Italian experimental/apocalyptic doom metallers VOID OF SILENCE have parted ways with vocalist Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill (of the of the Irish dark metal masters PRIMORDIAL) and are currently seeking a replacement.

Commented the band: "VOID OF SILENCE was forced to let Alan go to be able to continue. Alan's full-time engagement in PRIMORDIAL increasingly prevented VOID OF SILENCE from completing the brand new album, scheduled for autumn 2009 on Code666.

"We are looking for a versatile, creative individual (man or woman) with high motivation and a capability of singing in different styles, from strong clean singing to all ranges of grunts, growls and shrieks.

"If you feel you might be the one, please send your demo or email to singer@voidofsilence.com."

Formed in 1999, VOID OF SILENCE has thus far released three full-length albums, including "Human Antithesis", which came out in 2004 on Code666 Records.

FIREBIRD, the British band led by former CARCASS/NAPALM DEATH guitarist Bill Steer, will release its fifth album, "Grand Union", on April 20 via Rise Above Records. The CD was recorded and mixed over a two-week period in May 2008 at Berno studios in Malmö, Sweden where FIREBIRD's second album, 2001's "Deluxe", was conceived.

"Grand Union" features a couple of tracks that are "way heavier than the stuff from the last two records," according to Steer, plus no less than three cover versions: JAMES TAYLOR's "One Man Dog", DUSTER BENNETT's "Worried Mind", and a HUMBLE PIE number.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Blue Flame
02. Jack The Lad
03. Lonely Road
04. Fool For You
05. Silent Stranger
06. Release Me
07. Wild Honey
08. Gold Label
09. Worried Mind
10. See The Light
11. Four Day Creep
12. Caledonia

Check out two songs from the album — "Blue Flame" and "Silent Stranger" — on the band's MySpace page.

FIREBIRD's current lineup includes Bill Steer (vocals, guitar), Ludwig Witt (drums) and the band's latest addition, Smok Smoczkiewicz (bass).

FIREBIRD released its most recent album, "Hot Wings", in Europe in July 2006 via Rise Above Records. The CD was issued in Japan on May 31, 2006 through Victor Entertainment.

BLACK SABBATH fan site Black-Sabbath.com has revealed the details of several "exclusive" physical and digital retail versions of HEAVEN & HELL's forthcoming debut album, "The Devil In You", which is scheduled to arrive in North America on April 28 from Rhino for a suggested list price of $18.98 (physical) and $9.99 (digital). The effort will also be released as double vinyl LP featuring a laser etched design and exclusive poster on May 12.

The details are as follows:

* Best Buy will offer an exclusive version featuring a DVD with unreleased video of the band recording the album including studio performances, interviews, and other behind-the-scenes content. (See several clips from the DVD below.)

* Wal-Mart will offer an exclusive alternate cover (see image below) that prominently features the traditional BLACK SABBATH devil logo. When finalizing the cover, the band narrowed it down to their two favorites but had a difficult time making a final decision. Now the alternate cover will also be available as a Wal-Mart exclusive.

* iTunes will offer an exclusive version with previously unreleased live recordings of "Die Young" and "I" from the band's 2007 European tour.

* Select independent retail stores will offer exclusive HEAVEN & HELL T-shirts and/or copies of the album signed by the entire band, while supplies last. See below for a list of all participating stores and contact them directly for more details.

Participating independent retail stores:

* Cactus Music - Houston, TX
* The Exchange - Cleveland, OH
* Independent Records - Denver, CO
* Looney Tunes - Long Island, NY
* Newbury Comics - 28 total stores in Boston, MA area
* Record Theatre - Buffalo, NY
* Record & Tape Traders - Washington D.C.
* Rolling Stone - Chicago, IL
* Silver Platters - Seattle, WA
* The Omega Order - online only
* Vintage Vinyl - Fords, NJ
* Zias - Phoenix, AZ, Tucson, AZ & Las Vegas, NV

Deutsche Welle recently conducted an interview with SCORPIONS frontman Klaus Meine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

Deutsche Welle: Why have you stayed in Hanover? Many stars choose to move to LA or New York, yet you have chosen to stay in a relatively small German city.

Klaus Meine: The most important thing is to have a place you can come back to, where your roots, family and friends are. Those are things you can't transplant. We're cosmopolitan and have been traveling around the world for so many years. Wherever we are, the music helps us to feel connected and we never really feel like strangers, whether we're in Siberia or the Amazon. But it's really important to be able to come back to the place where your roots are, where your family and friends are.

Deutsche Welle: You recently received an Echo music award for your life's work. Does that make you feel old?

