Finnish thrashers ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION have announced the addition of vocalist Jarno Samppala and guitarist Jussi Arkela to the group's ranks.

Samppala, who is the brother of ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION drummer Jussi Samppala, replaces longtime vocalist and original bandmember Mika Luoma.

Regarding his departure from the group, Mika said in a statement: "I feel it's the fair thing to do, now that new ambitions have risen. The core of the band have worked hard in the past months. My lack of time and motivation would only stand in the way of four other musicians' chances. Thanks to everyone in the past few years for support and helping start the new ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION chapter."

Arkela previously made a guest appearance on ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION's album "Gallery Of Pain".

The addition of Jussi Arkela now means that ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION has a full lineup and is ready to start playing out.

The first chance to see ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION live after a long break is the Rotta Festival (Rottavestivaali) in Nummijärvi, Finland on Saturday, August 20.

Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and his own band DIO, died of stomach cancer one year ago on Monday (May 16) at the age of 67.

A three-minute Artisan News Service report in which Dio's BLACK SABBATH and HEAVEN & HELL bandmate Geezer Butler, Ronnie's cousin David "Rock" Feinstein (both played in ELF) and wife/manager Wendy remember the heavy metal legend can be viewed below.

Butler said that Dio was so special "because he had an incredible voice; he was blessed with it. And he loved his fans. He'd talk to his fans after every show until there was nobody left. He was so genuine."

Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

A free public memorial service was held on May 30, 2010 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, attended by more than 1,500 fans, friends and fellow musicians.

This past March, it was announced that the surviving members of the final lineup of DIO would embark on a project with former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens under the name DIO DISCIPLES.

His wife and manager, Wendy Dio, still oversees all projects and releases related to the career and music of her late husband.

Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.

He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.

He released his first single, with a band called RONNIE AND THE REDCAPS, in 1959.

His first heavy rock act, ELF, released three albums and opened for DEEP PURPLE, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, RAINBOW, after leaving PURPLE in 1975.

Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with RAINBOW before exiting in 1978, including "Rising" and "Long Live Rock And Roll".

He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

He has also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, DIO, including a classic 1983 debut, "Holy Diver", and an equally renowned follow-up, 1984's "The Last In Line".

Dio was also behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.

Rock and metal musicians around the world paid tribute to Dio in the weeks and months following his death. STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor shared his feelings with The Pulse Of Radio about the fallen metal icon. "When I got that news that he had passed away, man, it seriously — it broke my heart. It broke it in two. Because honestly, I just feel like there will never be another Ronnie James Dio. He had such a pure voice — and still singing his ass off. I just know he'll be missed, and I will miss him as well."

Ex-VAN HALEN and current CHICKENFOOT bassist Michael Anthony also shared his memories of Dio with The Pulse Of Radio. "I don't know anybody that didn't grow up listening to his stuff," he said. "You know, VAN HALEN, we used to do from the first RAINBOW album, we did 'Man On The Silver Mountain'. I remember one time, the second VAN HALEN tour we were doing some festivals in Europe, and we actually played on the same show as Ronnie's band. Real powerful voice, you know, and definitely a driving force in hard rock music, that guy was."

Slash told The Pulse Of Radio that he felt the loss of Dio very keenly. "He's just somebody I was influenced by," he said. " I played all the RAINBOW stuff, I played the DIO stuff, the SABBATH stuff when I was in, you know, high school. I don't think that it's really set in what a, you know, huge figure in rock 'n' roll we lost, you know. Really major. Probably one of the most influential heavy metal singers of all time."

Guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER spoke to the Artisan News Service (see video below) about fan speculation that the band's new drummer, Mike Mangini, is merely a temporary replacement for founding member Mike Portnoy, who left the group last fall.

"[Mangini is] a [permanent] bandmember," Petrucci said. "That's what we were looking for. I think it depends on the band and what they [are] looking for. We're not looking for a session guy to come in temporarily. We don't wanna be known as the temporary DREAM THEATER; we want a member. You know, like when we got Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] in the band. We wanted a new member."

