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BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Geeer Butler have vowed to continue recording their new album without Bill Ward after the drummer announced that he will not be able to participate in the recording of the reunited band's new album or perform with them on tour unless he is presented with what he described as a "fair agreement" and a "signable contract" that financially reflects his contributions to SABBATH's history and his standing as a founding member of the band.

Ward issued a statement in which he said in part, "At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the BLACK SABBATH album and tour. However, I am unable to continue unless a 'signable' contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band."

Ward added that he worked last year in "good faith" with fellow original members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, including rehearsals and a November press conference in Los Angeles. But then, he wrote, "Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another 'unsignable' contract was handed to me."

The drummer, who played on 10 of SABBATH's first 11 studio albums, emphasized, "Although this has put me in some kind of holding pattern, I am packed and ready to leave the U.S. for England. More importantly, I definitely want to play on the album, and I definitely want to tour with BLACK SABBATH."

The recording sessions for the original band's first new album in 33 years were recently moved to London so that Iommi, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, could be close to his doctors.

Ward wrote that he's "spent every day" getting ready to head to England, but added, "My guess is . . . I will know nothing of what's happening unless I sign 'the unsignable contract.'"

He also wrote, "The place I'm in feels lousy and lonely because as much as I want to play and participate, I also have to stand for something and not sign on. If I sign 'as is,' I stand to lose my rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician."

Ward addressed the possibility of his being replaced, saying, "I hope you will not hold me responsible for the failure of an original BLACK SABBATH lineup as promoted . . . It would be a sad day in rock if this current situation fell to the desires of a few."

In response, Iommi, Osbourne and Butler have issued the following statement:

"We were saddened to hear yesterday via Facebook that Bill declined publicly to participate in our current BLACK SABBATH plans... We have no choice but to continue recording without him although our door is always open... We are still in the U.K. with Tony. Writing and recording the new album and on a roll... See you at Download!!!"

SABBATH is scheduled to release its new album later this year and is confirmed to play the U.K.'s Download festival in June. All other tour plans, however, are up in the air pending Iommi's ability to overcome his illness.
 
AEROSMITH lead singer Steven Tyler's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the January 22 AFC title game between the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens was blasted online, with one fan writing on Twitter, "Steven Tyler's national anthem before the Patriots/Ravens game couldn't have been any worse if John Madden farted it through a harmonica." Tyler was also ridiculed for having a teleprompter nearby — apparently in case he forgot the words.

"I don't know. As I said before, I put emphasis on, 'In the land of the free' and I went up," Tyler explained to the Associated Press. "Oddly enough I hit the note so I don't know what they are talking about. I emphasized 'free' which was for freedom. It was well thought out prior to. I wasn't messing with American tradition."

"That song is a bitch," Tyler's AEROSMITH bandmate Joe Perry told the National Post. "They should just get one guy, like an opera singer, who delivers the song exactly the same way when you see the American flag or the Canadian flag, so no one messes with it. Why can't somebody interpret it the way that they want?"

Perry said that Tyler flew from his home in Los Angeles, after attending two funerals, to sing the national anthem and that his AEROSMITH lead singer meant no disrespect.

"He's got a one-in-a-million voice and people are lucky to hear it," said Perry. "Give me a break, he's a rock singer. He's using the tools that he's got."

The singer's previous performance of the national anthem, at a Boston Bruins hockey game in 2010, came under fire when he mumbled or mispronounced some of the lyrics, and his 2001 performance at the Indianapolis 500 was panned when he changed the line "home of the brave" to "home of the Indianapolis 500."

Tyler returned last month to "American Idol" for his second season on the panel of judges.

He and the rest of AEROSMITH have been working on a new studio album, which is tentatively set for release this spring.
 
"American Idol" singer Adam Lambert has reportedly told U.K.'s Daily Star that he will join the legendary British rock band QUEEN for a tour this summer.

Lambert, who previously performed with QUEEN at the MTV European Music Awards last November, said that he had "no intention" of trying to replace the group's original frontman Freddie Mercury.

"The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some fucking great songs. It's to keep the music alive for the fans and give it an energy that Freddie would have been proud of," he said.

He added, "After the EMAs, I heard faint little slithers of backlash from people saying, 'You can't replace Freddie Mercury.' But I already knew that. There's no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That's impossible. The way I'm choosing to view it is that it's a great honor and one I'm in no way going to shirk."

QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor confirmed to Billboard late last year that he and May were in talks to hit the road with Lambert. After going public with the fact that QUEEN is essentially retired as an active touring unit, Taylor said, "[Lambert] has grown into a really great performer with an astonishing voice with a range that's great. We would like to work with him again. There's nothing signed just yet but we're talking about live dates. It could be very exciting."

1991's "Innuendo" was the last album of new music QUEEN released during Freddie Mercury's lifetime. Mercury died of AIDS on November 24, 1991 at age 45.

In 1995, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon overdubbed Mercury's final piano and vocal recordings to create the band's 15th — and final-four man QUEEN album — "Made In Heaven".

Deacon officially retired from music in 1997 — although he is still a voting member and quarter partner in QUEEN.

In 2008, Brian May and Roger Taylor, who had been touring with Paul Rodgers as QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, released the chart bomb, "The Cosmos Rocks", before calling it a day as a trio and a recording entity — despite a string of globally sold out concerts.

Recently released are deluxe editions of their final five albums as part of the band's 40th-anniversary celebration. The albums — "The Works" (1984), "A Kind Of Magic" (1986), "The Miracle" (1989), "Innuendo" (1991), and "Made In Heaven" (1995) — all of which are sold in a exclusive box set through Amazon.com.
 
METALLICA will make a special announcement on Tuesday, February 7 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

A teaser video for the announcement can be seen below. The text in the clip reads, "You've seen them at festivals across the world. But you've never seen them… Tune in Tuesday, February 7 at 11 a.m. PST. Metallica.com."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich hinted during the band's 30th-anniversary celebration in December that the group would make an announcement in January about a special interactive fan event to take place in June.

Ulrich recently told Rolling Stone that the band is "seven, eight songs" into the writing of its next album. Ulrich explained, "We do it in rounds. We come up with something, we leave it, go to the next thing, come up with something basic, leave it and circle back around." Guitarist Kirk Hammett added, "The stuff we're coming up with is more groove-oriented — a heavier version of what we were doing in the early '90s. If (2008 album) 'Death Magnetic' was a logical successor to (1988's) '...And Justice For All', the next album will be a heavier 'black album.' We're not going to the depths of complexity that we did for 'Death Magnetic'."

Ulrich added that the songs on the new disc — which will be produced once again by Rick Rubin — will be "shorter, more to-the-point."

Bassist Robert Trujillo told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he thought "Death Magnetic" paved the way for an even better next effort. "I have a feeling that this next record is gonna be really cool," he said. "'Death Magnetic', as great as it is, I think it's, to me it was like establishing ourselves as a creative team with this unit, and you know, also reuniting with that thrashy element which is apparent in a lot of the material."

METALLICA will play the "black album" — its 1991 self-titled fifth effort that has sold nearly 16 million copies — in its entirety at selected European festivals this summer.

As for another project — the recently announced 3D METALLICA movie — Ulrich shed some light on what the band has in mind. He said, "Imagine if you took (LED ZEPPELIN's (concert film) 'The Song Remains The Same', which is 75 percent concert, 25 percent other stuff, and flipped it around. And all the non-concert footage, instead of being about the band members, is a story that unfolds, set against the backdrop of the concert."

