Warburn Estate, one of Australia's top wineries, has issued a new AC/DC wine collection which will be available through Woolworth's, Dan Murphy, and BWS.

AC/DC The Wine will be available in four different selections:

* "AC/DC Back In Black Shiraz" (2010 750mL Dry Red)
* "AC/DC You Shook Me All Night Long Moscato" (2011 750mL Sweet White)
* "AC/DC Highway To Hell Cabernet Sauvignon" (2008 750mML Dry Red)
* "AC/DC Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc" (2010 750mL Dry White)

According to TMZ.com, former WARRANT singer Jani Lane was found dead earlier this evening (Thursday, August 11) at a Los Angeles-area hotel. He was 47 years old.

Lane was pronounced dead by Fire Department personnel who responded to a call shortly before 5:30 p.m. in the Comfort Inn in the 20100 block of Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills, California, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The cause of death was unknown, and the case was turned over to the Los Angeles county coroner's office, LAPD officer Sara Faden told the Los Angeles Times.

Lane was married three times and is survived by a wife and four children.

Dutch/Norwegian rockers THE GATHERING have issued the following update:

"We are back from this rollercoaster called the South American Ghost Ride Tour. It was great. Thank you all for coming!

"As you probably know, we had our problems with volcanoes, flights overbooked and cancellations, but the warm welcome in every country was overwhelming! Thanks!

"We get a lot of mail from people who want to know when the new album will be out. Unfortunately, this will not happen this year. We're still writing and recording, and trying not to finish things in a hurry. For sure the album will be out in 2012! Maybe we will release another free download, like we did with 'Heroes For Ghost'. You can also enjoy the magnificent video Marcus Moonen made [see below]. We will keep you informed.

"Something else: we have another festival date for you! THE GATHERING will play at the Baroeg Open Air festival the 24th of September in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. It's a free festival, so you can spend all your money drinking beer (or cola). We heard that lots of Dutch Almanaks say the weather will be splendid in September (a real Indian summer), so no excuses. It will also be the last THE GATHERING gig this year (though you never know what happens). We hope to see you all there (and/or of course in Helmond or Amersfoort, which we will rock a week earlier)."

On Tuesday, Century Media and its associated labels — InsideOutMusic, Superballmusic and People Like You — announced that they had decided to pull their repertoire from streaming music service Spotify in an attempt "to protect the interests of their artists." Now, Spotify has issued a statement to Digital Music News responding to that removal, as well as broader claims that its service undercuts rights holders.

"We are sorry that Century Media have opted not to offer its music to their fans through Spotify," Spotify said. "Spotify has one of the biggest music libraries in the world — of over 15 million tracks - and is committed to offering our users the widest possible selection of music across artists and genres from around the world.

"Spotify was launched out of a desire to develop a better, more convenient and legal alternative to music piracy. Spotify now monetizes an audience the large majority of whom were downloading illegally (and therefore not making any money for the industry) before Spotify was available.

"Spotify is now generating serious revenues for rights holders; since our launch just three years ago, we have paid over $100 million to labels and publishers, who, in turn, pass this on to the artists, composers and authors they represent. Indeed, a top Swedish music executive was recently quoted as saying that Spotify is currently the biggest single revenue source for the music industry in Scandinavia.

"Spotify is now also the second single largest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe (IFPI, April 2011). Billboard reported in April that Spotify territories saw an average digital growth rate of 43% last year. By contrast, neighbouring countries (without Spotify) saw only 9.3% digital growth.

"We are very proud of the positive contribution that Spotify makes towards growth in the music industry."

German melodic death metallers NIGHT IN GALES have inked a deal with Lifeforce Records. The band's fifth album, "Five Scars", will be released on November 7 in Europe and a day later in North America. According to a press release, the CD "successfully combines all of the band's past trademarks within the typically Swedish melodic death metal sound structure without rejecting new influences and thus making it both the most melodically accessible as well as also the most aggressive effort in the band's history so far, smoothly rounded off with a killer sound mix courtesy of scene icon Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH)."

Commented NIGHT IN GALES guitarist Jens Basten: "We're back, fuck yeah! 17 years after initially cooking our very own brew of German melodic death metal, there's a new NIGHT IN GALES album coming your way! 'Five Scars' will definitely be a feast for the melo-death gourmets who might be fed up with all the wannabes who led this great metal style into total insignificance! Lifeforce Records proved themselves as true epicureans, hence we are proud to be part of the Lifeforce family now! 'Five Scars' will be out on November 4th, and we're looking forward to fire up the kitchen with a strong new partner aside!"

Swedish hard rockers BULLET have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented the band: "We've always been a band with a lot of ideas and now it's time to let them all loose.

"We think Nuclear Blast is the right label to help us out to make better records, cooler shows and more of everything that you've come to know as BULLET.

"We are really looking forward to releasing a new album on Nuclear Blast, because it is a great chance for us to reach new crowds and countries.

"BULLET will always be BULLET, hate it or love it. Now is the time to make it more powerful."

Added Andy Siry, head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Records: "We're highly delighted to welcome BULLET at the Nuclear Blast family.

"The boys of BULLET aren't only downright likeable and honest guys, they also live their music and embody the original spirit of rock 'n' roll.

"BULLET are superb on their albums as well as live on stage and we're noticing a constant development. Now we want to vault the 'Highway Pirates' into a higher division."

The September 2011 issue of Germany's Rock Hard magazine will include a big cover story and world-exclusive live CD by Swedish progressive metallers OPETH that won't be available at record stores. "The Devil's Orchard - Live At Rock Hard Festival" is a five-song, 50-minute effort which is described as "an outstanding recording made in 2009" when the band stunned the audience with an awesome performance in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The CD will also include "The Devil's Orchard", the first single from OPETH's long-awaited new studio album, "Heritage".

Commented Rock Hard publisher Holger Stratmann: "OPETH are among the most important contemporary metal bands — and after that extensive U.S. tour, they were really able to strut their stuff. That was certainly one of the best performances ever in the history of our festival."

"The Devil's Orchard - Live At Rock Hard Festival" track listing:

01. Heir Apparent
01. Ghost Of Perdition
01. The Leper Affinity
01. Hessian Peel
01. Deliverance

Snippets from the CD can be heard in the YouTube clip below.

The September 2011 issue of Rock Hard will be available at newsstands in Germany on August 24. You can order a copy directly from the publishing company by writing to versand@rockhard.de.

Legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES), who is currently working on material for his forthcoming, second solo album, "just finished a session with Mike Clink engineering on a track with [R&B singer] Mary J. Blige," according to a posting on the guitarist's Facebook page. Slash adds, "Sounds killer!"

It is not presently clear where Slash's collaboration with Mary J. Blige will end up.

A mini-reunion of both VELVET REVOLVER and GUNS N' ROSES will take place on September 13 at the Best Buy Theatre in New York City, when drummer Matt Sorum, bassist Duff McKagan and guitarist Gilby Clarke will all appear at a benefit concert honoring Slash. Sorum, McKagan and Slash played in both bands, while Clarke played with them in GUNS. All proceeds from the event will go to Road To Recovery, a non-profit organization that works with at-risk kids. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Die erfolgreiche deutsche Gothic-Formation ASP veröffentlicht am kommenden Freitag, den 12. August, ihre lang ersehnte neue Single mit dem Titel „Wechselbalg“. Die Single markiert den Beginn eines neuen künstlerischen Schaffenszyklus für ASP und feiert noch am Veröffentlichungstag ihre fulminante Live-Premiere im Rahmen des M ´era Luna Festivals. ASP treten als einer der Headliner der Veranstaltung in Hildesheim auf, die zu den mit Abstand größten der Szene zählt.

Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahre 1999 steht die Karriere der „Gothic Novel“-Band ganz im Zeichen brennender Leidenschaft für die Gothic-Kultur, nimmermüder Aufopferung für die eigene Musik und beispielloser Fannähe - allesamt Attribute, die man bei Projekten dieser Größenordnung sonst oft vergeblich sucht. Und genau wie ASP 2008 mit dem kongenialen Epos „Zaubererbruder“ aufgehört haben, machen sie 2011 weiter – mit der sehnlich erwarteten Single „Wechselbalg“, dem lang herbeigesehnten ersten Boten zum kommenden Auftakt des „fremd“-Albumzyklus.

Faszinierend, düster, tiefgründig, elegisch: Den Grundmaximen des eigenen Schaffens und der von ASP innig geliebten Szene treu ergeben, setzt sich die Geschichte eines der bedeutendsten deutschen Indie-Projekte fort. Insgesamt vier neue Songs umfasst die Single. Darunter die Hymne „Wechselbalg“ und ein monumentales, über zwölfminütiges Stück mit dem Titel „Angstkathedrale“ , das als Paradebeispiel für die selbst geschaffene musikalische Nische „Gothic Novel Rock“ verstanden werden darf.

