"Unscarred", a brand new song from Hungarian extreme metallers EKTOMORF, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track, which is available for download at all digital retailers, comes off the band's new album, "Black Flag", to be 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."

EKTOMORF's last studio CD, "Redemption", was released on December 17, 2010 via AFM Records.

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, who has been a Japanese resident since 2003, has co-written a song on the No. 1 album in Japan, "Gift Of Smap", from the pop group SMAP.

Commented Marty: "The song is 'LA+Love And Peace'. I have played guitar on a few No. 1s before, but this is my first songwriting No. 1 anywhere! The lyrics were written by Satomi, who wrote the fantastic 'Yuki No Hana', which I covered on my first 'Tokyo Jukebox' album."

SMAP is scheduled to begin a five-dome tour of Japan to promote "Gift Of Smap". The trek, which begins on August 23, will end at Sapporo Dome on Christmas Eve.

"Gift Of Smap" is SMAP's 22nd studio album.

STONE SOUR is offering a snippet of the song "Gone Sovereign" from the band's upcoming fourth album, "House of Gold & Bones - Part 1", at HouseOfGoldAndBones.com in exchange for a "share" on Facebook or Twitter.

"House Of Gold And Bones" is a two-part concept effort that was recorded at Sound Farm Studios outside the band's home base in Iowa. Singer Corey Taylor has played one of the songs that will be featured on the CD, "Taciturn", acoustically at some of the recent festival appearances and fans seem to embrace the change.

Taylor said, "That song translates so well acoustically. When I wrote 'Taciturn', I knew it was something that could go either way. It could be a full band piece or it could be something I could play on my own. If I was going to give the people a first taste of what 'House Of Gold And Bones' parts 1 and 2 are going to be, 'Taciturn' is a nice way to give them a cool picture of it even in a stripped-down sense. That song is essentially about trust. It's about trying to find the courage to open up to the people you care about, love, and value, knowing that they're going to be there to catch you when it all comes down. They're going to be there for you when nobody else is. It's about letting go of the anchors that hold you down in life, opening yourself up and saying, 'If you're there for me, I'll be there for you. You've just got to give me a second'."

As previously reported, SKID ROW's Rachel Bolan laid down the bass tracks for the new STONE SOUR CD. He has described the material on the record as "fucking fierce."

Taylor recently told Revolver magazine about STONE SOUR's forthcoming album, "Picture [PINK FLOYD's] 'The Wall' crossed with ALICE IN CHAINS' 'Dirt' with some good heavy blasts in there," Corey said. "The heaviest song is a total ass-kicker that sounds as if SLAYER and ANTHRAX had a baby. Then, there's a darker bluesy dirge that has the vibe of LED ZEPPELIN's 'In My Time Of Dying'. There's even a little industrial vibe. It's definitely going to blow people's fucking minds.

Taylor added that he came up with a very ambitious concept for the disc.

"The album is a morality play about a man who's standing at the crossroads of his life trying to figure out what to do next," he said. "He's going, 'Do I move foward and evolve? Do I become more responsible or do I run backwards and pilfer the basket of youth?' Sometimes it's romantic to live in the mistakes that you made when you were 20, and condemn yourself to perpetual adolescence."

Guitarist Josh Rand recently said that the CD will be "another progression for the band," adding. "Musically, we have always challenged one another to push things to our limits, and this record is no exception."

Video footage of VICIOUS RUMORS performing the song "Don't Wait For Me" on August 3 at Garage in Munich, Germany can be seen below.

After the monster "Razorback Killers" album and tour of 2011, VICIOUS RUMORS took some much-needed time off the road to work on new material. Two new albums are in the works, with more details to be made available soon.

"Razorback Killers" was released in Europe in March 2011 and in the U.S. in April 2011 via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was recorded at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producers Juan Urteaga and Geoff Thorpe.

VICIOUS RUMORS current touring lineup:

Larry Howe - Drums
Brian Allen (LAST EMPIRE, MALICE, WILD DOGS) - Vocals
Bob Capka - Guitar
Stephen Goodwin - Bass
Geoff Thorpe - Guitar

MPIRE OF EVIL (formerly PRIMEVIL) — the band formed in 2010 by ex-VENOM members Jeff "Mantas" Dunn (guitar) and Tony "The Demolition Man" Dolan (bass, vocals) — finished laying down the drums for its forthcoming second album, tentatively due in November.

After completing a successful U.S. tour with new drummer Marc Jackson (who replaced Antony "Antton" Lant earlier this year), MPIRE OF EVIL in May announced that Marc had joined the group on a permanent basis.

Video footage of MPIRE OF EVIL performing on April 29 at the Maratona Rock festival in Santhià, Italy can be seen below.

MPIRE OF EVIL earlier in the year completed a North American tour with fellow British thrashers ONSLAUGHT.

MPIRE OF EVIL released its full-length debut, "Hell To The Holy", on March 26 via Scarlet Records. The CD boasts 10 brand-new tracks displaying the band's infectious and groovy heavy metal assault, conveying Mantas' thunderous riffs, a huge rhythm section and Dolan's abrasive vocals into a monstrous musical holocaust which will appeal to both old-school and modern metal fans.

Produced by Mantas himself and featuring stunning cover artwork by Gyula Havancsák (ANNIHILATOR, DESTRUCTION, GRAVE DIGGER), "Hell To The Holy" is without any doubts a "must have" album for 2012.

MPIRE OF EVIL released its debut mini-album, "Creatures Of The Black", on October 21, 2011 via Scarlet Records. The CD featured cover versions of four songs that influenced the members of M-PIRE OF EVIL ("Exciter" by JUDAS PRIEST, "God Of Thunder" by KISS, "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be" by AC/DC and "Motörhead" by MOTÖRHEAD), plus two new songs, "Hellspawn" and "Reptile".

In a 2010 interview with Metality, Dolan stated about the formation of M-PIRE OF EVIL,"Well, I think it came about as Mantas and Antton who were both doing separate music projects (DRYLL and DEF-CON-ONE) came together in DRYLL. Mantas needed a drummer and Antton offered his services. People kept wondering what it would be like if Mantas and Antton played with me and it was kind of, 'Oh, yeah that would be fun perhaps,' but then DRYLL played a show and performed the VENOM track 'Black Metal' [with Antton] and that was kind of it. People started saying I had to come in and play, too. So I got a phone call and had a few chats with Mantas and that was that; we decided we'd see if it worked. It does, very well, but then again myself and Mantas have always been friends and played well together. The addition of a drummer as good as Antton was something too cool to pass up! [M-PIRE OF EVIL] is old school, I guess, melodic, heavy, powerful. [As to how MPIRE OF EVIL is] different from VENOM, [I'm] not sure. We will inevitably be compared, as we are all ex-VENOM [members] and, of course, Mantas was the main songwriter for VENOM, so... But I feel we are more like classic metal. MOTÖRHEAD, BLACK SABBATH.... PRIEST and VENOM."

¡Hola, amigos!

Me llamo Zeta, soy profesor de canto y anteriormente he formado parte de algunas bandas de heavy metal.
Desde hace unas semanas, he tenido la inmensa suerte de haber sido elegido como vocalista de Mägo de Oz; y os prometo que me dejaré el alma en cada canción y en cada concierto para estar a la altura de la historia de esta ENORME BANDA.

No pretendo sustituir en vuestros corazones a Jose Andrea, pues es uno de los mejores cantantes del mundo. Simplemente quiero, poco a poco, ganarme vuestro respeto y cariño.

Soy consciente del difícil camino que me queda por delante, pero tengo las mejores armas para no defraudaros: ilusión y un grupo humano sensacional que me está arropando en todo momento.

Estoy deseando que llegue el próximo 20 de agosto para entrar en los estudios Cube y ayudar a mis compañeros en la grabación del próximo disco de Mägo de Oz, que espero sea de vuestro agrado.

¡Nos vemos en un pentagrama!

Un abrazo a todos.


Zeta


"We must be over the rainbow!"

"Payback", a brand new song from the egendary hardcore/metal band PRO-PAIN, can be streamed using the audio player below (courtesy of GoombaMusic.com). The track comes off the group's new album, "Straight To The Dome", which will be released in North America on September 25 via the Chicago independent record company Goomba Music. The CD was recorded at Little Creek Studio in Gelterkinden, Switzerland and produced by V.O. Pulver.

Aggressive, meticulous, passionate, righteous — all distinguishing traits that have come to symbolize the fundamentals of metal/hardcore pioneers PRO-PAIN. Since their crushing 1992 NAIRD-nominated debut album, "Foul Taste Of Freedom", PRO-PAIN have become a staple in the diets of heavy music listeners around the globe. Their successful and enviable career has perpetually prospered throughout its course, and yet they still manage to find room to improve, and more importantly, impress.

Commented PRO-PAIN frontman Gary Meskil, "We intended to make an old-school PRO-PAIN album with this one, and I think that this is perhaps our most sonically brutal effort since 'The Truth Hurts'. Having said that, the album does have a few tasteful melodic moments here and there, which in my opinion contribute to its depth and diversity."

"Payback" audio stream (courtesy of GoombaMusic.com):

"Red", the new single from Helsinki, Finland-based gothic metallers THE 69 EYES, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of RevolverMag.com). The song comes off the band's tenth studio album, "X", which will be released in Europe on September 28 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed by Stefan Boman (THE HELLACOPTERS, BULLET) and is described by the band's lead singer Jyrki69 as THE 69 EYES' "most melodic-yet-melancholic" release to date. He added, "This is the best THE 69 EYES album ever done!"

"X" track listing:

01. Love Runs Away
02. Tonight
03. Black
04. If You Love Me The Morning After
05. Red
06. I Love The Darkness In You
07. Borderline
08. I'm Ready
09. I know What You Did Last Summer
10. When A Love Comes To An End

Bonus DVD

* Red (video)
* Made In Sweden – Stockholm & THE 69 EYES (documentary)

THE 69 EYES filmed a video for "Red" last month with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others. The band also revealed the cover art for the "Red" single, which is being released today (Friday, August 10) via iTunes.

Regarding the album title, Jyrki69 said, "We've never really celebrated anything, not that we've been playing 20 years or so (vampires don't count decades). Thus this time we thought to celebrate a bit: the new album is entitled as tenth in Roman numbers, it'll be called 'X'."

On the topic of the "X" cover artwork, Jyrki69 said, "The cover is pure goth 'n' roll: a psychedelic mirror image of old wild animal bones with our X-tagram projected over all. It's good, evil, magic and voodoo all together! Something to stare at when tripping on the album."

To coincide with the new album release, THE 69 EYES will also launch its own vampire-style red wine, simply called as "Red," which will mainly be distributed in Sweden and Finland.

Swedish death metallers EVOCATION will release their fourth studio album, "Illusions Of Grandeur", in Europe on September 24 via Century Media Records. The CD includes "ten tracks of supreme Swedish death metal, a perfect mélange of Stockholm rawness and Gothenburg epics," according to a press release.

Cover artist Xaay, who previously worked with EVOCATION on the "Apocalyptic" album, has proven to be the best choice for the job, delivering a dark and desolate yet beautiful piece of art for the new album.

"Illusions Of Grandeur" was recorded at IF Studios (IN FLAMES, THE HAUNTED) and Evocation Studios with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES) and mixed at IF Studios by Laghi. It was mastered at Bohus Sound Studios by Dragan Tanaskovic.

As a very special guest, Johan Hegg of AMON AMARTH laid down vocals on the song "Into Submission".

"Illusions Of Grandeur" will be released on CD, limited-edition digipak CD (including three studio bonus tracks) and on LP (including a big-size poster of the album artwork).

"Illusions Of Grandeur" track listing:

01. Illusions Of Grandeur
02. Well Of Despair
03. Divide And Conquer
04. Perception Of Reality
05. Metus Odium
06. I’ll Be Your Suicide
07. Crimson Skies
08. Into Submission
09. The Seven Faces Of God
10. Final Disclosure
11. Shades Of Shame (digipak bonus track)
12. Dark Day Dawn (digipak bonus track)
13. Dead Without A Trace (digipak bonus track)

EVOCATION's third album, "Apocalyptic", was released on October 29, 2010 via Cyclone Empire Records.

7hard has announced the signing of German-based rockers CROSSPLANE.

Commented the band: "After many months of talking to different labels about our future, we're very excited to announce that we've decided to join forces with 7hard, the hard rock/metal label of the 7us media Group Company. We are working on new material for the next album and already finished the song 'Rollin' which will be released soon. We are really excited to hear what people think about it. So far the feedback is killer!"

Added 7hard president Hans Derer: "We're delighted to welcome CROSSPLANE to the 7us family. The band has all the right attributes like power, action, and the right network and of course great music to become a big player! We haven't heard anything similar in a long time. Our expectations are high and we will work hard for an international breakthrough. So watch out!"

Since CROSSPLANE was founded in 2010, they have gained a lot of attention with their EP, "Highspeed Operation". Vocalist Celli, who also plays guitar in ONKEL TOM with SODOM's Tom Angelripper, and his bandmates played shows all over Germany, establishing the group as a national act.

A video teaser for CROSSPLANE's upcoming single will be posted online on September 1. Joining the band in the studio, and helping them to get their crushing studio sound, was Angelripper and Christof Leim (THE NEW BLACK, SINNER).

With their sophomore album, "diin", due for release on Dark Essence Records on the September 14, Norwegian post-rockers KRAKOW have revealed the track listing for the album and have, at the same time, released a "teaser" video offering a taster of all nine tracks. Cover art for "diin" is by Thomas Hooper, the renowned Brooklyn, New York-based tattoo artist, painter and designer.

Formed in 2005 by Frode Kilvik, Kjartan Grønhaug and René Misje, KRAKOW's recording lineup for the album includes Misje on guitar and vocals, Kilvik on bass and vocals, Grønhaug on guitar, and Cato Olaison on drums. Additional drums on some of the tracks are by Iver Sandøy, while Grutle Kjellson (ENSLAVED, TRINACRIA) makes a guest appearance on vocals.

Commented Kjellson: "It was a great honour for me when KRAKOW asked me to do some guest vocals for them. From not being that much more than 'thirteenth out of a dozen' bands only a few years back, they have grown to be one of the most interesting new bands in the whole metal scene! Hard work, desire to make great music, and the fact that they don't give a shit about 'genre rules' and such, have made them the avantgarde metal monster they are today. These guys are no copycats, they are the real deal! Watch out for KRAKOW!"

"diin" track listing:

01. Hymn To The Winds
02. Future Past
03. Termination Of Origin
04. Mound
05. Mark Of Cain
06. Possessed
07. Into The Distant Sky
08. Omen
09. Sense Of Space

KRAKOW, whose sound ranges from dark and evocative to fast and aggressive, recently announced the addition of KAMPFAR and MONDVOLLAND drummer Ask Ty Arctander to the group's ranks.

Finnish epic metallers WINTERSUN will release their long-awaited new album, "Time I", on October 12 via Nuclear Blast Records.

During the listening session for "Time I" at the Nuclear Blast headquarters in Donzdorf, Germany on July 28, Jari Mäenpää was interviewed by BLEEDING RED frontman Timo Joos, who asked the WINTERSUN mastermind fan questions that had been collected via the official Nuclear Blast Europe Facebook page. Watch the firrst part of the Nuclear Blast Facebook fan interview below. Also available is a four-minute video clip in which several European heavy metal jouranlists share their first impressions of "Time I" after listening to it for the first time.

To celebrate the "Time I" release, WINTERSUN will play two special shows in Finland. The first concert will take place on Octber 12 at Lutakko in Jyväskylä and the second on October 13 at Nosturi in Helsinki. Support at the shows will come from THAUROROD (Lutakko and Nosturi) and MEDICATED (Nosturi).

Commented WINTERSUN: "We're excited to start the 'Time' world tour from our home country with two shows in October! These two special album-release shows will be our first club gigs in Finland since 2006 and the first time ever 'Time I' songs will be heard live! The show attendees will also be the first ones to have a chance to get a signed copy of the new album.

"During the rest of the summer, we'll be rehearsing the new material and working on a new enhanced live show as well as doing some promo and preparing bonus material for the album. Right after the Finnish gigs, we'll continue on to Heidenfest tour in Central Europe and after that... Well, more shows will be announced soon. Stay tuned and hope to see you at the gigs!"

According to WINTERSUN mainman Jari Mäenpää, there are several reasons why the band's new effort, "Time" is being released as two seprate albums, titled "Time I" and "Time II". He says:

* "All the 80 minutes of material won't fit on a regular CD and we didn't want to cut anything out.
* "We want you to be able to hear new material sooner and not wait any longer and we want to go on tour sooner.
* "The music is very full and complex, so listening this kind of 'hard listening (not easy listening)' material straight for 80 minutes is a bit too much (even for me).
* "Both albums will be approximately. nice 40 min epic packages of fireworks.
* "We like the idea of releasing two albums within one year, so the band will stay more visible longer, which is important in these 'modern times.' No more years of silence for us!"

"Time I" track listing:

01. When Time Fades Away
02. Sons Of Winter And Stars
I) Rain Of Stars
II) Surrounded By Darkness
III) Journey Inside A Dream
IV) Sons of Winter And Stars
03. Land Of Snow And Sorrow
04. Darkness And Frost
05. Time

"Time II" will be releaed in 2013.

WINTERSUN will headline this year's edition of the Heidenfest tour, set to take place in October. Support on the trek will come from KORPIKLAANI, VARG, TROLLFEST and KRAMPUS.

WINTERSUN's debut CD was released in September 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records.

Drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) joined Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON) on stage last night (Tuesday, August 7) at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California to perform a cover version of the BOB DYLAN classic "All Along The Watchtower". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Kotzen, Portnoy and bassist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG) are currently recording the debut album from their new three-piece project for a tentative early 2013 release.

In a posting on his web site, Portnoy wrote about last night's jam session, "For those of you who don't know, The Baked Potato is a legendary jazz club in L.A. that every great jazz, blues and rock player has jammed at... a great little club that is about the size of my living room holding no more than 100 people! It's the ultimate place to see your favorite musician play up close and personal.

"Anyways, Richie just tore it up! So much soul in his playing and singing... so many goose-bump moments... The man is the real deal! I really am honored and so excited to be working with such an amazing talent.

"After a short intermission, Richie invites me up to sit in for a song and we jam on his version of 'All Along The Watchtower'. No rehearsal, no discussion, just a true jam...it was a blast!"

During a July 2012 appearance on Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Portnoy said about his collaboration with Kotzen and Sheehan, "[Richie is] an unbelievably underrated talent, not only [as] a guitar player but a phemonal singer, and just an amazing songwriter and artist. I think people just kind of lump him, or write him off as the guy that was with POISON and MR. BIG. I think they have no idea what he's really capable of."

Asked to describe the musical direction of the project, Portnoy said, "It's a classic-rock kind of power-trio sound. If you picture the classic-rock bands of… the classic ones — [LED] ZEPPELIN, CREAM, [JIMI] HENDRIX, GRAND FUNK [RAILROAD] — if you take that classic-rock power-trio sound of the early '70s, and then you sprinkle it on top with some of the modern kind of sounds of SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS or BLACK CROWES or LENNY KRAVITZ… It's in that vein; it's kind of a [mixture] of all of those bands. But on top of it all you've got the phenomenal playing that Richie and Billy do, and I could play a couple of things on the drums as well [chuckles], so... And all three of us are singing — Richie is the lead vocalist, obviously, but me and Billy are also singing."

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's pre-show tuning-room jam and "Cyanide" performance on August 1 at the third concert of the band's eight-date run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City can be seen below.

METALLICA's setlist for August 1 concert:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom the Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride The Lightning
05. One
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Of Wolf & Man
09. Sad But True
10. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
11. ...And Justice For All
12. Fade To Black
13. Master Of Puppets
14. Battery
15. Nothing Else Matters
16. Enter Sandman

Encore:

17. Last Caress
18. Seek & Destroy

Two members of METALLICA's road crew caught fire during each of the first three Mexico concerts, as the two stagehands were seen struggling with a malfunctioning pyro launcher during "Enter Sandman" when both were suddenly engulfed in flame. As frontman James Hetfield called for the band to stop playing, other crew members doused the men with fire extinguishers and took them off the stage in stretchers, with the band resuming its show a few minutes later.

A spokesperson for the promoter said the stunt was "all part of the show," and in fact METALLICA has staged this type of "accident" before during its 1997 tour, on which the show ended with the stage seemingly collapsing around the band as one crew member caught fire and another dangled upside down from the fallen lighting rig. The effect was caught on the band's "Cunning Stunts" DVD.

The show on July 28 marked the debut of a new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career," meaning that the "accident" stunt could be back for an encore.

At a press conference before the show, frontman James Hetfield said that the band was focused on "staying alive" while performing alongside the "dangerous elements" of the new production, with bassist Robert Trujillo adding, "Like James said, it's very dangerous — we've got stuff flying every which way."

A post in the "Tour Journal" section of METALLICA's official web site related that "shit really hit the fan (during 'Enter Sandman' with) loud bangs, random fireworks, falling towers, falling spot light guy, falling scaffolding, guy was caught on fire . . . then a complete blackout."

Following its Mexico City stand, METALLICA next plays the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco and then two shows in late August in Vancouver, which will be filmed for the band's upcoming 3D movie.

Legendary DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord always wanted a studio recording of his famed Concerto For Group And Orchestra. Only recently did he publicly make this wish a reality. In what turned out to be his swan song, he assembled guest musicians such as IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse at the Abbey Road Studios to work with his trusted partner, director Paul Mann, on the 2012 version of the legendary concert.

"Over these last years since leaving DEEP PURPLE, I've played it over 30 times with different orchestras and conductors all over the world, and, of course, in 2000 I did it well over 30 times with PURPLE on the Concerto tour, so I've been honing the piece live on stage and I've had the opportunity to change things in the score that weren't sounding quite right," Lord said in a May 2011 interview. "It is therefore a marvelous and exciting prospect to have the definitive recording of the definitive version of the score."

He added, "I'm thrilled to have the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic on board. I have immensely enjoyed working with them on several occasions since recording Durham Concerto with them in 2007. They are a wonderful group of players, and with Paul Mann conducting — a dear friend and a man who knows the score inside out — there couldn't be a better conductor and orchestra for this studio recording of the Concerto."

On July 16, Lord passed away in London at the age of 71. This album is a joyful testament of a great musician and fantastic man.

"His dignity and graciousness touched us all," the surviving members of DEEP PURPLE said in a statement following Lord's passing. "His music was an inspiration and took us to places beyond our imagination… A truly great man. We humbly express our eternal love and great respect."

Jon Lord's Concerto For Group And Orchestra will be released on September 25 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Movement One
02. Movement Two
03. Movement Three

Eagle Rock Entertainment has set a September 25 North American release date for "Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head", a compilation CD containing re-interpretations of songs from DEEP PURPLE's classic "Machine Head" album by METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, CHICKENFOOT and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, among others.

"Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head" will initially be made available with Classic Rock magazine's upcoming DEEP PURPLE fanpack. Due on Septemer 4, the fanpack also comes with an in-depth, official, band-endorsed 124-page magazine which includes exclusive new interviews with world-class guitarists Joe Bonamassa and Steve Vai and the members of METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN and CHICKENFOOT, among others, talking about recording these classic songs, plus brand new interviews with DEEP PURPLE — one of the last interviews with the late Jon Lord — on the making of their most well-loved album and exclusive and previously unpublished photographs and artefacts from the PURPLE archives.

Hearing of Jon Lord's sad passing, Glenn Hughes assembled some friends to cut "Highway Star" last week as a tribute to his dear friend. The performance is one of the greatest performances Glenn Hughes has committed to record.

Drummer Lars Ulrich of METALLICA, who are also recording a song for the upcoming Ronnie James Dio tribute album, previously said, "We were asked if we'd contribute to the anniversary of 'Machine Head' — we can't turn that down. We're circling the Dio and PURPLE catalogs and hopefully we'll come up with something that is worthy of these wonderful men."

"Re-Machined: A Tribute To Machine Head" track listing:

01. Smoke On The Water - CARLOS SANTANA
02. Highway Star - CHICKENFOOT
03. Maybe I'm A Leo - GLENN HUGHES, CHAD SMITH, LUIS MALDONADO
04. Pictures Of Home - BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
05. Never Before - KINGS OF CHAOS (Joe Elliott, Steve Stevens, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Arlan Schierbaum)
06. Smoke On The Water - THE FLAMING LIPS
07. Lazy - JIMMY BARNES, JOE BONAMASSA
08. Space Truckin' - IRON MAIDEN
09. When A Blind Man Cries – METALLICA
10. Highway Star - GLENN HUGHES, STEVE VAI, CHAD SMITH, LACHLAN DOLEY (exclusive track)

U.K.-based extreme metallers SATURNIAN will release their new album, "Dimensions", on August 24 via Indie Recordings. The CD was produced by Russ Russell, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, NAPALM DEATH and EVILE.

Although not strictly a concept album, "Dimensions" does have a recurring theme, and the individual concepts within each song come together under one banner.

"Dimensions" is the transformation and "becoming" of a human being, the discovery of power and vision within oneself, known only to a chosen few.

"Dimensions" track listing:

01. Construct: Illusion
02. Into Etherea
03. Aphotic
04. Eternal Eclipse
05. Shadow Of Prophecy
06. Traces From The Past
07. Dimensions
08. Origins Of The Future
09. The Immaculate Deception
10. Wreathed In Flame (bonus track)

The songs "Eternal Eclipse" and "Into Etherea" can be streamed below.

SATURNIAN was formed around one main principle — to create epic and majestic music to enchant fans of all metal genres; delivered in a grand and dramatic style that could soundtrack a blockbuster movie or theatrical performance.

Expect razor-sharp riffing, fist pounding rhythms, and a symphonic backbone worthy of the far reaches of the Universe. In true portentous British style, a rich choral explosion, soaring sopranos, and ethereal Gregorian chant round out this massive sonic explosion. This ethos comes to life in the SATURNIAN live experience, which in itself is a theatrical spectacle rather than a generic recital of music.

SATURNIAN breeds an eclectic blend of voices, stunning instrumental performances, and a visual experience that will amaze, mystify and inspire!

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook has revealed in a new interview with Billboard.com that the band already has "probably six to eight songs worked up" for its next album and that the group is "probably going to be working on new material all the way up until the New Year, and then we'll start tracking in mid-January, maybe."

"The idea behind that is just to keep the creative muscle worked out," Hook explained. "It's just like going to the gym; if you stop for a year, you lose all your strength. It's easy to get lazy and get sort of soft. We're in the business of making music; touring is great, but we should always be prepared and always exercising that creative muscle — in my opinion, anyway."

He added, "It's just like anything: if you come in unprepared you get what you get, but if you do a decent amount of preparation, then at least you have options. The records are the launch pad for everything else, and I want to make the records great. If we need 10 killer songs, I'd rather have 30 songs to pick from than have eight and need two desperately at the end. I don't want to make records in a panic."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's third studio effort, "American Capitalist", arrived less than a year ago in October 2011.

Asked about the hurry to get back into the studio, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Zoltan Bathory explained in a recent interview, "I don't believe that a band today can afford to wait two, three, four years with an album, they just can't. So there's no reason, why not give new material, the consumption of music, the consumption of everything is super fast. You give somebody an album and they listen to it and a year later it's obsolete. We thought, 'Let's give them another one, they want to hear the music, we can make the music, then why not.'"

When asked how the new songs stack up to the material on "American Capitalist", Bathory replied, "It's kind of like the band has found its place where we are. We are a melodic heavy metal band and it has its balance. We have some ballads, we have some super heavy songs and everything goes between the big choruses — singable, remember-able — that we grew up on."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is currently headlining the Trespass America tour, also featuring KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM, POP EVIL and others.

"Kaleb", the new video from Detroit, Michigan's BATTLECROSS, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's debut album, "Pursuit Of Honor", which came out in August 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The clip was directed and edited by Ryan Glisan of the death metal band ALLEGAEON. The live footage in the video was filmed at the July 13 kick-off date of the Trespass America festival in Broomfield, Colorado.

"'Kaleb' is the one song on the album that I'm the most proud of because I wrote it about my son," states BATTLECROSS vocalist Kyle "Gumby" Gunther. "To have this be the track that Ryan used is really special to me, because seeing the intensity of our first arena show with such a hard-hitting song really gives the world a good idea of how much I love my boy. As a band, we'll never forget that show. We were nervous as all hell!"

BATTLECROSS has received killer reviews across the Internet and in print publications throughout North America and overseas and was named "Band Of The Month" in Metal Hammer Norway and Metal Hammer Spain, so it should be no surprise that this blue collar, hard-work ethic that comes from the band's five musicians — Kyle "Gumby" Gunther (vocals), Tony Asta (guitar), Hiran Deraniyagala (guitar), Mike Kreger (drums), Don Slater (bass) — translates into a potent force on record as well as on stage.

In other news, BATTLECROSS's first single, "Push Pull Destroy", has just reached its one millionth view on YouTube. The single was featured on SiriusXM Liquid Metal's Devil's Dozen list for the last 40 weeks and is also featured on the free Trespass America festival sampler, available on Amazon.com.

American/German/Swedish symphonic metallers KAMELOT have posted a five-minute video clip featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the band's appearance at this year's Wacken Open Air festival, which took place August 2-4 in Wacken, Germany. Check it out below.

KAMELOT's new album, "Silverthorn", will be released on October 26 (Germany), October 29 (rest of Europe) and October 30 (North America) via Steamhammer/SPV. The CD will mark the band's first release with new singer Tommy Karevik, the 30-year-old Swede who previously fronted SEVENTH WONDER (a group that he is still a member of).

In a recent interview with RockLiveBG, KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai stated about the band's new vocalist, "[Tommy] was already with us on some tour dates as a guest singer, and he was singing on one or two songs. And in the past year, we were considering which singer to take. I was strongly on Tommy's side because he made a huge impression on me. Personality. of course. is really important. and he is a little bit introverted and I like this 'Scandinavian feel' about him and he fits KAMELOT really well."

He continued, "The final decision for him was sending in vocals, lyrics and recorded melody on a ballad that I wrote which is on the album. And it was so great and impressive. We all had goosebumps and when we heard that for the first time we knew immediately that was 'it.' He wrote most of the vocal melodies in the album also."

On the topic of the upcoming CD, Palotai said, "The cover was done by Stephan Heilemann. He also did covers for EPICA and my other band, SONS OF SEASONS. He is one of my best buddies, living in the neighborhood, and in my opinion, he is one of the greatest designers in the whole world. The amount of songs is ... I think 9 or 10 without the interludes. . . It's a concept album and it has a story. In the special edition you will get a little book where the story is described. All the songs will be around the story. It will be something like [2005's] 'The Black Halo'.

Regarding how the upcoming CD compares to 2010's "Poetry For The Poisoned", Oliver said, "To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of 'Poetry For The Poisoned'. For me, 'The Black Halo' is a bit like a reference also when I produce bands in my studio. So we wanted to go back to 'The Black Halo' but also include modern elements, which we included since then. You will never hear from a band, Our new record sucks,' but this record is a real killer and brings KAMELOT back on track. It is exactly what I wanted, and I'm really happy with it. I hope the fans will like it as well."

KAMELOT guitarist Thomas Youngblood previously stated about Karevik: "We had around 800 candidates for the vacant position, among them a number of really renowned musicians, and having to reject them really wasn't easy."

In KAMELOT's search for a new singer, Youngblood found YouTube to be an amazing tool. "I listened to a clip of a studio production featuring Tommy and have to confess that his performance really amazed me," he said. "His approach to melodies and themes suits KAMELOT perfectly, and during our European shows we had plenty of opportunity to find out what a great guy he is."

Tommy first appeared as one of the guest singers on KAMELOT's very successful 2011 Pandemonium World Tour.

Youngblood on the style and content of the forthcoming KAMELOT concept album: "The new songs sound more symphonic and melodic than our last two studio recordings. The material brings to mind albums such as 'Karma' (2001) and 'The Black Halo' (2005). In addition, this will be the best production that KAMELOT have ever delivered. Because while other acts tend to opt for low-budget productions due to the difficult market situation, we have gone the opposite way: the new album will be a real statement, in terms of our compositions as well as in terms of our sound."

KAMELOT will support Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH on a North American tour in September and October.