Swedish death metallers EVOCATION will release their third album, "Apocalyptic", on October 29 via Cyclone Empire Records. The cover artwork (see below) was created by Xaay (BEHEMOTH, NILE, VADER) and it "fit[s] both the title, 'Apocalyptic', and our musical achievements just perfect," says the band. "We are blown away by the effort and feeling [Xaay] gave it."

"Apocalyptic" track listing:

01. Sweet Obsession
02. We Are Unified Insane
03. Infamy
04. Parasites
05. Reunion In War
06. Psychosis Warfare
07. Murder In Passion
08. It Is All Your Fault
09. Curse On The Creature
10. Apocalyptic

Audio samples of all the tracks that are set to appear on the CD are avaialble for streaming at JPC.de.

"Waiting For The End", the new video from LINKIN PARK, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by the band's Joe Hahn, who states about the video, "It was an opportunity to experiment with pushing the digital envelope as it pertains to the visual language created thus far for [the new LINKIN PARK album] 'A Thousand Suns'. It was my attempt to digitally crush us to the point that you feel the soul of the music through what has become the essence of us.

"We become the ghosts in the machine. Some may say that because of technology, we lose a sense of who we are. I counter that by illustrating that we can get closer to who we are if we sift through the noise.

"If this sounds like it's too 'out there,' just ignore what I said and enjoy the pretty pictures."

Julian Lennon, John Lennon's (THE BEATLES) son with his first wife Cynthia, has posted the following message on his official Facebook page:

"I had the pleasure of going to see Glenn Hughes [BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, TRAPEZE) play tonight [Tuesday, October 5] in Islington [England]. I can say, without a doubt, he is one of the best singers/songwriters/performers I have ever seen. His range is mind-blowing! And his talent knows no bounds...

"If he's playing in your neighbourhood, I urge you to go see him play LIVE, whether with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION or as a solo artist.

"Just amazing... Initially the show explodes with rock tunes, the likes of which have been missing from our airwaves for many years now, but then Glenn also opens up and shows us his abilities as a funk/jazz/soul/blues performer.

"Outstanding...

"A GREAT night out! Looks like we might try a little writing together too..."

HALFORD guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak has finished laying down his parts for the forthcoming solo album from PRIMAL FEAR singer Ralf Scheepers. According to a posting on the PRIMAL FEAR web site, Mike contributed to the songs "Locked In The Dungeon" and "Dynasty". Other musicians who are scheduled to appear on the CD include Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson (PRIMAL FEAR, STARBREAKER, LAST TRIBE), powerhouse American vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (HAIL!, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH; dueting with Scheepers in the track "Remission Of Sin"), Swedish multi-instrumentalist Snowy Shaw (THERION, DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, NOTRE DAME) on drums, Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER, HDK) on guitar and PRIMAL FEAR's Mat Sinner playing bass on the entire LP and producing.

In an interview with the "Metalzone" radio show (web site) with Kostas Purevil Kyriakakis and Helena Mihailidou, Scheepers revealed that his upcoming solo album will include two cover versions — "Saints Of Rock" from Scheepers' pre-PRIMAL FEAR band TYRAN PACE and "Before The Dawn' from JUDAS PRIEST. "'Saints Of Rock' is gonna be, of course, a little bit more modern than it was [when the original version was recorded] in 1986," he explained. "I mean, right now we have much more possibilities to make songs sound a little bit more modern, starting with the drum sound and the bass sounds — having a much more distorted sound." He added, "I think 'Before The Dawn' pretty much is a [straight] cover — [there's] just a little more orchestral things going on, I have more strings in the song compared to the JUDAS PRIEST [original]. Back then there wasn't much strings going on. I think they even have a piano [in the original version], which I don't have. I have strings and I have this atmosphere stuff going on. Vocal-wise, I just added a harmony at the last bridge before last chorus, I added a harmony which is not on the original, but that's the basic difference."

In a June 2010 interview with Metal Assault, Scheepers stated about the musical direction of his forthcoming solo CD, "It's more diverse [than PRIMAL FEAR], you can say."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, MASTODON, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and THE HAUNTED are among the bands who are featured on the soundtrack to Splatterhouse, a beat-'em-up video game currently in development by Namco Bandai Games. It is a remake of the original Splatterhouse which was released in 1988. Like the rest of the series, the game combines beat-'em-up mechanics with survival horror.

Splatterhouse is coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 23.

Soundtrack track listing:

* THE ACCUSED - "Pounding Nails"
* ASG - "Dream Song"
* CAVALERA CONSPIRACY - "Must Kill"
* FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - "Dying Breed"
* GOATWHORE - "Apocalyptic Havok"
* THE HAUNTED - "Hollow Ground"
* HIGH ON FIRE - "Fire, Flood & Plague"
* INVISIBLE ENEMIES - "Dead Eyes"
* LAMB OF GOD - "Walk With Me in Hell"
* MASTODON - "Blood and Thunder"
* MUNICIPAL WASTE - "Rigorous Vengeance"
* MUTANT SUPREMACY - "Morbid Dismemberment"
* TERRORIZER - "Dead Shall Rise"
* WOLFSHIRT - "Headlong Into Monsters"

"Path Of A Traitor", a brand new song from the Sacramento, California-based quintet CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE, is available for streaming at Bloody-Disgusting.com. The track comes off the band's new album, "Revenants", which is scheduled for an October 25 release via Sumerian Records.

Commented vocalist Jeffery Morgan : "The overlying theme of 'Path of A Traitor' deals with betrayals of friendship or trust through manipulating and taking advantage of those who do not stop them from doing so, and in the end, the justice the betrayer deserves. The song starts out with a visualization of all of the misdeeds that have led to persecution and ends with the traitor being brought to justice, hence the line 'you fucking traitor, there shall be justice when you burn alive.' Overall, the lyrics are fairly generalized with some of Mikey's personal experience tied in.

"We've all been betrayed at some point and have desired vengeance and retribution. That is what this song is about."

CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE is currently taking part in the "Time To Bleed Tour" with SUICIDE SILENCE, MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE, TONY DANZA TAP DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA and MOLOTOV SOLUTION. Morgan states, "So far the tour has been amazing. All of the people on the package are awesome and we're all having a lot of fun. Not only is SUICIDE SILENCE probably the biggest headliner we have gone out with, but they are also probably the most down-to-earth band and and are very cool to us.

"On this tour we are playing a little bigger venues than we have previously been used to. Having bigger stages to run around on has helped our live show a bit, too.

"The crowds have been very responsive to our new material."

CREATION'S END, the new power/progressive metal band featuring vocalist Mike DiMeo (RIOT, MASTERPLAN), guitarists Rudy Albert (ZANDELLE) and Marco Sfogli (JAMES LABRIE), drummer Dario Rodriguez, and bassist Joey Bones, will release its debut album, "A New Beginning", on November 9 via Sensory Records. The CD was recorded between May 2009 and January 2010 at The Ninth Ring studios in New York City with producer John Macaluso (JAMES LABRIE, FOOL'S GAME, ARK, TNT, YNGWIE MALSTEEN), who also played guest keyboards on the album. The effort was mixed by Neil Kernon (NEVERMORE, DEICIDE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, NILE) and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York. The cover artwork was created by Björn Goosses of Killustrations.

"A New Beginning" track listing:

01. Of Shadow And Flame
02. World Holocaust
03. Hollow
04. Dissociate
05. Still Life
06. Forsaken
07. Relic
08. Creation's End

All songs written by Rudy Albert and Dario Rodriguez with CREATION'S END and John Macaluso. Additional lyrics by Mike Dimeo and John Macaluso.

"Second To Sun", a brand new song from reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST, is available for streaming using the audio player below. The track comes off the band's long-awaited fourth album, "Jupiter", which will be released on November 9 (one day earlier internationally) via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at LedBelly studios in Atlanta, Georgia with engineer Matt Washburn and was mixed by Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER). The cover artwork (see below) was created by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.

Former MANOWAR guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman will release the second album under the ROSS THE BOSS banner, "Hailstorm", in Europe on November 1 via AFM Records (three days earlier in Germany).

"Hailstorm" track listing:

01. I.A.G. (1:15)
02. Kingdom Arise (4:57)
03. Dead Man's Curve (3:33)
04. Hailstorm (3:52)
05. Burn Alive (4:11)
06. Crom (3:29)
07. Behold The Kingdom (5:28)
08. Great Gods Glorious (3:16)
09. Shining Path (4:36)
10. Among The Ruins (4:30)
11. Empire's Anthem (6:18)

For those who "stayed hungry" for the riotous rock of Long Island's loudest band, Eagle Rock Entertainment are ready to satiate! "Twisted Sister: Live In Wacken - The Reunion" will be unleashed as a DVD/CD set on October 26, 2010. [MSRP $19.98]

TWISTED SISTER established itself as a band to be heard AND seen. Their instantly recognizable image, fiery live shows, and a string of highly successful albums loaded with defiant anthems rocketed them to stardom before their split in the late Eighties. In 2003, the classic lineup of lead vocalist Dee Snider, guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda, bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza, and drummer A.J. Pero joined forces yet again and took the stage at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. 110 minutes thick with riffage and rebellion, this DVD/CD reissue of the concert, which was previously released in 2005, was the first filmed performance of the fully revitalized, post-millenial TWISTED SISTER.

"Live In Wacken" is the full experience of the band's reunification. Fans are treated not only with live footage of Wacken on the DVD, but snippets of other performances and interviews chronicling the story of their reunion after so many years. The accompanying CD, "Live…Past & Present", completes the package, encapsulating the band's history with vintage live tracks from Detroit and Porchester in 1980, London in 1982, and the 2003 Wacken performance.

Track listing:

DVD:

(*interviews sections)

01. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
02. In The Beginning*
03. The Final Show…1987*
04. The Kids Are Back
05. Stay Hungry
06. The Speaks Reunion*
07. A Night For Jason*
08. Destroyer
09. Like A Knife In The Back
10. TS on TV*
11. The New York Steel Benefit*
12. Under The Blade
13. Old School Returns*
14. You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll
15. The Fire Still Burns
16. South Korea April 2003*
17. Shoot 'Em Down
18. We're Not Gonna Take It
19. Festivals*
20. The Price
21. Reflections*
22. Burn In Hell
23. I Wanna Rock
24. Band Intro
25. S.M.F.
26. Credits

CD:

Detroit & Portchester 1980

01. Bad Boys Of Rock 'N' Roll
02. Born To Be Wild
03. I'll Never Grow Up. Now!
04. You Know I Cry

London 1982:

05. You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

Wacken 2003:

06. What You Don't Know (Sure Can't Hurt You)
07. The Kids Are Back
08. Stay Hungry
09. Like A Knife In The Back
10. I Am, I'm Me
11. The Fire Still Burns

Finnish melodic death metal band ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW has issued the following update:

"It's been a long time since we've been writing a blog entry [on our MySpace page], so I suppose it's time to summarize what we've been doing during the past 12 months.

"We started our Finnish/European tour a year ago with several gigs here in Finland. You know, between 2001 and 2008, we only played four gigs (!) of which only one took place outside Oulu, our hometown (!!). There were a lot of reasons for not playing live shows during that time, and the most important reason was that between late 2001 and late 2004, we were in an inactive state — in short, this band didn't even exist at that time.

"But during the last 12 months, we've been doing more gigs than ever (excluding the year 2000 that was an exception in many ways). So, thanks to all who came to see us in Finland, Romania and Russia! We still have one more gig this year — Hamburg in a couple of weeks. There may be a gig or two next year, but we want to work on our next album in 2011.

"Currently, we're writing new songs. We already got a lot of 'em but, you know, there's always room for new great songs. We have several ideas on how the next album should sound like... I can't tell you guys much about the ideas but let's just say we (once again) want to be versatile and try to to something new. We also want to make the album heavier, more extreme, more beautiful, more athmospheric than ever before.. Well, not in one song but as a whole.

"The schedule is a bit tentative at the moment. You see, if there's something we learned from the 'crazy years' between 1997 and 2001, it's this: we don't want to wear ourselves out anymore. We did that ten years ago and that's what caused us break up. We want to keep our schedules a bit loose. Ten years ago, we would have gone to the studio right after the last gig of the tour. Now, we need a bit more time.

"So, we're trying to get the next album out in early 2012. We're going to have our first studio session sometimes in April and May 2011 and the second session sometimes during the autumn or early winter."

Former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who is currently on the road as the touring drummer for AVENGED SEVENFOLD, was interviewed by Sabian's Chris Stankee at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California on September 17, 2010 during the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar tour. The four-minute clip, which includes performance footage, can be viewed below.

On how he became involved with AVENGED SEVENFOLD:

Portnoy: "The relationship with AVENGED SEVENFOLD started as just a tribute for [late AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan] and filling in for Jimmy. And then, as a result of the musical and personal chemistry we had making the record, it's kind of blossomed into now being on the road with them. And originally that was only gonna be a couple of months [so I could go] back to DREAM THEATER and now with the way that the DREAM THEATER story has unfolded, I will now remain out with AVENGED SEVENFOLD into 2011 and stay on the road with them for the full album cycle."

On how he fits into AVENGED SEVENFOLD's current live show:

Portnoy: "Although I'm not a bandmember, I am definitely part of the onstage presentation and chemistry. They don't want me to just sit in the background playing drums; I mean, they want me to be myself. The first couple of shows I played with them, I was trying to lay back and be conservative and be respectful — 'This is The Rev's drum throne; this is his spot.' But those guys were, like, 'No! Be yourself. Do your thing.' After a couple of shows, I immediately came out of my shell and now I'm totally at home with these guys and we have a great, great chemistry on stage together — musically and personally."

In 1989 BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan were just a few names in a long list of talent involved in the recording of the DEEP PURPLE track "Smoke on The Water". This song was re-recorded to raise money for those affected by the Leninakan earthquake that struck Armenia in 1988.

In October of last year both Tony and Ian traveled to Armenia to see how the funds raised had helped the local community. On their trip they visited a music school only to find it being run out of temporary accommodation, with its only location not having been rebuilt 20 years after the earthquake had struck.

Earlier this week, Tony and Ian headed back into the studio, joined by keyboardist Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE, WHITESNAKE) and drummer Nicko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN) to record a new track, "Out Of My Mind", to raise money to rebuild the Armenian music school.

Commented Iommi: "I had a great time in the studio yesterday with Ian Gillan, Nicko McBrain and Jon Lord. We had a brilliant time together laying down the track 'Out of My Mind' and a lot of fun doing it, plenty of jokes and humor! As expected everyone played so well. What an exciting time!!"

In October 2009, Gillan and Iommi were awarded the Orders Of Honor — which were delivered to them by Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan — for the Armenia Grateful To Rock program (see video below). The objective of the program, was to express gratitude to those musicians who 20 years ago participated in the Rock Aid Armenia.

Atlanta rap/metal pioneers STUCK MOJO have parted ways with Austria's Napalm Records, the label that released the band's last two albums, 2007's "Southern Born Killers" (originally made available in 2005 as a free download) and 2008's "The Great Revival".

Commented guitarist/songwriter Rich Ward, "We released two records [through Napalm] and did two extensive tours of Europe with EKTOMORF and VOLBEAT [while signed to the label]. We both got what we wanted and when the initial recording obligations were fulfilled, we parted company happy, which was a first!"

STUCK MOJO will embark on the "Here Comes The Monster" tour of Europe starting on October 25. The trek will include a total of 16 shows in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic. Joining STUCK MOJO on the bill will be Atlanta progressive metal outfit HALCYON WAY and the rock quartet LIES from France. This follows STUCK MOJO's July 2010 appearance in Germany, where the band performed on the main stage as part of the With Full Force festival.

During the 18-month hiatus from the road, STUCK MOJO released guitarist Mike Martin and welcomed back long time drummer Frank Fontsere, returning to its original four-man roots. "Here Comes The Monster" tour will feature Lord Nelson on the mic, Rich "The Duke" Ward on guitar, Sean Delson on bass and Frank Fontsere on drums and will include material from all six of the band's studio records.

Irish rockers THERAPY? will release their first-ever official live album, "We're Here To The End", on November 8 via Global Music.

In March 2010 THERAPY? performed three nights at the London Water Rats Theatre as part of its 20th-anniversary celebrations. Those shows were recorded and have been laid out in a special double-disc package showcasing the band's monumental catalogue of music:

The band commented on the release: "Right from the get go we always did shows and travelled far and wide, even before we had released any recorded music. So an integral part of the THERAPY? history, and success, has been our live show and the fact that we've toured it all over the world.

"People have regularly said, 'You guys are amazing live, how about a live album? but we never really found the right recording or the right time period to release it. With our 20th anniversary looming and the success of the 'Crooked Timber' album we caved in and thought if we don't do it now it'll never happen.

"I'm glad we documented songs from right across the twenty years and our only regret is that it won't be coming out in a 'scratch and sniff' sleeve for that full authentic gig atmosphere."

On November 19, THERAPY? will performing its only U.K. show for the rest of this year at London's HMV Forum.

"We're Here To The End" track listing:

CD1

01. Screamager
02. Sister
03. Turn
04. Enjoy The Struggle
05. Die Like A Motherfucker
06. Stories
07. Meat Abstract
08. Exiles
09. Skyward
10. A Moment Of Clarity
11. Sprung
12. Neck Freak
13. Diane
14. Potato Junkie
15. Dancin' With Manson
16. If It Kills Me
17. Rust

CD2

01. Nausea
02. Knives
03. Nowhere
04. Evil Elvis
05. Epilepsy
06. Rain Hits Concrete
07. Our White Noise
08. Opal Mantra
09. Fantasy Bag
10. Church Of Noise / The Head That Tried To Strangle Itself
11. Polar Bear
12. Crooked Timber
13. Punishment Kiss
14. Trigger Inside
15. Innocent X
16. Die Laughing
17. Isolation
18. Teethgrinder

A video trailer for "Victims Of The Modern Age", the new album from Dutch composer/multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen's STAR ONE project, can be viewed below. The will be released via InsideOut Music in North America on October 25, InsideOut Music/EMI in Germany/Austria/Switzerland on October 29 and in the rest of Europe on November 1.

"Victims of the Modern Age" limited-edition mediabook:

CD1:

01. Down The Rabbit Hole (01:20)
02. Digital Rain (06:23)
03. Earth That Was (06:08)
04. Victim Of The Modern Age (06:27)
05. Human See, Human Do (05:14)
06. 24 Hours (07:20)
07. Cassandra Complex (05:24)
08. It's Alive, She's Alive, We're Alive (05:07)
09. It All Ends Here (09:46)
CD2 (Enhanced Multi-media CD):

Audio Tracks:

01. As The Crow Dies (04:42)
02. Two Plus Two Equals Five (05:04)
03. Lastday (04:46)
04. Closer To The Stars (05:11)
05. Knife Edge (ELP cover) (04:25)

Video:

01. The Making Of "Victims Of The Modern Age" (36:00)

Featured Artists

Vocals:

* Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X)
* Damian Wilson (HEADSPACE, THRESHOLD)
* Floor Jansen (AFTER FOREVER, REVAMP)
* Dan Swanö (NIGHTINGALE, SECOND SKY, EDGE OF SANITY)

Guest Vocalists, CD2:

* Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH)
* Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE, FULL FORCE, SILENT MEMORIAL)
* Rodney Blaze

Instrumentalists:

* Arjen Lucassen - Guitar, Keyboards
* Ed Warby (AYREON, HAIL OF BULLETS, GOREFEST) - Drums
* Peter Vink - Bass
* Joost van den Broek (AFTER FOREVER) - Keyboard Solos
* Gary Wehrkamp (SHADOW GALLERY) - Guitar Solos

Swedish hard rockers THE POODLES have issued the following statement regarding the tragic death of GOTTHARD singer Steve Lee who was killed in a motorcycle accident in Nevada yesterday (Tuesday, October 5 at 16:13 PM). He was 47 years old.

"It is with great sadness that we today were reached with the news that one of rock's great voices has been silenced by the passing Gotthard frontman Steve Lee in a tragic accident in the United States.

A brilliant vocalist and great person that we had the pleasure of meeting and spending some time with on tour.

The world's a lesser place without you but your songs will live on forever.

Rest in peace."

North America's progressive metal masters SYMPHONY X are currently recording their Nuclear Blast debut and follow-up to 2007's "Paradise Lost", which has sold over 60,000 copies in North America. Lead vocalist Russell Allen has finished laying down his vocal tracks and the band is moving on to record keyboards, bass, and guitar solos.

Comments Allen: "I just want to say how excited I am about the new album. It's gonna kill! The songs rock and the performances by my fellow bandmates are simply amazing." Guitarist Michael Romeo adds: "We love the fans, and we know we haven't been as on top of things with the updates this year as we should have, but when it's down to the wire and we're going 24/7 trying to wrap things up, then that's what we're focused on.

"We really think the fans will like this album; it has been, by far, more work (and harder work) than any other album, period."

The full audio portion of "Diary Of A Mad Band", the newly released three-disc (2 CD/1 DVD) release from DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — is available for steraming until Sunday, October 10 at AOL Music.

Commented Keenan, "The DVD is an in-depth look at what five boys from the wrong side of the tracks can achieve when motivated by the will to escape hard times, fueled by an unexplainable quest to destroy live and be embraced by the love of fans whom we had not had the pleasure of meeting yet. This is how it's supposed to be: rock solid."

Added Anselmo, "This is a semi-ugly glimpse into what would end up the perfect building blocks to a much more prosperous future! Raw, distorted, unpredictable, and with a freshly mended spine in tow, these shows were desperately important to us as a cohesive unit. Take this trip through the old days with us at your own risk, and don't forget to bring some aspirin!"

German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER have announced a string of Russian and Ukrainian dates in support of their new album, The Clans Will Rise Again. The itinerary is as follows:

February
18 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Orlandia
19 - Minsk, Belarus - Reactor
20 - Moscow, Russia - tba
22 - Rostov-na-donu, Russia - DK Rostselmash (Maliy zal)
23 - Krasnodar, Russia - Strike