JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR — the band led by former VIRGIN STEELE guitarist Jack Starr — will play an exclusive show at the 2013 edition of the Keep It True festival in Germany. The group's setlist will include classic songs from the early JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR albums, songs taken from the band's new CD, "Land Of The Dead", and select cuts from Starr's previous bands VIRGIN STEELE, PHANTOM LORD and GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME. The entire show will be filmed for a special DVD release, which will be out in 2014 — the 30th anniversary of JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR. Also in the works are European live shows for 2012.

"Land Of The Dead" was released on November 11 via Limb Music. The CD was produced by Bart Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER, SACRED STEEL, LONEWOLF), and features cover artwork by Ken Kelly (RAINBOW, KISS, MANOWAR).

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

Finnish female-fronted symphonic metallers AMBERIAN DAWN have set "Circus Black" as the title of their fourth studio album, due in Finland on February 29, 2012 via Spinefarm Records. The band's mainman, keyboardist and guitarist Tuomas Seppälä composed all ten songs for the CD and vocalist Heidi Parviainen penned the lyrics.

"Circus Black" features guest appearances by Timo Kotipelto (STRATOVARIUS) and Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, DIO, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE). Kotipelto sings lead vocal parts on "Cold Kiss" and Johansson plays a keyboard solo on "Crimson Flower".

Commented Tuomas: "'Circus Black' is the most impressive AMBERIAN DAWN album so far. Musically it represents the most sophisticated and most symphonic edge of AMBERIAN DAWN music. There's more diversity on this album than never before. This is the first time we used a real choir and we gathered some really excellent professional opera singers together to be able to achieve the best-sounding choir possible. This choir was conducted by Mikko P. Mustonen from Pathos Music. He also arranged the choir and orchestral parts.

"We managed once again to get some world-class guests on this album. So, the production is our biggest so far and the final polish on this album was given by Teropekka Virtanen (mixing engineer) and Mika Jussila (mastering engineer) at legendary Finnvox Studios in Finland.

"The whole band did excellent job with recordings. It was really awesome, that Kasperi [Heikkinen] recovered from his hand injury just in time (only a couple of weeks before the mixing sessions started) and he was able to play guitar solos on this album. Even in the fall it seemed that I and Kimmo [Korhonen] would have to play all guitar parts by ourselves."

"Circus Black" track listing:

01. Circus Black (3:49)
02. Cold Kiss (feat. Timo Kotipelto) (3:31)
03. Crimson Flower (feat. Jens Johansson) (4:25)
04. Charnel's Ball (4:27)
05. Fight (3:21)
06. Letter (4:31)
07. I Share With You This Dream (3:37)
08. Rivalry Between Good and Evil (instrumental) (4:00)
09. Guardian (5:09)
10. Lily of the Moon (4:12)

AMBERIAN DAWN last year parted ways with Tommi Kuri (bass), Emil Tobias Pohjalainen (guitar) and Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and replaced them with Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN), Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) and Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN), respectively.

Chilean doomsters MAR DE GRISES have issued the following update:

"We interrupt our silence these last months to let you know that today we are back Europe! On track from December 9th to 18th for our fourth trip to Europe, this time on a mini-tour including some festival such as Madrid Is The Dark in Spain, Bracara Extreme Fest in Portugal, Eindhoven Metal Meeting in The Netherlands and an exclusive show in Moscow, Russia.

We are glad to announce that we will have the participation of our former vocalist Marcelo Rodriguez for these shows and would like to thank our fans over the world, the Chilean Government and Ministerio de la Cultura and all partners/companies for their recognition and endless support.

For further information and details stay tuned."

POWERWOLF werden im Frühjahr 2012 auf Headliner-Tour gehen. Unter dem Banner "Wolfsnächte Tour 2012" werden die Wölfe in der Osterzeit in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Belgien Halt machen. Mit von der Partie sind MYSTIC PROPHECY und STORMWARRIOR. Eröffnet werden die "Wolfsnächte" von den französischen Metal-Newcomern
LONEWOLF.

POWERWOLF-Organist Falk Maria Schlegel dazu: "Wir haben für die Wolfsnächte ein fettes Package zusammengestellt, das nicht nur uns persönlich sehr gefällt, sondern für jeden Powermetal Fan eine abwechslungsreiche Nacht voller Metal und Wahnsinn verspricht. Wir können es kaum erwarten, die Wolfsnächte zusammen mit euch allen zu zelebrieren!"


POWERWOLF
MYSTIC PROPHECY
STORMWARRIOR
LONEWOLF
30.03. DE Lindau - Club Vaudeville
31.03. AT Wörgl - Komma
01.04. DE Ludwigsburg - RockFabrik
05.04. DE Hannover- Musikzentrum
06.04. NL Kerkrade - Rock Temple
07.04. CH Zizers - Eventstage
08.04. BE Mons - PPM festival
09.04. DE Augsburg - Spectrum
13.04. DE Langen - Stadthalle
14.04. DE Berlin - C club
27.04. DE Speyer - Halle 101
28.04. DE Geiselwind - Musichall
29.04. DE Hamburg - Markthalle
30.04. DE Bochum - Matrix

Wer sein Ticket im Vorverkauf auf www.hardticket.eu kauft, erhält zu seinem
Ticket noch eine rare 4-song-EP - solange der Vorrat reicht!

Auf der Tour-EP zur "Wolfsnächte Tour 2012" befinden sich unveröffentlichte und rare Songs aller teilnehmenden Bands. Von MYSTIC PROPHECY und STORMWARRIOR gibt es jeweils rare Tracks, die bisher nur auf Japan-Releases zu finden waren, und die headliner POWERWOLF steuern exklusiv den
brandneuen, unveröffentlichten Studiosong "Living on a Nightmare" bei.

Die Tracklist der "Wolfsnächte 2012 Tour EP"

1. POWERWOLF - Living on a Nightmare
[unveröffentlichter brandneuer Song]

2. MYSTIC PROPHECY - World Of Emptiness
[Japan-Bonus-Song]

3. STORMWARRIOR - Metal Legacy [live]
[rarer Japan-Bonus-Song]

4. LONEWOLF - Army Of The Damned
[vom kommenden Album "Army of the Damned"]

Professionally filmed video footage of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland's November 29, 2011 performance at iHeartRadio Theater in New York City can be seen below.

Weiland's Christmas album, "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year", was released on October 24 via Rhino Records. According to a press release, the CD covers "a variety of styles including big band swing, orchestrated ballads, reggae, bossa nova and more, all delivered with surprising ease by Scott Weiland."

Die Power-Metaller aus Deutschland stecken zurzeit im Studio, um den Nachfolger zu "Eastern Hope" einzuspielen. "To The End" wird die neue Langrille heißen und voraussichtlich im April 2012 über AFM Records erscheinen.

Im Folgenden die Tracklist:

1. The Frozen Few
2. Land Of The Dead
3. The World Of Ice
4. To The End
5. The Things We Believe In
6. The Ice Kings
7. Till The Stars Cry Out
8. Dying Paradise

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has been on a solo tour for the past few weeks, combining acoustic performances with audience interaction and readings from his book "Seven Deadly Sins". But Taylor has raised eyebrows on the tour by calling STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland a "lazy piece of shit" at one stop and bashing legendary producer Rick Rubin (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SLAYER, AUDIOSLAVE, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, METALLICA) — with whom he worked on SLIPKNOT's 2004 album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)" — as "overrated" and "overpaid" at another, saying he'd never work with Rubin again "as long as I fucking live."

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that he doesn't regret what he said about Rubin at all. "It's an honest answer to a perfectly reasonable question," he said. "That was my take on it. Now if you asked somebody like Clown [Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, SLIPKNOT percussionist] about the Rick Rubin experience, you'd get a totally different answer. But it is what it is. It's my opinion. At the end of the day it's not scripture. I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say — I don't think enough people do. And if it gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But I'm just gonna keep walking it."