When asked if DREAM THEATER is planning on finishing out its career with the current lineup, Petrucci said, "I would hope so. That's the way I like to live life and think about things; I don't think of things as being temporary. I like to think of this as moving forward in a positive way and direction with all intentions of staying this way forever. Unless some unforeseen event should happen, which happens. [Laughs] You could have asked me the same question before Mike [Portnoy] left and I would have had the same answer. 'Of course this is the way… This is who we are. This is the way we'll always be.' You never know what's gonna happen. But, yeah, [we have] full intentions of moving forward this way."

DREAM THEATER is currently recording its much-anticipated new album for a fall release via Roadrunner Records.

On May 9, longtime Spanish heavy metal journalist Rafa Basa of RafaBasa.com conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford about the departure of the band's founding member, Kenneth "K.K." Downing; the addition of 31-year-old guitarist Richie Faulkner (LAUREN HARRIS, DIRTY DEEDS); and the group's upcoming "Epitaph" farewell tour. Several excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed exclusively by BLABBERMOUTH.NET from the original 27-minute audio, which can be streamed at the bottom of this article).

On why JUDAS PRIEST has chosen to embark on a farewell tour at this point in the band's career:

Halford: "I think we're just being very careful. We wanna be able to still do these big shows and to still give out the same kind of power and energy that we've always been able to do. And so, 40 years later, we're doing that really successfully and we feel that we would like this to be a kind of celebration of many, many things about JUDAS PRIEST and give the fans a really, really great metal show. And then maybe just take things easier next time, you know, because… I wish we were all immortal. [Laughs] Metal is immortal [Laughs], but I don't feel immortal. It's a lot of reasons, and it happens to everybody in one way or another. I think metal touring is very, very difficult. I mean, you've got all the travelling to do and you don't get much sleep. And it's different on your body all these years later. PRIEST is famous for these very big, long grueling tours, and we just wanna still be able to make our shows, but we just wanna be able to kind of enjoy them and put on a great performance. But just kind of kick back a little bit and enjoy the golden metal years and still be with our fans, but just on a different level now."

On whether the next PRIEST studio album will be similar to the band's last CD, "Nostradamus" (2008), or if it will be a return to a classic PRIEST album format along the lines of "Angel Of Retribution" (2005):

Halford: "Well, I can tell you that it's gonna be a very strong, powerful, solid heavy metal album with all of the famous things people love about PRIEST — all the big sledgehammer heavy metal riffs from Birmingham and the screaming vocals. And it's just a very straightforward record as far as looking at our past and all of the wonderful things that we've done in heavy metal — from 'British Steel' to 'Painkiller' to 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'. We've got this wonderful heritage in our music, so I think we're just letting our heart lead us on this record. It's not as complicated or as complex in the arrangements as 'Nostradamus' was and I think we always felt that it would have been wrong to finish the recording side of PRIEST with 'Nostradamus'; we felt it was very important to kind of re-focus and put the metal in its place that we're most famous for, and I think that's what we're gonna do with this new record. It's coming out next year. It's almost completed. A lot of the songs have been already written, not fully recorded, but all of the arrangements have been made. That's the time-consuming part — the actual writing of the songs and then getting the arrangements right and all the pieces into place. And then when you go in the studio, the studio is generally a pretty straightforward operation. But we're excited, yeah. It's kind of unusual, isn't it?! 'Cause it's farewell, but it's full of new things; we have a new show, new costumes, new setlist and that's we've always tried to do for our fans and for ourselves — to make every tour special, and that's definitely the case with this one."

On the future of JUDAS PRIEST after the "Epitaph" tour:

Halford: "It's a very open set of opportunities, of course. We will still be making shows, we won't be going out on these long, massive world tours as much. But we'll still be getting together every now and again and doing a festival here and there. Personally, I don't see any reason why we need to stop the writing and the recording, because that's always a great joy and pleasure and it's not as stressful and difficult, physically and mentally, as a tour. So yeah, the future is not really laid out for certain, but I guess we'll just be and do what we've always tried to do as a metal band, which is, in one way or another, still keep recording and still do some shows."

