The first official release from Niji Entertainment Group, the label formed by the late Ronnie James Dio and his wife/manager Wendy Dio, will be " the double-disc set "Dio At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987". The first disc was recorded at the first-ever U.K. performance by Dio's solo group, while on tour supporting their classic debut, "Holy Diver". And the setlist does a superb job reflecting DIO's debut (featuring such classics as "Rainbow in the Dark", "Stand Up And Shout", etc.), as well as classics from both RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH ("Man on the Silver Mountain", "Heaven and Hell", etc.) — resulting in a thoroughretrospective of Dio's career, from RAINBOW to BLACK SABBATH to solo hits.

The second disc of "Dio At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987" features guitarist Craig Goldy's debut — recorded in 1987, in support of the "Dream Evil" album, and contains highlights from Dio's career.

The first disc represents "a new, young band coming out of the box," Wendy tells RollingStone.com, "and then the [second disc] is a more seasoned band."

The set will be released as a deluxe digipak including a booklet filled with rare photographs and liner notes, and original replica all-access laminates from both shows.

Ronnie was the executive producer on the Donington project, and was very much looking forward to the release.

"Dio At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987" track listing:

CD 1: 1983

01. Stand Up And Shout
02. Straight Through The Heart
03. Children Of The Sea
04. Rainbow In The Dark
05. Holy Diver
06. Drum Solo
07. Stargazer
08. Guitar Solo
09. Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. Starstruck
12. Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise)

CD 2: 1987

01. Dream Evil
02. Neon Knights
03. Naked In The Rain
04. Rock And Roll Children
05. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
06. The Last In Line
07. Children Of The Sea
08. Holy Diver
09. Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. All The Fools Sailed Away
12. The Last In Line (Reprise)
13. Rainbow In The Dark

Kürzlich haben RUNNING WILD auf ihrer MySpace-Seite einen Link veröffentlicht, unter dem man einen neuen Song mit dem Verweis „featuring Rock’n’Rolf“ anhören kann. Gehe dazu einfach auf diese Seite und klicke auf „Music“, dann auf „Releases“.

Außerdem wurde ein Trailer für die kommende RUNNING WILD Abschieds-DVD „The Final Jolly Roger“ online gestellt. An dessen Ende ist allerdings zu lesen: „new album coming out soon“.




Leichte Verwirrung also bei Presse und Fans.

Soll nun etwa doch noch ein neues RUNNING WILD-Album das Licht der Welt erblicken? Bleibt nur, auf weitere offizielle Nachrichten diesbezüglich aus dem Piraten-Hauptquartier zu warten.

'Breathe Into Emptiness', a new song from Pittsburgh-based melodic thrash metallers CROWN THE LOST can be heard on the band’s MySpace page. The song comes from the group’s upcoming third album, Cold Pestilent Hope, which will be released in 2011 through an as-yet determined label. The album will be the first to feature new singer Leon Mallah, bassist Timothy Boyle, and drummer Argel Marchelletta, and was produced/engineered by Dave Watson at Soundscape Studios in East McKeesport, PA.

Progressive rock band SPOCK'S BEARD will release its tenth studio album, the aptly titled X, on September 28th via Mascot Records.

Over the past 17 years, Spock’s Beard has established itself as the crème de la crème of modern progressive rock. But Spock’s Beard is not simply a musician’s band; the group has also mastered the art of penning catchy, harmony-driven songs that will appeal to any fan of well-written pop songs.

The music of Spock’s Beard is a reflection of their varied influences, which include classical, pop, rock, jazz and jazz fusion, and R&B, while their intricate multi-part vocal harmonies and use of counterpoint add a whole other dimension.

Since Spock’s Beard began playing together in the early ‘90s, not only have musical phases come and gone, but a whole new model of recording and selling music has taken shape. There were a lot of “firsts” for the group on X.

