CIVILIZATION ONE, the band led by singer Chitral "Chity" Somapala (RED CIRCUIT, ex-FIREWIND, POWER QUEST, FARO, AVALON) and bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson (MALADAPTIVE, ex-HEAVENLY), will release its second album in November via Limb Music.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Aazis
02. Calling The Gods
03. Land In Flames
04. Arch Angel
05. Evil Eye
06. Hell Awaiting
07. True Believer
08. Reunite
09. The Supernatural Virtue
10. New World

A video for the song "The Land In Flames", which features a guest solo by Sascha Gerstner (HELLOWEEN), will be released to coincide with the CD's arrival.

CIVILIZATION ONE released its first album, "Revolution Rising", in 2007 on Metal Heaven in Europe and Spiritual Beast in Japan.

In 2008, CIVILIZATION ONE made a huge impact in Somapala's home country of Sri Lanka as it was the first international metal act to ever play there, performing in front of 4,000 people.

Jordan Perry, the drummer behind Montreal technical death metal band DERELICT, has released two new exclusive videos. The first is a peek into the recording sessions of the band's 2012 album, Perpetuation, as Perry lays down the parts for the song 'Intricate Decay'. Watch below:
The second is a lesson video in which Perry explains how to play the intro to the song 'Digital Birthright'. Watch below:
Jordan Perry was recently confirmed as a new addition to the Wincent Drumsticks artist roster.

"I'm very happy to be welcomed into the Wincent family," comments Perry. "There are a lot of great drummers testing the limits of these durable sticks, and I'm proud to be included amongst them."

Standing tall alongside Perry on the Wincent roster are Daniel Erlandsson of ARCH ENEMY, Mikkey Dee of MOTÖRHEAD, Stefan Schwarzmann of ACCEPT, and many more.
Derelict recently announced the addition of guitarist Simon Cléroux (THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND) and bassist Xavier Sperdouklis (ex-VENGEFUL) to their permanent lineup.

Vocalist Eric Burnet commented: "Simon and Xav have been with us since we released Perpetuation in April. They have proven themselves to be hard-working musicians, as well as a lot of fun on the road! They both put a huge amount of work into learning our songs, and they're already both contributing to writing new material. We're looking forward to the next album being even more collaborative than Perpetuation.”

A photo of the new lineup can be seen below:



In addition, the band has released two new guitar solo videos, produced by Chimera Sky Studios. Guitarist Max Lussier performs the solos to ‘Intricate Decay’ and ‘Ergogenic’ below:

90-second audio snippets of all the tracks that are set to appear on "Full Pull", the new album from Swedish hard rockers BULLET, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. Due in North America on September 25 via Nuclear Blast Records, the CD was recorded at Gutterview Recorders in Solna, Sweden with producers Nicke Andersson (HELLACOPTERS, ENTOMBED) and Fred Estby (DISMEMBER). The band states, "We think this is going to be our best album thus far. Expect the hardest-rocking BULLET album yet recorded!"

"Full Pull" track listing:

01. Midnight Oil
02. Full Pull
03. Running Away
04. All Fired Up
05. Rolling Home
06. In The Heat
07. High On The Hog
08. Rush Hour
09. Freeriding
10. Gutterview
11. Warriors

Bonus track:

12. Get On

A single, "Full Pull", was released on July 13 via Nuclear Blast Records. The single was made available digitally and on vinyl, with various colors.

The track listing is as follows:

Side A: "Full Pull"
Side B: "Get On"

BULLET's third full-length album "Highway Pirates", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 3.

"Highway Pirates" was mixed by Tobias Lindell, who has previously worked with such Swedish rock bands as EUROPE, MUSTASCH and HARDCORE SUPERSTAR.

Video footage of KISS' September 19 performance at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey can be seen below.

KISS and MÖTLEY CRÜE's tour — dubbed simply "The Tour" — kicked off on July 20 in Bristow, Virginia and is currently scheduled to wrap on September 23 in Hartford, Connecticut. Although the bands are officially co-headlining the tour, MÖTLEY CRÜE is opening for KISS each night.

KISS will release its 20th studio album, "Monster", on October 9 through Universal Music Enterprises. Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," the CD features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game.

"Monster" is the group's first studio album since the band's 2009 smash success, "Sonic Boom", and was also produced by Paul Stanley with Greg Collins at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, and The Nook in Studio City, California.

Quality two-camera HD video footage of QUIET RIOT's September 15 performance at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California can be seen below.

QUIET RIOT in March recruited Scott Vokoun as its new lead singer.

The band played several shows in early February with ex-MONTROSE vocalist Keith St. John following the departure of Mark Huff.

QUIET RIOT's current touring lineup is as follows:

Scott Vokoun - Vocals
Frankie Banali - Drums
Chuck Wright - Bass
Alex Grossi - Guitar

QUIET RIOT singer Kevin DuBrow died in November 2007 of an accidental cocaine overdose. He was 52 years old.

QUIET RIOT was perhaps best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum On Feel The Noize". The song, featuring DuBrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health" — which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

IRON MAIDEN bassist/founder Steve Harris's debut solo/side project album, "British Lion", is now available for streaming in its entirety at MetalHammer.co.uk.

"British Lion" will be released in the U.S. on September 25 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). Mixed by Kevin Shirley — whose credits include IRON MAIDEN as well as Led ZEPPELIN, JOURNEY and RUSH, among many others — the CD, which features Harris alongside vocalist Richard Taylor, guitarists Graham Leslie and David Hawkins and drummer Simon Dawson, presents a different side of the bassist's musical visions.

Asked where the impetus for "British Lion" came from, Harris told Classic Rock magazine, "How it started was that Graham Leslie came to me with a cassette of songs — which shows how long ago it was! — and I thought they were really good, so I said I'd try to help his band do something. I ended up managing them and producing them and writing with them, although I kept that fact under wraps, to the point where even some people in the band didn't know. Anyway, when that band imploded I thought, 'Well, I've got to do something with this,' because I thought the songs were so strong."

He continued, "Over the years I've kept in touch with Richie and Graham, and then Richie was working with another guitarist called David Hawkins, who's a really talented guy, and so we started writing songs together. So on the album there are six songs written with Richie and David, there's one with just me and Richie, and the others are me, Richie, Graham and a couple of other guys that were around at the time."

"British Lion" comprises ten songs that Steve and his collaborators have been working on between IRON MAIDEN tours and releases and is described by Harris as "'70s-influenced, British-sounding hard rock." "I'd say it's more mainstream rock than metal... and quite commercial… but good commercial," he said. "There's all kinds of stuff going on, with nods to THE WHO and UFO and some classic British rock bands, but it's not the progressive rock album some might be expecting."

On the topic of why this is the right time for a Steve Harris solo album, the IRON MAIDEN bassist told Classic Rock, "Because it's ready, it's finally, finally ready. The guys have been waiting very patiently for years for me, and it's been frustrating at time, but what can I do?! I'm so busy with MAIDEN. People have already said to me, 'Are you going to do this instead of MAIDEN?' and I'm like, 'Of course not!' MAIDEN is always going to be the priority — always has been and always will be — but it's interesting and exciting to try new things."

He added, "On the early [IRON MAIDEN] albums, most of the songs are mine, but as we've gone into different eras with different people writing, there's been more and more collaborations. And I think it's been important for MAIDEN to do that rather than have me dictating everything. But I have bags full of ideas, so many that I couldn't record them all in my lifetime, and I tried out a few different things on this, because I had the time to do experiment."

"British Lion" track listing:

01. This Is My God
02. Lost Worlds
03. Karma Killer
04. Us Against The World
05. The Chosen Ones
06. A World Without Heaven
07. Judas
08. Eyes Of The Young
09. These Are The Hands
10. The Lesson

Steve Harris will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday, October 3 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with Harris by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). The show will be streamed on the "Rockline" web site for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.

For more information, visit RocklineRadio.com.

EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee has told NME.com that her band is planning to take an extended break after completing its U.K. arena tour in November.

Asked if EVANESCENCE is thinking about writing a fourth album, Lee said: "I'm always playing the piano and harp because I like to, but I haven't been purposeful in my playing. I haven't been sitting down to write."

She continued: "I'm thinking we'll take a break first. I'm really not sure what I'll do next. At the end of any really long tour, you need to get your head in order. I think at the end of the run we'll go on a break for a while and figure things out."

Asked if she hoped for a shorter gap between records, she said: "I don't know. Taking long breaks is seen as a bad thing, but I don't think it's a bad thing. People have the idea that you have to keep putting stuff out while people remember you. But I'd rather make something that's awesome and then make people remember again. I hope it doesn't take five years, but I don't want to put a timeline on it either."

Regarding whether the rest of her band were OK with this, she said: "We'll all be doing our own thing for a while. They're very talented and they'll all be fine."

EVANESCENCE headlined this year's edition of Carnival Of Madness, the annual touring rock extravaganza, with support from CHEVELLE, HALESTORM and NEW MEDICINE. The trek kicked off on July 31 in Springfield, Illinois and hit major cities across the U.S. including Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta, Nashville, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.

EVANESCENCE's self-titled third major label album came out last October, five years after the group issued its last effort, 2006's "The Open Door".

"Evanescence" sold 127,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on The Billboard 200 chart.

FLYING COLORS — the spectacular new virtuoso prog/pop/metal rock band formed by drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-DREAM THEATER) and guitarist Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE) — is wrapping up its first-ever European tour, which kicked off on September 9 in Hamburg, Germany.

Fan-filmed video footage of the September 13 show at Alcatraz in Milan, Italy can be seen below. Photos are available from Musica Metal.

The band's setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Blue Ocean
02. Shoulda Coulda Woulda
03. Love Is What I'm Waiting For
04. Can't Find a Way (ENDOCHINE cover)
05. The Storm
06. Odyssey (DIXIE DREGS cover)
07. Forever In A Daze
08. Better Than Walking Away
09. Kayla
10. Fool In My Heart (lead vocals by Mike Portnoy)
11. Repentance (DREAM THEATER cover; lead vocals by Mike Portnoy)
12. June (SPOCK'S BEARD cover)
13. All Falls Down
14. Everything Changes
-----------
15. Infinite Fire

The self-titled debut album from FLYING COLORS sold 6,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 81 on The Billboard 200 chart.

In addition to Portnoy and Steve Morse, FLYING COLORS features Dave LaRue (bass), Neal Morse (keyboards, vocals), Casey McPherson (lead vocals, guitar).

"I think if most people looked at this band on piece of paper, they would think that it would be very progressive and instrumentally based music, but I think once we started playing together, we got taken into all new directions," Portnoy told Audio Ink Radio. "I think a lot of that had to do with Casey, because Casey comes from a more modern rock and alternative rock background, so I think that really helped take the entire band in new directions."

He added, "The diversity element is pretty crazy. It ranges from poppy classic rock sounds like THE BEATLES and QUEEN all the way to modern rock and alternative bands like RADIOHEAD, MUSE and COLDPLAY, and everything in-between. There’s some prog stuff like YES thrown in, as well, and then there are moments that are like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or FOO FIGHTERS. So, it really runs the gamut from track to track."

The formation of FLYING COLORS began with a simple idea: virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joining together to make new-fashioned music the old-fashioned way. Refreshing, classic, old and new, the recordings are saturated with the many styles, tones and hues of the players who in becoming a band have delivered a unique fusion of vintage craftsmanship and contemporary music.

In 2008, executive producer Bill Evans brought the idea to the world-renowned musicians and producer Peter Collins. Intrigued by the idea and the prospect of working together, the four musicians signed on to form a band and record a first album.

Steve Morse and Dave LaRue have developed magical music chemistry over the years that began early in their careers as partners in DIXIE DREGS. In 1995, Morse subsequently became a member of DEEP PURPLE, while LaRue's ongoing musical adventures include Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Steve Vai, and the aforementioned Portnoy.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Neal Morse is one of the leading figures in progressive rock, whose notoriety follows his co-founding of the seminal band, SPOCK'S BEARD in 1995, recordings as a solo artist, and contributions to the super-group TRANSATLANTIC.

Mike Portnoy is one of the most popular and respected drummers in both metal and rock, and an accomplished writer and producer. He is the recipient of numerous industry accolades, including 26 Modern Drummer awards, Revolver magazine's Golden God award for "Best Drummer" and Drum magazine's "Drummer Of The Year". He rose to prominence as the leader, drummer, producer, and co-writer for metal/prog juggernaut DREAM THEATER, before moving on in 2010. That same year, he worked on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's #1 album "Nightmare" and their subsequent tour.

It was Portnoy who recommended ALPHA REV's emotive singer Casey McPherson as a contender to join FLYING COLORS. McPherson, whose 2010 Hollywood/Disney album "New Morning" debuted in the Top 5 on two Billboard charts, enjoyed major success at radio with multiple hits. The track "New Morning" spent 17 weeks in the Top 10 on Triple A Radio, and enjoyed a run on VH1's Top 20 Countdown for months. Steve Morse offers, "Casey was a glorious find, because he could make anything sound fantastic, and is a multitalented like the others."

FLYING COLORS convened for just nine days in early 2011, and composed and recorded this album during a short and intense session.

Four of METALLICA's classic LPs were voted among the "The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time" by the online readers of Rolling Stone magazine.

In announcing the results of the poll — which was launched last Friday — the editors of Rolling Stone wrote, "Metal fans are a very passionate bunch. They're also very opinionated, so when we asked them to vote for their favorite metal albums we expected a huge response. We also expected a big debate about the very definition of 'heavy metal.' Some metal fans say that groups like LED ZEPPELIN and GUNS N' ROSES are metal. Others think that's completely insane. We aren't here to settle these debates. We're merely here to count the votes."

"The Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time," according to the online readers of Rolling Stone magazine:

01. "Master Of Puppets" - METALLICA
02. "Paranoid" - BLACK SABBATH
03. "Black Sabbath" - BLACK SABBATH
04. "The Number Of The Beast" - IRON MAIDEN
05. "...And Justice For All" - METALLICA
06. "Reign In Blood" - SLAYER
07. "Appetite For Destruction" - GUNS N' ROSES
08. "Metallica" - METALLICA
09. "Led Zeppelin II" - LED ZEPPELIN
10. "Ride The Lightning" - METALLICA

To see the complete poll results, visit RollingStone.com.

"Epidemia", the sixth full-length album from New Jersey/New York's ILL NIÑO, is scheduled for release on October 22 via Victory Records. The recording sessions for the CD took place in Hoboken, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Denver, Colorado.

For nearly fifteen years, ILL NIÑO has gained a loyal and dedicated fan base while creating its own unique style of Latin-influenced, aggressive metal.

Utilizing bilingual vocals, Latin/tribal rhythms and powerful melodies, "Epidemia" is bound to spread worldwide.

"Epidemia" track listing:

01. The Depression
02. Only The Unloved
03. La Epidemia
04. Eva
05. Demi-God
06. Death Wants More
07. Escape
08. Time Won't Save You
09. Forgive Me Father...
10. Invisible People

An audio sample of "The Depression" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

ILL NIÑO will join EMMURE and STATIC-X on the "Noise Revolution" tour beginning September 19 in Billings, Montana. The tour will hit over twenty-one cities throughout the U.S. before wrapping up in Lubbock, Texas on October 17.

The "Epidemia" cover artwork can be seen below.

ILL NIÑO drummer Dave Chavarri previously stated about the upcoming album: "This time around, we want to explore Latin and tribal rhythms we have never explored in the past five releases, giving us no musical boundaries at all."

ILL NIÑO's fifth LP, "Dead New World", sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 164 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous effort, "Enigma", opened with 5,000 units to land at No. 145 back in March 2008.

"Dead New World" was released on October 26, 2010 via Victory Records.

Manchester, U.K.-based metallers BABYLON FIRE will release their full-length debut, "Dark Horizons", on November 12 via Rocksector Records.

Formed in 2007 on a foundation of IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH, extended into the territories of STONE SOUR, MACHINE HEAD and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, the band learned, developed and ultimately emerged with a signature sound which has helped them deliver an uncommonly mature and multi-dimensional debut with both hooks and depth.

Although now a four-piece, founding members Ryk Swillo (bass), Rishi Mehta (guitar), Will Reece (guitar), Mark Cooper (drums) and Mark Dunford (vocals) set out with the simple intention of writing dynamic, powerful and heavy songs with an emphasis on melody. This was the basis for a self-released four-track EP in 2009. Around this time, the band also increased its presence on the live circuit including support slots with ORANGE GOBLIN, BLAZE BAYLEY, HEAVEN'S BASEMENT, PANIC CELL, BEHOLDER and FURY UK.

Recorded during May-June 2012 at MCC Studios, Mottram, Cheshire, U.K. with producer Andy Giblin (I-DEF-I, PROFANE, KILL II THIS), "Dark Horizons" is a raging and ferocious, yet diverse, slab of heavy metal.

A free MP3 download of the track "Shattered Crown" is immediately available at the Rocksector web site.

THE ROLLING STONES, ABKCO Music And Records and Universal Music Group have announced the release of GRRR! greatest hits album on November 12th for the world excluding North America and on November 13th in North America.



Available in various different formats – including a three-CD 50 track version featuring 50 tracks, and a four-CD super-deluxe version gathering a whopping 80 tracks– the collection tells the fascinating ongoing story of the Greatest rock n’ roll band In The World, from their high octane version of CHUCK BERRY's ‘Come On’, their first single issued in June 1963, via the thrilling chart-toppers ‘The Last Time’, ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’, ‘Get Off Of My Cloud’, ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ and ‘Honky Tonk Women’ and the perennial juke-box and concert favorites ‘Brown Sugar’, ‘Tumbling Dice’, ‘Miss You’ and ‘Start Me Up’, all the way to the present day with the inclusion of ‘Gloom And Doom’ and ‘One Last Shot’, two new studio recordings recently completed by the group in Paris, France.

These brand new recordings constitute the first time Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have all been together in the studio since completing A Bigger Bang album in 2005, and follow on from the cexpanded re-releases of the historic 40th Anniversary live Madison Square Garden concert Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! in November 2009 and of two of their seventies masterworks, Exile on Main St., in May 2010, and Some Girls, in November 2011.

All GRRR! formats will feature a painting by award-winning American artist Walton Ford.

A campaign has been launched to reveal their GRRR! Greatest Hits album sleeve using 3D Augmented Reality.

During a three week teaser campaign, fans were invited to download the free uView app in preparation for a big announcement.

From today, using the uView app fans can scan the GRRR! sleeve and watch the stunning imagery come to life in 3D animation right before their eyes.

The campaign will have further exciting updates coming soon.

The use of one of the most advanced forms of mobile technology currently around solidifies The Rolling Stones as one of the most innovative bands in the world and as relevant as they have always been.

The technology has been developed in partnership with Aurasma, the leaders in image recognition and augmented reality technology.

GRRR! formats are as follows:
50 Track 3CD album – three CD/50 tracks in a digipack with 24 page booklet.

50 Track three CD Deluxe Edition - 3CD/50 tracks in a DVD size box with 36 page hardback book and five postcards.

Super Deluxe Edition Box Set – four CD / 80 tracks plus Bonus CD, 7" Vinyl, Hardback book, Poster, five postcards in a presentation box.

12” Vinyl Box Set - 5x 12" Vinyl /50 tracks in a casebound LP box.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION - the band featuring vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, TRAPEZE), drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN), Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) and blues rock guitarist JOE BONAMASSA - will release their third studio album called Afterglow on October 30th. Check out the new song 'Confessor' below:
Just like its two predecessors, Afterglow was overseen by Kevin Shirley, whose catalogue of hit records for LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, JOURNEY, THE BLACK CROWES and many more has made him the hottest producer that rock music has to offer. Shirley – who had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa together in a band together after seeing them jamming onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009 – is the group’s unofficial ‘fifth member’.
Afterglow features the following tracks:
'Big Train'
'This Is Your Time'
'Midnight Sun'
'Confessor'
'Cry Freedom'
'Afterglow'
'Dandelion'
'The Circle'
'Common Man'
'The Giver'
'Crawl'

Check out the making-of Afterglow Webisode 1 below:
Here’s a breakdown of the album’s contents in the words of Glenn Hughes:

'Big Train': “It’s very quirky and British-sounding. Jason Bonham is an incredible timekeeper. I love the way he provides the engine room on that song."

'This Is Your Time': “Let’s give Jason Bonham a little more love. He writes his songs on an iPhone whilst driving his car, which is completely nuts. It really helps the groove factor. He emailed me some footage of him playing this song. He wrote the music and I wrote the lyrics. It has a huge chorus, too. Jason is not just a brilliant drummer – he’s a great songwriter.”

'Midnight Sun': “I had my wallet stolen in a Starbucks and arrived late at the studio. When I got there the guys were fooling around with a song that sounds quite a lot like The Who, thanks to those Rabbit Bundrick-style keyboards. I picked up my bass and joined in. It’s quite a romp; there’s a definite vibe of Moon and Entwistle.”

'Confessor': “The first album had ‘No Time’, which was slow and groovy. I wrote ‘Confessor’ that way too, but when Jason heard it he insisted upon playing it – in his own words – like his dad would have done. We’re a democratic band and I went along with that. When he turbo-d it up it really came to life.”

'Cry Freedom': “I sang this one alone originally until Kevin pointed out that the album didn’t have a song with split vocals. Joe and I sing well together. I’ve never had a problem sharing a microphone with other great singers. We really let rip off one another on this one, which has a ZZ TOP/HUMBLE PIE kind of a vibe.”

'Afterglow': “[At more than six minutes long] it’s an epic song. I was adamant that this album should have a proper title instead of a number. I played it to the band right at the end of sessions – purposely so. When they heard it on acoustic guitar, everybody agreed that it should name the album.”

'Dandelion': “I wrote it slower than we recorded it; maybe I had too much coffee that day. Had we done it that way then maybe it would have sounded a bit dirge-like. Jason sets the tempos – he’s got a really good ear for the way that a song should sound.”

'The Circle': “It’s one of my favourites on this record. It gives me the chance to use my ‘breathier’ voice. Kevin asked me to sing it an octave higher than I intended, and it worked. The high voice in the chorus is not my falsetto, it’s my upper register natural voice. I’m singing about being powerless; being in a dreamlike state. People have spoken about my voice and bass playing for so many years, I hope that this time they notice my lyrics because I’m very proud of them.”

'Common Man': “That’s another of the songs that came from Jason. When he sang me its melody acapella I could hear myself singing it. It could have been a song from Deep Purple’s ‘Stormbringer’ album; he wrote it for my voice.”

'The Giver': “When you listen to the end of the song, if people are trying to figure out what key it’s in, I’m playing a capo [a device that raises the pitch of notes] on the fifth fret. When I wrote it, I deliberately held back from completing it because it needed Joe’s input. Kevin helped as well.”

'Crawl': “Some people may know that this song was going to be on ‘BCC2’ but we held it over because there simply wasn’t enough room. To me, it fits this album a lot better. It’s a really aggressive song – it’s dangerous and angry. I love it. It’s a great way to finish the record.”
An Afterglow album trailer can be viewed below:
(Photo credits: Christie Goodwin)

Toronto rockers DANKO JONES have posted a video teaser for the song 'You Wear Me Down', taken from their new album Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue. Check it out below:
The new album is now available via Spotify. Go to this location to check it out.

The complete tracklist is as follows:

'Terrified'
'Get Up'
'Legs'
'Just A Beautiful Day'
'I Don't Care'
'You Wear Me Down'
'Type Of Girl'
'Always Away'
'Conceited'
'Don't Do This'
'The Masochist'
'I Believed In God'
'I Believed In God (reprise)'

Danko Jones will release their new album, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue, through all other retailers on October 9th. It is now available for pre-order via the Amazon widget at the bottom of the page.

The first single from the album, 'Just A Beautiful Day', can now be streamed below. It is available for free download at this location.







Over the course of six full-length albums, Danko Jones has forged a singular sound that draws equally from the blues, ‘60s garage, ‘70s hard rock, ‘80s hardcore, punky power-pop, Scandinavian metal, and classic stand-up comedy records without ever being fully defined by any of those sources. But while built from the same rudiments, each Danko Jones record possesses a distinct sonic identity. Born A Lion (2002) brought the boogie and sledgehammer soul; We Sweat Blood (2003) was, by contrast, more anxious and aggro. Sleep Is the Enemy (2006) wielded the sharpest hooks. Never Too Loud (2008) was as slick as Below the Belt (2010) was stripped-down. But, compared to all that’s come before, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue is, hands down, the most emotional and, as a result, the most epic Danko Jones album to date.

Now, don’t be scared off by those E-words - there’s not a children’s choir, orchestra or piano ballad to be found within a 500-mile radius of this album. But what you hear on Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue is the Danko Jones ideal blown up to skyscraping proportions, resulting in 13 tracks that are bolder, brasher, and brawnier than anything they’ve attempted before.

The album is produced in full by their longtime partner in crime Matt DeMatteo and was mixed by Mike Fraser, known for his work with AC/DC, AEROSMITH and others. It is also the first album recorded with “new” drummer Atom Willard - the sixth person in Danko Jones history to hold the “drummer” title, but the first to stand on equal creative footing with Danko and his longtime foil, bassist John “JC” Calabrese. The man’s résumé speaks for itself: Not only was Willard the driving percussive force behind Danko’s all-time favorite San Diegan garage-punk armada ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, he’s also been keeping time for the multi-platinum likes of THE OFFSPRING, SOCIAL DISTORTION and ANGELS & AIRWAVES, so he knows how to drum his way around a massive tune.

The new album follows the June release of Bring On The Mountain – a two disc DVD featuring a 90 minute documentary, a short film, exclusive live clips from around the world and all the music videos they have ever done.

A trailer for Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue can be viewed below:

DREAM THEATER keyboardist Jordan Rudess will play music off EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER’s 1971 album Tarkus as well as original songs at the Iridium in New York, NY on September 19th and 20th. According to an update, freshly burned CDs of the shows will be available after each performance. Both performances on the 20th (8:00pm & 10:00pm EST) will be available for all to see via live webcast at www.iridiumlive.com.

Tickets are available at this location.

Rudess recently posted his Tarkus Practice Videos online. Check them out below:

Music Theories Recordings, a division of Mascot Label Group, is pleased to announce the October 15th UK release of PAUL GILBERT’s 12th solo album Vibrato. The album includes four new guitar and vocal compositions, four instrumentals, and three live cover songs from Gilbert’s 2010 Fuzz tour including YES’ Roundabout, MUDDY WATERS’ I Want To Be Loved and AC/DC’s Go Down.
According to Gilbert, "along with my new solo album Vibrato, I made a new guitar instructional DVD to explain the guitar playing on the album. You can order it now at CD Japan here."

Vibrato tracklisting:

'Enemies (In Jail)'
'Rain And Thunder And Lightning'
'Vibrato'
'Put It On The Char'
'Bivalve Blues'
'Blue Rondo A La Turk'
'Atmosphere on the Moon'
'The Pronghorn'
'Roundabout'
'I Want To Be Loved'
'Go Down'

The album release follows Gilbert’s appearance at the Marshall Amplification’s 50 Years of Loud concert at London Wembley Arena on Saturday, September 22nd. The concert celebrates 50 years of Marshall Amplification’s musical innovation and the life of the late Jim Marshall, and also featues JOE SATRIANI, ZAKK WYLDE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, and many more name guitarists.

A copy of the lawsuit filed by a New Jersey attorney on behalf of Century Media Records that collectively targets nearly 1,000 people for allegedly using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully distribute "Dark Adrenaline", the most recent album by the Italian band LACUNA COIL, can be found below. The label has also filed a similar lawsuit against thousands of individuals who have allegedly illegally downloaded "Dystopia", the 2011 album by ICED EARTH, according to NorthJersey.com.

In a typical illegal-downloading case, a lawyer hires a company to search for Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with the use of file-sharing software such as BitTorrent. Once the IP addresses have been harvested, the lawyer's clients file suit naming defendants as John Doe. They then seek to have mass subpoenas issued for the Internet providers associated with the harvested IP addresses in order to obtain the name and address of the owner of the IP address on the date it was harvested. Once identified, an Internet account holder typically faces the prospect of settling the case for a few thousand dollars or hiring a lawyer to fight the charges.

"It's tough. If you get one of these letters you've been put in a difficult and unfair spot," said Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil-liberties group, referring to the notices that go out once a John Doe has been identified.

"In many of these situations," she added, "the goal doesn't seem to be to fight infringement; it seems to be to get settlements. That's where the money-making is."

Nuclear Blast Records made headlines earlier in the year when it filed a lawsuit against 80 users of the BitTorrent network over illegal music downloads of an album by Oakland, California-based extreme metallers ALL SHALL PERISH. The lawsuit was not only brought without the band's permission, but also without their knowledge.

After members of ALL SHALL PERISH made it clear that they did not want to participate in the legal proceedings, Nuclear Blast voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.

In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) abandoned its litigation campaign against file sharers after having targeted some 18,000 individuals, usually naming dozens or hundreds of defendants per suit.

Most of the defendants settled out of court for a few thousand dollars rather than risk Copyright Act fines of up to $150,000 per purloined music track.

We / Pretty Maids will with big regret and unfortunately have to reschedule our gig on Friday in St. Petersburg due to a virus on Ronnie Atkins chords. Ronnie has recently been struggling with a throat infection and has now been ordered from his doctor to rest his voice for at least a week to prevent any further or permanent damage to his chords and get back in shape. This also means that he'll have to postpone the recordings of the vocals that he still has to do for the new Pretty Maids-album for at least a week. We are of course terrible sorry to/for our Russian fans who we were about to encounter for the first time, finally !!! But we'll do anything to reschedule the gig as soon as possible and play the concert in St. Petersburg.

It has been nearly a year since last we braced the stages and said our goodbyes to Lisa. We had no intent of collecting dust and taking up old man's hobbies, so we set out to find a new female singer. For a band such as Draconian, this is no easy task and quite possibly the reason it has taken what seems to be ages. We thank our friends and fans greatly for their patience and a great thanks to everyone who took the time to apply for the position. We rifled through more than a hundred applications from countries far and wide and ended up finding a suitable singer in the most unexpected country of them all.

The Horde is pleased to announce our newest member, Heike Langhans - all the way from South Africa. She has since relocated to Sweden in order to join the band and has fit it superbly. She's a true doomster at heart and brings an even greater emotional flair to our sound. Our journey thus continues and writing for the new album has already begun.

As Fall approaches, we ready ourselves for some serious rehearsal, recording and tour planning. We look forward to seeing you all out there again!

A few words from the lady herself,

Greetings to all,
I will start off by saying that Lisa will be dearly missed. Replacing a voice such as hers is a concept foreign to most fans, myself included. I've listened to Draconian for many years and share the same sentiments as you do. She will never be forgotten and we wish her well for the future.

That being said, this is a new era for Draconian and one to look forward to. My joining has not been an easy process. Dealing with Embassies, Migration boards and countless authority figures has delayed the joining process slightly, but we do what we can and remain patient. All in the name of doom.

The last few months have been busy indeed. Traveling back and forth, rehearsing and getting to know my new surroundings has been exciting and hard work. I used to believe it can't be done, but I've proved to myself and others that everything we are passionate about in life is worth fighting for.

As a new member, I have prepared myself for the positive as well as the negative, but would like to thank all the kindness I've received so far from fans upon the release of Draconian's 'Lake of Tears' tribute song, 'Demon you/Lilly Anne'. Though my part in it was not big, it's a little taste of things to come. I'm immensely excited to share a stage with these like-minded individuals and to touch the hearts of people all over the world with our musical poetry.

I'll see you all soon!
From my heart to yours,
/Heike

"Unscarred", the new video from Hungarian extreme metallers EKTOMORF, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Black Flag", which was released on August 31 via AFM Records. The cover was once again created by German illustrator and designer Tim Eckhorst, who previously did illustrations for the Wacken Open Air festival and various other bands.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. War Is My Way
02. Unscarred
03. The Cross
04. Cut It Out
05. Black Flag
06. Private Hell
07. 12 Angels
08. Enemy
09. Fuck Your God
10. Never Surrender
11. Sick Love
12. Feel Like This
13. Kill It

EKTOMORF's very special "acoustic" album, "The Acoustic", was released on February 17 via AFM Records. The CD contained cover versions (LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Simple Man" and "Folsom Prison Blues" by JOHNNY CASH), re-recorded EKTOMORF classics ("I Know Them", "Redemption", "Who Can I Trust", "Stigmatized" and "I'm In Hate"), plus five brand new tracks, written specially for this release.

Commented EKTOMORF frontman Zoltán "Zoli" Farkas: "To make 'The Acoustic' album was a great experience for EKTOMORF. I’m still very happy with what we created and I want to thank all the fans for supporting us. But now with the new album we go back to the heavy stuff. The tons-of-bricks sound that is typical EKTOMORF, but with a few surprises here and there."

"Unscarred" video:

Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Brian May (QUEEN), Alice Cooper, John Paul Jones (LED ZEPPELIN) and Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS) are among the musicians who took part in the 2012 edition of The Sunflower Jam, which took place on Sunday, September 16 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

Jacky Paice, wife of Ian Paice, set up The Sunflower Jam charity in 2006 to help people treat cancer within the UCLH (University College London Hospitals). Now the charity raises acceptance of an integrated approach in medical treatment. By educating, supporting, informing and developing services around patient-centric care, and by bringing together doctors, health professionals, scientists and patients, alongside an array of musicians who not only perform but support the cause, the organizers aim to create a wider network of support and raise awareness through their event.

The charity works by supporting initiatives set up to bridge the gap between integrated, functional and conventional medicine with a natural approach to wellness for children, young people, adults and their families with a range of acute and chronic emotional, mental and physical conditions.

Fan-filmed video footage of this past Sunday's concert can be seen below.

"We Come In Peace", the new DVD from Swedish industrial metallers PAIN, will be released in Europe on November 2 via Nuclear Blast. The DVD+2CD digibook and the Blu-ray+2CD digibook includes the entire final show of the first leg of PAIN's European tour on November 13, 2011 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm and clips from the band's July 2012 appearance at the Masters Of Rock festival in Vizovice, Czech Republic, as well as "tons of crazy backstage and behind-the-scenes footage."

A trailer for "We Come In Peace" can be seen below.

PAIN, MOONSPELL, SWALLOW THE SUN and LAKE OF TEARS will join forces for the "Into Darkness Tour 2012" in November.

PAIN's seventh album, "You Only Live Twice", was released in June 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Regarding the album's cover artwork, Tägtgren previously said, "I really wanted something 'Nightmare Before Christmas' meets 'Alice In Wonderland' kind of feeling but with our mascot, the Painhead in it. And Heile created that after what I wanted. And he did it in his own way. It really has this kinda Tim Burton feel to it. It will be really crazy with a big backdrop. We also gonna do some inflatable stuff with our Painhead. Its gonna be our Eddie, like IRON MAIDEN has it."

David Vincent (MORBID ANGEL) and Fernando Ribeiro (MOONSPELL) will guest on the new album from CHAOSTAR, the band led by SEPTICFLESH guitarist Christos Antoniou (pictured below).

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."

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."

A new KREATOR song entitled "Wolfchild" is featured on the "Dark Symphonies - A Tribute To John Sinclair" album, due in Germany on September 28 via Lübbe-Audio.

A popular German horror detective fiction series, John Sinclair is a Scotland Yard chief inspector, battling all kinds of undead and demonic creatures.

"Dark Symphonies - A Tribute John Sinclair" features 20 songs, a musical tribute by bands and fans who have dedicated their music to the famous ghosthunter — and as a bonus, the brand new drama "Anxiety About London", featuring guest appearances by many of the musicians involved.

For more information, go to this location.

"Leathers", a brand new song from DEFTONES, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track is also available for free download at Deftones.com.

"Leathers" comes off DEFTONES' seventh studio album, "Koi No Yokan", which is scheduled for release on November 13. The group worked again with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who helmed 2010's "Diamond Eyes" and has also worked on albums by RUSH and FOO FIGHTERS.

"Koi No Yokan" track listing:

01. Poltergeist
02. Romantic Dreams
03. Leathers
04. Swerve City
05. Entombed
06. Graphic Nature
07. Tempest
08. Gauze
09. Rosemary
10. Goon Squad
11. What Happened To You?

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno stated about the songwriting process for "Koi No Yokan", "We were coming out of a tough time, obviously, and our goal was to kind of rebuild what we created over all the years. I felt like we had to prove ourselves. We'd taken so much time between records, had some inner turmoil, and our records were starting to get pieced together versus really being created together, so for us it was a chance to get back to basics. We didn't have an idea of what sort of style we wanted. We just came in fired up and motivated to do something great. It was all very positive. We had more songs than ever, tons of ideas."

German guitar wizard AXEL RUDI PELL has released a live video for the track "Rock The Nation", filmed on July 28 at the Rock Of Ages festival at Festplatz in Seebronn, Germany. Check it out below.

AXEL RUDI PELL released a digital single, "Before I Die", on September 14. In addition to the title track, the single contains the song "Where The Wild Waters Flow".

"Before I Die" comes off AXEL RUDI PELL's new studio album, titled "Circle Of The Oath", which registered the following European chart positions:

Germany: #16 (highest entry ever in Axel's nearly 25-year solo career)
Switzerland: #30
Sweden: #51 (#5 on the Hard Rock chart)
Austria: #55
Norway: #69

AXEL RUDI PELL — singer Johnny Gioeli, drummer Mike Terrana, keyboard player Ferdy Doernberg, bass player Volker Krawczak and guitarist Axel Rudi Pell — entered the studio in late November 2011 with engineer and co-producer Charlie Bauerfeind, to record "Circle Of The Oath". The CD was released on March 23 in Germany, March 26 in the rest of Europe and on March 27 in the USA/Canada via SPV/Steamhammer.

Configurations: limited-edition digipak including a bonus live track and poster; double gatefold LP with colored vinyl; standard version and download. Also available is a box set including two LPs, a digipack, poster, postcard, sticker and much more, limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.

AXEL RUDI PELL will embark on the second leg of the "Circle Of The Oath" tour in October. Special guest will be MAD MAX, and on three dates they will also welcome JADED HEART.

German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS took part in a press conference on September 16 at Hotel Bourbon in Asunción, Paraguay. You can now watch video footage of the question-and-answer session below.

As previously reported, SCORPIONS' September 18 concert at Jockey Club in Asuncion was postponed due to a severe storm that claimed at least five lives and caused havoc in the capital and in several regions of the country.

Over 16,000 tickets were reportedly sold for the outdoor show, which was called off two songs into support band STEINKRUG's set.

The band and the promoters are reportedly hoping to reschedule the concert for sometime in October.

Bassist Rex Brown (KILL DEVIL HILL, DOWN, PANTERA) rejoined his former bandmates in DOWN on stage last night (Tuesday, September 18) at Trees in Dallas, Texas to perform two songs: "Stone The Crow" and "Bury Me In Smoke".

Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

During an April 2011 interview with High Times, former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo said that that since he underwent surgery in 2005 to repair several damaged disks in his back, he's helped many friends get clean and that he has about a 50 precent success rate in getting them sober. One person that he said he couldn't seem to help was his former PANTERA and DOWN bandmate Rex Brown. "That's the only rift between me and Rex; other than that, we're fucking best friends," Anselmo said. "He just can't stop fucking drinking."

He added, "I've tried. I gave it my all and I love Rex Brown with all of my fucking heart and soul. But, goddamnit, he will not put down that fucking bottle for any of us. He is, and has been told, he is going to die. I'm gonna tell you this: He's not gonna die on my time, because he ain't drinking around 'The Kid.' Straight up. And that means he can't be around right now, 'cause he's fucking drinking. And that's that. That's that fucking story in a nutshell."

Brown, who in 2009 was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas, stated in a late 2011 interview about his health status, "It took them about five years to figure out what was going on. I had polyps on my pancreas, and what they did is they had to open me up. And I've never felt better in the last five years. . . I was in constant pain."

Speaking to Radio Metal in February, Brown said, "Phil and I are very good friends. We've made a pact with each other that we wouldn't talk about each other's music. That would be cruel for the fans. I talk to Kirk [Windstein, DOWN guitarist] all the time, I talked to Pepper [Keenan, DOWN guitarist] just last week. There's no animosity going on there. As part of my musical journey, I've moved on [from DOWN and am now playing with KILL DEVIL HILL]." He added, "My health is 300 percent better since I had this operation. I feel fine, I feel like I'm 25 again. I had some problems with my pancreas, that's taken care of now. I went to the doctor two months ago; everything is fine."

DOWN's current bassist is Patrick Bruders, who also plays with DOWN guitarist Kirk Windstein in CROWBAR.

The official trailer for "Intense Metal Drumming II", the new instructional DVD from NILE drummer George Kollias, can be seen below. The disc will be released soon through Hudson Music.

Commented Kollias: "This new DVD stands on the same concept as 'Intense Metal Drumming' did back in 2008. There is A LOT of educational stuff for beginners and more advanced players, many killer concepts and exercises that will help everyone. The quality of the new DVD is crazy; we used eight video cameras, 26 audio channels and there is a lot of bonus material that everyone will enjoy!"

Kollias is writing and recording a solo album in between drum clinics and touring cycles. The CD, which is primarily set to show off some of George's craziest metal drumming to date, is being completely written and recorded by George, including the guitars, bass, keys, vocals, and percussion, and it will also feature a DVD of the recording process.