Music: March 2012

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while singer Steven Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

AEROSMITH is currently mixing a reworked version of its 1991 outtake "Legendary Child" (originally written during the "Get A Grip" sessions) for inclusion in the upcoming summer film "GI Joe: Retaliation" (which arrives in theaters around the U.S. on June 29). The song is also expected to appear on AEROSMITH's long-awaited new studio CD, which is tentatively due this summer.

When asked by RollingStone.com if it was tough rebuilding the bridges with his bandmates to get everyone back in the same place so that they could work on the new album, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry said, "No, because the music does that. After a band's been together as long as we have, everybody just gets into their own rhythms. You can't force shit. People do what they're going to do outside of the band, whether it's Steven wanting to put his name on motorcycles or doing 'American Idol', or Joey [Kramer] writing a book or me putting out a solo record. But the five of us always have this band, and we're constantly amazed that it's still happening."

Perry also spoke about AEROSMITH's renewed collaboration with producer Jack Douglas, who previously worked with them on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" as well as on 2004's "Honkin' On Bobo".

"'Honkin' On Bobo' was supposed to be this record," Perry said. "As it turned out, the energy around the band wasn't right, but we needed to put something out. We did it in a room not much bigger than this, everybody set up and playing live. And that was what we carried into this record: live, in-the-room excitement."

He added, "I don't spend much time listening to the records when they're done. Usually I let go of it. Especially in the Eighties and Nineties – they were like product, almost. (There were) so many people involved, I felt like you lose ownership of the record. But I remember listening back to the tracks in the Seventies a lot, just for the fun of it. And this record, for some reason, I found myself doing that."

AEROSMITH's "The Global Warming" tour will kick it off on June 16 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and wrap up on August 8 in Tacoma, Washington.

Original GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler has apologized to the band's lead singer, Axl Rose, and the other members of the current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES for calling them "hacks."

In an interview with Loudwire conducted on Thursday, March 29, Adler spoke about his desire to see the original lineup for GUNS N' ROSES perform at the band's upcoming induction into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, saying that he and fellow ex-GUNS N' ROSES member, Slash, would love to take the stage with their former bandmates once again.

"[Slash is] my brother. I know he's up to it," Adler said. "He wants to do it. I want to do it. Just from what I hear, Izzy [Stradlin]'s not gonna show up and Axl will probably want to play with his hack band — his band of hacks. 'Axl and His Hacks' — it shouldn't even be GUNS N' ROSES. He's just driving that name into the freakin' ground. 'Axl and His Hacks.'"

Earlier today, Adler released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"Sometimes my emotions get the best of me when talking about my former band. It's hard to see your ex in bed with somebody else. We created one of the biggest-selling debut albums of all time and it's no secret that I want to finish what we started 25 years ago and play together at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The guys that Axl has put together are all great players. They're not hacks in the sense that they can't play, they're all incredible musicians. I just meant that they are not the original lineup. I would like to apologize to Axl, Bumblefoot, D.J., Tommy, Dizzy, Richard, Frank, and Chris for my statement."

Rose was ambivalent in a recent interview about the Hall Of Fame, and told Billboard.com in 2009 that he could never see himself playing with Slash again, saying, "One of the two of us will die before a reunion. However sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is."

The 27th annual Hall Of Fame ceremony will be held on April 14. In addition to GUNS N' ROSES, other artists being inducted include the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, the BEASTIE BOYS, the FACES/SMALL FACES, DONOVAN and LAURA NYRO.

The ceremony will be taped for broadcast by HBO, which plans to air it in early May.

Guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, who joined GUNS N' ROSES in early 2006 as the replacement for Buckethead, has accepted original GN'R drummer Steven Adler's apology for referring to the current GUNS lineup as a "band of hacks."

In an interview with Loudwire conducted on Thursday, March 29, Adler spoke about his desire to see the original lineup for GUNS N' ROSES perform at the band's upcoming induction into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, saying that he and fellow ex-GUNS N' ROSES member, Slash, would love to take the stage with their former bandmates once again.

"[Slash is] my brother. I know he's up to it," Adler said. "He wants to do it. I want to do it. Just from what I hear, Izzy [Stradlin]'s not gonna show up and Axl will probably want to play with his hack band — his band of hacks. 'Axl and His Hacks' — it shouldn't even be GUNS N' ROSES. He's just driving that name into the freakin' ground. 'Axl and His Hacks.'"

Earlier today, Adler released a statement in which he apologized for yesterday's comments, explaining, "Sometimes my emotions get the best of me when talking about my former band. It's hard to see your ex in bed with somebody else. We created one of the biggest-selling debut albums of all time and it's no secret that I want to finish what we started 25 years ago and play together at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The guys that Axl has put together are all great players. They're not hacks in the sense that they can't play, they're all incredible musicians. I just meant that they are not the original lineup. I would like to apologize to Axl, Bumblefoot, D.J., Tommy, Dizzy, Richard, Frank, and Chris for my statement."

After reading Adler's apology, Thal responded on his Facebook page, "All good, bro. Thanks so much. We all just want to make music and make people happy. As far as all the GN'R hoopla, I'd rather it be what connects us than what separates us. You and I played together in Chicago a few years ago (I was jammin' with Lita Ford) and you guys were great. I won't be at Hall Of Fame. If you go, please give everyone a big hello for me."

Steven Adler is going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a matter of days despite playing on only one entire, full length studio album. That album, however, was Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses. The album was aptly named for the iconic drummer, as Adler nearly died as a result from a drug related stroke. He continued using drugs for years after his near death experience and came to even more fame on national television as a patient on Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab. Steven has not come by sobriety easily, however, he comes by charm and like-ability without any effort at all.

He has a huge smile and a great sense of humor. He seemingly has few boundaries, yet he is endearing, genuine and loveable…and out of his freaking gourd. Without the vices of drugs, or alcohol, Adler is preparing to release his first album in a quarter of a century. The man who has lived to tell tales that would make the most seasoned porn industry vet blush is now living clean and sober and gaining the support of his best friend and musical hero, Slash, who appears on the album. He has recruited two musical soul mates and enlisted music industry vet and former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson to produce the band. On April 10, 2012, the entire world will hear the band Alder's first single.

Jacob Bunton, Lonny Paul and Steven Adler took time out of their schedules to speak with Classic Rock Revisited's Jeb Wright about their music and why they are hopeful this will be the second chance that Steven Alder has been searching for.

In typical Steven Adler style, he began the interview not with hello, or how are you. He started off by saying, "Fuck off" with a big grin on his face. I would expect nothing less.

Read on to discover the wild world that is simply known as Adler.

Jeb: Let's start with Jacob. Do you understand what you're getting into? Have you seen Celebrity Rehab?

Jacob: I absolutely understand what I'm getting myself into. The thing about Steven is that, as soon as we met, face to face, I noticed that he exudes a positive energy. He is always projecting love and I love being around people like that, as there are too many negative people in the world. Steven is 100% clean and sober, he's not like you saw on Celebrity Rehab. He is focused more than anything. He is so into this band. This is the first record that he's done in twenty-five years. We will finish it in a few days and then we will be ready to mix it and start mastering it.

Jeb: I am very happy to hear Steven is clean and sober. Steven deserves a chance. I want to ask Lonny what happened to break up Adler's Appetite.

Lonny: I joined Adler's Appetite two weeks before the last tour that we did over the summer – that was my first, and last, experience with that project. We were pretty much just playing Guns N' Roses songs. When we were on tour, during the downtime, I played Steven some of my songs from my past bands and he said they were great songs and that we should look into doing some of this when we got back home. Once we got back home, we started looking for a singer. We found Jacob and it was really obvious that he was the one.

Jeb: It can be very difficult to find a good singer. I recently interviewed Fast Eddie Clarke and he told me that if the singer is any good that he has to be an asshole. He said if they are not an asshole then they must not be a very good singer.

Jacob: I'm not an asshole, you cockscker [laughing].

Lonny: When Steven and I were talking after we met Jacob, we were saying that it was too good to be true. He doesn't drink and he's not an asshole. The one fault that we do have with him is that he's a vegetarian.

Jeb: My daughter is a vegetarian. I just don't understand you people.

Steven: If you've got a daughter then you're life is in turmoil [laughter].

Jeb: The last time we talked you were doing Adler's Appetite. I am glad you've found some band members that feel like family, as you have not had that for some time.

Steven: It has been a long time and thank you very much for saying that. All I can say is that hard work, persistence and believing in your self is what it takes. Jacob and Lonny came into my life and it has been great. I got rid of the old circle that was in my life and once I did that everything came together.

Jeb: The last time we talked you were trying to get Slash to record with you. Slash and another great player, John 5, both appear on this album. How did that happen and what was it like working with them?

Steven: Slash has been my favorite guitarist since I was twelve years old. We did a couple of singles with Adler's Appetite and I wanted Slash to come down, but I wasn't in the right state of mind and it wasn't the right time. Now that I have been working with Lonny, Jacob and with our producer, Jeff Pilson, I have found that I'm in a better place in my life. Slash isn't going to come down just for anybody or anything. He came down because I've earned his respect and I've paid my dues. I am making an effort with my life and my career. John 5 came down too. These guys are superstars. Slash is the guitar hero of the world and John 5 is like the Eric Clapton of the 21^st Century. I had to earn there respect for them to come down and I did.

Lonny: From my point of view, I've always been a fan of Guns N' Roses and Dokken, so it was great to work with these guys. I love John 5, as well. I was telling my girl that I feel like I am in an out of control car accident but I am not freaking out. I am totally staying in control. I mean I am playing with these guys and I'm not freaking out, but inside I am totally beside myself.

Steven: The way that Lonny felt inside, I felt that way too. The last Adler's Appetite thing that we did with the old circle of friends and family was New Year's Eve. On January 2^nd, I started working with my new circle of friends and family, Lonny, Jacob and Jeff, and it has been ho, ho, ho, it's been heavy.

Jacob: When Slash walked into the room it was a goose bump moment. You can genuinely feel the love that these two guys have for each other. These guys have been best friends since they were 12 and you can feel it. I remember being in the vocal booth and looking through the glass into the control room and thinking, "Everyone in that next room, Jeff Pilson, Slash and Steven Alder, were hanging on my bedroom wall." I really had to pinch myself.

Steven: You don't have to pinch yourself anymore. I am going to pinch you because you have a cute little tushy [laughter].

Jeb: We've talked about the songs. Tell me what I am going to hear when I hear the first single, "The One That You Hate" on April 10^th?

Jacob: You're going to hear the introduction to the band Adler. You're going to hear a straight ahead rock song. It is actually one of the first songs that Lonny and I co-wrote. We had the music lying around for a while. One day we were in Lonny's office and I was playing around with the music and when I got to the chorus Lonny started going, "I'm the one that you hated."

Steven: They were singing about me [laughter].

Jacob: The song just flowed. The lyrics for that particular song are about two people that are no good for each other but, for whatever reason, they won't break up. I've seen it a million times over the years. It could be the sex, or just the convenience, but they just won't move on, or start over. A lot of people are attracted to the people they hate. Love and hate are actually intimately linked within the human brain.

