Clifton, NJ metal act JULIUS SEIZURE has released a new single and music video for ‘TMNSNEV’. The single, originally recorded for the band's debut E.P. Beware The Ides Of March was re-recorded with new vocalist and former WILL KILLMORE drummer/bandmate Charlie Corletta.

Check out the track below:
Corletta comments: "When I was told that I was going to re-record ‘TMSNEV’, I was excited and eager to put my flair on a track that I felt to be the strongest on the band's E.P. I tried to remain true to (former vocalist) Yosef El's vision and delivery while still allowing my voice to be heard. Last thing I wanted was to be a hired gun. I had to establish myself as part of the band's signature sound and I am proud of the end result."
The brand new single was directed and edited by Jonathan Robertson at P1 Digital Media (Las Vegas), produced and engineered by the band's guitarist Steve Toth, and mixed and mastered by Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios, Rockaway, NJ. Julius Seizure is currently in the studio working on their follow up EP as well as booking shows across the tri-state area.

For more info visit JuliusSeizureBand.com.

Polish death metallers KINGDOM are back with their second album, Morbid Priest On Supreme Blasphemy. The follow up to 2008?s debut full-length, Unholy Graveyard is due out on March 25th via Hellthrasher Productions.
The album features nine brand new tracks as well as a cover of NIHILIST's '"Supposed To Rot'. The artwork, courtesy of Bartek Kurzok, can be seen below:
Morbid Priest On Supreme Blasphemy tracklisting:

'Slaves Of Ruins'
'Krwawiaca rana'
'Beast Of The Sea'
'Morbid Priest'
'Supreme Blasphemy'
'Supposed To Rot' (Nihilist cover)
'Summomed From Dead'
'Nameless King'
'Tombs Of Dead'
'Syn Ognia'

Two songs from the album, 'Morbid Priest' and 'Supreme Blasphemy', are available for streaming below:

Morbid Priest of Supreme Blasphemy by KINGDOM

German rock band GLOOMBALL will release its debut album, The Distance, in Germany on April 26, in the rest of Europe on April 29 and in North America on May 7 via SPV/Steamhammer. Check out the artwork and tracklisting below.
The Distance tracklisting:
'Overcome'
'Burning Gasoline'
'The Distance'
'Blown Away And Gone'
'More And More'
'No Easy Way Out' (ROBERT TEPPER cover from Rocky IV)
'Better Place'
'Long Time Gone'
'We Do Belong'
'Your Sorrow Inside'
'Hand In Blood'
'Living With My Tender Pain'

On the official SPV homepage you can now pre-listen to every track of the album.

“We refer to our material simply as rock music, but you could also call it alternative metal or modern rock,” says guitarist Björn Daigger, who composed the majority of the tracks together with vocalist Alen Ljubic, adding: “At the end of the day, our range includes elements from pop to death metal. In addition, there are classic orchestra parts as well as ultra-deep seven-string guitars. There are no stylistic taboos in Gloomball.”
Gloomball lineup (pictured above from left to right):

Björn Daigger - guitar
Danny Joe - drums
Alen Ljubic - vocals
Basti Moser - bass
Jossi Lenk - guitar

More on Gloomball at this location.

Italian thrash/melodic-death metallers Roots Of Pain sign a deal with Memorial Records for the release of their debut album entitled Countdown To Armageddon which will be available from April 18th.
The band comment about the new songs and the concept: “This album represents our restart point and a goal achieved with patience and dedication. The recordings brought us together even more as a band, the album gave us the strength to continue to look forward towards our goals, overcoming our obstacles and personal challenges. Our greatest satisfaction consist in being able to mix our different musical influences into a coherent mix of thrash, hardcore and death metal, without neglecting the melodic component. Countdown To Armageddon tells the story of an era, the fifth era of the Mayan civilization, their prophecies and how they have brought our world and our society to decay. A countdown began thousands of years ago that has marked the passage of time to the present day.”
The tracklist for Countdown To Armageddon:
'Mayan Truth'
'Cyanotic Aurora'
'Epitaph From The Ancients'
'The Seventh Page'
'Reverse Chrysopoeia'
'Queen Earth’s Revenge'
'Shadow Of Cain'
'Cerebral Disorder'
'The Last Breath Before Doomsday'
'Oblivion'

Check out a trailer below:
For more details visit Facebook.

Texas southern rock/metal TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION have released 'Damn You To Hell', the second single from their latest album, Peacemaker (Carved Records), to Active Rock radio.
“This song right here could very well be one of the heaviest songs THC has ever written. Partially due to the fact that the music is written by guitarist Wes Wallace who is a heavier-the-better enthusiast”, says vocalist Big Dad Ritch. “Also the fact that we wanted to break down the barbwire fence and go open range, no boundaries. Lyrically, it’s pure cage match and ring entrance material. Boldly challenging and boasting to the opposition: I don’t care what you say, this is mine and this is my way. Bringing my world to the fight world, 'I'm a king in a cage, and I command the stage'. Yawl know me - BDR, the King of Texas, the stage commander, and yawl know, 'I'm a lunatic n it’s about to get sick!'."

‘Damn You To Hell’ is available for purchase. Check out a preview below. Click here to purchase.

Germany’s SIX REASONS TO KILL will release their fifth studio album, We Are Ghosts, on March 22nd via Massacre Records. Audio samples for all tracks on the album are streaming at this location.
Tracklisting:

'The Damned'
'We Are Ghosts'
'Inked Inside'
'God Of The Dead'
'Betrayer'
'Unburied Again'
'Heartbreaker'
'Factor X'
'Catalyst'
'F...Hipster'

On March 1st, the band released the first single off the new album, for the track ‘The Damned’. The 2 -track single is available in digital form only. Artwork for the single can be seen below:



Previously released studio diaries from the making of the new album can be seen below:

Venezuela-based sludge/doom act CULTURA TRES will release their new album, entitled Rezando Al Miedo, on May 15th. A video teaser for the album can be seen below:
The cover artwork for the band’s third full-length is taken from the painting “Day of Judgment”, by the remarkably talented artist Damian Michaels.
Rezando Al Miedo doesn't walk away from the mood their previous record, El Mal Del Bien, had, yet the songs tell a different story. Darkness exhausts itself into depression; the album is a journey inside the collective subconsciousness, a walk on the edges of sanity, between the illusive religious relief and acceptance of death as a clear end. Music explores the extremes of the artistic expression, more dynamic than ever, from the harshness of the thrashing roots of the band to the polyphonic movie soundtrack approach that characterizes Cultura Tres. The band has never been afraid to take chances and this album proves it. The brooding cocktail of classic psychedelic rock, 90's death metal and gloomy grunge makes their South American Sludge a unique recipe.

The eight songs orchestrate to the detail the emotions of every word sang, yet this isn't a record that comes to tell a full story. Instrumental parts often let the thoughts of the listener ask their own questions, give their own answers, explore their own fears...

The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Alejandro Londono and recorded in Cultura Tres studios by Juan De Ferrari and Alejandro Londono. Rezando Al Miedo, will be released on CD in UK by Devouter Records and in South America by the Argentinean label Cumpa Records. The digital version of the record will be available on the same date as well.

The dates for Cultura Tres’ first European performances for 2013 can be seen below. Stay tuned for further updates as more shows get confirmed.
March
20 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - The Cave
22 - Cologne, Germany - MTC Cologne
23 - Cheb, Czech Republic - Jazzrock Café
28 - Vienna, Austria - EKH
30 - Dudelange, Luxemburg - Why Not?
31 - Paris, France - Les Combustibles

April
9 - Saint-Etienne, France - Thunderbird Lounge 42
13 - Barcelona, Spain - Be Good
Cultura Tres band lineup:

Alejandro Londono - vocals, guitar
Juan Manuel de Ferrari - guitar, backing vocals
Alonso Milano - bass
David Abbink - drums

More on Cultura Tres at this location.

Swedish hard rockers STONELAKE will release their sixth album, Monolith, on March 22nd via Massacre Records. Snippets for all tracks on the album are streaming at this location.

The new album artwork can be seen below:
Tracklisting:

'Fanatical Love'
'You Light The Way'
'End This War'
'With Someone Like You'
'Double Life'
'Hater'
'Will You Be Loved'
'In A Freezing House'
'Notorious'
'Desolation' (instrumenal)

Stonelake combine classic hard rock with power and progressive metal, and will appeal to fans of MASTERPLAN, JORN and BEYOND TWILIGHT.

"Monolith is an exceptional record and reminds me very much of my work with QUEENSRŸCHE", says Peter Collins, producer Operation: Mindcrime and Empire.

The album track, 'End This War', is streaming below:
More on Stonelake at this location.

A 3CD box set from reactivated British industrial metal pioneers GODFLESH is out now in Europe, featuring three long out of print releases in one value-packed set. The new set features sought-after music from different eras of the band's career - their 1988 debut Godflesh, their 1994 album Selfless, and their final Earache Records album from 1999, Us And Them.
The set also includes two bonus tracks on the Godflesh album, plus a 23-minute bonus track on Selfless, all combining to offer 31 tracks across three discs, with a total running time of over three hours.

Get the 3CD box set in Europe here or get the European import in North America at this location.

Currently at work in the studio crafting their upcoming fifth album, AUGUST BURNS RED have announced a limited edition release for diehard fans in the form of Four Minutes Being Cool ­ a Record Store Day exclusive split 7" with friends and former tourmates SILVERSTEIN.

The release is limited to just 500 copies on burnt orange colored vinyl and will be available at participating indie record stores on Record Store Day, April 20th. This limited vinyl release features a cover track by each band, with ABR channeling SAVES THE DAY while Silverstein pays homage to THE GET UP KIDS.
Four Minutes Being Cool tracklisting:

Side A:

Silverstein - 'Coming Clean' (Originally by The Get Up Kids)

Side B:
­August Burns Red - 'You Vandal' (Originally by Saves The Day)

More information about participating stores can be found at this location.

Drummer Darren Minter of San Francisco Bay Area metallers HEATHEN will play a significant role as a drummer for faux band SIN MINISTER in the movie "Razed Life" which is currently being filmed in Northern California.

"Razer Life" official plot outline: "Cyrus has the perfect life. He’s rich, famous, and surrounded by followers…until a chance meeting, and a forced road trip, make him try to change his future by reflecting on his past. Set throughout the majestic Northern California region, 'Razed Life' is a story that has you questioning if everything you have right now is everything you really want."

For more information, visit www.razedlifemovie.com.

HEATHEN last year inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

The band's latest album, "The Evolution Of Chaos", was released in the U.S. on February 16, 2010. The CD was issued in Japan on December 23, 2009 via King Records and was made available on January 25 in Europe via Holland's Mascot Records.

ALTER BRIDGE will release a new box set on May 14. Although no details have been revealed as to what the box set will contain, it is expected to include the band's three studio albums — "One Day Remains" (2004), "Blackbird" (2007) and "AB III" (2010) — along with the 2011 "Live At Wembley" collection.

A video teaser trailer for the box set can be seen below.

ALTER BRIDGE recently commenced the songwriting process for the band's next album, tentatively due later in the year.

ALTER BRIDGE's latest album, "ABIII", was self-released on Alter Bridge Recordings via EMI Label Services and debuted at #17 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band issued a DVD, "Live At Wembley", at the end of March 2012. The disc contains footage of one of the biggest headline shows of ALTER BRIDGE's career, which took place on November 29, 2011 at Wembley Arena in London, England.

ALTER BRIDGE is singer Myles Kennedy, guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall.

German metallers DEADLOCK have inked a deal with Napalm Records. The band is currently recording the follow-up to 2011's "Bizarro World" for a late 2013 release.

Commented DEADLOCK: "We are thrilled to announce that we’ve got signed by the mighty metal powerhouse Napalm Records to release our new album. Since Napalm started in 1992 they have proven to be a high-demanded record label and it's an honor for us to be on a roster amongst many other great bands. We couldn't be more excited to start working with the guys and unleash the best and most intense record DEADLOCK did so far."

"Bizarro World" was released in February 2011 in Europe and March 2011 in the U.S. via Lifeforce Records. The CD was recorded at Slaughter's Palace studio and was once again produced and engineered by the band's musical mastermind and guitar/sound wizard Sebastian Reichl.

PINK FLOYD and EMI Music will mark the 40th Anniversary of the original UK release of The Dark Side of The Moon on March 24, as fans around the globe unite to turn a specially designed moon dark. Centered around a global playback of the album on PinkFloyd.com, each memory, thought and photo tweeted as fans rediscover the album will count towards the creation of a dark side of the moon. Starting at 00:01am GMT in the U.K. on March 24th, (4:01pm PST/7:01pm on March 23rd in the US), for the entire day, fans all over the world will be able to share thoughts and comments via twitter using #DarkSide40 and witness the impact as the volume of messages combine to turn the moon dark.
Originally released in the UK on March 24th, 1973, The Dark Side of The Moon became Pink Floyd's first number 1 album in the US, remaining on the chart for 741 weeks between 1973 and 1988. Since its UK release, the album has spent an astonishing 30 years in the UK album charts.

One of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed albums of all time, The Dark Side of The Moon also introduced the iconic album cover artwork by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, after a request for a 'simple and bold' design. To celebrate the 40th Anniversary, Storm Thorgerson and Storm Designs have created 14 exclusive new prism designs that will be unveiled daily on PinkFloyd.com. These prism designs will gradually form a celebratory poster, downloadable in three different sizes on March 24th, 2013. The most recent updated version of The Dark Side of The Moon was released in September 2011.
For more info visit PinkFloyd.com.

Brazil power/symphonic metal group will release their new album A New Beginning on April 5th via Sleaszy Rider Records. They will commence on a European tour in May to support the album. A press release describes their music as “power metal with orchestral and classic sounds, and movie score kind of atmosphere.”
A New Beginning tracklisting:
‘Hope And Fear’
‘Galaxy’s Great Eye’
‘Saints And Sinners’
‘Revolution’
‘Charming Nymph’
‘Where Land Begs For The Sun’
‘Dark Knight’
‘Watcher’
‘Thin Line To Insanity’
‘WTC (Win The Conspiracy’
‘Time Traveler’
‘2012 A New Beginning’
‘Spark Of Life’

For more info visit ThySymphony.com.

Germany's GUN BARREL are currently working on a new studio album, with a release slated for the fall via Massacre Records. In addition, GRAVE DIGGER have invited the band out for the second leg of German Metal Attack Tour, due to take place this fall.

The band's complete live schedule can be viewed below, which includes confirmed shows with Grave Digger (**).
March
22 - Meisenfrei - Bremen, Germany
30 - Rock Energy Fest - Brno, Czech Republic
31 - Werkhof / Power Metal Night - Hagen, Germany

June
22 - Open Air - Gelnhausen, Germany

July
19 - Summernight Open Air - Mechernich, Germany
27 - Rockfreunde Festival - Rengsdorf, Germany

October
2 - Rosenhof - Osnabrück, Germany **
3 - Aladin - Bremen, Germany **
4 - Factory - Magdeburg, Germany **
5 - Hellraiser - Leipzig, Germany **
11 - Kantine - Köln, Germany
12 - Air Axes Festival - Steinenbronn, Germany
19 - Kneipe K3 - Hameln, Germany
26 - JZ - Schwelm, Germany

November
2 - Holte - Stukenbrock, Germany
15 - Beavers - Miltenberg, Germany
16 - Rex - Lorsch, Germany

"Transmogrify", a brand new song from VEXT — the new New Jersey/New York-based heavy rock band featuring singer Tommy "Vext" Cummings (DIVINE HERESY, SNOT), guitarist Billy DiNapoli and MUTINY WITHIN drummer Bill Fore — can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track, which is full of catchy vocal melodies and hard-hitting beats, features dual solos by Angel Vivaldi and Doc Coyle of GOD FORBID.

In other news, Cummings has released the following statement regarding Vivaldi's status in VEXT: "Due to Angel's work schedule and solo album, he is unable to tour with the band. He will be filling in live dates within the Northeast region until we find a suitable replacement."

VEXT is currently seeking a lead guitarist as well as a bassist. All prospective candidates should record themselves playing one of the two latest tracks, "Maid Of Gold" or "Transmogrify", upload it to YouTube and post it on the band's Facebook page.

VEXT's debut EP, "Impermanence", was released last July.

On the evening of September 19, 2010, Vext was the victim of a brutal attack at his home in Brooklyn. Having suffered severe injuries to his skull, abdomen and an open compound fracture to his left arm, Tommy was rushed to the ER. With medical bills soaring above seventy-five thousand dollars, his friends in the music scene banded together to help raise funds.

Enter Roadrunner recording artists MUTINY WITHIN. "We heard that GOD FORBID was doing a benefit concert for Tommy and when we found out why, we immediately jumped on the bill," said MUTINY WITHIN bassist Andrew Jacobs. A few months later, Andrew introduced Tommy to Bill. After seeing Fore perform with the Angel Vivaldi band, Angel and Bill joined this new musical effort and appeared on the aforementioned EP.

VEXT is:

Tommy "Vext" Cummings - Vocals
Billy DiNapoli - Guitar
Bill Fore - Drums

Swiss metallers THIS MISERY GARDEN recently shot a new video clip, for 'Siamese Again', a song from forthcoming album Cornerstone, set for a release on April 12th in Europe (April 16th in North America) via Season Of Mist. You can watch the new clip below:
Formed in Geneva in 2005, This Misery Garden is a dark rock/metal act influenced by bands such as KATATONIA, TOOL and A PERFECT CIRCLE, delivering genuinely intense music. Melancholy and hope, anger defying serenity, love and death, all of those blend together to create a vivid and illuminating sound on This Misery Garden’s second album, Cornerstone.
Cornerstone tracklisting:

'Human - ET'
'Holy Clutch'
'Angry Child'
'Mr X (Was Right)'
'Rope'
'Siamese Again'
'Crowded Hallway'
'Warning Zone'
'The First Man'
'Death Head Colors'
'Swallowing The monster'
'Flower Eye Tree'

The video for the song 'Warning Zone' can be seen below:
This Misery Garden lineup:

Steve - Vocals
Laurent M - Guitar
Antoine - Guitar
Jerome - Bass
Stephan - Drums
More on This Misery Garden at this location.

Swedish hard rockers EUROPE will be joined by special guests Scott Gorham (BLACK STONE RIDERS, THIN LIZZY) and Michael Schenker (ex-SCORPIONS, UFO) at their 30th-anniversary show at the Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 5-8 in Sölvesborg, Sweden. This will be EUROPE's only Swedish performance of the anniversary year and it will be a grandiose event indeed, promises singer Joey Tempest. The stage show will be one of the greatest, if not the greatest of the band's entire career. The setlist will be specially composed from EUROPE's entire nine-album discography, including their cult debut "Europe" (1983), multi-million-seller "The Final Countdown" (1986) and their most recent outing, "Bag Of Bones" (2012), which has now reached gold status in Sweden. The performance will also be filmed for a DVD release, so make sure you'll be present when a piece of Swedish rock history will be both created and preserved for posterity.

For the record: today's version of EUROPE is identical to the classic "The Final Countdown" lineup: Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitar), John Levén (bass), Mic Michaeli (keyboards) and Ian Haugland (drums).

EUROPE celebrated the 30th anniversary of its appearance at the Swedish rock talent contest Rock-SM on December 13, 2012 by performing the song "In The Future To Come" at Hovet in Stockholm during the Scandianvian leg of their "Bag Of Bones" tour.

In 1982, EUROPE singer Joey Tempest's then-girlfriend entered FORCE (as EUROPE was originally known prior to changing its name) in the Rock-SM contest. Competing against 4000 bands, they performed two songs, "In The Future To Come" and "The King Will Return", and won the contest which resulted in a record deal with Hot Records. Tempest also won the individual award for "Best Lead Singer" while EUROPE guitarist John Norum was honored in the "Best Guitarist" category.

"Bag Of Bones" was released in Europe on April 27, 2012 via earMusic/Edel. The CD, which features a guest appearance by blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), was produced by Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with IRON MAIDEN, JOE BONAMASSA, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BLACK STONE CHERRY and JOURNEY, among others.

A second teaser for The Unraveling, the new mini-album from Japan's DIR EN GREY, due in stores April 3rd, is streaming below:
Check out the first teaser below:
The Unraveling features original artwork by artist and sculptor Yasuyuki Nishio. This intriguing piece 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 Unravelling will include the following seven new songs:

'Unraveling'
'Karma'
'Kasumi'
'Karasu'
'Bottom Of The Death Valley'
'Unknown.Despair.Lost'
'The Final'

Pre-orders for various editions of the release (including bonus material), can be placed at this location.

Austin, TX heavy/power metal band IGNITOR will release the covers album called Mixtape 85’ on March 20th digitally through CDBaby and iTunes.
Mixtape 85’ tracklisting:
‘Deathrider’ (ANTHRAX)
‘Fast As A Shark’ (ACCEPT)
‘Violence And Force’ (EXCITER)
‘Into The Coven’ (MERCYFUL FATE)
‘Witching Hour’ (VENOM)
‘Hell Bent For Leather’ (JUDAS PRIEST)
‘A Lesson In Violence’ (EXODUS)
‘Highway Star’ (DEEP PURPLE)

Stream the album at IgnitorBand.com.

The official lyric video for "Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown", the first single from Rob Zombie's eagerly awaited new album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", can be seen below. Zombie just wrapped up directing a video for the track, which is described by the rocker as "pretty fucking cool.' He adds: "For all of you hoping for an old-school, weirdo-style Zombie video… well, you are gonna get it. Big time!"

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" will be released on April 23 on Zodiac Swan/T-Boy/Ume. The CD was produced by Bob Marlette, who has previously worked with everyone from BLACK SABBATH and ALICE COOPER to WILSON PHILLIPS and LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

Asked what the story is behing the album's title, Rob told Revolver magazine: "There's no real story behind it. I just thought of it one day. With every album I've ever made, we'll get it basically one hundred percent done and everyone will go, 'OK, what's the title?' And I'm like, 'I don't know what the fuckin' title is yet. It hasn't hit me.' And then one day I'll just blurt out, 'La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1!' or 'Hellbilly Deluxe!' It's the same with this one. I have it written down somewhere, but I don't remember doing it."

He added: "Truthfully, the whole record was conceived as a concept album. But I'm not really selling it that way. I was getting obsessed watching things like 'Tommy', 'The Wall', 'Quadrophenia', where you have a movie to go with the album and it's a whole big concept. So I thought I'd write this album with that in mind: That maybe one day — it could be a year, it could be 10 years — I could turn the concept of this record into a movie. That being said, nothing about the concept of the record will make any sense to anyone until it's a movie. The band doesn't even know the storyline. No one does, except me. But I won't discuss it because it'll all make sense someday. Or it won't. [laughs] lt doesn't matter. The songs work fine even if you don't know the concept."

Regarding his decision to include a a heavy-duty cover of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's "We're An American Band" on "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", Rob said: "I've never recorded a cover song as a solo artist, and I only recorded a few with WHITE ZOMBIE [KISS' 'God Of Thunder', BLACK SABBATH's 'Children Of The Grave' and KC AND THE SUNSHINE BAND's 'I'm Your Boogie Man']. But you always wanna add new songs into your live show, so [Zombie's guitarist] John 5 and I would always sit in the back of the bus listening to stuff we could cover, but it was always like, 'Nah, that one's not right.' Cover songs are tricky. You gotta find just the right one. 'We're An American Band' hit us because it just felt so much like our life. We're a quintessential American band — everything that's right or wrong in Americana in one band. It wasn't like we were trying to say anything deep or meaningful. [laughs] It was just like, 'Yeah, we're in a rock band. Fuck you — it's awesome.'"