On what it means to him to be working a new JUDAS PRIEST studio album at this point in the band's career:

Halford: "I think it's just another testament to the self-belief we have as a band. We still feel that we've got something to say. We still feel that we've got important things to display in our music, especially. And so, for a brand new studio album to come this far on in our career, I think it's a wonderful achievement, and I think it's just letting our fans, especially, see that the things that are important to us — the passion of metal and the power of metal — is still alive inside of us and we still get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from making metal songs and recording them and putting on a show. That's not changed. I think in our hearts we wish we could do this forever. [Laughs] It's like your favorite soccer player; you wish he could keep playing the game forever, but eventually you have to be realistic and sensible and say, 'This has been great. I'm still gonna do a few things — maybe do some coaching.' Still stay in the mix of metal. But life goes on and things change. But like I said, we hope that people will see this as a time to celebrate, with a lot of new experiences. We're celebrating a lot of great moments from our past, but we're also looking forward to the future."

On K.K. Downing's statement that his departure from JUDAS PRIEST was brought on in part by "an ongoing breakdown in [the] working relationship between [him], elements of the band, and the band's management":

Halford: "Well, I'm sure you've been around a lot of bands in your life as a journalist and I'm sure you've heard a lot of stories about the creative differences that happen in a group, and you always overcome them. It's not easy being in a band; it's a very difficult, temperamental machine, because you're dealing with very emotional people, very talented people, and so you have your ups and your downs. I think that in the light of all of the excitement and the confusion over the last few weeks, a lot of the things have been kind of distorted out of the fact. I don't really know why K.K. said what he said in his press release. I think maybe K.K. himself was feeling very emotional and very kind of… I don't know… maybe retrospective about all of the things that have been going on in PRIEST for the last few years. . . If you go onto his web site today, he put up a new press release and he says, you know, he's had a great time and he's not feeling bitter, he's not feeling in any other way than feeling just very satisfied and complete that he's done all the things that he wants to do. And I think that's great. I think K.K.'s really answered a lot of questions for a lot of people. But I think it was unfair to single out the bandmembers and I think it was unfair to single out management as the reason why he left, because it was more than that. And so there you go. We're all separate, individual people that all have lives to live and all have different needs and choices to be made, and this is the one that K.K.'s gone with. And we love him dearly; he'll always be in the spirit of JUDAS PRIEST. We wish things were different, but they're not, so we have to look forward and be positive and be excited about the shows that we're gonna do and a great new guitar player, Richie. JUDAS PRIEST is not just one person, JUDAS PRIEST is the whole experience, and we've always felt that way. Even when I was away from the band, JUDAS PRIEST carried on. So this is what we're gonna do — we're gonna be strong and we're gonna put on some powerful shows and we're gonna celebrate and have some great metal experiences together again."

On why K.K. couldn't wait until after the "Epitaph" tour to leave the band:

Halford: "It's a great question. I can't answer it. You have to get in touch with K.K. and ask him that question, 'cause I can't answer it. I think we've tried to be as honest and as straightforward as we can be on both sides of the discussion, and it is very emotional. I mean, you could just as easily [have asked] that same question — which you may have done — when I was away from the band, and Ripper, my good friend Ripper, was holding the mic for me. You just have to carry on. I think more than anything, it's just kind of difficult, 'cause it's a farewell tour. Why is it happening now? Well, you've got no control over life, have you? [Laughs] You can't control life and these things happen. So you just have to accept them and see what your options are. So that's the way it is. Of course, it will never be the same without K.K., like I'm sure a lot of people said it was never the same without me. But you can't just grind to a halt, you can't just stop everything — that would be ridiculous. We have obligations to our fans and to promoters and to everybody else, and to our record company, and we wanna fulfill them and be professional and do the right thing, which is what I think we are doing."

On how he feels personally about K.K.'s departure from the band:

Halford: "I just feel very sad that this whole episode has taken place at the time that it has. I think that we're all dealing with it differently. I love Ken like a brother; we've been in each other's lives for over 40 years. And we're all still good friends; that's the important thing. It doesn't matter about the breakdown in the communication or the creative differences; that's just part of being in a band. The friendship and the caring for each other, that doesn't go away. It should never go away. Because we've been through too much together and you can't let differences of opinion over different incidents and different moments, you can't let that affect your long-term-standing relationship, business-wise and personal-wise, you can't let that get destroyed; that would be a terrible thing to do. So you just respect each other, you respect each other's choices and you respect each other's decisions. And I'm sure that at some point K.K. will probably want to be a little bit more open about his reasons for departing PRIEST; that's entirely up to K.K. We've made it clear that we're not speaking for K.K.; we can only speak for ourselves and what we need to do. So there you go — that's about as much as we can really offer to the press and to our fans at this point."

