According to The Pulse Of Radio, Marilyn Manson is joining the cast of the hit ABC TV series "Once Upon A Time". Manson will provide the voice for The Shadow, a being which was first seen at the end of the show's second season and has already appeared in the recently started third year. Manson will make his debut on the season's eighth episode, scheduled to air in mid-November. Show creators and executive producers Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz said in a statement, "We've always been enormous fans of Marilyn Manson. We wanted to cast someone with the vocal ability to make our skin crawl."

The show takes place in the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which its residents are actually characters from various fairy tales that were transported to the "real world" town and robbed of their real memories by a powerful curse.

The Shadow is a mysterious being that kidnaps young children from their beds to take them back to the fantasy realm of Neverland and steal their souls.

The main storyline of the third season involves the cast traveling to Neverland to search for the character of Henry Mills, who has been snatched by an evil version of Peter Pan.

Manson has appeared in a handful of movies and TV shows before, most recently on the Showtime series "Californication" — where he played himself — and the Sundance Channel program "Wrong Cops".

He has spent most of the past year touring behind his 2012 album, "Born Villain".

"Freedom", the second album from SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based heavy rock band featuring Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, ex-MANMADEGOD) on guitar, Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, Brad Barth on keyboards, Anthony Traslavina on rhythm guitar and Ron Redeen (THE ESSENESS PROJECT) on drums, is available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below (courtesy of Noisecreep). The CD will be released on October 22 via Steamhammer/SPV.

SPIRALARMS rose from the ashes of millennial bands SYSTEMATIC, FORBIDDEN and MANMADE GOD.

Friends since the age of 15, Narducci and Locicero bonded over their love of heavy metal and hard rock music. Looking back at that time period, Craig said, "[We were] probably the youngest kids in the East Bay metal scene that were drinking beer out in the parking lot after seeing bands like TESTAMENT and EXODUS play."

Although the two remained friends throughout the years, they both went their separate ways and started bands of their own.

After years of playing with their respective groups, the two friends contacted each other and decided it was time to start playing music together again, and in 2004 SPIRALARMS was born.

"Freedom"'s down-to-earth and very dynamic production deserves a mention. The album oozes a liveliness, which many other bands tend to lose in the studio. "We always work at the studio as a full band," says Locicero. "The basic tracks of the new album were recorded in just about 16 hours, the rest was recorded by and by, but always in the same spirit. From the beginning, we never lost sight of our vision and that special flair which our new songs have."

"Freedom" track listing:

01. Dropping Like Flies02. Hold Me To The Sky03. Exit 6304. Blackmoon Morning05. Drugs & Alcohol06. Dealer07. Lovers Leap08. Tomorrow's Dream09. Freedom10. I Lay Low (digipack bonus track)

The song "Dealer" can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.

SPIRALARMS is:

Tim Narducci - Vocals/GuitarCraig Locicero - GuitarAnthony Traslavina - GuitarChris "Cornbread" Lombardo - Bass/VocalsBrad Barth - KeyboardsRon Redeen - Drums

"What If I Was Nothing", the new video from Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Rasa Acharya and Dan Kennedy of Little Sky Film (SAY ANYTHING, WE CAME AS ROMANS).

In conjunction with Record Store Day, ALL THAT REMAINS released a limited-edition vinyl version of their "The Fall Of Ideals" album (Razor & Tie). Available for the first time ever on vinyl, the LP is ALL THAT REMAINS' 2006 critically acclaimed metalcore classic. The album was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, UNDEROATH) and features 11 songs, including the hits "This Calling", "The Air I Breathe", "Six" and "Not Alone". The vinyl is pressed in a striking blue/black swirl color.

ALL THAT REMAINS continues to tour in support of its 2012 release, "A War You Cannot Win" (Razor & Tie). ALL THAT REMAINS' "Stand Up" single spent three weeks at #1 at Active Rock Radio. This marked ALL THAT REMAINS' first -ever #1 radio single and the group's fifth consecutive Top 10 single at the format.

"False Alarm", the new video from Southern California alternative rock veterans SMILE EMPTY SOUL, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's sixth studio album, "Chemicals", which was released on October 1 on the band's new imprint, Two Disciples Entertainment. "Chemicals", a record vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen describes as "a very raw album for today's standards," is the debut release on the new label. In conjunction with Pavement Entertainment, Two Disciples Entertainment sees the band controlling all aspects of marketing and promotion for the new record and impending tours. Commented Danielsen: "We've been on a different label with every release in our career, and we were tired of not being the priority.

"We started our own label with a business partner who's been a great friend to us over the last 10 years, and found distribution through some other longtime friends of ours. Now we're running the campaign ourselves and we're totally in control, doing what we feel needs to be done." According to the vocalist, fans can expect the same emotional rock the band has delivered since its inception in 1998, but with an evolved edge, sharpened from over a decade on the road.

"'Chemicals' still has our signature sound," he adds, "but it has its own feel apart from our other work." And with regards to the album title, "'Chemicals' made so much sense to us because of the day and age we live in. We're all eating, drinking, and breathing chemicals on a daily basis and there's no escape."

