Captain Beefheart’s legendary 1976 shelved recording ‘Bat Chain Puller’ is to get an official release on January 15th 2012.

The original album was shelved after a dispute between album producer Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen regarding monies earned via their Discreet Records label, sometime recording home to Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart).

Many of the ‘Bat Chain Puller’ songs were re-recorded and issued on subsequent albums; even the title itself got recycled two years later for Beefheart’s 1978 release ‘Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)’, but despite circulating on bootlegs for many years, those original 1976 recordings have never been available in their entirity on an official basis.

January 15th would have been Don Van Vliet’s 71st birthday.

2011 has been a good year for Thin Lizzy fans, with various deluxe reissues bringing new life to the band’s classic back catalogue.  The year saw deluxe and expanded reissues of ‘Jailbreak’, ‘Johnny The Fox’, ‘Bad Reputation’, ‘Live & Dangerous’, ‘Black Rose’ and ‘Chinatown’.

The end of the year also saw the release of a seven disc (6CD+1DVD) box set of the band’s extant BBC recordings.  It was not complete, however, since Lizzy’s 1983 performance at the Reading Festival was conspicuously absent.  The gig was previously issued by a BBC subsidiary in the mid 90s, but for whatever reason, they chose not to include it as part of an otherwise unmissable set.

The band’s 1974 and 1975 releases ‘Nightlife’ and ‘Fighting’ seemed to be overlooked – an odd move in the case of the latter – but there’s some great news.  Both albums will be reissued as 2CD deluxe sets on February 27th 2012.  As yet, no tracklistings have been announced.

Following those, it is likely 1981’s ‘Renegade’ and 1983’s ‘Thunder & Lightning’ will receive deluxe treatment – making a complete set of expanded studio albums – but this is not yet confirmed.  The absent Reading Festival ’83 appearance would make a perfect bonus disc for ‘Thunder & Lightning’ after all.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Sun newspaper, long-serving Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil has made suggestions that he may quit the band sometime in the near future.

He told the newspaper he is “seriously contemplating a split from the band after their run of concerts at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel from February 3 to February 19, 2012.” He added, “There are so many opportunities that are in front of me that I’m really excited about. I just don’t want to look back later in life and regret that I didn’t pursue them.

“I’m just not sure I can give these opportunities the time and effort I’ll need to and continue with the band. It’s been a great ride, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it, but being out here relaxing in this beautiful place has given me the chance to reflect on what direction I want the rest of my life to take. I’m really giving it a lot of thought.” [Source: Blabbermouth]

Neil left the band previously in 1992 before returning five years later. In his absence, Mötley Crüe recorded a flop album (self-titled) vith vocalist John Corabi, previously of The Scream (and leter to team up with ex-KISS man Bruce Kulick in The Union). While this Mötley Crüe record isn’t very well thought of among fans, it was home to one storming single, ‘Hooligan’s Holiday’. During this period, Vince Neil released a couple of great solo records, 1993’s ‘Exposed’ and 1995’s hugely underrated ‘Carved In Stone’.

Mötley Crüe have recently visited the UK as part of a double-headline stint with Def Leppard.

To promote the release of their 2011 dubstep project ‘The Path To Totality’, Korn return to the UK next March for a short run of live dates.

Fans wishing to experience Jonathan Davis and crew’s experiments with alt-metal and dubstep can see Korn at the following venues in March and April 2012:

London O2 Academy Brixton (March 25)
Birmingham O2 Academy (26)
Manchester Academy (28)
Glasgow O2 Academy (29)
Bristol O2 Academy (April 3)

Watch the complete 90 minute launch gig for ‘The Path To Totality’ here.

In February 2012, veteran UK rockers UFO release ‘Seven Deadly’, their twentieth studio album.

Featuring founder members Phil Mogg (vocals), Andy Parker (drums), Paul Raymond (keys) and long serving members Pete Way (bass) and Vinnie Moore (guitars), ‘Seven Deadly’ features the following tracks:

01. Fight Night
02. Wonderland
03. Mojo Town
04. Angel Station
05. Year Of The Gun
06. The Last Stone Rider
07. Steal Yourself
08. Burn Your House Down
09. The Fear
10. Waving Good Bye
11. Other Men’s Wives (bonus track)
12. Bag O’ Blues (bonus track)

The band’s final choice of artwork? See below.