On what fans can expect from the upcoming tour:

Halford: "Well, I think, looking at the history and the tradition of PRIEST, whenever we've gone out on these world tours, we've tried to do something different, so we do have a brand new stage set, light show, we've got some special effects that we're bringing back in terms of pyro and lights and lasers and flames and all these other great, crazy things that you love about metal that we haven't used in a while; we're bringing all those back. I think the setlist is the most exciting part, because we're trying to do everything from all of our music, so it really is a celebration of the music of PRIEST as much as anything else — right from 'Rocka Rolla' all the way up to maybe a track from the brand new record. So that's quite special and unique; we've never done before that for our fans. New stage, new costumes, new songs… it's just gonna be a really special event. . . The fact that we've said we're gonna try to do something from every record is already creating a lot of excitement and people are looking at the songs and going, 'I wonder, will they do this song?' or 'I wonder, will they do that song?' So I think we wanna keep that as a surprise until the first few shows because obviously when the first few shows start to happen, it will be all over the Internet and everybody will know. But we are actually rehearsing a lot of songs, so we're gonna try to mix it up. We're gonna try to put on… maybe one song will be not in the setlist one night, so maybe we'll put two more in another night. So it will be quite varied. It's important, I think, to try and keep an element of surprise; it just gives you something to look forward to."

On the decision to hire a relatively unknown guitar player, Richie Faulkner, to replace K.K. Downing:

Halford: "I think it would have diluted the moment if we would have gone with one of our friends. We know some very famous metal guitar players and I'm sure that they would have said, 'Yeah, I'll help you out if you need the help.' But I think we wanted to give this moment its own special feeling. Obviously, nobody can replace K.K. entirely, so I think we worked really hard to find someone of the same caliber and with the same kind of discipline and guitarmanship as K.K.'s always displayed, and I think we found that in Richie. Richie's been around for awhile; he's already had a successful career up until this point with his solo activities and some of the other bands that he's worked with. But this is a big leap for Richie to go into a band like PRIEST. And he's gonna be the right man for the job, you know. It is gonna be a tremendously exciting moment for Richie as a player. I can only imagine what's going on in his mind. I suppose it's the same as when Ripper walked out each night; you just have to go out and do your very best, and that's what Richie's gonna do. I think he's gonna show the metal world that he's a very competent, exciting player that's gonna not only be able to do the parts he needs to play but also inject his own special style and technique. And I think the metal fans are really grateful that Richie's there, because if Richie was not in the spot, this tour would have been canceled. So, yeah, it's gonna be tremendous for Richie to be able to do what's gotta do and he's gonna do it really well. And I think the fans are gonna love him."

On how it will feel seeing Richie in K.K.'s spot on stage:

Halford: "Yeah, I think K.K. felt the same when he looked to the left and saw Ripper [Laughs], he didn't see me. So history repeats itself, doesn't it? Emotionally, it's always very challenging to deal with these types of things, but you just have to accept the facts and this is it now; this is the way that PRIEST is looking and the band is still together. I know we've always said JUDAS PRIEST is not just one member; JUDAS PRIEST is the whole combination of players coming together to make the sounds of PRIEST, and we have 100 percent faith that Richie can do that part. So we're excited about the shows that we're gonna and the way that we're gonna display ourselves."

Acclaimed San Antonio, Texas guitarist/composer Ron Jarzombek (BLOTTED SCIENCE, WATCHTOWER, SPASTIC INK) has set TERRESTRIAL EXILED as the name of his new Transatlantic project, also featuring co-guitarist Christian Münzner (OBSCURA, SPAWN OF POSSESSION), bassist Pete Perez (SPASTIC INK, RIOT), and drummer Hannes Grossmann (OBSCURA, BLOTTED SCIENCE). The group's digital single, "Duodecimal Levorotation", produced and mixed by Ron Jarzombek and V. Santura (OBSCURA, TRIPTYKON) and mastered by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, DESTRUCTION), is available now.

