Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, the company which creates "beautiful lullaby versions of your favorite artists," has just released "Lullaby Versions Of Motörhead" via Roma Music Group.

"Lullaby Versions Of Motörhead" track listing:

01. Overkill02. Iron Fist03. Ace Of Spades04. Motörhead05. (We Are) The Road Crew06. Bomber

The song "Ace Of Spades" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Check out audio samples at Amazon.com.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star was born for the parent that wants to pass along their biggest passion to their child, music. Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star transforms popular music into instrumental lullabies perfect for babies, yoga or just relaxation. Now, parents can enjoy the music from LADY GAGA to METALLICA in soothing lullaby style. With over 135 titles to choose from, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star is the largest line of pop, rock, metal and jamband music lullabies in the world. These aren't novelty recordings. They are cute, they are soft but these are serious recordings. Roma Music Group, which releases Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, is run by two music industry veterans who put the fidelity of these recording at the top of the priority list. Let's face it, much like the brand name clothes you buy for your infant, this music is really for you. Whether you are raising a metal baby, rocker or hippie baby, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star has your music transformed from arena anthems into nursery classics.

The reunited original lineup of ROCK GODDESS — the female power trio from the days of NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) featuring sisters Jody and Julie Turner along with bassist Tracey Lamb — played its first U.K. concert in 32 years on Thursday, May 14 at the O2 Islington Academy.

Fan-filmed video footage of the show can be seen below.

ROCK GODDESS's new album, provisionally titled "Unfinished Business", is due later in the year. Lamb says the new material "is sounding mega and awesome" and adds that playing the band's classic songs feels "weird but wonderful."

ROCK GODDESS was formed in 1977 in Wandsworth South London by Jody Turner (guitar and vocals) and Julie Turner (drums) when they were thirteen and nine years old, respectively. They recruited school friend Tracey Lamb on bass guitar.

ROCK GODDESS first rose to the nation's awareness when they were first featured in Kerrang! No. 5 in 1981 in the "Armed And Ready" section as one of the bands to watch out for. After recording a four-track demo tape and an appearance at the Reading Festival in 1982, sharing a bill with IRON MAIDEN, plus regular shows at the Marquee club, the band landed a contract with the A&M label. They recorded their eponymous debut album with producer Vic Maile in 1983 and hit the lower end of the charts. A follow-up album, "Hell Hath No Fury", arrived a year later, by which time Lamb had left the band to form SHE and later to join GIRLSCHOOL.

After their contract with A&M expired in 1987, ROCK GODDESS' already recorded (in 1985) third album, titled "Young And Free", was released only in France. The effort saw the band taking on a more commercial sound.

ROCK GODDESS' career was cut short by financial and contractual problems, which forced them to disband shortly thereafter.

ROCK GODDESS did briefly reform in 2009 and was due to play Hard Rock Hell festival in Prestatyn, and was also booked to perform at the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany the following summer, but split before they had a chance to appear at either event.

In March 2013, it was announced that the original ROCK GODDESS lineup of Jody Turner, Julie Turner and Tracey Lamb had reunited and would start recording a new album.

UK-based progressive thrash/death metal enthusiasts, Vulgate, are streaming their debut album, Waves, on YouTube below. According to a press release, Waves is ten tracks of modern progressive thrash/death metal influenced by bands such as Death, Cynic, Testament, Sylosis and Revocation. The album was recorded and produced by Daniel Crook at the prestigious Yellow Fish Studios, which has worked with many household names including legendary The Who frontman, Roger Daltery.

The Waves album art was drawn by the highly acclaimed All Things Rotten, who has also done artwork for bands such as Amon Amarth, Children Of Bodom, Mortis, Hirax, Wretched Soul and Toledo Steel.

To mark the release, Vulgate will be touring the UK on the Mammothfest Waves Of Thrash tour with King Leviathan, this tour is set to ignite with their album release show at The Unicorn in Camden, London, tonight (May 18th) with King Leviathan and Overthrow.

Tour dates:

May
19 - Head Of Steam - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
21 - Rock Zombie - Dudley, UK
22 - The Anvil - Bournemouth, UK

 

 

Check out the single “The One Who Knocks” off the album below:

The One Who Knocks (Single) by Vulgate

Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE have set "Venom" as the title of their new album, due on August 14. The CD was recorded with producer Colin Richardson (CARCASS, FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD) and producer/engineer Carl Bown.

A track from "Venom" called "No Way Out", will be released digitally tomorrow (Monday, May 18) and a lyric video for the song can now be seen below.

Speaking about the band's mindset going into the songwriting process for the new CD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "What we really wanted to capture was the feeling of that excitement, that angst and that anger, that you finally get in that moment to let the world know who you are and what you want to say. Then, as the albums go on, and you get a bit older, that goes away. So we're like, 'Let's recapture that angst of that younger, feisty BULLET that we used to be,' and fucking reignite that fire. And we totally have. We've just been writing stuff, and if it's not cool, we've been filtering it out. We've cut, like, 10 songs. That's a lot of effort and time and shit put into those songs, but it didn't feel right, so we put them in the bin."

Asked about the slightly less aggressive musical direction of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, "Temper Temper", compared to some of the group's earlier efforts, Tuck said: "I think, for me, it was just about letting your fucking hair down a bit. It always felt like we were being channelled towards something like radio and massive shows, and stuff like that — which is great, because that's obviously what we want, but it was like a diluted version of what we were. I don't think it's a bad album at all. I just think our fanbase wanted something a bit more feisty. It basically comes down to that. So this time around, we're fucking giving it to them, tenfold."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently parted ways with bassist Jason James and replaced him with Jamie Mathias. The band said in a statement, "It is with regret that BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has to announce that Jay James is no longer a member of the band. Jay has been a part of this band for well over 12 years and part of our lives forever, and we're gonna miss him as much as we know you guys are too. We wanna wish him all the best and success with whatever he chooses to do next and will always be grateful for his contribution and sacrifices he made for this band."

Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio what is important to BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE when they're making a new record. "The big thing that we've learned is, like, you're not gonna please everyone all the time," he said. "As long as you do what you want to do and the band is happy and you feel you haven't given away your integrity, you know, I don't really care if people go, 'Oh, it's not metal enough, it's not heavy enough.' It's like, that's not what we are."

The band also wrote online that 2015 is "shaping up to be a massive year for us, with lots of exciting things going on behind the scenes which we'll be announcing as soon as we can."

