STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet has checked in with the following update:

"We are releasing two Stryper records this year, I'm releasing a solo record and book, and we're recording a third Stryper record which will be released next year, 2014."
Sweet previously issued the following update on the band's new full length studio album, which is due to be recorded in April:

"The new record is sounding killer! Very different, very Stryper and very powerful! The concensus is that it may very well be our best record yet and maybe, just maybe, we'll be as big as JUSTIN BIEBER with this one :-)."

Stryper's new re-recorded collection, Second Coming, will hit streets on March 22nd in Europe and March 26th in North America. An official EPK has been posted online and can be viewed below:
The album features sixteen tracks, including new recordings of fourteen songs from the band’s early years as well as two brand new songs recorded especially for Second Coming, and is produced by Stryper frontman Michael Sweet.

Second Coming tracklisting:

'Loud N’ Clear'
'Loving You'
'Soldiers Under Command'
'Makes Me Wanna Sing'
'First Love'
'The Rock That Makes Me Roll'
'Reach Out'
'Surrender'
'To Hell With The Devil'
'Calling On You'
'Free'
'The Way'
'Sing Along Song'
'More Than A Man'
Bleeding From Inside Out' (new song)
'Blackened' (new song)

Listen to an audio sample of 'Soldiers Under Command' here, and a sample of 'The Rock That Makes Me Roll' at this location.

The first single - a new studio cut 'Bleeding From Inside Out' - was released on February 25th.

Sweet recently commented, “We're really excited about this record. The re-recorded songs are sounding awesome… better than the originals in many ways! One word to describe the record? Heavier. We've hooked up with some great people - we've got new management, a great album, a great label. We just feel like everything is coming together, and hopefully some big things are to follow."

Stryper is one of the top Christian rock bands of all time. Comprised of the original line-up of Michael Sweet (vocals/guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Tim Gaines (bass), and Robert Sweet (drums), Stryper has been rocking since 1984, and is responsible for such '80s metal classic albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil, In God We Trust and such MTV hit singles/videos as 'Calling On You', 'Free', and 'Honestly'.

After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, Stryper returned strong in the early 21st century. To date, the band has sold upwards of 8 million records worldwide and is a Dove Award-winner and Grammy nominee. Stryper is the first band to have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously.

The release date of "Novum Initium", the new album from multinational melodic metallers MASTERPLAN, has been pushed back to May 17 from the previously announced April 26 (via AFM Records). No reason was given for the delay.

"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 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.

SPV/Steamhammer has announced plans to release a new live album from '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford. More details about the effort, which is due later this year, will be made available soon.

Lita last year filmed a video for the song "Mother" in Joshua Tree, California. Directing the clip was Ford's former THE RUNAWAYS bandmate Victory Tischler-Blue, whose film "Edgeplay" was based on her tenure in the 1970s all-girl teenage rock act.

"Mother" is dedicated to Lita's estranged sons, Rocco and James (father is former NITRO singer Jim Gillette). "I wrote this song for [my sons]," Lita told the Deciblog. "I wrote this song to tell them how much I love them and to tell them that I didn't mean for this to happen [for Lita to be forced to live apart from her kids following her divorce from Gillette. — Ed.] and that it's not my fault. I didn't do this to them, although they think I did. I miss them, I love them. They're my life."

"It was hard to write," she told Examiner.com. "It was hard to record. It's hard to listen to. I find myself skipping over it sometimes, depending on how much makeup I have on that day. If I'm all made up, I'm like, 'Oh, can't cry right now!' I've done interviews where big, grown men tell me they've come away from it in tears. That's huge. That's what I wanted — for people to feel my pain. But it is a great song."

"Living Like A Runaway" was released on June 19, 2012 in North America. The effort was made available in four configurations: a double LP, limited-edition CD, standard CD and digital download. The artwork for the album was created by famed rock photographer Mark Weiss.

KEEL frontman Ron Keel joined Lita Ford during the Monsters Of Rock cruise — which embarked on its second voyage March 16 and returned four days later — to perform her hit song "Close My Eyes Forever". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

"Enshrined In My Memory", the new video from TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others. The song is also available for download and legal streaming through all fine shops such as iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

Frontiers Records has set a May 21 North American release date for TIMO TOLKKI'S AVALON new metal opera, "The Land Of New Hope". The CD's story takes place more than 40 years in the future when most of the planet has been destroyed by natural disasters. The title of the opera refers to the safe haven that a small group of survivors seek.

"The Land Of New Hope" is composed by one of the forefathers of the power metal genre, former STRATOVARIUS main songwriter and guitarist Timo Tolkki.

The album will be available in two formats: a standard CD and a deluxe edition featuring a 30-minute documentary on the making-of the album and two videos.

For this unique concept album, Timo Tolkki was able to gather some of most accomplished international singers: Michael Kiske (UNISONIC), Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE), Rob Rock (IMPELLITTERI), Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X), Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION) and Tony Kakko (SONATA ARCTICA). Rounding out the stunning lineup of this album are world-renowned musicians Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY OF FIRE) on drums, Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS), Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and Mikko Härkin (SONATA ARCTICA) on keyboards, and Tolkki himself taking care of all guitars, bass and production duties.

"The Land Of New Hope" came about as the result of a discussion that began years ago between Timo Tolkki and Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino. Perugino, a longtime STRATOVARIUS fan, suggested Tolkki return to the original STRATOVARIUS sound in a more symphonic fashion. In August 2012, Tolkki began work on what would become "The Land Of New Hope". Tolkki explained: "I sort of rediscovered myself musically in the process of making this album. I wrote the story first and started composing the music after that. My aim was to write memorable songs with good melodies that would support the story.