Jeb: That song will be the introduction, so tell me, when the album comes out what will we get then?

Steven: A head crushing, heart breaking rock and roll band is what you're going to get. We are out to crush souls, destroy dreams and break hearts.

Lonny: The album has really great rock and roll songs; it really does.

Jeb: I hate comparing bands but if you had to how would you describe it?

Steven: It is where Appetite for Destruction takes off. We did everything possible to not be like the bands that are out there now. Jacob writes songs for a lot of other musicians and singers. When we were in the studio Jeff would say to try this sound, or that sound, and we would. The engineer said he has seen a lot of bands record entire albums with the same guitars and the same amps all the way through. We liked experimenting with the sounds. The world needs a new rock and roll band and we're just the guys to give it to them.

Jacob: Our sound has the Guns N' Roses edge to it because Steven has such a signature sound on the drums. He is one of those drummers that you hear and you instantly know it is him. We listened to a lot of old albums from bands that had identifiable sounds because we wanted to have an identifiable sound as well. This is really a great rock and roll record.

Steven: We stole from the best. You show me a musician that has never stolen anything from anybody and I will show you a band that doesn't have a record deal.

Jeb: Are you booking any live dates yet?

Jacob: The plan is the single right now. We have new management with the same guys who manage Motorhead and Anthrax. Everyone in the industry wants us to wait until the album is ready but we don't want to wait. We are so proud of the music that we're making that we want people to hear it now.

Lonny: This is Steven's first album in twenty-five years and we are very proud of it. We are shooting a video for the song and we have a ton of TV stuff that we will be doing. We're trusting our managers to do the right thing and our focus right now is on the single. Once it is out then we will go from there.

Jeb: Steven, I'm going to ask you a serious question. The industry has changed over the last quarter of a century. The rules have changed. People, like it or not, or going to steal your music. How do you counteract that?

Steven: You don't. All we can do is go out there and give it our best and believe in it. The more people we can play too the better. If you get a Gold record nowadays then that is huge and that is so sad.

It really is all about playing live. It is all about playing for the people. I want to play to big bikers with big beards who wear leather jackets and I want to see them crying.

Jeb: Crying?

Jacob: I want to see boobs.

Jeb: I agree with Jacob. I'm more of a boob man than a beard guy.

Steven: I want to see people crying because if they are crying then they are loving it. I want to see smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.

Lonny: There is no way to combat what is going on in the music industry. The new generation has grown up with internet access and there is always going to be sites like Napster. You can do what Metallica did and fight them but all that did was piss off a bunch of Metallica's fans. I am not saying to embrace people illegally downloading your music, because you need people to buy it, but there is just nothing you can do about it. We want people to buy the record, but at the end of the day, we want people to hear our music.

Jeb: Is this album better than Chinese Democracy?

Steven: Of course it is. Can you name one song off of that album? Within one day of this record coming out you're going to know the names of every song.

Jeb: Adler, you have a good gig going on. You get to sit back and bring these guys with you who are writing some awesome music. If this music is half as good as you're saying then you've got it made.

Steven: Yeah, I have a high profile name, and I'm thankful and I'm glad to have it, but it is not me bringing these guys along; it is them bringing me along. These guys are superstars in their own right.

Jacob: Lonny and I have actually sold 80 million records [laughter].

Jeb: Last one: If Axl won't get up and play at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction, why don't you get Slash and Duff and the three of you up there and play some tunes?

Steven: That is a thought, but if that doesn't happen, then I am going up there with just a drum set and I'm playing along with the CD. Guns N' Roses, the original band, has not performed for 22 years and we are still respected around the entire world.

I feel that when a band is put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame then they should play. I am dedicating my award to the bands that should be in there. If it wasn't for Kiss, UFO, Deep Purple and Journey and bands like that, then there would be no Guns N' Roses.

We owe it to the fans to play and it is just a god damned rock and roll band. All we do is play music. Why can't we just get on stage for ten minutes and play for the fans? Are you telling me those assholes can't get onstage and do that? We should do it for the fans.

Jeb: I am going to let Lonny and Jacob have the last word because Steven is used to having it [laughter]. Share your thoughts on what it is like to work with Steven Adler.

Lonny: The moment I met Steven he made me feel instantly like he was a normal guy. I know he is a legendary rock and roll drummer but he made me feel like he was right at home. You are in the presence of a superstar but he makes you feel like you're right at home from the moment you meet him.

Jacob: One thing that I've learned about Steven Adler is that he's fucking nuts. He's a crazy man but in all the right ways.

When we started making this record Steven would bring these ideas to the table that were crazy. I thought, "This guy is nuts. There is no way this is going to work." We would try it and it would work; he was absolutely right about that stuff. He is a huge music fan and he has these wacky ideas in his head from all of these different bands that he loves. He stores it all in his head and merges it all together. When we were tracking guitars for the album he actually went over to the amp and started cranking on the knobs. We were like, "What are you doing?" I hit a chord and it sounded great. The one thing that I've learned from Steven Adler is to expect the unexpected.

Steven: I want to let everyone who wants to check us out know where they can check us out at. Go to www.adlerrocks.com or go to our Facebook page. The single will be out around the entire world on April 10^th so everyone check it out.

Jeb: I hope to see you out on the road later this year or early next year and when the album comes out we will do this again.

Steven: Get prepared to get hugged, brother.

Vocalist Biff Byford of British heavy metal legends SAXON has issued the following update:

"We are very busy these days with the new album and we have already a few ideas together. I am writing melodies and lyrics and arranging them into songs. We will give the rest of the band a break for [holidays]. After that, we have a full session in April before heading to the mighty sugar loaf and rock Sao Luis! We are really looking forward to coming back to celebrate an awesome party with our South American fans! Needless to say that the Rock In Den Ruinen festival in Germany is also going to be great! And don't forget: Our new DVD will hit the stores in April! We are very proud of this product as it reflects SAXON at its best: big productions, great performances and a fabulous audience!!! We will keep you updated where you can get the special limited fan edition! When we've finished our short live break, we will enter the studio in the U.K. and will start recording the new album. Looking at a release date in the beginning of next year!"

SAXON will release "Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder - Live - Eagles Over Wacken", the no-fat-no-bullshit-100%-pure CD/DVD featuring DVD highlights from the band's Wacken shows in 2004, 2007 and 2009 comprising thirty songs, plus a live CD from Glasgow in 2011. Each set captures the Barnsley-bred British heavy metal legends delivering classic after classic, from "Denim & Leather" to "Metalhead" to "Heavy Metal Thunder" to "Princess Of The Night" to "Crusader" in front of 75,000-pluds loyal, ravenous fans, who have come to expect (and receive) the levels of performance SAXON have been delivering for 32 years.

"Heavy Metal Thunder - Live - Eagles Over Wacken" is available in a variety of formats, including the Golden Ticket D2C/Direct To Consumer Box.

Strictly limited, this exclusive package contains the "Best Of Wacken" DVD, plus the full and complete SAXON Wacken Open Air performances from 2004/2007/2009 each on a separate DVD, plus a SAXON flag.

Release dates:

April 23 - U.K.
April 20 - Rest Of Europe
May 22 - North America

"Call To Arms" sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 51 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. The digipack version of "Call To Arms" includes a glorious bonus — a free seven-track CD, "Live At Donington 1980".

GWAR frontman Oderus Urungus has slammed Dave Mustaine for his controversial political views, saying that the MEGADETH mainman should "keep [his] mouth fucking shut."

During an interview with Turbo from RSU Radio and the Metal Meltdown conducted this past Wednesday, March 28 (see video below), Oderus noted that both he and Mustaine have been in the press a lot lately. "Yeah, but see, the difference between Dave Mustaine and Oderus is that Dave Mustaine, every time he opens his mouth, he makes a fucking idiot out of himself," the GWAR frontman said. "You know what?! Keep your mouth fucking shut, Dave Mustaine. Play your fucking guitar, all right?! Maybe keep it to the lyrics of 'Peace Sells'. Anything else… We don't wanna fucking hear about how Obama was born in Africa and how Rick Santorum is your man; he hates fucking heavy metal. Shut the fuck up, Dave Mustaine. Shut the fuck up, you God, cock-s***ing f****t."

Mustaine recently made headlines when he told Canadian television and radio personality George Stroumboulopoulos that he is certain that President Obama "was born somewhere else than America."

"I have a lot of questions about [Obama], but certainly not where he was born," Mustaine said. "I know he was born somewhere else than America."

When Stroumboulopoulos pointed out that this school of thought made the musician part of the so-called "birther" movement, Mustaine countered, "I'm not calling a question to it, I just, you know, it's a point. How come he was invisible until he became whatever he was in Illinois?"

Stroumboulopoulos tried to further challenge Mustaine on his claims, causing the MEGADETH frontman to attempt to change the subject.

"I don't want to talk about my president," Mustaine said, before going on to admit that he was going to "have to do some more homework on where Obama came from."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhKuo7dhcm4&feature=player_embedded

ANTHRAX and BIOHAZARD will perform on the main stage of the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, set to take place on Monday, June 11 at Indigo2 in London, England. Meanwhile, FOZZY, SHADOWS FALL and ATTICA RAGE will all play the pre-awards show boat party that will be cruising up the Thames to the biggest and baddest metal event of the year.

The nominees for the 2012 Golden Gods are:

Best New Band

* ANIMALS AS LEADERS
* HEIGHTS
* THE DEFILED
* KOBRA AND THE LOTUS
* PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION

Best Underground Band

* BLACK BREATH
* ANCIENT VVISDOM
* WATAIN
* IN SOLITUDE
* SHINING (Norway)

Breakthrough

* CANCER BATS
* PARKWAY DRIVE
* WHILE SHE SLEEPS
* MOTIONLESS IN WHITE
* GHOST

Best U.K. Band

* SAXON
* FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM
* TESSERACT
* TRC
* BLACK SPIDERS

Best International Band

* OPETH
* MESHUGGAH
* LAMB OF GOD
* FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
* NIGHTWISH

Best Event

* MANOWAR returning to the U.K.
* IRON MAIDEN's U.K. tour
* Dave Mustaine playing with METALLICA
* Devin Townsend's DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT London shows
* Tommy Lee bringing his drumcoaster to the U.K.

Best Live Band

* IRON MAIDEN
* METALLICA
* RAMMSTEIN
* SKINDRED
* WATAIN

Dimebag Darrell Shredder

* Satchel (STEEL PANTHER)
* Devin Townsend
* Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY)
* Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
* Ol Drake (EVILE)

Metal As F*ck

* Zoltan Bathory (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH)
* HELL
* SABATON
* ANTHRAX
* Nik Kai

The following awards will also take place on the night, as voted for by the esteemed team at Metal Hammer:

* Drummer Of The Year
* Album Of The Year
* Riff Lord
* Icon
* The Golden God

U.D.O., the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider, will release a "rare-tracks" album with some very special gems for the fans. Entitled "Celebrator", the effort will be made available on May 4 via AFM Records. The full track listing will be announced next week.

Check out the cover artwork below.

U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 perormance at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria was professionally filmed for the band's next official live DVD, tentatively titled "Rev-Raptor Tour - Live from Sofia", for an August/September release.

