EBC ROXX — the "musical racing project" featuring German singer Ela; American rock and blues singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer Tony Carey (RAINBOW, OVER THE RAINBOW); and Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore (guitar), son of former DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore — will perform at a Formula 1 event in July 2011 at Eifeldorf in Nürburgring, Germany. For this appearance, the band will be joined by special guest Eddie Jordan on drums.

A four-minute trailer for "Winners", the debut album from EBC ROXX, can be viewed below. The CD was released on September 17, 2010.

According to a press release, "the songs [on] 'Winners' not only talk about Formula 1 ('Silver Arrow' and 'Big Livin''), but generally about living in the fast lane on two or four wheels. 'Winners' is about the bright side, [and] 'Your Last Dance' [is about] the dark side of motor racing. The two 'drivin' songs' as well as the opener 'Rolling' depict the intoxication caused by speed. 'Fly' is dedicated to the legendary speed weeks of the Bonneville salt flats (USA). 'Red Dirt Devils' is about the thunderous motocross bikers."

Artillery, thrash metal band from Denmark, revealed cover artwork and tracklist of their forthcoming album “My Blood”. The follow up to the highly acclaimed “When Death Comes” album from 2009 was recorded in late 2010 at the Medley Studios, Denmark in the following line-up: Søren Adamsen – Vocals, Michael Stützer – Guitars, Morten Stützer – Guitars, Peter Thorslund – Bass, Carsten Nielsen – Drums.
The cover artwork was designed by the well known Polish graphic designer Graal known from his previous work for Vital Remans, Sinister, Solitude Aeturnus or Bulldozer etc. Graal was also responsible for the covers of Artillery’s “Through The Years” box and “When Death Comes”.

On February 22nd, MVD/Conveyor are releasing URIAH HEEP's Easy Livin’ - The Early Years Live, featuring rare TV broadcasts live from Shepperton in 1974 and 1975.

The 42-minute DVD features the following tracklisting:

'So Tired' (Live 74)
'The Easy Road' (Live 74)
'Easy Livin'' (Live 74)
'Stealin'' (Live 74)
'Return To Fantasy' (Live 74)
'Easy Livin'' (Live 75)
'Stealin'' (Live 75)
'Prima Donna' (Live 75)
'Shady Lady' (Live 75)

Belgian death/grind outfit ABORTED has issued the following update:

"Everything has been going great so far with the preproduction of the upcoming album. We have about 13 skeletons of songs thus far. Drums are up next - Mr. Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY, SYSTEM DIVIDE) will be engineering and assisting the drum pre-productions. Have to say we are all thrilled with the material and everyone has been chipping in, once we get a clear idea of the drums, vocals are next and we can start fine tuning and shaping the songs up to their final versions. Curious to see which tracks will make the final cut for the album. Needless to say this will probably be the most ruthless record the band has written period. We are going to tempos we have never been to before, some riffs are more tech than what we ever did, and everything still sounds catchy and crushing. Eran (Segal - guitar), Jb (Van De Wal - bass) and Ken (Sorceron - guitar) did a great job so far so now we just need to sit back and work out the kinks.

Other good news is you will be seeing us this summer on some of the festivals, cannot say which yet but keep your eyes open for some announcements in the near future.

If you live in Belgium/France/Holland/Denmark, check out the shows we have booked in April/May, might be in your area.

Those of you who want to see our ugly mugs before that can go check out Sven (De Caluwé - vocals) touring the US with SYSTEM DIVIDE this February with ELUVEITIE and 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and Ken on tour with ABIGAIL WILLIAMS this March with ROTTING CHRIST and MELECHESH.

More updates coming on everything soon, keep your eyes open and spread the word!

Grind on!"

Sweden's KATATONIA has issued the following update:

"20 years of KATATONIA going strong calls for a celebration and we'll be doing just that by throwing five very special anniversary gigs in Europe this coming May presented as the 'Last Fair Day Gone Night - An Evening With Katatonia' tour 2011.

"We've decided to play the entire 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' album front to back as that's the one album that got us true worldwide recognition for the first time, but 2011 is also the album's 10th anniversary so re-visiting this album seems more fitting than any other record we've done. A second set will follow that will see us play a mix of tracks from the rest of our catalogue. We'll be doing some fan favorites classics but also look into a couple of obscure B-sides and such that we've never or hardly played live before. Together you should get over two hours of live music on this last fair day gone night.

"Besides the standard tickets, which will go on sale this Wednesday, January 19th, we've decided to reserve 70 tickets per show for VIPs who will be up for some real nice treats.

