppelin: I’ve got four words for everyone: Here we go again. Yes, John Paul Jones played Zeppelin classics with Ben Harper in two separate performances in 2007, and yes, Robert Plant jammed on some of the band’s tunes with Alison Krauss at last year’s festival. But let’s face it, there are Zeppelin-at-Bonnaroo rumors every year. Sadly, the dream of seeing Zeppelin headline Bonnaroo may be nothing more than a fantasy, especially considering Robert Plant’s informal announcement that he will be focusing on other performances for the next two years and recent comments from Jimmy Page’s manager, Peter Mensch:

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Metallica, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Bobby Womack, and Little Anthony and the Imperials will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Metallica and Run-DMC are of course well known to our readers, but what of the other acts?

Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds before going off on his own career. He has floated between a solo career and various bands, as well as various types of music. He’s always been considered one of rock’s top guitarists, but he never found a band to consistently put out great music.

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