In a 2008 interview with Revolver magazine, SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn Crahan stated about working with Rick Rubin, "'Vol. 3' was all about rebuilding friendships and since we were rebuilding, it was reall easy to rebuild the innovation of our music. Listen to that fucking record. It's spiritual. Rick Rubin's the oracle. He sat us down with each other. I heard things from the other members I don't care to repeat. I gained a couple of friends. I might have created a couple of enemies. We all agreed we were going to get on a plateau of communication and that's what we did."

In the same article, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root was quoted as saying about Rubin, "Rick was really attentive to what we needed as a band. He knew I was going through major anxiety. I got a knock on my bedroom door one day, and his assistant came up and he had this herbal drop that you put on your tongue to mellow out. A lot of the guys in the band say Rick was unavailable. And yeah, he takes on a lot of projects at one time, but he also does things that are beneficial. He would listen to what we'd done, then have us retrack things that needed work. He's kind of like Big Brother up on the hill. Even though he wasn't there physically every day, he was. That's my favorite record we've done."

Also speaking to Revolver, Corey said, "I wouldn't know what it's like to work with Rick Rubin. I only saw him about four times. Rick Rubin is a nice man. He's done a lot of good for a lot of people. He didn't do anything for me. I'm not happy with the vocals on that record. There were a lot of takes that I thought were much better than the ones they fuckin' used and I wasn't asked about a lot of shit. It sounds amazing; the songs are great. But we were being charged horrendous amounts of money. And for me, if you're going to produce something, you're fucking there. I don't care who you are."

Taylor called out Weiland a few nights after his Rick Rubin rant for recording and releasing an album of holiday standards called "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". He said about the disc, "Oh, it's bad."

Taylor continues his tour on Friday (December 9) at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

The singer will tour Australia and North America with SLIPKNOT next year, and also plans to head into the studio with STONE SOUR.

THE 11TH HOUR — the doom metal project led by Ed Warby (drums, guitar, bass, vocals, programming; GOREFEST, DEMIURG, HAIL OF BULLETS) — will release its second album, "Lacrima Mortis", via Napalm Records on the following dates:

Spain, Finland, Sweden: January 25
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: January 27
Rest Of Europe: January 30
North America: February 7

According to a press release, "the seven tracks on 'Lacrima Mortis' are a dark collection of stories revolving around death, sorrow, and painful loss. Warby stays true to his chosen path of somber themes cloaked in funeral garb. Heavy and monumental riffs unite with melancholic piano arrangements to create a strong hypnotic vibe. The lyrics use both personal experiences, as well as fictitious accounts, to weave a funerary wreath ornamentally laid atop the music.

"Warby did not only compose all the tracks, but he also played all the instruments on this album. He took on the production and about half of the vocals, while Pim Blankenstein (OFFICIUM TRISTE) was responsible for the growls.

"'Lacrima Mortis' provides a window to the dying soul. It is a confident and thorough doom album that reveals the morbid complexities inherent in the world of human emotion and thus, will appeal to more than just fans of the genre."

"Lacrima Mortis" track listing:

01. We All Die Alone
02. Rain on Me
03. The Death of Life
04. Tears of the Bereaved
05. Reunion Illusion
06. Nothing but Pain
07. Bury Me

Commented Warby: "'Lacrima Mortis' is another glimpse into the darker side of my musical persona: a thick slab of epic doom metal dealing with the subject of death and its repercussions. I've worked on it feverishly for the past year and to my mind it surpasses 2009's 'Burden Of Grief' in every way. I hope you'll agree!"

The second half of Seattle drone icons EARTH's "Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light" is being prepared for release on Southern Lord in North America this February 14 on CD, LP and digital download formats.

Recorded in the same two-week session as 2011's lauded "Angels Of Darkness, Demons of Light I" by Stuart Hallerman at Avast and mastered by Mell Detmer, "Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II" carries on in the freely and folkloric vein of the last release and invokes even more improvisational and unrestrained energy than its predecessor.

"Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II" is striking in many ways, not least in the wildly improvised nature of this particular recording. The songs "Sigil Of Brass" and "The Corascene Dog" perfectly emphasize how the interplay between the foursome has evolved even further since the first installment. Meanwhile, the track "His Teeth Did Brightly Shine" veers further into an entirely other direction, recalling sounds of the great British Acid Folk generation. This new material brings forth some highly original and deeply mesmerizing tones throughout, at times more hopeful and less dark and death oriented than previous work. "Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II" is ultimately a completely unanticipated direction for EARTH, and a very welcome one at that.

