U.D.O., the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider, will release a "rare-tracks" album with some very special gems for the fans. Entitled "Celebrator", the effort will be made available on May 4 via AFM Records.

The official trailer for "Celebrator" cane be seen below.

"Celebrator" track listing:

CD 1:

01. Stormbreaker ("Rev-Raptor" Japan BONUS)
02. Tallyman (Taken from the "Rev-Raptor" recording session)
03. Run! (Remix)
04. Free Or Rebellion (bonus "Leatherhead" Single)
05. Bleeding Heart ("Dominator" Japan bonus)
06. The Silencer (Taken from the "Dominator" recording session)
07. Bodyworld (bonus "Infected" Single)
08. Systematic Madness (bonus "Infected" Single)
09. HAMMERFALL feat. Udo Dirkschneider - Head Over Heels
10. Balls To The Wall (piano version)
11. Artificialized (Taken from the "Mastercutor" recording session)
12. LORDI feat. Udo Dirkschneider - They Only Come Out At Night
13. Streets Of Sin (bonus "Wrong Side Of Midnight" single)

CD 2:

01. Tears Of A Clown ("Classical Version")
02. Man A King Ruler ("Mastercutor" Japan bonus)
03. Hardcore Lover (remix from "24/7" single)
04. Scream Killers (bonus "24/7" single)
05. U.D.O. feat. Faktor2 - Platchet Soldat (remix with national Russian artist)
06. Borderline ("Thunderball" Japan bonus)
07. U.D.O. feat. Doro - Dancing With An Angel (remix)
08. X-T-C (remix from "A Tribute To ACCEPT Vol. 2")
09. Azrael (remix from "No Limits")
10. The Key (remix from "No Limits" Japan bonus)
11. Metal Gods (from "A Tribute To Judas Priest")
12. RAVEN feat. Udo Dirkschneider - Born To Be Wild

Check out audio samples using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of Metal Hammer).

U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 perormance at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria was professionally filmed for the band's next official live DVD, tentatively titled "Rev-Raptor Tour - Live from Sofia", for an August/September release.

U.D.O.'s latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records. The recordings for the CD took place between June 2010 and February 2011 at Roxx studios (owned by U.D.O. guitarist and ex-ACCEPT drummer Stefan Kaufmann) in Pulheim, Germany. The effort was mastered by Manfred Melchior at MM Sound Digital studios in Steinhagen, Germany. The album's cover artwork is once again a comic-like motif: but the "Dominator" character is this time "a lot more effectual and colorful," according to a press release.

BILLY IDOL is hitting the road this summer for a series of European shows. Billy and his band - Steve Stevens (lead guitar), Billy Morrison (rhythm guitar), Stephen McGrath (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards) will perform at the following shows:

June
26 - Arena - Moscow, Russia
29 - Peace and Love Festival - Borlange, Sweden
30 - Kollen Festival - Oslo, Norway

July
2 - Musikhuset Posten - Odense, Denmark
4 - Tollwood Festival - Munich, Germany
6 - Moon and Stars Festival - Locarno, Switzerland
7 - Villa Contarini - Padova, Italy
8 - Porsche Arena - Stuttgart, Germany
10 - Stadtpark - Hamburg, Germany
11 - Zitadelle - Berlin, Germany
13 - Glam Rock Festival - Linz, Austria
14 - Forestglade Festival - Weisen, Austria
17 - Rock Star - Bilbao, Spain
19 - Sala La Riviera - Madrid, Spain
20 - Marés Vivas Festival - Oporto, Portugal
21 - Bikers Festival - Faro, Portugal

German power metallers HELLOWEEN have entered the studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2010's "7 Sinners" for an early 2013 release.

A video update from the studio, featuring footage from the first day of drum recordings, can be seen at this location.

HELLOWEEN guitarist Michael Weikath previously stated about the band's preparations for the new CD: "Right now we are busy with finalizing the songwriting process and are getting ready to take the accumulated ideas into a final selection for the new record. Everybody in the band is excited and eager to take what we have worked on so far to the next level."

HELLOWEEN's new album is once again being helmed by long-time producer Charlie Bauerfeind and will contain "all the trademark" elements on the band's sound," according to a press release. "Already in this early stage the new effort promises to be much more than a fine follow-up to the highly acclaimed 'Gambling With The Devil' and '7 Sinners' albums. Bombastic epic pieces have been worked on as well as ultrafast heavy songs and mid-tempo anthems."

"7 Sinners", the 13th studio album from HELLOWEEN, sold around 1,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 7 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.

Norwegian metallers PURIFIED IN BLOOD will release their new album, "Flight Of A Dying Sun", in Europe on June 15 via Indie Recordings. The cover artwork was created by Jondix Mahashakti and can be seen below.

A single, "Mot Grav", was made available late last month and can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

"This is the missing link between 'Reaper Of Souls' and 'Under Black Skies'," says PURIFIED IN BLOOD singer Hallgeir S. Enoksen.

PURIFIED IN BLOOD's new album was recorded with Jacob Bredahl, who previously worked with band on 2006's "Reaper Of Souls", a CD known for its rawness and intensity.

This time around, PURIFIED IN BLOOD's second singer Glenn Reaper was not involved in the recording process and Hallgeir faced a new challenge being the band's sole vocalist — a challenge he stepped up to for the past one and a half year with no problems whatsoever. His voice range has developed a lot the past year singing alone and he takes on the task "with no remorse, no repent."

"Flight Of A Dying Sun" features guest appearances by Glenn Reaper on the power anthem "Iron Hands"; Erlend Hjelvik (KVELERTAK) on "Mot Grav"; Kjetil Møster (DATAROCK, ULTRALYD, MØSTER) on saxophone, Ådne Sæverud on organ and Jens Borge (SKADNE KREK) on double bass. Last but certainly not least they have Siberian throat singer Albert Kuvezin on board to start the whole album with his voice of war.

"Flight Of A Dying Sun" track listing:

01. The Absolute
02. Storm Of Blood
03. Mot Grav
04. Iron Hands
05. Mind Is Fire
06. Escape To Solace
07. Void
08. Flight Of A Dying Sun

Doom metal vocal god Robert Lowe (CANDLEMASS, SOLITUDE AETERNUS) has been confirmed for studio work on Lyraka Volume 2, the second album from the Wagnerian Opera Metal project LYRAKA.

The opera's composer and lead guitarist Andy DiGelsomina issued this statement: "I have been a fan of Robert's music since Into the Depths of Sorrow, and have followed his career ever since. He has a unique, haunting voice and I am very excited to work with him."

DiGelsomina also reveals "Lyraka Volume 2 has been somewhat troubled in the making as I have so much material already written for it. I've finally decided that the breadth and scope of the material is necessitating a double cd format. This moves up the release date of the album; however, I can promise our fans that the new album is going to be both much heavier and far better than ever."

Lyraka Volume 2 is scheduled for release the summer of 2013.

For more details visit Lyraka.com.

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX performing a cover version of the SEPULTURA classic "Refuse/Resist" on April 27 at HSBC Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below.

SEPULTURA's Andreas Kisser filled in for ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian at 11 shows in July 2011 while Ian spent time with his family following the birth of his first child.

Kisser made his live debut with ANTHRAX on July 22, 2011 at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany as part of a "Big Four" show with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

In a letter addressed to Andreas on ANTHRAX's official Facebook page, the band wrote, "Words cannot express the feeling of love we have for you. From the first day, you were a part of the family. You were the only choice to fill in for Scott and that decision proved to be the right one. Thank you for being you, we miss you already. Have a great tour with the mighty SEPULTURA."

Speaking to RockAAA at the U.K. installment of the Sonisphere festival, Andreas stated about what it was like to receive the call asking him to fill in for Ian, "It was amazing. ANTHRAX… I mean, all the four bands here [METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX] are the DNA of my guitar playing. I started listening to them, the heavier music, and I wanted to play the same. They were my teachers. And to be here, it's just… I don't think even a dream. I [couldn't have] dreamt something like that to happen. And the good thing is it's a very positive situation. Scott is not sick, [he doesn't have a] a broken arm or something like that. It's very, very positive. It couldn't be better. So I'm very honored to be here, by these guys, and jam. We're having fun."

Added ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello: "Andreas locks in with the band like he was always here. So there's not a thought to playing; we don't have to worry. It's nice to go on stage and not have to worry. That's the last thing we wanted to do. And he's good, he's so locked in, even with the cues, the vocals — everything. Boom! It's ANTHRAX."

Regarding how Kisser came to fill the temporary guitarist slot, Ian previously said, "We chose Andreas because we feel he can do the gig better than anyone. He has the fire, the attitude, and the crushing right hand to do the gig. I've played with Andreas at the Roadrunner 25th-anniversary show, and I've gotten up and played with SEPULTURA and we are kindred spirits. We both play every show like we're going to jail the next day, like it's the last show we'll ever play. He has what it takes and he has the experience and history to fucking bring it and make these ANTHRAX shows something special."

ARCH/MATHEOS — the new progressive rock band featuring FATES WARNING/OSI guitarist Jim Matheos and former FATES WARNING singer John Arch — played its first-ever show this past Saturday night (April 28) at the Keep It True XV festival Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.

The band's lineup for the performance was as follows:

* John Arch (FATES WARNING) - Vocals
* Jim Matheos (FATES WARNING, OSI) - Guitar
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX, FATES WARNING, SEVEN WITCHES) - Bass
* Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, FATES WARNING, SEBASTIAN BACH, RIOT) - Drums
* Frank Aresti (FATES WARNING) - Additional Lead Guitar

The setlist was:

01. Neurotically Wired
02. Midnight Serenade
03. The Sorceress
04. Stained Glass Sky
05. Damnation
06. The Apparition
07. Any Given Day/Strangers Like Me
08. Guardian

Encore:

09. Epitaph
10. Exodus

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

ARCH/MATHEOS will play its only U.S. show on May 5 at the Webster Theater in Hartford, Connecticut.

ARCH/MATHEOS last year filmed a video for the song "Midnight Serenade" with director David Brodsky of MyGoodEye (DEVIN TOWNSEND, HELMET, IN THIS MOMENT). The track comes off the group's debut album, "Sympathetic Resonance", which sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 13 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.

"Sympathetic Resonance" entered the official chart in Germany at No. 27, in Austria at No. 67, and in Switzerland at No. 78.

The cover art for "Sympathetic Resonance" was fashioned using an image created by light painting photographer Dennis Calvert, who has described light painting as "The ability to see in four dimensions, time traveling, and creating fantasy using only what we base all reality on, light."

Released on September 13, 2011 via Metal Blade Records, "Sympathetic Resonance" features the following track listing:

01. Neurotically Wired
02. Midnight Serenade
03. Stained Glass Sky
04. On the Fence
05. Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)
06. Incense and Myrrh

Comments Matheos: "I think John and I work really well together. There's a lot of mutual respect and trust in what we do. But we're also both very critical of ourselves, and each other. This can make for a long and sometimes tedious process. But ultimately it's one I enjoy because I think it brings out the best in both of us."

A previously unreleased video for the song "Shovel Knockout" from Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM can be seen below. The clip, which was directed by Jussi Hyttinen for FLC415 (MTV3, The Finnish National Lottery), adeptly chronicles "what happens from the time a live show ends through to the next gig in a new city" (i.e. lots of drinking and flipping the bird!). The song itself appears on CHILDREN OF BODOM's latest studio album, "Relentless Reckless Forever".

On May 22, CHILDREN OF BODOM will release "Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)", a very special CD+DVD career retrospective in celebration of the band's 15th anniversary. The release will spotlight specially selected tracks from every one of the group's critically acclaimed albums (1997's "Something Wild", 1999's "Hatebreeder", 2000's "Follow The Reaper", 2003's "Hate Crew Deathroll", 2005's "Are You Dead Yet?", 2008's "Blooddrunk" and 2011's "Relentless Reckless Forever"), plus two newly recorded (and undeniably fun) cover songs and detailed liner notes penned by the members of CHILDREN OF BODOM themselves. The DVD portion of the package will include "candid touring and backstage footage from around the world”, plus the "Shovel Knockout" video.

"'15 Years Of Wasted Youth' is the sound of CHILDREN OF BODOM working hard, partying hard, being relentless and stubborn," says the band's guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho. "We went through many brick walls to get to where we are, and after seven studio albums, two live albums, non-stop touring, bleeding and breaking a lot of bones, I think we are justified in putting this album out. Let the music speak for itself. You have been warned."

"Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)" track listing:

01. Hate Crew Deathroll
02. Shovel Knockout
03. Hate Me
04. Everytime I Die
05. Needled 24/7
06. I¨m Shipping Up to Boston (* DROPKICK MURPHYS cover; previously unreleased)
07. Sixpounder
08. Warheart
09. Roundtrip to Hell and Back
10. Trashed, Lost & Strungout
11. Living Dead Beat
12. Deadnight Warrior
13. Blooddrunk
14. Follow The Reaper
15. Are You Dead Yet?
16. Silent Night, Bodom Night
17. Jessie's Girl (* RICK SPRINGFIELD cover; previously unreleased)
18. In Your Face
19. Angels Don't Kill
20. Downfall

The release of "Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)" continues CHILDREN OF BODOM's year-long anniversary celebration, which kicked off with the band's highly successful "15th Anniversary" headlining tour of North America.

In an interview with MusikUniverse.net, Laiho said that the band is scheduled to commence the songwriting sessions for its next album this fall for a 2013 release. "I have ideas, but I haven't done anything about it," Alexi said. "'Cause the thing is, I can't write when I'm touring; it's not the right kind of environment for me. I know a lot of people do it, but I just can't. And it's OK, 'cause I build a lot of ideas in my head, and my memory sucks, but one thing that I never forget is the riffs; they're always in my head somehow. So it's really not a problem."

"Relentless Reckless Forever" sold nearly 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, 2008's "Blooddrunk", opened with 19,000 units to land at No. 22. This number was roughly four times the opening tally of "Blooddrunk"'s predecessor, "Are You Dead Yet?", which premiered with 5,000 units back in October 2005 to enter the chart at No. 195.

"Relentless Reckless Forever" was certified gold in the band's home country for first-day sales of over 10,000 copies. The CD was recorded in Finland's Petrax Studios with famed rock producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET).

Die Norweger ULVER werden "Childhood’s End" am 28. Mai veröffentlichen. "Childhood’s End" ist eine Re-Interpretation klassischer Psychedelic Tracks der späten 60er Jahre. Das Album enthält ULVERS’s einzigartige Versionen der Songs von THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, ELECTRIC PRUNES, JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, THE PRETTY THINGS und mehr. Jetzt wurde eine "Childhood's End" Mini Seite online gestellt.

Die Hard Rock Band THE LETTER BLACK wird am 22. Mai 2012 ein neues Remix Album mit dem Titel "Hanging On By A Remix" via Tooth & Nail Records veröffentlichen. Die Band hat jetzt den neuen Song "My Disease (Dirty Lazer Mix)" hier auf der Facebook Seite online gestellt.

"Hanging On By A Remix" Track List:

01. Away From Me
02. Moving On
03. All I Want (Shuffle Mix)
04. My Disease
05. Better Luck Next Time
06. Collapse
07. Wounded
08. Fire With Fire (NYC Amyl Nitrate Mix)
09. Perfect
10. Dream On
11. Hanging On By A Thread (H.O.B.A.R.)
12. Moving On (Mike D's Knox Vegas Remix)

During the time off between BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE albums, frontman and chief songwriter Matt Tuck grew restless. Recruiting Jason Bowld (PITCHSHIFTER, KILLING JOKE), routinely touted as the best session drummer in the U.K., and engineer Martyn "Ginge" Ford (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, TRIVIUM), Matt set to creating monster riffs and intricate metal melodies at the Atrium recording studios in Cardiff, Wales. The project proved fertile ground for Matt to explore the darker, heavier side of his appetite for metal, and soon enough Matt was recruiting co-conspirators to the cause, including Synyster Gates of AVENGED SEVENFOLD delivering a finger-burning guitar solo on standout track "Vultures".

Choosing a vocalist to match the intensity of the music was easy, says Matt. "The first phone call I made was to Liam [Cormier, of CANCER BATS]. We've toured the world together and I've always admired the furious energy he brings to a performance." Liam flew over from his native Canada to join Matt and Jason at the studio and began recording his trademark searing vocals that took the then-unnamed project to the next level. "That was when it really hit me," continues Matt, "we had something special here, way more than just a studio project. We've gotta take this show on the road!" Guitarist Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) and Joe Copcutt (ex-RISE TO REMAIN) were handpicked to join the lineup and a metal supergroup AXEWOUND was born.

A strict Omerta-like code of silence prevailed around the camp as finishing touches were added to the record and in March the tracks were shipped off to be mixed by Machine (LAMB OF GOD, THE BRONX) at his studio in New Jersey.

AXEWOUND's lead track, "Post Apocalyptic Party", was aired this past Monday night (April 30) on the BBC Radio 1 "Rock Show" and is available for free download from the band’s web site at www.axewounduk.com.

AXEWOUND is:

Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) - Guitar, Vocals
Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) – Vocals
Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) - Guitar
Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) - Bass
Jason Bowld (ex-PITCHSHIFTER) - Drums

Tuck first revealed that he was collaborating with other musicians on a "metal-as-fuck" side project last October during an interview with "Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone. Tuck said at the time, "It's, like, far more like SLIPKNOT, PANTERA… It's metal as fuck, you know what I mean?! Stepping away from the melodic, not giving a fuck… 'Cause obviously BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is a business and we have our formula, and what we do works — it's great — so we won't stray from that. So it's nice to step out of that comfort zone and do something fucking ridiculous and not worry about what people are gonna think, because it doesn't exist yet. . . We wanted to go in there with kind of like a SLIPKNOT attitude of just everything… Like the 'Iowa' album — just fucking violent. Let it all out. No holds barred."

AXEWOUND will kick off a European tour on May 31 in Utrecht, Netherlands and will make a number of festival appearances, including at Download (U.K.), Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park (Germany), Gods Of Metal (Italy) and Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium).

Upcoming AXEWOUND shows:

May 31 - Tivoli, Holland (special guest to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
Jun. 02 - Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun. 03 - Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun. 04 - Substage, Germany (special guest to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE)
Jun. 06 - O2 Islington Academy, UK
Jun. 08 - Download Festival, UK
Jun. 10 - Nova Rock, Austria
Jun. 22 - Gods Of Metal, Italy
Jun. 23 - Ear Shaker Days, Switzerland
Jun. 24 – Grasspop Metal Meeting, Belgium

STONE SOUR will release its fourth album in October via Roadrunner Records. The band has yet to reveal the title of the new CD, which is being recorded at Sound Farm Studios just outside of their native Des Moines, Iowa with producer David Bottrill (TOOL, MUSE, STAIND).

"This album will be another progression for the band," STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand reecenetly said. "Musically, we have always challenged one another to push things to our limits, and this record is no exception." Rand also shared some details about the album's lyrical and storytelling narrative, saying, "Lyrically, the album follows one character to that complex moment in his life, when he finally has to decide which path to take. It's a spiritual and moral power play for control of what this man will be for the rest of his life. Each song will tell the story from different sides of the character's personality, with the listener ultimately deciding how the story ends."

STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor previously stated about the band's follow-up to 2010's "Audio Secrecy", "I am looking forward to basically becoming a mad scientist in the studio and creating an album that no one wants us to make. I pretty much got permission to do whatever I wanted, which means that I'm essentially going against the grain in an age where people are fucking trying to simply put out singles. We're looking to do a double concept album and really make it destructive."

He added, "Picture [PINK FLOYD's] 'The Wall' meets [ALICE IN CHAINS'] 'Dirt' on steroids, and that will give you a taste of what I'm shooting for right now. The stuff we have right now is nuclear. It's pretty much going to go all the way. It's dark as shit. There's so much balls out rock on it as well as some good headpunchers and some really cool fucking dark pieces. I'm really excited about it."

Taylor — who is also the frontman for SLIPKNOT — said about the storyline for the next STONE SOUR record, "It's basically the story of a man who's trying to figure it out. He can't figure out if he's happier when he's miserable, or if he's miserable about not being happy. It's almost like a mid-life crisis in a way. He's young enough that he knows that there's still a lot of life to live, but he's old enough to realize that he can't be hung up on the romance of teenage depression and youthful aggression."

REVERENCE, the new power metal band featuring vocalist Todd Michael Hall (JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR, HARLET), guitarist Bryan Holland (TOKYO BLADE, ARREST), drummer Steve "Dr. Killdrums" Wacholz (SAVATAGE, CRIMSON GLORY), bassist Frank Saparti (TOKYO BLADE, OVERLOADED, MINDCANDY), and lead guitarist Pete Rossi, will release its debut album, "When Darkness Calls", laer in the year via Razar Ice Records. The CD cover artwork was designed by renowned artist Jobert Mello of Sledgehamer Graphix (PRIMAL FEAR, SABATON, HYSTERIA) and can be seen below.

"When Darkness Calls" track listing:

01. When Darkness Calls
02. Bleed For Me
03. Phantom Road
04. Devil In Disguise
05. Too Late
06. Gatekeeper
07. The Price You Pay
08. Monster
09. Revolution Rising
10. After The Leaves Have Fallen
11. Vengeance Is Mine
12. Lost Generation (bonus track)

"When Darkness Calls" features a guest appearance by SANXTION drummer Tony Rossi.

REVERENCE will embark on a European tour in November. Exact citites and dates will be announced shortly.

For more information, visit www.ReverenceMetal.com.

"Silver Candy", the new video from transgender singer Mina Caputo — once known as Keith Caputo, the front-person for the popular rock band LIFE OF AGONY — can be seen below. The clip was directed/produced by Dan Quigley, also known as Dan Beast.

This simple, "sober" take on such a gorgeous song from Caputo's 2008 record, "A Fondness for Hometown Scars", was filmed in glorious 1080p HD quality in less than a day.

These two lifelong friends used this filming as a creative experiment, if you will, to jump-start Dan in his future filming/directing endeavors.

In an October 2011 interview with Advocate.com, Mina stated about how becoming a "rock star" delayed her transition, "I was very boxed in that metal thing," she said. "The first album I've ever done was released and then it pretty much exploded in Europe and I kind of had no choice but to leave school. I didn't want to sing in a band. That wasn't really what I set out to do. I wanted to go to Julliard. I wanted to play the classics, get good grades… and I pictured myself living more of a feminine life then at 19 when this whole alpha male world just pretty much took over. I was in hell for years. . . It was more of a sense of responsibility and not getting labels down… the management, the band, and the fans. And I mean, we were a really, really really, really big band. We were doing concerts in Europe where 60 to 100 thousand people were showing up."

When asked whether she plans on having bottom surgery any time soon, Caputo said, "The whole penis… I'm OK with that down there, you know. Most people don't realize that there's more to being a woman than just, I guess, putting on dresses and wearing makeup and your genitals. [People think] you have a male body and a penis so that makes you the man. But they can't dig deep enough unless they really want to understand what's going on in the subconscious mind and what I like to call subconscious sex."

On the topic of how she's already faced discrimination Stateside, Caputo said, "I've had run-ins on the train, ignorant people, you know, calling me 'he-she' or 'he-man.' If anyone tries to screw with me, I will not hesitate to cut somebody up like a piece of meat. I will do anything and everything to protect myself. I mean I don't want to hurt anybody but if someone lays their hands on me, I'm going to shank somebody. My father's been in prison his whole life, so just because I'm wearing a skirt doesn't mean I don't got big balls, OK? Because I will not hesitate to do anything and everything to protect myself."

On January 21, Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with Mina Caputo. You can now watch the chat below.

"Silver Candy" video:

California death metallers COFFIN TEXTS will release their new album, "The Tomb Of Infinite Ritual", this summer via Dark Descent Records. The vinyl version will be released through Blood Harvest Records and the digital version on iTunes via Apparition Musick. The cover artwork was created by Danille Gauvin.

According to a press release, "The Tomb Of Infinite Ritual" "shows COFFIN TEXTS at their very best. While the musicians themselves have developed and perfected their skills, the same spirit and approach to death metal remains true and intact."

Commented the band: "It's finally here! Five years of blood, sweat and tears to get this completed. We want to thanks John Haddad for the great work producing this album and a 'horns up' to all our fans worldwide!!"

"The Tomb Of Infinite Ritual" track listing:

01. Atum (Into The Divine Sphere)
02. To Manifest
03. Final Transformation
04. The Sacred Eye
05. Divination
I. Soothsayer
II. The Invocate
III. Eternal Oath
06. Throne Of Genocide
07. Dieties Of The Prime Evil Chaos

COFFIN TEXTS released its debut CD, "Gods of Creation, Death & Afterlife", in 2000. Celebrated in the underground, this is a well-hidden gem and high-class, true death metal with its roots in the ancient Californian death metal style.

COFFIN TEXTS is:

Robert Cardenas - Vocals, Bass
Emilio Marquez - Drums
Richard Gonzales - Guitars

Fan-filmed video footage of JUDAS PRIEST's April 25 concert at Hovet in Stockholm, Sweden can be viewed below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Rapid Fire
02. Metal Gods
03. Heading Out to the Highway
04. Judas Rising
05. Starbreaker
06. Victim of Changes
07. Never Satisfied
08. Diamonds & Rust (JOAN BAEZ cover)
09. Dawn of Creation
10. Prophecy
11. Night Crawler
12. Turbo Lover
13. Beyond the Realms of Death
14. The Sentinel
15. Blood Red Skies
16. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) (FLEETWOOD MAC cover)
17. Breaking the Law
18. Painkiller

Encore:

19. The Hellion (taped intro)
20. Electric Eye

Encore 2:

21. Hell Bent for Leather

Encore 3:

22. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

Encore 4:

23. Living After Midnight

"The Chosen Few", the recently released compilation album from JUDAS PRIEST, sold 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The collection, which came out on October 11, 2011 via Legacy/Sony, contains songs that were selected by some of the biggest names of the hard rock/heavy metal world, including KISS' Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Alice Cooper and SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor.

Regarding JUDAS PRIEST's farewell world tour, singer Rob Halford previously said, "We're pulling out all the stops. We've built a brand new stage set, we've got all the effects that people love us for — the lasers, the fire, the bombs, the smoke, new costumes, and the bike. It's just a full-on metal extravaganza."

As for whether this is really the end of JUDAS PRIEST's touring days, guitarist Glenn Tipton said, "We don't plan on retiring. We've said that this is our last world tour. It takes a chunk out of your life — 18 months. We won't be doing any more world tours as such and in many parts of the world, it will be the last time people will get a chance to see us. But we're not gonna stop. We've got an album in the can now, we will start to write with [new guitarist] Richie [Faulkner], there will be more albums, and who knows?! There might be a string of dates that we can manage to do. We're just not gonna do another major world tour. We've been doing it for 40 years and it's time to let the younger bands have the chance."

Few heavy metal artists have built as stellar a discography as JUDAS PRIEST over the years. And now, fans have a chance to acquire all of PRIEST's classics in one fell swoop. On January 24, Columbia/Epic/Legacy released the 17-CD box set, "The Complete Albums Collection", which contains every studio and live album that featured the classic line up of Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill. Included are brand new remasters of PRIEST's first two albums, 1974's "Rocka Rolla" and 1976's "Sad Wings of Destiny" (which have never been released before as authorized remasters by the band), in addition to each individual album being packaged in a replica mini-LP sleeve reproducing that album's original cover art. And although the 2009 live compilation, "A Touch of Evil…Live" is included; no other compilations are present. Also featured in the set is a 40-page booklet with photos, album credits, and liner notes by rock journalist/PRIEST fan Greg Prato.

"The Complete Albums Collection" is available for purchase exclusively via Popmarket.com.

Guitarist Ryan Huthnance of Australian thrash metal veterans MORTAL SIN has released the following statement:

"It's time the rumours were laid to rest. Yes, MORTAL SIN is finished. Due to changing personal circumstances, as well as priorities, Luke [Cook, drums] and Nathan [Shea, guitar] have both decided that their time with the band is at an end. This decision was not made lightly, and was not a result of the actions and words made by other parties who would lead you to believe it was. The truth is, without passion, conviction, and love for the music you play, being in a band means nothing.

"While Andy [Eftichiou, bass], Dave [Tinelt, vocals] and myself could easily continue and find new band members, without the core songwriting unit from the last two albums, it wouldn't be MORTAL SIN.

"We're extremely proud of our last album 'Psychology Of Death', and we've completed the longest and most intense tour of the band's career — the Thrashfest Classics tour. These two milestones are a fitting way to close the 25-year journey that was MORTAL SIN.

"On behalf of MORTAL SIN, I'd like to thank you — the fans — for staying loyal to a band that's had more ups and downs than any other in Australia. Without you, this journey would have ended long ago.

"For those who'd like to follow the future musical exploits of this final lineup, Dave's band NEKROFEIST are about to release their new album, my band THE SEER just released a new single, and Luke will continue playing with his cover bands.

"We sincerely apologise to those who hoped to see us on the road in the shows we had booked. Thank you, and goodbye."

Fan-filmed video footage of the most recent lineup of MORTAL SIN performing the song "Deny" on March 31 at The Patch in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia can be seen below.

Vocalist Mat Maurer quit MORTAL SIN in February "for personal reasons and irreconcilable differences." He added, "Last year was an incredibly difficult year for me personally and I have decided to put my family first."

MORTAL SIN's latest album, "Psychology Of Death", was released in Europe on November 18, 2011 via NoiseArt Records. The effort includes the group's classic debut LP, "Mayhemic Destruction", as a bonus disc in the limited digipak version. The follow-up to 2007's "An Absence of Faith" was mixed with producer/engineer Darren "jENK" Jenkins and marks the recording debut of guitarist Ryan Huthnance, who replaced Mick Sultana.

Once hailed as the next METALLICA, MORTAL SIN have become legends in their home country Australia, having been inducted into the Kerrang! Heavy Metal Hall of Fame in 2005 and being the only Australian band to have played with the big five of thrash — METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH and TESTAMENT — on tours in Australia and overseas.

Following the debut of a holographic image of late rapper Tupac Shakur "performing" at the Coachella Festival in California last month, Billboard.com asked QUEEN drummer Roger Taylor if he would ever consider playing alongside any similar image of the band's late singer, Freddie Mercury.

"I don't think I want to," Taylor told Billboard.com. "Were somebody (else) to use a hologram of Freddie, I would have no objection... It just doesn't sit too well with me. I don't want to appear with a hologram of my dear friend. It's the real one or no hologram for me. But I think it's an amazing effect when used properly — obviously in darkness."

Sanj Surati of Musion Technology, the company that created the Shakur hologram, rerportedly now has other dead artists in his sights. Surati gave NME his wishlist, saying, "Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, oh, and Michael Jackson would be the ultimate one. Maybe even Whitney Houston." Surati added that putting "Elvis on stage with Justin Bieber would be a cool thing."

The audience at Coachella was stunned three weeks ago when the image of Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996, appeared onstage to sing alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. The image even addressed the crowd.

Dre reportedly said that the effect was strictly for Coachella and would not be taken on tour.

Crowd reaction to the hologram was mixed, and its inclusion in the show has launched a discussion about the future of live performance. A handful of artists in Japan have already used holograms in this manner.

Surati called the hologram technology "a historic and exciting initiative."

SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that he thought holograms could be used to beam living artists into any festival in the world from wherever they were: "If the technology is available and we can get away with it, that would be awesome. Then you'd have, like, THE POLICE from one part of the world, you have, you know, U2 from another part or you have African bands and all these people playing from different parts of the world on the same stage without being there."

Norwegian singer Liv Kristine (LEAVES' EYES, ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY) last year entered Mastersound Studio in Steinheim, Germany — the facility owned by her husband, Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES) — to begin recording her fourth solo album, entitled "Libertine". She collaborated on the effort with Dutch musician J.B. van der Wal (ABORTED, DR. DOOM), who recently joined LEAVES' EYES and ATROCITY as the two bands' new bassist.

Commented Liv: "'Libertine' is truly a milestone in my career; it sums up my most important artistic experiences in my creative journey through life. The more rock and metal-based songs like 'Vanilla Skin Delight' (including superb male vocals from Tobias Regner, the third-season winner of 'Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar', the German reality show in the style of 'American Idol'), 'Paris Paris', 'Solve Me' and title track, 'Libertine', certainly expose some of those magic moments which fans of THEATRE OF TRAGEDY enjoyed and treasured on 'Aegis' and 'Musique'. The ballads 'Silence', 'Love Crime' and 'Meet Me In The Red Sky' will go straight into you hearts, each of them being absolute individual in their emotional expressions and musical compositions. Alex gave each track a perfect sound in the mix by emphasizing on each song's characteristic accent and atmosphere."

She added, "I can't wait to let you hear this album; it is exceptional to me both personally and in my artistic career, and I can't wait to play these songs for you live! The cover and booklet artwork is completed as well. It took a while for me, personally, to find the artistic expression I wished to expose in my pictures, however, Heile and Alex guided me into the right direction, for which I am so happy and grateful."

Liv debuted the title track of her new album, "Libertine" (see video below), at a special concert on December 2, 2011 at Alte Seminarturnhalle in Nagold, Germany under the banner "One Night With Liv Kristine". Liv performed acoustic versions of her original songs as well as a few covers, including tracks from LEAVES' EYES and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.

Liv Kristine's third solo album, "Skintight", came out in North America in September 2010 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Enter My Religion" was recorded at Mastersound Studio and the artwork was created by Stefan Heilemann.

According to BBC News, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson has launched an aircraft maintenance business, Cardiff Aviation Ltd, which will be based at the Twin Peaks Hangar at St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, United Kingdom. Dickinson, a qualified commercial pilot, and his company is leasing the 132,000 square-foot hangar from the Welsh government.

Cardiff Aviation will maintain airliners and other large aircraft for major and independent airlines. It will also have facilities to complete the full range of ancillary aircraft maintenance and training activities and has the expertise and approvals to certify aircraft from many jurisdictions, including the USA.

Commented Dickinson: "We're coming into this enterprise with the knowledge that we'll also be bringing business to south Wales.

"South Wales has long had an association with the aircraft industry and I am delighted that I am able to have a small part in the continuation of that tradition."

In advance of Friday's premiere of this year's highly anticipated movie "Marvel's The Avengers", Austin, Texas metal luminaries THE SWORD have announced the release of "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 have decided to make "Hammer Of Heaven" available digitally to coincide with the release of the film. Click here to download the song on iTunes.

After releasing three critically acclaimed albums on Kemado Records, the Austin, Texas-based quartet featuring guitarist/vocalist J.D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and new drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III will commence recording its fourth album on June 24 with a projected release date of fall 2012. The new CD will be supported by extensive global touring that will stretch well into 2013.

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.

Swedish hard rockers FATAL SMILE will release their new album, "21st Century Freaks", 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.

You can pre-order signed copies of the album and get a free poster at this location.

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

Anthony Morgan of Metal Forces recently conducted an interview with vocalist/guitarist Rolf Kasparek of German metallers RUNNING WILD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On temporarily ending RUNNING WILD:

Rolf: "It was about 2006 where I said goodbye to RUNNING WILD for myself. I figured out that the last album was so heavy for me to write, and all the ideas didn't come out of me in the right way. There were a lot of things that I had to throw away because I figured they were not strong enough to go on the album. In around 2009 the guys from Wacken came over to me, and said, 'Why don't you do a show for the fans to say goodbye?' I said, 'Okay, let's try this', so we did it. At that time I was really sure that I would end RUNNING WILD and not do it anymore, because it didn't feel right anymore.

"When I was writing the TOXIC TASTE stuff, I figured out how it can feel when you write songs. Everything came out so easy and so natural, and when I was writing that, I figured that it was the right feeling again because it felt like the old days. When I was writing songs like 'Under Jolly Roger' or 'Riding The Storm' and songs like that, they were all written in a very short period of time. I said, 'Okay, let's try this out', but in 2009 my batteries were empty, so to speak. I really needed a break and really had to go away fully and not do it anymore, because it didn't feel right anymore. Today when I look back though, I see that I just needed a break to refill my batteries again."

On writing new album "Shadowmaker":

Rolf: "It was around 2010 that some record companies came to me, and said, 'What about re-recording old stuff from the first nine records?' They're no longer available because of Universal in England owning the rights to them, but not putting them out again. We were talking about that, and said, 'Let's do this, and re-record 20 songs or something like that.' They needed some bonus tracks for that, and when I tried to write the bonus tracks the songs for the album came out. The first track that I wrote was 'Piece Of The Action', which was way too strong to be wasted as a bonus track. The second one was 'Riding On The Tide'. The songs that I was writing were way too strong to be wasted as bonus tracks, and didn't make sense to me to be used as such. When I wrote these strong songs it made more sense to do a full album, because four songs were half an album. If I could've written half an album, I could've written a whole album no problem. They said, 'Wow, a great idea. Let's do a new record,' which became 'Shadowmaker'."

On new reissues of RUNNING WILD's earlier albums:

Rolf: "I think the first one that's coming out is 'Gates To Purgatory' (December 1984). We did some re-releases on Sanctuary, which included bonus tracks, so there are no more songs that I have to put on them. This is the problem. I just did an interview with Malcolm Dome though for the liner notes of 'Gates To Purgatory'; maybe he will be doing this for all of the records, but I don't know. I really hope that they put out all of the records, but at the moment they're just trying out the first one."

On side project GIANT X:

Rolf: "It will be different than RUNNING WILD, because it's pretty much more typical rock 'n' roll stuff I would say. PJ (Peter Jordan) plays all of the guitars and does all of the production. We wanted to get the opportunity to do a full demo with ten songs. but we had to cut it down when I started production for 'Shadowmaker'. I couldn't do two productions together because PJ was involved in the project, in the production for 'Shadowmaker'. GIANT X is a rock 'n' roll heavy metal project, but one song has a slide guitar and is very bluesy, and we got a ballad and everything. It's totally different than RUNNING WILD, but also heavy metal and hard rock. Some record companies — even SPV — are very interested in that project."

Read the entire interview from Metal Forces.