METALLICA's four-song EP called "Beyond Magnetic", which was made available digitally last month, was released as a physical CD on January 31 (one day earlier internationally). The effort consists of the quartet of previously unheard tracks that the band unveiled in concert in December during its 30th-anniversary celebration. All four tunes — "Hate Train", "Just A Bullet Away", "Hell And Back" and "Rebel Of Babylon" — were recorded during the sessions for the band's 2008 "Death Magnetic" album but left off the final track list.
 
Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: You were on the ["Rock Of Ages"] movie set when Tom Cruise sang "Pour Some Sugar On Me". What was that like?

Phil: It was surreal. What happened was, we were in Florida on tour, and we got a phone call telling us that they were filming just up the road. They were literally shooting that sequence that day. We went to the set and met Tom Cruise, who was absolutely great. Brilliant! I really appreciate when other people do such hard work - it's inspiring. We were just knocked out by his singing, which he was doing for real. We said, "We didn't know you could sing." He smiled and said, "I couldn't — I just learned five months ago." He was having lessons and practicing five hours a day — crazy stuff. Extremely impressive. But you know, that's the kind of guy he is, swinging from cables and jumping off buildings. It's pretty nuts!

MusicRadar.com: OK, now you've seen people cover DEF LEPPARD songs on YouTube clips and on "American Idol" and the like. But what's it like when the biggest star in the world is singing your song?

Phil: You think about it in a totally different way. You get over the song and the subject matter, and all you can focus on is that somebody so iconic doing it. With a lot of people, their 'iconic-ness' gets in the way. Take Beyonce, for example: She's a really good singer, an amazing singer, but nobody even notices how good she is because they're so focused on her being Beyonce. Her whole aura gets in the way. It was a little bit like that with Tom Cruise. You're like, "Oh my God, it's Tom Cruise!" But he's got it down. He looked a little bit like Iggy Pop and some…I don't know, some cool rock star! [laughs] It was trippy. But what's great is that he can really sing. On his track, he sings the backgrounds, so he's doing my parts, as well.

MusicRadar.com: Any plans for the next DEF LEPPARD record?

Phil: Recording, yes, but it'll probably be a DEF LEPPARD song or two. We're going to go on tour this summer, so we're going to try to have a new song together. Coming up with material shouldn't be a problem — I wrote two new songs this week. A whole album won't happen this year, I can be pretty sure on that. There's so much involved with putting a record together, and the demographics for the people who buy albums is shrinking. We'll do a record next year, but it would be cool if we could do it differently. I'd love to do what we did with the MANRAZE album, recording the entire thing in two weeks.

MusicRadar.com: Why couldn't you? Everybody in DEF LEPPARD must have laptops.

Phil: Yes, but not everybody in the band records that way. I'm the only one who does that. If they could do that, it would be killer. It'd be really good.
 
Three decades after beginning its iconic journey of debauchery and decadence, MÖTLEY CRÜE has announced plans to invade Las Vegas with the city's first-ever hard rock residency: "Mötley Crüe In Sin City". The world's most notorious band will he heading to the world's most notorious city where they will perform an extended run — starting February 3 through 19 — at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The iconic band will perform four shows a week. Super Bowl, Valentine's Day and President's Day fall within these dates.

In honor of Las Vegas' first hard rock residency, "Mötley Crüe In Sin City", Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has proclaimed Friday, February 3, 2012 as "Mötley Crüe Day."

Speaking to The Huffington Post, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx said of the upcoming show, which will include an array of theatrics, pyrotechnics, aerialists, wild video displays, a rollercoaster drum set and even a "little people" version of the band, "I'm looking forward to it, but — to be honest — I don't love Vegas. I'm sober so it doesn't make sense for me. It is hard for me to appreciate. There are so many people there and so many people are drunk. Still, if you get outside of the city, the place gets pretty hip. We played a show outside the city last time around and it was very different. Not everyone was drunk. It seemed a long way from all that."

He added, "To play in one place is really different because we can do all sorts of crazy stuff we can't usually do because certain pyrotechnics and pieces of equipment are not movable. It is also particularly nice in bad economic time. I think things are going to get worse before they get better, so I'm happy that people can go stay at a Vegas hotel and enjoy our band. I want people to relax and go over the top in Vegas with MÖTLEY CRÜE."

To purchase tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com.
 
Currently tearing across the States with fellow thrash vets Anthrax
and Death Angel, Testament will be releasing their tenth album in
spring. Entitled The Dark Roots of Earth, Testament frontman Chuck Billy has
intimated that it’ll go atomic in the pit much in the same fashion as 2008′s
The Formation of Damnation did. Hmm… Good news for the consensus that argued
that the Oakland
quintet had never sounded better. Yeah it’s a long time coming and all
those thrashers who got their necks bent of of shape with Formation… will be
pissed off at the wait, but they can at least console
themselves that Testament are operating a strict business-as-usual
policy when it comes to the music
Despite losing drummer Paul Bostaph (initially to injury, but as
Chuck explains Bostaph has left the band permanently), they’ve got a
more than worthy replacement, especially for fans of the band’s Demonic era…
Albeit on a wait-and-see temporary basis.
Testament are playing it close to their chest at the moment but we
got Chuck to give us a few ideas on what to expect from the new record.

How’s the tour going?
Really good, it’s this second leg of the Anthrax/Death Angel tour and
we’ve picked up right where we left off, just got back into it. The
shows are going really well. It’s been a really good packageâ€"it’s
co-billing but Anthrax closes the show.
And Gene Hoglan is drumming with you at the moment, right?
Yeah, he’s drumming for us and Anthrax. Charlie’s mom is ill, and he needs
to be home near his mom right now.
Is there any resolution to the drummer situation with Testament; have you got an
idea of who will be there permanently?
Well Paul [Bostaph] has recovered but he is not coming back to the
group. He has decided to start a new band, I guess. So, we had Gene do
the record, and Gene’s gonna do the touring for the record.
Do you think Gene would come back full-time? It’d be a popular one for the
fans.
Well we’d love it if he decided to but we haven’t really got that far
yet. We just have to get through this tour and see where we’re at. Gene
kills it.
The Formation of Damnation came out ages ago, it went really wellâ€"why so long
in following it up?
Well things just kept popping up. We had that Megadeth/Exodus tour pop
up, then we had the Slayer/Megadeth tour… All these tours kept on
popping up while we were trying to get the record written and recorded
so, yeah, it took a little while but after we finished the Anthrax tour
inâ€"what was it?â€"October we just buckled down and got it done.
What do you put the success of Formation down to? It’s like Testament had a
genuine renaissance and the band never seemed to be more stable?
The way we’re feeling about it, we as a band got an opportunity to
finish something that we all started together, in a sense. I mean, not
like we’re finished now, but we were back together and it feels good to
play some of the old songs that we haven’t played in a long time, ‘cos
some band members [in the past] didn’t want to do them or whatever, but
having the original guys we can play anything from our catalog and it
feels pretty good to do it. It’s like a second chance, just… Well, to
finish something.
A band with a legacy (no pun intended), is always going to have that pressure
creatively.
Yeah, I think so. In the writing process we don’t really think about it,
we know what we want and need to do, but the songs just seem to come
out. We’ve been writing and playing together for long enough that the
songs just come together pretty quick.
What is the writing process like? Is Eric handling most of the music or is it a
group effort?
Sometimes, it’s bothâ€"the majority of it Eric came up with because he’s
been our main songwriter, and then Alex will come in and make some
suggestions as far as arrangements go, and it seems to work out really
well that way because Alex has good suggestions.

