Newsbites: Foos not taking break

Relax: Dave Grohl

Foo Fighters mainman Dave Grohl has told fans to calm down after rumours spread saying the band were about to take a second hiatus. The story arose after he told the crowd at the Reading Festival last weekend: “It’s the last show of the tour and it’s the last show for a long time.” Now he’s said: “Relax – I was only talking to England, about England! Stop eavesdropping, internets!”

Baroness frontman John Baizley has been released from hospital following the band’s horror bus crash a fortnight ago. He’s the last of the band to be sent home to the US. In a brief statement a band spokesman says: “All remaining 2012 tour dates have been cancelled. Thank you for all the continued support.”

Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian will release their third Black Country Communion album, Afterglow, on October 29.

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament has formed a new side project, RNDM, with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur. They’ve worked together intermittently since 1999. Debut album Acts will be released on October 30 ahead of a 16-date US tour in November.

Chickenfoot will re-release their self-titled debut album on Ocotber 16 with additional tracks in a double-disc format. Frontman Sammy Hagar says: “Our former label went out of business and the album was discontinued. You could not find it anywhere, which is crazy. We got the masters back and we thought we should include some live tracks from Chickenfoot III.”

AC/DC‘s 1975 track It’s A Long Way to the Top If You Want to Rock and Roll has been added to Australia’s National Registry of Recorded Sound, one of just 64 songs to have made the grade.

A new biography of Slash, entitled An Intimate Portrait, will be published in October, promising “a real and complete perspective of today’s most iconic guitarist.” It includes contributions from the man himself plus a foreword by Ronnie Wood and a preface by Joe Perry. The publication ties in with a special edition of Slash’s second solo album Apocalyptic Love.

Saxon have finished recorded work on their next album, due in February. It’s to be mixed by Andy Sneap of Megadeth, Accept and Exodus fame.

Iron Maiden will release their first eight albums in vinyl picture-disc format starting in October, to mark the band’s current retrospective Maiden England tour. Two records will become available each month until February.

London’s Hard Rock Cafe will team up with auctioneers Bonhams on 22 September to offer memorabilia collectors the chance to have their prized items valued for free. The Antiques Rockshow runs from 10am until 1pm and includes the opportunity to enter items to Bonhams’ upcoming entertainment auction, which takes place in December.

Heart biography Kicking And Dreaming will be published on September 18, in which Ann and Nancy Wilson “recount their story as two sisters who have shared over three decades on the stage as leaders of one of our most beloved rock bands.”

Deftones‘ next album will be called Koi No Yokan. Frontman Chino Moreno promises “aggression and soothing elements” in the follow-up to 2010′s Diamond Eyes.

Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World’s Greatest Rock Band is published on November 6. Written by Barney Hoskyns, the book promises “a fresh look at Led Zep’s music, cultural significance and legend, as well as the highs and lows of the sex, drugs and rock’n'roll lifestyle.”