U2’s No Line on the Horizon, which hits stores March 3, now has an official track listing – and, perhaps more importantly, the album cover artwork has been revealed. But ... what is it exactly?

According to the press release, “The cover artwork for the album is an image of the sea meeting the sky by Japanese artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.” I’m on the fence about how I feel about this album cover – so I’m putting it to a vote. Readers, let me know what you think.

Earlier U2 News:

• U2 announce release date for No Line
• Rolling Stone offers sneak peek of No Line tracks

Photo courtesy Interscope.

Since its release at the beginning of November, the Twilight soundtrack has stayed near the top of the Billboard Top 200 album chart. That’s not a surprise – the movie it’s connected to was one of 2008’s highest-grossing films, and the Twilight book series remains extraordinarily popular. But what is interesting is that when you go deeper into the Billboard charts, you discover that the Twilight soundtrack has also dominated ... the Rock Album chart, doing battle for supremacy with Nickelback’s Dark Horse and the Killers’ Day & Age.

“Wait a second,” I thought, “does the Twilight album have actual rock bands on it?” I decided to investigate.

Read my review of the Twilight soundtrack.

Photo courtesy Chop Shop Records.

Metallica are one of the pioneering thrash metal bands – and they’re still going strong 25 years after bursting onto the scene with their misanthropically-titled Kill ‘Em All. (You should have heard what they were going to name the album if their label hadn’t stopped them.) Metal usually doesn’t get much respect from critics or polite society, but that hasn’t stopped Metallica from earning one of the industry’s highest honors – they’ve just been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

There are those who dismiss the Rock Hall as a disgrace to rock music’s original spirit of rebellion, but Metallica demonstrated that their induction isn’t going to tame them – at least when it comes to vulgarity. In their “official” response on their website, the band sounded duly gracious, telling their fans “We are beyond proud to let you know that we will indeed be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” But when reached for comment about the Hall news, drummer Lars Ulrich sounded much more like what you’d expect from Metallica: “I’m not going to give a whole schpeel about ‘come back in 20 years or something’ – I’ll [expletive] take it right now. I’m [expletive] psyched that anybody still gives a [expletive] about this band.”

Others would have said it better, but who else would have said it quite like that? Congrats, Metallica – keep on killing ‘em all. We’ll see you on April 4 for the induction ceremony, which will be airing live on Fuse, undoubtedly on a time delay.

• Read my review of Metallica’s most recent album, Death Magnetic

Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

Thriving Ivory’s self-titled debut came out in June, and this romantic pop-rock band have been steadfastly touring and promoting it ever since. This is a typical story for new bands – you put out your first album and then you spend every waking second of the next 12 months doing interviews and shows to spread the word about your record. But Thriving Ivory can certainly say the work has paid off – Thriving Ivory recently topped Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, which spotlights up-and-coming acts that have as of yet failed to make a sizable impression on the bigger sales charts.

So, lift a glass in honor of Thriving Ivory, but don’t expect them to rest on their laurels. They’re getting right back on the road for a mess of new U.S. tour dates. For a young band, the work just never stops.

Thriving Ivory Tour Dates:

• Jan. 23 - Bakersfield, CA - The Dome
• Jan. 30 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
• Feb. 2 - Orlando, FL - Backbooth
• Feb. 3 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
• Feb. 5 - Mobile, AL - Soul Kitchen
• Feb. 6 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
• Feb. 7 - Tampa, FL - Gasperilla
• Feb. 9 - Atlanta , GA - Vinyl
• Feb. 11 - Covington, KY - Mad Hatter
• Feb. 14 - Madison, WI - The Majestic Theatre
• Feb. 16 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
• Feb. 17 - Green Bay, WI - The Revolution
• Feb. 19 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
• Feb. 23 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
• Feb. 25 - Scranton, PA - Tinks
• Feb. 26 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
• Feb. 27 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
• Feb. 28 - Arlington, VA - IOTA Café
• Mar. 1 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
• Mar. 3 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
• Mar. 15 - Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad
• Mar. 18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Murray Theater
• Mar. 20 - Scottsdale, AZ - Martini Ranch

Photo courtesy Wind-Up.