Jarzombek first collaborated with Münzner and Grossmann when he was approached about contributing a guest solo on OBSCURA's 2009 breakthtrough album "Cosmogenesis". "Chris and I were hanging out when I played the Keep It True festival with WATCHTOWER last year," Ron said. "We got to talking about guitars, planets, 12-tone configurations and other techy stuff so we thought it might be a cool idea to put something together. We rounded out the line-up with my good friend and SPASTIC INK bassist, Pete Perez, and an obvious choice for drums was Chris' longtime drummer and my now BLOTTED SCIENCE bandmate, Hannes Grossmann. I didn't really have a specific musical direction in mind so I just asked everybody to write a few things and see what happened. We got sort of an 'alien planet vibe' from it as the song started to take shape. Call it 'musical 'Star Wars'' for serious prog metal geeks!"

"Duodecimal Levorotation" marks the first digital-only release for Jarzombek after releasing physical product through his own EclecticElectric label for the past ten years. "I've been interested in exploring the possibility of doing a digital release for some time now and TERRESTRIAL EXILED seems like the perfect vehicle to test the waters with," he said. "If the response is there and sales warrant it, we might write and record more music as time and schedules permit. If not, it could just be a one-and-done type thing. Either way, I'm excited to be working with Christian and Hannes, who are both great players, and having my old buddy Pete on board as well. We hadn't done any recordings together in almost a decade, since SPASTIC INK 'Ink Compatible', so it's nice to reconnect again in the studio after all this time."

NILE drummer George Kollias is writing and recording a solo album in between drum clinics and touring cycles. Due in September, the CD, which is primarily set to show off some of George's craziest metal drumming to date, is being completely written and recorded by George, including the guitars, bass, keys, vocals, and percussion, and it will also feature a DVD of the recording process.

Kollias' latest YouTube video, which can be viewed below, shows off the blistering speed of George's hands and feet around the kit, through his quick fills and fast footwork, as well as showing his multi-talented musical ability through his guitar work and other instrumentation.

Commented Kollias: "The drumming will be crazy on this album; I will push it like never before, since the whole idea is to write something based on drums anyways. Although I will pay attention a lot to the music in general, and I arranged to have some of the best guitarists in the world playing some guest solos for the songs, which is great! The mixing will be done in Florida, at Mana Studios, [by] Erik Rutan, one of the best producers today. He worked on the last NILE album, next to Neil Kernon, our main producer. This is just a first demo…. nothing final yet… but the final thing will be crazy and will sound incredible!!"

Legendary singer and bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) has just released his long-awaited autobiography, "Deep Purple And Beyond: Scenes From The Life Of A Rock Star", via Foruli Publications. The book was co-written with Joel McIver and features an introduction by METALLICA's Lars Ulrich.

An invite-only launch event for the book was held this past Thursday night (May 12) at Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch, London, England. The evening featured a solo acoustic set by Glenn, a preview of the book packages, and the opportunity to meet Glenn, co-author Joel McIver and the team at Foruli.

Glenn's set consisted of the following five songs:

01. Coast To Coast
02. Holy Man
03. I Found A Woman
04. Too Late To Save The World
05. Cold

Fan-filmed video footage of MÖTLEY CRÜE's May 14, 2011 concert at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile can be viewed below. Also available is footage from the pre-show press conference.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Wild Side
02. Saints Of Los Angeles
03. Live Wire
04. Shout At The Devil '97
05. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
06. Primal Scream
07. Home Sweet Home
08. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
09. Guitar Solo
10. Dr. Feelgood
11. Too Young To Fall In Love
12. Too Fast For Love
13. Smokin' In The Boys Room
14. Girls, Girls, Girls
15. Kickstart My Heart

Encore:

16. Looks That Kill

German "metal queen" Doro Pesch will be filling in for singer Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) on the following DIO DISCIPLES tour dates:

June 29 - Milan, Italy @ Magazzini Generali
July 01 - Bilbao, Spain @ Rockstar Live
July 02 - Madrid, Spain @ Heineken
July 03 - Barcelona, Spain @ Bikini

Owens will be unable to make the Italian and Spanish shows as he will be attending his daughter's wedding.

Jarkko Ahola of the Finnish metal groups TERÄSBETONI and NORTHERN KINGS will team up with the Air Force Band and Navy Band of the Finnish Defence Forces for a four-concert tour as a tribute to Freddie Mercury and QUEEN.

Commented Ahola: "Since it's been 20 years since the death of Freddie Mercury and it's been huge 40 years of QUEEN, we wanted honor their great music by arranging QUEEN's finest songs to the big orchestra."