"Temper Temper" came out in March of 2013. The band issued a brand new song called "Raising Hell" in November of that year, although it's not clear if that track will show up on the new album.

Fan-filmed video footage of AC/DC's May 16 concert in Hockenheim, Germany can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Rock Or Bust 02. Shoot To Thrill 03. Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be 04. Back In Black 05. Play Ball 06. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 07. Thunderstruck 08. High Voltage 09. Rock 'N' Roll Train 10. Hells Bells 11. Baptism By Fire 12. You Shook Me All Night Long 13. Sin City 14. Shot Down In Flames 15. Have A Drink On Me 16. T.N.T. 17. Whole Lotta Rosie 18. Let There Be Rock

Encore:

19. Highway To Hell 20. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

AC/DC's sixteenth studio album, "Rock Or Bust", has sold around 524,000 copies since debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart back in December.

It's the band's first album without founding guitarist Malcolm Young, who is suffering from dementia. He has been replaced by nephew Stevie Young.

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd was arrested last November at his home in Tauranga on charges of threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

Although Rudd played on "Rock Or Bust", he did not appear in photos or videos for the disc.

One-time AC/DC drummer Chris Slade officially joined the band's lineup for its performance on the February 8 Grammy Awards telecast. Slade is also behind the kit for the group's current world tour.

The band will return to North America later this summer for 13 more tour dates, starting on August 22 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts and wrapping up on September 28 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Tanzan Music and "Tony Iommi Fan-Tastic" team of Iommi supporters together with Facebook communities "Tony Iommi The Man The Master The Legend" and "Global Black Sabbath Convention" have released a compilation tribute in honor of BLACK SABBATH's true heart and soul, legendary riffmaster Tony Iommi. Available since May 4, the first-ever tribute to Iommi, titled "Great Lefty: Live Forever - Tribute To Tony Iommi, Godfather Of Metal", is an act of solidarity towards Tony from pals and fans. The tribute includes participations of well known artists, best BLACK SABBATH tribute bands from all around the world, and the bands and solo artists "children of Iommi" as having Iommi's music as their major influence. All the songs are kindly donated for the cause. The profits from compilation sales will be destinied to Macmillan Cancer Support.

A new video message from Tony Iommi in support of "Great Lefty: Live Forever - Tribute To Tony Iommi, Godfather Of Metal" can be seen below.

The guitarist previously stated about the collection: "A big thank you to everyone involved in the album, whether you're a player or not. I'm flattered and honoured to have this done by genuine fans, not a label.

"I'd heard something was going on, but wasn't expecting anything this big.

"There are so many of you, it's impossible to mention the complete list, but great to see old band mates Tony Martin and Vinny Appice getting involved and Mike Exeter producing.

"Although I understand she doesn't want to take credit, I don't think it would have happened without Rosie Piergiorgi, and I'm really pleased that she chose to help Macmillan Cancer Support.

"Go buy a copy. 20 tracks, great value and a good cause! And please let us know your favourites."

Some of the artists participating are:

* Dario Mollo (TONY MARTIN, VOODOO HILL)* Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, DIO DISCIPLES, DOKKEN)* Mario Parga (GRAHAM BONNETT, FORCEFIELD, COZY POWELL'S HAMMER)* Victor Griffin (PENTAGRAM, DEATH ROW)* Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH)

Also appearing is a young talented artist Kyle Cousins, singer and songwriter, huge Iommi fan, who also happens to have autism. He began his journey with autism at two years old by losing all his language. Through years of intensive interventions, he has made continual progress; so much so that now he loves nothing better than to express himself onstage through his music.

Cousins champions the autism awareness movement, being a source of hope and inspiration for the autism community.

Kyle Cousins expresses his love and admiration to BLACK SABBATH's guitar legend with producers Damon Elliott and Michael Politz, performing a song with Vinny Appice (former BLACK SABBATH and HEAVEN & HELL drummer), Barry Goudreau (guitarist for BOSTON), Hugh McDonald (David Bromberg, ALICE COOPER, BON JOVI, LITA FORD). Disc 1 01. DARIO MOLLO Featuring MARK BOALS - Never Say Die (3:54);02. MANIAC RISE - Time Is Mine (5:05);03. KYLE COUSINS - Heaven And Hell (6:16);04. MARIO PARGA - Scarlet Pimpernel (5:13); 05. CHILDREN OF THE GRAVY - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (5:40);06. IRONLUNG Featuring WIZARD OF OZZ - Electric Funeral (5:03);07. TANZAN MUSIC ACADEMY - Neon Knights (4:45); 08. NICK DIDKOVSKY - Orchid (1:38);09. DARKING - Law Maker (3:35);10. INTO THE VOID - Loner (4:40); Disc 2 01. REKUIEM - Paranoid (3:17);02. PLACE OF SKULLS Featuring VICTOR GRIFFIN - You Won't Change Me (6:43);03. BLACK SABBATH/DIO Tribute CZ - I (5:10);04. PHIL JAKES - Behind The Wall Of Sleep (2:47);05. GIUNTINI - Anno Mundi, featuring Tony Martin (6:14);06. TONY REED - Live Forever (4:44);07. KILL VAN KULL - No Stranger To Love (5:13);08. APLANADORA Featuring SANTIAGO CABAKIAN - Hole In The Sky (4:20). 09. BLOOD SABBATH - Snowblind (5:33);10. PHENOMENA - The Wizard (4:10)

Video footage of Kyle Cousins with Barry Goudreau (BOSTON), Vinny Appice and Hugh McDonald recording the BLACK SABBATH's classic "Heaven And Hell" can be seen below. Check out audio samples at this location.

VAN HALEN opened tonight's (Sunday, May 18) Billboard Music Awards with a blazing rendition of the band's smash hit "Panama".

The aging rock act was introduced by pop superstar Taylor Swift, a move which got mixed reviews on social media. One viewer tweeted: "When VAN HALEN is introduced by Taylor Swift, we have fuckin problems!!! That image is burned into my fuckin' brain! Music has fallen!!!" Another viewer wrote: "Hmm... What is this thing called #Taylorswift ????? VAN HALEN should be ashamed they were introduced by her!"

VAN HALEN's appearance at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards — which aired live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas via ABC — marked the first time that the current lineup of the band (including original singer David Lee Roth and guitarist Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang on bass) has performed at an awards show. Out now is "Tokyo Dome In Concert", VAN HALEN's first ever live collection featuring David Lee Roth, despite numerous pro-shot concerts from the band's original heyday being heavily booted for years — including film and videotaped-sourced shows from 1981 in Oakland, California; 1982 in Largo, Maryland; 1983 in San Paulo, Brazil and the US Festival in San Bernadino, California; and 1984 in Leicestershire, England — among others.

