Highly acclaimed keyboardist DEREK SHERINIAN (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BILLY IDOL, ex-ALICE COOPER) will release his seventh solo album, Oceana, on September 5th via Mascot Records. The cover art is pictured below:

Ocena was produced by Derek Sherinian and Simon Phillips, and features the following special guests: Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, Simon Phillips, Steve Stevens, Tony MacAlpine, Doug Aldrich, Tony Franklin and Jimmy Johnson.
Produced by

Sherinian states, "This record is heavily inspired by vintage JEFF BECK across the board in the composition and the first class musicianship. Simon and I worked very hard on this record."

Oceana features the following nine songs:

'Five Elements'
'Mercury 7'
'Mulholland'
'Euphoria'
'Ghost Runner'
'El Camino Diablo'
'I Heard That'
'Seven Sins'
'Oceana'

Vocalist Warrel Dane of NEVERMORE and the reunited SANCTUARY was interviewed by Greg Hasbrouck for the ProgPower USA XII program that will be distributed to all fans at the festival. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Q: The obvious first question, is NEVERMORE done?

Warrel: No.

Q: Definitely not? There will definitely be another NEVERMORE album?

Warrel: Oh yeah.

Q: Perfect. And can you ever see yourself reconciling with [recently departed NEVERMORE members Jeff [Loomis, guitar] and Van [Williams, drums] or are those bridges burned?

Warrel: One bridge is burned, the other I'm still... It's like getting a very painful divorce. If you want to repair the situation you can, but there's one where I don't want to. I miss those guys. I think they made bad decisions. I'm going to "emo" if I keep talking about it.

Q: Understood. Let me ask you this. At one point, there were all these rumors about disharmony within the camp. And on the [NEVERMORE] forum you made the comment, "After so many years together you become a family, of course we fucking fight, we make up..." Was that you trying to keep the peace and keeping the alarmist element from rearing its head?

Warrel: Kind of, yeah.

Q: So, were you genuinely surprised when they quit or was that a long time coming?

Warrel: Yes... I was. I was extremely surprised and very, very upset and still am. As I... uh, yeah... I don't want to get messy.

Q: OK... more of general question about NEVERMORE. As a fan of the band, it always seemed that NEVERMORE had just a bit of bad luck, or perhaps was the victim of poor timing. When you look back on it, from the inside looking out, does it seem the same to you?

Warrel: I think we had our fair share of bad timing and we had our fair share of disorganization within the camp. That's kind of what played into everything that happened. But I don't think I would really change anything, because everything happens for a reason. And the reason I'm here right now, and I'm talking to you is for a reason... and those guys decided that they didn't have as bad of an alcohol problem as I did... is for a reason. And, whatever...

Q: So I had a chance to chat with Jim [Sheppard, NEVERMORE bassist] a few times during the last tour. Aside from all that he was dealing with, he told me that there was a bad cold ripping through the band. I think he called the tour bus "a rolling incubator."

Warrel: (laughter) Yeah... it's a rolling Petri dish.

Q: (laughter) So... when you're a guitar player or drummer, you can fake 90 minutes of energy. However, as a singer, your body is your instrument. When you know you’re taking the stage and you don't have your fastball, is that scary as hell?

Warrel: Yeah. The two most important things for a singer when you’re on tour, sleep and as much water as you can drink. Stay hydrated, and you got to sleep. Sometimes that's not always possible on a tour bus full of drunk people. I didn't sleep a whole lot on the last NEVERMORE tour.

Q: Is that because of all that was going on internally within the band, or because of where you were at mentally?

Warrel: I have my own problems, so I'm not going to point fingers at anybody, but it was hard to sleep. But yeah... you learn how to use your instrument, you learn how to not damage it, and the most important thing for me is sleep.

Q: So that raises an interesting question. A few months ago, no one would have asked you what you consider your primary project to be, it would have just been presumed to be NEVERMORE. If I ask you that question today, how do you respond?

