XYZ-A, the Japanese band lef by LOUDNESS frontman Minoru Niihara, will release its new album, "Seventh Heaven", on April 3.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Rising Anthem
02. Patriot's Dream
03. Initiation
04. Metal Heads
05. While You're Still Young
06. Real Man
07. Seventh Heaven
08. Testament
09. Tenka Muteki
10. Madamada Saiaku Yanaide
11. A Song For You
12. Stay Hungry! Stay Foolish!
13. Arigato

A video for the song "Patriot's Dream" can be seen below.

Despite having planned his career meticulously over the past 25 years or so, even in the camp of German hard rock master Axel Rudi Pell surprises cannot be ruled out: Before playing in front of a sold-out Cologne crowd on the second leg of his wildly successful "Circle Of The Oath" tour, the opportunity arose for taping the whole show, with cameras being all over. Well, Axel gave it a try. And that was a good move. Ten years after his last live album "Knights Live" (2002), you can — again — be a witness of a complete concert from the Bochum-based guitar virtuoso and his German-American all-star band. To round out the Axel Rudi Pell live package, the recording of the co-headlining gig at last year's Rock Of Ages festival was added to "Live On Fire", the name of his newest live oeuvre.

Obviously, a live album doesn't have the same importance and significance as a new studio output, but it nevertheless is a perfect snapshot in time, because 2012 was the most successful year in Axel Rudi Pell's solo career by far. "Circle Of The Oath", album No. 14, was released on March 23 and rode high on the charts all over Europe: in his homeland Germany, the critically acclaimed disc made it up to No. 16 in the first week, Switzerland welcomed good old Axel on No. 30, Austria on No. 55, Norway on No. 69 and in Sweden he went up to No. 51. And last but not least, he received another gold award for selling out three consecutive nights at the famous Zeche venue in his native Bochum. Apart from that, he rocked the summer crowds at the legendary Sweden Rock and Wacken Open Air festivals, as well as the open-air Rock Of Ages in Germany together with his band.

Even though Axel loves the composing part at home and the recording business in the studio, home is where the heart is and that's being on stage. Being musically socialized in the Golden Age of hard rock (the Seventies) he's probably a bigger fan of live albums than he would admit. As they say: applause is the performer's meat and drink. But without sometimes being anarchistic spontaneously and playing with the audience's emotions, without the sweat coming off the ceiling and the priceless energy being trapped in the middle of an adventure that is called live concert, when the lights go down and every amp is on fire — the life of a true rocker would be incomplete. Speaking of which: besides his success, Axel Rudi Pell has always been that down-to-earth guy and mainly the fan he was turned into when he first heard DEEP PURPLE's "Fireball" back in the day. With "Live On Fire", he accomplishes a long-desired wish and gives his fans what they desperately want for quite some time.

No surprise at all that the main focus is set on the newbies: here's the striking chords of fast and furious opener "Ghost In The Black", the hard rocking pounding of "Before I Die" and without a doubt one of Axel's best songs written in a decade: the brilliant "Circle Of The Oath", which would make Jimmy Page cry out loud. But there's more to listen to on "Live On Fire": the passion for medleys ("The Masquerade Ball"/"Casbah"/"Dreaming Dead") combined with some all-time classics here and there (ZEPPELIN's "Whole Lotta Love" or PURPLE's "Mistreated").

And they aren't finished yet and will enter the studio in autumn of 2013, with a tour coming up in February/March of 2014. This could be something, as after a quarter of a century as a successful solo artist, Axel Rudi Pell and his mates are still "Live On Fire"!

"Live On Fire" track listing:

Cologne, Essigfabrik (October 18, 2012)

01. The Guillotine Suite (intro)
02. Ghost In The Black
03. Strong As A Rock
04. Before I Die
05. The Masquerade Ball / Casbah / Dreaming Dead / Whole Lotta Love / Dreaming Dead
06. Drum Solo
07. Mystica / Mistreated / Mystica
08. Oceans Of Time
09. Circle Of The Oath
10. Fool Fool
11. Keyboard Solo / Carousel / Jam / Carousel
12. Tear Down The Walls / Nasty Reputation
13. Rock The Nation

Rock Of Ages Festival (July 28, 2012)

01. The Guillotine Suite (intro)
02. Ghost In The Black
03. Strong As A Rock
04. Before I Die
05. The Masquerade Ball / Casbah / Dreaming Dead / Whole Lotta Love / Dreaming Dead
06. Drum Solo
07. Mystica / Mistreated / Mystica
08. Oceans Of Time
09. Circle Of The Oath
10. Tear Down The Walls / Nasty Reputation
11. Rock The Nation

A trailer for the effort can be seen below.

