In addition to the big stories we covered today, Wire-to-Wire provides you with some of the other key rock and metal news items from March 28, 2018:

- Are Deftones working on new music? In a pair of new social media posts, it appears as though the band has returned to the studio. "Someone say jam?," reads the caption in one of the posts, featuring a number of hashtags including #backatit. The second post is a shot of guitarist Stephen Carpenter playing his ESP. See the posts here and here.

- Will this be the story of your life this summer? Social Distortion will load up and hit the road with support from Aaron Lee Tasjan, Low Cut Connie and Jade Jackson for dates in June and July. The tour primarily hits the Western and Midwestern U.S. and Canada. See the stops here.

- Congrats to Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, who has been chosen as Northern Ireland's Hospice Ambassador. The honor was announced by Joe Elliott at a recent show at London's Royal Albert Hall. Watch footage of the announcement here.

- I Prevail have booked a handful of dates around their spring festival appearances. Set aside time to see them in May and June at these stops.

- Ministry's Al Jourgensen and Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra recently hung out at Ministry's show in Sacramento. As seen below, Biafra is sporting a "Trump Hates Me" t-shirt. Speaking about Ministry's longevity, Biafra stated, "One of the main reasons Ministry still has their audience is that Al opens their shows with the newest songs from the newest album, instead of playing it safe with an oldies revue, with maybe one new song and a tiny plug for the new album, and then wonder why so few people want to buy it. I've seen so many great bands think they're playing it safe with the 'hits,' and wind up dying on the vine." See Ministry's tour dates here. By the way, these photos were taken by Burton C. Bell, who is part of Ministry's touring band this time around.

Courtesy of Ministry
loading...
Courtesy of Ministry
loading...

- Mike Shinoda continues to build upon his live solo performances, signing on for the Reading and Leeds festivals in the U.K. on Aug. 25 and 26. A new wave of performers were just announced for the show, with Dinosaur Pile-Up, Death From Above, The Used and plenty more also joining in the fun. Get more info on the additions here.

- Fire it up! The Melvins have a quick-hitting new video for their song "Embrace the Rub." Watch the clip here and look for the song on the April 20 release of Pinkus Abortion Technician.

- Mushroomhead have returned to the stage after recently losing two members. The band performed at Music Lynxx in Mentor-on-the-Lake, Ohio with Steve Rauckhorst stepping in on vocals and Tommy "Tankx" Shaffer helping out on guitar. The two musicians fill the voids recently left by Jeffrey Nothing and Tommy Church. See fan-shot footage from the show here.

- Who's ready to go on a cruise with Kid Rock? The musician has revealed more participants in the upcoming 2018 edition of the Chillin' the Most Cruise. A Thousand Horses, Yelawolf, Cowboy Mouth, PRISS, Scooter Brown Band, Mickey Lamantia, DJ Soulman, Jessimae Peluso and Joseph Reohm will all be on board. The cruise sets sail April 10-14 heading from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas. Get more details here.

- Sons of Apollo are releasing a new EP based around their single "Alive," with both English and Spanish language versions (under the name "Tengo Vida") being included. A new lyric video for the Spanish-language version can be found here. The EP is available now through digital outlets.

- Sammy Hagar's "Red Til I'm Dead" 70th birthday bash will air on AXS-TV Sunday at 10PM ET. The concert special will include Chad Kroeger, Darryl McDaniels, Eddie Money and The Circle. See a trailer here.

- Awwwwwesome! Enjoy this throwback photo posted by Halestorm's Lzzy Hale with her father and the late Ronnie James Dio.

- Ministry's John Bechdel, who has also played with Killing Joke, Prong and Fear Factory among others, is the subject of a new documentary. Look for Killing the Joke: The John Bechdel Story, centering on the keyboardist and featuring interviews with several of his peers, being issued as digital release May 19 with a special DVD release coming Aug. 23. For more info on the film, check here.

- Motograter will pack it up and roll it out with more dates scheduled for late spring. The band, supporting their 2017 Desolation album, will kick off the run May 6 in Las Vegas with a West Coast run. They also have a few dates in June and July as well.

- Whoa! Zeke are off to the races with their new video for "Two-Lane Blacktop." Watch the clip, which features a mix of performance and old drag race footage, right here. The song can be found on the band's Hellbender album, due this Friday (March 30).

More From 96.3 The Blaze