As if playing Rust In Peace in its entirety on their upcoming tour isn’t enough to get the old school fans back in Megadeth’s camp, bassist David Ellefson has returned to the fold! Yeah, that David Ellefson, the one the was in the band from 1983-2002. Ellefson was in the band for Rust In Peace, and joins guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover.

“This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness,” Mustaine says.  “David Ellefson belongs in Megadeth. Next we are going to show you the power of getting your asses kicked…HARD!”

David Ellefson concurs: “This is a huge moment for all of us, band and fans alike. It is a great celebration of the music from one of the biggest landmark albums of our career.”

Mustaine also gave thanks to James LoMenzo “for several years of loyal service on the bass,” wishing him the best. In addition to playing on Endgame and 2007’s United Abominations, Lomenzo was the bassist of White Lion and has logged time in Black Label Society.

I mean, seriously, what more could any Megadeth fan ask for? And no, Marty Friedman isn’t coming back.

Joe Satriani needs no introduction, but we’ll give you one anyway. One of the best-known instrumental guitar players out there, he’s had a run of solo albums for over 20 years. He’s also designed guitars for Ibanez, launched the G3 Tour, and joined Chickenfoot, a collaboration with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. With a new live album and DVD, Live In Paris: I Just Wanna Rock, in stores now, Satriani recently caught up with Metal Insider to talk about how the industry’s changed, what’s kept him on the same label for so long, and what it’s like designing a guitar.

You’ve been on Epic for quite a long time. What’s kept you at the label?

What’s kept me at the label is artistic freedom. I signed with them when I was still at Relativity, which was where my original deal was. I signed with Epic before Sony really took over, but for another band I had with a vocalist. So I had that deal alongside the solo deal for a while. Once Sony really absorbed Relativity and they fell apart as a label for anything other than rap or urban music, Epic absorbed me. That process started around 1994. In fact, the day we released the eponymous Joe Satriani album, Relativity ceased to exist. It was a really bad situation for a record to come out without a label. Epic hadn’t started yet.

But the guys at Epic and Sony have been great. They ask me when I’m ready to record another record, they give me a recording budget, and ask me if I want an A&R person, and if I don’t, that’s ok. Then they do their best to promote it, and they do it worldwide. It’s been great. (more…)

In case you weren’t paying attention, last year Mastodon unveiled Crack the Skye, an album so cohesive that they’ve been playing it in its entirety for their last few tours. Now a lot of the secondary markets that didn’t get to see them perform it live will get a chance to, and they’ve lined up some pretty stellar openers as well. Starting on April 16, Mastodon will be joined by Between the Buried and Me, Baroness, and Valient Thorr for a month-long tour. Dates will be listed below.

Also, while the lineup for the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival has yet to be announced, the tour’s 4/23 stop at the Palladium in Worcester means that the Fest has its Friday night headliners lined up.

In other news, if you’ve been holding off on picking up Mastodon vinyl, April is your chance to make up for it. They’ll be offering a new limited tour-only color vinyl of Crack the Skye, and on National Record Store Day (April 17 this year), they’ll be reissuing vinyl editions of Blood Mountain in both standard and deluxe editions. The deluxe will be pressed on double 45 RPM discs on 180 gram vinyl in a gatefold sleeve featuring new custom art from Paul Romano. Dates after the jump.

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When it was announced that Them Crooked Vultures were going to be the musical guests on this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live, I instantly was hoping to see the supergroup make an appearance in a skit. While only one member joined the cast in action, I still got my wish. Dave Grohl joined host Ashton Kutcher and cast member Fred Armisen in a sketch where the father of the bride reunites with his old band mates for a performance at the wedding. Lets just say that the wedding guests are in for a Suicidal Tendencies-esque surprise.

Hit the jump to see Them Crooked Vultures performing “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and “New Fang” on the show.

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The old saying for in favor of having lots of  merch designs is “you can’t download a t-shirt.” Well, you still can’t, but coming soon to a store near you is the ‘Music Tee,’ in which you buy a T-shirt that comes with a hangtag with a link redeemable for downloads. According to Digital Music News, Warner Bros.  and Interscope have signed on to license the Music Tee idea, which was created via a joint venture with PR firm Girlie Action and the LA-based label Invisible DJ. What’s more is that the shirts will be counted by Nielsen SoundScan, so they’ll count towards sales.

While many of the shirts available so far are for indie and alternative bands (Third Eye Blind, Mutemath), Girlie Action and Invisible DJ have unveiled a ‘vintage collection’ of shirts, with three relatively niche bands: Bad Religion, Bad Brains, and Exciter. Exciter? Whoa. We didn’t even know Heavy Metal Maniac was still in print! The shirts generally have album artwork on the front and a track listing on the back. The Music Tee is a little steep at $45, but the right combination of album and artwork could make it a worthy purchase. And hey, it might even turn some fashionistas on to music they haven’t heard before. I mean, how many times have you seen someone like Lindsay Lohan ironically wearing a Motorhead shirt? And how many Motorhead songs do you think she knows? Exactly. You can pre-order the three coolest shirts here.