"Live On Fire" will be released on March 26 (one day earlier internationally) via SPV/Steamhammer.

"Live On Fire" recording lineup:

Johnny Gioeli - Lead Vocals
Axel Rudi Pell - Guitar
Ferdy Doernberg - Keyboards/Backing Vocals
Volker Krawczak - Bass/Backing Vocals
Mike Terrana - Drums

Configurations:

* Limited Digipak 2CD / 2DVD plus poster and tour pass; Bonus: new interview with Axel Rudi Pell, home story Axel Rudi Pell, "Hallelujah" video clip
* 3LP in colored vinyl (Cologne, Essigfabrik)
* Digipak 2CD (Cologne, Essigfabrik)
* Digipak 2DVD (Cologne, Essigfabrik, Rock Of Ages festival) (also on Blu-ray: release to be announced); Bonus: new interview with Axel Rudi Pell, home story Axel Rudi Pell, "Hallelujah" video clip
* Download (Cologne, Essigfabrik)

Scottish metal act BLEED FROM WITHIN will release its third full-length album, "Uprising", on March 25 in Europe and April 2 in North America via Century Media Records. The artwork was created by Tom Bates and can be seen below.

"Uprising" track listing:

01. III
02. Colony
03. It Lives in Me
04. Nothing. No One. Nowhere.
05. Escape Yourself
06. Strive
07. I Am Oblivion
08. Speechless
09. Our Divide
10. Uprising
11. The War Around Us
12. Leech
13. Devotion

Check out audio samples below.

Right around the release of "Uprising", BLEED FROM WITHIN will kick off a heavy touring cycle. First will be a European tour supporting TESTAMENT, followed by the band's own headlining run throughout U.K.

"We can't wait to get back out on the road this year and play some shows, starting off with our European tour with thrash legends TESTAMENT," says BLEED FROM WITHIN. "We then return to the U.K. for the 'Uprising' U.K. headline tour with HEART OF A COWARD supporting. This is our first U.K. headline tour in four years and we're extremely excited to play some new songs for you and hopefully see some familiar faces as well as new ones."

An 11-minute compilation of the studio video reports for "The Mystery Of Time", the new album from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project, can be seen below. Due on March 30, the effort will be made available as a regular CD, limited-edition vinyl and limited-edition hardcover book with a 28-page booklet containing ten regular songs and two bonus tracks ("The Cross And You", "Death Is Just A Feeling"). The cover artwork was hand-painted by world acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Among Rodney's most famous artworks are not only album covers for rock legends such as MAGNUM, THIN LIZZY, ASIA and NAZARETH, he has also designed the characters for the TV series "Lavender Castle" and created the covers for novels by British fantasy author Michael Moorcock and many more.

Comments Tobias: "It is a great honor for me to have Rodney create the artwork of 'The Mystery Of Time'.

"Since the new album is a conceptual album and its story has a magical and enchanting atmosphere, there was no other painter I could think of to create the artwork.

"I've had several creative conversations with Rodney during the process and I had the feeling that the concept was inspiring to him right from the start.

"I put a lot of energy into producing a very detailed and fascinating album, and Rodney had that same enthusiasm to create an artwork just as detailed and fascinating.

"This is a new chapter in AVANTASIA's history and I think it didn't deserve less than a magical painting by my favorite painter and childhood hero: The one and only Rodney Matthews!"

"The Mystery Of Time" will feature guest appearances by Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Michael Kiske (UNISONIC, HELLOWEEN), SAXON frontman Biff Byford, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, drummer Russell Gilbrook of URIAH HEEP, AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen (also ex-BODINE, VENGEANCE), Ronnie Atkins of Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS and MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin.

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

"The Mystery Of Time" track listing:

01. Spectres
02. The Watchmakers' Dream
03. Black Orchid
04. Where Clock Hands Freeze
05. Sleepwalking
06. Savior In The Clockwork
07. Invoke The Machine
08. What's Left Of Me
09. Dweller In A Dream
10. The Great Mystery

Immediately after the release of "The Mystery Of Time", a metal opera based on a story written by Sammet, the band will embark on a full-fledged indoor tour, during which the band and special guests will bring the epic undertaking to the stage.

Since the performances will embrace all the different eras and history of AVANTASIA, these shows will feature an extended playing time and the entire evening will be dedicated to AVANTASIA with no support acts.