"Chemicals" track listing: 01. Black And Blue02. False Alarm03. Chemicals04. Balance05. Swim06. New Low07. Real08. Sitting Ducks09. Mechanical Rationality10. Landslide

BOSTON's new studio album, "Life, Love & Hope" will be released on December 3 via Frontiers Records. More than a decade in the making, the new album features 11 tracks replete with the classic and beloved BOSTON sound, as well as the latest in the evolution of Tom Scholz' musical artistry.

Diverse and cohesive, the long-awaited album has something for everyone. It fulfils the expectations of BOSTON fans, while exposing a new generation to one of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll bands.

Says Scholz: "These are songs from the heart, each of them taking many months of effort to write, arrange, perform and record, always up to the demands of BOSTON's harshest critic. Me. The songs have been meticulously recorded to analogue tape on the same machines and equipment used for BOSTON's hits for the past 35 years."

In 1976, BOSTON burst onto the music scene with their eponymous best-selling debut album and never looked back. With over 17 million copies sold, BOSTON's hits included "More Than A Feeling", "Peace Of Mind" and "Smokin'" — rock staples that are still in heavy rotation today.

Their second album, "Don't Look Back", was another chart-topper that confirmed their place in rock history, followed by "Third Stage", which hit #1 on the charts, with the top single of 1986, "Amanda". With over 31 million albums sold to date, BOSTON's music has stood the test of time, as evidenced by live BOSTON audiences that spans generations.

"Life, Love & Hope" includes lead vocals from Brad Delp and prodigy Tommy DeCarlo, as well as Kimberley Dahme, David Victor, and songwriter Scholz himself. The new album features tracks that embody BOSTON's trademark guitars, harmonies, and immaculately-crafted sound. "I intentionally stayed close to the early BOSTON style on some of the songs, even using the same amps and instruments; on others I let my imagination run wild," says Scholz.

A beautiful full-color booklet with notes from Scholz and detailed song credits accompanies "Life, Love & Hope".

"Life, Love & Hope" track listing:

01. Heaven on Earth02. Didn't Mean To Fall In Love03. Last Day Of School04. Sail Away05. Life, Love & Hope06. If You Were In Love07. Someday08. Love Got Away09. Someone (2.0)10. You Gave Up On Love (2.0)11. The Way You Look Tonight

"Delusions Of Grandeur", the new album from the Norwegian psychedelic quartet SAHG, which specializes in doom-infused '70s rock, is available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. The CD was recorded at Duper studio in Bergen, Norway.

"Delusions Of Grandeur" will be released on October 25 via Indie Recordings.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Slip Off The Edge Of The Universe02. Blizzardborne03. Firechild04. Walls Of Delusion05. Ether06. Then Wakens The Beast07. Odium Delirium08. Sleeper's Gate To The Galaxy

The video for the song "Slip Off The Edge Of The Universe" can be seen below.

"Delusions Of Grandeur" is a concept record "about a person, whose delusions of grandeur escalate to the level where they consume him completely," explains SAHG's Olav Iversen (vocals, guitar). "From becoming increasingly psychopathic and dominant, he loses touch with everyone around him and isolates into his own imaginary, psychotic world, where he becomes the almighty ruler of the universe. As he stands on the highest peak of his domain and beholds all that he has conquered, he suddenly slips off the edge and floats away, weightless. Helpless and stripped of all power, he drifts further into the open space, until he disappears into the darkness. It's an album about how desire for power and property can distort and destroy who we are."

SAHG's third album, "Sahg III", came out on August 30, 2010 through Indie.

SAHG is:

Olav Iversen - Vocals/GuitarTony Vetaas - BassThomas Tofthagen - GuitarThomas Lønnheim - Drums

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo premiered his METALLICA-centered short animated film "'Tallica Parking Lot" at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on September 25. The soundtrack to the film, which is collaboration with Titmouse Animation studio, has "big, energetic beats as the animations panned through 2D and 3D views of the fans that pre-game at METALLICA shows," according to HitFix. "I wrote most of [the music for] it, but [METALLICA frontman] James Hetfield had a heavy hand in helping me finish it," Trujillo told AMFM Magazine. "It's an original music score by METALLICA. It has some very cool cameos that range from 'South Park' to 'Beavis & Butthead' and Lemmy from MOTÖRHEAD."

He added: "Just like [METALLICA's new 3D movie] 'Through The Never', you're part of the creation of something, and to see it come to life on the screen, especially when it's animated, is really special."

"'Tallica Parking Lot" and three versions of "Metallica Through The Never" will be available on the DVD/Blu-ray and other formats of the release. "Metallica Through The Never" director Nimród Antal revealed that one additional cut of the film is just of the narrative portion to "Through The Never" and has "a completely original," "'Goblin'-esque" soundtrack made by METALLICA and producer Greg Fidelman. The other version is just of the concert footage, with "three to four" bonus songs recorded during those live gigs in Vancouver and Edmonton in August 2012.

"Metallica Through The Never" took in just $3.2 million at the box office in three weeks of release after costing $18 million to make, with the band putting up all the money for the project.

"Metallica Through The Never" opened on September 27 for a one-week exclusive run at IMAX theaters, expanding to more screens around the country a week later.

The band filmed the bulk of the movie at two concerts in Vancouver in the summer of 2012, using a $5 million stage show specially constructed for the production.

In order for "Metallica Through The Never" to be profitable, it has to make at least double its production and marketing budget back at the box office, since theater owners take up to half of the money from tickets. So the movie would have to earn $36 million to break even.

The official lyric video for the song "Boneflower" from AVATARIUM, the new project led by Leif Edling, founding bassist and main songwriter of Swedish doom metal legends CANDLEMASS, can be seen below.

AVATARIUM will release its self-titled debut album on November 1 via Nuclear Blast.

In addition to Edling, AVATARIUM features Marcus Jidell (ROYAL HUNT, EVERGREY) on guitar, Lars Sköld (TIAMAT) on drums, Carl Westholm on keyboards and Jennie-Ann Smith on vocals.

AVATARIUM's first release was a 12-inch mini-LP, "Moonhorse", featuring the title track, the B-side "Boneflower" as well as an acoustic cover version of BLACK SABBATH's "War Pigs". It arrived on September 20.

The official lyric video for the song "Moonhorse" can be seen below.

The cover artwork for "Avatarium" was created by Swedish artist Erik Rovamperä, who has previously worked with CANDLEMASS.

Edling describes the tracks on "Avatarium" in his own words:

"Moonhorse":

Edling: "The first song I wrote. It's about a little sick kid lying in bed daydreaming, and wanting to be out playing with his friends. Lots of dynamics and contrast in this song. Light and shade. One of the best songs I have written, I think." "Pandora's Egg":

Edling: "About the sickness in the world. Collected by the gods and locked in, but now in free flow. Jennie-Ann sings it like a female Ronnie James Dio. Great!" "Avatarium":

Edling: "Very twisted and a bit proggy. To me, anyway. Mainly describes what an 'avatarium' is: a place anywhere, of any size, where you can worship your demi-gods. Could be that singer, a politian, Tony Iommi, an actor, a historical figure, porn actress, etc." "Boneflower":

Edling: "THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS meets BLUE ÖYSTER CULT. '60s pop vs heavy rock… melody contra prog in the mid part. Cool song describing the beauty in suicide. A forest where lovers go to commit unified suicide when the world denies them their love." "Bird Of Prey":

Edling: "I took the London Ripper out of context here and put him in modern day Berlin. I've been to Berlin every summer for a number of years now, and I really like the old 'east' Berlin. It's like what the London Soho was in 1980. Fantastic place with lots of bars, culture, food, cool people and music. Thought it was a nice idea to put the Berlin Ripper there. Yes… before you say anything…. I'm aware of the fact that there actullay was a real Berlin Ripper in the '20s or something like that. A guy having a butcher shop where he made sausage of his victims and sold it to his customers… hu…. Lovely song, though…" "Tides Of Telepathy":

Edling: "Nice semi-progressive track about a guy in a tower with an iron helmet on, enhancing his telepathic waves, sending them like tsunamis of fire to a parallel world they are at war with. Of course he puts his own world into ruins except his own tower. Leaving him totally alone there." "Lady In The Lamp":

Edling: "The beautiful ballad! A girl is trapped by a wizard and is forced to sing for him. If she stops, she dies. Fantastic end solo by Marcus!"

Commented Erik Rovamperä: "As opposed to many contemporary artists eager to express their inner emotional turmoil, my ambitions as a painter stand first and foremost from a lifelong love of hard-rockin' music and the inherently darker iconography of that genre.

"I'm seldom one to channel personal experiences in my art but rather view my work as part of the heavy metal tradition forged by likes of Derek Riggs, Ken Kelly and many more.

"In the specific chase of AVATARIUM, my sources of inspiration have come to include the heretical idolatry of the pre-Christianized cults throughout ancient Europe and esoteric allegories of the late medieval secret societies."

Jidell had the following to say about the birth of "Avatarium": "We are very proud to present the first, but not the last, AVATARIUM album to you.

"When we started to demo the songs on this album, we had one thing that we thought was extremely important: we wanted to make music that was heavy, dark and poetic. Also, we had an urge to make an album with a very organic sound and no fixing and trixing in computers but just try to make great emotional music.

"During the whole process, we have been looking for feeling rather than trying to make everything technically perfect. "I think that everything really came together the first day Jennie-Ann came in the studio and sung 'Moonhorse'. She had everything we looked for in a singer: rock 'n' roll attitude, jazz and blues feel, a big and powerful voice and yet so able to be fragile and extremely tender in her interpretation of the songs.

"If you like heavy, dark riffs and big guitars, emotional, raw and bluesy vocals, thunderous and groovy drums, I am quite sure that you'll like AVATARIUM." "Avatarium" track listing: CD:

01. Moonhorse02. Pandora's Egg03. Avatarium04. Boneflower05. Bird Of Prey06. Tides Of Telepathy07. Lady In The Lamp 2LP:

Side A

01. Moonhorse02. Pandora's Egg

Side B

01. Avatarium02. Boneflower

Side C

01. Bird Of Prey02. Tides Of Telepathy

Side D

01. Lady In The Lamp

AVATARIUM is:

Leif Edling: BassJennie-Ann Smith: VocalsMarcus Jidell: GuitarLars Sköld: DrumsCarl Westholm: Keyboards

"Always", the new video from Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, can be seen below. The clip was helmed by McFarland & Pecci, the company co-owned by award-winning directors Ian McFarland and Mike Pecci.

McFarland & Pecci previously worked with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on the 30-minute documentary "New Awakening", about the recording process for the band's fifth studio album, "Disarm The Descent", and the video for the CD's lead single, "In Due Time".

"Disarm The Descent" sold around 48,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 2 via Roadrunner Records.

"Disarm The Descent" is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's first album with original singer Jesse Leach at the vocal helm since 2002's now-classic, genre-defining "Alive or Just Breathing". Leach returned to the band in January 2012 after a decade-long absence. The artwork for the new CD was created by bassist Mike D'Antonio.

In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect, Leach stated about "Disarm The Descent": "Mike D'Antonio thought up the title 'Disarm The Descent' even before I started writing. He approached me with a concept. Initially, it was 'Disarming The Descent'. After some discussion with him, I said, 'Let's just shorten it up.' I thought it was a great title. We talked about it a bit, and I wrote that at the top of the page and began writing notes from there. It's kind of a concept record."

He added: "[The title is] a creative way of saying 'redemption' or rising again. You're in a state of your life where you're approaching rock bottom and you find a way to pick yourself up again before you hit the floor."

Asked about his lyrical approach on "Disarm The Descent", Leach said: "This album is very different from anything I've written. That comes from trying to develop as a write over the year. I have a project called THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL. The last EP we put out was a total concept record where I wrote a short story and we made an album about it. It's broken down into three parts, and we finished one of the three. It's a continuing story that will tell a story from start to finish, word for word. I thought it was a cool idea because I'd never written that way. I mixed that idea with my own introspective and cathartic lyrics I did with TIMES OF GRACE. It's a culmination of the writing I've done over the years. I wanted to find a way to blend it all together. Vocally, I'm trying to come up with different sounds of my voice and mix the screaming and yelling. I made an effort to push myself with the writing and vocals."

German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell will release his new album, "Into The Storm", on on January 17, 2013 in Germany, January 20 in the rest of Europe and on January 21 in the USA/Canada via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was recorded with engineer and co-producer Charlie Bauerfeind and features Pell alongside singer Johnny Gioeli, new drummer Bobby Rondinelli, keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg and bassist Volker Krawczak.

"Into The Storm" track listing:

01. The Inquisitorial Procedure02. Tower Of Lies03. Long Way To Go04. Burning Chains05. When Truth Hurts06. Changing Times07. Touching Heaven08. High Above09. Hey Hey My My10. Into The Storm

Digipak bonus tracks:

11. White CATS (Opus #6 Scivolare)12. Way To Mandalay Configurations:

* Limited-edition digipak including 2 tracks + poster* Double gatefold LP with colored vinyl* Standard version* Digital download* Deluxe edition including digipak, plec, metalpin, poster, postcard, sticker and much more! Pell recently parted ways with drummer Mike Terrana (TARJA, RAGE) "due to scheduling conflicts with [Mike's] other commitments."

Axel Rudi Pell's latest studio album, titled "Circle Of The Oath", was released in March 2012 via SPV/Steamhammer.

Scottish death/grind powerhouse MAN MUST DIE will will release its new album, "Peace Was Never An Option", on October 28 in Europe and one day later in North America via Lifeforce Records. The CD features a guest appearance by Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA) on one song.

"Peace Was Never An Option" track listing:

01. Congregation02. Hiding In Plain Sight03. Patriot04. The Hell I Fear05. Sectarian06. Dissolution07. Absence Makes The Hate Grow Stronger08. The Price You Pay09. Antisocial Network10. Abuser Friendly (feat. Max Cavalera)11. On The Verge Of Collapse12. The Day I Died

The official video for the song "Antisocial Network" can be seen below.

Comments the band: "This album is by far the angriest yet most diverse one we have done yet. It's the next level for MAN MUST DIE. We couldn't be happier with how it's turned out. It's brutal beyond the word and yet more melodic and memorable than ever.

"With 'Peace was Never An Option', we really focused on the songwriting, which is really important in MAN MUST DIE's sound, [and] seems to be bypassed a lot in modern music.

"All the classic metal is all about the songs; this is what influences us, this is what we do."

MAN MUST DIE are an extreme metal band hailing from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2002 and originally born of the founding members' desire to push their music to new levels of intensity and brutality, the band's dedication to their craft has since manifested itself in a rich touring history, sharing stages with such acts as EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD and DECAPITATED.

MAN MUST DIE has released three full-length studio albums thus far: 2004's "...Start Killing" (Retribute Records), "The Human Condition" (2007, Relapse Records) and "No Tolerance For Imperfection" (2009, Relapse Records). Their music manages to incorporate the heaviest elements of extreme metal whilst retaining an attuned sense of melody, confidently shifting from epic, uplifting passages to pure sickness. Augmented by a keen compositional flair and furious, socially aware vocals, MAN MUST DIE is a highly focused musical force.

MAN MUST DIE is:

Joe McGlynn - VocalsAlan McFarland - GuitarDan Firth - BassJames Burke - Drums

GENERATION KILL, the band featuring EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, will release its sophomore album, "We're All Gonna Die", on November 15 via Nuclear Blast. The CD was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who has previously worked with SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL and SOULFLY, among others.

