French industrial/ambient/black metal band SPEKTR is to release a new album, entitled Cypher, on February 5th in Europe, February 19th in North America, via Agonia Records.

Cypher is an experimental black metal album, recorded entirely without vocals except sampling. The album introduces industrial and ambient elements and as a whole should be considered as a strongly psychedelic release; it produces a feeling, as if the mind of the listener, dragged into the music, were unable of concentrate itself or were experiencing a powerful hallucinogen effect.

The album will be made available on CD, vinyl and digital download.
Cypher tracklisting:

'Hermetism'
'Teratology'
'The Singularity'
'Solitude'
'Antimatter'
'Solve Et Coagula'
'Cypher'
'Decorporation'
'Le Vitriol du Philosophe'

Check out an album preview below:

Denver, Colorado-based blackened doom nihilists PRIMITIVE MAN - featuring within their ranks current and formers members of CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE, REPROACHER and DEATH OF SELF - are preparing to unleash the forbidden fruit of their debut full-length. Recorded by Dave Otero at Flatline Audio (CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATHETER, COBALT, etc), the fittingly dubbed Scorn finds Primitive Man commemorating a slow-roasted apocalypse through seven asphyxiating odes of hatred, disease and despair.

Scorn will be issued on 12” vinyl on January 31st via Throatruiner/Mordgrimm Records.
Scorn tracklisting:

'Scorn'
'Rags'
'I Can't Forget'
'Antietam'
'Black Smoke'
'Stretched Thin'
'Astral Sleep'

The album is streaming below:

Scorn by Primitive Man

Primitive Man are primed to bring their audio filth to a stage near you this year. Preliminary dates can be found below. Further live actions to be announced in the weeks to follow.

Tour dates:

January
31 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO (with Fuck The Facts, Call Of The Void)

February
1 - Forum 619 - Cheyenne, WY (with Fuck The Facts, Call Of The Void)
7 - TBA - Pueblo, CO
8 - The War Room - El Paso, TX
10 - TBA - Albuquerque, NM

Dutch/Norwegian metallers IMPERIA, led by singer Helena Iren Michaelsen, will release a digital compilation, entitled Queen Of Passion, on March 15th via Massacre Records. Queen Of Passion will feature 11 tracks, including one song that hasn’t been available for download before.
Queen Of Passion tracklisting:

'Mirror'
'Braveheart'
'Broken Wings'
'Facing Reality'
'The Calling'
'Secret Passion'
'Fragile'
'Let Down'
'Violence'
'Like Rain'
'Mistress'

Audio samples for all tracks are online at this location.
More on Imperia at this location.

Rock and roll "history" was made on January 14 as filmmaker J.R. Getches shot the first- ever dramatic portrayal footage of late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott, starring U.S. actor/singer Rob Liotti, in Charleston, South Carolina. This initial scene will serve as a teaser film and prelude to the upcoming trailer now greenlit and in pre-production. "Bon Scott - The Legend of AC/DC" was originally reported upon in August of 2012 and garnered viral worldwide attention.

Russell Cotter of High Voltage Productions Pty. and an Australian said: "The Bon Scott movie has got legs! Rob has worked tirelessly to get the movie off the ground and it has traction.

"More than 30 years after the death of AC/DC's legendary frontman, Rob has promoted the legacy of Bon Scott, the man, and has been able to pull together the story, the people, and the logistics of what will soon become a landmark movie. Fans around the world will finally get to see what they have long waited for."

A confidential meeting was held in mid-November 2012 to solidify commencement of filming and involved key staff as well as key principal role actors. Also noteworthy is the fact that an agreement has been reached with Charleston Sound Studio, LLC in neighboring Mount Pleasant, South Carolina where the trailer's theme song will be recorded. Owner and chief engineer Jeff Hodges has been tasked with capturing the all-important track. The studio has been utilized by stars such as multi-platinum artist Darius Rucker and noted Nashville producer Frank Rogers.

While there has been much speculation over the casting of roles within the project, radio interviews with the film's star (both in Australia and the United States) have given indication that some preliminary casting has been accomplished for the trailer. It has been learned that besides the principal role Liotti holds as Bon Scott, the roles of Malcolm Young, Angus Young, Mark Evans, Phil Rudd and Margaret "Silver" Smith have been cast thus far. In preparation for shooting, the film's star took on a serious physical regimen dropping some 40 lbs. in preparation for the role.

Director J.R. Getches added: "The story of Bon Scott is a classical tragedy. He travelled across the world, made his mark, and then died too young. He was a misfit who found his place in rock music and became immortal pursuing his dream. This is a story worth telling."

The associate production company High Voltage Productions Pty. is seeking an independent production house and is said to be waiting for the right fit and vision. But they have pledged that the film's trailer will serve as a vehicle for fundraising and an instrument to give visual perpetuity to the investment interests at-large, as well as the public.

For more information, visit www.thebonscottmovie.com.

Photo credit: J.R. Getches

STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga recently spoke to The Morning Call about his 2011 stroke and his recovery, which lasted nearly a year.

"It was pretty scary," he said. "I couldn't walk, I couldn't really move my left side really well. It was horrible. I basically was not playing or doing anything music [related] for a good seven, eight months. And then I got better, I got off the meds, and got the confidence again to play drums and got behind the kit and then started recording [the] new [STONE SOUR] album … Almost two years later, I'm pretty much back to normal, and it's a miracle, man, I gotta say. I thank God and the universe and lucky stars I'm still here today. I'm just glad that's over with and I'm able to still walk and play drums and still be here with my family."

Mayorga praised his bandmates, who canceled the rest of their tour and waited for him to get better.

"That's incredible," he said. "I mean, that's a lot to be said for them. Those guys are truly my brothers, for them to do something like that. … Most bands would have gotten somebody else to play drums. But they didn't."

Roy also spoke about the departure of STONE SOUR bassist Shawn Economaki, who left the band just a month before Mayorga's stroke. "That was pretty sudden — he basically wanted just to settle and just do his thing and not tour as much," Mayorga said. "He wanted to do more sound engineering and more studio work. I think, actually, he's working on building a recording studio in Des Moines right now."

According to Dunmow Broadcast, former IRON MAIDEN guitarist Dennis Stratton has thrown his support behind a new rock school in Saffron Walden, England.

Offering "music lessons with a big difference," Livewire is open on Monday evenings at The Friends Meeting House in the High Street, teaching electric guitar, drums, bass and keyboards.

"This is a great opportunity for people to learn and play music with professional musicians," said Stratton.

Every lesson finishes with a 15-minute jam session with all students joining in well known rock and pop songs.

For more information, visit livewirerockacademy.co.uk.

Stratton participated in the recording and production of IRON MAIDEN's self-titled first album in December 1979. He also appeared in the home video recording "Live At The Ruskin" in early 1980 (released in 2004 as part of "The Early Days" DVD set), MAIDEN's first video "Women in Uniform", the "Women In Uniform" single, some subsequent single releases, as well as in the band's first appearance on British TV ("Running Free" performed live on "Top Of The Pops") and the "Live!! +One" album.

Dru Willis of The State Journal-Register recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On his goal of leaving this Earth with the biggest body of work that he can build:

Bach: "Rock 'n' roll music is kind of like a form of immortality. I can listen to Ronnie James Dio, who is sadly is no longer with us but the music will never go away. I can put the CD on or fill my iPod with it and listen to Jeff Buckley or Jimi Hendrix or one of these amazing musicians who are no longer with us but are completely alive through the music."

On his latest solo album, "Kicking & Screaming", and upcoming live CD/DVD combo, "Abachalypse Now":

Bach: "I consider myself lucky to even be making CDs and DVDs. I have got a lot of energy and so I am focusing in on the rock 'n' roll. That's my thing.

"I know how to make good albums. I am very critical. I have to totally be in love with what I am hearing come over the speakers in order to put my name on it, do these interviews, go on tour and support it for the rest of my life."

"I am not trying to reinvent rock 'n' roll music. I am trying to give you more of what you expect of me. That's why I look up to bands like RUSH, NEIL YOUNG and AC/DC ... they keep making albums and keep rocking and that's what I am going to do for the rest of my life."

On how he plans to use his talents — in a rock band, on stage or on television:

Bach: "I have kind of just got to get out of the way of my voice and let it have the life that it has. It has a life of its own that really has nothing to do with me."

Read more from The State Journal-Register.

The studio recording of GHOST's cover version of ABBA's "I'm A Marionette" has been released on Spotify and is now available for streaming in the YouTube clip below. The track, which reportedly features none other than Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA) handling production duties and sitting behind the drum kit, serves as the B-side of GHOST's strictly limited 10-inch clear vinyl version of its new single, "Secular Haze". You can now pre-order a copy from the Swedish webshop Bengans.se.

In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, one of the Nameless Ghouls stated about GHOST's decision to record an ABBA' cover: "We are Swedish, and ABBA has always been a very, very strong part of our modern musical heritage. We all grew up with their music very present. Not only that — ABBA basically took a few hundred years of traditional Swedish music and made it into pop songs. I'm talking about folk music from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Anybody outside Scandinavia probably isn't familiar with those tones or musical language. But one of the reasons ABBA broke through so enormously first in Sweden was probably because of their folk music influences. I think anyone from Scandinavia is easily infatuated with that sort of music, so ABBA has a deeper meaning to us, I think."

GHOST will release its sophomore album, "Infestissumam", in the spring via Loma Vista Recordings, the new record label founded by Tom Whalley in partnership with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group. Frontman Papa Emeritus and his Nameless Ghouls summoned Nashville-based Grammy Award-winning Nick Raskulinecz (DEATH ANGEL, DEFTONES, FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH) to produce this offering.

"Infestissumam" track listing:

01. Infestissumam
02. Per Aspera Ad Inferi
03. Secular Haze
04. Jigolo Har Megiddo
05. Ghuleh / Zombie Queen
06. Year Zero
07. Idolatrine
08. Body And Blood
09. Depth Of Satans Eyes
10. Monstrance Clock

The band's debut album, "Opus Eponymous", was released in late 2010 in Europe and in early 2011 in North America via Rise Above Records.

"I'm A Marionette" studio version:

An eight-minute preview of "A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time", a strictly limited-edition BLIND GUARDIAN box set with 15 CDs in 13 high-quality digipacks and only 8000 copies worldwide, can be seen below. The set will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on February 1 and the rest of the world on February 4.

Looking back over BLIND GUARDIAN's career from the here and now in 2013, you see a success story gone global, the likes of which very few other German metal bands have ever experienced. This band from Krefeld has been just about everywhere, conquering the North American market in the same way as they stormed the charts in Asia or packed concert venues in South America and even South Africa. From their (at that point purely) German beginnings with debut album, "Battalions Of Fear" (1988), followed by their first international recognition with the second album, "Follow The Blind" (1989) and the euphoria which went round the world when "Tales From The Twilight World" (1990) and "Somewhere Far Beyond" (1992) came out, right through to their masterpiece of composition in "A Night At The Opera" (2002), the name of the band developed to become an unmistakable world brand. There are lots of reasons for this, but no doubt much of it is down to the extraordinary skill of everyone involved, their virtuoso dexterity and that gift for bringing mystical themes in tune with unusually complex metal directives. Something else which really makes BLIND GUARDIAN stand out is the way they have always kept so close to their fans. Even more proof of their unconditional commitment to the huge fan-base is being released now; "A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time", a strictly limited edition deluxe box set with a total of 15 CDs in 13 high-quality digipacks, which the musicians and the record company have been working on together for almost a year. A particularly long time to create a compilation you may think, but a glance at just how much this box set encompasses explains why their conscientious and time-consuming preparation took so long.

"A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time" not only includes all the albums released during the so-called Virgin years (the record company brought out all the bands' records between 1988 and 2004) but also all their previously unreleased demo recordings, rare bonus tracks and alternative versions of famous pieces from this era, and all of them have been remastered and some even remixed. To be precise; it includes the seven studio albums "Battalions Of Fear", "Follow The Blind", "Tales From The Twilight World", "Somewhere Far Beyond", "Imaginations From The Other Side", "Nightfall In Middle-Earth" and "A Night At The Opera", and on top of all that you get the live albums "Tokyo Tales" and "Live" as well as "The Forgotten Tales" compilation, all of them now with 2012 mastering and some of them with new mixes. Above and beyond that, BLIND GUARDIAN have dug deep into their archives and come up with some real treats: in "Imaginations Through The Looking Glass" for the very first time the phenomenal concert they put on in Coburg, Germany in June 2003 appears in audio format on two CDs. And another first, in a special edition of "Nightfall In Middle-Earth", the musicians also present the legendary 1998 studio album without any breaks (including a new mix of "Blood Tears"). This precious box is rounded off with "An Extraordinary Tale", which includes so-far-unreleased demo versions of the pieces "Welcome To Dying", "Lord Of The Rings", "The Bard's Song (In The Forest)", "The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)", "Theatre Of Pain", "Trial By Fire" and "I'm Alive" and the never-before-released, around-90-seconds-longer version of the song "The Quest For Tanelorn" as well as the comparatively rare number "Harvest Of Sorrow".

So, there is so much to find, enjoy and rediscover in this outright opulent deluxe box which is accompanied by a 20-page glossy booklet (size: 27cm x 27cm) containing comments from the members of the band and more than 100 rare and mainly unpublished photos belonging to the musicians. A limited-edition and numbered BLIND GUARDIAN art print on special paper (sized 27cm by 27cm) and a guitar plectrum engraved with the band's logo have also been added to the box.

"With 'A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time', we document how much has BLIND GUARDIAN developed between 1988 and 2004 in, as I see it, a particularly impressive and vivid way," explains singer/bassist Hansi Kürsch who, together with original members André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen, still controls the destiny of this amazing group. Kürsch adds: "The brand new mastering also makes sure that all 15 CDs are on the same level as far as the dynamics are concerned so theoretically you can listen to the whole box at one go, without having to adjust the volume level at all."

Of course this jam-packed compilation also includes all the compositional climaxes and milestones along BLIND GUARDIAN's career path; "Majesty" from their debut album "Battalions Of Fear" was the first time the band presented their unusual song writing combined with the boundless energy which still makes BLIND GUARDIAN stand out so much today. "Traveler In Time" from "Tales From The Twilight World" then puts the band's epic approach into focus. "The Bard's Song" has developed into a real classic, creating that perfect symbiosis between band and audience at concert after concert and reinforcing the folklore element within the typical BLIND GUARDIAN sound.

Of course, in this box, BLIND GUARDIAN also present the sublime title track from the album "Imaginations From The Other Side" with its capable mixture of anthemic power metal and progressive directives, as well as the downright cinematic number "Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill)" from the album "Nightfall In Middle-Earth". The experts reckon the fantastic "And Then There Was Silence" from "A Night At The Opera" was the icing on the cake of those Virgin years and you can hear it in all its glory on "A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time".

With "A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time", BLIND GUARDIAN stay true to their reputation of not doing anything only halfway. As always with this band you get the full-on thing, on both the composition and technical production sides. This box is also full of rare photos from the musicians' private collections as well as previously unreleased demo recordings, once again documenting how far this group will go to give their fans the best possible product. And as Hansi Kürsch put it: "We poured our heart and soul into 'A Traveler's Guide To Space And Time', making it a well worthwhile box for our fans which fully meets the demands we make of ourselves as well as those of our fans. And that is exactly what we were aiming for."

For the complete track listing, visit Blind-Guardian.com.

VRAK is an up-and-coming Swedish band featuring the inimitable vocalist Josefin Finér (BURNING KITCHEN, SJU SVÅRA Å) alongside a bunch of well-known players: guitarist Mikael Kjellman (MARTYRDÖD, SKITSYSTEM), bassist Martin Larsson (AT THE GATES, UNDERACHIEVER) and drummer Anton Grönholm (ACURSED, SANCTUARY IN BLASPHEMY).

VRAK's four-song EP, "I Dream", can be streamed using the widget below. According to a press release, the songs on "I Dream" represent a "fresh sample of the the band's powerful musical witch brew. Transcending the boundaries of alternative rock, metal and punk. VRAK offers epic songwriting and captivating melody delivered trough a dark and brooding soundscape of heavy rock with intense driven guitar playing and amazing female vocals."

"I Dream" EP track listing:

01. I Dream (02:53)
02. Targets (03:48)
03. Mother's Wait (04:00)
04. Sister (02:37)

VOODOO CIRCLE's third album, "More Than One Way Home", will be released on February 22 via AFM Records. The CD's first single, "Cry For Love", will be made available on February 1.

"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.

An audio sample of the song "Graveyard City" from "More Than One Way Home" can be streamed in the YouTube clip 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.

Fan-filmed video footage of W.E.T.'s January 17 concert at Debaser in Stockholm, Sweden can be seen below.

Frontiers Records will release W.E.T.'s new studio album, "Rise Up", on February 22 in Europe and February 26 in North America. The second single from the CD, entitled "Love Heals", will be released digitally on January 21.

W.E.T.'s 2009 debut CD was one of the rare occasions when a band, created by the vision of a record label president, managed to generate a wave of enthusiasm and interest from fans and the media alike. Not only did it go beyond the band's own expectations, but it pushed the musicians themselves to raise their own game, when in the beginning they thought no one would care except maybe the die-hard fans from the three bands the name W.E.T. came from.

The key element to the success of W.E.T. was to create a modern melodic hard rock sound and drive it into the future with powerhouse rhythm and production, making it an equally classic and contemporary release.

Robert Säll (the "W" from WORK OF ART), Erik Mårtensson (the "E" from ECLIPSE) and Jeff Scott Soto (the "T" from TALISMAN), along with returning ECLIPSE members Magnus Henriksson and Robban Bäck, accepted the daunting task to create a follow-up that could live up to the expectation of thousands of fans across the globe.

The album's first single, "Learn To Live Again", was released on December 17 — and was described in a press release as "an unbelievably radio-friendly song, which features for the first time a vocal duet between Mårtensson and Soto."

"Rise Up" presents again a massive production and equally impressive songwriting, which updates the term "classic rock" into the new century.

"The songs were written between December 2011 to February 2012 and were recorded between March through May. We then wrote/added three more songs in September, recorded them in October and the whole album was finally mixed and mastered," says Erik Mårtensson. "To me, this album sounds more like a 'band' verses the first album", adds Jeff Scott Soto. "The first album was great as it had a lot of great songs, but this one has great songs and a band personality, which shows growth as far as I'm concerned."

Hook after hook, "Rise Up" is another one of these albums where you can enjoy the dynamics of a brilliant partnership bringing out a unique result. Melodic bullet rockers are followed by haunting ballads and fabulous arena rockers in an album that will leave listeners in awe from start to finish.

"We took what we all loved about the first album and built the songwriting and sound from that," says Mårtensson. "We wanted to give the band more of an identity and tried to find 'our' own sound. I really think we achieved it with this album. Heavier and darker than the first album which we all in the band love. It's melodic rock for a new century!" Soto adds: "Strangely, my faves are the more uptempo songs and ballads on this album, W.E.T. do great AOR stuff naturally but to have more strength on some tracks and then get emotionally charged in others made those songs the more interesting for me."

W.E.T. so far has made only one live appearance at the annual Firefest event in the U.K. in October 2011, but at the upcoming Stockholm concert, they will be showcasing for the first time new songs as well as digging some tracks from the now classic debut, plus some cool surprises.

"Rise Up" track listing:

01. Walk Away
02. Learn to Live Again
03. Rise Up
04. Love Heals
05. What You Want
06. The Moment
07. Bad Boy
08. On The Run
09. Broken Wings
10. Shot
11. Still Believe In Us
12. Still Unbroken

W.E.T. is:

Jeff Scott Soto: Lead Vocals
Erik Mårtensson: Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Robert Säll: Keyboards, Guitar
Robban Bäck: Drums
Magnus Henriksson: Guitar

Long-running Gothenburg, Sweden-based metallers DESTINY have announced the addition of keyboardist Carl Dahlberg to the group's ranks. This marks the first time DESTINY has a permanent keyboard player in the band, even though there have been keyboards on a few songs on all of the band's previous albums except "The Undiscovered Country" before. With Carl in the band, there will be a new exciting dimension added to the music of DESTINY. Carl will be featured on both the anniversary album, "The Incompatibility Of Philosophical Terminology", and "Global Warming".

Drummer Roger Christiansson, a longtime friend of DESTINY bassist Stefan Björnshög even though they had never played together before, joined the band in December 2012. The group states: "Roger is prefect for DESTINY on every level and already on the first rehearsal it's clear that Roger and Stefan will be a dynamic and heavy new rhythm section. It's now decided that Roger will rerecord the drums for two of tracks of the anniversary album, 'The Incompatibility Of Philosophical Terminology'."

Vocalist Jonas Heidgert (DRAGONLAND) joined DESTINY in November 2012. He immediately started to record vocals for a planned digital single. Everyone that has heard the result so far has been overwhelmed and there is no doubt that Jonas' vocals and stage presence as well as his personality will fit DESTINY perfectly both in the studio and on stage.

Guitarist Michael Åberg has been a member of DESTINY since 2005. After all these years and numerous gigs with the band, it's time for Michael to make his recorded debut on not just one but two DESTINY albums, "The Incompatibility Of Philosophical Terminology" and "Global Warming".

Finally, there is the driving force of the ever-present bassist and main composer Stefan Björnshög, whose vision and music has molded DESTINY since he founded the band way back in 1982.

Photo credit: Lillian Christiansson

"Swan Saivo", the new video from the northern Finnish metal band ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW, can be seen below. The clip was created and produced by Oulu-based company Mutant Koala Pictures.

"Swan Saivo" comes off ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW's new album, "Saivon Lapsi", which will be released on February 22 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded by Ahti Kortelainen and Janne Tolsa, mixed by Mikko Karmila and mastered by Mika Jussila. The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith.

In an interview with Headbanger's Helsinki, ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW guitarist Jarmo Puolakanaho stated about the new CD title: "'Saivon Lapsi' could be translated as 'Child Of Saivo'. And Saivo is the underworld of the Saami people, the people of Lapland. It basically is another story in the Angelheart series as well as the series of our stories of Lapland and Northern Finland."

"Saivon Lapsi" track listing:

01. Saivo
02. Dark Alliance
03. Legion Of Beast
04. Kuura
05. Dance Of December
06. The Day
07. Sound Of Silence
08. Beneath The Frozen Leaves
09. Swan Saivo
10. Blood Stained Sea
11. Angelheart, Ravenheart (Act III: Saivon Lapsi)

ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW is:

Altti Veteläinen - Vocals, Bass
Jarmo Kylmänen - Vocals
Jarmo Puolakanaho - Guitar
Mika Lammassaari – Lead Guitar
Janne Tolsa - Keyboards
Juho Raappana - Drums

ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW's sixth album, "Children Of The Dark Waters", entered the official chart in the group's home country at position No. 19. The CD was released in Finland on May 27, 2009 via Suomen Musiikki. As was the case with the band's previous five LPs, the effort was recorded at Tico-Tico Studio in Kemi, Finland. It was released in the rest of Europe via Massacre Records and in Asia through Marquee/Avalon.

Former ARCH ENEMY guitarist Christopher Amott, who currently resides in Lansdale, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after marrying an American woman, is writing material for a new album from his ARMAGEDDON project. Joining Christopher on the band's new CD will be guitarist Matthew Wicklund (GOD FORBID) and drummer Van Williams (ex-NEVERMORE). However, there is still one final piece needed to complete the group, and that is a stellar vocalist.

According to Amott, here are some of the preferred attributes of the ARMAGEDDON singer-to-be:

* All ages considerable but must present a fit and healthy image
* Creative sensibility for rhythm and melody, but able to perform pre-composed music. The role of the vocalist will be firstly as a performer.
* Male
* Mainly clean singing (this does not mean power metal. Perhaps someone that is adept in multiple styles. We are interested in trying all ranges.
* Growling/screaming ability is a plus, but not a must. We are open to experimenting with a range of different vocal stylings within the music.
* And, of course, killer stage presence!

Adds Amott: "We are currently based in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania region of the U.S., but if you're right for us and live elsewhere, we'll make it work.

"Please send us a sample of your singing, pictures, videos (links), website/contact info, etc. If we like what we hear/see, we will contact you for interview/audition.

"All material should be sent to armageddonauditions@live.com.

"This will be a paying gig as we get things rolling and we plan to be focusing on this full time. Any applying vocalists should have interest in a full-time career in music."

Amott moved to the U.S. in April 2012 and recently received his green card in the mail, enabling him to live and work in the country.

Christopher Amott played a solo concert at the Loud Park festival on October 27, 2012 at Saitama Super Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Saitama City, Japan. Backing him at the gig were Wicklund and Williams.

Amott's new solo album, "Impulses", can be purchased directly from his music store.

Amott in March 2012 issued a statement explaining that he left ARCH ENEMY to pursue his solo career. He said, "I'm gonna continue to be very active in music, working with all kinds of styles — this does not rule out metal."

ARCH ENEMY recruited American guitarist Nick Cordle (ARSIS) to replace Christopher.

Christopher Amott started his career in music in 1995 as a founding creative force and guitarist in ARCH ENEMY. In this context, he is known for his tastefully technical guitar work and memorably emotive playing style.

After garnering his early success, Christopher had the desire to express himself on a personal level in the same genre. At this time he began writing albums under the name ARMAGEDDON. Christopher wrote and recorded three albums over the next few years as ARCH ENEMY grew into an internationally recognized act, with his compositions featuring his own vocal stylings on the last album. This would be Christopher's first foray into singing and a spark of inspiration for his later musical ventures.

In 2008, Christopher began to consider his creative options as a mature musician. He began writing songs of an entirely different atmosphere, which saw his guitar playing focused less on technical ecstasy and more on a chord-based blues rock ambience as a foundation for more prominent vocal and lyrical ideas. These compositions developed into his next solo project; the album would be called "Follow Your Heart", released under his own name in 2010.

Pictured below (left to right): Van Williams, Christopher Amott and Matt Wicklund

Dutch bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling is working on a new series of microtonal recordings for seven-string bass. Three pieces, "Discrepantium", "Transluon" (written by contemporary composer Jurica Jelic) and "Mpulse", will be released later this year.

"At this stage of my career, these recordings are important for me, as I'm trying to discover other techniques and concepts for bass guitar," said Jeroen. "I see them as mini-works, short personal studies which represent a broad view on the instrument's timbre within experimental music."

For more information, visit Jeroen's personal webpage.

Thesseling recorded two other microtonal works in the late '90s. He collaborated with OBSCURA from 2008 to 2011 and recorded the band's full-length albums "Cosmogenesis" (2009) and "Omnivium" (2011). During 1992-1994 and 2009-2012, Jeroen worked with Dutch death metallers PESTILENCE. He recorded their fourth and sixth studio albums, "Spheres" (1993) and "Doctrine" (2011).

Photo credit: Peter Matis

Vocalist Mikey Gremio (WHITE WIZZARD, CELLADOR, DESIRE TO DESTROY) has joined forces with Andy Bush and Edwin Denis in an extreme metal project called FROM BELOW. They are currently looking for a full-time drummer, guitarist and bassist.

FROM BELOW was launched in Colorado in 2009 and then moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 2012. Initially a one-man project, FROM BELOW started out as a very death metal-influenced project and evolved into a "melodic/death/thrash group." The band is currently writing and recording an EP and plans to follow it up with a full-length album.

A FROM BELOW demo track, "To This You Pray", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Patrick Prince of Powerline recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth (ex-SCORPIONS). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Powerline: Will the SCORPIONS set [during the upcoming tour commemorating his 40th anniversary of joining the SCORPIONS] be mostly the stuff you had written?

Roth: It is mostly the stuff that I've written or my favorites from then. I was involved in virtually every track back then, even if there's not a writer's credit. Very often I would contribute quite a lot of things to it — the guitar leads or whatever. We're playing a track like "In Trance", for instance, which was written by Rudolf (Schenker) and Klaus (Meine), but then again, the way I wrote the guitar parts for many of Rudolf's songs they somehow feel like a composition within a composition and those parts came from me. These songs wouldn't have the same feel without them. Back then I could have had co-writer's credits for these, but it didn't seem important. I'm playing long sets anyway. We're doing other stuff as well but in every show we'll include several pieces from every SCORPIONS album that I've played on. And that's quite a few, so … yes, it will amount to an entire SCORPIONS set. You'll definitely get at least an hours worth, maybe even more, of just that old stuff.

Powerline: Will you be playing "Sails Of Charon"?

Roth: Oh, absolutely. We're playing it every day and in a very extended version with a middle section. To me, that's always one of the highlights of the show. And it's strange, during the time of the SCORPIONS, we never played it live. It was a little bit too complex for us to do live back then, and then afterwards hardly ever played it live and I really only found the key to doing that piece much later. Now it's taken on a new lease on life, I would have to say.

Powerline: Sometimes that's how creativity works, right? You revisit something and you find certain treasures in it later on.

Roth: That's exactly what I'm doing with all the tracks. I take this tour very seriously — also because we're recording it and we're going to be doing a live double album. So I want to come up with something that's at least kind of, like, from my point of view, the definitive version of these tracks for what I can do now. And that means, yes, we have rewritten certain sections and I've even rewritten certain pieces of lyrics a little bit. Expand certain songs, edited down others, to get the best out of them in the live environment. And some of them have really revealed a lot of new life that I never knew existed. And so I started looking at them in a different way. I enjoy playing them live and I have to say that wasn't always the case. I found a new way into that.

Powerline: I look at it this way. If I go to a SCORPIONS show, I'm not going to hear any of these songs, probably.

Roth: No. They sometimes play "We'll Burn the Sky" when I'm not there but that's pretty much as far as it goes.

Powerline: But with SCORPIONS fans, there is a dichotomy. You have fans who like just that early period and then you have fans who like the new period.

Roth: It is a split. That's very true.

Powerline: And in some respects it's like an entirely different band.

Roth: Very much so. The vocal sound is the same. Rudolf is the same. Francis (Buchholz, bass) is the same. But everything else pretty much was different and the choice of material was different. I guess it was a lot more free flow back then and in some ways more experimental. We took all sorts of liberties and we didn't necessarily just look at it from a commercial point of view. At least I didn't. It was mainly from an artistic angle.

Powerline: And you could say philosophically and intellectually things really changed. I just couldn't picture you playing on "Rock You Like A Hurricane".

Roth: I'll tell you one thing. I think it's an amazing rock song. The thing that's not for me is the lyrics. I mean, the title is okay, but then it's all this pseudo-sexual stuff and that is one of the reasons why I did leave the SCORPIONS. I just didn't want to have to fit into this cliché of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. It was never that for me in the first place and it still isn't to this day. I was never interested in any of that stuff. It wasn't my motivation. Lyrics for me always played a very important role. If you have to say something meaningful, then say it. And if you don't, then just hold your tongue. As successful as "Rock You Like A Hurricane" is — and apart from "Wind Of Change", it's easily the most successful one that they've done — it has a great riff, it has a great hook, but as I said, those kind of lyrics mean nothing to me. I don't want to be associated with it on an artistic level. I could maybe play it on stage and jam with the band but on an album, I probably would have fought tooth and nail against its lyrics.

Powerline: You're right about the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll cliche.

Roth: And you know, particularly the SCORPIONS. They're not even that kind of band. They're all like nice, family-loving guys. [laughs] It's not even something I can buy it of them, that kind of angle. Having said that, most of the audience don't seem to mind those kind of lyrics as long as there's a catchy hook and the SCORPIONS have tons of that and they are great songwriters. And the stuff is all musically somehow interesting whatever they're doing because they always have a melodic angle or some idea that makes sense musically.

Read the entire interview at Powerline.

CEREMONIAL OATH, Sweden's pioneers of twisted melodic death metal, will release their legendary debut album, "The Book Of Truth", as a deluxe 20th-anniversary version on January 28 through Century Media Records.

"The Book Of Truth" does not really match the usual melodic approach many bands from Gothenburg scene established between the heydays of the scene from 1994 to 1999. Being neither pure Gothenburg-ish melodic death metal nor typical old-school Swedish death metal in the Stockholm vein, but more a fine mélange of both worlds spiced up with some technical finesse a la MORBID ANGEL and NOCTURNUS, "The Book Of Truth" has justly become a real classic of unique death metal throughout the years. Still, to this day, the sound of CEREMONIAL OATH has remained surprisingly fresh and unique.

Besides the album tracks, the release also includes all tracks of the super-rare demos "Wake The Dead" and "Black Sermon" (on which CEREMONIAL OATH are still performing under the band's previous moniker DESECRATOR) as well as the two tracks of the legendary "Lost Name Of God" seven-inch single (originally released on Corpse Grinder Records in 1992).

"The Book Of Truth" will be made available on CD and LP as well as digital download. The 2CD version comes with a 28-page booklet filled with rare photos, flyers, lyrics, fanzine scans, liner notes for the demo material and detailed comments on the music and the lyrical concept of the album by CEREMONIAL OATH's mastermind Oscar Dronjak. The deluxe 2LP version includes an LP-size booklet with the same content as the CD booklet as well as 180-gram vinyls, gatefold sleeve and black inner sleeves.

A super-rare colored vinyl version can be purchased at Century Media's mailorder at this location.

Niklas Sundin (DARK TRANQUILLITY), designer of the first "Lost Name Of God" seven-inch single states: "The very first DARK TRANQUILLITY show was played 22 years ago, together with CEREMONIAL OATH (who then went by the name DESECRATOR), and for a few years we would often share the stage in the then-miniscule Gothenburg metal scene. I always felt that the band never got the attention and credit they deserved for their raw and quirky death metal, so it's about time that these rare recordings finally get released on a bigger scale and made available to a new generation of fans as well as nostalgia freaks like myself. Storm the gates!”

Anders Björler (ex-THE HAUNTED, AT THE GATES): "Me and Jonas [Björler] did the logo and demo cover artwork back in 1990 for the band DESECRATOR. They were so disappointed and upset they had to form another band and start over. CEREMONIAL OATH was born."

Marko Palmén (EVOCATION): "I must say that the news about CEREMONIAL OATH awakening from their hiatus really made my day and it's great to see that the interest for death metal from Sweden is growing worldwide! I have some great memories from the early '90s when sharing the stage with CEREMONIAL OATH and perhaps the best one is from a show we did at the legendary underground club called Valvet in Gothenburg, 1992. And it's not the best memory because it was a great show or something like that... It's because I remember that our drummer managed to break the drumhead for the kick on the CEREMONIAL OATH backline which we were sharing. And as if that wasn't enough I also remember that we never paid the CEREMONIAL OATH guys for that broken drumhead and it still feels like a thorn in my and EVOCATION's side after all these years... I hope you guys can forgive us! ;-) Strange thing to happen during a show, I have never experienced something like that either before or after that show during my entire musical career. Now when you guys have reunited, I'm sure you will discover that playing death metal has never been as much fun as it is now. In a while I'm also sure that you guys will regret the same thing that we in EVOCATION regret; that we didn't start doing this earlier! Welcome back after all these years and hope we can raise some hell together once again!"

"The Book Of Truth" track listing:

CD1/LP1: The Album

01. Prologue: Sworn To Avenge
02. Chapter I: The Invocator
03. Chapter II: For I Have Sinned / The Praise
04. Chapter III: Enthroned
05. Chapter IV: Only Evil Prevails
06. Chapter V: Thunderworld (Welcome To Forever)
07. Chapter VI: Lords Of Twilight
08. Chapter VII: Ceremonial Oath
09. Chapter VIII: The Lost Name Of God
10. Chapter IX: The Book Of Truth
11. Chapter X: Hellbound (instrumental)

CD2/LP2: The Demos

01. Intro: The Hour Between Darkness And Dawn
02. Remains Of Death
03. Force Of Habit
04. A Nocturnal Predator
05. Into The Abyss Of Hell
06. The Invocator
07. Necrosis
08. The Lost Name Of God
09. For I Have Sinned / The Praise

Tracks 1-4 taken from the "Wake The Dead" demo (1990, performing as DESECRATOR)
Tracks 5-7 taken from the "Black Sermon" demo (1990, performing as DESECRATOR)
Tracks 8, 9 taken from the "Lost Name Of God" seven-inch single (1992)

All tracks on CD2/LP2 are released on the CD for the first time. "Wake The Dead" and "Black Sermon" are released on vinyl for the first time.

CEREMONIAL OATH played its first show in 20 years on January 4 at the inaugural edition of the Gothenburg Sound Festival at Trädgår'n in Gothenburg, Sweden. More appearances will be announced soon.

THE RESISTANCE, the Swedish extreme metal band featuring former members of IN FLAMES, THE HAUNTED and GRAVE, will release its debut EP, "Rise From Treason", in North America on January 29 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group. The EP will be released on CD, limited-edition seven-inch vinyl and as a digital download. A full-length album will follow in April.

"Rise From Treason" track listing:

01. My Fire
02. Face To Face
03. Rise From Treason
04. Slugger

The song "Face To Face" is now available for streaming using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of Decibel magazine).

According to a press release, "THE RESISTANCE is not a supergroup or a side project. It is a band, it's a gang, embracing the musical attitude and sounds of Swedish old-school death metal and the old 'no-compromise' values of hardcore. Shredding guitar riffs, blasting beats and screaming out a lot of anger, THE RESISTANCE will take no prisoners and make no compromises with their old school death-metal."

THE RESISTANCE recently parted ways with bassist Alex Losbäck Holstad (ex-DESPITE, DECAMERON, CARDINAL SIN) and recruited Claudio Oyarzo, the guitarist in the progressive metal band MINORA, as its new session bassist..

The song "Eye For An Eye" was originally made available on the sampler CD that was distributed to the subscribers of Sweden's Close-Up Magazine in the August 2011 issue.

THE RESISTANCE made its live debut on October 8, 2011 at Club Distortion in Stockholm, Sweden.

THE RESISTANCE's lineup is as follows:

* Marco Aro (FACE DOWN, ex-THE HAUNTED) - Vocals
* Jesper Strömblad (ex-IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO) - Guitar
* Glenn Ljungström (ex-IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO) - Guitar
* Chris Barkensjö (CARNAL FORGE, GODSIC, ex-GRAVE) - Drums

Strömblad quit IN FLAMES in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.

Jesper signed an exclusive songwriter agreement with BMG Germany last year.

Strömblad is also a talented film composer. Together with Daniel Flores, he wrote the score for the film "Isdraken" ("The Ice Dragon"), which was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.

"Face To Face" audio stream courtesy of Decibel magazine)

Oslo, Norway's ALTAAR will release its new, self-titled album on February 26 in Europe (four days earlier in Germany and Austria) via Indie Recordings.

The second teaser for the CD can be seen below.

ALTAAR is an exceptional outlet with an avant-garde approach to the musical expression by attacking conventional doom metal (CORRUPTED, BLACK SABBATH, NORTT) with references stemming from the classic psychedelic era (LES FLEUR DE LYS, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, PINK FLOYD).

The journey began back in 2007. After the dissolution of JR EWING, Andreas Tylden (also known from ONE TAIL, ONE HEAD) established the solo-project ALTAAR. In the shadows of Vår Frelsers graveyard in Oslo, the cassette "Dødsønske" was recorded. The result was a brooding mixture of black metal, doom, noise, ambient and drone.

"I had the need to create music with a broad emotional register, to break from the conventions of earlier methods I used to employ," says Tylden.

Soon after, the art-academy graduate and noise-musician Sten Ove Toft (RYFYLKE, FAUX PAS) was initiated into the project and the second pressing of "Dødsønske" was released on Toft's label Roggbif. The international community started to take note, and both pressings sold out in a matter of days.

2009 saw the band once again adding new members to the fold in the shape of Espen T. Hangård (KILLL, NOPLACETOHIDE), Kenneth Lamond (JR EWING) and Didrik Telle (OBLITERATION). In the proceeding months, the quintet toured the U.S. and Europe, performed a commissioned piece at the Henie Onstad Art Museum. as well as showcased their music at respected festivals such as SXSW, Øya, Incubate and by:Larm. Due to the bands backgrounds in metal, punk/hardcore, noise and indie, ALTAAR's live shows became an almost ritualistic experience. With concerts played either in perpetual darkness, stages bathed in candlelight or illuminated by projections of handpicked films, the results drew the audience into a place where they had to acquiesce, or react. Which made the music all the more poignant and central.

Frontiers Records will release a special gatefold double-vinyl edition of iconic rock group JOURNEY's latest studio album, "Eclipse"; the vinyl album will be available for purchase at all physical and online outlets in North America beginning January 22.

Produced by acclaimed producer and longtime JOURNEY collaborator Kevin Shirley (LED ZEPPELIN, RUSH, AEROSMITH), "Eclipse" is JOURNEY's 14th studio album and was originally released in the United States on May 24, 2011 exclusively at Walmart. "Eclipse", the second JOURNEY album with lead singer Arnel Pineda, debuted at No. 13 on The Billboard 200 Album chart and includes the tracks "City Of Hope" and "Resonate"; both songs were Top 10 radio hits at classic rock radio, with "City Of Hope" reaching No. 4 and "Resonate" climbing to No. 8. USA Today declared "JOURNEY fans... will love 'Eclipse'," while Classic Rock Revisited wrote "JOURNEY delivers a bombastic guitar-oriented album...it is the most adventurous, creative and powerful album they have made..."

JOURNEY just wrapped a highly successful five-month North American tour and is gearing up for its first-ever tour of Australia, followed by a return to Southeast Asia and Europe.

Since its formation in 1973 in San Francisco, JOURNEY has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 gold and platinum albums. The band's "Greatest Hits" album is certified 15 times platinum, bringing JOURNEY into the elite club of diamond-certified album holders. JOURNEY was awarded the prestigious "Legend Of Live Award" at the 2011 Billboard Touring Awards in honor of the band's significant and lasting contributions to live music and the touring business, and in acknowledgement of their commitment to the fans and the art of performing live. The 2011 "Eclipse" world tour was one of the band's most successful tours ever, drawing nearly a million fans and ranked in the Top 15 Tours of the year. 2011 also marked the 30th anniversary of the band's seminal anthem "Don't Stop Believin'", which was honored as the top-selling digital classic rock song in history by Nielsen SoundScan. The group received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2005.

"Eclipse" vinyl track listing:

LP1 - Side One

01. City Of Hope
02. Edge Of The Moment
03. Chain Of Love

LP1 - Side Two

01. Tantra
02. Anything Is Possible
03. Resonate

LP2 - Side One

01. She's A Mystery
02. Human Feel
03. Ritual

LP2 - Side Two

01. To Whom It May Concern
02. Someone
03. Venus

"This Momentary Bliss", a brand new song from Swedish metallers SOILWORK, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's ninth studio album and first dual-disc release, "The Living Infinite", which will be unleashed on February 27 in Asia (via license to Marquee Records), in Europe on March 1, and in North America on March 5 through Nuclear Blast Records. Produced by Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, BLOODBATH), the CD features artwork by MNEMIC's Mircea Eftemie Gabrie.

"The Living Infinite" features Justin Sullivan — lead singer of the English band NEW MODEL ARMY — as a guest vocalist on the track "The Windswept Mercy" and also marks the recording debut of longtime SOILWORK touring guitarist David Andersson (also of THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA).

SOILWORK's world tour launches with a 55-show headlining trek through the U.S. and Canada this March. Support will come from JEFF LOOMIS, BLACKGUARD, THE BROWNING and WRETCHED.

"The Living Infinite" track listing:

CD 1

01. Spectrum Of Eternity
02. Memories Confined
03. This Momentary Bliss
04. Tongue
05. The Living Infinite I
06. Let The First Wave Rise
07. Vesta
08. Realm Of The Wasted
09. The Windswept Mercy
10. Whispers And Lights

CD 2

01. Entering Aeons
02. Long Live The Misanthrope
03. Drowning With Silence
04. Antidotes In Passing
05. Leech
06. The Living Infinite II
07. Loyal Shadow
08. Rise Above The Sentiment
09. Parasite Blues
10. Owls Predict, Oracles Stand Guard

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

"Anthems" track listing

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

ANTHRAX's cover of RUSH's "Anthem" is now available for streaming at RollingStone.com.

Said ANTHRAX vocalist Joey Belladonna, "These are all bands I grew up with and have listened to forever. It's just great music. I had fun singing these songs and I was happy recording together with ANTHRAX, doing classic rock songs. Fun stuff!"

On BOSTON's "Smokin'", ANTHRAX brought in a special guest to play keyboards — Fred Mandel, who has played with ALICE COOPER, QUEEN, ELTON JOHN, CHEAP TRICK, SUPERTRAMP and on PINK FLOYD's "The Wall". About the track, drummer Charlie Benante said, "If ever there were a perfect first album, it's BOSTON's first album. The harmony leads they did would later be heard by IRON MAIDEN, which, of course, would lead to thrash metal."

"It was a lot of fun, especially because a lot of those [songs] aren't, I guess, normal for us or like so much of our repertoire — although they are because they're songs we all knew," guitarist Scott Ian told Billboard.com. "Maybe on paper the idea of us doing something like that seems weird, until you hear them and then it makes sense. And Joey's performance on the JOURNEY song, specifically, really blows my mind. Someone mentioned that [JOURNEY guitarist] Neal Schon better not hear this or we might lose our singer." ANTHRAX also also laid down a cover version of BLACK SABBATH's "Neon Knights" for the upcoming Ronnie James Dio tribute album which is being assembled by the singer's widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio.

Asked how the band selected which songs to cover, Ian said, "Like everything else, it's kind of like someone says a song and everyone else is like, 'Yeah, that's a good one.' It's really as simple as that. It's songs that in some shape or form we've been playing or jamming on for our whole lives. Because you really don't wanna have to work too hard on these things, although the RUSH song is a bit of a bitch; I can't say that's an easy one. But it's a song we all know and we're all familiar with, so then, of course, you take on the challenge of just really trying to nail it and do it justice."

According to ANTHRAX, they paid particular attention to the cover of RUSH's "Anthem" in order to recreate the nuances of the original song.

"I have to get every little part of Geddy [Lee, RUSH bassist/vocalist] down, 'cause I'm a fanatic with that stuff, and I have to," bassist Frank Bello said. "It's great. I love it."

Added Scott: "Charlie [Benante, ANTHRAX drummer] bumped into [RUSH drummer] Neil Peart at the [Revolver] Golden Gods Awards a few months ago, and Neil actually said to Charlie, 'Yeah, we heard you guys are covering 'Anthem'. That's so cool. We put the clip of you playing drums [to the song] up on our web site.' And Charlie, I swear to God, he was like, the light, the glow that was coming off him after that was… I'd never seen anything quite like it."

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

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

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

San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans VICIOUS RUMORS have entered Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producers Juan Urteaga and Geoff Thorpe to begin recording their new album, "Electric Punishment", for an April release via Steamhammer/SPV.

Geoff Thorpe, Brian Allen, Larry Howe, Stephen Goodwin and Thean Rasmussen are back with nine new songs and a wicked cover of "Strange Ways" by KISS, all of which are sure to satisfy the faithful VICIOUS RUMORS fans. "Black X List" and "D-Block" are thrashy speed killers while "Escape (From Hell)" and "Together We Unite" add a classic flavor.

"Electric Punishment" will feature special guest appearances by Mark McGee, Brad Gillis and VICIOUS RUMORS' touring guitarist Bob Capka.

VICIOUS RUMORS released a new live album, "Live You To Death", on November 27, 2012 (one day earlier internationally) through SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was recorded by Pontus Norgren of HAMMERFALL, mixed by Juan Urteaga and produced by VICIOUS RUMORS guitarist Geoff Thorpe.

2011 was the year VICIOUS RUMORS stormed European stages with their highly acclaimed studio album, "Razorback Killers", playing 92 shows in 12 months.

"Live You To Death" was recorded in December 2011 on the band's European tour as the support act for Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL. It features 11 songs, including two very special studio recordings: cover versions of "Sign Of The Southern Cross" by BLACK SABBATH and "Running Wild" by JUDAS PRIEST.

"Razorback Killers" was released in Europe in March 2011 and in the U.S. in April 2011 via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was recorded at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producers Juan Urteaga and Geoff Thorpe.

Finnish metallers KALMAH have entered the studio in January to begin recording their seventh album for a spring release. The follow-up to 2010's "12 Gauge" will feature cover artwork by Juha Vuorma, who worked on the first three KALMAH albums as well as releases from USURPER, METUJA, DEATHMARCHED and ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION.

Says drummer Janne Kusmin: "Drums are ready and I am happy. Recordings went pretty well. Faster songs were easy and fun to play and slower songs were hard to play. Conclusion: Slow songs suck, fast songs rule or do I need more practice? Hahaa!!!"

Check out video footage from the studio below.

Keyboardist Marco Sneck left KALMAH in 2011 after seven years and three albums with the band.

KALMAH's sixth album, "12 Gauge", entered the official chart in the Finland at position No. 15. The CD was recorded between June and August 2009 at Tico Tico studio in Kemi, Finland and was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden.