KORN singer Jonathan Davis and SUFFOCATION frontman Frank Mullen will make guest appearances on "The Black Crown", the new album from California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE. The CD was recorded with heavyweight producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, HATEBREED) and will be released on July 12 via Century Media Records.

"The Black Crown" track listing:

01. Slaves To Substance
02. O.C.D.
03. Human Violence
04. You Only Live Once
05. Fuck Everything
06. March To The Black Crown
07. Witness The Addiction (feat. Jonathan Davis)
08. Cross-Eyed Catastrophe
09. Smashed (feat. Frank Mullen)
10. The Only Thing That Sets Us Apart
11. Cancerous Skies

Finnish melancholic dark rock/metal icons AMORPHIS will be direct support for NIGHTWISH at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California on January 21, 2012. Also appearing on the bill will be DOMMIN. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

"The opportunity of playing exclusive show with NIGHTWISH came about around February," commented AMORPHIS guitarist Esa Holopainen. "We were totally excited about the idea as we didn't have a chance to do a tour in the U.S. with the 'Skyforger' album. Now we have a special show where we will try to offer as much material as possible from the last two albums. It's a great privilege to be part of an evening which is going to be memorable and special for everyone."

"The Beginning Of Times", the new album from AMORPHIS, landed at position No. 1 on the Finnish chart.

German metallers DIABOLOS DUST have inked a deal with Massacre Records.

In existence since 2007. DIABOLOS DUST consists of vocalist Jürgen Dachl (ex-FLOOD OF AGES, EL-K-MINO), bassist Roland Zehrer (ex-SENGAYA) as well as the two founding members Anton H. Lini (guitar) and Stefan Fesser (drums).

According to a press release, DIABOLOS DUST "play tough '80s metal but the band isn't a copy of other bands in this genre. DIABOLOS DUST uses the trademarks of this era and makes the sound unique with its catchy and variable songwriting. The sound is also characterized by various influences from the metal scene and so every song is a piece of art on its own. Monstrous power drumming and a driving bass provide the foundation for a solid guitar work and powerful vocals. With a rhythm section that knows how to create pressure and polyphonic shouting DIABOLOS DUST's independent trademark's created."

Canadian modern metal masters THREAT SIGNAL have issued the following update:

"On June 12th we are driving our asses out to Massachusetts to begin tracking our third release with metal mastermind Zeuss [Chriss Harris]. He has worked on many killer albums from bands such as CHIMAIRA, HATEBREED, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE ACACIA STRAIN, BORN OF OSIRIS, SHADOWS FALL, and many more… We are extremely excited to have Zeuss on board producing and mixing our new record!

"So what can you expect from the new THREAT SIGNAL record? Well… basically we said, 'Let's write the heaviest fuckin' record we possibly can.' We've been experimenting with seven-string guitars and drop tunings since the early days, so we have decided to write almost the whole new record that way. We are headed back to the 'Under Reprisal' days but with bigger balls."

"Awaken The Tides", in the U.K. on July 18, in the rest of Europe on July 15, and in North America on August 2 via Metal Blade Records. The 10-song effort was recorded at The Face studios in Reading with drums laid down at Fortress Studios in London. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Justin Hill.

Commented MALEFICE frontman Dale Butler: "And so the time has finally come, we've been locked away for six months working on this record, a release that's going to take your fucking head off. We promised something different, a bigger production, and a slightly different look on the genre. We've found our sound and it's going to bring a whole new level to our live show, something we all felt was missing. We've come back a new band, confident and more of a unit than we've ever been. This is our next step; make sure you're around to see it!"

"Awaken The Tides" track listing:

01. Awaken The Tides
02. Delirium
03. Dead in the Water
04. Minutes
05. Baying For Blood
06. Blessed/Cursed
07. The Day the Sky Fell
08. Out Numbered Out Gunned
09. Flood of Red
10. The Haunting

You can now listen to the album's title track, "Awaken The Tides", in the YouTube clip below.

