New Jersey/New York band ILL NINO has issued the following update:

"It is with much regret that ILL NINO must cancel the first week of shows for our upcoming European tour. Our singer, Cristian [Machado], was hospitalized last week, and after many tests, found out he has six herniated discs, and a pressured nerve against his spine.

"Cris is going through major treatment and rehabilitation to be able to get back to normal.

"We all wish Cristian a speedy recovery, as he can't wait to get back and play for you all, as we all do!

"After Cristian undergoes the necessary therapy for his back, we will now start our European festival dates on Friday, August 6 at the Wacken Open Air festival and finish on August 22.

"We apologize for any incovenience, but it was unexpected and beyond our control."

ILL NINO has set "Dead New World" as the title of its new album, tentatively due this fall via Victory Records.

Commented ILL NINO drummer Dave Chavarri: "Our new CD is everything you expect from ILL NINO's original Latin metal sounds; it's heavy as fuck, full of Cristian growling vocals, melodic choruses, tribal Latin rhythms, sick guitars, as well as also being the most progressive record we've ever recorded!!!"

Irish rockers THERAPY? will perform their 1994 album "Troublegum" in its entirety for the first time at the U.K. edition of the Sonisphere festival, set to take place July 30 - August 1 at Knebworth Park.

Commented bassist Michael McKeegan: "With it being the band’s 20th anniversary, we wanted to do something a bit different, so we got together with the promoters and thought this might be an interesting setlist for the audience and a bit of a challenge for us."

He added, "Some of these tracks we haven't played for more than 10 years. There's actually one song on there I think we've only ever played live once before."

AEROSMITH drummer Joey Kramer spoke with Steve Fryer from Ocregister.com recently about a number of topics. Kramer believes the band is in similarly top form today.

“I like to think we’ve grown to be better players, and maturity helps make that happen. I think what happens here is the same as what happens in life - hopefully, you acquire more wisdom as you get older, and the experience of living live makes you a better player, as opposed to just sitting around and practicing and practicing and playing and playing.”

There have been reports that Aerosmith recently started collaborating with producer Brendan O’Brien (AC/DC) on a new record, but…

“No, we really haven’t been working on a record for a couple of years now,” Kramer admits. “So we can destroy that myth. Maybe we’ll do something when we’re done with this tour.”

According to the Pioneer Press, Ozzy Osbourne was fitted with new hearing aids by Bill Austin, husband of Starkey Hearing Foundation chairwoman Tani Austin, prior to the Foundation's 10th annual gala Sunday (July 25) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Bill is a very generous man," said Osbourne, who attended the Starkey gala for the first time this year. "Every time we want him to do something with us, he shows up. We thought it would be rude if we didn't show up."

Osbourne, along with wife Sharon, provided the climax to two hours of red carpet entrances, according to the Pioneer Press.

The gala, which honored Muhammad Ali, Steve Martin, singer Sam Moore, motivational speaker Harvey Mackay and Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson and wife Janet for humanitarian work, was expected to raise as much as $6 million to help distribute hearing aids to underprivileged children from around the world, Tani Austin said.

Former DEEP PURPLE vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes, who took part in this past weekend's tribute concert to Ronnie James Dio, at the High Voltage festival in London, has revealed exclusively to Express & Star that there will be a Dio tribute album, "with some mega stars," to raise funds for to the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund, as well as a major show in Los Angeles in March 2011.

Hughes and Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande joined surviving HEAVEN & HELL members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice for Saturday's concert, the proceeds of which will also go to the "Stand Up And Shout" charity.

The setlist was this past weekend's show was as follows (vocalist for each track listed in parenthesis):

01. The Mob Rules (Jorn Lande)
02. I (Jorn Lande)
03. Country Girl (Glenn Hughes)
04. Children Of The Sea (Glenn Hughes)
05. Turn Up The Night (Jorn Lande)
06. Voodoo (Jorn Lande)
07. Bible Black (Glenn Hughes)
08. Falling Off The Edge Of The World (Glenn Hughes)
09. Die Young (Jorn Lande)
10. Heaven And Hell (Jorn Lande, Glenn Hughes)
11. Neon Knights (Jorn Lande, Glenn Hughes, Philip Anselmo)

Check out a professional photo gallery from Express & Star.

Fan-filmed video footage can be viewed below.

In a recent interview, Iommi stated about this past Saturday's concert, "This will be the first and only tribute we're doing to Ronnie. Not that that's wrong, but we feel that it would be really nice to do this for him. And he'd really like that, I know he would.

"Glenn Hughes has also been a part of the family for many years — he was a really good friend of Ronnie's; they were very close, and he was very close with us — so we think it would be apt to use Glenn. And Glenn's a great vocalist. And Jorn Lande, of course — I don't know if you're familiar with him, but he's also a very big fan of Ronnie's and a great singer.

"We want the best singers that [are] gonna sing and produce as close as what Ronnie would. We wanna do it for the fans, because it was sort of a sudden exit, really, because we were supposed to have been doing a tour.

"I was talking to Ronnie [a few] weeks ago, and he said, 'I've gotta have this new chemo, but I think it's working.' And that was the real big shock of it, because within a week of that, he had passed away. So it was a big shock for all of us, because we built ourselves up to do it and, of course, we didn't expect to lose...

"Ronnie was always a person you thought would always be there — very strong, great within the band; we had a great relationship. [He was] a fantastic person, [and he] loved his fans. And that's why we wanna do this show, because we owe it to the fans to do this show.

"We're not cashing in — it's all for charity. It all goes to charity. We just wanna do it for him and the fans. I know Ronnie would be behind us in whatever we do — he's that sort of person. And he would love for his music to be played. That's what he lived for — he lived for his fans and his music and his friends. It's a closure for us as well. Unfortunately, it's a shame it's not with him, but... that's it."

STYGIA guitarist Todd Seitz has issued the following update:

"I apologize for the long delay in getting back to anyone following my Stygia project. I am being very particular about the entire album recording from the guitar to bass to drum sounds and more. I wouldn't be happy cutting any corners on the record and wish to release it at the best quality possible with what means I have. Things are getting very close, but will probably be pushed back till late this year. In the meantime, please enjoy the Divine Allegiance album cover by Kamil Pietruczynik (click to enlarge)."

As previously reported, ex-LOUDNESS / ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN vocalist Michael Vescera will be part of the Stygia live line-up when the band gets down to doing shows. More information will be revealed soon.

ter a triumphant European tour that included appearances at the With Full Force and Dour festivals, Antarctic rock gods GWAR have returned to their ice-bound fortress to drink blood and begin work on their newest and most gut-crushing album yet. That's right, right now, at the sorta halfway point of GWAR's special two-year long 25th Anniversary Slay-a-Bration, Slave Pit Inc. and Metal Blade Records are proud to announce the title of GWAR's new album…

"Our new album is called 'Bloody Pit of Horror'," said Oderus Urungus, front-thing and leading female impersonator. "We are fully aware that there is a movie of the same title, I assure you it has nothing to do with it, save the title, which we stole from them. But you see, we're calling it 'Gwar's Bloody Pit of Horror', and that's a little different, so hopefully we won't get sued!"

The new album is reportedly "heavy as fuck", and features songs like "Hail to Genocide", "Storm is Coming", and "Tick-Tits", the latter of which is "a song about a chick whose tits are covered in ticks…big fat gray puffy ones," said Oderus.

A full track listing and official release date is expected soon.

To celebrate the forthcoming release of IRON MAIDEN's new album, "The Final Frontier", and the band's headlining performance at next weekend's Sonisphere festival, the U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine has collaborated with the legendary British metal group and HD3D originators Hive Associates to bring you one of the coolest front cover images you will ever feast your eyes on.

Check out the incredible image here.

Not content to just give you the most awesome IRON MAIDEN cover you've ever seen, next month's Hammer will also come packaged with a free IRON MAIDEN "The Final Frontier" mouse mat!

Commented Metal Hammer editor Alexander Milas: "If you've got a drop of metal in your veins, then you'll know that IRON MAIDEN are nothing short of messianic, so what better way to herald their return to the scene?

"We're delighted to have worked with IRON MAIDEN and Hive to create a truly epic cover befitting one of the greatest bands of all time for the greatest fans of all time."

Added Chris Ingham, Group Publisher of Metal Hammer and Classic Rock: "Our IRON MAIDEN cover continues the grand tradition set by Metal Hammer for spectacular event covers, celebrating the biggest events in heavy metal.

"Nothing comes close to topping the excitement of a new MAIDEN album in Hammer world.

"Metal Hammer is proud to have worked with the IRON MAIDEN camp on delivering their first 3D cover."

As well as this unbelievably cool cover concept, Metal Hammer takes you deep into the heart of the IRON MAIDEN touring machine, catching up with the band in Texas on the first leg of its "Final Frontier" world tour! The new album, their legacy, the possibility of this being their last-ever album — no stone is left unturned in next month's Metal Hammer!

Featuring a space-bound Eddie depicted in blood splattered 3D, this incredible issue of Metal Hammer is a must-have for all rabid IRON MAIDEN fans!

The September issue of Metal Hammer with the exclusive HD3D IRON MAIDEN cover and collectable "The Final Frontier" mouse mat goes on sale Wednesday, July 28.

The year 2010 marks the twentieth anniversary of CATHEDRAL and in order to commemorate the occasion the band will perform a one-off show on December 3rd at the O2 Academy in Islington, North London.

For one night only Cathedral will be performing two sets, including the entirety of their landmark debut album and doom metal classic Forest Of Equilibrium where Lee Dorrian (vocals) and Garry Jennings (guitar) will be joined by the recording line up Mark "Griff" Griffiths (bass), Adam Lehan (guitar) and Mike Smail (drums).

This will be followed by a second set of songs performed by the current line up of Lee Dorian, Garry Jennings, Brian Dixon and Leo Smee.

Vocalist Lee Dorrian elaborates: “Cathedral has come along way since those dirge-ridden smoke-filled, cheap lager and sweat infested early rehearsals back in 1990. To be brutally honest, back then we never imagined that we would have continued on a twenty year journey and still be here to tell the tale. A lot of bands that have been around this long tend to shy away from their roots, in favour of more ‘accessible’ material that they wrote in their “maturing” stages. Well, despite the fact that we may have expanded on our sound and style since those early days, we are certainly not embarrassed by our origins, in fact the opposite is true. To commemorate (Commiserate?) this twenty year marathon, we thought it would be a cool idea to regroup the line up of our first studio album for a special one-off show, and perform it in it’s entirety. Fortunately, everyone from those days agreed. This will mark the beginning of the evening, which will be followed by a set of material post-Forest bringing us right up to date with our latest album, The Guessing Game. We are excited about this event and look forward to seeing you there.”

Brazilian metallers ANGRA will release their seventh studio album, "Aqua" (a Latin word which means "water" in English), in Europe on September 29 and in the U.S. on October 12 via SPV/Steamhammer. A conceptual effort, the follow-up to 2006's "Aurora Consurgens" was recorded at Norcal Studios in São Paulo, Brazil.

"Aqua" will be available in four formats: a limited-edition digipack that includes a bonus CD featuring a career-spanning overview of ANGRA's Edu Falaschi (vocals) era; a standard jewel-case edition; a double-LP edition that includes three bonus tracks; and as a digital download.

ANGRA guitarist Rafael Bittencourt recently spoke at length about the concept and recording of "Aqua".

"Here we are again. Doing what we love the most, which is to bring our music to the world. That amazing feeling of having our ideas spread among the fans like seeds that will be growing, as people get more involved with the album.

"Finally, after four years of no work released, we are bringing what in our opinion is one of our best pieces ever composed, 'Aqua'.

"There is a very interesting guideline to the play.

"After reading the text a few times we've discovered that the element water is the main character of the story. It changes in cycles, transforming itself; transforming things around it, representing the wrath in the surges, then the forgiveness in the calm.

"Everything happens after a huge storm that took place on an island shore. While the wild waters are coming from above and below, a ship and its crew are fighting to avoid a shipwreck.

"Maybe by coincidence, this year we had strong storms that caused floods, landslides and other problems to many Brazilian cities. We could see that the same thing was happening in different countries almost at the same time injuring and killing people. It seems that the waters are representing a time of change. The upcoming of the Age of Aquarius, the apocalypse, the prophecies about 2012 and other matters were flying around our conversations.

"We wanted a title that would describe in a very concise way that concept. 'Aqua' is the Latin word for water and summarizes the whole idea behind the Shakespearean play and our feelings at this remarkable moment. 'The Tempest' is also a very mysterious and unique work from Shakespeare. It was the very last play that he had written and it is full of personal statements. Every time you read, you discover some new aspect of the construction or some hidden curiosity within the lines. The story is about a king named Prospero and his daughter Miranda. They were left exiled on an island that was supposed to be a wasteland. The Island was not so deserted and they've built a life together with the magic creatures of that very enchanted place. Prospero plans revenge against his betraying opponents and raises, by means of magic, a huge storm upon the ship that carries them. He finally forgives the evil acts of his enemies when he realizes that those acts haven't harmed him like they were intended to.

"So, the water is representing the coming of Prospero's maturity and all the transformations and cycles that led him to that point. We were also going through a lot of renovation processes and we wanted to express the idea of being renewed. Letting go of bad feelings and thoughts is a common theme between this Shakespeare's text and 'Aqua'. 'The Tempest' helped us to describe more clearly our emotions at this moment.

"Although this album sounds very different than our previous album, 'Aurora Consurgens', there are not many musical differences between 'Aqua' and our last three albums. We tried to keep the idea of combining metal with progressive, classic, Brazilian, ethnic, pop and many other styles. The big difference is that this time we were really hit by inspiration. So we wrote almost thirty good songs, and we ended up picking the best ten out of the big list.

"All the atmosphere of companionship and teamwork was captured in the tracks. We really helped each other on every detail and that's what made the songs so powerful and special.

"Another important difference is that the drummer Ricardo Confessori is back in the band. This was only possible because, after the recording sessions of the BITTENCOURT PROJECT's 'Brainworms' where he performed on a couple of tracks. Since then, we have regained our trust and friendship. We had a few rehearsals with ANGRA where he jammed around songs from the old and new era of the band. Also, we presented some new ideas for him to arrange and he showed that he had kept his creativity and graceful musicianship. We had good laughs remembering things we've done together in the past and how the Brazilian-mixed kind grooves were a very significant quality of our pre-'Rebirth' era.

"So, 'Aqua' represents where we are now. And we hope that it will be remembered as one of our great classic albums, because it was done with great passion, focus and dedication.

"We expect that every detail of these carefully crafted new songs may help you out through your own times of change. So, get prepared to dive deep into an ocean of new sensations and float away with the various liquid atmospheres that keep changing as you listen through and it will always keep changing as you listen to it more times."

"Aqua" limited-edition digipack:

CD 1:

01. Viderunt Te Aquæ
02. Arising Thunder
03. Awake From Darkness
04. Lease Of Life
05. The Rage Of The Waters
06. Spirit Of The Air
07. Hollow
08. Monster In Her Eyes
09. Weakness Of A Man
10. Ashes

CD 2: *

01. Nova Era
02. Rebirth
03. Hunters And Prey
04. Spread Your Fir
05. Waiting Silence
06. The Course Of Nature
07. Salvation:Suicide

* Bonus CD with a career-spanning overview of the Edu Falaschi era

Jewel Case:

01. Viderunt Te Aquæ
02. Arising Thunder
03. Awake From Darkness
04. Lease Of Life
05. The Rage Of The Waters
06. Spirit Of The Air
07. Hollow
08. Monster In Her Eyes
09. Weakness Of A Man
10. Ashes

LP:

Side 1:

01. Viderunt Te Aquæ
02. Arising Thunder
03. Awake From Darkness
04. Lease Of Life

Side 2:

05. The Rage Of The Waters
06. Spirit Of The Air
07. Hollow

Side 3:

08. Monster In Her Eyes
09. Weakness Of A Man
10. Ashes

Side 4:

01. Nova Era (bonus track)
02. Spread Your Fire (bonus track)
03. The Course Of Nature (bonus track)

Former STRATOVARIUS leader/guitarist Timo Tolkki has released the following statement:

"Due to my private problems, the lack of interest in REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE [Tolkki's post-STRATOVARIUS band] shows by the promoters, and the current situation in the music industry that affects to everything including the production budgets, it has become impossible to continue the band.

"We have tried to book shows in these last three years, but we haven't been able to do so.

"A rock band cannot exist without direct contact to its fans. Therefore I have no other choice but to make the decision to stop the band and its activities due to the above-mentioned reasons.

"The third and final album of the band will be released at the end of September.

"From the bottom of my heart I would like to thank all the fans of my music throughout the years. It's been a great journey."

Denmark's VOLBEAT reports:

"It’s been a long process, but damn well worth it. The artwork for Beyond Hell/Above Heaven is done and we’re absolutely very proud of it. Get a first taste as we present the front & back cover to you, along with the tracklist!

Next week you can view the artwork process in the making when we upload exclusive footage of this artistic process when illustrator Karsten Wrysand and Michael unfold the Graphic universe of Beyond Hell/Above Heaven."

1. The Mirror And The Ripper
2. Heaven Nor Hell
3. Who They Are
4. Fallen
5. A Better Believer
6. 7 Shots
7. A New Day
8. 16 Dollars
9. A Warriors Call
10. Magic Zone
11. Evelyn
12. Being 1
13. Thanks

U.K. death metallers ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY have parted ways with guitarist Sam Dawkins and drummer Brad Merry and have replaced them with Don Jones and Neil Hayward, respectively.

Commented the group: "Sam decided to leave [the band] after [our American tour with DYING FETUS] to follow home life with his girlfriend and loved ones. His heart wasn't into touring anymore, so he made the decision to leave.

"We parted ways with Brad recently due to a number of reasons, the main one being distance as he lived over 100 miles away from the rest of us and it made it very difficult for us to rehurse. That coupled with disagreements with certain band members [led to our] decision to part ways with him. He is currently looking for a new band within the London area and trying to go further with his MMA."

Regarding the band's latest additions, ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY states, "Don is a guy who we've been playing in local bands with since we were all 14.

"For those of you who aren't familiar with his name, he played on our 'Welcome To Sludgy City' EP.

"The reason Don hasn't been with the band any longer than the EP was other commitments stopping him from touring, but now we finally have him and it's great to be working with him again.

"Taking Brad's place on drums is our longtime friend Neil Hayward. We met Neil a few years ago through playing some shows together. He's a great guy, likes skulls and that, metal and things."

On the topic of the songwriting process for ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY's next studio album, the band states, "So we've now started writting our next CD, we've been listening to all the feedback you guys have given us and have taken it all onboard for this next CD. We don't really wanna do the usual, 'OMG, this is gonna be the heaviest CD ever, so heavy that Lambgoat will hate us,' but it's definitely going to be our angriest-sounding release to date. There will be mixes of both the EP/'Before The Throne Of Infection' [2008] CD sound with the sound of 'The Reign Of Darkness' thrown in with new elements our new members bring. It's all about the groove."

HardTimes.ca conducted an interview with ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY when the band performed at Foufounes Electriques in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on June 2, 2010. You can now watch the 24-minute chat below.

ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY's latest album, "The Reign Of Darkness", sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 34 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"The Reign Of Darkness" was recorded at Foel Studio in Wales and was engineered by Chris Fielding. The CD was mixed by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE) at Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Brazilian heavy metal band SCELERATA have enlisted new permanent vocalist Fabio Juan who will join the band on the Brazilian SkeleTour 2010 that is scheduled for August and September when former IRON MAIDEN singer PAUL DI'ANNO returns to Brazil to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the launch of Maiden's legendary self-titled first album. The set-list will feature material from both Iron Maiden and the follow-up Killers as well as select material from Di'Anno's solo career.

Scelerata will be the backing band for Di'Anno, passing through the five Brazilian regions. Following the tour, the band will enter the studio to record their third album, to be released worldwide in the first half of 2011.

Punk rock legends BAD RELIGION have revealed the cover art (see below) and track listing for their long-awaited new album, "The Dissent of Man", due on September 28 via Epitaph Records.

"The Dissent of Man" track listing:

01. The Day That The Earth Stalled
02. Only Rain
03. The Resist Stance
04. Won't Somebody
05. The Devil In Stitches
06. Pride And The Pallor
07. Wrong Way Kids
08. Meeting Of The Minds
09. Someone To Believe
10. Avalon
11. Cyanide
12. Turn Your Back On Me
13. Ad Hominem
14. Where The Fun Is
15. I Won't Say Anything

The first single from the album, "The Devil In Stitches", is available for streaming using the Soundcloud player below.

Los Angeles hardcore/metal band TERROR has released a new digital single featuring the tracks "Stick Tight" and "Keepers of The Faith". It is now available via the iTunes store at this location. Both songs will appear on TERROR's fifth album, "Keepers Of The Faith", which will be released on August 30 in Europe and September 14 in North America via Century Media Records. Doom Patrol will issue the album in Japan on September 1. The CD contains 13 new tracks produced by Chad Gilbert of NEW FOUND GLORY at Buzzbomb Studios in Orange County, California. It was engineered by Paul Miner (DEATH BY STEREO, ADAMANTIUM) and mixed by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, HATEBREED).