FaceCulture has uploaded a video portrait of the Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and AYREON mastermind Arjen Anthony Lucassen. The seven-minute clip, which was shot in and around his home in the Netherlands, can be seen below. In the video, Lucassen speaks freely about his love for science fiction and running, his music obsession (and the accompanying rituals and routines), and the depression that deprived him of his desire to make new music.

Lucassen's new concept solo album, "Lost In The New Real", entered the official chart in his home country at position No. 16 and the Dutch alternative chart at #No. 2.

The story of "Lost In The New Real" follows Mr. L, a 21st-Century man who was cryopreserved at the moment of clinical death from a terminal disease. The album begins as Mr. L is being revived at a point in the distant future, when technology has advanced enough to cure his disease. Mr L finds himself in a world that has drastically changed — to the point that the line between what's real and what's not is no longer clear.

Mr. L's appointed psychological advisor (played by legendary screen actor Rutger Hauer) is tasked with helping him emotionally adapt to this strange new world. The songs on CD1 follow the main character Mr. L's emotional journey as he is confronted with both serious and comical aspects of the "New Real", and desperately tries to decide if he can find a meaningful place within it.

CD2 is a mix of songs that are part of the concept but didn't fit on CD1, and cover songs that are (more or less) related to the concept. As Arjen's fans have come to expect, informative and humorous "behind-the-scenes" videos are added to both CDs as CD-ROM tracks. This beautiful two-CD limited-edition mediabook is illustrated by the striking artwork of Claudio Bergamin.

Lucassen recently enlisted the talents of legendary screen actor Rutger Hauer as the narrator on "Lost In The New Real".

LEANDER RISING, the Budapest, Hungary-based band featuring NEVERMORE guitarist Attila Vörös, will release its self-titled debut album in the U.S. on July 17. The 14-song CD heads straight for the adrenal gland focusing on melody coupled with passionate fury, combining blends of brutal riffs and punishing breakdowns with huge anthemic and driving melodies for an original sound that is all their own. Recorded in Hungary and mixed and mastered in Sweden by Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, GOD FORBID, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, KREATOR), with artwork by Robert Borbas (METALLICA, SUICIDE SILENCE, BRING ME THE HORIZON) and a guest appearance by Jeff Loomis (ex-NEVERMORE) on the track "Six Feet Under".

LEANDER RISING was originally intended as a solo project for its namesake Leander Köteles, but evolved into a full-fledged band when his first video for the song "Bound To Belong" created an Internet buzz throughout Hungary and caught the attention of Attila Vörös, a young and well-known guitarist who has also toured worldwide with Seattle metal band NEVERMORE. Attila reached out to Leander via e-mail and their collaboration began. In the beginning, Attila only came on to do some guest solos but as time went on they found their true sound was together.

While Attila was touring in the U.S. with NEVERMORE, Leander decided to cover and put his spin on LADY GAGA's "Bad Romance", which became the most viewed and successful video in the project's history at that time. Incorporating Hungarian Dances from Brahms, his version will be the special bonus track on the upcoming U.S. release.

LEANDER RISING is:

Leander Köteles - Singer, Songwriter, Lyricist, Keyboardist, Bassist
Attila Vörös - Guitarist, Songwriter
Jozzy - Guitarist, Co-Songwriter
Bela Budai - Drummer

The official lyric video for "Kunnia" (English-language title: "Honor"), a brand new song from Finnish traditional folk metal pioneers KORPIKLAANI, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's eighth studio album, "Manala", which will be released on August 3 via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork was created by Finnish artist Jan Yrlund and can be seen below.

Commented KORPIKLAANI vocalist Jonne Järvelä: "On the album cover, our band mascot Vaari represents Väinämöinen, who is one of the main characters in the Finnish national epic 'Kalevala'.

"As most of the lyrics on 'Manala' are based on the 'Kalevala', Jan Yrlund decided to draw his inspiration for the cover artwork from the beautiful but yet brutal depiction of the underworld in Finnish mythology."

The limited digipack edition of "Manala" will come with a bonus CD containing the entire album with English lyrics.

Limited digipak CD:

01. Kunnia
02. Tuonelan Tuvilla
03. Rauta
04. Ruuminmultaa
05. Petoeläimen Kuola
06. Synkkä
07. Ievan Polkka
08. Husky Sledge
09. Dolorous
10. Uni
11. Metsälle
12. Sumussa Hämärän Aamun

Bonus CD:

01. Honor
02. At The Huts Of The Underworld
03. The Steel
04. Soil Of The Corpse
05. Predator's Saliva
06. Dark Side
07. Ieva's Polka
08. Husky-Sledge
09. Dolorous
10. Dream
11. Off To The Hunt

Jonne Järvelä previously stated about KORPIKLAANI's new album, "'Manala' is the realm of the dead — the underworld in Finnish mythology. Tuonela, Tuoni, Manala and Mana are used synonymously. This place is best known for its appearance in the Finnish national epic Kalevala, on which many of our new songs are based. In the 16th poem of Kalevala, Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero travels to Manala to seek for knowledge about the dead. On the journey he meets the ferrywoman (similar to Charon), a girl, Tuonen tytti, or Tuonen piika (Death's maid), who takes him across the river of Tuoni. However, on the isle of Tuoni he is not given the spells he was originally looking for and he barely manages to escape the place. After his return he curses anyone trying to enter the place alive."

"Metsälle", a new song from KORPIKLAANI, can be downloaded for free at NuclearBlast.de (e-mail sign-up required).

"Metsälle" was originally recorded late last year when the band was competing to represent Finland in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. The track will appear on KORPIKLAANI's forthcoming eighth album.

Commented Jonne Järvelä: "'Metsälle' can be seen as kind of a prayer to the ancient gods to ask for luck for the tough hunt deep in the woods in cold winter time. Not only is the old man in the song praying for success but — even more importantly — for a safe way through the dangerous frostiness."

