SPIRITUAL BEGGARS — the Swedish band featuring ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, along with vocalist Apollo Papathanasio (ex-FIREWIND) — will release its eighth studio album, "Earth Blues", on April 16 (one day earlier internationally) via InsideOut Music.

The first track released from the CD, "Turn The Tide", can be streamed below.

Commented Amott: "I had the idea for this artwork from my time as a child, seeing posters of two young lovers watching a romantic sunset on the beach — just your typical tacky bedroom art in the '70s, really... Also, growing up in what is now referred to with some nostalgia as the Atomic Age — the threat of nuclear war was always looming over our heads it seemed. I wanted to combine these two images of my youth in one paradoxical image and Per Wiberg of Hippograffix (and SPIRITUAL BEGGARS keyboardist) really managed to capture the melancholic feeling perfectly. Earth Blues, indeed."

Regarding the making of "Earth Blues", Amott said: "We started the recording process of 'Earth Blues' with an eight-day-long session at Fat Guitar Studios (Sweden) with knob-twiddler Roberth Ekholm, a truly great dude who really knows how to capture a band jamming live, sadly a rare quality in recording engineers nowadays! We continued with some overdubs at various studios in Sweden, and it's all come together super easy this time. Sonically, I think this might be our finest hour yet. It's a raw, heavy and honest record."

In order to promote this upcoming release as well as the band's anniversary, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS have confirmed a European tour for April with support by German rockers ZODIAC, as well as some European summer festivals.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS in 2011 released a live CD entitled "Return To Live: Loud Park 2010" in Japan via Trooper Entertainment. The disc features eight songs, capturing the bands high-energy performance at Loud Park 10 at Saitama Super Arena, Japan on October 17, 2010. The live recording was mixed in Sweden by Staffan Karlsson and Rickard Bengtsson at Studio Landgren 5.3 and The Sweet Spot Studio in December 2010. The artwork and design was handled by Hippograffix.

The new lineup of SPIRITUAL BEGGARS made its live debut on October 1, 2010 at Kyttaro club in Athens, Greece.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS's seventh studio album, "Return To Zero", was released in Japan on August 25, 2010 via Trooper Entertainment Inc. — the label founded by legendary Japanese heavy metal music industry guru Tetsu Miyamoto. The Japanese special edition comes in a glossy paper box with a poster and a sticker of the CD front cover. The Japanese edition also features a bonus track, a thunderous cover of URIAH HEEP's "Time To Live" off the legendary U.K. band's 1971 "Salisbury" record.

"Return To Zero" was released in North America on October 12, 2010 via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to 2005's "Demons" was recorded at Sweetspot Studio with producer Rickard Bengtsson.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS 2013 is:

Michael Amott (ARCH ENEMY, CARCASS) - Guitar
Ludwig Witt (FIREBIRD) - Drums
Per Wiberg (OPETH) - Keyboards
Sharlee D'Angelo (ARCH ENEMY, MERCYFUL FATE) - Bass
Apollo Papathanasio (FIREWIND) - Vocals

The Mighty Z of Capital Chaos TV conducted an interview with guitarist Jeremy Wagner of reformed Chicago death metallers BROKEN HOPE on February 23 at The Awakening festival at Neck Of The Woods in San Francisco, California. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is performance footage from the San Francisco concert.

In regards to BROKEN HOPE's next studio CD, Wagner previously said: "We finished writing the new BROKEN HOPE album and plan to start recording in March with Chris Djuric at Belle City Sound and Scott Creekmore at Mercenary Digital Studios. As reported recently, the 11 tracks include 'The Flesh Mechanic' and 'Give Me The Bottom Half'...and these are just the tip of a massive and sick iceberg. We plan to turn this new monstrosity in to Century Media in May — before our appearances at Extremefest (Germany) and Maryland Deathfest 2013."

BROKEN HOPE was formed in 1988 by Wagner, while he was in high school. Shortly after formation, they recorded two demo tapes and signed with indie label, Grind-Core Records. Then in 1991, they released their debut album, "Swamped In Gore", launching the band out of the underground and into the mainstream. From there, the band signed to Metal Blade Records and released three more albums, all stellar examples of BROKEN HOPE's fury, which etched their place in death-metal history.

After BROKEN HOPE's last album (1999's "Grotesque Blessings") and world tours, Wagner cleaned house and put BROKEN HOPE into "metal hibernation" in 2000. On January 20, 2010, original BROKEN HOPE vocalist Joe Ptacek tragically committed suicide. He was only 37 years old. Before his death, Ptacek met with Wagner and Glass and discussed the resurrection of BROKEN HOPE. With Ptacek's death, Wagner and Glass took time off to reconsider their next moves.

In 2012, BROKEN HOPE signed with Hard Impact Management and vowed to make BROKEN HOPE a full-time monster. Wagner and Glass recruited longtime friend and GORGASM vocalist Damian Leski as their new frontman and shortly after marked their return on the highly successful Carnival Of Death tour. BROKEN HOPE's high-intensity concerts received top praise, and confirmed the band was back and more rabid than ever.

BROKEN HOPE 2013 is:

Damian Leski - Vocals
Jeremy Wagner - Guitars
Shaun Glass - Bass
Chuck Wepfer - Lead Guitars
Mike Miczek - Drums

Interview:

Greek melodic metal band INNERWISH has announced the addition of vocalist George Eikosipentakis to the group's ranks. He replaces Babis Alexandropoulos, who quit the band last year.

Commented INNERWISH: "George is an excellent and experienced vocalist, and fits exactly with the past but also with our plans for the future of the band.

"Our first live show with George will be at the Metal From Hellas festival, which will take place on the 26th of May at Gagarin 205 Live Music Space in Athens, Greece. But before that, our fans worldwide will be able to listen to two covers we made, which mark the first recordings with George on vocals and Fragiskos Samoilis behind the drums. One on WARLORD's classic 'Black Mass', for the 'Sons Of A Dream – A Tribute To Warlord' release, and one on BLACK SABBATH's opus 'Neon Knights' for a tribute CD that will be released with the Greek edition of Metal Hammer magazine.

"Beside all these, we are working on songs for our next studio album. Some tunes are already shaping up and more will be announced in the coming months.

"INNERWISH are back on track and the best is yet to come! The desires are burning more than ever!"

INNERWISH's latest album, "No Turning Back", came out in May 2010 via Ulterium Records. The CD was mixed by Fredrik Nordström (IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL, DIMMU BORGIR) at Studio Fredman in Västra Frölunda, Sweden, and was mastered by Mika Jussila (NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, STRATOVARIUS) at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

INNERWISH is;

George Eikosipentakis: Vocals
Thimios Krikos: Guitar
Manolis Tsigkos: Guitar
Antonis Mazarakis: Bass
George Georgiou: Keys
Fragiskos Samoilis: Drums

Guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD has posted the following message in the latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings - Life Affirming":

"2-11-13. That is the date we fired [MACHINE HEAD bassist] Adam Duce. That is the day that I had to tell Adam that after 21 years of being in a band together, I just couldn't take it anymore.

"That is the day I said "My hope is that this can be amicable."

"The words sounded like someone else had spoken them.

"It was like being outside of my body watching someone else deliver these painful words.

"But, it was me saying it.

"And we all said it.

"We had our say sitting in our jam room in Oakland. Dave [McClain, drums] said it. Joseph (our manager) said it. Phil [Demmel, guitar] said it. We all said that we couldn't take being in a band with him anymore. That if this didn't happen, we were going to break up the band.

"It was hard. One of the hardest moments of my life.

"It was also a long time coming.

"We may have fired Adam on 2-11-13, but Adam quit MACHINE HEAD well over a decade ago. He just never bothered to tell anyone… but we all knew it.

"Contrary to popular belief, being in a band is tough. Really fucking tough. It's the toughest sonofabitch you'll ever come across in your life and it will beat the living shit out of you 80% of the time. Many times it feels like one big rollercoaster, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. There are wins and losses seemingly every single day. Being in a band is one of life’s strangest gambles.

"But when you do win, when you win that 20%, well... it truly is salvation. It's what makes eating the other 80% of that shit-sandwich bearable. It's where 'those' stories come from. It can be the best job you'll ever have and unquestionably one of the hardest you'll ever have. But until you've done it for 20+ years, you have no clue. Until you've held a band together for 20+ years, you really don't know jack shit about it.

"You think you do.

"You don't.

"A band is a dysfunctional family. A brotherhood, a family business, and a renaissance-era-court. You're room-mates in studio-apartment-on-wheels for years-at-a-time, 24-hours-a-day. Plus you're in the pressure cooker of the spotlight, every move analyzed, read into, or attacked. Everybody wants something from you, everybody wants to be your friend, everybody loves you, everybody can do so-much-better-for-you-than-the-people-you-have-now. Some people try and turn you against each other, and everyone wants to take credit for your success.

"Often time you're enemies. At odds and fighting about something, but 'pretending' everything is "fine" onstage.

"But it isn't...

"You just wear a mask that looks like it's fine, and after 20 years, we know that mask so well, it slides on way too fuckin' easy.

"Adam hasn't been happy in this band for a long time. But how do you leave? To a guy like Adam, everything is either winning or losing. A stunning victory or the ultimate failure. There was no in-between. And while that sounds great for a TV show or an interview-sound-bite, or even a John Wayne movie that wraps up in 90 minutes... life just isn't like that.

"And life certainly isn't like that for a band like MACHINE HEAD. A band who operate in the upper-middle-tier. For us, there are no stunning victories, only respectable wins. No ultimate failures, just better-luck-next-times. We carved a niche, we OWN that niche, but it's still just a niche. Nothing wrong with that.

"No matter how un-happy or fed up he got, quitting the band would be seen as 'losing' or a 'failure.' Truth be told, he was sick of it. Sick of touring, sick of recording, sick of practicing, sick of looking at album artwork, sick of being-on-a-team-but-never-getting-the-ball, sick of yearning-for-the-honeymoon-to-resume when 20 years deep it never does. Sick of never quite hitting the big-time, sick of carving the niche... sick of caring.

"I don't blame him. It's hard to keep the passion.

"But he just wouldn't quit.

"We wanted him to quit. We were hoping he would quit, 'Guys, my heart isn't in this anymore, it was a good run, later dayz.' We didn't want it to come to this...

"But he wouldn't.

"I didn't feel anything as I drove away from the jam room that night. When I awoke the next morning I didn't feel anything either. I wasn't 'numb,' I still 'felt,' was just kinda blank. But three days after the meeting, an argument broke out in the jam room about how conflicted I felt about it. Then I cried.

"I cried and cried.

"I've cried every day since. I've been an emotional wreck. I cried writing this. I was sick the day that we announced it (11 days and 2 General Journals after actually doing it), walking around about to vomit for hours.

"I met with him for a couple hours last Wednesday, met with him yesterday. It's civil.

"I don't know what else to say.

"I don't have some inspirational quote to end with here. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you everything is gonna be all right, or that's it gonna be the same. At this moment I can’t even bring myself to say that it's going to be better.

"Why?

"Because it sucks.

"It fucking sucks.

"It sucks for everyone who tried to save this.

"It sucks more than you can imagine...

"It's a horrible relief."

In exclusive interview for the March 2013 issue of Revolver magazine, Jolie Lucker, the widow of SUICIDE SILENCE frontman Mitch Lucker, remembers her husband, the father of her daughter and one of the most charismatic and beloved metal vocalists of his generation. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Revolver: How has [Mitch's five-year-old daughter] Kenadee taken his death?

Jolie: Hard. She understands, though. She actually goes to a Christian school. I've never been religious — she goes to a private school because of the quality of education — but she's learning about God, Heaven, and all of that. The day he passed away, I sat with her teacher and we took her into the chapel. I wasn't stable. I couldn't even comprehend what happened. My emotions were making her pissed. She was so mad, but she got it. She'd tell me, "Daddy died in a motorcycle accident. Are you going to keep crying?" It's rough. She's used to him being on tour, but once it hits the six-month mark, I think she'll understand. Right now, he could be on tour and coming back. It's killing me inside, but I swear to God he does shit around our house. He used to catch bugs for her all the time and put them in jars. They would go bug hunting and get spiders, snails, and butterflies and put them in mason jars. He would pop holes in the top. We woke up this morning, and we had just moved into this new house two days ago, everything is fucking scrambled. I had this vase sitting next to the front door. She goes, "Oh my God, mommy! There's a moth in here!" The vase is really tiny at the top — it couldn't have gotten in there in any other way. I swear to God he did that. He's doing stuff like that for her just so she knows that daddy is still here. She thinks the stars are him. She thinks the brightest star is him. We'll go outside and say goodnight. One of our best friend's husband is deaf, so we know sign language. So we'll do the hand sign for "I love you" a lot up at the stars. She'll look up while we're driving and start doing that hand sign for "I love you," and sometimes at night, she'll say, "I love you, daddy. When is daddy coming home from Heaven?" She gets really angry about it. It's heartbreaking.

Revolver: After he passed, you had a private service. What was that like?

Jolie: It was beautiful. The clothes I picked out for him for the viewing were ones that really meant a lot to us. It was the outfit he wore to our rehearsal dinner when we got married. I had him placed in a simple gray casket, so all of our friends and family could sign it and write notes to him. He was buried with this special picture of him and Kenadee he loved. At the viewing, he had his left hand over the picture, holding it close to his chest. It was fucking hard. The band's manager made a flag with the artwork for "The Black Crown" on it. We had TVs repeating a big collage of all these pictures of him, his family, and his band. We had all these songs playing. I lost it to one song. I had gone into the viewing first, and it started playing Lucero's "Slow Dancing". That was the song playing during our first dance at our wedding. I just freaked out. It was bad. Later, we had a lot of SUICIDE SILENCE songs playing. I made it like it was his last night onstage. If you saw SUICIDE SILENCE live in the last year, he walks onstage to "March to the Black Crown". When he was being carried out, we had that song playing.

Revolver: It sounds like you bid farewell to him in a thoughtful way.

Jolie: He was awesome. It's just a tragedy. Devastating. My heart is crushed.

Pictured below: Mitch Lucker's wife Jolie

German metallers GLORYFUL will release their debut album, "The Warrior's Code", on May 24 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded with legendary Swedish sound alchemist Dan Swanö. Belgian artist Kris Verwimp, who has previously worked with such bands as ABSU, DARK FORTRESS and MELECHESH, created the cover artwork, which you can see below.

"The Warrior's Code" track listing:

01. The Riddle Of Steel
02. Gloryful's Tale
03. Heavy Metal - More Than Meets The Eye
04. The Warrior's Code
05. Breaking Destiny
06. Evil Oath
07. Chased In Fate
08. Far Beyond Time
09. Fist Of Steel
10. Sedna's Revenge
11. Death Of The First Earth

GLORYFUL was formed in summer 2010 by lead singer Johnny La Bomba and Shredmaster JB (a.k.a. Jens Basten, who is also NIGHT IN GALES' guitarist and songwriter). A three-track demo, "Sedna's Revenge", garnered great reviews in the classic heavy metal underground and the band played a number of shows with such acts as POWERWOLF, VICIOUS RUMORS, ORDAN OGAN and HELSTAR.

According to a press release, GLORYFUL's "music is not about any clichés or bullshit. It's just what it is: heavy metal!"

GLORYFUL is:

Johnny La Bomba - Vocals
Jens Basten - Guitar
Vito Papotto - Guitar
Oliver Karasch - Bass
Hartmut Stoof - Drums

Reactivated cult classic prog-thrashers TOXIK have announced the addition of SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner to the group's ranks. Guitarist and founding member Josh Christian comments on Bittner's addition: "I couldn't have hoped for a better situation. Jason is probably the best case scenario in every respect. Not only is he a sick drummer, but he’s a thinker and a creative force."

States Bittner: "I initially met [former TOXIK drummer] Tad [Leger] at a DEATH ANGEL show back in 1990 shortly after seeing TOXIK for the first time. I recognized him, struck up a conversation and the next thing you know I was at his place taking lessons from him. Over the years, we became very good friends, trading shows with our local bands at the time, etc., and we've stayed close while I traveled the world, building my career with SHADOWS FALL.

"For me, this is a big deal because I get to play in one of my favorite bands from my youth, and I get a chance to help preserve my friend's legacy"

Christian and singer Mike Sanders recently began pre-production work on the vocals at Josh's home studio. TOXIK is hopeful to have the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 1992's critically acclaimed LP "Think This" ready for release late fall. Christian comments: "It was great getting together with Mike. Nothing's changed — he can still totally kill it — so it's going to be a lot of fun recording this album!"

Hailing from New York's Hudson Valley area, TOXIK released a pair of classic thinking-man's thrash metal albums in the late '80s. An upstart record label named Roadrunner Records (later home to SLIPKNOT and NICKELBACK) released the band's two astounding masterworks, 1988's "World Circus" and 1989's "Think This". Both releases saw TOXIK take the aggression and brutality of speed metal and mix it with the technicality and proficiency of progressive hard rock.

TOXIK left the Hudson Valley region and toured the United States and the world, playing shows with the likes of PANTERA, SEPULTURA, EXODUS, KING DIAMOND and others in their quest for metal ascendancy before their premature implosion in 1992.

TOXIK released a DVD, "Think Again", in August 2010. The set contained both vintage and brand new never-before-seen footage. The main feature was a 1989 headlining set from the Paramount Theater in TOXIK's hometown of Peekskill, New York. This performance came shortly after the release of "World Circus" and the energy level of the band wa truly at its peak for TOXIK's first headlining show. The DVD contains all the tracks from "World Circus" and an early version of "Spontaneous" that later appeared on "Think This".

British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH have released the following statement:

"Unfortunately, at this time, the the cultural section of the Chinese government have decided that CRADLE OF FILTH are unsuitable to play in mainland China and so we are currently banned from playing there. Therefore, the show on Tuesday 30 April in Shang Hai, China at MAO Live House has had to be moved to Hong Kong. The new venue is Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC) in Hong Kong on April 30th. Hope to see you there!"

CRADLE OF FILTH's tenth studio album, "The Manticore And Other Horrors", sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 96 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous full-length effort, "Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa", opened with 5,800 units in November 2010 to land at No. 99.

CRADLE OF FILTH's 2008 CD, "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder", premiered with a little over 11,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 48. This was slightly less than the first-week tally registered by 2006's "Thornography", which shifted nearly 13,000 copies the first week out to enter The Billboard chart at No. 66, and "Nymphetamine", which premiered with almost 14,000 copies back in October 2004.

"The Manticore And Other Horrors" was released in North America on October 30, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Recorded in eight weeks at both Springvale and Grindstone studios (where it was also mixed by Scott Atkins), Suffolk, "The Manticore And Other Horrors" is a testament to the longevity of the 'FILTH, as not only does it reek of CRADLE's (feared or revered) brand of delicious metal vamperotica, but this thoroughly modern album places the band firmly in fresh killing fields anew.

Season Of Mist has announced the signing of Canadian extreme blackened death metal horde NECRONOMICON. The trio's new album, "Rise of the Elder Ones", will be released on June 10 (three days earlier in Europe).

Regarding the signing, the band released the following statement: "Many people know that for some years in the past NECRONOMICON have been through some really dark years and that starting with 'The Return Of The Witch', or what we called the return to the source, we rose out of that period with more determination and strength than ever. As for now, some months ago we had the opportunity to join forces and work with one of the most respected labels in the dark metal area. That's why we decided to move on in that direction. Working with people that care, are professionals, and do what they said without trying to find excuses to not do what they agreed to. It is with honor that NECRONOMICON joined the Season Of Mist family and wish for this relationship to be long and prosperous."

NECRONOMICON in May 2011 announced the addition of bassist Armaros to the group's ranks.

Bassist Diego "D" left NECRONOMICON in 2010 in order to undertake "different professional and personal projects" that he wouldn't be "able to do simultaneously with [his previous] band duties."

NECRONOMICON's latest album, "The Return Of The Witch", was released in June 2010 via Austria's Napalm Records. The CD was mastered with reputed engineer Maor Appelbaum (HALFORD, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, THERION) and features guest appearances by Arianne Fleury (ex-AUGURY) and Roxanne Constantin (NEGATIVA, QUO VADIS), among others.

Mark Dean of Myglobalmind recently conducted an interview with drummer Robb Reiner of Canadian metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Myglobalmind: Robb Reiner is widely regarded as an innovator in drumming technique — but how do you view such praise?

Robb: Yes, I've been hearing this my whole life and it's great that one can be an inspiration to so many.

Myglobalmind: As a huge fan from your early releases — "Hard 'N' Heavy", "Forged In Fire" and "Metal On Metal" in the '80s — I have a particular fondness for that lineup. Are you still personally in touch with Dave Allison and Ian Dickson? In the current trend of band reunions and reformations, is that something that you and Lips have ever considered? Especially when financially times were difficult for the band, and you having to take other jobs etc.?

Robb: In recent years, we have been throwing the notion around of doing a world tour and calling it the "1, 2, 3 Tour". Which really means that we would only play songs from the first three records, and having said that, there has been discussion of doing it with the original guys, but at this moment, it's unknown and undetermined if they are physically in the condition to weather the life of rock' n' roll for a tour. Regardless of their involvement, we still plan on doing this tour.

Myglobalmind: In retrospect how do you view the ANVIL documentary film? Do you feel it helped with a resurgence in the band, or alternatively largely overshadowed your extensive musical legacy?

Robb: The success of the ANVIL movie brought the band's story to the world stage. As a result of that, the band has been able to perform in front of tens of thousands of fans over the past four years, notwithstanding the reality that all the band's back catalog has been re-released and all the fans new and old are rediscovering and discovering the majesty of ANVIL's music.

Myglobalmind: From that movie, it's apparent that both the band, and you and Lips personally have encountered very difficult times. What gives you inner strength and determination to persevere? Was that strength of character passed onto you by your parents? In a more positive era for ANVIL, what motivates and inspires you today?

Robb: The single motivation for keeping a career going is that we have a fan base that loves what we do, hence we love it even more. Creating and writing songs and recording is a passion to live for.

Myglobalmind: Over your extensive musical back catalogue, what are the personal highs and lows for you?

Robb: The personal highs are having made fifteen killer albums with killer tracks that inspired, innovated, pioneered and created a whole genre that still lives on to this day. The lows are that the corporate world missed the boat all along.

Myglobalmind: How do you justify ANVIL's place in the current digital age of technology? Has the modern changes in the industry been a benefit or hindrance to bands with a longevity?

Robb: We all miss recording on two-inch tape, but who cares?! We now all have Pro Tools. Pro Tools gives the artist endless creative manipulative processes that the past never had. Is it better or worse? It can make it easier for anybody. I guess we can all thank the digital age for killing the sale of music, i.e. digital downloads.

Myglobalmind: How would you describe your relationship with Lips?

Robb: We have a business relationship, and we create awesome music together, and we smoke dope, and he's my brother.

Read the entire interview from Myglobalmind.

Photo credit: Grant Yoshino

Danish thrash metal veterans ARTILLERY will enter the studio in June to begin recording their new album for a late 2013 release. Working songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Dies Irae", "Define Your Sins", "Wardrum Heartbeat" and "Anno Requiem".

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'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.

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX's entire February 25 performance at Big Top Luna Park in Sydney, Australia can be seen below.

"Anthems", ANTHRAX's long-awaited, eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the band's favorite acts from the 1970s, will be released in North America on March 19 (MRI/Megaforce), and on March 22 in Europe (Nuclear Blast).

"Anthems" track listing

01. Anthem (RUSH cover)
02. Jailbreak (THIN LIZZY cover)
03. TNT (AC/DC cover)
04. Smokin' (BOSTON cover)
05. Big Eyes (CHEAP TRICK cover)
06. Keep On Runnin' (JOURNEY cover)
07. Crawl (album version)
08. Crawl (special remix)

The "Anthems" EP will be available on CD as well as digitally via iTunes and other online retailers. In addition to "Anthems"' cover art, Benante and artist Stephen Thompson have subtly redesigned each track's original album cover art to "Anthrax" it. The "Anthems" EP will first be housed in one of the "re-imagined" digipak covers, and then inserted inside the main CD cover sleeve. The main cover sleeve has been designed in such a way so fans will be able to see which one of the six "re-imagined" covers is inside.

"Anthems" was produced by ANTHRAX, Jay Ruston and Rob Caggiano and recorded for the most part throughout 2012 literally all over the world: at Benante's home studio, in Ruston's New York studio, on the band's tour bus while on last summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, in hotel rooms, and backstage at their Berlin show last December.

The Grammy-nominated ANTHRAX will hit the road in support "Anthems" on February 16 with dates in India and Australia, and then return to North America to headline the Metal Alliance Tour that kicks off March 22. For all of these dates, ANTHRAX will be joined by SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais.

Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA are featured in the latest episode of "Bus Invaders". Shot during the band's North American headline tour on November 4, 2012 in Joliet, Iliinois, the clip — which can be seen below — features vocalist Simone Simons giving a walk-through of the band's tour bus.

EPICA will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special performance, dubbed "Retrospect", which will take place on March 23, 2013 at Klokgebouw in Eindhoven, Holland.

"Retrospect" will be EPICA's most ambitious project to date, joined by a 70-piece symphonic orchestra and choir, international guests and lots of special effects.

Specially for this show, EPICA will be joined by the Hungarian Extended Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and Choir of Miskolc National Theatre, the same orchestra and choir with whom EPICA recorded the highly acclaimed live album "The Classical Conspiracy". This anniversary show will be a "Retrospect" on EPICA's career and will contain all trademark elements you can expect from EPICA.

EPICA's fifth full-length album, "Requiem For The Indifferent", sold 4,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 104 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Requiem For The Indifferent" was released on March 9 in Europe and four days later in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth.

French sowers of intelligent, distinctive, and airless black metal AOSOTH will release their new album, "IV: Arrow In Heart", on April 16 via Agonia Records. The CD is a natural improvement over the band's previous release, entitled "III", which already was "a major step forward for Aosoth in creating their own distinct sound" (Sputnik Music).

Commented the band: "We've spent such a huge amount of time on defining a darker identity, yet open to a wider range of influences. Those tracks still haunt us, as delivering them was a painful and excruciating experience, and left some of us even physically wounded... Which gives that album even more of a spiritual value, as it involved a form of sacrifice." They added: "This fourth full-length release is without a doubt a great step forward for us in term of music writing, and sound."

"IV: Arrow In Heart" consists of 6 original tracks with a running time of 56 minutes.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. An Arrow in Heart
02. One With The Prince With A Thousand Enemies
03. Temple of Knowledge
04. Under The Nails and Fingertips
05. Broken Dialogue 1
05. Broken Dialogue 2
06. Ritual Marks of Penitence

The song "An Arrow In Heart" can be streamed below.

Reunited St. Louis, Missouri-based progressive/melodic thrash metallers ANACRUSIS have posted the following message on their official web site:

"Thanks to everyone who supported us and helped make the last couple of years so memorable.

"The reunion shows/festivals were great and it was awesome to have the opportunity to play for you again.

"ANACRUSIS are now taking an indefinite break from playing or any other band activities."

In a fall 2012 interview with a German radio station, ANACRUSIS vocalist/guitarist Kenn Nardi discussed the progress of the songwriting session for what was supposed to be the band's first full album of new material since 1993's "Screams And Whispers". The working title of the CD was said to be "Parallax Error" and cover art was once again supposed to be created by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SODOM, ATHEIST). "Parallax Error" was intended to be a double album featuring more than two dozen new ANACRUSIS songs recorded by band's original members Nardi, John Emery (bass) and Mike Owen (drums).

ANACRUSIS performed on this year's 70000 Tons Of Metal — the world's biggest heavy metal cruise — which sailed January 28 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, Florida to Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island, and returned to the real world on February 1.

A pre-production demo version of a new ANACRUSIS song called "Made", which was aired by Uwe Harms of Radio Gehacktes, can be streamed below.

ANACRUSIS in 2010 spent time in the studio recorded a "new" album entitled "Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited". The two-CD set featured both ANACRUSIS' debut album, "Suffering Hour", and its second release, "Reason", along with the classic ANACRUSIS demo track "Apocalypse", all fully re-recorded by the original lineup of Nardi, Kevin Heidbreder, John Emery and Mike Owen. The package also featured a 24-page, full-color booklet with lyrics and lots of photos both old and new. The cover art was created by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SIGH, MEKONG DELTA, GWAR).

In 2009, Stormspell Records released the CD/DVD compilation, "Annihilation Complete: The Early Years Anthology", which featured ANACRUSIS' demo and video footage of Nardi's pre-ANACRUSIS band, HEAVEN'S FLAME.

"Made" (new song) 2012 pre-production demo:

Blinding Force Recordings has announced the signing of US melodic death/power metal band STRUCTURE OF INHUMANITY, featuring in it's ranks members from PYRAMAZE, ARSIS and SUSPYRE.

Structure of Inhumanity is the brainchild of keyboardist Jonah W. (Pyramaze, ECHOTERRA) as part of his vision for creating a unique sounding blend of melodic death, progressive rhythms, powerful heavy metal, and cinematic orchestration. Joined by Noah Martin (bass/growls - Arsis), Clay Barton (clean vocals - Suspyre), guitarist Mike Iuzzolino as well as drummer Gabriel Marshall (Suspyre), Jonah recorded the album together with James Murphy (TESTAMENT, DEATH, OBITUARY) and Peter Wichers (SOILWORK, WARREL DANE). In addition to co-producing the album, Murphy and Wichers also make several guest solo appearances. Murphy has also mixed and mastered the album.
Structure of Inhumanity's debut album, Completion Integration, will be released digitally exclusively via Blinding Force Recordings on March 28th. The first single, Red Ashes, is now available via iTunes and other popular download sites.
A video for 'Red Ashes' has been filmed by award winning Scott Hansen and can be viewed below:
Structure Of Inhumanity lineup:

Clay Barton - Vocals
Mike Iuzzolino - Guitars
Brandon Ellis - Guitars
Noah Martin - Bass/Screams
Jonah Weingarten - Keyboards
Gabe Marshall - Drums

More on Structure Of Inhumanity at this location.

Less than a week after SLEEPY HOLLOW guitarist Rick Craig's announcement that he'd left the band, original drummer and co-founding member Tom Wassman has decided to jump ship as well.

Wassman commented “I regret that the situation has come to this. This was a very tough decision and I wish things could have gone differently but I plan on continuing in the future with new projects. I wish Hollow good luck in their future endeavors.”
Craig issued the following statement upon his departure: "It is unfortunate that I find myself having to report, that due to artistic differences, I find myself in a position that I must depart from Sleepy Hollow. I wish the remaining members much success for they are all great musicians. A major announcement will be forthcoming in the next week or so detailing the release of my continuing current endeavour that will feature material previously written. Thank you so much to all my friends and fans for all your continued support."

Sleepy Hollow released their latest album, Skull 13, last June. The animated video for the track ‘Bleed Steel’ produced by independent film-maker David Ward can be viewed below:

The KISS 40th Anniversary Tribute album for cancer care have added DOKKEN's Don Dokken and ACCEPT's Mark Tornillo. Dokken will be covering the '70s KISS classic 'Cold Gin' while Tornillo will venture into KISS' heavier '90s sound with his cover of 'Spit' from the Revenge album.
Other songs and artists confirmed include:

KILL DEVIL HILL's Rex Brown and Mark Zavon doing 'Larger Than Life' from Alive II, former L.A. GUNS' frontman Chris Van Dahl doing 'Hard Luck Woman', SLAVES ON DOPE doing 'New York Groove', 'Detroit Rock City' as sung and performed by GUNS N' ROSES' Bumblefoot, FIREHOUSE's Bill Leverty with special guest appearance by THE KILLER DWARFS' Russ Dwarf will handle 'Deuce', GREAT WHITE's Terry Ilous covering KISS' power ballad 'Forever', DORO PESCH offers a special 2013 version of 'Only You', HONEYMOON SUITE cover the mid-'80s ballad 'Reason To Live', WILLIE BASSE will perform 'I Love It Loud', an one-time Gene Simmons records signee RON KEEL will belt out 'Rock N Roll Hell'.

Other tracks include:
'Unholy' (with Russ Dwarf and Sean Kelly)
'Shout Mercy' (by Jeff Paris)
'Psycho Circus' (with Phil Naro)
'Master & Slave' (featuring Phil Lewis)

Lending their talents musically are Doug Aldrich (guitars; WHITESNAKE), Mark Slaughter (guitars; SLAUGHTER), Troy Lucketta (drums; TESLA), Eric Brittingham (bass; CINDERELLA), Jeff LaBar (guitars; Cinderella), Tommy Denander and Gary Fraser (guitars; BRIGHTON ROCK). LITTLE CAESAR's Ron Young will also contribute a vocal (song to be chosen soon).

For more info on the KISS 40th Anniversary Tribute album visit this location.

Tama conducted an interview with drummer Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, ANIMETAL USA) in California a week prior to his departure for the Soundwave festival in Australia where he is currently performing with both ANTHRAX and SLAYER. You can now watch the chat below.

On how he came be playing with SLAYER again on the Soundwave festival run:

Dette: "I got a call from Kerry [King, SLAYER guitarist]. And he said, 'Hey, what are you doing next week when you're in Australia when you're not playing for ANTHRAX?' And I said, 'Drinking.' [laughs] He said, 'Well, you might wanna hold off the drinks, if you can, 'cause we might need you to fill in, if you can.' And I said, 'Of course.' I mean, first, I was kind of taken aback, I was a little paused. But they basically called me and asked if I could do the Australia dates for them. So I will, actually, be playing drums for ANTHRAX and SLAYER at the Soundwave festival in Australia, and then also we have a one-off show — SLAYER and ANTHRAX in Sydney, which, that will definitely put me to the test. 'Cause it's gonna be an hour on stage with ANTHRAX, and then I've got 20 minutes to take a break, and then it's an hour and 40 with SLAYER. So I've got my work cut out for me that night. But I'll man up, I'll make it happen, and it'll be a good show."

On his history with SLAYER:

Dette: "The SLAYER thing, again, it's been… My God, it's been 16, 17 years now. I joined SLAYER — officially joined SLAYER — in Decemebr of 1995, and I replaced Paul Bostaph. He had just completed the 'Undisputed Attitude' record. So I was with them until early 1997, and then Paul came back into the band and then I actually went back into TESTAMENT. I joined TESTAMENT in '94, replacing John Tempesta just after the 'Low' record. So it was a cool little period of time. Again, I was just extremely fortunate and privileged to be part of their history. And now, to be part of the SLAYER history again is awesome. And again, I'm just really looking forward to seeing what the future brings."

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo is sitting out the band's current tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group, while guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite. Filling in for them are returning member Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX) and Gary Holt (EXODUS), respectively.

In an interview with Soundwave TV conducted on Saturday, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya stated about performing with Dette again: "He actually played in the band [in the late 1990s] for, like, three years. It's gonna be good. He's matured and I'm sure he's gotten much better on the drums. It'll be exciting, and I think that's just gonna pump everything up even more. I can tell you this: Jon's gonna have a lot of energy. He's known to play very fast, and he's gotten better at that."

Prior to joining SLAYER, Dette appeared on TESTAMENT's "Live At The Fillmore" album, which came out in 1995.

Interview:

Hells Headbangers has announced May 14th as the international release date for GRAVEWURM's new album, Infernal Minions. The American band's ninth full-length overall, Infernal Minions "represents our continued path of worshipping the ancient gods of black metal," says founding vocalist/guitarist Funeral Grave.
With cover art done by MASSACRE's Kam Lee, Infernal Minions indeed pays respect to the blackened altar of HELLHAMMER and VENOM, BURZUM and BEHERIT, GOATLORD and GRAND BELIAL'S KEY. Obstinate in their refusal to compromise, dedicated to the bitter end, for 23 years now, Gravewurm have been their own masters, and Infernal Minions is the aggregate accumulation of their arcane wisdom.
Infernal Minions tracklisting:

'Nocturnal Inquisition'
'The Evil Within'
'Master Of The Dark'
'Dominion Of Lost Souls'
'The Beast Of The Abyss'
'I Die For Hell'
'Crown Of The Fallen'
'Mistress Of Blood And Fire'

More on Gravewurm at this location.

TOOL will release a handcrafted, bonus-laden, limited-edition package of its original debut EP, "Opiate", on March 26 to mark the 21st anniversary of the six-song release.

The anniversary edition is limited to 5,000 copies and features art direction by Adam Jones, illustrations by legendary artist Adi Granov and design packaging by Mackie Osborne, who has collaborated with TOOL on many albums, including "10,000 Days", "Lateralus" and "Salival" as well as posters and merchandise.

The 5,000 copies will be broken down as 5 x 1,000 runs with each set featuring a variation of the exterior graphics and included bonus items which include a new stereoscopic image for fans to use with their glasses from the "10,000 Days" packaging.

The packages will only be available via TOOL's web site on March 26 and there will be no pre-orders. A limit of three packages from each of the 5 x 1,000 versions will be in place. More details to be announced soon.

Syrian death metallers VIIEDEN have signed a deal with Middle Eastern independent label Grindbor Records. The band has teamed up with the label to release their debut album, as-yet-untitled, which will be released in the coming months. The album will be launched in digital format worldwide through the main online music outlets.
Abdullah Ghosheh, the band’s guitarist commented: “I was glad when the guys of Grindbor contacted us to make this deal. And since we know the guys and what they’re capable of, I’m sure this will be right thing to do. I believe this will be a great start for both Viieden and Grindbor Records and I’m looking forward to working with them. The composition of our upcoming full length album is almost done, we’ll start recording soon and hopefully everything goes as planned. The record mainly consists of eight tracks we can only describe as heavy as shit, delivering death metal to the listener our way.”
When asked about signing Viieden, Grindbor Record’s manager JD commented: “It is great to sign a band like this one. Not only because of their professionalism and talent, but because they are one of the best samples of Syria’s rising scene. We are a still a young label, so we aim this collaboration help us both to develop and show the world that the Middle Eastern Metal scene has come to kick some asses!”

Viieden is an active part of the Syrian metal scene, which after several years of low activity is living a kind of resurrection thanks to the rising of many young but talented bands. Worldwide media has paid some attention to this rising scene, which despite the country’s current situation, has remained strong and united. In fact, as the result of the interest in the county’s scene, some internationally-renowned artists such as Jon Schaffer (ICED EARTH), Jon Oliva (JON OLIVA’S PAIN, SAVATAGE) and Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE, CIRCLE II CIRCLE) have recently collaborated with Syrian metal bands.

Viieden's new album will be the band’s sophomore release, after the release of their debut 2-track EP, Calamities Inflicted. For those who haven’t heard the band yet, its debut EP is available for free download at the label’s Bandcamp page. The EP is streaming below:

Calamities Inflicted by Viieden

More details about the band’s upcoming album will be revealed soon. More on Viieden at this location.

Pat Egan, longtime director of retail sales at Relapse Records, tragically passed away on Monday, February 18 after a battle with pneumonia and related complications. In honor of the man who was so instrumental in the success of so many Relapse bands and records, the label has put together a 20-track compilation featuring a collection of his favorite songs and artists, including MASTODON, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, Brian Posehn, RED FANG, DEATH, and many more, including a never-before-released track from EXHUMED. 100% of proceeds from the compilation will go towards a college fund for Pat's young daughter Katie.

Relapse thanks each band for contributing music and waiving their royalty fee to maximize the benefit for Pat's beloved family.

The compilation is available via Bandcamp at this location for only $5 but friends and fans are welcome to donate as much as they want. Direct contributions may also be made via PayPal to wellmissyoupat@relapse.com.

A memorial event for Pat has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST at Idle Hands Bar in New York City. Everyone is invited to attend to pay tribute to a dear friend, colleague and family man who left behind an amazing wife and a wonderful daughter. All proceeds from the event will go directly to his daughter Katie's college fund.

More information on the event can be found here.

The tracklisting for the compilation is as follows:

01. BRIAN POSEHN - More Metal Than You
02. EXHUMED - The Beginning After The End (Previously Unreleased)
03. MASTODON - Mother Puncher
04. KINGDOM OF SORROW - Screaming into the Sky
05. BARONESS - Take My Bones Away
06. RED FANG - Wires
07. DEATH - A Moment Of Clarity
08. REVOCATION - Teratogenesis
09. BRUTAL TRUTH - Old World Order
10. DYING FETUS - Second Skin
11. BLACK ANVIL - Ultimate Reality
12. AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED - Sword Swallower
13. ZOMBI - Siberia
14. PIG DESTROYER - The American's Head
15. TOXIC HOLOCAUST - Sound The Charge
16. MURDER CONSTRUCT - No Question, No Comment
17. HORSEBACK - Arjuna
18. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - Sunshine the Werewolf
19. ABYSMAL DAWN - In Service of Time
20. TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION - In The Process of Correcting Thinking Errors

Brann Dailor, drummer for MASTODON (who contributed "Mother Puncher" to the compilation), shared his thoughts on Egan's passing in a statement to Billboard.biz: "Pat was one of the most passionate metalheads we have ever had the pleasure to work with. It was that same passion that drove him to fight as hard as he could for the bands he loved and worked with. He definitely played a huge role in the success of MASTODON and for that we are eternally grateful. We are so sad to hear of his passing. We know he had a wife and daughter that he loved very much. He talked about them all the time. We're gonna miss hanging with him and hearing all the concert stories he had. I'm pretty sure he had seen any band of importance over the last 30 years at least 5 times. Our hearts go out to his friends and family."

In addition to Katie, Egan is survived by his wife, Melinda.

Services will be held Friday, February 22 at New York's Lindenhurst Funeral home. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations toward his daughter’s college fund, care of:

Melinda Egan
577 Outlook Ave.
West Babylon, New York 11704

UPON WINGS' video for the song "Afterlife" can be seen below. The track is the title cut of the band's new EP, which will be released on March 5 via Sword Of The Spirit Records LLC. The CD features guest vocals and production from Brett Hestla (ex-CREED, DARK NEW DAY).

"Afterlife" track listing:

01. Afterlife
02. You Are My Weapon
03. Take Away
04. The Dream (I'm Only Happy When I'm Sleeping)

The EP's debut single and title track can be heard below (courtesy of AOL's Noisecreep).

Rock and metal fans will recognize plenty of names on "Afterlife". KID ROCK recording engineer and Grammy-nominated mixing engineer Glenn Brown mastered the single, while Hestla provided guest vocals and production talents. More metal assistance for the upcoming EP came from producer and guitarist Kevin Jardine, best known as the guitarist of Canadian nu metal giants SLAVES ON DOPE, formerly on Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's Divine Recordings label. Drummer Peter Tzaferis also contributed to the EP.

Recording sessions for "Afterlife" took place at Johnny K's Groovemaster Studios in Chicago, where DISTURBED, 3 DOORS DOWN, STAIND and countless other heavy music-makers have laid down tracks.

UPON WINGS combines operatic, female-fronted goth-pop with rousing rock and metal in a unique, ethereal fashion. Frontwoman Anne Autumn Erickson is a classically-trained dramatic mezzo-soprano, and her lyrics take listeners down a path of heartfelt introspection, pain, joy and faith.

UPON WINGS's debut single, "The Dream", was made available in March 2012 via iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Google Music. "The Dream" was the result of a collaboration between Erickson and Grammy-nominated producer Glenn Brown (EVANS BLUE, SPINAL TAP, THE VERVE PIPE).

UPON WINGS hails from the U.S. and can be described as symphonic metal with a classical influence.

Erickson is also a music journalist for Gannett, Gibson, Loudwire and radio host and managing editor of Audio Ink Radio.

For more information, visit www.uponwings.com.

French death/black metallers SVART CROWN will release their new album, "Profane", on April 22 in Europe and in May in the U.S. via Listenable Records. The CD was recorded, mixed, mastered by Francis Caste (KICKBACK, ARKHON INFAUSTUS, PHAZM) at St Marthe studio in Paris. The cover artwork was created by Stefan Thanneur (RUINS).

According to a press release, "the band has been willing to break the genre boundaries enhancing lethal grooves in a sadistic manner that won't leave any listener in a safe and comfy world. The main theme of the album is full-introspection about humanity sickness and SVART CROWN deliver the soundtrack of a bleak world that has already ended to their eyes with this album."

"Profane" track listing:

01. Manifestatio Symptoms
02. Genesis Architect
03. Intern . Virus . Human
04. In Utero: A Place Of Hatred And Threat
05. Until The Last Breath
06. Profane
07. The Therapy Of Flesh
08. Venomous Ritual
09. Ascetic Purification
10. Revelatio: Down Here Stillborn

SVART CROWN's most recent album, "Witnessing The Fall", was released in February 2011 through Listenable.

Spawned in France by guitarist/vocalist J.B. Le Bail, SVART CROWN was born in 2005 with the idea to push the boundaries of extreme music and create a new dimension of brutality and blackness. Following numerous tours in its native land, SVART CROWN released its first album, "Ages Of Decay", in early 2008.

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", the eagerly awaited new album from ROB ZOMBIE, 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.

According to Zombie, the effort will also "be released on good old 12-inch vinyl." A photo of the front and back cover of the LP can be seen below.

"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

"I think for the first time this new album perfectly merges the old days of WHITE ZOMBIE with the future of what I am doing now," says Rob. "I think fans of both will agree that this is the perfect combo of both worlds."

A rock icon and auteur filmmaker with insight and unlimited vision, Rob Zombie has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of music, film, and publishing. Now, the seven-time Grammy-nominated recording artist releases his fifth solo album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", which includes "Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Super Town", along with such tracks as "Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga", "Lucifer Rising", "Behold! The Pretty Filthy Creatures" and a heavy-duty cover of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's "We're an American Band".

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" is the first release on Rob's new label, Zodiac Swan, through T-Boy Records/UMe.

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."

T-Boy Records is veteran rock manager Andy Gould's new partnership with Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) which will serve as an umbrella label releasing new music and albums from established iconic hard-rock bands with major followings.

Gould, who currently heads his own Spectacle Entertainment Group, has managed Rob Zombie since his days in WHITE ZOMBIE. Gould's track record includes sales exceeding fifteen million worldwide and seven Grammy nominations with Zombie, including securing deals for Zombie to become one of only a handful of people to have unprecedented success for six feature films as the writer and director.

"We have had a great deal of success in the past with Rob Zombie," explains Gould about his decision to take the new venture to UMe. "We want to sign rock bands with brand names that do good business on the road, and have been underserved by the major label system. The idea I had arose out of discussions with the other managers of major hard-rock acts who all felt their artists could benefit from an improved label experience. We're looking to super-serve this niche audience, which is tremendously loyal, and is often even larger internationally than here in the States."

As a musician, Rob Zombie has sold over fifteen million albums worldwide to date. His last studio album was "Hellbilly Deluxe 2". The CD came a decade after its predecessor, "Hellbilly Deluxe", the album that established Zombie as a solo artist after the breakup of multi-platinum group WHITE ZOMBIE. That triple-platinum album also yielded a string of successful radio singles, namely "Dragula", "Superbeast" and "Living Dead Girl", which dominated the airwaves.

The rocker-turned-film director is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of five feature films, with a worldwide gross totaling more than $100 million dollars. The week of his album release, Zombie will premiere his sixth motion picture, "The Lords Of Salem", that he wrote, directed and produced in tandem with the producers of the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, on April 26, with Anchor Bay Films.

Last year, in addition to working on his film, Zombie also dominated the touring world in 2012, blowing away audiences on the road with MEGADETH, then with MARILYN MANSON for the "Twins Of Evil Tour". Zombie and his band of maniacs — John 5 on guitar, Piggy D on bass and Ginger Fish on drums — brought their elaborate, multi-media production, complete with hair-raising theatrics, animatronic robots, oversized LED screens, a non-stop collage of psychotronic monster film clips, a spectacular light show, a gigantic robot with flames shooting out of its body, pyrotechnics, insane guitar riffs and vicious beats to audiences and festivals around the world.

Since ICED EARTH's latest album, "Dystopia", was released in October 2011, the band has been on the attack in a big way, playing more shows in the past year than in the previous ten years... combined.

Comments ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer: "I feel this is a testament to a new beginning, a new energy and a rock solid determination that will see us taking the music of ICED EARTH to every corner of the globe; spreading the awareness of our brand of metal in a way that hasn't been done before. I've never been more proud of this band, our crew, and the people behind the scenes that are responsible for much of our success."

Early on in the world tour, the band decided that they wanted to capture this newfound energy and passion on film. The biggest question was deciding where to film. There were so many great shows and audiences around the world that it was very challenging to decide which city to choose for this special event. When the offer came in to film at the ancient Kourion Theater in Limassol, Cyprus, they were immediately attracted to that idea. The history and culture there, as well as the Cypriot audience, which the band experienced in December 2011, solidified the decision to film the DVD in Cyprus. Filming and recording a two-and-a-half-hour show in an amphitheater that is 6000 years old and is not set up for a rock concert, paired with 40-degree-Celsius heat, were just some of the obstacles to overcome. But the finished product makes up for any of the challenges that the band and crew faced on that special night.

ICED EARTH's first officially filmed headline show, "Live In Ancient Kourion", will hit stores on April 15 in Europe and April 16 in North America via Century Media. This incredibly powerful package will come to you in various configurations and, a first for Century Media Records, also on Blu-ray disc. The limited-edition deluxe book features the main show and a plethora of bonus content on DVD and a Blu-ray disc, as well as the entire concert on a 2CD set (4 discs in total). You can also enjoy the audio version of the full concert in a 3LP gatefold vinyl package or as a 2CD set. A standard DVD and digital audio download will also be available.

The setlist for ICED EARTH's August 19, 2012 concert was as follows:

01. Dystopia
02. Burning Times
03. Angel Holocaust
04. Slave To The Dark
05. V
06. When The Night Falls
07. I Died For You
08. Invasion
09. Motivation Of Man
10. Setian Massacre
11. Stormrider
12. Pure Evil
13. Wolf
14. Dark City
15. End Of Innocence
16. Dracula
17. Ten Thousand Strong
18. End Of Innocence
19. Anthem
20. Decleration Day
21. Days Of Rage
22. Melancholy (Holy Martyr)

Encore 1:

23. In Sacred Flames
24. Boiling Point
25. Damien
26. Watching Over Me
27. Dantes Inferno
28. Iced Earth

Encore 2:

29. The Hunter

Check out the official trailer below.

Full Metal Cruise, with over 20 bands onboard, will take place May 5-12, travelling from Hamburg (Germany) via Southampton (London), Le Havre (Paris) and Amsterdam back to Hamburg.

According to event organizers, on the first shore leave on May 7, fans will experience a true metal masterpiece: SAXON will play a special club show in Southampton at which they will present their entire "Denim & Leather" album. SAXON will be supported by the local bands PRIMITAI and DENDERA. The location can be reached by foot from the Mein Schiff 1. The concert starts at 5:30 p.m. Because of the limited capacity of the show, the presale will be at first exclusively for guests of the Full Metal Cruise. The cost of the tickets will be 30€ plus a presale fee of 3,50€. The public pre-sale will start at a later point in time.

Confirmed acts for Full Metal Cruise:

AMARANTHE
BEMBERS
BETONTOD
BLAAS OF GLORY
CIRCLE II CIRCLE
DORO
ERIC FISH
ESKIMO CALLBOY
FIREWIND
GAMMA RAY
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
IN EXTREMO
KREATOR
MAMBO KURT
MASTERPLAN
ONKEL TOM
SABATON
U.D.O.
ULI JON ROTH
VAN CANTO

The Full Metal Cruise starts in Hamburg, Germany and enters the harbors of Southampton, U.K.; Le Havre, France; and Amsterdam, Netherlands. After seven days full of sea and relaxing and metal and party feeling, the ship then returns to Hamburg with a special show at the harbor anniversary fest. While there will be big fireworks and a special show on onboard, the cruise will return to the harbor and this will be one of the many things leading to a great overall experience for every metal sailor.

The special features of this metal cruise:

* Drinks and food are included
* No difficult travelling to the starting point — Hamburg, the gateway to the world!
* Concerts take place onboard and onshore
* Interesting shore excursions for every metal-heart

More than 20 high-quality bands from the metal and rock scene will perform on three stages at the Mein Schiff 1.

In the many lounges onboard, the metalheads can party and meet the artists — nowhere else it is possible to have such a direct connection to the musicians. Furthermore, metalheads can book shore excursions with more concerts at the harbors. The line up of the shows at the seaports and onboard of the cruise will be announced soon.

"Heavy and hard music and a cruise don’t conflict with each other," says Wacken boss Thomas Jensen. "With the Full Metal Cruise we want to bring a real metal festival to the sea!"

For more information, visit Full-Metal-Cruise.com.