The tribute tour will take place in November and will consist of the following dates

Nov. 11 - Paviljonki, Jyväskylä
Nov. 12 - Tampere Hall, Tampere
Nov. 17 - Savoy-teatteri, Helsinki
Nov. 18 - Turku Concert Hall, Turku

The first-ever Kiss Kruise: Wet, Wild & Rockin' is setting sail October 13-17, 2011 from Miami, Florida to Half Moon Cay and Nassau, Bahamas on board the Carnival Destiny. KISS and Sixthman are joining forces to create the wettest, wildest, most rockin' cruise in the Atlantic.

KISS will be hosting this ship to bring you music, krazy onboard activities, and KISS-themed nights.

Everyone who signs up for the pre-sale and joins the KISS Army before 11:59 p.m. EST on May 22, 2011 will be part of the first round.

KISS will be hosting this ship along with other artists to bring you nonstop music, krazy onboard activities, and rowdy theme nights.

For more information on the ship, itinerary, and overall event, visit the Kiss Kruise: Wet, Wild, & Rockin' dedicated web site www.thekisskruise.com when it launches on May 18.

On May 10, long-running Cleveland, Ohio metallers SOULLESS issued a cease-and-desist order to Earache Records regarding the U.S. release of a new album from a U.K. band calling itself "THE SOULLESS." The demand calls for Earache to immediately cease and desist in the production, distribution and promotion of any materials associated with the name "THE SOULLESS" in the United States, including, but not limited to, compact discs, DVDs, MP3s, t-shirts and other similar media/memorabilia. It also demands that any web presence that is accessible within the United States bearing the infringing mark be immediately removed from the World Wide Web. This includes, but is not limited to, web pages, blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia pages, etc.

Commented SOULLESS front man Jim Lippucci: "It's quite unfortunate that it has come to this.

"We notified the band [THE SOULLESS] months ago upon learning of their intent to use the name 'THE SOULLESS' that this name was pretty much identical to ours. We were assured that Earache would be in contact with us to remedy the situation, but that call never came.

"We have nothing but respect for young bands and the struggle we all go through to make this music. At the same time, though, we expect bands and labels to perform their due diligence and make sure that the intellectual property of others is respected. Through a simple internet search they would have ascertained that we have been performing, touring and releasing music in the U.S. as SOULLESS for close to 15 years. Simply adding the word 'the' does not change that fact.

"It pains us that the label that brought us some of metals most legendary releases from bands like MORBID ANGEL, BOLT THROWER, CARCASS and so many others shows such blatant disregard for our rights.

"Litigation is the last thing we want at this time. We are a metal band and would prefer to focus on making music. At the same time, we have no choice but to fight for the protection of our intellectual property.

"We have struggled for years to establish our name and reputation and we will defend it with the same ferocity and fervor that we put into making music."

About SOULLESS: SOULLESS hails from Cleveland, Ohio and has been churning out its own unique brand of death/thrash metal since 1996. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on its fourth full-length album, entitled "In Death's Grip", for a late 2011 release. The group will also appear in the upcoming horror/metal motion picture "The After Party Massacre" alongside death metal veterans INCANTATION. The film and soundtrack are both due out this summer on Ibex Moon Records.

Italian hard rock/metal band LACUNA COIL has entered the studio to begin recording the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2009's "Shallow Life" for a fall release via Century Media Records. The group is once again working with producer Don Gilmore (PEARL JAM, LINKIN PARK, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE), this time choosing to record in its native Italy to help focus on the more personal nature of the new material.

"This time around music has been our refuge from some of the darkest days of our life and that's why the new songs have such a variety of feelings... some stuff is pretty angry, probably the heaviest we've ever written, some other songs are intense, loaded with velvet dark emotions and there's even a little space for some light at the end of the tunnel,”, says LACUNA COIL's male vocalist Andrea Ferro.

"People are asking me if we're going back to our roots or if we're taking another step forward in a new direction... Well, to be honest I just feel that this is 100 percent a LACUNA COIL record and that is what really matters to me. I just love the songs and we felt a big wave of inspiration. The energy with Don in the studio is sky-high and we're ready to kick some ass."