Alex has said that his other projects have given him fresh ideas when it
comes to doing things with Testament, and to have him involved in the
writing process must be a great asset.
He’s such a great player. He’s such a great addition to the sound of
Testament; he is part of the sound and it’s very important to have him
here in the mix [creatively].
How far along is The Dark Roots of Earth?
Well we just finished all of the recording the day before we left before
this tour. We turned everything in and they’ve started mixing it now.
Right now it’s just the beginning of the mix process.

Andy Sneap is producing it; did you go to England to track it?
We did it at our place in Oakland and at Trident Studios and Andy came
out and did all the recordings with usâ€"as much as he couldâ€"and then we
finished off some vocals and guitars at Trident studios. I think over
the years Andy really knows the sound of this band, and kinda knows what
we want. We’ve mixed stuff with Andy, so I think he knows without has
having to be there physically with him what we are looking for. And I
just haven’t heard anybody in metal come out with any better mixes!
Honesty!
Are you playing any new song on this tour?
No, we’re not. The Internet kinda spoiled that; we’d rather wait until
it’s heard and judged as the real deal and not y’know somebody’s
cellphone!
Shame, no iPhone and YouTube clips!
Yeah! I’ve seen it happen to other bands and you’ll get someone saying,
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so good†but someone’s just listening to a
telephone recording of a live performance.
It’s difficult to keep anything a surprise these days.
It would be good to start playing the stuff but we’ll just wait ‘til
it’s out. Plus, if you don’t know a song, people don’t know how to react
to it, and until they have the record and they’re familiar with the
songs that’s for us to perform it. Performing music in front of people
who don’t know itâ€"it almost works against you, like, “How come they
don’t get it? How come they’re not banging?†Well they’re just absorbing
it, and it takes time, and it makes it weird for the band as well as
the fans.
What can you tell us about some of the songs on the album?
Well, there’s a song called “Native Bloodâ€, which is basically a song
about my Native heritage. It’s almost like a protest song, that the
Native Americans have a voice that needs to be heardâ€"that’s the chorus
of the song. There’s another called “True American Hateâ€, which was
kinds inspired by when we sent all our troops overseas there, and we
were just seeing in the news when all that was going on a lot of young
kids, under 10 years old, out there with their families burning American
flags. And that was a pretty shocking thing to see, to see that
generation, a kid that young being taught to hate that much. It makes
you think what’s going to happen, 10 to 15 years from now when the
majority of these kids have just been raised to hate? It struck me as a
little odd. There’s a song called “Cold Embraceâ€, which we kinda hoped
we’d be able to pitch the song into one of the Twilight series
movies; it’s a song about a girl becoming a vampire and never being able to
see the sun again. “The Dark Roots of Earth†is kind of a play on
the band we have together, just like a metaphor, like Testament is a
tree and all of us in this group are really embedded in the planet, in
the earth, the environment and our surroundings. It was kind of a play
on that.â€Rise Up for War†is more of a war song, like your preparing
yourself for war, going into battle. There is a lot of cool stuff there.
Testament have had environmental themes beforeâ€"is this going to be a political
album in some respects?
No, I don’t think so. We’ve never been a political band, we
just like to write things that are real, that we have to deal with and
everybody has to deal with, things that are part of everybody’s life so
that people can relate to it. I think everybody has to relate to what’s
going on in our world as far as the environment goes.

“Native Blood†must be a very personal song for you. What message are
you sending out with “Native Bloodâ€, what sort of issues need addressing
for the Native American community?
It is much different now compared to 10, 15 years ago, like on our
reservation it was a pretty bad place 15 years ago. There was no help
from the government, the schools were run down, no transportation, the
housing was bad, broken down cars piled everywhere…. It was bad until we
put a casino on our reservation and the money generated put people in
work, brought back the schools, the culture, the language and the
transportation to get the kids to school. But it’s just a bit of a sad
thing that once you start helping yourself, the next thing you know the
government’s got their hand out wanting their share for something you’ve
done yourself and helping your own. It’s a sad thing; you ask for help
and you don’t get it, as soon as there’s money involved the hands are
out wanting a part of it. To me it was just about having a voice, for
the Native Americans to have a voice that could be heard.

Is that one of the challenges facing Native American communitiesâ€"raising
awareness of their culture, language, and re-establishing that identity
and community.
Definitely, the culture, the language, the history… I mean, if our
reservation didn’t have a casino we might have lost all our language and
culture, education would have been very bad if we didn’t get the help.
It’s very important, then, to spread the message to the
younger generation of Native Americans, and keep them in touch with
their culture.
Absolutely. That’s what it’s all about. Over the last year I’ve got some
cool recognition for being Native American. I was put into the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC , on a display called “Up Where
We Belongâ€, which was for Native Americans in pop culture and I was
representing the heavy metal sector, and a couple of weeks ago I was the
first Native American inducted into the Hard Rock Casino and Hotely in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. That was a pretty big thing. It’s kinda cool to
get there. There are so many reservations. I did an interview on a
tribal radio station which broadcast all the way into Alaska, the US,
Canada…. I think I hit a million people that day; there are a lot of
Natives out there getting the word across about metal and what we stand
for. I did the very first Native American Music Awards in 1990 or
something like that and at the time there were no heavy metal bands in
the categories; there were just Native artists, but a lot of these
Natives were multi-platinum acts but they sold their records just
touring and selling across the reservations. There’s a big Native
American audience to support their people.
 
Dream Theater are certainly stoked to be up for a Grammy Award with their first
ever
nomination this year in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category
(why these two categories are now fused together is anyone’s guess),
which frontman James LaBrie told me about when we chatted for a Grammy.com story
going online next
week. During that particular interview I also asked him about his fifth
solo album (counting his two MullMuzzler releases). The album will come
out through Inside Out/Century Media and is gradually coming together
even in the midst of the usual Dream Theater craziness.
“Right now, Matt [Guillory], I and the other guys are writing,â€
LaBrie told A.D.D. “We’re about halfway through. I would say our main
focus is that we want to raise the bar as far as the actual song
compositions, so with the arrangements we want to see if we can better
ourselves first and foremost. As far as the elements that we want to
include or implement into the music, a lot of those elements will be
familiar because we want to keep it consistent. It has to make sense and have a
sense of continuity from where we left off, but there are some
things that we’re talking about we want to bring in that will bring in
some intriguing kind of sonics to give it its own identity.â€
The cover of LaBrie's last solo album.In the way that his main group Dream
Theater has expanded upon their sound while staying true to fan expectations,
the singer has been taking the
same approach with his solo work. “In as much as I want to make it so
that it is known that it is me, at the same time I want to be able to
experiment,†states LaBrie. “I don’t want to feel that I’m constrained
or have to sound in this vein of music or I’m going to lose my
listeners. I think if anything they want to hear new things, and that’s
what we did coming from Elements Of Persuasion to Static Impulse. It was all
about that. Hitting them over the head with Static Impulse, I don’t think a
lot of them were expecting there to be the thrash metal or screamo vocals on a
James LaBrie album. It also has to be sincere
and genuine. Matt and I over the years have appreciated that approach,
and what I said when we were actually implementing the screamo vocals
into the Static Impulse album was, ‘I don’t want to look at it
like it’s a vocal, I’d rather view it as an instrument. This instrument
has a distinctive sound. Where can we bring it in and have it really
embellish the direction of the song or that certain section?’ So that’s
what we did.â€





Even though Dream Theater have become known for writing epic, complex
tunes displaying fierce musical chops, one of the strongest DT tracks in
recent years is the U2-ish “I Walk Beside You†from 2005′s Octavarium.
It’s not epic or complicated like a lot of the group’s other
compositions, but it is highly emotive and powerful. LaBrie concurs.
“When we were writing that song and John Petrucci was coming up to me
with melody ideas, I was saying that this is the way that I want to
express myself and this is where I need to take it vocally to get the
most out of it for that particular style of music,†recalls the singer.
“It’s funny because when you do a song like that, the first thing
somebody is going to say is that we’re going down the U2 vein. Sure, why not?
The Beatles were classic for writing amazing compositions but
keeping it simple. If you do it justice in that style, it doesn’t matter if
you’re sounding like someone as long as you’re not trying to be that person
and as long as you’re maintaining your own identity.â€
 
U.S. progressive metal icons FATES WARNING have tapped Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, TRANSATLANTIC, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) to play drums for the band for their first-ever visit to South America as special guests for QUEENSRŸCHE in São Paulo, Brazil on April 14.

Commented FATES WARNING: "We're pleased and excited to announce that Mike Portnoy will be our special guest drummer for our April 14th show in São Paulo, Brazil. We had a great time playing with Mike back in 2005 at the Headway festival in Holland and we're happy that he's able to help us out again. We'd also like to make it clear that Bobby Jarzombek is still the drummer for FATES and will be with us for our European shows in March as well as on the new record we're currently working on. Unfortunately, Bobby committed to another gig on the same day (ironically, in the same city) before this show was planned."

The "Parallels" lineup of FATES WARNING played a number of shows in 2010 in support of the released special edition of the album, which was made available through Metal Blade Records. In addition to remastered audio, there is a second audio disc of live and demo material. The package also includes a DVD with nearly three hours of material, including a complete live show from the 1992 "Parallels" tour and a documentary on the making of "Parallels" which includes live, studio, and current day interview footage with all the band members, Terry Brown (producer) and Brian Slagel (CEO of Metal Blade Records).

InsideOut Music in 2005 released a FATES WARNING DVD entitled "Live In Athens". The DVD shot was on February 20, 2005 at Gagarin in Athens, Greece and was mixed by Bill Metoyer (SLAYER, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM).

FATES WARNING's latest CD, "X", was released in 2004 on Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2000's "Disconnected" was recorded at Carriage House studios in Stamford, Connecticut and features cover artwork by renowned record-cover artist Ioannis (DREAM THEATER, SEPULTURA, DEEP PURPLE, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, KING CRIMSON, BIOHAZARD, VOIVOD, UFO, OVERKILL).
 
Legendary British power metal mercenaries TANK — featuring Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar alongside ex-RAINBOW/YNGWIE MALMSTEEN frontman Doogie White and ex-BRUCE DICKINSON bassist Chris Dale and drummer Steve Hopgood — have entered the studio to begin recording their new album, "War Nation", for a late April/early May release via Metal Mind Productions. The follow-up to 2010's "War Machine" is being helmed by new hotshot producer Phil Kinman at his west London studios.

Commented Doogie: "We started writing for the new album last autumn and after a week or two, we took the tapes and put a razor through them. We had just come back from a successful series of concerts and we were really vibed up. Listening to what we had laid down, we knew we could do better. So taking a fresh approach we started throwing ideas around. I am very pleased with how it is all sounding now."

Added Cliff: "As with our 'War Machine' album, 'War Nation' will include a variety of different influences and styles. With a wealth of musical ability to draw from, we don't like to limit ourselves. Individually we've worked with names such as Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Paul D'Anno and Yngwie Malmsteen. So many bands release albums now where once you've listened to the first two songs you've heard the whole album. Not with TANK. Each song that makes it onto our album has to deserve it. Our standards are high."

Continued Doogie, "With songs like 'Justice for All' and 'Grace Of God', we are upgrading the TANK sound while retaining all the elements that made 'War Machine' so successful. There are killer riffs and haunting melodies and lyrics that you can take from, what you want, or indeed what you need.

"I did not want the album to be titled after a song. But I was overruled by the other guys so the album will be called 'War Nation'.

"With all that has been going on in the world over the last while, it appears that a great many people in the nations of the world are not prepared to put up with the status quo anymore. Whether it's ruthless dictators, corrupt politicians and bankers, religious godheads. The people are restless and screaming 'Damnation, War Nation.'"

TANK will release its first-ever concert DVD this year. Recordings were made while opening for JUDAS PRIEST in 2011 and further footage will be captured during the band's show at Stodola in Warsaw, Poland on March 9. The setlist will include fan favorites such as "This Means War", "Echoes Of A Distant Battle", "Power Of The Hunter" and "The War Drags Ever On", plus future classics such as "Judgement Day" and "Phoenix Rising".

"War Machine" was released on October 25, 2010 in Europe via Metal Mind Productions (December 7, 2010 in the U.S. through MVD). The production was handled by Pedro Ferreira (THE DARKNESS, THERAPY?, MEAT LOAF) and the bulk of the recording was done at Pedrock Studios in London. Drums were laid down by Tony Newton at Steve Harris' (IRON MAIDEN) Barnyard Studios.
 
"Dark Adrenaline", the new album from the Italian rock/metal band LACUNA COIL, has registered the following first-week chart positions:

U.S.: #15
Italy: #18
Finland: #34
Germany: #36
Canada: #46
UK: #48
France: #53
Switzerland: #53
Belgium (Wallonia) #59
Belgium (Flanders): #70
Spain: #77
Netherlands: #79
Norway: #82

"Dark Adrenaline" sold around 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

The band's previous CD, "Shallow Life", opened with 21,000 units back April 2009 to land at No. 16.

LACUNA COIL's 2006 album, "Karmacode", premiered with 34,000 copies back in April 2006 to enter the chart at No. 28. It has since sold more than 200,000 units in the U.S.

The band's 2002 album, "Comalies", has shifted more than 300,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Dark Adrenaline" was released in North America on January 24 via Century Media Records. The CD was helmed by acclaimed producer Don Gilmore (LINKIN PARK, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and "deliver[s] the melodic, sensual, metallic rush for which the band has come to be known," according to a press release.

Fans both old and new have a variety of options to choose from, as "Dark Adrenaline" was released in numerous formats, including standard-edition CD and vinyl, deluxe edition digipak with a bonus DVD, sticker, poster and guitar pick and as an iTunes LP with expanded packaging, five bonus audio tracks and video. The Metal Club edition features exclusive artwork designed by the band and will be limited to 3,000 units. The Hastings edition features a bonus 10-track LACUNA COIL sampler, and the Amazon digital edition comes with a free five-track sampler. Finally, for true fans of the band, is the "Darkest Adrenaline" box set, which includes both the digipak and vinyl versions of the album along with a hardcover photo book, a LACUNA COIL custom syringe pen and ink, a lyric pad, signed lithographs created by the band and more, all housed in a LACUNA COIL medical box. This box set is limited to 500 pieces and is available exclusively through CM Distro.

"Dark Adrenaline" track listing:

01. Trip The Darkness
02. Against You
03. Kill The Light
04. Give Me Something More
05. Upsidedown
06. End Of Time
07. I Don't Believe In Tomorrow
08. Intoxicated
09. The Army Inside
10. Losing My Religion
11. Fire
12. My Spirit
 
Vocalist Jakob Samuel of Swedish hard rockers THE POODLES will release his debut solo album, "Pastpresent", in the spring. A single, "Stars And Grace", will precede the full-length effort on February 20.

THE POODLES' fourth album, "Performocracy", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 1. Released on April 15, 2011 in Europe (May 5 in North America) via Frontiers Records, the CD was again produced by Mats Valentin, but this time Tobias Lindell (EUROPE, MUSTASCH) mixed the 12 outstanding tracks that make up the effort.
 
"Storm The Sorrow", the new digital single from Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA, is being released today via iTunes. The song comes off the band's fifth full-length album, "Requiem For The Indifferent", which will be released on March 9 in Europe and four days later in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth.

Commented the band: "The song 'Storm The Sorrow' is the obvious choice for us to release as a first single. It has all the EPICA ingredients and also a catchy groove but still is a powerful metal-song. Lyrically, 'Storm The Sorrow' deals with criticism and how to handle that on every level.

"Funny fact: when we were working on this song, the working title was 'Signature' because the rhythm which is used in the verse is based on Yves' [Huts, bass] signature!"

A video for "Storm The Sorrow" will be filmed later this month and "will show the band in a way you have never seen before," according to a press release.

"Requiem For The Indifferent" track listing:

01. Karma
02. Monopoly On Truth
03. Storm The Sorrow
04. Delirium
05. Internal Warfare
06. Requiem For The Indifferent
07. Anima
08. Guilty Demeanor
09. Deep Water Horizon
10. Stay The Course
11. Deter The Tyrant
12. Avalanche
13. Serenade Of Self-Destruction

North American bonus tracks:

14. Twin Flames (Soundtrack Version)
15. Nostalgia

The artwork for the CD was created by Stephan Heilemann and can be seen below.

EPICA debuted "Storm The Sorrow" during the band's headlining concert on January 12 at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Regarding the "Requiem For The Indifferent" album title, the band previously said, "This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. 'A Requiem For The Indifferent', but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!"

A CD-release party for the new EPICA album will be held on March 16 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands.

EPICA will play the new album in its entirety, along with some older tracks, during the more-than-two-hour event. Pyrotechnics and special show elements will be added as well.

EPICA's last album, "Design Your Universe", landed at position No. 12 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
 
"Black As Death", the new album from Belgian neo-classical power metal masters IRON MASK, will be made available in the U.S. on February 14, following its European release in December.

What started as a side project for MAGIC KINGDOM guitar master Dushan Petrossi a decade ago, has taken on a life of its own, IRON MASK eventually becoming the more popular of the two outfits.

Following the release of 2009's "Shadow Of The Red Baron", the blistering "Black As Death" is IRON MASK's fourth LP in a decade. Boasting over an hour of the band's renowned talent through a diverse array of lightning-fast metal, glorious ballads, dizzying neo-classical arrangements and straightforward hard rock thunder. Dushan Petrossi and his band merge exceptional musical prowess with epic accessibility, making "Black As Death" a must-hear for fans of FIREWIND, DIO, IRON MAIDEN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and RAINBOW.

"Black As Death" track listing:

01. From Light Into The Dark
02. Black As Death
03. Broken Hero
04. Feel The Fire
05. Genghis Khan
06. God Punishes, I Kill
07. Rebel Kid
08. Blizzard Of Doom
09. The Absence
10. Magic Sky Requiem
11. Nosferatu
12. When All Braves Fall

IRON MASK is:

* Mark Boals (HOLY FORCE, THE CODEX, ROYAL HUNT, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Vocals
* Roma Siadletski (MAGIC KINGDOM) - Vocals
* Dushan Petrossi (MAGIC KINGDOM) - Guitar
* Vassili Moltchanov (MAGIC KINGDOM) - Bass
* Ramy Ali (EVIDENCE ONE, JUSTICE) - Drums
* Mats Olausson (ARK, YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN) - Keyboards
 
 
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/ironmaskdeath.jpg
 
 
This is the second part of my conversation with Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake
about the band's new album Koloss, which will be released on March 27th on
Nuclear Blast. The band will be doing a 19-date North American tour starting on
April 29th with Baroness and Decapitated, and the full itinerary is posted
below.

In case you missed it, read Part One of the interview here.

***

So which of the songs on this album feature the six-string guitars that you
mentioned?
 
Tomas Haake:  “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance’ for example, and “The
Hurt That Finds You Firstâ€.
 
Oh yeah, the fast stuff.
 
Haake: The faster stuff, yeah. They were also not only written for six-string,
but recorded on six-string guitars, so that brings out a different note.
For “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance†we used an old ‘70s Ibanez guitar
for that track, and I can’t remember what we used for “The Hurt That
Finds You Firstâ€, but I believe it was also one of those older guitars.
 
How refreshing was it for everyone to go back to this old-school thrash style?
 
Haake: I don’t think it had that much of an impact on us as a band, apart from
the fact that we just really liked how the sound came out. Hearing that
in our music again is not something we’ve been doing on the last few
albums. That was definitely refreshing, but mostly for Fredrik. He wrote “The
Demon’s Name is Surveillanceâ€, and you could see his eyes when he
started playing that, because he loves those guitars with the thinner
neck, he just finds them so easier to play compared tot eh stuff that we use for
the other songs, bigger, bulkier eight-strings. So there was a
certain amount of joy in that guy’s face, to be able to record and play
with a guitar like that for a few songs.
 
“Do Not Look Down†is an interesting track, it almost feels like the band is
incorporating a little funk.
 
Haake:  [laughs] How about that? Yeah, it was one of those songs that we were
really happy that it ended up on the album. We did spend a lot of time
to get that groove to pop out and really be in there, so you
automatically want to dance when you hear it. Like you said, it’s almost like
Meshuggah goes rock ‘n’ roll or funky there. Still from the sound
context it still feels like Meshuggah, but it’s definitely one of the
songs that to ourselves does stand out on the album
 
When I interviewed you four years ago you mentioned how physically challenging
the song “Bleed†was. Is there a song on Koloss that’s been just as
difficult to pull off?
 
Haake: Not technically. As far as stamina-wise, we haven’t even tried to play
“The Demon’s Name is Surveillance†as a whole band. It’s a quirky one
for
everyone, not just because it’s challenging physically for me as a
drummer and for them as guitar players, but also because of the waltz
feel that song has, it’s something a lot of people aren’t very used to
playing. Playing those 16 triplets every other bar you’re leading by
playing upward with the pick instead of downward, so it’s a quirky song
to play for that reason, and of course for pure stamina reasons. I hope
we can pull it off live, but we haven’t even tried to play the whole
song through. We’ll see. [laughs]
 
How difficult was it for Mårten and Fredrik to pull off those riffs in the
studio?
 
Haake: That song, Fredrik recorded all the guitars and the bass as well. Dick
[Lövgren, bass] felt the same way, he started rehearsing it and
practicing it, he was at it for a good few days, and he just felt it was going
to take more time, so he gave the bass duties for that song to
Fredrik.
 
So [Lövgren] played on more of this album than on ObZen?
 
Haake: He didn’t play on all the songs on ObZen, he only played on a couple
songs I think. For this one he played on the whole album aside from that one
song. Apart from that he played on
everything, and we were all just stoked on how well he played and how it came
out. We’re all super-happy about the fact too that he actually
played on it. Last time around we were really short on time, and he
doesn’t live in the same city as us, so we had a lot of issues getting
those sessions to come together, but this time around he took time off
from everything else and was at the studio for three or four weeks, and
really put a lot of time and work into it. It really shows, and it’s a
fun thing for us as a band that he was part of the whole recording
process this time.
 
What’s the one song that really stands out for you right now?
 
Haake: Probably “Do Not Look Downâ€, for the same reasons we just discussed.
But pretty
much all the songs are favorites at the same time. [laughs] But that’s
one of those things, it’s too early yet to tell what you’re going to
like, what’s going to be your favorite songs in a year or two from now.
 
Fredrik’s solos on Koloss are some of most wide-ranging I’ve ever heard from
him…what do you think of his work on this record?
 
Haake: I really dig it. If you take some of the extremes for example, the solo
for “I Am Colossusâ€, which are basically two long notes that are slow
bends, it just turned out beautiful and works really well for that, such an
understatement as a guitar solo. And then you have the solo for “Do
Not look Downâ€, that has him playing almost like a rock ‘n’ roll
shredding solo, so that kind of takes it to the other side of the
spectrum. There’s definitely more involvement on his side in making the
solos stand out, and also the solos are very different throughout the
album, to that’s something that adds a cool touch to this album I think.
 
“Last Vigil†is interesting, a little instrumental outro at the end…how
did that evolve?
 
Haake: It’s one of those things that Marten has just been playing. Whenever
we’re
onstage waiting for people to set stuff up or whatever, he’s just kind
of plinking away on the guitar, and that’s one of those things that he’s
been playing for a few years. It just kind of stuck with him. We
weren’t sure we were going to use it. First we were going to try to do
something in the middle of the album, but once we recorded that one, we
saw how much of a calmness it would bring to the album. So we decided
not to do it as a centerpiece because it would just slow everything down too
much. It was actually up in the air until the very final hours of
mixing, and Daniel Bergstrand found this effect, this delay that worked
really well. There’s a really strong delay, almost as strong as the
original tone, and that made it pop out, and we really liked how that
came out. So that was pretty much the last day of mixing, we decided we
were going to have it on the album after all as a closer. We’re all fans of
some of the old albums from the ‘80s and early-‘90s where even
though it’s an aggressive album you end it on more of a quiet note. It
definitely adds another dimension to it too, I think.
 
I know it’s early, but are you contemplating at all yet which songs you’ll
be playing live?
 
Haake: I think the first ones we’ll attempt will probably be “I Am
Colossusâ€,
“Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave it Motionâ€, “The Hurt That Finds
You Firstâ€, and “Do Not look Downâ€. But we don’t know yet, a few of
those songs are really tricky to play, so it’s all about how well we
feel we can pull it off as a band, how good we can make it sound.
 
Aside from the sheer immensity of the music, was there any reason you decided to
use the title Koloss?
 
Haake: It’s not so much like a theme, like you said it’s kind of how the
overall
album is more towards something heavier than anything that we’ve ever
done. We wanted something that had that sound to it, something
monolithic, something huge. Also a few things that tied into that was
the stress and anxiety that a few of us went through up until we started
recording this album because of previous sessions where we felt we were doing
things the wrong way. That lingers with you, you don’t want to do the same
mistakes again, you want to save the mental health of a few in the band as well,
try to do things another way. So it felt like a
colossal thing to get out of the hat this time, even though it went
smoother in a lot of ways.
 
Also once we knew what
artwork we were using, because it’s not artwork that was designed for
this album, it was an existing piece of art by this Russian artist
Luminokaya, we just fell in love with the piece and we found out it
hadn’t been used for anything, so we could buy the rights for it. Once
we saw that, and we already had the title Colossus, we had that song in
there, we just felt like this creature on the cover looks like, is it a
god, is it a devil, what is it? The work Koloss just fit for some reason.

[View a high resolution photo of the Koloss artwork here]
 
How did you find that artwork?
 
Haake: I don’t even remember, I think I was just looking through random art
online probably three or four years ago I saw this guy’s art the first
time. I got in contact with him, and initially he was supposed to do
something for the album but we trailed off into other things and we
didn’t stay in touch for a while. I just took for granted that the piece had
been used for something already, but when I finally asked him he
said no, it was up for grabs. He’s done a lot of additions and
renditions and versions of it for the whole layout, so he’s spent a lot
of time on it too, and we’re really stoked that we ended up using this
art.
 
Was it digitally made?
 
Haake: Yeah. It’s a photoshop document of some 500 layers that took him nine
months
to create. [laughs] So there’s a lot of detail. It’s a shame you have to
release things in CD format and not in the format of, like, a door.
[laughs] There’s so much detail. So once we print real posters of that
stuff, there’s so much detail you can keep zooming in and new things
come up. It’s quite a mind-blowing piece when you see it in full
resolution, for sure.
 
So do you intend to have that artwork sort of be a fold-out in the CD?
 
Haake: Yeah, that’s the idea. It’s going to be a fold-out poster, but I
don’t love
the idea because you get the creases there, but at least you can get
into the details more, so that’s kind of what we’re aiming to do.

***

Here are the Meshuggah/Baroness/Decapitated tour dates:

4/29/12 House of Blues - Houston, TX
4/30/12 House of Blues - Dallas, TX
5/01/12 Emo’s - Austin, TX
5/03/12 Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ
5/04/12 House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
5/05/12 House of Blues - Hollywood, CA
5/06/12 The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
5/08/12 Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, B.C. - CANADA
5/09/12 Showbox Sodo - Seattle, WA
5/11/12 Odgen Theatre - Denver, CO
5/13/12 First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
5/15/12 House of Blues - Chicago, IL
5/16/12 St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI
5/17/12 Sound Academy - Toronto, ON - CANADA
5/18/12 Theatre of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
5/19/12 Palladium - Worcester, MA
5/20/12 Olympia de Montreal - Montreal, QUE - CANADA
5/22/12 The Fillmore - Silver Springs, MD
5/23/12 Terminal 5 â€" New York, NY
 
Former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis has been added to the 24-date, coast-to-coast U.S. tour with PROTEST THE HERO, PERIPHERY, THE SAFETY FIRE and TODAY I CAUGHT THE PLAGUE.

Jeff has revealed the quality players he's enlisted to accompany him on the stage:

* Joe Nurre (SHADED ENMITY) - Guitar
* Gregory Macklin (SYSTEM DIVIDE, ORDINANCE) - Bass
* Anup Sastry (INTERVALS, SKYHARBOR) - Drums

Says Loomis: "My good friend, Joe Nurre from up here in Seattle, will be playing guitar with me out on this run with PROTEST THE HERO and PERIPHERY. Some of you might have seen him play with NEVERMORE on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise last year.

"I was lucky enough to find this killer drummer online. His name is Anup Sastry, I've seen him do these perfect drum covers on his YouTube page. I reached out and learned he plays in a few great bands as well. You should check out all the stuff he's done.

"Anup is based out in the D.C. area and brought in a friend of his, Greg Macklin, to do bass. Those guys are going to be getting together out there to start practicing the set. Joe and I will do the same over here and then a couple weeks before the tour, Joe and I will fly over Maryland and we'll all rehearse until we get things perfect.

"I can't wait to get out there and start playing live again. See you soon."

The dates are as follows:

Mar. 25 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Mar. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Granada
Mar. 27 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Mar. 28 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
Mar. 30 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine
Mar. 31 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
Apr. 01 – West Hollywood, CA - Key Club
Apr. 02 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's
Apr. 03 - Portland, OR - The Branx
Apr. 04 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
Apr. 06 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
Apr. 07 - Denver, CO - Summit
Apr. 09 - St. Louis, MO - Pops
Apr. 10 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave II
Apr. 11 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
Apr. 12 - Columbus, OH - The Outland Ballroom
Apr. 13 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Apr. 14 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
Apr. 16 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Apr. 17 - Orlando, FL - The Social
Apr. 18 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theater
Apr. 20 - New York, NY - Gramercy
Apr. 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero

Jeff Loomis has set "Plains Of Oblivion" as the title of his sophomore solo album, to be released on April 10 in North America (one day earlier in Europe) via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Aaron Smith (7 HORNS 7 EYES) and features cover artwork by Colin Marks of Rain Song Design, who has previously worked with ALL SHALL PERISH, THE END and XERATH.

"Plains Of Oblivion" track listing:

01. Mercurial (feat. Marty Friedman)
02. The Ultimatum (feat. Tony MacAlpine)
03. Escape Velocity
04. Tragedy And Harmony (feat. Christine Rhoades)
05. Requiem For The Living (feat. Attila Voros)
06. Continuum Drift (feat. Chris Poland)
07. Surrender (feat. Ihsahn)
08. Chosen Time (feat. Christine Rhoades)
09. Rapture
10. Sibylline Origin

After Jeff's departure from NEVERMORE and the release of his solo debut — 2008's "Zero Order Phase" — fans have been craving a new album. With a number of influential musicians appearing on the upcoming release, Loomis is more than ready to deliver.

Jeff was the lead guitar player and main songwriter of NEVERMORE, a band that has certainly made its mark on modern music by forging a unique sound that fuses different forms of metal that has given birth to an authentic and very influential style. His solo CD, "Zero Order Phase", took the #4 spot in a April 2009 Guitar World magazine's readers' poll in the "Best Shred Album Of The Year" category — a notable accomplishment when you consider the top three vote-getters, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani. Jeff has become one of his generation's most recognizable guitarists and the source of many of the last decade's best riffs.

Jeff's complex shredding has been a central part of the progressive power guitar scene since 1992 and is responsible for some of the most awe-inspiring riffs modern metal has ever heard. Nearly every aspiring musician who has been listening to metal for the past 10 years or so has undoubtedly had the pleasure of hearing Jeff Loomis' progressive and technically superior playing.

Loomis' first solo album, "Zero Order Phase", was released in September 2008 through Century Media Records.
 
Swedish producers/songwriters and musicians Chris Rehn (ANGTORIA, ABYSSOS) and Tomas Wallin (TAKIDA) have joined forces in a brand new project called DREAMSTATE.

Formed in November 2011, DREAMSTATE set out to "write and record music that doesn't have any boundaries, music that doesn't have any restraints or have any ties to anything but themselves and their own inspiration," according to a press release. "Music that doesn't need to fall under a certain genre, and that could include any style, feeling, instrument and production they themselves felt fit to a specific song.

"With inspiration taken all the way from metal to pop music, mixing all types of instruments and genres together, the music of DREAMSTATE is all about not being restricted to any genre of music. It's simply about making music for themselves, with inspiration from all the music they listen to, and having fun while doing it."

In December, DREAMSTATE was asked to write and record the official song for a Swedish rally car driver named Ramona Karlsson and her 2012 world championship effort, sponsored by Mitsubishi and Höganäs. Chris and Tomas wrote, produced and recorded the track "Evolution" at Boxroom Studios (owned and operated by Chris Rehn), and asked singers Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE, KAMELOT) and Tommy Levin to contribute their vocals to the tune.

"Evolution" has already been played on Swedish television and will be made available shortly through all digital channels (iTunes, Spotify, etc.)
 
Los Angeles, California misanthropic sludge rockers -16- have revealed the cover art and track listing for new album, "Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds". The artwork, created by Orion Landau (RED FANG, RWAKE), can be seen below. The CD was recorded with the band's friend and longtime engineer Jeff Forrest at Double Time Studios in San Diego, California and then mastered by PIG DESTROYER's Scott Hull at Visceral Sound Studios.

"Deep Cuts From Dark Clouds", -16-'s most pissed-off, vitriolic recording to date will be released on CD and LP in North America on April 24 and May 7 in Europe.

The complete track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Theme From "Pillpopper"
02. Parasite
03. Her Little "Accident"
04. The Sad Clown
05. Ants In My Bloodstream
06. Broom Pusher
07. Opium Hook
08. Bowels Of A Baby Killer
09. Beyond Fixable
10. Only Photographs Remain

Commented -16- bassist Tony Baumeister: "We're very excited about the release of our new record. The addition of Mateo on drums opened a lot of doors for us creatively. We experimented with different time signatures, different tunings, and finally made the album we've wanted to make all along. The goal was to destroy our last record, and we feel like we achieved that. We can't wait for people to hear it, and can't wait to play these songs live. U.S. and European touring plans are in the works..."
Chapel Hill, North Carolina's HORSEBACK has completed recording its new full-length album, "Half Blood", for a spring release via Relapse Records. The follow-up to 2009's "The Invisible Mountain" is being described by the band's mainman Jenks Miller as "[HORSEBACK's] most ambitious record to date that represents a synthesis of the approaches we've explored in the past." The CD was produced by Miller at The Chateau in the band's hometown. Additional tracking was done at Arbor Ridge Studios and Track And Field Recording by Nick Petersen.

Featuring "stunning" cover artwork from renowned Russian surrealist painter Denis Forkas Kostromitin, "Half Blood" is "an amalgamation of drone, doom, black-metal, psychedelia, post-rock, noise, and ambience recorded with a wide array of instruments including guitar, bass, drums, keys, piano, bells, contact mics, field recordings, drum programming, noise and various signal processors," according to a press release.
Former MEGADETH/KING DIAMOND guitarist Glen Drover has started the initial editing of songs for the next GLEN DROVER BAND album. He says, "We have a bunch of really cool material from Jim [Gilmour, keyboards], Paul [Yee, bass] and myself that I'm very excited about.

"This album will most likely continue down the same path of style as [last year's] 'Metalusion', but will also have more 'metal'-style songs this time around.

"The recording process should start within the next month or two, and hopefully have a new album ready sometime later in the year.. I'm also happy to say that Chris Sutherland is back on drums. We had some personal issues, which led to us deciding that we should part last summer, but just recently, Chris and I met up and had a nice talk (we both teach at MWI in Toronto) and seemed to have ironed out our issues and decided that we really need to get back together and carry on with the next album. It was very clear after seeing a lot of the video footage of the webcast DVD I was telling you about earlier, that we have a really good chemistry and want to forge ahead and see if we can move forward without anything get in our way this time around.

"As far as the recording process, we spent a long time on the last album, not necessarily working consistently on the album, but also doing a lot of reflecting on the songs, making sure the songs were going in the right direction, and would grow on us over a period of time, which they all did. We will probably continue with the same process, as it seemed to work great last time around.

"'Metalusion' is really one of the very few albums I have ever been a part of that I can say I enjoy from beginning to end. We are all very proud of that album indeed."

On September 25, 2011, Drover took part in a historic performance that was webcast worldwide as part of the "Live At Metalworks" series from Mississauga, Canada.

Footage of Drover and his band performing the song "Colors Of Infinity" during the webcast — which was seen by over 25,000 people in 64 countries — is available in the YouTube clip below.

Glen's "Live At Metalworks" performance will be released as a DVD in June year via Magna Carta.

Commented Drover: "As of yesterday, I finished proofing all of the video editing for the new GLEN DROVER BAND live DVD! This was the Magna Carta/Metalworks webcast that we played last summer, and I'm super happy with the end result! The DVD consists of the entire concert we did on September 25th, 2011, as well as a bonus clip we did for the song 'Mirage' after the event had finished. For fun, we also played a version [MEGADETH's] 'Symphony Of Destruction' with me singing it. Also, all of the mixing and mastering for audio was done in my recording studio, before being handed over for the synching process of audio and video."
 
Swedish horror thrash metal moshers F.K.Ü. have issued the following update:

"We have decided to part ways with Italy-based label Metal On Metal Records.

"After starting work on our third album, 'Where Moshers Dwell', we were contacted by these very enthusiastic people about releasing an album with us. After releasing our albums DIY in past we decided it was worth a shot working with a label. In 2009 we finally released 'Where Moshers Dwell', our most appreciated album thus far judging by reviews and the response from our fans.

"Now it's 2012 and we feel it's time to move on. These last two years has seen us do shows that could be considered the highlight of any band's career, but we still feel the best is yet to come and that's why we have decided to start afresh.

"We are currently writing songs for our as-yet untitled fourth studio album and making the necessary plans for complete domination and world annihilation. Whether we will once again release our music ourselves or choose to work with a new label is still to be decided, so any parties interested in a moshness venture with the
horror metal moshing machine, feel free to contact us."

F.K.Ü.'s "Twitch Of The Thrash Nerve" video can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Simon Wettervik of Sidevision Productions.

"The Pit And The Poser" comes off F.K.Ü.'s third album, "Where Moshers Dwell", which came out in July 2009 in Europe through Metal On Metal. The CD features artwork and a 10-page comic book by renowned artist Jeff Zornow. It also includes guest appearances by cult actor Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare On Elm Street" movies), Jörgen Sandström (VICIOUS ART, THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX, TORTURE DIVISION, KRUX, GRAVE, ENTOMBED), and Ryan Sorensen (ENGORGED).

F.K.Ü. originally formed in 1987 and reformed in 1998. The band's current lineup is as follows:

* Larry Lethal (Lawrence Mackrory; SCARVE, ENEMY IS US, DARKANE) - Vocals
* Pat Splat (Patrik Sporrong; MIDAS TOUCH, LOST SOULS) - Bass
* Pete Stooaahl (Peter Lans; VALLEY OF THE DEAD, LOST SOULS, INRAGE) - Guitar
* Ted Killer Miller (Teddy Möller; LOCH VOSTOK, MAYADOME) – Drums
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Bård "Faust" Eithun (EMPEROR, BLOOD TSUNAMI, MONGO NINJA) and Tore Bratseth (a.k.a. Stud Bronson of THE BATALLION, OLD FUNERAL) have joined forces in a new project called STUDFAUST. They entered the studio in late November 2011 and the result was two dirty, firesparking tracks in the spirit of the old school of metal/punk. Music like this is rarely made nowadays with such authenticity and passion, and these veterans in the metal scene now show their musical muscles with a "piss-off" attitude.

Due on March 16 via Soulseller Records , this seven-inch single will most likely become a cult collector's item, with only 500 copies to be pressed.

For more information, go to this location.
 
 
Century Media Records has announced the worldwide signing of NACHTMYSTIUM.

Very few bands today embrace their own individualism to ultimately craft something truly unique and genre defying. Enter the Chicago-based NACHTMYSTIUM, who embrace the true spirit of individuality and intolerance forming solely as an outlet to express the dark musical visions and summoning's of those involved.

The band already sailed under the Century Media label banner in the USA since 2008 and released the classic albums "Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1" (2008) and "Addicts: Black Meddle Part II" (2010). Now, Century Media finally looks into a worldwide partnership with NACHTMYSTIUM and plans great things to come in 2012!

Originally formed in 1999 by Blake Judd, NACHTMYSTIUM started off as a raw, primitive black metal band with a very derivative Norsk black metal influence. They released a number of records on underground labels before they turned into a new musical direction and 'psychedelic'-era. Over the past years NACHTMYSTIUM created a genre all of its own and will develop this progress for 2012.

Founding member Blake Judd (vocals, guitars) comments on the new deal: "We are very excited and honoured to be working with Century Media, a label who over the years has showcased a ferocious dedication to extreme music. GRAVE, TIAMAT, SAMAEL and countless other bands active in the early '90s were some of the first bands to inspire us endlessly to create our own metal music. We anticipate a great working relationship and hope to embark on a joint ascension to metal superiority together!"

NACHTMYSTIUM is confirmed to play this year's popular Roadburn festival on April 13 in Tilburg, Holland, to be followed by a European tour with labelmates DARK FORTRESS starting April 17.
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Estonian death metallers NEOANDERTALS will release their new album, "Australopithecus", on February 17 via Kunaki, LLC. The follow-up to 2011's "Ebu Gogo Gutting The Child" was recorded in Otepää, Estonia in 2009 with original member Roland Seer behind the drum kit. Mixing and mastering was done in January by NEOANDERTALS mainman Rain Pohlak.

According to a press relese, "Australopithecus" "is something really different. Dedicated to lesser-known, simpler hominids, it is an instrumental record containing adventurous drumbeats and a fresh approach towards bass-heavy music."

"Australopithecus" track listing:

01. Australopithecus Robustus
02. No Control Over Fire
03. Nocturnal Creatures
04. Dead Hominids
05. Frugivorous
06. Extinction

The album cover is an oil painting of the skull of an Australopithecus (Paranthropus) robustus done by Rain Pohlak.

The song "Dead Hominids" is now available for streaming via www.neoandertals.com.

NEOANDERTALS was among the nominees in the "Metal" category at the 15th annual Estonian Music Awards (the Estonian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). The largest and oldest Estonian music awards show was held Thursday, February 2 at the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, Estonia and was broadcast live on the Estonian channel TV3.

NEOANDERTALS is:

Rain Pohlak - Vocals, Bass
Sandra Vungi – Drums
 
 
The cover artwork for "Téras", the sixth album from Swedish black metallers NAGLFAR, can be seen below. Responsible for the artwork is Niklas Sundin of DARK TRANQUILLITY, who has previously worked with such bands as IN FLAMES, ARCH ENEMY and AT THE GATES. The album cover only shows a part of the overall motif, which is going to be shown in its entirety with the release of the new CD.

Due on March 27 via Century Media Records (one day earlier internationally), "Téras" will include the following nine tracks:

01. Téras
02. Pale Horse
03. III: Death Dimension Phantasma
04. The Monolith
05. An Extension Of His Arm And Will
06. Bring Out Your Dead
07. Come Perdition
08. Invoc(H)ate
09. The Dying Flame Of Existence

"Pale Horse" is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.

The drum tracks on the CD were laid down by Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK).

The album will be available as regular CD, limited deluxe CD digipak (including the studio bonus track "Tired Bones" and a logo patch), digital download and noble deluxe 2LP with 180-gram vinyls, gatefold sleeve, an etching on side D, printed inner sleeves as well as the aforementioned bonus track.

Prior to the album, Century Media Records will release the "An Extension Of His Arm And Will" seven-inch EP, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. The EP includes the exclusive non-album track "As Long As They Fear". Check out www.cmdistro.com for the ultra-rare colored vinyl version.

NAGLFAR's current lineup is as follows:

Kristoffer W. Olivius - Vocals
Marcus E. Norman - Guitar
Andreas Nilsson – Guitar
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