The second trailer for "We're All Gonna Die" — featuring commentary by Dukes and GENERATION KILL bassist Rob Moschetti (formerly of PRO-PAIN and M.O.D.) — can be seen below.

Commented Dukes: "We called this album 'We're All Gonna Die' because, for the most part, the lyrics are about the darker side of the existence of humans on this planet.

"The album as a whole is so diverse, drawing from our influences that we grew up on.

"We achieved our goal of creating something that we all are so proud of. I personally think this is the strongest vocal performance of my career, and as a band we can't wait for the hard rock/metal world to hear this album."

Added Zeuss: "This album is not an EXODUS clone. This is an album of music where five guys got together an explored our own roots of music, the records we grew up listening to and wrote songs paying homage to what we love."

"We're All Gonna Die" track listing:

01. Born To Serve02. Prophets Of War03. Self Destruction04. Friendly Fire05. Carny Love06. Vegas07. There Is No Hope08. We're All Gonna Die

GENERATION KILL's debut album, "Red White And Blood", was released in September 2011. The CD was recorded at J. Rod Production Studios in New City, New York (where the vocal tracks for EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood" and OVERKILL's "Ironbound" were previously laid down).

GENERATION KILL is:

Rob Dukes - VocalsRob Moschetti - Bass/Backing VocalsJason Trenczer - Lead GuitarJason Velez - Lead GuitarJames DeMaria - Drums

Austrian extreme metallers MASTIC SCUM will release their fifth album, "CTRL", on December 6 via Massacre Records. The CD will contain 11 tracks, including a re-recorded aong from the band's 1994 demo. The effort was mixed at Metalforge Studio by Mike Kronstorfer. The artwork was designed by Isisdesignstudio and can be seen below.

Says the band: "The concept of the album depicts a futuristic vision of the technological evolution and development of society — the need to control and the inevitable collapse of a system!"

"CTRL" track listing:

01. Controlled Collapse02. Dehumanized03. Cause & Effect04. Brute-Force-Methode05. D1s3mb0d1m3nt06. Rebornation07. Perceptive Illusion08. Hyper-Detection 2.009. Create/Negate10. The Vortex Within11. Resurrection

A trailer for "CTRL" is available below.

MASTIC SCUM's last album, "Dust", was released on November 13, 2009 via Twilight Distribution.

The band in 2009 parted ways with vocalist Will due to "musical differences" and replaced him with Maggo Wenzel (INZEST, TRISTWOOD, WATCH ME BLEED).

Wormholedeath/Aural Music Group will release Italian symphonic metal band ELEGY OF MADNESS' new album, Brave Dreams, worldwide in winter 2014.
Check out an album teaser, as well as a stream of the album track 'Sinner', below:
Elegy Of Madness lineup:

Anja Irullo - Voice
Tony Tomasicchio - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Luca Basile - Keyboards, Cello and Orchestra
Alex Martina - Bass
Lorenzo Chiafele - Drums
More on Elegy Of Madness at this location.

Mühlheim, Germany's TOJA have released their new video, for the track 'Take Me Home', featured on the band's fourth album, (Sad) Songs Of Hope, out today, October 18th, via Pure Steel Records sub-label, Pure Rock Records.

(Sad) Songs Of Hope is true to the band's style and convinces with 12 gripping tracks, which all fans of melodic sounds will definitively love. Powerful, sometimes higher vocals meet harmonious catchy choruses and matching keyboard parts; all in the tradition of AOR and melodic metal bands like the later RAINBOW, harder JOURNEY and sometimes PRETTY MAIDS. The album features hard and straight rock-pieces like the opener 'The Storm' or 'Free My Mind' and the more metallic title track, but also obligatory lyrical (half)ballads like 'Day and Night' and 'Waiting', which lighten the album skillfully. ToJa have managed to create a much diversified output which captures all fascinating facets of the genre on one album.
Tracklisting:

'The Storm'
'Into The Dark'
'Lost Horizon'
'Cosmic Ocean'
'Day And Night'
'A Little Folk Song'
'Take Me Home'
'Free My Mind'
'Waiting'
'Rising High'
'Sad Songs Of Hope'
'Don’t Turn Away'

'Take Me Home' video:
ToJa lineup:

Jan “JJ” Thielking - Guitar, Keys, Back Voc
Berny Pezalla - Guitar, Back Voc
Oliver “Ole” Dietz – Bass
Tim Dierks - Drums
Tommy Rinn - Lead Voc, Guitar, Percussion



More on ToJa at Facebook.

Danish doom-infused metal outfit RISING will release their sophomore album, Abominor, on November 4th via their newly-founded independent label, Indisciplinarian. A pre-order for the album has been launched at this location.
Abominor tracklisting:

'The Disdain'
'Reproach'
'Vengeance Is Timeless'
'The Hills Below'
'Leech'
'Suffering Nameless'
'Broken Asunder'
'The Malice'
'Gaunt'

'Vengeance Is Timeless':
'The Hills Below':
More on Rising at Facebook.

With just five years of career and one album released, the Brazilian prog rock/metal band IMAGERY already has much to be proud of.

In March of last year, they did the opening-act show for FOCUS, the progressive rock worldwide legend. The Inner Journey, its debut album, was nominated as Best Heavy Metal Album from 2012 for Premio Dynamite, the most important prize of the Brazilian independent music scene.