"If you're one of those VIPs, you will receive a KATATONIA tour messenger bag upon arrival filled with exclusive items such as a t-shirt exclusive to that particular show, an exclusive VIP laminate, a + 20-page tour programme (that we're all busy writing as I'm typing this), a limited-edition vinyl of our latest album 'Night is The New Day' and a bunch more cool KATATONIA merch items.

"But that's not all; all VIP's will have a dedicated meet-and-greet with the whole band so we can shake hands, have your picture taken and hang out for a chat! After that you can watch us soundcheck for about an hour where you'll hear some songs from the set list and watch us prepare the show. Then it's dinner time so you can go out and grab a bite while you'll be confident to learn that your VIP laminate will allow you back inside the venue a bit earlier than anyone else, so you'll have a smooth and free picking to where you like to position yourself.

"The London, U.K. show will be filmed for a DVD.

"Last but not least; right now we're very busy talking to all our equipment endorsers for them to make some goods available that we'll combine into one 'grand prize'! All VIP's will automatically enter into a draw for one lucky guy or girl to win this ultimate prize, which we'll reveal the details about in the next coming weeks. See it as a nice extra bonus already and you can't get disappointed….

"Head over to the tour dates for more detailed information. VIP tickets are on sale as of now and standard tickets will go up on sale this Wednesday.

"If you chose to get a VIP ticket, you should be prepared to be at the venue around 2 p.m. on show day. Exact times will vary per show but you'll be notified in advance of all confirmed details.

"We hope you're just as much excited about this special celebration as we are! See you at the show and let's have a toast for the last fair day gone night!"

Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will deliver a deluxe CD/DVD edition of their third full-length album, "Fever", titled "Fever Tour Edition", on February 15. The album will accompany an upcoming U.S. tour — dates to be announced shortly. The set will feature three new songs recorded live at Xfm radio in the U.K. ("Fever", "The Last Fight" and "Bittersweet Memories") and a DVD of "Your Betrayal", "Fever" and "Waking the Demon", recorded live from Graspop Metal Meeting 2010 in Dessel, Belgium. The DVD also includes videos for "Your Betrayal", "The Last Fight" and "The Making of The Last Fight" as well as a BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE track-by-track commentary of "Fever".

According to Billboard.com, Don Kirshner - the famous songwriter, manager, publisher, music executive - and host of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, died Monday (January 17) from heart failure in Boca Raton, FL at the age of 76.

The syndicated Don Kirshner's Rock Concert grew out of his involvement as a creative consultant for ABC's In Concert, with Kirshner insisting that the acts play live rather than lip-synching their performances. The show launched on September 27, 1973, with THE ROLLING STONES' first American TV appearance in more than four years. Its 230 episodes, which ran through 1981, featuring a wide array of artists such as BLACK SABBATH, KISS, RUSH, FOGHAT, KANSAS and many others.

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT sampled Kirshner's Rock Concert voice on the song 'The Marshall Plan' from its 1980 album, Cultosaurus Erectus.

Funeral services for Kirshner are being arranged in Florida. He is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Sheila, his children Ricky and Daryn and five grandchildren. The family asked for donations to be made to the Don Kirshner Scholarship Fund for emerging songwriters (70 West 36 Street, Suite 701, New York, N.Y. 10018).

Adam "Nergal" Darski, the 33-year-old leukemia-stricken guitarist/vocalist of the Polish extreme metal act BEHEMOTH, left the hematology division of Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kliniczne (UCK) in Gdansk four weeks after he underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure.

Nergal has since released the following statement on his condition:

"Hey! What's up! At last — one could say.

"After almost half a year of treatment in various hospitals, several cycles of chemotherapy, irradiation and a bone marrow transplant, I have been finally released home in a pretty fuckin' good condition.

"I'm feeling OK, taking the intensity of treatment under consideration.

"That was not an easy period of my life, but, as I envisioned, I left the hospital victorious. I never considered any other options, but anyway, there were rough moments, too…

"At this point I must express my thanks to the people who made all of those downs fairly bearable. My parents — thank you. You deserve a monument for all your love and patience. Dorotka [Darski's fiancée, 26-year-old Polish pop singer Doda; real name: Dorota Rabczewska], thank you for your heroic attitude, love and support. I can't forget Doda's fans, who made a gigantic effort for me and other ill people. You rule! Absolutely fantastic BEHEMOTH fans from all over the world were organizing various events to make people aware of what leukemia is. To all of you out there — my deepest respect! Thank you — the real heroes — Prof. Hellmann, Dr. Piekarska, Dr. Knopinska, Doc. Giebel, Prof. Holowiecki and all the nurses of the hematology division of the Medical Academy in Gdansk and the Oncology Clinic in Gliwice for all the professionalism and great hearts. My bandmates for all the friendship and never-ending support. All my friends for sticking to me throughout the whole period of my illness. The list is too long to mention you all, but remember, you have special place in my heart."

