According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND held a press conference in Tel Aviv earlier today (Thursday, September 8) ahead of their September 10 concert at the Unirock Open Air festival in Istanbul, Turkey. During the press conference, they expressed their hope that their success and the adoration of their fans from countries branded by Israel as "enemy states" could be used as a model for repairing ties with Turkey.

"A situation has been created where we are Israel’s only ambassadors to Turkey," lead vocalist Kobi Farhi said, adding "we have become an example that can be used as a model for our leaders. It's about how through music you can create something as simple as friendship between the two peoples. It happens at our shows when I turn the microphone to the crowd and they sing back to me in Hebrew, or when I sing to them in Turkish or Arabic."

Farhi said that some have called for the band to boycott Turkey, especially following the recent downgrade in ties.

"Artists don't boycott and I don't appreciate those artists who decide to boycott one person or another," he said. He added the band hasn’t considered canceling because "in Turkey we feel at home. At times we felt some fear about going right now, but we they can't let this feeling stop us at a time like this because these days, we're Israel's only ambassador in Turkey and in the Arab world. We are flying as musicians, but we also feel that we’re going as representatives of our country and our people. We're hearing so many voices of anger and conflict between the two sides these days, and we want people to hear a different voice, a voice that says look, here's a crowd of thousands that is getting along perfectly, let this be an example."

Finnish "battle metal" warriors TURISAS have announced that Jukka-Pekka Miettinen (ex-ARTHEMESIA, ENSIFERUM) will be joining the band on bass for forthcoming shows, and Robert Engstrand (ex-KOTIPELTO, THE FLOWER KINGS) will be coming into a completely new role in the band — as keyboard player. This change is in response to the sad news that current bassist Hannes Horma and accordionist Netta Skog have decided to leave the band due to personal and motivational reasons. This announcement will NOT affect TURISAS' tours this fall in any way: the band will perform as advertised at this year's Heidenfest tour in Europe, and afterwards will take part a full-length headlining tour in the U.K., Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

Commented the group in a statement: "A band is not something that can be kept together by force. If someone wants to quit, there's not much the rest of us can do about that. Both for Hannes and Netta, it came down to the same thing: a choice between the band and other personal interests had to be made. We tried to find a compromise where both could be combined, but unfortunately in both cases it didn't seem possible at their end. Neither Hannes or Netta played a critical role in the creative process and studio work of the band, so in this sense not much will change. Still, they were always great onstage and we shared many memorable moments together.

"We would like to make it very clear that there is no drama here, and thankfully no hard feelings. Both Hannes and Netta made their decisions completely independently, based on their own personal reasons. Their departures are not connected in any way, it was just that this short quiet period between the Euro festivals and the forthcoming touring was the only meaningful time to make a smooth changeover to the new members.

"We'd like to thank Hannes and Netta for all the good times we had together over the years, and wish them both the best of luck in the future.

"As far as Jukka-Pekka and Robert go, these guys are both very talented musicians, and we are very excited about hitting the road with this new lineup.

"Please welcome our newest reinforcements; this is the beginning of a new era!"

Hannes Horma, who joined TURISAS right after the release of the band's debut album, "Battle Metal", says, "My career with the band started 2004. At the time I was only nineteen years old. It felt like a dream come true and since then, we've had some amazing time and unbelievable shows during these years.

"For the past couple of years I've been studying orchestral composing, arranging and classical singing and with the touring responsibilities, I haven't had a lot of free time and couldn't pursue my other interests. Lately, I've also felt that the 'flame' is not there anymore for me personally: it was time for me to move on to do the things I feel most passionate about.

"I love playing concerts with TURISAS but I cannot be on tour for six or more months a year and try to study at the same time — no one can.

"I would like to thank everybody I've met during the years, all the fans around the world, the bands we're toured with and our crew — you rock! I also hope all the best for everybody in TURISAS: thanks for letting me to be a part of this for all these years. It's been a hell of a ride but now it's my time to jump off. Hopefully we'll meet again, someday, somewhere."

Netta Skog, who has been with TURISAS since 2008, was only 16 years old when she first joined the band as a last minute stand-in player for a European tour in 2007, subsequently becoming a full-time member. Earlier this year, she was forced to leave the band's U.S. tour because of personal issues, but returned for summer festivals. She says: "I sadly announce that now is the time when I have to say goodbye to TURISAS. I'm going to start my studies in college soon and also need to focus on my personal life; thus, I had to make the decision and this is the final result.

"These almost four years with the band have been amazing. I've got a lot of new friends and seen the world all around. I'm so lucky I was the one the band wanted to have as their accordion player and there are definitely no regrets. All the good memories will stay in my heart forever! Of course, it's sad to leave but still, I have to think that this band was one chapter in my life, and now it's time for me to turn the next page. I'm more than thankful to all of you for your amazing support and just for being amazing fans! I've had so much fun and I will never forget you. Thank you for everything."

Back On Black Rock Classics will release four original ALICE COOPER albums on vinyl. The titles will be released in October on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl and packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeves. The first 1,000 copies of each title will come on limited-edition colored vinyl.

"Brutal Planet" is the 21st studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 2000. Lyrically, "Brutal Planet" deals with themes of dark "social fiction," including domestic violence ("Take it Like a Woman"), war ("Pick Up The Bones") and school shootings ("Wicked Young Man"). The album has been erroneously reported as being the second in a trilogy (beginning with "The Last Temptation" and ending with "Dragontown"); however, Cooper has stated that this is in fact not the case.

"Dragontown" is the 22nd studio album by Alice Cooper, released in 2001. Like "Brutal Planet", the album displays a heavier style than many of his previous releases.

"The Eyes Of Alice Cooper" is the twenty third album by Alice Cooper, that was released in 2003. Although it has been said that the title is a reference to the 2000 documentary known as "The Eyes of Tammy Faye", in October 2007, Alice said that was not the case. With this album, Cooper returned to his earlier hard rock sound, in the vein of "The Last Temptation", and left the heavy industrial metal sound found in his last two studio albums.

"Dirty Diamonds" is the 24th studio album by Alice Cooper. It was released on July 4, 2005 internationally and on August 2nd for North America. The album peaked on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart at position #17, and on the Billboard 200 album chart at #169 — Cooper's highest charting album since "The Last Temptation", 11 years prior.

A Polish bishop has called for public protests following the employment of what he claims is a "satanic" rock star, BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski, by the Polish version of the hit American singing competition "The Voice", appropriately named "The Voice Of Poland".

Bishop Wieslaw Mering, head of the diocese of Wlocawek in northern Poland, lashed out at national television station TVP for its hiring of Darski, who was found innocent last month of offending religious feelings in connection with a September 2007 incident when he reportedly called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the planet" during the band's performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the Bible, calling it "a book of lies."

The full text of Mering's statement — which was translated to English exclusively for BLABBERMOUTH.NET by Thomas Rutkowski — follows below.

"Appeal to Priests and Faithful of the Wroclawian diocese in the matter of opposing promotion of Satanism in Polish public television.

"Sisters and Brothers,

"I was stunned to silence: public service television, paid for by our taxpayers' money; Dutied to respect those values held as universal, Truth, Good and Justice; that should serve the comprehensive betterment of mankind, the building of peaceful society, objectivism and moral order — is planning to let 'Nergal' (Adam Darski) — who hides neither his involvement with Satanism or his contempt for Christianity — star in public television this fall of 2011 on the Channel 2 show 'The Voice Of Poland'.

"A blasphemer, Satanist and lover of evil incarnate will have free use of the public television screen to spread his poisonous teachings!

"Non possumus! - As the Polish bishops once cried when Cesar by force tried to place himself on the altar. We cannot pretend that nothing is happening, even if they should call us reactionary, intolerant Catholics or some sort of 'berets!' No! As citizens we have the right to voice our opinions.

"I ask the members of my assembly for the courage to defend the rights of God; I beg and ardently urge all youth and adults:

* Openly show your disagreement with Nergal's presence in Polish public television by protests directed at the direction of TVP Channel Two;

* Sign the petitions at the Polish Catholic journalists' webpage at: www.ksd.media.pl;

* Pray, especially to Saint Michel the Archangel least let the name of God be publicly insulted in the country of Poland, and let this prayer also encompass the blasphemer who 'Knows Not What He Does';

* Actively join the clergy in acts of protest, and help bolster their efforts; We have the full rights of citizenship in our country and thus have the right to make our views public;

* Bring attention to this matter throughout the diocese, be very firm, but cultured;

* Use any and all available means of communication for this act of protest, the pulpit, parish tracts, church meetings, local radio and local television stations;

* Help the faithful become aware that we are a very powerful force of influence and can affect what is shown on the screen — even if it comes to the civil disobedience of refusing to pay subscription dues should our requests and appeals fall on deaf ears.

"We cannot be silent, when the belief of those faithful to Christianity is allowed to be challenged in this drastic way. Very recently, Nergal was 'absolved' in public court for humiliating the Holy Scriptures saying it is 'Shit you can plow into the ground and bury!' he also called the church 'a criminal sect.'

"We cannot be silent, neither from fear, nor wanting to please the whims of God's personal enemy, nor from any motives of political correctness or indifference. As Christ tells us: 'In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.' (John 16,33)

"To all who are concerned in matters of God — most heartfelt of blessings."

In a recent interview with Terrorizer magazine, Nergal stated about his new television gig, "It's going to be fun. The first black metal judge ever in history doing a mainstream thing, you know? People are going to freak out! Some are going to love it, some are going to fucking hate it. But that's what this music has always been about, right? To provoke, to cause different opinions. The more extreme opinions, the better, I think."

He added of the attention he has received in his home country, "This so-called celebrity life is not my environment at all, but I am a part of it if I want it or not. So it's been crazy. Then the whole case with my sickness and me getting out alive [Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010 and underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure in December. — Ed.], it just brought some extra attention to it. And there's definitely some people that want to make some money on it because it's a cool story for them to write about and stuff, but I was like, 'Okay, if they're going to make money, I want to have my share, too.' I was away from music and away from being active live for a good year, so yeah, I need to get something in return!"

It was previously reported in the Polish media that the producers of "The Voice Of Poland" were hoping that Nergal's presence on the program would attract a new audience as well as improve its chances of competing against rival television talent-show franchise "X Factor".

The American version of "The Voice" was a big hit for NBC and helped breathe new life into the careers of coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.

Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA will release a concert DVD, "Live In Finland", on October 28. The set will include 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 will be 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 will also be a bonus CD containing eight songs that were recorded at the Kemi festival concert.

DVD1:

Sonata Arctica: Live in Finland

01. Intro (Everything Fades To Gray)
02. Flag In The Ground
03. Last Amazing Grays
04. Juliet
05. Replica
06. Blank File
07. As If The World Wasn't Ending
08. Paid In Full
09. Victoria's Secret
10. Instrumental Exhibition
11. The Misery
12. Fullmoon
13. In Black & White
14. Mary-Lou
15. Shy
16. Letter To Dana
17. Caleb
18. Don't Say A Word
19. Outro (Vodka / Everything Fades To Gray)

DVD 2:

Extra Features:

Sonata Arctica Open Air II:

01. White Pearl, Black Oceans
02. Draw Me
03. In Black & White
04. Don't Say A Word

* Making of "Live in Finland"
* Making of "Flag In The Ground"
* Latin-American Tour Documentary
* "Made In Finland" Tour Documentary

Music Videos:

* Don't Say A Word
* Paid In Full
* Flag In The Ground
* Acoustic live at Alcatraz, Milano
* The "Flag In The Ground" cover contest
* Photo Galleries

Commented SONATA ARCTICA keyboardist Henrik "Lance" Klingenberg: "It's been a very hot summer here in Finland, and while most people headed to the beach, we've been working our asses off editing and compiling our new DVD.

"This time around we wanted to give you a show from our home country Finland.

"The main show was filmed at the Teatria club in Oulu, Finland, last April. It showcases SONATA ARCTICA towards the end of 'The Days Of Grays' world tour, which started back in 2009.

"We played a total of over 180 shows in almost 40 countries during the tour.

"This will be a two-DVD release with lots of bonuses. We'll have tour documentaries, making-ofs as well as music videos and bonus songs from our very own Sonata Arctica Open Air festival, held in our hometown Kemi in August 2009.

"Whether you missed us or checked us out during this world tour, this DVD will be the complete guide to what we've been up to these past two years.

"I'm sure you all will enjoy watching this DVD as much as we've enjoyed making it.

"'The Days Of Grays' world tour has been absolutely fantastic and I'm very happy that we've managed to capture all the ups and downs on film. You'll know what I'm talking about when we get this monster package out!"

"The Days Of Grays", the latest album from SONATA ARCTICA, 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.

Audio samples of all the songs that appear on "One Bullet Left", the new album from German heavy rockers SINNER, can be streamed at this location. Due on September 9 via AFM Records, the CD was recorded in Stuttgart, Germany with Mat Sinner producing and Achim Köhler engineering.

"One Bullet Left" track listing:

01. The One You Left Behind
02. Back On Trail
03. Give & Take
04. One Bullet Left
05. 10 2 Death
06. Haunted
07. Atomic Playboys
08. Suicide Mission
09. Wake Me When I'm Sober
10. Mind Over Matter
11. Mend To Be Broken
12. Rolling Away

The "Back On Trail" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed in Nürnberg, Ge

Dutch "atmospheric doomsters" OFFICIUM TRISTE entered the studio of the band's keyboardist, Martin Kwakernaak, in April to begin recording their fifth full-length album, tentatively titled "Mors Viri". The CD is being mixed by Ronnie Björnström of Enhanced Audio Productions.

"Mors Viri" track listing:

01. Your Fall From Grace
02. Burning All Boats And Bridges
03. Your Heaven, My Underworld
04. Interludium
05. To The Gallows
06. The Wounded And The Dying
07. One With The Sea (Part II)
09. Like Atlas

OFFICIUM TRISTE is currently seeking a suitable record label to release "Mors Viri".

OFFICIUM TRISTE's fourth full-length album, "Giving Yourself Away", was released on May 28, 2007 via Displeased Records. The CD was recorded at Excess studio in Rotterdam, Holland.

On November 1, Los Angeles hardcore/metal band TERROR will release the "Defining The Faith" DVD as part of the special deluxe reissue of the group's latest CD, "Keepers Of The Faith". Produced, edited, and authored by Carlo Oppermann and Ambitious.Films, "Defining The Faith" features a full live set that is composed of three different TERROR shows in three distinct settings: a small club, a big hall, and a massive European festival. These live performances were filmed at the following concerts: Mach1 festival in Montabaur (June 24), Cafe Central in Weinheim (June 28), and Essigfabrik in Köln (June 29), and the complete set-list for the DVD is below.

"Defining The Faith" live DVD set-list

01. Stick Tight
02. Out Of My Face
03. One With The Underdogs
04. Push it Away
05. Never Alone
06. Lowest Of The Low
07. Betrayer
08. Spit My Rage
09. Always The Hard Way
10. Keep Your Mouth Shut
11. Hell And Back
12. Life & Death
13. You're Caught
14. You're Enemies Are Mine
15. Overcome
16. Keepers Of The Faith

"Defining The Faith" also features a European tour documentary with band interviews, backstage footage, and more-plus, four music videos taken from the band's "Keepers Of The Faith" album: "Stick Tight", "Keepers Of The Faith", "Return To Strength", and "You're Caught". And as yet another additional bonus, the making-of footage for the band's latest music video, "You're Caught", will also be included in the DVD.

A trailer for the DVD can be seen below.

Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, ARSON ANTHEM, SUPERJOINT RITUAL) has released a videotaped statement (see below) regarding the interview he gave to the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner in which he spoke about his current relationship — or lack thereof — with his former PANTERA bandmate, Vinnie Paul Abbott. The complete transcript of Anselmo's message, which was recorded on September 4, follows below.

"This is Philip H. Anselmo and I just wanna talk to you people out there and all the fans that might be interested in the last video interview that I did that Blabbermouth.com [sic] got ahold of, and they picked one little sentence out of my entire transcript and they made it a headline and they made it look ugly. Really, all I was saying was that I love Vinnie Paul and my door is always open. I may not approve of how he may go about things and this and that in regards to our relationship, but still, the big deal and the bottom line here is, make no doubt and let there be no question, I love Vince, and all of you out there, you know what Blabbermouth is — it's a sensationalist site and they're looking for as many hits as they can possibly get at anyone's expense. So take that for it's worth. I apologize to anyone who I might have offended who read this little headline. But for any of you who were offended, read a little deeper into it, and you'll understand that I come from love as well. Once again, my choice of words wasn't the best, but that's just how I talk. Anyway, I love you all. See you soon on tour."

The Pulse Of Radio reports that the latest rumor to circulate about the upcoming new album from VAN HALEN was that guitarist Eddie Van Halen was unhappy with some of David Lee Roth's vocals and wanted them re-recorded. According to MelodicRock.com, an unnamed source denied rumors that the record was being shelved completely, but added, "The delay lies within the vocals. That seems to be the main roadblock. Eddie is just not satisfied with the vocals that have been recorded and re-recorded which has caused a lot of frustration with both the Van Halen and Roth camps alike." The site issued an update a short time later, however, saying that the issues "have been sorted."

The site also claims that the band's management is shopping for a record deal, although no one outside the VAN HALEN organization has heard the album.

Although the idea of an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart had reportedly been discussed, the band is now apparently looking for a huge worldwide deal with a single record company.

While a pre-Christmas release date is still the goal, it's not certain that the album will see the light of day before the end of 2011.

A North American tour in the first three months of 2012 has also been rumored, but as with everything related to VAN HALEN, nothing is confirmed.

Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH recently spent time not only putting finishing touches to their new album, "Imaginaerum", but also planning a movie of the same name. The CD will be released in December via Nuclear Blast Records in Europe and Roadrunner Records in North America.

"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which recently received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, will get $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.

Stobe Harju has issued the following update on the "Imaginaerum" film:

"It was four years ago. We had just shot NIGHTWISH's music video, 'The Islander', in Rovaniemi, Finland. As we sat down afterwards with [NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman] Tuomas Holopainen, we pondered over the idea of having a music video for each of the songs on their next album. Back then it was the distant dream of two ambitious people.

"One year later, Tuomas called me and said, 'This is it: would you be willing to come over and talk about our next project together?' The next few months were full of excitement, writing treatments for twelve clips, thinking how hard it would be to make all this happen.

"At one stage, I lost track of time as I was writing a story about a young boy, growing old in his own dream. It was in fact a fictional story about NIGHTWISH, but above all about Tuomas himself, a forever-young genius, who loved life but also every single person around him. As we got inside each other's minds, we knew that music videos weren't enough for what we wanted to say to the world. We wanted something more.

"Our love for life, our families, our memories, music, waking up to new wonders each day and love for the best tool available to us human beings, our imagination, became the cornerstones of the story. It had to be about the mixture of our lives and our worst fears of growing old. As we wanted to emphasize all these things, we found there was only one way to convey the story.

"'Imaginaerum' tells the story of an elderly composer, Tom, who suffers from severe dementia. As he has had the disease for years and has regressed into childhood, he remembers practically nothing from his adult life. His music, friends, all his past including the memory of his daughter are a blur in his fragile mind. All he has left is the imagination of a ten year old boy. As he drifts away into coma, it seems impossible to get back what he has lost. Or is it?

"The film is a journey between two different dimensions. Tom travels through his imaginary world seeking answers and finding memories, while his daughter, Gem, tries to recover the bond she had once shared with her father in the real world. As they have become more and more distant from each other over the years, and as there's even greater obstacles separating them now — Tom's coma and his imminent death — Gem's project feels doomed to failure. However, through Tom's darkest secrets, Gem discovers the path she must follow in order to find her father again.

"There are some questions we must ask ourselves before entering the world of 'Imaginaerum'. What is most important in life? Can the power of memories protect us during our last moments? Will our imagination help us find the spark of life in the deepest darkness? Can we still find love after bitter forgiveness?

"'Imaginaerum' is an emotional fantasy-adventure powered by the music of NIGHTWISH. The story reminds us of our childhood where the smallest but most precious thing meant everything and losing it would have left an everlasting scar. Now it's time to reopen the wound and see what became of it, but above all, where it came from."

Century Media Records has revealed more details about its latest signing, the U.K. death metal band VALLENFYRE. The group is the brainchild of Gregor Mackintosh, songwriter and guitarist of PARADISE LOST, and features members of MY DYING BRIDE, AT THE GATES and DOOM.

VALLENFYRE just released the "Desecration / Iconoclast" seven-inch single (limited to 500 copies) on Imperium Productions. Samples of both tracks can be found on the band's official web site.

VALLENFYRE is:

* Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) - Vocals and Lead Guitar
* Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE) - Rhythm and Lead Guitars
* Mully - Rhythm Guitars
* Scoot (DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND) - Bass
* Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums

The sound of VALLENFYRE goes back to Gregor's youth.

"I was first introduced to more extreme music by my older brother in 1981." Gregor says. "Over the next few years in my early teens, I grew to love various early hardcore punk bands like DISCHARGE, ENGLISH DOGS, CONFLICT, etc. Around a similar time I was becoming aware of other more metal music like MOTÖRHEAD and BLACK SABBATH. In '84/85' I got into bands who were fusing these styles like HELLHAMMER, ANTISECT and AMEBIX. A couple of years later I started tape-trading with people all around the world, which enabled me to hear lots of really cool, interesting, extreme music. AUTOPSY, NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, REPULSION, NIHILIST are some of the more well-known names I started to get into, but there were many, many more which never gained the same notoriety. At the same time, I formed PARADISE LOST with my friends. Our early stuff was a bit of a mixture of all this stuff but we also had a lot of doom influence from the likes of CANDLEMASS, TROUBLE and ST. VITUS."

The events that led to the conception and formation of VALLENFYRE are not particularly happy or pretty ones.

"In the late summer of 2009, my father, John Mackintosh, was diagnosed with prostate cancer," Gregor explained. "Later in the autumn as his treatment progressed, PARADISE LOST embarked on their European tour to support the latest album ['Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us']. A week into this, I received a call from my mother telling me that the doctors had found cancer in his lungs and it was terminal. He only had weeks to live. I made the decision to leave the tour, leaving my very able guitar tech Milly [not be confused with VALLENFYRE's Mully] to take my place. I went and stayed with my parents for the next few weeks. After a very sad and painful time, he passed away on the 2nd December early in the morning. Over the next few weeks I experienced all the famous stages of grief. It started to become very self-destructive so I decided to channel it into creating something. To pay respects to the man that drove us to our very first gigs because none of us could drive. The only dad I knew that listened to BOLT THROWER's 'Peel Sessions' on the radio. The guy who gave me my first chord book. I decided that I was going to go right back to the beginning. To my roots in death, crust and doom. It all started very angst ridden. This wasn't originally meant for anyone else to hear. It was a release. After recording some material, I realized that I was actually enjoying doing this but I wanted friends involved so it could actually become real fun."

The tracks on the seven-inch single and the upcoming album were recorded between December 2010 and April 2011.

Added Gregor: "The album is called 'A Fragile King', which is a reference to my father's battle with cancer. The lyrics are predominantly about the same thing, but also include gripes with society, religion, politics and relationships as well. It's all pretty grim."

"A Fragile King" will be released on October 31 in Europe and on November 1 in North America.

VALLENFYRE is not a one-off project but will continue as a band that will also play live in 2012.

GENERATION KILL, the crossover metal outfit featuring EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, will release its debut album, "Red White And Blood", on September 16 in Europe and September 27 in North America via Season Of Mist. The cD was recorded at J. Rod Production Studios in New City, New York (where the vocal tracks for EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood" and OVERKILL's "Ironbound" were previously laid down).

"Red, White and Blood" track listing:

01. Hate
02. Red White And Blood
03. Feast For The Wolves
04. Self-Medicating
05. Depraved Indifference
06. Slow Burn
07. Section 8
08. Walking Dead
09. Dark Days
10. Let Me Die
11. Wish (NINE INCH NAILS cover; bonus track)

The "Red, White and Blood" title track is now available for free download at this location. It can also be streamed using the audio player below.

ANTHRAX was the musical guest on last night's (Wednesday, September 7) edition of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon", the American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. For broadcast, the band performed "The Devil You Know", the first single from "Worship Music", ANTHRAX's new album, due out next week. ANTHRAX also played "Caught In A Mosh", a surprise "classic" song that is available exclusively at the "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" web site. You can watch footage of the entire two-song performance below.

Louisiana rockers LILLIAN AXE are "more than halfway finished" tracking their new album, tentatively titled "XI: The Days Before Tomorrow", for a Valentine's Day 2012 release via Love and War Records/Megaforce. The CD is being 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 will be 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."

Progressive instrumentalists ANIMALS AS LEADERS will release their second full-length album, "Weightless", in North America on November 8, in mainland Europe on November 4 and in the U.K. on November 7 via Prosthetic Records. The CD was produced by drummer Navene Koperweis and his bandmates, and was mixed by guitarist Javier Reyes. The album marks the recording debut of Koperweis and Reyes with ANIMALS AS LEADERS.

"Weightless" track listing:

01. An Infinite Regression
02. Odessa
03. Somnarium
04. Earth Departure
05. Isolated Incidents
06. Do Not Go Gently
07. New Eden
08. Cylindrical Sea
09. Espera
10. To Lead You To An Overwhelming Question
11. Weightless
12. David

Bassist Ray Riendeau (HALFORD, JAMES LABRIE) has launched a new project called STAR MONARCHY. The music will feature songs written by Ray and some collaborations with other artists. It will be recorded by an ongoing cast of players/singers in various metal genres. "Volume 1" features Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH) guitar, Dan Tompkins (TESSERACT) vocals and Peter Wildoer (DARKANE, JAMES LABRIE) drums,. More players will be announced soon.

Mediaskare Records has announced the signing of CONFESSION, the Australian band featuring former I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN vocalist Michael Crafter. The band's new album, "The Long Way Home", will be released in the U.S. on September 27 through digital retailers and November 8 through retail stores.

CONFESSION recorded "The Long Way Home" at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, ARCH ENEMY, SOILWORK and BRING ME THE HORIZON, among others.

According to a press release, "The Long Way Home" "presents an assured and strengthened outfit that is out to stake their claim as the next force in the international hardcore community. Lyrically, 'The Long Road Home' explores themes relating to decisions that we make regarding the life path we follow." "It's about being happy and doing what we want to do," stated Crafter. "We take roads that lead us very far away from the people we love and place we call home, but our family and friends will always be there for us when we need them."