Candlelight Records werden das vierte Solo Album „Eremita“, vom ehemaligen EMPEROR Sänger/Gitarrist IHSAHN am 18. Juni in Europa und am 19. Juni in Nord Amerika veröffentlichen. Das Album wurde aufgenommen und produziert im Ivory Shoulder Studio in Telemark. Gemixt wurde „Eremita“ von Jens Bogren (OPETH) im Fascination Street Studio in Örebro in Schweden. Neben IHSAHN wirkten folgende Künstler mit, der Drummer Tobias Ornes Andersen (LEPROUS), Saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby (Norway's SHINING), Gitarrist Jeff Loomis (Ex-NEVERMORE) und die Sänger Devin Townsend, Einar Solberg (LEPROUS), und Heidi S. Tveitan (STAROFASH). Das Packaging wurde vom spanischen Designer Ritxi Ostariz kreiert.

Das neue Album "Eremita wurde jetzt HIER komplett als Stream online gestellt.!

Fan-filmed video footage of GUNS N' ROSES' June 4 concert at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Holland can be seen below.

GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose skipped the band's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April and declined to be inducted along with the rest of the group. The singer also reaffirmed that there is no chance of the original lineup reuniting, and seemed to speak directly to fans still hoping for a reunion when he added, "Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense."

In at least a partial nod to his former bandmates, however, Rose wrote, "For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from GUNS their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show, not mine."

Original GN'R members Slash, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan, along with later members Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, performed three songs at the induction ceremony in Cleveland. They were joined on vocals by Myles Kennedy, who sings in Slash's solo band.

In addition sole original member Axl Rose, the current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES includes guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Richard Fortus and DJ Ashba, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's meet-and-greet, pre-show tuning-room jam and "Enter Sandman" performance at the Rock Am Ring festival on June 2 in Nürburgring , Germany can be viewed below.

METALLICA performed its top-selling 1991 LP, "Metallica", a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety at the Rock Am Ring concert. As they have done on all the shows on their current European tour, the band played the LP backwards, starting with closing number "The Struggle Within" and ending with "Enter Sandman".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hit The Lights
02. Master Of Puppets
03. Ride The Lightning
04. For Whom The Bell Tolls
05. Hell And Back
06. The Struggle Within
07. My Friend Of Misery
08. The God That Failed
09. Of Wolf & Man
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Through The Never
12. Don't Tread On Me
13. Wherever I May Roam
14. The Unforgiven
15. Holier Than Thou
16. Sad But True
17. Enter Sandman

Encore:

18. Blackened
19. One
20. Seek & Destroy

One of the most intriguing and mysterious projects on METALLICA's upcoming schedule is the band's 3D movie, which begins filming later this summer and will mix concert footage with a storyline. Drummer Lars Ulrich spoke with Rolling Stone about the project for the magazine's METALLICA cover story, saying, "This has been circling for two years. It's time to life-size it, get it out of our minds and on the screen. And if it's done right, it can be sensational. You're not watching METALLICA onstage. You're onstage with METALLICA. In IMAX, James Hetfield is 38 feet tall, snotting on you, spitting on you. It's 2,000 decibels. If there is an earthquake outside, you wouldn't notice."

Ulrich explained that the sheer power of presenting a METALLICA concert that way forced the group to add more to the movie, saying, "You can't do that for 100 minutes. It loses its appeal. There is another element in there — intimate, small, a story that takes place over the same trajectory as the concert. The question is, 'Where do they weave in and out of each other?'"

METALLICA is financing the project itself and has hired "Predators" director Nimród Antal to get behind the camera. Antal will film the band's August 24 concert in Vancouver, Canada for use in the movie.

The show will feature a brand new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that will include what a post at the band's web site called "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

The first-ever METALLICA-curated Orion Music + More festival will take place on June 23-24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The group is headlining both days and will perform its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on one day, and its entire 1991 "black album" on the other.

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has uploaded a nine-and-a-half-minute video clip featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the band's June 15 appearance at Hellfest in Clisson, France. Check it out below.

MEGADETH was among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's tenth Grammy nomination was for its single "Public Enemy No. 1", off MEGADETH's latest album, "TH1RT3EN", which came out on November 1, 2011.

"Public Enemy No. 1" actually marked the second Grammy nomination for music from "TH1RT3EN", as the song "Sudden Death" was first unveiled in the 2010 video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" and received a "Best Metal Performance" nod.

CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist Roope Latvala and Finnish composer Anssi Tikanmäki have released a collection of metalized versions of some of the most well-known national anthems via Rockadillo Records. The CD was recorded by Eljas Tikanmäki (studio Skyview) and Roope Latvala (studio Bunker) and was mixed by Anssi Tikanmäki and Eljas Tikanmäki (studio Skyview).

"Anthems" track listing:

01. Maamme Oh Our Land
02. Du Gamla Du Fria Thou Ancient, Thou Free
03. Gimn Rossiiskoi (Hymn Of Russia)
04. Das Lied Der Deutschen (The Song Of The Germans)
05. Finlandia
06. La Marseillaise (The Song Of Marseillaise)
07. The Star-Spangled Banner (Anthem Of The USA)
08. God Save The Queen (Anthem Of The UK)

The entire album can be streamed at this location.

"Anthems" recording lineup:

* Roope Latvala - lead guitar
* Eemil Tikanmäki - guitar
* Juuso Nordlund - bass (1-4, 6-8)
* Eljas Tikanmäki - drums
* Anssi Tikanmäki - keyboards
* Lauri Porra - bass (5)
* Masa Orpana - saxes
* Tommi Kolunen - trumpet
* Henrik Perello - violin
* Lotta Laaksonen - violin
* Eemil Tikanmäki - violin
* Pike Kontkanen - violin
* Johanna Rusanen - vocal (4)

For more information, go to this location.

Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish progressive metallers OPETH has recorded some vocals in collaboration with legendary GENESIS guitarist Steve Hackett. Mikael is featured on a re-recording of the classic GENESIS mega-epos "Supper's Ready" from 1972's "Foxtrot" album. More information about the upcoming release will be released soon.

In other news, due to popular demand, Mikael has recorded a further eight shows for Swedish national radio. "De Bortglömda Mästerverken" (The Forgotten Masterpieces) is a series of shows where Mikael flips vinyl on air, playing mostly obscure progressive and psychedelic rock. The show is being produced by Andreas Matz for radio P4 and will start airing on July 15. You can also catch it online at www.sr.se.

OPETH recently completed a North America co-headlining tour with MASTODON. The trek kicked off on April 4 in Portland, Maine, and visited more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up at Atlanta's Masquerade on May 12.

OPETH's new album, "Heritage", sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous studio CD, 2008's "Watershed", opened with more than 19,000 units to land at No. 23.

"Watershed" was the follow-up to the band's acclaimed "Ghost Reveries" CD, which debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard chart back in September 2005 with first-week sales of just under 15,000.

OPETH's 2003 album, "Damnation", premiered with a little over 5,000 copies.

DARK DAY SUNDAY, the old-school thrash band featuring FATES WARNING guitarist Frank Aresti and SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner, made its live debut this past Friday, June 15 at Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York as the support act for DREAM THEATER. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Inspired by Bay Area thrash bands like METALLICA, EXODUS, and MEGADETH, DARK DAY SUNDAY brings together old and new elements to create a brand new sound. The result: pure, raw energy.

DARK DAY SUNDAY is composed of four guys with a common love for headbanging fury, wailing guitar solos, melodic vocals that simply won't quit, and a rhythm section so in tune with one another you'd swear they were born of the same insanity.

Frank Aresti started his career with seminal prog-metal band FATES WARNING. As inspiration to many later bands, from DREAM THEATER to SLIPKNOT, Frank's guitar playing helped propel the band to commercial success and critical acclaim.

"I love playing with FATES," comments Frank, "but DARK DAY SUNDAY has a special place in my heart. I grew up listening to late '70s British punk and hardcore, then to early American thrash. I absolutely love this music."

In the drummer's seat is one of the most highly regarded metal drummers today, Jason Bittner of SHADOWS FALL. A Berklee College Of Music alum, "Jason brings a great energy to this band," says Aresti. "He lends an aggressive approach, pushing the beat while completely locking up with the rhythm section. It's a powerful feeling when you hear us live."

Rounding out the rhythm section on bass is Ed Lanouette. Ed earned his bachelor's degree at Berklee College Of Music and graduated with a master's degree in jazz performance from the Boston Conservatory. He cites his main influences as Jaco Pastorius and BLACK SABBATH's Geezer Butler.

Soaring above the ferocious riffs and pounding rhythm section is vocalist Marc Lopes. Marc cites his main influence as Bruce Dickinson of IRON MAIDEN. "Bruce has the ability to be melodic and aggressive at the same time," says Marc. "I love that, and that's what I go for in my singing."

When asked about the future of DARK DAY SUNDAY, Frank replies, "I want to take this band on the road, across the world. I want to continue making and recording music as long as we can. And judging how all four of us love doing this, that's going to be a long time."

DARK DAY SUNDAY expects to release its debut album later this year.

DARK DAY SUNDAY is:

Marc Lopes - Vocals
Frank Aresti (FATES WARNING) - Guitar
Ed Lanouette - Bass
Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL) – Drums

RETALIATION/FINAL BREATH guitarist Dennis Schneider is one of three musicians who have recorded special guest appearances on "Icarus", the new album from German thrashers DEW-SCENTED. Schneider can be heard on the songs "The Fall Of Man" and "Perpetuated".

Commented Schneider: "I've been hooked on DEW-SCENTED ever since the release of 'Impact' back in 2003. When they asked me to do a few guest leads on the new album, I didn't hesitate one second. I'm really happy with the way it turned out — 'Icarus' will rip your head off!"

Added DEW-SCENTED: "Dennis Schneider is an incredibly talented guitarist that has jammed with DEW-SCENTED in the rehearsal room before. In the production period for 'Icarus', the idea came up to have him be part of the actual album as well by adding some skillful lead guitar parts. Dennis appears with some furious shred on the songs 'The Fall Of Man' and 'Perpetuated'."

As previously reported, Rob Urbinati of Canadian thrash metal veterans SACRIFICE contributed guest vocals to the song "Gleaming Like Silver".

"Icarus" will be released on July 31 in North America via Prosthetic Records (one day earlier internationally through Metal Blade Records).

DEW-SCENTED vocalist Leif Jensen previously described the "Icarus" main theme as "a modern-times, very apocalyptic adaption of elements of the Icarus myth, using a lot of its symbolism while interlinking with several other personal or observant subjects in true DEW-SCENTED fashion." While the album — recorded at Soundlodge Studio and produced by Jörg Uken (NIGHTFALL, SUICIDAL ANGELS, GOD DETHRONED) — is not quite a concept album per se, Jensen said "Icarus" "has a pretty coherent lyrical flow, and that helps to enhance and also to intentionally enlarge the atmosphere and vibe created by the music." The "Icarus" cover artwork was once created by Björn Goosses of Killustrations.

DEW-SCENTED's new lineup is as follows (pictured from left to right in photo below):

Rory Hansen - Guitar
Marvin Vriesde - Guitar
Leif Jensen - Vocals
Joost van der Graaf - Bass
Koen Herfst - Drums

The new DEW-SCENTED lineup will play its first shows on July 20 at Metalsplash festival and July 21 at Queens Of Metal festival.

BLACKGUARD aus Montreal in Kanada haben folgendes über ihre Facebook Page veröffentlicht:

"Unfortunately we must officially announce the departure of lead guitarist Kim Gosselin from Blackguard. For those of you who have seen us play during our last few tours, this will not come as a shock, seeing as Kim has been absent from the live lineup for quite some time. Kim has decided not to continue with the band, and we'd like to thank him for his invaluable contribution to this group over the years.

As hard as it is seeing a brother go, this is truly the best thing for both parties as Kim’s interest in touring and writing have been waning over the last year. We wanted to wait until we had found a suitable replacement before making any official announcement and we’re very happy to finally be able to let everyone in on what’s going on.

Blackguard is very happy to welcome Mr. Louis Jacques of the band Kemilon to the family as new lead guitarist. Louis made his live debut with Blackguard yesterday at the D-tox Rockfest in Montebello, QC . This was an amazing show and a great way to kick off our journey together. From Louis: 'I’m very glad to be joining the mighty Blackguard! Together we'll get to a new level. Expect more violence, originality and shred...!'

"Here’s a small taste of what Louis will be bringing to the team.

We’re hard at work on our followup to last year’s 'Firefight' record [read Metalunderground.com's review here]. We already have songs demoed and we expect an early 2013 release through Victory records.

The next few months are going to be very busy for us. We do have a few shows planned so keep your eyes on our tour section of our Facebook and come welcome Louis in style.

See you all on the road!!
-Blackguard"

Swedish melodic metallers BLOODBOUND have completed mixing their fifth full-length CD with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, SONIC SYNDICATE, HYPOCRISY, CENTINEX, CARNAL FORGE). According to the band, "This is BY FAR the best album we've done!"

During the mixing sessions for the new BLOODBOUND CD, "the SABATON boys dropped by and they liked what they heard," according to BLOODBOUND.

A short video clip from the studio can be seen at this location.

BLOODBOUND's fourth album, "Unholy Cross", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 50. The CD was released on March 18, 2011 via Germany's AFM Records.

BLOODBOUND in 2010 parted ways with lead vocalist Urban Breed due to "musical and personal differences" and replaced him with Patrik "Pata" Johansson (DAWN OF SILENCE) from Finspång, Sweden.

MANOWAR performed last night (Saturday, June 16) at OST Fest 2012 at the Zone Arena in Bucharest, Romania.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Manowar
02. Gates Of Valhalla
03. Kill With Power
04. Sign Of The Hammer
05. Fighting The World
06. Kings Of Metal
07. Metal Warriors
08. Sun Of Death
09. Brothers Of Metal
10. Call To Arms
11. The Gods Made Heavy Metal
12. Sons Of Odin
13. Hand Of Doom
14. King Of Kings
15. Sting Of The Bumblebee
16. Joey's Speech
17. Warriors Of The World United
18. Thunder In The Sky
19. The Power

Encore:

20. Hail And Kill
21. Nessun Dorma
22. Black Wind, Fire And Steel

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

MANOWAR's new album, "The Lord Of Steel" — which was mixed and mastered at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands with the help of longtime collaborators, mixing engineer Ronald Prent and Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper — is blazing with pure power, untamed energy, and a sound as raw and wild as a force of nature. Track titles like "Annihilation" and "Hail, Kill And Die!" set the tone for a record that is packed with surprises. In contrast to the 2007 release "Gods Of War", this new album is not a concept album, yet each song tells a different story, retaining the MANOWAR vision of righteousness, honor and everything MANOWAR fans have come to know and love.

MANOWAR fans should expect to have "their heads completely blown off," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio in a recent interview, and explained that "this album is all about brutality and raw power!"

"We were talking about a concept album but then got inspired to go in a different direction. This is where we are right now," explained DeMaio. "I've been doing research on getting the best microphones and pre-amps for the guitars. The bass sound is death defying. We've done a lot of work on drums too, giving Donnie [Hamzik, drums] room to stretch out. And Eric [Adams, vocals] will simply sound bigger than life, as always."

"The Lord Of Steel" includes the track "El Gringo", which will also serve as the theme song for the After Dark Action franchise film "El Gringo", an action western starring Scott Adkins ("The Expendables 2", "The Bourne Ultimatum"), Christian Slater and Yvette Yates ("Without Men").

"El Gringo" marks the first time MANOWAR has written a song specifically for a movie. The song depicts the struggle of a hero torn between his moral code and financial gain, and the challenge of being true to oneself and the real values in life — a recurring theme in MANOWAR's music.

"Everyone loves action movies! Our music, along with ass-kicking visuals and a great story, are a perfect match, not to mention a chance to actually see the music come alive on screen," said DeMaio. "'El Gringo' has been a great experience, the team at After Dark Films has been a pleasure to work with, and we are ready for more!" he continued.

When asked about the long gap between MANOWAR's last CD and the new effort, DeMaio said, "I know that a lot of people don't wanna wait another five years for a MANOWAR record, but we hope that people are gonna think that it was worth waiting the time. Because, you know, you go to a restaurant and you order dinner, if the waiter walks in the kitchen and comes back out two seconds later and puts the dinner on the table, I really don't know what you're gonna get. Every now and then I like McDonald's, too — it doesn't mean something fast is not good — but we're not a fast-food restaurant with MANOWAR. We think it's quality, so we hope you're gonna feel the same way."

Former TESLA guitarist Tommy Skeoch has released his second solo album, "Brand Of Metal", via CDBaby. The effort will also be available in a few days via Amazon, iTunes and other digital distributors.

"Brand Of Metal" track listing:

01. Fsdsrrmf
02. Scapegoat
03. Hit Away
04. Hate To Hate
05. Destruction
06. Quarter To 3
07. Something Wrong
08. Soul Fucker
09. Hard To Swallow
10. At World's End

Skeoch left TESLA in 2006 to spend time with his family and to receive treatment for substance-abuse issues. He has since been replaced by Dave Rude.

In a 2011 interview with AOL's Noisecreep, TESLA singer Jeff Keith stated about Skeoch, "Look, everyone in TESLA has been through their own substance-abuse issues. But Tommy got in too deep again. So the band told him that the only way we would be able to make this work is if he was clean and sober. I felt like we couldn't ask him to do that if we weren't going to commit to it, too. So I was the first one to say that I wouldn't drink, or do anything else, on the tour. The next thing you know, the other guys did the same thing. Troy [Luccketta, drums] has been clean and sober for over 20 years, so it wasn't even an issue for him. . . Tommy couldn't stay off the stuff he was doing. It broke my heart to see it, but we knew we had to replace him."

Legendary rockers AEROSMITH launched their "The Global Warming Tour" last night (Saturday, June 16) at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis in front of a sold-out crowd of about 14,000.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Draw The Line
02. Love In An Elevator
03. Oh Yeah
04. Walkin' The Dog
05. Livin' On The Edge
06. Cryin'
07. Rag Doll
08. Last Child
09. S.O.S. (Too Bad)
10. Boogie Man
11. Combination
12. What It Takes
13. Legendary Child
14. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
15. Mama Kin
16. Sweet Emotion
17. Walk This Way

Encore:

18. Dream On
19. Train Kept A Rollin'

Check out reviews and photos from:

* TwinCities.com
* StarTribune.com

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

"The Global Warming Tour" will wrap up on August 8 in Tacoma, Washington.

"This tour, in addition to a couple songs we know we're going to play from the new record, we want to bring out songs we just haven't played for years," AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry told Billboard.com. "We'll be playing some of those — songs that were staples in the sets back in the old days that will be new songs to a lot of people if they don't know the albums."

Perry told USA Today that AEROSMITH will likely perform its new single, "Legendary Child", and two or three other new songs during the upcoming shows but that "playing half the record would not serve the audience."

"We have a catalog going back 40 years, and every classic we take out of the set is going to be missed by some kid who hasn't heard it live yet, whether it's 'Walk This Way', 'Dream On' or 'Jaded'," he said. "We have to honor that. It's going to be a real rock 'n' roll show."

AEROSMITH's 15th studio album, titled "Music From Another Dimension", will arrive on August 28. The band premiered the first single from the upcoming CD, called "Legendary Child", with a live performance on May 23 during the season finale of "American Idol". The track was also supposed to be included in the upcoming summer film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation", but that movie was abruptly bumped from its June 29 release date to March 2013.

"Legendary Child" is a reworked version of a song originally written in 1991 during the sessions for the "Get A Grip" album.

Other tunes on "Music From Another Dimension" include "What Could Have Been Love", "Beautiful", "Street Jesus", "We All Fall Down", "Out Go the Lights" and "Up On The Mountain".

AEROSMITH began working on the record — its first all-new effort since 2001 — last year, with the band working on music while singer Steven Tyler tended to his duties as "American Idol" judge.

The group reunited on this disc with producer Jack Douglas, who worked with them on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks".

Swedish heavy metal guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Magnus Karlsson has inked a solo deal with Frontiers Records.

Magnus' first critically acclaimed musical project was with the band LAST TRIBE, which has released three full-length albums.

In 2004, Magnus started to work as a session musician in a project put together by Frontiers Records, featuring two acclaimed heavy metal vocalists singing together as a duet — Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X) and Jørn Lande (MASTERPLAN). Dubbed ALLEN/LANDE, the project has released three full-length albums with all music and lyrics written by Magnus Karlsson. That same year Magnus also started to write music for STARBREAKER, a project with singer Tony Harnell (TNT), drummer John Macaluso (ARK, TNT, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and bassist Fabrizio Grossi (STEVE VAI).

Magnus is currently one of the guitarists in the German metal band PRIMAL FEAR. He also teamed up with the band's bassist and leader, Mat Sinner, to work in a number of projects released by Frontiers Records, such as KISKE/SOMERVILLE (another singer-duet project, featuring ex-HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske and American singer and vocal coach Amanda Somerville) and the first solo album by PRIMAL FEAR frontman Ralf Scheepers.

In March 2012, Swedish metal blog Bara Metal conducted an interview with legendary Danish heavy metal singer King Diamond (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE) (real name: Kim Bendix Petersen). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Bara Metal: You played live with METALLICA in December 2011, and you looked really happy!

King: Yes, it was great to get back on stage, and it was a big test, so to speak. I had not sung since the heart surgery. Well, I had had a test at a local place called House Of Blues here nearby. I went there to meet a band which members I know, some of them. I went there to say hi in the afternoon, and during their soundcheck I went up on stage to see what it felt like. And my old chest was rattling. I had to get the hell out of there; it was very, very uncomfortable. And right now I have a pretty thick metal string all the way down my chest, inside under the skin, that ties together the whole chest, all the bones. They sawed my chest, they pretty much open your chest up like a double door.It has to grow back together; that is why I have it there. So when I came up to the METALLICA show, I did not know if I would feel the same bad things as I felt in Dallas, and when they turned up the sound, I thought, "Oh my god, either I should just head home or it will work again." And then the sound came up and I did not feel anything. It was like it had grown together really well. And I had been at the surgeons just three weeks before just to know everything was really good, he had done an X-ray and told me it was growing together really well. But that was just singing. Then comes the second part. I have stopped smoking, and changed all of my habits. No smoking for over a year. And I can feel that on my voice; it really changes a lot. It has become so much crispier, it is much easier to sing all of those difficult high things. You can imagine — I have never been a singer and not been a smoker. This is the first time I feel what my voice is like without smoking. And it is a big difference, I can tell you. It's easier, it's like a brand new voice. But this new one is much better than the old one ever was. I'm really looking forward to do the other stuff. I had actually one more test, because San Francisco was like a test. Also the breathing, because when they do the operation they collapse your lungs. And you have to work hard to get your capacity back to normal. There was a showcase here in Dallas [in January 2012] where bands were battling for prizes, and there I got the chance to sing three songs. No one knew about it, I was just there as a presenter. But we did three songs and I picked those songs particularly for a test: "The Family Ghost", old KING DIAMOND from "Abigail" with lots of difficult high voices — it has never been that easy to sing it before. And "Burn" from "The Eye", which… it is very difficult to catch a breath here and there. Such long lines to be sung. It was to test the breathing. And that worked fine, too. And then we did "Evil" in the end, simply as a safety if I got out of breath or something. Often, the people that are there, the fans will sing every line in the first two verses. But I did not need that; afterwards I was not out of breath, I have never felt that good about singing… I think that was the best I've ever sung, that I did here two months ago. So I'm looking forward to get everything up. It's a big process for us, of course, because we have not done anything for five years, because I had a disc problem earlier, you know. But this might be a good thing, in the end, if everything goes well you might feel much younger than you really are. That is what the surgeon says. And I stick to a new diet and exercise every day. I go to an athletic center, things I did not do before. And the fact that I'm eating healthier and no cigarettes, I can feel it, you know.

Bara Metal: You mentioned your voice is much better. Before this better voice of yours, were you ever afraid to lose your ability to hit those high notes?

King: No, that I have never felt. Through the years, I have felt that it has grown slightly stronger and stronger and stronger. But other things play a role — it has to do with the overall… Not that I have never lacked confidence in being on stage, it is the whole surrounding, you have more professional crew through the years, and I know on stage, I know that they have got everything right when they put everything up, including monitor sound. I have hade the same lineup for a long time now and it is the best one I've played with ever in my life. I know exactly what they are doing. Something has to go really wrong, a broken string or something, for anything to be different. So it is a lot of confidence on stage, we have much more space and time for enjoying the whole procedure, having fun with the people who are there. Much more of that now. In the old days, when we came to like the end of "Black Horsemen", there is an extremely high note, and those places in the old days were scary to get to, because if the monitor sound is not the best possible, you push harder, and then your voice gets a bit scratchy on top. But if you have the perfect great sound on stage, then you relax. You don't put any more pressure on the vocal cords than is needed to take the notes. So there is a big difference there. But now – there is so much more of a difference. I felt some of that with METALLICA, but I knew that I could not quite judge that because METALLICA detunes very, very slightly. So that meant that those MERCY songs that were detuned, they would have been easier for me to sing. But the stuff we did here in Dallas. Our drummer was here and three other guys, super musicians, actually one of them is the guy who produce and records all my vocals for my albums, he is a multi musician, he can play all kinds of instruments. We rehearsed the three songs two times and that was it, but it was in normal tune so it would have been as hard as it has always been, but it was only pleasure. And I felt something that I had never felt before — that I sang perfectly. And those who were there they could certainly hear it too. That's what they said.

Bara Metal: You sound eager to get on tour to do it live.

King: Yeah, yeah, we are building a new production now and there is so much stuff to do. We are, in some ways, starting from scratch, working on a new record deal. We got a new booking agent. We are working on a new Internet shop where the fans can finally be able to get some genuine KING DIAMOND merchandise, official stuff. For the first time in our career we are finally coming out and actually doing things the right way, the way we should have done from the beginning. But you never get too old to learn. Sweden Rock and then Hellfest one week later — it's not a test, but it is a test. It will be the first full show we do since that happened. But I can't see what would go wrong. I've already tested things that I needed tested for myself.

Bara Metal: You had a break that lasted a whole year. What did you do?

King: Well, we did keep up with people. A lot. We started a thing where… it's a Skype website where people will sign up. And now and then I will call up fans and we talk. We have done that several times. We will call up three fans through that way, "King Diamond is calling you," and it could be one from Puerto Rico, one from Sweden, one from Scotland. We pick them randomly, but not the same person twice. Then we sit and talk for an hour. They can ask anything. They usually have a lot of question that are the same as the fans ask in the fan club, the Coven. So we get a lot of info out that way, and we upload it so other can listen to it. We are certainly in touch with our fans.

Bara Metal: During that year, 2011 — you did not start writing your autobiography?

King: No. One day it would be nice because I have tons of cool stories. But it has to be the right time. Now everything is concentrated on getting set for the festivals. We might do something in the U.S. this year, I'm not sure. Not right now. We are getting everything right, the right contracts, than next year we will be touring, and start writing new material, probably already this year. We have a lot to do. And I am a million percent sure that a lot of those experiences which happened at the hospital will be in the lyrics for the next album. I have things that I have to get out of my system.

Bara Metal: So… there will be new music in 2013?

King: That is absolutely the plan. Something has to go totally wrong for us not to do that. We will write material this fall. Hopefully during the autumn, we might do something here in the U.S., after the festivals. But we will not be doing a long tour, it is still a test, we will see what happens. We do not want to take stupid chances, it has to be done properly. And we have a lot to do still, but things are looking good.

Read the entire interview at Bara Metal.

The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce has announced that Slash will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, July 10 in front of Hard Rock Café on Hollywood Blvd.

"Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time," said Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk Of Fame ceremonies, "We are proud to place his name among the stars on our fabled Hollywood Walk Of Fame."

In celebration of the star dedication, Slash will perform at a private acoustic performance and exclusive question-and-answer session with Slash and Myles Kennedy at Hard Rock Café Hollywood Blvd. after the ceremony. Fans will have the opportunity to win tickets to the exclusive show by listening to KLOS 95.5 starting June 25.

Hard Rock has created a limited edition pin to commemorate the historic occasion of one of rock n roll's most iconic guitarists receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Only 300 of these pins will be created and will be sold only at the Hard Rock Café Hollywood Blvd. with all proceeds benefitting the Los Angeles Youth Network and the Hollywood Historic Trust which maintains the iconic Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Charlie Sheen, a neighbor and personal friend of Slash's who called himself a "Rock Star From Mars" when he underwent a public meltdown amid his firing from the CBS show "Two and a Half Men", will speak at Slash's induction ceremony.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Drummer Ian Haugland of Swedish hard rockers EUROPE has issued the following updateL

"What a bummer at [U.K.'s] Download [festival]. We were forced to cancel the show due to the fucked up weather... We had a bad start already in the morning when the flight was two hours delayed from [Stockholm, Sweden's] Arlanda due to hurricane winds at Heathrow.

"When we got to Heathrow, we had a tourbus that picked us up to drive us to the festival. But because of the delayed flight, we manged to catch Friday traffic from London... I've never been in a worse traffic jam ever! The traffic jams I've been in in Tokyo (that are relly bad) felt like open highway. The trip that was plannd to take two hours took close to four hours!!!

"When we finally approached the festival site, our crew, in a last desperate act to try and make the show, left the bus and started running across the muddy fields towards the festival area. They made it there and started putting up our stuff, but since we were still trapped in the traffic, it was too late!

"It felt really shitty when we got there... so close but so far away.

"We feel really bad for all the fans that came to se us, but what can you do when the weather gods are in a shitty mood!? We managed to some interviews, though, and the festival promotors didn't blame us, so hopefully we can come back another year.

"Once again... Sorry to all you guys the went through mud and rain to see us at Download! Bummer."

EUROPE's ninth studio album, "Bag Of Bones", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2.

"Bag Of Bones" was released in Europe on April 27 via earMusic/Edel. The CD, which features a guest appearance by blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), was produced by Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with IRON MAIDEN, JOE BONAMASSA, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BLACK STONE CHERRY and JOURNEY, among others.

The surviving members of the 2002 lineup of HEIR APPARENT will unite with vocalist Sean Aust to perform a short set in honor of the band's former lead singer, Bryan Hagan, who died on May 21 at the age of 39. The event will raise funds for Bryan's children and will be held on June 30 at Flight's Pub in Everett, Washington.

HEIR APPARENT's lineup for the show will be as follows:

Clint Clark - drums
Bobby Ferkovich - bass
Terry Gorle - guitar
Sean Aust - vocals

Also performing at the event will be DROWN MARY, FROM THE FALL and THE SAINTS OF DAMNATION.

Commented HEIR APPARENT: "Bryan sang with HEIR APPARENT during 2002-2003. He was a gentle giant, and a great friend. Bryan was slated as first choice to replace Paul Davidson for the 2012 reunion shows last January in Greece and Germany, but was unable to make the trip. We are shocked and tremendously saddened by his untimely passing. You will be greatly missed, my friend."

"Darkness Visible", HOLYHELL's new studio release of epic, power-goth metal, will now be released as digital album and as physical CD in fall 2012. The band had originally planned to make the effort available in June.

"We know that our fans have been eagerly awaiting our new album and we are equally excited to share it with the world. However, conflicting schedules forced us to suspend the work in the studio to get ready for our upcoming summer festival tour," explained HOLYHELL keyboardist and producer Francisco Palomo.

"We would never jeopardize the quality of our live performance for the sake of the studio work, and we would never jeopardize the quality of our records for the sake of our tour plans," Palomo continued. "We trust that our fans will understand this and thank them for their support and patience."

To bridge the waiting for this new studio album full of epic, power-goth metal, HOLYHELL will release the EP "Darkness Visible - The Warning" that will feature three songs from the forthcoming longplay album, and a never before released live version of the song "Armageddon", performed live at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio on March 12, 2011.

"Darkness Visible - The Warning" is scheduled for digital release on June 26 exclusively on iTunes and on the band's online store, The Kingdom Of Steel.

"Darkness Visible" is the band's sophomore follow-up to their debut record "HolyHell". It is described in a press release as "a fascinating blend of songs, showcasing the band's power lineup. [The CD] invites the listener on an unpredictable journey into their own soul. The record is heavy and hard-hitting with a melodic play between darkness and light. It is pure and it is powerful!"

"Darkness Visible" will be mixed and mastered at the legendary Wisseloord Studios by longtime collaborators, mixing engineer Ronald Prent and two-time Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper.

OBEY THE BRAVE, the new Canadian metal/hardcore band featuring former members of DESPISED ICON and BLIND WITNESS, has inked a deal with Epitaph Records. The group's debut album, "Young Blood", will be released on August 28.

A for the first track, "Get Real", can be seen below.

"I remember listening to my PENNYWISE and RANCID cassettes back in high school and daydreaming endlessly about being in a band and touring the world," says OBEY THE BRAVE lead vocalist Alex Erian. "If someone would have told me back then that I'd sign one day with the label that started it all, I would have never believed it. It feels unreal but my boys in OBEY THE BRAVE and I are definitely up to the challenge. We're extremely honored to now be part of the Epitaph family and are looking forward to many years of pure fucking destruction together!"

Originating from Montreal and Ottawa, Canada, OBEY THE BRAVE is vocalist Alex Erian (ex-DESPISED ICON), bassist Miguel Lepage, guitarist John Campbell, guitarist Greg Wood and drummer Stevie Morotti. Fueled by passion and a strong DIY ethic, OBEY THE BRAVE formed in January 2012 and gained over 14,000 Facebook fans in their first two weeks of existence, all without releasing a single song.

OBEY THE BRAVE will take its high-energy live performance across country on the All Stars Tour this summer.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/obeythebrave.

Baltimore, Maryland-based rock band CHARM CITY DEVILS (formerly known as FORTY ACRES and CHOSEN SON), has inked a worldwide deal with eOne Music. The band will release its second album, "Sins", on July 31.

"We are so excited to be part of the eOne family! We can't thank Dave Cash at Fat Lady Music for getting the ball rolling and bringing it to Scott Givens at eOne," says CHARM CITY DEVILS frontman John Allen. "When you find people with a passion for music and are willing to give a commitment to rock music, you know you're in the right place. The eOne staff has a fantastic reputation of developing new rock bands. Words can't express how happy we are to find a home with such a great label!"

The first single from "Sins", a cover of "Man Of Constant Sorrow" (from the Grammy-winning soundtrack of the George Clooney Oscar-nominated film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"), is quickly making a name for itself on the rock radio airwaves. "Man Of Constant Sorrow" recently debuted on Billboard's Active Rock chart at No. 36. The official video for the song has just been released and can be seen below. The clip was shot in Baltimore and directed by CHARM CITY DEVILS bassist Anthony Arambula.

When CHARM CITY DEVILS (singer John Allen, guitarist Vic Karrera, bassist Anthony Arambula, guitarist Nick Kay and drummer Jason Heiser) started to put the new album together, they discussed covering a classic song and incorporating it into their live show. Singer John Allen states, "There were many ideas kicked around, but which one? 'Man Of Constant Sorrow' came up and we decided to give it a try. It's an incredibly powerful song, but it was a challenge to develop and arrange it in a way that captured the essence of the song but would also rock! We all loved the version from 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Skidd Mills and I built a foundation and with much tweaking and editing, and I think we delivered a great version of the song. The song transcends generations. It's a timeless classic and it's been around a long time. I'm excited to bring it to a whole new group of rock fans."

Recorded at Sound Kitchen Studios in Nashville with Grammy-winning producer Skidd Mills (SAVING ABEL, EGYPT CENTRAL), "Sins" finds the Baltimore band adding harder, edgier tones to their blues-based roots. The result of the band's life experiences over the past few years, "Sins" features an aggression and energy that hits you right between the eyes. From the first note of "Spite" to the last cymbal crash of "Unstoppable", "Sins" showcases the band's power, directness and new found energy and intensity.

Guitarist Nick Kay reflects on the "Sins" recording process, "Our previous record had been a compilation of songs written and recorded over a two to three year period. It was recorded in a couple of different settings and tracked by a few different people. This time, we went into one studio with one producer to give the record a cohesive sound and direction."

"Everyone has ups and downs — that's life," proclaims singer John Allen. "I've been a professional musician since I could carry my gear and have seen and experienced what this industry 'good and bad' has to offer. We wanted 'Sins' to be deep with songs that people can relate to. On this record, I wanted to put it all out there with songs about love, anger, revenge, lust and all the emotions that I was feeling. Expressing what I, and everyone in this band, had been through. These feelings are universal. They touch everyone and we used our experiences to put together a powerful statement that we believe listeners can connect with."

And what about the album title? "When it came to giving the record a title we wanted something that hit a nerve," he continues. "We have five different personalities in this band and it can sometimes be a challenge to agree on one idea. The one thing we all could agree on is in one form or another we have all sinned. Some of us more than others."

"Sins" track listing:

01. Spite
02. Unstoppable
03. Man Of Constant Sorrow
04. Still Alive
05. Walk Away
06. Devil Is A Woman
07. Start It Up
08. Love N War
09. Blame
10. Problem
11. All You'll Ever Need
12. Doorstep

CHARM CITY DEVILS' debut album, "Let's Rock 'n' Roll", was released in May 2009 via Eleven Seven Music, helmed by then-label president Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE co-founder/bassist).

For more information, visit www.charmcitydevils.com.

Jägermeister U.K. conducted an interview with Los Angeles theatrical rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES frontman Andy Biersack told NME this past weekend that the group hopes to complete the follow-up to "Set The World On Fire" by the end of August. He also revealed that GOLDFINGER's John Feldmann is assisting BLACK VEIL BRIDES during the recording sessions for the new CD, which is tentatively due in October. The singer said, "We've got three songs tracked. We've set ourselves a deadline of the end of August to finish it. We've got 20 to 25 songs written and we're narrowing it down now. It's going to be more of a punk rock record than anything we've done before. It's SOCIAL DISTORTION meets METALLICA." Biersack also confirmed that the album has a title, but declined to reveal it, explaining, "Of course we've got a title. I don't do anything unless I think about it six months in advance. We've got a title, we've got a story. It's a bit of concept record, there's a very serious story behind it. It's full of surprises."

BLACK VEIL BRIDES' new song, "Unbroken", appeared on the soundtrack to this year's movie, "Marvel's The Avengers". "Unbroken" is included on "Avengers Assemble", a 14-track compilation of music from and inspired by the film. "Avengers Assemble" was released on May 1.

BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest EP, "Rebels", was released last December, exclusively through iTunes. The EP contains "Coffin", a new original track; a cover version of Billy Idol's '80s anthem "Rebel Yell", which BLACK VEIL BRIDES has been performing live; and a cover of KISS' "Unholy", featuring a guest guitar solo by Zakk Wylde. The EP, which boasts artwork by longtime BLACK VEIL BRIDES artist Richard Villa, also includes the six-minute director's cut of BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest video, "Rebel Love Song", which hadn't been seen anywhere until now.

Die US Post Hardcore Band WOLVES AT THE GATE, wird ihr Debut Album "Captors" am 3. Juli 2012 via Solid State Records veröffentlichen. Aufgenommen wurde das Album mit Produzent Andreas Magnussen (Oh, Sleeper, Haste The Day) in den USA. Jetzt wurde derneue Song "Awaken" HIER als stream online gestellt.

"Captors" Track List:

01. The Harvest
02. Awaken
03. Morning Star
04. Dead Man
05. In Your Wake
06. Slaves
07. Step Out To The Water
08. Amnesty
09. Safeguards
10. Through The Night
11. Man Of Sorrows