Canadian technical death metallers GORGUTS have inked a deal with Season Of Mist. The band's fifth studio album will be released later this year.

"It is with great joy that I announce the return of GORGUTS to Season of Mist!" says GORGUTS guitarist/vocalist Luc Lemay.

"Things have not always been easy these last couple of years, but now it's all behind us and all I can say is that I'm more than eager to share this new record with all of you.

"Our forthcoming album will be a very detailed, dark, epic, emotional, conceptual record and Season Of Mist was my first choice to be the standard-bearer for this new GORGUTS opus and I must say that I am more than happy to work with them again.

"Stay tuned on the band's web sites for more updates and we'll soon hit the stage to share this new music with you! I can never thank each of you enough, our dedicated fans, for more than 20 years of support! Thanks to you!!"

GORGUTS' current lineup features genre heavyweights John Longstreth (drums; DIM MAK, ORIGIN, THE RED CHORD, SKINLESS, POSSESSION, ANGELCORPSE), Colin Marston (bass; DYSRHYTHMIA, BEHOLD... THE ARCTOPUS, BYLA, KRALLICE, INDRICOTHERE) and Kevin Hufnagel (guitar; DYSRHYTHMIA, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, BYLA, EUCLID STREET, THE FIFTH SEASON, GREY DIVISION BLUE) alongside Luc Lemay.

War On Music Records in 2011 released on vinyl the GORGUTS albums "From Wisdom To Hate" (2001) and "Obscura" (1998). These records were largely regarded as pioneering works in the technical death metal genre, and set the standard for the decade to follow.

GORGUTS' current lineup is as follows:

* Luc Lemay (NEGATIVA) - Vocals, Guitar
* Kevin Hufnagel (DYSRHYTHMIA, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, BYLA, EUCLID STREET, THE FIFTH SEASON, GREY DIVISION BLUE) - Guitar
* Colin Marston (DYSRHYTHMIA, BEHOLD... THE ARCTOPUS, BYLA, KRALLICE, INDRICOTHERE) - Bass
* John Longstreth (DIM MAK, ORIGIN, THE RED CHORD, SKINLESS, POSSESSION, ANGELCORPSE) – Drums

Reactivated Greek progressive heavy metal band WASTEFALL has entered the studio to record a new EP called "Meridiem" (South) for a spring digital release. A video for one of the new songs will be filmed by LensOrama.

WASTEFALL launched its official comeback to the metal music scene with a new song, "Recycle The Elite", which can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. Plans are also underway for the band to record a full-length album.

"There is nothing like being part of a band's decision-making process," says WASTEFALL co-founder guitarist/lead vocalist Domenik Papaemmanouil. "Each and every one of us would love to be in the studio with our favorite bands talking about which songs should be in the album and why. Don't forget, we are also fans of this genre!"

Added WASTEFALL guitarist and co-founder Alex Katsigiannis: "After years of being in hiatus, we now want to re-engage with our fans, or potential ones. We want to make them be part of the album process and part of the WASTEFALL family. We have many surprises up our sleeves that can't be named right now. What I can tell you is that WASTEFALL is here to stay!"

WASTEFALL's third album, "Self Exile", was released in 2006 via Sensory Records. The CD was mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN, TNT, JORN LANDE) at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark.

Chicago heavy rockers SOIL will enter the studio later this month with longtime producer Ulrich Wild to begin recording their sixth album for a tentative summer release. The band recently worked on 13 songs in pre-production with engineer Don Byczynski at BOTA Studio in Lake In The Hills, Illinois.

Ulrich previously produced SOIL's 2006 album "True Self" and co-produced the band's last effort, 2009's "Picture Perfect".

SOIL's forthcoming CD will mark the band's first release with original vocalist Ryan McCombs since 2004's "Re.De.Fine".

"We are very eager and excited to be back in the studio again," states SOIL bassist Tim King. "This new album has a very classic SOIL feel to it".

The as-yet-titled CD will be recorded and released completely independently.

"We will be calling all the shots on this one" says King. "Every decision will be made by myself, Adam [Zadel, guitar], and Ryan."

Distribution in North America will be handled through Sony RED/MRI via Pavement Entertainment, in which SOIL has an interest. Europe/rest of world will go through SOIL's long time partner AFM Records. Pavement Entertainment president Mark Nawara, welcomes the experience. "I am happy to be a part of the new SOIL album," he says. "We have structured an innovative and unique business venture that lets the band stay 100 percent independent while giving them access to the many resources they require to release an album successfully."

In a recent interview with Metal Forces, McCombs stated about the band's next CD: "This is the first time Adam, Tim and I have been writing together since 'Re.De.Fine', so you have the key component of what made those records. I was always the lyric writer of those albums, and if I stumbled somewhere, Adam was always there to give me a little boost, and give me a little direction here and there. You've got us back together as far as the lyrics that I write go. You've got Adam too; he was 98.9% of the music on those records, and if he ever had any struggle with whatever — if he ever had any questions — I was always there to help with the arrangement of the songs. We really got the key components of those albums back together again, and I feel like the material that we're coming up with is that perfect anchor to where you had 'Scars' and 'Re.De.Fine'. I think this album is the next stage, the next album in line for SOIL."

SOIL recently launched an interactive pre-sale campaign on Kickstarter to enable fans to participate in the release of the band's forthcoming album. Fans will receive exclusive shirts, a chance to have dinner with the band, autographed merchandise, attend studio sessions, an exclusive new MP3 download of the first studio song with McCombs since 2004's "Redefine" album and more. They also will be the first to receive the new album when it's released.

The response for the new MUTINY WITHIN album has been so overwhelming that the band has decided to continue making music for the ones who matter the most, the fans. "Synchronicity" reached No. 5 in its first week on the iTunes metal charts, and will be an early contender for 2013 "Album Of The Year" lists.

Comments MUTINY WITHIN singer Chris Clancy: "It's been incredible to see the response from the fans. We figured this album was the end of the road, but we've been inspired to continue making our music."

MUTINY WITHIN made waves in the metal community early in its career by joining the Roadrunner Records roster and touring endlessly on the heels of its self-titled debut album. Having half the lineup live across the great Atlantic pond and experiencing serious financial difficulties due to the rampant piracy in the music industry, MUTINY WITHIN was forced to go on hiatus in 2011. That was the end of the touring band, but not the end of their music. Epic metal music can not be contained — not even by the one-eyed pirates of the tumultuous thief infested world we call the "music industry." MUTINY WITHIN had so many good ideas and music ready to go, founding member/songwriter Andrew "A.J." Jacobs and singer Chris Clancy decided to finish what they started and put out the next evolutionary sound of MUTINY WITHIN in the form of the self-produced "Synchronicity".

"Synchronicity" track listing:

01. Embers
02. In My Veins
03. In A Moment
04. Falls To Pieces
05. Machines
06. Never
07. Become
08. Lights
09. Balance
10. Life To Dust
11. Signs
12. The Unsaid

MUTINY WITHIN's Tommy Jones-directed "Embers" video can be seen below.

"Mutiny Within" was released on February 23, 2010 via Roadrunner. The CD was recorded at Bieler Bros. Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida with producer Jason Bieler (SIKTH, SKINDRED, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL, NONPOINT) and was mixed by Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford of Nott-In-Pill studios in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom.

REVAMP, the band led by former AFTER FOREVER and current NIGHTWISH touring vocalist Floor Jansen, recently entered the studio to begin recording its sophomore album for a fall 2013 release via Nuclear Blast Records. REVAMP states:

States Jansen: "I will start recording the vocals for the second REVAMP album next week! Been working on the last vocal lines and lyrics today and have some days ahead to spend on this great part of my work as musician!"

She adds: "The [other] guys [in the band] have been working their asses off already recording the drums, guitars, bass and keys. Can't wait to hear the finished result pounding through the speakers... but we all have to be patient a while longer."

An 11-minute video clip in which members of REVAMP answer fan-submitted questions about their forthcoming second album — filmed last September — can be seen below.

REVAMP returned to the live stage in January 2012 at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands as the support act for EPICA.

Video footage of REVAMP performing a brand new song, entitled "Sins", during the concert can be seen below.

Jansen appeared at Carioca Club in São Paulo, Brazil in November 2011 as a special guest of MAYAN, the band featuring EPICA/ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist/songwriter Mark Jansen alongside Jack Driessen (ex-AFTER FOREVER) and Frank Schiphorst. This marked his first live appearance since her burn-out in 2011, which forced her to put on hold all concert activities.

REVAMP's self-titled debut album was released in Europe on May 28, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records.

REVAMP is:

Floor Jansen: Songwriter/Singer
Arjan Rijnen: Guitar
Jord Otto: Guitar
Jaap Melman: Bass
Ruben Wijga: Keyboards
Matthias Landes: Drums

"Anastasia", the new video from legendary guitarist Slash's (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES), can be seen below. The song comes off his second solo album, "Apocalyptic Love", which sold around 38,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Slash's self-titled debut album scored the highest new entry on The Billboard 200 chart in April 2010, with first-week U.S. sales of around 60,000 copies.

The former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist is now releasing his music through his own label, Dik Hayd Records, and The Pulse Of Radio asked him how that compares to working with major labels in the past. "It's really enabling me to make records and be able to put them out myself so I don't have to do the gamble with the big record companies," he said. "Now as far as like the glory days of the record business, that's something — yeah, I mean, you can miss it, but it's changed so much and most of the companies have turned into such conglomerates, it's pointless to really sort of miss the old days 'cause they're long gone."

Unlike Slash's solo debut, which featured different vocalists on each track and a number of guest musicians, Slash has recorded all of the new CD with his touring band, MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS.

Kennedy also sang with Slash and other former members of GUNS N' ROSES when the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012.

"Apocalyptic Love" track listing:

01. Apocalyptic Love
02. One Last Thrill
03. Standing In The Sun
04. You're A Lie
05. No More Heroes
06. Halo
07. We Will Roam
08. Anastasia
09. Not For Me
10. Bad Rain
11. Hard & Fast
12. Far And Away
13. Shots Fired

"With Blood And Vengeance", the new video from ARMOR COLUMN, the Albany, New York-based thrash/speed metal band featuring founding SKINLESS guitarist Noah Carpenter alongside three members of HELD UNDER, can be seen below. The clip was filmed and edited by SKINLESS bassist Joe Keyser.

"I saw that Joe had been working on some music videos with local bands in his free time," explained Carpenter. "We gave him a shot and we couldn't be any happier with the results. Joe did a killer job on this. We were going for a late-'80s feel, like something you would have seen on 'Headbangers Ball' back in the day."

"With Blood And Vengeance" comes off ARMOR COLUMN's "Maximum Collateral Damage" CD, which came out in 2011 via MWA Records.

SKINLESS disbanded in 2011 and played its final show at Maryland Deathfest that year.

For more information on ARMOR COLUMN, visit the band's Facebook page.

Critically acclaimed guitarist/songwriter Steve Smyth (FORBIDDEN, NEVERMORE, DRAGONLORD, VICIOUS RUMORS) is featured as as special guest lead guitarist on three songs from the new ELECTRIC PUNISHMENT album titled Pressure Spike. The band, fronted by singer/songwriter/guitarist Jimmie Evans, is based in Santa Rosa, California and has been making metal since 1989, when Geoff Thorpe of Vicious Rumors produced the band's debut CD titled Bloody Mary. Smyth is featured on the songs 'Pressure Spike', 'Cold Day In June' and 'Coerced'.
All three can be freely downloaded from the band's website at Electricpunishment.com or listened to on YouTube below:

Irish Christian melodic death metallers FORCHRISTSAKE have announced that they will release their debut album Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror on May 7 via Roxx Records. Preorders will begin February 19th.
Beginning February 4th and over the following nine days the band will begin releasing different pieces of the album artwork.

Tracklisting for the album is as follows:

‘Blackened Lands’
‘The Hollow Way Of Thinking’
‘Leech’
‘At The Gates Of Depravity’
‘Deliver Us From Evil’
‘Last Call’
‘Shadow’
‘Serpent Rising’
‘Red Moon’
‘Walk Among The Dead’
‘Necronemeis’
‘Inhalation Asphyxia’
‘Deification’
‘Inferno’
‘Apocalyptic Visions Of Divine Terror’
‘The Dawn Of A New Day’

Toronto, Ontario metallers RECKON WITH ONE check in with the following update from Mark Anthony K:

"As most of you have already read, Marko (bass) has been offered a new job in Germany working for Warwick. So obviously his time in RWO has come to an end. We had a blast having him in the group and wish him the best of luck. With that said the search for a new bass player has begun. We already have some excellent candidates so we are hoping we can make the change sooner then later so we can get back on schedule. The album is still on track and will be finished in the next few months, then back on stage. We will of course keep you in the loop."
More on Reckon With One at this location.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, singer Maynard James Keenan has said that TOOL will not be releasing a new album in 2013. Keenan reportedly told Chile's Radio Futuro when asked about the prospects for the band's first new CD in seven years, "No new disc. Not this year . . . I have not written any songs. So no, there is nothing."

Keenan told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he's always hesitant to talk about a new album until it's actually going forward. "We normally don't say anything about anything until it's actually happening, because there's a lot of people online that apparently can't read very well," he said. "I put an April Fool's notice up there for the album release, and it was 2011, I said, 'New TOOL album, such-and-such a date, 2009, and everybody ran around like, 'Oh, really, the new TOOL --?' God, you guys are dumb. I swear to God. You've got to read."

Keenan's comments will probably disappoint fans after a recent update by TOOL's webmaster stated that the other members of the band were "halfway" done with writing new music for the album.

However, an unidentified member of the band recently was injured in a scooter crash, pushing back the writing and rehearsal sessions.

TOOL hasn't released a new album since 2006's "10,000 Days", although the group has toured intermittently since then.

Keenan and his side act PUSCIFER will release their new EP, "Donkey Punch The Night", on February 19, with some touring to follow.

Although this doesn't seem like a prank, Keenan is famous for pulling them on the media. He once said he 2005 that he had "found Jesus" and was quitting the band, later promoted a book that didn't actually exist and once reported that the members of TOOL had been critically injured in a bus accident . . . so there's no trusting this guy.

"Bruane Brenn", the new video from Norwegian adrenaline-pushers of heavy rock and roll, KVELERTAK, can be seen at Stereogum. It is also available below.

"Bruane Brenn" is the first single from KVELERTAK's highly anticipated sophomore album, "Meir" (which means "more" in English), due on March 26 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by CONVERGE's Kurt Ballou and features cover artwork by John Dyer Baizley.

"Bruane Brenn" has early critical acclaim from several tastemaker outlets including Stereogum, which raves, "It's a total blast of riffs, adrenaline, football chants, and guitar solos, and in its four minutes, you get five decades of rock ‘n' roll, compressed into one massive speedball hit."

KVELERTAK's euphorically-received self-titled 2011 debut was iTunes 2011's U.S. Metal Breakthrough Artist of The Year. Pitchfork described their sound as having "monolithic walls of adrenal-gland-strangling sound" while LA Weekly named frontman Erland Hjelvik #2 on their list of top ten metal frontmen (and women) under 30.

Overseas the band has racked up numerous accolades. KVELERTAK was called "the best Norwegian debut of all time" by Norwegian rock authority Asbjørn Slettemark, named "Best Debut Album" by Metal Hammer Germany, "Best New Artist" and "Best Rock Album" at the Spellemannprisen (Norway's Grammy equivalent) and has received countless additional critical acclaim from Metal Hammer U.K. and Kerrang! who called them "the most exciting new band on the planet."

From storming 2011's SXSW festival to being personally invited by MASTODON to support them in Bergen, Norway, to Dave Grohl presenting them with their first gold discs at a sold-out show at Telenor Arena, Norway's largest indoor venue, KVELERTAK, or "chokehold" in English, are only getting started.

With the explosive first single "Bruane Brenn" to the slowed down guitar crunching of "Evig Vandrar" to the brutally chaotic "Nekrokosmos", "Meir" is an album that certainly lives up to the hype of giving the listener "more." Tight rhythms, inventive guitar hooks and melodies that seep into your consciousness, this is an album that constantly surprises.

"It is both catchy and heavy; we're pushing our limits in both ends of that spectre. It's very varied and there are a lot of surprises in store. I mean, it's unlike anything I myself have heard before, so we even managed to surprise ourselves," said lead singer Erlend Hjelvik.

KVELERTAK is Erlend Hjelvik (vocals), Vidar Landa (guitars), Bjarte Lund Rolland (guitars), Maciek Ofstad (guitars), Marvin Nygaard (bass) and Kjetil Gjermundrød (drums).

"Meir" track listing:

01. Åpenbaring
02. Spring Fra Livet
03. Trepan
04. Bruane Brenn
05. Evig Vandrar
06. Snilepisk
07. Månelyst
08. Nekrokosmos
09. Undertro
10. Tordenbrak
11. Kvelertak

CHAOSTAR, the band led by SEPTICFLESH guitarist Christos Antoniou, will release its fourth album, "Anomima", on May 10 in Europe and May 14 in North America via Season Of Mist. The CD will feature guest appearances by David Vincent (MORBID ANGEL) and Fernando Ribeiro (MOONSPELL).

Commented Christos: "David narrates the prologue of the most vicious song on the album, shading his dark and imposing shadow over the band’s music. I consider that cooperation as one of the most representative of CHAOSTAR's new work. A tragic heroine taken from the ancient Greek tragedies meets the devilish power of the unsurpassable voice of Mr. Vincent."

With regards to Ribeiro's involvement with the CD, Antoniou said, "His deep gothic voice will give a completely powerful atmosphere to a duet."

CHAOSTAR's current lineup is as follows:

Christos Antoniou: Composer/Synths
Androniki Skoula: Vocals
Fotis Benardo: Percussion
George Diamandopoulos: Traditional Instruments
Charalampos Paritsis: Electric Violin
John Thermos: Synths

After the independent release of their first record, "The Underworld" (2000), CHAOSTAR signed a deal with the French label Holy Records, which issued the "Chaostar" (2000), "Threnody" (2001) and "The Scarlet Queen" (2004) albums, as well as the compilation "Underworld" (2007).

When SEPTTICFLESH returned from a self-imposed creative break with their highly successful album "Communion" (2008) on Season Of Mist, Christos also revived CHAOSTAR and placed his trust in the same label.

"After six years of silence, I am very pleased to continue my experimental side with Season Of Mist," commented Christos."I know how they work and they understand what CHAOSTAR is about."

He added, "I am thinking about writing an 'opera' based concept on Euripides' drama masterpiece 'Medea'. I will definitely not follow the previous atmosphere, which was rather based on 'classical' music. A combination of extreme metal sounds and modern textures will play a dominant role in my forthcoming sound."

Post-metal prog phenomenon INTRONAUT will release its fourth full-length album, "Habitutal Levitations", on March 19 in North America. The CD artwork and layout was created by David D'Andrea, who has worked with the band on previous releases.

"Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)" track listing:

01. Killing Birds With Stones
02. The Welding
03. Steps
04. Sore Sight For Eyes
05. Milk Leg
06. Harmonomicon
07. Eventual
08. Blood From A Stone
09. The Way Down

"Milk Leg", the first song to be revealed from the new album, has caused a stir amongst INTRONAUT fans, with MetalInjection.net declaring, "The track is everything that rules about a 'naut song" and MetalSucks.net stating, "If you don't love it, you should probably go bang your head against a wall for an hour, as you appear to have gone stupid."

INTRONAUT just released a track video for "Milk Leg" which can be seen and heard below. As of today, the song available for purchase on all digital outlets. In addition, the track will be released as a single-sided, etched seven-inch vinyl.

Drums for "Habitual Levitations" were recorded by producer John Haddad (EXHUMED, PHOBIA) and Derek Donley (BEREFT) handled recording for all other elements on the record.

Leading up to the release of "Habitual Levitations", INTRONAUT will be on the road with MESHUGGAH and ANIMALS AS LEADERS, following a small run of headlining dates.

INTRONAUT's last studio album, "Valley Of Smoke", was met with vast critical acclaim and the band toured extensively in support of the album. In addition to landing a slot as direct support for TOOL, INTRONAUT toured with ANIMALS AS LEADERS, CYNIC, THE OCEAN, HELMET and more.

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe's trial on charges of manslaughter in the death of a fan at a Prague concert got underway yesterday (Monday, February 4), with day one focusing on the singer's own testimony.

Blythe is facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a 2010 incident in which a fan, Daniel Nosek, attending a LAMB OF GOD show died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage.

Back in court on Tuesday, Blythe listened to testimony from nine eyewitnesses, some of whom were friends of Nosek while others were were friends of Milan Poranek, a concertgoer whom Blythe admitted to pushing off the stage during the same show. The witnesses described Blythe's demeanor at the May 24, 2010 concert as "extremely aggressive."

"[Daniel] climbed onto the stage, he turned to the audience and was thrown into the crowd. Blythe pushed him from behind with both hands, I'm one hundred percent sure," said witness Jan Jebavý.

Another witness stated that Randy asked the crowd if Daniel was okay and when told that he was, continued the concert.

Witnesses also disputed Blythe's assertion that the band warned the audience to stay off the stage and claimed that the security at the venue made little effort to control the crowd.

According to WTVR, many of the witnesses struggled to recall the events of that concert nearly three years ago.

Blythe gave a statement on Monday in front of the three presiding judges (there are no jury trials in the Czech Republic), telling the court that he was a man of his word and had returned to face his charge, just as he promised he would.

"The death of a fan is heartbreaking," he said. "I'm not a man who runs from his problems, but I do not wish to be punished and suffer the consequences of an act I did not commit.

"I never saw Daniel and I never came in contact with him," he added in court.

Also testifying in court yesterday were LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and the band's manager, Larry Mazer, both of whom described Blythe as quiet and well read. They also explained that Blythe's aggressive stage persona was merely a part of the show.

The trial is expected to last until the end of the week.

The parents of Daniel Nosek are demanding compensation of 10 million Czech Koruna (approximately $530,000).

Blythe was imprisoned for five weeks in the Czech Republic after being detained on June 27, 2012 when the Grammy-nominated, Richmond, Virginia-based band arrived there for a show.

The singer was freed without charge in August but had to post $400,000 bail, then left the country, vowing to return for the trial.

Polish prog-rockers OSADA VIDA will release their new album Particles on March 25th in Europe via Metal Mind Productions and April 9th in USA via MVD. The new album includes nine tracks plus a brilliant cover of METALLICA's track, Master Of Puppets'.

The cover art for the album was created by the band's keyboardist Rafal Paluszek, and can be seen below:
Particles tracklisting:

'Hard-Boiled Wonderland'
'Stronger'
'Fear'
'Those Days'
'Shut'
'David's Wasp'
'Different Worlds'
'Until You're Gone'
'Mighty World'

Bonus track:
'Master Of Puppets' (Metallica cover)

Rafal Paluszek discusses the new material: "What's the album going to be like? It's going to differ in all respects from everything we've done before, starting with the cover (and all the artwork), which was meant to depart form the hackneyed gloomy aesthetics, adding more light, space, and buoyancy; through the songs themselves, which are much more accessible (but also more powerful and to-the-point); to the vocal parts of our new, fifth Osada member. The album is a result of what's been long ripening in our heads and hearts. It's permeated with our joy of playing music and it shows a different approach to music and composing.

I think this album might be a surprise to our fans but I'm convinced that it's going to be a surprise of the good sort. We gave a new meaning to the word "uncompromising". It's going to be melodious, rhythmical, powerful, and surprising. But it's still going to be Osada Vida. We've taken nothing away from the character of our music. We've just spiced it up quite a bit and we hope you'll find the spices to your liking. So, what it's going to be like? Find out soon!"

Osada Vida lineup:

Marek Majewski - vocal
Lukasz Lisiak - bass
Rafal Paluszek - keyboards
Bartek Bereska - guitars
Adam Podzimski - drums
More on Osada Vida at this location.

Tuomas Holopainen, keyboardist and main songwriter of the Finnish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH, has commenced work on his "The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck" project and will be in "hibernation" for the next three months. During this time, he will spend several weeks at a Disney park in the U.S. with his keyboards to aid in the creative process. "I'm very excited to start this project," Holopainen says.

Tuomas previously stated about how the idea for the project came about: "It was back in 1999, during the 'Oceanborn' tour, that I remember first having the idea of writing a 'soundtrack' to my all-time favorite piece of Disney comic, 'The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck', by Don Rosa, the apparent heir of the almighty Carl Barks. This book has had such an overwhelming effect on me throughout these years, and finally I have the means and the time to make that dream a reality.

"It all started with a story called 'Last Sled To Dawson', which was published in a Finnish Donald Duck magazine in the late '80s. It instantly became one of my favorite Scrooge/Donald stories and also introduced Mr. Don Rosa to my Disney universe. This story is not part of the actual 'Life And Times' opus, though, but 'a companion story,' set in between the chapters #8 and #9. Then when the massive 12-chapter piece was released in mid-'90s, I was completely and utterly hooked. It was similar to reading 'The Lord Of The Rings' as an 8-year-old, or seeing 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' for the first time. Adventure, fun and the strangely familiar feeling of home.

"With Scrooge, there was also a much deeper level hidden between the stories and the gags.

"This is a book about life itself. What an unfathomable privilege it is, what are the things that truly matter during our existence. It's about the immense beauty of the world and its possibilities seen through the eyes of a very relentless, honest and complex character. It's about love and family, gain and loss, darkness and rebirth.

"And on top of that, well, it's just your good old-fashioned storytelling fun!

"I have been twiddling around with certain themes for some months now and have an idea for five songs, but I will start working on this project 24/7 after the Australian leg of the tour, in February 2013. The demo recordings are scheduled for May 2013, just before the festival season starts and we're off with NIGHTWISH again. The actual recordings then start in August-September and should be finished by the end of the year, making a release during the first half of 2014 a possibility.

"Mr. Pip Williams has agreed to do the orchestral and choral arrangements and we will use pretty much the same London session musicians as we did on 'Imaginaerum'. Troy Donockley will bring Scrooge's Scottish origins to life with his pipes and whistles, and there will also be a few more guest musicians and singers involved.

"This journey is very, very dear and personal to me and I'm honored to have Mr. Rosa's approval on the project. It'll be a beautiful storytime, once again!"

"Pillars Of Perennity", the new single from the Swedish metallers COLOSSUS, can be streamed and downloaded using the SoundCloud player below. The track features Lars Göran Petrov of ENTOMBED on chorus guest vocals.

COLOSSUS is described in a press release as "a Swedish three-piece who performs their own brand of progressive, sludgy metal with a wide range of outside influences. The band have been buzzing in the Swedish metal community after the release of an extremely well-received EP, 'Spiritual Myiasis', 2011 and a large number of intensive gigs throughout Sweden and Europe, including a full set on the Sweden Rock Festival.

"True to their roots, this powerful trio who performs a headstrong metal with roots deep in the impenetrable mire of the stoner/doom/sludge tradition nuansed with streaks of progressive rock, post metal and psychadelica. A wide blend of influences are entwined and results in an accomplished and coherent music that is as direct and powerful as it is multi-layered and meandering. Names that are commonly mentioned in relation to COLOSSUS are MASTODON, NEUROSIS, KYUSS and TOOL, to name a few."

COLOSSUS is:

Niklas Eriksson - Guitar & Vocals
Magnus Stenvinkel - Bass
Thomas Norstedt - Drums

Reactivated '80s Dutch metal band PICTURE has announced the return of guitarist Andre Wullems to the group's ranks. Along with Chriz van Jaarsveld, Andre was the guitarist in PICTURE during the promotion period for the album "Traitor" back in 1985 and played live with PICTURE on a number of occasions in the past.

Commented PICTURE in a statement: "We're really pleased that Andre deceided to join the ranks again and we're looking forward to touring with him throughout Europe with the 'Warhorse' tour. We played with Andre for some time in the past and we knew his capabilities on guitar. It's great to have a familiar member of the band return. Together with Mike Ferguson, they form a formidable guitar duo."

PICTURE will kick off the "Warhorse" European tour in April.

The band's latest album, "Warhorse", was released in February 2012 via Artist Station Records. The CD was mixed by Oscar Holleman, who has previously worked with WITHIN TEMPTATION and AFTER FOREVER, among others.

PICTURE supported AC/DC, TED NUGENT and SAXON in the Netherlands. With SAXON, they did a full European tour in 1981. Later on they toured with ROSE TATTOO in Germany and headlined tours in Italy and Israel.

German rockers FAIR WARNING will release a new studio album, "Sundancer", in Germany on May 24, in the rest of Europe on May 27 and in the USA/Canada on May 28. The effort will be made available as a CD and digital download through SPV/Steamhammer worldwide except Asia.

FAIR WARNING's last studio album, "Aura", came out in 2009. A live CD/DVD, "Talking Ain't Enough - Fair Warning Live In Tokyo", followed in 2010. The band's best-of double album, "Best And More", came out last year.

FAIR WARNING celebrated its 20th anniversary with "Best And More", containing all of the band's classics on a double CD with 32 songs. Previously unreleased tracks and rare live and studio material plus a great booklet made "Best And More" a must-have for all new and old fans.

FAIR WARNING is:

Tommy Heart - Vocals
Helge Engelke - Guitar
Ule W. Ritgen - Bass
C.C. Behrens - Drums

The official lyric video for "Earth Rocker", the title track of the new album from Maryland rockers CLUTCH, can be seen below.

Produced by Machine (LAMB OF GOD, FOUR YEAR STRONG, FALL OUT BOY) at the Machine Shop studio in Belleville, New Jersey, "Earth Rocker" will be released on March 19 via CLUTCH's own Weathermaker Music label. The CD was described by CLUTCH vocalist Neil Fallon in a recent interview with DCHeavyMetal.com as "probably faster than most of our recent albums. Maybe compared to some other bands, it's not the fastest thing on planet Earth. For us it was definitely a step up in the tempo. And I think the other thing that kind of stands out about this one is the blues influences that we've been flirting with over the past couple records is more or less absent in this record, which didn't really happen intentionally until we looked back at it. As a whole, it's just much more of a straight-up rock and roll record."

The artwork for "Earth Rocker" was created by Nick Lakiotes, longtime CLUTCH art director, who has worked on previous efforts, including "Robot Hive/Exodus" and "Strange Cousins From The West".

CLUTCH's North American dates kick off March 8 in Cincinnati, Ohio and are currently slated to run through April 20 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reunited '80s metallers WARLORD, featuring guitarist William J. Tsamis and drummer Mark S. Zonder (FATES WARNING), will release their new album, "The Holy Empire", in March. The effort will be made available on CD and digitally via Sons Of A Dream Music/Battle Hymns Music.

"The Holy Empire" was engineered and mastered by the multi-Grammy Award winner Phil Magnotti (FATES WARNING, OVERKILL, ARCH/MATHEOS, OSI).

Says WARLORD: "WARLORD is returning to Phil after his excellent work on the 'Rising Out Of The Ashes' album, as well as several FATES WARNING projects. Rest assured that the new WARLORD album will be of the highest-quality production."

As previously reported, WARLORD will perform at the Keep It True XVI festival, set to take place April 19-20 at Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Koenigshofen, Germany. This will mark the group's first appearance in eleven years — having last performed in 2002 in Itzehoe, Germany and at the Wacken Open Air festival.

WARLORD's last album, "Rising Out Of The Ashes", was released in July 2002 via Atrheia/Drakkar. The CD featured Tsamis and Zonder alongside HAMMERFALL vocalist Joacim Cans.

Great vocal melodies with anthemic potential, virtuoso guitar and keyboard passages, including spectacular solos, in addition to a blistering rhythm section which gives the songs their pace, groove and dynamics: the very ingredients which guaranteed seven brilliant releases in ten years from the American-Swiss cult act ARTENSION and caused a global stir on "The End Of Never", the only album by ARTENSION's successor ANGEL OF EDEN, also inspire listeners on ARTLANTICA's debut album "Across The Seven Seas".

This doesn't really come as a surprise: after all, ARTLANTICA features three of the most important driving forces behind ANGEL OF EDEN in guitarist Roger Staffelbach, frontman John West and keyboardist Mistheria. In addition, Staffelbach and West (ARTENSION, ROYAL HUNT) belonged to were the driving forces and founding members of ARTENSION (together with Vitalij Kuprij, now of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) and Mistheria has made a name for himself with his collaborations with Bruce Dickinson and Rob Rock. All three are, without a doubt, real masters of their trade who have combined their talents to present ten brilliant new songs. Staffelbach describes the result as "powerful, heavy, occasionally majestic, grooving, melodious and timeless. Each instrument has its place, none of them sounds too dominant, everything has only one purpose, to serve the song."

Staffelbach, West and Mistheria enjoy an excellent reputation among their colleagues and can pick and choose when it comes to selecting their guest musicians: "Across The Seven Seas" features Dani Löble (HELLOWEEN) and John Macaluso (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TNT, ARK) on drums, the bass parts were recorded by bass icon Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, TESTAMENT), who also previously worked with ARTENSION and ANGEL OF EDEN. And last but by no means least, ARTLANTICA succeeded in enlisting none less than Chris Caffery of SAVATAGE and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA as their guest guitarist. The result of this high-calibre collaboration was mixed and mastered at Tommy Newton's (HELLOWEEN, GAMMA RAY) Area 51 studios, with Newton also adding his extensive expertise.

"Across The Seven Seas" will be released in the USA on May 21 and in Europe on May 27 through SPV/Steamhammer as a CD and digital download (including one bonus track).

Norwegian doom rockers DEVIL return with their second opus, after pleasantly surprising many with their 2011 debut, "Time to Repent".

"Gather The Sinners" will be released on March 22 through Soulseller Records — on CD, limited gatefold LP and digital format.

The new album is a step up both in song writing, performance and production. It also varies from the doomiest they've ever done to the most classic heavy metal they ever done, and if that's not enough: the most garage they've ever done. Fans of DEVIL will not be disappointed, and with a higher standard on all accounts, everyone can be confident that "Gather The Sinners" will be a worthy sophomore album.

"Gather The Sinners" track listing:

01. Coffin Regatta
02. Beyond the Gate
03. They Pale
04. Legacy
05. Restless Wanderer
06. Ladies of the Night
07. Darkest Day
08. Mother Shipton Pt. I
09. Mother Shipton Pt. II
10. Demons on Wheels
11. Southern Sun

DEVIL is:

Stian Fossum - Guitar
Ronny Østli - Drums
Thomas Ljosaak - Bass
Kai Wanderås - Guitar
Joakim Trangsrud - Vocals

Ronan McGreevy of The Irish Times recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Irish Times: How did you feel about GUNS N' ROSES being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Axl Rose [vocals] not showing up?

Slash: I wasn't disappointed. I was more relieved at the time because prior to that it was such a negative subject. At one point I thought, if we all show up, then what? When he said he wasn't coming, I thought, "Good, at least I can do something." Duff [McKagan, bass] and I spoke and we rehearsed what we did together. That in itself was a good thing.

The Irish Times: Do you think his non-appearance finally put to bed the expectations that the original GUNS N' ROSES lineup would ever reform?

Slash: I think more than anything it put it to bed for Steven Adler [original GUNS N' ROSES drummer]. He was trying the hardest to make it happen because he missed a lot of it. He was finally resigned to the idea that it was never going to happen. I knew in my heart it was never going to happen because I left the band in the early 1990s. I have never really had any expectations since then.

The Irish Times: Do you feel any resentment towards the GUNS N' ROSES who are touring the world at the moment?

Slash: No, I just want to get on with what I'm doing. It's been a long time. I'm really happy that Axl seems to be happy. He's probably at the same place that I'm at. Whether he calls it GUNS or something else I don't care. I signed that name away a long time ago.

Read the entire interview from The Irish Times.

The official web site of guitarist/vocalist John Sykes (WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THIN LIZZY) has been updated with the following message:

"Since John left the THIN LIZZY reunion band a few years back, he has been immersed in the studio writing and arranging new tracks. He has written well over 30 tracks up to now and has also had new equipment fitted in his studio, where he records all his own material.

"John is currently working on a fifth studio album that is due for release 2013. The title of this album is yet undisclosed, but we are told that this has had a lot of time taken on it and there are some fantastic guest musicians on board."

Sykes's much-hyped collaborative project with drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) came to an abrupt end in January 2012. Portnoy later blamed the split on the fact that he "couldn't wait around any longer" for Sykes to get ready to enter the studio.

Portnoy and Sykes announced they were working together during a July 2011 taping of season eight of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show". The program's co-host Eddie Trunk tweeted about the project at the time, "I heard demos. Sounds like killer BLUE MURDER meets '1987' WHITESNAKE. Amazing!" He also said that the new group would perform some BLUE MURDER material when it hits the road.

The project in 2011 demoed more than a dozen songs at a Los Angeles studio, with Portnoy describing one track as "copping the [LED] ZEPPELIN/[BLACK] SABBATH vibe" and another as "[PINK] FLOYD meets [DEEP] PURPLE!!! Some serious old-school classic rock."

Sykes announced his departure from THIN LIZZY in July 2009, explaining that "I feel it's time to get back to playing my own music."