"In STRATOVARIUS back in the early '90s, I was one of the creators of the power metal genre, so it is only natural that people may associate this music style with me... but on this album, you will find lot of dynamics including fully-orchestrated songs that sound very, very big."

With the full support of Frontiers Records and Serafino Perugino's executive production, "The Land Of New Hope" opens a new chapter in Tolkki's career. Tolkki added, "'The Land Of New Hope' is one part of the story, the end of it, actually. The story is longer and goes back to the time before this album's concept, so two more metal operas are likely to follow to complete a trilogy.

"In general, I find the metal opera concept fascinating and logical to me at this point of my career. I love classical music and just like in classical opera, in metal opera you can also create stories and have almost limitless possibilities musically.

"It is not so easy to stay fresh after a 25-year career, but this album is truly something special."

"The Land Of New Hope" track listing:

01. Avalanche Anthem
02. A World Without Us
03. Enshrined In My Memory
04. In The Name Of The Rose
05. We Will Find A Way
06. Shine
07. The Magic Of The Night
08. To The Edge Of The Earth
09. I'll Sing You Home
10. The Land Of New Hope

A "The Land Of New Hope" EPK (Electronic Press Kit) can be seen below.

When GOTHMINISTER release their new album Utopia on May 17th via AFM Records, the fans will get a lot more than just a new piece of work from one of Norway’s upcoming metal acts: the concept of Utopia gives insight to the schizophrenic world of band leader Bjørn Alexander Brem: working as a lawyer at daytime, Brem’s second personality, the Gothminister, takes over at nighttime. Utopia will be released as CD and ltd. CD incl. a bonus concert/movie-DVD. Here the album’s concept is presented in a visual way too.
Tracklisting:

CD
'The New Beginning'
'Someone Is After Me'
'Utopia'
'March'
'Horrorshow'
'Nightmare'
'Afterlife'
'Helldemon'
'All Alone'
'Purgatory'
'Eternal'
'Raise The Dead'
'Boogeyman'

Bonus-DVD on limited edition
'Rapture' (Intro-Movie)
'Purgatory' (live)
'Eternal' (live)
'Someone Is After Me' (live)
'Stonehenge' (live)
'Beauty After Midnight' (live)
'Dusk Till Dawn' (live)
'The Possession' (live)
'Devil' (live)
'Afterlife' (live)
'Helldemon' (live)
'Liar' (live)
'Monsters' (live)
'Darkside' (live)
'March' (live)
'Horrorshow' (live)
'Happiness In Darkness' (live)
'Utopia' (live)
'The Resurrection' (Outro-Movie)

Live material from NRK Lydverket October 31, 2012
- Halloween Special
- Utopia – Behind The Scenes

The first official photo of the new lineup of U.D.O. — the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider — can be seen below.

Guitarist Igor Gianola recently left U.D.O. and was replaced by Finnish axeman Kasperi Heikkinen.

U.D.O. last year announced the addition of guitarist Andrey Smirnov to the group's ranks. He replaced Stefan Kaufmann, who left the group for health reasons.

U.D.O. will release its new album, "Steelhammer", on May 24 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold.

"Steelhammer" track listings:

Standard CD

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Stay True
13. When Love Becomes A Lie
14. Book Of Faith

Digipack

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Shadows Come Alive (bonus track)
13. Stay True Stay You
14. When Love Becomes A Lie
15. Book Of Faith

Japanese version

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Stay True Stay You
13. When Love Becomes A Lie
14. Book Of Faith
15. Dust And Rust (bonus track)

Stefan will continue to work with U.D.O. behind the scenes and produce other bands at his Roxx studio.

Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run due to health problems.

Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and has recorded nine albums with them.

"Live In Sofia", the new DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD from U.D.O., entered the Music DVD chart in Finland at position No. 1 and in Germany at No. 4.

"Live In Sofia" contains footage of U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 concert at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria.

U.D.O. 's latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records.

LED ZEPPELIN singer ROBERT PLANT kicked off his Australian tour with his new band THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS on March 23rd in Fremantle, Australia at the West Coast Blues & Roots festival.
Robert Plant and The Sensational Shape Shifters performed:
'Heartbreaker'
'Tin Pan Valley'
'Another Tribe'
'Friends'
'Spoonful (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
'Black Dog'
'The Enchanter'
'Four Sticks'
'Funny In My Mind'
'Ramble On'
'Bron Y Aur Stomp'
'Whole Lotta Love'

Encore:
'Going To California'
'Rock N Roll'
Check out fan-filmed footage of the Zep classic 'Whole Lotta Love' below:

Fan-filmed video footage of JANETSHAREROXYGINA's (a.k.a. JSRG) March 15 performance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise pre-party at Exit 66 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida can be seen below.

JANETSHAREROXYGINA is the newly formed group featuring three former members of the platinum-selling all-female '80s band VIXEN — singer Janet Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross, along with guitarist Gina Stile, who was the guitarist on VIXEN's "Tangerine" album.

Gardner previously stated about the new project: "It feels so good to be reunited with Roxy and Share. And when we started jammin' some old VIXEN songs with Gina, we knew this was right."

Share Ross added: "With hits like 'Edge Of A Broken Heart', 'Cryin'', 'How Much Love', 'Not a Minute Too Soon', 'Love is a Killer' and 'Rev It Up' emblazoned upon our souls, we knew it was time to resurrect our sound. We want to give the fans what they want."

In 1987, "Edge Of A Broken Heart" climbed the Billboard chart to the Top Ten and VIXEN had hit after hit. EMI suddenly had the only platinum-selling all-female rock band of its time on their roster.