The always outspoken IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson talks about the key difference between MAIDEN and METALLICA in the new issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. In addition to lifting the lid on why his band has been able to stay on top of the world over the years and keep its integrity while doing so (and reminiscing over some of the insane trouble they've gotten in over the years!), Bruce took the time to discuss the secret to MAIDEN's success and why they're revered as one of the greatest bands to ever plug into an amp.

"You've just got to have a sense of fearlessness," says Bruce. "I got into trouble for saying that we're better than METALLICA… and, it's true! They might be bigger than us and they might sell more tickets than us and they might get more gold-plated middle-class bourgeoisie turning up to their shows but they're not MAIDEN. I did say it's a bit of a wind-up. I thought, if I'm going to turn into an asshole, I might as well, you know, go for it!"

Alex Chapman from Billboard.com is reporting:

CHAKA KHAN may be a legacy artist in the industry, but that isn't to say the legendary songstress isn't as busy as ever. At the top of her list? A duets album, including a LED ZEPPELIN cover alongside AEROSMITH singer and American Idol judge Steven Tyler.

"We literally just clicked," Khan tells Billboard.com of Tyler. "We were at Elton John's party and we got to talk and we both wanted to sing together. We said, 'Let's do a mutual song, by you know, a neutral band -- a band that we both love,' and we both love Zeppelin."

The 'I'm Every Woman' singer will record the duet of a yet-to-be-decided Zepplin tune with Tyler soon, which she has plans to release on a forthcoming double album of duets.

"Eternal Empire", a brand new song from EVILE's highly new album, "Five Serpent's Teeth", is available for streaming at this location (free e-mail sign-up required). The track comes off the band's third album, "Five Serpents' Teeth", which will be released on September 26 via Earache Records. The CD was recorded at Parlour Studios in Kettering, U.K., with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR), who also worked on the band's previous CD, 2009's "Infected Nations".

Italian melodic-death metallers DISARMONIA MUNDI's third album, Mind Tricks (produced by Ettore Rigotti and mixed at Studio Fredman in 2006), will be re-released in an Extended Version digipak format with new cover artwork and four additional bonus tracks, including a brand new song entitled 'Ringside Seat To Human Tragedy', featuring Christian Älvestam (SOLUTION .45, ex-SCAR SYMMETRY).

Mind Tricks (Extended Version) will be released worldwide on June 30th (July 1st in the UK) via Coroner Records in digipak format and digital download.

Tracklist:
'Resurrection Code'
'Mindtricks'
'Celestial Furnace'
'Nihilistic Overdrive'
'Parting Ways'
'Venom Leech And The Hands Of Rain'
'Liquid Wings'
'Process Of Annihilation'
'Last Breed'
'A Taste Of Collapse'
'Mouth For War''
'Celestial Furnace' (Acoustic Version)
'Ringside Seat To Human Tragedy' (Feat. Christian Älvestam)
'Moon Of Glass'
'Nihilistic Overdrive' (Remix)

Italian metallers CRYSALYS are currently streaming a new track entitled 'Butterfly Effect' on their official Facebook page. The song is taken from the band's debut album The Awakening Of Gaia which is scheduled to be released September 23rd on Aural Music/Wormhole Death. This is the second preview of the album after the video clip of 'The Awakening Of Gaia' directed by Salvatore Perrone (EXILIA, SERENITY, BRING ME THE HORIZON). Check it out below:

U.K.'s psychedelic brutal death metal masters MITHRAS have announced the return of longtime frontman/bassist Rayner Coss.

Rayner, who left the band back in 2008, commented, "Firstly, it's good to be back!

"When I departed in 2008, Leon [Macey, guitar/drums] and I had been playing in bands together non-stop for over 12 years, and for various reasons I was finding it really difficult dedicating the necessary amount of time and attention to MITHRAS. But, during the near three years I've been away, my situation has changed to the point where I'm able to fully concentrate on the band again.

"We've gone straight to work on the new record, which Leon already had a lot of ideas down for and so far it's been the easiest writing process we've ever had, which is really promising."

Macey added, "It's great to be working with a re-energized Rayner on new material again, and the tracks we're developing for the next album are sounding incredible.

"Even though I needed a rest and had put MITHRAS practically on hiatus for the last six months, I already had a fair amount of material demoed up which I'd been working on solo. It's only taken a month to get Rayner up to speed with where I'm at with everything and it's also extra great because I don't need to record the vocals myself now, haha! So for the next record, we'll be sticking to the formula which worked great on all our others, Rayner Coss on oratory/bass and Leon Macey on guitars/drums."

The as-yet-untitled follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Behind The Shadows Lie Madness" (which was released in 2007 via Candelight Records) is due sometime in 2012.

Legendary Portuguese Hard-Rockers IBÉRIA, recently recorded the promotional video for the song ‘Angel’ in Montijo, Portugal. The song is the first single off the bands third album Revolution released in February. The new video is scheduled for release in June.

Ibéria’s bass player João Sérgio comments on the video: “We’re deeply pleased with the footage because it has perfectly captured all the essence and atmosphere of the hard rock that is present within the band’s music universe. It shows and portraits a lot of energy and dynamism.”

Revolution tracklisting is as follows:

‘Code Red’
‘Revolution’
‘All Night Flying’
‘Angel’
‘Stooge’
‘She Devil’
‘Turning Back’
‘Dizzy’
‘Hot In Love’
‘Ride’
‘Tired (Leave Me Alone)'
‘N.I.T.R.O.’
‘Tommy's Frequency’
‘Hollywood’

BW&BK has learned that Japanese bashers METAL SAFARI will part ways with bassist Jun (left) following their August 20th show in Tokyo. The band has issued the following statement:

"It is a pity that we have to make this statement. After numerous discussions and the consideration of the future of both Jun and Metal Safari, the four of us have come to this conclusion. We sincerely apologize to each and every one of the fans and to whom it may concern for this unexpected statement.




The Monsters Tour next month and the live show in Tokyo on August 20th will be the last time the four of us are performing together. All of us truly hope that we can see Metal Safari fans and Jun fans at these live concerts above. As to the activities of Metal Safari in the future, we will keep going after adding a new bassist. We will start auditioning new bassist in a few days.

We will do our best to live up to your expectations. Please support us like you always do."

The band's Monster Tour schedule, also featuring INHALE and EACH OF THE DAYS, is as follows:

June
5 - Osaka, Japan - Rockets
11 - Tokyo, Japan - Club Goodman
18 - Nagoya, Japan - Apollo Theater

For information on Metal Safari go to Spiritual-Beast.com and MetalSaf

Reunited British rockers THE DARKNESS made their U.K. live comeback last night (Sunday, June 5) in front of just 200 people at the Norwich Waterfront.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Bareback
02. Black Shuck
03. Growing On Me
04. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
05. One Way Ticket
06. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us
07. Love Is Only A Feeling
08. Is It Just Me?
09. Concrete
10. Cannonball
11. Stuck In A Rut
12. Givin' Up
13. Friday Night
14. I Believe In A Thing Called Love
15. Love On The Rocks With No Ice

Fan-filmed video footage of THE DARKNESS premiering two new songs — "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us" and "Cannonball" — during last night's concert can be viewed below.

OUTLOUD - the Greece based hard-rocking outfit featuring Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND), Mark Cross (ex-HELLOWEEN, Firewind) and singer Chandler Mogel (ex-TALON) - have inked a brand new deal with AOR Heaven for their sophomore release, which was recorded in the summer of 2010 and once again produced by Bob Katsionis and mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen.

Love Catastrophe will featured the following tracklist:

'We Came To Rock'
'Falling Rain'
'Live Again'
'Waiting For Your Love'
'The Night That Never Ends'
'Someday'
'Underground'
'Isolation Game'
'Clean Hands'
'Love Catastrophe'

Swedish Management Negative Entertainment has signed Valencia, Spain's FROM NOWHERE to its ranks. The band has recorded their second full length album entitled Agony, comprised of eighth new compositions, plus two renditions of songs by CANCER and DEATH.

Agony was mastered by Andy LaRoque at Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden, and the artwork was handled by Gustavo Sazes (ARCH ENEMY, MORBID ANGEL, KRISIUN).

When asked about the new album frontman Armando García commented: "We are pretty excited with this new album, it is our most powerful and well produced effort so far so we really hope we can reach a wider audience. We have paid attention to every detail as much as possible, we have done everything as an independent band so it wasn't an easy task, but we are conscious that at these days, with the decaying of the music sales you can't go out there trying to compete on a difficult market with a mediocre production. We have tried to achieve the perfect combination of classic melodic death metal, with tons of technical elements but never losing the sense of musicality, that is the core and essence of everything".

Agony tracklist:
'Welcome To The Cage'
'Catalepsy'
'The Fallen One'
'Drugs Of War'
'Factory Of Hate'
'Breathless (Agony)'
'Right To Die'
'REM'
'Hung, Drawn And Quartered' (Cancer cover)
'Sacred Serenity' (Death cover)

From Nowhere consists of:
Armando García - vocals/guitars
J.M. Monleón - guitars
Germán Rubio - drums

Bass on Agony album was recorded by Armando, and the band is currently looking for a new bass player.

From Nowhere and Negative Entertainment are in the process of finding a suitable label to release Agony and to expose them to an international audience.

ProgRock Records has checked in with the following update:

THE WINTER TREE (formerly MAGUS) is a band formed by composer/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Laitres(a.k.a. Andrew Robinson) with vocalist/guitarist Mark Bond and his wife Deb Bond on keyboards. In late 2010 Andrew decided to rename the band The Winter Tree, after the song
of the same title by one of Andrew's favorite bands, RENAISSANCE. Andrew, along with new bandmates, released their self-titled CD in mid-2011 with ProgRock Records.




The Winter Tree is a synthesis of many different musical styles and genres: rock, folk, electronic, ambient, and world music among others. These elements combine to create a fascinating and cohesive work that should satisfy the prog rock enthusiast as well as a diverse listening public.

The band had this to say: "The members of The Winter Tree are delighted to be on the same record label with Michael Sadler, Jim Gilmour, It Bites and Steve Walsh! Back in the 80's, I met Mr. Sadler at a bar after a mind blowing SAGA gig and he bought me a beer and encouraged me to 'never give up.' Thank you Michael and thank you Shawn".

ProgRock Records president Shawn Gordon comments: "This is one of those happy accidents, I ran across the band quite by random and really loved what I heard, so I tracked down a web site, emailed the contact info on there and Andrew got right back to me, we had a deal two days later. That’s how I like to work."

The Winter Tree is the first release from the band and is available for immediate ordering at a $2 discount till early June 2011 and will be shipped in mid-June, audio samples, information and ordering can be found at this location.

Austria's Stormbringer.at webzine recently conducted an interview with RHAPSODY OF FIRE and current KAMELOT touring vocalist Fabio Lione. An excerpt from the chat follow below.

Stormbringer.at: How is the tour with KAMELOT going so far?

Fabio: Great! I have to say that the guys are very nice, I love the songs and the band and everything is going in the best way. I'm also very happy to see that the KAMELOT fans are with me and the band. Every show we have a great time, it's a great experience for me. We feel like old friends, I have to say that we are having a great time and great shows together.

Stormbringer.at: Currently you are a temporary replacement of Khan in KAMELOT. Would you ever consider a permanent place in KAMELOT should the guys of the band ask you?

Fabio: Well, I would love it!!! The KAMELOT songs are great, I really like the style and [former KAMELOT vocalist Roy] Khan is probably one of the few singers that I like. So, of course, I would consider that!!! But first let's do the European tour and the North American one, Then if they will ask me, I'll be more than happy to join the band permanently. Since the first time we met and played together we had a very good feeling. Everything was easy and natural like we knew each other for years and everybody who saw the band in South America or Europe said we did great shows!!! I'm happy for the guys and the fans, so let's see what the future will bring for us. Never say never!

Stormbringer.at: Where are the differences or challenges in singing for your own band in comparison to being a guest singer in another well-established band like KAMELOT?

Fabio: It's not easy, I have to say, but in this case I knew Khan since [his pre-KAMELOT band] CONCEPTION era and I know his voice, style and way to sing; he's great!!! So it was a little bit more easy for me 'cause I knew the songs and especially the singer very well, but you have to be in front of many people, fans that are used to see and hear someone else, it's not really an easy job. The best is [to] do it with passion and make people happy. Anyway, I don't think I do something easy in RHAPSODY OF FIRE or VISION DIVINE, I always liked to do not easy things and this new experience it's very good for me. I just try to do it in the best way I can.

In a May 11, 2011 interview with Metal-Trails.com, KAMELOT guitarist/mainman Thomas Youngblood stated about Fabio Lione, "Our producer, Sascha Paeth, he also does RHAPSODY's records and he suggested Fabio because he knows the guy can sing anything. He sings totally different than he does with RHAPSODY with us. He's an amazing singer. I mean, technically, he's probably the best singer that I've ever worked with. So I think he was the perfect choice to finish this tour, to fulfill our obligations to ourselves and the fans. And he's actually a new dynamic to the show, which I think is really cool."

When asked if there is a possibility that Fabio will be the new permanent lead singer of KAMELOT, Youngblood said, "There's always possibilities, you know?! He's got his band, but I think what I wanna do is do this big audition process where we have as many people as possible to choose from and then we'll make a decision."

Regarding possible candidates for the singer position in KAMELOT and what the band will be looking for in a new vocalist, Youngblood said, "I definitely don't wanna say any names right now, but we've gotten a lot of e-mails from people that are known, people that are unknown. Obviously they have to have a certain charisma, they have to understand the dynamics of what KAMELOT is and also what we're gonna be on the next record. Vocally, they have to be a master at what they're doing. So there's a lot of elements. There's also a social part of it — making sure they have no religious restrictions, no addiction issues, they don't have a girlfriend or a wife that says, 'You can't tour,' or something like that. All I can say is that so far a lot of the e-mails I've gotten have been very encouraging."

On whether KAMELOT wants someone who will sound very similar to Roy or a singer with his own style, Youngblood said, "The new guy should have his own thing going on. Of course, he has to be able to sing the old songs and do it properly — give it justice and respect. But to bring in a clone makes no sense; that's not our goal."

Guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal of US-based extreme pro metallers CYNIC has issued the following new album update:
"I've been working away in the home studio writing lots of new songs and keeping off the grid to stay creatively focused. Apologies for having been a bit reclusive in our digital age of informational abundance! It's safe to say that Cynic already has plenty of material for a new record, but something keeps the inspiration going to write more. I feel like I'm on for the ride and just seeing what manifests as a result of sitting on the train and looking out the window. As we move further along and closer to 'destination recording', the album will start to shape itself and the appropriate songs will be chosen. We're looking at late summer / early fall to enter the studio. At the moment, I have no idea when the record will be released. Maybe later this year or early next. We're also in communication with lots of fantastic new musicians who will be involved. I can already sense this next album is going to take our listeners on a whole new sonic adventure that words cannot yet describe. I say this because the work is feeling based and there's a lot of life poured into these embryos that will speak for themselves when heard. I'm always amazed at how living life informs the art so directly and yet we have no power over it. The songs have a directness and urgency unlike anything we've done before due to a bountiful influx of concentrated life experiences. Thank the universe for the gift of music. I am so absolutely grateful to be alive and to be able to share the potency and beauty of music with you. In the meantime keep spreading the love and thank you for taking this journey with us."

Cynic are officially a duo completed by drummer Sean Reinert. The band's latest album, Traced In Air, was essentially the beginning of this new philosophy. "We love playing with different musicians as it is, so this opens up lots of possibilities," Masvidal commented recently.