Norwegian metallers KRÅKE will release their new album, "Conquering Death", on June 29 via Indie Recordings. The cover artwork for the CD can be seen below.

"Conquering Death" track listing:

01. A Murder Of Crows
02. And A Colder Breed
03. Hearts Blood
04. Ed
05. The Great Leviathan
06. Beneath Black Waters
07. Victorious, I
08. The Gatekeeper
09. Snowfall
10. I Ly As Lyset

The song "Victorious, I" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

Original founders and brothers, Dreugh and Beist, conceived KRÅKE in 2007. From the brothers hailing from Kopervik on the west coast of Norway, the idea was to create the best possible symphonic and atmospheric black metal they could possibly achieve. It took five years to turn their vision into reality, but the result is nothing short of impressive.

KRÅKE is Norwegian for "crow," an animal known as a mythical creature throughout history and cultures especially as a herald of woe, a sign of death, but also wisdom. Inspired by this, the band strives to compose music that covers a wide variety of emotions, from anger and pride to anguish and despair. Inspiration is also sought from any source better enabling them to produce the music they want to create, be it classical and soundtrack music, literature and nature imagery. The lyrical themes are based around the darker aspects of life and the certainty of death. As for the actual music, you will find links to bands like DIMMU BORGIR, OLD MAN'S CHILD, BAL-SAGOTH and even bands like TYPE O NEGATIVE.

Norwegian thrashers TANTARA will release their debut album, "Based On Evil", on August 24. The CD was recorded in July 2011 with producer Flemming Rasmussen (METALLICA, MORBID ANGEL) at ARK Recording Studios and Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Based On Evil" track listing:

01. Based On Evil
02. Mass Murder
03. Negligible Souls
04. The Debate
05. Human Mutation
06. Trapped In Bodies
07. Prejudice Of Violence
08. Killing Of Mother Earth

TANTARA will release a seven-inch vinyl single, "Based On Evil", on June 29 contaning the title track and the previously unreleased song "Court Justice". It will be strictly limited to 300 copies and only available in certain online stores.

TANTARA will embark on the Norwegian "Thrash 'Till Death Tour 2012" in October with FORGERY and HARM. The kick-off party will take place on May 19 at Gamla in Oslo.

TANTARA is a young Norwegian thrash metal band, mainly from Vestfold. The band saw the light in September 2009 when drummer Stian Sannerud and rhythm guitarist Fredrik Bjerkø decided to take their "talent show" project to a new level. The two musicians recruited Per Semb as their lead guitarist. In April 2011, the Swedish bass virtuoso Max Warnby joined TANTARA after an impressing performance at one of the band's concerts, where he played as a stand-in.

TANTARA's influences consist mostly of old-school thrash metal bands like HEATHEN, ANTHRAX, EXODUS, MEGADETH, SLAYER, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, VIO-LENCE and METALLICA.

In August 2010, TANTARA recorded its first EP, which came out later that same year.

DEF LEPPARD performed live on the morning television show "Fox & Friends" (Fox News channel) Summer Concert Series earlier today (Friday, June 15).

* Hysteria
* All About Believin'
* Animal
* Rock Of Ages
* Pour Some Sugar On Me
* Foolin'

Video footage of the "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "All About Believin'" performances can be seen below.

To celebrate the summer of "Rock Of Ages", DEF LEPPARD has recorded new versions of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Rock Of Ages". The songs are available worldwide on iTunes, Amazon, and all other digital music retailers.

DEF LEPPARD will make a return to the United States this June with a massive summer tour which will include fellow rockers POISON and LITA FORD.

earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based rock branch of Edel Group, has set an August 24 release date for "Act I", the new concert CD, DVD and Blu-ray from former NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen. The effort was recorded on March 30 and March 31 at Teatro El Círculo in Rosario, Argentina. Each of the two shows featured a different setlist with the exception of five songs, including three tracks from Tarja's time with her previous band ("Nemo", "The Phantom Of The Opera" and "Over The Hills And Far Away").

With the elaborate track listing and its extras, "Act I" provides the full-fledged bill of fare to either Tarja fan. The track listing consists of Tarja's greatest solo tracks, NIGHTWISH classics as well as some cover versions. In addition, "Act I" features two brand new tracks by the Finnish soprano: "Into The Sun" and "Never Enough". "Into The Sun" will be released as a single on August 24.

Says Turunen: "Those two nights in Rosario were a huge emotional drive to me personally." The artist herself admits, she "was many times ready to burst into tears."

In other news, Tarja is in pre-production for her third solo album, which is expected to be released sometime next year. She says, "I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me."

Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.

During a live chat with fans today, PAPA ROACH officially announced they will release their sixth full length studio album on October 2nd. The chat was hosted on the band's website and saw frontman Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo interact with fans from around the world while sitting in MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's Atrium Studio.

The new album was recorded at the band's hometown studio, The Red House in Sacramento, CA and was produced by rock veteran James Michael (SIXX:A.M., HALESTORM). The album title and track listing have yet to be announced.

"We wanted to make a dynamic and explosive record that captures the raw emotions of life. We also wanted to incorporate the biological sounds of rock with a digital edge to have a fresh sound. This is our own version of what we think the radio should sound like. This is the soundtrack to my life and once again I went through some dark shit and came through thanks to the music," says Jacoby Shaddix.

