An audio sample of "Meredead", a new song from LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — is available for streaming at this location. The track is the title cut of LEAVES' EYES' fourth full-length album, which will be released on April 22 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via Napalm Records. The effort will be available exclusively as limited-edition mediabook CD, including bonus track and bonus DVD "Live At The Metal Female Voices Fest", strictly limited-edition deluxe box set and regular jewel case.

Commented Liv Kristine: "Firstly, let me explain the title, which is my own word-creation: To my grammatical knowledge, 'Meredead' could mean 'dead by the sea,' or 'the deadly sea.' Poetically, we could add some imagination and lyrical sound and say 'sea of death.' Secondly, the word 'Meredead' sums up some of the themes rooted in my lyrics on the album.

"Now you may ask, why sing in Old English? Since my Old English studies, I've taken great interest in both Old English poetry and grammar. I just felt that this song required Old English lyrics, and an Old English 'sound', moreover, it needed this historical feel!

"Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by Angeln, Sachsen and Jüten (Germanic tribes, called Anglo-Saxons) and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. Although, for me, it meant digging my nose into my Old English books for weeks (and buying even more at Amazon), I feel that it was really worth it, moreover, it made so much fun!

"For me, having Norwegian and Danish parents and grand-parents, it's even more interesting that from the 9th century, Old English experienced heavy influence from Old Norse, a member of the related North Germanic group of languages.

"I highly recommend having a look at the book 'The Cambridge Old English Reader' by R. Marsden."

One band that many veteran metalheads feel should have hit the big time was New York's THE RODS. Comprised of members David "Rock" Feinstein (guitar/lead vocals), Garry Bordonaro (bass/vocals), and Carl Canedy (drums/vocals), THE RODS would go on to open arena shows for such renowned groups as IRON MAIDEN, TWISTED SISTER, JUDAS PRIEST, OZZY OSBOURNE (the "Blizzard Of Ozz" tour), SCORPIONS, RAINBOW (Joe Lynn Turner era), and during the mid-'80s, even had a then-unknown METALLICA opening a headlining tour for them. Add to it the fact that Feinstein is the cousin of the late, great Ronnie James Dio (both played together in ELF) and Canedy is an acclaimed metal producer (having worked on classic early releases by MEGADETH, ANTHRAX, OVERKILL, etc.), and it makes it even more baffling why THE RODS never got their due.

But this appears to changing quickly, as the trio has signed on with the Niji Entertainment Group, a label that was created by Ronnie James Dio and his wife/manager, Wendy Dio.

The band's seventh release overall (and sixth release overall for Niji) is titled "Vengeance" and will be made available on May 24 (postponed from the previously announced March 29). The release comes hot on the heels of Feinstein's recently-released solo album, "Bitten by the Beast".

The first single off "Vengeance" will be "The Code", which features vocals from none other than Ronnie James Dio (one of the very last songs that Ronnie ever recorded, before his untimely death in May of 2010).

"Vengeance" track listing:

01. Raise Some Hell
02. I Just Wanna Rock
03. Rebels Highway
04. Ride Free Or Die
05. The Code (feat. Ronnie James Dio)
06. Livin' Outside The Law
07. Let It Ripp
08. Fight Fire With Fire
09. Madman
10. Runnin Wild
11. Vengeance

As one of America’s most iconic and successful bands of all time, STYX is so much part of the national consciousness there, songs appear regularly in mainstream TV shows and films on a regular basis. Styx rose to fame in the late '70s and early '80s as pioneers of the pomp rock genre. This is what happened when American bands took prog rock influences from the likes of YES, GENESIS and ELP, and added in a melodic feel to make the music more commercial. Their commercial power was such that they were the first band in the States to have four consecutive albums from 1977 - 1981 selling over two million copies each.




Due out on May 9th via Spectrum Audio, Babe: The Collection represents the band’s most prolific and golden featuring a span of styles from power ballads like ‘Babe’ which reached number 6 on the UK charts in 1980 and #1 in the US in 1979 to US hits ‘Lady’(#6, 1975), ‘Come Sail Away’ (#8, 1977) and ‘Show Me The Way’ (#3, 1990) to pomp rock gems including ‘Mr Roboto’ (#3, 1983), ‘Renegade’ (#16, 1978) and ‘Too Much Time On My Hands’ (#9, 1981).

Babe: The Collection tracklisting:

'The Best Of Times'
'Too Much Time On My Hands'
'Babe'
'Boat On The River'
'Come Sail Away'
'Mr. Roboto'
'Fooling Yourself'
'Lady '95'
'Crystal Ball'
'Renegade'
'Lorelei'
'Mademoiselle'
'Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)'
'Heavy Metal Poisoning'
'Shooz'
'Snowblind'
'Show Me The Way'
'A.D. 1928'
'Rockin' The Paradise'

California hard rockers WARRANT have been in the studio recording their seventh studio album with legendary producer Keith Olsen (OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, SCORPIONS) at the helm. The CD - featuring singer Robert Mason (ex-LYNCH MOB) - is titled Rockaholic and will be released worldwide on May 17th via Frontiers Records/EMI. Check out the artwork below:




Warrant have been working on 14 new songs for Rockaholic.

Bassist Jerry Dixon commented recently: "The last few years has been like holding in a big "secret"from the world and now we get to share it. I really think we captured a perfect mix of the past and present on this record. Each song has its own vibe that's going to take people on a kick-ass Warrant rollercoaster ride. To help achieve an old school sound mixed with the flair of today, we called on the legendary Keith Olsen to do the production. There's enough '80's influence on songs like 'Tears In The City' and 'Sex Ain't Love' to keep the die-hard Warrant fans rocking while introducing them to new material".




Check out behind-the-scenes footage from the Rockaholic recording sessions and photo-shoot below:

Am 15. April 2011 erscheint eine limitierte Tour Edition des "Poetry For The Poisoned" Albums! Es handelt sich um eine Doppel-CD, auf der zweiten CD gibt es 8 Live Songs vom Wacken-Auftritt 2010! Bestellbar ist das Album HIER bei Amazon!

"Poetry For The Poisoned" Tour Edition Track List:

Tracklist CD1:

01. The Great Pandemonium
02. If Tomorrow Came
03. Dear Editor
04. The Zodiac
05. Hunter's Season
06. House On A Hill
07. Necropolis
08. My Train Of Thoughts
09. Seal Of Woven Years
10. Poetry For The Poisoned Part I - Incubus
11. Poetry For The Poisoned Part II - So Long
12. Poetry For The Poisoned Part III - All Is Over
13. Poetry For The Poisoned Part IV - Dissection
14. Once Upon A Time
15. Where The Wild Roses Grow

Tracklist CD2:

16. The Great Pandemonium (Live From Wacken 2010)
17. Human Stain (Live From Wacken 2010)
18. Center Of The Universe (Live From Wacken 2010)
19. Pendulous Fall (Live From Wacken 2010)
20. Hunter's Season (Live From Wacken 2010)
21. Karma (Live From Wacken 2010)
22. Forever (Live From Wacken 2010)
23. March of Mephisto (Live From Wacken 2010)

Former WARRANT frontman Jani Lane has issued the following update:

"I will be back on the road by June. In the meantime, I'm staying holed up in my studio writing for myself and other artists.

"I will be releasing a remastered and possibly re-recorded version of 'Jabberwocky' by September. [Between 1997 and 2000, demos of Lane's solo material began surfacing on the Internet, with some bids on eBay reaching an estimated $100.00 per copy. The project, titled 'Jabberwocky', represented a significant musical departure from Lane's previous work. The CD has never been officially released. — Ed.] Tired of hearing bastardized versions floating all around the world... Guess it's time to put it out there properly.

"I'll also be releasing a five-six song EP on my new website, JaniLane.net. This is, in my humble opinion, some of the best songs I've ever written (I'm not the only one who has said this)!

"I'm planning a RADIOHEAD-type experiment where I will make the entire download free, give you a chance to check it out and several ways to kick me back what you think it's worth... or tell me it sucks and to go back to the drawing board!

"Hope you all have a great spring break and see you this summer!!"

Finnish female-fronted symphonic metallers AMBERIAN DAWN will enter the studio in the summer to begin recording their new album. AMBERIAN DAWN mainman, keyboardist and guitarist Tuomas Seppälä composed all ten songs for the CD and vocalist Heidi Parviainen has already started working on the lyrics.

Commented Tuomas: "There's going to be some changes in our working methods and the next album is going to sound different compared to our previous albums. We're going to use backing vocalists, for example. Earlier we have had only guest lead singers and no backing vocalists at all. There's some really fast songs on this album and also some '80s- style songs like 'Valkyries' and 'Kokko' from our previous albums. Technically, there's great challenges for the band and all the skills possessed by the new lineup will be essential. We're going to break some new limits again and lift the level of our quality even higher than before. With some guest vocalists or musicians on this album, just like on all our previous albums, this new album is going to be more solid than our latest album, 'End Of Eden'."

Added Heidi: "There's going to be some new elements on the lyrics, for example some horror themes".

"Arctica", the latest video from AMBERIAN DAWN, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Markus Nieminen of Routafilmi.

In zwei Wochen, am 22. April, wird endlich das neues Album "All Beauty Must Die" erscheinen. Bewegt durch Euer wundervolles Feedback möchten Euch die Band quasi für den Endspurt noch einen letzten Song als kostenlosen Download mit auf den Weg geben. Wie funktioniert's ?

Klickt HIER! Dann landest Du auf einer extra für Euch eingerichteten Downloadseite, wo Du Dir entweder via Facebookconnect oder mit Deiner eMailadresse einloggen kannst. Nur wenige Augenblicke später gehört Dir dann "Liberatio" 2011, einer der drei Bonustracks und das möglicherweise ruhigste Stück auf "All Beauty Must Die".

ACRIMONIOUS have announced they have signed with Agonia Records for the release of their upcoming second untitled album.

According to a press release: “ The new album focuses mostly on the feminine aspect of the Adversarial path, but also presents hints and direct references to the solar centre of consciousness through traversing the paths of Draconian Alchemy via their respective spheres.”

Also, prior to release of the new album, the band’s 2009 debut entitled Purulence, is now available on vinyl. Album artwork for the release was done by Kriss Hades, the extensive vinyl sized booklet and layout by Timo Ketola.

Liz Vandall, best known for her extensive vocal work with guitar legend ULI JON ROTH, has agreed to do session work for the LYRAKA metal opera.

Guitarist and composer Andy DiGelsomina has issued the following statement: "Liz Vandall's reputation precedes her, having been vocalist for both the progressive rock band SAHARA in the 90s, and a mainstay of maestro Uli Jon Roth's many lineups. Her voice has a distinct personality and an awesome classic rock influence that will help delineate the personality of her Lyraka character."

The heavy metal opera project, Lyraka, has commissioned top fantasy artist Ken Kelly (KISS, MANOWAR, RAINBOW) for the artwork of their second album entitled, Lyraka Volume 2.

The administrator for TYPE O NEGATIVE's official MySpace page has checked in with the following update:

"I am gathering memorial artwork of Peter for a gallery on TypeONegative.net. Please send any artwork you'd like to contribute to diana@typeonegative.net. This is only for artwork/imagery (photos of tribute tattoos are fine also). Any works like poetry, or fan photos (live shots or you with the band), can be contributed on the Facebook page or on the forum at TypeONegative.net. Thank you!"

Netherlands-based death metallers THANATOS check in with the following update:

"Apart from the earlier mentioned 7" split single with ASPHYX, which is now set for a late April/early May release, you can expect some more Thanatos releases this year.

First of all, Konqueror Records from Singapore will release the classick 1987 Official Live Tape, on CD! This will be a limited edition item but we will selling some of those thru our webstore.

In other news, Mechanix Records from Sweden will release Thanatos' latest album, Justified Genocide, on vinyl! Which is great news of course. Mechanix is also planning a vinyl release for Undead.Unholy.Divine, later this year - which means that all full length Thanatos albums will finally be made available on vinyl.

We will be looking into the possibilities of re-releasing the first 3 albums on vinyl/CD as well...

We're can also announce an upcoming show in Barcelona (Spain) on Saturday, June 4th, 2011. Venue will be announced shortly.

Sanctuary has set a May 30 release date for the deluxe-edition reissue of BLACK SABBATH's "Born Again" album.

"Born Again" was the only album by BLACK SABBATH featuring Ian Gillan — who was at the time a solo artist and former singer for DEEP PURPLE — on vocals.

Gillan had first turned down the offer to join BLACK SABBATH but his manager later convinced him to a meeting with Iommi and the band's bass guitarist, Geezer Butler. Iommi and Butler met with Gillan at The Bear public house in Oxford and Gillan officially joined the band in February 1983.

Released in October 1983, "Born Again" was a commercial success. It was the highest-charting BLACK SABBATH album in the United Kingdom since "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and became an American Top 40 hit. Despite this, it became the first BLACK SABBATH album to not have any RIAA certification (gold or platinum) in the U.S.

"Born Again" deluxe-edition reissue track listing:

Disc 1:

01. Trashed
02. Stonehenge
03. Disturbing The Priest
04. The Dark
05. Zero The Hero
06. Digital Bitch
07. Born Again
08. Hot Line
09. Keep It Warm

Disc 2:

01. The Fallen
02. Stonehenge
03. Hot Line
04. War Pigs
05. Black Sabbath
06. The Dark
07. Zero The Hero
08. Digital Bitch
09. Iron Man
10. Smoke On The Water
11. Paranoid

Video footage of KYUSS LIVES!, the project featuring three-quarters of KYUSS — the influential American stoner rock/metal band, originally from Palm Desert, California — performing on April 2, 2011 at The Forum in Kentish Town, London, England can be viewed below.

KYUSS LIVES! recently revealed that it will record a new studio album following the band's current tour. The group features bassist Nick Oliveri, drummer Brant Bjork and singer John Garcia along with guitarist Bruno Fevery, who most recently played with Garcia in the GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS project.

In an interview with UGO, Oliveri was asked how the idea for KYUSS LIVES! came about. "MONDO GENERATOR was on tour — we went to Europe and did a festival in France called Hellfest, and John Garcia and the guitar player, Bruno Fevery, were playing a version of KYUSS called GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS, and he was going out," he replied. "He hadn't toured for a bit and wanted to go out and do some KYUSS stuff. They were headlining one of the side stages, and Brant Bjork's band was playing, and MONDO GENERATOR was playing on the same day. John asked us to come up and play some songs with him, so me and Brant up and did it, and it felt really great. It was great to play those old tunes — we hadn't thought about them for a long time. I think Brant being the first drummer that I ever interacted with as a musician — I played in their bedrooms playing these songs — kind of just felt normal and natural. I got a call from him when I came home, saying, 'Hey man, do you want to do some more shows?' And I said, 'Yeah man, that sounds cool. Let's do it.' So that's how it started — John was doing it and it was getting good response from people that never got a chance to see any version of KYUSS at all. We didn't realize there were so many people that wanted to see it, so it's been a pleasant surprise and it's been a lot of fun."

Regarding why KYUSS guitarist and founding member Josh Homme is not involved in the reunion, Garcia told Rock Sound, "I have nothing bad to say about Josh — he's extremely intelligent, very smart, a great guitar player, great songwriter, a great vocalist — he is a bad-ass, there is no question, and I love him dearly but he is busy with his own thing. He has THEM CROOKED VULTURES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, he's a father, a businessman and even if we asked him to do it, I don't think he'd say yes, so I don't want to set myself up for a big fat no which is 99.9 percent what he would say."

In honor of the hugely-anticipated "Big Four" festival in Indio, California on April 23, Revolver magazine has put out the "Big Four" special collector's issue, chronicling the history of thrash metal's most legendary bands. The magazine is on newsstands now, as well as available online online here. While making the issue, Revolver talked to some of the "Big Four"'s most heralded musicians about their favorite songs from the other bands. In the latest installment, MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine tells the magazine about his favorite SLAYER song.

"I just started recently getting into SLAYER's music because I was pretty much at odds with those guys for so long. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to hang out over the years, much to my loss. I'd have to say probably my favorite SLAYER song is the one that they close with, 'Angel Of Death' [off 1986's 'Reign In Blood']. Yeah, I love the killer double-kick part at the end of that one."

San Francisco Bay Area metallers SKINLAB entered Different Fur Studios last week to begin recording an EP, "Fleshwounds... Under The Influence", containing one new song and covers versions of five underground metal classics. The group's bassist/vocalist Steev Esquivel states, "We're paying tribute to five of our biggest influences and bands that weve always looked up to.

"Fleshwounds... Under The Influence" will include the following covers:

* NAILBOMB - Wasting Away
* ACID BATH - Paegan Love Song
* CROWBAR - Planets Collide
* LEVEL - Push
* MACHINE HEAD - Ten Ton Hammer

Added Esquivel: "[We are] really stoked about this project. It's a great way to introduce [new SKINLAB guitarist] Provo [Provenzano, ex-RIKETS] and have something new out before [the end of] 2012, which we're hoping to have a new album out then."

SKINLAB's last album, "The Scars Between Us", was released on September 15, 2009 via Stand And Deliver Records.

Renowned Scottish singer Doogie White, who has worked with such bands as RAINBOW, CORNERSTONE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, MIDNIGHT BLUE and PRAYING MANTIS and TANK, will be a special guest on PARADISE INC.'s debut album, entitled "Time". Doogie will duet with German singer Carsten "Lizard" Schulz (EVIDENCE ONE, MIDNITE CLUB, ex-DOMAIN) on the song "Not In Paradise', which closes the CD.

PARADISE INC., featuring Brazilian musicians Rick A. (bass), Allan Juliano (drums), Marcos Peres and De Grigo (guitars), along with singer Carsten "Lizard" Schulz, is putting finishing the touches on the album, which is currently being mixed by Scottish composer and producer Paul Logue (EDEN'S CURSE, CRY HAVOC, DAVID READMAN).

"Time" features the Italian keyboard player Alessandro Del Vecchio, who has worked with GLENN HUGHES, EDGE OF FOREVER, EDEN'S CURSE, TIME MACHINE and MOONSTONE PROJECT.

A clip of Doogie White talking about PARADISE INC. can be viewed below.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN wants to know which songs you most want to hear when the reunited band hits the road later this spring. As a reward for telling SYSTEM your Top 6 setlist requests, one winner from each tour city will win a pair of tickets to his/her local show. They will also win a setlist from the show they attended, signed by all four members of the group. Click here for more information.

Participating shows:

May 10 - Edmonton, AB @ Canada Rexall Place
May 12 - Vancouver, BC @ Canada Rogers Arena
May 13 - Seattle, WA, USA @ Key Arena
May 15 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
May 18 - Denver, CO @ Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
May 19 - Albuquerque, NM @ Hard Rock Casino presents The Pavilion
May 21 - San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
May 22 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl
May 24 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
May 25 - Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
June 04 - Nürnberg, Germany @ Rock in Park
June 05 - Nürburgring, Germany @ Rock am Ring
June 06 - Paris, France @ Omnisports de Bercy
June 08 - Paris, France @ Omnisports de Bercy
June 09 - Interlaken, Switzerland @ Greenfield Festival
June 11 - Castle Donington, UK @ Download Festival
June 13 - Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Novarock
June 15 - Berlin, Germany @ Wulheide
June 17 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Meltdown Festival
June 19 - Seinajoki, Finland @ Provinssirock
June 21 - Moscow, Russia @ Olympisky

The contest will close on April 28 at 11:59:59 EDT.