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Music From Another Dimension! is the first new set of original Aerosmith songs in a decade. It has been a long time since the band have been in the studio and Joe Perry will tell you there have been several reasons for that: No time in the schedule; producers not coming up with the goods; internal bickering; and the simple fact of life getting in the way. But the new albumv — if "Legendary Child," the first single is any indication—has all the earmarks of their earlier classic releases like Toys In the Attic and Rocks. All five guys were in the studio at the same time banging it out while Jack Douglas, the producer responsible for the group's landmark albums, put it all on tape. For the first time in a long time Perry is excited about what the group has produced and he wants to talk about it. In the midst of their first tour of the U.S. in some four years, the guitarist found time before a gig in New York to explain what the band has been doing for the past 10 years and why it has taken them so long to make an albums the fans have been waiting for.

Joe Perry: After that first time around, that generation of music changed pretty fast. Disco came out and punk came out and we're amateur musicologists so we know that there are trends. When you're in the middle of it and you see it happen, even in our genre there are those times when this band is the hottest or that band is the hottest. And there's always a new one coming up. So you kinda like pay attention and listen to what's going on but we've always pretty much stuck to what we do. Every couple of years somebody will say, "Hey, I hear guitar music is back" and we'll all kind of laugh because it's really all about the songs.

Aerosmith have always been successful because of their songs.

Then it's like a new generation of kids coming up and they're playing the same chords and the same guitars and they're just putting a different melody on it. You can tell this one's spent a little more time listening to some of the blues and that one's spent a little more time listening to Bon Jovi. There's a lot of different things going on out there but when we go in we're pretty much self-contained and trying to make the best Aerosmith music we can make.

So it's more about being aware of new sounds but not necessarily being influenced by them.

Certainly there are things we bring to the table. We're not music snobs or techno snobs as far as using new equipment or only wanting to record on tape. We are very conscious of the sounds and if we hear something that comes along that doesn't meet with what works for us sound-wise then we have to take a look at it. But we're open and we're listening to different things. We listen to different music and we're certainly influenced by it mostly in a positive way. Just because it's encouraging to hear that some of the basic things that we like about this kind of music isn't going away. We see that in the fans and the bands coming up making the music. We listen to it but when we're in the studio working it's really about trying to get the best out of us we can get.

When you look back at the Just Push Play record 10 years later, how does it hold up for you?

We've made records probably every way you can make them from literally having the band turn on their amps and the producer turning the machines on and recording. The first couple of records were mostly songs we played in clubs or wrote on the spot because we needed a few extras. To making a record like Just Push Play where we kinda demo'd the songs and everybody kinda came in and put their parts on and everything in-between.

What process works best for Aerosmith?

What we found out and what I think a band really is is when they're in there making music together. You can put a picture on the cover of an album; you can put a title on it; and you can put songs on it. But unless the band's really in there living, breathing, kicking, fighting and being dynamic whether it's for an audience or for microphones, it isn't the band.

Is that the approach you used on Music From Another Dimension!?

That's what we tried to do with this record. I think we got away from that slowly over the last decade just experimenting and trying different things. Looking for different places for inspiration. What this new record is is the culmination of 10 years of trying to make this record.

There were a couple of false starts with Music From Another Dimension!?

We got together six years ago and started working on new tracks with Jack Douglas and we ran out of time. The circumstances weren't right and we ended up doing Honkin' On Bobo. Then we went through some ups and downs, some thicks and thins and then just went in the studio with Brendan O'Brien for a month. Again every time we did that we brought along some of the old licks, wrote some new ones, put some stuff down on tape, demo'd some things but the Brendan O'Brien thing didn't work out. So this is really the culmination of 10 years of wanting to do a record but the timing just wasn't right. Whether it was a physical thing and people were sick and whatever—life. And touring and all that. Everything kind of lined up for this one.

You knew you wanted to work with Jack Douglas again?

Jack was available and we had a bunch of riffs and songs we had accumulated. It was a really interesting process because we did the record pretty much how we did probably Toys In the Attic. The whole band got in a room with Jack and everybody had riffs; everything from riffs to songs to completed songs to literally one riff. But we all got in the studio and kind of slapped it all together. Then last summer we laid down I'd say about 20 tracks of basics and then we went on the road, which was really a gift. Because we got a chance to play in front of some of the best crowds we ever played for in South American and then onto Japan.

Taking that time away from the studio gave you a better focus on the music when you returned to the studio?

Taking that energy back into the studio and looking at the basic tracks and going, "Well this one really works; this one needs work." So if you compress it all together and did it over the period of two or three months, it was the same kind of paradigm or the same kind of schematic so to speak of one of those early records. Working in the studio with Jack; getting the basic tracks done; letting that stuff simmer; and then Steven and I going off and finishing the tunes. Him finishing lyrics and me polishing up some guitar things and then mixing it and that's basically what we did.

Working with Jack Douglas again brought back that feeling of working on the Toys In the Attic and Rocks albums?

That side is always there. There's so many different facets to any artist when they go into the studio. It depends what facet you want to polish. We've been on the road and touring constantly over the last 10 years as much as we could. And that side like I said where a band really lives and Jack wants to get that essence. That's the hard part. Anybody can go in and lay parts down and build tracks and you don't have spent three years working your ass off in clubs to go in and lay tracks down and make potentially great music. But it's another thing to capture an essence of five guys that have worked together for 40 years and get some of that indefinable magic and try and get it on tape and that's always been Jack's job.

You actually co-produced Music From Another Dimension! with Jack Douglas.

We co-produce the records and we know what we want to sound like but then we turn to somebody who's not in the middle of it all of the time for feedback and to hold up the mirror sometimes and throw in some new ideas. We're pretty with Jack at doing that so this is the record we've been wanting to make and we've been trying to make for the last 10 years.

"Legendary Child" is the first track that has been released from Music From Another Dimension! This is the first original song fans have heard from Aerosmith in many years. Is it meant to re-introduce the band here in 2012?

We have a lot of different styles on this and all of it is Aerosmith. We have the funk stuff; the mid-tempo rockers; we've got some ballads and just some different kinds of music on there. But this particular song seemed to have a little bit of everything. It's like when a band's really young and you hear their first couple of records, you can kind of hear their influences. Again if you're any kind of student of music and music history you can kind of hear what influenced them and what they're not playing and what they are playing and that kinda thing. When you get to be a band like us you start to see the lineage of the kinds of things we like. It's one of the things that gets harder to have it sound inspired.

And not sound like you're copying something you already did.

But I think there are things that sound like Aerosmith on this song. Between the funk kind of half-step rhythm to the melodies, you can see the lineage going back.

Well I know what influenced those songs way back when. I was a fan of those New Orleans funk bands and that probably inspired me to write "Walk This Way." But we had a tradition of playing James Brown songs and some Sly Stone songs. So we kinda mixed that in with our basic blues rock thing. Which put us apart a little bit from our contemporaries. So yeah, there's a bit of that in there.

Didn't "Legendary Child" also end up in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie?

This particular song was the closest to being done when we went into record it. And as it turned out there was a chance for it to be in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie. They needed to hear the whole thing done before they could say, "Yeah, we wanna put it in there." I was going around to some different people talking about some soundtrack work and this possibility of getting an Aerosmith song in a movie came up. I played them the instrumental part of the track and they said, "Well, sounds great. What's the rest of it?" So we went in the studio and over the weekend Steven stepped up to the plate and finished it off and put the final touches on it and it worked. So it kind of went hand-in-hand.

So "Legendary Child" became the first single and a cut in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie.

This was a song we had our eye on as the first song out just because of what we talked about—it representing what the band does. But as it turned out it worked great for G.I. Joe so it was gonna be a double whammy. As it happened they decided to hold the movie back but we were gonna go with the song anyway so we did. And I think it's a pretty good representation. I think it would have been a mistake to put one of the ballads out there or something's that a little harder rocking so to speak. The song is great to play live and that's the other thing.

Have you always thought about how a song will translate from the studio to the stage?

We really got into that headspace because we toured last year and we were thinking, "How are these songs gonna go down live? How are we gonna play 'em? How are they gonna turn into the vehicles for our live show?" That always played a big part in how we put the songs together in the '70s because basically that was it, man. You either played the songs live or if you were lucky it got on the radio. There was no Internet; no download; no mp3. Commercials? C'mon, there was nothing. People have been putting songs in movies but the kind of music we make, you never heard it in movies. So the outlets for your music were pretty narrow. Live was important and just as important today as it ever was. So yeah, we thought about how these songs are gonna play live.

You've been performing "Legendary Child" live?

"Legendary Child" was definitely holding up as we played it. We're playing one other song in the set that's new that's called "Oh Yeah." It's another kind of trademark, straight-ahead rocker. We'll probably put a few more songs in the set before the album comes out.

You mentioned earlier about the funk influences in Aerosmith. You covered the Temptations' "Shakey Ground" on Music From Another Dimension!?

We had a lot of fun doing that. That's one that we talked about doing over the years. We've got a short list of, "Someday we've gotta cover this one and someday we gotta cover that one." That was on the list and when we were thinking about covering a couple of songs, this was a no-brainer. We really had a lot of fun with that.

In talking about covers, Honkin' On Bobo was an entire album of covers except for "The Grind." What made you decide to do those songs?

There were some of those whatever you want to call it—blues rock or rock blues tunes—that we've all loved and we all brought some of our favorite stuff to the table and that was it. We started off working on new material but the way the schedules were working out and like I said life was going on out there, we didn't have time to settle down and do an all-original studio album. We did have a fair amount of time. Jack had put the time aside and it seemed like the logical thing to do that because that was one of the things we had talked about doing for a while.

You listened to those early blues musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson and Joe Williams?

Yeah, I mean wherever I am there's at least a Muddy Waters or Chuck Berry record around. I mean you can count on that. I always have to be able to lay my hands on some of that stuff. It's really the touchstone and then you dip back a little farther and you hear what influenced those guys. I've done a fair amount of homework and I keep it with me.

You mentioned life going on out there while you were recording Honkin' On Bobo. Did Steven Tyler's commitment to American Idol get in the way of recording Music From Another Dimension?

We went to L.A. while he had his thing for American Idol and he would come off the set of that and come down to the studio. He only had to work two days a week at American Idol so the rest of the time we were working on the record. Even though it was stretch out the dynamic was the same and we really had a chance to massage these tracks and we were working on it right up until the tour. We're listening to the masters now and it's done and ready to go. We pushed the release date back a bit so we could really set it up right. Because we realized there's a whole new generation of fans out there and a lot of people that haven't seen the band and a lot of people for one reason or another were aware of the band but never had a chance to see us. Because it's been three years since we played in the States, which is a long time for us. So there's a lot of energy around this record and all the controversy that has been going on, most of it has just been blown out of proportion but where there's smoke there's fire.

You were also involved in some other projects as well?

I had quite a few things out there between the Amnesty International record [Perry covered Bob Dylan's "Man Of Peace"] to all different kinds of side projects and Steven doing his TV thing. There's a lot of interest in the band right now. I can feel it when we go out onstage.