U.D.O.'s latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records. The recordings for the CD took place between June 2010 and February 2011 at Roxx studios (owned by U.D.O. guitarist and ex-ACCEPT drummer Stefan Kaufmann) in Pulheim, Germany. The effort was mastered by Manfred Melchior at MM Sound Digital studios in Steinhagen, Germany. The album's cover artwork is once again a comic-like motif: but the "Dominator" character is this time "a lot more effectual and colorful," according to a press release.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/udocelebrator.jpg

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks!conducted an interview with bassist Byron Stroud of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD before the band's March 21 concert at the Gramercy Theater in New York City. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about the reason for his recent departure from FEAR FACTORY, Byron said, "It was just time to leave, man. The way I put it to everybody is that life's too short to spend it with people that don't love and respect you."

3 INCHES OF BLOOD' new album, "Long Live Heavy Metal", was released on March 27 via Century Media Records. According to a press release, "fans can expect a blast of pure metal assured to leave no face unmelted."

For "Long Live Heavy Metal", 3 INCHES OF BLOOD reunited with producer and engineer Terry "Sho" Murray (CITY OF FIRE, EXHIBITIONISTS), who worked with the band on their seven-inch single, "Anthems For The Victorious".

3 INCHES OF BLOOD teamed up with Kim Thiessen to perfect their artistic vision for the album, which was released as a digipack and when opened, lays out similar to that of a book.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD is currently taking part in the "Metal Alliance Tour 2012" alongside DEVILDRIVER, THE FACELESS, DYING FETUS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, IMPENDING DOOM and WRETCHED.

Masschusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL have completed work on their seventh studio album, "Fire From The Sky", for a May 15 release via Razor & Tie. Recorded at Zing Studios in late 2011, the reunites SHADOWS FALL with longtime friend, producer/engineer and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/TIMES OF GRACE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, ALL THAT REMAINS). The album was mixed by Brian Virtue and features some of the band's most complex and melodic material in years.

Commented SHADOWS FALL vocalist Brian Fair, "'Fire From The Sky' is not a concept album by any means, but a few common themes do link these songs together. These days, the world seems to be spiraling out of control into a frantic state of confusion, corruption and chaos. It's as if we are living under the shadow of an impending apocalypse. The songs on this album were inspired by this chaos and the struggle to find answers in these dark days."

Pre-order bundles are available today in five different configurations offering a variety of items including music, t-shirts and limited edition band merch. All pre-order bundles include a poster, and both a physical copy and digital download of "Fire From The Sky". Special bundles offer a selection of different bands t-shirts and a limited edition SHADOWS FALL flag. Pre-order bundles are available for purchase here.

SHADOWS FALL will play two shows in Mexico with ANTHRAX before hitting the road as direct support to FEAR FACTORY this spring. The band will also headline a string of dates.

"Fire From The Sky" track listing:

01. The Unknown
02. Divide And Conquer
03. Weight Of The World
04. Nothing Remains
05. Fire From The Sky
06. Save Your Soul
07. Blind Faith
08. Lost Within
09. Walk The Edge
10. The Wasteland

The cover artwork for "Fire From The Sky" was designed by Aaron Marsh of Forefathers and can be seen below.

Commented Marsh: "When presented with the idea, I wanted to deliver an aesthetic that would go beyond the 'typical' or 'assumed.' I wanted to embrace a perspective and emotive value that could be carried with the context of the record itself. While I knew this would be challenging and end up stylistic to one degree or another, I still wanted the viewer to get this overwhelming and brooding sense of chaos that could otherwise be imagined when putting themselves in that very scenic situation — supposing this record was the soundtrack to their own apocalyptic movie."

Added SHADOWS FALL singer Brian Fair: "[I] couldn't be happier with how the artwork for 'Fire From The Sky' came out. Thanks to Forefathers for doing such an amazing job!"

SHADOWS FALL filmed a video for an as-yet-undisclosed new song on March 21 at an abandoned building in Brooklyn, New York.

The band recently wrapped up a string of intimate headlining warm-up shows in select cities before heading to Australia for this year's Soundwave Festival.

"Religion always gets a good bashing from Arch Enemy," says band leader Michael Amott down the line from his home. The amiable and pleasantly-spoken guitarist is doing a round of interviews ahead of more gruelling touring that will see them on a whirlwind Australian visit at the end of April. That statement has never been more true than when applied to Arch Enemy's latest album, Khaos Legions, that plays almost like a guidebook for godlessness and self-empowerment.

"I think we just took things to the extreme lyrically on this album. Angela was just on a whole godless trip on this album," he explains. "She'd read a bunch of books around that time and there was also the whole thing with the uprisings in North Africa going on - in the Middle East and North Africa. There was just a lot of interesting things going on in the world."

While Khaos Legions is hardly a concept album, but with a string of tracks like "No Gods, No Masters", "Bloodstained Cross" and "We Are Godless Entity", it's apparent that there is something of a recurring theme running through it.

"We always like to try to have a thread running through every album, like a bit of a concept," Amott says. "We don't like to call them concept albums, but there's always some sort of concept. When we make records, we figure out an idea we wanna go with lyrically and musically and then we piece it all together meticulously. It takes us a while. I think that's just what I grew up listening to. My favourite albums had that kind of feel. I don't know, I just like to have everything fit together."

The influence from old school metal is another thing that has always been a very deliberate aspect of Arch Enemy's music, and Khaos Legions certainly highlighted that facet of their sound.

"My idea when I started Arch Enemy was to have that fusion between extreme, death metal and thrash and then, with the vocals and the drumming especially, to have that kind of very evil, aggressive vocal approach," the guitarist explains. "But then also have, with the guitars, have a local of melodies and probably more influence from classic metal: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, stuff like that. We're probably just getting better at doing that and fine-tuning that whole thing."

Like any band, Arch Enemy has faced their fair share of criticism as opinions vary over the merits of each album of the catalogue. Some are still deeply enamoured with the Johan Liiva albums, and you only have to visit any metal-based web forum to find lengthy discussions about which of the Angela Gossow-fronted releases are the best. Arguments aside, it would be simply unfair to accuse Arch Enemy of anything less than a remarkable level of consistency.

"Consistency. It's kind of like poo!" Amott says with a chuckle. "I'd like to think we've been fairly consistent. It's always hard. You aim to make that perfect masterpiece every time. Sometimes you miss the mark, sometimes you hit it straight bang on. I think we try to write the best music we can, of course. We put a lot of work into it, and I think we are known for our quality."

Part of their secret might lay in their preparedness when it comes to the recording process. While there are many bands even at Arch Enemy's level that don't begin writing songs until they head into the studio to begin a new album, Amott prefers to have everything already mapped out by that time.

"I like us to be very well prepared. Actually [producer] Andy Sneap, who works on a lot of our records, says we're one of the most well prepared bands he's ever worked with. We kind of have every detail worked out, and we like to do demos of our stuff as well. Our drummer Daniel is very much into recording as well, so we have that advantage of being able to produce quality demos of all our stuff. We don't want to do demos and be prepared to the point where you kind of kill the material, you know, but we like to be prepared and know what we're doing. Certainly in the past we've found ourselves thinking, 'Oh shit, we've run out of lyrics', or 'We've got to write another song' or something on the spot. We've done that, but it's best to be prepared. For us, anyway."

The song writing process begins for Amott as soon as the previous album is done. Khaos Legions is barely a year old and he already has a ton of ideas for the follow-up.

"Khaos Legions... I put that one to bed a long time ago. That was finished when I delivered it to the label. You know, you slave over something, and really pour everything you have into something, a project, and it's quite draining... a lot of work... many, many hours. But once you deliver it to the label, and it's out for the fans to enjoy - or not enjoy, whatever - as artists we're on to the next thing."

Prolificacy has long been a Michael Amott trait. By his own admission, he's a guitar nerd is always coming up with something – a run, a riff or snatches of a melody that he can store away until it's required.

"It's not like I'm forcing myself," he says. "It's a natural process. I play guitar for hours every day. I guess I'm slightly retarded in that sense. Playing guitar all the time, and when I'm on the road I have even more time to play guitar, because you know you sit around in hotel rooms or backstage most of the time. I just play guitar really, and ideas will come out of that. And it's so easy to capture your ideas now these days. You used to stick them on cassettes, but now you can put them on the phone or laptop, whatever is convenient. And you just kind of build up an arsenal of killer riffs and melodies, ideas and bits and pieces. And then it's great to go back to that later when you're putting together a new album and have that there to pull from."

Arch Enemy will be in Australia once again very soon. This time however, the visit will only be a whistle-stop two-date outing in Melbourne and Sydney at the tail-end of their Asian tour.

"We're sort of at the end of a run down in Asia," Amott says. "We start in Japan, we're gonna do a full tour down there and then we're playing Singapore and the Phillipines, places like that. We had the opportunity to have some Australian shows at the end. Unfortunately it means only two shows this time around, so maybe next time. "

When it is suggested they might want to come back as part of a festival like Soundwave in the future, Amott laughs very loudly.

"Ahh. Well, we've never been invited by the organisers so... we gotta do our own shows!"

Notoriously hard-touring, if Arch Enemy's ultimate goal is to play everywhere imaginable, they're well on the
way to achieving that feat. No place is apparently too remote or inaccessible for these Swedish road-dogs. From South East Asia to Indian Ocean islands, Arch Enemy has played them all.

"We've just seen a lot of markets open up for us. In South America, there's a lot of places there, and some places in Africa like Morocco. We actually started the whole Khaos Legions tour in Morocco: Casablanca. It was kind of exotic. It was good. It's out of the way; they're seeing us for the first time so if we fuck up the new songs then maybe not many would notice," Amott says with a laugh.

"We just had this crazy little run in January where we fly around, we don't even have our own equipment. We just bring guitars and stuff and the necessary bits and pieces that we need and we hit a bunch of places that we can't get to normally. We played Israel, Tel Aviv, places like that."

Going on tour with little more than guitars and a snare drum and hiring or even borrowing gear out on the road isn't uncommon, but these days it's usually the domain of deep underground cult acts, not big name bands like Arch Enemy. Michael Amott is keen to point out that his band is willing to "do what it takes" to get to places where people want to see them. Things may not run as smoothly in developing markets as they do elsewhere, but that's part of the adventure.

"It's more work for our crew than it is for us," Amott says. "We have a great road crew working for us. They turn up and they have to basically re-wire the whole PA because maybe there's not the local expertise that you'd like. For us as performers it's always great, and the fans are amazing. I think that when you play somewhere like that, that isn't spoiled with live shows and seeing their favourite bands or the bands they listen to every day - they're not used to having them come through - it just becomes like a very very cool event. And the anarchy that they bring, the audience, it just inspires us and takes it to the next level. We were the first international metal band to play in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. That was two years ago now. It was just insane. Those kind of things are just special moments, for sure. It's very interesting taking metal to some of these places."

NOTE: This interview was completed before the announcement that Chris Amott had left the band.