Among these and other achievements, perhaps the most important was the already announced signing of a distribution deal with the American label Cleopatra Records that now will make available the album The Inner Journey for North America, Europe and Asia. The album arrives in stores from these three continents on November, 19th.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Cleopatra Records is for 20 years in the music industry and is one of the biggest references in the prog rock camp. Legendary progressive bands like TANGERINE DREAM, HAWKWIND and NEKTAR are also on the roster of the label.

Brian Perera, president of Cleopatra Records, wrote recently a statement where he explains why they did decide to offer Imagery a deal.

"Imagery skillfully mixes classic progressive rock with modern heavy metal. It's been awhile since we've come across a new band that can seamlessly blend genres. After years of working with prog masters BILLY SHERWOOD, Nektar and BRAINTICKET we see potential in the band and would like to help them expand into the major markets of North America, Europe, and Japan".

Imagery is currently formed by Joceir Bertoni (vocal/guitar), Ricardo Fanucchi (bass), Bruno Pamplona (drums) and Henrique Loureiro (keyboards).

The band also recently launched its firs video for the song ‘Start The War’.

After eight years, two EPs and an album that had to be recorded twice, Danish melodic metal band MERIDIAN is finally ready to release their debut album, Metallurgy, which will be released by Mighty Music on December 9th.
Meridian plays heavy metal. Good old-fashioned "no bullshit" heavy metal! Loud and fast. Heavy and energetic. And always focusing on the melody - both in harmonic guitar themes and in the clean and bright vocals. With an age range spanning over two decades, Meridian is a band based on past virtues, but without resorting to pure nostalgia, also uses modern expression in both style and sound.

Klaus Agerbo (drums) and Peter Bruun (bass) founded the band in the port town Esbjerg, Denmark, in 2005. Lars Märker (vocals) jumped aboard the following year and Steffan Pedersen (guitar) in 2009.

Metallurgy has under way for a long time, and the process has at times been a hard struggle. In the spring of 2010, five new songs were ready for recording in the bands own demo studio. The riffs kept coming and the ideas were quickly and easily developed into finished tracks. This resulted after short time in a full album. The band had a strong faith in the material and went straight ahead into recording and producing the album themselves. In April 2011, the recording was finished, but instead of quickly sending the album into circulation, the band took a step back and listened carefully for a while. The conclusion came quickly and everyone agreed: "It sounds good ... but it doesn’t sound great!"

They felt that the songs deserved a better fate and started all over again. That decision caused a lineup change and with the new guitarist Martin J. Andersen on board, Meridian started cooperating with the acclaimed producer Christian Bonde in CB studios. The album was then mastered by Jacob Hansen and finally in 2013, Metallurgy was finished for the second time - now with a sound that matched the quality of the material.
Tracklisting:

'Introminator'
'Between Love And Hate'
'Narrowmind'
'Human Price'
'Frozen In Time'
'The Machine'
'Red Horizon'
'Seeking Immortal Life'
'Only The Strong'
'My Enemy'

'Between Love And Hate' video:
Meridian lineup:

Peter Bruun (bass)
Steffan Pedersen (guitars)
Lars Märker (vocals)
Klaus Agerbo (drums)
Martin J. Andersen (guitars)
More on Meridian at Facebook.

CULT OF FIRE have reveald the artwork for their forthcoming new album, out via Iron Bonehead Productions internationally on November 30th on both LP and cassette formats. The provocative cover art, courtesy of David Glomba, can be seen below:
With the release of their Triumvirát debut last year, Cult Of Fire exploded onto the scene as a new contender well versed in the olden ways. Now, with their second album, Cult Of Fire stand poised to drag those olden ways into a perversely brighter/darker future.

On the new album, the sound is undeniably black metal by definition, but Cult Of Fire shred the rulebook in favor of ancient, arcane texts, speaking in forbidden tongues that dazzle with a certain kaleidoscopic flavor/fervor. Indeed, Cult Of Fire are aptly named, as their attack encompasses coruscating gnarliness and winding, grinding violence, yet their grasp of dynamics spans a dizzying array of songcrafts, often simmering into melody-infused mysticism and patient, doomed-out excursions: not so much speaking a different language from black metal, but speaking one that's an entirely unique dialect. That dialect can be heard below, the first revealed track from the new album:

Belgium thrash metallers PREMATORY have inked a deal with Punishment 18 Records for the release of their new second studio album, Corrupting Influence, and will be released next February. The album has been produced and mixed at the Red Left Hand Studio by Sven Janssens and was mastered by Chris “Zeuss” Harris at the Planet Z Studio.

Corrupting Influence tracklisting:

‘Sledgehammer’
‘Insignificance’
‘Down The Drain’
‘Hold My Breath’
‘Toxic Experiment’
‘Lies Upon Lies’
‘Grave Raiser’
‘Sentenced For Life’
‘Peace?!’
‘Bad Blood’
‘Corrupting Influce’

The CD is currently being recorded. Meanwhile, on Saturday, November 23rd the band will support HAVOK, ANGELUS APATRIDA and SAVAGE MESSIAH at JH Nootuitgang in Edegem.

For more info visit Facebook.