KORPIKLAANI previously stated that "Metsälle" "is about the hunt on Hiisi's magical moose in the Northland. He (Lemminkäinen) puts on his charmed ski's and takes off for a prolonged hunt through forests and meadows, marshlands and woodlands, rapids and rivers. This song describes part of the Kalevala story, the national epic of Finland."

"Manala" will mark the recording debut of the band's new fiddler, Tuomas Rounakari.

KORPIKLAANI's latest CD, "Ukon Wacka", was released in North America on February 25, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Kunnia" lyric video:

Audio samples of all tracks that are featured on "Ascending To Infinity", the new album from the Italian "cinematic" metal band LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY, can be heard in the YouTube clip below (with commentary from Luca Turilli in Italian).

LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY has made its new single, "Dark Fate Of Atlantis", available for free download in its original album version of six minutes and 29 seconds at this location. This complete version of the song features a longer intro, a longer guitar solo and an additional keyboard solo performed by Luca Turilli. The cover artwork of the single was created once again by Felipe Machado Franco.

The "Dark Fate Of Atlantis" video was filmed in Stockholm, Sweden by Swedish director Owe Lingvall of Dreamday Media (THE RASMUS, KAMELOT's "The Great Pandemonium"). The song comes off LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY's new album, "Ascending To Infinity", which will be released on June 22 via Nuclear Blast. The song was edited and made shorter for the video while on the CD it will appear in its original version of 6 minutes and 29 seconds.

Commented LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY: "This video represents just the first step of the collaboration between RHAPSODY and Dreamday Media, the company of our friend Owe. He was just the right choice for a band willing to sound and look cinematic like ours. We share with him the passion for the cinema. We are amazed by his ability of turning our cinematic visions into reality and at the same time he loves the cinematic impact of our music. This means Owe is, and will be, our artistic partner at all effects, now and in the future. The first results of this unique collaboration will be announced very soon. Therefore please expect great visual surprises in the months to come, headliner tour included!"

RTN Touring and All Access, in association with Nuclear Blast and Owe Lingvall's Dreamday Media, are working right now on the "Ascending To Infinity Cinematic World Tour 2012/2013" which will bring the cinematic metal of RHAPSODY on the stages of the entire world.

In August 2011, RHAPSODY OF FIRE guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli announced their decision to go their separate ways.

Due to legal reasons, Staropoli will continue under the RHAPSODY OF FIRE name. Turilli, on the other hand, will make his future efforts available under the RHAPSODY moniker (RHAPSODY OF FIRE's original name), in which he will be joined by guitarist Dominique Leurquin, bassist Patrice Guers, singer Alessandro Conti (TRICK OR TREAT) and drummer Alex Landenburg (AT VANCE, ANNIHILATOR, MEKONG DELTA, STRATOVARIUS).

"Ascending To Infinity" track listing:

01. Quantum X
02. Ascending To Infinity
03. Dante's Inferno
04. Excalibur
05. Tormento E Passione
06. Dark Fate Of Atlantis
07. Fantasia Gotica
08. Clash Of The Titans
09. Of Michael The Archangel And Lucifer's Fall
I. Alma Mundi
II. Fatum Mortalis
III. Ignis Divinus

You can check out the "Ascending To Infinity" cover artwork below.

The album will have a running time of around 65 minutes.

In a recent interview, Turilli stated about "Ascending To Infinity", "Honestly, this album is very important for me, and personally, it is the one I always dreamed to record. The basic composition process lasted around five months. In this period of time I worked at the rhythm of 12-14 hours per day and, while very hard because very demanding mentally and spiritually, this was one of the most rewarding sessions of composition of my whole life. It rarely happened I had so much fun playing the guitar, the keyboards or my beloved piano and creating original classical parts, cinematic interludes, orchestrations and all the rest. As you know, I don't hire external people to orchestrate the music, but I do all by myself writing the music for each section of the orchestra, the choirs etc. and this sometimes can be a very long and hard process stealing a lot of time and energy. I cannot deny that this is a very ambitious album, because of the investment, artistic vision etc., and all the people working on it, Nuclear Blast included, are thinking the same."

Regarding the change in the production team for the LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY album, Luca said, "After many years of work in Wolfsburg at the court of our friend Sascha Paeth, I decided to start this new artistic adventure with a different team of people. Sascha and the other friends of the Gate Studio (Miro, Olaf, Robert, Simon, etc.) are a winning team and their help in the past was really important for RHAPSODY. But it's since many years already that Alex and I took the productions in our hands, becoming producers of our own albums, despite Sascha remaining always fundamental as engineer and mixer man. His mixes will remain legendary and our list of thanks will be never long enough for all the professional contribution he gave. All the years of work, fun and sufferance in the Gate studios of Wolfsburg will surely remain unforgettable and are carved in our heart. For LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY and the new band adventure, I decided to change the studio and the main man behind the console. We [recorded] the new album at the Backyard Studio of Kempten, Germany. Our new engineer and main mixer man is the same owner of the studio and his name is Sebastian Roeder, the person who worked for RHAPSODY OF FIRE in the last worldwide tour making real miracles while mixing our music live. Apart from being a talented engineer, he is a great person and he shares with us the love for this style of music."

The video for POISON singer Bret Michaels' new solo single, "Get Your Rock On", can be seen below. The title track of Bret's new solo album features guest appearances by Phil Collen of DEF LEPPARD and Sal Coz Costa of MY DARKEST DAYS.

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 — from Ace Frehley of KISS to Michael Anthony of VAN HALEN to Loretta Lynn and Lil Jon. Sal Costa of MY DARKEST DAYS, Joe Perry of AEROSMITH and Phil Collen of DEF LEPPARD are on there as well. 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."

He added, "The song 'Get Your Rock On' has Phil Collen playing guitar with me and it also has Sal Costa from MY DARKEST DAYS — [a] really, really good guitar player and good friend. Jimmy Buffet and I did a live version of 'Margaritaville' together."

Michaels said the two duets, with Lynn and Buffett, will be "two bonus tracks." And of the rest of the record he said, "It is just straight-up in-your-face rock and roll."