You recorded a solo album, Have Guitar, Will Travel in 2009.

Pretty much everything I've put on the solo records—no, not everything, I'd say two-thirds—I've run by the band at one point or another in the course of events. And then the rest of 'em, I just like the idea of being able to lay something down and not have to turn my head and go, "What do you think of this?" I just usually bring it upstairs and play it for my wife and my kids. [laughs] If they're downstairs listening to me play the stuff, they give me feedback. But that's why I do it because I'm constantly writing and constantly just coming out with stuff.

The solo records become outlets for the music Aerosmith doesn't use?

In the '80s and '90s it was pretty much a 24/7 job building Aerosmith back to where we should be and then surpassing where we were. So I pretty much had my hands full. But the red album [Joe Perry] and Have Guitar, Will Travel, those records because of the timing and what was going on with Aerosmith, I had a large assortment of things to choose from. I guess that's the best way to put it. I really needed to get that out there 'cause for a while there I was thinking, "Maybe I should just leave it in the studio and we'll put it all out someday." But then I started thinking, "Well there's a lot more coming so we gotta keep this stuff moving." I found myself getting more and more prolific over the last 10 years. I mean this last six months out in L.A., I probably wrote more new material than say the last two years.

You were psyched about writing songs for Music From Another Dimension!?

Not just working on the record but hanging out with a lot of talented musicians like film composers. Being involved with the movie side of things and soundtracks and rubbing elbows with some of these musicians that I just never would bump into living in Boston. It was a really creative time and the hotel we were staying at had a studio.

The Sunset Marquis.

Yeah, the Sunset Marquis had a studio in the basement and I had a Pro Tools rig set up in my room. So stuff was just pouring out and it was a really creative time hanging out there.

Any new solo albums you might be releasing?

There's a Best Of record on the horizon probably within the next year. But the main thing I'm doing is I'm finally gonna do an autobiography. That's looming up right now and actually carving out time to settle down and write it. It's gonna take a big hunk of my time. There's some really great ideas coming out about kind of dovetailing it with some original music as well. That's something that some of the new technology is allowing us to do and it seems like every month there's a new level of being able to mix the media up. Put video with audio and it's pretty incredible what's out there and I'm really excited to get into it.

What will the book be about?

It's gonna hit on a lot of different levels. It's gonna hopefully be from my point-of-view as accurate as we can make it. After reading about 40 biographies and autobiographies, there's some things I liked and some things I didn't like and I'm gonna bring a lot of that to the table. It isn't just gonna be another rehash of the old stuff. When you talk about "Walk This Way" you're talking about maybe 10 years of our career and we've been around for 40 years and there's a lot of history there that hasn't even been touched on.The Aerosmith legacy could fill a lot of books.

I'd like to have it operate on a couple of different levels. Trying to find out what makes me tick and I'm not even sure yet. The writer I'm working with, I spent a lot of time trying to find the right guy who gets the story. I think there will be some technical aspects to it but we're not gonna dwell too much on that obviously 'cause not everybody wants to hear what kind of microphones I used on this amplifier of those kinds of things. But certainly there will be some of that in there because I miss some of that in some of the other autobiographies. So there'll be that but I think the most important thing is trying to keep the chronology straight and some technical things like that. Because music plays such an important part in people's lives and when you talk about a song people like to think about where they were when they first heard the song. What it meant to them and what it meant to me.

A lot of people have memories about first hearing Aerosmith songs and where they were in their lives.

I've said in interviews before where we'll be onstage and play "Mama Kin" and I think about where we were when we wrote it or rehearsed it or recorded it. So in a lot of ways I'm approaching this book like a fan because I am. It's gotta come from the heart, it's gotta be real and it's gotta be as accurate as I can make it. Part of it I have a picture of what's gonna be in there and then some of it is going to be a journey as well of discovery. So there will be a little bit of everything in there.

You talked earlier about the advancements in technology. Can you talk a little bit about how you approached your guitar playing and tones on Music From Another Dimension!?

In some ways it was the same way I did the very first album. We were pretty much amateurs on the first record or two and then we kind of learned as we went. I start with going for what the song needs and then try to go down that road as far as I can. Some of the guitars that I used on tracks in those days are on this record. But it's really about what sounds good and how it resonates. Just like there are some of the old guitars on there, [there are some new guitars.] I met a guitar maker out in California that literally made a guitar the previous week, walked in the studio with it in a case and handed it to me. I plugged it in and used it 'cause it sounded great and it worked.

You're willing to try whatever it takes to make a track work?

I'm not a techno snob like I said but I am fastidious about the right tone for the right job. There's some really interesting sounds on this record and I really had a lot of fun doing that. I kind of go, "Well where do I do my best work?" The answer is down in my own studio where I can really cut loose without the pressure and probably thinking about something else.

Do you think you've gotten better at creating different guitar tones and matching them to the style of the song?

Well it gives you a place to start at least and especially having so much time. Brad was out playing with the Experience Hendrix Tour out on the road so he was playing all the time and fine-tuning his sound. And I had done solo records and a lot of experimenting with that. I played with the Project a bit and hit the road with them in the last few years. Playing with that Amnesty International thing I got to play some live gigs so all that stuff comes into play. You go into the studio and yeah, you do have this vocabulary.

Were there times when you did get a sound together but it didn't work for the track?

You try and start there but sometimes you set it up and it just doesn't work and then you start experimenting. You kind of go, "This worked with that and we got this sound here." But then every song's a totally different animal. So sometimes you go in there thinking, "Well this is the sound we're gonna use. I'll call up ahead and say, 'Look, we're gonna set this up and put these two amps together and get it dialed up and I'll be down in half-an-hour.'" I plug it in, we go and it just doesn't work. But that's part of the fun of it and being fast on your feet and letting that be an inspiration as opposed to a tail drag.

Did you actually record guitar tracks in your home studio?

We did cut some of the tracks down in my studio but Jack kind of has this attitude of having a comfortable place and keeping the pressure off and just letting us do what we do best. Which is pretty much why we wanted to work with him. So that was it and getting in there and whatever time of day works the best. If I'm feeling hot at two o'clock in the morning, that's when we'd go in to get this track or that track. If it's not feeling right we'd move onto something else.

Was there a main guitar and amp rig that you used for the album?

On Honkin' On Bobo I used an Epiphone Casino; that was pretty much my go-to guitar for that record. There was a Strat and a Les Paul here and there and the odd whatever. On this record I got hold of an Epiphone 175. It looks like a 175 and is a short-scale Gibson and it's from the '60s with the mini-humbuckers. That thing has so much bite to it. I'd say most of my basic tracks were done with that guitar. It just worked great. One guitar that I used quite a bit besides that Epiphone was my '57 V-neck Strat. It's really an amazing guitar and I played that a lot on this record as well. A lot of solos came off of that guitar.

What was your main amp setup?

They're kind of rare but I used a three-speaker mid-'50s Bandmaster. Those were pretty much the go-to pieces. Usually I would have some kind of a Vox sitting next to it or one of the boutique amps that somebody would bring in. Either an Allesandro or the people at Budda gave me a couple of nice combos. So that was it but the Bandmaster was pretty much the main one.

You talked about not being a techno snob so it's safe to assume you recorded digitally?

You can't deny the flexibility you get in the digital world. But what we did was we used this new system called the Clasp System. You have a 24-track tape machine running all the time and you're running through a Royer ribbon mic and a Shure 57 for up close going into either a Spectrasonics mic pre or a Neve mic pre. Then it goes through the 24-track tape machine running at 15 ips then into Pro Tools. It's pretty much how we did it.

You think digital recording has improved over the years?

I think the way the Pro Tools is now it pretty much reproduces what you put into it. So you have to be really conscious of that because it doesn't do that natural thing that tape does. So you gotta like be careful to feed it what you want to hear. Going through tape on the way in is one of the pieces—you take one piece out and leave the rest in you might not notice it. But it's really the sum of all those things. Everything from using the right mics; putting the mics in the right place; and all that stuff comes into play. So the new technology is great and makes editing, comping and keeping track of things like that so much easier. You're not lugging around 10-pound reels of tape and that kind of thing and having to stop to rewind and clean tape heads. Computers have their own batch of problems too like crashing and stuff. You just pray that they hit save all the time.

For a long time you said that your playing on Rocks was the best you'd ever put on record. Your body of work is so huge with all the solo albums and everything. How would you characterize what you did on the Music From Another Dimension! album?

I think some of the stuff on this new record and obviously I'm gonna say, "Yeah, this is the best record we've ever done and my best playing." I think there's some moments on this record that I feel like are inspired. I've done, like you said, playing on a lot of records and certainly there's a certain standard that works. But there's a couple of moments where you go, "I don't know where I was and I don't know where that came from." I know there are a few of those moments on this record. Without you having heard the record it's hard to say which one. But there's one solo on "Can't Compare" off the red solo album.

Can you talk about how you approach soloing?

I'm a big believer in getting out of your own way when playing solos and songwriting in general. But for soloing the more you think about it, the more it's a natural tendency to self-edit. The more you can get out of your own way and let your heart go right to your hands without having to take the shortcut through your brain is the best way to get the best stuff.

That's what you did on the "Can't Compare" solo?

We were getting set up to do that solo and had done pretty much what we talked about—we got this guitar which was the Mary Kaye relic and it had worked before with this particular amp but I hadn't tried it yet. So I said to Paul Caruso, my engineer, who passed away sadly, "Run the track and let's see how this sound works." He ran it and I played and the track finished and I said, "I hope that was in record." And he said, "You know I record everything." It was like I couldn't have played it better and I didn't even try. I mean it was just one of those things where one note led to the other and it said so much about how I was feeling. I still listen to that and go, "I don't know where that came from." I'm not talking about a ripping it up, tearing it up solo. There was a lot of air in it and it's what's between the notes to me that matters so much. And in that solo you can hear it—each little statement kind of leads to the next one and there's a certain coherence to it that I just couldn't have planned.

Songs like "Walk This Way" and "Mama Kin" and "Back in the Saddle" have become Aerosmith classics that you still perform today. Do you think there are tracks on Music From Another Dimension! that will become the classics of tomorrow?

I have to think so because those songs you mentioned were put together with the band and everybody's on those songs. Brad's responsible for some of those solos and some of the rhythms and some of them I did. But it's a group effort and on this one I think we pushed the bar higher. From what I've heard about what people like—we're talking about the rockers and guys like you that are listening to those things—I think the majority of this record are those kinds of songs. There are probably three or four songs that actually have almost the whole band on them as songwriters because we were all in the room. One of the songs that Steven sings I wrote and I wrote everything: lyrics and everything. We just went around and picked all the best fruit, man. But it felt good because it came from the band.

You did work with some outside songwriters: Jim Vallance co-wrote "Legendary Child," Desmond Child co-wrote "Another Last Goodbye" and Diane Warren wrote "We All Fall Down."

