North Eastern Ohio-based progressive heavy metal band SHADES OF REMEMBRANCE will release their second full length CD, Veil, on April 26th. There will be a CD release show on that date at the Rock City Tap House, in Parma, Ohio.
Shades Of Remembrance was formed when Elm Burgess and Al Bauhof stepped away from their neoclassical instrumental band and started to write more progressive music with vocals. Elm’s brother Calvin, joined on rhythm guitar/vocals. Finally, Todd Martin joined on drums/percussion to complete the S.O.R. sound. Calvin Burgess is formally of the band CHEMIKILL, a well- known Cleveland based power metal band in the late 80s. Calvin switched from bass to guitar for the chance to perform with his brother and close friends.
Shade of Remembrance’s material is full of energy and emotion. Driving drums and bass, countered with progressive guitar parts and shredding leads complete the sound. Vocals are reminiscent of FATES WARNING, IRON MAIDEN, DREAM THEATER, and QUEENSRYCHE. Calvin’s vocals have also brought a harder edge to the S.O.R. sound. A couple of tracks grind into the depths of old school thrash metal.
Shades Of Remembrance is:

Elm “Peppo” Burgess - Bass/Lead Vocals
Al Bauhof - Lead Guitar
Calvin Burgess - Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
Todd Martin - Drums/Percussion

A video for the track 'Pain' can be seen below. More on the band at this location.

IN THIS MOMENT have confirmed more summer shows in Europe. After supporting HALESTORM in the UK in March, they are coming back for summer festivals and selected shows in June.
Catch In This Moment live at the following shows:

June
8 - Nürnberg, Germany - Rock im Park
9 - Nürburgring, Germany - Rock am Ring
14 - Donington Park, UK - Download
19 - Manchester, UK - Academy 1 (with Danzig)
21 - Helsinki, Finland - Nummirock
24 - London, UK - Roundhouse (with Danzig)
28 - Dessel, Belgium - Graspop
29 - Spalene Porici, Czech Republic - Basinfire Festival

Just in time for their upcoming run, In This Moment will re-release their album, Blood, that will come as a 2CD for a fan-friendly price. CD2 of"Blood (Re-Issue + Bonus) will be out June 3rd and has the following tracks added:

'Closer'
'Blood' (Sluggo Remix)
'Adrenalize' (Mr. Kane Remix)
'Whore' (Nikka Bling Remix)
'The Blood Legion' (Mitch Marlow Remix)
In This Moment have released an official video for their new single 'Adrenalize', out now and also featured on Blood. The video was shot in Eastern Los Angeles at one of the most haunted locations in the country, the abandoned Linda Vista Hospital. Directed by Robert John Kley, the video takes fans on an eerie journey with In This Moment throughout the hospital, that was officially shut down in 1991.

The new clip, as well as the track's lyric video, can be seen below:
The band shot the video for 'Adrenalize' back in February. Vocalist Maria Brink stated: "There are no words to express how grateful I am for the creative process of shooting our new 'Adrenalize' video. It was a weekend long deal and so rewarding; by far our best video ever and best piece of visual art we have created! So excited for you all to see it and be a part of it! Big things are happening more every day!"

Leipzig, Germany-based opera metal act MOLLLUST have released a new live video, filmed on March 17th in Leipzig. Watch the footage below:
Molllust lineup:

Janika Groß - vocals, piano
Frank Schumacher - e-guitar, vocals
Sandrine B. - e-violin
Lisa H. - cello
Johannes Hank - bass
Tommaso Soru - drums
More on Molllust at this location.

One year after the release of their debut Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction), North German melodic death metallers BURIAL VAULT are back with their second album.
With Incendium, the quintet is about to release more than an ordinary album. Inspired by Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 the band developed a concept that embodies a metamorphosis of a human in an inconvenient future both on musical as on textual level. This dynamic and diverse album reaches from acoustic passages to eruptions of black metal blast-beats and slow death metal attacks. Inendium was recorded at Soundlodge Studios by Jorg Uken (GOD DETHRONED, DEW-SCENTED, DEFEATED SANITY) and features artwork from Ben Borucki (AGATHODAIMON, SUICIDE SILENCE).

Incendium is set for a May 24th release on Apostasy Records.
Tracklisting:

Chapter I:
'The Stench Of Burning Thoughts'
'A Blind Follower And A Watchful Hound'

Chapter II:
'Soil & Green'
'Peculiar'
'The Nightly Horror'
'Prelude To Peripety'
'Fatal Accident'

Chapter III:
'Struggling Doubt'
'Moment Of Truth'
'Awareness'

Chapter IV:
'Surveillance Web'
'Catharsis'
'Black Into White'

More on Burial Vault at this location.

Swedish grind guerillas EXHALE have revealed the artwork and tracklisting for their third full-length effort, When Worlds Collide.
Dutch illustrator Dennis Sibeijn (SLAYER, EXODUS, ABORTED) was chosen to put the band's visual aspect of When Worlds Collide into the most twisted and modernistic form possible. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Hoborec Studios with Ulf Blomberg handling production duties.
Tracklisting:

'Wrath Unleashed'
'Avsky'
'Apocalypse'
'Machinery'
'Barriers Of Blood'
'Monuments Of The Dead'
'Concealed Within'
'Till Slakt'
'Glorify The Dumb'
'Vigilante'
'In This Valley'
'Etiketter'
'Illusions'
'Left Inside'

When Worlds Collide is due out this year on Pulverised Records.