Mit dem Stück „BaldAnders“ gesellt sich zudem eine Coverversion hinzu: ASP zollen damit einer der Genre-prägenden Mittelalter Rock-Bands aus den Siebzigern Tribut: OUGENWEIDE. Die ungewöhnliche Nummer ist der Band und ihrem Mitgründer Frank Wulff gewidmet, der bedauerlicherweise am 19.März 2010 verstarb. Das vierte Stück schließlich ist ein wahrer Schatz und wurde von Asp aus seinen streng gehüteten Privatarchiven ausgegraben: „Dancing“. Vier Jahre vor der ASP-Gründung aufgenommen, zeigt man hier in einer zarten Unplugged-Aufnahme, wie lange die Dämonen den Songschreiber schon verfolgen.

Als künstlerische Väter des „Zyklus um den Schwarzen Schmetterling“, um den sich thematisch die ersten fünf Albumveröffentlichungen von ASP drehen, hat das Thema Metamorphose für die Band zu allen Zeitpunkten eine zentrale Rolle gespielt. Das, was in der Biologie weithin als das „Wunder der Verwandlung“ bekannt ist, praktizieren ASP im Rahmen ihres Künstlerdaseins und erfinden sich stets neu, ohne dabei sich und der Nachtseite der Kunst untreu zu werden.

„Wechselbalg“ besiegelt eine solche Metamorphose und setzt die ASP-eigene Tradition fort und ist zugleich der Vorbote für eine neue Albumwelt, in der die Independant-Ikone Asp ab 21. Oktober in die tiefen Gründe der Fremde entführen wird.

Durch ihre unvergleichlichen kunst- wie anspruchsvollen Texte und ihre selbstironische, immer etwas rebellische Art, gepaart mit schmissigen und intelligenten Kompositionen haben sie eine große Fanschar erobert. Diese setzt sich aus Hörern verschiedenster Couleur zusammen, die eines gemein haben: Musik abseits vom bloßen stumpfen Nebenbei-Konsum und weg von der kurzlebigen Wegwerf-Mentalität der Casting-Eintagsfliegen.

ASP zählen zu den mit Abstand erfolgreichsten deutschen Independent-Bands. Ihre Alben klettern an die Spitze der Charts und ihre Konzerte sind in stolzer Regelmäßigkeit ausverkauft. All dies ohne die „Teufelsmühlen“ der großen Musikkonzerne. „Fremd“ erscheint am 21. Oktober und wird von einer Tournee durch ganz Deutschland begleitet.

Sumerian black/thrash metal kings MELECHESH will be joined by a new bass player for their upcoming festival appearances. The band's founder, mainman, vocalist and guitarist Ashmedi explains: "The relationship is in a strict tryout phase which will allow the bass player to find his way into the band and to see if he fits in well. Additionally — as often before — [MELECHESH guitarist] Moloch won't be able to be part of the live lineup on our European tour as well as on two festivals due to his PHD finalisation and other commitments, which he had to reschedule because of our previous U.S. and European tours. But, as always, we'll have a trusted backup guitarist who toured with us in the past."

MELECHESH recently amicably parted ways with bassist Rahm, who joined the band last year. The remaining members of the group cited "professional reasons" as the reason for the split.

Dayton, Ohio Christian metalcore band THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA will release its new album, "Dead Throne", in the U.S. on September 13 via Ferret Music and one day earlier internationally through Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed "With Roots Above and Branches Below" was recorded at Zing Studios in Massachusetts with producer Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TIMES OF GRACE). Additional synth/key production was handled by Joey Sturgis (who has worked on all of the THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA records so far) with further assistance on the vocal production by Jeremy McKinnon (A DAY TO REMEMBER).

"Dead Throne" track listing:

01. Dead Throne
02. Untidaled
03. Mammoth
04. Vengeance
05. R.I.T.
06. My Questions
07. Kansas
08. Born To Lose
09. Forever Decay
10. Chicago
11. Constance
12. Pretenders
13. Hold Fast

"Bollywood Jam", the new video from ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, the experimental band led by TESTAMENT/ex-SAVATAGE guitarist Alex Skolnick, can be seen at GuitarWorld.com. The song comes off the group's fourth album, "Veritas" (Latin for"Truth"), which was released in March via the innovative jazz label Palmetto Records. The 11-track album contains nine original compositions, a cover of METALLICA's "Fade To Black" and a bonus remix of the song "Bollywood Jam" by Jay Sustain and Nik Chinboukas. The record was produced by Alex Skolnick and recorded at Spin Recording Studios in Long Island City, New York.

Commented Skolnick: "The idea for the 'Bollywood Jam' video came about after I witnessed a live performance by a great Brooklyn-based bellydancer, Kazja, in a tiny club. Feeling that more people need to be aware of this beautiful art form, I immediately recruited her and two other girls, Tava and Erica, to appear in the video as female bellydancing doppelgangers of Matt, Nathan and myself, respectively.

"Along the way, I had the idea to place us in a confrontational rehearsal situation similar to 'Walk This Way' by RUN-D.M.C./ AEROSMITH. A good friend of mine, former MTV producer Kevin Mackall, loved the idea and volunteered to bring it to life with the highest quality.

"Kevin and his production team did a brilliant job capturing the energy of the song, the beauty of the dancers and the feel of the original 'Walk This Way' video."

Arizona-based death/thrash metallers SARGON, whose current lineup includes ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION and SOLSTICE drummer Alex Marquez, have inked a deal with the old-school/extreme metal label Old Cemetery Records for the physical release of the band's debut album. "In Contempt". Due on September 23, the effort will coincide with a CD-release show in Phoenix, the details of which will be announced very soon.

In other news, SARGON has announced the addition of ex-DEATH/MONSTROSITY bassist Kelly Conlon to the group's ranks. The band states, "It's an absolute honor to be playing with Kelly, for his experience, professionalism, killer bass playing, and on-stage madness are a great fit for SARGON and are sure to crush some skulls live."

Century Media and its associated labels — InsideOutMusic, Superballmusic and People Like You — have decided to pull their repertoire from streaming music service Spotify in an attempt "to protect the interests of their artists."

The U.S. version of Spotify, which gives its users access to all the songs in its cloud to organize into playlists and listen to as they please, has reportedly attracted 1.4 million registered users so far in spite of its current invite-only status. Of those users, roughly 175,000 are said to be "paying users." In Europe, where Spotify has been available in seven countries since its launch in 2008, the company currently has around 1.6 million paying users, according to published reports.

According to the an infographic on the Information Is Beautiful web site, which visualizes the different monetization methods available to artists and how profitable they are, if you are a solo musician, at $0.00029 per play on Spotify, you will have to receive 4,053,110 plays per month to earn the U.S. minimum wage of $1,160.

In a statement released earlier today, Century Media explained its position by saying, "While everyone at the label group believes in the ever-changing possibilities of new technology and new ways of bringing music to the fans, Century Media is also of the opinion that Spotify in its present shape and form isn't the way forward. The income streams to the artists are affected massively and therefore that accelerates the downward spiral, which eventually will lead to artists not being able to record music the way it should be recorded. Ultimately, in some cases, it will completely kill a lot of smaller bands that are already struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, Century Media also believes that Spotify is a great tool to discover new music and is in the process of reintroducing their bands to Spotify by way of putting up samplers of the artists. This way, fans can still discover the great music released by the label.

"Physical sales are dropping drastically in all countries where Spotify is active. Artists are depending on their income from selling music and it is our job to support them to do so. Since the artists need to sell their music to continue their creativity, Spotify is a problem for them. This is about survival, nothing less, and it is time that fans and consumers realize that for artists it is essential to sell music to keep their heads above water.

"Obviously, it is ultimately up to the music fan and consumer how they access their music, whether it is buying, streaming or stealing. There needs to be awareness, though, that how you will consume your music has direct consequences for the artists, who we are all trying to support."

Earache Records has teamed up with popular music streaming service Spotify to give rockers and metalheads instant access to a huge library of killer tunes, all of which are completely free to listen to.

Earache's entire music catalog is available now on Spotify, featuring over 3,500 tracks from some of the most legendary names in rock and metal, including such classic acts as AT THE GATES, CARCASS, MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE and NAPALM DEATH, along with the latest releases from some of the hottest new bands such as EVILE, RIVAL SONS, WORMROT and many more.

To listen to the entire Earache music catalogue, just head to this location (Spotify account required)