Arch Enemy play in Australia on the following dates:

30/4: Manning Bar, Sydney NSW (+ As Silence Breaks + Datura Curse)
1/5: Billboard, Melbourne VIC (+ Teramaze + Elysian)

Tix :$69 + Booking Fee from 9am Wednesday, February 22 from www.metropolistouring.com

LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY has released the following statement:

"Today is a great and very important day for our band. We are finally proud to present the new singer of RHAPSODY to the world, the person who, thanks to his unique vocal talent, will contribute to the artistic perspectives of the band in the years to come.

"The secret is finally revealed: the new singer is Italian and his name is Alessandro Conti (TRICK OR TREAT)."

Commented Luca Turilli: "Alessandro is the singer of our band since many months already but we wanted to present him in the way he deserves, and this means: through his voice! We wanted to find a singer able to sing in different ways and offering different 'colors.' Such ability is fundamental for me as in every RHAPSODY album I like to compose different styles of songs, passing from the most cinematic and epic impact of some songs to the operatic majesty of other ones, from celestial voices to more aggressive tones. Alessandro was just the best choice in this sense as, in between the multitude of all his vocal colors, he has a great high tone but also an operatic approach that makes the difference. He studied at the Corale Lirica Rossini of Modena as first tenor, the same school attended by the great and unforgettable Luciano Pavarotti."

Added Alessandro: "I am very enthusiastic to be the new voice of RHAPSODY and the person the band was searching for. 'Ascending To Infinity' is just an amazing piece of art and maybe not even the word 'epic' is enough to describe its emotional power… what is sure is that I am really proud to be part of it. Now I am looking forward to meeting all the existing and new RHAPSODY fans around the world. See you soon!"

A three-and-a-half-minute YouTube clip containing audio snippets of the forthcoming album can be found below.

LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY recently finished filming a video for the song "Dark Fate Of Atlantis" in Stockholm, Sweden with director Owe Lingvall of Dream Day Media (THE RASMUS, KAMELOT's "The Great Pandemonium"). The track comes off the band's new album, "Ascending To Infinity", which will be released on June 29 via Nuclear Blast.

Commented the group: "We are impressed by the visionary style of Owe's works. For a band willing to sound and look cinematic like RHAPSODY, there was no better choice possible. The video will be spread for free around the world in the beginning of April. Our friend Owe will also be responsible for a bonus DVD including the video, the 'making-of' documentary related with it, and exclusive interviews with all the RHAPSODY bandmembers. Nuclear Blast will release this extra DVD with a playtime of more than one hour in the limited edition of the new upcoming album, 'Ascending To Infinity', to be released worldwide on June 29. An additional gift to all our fans around the world!"

In August 2011, RHAPSODY OF FIRE guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli announced their decision to go their separate ways.

Due to legal reasons, Staropoli will continue under the RHAPSODY OF FIRE name. Turilli, on the other hand, will make his future efforts available under the RHAPSODY moniker (RHAPSODY OF FIRE's original name), in which he will be joined by guitarist Dominique Leurquin, bassist Patrice Guers, and drummer Alex Holzwarth. A singer for the group has has yet to be announced.

"Ascending To Infinity" track listing:

01. Quantum X
02. Ascending To Infinity
03. Dante's Inferno
04. Excalibur
05. Tormento E Passione
06. Dark Fate Of Atlantis
07. Fantasia Gotica
08. Clash Of The Titans
09. Of Michael The Archangel And Lucifer's Fall
I. Alma Mundi
II. Fatum Mortalis
III. Ignis Divinus

You can check out the "Ascending To Infinity" cover artwork below.

The album will have a running time of around 65 minutes.

LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY will embark on the "Ascending To Infinity" headlining tour in the fall.

In a recent interview, Turilli stated about "Ascending To Infinity", "Honestly, this album is very important for me, Alex Holzwarth, Patrice and Dominique and personally it is the one I always dreamed to record. The basic composition process lasted around five months. In this period of time I worked at the rhythm of 12-14 hours per day and, while very hard because very demanding mentally and spiritually, this was one of the most rewarding sessions of composition of my whole life. It rarely happened I had so much fun playing the guitar, the keyboards or my beloved piano and creating original classical parts, cinematic interludes, orchestrations and all the rest. Now all the songs are ready and I am actually in the process of arranging everything. As you know, I don't hire external people to orchestrate the music, but I do all by myself writing the music for each section of the orchestra, the choirs etc. and this sometimes can be a very long and hard process stealing a lot of time and energy. I cannot deny that this is a very ambitious album, because of the investment, artistic vision etc., and all the people working on it, Nuclear Blast included, are thinking the same. That's why in the upcoming months of intensive studio work I want to go on dedicating myself night and day to it, without thinking to anything else."

Regarding the change in the production team for the LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY album, Luca said, "After many years of work in Wolfsburg at the court of our friend Sascha Paeth, I decided to start this new artistic adventure with a different team of people. Sascha and the other friends of the Gate Studio (Miro, Olaf, Robert, Simon, etc.) are a winning team and their help in the past was really important for RHAPSODY. But it's since many years already that Alex and I took the productions in our hands becoming producers of our own albums, despite Sascha remaining always fundamental as engineer and mixer man. His mixes will remain legendary and our list of thanks will be never long enough for all the professional contribution he gave. All the years of work, fun and sufferance in the Gate studios of Wolfsburg will surely remain unforgettable and are carved in our heart. For LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY and the new band adventure I decided to change the studio and the main man behind the console. We are now recording the new album at the Backyard Studio of Kempten, Germany. Our new engineer and main mixer man is the same owner of the studio and his name is Sebastian Roeder, the person who worked for RHAPSODY OF FIRE in the last worldwide tour making real miracles while mixing our music live. Apart from being a talented engineer, he is a great person and he shares with us the love for this style of music. To resume, the new album will be produced by me as usual, while Sebastian will take care of the engineering, mixing and mastering process."

Overkill singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth tells the best stories. Whether he's sharing a story about his career, the New York Mets or singing his lyrics in one of his thrashtacular songs, Ellsworth knows how to fire up his audience. With Overkill's brand new album, The Electric Age, a successful chocolate shop and a cautiously optimistic attitude about his beloved Mets, Ellsworth is a busy man. But never too busy to make time for the Aquarian, the paper that helped he and bassist D.D. Verni connect back in the '80s. The conversation is below.

Let's talk chocolate first…

My wife and I own a chocolate retail outlet in Nyack, New York, just outside of the Aquarian's reach. It's close to the Bergen County line. It's primarily imports. My wife is Dutch. I was about to open a studio and I thought, "She is not going to want to sit in a studio." She had done her legwork on this and had always been in service industry with her parents. We went that route. I've bailed [out] the Lamb Of God guys a few times on Valentine's Day when they need some chocolates. It's cool. Music and life changes. This is viable too. People who like the band also come get the high-end Belgian chocolates. We opened the store in 2004. We had one in Jersey for a while and one in Nyack. They were great niche businesses that had nothing to do with the recession. The business model is recession-proof. You are not jockeying for position by saving people 10 cents. If people want Belgian chocolate, they get it. We closed the Jersey one. Nyack is a great walking town and like a Greenwich Village. Chocolaterie is the name and quite simply, it means "chocolate shop."

So you've been thrashing since the '80s. What keeps you in the metal game after all these years, especially with your successful side business?

We've worked on a schedule, since 1985. You do it this long, you obviously love it. It's brought me, my wife, chocolate [and] getting to go on tour to all sorts of places. I find it funny. We're releasing our 15th record, we're going on [our] 15th world tour and there were still places I have not been. There are still some uncharted territories. There are still places to go. It's the same electric vibe with The Electric Age. It's not overexposed and it's not polluted. It's pure. It still gives back what we put into it.

Seems like a good enough reason since making music is still fresh for you and you still have territories to hit.

I've got a great partner D.D.—we're both Jersey guys. We have the same background. No matter how much I travel, the most comfortable place is Jersey, since I feel like I am understood. I can wink or nod, people know what I mean. But as for me and D.D., we have this 30-year relationship, business and professional. Every aspect of the band goes across our desks; tour posters, t-shirt designs, the deals, contracts. We are a self-managed band, so we have a larger stake. It's not just the love of the music, even though that is the ultimate motivation. But we have this business, with the same model, the same background. It grew and it's growing.

Pick one song on The Electric Age and put us inside the song with you, be it writing or recording story.

"Electric Rattlesnake" is getting the most attention based on the fact that our European label, Nuclear Blast, and our U.S. label, eOne, wanted to release it as a leaked single. When I wrote the song, I was looking at the fireplace, listening to it on the iPod, thinking what a killer riff this is, putting the chorus down on scratch paper and the phone rang. I had to bail out. I think it got thrown into the fireplace (laughs). Under normal circumstances, this would be a disaster. But how I feel about success and songwriting is this: If you can remember it, then you have something that is special. I was able to go into my basement and hammer it out. What attracted me to it was the neckbreaking pace on the front end, but still had a bluesy vibe. Then it broke into half-time and quarter-time. I thought, "It's every aspect of the band in six minutes and 15 seconds" (laughs).

What else is on the docket for Overkill in 2012?

You know, we have such a blue collar work ethic. This is about getting it done. We work on that clock. It works for us. It's a U.S. tour followed by European festivals, European touring, North American festivals [and] an Asian tour. This is what we will do for the next year but we keep it in balance. We'll do a 30-day pop out, come home for six weeks. We do it in balance and that keeps us going. I tell ya something, it's not the worst life. I am smoking Cuban cigars and rolling dice, like the middle-aged boys club (laughs). That's what we like doing.

Okay, so I've gotta ask. How are you feeling about the 2012 Mets?

Oh, yikes. With the mismanagement of deals and the Madoff thing, it was a house of cards and it came down. I will take my old man out to Citi Field early on and then think, "It's not going to be a bad year." But between now and the end of our first tour, I will be wholeheartedly rooting for the New Jersey Devils. I'll tell you a story. My dad turned 75 in 2005. I had been doing side work and benefit performances for people and a New York Met was a big metal fan. He always said, "If you ever need anything…" So once, I said, "Hey man, I want your box for my dad's 75th." Years before, after dropping out of Manhattan College, my dad asked, "Is this about art or free beer and girls?" I thought, "I gotta lie to my old man and said, 'It's about art, pop.'" So on his 75th birthday, we're in the box, it's beautiful and we're at Shea, and he said "I knew this Overkill thing would work out" and I said, "It was about beer and girls 25 years ago."

That type of longevity is not an accident!

You know, I've got another story for you. I also met D.D. when I was in D.O.A., a punk band. He was in an original band called The Lubricunts. We both had ads in the Aquarian with the same words! That's how we met, through your mag!

You can catch Overkill at The Trocadero Theatre in Philly on April 20 and at the Best Buy Theater on May 12. Their new album, The Electric Age, is available now. For more information, go to wreckingcrew.com.

Influential heavy metal magazine Metal Forces finally has an official web site at

http://www.metalforcesmagazine.com/

Launched in the U.K. during the summer of 1983, Metal Forces quickly established itself internationally as one of the most influential publications in the promotion of heavy metal and hard rock. Totally independent, the ground-breaking magazine championed the early careers of artists like METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, PANTERA and SEPULTURA — bands who at the time were virtually ignored by the mainstream rock press — and although Metal Forces was never a thrash publication per se, its coverage of the genre was unrivalled during the 1980s. Metal Forces was also relentless in its exposure of unsigned metal and rock bands from across the globe, with appearances in the magazine's popular demo tape review section, "Demolition", leading to numerous recording contracts.