The lineup again consists of Adrienne Davies on drums and percussion (on this release there is more percussion of all sorts), Lori Goldston (NIRVANA, DAVID BYRNE, BLACK CAT ORCHESTRA, LAURA VEIRS) returns on cello, and Karl Blau (LAURA VEIRS, MICROPHONES) plays bass. This also marks the first time the band on the record has toured outside of the U.S. West Coast in preparation for the album. As with the first part, it again has truly amazing artwork by Stacey Rozich.

"Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II" track listing:

01. Sigil of Brass
02. His Teeth Did Brightly Shine
03. Multiplicity of Doors
04. The Corascene Dog
05. The Rakehell

METALLICA performed a previously unreleased song from the "Death Magnetic" sessions called "Just A Bullet Away" last night (Wednesday, December 7) at the second of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

A rough-mix version of the studio recording of "Just A Bullet Away" has since been e-mailed to members of METALLICA's official fan club and can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Commented the band: "We're pretty excited to be bringing these songs back to life nearly four years after they were recorded. Once again, this is the unpolished version of the song... the original rough mix from March of 2008 in its rawest, untouched form."

"Just A Bullet Away" lyrics:

All roads they lead to shame
All drowning in the blame
All reflections look the same
In the shine of the midnight revolver

All hide beneath a skin
A hope so paper thin
I'm at the door again
And the shine of the midnight revolver

Even the promise of danger has gone dull
Staring down the barrel of a 45

Suck on the barrel
Suck on the barrel
Suck it 'til it's gone dry

For all reflections look the same
In the shine of the midnight revolver

Redemption purify
Will nothing satisfy
The scars just multiply
In the shine of the midnight revolver

Twisting in apocalypse
Death upon the fingertips
Frigid metal touches lips
And the shine of the midnight revolver

'Cause you lied

Just a bullet away
Just a bullet away from leavin' you
Just a bullet away
Stop the voices in my head

Caressing death again
Becomes the heroin
Forbidden medicine
Puts a shine on the midnight revolver

Eternal borderline
All the faces intertwine
Oh God... now I see mine
In the shine of the midnight revolver

Even the promise of danger has gone dull
Staring down the barrel of a 45

Suck on the barrel
Suck on the barrel
Suck... suck till it's dry

For all reflections look the same
In the shine of the midnight revolver

Down In Misery
Down In Misery

Just a bullet away
Just a bullet away from leavin' you
Just a bullet away
Stop the voices in my head

All roads they lead to shame
All drowning in the blame
Reflections look the same
In the shine of the midnight revolver

All hide beneath a skin
A hope so paper thin
I'm at the door again
And the shine of the midnight revolver

Even the promise of danger has gone dull
Staring down the barrel of a 45

Suck on the barrel
Suck on the barrel
Suck... suck till it's dry

Do all reflections look the same
In the shine of the midnight revolver

'Cause you lied
Yes you lied

Just a bullet away
Just a bullet away from leavin' you
Just a bullet away
Stop the voices in my head (End of lyrics)

Does your little one rock late into the night cause they're hot, and young, running free — little bit better than they used to be?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, the company which creates "beautiful lullaby versions of your favorite artists," has released "Lullaby Versions Of Mötley Crüe" featuring lush instrumental versions of MÖTLEY CRÜE's most popular tracks. Soothe your inner headbanger and share your love of the CRÜE with a new generation of fans.

"Lullaby Versions Of Mötley Crüe" track listing:

01. Home Sweet Home
02. Without You
03. Saints of Los Angeles
04. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
05. Looks That Kill
06. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
07. Shout at the Devil
08. Live Wire
09. Wild Side
10. Dr. Feelgood
11. Girls, Girls, Girls
12. Kickstart My Heart

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star is the premier pop music lullaby line, with 56 titles to choose from across soundtracks, pop, rock, metal, country, alternative and more. Be sure to also check out the company's METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN and RUSH lullabies.