KISS performed live in Chiba, Japan today (October 19th) at the Makuhari Messe Arena in front of a sold-out audience. Check out ‘Psycho Circus’ and ‘Shout It Out Loud’ live below:



Kiss also was interviewed on the Japanese TV show Music Station:



In the footage below, filmed by Keith Leroux for KISSOnline.com, Kiss walk across the street in Shibuya, Tokyo earlier today. The band surprised everyone with their impromptu appearance on the city streets.



Kiss also took part in a Q&A at Tower Records in Shibuya. Footage filmed by Soni Giles for KISSOnline follows:



Catch Kiss in concert at the following shows:

October
19 - Makuhari Messe Arena - Tokyo, Japan
21 - Osaka Castle Hall - Osaka, Japan
23 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan
24 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan



November
8 - Scotiabank Saddledome - Calgary, AB

Ireland’s STORMZONE recently recorded a new song, ‘Coming Home’ as an exclusive track for the US radio stations who have recently been supporting the band by playing tracks from their new album, Three Kings.

Due to the band also receiving increasing airplay on many South American radio stations, the band has now recorded ‘Coming Home’ by singing the lyrics in Spanish. This version is called ‘Volviendo A Casa’ and the song can be streamed below.
Video 'Coming Home':

In live news, Stormzone will support SAXON on three shows next month; details are as follows:

November
18 – Northampton, UK – Roadmenders
23 – Preston, UK – 53 Degrees
24 – Buckley, UK - Tivoli

Boston, Massachusetts-based black/death beasts SOUL REMNANTS will release their new album, Black And Blood, on CD and digitally via Horror Pain Gore Death Productions on October 31st.
Black And Blood is a transformative concoction; thrashing together elements of Scandinavian black metal, old school Floridian/brutal death metal and unearthly mind searing guitar solos. The end result is an overflowing cauldron of blood, which spews forth pure bone-crushing madness. The release comes housed in a high quality 6-panel digipak complete with full lyrics and showcases the stellar Black And Blood artwork.
Tracklisting:

'Chopwork II'
'Cauldron Of Blood'
'Incinerator'
'Symptoms Of Death'
'Dead Black (Heart Of Ice)'
'Rape Casket'
'No Afterlife'
'The Antifaith'
'Reanimation'

'Incinerator':
‘Cauldron Of Blood’:

Check out a making of video below:



For more info visit Facebook.

Former ONWARD guitarist TOBY KNAPP’s one man black metal band WAXEN is wrapping up the recording of a second full length album. The album will be the first Waxen release in seven years following up the 2006 debut Fumaroth.



Knapp has posted a new track ‘Eight The Adept’ and in a new update he writes “You will hear the same riff as in ‘Suicidium’ because there is a theme/concept running throughout the album.”



‘Suicidium’:



For more details visit TobyKnappMusic.com.

Italian thrashers JESTER BEAST has released a video for the track ‘Lost In Space’, taken from The Infinite Jest EP. The video was made ??by the director and multimedia artist Nicola Piovesan, Italian resident in Estonia a filmmaker who created various works in many different styles and genres (short films, documentaries, music videos, animation, stop motion).



His latest music video, before the collaboration with Jester Beast, was created for the cult Canadian band VOIVOD for the song title track off their latest album Target Earth. For ‘Lost In Space’ Nicola used once again the 3D animation finalizing everything to make it appear as a classic hand-drawn cartoon, making the style of the video unique and peculiar, especially considering the hard rock scene.

Mainman of Finnish symphonic legends NIGHTWISH Tuomas Holopainen has posted an update about their new concept album based around the Disney character Scrooge:

“The recordings are over and Tero (Kinnunen, engineer) has been mixing it for the past week at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. I will join him Monday for another week of mixing, followed by mastering with Mika Jussila the next week. Superbly exciting times!

There will also be a single release, with a music clip to go with it early next year.

At the end of November, Nuclear Blast will release a press statement with more details and schedules.

Best wishes,

Tuomas”

To see studio photos visit Tuomas-Holopainen.com.

Nightwish - who recently confirmed Floor Jansen as their new singer - will release Showtime, Storytime on November 29th as a Ltd. 2Blu-ray + 2CD DIGI, Ltd. 2DVD + 2CD DIGI, Ltd. 2CD DIGI, 2LP (coloured) in gatefold and an exclusive Nuclear Blast Mailorder Edition.

Check out 'Storytime' clip from the release below:



Showtime, Storytime contains the entire Nightwish headliner show, played at this years’ legendary Wacken Open Air – the world’s biggest heavy metal festival. The live show in the front of 85,000 screaming metalheads was directed by Ville Lipiäinen, filmed with seventeen cameras and has a total duration of 85 minutes.

The second disc consists of 120-minute tour documentary Please Learn The Setlist in 48 Hours – also directed by Ville Lipiäinen - with no short of drama or overall madness. Also, there is a 16-minute Nightwish Table Hockey Tournament, filmed on tour. On top of this there are two music clips: ‘I Want My Tears Back’ (Live at Hartwall Arena) and ‘Ghost Love Score’ (Live in Buenos Aires).

Check out the official trailer below:



The Wacken Open Air appearance was the first of the three final shows of the band’s Imaginaerum World Tour 2013, which saw the Norsemen and their Dutch amazon Floor Jansen (REVAMP) playing of 104 concerts in 34 different countries with total audience of over 1.5 million fans around the globe.

Mastermind and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen states: “Our darling flying Dutchwoman, Floor Jansen, has been nothing but incredible during her time in Nightwish on this tour, so this is a perfect opportunity to immortalize the current vibe of the band on film! “



The setlist reads as follows (DVD1):
'Dark Chest Of Wonders'
'Wish I Had An Angel'
'She Is My Sin'
'Ghost River'
' Ever Dream'
'Storytime'
'I Want My Tears Back'
'Nemo'
'Last Of The Wilds'
'Bless The Child'
'Romanticide'
'Amaranth'
'Ghost Love Score'
'Song Of Myself'
'Last Ride Of The Day'
'Outro (Imaginaerum)'



For more details visit Nightwish.com.

‘Purple Haze’, live from the Miami Pop Festival is now streaming at this location. The winning song that was voted on by fans to be premiered from the upcoming JIMI HENDRIX live album, Miami Pop Festival, is ‘Foxey Lady’ from the afternoon show. Visit this location to listen to the track.



Experience Hendrix LLC and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, will release, on DVD and Blu-ray, Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin', a new feature-length documentary film, on Tuesday, November 5th.



USAToday.com has confirmed that the film will premiere the same day (November 5th) on PBS at 9 PM, ET. Check out a new trailer below:



Also coming on November 5th, Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival, the first-ever release of one of the guitar virtuoso's most sought-after performances, as originally recorded on site by Hendrix's long term sound engineer, Eddie Kramer. Never available in any form, Miami Pop Festival is being released as a single CD and a limited edition numbered double 12" audiophile vinyl set (all analog cut by Bernie Grundman, pressed at QRP on 200 gram vinyl).

Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival introduces the first recorded stage performances of 'Hear My Train A Comin'' and 'Tax Free' while showcasing definitive live takes on such classics as 'Fire', 'Hey Joe', 'I Don't Live Today' and 'Purple Haze'. The package includes never before published photos taken at the festival and an essay by award winning music journalist and Grammy Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli.

The first ever major rock festival staged on the East Coast, the May 1968 Miami Pop Festival was the first event promoted by Michael Lang—who would organize Woodstock, the biggest pop culture event of the decade, fifteen months later—and Ric O'Barry, who had been the dolphin trainer for the popular television program Flipper. Lang and O'Barry had been inspired by the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, the groundbreaking gathering where Jimi Hendrix, making his US debut, famously set fire to his guitar at the conclusion of his performance. Lang staged the festival at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, securing the Jimi Hendrix Experience as the headline act for the two-day festival.



Recently uncovered film footage of Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival is among the previously unseen treasures showcased in Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin', which unveils previously unseen performance footage and home movies taken by Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell while sourcing an extensive archive of photographs, drawings, family letters and more to provide new insight into the musician's personality and genius.

A pioneering electric guitarist, Hendrix had only four years of mainstream exposure and recognition, but his influential music and riveting stage presence left an enduring legacy. Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin' traces the guitarist's remarkable journey from his hardscrabble beginnings in Seattle, through his stint as a US Army paratrooper, unknown sideman to R&B stars such as Little Richard, Joey Dee and the Isley Brothers and his discovery and ultimate international stardom.

Presented as part of a year-long celebration around his 70th birthday year--the guitarist was born November 27, 1942--the two-hour Hear My Train A Comin' tells the definitive story, illustrated by interviews with Hendrix and illuminated with commentary from well-known friends and musicians including Paul McCartney, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Eddie Kramer, Steve Winwood, Vernon Reid, Billy Gibbons, Dweezil Zappa, Dave Mason as well as revealing glimpses into Jimi and his era from the three women closest to him: Linda Keith (the girlfriend who introduced Jimi to future manager Chas Chandler), Faye Pridgeon (who befriended Hendrix in Harlem in the early 1960s) and Colette Mimram, (one of the era's most influential fashion trendsetters who provided inspiration for Hendrix's signature look and created such memorable stage costumes as the beaded jacket Hendrix famously wore at Woodstock). The film details the meteoric rise of the Experience, the creation of his groundbreaking music, the building of Electric Lady Studios, his state of the art recording facility in Greenwich Village and concludes with poignant footage from his final performance in Germany in September 1970, just 12 days before his death at age 27.

Janie Hendrix, President and CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC and the sister of Jimi Hendrix commented, "Hear my Train a Comin' is an in depth look at the life and legacy of Jimi with his own words as well as the words and memories of those that knew him well and were close to him. His impression on the world through his genius, music and talent continue to magically touch the lives of ensuing generations."

Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train A Comin'" is directed by the award winning director Bob Smeaton (Festival Express; The Beatles Anthology; Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child; Hendrix 70: Live at Woodstock). The expanded DVD features an array of special features highlighted by never before released film footage featuring performances filmed at Miami Pop, the July 1970 New York Pop Festival and the September 6, 1970 Love & Peace Festival at the Isle Of Fehmarn in Germany—the final performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The high definition DVD features new stereo and 5.1 surround mixing by Hendrix's engineer Eddie Kramer.

For more details visit Jimihendrix.com and check out a preview here or below: