U.K.-based modern hard rockers TAINTED NATION have announced the addition of guitarist Joel Peters (FURY) to the group's ranks.

Commented TAINTED NATION drummer Mark Cross: "We'd like to introduce to you and welcome Joel Peters, former guitarist of the band FURY, to the TAINTED NATION family.

"Since we started rehearsing and playing live with the band, we realized how important a second guitar was, especially for our live performances. We had Joel along since day one, but recently invited him to become a member Joel is an extremely gifted guitar player and great singer and brings a fourth dimension to our setup. Joel will be on tour with us. See you all soon!"

TAINTED NATION is:

Pete Newdeck (EDEN'S CURSE) - Vocals
Mark Cross (FIREWIND, HELLOWEEN) - Drums
Pontus Egberg (THE POODLES) - Bass
Ian Nash (LIONSHEART) - Guitar
Joel Peters (FURY) - Guitar

TAINTED NATION's debut album, "F.E.A.R.", was made available on January 25 via Massacre Records. The CD was produced by Pete Newdeck and mixed/mastered by Dennis Ward.

Newdeck, who is mostly known for his work with EDEN'S CURSE and bands like GRIM REAPER, KILLERS and Steve Grimmett, started writing songs with bandmate and friend Ian Nash, who also played guitar for Grimmett, in 2009.

While with EDEN'S CURSE and supporting STRATOVARIOUS and FIREWIND in May 2009 on their U.K. tour, Pete and then-FIREWIND drummer Mark Cross became close friends and discussed the idea of forming a new band, only this time with Newdeck as the lead singer.

Newdeck's vocal abilities were truly convincing and in the spring of 2010, Pontus Egberg, bass player for Swedish hard rockers THE POODLES, completed the lineup.

Newdeck, Nash, Cross and Egberg recorded the TAINTED NATION debut album in the U.K. and mixed and mastered it in Germany under the supervision of Dennis Ward, producer of many successful international artists.

TAINTED NATION's music is described in a press release as "a commercial, modern and powerful-sounding rock mix."

"Penance", a brand new song from DEVICE, the industrial-style project featuring DISTURBED frontman David Draiman and former FILTER guitarist Geno Lenardo, can be streamed below.

DEVICE's self-titled debut album is due out April 9 and features guest appearances from AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows, SYSTEM OF A DOWN vocalist Serj Tankian, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler and ex-DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes.

The "Vilify" single and video were officially released on February 19. Draiman told The Pulse Of Radio where the track is coming from musically and lyrically: "It is a very fierce introductory track for this record. It has a very strong fusion of that electronic element in there. Still very heavy, still very rhythmic. Very anthemic, very intensely melodic. It's a song that lyrically is talking about everyone out there who likes to make me out to be such a bad guy, this monster of epic proportions, which I'm really not."

The "Vilify" clip was directed by P.R. Brown, who has previously collaborated with such artists as MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Prince, AUDIOSLAVE, MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M.

Draiman launched DEVICE last year after DISTURBED announced in the fall of 2011 that it was going on an extended hiatus.

Lenardo will not be part of the DEVICE live band due to previous commitments, but the touring lineup includes EVANESCENCE drummer Will Hunt and DOPE guitarist Virus.

The group will make its debut at several big U.S. rock festivals this April and May, including Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion and Rock On The Range.

"Device" track listing:

01. You Think You Know
02. Penance
03. Vilify
04. Close My Eyes Forever (Ozzy Osbourne & Lita Ford cover) (feat. Lzzy Hale)
05. Out Of Line (feat. Serj Tankian, Geezer Butler)
06. Hunted
07. Opinion (feat. Tom Morello)
08. War Of Lies
09. Haze (feat. M. Shadows)
10. Through It All (feat. Glenn Hughes)

"Penance" audio stream:

New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION will release their ninth full-length album, "Kingdom Of Conspiracy", on May 14 in North America, both digitally and physically, via Nuclear Blast Records. The The follow-up to 2010's "Majesty And Decay" was recorded at Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York with longtime producer Paul Orofino, and mixed and mastered once again by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION).

The "Kingdom Of Conspiracy" title track can now be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below (courtesy of Decibel magazine).

The CD cover imagery was brought to life this time by Pär Olofsson, who has previously worked with IMMORTAL, THE FACELESS and ABYSMAL DAWN, among others.

"The figures in the artwork have all been bound and chained and have their eyes and mouths sewn shut symbolically, showing the chilling of speech and the intentional blinding of the masses," explains IMMOLATION guitarist Robert Vigna. "They all make up the huge ominous structure behind them, which is symbolic of the growing security state as well as our failing structures today, and how they are slowly and methodically consuming and controlling us all. It has a very Orwellian feel to it, which is what we were going for since the album is very dark in a slightly different way."

In regards to "Kingdom Of Conspiracy"'s lyrical content, Vigna says: "The album deals with the world today and the slow unraveling and breakdown of our societies and the systems and structures behind them. It speaks of the human side to all this and how we have all lost our way and have fed into these very systems that are slowly coming apart. This is the common thread running throughout the album and the cover paints a very dark picture of the future, where these systems have completely absorbed our world, and our freedoms and we have become a part of the very fabric of these structures that we have created. Each song is a symptom of this mass sickness that has brought the world to the point it is at now, and we paint a very bleak picture of this slow and gradual breakdown and the human failures that sped this process along. This is the 'Kingdom Of Conspiracy'."

"Kingdom Of Conspiracy" track listing:

01. Echoes Of Despair
02. Keep The Silence
03. Kingdom Of Conspiracy
04. Serving Divinity
05. The Great Sleep
06. Indoctrinate
07. A Spectacle of Lies
08. God Complex
09. Bound To Order
10. All That Awaits

For photos of the band in the studio, click here.

Catch the band on the Decibel Magazine Tour this spring with CANNIBAL CORPSE and NAPALM DEATH.

"Majesty And Decay", was released in March 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD sold around 1,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 29 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.

Finnish extreme metal non-profit Blood Music has set an April 17 release date for the incredibly long-overdue vinyl worship session of every last bit of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD's music one could ever ask for.

The monstrous limited edition 7xLP box set discography will contain all five STRAPPING YOUNG LAD full-lengths, as well as extra vinyl dedicated to the band's non-album material. The "mystery" seventh LP contains virtually every SYL bonus track that ever existed, remastered for vinyl.

The track listing for the "Demos & Rarities" LP is as follows:

01. Japan
02. Monday
03. Exciter
04. Centipede
05. Home Nucleonics ('96 demo)
06. Headrhoid (Gunt demo)
07. Detox ('96 demo)
08. AAA ('96 demo)
09. The Long Pig
10. Zodiac

The genre-busting Canadian industrial/death band has never seen their seminal albums "Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing", "SYL" nor "The New Black" touch wax before. Their other two records — "City" and "Alien" — were pressed in ultra-limited numbers of 500 copies only and sold out within months of their release.

The front cover for every STRAPPING YOUNG LAD album was re-designed and re-imagined for the new SYL "The Complete Works" box set by Travis Smith of Seempieces in conjunction with Devin Townsend and Jed Simon of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and Blood Music, compiling the pieces into a uniform collection. The designs were based on the albums' original artworks and aural feeling.

For more information, visit www.blood-music.com.

STRAPPING YOUNG LAD was a heavily-loved Canadian extreme metal band who genre-bent from progressive death to industrial metal in the blink of an eye. They are most well-known for their unique leader, Devin Townsend, whose dark lyrical humor and insane stage antics catapulted them into every '90s high school metalhead's dreams. Townsend has gone on to further acclaim in his solo act, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT.

In a recent Twitter posting, Devin stated about the possibility of new STRAPPING YOUNG LAD tours and music: "I'm not doing SYL anymore as I'm not at that point of my life anymore. Nothing to do with 'anger' etc. I have changed. I like to think as folks get older, most people accept change. I love the band, I just am not the same dude anymore."

On August 25, 2012, legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) ripped the roof off the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia, and Moshcam was there to film every second of it.

The Sydney show, filmed exclusively by Moshcam, premiered online last September and can now be seen in its entirety at this location.

The setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Halo
02. Nightrain (GUNS N' ROSES song)
03. Ghost
04. Standing in the Sun
05. Back From Cali
06. My Michelle (GUNS N' ROSES song)
07. Beggars & Hangers-On (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT song)
08. Not for Me
09. Rocket Queen (GUNS N' ROSES song)
10. Doctor Alibi (Todd Kerns on lead vocals)
11. Out Ta Get Me (GUNS N' ROSES song) (Todd Kerns on lead vocals)
12. Crazy Life
13. No More Heroes
14. Starlight
15. Blues Jam
16. Guitar Solo / Godfather Theme
17. Anastasia
18. Sweet Child O' Mine (GUNS N' ROSES song)
19. You're a Lie
20. Slither (VELVET REVOLVER song)

Encore:

21. Fall to Pieces (VELVET REVOLVER song)
22. Paradise City (GUNS N' ROSES song)

For more information, go to this location.

Slash's second solo album, "Apocalyptic Love", came out in May 2012 and was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales in excess of 35,000 copies.

"[The album has] been really well received and I was really pleased with the record in the first place; it's great," Slash said. "You never know what exactly is going to happen and I never have any what you'd call expectations, but once it's out there and people sort of dig it for the right reasons, it's always a good feeling."

Slash recently revealed that he and singer Myles Kennedy have already begun working on music for the guitarist's next album, to be recorded sometime this year.

Kennedy divides his time between ALTER BRIDGE, who are working on their fourth studio set, and Slash, for whom he fronts Slash's touring and recording group MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS.

Slash, Kennedy and THE CONSPIRATORS have recently completed nearly a year's worth of touring behind "Apocalyptic Love".

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will begin the process of searching for a temporary bassist for this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in the U.S. For a limited time, the band will accept and review YouTube submissions that include the following:

1) Video: A standalone performance of the songs listed below, just you, singing and playing bass along to the the tracks off the albums. **Camera phone is fine as long as it's stable**

2) A brief 1- to-2-minute statement about your musical experience; playing, touring experience, etc.

Please upload your videos to YouTube and e-mail a link (or links) to MHBassAuditions@gmail.com that includes the following songs:

1) This Is The End
2) Halo
3) Beautiful Mourning

Once the band has narrowed down potential candidates, they will hold tryouts in person at a to-be-determined location.

MACHINE HEAD last month parted ways with bassist Adam Duce. The band's guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn explained in an online posting: "We may have fired Adam on [February 11], but Adam quit MACHINE HEAD well over a decade ago. He just never bothered to tell anyone… but we all knew it."

He added: "Adam hasn't been happy in this band for a long time. But how do you leave? To a guy like Adam, everything is either winning or losing. A stunning victory or the ultimate failure. There was no in between … No matter how unhappy or fed up he got, quitting the band would be seen as 'losing' or a 'failure.' Truth be told, he was sick of it. Sick of touring, sick of recording, sick of practicing, sick of looking at album artwork, sick of being on a team but never getting the ball, sick of yearning for the honeymoon to resume when 20 years deep it never does. Sick of never quite hitting the big time, sick of carving the niche... sick of caring."

"Machine Fucking Head Live", the new live album from MACHINE HEAD, sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. It's the band's second live effort; "Hellalive" came out in 2003.

MACHINE HEAD's most recent studio album, "Unto The Locust", sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history.

"Machine Fucking Head Live" was recorded at various tour stops across the globe last year. It features songs from throughout the band's expansive catalog, including crowd favorites like "Imperium", "Aesthetics of Hate", "Locust", "Ten Ton Hammer", "This is the End" and "Halo".

"Machine Fucking Head Live" was mixed and mastered at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California by Juan Urteaga and Robb Flynn.

MACHINE HEAD is currently seeking a new label home following the expiration of the band's contract with longtime record company Roadrunner Records.

German progressive metal band BEYOND THE BRIDGE has released a video tribute to its keyboardist/guitarist Simon Oberender, who passed away last September. Check it out below.

Oberender, who was also the keyboardist for Amanda Somerville's band TRILLIUM, worked at the Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany as a sound engineer and producer. He recorded, mixed, mastered (along with Sascha Paeth) and produced BEYOND THE BRIDGE's debut album, "The Old Man And The Spirit". He also appeared on several other recordings, including AVANTASIA's 2010 releases "The Wicked Symphony" and "Angel Of Babylon", EDGUY's "Age Of The Joker" (2011), EPICA's "Requiem for the Indifferent" (2012), RHAPSODY OF FIRE's "The Frozen Tears Of Angels" (2010) and KAMELOT's "Silverthorn".

As an engineeer, Oberender worked on albums by AVANTASIA, DESTINATION'S CALLING, EDGUY, EPICA, MAYAN and others.

Last September, Oberender performed with BEYOND THE BRIDGE at ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta, Georgia in what was the band's first-ever appearance in the United States.

BEYOND THE BRIDGE's debut album, "The Old Man And The Spirit", was released in January 2012 via Frontiers Records.

For more information, visit www.beyondthebridge.net.

British band DOOGIE WHITE & LA PAZ will release its sophomore album, "The Dark And The Light", on May 27 in Europe and June 4 in USA via Metal Mind Productions. The drums and most of the bass guitar parts were recorded in Gorbals Sound in Glasgow. The guitars, additional bass parts and keyboards were recorded at The Farm, owned by Chic McSherry, while the vocals were recorded at Kinman Studio in London. Mixing was done again by Rolf Munkes at Empire Studios in Germany.

"The Dark And The Light" track listing:

01. Little Black Book Of Songs
02. Don't Drink With The Devil
03. Old Habits Die Hard
04. Burlesque
05. The Good Old Days
06. De La Luz
07. Devil In Disguise
08. Lonely Are The Brave
09. Shadow Of Romance
10. Sweet Little Mistreated
11. Men Of War
12. The Fallen

The front-cover illustration was done by Polish graphic designer Oliwia Piotrowska-Wieczorek and can be seen below.