In 1990, Metal Forces began producing the content for Fotodisk's "Metal XS" video series, and also created a number of high-profile off-shoot magazines, including Access All Areas and Thrash 'N Burn; the latter a monthly title dedicated to extreme metal that would eventually evolve into Xtreme Noize. A German language version of Metal Forces also appeared in 1992.

Due to a changing musical landscape within a saturated rock magazine market in the U.K., the printed version of Metal Forces ceased production in 1993 but continued to sell via Internet outlets and for nearly 30 years has remained an important source of information, with early issues of Metal Forces now commanding high prices on eBay.

The launch of the official Metal Forces magazine web site provides an online platform to peruse many of those vintage interviews and reviews, with additional archive material (including previously unpublished items) being added on a regular basis. The web site also delivers a daily dose of new content, which continues the Metal Forces policy of in-depth, informative articles and devotion to promoting quality metal of all genres, regardless of popularity or trends.

Metal fans can be kept informed of published material both newly written and lifted from archive issues by joining Metal Forces on Facebook and Twitter.

Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL have answered a number of fan-submitted questions via their official Facebook page. A couple of excerpts follow below.

Q: In the last couple of years, many metal greats have passed away. How did this influence your decision to make a double album, and will there be noticeable tributes in its sound?

Fernando Ribeiro (vocals): The death toll in metal was quite high these past few years. Besides the physical death of some friends in the scene, Peter Steele [TYPE O NEGATIVE] on top of the list, what is more painful is the notion that their legacy can go unnoticed by the future generations who are drowned every day with product bands, with invented sub-styles and simply by people with no talent the labels and managers tell you to respect and kiss ass with just because they sell more than what you do in the U.S. The death of those greats, as you so nicely put it, brought a void and a certain dry winter to the music we like. MOONSPELL feels it's is our duty, as a Nineties band, to carry the torch even if we burn our fingers. "Alpha Noir" and "Omega White" are records that also portray a certain way of being in music that involves certain characteristics fans sometimes opt not to understand. "Omega White" is especially fertile in an honest tribute to the bands that influenced us. Listen to a song called "New Tears Eve" from "Omega" and you will get my point.

Q: How did TYPE O NEGATIVE influence the band?

Miguel "Mike" Gaspar (drums): Well, first of all, I remember very early in the band's career that we were all huge fans . We would listen to them all the time, especially "Bloody Kisses". We identified immediately with their sound. The deep vocals, melodic guitars, thick drums and keyboards, including samples like if from a horror movie. All this with the contrast of the raw hardcore from the streets of Brooklyn made it a perfect band for us to admire. We later got to tour with them on one the biggest European tours they had done to date with the album "October Rust" in 1996. [It] goes without saying that this tour changed and taught MOONSPELL a lot. We couldn't have had a better band to show us the ropes. Not only did we identify musically, but also personally. I think we both felt like outsiders and nothing we ever did was good enough. This developed a dark view on the world also even though our music was, didn't mean we took our selves too seriously. We joked about everything you could think of We had similar backgrounds at different times in other continents but still so familiar. Maybe that's why they felt like big brothers. Pete Steele watched our back and was a true gentleman at all times. Great respect and how we miss him. We will never forget the good friend you were to us. We are eternally grateful and will keep your memory alive. TYPE O NEGATIVE was for sure the best of their time. Brooklyn says it all!

Q: Would you make a tour with a track list that goes through every MOONSPELL album ever? Taking on account that every concert would last at least two hours and a half minimum.

Fernando: We always try to play a set that pleases our fans. But people have to understand that there are other factors we need to take in account and that musicians understand better than the fans, after all it's our job! A good MOONSPELL set has to contain enthusiasm, nostalgia, romance, power and atmosphere. Also the band has to be motivated live, so choosing the songs ourselves, it's essential for that feeling to occur. The sets have to flow and sometimes it's like a jigsaw that we have to put together ourselves. We once asked the fans for an ideal set on our old Moonspell.com forum and the result of it was… unplayable. Like I said, it's a privilege we have and know how to make it work and fans have to trust us again. I guess we always make our best while also to be in control and be a bit more than just entertaining people, even tough that's a noble thing to do. I guess the set would be a bit longer than that two and a half hours. We once played the Lisbon Coliseum two and a half hours and it was quite long, I'd say. A perfect set is a 90 minutes, one where you can play a lot of songs without getting into something exhausting for everyone. I believe "Alpha" and "Omega" will sound great live and also it's a chance of finding out also the Alpha and the Omega on our old songs that will intertwine with old songs that will fit more into the metal, others more towards the dark. Rest assured, it will be fun!

Q: Fernando, how would you describe the development of your voice during the years in MOONSPELL? Also, do you take any special care of it?

Fernando: I think my voice grown and changed as I was growing and changing as a person as well, it was quite natural. Remember, I was just 18 when we recorded the "Anno Satanae" demo and 20 when we did "Wolfheart". I was born in August 1974. So I was just coming out of my teens and my voice would have changed anyway. After I started touring, thus singing more, I also had to learn how to keep the vocal stamina up in an intense and sometimes chaotic tour schedule. I remember I did, and so did the singers on the other bands, almost 40 dates in a row, no days off, on the tour with SAMAEL and ROTTING CHRIST back in 1996. That's why I started taking lessons with Brigit Zacher, a German singer who also features in many of our albums. She was great and I learnt almost everything with her. The rest is no big secret, really. I like to party, buy I like more to have a nice, heartfelt and professional performance on stage. People do not buy tickets to put up with my hangover's shortcomings. So it's all a matter of practicing a lot to keep the endurance and quality of the vocal, to open it, especially in the days before a show. Also I drink 3 to 5 Liters of water per day, maybe more in a show day. Hydration is essential to a good vocal apparatus. I checked my vocal cords in a specialist a couple of months ago and we were both amazed that they were clean, white, pristine and healthy. After so many years of abuse, it seems I am handling them the right way and it was a relief to know that everything is still solid and strong and that I can scream my lungs out for the years to come.

Guitarist Andreas Kisser of Brazilian/American thrash metal veterans SEPULTURA has scheduled the following signing sessions for Fender Russia:

Mar. 30 - Kemerovo, Russia - Pr. Lenina, 27 (2 p.m.)
Apr. 02 - Novosibirsk, Russia - St. Lenina, 27 (3 p.m.)
Apr. 05 - Ekaterinburg, Russia - St.Karla Libknehta, 22 (4 p.m.)
Apr. 06 - Moscow, Russia - Krasnoholmskaya Nab., 3, Build. 1 (2 p.m.)

Kisser's solo debut, "Hubris I & II", was nominated in the "Best Brazilian Rock Album" category at the 2010 Latin Grammys, which aired live from Las Vegas on the Univision Network.

"Hubris I & II" was released in June 2009 via Holland's Mascot Records. A two-disc set, the self-produced effort was recorded in part at A Voz do Brasil studio in São Paulo, Brazil.

Kisser previously stated about the album, "I'm very pleased with the result and I'm excited to hear it all done. It was a long process, a learning process and a great experience. It's a musical journey through the influences I had for last 15 years of my life and at the same time it's very different from everything I did so far."

"Hubris" comes from Greek word "hybris," which means "excessive pride, wanton violence."

Brazilian/Americal thrashers SEPULTURA will be joined by Les Tambours Du Bronx, featuring sixteen drummers from France, during their appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 2-4 in Wacken, Germany.

According to Wacken Open Air festival organizers, "this combination from heavy metal sounds and this incomparable percussion ensemble can only be seen two times in the whole world in this year."

Founded in 1987, Les Tambours Du Bronx beat 225-liter barrels with beech wood bats or even axe handles. In more than 1000 concerts they've smashed about 16,000 barrels and more than 110,000 broken "drum sticks!"

SEPULTURA will join forces with DEATH ANGEL, KRISIUN and HAVOK for a North American tour in April/May.

SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25, 2011 in Lichtenfels, Germany.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.

As first reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET on March 26, Swedish metallers SABATON have now confirmed the departure of guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, drummer Daniel Mulback and keyboardist Daniel Mÿhr. Vocalist Joakim Bróden and bassist Pär Sundström will continue SABATON with new, as-yet-undisclosed members.

Commented SABATON in a statement: "Starting a band at the age of 18 is simple, keeping it intact for 12 years is much harder, and finally we have come to the crossroad where we will go separate ways.

"Pär Sundström and Joakim Brodén will continue to battle on stage, carrying the banner of SABATON to further victories.

"We will always have an eternal bond to each other, created by more than 12 years of friendship and touring, and wish each other long and prosperous lives with families, various projects and musical careers.

"In the end, all six of us will end up in our own glorious future…"

SABATON's new album, "Carolus Rex", will be released in Europe on May 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The lyrics for the CD, which will be made available in both English and Swedish, deal with the Swedish Empire (referring to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721).

The band previously stated about "Carolus Rex": "For the first time ever we have had an expert to help us out with the theme, the well-known Swedish historian Bengt Liljegren. We have also added some extra time in the studio to find the absolute right sound on 'Carolus Rex', and our producer, Peter Tägtgren, says that this album will mark a brand new standard for how a heavy metal album should sound like!"

Liljegren's previously published works include acclaimed biographies of Adolf Hitler and Karl XII. He also appeared in the popular Swedish TV series "Boston Tea Party".

SABATON will embark on a North American headlining tour next month. The "Swedish Empire Tour 2012" will kick off on April 10 in Tampa, Florida.

Questions and Answers with John Ricci guitarist for Canadian Speed Metal band Exciter. Interview March 21, 2012

1. Exciter just released Death Machine on Massacre Records?
Yes, we just released Death Machine in the USA as a domestic release. It`s actually been out since 2010 in Europe and considered an import in America.
This way instead of fans paying $20-$25 dollars for the cd as an import I believe the price should around $15.00 (hopefully, he,he).Most of our records for the past 30 years mainly have been imports except for a brief period in the early 80`s. Our first and second records we`re on American labels (Heavy Metal Maniac 1983 Shrapnel Records and Violence and Force 1984 Megaforce Records) most of all the other releases were European. It`s very exciting to have a USA release again. The response and reviews so far have been positive. For me this very satisfying because we`ve been around for so many years and obviously the media and fans are still interested.

2. How did the recording session go along for Death Machine?
The recording sessions for DM were a little disjointed . We recorded all the instruments at different times because of scheduling conflicts and also the fact our singer Kenny lives in NYC therefore it wasn`t one smooth recording session. Kenny arrived to record vocals after all the music was done and he sang the songs for the very first time without really hearing the songs previously. Nevertheless, the album turn out good. Because we were trying to meet the deadline to complete the record I think we rushed the mixing process as well. All in all no matter what we do or what gear we use we always get this raw garage or `very analog` sound.

3. Where do you find the inspirations to write music?
Exciter inspirations to write music comes from every day news events mostly of violent topics. Killings, murders, etc. We live in such a sick world with senseless killings and unprovoked violence. The lyrics I write do not glamorize violence but condones it. Of course some song topics include witches and Satan but these topics are strictly fantasy for example if you watch a horror movie it`s not for real only make-believe. The instrumental part of Exciter`s music is always from an angry point of view. As far as I'm concerned metal has to be played with aggression and simple power chords to get the message across to the listener. This has been the Exciter formula for over 30 years.

4. Are there any tour dates coming soon?
The next shows are in Mexico, March 17 + 18 with Destruction and Soul Fly at outdoor festivals and then April 20th we are in Brazil at Metal Open Air fest with headliners Megadeth and Anthrax. We have other offers around the globe but nothing confirmed at this time.

5. What is Exciter's current endorsements?
Clammy, our bassist has an endorsement with 'Neal Moser Guitars' and DR strings. Rik Charron,our drummer has endorsements with TRX cymbals and AHEAD drum sticks. Myself and Kenny do not have any deals with any companies.

6. What's your vision on the Internet as a tool to promote and market Music?
Even though there is a lot of illegal downloads on the internet it is still promotion for the bands involved , it`s not so good for record companies. It`s hard to stop because every time you put a halt to it the culprits will find another way to make it available or illegally sell .But you are right the worldwide web is definitely the best way to make your band known. It`s a lot easier than the old days of sending out demos and promo packages !

7. With all the bands coming out today. Do you keep updated with what comes out online at all?
I try to keep up with new bands but I find many bands sound alike and the don`t have a distinct sound therefore I don`t go out of my way to get their recordings. There are so many bands today trying to accomplish the same goal (and they`re all very good bands) I find they get lost in the shuffle of up and coming artists because they don`t stand out with a totally original ingredient .

8. What would be some of Exciter's influences in regards to the Death Machine?
My influences have always been the same in writing music for all Exciter records including DM. The topics as mentioned before are war, death and destruction and my musical influences are the classic bands, Sabbath, Priest, Motorhead.

9. Could you describe what goes on in a day in your life as a musician?
Our daily lives are routine lifestyles. We all have 9-5 jobs and play in Exciter part-time. Even though we have an international profile we`ve always kept our regular day jobs. I work as salesman in a music store and for hobbies I restore classic cars.

10. How is the health of the Metal world in 2012 in your eyes?
I`ve seen many motivated young bands and I`m glad to see that these newer bands have embraced the old school influences. As far as I`m concerned ( besides lacking originality) the new bands play faster and heavier than the old school bands and it`s good to see that they are driven and inspired by the roots of metal. So, to answer your question yes the Metal world is busting out with fresh blood !

http://www.myspace.com/exciterofficial

U.K. progressive metallers TESSERACT have announced additional details of their highly-anticipated acoustic EP, "Perspective". Set for a European release of May 21, the effort will be available digitally, while a physical version will be issued through the band's webshop. The five song-EP features "Eden 2.0", acoustic versions of three tracks from the band's debut album, "One", plus a cover of Jeff Buckley's classic "Dream Brother". As a special bonus, the iTunes version will contain instrumentals of all the tracks.

"Perspective" EP track listing:

01. Perfection
02. April
03. Origin
04. Dream Brother
05. Eden 2.0

iTunes bonus tracks:

06. Perfection (instrumental)
07. April (instrumental)
08. Origin (instrumental)
09. Dream Brother (instrumental)
10. Eden 2.0 (instrumental)

Commented TESSERACT bassist Amos Williams: "The EP was inspired by an acoustic session we filmed last year in New York, whilst on tour with PROTEST THE HERO. It made us realize that a few of the tracks sounded really great when re-arranged and approached at from a different perspective."

Jerry Dixon is not only one of the most recognizable members of WARRANT since their mid-80s inception but also probably the most underrated in terms of both his playing and business acumen. Everyone remembers Jani as the face of the band for so long and now recognizes the strong presence of Robert Mason in that role. Steven Sweet's history and connection with Jani, his pal from Ohio, has been well documented and his drumwork and harmonies were missed by many when he was out of the lineup. Having said all that, it was Jerry and guitarist Erik Turner who formed the band and the pair continue to expand on that working relationship with their latest venture, DOWN BOYS RECORDS. Mr. Dixon also provides the sunny smile and personality that has kept the band moving positively forward despite roadblocks that would normally destroy many other groups. We found that guy next door, happy California personality in spades recently in speaking with Jerry about he and Erik's new label, the new year for Warrant and oh yeah, the shitstorm started by our interview with Bobbie Brown. Read on….. ( Thanks to Bobbie for her part in this and also to artistxposure.com for the lead photo!)

Legendary Rock Interviews: Hey Jerry, thanks for talking to us. 2011 was a crazy year of ups and downs, twists and turns for WARRANT. You put out ROCKAHOLIC with your amazing new singer and played lots of great gigs but the fall and winter suddenly clouded in the wake of Jani's death. But now it's spring 2012 and summer is on the horizon as well as all kinds of new things from Warrant.

Jerry Dixon: Thanks man, yeah it WAS a pretty eventful year filled with both good and bad circumstances but we really enjoyed hearing those positive things about the album. That, the fans and live shows really help me personally to keep it all in perspective.

LRI: We should address the elephant in the room, in other words, the shitstorm started by our interview with Bobbie Brown. We run most people's comments and opinions unedited, including Michael Wagener who had nothing but great things to say about you or the interviews we've done with your guitarists. That's just how we do things but Bobbie's interview was pretty emotional, raw and subjective. She spoke just a few months after Jani died and she really got truly intense. Bobbie found out that I'd be talking to you today and she wanted me to again apologize on her behalf for any comments she made about the band in her interview, comments she felt strongly about when speaking but later found to be based on misinformation she had received. I also want to say it really wasn't my intention to injure anyone with my questions. I love Warrant with and without Jani, hell I even have the album with Jamie St. James.

JD: Wow (laughs). Well, that's nice of her to say that. I did read that interview and her comments really caught me off guard because I always thought she and I were always pretty good friends. I was like, "Wow, where the hell did that come from??" First of all because so much of what she thought about us wasn't true and like I said, second of all I thought we were friends and she of all people knew us and Lane better than that. But having said that, thank you for being upfront about that and of course, thank you Bobbie for clearing that up. Everyone makes mistakes but that's cool of her to step back and realize that it really was misinformation and we really did try to help Jani. We couldn't be at the memorial because we were on the road mid-tour when it was going on.

LRI: We knew you weren't too happy with the way that the 2008 Reunion went down but it really went unreported JUST HOW MUCH the band tried to avert disaster with Jani during that time.

JD: Oh, absolutely, that's just it John. For a while there it seemed like that's ALL we were doing was trying to help Jani. It's really weird the way people communicate nowadays on Facebook and stuff being all immediate it still seemed like there was a lot of bad communication about that particular topic. For starters, there still seem to be a LARGE segment of our own fans that weren't aware of the fact that we really tried to do the reunion in 07/08. They would post things about how we didn't try to get back with Jani after he left and nothing was further from the truth. We really tried to make that reunion and we put Jani into rehab around that time and we visited him, we didn't ignore him. We even went to the extent of removing all alcohol off the backstage rider and bringing one of Dr. Drew's counselors out on the road with us and we still only made it through eleven shows. We have historically played at least 40-60 shows a year other than that one year so of course it was a huge blow to us but it wasn't just business, I mean we have hearts underneath our skin. It's crazy that people think we didn't do anything but I guess we just didn't feel the need to make a big public announcement about it at the time. I mean, myself personally, I just try to speak nothing but facts on topics like this because it's already hurt Jani's family and hurt us and as hard as it is, I try to keep my emotions out of it and stick to what happened. The facts are that the Lane era and the new era of Warrant are two totally different eras and the Lane era was SO long ago aside from the previously stated reunion attempt. I mean this as no disrespect but it's been a long time and it's basically been as long that we've been without him as it was that we were with him. I guess what really upsets me about the people who make comments about us moving on is…. Where were all those people in 2008 when we TRIED the reunion and tried the rehab and he still was in the condition he was in at the Las Vegas show? I thought he was gonna DIE onstage at that show in Las Vegas. I mean where were all these people who claim now to have been best friends with Jani then? It's really hard and I struggle to understand where all these people who paint us as the "bad guys" were back then because they clearly weren't noticing how hard we all tried to help Jani and keep it together not only for the sake of our band but because whether people believe it or not we are human beings and we cared about our friend. If I could help a complete stranger struggling with those addictions I would help them because that's just the human thing to do. When someone like Jani dies it's just a fact that people don't know how to process it and immediately try to find someone to blame. The fact is, it's just a fucking sad, sad tragedy and he had a bad, bad disease which is what I call it and he simply could not shake it. It's really not something that had very much to DO with Warrant and another thing people seem to forget is that it was always JANI who left Warrant and not the other way around. He literally left the band all the time. He didn't just bail on a tour or two or three. He left us hanging on a LOT of things because he always envisioned himself as a solo artist. I mean, look at the cover of his solo album BACK DOWN TO ONE, there's four dead body marks on the cover, who do you think that is? Time and time again, he would have a change of heart and want to come back and we would let him, we were like "Dude, you're fuckin Jani Lane, yeah of course we want you back". When we did the BORN AGAIN album it wasn't by choice that we didn't have Jani in the band, he left us and I think people really forget about that. It always confused me that he would come and go like that because as a musician or artist you can't always be stopping and starting like that with no consistency. It makes you not want to be in the band when it's so inconsistent like that. Jani created this monster success as a member of WARRANT and then he HATED it and shunned the whole thing. That's the other thing, it seemed like the only thing he was comfortable being proud of was the songwriting because that's all he ever talked about. It really was all he ever talked about and yes, he was a creative guy but he didn't need to take it that far that he just took 100% credit for WARRANT's success while at the same time being totally ashamed of it. I mean, if you go to BMI.com and search the songwriting credits you'll see his name on a lot of them but you'll also see the rest of our names on songs like "Cherry Pie" as well. Erik and I have worked incredibly hard at this band over the years with and without Jani's involvement. There's a lot more to this band than just one person and I wish sometimes Jani could have remembered that. It's like a football team, you might have Tom Brady for a quarterback but you need a kickass coach and a great group of guys around him and a stadium and cheerleaders and a front office in order to win. I mean who do people think found Jani Lane??? We found Jani up a fuckin tree and he and Steven weren't doing shit until we got together to get things done. I'm not just talking shit that's just me being honest. We formed a great team and one of the things he brought to the team was songwriting, he was REALLY good at that so WHY would we fuck with that? He would write a song like "Heaven" and I would be like "Oh my god dude that is beautiful!" . I'm not gonna let my ego get in the way of someone bringing a good idea to the table. If something's great, it's great and we don't care who gets credit for doing it, it's all about the team.

LRI: Well, one thing Bobbie absolutely nailed was that to the day he died he really didn't accept or understand how appreciated he was or how great the music you made together was.

JD: Yeah, and that always blew my mind but then I can't imagine being Jani Lane or imagine what went through his mind or how uncomfortable he was in his own skin or to struggle with all these questions and doubts he had. I mean the guy struggled with everyday things a person shouldn't have to struggle with like flying or holidays or things you should just be at ease about and not be nervous about. I wanted to also make a mention to something that I think a lot about and I'm not even sure a lot of people realize. If you ever want to know what happened to Jani Lane it's all in the songs. What I mean by that is that it was just his nature to let you in a little bit with his lyrics and on ULTRAPHOBIC and especially BELLY TO BELLY you can really hear the story of things going south in his life. As sad as that is, it's the truth. Everyone wants to know what happened to Lane but it's right there in those songs. One night I put on "Falling Down" and I was like "Fuck, there's the story right there" and I don't know if anyone even noticed. He was telling the whole world how he was feeling and I didn't realize it at the time and maybe a lot of other people didn't either. But it's there. Those are really dark records, we call them the black years and the music wasn't your typical "pop" Warrant but I really think that both of them were really, really strong records that might have been overlooked. We were really bummed at the state of the industry back then and angry and maybe drinking and getting a little negative but it's an important part of our history. Dirty Rotten and Cherry Pie are only a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of our overall output. If nothing else those albums from Dog Eat Dog to Belly to Belly really show you the road Jani was headed down. If anyone has any questions about Jani just listen to his words, it's one red flag after another on those albums to the point of where I'm hearing it now and looking back goin "HOLY SHIT!" Really all I can say about him I just that I know things affected him in a way he wasn't comfortable with at all and now he's in a better place.

LRI: The biggest crime would have been for the new album to go unnoticed or you and Robert's writing on the record to go unnoticed so it was a little icing on the cake to see you guys make so many people's top ten lists. Now you're kicking off the spring with a few club gigs after doing so many of these big festivals. Is it fun or reminiscent of the old Country Club days to get packed into those little clubs where the crowd is right in your face?

JD: Yeah, yeah. As soon as you walk in those places, the sights, the smells and the feelings all start rushing back (laughs). We will play anywhere. We're not opposed to playing these club gigs if the routing is right and it all works out, it can be a lot of fun. It's always fun of course to get out and do all the big festival shows and stuff but that's really more of a summer thing. We're rehearsing some different tunes for the setlist "Bonfire" and "Inside Out" off of DOG EAT DOG. We're adding around five or so old WARRANT tunes to the current set which is something we kind of do on a yearly basis. We put stuff in and pull stuff out. We're gearing up to have some really big shows this summer in honor of the anniversary of the Cherry Pie tour with Firehouse and Trixter and we're hoping to keep rolling all summer and then get back into the studio to start putting in some serious work on the next record.

LRI: Any progress towards the DVD thing that I talked to Erik about?

JD: You know what? Yeah, we have been working on a lot of video stuff in addition to the actual videos for the songs off of ROCKAHOLIC. We just have so much stuff, much of it really old stuff that we'd like to put together. We actually also have some masters of unreleased stuff and we'd like to put out a duet of Jani and Robert singing together on this one particular track.

LRI: Wow.

JD: Yeah, that's something that people have never really even heard before, I looked in my closet and found these songs that we did and thought "Fuck, you know what? That would be really, really cool to just put those two together on this track". I think it would also show people that we really don't wanna dishonor Jani or get into a pissing match about it because it's history and it's a history we have a lot of respect for. We're also done re-recording a lot of the old material with Robert, there's about 7 songs like "Cherry Pie" and things like that and that's in the can. We may just do a little WARRANT compilation and spread a little love around all the singers and maybe even throw a little Saint in there. We wanna do a cd/dvd package and have it be something really special, not just material that we've already released before but a lot of unheard or never before seen material. The new package will be really cool and comprehensive. We're also re-releasing the "They Came From Hollywood" video on Down Boys Records which we put out around the time of the ill-fated reunion. It's nothing but old, classic Warrant footage. The "Heaven" clip is an example of it on our Facebook page. It really tells the story of that song from the beginning to the end with that old VHS footage. . The weird thing was, like I said, we were on the road when the Jani Memorial was happening and the strangest thing on earth happened. I opened up my laptop as that was going on back home at the Key Club and that video of "Heaven" that we edited with all the old footage from the Country Club days to the big stage just popped on. I usually do all my video editing from a totally different computer so it really freaked me out a little bit when it just started playing like that but that footage is great. I had to smile. We have SO much old footage on that DVD, there's a lot of really funny stuff like old interviews or us pissing on the wall at the Country Club, things like that and about 5 live songs and photo shoots too. It's about an hour long and it's pretty much an insider's look at the original Warrant.

LRI: Ok, before we move onto your new project. When we talked to your producer Michael Wagener about you guys he really had some strong opinions about the one of the rumors that continues to dog you. He said that he thinks someone was being malicious by saying you guys didn't play on the original WARRANT albums and that from what he witnessed you were all more than capable of playing ANYTHING you were asked. He thought it was all just a bunch of crap that someone started who had a personal beef with you. I'm a KISS fan and it's just weird that nobody gives them shit for using outside guitarists or drummers or bassists but people seem to want to undermine WARRANT and single you out for some reason. Do you wanna take a stab at clearing up that shit once and for all?

JD: (laughs). Yeah, I read that Michael said that. I mean, every producer has ideas of using backup singers or session players but we've always been a part of the creation of our stuff. From what I know Mike Slamer, the guy who supposedly played, was just our guitar tech back then. Of course C.C. Deville played on Cherry Pie but that was public knowledge. I just know that I don't remember any shenanigans like that from when I was there. We're proud of those records and we were absolutely there making those records. It's really funny because nowadays nobody plays on their records and there's so much trickery and protools and autotune. I agree with you for some reason we were the whipping boy on that one and it was all done on two-inch tape back before protools and autotune and all that shit. You had to play the song from beginning to end especially on the basic tracks that I was a part of. I really don't know what else to say except that I guess we've done a bad job of defending ourselves against those kind of attacks, many of which erupted around the same time that Jani was going back and forth on whether he wanted to be in the band. We really have had to learn to defend ourselves a lot better than we have historically. It's not our nature to get worked up about it, listen to ROCKAHOLIC or come to a live show and make up your own mind about whether or not we're capable of playing that stuff (laughs). We're just not the kind of guys to stand up and tell people who talk shit to go fuck themselves, maybe we should be (laughs).

LRI: So your new project DOWN BOYS RECORDS is outside of the actual WARRANT deal with Frontiers Records?

JD: Yes, the Frontiers deal is actually a licensing thing. It's actually a case where we are on DOWN BOYS label but we licensed it to be released through them and that deal will continue to be in place for a few years. We work with them and they've done a great job of getting it out there. I will admit that we've done a LOT of work on our own as well but the Frontiers people have been very cool to work with. The actual starting of our own label really got going just because of this digital world we live in now. After so many years of being in this business and dealing with other people you start scratching your head and saying "You know what, we could do this, we can sign bands and release our own product and just carry out those functions on our own and do it our way". There's so, so, so many bands that are out there and WORTH hearing but they're not getting a chance with the few majors who are left because those guys are strictly looking at sales rather than actually listening to the music.

LRI: People can scoff all they want at bands who start "vanity" labels but in this day and age it really is possible and makes a TON of sense.

JD: I know, I know. We're not ever gonna be on the caliber of a Frontiers or a Sony because Erik and I are truly doing this ourselves and we're not some huge corporate entity. We're definitely not "suit and tie" guys. A lot of the artists we sign or release might not translate into major sales but we're very realistic and upfront about that with them. Let's face it, it's hard for anyone to sell records, it's hard for WARRANT to sell records and we have an established brand. We just want to be a home and a help to artists and maybe help them get their stuff out there. We help them clean up old contracts or publishing deals or get out situations or deals with management and all these things that can sometimes get really complicated for a band trying to focus on MUSIC. As a band gets rolling it tends to accumulate all these offers and contracts and deals and lots of them are not in their favor. We go through and secure their publishing for them in their name, and their masters and their musical lives basically and put them in the Down Boys basket. From there, we release their music and the backside and maybe most important part of all this is the music placement business for television and films and commercials and that sort of thing.

LRI: That sounds like a really lucrative and intelligent thing. I actually talked to Robert Sarzo about that in his interview because that's where he does the vast majority of his work now. It sounds interesting.

JD: It is. We will come up with pieces of music for clients, that's really what it is. If you watch TV or movies, everything from the commercials to the news to the shows themselves are filled with music. It has to be licensed and it has to come from somewhere. Our vision is that we have album quality, 100 thousand dollar quality records from artists and for whatever industry reason they own the rights to it and their label never capitalized on it. To Erik and I that's just GOLD. People NEED that music for their projects but there's a lot of paperwork involved and the legalities have got to be covered or the TV and film production companies will NOT touch it. It all has to be registered properly and secured and often times, in our dealings, that's where the artists really have been misled or basically screwed. A major network or studio will not deal with a piece of music if there's any problems with the legal particulars or if the masters aren't secured and owned or if the contracts or publishing isn't secure. Pretty much what we've done is, we have the studio covered and the musical end of everything has been cleaned up, we have the song publishing for all these brilliant artists and now, between releasing it and making it available for placement, they have at least HALF a chance. Which is more than they had before hooking up with us. Maybe nobody goes to Itunes and checks out the DRUG UNDER record we put out or buys it but maybe a friend of ours in the film biz needs a song off that record and loves it so he uses it in his film. There's a lot of opportunities for artists other than just Itunes and they need to be aware of them.

LRI: So if people need a piece of music for artistic or commercial purposes they can hit you up?

JD: Absolutely. Go to Downboysrecords.com and from there there's a whole other website for the music supervisors to go to that has all that information about the pre-cleared music we have available. The tricky part of all of that business is the licensing and we have all of that paperwork cleaned up. The end result is that our contracts are clean, clear and fair. They're open-ended so if someone doesn't want to be here they don't have to be here and can always have an out.

LRI: You guys obviously had SOME good experiences with Columbia and sold a lot of records and made them a LOT of money but did some of the more negative dealings with the music business in regards to WARRANT prompt you to wake up and want to get into something like this?

JD: Yeah, totally. I have to admit that this ENTIRE project was spawned out of anger and frustration and Erik and I having the experience of getting fucked in no easy terms. We were ripped off like so many artists and now I know that it's always kind of been the artist's fault for not paying attention. Noone's trying to rip you off exactly but it all comes down to registration stuff. People register a car they buy with their label advance but then fail to remember to go out and register their songs (laughs). Things like that have happened to artists since the beginning of time. You can write the greatest songs on earth and never receive royalties if they're not registered and people don't know where to pay you at. There's all these different publishing companies and if you're not registered and on board the money just kind of floats in the air and eventually disappears.

LRI: Would you agree that so many artists are focused on getting out of the garage that they are just blind to all that shit? The system is sort of inherently set up for you to fail if you don't have your eyes open.

JD: I don't think you could put it any better than that, thank you John. That's one of the things I want to make crystal clear, anyone involved with us will never, ever get fucked over because we remember those days of just trying to get your band started. We teach them, we communicate with them, we share with them, sometimes we make people feel so relieved that we end up feeling like saviors (laughs). People will call us enthusiastically and thank us "Oh my god, I've finally got some of this shit cleaned up and straightened out. I don't know how to thank you" and that feels really good. It's very rewarding just to help people in this confusing crap. The physical records cost money, the publisher gets a cut and at the end of the day the artist is really either in debt or has 32 pennies to show for it. As an artist you're thinking "Well, why doesn't the record company just pay us" not realizing the complexity of it all.

LRI: We talked to one of the guys from OVERKILL who has a movie coming out about all the obstacles facing an artist. Why do you think people are only now starting to realize these things.

JD: I just think, speaking from experience, we are naive because it's not something we're ever exposed too. You're exposed to beer and guitars and girls but none of the things that are actually going to have a long-term effect on you when it comes to the business end of things. If you manage to make it to the sunset of your life and don't realize all the complexities of it you would never really miss it unless you were on the wrong side of it or people weren't looking out for your best interests. If you have someone else entrusted to do all of your business so you can rock and roll and you never get a statement or check in the mail you are none the wiser. We got fucked so we know others have and we won't be a part of it.

LRI: So true. Bobbie Brown also literally laughed when I asked something about people mentioning her being interested in Jani's financial richies. She said for all the publicity about him being so rich off the songwriting he had his own money problems and there was no money to fight ABOUT.

JD: Thank you. You're a smart man my friend and Bobbie speaks the TRUTH (laughs). I mean it sucks. It sucked for Lane too. It's not what people think and he wasn't rolling in dough. He had possessions for sure but he didn't go out and buy houses like the rest of us did, Jani just wasn't like that. People have all kinds of crazy ideas about fame and fortune that just aren't rooted in reality.

LRI: Tell me about a few of the artists and plug away for a moment. I know you have one of my guilty pleasures in ODIN and I know you have DC4 and the very sexy and talented Nikki McKibbin who is probably the only American Idol worth giving a shit about.

JD: Awesome. Yeah, DC4 is the Duncan Brothers, Jeff was in Armored Saint and Rowan Robertson of DIO fame and they just kick all kinds of ass. Rowan is, of course, an amazing guitarist, he was in DIO as a TEENAGER and he's on the EXPLODE record from DC4 which is one of the top 5 records I have heard in my life and I'm not saying that to sell records. I'm saying that because the DC4 guys are amazing and they deserve credit. You should really hit me up to interview Rowan. Jeff Duncan was also in ODIN and we have re-released their album, THE METAL YEARS which is basically their entire life on one record. DRUG UNDER is another band we have that has an amazing record but just flew under the radar and we know have tons of potential. Nikki's band LOVE STRICKEN DEMISE is going to really surprise some people, especially the people who have no idea about here other than IDOL. It's really, really exciting and we really think they are so loaded with talent, Nikki included.

LRI: Like most people I know of ODIN because of the Decline of Western Civilization 2 movie. We tried to get something from the director Penelope as far as details of the famous ODIN hottub scene when we talked to her. What are your memories of the infamous ODIN?

JD: Yeah, don't be guilty about loving some Odin. Odin were like the pioneers of that little metal scene at that particular moment. They were kind of glam but were really different from their look because they were actually playing heavy metal as opposed to the hard rock that eventually took off. So, in that sense, they were sort of unique and ahead of their time. People didn't know what to make of them at the time they came out and then seven years later when the hair metal scene blew up and the movie came out people sort of forgot that ODIN were there before all of us. They sort of were made infamous by that scene in the hottub but I think that scene was really contrived and not indicative of their overall attitude. They sort of conspired to get them drunk and get a soundbite and of course they got that part where Randy says "I'll kill myself if we don't make it". They were way before our time, they were really from that original wave of Quiet Riot and Dokken, RATT and Crue but were much heavier than all of those bands. Fun fact about that band; Randy O is my cousin, I used to idolize them and watch them rehearse and shit. He would pick me up and I just loved watching that band because they kicked more ass than anyone on the strip. I really looked up to them and I'm proud that we released the record because it's so good. Even still, to this day, I think it's such a good album. They had a lot to do with me even wanting to start a band in the first place and that's the truth. I was just at Randy's house and hanging out and he still thinks that part of the Decline movie is nuts. They just caught them on one bad night and got what they wanted out of them being drunk in the hottub for dramatic effect. I think a lot of the bands in that movie were totally drunk during filming. The other issue I have with that movie is where the hell were GNR or WARRANT or RATT or MOTLEY? It's not really a definitive document of the whole scene as far as featuring all the bands that were truly happening. I partied like we all did but I do remember the Sunset Strip days because I was there!!

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www.warrantrocks.com

MY RUIN — the Los Angeles-based band featuring the husband-and-wife rock duo of vocalist Tairrie B. Murphy and multi-instrumentalist Mick Murphy — has been rejoined by drummer and longtime friend Marcelo Palomino.

Commented Tairrie: "Many of you will be familiar with Celo from his days we spent together in MANHOLE and TURA SATANA, but he also toured with MY RUIN in 1999 and again 2008 when we recorded our live DVD, 'Alive On The Other Side'. Our most recent collaboration has been behind the scenes for MY RUIN's latest video, 'Tennessee Elegy', which he filmed and co-directed with me and Tor Burrows.

"It's great to have Celo back with us. It feels like home. At the moment he's getting familiar with our last two albums and Mick, Luciano and I are all looking forward to playing live with him soon and shooting our next video!"

"Tennessee Elegy", the latest video from MY RUIN, can be seen below. The song comes off MY RUIN's seventh album, "A Southern Revelation", which was made available as a free download and gift to fans starting December 7, 2011 exclusively via www.myruin.net. The CD was produced by Mick Murphy and Joel Stooksbury at Soundtrack Black Studio deep in the snowy mountains just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in the cold January winter of 2011.

Former CHARON guitarist Jasse von Hast and drummer Antti Karihtala (CHARON, KYPCK) have joined forces with vocalist Ville Lind (SEITH, DAWN OF RELIC, CRYPTID) in a new band called TOMB OF FINLAND.

With regards to how TOMB OF FINLAND came together, Jasse said, "TOMB OF FINLAND got the first shovel full of soil into its mouth in the fall of 2009. That was a natural process because a difficult season of tortured and painful life was digging a grave for itself without hands.

"Thousands of nights filled by misery and tons of tormented thoughts were gathered together. First nails to the coffin had been hammered. Worms in TOMB OF FINLAND's corpse crawled to freedom and were fed by my rotten brains in January 2010. That was the day of birth for the first TOMB OF FINLAND's song called 'Life & Slavery'. That song was written at once when torturing my guitar for the first time in six months.

"First demo recordings were made instantly with my dusty guitar. It was the day when the curtain of darkness fell down.

"By the unholy thoughts of northern pagan mind, it felt so true and fresh after many years of straightforward rock 'n' roll and productional perfectionism. The pieces of wild thoughts were gathered as one in my confused mind. That was the point of return.

"The coffin was now ready and open wide for depressed and anquished souls.

"A lot of new material were written in a few days. My mind was open for new season of darkness.

"If necessary, you could describe TOMB OF FINLAND's music as a some kind of a combination of early 1990s doom/black/death metal with modern twist.

"In the beginning TOMB OF FINLAND was only a one-man project but thought of a real working band was burning my mind.

"Later I contacted my previous band member A. Karihtala (CHARON) and the coffin got more flesh inside.

"He decided to help me with my new project. Drums were recorded in Soundtrack studios/Magnusborg, Porvoo on February 2011.

"At first I thought I'd make all the vocals by myself with black metal shrieks but then I came up with an idea that music would sound more destructive with lower growls. So Antti suggested to ask Ville to join our woe. Vocals were recorded on November 2011 in Oulu. The coffin was now full and ready to rot."

In a two-hour lecture at the Inferno Music Conference during the Inferno metal festival in Oslo, Norway, King (bass) and Geir Bratland (keyboards) of GOD SEED will reveal how they have worked out a new path for their genre of black metal. They will give details and insight into the working process and the philosophy behind the upcoming GOD SEED album.

The attendees will be the first to be able to hear material from the upcoming album and a discussion of the thoughts behind the compostions.

Says King: "I'm really looking forward to presenting the new music I've been working on for the last two years. We have put a lot of work into creating something very unique. We will give some previews from the GOD SEED album, but more importantly, we will give a detailed presentation on how we have made the songs. Geir will demonstrate how he has created the noise and key arrangements on the recordings."

GOD SEED recently announced its new lineup. It is as follows:

* Tom Cato Visnes (a.k.a. King) (TEMPLE OF THE BLACK MOON, OV HELL, GORGOROTH) - Bass
* Kristian Espedal (a.k.a. Gaahl) (GORGOROTH, TRELLDOM, WARDRUNA) - Vocals
* Stian "Sir" Kårstad (TRELLDOM, DJERV) - Guitar
* Kenneth Kapstad (MOTORPSYCHO) - Drums
* Geir Bratland (DIMMU BORGIR) – Keyboards, Noise
* Lust Kilman (THE BATALLION, GRIMFIST) - Guitar

Commented King: "All members of GOD SEED have been carefully picked for their musical skills and devoted personalities. We aim to release an album which will sound different than what we have done in the past. The new members have been very important for creating a sound that hopefully will come across as unique and defining the new GOD SEED sound. From this moment, GOD SEED should not be viewed as a duo anymore, but as a band with six members."

GOD SEED has spent the past several months working on the material for its debut album at various locations in Norway. The group is laying down ten new songs which "will show the band from a different side but well-rooted in what Gaahl and King are known for in the past," according to a press release. All the music has already been recorded and Gaahl is currently working on lyrics and vocal arrangements. No release date has yet been set.

GOD SEED's "Live At Wacken" DVD and CD was released on January 27 in Europe and January 31 in North America via Indie Recordings.

"Live At Wacken" includes footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans. The effort features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.

GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.

Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak-minded in the respect that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."

Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal music, but has since rejoined the group.

Dutch melodic death metallers DISINTEGRATE have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band's debut album, "Parasites Of A Shifting Future", which was originally released independently in 2010, will be made available via Massacre on July 27.

According to a press release, "DISINTEGRATE, hailing from the north of Holland, has a definite preference for well-balanced arrangements and raw, energetic vocal lines, nicely served with a feisty death metal-sauce. Every musician in DISINTEGRATE has the freedom to develop his skills and show his musical prowess, thus creating a grooving mixture of aggression and melody.
"DISINTEGRATE is the brainchild of Danny Boonstra (vocals, keyboards), Leo van Leijen (guitar) and Jos Hindriks (guitar). When they started the band in 2005, a clear statement was defined outlining the structure and content for DISINTEGRATE: intelligent melodic death/thrash metal with no boundaries. The band really took flight with the addition of Joran Dijkstra (drums) and Sander Stegeman (bass). By releasing the MCD 'Destructive Capacity', the band received a lot of attention and also played on the prestigious Waldrock festival in 2009 alongside bands like CARCASS, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and HEAVEN & HELL."

DISINTEGRATE is:

Danny Boonstra - Vocals, Keyboards
Jos Hindriks - Guitar
Leo van Leijen - Guitar
Sander Stegeman - Bass
Joran Dijkstra - Drums

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