Tobias originally wanted to put AVANTASIA to rest after the release of the "The Flying Opera - Around The World In 20 Days" concert DVD in April 2011, but he has since had a change of heart. He explains, "Even though I love to record and tour with EDGUY, I didn't foresee how much I need AVANTASIA when I decided to finish this chapter of my life in 2011. I didn't know if there would be another AVANTASIA album one day, but I didn‘t feel like doing it. After the worldwide success of the latest studio releases, an arena world tour that was sold out pretty much everywhere, collaborations with childhood heroes like Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Eric Singer of KISS, etc. I 'knew' that I had said everything I could possibly say in the name of AVANTASIA. But that's not what AVANTASIA is all about. I wanna create more great music, I wanna create more fantasy worlds, the bigger and the more epic, the better. And listening to the material that I have created for this forthcoming chapter in the history of AVANTASIA, I know there is no way I am not going to do it! I have got the feeling and the certainty that this is absolutely meant to happen and to be!"

Norwegian/British hard rockers TNT have been rejoined by bassist Sid Ringsby (JORN, KEN HENSLEY). Ringsby played with TNT during 2004-2005, having performed on the "All The Way To The Sun" album and on the tour that followed.

Bassist Victor Cito Borge left TNT in December in order to pursue another project.

In a statement, Borge said: "After seven and a half years as a bass player in TNT, I have decided to accept another offer from [January 1]. My best wishes and good luck to the boys in the band and crew for the future! And not least, thanks to all of you who have been so incredibly positive and great support for me during my time in TNT!"

TNT's latest album, "A Farewell To Arms", was released in Japan in December 2010 via Avalon/Marquee and in Europe (excluding Norway) in January 2011 through Metal Heaven. The CD was produced by TNT guitar player Ronni Le Tekrö at his Studio Studio, and the songs were mainly written by Tekrö and TNT's British vocalist Tony Mills (ex-SHY).

Ex-TNT singer Tony Harnell rejoined his former bandmates for their 30th-anniversary concert on June 2, 2012 at the Clarion Hotel in Trondheim, Norway. The group performed a special setlist while accompanied by the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (Trondheim Symfoniorkester). Also making a special appearance with the band was TNT's original singer, Dag Ingebrigtsen.

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

A 15-minute video report on ANGRA appearance at 70000 Tons Of Metal can be seen below.

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

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

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

JON OLIVA'S PAIN and SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva has completed recording his first-ever solo album, to be released later this year via AFM Records. The 11-song CD, which contains ideas collected over the course of the last four or five years, was tracked earlier this winter at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida with producer Tom Morris, with Jon handling laying down nearly all the instrument tracks and vocals himself as well as playing drums on three songs.

Commented JON OLIVA'S PAIN drummer/producer Christopher Kinder: "Oliva will be the first to admit that it took one hell of a challenge writing, performing 90% of all the tracks himself and vocals... he is exhausted, for sure."

He added: "It's a very interesting and powerful offering. Diverse, emotional, and varying styles of writing and music everywhere. A truly great accomplishment for the mountain king, indeed."

Oliva previously stated about his decision to record a solo album: "I've got some weird ideas that I wanna try and I've got some time to do it. I don't want do just 'another' JON OLIVA'S PAIN record. I've done four of those already. I wanna do something different. I have some material that I've wanted to put out for a while, that I'll talk with the record company about, maybe putting something out quickly, like in the next four or five months, to give me more time to do this JON OLIVA'S PAIN record. I want the next JON OLIVA'S PAIN CD to be very special. I've got some great friends from other bands that are going to be a significant part of the next JON OLIVA'S PAIN release. We are going to do a killer JON OLIVA'S PAIN record and then an additional bonus CD with guest stars... kind of like the AVANTASIA thing, but not in a story line. [EDGUY and AVANTASIA mastermind] Tobias Sammet does a magnificent job with it, but I don't have that much time to write a whole story, so I'll just have some powerhouse friends from various bands come in and take it over the top."

Last summer, JON OLIVA'S PAIN toured Europe where it celebrated the 25th anniversary of one of heavy metal's most iconic records, "Hall Of The Mountain King" by SAVATAGE. The band performed the entire album as a special one-time-only treat for the still massive amount of loyal fans, along with songs from the DOCTOR BUTCHER album (by Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery, released in 1995), SAVATAGE and JON OLIVA'S PAIN.

According to the Birmingham Mail, an Australian woman has launched an online petition to try to secure a knighthood for BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Helen Maidiotis, from Sydney, writes on the campaign's Facebook page: "Ozzy has been an inspiration to many great musicians over the last 40 years. He is a credit to his country and I believe that a knighthood for Ozzy is one well deserved and long overdue."