Exhale recently released a video for 'Wrath Unleashed', the opening track from When Worlds Collide. The music video was filmed and directed by acclaimed Swedish videographer Daniel Falk from FramedNoise.com. Check it out below:
Exhale is:

Martin Brzezinski - Vocals
Johan Wold Ylenstrand - Guitar
Gustav Elowson - Drums
Johan Fogelberg - Bass
Andreas Allenmark - Guitar
More on Exhale at this location.

It's a struggle for some bands to get started, while others appear to seamlessly come together. With years of perspective and experience, the three members of PYRITHION - Tim Lambesis, Ryan Glisan, and Andy Godwin - have created a dark and intense death metal record almost overnight. The individual members' prior success aside, the music speaks for itself. A brand new guitar demonstration video for The Invention of Hatred has been made available on-line.
Check out the video below:

Ryan Glisan adds: "In cooperation with Jackson Guitars, I have decided to start doing a series of demonstration videos as well as Youtube lessons and product demos, so to start, here is a quick play-through demonstration video of the Pyrithion song ‘The Invention of Hatred’ off our upcoming EP, The Burden of Sorrow, which we will be releasing via Metal Blade Records April 16.

Pyrithion's debut release, The Burden of Sorrow, stands as a showcase of what the members are capable of putting together over what merely amounted to an extended weekend. The total potential in Pyrithion is incredible and there is much anticipation for how the band will continue to develop as they prepare for a full length record.

Check out a lyric video for 'The Invention Of Hatred' below:

Danish thrash metal band ESSENCE released their new album, Last Night Of Solace, on March 29th via NoiseArt Records.

On April 17the the record is going to be officially released in Japan as well as some other Asian countries through Spiritual Beast. This edition will include three exclusive bonus tracks and the front artwork is going to be the cover by Eliran Kantor (below):
Commented the band: "It is an amazingly huge honor for us to release an album in Japan and other parts of Asia! We sincerely hope that the metal heads in Asia will come to like our album and have as much fun with it as we had recording it. One of our dreams is to play over there and with this release we are one step closer to visiting our fellow music lovers in the far East!"

Tracklisting the Japan edition of Last Night Of Solace:

'Intro'
'Final Eclipse'
'Arachnida'
'For The Fallen'
'Children Of Rwanda'
'Gemstones'
'Dark Matter'
'Last Night Of Solace'
'Opium'
'Fractured Dimension'
'Blood Culture' – Live at Roskilde 2011 (Bonus Track)
'Children of Rwanda' – Live at Roskilde 2011 (Bonus Track)
'Lost In Violence' – Live at Roskilde 2011 (Bonus Track)

Order the Japan edition here.
The album (European artwork above) was recorded at Abyss Studio with legendary Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tägtgren.

Watch the album trailer below:
Essence European dates with HYPOCRISY and HATE include:

April
10 - Krakau, Poland - Kwadrat
11 - Prague, Czech Republic - Nova Chmelnice
12 - Dettelbach, Germany - Metal Franconia Festival
13 - München, Germany - Backstage
14 - Wien, Austria - Szene

Finnish thrash metal act MY FUNERAL will release their sophomore album, Thrash Destruction, on April 19th via Violent Journey Records.

Thrash Destruction was recorded in the band's new rehearsal space in Jyväskylä. Producing, mixing and engineering was Tero Kangasmaa. Studio57 did the mastering. The album artwork can be seen below:
Thrash Destruction tracklisting:

'Into The Fire'
'Thrash Winter'
'Manhunting Season'
'Thrashman Standing'
'Alcoholic Madness'
'Satanic Black Magic'
'Deathrash Till Death'
'Killing Spree'
'Slay Them All'
'Thrash Destruction'

Preview the album via a full stream at this location.

Pre-order worldwide at this location.

Listen to 'Into The Fire' and 'Alcoholic Madness' below:





Vocalist/bassist Ilkka Sepponen states: "After the debut our second guitarist left the band. Once the new one was found our bass player decided to depart. Well, for a while we just had fun and trained the new songs. Pretty soon it was clear that I should take the bass. With the four of us the band emerged anew and I really feel that this is our real debut. It reeks of beer and havoc as does our rehearsals and gigs!"

My Funeral lineup:

Ilkka Sepponen - Vocals/Bass
Joonas Kiviniemi - Guitars
Aku Korhonen - Guitars
Hannu Sivusuo - Drums

More on My Funeral at this location.

DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng died earlier today (Saturday, April 13) at the age of 42. The musician had been in a semi-comatose state for more than four years after being seriously injured in a car accident in November 2008. In addition to not recovering full consciousness, Cheng had been in and out of hospitals for various infections as his family has struggled with the mounting costs of care since he lost his health insurance a few months after the accident.

Cheng's mother has released the following statetement regarding his passing:

"Our dearest family,

"This is the hardest thing to write to you.

"Your love and heart and devotion to Chi was unconditional and amazing. I know that you will always remember him as a giant of a man on stage with a heart for every one of you.

"He was taken to the emegency room and at 3 a.m. today his heart just suddenly stopped. He left this world with me singing songs he liked in his ear.

"He fought the good fight.

"You stood by him sending love daily. He knew that he was very loved and never alone.

"I will write more later.

"I will be going through the Oneloveforchi.com [charity web site made in dedication of his memory] and any other information may not be reliable.

"If you have any stories or messages to share, please send them to the Onelove site.

"Please hold Mae and Ming and the siblings, and especially Chi's son, Gabriel, in your prayers.

"It is so hard to let go.

"With great love and much respect, Mom J (and Chi)."

Cheng required surgery after the car accident to remove part of his brain, but his recovery was strong enough that he was taken off life support seven months later.

Over the course of the past couple of years, Cheng emerged from his coma for brief intervals. He was able to open his eyes and apparently could see and hear things going on around him, but could not respond verbally.

DEFTONES have held several benefit concerts and continued to donate money from the band's tours. Singer Chino Moreno said that the group's fans have continued to help as well. "Whatever people can do, it's all appreciated, and it's all just in the hopes that there will be one day where he can talk back and have a conversation and see his kids and, you know, continue on living, you know," he said. "That's what we pray and hope for, you know what I mean, that's all we can do."

Sergio Vega continues to play bass for the band. Vega stepped in for touring purposes after Cheng's accident, and stayed on to record 2010's "Diamond Eyes" and last year's "Koi No Yokan" with the group.

Harald "Lee Tarot" Spengler, the original guitarist for legendary German metallers STORMWITCH, died on April 11 at the age of 50 after suffering a stroke.

Spengler was a member of STORMWITCH from 1979 to 1989 and he appeared on the band's first five releases: "Walpurgis Night" (1984), "Tales Of Terror" (1985), "Stronger Than Heaven" (1986), "The Beauty And The Beast" (1988) and "Eye Of The Storm" (1989)

STORMWITCH released the following message regarding Spengler's passing: "[On Thursday] we got the message that Harald Spengler (Lee Tarot) had a stroke. We are very sad about this message. Our thoughts are with it, his family and members."

Formed in 1979 under the name LEMON SYLVAN, STORMWITCH's lyrics often focused on fantasy, occult and historical themes. They performed at Wacken Open Air festival in 2002. Over time, they changed their sound from a JUDAS PRIEST-esque style of heavy metal to a more keyboard-based form of power metal.

Bassist Slawomir "Mortifer" Archangielskij of Polish extreme metallers HATE died in his sleep on April 6 after suffering from a cardiac arrhythmia. The 27-year-old suffered from an irregular heartbeat and died of natural causes, according to a posting on the band's Facebook page. The group adds: "It is also known that Slawek suffered from asthma and had problems with breathing whilst asleep (obstructive sleep apnea)."

Says HATE: "His family would like to thank everybody who helps and supports them in this tragic moment with the following words:

"We would like to thank for sympathy, love and any kind of support that we have been given by Slawek's friends from the bands HATE, NAUMACHIA and SALTUS. We also would like to thank the band HYPOCRISY for their attitude and support, which is very much appreciated. Great thanks to all kind people in Poland and all over the world whose moving goodwill helps us so much in this hard moment.

"We inform that the last farewell to Slawek will take place on April 16th in Cmentarz Polnocny (Wolka Weglowa) at 11.30 in hall B. Between 12.15 and 12.45 Slawek's body will be shown in the Farewell Hall. His ashes will be buried on 17th April at Czerniakowski Cemetary in Sadyba (Warsaw)."

Quality video footage of HATE's March 31 performance at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands can be seen below (courtesy of "letthedeathmetalflow").

Archangielskij joined HATE in January 2007 and appeared on 2010's "Erebos" and 2013's "Solarflesh" albums.

HATE's "Solarflesh" CD was released in North America on February 5 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2010's "Erebos" was recorded at Sound Division Studio in Warsaw with Filip "Heinrich" Halucha (VESANIA, DECAPITATED) and Arek "Malta" Malczewski (BEHEMOTH's sound guy). The effort was mixed at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland with producers Slawek and Wojtek Wieslawski (DECAPITATED, VADER).

Jack Osbourne, the son of BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, has filed a video report for Fuse on the invite-only listening party for the band's new album, "13" — the first in 35 years to feature Ozzy, bassist Geezer Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi — which was held on Wednesday (April 10) at The Montalban in Los Angeles, California. The three-minute clip, which includes an interview with all three musicians, can be seen below.

Asked if there was any sort of trepidation about recording a new album, Ozzy replied: "The pressure was on us, because it had been so long since we'd worked together. It's, like, now or never. This album, for me, was probably the most important of my career." Iommi stated about the writing process for the LP: "I had a bunch of riffs on CDs and played it to everybody, and then everybody decided, 'We like this one' or 'We don't like that,' and the ones we liked, we started work on them, built them up."

Jack also asked SABBATH if they had any apprehensions about working with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who is notorious for being very "in and out" of the studio while records are being made. "It was funny at first, because coming to rehearsals, when we were actually writing the songs, he'd come down for like, five or ten minutes and then go," Iommi said. "Then he'd go, 'Call me when you've got another one.' So it was really strange. We'd never worked with anybody like that before."

Ozzy, Tony and Geezer surprised a crowd of fans and journalists by showing up unannounced at the end of the listening party. According to The Pulse Of Radio, the three bandmembers were greeted with cheers and thanked the audience for listening to the eight tracks aired at the event, which was introduced earlier in the evening by Jack.

Loudwire noted the "bluesy," groove-oriented and heavy feel of the songs, saying, "Upon first listen, it's clear that BLACK SABBATH's '13' will be a standout metal album of 2013. Fans will hear a lot of what has made the band legends in the first place while experiencing the freshness of some new music."

"13" is due out June 11 on Vertigo/Republic. This marks BLACK SABBATH's return to Vertigo, their original label, and the group's first studio album together since 1978's "Never Say Die!" They have sold more than 70 million albums together.

Ozzy told an Australian radio station that "13" is "mind-blowing," adding, "It's better than my wildest dreams; it's so good."

The drum tracks on the album were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk following original drummer Bill Ward's decision to bow out of the reunion.

BLACK SABBATH will make a rare television appearance when the band performs a new song on the season finale of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation". The episode is set to air on Wednesday, May 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET on CBS-TV. The band will world premiere a song called "End Of The Beginning" from "13". The episode's plot follows the "CSI" team as they investigate a series of murder that resemble the sins in "Dante's Inferno", with the trail leading the detectives played by Ted Danson and Marc Vann to attend a SABBATH concert.

Brazilian vocalist, keyboard player and composer André Matos (ANGRA, SHAMAN, VIPER) was recently interviewed by the Brazilian radio show "Heavy Nation" (web site), which airs on Radio UOL. Matos was promoting the tour in support of his third solo record, "The Turn Of The Lights", which included a performance of ANGRA's entire "Angels Cry" album, released exactly 20 years ago.

"Angels Cry" was Matos' first album with ANGRA, which had just formed a few months earlier. The vocalist, despite his young age, had already recorded two successful LPs with the band VIPER and studied classical piano, composition and conducting.

Besides recording vocals and keyboards for all tracks on "Angels Cry", Matos was the writer and arranger of nine out of ten tracks on the album, including "Carry On", which became a worldwide heavy metal hit. With its cutting-edge combination of power and progressive metal, classical music rhythm and elements, "Angels Cry" became a huge international success and established ANGRA as one of the top power metal bands of the 1990s.

Matos left ANGRA in 2000 and was replaced by Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi, who appeared on the band's last four studio albums — 2001's "Rebirth", 2004's "Temple Of Shadows", 2006's "Aurora Consurgens" and 2010's "Aqua". Falaschi quit ANGRA in May 2012, explaining in a statement that "there comes a moment in a man's life when it is necessary to make a radical decision in order to move forward with dignity and renewed energy."

Asked who should replace Falaschi in ANGRA, Matos told "Heavy Nation": "ANGRA should call it a day. They already tried a resurrection with Edu Falaschi, which had some success. But they're always living in the past...

"Insisting on rebuilding the band is worthless. That's why so many times I chose to end a project rather than trying to bring back to life a mummy, a corpse."

Matos confirmed that he was invited to rejoin ANGRA after Falaschi's departure, but he explained that the friendship between the members of the classic lineup of ANGRA ended after they went their separate ways and he said that he wouldn't feel comfortable going back to the band, as he recently did with VIPER.

"I won't be a hypocrite," Matos said. "They came to me, the members of [ANGRA] and some people from their management. But I've always made things clear: I'm not interested in this kind of reunion, which I'd call morbid. It's gone, it's dead. With VIPER, things were different; we kept the friendship even when I left the band."

Matos rejoined VIPER for a Brazilian tour in 2012. Several of the shows were recorded for a DVD, due later in 2013.

Matos' solo tour kicked off on March 22 in Sorocaba and included stops in Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. He will next perform at this year's Abril Pro Rock festival on April 19-20 at Chevrolet Hall in Recife, Brazil.

EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project kicked off its European tour last night (Friday, April 12) at the Power Prog & Metal Fest at Lotto Mons Expo in Mons, Belgium. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert, along with a short pre-show interview, can be seen below.

AVANTASIA's new album, "The Mystery Of Time", has registered the following first-week chart positions:

Sweden: #9
Finland: #9
Norway: #19
France: #51
Netherlands: #85
UK: #97, #6 (Rock Chart)
Japan: #17 (International chart)

"The Mystery Of Time" was released on March 30. The effort was made available as a regular CD, limited-edition vinyl and limited-edition hardcover book with a 28-page booklet containing ten regular songs and two bonus tracks ("The Cross And You", "Death Is Just A Feeling"). The cover artwork was hand-painted by world acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Among Rodney's most famous artworks are not only album covers for rock legends such as MAGNUM, THIN LIZZY, ASIA and NAZARETH, he has also designed the characters for the TV series "Lavender Castle" and created the covers for novels by British fantasy author Michael Moorcock and many more.

"The Mystery Of Time" features guest appearances by Michael Kiske (UNISONIC, HELLOWEEN), former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, drummer Russell Gilbrook of URIAH HEEP, AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen (also ex-BODINE, VENGEANCE), Ronnie Atkins of Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS and MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin.

The new AVANTASIA CD was recorded in part at VOX Klangstudio in Bendestorf, Germany with producer Sascha Paeth (KAMELOT, EDGUY, EPICA, RHAPSODY).

The title track of "Deceiver Of The Gods", the forthcoming ninth studio album from Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH, is available for streaming and free download using the widget below.

"Deceiver Of The Gods" will be released this summer via Metal Blade Records. The CD was helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with (MEGADETH, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY and ACCEPT. The cover artwork for the effort, which will feature a guest appearance by former CANDLEMASS singer Messiah Marcolin, can be seen below.

Comments AMON AMARTH: "The cover depicts the last battle between the Gods and Loki who arrives at Vigridr field accompanied by the army of the dead during Ragnarok, the end of the world."

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 Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE has just hit the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band's epic 1988 release, "Operation: Mindcrime", performing all fifteen songs from the album along with other well-known hits and rarities from the catalog they've compiled over the past 30 years.

Fan-filmed video footage of this past Thursday night's (April 11) concert at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado can be seen below. Also available is a nine-minute collection of interviews with the members of Geoff Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE conducted by Nina Noir, who was selected by Tate to take part in the 2013 QUEENSRŸCHE tour after making a guest appearance on the band's new album, "Frequency Unknown". She is singing a duet with Geoff on the group's epic song, "Suite Sister Mary".

The setlist for the Denver show was as follows:

01. I Remember Now
02. Anarchy-X
03. Revolution Calling
04. Operation: Mindcrime
05. Speak
06. Spreading The Disease
07. The Mission
08. Suite Sister Mary
09. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking The Silence
12. I Don't Believe In Love
13. Waiting For 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger

Encore:

16. Silent Lucidity
17. I'm American
18. Best I Can
19. Empire

Although a lineup for Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE was originally announced in the fall of 2012, things have changed. The band now features Tate along with bassist Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO, WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT), guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and new additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).

Deadline Music/Cleopatra Records has released "Cold", the new single from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, via iTunes. The track, which was mixed by Anthony Focx (NEWSTED, AEROSMITH, NIGHT RANGER, TED NUGENT), will also be released as a special limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single with a newly recorded version of the QUEENSRŸCHE classic "Silent Lucidity" — mixed by Jürgen Engler (DORO, DIE KRUPPS) — on the B-side.

"Cold" comes off QUEENSRŸCHE's new album, "Frequency Unknown", which is scheduled for release on April 23 via Deadline Music/Cleopatra. The CD was produced by Jason Slater at a studio in Northern California.

"Frequency Unknown" is packaged with bonus tracks — four QUEENSRŸCHE classics, newly recorded, including the smash hit single "Silent Lucidity". Guest musicians on the CD include K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST), Chris Poland (MEGADETH), Ty Tabor (KING'S X), Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS), Lita Ford, Brad Gillis (NIGHT RANGER), Dave Meniketti (Y&T) and Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN).

Interviews:

Former THE GATHERING singer Anneke Van Giersbergen played two exclusive U.S. shows in Chicago at the end of March. Also appearing on the bill both nights were Anneke's "dear friends" NOVEMBERS DOOM.

Fan-filmed video footage of both concerts can be seen below. Also available is a video interview conducted by Eve's Apple for Femme Metal Webzine.

Anneke van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released four albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project: "Air" (2007), "Pure Air" (2009), "In Your Room" (2009) and "Everything Is Changing" (2012).

"Everything Is Changing" was released on January 20, 2012 via PIAS Holland. The CD was recorded at Ultrasound Studios in Braga, Portugal with producer Daniel Cardoso.

Check out audio samples at Amazon.com.

Interview:

Professionally filmed video footage of DRAGONFORCE's October 27, 2012 performance at the Loud Park festival at Saitama Super Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Saitama City, Japan, can be seen below.

DRAGONFORCE has completed writing the follow-up to last year's "The Power Within" album, which was the band's first with vocalist Marc Hudson. Since his live debut with the group in July 2011, Marc has gone on to front over 100 shows with DRAGONFORCE in 32 countries across the globe, including arenas with IRON MAIDEN as well as a mammoth headlining world tour to support the CD.

With a newfound wealth of experience for the new singer and two years of playing together, the DRAGONFORCE machine will be at its most powerful when it enters Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden in May with Jens Bogren to start laying down tracks. Known for his work with the likes of OPETH, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK and SYMPHONY X, to name a few, Jens will undoubtedly help DRAGONFORCE make a killer-sounding album.

Comments DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li: "Right now, everyone in the band is itching to get into the studio to record probably the most epic DRAGONFORCE music ever written. With so many ideas flying around and songs already written, we decided to team up with producer Jens Bogren to help us take the DRAGONFORCE sound to the next level and beyond!"

"The Power Within" sold 5,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 74 on The Billboard 200 chart.

DRAGONFORCE's previous CD, "Ultra Beatdown", opened with 24,000 units back in September 2008 to land at No. 18.

"The Power Within" was released in the U.K. on April 16, 2012 via the band's own Electric Generation Recordings, distributed by Essential Music.

Asked if it was difficult to integrate Hudson into the band, Li told Metal Traveller: "I don't know if it was easy or hard, but we definitely spent a lot of time to make sure he integrated well in the band. Before he joined the band, we jammed, we rehearsed, we went to the studio and recorded some demos together — just to see how it's like, to understand his personality. After he joined the band, we didn't want him to be like, 'Hi, Marc, welcome to the band, record the songs in studio and see you on tour.' You have to be a real family, so we jammed and rehearsed a lot, and that really helped him to integrate the band. The first show he had to play with the band was with IRON MAIDEN, in front of 20,000 people. I didn't tell Marc until the warmup gig two weeks before."

Regarding whether Marc was involved in composing the new songs, Li said: "Most of the music was already composed when we were auditioning him. After he joined the band, we had to change the voice a little bit to get the best out of his voice. We found out that he can sing very high, but also really low at the same time. So in certain songs, we explored his low range, like 'Seasons' or 'Give Me The Night', on which he goes from low to high. Then we tried to explore the high register, like in 'Holding On'."

NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) legends DIAMOND HEAD performed last night (Friday, April 12) at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, New York. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

DIAMOND HEAD will make two trips to North America this year. The first is taking place right now and covers the East Coast, Canada, and the Midwest. The second leg of the band's U.S. tour will happen in October and will include dates on the West Coast and in the South.

For the first time in its 37-year history, DIAMOND HEAD made its way stateside for a U.S. tour in the summer of 2011.

DIAMOND HEAD's only previous U.S. appearance was at the Metal Meltdown IV festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey in 2002 for a sold-out show with fellow British stalwarts SAXON and WITCHFYNDE. Now, for the first time ever, DIAMOND HEAD's U.S. fans got the opportunity to see the band perform live.

The tour kicked off in Seattle on August 15, 2011 and concluded in New York City on September 1, 20111.

DIAMOND HEAD's first-ever appearance with the "Big Four" (METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX and MEGADETH), the artists on whom they had a major influence, at the Sonisphere festivals in the U.K. and France, was followed by their first performances in Canada, playing with MOTÖRHEAD, and MEGADETH at the Heavy TO festival in Toronto, along with an appearance with GIRLSCHOOL, MOTÖRHEAD and KISS, at the Heavy MTL festival in Montreal.

DEF LEPPARD kicked off its eleven-show residency on March 22 at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel And Casino in Las Vegas. Produced exclusively by AEG Live, the shows are seeing the band play their 1987 album, "Hysteria", in its entirety as well as a selection of their greatest hits, highlighting classic material from throughout their career. Viva Hysteria! features an elaborate set design created only for DEF LEPPARD's Las Vegas residency.

Fan-filmed video footage of DEF LEPPARD's April 6 concert at The Joint can be seen below.

"When Elton John started doing his residency stuff in Vegas, all of us poked our heads out like meerkats, 'Elton is doing a Vegas residency? Surely not!' It got us thinking," DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott told AOL's Noisecreep. "Then I came out and sang some stuff when CHEAP TRICK did their 'Sgt. Pepper's' performances there in 2009. All of a sudden, we were in good company. The Blue Rich Brigade were over. [laughs]"

He continued: "It was just a matter of time before the people who grew up listening to KISS became rich enough and wanted to go and see a rock concert. Not just some old guy with a big blue tie. [laughs] Sooner or later, Vegas was going to catch up with itself and become cool, which it did. I think we're just riding our first wave here with this Vegas stuff. Who knows, in 5-10 years we might see SLIPKNOT and the FOO FIGHTERS doing one of these residencies."

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian was forced to miss the band's concert last night (Friday, April 12) at House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista, Florida after reportedly suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning. The show went ahead despite Scott's absence, with SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais — who has been touring with ANTHRAX since Rob Caggiano's departure in January — handling all guitar parts and the band performing as a four-piece.

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

The "Metal Alliance Tour", which also features EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE, MUNICIPAL WASTE and HOLY GRAIL, will stay on the road through late April.

"Anthems", ANTHRAX's long-awaited, eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the band's favorite acts from the 1970s, sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 52 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in North America on March 19 (MRI/Megaforce), and on March 22 in Europe (Nuclear Blast).

ANTHRAX's latest full-length album, "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at No. 12. The band's previous studio CD, 2003's "We've Come For You All", opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122.

German metallers PRIMAL FEAR are putting the finishing touches on the material for their next studio album, to be recorded during the summer for an early 2014 release via Frontiers Records. The band states: "After collecting more than 30 song ideas, we will finally strip the list down to 12 tracks and we're going now into the details. [We are] totally thrilled about the riffs and melodies, plus [we are in the process of] planning the recordings."

Frontiers and PRIMAL FEAR in January announced that they have renewed their partnership for another multi-album deal, which will include two more studio releases and one live CD and DVD.

PRIMAL FEAR's latest album, "Unbreakable", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 44 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.

Released on January 24, 2012 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records, "Unbreakable" was tracked in part at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany with producer/bassist Mat Sinner and engineer Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN).

"Testimony", a brand new song from the legendary NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band SATAN, can be streamed below. The track comes off the group's new album, "Life Sentence", which will be released on April 29 in Europe and May 21 in the U.S. via Listenable Records. The cover artwork for the CD was drawn by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, SODOM) and depicts a similar graphic concept as that of the band's debut album, "Court In The Act", originally issued 30 years ago.

"Life Sentence" was mixed by Dario Mollo, who is part of TONY MARTIN'S HEADLESS CROSS touring project and has worked with numerous artists as a producer and engineer, including SKYCLAD, ANATHEMA, CRADLE OF FILTH, LACUNA COIL, Tony Martin and Glenn Hughes. The CD was recorded September-November 2012 at First Avenue Studios in Newcastle, England and was mixed and mastered by Mollo at Damage Inc. Studio in Italy.

"We're really happy to have Dario on board to mix the album," SATAN said in a statement. "We've already had a few tracks back and they sound amazing. We wanted to capture the energy the band produce when playing live and we've done just that."

"Life Sentence" track listing:

01. Time To Die
02. Twenty Twenty Five
03. Cenotaph
04. Siege Mentality
05. Incantations
06. Testimony
07. Tears Of Blood
08. Life Sentence
09. Personal Demons
10. Another Universe

The songs deal with the following topics: injustice, impending death, reincarnation, atonement, third-world politics, and biblical retribution.

"Life Sentence" is the culmination of a process that began when the original "Court In The Act" lineup got together for an exclusive "one-off" reunion show at Germany's Keep It True festival in 2011 in what marked their first performance together in 28 years. The band was somewhat overwhelmed with the response — 10 minutes into headliners CRIMSON GLORY's set, the crowd could still be heard chanting, "Satan! Satan!" The SATAN bandmembers immediately booked more shows in Germany, Holland, Belgium and London, and have since kept in close contact with each other, writing songs and making demos.

The recording lineup for "Life Sentence" is the same as that on "Court In The Act":

Brian Ross (vocals)
Steve Ramsey (guitar)
Russ Tippins (guitar)
Graeme English (bass)
Sean Taylor (drums)

SATAN will perform at the Wings Of Metal festival, set to take place August 30-31 at Katacombes in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This special event will mark SATAN's first appearance in North America.

For more information, visit www.wingsofmetal.com.

SATAN is one of the most important groups that emerged in the early NWOBHM era. Their unique mixture of heavy and power metal spirit with thrash riffage brought a handful of unforgettable tunes and revolutionized heavy music as we know it.

"Court in the Act" was SATAN's debut release and was considered a true milestone at the time of its release (1983). The songs were melodic, but at the same time very aggressive. The band's two guitarists, Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey, delivered a truly amazing performance; although their styles were completely different, they managed to perfectly complement each other's playing and introduced a handful of timeless riffs and solos.

A digipack reissue of "Court In The Act" was made available in November 2008 featuring three bonus tracks.

THE DEVIL'S BLOOD announced at the beginning of 2013 that they have "returned to nothingness." At the same time, they announced that plans had already been put into motion to release new material.

The new seven-song album, "III: Tabula Rasa Or Death And The Seven Pillars", will serve as the band's final full-length release. It will be available for purchase on iTunes April 30, via all other digital outlets (Google Play, Amazon MP3, etc.) on May 28, and on CD and vinyl June 11.

A new track, "White Storm Of Teeth", can be streamed below. The cover art was created by Manuel Tinnemans.

SL comments on the release: "Prior to our disbanding on the 22nd of January 2013, we had been active with the pre-production of what was to be our third album. Seven songs, the complete outline of the album, had been, in humble form, recorded in my home recording studio and these demos were supposed to be the template for our studio recordings. Obviously, we would never make it that far and the initial shock of that fact saddened us greatly. After but a few days we listened to this material again and decided that even though the audio quality might not be what people have come to expect from a THE DEVIL'S BLOOD release, the song material was and is the best we have ever done. We came to the conclusion that these songs deserve to become a part of The Canon and that we would release them as is.

"I spent a few days gathering all the demo material together, made a very simple mix and gave the material to our friend and mentor Pieter G. Kloos to master in his studio. Here we present you with the titles of the material and the artwork which was done by Manuel Tinnemans.

"The song we have chosen to release now is 'White Storm Of Teeth'. More so than the other material, this song speaks to the completion and transubstantiation that always follows an Occult path. Not the end of a journey but the start of a completely new one. Built around thirteen stanzas in the first part and thirteen stanzas in the second part the process of inner enlightenment through confusion and entropy and the initiation through the Death of the lower self is illustrated. This theme is rampant throughout the record and its lyrics but here it culminates and completely devours itself. After this work no words are needed and, on the album, none are offered.

"THE DEVIL'S BLOOD has always been an entity that defied any fealty or thankfulness towards any earthly influence. But we as people need not hold to this paradigm any longer. We therefore wish to express our sincere thankfulness to all those who have supported this weird quest and have made the earthly woes to not work against us. You most definitely know who you are.

"The record will be released by Ván Records in Europe and the rest of the world and by Metal Blade in North America. It will be available as digital download, CD and LP starting the 30th of April in Europe and a date soon to be announced in the USA/Canada."

"III: Tabula Rasa Or Death And The Seven Pillars" track listing:

01. I was Promised a Hunt
- Part III - …and the holy cunt spewed forth abomination…
- Part II - …wielding the hammer of the dead…
- Part I - …upon the aimless path…
02. The Lullaby of the Burning Boy
03. …If not a Vessel?
04. In the loving Arms of Lunacy's secret Demons
05. Dance of the Elements
06. White Storm of Teeth
07. Tabula Rasa

MANOWAR recently completed the second leg of "The Lord Of Steel World Tour" with shows in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Leg 2 of the trek continued with a power-filled set, including songs from the brand new studio album, "The Lord Of Steel", and many other classic MANOWAR hymns.

"The Lord Of Steel" is now available in stores and on iTunes and was first celebrated live during Leg 1 of "The Lord Of Steel World Tour" in Spain, France, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic and Russia.

Commented MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio: "At this very moment, we are all in the studio, listening back to each and every show from 'The Lord Of Steel Tour 2012/2013'.

"The energy we got from the audience during the tour was just killer! This power coming from you guys really translated into great performances from the band. We're thrilled that this is all immortalized in these recordings!

"So we just wanted to take a break here and thank the true army of immortals who came in masses to face 'The Lord Of Steel' live! Thank you!

