Swedish producers/songwriters and musicians Chris Rehn (ANGTORIA, ABYSSOS) and Tomas Wallin (TAKIDA) have joined forces in a brand new project called DREAMSTATE.

Formed in November 2011, DREAMSTATE set out to "write and record music that doesn't have any boundaries, music that doesn't have any restraints or have any ties to anything but themselves and their own inspiration," according to a press release. "Music that doesn't need to fall under a certain genre, and that could include any style, feeling, instrument and production they themselves felt fit to a specific song.

"With inspiration taken all the way from metal to pop music, mixing all types of instruments and genres together, the music of DREAMSTATE is all about not being restricted to any genre of music. It's simply about making music for themselves, with inspiration from all the music they listen to, and having fun while doing it."

In December, DREAMSTATE was asked to write and record the official song for a Swedish rally car driver named Ramona Karlsson and her 2012 world championship effort, sponsored by Mitsubishi and Höganäs. Chris and Tomas wrote, produced and recorded the track "Evolution" at Boxroom Studios (owned and operated by Chris Rehn), and asked singers Elize Ryd (AMARANTHE, KAMELOT) and Tommy Levin to contribute their vocals to the tune.

"Evolution" has already been played on Swedish television and will be made available shortly through all digital channels (iTunes, Spotify, etc.).

Video footage of the "Evolution" recording sessions, featuring an audio stream of the entire song, is available below.

For more information, visit www.dreamstate.se.

BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has announced that he will not be able to partake in the recording sessions for the band's new album and subsequent touring activities unless he is presented with a "fair agreement." His official statement on the matter reads as follows:

"Dear SABBATH fans, fellow musicians and interested parties,

"At this time, I would love nothing more than to be able to proceed with the BLACK SABBATH album and tour. However, I am unable to continue unless a 'signable' contract is drawn up; a contract that reflects some dignity and respect toward me as an original member of the band.

"Last year, I worked diligently in good faith with [fellow original SABBATH members] Tony [Iommi, guitar], Ozzy [Osbourne, vocals] and Geezer [Butler, bass]. And on [November 11, 2011, again in good faith, I participated in the L.A. press conference.

"Several days ago, after nearly a year of trying to negotiate, another 'unsignable' contract was handed to me.

"Let me say that although this has put me in some kind of holding pattern, I am packed and ready to leave the U.S. for England. More importantly, I definitely want to play on the album, and I definitely want to tour with BLACK SABBATH.

"Since the news of Tony's illness, and the understanding that the band would move production to the U.K., I've spent every day getting to or living in a place of readiness to leave. That involves something of a task, and as I've tried to find out what's going on with the U.K. sessions, I've realized that I've been getting 'the cold shoulder' (and, I might add, not for the first time). Feeling somewhat ostracized, my guess is as of today, I will know nothing of what'shappening unless I sign 'the unsignable contract.'

"The place I'm in feels lousy and lonely because as much as I want to play and participate, I also have to stand for something and not sign on. If I sign 'as is,' I stand to lose my rights, dignity and respectability as a rock musician.

"I believe in freedom and freedom of speech.

"I grew up in a hard rock/metal band. We stood for something then, and we played from the heart with honesty and sincerity. I am in the spirit of integrity, far from the corporate malady, I am real and honest, fair and compassionate.

"If I'm replaced, I have to face you, the beloved SABBATH fans. I hope you will not hold me responsible for the failure of an original BLACK SABBATH lineup as promoted. Without fault finding, I want to assure everyone that my loyalty to SABBATH is intact.
"So here I am. I lay my truth down before you. I'm good to go IF I get a 'signable' contract.

"I don't want to let anyone down, especially BLACK SABBATH and all the SABBATH fans. You know I love you. It would be a sad day in rock if this current situation fell to the desires of a few.

"My position is not greed-driven. I'm not holding out for a 'big piece' of the action (money) like some kind of blackmail deal. I’d like something that recognizes and is reflective of my contributions to the band, including the reunions that started fourteen years ago.

"After the last tour, I vowed to never again sign on to an unreasonable contract. I want a contract that shows some respect to me and my family, a contract that will honor all that I've brought to BLACK SABBATH since its beginning.

"That's the story so far.

"Stay safe and stay strong.

"I love every single one of you."

According to U.K.'s The People, BLACK SABBATH's planned world tour and festival appearances are expected to earn the musicians in excess of £100 million (around $159 million), meaning each member of the band could take home up to £25 million (approximately $40 million).

The Ozzy-fronted lineup of SABBATH hasn't toured since 2005 and last appeared together when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006. They attempted to cut a new album — their first since 1978's "Never Say Die!" — with Rick Rubin in 1999, but the sessions fell apart after just a couple of songs and Osbourne turned his attention to his solo career. The Ronnie James Dio lineup reunited under the moniker HEAVEN & HELL in 2006 but split four years later, after Dio passed away.

Osbourne and Iommi in 2010 amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the BLACK SABBATH name and court proceedings in New York were discontinued.

Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Iommi in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne sued Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charged that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Lawyer Andrew DeVore argued that Osbourne signed away all his rights to the BLACK SABBATH trademark after he quit the band in 1979.

Osbourne's lawyer, Howard Shire, called that agreement a "red herring" that was "repudiated" when the singer rejoined in 1997 and took over "quality control" of the band's merchandise, tours and recordings.

Italian rock/metal band LACUNA COIL played a special acoustic set and took part in a question-and-answer session on January 24 at the acclaimed record store Vintage Vinyl in Fords, New Jersey. Quality multi-camera video footage of their performance can be seen below.

LACUNA COIL's new album, "Dark Adrenaline", sold around 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Shallow Life", opened with 21,000 units back April 2009 to land at No. 16.

LACUNA COIL's 2006 album, "Karmacode", premiered with 34,000 copies back in April 2006 to enter the chart at No. 28. It has since sold more than 200,000 units in the U.S.

The band's 2002 album, "Comalies", has shifted more than 300,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Dark Adrenaline" was released in North America on January 24 via Century Media Records. The CD was helmed by acclaimed producer Don Gilmore (LINKIN PARK, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and "deliver[s] the melodic, sensual, metallic rush for which the band has come to be known," according to a press release.

Fans both old and new have a variety of options to choose from, as "Dark Adrenaline" was released in numerous formats, including standard-edition CD and vinyl, deluxe edition digipak with a bonus DVD, sticker, poster and guitar pick and as an iTunes LP with expanded packaging, five bonus audio tracks and video. The Metal Club edition features exclusive artwork designed by the band and will be limited to 3,000 units. The Hastings edition features a bonus 10-track LACUNA COIL sampler, and the Amazon digital edition comes with a free five-track sampler. Finally, for true fans of the band, is the "Darkest Adrenaline" box set, which includes both the digipak and vinyl versions of the album along with a hardcover photo book, a LACUNA COIL custom syringe pen and ink, a lyric pad, signed lithographs created by the band and more, all housed in a LACUNA COIL medical box. This box set is limited to 500 pieces and is available exclusively through CM Distro.

Vocalist Jakob Samuel of Swedish hard rockers THE POODLES will release his debut solo album, "Pastpresent", in the spring. A single, "Stars And Grace", will precede the full-length effort on February 20.

THE POODLES' fourth album, "Performocracy", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 1. Released on April 15, 2011 in Europe (May 5 in North America) via Frontiers Records, the CD was again produced by Mats Valentin, but this time Tobias Lindell (EUROPE, MUSTASCH) mixed the 12 outstanding tracks that make up the effort.

QUEENSRŸCHE lead singer Geoff Tate kicked off his acoustic solo tour, billed as GEOFF TATE AND FRIENDS, on Thursday, January 26 at Anthology in San Diego, California. According to Tate, he is "playing acoustic renditions of songs from my solo album as well as some of my favorite QUEENSRŸCHE songs."

Professionally filmed, multi-camera video footage of the San Diego concert can be seen below. Also available are several fan-filmed clips from the first two shows of the tour (San Diego on January 26 and Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California on January 27).

In a recent interview with AnthologySD.com, Tate was asked if he is looking into any future solo projects. "I am!" he replied. "I'm actually working on one right now that I hope to have wrapped up pretty soon. This show that I'm doing [on the solo tour] is an acoustic show with some friends of mine who are fantastic acoustic players. We're doing kind of a blend of my last solo album, some QUEENSRŸCHE songs, and we'll toss in some new ones that haven't been released yet. It'll just be a really fun night. Very homey, intimate, we'll probably take requests, things like that."

He added, "For the last couple of years, I've been doing more stuff outside of QUEENSRŸCHE in order to just stretch out. But I'll tell you, even though I've sang shows in front of hundreds of thousands of people and also intimate shows of a few hundred, but whenever I go out to an event or something and someone asks me to sing a song with them, I'm petrified! (Laughs) I don't know much material outside of my own material that I've written, and so if someone asks me to sing 'Danny Boy', I couldn't sing it! Not even if someone offered me a million dollars could I sing that song. So I'm trying to be a bit more versatile and learn more stuff."

When asked about QUEENSRŸCHE's plans following the band's most recent concert, which took place on January 13 at the Peppermill Concert Hall in Wendover, Nevada, Tate told the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM last month, "Nothing. We're taking a year off and we'll be working on a new album. [We'll be going] back to the studio."

QUEENSRŸCHE is scheduled to perform in São Paulo, Brazil in April and at the Douglas County Fair in Rosenburg, Oregon in August.

Multi-camera, professionally filmed footage:

JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the Florida-based band led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, will play SAVATAGE's classic 1987 album, "Hall Of The Mountain King", in its entirety during a 15-date European tour in June and July. The group will also perform songs from DOCTOR BUTCHER (the early 1990s project created by Oliva and guitarist Chris Caffery at a time when they were not active members of SAVATAGE) as well as other classic SAVATAGE and JON OLIVA'S PAIN selections.

Commented JON OLIVA'S PAIN lead guitarist Jerry Outlaw: "In my mind, this tour will be dedicated to the memory of the late, great Matt LaPorte as well as Criss Oliva. I will honor their memory with every note I play."

JON OLIVA'S PAIN will play warm-up show for its European tour on June 18 at the Ritz Theatre in Ybor City, Florida.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN's latest addition, guitarist Joseph Diaz, is also member of CEMETARY SLUTS (an original speed metal band) and FIGURE IN BLACK (a BLACK SABBATH tribute act). He has also played in DISASTERPEACE alongside former KING DIAMOND guitarist Pete Blakk and ex-CRIMSON GLORY singer Wade Black.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN 2012 touring lineup:

Jon Oliva – Vocals, Keyboards
Christopher Kinder - Drums
Jerry Outlaw - Guitar
Jason Jennings - Bass
Joseph Diaz - Guitar

"Hall Of The Mountain King" was the first SAVATAGE album to be produced by Paul O'Neill and it showed the beginning of the band's progressive tendencies as they explored new forms of expression in their music. Many fans consider this LP a turning point in SAVATAGE's musical identity. As the group's first concept effort, it had a constant tone and was more complex than their previous albums, with two entirely instrumental tracks that go beyond simple guitar riffs and solos, namely "Prelude To Madness" and "Last Dawn".

A previously unreleased video for the song "99" from Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED can be seen below. Shot during the summer of 2004, the clip was filmed by Kim Lantto, Jonas Olsen and Sirnir Einarsson at Stengade in Copenhagen and at the Sweden Rock Festival.

"99" originally appeared on the 2004 album "rEVOLVEr" and was featured on the 2010 live CD "Roadkill".

THE HAUNTED's seventh studio album, "Unseen", landed at position No. 33 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.

"Unseen" was released on March 29, 2011 via Century Media Records. The CD was once again recorded with longtime producer Tue Madsen (MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST, SICK OF IT ALL) at his Antfarm Studio in Århus, Denmark.

ROB ZOMBIE/ex-MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5's sixth solo studio instrumental album, "God Told Me To", will be released on April 10. The cover art, which features a painting of John 5 by Rob Zombie, can be seen below.

According to John 5, "God Told Me To"will be "half acoustic and half metal and feature music that will blow you away." He has already whetted the fans' appetite by releasing four digital singles from the album: "Beat It" (MICHAEL JACKSON cover), "Welcome To Violence", "Noche Acosador" and "The Castle".

As well as the stunning cover art by Rob Zombie, art from the solo singles will also feature within the album. The single covers were created by ROB ZOMBIE bassist Matt Montgomery's (a.k.a. Piggy D.) and Emma (John 5's web manager) from Nineteen76-Designs.

In an interview with U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine, John 5 stated about his forthcoming CD, "I have an album called 'God Told Me To' [coming out] and it's half heavy and it's half acoustic, which I've never done before. I'm doing a cover of MICHAEL JACKSON's 'Beat It', an instrumental version of it. And it's gonna be amazing. I'm really excited about this record 'cause of the acoustic stuff, 'cause I've never done that before. And it's gonne be awesome. I'm so excited for this to come out. I think I'm gonna put a [making-of] DVD out with it. People always like to see how I do things and stuff."

"The Art Of Malice", the last solo album from John 5, sold around 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 27 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 blackened metallers BYFROST have parted ways with Alkolust, their drummer since 2008. Frontman HeavyHarms commented, "We have had a great time playing with Alkolust over the years and we wish him the best with his other projects. And to all our fans out there, this is not the end, but very much a new beginning."

BYFROST's second full-length album, "Of Death", was released last June via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at the Conclave & Earshot Studios in the band's home town of Bergen, Norway, and was produced by ENSLAVED's Herbrand Larsen together with BYFROST, and co-produced by ENSLAVED guitarist Ice Dale. Mastering was carried out by Knut Fug Prytz at the Magica Mastering Studio. Artwork and design were once again in the hands of Christian Sloan Hall, known for his work with bands like DIMMU BORGIR and SLAYER.

Formed in 2007 by HeavyHarms and bassist R.I.P Meister, BYFROST's first release was the "Byfrostmetal" EP, which appeared in 2008 whilst the band was still a four-piece. The debut full-length album, "Black Earth", was released in 2010, by which time BYFROST had become a three piece, and had been joined on drums by Mads Liletvedt (HELLISH OUTCAST). "Black Earth" marked the continuing cooperation between the band and ENSLAVED members Ice Dale, who guested on the album, and Larsen, who, aside from producing both full-lengths, also features on two tracks on "Of Death".

The release date of the deluxe 25th-anniversary edition of KISS' classic fourth album, "Destroyer", has been pushed back to April 17. The two-disc set will feature remixes of the original LP by producer Bob Ezrin, outtakes from the 1976 album sessions as well as the LP's original cover art.

Ken Kelly's original version of the album cover for "Destroyer" was rejected by the record company because they felt the scene was too violent-looking. Also, the original version had the members of KISS wearing the "Alive" costumes.

Released in March 1976, "Destroyer" was the second consecutive KISS album to reach the Top 20 in the U.S. The LP was certified gold by the RIAA on April 22, 1976. It was certified platinum on November 11, 1976, the first KISS album to achieve that distinction.

Pomona, California thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD will enter the studio this weekend to begin recording their as-yet untitled new album, due later in the year via Earache Records. The follow up to 2010's "Exiled To Earth" will be tracked with producer and former MACHINE HEAD/SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader (DEVILDRIVER, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH) at Silver Sound and Mt. Olympus Studios in Los Angeles. It will be the band's first album to feature vocalist Mauro Gonzalez and bassist Jessie Sanchez.

"We can't wait for everybody to hear what the new album has in store. It's definitely more diverse and we all had a blast writing it," states BONDED BY BLOOD guitarist Juan Juarez. "It'll be the first record with Mauro and Jessie, who have been great additions to the lineup, and the four of us really connected well during the writing and rehearsing of this album. The playing on this album will be top-notch. We're glad to be recording in Los Angeles, and excited to work with Logan. We can't wait to get started and we hope everybody enjoys it as much as we do."

BONDED BY BLOOD's latest album, "Exiled To Earth", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 86 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.

SEVENDUST members John Connolly (guitar) and Vince Hornsby (bass) have joined forces with ALTER BRIDGE/CREED drummer Scott Phillips and guitarist/vocalist Eric "Erock" Friedman in a brand new project called PROJECTED.

PROJECTED has entered the studio to begin recording its debut release, to be made available later in the year.

Connolly describes PROJECTED's musical direction as "not super heavy. . . somewhere closer to FOO FIGHTERS/A PERFECT CIRCLE. It's sorta heavy, just not real metal. I guess. The songs are pretty badass, though."

PROJECTED is:

John Connolly (SEVENDUST) - Guitar, Vocals
Vince Hornsby (SEVENDUST) - Bass
Scott Phillips (ALTER BRIDGE, CREED) - Drums
Eric Friedman (a.k.a. Erock; TREMONTI) - Guitar, Vocals

As previously reported, CALL ME NO ONE, the new project featuring SEVENDUST members Clint Lowery (guitar) and Morgan Rose (drums), entered the studio on January 22 to begin recording its debut album for a tentative May release.

Legendary guitarist Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) recently re-entered Barefoot Recording in Hollywood, California with producer Eric Valentine (QUEENS OF STONE AGE, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS) to resume recording Slash's upcoming solo album for a tentative April 2012 release. Joining Slash in the studio are the members of his touring band: vocalist Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE), rhythm guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns (SIN CITY SINNERS, formerly of AGE OF ELECTRIC), and drummer Brent Fitz (formerly of THEORY OF A DEADMAN).

In a brand new post on his Facebook page, Slash writes, "[It] looks like we'll be finished recording next week. Then mixing begins. It's all going on."

Speaking to Total Guitar magazine, Slash stated about the recording sessions for the new CD, "We're just going for the one take that sounds good, so my solos are more raw, probably sloppier in a way, because they're very spontaneous to the point where it's in the heat of the moment. Everything is being played live with the music tracks, the solos, everything. We're trying not to overdub extra bits. So if there's a solo, I'm playing on one side, Myles' rhythm track is on the other."

In a recent interview, Slash stated about the musicians in his band, "I was really fortunate. When I'd done the [first solo] record, I thought, 'I've gotta tour on this.' And I had to figure how I was gonna actually pull that off. And I set about auditioning musicians in L.A. and I just happened to meet Brent Fitz, who I'd never played before and who is not from Los Angeles; he was one of the guys I auditioned and he was great. And then he introduced me to Todd Kerns, who fit in perfectly. And it turned out to be a great band from the start — definitely worth going in and making a record with."

Valentine previously worked with Slash on the guitarist's self-titled solo album. But "the big difference," according to Slash, will be that Eric is "also gonna be mastering this one" in addition to recording and mixing the CD. "So it's like one-stop shopping, which is pretty cool," the axeman said.

Regarding the musical direction of his new material and how it compares to last year's self-titled effort, Slash said, "This one's definitely a very focused… Very hard. Some of it's very heavy. It's got sort of a more unified sound to it, especially with one vocal all throughout."

ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello, who is the nephew of the band's drummer, Charlie Benante, will miss the next few shows on ANTHRAX's current North American tour in order to spend time with his grandmother (Benante's mother), who is terminally ill. Filling in for him will be his "good friend" Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING). Bello says, "Please make [Joey] feel welcome. I'll be back [as soon as possible]."

Vera temporarily replaced Bello in ANTHRAX from April 2004 to March 2005 before Frank returned to the group as part of the reunion of ANTHRAX's classic lineup, also featuring singer Joey Belladonna and guitarist Dan Spitz. Vera also filled in for Bello during ANTHRAX's appearance at the Heavy MTL festival in June 2008 when Bello wasn't able to make the gig due a "family obligation."

Benante is taking a short leave from ANTHRAX's concert tour to be with his mother. Immediately following last Thursday's (January 26) show Kansas City, he flew to New York to join his family at his mother's bedside. Filling in for Benante since last Friday's (January 27) show in Indianapolis has been TESTAMENT's drummer Gene Hoglan.

Norwegian extreme, progressive metallers RAM-ZET have reached an agreement with Buil2Kill Records/Nadir Music for the release of their new album, "Freaks In Wonderland". The effort will be out with physical and digital worldwide distribution later this month.

RAM-ZET's fourth album, "Neutralized", came out in 2010 via Ascendance Records.

The band's third CD, "Intra", was released in July 2005 via Tabu Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Escape" (Spikefarm Records) was mixed in Sweden with producer Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES, SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARKANE, MESHUGGAH).

Former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman Lou Reed will embark on the "From VU to LULU" European tour in the summer. The trek will start in Luxembourg on Wednesday, June 6 and will take in several festivals, including Switzerland's Caribana, France's Montereau, Berlin's Citadel and Slovakia's Pohoda.

Lou will also perform several concerts in France, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany.

The tour will feature a five-piece band, including Lou Reed, Tony "Thunder" Smith (drums), Rob Wasserman (bass), Kevin Hearn (keyboards), and Aram Bajakian (guitar).

Lou and band will perform material from Reed's entire cannon of songs, ranging from THE VELVET UNDERGROUND to his recent METALLICA collaborative album "Lulu".

The dates are as follows:

June 05 - Luxembourg - Rockhal
June 08 - Nyon, Switzerland - Caribana Festival
June 09 - France - Montereau Festival
June 11 - Paris - Olympia
June 12 - Lille, France - L'Aeronef
June 14 - Amsterdam - Heineken Music Hall
June 15 - Brussels - Ancienne Belgique
June 18 - Copenhagen - Falconer Salen
June 20 - Berlin - Citadel Music Festival
June 23 - Mainz, Germany - Zollhafen/Nordmole
June 25 - Clermont Ferrand, France - Cooperative de Mai
June 26 - Bordeaux, France - Fete le Vin
June 29 - Bonn, Germany - Kunst!Rasen
June 30 - Dresden - Filmnächte am Elbufer
July 01 - Munich - Tollwood Festival, Olympic Park
July 05 - Trencin, Slovakia - Pohoda Festival

"Lulu" has polarized fans around the world and earned METALLICA some of the most scathing reviews of its career. The effort features the former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman's spoken-word poetry and lyrics combined with METALLICA's musical assault for a jarring experience that doesn't sound like anything METALLICA has ever attempted before. A concept album based on two early 20th century plays by German author Frank Wedekind, the CD was co-produced by Reed, METALLICA, Hal Willner — who has produced albums for Reed, Marianne Faithfull, and Laurie Anderson, among others — and Greg Fidelman. Fidelman also mixed the record.

The collaboration between METALLICA and Reed was sparked by their performance together of Reed's "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat" at the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009.

The songs were all written by Reed with extensive arrangement contributions by METALLICA.

Only two songs on the album are under five minutes in length, while two are more than 11 minutes long and the closing cut, "Junior Dad", clocks in at 19 minutes.

"Storm The Sorrow", the new digital single from Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA, is being released today via iTunes. The song comes off the band's fifth full-length album, "Requiem For The Indifferent", which will be released on March 9 in Europe and four days later in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth.

Commented the band: "The song 'Storm The Sorrow' is the obvious choice for us to release as a first single. It has all the EPICA ingredients and also a catchy groove but still is a powerful metal-song. Lyrically, 'Storm The Sorrow' deals with criticism and how to handle that on every level.

"Funny fact: when we were working on this song, the working title was 'Signature' because the rhythm which is used in the verse is based on Yves' [Huts, bass] signature!"

A video for "Storm The Sorrow" will be filmed later this month and "will show the band in a way you have never seen before," according to a press release.

"Requiem For The Indifferent" track listing:

01. Karma
02. Monopoly On Truth
03. Storm The Sorrow
04. Delirium
05. Internal Warfare
06. Requiem For The Indifferent
07. Anima
08. Guilty Demeanor
09. Deep Water Horizon
10. Stay The Course
11. Deter The Tyrant
12. Avalanche
13. Serenade Of Self-Destruction

North American bonus tracks:

14. Twin Flames (Soundtrack Version)
15. Nostalgia

The artwork for the CD was created by Stephan Heilemann and can be seen below.

EPICA debuted "Storm The Sorrow" during the band's headlining concert on January 12 at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Regarding the "Requiem For The Indifferent" album title, the band previously said, "This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. 'A Requiem For The Indifferent', but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!"

A CD-release party for the new EPICA album will be held on March 16 at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands.

EPICA will play the new album in its entirety, along with some older tracks, during the more-than-two-hour event. Pyrotechnics and special show elements will be added as well.

EPICA's last album, "Design Your Universe", landed at position No. 12 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.

During a recent online question-and-answer session with fans, PORCUPINE TREE's Steven Wilson was asked to clarify his previous statement that the musical output of STORM CORROSION, his much-anticipated collaboration project with OPETH's Mikael Åkerfeldt will be "the opposite of metal."

"It's very hard to describe this music as it is so different from most things around right now (at least as far as I know)," Wilson explained. "I said it was the 'opposite of metal' because I think a lot of people might have assumed from the two people involved that this would be some kind of progressive/metal thing, but in fact it's quite a minimal album with a lot of space and beauty, orchestral and organic, hardly any drums and no distorted guitars — 'twisted beautiful' is the best way I can describe it."

STORM CORROSION last year completed work on its self-titled debut album for a tentative April release through Roadrunner Records. Apart from Mikael and Steven, the CD includes guest appearances by Gavin Harrison (PORCUPINE TREE) on drums/percussion, Ben Castle on woodwinds and Dave Stewart on string arrangements.

In an interview with Metal Injection conducted on November 11, 2011 at the Best Buy Theater in New York City, Wilson was asked how STORM CORROSION is different from his previous collaborations with Åkerfeldt. "Well, the only stuff I've collaborated with Mikael on in the past has been working on his records," Wilson replied. "This is obviously a collaboration, so it's a different approach. We sat in a room together and we wrote music together, rather than taking his music that he'd already written and working it into a record. We actually started from the very basics — composition and arranging."

He continued, "If you'd asked me three months ago about the music, I would have said, 'Expect the last thing you would expect.' But actually, now that [OPETH's new record] 'Heritage' has come out and [Steven Wilson's solo album] 'Grace Of Drowning' has come out, I don't think it's going to be that much of a shock to people, because it's almost like a third part of the trilogy, in a way. If anything, it's even more orchestral, even more stripped down, even more dark, twisted and melancholic… but it certainly feels like it comes from the same place as 'Heritage' and 'Grace For Drowning', which indeed it does because it was written during the same period — it was written during a period that he was playing the tracks that he'd written for 'Heritage' and I was playing the tracks that I had written for 'Grace Of Drowning'. So we were kind of, in a way, egging each other on, encouraging each other to do those particular records, but also at the same time coming up with this music that is now gonna be on STORM CORROSION. So it's a very orchestral record, it's very — as you'd expect — epic, the songs are quite long and they develop in quite unusual ways."

He concluded, "I'm realistic that half the people are gonna hate it and half the people probably will fall in love with it. I'd be happy with that anyway."

Although former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy was initially supposed to be part of the STORM CORROSION project, he did not take part in the recording sessions for the CD. "To be honest, there's just no room for drums on what we've done," Åkerfeldt told Classic Rock magazine last year. "I called Mike up, and he was cool about it. He's got so much going on anyway, and I'm sure we will work together in the future."

All photos by Naki Kouyioumtzis

A teaser for the upcoming tribute album to HELLOWEEN and GAMMA RAY is available in the YouTube clip below. The CD, entitled "HelloRay - A Tribute To Helloween & Gamma Ray", is due on March 26 via Epicus Records.

According to a press release, "HelloRay - A Tribute To Helloween & Gamma Ray" is a project made by bands who are fans and has been inspired by the music of these two great pioneers of melodic power metal. It will contain songs that were originally written and recorded between 1985 and 2007.

The final track listing is as follows:

01. Tribute To The Past (GAMMA RAY) - GUARDIANS OF MANKIND
02. Warrior (HELLOWEEN) - GAIA EPICUS
03. The Spirit (GAMMA RAY) - PARALLAX
04. Mr. Torture (HELLOWEEN) - AILLION
05. Anywhere In The Galaxy (GAMMA RAy) - OPERA MAGNA
06. Ain't Got Nothin' Better (HELLOWEEN) - KICKHUNTER
07. Last Before The Storm (GAMMA RAy) - SONEM
08. Where The Rain Grows (HELLOWEEN) - ARMORY
09. A Tale That Wasn't Right (HELLOWEEN) - DRACHEN
10. Just A Little Sign (HELLOWEEN) - RAMPART
11. Leaving Hell (GAMMA RAY) - ROTTEN
12. Judas (HELLOWEEN) - 5TH ELEMENT
13. Heaven Or Hell (GAMMA RAY) - BURN UNIVERSE
14. Before The War (HELLOWEEN) - ILUNGARA
15. Land Of The Free (GAMMA RAY) - DEIMOS

British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE will release their fifth studio album, "The Power Within", in the U.K. on April 15 via the band's own Electric Generation Recordings, distributed by Essential Music. The ten-track monster is the band's first with new singer Marc Hudson in the fold.

Commented DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li: "The last two years have been the most fun we ever had making an album. Through writing, jamming and touring together, we have built this incredible energy and it has been fully captured on the new album.

"This time around we've really brought our metal side to the surface and made some of the best music of our career. From the fastest song we've ever recorded ['Fallen World'] to the slower songs, and some things you would never expect from us, this is by far the most diverse DRAGONFORCE album yet."

Li added, "This is an exciting new era for DRAGONFORCE with Marc joining the band, so we figured this was an ideal time to take full control of our own destiny and establish our own record label for Europe. It's all hands on deck running it, but a great buzz!"

"The Power Within" track listing:

01. Holding On
02. Fallen World
03. Cry Thunder
04. Give Me The Night
05. Wings of Liberty
06. Seasons
07. Heart Of The Storm
08. Die By The Sword
09. Last Man Stands
10. Seasons (acoustic version)

There will also be a digital and vinyl version featuring bonus tracks "Cry Thunder (Live Rehearsal)", "Heart of the Storm (Alternative Chorus Version)" and "Avant La Tempête (Instrumental)", plus an exclusive box set featuring:

* CD Version
* Access Code for Bonus Material plus
* DRAGONFORCE Flag,
* DF Flashlight/Bottle Opener,
* Set of 6 DF Beer Mats featuring band cartoons by bassist Frédéric Leclercq.

A small number of very lucky fans will have their first chance to hear new songs from the album at an exclusive sold-out show at London, England's 100 Club on February 16.

Performance footage of the new DRAGONFORCE songs "Fallen World" and "Cry Thunder", recorded on October 21, 2011 in New York City can be seen below.

After entries from thousands of hopefuls across the globe, DRAGONFORCE in March 2011 welcomed Hudson to the band to fill the boots left by ZP Theart, who parted ways with the group in March 2010.

Born in Oxford England, Marc was picked from the thousands of applications via a number of impressive video auditions and live performances, which left the rest of the band in no doubt that they'd found their man. Since the age of 16, Marc has been building his vocal skills gigging with bands in the U.K. underground scene, developing a powerful style with influences which include Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske and Sebastian Bach.

Kaaos TV conducted an interview with Li and Hudson during the the Spinefeast At Sea cruise, which which set sail on January 19 aboard the Tallink Baltic Princess from Helsinki, Finland and returned the following day. You can now watch the chat below.

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR have set "Phantom Antichrist" as the title of their new album, due on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD is currently being recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).

KREATOR will release a seven-inch single containing the "Phantom Antichrist" title track on April 20. The collector's item will be available in colored red vinyl (limited to 250 pieces) as well as in clear vinyl (limited to 250 pieces, exclusively available at the Nuclear Blast mailorder).

The cover art for the single can be seen below.

A brand new promotional photo of KREATOR can be seen below (photo by Stefan Heilemann of Stuttgart, Germany's Heilemania).

When asked about the musical direction of KREATOR's new material, the band's guitarist/vocalist Miland "Mille" Petrozza stated in a recent interview, "The songs are coming along great and I think it's OK to say that this will be our most epic album so far. There's some classical, a lot of traditional metal, and, of course, a huge dose of thrash metal influences in the new stuff. Everyone in the band is very excited at this point. The demos sound killer so far. We have about 10 songs we're working on so far.

Regarding the lyrical and visual concept for the forthcoming CD, Petrozza said, "It's too early to talk about the lyrics yet; many are written, but they keep changing all the time. Visually, we have tapped Wes Benscoter [BLACK SABBATH, DIO, SLAYER, CATTLE DECAPITATION, BLOODBATH] for the cover art. I can tell you this much: The artwork will be insane!"

In an interview with Aftonbladet journalist Mattias Kling, Petrozza stated about KREATOR's collaboration with Jens Bogren, "He's really good; I like him. I like the sounds that he gets. And I think the combination — Jens Bogren and KREATOR — it will be pretty heavy."

On the topic of how the new material is different from KREATOR's previous output, Mille said, "It's always a little hard for me to talk about music has been written but is not released yet. It will definitely have all the KREATOR trademarks. The lyrics will talk about nowadays stuff, as usual, so it will be like a photography of the year 2012. Also the lyrics will deal a lot of things that are actually happening at this point in time. It will be like reading a newspaper or something [laughs], with all the stuff happening. And, of course, the music will be typical KREATOR, and we also wanna expand the sound and progress as musicians. I mean, this lineup has been the strongest lineup KREATOR ever had since ten years, and now I think we're ready to come out with an album that blows everyone away."

KREATOR is:

Miland "Mille" Petrozza – Vocals, Guitrar
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitar
Christian "Speesy" Giesler - Bass
Jürgen "Ventor" Reil - Drums

"Phantom Antichrist" single artwork:

German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS performed on the January 30 edition of "TV Total", a German late-night television comedy talk show. The played two songs: the classic SCORPIONS track "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and a cover of the GLORIA JONES song "Tainted Love". Video footage of their appearance can be viewed by following these links:

* "Tainted Love": Video
* "Rock You Like A Hurricane": Video

SCORPIONS' "Comeblack", a new album of classic rock covers and fresh performances of signature repertoire recorded last year, sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 90 on The Billboard 200 chart.

SCORPIONS' last collection of all-original material, "Sting In The Tail", opened with 18,500 units to land at No. 23. This marked the band's highest chart debut in over 20 years. The CD also landed at No. 6 on the Rock Albums chart.

"Sting In The Tail" was released in North America on March 23, 2010 via Universal Music Enterprises. The CD was recorded at a studio in Hannover, Germany with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen (the team behind THE RASMUS' "Dead Letters" CD).

Launched by guitarist Rudolf Schenker in 1965, SCORPIONS forged metal, rock and pop into a sound that's come to signify an entire genre through hard rock anthems like "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and hits like "Send Me An Angel", "Wind of Change" and "Still Loving You", selling more than 100 million records in the process.

In January 2010, SCORPIONS announced that the group's "Get Your Sting And Blackout" tour, an epic ongoing worldwide rock 'n' roll odyssey in support of 2010's "Sting In The Tail", would be the group's last before retirement. The tour is slated to run through early 2013 with a string of historic farewell blowouts and festival performances scheduled Europe culminating with shows at the Wacken Open Air festival (August 4, 2012) and Munich's Olympiahalle (October 13, 2012).

At some point during the "Get Your Sting And Blackout" tour ("We can't remember the day, the month or the hour"), SCORPIONS, enjoying the success of "Sting In The Tail" and the emotional rejuvenation of the farewell tour ("Screaming fans everywhere we went!") decided to record one last classic album. "The idea to go back to the studio was born out of pure excitement," said the band who cut an album mixing covers of rock 'n' roll standards that informed and inspired the SCORPIONS alongside new productions and performances of the songs in the band's core catalog that have proved the most meaningful to the members.

The result, "Comeblack", is, according to the band, "an encore for our die-hard fans, to thank them for all the support for so many years. At the same time, this is a tribute to legendary bands from the sixties, like THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES, who have inspired us to follow our dreams. We hope you like it as much as we do... Rock on and ... Comeblack."

"Comeblack" track listing:

Re-recordings

01. Rhythm Of Love
02. No One Like You
03. The Zoo
04. Rock You Like A Hurricane
05. Blackout
06. Still Loving You
07. Wind Of Change

Covers

08. Tainted Love (GLORIA JONES)
09. Children Of The Revolution (T. REX)
10. Across The Universe (THE BEATLES)
11. Tin Soldier (SMALL FACES)
12. All Day And All Of The Night (THE KINKS)
13. Ruby Tuesday (THE ROLLING STONES)

Florida-based death metallers SIX FEET UNDER are currently mixing their new album at Audiohammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM). The band's frontman, Chris Barnes, writes on Twitter, "The new SIX FEET UNDER CD is sounding fucking unbelievable!! [The] mix [is] almost done!!"

When asked about the musical direction of the material SIX FEET UNDER has written for its next album, Barnes said in a recent interview, "The music is gonna be, really, kind of an accelerated version of what we were doing before — faster-paced, more interesting time signatures as well as really wild choruses and some heavy vocals. I think people are really gonna be interested in this album. It's something different, but it's something the same. The feel of it is SIX FEET UNDER, but we've pushed it and added some horsepower."

In a separate interview, Chris stated about the forthcoming SIX FEET UNDER CD, "It's the best album I've written in a long time. Rob Arnold [SIX FEET UNDER guitarist] is writing some songs, got Ben [Savage] from WHITECHAPEL writing some songs. I've got Jari [Laine] from TORTURE KILLER writing some songs and Steve [Swanson, SIX FEET UNDER lead guitarist]. So we're really happy with it. It's really good stuff." He added, "I think that each album's a different journey for me, you know? The music speaks to me, so I kind of write from what it tells me and this album's been such a pleasure to be involved with because it's so interesting and it's given me more options to do different things or do things I haven't done in a while, so it's a lot of fun on that level."

Bassist Terry Butler and drummer Greg Gall announced their departures from SIX FEET UNDER in January 2011. Butler has since joined OBITUARY as a permanent member.

Multi-camera footage of SIX FEET UNDER performing the song "Hammer Smashed Faced" at the July 28, 2011 Sacramento, California stop of the "Summer Slaughter Tour" can be seen below.

SIX FEET UNDER's current touring lineup is:

* Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA) - Guitar
* Kevin Talley (DAATH, MISERY INDEX, CHIMAIRA) - Drums
* Chris Barnes (CANNIBAL CORPSE) - Vocals
* Steve Swanson - Guitar
* Matt DeVries (CHIMAIRA) – Bass

METALLICA, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, GOJIRA, ACID DRINKERS, HUNTER and LUXTORPEDA have been confirmed for the Polish edition of the Sonisphere festival, set to take place on May 10 at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw.

Tickets go on sale on February 3 at 10:00 a.m. at LiveNation.pl.

METALLICA will play the "black album" — its 1991 self-titled fifth effort that has sold nearly 16 million copies — in its entirety at selected European festivals, including Sonisphere, this summer.

Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach played three "special concerts" in New York City with BILLY IDOL guitarist Steve Stevens. The shows took place on January 27, January 28 and January 29 at The Iridium and featured Bach and Stevens "doing two sets a night," including "some special unexpected songs."

Video footage of Bach and Stevens performing cover versions of songs by AC/DC, JIMI HENDRIX, QUEEN, AEROSMITH, SKID ROW, VAN HALEN and BILLY IDOL can be seen below. They were accompanied at the show by Pete Thorn on second guitar, Neil Jason on bass and Anton Fig on drums.

In a recent interview with Rock Nothing But…, Bach stated about his collaboration with the BILLY IDOL guitarist, "I've always loved Steve Stevens. He's always been one of my heroes. He's a true rock star guitar player and a personality onstage. The way he plays, how he has those shotgun blasts on the guitar with the whammy bar and all that. It's just so distinctive. I've always wanted to jam with him, so yeah, we could work together in the future. I would really enjoy that. We do shows with CAMP FREDDY. Which is a band made up of Billy Morrison, Mark McGrath, Billy Idol plays quite a bit. That's where I met Steve Stevens. Dave Navarro plays a lot. Steve plays 'Youth Gone Wild' and 'I Remember You'. It's unbelievable. I never thought I'd hear Steve Stevens play SKID ROW songs."

Vocalist/guitarist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers STRYPER has released instrumental audio samples (no lead vocals) of three songs — "Unsuspecting", "All That Left (For Me To Prove)" and "Taking On The World Tonight" — that will appear on his forthcoming solo album, tentatively due this summer. You can now check them out below.

Sweet entered the studio on December 18 to begin recording his new solo CD. He previously revealed that Kenny Aronoff (CHICKENFOOT) would be drumming on the record and that there would be a few "guest musicians/singers" as well.

Sweet's last solo album, "Touched", was released in December 2007 exclusively through Michael's official web site, MichaelSweet.com. The CD, which included reworked versions of four STRYPER songs, was not made available in stores.

Sweet is currently writing his first "book/autobiography," which he promises "will outline my life and give you a page-by-page layout of the early years, the ups and downs of being in a Christian rock band, behind-the-scenes stories of what really goes on 'behind the scenes' of a successful Christian rock band (good and bad), getting through the toughest battle of all, joining the legendary classic rock band BOSTON, and much much more."

STRYPER recently released short audio clips of "Bleeding From Inside Out" and "Blackened", the two new tracks which will be included on a collection of re-recorded versions of the band's classic songs, to be released in the summer of 2012. The CD will contain a total of 16 cuts — two from "The Yellow And Black Attack", six from "Soldiers Under Command", six from "To Hell With The Devil", as well as the two aforementioned new tracks.

Michael Sweet will perform his faith-based "storytellers" solo acoustic show in churches around the world this year. The performances are a combination of STRYPER classics, new solo material, and notable praise and worship songs.

If you are interested in Michael Sweet performing at your church, please have your church leaders contact Dave Rose at Dave [at] DeepSouthEntertainment.com.

"Unsuspecting" audio sample:

"Savia", the first-ever video from SOEN — the project featuring Swedish drummer Martin Lopez (ex-OPETH, AMON AMARTH), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, TESTAMENT, DEATH, ICED EARTH), vocalist Joel Ekelöf (WILLOWTREE), and guitarist Kim Platbarzdis — can be seen below. The clip was helmed by director Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others.

"Savia" comes off SOEN's debut album, "Cognitive", which will be released on February 15 via Spinefarm Records. The CD was mixed by the Grammy Award-winning Canadian producer David Bottrill, who has previously worked with PETER GABRIEL, TOOL, SMASHING PUMPKINS and MUSE.

"Cognitive" track listing:

01. Fraktal
02. Fraccions
03. Delenda
04. Last Light
05. Oscillation
06. Canvas
07. Ideate
08. Purpose
09. Slithering
10. Savia
11. Writhen (bonus track)

The song "Delenda" is available for streaming on the SOEN Facebook page ("like" required).

SOEN's music is described in a press release as "a unique mix of melodic and rhythmic exprementation."