Norwegian metallers OVERTHROW have inked a deal with Indie Recordings. The band is currently wrapping up the songwriting for its debut album, which is scheduled for a fall release.

Formed in 2008, OVERTHROW is a hard-hitting metal band from Stavanger, Norway, drawing inspiration from every corner of heavy music. The group — whose members range in age from 19 to 21 — has previously shared the stage with such acts as CANCER BATS, PURIFIED IN BLOOD and VALIENT THORR, and has toured with KVELERTAK and CLUTCH.

OVERTHROW is:

Ole Gaard Varhaug - Guitar/Vocals
Erlend Færevåg - Lead Guitar
Tor Arne Håland - Bass
Espen Kvaløy - Drums

London, England-based industrial-metal band HANNIBAL will release its second album, "Cyberia", in the spring. The band is currently on the road in Europe as the support act for former NIGHTWISH singer TarjaTurunen.

A concept album based on the signs of the times, "Cyberia" was mixed by HANNIBAL leader Alex Balakakis, the former singer of the legendary Greek heavy metal act SPITFIRE.

HANNIBAL's debut album, "This Is U", came out in 2006 via Sleaszy Rider Records.

For more information, visit www.hannibalnation.co.uk.

After a longer winter-sleep summoning is back again and ow works constantly for a new release. We promise that in the near future we will regularly update the homepage again, so it will we worth the costs to check the page in regular intervals.

The present situation of Summoning:

In the past years we have worked on new material just very rarely because of different reasons (partly personal, partly being not motivated enough) but since the last months ,we intensified the work for new material and realised, that the old spirit is back again and we are very motivated for a cool new release and we are very committed in every terms of composing.

Meanwhile there are two songs which are fix starters for the album. 4 or 5 songs are in a more advance state and we composed riffs for at least 10 or 15 songs in a very early state. Btw. we still have one finished song from the last oath bound session which also will be in one or another way. so probably this time we are in the luck situation that we have more songs left, so maybe there will be some special limited fan releases beside the normal release, but this is of course just a wish right now.

We hope that until the end of this year most of the material for the new album can be finished. In the moment we have no concrete conception about the lyrical concept. All we can say right now is, that Summoning is still alive and middle earth will awake again.

MOTÖRHEAD, the hardest-working, hardest-touring band in the world, loves when fans buy its records, but not this time. A new box set, called "Complete Early Years Box Set", has just come out by the company who has the rights to the band's early recordings, and some retail outlets are allegedly charging over $600 for it!

"Unfortunately, greed once again rears its yapping head," says iconic frontman Lemmy Kilmister. "I would advise against it even for the most rabid completists!"

MOTÖRHEAD has no control over what’s done with these early songs, and doesn't want fans to think that the band is involved in putting out such a costly box set.

MOTÖRHEAD do have a great new record and DVD out, (CD is "The Wörld Is Yours" and DVD is "The Wörld Is Ours-Vol 1 - Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else"), and the band hopes fans will choose these new releases over this outrageously expensive box set.

For more information on "Complete Early Years Box Set", go to this location.

Glasgow, Scotland's MAN MUST DIE has announced the addition of drummer Todd Hansen (ex-THE BERZERKER) to the group's ranks.

Commented the band: "MAN MUST DIE are delighted to have Todd on board. He's a phenomenal drummer and a super cool guy. We are really looking forward to creating a new exciting era for MAN MUST DIE together. Todd brings with him an attitude unparalleled by anyone we've met in the music industry and will provide the missing link in the MMD armour."

Added Hansen: "I'm super excited to have successfully auditioned for Scottish metal band MAN MUST DIE. I have been searching for the right band since THE BERZERKER disbanded a couple of years back and MAN MUST DIE is right up my alley style-wise. The death/thrash drumming style, the songwriting, the lyrics, the dedication and commitment of the members as well as the fact they're great dudes! I'm really looking forward to creating some great heavy music with these guys."

MAN MUST DIE is currently seeking a new label home following its split with Relapse Records, which released the group's 2009 effort, "No Tolerance For Imperfection".

Guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal the progressive rock/metal band CYNIC has revealed to Andrew Pennington of Ireland's Molten magazine that the group is working on material for a new full-length album for a tentative late 2012 release.

"Right now we're deep in [writing] the album," Masvidal said. "It'll probably come out towards the end of the year. I think that's the goal, to deliver it by the summer. So that's it right now; just make a killer album. I feel really great about it already; I think that we're in good shape." Regarding the musical direction of the new material, Paul said, "It's almost like, I don't know how to explain it, but if I had to put it in a box it's more sci-fi, futuristic and alien but at the same time very song-driven. It's kind of like, to me, coming into CYNIC's body more. It feels very modern and at the same time it just feels really cool. I'm big in the space. It's definitely new. It's not like anything we've done before. It's a new color, a new space. I think people will really take note of even the guitar stuff. I'm really shifting gears, I'm trying things in a different way and the way stuff is played. It's a new space for CYNIC, for sure. It definitely sounds like us, except completely new."

CYNIC's latest EP, "Carbon-Based Anatomy", was released in November via Season Of Mist. The CD artwork was designed by the great Robert Venosa, the artist behind the covers of CYNIC's previous releases "Focus", "Traced in Air" and "Re-Traced".

All bass parts on "Carbon-Based Anatomy" were recorded by one-time CYNIC bassist Sean Malone.

CYNIC was joined by Brandon Giffin on bass and Max Phelps on guitar and vocals during the group's recent North American and European tours in support of "Carbon-Based Anatomy".

Greek female-fronted modern thrash/death metal band AFTERBLOOD has completed work on its debut album, "Of Unsound Minds", to be released later in the year. The CD was recorded at Dungeon Studios in Athens and it was produced, mixed and mastered by Waldemar Sorychta (GRIP INC., ENEMY OF THE SUN).

"Of Unsound Minds" features guest appearances by Thomas "Angelripper" Such (SODOM), Antony Hämäläinen (NIGHTRAGE) and Waldemar Sorychta. Markus Freiwald (SODOM) played drums on the entire album, under the guidance of Sorychta.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Take
02. Before Time Runs Out
03. Mission Of Aggression (feat. Tom Angelripper)
04. Thoughts Of Black
05. Play Dead
06. Beyond (feat. Waldemar Sorychta)
07. Calling The Dead (Séance)
08. Helheim
09. The More I Lie (feat. Antony Hämäläinen)
10. Psychonic
11. Goodnight
12. Phobia (KREATOR cover)

AFTERBLOOD's recording lineup for "Of Unsound Minds":
Hel Pyre (Vocals, Lyrics)
Cyan (Guitars)
Dasno (Bass)
Markus Freiwald (Session Drums)

German death metallers LAY DOWN ROTTEN will release their new album, "Mask Of Malice", on February 28 in North America (one day earlier internationally) via Metal Blade Records.

Commented the band: "After three years, we are back at the front with our new album, 'Mask Of Malice', that features 10 death metal grenades! We are honored to present our new guitarist and songwriter Kensington who is responsible for most of the killer riffs on this album. 'Mask Of Malice' is our darkest record to date concerning both the music and the lyrics. Our main interest was to reflect the nature of human malice in our recent music which express in straight forward up-tempo smashers and pounding mid tempo songs. We are grateful for everyone who was involved in this recording of this album!"

"Mask Of Malice" track listing:

01. Deathchain
02. A Darker Shade Of Hatred
03. Nightfall
04. Mask Of Malice
05. …And Out Come The Wolves
06. Swallow The Bitterness
07. Hades Resurrected
08. The Devil Grins
09. La Serpenta Canta
10. The Loss

LAY DOWN ROTTEN is putting the finishing touches on its first-ever video, for the song "Hades Resurrected". A teaser for the clip — which will be premiered in early March — can be seen below.

LAY DOWN ROTTEN is:

Jost Kleinert - Vocals
Nils Förster - Guitar
Daniel "Kensington" Seifert - Guitar
Uwe Kilian - Bass
Timo Claas – Drums

"Hades Resurrected" teaser:

Slash — the iconic, Grammy-winning rock guitarist and songwriter — joined Stevie Wonder, Sean Combs, Chris Cornell, Lenny Kravitz, LL Cool J, Common, Snoop Dogg, former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, actors Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini and more this past Saturday, February 18 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a 70th birthday celebration to honor boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Video footage of Slash performing "Always On The Run" with Lenny Kravitz can be seen below.

"Muhammad Ali is and always has been a role model & a hero to me," said Slash. "It's a huge privilege to be able to perform in his honor. He is one of the great icons of American culture and history."

The 16th annual "Power Of Love Gala" celebrates the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali and his contribution to the world and raises awareness for Alzheimer's, Huntington's, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's, the disease "The Champ" has been battling since 1984. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health's work toward enhanced treatments and research of neurocognitive disorders and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The show also featured appearances from boxing legends such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Ken Norton, Tommy "Hitman" Hearns, and more.

Slash is currently in a Los Angeles studio working on his new album with Myles Kennedy and THE CONSPIRATORS. Entitled "Apocalyptic Love", it will be released Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI and will follow his 2010 debut album, "Slash", and his November 2011 first-ever live solo album, the two-CD/DVD set "Made In Stoke 24/7/11". Notably, the "Slash" album debuted on The Billboard 200 chart at #3 (#1 on the Rock chart, #1 on the Independent chart, and #1 on the Hard Music chart). Digitally, the album also became the #1 overall digital album and hit #1 on iTunes in 13 countries. Internationally, the disc achieved Top 5 chart positions in over a dozen major territories, hitting #1 in both Japan and New Zealand.

The Tracii Guns version of L.A. GUNS will embark on a European headlining tour in early March. According to Tracii, "this tour will be the last L.A. GUNS tour for now and also it's a tour to break in my new band THE TRACII GUNS LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN, so we will be doing a complete L.A. GUNS set and possibly one new LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN song. After this tour, it will be LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN for the rest of the year."

The L.A. GUNS lineup for the European tour will be as follows:

Tracii Guns - Guitar
Scott Foster Harris - Vocals
Eric Grossman - Bass
Doni Gray - Drums

For a complete list of tour dates, go to this location.

L.A. GUNS in December parted ways with Dilana Robichaux a mere 71 days after announcing the former "Rock Star: Supernova" reality-TV show contestant as its new singer.

Tracii started L.A. GUNS while still in high school in 1982. The original singer, Michael Jagosz, was replaced by Axl Rose. Signed to PolyGram in '87, the band's self-titled debut, with Phil Lewis replacing Rose, sold over a million copies, as did "Cocked and Loaded" (1989) and "Hollywood Vampires" (1991).

Tracii Guns' L.A. GUNS is not to be confused with the Phil Lewis-led version of the group, which is also continuing to record and perform under the L.A. GUNS moniker.

AmbPirate of Capital Chaos conducted an interview with PRONG mainman Tommy Victor when the band performed at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California on February 17 as the support act for TESTAMENT. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is performance footage from the Sacramento concert.

PRONG will release its new album, "Carved Into Stone", on April 24 in North America via Long Branch Records/SPV. The CD was recorded with producer Steve Evetts, who has previously worked with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X, SEPULTURA and HATEBREED, among others. The cover artwork was created by Vance Kelly (DOWN, THE SWORD) and can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Carved Into Stone" "is quintessentially PRONG. It stretches into the band's earliest and dirtiest foundations on which the band was founded on New York's Lower East Side to the present as a staple of today's post-metal and rock scenes."

Comments Victor: "It was hardest I've ever worked in the studio on any record I've ever been involved with."

PRONG — whose lineup is rounded out by bassist Tony Campos and drummer Alexei Rodriguez — has taken a major step forward in their constantly evolving brand of sonic schematics.

"I always believed there were many dimensions to PRONG," says Tommy. "Every record we've been associated with different scenes — hardcore, metal, industrial — even dance! I think this record brings all of that together and sounds very modern at the same time."

"Carved Into Stone" track listing

01. Eternal Heat
02. Keep On Living In Pain
03. Ammunition
04. Revenge ... Best Served Cold
05. State of Rebellion
06. Put Myself to Sleep
07. List of Grievances
08. Carved Into Stone
09. Subtract
10. Path of Least Resistance
11. Reinvestigate

Founded in 1986, PRONG is considered to be a pioneer of the American post-hardcore and post-metal scenes whose influence is still being felt today.

PRONG's last release was "Power Of The Damn Mixxxer", the remix counterpart to the band's 2007 album "Power of The Damager".

Interview:

The new self-titled album from Raleigh, North Carolina legends CORROSION OF CONFORMITY can be streamed in its entirety at AOL Music. Due on February 28 in North America via Candlelight Records, the CD was recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California and was produced by the band in cooperation with longtime collaborator John Custer. It was mixed by John Lousteau (FOO FIGHTERS) and features artwork by Seldon Hunt (MELVINS, HIGH ON FIRE).

"Corrosion Of Conformity" will be available on standard CD, deluxe digipak, and two exclusive vinyl formats.

Featuring the esteemed "Animosity" lineup of vocalist/bassist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's album closes a six-year recording gap and completes over a year of concentrated writing and recording for the band.

"Corrosion Of Conformity" track listing:

01. Psychic Vampire
02. River Of Stone
03. Leeches
04. El Lamento De Las Cabras
05. Your Tomorrow
06. The Doom
07. The Moneychangers
08. Come Not Here
09. What We Become
10. Rat City
11. Time Of Trials
12. Canyon Man (deluxe/vinyl only)
13. The Same Way (deluxe/vinyl only)

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY recently completed a video for the song "The Moneychangers" with director Charles Cardello.

Mullin co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside Weatherman and Dean before leaving the band in 2001 amidst health concerns.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's latest album, "In the Arms of God", came out in 2005 on Sanctuary Records. The group's first collection of new material since 2000's "America's Volume Dealer" was produced by C.O.C.'s longtime collaborator John Custer.

DOWNSPIRIT, the German/Swiss blues/metal-oriented band formed by SYMPHORCE/ex-FREEDOM CALL guitarist Cedric "Cede" Dupont, will enter the studios in mid-March to record its second album. A late summer release via Metalville Records is expected, to be followed by a tour in fall/winter.

DOWNSPIRIT's debut album, "Point Of Origin", was received well, with much positive feedback all over the world, and brought the band's touring schedule to include more than 60 shows around Europe.

Commented the group: "We can't wait to let you hear what our second album will sound like. Being on the road a lot and having so much fun together as a band certainly made it's inspiration to the songwriting process. We're gonna have a lot of killer tunes on that album, that's for sure!! We're looking forward to get to the studio in mid-March!"

Video footage of SKID ROW members Rachel Bolan (bass) and Rob Hammersmith (drums) working through some demos for the band's upcoming studio album can be seen below.

SKID ROW's latest CD, "Revolutions Per Minute", was released on October 24, 2006 via SPV Records.

When asked in a July 2011 interview with SCTimes.com if the band has been working on any new music, Bolan replied, "Actually, we are. Snake and I are writing when we get a chance. We've got about eight songs right now and we want to write at least 10 more and pick from that. I live in Atlanta and he lives out in Hollywood, so it takes a little bit of planning. We do what we can through the mail, but we never really feel right about something until we sit down in the same room together and write. I doubt that it will be out this year, but hopefully 2012. I gotta tell you, just saying that, 'in 2012'... When we recorded our first album in '88, I never thought we'd still be making records in 2012. That's pretty cool."

Bolan previously told Times-Standard.com about SKID ROW's forthcoming sixth album, "I think the next record, as far as what Snake and I are writing, is going back to what people would expect from SKID ROW. We're looking forward to it."

SKID ROW in 2010 parted ways with drummer Dave Gara and replaced him with Atlanta native Rob Hammersmith.

Rob spent many years touring and recording with Atlanta-based rockers ROCKETS TO RUIN and has performed with GUNFIRE 76, the band featuring MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13.

German rockers TALETELLERS have officially changed their name to AC ANGRY. The band has just finished recording its new album, "Black Denim", to be released later in the year.

After issuing two full-length albums and completing a full European tour supporting GRAVE DIGGER and ALESTORM, the band decided to change its name to something more suitable for their musical direction, which is straight-forward rock 'n' roll with some '80s metal influences.

AC ANGRY's first live show of 2012 will take place on February 27, supporting D-A-D in Saarbrücken, Germany.

A teaser for the new album can be streamed below.

AC ANGRY is:

Alan Costa - Vocals/Guitar
Stefan Kuhn - Lead Guitar
Dennis Kirsch - Bass
Michael Stein - Drums

Spanish pagan doom metallers LLVME will release their second album, "Yía De Nuesu", in March via My Kingdom Music. The CD is described in a press release as "the most true expression of great doom melodies of desperation, the epicity and magic of pagan metal and the beauty epic tale of the traditional pagan Leonese folk... Once again the typical extreme metal structures characterized by a strong doom metal background are enriched with the beauty of the Celtic violins and bagpipes arrangements and by wondeful female vocals. It'll be a must for all fans of MY DYING BRIDE, PRIMORDIAL, SHAPE OF DESPAIR, NEGURA BUNGET and doom pagan metal in general."

"Yía De Nuesu" was mixed and mastered by Daniel Cardoso (ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN, HEAVENWOOD) at Ultrasound Studios.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. 1188-1230
02. Helmántica
03. Vettonia
04. Vaqueirada'l Baitse
05. Conceyu
06. Yía Fatu A Tierra
07. Pramoséu
08. Purtiellu De La Llïaltá
09. Llibación Nu Alborecer
10. Xota Chaconeada
11. Miróbriga
12. Fayéu De Sueños

LLVME's lyrics are inspired by the destructive power of fire and the glorious past of the band's homeland. They are written in Leonese, the native language of the ancient Kingdom of Leon, the Spanish region which the members of the band hail from.

"Llvme" is a Leonese word that means "fire."

Legendary British metal act ANGEL WITCH will release its new album, "As Above, So Below", on March 20 via Metal Blade Records. The Jaime Gomez Arellano-produced (GHOST, THE GATES OF SLUMBER) CD unites newly-penned yet timeless-sounding material such as "Geburah", "The Horla", "Brainwashed" and "Upon This Cord" with four long-lost tracks from the classic-era. "Dead Sea Scrolls" and "Witching Hour" both date back to 1983/'84, while "Into The Dark" and "Guillotine" are older still. Both were live favorites during ANGEL WITCH's late-1970s heyday; indeed, "Guillotine" was actually intended to have appeared on the "Angel Witch" album.

"As Above, So Below" track listing:

01. Dead Sea Scrolls
02. Into the Dark
03. Geburah
04. The Horla
05. Witching Hour
06. Upon This Cord
07. Guillotine
08. Brainwashed

Listen to "Dead Sea Scrolls" below and place your pre-order now at this location.

ANGEL WITCH will performing on Saturday, March 17 in London at The Garage with GRAND MAGUS and IN SOLITUDE.

ANGEL WITCH is:

Kevin Heybourne - Vocals/Lead Guitar
Andrew Prestidge - Drums
Will Palmer - Bass

The long-awaited Tribunal Records 100th release has finally arrived! Due on March 6, the digital-only release "Tribunal Records 100: Cover To Cover" was begun as a celebration of Tribunal Records artists covering some of their favorite songs and it wound up being quite a diverse bunch of tracks from artists like METALLICA, COLDPLAY, HEART, PINK FLOYD, KORN, EMF, MEGADETH, CORONER, SEAL, CARCASS, MICHAEL SEMBELLO, ROB ZOMBIE, THIRD EYE BLIND, QUEENSRŸCHE, MUSE, INSIDE OUT, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and LED ZEPPELIN.

Says the label: "The compilation was initially intended for release during Tribunal Records' ten-year anniversary, but a project this grand eventually took on a life of its own and there was no way to possibly complete it in time. We could have simply halted work given the dire circumstances but quitters we are definitely not, so we forged on and now we have 21 tracks (most never before released) to present to all the fans in this special digital collection. Kick back, crank it up and enjoy our 100th release for what it symbolizes…having fun!"

"Tribunal Records 100: Cover To Cover" track listing:

01. THE FEDS - "Barracuda"
02. BLATANT DISARRAY - "Holy Wars…The Punishment Due"
03. ARIA (with Christopher Kincaid) - "Clocks"
04. VANISHER - "Of Wolf & Man"
05. AGE OF RUIN - "Buried Dreams"
06. ASECRETDEATH - "Welcome To The Machine"
07. KILLWHITNEYDEAD - "Sacrifice
08. SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE - "The Razor’s Edge"
09. LINE OF FIRE - "I Will Remember"
10. WOMBWRECKER - "Here I Stay"
11. JONIN - "Caffeine"
12. HE IS LEGEND - "Wounded"
13. SARGANT FURY - "Maniac"
14. CENTURY - "A Kiss From A Rose"
15. CANVAS SOLARIS - "Arc Lite"
16. UNCLE SLAM - "Dazed & Confused"
17. ENEMY IS US - "Stockholm Syndrome"
18. SWIFT - "Unbelievable"
19. VANISHER - "Superbeast"
20. SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE - "Be Quick Or Be Dead"
21. KILLWHITNEYDEAD/JONIN - "Vote With A Bullet"

LINE OF FIRE - "I Will Remember" audio stream:

KYUSS LIVES!, the project featuring three-quarters of KYUSS — the influential American stoner rock/metal band, originally from Palm Desert, California, has entered Thunder Underground Studios in Palm Springs, California with engineer Harper Hug (NEIL DIAMOND, LUTHER VANDROSS, INDIGO GIRLS) to mix its upcoming live album.

KYUSS LIVES! consists of bassist Nick Oliveri, drummer Brant Bjork and singer John Garcia along with guitarist Bruno Fevery, who most recently played with Garcia in the GARCIA PLAYS KYUSS project.

Regarding why KYUSS guitarist and founding member Josh Homme is not involved in the reunion, Garcia told Rock Sound magazine, "I have nothing bad to say about Josh — he's extremely intelligent, very smart, a great guitar player, great songwriter, a great vocalist — he is a bad-ass, there is no question, and I love him dearly but he is busy with his own thing. He has THEM CROOKED VULTURES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, he's a father, a businessman and even if we asked him to do it, I don't think he'd say yes, so I don't want to set myself up for a big fat no which is 99.9 percent what he would say."

Sonisphere Knebworth has announced three headliners and the first batch of bands for its 2012 event, taking place July 6th - 8th at Knebworth House, UK, with tickets available from Sonisphere.co.uk from 9 AM, Thursday, February 23rd

Shooting rockets. Blood spitting. Face Paint. Shiny Boots and utterly jaw dropping triumphant live shows: Sonisphere is proud to announce KISS as Friday's headliner. With a reputation for being perhaps the most flamboyant and entertaining band on the planet, the American Kings will bring their stage extravaganza to Sonisphere as their only European performance of 2012. While many bands have been chasing the eye liner shock horror dollar and have come and gone without changing the face of music as we know it, KISS have gone from strength to strength garnering praise, success and too many accolades to mention throughout the years, selling over 100 million albums worldwide and counting as the band is poised to unleash new album 'Monster' in June 2012.

Says the band: “You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world, KISS."

Sonisphere festival is KISS’ invitation to have the best time of your life with long lost friends such as the anthemic 'Rock N Roll All Night', the jubilant singalong 'I Was Made For Lovin' You' and the rallying cry of 'God Gave Rock N Roll To You II'. We would ask you to lock up your daughters, girlfriends and wives, but with GENE SIMMONS in town, it's pretty clear there's no stopping them. And if you can't fight them, join them at their only European show of 2012.

With a quarter of a century having since passed, rock legends QUEEN are to return to play a second concert at the venue that provided them with the setting for one of their biggest and most historic concerts.

Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor have confirmed the band will headline the second day of Sonisphere appearing on the Apollo stage on Saturday July 7th. Knebworth was the setting for Queen's final concert with FREDDIE MERCURY, in August 1986.

May and Taylor also confirmed that for this very special event they will be joined by US singer-songwriter ADAM LAMBERT.

The potent chemistry between Queen and Lambert broke the surface when at the invitation of Brian May and Roger Taylor, Lambert joined them for the closing showcase at the recent MTV Europe Awards where Queen were present to collect their Global Icon award.

Says Brian May: “Judging by my incoming mail, this decision will make a lot of people very happy. It's a worthy challenge for us, and I'm sure Adam would meet with Freddie's approval! And what better place to revisit, and walk those emotional paths than Knebworth? It will be a rush.”

For the final, Sunday night, Sonisphere Knebworth is proud to announce the legendary FAITH NO MORE as the headline act on the Apollo stage.

Onstage irreverent, uncompromising, unpredictable and dazzling at every turn, FNM have been setting new standards in exciting rock performance for more than two decades now. With classics such as ‘Falling To Pieces’, ‘Epic’, ‘Midlife Crisis’ and ‘Be Aggressive’, Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Bill Gould, Jon Hudson and Mike Patton are poised to set Knebworth on fire when they close the last night at Sonisphere with their only UK appearance of 2012.

Says bass player Billy Gould: "It was over 2 years ago when we decided to reform and play those amazing UK shows. The good news is, we've had a couple of years to improve our skills; moving our song to error ratio down 3.5 full percentage points. Watch out UK, we're going to do it right this time!!"

Other acts confirmed currently include: WITHIN TEMPTATION, WOLFMOTHER, EVANESCENCE, THE DARKNESS, FLOGGING MOLLY, GOJIRA, LACUNA COIL, INCUBUS, MARILYN MANSON, CYPRESS HILL, ANDREW W.K., REFUSED, MASTODON, THE BLACKOUT, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, GHOST, SWITCHFOOT, I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN, KATATONIA, TIM MINCHIN.

Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA will release their new album, "Stones Grow Her Name", on May 18 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded in several studios all over Finland, mixed at Sonic Pump Studios by Mikko Karmila and mastered at Chartmakers by Svante Forsbäck. The effort will be released as a limited-edition digipak, standard jewel case, vinyl and download.

"Stones Grow Her Name" track listing:

01. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)
02. Shitload of Money
03. Losing My Insanity
04. Somewhere Close To You
05. I Have A Right
06. Alone In Heaven
07. The Day
08. Cinderblox
09. Don't Be Mean
10. Wildfire II
11. Wildfire III

Commented SONATA ARCTICA vocalist Tony Kakko: "Our newest adventure is only a final touch short of being ready.

"The recordings went extremely well and the mixing is in schedule.

"[I] have to say I am enjoying myself greatly.

"I've had a very hard and work-filled two-year period writing the songs while touring extensively with our previous album, 'The Days of Grays'. But it has all been worth it!

"Yet again we are introducing new things to keep the music alive and interesting. New elements, styles and new moods, talented quest artists and ideas for the enjoyment of the loyal friends of our music.

"Can't wait for you to get your hands and ears on 'Stones Grow Her Name'!

"Hope to see you all again on tour!"

Gunnar Sauermann, a writer for the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, was one of the first media people to hear a rough-mix version of "Stones Grow Her Name" at this past weekend's Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki. He comments, "SONATA ARCTICA was never more exciting and more versatile as on 'Stones Grow Her Name'. Every single song is a hit!"

SONATA ARCTICA's concert DVD, "Live In Finland", last November topped the official "Music DVD" chart in Finland. Released in Europe on November 11 and in North America on November 15 via Nuclear Blast, the set includes the band's entire April 15, 2011 performance at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland as well as a bonus disc containing four songs that were filmed at the band's own festival on August 8, 2009 in Kemi, Finland. Also featured on the DVD are SONTA ARCTICA's promotional videos for the songs "Don't Say A Word", "Paid In Full" and "Flag In The Ground" as well as a photo gallery and behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the DVD. There is also a bonus CD containing eight songs that were recorded at the Kemi festival concert.

"The Days Of Grays" sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 19 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.

"The Days Of Grays" was released on September 22, 2009 in North America through Nuclear Blast Records.

Long-running German metallers ATROCITY will release a new DVD, "Die Gottlosen Jahre" (English translation: The Godless Years), on March 30.

Commented the band: "After years of preparation, rediscovering old treasures and unveiling unforgettable memories of our musical adventures, we are finally able to share our history which extends over a period of more than two decades since we formed the band in 1985. The DVD features the three-hour long anthology 'Die Gottlosen Jahre', including tons of unreleased and rare footage, moreover, more than 80 inteviewes from the global metal and gothic scene. It makes us unbelievably proud that so many people helped us during this long and detailed production process. The movie chronicles happenings around the scene bound to each period, evolving into its own chapter. Additionally, the double DVD including audio CD release includes the 25th-anniversary special show at Wacken Open Air 2010, as well as a number of bonus clips, such as the short, Dreath-Sidestory Underground."

"Die Gottlosen Jahre" features more than 80 interviews, including those with members of CARCASS, ARCH ENEMY, KREATOR, DIMMU BORGIR, DEICIDE, OBITUARY, SODOM, LACRIMOSA, DAS ICH, OOMPH!, PAIN, CREMATORY, ENTOMBED, MORGOTH, NAPALM DEATH, PUNGENT STENCH, UMBRA ET IMAGO, SAMSAS TRAUM, as well as journalists, label staff, DJs, photographers, and fans. Reels and reels of rare unreleased film material and hundreds of photographs accompany the 25-year career of this German cult band. Of course, no ATROCITY retrospective would ever be complete without the legendary 25th-anniversary concert (performed at Wacken Open Air 2010 to a red-hot crowd led by frontman Alex Krull) or without an abundance of bonus material such as the documentary "No Sleep 'Til Wacken", the short "Dreath Sidestory Underground", featuring Alex Krull and Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), as well as a substantial collection of the band's video clips, including some of their greatest hits ("Taste of Sin", "Love Is Dead" and "Cold Black Days"), which were completely remastered to guarantee their fans the utmost enjoyment. As with all Mastersound Studio releases, the remaining material also boasts of a state-of-the-art production.

"Die Gottlosen Jahre" track listing:

DVD 1:

Documentary - Die Gottlosen Jahre (The Godless Years)

01. Prolog
02. Untergrund
03. Aufbruch
04. Turbulenzen
05. Transilvanien
06. Weltmusik
07. Zusammenkunft
08. Hass und Feuer
09. Neue Ufer
10. Zweigeist
11. Verlorenes Paradies
12. Dunkle Schönheit
13. Stimmen der Vergangenheit
14. Epilog

DVD 2:

Live in Wacken 2010 + Bonus Clips

01. No Sleep 'Til Wacken
02. Fatal Step
03. Necropolis
04. Blut
05. Willenskraft
06. Seasons in Black
07. Clash of the Titans
08. Die Todgeweihten
09. Danse Macabre
10. The Great Commandment
11. Fade To Grey
12. The Sun Always Shines on TV
13. Shout

Bonus Clips:

01. Blut
02. Cold Black Days
03. The Sun Always Shines on TV
04. Reich of Phenomena (Liveclip)
05. Die Liebe (feat. Das Ich)
06. Taste of Sin
07. Shout (Liveclip)
08. Love is Dead
09. Fade to Grey (Liveclip)
10. Calling the Rain (feat. Yasmin)
11. The Great Commandment (Liveclip)
12. Miss Directed
13. Dreath - Sidestory "Underground"

DVD Specification:

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 PAL DV
Sound: Stereo 2.0
Language: English/German
Subtitle: English / German
Regional Code: All Regions
Running Time DVD I: 180 minutes
Running Time DVD II: 116 minutes

Bonus Audio CD:

Live in Wacken 2010

01. Fatal Step
02. Necropolis
03. Blut
04. Willenskraft
05. Seasons in Black
06. Clash of the Titans
07. Die Todgeweihten
08. Danse Macabre
09. The Great Commandment
10. Fade To Grey

In other news, drummer Roland Navratil left ATROCITY "for private reasons and has been replaced by Joris Nijenhuis. The band states, "Not only is he a great guy; he also totally blew us away during his audition. He is the perfect match for the new ATROCITY material!"

States Joris: "I'm really excited to announce that I'm the new drummer for ATROCITY. After quitting DRDOOM, it wasn't easy to find a new band, but then [bassist] J.B. [Van Der Wal] told me that ATROCITY was looking for a new drummer. So I recorded an audition video of 'Reich Of Phenomena' and was asked to come to the studio a few weeks later to meet everyone. I'm really looking forward to play on the upcoming album and play a lot of shows."

"Scum", the classic 1987 debut album from grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH, will be re-released on limited-edition redux CD and colored vinyl LP on March 5 via Earache Records.

To celebrate 25 years since the release of the most influential grindcore album ever made, "Scum" has been remastered especially for this release from the original tapes with Full Dynamic Range (FDR), allowing the music's nuances to shine through and giving the whole album a more ferocious and dynamic sound than ever before, and enabling the listener to immerse in the full audio chaos like never before.

Original NAPALM DEATH guitarist and founding member Mick Harris states: "It sounds wicked — that record still holds up today and I'm proud I was part of it."

This full dynamic range release is a reaction to the loudness war which has affected the music scene since the '90s, with artists and labels striving to producer ever-louder CDs. Earache firmly believes the playback volume should be in the hands of the listener, not the producer — that's what the volume control is for!

See a comparison of the "Scum" full dynamic range audio against the previous version below.

More FDR releases are planned, including NAPALM DEATH's follow-up effort, "From Enslavement To Obliteration".

The limited-edition "Scum" CD comes housed in a digipak sleeve and includes the previously unreleased rough mix of the entire album as a bonus, complete with original ad libs and intros from the studio and an alternate version of the title track. The collector's LP version is available in the following quantities and colors:

* 100 - Lime Green
* 200 - Lilac
* 300 - Magenta
* 800 - Black & White

Fan-filmed video footage of Ryan Adams — the multiple-Grammy-nominated folk singer and songwriter from Jacksonville, North Carolina — performing a acoustic cover version of the DIO classic "Holy Diver" on February 17 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California can be seen below.

According to RollingStone.com, Adams hosts a black metal talk-show on YouTube called "Night Sweats", where his female co-host, Balphazar, wears corpse-paint and groans her approval amid the skulls and candelabras. Adams performs the morose theme song on banjo.

"I love it," he told station DJ Jason Bentley during an interview. "There's all these musicians in the world, and anybody that takes enough time to create a record or even think about the fantasy of rock and roll, it's a vulnerable place to be in, it's a huge thing to do. I hear that when I listen to black metal."

Adams also praised metal legends AC/DC, BLACK SABBATH and OZZY OSBOURNE, and gave his stamp of approval to the newest album from RATT, 2010's "Infestation". "It is so good. Put track two on, sit down on your couch and wait for fucking Memorex hair," he said, only half-joking. "The sickest guitar parts ever. It's like every song is 'Round And Round'. Every song is that good."

Finnish metallers ANTAGONIST ZERO will release their debut digital EP, "Nighttime Harmony", on March 14 via Violent Journey Records.

ANTAGONIST ZERO is a five-piece metal band from Porvoo, Finland, formed in 2010. Despite the bandmembers' relative young age, they have many years of experience playing in different groups such as ADASTRA, CAVUS, COPROLITH and LOST IN TEARS.

ANTAGONIST ZERO describes its music as "catatonic metal," which includes elements from different types of metal genres, namely doom as well as death/black and post metal.

ANTAGONIST ZERO is:

Ben Pakarinen: Guitar, Vocals
Juho Suokas: Guitar
Ville Siikamäki: Clean Vocals
Fredde Sjöblom: Bass
Aleksi Tervo: Drums

Slash — the iconic, Grammy-winning rock guitarist and songwriter — is currently in a Los Angeles studio putting the finishing touches on his second solo album. Entitled "Apocalyptic Love", the disc is due out May 22 on Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI

For the new album, Slash — along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) — teamed with producer Eric Valentine, who also produced the "Slash" (2010) disc.

When asked if he considers his current group to be a full-fledged "band," Slash told RollingStone.com, "I'm a band guy. Everything I touch I turn into a fucking band. I still have my name on the marquee and everything, but I'm just not a dictator, I don't want to rule anything. I like to hear what other people's ideas are and so on and so forth. But the guys, like Brent and Todd, aren't looking for any kind of glorified credit other than what it is that they do. Some people are stumbling over themselves trying to write even though they're not inspired to do anything, but just to get their thing in there, which I deal with a lot in other situations. So I just write music, Myles writes his lyrics and his melodies, and he helps me get all that together with the music. And if anybody has any input on anything, it's open season."

He added, "I realized I was a band guy when I was 15 when I only knew like four licks and two chords and I started a band. I like working in a band atmosphere, I think something about that camaraderie. I do not want to do it all by myself. I'm like that with everything else, I don't want to do that with music. I'm very much a loner in most respects, but when it comes to working with music, whether I'm leading it or not, the last record was very collaborative. It was just a lot of different people. But this is just one group of guys, which is really cool for me at this point after having done the last record and going in with Chris Chaney and Josh Freese and going, 'Here's the demo, let's learn it real quick.' Then we record it and bring the vocal in, that's how every song went. This is more my style of recording where we rehearse the shit out of it until it feels second nature and then go and bang it out in the studio."

In the U.K., the album will be released on May 21 in exclusive Classic Rock Fan Pack form — providing a unique collectable package containing the studio album with bonus tracks alongside a specially created magazine with unseen behind-the-scenes content put together by Classic Rock. The Fan Pack format will also come with free gifts, including a pin badge and artwork poster and will be available to buy via more than 2000 retail outlets on newsstands nationally as well as the traditional high street and online music retailers. Roadrunner Records will simultaneously release the record digitally. The standard physical release of the Slash album will follow through Roadrunner Records on June 18.

After a brief, 23-year vacation from the thrash scene, acclaimed '80s Northwest thrashers MACE have decided to lace up the combat boots for battle one more time. These guys shared the stage with the biggest thrash bands of the mid-'80s, including SLAYER, ANTHRAX, DEATH ANGEL, METAL CHURCH, CIRCLE JERKS, THE ACCUSED and many more.

Earlier this month, the band quietly leaked the info that they were getting back together and from the Northwest, they fired a shot that could heard around the world. Bands, promoters and even record labels, some as far away as Germany started talking about MACE.

There is a huge amount of excitement in the MACE camp and these guys are locked in with laser focus and ready to melt some faces, just like they did over two decades ago. For added excitement, Tommy Niemeyer from THE ACCUSED made the new MACE logo.

Everyone knows MACE guitarist Dave Hillis went on to work on some of the biggest albums in rock history as a producer (PEARL JAM's "Ten", ALICE IN CHAINS' "Dirt"), but MACE was always in the back of his mind. Hillis says, "I always wanted to remix the old songs, and when I opened my own studio I had to do it, and it was so much fun that we thought we would try a new song and that was so much fun that we said, 'Why not teach these young kids how it was done back in the day?'"

Hillis knew that when the time was right, he was going to revisit the thrash scene that he and his band helped form and solidify back in the '80s. In fact, DEATH ANGEL was recently on VH1's "Metal Evolution" and lead singer Mark Osegueda was wearing a MACE T-shirt. MACE is also said to be the first metal band to ever make punk fanzine Maximum Rock And Roll's playlist.

A huge part of the thrash scene back in the '80s was the underground tape-trading movement which helped spread the word like wildfire. Hillis states, "We got all our shows on tour and fanzine reviews and interviews that way, giving it away on the Internet today is just an extension of that."

MACE is using the 21st-century version of tape-trading and is giving away "Haarp Strings 2012" to their fans for free and they are encouraging them to give it away to anyone they want, no strings attached. Check it out at this location. It is also available for streaming below.

German progressive death metallers WORDS OF FAREWELL have inked a deal with AFM Records. The band's debut album, "Immersion", will be released March 30.

Commented the group: "We're really proud to have been able to get a record deal after these five years. And the fact that we've been signed by such a big label such as AFM Records left us speechless at first because we certainly didn't expect that. Thus we're even more delighted to now be a part of the AFM family and hope that we'll be able to offer our fans quite a treat in the future, for Immersion is only the start of our kinship with AFM Records."

WORDS OF FAREWELL is:

Alexander Otto - Vocals
Erik Gaßmus - Guitar
Henrik Tschierschky - Guitar
Nils Urginus - Bass
Jonas Wübbe - Drums
Leo Wichmann - Keyboards

The Great Frog, which has been hand-crafting rock jewelry in Carnaby, London since 1972, has announced a collaboration with California thrashers SLAYER.

The SLAYER ring will be made from solid sterling silver and hand-crafted in London. Each ring will be engraved with its own limited edition number and will be available for pre-order from today, online or from any of The Great Frog's three stores in London, New York or Los Angeles

The ring's launch will be officially celebrated at a party at the New York store on February 24.

A promotional video clip can be seen below.

The Great Frog says in a press release: "For years The Great Frog has been fortunate enough to work alongside some of the biggest rock bands in the world. This month The Great Frog have teamed up with SLAYER to create this awesome piece of metal history. "

For more information, go to this location.