Austin, Texas technical metal godfathers WATCHTOWER have released a preliminary mix of a song from their upcoming album "Mathematics", now streaming exclusively on their MySpace page. The track features the lineup from the legendary "Control and Resistance" album, with Alan Tecchio (vocals) joining Ron Jarzombek (guitar), Doug Keyser (bass), and Rick Colaluca (drums) on this special release of "The Size of Matter", track number eight on "Mathematics".

"The Obsidian Conspiracy", the long-awaited new album from Seattle metallers NEVERMORE, will be released in Europe on May 31 and in North America on June 8 via Century Media Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. The Termination Proclamation
02. Your Poison Throne
03. Moonrise (Through Mirrors Of Death)
04. And The Maiden Spoke
05. Emptiness Unobstructed
06. The Blue Marble And The New Soul
07. Without Morals
08. The Day You Built The Wall
09. She Comes In Colors
10. The Obsidian Conspiracy

Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Rihanna performed her new single — "Rockstar 1010" — on last night's (Wednesday, April 7) episode of"American Idol" backed by a powerhouse rock band, featuring EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Watch video footage of her appearance below.

The unexpected combination of Rihanna and Bettencourt has in fact become what Nuno says "a great opportunity to blend our talents to create a high-energy experience."

According to The Independent, Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of the SEX PISTOLS and impresario, has died. He was 64.

Despite early reports that he had died in New York, McLaren's girlfriend of many years, Young Kim, 37, confirmed the impresario died of mesothelioma at a hospital in Switzerland

It is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium and is usually caused by exposure to asbestos. His body is expected to be brought home to be buried in Highgate cemetery, north London.

SEX PISTOLS' Johnny Rotten has released the following statement regarding Malcolm McLaren's passing: "For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you."

It is only a week ahead until the much lauded new SICK OF IT ALL album Based On A True Story will hit stores on April 19th. The band are streaming the entire album on their official MySpace page.

Based On A True Story will be available as super exclusive limited edition in a fancy Mediabook packaging, featuring a bonus DVD with live material from New York and London shows. Furthermore, the DVD contains an entertaining tour report and shows you the personal sides of the hardcore legend. The album will also be available as colored vinyl (incl. the entire album on CD format), standard CD and digital download.

EMBASSY OF SILENCE, Finnish band playing atmospheric rock/metal are releasing their debut album Euphorialight on May 12th through the Swedish label, Supernova Records. Supernova is the new sublabel of Bonnier Amigo Music Group, concentrating on Rock- and metal genres. The publisher for the digital single is IODA Nordic, which is the global distributor for Supernova Records. The single 'Soul-Broken' will be released in digital form on April 12th, and samples from the album can be heard at the band’s MySpace page.

According to a press release, Euphorialight is a "many-splendored album, with the dark gloominess of KATATONIA and ANATHEMA, or the progressive touches of PINK FLOYD and OPETH. The common denominator in the songs are Ines’ spine-chillingly beautiful voice and the catchy melodies of the choruses."

The album features several guest artists, such as Aapo Romu, the cellist of VANGUARD, and in the back-up vocals, Andy Koski Semmens (EREPIA, 0 X I? S T; ex-ESOTERIC, ex-PANTHEIST), Juhani Paloma?ki (COLOSSEUM) and Teppo Tirkkonen (THE PURIFICATION). Euphorialight was recorded at D-Studios, Finland with Jarno Ha?nninen, and mastered at Sweden’s Cutting Room with Bjo?rn Engelmann.

Euphorialight tracklisting:

'Soul-Broken'
'I Ride Alone'
'Passion and Savagery'
'Baron Samedi'
'Absinthe Eyes, Opium Words'
'Deadline Playtime'
'Catherine and Heathcliff'
'Maneater'
'Void'
'The Mercury Lamp'
'Euphorialight'


Line-up:
Ines Lukkanen – vocals
Tero Kallioma?ki – guitars
Jarno Suodenjoki – guitars
Samu Lahtinen – bass
Harri Koskela – keyboards
Jaakko Hauru - drums

A short teaser video for "The Art Of Malice", the new album from ROB ZOMBIEex-MARILYN MANSON guitarist John 5, can be viewed below. Due on May 11 via 60 Cycle Hum/Rocket Science Ventures, the CD "exhibits John 5's incredible diversity as a writer and guitarist pulling from the pages of his life," according to a press release. "It is a completely different vibe than my other albums," explains John 5.

Quebec's black/death metal trio NECRONOMICON will release its new album, "The Return Of The Witch", via Austria's Napalm Records on the following dates:

June 2 - Spain
June 4 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy, Sweden
June 7 - Rest of Europe
June 8 - USA/Canada

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Into The Fire (4:54)
02. The Awakening (4:50)
03. The Time Is Now (3:14)
04. Necropolis (4:14)
05. The Order Of The Moon (7:09)
06. The Return Of The Witch (4:21)
07. Lillith (2:21)
08. Alpha And Omega (5:33)
09. Seven (4:08)

AMORPHIS will release its first-ever live DVD, "Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes", on June 25 (Europe) and June 23 (Finland) via Nuclear Blast, in time for the band's 20th anniversary. The filming of the main concert took place on November 20, 2009 at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland, where AMORPHIS was supported by STRATOVARIUS and BEFORE THE DAWN. In addition to the full-length live show, the anniversary DVD will include plenty of bonus material documenting the band's impressive career

The track listing is as follows:

Limited 2DVD + 2CD Digibook In Slipcase

DVD 1:

The Oulu Show:

01. Silver Bride
02. Sampo
03. Towards And Against
04. The Castaway
05. Smithereens / The Smoke
06. Majestic Beast
07. Alone
08. Silent Waters
09. Divinity
10. Elegy Medley (Against Widows / Cares / On Rich And Poor)
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. Sky Is Mine
13. Magic And Mayhem / Black Winter Day
14. Sign From The Northside
15. House Of Sleep
16. My Kantele

DVD 2:

Summer Breeze Open Air 2009:

01. Leaves Scar
02. Towards And Against
03. From The Heaven Of My Heart
04. Against Windows
05. The Castaway
06. Sampo
07. Silver Bride
08. Alone
09. The Smoke
10. My Kantele
11. House Of Sleep
12. Magic And Mayhem

Bonus Material:

Tales From The 20 Years (documentary)

Video Clips:

01. Black Winter Day
02. My Kantele
03. Against Windows
04. Divinity
05. Alone
06. Evil Inside
07. House Of Sleep
08. The Smoke
09. Silent Waters
10. Silver Bride
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. My Kantele (Jyrki TV show, 1996)
13. Amorphis interview (JYRKI TV show, 1996)

Photo gallery

CD 1:

01. Silver Bride
02. Sampo
03. Towards And Against
04. The Castaway
05. Smithereens / The Smoke
06. Majestic Beast
07. Alone
08. Silent Waters
09. Divinity

CD 2:

01. Elegy Medley (Against Widows / Cares / On Rich And Poor)
02. From The Heaven Of My Heart
03. Sky Is Mine
04. Magic And Mayhem / Black Winter Day
05. Sign From The Northside
06. House Of Sleep
07. My Kantele

2DVD in Amaray case

The Oulu Show:

01. Silver Bride
02. Sampo
03. Towards And Against
04. The Castaway
05. Smithereens / The Smoke
06. Majestic Beast
07. Alone
08. Silent Waters
09. Divinity
10. Elegy Medley (Against Widows / Cares / On Rich And Poor)
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. Sky Is Mine
13. Magic And Mayhem / Black Winter Day
14. Sign From The Northside
15. House Of Sleep
16. My Kantele

DVD 2:

Summer Breeze Open Air 2009:

01. Leaves Scar
02. Towards And Against
03. From The Heaven Of My Heart
04. Against Windows
05. The Castaway
06. Sampo
07. Silver Bride
08. Alone
09. The Smoke
10. My Kantele
11. House Of Sleep
12. Magic And Mayhem

Bonus Material:

Tales From The 20 Years (documentary)

Video Clips:

01. Black Winter Day
02. My Kantele
03. Against Windows
04. Divinity
05. Alone
06. Evil Inside
07. House Of Sleep
08. The Smoke
09. Silent Waters
10. Silver Bride
11. From The Heaven Of My Heart
12. My Kantele (Jyrki TV show, 1996)
13. Amorphis interview (JYRKI TV show, 1996)

Polish thrashers QUO VADIS have entered Hertz studio (BEHEMOTH, VADER, DECAPITATED, TRAUMA) in Bialystok, Poland to begin recording their eighth album, "Infernal Chaos", for a late 2010 release. The follow-up to 2007's "Babel" will be the band's first LP sung only in English.

QUO VADIS mixes old school trash, death metal with modern sounds and melodic choruses.

The band celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2008 with a special concert in Slowianin which was filmed for a DVD release.

FIREBIRD, the British power trio led by CARCASS/ex-NAPALM DEATH guitarist Bill Steer, will release its new album, tentatively titled "Double Diamond", in July via Trooper Entertainment. The CD features ten songs recorded at Graveland studios in 's-Graveland, Holland during January. According to the band, "this recording heralds a new chapter for the band, seeing [guitarist/vocalist Bill] Steer and [drummer Ludwig] Witt draw inspiration from some of their earliest metal favourites such as BUDGIE, FIST and TANK."

"Double Diamond" track listing:

01. Soul Saviour
02. Ruined
03. Bright Lights
04. For Crying Out Loud
05. Farewell
06. A Wing & A Prayer
07. Pound Of Flesh
08. Arabesque
09. Lose Your Delusions
10. Pantomime

Deals for Europe and the USA have yet to be confirmed. The band welcome any interested parties.

"Invitation", the new video from the Swedish melodic metal band AUDIOVISION, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Ronny Hemlin (SCAR SYMMETRY, STEEL ATTACK).The song comes off the group's second album, "Focus", which will be released in Europe and North America on April 23 through Ulterium Records. The CD was produced and mixed by Erik Mårtensson (W.E.T., ECLIPSE) and mastered by Micke Lind (DIO, CANDLEMASS, TALISMAN).

According to a press release, "Focus" is "a high quality melodic metal release influenced by bands like WHITESNAKE, DIO, RAINBOW, EUROPE, GOTTHARD and STRYPER, and fans of the genre won't be dissapointed!"

"Focus" track listing:

01. Invitation
02. Keep The Fire Burning
03. We Are Not Alone
04. The Son Will Come
05. You Are The Reason
06. Fruit Of Love
07. We Will Go
08. I Will Belong To You
09. The Way
10. The Gate
11. Focus

Swedish metallers SOILWORK have finished mixing their new album, "The Panic Broadcast", at Fascination Street studio in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, PARADISE LOST, BLOODBATH).

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Late For The Kill, Early For The Slaughter
02. 2 Lives Worth Of Reckoning
03. The Thrill
04. Deliverance Is Mine
05. Night Comes Clean
06. King Of The Threshold
07. Let This River Flow
08. Epitome
09. The Akuma Afterglow
10. Enter Dog Of Pavlov

Montreal, Quebec, Canada extreme metallers DESPISED ICON have released the following statement via MySpace:

"The time has come for us to move on. Some of us have recently reached a new chapter in their lives, starting families, buying houses and pursuing other careers to make it all happen. Writing music, touring and leaving home for months at a time is slowly becoming impossible because of that. We all decided that it'd be best to pull the plug now and end things right.

"It's hard to believe we started this band almost 10 years ago already. At first, DESPISED ICON was mostly just an excuse to hang out, write brutal slam riffs and play local shows once in a while. With your support, we got the opportunity to actually play music for a living, make friends around the world, be MVPs and travel to places we never even dreamed of visiting in our lifetime.

"Thank you all for some of the best times of our lives.

"We're currently working on setting up our final tours in Canada, USA and Europe. Expect to see us in a town near you sometime before the end of the year. If all goes as planned, we'll also be touring Australia and Asia for the first time in the fall. We'll keep you posted on everything.

"These last shows will be fucking epic! See you guys then!"

German power metallers STORMHAMMER have announced the addition of guitarist Marcelo Oehninger (ex-IRIDIUM-X) to the group's ranks.

The band in January recruited new singer Ben Silver.

STORMHAMMER's fourth album, "Signs Of Revolution", came out in May 2009 via Silverwolf/SPV. According to a press release, the CD saw the band "deliver[ing] a very diverse mixture of hyper melodic, Euro-style power metal, and U.S. metal as well as a decent bite of a NWOBHM approach similar to IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, etc."

"Signs Of Revolution" was recorded in early 2008, completely produced by STORMHAMMER. The mix was handled by Thomas Burlefinger, who has previously worked with Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER), Greg Bissonette (DAVID LEE ROTH), Dave Evans (AC/DC), Darren Wharton (THIN LIZZY), L.A. GUNS and SUBWAY TO SALLY. The cover artwork was designed by "Stripe" Schinzel (AGENT STEEL, ANVIL, HANOI ROCKS, QUIET RIOT, W.A.S.P., WITCHCRAFT).

STORMHAMMER released its third album, "Lord of Darkness", in May 2004 via Mausoleum Records.

Los Angeles-based technical progressive metallers THE HUMAN ABSTRACT have recruited ex-FROM FIRST TO LAST guitarist/vocalist Travis Richter as their new frontman. He replaces Nathan Ells, who exited the group late last year.

Commented the band: "We're excited to welcome Travis to THE HUMAN ABSTRACT. We couldn't be more pumped on the current state of the band and can't wait to give our fans the best album our hard work has to offer."

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT announced in November that it was once again working with the band's original guitarist, A.J. Minette. Minette is part of the writing force and will serve as producer for the third THE HUMAN ABSTRACT album.

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT's "Counting Down The Days" video can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's sophomore full-length album, "Midheaven", which came out in August 2008 via Hopeless Records.

Although the initial sessions for "Midheaven" were helmed by veteran producer Toby Wright (METALLICA, SLAYER, ALICE IN CHAINS, SOULFLY, FEAR FACTORY), the CD was completed with a different producer and Wright's name was "wiped off all credits," according to drummer Brett Powell.

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT's Hopeless Records debut, "Nocturne", was released in August 2006.

French progressive metallers GOJIRA will support METALLICA on the following dates:

April 13 - Oslo, Norway - Telenor Arena
April 14 - Oslo, Norway - Telenor Arena
April 17 - Riga, Latvia - Arena
April 18 - Tallin, Estonia - Saku Hall
April 20 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Siemens Arena
April 21 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Siemens Arena
April 24 - Moscow, Russia - Olympic Arena
April 25 - Moscow, Russia - Olympic Arena

Also appearing on the bill is FEAR FACTORY.

Commented GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier: "Being invited on tour for the second time by METALLICA is a confirmation that our first run with them last year in the U.S. was not a dream. It actually happened, and it's going to happen again!

"This is great news for us, we are stoked and ready to jump on stage with them.

"They are the spiritual fathers of metal, the music we play today.

"We will give our best on these shows."

French black metallers TEMPLE OF BAAL have parted ways with longtime drummer Antares. The band is currently looking for a replacement. Interested parties can contact the group at templeofbaal@myspace.com.

TEMPLE OF BAAL released its third album, "Lightslaying Rituals", in November 2009 via Agonia Records. It was made available as a CD, limited digipack and limited LP.

"Lightslaying Rituals" was recorded at Hybreed Studios by Andrew Guillotin (GLORIOR BELLI). Visual aspect was handled by MKM (ANTAEUS, AOSOTH) and Vertigo Photography.

According to a press release, "when it comes to French black metal, TEMPLE OF BAAL is often mentioned as an example of integrity and excellence. Formed in 1998, with two full-lengths ('Servants Of The Beast' and 'Traitors To Mankind') a load of split EPs, strong of a very good live reputation (the band has shared the stage with acts like DESTROYER 666, WATAIN or REVENGE), TEMPLE OF BAAL is one of the most respected bands of the French black metal scene. . . 'Lightslaying Rituals' [sees the group] blending occult black metal atmospheres, death metal aggression, intense guitar leads with the darkest aspects of spirituality."

ODEM ARCARUM, the band featuring SECRETS OF THE MOON guitarist Ar, has just released a new album, "Outrageous Reverie Above The Erosion Of Barren Earth", via Osmose Productions. The CD, which is available as luxurious digipack with a 12-page booklet, is described in a press release as "a trip to the origin of existence itself, a journey to the inner most impulse of self mastery and elevation."

Formed in 1995, ODEM ARCARUM was raised under the banner of traditional black metal. After some lineup changes, Ar and C.A. recorded a first demo and a self-released EP in 2000 called "Awaiting the Horizon of Chaos".

In 2003 ODEM ARCARUM issued the self-released full-length "Bloody Traces in the Virgin Snow". After this CD, Skoarth and Zahak joined ODEM ARCARUM in 2003/2004 as permanent members.

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour will appear on Bryan Ferry’s new solo album to be released by EMI/Virgin in September. Recoding took place at Hugh Padgham's studio in West London. David has guested on a number of the Roxy Music founder’s solo albums, and appeared with him at the 1985 Live Aid show. Other guests on the album include Jonny Greenwood, Nile Rodgers, Marcus Miller, Mani and Flea. Songwriting contributors include Scissor Sisters and Groove Armada.

U.K. atmospheric progressive doomsters PANTHEIST have issued the following update:

"We are currently working on tracks for our new album. Seven compositions have been created so far. Some of them have been tested live in the gigs we have played over the last few months.

"The band are currently working on a two-track promo, containing a composition of Kostas called 'Broken Statue' (which has been unveiled to receptive audiences in the five previous gigs we played) and one of Ilia called 'Brighter Days'. This promo will be sent to labels and our aim is to record and release a new album in 2010."

PANTHEIST will perform at the prestigious Moscow Doom Fest on May 29 at the Plan B venue in Moscow, Russia.