Commented guitarist Chic McSherry: "After 'Granite' was finished and released, I went on holiday in Mexico, near La Paz, actually. I was out on the Pacific Ocean for a few days and the constant thrum of the boat engine was just morphing into all sorts of noises and beats in my head. The beer probably contributed to that as well… When I got back from the trip, the earworms just wouldn't go away, so I eventually called Doogie and said, 'I got some ideas, man. I think I will make up a couple of demos.' To my surprise, he immediately said, 'Yeah. Why not? Send them down when you're ready and I'll take a listen.' I started to record the basic framework ideas and emailed them to Doogie as I finished them, and he kept coming back and saying, 'Yep. That's good, what else you got?' Over three weeks, I wrote 11 pieces of music, 10 of which have made it onto 'The Dark And The Light'. After Doogie and I had agreed which ones we would work on further, the demos then went to the other flying LA PAZ brothers and they immediately started adding their unique and distinctive styles and ideas to them to bring the final work together.

"This is the real heart of the thing for me. I have no ambition to be judged amongst the virtuoso guitar players out there, many of whom Doogie has worked with and is still working with on other projects. I have no illusions about where I stand next to those guys, many of whom are my heroes! I have just been lucky enough to write a lot of songs with Doogie, songs that we both really enjoy and are proud of, and then we get to play them with the great musicians in LA PAZ. I guess that if you believe that music is an art form, you could think of me as the guy who makes the canvas upon which others can create some magic!

"'Granite' was a great album for us to do, but in a lot of ways we were playing music that we already knew really well. This was much more of an exploration of new territories for everyone and we all have had SUCH a blast putting it together."

Added Doogie: "Chic is very driven, creatively and emotionally, and I get bored when I am not working. It therefore makes for the most wonderful combination for us to write songs together.

"I personally never thought that LA PAZ would never record another album. I knew we had at least another one in us. It's a natural thing we have. Chic knows, I know, and together we both know that between us we can write a song or two. Then when you add in the solid foundation of Big Al and Wee Paul, it's all there. Of course 'Posh Boy' Andy has his part to play on the keyboards to make it really become LA PAZ.

"Chic's songs for this album have 'traditional' LA PAZ influences, but we are older and more travelled and his ideas outwit the great traditions of what LA PAZ should sound like, shines a new light on the music we write. It was challenging for us both to write it, but we knew what we needed. For some people, a few of the songs may be challenging and unexpected, both musically and lyrically. But that's the joy of LA PAZ.

"We came from nothing and we may return to nothing, but the road we ventured on has been so satisfying and creative. We may even send each other Christmas cards this year!

"I think we have made ourselves proud with this record. 'Granite' was easier, as it was taking old ideas and revamping them. Then we added some twists on the new songs. 'The Dark And The Light' is different, but when all five of us are working together like that, it fair brings a smile to one's face."

LA PAZ was formed in Lanarkshire, Scotland in the summer of 1984 by Chic McSherry (guitar), Doogie White (vocals) and Alex Carmichael (bass). At the first rehearsal together, they hit it off immediately on a personal level. They also liked the same music and they had the same influences and heroes (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW, JOURNEY, Gary Moore) so they started to recruit other members to try to form a band and go do some gigs. Andy Mason (keyboards) joined the trio and he fitted in from the start, even though he was still at school when he joined. Drummers were always a problem, and, over the life of the band, LA PAZ went through almost as many as SPINAL TAP. Unquestionably the loudest and the most accomplished was/is their current drummer, Paul McManus. LA PAZ played live regularly, sometimes playing up to a hundred gigs in a year. They appeared at the world-famous Marquee Club in London as well as at some festivals in Milton Keynes and they were featured regularly in Kerrang! (Derek Oliver becoming a big fan of the band) and attracted interest from a number of U.K. and U.S. record companies, finally agreeing terms with one of them for a three-album deal. But it was not to be — for reasons which were never explained by the record label, the deal fell through at the very last minute. Sadly, the band didn't survive for very long after that. They did their last gig on October 15, 1988 and then Doogie moved to London to join MIDNITE BLUE, RITCHIE BLACKMORE'S RAINBOW, CORNERSTONE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and now the mighty TANK. And then legendary DJ Tom Russell of 96.3 Rock Radio called Doogie and asked him if he would do some acoustic numbers at The Garage in Glasgow for Rock Radio's birthday bash in January 2008. Doogie agreed and asked Chic to play guitar. Almost 1000 people attended, with Doogie singing alone and Chic with one flamenco guitar!

"We had such a blast though and it woke up so many great memories in both of us that we decided to give it a go with the full band for my 50th birthday," said Chic.

And so the full band started to rehearse and it was clear that they could still play a bit. The band just gelled: just like old times and the gigs were a terrific success. And so the idea of re-recording some of the favourites from the set that had never had a proper production job was conceived. The final result could be heard on the album "Granite", released on February 13, 2012 in Europe and March 6, 2012 in USA. It was an album with its roots in the past but its energy in the present.

DOOGIE WHITE & LA PAZ is:

Doogie White - Vocals
Chic McSherry - Guitar
Alex Carmichael - Bass
Andy Mason - Keyboards
Paul McManus - Drums

"Novum Initium", the new album from multinational melodic metallers MASTERPLAN, will be released on May 17 via AFM Records.

"Novum Initium" track listing:

01. Per Aspera Ad Astra
02. The Game
03. Keep Your Dream Alive
04. Black Night Of Magic
05. Betrayal
06. No Escape
07. Pray On My Soul
08. Earth Is Going Down
09. Return From Avalon
10. Through Your Eyes
11. Novum Initium
12. 1492 (digipack bonus track)
13. Fear The Silence (digipack bonus track)

The "Novum Initium" digipack cover artwork can be seen below.

The band last month filmed a video for the song " Keep Your Dream Alive" in the Luftverteidigungsbunker Erndtebrück, also called "Bunker Erich."

A photo of MASTERPLAN's new lineup can be seen below. Joining drummer Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka (CRADLE OF FILTH) are vocalist Rick Altzi (AT VANCE, SANDALINAS, THUNDERSTONE), who replaces Jorn Lande, and bassist Jari Kainulainen (STRATOVARIUS, SYMFONIA, DEVIL'S TRAIN).

In a recent interview with Metal Shock Finland, MASTERPLAN guitarist/leader Roland Grapow stated about the band's new CD: "We are not leaving the MASTERPLAN path too much, but everything we have — the melodic part and a little bit progressive — I would say we're a little bit more powerful and I'm also mixing the album this time. I want to get a little bit more modern, as the sound we have was created ten years ago. We're still having the typical sound with melodies, but the drummer is amazing and plays a lot of crazy shit!"

MASTERPLAN's new lineup:

Rick Altzi - vocals
Roland Grapow - guitars
Axel Mackenrott - keyboards
Jari Kainulainen - bass
Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka - drums

In an August 2011 interview with the Czech web portal Kultura21.cz, Grapow stated about MASTERPLAN's numerous lineup changes: "I think it's always difficult in this band, I guess. If you see, the first album just came out after a big turbulence — leaving HELLOWEEN, Uli [Kusch, drums] and me. I think this band always needs some very bad moments to some great songs. [laughs] And it looks like MASTERPLAN, basically, is my main band, and whoever will sing and whoever will play in the band, I'm happy with. But, basically, at the moment, I'm thinking the main songwriters are Axel now and me. So whatever happens, this band will continue. It's very important for me to show that we still have the power and the ability to write beautiful melodies and some aggression and rock and metal songs. Whatever we do, we want just to make good-quality stuff."

MASTERPLAN's last CD, "Time To Be King", was released on May 21, 2010 through AFM Records. The CD's first single, "Far From The End Of The World", was issued on April 16, 2010.

The unique, artful Japanese rock band DIR EN GREY will release a mini album, "The Unraveling", on April 3. The effort will contain seven tracks, including a new song, "Unraveling". The cover features original artwork by artist and sculptor Yasuyuki Nishio. This intriguing artwork is the result of the fusion between DIR EN GREY's expressions to this day with Yasuyuki Nishio's perspective of the world, bringing forth yet another release that exhibits an overwhelming sense of existence.

"The Unraveling" track listing:

01. Unraveling
02. Karma
03. Kasumi
04. Karasu
05. Bottom Of The Death Valley
06. Unknown.Despair.Lost
07. The Final

The third teaser for "The Unraveling" can be seen below.

For more information, visit www.direngrey.co.jp.

DIR EN GREY released a new single, "Rinkaku", in December. According to a press release, "the track is unlike anything you have heard before, almost overturning the band's musical concept on a new scale, coming in with a range full of depth with Kyo's vocals that evoke classical elements in this beautiful and intricate melodic track which builds up dramatically with the intertwining guitars and bass. 'Rinkaku', mixed by an internationally acclaimed engineer, has turned out to be an inimitable track with an intense sound."

The initial limited version of the "Rinkaku" single features a bonus DVD featuring scenes from the single's recording sessions. The limited deluxe version features a bonus DVD featuring scenes from the recording of "Rinkaku" and the band's November 11, 2011 concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall.

The new lineup of reactivated British extreme metal legends CARCASS made its live debut last night (Tuesday, March 26) at the Underworld in London. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker on stage were new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and a second guitarist whose identity has not yet been officially revealed.

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

CARCASS recently recruited Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY) to mix their comeback album, "Surgical Steel", after the CD's producer, Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE), quit the project two weeks into the mixing process. During last night's concert, Walker claimed that Richardson walked away from the mix in order to work on the new TRIVIUM album (see video below).

CARCASS' first studio LP in 17 years, "Surgical Steel" is currently being mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) for a late 2013 release via an as-yet-undetermined record label. The band's first studio outing since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen.

In a brand new interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think."

He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good."

Regarding how the material for the new CARCASS album came together, the band's guitarist, Bill Steer, told U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine: "I found myself playing riffs that sounded like CARCASS. This was after the band had finished the whole reunion cycle of shows and festivals. So, officially, I would have been playing with other bands and stuff, but for some reason whenever I picked up a guitar at home I was coming up with riffs that sounded like CARCASS. I got on the phone to Jeff and said, 'We could have a crack at writing a couple of tunes and seeing if they're strong enough and take it from there.' We also agreed if it didn't sound like carcass or have that kind of vibe to it, we would just drop it. So that was the thing, we got together and started working on some stuff and just immediately got the excitement back very quickly."

Added Bill: "It definitely sounds like CARCASS. I think we just generally by accident captured the flavor of past music that we have done and you can't help but push it forward. We have really been creative and when you are looking at things like guitar harmonies, it's way more adventurous on this record. It's not just parallel harmony like we did in the past, things branch off in different directions.

"A lot of what is happening now is based on rhythms rather than actual riffs. We were discussing this a lot during record sessions about how the riff is almost dying or dead already. People spend a lot of time chugging on the bottom string [but] that's a rhythm, it's not a riff. We can't write a song, never mind an album, without it being chock-full of riffs."

Stated Jeff Walker: "I'd like to feel like we are giving CARCASS fans what they want again. I'm a realist and I think Bill has realized and Dan know what people like about CARCASS. We're definitely delivering."

While the final track listing has yet to be confirmed, the following songs were recorded during the sessions:

* The Master Butcher's Apron
* The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills
* A Congealed Clot Of Blood
* A Wraith In The Apparatus
* 316l Grade Surgical Steel
* Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
* Captive Bolt Pistol
* Intensive Battery Brooding
* None Compliance To Astm F899-12 Standard
* Mount Of Execution
* 1985/Thrasher's Abattoir
* Unfit For Human Consumption
* Zochrot
* Livestock Marketplace

Guitarist Michael Amott and drummer Daniel Erlandsson, who have been touring with CARCASS since the band's reunion was announced in 2007, are no longer involved with the group due to scheduling conflicts with their main band, ARCH ENEMY.

Regarding the sound of the forthcoming CARCASS album, Walker stated: "We've taken stylistic cues from all the albums because it's in our blood, but it's no rehash or mess of ideas. I think it sounds almost like the missing link between the third and forth albums but with some groove in there. I've jokingly christened some parts 'trad blast' and some 'death sleaze'… don't think for a minute this is just some nostalgic throwback album — we're setting up another 17 years of ideas for other bands to copy and clean up on. [laughs]"

Asked if this means we'll be hearing some death metal vocals out of Bill for the first time since "Necroticism", Walker told Decibel, "Yes, already in the can. It's more along the lines of how I envisioned him backing me up on 'Heartwork'. That said, my own vocals have a hell of a lot more range than they did in the past solely down to the luxury of having time to record them — I did all the vocals for 'Heartwork' in two days and it shows!"

ALICE IN CHAINS will release their fifth studio album, the second with vocalist William DuVall titled, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, on May 28th.

The band has just issued a stream of the second single, 'Stone', which serves as the follow-up to lead-off single 'Hollow'; listen to 'Stone' below:
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here will contain the following 11 songs:

‘Voices’
‘Low Ceiling’
‘Stone’
‘The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here’
‘Hollow’
‘Lab Monkey’
‘Hung On A Hook’
‘Pretty Done’
‘Breath On A Window’
‘Choke’
‘Phantom Limb’
In live news, AIC has the following shows booked:

The complete AIC tour itinerary is now as follows:

April
25 - The Fillmore - Miami Beach, FL
26 - WXTB Rockfest - Tampa, FL
27 - Rockville - Jacksonville, FL
30 - BUCC Concert Hall - Birmingham, AL

May
1 - William B. Bell Auditorium - Augusta, GA
3 - Beale Street Music Festival - Memphis, TN
4 - Carolina Rebellion - Charlotte, NC
5 - Norva - Norfolk, VA
7 - Sands Event Center - Bethlehem, PA
8 - Benedum Center - Pittsburgh, PA
10 - Central Iowa Expo - Boone, IA
11 - Rockfest - Kansas City, MO
12 - KPNT Pointfest - St. Louis, MO
14 - Lyons Fairgrounds - Sioux Falls, SD
15 - Eagles Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI
18 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Philadelphia, PA
19 - Rock On The Range - Columbus, OH
21 - Embassy Theatre - Ft. Wayne, IN
22 - Aiken Theatre - Evansville, IN
24 - Pinewood Bowl Amphitheater - Lincoln, NE
25 - Pryor, Oklahoma - Rocklahoma
26 - San Antonio, TX - River City Rock Fest

June
15 - Donington Park, England - Download Festival

September
19 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Rock In Rio

Australian traditional metal act DRAGONSCLAW posted a preview sampler of its upcoming sophomore album, "Judgement Day". The CD is expected for release later this year through an as-yet-undisclosed new label.

Comented DRAGONSCLAW vocalist Giles Lavery: "We are extremely happy with how 'Judgement Day' has turned out. I feel we have our strongest batch of songs yet. There is more diversity musically than heard on the first album and we are ready to take no prisoners. There have been some killer metal albums released this past 18 months and we knew we had to rise to the challenge."

"Judgement Day" track listing:

01. Watching My Every Move (feat. David Reece)
02. Onset of War
03. Judgement Day
04. Bullet
05. Fear
06. Fly: Defenders Of The Skies Part II
07. Lucifer's Hammer (WARLORD cover)
08. Battle Cry - A Tribute to Mark Reale (feat. Jack Starr)
09. Eternally

Lavery was recently named the vocalist for WARLORD on the band's upcoming European shows.

DRAGONSCLAW's debut album, "Prophecy", was released in January via Arkeyn Steel Records. The CD features guest appearances by Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) and Alessandro Del Vecchio (EDGE OF FOREVER, EDEN'S CURSE).

The band's lineup is as follows:

Ben Thomas - Guitar
Giles Lavery - Vocals
Ray Martens - Keyboards
Aaron Thomas - Bass, Orchestration
Alcides "Seed" Stowe - Drums

DEF LEPPARD kicked off its eleven-show residency this past Friday night (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 the band's second performance — which took place on Saturday, March 23 — can be seen below.

Known for legendary big-scale arena shows, DEF LEPPARD is bringing its world-class production to The Joint offering an up-close-and-personal experience like never before. With the furthest seat only 155 feet from the intimate venue's stage, Viva Hysteria! is unlike any show the band has ever done or will ever do again.

"We are actually doing two sets; we are going to open up for ourselves," DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen recently told Classic Rock Revisited. "We are going to do 45 minutes, take a break and then do 'Hysteria'. We are learning hundreds of songs and we are going to be doing songs that we've not played in years, or that we've never done. It is going to be really great. The first set will never be the same; we will change it every night. They will all be DEF LEPPARD songs. We may play songs that we've covered of other people. It is going to be very fun for us. We are not sure what we are going to play. We are digging stuff up from the first album and the second album and we are just going to really do a lot of stuff that the fans will love."

Asked how the residency at the Hard Rock came up, Phil said: "Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] and I have wanted to do this for probably ten, or fifteen, years. CHEAP TRICK used to do this sort of thing in theaters. They would do the entire 'Dream Police' album, or something like that, and we thought that was cool. We wanted to do something like that. The Hard Rock people came to us and asked if we wanted to do the residency and if we would play an entire album. We said we wanted to do 'Hysteria' in its entirety because we've never done that before."

Veteran rockers RATT got the race day started this past Sunday, March 24 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, where they performed a pre-race concert at 10 a.m. on the FanZone main stage. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Speaking to "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" this past January, RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer stated about the band's current status: "We're getting ready to do a new record with Brian Howes, this producer that produced NICKELBACK, we have new management, we have Juan Croucier [bass] back in the band, and we're gonna tour this summer and hopefully get along and be happy, which would be amazing."

He added: "Brian Howes is a great guy, great producer, and he's top notch, dude. He's a current A-lister, and we're very excited. We have new management. And we're just looking forward to 2013."

Regarding the songwriting process for the new RATT album, Blotzer said: "We start pre-production in the next week. Everybody's been writing and everybody has a backlog of material. So we'll just get in like we did with the last record, and there's, like, boom, 35 songs, and then we'll let the producer go, 'OK, let's work these up.' He's got the final say on that. I mean, the last record we worked up in two weeks."

He continued: "I don't think [the new RATT CD is] gonna be super overproduced. I think we're trying to do something new, and really, on all levels of RATT — have everything come out and be a new RATT. [We'll still have] classic-sounding songs, but it's gonna be, obviously, a twist in the production with the way that [Brian] produces."

On the topic of the personal differences and internal strife, which has plagued RATT for much of the band's existence, Blotzer said: "Listen, man, things have been disintegrating in RATT since we were 16 years old, OK?! We've got five chiefs, no Indians, but this chemistry that we have produces so many great songs. I mean, I don't what the fuck it is, but we have a great time with the music, which overshadows that we think each other are a bunch of clowns. Occasionally, we do make some good business decisions, but it's a hard road to hone. But I love the guys, and I'm not saying anything bad about them; it's a hard gig … It's five fucking drunk Irish brothers that not one will fucking give up in, like, if you're slap-fighting or wrestling in the room, I'm not giving up unless I can't breathe and I'm knocked out."

Original RATT bassist Juan Croucier rejoined the Californian rockers for their show at the M3 Rock Festival on May 12, 2012 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

RATT's first studio record in 11 years, "Infestation", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 30 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was issued on April 20, 2010 via Loud & Proud.

"Infestation" has sold more than 50,000 copies in the U.S. so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Boston power/thrash veterans MELIAH RAGE have announced the addition of singer Marc Lopes to the group's ranks. The band is currently working on a new album, "Warrior", to be released this summer.

Lopes, who hails from New Bedford, Massachusetts, was previously involved with DARK DAY SUNDAY, the old-school thrash outfit featuring FATES WARNING guitarist Frank Aresti and SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner.

MELIAH RAGE reunited with singer Paul Souza after the band's original vocalist Mike Munro became very dedicated to his church and spent time volunteering in Haiti. Mike subsequently felt these and other missions of goodwill would not allow him the flexibility of schedule to tour with MELIAH RAGE.

Souza recorded two albums with MELIAH RAGE — "Barely Human" and 2006's "The Deep And Dreamless Sleep". In addition, he toured with the band when it supported METAL CHURCH across the U.S. in 2007.

MELIAH RAGE parted ways with Souza last year and was searching for a replacement.

"We knew a lot of the same people and decided to have Marc come in and work with producer Rich Spillberg," commented MELIAH RAGE founder Anthony Nichols. "We are all very excited to work with Marc. He is a talented vocalist and highly motivated to write, tour and record with MELIAH RAGE."

MELIAH RAGE was founded in 1987 and 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the band's debut release, "Kill To Survive". Nichols has indicated that in addition to releasing a record this year, the band plans on making several live appearances.

MELIAH RAGE's seventh full-length studio album (or eighth, if you also count the "Unfinished Business" CD), "Dead To The World", came out in July 2011 via Italy's Metal On Metal Records.

Due to overwhelming demand, "Tears On Tape", the new album from from Finnish "love metallers" HIM, is being made available for pre-order in two brand new, limited-edition color vinyl pressings (translucent green apple and translucent royal blue). Previous vinyl pressings in both transparent and cream color are now completely sold out. The new vinyl pre-orders come with a full digital album download upon release date.

"Tears On Tape" 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

"All Lips Go Blue" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. A music video for the song will be helmed by Eugene Riecansky, a multi-award-winning director and animation and motion graphics who has previously worked on music clips for Madonna and THE PRODIGY, directed television commercials for MUSE, MTV Europe and MASTODON, and worked with international partners such as Warner Brother Records and the BBC.

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.

German thrashers DEW-SCENTED will release "Insurgent" in North America on May 28 via Prosthetic Records. The 19-track effort will contain over an hour's worth of music, including three new songs mixed alongside live tracks and covers celebrating more than 20 years of restless, deadly thrash metal.

The cover art for "Insurgent" was created by Björn Gooßes of Killustrations.net and can be seen below.

"Insurgent" track listing:

01. Confronting Entropy (5:36)
02. Guided By The Dead Light (5:19)
03. Sadistic Sinner (INCUBUS [Brazil] cover) (4:54)
04. Sworn To Obey (Live 2012) (4:05)
05. Turn To Ash (Live 2012) (3:02)
06. Soul Poison (Live 2012) (3:58)
07. Storm Within (Live 2012) (4:02)
08. Cities Of The Dead (Live 2012) (4:44)
09. Never To Return (Live 2012) (4:13)
10. Acts Of Rage (Live 2012) (4:21)
11. In Dying Mode (4:20)
12. Steady Decline (4:32) * Originally by Prong
13. No Spiritual Surrender (2:48) * Originally by Inside Out
14. Good Day For A Hanging (4:28) * Originally by Wasted Youth
15. The Storm (JUDGE cover) (3:23)
16. Recall The Pain (1:06)
17. The Death Of Common Sense (3:44)
18. Slaughterhouse (POWERMAD cover) (4:31)
19. Superstar Destroyer (GENOCIDE SUPERSTARS cover) (2:55)

1-3: new songs, 2013
4-10: live songs, 2012
11-15: Recorded during the "Icarus" sessions, 2012
16-19: Recorded during the "Invocation" sessions, 2010

One brand new track, "Confronting Entropy", is now available for streaming using the SoundCloud widget below.

DEW-SCENTED is currently supporting TESTAMENT on a number of European shows. Also appearing on the bill is BLEED FROM WITHIN.

DEW-SCENTED's latest album, "Icarus", was released on July 31, 2012 in North America via Prosthetic Records (one day earlier internationally through Metal Blade Records). The CD featured guest appearances by Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH), Rob Urbinati (SACRIFICE) and Dennis Schneider (RETALIATION, FINAL BREATH).

DEW-SCENTED vocalist Leif Jensen previously described the "Icarus" main theme as "a modern-times, very apocalyptic adaption of elements of the Icarus myth, using a lot of its symbolism while interlinking with several other personal or observant subjects in true DEW-SCENTED fashion." While the album — recorded at Soundlodge Studio and produced by Jörg Uken (NIGHTFALL, SUICIDAL ANGELS, GOD DETHRONED) — is not quite a concept album per se, Jensen said "Icarus" "has a pretty coherent lyrical flow, and that helps to enhance and also to intentionally enlarge the atmosphere and vibe created by the music." The "Icarus" cover artwork was once created by Björn Goosses of Killustrations.

DEW-SCENTED's current lineup is as follows (pictured from left to right in photo below):

Rory Hansen - Guitar
Marvin Vriesde - Guitar
Leif Jensen - Vocals
Joost van der Graaf - Bass
Koen Herfst - Drums

North Carolina's ASG have revealed the artwork and tracklisting for their forthcoming new album, Blood Drive, produced by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, FU MANCHU) and due for release on May 28th via Relapse Records.

The cover art was created by Malleus, an Italian trio who have created artwork for THE FLAMING LIPS, HIGH ON FIRE, SWANS and UFOMAMMUT. Check it out below:

Blood Drive tracklisting:

'Avalanche'
'Blood Drive'
'Day’s Work'
'Scrappy’s Trip'
'Castlestorm'
'Blues For Bama'
'Earthwalk'
'Children’s Music'
'Hawkeye'
'Stargazin'
'The Ladder'
'Good Enough To Eat'

'Day's Work' is previewed in an album trailer below:

30-second audio snippets of the songs "Red City" and "Black John" from "House Of Gold & Bones - Part 2", the second part of STONE SOUR's two-album series, "House of Gold & Bones", can be streamed below. Also available is of STONE SOUR lead singer Corey Taylor's video commentary on the two tracks (courtesy of Australia's Music Feeds).

"House Of Gold & Bones - Part 2" will be released on April 9 via Roadrunner Records. The albums were recorded at Sound Farm Studios just outside of the band's native Des Moines, Iowa with producer David Bottrill (TOOL, MUSE) at the helm.

"House Of Gold & Bones - Part 2" track listing:

01. Red City
02. Black John
03. Sadist
04. Peckinpah
05. Stalemate
06. Gravesend
07. '82
08. The Uncanny Valley
09. Blue Smoke
10. Do Me A Favor
11. The Conflagration
12. The House Of Gold & Bones

"Do Me A Favor", was made available digitally on February 12. Taylor gave The Pulse Of Radio a preview of what to expect from the song. "It's quite aggressive, and actually the label asked me if I would go in and tame stuff down and I was like, 'No.' I'm not doing that," he said. "This is going out the way it is and I'm not gonna touch it up. I'm not gonna have people looking for a song that doesn't exist. This is the way it is on the album, that's the way it's going to be when we put it out to radio."

When asked by ThisIsNotAScene what fans can expect from the second part of "House Of Gold & Bones", Taylor said: "Part 2 is much darker [than the first part], if I'm honest. Aside from it being a completely different album, it feels more like a soundtrack to a movie in a lot of ways, man. It's really thematic. There are themes from part 1 that reveal themselves and that come again, musically. There's actually stuff from part 2 that you'll hear that's on part 1 and you'll be like, 'Fucking hell!'"

He continued: "We essentially recorded these, and this is where technology is now, so you could have these in a playlist on your iTunes and play them top to fucking bottom and really get that experience while you read both parts. So it's some of our darkest music, our most intricate and complex music, some of the best fucking lyrics I've ever written, to be honest. Even writing from a narrative like that, it was so challenging. Plus, it's got some of our best songs on it."

The "Do Me A Favor" video was directed by Phil Mucci, whose clip for HIGH ON FIRE's "Fertile Green" was named best video of 2012 by Revolver.

"House Of Gold & Bones - Part 1" came out last fall.

Music is just one of the mediums used to tell the "House of Gold & Bones" story, and Taylor recently revealed details of the new project with Dark Horse Comics of the same name, which follows, and expands on, the story contained within the albums. With stunning covers from Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone, Batman, Abe Sapien), this four-issue limited series marks Taylor's debut in the comics genre. The first issue of the series will be out on April 17.

Taylor recently told Billboard.com recently that the group is planning a world tour in 2014 during which they will spend two nights in each city and perform both halves of its "House Of Gold & Bones" double album in their entirety.

After a seven-year hiatus, instrumental neo-fusion supergroup NIACIN — featuring legendary bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, STEVE VAI, DAVID LEE ROTH), world-renowned drummer Dennis Chambers (SANTANA, PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC) and acclaimed keyboardist John Novello (CHICK COREA, RITCHIE COLE) — will release its sixth studio album, "Krush", in North America on April 2. The artwork (see below) was designed by Brian Ames (KING DIAMOND, ARCH/MATHEOS, KING'S X) and coincides impeccably with the band's kinetic 14-track release.

Due on April 2 voa Prosthetic Records, "Krush" was recorded at Clear Lake Studios (NO DOUBT, BLACK VEIL BRIDES, INTRONAUT) in North Hollywood with engineer Ara Sarkisian (STEEL PANTHER) and was mixed and mastered by Dino Herrmann (SCORPIONS, GUNS N' ROSES, MEAT LOAF).

"Krush" track listing:

01. Krush
02. Tone Wheels
03. Stormy Sunday
04. Low Art
05. Car Crash Red
06. Electorcity
07. Cold Fusion
08. Majestic Dance
09. Prelude & Funky Opus
10. The Gnarly Shuffle
11. Drifting
12. Sly Voltage
13. That's The One!
14. Triple Strength

30-second audio snipets of all the tracks on the album can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

The moniker NIACIN — the common name of the vitamin B3 — refers to the integral musical role played by the Hammond B-3 organ in shaping the band's sound, described by All Music Guide as "part acid jazz, part progressive rock, and part jazz-rock fusion." Inspired by the likes of RETURN TO FOREVER and the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, the group released their debut album in 1996 on Stretch, the label of jazz legend Chick Corea (who later wrote and performed on a track on NIACIN's second album). With each member already firmly established in their respective genres, the band set out to form a new sound combining their jazz and rock roots, mixed with inspiration from B-3 legends such as BLIND FAITH, Keith Emerson, Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE), and Ken Hensley (URIAH HEEP). As the buzz spread, the group toured the world periodically over the following decade, during which they released four additional critically acclaimed albums featuring such notable guests as Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather.

For the last several years, the individual members of NIACIN have worked steadily on various other projects — Chambers, for example, continues to serve as the musical anchor for Carlos Santana's ongoing Las Vegas residency — but in 2012, the group reconvened for the first time since 2006 to write and record "Krush".

Danish thrashers ESSENCE will release their new album, "Last Night Of Solace", on March 29 via NoiseArt Records. The effort will be made available as a limited CD in a slipcase and will include a bonus track. The CD was recorded, engineered and produced by Swedish mastermind Peter Tägtgren (PAIN, HYPOCRISY, IMMORTAL, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DIMMU BORGIR) at his Abyss Studio.

Commented ESSENCE: "'Last Night Of Solace' is very different from our last album. We have matured in our songwriting, our abilities and our expression.

"It is difficult to describe the album with words, but 'enormous' covers a lot of what the listener will hear on the record.

"We needed to make this album the way it is today, because it is a statement and it will serve as a point of reference in the future. Also, we did what came naturally and 'all by itself' to us.

"There is nothing 'forced' on this album and it is just our clean personal energy captured on in 10 tracks. You can hear that the album is recorded in extreme sub-zero temperatures and in the middle of a frozen Swedish winter."

"Last Night Of Solace" track listing:

01. Intro
02. Final Eclipse
03. Arachnida
04. For The Fallen
05. Children Of Rwanda
06. Gemstones
07. Dark Matter
08. Last Night Of Solace
09. Opium
10. Fractured Dimension (bonus track)

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

ESSENCE was awarded the deal with NoiseArt Records as part of a contest launched by the Austrian management and booking company Rock The Nation. This unique competition was presented and promoted by several leading European metal magazines, including Noizeletter, Metalnews.de, Stormbringer.at and Rock Hard Italy.

The Rock The Nation Award was launched in 2009 and has resulted in record and booking deals for STEELWING, SUICIDAL ANGELS (2009), SKULL FIST (2010), KRAMPUS and NEXUS INFERIS (2011).

ESSENCE has already shared stage with such acts as IN FLAMES, ENTOMBED and VADER nas has played the Roskilde (Denmark) and Vagos Open Air (Portugal) festivals, among others.

The first trailer for "Halo Of Blood", the eighth studio album from Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM, can be seen below. The two-minute clip was filmed at the listening session for the CD, which took place on March 16 at the Nuclear Blast Records headquarters in Germany, and shows the first impressions of the international press.

"Halo Of Blood" will be released on June 11 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover art was created by Sami Saramäki, who was responsible for the artwork on previous CHILDREN OF BODOM albums "Follow The Reaper", "Are You Dead Yet?" and "Hate Crew Deathroll".

CHILDREN OF BODOM's new CD was recorded at Danger Johnny Studios in Helsinki. For the recording of the LP, CHILDREN OF BODOM has teamed up with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their fan-favorite albums "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll", as well as Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (MARDUK, AMON AMARTH), who oversaw production of both vocals and keyboards on the record. The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki.

Commented CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho: "'Halo Of Blood' is the eighth studio album from CHILDREN OF BODOM, and believe it or not, but we still managed to keep it fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make COB sound recognizable. It's got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics wise there are themes we had never had before. It's 10 new songs of pure Nordic metal and whether you enjoy it with a beer or a glass of water, I'm sure you will have a good time."

Added CHILDREN OF BODOM bass player Henkka Seppälä about the artwork: "We wanted to have a winter scene. Somehow it fits well with the atmosphere of the music and the composing session. It could be Lake Bodom, actually, frozen, with people trapped under the ice. Very Finnish looking scene. We were really happy how Sami created the whole imagery!"

"Halo Of Blood" track listing:

01. Waste Of Skin
02. Halo Of Blood
03. Scream For Silence
04. Transference
05. Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
06. The Days Are Numbered
07. Dead Man's Hand On You
08. Damage Beyond Repair
09. All Twisted
10. One Bottle And A Knee Deep

"Halo Of Blood" is expected to feature a guest appearance by ANNIHILATOR mainman Jeff Waters.

"I played on ANNIHILATOR's album 'Metal' in 2007, so the way I see it, Jeff Waters owes BODOM a solo or two! It's payback time," Laiho told Soundi magazine.

"Solid Ground", the new solo video from Tom Keifer, best known as the singer/songwriter/guitarist of the Philadelphia-based blues-rock band CINDERELLA, can be seen below. The song comes off solo album, "The Way Life Goes", which will be released on April 30 via Merovee Records (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group).

The collection of 14 new songs ranges from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots that have always been present in his unique sound that has generated the sale of over 15 million records worldwide for CINDERELLA. Rolling Stone praised Keifer as "a gritty, bluesy (rocker) with enough genuine swagger to draw comparisons to Mick Jagger."

"This record was a labor of love," Keifer told TriCities.com. "When I started this record, CINDERELLA was in the middle of a lawsuit with Sony Records. This record is not in any way to be taken as me stepping away from CINDERELLA."

"I took a lot of time making this record," he continued. "I made it over 10 years. I wanted to make something I loved. My wife, Savannah (Snow), co-wrote a lot of the songs with me. It was a blessing to me.

"Each song has something to do with life. It's just life, love, love lost, being crazy, going crazy, being lost. The record, there's no change, really, in style. It has the peaks and valleys.

"I've always approached music, played music that I like. I've never chased trends through CINDERELLA and with this album. It reflects what's in me."

"The Way Life Goes" track listing:

01. Solid Ground
02. A Different Light
03. It's Not Enough
04. Cold Day In Hell
05. Thick And Thin
06. Ask Me Yesterday
07. Fools Paradise
08. The Flower Song
09. Mood Elevator
10. Welcome To My Mind
11. You Showed Me
12. Ain't That A Bitch
13. The Way Life Goes
14. Babylon

"The Flower Song", the album's first single, was serviced to AAA radio stations nationwide on February 4, while "Solid Ground" was serviced to all rock formats on March 11.

Keifer wrote "The Flower Song" with Jim Peterik, formerly of the bands SURVIVOR and the IDES OF MARCH.

"The Way Life Goes" is a raw, introspective look at the roller coaster ride that has been Keifer's life for the past 15 years. From being told that he would never sing again as a result of a partially paralyzed left vocal cord, to the emotional and personal battles that followed, his solo debut is a story of perseverance, a testament to the power of passion and will, when combined with a true love of music.

"It's pretty scary," Keifer said of his vocal paralysis. "I've had six surgeries to deal with the collateral damage. Performing… has been difficult for me because of the vocal issues I've had. I work several hours every day on that. That's a difficult thing for me every day."

Keifer will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday, May 1 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with Keifer by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). The show will be streamed on the "Rockline" web site for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.

For more information, visit RocklineRadio.com.

"Siege Mentality", a brand new song from the legendary NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band SATAN, can be streamed in the YouTube clip 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.

"Disarm The Descent", the new album from Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE — singer Jesse Leach, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D'Antonio, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and drummer Justin Foley — is available for streaming in its entirety at AltPress.com. Due on on April 2 via Roadrunner Records, the follow-up to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's 2009's self-titled release is the band's first album with original singer Jesse Leach at the vocal helm since 2002's now-classic, genre-defining "Alive or Just Breathing". Leach returned to the band in January 2012 after a decade-long absence. The artwork for the new CD was created by D'Antonio.

"It is with a grateful spirit that we prepare for this record's release," Leach said. "From the music, to the lyrics, to the artwork, we are all proud of what we have accomplished. To me, this is by far my best vocal performance, much thanks to Adam's guidance and faith in my abilities. I am very grateful to be where I am in life, back in an amazing band with a record we are all excited for the world to hear. Thanks to all the fans for their warm welcome back and their undying love for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE."

"Disarm The Descent" was mixed by veteran British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, ACCEPT, ARCH ENEMY and NEVERMORE.

The band recently embarked on a tour that celebrated the 10th anniversary of "Alive Or Just Breathing". They performed the album in full, with a few fan favorites and hits from their gold-selling albums, 2004's "The End Of Heartache" and 2006's "As Daylight Dies", sprinkled into the setlist. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE were also profiled by Decibel in the magazine's highly respected "Hall of Fame" feature for "Alive Or Just Breathing".

In between tours, the band put its nose to the grindstone to work on what would become "Disarm The Descent", with Dutkiewicz producing. The wheels have been turning for the past year, as the band supplemented recording with touring.

"Disarm The Descent" track listing:

01. The Hell In Me
02. Beyond The Flames
03. New Awakening
04. In Due Time
05. A Tribute To The Fallen
06. The Turning Point
07. All That We Have
08. You Don't Bleed For Me
09. The Call
10. No End In Sight
11. Always
12. Time Will Not Remain

"Anytime Anyplace", a brand new song from Texas heavy rockers DROWNING POOL, can be streamed below. The track comes off the band's fifth studio album, "Resilience", which is due out on April 9.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce admitted in a new interview with Billboard that he went through a "little bout of depression" after the band's last singer, Ryan McCombs, left the group in 2011. Pierce called McCombs' departure after six years "frustrating . . . like 'Here we go again,'" but added, "Now I look back, and things happen for a reason. It led us on this path and now we've got our favorite musician we've ever worked with, hands down. So we had to go through all the rest of it to get to this point."

DROWNING POOL's new singer — their third since the death of original frontman Dave Williams in 2002 — is fellow Dallas resident Jasen Moreno, and Pierce told The Pulse Of Radio a little about him. "Super great guy to work with, man," he said. "He's been by far the most respectful guy we've worked with since, you know, Dave's passing, and it's been nothing but awesome. We've written more songs with him in this past year than I think we've ever written in our whole career. He's a singer/songwriter as well. It's just fun to work with somebody else who's as passionate about it as you are, you know what I mean?"

Pierce told Billboard the band has known Moreno since the late '90s, saying, "He's been that guy on the scene; he was always great but never got his shot."

"Resilience" track listing:

01. Anytime Anyplace
02. Die For Nothing
03. One Finger And A Fist
04. Digging These Holes
05. Saturday Night
06. Low Crawl
07. Life Of Misery
08. Broken Again
09. Understand
10. Bleed Wth You
11. Skip To The End

Bonus tracks:

12. In Memory Of
13. Blindfold

Pierce said the record "has the staple DROWNING POOL sound . . . It's definitely more of a heavy record than we've done before, though."

DROWNING POOL has just completed a tour with FLYLEAF, who are also introducing a new singer named Kristen May.

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 of the song "I Died For You", taken from the forthcoming set, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below (audio only).

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.

"I Died For You" performance (audio):

French heavy metallers STONECAST, who recently joined forces with Gabriel Management, are streaming a new track, 'Jakuta (Cult Of The Bolthrower)', as a teaser for their upcoming new album, which features legendary ex-MANOWAR and JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR drummer Rhino.

Listen to the track below:
Stonecast was formed in 2002, and after several demo releases they issued their debut album in 2009. After a bunch of shows - including and appearance at the French edition of Sonisphere, where they closed the festival after the "Big 4" - the band is back to studio, where they currently forge their new album with drummer Rhino behind the kit.
Stonecast lineup:

Franck "Kanon" Ghirardi - Vocals
Seb "Cazu" Casula - Rhythm Guitars
Bob "Flying" Saliba - Lead Guitars
Lionel "Beev" Antonorsi - Bass
Rhino - Drums
More on Stonecast at this location.