“We were never all in the same room at the same time, from the song writing stage all the way through mixing and mastering,” said bassist Dave Meros. “We have never done that before. One might think that would work against us, but apparently it had a positive effect in this case.”

The quartet’s dedicated fanbase can take partial credit for X. After coming to the end of their previous record deal, Spock’s Beard opted to take a decidedly modern approach to financing a new record. The group raised funds for recording by taking pre-sale orders for X. A privately released Limited Edition version of X was first issued and the record has since been licensed for release in America through Mascot Records.

Early reviews of X have hailed the release as one of – if not THE – finest release from Spock’s Beard. But pressed to explain how X differs from previous albums, Meros takes a humble and humorous observation:

“From what the critics have been saying, we wrote good songs this time, as opposed to the last CD which was super lame in their opinion. So in retrospect, I guess writing good songs may have been a good idea. We do that on purpose you know…sometimes we decide to be good and other times we choose to be super lame. We could be good all the time if we wanted, but what fun would that be? People would just love us and buy our CDs by the millions and we'd make loads of money. Who wants that? BORING!”

IN THE MIDST OF LIONS have released a video for 'The Machine', a song from their recent Facedown release, The Heart Of Man. You can watch the video below.

A report on the shoot reads: "The video shoot was definitely difficult. There was even a situation with an alligator near Matt's shots! It was way too hot and humid that day, but it was great working with Drew. The song 'The Machine' is about money and greed and how these things can take our focus away from God and consume us. Drew came up with the concept of the mud being a symbol of that greed and sin. We're very happy with the result and we're very thankful that Drew worked with us."

A mixture of fast-paced tech metal and grinding melodic worship, In The Midst Of Lions' sound can be compared to such contemporaries as MESHUGGAH, THE FACELESS, WHITECHAPEL and DARKEST HOUR.

The Heart of Man was recorded with Jamie King (BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, FOR TODAY) and is a sonically crushing metal album that definitely exceeds the band's previous efforts on their debut.

"Highland Farewell", the new video from German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER, can be viewed below. The track comes off the band's new album, "The Clans Will Rise Again", which will be released in Europe on October 1 via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded between mid-May and mid-July at the Meadow Studios, which is owned by GRAVE DIGGER's new guitarist Axel Ritt, and Principal Studios, where all of GRAVE DIGGER albums since 1995's "Heart Of Darkness" have been tracked. It was produced by Chris Boltendahl and mixed by Jörg Umbreit.

"The Clans Will Rise Again" track listing:

01. Days Of Revenge
02. Paid In Blood
03. Hammer Of The Scots
04. Highland Farewell
05. The Clans Will Rise Again
06. Rebels
07. Valley Of Tears
08. Execution
09. Whom The Gods Love Die Young
10. Spider
11. The Piper Mcleod
12. Coming Home
13. When Rain Turns To Blood

According to a press release, "Chris Boltendahl, Jens Becker, Stefan Arnold, HP Katzenburg and Axel Ritt offer an explosive mixture of the typical GRAVE DIGGER riff metal, combined with awesome epic chorus hooks, which will fascinate the fans from the very first note.

DELAIN — the project founded by ex-WITHIN TEMPTATION keyboardist Martijn Westerholt (brother of WITHIN TEMPTATION's Robert Westerholt) — has scheduled the following European tour dates in 2011:

Apr. 29 - UK - Manchester - Academy 3
Apr. 30 - UK - London - O2 Islington Academy
May 01 - UK - Glasgow - The Cathouse
May 02 - UK - Leamington - The Assembly
May 04 - FRA - Strasbourg - La Laiterie
May 05 - FRA - Lyon - CCO
May 06 - ESP - Barcelona - Salamandra1
May 07 - ESP - Madrid - Sala Caracol
May 08 - FRA - Marseille - Poste a Galene
May 09 - ITA - Milano - Alcatraz
May 11 - SWI - Luzern - Schüür
May 12 - GER - Stuttgart - Röhre
May 13 - GER - Aschaffenburg - Colos-Saal
May 14 - GER - München - Backstage
May 15 - HUN - Budapest - Diesel
May 17 - POL - Warsaw - Stodola
May 18 - GER - Berlin - K17
May 19 - GER - Hamburg - Knust
May 20 - GER - Köln - Underground
May 21 - FRA - Paris - Elysee Montmartre

Support on all dates will come from SERENITY.

DELAIN will release its third album in January/February 2011 via Roadrunner Records.

The band recently announced the addition of bassist Otto "The Baron" Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (DETONATION) to the group's ranks.

"Judgement", the third album from Ashland, Kentucky based hard rockers HYDROGYN, will be released on October 25 in Europe and October 26 in the rest of the world. The CD will be made available via Bad Reputation out of Paris, France for Europe and Rapid Fire Global Music in the States and rest of the world. Each of the two versions of the album will contain different artwork and different bonus tracks.

Extreme sludge doom metal trio SALOME has completed work on its highly new album, "Terminal". Described as the band "most accomplished and epic work to date," the CD is said to be "an intense 70-plus-minute sonic jaunt of punishing sludge doom metal reverence."

Due on November 9 via Profound Lore Records, "Terminal" will feature the following track listing:

01. The Message
02. Terminal
03. Master Failure
04. Epidemic
05. An Accident Of History
06. The Witness
07. The Unbelievers

Atlanta-based quintet DAATH will release its third, self-titled full-length album on October 26 via Century Media Records. Drummer Kevin Talley (ex-CHIMAIRA, DYING FETUS) began laying down his tracks in Atlanta on June 7 with renowned producer Mark Lewis (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM, DEVILDRIVER) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitar) at the helm.

"Daath" track listing:

01. Genocidal Maniac
02. Destruction/Restoration
03. Indestructible Overdose
04. Double Tap Suicide
05. The Decider
06. Exit Plan
07. Oxygen Burn
08. Accelerant
09. Arch {Enemy} Misanthrope
10. Manufactured Insomnia
11. A Cold Devotion
12. N.A.T.G.O.D.
13. Terminal Now

7DAYS, the epic metal project led by DARKWATER/HARMONY guitarist and composer Markus Sigfridsson, will release its second album, "Into Forever", on October 15 via Liljegren Records.

The CD features contributions from the following musicians:

* Markus Sigfridsson (HARMONY, DARKWATER) - Guitar, Keyboards And Programming
* Daniel Flores (THE MURDER OF MY SWEET, MIND'S EYE) - Drums
* Andreas Passmark (ROYAL HUNT,NARNIA, DIVINEFIRE) - Bass
* Kaspar Dahlqvist (DIONYSOS) - Keyboards
* Thomas Vikström (THERION,CANDLEMASS) - Lead And Backing Vocals
* Caroline Sigfridsson - Lead Vocals
* Christian Liljegren (AUDIOVISION, DIVINEFIRE) - Lead Vocals
* Erik Tordsson - Lead And Backing Vocals

Singaporean black/death metallers IMPIETY have set "Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny" as the title of their seventh full-length album. The follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed "Terroreign" is currently being recorded at Music City Studios in Treviso, Italy for an early 2011 release via Agonia Records. The CD will feature seven songs with a running time of close to 40 minutes.

IMPIETY's current lineup includes founder Shyaithan (bass, vomit) alongside guitarists Guh Lu and Eskathon and drummer Andrea Janko. The band rehearsed in early August in the city of Trieste, Italy and commenced recording at Music City on August 24. The recording, mixing and mastering will be completed in another 7-8 days, and the band is "looking forward to getting this heavy-as-fuck masterpiece unleashed," according to a press release.

DIRGE WITHIN, the metal band featuring ex-SOIL guitarist Shaun Glass, vocalist Jeremy "Jerms" Genske, guitarist Matt Szlachta, bassist James Pezanoski (ex-FROM ALL WITHIN), and drummer Frankie Harchut (ex-THE DOOMSDAY CATALYST), will release a new digital EP on September 14 via iTunes featuring the rare track "Eulogy" as well as a re-recorded version of an old demo song, "Ties That Bind".

In other news, DIRGE WITHIN is currently "knee-deep in writing new music, and the tunes are coming together nice," according to Glass.

DIRGE WITHIN's debut album, "Force Fed Lies", was released on September 1, 2009 via E1 Music (formerly Koch Records). The CD was mixed by Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford of Nott-In-Pill studios in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. Edsel Dope (DOPE) produced the effort alongside Chris Djuricic (Studio One). The album features guest appearances by Corey Beaulieu of TRIVUM and Michael Angelo Batio of NITRO fame. The cover artwork was created by Stephen Jensen from F3 studios.

Contraband Candy's René Ackermann conducted an interview with Trevor Peres and Ralph Santolla of Florida death metal legends OBITUARY at this year's edition of the Hole In The Sky festival (a.k.a. Bergen Metal Fest XI), which was held August 25-28 in Bergen, Norway. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about the absence of bassist Frank Watkins from OBITUARY's recent tours and whether the band's current touring bassist, Terry Butler (SIX FEET UNDER, ex-MASSACRE),is a permanent addition to the group's lineup, Peres said, "Nothing's permanent. We want [Terry] to be our bass player permanently. Obviously he plays in SIX FEET UNDER, and we're trying to make the schedules work like a puzzle so he can play in both bands. He doesn't really wanna jump ship from SIX FEET, 'cause he has a good situation there, but we want him to play with us, so it's all good. And the reason we don't have Frank Watkins anymore is... just because."

OBITUARY's new concert DVD, "Live Xecution - Party.San 2008", was filmed at 2008's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held in Bad Berka, Germany.

Michael Monroe, iconic rock and roll frontman and founding member of hugely influential Finnish outfit HANOI ROCKS, has entered into a recording agreement with Universal Music. The first fruits of this international deal will be a brand new live album, "Another Night In The Sun/Live In Helsinki", set for release on September 27. This 15-track outing will be made available through Universal subsidiary Spinefarm Records.

Says Jarkko Nordlund, Managing Director, Universal Music Finland: "Michael Monroe is a true international rock star, and Universal Music's international network is extremely proud to be working with him. Spinefarm Records is the best home for this rock and roll legend, as both label and artist share the same degree of professionalism and passion."

Mixed in Los Angeles by Niko Bolas (whose credits include NEIL YOUNG, FRANK SINATRA, KEITH RICHARDS, KISS, SPINAL TAP and more) and mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (the man behind TOM PETTY and DIXIE CHICKS), "Another Night…" — recorded on July 6 at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland — features key tracks from Monroe's solo career spiced up with selected HANOI classics, some well-chosen covers, plus two brand new, previously unreleased songs — "You're Next" and "Motorheaded For A Fall".

Says Monroe: "No excuses, it is what it is, and will probably end up sounding great with all its clunks and flaws, once it's mixed and finished. Obviously, we're not doing any overdubs, so you'll have a very raw '‘rough-and-ready-or-not' live recording of another rockin' night in the sun in the beautiful Finnish summer!"

In the wake of the album's release, Monroe (plus regular band: THE WILDHEARTS mainman Ginger on guitar, ex-HANOI member Sammy Yaffa on bass, Steve Conte of NEW YORK DOLLS and COMPANY OF WOLVES fame on guitar, and Karl "Rockfist" Rosqvist on drums, a Swedish/Finnish drummer who has played with both CHELSEA SMILES and DANZIG) will head out on tour in Finland and Sweden before heading over to the U.K. to support MOTÖRHEAD on their 35th-anniversary tour in November

Legendary progressive rock veterans URIAH HEEP have announced plans to release a new live album, "Official Bootleg Volume II – Live in Budapest, Hungary 2010". The band states, "This is an official bootleg recording from our concert in the Petofi Hall, Budapest Hungary, on the 4th May 2010.