Klaus Meine: No, not at all. We're very honored. The Echo is a very important award and it's a big honor to receive one. We don't see it as a final cadence, but rather as an incentive, or motivation to keep playing for our fans in the coming years and to do that which has kept us going for so many years - that is, living our dream of making rock music.

Deutsche Welle: What are you currently working on?

Klaus Meine: We're working in the studio at the moment and preparing a new project. After a very turbulent 2008 with 60 shows in 22 countries, we're now trying to breathe a bit and charge our batteries — but also to be creative.

We're working on new songs that will hopefully come out towards the end of the year. That's really a lot of fun, after doing all those concerts.

Deutsche Welle: "Wind of Change", one of your best-known songs, became something of hymn for political change in eastern Europe. Was the song conceived as something of an ode to perestroika?

Klaus Meine: Of course not. When you write a song, you might have a certain feeling about it, but you can never be sure how a song is going to develop and what will become of it - if it will become a Top Ten hit, a number one hit, or in this case even an international hit that became like a hymn to the end of the Cold War for many people from East and West. Something like that can't be imagined or planned.

The only thing I did was try to express in the music all the emotions and everything we experienced in 1988 and 1989. We really had the feeling that the world was changing before our eyes — at the latest in August 1989 in Moscow. We had the feeling that the Cold War could be over soon, but of course no one thought that the Berlin Wall would fall just a few months later and that so much in our own country, Germany, and in eastern Europe would change. So this song has a particularly special story, which goes way beyond just being a "hit."

It's a nice feeling to know that the song touched so many people and, for many, will always be associated with these historical events.

Video footage of Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON performing the song "Black Crow On A Tombstone" on April 15, 2009 at The Rock in Copenhagen, Denmark can be viewed here.

In an April 13, 2009 interview with Sweden's Loudfarmer web site, SATYRICON drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad stated about the group's split with bassist Victor Brandt, "We had to [part ways with him]. Being in a live band means that you have to be a team player in addition to being an individual artist, and if you cannot really manage that talent and if you can't understand what it takes of you, then it's simply not possible to go on. You will, sooner or later, get into insolvable problems regarding atttude and how the band works together and eventually it will start to have a destructive impact on the music and the performance. You can only go so far with a very deconstructive air in the band, and we felt that we were getting there. If he comes to us and says, 'I don't really feel motivated to give my best now,' and 'I don't like the vibe in the band,' it's better that we just part ways, I think. And that's what he came to us and said. He was really at a point where he was telling us out straight that he couldn't really give us what we want. And, I mean, we're SATYRICON, and we cannot have an attitude like that, and I think that he cannot live with that either. So we have had a good co-operation; his style has been very suitable for SATYRICON. But sometimes when you work with musicians in a live band, you'll come to a point where the co-operation doesn't really work out anymore. And then you just have to end the co-operation and part ways, and that's what we did. Nothing very dramatic. We hoped to have a more stable lineup that would last for awhile, but we will move on and so will he."

SATYRICON's current session bassist is Anders Odden, whose experience includes stints with such bands as APOPTYGMA BERZERK and CADAVER, as well as touring with CELTIC FROST.

Commented Frost: "[Anders is] a very skilled musician. He has a very profound musical understanding and a very solid platform. He has, anyway, been working with a band — he's actually teching for a band after having done this tour with us. It's a temporary solution, but we have been rehearsing with him and it sounds very, very good; it's tight and he goes into this with everything he's got and the band has never sounded better, really, so it's good to have him there."

Steve Appleford of RollingStone.com reports: SLAYER are still in the early stages of recording, just five weeks in, working out ideas for what will be an 11-song album, released in July, in time for the summer's second Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour with MARILYN MANSON. Lyrics still wait to be written. Rick Rubin, who produced the band's landmark 1986 album "Reign in Blood", is executive producing.

"Why do I write this shit at my age? It's fucking brutal," says guitarist Kerry King, 44, his head shaved and tattooed. "It's exciting to be part of it and I'm excited to be writing this heavy fucking shit. It's still in the blood."

During this night's session, some friends arrive for a visit. One of them is Rita Haney, wife of the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, and she's brought one of the PANTERA veteran's old guitars. It's a blue V-shaped electric from the early-'80s, and she's hoping King will give it a try. "That was his holy grail," she says, handing it to King's guitar tech. She notices a snapshot taped to the Beast of King boozing it up with Darrell and Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde. "Ah, the triple threat."

"Devouring Frenzy", the new video from the resurrected late '80s/early '90s death metal outfit PESTILENCE, can be viewed here. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Resurrection Macabre", which was released on March 13 in Europe (April 14 in the U.S.) via Holland's Mascot Records. The band recorded a total of 14 songs during the session at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark — 11 new tracks and three classic PESTILENCE cuts (as chosen by the fans) which are included on the limited-edition first pressing: "Out Of The Body", "Chemo Therapy" and "Lost Souls". Joining guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli in PESTILENCE's current recording lineup are Tony Choy (ATHEIST, CYNIC) on bass and Peter Wildoer (DARKANE, NON-HUMAN LEVEL) on drums. Patrick has previously described the band's new material as a modern fusion of "Testimony of the Ancients" (1991) and "Spheres" (1993), but even more technical and brutal.

"Resurrection Macabre" track listing:

01. Devouring Frenzy
02. Horror Detox
03. Fiend
04. Hate Suicide
05. Synthetic Grotesque
06. Neuro Dissonance
07. Dehydrated II
08. Resurrection Macabre
09. Hangman
10. Y2H
11. In Sickness & Death
12. Chemo Therapy *
13. Out of the Body *
14. Lost Souls *

* Limited-edition bonus tracks

Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.

PESTILENCE 2009 touring lineup (pictured below):

Patrick Mameli – Guitar, Vocals
Patrick Uterwijk - Guitar
Tony Choy - Bass
Peter Wildoer - Drums

On April 15, 2009, Aspherical Asphyxia Productions proudly presents the first chapter of its new project called "Old Crown, New Spawn", a triple tribute to EMPEROR / ARCTURUS / VED BUENS ENDE. The first chapter, called "Furens", is devoted to EMPEROR. The full-length CD contains several EMPEROR covers as well as the participating bands' own material. This is a distinctive feature of this project.

The track listing is as follows:

01. NEFERTUM (IT) - Ye Entrancemperium (5:12)
02. NEFERTUM (IT) - Beneath The Ashes (7:38)
03. DARKENHOLD (FR) - Ancient Queen (3:47)
04. DARKENHOLD (FR) - Marble Bestiary (5:30)
05. ARTEFACT (FR) - The Loss And Curse Of Reverence (6:10)
06. AORLHAC (FR) - With Strength I Burn (8:10)
07. AORLHAC (FR) - Le Mirroir Des Peches (4:30)
08. THE SECT (FR) - Cosmic Keys To My Creations And Times (6:00)
09. MINDGRINDER (NO) - I Am The Black Wizards (6:41)
10. MINDGRINDER (NO) - Hellfire (4:14)
11. BOUND BY ENTRAILS (US) - Under The Midnight Sun (4:50)
12. BOUND BY ENTRAILS (US) - Inno A Satana (3:53)
13. SMOHALLA (FR) - Variations On The Wanderer Theme (6:28)
14. FARSTAD (NO) - Ye Entrancemperium (5:30)

The album will be available online for free. Physical CDs will be be pressed several months later.

For more information, go to this location.

NIGHTWISH's video for the song "The Islander" was honored with a "Best Music Video" award at the Muuvi awards ceremony, which was held this past Friday (April 17) in Helsinki.

"The Islander" clip was shot and directed by Tuomas "Stobe" Harju at the end of 207 in Rovaniemi, Finland near the Arctic Circle.

The video and the accompanying "making-of" footage can be viewed below.

Muuvi awards are handed out annually to the best Finnish music videos.

"In The Light Of Darkness (The Covenant Of Death)", the new album from UNANIMATED — the reunited Swedish melodic death metal band featuring former members of ENTOMBED and DISMEMBER — is available for streaming in its entirety on the group's MySpace page. Released this month via Regain Records, the CD was mixed by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studios (WATAIN, FUNERAL MIST). The album layout was handled by Erik Danielsson (WATAIN).

UNANIMATED's first two albums — 1993's "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" (Pavement Records) and 1995's "Ancient God of Evil" (No Fashion Records) — were remastered and re-released in June 2008 with bonus tracks.

UNANIMATED was founded in 1989 in Stockholm and disbanded in 1996. Largely inspired by DISMEMBER, the group created two melodic death metal albums — the aforementioned "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" and "Ancient God of Evil". The band also contributed to the 1996 SLAYER tribute "Slaytanic Slaughter II" with its cover of "Dead Skin Mask". In 2007, the group reformed.

UNANIMATED current lineup:

Micke Jansson (CELESTIAL PAIN) - Vocals
Johan "UFO" Bolin - Guitar
Richard Cabeza (DISMEMBER, DAMNATION, MURDER SQUAD, BORN OF FIRE, GENERAL SURGERY, DARK FUNERAL, CARBONIZED) - Bass
Peter Stjärnvind (MERCILESS, REGURGITATE, DAMNATION, ENTOMBED, FACE DOWN, BORN OF FIRE, MURDER SQUAD, KRUX, NIFELHEIM) - Drums

French metal/gothic band AD INFERNA, which features SETH mainman/vocalist Arkames, has posted unmastered versions of three songs — "Fade to Grey" (VISAGE cover), "Metamorphose" and "You As My Own Drug" — on the group's MySpace page. All three cuts are taken from AD INFERNA's forthcoming album, "Trance N Dance", which was recorded and mixed by Xort (ANOREXIA NERVOSA) at the Drudenhaus Studio.

