American power metallers ICED EARTH played their final show with singer Matt Barlow at this year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival on August 6 in Wacken, Germany. Professionally filmed video footage of the entire performance can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Burning Times
02. Declaration Day
03. Vengeance Is Mine
04. Violate
05. Last December
06. I Died for You
07. Jack
08. The Hunter
09. Prophecy
10. Birth of the Wicked
11. The Coming Curse

Encore:

12. Iced Earth

Matt Barlow has announced his de

Indiana-based Christian metalcore band HASTE THE DAY will release a live album, "Haste The Day Vs. Haste The Day", on September 13 via Solid State Records. The LP, which features members both past and present, spans the band's catalogue of six releases and nearly 10 years.

"Haste The Day Vs. Haste The Day" was recorded live at the all-ages music venue Rhino's in Bloomington, Indiana on June 29, 2010, also serving as the album release show for "Attack Of The Wolf King", the band's final studio LP. The live CD was engineered and mixed by Brian Thorburn of Threshold Studios, also credited with producing, engineering and mixing HASTE THE DAY's cover of THE BLACK EYED PEAS hit song "Meet Me Halfway".

"Haste The Day Vs. Haste The Day" will be accompanied by a DVD, which was also shot at the June 2010 event. The camera shoot was coordinated and produced by long-time manager Mark LaFay and later edited by David Brodsky of MyGoodEye. The DVD will give fans old and new a chance to see all previous and current members of HASTE THE DAY perform songs from all eras of the band's career.

CD track listing:

01. 68
02. Pressure The Hinges
03. Blue 42
04. Fallen
05. Minor Prophets
06. Autumn
07. The Closest Thing To Closure
08. Walk On
09. White Collar
10. Needles
11. Travesty
12. Dog Like Vultures
13. American Love
14. Substance
15. When Everything Falls

DVD track listing:

01. 68
02. Pressure The Hinges
03. Blue 42
04. Fallen
05. The Minor Prophets
06. Mad Man
07. Autumn
08. The Closest Thing To Closure
09. Walk On
10. White Collar
11. Needles
12. Travesty
13. Dog Like Vultures
14. Wake Up The Sun
15. American Love
16. Substance
17. When Everything Falls

Swedish melodic rockers DEAD BY APRIL will release their second studio album, "Incomparable", through Spinefarm Records on November 7. A new single/video, "Calling", will be made available on September 19; this is actually the second single from the new album, following on from "Within My Heart", released earlier this year.

Produced by Swedish studio-meister Jacob Hellner (RAMMSTEIN) in his own Big Island Studio in Stockholm, "Incomparable" has been mixed by fellow RAMMSTEIN regular Stefan Glaumann and features session guitar work from Pontus Hjelm, who left DEAD BY APRIL last year to focus more on the writing and production side; his songs (including "More Than Yesterday", a demo version of which was included on the compilation mini-album "Stronger", recently released via Spinefarm) will also feature, providing the all-important continuity with the self-titled debut, a Top 2 outing in Sweden.

Commented the band: "The new recordings are now complete, and we're delighted with the way they've turned out — they are WAY beyond anything we've done before, smashing our debut! Jacob Hellner has given us the heaviness we've always craved… we are super-excited, and can't wait for our fans, and everyone else, to hear the results!"

DEAD BY APRIL will embark on a headlining U.K. tour in November, with support from MARIONETTE and MACHINAE SUPREMACY.

IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson has slammed Anders Breivik, the man responsible for killing 77 people in Norway, as an "asshole."

Breivik, a white native Norwegian, was described by the Guardian as "a Christian fundamentalist with a deep hatred of multiculturalism, of the left, and of Muslims."

During IRON MAIDEN's concert last night (Friday, August 5) at the O2 Arena in London, England, Dickinson introduced the song "Blood Brothers" by saying, "[IRON] MAIDEN is not just about [playing in places like] this now — MAIDEN is about everywhere in the world.

"There's something [in our music and message] that unites people, and it doesn't matter what color they are or what religion they are, or whether they are male or female or somewhere in between.

"We were in Belfast the other night [where you hear] all the bullshit about Protestant, Catholic, this and that and the other. And I just said, 'Look, this is a safe house, this is our house, this is MAIDEN's house, everybody's fucking welcome and we don't turn anybody away, no matter who they are. Except maybe… We were in Oslo the other week [where] the most recent, bullshit, appalling atrocity wasn't committed by a Muslim, it was committed by somebody who called themselves a Christian — the asshole over there, really. Unbelievable."

Fan-filmed video footage of Bruce's speech can be seen below.

IRON MAIDEN's set included five songs from the band's latest album, "The Final Frontier", sandwiched between classics from the group's back catalogue.

IRON MAIDEN's setlist was as follows:

01. Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
02. El Dorado
03. 2 Minutes To Midnight
04. The Talisman
05. Coming Home
06. Dance Of Death
07. The Trooper
08. The Wicker Man
09. Blood Brothers
10. When The Wild Wind Blows
11. The Evil That Men Do
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden

Encore:

14. The Number of the Beast
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
16. Running Free

As previously reported, IRON MAIDEN did not perform its classic song "The Trooper" during its headlining concert in Belfast, Northern Ireland on August 3. Although no official explanation was given by the group for its decision to omit the track from the setlist, MAIDEN fans are speculating that this is because the band's mascot, Eddie, has been an inspiration for several Irish loyalist paramilitaries who have used its image from "The Trooper" single on wall murals throughout the North of Ireland (Photo#1, Photo#2, Photo#3).

Back in 2003, MAIDEN's Irish fans erupted in fury when Dickinson provocatively waved two giant Union Jacks during the band's first concert in Ireland in almost 10 years.

In addition to Dickinson, 52, MAIDEN features guitarists Adrian Smith, Janick Gers and Dave Murray, all 54, plus bassist Steve Harris, 55, and drummer Nicko McBrain, 57.

Vocalist Biff Byford of British heavy metal legends SAXON has issued the following update:

"The shows in Spain with [JUDAS] PRIEST were fantastic. Great audience and good to meet them again and MOTÖRHEAD.

"Shows in Tokyo were special. First band there after earthquake so they said great atmosphere and we spent some time at the meet-and-greet.

"We are announcing further shows soon, which will make this tour the longest for many years, I think. It will be around 150 days since March all around the world.

"I am working on setting more charity meet-and-greets; will be talking to the promoters when dates get confirmed. So off for a well-earned rest and a curry. Next show Poland and then holidays.

"Some people are talking of reunions. I can tell you all now while ever ex-members are living in the past and pretending to be in SAXON at every opportunity, there will be no reunion.

"As I have said before: we allowed them to use OLIVER DAWSON SAXON [featuring founding SAXON members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson], so they could earn money, but they are not allowed to do anything else.

"I know all of you do not like the fact that they can use this name, but if they cross the line too far, we will enforce our high court injunction. After all, we did allow them to appear on the 'Heavy Metal Thunder' live DVD which was done for the fans as it should be.

"SAXON are on a fantastic journey at the moment and we have a great legacy of music, but that includes all our music, not just parts of it."

"Viva La Resistance", the title track of the second album from HATE GALLERY, the rock band featuring Janne Jarvis and Rille Lundell from WARRIOR SOUL, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The CD, which in June entered the Finnish national chart at position No. 26, will be made available in the rest of Europe and Japan in October.

"I'm personally amazed that this album got finished at all," said bassist/vocalist Janne Jarvis. "I've never experienced a more difficult project, but in many ways that's just tough shit. Nobody died and a bit of a struggle sometimes makes the end result more vital."

According to a press release, the song "Viva La Resistance" and the rest of the album deal with the struggle to maintain our freedom in 2011 as we struggle against surveillance, mind control, fear-mongering and the steady march into totalitarianism.

Stated the band: "'Viva La Resistance' is not a rock album for the sake of a rock album. We were compelled to speak out. This is a soundtrack for the modern world we live in, as we stand by while our freedoms are slowly being corroded by dark forces.

"Surveillance, tracking and servitude, via our dependence on all manner of electronic consumables and social network platforms, have left us exposed and impotent. And exposed we are, especially on the streets where our murderous, corrupt police forces are allowed to kill with impunity.

"'Viva La Resistance' is in all of us. But as our resolve weakens, so too will this spirit disappear into our depths, almost impossible to conjure, much like our third eye and other lost powers. Servitude becomes our sustenance…

"The spirit of rock ’n' roll has always been about rebellion, about opposition. Therefore it makes sense for a humble rock ’n' roll band to seize this moment to embrace that true spirit. 'Viva La Resistance' is about that spirit."

Added Jarvis: ""Our freedom is slowly being corroded by the most Machiavellian of dark forces with a supporting role being played by the murderous, corrupt police forces around the world. 'Viva la Resistance' is an anthem for the disaffected and the disillusioned. A call to arms. Essentially we will all have to fight back one day."

"Viva La Resistance" track listing:

01. Viva La Resistance
02. The Warning
03. Satellite
04. The Becoming
05. Security Forces (Dead Jimmy)
06. Rats
07. Frequency
08. Domination Soul
09. 2 Minute Hate
10. Love Shine On
11. Salvation

For more information, go to th

German-Polish power metal act BÖRN AGAIN has entered MP Studio in Poland with producer Bart Gabriel (BURNING STARR, CRYSTAL VIPER, LONEWOLF) to begin recording its debut album, "Neverending Fire". The 12-song effort will be completed later this summer for a late 2011 release.

BÖRN AGAIN features the following musicians:

* Marta Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER) - Lead And Backing Vocals, Keyboards
* Martin Albrecht (ex-STORMWITCH, MYSTIC PROPHECY, ROUGH) - Bass Guitar And Backing Vocals
* Björn Daigger (ex-MAJESTY, CIVILIZATION ONE, R:I:P) - Guitar And Backing Vocals
* Alex Guth (STORMWARRIOR, BURNING STARR) - Guitar
* Tom "Golem" Danczak (CRYSTAL VIPER, ex-DRAGON, DARZAMAT) - Drums

Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD), DEVILDRIVER, SODOM, DORO, FINNTROLL and BORKNAGAR are among the artists who are featured on the 20th-anniversary tribute to METALLICA's self-titled album, to be made available with the September 2011 issue of Germany's Metal Hammer magazine. The 80-page publication containing the disc, behind-the-scenes articles and interviews as well as a 32-page Wacken Open Air special will hit newsstands in Germany on August 24.

The world-exclusive "Metallica" tribute album includes eleven previously unreleased recordings plus a cover of "Enter Sandman" that was recorded by Lemmy Kilmister and members of ZEBRAHEAD for the 1998 compilation "ECW: Extreme Music":

* LEMMY - "Enter Sandman"
* THE NEW BLACK - "Sad But True"
* DEVILDRIVER - "Holier Than Thou"
* DARK AGE - "The Unforgiven"
* CALLEJON - "Wherever I May Roam"
* I.C.S. VORTEX - "Don't Tread On Me"
* NEAERA - "Through The Never"
* DORO - "Nothing Else Matters"
* MOTORJESUS - "Of Wolf And Man"
* FINNTROLL - "The God That Failed"
* BORKNAGAR - "My Friend Of Misery"
* SODOM - "The Struggle Within"

Reunited Swedish heavy rockers TRANSPORT LEAGUE will enter IF Studios, the IN FLAMES-owned facility in Gothenburg, Sweden, with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK) on September 2 to begin recording their comeback album, tentatively titled "Boogie From Hell".

Songtitles set to appear on the CD:

* Swing Satanic Swing
* Electric Wolf
* A Pork named Jack
* Speedhead
* Demon Apparatus
* Snake Infested Swamp
* Bitter Sand
* Hi-Octane Slave
* King Doom
* Barabbas Venomous
* Blood in-Blood Out
* Holy Mother Fucker
* Doctor Demon
* Train Wreck

LIFE OF AGONY singer Keith Mina Caputo has completed work the debut album from newest project, NEPTUNE DARLINGS. The effort was produced by Keith Mina Caputo and Ryan Oldcastle and features artwork by David Lupton. Additional engineering, mixing and recording by LIFE OF AGONY guitarist Joseph Zampella (a.k.a. Joey Z) at Method Of Groove studios in Brooklyn, New York.

A teaser clip for the upcoming release, which was mastered at the end of July by George Marino at Sterling Sound in New York City, can be seen below.

NEPTUNE DARLINGS debut album track listing:

01. Eighth Order From The Sun
02. Headspace
03. Neptunus
04. All My Life
05. White Swan
06. The Demon In Me
07. Glow Worm
08. Little Owl
09. Chestnuts & Fireflies

Recording lineup:

* Keith Mina Caputo - Vocals, Piano, Acoustic, Bass Fender Rhodes, Electric Piano, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Subharmonics
* Ryan Oldastle - Vocals, Piano, Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Electric Bass, Synthesizers, Subtractive & Additive Synths, Frequency Modulations

Former DREAM THEATER and current ADRENALINE MOB drummer Mike Portnoy was interviewed on last night's (Friday, August 5) edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM.

When asked for his opinion of the DREAM THEATER track "On The Backs Of Angels", the first song to be released with new drummer Mike Mangini (STEVE VAI, ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME), Portnoy said, "It's very difficult for me to hear. Nobody wants to see their ex-wife of 25 years with a new husband moving into the house that you built for 25 years. It's a painful thing for me to hear and see. A DREAM THEATER without me was never in the plan; I never expected that. But they've chosen to move on and I just have to kind of sit on the sidelines and watch and listen. I did hear the song and I heard an excerpt of another song [from the forthcoming DREAM THEATER album]. And I guess I'll reserve comment on those just because whatever I say — whether it be good, bad or indifferent — it's probably gonna come across wrong and it will be completely dissected and misinterpreted. So let's leave it at 'no comment.'"

In a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post, DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess stated about Portnoy's change of mind and request to be reinstated after leaving the band last September, "Mike wanted to come back after we had gone through all the emotional turmoil and pain of losing a friend, and the effort we went through to get back on our feet. We were well past our recovery phase and had made a commitment to Mike Mangini."

Regarding Portnoy's decision to leave the band he co-founded and led for 25 years, Rudess said, "His leaving was unbelievable, it was so emotional. He's a close friend of mine and we've been through so much together — it basically brought me to tears. But being a positive person and around guys who love what they're doing, we had to figure out how to move forward."

On the topic of Mangini, a former Berklee College of Music teacher and holder of five World's Fastest Drummer records, Rudess said, "Mike adapted to our world so wonderfully. He's not only a great drummer, but a great guy. He came into the audition and locked in with us and nailed it. We were amazed.

"We were looking for someone who could walk onstage with us and not throw us off in the least, and we found him in Mike. As painful and said as the situation was over not being able to work with Mike Portnoy, life goes on — this kind of thing, unfortunately, happens in bands and we're interested in keeping a positive direction and making really good music."

DREAM THEATER's new album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", will be released on September 13 via Roadrunner Records.

Audio samples for tracks featured on former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord's new JON LORD BLUES PROJECT Live CD can be heard below.

The CD was recorded at Rottweill, Germany on May 14th, 2011, and features the following tracklisting:

'Back At The Chicken Shack'
'Houchie Couchie Man'
'Wishing Well'
'It Never Rains But It Pours'
'Fog On The Highway'
'Lazy'
'Walkin' Blues'
'Way Down In The Hole'
'Houston'
'Respect Yourself'
'Blind Man'
'I´m A Man'

U.S. rockers TAKARA have issued the following update:

"We are currently making plans for two new TAKARA albums. One will be a collection of unreleased rare songs and demos. Along with this will be some super-rare live DVD footage. This package with include two brand new studio tracks that we will record for this package. We hope to have some other surprises included, but it's too early to tell yet. The title of the album with be 'Invitation To Faith'. The second album we will release after will be the next studio [CD]. It will be called 'Wicked And Beautiful' It will contain all-new studio TAKARA tracks. It will take us to new places, but yet still pay homage to the bands past musical stylings. With lineup of Gene, Jaime, Carl, and Neal will just be just an amazing combo to do this album with. We are 100% it will be one of the best albums TAKARA has put out yet."

SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman dressed as Elvis Presley "won cheers and raves from the crowd" during his poolside concert last night (Friday, August 5) at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Taylor performed a series of unlikely cover tunes, including "Jessie's Girl" by RICK SPRINGFIELD, GREEN DAY's "Basket Case", "Just What I Needed" by THE CARS, NIRVANA's "About a Girl", FLOCK OF SEAGULLS' "I Ran", LITA FORD's "Kiss Me Deadly", BON JOVI's "Livin' on a Prayer", TOM PETTY's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (featuring members of HALESTORM), VAN HALEN's "Panama", ALICE IN CHAINS' "We Die Young" and GUNS N' ROSES' "Mr. Brownstone".

Taylor joked with the crowd: "Everyone has been asking if I was going to play my stuff tonight. No way! I'm off the clock tonight!"

SOUL SIGN, consisting of Björn Englén (Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine) on bass, Michael Olivieri (LEATHERWOLF) on vocals, Mike Taylor (Robin McAuley) on drums and Rob Math on guitar, released its long-awaited album, "Life In The Dark", on August 3 via iTunes. A physical release is scheduled for October 1 through Grand Mercy Records.

The press has described the LP as "song-oriented, melodic modern and classic rock and metal with heavy grooves and strong, harmonized choruses," while the band prefers to call it "heavy, melodic music that will touch your soul!"

According to the band's official bio, "SOUL SIGN was founded with the intention to deliver honest, original, strong modern rock through world-class musicianship. All of the members are the most extraordinaire musicians and personalities, who have had their craft perfected through many years of extensive worldwide touring and recording."

"Life In The Dark" track listing:

01. I'm Bleeding
02. Breaking Down Ourselves
03. Sign Of Your Soul
04. Between The Lines (N379N3)
05. Out Of Obsession
06. You (Control)
07. In Pain
08. Life
09. Human Evil
10. Dream
11. In the Presence of You

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has completed work on his new album, "Tokyo Jukebox 2", for a September 14 release via Avex in Japan. The CD picks up where Friedman's 2009 effort, "Tokyo Jukebox", left off, with even more adventurous arrangements of his favorite Japanese songs. Recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, the album features Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL) on drums.

"Tokyo Jukebox 2" stretches the boundaries of guitar interpretation beyond anything Marty has released to date.

In a recent interview with Italian web radio Linearock.it, Friedman stated about his next release, "My next album is called 'Tokyo Jukebox 2'. In 2009 I released 'Tokyo Jukebox', which was a good success for me in Japan, and it came out worldwide. So the record company asked if I wanted to do a 'part 2' to it and I was very excited to do that because, actually, 'Tokyo Jukebox' is one my favorite albums that I've ever done, so when it came time to do a second album, it was a lot of fun choosing the songs and doing the arrangements and recording it and I'm very happy about it. It's almost finished; I recorded most of it before going on tour in Europe. . . I'm very excited about it. [It's] definitely the deepest and most special album ever, because it's the most recent, and because it's got all of my experience put together and all of the depth of everything that I've learned over the most recent times and everything is in it, and I'm very happy with it so far."