Nergal will now go through a recovery which will last for several months. During this time he will stay in his flat in one of the Gdansk's districts.

He added, "Although the whole treatment went really good, as well as the bone marrow transplant and the post-transplant period, the next several months is the time when I must really take care of myself. Of course, I will have plenty of time to recover, think about the strategy and my return to the stage — which approaches imminently. (laughs) First of all, however, I must rebuild my physical condition…

"Apart from that, I hunger for playing, I haven't been playing the guitar for a half of year now!

"Really much to catch up, but also a huge motivation and a desire to work again at the same time.

"This year will be a really important one for me and the band!"

COLDWORKER — the Örebro, Sweden-based "blasting" death metal band consisting of current and former/current members of such acts as NASUM, RELENTLESS, RUIN and PHOBOS — entered Soundlab Studios in the group's hometown on December 18 to begin recording its third album for an early 2011 release. COLDWORKER states, "The recordings proceed and we have probably about a week's worth of work left with the remainder of the vocals, the bass and a bunch of guitar solos to be recorded."

Songtitles set to appear on the as-yet-untitled effort (in alphabetical order):

* Becoming The Stench
* Flesh World
* The Glass Envelope
* Living Is Suffering
* Monochrome Existence
* Murderous
* A New Era
* Pessimist
* The Phantom Carriage
* The Reprobate
* Vacuum Field
* Violent Society
* The Walls Of Eryx

Forged by Wolves … Zwei lange Jahre sind ins Land gezogen, seitdem ISKALD mit ihrem Opus "Revelations of Reckoning Day" den jüngsten Tag einleiteten. Diesen Winter kehren sie zurück mit einem weiteren imposanten Meisterwerk zurück. "The Sun I Carried Alone" schickt Dich auf eine dunkle, epische Reise, voll von Leid, Wut und Verzweiflung.

Der auf wahren Begebenheiten basierende moderne Kriegs-Epos katapultiert Dich mitten auf das Schlachtfeld. Iskald bleiben mit ihrer arktischen Atmosphäre noch immer ihrem musikalischen Weg treu, experimentieren jedoch ebenso mit neuen Elementen, wie sie alte Einflüsse wiederbeleben. Stellt man sich vor "Shades of Misery" und "Revelations of Reckoning Day" verschmelzen gemeinsam zum perfekten Sound, so weiß man, was man auf "The Sun I Carried Alone" erwarten darf: eiskalten und kristallklaren Extrem-Metal aus dem tiefsten Norden Norwegens! In den Handel kommt "The Sun I Carried Alone" am 28. Januar 2011 via Recordings | Soulfood. Jetzt wurde auf MySpace der neue Song "Forged By Wolves" zum probehören online gestellt.

NINE INCH NAILS mainman Trent Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross won best original score for "The Social Network" at the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards Sunday night (January 16) in Beverly Hills, California. The Facebook-inspired film led all Golden Globe winners with four awards, including best dramatic picture.

"A year ago I had no idea I'd have the opportunity to score a film," Reznor said. "The idea of standing up here to accept this award is surreal."

"It's not a movie about Facebook," Reznor said. "It's about creativity and consequences. It's about people."

"I feel spoiled by this whole thing," Reznor said of the music he created for "The Social Network". "It was so smooth really."

"There was hard work, but there really was never moments of desperation creatively where we were looking for ideas or approaches," Reznor added.

In an interview with PBS' Tavis Smiley, Reznor said he initially turned down director David Fincher's offer to score the film. "It took a long time in the '90s to get my act together," he said. "Jump ahead to this past decade and I got sober and I worked on myself and the act of creativity became something I looked forward to now instead of dreading."

He added: "At the time when fame presented itself to me, I was not at a point in my own life where I was equipped to deal with it. I had a built-in sense of not being good enough that I've carried with me from wherever it's come from, and an easy way to fit in was to self-medicate... Twenty years into making music, the soundtrack has been a breath of fresh air."

Die norwegische Metal Band THUNDERBOLT wird ihr 3. Studioalbum mit dem Titel "Dung Idols" über Rock It Up Records veröffentlichen. Zu hören gibt es auf "Dung Idols" klassichen Heavy Metal, der allen Fans von Bands wie Accept, Dio, Hammerfall oder Iron Maiden begeistern wird. Jetzt wurde nach der "Dung Idols" Track List und dem Cover Artwork auch der erste Song "Black Horde" auf MySpace online gestellt.

Swedish hard rockers M.ILL.ION will release their seventh album, "Sane And Insanity", on March 23 via Metal Heaven. Recorded in Sweden during 2010 and mixed at the classy JM Studio where founder and bassman B.J Laneby teamed up with Martin Kronlund (JOE LYNN TURNER, PHENOMENA, PAUL YOUNG) behind the soundboard, the CD introduces the new aces Andreas Grövle on guitar and Angelo Modafferi from Australia on keyboards.

M.ILL.ION's history includes six highly acclaimed albums ("No.1", "We Ourselves & Us", "Electric", "Detonator", "Kingsize" and "Thrill Of The Chase"), several national and international tours as headliner and as special guests and have shared stages and bills with the likes of MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, MAGNUM, NAZARETH, HALFORD, STATUS QUO, SAXON, TNT, etc. Hitting the charts in Japan and having song material included on the EA Games "NHL" are other examples of M.ILL.ION's capacity. The band has headlined one stage at the Sweden Rock Festival and broke its attendance record, and played the original Firefest (U.K.).

When the studio sessions for the new album were finished, M.ILL.ION was invited to headline the Stockholm Rock Out festival (September 2010), joined by acts like U.D.O., GREAT WHITE and John Corabi of MÖTLEY CRÜE. All five band members contributed to the songwriting of this entertaining 13-track album and a video of "Everyday Hero", produced by René U Valdez (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) is included on the limited edition.

"Sane And Insanity" track listing:

01. Sea Of Fate (intro)
02. Cry To Heaven
03. Everyday Hero
04. Tomorrow Never Dies
05. I Raise My Glass
06. Sane And Insanity
07. Hell's Gate
08. Under Your Wings
09. Fuel To My Heart
10. Drama Queens
11. Test Of Time
12. Hate
13. Seize The Day

BLUTENGELs Vampir-Pop ist erwachsen geworden. Die verzaubernde Fantasiewelt der unwiderstehlichen Berliner Düster-Dandys wird auf "Tränenherz" ein gutes Stück persönlicher. Mit dieser zusätzlichen Erdung werden die mitreißenden, eingängig-pompösen Electro-Pop-Dramen der Gruppe um Chris Pohl, dem dunklen Charmeur mit der unverkennbar sonoren, tiefen Stimme, zu echten Erlebnissen, die auf Anhieb unter die Haut gehen.

Mit einer bombastischen Produktion von José Alvarez-Brill (u.a. Wolfsheim) besinnen sich BLUTENGEL auf alte Tugenden, um gleichzeitig mit ihrem wohl vielschichtigsten Werk um Lichtjahre nach vorne zu stürmen. Selten war Club-taugliche Pop-Musik Made in Germany derartig intensiv. "Tränenherz" erscheint als reguläre Album-CD, als deluxe Doppel-CD mit 24 Stücken, sowie als streng limitierte Fan Box in edler Aufmachung, welche die Doppel-CD, ein weiteres Album mit Instrumentalstücken zum Sternzeichenzyklus, sowie ein dazugehöriges Hochglanz-Fotobuch enthält.


Release Date: 18. February 2011
Formate: CD, Deluxe DIGI 2CD, LIMITED BOXSET

FATES WARNING/OSI guitarist Jim Matheos and former FATES WARNING singer John Arch are currently working together on a new full-length album that will be released in late spring/early summer via Metal Blade Records. The band, called ARCH/MATHEOS, began tracking the drums on January 12 and will continue to record through mid-February with both John Arch and Jim Matheos producing the album. ARCH/MATHEOS features an all-star lineup including the talents of Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX, FATES WARNING, SEVEN WITCHES) on bass, Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, FATES WARNING, SEBASTIAN BACH, RIOT) on drums, and Frank Aresti (FATES WARNING) on additional lead guitar.

Arch's solo EP, "A Twist Of Fate", was released in 2003 through Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at the Carriage House studios in Stamford, Connecticut and featured guest appearances by Matheos, ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy and Vera.

"Godhead", a brand new song from British thrashers ONSLAUGHT, is available for streaming on the band's Facebook page. The track comes off the group's fifth album, "Sounds Of Violence", which will be released via AFM Records on the following dates:

Japan: January 12
Europe: January 28
USA: February 8

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Into The Abyss (intro)
02. Born For War
03. The Sound Of Violence
04. Code Black
05. Rest In Pieces
06. Godhead
07. Hatebox
08. Antiheist
09. Suicideology
10. End Of The Storm (outro)
11. Bomber (MOTÖRHEAD cover)

Season of Mist haben im Dezember 2010 die französischen Brutal Death Metallers von BENIGHTED unter ihre Fittiche genommen. Das neue Album mit dem Tiel "Asylum Cave" kommt am 21. März bei uns und am 29. März 2011 in den USA in den Handel. Das Cover Artwork und die Track List wurden jetzt vom Label enthüllt.

"Asylum Cave" Track list:

01. Asylum Cave
02. Let the Blood Spill between my Broken Teeth
03. Prey
04. Hostile
05. Fritzl
06. Unborn Infected Children
07. The Cold Remains
08. A Quiet Day
09. Shadows Descend
10. Swallow
11. Lethal Merycism
12. Drowning

Die französischen Dark Metaller OMMATIDIA rund um die beiden ex-THE OLD DEAD TREE Mitglieder Nicolas Chevrollier (Guitar) und Vincent Danhier (Bass) werden ihr Debut Album "In this Life, or the Next" am 21. März 2011 in France, Benelux und Switzerland über ihr neues Label Seasons of Mist veröffentlichen.

"In this Life, or the Next" Track List:

01. Only Found by Those who Seek
02. Starspeed God
03. Serendipity
04. Senses Commotion
05. Disclosure
06. Shy Away
07. Leaning on Complete Affinity
08. Unaffected by Loss
09. Naked Truth

"Septuagint", a brand new song from the progressive death metal act OBSCURA, can be streamed on the band's MySpace and Facebook pages. The track comes off the band's new album, "Omnivium", which will be released in North America on March 29 on CD, double LP, and digitally via Relapse. Two versions of the "Omnivium" CD are available for pre-order now — the standard and limited deluxe version that comes in a digipak with exclusive bonus track, embroidered OBSCURA patch, guitar pick, and an "Omnivium" album cover sticker.

The "Omnivium" artwork was designed and laid out by Orion Landau (ORIGIN, DYING FETUS, ZEKE, DISFEAR) and can be viewed below.

"Omnivium" track listing:

01. Septuagint
02. Vortex Omnivium
03. Ocean Gateways
04. Euclidean Elements
05. Prismal Dawn
06. Celestial Spheres
07. Velocity
08. A Transcendental Serenade
09. Aevum

METALLICA have checked in with the following update:

"It's certainly no secret that we have always been hugely inspired and influenced by MOTÖRHEAD and have had the honor of sharing the stage with Lemmy on several occasions. Well now you can catch the spirit of Lemmy and Motörhead in a recently released film, Lemmy (full title Lemmy: 49% Motherfucker, 51% Son of A Bitch). The film is currently playing at select theaters (visit LemmyMovie.com for locations), and will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download in the U.S. on February 15th.

In addition to interviews with the four of us, the film also has footage of us playing with Lemmy in Nashville when he was kind enough to come hang at our show in 2009 . . . you can see a portion of 'Damage Case'. The DVD and Blu-ray have more than 4.5 hours of extras, including rehearsals of both 'Damage Case' and 'Too Late Too Late' and the full performances of both songs at the aforementioned show in Nashville. Those extras are mixed in 5.1 surround sound as is some of the Motorhead footage. That's not all . . . there are additional outtakes of us hanging with Lemmy and never before released footage from the infamous night in 1995 when we performed as The Lemmy's at Lem's 50th birthday in L.A.

The length of the extras and the release dates on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital download does vary by where you live in the world. Here's what we know so far:

Germany: January 23
UK: January 24
Finland: February 4
Sweden: February 23
Norway: March 2
Canada, Japan and Australia: March

Dubai-based death/thrashers NERVECELL have issued the following update:

"Hey everyone!

It is with great pleasure to announce that we have set Psychogenocide as the title of our long-awaited new album, due for release late March 2011 in Europe through Lifeforce Records and Spellbind Records for the Middle East. The artwork has been a concept, which we have been working on for quite a while within the band and we are extremely proud of how it has turned out, perfectly matching the aggression and musical direction of the new album.




The artwork was designed by Killustrations (ABORTED, SEVERE TORTURE, ZYKLON).

Psychogenocide is scheduled to be mixed and mastered at Hertz Studios (BEHEMOTH, DECAPITATED, VADER) in Warsaw, Poland by the Wieslawscy Bros. This will mark the follow-up to our first full-length Preaching Venom, which was released on October 26th 2009 on Lifeforce Records.

The new songs are sounding aggressive, fast and dark! The fans can expect a heavy dosage of old-school death metal, modern thrash metal, intertwined with our touch of Eastern melodies and brutality. Stay tuned for the album track list and more details to be announced very soon."