Black Country Communion are set to release their third album, Afterglow, on October 30. Here’s what vocalist and bassist Glenn Hughes says about the new release:

In terms of content, Afterglow expands upon the progression that took place between ‘BCC’ and ‘BCC2’. “It’s a deeper album, musically, than our first two albums, but it does not step away from the genre we’re in,” said Hughes, who wrote the bulk of the album’s 11 songs after BCC’s Summer Tour in 2011. “I wanted this album to have more acoustic moments than the previous two. I wanted to hear more of Derek [Sherinian] and I wanted an angelic side to the vocals as well as the more aggressive one, like on the songs ‘Crawl’ and ‘Midnight Sun’. Above all, I wanted more drama.”

Here is a trailer for the new album:

Joe Bonamassa and team have released an official music video for the track “Dislocated Boy” off his latest album Driving Towards the Daylight:

In other Bonamassa news, they have released a CD/MP3 double album from his recent run at the Beacon Theater featuring guest spots by Paul Rodgers, John Hiatt, and Beth Hart. I have the DVD that was released from these shows, and it’s a really solid collection of songs with Bonamassa playing at the top of his game.

Joe Bonamassa gives Guitarist Magazine’s Mick Taylor a tour of his current European rig:

UPDATE: Unfortunately, it looks like Guitarist Magazine has taken down the full version and replaced the video with a preview. I’ve added the preview to this post.

Joe Bonamassa and team have published an official trailer for his upcoming DVD release Live at the Beacon Theatre, which you can now pre-order on Joe’s site. The concert was filmed this past November and features guest spots by Beth Hart, John Hiatt, and Paul Rodgers. As a Free fan, I’m particularly interested in seeing Joe and Paul Rodgers performing together. Check out the trailer below:

The Seymour Duncan Custom Shop have partnered with Joe Bonamassa to create the Joe Bonamassa Signature Pickup Set, which attempt to replicate the P.A.F. pickups in Joe’s 1959 Les Paul:

Wound on the historic Leesona machine that created humbuckers for Gibson back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the set features an Alnico 2 magnet in the neck pickup and Alnico 3 in the bridge. Period-correct butyrate bobbins, lightly antiqued nickel covers, wooden spacer, and retro-style “Bonamassa” P.A.F. stickers heighten the vintage vibe.

Only 1,959 Custom Shop sets will be sold. Each will be hand signed by Seymour Duncan and Joe Bonamassa and include a special USB flash drive with video interviews, special features, and more.

Here’s Joe talking about the pickups:

Joe Bonamassa was recently provided the opportunity to play Rory Gallagher’s legendary 1961 Strat during a concert at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Here he is playing Gallagher’s “Cradle Rock” and his own “When the Fire Hits the Sea” on the guitar:

In the next video, Bonamassa plays Gallagher’s Strat on Gary Moore’s “Midnight Blues”:

Nice find by Jon at GuitarNoize.com: Dunlop have created a couple of ads for their Jazz III pick featuring Joe Bonamassa and Eric Johnson. I’ve embedded the Joe Bonamassa ad below; check out Guitar Noize for the Eric Johnson ad.

Leslie West will be releasing a new solo album next month titled Unusual Suspects. The album features a host of guest artists including Slash, Zakk Wylde, Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, and Joe Bonamassa. Below is a video of West and Bonamassa trading licks in the studio on the blues classic “Third Degree”:

Joe Bonamassa is the cover artist for the latest issue of the online guitar magazine iGuitar. Below is a video of Bonamassa jamming with his interviewer from iGuitar, Michael Casswell. This video features some really nice playing from Bonamassa. Check it out:

During their recent European tour, Black Country Communion recorded footage for a DVD titled Live Over Europe that will be released later this year. They have released a trailer for the DVD today, which you can view below:

I’ve heard a lot of good reports from the tour, so I’m looking forward to checking out the DVD.

UPDATE: Some new details about the release have been announced. Live Over Europe will be released as a two-DVD set on October 24, 2011. The track listing for the set is:

1. Revolution of the Machine
2. Black Country
3. One Last Soul
4. Crossfire
5. Save Me
6. The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall
7. Beggarman
8. Faithless
9. Song of Yesterday
10. I Can See Your Spirit
11. Cold
12. The Ballad of John Henry
13. The Outsider
14. The Great Divide
15. Sista Jane
16. Man In The Middle
17. Burn
18. Smokestack Woman

Bonus Features

-Forging BCC – The Making of Live Over Europe
-Photo Collection – Live On Tour
-Photo Collection – Behind The Scenes