"More news about 'The Lord Of Steel' live album will come soon. Many thanks to all of you, the loudest and greatest fans in the world."

Asked why MANOWAR chose to release "The Lord Of Steel" in digital format several months before the retail release, DeMaio told Rockpages.gr: "MANOWAR have always worked with the latest technology. Thankfully, our fans have more options than ever to choose how they get their music and when.

"We are proud to be able to give our fans multiple choices: We have released a limited edition of the album in collaboration with Metal Hammer U.K., with its own artwork and special mixes as a first look at what is to come. For those who prefer digital content and wish this limited version, they have the option of getting it as download album.

"The worldwide retail release [is] available with different versions of the songs and a totally different mix and master as CD and limited vinyl, both with spectacular new art by Ken Kelly. And, of course, this version [is] available as digital album as well. The fans can decide which options and configurations they prefer."

Regarding the difference between MANOWAR's previous studio album, "Gods Of War", and "The Lord Of Steel", DeMaio said: "All of our albums are different from one another, unlike other groups who constantly try to keep to a formula.

"After the massive production of 'Gods Of War', our vision this time was a stripped down, brutally raw, unique sound; 'lean and mean,’ so to speak.

"We had started working on material prior Donnie [Hamzik, drums] return to the band.

"MANOWAR are a unit. Every band member brings in a unique contribution, so it was only logical for us to start over and include Donnie from the beginning of the creative process.

"Some people will say its a shame to abandon something you have invested a lot of time and energy in, but that's the way we work. It has to feel right for all of us."

The official trailer for GUNS N' ROSES' "Appetite For Democracy" 3D concert film can be seen below. The footage was shot before a sold-out crowd live on November 21, 2012 at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada during the band's highly acclaimed Vegas residency, Appetite For Democracy. Each night, the band performed an electrifying show featuring a setlist created exclusively for The Joint. Appetite For Democracy spanned the band's biggest hits from their debut album "Appetite For Destruction" (1987) through their platinum-selling record "Chinese Democracy" (2008). The concerts featured the current lineup of the band, of which singer Axl Rose is the only original member.

The setlist for GUNS N' ROSES' November 21, 2012 concert can be found below.

GUNS N' ROSES drew criticism in November from Clark County commissioners after they were told about an ad for the group's Vegas concerts which depicts what appears to be a sexually assaulted woman beneath the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign (see below).

The image, which is said to be a watered-down version of the banned cover for the band's classic 1987 debut, "Appetite For Destruction", was being used in mainstream advertising, including newspaper promotions and taxicab placards.

The following are some of the first GUNS N' ROSES attendances/grosses at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, as reported by Billboard magazine:

* Artist/Event: GUNS N' ROSES
* Show Venue:The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
* City/State: Las Vegas, Nevada
* Show Dates: Oct. 31, Nov. 2-3, 2012
* Gross Sales: $775,119
* Total Attendance: 8,387
* Capacity: 9,839
* Ticket Prices: $179.50, $129.50, $85, $45
* Promoter: Concerts West/AEG Live

* Artist/Event: GUNS N' ROSES
* Show Venue:The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
* City/State: Las Vegas, Nevada
* Show Dates: Nov. 7, 9-10, 2012
* Gross Sales: $829,220
* Total Attendance: 9,082
* Capacity: 9,908
* Ticket Prices: $179.50, $129.50, $85, $45
* Promoter: Concerts West/AEG Live

"Appetite For Democracy" trailer:

According to the Birmingham Mail, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi plans to make an album with QUEEN axeman Brian May.

The collaboration idea came about when Iommi and May met up shortly after the BLACK SABBATH guitarist was diagnosed with cancer.

"When I was first ill, Brian May came to visit me at my house in Lapworth," Iommi said. "I played him some of my stuff, rock riffs that I'd never quite got round to developing, or decided not to use. He said I ought to do something with them.

"It's early days yet, and all my attention in on SABBATH for the foreseeable future, but we may well find some way of working together on them, and making them available in some shape or form.

"One of the ideas we had is that we could make the riffs available, get fans to use them in songs of their own, and see what they come up with. That way they'd effectively be recording with Brian and myself."

May elaborated on the idea: "I heard some of the hours of unreleased guitar jams Tony has on tapes and hard drives. I thought it would be great to make a compilation out of them.

"The idea was to put all these riffs out in some form so that people could build their own songs from them. You could make your own music with Tony Iommi on guitar! How great is that!"

Brazilian metallers ANGRA tapped acclaimed Italian vocalist Fabio Lione (VISION DIVINE, RHAPSODY OF FIRE, KAMELOT) to front the band for their appearance aboard 70000 Tons Of Metal, the world's biggest heavy metal cruise, which sailed on January 28 from Miami, Florida and returned to the real world on February 1.

A new 15-minute collection of clips of ANGRA's performances at 70000 Tons Of Metal can be seen below.

Singer Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi quit ANGRA in May 2012. He explained in a statement, "There comes a moment in a man's life when it is necessary to make a radical decision in order to move forward with dignity and renewed energy."

Falaschi joined ANGRA in 2000 and appeared on the band's last four studio albums — 2001's "Rebirth", 2004's "Temple Of Shadows", 2006's "Aurora Consurgens" and 2010's "Aqua".

ANGRA has yet to announce a permanent replacement for Falaschi, who is focusing on ALMAH and other projects.

Performance clips: