Portuguese thrash metallers SWITCHTENSE have released a video clip from their upcoming live DVD entitled Switchtense – 10 Unbreakable Years which will be released on February 11 via Rastilho Records. Check out 'Face Off' below:
The live DVD celebrates the band’s tenth anniversary and includes their entire performance at Moita Metal Fest on March 30th 2012. The release will also contain an audio CD featuring three new songs and one re-recorded song (from the 2006 EP Brainwash Show), which were recorded at Ultrasound Studios and mixed by the band’s producer Daniel Cardoso (ANATHEMA, ANGELUS APARTIDA)
Switchtense – 10 Unbreakable Years tracklisting can be seen below:
‘Concrete Walls’
‘Face Off’
‘Into The Words Of Chaos’
‘Unbreakable’
‘I Will Stand Stronger’
‘Blood Of Victory’
‘State Of Resignation’
‘The Legacy Of Hate’
‘Let Them Die Alone’
‘Infected Blood’
‘This Is Only The Beginning’
‘The Right Track’ *
‘Ghosts Of Past’ *
‘We Will Always Be The Same’ *
‘Blood Of Victory’ *

*available on audio CD

The video for the track ‘The Right Track’ can be seen below:

Former and present members of Boston-based metallers WIDOW SUNDAY have launched a new band called I INVENT, that will be releasing their debut EP in early summer. Check out two teasers below:
i invent is:
Jesse Heimowitz - vocals (FOOTAGE OF A YETO)
Sean Duffy - guitar / programming (Widow Sunday)
Kyle Jarvenpaa - guitar (ANOMIA/Widow Sunday)
Phil Anderson - bass (BATTLESHIPS)
Darin Moyen - drums (Widow Sunday)
For more details visit Facebook
.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach joined HALESTORM on stage at yesterday's press conference at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, California to announce the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards to perform the SKID ROW classic "Slave To The Grind". You can now watch video footage of the performance below.

Bach previously performed "Slave To The Grind" with HALESTORM on October 27, 2012 at the Loud Park festival at Saitama Super Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Saitama City, Japan. HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale also joined Bach on stage during his set at the festival and performed a song with his band.

HALESTORM recorded a cover version of "Slave To The Grind" for their "ReAniMate: The CoVeRs eP", which was released in March 2011 via all digital retailers. The effort saw HALESTORM putting their unique stamp on a diverse collection of classic songs, including tracks by GUNS N' ROSES, THE BEATLES, HEART, TEMPLE OF THE DOG and LADY GAGA.

Jeff Wagner ("Mean Deviation: Four Decades Of Progressive Heavy Metal" book, former Metal Maniacs editor) is currently assembling his next book, "Soul On Fire - The Life And Music Of Peter Steele". The book will be, in Wagner's words, "a thorough telling of Peter's life, from his "diaper days" to his death. It will not only include analysis of the music he created in TYPE O NEGATIVE and CARNIVORE — and the many triumphs and personal tribulations that came along with it — but also let fans in on the details of his early days. The book will also feature numerous images from throughout his life, on stage and off."

Wagner adds: "Peter's fans miss him, and as a follower of his music since 1986, I'm proud to put together this tribute for them. While warring factions within the story have already been heard, my mission is simple: cut through the crap and tell one of the most extraordinary stories in modern music, with great respect to the subject himself."

Culled from a variety of sources, including recollections from bandmates, family, close friends and record label reps, "Soul On Fire" is an accurate account of Steele's creative genius and incredibly complex personality.

Steele was a visionary and a provocateur; a generous friend and a self-deprecating hedonist; a bandmate and a brother. His struggles with addiction and his acceptance of the Catholic faith he grew up with and then grew out of… all of this is surveyed and detailed within "Soul On Fire".

The book is due for publication in October 2013.

Steele passed away on April 14, 2010 from heart failure. He was 48 years old.

"Going through a midlife crisis and having many things change very quickly made me realize my mortality," he told Decibel magazine in 2007. "And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere. I also can't believe that people like Stalin and Hitler are gonna go to the same place as Mother Teresa."

Steele was born Petrus T. Ratajczyk on January 4, 1962 in Brooklyn, New York. He stood 6' 7" (201 cm) tall, and had a low, bass-heavy voice, which was one of the most recognizable features in TYPE O NEGATIVE's music.

Before forming TYPE O NEGATIVE, Steele played for the metal group FALLOUT and the thrash band CARNIVORE.

Wagner is a music connoisseur and metal historian, and a former editor of Metal Maniacs magazine. He has penned incisive liner notes for releases by EMPEROR, POSSESSED, DARK ANGEL, CONFESSOR and others. A music industry professional since 1994 and a lifelong music obsessive, Wagner lives for what he writes about and writes about what he lives.

For more information, go to this location.

IN-GRAVED, the new band led by former PENTAGRAM and PLACE OF SKULLS guitarist Victor Griffin, will release its self-titled debut album in Europe on Friday, March 22 via the Finnish label Svart Records and in the U.S. on Tuesday, March 26 through Veritas Records. The CD was recorded at Lakeside Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee with was producers Travis Wyrick (PLACE OF SKULLS) and Griffin and engineers Wyrick and Mike Dearing (PLACE OF SKULLS). The cover art was created by Richard Schouten (PLACE OF SKULLS, MASSACRE).

"In-Graved" will feature a guest appearance by TROUBLE's original drummer Jeff "Oly" Olson, on the Hammond organ alongside drummer Pete Campbell (60 WATT SHAMAN, PLACE OF SKULLS), bassists Guy Pinhas (THE OBSESSED, ACID KING, GOATSNAKE), Ron Holzner (TROUBLE, EARTHEN GRAVE, DEBRIS INC), Greg Turley (PENTAGRAM), Marty Swaney (DEATH ROW, PENTAGRAM), and Dan Lively (SWEET CICADA), as well as keyboardist Mike Puleo (ORODRUIN).

IN-GRAVED will perform at the Roadburn festival on Saturday, April 20 in Tilburg, Holland. More tour dates will be announced soon.

IN-GRAVED touring lineup:

* Victor Griffin (DEATH ROW, PENTAGRAM, PLACE OF SKULLS) - Guitar/Vocals
* Pete Campbell (60 WATT SHAMAN, PLACE OF SKULLS) - Drums
* Guy Pinhas (THE OBSESSED, ACID KING, GOATSNAKE) - Bass
* Jeff "Oly" Olson (TROUBLE, RETRO GRAVE)

Italian publisher Tsunami Edizioni has announced the release of the book "Come Lupi Tra Le Pecore - Storia E Ideologia Del Black Metal Nazionalsocialista" (English translation: "As Wolves Among Sheep - History And Ideology Of National Socialist Black Metal").

Towards the end of the Nineties, black metal — by then one of the most feared musical genres ever that had already made a name for itself thanks to a bloody streak of homicides and various acts of arson and violence — merged its sonic belligerence with national-socialist beliefs and the ideology of white power groups, breeding a new counterculture that's incendiary and ferocious like no other. A formula of intransigent extremism like never before in contemporary music, a world where this mixture of aural excess and loyalty to the so-called "mythos of the blood" gave birth to hundreds of new bands and gathered thousands of disciples from all over the globe: Russia, United States, Germany, France, Poland, Australia, Italy, Scandinavia and even South America.

From the defining fathers of the genre (BURZUM, ABSURD, GRAVELAND, DER STÜRMER, SPEAR OF LONGINUS) to its more unknown and dangerous representatives, "As Wolves Among Sheep" delves deep in this black abyss to bring forth the history and development of NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal), an underground phenomenon that transcended music to become a doctrine in its own right, a nefarious call to arms for those dissident youths who declared war to society as we know it.

The book has been written by Davide Maspero and Max Ribaric. Davide Maspero, experienced graphic and web designer, has contributed to the artworks of several music projects and hosted a radio show that ran for a few years. Along with Max Ribaric, he's currently co-editor of a pro-zine dedicated to industrial, ur-folk, power electronic music and related subjects.

Max Ribaric has been writing for over 15 years, ran his own fanzine during the Nineties and onwards, and is the author of the definitive book about U.S. industrial/ur-folk legends BLOOD AXIS ("Day Of Blood", 2008), recently translated in French by Camion Noir. He currently co-edits the pro-zine Occidental Congress with Davide Maspero.

The book will be available mid February in two different editions: normal edition and special edition limited to 199 hand-numbered copies.

This year marks DANZIG's 25th anniversary and a series of live dates in the U.S. and in Europe will be announced shortly.

A message on the official DANZIG web site reads: "Don't dare miss this landmark milestone event as DANZIG hits the stage this special year and he'll be bringing special guest and former MISFITS bandmate Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein on most of the shows. For European fans this will be the first time ever that Danzig and Doyle will be performing live together on stage. Overseas fans most definitely will not want to miss this!"

Glenn Danzig last year performed his "Legacy" career-spanning set featuring songs from DANZIG, SAMHAIN and MISFITS, in a number of U.S. cities. In addition, he played four DANZIG shows where was joined by Doyle Von Frankenstein as a "special guest."

DANZIG is putting the finishing touches on the as-yet-untitled covers record for a 2013 release.

"Living And Drifting", the new video from ALMAH — the Brazilian metal band led by former ANGRA singer Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi — can be seen below The clip was filmed in Sao Paulo and directed by producer, musician and composer Diogo Araújo from Under Control Filmes, who is well known in Brazil for his work with more mainstream artists. The video is based on a certain concept and is expected to be the most significant visual production in the history of the band.

"Living And Drifting" comes off ALMAH's third studio album, "Motion", which was released in Europe in October 2011 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded in May-June 2011 at Norcal Studios in São Paulo, Brazil and was mixed and mastered in July 2011 at Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam, Netherlands by Jochem Jacobs (TEXTURES).

ALMAH last year played several shows in Brazil with session bassist Raphael Dafras.

Norwegian/Italian metallers TRISTANIA have posted an audio teaser for the new song "Darkest White", to be featured on the band's upcoming seventh full-length album, due for release in May via Napalm Records. Listen to the sample in the YouTube clip below.

TRISTANIA's new CD is being produced by Christer André Cederberg, who started his metal career with Norwegian avant garde extreme metal band IN THE WOODS… in the late 1990s, and has been involved in numerous bands and projects, including his own solo project STILLE OPPRØR and internationally acclaimed ANIMAL ALPHA.

Says TRISTANIA singer Kjetil Nordhus: "This was agreed a while ago, and we started the working together already at the pre-production stage.

"We already know this will be fruitful and we're extremely eager to show people the finished article. It feels good to share this piece of news with our fans."

TRISTANIA fans may be familiar with Cederberg's work through his most recent collaboration with ANATHEMA on their award-winning album "Weather Systems" (2012).

Christer André says that he's been eager to work with TRISTANIA for a while and is excited about getting involved in the band's latest recording.

"There is a huge amount of talent within each and every band member, and a number of possible variations to work on, not least vocally, which makes this a great challenge for me as a producer," he says. "My aim for the forthcoming album is to dig out the potential, make a heavier album than the previous one, more organic, detailed and refined, but also dirtier and more extreme. TRISTANIA is a band that manage to do all this live, and we will be working together to recreate that energy and quality also on record."

The first part of the recording sessions (drums) for the new TRISTANIA album took place at Tanken Studio in Oslo with engineer Fredrik Wallumrød.

TRISTANIA's sixth album, "Rubicon", was released in August 2010 via Napalm.

TRISTANIA in 2007 announced the addition of Italian singer Mariangela "Mary" Demurtas to the group's ranks. Guitarist Gyri Losnegård was added to the lineup in 2008.

The band's previous CD, "Illumination", was released in January 2007 via SPV. The effort was recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (LACUNA COIL, TIAMAT, GRIP INC.).

A member of TOOL suffered serious injuries after crashing his Vespa scooter recently. The band won't mention who, but an update reads:

"The New Year started off on a bad note as far as writing and arranging sessions for Tool's next record. For the most part this was due to a 'minor' accident on a Vespa scooter (slick road conditions being the cause) by a certain band member that resulted in several broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Because of the physical nature of the musical instrument involved, 9 DAYS of jamming were lost, although I'm happy to report that the person involved is recovering nicely, so much so, in fact, that writing sessions resumed last Monday (January 21), despite it being a holiday for many.
Coincidently (?), a few days prior to the mishap on the scooter, another person involved with Tool also wound up in the hospital after crashing his Vespa in Hollywood. Although he suffered a head injury (as well as multiple cuts and bruises to his body), I'm quite certain that if you were to order an Entaphiosis Hoddie, you would receive an Entaphiosis Hoodie.

Several days ago members of the press (from different magazines) conducted interviews with band members about upcoming events, and I would imagine that these writers, etc. also inquired as to how things were progressing with regards to the band's next record. So, there's something to look forward to reading, and I will certainly try to give updates as to when these publications hit the newsstands.

I was hoping to be able to throw some of you a bone the first week of the New Year, but for certain reasons this announcement has been pushed back a month. Therefore, look for a news post that will be exciting to some towards the end of the first week in February."

Brazilian Thrash Metal quintet SLASHER has released a music video for the track ‘Overcome’.

The song was produced by Tue Madsen (HALFORD, SUICIDE SILENCE, VADER) in Aarhus, Denmark and the video by Agência Soluciona in Itapira, Brazil.

Guitarist and director Lucas Bagatella commented: "We wanted to release this new song with a music video. We had a lot of different ideas and we decided to have something more creative this time. We wanted something that would bring the spectator into the video through our eyes.”

Watch the video below:
'Overcome' comes off Slasher's second album Katharsis which will be released mid-2013.

German/Italian-based melodic metallers LOVE.MIGHT.KILL will release a digital compilation, 10 Mighty Killers, on March 8th.
10 Mighty Killers tracklisting:

'XTC'
'Pretty Little Mess'
'Restless Heart'
'Caught In A Dream'
'Burn The Night'
'Home'
'Too Big To Fail'
'Tomorrow Never Comes'
'Brace For Impact'
'The One'

You can listen to snippets from the compilation at this location.
Love.Might.Kill lineup:

Jan Manenti - Vocals
Stefan Ellerhorst - Guitar
Christian Stöver - Guitar
Jogi Sweers - Bass
Michael Ehré - Drums
More on Love.Might.Kill at this location.

Holland's THE CHARM THE FURY has joined forces with Pavement Entertainment (North America) and Listenable Records (Europe) for a two-album deal. The band is putting the finishing touches on a new full-length CD for a fall release. According to a press release, will the effort will "include some very special guest vocal appearances and track after track that will grab you by the throat and leave you begging for more."

THE CHARM THE FURY's debut CD, "The Social Meltdown", saw a frenzy of hype surround the band, with extensive coverage across national radio, including BBC Radio One, and in Europe's acclaimed music magazines such as Metal Hammer and Kerrang!

THE CHARM THE FURY graced stages with the likes of I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, OH SLEEPER and TEXTURES during 2012 and put on a memorable performance at Groezrock festival that raised the bar and offered a greater platform to reach new fans.

The female-fronted quintet not only offers something creatively different with its female screamer but a collection of high-energy monstrous anthems that have hooked the industry with full effect.

Says vocalist Caroline Westendorp: "It is so exciting to see how fast the band has grown in such a short space of time. Reactions have been so positive and it is great to welcome the two labels on board and make the next release a real big deal across seas. You can expect some cool surprises in the new record and we cannot wait to show the fans what we have in store for them."

Adds Pavement Entertainment's Mark Nawara: "We are very excited to work with THE CHARM THE FURY. Tim King and I have had our eye on this band for a long time and we expect to see great things develop for them."

THE CHARM THE FURY is:

Caroline Westendorp - Vocals
Mathijs Parent - Guitar
Rolf Perdok - Guitar
Lucas Arnoldussen - Bass
Mathijs Tieken - Drums

Riverside, California's THE DEVASTATED has released the following statement:

"To all THE DEVASTATED friends and fans,

"We write to you today to inform you that the band has indeed come to an end.

"Although THE DEVASTATED was short-lived, the journey was, without a doubt, memorable!

"A huge thank you all of our families, friends, everyone at Century Media, our management and booking, all the bands we've toured with, but most of all, thank you to every single person that cared about THE DEVASTATED in some way shape or form... It truly means the world to us!"

THE DEVASTATED's "Roof Top Panty Drop" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed and directed by Dale "Rage" Resteghini (MUDVAYNE, HATEBREED, ANTHRAX, SHADOWS FALL) and Kevin Boston. The song comes off THE DEVASTATED's latest album, "Devil's Messenger", which was released in February 2012 via Century Media Records.

The brainchild of former IMPENDING DOOM and OBLIGE members, THE DEVASTATED previously released two brutal singles — "Devil's Messenger" and "Roof Top Drop". Produced by the bandmembers themselves, Chris Eck and co-produced/mixed by Daniel Castleman (AS I LAY DYING), the music was not written with the intent of impressing anyone except the band members themselves.

"Our state of mind was... let's play what we want to hear," said vocalist Greg Wilburn. "Let's write the heaviest, grooviest and ugliest songs we possibly can, and bring something fresh to this extremely watered down scene. If people 'get it' awesome... If not, fuck 'em."

"Devil's Messenger" featured a guest appearance by SUICIDE SILENCE frontman Mitch Lucker in the song "Spit Vitriol".

The second part of STONE SOUR's "House Of Gold & Bones" double album is expected to be released in early April via Roadrunner Records. The effort will also be made available as a four-issue comic book.

Like the story, the "House Of Gold & Bones" album package comes in two parts. When the two pieces meet, they combine to create the "House Of Gold & Bones".

"House Of Gold & Bones - Part 2" track listing:

01. Red City
02. Black John
03. Sadist
04. Peckinpah
05. Stalemate
06. Gravesend
07. '82
08. The Uncanny Valley
09. Blue Smoke
10. Do Me A Favor
11. The Conflagration
12. The House Of Gold & Bones

When asked by ThisIsNotAScene what fans can expect from the second part of "House Of Gold & Bones", singer Corey Taylor said: "Part 2 is much darker [than the first part], if I'm honest. Aside from it being a completely different album, it feels more like a soundtrack to a movie in a lot of ways, man. It's really thematic. There are themes from part 1 that reveal themselves and that come again, musically. There's actually stuff from part 2 that you'll hear that's on part 1 and you'll be like, 'Fucking hell!'"

He continued: "We essentially recorded these, and this is where technology is now, so you could have these in a playlist on your iTunes and play them top to fucking bottom and really get that experience while you read both parts. So it's some of our darkest music, our most intricate and complex music, some of the best fucking lyrics I've ever written, to be honest. Even writing from a narrative like that, it was so challenging. Plus, it's got some of our best songs on it.

"You guys think part one's good? Fuck off. 'Do Me A Favor' alone is going to kick the shit out of people and that's going to be the first single, which comes out in January, that's going to be the first taste that people get of part 2, and people aren't going to know what to do."

STONE SOUR will send its new single, "Do Me A Favor", to rock radio stations on February 12. A video is already in the planning stages, with director Phil Mucci tapped to film the clip. Taylor gave The Pulse Of Radio a preview of what to expect from the song. "It's quite aggressive, and actually the label asked me if I would go in and tame stuff down and I was like, 'No.' I'm not doing that," he said. "This is going out the way it is and I'm not gonna touch it up. I'm not gonna have people looking for a song that doesn't exist. This is the way it is on the album, that's the way it's going to be when we put it out to radio."

"House Of Gold & Bones - Part 1" came out last fall.

Taylor recently told Billboard.com recently that the group is planning a world tour in 2014 during which they will spend two nights in each city and perform both halves of its "House Of Gold & Bones" double album in their entirety.

STONE SOUR and PAPA ROACH have teamed up for a co-headlining U.S. tour that kicked off on January 20 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

An eight-minute trailer for "Iconoclasm", the sophomore album from Swedish death metallers SYN:DROM, can be found below. Due on February 15 via ViciSolum Productions, the CD was recorded in part at Nevo Studios in Sundsvall, Sweden and was mixed by Roger Bergsten (guitar) and Daniel Mikaelsson (drums). The artwork was created by Pär Olofsson and can be seen below.

"Iconoclasm" track listing:

01. Black Dawn
02. A Silent Void
03. Cold Existence
04. The Filth Unmasked
05. Solitude Breeds Death
06. 13th Serpent
07. Reversion
08. Through Divine Intoxication
09. Iconoclastic View
10. Imposing As Gods Amongst Men

The follow-up to 2009's "With Flesh Unbound" includes "10 tracks of furious death metal and is the result of over a year of hard work and a proof of great songwriting skills and musicianship," according to a press release. "The songs on this album are more dynamic than on 'With Flesh Unbound'. There are new dimensions added to the songs and the fact that we have evolved as songwriters since then resulted into a killer album that will blow your mind. It has everything from very fast blast beats and sick guitar parts to heavier groundshaking pieces. Still the main focus is bone-crushing death metal as it should be."

Regarding the artwork for the new CD, SYN:DROM drummer Daniel Mikaelsson states, "We had Pär in mind for 'With Flesh Unbound' as well, but it didn't work out that time. We are extremely pleased with the work he has put in to it and it came out exactly as we wanted it to be from the start. It's a classic already!"

The video for the song "Black Dawn" can be seen below. The clip was directed and edited by Håkan Sjöström.

A six-and-a-half-minute video teaser for "Grip Of The Dead", the debut full-length album from Swedish death metallers NECROCURSE, is available below. Due on March 11 in Europe and March 19 in North America via Pulverised Records, the CD "contains eleven tracks of uncompromising and haunting death metal in the true spirit of the ancient dark heavy metal attitude," according to a press release. The vinyl version of the effort — which will include a re-recorded version of the track "Souls Of A Thousand Funerals", from the "Shape Of Death" MCD, as a bonus track — will be a joint collaboration between Blood Harvest Records and To The Death Records.

"Grip Of The Dead" track listing:

01. Preludium Of Devastation
02. Necrocurse
03. Rotten In The Dark
04. The Devil Cobra
05. Ripping Darkness (The Destroyer)
06. Death Metal Rebels
07. Morbid Maniacs
08. Speed To The Grave
09. Grip Of The Dead
10. Coffin Breakers
11. Infernal Rebellion

NECROCURSE is:

Hellbutcher - Vocals
Rotting Vomitor - Electric Guitar
Mörda - Electric Guitar
Basstard - Bassphemy
Terror - Drums

LED ZEPPELIN will receive the inaugural International Lifetime Achievement Award at the ECHO awards in Berlin, Germany on March 21.

Guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones will accept the award on behalf of the band. Singer Robert Plant is unable to attend the event since he has a concert scheduled the same night in Singapore.

The New York Times reported earlier in the month that LED ZEPPELIN is in negotiations with a number of subscription music services — including Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody — for the exclusive right to stream the band's catalog.

ZEPPELIN has sold more than 111 million albums in the United States, including 840,000 in 2012.

The band waited until 2007 to make its albums available through iTunes.

LED ZEPPELIN's concert film, "Celebration Day", which is available on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc, sold 101,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. The package arrived in stores on November 19, 2012 via Swan Song/Atlantic Records.

"Raise The Sun", a new song from the progressive rock/metal outfit ANCIIENTS, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track comes off the band's debut album, "Heart Of Oak", which will be released in North America on April 16, and will be available on CD, limited-edition double gatefold LP and digitally. The CD was produced by the band, and engineered by Jesse Gander (JAPANDROIDS, BISON B.C.) at The Hive Creative Labs (BLACK MOUNTAIN, NOMEANSNO) in Vancouver. It was mastered by by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York. The cover artwork was drawn by illustrator Alison Lilly.

Regarding "Raise The Sun", ANCIIENTS states: "'Raise The Sun' represents what we are all about as a band, musically and lyrically. It contains most, if not all, the elements that we look for in the kind of music we enjoy. It's heavy but melodic; this is how we like things to be. Our sound might be full of contrast and duality, but not for contrast's sake; rather always for the sake of the song. Lyrically, it's about an Egyptian myth, the 'Hymn To The Rising Sun' and a visualization of said myth. It's about walking the correct path and achieving a sort of awakening. 'Raise The Sun' is one of our favorites from the record, for sure."

"Heart Of Oak" track listing:

01. Raise the Sun
02. Overthrone
03. Falling in Line
04. One Foot in the Light
05. The Longest River
06. Giants
07. Faith and Oath
08. Flood and Fire
09. For Lisa

German death metal and hardcore fusionists HEAVEN SHALL BURN will release their new album, "Veto", via Century Media Records on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway: April 19
Rest Of Europe: April 22
Australia, New Zealand, Finland: April 26
USA, Canada: April 30

Comments HEAVEN SHALL BURN guitarist Maik Weichert: "We cannot wait to play the album to people! It turned out very diverse, it's melodic, emotional and brutal at the same time. Several guests visited us in the studio for additional performances, so you can look forward to some interesting twists!”

Due to a recent event, Maik would like to share a first song title. "Just while finalizing the very last bits and pieces for 'Veto', we received the sad news that Walter Schilling passed away in Saalfeld on January 29th," he said. "Walter Schilling was a Protestant pastor and civil rights activist in the GDR (former East Germany). We have a new song called 'Antagonized' that is about him, his life and his work in Thuringia.

"It might seem odd that a band called HEAVEN SHALL BURN is dedicating a song to a man of the church. Still, Schilling was never into clerical dogmas. Instead he encouraged and helped teenagers to pursue new and alternative cultural ideas under the protective shield of his church and youth centre in Braunsdorf near Saalfeld. Without Walter Schilling, a huge part of the youth culture and music in Thuringia wouldn't have happened — this probably goes for the GDR in general. No matter if you liked blues, played punk or metal, every single person was welcome in Braunsdorf, Saalfeld, Rudolstadt or Jena. Schilling helped establishing what enabled HEAVEN SHALL BURN to play music, because most of the clubs and musicians that supported us in our very early days were directly or indirectly involved with Schilling's work. You will not find many theologians of Walter's kind."

To celebrate the release of "Veto", HEAVEN SHALL BURN will play three exclusive release shows in Europe:

April 20 - Leipzig, Germany - Impericon Festival III, Agra
April 26 - Vienna, Austria - Impericon Festival, Gasometer
April 27 - Zürich, Switzerland - Loudfest, Komplex

HEAVEN SHALL BURN's latest album, "Invictus", landed on the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 9. This marked HEAVEN SHALL BURN's and Century Media Records' first-ever Top 10 release in Germany. The CD also charted in Austria (#15), Switzerland (#38) and Greece (#14).

British thrashers EVILE will enter the studio this weekend to begin recording their as-yet untitled fourth full-length album. The band will once again be working with producer Russ Russell at Parlour Studios in Kettering.

Comments EVILE drummer Ben Carter: "EVILE are pleased to announce we'll be back in the studio this weekend to begin recording our fourth album! We're also extremely looking forward to be working with producer extraordinaire Russ Russell again, at Parlour Studios in Kettering. The album will be guaranteed to thrash your balls off, make some ears bleed, and some fucking heads bang! We can't wait to unleash some new material upon you all, and look forward to giving you some new tracks to wreak havok when we embark on the KREATOR U.K. and Ireland shows in April! See you in the pit!!!"

EVILE has also just confirmed two festival shows this summer — Belgium's SkullFest in June and the U.K.'s Scarfest in August, where EVILE will headline the Ashdown Stage.

Comments EVILE bassist Joel Graham: "We are really excited about being announced for Skullfest!! Belgium is always great for EVILE, and we can't wait to head over for this festival. The Skullfest bar is also host to some awesome Belgian beers. See ya there!"

EVILE's latest album, "Five Serpent's Teeth", was released in Europe on September 26, 2011 via Earache Records.

Veteran Swedish hard rockers 220 VOLT have announced their return with a new lineup and material. The band has been writing and recording demos for a couple of months and plans for to release some new music this spring. A full album will surface in the fall.

220 VOLT describes its new songs as "as classic hard rock/metal — a bit harder than before, but still melodic."

Sony/BMG has just reissued 220 VOLT's first five albums ("220 Volt", "Power Games", "Mind Over Muscle", "Young And Wild" and "Eye To Eye") digitally with some bonus tracks added on to the "Power Games" and "Eye To Eye" LPs. They are now available on iTunes, Spotify and similar platforms, though it may still be a few weeks before they are released in the U.S.

2013 marks the 30th anniversary of 220 VOLT's self-titled first LP and the 25th anniversary of their landmark effort, "Eye To Eye". The band just started to release short stories on their Facebook page about the recordings of each of their albums. They're released in chronological order and will take us album by album up to date, and then the new lineup will be revealed.

Best known as the singer/songwriter/guitarist of the Philadelphia-based blues-rock band CINDERELLA, Tom Keifer is making his debut as a solo artist with the release of his long-awaited and highly anticipated solo album, "The Way Life Goes", on April 30 via Merovee Records (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group).

The collection of 14 new songs ranges from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots that have always been present in his unique sound that has generated the sale of over 15 million records worldwide for CINDERELLA. Rolling Stone praised Keifer as "a gritty, bluesy (rocker) with enough genuine swagger to draw comparisons to Mick Jagger."

"The Way Life Goes" track listing:

01. Solid Ground
02. A Different Light
03. It's Not Enough
04. Cold Day In Hell
05. Thick And Thin
06. Ask Me Yesterday
07. Fools Paradise
08. The Flower Song
09. Mood Elevator
10. Welcome To My Mind
11. You Showed Me
12. Ain't That A Bitch
13. The Way Life Goes
14. Babylon

Audio samples of the songs "Solid Ground", "Cold Day In Hell", "Ask Me Yesterday", "A Different Light" and "Ain't That A Bitch" are available for streaming at TomKeifer.com.

"The Flower Song", the album's first single, will be serviced to AAA radio stations nationwide on February 4, while "Solid Ground" will be serviced to all rock formats on March 11.

"To me, ['The Flower Song'] is about how unbelievable it is that you're able to find that one person that's perfect for you," Keifer, 52, tells USA Today. "Obviously, it's told from the perspective of a guy, but I think it's true for both men and women: When you find that one person, it's a miracle."

Keifer wrote "The Flower Song" with Jim Peterik, formerly of the bands SURVIVOR and the IDES OF MARCH.

"'The Flower Song' is one aspect of the record," Keifer says. "The record ranges from that more acoustic side to hard-driving, high-energy rock songs, and everything in between. It's a pretty diverse album."

"The Way Life Goes" is a raw, introspective look at the roller coaster ride that has been Keifer's life for the past 15 years. From being told that he would never sing again as a result of a partially paralyzed left vocal cord, to the emotional and personal battles that followed, his solo debut is a story of perseverance, a testament to the power of passion and will, when combined with a true love of music.

In touring news, Keifer will launch his first-ever solo tour on February 9 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at Ziggy's. The 14-city trek of small, intimate rooms is an up-close and personal preview of songs from "The Way Life Goes" along with some CINDERELLA classics. Dates beyond February 28 are currently in the works.

Keifer recently spoke with HuffingtonPost.com about "The Way Life Goes". "The idea for a solo record started in the Nineties when the band parted ways and we left Universal," he said. "There was just a changing of the guard in the industry at that time and I started thinking about a solo record. I wrote for it for many years and the songs just kept going on the pile and I never got around to actually making a record... We started cutting tracks for this record in 2003 and I went to the pile of songs that had been building up and picked some that I liked and I've just been working on it ever since. It was produced independently of a label, because the idea from the beginning was to just work and record until I was happy with it. I wrote with a lot of different people — my wife, Savannah, who's a great writer, co-wrote a lot of the songs on the record and also co-produced the record with me, and a good friend of ours, Chuck Turner, who's a great engineer and producer. So from the beginning, the attitude was, 'Let's have fun and just make a great record and it'll be done when it's done.' Little did we know it'd be nine years later… it's done and we went through some crazy stuff and mixed and remixed and reworked things over and over and probably made a lot of mistakes along the way, but finally got it where we were all happy with it, so here it is."

ADRENALINE MOB — the band featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen, guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP) and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer — will release "Covertá", an eight-track EP featuring cover versions of some of the group's favorite songs, on March 12. Longtime fans of Portnoy are aware of the multiple cover CDs he has released with DREAM THEATER and with Neal Morse. "Covertá" is the first CD of covers recorded by ADRENALINE MOB.

"Covertá" track listing:

01. High Wire (BADLANDS)
02. Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
03. Break on Through (THE DOORS)
04. Romeo Delight (VAN HALEN)
05. Barracuda (HEART)
06. Kill The King (RAINBOW)
07. The Lemon Song (LED ZEPPELIN)
08. The Mob Rules (BLACK SABBATH)

In support of their album, "Omertá", and "Covertá", ADRENALINE MOB will embark on a U.S. tour on March 12. The trek will consist of two legs this spring. The dates for the first leg are as follows:

Mar. 12 - New Haven CT @ Toads Place
Mar. 13 - New York NY @ Marlin @ Webster Hall
Mar. 14 - Pittsburgh PA @ Altar Bar
Mar. 15 - Allentown PA @ Crocodile Rock
Mar. 16 - West Springfield VA @ Empire
Mar. 18 - Jacksonville FL @ Brewster’s Roc Bar
Mar. 19 - Tampa FL @ Orpheum
Mar. 20 - Orlando FL @ The Haven
Mar. 22 - Houston TX @ Scout Bar
Mar. 23 - San Antonio TX @ Backstage Live
Mar. 24 - Dallas TX @ Trees
Mar. 26 - Albuquerque NM @ Launch Pad
Mar. 27 - Phoenix AZ @ Joe's Grotto
Mar. 28 - San Diego CA @ Brick By Brick
Mar. 29 - Las Vegas NV @ Cheyenne Saloon
Mar. 30 - Los Angeles CA @ Roxy
Apr. 01 - Colorado Springs CO @ Black Sheep
Apr. 02 - Kansas City KS @ The Voodoo Lounge
Apr. 04 - St Louis MO @ Fubar
Apr. 05 - Nashville TN @ Exit IN
Apr. 06 - Atlanta GA @ Masquerade
Apr. 07 - Richmond VA @ Kingdom

Tickets for all shows go on sale this weekend.

NOTHING MORE will be the support act on the first leg.

"Omertá" sold around 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 70 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in Europe on March 19, 2012 in Europe via Century Media Records and in the U.S. on March 13, 2012 through the newly formed Elm City Music in conjunction with EMI Label Services.

The 11-song effort — which was produced by ADRENALINE MOB and mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked on ANTHRAX's "Worship Music" and STEEL PANTHER's "Balls Out" — includes a blistering reinterpretation of DURAN DURAN's classic "Come Undone" featuring guest vocals by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM.

ADRENALINE MOB's "Indifferent" video (see below) was filmed in March 2012 in the desert in California and throughout Los Angeles with director Scott Hansen, who has previously worked with A DAY TO REMEMBER, UNEARTH and WILLIE NELSON, among others.

NIGHTWISH's long-awaited "Imaginaerum" film — based on the band's album of the same name — will receive its German premiere on February 11 at Kino In Der KulturBrauerei in Berlin. Screening in German cinemas will start on March 18.

The "Imaginaerum" film was released theatrically in Finland on November 23, 2012.

The movie had its premiere on November 10, 2012 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland, where the audience was treated to both a full-scale NIGHTWISH concert and the first-ever public screening of the movie.

The "Imaginaerum" screening at Hartwall Arena waspreceded by a show by the musicians in NIGHTWISH themselves in what was their final concert in Finland last year.

The official soundtrack of the movie, "Imaginaerum By Nightwish: The Score", was released on the day before the premiere — Friday, November 9. The album features 13 grandiose, unreleased re-interpretations of "Imaginaerum" tracks by Petri Alanko.

Eagerly anticipated around the world, "Imaginaerum" creates a musical fantasy world in the vein of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, and Cirque du Soleil. The movie is an innovative mixture of story-telling and music, an extraordinary tale of the power of imagination… and what's ultimately important in life.

Shot and post-produced in Canada, the movie was directed by Stobe Harju and produced by Solar Films, and features appearances by all NIGHTWISH members. The screenplay is based on a wild vision that Tuomas Holopainen, the mastermind of the band, devised after the album "Dark Passion Play" came out in 2007.

The "Imaginaerum" theatrical trailer can be seen below.

"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, reportedly got $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.

During a September 2011 interview with Petri Silas of Finland's Soundi magazine, NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen explained that all the filming for the "Imaginaerum" movie was done in Canada with mostly Canadian actors/actresses. Post-production took place in Canada and Finland. He aso revealed the names of the actors who have two of the main roles in the film: Marianne Farley and Quinn Lord.

Speaking to Loudwire, Holopainen stated about the plot of the "Imaginaerum" film, "Basically it's about this old guy who used to be a composer and he's really sick; he's lying on his death bed in a hospital and he's going through his life, through his dreams — that's the basic storyline. It's all about praising life and life's beauty, imagination and all the strife and the bad stuff we have to face.

"[The storyline] came from the director; I just had the twelve ideas, the twelve visions. He basically wrote the script and storyline around those originally visions and the only one we had to leave out was the 'Ghost River' part, because we didn't have the finance to realize that vision."

Asked if the band appears in the film at all, Tuomas said, "A little bit, we are seen in two different scenes as a band, playing in the background. That's something that I really emphasized to the director, 'Please don't put the band into the movie,' because we want to do a believable story and we have no idea how to act. We are not actors so if your give us some lines and we tried to act, it would look goofy. He insisted to put us into the movie because it's our brainchild, so we're just playing in there as a band; it's a good compromise."

"Imaginaerum" film cast:

* Francis X. McCarthy
* Quinn Lord
* Marianne Farley
* Joanna Noyes
* Ilkka Villi
* Keyanna Fielding
* Ron Lea
* Victoria Jung
* Hélène Robitaille
* Stefan Demers
* Anette Olzon
* Marco Hietala
* Tuomas Holopainen
* Emppu Vuorinen
* Jukka Nevalainen

"Transcendent Absorbtion", the new Nikko DeLuna-directed video from San Francisco Bay Area technical death metallers INANIMATE EXISTENCE, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's debut CD, "Liberation Through Hearing", which was released last July via Unique Leader Records. Recorded in March 2012 at Castle Ultimate Studios with producer Zack Ohren (DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION, ALL SHALL PERISH), the CD featured a guest solo by Matt Sotelo of DECREPIT BIRTH.

According to a press release, INANIMATE EXISTENCE "brings an onslaught of crushing, true death metal, while pushing the musical envelope with their other-wordly compositions and painstaking writing."

INANIMATE EXISTENCE has shared the stage with such bands as DISGORGE, SEVERED SAVIOR, DYING FETUS, ARKAIK, FALLUJAH, SON OF AURELIUS, CATTLE DECAPITATION, PUTRID PILE and VEHEMENCE.

INANIMATE EXISTENCE is:

Cameron Porras - Vocals
Joel Guernsey - Guitar
Ian Rittmaster - Guitar
Mitch Yoesle - Bass
Ron Casey - Drums

CLIVE NOLAN's Alchemy album will be released on March 4th in Europe and April 9th in North America (via MVD). This release will, however, be preceded by the world premiere of the Alchemy show at the famous Wyspianski Theatre in Katowice, Poland on February 22nd, where it will be recorded for the purposes of a DVD to be released by Metal Mind Productions later this year. The double album will be available for purchase at the theatre prior to the official release date.

Recordings for Clive Nolan's second musical, Alchemy have been completed in December. For the cast of Alchemy, consisting of eleven principal singers, seven instrumentalists and the chorus, summer and autumn of 2012 was an extremely busy time. Due to the complexity of the musical as well as a large number of artists involved, the recording process turned out to be more than a multilevel experience, and the one that had to be realised in several stages and different locations.

The major bulk of work was done at the London-based Thin Ice Studios where, under the rigid eye of Clive Nolan himself, numerous vocal and orchestral sessions were completed and a desired sound was achieved. However, some of the recordings - Mark Westwood's guitars and Claudio Momberg's piano parts, were brought to life at Birmingham studio, Nomad 51, and Tauridstudios in Santiago, Chile respectively.

Scott Higham: "Working with Clive Nolan again on his second musical Alchemy has been another fantastic journey. As a drummer it is very interesting to play with lots of twists and turns... just like the story! The recording process is always great fun. Clive and I work together on every track in the studio, making sure every part is perfect for the musical... Nothing is overlooked! We have worked together this way on many projects over the years, so I have a very good understanding of what he requires for his musicals. We have a great team on Alchemy and I hope everyone enjoys the show in Poland!"

Apart from the previously announced principal cast, including such giants of progressive rock as Damian Wilson, Tracy Hitchings, Paul Menel and more, Alchemy team was joined by a horn player, Ian Stott and a violinist, Penny Gee. Moreover, as a special treat, the CD album will feature short guest appearances from John Mitchell and a man behind Alchemy artwork, a graphic designer Graeme Bell. Many others joined the chorus or performed some vocal lines adding up to the grandeur of the project's scale.

Paul Menel: “When Lord Nolan offered me the part of Benjamin Greaves, I jumped at the chance. To fulfil a lifelong ambition to play a baddie and finally lay to rest my goody two shoes image as 'the Peter Pan of prog'! With Clive's blessing I rubbed a bit of grit into the character and gargled some gravel into his voice, but he's retained the 'just following orders' innocence that he started with. Me, lackey to Andy Sears' Jagman! I think there may be sparks onstage and that's before the pyrotechnics start!”
Alchemy artists are very busy these days getting ready for the international premiere of the musical, scheduled for February 22nd, which will be filmed for the DVD at Wyspianski Theatre in Katowice. A concert version of the musical will feature mostly unvaried cast. The only alteration will be the part of Jessamine performed on a CD by a Uruguayan stage and TV artist, Noel Calcaterra. In Katowice, this role will be sung by a London musical theatre actress, Soheila Clifford.

Clive Nolan: “For me, the creation of Alchemy has been a three year journey so far. I have lived with the growing story and the developing music almost on a daily basis. It has become an integral part of my life. Recording the CD, in many ways, helps to provide an official stamp on the project! It has been a very positive process, and now that the finished recordings are being mixed, I am finally hearing the songs as they were intended... this is a wonderful feeling.”

You can now listen to the first promo track taken from the Alchemy album. 'Street Fight' is available to stream below:
This special evening at the Theatre will be enriched by two additional concerts. One of the Artists performing that night will be Paul Menel, who, along with his band, will perform songs from one of the best albums in the career of his previous formation IQ - "Nomzamo". The other one is a German band RPWL and as they announce, it will be the last complete performance of Beyond Man and Time album in Europe. All shows will be recorded and released on DVD by Metal Mind Productions later this year.

Tickets at this location.

Swedish bastard-rock quartet EGONAUT has released the video for the track ‘Crawl’ for streaming below:
‘Crawl’ comes off the band’s forthcoming album Mount Egonaut which will be released on February 27th via Transubstans Records.

According to a press release: “The album-opener ‘Crawl’ sets the mood for the rest of the album; heavy, fast well-arranged hard rock! The band smoothly blends the sleazy/melodic elements with a slight touch of stoner rock. Add a swirling 70's organ and in-your-face vocals and voilà: you've got yourself some Bastard Rock.”
Tracklisting is as follows:

‘Crawl’
‘Kneel Or Bleed’
‘Wasted Days’
‘Awake’
‘Something/Nothing’
‘Cursed And Damned’
‘The Fight’
‘Loser’
‘Careless Awareless’
‘Palliation’

Hells Headbangers announces April 16th as the international release date for IMPIOUS BAPTISM's Wrath Of The Apex Predator.
Once again, Hells Headbangers unearths filthy black gems from Down Under. Wrath Of The Apex Predator is Australians Impious Baptism's debut album, after a couple well-received EPs, including the Hells Headbangers-issued 'Path Of The Inverted Trinity' 7".

The sole creation of longtime scene veteran J. (NOCTURNAL GRAVES, ex-DESTRUKTOR, ex-DESTROYER 666), Impious Baptism bellow forth desecrating black metal in the ancient tradition of the early South American and Finnish masters. Flowing from choking doom to grinding, black filth and imbued with a powerful, full-bodied production that amplifies every abyssal note, Impious Baptism drag you down into the depths and then deeper - feel the Wrath Of The Apex Predator.

Wrath Of The Apex Predator tracklisting:

'Revelation To Annihilate'
'The Age Of Firelords'
'Axis Of Lucifer'
'Arcane Funeral Rites'
'Release The Titans Pt I'
'Release The Titans Pt II'
'Wrath Of The Apex Predator'
'Rites Of Illuminated Death'
'Temple Of Necromancy'

More on Impious Baptism at this location.