Louisiana rockers LILLIAN AXE have inked a deal with Germany's AFM Records. The band's new album, "XI: The Days Before Tomorrow", will be released on January 27. The CD was recorded at Sound Landing Studio in Covington, Louisiana, with the band's guitarist/songwriter Steve Blaze acting as producer and Rob Hovey engineering. The mixing duties were handled by Sylvia Massey (TOOL, JOHNNY CASH, DEFTONES, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, PRINCE, BLACK CROWES). Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Bow Your Head", "Gather Up The Snow", "Soul Disease" and "The Great Divide".

Commented Blaze, "This is an important album as it introduces Brian Jones on vocals.

"As I have been writing this record, there has been a feeling of creativity that is similar to that of when I wrote 'Psychoschizophrenia'.

"The band has really done a great job so far. We can't wait to get back out on the road to support it."

LILLIAN AXE in March announced Jackson, Mississippi native Brian Jones as the band's new lead vocalist.

The cover artwork for "The Inherited Repression", the forthcoming fifth studio album from Australian technical death metallers PSYCROPTIC, can be seen below. The CD will be released on February 7 in North America and February 10 in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented PSYCROPTIC guitarist Joe Haley: "'The Inherited Repression' is far and away my favorite PSYCROPTIC record thus far — all of us in the band think this.

"It's the age-old cliché from bands when they talk about their new album as being the best of their career, blah, blah, but I have to say it because it's true. We wouldn't think there is a point of going on if we couldn't outdo each record prior. We are certainly not playing music for anything else than the love of creating it and performing it.

"'The Inherited Repression' is quite different from anything we have done in terms of songwriting and structure, and we spent a lot longer writing and demoing the songs before we recorded it, which you can tell. It's a very dynamic album — the fast elements faster, the slow elements slower, and a lot of light and dark binding it together. It's a very catchy album as well — you can tap your foot, bang your head or anything else you want. Basically, it has a lot of groove on it from start to finish."

"The Inherited Repression" was produced, engineered and mixed by Haley, while Alan Douches will handle mastering duties.

"We had the luxury of recording in my home studio without deadlines, so we spent a long time on getting it how we wanted," said Haley. "We can't wait for people to hear it, and get out and play the songs live!"

"The Inherited Repression" track listing:

01. Carriers Of The Plague
02. Forward To Submission
03. Euphorinasia
04. The Throne Of Kings
05. Unmasking The Traitors
06. Become The Cult
07. From Scribe To Ashes
08. Deprivation
09. The Sleepers Have Awoken

PSYCROPTIC is:

Jason Peppiatt - Vocals
Cameron Grant - Bass
Joe Haley - Guitars
Dave Haley - Drums

Lou Reed, King Diamond (MERCYFUL FATE), Hank Shermann (MERCYFUL FATE), Timi Hansen (MERCYFUL FATE), Michael Denner (MERCYFUL FATE) , Marianne Faithfull, Ray Haller (SWEET SAVAGE), Kid Rock and John Bush (ARMORED SAINT) joined METALLICA on stage last night (Wednesday, December 7) for the second of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

After opening sets from THE SOUL REBELS brass band and ARMORED SAINT, as well as an appearance by ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian — who took to the stage with METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett to tell stories of hanging out with late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton — METALLICA rocked the capacity crowd with a 20-song set which featured selections from all periods of the band's career, including a previously unreleased track from the "Death Magnetic" sessions called "Just A Bullet Away".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. To Live Is To Die (premiere)
02. Enter Sandman
03. Holier Than Thou
04. Disposable Heroes
05. Bleeding Me
06. Wasting My Hate
07. My Apocalypse
08. Just A Bullet Away (previously unreleased song from "Death Magnetic" sessions; premiere)
09. Breadfan (BUDGIE cover) (with METALLICA fan Andrew Dowis)
10. The Memory Remains (with Marianne Faithful)
11. Killing Time (SWEET SAVAGE cover) (with Ray Haller)
12. Turn The Page (with Kid Rock)
13. The Four Horsemen (with John Bush)
14. Iced Honey (with Lou Reed)
15. The View (with Lou Reed)
16. White Light/White Heat (with Lou Reed)
17. Creeping Death (with Jason Newsted)
18. Battery (with Jason Newsted)
19. Mercyful Fate Medley (MERCYFUL FATE cover) (with Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Timi Hansen and King Diamond)
20. Seek & Destroy (with Jason Newsted, Scott Ian, Ray Haller, John Bush, Joey Vera, Gonzo Sandoval, and THE SOUL REBELS)

GUNS N' ROSES is among the artists that will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at its 27th annual ceremony on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum. Also scheduled to be inducted are RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, BEASTIE BOYS, THE SMALL FACES/FACES, Donovan and Laura Nyro. Freddie King well enter the Hall Of Fame as an Early Influence, while the late producer and TV host Don Kirshner will receive the Ahmet Ertegun (nonperformer) Award and producers Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns will receive the Award For Musical Excellence.

The current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES has posted the following collective statement on Facebook regarding the upcoming induction:

"So close yet still far away from the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all the 2012 inductees and our sincerest thanks to the Hall's organizers, committee members and voting delegates who supported the GN'R induction — it's a humbling honor to be recognized on this first ballot."

Facebook and Twitter statements from other current and former members of GUNS N' ROSES follow below.

Current GN'R guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal: "25 years of great music, great shows, and great fans :) Thanks to all who made it happen!"

Current GN'R guitarist DJ Ashba: "My sincerest congratulations to Axl Rose and everyone else who has been apart of this band's history. Time to deck the halls with destruction!"

Former GN'R guitarist Slash: "Thanks for all the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame mentions. It's quite an honor to be inducted. Cheers!"

Former GN'R drummer Steven Adler: "Thank you all for your support in making this happen. It really means a lot to me. I am happy and excited to be a part of this!"

The ceremony will be taped for broadcast by HBO, which plans to air it in early May. Like the 2009 inductions, which were also held in Cleveland, the event will be open to the public; tickets go on sale for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame + Museum members at 10 a.m. on December 16, and to the general public at 10 a.m. the next day. Tickets are $50 and $100, with a two-ticket limit on all orders. More information is available at www.rockhall.com.

Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA opened the week-long celebration of METALLICA's 30th anniversary on Monday, December 5 at The Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco.

Besides their own set, APOCALYPTICA also joined METALLICA on stage for a few songs.

After supporting METALLICA several times (the first one being in Helsinki on November 18 and November 19, 1996), this was the very first time the two bands actually played together.
The concert this Monday launched the anniversary party which METALLICA is holding exclusively for its fan-club members in San Francisco.

Commented APOCALYPTICA's Eicca Toppinen: "What can you do when METALLICA invites you to perform at their birthday party? You can only say YES!!!

"We are honored and very pleased to be part of this unique event. METALLICA have always been one of our greatest influences which makes this performance such a special experience for us.

"Cliff, James, Lars, Kirk, Rob and Jason.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Sacramento, California rockers TESLA will receive the key to the city from their hometown mayor Kevin Johnson today (Wednesday, December 7) at 12 (noon) at the Sacramento Rock And Radio Museum at 20th and I streets (in the building that once housed Crabshaw Corner and The Oasis Ballroom).

Commented the band: "We are very honored."

Known as the originators of the "unplugged" craze of the '90s, California rockers TESLA launched the 20th-anniversary tour last month of their legendary "Five Man Acoustical Jam" in full acoustic fashion in support of their new album, "Twisted Wires And The Acoustic Sessions".

TESLA released "Twisted Wires And The Acoustic Sessions" in Europe on July 25 via Scarlet Records. The CD, which came out in North America on July 12, features six songs that were recorded back in 2005 at bassist Brian Wheat's J Street Recorders studio — which also serve as the last recordings with original member Tommy Skeoch — and six newly recorded tracks, including acoustic remakes of songs from TESLA's entire catalog and two brand new songs, "Second Street" and "Better Off Without You".

GUNS N' ROSES is among the artists that will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at its 27th annual ceremony on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Museum. Also scheduled to be inducted are RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, BEASTIE BOYS, THE SMALL FACES/FACES, Donovan and Laura Nyro. Freddie King well enter the Hall Of Fame as an Early Influence, while the late producer and TV host Don Kirshner will receive the Ahmet Ertegun (nonperformer) Award and producers Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns will receive the Award For Musical Excellence.

The ceremony will be taped for broadcast by HBO, which plans to air it in early May. Like the 2009 inductions, which were also held in Cleveland, the event will be open to the public; tickets go on sale for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame + Museum members at 10 a.m. on December 16, and to the general public at 10 a.m. the next day. Tickets are $50 and $100, with a two-ticket limit on all orders. More information is available at www.rockhall.com.

GUNS N' ROSES was nominated in its first year of eligibility.

"It's a great honor," former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke told The Plain Dealer. "The band deserves it. It was a long time coming."

Acts become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record.

Eccentric singer Axl Rose is the only original member of the current GUNS N' ROSES lineup, and while he has recently been on friendlier terms with guitarist Izzy Stradlin and bass player Duff McKagan, he and guitarist Slash are not on speaking terms.

Asked about what the former bandmates will do if they are inducted, Axl told VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" in October, "I don't know what it means in terms of me with the old band and the old lineup. If we were to be invited, I don't know what they would ask of me. It's up in the air."

Drummer Steven Adler told Rolling Stone magazine that he remains skeptical that Axl will be willing to perform with the original lineup. "You figure that time heals all wounds," he said. "But some people just REALLY hold a crazy grudge. I just had lunch with Slash two days ago. He loves Axl. He holds no grudges towards him. Twenty years of great music wasn't created because of some stupid grudge... Can't we just be fucking people who played music and accomplished a huge goal in their life and just play a couple songs? It's only rock and roll, my god! It's not rocket science."

Earlier this year, former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan spoke to MusicRadar.com about the possibility of the band being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

"My only experience with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was when VELVET REVOLVER played it and we were inducting VAN HALEN," he said. "That whole band was supposed to be there, including David Lee Roth — we were going to do a song with him. It all started falling apart in the two weeks leading up to the gig. It was sad to watch…

"We were just the innocent band that was there to play VAN HALEN songs, and we saw their whole thing crumble. To see Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar show up, when it was supposed to be everybody... Michael and Sammy were really cool guys and good sports about it, but they took all the heat over the situation. A lot of heat.

"I don't know if I want to set myself up for heat. It's going to be a debacle, isn't it? A press debacle. I just don't know what else to say about it."

Asked about what the former bandmates will do if they are inducted, Slash said, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there . . . If they're gonna pass you over, I don't think it's worth worrying about too much."

Slash said that he was glad to see Alice Cooper going in this year, and as for who has been overlooked, the guitarist said, "The one that comes to mind right off the bat — and it's not even a band that I'm a huge fan of but definitely is eligible — is KISS. And I know that they've been passed over every fucking year."

Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH, TESTAMENT, SADUS, OBSCURA), Karyn Crisis (CRISIS) and Marco Minemann (PAUL GILBERT, NECROPHAGIST, KREATOR, TONY MACALPINE) will appear on the forthcoming EP from EPHEL DUATH, the formerly Italian, currently U.S.-based band which is known as a modern mixture of avant-garde metal and progressive rock with jazz-fusion and hardcore punk elements.

Due in the spring via Agonia Records, EPHEL DUATH's new EP will be recorded in January 2012 at Sharkbyte Studios (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE) in Oakland, California. Erik Rutan will handle the mixing duties at his Mana Recording Studio (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL, GOATWHORE, AGNOSTIC FRONT) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alan Douches will master the material at West West Side Music (DEATH, SWANS, MASTODON, CONVERGE, BARONESS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CLUTCH) in New Windsor, New York.

Former NONPOINT members Zach Broderick (guitar) and Ken MacMillan (bass) have joined forced with DROWNING POOL's C.J. Pierce (guitar) and Mike Luce (drums) in a brand new project called VOODOO CORPS.