"Synthetics", the first-ever video from EXOTYPE, the new band featuring members of Florida's CATALEPSY, can be seen below.

According to the group's official bio, EXOTYPE's sound is characterized by "heavily detuned guitars," "pulsing dubstep drops laced with cybernetic synths" and "thought-provoking lyrics and infectious, anthem-like choruses. These unique elements collide in a aural car crash of sorts, leaving the listener with a riveting musical experience that will undoubtedly have them coming back for more."

EXOTYPE is putting the finishing touches on its debut EP, "Emerge", to be released in August.

EXOTYPE is:

Josh Anderson - Vocals
Rob Walden - Guitar
Ben Sutton - Drums
Matt Browning - Guitar

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/exotypemusic.

"Liar In Wait", the long-awaited new album from AMON — the resurrected Florida-based death metal band featuring former DEICIDE members Eric Hoffmann (guitar) and Brian Hoffman (guitar) alongside Jesse "Jecheal" Jolly (PROMETHEAN HORDE, DIABOLIC, SUCCESS WILL WRITE APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY, AFTER DEATH) on vocals/bass and Mike Petrak (LEPROSY, SUCCESS WILL WRITE APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY) on drums — has finally been made available via CDBaby.com.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Among Us (4:45)
02. Eye Of The Infinite (4:17)
03. Lash Thy Tongue And Vomit Lies (3:56)
04. Liar In Wait (4:22)
05. Reaching For Flesh (2:59)
06. Semblance Of Man (5:14)
07. Sentience And Sapience (3:26)
08. Spat Forth From The Darkness (3:33)
09. Wraith Of Gaia (3:20)

"Liar In Wait" was recorded and mixed at RedRoom Recorders in Tampa with producer Mark Prator.

DEF LEPPARD performed their classic song "Rock Of Ages" on last night's (Monday, June 4) edition of "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on NBC. You can now watch the entire episode below. (Note: The DEF LEPPARD appearance begins around the 37-minute mark.)

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 soundtrack to the upcoming film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "Rock Of Ages", which showcases popular rock songs from the '70s and '80s, features the cast — Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand and Julianne Hough — singing some of the greatest hits of the "hair-band" era.

Due to be released June 5 — ten days before the film hits theatres — "Rock Of Ages: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" includes Cruise's renditions of DEF LEPPARD's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and GUNS N' ROSES' "Paradise City".

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.

DEF LEPPARD's influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums — including two of the best-selling albums of all time, "Pyromania" and "Hysteria". Most recently, the band released their first live album, "Mirror Ball: Live & More" last summer, which rose to the Top 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. The album captures the group's legendary concert experience, bringing together live versions of classic LEPPARD hits such as "Rock Of Ages", "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Foolin'".

With 100 million records sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards to their credit, DEF LEPPARD — Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) — continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group's spectacular live shows, filled with powerful melodic rock anthems, have become synonymous with their name. For the past thirty years the band's concerts have become must-see events and have quickly made them an institution in the touring industry, as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.

YOTANGOR, the French symphonic metal band featuring female singer Yngrid Allières, has released its sophomore album, "We Speak", via Brennus Music. The CD was recorded at frontman Jean-Guy Pichoustre's Laboratory Metal studio in Toulouse.

"We Speak" track listing:

01. Anonymous
02. Hold Me Tight
03. Save Me
04. Racism
05. Come And Fly
06. Enslaved
07. We Speak For The Voiceless
08. Eyes On
09. No Man's Land
10. Kings Of The Day
11. Thanks
12. I Keep Running
13. Love Is Passion

YOTANGOR's debut album, "King Of The Universe", was described in a press release as "an ambitious double CD with 26 tracks, a concept album that talks about King Yotangor, a modern dictator convinced to be good with his people while all what he does is perverted by money and stupidity."

"King Of The Universe" was released on October 3, 2009.

YOTANGOR is:

Yngrid Allières - Lead Vocals
Vincent Agar - Lead Guitar
Jean-Guy Pichoustre - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Patrice Hernandez - Bass, Backing Vocals
Tony Marcos - Drums, Lead and Backing Vocals

The fourth in a series of teaser clips for the forthcoming SLIPKNOT greatest-hits album, "Antennas To Hell", can be seen below. The latest clip focuses on the band's percussionist Chris Fehn .

"Antennas To Hell" is scheduled for release on July 17 via Roadrunner Records.

There is no word yet on which tracks will be included on "Antennas To Hell", and if it will contain any previously unheard music or other bonus content.

As previously reported, SLIPKNOT will headline its own festival-style concert called Knotfest. The event will consist of two dates, on August 17 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and August 18 in Somerset, Wisconsin. In addition to the headliners, both days will include sets from DEFTONES, LAMB OF GOD, DETHKLOK, SERJ TANKIAN and PRONG. Also playing at the Iowa show will be THE URGE and DIRTFEDD, while the Wisconsin show will also feature CANNIBAL CORPSE, GOJIRA and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. Tickets go on sale Friday (June 8).

Percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan said, "It's all about having fun and bringing something to the world of rock 'n' roll, bringing it to the standard it used to be. It's time for us to really engulf this idea known as Knotfest where we're in control, we make a day devoted to our mindset, our ideas, the people that we want to play with, the people that we think our fans want to be around."

Knotfest is being positioned as a "dark carnival experience," and the event will feature circus tents, pillars of fire, amusement park rides, burlesque performers, fire-breathers, stilt walkers, drum circles made of junkyard cars, graffiti walls and even a SLIPKNOT museum.

Crahan promised, "When everyone leaves, their senses (will be) overloaded... because that's what SLIPKNOT does." He added that Knotfest could become an annual event whether SLIPKNOT appears or not.

SLIPKNOT will tentatively enter the studio sometime in early 2013 to begin recording its fifth album.

Austin, Texas metal luminaries THE SWORD will enter Magpie Cage Studios at the end of the month to begin recording their fourth album, "Apocryphon", for an early fall release via their new label partners Razor & Tie. The CD will be produced and engineered by J. Robbins (CLUTCH, JAWBOX) and will feature cover art by famed comic book artist J.H. Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea).

THE SWORD will commence a worldwide tour in support of "Apocryphon" in October.

In advance of last month's premiere of this year's movie "Marvel's The Avengers", THE SWORD released "Hammer Of Heaven", an early track dating back to 2003 that was not included on "Age Of Winters", which the band submitted for inclusion on "Avengers Assemble", a 14-track compilation of music from and inspired by the film.

Due to severe space limitations, the song did not make the final track listing, but the band, along with their new label partners at Razor & Tie decided to make "Hammer Of Heaven" available digitally to coincide with the release of the film. Click here to download the song on iTunes.

THE SWORD's third album, "Warp Riders", sold around 8,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 47 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Warp Riders" marked the first release where the group has worked with an outside producer. Helmed by Matt Bayles (PEARL JAM, MASTODON, ISIS), the album was anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative. The storyline was a psychedelic space opera that explored temporal themes of death and rebirth. "Warp Riders" also found THE SWORD expanding its range from pure metal to include bone-crunching hard rock at large.

The original lineup of BLACK SABBATH — who late last year confirmed the recording of their first new album in more than 33 years and a worldwide headlining tour — had to put some plans on hold due to guitarist Tony Iommi's battle with lymphoma. At this time, BLACK SABBATH will perform only one show of this summer's previously scheduled European tour. It will take place Sunday, June 10 at the U.K.'s Download festival.

So as not to let the promoters and fans down, SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne is now performing the majority of the previously scheduled BLACK SABBATH European dates (both festival performances and the headlining shows) billed as OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS. These "first-ever" OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS shows are featuring appearances by "special guest" musicians, including Geezer Butler (who is joining Ozzy for a special BLACK SABBATH set as a show of respect and support to their friend, Tony Iommi) and longtime former Ozzy bandmember Zakk Wylde. In addition, Ozzy is being accompanied by longtime collaborator and friend Slash at select shows, with other "special guests" set to join the tour at various stops along the way (full list of dates, appearances below).

The seventh OZZY OSBOURNE & FRIENDS concert took place last night (Monday, June 4) at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany.

The setlist for the show was as follows:

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
Gus G. (guitar)
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass)
Tommy Clufetos (drums)

01. Bark At The Moon
02. Mr. Crowley
03. Suicide Solution
04. I Don't Know
05. Killer Of Giants
06. Shot In The Dark
07. Rat Salad (BLACK SABBATH song)

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
Slash (guitar)
Gus G. (guitar)
Geezer Butler (bass)
Tommy Clufetos (drums)

08. Iron Man (BLACK SABBATH song)
09. War Pigs (BLACK SABBATH song)
10. N.I.B. (BLACK SABBATH song)

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
Zakk Wylde (guitar)
Geezer Butler (bass)
Tommy Clufetos (drums)

11. Fairies Wear Boots (BLACK SABBATH song)

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals)
Zakk Wylde (guitar)
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson (bass)
Tommy Clufetos (drums)

12. I Don't Want To Change The World
13. Crazy Train

Encore:

14. Mama, I'm Coming Home

Everybody on stage:

15. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH song)

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

Professionally filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE's May 27 performance at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma can be seen below.

As previously reported, 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, will make its live debut on Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, Washington. The band will perform rare and classic hits from the first five QUEENSRŸCHE albums — from the 1983 EP through 1990's "Empire" — and plans on hitting the studio sometime early summer to begin recording its first release.

QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate entered the studio on February 29 to begin recording his second solo album.

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, "Dedicated To Chaos", sold 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 70 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, the epic concept album "American Soldier", opened with 21,000 units back in April 2009 to enter the chart at No. 25. This was roughly half the first-week tally registered by QUEENSRŸCHE's "Operation: Mindcrime II" album, which shifted 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in April 2006 to debut at No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart.

QUEENSRŸCHE's 2003 effort, "Tribe", sold 20,000 copies in the first week while 1999's "Q2K", opened with sales of 28,000.

QUEENSRŸCHE's top-selling album by far is 1990's "Empire", which was certified triple-platinum in October 1994 for sales in excess of three million copies in the United States. The original "Operation: Mindcrime" release (1988) attained platinum status in August 1991, while 1994's "Promised Land" reached the same plateau in December 1994.

Part 1:

"Unraveling", the new video from reformed Montreal, Quebec, Canada rockers SLAVES ON DOPE, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's latest album, "Over The Influence", which was released on February 28 via THC: Music/Rocket Science Ventures. The CD was produced and mixed by Kevin Jardine, features a guest appearance by Jonathan Cabana, lead singer of Quebec deathcore band BLIND WITNESS, on the track "Dear Enemies".

"Over The Influence" track listing:

01. No One To Blame
02. Burn The Evidence
03. Cavalry
04. The Jokes On You
05. Hollywood
06. Dear Enemies (featuring BLIND WITNESS singer Jonathan Cabana)
07. The Land Of Make Believe
08. Pork Sword
09. Unraveling
10. Careless Coma

SLAVES ON DOPE's digital-only EP, "Careless Coma", came out on November 1, 2011. The effort featured three new studio tracks, as well as remixes and a radio edit of the title cut.

SLAVES ON DOPE is:

Kevin Jardine - Guitar
Jason Rockman - Vocals
Peter Tzafaris - Drums
Sebastien Ducap - Bass

SLAVES ON DOPE's "Inches from the Mainline" album was released through Ozzy Osbourne's now-defunct Divine Recordings label. After Divine Recordings lost its distribution deal with EMI's Priority Records, the band was left without a label. After a long search, a deal was struck with Bieler Bros. Records. SLAVES ON DOPE's second major album, "Metafour", was released in 2003.

In March 2004, SLAVES ON DOPE announced it was going on hiatus due to Jason Rockman leaving the band. The group officially reformed in 2009.

For more information, visit www.slavesondope.com.

"Unraveling" video:

"Welcome To The Freakshow", the new single from Swedish hard rockers FATAL SMILE, which was exclusively distributed in Sweden via Sweden Rock Magazine, was certified gold in that country by the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 10,000 copies. (Note: Each copy of the magazine containing the CD sold in Sweden was counted towards the certification; the single itself was **not** sold separately.)

The members of FATAL SMILE were presented with "Welcome To The Freakshow" gold plaques at the Hard Rock Café in Stockholm (see photo of band with tour manager Ola Frankki below).

FATAL SMILE's new album, "21st Century Freaks", was released on May 14 via FS Records/GMR Music Group. The CD was produced by Mr. Y, engineered/recorded by Philty and mixed by the two of them together. The mastering duties were handled by Mats "Limpan" Lindfors at Cutting Room Studios.

"21st Century Freaks" track listing:

01. Welcome To The Freakshow
02. Nailed To The Wall
03. Raisning Hell In Heaven
04. Judgement Day
05. Broken Heart
06. My Private Hell
07. Scarecrow
08. Innocent
09. Break This Chains
10. Take It To The Limit
11. For The Last In Line

Check out audio samples at FatalSmile.com.

The "Welcome To The Freakshow" video can be seen below. The clip was directed by Owe Lingwall, who has previously worked with KAMELOT, MESHUGGAH and THE RASMUS, among others.

After playing 350 shows internationally during their "World Domination Tour" with such bands as DIO, W.A.S.P., QUEENSRŸCHE, DORO and LORDI in support of their last album, "World Domination", FATAL SMILE spent over a year writing and recording songs for the follow-up effort. Entitled "21st Century Freaks", the new CD was recorded in the tour buses, hotel rooms and studios all over the world before eleven songs were singled out and re-recorded during 2011.

Ten top names tried out for the mixing job, all mixing the song planned as the second single of the album. The band put together a jury of friends to pick out their favorite mix, which turned out to be mix No. 5, not knowing it was mixed by FATAL SMILE's own drummer Philty and guitarist Mr. Y!

According to a press release, "this time [the bandmembers] have done everything on their own to make it the ultimate FATAL SMILE album, from recording and engineering to producing and mixing the album and the result is massive, with 'in-your-face' songs and a 'larger-than-life' sound!"

FATAL SMILE is:

Mr. Y - Guitar
Blade - Vocals
Alx - Bass
Philty - Drums

Photo credit: Thomas Mead

When singer Per "Dead" Ohlin of Norwegian black metal pioneers MAYHEM committed suicide in April 1991, it was widely reported that the band's founding guitarist Euronymous — who discovered the body — made necklaces from pieces of the skull.

Dead's suicide became the stuff of black metal legend. Euronymous reportedly took several pictures of the body and allegedly sent one of the pictures to the owner of Warmaster Records in Colombia, who then used it as the cover of the bootleg live album "Dawn Of The Black Hearts", released in 1995.

During Loudwire's recent interview with MARDUK's Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson, the guitarist confirmed that he does indeed possess a piece of Dead's skull a s well as lead fragments from the bullet which killed Dead and a piece of his brain matter.

"Yeah, sure," Morgan confirmed. "I got it way back, right after he died. Back in those days they [MAYHEM] were living in a house and didn't have the best financial aspects, so they didn't even have a telephone. So I remember I was celebrating New Year's in 1991 with Dead back home in Sweden. Then he got back, he wrote one letter [to me], then someone told me he's killed himself."

Morgan continued, "So I wrote a letter [to MAYHEM] and then I got the reply back from the guitar player [Euronymous] — 'Well he just shot himself and here's a piece of his skull.' It was a shotgun, you know? So [he also sent me] two pieces of the lead and a piece of the wet brain. I've still got it. I keep it well protected. . . He sent it to all these former comrades of Dead. A few of them. There were not that many people … maybe five."

New York hardcore legends MADBALL recently spent five days at the Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersberg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, MORBID ANGEL) recording their new EP, "Rebellion", to be released later this month via The BNB Label, a brand extension of frontman Freddy Cricien's Black N Blue Productions group. The six-song effort contains four new tracks and newly recorded versions of two cuts from the band's legendary 1989 seven-inch single, "Ball Of Destruction".

"Rebellion" marks the first MADBALL recording with former UNEARTH and THE RED CHORD member Mike Justian, who has served as MADBALL's touring drummer for the past year.

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, MADBALL vocalist Freddy Cricien stated about the process of re-recording 23-year-old material, "I was 12 when we did that original recording, and I don't have the best memory when it comes to a lot of things, but I do remember that session."

He added, "We recorded 'Ball Of Destruction' at Don Fury's studio on two tracks, live, with no overdubs. You went there, paid him a few hundred dollars and bang everything out. That session had me, Vinnie Stigma (AGNOSTIC FRONT) on guitars, my brother Roger (Miret, AGNOSTIC FRONT) on bass and Will Shepler (ex-AGNOSTIC FRONT) on drums. We also had Craig Setari (SICK OF IT ALL) and Mark Ryan (SUPERTOUCH) on backing vocals. As gritty as the original recording was, it was cool to be able to go in and re-record a couple of the tracks for this new EP."

"Rebellion" EP track listing

01. Reap What You Sow
02. The Beast
03. Get Out ("Ball Of Destruction" re-recording)
04. Rebellion
05. My Blood
06. It’s My Life ("Ball Of Destruction" re-recording)

The song "The Beast" can now be streamed using the audio player below (courtesy of AOL's Noisecreep).

"Cornucopia", a brand new song from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian, is available for free download at SerjTankian.com (e-mail sign-up required). The track comes off Serj's new studio album, "Harakiri", which will be released July 10 on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike.

"Harakiri", a Japanese word meaning ritual suicide, is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed "Imperfect Harmonies", and the third solo release from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman. As with 2007's "Elect The Dead" and "Imperfect Harmonies", Serj produced "Harakiri" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. He tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," explains Serj. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results." The album will also feature performances by Serj's touring band, THE F.C.C. — Dan Monti on guitar, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album was mastered by Vlado Meller (METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KANYE WEST, BEASTIE BOYS).

Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so far." In February, the rock musical "Prometheus Bound", which he composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release his second poetry book, "Glaring Through Oblivion". He toured with SYSTEM OF A DOWN across three continents, performed with the Opera Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the U.S., he finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, a full classical symphony called "Orca", and the new solo rock record that he is currently mastering.

"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, New Zealand were setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within five days of that, reports came out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."

The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo artist," he says. "It is much more driving and punk-oriented, with influences ranging from goth to electronic to '80s vibes, dynamically heavy rock to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."

He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," he says. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results."

"Figure It Out" video:

Finnish thrashers HATEFORM will enter the studio this summer to record their as-yet-untitled third album for a late 2012 release via Spinefarm Records. Drums are scheduled to be recorded at Petrax Studios (CHILDREN OF BODOM, NIGHTWISH, ENSIFERUM) with engineer Santeri Salmi. Guitars, bass, and vocals will be recorded at Ansa Studio with engineer Jori Haukio. The CD will be mixed by Thomas "Plec" Johansson (WATAIN, ESKIMO CALLBOY, SCAR SYMMETRY, GRAVEWORM, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, AS YOU DROWN) and will be mastered by Mika Jussila (NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM) at Finnvox Studios.

HATEFORM signed a deal with Spinefarm Records in the fall of 2011.

The band's previous albums, "Dominance" and "Origin Of Plague", were released via 7:45 Records.

HATEFORM is:

Tomy Laisto (guitar)
Petri Nyström (vocals)
Tom Gardiner (guitar)
Tuomo Latvala (drums)
Joni Suodenjärvi (bass)

"Make Total Destroy", a brand new song from Maryland-based experimental, progressive metallers PERIPHERY, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's highly anticipated sophomore album, "Periphery II: This Time It's Personal", which will be released released in North America on July 3 via Sumerian Records. The CD, which will be made available in Europe on July 16 through Century Media Records, will feature guest appearances by John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER), Guthrie Govan (THE ARISTOCRATS) and Wes Hauch (THE FACELESS).

Commented PERIPHERY guitarist Misha Mansoor: "We put so much hard work and time into this album and we thank all of you for your continued support and patience. The album clocks in at sixty-nine minutes exactly and has tons of brand new material, so I assure you it is well worth the wait."

"Periphery II: This Time It's Personal" track listing:

01. Muramasa
02. Have A Blast (feat. Guthrie Govan)
03. Facepalm Mute
04. Ji
05. Scarlet
06. Luck As A Constant
07. Ragnarok
08. The Gods Must Be Crazy!
09. Make Total Destroy
10. Erised (feat. John Petrucci)
11. Epoch
12. Froggin' Bullfish
13. Mile Zero (feat. Wes Hauch)
14. Masamune

PERIPHERY supported DREAM THEATER for two U.S. shows last October and a full-length European tour in January and February.

In a September 2011 interview with Metal Assault, Mansoor stated about Petrucci, "John Petrucci is the reason why I have a seven-string. John Petrucci is who I wanted to be when I started taking guitar seriously. I learned all the songs off [1999's] 'Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory' and played them horribly. But it really challenged me and showed me… I wanted to be him… I wanted to be John Petrucci so badly. I didn't even wanna be like him; I just wanted to be him. And I figured if I learned every song and solo, I'd get in his head and figure out how he wrote the amazing parts that he did and I'd understand how to be a better musician. I kind of got over that eventually when I realized I just didn't have the technical prowess to pull that off. But it definitely made a very big mark on me in many ways — in his approach to lead playing and arrangements and songwriting, in riff writing… everything. He's just such a balanced player and such a huge influence to me."

Bassist Tom Murphy last year announced his departure from PERIPHERY "to pursue something new." Adam "Nolly" Getgood of RED SEAS FIRE has been filling in on bass while Mark Holcomb took up his position as the full-time guitarist on the band's most recent tour.

To celebrate the arrival of Metal Hammer's immense 172-page BLACK SABBATH tribute, the magazine asked TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson to name his favorite BLACK SABBATH tracks.

"BLACK SABBATH are one of my favorite bands of all time," he said. "It's so hard to pick a favorite track… I guess 'Into The Void' is my favourite because it kicks into this high gear and then has all these crazy time changes; it's where the elements of thrash metal started. I also love 'Heaven And Hell' because they really reinvented themselves and made it work. You can't forget about 'Symptom Of The Universe' either!

"You can sing all their riffs, that's how amazing they are.

"Can you imagine a world without BLACK SABBATH? We'd still be psychedelic, groovy and far out, man! They got rid of all the peace people. [Laughs]

"We just finished doing shows with IRON MAIDEN on the 'Fear Of The Dark' tour and then got invited to do some shows with BLACK SABBATH on their 'Dehumanizer' tour. We got to do something like 15 shows in the U.K. I didn't even know you could play that many shows in the U.K., which was amazing.

"BLACK SABBATH were so cool. On the first night, we walked around backstage and bumped into Geezer [Butler, bass] and Tony [Iommi, guitar]. They shared a joint with us! I was literally shaking… I couldn't believe I was about to smoke the same 'sweet leaf' as Tony Iommi. I think I dropped it, got on my knees and told them I wasn't worthy!

"[They are] still the coolest guys, really humble and down to earth after all these years."

Ahead of BLACK SABBATH's history-making Download festival appearance, the massive, 172-page new issue of Metal Hammer is a tribute to the legendary heavy metal act, paying homage to one of the greatest, heaviest and most influential bands to ever walk this earth. Metal Hammer talks to SABBATH members themselves as they look back on an unmatched legacy as the most influential and innovative band in metal's history, and looks to some of the biggest names in rock music to help them commemorate the masters' return. Members of METALLICA, SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, PANTERA, MANOWAR, MASTODON, DIMMU BORGIR, DEVILDRIVER, KISS, RUSH, BEHEMOTH, SLASH, ALICE COOPER, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, RAMMSTEIN, GHOST, STEEL PANTHER and more all join Metal Hammer in gauging BLACK SABBATH's seminal impact on rock 'n' roll, and well as picking their favorite SABBATH hits and memories.

And, to top off the SABBATH worship, Metal Hammer is giving away a free "Sons Of Sabbath" CD with the issue, featuring choice, riff-filled, heavy-as-a-philosophizing-T-fucking-Rex cuts from the discographies of some of the finest bands to have been inspired by the hand of Iommi et al, including ELECTRIC WIZARD, CHURCH OF MISERY, BLOOD CEREMONY, WITCHCRAFT, GRAVEYARD, REVEREND BIZARRE and many more.

For more information, click here.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach's video for the song "I'm Alive" can be seen below. The clip is one of three videos (alongside "Kicking & Screaming" and "TunnelVision") that the singer filmed on June 28, 2011 in Hollywood, California with director Devin DeHaven of Fortress Entertainment (PAPA ROACH, WHITESNAKE, METHOD MAN, TALIB KWELI).

Commented Bach: "This song is more of a ballad than the first two and I am excited for you all to see it!" He added, "We are sending the video to TV channels such as VH1 and Fuse, etc., but the Internet is king."

"I'm Alive" comes off Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", which sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer's previous CD, "Angel Down", opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.

Bassist Jason Christopher — who filled in for Shawn Economaki during STONE SOUR's spring 2011 tour and who previously played with SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor in the JUNK BEER KIDNAP BAND — recently joined Bach's solo group.

Legendary mastering engineer George Marino, who has worked on such multi-platinum projects as METALLICA's "Metallica", AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", GUNS N' ROSES' "Appetite For Destruction" and BON JOVI's "Slippery When Wet", has died after a year-long battle with lung cancer. He has also mastered albums from such hard rock and heavy metal artists as OZZY OSBOURNE, IRON MAIDEN, DEEP PURPLE, DIO, DOKKEN, ANTHRAX, SAXON, SEPULTURA, DANZIG, DEATH ANGEL, OVERKILL, W.A.S.P., EXODUS, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, HELLOWEEN and KROKUS.

George joined Sterling Sound in the summer of 1973 where he has worked on many of the industry's most influential albums, including recent Billboard chart toppers like COLDPLAY's "Parachutes", BON JOVI's "Lost Highway", THE OFFSPRING's "Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace", THREE DOORS DOWN's eponymous release and ARCTIC MONKEY's "Favourite Worst Nightmare" as well as Billboard classics, including JOURNEY's "Frontiers", CYNDI LAUPER's "She's So Unusual", eponymous releases by both KISS and THE CARS, and MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Dr. Feelgood".

George started as a musician, playing rock n' roll guitar in New York City bands. His first job in the industry was as a librarian and assistant at Capitol Studios in 1967. He then apprenticed in the mastering department, helping cut rock, pop, jazz and classical albums. When Capitol shut down its New York studio, and before heading to Sterling Sound, George joined the fledgling Record Plant, eventually becoming a partner in the recording-mastering studio. There he quickly established his reputation with projects such as DON MCLEAN's "American Pie" and classic albums by the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND and STEVIE WONDER.

According to NME.com, a fan attending GUNS N' ROSES' concert at London, England's O2 Arena last night (May 31) revealed that he was told to remove his shirt before entering the venue because no one was allowed in wearing merchandise bearing the likeness of the band's former guitarist Slash. NME.com's source then asked security if this was the case and was told by a member of the venue's team, "We were told by the management not to allow anyone into the O2 Arena who is wearing a Slash T-shirt and we are asking anyone who is to remove it, and if they refuse, they will be turned away."

Speaking to NME.com today (June 1) about his ordeal, 18-year old James Revell — the fan that was allegedly forced to remove his Slash shirt — described what had happened. He said, "I felt very angry because I was looking after my little brotther at the time and felt as though my freedom to wear what I want had been taken away from me. However, I did not react angrily as I didn't want to spoil the show for him."

A photo of the T-shirt in question can be seen below.

In January 2010, Fernando Lebeis, the son of Beta Lebeis — GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose's personal assistant — denied reports that security at GN'R's Winnipeg concert banned fans from wearing Slash gear inside the show.

According to TMZ.com, concert security informed fans at the January 13, 2010 show that they were required to turn their Slash t-shirts inside out .... and leave their top hats outside.

TMZ.com spoke with a member of the concert security team who "confirmed the marching orders — and told [the web site] the instructions were passed down from a producer for the band."

However, Fernando Lebeis denied that any such ban ever took place. Writing on a GN'R message board, he said, "We did not advise any security to ban any sort of apparel.... If they did, they did it on their own accord, or under someone else's order — from within their management."

"Last Parade", the debut album from CALL ME NO ONE — the new project featuring SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist Clint Lowery — is available for streaming in its entirety at AOL Music.

CALL ME NO ONE's lineup is rounded out by bassist Rek Mohr (HURT) and guitarist Alan Price (SOULS HARBOR, SHINEDOWN).

"Last Parade" will arrive on June 5. The CD's first single, "Biggest Fan", was made available to purchase on iTunes on April 24.

"Last Parade" track listing:

01. The World Is Dead
02. Thunderbird
03. Soapbox
04. Hillbilly
05. Alls Well
06. Biggest Fan
07. Please To Meet You
08. Broken Record
09. War Song
10. Last Parade

The record will also include two bonus tracks.

Rose told The Pulse Of Radio that CALL ME NO ONE has turned into something bigger than he and Lowery first envisioned. "This isn't really a side project. This is another band," he said. "I mean, other people have done it, but I guess that the closest thing we could compare it to is like STONE SOUR to SLIPKNOT, you know. I mean, we're gonna go ahead and do this, then when this runs its course, it should be right on time for SEVENDUST to get back and rolling."

Lowery recently described the sound of CALL ME NO ONE as "kind of NINE INCH NAILS meets FOO FIGHTERS."

CALL ME NO ONE will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, June 4 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with CALL ME NO ONE 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.

New performance footage of HELL'S DOMAIN — the Danish thrash metal band featuring former members of HATESPEHERE, KOLDBORN, EXMORTEM and ARTILLERY — can be seen below. The clips were filmed on May 12 when HELL'S DOMAIN supported Swedish death'n'roll kings ENTOMBED and Danish veterans ILLDISPOSED in Århus, Denmark.

HELL'S DOMAIN is currently wrapping up the songwriting for its as-yet-untitled debut album. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Hangman's Fracture", "Dead Civilization", "The Walls Come Tumblin' Down" and "The Needle And The Vein".

HELL'S DOMAIN was formed by guitarist Bjørn Bihlet (ex-KOLDBORN, BOIL) and bassist Lars Knudsen (ex-CRIONIC) in 2007 with the intention of churning out some catchy Bay Area-inspired thrash metal. Soon joined by Anders Gyldenøhr (ex-HATESPHERE, ARTILLERY) on drums and Alex Clausen (MONSTAH) on vocals, the band completed its lineup in 2011 with the addition of former EXMORTEM axeman Andreas Schubert.

HELL'S DOMAIN released a three-song demo in 2011. The effort can be streamed at the band's Facebook page.

HELL'S DOMAIN 2012 is:

* Alex Clausen (ex-GROPE, MONSTAH) - Vocals
* Bjørn Bihlet (ex-KOLDBORN, HORNED ALMIGHTY) - Guitar
* Andreas Schubert (ex-EXMORTEM) - Guitar
* Lars Knudsen (ex-CRIONIC) - Bass
* Anders Gyldenøhr (ex-HATESPHERE, ARTILLERY, GROPE) - Drums

"Dropping Like Flies", the new video from SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based heavy rock band featuring Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, ex-MANMADEGOD) on guitar, Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, Brad Barth on keyboards, Anthony Traslavina on rhythm guitar and Ron Redeen (THE ESSENESS PROJECT) on drums, can be seen below. The song is the first single from the SPIRALARMS' sophomore album, "Freedom", which will be released this summer.

Commented Craig: "The clip rocks hard and shows our raw energy. It also showcases our ability to pull off some dramatic dynamics within a song. No confines or rules here, all beast and beauty!

"We're all very excited by the reaction 'Freedom' is getting so far and can't wait for everyone else to hear it. I know I'm looking forward to properly supporting a SPIRALARMS record!"

Added Narducci: "This performance captures the band's beautifully gritty heavy rock. If you are not familiar with who we are and what we do, this sums it up...enjoy."

SPIRALARMS released its full-length debut, "Highest Society", in June 2010 through Luxury Buzz, the label started by Narducci and Barth, in association with Apache Productions.

SPIRALARMS is:

Tim Narducci - Vocals/Guitar
Craig Locicero - Guitar
Anthony Traslavina - Guitar
Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo - Bass/Vocals
Brad Barth - Keyboards
Ron Redeen - Drums

"Sworn To Obey" a brand new song from German thrashers DEW-SCENTED, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Icarus", which will be released on July 31 in North America via Prosthetic Records (one day earlier internationally through Metal Blade Records).

DEW-SCENTED vocalist Leif Jensen previously described the "Icarus" main theme as "a modern-times, very apocalyptic adaption of elements of the Icarus myth, using a lot of its symbolism while interlinking with several other personal or observant subjects in true DEW-SCENTED fashion." While the album — recorded at Soundlodge Studio and produced by Jörg Uken (NIGHTFALL, SUICIDAL ANGELS, GOD DETHRONED) — is not quite a concept album per se, Jensen said "Icarus" "has a pretty coherent lyrical flow, and that helps to enhance and also to intentionally enlarge the atmosphere and vibe created by the music." The "Icarus" cover artwork was once created by Björn Goosses of Killustrations.

DEW-SCENTED's new lineup is as follows (pictured from left to right in photo below):

Rory Hansen - Guitar
Marvin Vriesde - Guitar
Leif Jensen - Vocals
Joost van der Graaf - Bass
Koen Herfst - Drums

Commented Jensen: "The new lineup re-introduces Marvin Vriesde (SEVERE TORTURE, BLO.TORCH) as main guitarist and songwriter. Not a stranger to DEW-SCENTED's path of life, Vriesde's ties with the band go as far as back as 1996, when he played lead guitars for DEW-SCENTED on the band's first-ever proper tour (with EDGE OF SANITY, LAKE OF TEARS and SADIST), as well as for some additional shows supporting MORBID ANGEL. He later returned as the session guitarist for a European tour with CANNIBAL CORPSE in 2002 or also for various other dates in Europe, Japan and North America all throughout 2005, as well as to appear as a guest guitarist on the "Issue VI" album and in the "Turn To Ash" video.

Added Jensen: "I'm truly happy to have finally managed to team up with my buddy Marvin in DEW-SCENTED. Being one of my closest friends in music and the band's 'longest-running companion,' it's amazing to be able to finally put the band's musical present and future in his hands, giving our music a new safe home with his talent and dedication. I can't wait for you all to hear the great start-up results we achieved with 'Icarus'!"

Drummer Koen Herfst (I CHAOS, EPICA) and bassist Joost van der Graaf (I CHAOS, CREEPMIME) rounded off the "Icarus" lineup organically, as Vriesde explains in regards to the pre-production process for the new album: "The writing process went really smooth and focused. Me and Leif were bouncing all these awesome ideas around. We realized that these songs deserved to be recorded in the best form possible. That's why I asked a good local friend of mine, Koen Herfst, to handle the drums. On his turn he brought in Joost van der Graaf to handle the bass duties for the album. Both are amazing musicians… and that's what sets 'Icarus' apart for me. I think everyone brought something extra to the table, which really took the album to a higher level. 'Icarus' is a really heavy album, but it somehow has a darker feel to it in comparison to the previous DEW-SCENTED albums."

The new DEW-SCENTED lineup will make their debut shows on July 20 at Metalsplash festival and July 21st at Queens Of Metal festival.