HARTMANN, the band led by former AT VANCE singer Oliver Hartmann, released its long-awaited fourth album, "Balance", on June 1 via Avenue Of Allies. The CD was once again mixed by Sascha Paeth (AVANTASIA, EDGUY, EPICA, KAMELOT) at Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany.

A trailer for "Balance" can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Balance" "once again offers melodic rock music with a modern approach on the highest international level backed by a top-notch production. The songs, mostly written by Oliver Hartmann himself, cover a wide variety of moods and showcase the whole range of the musical genre, always focusing on catchy melodies and expressive choruses. Highlights include the irresistible mid-tempo opener 'All My Life', the cleverly arranged rocker 'You Are The One', the relaxed tune 'Dance On The Wire', the diverse 'Fall From Grace', the power ballad 'After The Love Is Gone' and the atmospheric track 'From A Star'. In addition to the original material, 'Balance' includes a stunning cover version of the TEARS FOR FEARS smash 'Shout'."

Hartmann first appeared on the international music scene during the late '90s as the frontman of the heavy rock outfit AT VANCE. During his successful time with the band, they recorded four albums and Oliver became an internationally well known and highly respected singer. Since then his powerful voice has been heard on rock operas such as AVANTASIA, AINA and GENIUS and on many productions by well-known international rock acts like HAMMERFALL, EDGUY, HELLOWEEN, LUNATICA, RHAPSODY, SOUL SELLER and EMPTY TREMOR.

"Balance" track listing:

01. All My Life (3:56)
02. Like A River (4:06)
03. You Are The One (3:53)
04. Fool For You (4:07)
05. After The Love Is Gone (5:27)
06. Save Me (4:59)
07. Fall From Grace (5:09)
08. From A Star (4:54)
09. Dance On The Wire (4:25)
10. Shout (5:35)
11. Time To Face The Truth (3:11)
12. The Best Is Yet To Come (5:04)

HARTMANN is:

Oliver Hartmann: vocals, guitar
Mario Reck: guitar
Armin Donderer: bass
Dario Ciccioni: drums

Additional musicians:

* Jürgen Wüst: organ on "Fall From Grace"
* Xaver Fischer: keyboards on "After The Love Is Gone"
* Tiffany Kirkland: backing vocals on tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12

Do you love to sing? Would you like to learn more about your voice and its potential? Former AFTER FOREVER and current REVAMP singer Floor Jansen can teach you all there is to know in a customized program and help you reach whatever goal you’ve set for yourself! Beginner or experienced; Floor can teach you to improve your skill set and enjoy singing to the max!

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"Land Of The Dead", the new video from JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR — the U.S. power metal act led by former VIRGIN STEELE guitarist Jack Starr — can be seen below. The song is the title track of the band's latest studio album, which was released on November 11, 2011 via Limb Music. The CD was produced by Bart Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER, SACRED STEEL, LONEWOLF), and features cover artwork by Ken Kelly (RAINBOW, KISS, MANOWAR).

"Land Of The Dead" was recorded by the same lineup that was responsible for 2009's "Defiance" album: Starr on guitar, Ned Meloni on bass, Kenny "Rhino" Earl (ex-MANOWAR) on drums, and Todd Hall on vocals. The CD also features guest appearances by David Shankle and Ross The Boss (both ex-MANOWAR) on lead guitar, and Marta Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER) on grand piano and keyboards.

As previously reported, JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR will play an exclusive show at the 2013 edition of the Keep It True festival in Germany. The group's setlist will include classic songs from the early JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR albums, songs taken from the band's new CD, "Land Of The Dead", and select cuts from Starr's previous bands VIRGIN STEELE, PHANTOM LORD and GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME. The entire show will be filmed for a special DVD release, which will be out in 2014 — the 30th anniversary of JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR. Also in the works are European live shows for 2013.

JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR album from 1986, "No Turning Back!", will be reissued on July 25 via Skol Records. This will be the first official CD re-release of this LP since 1998. The remastered reissue will include new artwork (painted by the famous Polish artist Tomasz Oracz) and will contain two bonus tracks and thick booklet with all lyrics and many previously unseen photos. The CD will be limited to, only 1000 copies.

On May 11th, DREAM THEATER launched a video contest, inviting fans to submit home made video clips for the song 'Lost Not Forgotten' with the winning clip due to be shown during the band's upcoming world tour. The band has issued the following update:

"First of all we'd like to say thank you and congratulations to all of you who participated in the contest. We were so inspired to see such creative and artistic entries, and choosing a winner was not an easy task! We are happy to announce that the winning video comes from Byunghoon Lee from South Korea! The visual elements and effects as well as the way it was carefully synchronized so accurately with the music made this one stand out to all of us. Now we look forward to seeing your awesome video on the screens behind us as we perform 'Lost Not Forgotten' during the upcoming Dream Theater North American tour. Congratulations!"

RISING WEST, the new band featuring Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren of QUEENSRŸCHE, along with powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY, played its first two shows ever last Friday (June 8) and Saturday, June 9 at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, Washington. The band performed rare and classic hits from the first five QUEENSRŸCHE albums — from the 1983 EP through 1990's "Empire" — as well as a cover version of the IRON MAIDEN staple "Wrathchild".

Fan-filmed video footage of the "Warning" performance from the June 8 concert can be seen below.

Commented Wilton: "To all our friends and fans — thank you for the support this weekend for the debut RISING WEST invasion!! Of our two shows, both were SOLD OUT!! We injected the metal everyone has been longing for and served it in slab size proportions! Thank you to our hard working crew, the Hard Rock Café Seattle, and our friends WINDOWPANE for making this a historical and FUN event!!!"

