German power metallers RAGE performed the song "Drop Dead" at Stefan Raab's "Stockcar Crash Challenge" on Saturday, October 9 at the sold-out Schalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The event was televised live on Pro7 and was reportedly watched by several million people.

Commented RAGE guitarist Victor Smolski: "As [soon as] we got the call that Stefan wanted his favourite metal band RAGE to perform at the opening of the show, we were pretty excited and just confirmed, of course, immediately." He continued, "The song 'Drop Dead' was chosen by Stefan. It was a lot of fun to play in front of the sold-out Schalke Arena on the truck with flamethrowers and pyrotechnics! Stefan controlled the pyros and at one point he was nearly melting the amps. " Frontman Peavy Wagner added: "Even if we got grilled, it was just an amazing experience." Drummer André Hilgers is still overwhelmed: "It was a breathtaking venue, a great crew and an absolutely awesome atmosphere."

You can watch RAGE's performance at the event at this location.

On the heels of the cancellation of their European tour, Austin, Texas luminaries THE SWORD are also regretfully canceling the remainder of their scheduled U.S. dates due to the departure of their drummer, Trivett Wingo. The split is amicable and both Trivett and the rest of the band wish each other the best of the luck with their respective plans. THE SWORD is already working diligently to reschedule its European and U.S. dates.

Commented Trivett: "It is with deep sadness that I am announcing my departure from THE SWORD.

"After nearly seven years and some of the most amazing adventures of a lifetime, I have arrived at a place where I am physically and emotionally unable to continue on as part of THE SWORD. If I could go any further, I would as I love the music and JD, Bryan and Kyle are people that I deeply respect, but I have reached a point where I just can't do this anymore.

"I would like to thank the wonderful people who made this experience what it has been: the fans, the people that I have worked and all of the bands and musicians that have inspired me over the years. I thank you and apologize for any disappointment that this may cause anyone, not least of which THE SWORD."

The remaining members of THE SWORD have released the following statement regarding Trivett's departure:

"We wish Trivett nothing but the best, and it is with heavy hearts that we bid him farewell. He is a phenomenal musician and has been an integral part of this band's success. He helped to lay the foundation that we will continue to build upon, and we wouldn't be where we are without him. We wish he could continue the adventure with us, but we understand that the life of a touring musician is not for everyone. It's been a hell of a ride, and we're sad to see this part of the journey end. The show must go on, though, and will be back on the road as soon as humanly possible."

"Warp Riders", the third full-length album THE SWORD, sold around 8,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 47 on The Billboard 200 chart.

MAIDEN UNITED, a new IRON MAIDEN tribute project which performs classic MAIDEN songs in new acoustic arrangements, will release its first album, "Mind The Acoustic Pieces", on December 9. The set is described as "an acoustic version of [IRON MAIDEN's classic album] 'Piece Of Mind' with new arrangements and played a selection of accomplished musicians."

Contributing artists:

* Damian Wilson (THRESHOLD, AYREON): Vocals
* Ruud Jolie (WITHIN TEMPTATION): Guitar
* Joey Bruers (UP THE IRONS): Bass
* Marco Kuypers (SILKSTONE): Piano
* Mike Coolen (SILKSTONE): Drums
* Anneke van Giersbergen (THE GATHERING): Vocals

A European tour will follow that will take the project to the U.K., Belgium, Holland and Germany. Additional dates/countries will be announced later.

Footage from the project's "try-out gig" can be viewed below.

Musicians featured in the video:

* Damian Wilson (THRESHOLD, AYREON) - Vocals
* Ruud Jolie (WITHIN TEMPTATION) - Guitar
* Joey Bruers (UP THE IRONS) - Bass
* Marco Kuijpers (SILKSTONE) - Piano
* Dirk Bruinenberg - Drums

M.A.N — the group formed out of the ashes of Sweden's TRANSPORT LEAGUE (featuring former MNEMIC frontman Tony Jelencovich) — has issued the following update:

"We have to inform you the sad news that our guitarist Rob Guz has decided to leave M.A.N and the music business. A personal statement will be official in the upcoming days. But we are also happy to announce Marcus 'Skägget' Bertilsson as our new guitarist in M.A.N. New fresh blood will pour in the veins of M.A.N, and we are looking bright at the future. Marcus also swings his axe in the bands INEVITABLE END and THE WEAKENING. Marcus will do his premiere show with M.A.N at Sticky Fingers (in Gothenburg, Sweden) on October 22."

California metallers LIZZY BORDEN have commenced the songwriting process for their next studio album, tentateively due in 2011. "It's gonna be more song-orientated and I want each individual song to really have something to say," the band's frontman and namesake told Sleaze Roxx in a new interview. He added, "I always like to sing about the darker side of life; it's just more interesting to me than... happy things. And through all the years, and after several recordings, I can say I'm a better singer and a better performer than back in the '80s because I'm more open-minded to all different styles of music and my way of singing. Nowadays I'm able to sing more the full range and it sounds good to me. . . All I want is to come out with the record of our lives!"

BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN & HELL guitartist Tony Iommi has revealed to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine that he has begun work on new material with the hopes of launching the 'next phase" of his career alongside longtime SABBATH bandmate/bassist Geezer Butler. Whether or not this will be part of a BLACK SABBATH reunion or a new project remains unclear at present, but Iommi has said, "What I'm doing now is writing. I've gone mad, writing loads of riffs again. I'm really enjoying it, putting stuff together. We will be doing something. I'm in touch with Geezer a lot now and we’ve been talking about what the next phase is going to be. It'll be great to get out and do something again. I don't normally say this, but there's some great ideas coming out. That's all I've got to do right now. Sit and write riffs!"

Oulu, Finland-based power metal band ULTIMATIUM has issued the following update:

"After some discussions and planning, we as a band have decided to first record a four-song promo representing four of our songs that were heard live last summer. This promo is anticipated to be ready by the end of this year and will be distributed as a physical version as well as (probably) free to download. Drums were recorded yesterday and video camera was also recording and some footage of that will also be visible sometime. From the video you can actually see Tony [Qvick, drums] nailing 'Ce'es La Vie' with a single shot, on the first take, that was supposed to be a practice shot."

ULTIMATIUM earlier in the year parted ways with Mastervox Records because "musical differences and visions about [the] third album [from ULTIMATIUM] between artist and label were just too apart."

Guitarist Nicolas Milanese of Italian metallers SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE, who was hospitalized for seven months battling an acute case of leukemia (a disease that affects the bone marrow where blood cells are produced), has received a bone-marrow transplant and is back at home continuing his recovery. He has also vowed to gradually return to playing his instrument.

Commented Nicolas: "I would like to thank my family, friends and my girl, Ena, for being so close during this difficult time. Thanks also to all the bands, the friends and the fans who have showed their support and affection."

SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE's third album, "Mothra", was released via Scarlet Records. The CD was recorded at Planet Red Studios in Richmond, Virginia with producer Andreas Magnusson (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, THE AGONY SCENE, SCARLET, DUFRESNE, BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE, SPITFIRE, TWELVE TRIBES) and features a guest appearances by Myke Terry from BURY YOUR DEAD and Matthew Rudzinski from KILLWHITNEYDEAD. It was mastered by Alan Douches (CONVERGE, MISFITS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, HATEBREED, MASTODON) at West West Side Music in New Windsor, New York.

The group previously stated about the album: "'Mothra' represents a new step in our life as a band, a new shape for both our sound and our songwriting and it's our most sick and experimental album so far. It will surprise you!"

"How To Die", the brand new video from Japanese extreme metallers METAL SAFARI, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's recently released sophomore album, "Prisoner", which is available on Spiritual Beast Records.

Centered around award-winning future guitar hero Hiro, emotional screaming beast Ina, and young powerhouse drummer Yazu, along with their big friend Jun on bass, they were "proud to be independent," releasing demo recordings on the Internet, shooting music videos on their own, and handing more than 20,000 demo CDs to the fans of national/international metal acts, all without any support from labels.

With the release of the debut album, "Return To My Blood", in May 2006, METAL SAFARI gained more and more public attentions, resulting in an appearance at the biggest rock festival in Taiwan, Formoz Festival 2006. The momentum continued, and METAL SAFARI went out on a six-date headlining Asian tour in 2007, playing in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China, where they headlined the Modern Sky Festival 2007. The popular demands also brought them to Europe, where they participated in 12-date tour throughout Poland alongside of such acts as VIRGIN SNATCH, THY DISEASE, and MAHAVATAR. METAL SAFARI earned its place in the history of Japanese metal as the first-ever extreme metal band played in the mainland China, and also as the first metal band to ever tour in Poland (after visual-kei rockers DIR EN GREY). These are ALL done independently, without any support from labels.

Domestically, METAL SAFARI participated twice in Ju-Ongaku-Sai (heavy music fest), the biggest festival of Japanese metal/hardcore bands, first as one of the main-stage acts and then as the headliner. METAL SAFARI also supported THY WILL BE DONE and CALIBAN on their Japan tours, and shared the stage with such acts as LOUDNESS, EDGE OF SPIRIT, SUNS OWL and BLOOD STAIN CHILD. Not only did these activities put them at #7 of domestic independent bands of all genres, #1 of metal bands, #1 of hardcore bands, and #1 of thrash bands in "Top Artist Chart" on MySpace.com, but METAL SAFARI became the most-awaited Japanese band to play at Loud Park, the biggest metal festival in Japan.
For more information, visit www.metalsafari.com.

Southern California's purveyors of pain WINDS OF PLAGUE have entered a Los Angeles studio with renowned producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, HATEBREED) to begin recording their new album for an early 2011 release via Century Media Records.

Commented vocalist Johnathan "Johnny Plague" Cooke: "Coming off of [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem (the biggest tour of our career) was inspiring to say the least. Literally the day after Mayhem fest ended we were in the studio hard at work on new material. Fast forward a few weeks and we are now into week one of the recording process for our new album (yet to be named).

"We set out with producer Matt Hyde to raise the bar for WINDS OF PLAGUE both as a band and as musicians. We put a lot of our writing focus into the energy and the structure of the songs and everything else just seemed to fall into place naturally.

"Although it is early in the recording process, I can confidently say this will be our best offering yet. Both fans of 'Decimate The Weak' and 'The Great Stone War' will be pleased for we haven’t altered the formula or strayed from our roots, but injected them with rage and fury. The game certainly will change in 2011."

"Against The Wall", a brand new song from New Jersey/New York's ILL NIÑO, has been available for purchase via iTunes. The track comes off the band's new album, "Dead New World", which is scheduled for release on October 26 via Victory Records. The follow-up to 2008's "Enigma" was self-produced, with co-production coming from Clint Lowery (SEVENDUST) and Sahaj Ticotin (RA), and mixed by Eddie Wohl (36 CRAZYFISTS, ANTHRAX, SMILE EMPTY SOUL). The album artwork was created by Tim Butler of XIII Designs (DISTURBED, SLIPKNOT, METALLICA, SLAYER, MICHAEL JACKSON).

"Dead New World" track listing:

01. God Is Only For The Dead
02. The Art Of War
03. Against The Wall
04. Mi Revolucion
05. Bleed Like You
06. Serve The Grave
07. If You Were Me
08. Ritual
09. Killing You, Killing Me
10. How Could I Believe
11. Bullet With Butterfly Wings (SMASHING PUMPKINS cover)
12. Scarred

Swedish progressive metal band DARKWATER will release its new album, "Where Stories End", on November 12 in Europe through Ulterium Records and November 23 in North America via Nightmare Records. The follow-up to 2007's "Calling The Earth To Witness" was mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd at Studio Fredman (IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR, HAMMERFALL).

"Where Stories End" track listing:

01. Breathe
02. Why I Bleed
03. Into The Cold
04. A Fools Utopia
05. Queen Of The Night
06. In The Blink Of An Eye
07. Fields Of Sorrow
08. Without A Sound
09. Walls Of Deception

The track "Why I Bleed" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Some of Sweden's finest heavy metal musicians gathered to pay tribute to Ronnie James Dio during this fall's edition of the Sweden Rock Cruise, which sailed on October 7 from Stockholm, Sweden for Åbo, Finland and returned the following day. There was a long tribute concert with a number of guest musicians performing classic songs from Dio's career with a main band consisting of members of LION'S SHARE. The show ended with all artists performing HEAR 'N AID's "Stars" (Dio was behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.)

Fan-filmed video footage of the event can be viewed below.

Special guest musicians at the concert:

* Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIOUS, YNGWIE, DIO) - Keyboards
* Rikard Zander (EVERGREY) - Keyboards
* Björn Gelotte (IN FLAMES) - Guitar
* Peter Iwers (IN FLAMES) - Guitar
* Mike Wead (BIBLEBLACK, KING DIAMOND) - Guitar
* Mats Levén (KRUX, CANDLEMASS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Vocals
* Charles Rytkönen (MORGANA LEFAY) - Vocals
* Messiah Marcolin (CANDLEMASS, MEMENTO MORI) - Vocals
* Joakim "Jocke" Berg (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) - Vocals
* Johan Edlund (TIAMAT) - Vocals
* Johan Hegg (AMON AMARTH) - Vocals
* Magnus "Adde" Andreasson (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) - Drums

The setlist was as follows:

01. E5150
02. Mob Rules (LION'S SHARE)
03. Stand Up And Shout (LION'S SHARE)
04. Holy Diver (LION'S SHARE)
05. Egypt (The Chains Are On) (LION'S SHARE + Johan Edlund)
06. Man On The Silver Mountain (LION'S SHARE + Johan Hegg)
07. Don't Talk To Strangers (LION'S SHARE + Charles Rytkönen)
08. One Night In The City (GOTHENBURG ALLSTARS)
09. Rock 'N' Roll Children (GOTHENBURG ALLSTARS)
10. Stargazer (GOTHENBURG ALLSTARS)
11. Children Of The Sea (LION'S SHARE + Messiah Marcolin, Mike Wead)
12. Sign Of The Southern Cross (LION'S SHARE + Messiah Marcolin, Mike Wead)
13. Tarot Woman (LION'S SHARE + Mats Levén, Jens Johansson)
14. Rainbow In The Dark (LION'S SHARE + Jens Johansson)
15. Heaven And Hell (LION'S SHARE)
16. Stars (everyone)

GOTHENBURG ALLSTARS lineup:

* Björn Gelotte (IN FLAMES) - Guitar
* Peter Iwers (IN FLAMES) - Bass -
* Joakim "Jocke" Berg (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) - Vocals
* Magnus "Adde" Andreasson (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) - Drums
* Rikard Zander (EVERGREY) - Keyboards