The band's mission statement: "From the collective bowels of the South rides forth the culmination of what can only be deemed as the kick in the ass that rock so desperately needs. Forged in the fires of what makes life truly great: friends, family, and a deep seeded love and appreciation for those who support rock music, VOODOO CORPS is here to stomp your ass and then take you out for snow cones!!!"

The first VOODOO CORPS song, "Lights Out", which apparently features Luce on lead vocals, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

German female-fronted symphonic metallers XANDRIA will release their new studio album, "Neverworld's End", via Napalm Records on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: February 24, 2012
Spain, Finland, Sweden: February 22, 2012
Rest of Europe: February 27, 2012
USA, Canada: March 6, 2012

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. A Prophecy Of Worlds To Fall
02. Valentine
03. Forevermore
05. Euphoria
04. Blood On My Hands
06. Soulcrusher
07. The Dream Is Still Alive
08. The Lost Elysion
09. Call Of The Wind
10. A Thousand Letters
11. Cursed
12. The Nomad's Crown
13. When The Mirror Cracks (bonus track)

Commented the band: "Although the title may indicate it, this is not a concept album, but there is an overall theme threading its way through most of the songs."

Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces its inductees for 2012, including Red Hot Chili Peppers!

The inductees are:

Performer Category:
· Beastie Boys
· Donovan
· Guns N’ Roses
· Laura Nyro
· Red Hot Chili Peppers
· The Small Faces/The Faces

Early Influence:
· Freddie King

Ahmet Ertegun (nonperformer) Award:
· Don Kirshner

The Award for Musical Excellence:
· Cosimo Matassa
· Tom Dowd
· Glyn Johns

The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio and premiere on HBO in early May. The 2012 ceremony will again be open to the public, as it was – for the first time in the event’s history – at the 2009 Inductions in Cleveland.

Tickets to the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony go on-sale to the public on Saturday, December 17, 2011 beginning at 10 a.m. EST. There will be a two ticket limit on all orders. To purchase tickets, click here.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum Members can purchase Induction 2012 tickets in advance, beginning Friday, December 16, 2011 at 10 a.m. EST. To be eligible for the Member pre-sale, fans must become members by 11 p.m. EST on December 12, 2011 and have a valid Member ID. To join please call 216.515.8425 or click here.

Jason Newsted (METALLICA, VOIVOD, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM), John Marshall (METAL CHURCH, former METALLICA guitar tech and occasional James Hetfield fill-in), Sean Harris (DIAMOND HEAD), Brian Tatler (DIAMOND HEAD), Biff Byford (SAXON) and APOCALYPTICA joined METALLICA on stage last night (Monday, December 5) for the first of four intimate shows at the 1,200-capacity Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

Lifeforce Records has announced the signing of SHEAR, the Helsinki, Finland-based six-piece metal act featuring former/current members of AMORAL, OMNIUM GATHERUM, IMPERANON, ELENIUM and CRYSTAL BLAZE. The band's as-yet-untitled full-length debut will be released in March 2012. The group previously described the new tracks as "really diverse, ranging from very melodic songs to heavier riff-oriented songs."

The current lineup of SHEAR was finalized in 2008. The members have, however, played together for many years. The guitarists Mikael Gronroos and Lauri Koskenniemi, and keyboardist Lari Sorvo have played together since 2001. Bass player Eerik Purdon joined the group in 2004, and the drummer Juhana Karlsson in 2007.

SHEAR last year made its entire four-song EP, "In Solitude", available for free download on the group's official web site. The CD was recorded in August-September 2009 at Arcada Studios by Mikael Grönroos and was mastered at Chartmakers studios.

"In Solitude" track listing:

01. In Solitude
02. Scorched
03. Trapped in A Shell
04. Mistakes

Guitarist and backup vocalist Ryan Helm has announced his departure from Seattle-based Christian metallers DEMON HUNTER.

Helm joined DEMON HUNTER in 2009 as the replacement for Don Clark and is featured on the band's latest album, "The World Is A Thorn".

Acccording to a statement released by Helm's management, the guitarist's departure "was inevitable; however, it was on good terms." He plans to primarily focus on his solo project, DAMIEN DEADSON, which will release its debut album in January 2012.