RISING WEST's setlist for both shows was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Walk In The Shadows
04. En Force
05. Child Of Fire
06. The Whisper
07. Warning
08. The Needle Lies
09. Take Hold Of The Flame
10. Prophecy
11. My Empty Room
12. Eyes Of A Stranger

Encore:

13. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN cover)
14. Roads To Madness

Speaking to "The Men's Room" radio show, which airs on the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM, Wilton stated about the formation of RISING WEST and the status of QUEENSRŸCHE, "We have some time off this year, so we put a project and this kind of turned into this monumental, epic band. And we're doing that as kind of a side thing away from QUEENSRŸCHE." He added, "We still very much are QUEENSRŸCHE, and QUEENSRŸCHE will be continuing on. We want to just have some fun, play some old 'RŸCHE, bring back some memories and just kick it."

Regarding his involvement with RISING WEST, Todd said, "For me to be able to come in and be asked to perform these songs is an honor. It's a lot of fun. I have personal attachment to some of these songs. When my grandmother passed away, I remember riding in my car and listening to the [QUEENSRŸCHE] song 'Roads To Madness'. I mean, these songs resonate with me in a different way. So when I sing it, it comes from my heart." He added, "We're playing all the old [QUEENSRŸCHE] classics and I can belt it out just like the record."

Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD performed their classic "Dimension Hatröss" album in its entirety on Thursday, June 7 at Sala Rossa in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Progressive thrash? Thrashing prog? Call it what you like, "Dimension Hatröss" is a rarity: a concept album that stands the test of time. In fact, the original storyline has been eclipsed by reality, rendering it not so much a fantastic sci-fi trip as an uncomfortably prescient account of the world today. Divided into eight chapters, the album covers everything from the quest to create a utopian society in the face of technocratic and theocratic governments to terrorism and mind control. Plus, it rocks! It rocks in that uniquely hypnotic flight of the space bumblebee way that hums VOIVOD at every dissonant turn.

In the book "Worlds Away", drummer and artist Michel "Away" Langevin fondly recalls: "Around the era of 'Dimension Hatröss', the music was so complicated we almost didn't have any interaction with the crowd anymore because we were concentrating so hard on our instruments."

But what exactly is a Hatröss? In a 1988 interview with Sounds, Away explained, "'Hatross' is a word I created from the English word 'hate' and the French word 'atroce,' from which 'atrocity' is derived." He added, "The music had to be a bit weird for this album, although we kept the heaviness of it."

VOIVOD entered Pierre Rémillard's (OBLIVEON, CRYPTOPSY, KRISIUN, MISERY INDEX) Wild Studio in January in a small town called St-Zénon in Quebec, Canada to begin recording its new album for a tentative summer release. The follow-up to 2009's "Infini" will contain the band's first music to be written with new guitarist Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (MARTYR) following the passing of original axeman Denis "Piggy" D'Amour in 2005.

Bob Marlette has signed on to handle producing duties on the next ROB ZOMBIE studio album.

Bob has worked with everyone from BLACK SABBATH and ALICE COOPER to WILSON PHILLIPS and LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

Rob and his band of maniacs — John 5, Piggy D and Ginger Fish — entered the studio earlier this month to begin recording the next chapter in the Zombie musical legacy. This new, as-yet-untitled CD is set for a late 2012 release.

"It has been way, and I mean way too long without any new music. I am dying to get back to it," said Zombie. "I have not felt this much excitement within the band since recording the first 'Hellbilly Deluxe' record almost 15 years ago. We have been working on tons of songs for quite some time and I can safely say this will definitely be our best record yet."

Rob Zombie's fourth solo album, "Hellbilly Deluxe 2", debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard album chart on February 10, 2010, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release. That total was less than 50 percent of the number of copies that his previous effort, "Educated Horses", sold in its first week back in April 2006, when it moved 107,000 copies to land at No. 5 on the chart.

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's meet-and-greet, pre-show tuning-room jam and "Sad But True" performance at the Rock Im Park festival on June 1 at Zeppelinfeld in Nürnberg, Germany can be viewed below.

METALLICA performed its top-selling 1991 LP, "Metallica", a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety at the Rock Im Park concert. As they have done on all the shows on their current European tour, the band played the LP backwards, starting with closing number "The Struggle Within" and ending with "Enter Sandman".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hit The Lights
02. Master Of Puppets
03. No Remorse
04. For Whom The Bell Tolls
05. Hell And Back
06. The Struggle Within
07. My Friend Of Misery
08. The God That Failed
09. Of Wolf & Man
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Through The Never
12. Don't Tread On Me
13. Wherever I May Roam
14. The Unforgiven
15. Holier Than Thou
16. Sad But True
17. Enter Sandman

Encore:

18. Fight Fire With Fire
19. One
20. Seek & Destroy

One of the most intriguing and mysterious projects on METALLICA's upcoming schedule is the band's 3D movie, which begins filming later this summer and will mix concert footage with a storyline. Drummer Lars Ulrich spoke with Rolling Stone about the project for the magazine's METALLICA cover story, saying, "This has been circling for two years. It's time to life-size it, get it out of our minds and on the screen. And if it's done right, it can be sensational. You're not watching METALLICA onstage. You're onstage with METALLICA. In IMAX, James Hetfield is 38 feet tall, snotting on you, spitting on you. It's 2,000 decibels. If there is an earthquake outside, you wouldn't notice."

Ulrich explained that the sheer power of presenting a METALLICA concert that way forced the group to add more to the movie, saying, "You can't do that for 100 minutes. It loses its appeal. There is another element in there — intimate, small, a story that takes place over the same trajectory as the concert. The question is, 'Where do they weave in and out of each other?'"

METALLICA is financing the project itself and has hired "Predators" director Nimród Antal to get behind the camera. Antal will film the band's August 24 concert in Vancouver, Canada for use in the movie.

The show will feature a brand new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that will include what a post at the band's web site called "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

The first-ever METALLICA-curated Orion Music + More festival will take place on June 23-24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The group is headlining both days and will perform its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on one day, and its entire 1991 "black album" on the other.

ANTIKYTHERA (formerly HER VIRGIN WOMB), the Philadelphia-based death metal band featuring members of JUNGLE ROT, NIGHTFIRE, BLOOD OF ABEL and INSATANITY, will release a new album, "Cosmicism", this summer. The CD was recorded by Len Carmichael (SWASHBUCKLE, THE BINARY CODE) and will feature artwork by Mallika Sundaramurthy of Boston's ABNORMALITY.

According to the band's official bio, "ANTIKYTHERA's music has been described as a mix of "And Time Begins" by DECREPIT BIRTH, "Conquering The Throne" from HATE ETERNAL, "Gateways To Annihilation"-era MORBID ANGEL, and early SPAWN OF POSSESSION. They bring an intense, energy-filled live performance everywhere they go whether they are playing in fron of 5 or 500 people. They don't try to be the most technical, the heaviest, the slammiest, the fastest, or anything else. They just play the kind of death metal they have fun playing, and hope that you have fun listening to them do it."

Upcoming ANTIKYTHERA shows:

June 14 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cheyenne Saloon (Las Vegas Death Fest Pre Party)
June 15 – Denver, Co @ Bar Bar
June 16 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
June 17 – Ft. Worth, TX @ The Rail Club
June 30 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium

Legendary British heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH closed this year's edition of the Download festival on Sunday, June 10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Black Sabbath
02. The Wizard
03. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
04. N.I.B.
05. Into The Void
06. Under The Sun
07. Snowblind
08. War Pigs
09. Sweet Leaf
10. Drum Solo
11. Iron Man
12. Fairies Wear Boots
13. Tomorrow's Dream
14. Dirty Women
15. Children Of The Grave

Encore:

16. Paranoid

An audio recording of SABBATH's entire performance is available below.

Original BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler performed live together for the first time in seven years on May 19, playing an intimate show at the 3,800-person O2 Academy in SABBATH's hometown of Birmingham, England. The show, which served as a warm-up for the group's appearance at the Download festival, was laced with emotion and drama: it was the first live appearance for Iommi since being diagnosed with cancer, and it was the first with stand-in drummer Tommy Clufetos, making the split official between founding drummer Bill Ward and the rest of SABBATH.

Iommi, Osbourne and Butler discussed their new album in a video interview posted at NME.com. The three musicians are working with producer Rick Rubin on their first recording project together in 34 years, with Osbourne saying, "We've written about 15 songs so far. Whether they all get on the album, I don't know. We just keep on writing." Osbourne also dropped a clue about the set's title, hinting, "Next year, 2013, is a good clue to what we're going to call the album."

As for how Rubin influenced the band's approach to writing together again, Butler explained, "He sat us down, put the first album on and said 'listen to this', imagine it's 1969, you've just done that, what would you do next?"

Iommi added, "It's taken on the flavor of the old stuff in the way we put things together, but with a different look on it."

The project suffered another blow earlier this year when Iommi was diagnosed with cancer, although he said that playing the warm-up show in Birmingham, was a boost to his spirits. "It was great," he said. "Going through what I've gone through over the past year has been like living in a different world — being onstage and to get that (reaction from the fans) is just fantastic, it really boosts you up."

SABBATH has curtailed almost all its planned touring activities for 2012 while Iommi undergoes treatment. The band is still scheduled to headline Chicago's Lollapalooza event in early August.

Recently reunited San Diego-area progressive metallers PSYCHOTIC WALTZ have just returned from performances at Rock Hard and Keep It True festivals, as well as their first-ever headlining shows in Greece. The band is now back at home and has started the songwriting process for its fifth studio album (and the group's first record since 1996) for a tentative late 2013 release.

PSYCHOTIC WALTZ reunited with its original lineup (vocalist Devon Graves, guitarists Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin, bassist Ward Evans and drummer Norm Leggio) early in 2011 after a break of nearly fifteen years. The band took part in the Power Of Metal tour of Europe in April 2011 alongside NEVERMORE and SYMPHONY X, marking a triumphant return to the scene, and the first time the five founding members had been on the same stage since 1995.

PSYCHOTIC WALTZ built a strong following in Europe due to its highly-regarded four studio albums but remains a mostly unknown entity in the United States. That was due to the fact that none of their albums ever saw a U.S. release, despite having their albums critically lauded by the European press and fans. All that should change with their next studio album, however, for which they have already received several offers from international labels. The band's profile in Europe was further bolstered by the re-release of their four albums on CD by Metal Blade Records, as well as the reissue of all four records on vinyl, as well in an impressive 7-LP box set by Century Media Records, which quickly sold out.

To help bridge the gap, and to make their material available everywhere, PSYCHOTIC WALTZ has released its four studio albums — 1990's "A Social Grace", 1992's "Into The Everflow", 1994's "Mosquito" and 1996's "Bleeding" — digitally worldwide on all platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, and others. In July, the band will also release its long out-of-print solo and side-project records digitally, including the END AMEN album "Your Last Orison", the DARKSTAR albums "Marching Into Oblivion" and "Heart Of Darkness", and the BUDDY LACKEY album "The Strange Mind Of Buddy Lackey". Additional festival appearances for 2013 will be announced in the coming months.

On April 19, guitarist Dave Carlo of Canadian thrash metal veterans RAZOR was diagnosed with Stage 2 oral cancer. He is currently undergoing treatment.

RAZOR bassist Mike Campagnolo tells BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "We are working on new material for another album and we were blindsided by this news, but Dave is in great spirits."

Formed in 1984 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, RAZOR split up in 1992, but reformed in the late 1990s to record another album, titled "Decibels", in 1997. The band dissolved again, and reformed in 2005.

Carlo has been the only permanent member in the band's 28-year history.

RAZOR is:

Dave Carlo: Guitar
Bob Reid: Vocals
Rob Mills: Drums
Mike Campagnolo: Bass

Southern California's heavy fuzz rock legends FU MANCHU have commenced the songwriting process for their next album, tentatively due in 2013.

Says the band: "We have recorded every FU MANCHU record on this 4-track machine [see photo below], starting with the 1995 'Daredevil' release. We didn't use this for the final recordings that were released, but the entire record for each release was done on this first, then we would go into a real studio."

FU MANCHU will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its 1997 classic "The Action Is Go". To follow up on the overwhelming response they received from their "In Search Of…15 Years" tour, the hardworking group will be undertaking a headlining tour with a set comprised of this entire fourteen-track album from start to finish. Many of these songs will be performed live for the first time ever.

To coincide with the tour, the band will be reissuing the original album on 180-gram vinyl with double gatefold packaging on the band's own At The Dojo Records worldwide. The band will also be selling the vinyl reissue as well as the original CD at these shows.

Originally formed in 1985 as a BLACK FLAG-influenced hardcore punk band called VIRULENCE, FU MANCHU has since become one of hard rock's most celebrated names. The band released its first single "Kept Between Trees" in 1990 and in the years following, helped give rise to a celebrated style of heavy music tagged "stoner rock" alongside peers such as KYUSS, MONSTER MAGNET and SLEEP. Since its inception, the quartet has built itself a fanatical army of loyal enthusiasts all drawn to the group's ridiculously catchy, unpretentious music, guitar-driven sound and carefree lyrics centered on "old muscle cars, choppers, vans, skateboarding and science fiction."

In addition to frontman/guitarist Scott Hill, FU MANCHU features guitarist Bob Balch, bassist Brad Davis and drummer Scott Reeder.

EX DEO, the Ancient Roman-themed arsenal fronted by KATAKLYSM singer Maurizio Iacono, will release its sophomore album, "Caligvla", on August 31 via Austria's Napalm Records. The CD was mixed by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX and DESPISED ICON, among others. The artwork and layout for the album were handled by SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton. The booklet for the new album will feature commentaries and descriptions from frontman Iacono with his views on each song. The limited first pressing will be released as a six-panel digipack featuring the bonus track "Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light", a song dealing with Caligvla's madman rival emperor Nero. In addition, catch Iacono's girlfriend and Colombian model Suzzy in the upcoming video "I, Caligvla". Shooting commences June 22 in Philadelphia, where Caligvla's twisted dominion will come to life again!

Commented the band: "Eight months in the making and we are sure we have a classic album in our hands, producer JF Dagenais has done a fabulous and great production, all guests appearances are massive, the gods are pleased. Expect the artwork to be unveiled very soon and also a new teaser trailer. Where all have failed in the past... EX DEO will succeed, Roma caput mundi!! Epic Roman-inspired metal!!"

EX DEO debuted "I, Caligvla", on April 1 at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of the "Paganfest America Part III" tour with TURISAS, ALESTORM, ARKONA and HUNTRESS. Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

In addition to the previously announced guest appearances by ALL SHALL PERISH guitarist Francesco Artusato and TRISTANIA singer Mariangela Demurtas, "Caligvla" will feature contributions from SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton and GRAVEWORM's Stefano Fiori. Every invited guest on the album is of Roman or Greek descent.

"Caligvla" track listing:

01. I, Caligvla
02. The Tiberius Cliff (Exile To Capri)
03. Per Oculos Aquila
04. Pollice Verso (Damnatio Ad Bestia)
05. Divide Et Impera
06. Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light
07. Teutuborg (Ambush Of Varus)
08. Along The Appian Way
09. Once Were Romans
10. Evocatio: The Temple Of Castor & Pollux

EX DEO recently canceled its participation in the "Paganfest America Part III" tour due to delays in the production of "Caligvla". The band still performed with Paganfest on April 1 in Montreal at Club Soda and April 2 in Toronto at The Opera House.

EX DEO last year completed a North American tour with NILE, PSYCROPTIC and KEEP OF KALESSIN.

"Romulus", the debut album from EX DEO, landed at position No. 90 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"I, Caligvla" performance footage:

ICED EARTH will hit the road next week as part of a five-week North American tour with VOLBEAT, HELLYEAH and THE SIXXIS.

Commented ICED EARTH mainman/guitarist Jon Schaffer: "I'm completely stoked. VOLBEAT is one of my all-time favorite bands, and Michael [Poulsen], and the boys are great people. There is a lot of mutual respect and admiration, and I think we are in for a hell of a good time! This will be a package that won't soon be forgotten, I'm sure of that."

To coincide with the upcoming trek, ICED EARTH will release a limited tour edition of its latest album, "Dystopia". Currently available only at the merchandise stands on the trek, the two-disc "Dystopia Tour Edition" contains the original full-length album, as well as B-side covers of IRON MAIDEN's "The Trooper" and BLACK SABBATH's "Mob Rules", as well as the classic 17-minute ICED EARTH track "Dante's Inferno", re-recorded with vocalist Stu Block. The bonus disc also contains both music videos from "Dystopia" — the title track and "Anthem" — as well as a "Making Of Dystopia" studio interview with the band, and exclusive cell phone skins and desktop backgrounds.

Bassist Freddie Vidales recently left ICED EARTH and was replaced by Luke Appleton of FURY UK.

ICED EARTH's video for the song "Anthem" was filmed on December 7, 2011 at Essigfabrik in Cologne, Germany.

Produced and directed by Kosch Fabian Film, "Anthem" is the second music video from ICED EARTH's new album, "Dystopia", which sold around 6,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 67 on The Billboard 200 chart.

ICED EARTH's previous CD, "The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part II)", opened with 6,700 units in September 2008 to debut at No. 79.

ICED EARTH's 10th studio offering, "Dystopia", was released in Europe on October 17, 2011 and in the U.S. on October 18 via Century Media Records. Two bonus tracks were also recorded for inclusion on special editions of the album.

"Dystopia" track listing:

01. Dystopia (05:49)
02. Anthem (04:54)
03. Boiling Point (02:46)
04. Anguish Of Youth (04:41)
05. V (03:39)
06. Dark City (05:42)
07. Equilibrium (04:30)
08. Days Of Rage (02:17)
09. End Of Innocence (04:07)
10. Soylent Green (bonus track) (04:20)
11. Iron Will (bonus track) (04:15)
12. Tragedy And Triumph (07:44)
13. Anthem (String Mix) (04:51)

LYNYRD SKYNYRD's Rickey Medlocke and Peter Keys and .38 SPECIAL's Bobby Capps have been added to the list of musicians who have recorded guest appearances on the forthcoming solo album from POISON singer Bret Michaels, "Bret Michaels And Friends: Get Your Rock On". Also scheduled to appear on the CD are Ace Frehley (KISS) and Michael Anthony (CHICKENFOOT, VAN HALEN), Phil Collen (DEF LEPPARD), Joe Perry (AEROSMITH), Loretta Lynn, Lil Jon and Sal Coz Costa (MY DARKEST DAYS).

The video for Bret Michaels' new solo single, "Get Your Rock On", can be seen below. The track features guest appearances by Collen and Sal Coz Costa.

In a recent interview with Gimme Noise, Bret stated about his upcoming CD, "My album will be out this summer and I'm really proud of what we've done with it. It's actually going to be called 'Bret Michaels And Friends: Get Your Rock On', and I'll explain why: It's really not just a Bret Michaels album. I had so many other talented artists come in and support that it's really a 'Bret Michaels And Friends' album. There's a staggering amount of talent on this album. . . It's been such a fun project for me and I'm excited to share it with the fans."

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in February, Bret revealed that his new solo album will feature a remake of the POISON smash "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" as a duet between him and Loretta Lynn>. He said, "For me, growing up in a family that my father loved country music and 'Coal Miner's Daughter', this is gonna be a really awesome time."

"Live And Let Fly", the new video from Norwegian powerhouse vocalist Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, AVANTASIA), can be seen below. The song comes off the singer's new album, "Bring Heavy Rock To The Land", which entered the official Swedish chart at position No. 34. The CD was released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Frontiers Records.

Following a three-year silence since the release of "Spirit Black", Jorn unleashes upon the world yet another slab of classic hard rock with metal elements.

"I think this album follows a similar Jorn tradition like those before, more heavy rock oriented than metal," says Jorn. "But, as usual, it's not one musical expression all the way through the album, but a variety of musical landscapes within the categories of rock and metal."

A winning formula should not change, so Jorn has again worked with Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark, who mixed the album, ensuring the right edge to the rich guitar and vocal sound that is now trademark to all JORN releases. The lineup sees the return of Jimmy Iversen on guitar who also appeared on "Spirit Black". The pairing with Tore Moren works really well and gives Jorn's sound the usual depth and solidity.

As usual, in addition to the original material, Jorn offers some interesting covers. This time, MASTERPLAN's "Time to Be King" and Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind" are the ones to get the Jorn treatment.

"When we wrote 'Time To Be King', I heard a different and more rock-oriented arrangement in my mind," says Jorn, "so after the MASTERPLAN album was released, I couldn't stop thinking about how it would sound if it was recorded with this other arrangement. I don't know which one's better, I have ended up liking both versions. As for Christopher Cross, I have always loved 'West Coast'-oriented music and bands like 10CC, PAGES, SANTANA, LITTLE RIVER BAND, EAGLES and so on. So I thought 'Ride Like The Wind' would be a good song to do Jorn style. SAXON also released a version of this song in the '80s, and the arrangement we made ended up beeing a mix between the original version and SAXON's. It's also a fun song to sing and play."

Jorn Lande's strong and diverse voice and solid songwriting skills have now become legendary in the hard rock world. In a career spanning over close to 40 album releases, as frontman for ARK and MASTERPLAN, in addition to featuring on spectacular projects such as NOSTRADAMUS "The Rock Opera", BEYOND TWILIGHT "The Devil's Hall of Fame", Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA and AYREON.

"If you buy a Jorn album today, you know what you will get," states Jorn Lande. You are guaranteed to get your adrenaline going with the riveting sound that has solid roots in classic hard rock/heavy metal music, such as DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and WHITESNAKE.

"Bring Heavy Rock To The Land" track listing:

01. My Road
02. Bring Heavy Rock To The Land
03. A Thousand Cuts
04. Ride Like The Wind
05. Chains Around You
06. The World I See
07. Time To Be King
08. Ride To The Guns
09. Black Morning
10. I Came To Rock
11. Live And Let Fly (bonus track)

The title track, "Bring Heavy Rock To The Land", was released as a single worldwide on May 14. A video for the song was directed by Thomas Tjäder (PRETTY MAIDS, IN FLAMES) and can be seen below. Jorn says, "The title track has really a strong Jorn trademark. It was a natural choice for a title track, I felt the same about 'Lonely Are The Brave' back in 2008. Sometimes one song's got the magic and you just know it. 'Bring Heavy Rock To The Land' is such a song and regardless of how the whole album is evaluated by critics, I feel that this song will live on and become an essential Jorn classic!"

Jorn will appear live at select shows in Europe during the summer.

JORN is:

Jorn Lande: Vocals
Willy Bendiksen: Drums
Nic Angileri: Bass
Tore Moren: Guitar
Jimmy Iversen: Guitar

Jorn Lande's "Live In Black" 2-CD/DVD set was released in August 2011 via Frontiers Records. The concert was recorded on June 10, 2010 at the Sweden Rock Festival in front of more than 25,000 people.

2010 was a significant year in Jorn's career. Besides releasing a tribute album to his hero Ronnie James Dio, Jorn was invited to perform, alongside Glenn Hughes, with HEAVEN & HELL at their final concert, which was held in July 2010 at the High Voltage festival in Victoria Park, London, England.

Just a few weeks earlier, Jorn appeared at the Sweden Rock Festival, in Sölvesborg and blew the crowd of more than 25,000 fans away.

"The special thing with 'Live In Black' is that it captures a very rough, uncut and spontaneous moment in the band's history," says Jorn Lande. "It was a hectic day, with many interviews and several TV appearances and I also had to do a short speech and statement regarding the great Ronnie James Dio's untimely passing a few weeks earlier. The whole festival became in the spirit of Ronnie, and it was very moving to see everyone there, including the artists honoring his memory."

SAGA "20/20" das brandneue Studioalbum der kanadischen Prog-Heroen erscheint am 6. Juli 2012! Man sollte meinen, über SAGA sei bereits alles gesagt und geschrieben worden… Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 1977 absolvierte die Band diverse Welttourneen, wurde mit Preisen überhäuft und verkaufte so ganz nebenbei noch über 8 Millionen Alben. Hits wie "Wind Him Up", "Humble Stance" oder "On The Loose" sind längst Klassiker, die bis heute täglich weltweit in den Radios laufen.

Und dennoch ruhen sich SAGA nicht auf ihren Lorbeeren aus. Im Gegenteil… mit "20/20" und der Rückkehr von Sänger Michael Sadler legen die Kanadier nun eines der besten Alben der Bandhistorie vor.

Der Titel ist bewusst doppeldeutig gewählt. Zum einen dürfen sich die Fans auf das nunmehr 20. SAGA-Album freuen – zum anderen steht der Begriff "20/20" in der Medizin für die perfekte Sehkraft und ist als Gute-Besserungs-Gruß an Keyboarder Jim Gilmour gedacht, der während der letzten Europatour fast sein Augenlicht verlor. Die 10 brandneuen Stücke verfügen über alles, was die Fans weltweit an der Band lieben und haben das Potential "20/20" zu einem 'all time favorite' werden zu lassen.

Michael Sadler beschreibt seine Rückkehr zu SAGA wie folgt: "Eine Sache die wir vereinbart hatten, war, dass wenn ich jemals wieder einsteige, ich das Gefühl haben muss, es war genau die richtige Sache zur richtigen Zeit. Und es gab sicher nie einen besseren Zeitpunkt als jetzt!" Auf You Tube wurde jetzt ein neuer "20/20" Album Trailer in dem Ihr den neuen Song "Anywhere You Wanna Go" hören könnt online gestellt.

"The Return To Psycho, California", the full-length debut from HOTEL DIABLO — the new band featuring vocalist Rick Stitch (LADYJACK, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE), guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT), bassist Mike Duda and drummer Mike Dupke (both of W.A.S.P.) — is available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud player below. The CD, which was produced by Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA), with additional production by Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES), is now available digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers. Details on a worldwide physical release will be announced soon.

"Psycho, California" is "a collection of stories, true stories, experienced during a time when our lives were filled with mind-altering shots of wretched adrenaline," says Stitch. "Strings got bent, knobs were turned and an uncontrolled visceral energy screamed life" into what has become "Psycho, California".

"The Return To Psycho, California" track listing:

01. Taken
02. Set It Off
03. What You Do To Me
04. Psycho, California
05. Bury You *
06. Wicked Lines *
07. All These Years
08. Wonderwall (OASIS cover)
09. Trigger
10. Bury You (alternate version) *
11. What You Do To Me (alternate version)

Produced by Gilby Clarke
* Produced by Matt Starr

Christian metallers TOURNIQUET will release a new album, "Antiseptic Bloodbath", this summer via Pathogenic Records. The CD will feature guest guitar solos by Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH), Karl Sanders (NILE), Pat Travers, Bruce Franklin (TROUBLE) and Santiago Dobles (AGHORA).

A teaser trailer for the CD can be seen below. Also available is the album's cover artwork, which was created by Travis Smith of Seempieces (OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND, NEVERMORE, ICED EARTH, DEATH, AMORPHIS).

Commented TOURNIQUET: "The title track, 'Antiseptic Bloodbath', speaks of the way our society prefers to sanitize brutality. We can have our tidy Christian faith, or continue with no faith at all, as long as we don't consider the painful bloody price that was paid for us.

"We use animals for our food, profit, and amusement, but would rather not know about the needless, often systematic suffering that is inflicted on them by a callous and greedy humanity. 'Don't upset my comfort zone — brutal truth, leave me alone.' The great news is that we have the ability to choose. This album encourages us to make good and humane choices in our daily lives that reflect these images."

TOURNIQUET's last studio release, 2003's "Where Moth and Rust Destroy" (Metal Blade), featured special guest appearances by guitarists Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH) and Bruce Franklin (TROUBLE).

EMI Label Services has set a September 3 release date for SACRED MOTHER TONGUE's brand new EP, "A Light Shines...". This is the band's debut release on EMI Label Services and precedes SACRED MOTHER TONGUE's second album, "Out Of The Darkness", which will be made availale early next year.

"A Light Shines..." is a defining moment for SACRED MOTHER TONGUE, their stake in the sand as one the most exciting bands in British metal. Opening with the powerhouse chorus and heavy-as-hell guitars of "Evolve/Become" and followed by the thumping darkness of "Seven", it's instantly apparent that SACRED MOTHER TONGUE has made a quantum leap on from its well-received debut album, "Ruin Of Man", in 2009, from which they reinterpret "A Final Idea" as an acoustic number on this EP.

And now, SACRED MOTHER TONGUE in 2012 is channelling the melodic power of METALLICA, the dark demons of ALICE IN CHAINS and the visceral intensity of MACHINE HEAD to create a vital update of all these influences coupled with a whole heap of skyscraping ambition. And it's that ambition that saw them head to China last month on tour, from which comes the final track, "City Is Crying", another new song which received its live debut on those foreign shores.

"A Light Shines..." EP track listing:

01. Evolve/Become
02. Seven
03. A Final Idea (acoustic)
04. City Is Crying (live from China)


SACRED MOTHER TONGUE will play its first U.K. show in support of "A Light Shines..." on July 5 at The Intrepid Fox in London's West End. With a live show of quite spectacular proportions in the works this is a must-see showcase where SACRED MOTHER TONGUE will unveil many of the tracks from the forthcoming album, "Out Of The Darkness", in a small venue, ahead of a full headline tour later this year. This is a one-off free gig and support comes from CYPHER 16 and IMICUS.

SACRED MOTHER TONGUE's stunning sonic arsenal features the bruised power of vocalist Darrin South and guitarist Andy James, whose six-string skills have gained him worldwide acclaim both from his peers and on YouTube where his guitar tutorials now have over 4 million views.

Completed by Josh Gurner on bass, famed for his stage-diving antics while still shredding the fretboard, and drummer Lee Newell, who is also the rhythmic powerhouse behind FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM's live performances, SACRED MOTHER TONGUE are renewed, revitalized and ready to take on the planet.

Drum-cam footage of DIMMU BORGIR/ex-VADER drummer Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski performing the song "The Serpentine Offering" with DIMMU BORGIR at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, which was held June 6-9 in Sölvesborg, Sweden, can be seen below. Also available is footage of Daray playing the track "Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse" with DIMMU BORGIR at this year's edition of the Nova Rock festival, which was held June 8-10 on the Pannonia Fields in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria (near Nickelsdorf and the Hungarian and Slovak borders).

In a 2008 interview with Metal-Rules.com, DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz was asked how he would you rank Daray against all the other drummers the Norwegian black metal band has worked with over the years. "I would say that he is the most steady and consistent drummer I've ever played with, no matter what," he replied. "He's extremely reliable, hard-working, determined and he really, really pushes himself, you know? Even if he plays a really killer show and the rest of us have nothing to complain about, he still is not happy. It's not good enough. That's the attitude we need, you know? After all, the drummer is the engine in the band and you won't get anywhere if you only have oil and gas…you need the engine to work too…so… he's awesome."

"Abrahadabra", the ninth album from DIMMU BORGIR, sold 9,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "In Sorte Diaboli", opened with 14,000 units back in May 2007 to debut at No. 43. This was more than double the 6,400 first-week tally achieved by its predecessor, "Death Cult Armageddon", which came out in September 2003 and landed at position No. 169 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Abrahadabra" was released in Germany on September 24, 2010, in the rest of Europe on September 27, 2010, and it was made available in North America on October 12, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Sweden Rock Festival drum-cam footage: