U.K. thrashers XENTRIX played their first show in almost seven years this past Sunday, April 14 at the Moses Gate in Bolton, England. Video footage of the concert can be seen below.

XENTRIX has returned to action with a handful of live dates as special guests for KREATOR and EVILE in April as well as the promise of new material!

The band have had numerous offers to reform over the years but original singer Chris Astley always declined and as guitarist Kristian Harvard states "without him, it wasn't really XENTRIX." Astley has since had a change of heart and the promise of recording new material has prompted him to return to the fold and bring back one of the U.K.'s best-loved thrash bands.

Originally thrust into the public eye in the late '80s after their demo received a five-K review in Kerrang!, which in turn caught the attention Roadrunner Records, XENTRIX soon found themselves in the studio making "Shattered Existence".

Of course, their now-infamous cover of "Ghostbusters" remains a firm favorite with fans old and new as does the band's phenomenal second album, "For Whose Advantage?", which is regarded as a bonafide thrash classic.

The band went onto enjoy a short-but-successful career that saw them share stages with SLAYER, TESTAMENT, SEPULTURA, ANNIHILATOR, SABBAT, TANKARD and SKYCLAD before calling it a day in 1996, having become disillusioned with the U.K. metal scene.

XENTRIX previously reunited with their original lineup in 2006 for a two gigs in their home country.

XENTRIX released four albums on Roadrunner Records: "Shattered Existence" (1989), "For Whose Advantage" (1990), "Dilute to Taste" (1991) and "Kin" (1992). They also issued "Scourge" (1996) on Heavy Metal Records with Simon Gordon on vocals and Andy Rudd on guitar.

Caleb Smith of New Zealand's "The Sick Room" radio recently conducted an interview with Chris Astley. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Performance:

InsideOut Music has announced the signing of progressive-rock powerhouse BIGELF. The band's new album will be released later this year.

InsideOut Music head honcho Thomas Waber says about the signing: "We have been talking to BIGELF for quite some time now and I am really pleased that we finally managed to make this happen! BIGELF are an excellent addition to the InsideOut Music roster!"

It's been a few years since we've heard any activity from the BIGELF camp, so who better to explain to us what's been going on than the band's mastermind Damon Fox himself.

"Finally! BIGELF lands on a planet whose atmosphere is synonymous with progressive rock and heavy metal," Fox says.

"One of my all-time favourite quotes is, 'Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid...'

"I'm ecstatic that InsideOut/Century Media and Mike Portnoy have joined 'forces' with BIGELF.

"First, I want to elaborate on what has been happening 'inside' the band since 2010. There have been numerous rumors on the Internet that I fired everyone in BIGELF; this is completely untrue.

"After the juggernaut of 'Cheat The Gallows' came to a halt, the business and personal infrastructure of BIGELF imploded and an unexpected hiatus occurred leaving the band in complete disarray. A myriad of personal, financial and domestic matters had enveloped myself as well as certain members of the group. There also comes a time when deep down inside it just doesn't feel right anymore, and one has to face the music that the end is near. Transparency no longer exists and with that, clarity and perspective are lost. I'm speaking for myself now but clearly this was a mutual feeling and I believe it was obvious amongst the band. Subsequently, Ace Mark decided to move on and left BIGELF in the summer of 2011, and a request by the remaining members for a dissolution of business followed. To put it simply, we went our separate ways without malice.

"I had been keeping in close touch with Mike Portnoy after his very public and difficult departure from DREAM THEATER. At this time, my musical future seemed quite bleak and I was very vocal to Mike about not being able to sustain the band any longer on my own. He implored me to carry on and to not let BIGELF slip away. His encouragement and enthusiasm meant the world to me. Recognizing that I needed some new allies, I asked him if he would help fight the good fight and lend his extraordinary drum majesty to the new BIGELF record and he readily agreed. Also... sharing a passion for all things rock and roll, my good friend Duffy Snowhill climbed aboard the Viking ship for another round of thundering bass guitar and for that too I am grateful.

"I also want to acknowledge our amazing and dedicated fans that send emails all the time saying how they feel about BIGELF. These emails inspire me greatly and they're the reason that I continue to play this kind of music, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't wait for everyone to hear the new wondrous landscapes we've been sculpting, there are lots of surprises around the corner, stay tuned."

The three-robot act COMPRESSORHEAD — consisting of four-armed drummer Stickboy, guitarist Fingers and bassist Bones — presented a new automatic guitar tuner, in collaboration with the famous guitar producer Gibson, at the Musikmesse Frankfurt 2013 fair, which took place April 10-13 in Frankfurt, Germany. You can now watch a video report from NTD.TV below.

"The robots really actually discovered us because we are collectors of new artists and new bands," Borise Loehe of Gibson said. "They like to come to us and like working together with us. And one day the robots knocked on our door and said, 'Man, Gibson is such a great name and we also play Gibsons, should we not maybe work together?' It worked well because we are trying to be innovative and there is a robot technology which we have just built into our guitars, it is a self-thinking guitar which also works with a new technology. So it was clear quite quickly that we said, it all fits together."

COMPRESSORHEAD was created from recycled metal by a technical artist in Berlin, Germany and performs a setlist which includes classic songs from LED ZEPPELIN, MOTÖRHEAD, HELMET, AC/DC and BLACK SABBATH.

"Well, I think it is these special robots which are a bit wilder, a bit edged and angular and also a bit dirty," Loehe said. "This goes well with the music. People are able to identify with this. They had their first concert at a metal festival in Australia and it all fitted perfectly."

Blake Judd of Chicago-based extremists NACHTMYSTIUM has shot down reports that the band is on the verge of a breakup, claiming that a new studio album from the group will arrive before the end of the year.

NACHTMYSTIUM recently canceled all of its previously announced live activities after parting ways with its longtime lead guitarist Andrew Markuszewski and recording engineer/synth player Sanford Parker. In a posting on the Facebook page of Belgian festival Metal Méan, it was further claimed that the remaining three bandmembers of NACHTMYSTIUM had decided to "bring the band to a state of hiatus."

In a recent article on Stereogum, Judd revealed that he was taking a break from NACHTMYSTIUM to focus on new act HATE MEDITATION. "HATE MEDITATION is my main focus currently as NACHTMYSTIUM is on somewhat of a hiatus for the time being," Judd said.

After several sites reported earlier today that NACHTMYSTIUM was on the verge of calling it quits, Judd made an online posting on his personal Facebook page in which he said: "Apparently, some metal news sites have reported today that NACHTMYSTIUM has either 'broken up' or is on 'indefinite hiatus'. Neither of these things are true. The band has gone through some personnel changes in the last few months and I've made the decision to cancel all of our summer tour / festival plans while the band regroups. Instead of touring, we will be writing and recording our next full-length album in the coming months, to be released on Century Media worldwide sometime in late 2013. Also, we have pulled our Facebook page offline to revise and update it (giving it a full overhaul with new photos from the past and the present, scans of interviews from magazines throughout the band's 13 years of existence, etc.) … For the last time and for the record, NACHTMYSTIUM has NOT disbanded and is only on a hiatus in regards to playing shows."

NACHTMYSTIUM's sixth album, "Silencing Machine", was released in July 2012 via Century Media Records. The CD, which is described by Judd as "a fuckin' black metal record," was recorded at Engine Studios with the band's own synths/electronics specialist Sanford Parker (YOB, PELICAN) handling production duties.

"I Believed In God", the new video from Canadian rockers DANKO JONES, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's latest album, "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue", which was reissued on April 9 via iTunes. The re-release features an exclusive, brand new, unreleased track called "Crazy In Bed", which was recorded during the "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue" sessions.

In addition to fronting one of the hardest working bands in the world and writing for the Huffington Post as well as several music magazines around the world alike, DANKO JONES frontman and namesake has also found the time to host a podcast with a growing popularity featuring an impressive set of guests.

DANKO JONES is currently touring North America on a sold-out tour with VOLBEAT on the back of scoring their biggest U.S. radio hit so far with "Just A Beautiful Day", which peaked at No. 26 on the Active Rock chart.

"Our tour with VOLBEAT across North America has been amazing, to say the least," stated Danko. "We're having a blast. The good dudes in VOLBEAT are treating us so well that it's feeling almost like a working vacation. Getting to go onstage with them every night is a thrill and a half!"

"I Believed In God" video:



Behind the scenes of "I Believed In God" video shoot:

"The Death Of Me", a brand new song from the British metalcore act ASKING ALEXANDRIA, has been released digitally via iTunes, Google Play and Amazon MP3. The track comes off the band's third album, "From Death To Destiny", which will be released this summer via Sumerian Records. The CD was recorded with renowned producer Joey Sturgis (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, EMMURE).

In a recent interview with Billboard.com, ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce revealed that the follow-up to 2011's "Reckless & Relentless" will contain 13-15 songs, six of which will be "radio-friendly" while the rest will be "our usual balls-to-the-wall kind of stuff."

"We spent a long time honing in on song structures and writing techniques and stuff like that, but there are still heavy songs on the record," Bruce said. "We're not just going to throw that away and kick our original fan base in the teeth by getting rid of all that. There will still be a lot of riffing and screaming. But we feel like we did find a happy medium between being heavy and then being light enough to be on radio, but still keeping the balls in the song."

Most of the new CD was recorded at Sturgis' studio in Indiana, while the vocals and strings and choir parts were laid down at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California. "On the last one a lot of that extra stuff was all fake; we did it on computer," Bruce said. "This time we wanted to be more organic, so we got a live orchestra conducted by the brilliant Stevie Black (ALICE IN CHAINS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and did all the strings. Then we got a live church gospel choir to come into the studio for a few days to sing over a few tracks. It really sounds special."

ASKING ALEXANDRIA's remix record, "Stepped Up And Scratched", came out in November 2011.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA is:

Danny Worsnop - Vocals
Ben Bruce - Guitar
Cameron Liddell - Guitar
Sam Bettley - Bass
James Cassells - Drums

"Odyssey", a brand new song from progressive instrumentalists SCALE THE SUMMIT, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's new album, "The Migration", which will be released in North America on June 11 via Prosthetic Records. Recorded earlier this year at North Carolina's Basement Studios with producer Jamie King (BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, HE IS LEGEND, FOR TODAY), the CD will feature cover artwork by illustrator Duncan Storr (HAWKWIND, EDGE OF SANITY).

"The Migration" track listing:

01. Odyssey
02. Atlas Novus
03. The Olive Tree
04. Narrow Salient
05. Oracle
06. Evergreen
07. The Dark Horse
08. Willow
09. Sabrosa
10. The Traveler

"The Migration" marks the recording debut of new SCALE THE SUMMIT bassist Mark Michell. The album will be released just days after SCALE THE SUMMIT hits the road with INTRONAUT on a summer North American tour.

SCALE THE SUMMIT's 2011 effort, "The Collective", saw the band tour alongside the likes of PERIPHERY, CYNIC, FAIR TO MIDLAND, THE CONTORTIONIST, THE HUMAN ABSTRACT, PROTEST THE HERO and TRIOSCAPES. Since that album's touring cycle ended late last year, the band has kept busy, with guitarist Chris Letchford launching his own signature series Strandberg guitar and bassist Mark Michell releasing an instructional book.

SCALE THE SUMMIT's third album, "The Collective", sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 39 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The follow-up to 2009's "Carving Desert Canyons", "The Collective" was recorded at Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER).

SCALE THE SUMMIT formed in 2005 while attending the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. The band relocated to Texas in 2006, where they recorded their first, self-released album. After signing with Prosthetic, they issued "Carving Desert Canyons", which Revolver called "a cinematic blast of intricately melodic fretwork and pummeling percussion," in 2009.

In a brand new interview with MSN, MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx was asked about his recent statement that the band's next studio album will likely be the last one and then they will do a farewell tour and call it quits.

"MÖTLEY CRÜE has been the core of our life," Sixx explained. "It's been the reason we have anything at all. The four of us made MÖTLEY CRÜE, and the four of us want to leave it in a way that we feel proud, and not be one of these bands, where we're sitting around going, 'Why are those guys doing that? There's two versions of that band? Why are they doing it? The lead singer is dead. Why are they touring?' We don't ever want to be like that. Through the years we talked about when we're absentee, let's call it. Leave it where everyone's like, 'That was an awesome experience.' We can always forever feel proud about that. We're not there yet. We're going up to Canada. We're doing shows. We're writing music. We're getting everything in line for the movie [adaptation of MÖTLEY CRÜE's New York Times bestselling collaborative autobiography 'The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band']. We're cool. Don't freak out yet."

MÖTLEY CRÜE last year released a brand new song called "Sex" to coincide with the launch of the band's North American co-headlining tour with KISS.

Written when the group was together during their residency in Las Vegas in February 2012, "Sex" was the first studio track from the CRÜE since their June 2008 release of "Saints Of Los Angeles".

MÖTLEY CRÜE will return to The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for a dozen shows September 18 through October 6.

The CRÜE's first Las Vegas residency in February 2012 consisted of 12 sold-out concerts featuring pyrotechnics, aerialists, special effects, vixens galore and tons of hits from a catalog stretching back to the band's formation in 1981.

Iuri Sanson, singer of the Brazilian metal band HIBRIA, fronted Japanese metallers LOUDNESS for their appearance last night (Sunday, April 14) at the Live N' Louder festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Ex-LOUDNESS vocalist Mike Vescera, who was originally supposed to rejoin his former bandmates for this one-off concert, was unable to make the event.

LOUDNESS released its 25th studio album, "2012", last August via Tokuma Communications.

The band last year inked a deal with FrostByte Media for the release of the "Eve To Dawn" outside Japan. The CD was originally made available in the group's home country in September 2011.

HIBRIA's third album, "Blind Ride", was released in January 2011 via King Records in Japan.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS — the Swedish band featuring ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, along with vocalist Apollo Papathanasio (ex-FIREWIND) — kicked off its European tour earlier tonight (Monday, April 15) at Logo in Hamburg, Germany. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS eighth studio album, "Earth Blues", will be released on April 16 (one day earlier internationally) via InsideOut Music.

"Earth Blues" track listing

01. Wise As A Serpent
02. Turn The Tide
03. Sweet Magic Pain
04. Hello Sorrow
05. One Man's Curse
06. Dreamer
07. Too Old To Die Young
08. Kingmaker
09. Road To Madness
10. Dead End Town
11. Freedom Song
12. Legends Collapse

Amott previously stated about the new CD: "I had the idea for this artwork from my time as a child, seeing posters of two young lovers watching a romantic sunset on the beach — just your typical tacky bedroom art in the '70s, really... Also, growing up in what is now referred to with some nostalgia as the Atomic Age — the threat of nuclear war was always looming over our heads it seemed. I wanted to combine these two images of my youth in one paradoxical image and Per Wiberg of Hippograffix (and SPIRITUAL BEGGARS keyboardist) really managed to capture the melancholic feeling perfectly. Earth Blues, indeed."

Regarding the making of "Earth Blues", Amott said: "We started the recording process of 'Earth Blues' with an eight-day-long session at Fat Guitar Studios (Sweden) with knob-twiddler Roberth Ekholm, a truly great dude who really knows how to capture a band jamming live, sadly a rare quality in recording engineers nowadays! We continued with some overdubs at various studios in Sweden, and it's all come together super easy this time. Sonically, I think this might be our finest hour yet. It's a raw, heavy and honest record."

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS 2013 is:

Michael Amott (ARCH ENEMY, CARCASS) - Guitar
Ludwig Witt (FIREBIRD) - Drums
Per Wiberg (OPETH) - Keyboards
Sharlee D'Angelo (ARCH ENEMY, MERCYFUL FATE) - Bass
Apollo Papathanasio (FIREWIND) – Vocals

Pepper Keenan, who has spent the last few years focusing on his guitar-playing duties in DOWN, rejoined his CORROSION OF CONFORMITY bandmates on stage this past Saturday, April 13 at The Metal Fest at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile to perform two songs: "Señor Limpio" and "Vote With A Bullet". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Keenan joined CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1990, but he did not become the band's lead singer until the recording of "Deliverance", which came out in 1994.

In a 201 interview with Blistering.com, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY bassist/vocalist Mike Dean was asked if the band will ever do anything with Pepper again. "There's no firm plans, but there is a firm desire to make it happen," he said. "We had a really good time doing 'In The Arms Of God' and I'm really proud of that album. The only thing missing was Reed [Mullin]. I thought Stanton Moore did a great job. If you're not going to have your original drummer, then it's novel to get someone who's flamboyant to do their take on it. I thought that was a good move. I came away from that thinking that if we had this level of creativity and also had Mullin… that would be a bonus. But yeah, I hope we don't just get that lineup together for shows or 'Deliverance' nostalgia shows, but get it together with the idea of putting out a record. There's some controversy to doing the three-piece. People are like, "Oh my God, no Pepper!" People haven't even heard it and complain. I'm like, "Complain on, you'll see!" There's a good story behind this version, and there would be a good story behind doing the four-piece again."

Legacy Recordings, Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division, in 2010 released "Playlist: The Very Best Of Corrosion Of Conformity", a new CORROSION OF CONFORMITY best-of collection in the "Playlist" compilation albums series.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's most recent studio album with Keenan, "In the Arms of God", came out in 2005 on Sanctuary Records.

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, who feature in their ranks current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., will celebrate their 10th anniversary by releasing a live album on June 24 via Century Media Records in Europe. Entitled "Apotheosis - Live 2012", the CD will contain 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band's "Few Against Many" tour in 2012. With a playing time of 69 minutes, the effort is a great overview of the band's career so far, which consists of seven studio albums. It also marks FIREWIND's final release with singer Apollo Papathanasio, who decided to leave the group at the end of last year.

Stated Gus G.: "Apotheosis = the glorification of a subject to a divine level. That is the word that came to my mind while thinking of how I could best describe the feeling and the vibe of those four anniversary shows we played in our homeland Greece and our last European headline tour in 2012! So that had to be our live album's title. You can feel the energy on these recordings, you can hear the screams of the most hardcore fans and the FIREWIND chants... it's all there. No doubt about it, it's the sheer love from our fans and supporters that has kept us alive and strong for 10 years and we wanted to celebrate all that with this album. We recorded all those shows, chose the best performances and now we can't wait to release this one!"

FIREWIND recently completed an extensive North American tour with TURISAS and STOLEN BABIES. Filling in on vocals for the trek was Kelly Sundown Carpenter (ADAGIO, BEYOND TWILIGHT).

In a recent interview with Metal Assault, Gus G. stated about Apollo's departure: "People following the band for the past few years would know that we've had different session guys at the live shows even when Apollo was in the band because he just had to skip a few tours during the year. So whenever the schedule was getting too heavy for him and he would have to take care of stuff back home, we had to get other guys. So this time, he had to skip again and he was like, 'You know, instead of holding you guys back, I might as well just quit.' I think he did the right thing for him, for us as well, because we can only do that [getting session vocalists] so many times and we're better off trying to find a new permanent guy instead of getting replacements for a tour. So at least now we know that we have to find somebody new, and in a sense it's a bit sad, but at the same time it's some sort of relief."

Asked if Carpenter is going to be the permanent replacement for Papathanasio, Gus said: "We don't know yet. We're not going to rush that decision. We're really happy with what he's doing on stage; he's doing a really good job. But we have this tour and then we have a few festivals back home and then FIREWIND might be on hiatus for a while, so we're going to see what we're going to do."

FIREWIND's latest album, "Few Against Many", entered the official chart in Greece at No. 42 and in Germany at No. 90. Released in Europe on May 21, 2012 via Century Media Records and in North America on May 22 through DisManic, Inc. via eOne Distribution, the CD was mixed by Jason Suecof and Eyal Levi at Audiohammer Studios (TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, DEATH ANGEL) in Sanford, Florida.

Stern Pinball, Inc., the world's leading maker of real pinball games and the AAMA 2012 Manufacturer Of The Year, has announced the availability of the METALLICA pinball game. The newest addition to the iconic Stern collection of rock and roll machines honors one of the world's foremost rock bands. METALLICA's notoriously fast tempos and aggressive musicianship sets the tone for an exciting player experience.

Players will be able to bang their heads and their flippers to 12 classic METALLICA hits, including "Master Of Puppets", "One" and "Fade To Black". Other action-packed game features include an electric chair, snake, grave marker and unparalleled magnetic action.

"We are proud to release our newest music-themed game designed to capture the raw, rebellious nature of METALLICA," said Gary Stern, Chairman and CEO of Stern Pinball, Inc.

Says METALLICA: "After years of playing on Kirk's [Hammett, METALLICA guitarist] machines at [the band's headquarters in San Rafael, California], we jumped at the idea when Stern Pinball came to us with some designs and ideas some time ago. Features will include an electric chair, snake, grave markers and lots of other bells and whistles along with art by our friend Dirty Donny."

The METALLICA game continues both the Stern Pinball and the Stern family tradition of producing quality pinball machines for young and old. The company traces its lineage to Philadelphia in the 1930s when Sam Stern entered the business of operating pinball games. Sam Stern subsequently became part owner and president of Williams Manufacturing, a pioneer in the pinball industry, and passed his lifelong enthusiasm for the game and the business of pinball to his son Gary Stern, who founded Stern Pinball. Today pinball remains one of America's favorite pastimes.

The METALLICA pinball machine is available through authorized Stern distributors and dealers.

* Pro Version: $4,995
* Premium Version (road case): $6,995
* Limited-Edition Version: (Master Of Puppets) $7,595

To learn more about the METALLICA pinball game and Stern Pinball, visit www.sternpinball.com.

PHEROZE, former singer of SCAR CULTURE, is releasing his Ennui EP on April 23rd.
In anticipation of the release, he has premiered a commentary video giving fans insight into the writing and recording of the EP. You can check it out below:
In addition, Pheroze has launched his new website at this location. The site features more information about Ennui as well as a chance to pre-order the EP and get a free download of the song 'The Path Towards December'.

Pheroze shared some details about Ennui, which was drafted in his desire to mesh modern rock genres and offer a fresh sonic perspective. "Ennui is a journey into making my tendency to meld rock genres meet with a bigger resonant sound than in the past," he said. "There are so many monster riffs and dynamic vocal parts in these songs that I wanted to make sure that the production really worked to enhance these elements instead of just being a means to deliver the song. I focused on getting to the essence of each of these songs, throwing out unnecessary parts, and capturing the depth and breadth of emotion in the performances on record. Frankly, after the grueling overtly picky process that went into my last album, Crows Into Swine, the streamlined way I approached writing and producing Ennui was like pure much needed therapy."

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more commentary videos as well as the premiere of the music video for 'Today I Belong To The Dead'. For fans in NYC, mark down Tuesday, April 23rd for a free EP release show at Bowery Electric.
More on Pheroze at this location.

Algy Ward, founder and frontman of British metal legands TANK, has signed a deal with 4Worlds Media for the release of "the definitive" new TANK album entitled "Breath Of The Pit", Due in May, the CD will feature 10 brand new recordings that "will blow your face off in true filth hounds tradition," according to a press release. Algy himself produced the effort, which is being described as "a real TANK album for genuine TANK fans."

Algy's TANK is not to be confused with the other version of the band — featuring Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar alongside ex-RAINBOW/YNGWIE MALMSTEEN frontman Doogie White and ex-BRUCE DICKINSON bassist Chris Dale and former HELLOWEEN drummer Mark Cross — which released a new DVD, "War Machine Live", last December in the USA through MVD. The set, which came out in Europe in November via Metal Mind Productions, features live performances filmed on March 9, 2012 at Stodola in Warsaw, Poland and August 10, 2011 at Metal Hammer Festival in Katowice, Poland, plus band interviews, on-the-road footage and the promotional video for "War Nation", the title track of the band's most recent studio album.

In a 2009 statement to Classic Rock magazine, Ward slammed his former bandmates for taking a version of the band out on the road in Europe without him. He said: "I wish the loyal TANK fans around the world to know that the band playing various European festivals under the name of 'TANK' do so without my consent.

"The band name TANK, associated logos and images are my sole intellectual property and copyright.

"I am currently unable to perform live due to poor health but continue to write and record."

Algy Ward's ReverbNation TuneWidget:

Detroit thrashers BATTLECROSS are putting the finishing touches on their sophomore album for a summer release via Metal Blade Records. The drum tracks on the CD were laid down by Shannon Lucas (ex-THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) following the departure of Mike Kreger earlier in the year.

The follow-up to 2011's "Pursuit Of Honor" was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida and features a guest guitar solo by producer Jason Suecof. Eyal Levi handled engineering duties on the record and ARMORED SAINT's Joey Vera, who mastered the band's cover version of PANTERA's "Fucking Hostile", will master.

Comments Lucas: "Being a fan of BATTLECROSS, it is an honor to be a part of their new record. I can't wait for the world to hear this album."

Added Levi, "I am so beyond excited for the chance to produce Shannon Lucas on the new battlecross record. He's one of the true BEASTS of metal drumming. The man's skills are literally untouchable. Combine that with a badass rising star of a band and I think we've got the makings of a crushing record!"

As previously reported, BATTLECROSS has tapped SIX FEET UNDER drummer Kevin Talley to sit behind the kit for their performances at the New England Metal & Hardcore (April 19) and Orion Music + More (June 8-9) festivals.

Talley, who has also played with DAATH, CHIMAIRA, MISERY INDEX, NOTHNEGAL and DYING FETUS, said: "I'm stoked to play these shows with such an energetic and impressive band like BATTLECROSS. I had a chance to see them play on Trespass America and at the Scion A/V Metal Blade anniversary show and was blown away! New England Metal festival and Orion Music + More are huge opportunities for the band and I'm honored to fill in behind the kit; they are definitely one of my favorite new bands!"

BATTLECROSS has just completed the "Another Year, Another Tour" with IN FLAMES, DEMON HUNTER and ALL SHALL PERISH.

"Pursuit Of Honor" topped the SiriusXM Liquid metal chart, garnered great reviews and earned the band high-profile tours, including last summer's Trespass America with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and TRIVIUM.

DEFTONES guitarist Stephen Carpenter (pictured below) has released a statement in remembrance of the band's bassist, Chi Cheng, who passed away on Saturday, April 13, 2013, following complications from a 2008 car accident that left him in a semi-comatose state. He was 42.

He said: "There are so many things I can say, and yet at this moment, none of it matters or compares to the loss everyone feels.

"There will be a hole in our lives where Chi once was. But that will be filled every day with all of our love and memories we all have in our heart. He will always be here because of love.

"It's time we all give our love and best, and do our best to love. Especially ourselves. Chi would want that for everyone. All our healing will begin with love.

"I love you, Chi."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Cheng was riding in a car driven by his sister Mae that flipped three times after a collision with another vehicle on a road in Santa Clara, California. Cheng was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car.

He underwent surgery to remove part of his brain after the accident, although he was strong enough to come off life support seven months later.

Although Cheng never recovered full consciousness after his accident, he was gradually able to emerge for brief periods of time from his coma and see and hear things happening around him, although he could not respond verbally.

Cheng was also in and out of hospitals for various infections over the last four years, as his family struggled with mounting medical bills. Cheng was dropped by his insurance company just months after his accident.

DEFTONES and other acts held benefit concerts to raise money for Cheng's medical bills, and DEFTONES continued to donate money from the band's own tours as well.

Sergio Vega stepped in to play for the band on tour after Cheng's accident, staying on to record 2010's "Diamond Eyes" and 2012's "Koi No Yokan".

The last record that Cheng worked on, an abandoned project called "Eros", remains unreleased.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of the mysterious Swedish buzz band GHOST performing on March 23 in Birmingham, England can be seen below.

According to SPIN.com, the release date of GHOST's sophomore album, "Infestissumam", has been pushed back a week to April 16 after four compact disc manufacturers allegedly refused to print a piece of artwork that was meant for the deluxe version of the new CD. The manufacturers all took issue with the sacrilegious imagery, inspired by the work of Gustave Dore, which showcases what looks like a forest nymph orgy.

"We kept on getting turned down because of the CD art, which is basically a 16th century illustration of an orgy," a source close to the band told SPIN.com. "[The bandmembers] weren't surprised. The comment was 'Well, I thought this would have happened sooner.' The artwork was meant to provoke some sort of thought, but it's been one obstacle after another."

The controversial art can still be found on both the vinyl and European copies of the "Infestissuman" CD. "Vinyl manufacturers don't have a problem with the artwork. Neither does Europe," the source told SPIN.com.

"Infestissumam" track listing:

01. Infestissumam
02. Per Aspera Ad Inferi
03. Secular Haze
04. Jigolo Har Megiddo
05. Ghuleh / Zombie Queen
06. Year Zero
07. Idolatrine
08. Body And Blood
09. Depth Of Satans Eyes
10. Monstrance Clock

GHOST was forced to modify its name in the U.S. to GHOST B.C. for "legal reasons."

Hailing from Linköping, Sweden, GHOST formed in in 2008. They released their heralded debut album, "Opus Eponymous", in 2010. In 2011, GHOST performed at the annual Download festival in the United Kingdom. The band's fanbase began to swell and not long after added some of hard rock's finest to this group. Additionally that year, GHOST took part in the "Defenders Of Faith III" tour with TRIVIUM, IN FLAMES and RISE TO REMAIN. In early 2012, they embarked on their first tour of the United States and later that year shared the stage with MASTODON and OPETH on their "Heritage Hunter Tour" in North America. That summer the band was invited by METALLICA's James Hetfield to perform on the main stage of METALLICA's first annual Orion Music + More festival.

"Bathyalpelagic III: Disequillibrated", a brand new song from THE OCEAN, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's new studio album, "Pelagial", which is described in a press release as "a progressive musical journey written, recorded, mixed and to be performed live as a single 53-minute piece of music." Mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, WITCHCRAFT) at Fascination Street Studios in Örebrö, Sweden, "Pelagial" will be released as a double CD (including a vocal and an instrumental version of the album) on April 29 in Europe and April 30 in North America through Metal Blade Records.

The concept of the album is made evident in its title, "Pelagial". Listeners will be further submersed as they journey with the band, beginning at the surface of the ocean and plunging through all five pelagic depth zones: epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathyalpelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic. In synch with diminishing light and increasing pressure as one dives or sinks deeper into the ocean, the album begins rather light and progressively gets heavier and slows as the band reaches the unfathomable depths of the hadopelagic zone, characterized by complete darkness and a thousandfold increased pressure as compared to surface level. What is amazing about "Pelagial" is that this is not some detached conceptual idea; this can actually be heard and felt while listening to the album.

Preorders are currently available for a very special acrylic boxset edition of "Pelagial", released through Pelagic Records. These heavy acrylic boxes are available in CD and vinyl formats and contain the CD digipak vs. four vinyl records respectively, as well as an extra DVD with the "Pelagial" movie by Craig Murray, all of which will be "buried" underneath five thick acrylic layers, colored in different hues of blue, each layer reflecting one of the five pelagial depth zones. The layers will be silk-screen printed with additional artwork by Martin Kvamme.

"Pelagial" track listing:

01. Epipelagic
02. Mesopelagic: The Uncanny
03. Bathyalpelagic I: Impasses
04. Bathyalpelagic II: The Wish in Dreams
05. Bathyalpelagic III: Disequillibrated
06. Abyssopelagic I: Boundless Vasts
07. Abyssopelagic II: Signals of Anxiety
08. Hadopelagic I: Omen of the Deep
09. Hadopelagic II: Let Them Believe
10. Demersal: Cognitive Dissonance
11. Benthic: The Origin of Our Wishes

"For Broken Words", a brand new song from Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's tenth studio album, "Construct", which will be released on May 27 via Century Media Records. The CD was mixed by Jens Bogren (PARADISE LOST, OPETH, KATATONIA) at his Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden.

Says the group about "For Broken Words": "This is one of the heaviest and most brooding tracks from 'Construct', so it's a good candidate for the online premiere song position. More music from the album will be presented shortly."

DARK TRANQUILLITY filmed a music video for the song "Uniformity" on Saturday (Saturday, April 13) with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others.

"Construct" track listing:

01. For Broken Words
02. The Science Of Noise
03. Uniformity
04. The Silence In Between
05. Apathetic
06. What Only You Know
07. Endtime Hearts
08. State Of Trust
09. Weight Of The End
10. None Becoming
11. Immemorial (U.S. bonus track)
12. Photon Dreams (U.S. bonus track)

Commented the band: "The selected few people that so far have been granted the privilege of hearing the full album are uniformingly convinced that 'Construct' is the strongest and most exciting DARK TRANQUILLITY album in a long time, and who are we to disagree? While still bearing the unmistakable mark of the DARK TRANQUILLITY, the record is probably our most different and diverse offering since 1999's 'Projector'. For now, we're pleased to share the tracklist, trailer and sleeve design with you, but the first musical preview will appear in the near future."

DARK TRANQUILLITY recently amicably parted ways with bassist Daniel Antonsson. According to the band, "Daniel wanted to focus on his own musical projects as well as working more in his recording studio. Being first and foremost a guitarist, he felt that the playing bass in a full-time band didn't allow him much time for his main instrument and true passion. With this in mind, he chose to follow his heart and step aside at this point instead of committing to another album and an intense touring cycle that would leave little room for other activities."

Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH will release their ninth studio album, "Deceiver Of The Gods", on June 25 (one day earlier internationally) via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, U.K., produced, mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE). The cover art was, once again, created by Tom Thiel and depicts a mythical battle between the Norse gods Loki and Thor. Fans will also recognize a special appearance on this album with Messiah Marcolin (CANDLEMASS) providing guest vocals for eighth song, "Hel".

Comments AMON AMARTH vocalist Johan Hegg: "We feel very excited about this new album, and personally I feel that 'Deceiver Of The Gods' is the strongest album we've ever done. By far! I'm confident that all our fans will enjoy this 'punch-in-the-face-of-a-record!"

Opening title track and first single, "Deceiver Of The Gods" is currently streaming below.

"Deceiver Of The Gods" track listing:

01. Deceiver Of The Gods
02. As Loke Falls
03. Father Of The Wolf
04. Shape Shifter
05. Under Siege
06. Blood Eagle
07. We Shall Destroy
08. Hel
09. Coming Of The Tide
10. Warriors Of The North

Regarding AMON AMARTH's decision to work with Sneap after utilizing Jens Bogren for the band's last three studio efforts (2006's "With Oden On Our Side", 2008's "Twilight Of The Thunder God" and 2011's "Surtur Rising"), AMON AMARTH guitarist Olavi Mikkonen told Decibel magazine, "We were looking for a change, and Andy has been in our thoughts for some years now. After meeting with him, we felt a good connection. We think this is going to be a ripper."

AMON AMARTH's eighth studio album, "Surtur Rising", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Twilight of the Thunder God", opened with more than 11,000 copies back in 2008 to land at No. 48.

The official video for the title track of "Tears On Tape", the new album from from Finnish "love metallers" HIM, can be seen at AOL's Noisecreep. The CD will be released on April 30 via Razor & Tie in North America and on April 29 through DoubleCross (Cooking Vinyl's specialist rock imprint) in the U.K. and Ireland. The "love metal" act's eighth official album was recorded at Helsinki's Finnvox Studios with longtime producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, MOONSPELL) and was mixed in London, England by Tim Palmer, who previously helmed 2005's "Dark Light" and 2007's "Venus Doom".

"Tears On Tape" track listing:

01. Unleash The Red
02. All Lips Go Blue
03. Love Without Tears
04. I Will Be The End Of You
05. Tears On Tape
06. Into The Night
07. Hearts At War
08. Trapped In Autumn
09. No Love
10. Drawn & Quartered
11. Lucifer's Chorale
12. W.L.S.T.D.
13. Kiss The Void

In addition to the 13 new tracks, the very exclusive and very limited "fanpack", presented by Metal Hammer magazine and DoubleCross Records features some not-to-be-found-anywhere-else content. Exclusively available from April 29 for four weeks, it comes with a bespoke 132-page magazine edited by frontman Ville Valo himself that plays as the ultimate sleeve notes to the album, including:

* Full studio album + 2 bonus tracks ("Buried Alive By Love" and "The Kiss Of Dawn" recorded live in the studio)
* Giant double-sided door poster
* Exclusive interviews with Ville Valo and all members of HIM
* An extended track-by-track guide to "Tears On Tape"
* An interview with the architects behind the sound of "love metal" Hiili Hiilesmaa and Tim Palmer
* A detailed guide to HIM's extensive back catalog
* The true, exclusive story of the Heartagram
* An exclusive gallery from the band's own private collections
* Interviews by the band with as assortment of their own heroes

The album's artwork, which artist Daniel P. Carter describes as having come about via "a series of strange coincidences involving Lee Dorrian, sacred geometry and the ramblings of a madman," is revealed below.

HIM's current lineup is Ville Valo (vocals), Mikko "Linde" Lindström (guitar), Mikko "Migé" Paananen (bass), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards), and Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums). The band is managed by Seppo Vesterinen at Hinterland, Inc. and represented for U.S. touring by Justin Hirschman/AGI.

"Tears On Tape" (song) audio stream:

An animated video for the song "The Hangman's Body Count" from Danish/American metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT can be seen below. The track comes off the band's the fifth studio album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", which is likely to sell between 35,000 and 40,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on April 9 via Universal Republic

VOLBEAT has released the video for "Cape Of Our Hero", the first single from "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies". The song has just hit rock radio, while the clip tells the story of a young man who looks back at his youth and remembers his father as the most heroic figure in his life. Guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen told The Pulse Of Radio that the song was very personal to him. "I lost my father four, five years ago and I believe that every man in this universe, you know, they have their heroes and most of us are looking at our dad as a big hero," he said. "And so, of course, I'm singing about a little boy who lost his father, and then at the same time he loses his belief in his superheroes."

Former ANTHRAX member Rob Caggiano, who was a producer on the new disc, recently joined the band as its new guitarist. He replaces guitarist Thomas Bredahl, who was given his walking papers in November 2011.

The new disc follows up 2010's "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven", which featured three No. 1 rock radio hits, "A Warrior's Call", "Still Counting" and "Heaven Nor Hell".

VOLBEAT is currently on a spring tour of North America.

ICED EARTH's first officially filmed headline show, "Live In Ancient Kourion", will hit stores on April 15 in Europe and April 16 in North America via Century Media. This incredibly powerful package will come to you in various configurations and, a first for Century Media Records, also on Blu-ray disc. The limited-edition deluxe book features the main show and a plethora of bonus content on DVD and a Blu-ray disc, as well as the entire concert on a 2CD set (4 discs in total). You can also enjoy the audio version of the full concert in a 3LP gatefold vinyl package or as a 2CD set. A standard DVD and digital audio download will also be available.

A performance clip of the song "Anthem", taken from the forthcoming set, can be seen below.

The setlist for ICED EARTH's August 19, 2012 concert was as follows:

01. Dystopia
02. Burning Times
03. Angel Holocaust
04. Slave To The Dark
05. V
06. When The Night Falls
07. I Died For You
08. Invasion
09. Motivation Of Man
10. Setian Massacre
11. Stormrider
12. Pure Evil
13. Wolf
14. Dark City
15. End Of Innocence
16. Dracula
17. Ten Thousand Strong
18. End Of Innocence
19. Anthem
20. Decleration Day
21. Days Of Rage
22. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)

Encore 1:

23. In Sacred Flames
24. Boiling Point
25. Damien
26. Watching Over Me
27. Dantes Inferno
28. Iced Earth

Encore 2:

29. The Hunter


Since ICED EARTH's latest album, "Dystopia", was released in October 2011, the band has been on the attack in a big way, playing more shows in the past year than in the previous ten years... combined.

Comments ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer: "I feel this is a testament to a new beginning, a new energy and a rock solid determination that will see us taking the music of ICED EARTH to every corner of the globe; spreading the awareness of our brand of metal in a way that hasn't been done before. I've never been more proud of this band, our crew, and the people behind the scenes that are responsible for much of our success."

Early on in the world tour, the band decided that they wanted to capture this newfound energy and passion on film. The biggest question was deciding where to film. There were so many great shows and audiences around the world that it was very challenging to decide which city to choose for this special event. When the offer came in to film at the ancient Kourion Theater in Limassol, Cyprus, they were immediately attracted to that idea. The history and culture there, as well as the Cypriot audience, which the band experienced in December 2011, solidified the decision to film the DVD in Cyprus. Filming and recording a two-and-a-half-hour show in an amphitheater that is 6000 years old and is not set up for a rock concert, paired with 40-degree-Celsius heat, were just some of the obstacles to overcome. But the finished product makes up for any of the challenges that the band and crew faced on that special night.

"Anthem" performance (video):

Fan-filmed video footage MAIDEN UNITED, the all-acoustic IRON MAIDEN tribute project featuring Damian Wilson (THRESHOLD, HEADSPACE) and Ruud Jolie (WITHIN TEMPTATION), performing the song "Remember Tomorrow" on April 13 at Lakei in Helmond, The Netherlands can be seen below. The song was dedicated to former IRON MAIDEN drummer Clive Burr, who died on March 12 in his sleep at his home at the age of 56 after suffering from multiple sclerosis for many years. MAIDEN UNITED's lineup for this show featured Stef Broks (TEXTURES) on drums and Huub van Loon (DEARWORLD) on piano.

Clive joined MAIDEN in 1979 and performed on the first three albums — "Iron Maiden" (1980), "Killers" (1981) and "The Number Of The Beast" (1982). Prior to that, he was a member of SAMSON, the band Bruce Dickinson fronted before he, too, joined MAIDEN.

MAIDEN UNITED's latest album, "Across The Seventh Sea", was released on September 28, 2012 on CD, iTunes and limited-edition black-and-blue transparent vinyl. The cover artwork for the CD was once again created by Blacklake, who also worked with MAIDEN UNITED on their first studio album, 2010's "Mind The Acoustic Pieces".

"Mind The Acoustic Pieces" was described as "an acoustic re-imagining of the entire classic IRON MAIDEN album "Piece Of Mind" with new arrangements."

For more information, go to www.MaidenuniteD.com.

The official lyric video for the new single "Stone" from ALICE IN CHAINS can be seen below. The track is available as an instant download by pre-ordering ALICE IN CHAINS' new album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", on iTunes.

"Stone" follows the album's hugely successful first single "Hollow", which hit No. 1 on both the Mainstream and Active Rock radio charts, while its companion video has amassed more than a million views on YouTube.

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is scheduled for release on May 28. The CD was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, DEFTONES). ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell recently told Rolling Stone that the effort is "a unique record that's completely different from anything we ever did," adding, "The band is moving ahead in new territory that we haven't been to before, but we haven't lost our identity." The Pulse Of Radio asked Cantrell to talk more about the band's evolution on its fifth studio effort. "The cool thing about record is it's a snapshot of time, of that group of individuals," he said. "And when you line up all of those records back to back, you can see where the band changes, evolves, you can maybe feel what they're going through, you know, and I think you could probably say that with all of our records. You can get a pretty good snapshot of what's going on there and, you know, we're in a different place now."

Cantrell told Revolver magazine that the title track's lyrics take on the beliefs of certain organized religions, saying, "What I've seen is the most basic message to most faith systems is in contradiction with how it gets applied . . . It always amazes me that some of the most hateful and hurtful things are done in the name of some sort of belief system."

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is ALICE IN CHAINS' second with William DuVall on vocals. It follows up 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue", the group's first all-new collection of material in 14 years and first since the 2002 death of original singer Layne Staley.

"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" track listing:

01. Hollow
02. Pretty Done
03. Stone
04. Voices
05. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
06. Lab Monkey
07. Low Ceiling
08. Breath On A Window
09. Scalpel
10. Phantom Limb
11. Hung On A Hook
12. Choke

ALICE IN CHAINS will hit the road on a spring trek that starts on April 25 in Miami Beach and includes headlining slots at the Rocklahoma, Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville and Rock On The Range festivals.

A person going by the online handle "TheSorceressKnight" at BLABBERMOUTH.NET has unveiled two additional images hidden in the cover artwork for the album.

When loaded into Photoshop, the main picture of a dinosaur skull reveals first a mirror image of that photo, and then underneath both what looks like a skull belonging to a demon or devil.

"Stone" lyric video:

Frontiers Records will release a brand new — all-original — studio album from Norwegian hard rock singer Jorn Lande, "Traveller", on on June 11 in North America and June 14 in Europe.

Considered one of the greatest legends in rock, and by many as the best male rock singer of the millennium, Lande never seems to stop producing music, and is back with yet another slab of classic first-division heavy rock. "Traveller" is definitely a suitable title to fit this gifted and creative viking's extreme productivity.

During his almost-30-year-long career, his albums have sold millions. He managed to release close to 40 albums with various bands/projects in the past decades, and "Traveller" is his eighth studio album under the Jorn banner. Some say he has passed his successors by his gift of being versatile, and ability to not get stuck in the political frames of the music business. A true independent "freebird" hammering his legacy in stone as he goes, with a band of grounded and solid craftsmen to back up his hurricane force voice.

This album represents the first product of the pairing of Jorn Lande and the new JORN guitarist Trond Holter (WIG WAM, DREAM POLICE). The result is eleven new songs encompassing a variety of moods and styles, with Lande's voice shining through memorable anthems, backed by wonderful grooves and tightly-executed classic and melodic heavy metal. "This album has all the elements of the Jorn legacy," says Lande. "It is heavy, but still very melodic and experimental, and it really rocks! As usual we haven't spent much time analyzing the material before recording it, this is an album about life, doom and death reflecting on what I know and thoughts about what I don't."

"Traveller" track listing:

01. Overload
02. Cancer Demon
03. Traveller
04. Window Maker
05. Make Your Engine Scream
06. Legend Man
07. Carry The Black
08. Rev On
09. Monsoon
10. The Man Who Was King

You can sample four songs from the album in the YouTube clip below.

JORN is:

Jorn Lande: Vocals
Willy Bendiksen: Drums
Trond Holter: Guitar
Jimmy Iversen: Guitar
Bernt Jansen: Bass