Wolfgang Van Halen told The Pulse Of Radio that his dad Eddie handed down some key tricks of the trade when playing live. "He definitely has some quirky lines he gives me that definitely help me out, like, in terms of playing music, 'If you ever make a mistake, do it twice so the audience thinks you meant to do it,'" he said.

VAN HALEN has whetted the appetite of die-hards by promising some deep cuts on the upcoming tour. Eddie Van Halen admitted to The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he can't pick a favorite out of the band's many albums. "Well, I tell ya — to me, they're all special," he said. "They're all a bit different, but I love 'em all. Y'know, they're all a piece of me, so they're all very special."

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, who earlier in the year underwent a seven-week course of chemotherapy and radiology to treat a small cancerous tumor at the back of his tongue, has been given "the all-clear" by his specialists following his recent MRI scan.

Says Bruce: "I would like to thank the fantastic medical team who have been treating me for the last few months, resulting in this amazing outcome.

"It's been tough on my family, and in many ways, it was harder for them than me.

"I'd also like to send a heartfelt thanks to all our fans for their kind words and thoughts.

"I'm a firm believer in trying to maintain a positive attitude, and the encouragement from the global MAIDEN family meant a great deal to me.

"Right now, I'm feeling extremely motivated and can't wait to get back to business as usual, as soon as I can!"

Adds IRON MAIDEN manager Rod Smallwood: "We are, of course, all absolutely delighted that Bruce's doctors have pronounced him free of cancer.

"Although Bruce is naturally eager to resume MAIDEN activities, it will take a while before he is completely back to full strength, as we explained previously. Because of this, the band will not be touring or playing any shows until next year. We know our fans will understand the situation and, like us, would prefer to wait until Bruce is back to his usual indefatigable levels of fitness before going out on the road. For now, the focus will be on putting the finishing touches to the new IRON MAIDEN studio album and that is what we will be concentrating on over the coming weeks. The release, however, will definitely be this year.

"Meanwhile, I'd like to echo Bruce's words and thank all MAIDEN fans. You have been incredibly patient, putting Bruce's health and well-being first during this difficult time and the band and I appreciate all your positive support."

IRON MAIDEN has yet to reveal any more details about its new studio album, but the band's members have reportedly been spotted in Paris, France in recent months, along with their longtime producer, Kevin Shirley, who is said to have helmed the new effort.

MAIDEN's 15th studio album, "The Final Frontier", sold 63,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 4.

"The Final Frontier" was IRON MAIDEN's fourth U.K. No. 1 album. The band previously topped the chart in 1982 with "The Number of the Beast", in 1988 with "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" and in 1992 with "Fear of the Dark".

A free public memorial service for legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) took place yesterday (Saturday, May 16) at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills on Saturday, May 16 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Ronnie's passing. Several of Dio's former bandmates and friends who worked with Ronnie over his illustrious career spoke and performed his music.

The following songs were performed at the event: * "Lisa" (acoustic) - Lita Ford, Patrick Kennison (THE UNION UNDERGROUND), Marty O'Brien

* "Heaven & Hell" (acoustic) - GREAT WHITE

* "Last In Line" (acoustic) - GREAT WHITE feat. Lorraine Lewis (FEMME FETALE)

* "Take Her" - ROUGH CUTT (Paul Shortino, Amir Derakh, Chris Hager, Matt Thorne, Dave Alford)

* "Mistreated" - John Payne (ASIA), Rock Feinstein (ELF, THE RODS), Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR), Sean McNabb (QUIET RIOT, DOKKEN, GREAT WHITE), Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR) and Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL)

* "Rainbow In The Dark" - Gabbie Rae, Rowan Robertson (DIO), Rudy Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, DIO), Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, RICK DERRINGER, HEAVEN & HELL) and Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL)

* "Sign Of The Southern Cross" - Ann Boleyn, Craig Goldy (DIO), Sean McNabb (QUIET RIOT, DOKKEN, GREAT WHITE), Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC) and Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL)

* "Stargazer" - DIO DISCIPLES: Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB), Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH), Craig Goldy (DIO), Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, HELLION), Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC) and Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL)

* "Stand Up And Shout" - Ricky Warwick (BLACK STAR RIDERS), Robbie Crane (BLACK STAR RIDERS), Chris Broderick (MEGADETH, ACT OF DEFIANCE), Jimmy Bain (DIO, RAINBOW) and Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL)

Fan-filmed video footage of the performances can be seen below.

Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer five years ago (May 16, 2010) at the age of 67.

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

In March 2011, it was announced that the surviving members of the final lineup of DIO would embark on a project with former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens under the name DIO DISCIPLES.

Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.

He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.

He released his first single, with a band called RONNIE AND THE REDCAPS, in 1959.

His first heavy rock act, ELF, released three albums and opened for DEEP PURPLE, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, RAINBOW, after leaving PURPLE in 1975.

Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with RAINBOW before exiting in 1978, including "Rising" and "Long Live Rock And Roll".

He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

He also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, DIO, including a classic 1983 debut, "Holy Diver", and an equally renowned follow-up, 1984's "The Last In Line".

Dio was also behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.

Video footage of WARRANT performing the song "D.R.F.S.R." on May 15 at Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California can be seen below.

With over 10 million album sales spanning nearly two and a half decades, WARRANT came into the world spotlight when their debut album, "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich", reached multi-platinum stardom. Consisting of original bandmembers Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, Steven Sweet, Joey Allen and Robert Mason now on lead vocals, they continue to tour worldwide and play in front of sold-out crowds. In 2011, the band released "Rockaholic", their latest CD, on iTunes, and their singles "Life's A Song" and "Home" videos received a huge amount of success, which prompted them to launch their 21st-anniversary "Cherry Pie" tour with FIREHOUSE and TRIXTER.

At the helm for "Rockaholic" was mega-producer Keith Olsen (OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, SCORPIONS), while the mixing duties were handled by Pat Regan (KISS, DEEP PURPLE, TED NUGENT).

Former WARRANT singer Jani Lane suffered from "acute ethanol poisoning" when he died in August 2011 at a Comfort Inn motel room in Woodland Hills, California. The singer had battled alcoholism for years and also had a history of alcohol-related arrests.

Lane originally left WARRANT in March 1993 but rejoined the band in September 1994. The group went on to record the "Ultraphobic" (1995), "Belly To Belly" (1996) and "Greatest & Latest" (1999) albums and issued and collection of covers, "Under The Influence", in 2001. Jani quit WARRANT again in 2004 before reuniting with the group four years later.

Fan-filmed video footage of former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman's entire March 28 "workshow" in Curitiba, Brazil can be seen below.

Friedman was asked in a new interview with Ghost Cult if the subject of his former band comes up a lot, from both the public and the press alike, in Japan, where Friedman has lived since 2003. "Not nearly as [much as] here [in the U.S.], because [in the U.S.], that's what I'm known for," he said. "But it's taken a long time in Japan, not to wipe that out… I've done so many other things. Maybe if ten people meet me, two of them would know me from MEGADETH, two of them know me from this thing, and two would know me from something else. It's all different things."

According to Friedman, he used to get a bit irked when the subject of his former band was brought up by fans and the media, but he has since learned to accept it and embrace it.

"I used to get a little bit…not upset, but I'm doing all of this cool stuff now," he said. "Why do you keep bringing up MEGADETH? Then I realize that it takes a long time of doing other things before people notice it. So then after a while, people ask less about it and more about what I've been doing lately. So I feel that it's better. But I'm proud of all of that MEGADETH, stuff so I really don't mind."

Friedman was a member of MEGADETH for ten years, during which he played on four albums, including fan favorites "Rust In Peace", "Countdown To Extinction" and "Youthanasia", all of which were also the band's most commercially successful.

Since he relocated to Japan, Friedman has reportedly made more than 600 TV appearances, including on a Japanese cooking show, news shows, political shows and as a guest on a number of Japanese variety shows.

Clay Marshall, general manager of Prosthetic Records, Friedman's current U.S. label home, told RollingStone.com: "He's a cultural celebrity over there. I tried to figure out how to explain it to people and we came up with the 'Ryan Seacrest of Japan' catch-phrase. It's not exactly accurate, but it was a much more accurate assessment of who he is and what he means to that world than 'Marty Friedman: Heavy Metal Guitar Player.'"

In the two-minute clip below, ABC News' North Asia correspondent Matthew Carney takes a look at Japanese teenage girl pop metal band BABYMETAL, who have been endorsed by METALLICA, Slash and NAPALM DEATH, and have shared the stage with IRON MAIDEN and Lady Gaga.

As previously reported, BABYMETAL has signed with RAL/Sony Music Entertainment for the U.S. release of the band's 2014 critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The CD will feature two bonus tracks and be available digitally on Tuesday, May 12 and physically on Tuesday, June 16.

"Babymetal" will be released via earMUSIC in Germany, Sweden, Finland and Spain on May 29, in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark on June 1, and in Italy on June 2

The European release will be available as the standard edition as well as a deluxe edition that includes a bonus DVD compiling six music videos from BABYMETAL.

Says Bill Richards, VP of Marketing at RAL/Sony Music Entertainment: "After witnessing the band's sold-out New York show, we knew we wanted to be involved. The core metal fans and metal press seem to get BABYMETAL, which shows how the language of music transcends boundaries. They hit all the entertainment buttons and are really fun to watch."

Since forming in 2010, BABYMETAL — the young trio of 17-year-old Su-Metal (vocal, dance) and 15-year-olds Yuimetal (scream, dance)and Moametal (scream, dance), backed by a four-piece band packing a heavy metal arsenal — has already achieved two major debut singles — "Ijime, Dame, Zetta!" and "Megistune", both of which ranked in the Top 10 Oricon Chart in Japan. Their first studio album, "Babymetal", also earned the #1 spot on Japan's album chart and Billboard's World Album Chart. The official live music video for their debut album's lead single, "Gimme Chocolate!!", has garnered over 24.5 million views on YouTube.

2014 saw BABYMETAL headline numerous sold-out shows from New York to London, including the 20,000-capacity Saitama Super Arena in Japan. They performed at major festivals in multiple countries such as the U.K.'s massive Sonisphere in front of 65,000 festival goers and supported Lady Gaga on her "Artrave: The Artpop Ball" tour.

UK rockers Ten will release their 12th studio album, Isla De Muerta, on May 20th through Rocktopia Records. The album cover was illustrated by Gaetano Di Falco. They have now released a 16 minute video featuring song samples from the album. The European edition Isla De Muerta includes the bonus track “We Can Be As One”.

Check out a new lyric video for the track “Tell Me What To Do” below.

Named after the mythical Island Of The Dead from Pirate legend and as the title would suggest, this time around the album has a very piratical, seafaring feel. In true classic Ten style, the album opens with the atmospheric “Buccaneers” instrumental and segues straight into the cinematic “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. Any fans of Ten and their expanding catalogue will not be disappointed.

Tracklisting:

“Buccaneers” (Instrumental)
“Dead Men Tell No Tales”
“Tell Me What To Do”
“Acquiesce”
“This Love”
“The Dragon And Saint George”
“Intensify”
“Karnak” (Instrumental)
“The Valley Of The Kings”
“Revolution”
“Angel Of Darkness”
“The Last Pretender”
“We Can Be As One” (European Bonus)

“Tell Me What To Do” lyric video:

Isla De Muerta will be the second outing for this current lineup and sees the boys build upon the foundation stones laid by their Albion release.

Ten are:

Gary Hughes - Vocals
Dann Rosingana - Guitars
Steve Grocott - Guitars
John Halliwell - Guitars
Steve Mckenna - Bass
Darrel Treece-Birch - Keyboards
Max Yates - Drums

In their 25 years as a musical duo, Gunnar & Matthew Nelson, collectively known simply as Nelson, have grown from pop music idols to seasoned songwriters and performers. Now, as the brothers celebrate a quarter century at the forefront of the international music scene, they return with Peace Out, their most ambitious studio album to date. Check out the first video from the album for the tune "Rockstar" below:

Released in Europe yesterday (May 15th) and North America on May 19th, Peace Out marks a return to the well crafted melodic rock songs that put the band at the top of the Billboard charts in the 1990s. From the anthemic “Invincible” to the rollicking soon-to-be classic “Back In The Day”, Peace Out is quintessential Nelson from start to finish.

“We set a pretty high standard with our previous release with Lightning Strikes Twice. That record received by far the most critical acclaim of any Nelson record to date... Peace Out was expected to be even better, the so the goal was to push ourselves to the very limit- past what we believed we could do,” says Gunnar Nelson. “We wanted to write and record the most exciting, authentic, uplifting, and rockin’ Nelson record ever made! The mission: to make a classic.”

The brothers have always had their work cut out for themselves, being the third generation in one of America’s most celebrated entertainment families, who came into US households every week from 1952 through 1966 on the ABC sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. Their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, was a celebrated big band leader, whose orchestra featured their grandmother, Harriet; and their late father, Ricky, was one of rock ’n’ roll’s earliest superstars, a member of The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and generally credited with creating the country-rock format.
 
When the Nelson twins burst onto the music scene with the Billboard #1 hit “(I Can’t Live Without Your) Love & Affection,” in 1990, they set a Guinness World Record by being the only family to have three generations of #1 hits on the charts! Nelson went on to release a half dozen rock albums selling nearly 7 million records, beginning with the multi-platinum After The Rain.

Peace Out marks their fourth release on Frontiers since 2010. Look for Nelson to embark on a world tour upon the album’s release. “We're putting the live show together as we speak... And it will incorporate the very best live songs from our career... Focusing heavily on the Peace Out album,” tells Gunnar.

Peace Out tracklisting:

“Hello Everybody”
“Back In The Day”
“Invincible”
“Let It Ride”
“I Wanna Stay Home”
“On The Bright Side”
“Rockstar”
“Autograph”
“What’s Not To Love?”
“You And Me”
“Bad For You”
“Leave The Light On For Me”

“Rockstar”:

“Autograph”:

Preview:

Professionally filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT's May 15 performance at the Rock On The Range festival, which is being at MAPFRE Stadium (formerly Crew Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio, can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Sarcastrophe 02. The Heretic Anthem 03. Psychosocial 04. The Devil In I 05. AOV 06. Wait And Bleed 07. Vermilion 08. Killpop 09. Before I Forget 10. Duality 11. Eyeless 12. Spit It Out 13. Custer 14. 742617000027 15. (sic) 16. Surfacing

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root told the Des Moines Register in a new interview that he's ready for the band to make its sixth studio album and has already written music for it. Root explained, "We haven’t been able to do two albums back to back since our first one and Iowa. We're at a point in our career where the band is on top of its game. If we take two years or however long away, who knows if we could come back? Someone might decide they want to direct or write or other bands' projects might take priority. I plan for the best and expect the worst. I started writing again today. Hopefully the songs will be on a new SLIPKNOT record. If not, I'll find something else to do with them." It was six years between 2008's "All Hope Is Gone" and last year's ".5: The Gray Chapter", during which the band dealt with the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the dismissal of drummer Joey Jordison in 2013.

SLIPKNOT's "Summer's Last Stand" tour kicks off on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida, wrapping up six weeks later on September 5 in Dallas. Joining SLIPKNOT on the road trip will be LAMB OF GOD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and MOTIONLESS IN WHITE. The summer jaunt follows a brief spring run that SLIPKNOT launched on April 25 at the Fort Rock festival in Fort Myers, Florida, ending on May 16 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Video footage of the Brazilian army orchestra performing the song "Smoking Snakes" from the Swedish metal band SABATON can be seen below.

SABATON wrote "Smoking Snakes" as a tribute to the three Brazilian soldiers who fought an entire platoon of German soldiers to their deaths in the mountains of Italy in 1944.

In an interview with the Brazilian Army's official blog, SABATON bassist Pär Sundström explained that the idea for "Smoking Snakes" came when he was doing some research for the band's latest album, "Heroes". "I tried searching for the word 'Helden', which means heroes in German," he said. "I then came across the story of the Drei Brasilianischen Helden (Three Brazilian Heroes) and, from that point on, we deepened our research and decided to write the track."

The smoking snake is the mascot of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent to fight the Nazi army in Europe during World War II in response of German U-Boast attacking Brazilian shipping in the Atlantic.

The expression "when the snake smokes" would be equivalent to "when pigs fly" in the USA. At the time, many believed that was that it was more likely that one would see a snake smoking a pipe than a bunch of blacks and Indians from the Brazilian army being able to defeat Nazi soldiers in combat. So the Brazilian army adopted the smoking snake as its mascot and that is how the Expeditionary Force become known: as the "smoking snakes."

After the Brazilian army's successful return from Europe, the meaning of the expression was reversed. Instead of meaning that something unlikely to happen, the expression "the snake will smoke" was used to refer to something that had a high probability of becoming a reality.

On May 12, HALESTORM played an acoustic set for WAAF listeners in Boston, Massachusetts. A clip of the "Apocalyptic" performance can be seen below.

"Apocalyptic" is taken from HALESTORM's third album, "Into The Wild Life", which was released on April 14. Singer Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio that making the record was a satisfying experience for her and the band. "It was a lot of fun," she said. "It was such a freeing process 'cause it really didn't feel like we were — 'we're recording an album now, guys!' It just — we were in this big, overhauled church, you know, so it didn't feel like we were in a studio and there was just every instrument everywhere. There was a piano and everything was all set up so it's like, whatever you wanted to do, you could just do." "Into The Wild Life" follows up HALESTORM's Grammy-winning 2012 sophomore effort, "The Strange Case Of…"

HALESTORM recently released a music video for "Amen". The album's first single, "Apocalyptic", became the group's third straight chart-topper at rock radio.

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was joined by his 16-year-old daughter Cali on stage last night (Friday, May 15) at the second annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure concert at The Masonic in San Francisco, California to perform an acoustic version of the Adele song "Crazy For You". Also appearing on the bill were Sammy Hagar (VAN HALEN, CHICKENFOOT, MONTROSE), ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith and Linda Perry, the former leader of 4 NON BLONDES. Each artist performed an acoustic set at the event, proceeds from which will be donated to fund children's brain tumor research at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, one of the nation's leading children's medical facilities.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. Photos are available at the Getty Images web site.

Acoustic-4-A-Cure was created by Bay Area rock legends Hagar and Hetfield, whose vision was to raise needed funds and awareness for the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF by bringing together some of their legendary friends and throwing a must-see concert for fans.

Regarding the decision to book mostly Northern California acts, Hagar told the Marin Independent Journal: "The reason I am doing it is because we want to keep expenses down. You can't fly people in from other towns and put them up in big suites. Half of the people on this show live pretty high, and you can't lowball them."

Hagar also acted as emcee at the event, telling the Marin Independent Journal: "I am a closet emcee-comedian. I feel it is my calling that, later on in my life, I could do the Grammy Awards and be the host of this and the host of that. I feel that I could pull that gig off — and I'm kind of interested in it, believe it or not."

According to the Los Angeles Times, POISON singer Bret Michaels has listed his house in a gated Calabasas community for $3.649 million.

Built in 2006, the Mediterranean-inspired, 6,797-square-foot, two-story, property includes five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, guitars, a grand piano and religious iconography, as well as vaulted ceilings, formal living and dining rooms, a media room, an office and a family room. The master suite contains a sitting area, dual walk-in closets, a balcony, dual bathrooms and a gym.

Check out pictures of the house at Los Angeles Times.

Bret has just released rock-and-country-crossover single, "Girls On Bars". The song was co-written with Michaels's good friend and fellow Pennsylvanian Luke Laird, who is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter of hits like LITTLE BIG TOWN's "Pontoon", Eric Church's "Talladega" and Luke Bryan's "I See You"."

"Girls On Bars" is the first single from Bret's upcoming album, "True Grit", featuring 21 new and classic Michaels hits, including POISON classics "Nothin' But A Good Time", "Something To Believe In" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Released on May 5, the CD features guest appearances by Jimmy Buffett, LYNYRD SKYNYRD's Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke, Rascal Flatts and Loretta Lynn.

Professionally filmed video footage of MARILYN MANSON's May 15 performance at the Rock On The Range festival, which is being at MAPFRE Stadium (formerly Crew Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio, can be seen below.

Featured songs:

01. Deep Six02. No Reflection03. mOBSCENE04. The Dope Show05. Rock Is Dead06. Sweet Dreams07. Personal Jesus08. The Beautiful People09. Irresponsible Hate Anthem

MARILYN MANSON is:

Marilyn Manson - VocalsPaul Wiley - GuitarTwiggy Ramirez - BassGil Sharone - Drums

Manson's new album, "The Pale Emperor", was released on January 20 via the shock-rocker's own label — Hell, etc. — in a joint venture with Cooking Vinyl and Loma Vista Recordings.

Manson collaborated on the new album, his first in over two years, with noted film composer/producer Tyler Bates ("Guardians Of The Galaxy", "300", "The Watchmen"). Bates also joined Manson as a member of his band on the recent "The Hell Not Hallelujah Tour", alongside longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez, Gil Sharone on drums and Paul Wiley on guitar.

"'The Pale Emperor' came from a book that I was given in 2000 by [actor Johnny] Depp," Manson recently told Full Metal Jackie.

"We have each other's back as in we have the same tattoo on our back. It covers our entire back. It was about Heliogabalus, which may be a little esoteric for our listeners. He was the emperor of Rome before Caligula. He was the first one to deny God, and that's a big deal."

He continued: "For whatever reason, I had just opened up all the boxes of my past life.

"I moved into a new house while I made this record.

"Normally, I'd title the album before the album was made, but this time I titled it after it was made.

"I unearthed all of these books and I found this book Johnny gave me in Y2K when I went to stay with him in South of France, because we thought the world was going to come to an end. Instead, we set off firecrackers and bought all the absinthe there was in different countries. I read it and it was referring to this emperor who they referred to the pale emperor and I identified with it suddenly."

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Manson revealed that many of the songs on "The Pale Emperor" were recorded in a single take. "It's dirty," he said, "like the dirt under my nails, like someone who has dug a grave."

Manson will team up with SMASHING PUMPKINS for "The End Times" co-headlining tour. They will hit the road together starting July 7 in Concord, California, and ending on August 8 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Fan-filmed video footage of DIO DISCIPLES' May 1 performance at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland can be seen below.

DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager, Wendy, currently consists of the following musicians:

* Joe Retta (SWEET, HEAVEN & EARTH)- Vocals * Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) - Vocals * Craig Goldy (DIO) - Guitar * Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Bass * Scott Warren (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) - Keyboards * Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC, UFO) - Drums

Goldy in 2013 stated about DIO DISCIPLES: "After Ronnie's passing and a lengthy mourning period, Wendy Dio and the band that was left behind have decided it was time to honor and keep the memory and legacy of Ronnie James Dio alive in the most respectful way possible!"

He continued: "There is something special that happens when a group of people gather together with the same heart, mind and spirit as one another... and that is what happens every night we (the DIO DISCIPLES) perform! I never know when... but I know that it will happen because it always does... some time during the concert, the audience and the band connect and become as one! And with the large speaker system, lights and special performances... you don't want to rely on all the crappy little cell phone recordings that look and sound like shit posted on YouTube!

"I've never lied about anything to any DIO fan and I'm not about to start now! Every time we perform there's always several very special moments that just can't be defined into words! You just have to trust me and come experience it for yourselves! And I hope you do!"

MEAN MAN, the new band fronted by former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes, celebrated the release of Chris's new album, "Shitting Bricks", with a special show on May 2 at at Le Ferrailleur in Nantes, France.

Video footage of MEAN MAN performing the "Shitting Bricks" title track at the Nantes concert can be seen below.

MEAN MAN is:

Chris Holmes: Lead Guitar, VocalsThomas Cesario: GuitarPascal Bei: BassGabriel Candela: Drums

In a recent interview with Noisey, Holmes was asked he was surprised by the attention he got with the video for his song "Let It Roar". "No," he responded. "I think it's just because people are talking trash about me. You know, once it gets on Blabbermouth, they start talking about how crappy it is. They're always gonna compare everything I do to W.A.S.P., no matter what. So they start bad-mouthing it. That's probably why it's gotten so viral. But you know, [the video] is just what I do in [my new hometown of] Cannes [France]. It’s a beautiful city. You see me fishing and stuff. I think one part of the video shows a wave hit the rocks and almost knock me off. [Laughs] It's a neat town. You can't do the same things in L.A."

Holmes also talked about his decision to move to France last year. He said: "My wife is from France. But since I left W.A.S.P. I dangled around in L.A., trying to find musicians to play with, but it just didn't work out. The change of culture in the last ten years… My kind of music isn't played that much — not like it was in the '80s."

He continued: "About two years ago, I pulled into a 7-11, and this kid got out of his car. He wasn't listening to rock. When I was his age, that's all I listened to. That made me realize the kind of music I do here anymore… [He was listening to] hip-hop. And I just don't play that kind of music."

Holmes added: "I was talking to one of my friend's kids — he's in high school — and I asked him, 'Why don't you listen to rock, like DEEP PURPLE or something?' And he said, 'Man, that's pussy music.' This is a white kid. So I thought, if people don't listen to this kind of music anymore, why should I even be here? I'm in my 50s, but I want to still keep on going, kind of. So I talked to my wife and we decided to move. They listen to rock more over here. There's lots more concerts and stuff."

Holmes joined W.A.S.P. in 1982 and remained with the group until 1990. In 1996, Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P. and stayed with the band until 2001. Holmes has not played with W.A.S.P. since.

Holmes in 2013 released a solo album called "Nothing To Lose". Chris composed, performed, and produced the music and vocals, and teamed up with former MOTÖRHEAD drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor to perform on and engineer the effort.

"Iron" Mike Savoia of Savoia Photography Live has uploaded video footage of SEPULTURA's May 14 concert at Studio Seven in Seattle, Washington. Check it out below.

SEPULTURA is currently headlining a North American tour with support from German thrashers DESTRUCTION and American melodic tech-deathsters ARSIS. The mayhem kicked off in Phoenix, Arizona on May 10 and will end on June 14 in Grand Junction, Colorado.

SEPULTURA was joined by legendary guitarist Steve Vai on stage during the band's May 9 performance at the Rock In Rio USA festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

SEPULTURA recently recorded a new song called "DarkSide" for the Brazilian publisher DarkSide Books. The track was "inspired by the darker side of literature."

This is not the first time a member of SEPULTURA has collaborated with DarkSide Books. Back in 2013, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser wrote the foreword to the BLACK SABBATH biography "Destruição Desencadeada".

As previously reported, SEPULTURA will celebrate its 30th anniversary by releasing a special tribute to their fans. The band has asked fans to contribute to the artwork for a new track, and the result is "Sepultura Under My Skin", which will be released on June 5 on colored vinyl. The artwork for this release was created using pictures of tattoos of SEPULTURA fans all over the world.

SEPULTURA's latest album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Pink Floyd’s classic, “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, covered by Steve Lukather along with Vinnie Colaiuta and Marco Mendoza, is streaming below. The track is featured on The Everlasting Songs: An All Star Tribute To Pink Floyd, out now.

Tracklisting:

“Hey You” - Tommy Shaw (Styx) & Steve Lukather (Toto)
“Speak To Me/Breathe” - Adrian Belew (King Crimson) & Alan White (Yes)
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” - Steve Lukather (Toto)
“Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)” - Steve Morse (Deep Purple)
“Time” - Gary Green (Gentle Giant) & Robbie Krieger (The Doors)
“Any Colour You Like” - Robben Ford, Steve Porcaro (Toto) & Aynsley Dunbar (Journey)
“In The Flesh” - Adrian Belew (King Crimson) & Keith Emerson (ELP)
“Money” - Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson),Edgar Winter
“Welcome To The Machine” - Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater)
“Have A Cigar” - Bobby Kimball (Toto)
“The Great Gig In The Sky” - Rick Wakeman (Yes), Steve Howe (Yes)

“Shine On You Crazy Diamond”:

 

To celebrate SAVATAGE upcoming reunion performance at Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany, SAVATAGE and earMUSIC will release the ultimate "Return To Wacken" album on June 19. The effort will contain studio versions of classic songs that the band played live at Wacken as part of their previous two appearances at the world-famous festival: in 1998 and 2002. In addition to SAVATAGE's greatest hits, such as "Hall Of The Mountain King", "Gutter Ballet" and "The Wake Of Magellan", the "Return To Wacken" booklet will offer insight into the band with personal memories by the group's mastermind, Jon Oliva, rare pictures and press quotes.

"Return To Wacken" track listing:

01. Hall Of The Mountain King02. Gutter Ballet03. Believe04. Chance05. Edge Of Thorns06. The Wake Of Magellan07. Dead Winter Dead08. The Hourglass09. Tonight He Grins Again10. Prelude To Madness11. When The Crowds Are Gone

Check out audio samples in the YouTube clip below.

Asked in an interview with Femme Metal Webzine if SAVATAGE has any plans for beyond Wacken for either live shows or new material, Jon Oliva said: "As far as that goes, the whole Wacken thing came up, and I was, like, you know what? If we're going to do anything, we have to do it now. I don't want to do it when I'm 60 years old. I mentioned that to [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA producer/composer] Paul [O'Neill]. He said to me, 'We're going to do the Wacken thing, but let's just wait until the [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA] winter tour is over and then you and me we're going to sit down in January and discuss what we're going to do.'"

He continued: "We've already gotten offers to do it in certain areas of the world, America being one, Greece, South America, places like that. We have to see how we're going to do this. It's something that Paul and I, honestly — and I'm telling you totally honestly — we just brushed over what we thought we might want to do and we said, with all the chaos of getting the winter tour out, we said, let's just wait until after the tour is over and then we'll figure this whole thing out. We know we're going to start with 'Gutter Ballet'; that's all we agreed on. [Laughs]"

Oliva added: "[TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA] is going to come out first for, I think, 40 or 50 minutes doing the big-production numbers, then Paul is going to bring me out and we're going to do the SAVATAGE thing and we're going to start with 'Gutter Ballet' and that's where we ended the conversation and said, we'll pick this up and we'll figure out what we're going to do as far as other shows go and everything like that. As of right now, Wacken is the only place, but I'm sure once everything works out and we see what happens, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of there being a couple more on top of that."

SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon Oliva's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak Stevens, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.

More video footage has been posted online of former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza jamming with the band's bassist, David Ellefson, at Dave Mustaine's house/studio in Southern California in December 2014 as part of what turned out to be a failed attempt at a reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup. The clip, which was filmed and shared by Mustaine's son , can be seen below.

Said Menza: "I was totally ready and excited to get back in MEGADETH. We jammed for the weekend and it was totally cool. We instantly fell right back into our musical groove together. We have great chemistry. It's a magical thing!"

Menza explained to the "The Sick Room" podcast why his return to MEGADETH failed to materialize. He said: "I went out there [to Dave Mustaine's studio] and jammed with [Mustaine and David Ellefson]. We played for, like, a weekend — like, three days — and on the third day, we were working on new songs. And everything was cool. They were telling me, 'You're back in the band. We'll do a press release.' And I'm, like, 'I don't wanna say anything until I have an agreement, a contract in writing of what's gonna happen.' And then they send me this ridiculous proposal stating that, 'You're not gonna paid anything until the touring starts.' So, basically, I was gonna work for nothing, doing the record. Which I was still kind of ready to bend in that direction anyway. But I'm, like, 'You know what?! I'm not gonna break or sell myself short with something that's gonna be huge. They've gotta realize the longevity of it.' And then they were kind of coming back at me the same way. So the whole thing was silly. I didn't even get a chance to negotiate with them about anything. They just put it off and said, 'That's it.' And I couldn't get hold of anybody."

He added: "Believe me, I wish I was doing it, but, hey, it's not meant to be, obviously."

In an interview with RollingStone.com, Mustaine talked in general terms about why the reunion of MEGADETH's classic "Rust In Peace" lineup didn't happen, He said: "Contrary to all the scuttlebutt that's going around, I wish [Nick and guitarist Marty Friedman] the best," Mustaine said. "But their recollections of the events that led up to it and happened after are considerably different from my recollection. But here's the thing — a lot of people, they either love or hate me. If I tell anybody what happened, it's not gonna change the way they feel about me. But it'll probably change the way they feel about them. And I don't want to hurt anybody. All I can say I think they're both tremendous musicians and talented guys.

Asked if this year's NAMM show in Anaheim, California marked the first time the four of them — Mustaine, Friedman, Menza and Ellefson — had actually sat down in a room together since the initial dissolution of that lineup some 15 years ago, Mustaine responded: "I think so. After my arm was injured in 2001, if you remember at that time, we had Al Pitrelli playing guitar with us, because Marty had had a nervous breakdown and had left the band. Then my arm got hurt and I said, 'Look, I'm done.' I didn't touch a guitar for 17 months. My arm was so damaged I couldn't even hold a cigarette. But when I decided to come out of retirement, I did reach out to David and Marty and Nick and talked to all of them about doing this again. But it just wasn't meant to happen. I think there was so much bitterness because of the people that were managing us at the time. If you poison the well, you can't expect there to be an area of clean water anywhere. Everyone gets poisoned. Everyone was upset and they looked to me to blame. And I am responsible for a lot of the decisions that we make."

Drover quit MEGADETH last November "to pursue [his] own musical interests."

MEGADETH's next album will be the band's first to feature Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro, best known for his work with ANGRA, and LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler.

Bassist Chris McLernon has left acclaimed 1990s rockers SAIGON KICK, only three days after the group parted ways with drummer Phil Varone.

Says McLernon in a statement: "I'm leaving my post on stage right. It's been a humbling honor to see you all, and I can't ever express sufficient gratitude for your undying dedication and your love for what we've done. Take care of yourselves, travel safe, and maybe I'll see you down the road."

According to SAIGON KICK, there were "no hard feelings or even musical differences" that caused Varone to exit the band. The remaining members of the group blamed the split on "just life moving on" and announced the addition of Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani, Alice Cooper, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Peter Frampton) to the group's lineup for their upcoming shows in Boca Raton, Orlando and the Cathouse Live At Irvine Meadows festival in Irvine, California. SAIGON KICK is perhaps best remembered for its second album, 1992's "The Lizard", which spawned the band's biggest hit single, "Love Is On The Way". The track reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and its accompanying video was in the top 10 MTV countdown for many weeks. Just before touring for the LP commenced, bassist Tom DeFile was fired and was replaced by ex-COLD SWEAT bassist Chris McLernon. They toured from summer 1992 to spring 1993 and "The Lizard" was eventually certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

In a 2014 interview with Songfacts, SAIGON KICK guitarist Jason Bieler was asked what whether he thinks that a new studio album is going to be released at some point. "We're talking, we're taking our time, we're not doing a lot," he said. "I'm sure at some point we'll get to music, but we're trying to walk the line we didn't walk correctly before. We want to make sure we don't go that road — and I won't name names — but these sad, horrid bands from way before that are playing every pig-in-a-poke barbecue festival for any amount of money and just living in the glory of before. Not that we think we're going to be this new reborn cool thing, but we just want to stay a lot more true to who we are musically and a little bit more protective of what we weren't protective of before, and show the things about us that we didn't really pay attention to. So that's kind of where our head's at, both musically and even performance-wise. That's why we're not doing 300 dates and that's why we're not supporting every band or doing a headline here. Heck, we've done nine or ten shows in coming on two years. So we're just really taking it easy and finding the right opportunities that make sense for us."

German nautical doomsters Ahab have checked in with the following update:

"We're happy to announce that we just finished the final mix of our upcoming album, due to be released late August 2015 via Napalm Records. Role of Die Tonmeisterei will master the CD versions of our new album soon. He already worked for great bands such as Long Distance Calling and Omega Massif.

Olav Iversen of the mighty Sahg sang a cover song with us (available as a 7" vinyl single in a limited box of our new album. Pre-order starts soon.)

Find some pictures of the recording sessions in Rama Tonstudio here.

Find below the pencil scribble of our cover. Master Jerke explained: 

'Here you see the pre-drawing. It was printed on Photo Rag paper – a bit more expensive, yes, but with this I didn't have to transfer the original to the paper. Afterwards I strung the paper on a wooden plate.' 

Beside the drawing you see some inspiration for the lighting. The blue will be the first layer of the acrylic painting."

Ahab have also updated their live schedule, which can be viewed below:

June
3 - Out & Loud - Geiselwind, Germany
19 - Hellfest - Clisson, France

July
4 - Boston Music Rooms - London, UK 
25 - Ragnarock Festival - Wohratal, Germany

October
29 - Elfer - Frankfurt, Germany
31 - Bambi Galore - Hamburg, Germany

November
6 - Club CANN - Stuttgart, Germany
8 - Schwimmbad Club - Heidelberg, Germany

December
12 - Eindhoven Metal Meeting - Eindhoven, Netherlands

More tour dates to be announced soon.

Cult French death metal juggernaut MERCYLESS has unveiled a new song, "Bless Me Father". The track is taken from the "Blast From The Past" split LP, which features MERCYLESS alongside the band's old mates from the French death metal scene CRUSHER, who have just reunited (and will play Hellfest).

"Blast From The Past" will be released via Deadlight Entertainment on vinyl LP, strictly limited to 300 handnumbered units in a handcrafted box by Le 7eme Oeil workshop (BLUT AUS NORD, ARCHGOAT, AMENRA).

MERCYLESS is responsible for releasing one of the most underrated death albums of all time in the shape of 1992's "Abject Offerings".

The band's last CD, "Unholy Black Splendor", came out in May 2013 via Trendkill Recordings. The CD was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö (ASPHYX, OPETH, DISSECTION).

MERCYLESS is:

Max Otero: Guitar, VocalsGautier Merklen: GuitarLaurent Michalak: DrumsMatthieu Merklen: Bass