SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner has been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and has canceled his previously announced appearance at the 2012 PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), set to take place October 31 through November 4 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.

PASIC is the largest percussion event in the world, which consists of over 120 concerts, clinics, panels, presentations and much more.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Bittner says, "Due to my recent health issues, I am under doctors orders to cancel my trip to Austin this week to perform at PASIC 2012.

"For over a week, what I thought was a stomach bug (and I was still on tour when all of this started), I came home last week and went to the doctors, and it was written off as just that, a bug. This past Saturday, the pain came back and lingered into Sunday, which forced me into the emergency room yesterday. After a day in the hospital, I was poked, prodded, tested and it turns out I have acute pancreatitis, which I'm told can be very serious if left untreated. They're not sure what brought it on (my doctor thinks it was viral), but I have been told by my doctors to not leave this week because I need to sent for more tests/MRI, etc., to make 100% sure I'll be road ready for the second leg of the SHADOWS FALL tour, which starts November 8. I should be fine, but needless to say, I'm very disappointed I will not be able to come perform in Austin this week! Maybe PASIC 2013??"

SHADOWS FALL's tour with GOD FORBID, THY WILL BE DONE and TRUMPET THE HARLOT will kick off in Norfolk, Virginia.

The band is touring in support of its new album, "Fire From The Sky", which sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Fire From The Sky" was released on May 15 via Razor & Tie.

Leviathan Records has just released "Metal In Your Face" from CHASTAIN. This CD features the heaviest tracks from the Kate French-era CHASTAIN CDs: "In An Outrage", "Sick Society" and "In Dementia". All songs were remastered in 2012.

Throughout the band's storied career, CHASTAIN has been recognized as one of the truly unique metal bands. The group has always had a female vocalist, even when it wasn't cool to do so. Guitarist David T. Chastain has been roundly praised for being one of the few "guitar masters" who actually writes coherent songs and not just vehicles to show off his technical mastery. Vocalist Kate French manages to combine sheer power and sultry sexiness in her vocals. Other featured musicians include drummers Dennis Lesh and Larry Howe as well as bassists Kevin Kekes and Dave Starr.

"Metal In Your Face" track listing:

01. Seven
02. In Dementia
03. Human Sacrifice
04. Tongue
05. Blackening
06. Bullet From A Gun
07. Tortured Love
08. Lucky To Be Alive
09. Hamunaptra
10. Destructive Ground
11. Violence In Blame
12. The Vampire
13. Angel Falls

Chicago-based progressive metal hybrid BORN OF OSIRIS will enter the studio on March 22, 2013 with producer Nick Sampson (I AM ABOMINATION, IN FEAR AND FAITH, ADESTRIA) to begin recording its new album for a summer 2013 via Sumerian Records. Mixing the CD will be Joey Sturgis, who has previously worked with ASKING ALEXANDRIA and EMMURE, among others.

Commented BORN OF OSIRIS guitarist Lee McKinney: "We're very excited to work with [Nick] in the studio. He's a shredder and aside from that a great engineer/producer.

"We felt [Sturgis] was the best for the job since we have a lot of electronic elements in our music and he seems to be the master of all that these days. Not to mention he obviously has insanely tight production and mixing skills."

Regarding the sound of the new BORN OF OSIRIS material, McKinney said, "I would say the direction of this album is along the lines of [2010's] 'The Discovery', but definitely a lot heavier and a lot more focused when it comes to song structure. We're trying to give each song a powerful, thematic feel.

"This next record takes all of the best aspects of 'The Discovery' and develops the ideas even further.

"We already have so much material that we plan on revising and refining over the next few months. While we do that, we will still continue to write more and in the end I think we'll pick the strongest 10-12 songs so we can drop the best BORN OF OSIRIS record to date."

BORN OF OSIRIS will cap off a stellar 2012 with a co-headlining tour alongside UNEARTH, starting November 1. The month-long trek also features THE CONTORTIONIST, OBEY THE BRAVE and WOLVES AT THE GATE. BORN OF OSIRIS has also announced its return to Europe in February with a stacked headlining tour that is not to be missed. AFTER THE BURIAL, MONUMENTS and THE HAARP MACHINE round out the stellar bill.

Commented McKinney: "It's such an honor to be able to bring [UNEARTH] with us on tour. I remember being 16, delivering pizzas [and] blasting 'The Oncoming Storm' in my car. We've toured with them before a couple times as well and they are some of the most fun dudes to be on the road with.

"People can expect to see our longest live set yet. We're playing songs off 'The Discovery' that we have yet to play on any other tours."

The music industry is buzzing about the new concept album by former URIAH HEEP/LUCIFER'S FRIEND vocalist John Lawton titled "The Power Of Mind". An innovative new CD, conceived, written and produced by the CGI member Dr. Milen Vrabevski, but performed by John Lawton and Bulgarian ensemble Diana Express, "The Power Of Mind" is an exploration into the science of positive thinking and its applications to the subconscious mind. It features 14 amazing songs that showcase the soulful vocals of John Lawton and the powerful instrumentals by Diana Express which will leave you wanting to hear it again and again...

"'The Power Of Mind' is a concept album with positive thinking being the theme," John explains. "In the world of today, I don't think there are many better things to focus on. The way the songs flow into each other is really the way one would read a book or relate stories to friends. The melodies and lyrics say a lot about how we should view each other."

Lawton has built a reputation on his powerful vocals and charismatic personality and is regarded as one of the best singers around today. And now with "The Power Of Mind', John has reached an artistic peak.

In conclusion, John has this to impart to his longtime listeners, "People who know me and my background will expect something new and with 'The Power Of Mind' they have exactly that. The album is a collection of excellent songs very well played and produced and one which I am very proud of...so make sure you give it a good listen. Think positive and trust in the Power Of Mind."

Available soon on iTunes, "Fairy Tale" is the first single from "The Power Of Mind".

"The Power Of Mind" will be released on November 12 via Intelligent Music.

An audio recording of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE performing their new song "Temper Temper" live at London, England's Maida Vale studios on October 22 during BBC Radio 1's "Rock Week" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"Temper Temper" is the title track of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, which will be released on February 11, 2013 in the U.K. via Sony Music. The song will be released on November 25 across all digital providers.

"Temper Temper" was once again produced by Don Gilmore (LINKIN PARK, GOOD CHARLOTTE), who worked on the group's last LP, 2010's "Fever", and was mixed by noted engineer Chris Lord-Alge (DEFTONES, NICKELBACK, AVENGED SEVENFOLD).

As previously reported, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will embark on a U.K. tour in March. Support on all dates will come from HALESTORM.

"Temper Temper" performance:

Renowned multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and now ringleader Devin Townsend played a special concert this past Saturday, October 27 at the Roundhouse venue in London, England as part of a one-night-only event that was recorded for both DVD and Blu-ray, likely to be released sometime in the second quarter of 2013 via InsideOut Music.

Professionally filmed video footage of the entire show can be seen below.

Devin described The Retinal Circus as "a retrospective of my career in music to date, with the central theme being a metaphor of how life and the adventures therein are a 'circus' of sorts. The show involves a cast of characters and guests that support this theme through carnival type performances. A story about how a troubled young man dreams of fantastic scenarios, (illustrated through the music of my back catalogue), which ultimately crests in the characters realization that life is all about the relationships we have with each other. This is the first opportunity I have been given to make theatrical representations of my music."

This three-hour performance included:

* A retrospective of Devin Townsend's entire career
* Full choir and theatrical cast
* Visual and aural enhancements unlike any show Devin has done to date
* Several special guests
* Circus and carnival performances and cast
* Art exhibit of Devin's albums, including explanations of each album

Devin Townsend played four shows in London in November 2011 dedicated to his tetralogy album concept — a great journey through Devin's different states of musical moods — which he started in 2009 with the albums "Addicted" (2009) and "Ki" (2009) and finished with last year's "Deconstruction" and "Ghost". The concerts were professionally recorded and filmed for a unique box-set release, which he has decided to call "By A Thread - Live in London 2011".

Released on June 18 in Europe and June 19 in North America through HevyDevy Records/InsideOut Music, "By A Thread - Live in London 2011" contains all four shows on four DVDs, plus a five-CD set (the four albums and one disc with all of the encores).

ANNIHILATOR has posted footage online of the band covering JUDAS PRIEST's 'Hell Bent For Leather' in Tokyo, when the band toured Japan in 1993.

Bassist Wayne Darley could not make it into Japan (and this ended his tenure in the band) so rhythm guitarist Dave Davis had to literally learn the bass parts in a day in a hotel room. Jeff Waters had to figure out how to play two-guitar songs with one guitar. Sloppy performance, but it is live and understandable considering the loss of the bass player.
This was a very successful short tour for the band and led to Annihilator's biggest selling tour and CD in 1995, King Of The Kill.

Note that Waters gets crushed at the end. He quickly admitted after the show "that was one of the stupidest things I've ever done; 3000 kids pushing towards me!"

Going back in time some more, the following video showcases Annihilator live in Japan in 1995. The band, consisting of Jeff Waters on guitar/vocals, Dave Davis on guitar, Cam Dixon on bass and Randy Black on the drums, perform 'Set The World On Fire', 'Knight Jumps Queen', and 'Bad Child'.
The blast from the past continues with this rare footage from the King Of The Kill tour in Japan in 1995; Annihilator play 'Snake In The Grass', 'Only Be Lonely', and 'Second To None'.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER recently recorded a live concert in their hometown, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. That concert will be released as a two-disc live DVD on December 15th.

The band has now announced that the DVD will be titled Bridges Are Born. The artwork for the release was created by Gabor Fetyko of Resize Media. Check it out below:



The first DVD in the release is a full of live concert footage with the second DVD containing a documentary featuring footage from the band's inception to today.

The DVD was produced by Resize Media , co-production with Mad Productions and Baracca Film and directed by Diamonds Are Forever drummer Marcu Dorin.

A preview can be seen below:

Finnish thrashers LOST SOCIETY have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's debut album was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki with producer Nino Laurenne and is scheduled for release in the spring.

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 will take place at The Scala in London on December 9 and will feature 18 bands from all over the world, including LOST SOCIETY.

Commented Nuclear Blast A&R representative Jaap Wagemaker: "Nuclear Blast has a very long history when it comes to signing new bands from Finland and transforming them into household names. Once in a while, a new band comes along that is so driven, energetic, powerful, enthusiastic, passionate and professional that you immediately see its potential to make the breakthrough. After we had seen LOST SOCIETY playing at the Global Battle Of The Bands, we knew that this is a combo of that kind! [LOST SOCIETY's debut] will doubtlessly be a real highlight for all fans of speed and thrash metal. The future belongs to LOST SOCIETY. Welcome to the Nuclear family!"

Added LOST SOCIETY: "We are more than happy to announce that we've been signed to Nuclear Blast and we're looking forward a lot to cooperating with the label. Our debut album will be an old-school-thrash-oriented one that'll surely leave a lasting impression!"

LOST SOCIETY is:

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

On November 16th, some six years after their self titled debut, American progressive metal outfit SPEAKING TO STONES expands their sound and lineup with their new release, Elements.
After the release of Speaking To Stones’ 2006 self-titled debut, guitarist Tony Vinci began work on a more progressive project that called for a new group of musicians. Speaking To Stones’ current lineup includes:

Andy Engberg (SECTION A) - vocals
Mark Zonder (FATES WARNING) - drums
Greg Putnam (JAM PAIN SOCIETY) - bass
Anthony Brown (GRAPHITE SYMPHONY) - keyboards

Between 2009 and 2012, this cast of international performers collaborated on the five thematically-linked tracks that make up the band’s 2012 release, Elements. The result is a musical narrative that builds on groove metal roots and develops into a soundscape of symphonic complexity and technically prodigious performances.
Elements is a metaphysical journey that explores our relationship to the physical world and our hopes to become part of something more. Musically and lyrically, the album delivers us into the extremes of our experience—from the infernal intensity of 'Fire' to the ambiguous peace of 'Water' to the ethereal tonalities of 'Quinta Essentia', Elements creates a new world.

Tony Vinci comments, “The goal in writing Elements was to craft a type of thematic concept album that doesn’t necessarily tell a single story, but inspires a collection of themes and moods that work together to create a diverse but unifying musical and lyrical experience. Also, we wanted to present a truly international CD that blends the best of American progressive with the best of European metal. The way to achieve this was to write the skeletons of the songs and then let each musician transform them with their individual talents and voices. While each song balances itself between each instrument, one could listen to the whole CD while focusing on a different element (guitars, bass, drums, etc.) and hear a brand new CD each time.”

The Elements album sampler is available below:

VERA MESMER, the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band featuring ex-COAL CHAMBER bassist Nadja Peulen and former REVEILLE guitarist Chris Turner (a.k.a. Christopher Mesmer), will release its long-awaited EP, "Orphans", on November 8. Produced by Turner, mixed by Sean Beaven (MARILYN MANSON, NINE INCH NAILS) and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (SEPULTURA, HALFORD), the CD tells the story of how Chris and Nadja met and takes the listeners on their mystical journey.

VERA MESMER's video for the song "Back From The Dead", which was shot in January 2011 by Vicente and Fernando Cordero of Industrialism Films, has already been viewed nearly 30,000 times on YouTube.

The band's five-track debut EP, "The Gypsy Magician" (which doesn't feature Peulen), came out in 2007.

VERA MESMER will perform at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, California on December 6.

"The Meaning Of I", the new video from Western Australia's masters of progressive metal experimentation VOYAGER, can be seen below. The song is the title track of the band's fourth full-length album, which came out in October 2011 via Sensory Records.

VOYAGER will embark on a tour of the Australian east coast in November, venturing into familiar popular territories, some new ones and making two festival appearances.

Conceived in 1999 by German-born musician Danny Estrin, VOYAGER is certainly well known throughout the prog metal circuit worldwide, having carved an incredible, diehard cult fan base since inception. The unit's previous three albums display their unique and even strange integration of symphonic, electronic and progressive elements crafted into a seamless, incredibly executed, multi-genre style all their own, bridging gaps between metal subgenres and even verging on '80s pop.

With an impressive history of Australian music awards, as well as many titles of "album of the month" in Romanian, Finnish, Italian, German and Belgian music press, VOYAGER's notoriety for their energetic live performances has captured audiences worldwide. The band have battled geographical isolation to tour Europe twice, perform at ProgPower Europe 2006 and share stages with diverse acts like NIGHTWISH, STEVE VAI, SOILWORK and ALESTORM.

For more information, visit www.voyager-australia.com.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, the company which creates "beautiful lullaby versions of your favorite artists," has just released "Lullaby Versions Of Deftones" via Roma Music Group.

"Lullaby Versions Of Deftones" track listing:

01. My Own Summer (Shove It)
02. Digital Bath
03. Hole In the Earth
04. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
05. Diamond Eyes
06. You've Seen the Butcher
07. Simple Man
08. Change (In the House of Flies)
09. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
10. Minerva
11. The Chauffeur
12. Passenger
13. Cherry Waves
14. Bored

Check out audio samples at Amazon.com.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star is the premier pop music lullaby line, with 56 titles to choose from across soundtracks, pop, rock, metal, country, alternative and more. Be sure to also check out the company's METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, MÖTLEY CRÜE and RUSH lullabies.

In its mission statement, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star says, "We feel our lullaby line fills a vacant musical niche. There are other lines of pop music lullabies but we decided to take the approach of being high end musically rather than simply doing these as a novelty. After all, just because the music is for a baby it doesn’t have to sound unsophisticated. We feel we owe it to the artists that we are covering to do their music justice and our standard of quality transcends the lullaby genre. In fact, in addition to soothing babies our fans use our music for yoga, massage and sleep therapy or just general relaxation. We like to call them 'lullabies for all ages' and the diversity of use is testament to that."

For more information, visit www.ttlrs.com.

Indie Recordings has announced the re-signing of the Norwegian band VREID. The group's new album is scheduled for a February 2013 release.

Commented VREID: "We have released three albums on Indie Recordings, and it has worked out tremendously. The band and label have grown together over these years, and we are very satisfied that we have now re-signed a new deal with Indie Recordings.

"Two years after we started writing new riffs, our new beast is now complete. It's been a lot of work, but we are utterly pleased with the result. Dark, heavy and VREID are the three keywords to describe it.

"The artwork takes us in a new direction this time, and is done by the wizard Kim Holm. His work is spectacular and he has captured the music and lyrics beyond words.

"In February the new album will see the light of day, and we can’t wait to unleash it, and come out and play for you again."

VREID will play a special show in London at the Underworld on Sunday, November 4. This will conclude VREID's "V" touring cycle, and the band will take a few months off before they unleash their new CD. The London concert will also include unique special guest appearances by their former members Ese and Vegard Bakken; brother of the late Valfar from WINDIR. VREID will perform material from all of its albums, a new song and tracks that were never before performed.

FLYLEAF's third studio album, "New Horizons", is available for streaming in its entirety below (courtesy of Buzznet). Released on October 30 via A&M/Octone, the CD's cover artwork was designed by FLYLEAF bassist Pat Seals, who also created a fold-out poster as part of the packaging.

FLYLEAF has just released the second single from the album titled "Call You Out". The song is the follow-up to the title track from the new CD.

Longtime FLYLEAF lead singer Lacey Sturm last week announced her departure from the band. Kristen May, formerly of the group VEDERA, will join the remaining members of FLYLEAF on the road to promote "New Horizons".

Sturm stated about her decision to leave the band, "I am very thankful to have recently become a mom to one of the greatest blessings of my life, my son Jack.

"You may have also heard that we recently lost our brilliant sound engineer, Rich Caldwell, in a devastating car accident. Now, more than ever, I understand the phrase 'Memento Mori.' I understand that, for me, living life to the fullest in this season means to step down as the lead singer for FLYLEAF."

FLYLEAF's debut self-titled album has now sold 1.4 million units and is certified platinum. "All Around Me" reached the Top 10 on Top 40 Radio. FLYLEAF has also charted six singles at modern and rock radio.

FLYLEAF's last album, "Memento Mori", debuted at No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart. "Again" from the album went all the way No. 2 at Modern Rock radio.

Finnish melodic gothic metal/rock band LUNAR PATH has announced that they have found a new guitarist. The band released the following statement:

“We are very happy to officially welcome our new lead guitarist, Elmeri Kokkomäki to the Lunar Path family. Elmeri has been a good friend of the band and was a top choice in our search for a new lead guitarist. Elmeri impressed us with his awesome playing style, great personality, can-do attitude and vast technical knowledge. We are very excited to continue working on our second album and having some fresh blood on board.

Some of you might even have had the chance to see Elmeri perform with us live, as he's been our temporary bass player a few years back, including the tours with DEATHSTARS and PAUL DI'ANNO.”

A photo of Kokkomäki can be seen below:
Lunar Path’s former bassist Jesse Mäläskä left the band in September due to musical differences.

Danish prog metallers BOIL have announced that they have signed an international record deal with Swedish record label ViciSolum Productions.

Furthermore Boil has entered into a management deal and worldwide booking deal with Intromental.

The band will release their new album aXiom on February 15th.

The album is based on extensive interviews that Boil - with assistance from various Danish psychiatric organizations - has conducted with a number of mentally ill people, especially paranoid schizophrenic people suffering from delusions.

aXiom was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK). On the visual side, American artist Travis Smith (KATATONIA, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, OPETH) has made the cover and other album artwork based on Boil’s 50 page story script. The cover can be seen below:
The band has also released the video for the track ‘Vindication’. Check it out below:

Mexican blackened death metallers EVILHEART have announced they will release all of the tracks from their 2007 album Storm Of Annihilation onto YouTube to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The release schedule is as follows:

November
2 – ‘Dead Peace’
9 - ‘Subhuman’
16 – ‘Storm Of Annihilation’
23 - ‘Paradise Of Synthetic Souls’
30 – ‘Oath Of Apostasy’

December
7 – ‘Symmetrical Carnage’
14 – ‘Crystallized In Eternal Death’

The first track ‘In The Arms Of Ixtab’ released on October 26th can be heard below:



The band will release their new album entitled Quinquaginta, this summer 2013. “Making Of The New Album” videos will be released after the Storm Of Annihilation tracks are finished being released.

Cover art for the new album was created by Niklas Sundin at Cabin Fever Media. Check it out below:



Tracklisting for Quinquaginta is as follows:
‘Perfection Collapsed’
‘Misanthropic Decree’
‘Selective Extermination’
‘Rebellion’
‘Nullified Resistance’
‘Supremacy And Holocaust’
‘Postmortal Corruption’
‘Genetics Of Betrayal’
‘Quinquaginta’

Polish metallers SARATAN will release their third album Martya Xwar on November 23rd via Massacre Records.

V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS, CELTIC FROST) was responsible for mixing and mastering the album and also played some guitar solos. Further guest musicians are: Tymek J?drzejczyk, Maciej Kowalski and Micha? Strzelecki on male vocals; Karolina Sumowska - Hocyk as additional female vocals; Marina Novikova on piano; and Jacek Gruszka on guitar solos.

According to a press release: "Martya Xwar is about forty minutes of apocalyptic death - thrash metal, full of oriental and classical ornaments. Ethnic music, occultism and orchestrations are the main focus on this album."

Martya Xwar was recorded over the course of five months in five recording studios in Poland and Germany - it was mixed and mastered by V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS, CELTIC FROST) at Woodshed Studio.

Cover design and artwork are created by Micha? "Xaay" Loranc (Nile, Kamelot). Check it out below:
The band will premiere the video for 'Ba'al Zevuv' on November 1st.
The track 'Mastema' can be heard below:

SOUNDGARDEN will add five bonus tracks to the Best Buy deluxe edition of its upcoming album, "King Animal". The cuts will be demo versions of the songs "Black Saturday", "Worse Dreams", "By Crooked Steps", "Bones Of Birds" and "A Thousand Days Before", all of which appear in finished form on the main 13-song album. "King Animal" is the first collection of all-new material from SOUNDGARDEN in 16 years, and first since the group reunited in 2010.

"King Animal" track listing:

01. Been Away Too Long
02. Non-State Actor
03. By Crooked Steps
04. A Thousand Days Before
05. Blood On The Valley Floor
06. Bones Of Birds
07. Taree
08. Attrition
09. Black Saturday
10. Halfway There
11. Worse Dreams
12. Eyelid's Mouth
13. Rowing

Drummer Matt Cameron told The Pulse Of Radio two things that he thinks made SOUNDGARDEN special then and now: "In our scene up here in the Northwest in the '80s and '90s, we were sometimes considered to be the RUSH of Seattle, just because we could sort of play our instruments maybe better than most bands. [laughs] We never really tried to flaunt any musical chops, but we always had pretty diverse tastes. We had a lot of really cool influences amongst ourselves that we tried to infuse in the music."

"King Animal" is due out on November 13. The first single from the disc is called "Been Away Too Long".

Singer Chris Cornell told OnstageWeb that the track is literally about the band's reunion, explaining, "It means that a group, in this case personified by SOUNDGARDEN, has been away and the length of that away time has suddenly become maybe overextended. So been away too long, like thank God we're back now. It seems like it might have been a little bit too long for us to be gone."

The vocalist added that he was surprised that SOUNDGARDEN seems poised to once again fill a void for "real" rock music, saying, "I always expected that after we broke up or even maybe before we broke up that there should be or would be some very vital scene, numerous interesting rock bands that are kind of taking the history of rock music and making it their own."

DECEASED's classic album "Supernatural Addiction" has just been reissued via Hells Headbangers on CD, with an LP version coming January 23, 2013.

Featuring five bonus demo tracks and extensive liner notes from founding frontman King Fowley, DECEASED's masterfully haunting "Supernatural Addiction" was originally released in 2000 on Relapse Records. The effort saw these underground legends expand upon the epic narratives of the preceding "Fearless Undead Machines", but put into punchier, more concise attacks without losing any of drumming vocalist King Fowley's characteristically creepy storytelling. Less "death metal" and more deathly heavy metal, this DECEASED album cemented their staus as one of the most unique and recognizable metal bands since the turn of the '90s.

"Supernatural Addiction" reissue track listing:

01. The Premonition
02. Dark Chilling Heartbeat
03. A Very Familiar Stranger
04. Frozen Screams
05. The Doll With the Hideous Spirit
06. The Hanging Soldier
07. Chambers of the Waiting Blind
08. Elly's Dementia
09. Dark Chilling Heartbeat (bonus demo track)
10. Frozen Screams (bonus demo track)
11. A Very Familiar Stranger (bonus demo track)
12. The Premonition (bonus demo track)
13. The Hanging Soldier (bonus demo track)

Vocalist SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA (ANGTORIA, ex-CRADLE OF FILTH) has issued the following band update:

"I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for adding us, taking a chance on us even if you knew nothing about us, adding us if you are one of those trolls or haters and still gave us a chance, and to all those who bought our music, our shirts and came to a show It means so much to us and we look forward for what 2013 brings us.

As some of you know, we parted ways with Ablaz due to distance and other issues such as schedules clashing, it was going to happen sooner or later. But all is good; in fact, he is doing naked house work for me right now!! Anyway, I want to introduce Ed, a hand and nose model for Ginger Surprises LTD. He is also pretty damn amazing on bass. His first show with us was Metal Female Voices Festival in front of thousands and it was a huge thing for him seeing as he had only played with himself prior to this show. Wish him luck and any fan mail should be addressed to his mighty beard ;)."
As previously reported, Sarah and her band are comfirmed for Les-Fest, which will take place on June 28th - 30th 2013 at Valley International Park in Crossford, North Lanarkshire. For event information go to this location.

Go to this location for BW&BK's recent interview with Sarah about her new Malediction EP.

LEADING THE BETRAYED - featuring THE AGONIST guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin - checked in with the following update this past Monday (October 22nd):

"Tonight we begin working on Leading The Betrayed's demo, that should be ready in a few months! These songs are fucken epic and we can't wait to finally share them with you!"
Audio samples are currently available for streaming here.

"Leading The Betrayed bring a technical, energetic and orignal sound in a modern blend of heavy metal. They encompass an entire range of solid, powerful and aggressive rhythm sections complimented by virtuoso melodies. They stand out by presenting comprehensive and fluent song structures that are supported by complex guitar work and blazing drum sections. The work of these metal juggernauts will catch the attention of young hardcore kids to die hard metal heads all around."

Footage of Jobin laying down the solo for the track 'In The Dark' is available below:

Mascot Label Group will release the seventh solo album, Transition, by guitarist, vocalist, composer/producer/arranger, STEVE LUKATHER, on Monday, January 21st, 2013. The album will be followed by an extensive European tour that will include two UK concerts at London’s Islington O2 Academy (March 29th) and Bilston’s Robin 2 (March 30th).

One of the original founding members of the multi-million selling rock band TOTO, Lukather will showcase his innate feel for rock and jazz guitar music, along with his impeccable song writing talents. Transition showcases extraordinary guitar playing performed across some of the most heartfelt songs of Steve’s career. The album will be released in three formats including limited deluxe edition CD, jewel case CD, and vinyl. Pre-order Transition album and merchandise here.
Tracklisting:

'Judgement Day'
'Creep Motel'
'Once Again'
'Right The Wrong'
'Transition'
'Last Man Standing'
'Do I Stand Alone'
'Rest Of The World'
'Smile'

Over the previous decade a series of trials including divorce, the death of his mother and business hassles had dampened his joy in music making — a passion that drove Lukather to excel since seeing THE BEATLES on the Ed Sullivan as a seven-year-old growing up in San Fernando Valley.

“Transition is a turning point for the album and a turning point for me,” Lukather explains. “As we were writing the songs, I was thinking about everything I’ve seen — all the people I’ve lost in my life, the great and the difficult experiences I’ve had, and how ultimately it was time to get it together and embrace things for what they are. We’ve only got one life to live so we should make the most of it.”
In addition to his work with Toto, Lukather has played on hundreds of albums with some of the biggest stars and legends in music including VAN HALEN, WHITNEY HOUSTON, ALICE COOPER, GEORGE BENSON and ROD STEWART, he even played guitar on MICHAEL JACKSON’s multi-million selling milestone album, Thriller.

More on Steve Lukather at this location.

Italian metallers MESMERIZE recently inked a deal with Punishment 18 Records, for the release of their new full length album.

The recordings of the new album, the fifth in the history of the Milan-based band headed by the singer Folco Orlandini, started this summer at Octopussy Studios in Sedriano (MI, Italy), while the release is scheduled for spring 2013.
"I'd say we've reached a good 80% of the recording process. In these very days we've finished all the vocal lines, and now we'll concentrate on guitar solos, a few keyboard parts and some other special FX", says drummer Andrea Garavaglia, who fully handled also the job of Sound Engineer for this record. "We plan to start the mixing of the songs within the end of the month, in order to do the mastering in December".

Check out the Mesmerize website for some video previews from the recording studio.

Best known for his vocal work with THE SCREAM, MÖTLEY CRÜE and UNION, legendary hard rock vocalist John Corabi serves up a passionate, soulful dose of both new and classic songs on this all-new acoustic release. Due on November 13 via Rat Pak Records, "Unplugged" offers five new original tracks, seven re-recorded classic songs and in addition, features an exclusive 2012 behind-the-scenes interview with John. The album features John Corabi on vocals/guitar, Cheney Brannon (formerly of COLLECTIVE SOUL) on percussion/vocals, Topher Nolen on bass/vocals, D.A. Karkos on guitar/vocals, Matt Farley on percussion/vocals and Bruce Kulick (KISS, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD) on guitar (on "Hoolgan's Holiday" and "Man In The Moon").

"Unplugged" track listing:

01. Love (I Don't Need It Anymore)
02. If I Never Get To Say Goodbye
03. Are You Waiting?
04. Crash
05. Everything's All Right
06. Father, Mother, Son
07. Hooligan's Holiday
08. If I Had A Dime
09. Loveshine
10. Man In The Moon
11. Open Your Eyes
12. I Never Loved Her Anyway
13. 2012 Interview (bonus track)

"Are You Waiting?" is available for streaming below.

For more information, visit www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com.

Video footage of John Corabi and his solo band performing the song "If I Had A Dime" from his "Unplugged" CD on August 18 at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan can be seen below. The clip was shot and edited by Scott Nolen.

Corabi originally joined CRÜE in 1992 as the replacement for the group's original singer, Vince Neil, who was fired due to personal differences. With Corabi on vocals, MÖTLEY CRÜE released one critically acclaimed full-length CD, which ended up being a commercial failure in the wake of grunge despite a Top-Ten placing on the album chart. When Neil returned to the fold in 1997, Corabi was left on his own and formed the band UNION with ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

For a list of upcoming John Corabi tour dates, visit www.johncorabi.com.

"Are You Waiting?" audio stream:

According to Reuters, Poland's Supreme Court has ruled that Adam "Nergal" Darski, frontman for Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH, committed a crime when when he called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's September 2007 performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."

A lower court will now decide if Darski is guilty of the crime, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

"[The decision] is negative and restricts the freedom of speech. The court decided that this is allowed in a democratic system," Jacek Potulski, a lawyer for Darski, told Reuters.

He added, "We are still arguing that we were dealing with art, which allows more critical and radical statements."

Ryszard Nowak, chairman of the privately run Nationwide Defence Committee Against Sects, told Polish television about today's court ruling, "The Supreme Court said clearly that there are limits for artists which cannot be crossed."

Back in August 2011, a Polish judge ruled that Darski's ripping up of a Bible during a show was a form of artistic expression consistent with the style of his band.

Judge Krzysztof Wieckowski said he considered Darski's actions "a form of art." He added that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion.

The court said audience members who testified said their religious feelings had not been hurt despite the fact they were Christians.

After the 2007 incident, Nowak sued BEHEMOTH for promoting Satanism. Although a court expert witness on religious matters said that the act of destroying the Holy Bible could offend somebody's religious feelings, the case was discontinued because no one except Nowak accused BEHEMOTH of insulting their religious beliefs. (Under Polish law, there must be at least two formal complaints before a charge is laid. The previous complaint was made in 2008, and recently an unspecified number of other complaints had been filed.)

In a 2009 interview with Decibel magazine, BEHEMOTH bassist Tomasz "Orion" Wróblewski explained that the Bible-tearing incident was by no means a spontaneous outburst. "We'd been doing that for two years on tour before it happened in Poland," he said. "So, we had discussed it many times before. A BEHEMOTH show is a BEHEMOTH show, and BEHEMOTH fans are coming to a BEHEMOTH show. BEHEMOTH fans know what BEHEMOTH is about, know what the lyrics are about, and know at least a little of the philosophy behind the band. So, it's kind of surprising that there are people coming to the shows and feeling offended with what we do onstage. If such a person comes to a show, he comes with the purpose of being offended, I guess, and it shouldn't be like that. We're not offending any particular person. We're just offending the religion that we've been raised in."

Polish-language TV report on today's Supreme Court ruling:

Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON will perform an exclusive and special long set featuring songs from their upcoming album during an appearance at next year's edition of the Inferno festival, set to take place March 27-30, 2013 at the Rockefeller, John Dee, Rock In, Blå, Unholy, Victoria and Revolver venues in Oslo, Norway. Also scheduled to appear are SOLEFALD, TAAKE, AETERNUS, PURIFIED IN BLOOD, DISKORD and IN VAIN.

For more information, visit InfernoFestival.net.

In a June 2012 interview with MetalSickness.com, SATYRICON frontman Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven stated about the band's decision to take a long break after completing its last extensive tour in 2009, "I felt that the cycle of SATYRICON had become very something different from what I wanted it to be. It became like this: write, rehearse, record, promote, tour, finish. [Then again] write, rehearse, record, promote, tour, finish. And again and again and again. And I came to a point in 2009 where I went, like, 'What's the point of this? Is this why I started [playing music]? Definitely not.' This was never my goal to come in a situation like this. It's not like I dreamt about living on a bus. It was not my goal in life. Or to live my life in a suitcase. Or in a backstage. It was never my plan. My plan was to write music, record music and release music and then do the occasional show and tour, but this became like a clusterfuck of events — all the time something going on and all this pressure all the time, especially from everyone around us. Plus, I also think that when you're working so intensely, there's sort of this tear-and-wear to people on a personal level. And also, as the leader of a company or a sports team or a metal band, you also have a responsibility to make some decisions that might be popular but unnecessary. And for those who just want to go on the road and play all the time, they don't want to have a break, and our agent and record company, they certainly didn't want any break. But for me, it became almost like a choice between quitting as a band or taking a break."

SATYRICON's latest album, "The Age Of Nero" (2008), entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 73. It also landed on the national chart in Norway at position No. 5. This was SATYRICON's lowest chart entry in the band's home country since "Rebel Extravaganza", which premiered at No. 32 in 1999. "Volcano" (2002) entered the chart at No. 4, while 2006's "Now, Diabolical" came in at No. 2.

Northern German "Lovecraftian" black metallers CTULU will release their third full-length, "Seelenspiegelsplitter", in April 2013. The follow-up to 2011's "Sarkomand" is being recorded and produced by Hoschi and CTULU in Bremen, Germany.

CTULU will present new tracks from "Seelenspiegelsplitter" during the band's appearance at the third edition of the War Over Kiel festival, set to take place on November 10.

In other news, CTULU recently parted ways with drummer Martin Hefurth. A temporary replacement for the War Over Kiel performance has been found in the shape of ex-CTULU drummer Jan Westermann, who is also known for his work in RELEASED ANGER, VIGOUR and DIABLERY.

CTULU's current lineup:

Mathias Junge - Guitar, Vocals
Arne Uekert - Guitar, Vocals
Lasse Bodenstein – Bass