Even though there are some outside songwriters on there, how that happened is sometimes the basic guts of a song might have been written with an outside writer. But all the stuff that really gives it the personality and the flavor on this record is different than on other records. Where we worked with the other songwriters right up until the final track. We took riffs like "Legendary Child," the opening riff I wrote 20 years ago. It actually appears in another song and we liked that riff so much, we wanted to use it and so we put it in some different places. When we started playing this other song, we realized, "Hey, wait a second. It goes to the riff to 'Legendary Child.'" So we left it in there.

That sounds like something Aerosmith would have done back in the day.

It sounds a little different but it's still the same basic melody and the same structure. But we went ahead and left it in because it felt right and it worked right. So we took some liberties like that. We didn't go back and go, "Oh, that's against the rules. You can't use that riff more than once." But I think there are a lot of songs like that. Tom has a couple of songs on the record and one of which he sings and does a duet with Steven ["Lover a Lot."] I think people are gonna be really happy with this record as far as, "Why don't you go back to basics and make a record like the old ones."

Have you truly captured the essence and passion of records like Toys In the Attic and Rocks?

You can never do that. One of the things that makes those records what they are is age and they've been around for so long. You can never have another "Walk This Way." You can certainly have a song that has that funk and that kind of breathing room between the riffs and has a great melody and all of that. But it's never gonna be "Walk This Way" and it won't be for another 40 years [laughs.] But it works you know what I mean? And I think there's a lot of songs like that on the record. I can't remember the last time I've actually enjoyed listening back to a record at this point in its making. Usually by now I'm so sick of it with the writing, recording and mixing and all of that—the editing and mastering, I'm so sick of hearing those songs. But I'm actually getting off on listening to the record. For me that's saying something.

You have a show tonight? Do you ever get nervous anymore?

Yeah, we're on our way to Albany, New York. Not really. Not other than I get excited and I don't get excited until I hit that first chord. It's that hour beforehand and I never seem to have enough time to get everything ready. I'm very superstitious about being sure that everything's right then I get out there and I can let go of everything. But as far as that sometimes it's more nerve-wracking in an odd situation than going on and playing tonight. I mean I'm just thinking about some of the songs we're gonna do and how I can make 'em better or watching tapes back, which I hate doing. It's a chore but I know it fast-tracks the show to another level. So I spend some time listening to that and making sure the tones are right and how the sound guy is doing it. And Billie, [Joe's wife] I rely on her judgment because she'll tell me if it sucks right off the top or if it's good or whatever. She's out at the soundboard. We have a lot of the same tastes in music so I know when she says something about a certain way that this Strat sounds or that sounds, I know what she's talking about. It's impossible for me to be out there to really hear it. So that is the only part I really kind of obsess about—getting the songs right so they work right for me. I know if they work right for me they're gonna hopefully connect with everybody else out there.

What is the first song in the set?

"Draw the Line." We're pretty much doing the set we did in South America and Japan because it worked so well for us. We just kind of changed things around a little bit and plugged in a couple of new songs but we used that as the basis just to get the ball rolling. It changes and slowly morphs over the course of the tour. But we're doing pretty much the same show or at least the same set of songs that we did when we were in Japan.

Country megastar Carrie Underwood, Julian Lennon (John Lennon's son with his first wife Cynthia) and actor Johnny Depp make guest appearances on "Music From Another Dimension!", the new album from Boston hard rock legends AEROSMITH. Underwood duets with AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler on a crossover ballad titled "Beautiful", a move which guitarist Joe Perry was skeptical about at first before eventually being won over. "Their voices matched up really well," Perry tells RollingStone.com in a new interview. "It doesn't sound forced. It was just right." Lennon contributed harmony vocals to "Love Three Times a Day", which Tyler describes to RollingStone.com as "BEATLES-que." "He's such a sweet fucking guy," Tyler says. "And he's John's first son with that voice and sense of humor — gimme a break!" Depp laid down backing vocals on a Perry-penned track called "Freedom Fighter", which the guitarist will either appear the regular album or be released as a bonus track on a later deluxe edition of the CD.

"Music From Another Dimension!" also features a guest appearance by guitarist Rick Dufay, who briefly replaced AEROSMITH's Brad Whitford in the early Eighties. Dufay joined the band on a cover of THE TEMPTATIONS' 1975 hit "Shakey Ground", which Tyler had originally intended to include on a solo album.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have landed at position No. 3 on Billboard.com's "Hot Tours" list of top-grossing tours this week with $4.8 million in ticket sales from seven performances on its 2012 tour through North America.

Although the majority of IRON MAIDEN 's tour dates this summer are outdoor shed performances, arenas are also included on the itinerary. Three of those indoor events are part of this week's "Hot Tours" totals.

* Artist/Event: IRON MAIDEN
* Total Gross: $4,829,686
* Show Dates: June 29-July 13
* Show Venue/City:
- Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, New Jersey
- Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Virginia
- Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
- Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City, Canada
- Bell Centre, Montreal, Canada
- Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canada
* Total Attendance: 77,750
* Capacity: 114,897

Multi-camera video footage of IRON MAIDEN July 2 performance at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Moonchild
02. Can I Play With Madness
03. The Prisoner
04. 2 Minutes To Midnight
05. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
06. The Trooper
07. The Number Of The Beast
08. Phantom Of The Opera
09. Run To The Hills
10. Wasted Years
11. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
12. The Clairvoyant
13. Fear Of The Dark
14. Iron Maiden

Encore:

15. Aces High
16. The Evil That Men Do
17. Running Free

The 34-date "Maiden England" tour is IRON MAIDEN's most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of other cities the band have not played in a very long time such as Atlanta, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento, and places like Sarnia (Ontario, Canada) and Cadott, Wisconsin where they have never visited before. The tour is based on the band's "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour", with a setlist almost exclusively from the 1980s featuring all the classic songs and hits. The same spectacular stage set as was used on the original 1988 tour has been recreated, complete with a magnificent light show, pyro and a newly reincarnated Eddie!

When asked by The Aquarian Weekly what the reason was behind choosing a setlist like that of the famous 1988 excursion, 7th Tour Of A 7th Tour, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said, "Well, we just thought it'd be fun to revisit that period in time — there were some good songs there. It's just great revisiting some of the songs we haven't played for a long while. It keeps us fresh and it's just, you know, we got a lot of new fans coming on board now, a lot of younger fans who probably never saw or were around when we did that tour. That's one factor of it for us revisiting that time and I think there's some good songs from that period, so it's fun to do."

On the topic of how this tour differs from those in the recent years, Adrian said, "Well, this is a new set; we haven't taken the stage set out, for example, so it's a new stage set. We got new effects. I think it's going to be actually more spectacular than the original tour and probably, technically, you got more stuff now to put into a live show in terms of lighting and that, which will make it quite spectacular, so I think this is going to be pretty special, this tour. What with the songs, we love playing these songs, and with the stage set and effects and of course we got Eddie, he's back, so it should be fun."

The extraordinary and legendary ALICE COOPER was IRON MAIDEN's very special guest on all shows up to July 21. After that date, special guest is COHEED AND CAMBRIA, the inspiring, cutting-edge band from New York.

For a complete list of "Maiden England" 2012 tour dates, visit IronMaiden.com.

KISS has revealed the final piece of the cover for its 20th studio album, "Monster".

Using their recently launched "Monster Hunt" Facebook app, the rockers have been exposing portions of the image at various web sites around the Internet since last week.

The complete "Monster" cover can now be seen below.

"Monster" will be released on October 16 through Universal Music Enterprises. Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," the CD features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game.

"Monster" is the group's first studio album since the band's 2009 smash success, "Sonic Boom", and was also produced by Paul Stanley with Greg Collins at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, and The Nook in Studio City, California.

"Monster" represents KISS' nod to the music that first inspired them to pick up their guitars and flame-throwers and don makeup to entertain millions. The group goes back to their own beginnings with THE WHO-like "Freak", while Gene lives up to the title track's declaration on the raucous rock of "Back To The Stone Age" and the bludgeoning "The Devil is Me". Even guitarist Thayer takes a turn on his own with "Outta This World". a tribute to his KISS "spaceman" character, while drummer Singer provides the vocals (and the back story) for the arena anthem "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll".

"There are no symphony orchestras, boy choirs, keyboards, outside producers or songwriters on this album," promises Gene Simmons. "The best thing we did was to turn inwards to ourselves. Tommy and Eric have revitalized this band, with a work ethic and the talent to back it up. This is a real band effort. KISS has become a behemoth. We're going where no bands have gone before."

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According to CDJapan.co.jp, Universal Music has set an August 31 European and September 3 Japanese release date for "The Singles Collection", a box set containing 48 songs from 14 of DIO's classic singles in replicas of the original release and a DVD featuring 12 music videos,. It comes with a reprint of a U.K. tour poster and DIO family tree (subject to change) and it also includes a 32-page complete discography of the Vertigo years.

The 14 CDs are:

* Holy Diver
* Rainbow In The Dark
* The Last In Line
* We Rock
* Mystery (inc. UK tour poster)
* Rock N Roll Children
* Hungry For Heaven
* Dio Live
* King Of Rock N Roll
* I Could Have Been A Dreamer
* All The Fools Sailed Away
* Intermission
* The Dio EP (inc. DIO family tree)
* Jesus Mary And The Holy Ghost

As previously reported, a new DIO compilation album, "The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2", will be released later in the year. The 17-song set will include three bonus tracks, two of which are new and have never been made available on a full DIO CD before. The cover artwork for the set was created by Marc Sasso, who previously worked on DIO's "Killing The Dragon" and "Master Of The Moon" albums.

The original "The Very Beast Of Dio" compilation was officially certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 11, 2009 for shipments in the United States in excess of 500,000 copies.

Issued in October 2000, "The Very Beast Of Dio" was the second greatest-hits collection CD — and the first to be released in the U.S. — from the Ronnie James Dio-fronted band.

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Due to the critical acclaim Michael Schenker received on his 2012 U.K. tour, the legendary guitarist will return with his classic rock band TEMPLE OF ROCK on a 12-date U.K. tour in April 2013. The tour starts at the Arc, Stockton on Tees on Tuesday, April 9l. Tickets go on sale Monday, July 30 from www.thegigcartel.com and 0844 478 0898.

Boasting ex-SCORPIONS stars Herman Rarebell (drums) and Francis Buchholz (bass), MSG stalwart Wayne Findlay (keyboards) and Scottish vocalist Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), the TEMPLE OF ROCK concerts will feature plenty of hits spanning Schenker's career with the SCORPIONS, UFO and MSG.

Songs to be performed by the TEMPLE OF ROCK include UFO's "Rock Bottom" and "Doctor Doctor", MSG's "Armed And Ready" and "Into The Arena", and SCORPIONS classic "Rock You Like A Hurricane". Schenker will also perform new songs from his latest album, "Temple Of Rock", including "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead".

The dates are as follows:

April 09 - Stockton on Tees, UK - Arc
April 10 - Aberdeen, UK - Lemon Tree
April 11 - Edinburgh, UK - HMV Picturehouse
April 12 - Newcastle, UK - O2 Academy
April 13 - Holmfirth, UK - Picturedrome
April 14 - Warrington, UK - Parr Hall
April 16 - Falmouth, UK - Princess Pavilion
April 17 - Bristol, UK - Academy
April 18 - Salisbury, UK - City Hall
April 19 - Oxford, UK - O2 Academy
April 20 - Nottingham, UK - Rock City
April 21 - Norwich, UK - Waterfront

Michael Schenker May 13 concert at O13 in Tilburg, Holland was reportedly filmed for DVD release.

Heavy/doom metal progenitors SAINT VITUS will embark on an extensive U.S. tour at the end of the summer. Starting on September 14 in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Scion AV–sponsored trek runs for five weeks, ending on October 19 in San Antonio, Texas. Support will come from WEEDEATER and SOURVEIN. Additionally, SAINT VITUS will join DOWN for a one-off performance at the Best Buy Theater in New York City on September 28.

Commented SAINT VITUS founder and chief songwriter Dave Chandler: "We're stoked to destroy America again. The last U.S. SAINT VITUS headlining tour was in 1993. This time we'll be playing [songs from the latest SAINT VITUS album] 'Lillie' as well as fan favorites and some old surprises. So leave your ear plugs at home and come bleed with us."

The dates are as follows:

Sep. 14 - Little Rock, AK - Rev Room
Sep. 15 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe
Sep. 16 - Nashville, TN - Exit / In
Sep. 18 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Sep. 19 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre
Sep. 20 - Richmond, VA - Kingdom
Sep. 21 - Huntington, WV - V Club
Sep. 22 - Lexington, KY - Buster's Billiard's & Backroom (Boomslang Festival)
Sep. 23 - Pittsburgh, PA - The Rex Theater
Sep. 24 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
Sep. 25 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar
Sep. 27 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
Sep. 28 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater (with DOWN)
Sep. 29 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Sep. 30 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Oct. 01 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
Oct. 02 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
Oct. 03 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
Oct. 04 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
Oct. 05 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
Oct. 06 - Portland, OR - [to be announced] (Fall Into Darkness Festival)
Oct. 07 - Seattle, WA - The Highline
Oct. 09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
Oct. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theater
Oct. 11 - Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
Oct. 12 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Atrium at The Catalyst
Oct. 13 - Pomona, CA – [to be announced] (no WEEDEATER, SOURVEIN)
Oct. 14 - Santa Ana, CA - The Constellation Room at The Observatory
Oct. 15 - Mesa, AZ - Nile Theater
Oct. 16 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
Oct. 18 - Austin, TX - Beauty Bar
Oct. 19 - San Antonio, TX - Bonds 007

SAINT VITUS' new album, "Lillie: F-65", was released in North America on May 22 via Season Of Mist.

The "Let Them Fall" video can be viewed below. The clip was produced and directed by Michael Panduro of Siegfred Productions (CEPHALIC CARNAGE, ROTTEN SOUND, NO AND THE MAYBES) for Scion A/V and shot in Copenhagen, Denmark.

SAINT VITUS recently released a seven-inch single featuring "Blessed Night", a track from "Lillie: F-65". The B-side is a live version of classic VITUS tune "Look Behind You", recorded in December 2010 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland.

The band's current lineup features Chandler, drummer Henry Vasquez, bassist Mark Adams and Weinrich.

Guitar Center TV has uploaded video footage of MEGADETH guitarist Dave Mustaine demonstrating his Dean Dave Mustaine VMNT signature electric guitar. Check it out below.

MEGADETH's latest album, "TH1RT3EN", sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was recorded at Mustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others. The artwork was once again created by artist John Lorenzi, who worked on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame", as well as the band's 2007 box set, "Warchest".

"TH1RT3EN" marks the recorded return of bassist David Ellefson who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002's "Rude Awakening".

http://youtu.be/Mi2iIqzdSD4

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William L. Hotopp, the attorney for ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, has released the following statement:

"Last Friday night [July 27], Charlie Benante, drummer for the rock band ANTHRAX, was assaulted several times during an altercation that sent him to the emergency room with a gash at the back of his head that required several staples to close.

"Mr. Benante and his six-year-old daughter, Mia, had traveled to Elkart, Indiana to meet Mrs. Benante and her 17-year-old son, who was participating in a weekend baseball series. At some point, words were exchanged between Mr. Benante, Mrs. Benante and her male companion that led to a scuffle. Mrs. Benante hit Mr. Benante in the face, he pushed her away, and as he turned around to leave with Mia, Mrs. Benante assaulted him from behind, hitting him multiple times on the back of his head with a cell phone. Police were called, and both Mr. Benante and Mrs. Benante were detained for domestic battery in front of a child. Mr. Benante is understandably distraught by this incident and that his daughter, who he dotes on, witnessed it.

"Mr. Benante will appear in Elkhart County court this Friday, August 3, and we expect complete vindication."

Benante, 49, and his wife Sandra, 41, had Mia Charley Benante in January 2006. They currently reside in Long Grove, Illinois.

Charlie and ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello (who is Benante's nephew) missed several shows on ANTHRAX's North American tour in February in order to spend time with Charlie's mother, who was terminally ill. On February 4, Benante informed fans via his official web site that his mother passed away.

More recently, Benante was forced to miss a number of shows on this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival while he was recovering from a minor hand injury. Filling in for him is SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner.

In February 2011, Charlie took his then-five-year-old daughter to a Lady Gaga concert at the United Center in Charlie's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Benante said afterwards, "Gaga gave ANTHRAX a big shout-out tonight. She treated my daughter like a little queen and proved again that she is a metalhead at heart!"

Vocalist Chuck Billy (pictured below) of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT is one of a number of musicians who have come out in support of LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe, who is facing manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic.

Blythe, 41, is accused of causing the fatal injury that occurred at LAMB OF GOD's May 24, 2010 show in Prague. The singer allegedly either pushed or struck a 19-year-old fan named Daniel N. — a guitarist in a local metal band — and that person died almost a month later of bleeding in the brain.

Randy has been charged with causing "bodily harm of the fourth degree, resulting in the death of a fan" and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Speaking to Full Metal Jackie on this past weekend's edition of her nationally syndicated radio show, Billy said (via Loudwire), "When you're onstage — in Randy's situation, he's a guy that wears glasses, and I've read that it's hard to really see, especially in the dark when things are going crazy and you're banging your head. I've had guys come up, banging my head, and next thing you know they're almost tackling me. It's surprising and you can handle it different ways."

He continued, "In my young years, there's forty people offstage onto the top of the crowd and you don't really think about that, about the impact. In Randy's case, it's unfortunate because you really don't know what happened beyond that stage, you don't know what happened after the kid was off the stage. Something else could have happened or [been] involved in [causing] the end result. It's just a really bad situation, even thought the parents are maybe lookin' for justice, but to bring it onto the band like that… It's not like Randy assaulted somebody or was purposely coming after someone. It was almost kind of [like he was] just protecting himself from being either pushed out into the crowd or somebody actually really up there to hurt him, so you're put in a weird situation and it's happened to us before. I've gotten sued for hitting someone with my mic stand and made it through it, but it makes you think, 'Wow, what kind of protection do you have up here?' Ever since those days, I've told promoters, we got to have a barricade, we got to have security. We're not playing unless we have it, because it's so out of control. It's just a sad situation."

Asked if he feels like there are going to be big changes implemented in the way venues handle security due to what's been going on in the Blythe case, Billy said, "I hope. It's just a shame when you go buy a ticket for this concert that there's not some sort of clause or something at the back of the ticket and you're buying the ticket at your own risk. There needs to be something like that, some sort of protection. If there was something like that, and someone who violated who came up and been approached three times, it'd be pretty cut-and-dried, but there doesn't seem to be anything that protects the musician, artist, or venue [from] that kind of situation. . . It's like me up there getting up there saying, 'Okay, I want everybody in the pit or do the 'Wall Of Death' [where crowds split into two groups and then charge each other like a battle in the movie 'Braveheart'. — Ed.], and somebody gets hurt. It's the old saying, 'If I told you to jump off a bridge, would you jump?' So it's a really tough spot to be in."

With VOLBEAT's latest North American tour finished and only one European festival remaining on its schedule this Thursday (August 2), the band is probably starting to think about its next album. Drummer Jon Larsen told The Pulse Of Radio what the Danish rockers' plans are for the rest of 2012. "We do a show at a festival in Germany called Wacken, it's a huge metal festival — probably the metal festival in Germany — where we're headlining on one of the days. And after that, I think we're gonna go to the rehearsal room and hide out for a few months, try to come up with some new stuff. And if everything goes to plan, we'll go in the studio later this year to record a new album."

Frontman Michael Poulsen told Loudwire that new music is already in the works, saying, "Some material has been written on the road and some has been written at home. We will be home in a couple of days then it's up to me to put all the pieces together and then we will enter the studio probably late this year, maybe early next year, but there will definitely be a new VOLBEAT record out, I believe around early April or something like that."

Poulsen added about the new material, "It's the VOLBEAT style, and again there's going to be a lot of great surprises, so I can't wait to get home to put all the pieces together."

VOLBEAT broke through on the American market last year with its fourth album, 2010's "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven". All four of the band's CDs have gone gold in its native Denmark.

The record yielded the Top 10 rock radio tracks "Fallen", "A Warrior's Call" and current single "Still Counting".

Hey and thanks for joining us today!

"Kicking and Screaming" was your first release in several years. Did you feel that it was important to take a break from your musical career, to explore other artistical interests? Was that to show people that Sebastian Bach was not a one-dimensional character?

Sebastian Bach - Well actually we put out the record "Angel Down" in late 2007, and "Kicking and Screaming" came out in 2011. I don't think in this day and age when CD sales are down that is too long. You can't really put a time limit on something that you are creating as it can only come out when it is done. It is the same for writing books, doing music or making a movie, you can not put it out when it is not finished. Once I have 13 songs that I am really proud of then it's finished.
I am really proud of the record."

What can Sebastian Bach do that no-one else can?!

Sebastian - I can sing the ending of "I remember you" just like the record! Actually Carrie Underwood can do that too, but not like the record. She can do a pretty good job!

Have you ever been the subject of an internet hoax death rumour?

Sebastian - Yes! There is actually a site that I have been in contact with, trying to get them to take it down! If you Google that it says I am dead, it's from Montreal Canada. I'm like 'Fuck You!'!
Who is writing this email?...Is it my hologram?!

What in your life are you most proud of, either personally or creatively?

Sebastian - Creatively I was really proud of " Jekyll and Hyde" the musical because it was something totally different that I had never done. Personally, recently I gave up drinking alcohol which is a major life change that I had never tried to do before. Once I tried then I went on tour with Guns N Roses and that was that. I'm feeling pretty proud that I've been off it about a month.

It is difficult as it kind of goes with 'Rock and Roll' which I have been doing all my life.
I think though that maybe that is a copout to say that. You could be a doctor or a lawyer and still have a problem with alcohol or drugs. I think that it is a personal choice. As somebody very close to me mentioned 'Who still in your industry at your age really drinks a lot?' There is really not that many guys that I can name, they either die or just go to complete shit.They are not even worth going to see or listen to. It's like Gregg Allman says in his book, 'Nobody listens to a drunk!'

What are the best and worse drugs that you have ever taken?

Sebastian - The worse drug is cocaine because it is insidious in nature. You don't realise that you can die for example a line hitting your heart the wrong way, your heart can explode or stop, that's really not worth it. I fucking hate the way I feel the next day when I do that shit. It just takes me out for a day or two. The best would be marijuana, though I don't really consider that to be a drug, its like carrots. (and if you get me some after the show that would be great)!!

How do you view the current rock scene?

Sebastian - I really like a couple of new bands Black Veil Brides and Asking out Alexandria; those are two bands that I am good friends with and they really have taken that old 'Rock & Roll' spirit and brought it into the younger generation. If you look at my audience there are a lot of young kids coming to my shows, which is really cool. I guess because I have been doing it for so long.

Looking back, what do you think are the both the best and worst albums that you have made?

Sebastian - To me personally the best album I made is "Kicking & Screaming" that I like to listen to.
It's been out for close to a year and I still listen to it myself when I go running. That's the one that I listen to everytime as it's the only album of mine that I listen to that kicks my fuckin ass. That's not putting down the other records...It's just I don't know why, just the riffs, the production and the vocal sound."

I have interviewed other musicians that prefer after recording an album to move forward they don't go back and listen to it.

Sebastian - That's usually the case but this one sounds so fucking cool. I don't know why." My own worst enemy" my Lord it's just very good. The worst one would be" Last hard men", which I don't really talk about too much. That's just a big mess that was an experiment to see if the worlds of hard rock and alternative could merge. The answer is no they can't.

What is the worst review that you have ever had either musically or acting-wise?

Sebastian - I don't know if this was the worst because it's pretty funny. I will never forget when we played" Jesus Christ Superstar" in New Orleans at the Sanger Theatre. Old theatre and an amazing place, the newspaper review said in the first paragraph 'Just the simple fact alone Sebastian Bach is playing the part of Jesus Christ could be the first sign of the oncoming apocalypse' We just read that and laughed, that is fucking funny. Then New Orleans got hit with the fallout a few years later."

What was the lowest point of your career?

Sebastian - Probably when one time I got really mad at my current manager and I said some things I shouldn't have said to him. He gave me an ultimatum that I couldn't talk to him again I was like 'Fuck him!', I don't need a manager" I sat on my couch for a couple of days drinking and watching DVDs, all by myself. The phone wasn't ringing and nothing was happening. I've got to say that was probably the lowest point.

I was choosing booze over my career for like a second there. I finally decided to get in touch with him and work with him. He goes 'Sebastian, I want to work with you but you can't say those things to me!' You have to choose your battles in this life. If somebody is important to you, then you have to treat them with respect, honesty and trust. You can't really talk to people in a rotten fashion, and not expect them to react in a rotten way.

Would you say you believe in God? [Told you that these questions would be different!]

Sebastian - That's cool! I would say Yes, I do believe in a higher power.

What is the best feeling in the world?

Sebastian - I would say that the best feeling in the world is when you know deep down that you did your best. When you set a goal for yourself, and you accomplish that goal to the best of your ability no matter what it is. That is the feeling that nobody can ever take away from you. That is why I have always made my music for myself. I want to be so proud of it, that I want to shake you by the collar and say listen to this man.T hats from the first Skid Row album up to 'Kicking and Screaming, and all the plays I've done.

I want to be super proud of what I am doing. I like to be busy; I have a lot of energy. I don't consider creating 'Rock & Roll' to be work. Working at the highway toll booth, that's work. Music is just the ultimate feeling in your life. Glad you liked the show tonight; it was such a small venue for us.

The audience demand is still there. The entire set tonight from the first Skid Row tunes that I grew up with and that still mean so much to a lot of people, to the latest songs. It all just sounded great!

What would you like to be written on your tombstone?

Sebastian - What I would like to be written is 'He didn't die of liver failure'. That's a goal that I have. I would like it to be written that he lived for over 100 years that would be really cool. My great-aunt Margaret lived to be 97; she died a couple of years ago. Then I would be a real silver fox!

What would you say is the meaning of life?

Sebastian - A Monty Python movie! [Laughs]

[Laughs] Surprising response, very good. Certainly one that I didn't expect.

Did you audition for Velvet Revolver, or was that just another internet rumour?

Sebastian - I actually recorded five songs in the studio with them that exist. One of them ended up being the first song on their second record. Recently I have been playing with Matt Sorum in the 'Rock & Roll All Stars' and 'Camp Freddy'. He has talked about possibly releasing that stuff some day or revisiting it. It was some pretty cool stuff which was more hard rock than the stuff they did with Scott.

There's also rumours circulating that Scott has rejoined?

Sebastian - I don't think so…no, definitely not.

How do you spend your free time and relax away from the rock&roll circus? Do you have any hobbies?

Sebastian - I like to spend my free time with Minnie (model girl-friend and cover star of latest album) who is sitting here right now! [that she is] It's my favourite thing to do to be with her.
Walk around Belfast; go to some restaurants, looking in shop windows. To stay in shape I go running a lot, that's the most apart from being on a stage.

With the small stage tonight I just couldn't be myself as much as I would like. Our last gig was Donington at Download. We have 'Gods of Metal' in Italy in a couple of days that will be really good, I can't wait for that!

That leads me nicely onto my next question…What are your plans for the rest of the year as we now approach festival season?

Sebastian - We are playing every European festival possible! Then we go to America, and will be doing a lot of touring there!

What does the future hold for Sebastian Bach?

Sebastian - My record company wants another record. I have also been offered a book deal, but I don't know if we will take that, possibly we will.

That could be an entertaining read?!

Sebastian - Yeah I am not afraid of being honest and say what I want to say, that would be possibly fun to do too! I'm more excited about doing another record. I will work on it with Nick Sterling (guitarist) and Johnny. Also Steve Stevens and I are going to write some songs we have talked about that. Nuno from Extreme is dying to do some metal like some real hard rock, he has told me a million times I wanna fucking rock as hard as I can!

What about musical direction do you still want to stay in line what you have done before or try something completely different?

Sebastian - I am not looking to change my musical direction. I love the music I play.

Any more acting planned?

Sebastian - Dude, to be honest most of the acting I have done other than 'Jekyll and Hyde' is really to pay my mortgage and my bills. Rock &Roll is always going to be my first love as far as creating goes!

Is there anything else that you would like to turn your hand to or try?

Sebastian - Writing a book. I was also getting offered these tours with my old band, that are gigantic fucking tours. I would like the promoters to realise what we are doing. We are too big to play tiny places. They assume because I am not in Skid Row that we can play smaller places.
The fans don't give a shit, its almost dangerous playing smaller places it's too crazy. You saw the scene outside the bus here tonight. (Lots of fans taking a piece of him) People are shoving ripping at each other, and we should be playing a bigger place. I'm 6 ft 5" and tonight I was struggling.I was inches away from the lights and they were burning me. It was a challenging environment for me to do what I do.

And yet you still put on a great show tonight!

Sebastian - I'm glad that you liked it, I'll shut the fuck up! [Laughs]

Whats your favourite TV role that you have done?

Sebastian - Probably Trailer Park Boys which seems to be big over here! Every where I go people are shouting those lines at me [laughs] Gilmore Girls was fun. I have just shot a TV show called Californication with David Duchovny; that was cool and I'm in the new Rock Of Ages movie with Tom Cruise. Everywhere we go that's in your face on TV with his mum, on every billboard.
I read that your house was caught up in the floods. Did you manage to salvage any of your Kiss collection?

Sebastian - No there was a lot of lost memorabilia. I collected all that stuff most of my life and it was all down in the basement. The most important things like my father's artwork and my very valuable comic collection, scrapbooks, digital board tapes from Skid Row concerts-those are all safe and ok. All the really important stuff I had on the other levels. I don't know why but I am glad that I did!

How was living in a house with Ted Nugent-known as the 'Wildman of Rock'?

Sebastian - To be honest with you, I think that Ted's political beliefs and social opinions overshadow how great a guitar player he is. More people know Ted for his outrageous views and political viewpoints. His music is so great but a lot of people are disgusted by him, they don't like guns. People don't like racism but he says some things that are from the fifties. People don't think like that anymore, it's not acceptable. It's a shame because I love his music and he is funny as hell.
He is so abrasive with his beliefs; it takes the fun out of it!

We touched earlier on your former band. Have you ever been approached about rejoining them or a reunion? In recent years they seem to be very popular.

Sebastian - Well you know the 'Sonisphere festival' in England? They offered us very good money to reunite! One of the guys in the band doesn't want to do it, the other four of us do.
That was a real offer though as they made a poster with our logo on it and it was on-line .
Then it got removed the very next day, but that was real, that was going to happen!

Are you still in touch with your former band members?

Sebastian - No.

So it was all done through management?

Sebastian - Yes but nothing happened. It is very easy for me to sing those songs and we are all alive so I don't see why not. I wouldn't end my solo career either. I have a record deal and would keep making records. If they want to do some gigs I am not against it!

Thanks Sebastian for your time tonight, was great chatting with you!

Sebastian - No problem dude.

"Clash Of The Titans", the second single from the Italian "cinematic" metal band LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY, will be made available for free at the end of the summer/early fall. The "virtual" single will include the new song "Fantasia Gotica", described by the band as "a very original cinematic orchestral ballad of rare emotional impact," and a video for the track "Clash Of The Titans" helmed by the Swedish director Owe Lingvall of Dreamday Media (U2, THE RASMUS). The clip was filmed in New York and its "visual impact will underline once more the strong link between RHAPSODY and the world of movies," according to Lingvall.

Commented guitarist Dominique Leurquin: "We are working with our friend Owe Lingvall to present a new generation of shows on our upcoming tour. The songs of the new album, the legendary hits of the first albums, some of those old glorious RHAPSODY songs never or rarely played until now, a couple of surprises from the solo releases of Luca Turilli; the great variety of the setlist is surely guaranteed and we will offer music for all tastes!"

Added drummer Alex Landenburg: "The collaboration with Dreamday Media and the use of video projection will set a new standard for our shows in this and in the future tours. But this is not everything, as many more exciting surprises are waiting for you. Therefore, be ready to live an intense emotional experience and see you soon to spend some great and unique cinematic evenings together!"

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 is continuing under the RHAPSODY OF FIRE name. Turilli, on the other hand, is making his efforts available under the RHAPSODY moniker (RHAPSODY OF FIRE's original name), in which he is joined by guitarist Dominique Leurquin, bassist Patrice Guers, singer Alessandro Conti (TRICK OR TREAT) and drummer Alex Landenburg (AT VANCE, ANNIHILATOR, MEKONG DELTA, STRATOVARIUS).

"Ascending To Infinity", the new album from LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY, was released on June 22 via Nuclear Blast. The CD entered the German Media Control chart at the position No. 32.

MACHINE HEAD has been added to SLIPKNOT's first-ever Knotfest, an extraordinary two-date metal and hard rock festival set to take place on August 17 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and August 18 in Somerset, Wisconsin.

Commented the festival organizers: "The mighty MACHINE HEAD has been tapped as one of the artists to replace the cancelation of LAMB OF GOD and DETHKLOK. We are very excited that MACHINE HEAD is rushing back from Europe to play Knotfest. They will perform at both the Iowa and Somerset/Minneapolis Knotfest shows. We expect to announce another artist in the next day or two."

In addition to the headliners, both days will include sets from DEFTONES, SERJ TANKIAN and PRONG.

Also playing at the Iowa show will be THE URGE and DIRTFEDD, while the Wisconsin show will also feature CANNIBAL CORPSE, GOJIRA and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN.

SLIPKNOT mastermind/percussionist M. Shawn "Clown" Crahan told The Pulse Of Radio that the Knotfest idea has been around for a long time. "We wanted to do it from the very, very beginning, but we accepted that there was a lot of things we wanted to accomplish for ourselves," he said. "And we figure, right before we take a little hiatus and get ourselves together for this next record, which is gonna be phenomenal, that we would end it with two shows called Knotfest. So we're very excited, and we're gonna bring rock 'n' roll back to some kind of level of conceptual thinking, and we know everybody's gonna have a blast."

Knotfest is being positioned as a "dark carnival experience," and the event will feature circus tents, pillars of fire, amusement park rides, burlesque performers, fire-breathers, stilt walkers, drum circles made of junkyard cars, graffiti walls and even a SLIPKNOT museum.

The festival will mark the end of a two-year grieving period for the band following the May 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray from an overdose of drugs.

To view all ticket and VIP options for both dates, visit www.knotfest.com.

SLIPKNOT released a greatest-hits package on July 24 called "Antennas To Hell". The set consists of 19 songs from the band's four major label studio albums, as well as live performances of "The Heretic Anthem" and "Purity", plus a remix of "My Plague". A 17-track bonus disc, "(sic)nesses: Live At The Download Festival 2009", is also included in the package.

The collection is the first release from SLIPKNOT since the passing of bassist Paul Gray in 2010.

Speaking about what it's like to be carrying on with the band following Gray's death, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor told Canada's QMI Agency, "It's starting to get back there. But I don't know if it's ever going to not be weird without Paul there. He was one of the founding members of this band and contributed so much. He was a very powerful musical force. So even though we've all come together to do our thing, you can just feel that a little bit of the glue is not there. So we're taking steps to try to figure out where we go from here and how to get there."

Asked if it was difficult to get everyone together for a tour a year after Gray's passing, Taylor said, "It was just a matter of us all getting on the same page. I think if the offer hadn't come in to do shows last year, we would have put it off as long as possible. At first we said, 'Hell, no!' It was almost insulting. But the more we talked, the more we realized that if we were going to continue, it was going to have to start with us getting on a stage. Because that's our bonding process and how we heal: By playing that music. That first show was really hard. But about halfway through it, the audience let us know it was OK. There was just this huge outpouring of emotion."

He continued, "There's never going to come a time when we even entertain the thought of replacing Paul. There will never be another mask. There will never be another #2. But to us, it's … I don't want to say we're looking backwards, but it's us showing the respect to Paul that we felt was necessary, and trying to figure out what the future holds for this band. Going into the studio without Paul is very, very daunting. But we're doing it right, you know. We're in no hurry to run right in and make an album. We're writing music here and there, putting some stuff together in the event that we all decide to do it. But there's no rush. It's a matter of doing it right. That's what this band is all about; doing it right and doing it with respect."

Taylor, who has been ambivalent about working on new SLIPKNOT material without Gray, recently confirmed that the group has been "putting together demos" for its fifth major label album, which it expects to begin recording next year.

On the topic of what he wants SLIPKNOT's future to be, Corey told QMI Agency, "What makes sense to me is to take the next couple of years and really put the right music together, not just run in with riffs and songs that may not represent where this band is at. We need to allow ourselves the time to get used to the fact that Paul is not there. Everyone needs to be able to say something on this album and really feel it. This is going to be how we reconnect. And it needs to start now with communication and sharing ideas and opening up and being able to embrace that. And it's going to take time."

SLIPKNOT's last record, "All Hope Is Gone", was released in 2008.

Century Media Records and its associated labels InsideOut Music, Superball Music and People Like You Records have announced that their entire repertoire is now available on Spotify.

"Spotify offers great tools to discover new artists. We feel that this is essential for our promising newcomers. In that respect, Spotify gives those artists a very good forum," states Antje Lange, general manager Europe.

After the initial decision to pull the Century Media catalog from Spotify, label execs were impressed by the resulting debate, especially the messages and comments by the thousands of fans who weighed in on the issue. Fan sentiment and continued discussions with Spotify have resulted in the label reversing its initial decision.

"We respect that music fans wanted to have instant access to our catalog via Spotify," states President of North America Don Robertson. "But we also have to consider the rights of our artists. After practicing some due diligence, we're moving ahead confident that both the artist and the fan are being fairly served by this developing platform."

Steve Savoca, Head of Content at Spotify, adds: "Spotify's global growth provides a powerful platform for artists to connect directly with our hugely passionate audience. The return of Century Media's fantastic catalog is cranking metal music to our ears."

Century Media will continue to evaluate Spotify as a music discovery tool and welcome the fan's opportunity to preview a release in its entirety before deciding to buy a copy.

Thomas Waber, President of Superball and InsideOut Music sums it up: "We are looking forward to our fans being able to access our music again through the premium streaming service in the world. Hopefully they will discover great new music as a result!"

TOMAHAWK, the underground super group that includes Duane Dennison (THE JESUS LIZARD, UNSEMBLE), Trevor Dunn (FANTOMAS, MELVINS LITE), Mike Patton (MONDO CANE, FAITH NO MORE) and John Stanier (BATTLES, HELMET), has announced a brief fall tour kicking off on October 27 at Nashville's The Exit/In.

The dates are as follows:

Oct. 27 - Nashville, TN - Exit/In
Oct. 28 - New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music Experience
Oct. 29 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theatre
Oct. 31 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
Nov. 1 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
Nov. 2-4 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest

TOMAHAWK will preview music from its upcoming album, "Oddfellows", with the release of a seven-inch single titled "Waratorium" on November 23 (Record Store Day's Black Friday event). The B-side will be an original etching by famed cartoonist and comics scholar Ivan Brunetti. A digital release for "Waratorium" follows a week later.

Due in January 2013 via Ipecac Recordings, "Oddfellows" "is a full-on rock album," Dennison recently told Rolling Stone. "There's no quirky weirdness — it's very straightforward for us. There's almost like this weird, upbeat sound, what I call 'heavy pop,' and Patton totally got the vibe right away... really heavy BEACH BOYS."

TOMAHAWK has been dormant for the past five years after releasing a trio of albums: "Tomahawk" in 2001, "Mit Gas" in 2003 and "Anonymous" in 2007. The band last performed live in 2003.

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans HEATHEN have released the following statement:

"Due to unforeseen financial circumstances, we regret to announce that HEATHEN will not be able to make their appearances at the upcoming Metalcamp [August 9 in Slovenia], Brutal Assault [August 10 in Czech Republic] and Jalometalli [August 11 in Finland] festivals. Please understand that the band made every effort and exhausted all resources available in order to work things out and perform at the festivals as scheduled. We want to thank the festival promoters and HEATHEN fans for their understanding and look forward to seeing everyone on the next tour."

HEATHEN recently inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.veterans HEATHEN.

The band played its first show with returning bassist Jason VieBrooks on February 4, 2011 at Madhouse in San Francisco, California.

VieBrooks replaced previous HEATHEN bassist Jon Torres, who was forced to leave the group in order "to focus on his health."

HEATHEN's current lineup is as follows:

David White - Vocals
Lee Altus - Guitar
Kragen Lum - Guitar
Jason VieBrooks - Bass
Darren Minter - Drums

HEATHEN's latest album, "The Evolution Of Chaos", was released in the U.S. on February 16, 2010. The CD was issued in Japan on December 23, 2009 via King Records and was made available on January 25 in Europe via Holland's Mascot Records.

U.S. metallers SLEEPY HOLLOW have announced the addition of guitarist Rick Craig to the group's ranks.

Craig is a founding member of Detroit metal legends HALLOWEEN and is also a former member of classic rock icons HUMBLE PIE and the MC5.

Rick will make his live debut with SLEEPY HOLLOW this fall, when the band headlines Dingbatz on Friday, October 6. Fans can also expect the guitarist to be on the band's next album and beyond.

SLEEPY HOLLOW's new album, "Skull 13", was released on March 23 via Pure Steel Records and High Roller Records. The effort was released on vinyl (limited 500 copies) through High Roller and on CD/DDL through Pure Steel.

"Skull 13" was recorded primarily at No Oulet Studio in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania with producers Steve Stegg and Eric Fisher.

Bassist Mike LePond left SLEEPY HOLLOW in December due to his commitments with SYMPHONY X. He has since been replaced by Alan D'Angelo.

DEATH RAY VISION, the new project featuring SHADOWS FALL frontman Brian Fair, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio and former OVERCAST/SEEMLESS guitarist Pete Cortese, is working on "some very rough" new demos. Fair writes on Twitter, "[I'm] digging these tunes a lot."

DEATH RAY VISION's "Get Lost Or Get Dead" EP was released last year. The CD was recorded in March 2011 at Mad Oak Studio in Allston, Massachusetts with Benny Grotto (MOTHERBOAR, SLAPSHOT, ACARO, DRESDEN DOLLS) at the helm.

"For our first release, we wanted to have a huge-sounding record with modern production but still maintain the energy and rawness of the old-school hardcore seven-inches that influence the formation of the band," Fair explained at the time. "We kept it simple with minimal overdubs, layers and Pro Tools magic that is becoming all to common in music today. We just set up, hit record and let it rip."

DEATH RAY VISION made its live debut on April 8, 2011 at the Vegas Lounge in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.

DEATH RAY VISION is:

Brian Fair - Vocals
Mike D'Antonio - Bass
Pete Cortese - Guitar
Zack Wells - Guitar
Colin Conway – Drums

AXEWOUND — the new project featuring Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) on guitar and vocals, Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) on lead vocals, Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) on guitar, Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) on bass, and Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, KILLING JOKE) on drums — will embark on a U.K. headlining tour in October. A complete list of dates can be found on the poster below.

O2 Academy has uploaded multi-camera video footage of AXEWOUND performing the song "Cold" on June 6 at O2 Islington Academy in London, England. You can check it out below.

The band made its live debut on May 31 at Tivoli in Utrecht, Holland as the support act for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE.

During the time off between BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE albums, Tuck grew restless. Recruiting Bowld, routinely touted as the best session drummer in the U.K., and engineer Martyn "Ginge" Ford (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, TRIVIUM), Matt set to creating monster riffs and intricate metal melodies at the Atrium recording studios in Cardiff, Wales. The project proved fertile ground for Matt to explore the darker, heavier side of his appetite for metal, and soon enough Matt was recruiting co-conspirators to the cause, including Synyster Gates of AVENGED SEVENFOLD delivering a finger-burning guitar solo on standout track "Vultures".

Choosing a vocalist to match the intensity of the music was easy, says Matt. "The first phone call I made was to Liam [Cormier, of CANCER BATS]. We've toured the world together and I've always admired the furious energy he brings to a performance." Liam flew over from his native Canada to join Matt and Jason at the studio and began recording his trademark searing vocals that took the then-unnamed project to the next level. "That was when it really hit me," continues Matt, "we had something special here, way more than just a studio project. We've gotta take this show on the road!" Guitarist Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) and Joe Copcutt (ex-RISE TO REMAIN) were handpicked to join the lineup and a metal supergroup AXEWOUND was born.

AXEWOUND is:

Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) - Guitar, Vocals
Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) – Vocals
Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) - Guitar
Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) - Bass
Jason Bowld (ex-PITCHSHIFTER) – Drums

AXEWOUND — the new project featuring Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) on guitar and vocals, Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) on lead vocals, Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) on guitar, Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) on bass, and Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, KILLING JOKE) on drums — will release its debut album, "Vultures", in the U.K. on October 1 via Search And Destroy/RCA. A single, "Cold", will precede the full-length effort on September 10.

The "Vultures" album was recorded in Cardiff at the start of this year, with regular BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE collaborator Martin "Ginge" Ford engineering the sessions. From the outset, the aim was to work quickly and instinctively. In the event, they recorded 11 songs in 11 frenetic days.

"It was very intense, very demanding but that's how we wanted it to be," reasons Tuck. "No pre-writing, no rehearsing… just booking a studio and going in and doing a song a day. We wanted to capture something that happened right there and then."

Adds Cormier: "The record is great because it's been made by a bunch of friends who are just enjoying themselves playing together and doing something that's different to what they normally do."

According to a press release, "Vultures" is "a terrific debut. It is, as was intended, a thoroughly uncompromising beast: standout songs 'Burn Alive' and the title track being driven by venomous riffs, the former in particular echoing the sort of thrilling assault administered by the likes of SLAYER and SEPULTURA in their pomp. Yet Tuck's melodic gifts are in ready supply too on hulking tunes like 'ExoChrist' and the epic 'Collide'."

O2 Academy has uploaded multi-camera video footage of AXEWOUND performing the song "Cold" on June 6 at O2 Islington Academy in London, England. You can check it out below.

The band made its live debut on May 31 at Tivoli in Utrecht, Holland as the support act for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE.

AXEWOUND is:

Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) - Guitar, Vocals
Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) – Vocals
Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) - Guitar
Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) - Bass
Jason Bowld (ex-PITCHSHIFTER) – Drums

"X", the tenth studio album from Helsinki, Finland-based gothic metallers THE 69 EYES, will be released in Europe on September 28 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed by Stefan Boman (THE HELLACOPTERS, BULLET) and is described by the band's lead singer Jyrki69 as THE 69 EYES' "most melodic-yet-melancholic" release to date. He added, "This is the best THE 69 EYES album ever done!"

"X" track listing:

01. Love Runs Away
02. Tonight
03. Black
04. If You Love Me The Morning After
05. Red
06. I Love The Darkness In You
07. Borderline
08. I'm Ready
09. I know What You Did Last Summer
10. When A Love Comes To An End

Bonus DVD

* Red (video)
* Made In Sweden – Stockholm & THE 69 EYES (documentary)

THE 69 EYES filmed a video for the song "Red" earlier this month with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others. The band also revealed the cover art for the "Red" single, which will be released via iTunes on August 10.

Regarding the album title, Jyrki69 said, "We've never really celebrated anything, not that we've been playing 20 years or so (vampires don't count decades). Thus this time we thought to celebrate a bit: the new album is entitled as tenth in Roman numbers, it'll be called 'X'."

On the topc of the "X" cover artwork, Jyrki69 said, "The cover is pure goth 'n' roll: a psychedelic mirror image of old wild animal bones with our X-tagram projected over all. It's good, evil, magic and voodoo all together! Something to stare at when tripping on the album."

To coincide with the new album release, THE 69 EYES will also launch its own vampire-style red wine, simply called as "Red," which will mainly be distributed in Sweden and Finland.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/69redsingle.jpg

Robin Stryker of Sonic Cathedral recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Mia Coldheart of the Swedish all-girl hard rock quartet CRUCIFIED BARBARA. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Sonic Cathedral: With you being both the vocalist and lead guitarist, how do you keep from getting mixed up during live shows, when you're singing and playing with thousands of fans screaming and all the distractions going on around you?

Mia: I don't know. [laughs] I really have no idea. I started in the band as just the guitar player, so it was not my intention to sing from the beginning. It just happened because our first singer quit, and we had to look for a new singer. So I just tried it, and it worked. It was hard at the beginning, but I learned along the way. I had to practice a lot, but now it is a natural part to play. I feel really naked now without the guitar, so I just do it. I don't know how.

Sonic Cathedral: When CRUCIFIED BARBARA were working on "The Midnight Chase", what did you want from the new album?

Mia: First of all, we had a lot of focus on songwriting because we wanted to write great songs, and wanted to work even harder this time. Before, when we started, the thing was to write heavy riffs and cool riffs, and then try to find some vocal melodies that fit. But to make the best songs, I think you have to go with the melody, and don't compromise with that. So we thought a lot about that, and I think we succeeded because we are really happy with the new songs. We have become better songwriters. We also wanted a more natural sound — less modern metal, and more rock and roll. Now we have our great Mesa Boogie amp, with its deep voice. We didn't want the trigger on the drums to be digital, just the real wood sound on the drums. And I think we got it now the way we wanted it.

Sonic Cathedral: CRUCIFIED BARBARA are just coming off the Sweden Rock Festival and a major tour in France. Which of the new songs did the crowd really go crazy for?

Mia: Hmmm, I think it was "Into The Fire", because it is the one that we released, and people had heard it and seen the video. But on the tour in France, it was really cool to try out some of the new songs and to see that the audience really liked the new songs and tried to sing along, even though they didn't know the songs already. You can see all the people in the audience. You notice so much from the stage, and can see what everyone is doing… if they are on the phone or if they are talking. [laughs] Here you can see some of the difference between the old songs and the new songs, because you can see their heads start to shake without themselves noticing it. So that was cool.

British metalcore act BRING ME THE HORIZON has inked a deal with RCA. The band is currently writing material for its fourth album for a 2013 release.

BRING ME THE HORIZON will play its only U.K. show of the year at the Alexandra Palace in London on November 10 as the co-headliners of the Vans Warped Tour with LOSTPROPHETS.

BRING ME THE HORIZON's third full-length CD, "There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret", sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 17 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD also entered the official chart in the U.K. at position No. 13. The team at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden (where BRING ME THE HORIZON recorded 2008's "Suicide Season") was again at the helm of the recording, this time bringing in electronic and programming authority KC Blitz to assist with the instrumental aspects of the album.

Bassist Dan Biggin of thrash masters CRIMINAL — originally formed in Chile and now based in the U.K. — underwent surgery on his spine last week due to a herniated disk. The band states, "He had been in a lot of pain in the last few months but was on a waiting list and didn't expect to go under the knife so soon. Fortunately, everything went well, so after a period of recovery he will hopefully be like new and rocking the stage with CRIMINAL."

"Akelarre", the seventh studio album from CRIMINAL, was released last August via Massacre Records.

The CD was CRIMINAL's first album since the departure of lead guitarist and founding member Rodrigo Contreras and the subsequent addition of Basque guitar wizard Olmo Cascallar.

"Akelarre" is a word from the Basque language (Euskara) which is also widely used in most Spanish-speaking countries and translates to "witches' Sabbath."

"Akelarre" was produced by Dan Biggin at his HVR Studios in Suffolk, U.K.

Thrash-inspired doom metallers CASTLE will release their second album, "Blacklands", on September 11 via their new North American label Prosthetic Records. The CD — which was produced by Billy Anderson (CATHEDRAL, SLEEP, EYEHATEGOD, NEUROSIS) — was described by Metal Hammer as "charged with arcane mysticism."

Commented the band: "We are proud to announce that CASTLE's dark vision has found a home with Prosthetic Records in North America. They are a label that looms large in metal and are as diverse and committed as we are to bringing original great music to legions of metal fans everywhere. With their help we look forward to doing just that with 'Blacklands'."

The "Blacklands" album artwork was created by Russian symbolist painter Denis Forkas Kostromitin (HORSEBACK, WRATHPRAYER, DEAD REPTILE SHRINE).

CASTLE's music video for the track "Corpse Candles" was directed by David Hall (Handshake Inc.) and can be seen below.

CASTLE was formed in 2009 and released its debut album, "In Witch Order", via the German label Van Records (THE DEVIL'S BLOOD) in the spring of 2011. The album brought light to the newly formed band and gained them the title of Metal Hammer Norway's album of the year as well as Roadburn Festival's "Newcomer of the Year." The band has played with the likes of BLOOD CEREMONY, WITCH MOUNTAIN, and will perform later this month with HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE and GATES OF SLUMBER.

CASTLE consists of Elizabeth Blackwell on vocals/bass, Mat Davis on guitars/vocals and Al McCartney on drums.

Swedish thrashers DARKANE have entered the studio to begin recording their sixth album for an early 2013 release. The band's drummer, Peter Wildoer, states, "The drums are done and we're tracking guitars, bass and vocals right now.

"We're documenting the whole process once again as a video diary and now we want the DARKANE fans to ask questions what they want to know. . . Could be anything about the recording process, songwriting, gear stuff or perhaps what member in the band can do most push-ups... YOU ask the questions!"

If you have a question for DARKANE, you can post it in the comments section of the band's official Facebook page.

The first photo of the new lineup of DARKANE — featuring returning vocalist Lawrence Mackrory — can be seen below.

Vocalist Jens Broman left DARKANE in August 2011 due to "personal issues." He explained in a statement, "At the moment my life is in a phase where I'm unable to find inspiration for new adventures with DARKANE and therefore it's best for me to pass on the mic."

Mackrory sang on DARKANE's debut album, "Rusted Angel" (1999), and made a guest appearance on the song "Chaos vs. Order" on the band's 2002 effort "Expanding Senses".

"Demonic Art", the fifth album from DARKANE, debuted at No. 104 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.

"Demonic Art" was released in North America in February 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records. The North America version of the CD, which came out in Europe on October 24, 2008 via Massacre Records, contains a bonus track and a bonus DVD.

LocalBozo.com recently conducted an interview with JANE'S ADDICTION frontman Perry Farrell. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

LocalBozo.com: It's almost unfathomable to think that JANE'S ADDICTION is now in its third decade. As you look back on the past 25 years or so, in between some different departures and hiatuses, what is the lasting legacy of one of rock music's most influential bands?

Perry: Well, I guess that the lasting legacy is going to be how we changed the direction of the sound and the look of music — coming from your kind of cheeseball hair metal that was pervasive through the late '80s going into the early '90s and blasted that, shattered that mold and replaced it with what they call now alt-rock; basically the alternative to all that cheese. It was a very wide door that we opened when we opened it with Lollapalooza and JANE'S ADDICTION. It was a different look and a different sound and we were playing amongst other groups that also had very different looks, very different sounds than traditional blues-based rock, but it was accepted and it was hailed and it was attended by all the people of that generation. And it showed the music industry that there was yes, indeed, an audience for alternative music.

LocalBozo.com: Back in October, the band released "The Great Escape Artist", the first full-length JANE'S ADDICTION release in eight years, showing the band's more melodic and experimental side in writing and recording, but staying true to the band's signature sound. While the release of a new album is typically the end of the creative process for the artist, what's been the most rewarding part of finishing up and touring on the last record?

Perry: Well, I think that it was the style and just the kind of vibe, vibration that we had on the record, we were able to transfer that into our live performances. It's kind of a, I don't want to call it macabre, let's call it darkness. Let's call it embracing the darkness. It's an embracing of the darker side of life. It's dancing in that side of life — romancing the darkness. It's kind of a lovely feeling. It's a little bit like getting high, you know what I mean? When you just go out there and perform these songs and they just feel so good. They give me a nice feeling of warmth in my body even though some of them are, you know, darker subjects — but there's something romantic about it.

LocalBozo.com: JANE'S ADDICTION has dates lined up through the middle of September. Where does the band go from there? Can we expect a worldwide tour in the late fall, or are you guys itching to get back into the studio?

Perry: Yeah, the plan is, as soon as we get off the road, we begin writing our next record. I'd like to give it a six-month window and just get another JANE'S record out, coming off the heels of "The Great Escape Artist". I think that's the way to do it for us. I don't think we'll wait eight years [laughs] to do another record. You know, we didn't plan on getting back together, so that was part of… We had broken up. That was part of the reason that we took so long, but these days, the best thing that an artist can do or a group can do is stay busy and stay on the trail. And that's what our plan is.

BLEEDING THROUGH was forced to cancel last night's (Saturday, July 28) concert at the House Of Blues in San Diego, California with DEMON HUNTER and CANCER BATS after singer Brandan Schieppati underwent emergency orthodontic surgery.

Commented the band: "Symptoms started to appear [on Friday] and put him in a no-choice position [Saturday] morning. [We] can assure you from the many messages he has sent the band saying 'I am so sorry' he would do it if he could. We all apologize for any trouble this could have caused and appreciate your support."

BLEEDING THROUGH's new album, "The Great Fire", was released on January 31 via Rise Records. The band's guitarist, Dave Nassie, described the CD in a recent interview as "a mix of everything. It has a strong, classic SLAYER element to it — because, you know, who doesn't like that? That's something as a band that we all like. It has a heavy black metal and thrash influence in it. This record is an example of what BLEEDING THROUGH like to do. We follow each other. Nobody really picked a direction and said, 'Hey, we want to sound like this.' Brandan came in with a bunch of really aggressive songs, [Guitarist] Brian [Leppke] had a bunch of aggressive songs. My songs kind of lightened it up a little bit, because we started listening back and realized that there were like 15 songs that were just pissed with no break in it at all. [laughs]"

Orange County, California's BLEEDING THROUGH has released the following statement:

"It is with deep regret that [we are] here to report that we have to drop off the current DEMON HUNTER tour.

"As you all know, Brandan [Schieppati, vocals] had to undergo and emergency orthodontic surgery day before yesterday. Due to the severity of his procedure and upon [doctor's] orders, he has been advised not to perform as to not further increase the painful situation he has found himself in.

"To anyone who has had this done, then you know if it is complicated how painful it can be. He is recovering well and we will do make-up dates for the shows we are missing.

"We all express our most heartfelt apology to DEMON HUNTER, CANCER BATS, WILLOWS, and THE PLOT IN YOU.

"To anyone who bought tickets, to those who will miss this and still go, and to the ones that will be pissed, trust me, we are sorry and appreciate your understanding. See you all soon!"

BLEEDING THROUGH's new album, "The Great Fire", was released on January 31 via Rise Records. The band's guitarist, Dave Nassie, described the CD in a recent interview as "a mix of everything. It has a strong, classic SLAYER element to it — because, you know, who doesn't like that? That's something as a band that we all like. It has a heavy black metal and thrash influence in it. This record is an example of what BLEEDING THROUGH like to do. We follow each other. Nobody really picked a direction and said, 'Hey, we want to sound like this.' Brandan came in with a bunch of really aggressive songs, [Guitarist] Brian [Leppke] had a bunch of aggressive songs. My songs kind of lightened it up a little bit, because we started listening back and realized that there were like 15 songs that were just pissed with no break in it at all. [laughs]"

According to People.com, POISON singer Bret Michaels and his longtime girlfriend Kristi Gibson have called off their engagement.

"Although the couple have separated, they remain great friends and are committed to jointly raising their two daughters," a spokesperson for Bret tells the magazine.

Michaels, 49, and Gibson, 41, have two children together, Raine Elizabeth, 12, and Jorja Bleu, 7.

Michaels proposed to Gibson on the December 2, 2010, finale of his VH1 show "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It". After getting down on one knee, Michaels said, "I want you to know that I love you and you've been unbelievably a big part of my life and we have two beautiful girls together. I know we love and respect each other and I hope we can find that inner love that we can have forever. I want you to be my wife." He then jokingly added, 'Please say yes or the rejection will kill me right now."

**UPDATE**: JOB FOR A COWBOY drummer Jon "Charn" Rice has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET regarding today's events:

"Just to clarify the events that happened this evening, a note was passed to the bartender stating that during our set a man with two knives and a gun was going to hurt people. Cops were called and after the proper precautions were taken, the show set off again, albeit a bit behind. No one was hurt and everyone involved is safe."

The original article follows below.

Tonight's Summer Slaughter concert at the Ritz in Tampa, Florida was delayed by "a couple of hours" after someone was reportedly overheard threatening to shoot the singer of JOB FOR A COWBOY, the Arizona extreme metal band which is one of almost a dozen acts taking part in the traveling festival. The security was notified and the police were called, resulting in the venue being evacuated while concertgoers were being searched for weapons. The show was eventually allowed to proceed.

Stephen Rafferty of The Metal Observer, who is in attendance at tonight's concert, tells BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "JOB FOR A COWBOY finished their set but we're almost two hours behind." He adds, "VEIL OF MAYA just did 25 minutes. Lots of people came late and had no idea what was going on. Crowd and police were tremendous."

Finnish death metallers DECAYING have set "The Last Days Of War" as the title of their of new album, tentatively due in early 2013 through Hellthrasher Productions. The CD will feature eight tracks, clocking in at approximately 46 minutes.

"The Last Days Of War" track listing:

01. Preparation
02. Code Name Overlord
03. The Ardennes Offensive
04. Firestorm
05. The Last Days Of War
06. Passchendaele
07. El Alamein
08. The Pacific

Regarding how the upcoming album compares to 2011's critically acclaimed "Encirclement", DECAYING vocalist and guitarist Matias Nastolin said, "Musically, 'The Last Days Of War' is going to have a little more doom metal influences than "Encirclement" had, perhaps it's more in the vein of our first release, 'Devastate'. Nevertheless, all of the songs mangle their way forward like a sledgehammer — really heavy, generally mid-paced and riff-oriented. Even the doomier parts won't slow the songs down, and we think everything remains interesting from start to finish.

"'The Last Days Of War' is a concept album, telling about some of the last events in both second and first World Wars; battles like the Invasion of Normandy, Battle Of The Bulge, events on the Pacific theatre and the horrors in the fields of Passchendaele. So the lyrical theme still remains close to what it was on 'Encirclement'; the focus is on real subjects and history."

According to True Metalhead, Adam "Nergal" Darski, frontman of extreme blackened death outfit BEHEMOTH, has become the new spokesman for energy drink called Demon in his native Poland.

Before Nergal could even put his face on the product, the relationship is already causing controversy and backlash in Poland. There are organizations prepared to boycott the launch.

"We want this brand to surprise people while we have fun with marketing communications," says Marek Sypek, chairman and managing director of Agros-Nova, the company that is said to be licensing the product from Demon's manufacturer in New Zealand. "We want it to be controversial, but taken with a grain of salt."

Demon's product logo contains a pentagram and Nergal will be appearing in the advertising campaigns in his BEHEMOTH stage attire. Featuring the slogan "No Limits - No Laws," the campaign will include four tempting flavors and one low price.

With the face of Nergal (known as "Holocausto" in the campaign), who is known for his anti-Christian views and allegations of public blasphemy, the manufacturer wants to gain a strong position in a competitive market for energy drinks.

Nergal will reportedly donate a portion of his earnings from the campaign to DKMS, the world's largest bone marrow donor center whose mission is to save people's lives by registering and motivating stem cell donors over the long run in all corners of the globe.

Darski was found innocent last August of offending religious feelings in connection with a September 2007 incident when he reportedly called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."

A Polish judge ruled on August 18, 2011 that Darski's ripping up of a Bible during a show was a form of artistic expression consistent with the style of his band.

Judge Krzysztof Wieckowski said he considered Darski's actions "a form of art." He added that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion.

Norwegian atmospheric black metallers POSTHUM have signed to Indie Recordings for the release of their newest album, "Lights Out". The CD — which will be released on September 25 in North America (September 21 for Europe) — can be described as atmospheric and gloomy with a melancholic undertone, even though songs are more aggressive and feature progressive elements. Lyrically, POSTHUM draws inspiration from nature, dreams and nightmares, the material and commercial world and human nature. Fans of old ALCEST and classic ENSLAVED should find much to like.

The band commented on the album and signing with the following statement: "We are first and foremost proud of 'Lights Out', an album we have worked with for such a long time to make it just the way we wanted it to be. We then made a list with record companies we found interesting, and Indie Recordings were on top. Now that we have signed the deal, we feel great comfort of having well-oiled machinery behind us when we once again go on tours and work further with our band."

The cover art for "Lights Out" can be seen below.

"Lights Out" track listing:

01. Untame
02. Leave It All To Burn
03. Scarecrow
04. Red
05. Absence
06. Resiliant
07. Down In Blood
08. Summoned At Night
09. Afterglow
10. Lights Out

POSTHUM released its self-titled debut album in 2009, received great reviews from the underground press and triggered a strong demand for a swift sequel.

The band was formed in 2004 in a small town in the east of Norway, and until 2009 POSTHUM kept fairly isolated from other musical communities and groups. This resulted in their music not being particularly influenced by the trends in the scene, and despite their obvious roots in Norwegian black metal, POSTHUM sounds new and fresh. Their debut record ensured them some well-deserved attention that led to a European tour with legendary SATYRICON and SHINING (Sweden) the same year. In fact, POSTHUM's first concert ever was supporting SATYRICON and SHINING in front of a completely sold-out venue with 800 fans in Antwerp, Belgium. Since then, Posthum has played at Under The Black Sun festival in Germany, done several shows in Norway and a toured Europe again with NARGAROTH and CHAOS INVOCATION.

The name "Posthum" means "after exitus," which especially refers to compositions and tributes to dead artists. For the band, "Posthum" is a tribute and reminder to all life that has existed before them.

Commented POSTHUM: "It's fascinating to know that what surrounds us are the results of the efforts of ordinary mortal explorers, of flesh and blood, and that one day we too will be history, but what we leave behind is something very alive, the music."

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