Update: As I sit waiting to hear if I've actually scored tickets to Judas Priest/Whitesnake and, later in Sept., Chickenfoot, I've been listening to Chickenfoot and Street Sweeper Social Club.
For the most part, Chickenfoot sounds like Sammy-era Van Halen with a veeeeeery different guitarist. There is a reason for this- Chickenfoot (in case you didn't know) is Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith. Joe does an excellent job of letting Sammy be the vocal focus, and when he gets to do a solo, there is no mistake about who it is. If you like Satch or "Sam Halen," you'll probably like Chickenfoot.
Street Sweeper Social Club is another band that sounds pretty much like you'd think it should if you knew the lineup (see my post above). IOW, its like RATM with a different vocalist...
AND The Coup with a live band. The only disappointment is that, in addition to his signature axemanship, Tom Morello also plays the bass on this one- he does a good job, but I can't help but think a dedicated bass player could have done better. Still, for those who liked RATM's heavy bounce or The Coup's socially conscious lyrics, you're going to dig this.
(For those who don't know, "Boots" Riley is every bit as socially aware as Zach De La Rocha, but has a different focus. Where Zach is looking almost exclusively at the global picture looking down, "Boots" starts at the ground and works upwards.)
If you fancy Prog, there is a magazine out there called Classic Rock Magazine presents Prog. I missed the first issue, but the second was pretty cool- including a CD with tracks from a dozen different acts, including something from the new Dream Theater disc. The mag is a great way to sample this genre.
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/top-posts/classic-rock-presentsprog-onsale-wednesday-march-25th/
Kim Thayil has announced that the pending Soundgarden boxed set will contain new material! Yay!
In addition, it seems as if Glam is making a mini-comeback. In the past week, I've seen a new album from Faster Pussycat hit the shelves, and heard that Bulletboys will be following suit soon enough.
Time to break out the Aquanet and spandex!
