Musicians React to Jon Lord’s Passing, Vision of Disorder Return + More News

Some of hard rock's most notable musicians have taken to their respective social media pages to post their thoughts on today's passing of Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord at the age of 71 from cancer:

Slash: "[It's a] sad day in rock and roll; Jon Lord has passed on. One of the biggest, baddest, heaviest sounds in heavy metal. One if a kind."

David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple): "It was an absolute joy and pleasure for me to know him and to work alongside him. He is missed already."

Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell): "very sad to hear of Jon's death, following his battle with the demon cancer. [He was] one of the great musicians of my generation. Tony Iommi recently worked with Jon, and said what a lovely bloke he was. I met him a few times, but never got to work with him. Blessings."

Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater): "I'm very sad to hear about the passing of Jon Lord. He was an inspiration to me!"

Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne): "My condolences to Jon Lord's family, fans and friends on his passing. Jon, thank you for being a part of the soundtrack of my life."

Best Buy and Premiere Radio Networks have partnered with Nikki Sixx and his syndicated "Sixx Sense" radio show, which is broadcast in 100 markets, for "Sixx Sense Rock," a multi-platform promotion. Essentially, it will bring the "best rock on the radio" into Best Buy stores. Additionally, a "Sixx Sense Rock"-branded display will feature a selection of eight rock albums in stores nationwide. In addition, Sixx Sense's website will highlight one of the albums each week for eight weeks. "Sixx Sense Rock" will also feature consumer contests during the two-month run. The first contest offering is a chance for a lucky fan to win a pair of tickets and a flyaway to see The Tour, featuring Motley Crue and KISS in a city of the winner's choosing. The contest is up through July 31. Go here to enter. [Via Press Release]

Insane Clown Posse will host the 13th annual Gathering of the Juggalos, which will take place from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12 in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois. The lineup has been announced. Outrageous events and activities are planned throughout the one and only summer festival that runs 24-hours-a-day. Are we already at 13 Gatherings? You can stop the Juggalos!

The Main Stage talent at the Gathering is set to include Three 6 Mafia, Geto Boys, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Master P, Tech N9ne, Mushroomhead, Rehab, Soulfly, Danny Brown, Slaine, Swollen Members, Hed(pe), Fear Factory, Static-X, DMX, The Game, Kottonmouth Kings and more. Psychopathic Records' Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, Anybody Killa, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Dark Lotus, Psychopathic Rydas and more are all set to appear, as well. This year's hosts are Chop & Sugar Slam, Rude Boy, Jumpsteady and Ric Flair.

Special late night events will be Violent J's West Coast Block Party featuring Lil EZ, The Pharcyde, Warren G and Glasses Malone; Shaggy 2 Dope's East Coast Block Party featuring The Fat Boys, Raekwon, Rahzel, and Biz Markie, and Twiztid's Dirty South Party.

Comedians Cheech and Chong, Jamie Kennedy, Ralphie May and Bobcat Goldthwait are all confirmed to be on site, as well. A wrestling stage, seminars, autograph signings, free carnival rides, a wet t-shirt competition, karaoke contest, tattoo contest, JCW try-outs, open mic, Miss Juggalette Competition and Violent J's Beach Party are all part of the event's programming.

Between the Buried and Me will release The Parallax II: Future Sequence, a 72-minute new opus, on Oct. 9. The concept of The Parallax II: Future Sequence picks up where the 2011 EP, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues, left off. Warning: It's complex, but hang on. Stick with us and BTBAM through the explanation, since it's worth it.

"The two main characters of the story take on a journey through space and time with the unenviable task of having to cure the flaws of humanity by any means necessary. While the EP served mostly as an introduction to the characters, Future Sequence contains the action of the story. The lyrics are written in the stream of consciousness style, which really helps to capture the perspective and emotion of the characters. We really enjoyed the challenge of writing this record, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised with how well the music and lyrics jived with one another. I couldn't be happier with how Future Sequence turned out," commented guitarist Paul Waggoner.

That was a mouthful, right? But seriously, stay with us, as vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers commented, "This album is Between the Buried and Me on steroids. I feel like we have created an album that perfectly mirrors the band we've been trying to create since day one: An album that has sounds that will stimulate many genres and music fans alike. A conceptual journey that takes the listener to worlds that seem familiar and worlds that make you scratch your head." Rogers continued, "From start to finish, this is music we want to create, not music we think people want us to create. We create songs that keep us (and hopefully you) excited about heavy music. Keep listening... something new will be there each time. Enjoy the music... we enjoyed writing it."

It's a lot to digest, but BTBAM have always been ahead-of-the-curve, complicated headbangers. [Via Press Release]

Vision of Disorder will drop The Cursed Remain Cursed on Sept. 18 via Candelight Records. It features 11 tracks of VOD goodness. "We feel we accomplished a very unique, vicious and exciting record without compromising the VOD brand of hardcore," said guitarist Mike Kennedy. "The Cursed Remain Cursed sounds like nothing we've ever done." Vocalist Tim Williams added, "the songs are raw, real and from the heart." We can't wait to hear it, as we consider VOD one of the premier bands of the mid-'90s, pre-metalcore explosion. They wrote the blueprint, so we know this has to be good! [Via Press Release]

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