Cruz Del Sur Music has announced the signing of FREEDOMS REIGN, the band led by Victor Arduini, original guitarist and founding member of FATES WARNING (having played on 1984's "Night On Brocken" and 1985's "The Spectre Within").

Keeping his original, charismatic and unmistakable guitar style untouched, Arduini returns under the spotlights with fresh enthusiasm and dedication, producing a notable effort of true American-styled heavy metal with a classic OZZY OSBOURNE/BLACK SABBATH flavor.

FREEDOMS REIGN was introduced to Cruz Del Sur by long-time friend and "occasional A&R" Tom Phillips (WHILE HEAVEN WEPT) who said about FREEDOMS REIGN's music: "I think FREEDOMS REIGN would be a welcome addition for anyone into classic heavy rock, early FATES fans, those into both the recent proto-metal movement, and the wave of classic metal bands that evolved on the outer fringes of the doom scene!"

In addition to Arduini (guitar/vocals), FREEDOMS REIGN features Tommy Vumback (guitar), Michael Jones (bass) and Chris Judge (drums).

FREEDOMS REIGN's self-titled debut will be released on April 30, to celebrate the Walpurgis Night that originally influenced FATES WARNING to release their "Night On Bröcken" debut exactly 29 years ago. The CD was recorded at Dexters Lab Recording in Milford, Connecticut with Nick Belmore (TOXIC HOLOCAUST).

FREEDOMS REIGN has been active in the Connecticut metal scene since 2011. The idea behind the band's formation was to simply make some great music that returned the musicians involved to their roots and could deliver on their commitment to making some old-school metal that would be relevant in today's scene.

"Believe" lyric video:



Five-song FREEDOMS REIGN "sampler" video:

U.D.O. — the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider — will release its new album, "Steelhammer", on May 24 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Graveyard City", a brand new song from VOODOO CIRCLE, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's third album, "More Than One Way Home", which will be released on February 22 via AFM Records.

"More Than One Way Home" track listing:

01. Graveyard City
02. Tears In The Rain
03. Heart Of Babylon
04. Cry For Love
05. Alissa
06. The Ghost In Your Heart
07. Bane Of My Existence
08. More Than One Way Home
09. The Killer In You
10. The Saint And The Sinner
11. Victim Of Love
12. Open Your Eyes

The cover artwork for "More Than One Way Home" can be seen below.

VOODOO CIRCLE is the German/British band featuring members of PRIMAL FEAR and PINK CREAM 69.

VOODOO CIRCLE's sophomore CD, "Broken Heart Syndrome", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 64. The effort was once again mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69, KROKUS), and was described in a press release as "a huge step forward and shows the band's boundless musical possibilities."

Alex is well known throughout the rock and metal scene as the mastermind of SILENT FORCE, former guitarist of SINNER and touring guitarist of PRIMAL FEAR. His exceptional compositions and instrumental skills secured him highest respect from other musicians and a strong worldwide fan base. In Japan, where quality is still the most important aspect when it comes to music, he is hailed as a "guitar hero" and fills the venues.

According to a press release, "Alex chose to walk in huge footsteps with VOODOO CIRCLE, because the immense impact and influence that bands like RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE had are undeniable. But if there is just one German musician who can fill this big boots and arouse with new energy, we definitely talk about Alex Beyrodt."

VOODOO CIRCLE is:

Alex Beyrodt (PRIMAL FEAR, SILENT FORCE, SINNER) - Guitar
David Readman (PINK CREAM 69) - Vocals
Mat Sinner (SINNER, PRIMAL FEAR) - Bass
Markus Kullmann (DEZPERADOZ) - Drums
Zlatko "Jimmy" Kresic (LIQUID HOME) - Keyboards

VOODOO CIRCLE's self-titled debut album was released in 2008.

"Graveyard City" audio stream:

"Unborn", the tenth full-length album from death metal behemoths SIX FEET UNDER, will be released on March 19 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-to to 2012's "Undead" was mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who has previously worked with SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL and SOULFLY, among others. The cover artwork for the CD can be found below.

"Unborn" track listing:

01. Neuro Osmosis
02. Prophecy
03. Zombie Blood Curse
04. Decapitate
05. Incision
06. Fragment
07. Alive To Kill You
08. The Sinister Craving
09. Inferno
10. Psychosis
11. The Curse Of Ancients

Led by the inimitable Chris Barnes, owner of one of the most powerful and instantly recognizable voices in the genre, SIX FEET UNDER are returning with an overhauled lineup that sees them reinvigorated and churning out some of the most visceral music they have ever put their name to.

In November of 2010 when vocalist and founding member Chris Barnes first started to get the idea of working with new writers for SIX FEET UNDER's next release, he contacted Rob Arnold, Jari Laine, and Ben Savage to share in the writing process. After just two years of writing and recording 20 plus tracks, and releasing "Undead" in May of 2012, SIX FEET UNDER are now proud to unveil "Undead"'s demented fraternal twin...

"The journey to create, write, and record 'Undead' and 'Unborn' has been the most challenging and exciting musical endeavor and process I have ever been involved with," says Barnes. "Working with all these amazing writers and musicians like Ben Savage (WHITECHAPEL) on songs like 'Neuro Osmosis' and 'Fragment' are some of the most dynamic, beautiful, and brutal songs I've ever had the pleasure of putting lyrics to." Barnes continues, "I believe Ben is a true innovator of the death metal genre. It was also a lot of fun working Jari Laine from TORTURE KILLER again. We wrote a great album together a few years back called 'Swarm!' — one of my favorite releases I've been involved with — and Jari is someone who I have really wanted to work with again ever since. I wanted to revisit collaborating with Jari because of how well we work together; proof of that on 'Unborn' are the hook heavy sounds of songs like 'Zombie Blood Curse' and 'Incision'."

Barnes concludes, "I can't wait for 'Unborn' to be unleashed upon the death metal masses this spring!! 'Unborn' is gonna make you wish you were never born."

SIX FEET UNDER in May 2012 announced the addition of Swedish rhythm guitarist Ola Englund (FEARED, SCARPOINT) to the group's ranks. Englund, who made his first official appearance with the band on the "18 Nights Of Blood Tour", took the place of Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA).

"Undead" was released on May 22, 2012 through Metal Blade Records. The 12-track CD was produced by Mark Lewis (DEICIDE, DEVILDRIVER) and mixed by Jason Suecof (WHITECHAPEL, JOB FOR A COWBOY), at AudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.

SIX FEET UNDER last year parted ways with bassist Matt DeVries and replaced him with Jeff Hughell, formerly of the Santa Cruz, California technical death metal band BRAIN DRILL and Concord, California death metal group VILE, and currently of RECIPROCAL.

"Live By The Code", the new video from the Los Angeles hardcore/metal band TERROR, can be seen below. The track is the title cut of the group's sixth studio album, which will be released on April 9 via Victory Records.

Regarding TERROR's new deal with Victory, the band's vocalist, Scott Vogel, previously said: "When I was in high school, I would go to Home Of The Hits Records in Buffalo, New York and every week I would check for new Victory releases.

"Growing up, Victory Records always had the best hardcore bands, period. They had this awesome packaging and vibe that I loved. INTEGRITY, STRIFE, BLOODLET, EARTH CRISIS — it was a fucking amazing time for hardcore. Later, I met [Victory Records founder] Tony [Brummel] when he came to Buffalo to see SNAPCASE. We stayed in contact and made plans for my second band, DESPAIR, but soon after we broke up.

"Victory and my band BURIED ALIVE worked together for years. They also had HATEBREED, BLOOD FOR BLOOD, ALL OUT WAR and REACH THE SKY, all bands I've always respected and held in the highest regard.

"This summer, I hung out with Tony and we had a wild night in Chicago. We talked about the good and bad of hardcore today and just had a blast. No business talk, no nonsense. We were under contract at the time so there wasn't even room for it.

"As we got ready to release 'Live By The Code', TERROR and Century Media debated on how to release the record right and Victory Records seemed like the best fit.

"Tony and I are both insane. We both come from the same place. We both scratch and fight to stay afloat. We still believe in the essence of hardcore and still love WARZONE. This is pretty fucking exciting."

Vogel claims "Live By The Code" "hits harder than 'Keepers Of The Faith'," calling it the "dirtiest, rawest and most hardcore record we've done since 'Lowest Of The Low'."

"TERROR are the biggest hardcore band in the world," said Brummel.

"I have known Scott for twenty years and he has remained true to what he believes in, cherishes and helps keep alive which is first and foremost: hardcore.

"If you are just discovering hardcore or have loved it since the movement started in the late 1970s, this album is for you."

Experimentation remains the best catalyst for progression. Rather than sticking to any pre-existing blueprints or conventions, modern hard rock icon David Draiman of DISTURBED and studio collaborator Geno Lenardo (ex-FILTER) constructed DEVICE from strands of hard rock, industrial, and electronica. As a result, DEVICE's self-titled debut album for Warner Bros. Records is a focused, fierce, and fiery new machine. With the switch turned on, the next chapter commences now.

While the Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum powerhouse DISTURBED was on hiatus, Lenardo reached out to Draiman to collaborate on a song for the "Underworld: Awakening" soundtrack in late 2011. As soon as the singer heard the music, he was both intrigued and inspired. The duo then cut "Hunted" in Chicago. Even though the track didn't ultimately make the final soundtrack album due to circumstances beyond their control, Draiman urged that they hold on to it and continue writing music. Soon, they had an entire album's worth of material.

"It started to develop very naturally and organically," recalls the frontman. "Geno is a brilliant songwriter in his own right and a tremendously talented sound designer as far as the electronic palette is concerned. Together, we made this monster. It's not metal. It's got a dark electronic vibe. At the same time, these are big, anthemic, and intensely melodic songs. It's futuristic rock."

Paving the way for that future, the first single "Vilify" stands emblematic of DEVICE's sonic alchemy. A guttural guitar grinds alongside synths and keys as the vocalist's unmistakable delivery resounds commandingly.

"It has all of the elements that identify this body of work and band," he affirms. "It's an excellent introduction to what DEVICE is. From a lyrical standpoint, it talks about how some people love to make me out to be a horrible guy. They (the haters) brand me as an evil egomaniac with a chip on his shoulder, but that's not who I am. I'm a pretty easy-going, mild mannered guy, and I'm also a very strong-willed and outspoken individual. I'm very passionate about what I believe, and I don't apologize for standing behind those beliefs."

Quite a few friends stand beside him on the record too. On "Out Of Line", BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler conjures a staggering bass groove, while SYSTEM OF A DOWN vocalist Serj Tankian trades vibrant and visceral vocal melodies with the singer. "Tom Morello's guitar wizardry," as Draiman puts it, casts a spell over "Opinion", and AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows dives into the shadowy "Haze" as his inimitable wail resounds. Iconic DEEP PURPLE voice Glenn Hughes also makes a cameo on the record's haunting and hypnotic finale "Through It All" — a love letter to Draiman's wife. Meanwhile, HALESTORM's Lzzy Hale teams up with DEVICE for an epic cover of the Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford classic "Close My Eyes Forever", which allows both of their voices to reach heavenly heights.

"I took a page from the hip hop guys out there who always have everybody and his mother on their records," Draiman laughs. "It's something we'd never done in DISTURBED, and I wanted to call on my list of colleagues and friends who are so ridiculously talented and accomplished. I was honored and humbled beyond words that everybody was into it. This hasn't been done in our genre of music, and it's time. It's time for a resurgence of this darker, heavier sound."

DEVICE undoubtedly stands at the forefront of that resurgence. Upon finishing the record, Lenardo opted to remain a studio collaborator in the project so he could remain free to pursue his other passions/projects, which include film scoring, and spend time at home with his son rather than tour. So in order to bring the album to life and solidify a band in the truest sense of the word, Draiman enlisted EVANESCENCE drummer Will Hunt and DOPE guitarist Virus. Both Hunt and Virus jumped at the chance to be a part of this powerhouse trio.

"As soon as I heard the music, I thought it was super cutting edge," Hunt explains. "I knew this was something I wanted to be involved in. It's going to give people goose bumps whether they hear it on their stereo or live." Virus echoes that sentiment. "This is an album from start to finish, and it's meant to be experienced like that. These songs are all strong, and they'll stay stuck in your head."

In many ways, the group's moniker sums up its ultimate goal. "DEVICE does several things," reveals Draiman. "It implies intelligent design, the utilization of technology, and explosive nature." Those three statements will most certainly ring true for listeners as well. "This album is about touching different ends of the spectrum," he smiles. "Some moments are introspective and energizing, while others are mellow and pensive. I want everyone to be taken on an emotional roller coaster. Enjoy the ride."

"Device" track listing:

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

Detroit, Michigan-based power metal band REVERENCE's guitarist Bryan Holland has made a statement regarding breaking his hand in a recent accident and how it has changed plans for the writing of the band's new album:

"Hello friends and Reverence fans...

I was wanting to keep this as quiet as possible as I'm not looking for any sympathy or pity party, but the recent event has slipped out there and I have been getting a lot of questions so I felt I would just update everyone that cares on the current situation.

As you can see on the photo below, I managed to break a bone in my left hand during a recent accident a couple of weeks ago. The X-ray photos show the break clearly, the bottom two photos show the exterior trauma with an odd purple circle on my palm and yellowing on the back of my hand. I also managed to tear up my knuckles as well as twisting my left ankle pretty badly.
I have managed to come pretty far since the initial incident but it will take several more weeks to be back to 100%. Pete Rossi and I had gotten together before the accident to begin working on initial ideas for the next Reverence album and follow-up to When Darkness Calls which I can report are pretty wicked and very heavy if I do say so myself... but this incident has put the breaks on our planned writing sessions until at least mid-late March but a full recovery is expected and I should be all back to writing with Todd and Pete by then and ready for our planned Euro and East Coast tours this fall.

Thank you all for your kinds words of encouragement and well wishes."

Reverence features vocalist Todd Michael Hall (JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR, HARLET), guitarist Bryan Holland (TOKYO BLADE, ARREST), drummer Steve "Dr. Killdrums" Wacholz (SAVATAGE, CRIMSON GLORY), bassist Ned Meloni (Jack Starr's Burning Star, FUNNY MONEY) and guitarist Pete Rossi.
The tracklisting for When Darkness Calls is as follows:

‘When Darkness Calls’
‘Bleed For Me’
‘Phantom Road’
‘Devil In Disguise’
‘Too Late’
‘Gatekeeper’
‘The Price You Pay’
‘Monster’
‘Revolution Rising’
‘After The Leaves Have Fallen’
‘Vengeance Is Mine’

Bonus Track:
‘Lost Generation’

More on Reverence at this location.

UK thrashers ONSLAUGHT have set Friday, September 13 as the worldwide release date for their sixth studio album via AFM Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Sounds Of Violence" will once again be recorded, mixed and co-produced by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark, with work set to commence on May 18.

Commented ONSLAUGHT guitarist Nige Rockett: "It's awesome to be making another album with Jacob Hansen. There was never gonna be anyone else considered, simply because of the way Jacob works on a personal level and the incredible dynamics of his final mixes. We just know it's gonna be totally immense.

"The writing is 90% complete and it's sounding very, very cool. I'm not gonna say it's 'louder, faster, heavier’ than anything we've ever done because that's a little bit cliché these days. All I will say is that it's very fresh, it's old school and it's ferocious. The rest we'll leave up to you guys to decide."

ONSLAUGHT will headline the first Slaughterfest across Europe in October, with German cult thrashers EXUMER, MPIRE OF EVIL and death metal legends MASTER completing the bill.

Fans will have the opportunity to take part in meet-and-greet events on selected dates.

ONSLAUGHT's last tour saw the band performing its 1986 album, "The Force", in its entirety. The band also recorded a new version of its classic song "Metal Forces", for inclusion as a bonus track on the re-release of the band's 1986 album, "The Force", available on AFM Records. The set contains revised artwork and some sleeve notes written by Rockett.

ONSLAUGHT is tentatively scheduled to enter the studio at the end of the year to record its new album for a spring release via AFM Records.

The band's fifth album, "Sounds Of Violence", was released in January 2011 via AFM Records.

ONSLAUGHT recruited Michael Hourihan (EXTREME NOISE TERROR, DESECRATION) to play the drums following the departure of Steve Grice in 2011.

Former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist and current NEWSTED frontman Jason Newsted was the featured guest on the January 14 edition of the nationally syndicated "Loveline" radio show with hosts Dr. Drew Pinsky and Mike Catherwood. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On why he waited so long to marry his girlfriend of 11 years, Nicole Leigh Smith (pictured below with Jason), in October 2012:

Jason: "It made sense for my life and my lifestyle. I'd been around the world four or five times by the time I was 35 or so, and so I had to calibrate all that stuff, or at least make an assessment of all that. And once I found somebody that would really deal with all of my accelerated, weird life and all that, then that was really somebody I held on to."

On whether being newly married has helped him with his music or if it has taken away from it:

Jason: "We've been together for a long time. She was there just after I left METALLICA. She was there through my shoulder surgeries, she was there through my painkiller addiction, she was there to support me in all kinds of different times when I was down. And she is the person that recognizes that, after the fifth day that I do not go and make my noise, on that sixth day when I start getting irate, she pushes me to the studio and says, 'Call your boys and plug in the amps.' So to find someone like that to help me and support me, I would say that, if anything, she encourages me to move forward with my music and my art."

On his painkiller addiction:

Jason: "I had taken [painkillers] for years with METALLICA as I was trying to get my neck into a place and I really didn't understand what they did or what they were about. Once I had my serious surgeries and I went right-left-right rotator cuff and laborum and bicep and all this kind of stuff. I was one-armed for a long time, and that's when I started painting, 'cause that's all I could really do; I couldn’t play serious. But within that time, because of the timing of my particular ones. I did the right arm, and in the meantime, while the left was trying to make up for both arms, I tore it. So by the time the right one was rehabbed, they went back to the left and they fixed that one. In the meantime, I tore the right one again trying to make up for the other one. That whole thing went back one swing — right, left, right. The time in between the rehab therapy, trying to get off the medicine, then getting hit with the heavy stuff right during the surgery and then [taking[ Vicodin to help it a few times through therapy, I never got a chance to get my body clean enough not to go right back to that once the heavy stuff hit again. And I got taken in — like, four years of just going back and forth with that stuff, and it was brutal. It's been now three years at least that I've been away from it; I did it by myself and with my life. But it got ugly for awhile. I got very close a couple of times; my heart almost stopped a couple of times. So I know about that, man. It's ugly. You've gotta be careful — very careful. It does sneak up on you before you know it. It could get the best of you no matter how strong or tough or what you've endured before."

Nicole is an accomplished artist who encouraged Jason in 2005 to find a new hobby after he forced to wear an arm sling, thanks to a surgery to fix his right shoulder after decades of wear-and-tear on stage.

Newsted quit METALLICA in February 2001 for several reasons, including his desire to play more of a creative role. According to MTV, he also felt the band had lost its focus and was spending too much time involved in litigation and political rhetoric. And finally, he needed time off to recover from neck and back injuries he sustained banging his head every night onstage.

Newsted last performed with METALLICA in December 2011 at all four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the band's week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a group for fan club members only.

IRON MAIDEN mascot Eddie last week attended Carnival, a world-famous festival held in Rio De Janeiro before Lent every year and considered the biggest carnival in the world with two million people per day on the streets.

Although Carnival (Carnaval in Portuguese) is celebrated in towns and villages throughout Brazil and other Catholic countries, Rio de Janeiro has long been regarded as the Carnival Capital of the World. The Rio Carnaval is not only the biggest Carnival, it has also a benchmark against which every other carnival is compared and one of the most interesting artistic events on the Globe.

Rio Carnival is a wild four-day celebration, 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday after which one is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures. Carnival with all its excesses, celebrated as a profane event, can be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. It usually happens in February, the hottest month in the Southern Hemisphere, when the Rio summer is at its peak.

Photo below courtesy of IRON MAIDEN's Facebook page

Be In TV conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) before his February 11 performance in Prague, Czech Republic. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked about LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe's ongoing trial in Prague on manslaughter charges in connection with the death of a fan at a LAMB OF GOD concert in the Czech Republic nearly three years ago, Slash said: "I know as much as I've been told from everybody I know in that camp. It's a strange, unique situation. I think that when he first came over here and put up his bail and they never let him out and they kept paying and they kept paying and paying and paying, and they never let him out. I said, 'What the fuck is going on there?' I mean, that’s' a whole different type of law, to me, where it's just different. And so finally they let him out, and now it's actually going to trial. And I really don't think he, in any way, shape or form, is guilty. So they're gonna let this thing run its course, I suppose. And because the judicial system here is so different, that he was able to stay in jail here so long, who knows what the verdict is gonna end up being?! It's hard to say. And I guess witnesses didn't show up and they had to postpone it. It's a very long and, unfortunately, it's a very expensive process. It's, like, fuck… Really?!"

Slash's second solo album, "Apocalyptic Love", sold around 38,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Slash's self-titled debut album scored the highest new entry on The Billboard 200 chart in April 2010, with first-week U.S. sales of around 60,000 copies.

Unlike Slash's solo debut, which featured different vocalists on each track and a number of guest musicians, Slash has recorded all of the new CD with his touring band, MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS.

"Realm Of Chaos", the classic 1989 album from British death metal legends BOLT THROWER, has been remastered with Full Dynamic Range audio and is available now on CD/DVD and limited-edition vinyl LP.

BOLT THROWER's second full-length album and their Earache Records debut, "Realm Of Chaos" cemented the band's position in 1989 among the heaviest of the underground scene. The LP features new artwork from the original artist, John Sibbick.

"Realm Of Chaos" has been specially remastered from the original tapes using Full Dynamic Range (FDR) mastering, allowing the music's nuances to shine through, giving the whole album a more ferocious and dynamic sound and enabling the listener to immerse themselves in the full audio heaviness like never before.

The "Realm Of Chaos" Full Dynamic Range CD includes a bonus DVD featuring a full, previously unreleased live performance from the legendary 1989 "Grindcrusher" tour. The album is also available on limited-edition vinyl.

Get the "Realm Of Chaos" Full Dynamic Range edition now in Europe at or get the European import in North America.

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 cover artwork for the CD can be seen 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

New Jersey-based "mathcore" act THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN has set "One Of Us Is The Killer" as the title of its fifth full-length album, due in May through the band's own Party Smasher Inc., in partnership with Sumerian Records in North America. Party Smasher's partnership with BMG covers the rest of the world, including licensing deals with Grind House for Japan and Remote Control in Australia.

"One Of Us Is The Killer" was recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts (GLASSJAW, THE CURE, SUICIDE SILENCE), with additional production at guitarist/co-founder Ben Weinman's studio. Mastering will be handled by Tom Baker (DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, BEASTIE BOYS).

The album represents a new holistic pinnacle of the band's constantly evolving and engaging dynamics.

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN vocalist Greg Puciato stated about the recording process for the band's forthcoming CD: "DILLINGER is a different beast in tracking than most normal bands. Even Steve has told me that there's no other band that he has recorded that requires this amount of attention to detail. We take a longer amount of time to do one thing than most bands take to do ten. At this point, talking to Ben about it, we only do this once every three years on average so ten years from now I don't want to look back and think, 'Fuck man, we should have finished that one three weeks earlier!' Who cares? You want it to be right and you want it to be the thing that was the closest to what your vision actually was."

Regarding the direction of the new THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN material, Puciato said: "I can hear [the influence of old punk and hardcore records] a lot. I can definitely hear that in some of the riffs, which are really aggressive. It's not a blatant hardcore record or anything like that. I actually think this is the most all over the place and weirdest record we've ever written. It's the first one since I joined the band where Ben has sent me songs and I've been like, 'What the fuck is happening? This sounds like a beehive!'"

The band will launch worldwide tours in 2013, beginning with a handful of headlining dates that have just been released.

The first two photos of the new lineup of the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE can be seen below.

Although a lineup for Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE was originally announced in the fall of 2012, things have changed. The band will now feature Tate along with bassist Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO, WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT), guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and new additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).

Wright takes over for previously announced drummer Bobby Blotzer, who will be returning to RATT as an integral part of the band that made him famous.

"I'm very much looking forward to being involved in the QUEENSRŸCHE project with Geoff," stated Wright. "I've always admired his singing and songwriting and working with Rudy Sarzo again is going to be cool! Between this and my other project, DIO DISCIPLES, I look forward to a very busy year!"

The new album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE is due later in the year via the Los Angeles-based independent label Cleopatra Records. Guest musicians set to appear on the CD include Y&T mainman Dave Meniketti, legendary guitar slinger K.K. Downing of JUDAS PRIEST, KING'S X guitarist Ty Tabor, NIGHT RANGER guitarist Brad Gillis and Blotzer.

Tabor comments, "I'm very happy that Geoff considered me for this record. It will be great to play with all of these great musicians."

Beginning in early April, Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE will be hitting the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band's epic 1988 release, "Operation: Mindcrime", performing all fifteen songs from the album along with other well-known hits and rarities from the catalog they've compiled over the past 30 years.

"I try to surround myself with the best players available and feel our longtime fans deserve nothing less," says Tate. "I expect the forthcoming effort to be one of our best yet."

Tate, who was fired from QUEENSRŸCHE in June 2012 after fronting the group for three decades, last year sought to prevent his former bandmates from touring and operating under the QUEENSRŸCHE name without him. While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an all-new lineup of musicians. "I don't see any reason that Mr. Tate can't have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of using the brand," Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said during the July 13, 2012 court hearing. "I think [doing that would be] inherently confusing, although I'm sure the market can get these things sorted out," she added.

Last November, Tate released his first solo CD in over a decade titled "Kings & Thieves" (InsideOut Music) and toured with his solo band in support of the CD, which included dates with the legendary ALICE COOPER.

Swedish rockers PSYCHOPUNCH will release their new album, "Smakk Valley", on February 25 via SPV/Steamhammer.

With the band's typical mix of full throttle and diversity, toughness and melodies, simplicity and complexity, PSYCHOPUNCH have produced an album full of highlights. Be it with their typical straightforwardness on tracks such as "Last Night" and "Back Of My Car", or mercilessly driving on "So Jaded", "Kick In The Head" and "I Will Never Ever", PSYCHOPUNCH always hit the golden mean between raw ferociousness and concentration on the things that really matter. In addition, "Smakk Valley" features a number of surprising moments: despite its slightly slower pace, "Sitting By The Railroad" impresses with its amazing power and gritty melodies, while the unusual "Emelie" impresses with its — as bassist Lindell calls it — "great country rock'n'roll bad-ass feeling. I get a big smile on my face every time I hear it."

"We tried to make and give every song that little bit extra special and I think that we've succeeded in doing that," guitarist/vocalist JM explains the band's special philosophy which in the end always shines through on PSYCHOPUNCH's material. Drummer Jocke describes "Smakk Valley" as consisting of "powerful songs with strong and catchy melodies," while Lindell considers PSYCHOPUNCH first and foremost a "great and honest no-bullshit rock'n'roll punk powerpop band" that keeps the spirit and tradition alive from such bands and artists as the RAMONES, SEX PISTOLS, JOHNNY THUNDERS, NEW YORK DOLLS, CHEAP TRICK, CHUCK BERRY, IGGY & THE STOOGES, GENERATION X or THE CLASH. "This list could go on forever, and we don't think our attitude has changed over the years in terms of wanting to be a great live band that makes people happy and gives them a chance to forget about their problems."

"Smakk Valley" was produced by PSYCHOPUNCH's longtime friend Pelle Saether, who has been part of the band's inner circle for years. Saether knows how to handle the group, he knows all about their moments of euphoria and exuberance which can easily turn into self-doubt and dissatisfaction in view of the great significance of album productions if there's nobody there to indicate the general direction. "We had some fantastic and some bad times at the studio," JM admits, "but most of it was fun. We had high expectations of ourselves. Pelle is always a great help to us. He and I worked really hard with the vocal melodies on the choruses to get the most out of every song. All in all we are very happy with the outcome of the new album, so it was well worth the pain."

But back to the question of the band's amazing output and the energy source which has fed their haunting new album "Smakk Valley". "To be honest, I sometimes wonder where we get the power from," JM admits, "but in the end I think it has to do with the fact that we love what we do. We all have our roots in punk rock, rock'n'roll, hard rock and metal. So making people feel good and having a great time, that's what gives us boundless energy!"

"Smakk Valley" track listing:

01. Back Of My Car
02. So Jaded
03. Last Night
04. Kick In The Head
05. Sitting By The Railroad
06. My Empty Head
07. All I Wanna Say
08. I Will Never Ever
09. Dead By Dawn
10. Smakk Valley Train
11. Emelie
12. Down On My Dreams
13. Everybody Wants An Answer
14. Your're Totally Mistaken

A teaser for the album can be seen below.

PSYCHOPUNCH guitasrist Joey recently left the band due to personal reasons. He will be replaced by Lindell (former bass player in the band) on guitar and new bass player is Walle.

According to Esctoday.com, Finnish heavy metal monsters LORDI, who won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, will perform at the 2013 Irish Eurovision national final, "Eurosong 2013", on Friday, February 22.

The 2013 Irish Eurovision final will be aired live during the "Late Late Show" on RTE 1 at 22:35 CET and will be hosted by Ryan Tubridy.

LORDI mainman Mr. Lordi (a.k.a. Tomi Putaansuu) spoke to Inside Bay Area in 2007 about winning the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest with the band's "Hard Rock Hallelujah" anthem. The songswept Eurovision with 292 points, the highest score in its history.

"Traditionally, Eurovision entries all sound like Barry Manilow, with lots of violins," Mr. Lordi said of the annual song fest that first launched ABBA with a "Waterloo" win. "So we didn't think we'd win — we just thought we'd get some free promotion for an album that was coming out. But after we won, people started calling the TV stations and broadcasting company, saying, 'This can't be right — you have to recount the votes!' But it was sad but true — we won. After all these people had tried their best to stop us. And we'd told all hose people who promised to go to Sweden, 'Hey, we'll come help you pack and then wave goodbye to you as your boat leaves.'

"But guess what? Once we got back, suddenly all those people had disappeared. In Finland, there was nobody against us anymore. So in one night, for LORDI, everything changed. And our fans in Finland were wide awake."

LORDI will release its new album, "To Beast Or Not To Beast", on March 1 in Europe (excluding Finland) via AFM Records. The CD will be made available in North America on March 19 through The End Records. The album's first single, "The Riff", was issued on February 9.

"The Line Of Least Resistance", the new Benjamin Cappelletti-directed video from Swiss metallers SYBREED, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fourth album, "God Is An Automaton", which was released on September 24, 2012 in Europe and October 2, 2012 in North America via Listenable Records. The follow-up to 2010's "The Pulse Of Awakening" was recorded at Downtone Studio in Geneva and was once again mixed in Los Angeles by Rhys Fulber, who has previously worked with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, FEAR FACTORY and PARADISE LOST, among others. The artwork was created by Seth Siro Anton (SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, SEPTICFLESH) and can be seen below.

Seth Siro Anton previously commented on his artwork for "God Is An Automaton": "My works are distorting dream mirrors of the body and soul. Human nature attracted often to specific art forms which are essentially attracted by the reflected dream world. On SYBREED new artwork, I tried to decode-externalize the architect of the blackest light, an automated God, an ironic priest which is fighting between two different levels of reality. An ironic synthesis combination of modern classicism. It was a great challenge and pleasure trying to visualize their new masterpiece."

The release date of "Planetary Breathing", the fourth album from Finnish melodic death metallers MYGRAIN, has been pushed back to September 27 (via Spinefarm Records) from the previously announced April 26. No reason was given for the delay.

A six-minute teaser for "Planetary Breathing" is available below.

Finnish melodic death metallers MYGRAIN will release their fourth album, "Planetary Breathing", on April 26. The CD was recorded during August and September at Sound Supreme studio with Janne Saksa, who previously worked with the band on their first two albums. The mixing and mastering was again handled by Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE) at Unisound studios in Örebro, Sweden.

Commented MYGRAIN: "The debut album, 'Orbit Dance', was released in 2006. The second album, 'Signs Of Existence', came out two years later and the third one, 'MyGrain', in 2011. The last-mentioned felt like a launch to something new and it was like a new beginning for the band.

"'Planetary Breathing' can be characterized through familiar MYGRAIN elements: the catchy choruses, melodies and keyboard lines are still there, whereas the winding and striking guitar riffs being a solid base of the MYGRAIN sound.

"We are so excited of the result we achieved with this album! Together with Janne and Dan, we managed to capture the most rich and balanced MYGRAIN sound so far.

"Those of you who have witnessed us live must know that we love touring — performing for you guys. To us, that is the very essence of all of this. Thus, we are really looking forward to the gigs that are following the release of the new album."

"Planetary Breathing" track listing:

01. Incantation
02. Waking Up The Damned
03. Ambivalentine
04. Black Light Supernova
05. Dreamscape
06. Rats in The Cradle
07. The Ghost in Me
08. Mechanimal Instinct
09. The Final Skyline
10. Planetary Breathing

MYGRAIN's third, self-titled album entered the official chart in the group's home country at position No. 23. Released in January 2011 via Spinefarm Records, the CD was recorded atSeawolf Studios in Helsinki with producer Janne Joutsenniemi (SUBURBAN TRIBE, STONE) and was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö.

MYGRAIN's second album, "Signs of Existence", entered the Finnish national chart at position No. 32. The CD was released in February 2008 via Spinefarm Records.

Legacy Recordings — the catalogue division of Sony Music Entertainment — will release a newly expanded deluxe edition of "Above", the first and only album to be completed by Seattle-based rock supergroup MAD SEASON.

Formed in 1994, MAD SEASON is vocalist Layne Staley (ALICE IN CHAINS), guitarist Mike McCready (PEARL JAM), drummer/percussionist Barrett Martin (SCREAMING TREES) and bassist John Baker Saunders (THE WALKABOUTS, LAMONT CRANSTON BAND).

The deluxe edition of MAD SEASON's "Above" is a three-disc set comprised of two CDs and one DVD. It includes the original studio album and a host of extras such as previously unreleased tracks from the band's unfinished second album with new lyrics and vocals by Mark Lanegan (SCREAMING TREES), full audio plus the first official DVD release of MAD SEASON's last show ever performed — "Live At The Moore", an unreleased full concert video of the band's New Year's Eve performance from now-defunct Seattle club RKCNDY, a full-color collector's booklet and more.

The deluxe edition, and a separate digital configuration, will be available April 2. In addition, there will be a 12-inch 2LP expanded edition vinyl available on Record Store Day, April 20. Content featured in the "Above" deluxe edition will be available through iTunes with audio mastered for iTunes and a separate standalone longplay video.

MAD SEASON "Above" deluxe edition

CD1 – "Above"

01. Wake Up
02. X-Ray Mind
03. River of Deceit
04. I'm Above
05. Artificial Red
06. Lifeless Dead
07. I Don't Know Anything
08. Long Gone Day
09. November Hotel
10. All Alone

Bonus tracks:

01. Interlude (previously unreleased)
02. Locomotive (lyrics/vocals by Mark Lanegan)
03. Black Book Of Fear (lyrics/vocals by Mark Lanegan)
04. Slip Away (lyrics/vocals by Mark Lanegan)
05. I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier (remix)

CD2 - Live At The Moore

Previously unreleased full audio set of "Live At The Moore" performance from Seattle, Washington, April 29, 1995. Includes "Wake Up", "Artificial Red", "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier", "I'm Above" (featuring Mark Lanegan).
DVD - Live At The Moore + Bonus Footage

Full video set of the "Live At The Moore" performance from Seattle, Washington performance, April 29, 1995. Remixed and remastered for 5.1 sound, and newly edited by director Duncan Sharp. Plus, more bonus footage, including a full concert of the band's performance from New Year's Eve 1995 at RKCNDY in Seattle, and both performances from the Seattle-based Self-Pollution Radio specials, one newly edited.

The song "Locomotive", which was intended to be on MAD SEASON's second album, can be streamed at RollingStone.com.

"'Locomotive' is a song that best represents the direction MAD SEASON was going for our second, unfinished album," Martin tells Rolling Stone. "Mark Lanegan's lyrics and powerful voice captures that time perfectly."

"He did an amazing job singing over this track from the elusive second MAD SEASON record that was to be called 'Disinformation'" McCready adds. "'Locomotive' hits you like one!"

In 1994, four Seattle-based musicians decided to embark on a side-project that took them into new and different musical territory. Formed by Mike McCready, Layne Staley, Barrett Martin, and bluesman John Baker Saunders, the group went on to form MAD SEASON, which made one seminal album in the history of Seattle rock. That album, "Above", was released in 1995 and immediately struck a resonate chord with the public that sent the album into gold status within a few weeks. It is the only complete album of Layne Staley's introspective and mystical lyrics, which were highlighted by additional vocals from SCREAMING TREES vocalist Mark Lanegan and Seattle-based saxophonist/percussionist Skerik.

MAD SEASON was essentially Seattle's version of an extremely heavy blues band, anchored by the deep swinging rhythm section of Barrett's drums and Baker's bass lines, with Layne's haunting melodies and Mike's stadium-size guitar riffs soaring over the top. This unusual chemistry made the band absolutely unique in an era of post-grunge. In the almost 20 years since the original release of "Above", new generations of music listeners have discovered the dark and lasting beauty of MAD SEASON.

In 1996, work began on a second MAD SEASON album with Mike, Barrett and Baker writing and recording the basic tracks for 15 new songs. Unfortunately, because of declining health, Layne wasn't able to make any of the recording sessions and the album was shelved. Fate subsequently took each musician in a different direction: Mike back to PEARL JAM and Barrett back to SCREAMING TREES. Tragically, both Baker (1999) and Layne (2002) passed away.

In 2012, the two remaining band members, Mike and Barrett, along with "Above"'s original producer Brett Eliason, convened in Seattle to sift through the original magnetic tapes from that second album's sessions to revisit the unfinished songs. They called on Mark Lanegan to pen lyrics and sing on three of the best of those songs, including one co-written by Peter Buck of REM, which will be featured on the forthcoming reissue honoring the legacy of Layne and Baker.

"Lethean", the new video from Swedish dark rockers KATATONIA, can be seen at Rocknytt.net. The clip was shot by Lasse Hoile, who has previously worked with KATATONIA as well as OPETH and PORCUPINE TREE. The song comes off KATATONIA's ninth album, "Dead End Kings", which sold 3,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 138 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 4 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.

KATATONIA's previous album, 2009's "Night Is The New Day", opened with around 2,200 units.

"Dead End Kings" was released on August 28, 2012 (one day earlier internationally) via Peaceville Records. Containing some of KATATONIA's most poignant and ambitious material to date, the CD sees the quintet conjure yet another milestone in audial angst and melancholy with this much-anticipated follow-up to 2009's inspired and acclaimed "Night Is The New Day".

"Dead End Kings", which features a guest appearance by Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland (THE GATHERING), was recorded at Ghost Ward Studios and The City Of Glass, and was produced by KATATONIA's own Anders Nyström and Jonas Renkse, and mixed by David Castillo, known for his prior work with KATATONIA, as well as OPETH and BLOODBATH. The album marks the recording debut of KATATONIA guitarist Per Eriksson and bassist Niklas Sandin. Additionally, KATATONIA was joined once again by Frank Default and his invaluable expertise on sampling and atmospherics. The cover artwork was created by KATATONIA's longtime visual collaborator Travis Smith.

KATATONIA guitarist/co-founder Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström recently finished stripping down "Dead End Kings" to an atmospheric sound devoid of any metal.

Says Nyström: "Early on, we felt it was both peculiar and interesting how the songs could breathe on their own taking a different minimal approach, so we wanted to go back and explore this in a very spontaneous and unpretentious way. Vocals, keyboards and acoustic guitars are in and distorted guitars/bass and drums are out! Stay tuned for a release date!"

In other news, Nyström will spend the next dew weeks "diggin' into old boxes and transferring ancient VHS cassettes and DV tapes to digital media, so we can finally get goin' on the actual edit on the documentary that will hopefully wrap up the anniversary DVD that's been taken forever!"

KATATONIA's upcoming DVD is expected to contain professionally filmed video footage of the band's May 6, 2011 concert at Koko in London, England.

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for "Sacrifice", the new album from British heavy metal legends SAXON, can be seen below.

"Sacrifice" will now be released on March 1 in Europe (except in the U.K., where it will be made available on March 4) and March 26 in North America through UDR. Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, SAXON have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album "A Call To Arms".

"Less tricks, more power!" roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford. "My brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration."

The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford, with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn's and Doug Scarratt's guitar work the best it's ever been, while Biff's vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in SAXON's history, with the likes of "Warriors Of The Road", "Wheels Of Terror" and "Stand Up And Fight" evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic SAXON sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, "Sacrifice".

"It's certainly been done from a more early '80s thrashier perspective," explains Biff, "and it's not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they've got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective."

Besides the new material, SAXON will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of "Crusader" and an acoustic version of "Frozen Rainbow".

"From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place," concludes Biff, "And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic SAXON songwriting, has in my opinion made SAXON fresher than ever."

The "Sacrifice" cover artwork was created by longtime SAXON artist Paul Raymond Gregory and can be seen below.

"Sacrifice" track listing:

01. Procession
02. Sacrifice
03. Made In Belfast
04. Warriors Of The Road
05. Guardians Of The Tomb
06. Stand Up And Fight
07. Walking The Steel
08. Night Of The Wolf
09. Wheels Of Terror
10. Standing In A Queue

Bonus track:

* Luck Of The Draw (on iTunes only)

01. Crusader (orchestrated version)
02. Just Let Me Rock (re-recorded version)
03. Requiem (acoustic version)
04. Frozen Rainbow (acoustic version)
05. Forever Free (re-recorded version)

Metal Meltdown recently caught up with drummer MIKE TERRANA, known for his work with TARJA TURUNEN and RAGE. A few excerpts from the audio interview are available below.
On his time with YNGWIE MALMSTEEN: "He's one of the worst people I've ever met, and I would never work with someone like that again, nor would I ever play with him again. I would work at McDonald's before I played drums for that guy. There's more respect and credibility in working a regular job than playing music for that man."

On leaving Rage: "They just kept quantizing my drumming, and putting heavy samples on my drums. And I said, 'Please leave it alone, man. You're destroying this, you're destroying me.' They wouldn't listen. So I left."

Go to this location for the audio interview.

New York, NY based thrash metal band PIROSAINT have announced that it will be rejoined by original singer Gonzalo Rodriguez to record the vocals for the band's next album. Rodriguez was responsible for the vocals on the band's demos Atrocity Not Condign (1992), Infected Dreams (1994), and the New God EP (1997). All recordings released by the band in cassette format only.

The video for track 'Real Psychology', taken from the Infected Dreams demo from 1994, is available below:
Drummer Ignacio Orellana commented: "We are happy to announce that we are working with our original singer. It has been a pretty tough decision for us to do this, since he will be working with us from Chile and we already know that the second part of this project it will be the hardest part, because of that fact, but right now… with two local failures in the count, we still haven't found any stable singer locally to be able to record or perform live with us and we need to put our new material out. We have been working on the new songs for some time now, so our EP project has become our debut album. Twenty years after but what the hell, we have at least have two original members that were on those old recordings, so that's all, we just keep working hard at it. We love what we do."

All the music on Pirosaint's debut album was been recorded at Oily Sound Studios in New Windsor, NY, and the vocal tracks and mixing process will be done in Santiago, Chile later this year. The album will contain nine tracks, more information will be revealed soon.

Pirosaint is:
Gonzalo Rodriguez - vocals
Bill Smith - guitars
Ron Buckner - bass
Ignacio Orellana - drums

For updates visit Pirosaint on Facebook here.

Video footage of New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT performing a cover version of the RAMONES classic "Blitzkrieg Bop" can be seen below.

Commented AGNOSTIC FRONT: "We recorded this song for the Strength Records compilation 'Respect Your Roots' when we recorded 'My Life My Way' about three years ago... We have been playing at our live shows for last two years and our friends at Coretex Records help put this together for us combining the recording and live shows in collaboration with their 25-year anniversary and the release on Strength Records.

"This is actual real footage from the song being played live on the Persistence Tour mainly in Dresden! Just a little history on it... Mainly dedicated to the band that made us who we are the RAMONES! Thank you!"

AGNOSTIC FRONT's latest album, "My Life My Way", was released in March 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and features 13 new powerful and anthemic songs laid down by Erik Rutan (MADBALL, GOATWHORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, etc.) under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of MADBALL. The record was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York.

The "My Life My Way" cover artwork was brought to life this time by artist Todd Hubber, who also works with vocalist Roger Miret on designing his street wear clothing line American Made Kustom.

By Martin Popoff

History has ossified around the idea that CHRIS POLAND and Gar Samuelson were jazzers trapped in a thrash metal machine of Mustaine’s making. Gar is now dead, and Chris has moved on from his seminal two records with MEGADETH, most notably with major label act DAMN THE MACHINE in 1993, into the here and now where he’s a fearless seeker of all things front-edge guitary.

“We’ve been playing The Iridium in New York, and so we had a little jam CD we called Tsunami Jams,” begins Poland, giving us the run-down on his current band OHM: and beyond. “We brought that CD there to try to make some money in New York. Because if you’re in New York, it costs you 50 bucks to walk out the door. So we brought that there, and we were selling that on the Internet and whatnot. But we just finished a project with HAWKWIND, you know, the late ‘60s band? Basically, Adam Hamilton came in and we used my studio, and it came out really good. So they’re going to send those tapes to England, and the sax player... they approached us to do it, and they said, ‘We just want you to jam,’ and it’s kind of a concept on each song, and see what happens, and that’s what we did. But as far as Ohm: goes, our new record is done—we just have to find some time to mix it.”
As for the vibe of the new Ohm: record, Poland explains that, “Since playing with the Sean, Jim and Frank Catalano from POLCAT, we decided we’re gonna make a live record in the studio. And I’m glad we did, because the energy that we exhibit live is actually on tape now. So I think people will really get a better example of what the band’s really about, instead of overdubs and everything’s perfect. I don’t know, everything is perfect on this record, but it’s just got way more energy and it’s just intense. So I’m glad we did it live. Peter, my co-producer/engineer, he insisted that we do it live, and I said, you know, you’re right, let’s do it.”

But we’re still confused about this Hawkwind thing... “Well, we composed the music, and existing members of Hawkwind are going to overdub over the top of it,” says Chris. “And some guys from The Doors, you know, just bands from that era, whoever they can find. It’s on Cleopatra Records. It was a blast, man. Because that’s one thing that me, David Eagle and Robby Pagliari, before we even start rehearsing or writing or anything, we jam. It’s something that we do, because we like to do that more than anything else, really. So it just worked out great. It was a pleasure to do it, and it was easy.”
And the title? Band name? Album name? “I have no idea. I’m pretty sure it’s Hawkwind. I don’t know what they’re going to call it, and I don’t know what it’s going to sound like, because basically Adam kind of told me... he said, ‘I notice that you always go into a repeated melody or whatever, and you have a defined theme. If you can just keep doing that, then we can have a sax player kind of repeat that, and we’ll just go from there.’ And I was like, cool. So that was our plan. It’s too bad. I mean, I guess Lemmy Kilmister used to be in the band, but I doubt he’s going to have anything to do with it. But maybe he will; I don’t know. But it was just a pleasure to do. Because as far as off-the-cuff jamming and shit... I love doing that stuff, man.”

“Just go to ChrisPoland.com,” offers Chris, adding, in closing, a summary. “We’re getting ready to mix the album. We’re done with recording. We just did the Hawkwind project, and I’m going to be doing some shows in Chicago. I’m going to be playing the Elastic Festival in March. June I’m playing with Frank Catalano, a sax player from Chicago, and we have our project called Polcat. And Frank is an amazing sax player. He’s played with Miles, played with BEYONCÉ, RANDY BRECKER. I mean, when he was 18, he played with Randy Brecker, and Randy Becker just decided that he’s going to be called The Kid, because he was so young, and he could play like... back then he could play like MICHAEL BRECKER, and now he’s just like effortless. It’s hard to play with him because he’s a stickler jazz guy, and I’m just who I am, and what I do, and I’m faking it most of the time (laughs).”
If this is all a little bewildering for fans of Chris in Megadeth, Poland understands... “Yeah, well, I just want to say, any Megadeth fan who reads this, obviously, you guys are the best fans in the world, and I appreciate it. You know, every time I see a Megadeth fan and how excited they get sometimes it’s... the stuff I’m playing now, sometimes it’s an albatross—guys who are serious guys, they just go, ‘He’s a metal guy.’ But the thing was, I was never a metal guy (laughs). That’s the funny thing about it.”

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