Dubbed "MTV Darlings", the hits kept coming with "Cryin'", "How Much Love", "Love Is A Killer" and "Not a Minute Too Soon". The band earned credibility as they opened up for superstars, including OZZY OSBOURNE, DEEP PURPLE, SCORPIONS and BON JOVI, to name a few. A live performance on the "Arsenio Hall" television show sealed their credibility with the fact that these girls could play.

JSRG performs all the VIXEN hits along with new songs from their as-yet-unreleased EP.

JSRG is not to be confused with the current version of VIXEN, which consists of founding member Jan Kuehnemund (guitar) alongside Jenna Sanz-Agero (vocals), Lynn Louise Lowrey (bass), and Kat Kraft (drums).

VIXEN's original members Gardner, Kuehnemund, Pedersen and Petrucci appeared together on VH1's "Bands Reunited" in October 2004 to reminisce about their start on L.A.'s Sunset Strip and their rise to fame in the late 1980s, before the onset of grunge in the early 1990s displaced metal at the top of the charts. They also took part in a short performance for the program.

Metal Obsession's Nick Tevelis conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King on March 1 at the Melbourne stop of this year's Soundwave festival in Australia. You can now watch the chat below.

On the progress of the songwriting sessions for SLAYER's next studio album:

Kerry: "Well, two songs are done; they just need to be mixed. Another one is done without leads and vocals on it, and I've got nine others to record, so we're in really good shape.

"I always think [our albums are gonna be released] sooner than later, and I'm always changing my story, but I really think we can go in and record between this [Soundwave festival] and our next tour in June. So, if it's all finished, then it could be getting mixed while we're in Europe. And I don't see any reason why it can't be out this year. Don't hold me to that, but that's what I'm hoping for."

On the health status of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite:

Kerry: "I don't have an update. I haven't seen Jeff in forever. He's always been a recluse, and he's even been more of a recluse since he's nto going on tour with us. But our manager taks to him from time to time and sees him in L.A. just randomly. But I'm far from L.A., so I'm not in that loop. But I guess he's just getting better. It's just one of those things where he can do anything in life. He could be hanging here having a good time with us. He can probably play 'South Of Heaven', but he's not gonna be playing 'Jihad', you know what I mean?! So it's just a muscle memory kind of thing, I guess, at this point."

On whether Jeff has been involved in the songwriting process for the new SLAYER album:

Kerry: "It's just all my stuff for now. But I did that just in case, 'cause I don't know what Jeff's intentions are. So I wanted to have SLAYER covered in case he doesn't come to the party. If he comes to the party, then we've got tons of songs."

On whether contingencies have been made in case Jeff doesn't make it back to SLAYER in the near future:

Kerry: "I think Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist who has been filling in for Jeff for the past couple of years] is in for the long haul. I haven't really discussed it with him. But he keeps his schedule free when he knows we're on tour. And I'm pretty sure, if Jeff all of a sudden came back in June, we would probably pay Gary for freeing up his time. I don't wanna treat somebody that's bailed us out for two years badly. But if Gary played with us forever? I'm OK with that. But if Jeff got better and said, 'Hey, man, I'm ready to play,' and he came to rehearsal and showed us he was good enough, that's his show."

On whether SLAYER's stand-in drummer Jon Dette, who filled in for Dave Lombardo for the Soundwave festival, was the band's first choice as Lombardo's replacement:

Kerry: "Yeah, he was, actually. I've got a lot of friends in this business and I was thinking, at the first instant of trouble in paradise, I'm, like, 'Alright, what can we do?' First off, I thought there's probably no way to get a visa for somebody this quick, and I knew Jon was with ANTHRAX. And in a perfect world, I was thinking maybe he could do both, so I had to call him up and say, 'Hey, man, I hate to drop this on you…' [laughs] And he was stoked. And I did the right thing — I called up Scott [Ian, ANTHRAX guitarist], asked him if he minded. I rehearsed with Jon for three days and it came out good."

On whether there are any plans for SLAYER to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the band's debut album, "Show No Mercy" — either by re-releasing the LP or by playing it in its entirety at upcoming shows:

Kerry: "I think it was re-released on Metal Blade recently — like, within the past four or five years. I think all of them were. I think they just updated them and gave them some sort of picture disc on the inside. As far as playing the whole live album, I don't foresee that. The only thing I would maybe be interested in is getting all the ones we've played recently that hold up the best, maybe do a little block of 'Show No Mercy' in the middle of the set somewhere. I haven't really discussed it, though."

Fan-filmed video footage of SLAYER's March 1 performance at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia as part of this year's Soundwave festival can be seen below.

SLAYER's setlist for the Melbourne show was as follows:

01. Disciple
02. War Ensemble
03. Die By The Sword
04. Chemical Warfare
05. Mandatory Suicide
06. Altar Of Sacrifice
07. Jesus Saves
08. Seasons In The Abyss
09. Dead Skin Mask
10. Angel of Death
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

During a brand new interview with the Los Angeles radio station KROQ, SYSTEM OF A DOWN's John Dolmayan (drums) and Shavo Odadjian (bass) were asked about the possibility of the band releasing a new studio album in the not-too-distant future.

"We are going to make a new album at a certain point, it's just a matter of when the four of us decide it's the right time to make it," said Dolmayan. "We don't want anyone to go in there and do it because the rest of us want to do it. We all want to do it because it's the right thing to do for everybody. I wouldn't want to go in and make an album that doesn't represent the best that we have to offer. If you force someone in the studio ahead of when they're ready for it, then you're probably going to make something mediocre."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN last released new music in 2005 on the "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" albums, going on hiatus the following year.

The band reunited in 2011 for touring purposes and will spend the summer on a European festival circuit, while performing only one North American show in 2013 at California's famed Hollywood Bowl.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian told Loudwire that the band's recent tours have been a "blast," adding, "I think we've played better because of it. There was new excitement in playing together and all of the shows have been really great. Everyone's told us that we sound better than we did in 2006 when we left off, so I think it's great."

Interview clip #1 (audio):

Swedish death metallers ENTRAILS will release their much-anticipated third album, "Raging Death", on May 13 in Europe via Metal Blade Records on vinyl, as a limited digi-CD with a bonus CD and as a jewelcase CD. In North America, the album will be available on May 14.

"Raging Death" was tracked in different studios: the drum recordings took place at the Racetrack studios while the basis recordings were done at Jimmy Lundqvist's own The Crypt recording studios. The album was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound.

Guest artists confirmed to appear on "Raging Death" are: Kam Lee (BONE GNAWER, ex-MASSACRE), Jörgen Sandström (THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX, ex-GRAVE, ex-ENTOMBED), Rogga Johansson (PAGANIZER) and Dan Swanö (ex-EDGE OF SANITY). Fans will hear the guest vocalists on the song "Death League".

Kam Lee: "ENTRAILS is one of the best death metal bands around today hands down — and their track 'Death League' is just pure aggressive cut throat — true death metal in its most rawest and traditional form… the way death metal is meant to be played!

"When I was asked by the maniacs of ENTRAILS to lend my death growl vomit to the mix, I was honored. But the fact that I'm sharing growls alongside other such legendary Swedish death metal vocalists makes the brutality of the track even more so shredding!! Like a cannibal mutant feeding frenzy of blood-soaked gore… this track will make you bleed from the inside out!"

Dan Swanö: "I love working with ENTRAILS. Their catchy brand of death metal is right up my alley. And when I heard that Kam Lee, Jörgen Sandström and some other major dudes were gonna join forces in a track, I happily accepted the invitation without to blink. A kick-ass experience indeed! Make sure you hear it!!"

Rogga Johansson: "When asked to do some growling on a track by ENTRAILS, all I could think was, 'Fuck yes!' I've been a fan of the band for a long, long time, as I had old recordings on a tape I got from a friend. And when I learned that I'd be in such awesome company as the legends guesting, I was even more happy about it! And the song fucken' crushes!"

Jörgen Sandström: "I did not hesitate a second when Adde asked me to do some vocals for the new ENTRAILS album but I had no idea that I was supposed to be in a song with these sickos!!! If I knew, I would had said yes in Planck time!! Death League FTW!"

"Raging Death" track listing:

01. In Pieces
02. Carved To The Bone
03. Blood Hammer
04. Headless Dawn
05. Cadaverous Stench
06. Descend To The Beyond
07. Death League
08. Chained And Dragged
09. Defleshed
10. Cemetery Horrors

The band comments on the album: "This is the perfect next step for ENTRAILS. A massive stench of death, right in your face! 'Raging Death' as a title suited the album as a whole, since it's pure death metal without mercy!"

ENTRAILS formed in the '90s, but split up before they were able to release a demo or even an album. It took them until 2008 to come back when guitarist Jimmy Lundqvist rediscovered some old tapes. In a moment of nostalgia, he decided that they deserved to be released as they should have been originally. With modern recording technology, the first ENTRAILS demo could finally take shape. After releasing another demo in 2009, ENTRAILS recorded and released their debut album, "Tales From The Morgue", in 2010. Just a year later, "The Tomb Awaits" was released, an album that gained worldwide attention of music fans of the extreme and was considered by many as the best death metal release of 2011.

ENTRAILS has played numerous prestigious festivals in 2012 including gigs at Party.San Open Air, Summer Breeze and Hell Inside festival.

ENTRAILS is:

Joakim Svensson - Vocals/Bass
Jimmy Lundqvist - Guitar
Mathias Nilsson - Guitar
Adde Mitroulis - Drums

An image that appears to be the cover artwork for the new MEGADETH album, "Super Collider", has surfaced online and can be seen below. The CD is scheduled for a June 4 release via MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, which is distributed by Universal Music Enterprises(UMe). Mustaine sang the very last note on the album on March 13 at his Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California. Horn player Bob Findley — who previously appeared on the track "Silent Scorn" from MEGADETH's 2001 CD, "The World Needs A Hero" — is a featured guest on the song "A House Divided" on the new album. Other tracks set to appear on the effort include "Super Collider", "Forget To Remember", "Dance In The Rain", "The Blackest Crow", "Burn" and "King Maker".

"Super Collider" is MEGADETH's first release since its recent split with Roadrunner Records.

With the recent acquisition of EMI, UMe now brings together MEGADETH's classic, 14-year, seven-album Capitol catalog, which includes one multi-platinum release ('92's "Countdown To Extinction"), four platinum records ('86's "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?" ; '88's "So Far, So Good... So What?"; '90's "Rust in Peace"; '94's "Youthanasia"), and one gold ('97's "Cryptic Writings"). In all, the band has scored five U.S. Top 10 albums (including 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame") and two Top 5 releases, with 2011's "TH1RT3EN" debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart.

On the latest episode of IchthusTV, former KORN guitarist and current LOVE AND DEATH frontman Brian "Head" Welch talks about his former struggle with pornography and how it is a drug that sucks you in and gives you a false interpretation of what sex really is. Check it out below.

Welch exited KORN in February 2005 after announcing that he had been saved by Jesus Christ and was devoting his life and music to Christianity. He subsequently issued two books, a solo album and the debut LOVE AND DEATH CD.

Welch told Launch in 2007 that he was in especially bad shape the last two years before he left KORN. "2003 is when I started using speed every day," he said. "Meth. I got hooked on meth and in order to get up and function, even play the show, I had to snort lines, you know. And I told myself, 'I'll do this tour, I'll do this Ozzfest, and I'll do meth the whole time and I'll go home and check into a rehab.'And it scared me, you know, 'cause I was like coming — every month I would tell myself, 'I'm gonna stop this tour,'and I wouldn't be able to do it. Like a fear would come over me. I was just trapped."

KORN will reunite with Welch for several festival shows this summer, including two dates in Germany, one concert in the United Kingdom and at the upcoming Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Metal Meltdown with Dr. Metal has issued a new interview with SABATON bassist Pär Sundström, in which he discusses the bands upcoming live DVD/CD, the lost music videos from Carolus Rex, the band's keyboardist situation, managing the band, and more.

Discussing the band's upcoming DVD release, Pär states: "In Sweden, we play only Swedish songs. That's what people want. So definitely, the setlist looks different in Sweden. Later this year, we will release a live DVD of Sabaton, where there will be an edition where you can see shows from several places. And then you will be able to see the difference how a show in Sweden looks like versus a show in, for example, London, or Oberhausen, Germany, or Poland... We have not decided if there's going to be a CD to it, but likely, yes."

Listen to the audio interview at this location.

Artisan News last week conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current KILL DEVIL HILL bassist Rex Brown. You can now two more clips from the chat below.

Brown's memoir, "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera", was released on March 12 via Da Capo Press. The 320-page book is described as a "starkly honest and revealing" book about Rex's time in one of the most influential and enduringly popular bands in heavy metal history, offering Brown's shocking personal insight into a band that had swapped the grimy clubs of Texas for arenas around the world but whose story would ultimately be touched by tragedy.

A one-and-a-half-minute video trailer for "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera" can be seen below.

In a 2012 interview with SkullsNBones.com, Brown stated about his memoir: "It's basically my tale of the PANTERA years from my point of view. I was always the silent guy in the band. I never did interviews, so I was approached with this idea and I was down for it. I didn't realize how much work would be involved. [laughs] But it's going to be cool, man. It's just my inside story of what was going on. It leads up to the breakup, Dime's [former PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] death, and to now. There is only four people in that band that knew what was going on, so this will just be my interpretation oo those years. I'll say this, it probably won't be my last book either. It's a lot of work, though. We went through a thousand photos, stories, memories — everything, dude — so it's an insightful view that most fans would never know of if it weren't for the book. I think it's got a lot of things that people don't know and should know, and I hope the people enjoy it. It's a good read, for sure."

World rights for "Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera" were acquired by executive editor Ben Schafer at Da Capo Press from Matthew Elblonk at DeFiore & Company with Matthew Hamilton at Aitken Alexander.

"Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera" co-author Mark Eglinton is an author, journalist and film-producer currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His first book entitled "James Hetfield: The Wolf At Metallica's Door" was published in April 2010 to considerable critical acclaim, fueled by regular radio appearances across the U.S and Europe to promote it. He also writes regularly for Outburn magazine and various music web sites and has co-produced a series of rock interview documentaries entitled "The Greatest Music Ever Created, And How It Ruined Our Lives", which is co-hosted in conjunction with Metal Hammer magazine. Eglinton's role in Brown's life has become one of friend and confidant, mostly during time spent on the road with DOWN in Europe.

Patrick Prince of Powerline recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers STRYPER. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Powerline: Do you think Christian rock is in a better place than it was 30 years ago?

Sweet: No. No, I don't. I always view Christian rock and music differently than a lot of other people do. For saying these kinds of things, I get referred to as a pompous jerk and someone who's just not nice. But I speak from the heart and I am very open and very honest. I just think that a lot of times Christian rock is every bit — if not more so — a cookie-cutter business. Sometimes I question whether any of these bands are really Christian. And I don't mean that in a judgmental way. I just mean that in the sense that: "Oh, wow, I couldn't get a major recording deal, so I'm gonna go get a Christian deal. Because that's easy." And you get so many of these bands and you meet them one on one and you start having a conversation with them about religion or spirituality and they have no clue what you are talking about. They're looking like deer in the headlights. And it's like, "Wow. Okay." And I've seen this personally. I've come across it personally — and I won't mention names — and it's kind of sad, the state of where we're at. So many bands, clawing their way to the top, and fighting like it's a competition. I listen to this band and then listen to the next band, and I couldn't tell the two apart. So many bands sound the same. Every now and then there's a special band that comes out and you're like, "Wow, they're amazing." That's few and far between, in my opinion. Groups like SWITCHFOOT are amazing. They come out, you know who it is when you hear them, they have their own unique sound, like P.O.D. when they hit the scene. But not a lot of bands that come out have that kind of power and uniqueness and that originality.

Powerline: One thing you should get credit for: don't you think the music of STRYPER has been like missionary work? Haven't people told you that you've helped convert them?

Sweet: We get that a lot and that's always the most extreme compliment when you hear that. When you meet somebody who's turned their life around — [say] they were addicted to drugs and turned their life around — and now they're pastoring a ten-thousand-member church. I mean, that's really insane. That makes the hair on my arms stand on end. That makes me say this is why we do what we do. Right here. This is it. And you can't get a better compliment than something like that. That's just mindblowing.

Powerline: Heavy metal always had the stereotype of siding with the Satanic since it has anger and aggression. It's just ignorance because anger and aggression is often used against injustice.

Sweet: It is.

Powerline: And Christ himself used these emotions.

Sweet: Absolutely. And it's funny. I never really got the separation — in terms of genres. When you hear of a metal band that's just a mainstream metal band they're called a metal band. But then here comes STRYPER and we're called a Christian metal band. And I always thought, why couldn't we've been referred to as metal band. Why the "Christian?" Why do you have to add the "Christian?" Yeah, okay, so our lyrics are Chrisitian. SLAYER's lyrics are Satanic. Why not call them a Satanic metal band? They're just a metal band. It just makes no sense. It just seems so unjust and unfair, and that I guess is such is life.

Powerline: Do you still [throw bibles out in the audience]?

Sweet: We do. We're limited. We buy all the bibles ourselves. We throw 20-25 bibles out per show to a crowd of a thousand. It's not that many, obviously, but back in the day we used to throw a couple hundred bibles out. We threw out a lot. We were playing to ten thousand people a night so those numbers have changed.

Read the entire interview from Powerline.

Photo credit: Tina Enos

Canadian melodic rockers BREACHED have announced they will be releasing their acoustic EP Revolution Sessions on March 26th. The EP was recorded at Revolution Studios in Toronto, ON. The EP is a follow-up to their 2011 self-titled debut EP and features five unplugged tracks, four originals and a cover of the ALICE IN CHAINS song ‘No Excuses’.
Vocalist Bobby Noakes comments: “We are stoked to be putting out our second release, Revolution Sessions! We have all been inspired by some of the amazing Unplugged acoustic performances from the 90’s so this was kind of our homage to them. Almost all of our songs start out on an acoustic so it seemed so natural to do something like this. The videos we plan on releasing for each song will help show our fans another side of us they may not have otherwise gotten to know.”
Revolution Sessions tracklisting:
‘Let Go’
‘Control’
‘Happy?’
‘Time’
‘No Excuses’ (Alice in Chains cover)

Check out a teaser for the EP below:
For more info visit BreachedMusic.com.

Chris Hathcock, leader of Charlotte, NC progressive metal act THE RETICENT has issued the following update:

"Been working on refining material and transitional tracks for the next album for a while this evening and it has occurred to me that this album will be the most involved and challenging thing I've ever done musically or conceptually. Now, it does not follow that this will be any 'good' of course, but that it will be the culmination of a lot of work. The entire album is the chronicle of an amalgamation of life experiences that in many ways I've yet to deal with - hence the title Chronology of My Disgrace. This will be a physically and emotionally draining process I can already tell as I will be putting more of myself out there than I have ever done before in any medium. This may all backfire and be catastrophically awful and mark the end of this experiment called The Reticent. I have no idea. I only know that I feel like I, for lack of a better term, 'need' to record this album (as foolish as that may sound). If only to free myself of burdens that have haunted me for a long while now. In many ways this will be the angriest The Reticent has ever sounded and in some ways the most sorrowful. A better way to put it is that it will be the most honest and exposed I've ever been. I hope the album will take you with me and that it will make you feel something. I know The Reticent isn't very popular but I remain humbled and grateful that anyone pays attention to this. I've never deserved your support and will cherish it always. Anyway, no one reads these long things anyhow. Chronology of My Disgrace coming soon."

Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND are putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to 2010's "The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR". The band's sixth full-length CD, "All Is One", will be released on June 25 (one day earlier internationally).

Commented ORPHANED LAND singer Kobi Farhi: "I'll say it plain and simple — 'All Is One' is ORPHANED LAND's best album so far. I feel that we took all aspects to a new level — the way we write, arrange, play and produce.

"We recorded the album in three countries (Turkey, Sweden and Israel) and it turned out so strong, we can't stop listening to it.

"The album is very rich in sound, with more than 40 people participating (choirs, violins, and many traditional instruments, too).

"Our secret recipe was always the fact that unlike many other bands, ORPHANED LAND doesn't follow ONE master mind that writes everything; we work in a way that 'all is one.' We create our music in a perfect blend of synergy and harmony and all the band members are a part of this process. We translate the album's title and message exactly in the way we work, and we always hope we could give a bit of an inspiration to the people in the tragic Middle Eastern lands.

"We have fans all over the Middle East. We live in a place where huge amounts of people who consider themselves enemies still share one thing in common, they are all fans of ORPHANED LAND, and in these lands of orphans and bloody holy wars, our only weapon is music, and hopefully we will grow to understand that 'all is one.'"

ORPHANED LAND's forthcoming effort will be the band's first to feature guitarist Chen Balbus following the departure of Matty Svatizky in June 2012 due to "personal" and "professional" issues.

"The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR" sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 80 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR" was released in Europe on January 25, 2010.

ORPHANED LAND's concert DVD, "The Road To OR-Shalem", was released in October 2011 in Europe and November 2011 in the U.S. via Century Media Records.

Indiana progressive metallers THE CONTORTIONIST have parted ways with singer Jonathan Carpenter and have temporarily replaced him with Mike Lessard of LAST CHANCE TO REASON.

Jonathan, who is expecting his first child with his longtime girlfriend, says in a statement: "It's going to be a jarring change of pace for my life, not being on the road most of the year.

"Making songs with the band and then performing them in front of the best fans has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I wouldn't trade the perspective I've found in the past few years for anything. I got to meet so many amazing people and see a good chunk of the world. I absolutely intend to keep creating and playing music in the future, albeit in a more personal pursuit."

"I will miss seeing everyone in the THE CONTORTIONIST family very much.

"I wish the best to all of my band buds and everyone who supports live music and all this heavy banger music we've been making.

"I feel very excited for my future with the love of my life and our pups, and our little one on the way.

"Music has always been one of my passions and that's what drew me to this band in the first place. The music comes first, and I know that the talent of the band will rise above this member change and they will find a new arrangement that will blow your minds."

Added Lessard: "I'm happy to be helping my friends in THE CONTORTIONIST for the next few months on tour as a temporary vocalist. I'll be returning to my duties in LAST CHANCE TO REASON once these dates are finished in May. I look forward to seeing a bunch of new and familiar faces in the months to come, and to sharing new music from LAST CHANCE TO REASON in the near future!"

THE CONTORTIONIST's latest album, "Intrinsic", sold 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 125 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on July 17, 2012 via eOne/Good Fight Music, the CD was produced and recorded by Eyal Levi (DAATH, JOB FOR A COWBOY) and Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, DEVILDRIVER) at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.

Last month it was announced that MARYANN COTTON has entered into collaboration with ALICE COOPER guitarist/collaborator Dick Wagner to produce his latest album.

Wagner has now issued the following statement: "I am proud to have come to know and will be producing the second CD for one of Europe's best upcoming artists, Maryann Cotton. Pre-production is taking place right now by file sharing, Skype and email. The album, set to be recorded in Denmark in August of 2013 will be a concept and sound that will take you back to the iconic sound and attitude of the 1970s in the tradition of Welcome To My Nightmare, and will introduce you to a world of mayhem and blood love that I believe will become a classic rock album."
''Wagner is one of my biggest heroes,” said Cotton. “I have listened to all his stuff with Alice Cooper, LOU REED, AEROSMITH and KISS since I was a kid, so it's such a big thing for me to work with him. He has become one of my closest friends over the last few months. We are in very close contact, and are talking every week about the whole thing. We have some big plans and ideas for the future!''

The album is to be a concept album, and in the words of Cotton, will be “the most terrifying horror story ever told”.

For more details visit Facebook.

Brazilian band LIVIN GARDEN have revealed the name of their upcoming second album, Bring It On.

Lead singer/bass player Gabriel Canoro explains: “Bring It On” means where we are mentally and musically right now. The feeling that nothing can stop us is unavoidable and stronger than ever. We face so many obstacles everyday to remain as a band and at the end, we always find ourselves standing tall as winners. This is gonna be one of the best rock albums of the year and you will see that Bring It On speaks for itself when you listen to it. Ambitious? Maybe, but that’s what makes us Livin Garden."
Bring It On is currently in pre-production, and is slated to contain “10 mind-blowing tracks.”

Here’s a live video of Livin Garden performing the title track, 'Bring It On', this past February at Otacílio Rock Festival, in Otacílio Costa/SC, Brazil.

SINGLE BULLET THEORY frontman Matt DiFabio recently checked in with the following update:

"It's official: Single Bullet Theory will have its own hot sauce available in May. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a hot sauce nut, and we have teamed up with our buddies at Suzie's Hot Sauce in New Hope, PA. We will have Damnation, which is a Habanero/garlic sauce, and Route 666, which will be a Ghost Pepper based scorcher."

The hot sauces are $9.00 per 5 ounce bottle. Paypal: HardAttackent@gmail.com
Back in February, DiFabio checked in with the following:

"So, after a six month search and literally 36 submissions later, I am beyond thrilled to announce that Single Bullet Theory has found a permanent drummer. I would like to introduce Jeff Willet to everyone... this guy will blow your mind!

When I assembled SBT version 7.0 (maybe 8.0) back in the fall of 2011, it seemed pretty evident that we had a group of musicians together that were capable of total domination on the stage front. This proved to be 100% true and we became not only the best version of Single Bullet Theory but also a live act that was second to none. With the departure of Joe Brannigan and Nick Bunczk after our August tour with INTO ETERNITY, I really felt defeated and had no idea how we were going to get back to that level.

Now, I am absolutely ready to get back out there and do what we do best.

Most of you know that Harry Lannon is our new guitarist. Man, the talent this kid has is completely insane. Twenty-four years old and can play like Andy Larocque. Now with the addition of Jeff, I have to say we have officially created the 'coup de grâce' in SBTs 13 year history.

Please take a moment and head on over to Jeffs website. There is also a fair amount of videos on Jeff @ his youtube page. Links to everything can be found at JeffWilletMusic.com

We shall see you all soon."

The band recently posted a sample of the new track, 'Damnation', to be featured on Single Bullet Theory's forthcoming album, The Arena. Listen below:

"You rock. We did it," say Canada's HEADSTONES in a new update regarding their forthcoming album, Love & Fury.

"Make no mistake. You made this record happen! This whole thing has been about motherfucking rock and roll."
"Your pledge has not only helped us kickstart the band and make a killer record, it has now created an opportunity for us to have our music heard around the world! Because you guys got us to make this record, Frostbyte/Universal Music heard it, love it and want to release it worldwide. You folks are responsible for this success, and for that we thank you from the bottom of our blackened little hearts.

Now, in order to make this all work and to ensure the best possible results for you and us, the timing of our release date has changed (yes we know, change is hard). On April 16th, the single, 'Long Way To Neverland' will be made available for digital download. The complete album, both physical and digital, will be released May 14th.

'Long Way To Neverland' is going to Canadian radio stations next week. Please call and request.

Thank you for your understanding and dedication, we could not have done this without you.

P.S. check out the album cover and tracklisting…"
'Change My Ways'
'Long Way To Neverland'
'Final Analysis'
'Far Away From Here'
'Don't Follow The Leader'
'Astronaught'
'Go Back The Other Way'
'SOS'
'Bin This Way For Years'
'Outta My League'
'Midnight Of This Life'

SHINEDOWN bassist Eric Bass suffered a second-degree ankle sprain during the band's performance last night (Friday, March 22) in Lubbock, Texas. After the concert, Bass was taken to the hospital and later tweeted a photo of him waiting in the ER room to be checked out (see below). In a separate Twitter update, the band posted a split photo of Bass performing onstage and a close-up of his swollen right ankle with a message asking fans to send their best wishes.

SHINEDOWN is in the process of wrapping up a tour with THREE DAYS GRACE and P.O.D.

SHINEDOWN's fourth album, "Amaryllis", came out last year. The CD debuted atop Billboard's "Rock Albums" chart and at #4 overall on The Billboard 200 — SHINEDOWN's biggest chart debut thus far — with over 105,000 units sold its first week out.

In a 2012 interview with SoundSpike, Bass stated about SHINEDOWN's return to the road after spending a year writing and recording the new CD: "It's been a lot of fun to start back off in some small rooms. We made a conscious decision to do that to get our legs back underneath us and kind of remember how to do this thing, since we spent so much time writing the record. But it's been really, really great to get out and see the fans again, see a lot of familiar faces and see a lot of faces we've never seen before, which is always nice. We have a moment in the night during the show where Brent [Smith, vocals] asks, 'Raise your hands if this is your first time seeing us.' Everywhere we go, half the room raises their hands. That's really gratifying to us … The demographic is definitely shifted for the band, too. When I started with the band, it was 18 to 30 year old males. Now it's kids and parents and males and females. It seems to be exploding, which is really great."

THE WINERY DOGS, the new project featuring Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG) and Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON), will release its debut album in May in Japan via Victor Entertainment. Release dates for other territories have not yet been announced.

The first official THE WINERY DOGS photo, as well as the band's logo, can be seen below.

THE WINERY DOGS' CD was mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, ADRENALINE MOB, STONE SOUR and STEEL PANTHER. Sheehan previously stated about the effort: "I'm really pleased with it. Richie sang his ass off and played amazingly unique stuff, and, of course Mike annihilated on drums. [It's a] really cool, unique record."

At the end of 2011, Portnoy and Sheehan tapped Kotzen to be the guitarist/vocalist of their new project following the departure of John Sykes (WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THIN LIZZY).

Although Portnoy and Sykes demoed a dozen or so songs at a Los Angeles studio in 2011, their vastly different work ethics and conflicting schedules were solely to blame for the dissolution of their collaboration.

During an interview that aired on the July 13, 2012 edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Portnoy said, "I love John personally, and we get along great — he's a sweetheart of a guy — but I need to keep moving. I can't sit still and kind of wait to make an album over the next three years, I need to put things on the calendar and move forward and get them done, and John's kind of just a 'wait, wait, wait' guy. Sadly, it kind of just stopped in its tracks, and Billy and I said, 'Look, let's do something.' And you [Eddie] were the one, actually, that suggested Richie Kotzen and I thought it was a brilliant suggestion, because he's an unbelievably underrated talent, not only [as] a guitar player but a phemonal singer, and just an amazing songwriter and artist. I think people just kind of lump him, or write him off as the guy that was with POISON and MR. BIG. I think they have no idea what he's really capable of."

When asked to describe the musical direction of the project, Portnoy said, "It's a classic-rock kind of power-trio sound. If you picture the classic-rock bands of… the classic ones — [LED] ZEPPELIN, CREAM, [JIMI] HENDRIX, GRAND FUNK [RAILROAD] — if you take that classic-rock power-trio sound of the early '70s, and then you sprinkle it on top with some of the modern kind of sounds of SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS or BLACK CROWES or LENNY KRAVITZ… It's in that vein; it's kind of a [mixture] of all of those bands. But on top of it all you've got the phenomenal playing that Richie and Billy do, and I could play a couple of things on the drums as well [chuckles], so... And all three of us are singing — Richie is the lead vocalist, obviously, but me and Billy are also singing."

Phoenix, AZ rockers WHILE SHE WAITS have inked a record deal with Oklahoma City, OK based record label TMG Records. The band was formed in 2012 by guitarist Tommy Gibbons (THE TOMMY GIBBONS PROJECT) and vocalist James Cole (CONTRARY TO REASON). They soon rounded out the group with Tim Roen on guitar (LOST IN LIES), bassist Blake Jordan (UNFORESEEN) and drummer Aaron Belk (THE TOMMY GIBBONS PROJECT).
Vocalist James Cole comments: “We’re excited to be signed with TMG Records. We’ll be working with them on a full distribution and manufacturing deal, so you’ll see us in major music retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and more. TMG Records is seeing great success with many of their current artists, so we’re glad to be part of that great track record and the TMG family as a whole.”

The band also has a set of March dates in the southwest United States.

While She Waits dates:

March
16 – Tempe, AZ – Club 910
22 – Las, Vegas, NV – LVCS
23 – Glendale, AZ – Kimmy’z on Greenway
30 – Hollywood, CA – The Whiskey A Go Go

For more info vist While She Waits.com

Danish thrash metal veterans ARTILLERY will enter the studio today (Sunday, March 24) to record two new songs — "Anno Requirem" and "Dies Irae".

The band is expected to return to the studio in June to track its new album for a late 2013 release. Other working songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Define Your Sins" and "Wardrum Heartbeat".

Singer Søren Adamsen left Danish ARTILLERY last year for personal reasons and was replaced by Michael Bastholm Dahl.

The ARTILLERY song "The Almighty" featuring Michael Bastholm Dahl's vocals can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track was recorded at Medley studio with producer Søren Andersen.

ARTILLERY will join Irish thrashers GAMA BOMB on the travelling thrash-fest, the Speed Of Sound Tour 2013. In May. Brazilian outfit TORTURE SQUAD will join the tour as special guests, with newcomers TANTARA from Norway completing the lineup.

ARTILLERY's Michael Stützer Hansen comments: “ARTILLERY is looking forward to thrash Europe together with the Irish Madmen and the Brazilian samba killers!"

ARTILLERY's South American tour in November featured the band's new lineup, which also includes drummer Josua Madsen alongside longtime bassist Peter Thorslund and founding members Morten and Michael Stützer on guitars.