AD INFERNA's debut album, "L'Empire des Sens", was released in 2002 via Silverdust Records.

AD INFERNA is:

V.Orias.A – Guitar, Bass
As-Mody – Keyboards, Bass
N.Aboriim - Drums
Arkames - Vocals

Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA have reportedly revealed in a recent intervew that their next studio album will be called "Design Your Universe". The band entered Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany on March 2 with producer Sascha Paeth to begin recording the follow-up to 2007's "The Divine Conspiracy", tentatively due in September/October via Nuclear Blast Records.

Vocalist Simone Simons previously stated about EPICA's new material, "It is so exciting! I love the new songs and can't wait to play them live."

EPICA will release a double live CD, titled "The Classical Conspiracy", on May 8 through Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded in Miskolc, Hungary, on June 14 2008 during the Miskolc International Opera Festival. The band performed a 45-minute set of metal adaptations of classical songs and movie soundtracks, accompanied by the orchestra and choir as well as symphonic versions of its own songs (including a few orchestral songs from singles and "The Score", which had never been played live before).

Swiss hard rock veterans GOTTHARD will contribute a brand new song to the soundtrack of the upcoming film about the spectacular life of German boxing legend Max Schmeling. The movie will be directed by Uwe Boll ("Postal", "Swords Of The King") and will be in theaters in April 2010.

German boxing star Henry Maske will portray Schmeling in the film.

"A movie like this needs a strong rock song," Uwe Boll explains. "The music by GOTTHARD perfectly fits. When I first heard their songs, I was immediately convinced."

A music video for the song featured on the soundtrack will be filmed in the same style as the movie. It will be shot in 35mm, which is normally reserved for feature films.

The song and video, in which you will see the first scenes from the movie, will be introduced with the release of the new album in September, as well as on the band's co-headlining tour with EUROPE.

GOTTHARD will release its as-yet-untitled new album on September 4 via Nuclear Blast Records. A digital single will precede the full-length CD on August 14.

According to the Finnish broadcasting company YLE, Finnish gothic metal band ENTWINE's tour bus was burnt to the ground (see photo here) in Ähtäri Saturday morning (April 18). The driver sleeping in the top bunk of the bus barely managed to escape from the burning vehicle.

In addition to the bus, all of the group's instruments were destroyed.

The fire caused the band estimately 50,000 euros worth of damage.

The officials say the fire started from a gas heater.

ENTWINE had performed in Ähtäri last night (Friday, April 17) and the musicians were sleeping at the local accommodation facility.

Commented vocalist Mika Tauriainen: "I woke up in the morning as the driver rushed into the room telling the bus was on fire and we needed to go and carry out the equipment. I thought that only the curtains would be on fire. I opened the inn door and the bus was in full blaze. I realized I couldn't do a thing. There we waited for the fire department and watched the bus burn.

"All the equipment burned down with the bus. We found a couple of drum sticks in one piece. But money doesn't matter. What is important is that the bus driver was saved.

"All our background music was on the hard drive that burned. So the Leppävirta gig will be an undressed version. At least we were able to arrange loan equipment. I hope that people will understand the situation."

"Strife", the latest video from ENTWINE, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's sixth album, "Painstained", which was released in Finland on January 28. The CD was recorded with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, APOCALYPTICA, SENTENCED).

SLIPKNOT's video for the song "Sulfur" can be viewed here. (Note: Video stream may not be available to some non-U.S. residents.) The clip was shot on March 9 in the Los Angeles area and was directed by band percussionist Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) and P.R. Brown (MÖTLEY CRÜE, MARILYN MANSON, CHIMAIRA, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), who helmed the last two SLIPKNOT clips, "Psychosocial" and "Dead Memories". The video depicts the nine members rocking out in groups of three and submerged in water one at a time. The video concept was modeled after a video installation by Bill Viola called "Ascension" that's currently on display at the Des Moines Arts Center.

Crahan told HeadbangersBlog.com about the clip, "This is the third video I've done with Paul Brown and with each video we learn more about each other and the art of SLIPKNOT, and we build on that knowledge with each new project. It's great to jump around and try new people, but sometimes it's better to stay with a winning team.

"When I write a treatment, I always think, 'What has SLIPKNOT not done? What can we embark upon that will be fun and knowledge-enhancing instead of the same old song and dance?' Our business can be routine, so I need the band to be able to do something brand new so we can look back at it later and say, 'God, this was different and fun and really artistic.'"

The "Sulfur" video will debut on this weekend's edition of MTV2's "Headbangers Ball".

According to an April 7 posting on Shawn "Clown" Crahan's Twitter account, he is currently editing a new DVD for the band's forthcoming ten-year package. "Wait until you see this stuff!" he says.

SLIPKNOT recently wrapped another hugely successful headline tour across the U.S. and continues to rack up accolades for its fourth album, "All Hope is Gone".

SLIPKNOT was awarded with an EMMA Award for "Best International Act." The EMMAs are the Finnish equivalent of the Grammys.

"…And Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep", the new video from the Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based female-fronted metal band THE AGONIST, can be viewed here. The clip was directed by David Brodsky (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, EARTH CRISIS) who worked with the group on the video for "Business Suits & Combat Boots".

Commented vocalist Alissa White-Gluz: "It was very difficult to decide on a single for the new album, 'Lullabies for the Dormant Mind', because every song is so different and we love them all! So, we decided that we would make two music videos. One is currently under production and the other is ready to be viewed. This 'mini-video' is for the song '...And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep', and is, again, directed by the great David Brodsky. We wanted to capture the claustrophobia of a coffin and the chaos of death in the video. Enjoy!"

THE AGONIST is currently on the road alongside Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED, with plans to continue touring with THREAT SIGNAL, ATHEIST and THE FACELESS at various points during the summer.

"Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", the sophomore album from THE AGONIST, sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 105 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 a cappella version of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" is only one example of the band’s musical abilities as it impressively exhibits Alissa White-Gluz's mind-blowingly wide range of vocal skills and professionalism as a singer. Produced by Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY, MYTHOSIS), "Lullabies for the Dormant Mind" exposes new facets of the band and touches upon classical, jazz, opera, grindcore, thrash and black metal influences in a complete metal opus. Featuring guest violins by Avi Ludmer (MAHOGANY RUSH), orchestrations by classical pianists Melina Soochan and Jonathan Lefrancois-Leduc (BLACKGUARD) along with many other Montreal-based contributors, this album is refreshing to hear upon every listen. Following a dark, twisted yet beautiful, surrealist visual concept from Natalie Shau once again, THE AGONIST have created an uncomfortable yet addictive setting for their metal, like being awoken from a bad dream, or falling asleep to escape a nightmarish reality.

Polish extreme metalers BEHEMOTH have set "Evangelion" as the title of their ninth full-length studio album, due out this summer via Metal Blade (USA) and Nuclear Blast (Europe).

Commented frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski: "I've had this title in my head for almost a year now and it grew on me. It sounds nothing but powerful and epic which perfectly mirrors the essence of the new album. 'Evangelion' comes from a Greek word [meaning] 'spreading the word of God' or 'spreading the good news'… Oh, well, you already know that we love to play with the meanings and symbolism. We're here to show you our interpretation of what 'Evangelion' really is."

Nergal previously stated about the new material, "I must confess that I'm way more excited about this record than I was for [2007's] 'The Apostasy'. It's probably the whole label situation that we had to deal back then, Inferno's injury that caused crazy deadlines that completely drained the energy out of my system… I even started treating that album as unwanted child. Weird, because from time perspective, it's a great one. This time though everything was planned much in advanced. I found time to live my life, get some energy back, get inspired and so on… When we met in October it was obvious that all of us were really hungry for making new music. It's definitely 100% BEHEMOTH. I would risk saying that we do have our own style but it's still improving, evolving in different directions every time we approach new project. Most of the songs are the really fast, technical and intense, at the same time there's a lot of diversity. There's even a very slow, massive song that's probably the most epic tracks in BEHEMOTH's history. Everything sounds more serious and…dangerous (I love that word, ha ha). There's probably more sinister vibe in our music this time too."

"Evangelion" will be mixed by Colin Richardson, who has previously worked with MACHINE HEAD, SLIPKNOT, NAPALM DEATH and CARCASS, among many others.

BEHEMOTH has been confirmed for the second annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, set to take place this summer. The band will perform on the Hot Topic stage alongside CANNIBAL CORPSE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, JOB FOR A COWBOY and WHITECHAPEL on over 25 dates.

"Ezkaton", the latest EP from BEHEMOTH, sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 26 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.

A video trailer for AMORPHIS' new album, "Skyforger", which is scheduled for release on May 29 via Nuclear Blast Records (May 27 in Finland), can be viewed here. The follow-up to the "Eclipse" and "Silent Waters" LPs, both of which were certified gold in the band's native Finland, was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Sampo
02. Silver Bride
03. From The Heaven Of My Heart
04. Sky Is Mine
05. Majestic Beast
06. My Sun
07. Highest Star
08. Skyforger
09. Course Of Fate
10. From Earth I Rose
11. Godlike Machine (bonus track; digipack only)

Check out the cover artwork here.

Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA will release a double live CD, titled "The Classical Conspiracy", on May 8 through Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded in Miskolc, Hungary, on June 14 2008 during the Miskolc International Opera Festival. The band performed a 45-minute set of metal adaptations of classical songs and movie soundtracks, accompanied by the orchestra and choir as well as symphonic versions of its own songs (including a few orchestral songs from singles and "The Score", which had never been played live before).

"The Classical Conspiracy" track listing:

CD 1 - Classical Set:

01. Palladium
02. Dies Irae
03. Ombra Mai Fu
04. Adagio
05. Spiderman Medley
06. Presto
07. Montagues & Capulets
08. The Imperial March
09. Stabat Mater Dolorosa
10. Unholy Trinity
11. In The Hall Of The Mountain King
12. Pirates Of The Caribbean
13. Indigo
14. The Last Crusade
15. Sensorium
16. Quietus
17. Chasing The Dragon
18. Feint

CD 2 - Epica Set:

01. Never Enough
02. Beyond Belief
03. Cry For The Moon
04. Safeguard To Paradise
05. Blank Infinity
06. Living A Lie
07. The Phantom Agony
08. Sancta Terra
09. Illusive Consensus
10. Consign To Oblivion

Two medleys containing songs from the upcoming album are available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Check out the cover artwork here.

EPICA entered Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany on Monday, March 2 with producer Sascha Paeth to begin recording the follow-up to 2007's "The Divine Conspiracy", tentatively due before the end of the year via Nuclear Blast Records.

Vocalist Simone Simons previously stated about EPICA's new material, "It is so exciting! I love the new songs and can't wait to play them live."

"The Divine Conspiracy" was EPICA's first full-length concept album. According to the band, "This concept deals with the theory that, as a test, God created all kinds of different religions and released those upon humanity to see if they would be able to find the true nature of them, realizing that in all religions it is actually the same. But there's more to it; it also concludes the 'Embrace That Smothers' concept that could already be found on [2003's] 'The Phantom Agony'."

Nuclear Blast Records released a limited deluxe CD edition in Europe of "The Divine Conspiracy", featuring the bonus tracks "Higher High" and "Replica" (FEAR FACTORY cover), video clips and a "making-of" enhanced section.

Florida-based death metallers OBITUARY have set "Darkest Day" as the title of their new album, due on June 30 via Candlelight Records. Vocalist John Tardy previousy said about the CD, "It came out really sick and I cannot wait for you guys to hear it... it is heavy!!"

Check out the album artwork here. The band once again worked with artist Andreas Marschall, who created the art for "The End Complete", "Frozen in Time", and the group's last record, "Xecutioner's Return".

"Darkest Day" track listing:

01. List of Dead
02. Blood to Give
03. Lost
04. Outside My Head
05. Payback
06. Your Darkest Day
07. This Life
08. See Me Now
09. Fields of Pain
10. Violent Dreams
11. Truth Be Told
12. Forces Realign
13. Left to Die

Guitarist Ralph Santolla previously said about the new material, "The new stuff is HEAVY, some of my favorite OBI riffs yet. Trevor's [Peres] guitar sounds huge and menacing. If you like OBITUARY, you're gonna love this record."

OBITUARY will release a new concert DVD, tentatively titled "Live Xecution In Bad Berka 2008", in June via Regain Records. The footage for the disc was filmed at last year's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held August 7-9, 2008 in Bad Berka, Germany.

Commented bassist Frank Watkins: "We did over 30 festivals last summer and the Party.San festival was the very last and best one for OBITUARY... Fortunately, the show was filmed."

"Iron Maiden: Flight 666", the feature-length documentary film which follows the IRON MAIDEN bandmembers on the first leg of their "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour" in February and March of 2008, will be released on extended Blu-ray and DVD formats, alongside a double-CD soundtrack album and limited edition double-vinyl picture disc. It will be available Monday, May 25 on EMI Records in Europe, and Tuesday, June 9 on EMI Records Canada and UMe in the USA.

For "Iron Maiden: Flight 666", IRON MAIDEN was accompanied everywhere by award-winning documentary makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" and recently "Global Metal". Producer/presenter Sam Dunn and his team bring an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.

Shot in high definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the band's producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, "Flight 666" brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time Ed Force One (the band's plane) touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows... and, of course, the fun had on the way!

A special international "Iron Maiden Day" is being planned for April 21 with simultaneous showings of "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" in selected digital cinemas around the world.

As a very special bonus for the fans, MAIDEN has included a second disc of the entire set from the 2008 segment of this tour with the DVD (and as a long-play Blu-ray). Sixteen songs from sixteen different cities in eleven countries around the world, for the first time ever encompassing such varied places and cultures in one concert. (See full track listing below). In addition to a standard double DVD, EMI will release a special souvenir limited-edition deluxe DVD with 30-page booklet. The soundtrack audio version of the live show will be available on two CDs, as a limited-edition vinyl set with two picture discs, and a digital download especially for those fans who do not have DVD access or just want to enjoy the show as a great live album. All are lavishly packaged as an ultimate memento of a tour to remember!

To recognize the global phenomenon of MAIDEN, the Blu-ray/DVD are also subtitled in Hindi, Japanese, Dutch, German, Spanish, Brazilian, French, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish.

Comments band manager Rod Smallwood; "It's been a mammoth undertaking. From the first twinkle in Bruce's eye it's taken about three years to put band, crew and equipment in a giant flying 'splitter bus', to go through all the long and tiresome prep and safety regulations and planning, to the actual filming and of the tour itself, through to post production and right up to putting together all these items in the very best quality possible for our fans."

"It's great that with Maiden Day on Tuesday April 21, we can give our fans the opportunity of seeing this digitally on big screen in Hi Def with the full-on 5.1 sound experience with other fans around them. It was also very rewarding that it has won the prestigious SXSW Film Festival Award for Best Music Documentary.

"The 'Somewhere Back in Time Tour' reached almost 2 million fans in 39 countries and, if there is one thing l know from managing MAIDEN all these years, it's that our fans are not happy to wait too long, so we are delighted that EMI (Ume USA) are rush-releasing the DVD. This closes the chapter on an absolutely brilliant experience delving into the past for the band, myself and my team, the crew and hopefully all of you fans out there. After the summer and some deserved time off, we will concentrate on the 'new,' with the band starting to put together material for a brand new studio album due sometime later in 2010. And, of course, after that we will look forward to seeing all our fans again!!"

The film "Flight 666" is being released in the following manner:

* Long-play Blu-ray with "Flight 666: The Film" and "Flight 666: The Concert" (215 minutes)

* Double DVD

- Disc One: "Flight 666: The Film" (112 minutes)
- Disc Two: "Flight 666: The Concert" (104 minutes)

* Plus limited-edition deluxe double DVD of the above with special packaging and 30-page booklet

* "Flight 666: The Original Soundtrack" album - Double CD*

* "Flight 666: The Original Soundtrack" album - Limited Edition Double Vinyl Picture Disc

Full track listing for the bonus concert footage on DVD and Blu-ray, plus the double Live Soundtrack CD

CD 1:

01. Aces High
Bandra Kurla Complex/Mumbai, India
February 1, 2008
02. 2 Minutes To Midnight
Rod Laver Arena/Melbourne, Australia
February 7, 2008
03. Revelations
Acer Arena/Sydney, Australia
February 9, 2008
04. The Trooper
Makuhari Messe/Tokyo, Japan
February 16, 2008
05. Wasted Years
Arena Monterrey/Monterrey, Mexico
February 22, 2008
06. The Number Of The Beast
The Forum/Los Angeles, USA
February 19, 2008
07. Can I Play With Madness
Foro Sol/Mexico City, Mexico
February 24, 2008
08. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Izod Center/New Jersey, USA
March 14, 2008

CD 2:

01. Powerslave
Saprissa Stadium/San Jose, Costa Rica
February 26, 2008
02. Heaven Can Wait
Palmeiras Stadium/Sao Paulo, Brazil
March 2, 2008
03. Run To The Hills
Simon Bolivar Park/Bogota, Colombia
February 28, 2008
04. Fear Of The Dark
Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium/Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 7, 2008
05. Iron Maiden
Pista Atletica/Santiago, Chile
March 9, 2008
06. Moonchild
Coliseo de Puerto Rico/San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 12, 2008
07. The Clairvoyant
Pedreira Paulo Leminski/Curitiba, Brazil
March 4, 2008
08. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Air Canada Centre/Toronto, Canada
March 16, 2008

Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with Karl Sanders of the South Carolina-based technical death metal band NILE. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

About.com: When and how did you first become interested in Middle Eastern culture, mythology and music?

Sanders: Years ago, my friend and bandmate Pete Hammoura. His family is Lebanese, so I got a healthy dose of exposure to Middle Eastern culture. Of course I was also a fan of world history, particularly the Ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. I am not at all surprised that I ended up in a band like NILE.

About.com: What's the timetable for the next NILE record?

Sanders: Pre-production is April and May, then we start recording in June at Erik Rutan's [HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL] studio in Tampa. Hopefully we will finish mixing sometime in July at Rax Trax in Chicago.

About.com: Are you far enough along to be able to divulge an album title or the direction of the record?

Sanders: Gunter Ford [NILE's manager] would have my ass if I were to give away the title this soon. As far as the musical direction, we have upped the bar on the guitar playing this time around, and are very conscious about incorporating plenty of new and interesting extraneous instrumentation.

The last two NILE records were more straightforward death metal than, say, "In Their Darkened Shrines", but that's really just where we were as a band at the time. At that time I was also perhaps a bit fed up with some of the online nay-sayers who were accusing us of "gimmickry" and saying stuff like we weren't capable of making metal without some sort of other "trickery" elements. What B.S., I know.

Every member of NILE right now can certainly play the Jesus (and Devil) out of their respective instruments. We are pretty damn confident about our technical skill level and our fever for pure metal mayhem. But that negative stuff sits in the back of your brain, entrenching itself in the most unforgiving way. I guess on some level I just wanted to lay down the hammer the old–fashioned way for awhile, at least until I stopped hearing any last remaining "NILE is nothing without its Egypt theme" internet foolishness.

About.com: Living in Greenville, South Carolina you're pretty removed from the metal scene. Do you see this as a positive or negative?

Sanders: It's got its ups and downs. On the one hand, there are few distractions here, and one can really buckle down and get some work done. But the flip-side is there aren't that many metal shows in Greenville. So to go see a real metal show — my personal brand of fun — I have to drive a couple hours to either Atlanta or Charlotte. I guess there's always a trade-off in life.

Finnish bassist Jari Kainulainen (who is currently a member of Sweden's EVERGREY) will join Timo Tolkki (REVOLUTION RENAISANCE, STRATOVARIUS) and fellow ex-STRATOVARIUS members Tuomo Lassila (drums) and Anti Ikonen (keyboards) to record a new album, titled "Return to Dreamspace", for a fall 2009 release. This means that the project's lineup is exactly the same as the one that recorded STRATOVARIUS' "Dreamspace" LP that was released in 1994.

Regarding the musical direction of the CD, Tolkki previously said, "It has been 15 years from [STRATOVARIUS' 'Dreamspace'] album, so it will be interesting, for sure... It's not a 'remake,' but a brand new album. A closure for [what] I consider to be the end of STRATOVARIUS. It completes the cycle and returns to the beginning."

Tolkki drew up and signed an official waiver on May 20, 2008 giving up all rights to the STRATOVARIUS name. The remaining STRATOVARIUS members — Timo Kotipelto (vocals), Jens Johansson (keyboards) and Lauri Porra (bass) — have since announced plans to carry on with new guitarist Matias Kupiainen.

David Coverdale has released a new statement exclusively to BLABBERMOUTH.NET regarding Joe Lynn Turner's (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) allegations that the WHITESNAKE frontman lip-synchs to pre-recorded tapes of vocals in concert.

Coverdale said, "I am shocked, very disappointed and surprised by Mr. Turner's misleading and completely untrue observations he felt it necessary to discuss in a recent interview. Whatever his motives, they are disturbing, to say the least.

"I do not 'mime' in concert. I never have and I never will.

"I am David Coverdale. My career spans almost 40 successful years and I have worked with some of the finest musicians in contemporary music and in all that time I have never 'pretended' to sing to tapes when I am performing in front of a paying crowd.

"I have no idea how anyone who has seen me working live in concert, or is remotely connected to the music business, can even suggest such an odious thing.

"I have seen the purported video of me supposedly 'miming' [see footage below], and all I can say is he and anyone else who believes this nonsense should look more closely.

"It is obvious that I am holding the microphone out to the crowd and inviting the audience to participate, as I do during every show, and have done since the beginning of WHITESNAKE while my background singers keep the songs vocal momentum.

"It is hugely important to me that the audience feel completely part of the WHITESNAKE show and participate with me from the beginning to the end.

"They are called the 'Whitesnake Choir' for that reason.

"Please know, as most sensible people do, that I am especially blessed in this band with two very powerful singers in guitarist Reb Beach and keyboardist Timothy Drury, and also two very capable background singers in bassist Uriah Duffy and guitarist Doug Aldrich, and when I am working the crowd, these guys hold the songs for me exceptionally well, as most sensible people can see and hear.

"There are no vocal backing tapes... Everything you see and hear is being performed live by the musicians and vocalists on stage.

"I have no idea why Mr. Turner has launched this foolishness, but I ask that it stop now. It has no merit, serves no purpose and is a total waste of precious time.

"No apology is necessary as I have no desire in any way, shape or form to have any communication with him. He should know better.

"Next he'll be accusing me of wearing a wig on stage."