Only 112 people have signed the petition so far.

British honors are awarded on merit, for exceptional achievement or service.

Anybody can recommend a British national for an honor and most awards go to members of the public or civil servants.

Nominations are divided into subject areas and assessed by eight committees comprising both senior civil servants and independent experts. Their assessments are passed to a selection committee that produces the list that is submitted to the Queen through the prime minister. The Queen formally approves the list of recipients and the honors are published in the official Crown newspaper, the London Gazette.

Drummer Jason Rullo of progressive metallers SYMPHONY X was admitted last month to the hospital for heart failure. Jason spent a week in the hospital, and has since been released. He has started a rehab program and has been told that his recovery will take a minimum of 3-6 months under doctors' care.

In a brand new posting on his Facebook page, Rullo stated about the outpouring of support he has received since his health scare was first revealed: "I can't thank everybody enough for your support in this time. I am overwhelmed by the number of people who have written in on our various media outlets. I can feel the love and again can't tell you how much it means to me. I am doing my best to recover and all the positive vibes sure help!"

SYMPHONY X's ninth studio album, "Iconoclast", sold more than 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 76 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Paradise Lost", opened with around 6,500 copies back in July 2007.

"Iconoclast" was released in Europe on June 17, 2011 and in North America on June 21, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The release date of POISON singer Bret Michaels's new solo album, "Good Songs & Great Friends", has been pushed back to June 11 from the previously announced March 26 (via Poor Boy Records). The effort brings together the friends that Michaels has made along the way with some of the songs that have shaped all of that success. Featuring collaborations with artists from a variety of genres and generations, this album contains a live duet with Jimmy Buffett ("Margaritaville"), a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama" with Gary Rossington, Rickey Medlocke and Peter Keys from LYNYRD SKYNYRD playing on the track, new versions of some of POISON's biggest hits, including the highly anticipated remake of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Loretta Lynn. Musical greats such as Joe Perry of AEROSMITH, Michael Anthony of VAN HALEN/CHICKENFOOT, Leslie West of MOUNTAIN, Ace Frehley of KISS/FREHLEY'S COMET appear on this record, just to name a few.

Two new songs are included on the CD — the wildly popular ode to social media "The App Song" and "You Know You Want It". The single, "Get Your Rock On", released at the beginning of 2012, makes its album debut featuring Phil Collen of DEF LEPPARD/MANRAZE and Sal Costa of MY DARKEST DAYS.

The genre-bending album features 17 songs, and in addition to the artists mentioned above, also includes guest appearances by Miley Cyrus, Hugh McDonald (BON JOVI), Bobby Capps (.38 SPECIAL), Scot Coogan (LITA FORD), THE SHEILDS BROTHERS, and more.

"Good Songs & Great Friends" track listing:

01. Nothin' But A Good Time
02. Get Your Rock On
03. Sweet Home Alabama
04. The App Song
05. Margaritaville
06. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
07. You Know You Want It
08. Unskinny Bop
09. Nothing To Lose
10. Raine
11. Driven (Rock Mix)
12. Fallen
13. What I Got
14. Talk Dirty To Me
15. Go That Far (Hybrid Mix)
16. Party Rock Band
17. Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Country Version)

The song "You Know You Want It" is available at MySpace.

In an interview with Gimme Noise, Bret stated about his upcoming CD, "I'm really proud of what we've done with it. It's really not just a Bret Michaels album. I had so many other talented artists come in and support that it's really a 'Bret Michaels And Friends' album. There's a staggering amount of talent on this album. . . It's been such a fun project for me and I'm excited to share it with the fans."

According to PanArmenian.net, a song co-written by BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has been chosen as Armenia's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest.

DORIANS frontman Gor Sujyan's "Lonely Planet" was selected at a Saturday, March 2 national vote to be performed at Eurovision in Malmö, Sweden. The identity of the song's composers — Iommi (music) and Vardan Zadoyan (lyrics) — had been kept secret for a while.

The dates set for the two Eurovision semifinals are May 14 and May 16, with the final taking place on the evening of May 18.

Iommi and DEEP PURPLE/ex-BLACK SABBATH singer Ian Gillan have spent a lot of time in Armenia, fallen in love with the country and the people and have dedicated a lot of work to a nation still shocked after the earthquake that struck Armenia on December 7, 1988.

Austrian extreme metallers MASTIC SCUM have issued the following update:

"We are currently working on 11 new brutal tracks again at Grindlab Studio!! Drums are already recorded and got nailed down by Man Gandler. Bass and guitars will be tracked within next week. We've also already started the vocal recordings with Maggo Wenzel. There will also be some guest vocal appearances!!

"Due different reasons, we have to postpone a studio-session back to March/April. As we cannot keep the release date in spring, the album release is pushed back to summer/fall 2013 through Masssacre Records."

MASTIC SCUM previously stated about the musical direction of its new material: "The new songs are shaping up in a new brutal style and also on a higher technical level. With this release, we went back to our roots putting some experimental parts and also we made a big step forward to new structures and rhythms."

MASTIC SCUM's latest album, "Dust", which was released on November 13, 2009 via Twilight Distribution. 12 songs were recorded for the effort, which was mixed at Grindlab Studio and mastered by Jacob Hansen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, ABORTED, HATESPHERE). Artwork for the CD was created by Killustrations (SIX FEET UNDER, KATAKLYSM, AMON AMARTH).

MASTIC SCUM in 2009 parted ways with vocalist Will due to "musical differences" and replaced him with Maggo Wenzel (INZEST, TRISTWOOD, WATCH ME BLEED).

"Eternal Defiance", the new albnum from German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA, will be released on May 24 via AFM Records.

Commented SUIDAKRA singer Arkadius Antonik: "As on the previous two releases, it will be a concept album again, created by [famous Belgian graphic artist] Kris Verwimp in cooperation with us. Our new concept includes a lot of new elements and suprises which will be reflected in the music as well."

In a 2012 interview with Metal Kaoz, Antonik stated about SUIDAKRA's new material: "The songs we have finished [so far] are bombastic and we also finished the first song with Tina's [Stabel] female vocals. This time, it's gonna be a faster song with a real epic and catchy chorus."

Bassist Marcus Riewaldt last year announced his departure from SUIDAKRA. He said in a statement, "After more than 250 shows and 10 years being in the band, I feel that now time has come to change my priorities a bit and see what else life has to offer for me. No hard feelings involved; it's just that I cannot motivate myself for another writing-rehearsing-recording-promoting-touring cycle and that I'm really annoyed by some of the music business mechanisms that one has to deal with in order to continue this beautiful and exciting, but at the same time very time- and energy-consuming hobby. I wish SUIDAKRA much luck and success for the future — it would all be well deserved!"

SUIDAKRA has already secured a replacement bassist in Tim Siebrecht, who was a stand-in guitar player for SUIDAKRA on several occasions in recent years.

SUIDAKRA's tenth album, "Book Of Dowth", was released on March 25, 2011 via AFM Records.

Austrian modern melodic death metallers LOST DREAMS have announced the addition of singer Sebastian Brandauer to the group's ranks.

Comments LOST DREAMS guitarist Andreas Maierhofer: "Sebastian sings and performs with a lot of attitude and really likes the LOST DREAMS music style. He will contribute with his own style, but he can sing the classic LOST DREAMS songs very close to the original singer and also deliver the hard-hitting vocals like Stefan [Traunig] did."

Added LOST DREAM guitarist Herbert Sopracolle: "We are extremely excited to announce and welcome Sebastian Brandauer into the band as vocalist. Sebastian has really been a breath of fresh air for us. Sebastian's voice add new dimensions to our sound."

LOST DREAMS is:

Sebastian Brandauer - Vocals
Herbert Sopracolle - Guitar
Andreas Maierhofer - Guitar
Dominik Hormann - Bass
Rafael Peychär - Drums

LOST DREAMS' "Demons Call My Name" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed in Vienna by Obscura Film.

"Demons Call My Name" comes off LOST DREAMS' fifth album, "Blinded By Rage", which was released on November 4, 2011 via Twilight Zone Records.

"I Sound My Sound", the new video from Max Lilja (HEVEIN, TARJA TURUNEN, ex-APOCALYPTICA), can be seen below. The song comes off his solo album, "Plays Electronica By One Cello", which came out in February.

The track listing for the CD — which showcases Max's talents as a songwriter and a master of electrified cello — is as follows:

01. I Sound My Sound
02. In SoS
03. Like This
04. Qualified
05. A State Of Mind
06. Count Phase
07. It Is In
08. You Me
09. Now
10. The End

Max was a founding member of APOCALYPTICA, and has been recording and touring with former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen since 2007. In his career, Max has played hundreds of concerts in over fifty countries.

For more information, visit www.maxthecello.com.

MURDERDOLLS — the band consisting of Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT) and Wednesday 13 — issued its sophomore album, "Women And Children Last", in August 2010 via Roadrunner Records. The CD, which was recorded at a studio in Hollywood Hills, California with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD), sold 8,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 43 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Speaking to Radio Metal last month, Wednesday 13 stated about MURDERDOLLS' current status: "MURDERDOLLS went on a hiatus in 2011 and that's pretty much it. I don't have anymore news; there's no info going on.

"To be honest, I see that this will be for eternity. But I'm glad we got to do our second record. After that, we were on the high note, but there is no income, so and I'll be surprised if it ever happen again."

He added: "I don't like to say that, I don't want to disappoint my fans, but I also have to be honest with them and tell them there's no coming back for a very long time, if it ever does. I don't like to say 'never,' but it's looking that way."

In a May 2012 interview, Wednesday was a little bit more optimistic about MURDERDOLLS' future, saying: "I love the band. It got me where I am. The last record we put out, 'Women And Children Last', it may be my favorite record I've ever put out — just because there was so much intensity in that record and just such a good time put into it. And if the band never happens again, we never do anything again, I know we went out on a high note with that record. And we got to do as much touring as we possibly could. Unfortuantely, some stuff got cut short. But yeah, man, that was a big part of my life again, and if it happens again, it happens; and if it doesn't, it doesn't. I hate to say it's never gonna happen, and then you see another one of those 'reunion' tours. So I'll just leave it open."

"Vertigo", the new video from the German deathcore act WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Voyeur", which was released on October 19, 2012 in Europe and November 6, 2012 in North America via Season Of Mist.

"Voyeur" was released as CD digipak (limited to first pressing), LP with digital download card, CD jewel case and t-shirt. The limited-edition digipak includes two bonus tracks and the LP includes one bonus cut.

"Voyeur" track listing:

01. Origin
02. Vertigo
03. H(a)unted
04. Terrifier
05. Of Fear And Total Control
06. Temple
07. The Black Lodge
08. Beyond Life And Death
09. To The Villains
10. Krycek
11. Scopophobia
12. Catacombæ
13. Epiphany
14. Dolph Lundgren (limited-edition bonus track)
15. To The Villains (demo version) (limited-edition bonus track)

WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH's third album, "MMX", was released in the fall of 2010 through Lifeforce Records.

Aaron Zimpel (guitar/vocals; ANVIL CHORUS, RELEASE) and Gary Wendt (guitar; SACRILEGE B.C., RELEASE, THE GHOST NEXT DOOR) have reunited in a new project called SUMERIAN CROWN. Rounding out the band is Paul Hopkins (ex-SKINLAB) on drums and Seanan Gridley (ex-THE GHOST NEXT DOOR) on bass.

SUMERIAN CROWN has been busy developing vast amounts of material with a goal of live debut and intensive recording by mid-summer 2013. This marks the first time Aaron and Gary have played together since RELEASE disbanded in 1997 following the Century Media-issued "End Of The Light" album.

Comments Aaron: "Gary and I always worked well together. There's some sort of unspoken understanding in how things should sound and especially how the guitars should complement each other for the greatest effect.

"Putting together this new material has been totally exciting as its fucking heavy, but colorful, all over the place progressively, melodically, and rhythmically. We've both matured a lot as musicians — me while I was back with the reformed ANVIL CHORUS, and Gary while spearheading his most recent band THE GHOST NEXT DOOR. Paul brings his years of experience pounding, recording and touring with SKINLAB and has some great ideas, and Seanan adds a monstrous anchor to it all.

"We're veterans of the Bay Area heavy music scene, but feel we'll be contributing a new, fresh, original sound to the re-emerging metal community."

According to The Journal News, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is being accused by a bank of not having paid the mortgage on his home for almost two years. U.S. Bank National Association claims that the musician stopped paying his $735,000 mortgage on his home in Yorktown in Northern Westchester County, New York, 35 miles from New York City, on March 1, 2011.

The bank filed a mortgage foreclosure case on February 15, asking the court to order a sale of the home — which sits on 3.01 acres and has two floors, three bedrooms and three bathrooms — to pay for the outstanding principal of $703,581.48 plus interest, late charges and other expenses.

Frehley was transferred ownership to the property in 2004 by Jendell Productions, which bought the home in November 2000 for $650,000.

Jendell is the name of the fictional home planet for Frehley's extraterrestrial "Spaceman" stage character, who wore silver face paint and black lipstick.

Frehley performed with KISS from its inception in 1973 until his first departure in 1982 before rejoining KISS in 1996 for a very successful reunion tour. Frehley's second stint lasted until 2002 as Ace went back to being a solo artist again, but the stories and memories still remain from touring in one of rock and roll's most successful acts of all time.

Ace's latest album, "Anomaly", was released on September 15, 2009 via Ace's own Bronx Born Records, with Rocket Science providing a full label service platform in the U.S., "Anomaly" was produced and recorded in Westchester County, New York between 2007 and 2009 and was mixed in Los Angeles.

In a brand new interview with the Broward Palm Beach New Times, IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain was asked to weigh in on the contractual disputes that have forced SLAYER's Dave Lombardo and BLACK SABBATH's Bill Ward out of their respective bands in recent months.

"Most of the issues that pro musicians have sooner or later in time boils down to the royalty check or performance royalties," Nicko said.

"I'm sad to hear that that has happened, but, you know, when you find out and look at something and say, 'Could you explain this to me, why we're not getting what we should according to these numbers?' and if somebody turns around and says, 'Fucking shut your face or you're fired,' that therefore it tells you there's an alarm bell going off. Without knowing all of the ins and outs of it, you can't pre-judge it.

"But yeah, the Bill Ward story, I understood that Sharon Osbourne got her fangs into that one. It's beyond me — I mean, Bill Ward was the original freaking band member, you know? It just doesn't make sense to me. If I was entitled to more, I don't really want to know; I'm happy!

"You have to ask yourself this: How did Dave Lombardo get the information that led to this problem, is what I'd like to know. Who gave him the financials, if he wasn't on top of it with an accountant already?

"I'm sad because Dave is so much a part of that band; he's so identifiable. There's great drummers out there, but Dave Lombardo is a master with it, and Dave is... to me, he is SLAYER with Kerry [King, guitar] and the guys! I think Kerry really may have overreacted and might be regretting it. I hope that that's the case and they can sit down and sort it out."

Fan-filmed video footage of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris's new solo/side project BRITISH LION performing on February 23 at La Riviera in Madrid, Spain can be seen below.

BRITISH LION is out on the road this month, visiting fourteen countries and twenty-four cities across Europe. For the first time ever, and as a major surprise to many, MAIDEN's bass player, founding member and leader is taking temporary leave from his MAIDEN activities and heading out on a full European club tour.

Regarding the BRITISH LION tour, Steve previously said: "I love touring and live shows and I'm very excited about touring with BRITISH LION. It's fantastic to get out there and once again experience the sheer vibrancy of small clubs with the fans right up front and in your face. I think the fans will enjoy that too. It's exciting, going back to the roots, and it's going to be fantastic. We are taking this to clubs all round Europe — a full club tour, with club shows at club prices, hot, sweaty and loud. We have no idea how many people will turn out to see us, as it's obviously very recent and very new, so we have kept the venues small with tickets priced accordingly as low as we reasonably could.

"I've known all the guys in the band for ages and, besides being great musicians, they are also good friends, which is lucky because this has been an ongoing project for many years! They've had to be very patient with me as, of course, I'm so involved with MAIDEN I don't really get a lot of free time to work on other stuff. So it's great to finally have the opportunity to get out and do all these shows. The reaction to the album has been really good and I think it will sound great live. We're all planning to have a lot of fun on this tour!"

BRITISH LION's debut album sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 3 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.

"British Lion" was released in the U.S. on September 25, 2012 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). Mixed by Kevin Shirley — whose credits include IRON MAIDEN as well as Led ZEPPELIN, JOURNEY and RUSH, among many others — the CD, which features Harris alongside vocalist Richard Taylor, guitarists Graham Leslie and David Hawkins and drummer Simon Dawson, presents a different side of the bassist's musical visions.

"British Lion" comprises ten songs that Steve and his collaborators have been working on between IRON MAIDEN tours and releases and is described by Harris as "'70s-influenced, British-sounding hard rock." "I'd say it's more mainstream rock than metal... and quite commercial… but good commercial," he said. "There's all kinds of stuff going on, with nods to THE WHO and UFO and some classic British rock bands, but it's not the progressive rock album some might be expecting."

Finnish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH were honored in the "Metal Album Of The Year" and "Band Of The Year" categories at this year's Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammy equivalent), which was held on March 1 at Barona Areena in Espoo, Finland. Other "Metal Album" nominees were MOKOMA ("180 Astetta"), TERVEET KÄDET ("Musta Hetki"), and STAM1NA ("Nocebo").

Video footage of NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala accepting the "Metal Album Of The Year" award for "Imaginaerum" can be seen below.

"Imaginaerum" was released in North America on January 10, 2012 via Roadrunner Records.

NIGHTWISH released a limited-edition "Trials Of Imaginaerum" 10-inch picture disc for last year's Record Store Day (April 21). The effort included four previously unreleased demo recordings with Marco Hietala on lead vocals. It also came with a download of the previously unreleased track "The Heart Asks Pleasure First", a cover with lyrics from the movie "The Piano".

"Trials Of Imaginaerum" featured a picture of "The Crew, The Owl And The Dove" on one side, and the "Imaginaerum" grounds on the other side.

NIGHTWISH released a special "tour edition" of "Imaginaerum", on April 13, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. It was a 2CD+DVD digibook in slipcase.

"Imaginaerum" sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, 2007's "Dark Passion Play", opened with 11,000 units to land at No. 84.

Florida metallers TRIVIUM have completed recording their sixth album for a late summer release via Roadrunner Records. The CD is being produced by DISTURBED/DEVICE frontman David Draiman at a studio in Austin, Texas.

In a recent interview with PitCam.TV, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy stated about the songwriting sessions for the band's next CD: "I can tell you we do have a title, we do have songtitles, we do have 20 to 25 songs demoed, we do have an artist. Everything is set up — all the visuals and everything — but it's all secret. Hopefully it comes out the third quarter of next year. We're recording in January, February and March in Austin, Texas; that's all I can say [about] that. It's gonna be great; it's gonna be really, really great. It's too difficult to describe in metal adjectives, like 'heavy,' 'brutal,' melodic,' all this stuff, like every band does. Also, the classic phrase: 'our best album ever.' I can say that with 'In Waves', it was finally an album that all the fans of the previous four… We've got very divided fans: 'I just like 'Ember'.' 'I just like 'Crusade'.' 'I just like 'Ascendancy'.' 'I just like 'Shogun'.' Everyone could agree on 'In Waves'. And simultaneously, everywhere in the world, 'In Waves' received the biggest reaction. With the next record, people can expect the best parts of everything we've ever done across all five records on one."

TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career. The group's previous CD, "Shogun", opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up "The Crusade", which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.

Pictured below: TRIVIUM at studio in Austin with David Draiman

Finnish gothic metallers UNSHINE will release their third album, "Dark Half Rising", on August 23 via Massacre Records. The artwork for the CD was created by Jan Yrlund at Darkgrove Design (KORPLIKAANI, EDGE OF SERENITY, TÝR, IMPERIA). Songtitles set to appear on the effort include "The Oath To Wilderness Of Unredeemed Nature", "Idyl", "Defender Of His Faith" and "Ikuinen Taistelu".

UNSHINE in 2010 parted ways with Low Frequency Records after releasing two full-length CDs through the label.

The band's second album, entitled "The Enigma Of Immortals", came out in April 2008.

UNSHINE is:

Susanna Vesilahti (vocals)
Harri Hautala (guitar, synth)
Jari Hautala (guitar)
Teemu Vähäkangas (bass)
Jukka Hantula (drums)

"Rise Of A Digital Nation", the new video from the Swedish "alternative metal" band MACHINAE SUPREMACY, can be seen below. The song is the title track of the group's latest album, which was released last October via Spinefarm Records. According to a press release, the CD "echoes the musical simplicity of [2008's] 'Overworld' and faithfully reflects the issues and state of a Generation Online in its lyrics." The album was recorded in MACHINAE SUPREMACY's own studio in Luleå, Sweden, with additional recording at the 4Sound Studio in Stockholm. It was mastered by Henkka Niemistö at Chartmakers in Finland.

MACHINAE SUPREMACY's video game-inspired sounds and melodies, masterful guitar work and unique vocal style has set the band apart from the mainstream mass of generic rock and metal since their beginning in 2000. Metal Hammer calls MACHINAE SUPREMACY "one of the most interesting bands of the current era" in their review of the U.K.-only best-of collection "The Beat of Our Decay" from 2011.

Since the release of its fourth studio album, "A View From The End of The World", MACHINAE SUPREMACY has toured Europe with CHILDREN OF BODOM and ENSIFERUM, and signed with Spinefarm for three more albums.

"Rise of a Digital Nation" track listing:

01. All of My Angels
02. Laser Speed Force
03. Transgenic
04. Rise of a Digital Nation
05. Pieces
06. Cyber Warfare
07. Republic of Gamers
08. Battlecry
09. 99
10. Hero

MACHINAE SUPREMACY is:

Robert Stjärnström - Vocals
Jonas Rörling - Guitar
Andreas Gerdin - Bass
Niklas Karvonen - Drums