"There are going to be many more recordings from around the world, as this will be an ongoing series, giving fans the chance to hear the band in many different countries.

"These recordings are true official bootlegs in every sense and they reflect that nights performance as it happened, totally untouched. You can almost feel that you are at the concert, so put the CD on, turn it up loud, close your eyes and enjoy a night in Budapest with URIAH HEEP."

The official release date for "Official Bootleg Volume II – Live in Budapest, Hungary 2010" has not yet been announced.

The "final" version of the song "Elegy", taken from the forthcoming sophomore album from Southern California's INTRONAUT, "Valley Of Smoke", can be streamed at this location. Due on October 12 via Century Media Records, the follow-up to 2008's "Prehistoricisms" was once again produced by Josh Newell (JANE'S ADDICTION) and it features a guest appearance by TOOL bassist Justin Chancellor. The CD's stunning artwork was created by David D'Andrea and can be viewed below.

The revamped lineup of the Finnish death metal band DE LIRIUM'S ORDER will enter the studio in February 2011 to begin recording its third album for a tentative summer release.

DE LIRIUM'S ORDER's founding guitarist Juha Kupiainen has been composing new material during the past year, and at the same time, seeking new members to complete the group's current lineup. Joining Kupiainen in DE LIRIUM'S ORDER's latest incarnation are guitarist Mika Sundvall, drummer Perttu Kurttila (TRACEDAWN, LITHURIA) and vocalist Jukka Pihlajaniemi (THE UNDIVINE, GHOUL PATROL).

Formed in 1998, DE LIRIUM'S ORDER "embodies unmerciful brutality and insanity put to music," according to a press release. "The band combines grinding blast beats, technical riffs, catchy thrash-lines, obscure melodies and manic guitar leads to create death metal onslaught. In 2003 the band signed a recording contract with Woodcut Records and during the following year the debut album, 'Victim No. 52', featuring Corpse (now DEATHCHAIN) in vocals, was released. This cold-blooded assault received praising response from the critics and death metal fiends worldwide.

"In the beginning of 2007, the band signed with Shadow World Records and the album 'Diagnosis' was released in August, reaching the Finnish charts position #30. This time the vocals were manhandled by Mynni from the leading Finnish death metal act SOTAJUMALA."

EVIL AMIDST, the South Florida-based "all-star" death metal band featuring members of MALEVOLENT CREATION, HATE PLOW and KULT OV AZAZEL, has uploaded the song "The Evil Amidst" to the group's MySpace page. The track comes off EVIL AMIDST's upcoming debut album, "Lords Of The Nine", which will be released digitally via iTunes on September 29. The album was produced by Brian Elliott (CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS) at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.

EVIL AMIDST is:

* Gus Rios (MALEVOLENT CREATION) - Drums
* Gio Geraca (MALEVOLENT CREATION) - Guitar
* Lenny Warmbrandt (HATEPLOW) - Vocals
* Xaphan (KULT OF AZAZEL) - Guitar
* Sean Young - Bass

German power metal veterans HELLOWEEN will release their 13th studio album, "7 Sinners", in North America on November 9 via The End Records.

If there is a golden thread throughout the more than 25 years of HELLOWEEN's history, 13 studio albums, countless headliner tours around the globe and more than 5 million records sold, then it is their special kind of attitude: don't take yourself too seriously and simply live statements like "just have fun with the shit you're doing." Maybe it is exactly this easiness that allows HELLOWEEN to be one of the most constant bands of the genre while simultaneously being the one band who dares to experiment more than their musical peers.

While some copycats would rather stick with the same old patterns, Andi Deris, Michael Weikath, Sascha Gerstner, Markus Großkopf and Dani Löble aren't afraid of taking risks — and are rightfully rewarded with success.

"7 Sinners" is definitively one of the fastest and hardest albums in the HELLOWEEN's history and it bursts with vitality. That might partly be due to the versatility of the various songwriters within the band, who over time have become so homogenous, that the 13 songs formed a unity on their own in the studio , but it may also be due to the fact that the album was recorded completely without a click track, which, considering the extreme speed of the songs is an impressive feat. Especially drummer Löble, who proves that his technique is at a world-class-level. Following his excellent inner clock, bass and drums drive tracks like "Are You Metal?", "Long Live The King" and "Who Is Mr. Madman?" to dizzying tempos. "7 Sinners", with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a true metal album whose range reaches astonishing dimensions.

It has become a cliche for metal band's to tout their newest opus as their "fastest" or "heaviest" album ever made, but in HELLOWEEN's case, "7 Sinners" is truly a return to form and is indeed their fastest and heaviest release in years. HELLOWEEN bass player Markus Grosskopf stated about the band's new material: "For all those out there who found our special best-of [CD] 'Unarmed' to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: The new album will hit you right in the face! It's gonna be very heavy and contain all [the classic] HELLOWEEN trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani ever played, and this means a lot!"

"7 Sinners" track listing:

01. Where The Sinners Go
02. Are You Metal?
03. Who is Mr. Madman?
04. Raise The Noise
05. World Of Fantasy
06. Long Live The King
07. The Smile Of The Sun
08. You Stupid Mankind
09. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future

According to The Calgary Sun, AEROSMITH and its western Canadian tour promoter have settled their legal differences in advance of the band's Calgary concert Friday night.

AEROSMITH was sued by Keystone Entertainment Inc. of Canada for $6 million over its canceled tour of the country's western provinces in August 2009.

The band was forced to scrap five shows there after singer Steven Tyler was injured in a fall during a concert in South Dakota.

Keystone's suit claimed that AEROSMITH breached its contract with the concert promoter by failing to reschedule the 2009 dates, further alleging that the company is out expenses incurred for promoting and producing the canceled gigs.

According to The Calgary Sun, a "discontinuance of action" filed last week in connection with a $6-million lawsuit launched by Keystone said the case has been settled.

"The plaintiff hereby discontinues its claim against the defendants pursuant to a settlement agreement between the parties without costs," said the document.

FULLFORCE — the new Swedish melodic metal project featuring Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE, SILENT MEMORIAL, PLANET ALLIANCE) on vocals, Stefan Elmgren (HAMMERFALL) on guitar, Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on drums, Carl-Johan Grimmark (NARNIA) on guitar, and Tommy Larsson (HEED) on bass — is putting the finishing touches on its debut album, tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented the band: "FULLFORCE [has] been a bit delayed but, the band [is now] entering the end phase of the recording. CJ Grimmark [has] already started to do basic mixes of the songs to be completed by producer Pontus Lindmark. [In addition] Mike is currently in the studio recording the last few songs for the album.

"So, good news is that the album will be completely finished within two months if not earlier.

"Next week FULLFORCE will deliver music to their promoter in Germany, so more news regarding labels and technical details will be announced very soon.

"The band is very, very happy with the outcome of the album and they think it will stand out because of the width musically on the album. There's a strong red thread but, nonetheless, it jumps from straight-forward, catchy heavy metal to more melodic and ethnic updated metal."

"Returning To Kill The Light", a brand new song from NECRONAUT, the solo project of former DISMEMBER/CARNAGE drummer Fred Estby, is available for streaming at this location. The track comes off NECRONAUT's self-titled album, which is scheduled for release on October 18 release via Regain Records. The cover artwork for the CD (see below) was designed by Chat Zar, who was reponsible for creating the prosthetic effects for such movies as "The Ring", "Planet of the Apes" and "Darkman".