HALFORD, the band fronted by JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford, will release its new album, "Halford IV - Made Of Metal", on September 27 (Europe), September 28 (North America) and October 13 (Japan).

Produced by Roy Z. and recorded during 2009 and 2010, "Made Of Metal" features 14 new songs penned exclusively by Rob Halford.

Commented Halford: "It has been a long wait for the global HALFORD fan base, and of course I'm very pleased to return with 'Halford IV - Made Of Metal' this September. It is probably the most personal release of my solo career in terms of my writing and performances.

"'Halford IV - Made Of Metal' hits hard on many musical and emotional levels. I'm certain it will be recognized as one of the band's best releases, and I'm looking forward to performing the new tracks this year and reconnecting the HALFORD band with its legions of metal fans."

"Halford IV - Made Of Metal" track listing:

01. Undisputed
02. Fire and Ice
03. Made Of Metal
04. Speed Of Sound
05. Like There¹s No Tomorrow
06. Till The Day I Day
07. We Own The Night
08. Heartless
09. Hell Razor
10. Thunder and Lightning
11. Twenty-Five Years
12. Matador
13. I Know We Stand A Chance
14. The Mower

HALFORD's new NASCAR-themed, animated-music video, "Made Of Metal", created by London-based animator Dean Wright, will debut on September 13. A 54-second teaser clip for the animated video can be seen below. Also available is performance footage of "Made Of Metal", filmed on July 24, 2010 at the Heavy MTL festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, who feature in their ranks current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., will release their new album, "Days Of Defiance", on October 26 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. The CD's striking cover artwork was designed by the band's longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes, and can be viewed below.

Commented Gus: "I'm very excited and cannot wait for our fans to listen to our new album! We feel we've captured great performances and took our songwriting to the next level on this one. There's tons of cool guitar on there and I believe Bob [Katsionis] has finally managed to reach warp-speed with his keyboard solos! Even more seriously, I highly recommend that you listen to this album at a very loud volume.

"As for the artwork, it was once again done by our visual wizard and webmaster extraordinaire, Gustavo Sazes. This time we asked Gustavo to come up with a great landscape scenery, with a more traditional approach and even get the 'pencil' style of artwork on there, but also combine it with more modern stuff. So, he gave us that… with a slight futuristic, sci-fi element and I think the end result is stunning!"

"Days of Defiance" track listing

01. The Ark Of Lies
02. World On Fire
03. Chariot
04. Embrace The Sun
05. The Departure
06. Heading For The Dawn
07. Broken
08. Cold As Ice
09. Kill In The Name Of Love
10. SKG
11. Losing Faith
12. The Yearning
13. When All Is Said And Done
14. Riding On The Wind (iTunes exclusive)

"Days Of Defiance" is described in a press release as "a truly ambitious and dynamic opus featuring some of the most brilliant guitar playing the genre has seen in many years."

The "World On Fire" single was made available for purchase on digital platforms starting on August 17.

Commented Gus G.: "Usually when we write an album we let the music come to us and go with the flow. Maybe that's why our albums have variety and you can hear everything from super-heavy songs to speed-metal shredding to rock anthems and ballads. 'Days Of Defiance' wasn't much different in the making, but this time we recorded almost all of it in our home studios, which allowed us to be more relaxed. That's why I feel the new album features the best performances by all of us. One of our main goals, though, was to get a bit more of an 'unpolished' sound and be more raw. I think we achieved it and that gives an extra heaviness to the overall sound."

The Pulse of Radio reports that Slash is set to release a 3D version of the music video for his song "By The Sword", according to Spinner.com. The clip was first released several months ago in a regular flat format and has now been converted to 3D. Slash told Spinner.com, "We're applying 3-D to it after the fact. It's actually the perfect video for it because it's got a lot of depth shots and shots where everything stops, freezes and stuff is moving around it, so the 3D of that will look cool."

The track, which features WOLFMOTHER frontman Andrew Stockdale on vocals, is taken from the ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist's self-titled debut album.

Sludge metal legends CROWBAR recently entered the studio to begin recording their new album for an early 2001 release via E1 Music. Guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein is scheduled to begin laying down his guitar tracks tonight. He says in an online posting, "I'm so ready to hear the wall of doom on these riffs."

In other news, CROWBAR will perform on October 1 at The Hangar in New Orleans, Louisiana. Also scheduled to appear on the bill are WARBEAST and haarp.

CROWBAR will re-release three of its influential records — "Crowbar", "Live +1" and "Time Heals Nothing" — on October 5, 2010. These three albums are the band’s core titles and have influenced many of today's major metal acts, including LAMB OF GOD and HATEBREED. With each title originally being released in the early Nineties, this will be the first time all three records will be widely available in stores.

CROWBAR debuted two brand new songs during its June 5, 2010 headlining performance at the House Of Blues in the band's hometown.

Legendary British power metal mercenaries TANK — featuring Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar alongside three new recruits, ex-RAINBOW/YNGWIE MALMSTEEN frontman Doogie White, ex-BRUCE DICKINSON bassist Chris Dale and ex-ZODIAC MINDWARP drummer Dave "Grav" Cavill — will release their new album, "War Machine", on October 25 in Europe via Metal Mind Productions (December 7 in the U.S. through MVD). The production was handled by Pedro Ferreira (THE DARKNESS, THERAPY?, MEAT LOAF) and the bulk of the recording was done at Pedrock Studios in London. Drums were laid down by Tony Newton at Steve Harris' (IRON MAIDEN) Barnyard Studios.

Due to the changed lineup, "War Machine" will combine all the influences and experience of individual band members. Cliff Evans states, "We intend to make this a classic British rock/metal album that every fan should have in their collection."

Adds the band: "We think it's going to be our best album so far."

"War Machine" will be released in four different versions: as a jewel case CD, a limited-edition digipak CD including two bonus tracks and LP with one bonus track. The Japanese edition of the album will include two exclusive bonus tracks which won't be available elsewhere.

The track listing for the standard CD edition is as follows:

01. Judgement Day
02. Feast Of The Devil
03. Phoenix Rising
04. War Machine
05. Great Expectations
06. After All
07. The Last Laugh
08. World Without Pity
09. My Insanity

Ronan McGreevy of the Irish Times, who attended last night's (Wednesday, September 1) ill-fated GUNS N' ROSES concert in Dublin, was interviewed earlier today by Frank Mitchell, a television and radio presenter working for UTV and Ireland's fastest growing radio station U105.8 FM. You can listen to the chat below.

GUNS N' ROSES walked off the stage at the O2 Arena in Dublin on Wednesday night just 22 minutes into the band's set, after keeping fans waiting for well over an hour for the band to begin playing. According to IrishTimes.com, a statement from the Irish concert promotion company MCD today said GUNS N' ROSES was supposed to be on stage at 9:45 p.m., but ended up going on stage at 10:26 p.m. despite "every effort being made by the promoters" to ensure the band took to the stage on time.

GUNS came on more than an hour after the opening act finished playing and leading members of the audience to boo and throw water bottles at the stage. More bottles arrived onstage after the group finally did start their show, leading singer Axl Rose to announce, "One more bottle and we're going home, we're here to have fun and we hope you are too, but one more and we are gone."

Three songs later, another object was hurled onstage. Rose said goodnight, the group stopped the show and left the stage at 10:50 p.m. By 11:10 p.m., the house lights had come on and most of the crowd had left, despite staff members saying that they were trying to get the group to return.

The crowd were told they were experiencing "technical difficulties" before MCD promoter Denis Desmond came on stage and asked the crowd for patience.

"We're trying hard to get Axl to come back on stage," he said, according to IrishTimes.com. "I'm trying hard to get Axl to come back on stage. I'd ask you please to refrain from throwing items at him. I promise a great show, but you have to calm. I'm sorry about that."

After a short interval, the lights came on and thousands of fans left the arena.

The band appeared back on stage at 11:20 p.m. to complete their set. Rose said to the crowd: "Let's try this again". He did not say another word to the crowd other than to thank them at the end of the show.

According to IrishTimes.com, the band played until 12:52 a.m., by which stage more fans had left.

This latest drama follows last weekend's controversial GUNS N' ROSES gigs at England's Reading and Leeds festivals, where the band came onstage late despite warnings from the promoters, and had both sets cut short.

Rose posted a series of messages on Twitter claiming that the band was under the impression that their curfew was to be extended, although promoters had clearly said earlier in the week that GUNS had to abide by local curfew regulations.

Swedish metallers LIFELOVER have inked a deal with Prophecy Productions.

With their three full-length albums - Pulver (2006), Erotik (2007), and Konkurs (2008) - as well as the Dekadens EP (2009), Lifelover have established themselves as one of the most eccentric and notorious bands on the scene in the last few years.

The Swedes' unconventional music, their cynical image, and their chaotic live performances have had an extremely polarizing effect.

After several changes of labels, Lifelover have now found a partner for a close, long-term collaboration: they have signed a contract with Prophecy Productions over four albums.

Lifelover founding members B and ( ) consider the signing of the contract with Prophecy a logical step for their band: "We always strive to evolve with each effort that we pursue as a band. Signing to Prophecy feels like a good progression for us, and we look forward to work with a label for the first time with consecutive releases."

A new album by Lifelover is scheduled for release in 2011.

Voyageur Press has set an October 15 release date for "AC/DC High-Voltage Rock 'N' Roll - The Ultimate Illustrated History", which follows the band from its roots in Sydney, Australia, to its most recent releases and sold-out world tours. No stone is left unturned, from the band's formation and early gigs on the club circuit Down Under, to the 1980 death of singer Bon Scott and ultimately astounding worldwide success. Jam-packed with more than 400 illustrations — from handbills, posters, backstage passes, and vinyl from around the globe, as well as rare candid and performance photography — this massive contribution to the AC/DC library gives fans a all-access visual tour through almost four decades of unadulterated rock mastery. Additionally, sidebars and essays from top rock scribes examine all studio releases, document the band's numerous personnel changes, and delve into the guitar gear of the Young brothers, while musicians past and present comment and reflect on the band's lasting influence.

Complete with a specially commisioned band history and discography, an afterword from DEF LEPPARD's Joe Elliott, and a complete index, this book brings fans as close to the band as possible without a ticket.

Formed in 1973 by the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young, AC/DC has gone on to become one of the most popular and bestselling bands in history, thanks to live-wire stage shows and a sonic attack that has attracted fans from all rock camps.

AC/DC is often credited as pioneers of heavy metal, a tag that Angus and Malcolm Young both eschew, insisting they're simply a rock 'n' roll band. However the band is classified, their starring role in the history of rock is undeniable. Now, there is a book that dares to tackle that legacy.

Contributors:

* Phil Sutcliffe
* Joe Bonomo
* Danie Bukszpan
* Jen Jewel Brown
* Anthony Bozza
* Garth Cartwright
* Ian Christe
* David Dunlap
* Andrew Earles
* Dave Hunter
* James McNair
* Martin Popoff
* Sylvie Simmons
* Bill Voccia

About the author: London-based freelance journalist Phil Sutcliffe has been writing about rock since 1974 and has interviewed greats like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, PINK FLOYD, Kate Bush, RADIOHEAD, NIRVANA, Nick Cave, and QUEEN. His work has appeared in myriad publications, including Mojo, Q, the Los Angeles Times, Blender, Sounds, and more. Phil's back catalog is mostly available on the world's best archive of music writing: Rocksbackpages.com.

Swedish progressive metal outfit SEVENTH WONDER and Lion Music have announce the release of the band's debut video, for the track 'Alley Cat', taken from the bands forthcoming fourth studio album, entitled The Great Escape, and set for release in late 2010.

The video recorded, edited and produced by Johan Larsson is the perfect backdrop for the mood of the new song which sees the band deliver their trademark brand of progressive metal. Check it out below.

Seventh Wonder cross the Atlantic for the first time to play the prestigious ProgPower USA festival along side of KAMELOT and HAMMERFALL in Atlanta, GA on September 10th.

The album, The Great Escape, is in the final stages of production and in spite of some delays is scheduled for a release later this year on Lion Music.

The tracklist will be as follows:

'Wiseman'
'Alley Cat'
'The Angelmaker'
'King Of Whitewater'
'Long Way Home'
'Move On Through'
'The Great Escape'

The band have also announced drummer Johnny Sandin will be leaving the band and have released the following announcements.

Below is a message from Johnny in connection to him announcing his departure from the band. Please note that this will have
no effect on already scheduled gigs, in which Johnny is 100% devoted to participating.

"Hello fans and friends!!

After more than 10 years of touring, recording, tons of laughter and a few tears I have decided to leave Seventh Wonder and take a break from music indefinitely.

The last few years have been hectic and filled with really cool events. The Italy-tour which was put together by the band's best friends Max, Romano and Manuel. The Sweden Rock gig is also one of the memories I will never let go of. Not to mention the upcoming ProgPower USA-gig which is a dream for all of us. I view the release of the fourth SW album and the gigs to follow as a really good finish for me in the band!! Now I will get a chance to say goodbye to fans and friends when we are out playing.

It is damned hard (although mostly fun) to put your entire soul into Seventh Wonder and at the same time work full time and also try to be a good father of four (soon five) and an equally good fiancé. It may sound selfish but I am doing this entirely for me. The more time I devote to the band, the more I loose time with my family. It is not worth that effort any more. I must make different prioritizations right now but at the same time nothing is ever really etched in stone. Who knows, in five years time I may have the drive once more. We will see what happens.

I have had the honor of playing with the finest musicians I have ever met. They have not only been there for me as band members but also as my best friends and I know that they will always be there for me.

Thank you to fans, friends and the band for 10 wonderful years." - Johnny Sandin.

The band's response:

"We are all very saddened by Johnny’s decision. We have lived with Johnny in one of the most important aspects of our lives for many years, some of us for over 10 years. At the same time we feel the utmost respect for Johnny’s decision which we believe to be a correct one for him. Since the first trembling steps of the entity that came to be Seventh Wonder, Johnny has been an integral part of the sound that is Seventh Wonder. Johnny co-wrote a lot of the earlier material and his rhythmic patterns, thunderous fills and poly-rhythmic excursions that he contributes to the music have challenged fans as well as his band members throughout this incredible journey. Johnny is the craziest man alive and has given many thousand laughs and hilarious moments to everyone around him.

As you can understand it is very hard for us to think of Seventh Wonder without Johnny, but at the same time we are all, including Johnny, fully committed to carry on and keep doing what we have come to love and hold so dear over the years. This certainly ends one chapter in the Seventh Wonder book of history, let us together turn the page and see what the future holds as we let Johnny go towards other challenges.

We love you Johnny and we wouldn’t have become who we are with out you!

This does not affect already booked gigs. All scheduled gigs will be performed with Johnny at the helm, and 100% devoted to the task!"

The band continue: "We envision that any applicant is a drummer with a well enough developed technical proficiency to be able to play through just about any song from our back catalogue. This should also work in a live setting with a metronome in a reasonably relaxed and steady manner. You who apply for the position should have a passion for the music we create and the genre in which we are active. The ability and will to sing back-up vocals during live sets is a plus. The band is active in Stockholm and that is also where the studio is, a fact to be considered by all applicants. Previous live show experience is a plus, a drum set of your own is a must."

To apply:

1) Record a video of reasonable quality of yourself playing two Seventh Wonder songs from Waiting In the Wings and/or Mercy Falls

2) Record a video of yourself playing anything else that you feel shows your drumming and your skills in a good way

3) Describe yourself, your musical background and activities, life situation and visions. You may either write this in the e-mail itself or in a file that you attach.

4) Send links to videos (for either download or streaming) and text according to bullet no3 above to: drummer@seventhwonder.nu


5) You do not have to be Johnny –be yourself.

Washington D.C. metallers DARKEST HOUR have completed pre-production for their new album and will enter a North Carolina studio this weekend with producer (and SOILWORK guitarist) Peter Wichers to begin recording the effort. The band states, "New material is coming out better then ever!"

An early 2011 release via eOne Music is expected.

The DARKEST HOUR bandmembers put a lot of time and thought into choosing the right producer for this record and they're convinced they've found one.

"We're really excited about working with Peter on this album," says DARKEST HOUR drummer Ryan Parish. "It's going to be amazing collaborating with such an inventive and unique guitarist/musician to produce and document what we feel is the most emotional and melodic DARKEST HOUR album to date."

"Peter is someone we've admired and very much respected as a musician and producer for quite some time," adds DARKEST HOUR frontman John Henry. "Being a pioneer of the Swedish metal sound, (which has so greatly influenced our band) we hope to refine all of those classic elements with him and incorporate new methods to improve our songwriting."

"The Chaos Of Rebirth", a brand new song from SPIRITUAL BEGGARS — the Swedish band featuring ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott and bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, along with new vocalist Apollo Papathanasio (FIREWIND) — is available for streaming on the group's MySpace page. The track comes off SPIRITUAL BEGGARS's seventh studio album, "Return To Zero", which was released in Japan on August 25 via Trooper Entertainment Inc. — a label founded by legendary Japanese heavy metal music industry guru Tetsu Miyamoto. The Japanese special edition comes in a glossy paper box with a poster and a sticker of the CD front cover. The Japanese edition also features a bonus track, a thunderous cover of URIAH HEEP's "Time To Live" off the legendary U.K. band's 1971 "Salisbury" record.

"Return To Zero" will be released in North America on October 12 via InsideOut Music. The follow-up to 2005's "Demons" was recorded at Sweetspot Studio with producer Rickard Bengtsson.

"Return To Zero" track listing:

01. Return To Zero (intro)
02. Lost In Yesterday
03. Star Born
04. The Chaos Of Rebirth
05. We Are Free
06. Spirit Of The Wind
07. Coming Home
08. Concrete Horizon
09. A New Dawn Rising
10. Believe In Me
11. Dead Weight
12. The Road Less Travelled

Martin Beckford of Telegraph.co.uk reports: Christians could learn a lot about life from listening to heavy metal, according to a Church of England cleric.

The Rev Rachel Mann claims that the much-maligned form of music demonstrates the “liberative theology of darkness”, allowing its tattooed and pierced fans to be more “relaxed and fun” by acknowledging the worst in human nature.

She says that by contrast, churchgoers can appear too sincere and take themselves too seriously.

The priest admits that many will be “concerned” about metal lyrics praising Satan and mocking Christianity, but insists it is just a form of “play-acting”.

Miss Mann, priest-in-charge of St Nicholas’s, Burnage, writes in this week’s Church Times: “Since Black Sabbath effectively created it in 1969 by using the dissonant sound of the medieval ‘Devil’s chord’, heavy metal has been cast as dumb, crass, and on, occasions satanic; music hardly fit for intelligent debate, led alone theological reflection.

“And yet, as both priest and metal musician and fan, it strikes me that the Church, especially at this agonized time, has a serious gospel lesson to learn from this darkest and heaviest music.”

Miss Mann says that heavy metal songs, characterized by distorted guitar sounds, “intense” beats and “muscular” vocals, are “unafraid to deal with death, violence and destruction”.

Its “predominantly male and white” fans “generally like tattoos and piercings” but are “graceful, welcoming and gentle”.

“The music’s willingness to deal with nihilistic and, on occasion, extremely unpleasant subjects seems to offer its fans a space to accept others in a way that shames many Christians.

“Metal’s refusal to repress the bleak and violent truths of human nature liberates its fans to be more relaxed and fun people”.

She goes on to claim that “metal has no fear of human darkness” and while some Christians are similarly unafraid, “many are yet to discover its potential as a place of integration”.

Miss Mann quotes lyrics by the famous thrash metal band Slayer that describe Christianity as an “abortion” and state: “I’ll take the devil any day, hail Satan.”

But she claims: “Much of metal’s fascination with Satan or evil is play-acting, driven by a desire to shock.

“Metal invites Christianity to be less afraid of wildness and the ridiculous.”

She says metal festivals such as Sonisphere, where she saw Iron Maiden play last month, are modern versions of the Feast of Fools held in England in the middle ages, where “excess and anarchy” were allowed for a day.

Miss Mann says she worries that Anglicans have made their faith “too reasonable and ordered” rather than passionate.

“I am not suggesting that as Christians we have all had a humour bypass, but we are inclined to take ourselves too seriously even when we are having fun.”

There have been Christian heavy metal bands, such as the 1980s American act Stryper and the more recent Evanescence, but few have enjoyed much critical acclaim or crossover success.

By contrast many of the biggest heavy metal artists have used anti-Christian or satanic imagery in their lyrics and album covers.

In the 1990s, followers of Norway’s “black metal” scene went further by burning dozens of churches.

Vocalist/guitarist Richie Kotzen (formerly of POISON and MR. BIG) will contribute a guest guitar solo to the track "Too Many Times" on the forthcoming album from Italian thrashers ENEMYNSIDE, tentatively titled "The Black Issue". Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Withering Addiction", "The Cure", "Pitch Black", "Reveries" and "Faith No More".

Commented ENEMYNSIDE vocalist/guitarist Francesco "Frallo" Cremisini: "I'm very proud to have such a great musician playing a solo on the band's new album. He's one of the most talented guitar players around and a really nice person."

Added ENEMYNSIDE guitarist Matteo Bellezza: "The song he plays the solo on had this kind of instrumental part in the middle which sounded quite unusual for us because the first half is just with bass and drums and the second half with rythm guitars too. We needed something different from the other solos on the album, something really distintive, a solo which could play the lead role once the song gets there. Thanx to Richie now we got it!"

ENEMYNSIDE's new CD is being recorded at Temple Of Noise studios.