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" track listing:

01. Teenage Nosferatu Pussy
02. Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown
03. Revelation Revolution
04. Theme For The Rat Vendor
05. Gong Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga
06. Rock And Roll (In A Black Hole)
07. Behold! The Pretty Filthy Creatures
08. White Trash Freaks
09. We're An American Band (GRAND FUNK RAILROAD cover)
10. Lucifer Rising
11. The Girl Who Loved The Monsters
12. Trade In Your Guns For A Coffin

Zombie told The Pulse Of Radio what goals he set for himself in making the new album. "I wanted someone to hear it and go, 'Wow, I haven't heard that before,'" he said. "I wanted it to be just different. We really went out of our way with the sounds, so every song has a very different sound, a very different guitar sound, drum sound, just everything, where the sound, the actual sound becomes very important. You know, after all these years you want to still try to feel that you can break through new, creative areas in your own mind, and that's really what we're just trying to do, you know."

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, plus other special gifts yet to be announced.

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.

Blood Music is a Finnish non-profit, whose mission is the anthropological preservation of extreme metal culture. They were formed in an attic in Tampere, Finland in early 2011. Their first action was a MAUDLIN OF THE WELL vinyl box set. MAUDLIN OF THE WELL had been attempting a vinyl release for nearly 10 years. This sold out within a month of release. Their future actions include in-house documentary productions on the subject of metal, fund-raising and grant-making for writers, and local extreme metal workshops in Helsinki. They have an in-house vinyl division for releasing classic/rare albums that have not seen the proper light-of-day on wax, which includes a full slate of releases for 2012, which will be rolled out throughout the year.

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.

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

Inner Wound Recordings has announced the signing of the Swedish melodic hard rock band SAFFIRE. The group's debut album, "From Ashes To Fire", will be released on May 17. The CD was mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd at Studio Fredman (AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL) and was mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (SYMPHONY X, OPETH, KREATOR). The cover artwork was created by Anders Fästader of A Trailermade Production (H.E.A.T., HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, THE POODLES).

SAFFIRE is inspired by the '70s and 80s rock and metal bands like RAINBOW, DIO, WHITESNAKE, VAN HALEN and BLACK SABBATH. The sound of SAFFIRE can be described as a mix of those bands with a progressive twist, something that makes them stand out in the scene.

According to a press release, SAFFIRE's musical direction revolves around "Victor Olsson's intelligent songwriting and impressive guitar playing together with the band's excellent musicianship and the powerful and emotional vocals from Tobias Jansson."

"From Ashes To Fire" track listing:

01. Magnolia
02. Kingdom of the Blind
03. Freedom Call
04. End of the World
05. What If
06. A Symphony Unheard
07. Paralyzed
08. Modus Vivendi
09. The Betrayer's Fate
10. She Remains a Mystery
11. Say Goodbye
12. The Redemption
13. Stormy Waters

"From Ashes To Fire" can be pre-ordered at the Inner Wound store.

Quebec-based female-fronted metallers MERKABAH have finished recording their third album, "Ubiquity", for a late 2013 release. The band states: "Over the next few weeks, we'll be busy mixing it and listening to it over and over again until we get the best out of it. The first excerpt should thus be available very soon."

The cover artwork for "Ubiquity" can be seen below. Also available is a video teaser for the CD.

"Ubiquity" was recorded at Pierre Rémillard's (OBLIVEON, CRYPTOPSY, KRISIUN, MISERY INDEX) Wild Studio in a small town called St-Zénon in Quebec, Canada.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Mythomania
02. Divine Sparks
03. Red Letter Days
04. Agartha
05. Circles of Despair
06. Deadly Prophets Of The Printed Page
07. Brothers From The Seed Of Cain
08. Ubiquity

MERKABAH's second album, "The Realm Of All Secrets", was released in 2007. The CD was recorded at the band's studio and mixed and mastered at SNB studios in Montréal.

MERKABAH is:

Jacinthe Poulin - Vocals
François Vachon - Guitar
Raynald Brochu - Guitar
Louis Doyon - Bass
Nicolas Bilodeau - Drums

"Hit On The Radio", the new video from Stockholm, Sweden-based modern rockers BLOWSIGHT, can be viewed below. The clip was once again directed by Tim Aßmann at Visionary Moments in Burscheild, Germany. The song comes off the band's new album, "Life & Death", which will be released in North America on April 9 via Eclipse Records.

Comments BLOWSIGHT singer and guitarist Nick Red: "The band was in a great mood, not only because of the feeling of being on tour, but also because we were so damn united as a group."

"'Hit On The Radio' is one of those songs that I always wanted in the BLOWSIGHT repertoire — a song that can be played on a party, a song that just makes you wanna dance, a song that honors my love for people who can be themselves and stand in the middle of the dancefloor like they "just don care.'

"I remember seeing this girl at a pub once, she looked so damn boring… neutral… she passed us and had a few pints with her friends. After a while, the speakers screamed out 'Finger Lickin' Good' by the mighty BEASTIE BOYS, and she started dancing (in her chair). She was smiling, miming, and instantly turned my impression of her totally upside down. She became so damn sensual. She let go and became herself, 100 percent, showing her true personality… THAT's the kind of people I want to see populate the world."

The "Hit On The Radio" video was filmed at Khalil Boxing and Pixel Garage in Germany while the band was on tour with OOMPH! "It was colder than Siberia in that ring, but when Fabz (drums) and Mao (bass) started sparring, it warmed up good enough," says Nick. "My favorite part of the shoot, however, was on day two, at the Pixel Garage where we smashed the radios. Our label manager and director brought like a hundred radios to the set, handed us baseball bats and told us to just go crazy… best time of the day, I tell you. I don't have the biggest muscles (I admit that), but damn it felt good seeing those plastic parts explode into a billion pieces!"

A press release states: "Sweden has always been a guarantee for the export of infamous rock bands and epic pop melodies; however… this is rarely combined in one package. BLOWSIGHT have internalized the essence of both, and united them to create an extremely amazing, unique band with epic potential for success."

"BLOWSIGHT is like a big melting pot of everyone's favorite music," says Nick Red. "It doesn't matter if it's influenced by METALLICA, QUEEN, LADY GAGA, SHINEDOWN, TRIVIUM or MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE… everything fits together. If we want to break stuff, we write a metal song, if we're feeling emotional, we write a ballad. Sometimes we even write pop songs that sound like they could be on Top 40 stations… to us, it doesn't matter what we play, just as long as we play what we want."

BLOWSIGHT's second album, "Dystopia Lane", came out in the fall of 2010. An EP, "Shed Evil", followed in time for the band's appearance at the 2011 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

BLOWSIGHT is:

Nick Red (lead vocals/guitar)
Seb (guitar/vocals)
Mao (bass/vocals)
Fabz (drums/vocals)

French groove/southern rock band FACEDOWN will release their new album The Long Lost Future on April 8th and can now be streamed via Bandcamp.
The Long Lost Future tracklisting:
‘Lone Ranger’
‘My Last Tequila’
‘Horse Power’
‘Smoke Coat’
‘Under The Sun’
‘Kiss Of Death’
‘Only Human’
‘N°1 Must Die’
‘Blow Away The Dust’
‘Poker Times’
‘Evil Blues’

A press release says: “After their first EP The Runaway greatly encouraged by the critics, the five nearly Parisians are back to re-affirm their stoner thrash and at the same time groovy and ass moving style. The new and debut album The Long Lost Future explores the new facets of their style with the incorporation of the new singer (an Englishman straight out of Spain!!).”

Order the CD with a t-shirt here.

French metalcore band DARKNESS DYNAMITE has released the first single from their forthcoming album Under The Painted Sky. The album will be released on May 13th worldwide by At(h)ome Label/Wagram/Pias.

Check out the track ‘White Retina’ below:
Under The Painted Sky was recorded by Olive t’Servrancx at C & P Studio and mixed and mastered by Remy Deliers at R3myBoy studio (GOJIRA, MATS & MORGANS, AS THEY BURN). The cover art and illustrations were done by Abrakadabra Studio. The album will be available as a cross digipack, classic edition, and digital formats.

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