Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL have finalized the track listing for their new album, "Night Eternal", due in Europe on May 19 and in the U.S. on June 10 via SPV/Steamhammer. The follow-up to 2006's "Memorial" was recorded at Antfarm studios in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, HALFORD).

There will be, at first, two editions of the record: A limited double digipack with different artwork, one bonus track ("Age of Mothers"), a different version of the song "Scorpion Flower", the full album as well as a bonus DVD containing all video clips from "Memorial" plus "Finisterra" "making-of" footage and three live clips from last year's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany; plus the jewel case edition, to which the band hopes to add at least another bonus song.

"Night Eternal" track listing:

01. At Tragic Heights
02. Night Eternal
03. Shadow Sun
04. Scorpion Flower
05. Moon In Mercury
06. Hers Is The Twilight
07. Dreamless (Lucifer And Lilith)
08. Spring Of Rage
09. First Light

Former THE GATHERING and current AGUA DE ANNIQUE vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen makes a guest appearance in the song "Scorpion Flower", singing a duet with MOONSPELL frontman Fernando Ribeiro. All other female choirs were performed by the Crystal Mountain Singers, composed of Carmen Simões (AVA INFERI), Sophia Vieira (CINEMUERTE) and Patrícia Andrade (ex-VOLSTAD, now in THE VANITY CHAIR). Niclas Etelävuori of AMORPHIS played bass on the album, which features artwork by Seth Siro Anton (PARADISE LOST, SEPTIC FLESH). Band photography was handled by Edgar Keats.

With the framework for the Armageddon of Man firmly laid with the band’s
2007 full-length release, "Framing Armageddon - Something Wicked Part I", ICED EARTH are set to launch the next installment of Jon Schaffer's "Something Wicked" saga with the release of their new single, "I Walk Among You", in June of 2008. The full-length studio follow-up to "Something Wicked Part I" is due for release in fall of 2008.

The new single and proceeding full-length studio album mark the return to the band of longtime frontman Matt Barlow, whose dark and sinister tones are the perfect fit to narrate the intense and viscous annihilation of mankind set in motion with the birth of the story’s main character, "Set Abominae", in "Something Wicked Part II". The single will allow fans to get a glimpse of the bright future for the band, and the perhaps not-so-bright future for humanity as we now know it.

The single will feature three songs, an exclusive version of the song "I Walk Alone" and a few tracks from "Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1)" with new vocal performances by Matt Barlow. Due to the re-tracking of the lead vocals these tracks have been remixed and remastered. There will be an iTunes-exclusive version of the single "I Walk Among You" that features "A Charge To Keep" which has also been re-sung by Matt, remixed and re-mastered.

The video for "I Walk Alone" is being filmed in early April.

All tracks were recorded at Jon Schaffer's studio, Soaring Eagle Sound, and mixed and mastered at Morrisound. The single, and following full-length platter will be released by Steamhammer/SPV.

"I Walk Among You" (cover artwork) track listing:

01. I Walk Alone
02. Setian Massacre
03. The Clouding
04. A Charge to Keep (exclusive iTunes track)

Metal Mind Productions will release the first-ever DVD from Polish extreme metallers DECAPITATED, entitled "Human's Dust", on June 9 in Europe and June 10 in the U.S. The DVD will be available in two versions: as a standard DVD and as a very unique star metalpack DVD edition limited to 3,000 copies.

The main feature of the DVD consists of the band's October 2002 gig in Krakow, which was a part of their European tour with VADER and KRISIUN. Bonus material includes two live performances recorded during Ozzfest in Poland (May 2002) and Metalmania festival (March 2004), the "Winds of Creation" video clip, plus three interviews recorded at various locations: Kraków in 2002 (Vitek and Vogg); Ozzfest in Katowice, 2002 (Vogg and Sauron); Metalmania in Katowice, 2004 (Sauron and Martin). Also included are a photo gallery, biography, discography, desktop images, weblinks.

"Human's Dust" (cover artwork) track listing:

Live in Kraków, October 2002:

01. Nihility
02. Eternity Too Short
03. Way to Salvation
04. Spheres of Madness
05. Names
06. Winds of Creation
07. Babylon's Pride
08. Suffer the Children

Bonus video:

Live at Ozzfest, Katowice, May 2002:

01. Spheres of Madness
02. Eternity Too Short
03. Babylon's Pride

Live at Metalmania Festival, Katowice, March 2004:

01. Three-dimensional Defect
02. Lying and Weak
03. Mother War
04. Sensual Sickness
05. Spheres of Madness
06. The Negation

* Interview with Vitek and Vogg, Kraków, 2002
* Interview with Vogg and Sauron, Ozzfest, Katowice, 2002
* Interview with Sauron and Martin, Metalmania festival, Katowice, 2004
* "Winds of Creation" (video clip)

Also includes:

* Photo gallery
* Biography
* Discography
* Desktop images
* Weblinks
* Logo
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon will make a guest appearance on the new album from Finnish rockers THE RASMUS, entitled "Black Roses".

Commented THE RASMUS singer Lauri Ylönen: "We've had a really busy spring, putting the album together with the guys. These 'last-minute' ideas and fixes have become come very important for the 'Black Roses' album, so all the waiting is worth it! For example, we brought this eight-year-old song idea back to life. It's a duet song. I got a wild idea to ask the NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon to sing it together with me. I called her and she said YES! So good things come for those who wait. We're getting there! Prepare yourselves for the greatest murder ballad in a while!!"

Olzon recently made a guest appearance on the song "Heart Full Of Fire" from BROTHER FIRETRIBE, the Finnish AOR/hard rock band featuring NIGHTWISH guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. The track is the title cut of BROTHER FIRETRIBE's new album, which is scheduled for release on May 14 via Spinefarm Records.

IRON MAIDEN's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"Useful as it is, anyone who's ever submitted school work based on what they found on Wikipedia surely knows that it's not always entirely factual.

"In the case of IRON MAIDEN unannounced tour dates, it's very much a work of fiction!

"Remember folks, dates aren't official until they are announced right here on IronMaiden.com. You don't have long to wait — the second leg dates for North America will be published soon. But in the meantime, please don't pay attention to tour info on Wikipedia or any sites that have copied the same rumours 'cos I can tell you all that they're not correct and we'd hate for anyone to make concrete plans based on bad information."

In other news, fan-filmed video footage of IRON MAIDEN's recent visit to Brazil can be viewed below.

Quebec City's dark metallers MOONLYGHT will release their long-awaited sophomore album soon on March 25 via Mankind's Demise Records (with Galy distribution). According to a press release, "the ten-track monster called 'Shining' is the epitaph of MOONLYGHT, as the band calls it quits following the [December 2007] departure of Roby [guitarist/vocalist Sébastien Robitaille]. Their musical testament is a universal melodic metal masterpiece. Drawing influences from melodic death metal, progressive music and a twist of doom metal, 'Shining' will please almost every fan of melodic metal, from power to black metal." The pressing will be limited to 1,000 copies.

"Shining" was mastered by Peter in de Betou at Tailor Maid (DIMMU BORGIR, MESHUGGAH, DARK TRANQUILLITY) in Sweden.

MOONLYGHT re-released its first album, "Progressive Darkness" (originally issued in 2002 on the now-defunct Metal Disk Records), in 2004 via Sweden's Escapi Records.

BBC News reports that IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's upcoming supernatural horror-thriller will be unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

"Chemical Wedding" will then be released in British cinemas in the summer.

Dickinson, a trained pilot, is due to fly invited guests to Cannes on the band's own Boeing 757 jet for the premiere on May 17.

"Chemical Wedding" wrapped principal photography in September with Julian Doyle at the helm. The film stars Simon Callow as a reincarnation of Crowley, once dubbed "the most evil man in Britain." Callow's character, Haddo, is a shy, stuttering professor.

"My experience with stages is obviously IRON MAIDEN and that sort of stuff," Bruce said. "I've directed a few videos over the course of my rock 'n' roll past and I enjoyed them, I enjoyed directing videos. Writing movies a completely different thing. I wrote a couple of absurd comic novels — that came out as well, and you know, they did OK actually. So, writing is something that's always sort of interested me, so this seemed like a good opportunity to learn the process, really."

Frontiers Records has revealed more information about the highly anticipated new GLENN HUGHES album, entitled "First Underground Nuclear Kitchen (F.U.N.K.)", which is scheduled for release on May 11.

Produced by Glenn in Los Angeles, after countless hours spent writing in his home studio, "F.U.N.K." is another magnificent statement from the "Voice of Rock." "It is a roots album, it is a true account of my musical heritage but also fearless and multi-dimensional," says Hughes.

Once again Glenn has reinvented himself and his art, being able to offer a new album which is truly emotional and picturing his own current way to speak the language of music.

"The beauty of makin' music, for me", explains the former DEEP PURPLE and singer and bassist, "is to have a vast blank canvas. To completely open myself up to the universe and the spirits, that these days, live with me day and night. I am no longer in fear of the dark, or what lurks behind door number 13. The songs on my new album were written in, and around my Los Angeles home, sometimes in semi-consciousness... sometimes, in a dreamstate, sometimes fully alert, as I was in full jog down by the harbour... these new songs are a true vindication. And realization, of the gift of a serene life, one day at a time".

The result is a brilliant balance of the diverse influences that have always been present in Glenn's music, but with an incredible and very addictive mood that helps creating a feeling of joy and true enjoyment all over the album. "I believe that the hard work has been worth waitin' for, this is for all my fans, and beyond: a deep musical statement," concludes Glenn.

Once again all drums on the record were played by none other than the great Chad Smith of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, while Luis Maldonado took care of the majority of the guitars (JJ Marsh and George Nastos only appear on two songs each) and Anders Olinder is on keyboards (with Ed Roth guesting on three songs).

"F.U.N.K." track listing:

01. Crave
02. First Underground Nuclear Kitchen
03. Satellite
04. Love Communion
05. We Shall Be Free, Imperfection
06. Never Say Never
07. We Go To War
08. Oil And Water
09. Too Late to Save the World
10. Where There's A Will

Check out audio samples at this location.

Glenn has just finished shooting a promo video for the fist single, "Love Communion", which will be included on the CD as a special bonus.

Audio samples of all 12 tracks that are set to appear on "A Sense Of Purpose", the new album from Swedish metallers IN FLAMES, are available for streaming at Play.com. Due on April 1 (April 7 in most of Europe via Nuclear Blast), the follow-up to 2006's "Come Clarity" was recorded at the band's own IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden and was mixed by Toby Wright (METALLICA, SLAYER). The group received assistance during the vocal-recording sessions from producer Daniel Bergstrand, who previously produced the vocals on "Reroute To Remain", "Soundtrack To Your Escape" and "Come Clarity". All artwork for the album was created by Alex Pardee for ZeroFriends. Alex also created the artwork for the first single, "The Mirror's Truth".

Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records has set a May 27 North American release date for the new solo album from former EMPEROR vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn, entitled "angL".

The track listing for the CD is as follows (in alphabetical order):

01. Alchemist
02. Elevator
03. Malediction
04. Misanthrope
05. Monolith
06. Morningstar
07. Scarab
08. Threnody
09. Unhealer

OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has recorded a guest appearance on the track "Unhealer" while Asgeir Mickelson and Lars Norberg (both of SPIRAL ARCHITECT) were responsible for laying down the drum and bass tracks on the CD, respectively.

Commented Ihsahn: "[Mikael and I] been talking about doing something for a while and I'm really happy it finally came together. Needless to say, Mikael's performance is nothing short of amazing!

"Asgeir and Lars have delivered a rock-solid foundation for the whole album. Pounding blast-beats to slow fretless passages are all performed with great precision."

Ihsahn previously described the musical direction of the new CD as "a natural progression from 'The Adversary' [2006], but with a somewhat heavier touch."

Check out the "angL" cover artwork at this location.

"The Adversary" entered the Norwegian album chart at position No. 33 upon its release in 2006. The CD was written and recorded over a one-year period at Symphonique Studios in Norway and features a guest appearance by Garm from ULVER on one song. All music and lyrics for "The Adversary" were written and performed by Ihsahn with exception of drums, which were played by Asgeir Mickelson (BORKNAGAR, SPIRAL ARCHITECT). A video for "Invocation", the opening track from "The Adversary", can be viewed below. The clip was shot and produced in Notodden, Norway by a local production company. "I think the video reflects both the direct and solitary expression of the album," Ihsahn said. "It was my intention to keep everything as pure and intense as possible, yet staying true to metal tradition."

Austrian extreme metallers BELPHEGOR have posted the title track of their forthcoming album, "Bondage Goat Zombie", on their MySpace page. A video for the song was recently filmed and will make its online premiere soon.

"Bondage Goat Zombie" is scheduled for release on April 15 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Andy Classen's Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany.

Commented the band: "The album features artwork in classic and disturbing BELPHEGOR style. Some of the nine brand new tracks will deal with the writings of the infamous Marquis de Sade. Sounds like the ultimate BELPHEGOR treatment? Expect supreme death/ black metal art."

"Bondage Goat Zombie" track listing:

01. Bondage Goat Zombie
02. Stigma Diabolicum
03. Armageddon's Raid
04. Justine: Soaked In Blood
05. Sexdictator Lucifer
06. Shred For Sathan
07. Chronicles Of Crime
08. The Sukkubus Lustrate
09. Der Rutenmarsch

InformationWeek.com reports that NINE INCH NAILS frontman Trent Reznor sold out of a $300 edition of the band's new album after offering free music online.

Fans bought 2,500 copies of the ultradeluxe edition of the new album, "Ghosts I-IV", offered at the same time as free tracks and other music packages that begin as low as $5. The most expensive option sold out in three days, and activity on the Web site crashed its servers.

Reznor gave fans the choice of downloading four digital albums for $5, downloading the same package and receiving a CD for $10, downloading some of the songs free, or buying various pricier packages with additional content and features, like video and slide shows, starting at $75.

North Carolina-based DAYLIGHT DIES has issued the following update:

"As we speak, our new album 'Lost to the Living' is being mixed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. We are also nearing completion of the layout together with Travis Smith, which includes art and lyrics for every song. We went for a stark and dramatic approach this time: matte black paper, with stencil images in glossy black ink. Text logos in silver. Unfortunately it's impossible to properly render precisely what this will look like on a computer screen, so we've altered the cover so the glossy black is a dark shade of grey, and the text/logo is a lighter shade of grey. Nevertheless, heres the cover of our new album.

"The album will be released by Candlelight Records on June 24th and it will be available for pre-order on daylightdies.com before too long."

Track listing is (not final running order):

01. Cathedral
02. Descending
03. A Subtle Violence
04. And a Slow Surrender
05. Last Alone
06. Woke Up Lost
07. The Morning Light
08. At a Loss
09. A Portrait in White

Finnish doom metallers SWALLOW THE SUN have issued the following update:

"First of all, we want to thank everyone for making year 2007 such an amazing year for SWALLOW THE SUN. We played almost 100 gigs supporting the album Hope, including two European tours, our first North American tour and a mini-tour in Spain and Portugal. We had an honour to play huge festivals outside Finland, such as Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, With Full Force and Metal Heart Festival. We also shot two videos, for 'Don't Fall Asleep' and 'Doomed To Walk The Earth'.

"'Hope' got some good positions in yearly readers' and critics' polls, including the third position in Best Metal Album series in Soundi magazine critics' poll. We were voted also in many other music magazine's readers' polls for the best band and album of 2007, with the charts consisting mainly of mainstream artists in Finland. We won the 'Mättöfemma' category in Femmagaala awards in Finland.

"So, big thanks to all you who made it worth it by coming to see us on tour, buying the album and making it enter the national Finnish charts on position #3 and being so nice to us where ever we went.

"Alright, about the dark future: We are now rehearsing new music and enter studio this spring to record the next SWALLOW THE SUN release called 'Plague Of Butterflies' that will be released later this year. We will give you more news about this new opus soon and what it will be...

"The plague is coming, people, the plague is coming."

Back in December 2007, Juha Raivio and Matti Honkonen of SWALLOW THE SUN recently took part in sounds2move.de's 2007 Christmas special. They spoke about their most memorable moments of 2007 and discussed their plans for the future.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN will release a very special album on May 12 via EMI Records to chart the first decade of the band's extraordinary career. The CD celebrates the essence of the current tour by featuring most of the essential tracks from the band's first seven studio albums and one live album, recorded between 1980 and 1989, and is aptly entitled "Somewhere Back In Time".

In an unprecedented move to let younger fans hear, understand and appreciate the quality of these recordings EMI launch the unique Somewhere Best In Sound whereby the curious/adventurous can download the entire album without charge from www.ironmaiden.com as a high-quality audio file (WMA) which is a typically powerful 320 kbps. Fans will then be able to listen to the entire album at their leisure three times before the download expires. The listener is then given a simple option to upgrade and purchase the album as a full traditional DRM-free download (so they can then copy or do as they like with the album).

Manager Rod Smallwood explains the thinking behind this innovative move: "MAIDEN have a huge catalogue that is highly treasured by fans and media alike. However we recognise that our ever-increasing fan base is very young and can't be expected to know all the earlier albums, which is why we have put this collection together for them. Many of our fans weren't even born when the original albums were first released, although amazingly they seem to know all the lyrics when they sing along with the band at our concerts! We also recognise that 'albums' as such have become unfashionable to many over recent years with TV-generated pop artists stringing a couple of 'hit' singles together with filler tracks and releasing them as a quick fill album which disappoints and quickly becomes dated. So this is both an introduction to the band's recording history and a chance for young fans to try a full-length MAIDEN album and realise they're getting the real deal!

"We wanted to give the kids of today a fair chance of hearing the music as we would have first heard and experienced it in our day when checking it out in a record shop — top-quality sound, in their own time and in an environment of their own choosing so they are able to absorb the depth and worth of the music and lyrics that make IRON MAIDEN the phenomenon they are. What better way to use modern means and a very high quality download! Sadly the WMA (Windows Media Audio) isn't compatible with Macs or iPods but we are confident that our young fans are adept and fluent with modern technology and we will post simple instructions on our website for any that need guidance."

"Somewhere Back In Time" track listing:

01. Churchill Speech (0.49)
02. Aces High (4.36)
03. 2 Minutes To Midnight (6.00)
04. The Trooper (4.11)
05. Wasted Years (5.06)
06. Children Of The Damned (4.35)
07. The Number of The Beast (4.53)
08. Run To The Hills (3.53)
09. Phantom Of The Opera -- Live (7.21)
10. The Evil That Men Do (4.34)
11. Wrathchild -- Live (3.07)
12. Can I Play With Madness (3.31)
13. Powerslave (6.47)
14. Hallowed Be Thy Name (7.12)
15. Iron Maiden -- Live (4.50)

UK vocalist Blaze Bayley's (ex-IRON MAIDEN, WOLSFBANE) official web site has been updated with the following message:

"Blaze Bayley — a new album, the first due for release on his own independent label in late May with additional licensing to various countries. The album is being engineered by James Dunkley, produced by Blaze Bayley and is entitled 'The Man Who Would Not Die'. It promises to take Blaze in new songwriting directions, ushering in a new phase of an already renowned career. It is also the first recorded showcase for the line-up that comprises Nico Bermudez and Jay Walsh on guitars, David Bermudez on bass and Lawrence Paterson on drums."

Lawrence Paterson, the drummer for BLAZE BAYLEY, recently started a blog on the progress of the songwriting/recording sessions for the group's new album. The follow-up to 2004's "Blood & Belief" is tentatively due late summer/early fall.

Blaze Bayley has released a "best-of" collection through his own label. The CD, which can be ordered via the Planetblaze.com webshop, features the following track listing:

01. Born As A Stranger
02. Ghost In The Machine
03. Stare At The Sun (Live)
04. Silicon Messiah
05. The Launch (Live)
06. Kill And Destroy
07. Land Of The Blind
08. Living Someone Else's Life
09. Tenth Dimension (Live)
10. Leap Of Faith
11. Blood And Belief
12. Ten Seconds
13. Hollow Head
14. Soundtrack Of My LIfe
15. Alive (Live)

Metal Mind Productions recently released Blaze Bayley's DVD, entitled "Alive in Poland" (view cover artwork at this location). The disc was recorded at the 21st edition of the Metalmania Festival, which took place on March 24 in Katowice, Poland. Blaze Bayley and his band put on a 90-minute show consisting of the best tracks from BLAZE's discography as well as select cuts from IRON MAIDEN ("Man on the Edge", "Futureal"). The DVD also includes many great bonus features, such as an interview with Blaze Bayley, an interview with all members of Blaze's band (featuring footage filmed during their visit to Poland) and more. A limited-edition "Alive in Poland" release includes a two-CD set with songs recorded at the concert.

"Blood & Belief" (which came out under the BLAZE banner), was issued in Europe in April 2004. The follow-up to 2002's "Tenth Dimension" was recorded at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, England with producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY).

Faroe Islands metallers TÝR have issued the following update:

"Due to injury, Kári Streymoy will not be able to man the drum kit during the coming Paganfest tour in Europe, Canada and the U.S. We are sad at not having him with us, but we have found a worthy replacement in 20-year-old Amon Djurhuus, also from the Faroe Islands.

"Amon was first introduced to drumming by Kári himself and has studied with him for a number of years. We've rehearsed with Amon wielding the drumsticks and are confident in his ability to fill Kári's shoes."

TÝR has set "Land" as the title of its fourth full-length album, due on May 8 via Napalm Records. According to the band, the follow-up to 2006's "Ragnarok" "contains mostly Faeroese, but also Icelandic and Norwegian traditionals, re-arranged into heavy metal. The second most prevalent language is English." The CD was recorded at Jacob Hansen's (RAUNCHY, ROB ROCK, HATESPHERE, MERCENARY) studio in Ribe, Denmark.

TÝR will team up with ENSIFERUM, TURISAS and ELUVEITIE for the Paganfest North American tour, which will take place in April and May, with SUIDAKRA joining the tour for six West Coast dates.

OPETH mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has posted the following message on his MySpace blog:

"What you don't know won't hurt you... Well, I'm going to tell ya!

"I just got back from the Melloboat, basically the floors are still moving underneath me and I'm beyond exhausted, but it's all worth it. Myself, my wife and my youngest daughter, Mirjam, all checked into the semi-posh Commodore suites of the Silja Symphony boat, and I knew right then this trip was going to be a memory for life.

"I wasn't really nervous for our own gig, even though we hadn't played since last summer and even though our setlist consisted of a few songs we hadn't played for a long time plus one new song, 'Heir Apparent'. I asked my wife to cut me some slack as I my brain was literally working overtime, overheating.

"I'd talked Stefan into fixing a slot for us at 10 pm which is basically regular gig time, since we don't like the play in the middle of the night. Easily arranged and a one hour gig was scheduled for the big stage (well…kinda) of the boat. I didn't have time to see any bands prior to us, so I missed ANEKDOTEN, but I know they're great, they always are.

"Our main objective for the gig was to have a good time. It's seen as a warm up for our coming UK and USA tours and I think it's done us good. Basically I had a blast, we all did! None of us we're playing flawlessly or anything like that, and the sound was a bit iffy, but we fucking had a blast straight through. The crowd was great, singing along, seemed like many people were really happy to see us again, and also maybe slightly relieved that we're sounding like OPETH after all the line-up changes. I knew that. In fact, in the rehearsal room the day before the show we all agreed on that we have never ever sounded this good ever before. I even enjoyed rehearsing 'The Drapery Falls'. That's pretty weird since I can't remember having rehearsed it with any kind of emotion since 2001 or something. Love the song, but we've played it to death I the past. Now it felt so fresh and basically it was one of my favourite songs that night. We did a slower version of 'Harvest' which I really liked. The new one came out fine, even though it had the most mistakes…mainly technical mistakes. It was fun to play it and the crowd seemed the really dig it. Everyone that came up to me afterwards said it was their favourite song of the night, which is not a bad thing, I guess."

Read Mikael's entire message at this location.

OPETH's setlist was as follows:

01. Intro
02. Masters Apprentices
03. The Drapery Falls
04. Serenity Painted Death
05. Harvest
06. The Baying Of The Hounds
07. Heir Apparent
08. Demon Of The Fall

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has told Kerrang.com that the band has already written eight songs for the follow-up to 2003's "We've Come For You All".

"We're really happy with the eight songs or so that we've finished," he said. "And we hope to write five or six more killers!

"It's fuckin' pummelling!" he added. "It sounds like ANTHRAX from 1987 through a 2008 sound system, if that makes any sense!"

Scott Ian will take part in a meet-and-greet following PEARL's performance at the Barfly in Camden, UK on March 21.

PEARL is the band fronted by Pearl Aday, Scott Ian's fiancée and daughter of legendary crooner Meat Loaf. The group's current lineup is completed by Eric Bradley (THE YOUNG ROYALS, JERRY CANTRELL) on lead guitar, Eric Andrews (ROYAL FEVER, 286) on drums, and Dominique Davalos (THE GO-GO'S, THE BLUEBELLES) on bass.

"I love playing guitar in PEARL," Ian told Kerrang.com. "It's much more akin to the stuff I grew up on like AC/DC, THIN LIZZY, AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN etc. It's a much less disciplined style of guitar playing than what I am used to in ANTHRAX and so much fun to be able to just be the rhythm player like Malcolm Young!!

"Besides," Ian added, "Pearl doesn't need any help up front. She's got it in her blood! Huge voice and presence and the band fucking rocks!"

Italian gothic metal band THEATRES DES VAMPIRES will release its new album, "Anima Noir", on May 2 via Aural Music/SPV. The CD was recorded at the Temple of Noise studio in Rome with engineer Christian Ice. According to a press release, "Anima Noir" features "romantic lyrics, lyrical voices, strong orchestration, powerfull guitars and powerful drumming. All the elements that you loved in THEATRES DES VAMPIRES are back in this new production. A new modern sound and a super modern production that took six months of work in the studio for recording and mixing it, offering you the best experience of vampirism as always, with the enchanting vocals of the mistress of your nightmare: Countess Sonya Scarlet, this time with her best performance ever."

Check out audio samples at Myspace page.

On March 19, 2007, THEATRES DES VAMPIRES released its latest album, "Desire of Damnation" — a double CD featuring live recordings from "The Addiction" tour in 2006 and several new studio songs and remixes.

The name THEATRES DES VAMPIRES was inspired by a fictional location created by gothic fantasy writer Anne Rice of the same name. Rice's Theatres des Vampires is a Parisian theatre in which vampires pretend to be mortal actors, their performances consisting of the feeding on mortals disguised as part of a play and staged in front of human audiences. The location is mentioned in several of Rice's books, including "Interview with the Vampire" and "The Vampire Lestat".
THEATRES DES VAMPIRES is:

Sonya Scarlet: Vocals
Fabian Varesi: Keyboards
Zimon Liyoi: Bass
Gabriel Valerio: Drums
Stephan Benfante: Guitars

Former BLIND GUARDIAN/SAVAGE CIRCUS drummer Thomen Stauch has issued the following update:

"Over months I've been planning and checking musicians for a new band I wanted to create! The time of searching has almost come to an end!!! The guitarist is already fixed and the vocalist is almost fixed. I'm still checking more details with him. I'm still searching the right bassist, but that shouldn't be too hard to find!

"All I can say is that the guitarist is a German, really hard-working man and a virtuoso guitar player who loves his job 100%!!! The singer, if it will be this one at the end, comes from the United States and is surely well known by all of you! I admire his work and love especially his early works with his band from my early metal years! One thing for sure!!! Both musicians are very professional ones and so far the coolest, nicest guys I've ever talked to and met!

"We've just started to write the first parts of the first songs for that band!

"I can promise you another thing: We'll bring straight power/speed metal to your ears!!! It won't sound like BLIND GUARDIAN, as I did with SAVAGE CIRCUS! That wouldn't make any sense! But surely you'll hear enough great melodies and double-bass on the album!"

French metal act THE OLD DEAD TREE has issued the following update:

"The search is over, and a new drummer has now joined the band. The level of competition and skills among the few drummers who remained at the top of the crop was extremely high, but this guy logically outplayed everyone in the end. Indeed, we are very happy to announce that after having worked with us as a session musician for about six months now, Raphaël [Antheaume] has decided to join THE OLD DEAD TREE as a full-time member! For those who aren't familiar with him yet, Raphaël is the drummer of the French symphonic metal band PENUMBRA. As a professional musician, he is also involved in others projects and various music styles. If you want to find out more about Raphaël, you can check his MySpace."

A new THE OLD DEAD TREE track, entitled "Dive", has been posted online at this location. The song comes off the Parisian goth metallers' new album, "The Water Fields", which was released in September 2007 via Season of Mist. The CD was recorded at Stage One Studio in Germany with producer Andy Classen.

Speaking about the new CD, vocalist/guitarist Manuel stated, "The band went further again, reaching a new stage in terms of songwriting and maturity. This album is much heavier and darker, but also more diverse and full of sheer emotion! Even the production of Andy Classen outdoes the job on our previous material."