Eagle Vision has set a November 16 release date for the "Live In Houston" DVD from VELVET REVOLVER. Footage for the set was filmed in Houston, Texas in 2005 during the tour in support of the band's debut album, "Contraband". The full-length live tracks are intercut with snippets of interview with the various bandmembers talking about how VELVET REVOLVER came into being. The set list, naturally, focuses on that debut release but is complemented by two tracks from the GUNS N' ROSES catalog and two songs from STONE TEMPLE PILOTS debut album, highlighting the history of the VR bandmembers.

"Live In Houston" track listing:

01. Sucker Train Blues
02. Do It For The Kids
03. Headspace
04. Crackerman
05. Illegal I
06. It's So Easy
07. Fall To Pieces
08. Big Machine
09. Set Me Free
10. Used To Love Her
11. Slither
12. Sex Type Thing

AMARANTHE (formerly AVALANCHE) — the new project featuring Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND), Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND), Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM), Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION) and Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) — has posted professionally filmed performance and behind-the-scenes footage from the band's September 25, 2010 concert at Brewhouse in Gothenburg, Sweden. Check out the clip below.

OZZY OSBOURNE/FIREWIND guitarist Gus G.'s new instructional DVD for Rock House, "Lead & Rhythm Techniques", will be released on October 17. In this program, Gus reveals the secrets that have propelled him into the guitar stratosphere and shows you how to incorporate them into your playing. Learn the natural minor and Phrygian major scales, patterns, scale sequences and full neck runs he uses to take control of the fret board to form soulful leads that rip into shred masterpieces. Learn diminished sweep and chromatic arpeggios, emotional bending techniques and how to create a minor 3rd harmony lead. Gus reveals the chords, voicings, syncopated, pivoting staccato, interval, and clean picked rhythms that form the foundation of his style. He analyzes many of his FIREWIND leads and song structures complete with full band backing tracks that you can use the apply what you learn.

DVD includes:

* More than 40 lessons
* 46-page interactive tab book you print from DVD
* Free lifetime web membership for online support
* Behind-the-scenes photos and video
* Interview, live performances & more
* iPod-ready video

Language: English
Length: 120 minutes
Zones: The DVD is zoned to play anywhere in the world

A sample of the "Miles Of Machines" lesson from "Extreme Lead Guitar: Dissonant Scales & Arpeggios", the new guitar instruction DVD from NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis, can be viewed below.

Jeff is the lead guitar player and main songwriter of NEVERMORE, a band that has certainly made its mark on modern music by forging a unique sound that fuses different forms of metal that has given birth to an authentic and very influential style. His recent solo CD, "Zero Order Phase", took the #4 spot in a April 2009 Guitar World magazine's readers' poll in the "Best Shred Album Of The Year" category — a notable accomplishment when you consider the top three vote-getters, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Satriani. Jeff has become one of his generation's most recognizable guitarists and the source of many of the last decade's best riffs.

Jeff's complex shredding has been a central part of the progressive power guitar scene since 1992 and is responsible for some of the most awe-inspiring riffs modern metal has ever heard. Nearly every aspiring musician who has been listening to metal for the past 10 years or so has undoubtedly had the pleasure of hearing Jeff Loomis' progressive and technically superior playing. "Jeff epitomizes the very essence of modern guitar playing; there is a huge fan base that has waited a long time for this type of product from him," stated Joe Palombo, Executive Director of Rock House.

KnuckleBonz has announced its production of the Ronnie James Dio Rock Iconz statue. This is a limited-edition statue, with only 3,000 created, making these highly collectible. Each figure in the edition is hand-painted, numbered and includes a certificate of authenticity. This is an officially licensed product, approved and endorsed by Ronnie's wife/manager Wendy Dio and Niji Entertainment. Wendy Dio remarked about the project, "Ronnie would be very proud."

Egyptian-born artist Nader Sadek will soon enter the studio to begin working on his next project: a full-length LP. The upcoming album will feature compositions and performances by some of extreme music's most innovative players. The group will consist of Steve Tucker (formerly of MORBID ANGEL) on vocals, Flo Mounier (CRYPTOPSY) on drums, and Rune Eriksen (AURA NOIR, AVA INFERI and formerly of MAYHEM) on guitar. Guest musicians will be announced soon. Sadek himself will play on and develop all album artwork and concepts. The project represents a continuation of the work showcased on his art installation "Ageless", which took place last November at New York's Santos Party House and consisted of a live death metal performance enshrined in Sadek's nightmarish stage landscape. Some of the songs performed during the installation, will be featured in the upcoming release. The album will be produced by Sadek, recorded and mixed by Steve Tucker, and mastered by Colin Marston (KRALLICE, GORGUTS, JARBOE). The recording will take place in Brooklyn, New York and will be released in the fall on Greyhaze Records.

Says Tucker: "I've been looking forward to doing this recording for months. Nader does some very interesting art and I enjoy helping him achieve his twisted vision. It's rare to get to play alongside a drummer with the abilities that Flo possesses. It's a bonus that I get the opportunity to jam with professionals such as Rune and Flo. It'll be brutal."

Says Mounier: "It's amazing that artists with different backgrounds can come together to create something so extreme and so dark but yet have so much fun doing so! It has been a pleasure working with Nader and Steve in the past and I'm looking forward to experimenting with Rune's unique style, I can't wait to start laying down the extreme with my boys."

Says Eriksen: "When first being approached by Nader to collaborate with him, Steve and Flo, I was immediately caught up by the idea of it. Not only is Nader's concept and reasons for doing this of an inspirational character in itself, but also the very thought of collaborating with musicians such as Steve and Flo seemed like an opportunity not to miss."

Through his association with Attila Csihar (SUNN O))), MAYHEM), Sadek gained considerable exposure as the artist responsible for the stage imagery on MAYHEM's 2009 U.S. tour. The stage sets featured silicone-based sculptures, which resembled entrails and impaled heads, with the centerpiece being a fully detailed flesh-like rendering of the MAYHEM logo. Sadek's work has also included the costumes and silicone "earth masks" worn by Csihar on all his bands. Sadek's use of petroleum-based raw materials is not coincidental. His work revolves around the notion that all petroleum energy originates from death and, in a morbid vicious cycle, also ends in death, where human lives are expendable and sold for the support of an unending addiction to money and power.

Before his work with MAYHEM, Sadek had implemented two very successful interconnecting art projects: "B'Doun Wag'h", a live performance event; and "Faceless", a drawing exhibit featuring recorded music.

Says Sadek: "My general association with death metal deals with the notion of false perceptions, and how great individuality can be smothered by the weight of an overwhelming environment. This idea is ever-present throughout all my work. Each of the players in this album played key roles in their respective bands, facing difficult challenges, and yet taking their bands to higher levels. Their talent as well as their tenacity has always intrigued me. As such, they fit perfectly in this project."

Madrid, Spain-based power metallers DARK MOOR will release their eighth album, "Ancestral Romance", in November.The follow-up to 2009's "Autumnal" was recorded at New Sin Studios in Italy with producer Luigi Stefanini and features cover artwork (see below) by artist Samuel Araya (CRADLE OF FILTH, ELVENKING).

Commented the band: "We are very pleased with the outcome of our new album, 'Ancestral Romance'. We have been working for months on this new work and recording with our usual producer, Luigi Stefanini, has been the culmination of all that effort.

"This new album is explores deeper and gets further in our own style, which became more consolidated in our last releases. In this way, the whole orchestra and choir work has been developed and is in perfect symbiosis with rock instruments. As a result the album has passages of great drama and all the expressiveness we wanted to start the work with.

"The theme of 'Ancestral Romance' revolves around Spain's culture and history, as is well established in pieces like 'Oh, Wretched Me!', based on the 'Life Is A Dream' by Calderon de la Barca , 'Tilt At Windmills' based on Don Quixote, 'Mio Cid' inspired by the legend of the Spanish hero El Cid, 'Alaric de Marnac', an adaptation of Paul Naschy's latest book of the same title, 'Love From Stone' which tells of the legend of the lovers of Teruel, 'Gadir' inspired by the first city founded in Europe: Cádiz, or 'Ritual Fire Dance', adaptation of 'Danza del Fuego' by Manuel de Falla, Spanish composer.

"All lyrics have been written by the Spanish poet Francisco José García, our usual collaborator. Thanks to his great work, Alfred was able to connect very well with the spirit of each song and do a great job of interpretation, emphasizing and increasing his natural baritone timbre. This album also features DARK MOOR's first song in Spanish, 'La Canción del Pirata', where the band has put music to the famous poem by Espronceda."

Audio samples of three tracks — "Gadir", "Love From The Stone" and "Alaric De Marnac" — are available for streaming at the band's MySpace page.

Melbourne, Australia-based dark rockers THE ETERNAL will release the first single off their upcoming album, "Under A New Sun", on Monday, November 1 exclusively through the band's webstore in CD and MP3 format. The single, "Under A New Sun", is title track from the album produced by multi-instrumentalist, multi-platinum selling artist Canadian musical mastermind Jeff Martin of THE TEA PARTY.

"Under A New Sun" single track listing:

01. Under A New Sun
02. Cast In Stone (Summoning Remix)
03. Blood (Live)

Revolver, the self-proclaimed "world's loudest rock magazine," has released its second calendar featuring the "Hottest Chicks in Metal!" You'll share 12 months with the baddest babes in the biz, including SISTER SIN's Liv Jagrell, IN THIS MOMENT's Maria Brink, EYES SET TO KILL's Alexia and Anissa Rodriguez and many more. It also includes rockers' birthdays, facts about events that happened in metal through the years, and other cool tidbits on the days they happened.

The calendar is available now for only $19.95 at this location.

Sweden's INEVITABLE END has completed work on its second full-length album, "The Oculus", for an early 2011 release via Relapse Records. The The follow-up to 2009's "The Severed Inception" was recorded at HoBoRec Studio in Huskvarna, Sweden with producer Ulf Blomberg. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Tell Us, Parasites", "Dogmaties Paralies", "While Surpassing Ether", "Chamber of Apathy" and "Cadaver Inc."

Commented INEVITABLE END vocalist Andreas Gerden: "It's been great working with the new material and we're really satisfied with the sound Ulf has given it. It feels massive and maybe even more intense than our debut at points. We've allowed ourselves to experiment quite a bit this time around and combined a lot of different elements ranging from post-metal and doom to grindcore, and also mixing in some new, exciting instruments into our sound.”

SOUNDGARDEN's video for the song "Black Rain" is currently the iTunes "Free Video of the Week." The offer started this Tuesday and will end on Monday, October 18 at approximately midnight.

Directed by Brendon Small, the co-creator of Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse", "Black Rain" is the first artist-driven music video to be based off the show. SOUNDGARDEN members — Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Sheperd — are transformed into avatar-robot controllers as they patrol the streets of a post-apocalyptic Seattle defeating evil. The video builds up to an epic phosphorescent robot battle in space. "I'm a gigantic SOUNDGARDEN fan and it was so much fun bringing them into our warped 'Metalocalypse' world," said Small about making the video.

You can get the free video at this location.

The THERION video contest for the track "Sitra Ahra" is now over — and THERION mastermind Christofer Johnsson has picked a lucky winner. His name is Fredrik Mattson, and he's from Sweden. The lucky man won a meet-and-greet with the band plus a massive voucher for the Nuclear Blast shop.

Commented Johnsson: "It was really cool to watch these clips and in the end we had a vote in the band to choose a clip as the winner. The winner had the best storyline as well as the best special effects, so it was an easy choice, even though we really liked a lot in the other clips as well. The flipped out stuff is very THERION-ish indeed!"

Former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord has told U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine that he can't ever see a reunion of PURPLE's Mk. III lineup — featuring Lord, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, vocalist David Coverdale, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and drummer Ian Paice.

"I think it's a dream too far," Lord said. "I know a lot of people would like it to happen, but it would have to have Ian Paice involved, and right now he's committed to the current PURPLE lineup. And I know they are planning a new studio album, as well as more touring."

He added, "I got an email from David recently, and it seems Glenn and Ritchie might be into it, although I don't know how Glenn feels now, with BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION happening.

"Yes, I would love to play with Ritchie again, but don't read anything into that as far as Mk. III is concerned.

"I must admit I'd also have a concern or two about David's voice."

Coverdale and Hughes joined DEEP PURPLE in 1973 to create the band's Mk. III lineup, though co-founding member and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left in 1975, to be replaced by Tommy Bolin.

Jon Lord, legendery organist from DEEP PURPLE and WHITESNAKE, has honoured THE POODLES singer Jakob Samuel with an invitation to join him on his own show An Evening With Jon Lord And New Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, capitol of Bulgaria, on October 30th.

RASKAS JOULU (Heavy Christmas) — a Finnish project which celebrates Christmas and its music tradition mixed with metal — will be touring again this year.

Taking part in this year's event are the following musicians (Note: Not all musicians will participate in each concert):

Singers:

* Jarkko Ahola (TERÄSBETONI, NORTHERN KINGS)
* Ari Koivunen (AMORAL)
* Juha-Pekka Leppäluoto (CHARON, HARMAJA, NORTHERN KINGS)
* Ilja Jalkanen (KIUAS)
* Antony Parviainen (MACHINE MEN)
* Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH, TAROT, SAPATTIVUOSI, NORTHERN KINGS)
* Tony Kakko (SONATA ARCTICA, NORTHERN KINGS)
* Tommi "Tuple" Salmela (TAROT)

Backing musicians:

* Erkka Korhonen (ARI KOIVUNEN) - Guitars, MD (Musical Director)
* Tuomas Wäinölä (TIMO KOTIPELTO) - Guitars
* Erkki Silvennoinen (ARI KOIVUNEN) - Bass
* Vili Ollila (ARI KOIVUNEN BAND) - Keyboards
* Teijo "Twist-Twist" Erkinharju (LOS BASTARDOS FINLANDESES, ex-PEER GÜNT) - Drums

Tourdates:

Nov. 20 - Imatran Kylpylä, Imatra - FIN
Nov. 26 - Pakkahuone, Tampere - FIN
Nov. 27 - Raahesali, Raahe - FIN
Dec. 03 - Rikala-Sali, Salo - FIN
Dec. 04 - Finlandia-Klubi, Lahti - FIN
Dec. 05 - 3 p.m. - Kerava-Sali, Kerava - FIN
Dec. 05 - 11 p.m. - Osmantupa, Eura - FIN
Dec. 10 - Himos-Areena, Jämsä - FIN
Dec. 11 - Klubi, Turku - FIN
Dec. 15 - Akustiikka, Ylivieska - FIN
Dec. 16 - Musiikkikeskus, Kuopio - FIN
Dec. 17 - Bar'n Night Vaakuna, Mikkeli - FIN
Dec. 18 (3 p.m. + 9 p.m.) - Tavastia, Helsinki - FIN

The second trailer for "Evangelia Heretika", the new DVD from Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH, can be viewed below. Metal Blade Records has created a landing page for the set, featuring a pre-order for the release, bundle offers — including the limited-edition pressing of the band's highly successful album "Evangelion" on vinyl — and the first video clip taken from the DVD to give fans a sneak peek of the content.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based sympho/black/folk/power metallers BLACKGUARD (formerly PROFUGUS MORTIS) have confirmed their new deal with Victory Records. The band states, "At first (and second) glance this might seem like an odd pairing, but Victory is a very hard-working label that we are all 100% behind. The Victory staff has welcomed us with open arms and are committed to pushing our next release to its full potential.

"It's no secret that we've been touring extensively this past year and a half , and it's comforting to know we have a label backing us that are willing to work and put in as much effort as we have for the release of our third record (second under the name BLACKGUARD).

"That being said we are hard at work completing our next record which has a tentative release date for April. The release will coincide with a North American tour that isn't announced yet , but when it does it's going to turn heads."

According to Billboard.com, AC/DC, BON JOVI and U2 are among the top artists, tours, venues, and live entertainment firms recognized as finalists for the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards, which will be handed out at a special reception in New York on November 4. The awards are primarily based on global box office numbers reported to Billboard Boxscore from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010.

The finalists for the Top Tour and Top Draw awards, which acknowledge the top grossing and ticket selling tours, respectively, are the same three global treks: U2's ongoing 360 tour, AC/DC's Black Ice tour, and Bon Jovi's The Circle tour.

The Top Boxscore award recognizes the highest-grossing single engagement for the time period. Two of the Boxscore finalists are from AC/DC: a three-night, sold-out stand at ANZ Stadium in Sydney and three more sellouts at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne; both were in February. The third finalist for Top Boxscore is the Download Festival Castle Donington in the UK.

Additionally, RUSH will be named 2010 Legend Of Live.

A one-hour private drumming lesson from METALLICA's Lars Ulrich attracted a winning bid of $35,000 as part of a fundraising drive for Andre Agassi's charity.

The tennis legend and philanthropist's 15th annual Grand Slam for Children benefit gala Saturday (October 9) at the Wynn in Las Vegas collected over $8.5 million with the help of music, film and TV stars.

All proceeds will benefit the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, a not-for-profit public charity dedicated to transforming education to create opportunities for children. Through its public charter school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, the Foundation strives to provide underserved youth in Las Vegas with a quality K-12 education to prepare for excellence in college and beyond. Through state and national advocacy, the Foundation also works to increase investment and accountability in public schools.

TWISTED SISTER have issued the following tour update:

"We sincerely regret that due to a variety of scheduling and venue issues, our annual Twisted Christmas shows will not be performed this year.

2010 will go down as perhaps our best year since the reunion and for that we thank all of our old fans and the hundreds of thousands of new ones that we created this year around the world. We are also very excited about the upcoming South American tour this November and December."

LEVERAGE, the Finnish sextet fronted by BROTHER FIRETRIBE vocalist Pekka Heino, have issued the following update:

"Yes, we know it’s been a while since we’ve put anything here on the website. We’ve had a breather and given more attention to other things in life, such as family and work lately.

? This is not to say we’re done with Leverage, not at all, we’re very much looking forward to chances to continue working on making what we’ve done more familiar to more people.

Besides this new Inside A Song story, there’ll also be some new footage on last summer’s gigs in the web soon.

Anyway, here’s an insight on a song that is often been asked to write about, 'Sentenced', notations included."

Portuguese metallers AVA INFERI have issued the following update from guitarist Rune Eriksen:

"We are glad to announce that Ava Inferi will play their first hometown gig ever this coming December.

The show will be held at Ponto de Encontro, in Cacilhas/Almada on Saturday (December 4th) and will also feature a few support acts.

We will also, well most likely, do a few new songs and also present a different show. All pointing at the new year, with a new heavyweight of an album coming up!

PS: free entrance."

UK-based black metallers CRADLE OF FILTH have unveiled the designs of the final contents of the fans’ edition of Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa, the band's new album which will be released in The UK and Europe on November 1st via Peaceville and in North America on November 9th via Nuclear Blast. Check it out below:




This special fans’ edition is only available from Peaceville.com and will be limited; once they sell out they will never be re-pressed. Dani Filth has already stated, this is will be, "the best Cradle Of Filth release that we have ever created, the ultimate version of our ultimate album. For you, our loyal mortal appreciators."

The fans’ edition comes packaged in a deluxe hard box containing:

Two-CDs – the album plus a disc of bonus tracks and demos (including Adest Rosa Secreta Eros, an exclusive track that will not be available on any other edition of the album)

DVD – the promo video for Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned) plus a documentary on the making of the video

A LP sized 64 page hard-back book. The book features hi-quality artwork and photos and a short story based around the album written by Dani. A sneak preview of some of the pages from the book, which will also house the 2CDs and DVD included in the set, is now on the band’s mini-site.

An exclusive t-shirt available only in this box

A stunning limited edition lenticular 3D image of the album cover art, ready for framing

Five 8” x 6”photographic prints of members of the band.

An official certificate of authenticity from the band.

The vinyl and two-CD special editions of the album are also now available to pre-order:




The double, heavyweight (180gsm), coloured (one disc on blue and one disc on red) vinyl edition is limited to 2000 numbered copies and comes packaged a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves. The vinyl edition also comes with a dropcard with a unique code to download digital version the album. Click here to order.

The two-CD edition of the album features four bonus tracks and comes packaged in a 20 page digibook. Click here to order your copy.