Warrel: That would be SANCTUARY right now. I am working on solo stuff, but the music is so different that it's easy for me to go into different modes. And actually, well, there is a couple of ideas being thrown around for the next NEVERMORE, too, which is going to be really good, if the preliminary stuff is any indication... To tell you the truth, I'm not really happy with the last NEVERMORE record.

Q: What specifically weren't you happy with? Can you put your finger on it or was it just an overall quality issue?

Warrel: No... I think the production was amazing. I really enjoyed a lot of the lyrics I wrote for it. (laughter) I just felt like it was more of the same and that's just not what we should have been doing at that point. But there were a lot of factors involved with why it turned out that way. I'm still proud of it... it's not my favorite.

Q: Yeah... nobody is. So, how long had you been toying with the idea of reforming SANCTUARY?

Warrel: Well... for a couple of years. We've [guitarist Lenny Rutledge and I] always talked to each other, but never really been friends again. And when the whole thing came about, that we were actually friends again, that's when we started talking more about doing it. And it definitely wasn't because NEVERMORE was imploding... which it was, at that point. NEVERMORE... the greatest band that alcohol ever ruined.

Q: (laughter) I love that!

Warrel: It's true. We all just started talking with each other again. That was kind of the groundwork for it. And then we started saying, "Well, gosh, let's make music again." And my god! Lenny is writing some stuff that is so friggin great! Obviously, he's been bottling this up for years, because he really hasn't been doing anything... Well, he's had bands here and there. But he's really writing some great stuff that's really inspiring me, and making me fall in love with music again, with the creative process... everything that revolves around that. Really inspiring me to write
really evil lyrics.

Q: So, as we find ourselves here in 2011, what do you think the biggest difference is between how you're approaching this now, than if you were writing this as your third album back in 1993?

Warrel: Well... that's a hard one. It's kind of like a different phase. This record is not going to sound like the other two. It might sound very similar to the second one ("Into The Mirror Black"). It's definitely not going to sound like the first one... (mutual laughter) ... because we're all a little bit older and I can't come up with a c-clamp for a scrotum and a helium tank.

Q: OK... what can you reveal about the new disc? Are you targeting a release date yet? Are all the songs written? Is it just a matter of tracking them? Where is everything as it stands today?

Warrel: We're in the writing process. I can give you, maybe, a little bit of an exclusive thing right now. I think the record is going to be called "The Year The Sun Died". And there's a lot of stuff playing into that, and you can read whatever you want to for right now into it. God, that song is really good. We've been working really hard on that. It's not going to sound like the old ones... it's 2011. It's still gonna be that good I think, and there's gonna be high-pitched screaming. I'm making sure of that. With NEVERMORE, high-pitched screaming was never really called for. You know, with SANCTUARY... of course it is.

Q: So if I can assume Jeff is not going to be the second guitar player [in SANCTUARY]. Do you know who is yet?

Warrel: Kind of... yeah... I don't want to...

Q: Still under wraps... got it.

Warrel: It's really been kind of interesting to me, how many people, of very high caliber musicianship, are contacting me wanting Jeff's old job.

Greg: In NEVERMORE, SANCTUARY or both?

Warrel: Both.

Q: So let's talk a bit about your solo CD. First, how long had you had it in your head that you wanted to do a solo CD, before it actually came to fruition and you began making plans?

Warrel: Well, I've always wanted to do one, somewhere in the middle of my career, just because I have such affection for rock music. I always wanted to do something that was more rock... rock and roll, and not something that you had to wrap your head around and show off your technical skills with. That's not a slam on anybody, by any means. It's just something I wanted to try, try writing rock music. Even though it was still, obviously, a little bit metal. That's why I wanted to do it, and I still want to do it again. I'm working on another one already.

Q: So, with respect to the next solo disc, will it be you and Peter [Wichers, SOILWORK guitarist] again? Will it be the same lineup?

Warrel: Well, we talked about it a little bit. Right now I'm working with Matt Wicklund, who's currently playing in GOD FORBID, and he wrote a couple of the really great songs on "Praises To The War Machine". We're working on stuff together, were working very aggressively right now. And he's writing some great, great stuff. And it is completely different from SANCTUARY, so it's easy to separate that. The stuff Lenny is writing is really, really good. It seems like he's been holding this stuff back for years and he's been let out of his cage and it's really inspiring. It's just a really good time for me. And I thought this would be a dark period, because of everything... It's turning out to be kind of a blessing in disguise, to quote METAL CHURCH.

BW&BK has learned from our source in Japan that former X JAPAN and one time LOUDNESS bassist Taiji Sawada has died. Circumstances leading to his passing have yet to be confirmed, but a Wikipedia entry posted today (July 17th) states Sawada was arrested on July 11th "for interference with a flight attendant" due to an incident on a plane en route from Japan to Saipan. He was reporedly facing federal charges in the US for the incident. On July 14th , Sawada was taken to an intensive care unit after attempting suicide by hanging himself, thus delaying his court appearance.

He passed away today, Sunday, July 17th, 2011 at the age of 45.

Sawada was a member of X Japan from 1985 - 1992, recording three albums with the band before departing due to creative differences with founder/drummer Yohsiki. He went on to record one album with Loudness in 1992 - their self-titled album featuring ex-EZO frontman Masaki Yamada debut as new vocalist - and can be heard on the band's 1994 live album, Once And For All.

Sawada also recorded and performed with D.T.R, launched CLOUD NINE with guitarist Shu Yamagishi, and had stepped back into the spotlight as of 2010 with his own band, TAIJI WITH HEAVENS, recording one EP and performing live.

He was invited to join X Japan as a special guest for two shows at Nissan Stadium in Tokyo on August 14th and 15th, 2010, officially ending the conflict between himself and Yoshiki. Footage from the reunion can be viewed below.

Italian metallers ELVENKING have issued the following update:

“Hello everybody! We want to give you a quick update from the EK camp before all of you is going to leave for the long-awaited holidays, to the seaside or wherever you are going to have some great relax. We have still a couple more live shows to do and then we can have a little rest as well and go on holiday too! So come and visit us for the last shows because it will the last time to see Elvenking on the Tides over Europe set.

But if we will be silent and far from the stages until this fall it does not mean things are standing still for the band. At the moment we are building up a new rehearsal room, where we’ll soon start working on the new album material. A lot of new songs and ideas have been written and we will put something together soon and see what is going to happen. But it is too soon to talk about this. We will try to keep you informed on the progress.

Even if we will keep on working on the new album songs for all the Fall it does not mean we will be far from the stages. And what a great fall we will have! If some of you remember correctly it is exactly 10 years since the release of our debut album Heathenreel (yes, it was 2001, gosh!) so we want to celebrate this birthday in a proper way! So we will be on stage in fall 2011 for a number of gigs with a lot of songs from the famous first album plus another choice of songs from the other albums rarely or never played live! It will be something special you do not have to miss!!! It’s 10 years in Heathenry!

Until then, have a great summer and may the winds blow fair at your backs!”

SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor performed a short acoustic set and talked about his new book, titled "Seven Deadly Sins - Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good", this past Tuesday (July 12) at Relentless Garage in London, England. Fan-filmed video footage of the event can be seen below.

When asked about STONE SOUR's previously announced plans to release a DVD of the band's November 7, 2010 concert at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Corey said, "We've got a really cool idea that we're thinking about doing. We're actually thinking… and I might be letting the cat out of the bag… but we're thinking about doing a special release of a DVD, which will be 'Live At Brighton', and a covers EP that we've been talking about doing for a really long time. So it could be really cool. We're gonna probably record it in September/October, somewhere in there, get that together. That way it's not just a DVD, it's a special little CD as well. So we'll see what fucking happens."

Released in the U.S. on July 12 via De Capo Press, "Seven Deadly Sins - Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good" sees Taylor speaking directly to his fans and sharing his worldview about life as a sinner. While the 256-page hardcover book is Taylor's personal story, it's also described as "a larger discussion of what it means to be seen as either a 'good' person or a 'bad' one."

Taylor told ExploreMusic in July 2010 that the book was about "how my interpretation of the seven deadly sins is basically they're not sins at all. They are human characteristics that we all share . . . And it's me making that point of you can live with these urges, you can live with these hungers and still be a good person."

Renowned for his flamboyant and disturbing stage presence, Corey has lived it all. Starting in the early '90s, Corey threw himself into the hard-drinking, hard-loving, live-for-the-moment life of a small-town Iowa hero — Corey "Fucking" Taylor! As his career went stratospheric, and he found himself rich, wanted and on the road, his behavior got more and more extreme. Everything you can think of, Corey's done it... girls, drugs, excess of every kind.

"Seven Deadly Sins" is Corey's story, told through the prism of the seven deadly sins. His years of excess eventually made him sit down and start to think about what it was to "sin" and whether "sinning" could — or should — be recast as a good rather than bad thing. Yes, Corey's hurt people, and done bad things, but if sin is what makes the man, then can it ever be wrong? This isn't a straightforward memoir, this is Corey's no-holds-barred story told through his own unique philosophy, honed through years of the craziest and most hedonistic excess in rock.

L.A.s Hard Rocker DC4 sind in Angriffsstellung für den Release ihres neuen Arschtreters Electric Ministry! Electric Ministry erscheint am 29. Juli (G/A/S) bzw. 1. August (Resteuropa) über Metal Blade Records in Europa!

DC4 stellen nun die zweite Single von Electric Ministry vor! Klickt HIER und hört euch den Titeltrack Electric Ministry an!

Zusammen mit ihrem Label Metal Blade Records hat die Band eine Landing Page gelauncht, auf der man die Scheibe vorbestellen und die erste Single XXX anhören kann. Stattet http://www.metalblade.com/dc4 einen Besuch ab!

"Welcome to the alter of conviction" knurrt DC4 -Frontmann und Gitarrist Jeff Duncan, als die Band in den Titeltrack ihres vierten Albums Electric Ministry einsteigt. Die Scheibe befasst sich mit Themen wie der falschen Seite des Gesetzes ("25 To Life"), dem ultimativen Mannsbild ("Rock God") und der Fleischeslust ("XXX"). Produziert wurde der 11-Tracker von Bill Metoyer, co-produziert von Jeff Duncan.

Metoyer, der schon mit Bands wie Armored Saint, Fates Warning, WASP oder Slayer gearbeitet hat, ist quasi ein Mitglied der DC4-Familie: "I first met Bill when he engineered Armored Saint's 'Revelation' album," erinnert sich Jeff. "Before long he started showing up at DC4 shows, checking us out. And he kept showing up more and more, it kind of became more than just showing up to see your friend play, ya know? So, we started talking and when the opportunity came up for us to work together he just jumped on board."

"We made a point of making Electric Ministry a real guitar album. Back to our roots as guitarists." erklärt Rowan Robertson. "I think on our last album 'Explode' we still had a bit of that 90's feel in us so we've gotten rid of that now."

"This was the first time we had any special guests appear on aDC4 album," führt Jeff aus. "We had Dizzy Reed from Guns N Roses provide keys on the songs "Dirty Hands" and "The Ballad Of Rock and Roll", Gonzo from Armored Saint played percussion on several tracks, also. Then we had our cousin, Erin Duncan, do backing vocals on "The Ballad Of Rock and Roll" and Juliette Primrose (Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance) played violin on "The Ballad Of Rock and Roll" as well."

Die französischen Black Metaller von RÊX MÜNDI werden ihr neues Album 'IHVH' via Debemur Mortis Productions am 16. September 2011 veröffentlichen.

Jetzt wurde Coverartwork, Tracklisting und zwei Hörproben online präsentiert.

'IHVH' Trackliste:

1 - J'imagine (Be-Reshit)
2 - Naphtali
3 - The Flesh Begat
4 - Pious Angels (Sefer Seraphim)
5 - Patrimoine Génétique
6 - Bloodline Imagery (Achieving Synthesis With Hokhmah)
7 - Raising My Temples

Die norwegischen Progressive Metaller von COMMUNIC haben den Song ''Denial'' ihres kommenden, atemberaubenden Albums ''The Bottom Deep'' nun veröffentlicht.

Surft hierhin und lauscht den neuen Klängen von COMMUNIC.

Gitarrist und Band-Mastermind Oddleif Stensland kommentiert das neue Album wie folgt:

''I was asked to write a track by track commentary on our new album, but found it to be quite difficult. This is a concept album, based on one specific incident in my life, and splitting it into short comments for each song made no sense right now. It is all dealing with a personal close encounter by death that suddenly came all to close, when someone really close to me passed away way to early. This incident left so many unanswered questions about life and death behind, and all these thoughts and feelings came back to me in form of the words and songs on this album. It is not easy to talk or describe to detailed, but expressing myself through music is easier for me, and it is all written between the lines, so the deeper meaning of the album can be explored by those who feel like it. It is a much darker theme then I have ever done before, and everything is far more personal then I never thought I would be. Writing this album has been like going to a "shrink", it has been more like therapy session for me, something that I just had to do, no matter what people would think of it in the end. I hope I don't have to do another album like this again, even dough I love these songs, and the outcome of the album is for me fantastic - it will be a statement in my life forever, and I am proud of my courage to actually go through with this. Those who cares to read the lyrics and put themselves into the situation will get an even deeper album, even dough the songs will work great on their own as well for those who just like to listen so some interesting mind-twisting-metal tunes.''

Montreal's THE LAST FELONY has parted ways with drummer Vincent Menard and is currently seeking a replacement. Interested parties are being asked to videotape themselves playing three songs — "No One Would Notice If You Died", "Too Many Humans" and "Quandary" — post it to YouTube and send the link to thelastfelony@msn.com.

Menard will play his last show with THE LAST FELONY on August 12 at Les Foufounes Électriques in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Commented guitarist Dom Grimard: "THE LAST FELONY lineup has changed a little bit in the past year and we never really did an update. Our guitarist Felix Roberge has quit the band almost a year ago just after the release of 'Too Many Humans'. He was suffering of tendinitis in his arm that makes him unable to play our songs anymore. He was soon replaced by Max Gelinas of the Quebec City band UNFALLEN. Also, our bassist Seb Painchaud left the band this past February, mainly for the same reason as Vince is leaving us. He was replaced by David Rousseau also from the band UNFALLEN."

Video footage of new REBELLION guitarist Stephan Karut answering questions fans posted on Facebook can be seen below.

REBELLION last December parted ways with Uwe Lulis (guitar), Gerd Lücking (drums) and Simone Wenzel (guitar) and replaced them with Oliver Geibig, David Faifer and Karut, respectively.

REBELLION 2011 is:

Michael Seifert - Vocals
Tomi Göttlich - Bass
Oliver Geibig - Guitar
Stephan Karut - Guitar
David Faifer - Drums

Some of you might be surprised to see a new face at the Hultsfred festival tonight when WITCHERY enter the stage to declare "Witchkrieg" over Sweden.

Commented WITHCERY guitarist Patrik Jensen (also in THE HAUNTED): "We are saddened to announce the departure of Legion (ex-MARDUK, DEVIAN), singer of last year's WITCHERY ear-crusher 'Witchkrieg'. Unfortunately, conflicting schedules made a continued collaboration impossible. We are very thankful for Legion's input and work on our latest album, and we wish him only the very best for the future. WITCHERY will, however, not remain without a leader to take them through the netherworlds and beyond. None other than Emperor Magus Caligula (ex-DARK FUNERAL) has decided to once again adorn his armor, and go off to battle for the better of darkness and evil."

Stated Emperor Magus Caligula: "Getting an offer to play with some of Sweden's finest elite in metal, I just couldn't resist. Together with WITCHERY, I will once again spread chaos and hatred upon this world. The emperor is back, and together we will conquer ALL!!!"

LIFE OF AGONY's Keith Caputo has revealed that he has begun "transitioning" into life as a woman and has begun to refer to himself as "her" on his official web site, KeithCaputo.com. The singer, who has adopted the name "Keith Mina Caputo", wrote on his Twitter account, "Male to female transsexuals like me are the women who give up male privilege for femininity! Threaten the patriarchy!" He also responded to a question from a fan about the demise of LIFE OF AGONY by writing, "LIFE OF AGONY has already gone into isolation and it's got nothing to do with me transitioning [to a woman]."

In a June 5, 2011 interview with "DeadDave's Internet Radio Show" (stream audio below), Caputo stated, "I live a completely, totally different lifestyle. I'm a completely different human being, as you guys probably know. I have a very different path in life. I'm not living life as a man anymore and stuff. So, yeah, my life is completely different, but music will always be… music is definitely my driving force."

Caputo previously used cross-dressing images of himself in the artwork for his 2008 album "A Fondness For Hometown Scars" and dedicated the CD to androgynous people.

In a July 11 tweet, Caputo said, "my cuzins even get on me for being transgender, callin me the dumbest names, but it's all in good fun they'll really kill 4 me." The vocalist also re-tweeted a story from Metal Insider claiming the singer was due to get a sex change. He replied with the message, "Thx for being sweet & respectful..Deeply appreciate it. FYI, I'm keeping my penis!"

MADBALL bassist Hoya Roc has uploaded a photo to the Lockerz.com social networking site which purportedly shows CRADLE OF FILTH frontman Dani Filth being forcibly restrained to the floor, allegedly by a security guard, at yesterday's (Thursday, July 14) Lez'Arts Scéniques festival in Sélestat, France where both bands performed. Roc's caption accompanying the picture reads as follows: "When metal fantasy goes wrong !! Haha cradle of filth singer gettin yoked up by security"

CRADLE OF FILTH guitarist Paul Allender revealed in a recent interview that the band has started writing material for a new album. The British extreme metal group is scheduled to take time out from touring until the end of next year in order to focus on writing the new CD. "We don't want any distractions, we don't want anything coming in the way of us writing," Allender told Heavy Worlds at last month's Gods Of Metal festival in Italy. "That's why we know it's gonna be damn good."

He added, "People ask, how do you write to a concept album… we don't. All the songs are written as individual tracks on their own. When the music's done, we send it to Dani and he decides whether it's gonna be a concept album or what the songs are gonna be about."

Deutsche Welle is producing the 90-minute documentary called "Big City Nights - The Scorpions Story" for a 2013 release.

The SCORPIONS are by far the most successful German rock band and one of the most successful international acts of all time. After more than 40 years and 2,000 concerts in 60 countries, they will make their final curtain call and step away from what has defined them for decades — their fans, their tours and their way of life. And along the way, the band will show once more what they do best: playing live. They will be performing more than 200 concerts in their final three-year tour and using the time to record a farewell CD with original and covered songs.

The final farewell is still in the distant future – but all involved realize more and more that the last concert is on the horizon.

"Big City Nights - The Scorpions Story" will accompany the SCORPIONS on their journey — from Thailand to Russia, Germany and Belgium to Brazil — and will highlight the true emotions of the fans, the crew and the band. The film will also take a look the band's beginnings with archive material from the most important moments in SCORPIONS' history — the happiness, sadness, setbacks and despair. Companions and friends like Jon Bon Jovi and Paolo Coelho describe the SCORPIONS "phenomena." In addition, the filmmakers will accompany them in the recording studio in Hannover and take a look at their private lives.

"Big City Nights - The Scorpions Story" will be directed by the internationally renowned documentary and filmmaker Katja von Garnier. The documentary film will be premiered in early 2013 and be broadcast on DW-TV and Arte (Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne), a Franco-German TV network). A DVD will also be produced and made available.

Check out a trailer at this location.

CITY OF FIRE, the band featuring Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY), bassist Byron Stroud (FEAR FACTORY, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), guitarist Terry Murray, guitarist Ian White, and drummer Bob Wagner, is seeking funding for its second studio album through the fundraising web site PledgeMusic.com.

Commented the group: "We have been working on demos and produced some rough tracks. However, due to some circumstances beyond our control, it has come to a standstill.

"We heard about Pledge Music through a friend, and excited about the possibility of getting this record off the ground again.

"We want to make a full studio record on our own terms as we all have extensive music experience and think what we want to do musically is what our fans want to hear.

"Your pledge will help us get back into the studio and record the follow-up record to our 2010 debut. It will help us record a full CD, get artwork done, manufacture, secure distribution and tour dates."

Recorded at renowned Factory Studios in Vancouver in late 2008 with additional material completed in April of this year, CITY OF FIRE's self-titled debut CD features fourteen songs, including remakes of THE CULT's "Rain" and T.REX's "Children Of The Revolution". It also includes the band's video for the song/single "Rising". Bell said, "My friends, I am very excited about CITY OF FIRE. Byron and I are very proud of this recording. It is a fresh sound for this era of music. Literally there is nothing that sounds like this right now, and it is time that a hard rock, groove, psychedelic sound comes to your ears. The music is passionate and soulful. It is a mature record for our time, full of wisdom and soul of the ages. Please check the record out. You will not be disappointed."

Discussing the album's two unique remakes and the decision to include them, Stroud noted, "'Rain' really fits well with the concept of the record and the vibe of Vancouver, which really influenced CITY OF FIRE. I have been wanting to do a version of that song for a long time and once we started writing the record, I knew this was the band to do it." Murray added, "aside from being a killer rock song, we chose 'Children Of The Revolution' because we felt the title was a relevant commentary on the climate of the world today. Kids have a lot to revolt about these days and hopefully this will be an anthem for it. We knew that Burt's voice could give this song a modern edge to it, and make it for this generation."

San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans TESTAMENT have set "The Dark Roots Of Earth" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in October via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD is currently being recorded with British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE and MACHINE HEAD, among others.

Due to a "serious injury," drummer Paul Bostaph was unable to take part in the new album recordings but will rejoin TESTAMENT for future touring activities. Playing drums on the follow-up to 2008's "The Formation Of Damnation" is Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (ex-DARK ANGEL, ex-STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK), with LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler set to make a special guest appearance on a couple of bonus tracks.

A short video clip of Hoglan laying down the drum tracks for the new TESTAMENT CD can be seen below.

German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR entered House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany on Sunday, July 10 to begin recording their new album, "Unbreakable", for a January 20, 2012 release via Frontiers Records. The CD, which is being produced by PRIMAL FEAR bassist Mat Sinner and engineered by Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN), will feature the following songtitles, among others: "Give 'Em Hell", "And There Was Silence", "Where Angels Die", "Born Again" and "Strike".

According to PRIMAL FEAR frontman Ralf Scheepers, the band's drummer Randy Black "did a fantastic job," having laid down 12 tracks in four days (with one day spent getting drum tones).

A three-minute video clip featuring footage of the drum-recording sessions for "Unbreakable" can be seen at this location. (Note: You must have an active Facebook account in order to view the video.)