German metallers CIRCLE OF SILENCE are recording their new album, "The Rise Of Resistance", at Maranis Studios in Backnang, Germany for a late spring release via Massacre Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Eyes Of Anarchy", "Mind Conspiracy", "An Oncoming Storm", "Slave To The Greed Machine", "Blood Of Enemies" and "One Moment Of Hate".

Commented the band: "The first impression is that the new [songs] are a bit heavier than the stuff from [2011's] 'The Blackened Halo' and a bit more straight-forward. A lot of double-bass action is going on in those first songs!"

The cover artwork for "The Rise Of Resistance" was created by Francisco Garcés (a.k.a. Dibujante Nocturno) and can be seen below.

Finnish horror metallers DIRGE ETERNAL, who feature former TURISAS bassist Hannes Horma on guitar, have announced the addition of former DREAMTALE singer Nils Nordling to the group'sranks.

DIRGE ETERNAL parted ways with vocalist Jani Perta in November. The band explained in a statement: "Everyone agrees that taking this band to the next level is not possible with the current lineup. Jani made the decision himself, so there is no firing involved or any other hard feelings."

DIRGE ETERNAL last year completed work on the "Under The Spell" EP at Sound Supreme Studio in Hämeenlinna, Finland. In addition to playing lead guitar on the CD, Horma served as engineer and producer during the sessions.

"Under The Spell"'s release was celebrated with a performance on May 5, 2012 at Escape in Riihimäki, Finland.

DIRGE ETERNAL's second music video, "The Slaughterhouse", was premiered on May 4, 2012 at the Biorex movie theater in Hämeenlinnna.

Pictured below: DIRGE ETERNAL's 2012 lineup

Swedish melodic rockers COVERED CALL have tapped producer/engineer Lars Chriss (LION’S SHARE) to mix their brand new studio album, tentatively due in early 2013 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

The band’s sophomore CD, "Impact", will mark the recording debut of COVERED CALL's new singer, Göran Edman (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOHN NORUM, MADISON), and bass player, Andy Loos (LION’S SHARE, GLORY).

"To hear Göran belt out the vocals made me shiver," says COVERED CALL founding member and drummer Ronny Svanströmer. "It was exactly what I pictured the songs like."

COVERED CALL's North American debut, "Money Never Sleeps", was released in January 2009 (end of March 2009 in Europe) via Blistering Records. The CD was recorded and mixed at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström (IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL, DIMMU BORGIR) and Henrik Udd.

Three former members of the Swedish modern metal band ONE WITHOUT have launched a brand project called CHARACTERS. The new group's debut single, "Save The Fallen", offers the first taste of what fans can expect from CHARACTERS' upcoming EP.

"Save The Fallen" will be made available on January 2 via the biggest digital music providers.

CHARACTERS was formed in late 2012 by Joonas Niskanen and Joni Kaartinen following the breakup of ONE WITHOUT after almost a decade of existence. The band started out in September as a studio project in Gothenburg, with Robin Wiberg (keyboards) and Olle Töpel (ONE WITHOUT) joining shortly thereafter. After weeks of auditioning at Audio G8 Studio, CHARACTERS found the voice that fit perfectly the sound that they were after, and Ludvig Haby was recruited as the band's frontman.

CHARACTERS is:

Joonas Niskanen (ex-ONE WITHOUT) - Guitar
Joni Kaartinen (ex-ONE WITHOUT) - Bass
Ludvig Haby - Vocals
Olle Töpel (ex-ONE WITHOUT) - Drums
Robin Wiberg - Keyboards

Israeli progressive metallers ORPHANED LAND have commenced recording the follow-up to 2010's The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR in Istanbul, Turkey. The band had previously announced that "the recording sessions of our new album will take place in Sweden, Turkey and Israel!"

They have checked in with the following studio update:

"Twelve hours into the recording session and we are with violins, cello and viola for 8 songs already. Soon we'll start editing and recording Turkish Qannun. It's gonna be a long night."

The album is the first to feature guitarist Chen Balbus, who replaced Matty Svatizky this past June "due to personal issues."
As reported in October, a petition to the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been submitted to consider Orphaned Land for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

Kobi Farhi, singer of Orphaned Land remarked: “This is my personal request to all my friends from the Middle East, Turkey, and in general from all my Muslim friends! We know for a long time now that we are above politics, we know that if it was in our hands, peace would have prevailed right away. Please enter this link and sign if you find us worthy, please also spread the word and share it on your pages. I send my endless love to all of you and all my love and best greetings for the coming holyday in a few days."

Follow this link to enter the petition.

Canadian heavy metallers GALES OF AVALON have released the track ‘The Ocean Ranger’, off the band’s forthcoming EP When Ravens Return, for free download and streaming. Check it out below:

Free Electronic Press Kits from ReverbNation.com

A video for the song 'What Hell Have I’, off the new album can also be seen below:

British metallers ARCHITECTS have released their new video, for the Daybreaker album cut, 'Even If You Win, You're Still A Rat', featuring Oli Sykes of BRING ME THE HORIZON. The clip can be seen below:
Daybreaker was released on May 28th in Europe and June 5th in North America via Century Media Records. Previews of tracks on the album can be heard in the YouTube clip below:
The album was produced by the band together with John Mitchell and Ben Humphreys at Outhouse Studios in Reading, the same team that already worked on Hollow Crown. The artwork was done by Paul Jackson (Tank.Axe.Love). Check it out below:
Architects are among the acts confirmed for Germany’s Summer Breeze Open Air - which will take place from August 15th to 17th at its usual location in Dinkelsbühl.

Confirmed acts include: AGNOSTIC FRONT, ALESTORM, AMORPHIS, ANTHRAX, ARCHITECTS, BENEDICTION, THE BONES, DARK FUNERAL, DER WEG EINER, DEVILDRIVER, DR. LIVING DEAD, DYING FETUS, EISBRECHER, EMMURE, END OF GREEN, ENSIFERUM, ENSLAVED, EVERGREEN TERRACE, EVOCATION, FEAR FACTORY, FEUERSCHWANZ, FIDDLER'S GREEN, FIREWIND, GRAVE, HAGGARD, HATE, HATEBREED, ILLDISPOSED, IN FLAMES, KNORKATOR, LAMB OF GOD, LETZTE INSTANZ, LONG DISTANCE CALLING, MARDUK, MUSTASCH, NACHTMYSTIUM, NEAERA, NECROPHOBIC, ORDEN OGAN, ORPHANED LAND, POWERWOLF, PRIMORDIAL, PRO-PAIN, ROTTEN SOUND, SABATON, SALTATIO MORTIS, SISTER SIN, SOILWORK, SOLSTAFIR, THE VISION BLEAK, TIAMAT, VAN CANTO, WALLS OF JERICHO, WE CAME AS ROMANS, and WHITECHAPEL.
For more info on the festival visit this location.

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal makes a guest appearance in the track "In My Head" from New York-based, female-fronted rockers CILVER.

CILVER features in its ranks former ME TALK PRETTY members Uliana Preotu (lead vocals), Leon Lyazidi (guitar, keyboards) and Guerin Blask (drums). They were recently joined by guitarist Gerry Soman (DIFFUSER, THE PENNYROYALS) and bass player Josh Pillbox (THE RECKLESS SONS, MIKE DEL RIO, NATURE OF CITY).

In 2011 and 2012, CILVER, then known as ME TALK PRETTY, embarked on a journey across 44 cities in the USA with a message; the American Dream needs health insurance. Inspired by the passing of Preotu's mother due to pneumonia, the band stripped down a song, painted a standup Piano White, and recruited people to put their hand print from the stage. In the end, 88 hands represented 88 voices for stopping such a treatable disease to be the cause of any death. The Hand Print Piano was put up for auction soon and proceeds were donated to fight pneumonia on World Pneumonia Day on November 12, 2012.

Marsa, Malta-based metal act LOATHE have released their new single, 'Bucketlove'. A video for the track is also available.
Says the band: "Huge thanks go to the guy behind the camera lens, Cedric Vella, as well as John Gauci for being patient with us and helping us out. This video was a huge amount of work and effort from everyone involved and we're thankful that it's finally out and looking so great."

Check out the clip below:
'Bucketlove' is available for free download at this location.
More on Loathe at this location.

Parisian modern metallers AS THEY BURN have announced that their forthcoming album will be titled Will, Love, Life, and will be released on February 19th, 2013. Watch the pre-order video below and listen to a new song clip:
Three pre-order package options are available through the Victory Records’ webstore. Packages include CD with double cover artwork, poster and your choice of a jersey, zip-up or t-shirt; additional items can be added at a discounted price and shipped internationally. Order now!

Vocalist Kevin Trevor states: “Our new effort is on its way and is in the mixing process with Jason Suecof (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, AS I LAY DYING). We are really glad about how the album sounds and we hope that you will love and respect it as much as us. Will, Love Life is heavier, more mature, atmospheric and darker than our previous album, but also very positive and still full of symbolism.”

Machinist Bastien Jacquesson comments on the meaning behind the album artwork: “The pyramid on the cover is a mystical sign, a sign of spiritual elevation and knowledge. It is also linked with Aleister Crowley and the Thelema mythology which always been a big influence for us. The cover art photo was taken by our great friend Anthony Dubois who's also known as MESHUGGAH's official photographer and French painter Charlotte Mollet drew each of the eleven signs that represent the eleven tracks of the record. Each symbol has a special meaning linked with the song's lyrics.”
As They Burn recently announced that they will join JOB FOR A COWBOY, WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH, and BENEATH THE MASSACRE on the upcoming Bonecrusher Fest that is taking over twenty-seven cities across Europe/ UK beginning March 1st, 2013.

Vocalist Kevin Trevor comments, “JFAC is a band we all really like and we've been following them since the beginning. We'll play all over Europe and in countries we've never been before. We’re very excited to meet new audiences and share our new album, positive vibes, energy and passion with the crowds every night. After this let's hit the USA!”
Tour dates include:

March
1 - Koln, Germany - Underground
2 - Drachten, Netherlands - Iduna
3 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms
4 - Glasgow, Scotland - Cathouse
5 - Leeds, UK - Uni Mine
6 - London, UK - The Underworld
7 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
8 - Savingy Le Temple, France - Empreinte
9 - Montauban, France - Rio
10 - Madrid, Spain - Joy Enslava
11 - Barcelona, Spain - Estraperlo
13 - Esch-alzette, Luxembourg - Kulturfabrik
14 - Yverdon, Switzerland - Amalgame
15 - Aarau, Switzerland - Kiff
16 - Munchen, Germany - Backstage Club
17 - Graz, Austria - Explosiv
19 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
20 - Warsaw, Germany - Club Progresja
21 - Brno, Czech Republic - Melodka
22 - Chemnitz, Germany - Talschock
23 - Rostock, Germany - Alte Zuckerfabrik
25 - Helsinki, Finland - Club Nosturi
27 - Stockholm, Sweden - Club Ambition
28 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Brew House
30 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix

Polish black/thrash metallers RAGEHAMMER have announced that they have put the finishing touches on their debut demo entitled War Hawks.

The recording session took place at No Solace. It was mixed and mastered by M. (MGLA, KRIEGSMACHINE, NO SOLACE).

The material will be released as a digisleeve limited to 200 copies through Mythrone Promotion. To obtain a copy send an email to or mythroneprom@gmail.com.

The cover artwork was created by Klaudiusz Witczak (THRONEUM, BLOODTHIRST, WARFIST, ANIMA DAMNATA) and the layout was prepared by Marcin of Upgrade Design Studio. The cover artwork can be seen below:
Tracklisting is as follows:

‘RageHammer Rising’
‘Prophet Of Genocide’
‘Hate Command’
‘The Wolfpack’
‘Gospel Of The Scum’

The track ‘RageHammer Rising’ can be heard below:
Lineup for the recording was:

Corpsebutcher – bass
Bestial Avenger – guitars
Mortar – drums
Heretik Hellstörm – vocals

Poitiers, France's THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE will release their second full length, Falls, on 12" vinyl on February 28th via Throatruiner Records, Braincrushing Records and Theatre Records.

Invoking reminiscences of various acts such as DEATHSPELL OMEGA, CAVE IN OR DEAFHEAVEN, these eight tracks have been recorded by Franck Hueso (Deathspell Omega, HACRIDE), while the artwork has been designed by Romain Barbot.
Stream the first track, 'Dreamers Will Never Stop Dreaming', below:

Falls by The Phantom Carriage

With this second full-length, The Phantom Carriage annihilate the remaining boundaries between black metal and dark hardcore. This time focusing on the most extreme side of their sound, Falls brings the band's unique approach to the next level. Songs such as 'Dreamers Will Never Stop Dreaming' or 'Today We Stand' reveal how much the band has improved their songwriting abilities, burying the listener under piles of epic and technical riffs, labyrinthic structures and unearthly vocals. By throwing into their chaos some more unorthodox influences they gained from their other past and actual experiences, The Phantom Carriage prove that they are digging deeper than your average "blackened hardcore" band. And they will take you with them.
More on The Phantom Carriage at this location.

Chilean metal band SACRAMENTO have released the music video for the track 'Purple', that comes off their latest album Weight Of Sin, released in 2011 via Mechanix Records in Sweden and distributed in the US by Digmetalworld Records.
Guitarist Alejandro Espinosa commented on the video: "Despite the fact that we had chosen 'Purple' as our first music video to introduce our full length album (before going on CD), we listened to all our fans overseas that told us that this song need it to have a video. Also, Fernando Orellana came to us with the storyboard and he had us convinced at that minute. After a little the of being premiered we have gotten a bunch of good reviews what supports our good judgment."

Dallas, Texas-based death metallers DEVOURMENT will release their fourth album, "Conceived In Sewage", on February 19 in North America, February 22 in Benelux, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Finland, and February 25 in the U.K. and rest of the world via Relapse Records.

Captured at Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL), "Conceived In Sewage" proves to be DEVOURMENT's most eviscerating release yet, gushing with over thirty-three minutes of the band's hate-fueled, monstrous brutality.

"Conceived In Sewage" track listing:

01. Legalize Homicide
02. Fifty Ton War Machine
03. Conceived In Sewage
04. Fucked With Rats
05. March to Megiddo
06. Today We Die, Tomorrow We Kill
07. Heaving Acid
08. Carved Into Ecstasy
09. Parasitic Eruption

Commented DEVOURMENT frontman Mike Majewski: "This will be the deepest album we have done, for sure. Definitely expect the intensity, but also more thought-out song structures. I would say a bit of a throwback to old-school brutal bands, but with the signature DEVOURMENT elements."

DEVOURMENT's calling card is absolute brutality, and the band's three previous albums and international touring and festival appearance have made them one of the more-talked-about acts in the worldwide death metal underground.

Los Angeles based brutal death metallers EUPHORIC DEFILEMENT have released another advance track from their forthcoming album Ascending To The Worms. Check out 'Fragments Of The Paradigm' below:
The album will now be released on February 19th, 2013, via Unique Leader Records, slightly delayed from the previously announced January 29th release date.

Ascending To The Worms is the follow-up to Euphoric Defilement’s 2011 promo disc. After three years of playing shows with bands such as CATTLE DECAPITATION, ASESINO, SEPTYCAL GORGE, CEREBRAL BORE, DISGORGE and MALIGNANCY, Euphoric Defilement has established itself as a serious contender in the extreme metal scene today with many fans eagerly awaiting their new release.

The band entered Pure Rock Studios to record their debut full length in fall 2012. This album combines all brutal death metal elements along with technicality and melody without compromising catchiness. It will keep your ears interested from beginning to end and listeners will quickly notice that each track has its on sound and personality. Nothing is overdone and the lyrics are just as interesting as the music accompanied by great production.
Meanwhile, the band have posted the album track 'Abolishing The Divine Structure'. Check it out below.

More on Euphoric Defilement here.

SUBSIGNAL, the German band featuring former SIEGES EVEN members Arno Menses (vocals) and Markus Steffen (guitar), will enter the studio in February to begin recording its third album, "Paraìso", for a September release. The group states: "We will be recording nine tracks with an approximate playing time of 60 minutes." The follow-up to 2011's "Touchstones" will include the following songtitles, among others: "A Giant Leap Of Faith" and "The Stillness Beneath The Snow".

SUBSIGNAL released a concert DVD, "Out There Must Be Something - Live in Mannheim 2012", in November. The DVD features the full show the band played in April 2012 in Mannheim, Germany, in a very small venue, filmed with six cameras. Steffen states: "Actually, this is the place where the first SUBSIGNAL show back in 2009 took place."

He adds, "Don't expect explosions, fire and naked women on stage, but a DVD with 140 minutes of pure SUBSIGNAL music and a great audience."

SUBSIGNAL recently parted ways with drummer Roel van Helden and replaced him with Danilo Batdorf (DREAMSCAPE). According to the band, Danilo already successfully played the last leg of SUBSIGNAL's European tour in April/May 2012.

"Touchstones" was released in September 2011 via ZYX Music. The vinyl version came with two bonus live tracks, "Where Angels Fear To Tread" and "Paradigm".

SUBSIGNAL describes its music as "progressive, melancholic, cutting edge, emotional, blended with a good portion of melodic heaviness."

For more information, visit www.subsignalband.com.

Listenable Records recently announced the signing of Michigan's prog metal mongers THE OMEGA EXPERIMENT. The band, founded by duo Dan Wieten and Ryan Aldridge, describes its sound as "heavy guitars, euphoric synths and rich layered vocals come together to create a wall of progressive rock lushness."

Like their fellow modern prog artists, THE OMEGA EXPERIMENT create a massive sound with home equipment and have no fear of experimentation and rule breaking.

The guitars are big and technical and layered with keyboard sounds reminiscent of DREAM THEATER and QUEENSRŸCHE. The vocals range from powerful lead lines, big harmonies and demonic screams in the vein of Devin Townsend and Mike Patton.

The band's inspiration comes from guitarist/vocalist Dan addressing the last 10 years of his life, focusing on his excess and drug abuse which took him to a dark place and his determination to move onto a brighter future.

THE OMEGA EXPERIMENT has been lucky enough to receive public praise from Devin Townsend on multiple occasions, most notably on his Twitter account the night they unleashed their "Karma" EP to the masses for free on Bandcamp. Townsend was quoted as saying, "Actually, listening now...great great work man! Seriously great stuff, Dan, I fully back it and appreciate the effort you've invested I wish all luck!" The EP later went on to be downloaded over 2,000 times.

THE OMEGA EXPERIMENT's self-titled debut album was mastered by Acle Kahney (TESSERACT) and made available digitally via Bandcamp, iTunes to much critical acclaim. It will now be re-released on February 25 in Europe and March in the U.S. on Listenable.

You can stream the song "Furor" from the CD in the YouTube clip below.

The band is currently writing material for its next album and looks forward to getting back out and touring.

Resurrected German death metallers MORGOTH have issued the following update:

"Barge To Hell was a great way to end the past year of MORGOTH activities as well as to complete the original plans we had for the 'Cursed' reunion. We also had a lot of time for cocktails and talks on the cruise and discussed how to move forwards with the band in 2013...

"While we won't make it as busy of a schedule as the past two years, we decided to remain available for a few casual shows and will have some first dates to announce in the coming days. This way, we will hopefully be able to appear in some places/countries we didn't visit before as part of the reunion or actually ever before.

"Thanks again for all your support and stay tuned for more news soon."

MORGOTH released its first-ever live album and DVD, "Cursed To Live", on June 25, 2012 via Century Media Records. The audio tracks were mixed at Unisound Studio in Sweden with Dan Swanö (OPETH, KATATONIA, DISSECTION).

"Cursed To Live" is the documentation of MORGOTH's ongoing 20th-anniversary celebration of the band's all-time classic album "Cursed" (released by Century Media Records in 1991). It was released on CD, a limited DVD+2CD as well as a limited deluxe 2LP. The live show featured on the album was recorded at the band's triumphant show headlining Way Of Darkness festival 2011, at which MORGOTH performed an extensive set of 15 songs, with the main focus on the songs off "Cursed". The cover artwork — with an intentional nod to the original "Cursed" art — was designed by the renowned artist Dirk Rudolph (RAMMSTEIN, IN EXTREMO, APOCALYPTICA), who had also created the original artwork for "Cursed" 21 years ago.

MORGOTH 2013 is:

Marc Grewe - Vocals
Harry Busse - Guitar
Sebastian Swart - Guitar
Sotirios "Soti" Kelekides - Bass
Marc Reign - Drums

After a long and successful run as guitarist for the legendary thrash metal act ANTHRAX, Rob Caggiano has decided that it's time to move on and focus on his other passion: producing records for the time being. Already an acclaimed rock and metal producer, Rob has amassed a long list of production credits working with acts such as CRADLE OF FILTH (on their Grammy-nominated classic "Nymphetamine"), THE DAMNED THINGS, and Jesse Malin to name a few. Rob's production work on the most recent ANTHRAX studio album, "Worship Music", received high recognition, as the track "I'm Alive" received a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock/Metal Performance".

Being a member of the mighty ANTHRAX for the better part of the last 12 years is something that Caggiano is of course very proud of. This was not an easy decision to make.

"I'm extremely proud of my time in ANTHRAX," Caggiano says. "Actually, that's an understatement! 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.

"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 ANTHTRAX 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!

"In this day and age, being a musician isn't always easy — also an understatement — but the fans truly make it worthwhile for me. I hope to see each and every one of you again really soon. The fact that ANTHRAX is at the top of their game right now and totally 'out for blood' after all these years is a testament to this band's longevity and conviction! I'm truly honored to have been a part of their brilliant legacy."

Added the remaining members of ANTHRAX: "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.

"With the Metal Alliance Tour on the horizon, we have been considering several lead guitarist options, and will be making an announcement on that shortly."

Last September, Scott Ian said that he was confident that ANTHRAX's most recent formation would carry them into retirement.

"I've gone on record saying this will be the only version of ANTHRAX until there is no ANTHRAX," Ian told the Georgia Straight. "That's how I feel, absolutely, in my heart. I don't see why we would do anything different. This band sounds so great; we made a great record. And I'm super-excited about the future of this band creatively."

With this new direction, Caggiano very much looks forward to getting back to producing/recording/writing again in the immediate future.

"I can't wait to get back in the recording studio again!" he says. "Over the years, I've been blessed with the privilege of working with a wide range of great bands/artists from ANTHRAX and CRADLE OF FILTH all the way to BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, and I look forward to a hopeful continuation of that side of my career while I figure out my next move as an artist.

"By the way, in case anyone was wondering after reading all of this, I do FULLY intend to get back out there on the road very soon in some way shape or form... It's in my blood!

"Please feel free to follow me on Twitter @RobCaggiano for any and all updates on what I am up to."

Renowned drummer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brian Tichy, known for his tours of duty with BILLY IDOL, FOREIGNER, OZZY OSBOURNE and most recently WHITESNAKE, has announced his departure from WHITESNAKE in order to focus on SOMETHING UNTO NOTHING (S.U.N.), the band he started with Sass Jordan, a Canadian icon and Juno Award winner. Bassist and singer Michael Devin, also a participant in S.U.N., will remain with WHITESNAKE.

Said WHITESNAKE mainman David Coverdale: "We are truly sad to see [Brian] go, but, we fully support the pursuit of his ambitions and sincerely wish him well. His fearless drumming brought a relentless driving edge and to our music that we fully embraced. Good luck, Brian... May the S.U.N. shine brightly on you!!"

WHITESNAKE has begun the search for a new drummer. There are several musicians already being considered.

A spokesman for the band said that this will not affect the forthcoming tour dates for 2013.

As previously reported, Tichy broke his collarbone last weekend in a mountain biking accident. As a result, he wasunable to take part in this past Monday night's (December 31) THE MOBY DICKS - All-Star Tribute To Led Zeppelin concert at Vamp'd in Las Vegas, Nevada and was temporarily replaced by QUIET RIOT's Frankie Banali.

Tichy is one of the organizers of the Bonzo Bash NAMM Jamm 2013, which will take over Anaheim, California on Thursday, January 24 at the Observatory. Many of the drummers who have performed at past Bonzo Bashes are back, as well as some new. This is the chance for many out-of-towners to check a Bonzo Bash out as Natal and Marshall are presenting this on opening night of the NAMM show.

"Blue", the new video from the Atlanta, Georgia-based quartet ROYAL THUNDER, can be seen below.

The female-fronted Atlanta quartet released its debut album, "CVI", last spring via Relapse Records. Spin described the CD as a "stunning breakthrough," Revolver called the album "essential" and Decibel magazine placed singer Mlny Parsonz on the cover of their inaugural "Women In Metal" issue.

The "Blue" clip comes as news of the band's first European tour is confirmed. ROYAL THUNDER will perform a handful of mid-April dates with PALLBEARER including a stop at Roadburn on April 18. The band also kicks off a month of North American dates, joining ENSLAVED and PALLBEARER for a trek that launches on January 30 at Underground Arts in Philadelphia.

"This is a long-awaited tour for both ROYAL THUNDER and the many European fans who have reached out to us over the past couple of years," said singer/guitar player Mlny Parsonz. "Roadburn is a wild dream come true. Anyone I have talked to that has played Roadburn always has exciting and positive feedback on the festival. Europe or Bust! Here we come!"



Photo credit: Christy Parry

Vienna, Austria-based epic/atmospheric black metal act SUMMONING have revealed the title of their forthcoming new album, due this year via Napalm Records.

An update from the band states: "Last month we recorded all the guitar riffs for the new album, and Protector (vocals, keyboards, guitars, drum programming) recorded already his vocal lines. Silenius (vocals, keyboards) will do his vocal parts in the next weeks. We replaced the original intro with a new one (which has a stronger intro feeling), the old one will be transformed into an instrumental track, which maybe will be used as a bonus track together with the missing song from the othbound session.

The new albums will be entitled Old Mornings Dawn. A one minute teaser is in progress and will be available on the Napalm Records homepage soon."
More on Summoning at this location.

GIANT X, the band founded by RUNNING WILD’s Rolf Kasparek and Peter J. Jordan, will release their debut album, entitled I, on January 18th in Germany, January 21st in Europe and January 22nd in US/Canada via Steamhammer/SPV. Check out a longer snippet of the track 'Don`t Quit Till Tomorrow' below:
I tracklisting:
'The Rise Of The Giant X' (Intro)
'On A Blind Flight'
'Don`t Quit Till Tomorrow'
'Badland Blues'
'Now Or Never'
'Nameless Heroes'
'Go 4 It'
'The Count'
'Rough Ride'
'Friendly Fire'
'Let`s Dance'
'Soulsurvivors'
'R.O.C.K.'

Audio samples of all tracks can be heard at this location.

Check out two video clips below, documenting the making of the album:
Giant X has also announced an in-store signing session for January 18th 2013 at 5:30 PM at Hot Shot Records in Hannover, Germany. For more info visit this location.

ICED EARTH has issued the following update in regard to their Live In Ancient Kourion DVD, which is due in early April; it was filmed/recorded on August 19th, 2012 at the Kourion Ancient Theatre in Limassol, Cyprus.

"As we are editing the DVD and getting to the finishing line, there is one thing where we very much want your input.

We went to Cyprus and attempted the impossible: to film a DVD with very little or no infrastructure in an amphitheatre that had never seen a rock show before.

We did it, the results are amazing and we are very excited about the outcome - we feel this DVD is something to be truly proud of.

However, we did promise you it would be a BluRay Disk release as well and here's where you come in:

As we reviewed the footage, it became apparent that the cameras did not record in high enough resolution to be able to do a BluRay in 1080p resolution.

It is 720p and it looks really, really good, but it's not 1080p.

Iced Earth is a band that cares about their fans and would never do anything that could even remotely feel dishonest. That's why we felt this path of involving you, our fans, is the best way for us to judge what we should do.

With this being said: Would you want us to make a Blu-Ray Disk regardless of the fact that it is not true 1080p resolution?

Please make your voices heard - we consider this (the band's official Facebook page) our true sounding board."

Iced Earth will return to the road in 2013, catch them live at the following European festivals:

June
8 - Burning Sea Fest - Zadar, Croatia
22 - Rock am Härtsfeldsee - Dischingen, Germany

July
12 - Rock Harz Open Air - Ballenstedt, Germany
13 - Bang Your Head Fest - Balingen, Germany

August
8 - Getaway Rock Fest - Gävle, Sweden