"Collectively, we did so much in between 'Shallow Life' and this one," adds LACUNA COIL's female vocalist Cristina Scabbia. "We have lots of different experiences between us. We've been loved and hurt, we grew up, we shrunk inside a little keeping ourselves together and our roots watered and are alive. I still can't believe that the energy in between us is getting better and better, but I guess that's what being a real family means."

Four years after appearing in ads for Optima Hair Specialists (see below), one of the leading exponents in the hair-replacement industry in Britain, former IRON MAIDEN and current WOLFSBANE singer Blaze Bayley has finally decided to shave off his locks and go bald.

A photo of the new-look Bayley rehearsing on May 1 for his upcoming festival appearances with his new band — Dave Andrews, Claudio Tirincanti, Nick Meganck and Steve Deleu — can be viewed below. Also available is video footage from the rehearsal sessions.

When Bayley first discovered he was losing his hair he didn't "run to the hills" and step away from the heavy metal music spotlight. He opted for a much more positive approach.

Going bald, quite simply, ain't rock and roll and the forty-something rock legend was a "man on the edge" as he sought to rejuvenate his appearance and keep his hairline as fresh as the song lines being produced by his heavy rocking band. Birmingham-born Blaze went back to his roots to see if Optima could help him rediscover his crowning glory and he was said to be "delighted with the results."

"My music is as dynamic as it ever was and I was desperate to ensure my appearance stayed in tune," Blaze stated in a blurb accompanying the ad, which first made the rounds in early 2007. "I'd heard great things about Optima and had no hesitation in calling them up and seeing what they could do for me."

Optima's founder, Pete Murtha, added at the time: "Blaze approached us [in 2005] in the hope of restoring his mane of hair to its original glory. We're happy to report that everything went smoothly and Blaze is back to his rocking best!"

WHITESNAKE kicked off its "Forevermore" tour this past Wednesday night (May 11) at the Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Best Years
02. Give Me All Your Love
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Is This Love
05. Steal Your Heart Away
06. Lay Down Your Love
07. Forevermore
08. Love Will Set You Free
09. [Guitar Duel]
10. My Evil Ways
11. Fare Thee Well
12. One Of These Days
13. Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
14. Fool For Your Lovin'
15. Here I Go Again

Encore:

16. Still Of The Night

Singer James LaBrie of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has spent the past few weeks in the studio with Canadian producer/engineer Richard Chycki laying down vocals on the band's much-anticipated new album, tentatively due this fall via Roadrunner Records. Chycki writes on his blog, "I gotta tell ya, new DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini (ex-EXTREME, STEVE VAI, ANNIHILATOR) is a monster player on the album. I worked with him on LaBrie's solo album 'Elements Of Persuasion' in 2005 and he was frightening (in a good way!) in the studio back then."

"Undead Heart", the new video from Los Angeles sextet VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's full-length debut, "Kiss The Sun Goodbye", which will be released on May 17 through Hollywood Waste/Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with producer Fred Archambault, who has previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD and DEFTONES.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE lit the scene on fire last year with the release of the "Lost In The Shadows" EP. The band also completed tours across the nation with the likes of BLACK VEIL BRIDES, X JAPAN and ALESANA, among others.

"Kiss The Sun Goodbye" track listing:

01. Bury Me Alive
02. Immortal Love
03. Undead Heart
04. Ashes to Ashes
05. Kill the Chemicals
06. Bleeding Rain
07. Carnage At the Castle
08. Embrace
09. Lipstick Lies
10. Children Of The Night
11. Call Out The Dead
12. Silver Bullets Don't Kill Vampires

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! is:

Michael Vampire (Vocals)
Zak Night (Guitar)
Aaron Graves (Guitar)
Jay Killa (Keyboards)
Alexander Rogue (Bass)
David Darko (Drums)

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal bassist Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL) and Wendy Dio, wife/manager of late HEAVEN & HELL/BLACK SABBATH singer Ronnie James Dio, at the third annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which was held on April 20 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the chat below.

Butler's latest solo album, "Ohmwork", was released in May 2005 via Sanctuary Records. Geezer's first album in eight years, "Ohmwork" was the bassist's third solo band release. His first project under the GZR banner was 1995's "Plastic Planet" while 1997's "Black Science" was credited to GEEZER. Guitarist Pedro Howse worked on all three albums, while vocalist Clark Brown performed on "Ohmwork" and the aforementioned "Black Science".