Swedish death metallers SECTU will release their second album, "Gerra" (ViciSolum Productions), on June 1, only a year after the arrival of their highly acclaimed debut, "Inundate".

SECTU has undergone changes in the lineup with the addition of guitarist Anders Ericson (BEYOND TWILIGHT) and bassist Johan Niemann (EVERGREY, THERION).

"Gerra" track listing:

01. Gerra/Incinerate
02. Nightwraiths
03. Summon the Bringer of Demise
04. Havoc
05. Court of the Sloths
06. Manifest
07. Declaration of War
08. Allured God
09. Divest
10. The All Engorging Furnace

SECTU will perform at the Metaltown festival in Gothenburg on June 15.

Drummer Mark "Bam Bam" McConnell, who was a member of former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach's touring band from 1997 to 2005, passed away this morning (Thursday, May 24) in a Gainesville, Florida hospital. According to unconfirmed online reports, the musician's liver and kidneys had shut down, which led to partial brain damage.

A relative of Mark's wrote on Facebook, "Mark passed at 9:42 this morning surrounded by family and close friends. We will miss him…he was precious to all of us and touched all our hearts deeply and profoundly. On behalf of our family, thank you to all of you for your prayers and support. We will post more info when we've had a chance to catch our breaths."

Bam Bam's wife Rikki McConnell wrote: "My sweet, beautiful best friend and husband. I miss you SO much and so do Sara and Patch. I'll take good care of them. My time with you was way too short but what an adventure! WOW! I'LL LOVE YOU ALWAYS AND ALWAYS! You'll forever be in my heart!!! XOXOXOXOX."

It was only yesterday that Bach urged everyone to "say a prayer" for Bam Bam, calling McConnell "an amazing drummer and lifelong friend." He added, "We love you, Bam Bam. You can kick this in the ass just like you play your drums!! Fight hard, buddy. We all wanna rock with you. We love ya, dude."

In a 1999 interview, Bach stated about McConnell, "He is on fire. When we toured in '98 with PANTERA, Vinnie Paul was like, 'Man, how many fuckin' pieces does your drummer have?' And for Vinnie Paul to say that. . . And Mark has always been a powerhouse. I am the luckiest guy in the world because I have Anton Fig from David Letterman's band on all of the studio tracks for 'Bring 'Em Bach Alive' and Mark on all of the live stuff, two of the greatest drummers in the world."

BUTCHER BABIES' video for the song "Mr. Slowdeath" can be seen below. The track, produced by Mudrock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, GODSMACK), comes off the band's self-released EP, which will be on sale everywhere May 29.

Fronted by Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd — former Playboy TV and radio personalities that are rarely seen wearing more than strategically placed electrical tape and a gallon or so of blood — and backed by Henry Flury (AMEN) on lead guitar, Jason Klein (AZDACHAO) on bass, and Chris Warner (SCARS OF TOMORROW) on drums, the BUTCHER BABIES describe their sound as "heavy fucking metal co-fronted by two girls that don't give a shit, and backed by three guys with writing techniques so different that they complement each other. Between our combined influences of thrash, punk, experimental, death, and nu-metal, we've managed to create our own sound that, in a nutshell, is pure sex, blood, and rock and roll."

When asked by Revolver magazine why the BUTCHER BABIES refer to themselves as "slut metal" and what the hell "slut metal" exactly is, Shepherd said, "We can't go balls out — so we go tits out! When girls are perceived as sexual or outspoken, they get labeled sluts, but we embrace those qualities and bring them to our music as well. BUTCHER BABIES is true slut metal: We're doing what we want, how we want."

On the topic of BUTCHER BABIES' goals, Harvey told Revolver, "To bring slut metal to the masses — duh! In all seriousness, we feel like we are just touching on what we are capable of, and we want to continue to grow, get our music out there, and get on the road! There are so many repressed people out there that need to see a show like ours. Hopefully they will take home with them the message that they are able to do everything they want to do regardless of who they are told they are supposed to be."

"Mr. Slowdeath" video:

"Chaos And Live Shots", a brand new DVD from German thrashers ASSASSIN, will be released in September. The disc is expected to feature footage of the band's spring 2010 concerts in Japan. Check out a trailer below.

ASSASSIN's latest album, "Breaking The Silence", came out in February 2011 via SPV/Steamhammer Records. The CD was recorded with veteran metal producer Harris Johns, who has previously worked with VOIVOD, KREATOR and SODOM, among many others.

SPV/Steamhammer also reissued ASSASSIN's classic LPs, 1987's "The Upcoming Terror" and 1988's "Interstellar Experience".

ASSASSIN reunited in 2002 and performed at the 2003 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival.

The June 2012 issue of Germany's Rock Hard magazine will feature an exclusive KREATOR live CD which will not be available in stores. "Terror Prevails Part 2 - Live At Rock Hard Festival" is the follow-up to the outstanding recording Rock Hard released with the magazine in December 2010. "It‘s an awesome, smashing live performance and celebrates 25 years of KREATOR," states Rock Hard publisher Holger Stratmann. "Thanks to the long friendship with Mille [Petrozza, KREATOR guitarist/vocalist], we are very proud to be the first magazine worldwide to have a free covermounted double-live-album for the fans."

Added Petrozza: "After 25 years, I want to give something back to the fans, especially the Rock Hard readers. This CD is meant as a 'thank you' for all their great support."

"Terror Prevails Part 2 - Live At Rock Hard Festival" was recorded only three miles from the KREATOR homebase at the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Extreme Aggressions
02. Coma of Souls
03. Amok Run
04. Violent Revolution
05. Demon Prince
06. When The Sun Burns Red
07. Flag Of Hate
08. Tormentor

Check out audio samples in the YouTube clip below.

The Rock Hard issue containing the "Terror Prevails Part 2 - Live At Rock Hard Festival" CD can be ordered by writing to versand@rockhard.de.

On May 31, the June issue of Rock Hard will hit newsstands in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a circulation of 75,000 copies.

KREATOR's new album, "Phantom Antichrist", will be released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).

On Monday, May 21, Finnish rock cello quartet APOCALYPTICA played a special "mini acoustic set" at Scrape Records in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, followed by a meet-and-greet. You can watch video footage of their appearance below.

The setlist was as follows:

01. End Of Me (feat. singer Tipe Johnson)
02. I'm Not Jesus (feat. singer Tipe Johnson)
03. Quutamo (instrumental)
04. Nothing Else Matters (METALLICA cover) (instumental)
05. I Don't Care (feat. singer Tipe Johnson)
06. Hall Of The Mountain King (instrumental)

APOCALYPTICA's latest album, "7th Symphony", sold around 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 31 on The Billboard 200 chart. The majority of the album was produced by Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, BAD RELIGION), with two other songs produced by Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MOTÖRHEAD, PAPA ROACH).

Just like on their previous album, "Worlds Collide", APOCALYPTICA employed guest vocalists for several tracks on the record. APOCALYPTICA member Eicca Toppinen told The Pulse of Radio that it's always a challenge to fit the band's music around each individual singer's style. "You know, there's certain challenges, but we also, we always want to see how the vocals fit in that, "he said. "(But) after that, we work on the arrangements and see what else with the cellos we can create around the vocals. But I think with everybody — we've been so lucky to work with some great people, so it's always pretty easy."

APOCALYPTICA traveled to Los Angeles to shoot a music video for "End Of Me", the first single from "7th Symphony". The song featured BUSH singer Gavin Rossdale on vocals, with Rossdale also making an appearance in the video.

Other guest artists on "7th Symphony" included SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith, vocalist Joseph Duplantier of French metal act GOJIRA and drummer Dave Lombardo from SLAYER.

More professionally filmed video footage of veteran female-fronted German thrashers HOLY MOSES performing at the Walpurgis Metal Days on April 27 at Festplatz in Hauzenberg, Germany can be seen below.

HOLY MOSES released the "30th Anniversary - In The Power Of Now" double album on April 30 in Germany, April 23 in the rest of Europe and early May in North America via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD contains re-recorded versions of 20 of the most important songs in HOLY MOSES' 30-year catalog along with two brand new tracks.

"30th Anniversary - In The Power Of Now" track listing:

CD 1

01. Clash My Soul (02:36)
02. Jungle Of Lies (03:46)
03. Finished With The Dogs (02:29)
04. Symbol Of Spirit (03:42)
05. World Chaos (03:12)
06. SSP (03:40)
07. Borderland (03:27) (brand new song)
08. Lost In The Maze (05:51)
09. Walpurgisnight (02:58)
10. Welcome To The Real World (03:31)
11. Near Dark (05:30)

CD 2

01. Reborn Dogs (03:50)
02. Def Con II (04:26)
03. I Feel Sick (03:48)
04. Nothing For My Mum (03:51)
05. Disorder Of The Order (04:14)
06. Corroded Dreams (04:04)
07. Entering The Now (03:40) (brand new song)
08. Creation Of Violation (03:56)
09. Panic (03:13)
10. Decapitated Minds (03:40)
11. Master Of Disaster (03:45)

HOLY MOSES recently parted ways with longtime guitarist Michael Hankel and replaced him with Peter "Pete" Geltat (ex-DESILENCE).

HOLY MOSES is:

Sabina Classen - Vocals
Michael Hankel - Guitars
Oliver Jaath - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Gerd Lücking - Drums
Thomas Neitsch - Bass

"Agony of Death", the latest album from HOLY MOSES, was released in September 2008 in Europe via Wacken Records/SPV. The CD was recorded at the Blue Castle Studio near Hamburg with producer/guitar player Michael Hankel. DESTRUCTION, OBITUARY and AXEL RUDI PELL members are among the guest musicians who appear on the album.

"Figure It Out", the new video from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian, can be seen below. The song is the first single from Serj's new studio album, "Harakiri", which will be released July 10 on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike.

"Harakiri", a Japanese word meaning ritual suicide, is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed "Imperfect Harmonies", and the third solo release from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman. As with 2007's "Elect The Dead" and "Imperfect Harmonies", Serj produced "Harakiri" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. He tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," explains Serj. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results." The album will also feature performances by Serj's touring band, THE F.C.C. — Dan Monti on guitar, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album was mastered by Vlado Meller (METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KANYE WEST, BEASTIE BOYS).

Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so far." In February, the rock musical "Prometheus Bound", which he composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release his second poetry book, "Glaring Through Oblivion". He toured with SYSTEM OF A DOWN across three continents, performed with the Opera Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the U.S., he finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, a full classical symphony called "Orca", and the new solo rock record that he is currently mastering.

"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, New Zealand were setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within five days of that, reports came out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."

The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo artist," he says. "It is much more driving and punk-oriented, with influences ranging from goth to electronic to '80s vibes, dynamically heavy rock to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."

He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," he says. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results."

A trailer for the limited-edition bundle for "Harakiri", can be seen below.

The bundle includes:

* "Harakiri" on CD
* 18" x 24" limited-edition lithograph poster
* Download of two bonus tracks that will be delivered on July 10
* Instant download of the new single "Figure It Out"

"Figure It Out" video:

Better-quality fan-filmed video footage of DOWN performing a brand new song, "The Misfortune Teller", on May 21 at Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina can be seen below. Also available is more video footage of the Asheville concert.

DOWN entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next few years (with a year between EPs), each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound.

The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, will be released "late summer," according to guitarist Kirk Windstein. "[It's] kind of a throwback to what we were doing at the very beginning, on the 'Nola' record [DOWN's 1995 debut]," he said. "I think the fans are going to love it."

DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo recently described the band's new EP as "very stripped down. Nothing flashy. Straight to the point… really just DOWN music. If you liked the first record, the demos… something like that… This record, we're pretty dead straight and honest and on the money as far as making it as simple and direct as possible and I think we did that. . . It has that practice-room vibe to it. We didn't really try and fucking slick it out and anything. We went the more raw route, as far as an approach."for yourselves and you guys will be better judges than myself at this point."

The track listing for the effort is as follows (in no particular order):

01. Levitation
02. Witchtripper
03. The Misfortune Teller
04. The Curse Is A Lie
05. Open Coffins
06. This Work Is Timeless

Christian metallers TOURNIQUET will release a new album, "Antiseptic Bloodbath", this summer via Pathogenic Records. A teaser trailer for the CD can be seen below. Also available is the album's cover artwork, which was created by Travis Smith of Seempieces (OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND, NEVERMORE, ICED EARTH, DEATH, AMORPHIS).

Commented TOURNIQUET: "The title track, 'Antiseptic Bloodbath', speaks of the way our society prefers to sanitize brutality. We can have our tidy Christian faith, or continue with no faith at all, as long as we don't consider the painful bloody price that was paid for us.

"We use animals for our food, profit, and amusement, but would rather not know about the needless, often systematic suffering that is inflicted on them by a callous and greedy humanity. 'Don't upset my comfort zone — brutal truth, leave me alone.' The great news is that we have the ability to choose. This album encourages us to make good and humane choices in our daily lives that reflect these images."

TOURNIQUET's last studio release, 2003's "Where Moth and Rust Destroy" (Metal Blade), featured special guest appearances by guitarists Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH) and Bruce Franklin (TROUBLE).

Sänger Edu Falaschi ist nicht mehr bei der brasilianischen Metal Band ANGRA . Der Künstler hat heute folgende offizielle Erklärung veröffentlicht!

“Dear friends, fans and partners,

There comes a moment in a man’s life when it is necessary to make a radical decision in order to move forward with dignity and renewed energy.

I’m in a very happy moment, where now, at age 40, I’m fulfilled and incredibly satisfied to have succeeded in making almost all my personal and professional dreams come true.
I have a beautiful family, many wonderful friends and fans who have followed me for over 20 years and a lasting career with more than 15 albums released, several world tours and thousands of copies sold worldwide.

I am a lucky person to have made it this far, singing Heavy Metal and been around the planet playing the music I love the most.

I’ve been thinking for some time now, about the path to follow and finally came to the conclusion that it is time to take the more natural road.

It is with a mixture of relief, joy and sadness that I have to declare that from today on I am not the voice of ANGRA anymore, I’m leaving the band already missing a lot of what we built together, specially the happy times of Rebirth and Temple of Shadows. I will never forget everything that we experienced from good to bad times, after all we must always look at the good side of things, even when things are most difficult.

I am eternally grateful for those 10 years of many victories and for all the opportunities given to me, I wish them luck on their journeys.

Whenever they want or need I will be around and ready to support them! I am and will always be very proud of our history! My life is music and music is the food to my soul. I have many plans and projects for the future! Some of them are already well established, strong and generating excellent results and so, they demand and deserve my full dedication, and of all the people involved in it. That’s why I also want to announce that Felipe Andreoli is not the Almah’s bass-player anymore! He will keep working only with Angra and his other projects!

I will go on with my ideals and my career as a singer, songwriter and producer.
Thank you all, with love…

Edu Falaschi”

AEROSMITH will release its long-awaited 15th studio album, "Music From Another Dimension", on August 28 via Columbia Records. The first song to be made available from the CD is a reworked version of the band's 1991 outtake "Legendary Child", which was originally written during the "Get A Grip" sessions. The track, which can be streamed below, will also be included in the upcoming film "GI Joe: Retaliation", the release of which has now been pushed back to March 2013.

AEROSMITH performed "Legendary Child" earlier tonight (Wednesday, May 23) on the season finale of "American Idol". Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"Music From Another Dimension" track listing:

01. What Could Have Been Love
02. Beautiful
03. Street Jesus
04. Legendary Child
05. Oh Yeah
06. We All Fall Down
07. Another Last Goodbye
08. Out Go the Lights
09. Love Three Times a Day (Hello Goodbye)
10. Closer
11. Shakey Ground
12. Lover A Lot
13. Freedom Fighter
14. Up On The Mountain

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while singer Steven Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

"Music From Another Dimension" is being helmed by producer Jack Douglas, who previously worked with AEROSMITH on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" as well as on 2004's "Honkin' On Bobo".

"This record is different from the recent past, say the last 20 years, where everybody is getting in the studio and throwing down their songs," guitarist Joe Perry recently told Billboard.com. "This record is a lot more band-written stuff than there has been in the recent past."

AEROSMITH's "The Global Warming" tour will kick it off on June 16 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and 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," 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."

VNV NATION haben es endlich getan! Die EP "Crossing The Divide" sollte eigentlich vor zwei Jahren, also im Mai 2010 erscheinen. Geplant war eine Remix-EP zum damals aktuellen Album "Of Faith Power And Glory". Jedoch mussten sich die Fans immer wieder in Geduld üben, denn der Releasetermin wurde ständig verschoben. Die Band gab auf den Tag genau vor einem Jahr bekannt gab, dass man sich als Wiedergutmachung für die lange Wartezeit letztendlich dazu entschließt, die EP als kostenloser Download anzubieten. Auch wenn es noch ein zusätzliches Jahr gedauert hat - jetzt ist es soweit und VNV Nation lösen ihr Versprechen ein.

Als Veröffentlichungskanal wurde die Musikplattform Soundcloud gewählt. Die sechs Tracks wurden von hochkarätigen Künstlern durch den Wolf gedreht und klingen ohne Ausnahme fantastisch. Als Remixer konnten Reaper, Nomenklatur, Rotersand, Jade Puget - AFI, Daniel Myer und Leaether Strip für die EP gewonnen werden. Auch prima - alle Songs wurden im verlustfreien WAV-Format als Download bereitgestellt.

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — who late last year confirmed the recording of their first new album in more than 33 years and a worldwide headlining tour — had to put some plans on hold due to guitarist Tony Iommi's battle with lymphoma. At this time, BLACK SABBATH will perform only one show of this summer's previously scheduled European tour. It will take place Sunday, June 10 at the U.K.'s Download festival.

So as not to let the promoters and fans down, SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne is now performing the majority of the previously scheduled BLACK SABBATH European dates (both festival performances and the headlining shows) billed as OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS. These "first-ever" OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS shows are featuring appearances by "special guest" musicians, including Geezer Butler (who is joining Ozzy for a special BLACK SABBATH set as a show of respect and support to their friend, Tony Iommi) and longtime former Ozzy bandmember Zakk Wylde. In addition, Ozzy is being accompanied by longtime collaborator and friend Slash at select shows, with other "special guests" set to join the tour at various stops along the way (full list of dates, appearances below).

The first OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS concert took place last night (Wednesday, May 23) at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.

According to Soundi.fi, the setlist for the show was as follows:

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
Gus G. (guitar)
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass)
Tommy Clufetos (drums)

01. Bark At The Moon
02. Mr. Crowley
03. Suicide Solution
04. The Ultimate Sin
05. I Don't Know
06. Killer Of Giants
07. Shot In The Dark
08. Rat Salad

Blasko goes off stage, Geezer Butler comes on

09. Iron Man (BLACK SABBATH)
10. War Pigs (BLACK SABBATH)
11. N.I.B. (BLACK SABBATH)

Gus G. goes off stage, Zakk Wylde comes on

12. Fairies Wear Boots (BLACK SABBATH)
13. Into The Void (BLACK SABBATH)

Geezer Butler goes off stage, Blasko comes back on

14. Road To Nowhere
15. I Don't Wanna Change The World
16. Fire In The Sky
17. Crazy Train
18. Mama I'm Coming Home

Geezer Butler and Gus G. come back on stage

19. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)

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

In a recent interview with The Nervous Breakdown, Zakk Wylde stated about the setlist for the upcoming OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS shows, "[Current Ozzy bandmembers] Gus G., Blasko and Tommy [Clufetos] are coming out and doing a bunch of tunes, then I come out with Blasko and Tommy and we end up doing a bunch of stuff from the era when I was with The Boss, from 'No Rest For The Wicked' all the way through everything I've ever done with him. Then Geezer [Butler, BLACK SABBATH bassist] comes out and we do a bunch of SABBATH stuff and at the end, Slash and everybody — Geezer, Slash, Gus — and we all play 'Paranoid'."

Swedish hard rockers BULLET will release their new album, "Full Pull", on September 14 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Gutterview Recorders in Solna, Sweden with producers Nicke Andersson (HELLACOPTERS, ENTOMBED) and Fred Estby (DISMEMBER). The band states, "We think this is going to be our best album thus far. Expect the hardest-rocking BULLET album yet recorded!"

BULLET's third full-length album "Highway Pirates", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 3.

"Highway Pirates" was mixed by Tobias Lindell, who has previously worked with such Swedish rock bands as EUROPE, MUSTASCH and HARDCORE SUPERSTAR.

Legendary Swedish death metallers GRAVE have finished mastering their new album, "Endless Procession Of Souls", for a fall 2012 release via Century Media Records. The band recorded 12 songs — nine new tracks plus three "very special" cuts — at their own Studio Soulless for the CD< which was previously described by GRAVE guitarist/vocalist Ola Lindgren: "a mix of our latest two releases with some more old-school, groovy 'Soulless' parts."

GRAVE recently parted ways with its guitarist of three years, Magnus Martinsson.

GRAVE's current lineup is as follows:

Ola Lindgren - Guitar/Vocals
Mika Lagrén - Guitar
Ronnie Bergerstål - Drums
Tobias Cristiansson – Bass

GRAVE's November 12, 2011 concert at Club Distortion/Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden was filmed for future release. The band celebrated the 20th anniversary of its classic 1991 debut album, "Into The Grave", by performing the LP in its entirety, along with "another handful classic tunes."

GRAVE in September 2011 completed a North American headlining tour with support from BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY and GIGAN.

A two-and-a-half-minute video update from AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton regarding the status of the recording and mixing sessions for the band's new album can be seen below.

"All right, the record's being mixed," Tom says in the clip. "We're getting ready to put this thing out. Actually, the record is not coming out in its entirety until September, but we're going to feed you little chunks of it between now and then. . . We're at the end phase out in L.A., where Steven [Tyler] put his voice on everything, and Joe [Perry] put his lead-guitar stuff, his final leads. Actually, a few more songs came along while we were out there."

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while singer Steven Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

Tentatively due in September, the CD is being helmed by producer Jack Douglas, who previously worked with AEROSMITH on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" as well as on 2004's "Honkin' On Bobo".

"This record is different from the recent past, say the last 20 years, where everybody is getting in the studio and throwing down their songs," guitarist Joe Perry recently told Billboard.com. "This record is a lot more band-written stuff than there has been in the recent past."

AEROSMITH recently mixed a reworked version of its 1991 outtake "Legendary Child" (originally written during the "Get A Grip" sessions) for inclusion in the upcoming summer film "GI Joe: Retaliation" (which arrives in theaters around the U.S. on June 29).

AEROSMITH's "The Global Warming" tour will kick it off on June 16 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and 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," 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."

Quality video footage of Dutch singer Anneke Van Giersbergen's (AGUA DE ANNIQUE, ex-THE GATHERING) May 22 performance at Le Bikini in Toulouse, France can be seen below.

Anneke's new solo album, "Everything Is Changing", was released on January 20 via PIAS Holland. The CD was recorded at Ultrasound Studios in Braga, Portugal with producer Daniel Cardoso.

"Everything Is Changing" track listing:

01. Feel Alive (3:37)
02. You Want To Be Free (3:23)
03. Everything Is Changing (3:18)
04. Take Me Home (3:23)
05. I Wake Up (3:30)
06. Circles (4:00)
07. My Boy (4:15)
08. Stay (4:08)
09. Hope, Pray, Dance, Play (3:19)
10. Slow Me Down (2:57)
11. Too Late (4:11)
12. 1000 Miles Away From You (4:59)

Check out audio samples at Amazon.com.

ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN & AGUA DE ANNIQUE's third album, "In Your Room", was released on October 30, 2009. The 12-song effort was written entirely by Anneke except for two tracks: "Just Fine" was co-written with Devin Townsend and "Adore" was composed by AGUA DE ANNIQUE bassist Jacques de Haard and Cyril Crutz.

Jon Oliva (SAVATAGE, JON OLIVA'S PAIN) has recorded guest vocals on two songs for inclusion on the new album from Italian folk/power metallers ELVENKING, due this fall via AFM Records.

ELVENKING entered Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland on February 24 with producer Nino Laurenne (AMORPHIS, LORDI, SONATA ARCTICA, APOCALYPTICA) to begin recording the new CD. Nino previously worked with the band on "The Winter Wake" and "The Scythe" CDs.

ELVENKING recently parted ways with bassist Gorlan and replaced him with Jakob.

Drummer Zender left ELVENKING last year for "personal" reasons and was replaced by Symohn.

ELVENKING's most recent album, "Red Silent Tides", was released on September 17, 2010 in Europe (November 9, 2010 in North America) via AFM Records.

Professionally filmed video footage of MASTODON performing the song "All The Heavy Lifting" on February 11 at the O2 Academy in Brixton, England (suburban London) can be seen below.

MASTODON is touring in support of its latest album "The Hunter", which was released by Reprise Records in September. The band's latest trek kicked off on April 4 in Portland, Maine, and visited more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up with a hometown show at Atlanta's Masquerade Music Park on May 12. These shows featured Swedish metal band OPETH as co-headliners, with special guest GHOST providing support on all dates.

MASTODON last month released a split seven-inch single with Canadian singer-songwriter Feist to celebrate Record Store Day. This very exclusive and highly anticipated pressing features MASTODON covering the Feist song "A Commotion", while Feist covers MASTODON's "Black Tongue".

MASTODON 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 Grammy nomination was for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter".

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".

Fan-filmed video footage of DOWN performing a brand new song, "The Misfortune Teller", on May 21 at Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina can be seen below.

DOWN entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next few years (with a year between EPs), each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound.

The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, will be released "late summer," according to guitarist Kirk Windstein. "[It's] kind of a throwback to what we were doing at the very beginning, on the 'Nola' record [DOWN's 1995 debut]," he said. "I think the fans are going to love it."

DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo recently described the band's new EP as "very stripped down. Nothing flashy. Straight to the point… really just DOWN music. If you liked the first record, the demos… something like that… This record, we're pretty dead straight and honest and on the money as far as making it as simple and direct as possible and I think we did that. . . It has that practice-room vibe to it. We didn't really try and fucking slick it out and anything. We went the more raw route, as far as an approach."for yourselves and you guys will be better judges than myself at this point."

The track listing for the effort is as follows (in no particular order):

01. Levitation
02. Witchtripper
03. The Misfortune Teller
04. The Curse Is A Lie
05. Open Coffins
06. This Work Is Timeless

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with Andreas Kisser of Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA before the band's April 30 concert at the Gramercy Theater in New York City. You can now watch the chat in two parts below.

When asked about the possibility of SEPULTURA one day reuniting with former members Max (guitar, vocals) and Igor Cavalera (drums), Andreas said, "Possibilities are open all the time, but there is nothing in the [works]. It's not part of our plans. We have totally different plans; we have a busy year [ahead of us]. We will maybe start thinking about a new album for next year and stuff."

He added, "[We have been getting questions about a reunion] since Max left the band, and more strongly after Igor left the band. But it's a part of what SEPULTURA is. What can I do?! It's a rich history behind [the band], with many changes. And I guess we're gonna be talking about that forever.

"If something like that were to happen, it would have to [happen] very naturally. Because SEPULTURA was always like that — it was not made by managers or a business offer; it was made by people who love to play together and [make] music together. The consequence of what SEPULTURA [accomplished] is only because of that. So if we [did] it right, it would be cool. But I don't see it happening."

SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25, 2011 in Lichtenfels, Germany.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.

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