"Tubular Beats", the brand new remix album by Mike Oldfield, includes a new song, "Never Too Far", featuring a guest appearance by former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen. The CD will be released on February 1 via earMUSIC and will include the most popular songs by Oldfield, who has worked on new arrangements and new sounds for his compositions. All tracks have been reworked from the original multi-track recordings and remixed together by Oldfield and German producer Torsten "York" Stenzel. Newly recorded guitar parts by Mike Oldfield have been added to the mix.

Turunen offers one of her most emotional performances ever on "Never Too Far" — something she attributes to the fact that Oldfield is one of her heroes.

Tarja explains: "It was such a pleasure to work with Mike Oldfield. The song turned out to be even better than I could have ever expected.

"Mike has a vast career and experience in pop, instrumental and electronic music. I love his music and his personal guitar sound.

"My work in this song was inspired by Mike's 'Islands', featuring another of my youth idols: Bonnie Tyler. A way to thank them for the nice melodies I grew up with was to add a line from their hit. And I believe Mike liked the idea, too. That's how 'Never Too Far' was born.

"Hope that you enjoy the song as much as I do."

New rock supergroup SOMETHING UNTO NOTHING (S.U.N.) have announced that the release date of their self-titled debut album has been pushed back to January 29th via Robo Records with distribution through Fontana/Universal Music.

The release date has been pushed back due to the mountain biking accident guitarist Brian Tichy suffered in December leaving him with a broken collar bone which required him to undergo surgery on New Year’s eve.

This unforeseen injury has temporarily held back promotional plans for the record release and as recompense to their fans for the delay, S.U.N. has decided to sign 200 copies of the CD for the first 200 fans that purchase the physical album beginning now at this location.

The album was previously released digitally on November 20th, 2012 via Robo Records.
S.U.N. tracklisting:

'Burned'
'Crazy Head'
'Nomad'
'Did Me No Good'
'Mobile Again'
'I'm The One'
'If I Was You'
'The Beginning Of The End' (Instrumental)
'Razed'
'Wide Ocean'
'No Way Home'
'S.U.N.'
'Goodbye'

The video for 'I'm The One' has been released and can be viewed below:
Completing the all-star ensemble of S.U.N. is bassist Michael Devin (Whitesnake, JASON BONHAM'S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE, KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD) and drummer Tommy Stewart (GODSMACK, LO PRO, EVERCLEAR, FUEL).

Dutch progressive rock/metal band THE AURORA PROJECT will release their new album entitled Selling the Aggression, on February 8th via FREIA Music.

According to a press release the album: “is a concept album and describes the change in society seen from 1999 - with the introduction of the Internet - to the formation of the current world order.”

The album was recorded by the band in spring 2012. It was mixed by Arno Road of Westeinder Studio and mastered by Darius Helfteren of Amsterdam Mastering.

The album will be released in a threefold digipack CD, a limited edition vinyl LP HQ and HQ luxury vinyl LP/CD combination. The vinyl edition is limited to 250 pieces.
An album release party will also take place on February 8 at the Tripodia venue in the band’s hometown Katwijk, Holland. Also joining the band will be CARTHAGO.
Tickets for this concert are available, with or without combination with CD/LP, through the band’s webshop.

ANTHRAX recently spent time in the studio recording several cover versions of some of their favorite rock classics, to be included with the upcoming "Anthem" EP, due on March 18.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

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

"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 tells 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.

Regarding ANTHRAX's upcoming touring activities, Ian tells Billboard.com: "We thought last month was going to be the end of the cycle; that was pretty much the plan at the beginning of last year. [2012] was a really good, busy year, and when we finished in Europe in December we figured that was it. But we keep getting more and more offers to go on tour. We've always been a touring band, so that works in our favor, I guess. In the past we wouldn't think about doing the States four times unless you were selling millions of albums or something. But there's a demand for it, which makes us happy."

"Worship Music", the group's first new album in eight years and first with singer Joey Belladonna since 1990, came out in September 2011. The has sold more than 100,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. A track from the CD, "I'm Alive", received a Grammy nomination last month for "Best Rock/Metal Performance". This is the fourth Grammy nomination for ANTHRAX.

As reported on Friday, guitarist Rob Caggiano has announced his departure from ANTHRAX to focus on his other passion: producing records. A replacement axeman has not yet been announced.

Video below: ANTHRAX performing "Neon Knights" live at Copenhell festival in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 15, 2012

Former ANTHRAX singer Dan Nelson has left BLACKGATES — the East San Francisco Bay Area metal outfit featuring drummer Paul Bostaph (ex-TESTAMENT, EXODUS, SLAYER, FORBIDDEN) and guitarist Jeremy Epp (THE VENTING MACHINE).

Commented the band: "Regretfully, Dan Nelson has decided to leave BLACKGATES. He has decided that he wants to concentrate full time on being a father to his newborn son along with focusing on his own musical endeavors. All of us in BLACKGATES understand his decision and wish him all the best. He'll always be family.

"That being said, BLACKGATES is moving forward and is now actively seeking a new permanent lead vocalist. We're looking for a full-on metalhead who can sing with some serious melodic power and edge, with a bit of gravel on the top."

Stated Epp: "We've got over a dozen tunes that we feel are killer, we just need the right guy to come in and put his stamp on them and take what we have even further." Bostaph added: "New blood in the band will help push our sound further. Our newest material is heavier than our first demo. We're looking forward to working with a new vocalist, and getting out there and mixing it up in 2013."

Vocalist submissions in the form of demos, links and videos can be sent to Blackgatesvox@yahoo.com, subject: "VOX SEARCH."

BLACKGATES made its live debut on May 5, 2012 at Rooster's Roadhouse in Alameda, California as part of the Cinco De Mayo Metal Throwdown with guests MUDFACE, FALLING TO PIECES and ANOTHER VOID.

BLACKGATES last year parted ways with bassist Uriah Duffy (ex-WHITESNAKE) and replaced him with Luis Barillas (THE VENTING MACHINE).

Bostaph previously stated about BLACKGATES's musical direction, "Our sound is drawn from all of our influences. Mostly, we don't want to be a thrash metal band, although we draw from that genre as well. There is something in our music for everyone. Heavy grooves, good hooks and Dan's killer pipes. I think we have an independent sound that will stand on its own."

BLACKGATES's first demo was recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area with producer Tim Narducci (SYSTEMATIC, SPIRALARMS).

ANTHRAX has tapped SHADOWS FALL's Jon Donais (pictured below) to play second guitar on all currently scheduled tour dates following last week's departure of Rob Caggiano. Donais will temporarily fill in for ANTHRAX's upcoming shows in India, the series of Soundwave festival dates in Australia, and the North American Metal Alliance Tour.

"Jon is a bro and he's also a total fucking ripper," said Scott Ian. "I've worked with him twice before on side projects and he tears it up. I'm excited to have him on my right burning up the stage with ANTHRAX. 13's gonna be a good year."

"I grew up on ANTHRAX, they're the thrash scene, they're one of the 'Big Four,' I'd be crazy to not want to play with them," said Donais. "Initially, Rob called and told me he was leaving the band, and asked if I'd be interested in filling in. Then Scott called me and everything fell into place. Rob and I are using Skype to work on solos and other guitar parts, so he's being great. I also have to give special thanks to my band — Brian, Matt, Jason and Ed — who have been incredibly supportive and encouraged me to do this."

Caggiano announced his departure from ANTHRAX on January 4 to focus on his other passion: producing records. The remaining members of ANTHRAX said in a statement: "Rob has been an integral part of ANTHRAX for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend. His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road."

Caggiano — whose two stints with ANTHRAX ran from 2001-2005 and 2007 to now — stated about his decision to leave the band: "We accomplished so many great things together over the years and I shared some of the best times of my life with these guys. As a band, we also weathered quite a few storms along the way. It's been a wild ride (to say the least) from Day One and I wouldn't change one single thing about the last 12 years."

Caggiano added that, "This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make, but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now. I've always been one to follow my heart in everything that I do and while this might be one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, it feels like the right one for me at this time. Scott [Ian, guitar], Charlie [Benante, drums], Joey [Belladonna, vocals], Frankie [Bello, bass] (and [former ANTHRAX singer] John Bush) will always be part of my family and this decision doesn't change the way I feel about that in the slightest. I would also like to say thanks to all the amazing fans I've met and hung out with worldwide over the years. You guys always were and always will be the reason why I make music!"

Video footage of ANTHRAX frontman Joey Belladonna performing JOURNEY and FOREIGNER classics with his Syracuse, New York-based power trio CHIEF BIG WAY — in which he plays drums and sings — on December 18, 2012 at the Clam Man Party House in Seneca Falls, New York can be seen below.

In a 2005 interview with MusicDish, Belladonna was asked about the rumor that he came to the table with a JOURNEY tune during his 1985 audition for ANTHRAX. "Actually, what happened was I went into the room and they said, 'Just go on in,' and they hadn't heard me sing," he said. "They'd heard of me and they asked me to come in, but we were going in to start tracking and stuff, to get the mic set up and all that and they said, 'Let's get you in there and get you warmed up.' I hit the mic and belted out some JOURNEY. . . I think it was [the song] 'Lights'. I didn't know what the hell I was getting into in the first place. I just wanted to lay some vocals or something. Just to kinda give an idea and that's what happened. It wasn't really anything more than that. I just kinda belched it out. I think I did 'Oh Sherrie' [written by JOURNEY singer Steve Perry], too, or something. I dunno why, but I just did. It was something off the top of my head I could do a cappella and it was kinda challenging. I thought maybe in range or something that would be kind of intriguing. It was definitely one they weren't expecting."

In a 2010 interview with Tricia Weight, Joey stated about CHIEF BIG WAY, "We're doing all 'old school' shit — like LED ZEPPELIN and RUSH and JOURNEY and FOREIGNER and BAD COMPANY and THE WHO and BOSTON and PINK FLOYD and all that stuff."

When asked if singing those different styles of music in his side projects was good for him, almost acting like "exercises" to keep his vocals in shape, Belladonna said, "Yeah, it [is]. I mean, now I've got more projects than I've ever had. Even at home I sing to records, that's how I learned to do it anyhow, I used to pull out the coolest records and sing to 'em all day long, before I went out [on stage]. And I do it now, even [on the way] to the gig. If we've got an hour drive tonight — I'm rocking the stuff on the iPod all the way there!"

Excellent-quality fan-filmed video footage of the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE performing the band's classic song "Queen Of The Reich" on December 29, 2012 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona can be seen below (footage shot and edited by Dave "Ravage" Stabley). Also available is a collection of snippets of other songs that were played by the band at the Tempe concert.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Walk In The Shadows
04. The Whisper
05. En Force
06. Child Of Fire
07. Warning
08. The Needle Lies
09. Prophecy
10. Roads To Madness
11. I Don't Believe In Love
12. My Empty Room
13. Eyes Of A Stranger

Encore:

14. Take Hold Of The Flame
15. Jet City Woman
16. Silent Lucidity
17. Empire

QUEENSRŸCHE recently finished recording the drums for its new album at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington with producer James "Jimbo" Barton — the man who engineered and mixed the band's classic 1988 LP, "Operation: Mindcrime", and its 1990 follow-up, "Empire", and co-produced 1994's "Promised Land". The rest of the music and vocals are being laid down over the coming weeks at several different facilities on the West Coast.

In a posting on his official Facebook page, La Torre — who is also a member of Florida melodic metallers CRIMSON GLORY — wrote last month: "People stare speechless [when we play 'Queen Of The Reich' live], because they are shocked to hear the song performed well, a song that 'broke out' this legendary pioneering band." He added, in a what appeared to be a dig at the man he replaced, Geoff Tate, "Shame on anyone to deny the music that garnished fans in the first place and still resonates 30 years later."

Asked by Rock Show Critique in a recent interview with why QUEENSRŸCHE rarely performs "Queen Of The Reich" live despite it being one of the band's most popular tunes, Tate said, "Actually, it's not very popular at all. It's funny, actually — a lot of people don't know about that song. A lot of people don't care about that song. It's an early song that was written and it shows. It's funny the reaction you get, because it's a lot of blank stares. In fact, it's the same stare you get when you play a new song that nobody's heard before. People just aren't that familiar with it. Given there are a few hardcore fans that might know that song, or like that song, and know what it is, but the majority of the people there don't. So it's not really a song that I enjoy singing, strictly because, lyrically, it's pretty adolescent. It was the first song written thirty-some-odd years ago and obviously I cannot relate to it anymore. I think, for performance, it's always best for the performer to really believe in the material they're singing or playing. If you don't believe in it, it's really difficult to get behind a song, do it well and do it at a level that comes across with any kind of believability. For me, I honestly can't relate to the whole dungeons-and-dragons lyrical content of that song; it's really cartoonish and juvenile to me."

Video footage below shot and edited by Dave "Ravage" Stabley

"Soul Eraser", the new Matt Maloney-directed video from reunited West Virginia metallers BYZANTINE, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fourth, self-titled album, which will be released on February 26 through Gravedancer Records, the new label formed by MuseBox VP of marketing, Josh Eldridge, in partnership with marketing company MuseBox.

"Byzantine" track listing:

01. Which Light Shall Never Penetrate
02. Soul Eraser
03. Efficacy
04. Forged In The Heart Of A Dying Star
05. Caldera
06. Signal Path
07. Everything I Touch Bursts Into Flame
08. Posthumous
09. Pathogen

The official lyric video for "Signal Path" can be seen below.

The lyrical content of "Signal Path" is based on the unexpected massive heart attack that BYZANTINE's lead guitarist and founding member, Tony Rohrbough, experienced almost three years ago. Thankfully, he is onto a full recovery and back with the band.

Commented BYZANTINE guitarist/vocalist Chris "OJ" Ojeda: "To have a fourth BYZANTINE album recorded is a feat that none of us band members thought we could pull off. With families, new careers and living apart from each other and a five-year hiatus, we thought getting together and writing a new album would be impossible, but it came along famously. We truly are in our element tucked in the hills of West Virginia grinding out new tunes for the few select fans we have. It's been an honor to give you guys nine new songs to dig on!"

The "Byzantine" cover artwork was designed by David Friedmann, the winner of the contest the band launched on MetalSucks earlier this year. Check it out below.

BYZANTINE was first discovered by LAMB OF GOD and released three highly respected albums and completed several major tours before calling in quits in 2008, just after the release of their most respected effort, "Oblivion Beckons". Earlier this spring, the band entered the studio to begin work on the new CD featuring the following lineup:

Chris Ojeda: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Tony Rohrbough: Lead Guitar
Michael Cromer: Bass
Matt Wolfe: Drums

"Soul Eraser" video:

Professionally filmed video footage of '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford performing her hit song "Close My Eyes Forever" as a duet with TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider on October 6, 2012 at the Marian Central "class of 1987" reunion party thrown by Mike Domek at the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin can be seen below.

The backing band for the performance consisted of the following musicians:

Erik Ferentinos - Guitar
Chris Tabor - Guitar
John Sterba - Bass
Jim Malone - Drums
Mike Hartigan - Keyboards

Lita last year revealed that "Close My Eyes Forever" came about by accident during a night of drinking and getting stoned when she was being managed by Ozzy's wife, Sharon. She recalled to Metal Underground: "'Close My Eyes Forever' was a mistake. It was just me and Ozzy and Sharon hanging about in the recording studio. They showed up one day and had a housewarming present for me: a life-size duplicate of Koko, the gorilla from the San Diego Zoo. It was freaking huge — I had to strap it in the front seat of my jeep to get it home. Ozzy stayed, Sharon got bored and left, and me and Ozzy had a couple of drinks and we were jamming. We started singing, messing about and we wrote 'Close My Eyes Forever'. Next thing I knew the sun was coming up. I looked at him and went, 'Uh-oh, we're in trouble.' Sharon had been waiting all night. We were a long way from where Ozzy had to go. He said, 'Can you drive me home?' I said, 'No, I can't.' We were stoned out of our minds. He got into a cab and I strapped Koko into my jeep and drove home — just barely made it. And then we had this hit song."

Lita's new solo album, "Living Like A Runaway", was released on June 19, 2012 in North America via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort was made available in four configurations: a double LP, limited-edition CD, standard CD and digital download. The artwork for the album was created by famed rock photographer Mark Weiss.

Singer Johnny Solinger has finished laying down vocals on the new SKID ROW album, "United World Rebellion - Chapter 1", tentatively due later this year via an as-yet-undisclosed record label. Some of the sessions for the CD took place at Open Sky Studio, the Atlanta, Georgia-based facility owned and operated by producer/drummer Mike Froedge (DREADED MARCO, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DOUBLEDRIVE, SPEED X), and the Bonehead Studio, also in Atlanta.

Commented Solinger: "This truly is a special record. Can't wait for you all to hear it."

In other news, Solinger is working on a new solo album, to be released later this year. The CD's first single is tentatively scheduled to be made available digitally via iTunes later this month. The track in question, "Rock And Roll Cowboy Man", was written for Solinger by Richard Young (KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS), John Fred Young and John Lawhon (BLACK STONE CHERRY) and will be featured in the motion picture "The Prodigal", which is currently being filmed in Texas.

In support of the new SKID ROW CD, the band will embark on a U.K. headlining tour in April.

The group's bassist Rachel Bolan previously told Times-Standard.com about SKID ROW's forthcoming sixth LP, "I think the next record, as far as what Snake [guitarist Dave Sabo] and I are writing, is going back to what people would expect from SKID ROW. We're looking forward to it."

SKID ROW's last album "Revolutions Per Minute", was released on October 24, 2006 via SPV Records.

The band in 2010 parted ways with drummer Dave Gara and replaced him with Atlanta native Rob Hammersmith.

Rob spent many years touring and recording with Atlanta-based rockers ROCKETS TO RUIN and has performed with GUNFIRE 76, the band featuring MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13.

Oslo, Norway’s SHOT AT DAWN have announced the release of the music video for the track ‘White Trash Metal Brigade’, off the album of the same name released in 2012.

According to a press release: “The track is a real party tune and Shot At Dawn's anthem, and the video is in the same style as the track and is simply a party video filmed on a sweaty August night at DeVilles in Oslo, Norway.”

Check it out below:
Shot At Dawn's lineup is:
Aki Johannes Viitala – drums
Christopher Marchand - guitar
Espen Hagås – bass
Jonathan Priskorn Kjeldsen – vocals
Åge "Ogee" Trøite - guitar

In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Golden Globe Awards, the show's musical theme, composed by Japanese superstar Yoshiki, will soon be available for download on iTunes. Written for the awards ceremony by the classically trained multi-instrumentalist and leader of one of Japan's most successful rock groups, X JAPAN, the theme will be available for download as a full-length digital single in 111 countries starting January 15. All proceeds from sales of the single will be donated to charity.

"It's such an honor to be a part of this esteemed event which is enjoyed by hundreds of millions around the world," said Yoshiki. "Composing this music was a journey that involved creating numerous versions in order to arrive at just the right sound to capture the unique combination of glamour and edginess that makes the Golden Globe Awards so entertaining. I'm very proud of the result and am thrilled that Warner Music has chosen to make it available around the world."

Yoshiki recorded the theme, which opens the show and is used at other key moments during the broadcast, in his native Japan. He played many of the instruments himself before adding a full string orchestra.

"To have world-renowned musician Yoshiki compose the theme song for the Golden Globes is an honor for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and we are delighted that the single is now being released worldwide," said HFPA President Dr. Aida Takla-O'Reilly. "Our international organization recognizes the most accomplished entertainers in film, television and music, and Yoshiki certainly fits right in among our honorees."

All profits from the iTunes sales of the single will be donated to charities chosen by the HFPA.

The 70th annual Golden Globe Awards will air live coast-to-coast on NBC on Sunday, January 13, with the pre-show from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. PST / 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. EST, and main telecast from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. EST from the Beverly Hilton Hotel with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler . The Golden Globe Awards will be seen in more than 192 countries worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies that span both television and motion picture achievements. The special will be produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

WOLF frontman Niklas Stålvind recently gave Metal Shock Finland an update on the band's next album, their seventh official release:

“We will meet up in my studio this weekend for a writing session and we will also meet up with a producer for the next album. All I can say now is that it’s a Swedish guy and he is one of the top producers in the world right now. So we’re excited.”

Stay tuned for more updates.
In 2012, Wolf revealed during an interview with Metal Shock Finland that they have a new product on the market: Wolf's Blood Hot Sauce.

This hot sauce is made in Costa Rica and is a combination of the world’s hottest known chilli pepper, Naga Jolokia, with pepper extract and ranges at an incredible 666,000 Scoville units. It can be purchased here.

The band commented: "We are working on some fun stuff that we can’t talk about yet, but we do have a hot sauce coming out called Wolf's Blood. It makes you howl, don’t drink it!!”

The complete interview can be heard here.

US progressive death metal band LASCAILLE'S SHROUD have posted a lyric video for the track ‘Epilogue: The Acceptance Of Death’. The track features guest musician Tyler Sherrill (STEAMFORGED) and appears on the band's debut LP Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe, which was released today, January 8th via Masters of Metal Productions as a name-your-price though their BandCamp page.

Watch the lyrics video below:

According to a press release the album is: "An epic vision of a future where man struggles to exist, to cope with the horrors they have done. A future where darkness is ever present and light is absent; A future where one man will transcend humanity, and become infinite."



Tracklisting for Interval 01: Parallel Infinities - The Inner Universe is as follows:
‘Prologue: She Dreams Of Earth’
‘Evolved: Transcendental Cyber-Eroticism's’
‘Resist: Fall Into The Arms Of The Sun’
‘Extinction: Swarming The Sun’
‘Dreams: Romancing My Own Demise’
‘Shattered: Love Lost And Worlds Destroyed’
‘Epilogue: The Acceptance Of Death’

Lascaille's Shroud consists of:
Brett Windnagle - lead, rhythm Guitars, bass, growls/screams, drums, piano/keys/strings/synths
Patrick Parris (PROJECT: ROENWOLFE, EX-THEOCRACY) - vocals

"World Domination", the new single from FREE FALL, the Swedish rock band featuring guitarist Mattias Bärjed (SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES) and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (THE [INTERNATIONAL] NOISE CONSPIRACY), can be streamed below. The song comes off FREE FALL's debut album, "Power & Volume", which will be released on February 22 via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Power & Volume" track listing:

01. Power & Volume
02. Free Fall
03. Midnight Vulture
04. Top Of The World
05. Attila
06. World Domination
07. Love Bombing
08. Damnation
09. Meriola Blues
10. Meat

Bonus:

11. Change Coming
12. Yeah!!!

The video for the "Power & Volume" title track can be seen below. The band states: "The purpose of this video is to replace an empty mind with an open mind."

The "Power & Volume" song was made available today as a seven-inch single on black (retail version) and white vinyl (Nuclear Blast mailorder only) as well as digitally via iTunes. All versions also include the rare non-album track "Stand Up For Your Rock 'N' Roll".

FREE FALL is:

Jan Martens - Bass
Mattias Bärjed - Guitar
Kim Fransson - Lead vocals
Ludwig Dahlberg - Drums

"World Domination" audio stream:

Virginia's PYRO, OHIO will release its new album, "Before The Sun Sets…", in the spring via upstart label At Your Command Records. The CD will contain seven tracks, three of the tracks will which feature a guest vocalist that will be announced at a later date.

"Before The Sun Sets…" was recorded at Amped Recording Studios in Baltimore and is the follow-up to PYRO, OHIO's independently released 2012 EP "Welcome To Pyro, Ohio", which is a name-your-price Bandcamp release.

Regarding the upcoming CD, PYRO, OHIO bassist Luke Brugh said: "I am very proud of every single song we've recorded and cannot wait to share them with the masses. I think that these are some of the best songs we have written together."

"Before The Sun Sets…" track listing:

01. NY Spins
02. Out West We're Strangers
03. Priorities Lose Company
04. Feels Like Frostbite
05. Where Are You?
06. Before the Sun Sets...
07. Delusions

Most often compared to CHIODOS, CIRCA SURVIVE, A DAY TO REMEMBER and GLASSJAW, PYRO, OHIO combines a variety of musical influences creating a sound that is both refreshing and modern. The band was founded in August 2011 in rural Christiansburg, Virginia and was chosen to play on this year's Vans Warped Tour as part of the Ernie Ball Battle Of The Bands competition.

Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD will release their 13th studio album, "Target Earth", via VOIVOD's own company, Iron Gang Factory, and Century Media on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway: Friday, January 18
North America, Spain, Italy: Tuesday, January 22
Sweden, Hungary: Wednesday, January 23
Australia, New Zealand, Finland: Friday, January 25
Rest Of Europe: Monday, January 21

The CD was recorded in January 2012 at Pierre Rémillard's (OBLIVEON, CRYPTOPSY, KRISIUN, MISERY INDEX) Wild Studio in a small town called St-Zénon in Quebec, Canada and was mixed by Sanford Parker (PELICAN, NACHTMYSTIUM). The follow-up to 2009's "Infini" contains the band's first music to be written with Mongrain (MARTYR) following the passing of original axeman Denis "Piggy" D'Amour in 2005. The original art was once again drawn by Langevin and features color schemes from each one of the band's previous albums.

"Target Earth" standard CD and digital download track listing:

01. Target Earth
02. Kluskap O'Kom
03. Empathy For The Enemy
04. Mechanical Mind
05. Warchaic
06. Resistance
07. Kaleidos
08. Corps Étranger
09. Artefact
10. Defiance

"Target Earth" will also be available in the same track listing as gatefold-2LP with 180-gram vinyl in the following versions/colors:

* Black (Unlimited)
* Transparent Red (200 copies, Century Media webshop Europe)
* Transparent Blue (200 copies, Nuclear Blast mailorder)
* Orange (400 copies, Century Media USA)
* Purple (6000 copies, Century Media USA)

Additionally, there will be a limited-edition deluxe pressing of "Target Earth" as a mediabook-CD with alternate frontcover (silver on black!), two quality stickers, expanded booklet as well as the two live bonus tracks recorded at the band's triumphant appearance at Roadburn festival 2012, which VOIVOD helped curate: "Target Earth" and "Man In The Trees".

"Man In The Trees" is a very special DIE KREUZEN cover version, featuring Daniel Kubinski of DIE KREUZEN on vocals, who commented on the track and his appearance: "I'm truly honored and thankful to have shared the stage with VOIVOD at Roadburn 2012 and I'm completely stoked we were able to cover one of Piggy's favorite DIE KREUZEN songs, 'Man In The Trees'. The melding of VOIVOD and DIE KREUZEN has been a long time coming and I am so glad we had the opportunity to play and record our performance together. I think our bands are open-minded within our creativity and like-minded in our approach to always stretch the boundaries and take our music to the next step!"

And last but not certainly least, "Target Earth" will be released as a CM Distro exclusive mailorder boxset in a numbered limited worldwide edition of 1,000 copies with the following content:

* "Target Earth" mediabook CD (incl. two live bonus tracks and expanded artwork/alternate frontcover)
* "Live At Roadburn 2011" CD (exclusive 10-song live CD with a four-page booklet in jewel case; previously only released by Roadburn Records as limited LP version)
* VOIVOD belt
* 1 poster (DINA3, Design of the mediabook CD cover artwork)
* 2 stickers (included in the mediabook CD)
* 3 exclusive postcards with artwork by VOIVOD's Away

The four members of VOIVOD — vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, Mongrain, bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault and drummer Michel "Away" Langevin — will attend a listening party for their new album, "Target Earth", on January 24 at Café Chaos in Montreal, Quebec, Canada starting at 8 p.m. Admission to this 18-and-over event is free.

For more information, go to this location.

NIGHTWISH bassist Marco Hietala is featured in a new interview with Brendan Crabb at Australia's Loud magazine. An excerpt is available below:
Q: You’ve also had the premiere of the Imaginaerum film in your homeland. Is there a worldwide release in the pipeline?

Hietala: "I think it’s possible that it’s going to be shown at like the Berlin International Film Festival in February, which will pretty much also set the tone for how it’s going to be released and if it’s going to be having theatre distribution in other countries. Because there you have got the people that are the right connections, and if they get interested there’s going to be a lot of things happening. Otherwise, we already have plans for the finished DVD and Blu-ray release later on in 2013. So far we’ve only had like a theatre premiere in Finland. It didn’t get that good reviews (laughs), but I also know that in Finland it’s pretty much a fact that, it’s a small country, six million people, and if you present a big enough target a lot of people will want to throw darts. From the reviews that I read; for instance, from the biggest daily paper in Finland, it seemed from reading (between) the lines you will really read that these are these over-ambitious guys playing their fantasy games and want to be bigger than ever. But I’m kind of waiting for the movie to get outside of Finland and then when I read the reviews from the guys who don’t live next to us, then I’ll start to believe what they say."

Q: What’s it like seeing yourself on the big screen?

Hietala: "It’s kind of funny. We’ve already done a lot of things during the over a decade that I’ve been in the band and it all seems to fly by really fast. Unless you start to think about touring and albums and all these things, then you realise that you’ve actually been part of a group that has done a lot of things, and now there’s a whole movie as well. So yeah, I’m kind of pleased that we got into the financial situation in order to realise these kinds of things, really put them up there for people to see. I mean, we had some talks and meetings about this already when it was being planned and I was already back then, my position was that if we don’t do it, we’re going to be regretting it, so we better do it. So far, at least for myself, I’m pleased with the result. I think if you check out the movie with an open mind, it’s a chance to be a really good trip for you. It has the traditional movie things like acting, dialogue, a storyline and everything, but then you’ve also got this hybrid of having a lot of musical background in it. A lot of things are dependent on soundtrack and you get this kind of a hybrid, where you have a music video kind of vast scenery, but it leads on to another thing and another thing until you’ve got like a whole full-length movie there. That’s the way I see it myself."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

On November 10th, 2012 Nightwish held the premiere of their anxiously-awaited movie Imaginaerum at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The event saw the band perform with new singer Floor Jansen. Check out professionally-filmed footage by director Ville Lipiäinen of the track 'I Want My Tears Back' below:
Nightwish's setlist:
'Taikatalvi'
'Storytime'
'Dark Chest of Wonders'
'Amaranth'
'Scaretale'
'Ever Dream'
'Slow, Love, Slow'
'I Want My Tears Back' (with Troy Donockley and Pekka Kuusisto)
'Last of the Wilds' (with Troy Donockley and Pekka Kuusisto)
'Arabesque'
'Planet Hell'
'Ghost River'
'Song of Myself'
'Ghost Love Score'
'Last Ride of the Day'

The premiere of the Imaginaerum movie was after their live appearance. The film will see general release in theatres in Finland on November 23rd.

"Accident Prone", the new video from SNAKECHARMER, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's self-titled debut album, which will be released in North America on January 22 (three dates later in Europe) via Frontiers Records.

Formed in 2011 by former WHITESNAKE members Micky Moody and Neil Murray, SNAKECHARMER also includes Chris Ousey (HEARTLAND), Laurie Wisefield (ex-WISHBONE ASH, TINA TURNER), Adam Wakeman (OZZY OSBOURNE) and Harry James (THUNDER). With members gigging record breaking tours, earning double-platinum-selling albums and playing to crowds of 100,000.

"I met up with Neil Murray a couple of years ago and we spoke about playing a few gigs together for fun and old times' sake," says Micky Moody. "The obvious choice was early WHITESNAKE material, so when Neil suggested Laurie Wisefield and Harry James, I jumped at it. Chris Ousey was highly recommended and Adam had depped for COMPANY OF SNAKES some years back. We went out as MONSTERS OF BRITISH ROCK mostly performing the songs of early WHITESNAKE, THUNDER, HEARTLANDS and a Laurie Wisefield original and we caught the attention of Martin Darvill, head of QEDG Management, who suggested we record an album of original material, which we did. The result is SNAKECHARMER on the Frontiers label."

Musically, this debut album is everything you would expect from musicians with such a pedigree: a finely crafted hard rock album with blues and melodic overtones, akin to WHITESNAKE (1979-'81 era), BAD COMPANY and with hints of early FOREIGNER as well.

"The songs on our debut album reflect the kind of music that the members of the band want to play, which is melodic rock with a blues influence," says Neil Murray. "Each of us has played many different styles of music, and our influences are varied, but SNAKECHARME originally came together to play mainly early WHITESNAKE songs, so that is our starting point. There wasn't a deliberate plan to write songs in a particular style; each song on the album started as a basic idea by one or two band members, and if the other guys were enthusiastic about the idea, then the song would be worked up into a finished song."

"Snakecharmer" track listing:

01. My Angel
02. Accident Prone
03. To The Rescue
04. Falling Leaves
05. A Little Rock & Roll
06. Turn Of The Screw
07. Smoking Gun
08. Stand Up
09. Guilty As Charged
10. Nothing To Lose
11. Cover Me In You
12. White Boy Blues *

* bonus track

SNAKECHARMER is:

Chris Ousey - Lead Vocals
Micky Moody - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
Laurie Wisefield - Guitar, Vocals
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards, Vocals
Neil Murray - Bass
Harry James - Drums, Vocals

According to Mirror, singer Ian Watkins of the Welsh rock band LOSTPROPHETS was refused bail and remanded in custody yesterday (Thursday, January 10) on charges of plotting to rape a child.

The 35-year-old musician, who is accused of conspiracy to rape a one-year-old girl along with other charges, appeared via video link from Parc Prison in Bridgend before judge Eleri Rees in court. He will remain in custody ahead of a plea hearing later this month.

Watkins is accused of conspiracy to rape a one-year-old girl along with other charges.

Defending barrister Tom Crowther had said on December 19 that Watkins would be denying the charges.

LOSTPROPHETS members Lee Gaze (guitar), Mike Lewis (guitar), Stuart Richardson (bass), Jamie Oliver (keyboards) and Luke Johnson (drums) released a statement on their official web site expressing their shock at the charges against Watkins.

LOSTPROPHETS has sold more than three million albums worldwide and topped the U.K. chart with 2006's "Liberation Transmission".

The band's most recent CD, "Weapons", came out in April 2012.

Universal Music has announced that due to a manufacturing plant error, the release of RAMMSTEIN's "Videos 1995-2012" will be delayed until February. The new date will be announced next week. Originally due in stores on January 15, the release was postponed as the band wanted to ensure their fans receive the highest-quality packaging possible. Fans who purchased the collection through Amazon's pre-order will receive their DVDs in conjunction with the new release date.

"Videos 1995-2012" includes the legendary band's complete music video catalog along with two new videos for "Mein Herz Brennt". The set contains over seven hours of material featuring 25 music videos, 24 behind-the-scenes clips of the making-of-the-videos and a 56-page booklet. Available on three DVDs or two Blu-rays, the collection will be released through the band's marketing and distrubiton deal with Density Records in the U.S.

RAMMSTEIN released "Made In Germany", their greatest hits album, in December 2011 and the Berlin-based six-piece have been performing extensively around the world. RAMMSTEIN keep up the pace in 2013 with several European festivals already confirmed.

The official lyrics video for the song "In Yumen - Xibalba" from Greek extreme metal veterans ROTTING CHRIST can be seen below. The track comes off the band's eleventh full-length studio album, "Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy" ("Do What Thou Wilt"), which will be released on March 5 (four days earlier in Europe) via Season Of Mist. The band spent more than four months at Deva Soundz studios in Athens crafting what it says "may be its darkest and more mystical and occult outcome ever." The CD was mixed by Jens Borgen (AMON AMARTH, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA, OPETH) at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden.

"Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy" track listing:

01. In Yumen - Xibalba
02. P'unchaw Kachun - Tuta Kachun
03. Grandis Spiritus Diavolos
04. Kataton Demona Eaftou
05. Cine Iubeste Si Lasa
06. Iwa Woodoo
07. Gilgames
08. Rusalka
09. Ahura Mazda Anra Mainiuu
10. 666

The album will be made available as jewel case CD, double gatefold LP and limited-edition digibox, including a digipak CD with bonus track "Welcome To Hel", a pendant in velvet bag and a flag.

In a recent interview with RockOverdose.gr, ROTTING CHRIST mainman Sakis Tolis stated about the band's new CD, "The album was recorded entirely by me, except, of course, the drums which were taken care of by my brother."

ROTTING CHRIST's last album, "Aealo", came out in March 2010. The CD sold around 400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 144 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

According to MusicTAP, RUSH's "Clockwork Angels Live" DVD will be released on May 21 via Concord.

RUSH captured the "Clockwork Angels" tour by filming in Phoenix and Dallas on November 25, 2012 and November 28, 2012, respectively. Reports at the time indicated that the Dallas show would be the primary source for the film, with the Phoenix footage used mainly as a backup.

The official Billboard Boxscore attendance and sales figures for the Phoenix and Dallas shows are as follows:

* Show Date: November 25
* Show Venue: US Airways Center
* City/State: Phoenix, AZ
* Attendance: 8,858
* Capacity: 10,121
* Gross Ticket Sales: $604,667

* Show Date: November 28
* Show Venue: American Airlines Center
* City/State: Dallas, TX
* Attendance: 10,509
* Capacity: 10,509
* Gross Ticket Sales: $764,483

The North American leg of the "Clockwork Angels" tour kicked off on September 7 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire and wrapped on December 2 in Houston, Texas.

In addition to adding a lot of rarely played songs to their opening set, RUSH brought a string ensemble out on tour with the band for the first time ever in its career. Orchestrations provided by well-known arranger David Campbell were used on several tracks from the band's new album, "Clockwork Angels", and RUSH recreated that sound during the tour.

"Clockwork Angels" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, selling 103,000 copies in its first week of release. The disc marked RUSH 's highest chart debut since 1993's "Counterparts", which also entered at No. 2.

Hamburg, Germany-based metal band A MILLION MILES has inked a deal with Abandon Records for the release of its debut album, "What's Left Behind". Due on April 5 via New Music distribution, the CD was recorded at Hammer Studios (GAMMY RAY) in Hamburg with producer Eike Freese of DARK AGE.

After four years of heavily touring the metal underground of Europe, A MILLION MILES signed a publishing deal with Enorm Music, the publishing arm of ICS, which organizes the Wacken Open Air festival, in early 2012.

"It's been a long hard road for us as a band and we're excited about this chapter of A MILLION MILES with our new album, which we've poured our hearts and souls into making," said lead vocalist Mona Miluski. "After having played these songs for the last few years on tour, we are looking forward to sharing them on record with all our friends and fans of our band who, like us, have been anxiously awaiting our release.

"Finding the right home and producer was important for us and it was worth the wait. We're pleased to have signed with Abandon and working with Eike Freese in the studio was an inspiring experience for all of us. He captured the natural beauty and understood our sound. It allowed us to be ourselves, and much like we are on stage, without overproduction."

A trailer for "What's Left Behind" can be seen below.

A MILLION MILES will hit the road again in 2013 to support "What's Left Behind".

Only a year after releasing their first album Alpha-Beta, Montréal’s experimental death metallers KROKMITËN officially announced today the title of their second upcoming album.

“Our next album will be titled Omicron-Omega," states singer Simlev. "It’s gonna be another concept album with only a single epic track. It’s not really Alpha-Beta Part II, but it loosely follows where Alpha-Beta left-off, kind of... We’re working heavily on it now, jamming parts of it, building the album structure and making demos. I’ve got a lot of lyrics already written and more to come. Up to now, we already have a solid 30 minutes demoed and it’s brutal! Once we’re satisfied with the demo’s structure, we’ll record everything properly and start mixing it, probably this winter.”
Adds guitarist Dubg: “We don’t know the final album’s length yet, but it’s gonna be at least 46 minutes long! It’s still difficult at this point to say exactly when we’ll release it, but we hope to release it during summer 2013. We’ve tested out some new gear and recording techniques on “BWV565 Redux”, that will ensure that the next album sounds massive and killer! Without any label up our asses, we have the luxury to say that it will be out when we feel it’s ready! We’ll keep you updated as we progress.”

Krokmitën is an experimental death metal band from Montréal founded in 1991. After two demos and years of local gigs, they took a lengthy hiatus in 1995 to concentrate on their respective careers. In 2005, they regrouped to work on this ambitious critically-acclaimed multimedia project Alpha-Beta; a 46-minute track accompanied by a full-length animated video synced to the music with lyrics on screen. Three months ago Krokmitën released BWV565 Redux; their take on JS BACH classical piece Toccata & Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565. Everything can be downloaded for free on Krokmitën’s website
Krokmiten.com.

Following their hugely successful slot at last year's Download festival and European tour with SOIL and FOZZY, Gibraltar's premier metal band BREED 77 returns to the U.K. for its own headline tour to coincide with the release of its highly anticipated new album, "The Evil Inside", on March 1.

The 11-date headlining run comes hot on the heels of the band's recent single release, "Drown" (taken from the new album), which can be streamed below. The song can be downloaded free as part of a special bundle via BREED 77's web site and Facebook, with the download featuring a special cover of ALICE COOPER's hit single "Poison".

"The Evil Inside" promises to be a dark, brooding affair that showcases the ever evolving animal BREED 77 and is their most introspective work to date. BREED 77 has pushed the envelope again with a rockier, more melodic offering this time round. Expect heavy-rock, anthemic, stadium-filling songs, sublime ballads and much more — all wrapped up in the band's own unique vision.

With an already distinguished career spanning five albums, U.K. Top 40 hits and over 50,000 album sales, "Drown" and "The Evil Inside" will continue BREED 77's success and see them playing to more people than ever. With the release of their previous album, "Insects", the band once again proved themselves as one of rock/metal's elite as they toured the world all over from Mexico to Japan.

BREED 77 is:

Paul Isola - Vocals
Danny Felice - Guitar
Pedro Caparros - Guitar
Stuart Cavilla - Bass
Andre Joyzi - Drums

"Wreckage Ghost", the new video from Israeli extreme metallers WINTERHORDE, can be viewed below. The clip was directed, filmed and edited by Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13media, with Gina Sandulescu as technical assistant. The video was shot during December 2012 in various locations in northern Israel and also features model Maria Chernomordik.

"Wreckage Ghost" comes off WINTERHORDE's latest album, "Underwatermoon", which was released in August 2010 via Twilight-Vertrieb. A conceptual effort based on a story written by WINTERHORDE's bass player and co-founder Celestial, the follow-up to 2008's "Nebula" was produced , mixed and mastered by V.Santura (TRYPTIKON, DARK FORTRESS, OBSCURA). The artwork was created by Gustavo Sazes of Abstrata Studio (ARCH ENEMY, OLD MAN'S CHILD, KRISIUN).

Commented Celestial: "'Underwatermoon' represents more-than-an-hour epic extreme metal art, blended with prog rock nostalgia and death-cold touch of North Atlantic Ocean. A must have for every open-minded metalhead who needs hunting journey through emotions in his metal."

"Underwatermoon" track listing:

01. The Shell
02. Wreckage Ghost
03. Underwatermoon
04. Hunting the Human
05. Execution
06. And Flames Wept to Heaven
07. The Curse of Gypsy
08. Delirium
09. Tenth Wave
10. Smoke Figures
11. The Martyr and Deliverance
12. Farewell

The debut WINTERHORDE album, "Nebula", was released in 2006 via Greece's Burning Star Records.

Finnish thrashers LOST SOCIETY will release their debut album, "Fast Loud Death", on March 15 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios (FINNTROLL, SONATA ARCTICA, OMNIUM GATHERUM) in Helsinki, Finland with producer Nino Laurenne (AMORPHIS, ENSIFERUM, LORDI) and it features cover artwork by Ed Repka (MEGADETH, DEATH, SANCTUARY, VENOM).

Commented LOST SOCIETY vocalist/guitarist Samy Elbanna: "When we heard that the one and only Ed Repka would be responsible for the album art, we were thrilled, as he created some of the most killer album covers of all times! The result looks absolutely amazing and truly captures the album's theme — a bus full of crazy people who blew it up big time!"

Added Repka: "This was a lot of work but a fun project, since both the band and the label were great to work with and very receptive to my input. LOST SOCIETY's comical concept of their tour bus leaving a town destroyed was cool, but to make it even more crazy, I added the pop-culture 'monster in car' aspect, giving the whole image a distinct, aggressive presence. Another tongue-in-cheek metal masterpiece is born!"

"Fast Loud Death" will be available as a limited digipak, deluxe digital download via iTunes and black vinyl in gatefold, all of them including two bonus tracks. Moreover, a limited digipak plus a t-shirt bundle as well as a limited blue-transparent 2LP in gatefold will be exclusively available via the Nuclear Blast mail order. Pre-order your copy now at this location.

"Fast Loud Death" track listing:

01. N.W.L.
02. Trash All Over You
03. E.A.G.
04. KILL (Those Who Oppose Me)
05. Bitch, Out' My Way
06. Fast Loud Death
07. Lead Through The Head
08. Diary Of A Thrashman
09. Toxic Avenger
10. This Is Me
11. Braindead Metalhead
12. Piss Out My Ass
13. Fatal Anoxia

Bonus tracks:

14. Escape From Delirium
15. I Stole Your Love (KISS cover song)

Founded in early 2010 by thrash/speed metal enthusiast Samy Elbanna in the Finnish town of Jyväskylä, LOST SOCIETY played a number of gigs around Finland before taking part in the world-renowned GBOB (Global Battle Of the Bands). After winning the preliminary round in their hometown, they were invited to the finals held in Helsinki, where they prevailed over 13 other contestants. The grand finals of GBOB 2012 took place at The Scala in London on December 9, 2012 and featured 18 bands from all over the world, including LOST SOCIETY.

LOST SOCIETY is:

Samy Elbanna - Vocals, Guitar
Arttu Lesonen - Guitar
Mirko Lehtinen - Bass
Ossi Paananen - Drums