DEEP PURPLE frontman Ian Gillan has penned an article about the band's private performance at The Kremlin on February 11.

PURPLE played a gig in Moscow as a farewell gift to Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of gas giant Gazprom and almost certainly Russia's next president.

The group performed at a show Gazprom put on at the Kremlin to mark the 15th anniversary of the firm's creation.

Said Gillan: "The younger guys and more junior staff were all up on their feet, although they were looking nervously over at their bosses to see whether they could loosen their ties. It was as if they were asking, 'How much fun are we allowed to have?' I’m sure I could have had everyone on their feet but I knew Tina Turner was on next and it wouldn’t have been cool to do that.

"When we had finished our show, Medvedev and Alexei Miller, the chief executive of Gazprom, came into our dressing room where we had a chat and a couple of drinks. Medvedev had this stupid grin on his face because he was meeting his favourite band. We had a nice chat but we didn’t talk about politics. All of us in the band have such wildly different opinions on religion and politics that we never get into it. "

Austrian symphonic metal band EDENBRIDGE will release its sixth studio album, "MyEarthDream", on April 25 via Napalm Records. The cover art was created by Anthony Clarkson, who has previously worked with BLIND GUARDIAN, among other artists.

"MyEarthDream" track listing:

01. The Force Within
02. Shadowplay
03. Remember Me
04. Adamantine
05. Paramount
06. Whale Rider
07. Undying Devotion
08. Fallen From Grace
09. Place Of Higher Power
10. MyEarthDream Suite (For Guitar And Orchestra)
11. MyEarthDream

Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.

The mixing sessions for the CD were completed at Thin Ice Studios in England with Karl Groom (THRESHOLD). The mastering is currently taking place at the Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland with Mika Jussila.

The orchestra recordings for the new EDENBRIDGE CD took place in Prague in October. EDENBRIDGE was reportedly supported by the 65-piece Czech Film Orchestra (consisting of musicians from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech State Opera Orchestra). The orchestra, which was previously involved with recordings for renowned Hollywood productions, is heard on nine out of ten songs plus the intro. Lanvall's (guitar, keyboards) orchestral arrangements were recently put into the final score.

In other news, EDENBRIDGE has recruited Dominik Sebastian (THIRDMOON) as its new touring guitarist.

According to IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, the group's concert in Tokyo, Japan tonight (Saturday, February 16) was filmed for an upcoming DVD. No further details are currently available.

IRON MAIDEN's June 10, 2007 headlining performance at the Download festival at Donington Park, Leicestershire, England was also professionally recorded for future DVD release. A clip from that show can be viewed here.

IRON MAIDEN's year got off to a roaring start with the February 4 international release of the band's long-awaited DVD "Live After Death" smashing straight into the UK music DVD chart at No. 1, not only outpacing its nearest competitor by three to one, but outselling the rest of the Top 6 combined!

Internationally it has been a similar story, with No. 1s in Australia (gold first day), France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland and Germany, where the DVD also spectacularly crashed into the Top 10 Album chart due to such unprecedented high sales. "Live After Death" also entered the music DVD charts at #2 in Portugal, Norway and Ireland and Top 3 entries from the USA and Canada.

UK hard rock legends DEEP PURPLE played a gig on February 11 in Moscow as a farewell gift to Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of gas giant Gazprom and almost certainly Russia's next president.

The group performed at a show Gazprom put on at the Kremlin to mark the 15th anniversary of the firm's creation.

"This is simply surreal," Medvedev said on NTV television after the concert. "I started listening to DEEP PURPLE when I was 13. At that time their music was banned. I never would have imagined meeting the famous group in the Kremlin Palace."

Footage of the PURPLE classic "Smoke On The Water", filmed at the February 11 concert, can be viewed
here.

"The Mirror's Truth", the new single from Swedish metallers IN FLAMES, is available for streaming on the group's MySpace page. A video for the song was filmed last month at an abandoned factory site in Skellefteå, Sweden with the Swedish company Popcore (NORMA JEAN, UNDEROATH, KHOMA, CULT OF LUNA).

IN FLAMES will release the "The Mirror’s Truth" single on March 7 via Nuclear Blast Records. The European-only release will contain the following tracks:

01. The Mirror's Truth
02. Eraser *
03. Tilt *
04 Abnegation *

* Exclusive non-album tracks

IN FLAMES recently inked a deal with Koch Records for the North American release of the group's new album, "A Sense of Purpose". Due on April 1 (April 7 in most of Europe via Nuclear Blast), the follow-up to 2006's "Come Clarity" was recorded at the band's own IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden and was mixed by Toby Wright (METALLICA, SLAYER). The group received assistance during the vocal-recording sessions from producer Daniel Bergstrand, who previously produced the vocals on "Reroute To Remain", "Soundtrack To Your Escape" and "Come Clarity". All artwork for the album was created by Alex Pardee for ZeroFriends. Alex also created the artwork for the first single, "The Mirror's Truth".

IN FLAMES, CHILDREN OF BODOM, JOB FOR A COWBOY and HIGH ON FIRE will play this year's Gigantour in North America beginning mid-April and running through the end of May. Headlining the trek will be MEGADETH.

SLAYER frontman vocalist/bassist Tom Araya has commented on winning a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which was held Sunday night (February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. SLAYER was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from the band's 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at an hypothesized end of the world. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay.

"This is awesome," Araya stated backstage. "I guess we're part of the industry now, above ground. None of those tunnel diggings anymore. No, this is our second win actually. It's kind of exciting. We've been fortunate to have been around this long with no radio play. We've gotten support from satellite radio recently, MTV gave us minimal support, but it's all on word of mouth and people liking what we do and passing it on to their friends. We owe a lot of our success to our fans. The industry is great, but the fans are the ones that take the time to look you up to see what you're doing, wait for the record to come out and buy it so..."

SLAYER was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, which are being held tonight (Sunday, February 10) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. SLAYER was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from the band's 2007 limited-edition "Christ Illusion". The song, written by SLAYER's vocalist/bassist Tom Araya and guitarist Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham, is a chilling look at an hypothesized end of the world. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay.

A visibly nervous Araya accepted the award, stating, "Thank you very much. I don't know what to say. This is our second time. I have to thank Sony, first off, for reissuing the record and putting this new song on the album, and now I'm here again — we are here again, actually. Most of all, [I'd like to] thank Rick Rubin [producer and head of American Recordings], who's been with us, been there for us for the past 23 years, 24 years. Thank you. My wife, my two kids; Sandra [wife], Ariel and Tommy. They're here with me. Of course, my manager, who's been with us for a good 20 years now. Well, thank you very much. Thank the Academy. Thank you."

World-renowned Swedish multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, NIGHTINGALE, ex-BLOODBATH) is currently working on an album which he describes as "a cross between ALTER BRIDGE and MOONTOWER-style [Dan's 1999 project] stuff." He says, "I am writing it right now, and it will not be a MOONTOWER 2. I already have an album title and a cover in mind, but I won't 'leak' [it] 'cause it is so cool that it will most likely be stolen!!! I have written around 50 riffs already where maybe 10 will survive the 'filter.' There will be more normal singing there and not so one-dimensional like MOONTOWER. There will still be growls, but nothing fast and grinding. I will use a bunch of session musicians that haven't been playing this kind of stuff before and I am sure there will be a nice collision!"

As previously reported, Dan Swanö has finished laying down the vocal tracks for the upcoming OBLITERHATE debut album. Recorded at Unisound Studio (Sweden) in just two weeks, Dan's contribution on the vocals for OBLITERHATE is the first time in more than a decade that he has done vocals for a full-length intense death metal album.

Commented Dan: "I am ready happy with the way my growls sound and after a few days it felt like my throat surrendered and let me do this stuff without the throat pain and the blistering headaches, which is cool."

OBLITERHATE's debut album, tentatively titled "Blessing In Disgust", will contain nine songs and will be released sometime in 2008 via Pulverised Records. The project, which is said to follow a "more brutal and intricate direction" than RASPATUL, features contributions from some of metal's legendary and highly renowned musicians:

Dan Swanö (NIGHTINGALE, ex-EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH) - Vocals
Erik Sayenga (WARTHRONE, ex-DYING FETUS) - Drums
Derrick Ramirez (DRAGONLORD, ex-TESTAMENT) - Bass
Mirai Kawashima (SIGH, ex-NECROPHAGIA) - Keyboards
James Murphy (DISINCARNATE, ex-DEATH, TESTAMENT) - Guest guitar solo

The legendary Jeff Becerra from the mighty POSSESSED has penned down some lyrics for OBLITERHATE, and will appear on this debut album. The other part of the lyrical songwriting and vocal arrangements will be handled by Rogga Johansson, who is the mastermind behind PAGANIZER, THOSE WHO BRING THE TORTURE, RIBSPREADER and DEMIURG.

A five-minute interview Finland's Sub TV conducted with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine on February 4, 2008 prior to the band's Helsinki concert can be viewed below.

During the interview Mustaine was asked for his opinion on "heavy metal" becoming "mainstream" again after being "gone" for 10 years in the Nineties. "Certainly, I appreciate it, because being in a metal band that's becoming mainstream again is gonna have certain benefits for us," he replied. "But I don't even know if we fit in the metal category anymore, because I heard we were moved from the 'metal' category to the 'classic rock' category in the Grammys. I was like, 'What?' I mean, you look at who they nominated for the Grammys this year — one band on there has only sold 10,000 records [referring to KING DIAMOND — Ed.], and I don't understand how we didn't get nominated. It's disappointing and it makes you… When you look at the facts, you just get so much disdain for that, because you know that it's a political thing and that somebody somewhere has bitterness towards me or towards my band. There's just no way that a band that's as successful as we are, with a brand new record that entered in the Top 10 in the Billboard charts, wouldn't get nominated for a Grammy when another band's in there that, like I said, has only sold 10,000 records. But you know what?! It's OK, because I've been nominated for seven Grammys and never won, so, frankly, to me, it's an elusive thing — it doesn't really mean anything to me."

According to The Sun Online, AEROSMITH's mega-ballad "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" is still the UK's favorite love song. In a survey conducted by Magic TV, the wrinkly rockers' anthem from the film "Armageddon" came top for the second year on the trot.

"The Nation's Favourite Love Songs: Top 100" can be enjoyed on Valentine's Day on The Hits TV at 2pm and Magic TV from 4pm.

According to Wikipedia, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at No. 1 for four weeks from September 5 to September 26, 1998, introducing AEROSMITH to a new generation of fans. The song also stayed at No. 1 for several weeks in several other countries. The song rose steadily up the charts in the UK, peaking at No. 4 in November 1998 and becoming AEROSMITH's highest-charting single in the UK to date.

Dutch death metallers SINISTER will release their new album, "The Silent Howling", on September 26 via Massacre Records. Check out the cover artwork at this location. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Silent Howling", "If It Bleeds...", "The Kill To Come" and "Fortified Bravery". The album will be recorded in May at Soundlodge Studio in Germany.

SINISTER's current lineup includes Aad Kloosterwaard (vocals), Alex Paul (guitar) and Bas van den Bogaard (bass).

German power metallers HUMAN FORTRESS will release their third album, "Eternal Empire" (cover artwork), on April 25 via Massacre Records. Audio samples of the tracks "Contrast" and "Falling Leaves" are available at this location. A video for the song "Contrast" was recently shot and will be released soon.

HUMAN FORTRESS' last CD, "Defenders of the Crown", came out in 2003. The band has since parted ways with singer Jioti Parcharidis and drummer Apostolos "Laki" Zaios and has replaced them with Carsten Frank and Arndt Krone, respectively.

"Serpent of the Deep", the new video from Finnish death/thrash metallers DEATHCHAIN, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's third album, "Cult of Death" (Dynamic Arts Records), which entered the Finnish chart at No. 17 back in May 2007.

DEATHCHAIN will enter the studio in May with producer Jari "Tupi" Tuomainen to begin recording its new album, tentatively titled "Death Eternal". An October release is expected.

According to a posting on the RUSH fan site RushIsABand.com, RUSH will release a new live two-CD set, "Snakes & Arrows Live", on April 8. The track listing is as follows:

Disc 1:

01. Limelight
02. Digital Man
03. Entre Nous
04. Mission
05. Freewill
06. Monkey Business
07. Larger Bowl
08. Secret Touch
09. Circumstances
10. Between the Wheels
11. Dreamline
12. Far Cry
13. Workin' Them Angels
14. Armor and Sword

Disc 2:

01. Spindrift
02. The Way the Wind Blows
03. Subdivisions
04. Natural Science
05. Witch Hunt
06. Malignant Narcissism - Drum Solo
07. Hope
08. Distant Early Warning
09. The Spirit of Radio
10. Tom Sawyer
11. Encore
12. One Little Victory
13. A Passage to Bangkok
14. YYZ

After a two-year break, Norwegian black/death metallers ANCIENT are preparing their return to the scene. The band has announced the addition of guitarist Morfeus (LIMBONIC ART, DIMENSION F3H) to its ranks and is currently seeking a new drummer.

ANCIENT will start touring again before the summer, although no dates have yet been confirmed.

ANCIENT's sixth album, "Night Visit" was released in June 2004 through Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2001's "Proxima Centauri" was recorded at Mirage and Alpha-Omega studios and was mixed at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström (HAMMERFALL, IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, etc.). Mastering was done at Sterling Sound in New York City.

ATREYU will re-issue its latest album, "Lead Sails Paper Anchor", in an expanded edition on March 18, according to HardDrive Radio. The enhanced version of the band's major label debut will include a newly recorded song, DVD content and other bonus features. Frontman Alex Varkatzas told The Pulse of Radio more about the group's plans for the release. "We just really want to, you know, write a really cool song as part of the expanded edition of the CD, and we're gonna do some cool, like, DVD view segments, whatever that means, and enhance up the CD, stuff like that," he said.

"Lead Sails Paper Anchor", ATREYU's major label debut, arrived last summer and features the single "Becoming the Bull". The newest single from the disc is called "Falling Down".

ATREYU is getting ready to join AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE on this winter's Taste of Chaos tour, which begins on February 29 in Denver.

Legendary hard rock band WHITESNAKE will release its new album, "Good To Be Bad", through SPV/Steamhammer in Germany on April 18, the rest of Europe on April 21 and in North America on April 22. In addition to the regular jewel-case version, a limited-edition two-disc set will contain an extra CD in a cardboard sleeve, as well as a poster, photocard and sticker.

The track listing for the limited-edition two-disc version of "Good To Be Bad" is as follows:

CD (jewel case):

01. Best Years (5:16)
02. Can You Hear The Wind Blow (5:02)
03. Call On Me (5:01)
04. All I Want All I Need (5:42)
05. Good To Be Bad (5:13)
06. All For Love (5:14)
07. Summer Rain (6:15)
08. Lay Down Your Love (6:01)
09. A Fool In Love (5:14)
10. Got What You Need (4:14)
11. 'Til The End Of Time (5:32)

Bonus CD (cardboard sleeve):

01. Summer Rain (acoustic version) (5:21)
02. All I Want All I Need (radio edit) (3:58)
03. Take Me With You (live version) (7:51)
04. Ready To Rock (enhanced video) (4:19)

"Slave To The Dark – The Century Media Years" is the title of the luxurious ICED EARTH box set containing everything the legendary power metal act released via its former label home. Featuring marvellous artwork by Leo Hao (BLIND GUARDIAN, NOCTURNAL RITES), glossy print and embossing, the set consists of 14 CDs plus one DVD and offers you a total of 145 tracks, including all original album tracks as well as rarities and previously unreleased material.

CD 1: "Iced Earth"
CD 2: "Night Of The Stormrider" (+1 live bonus track)
CD 3+4: "Burnt Offerings" (plus entire album as alternative mix)
CD 5: "The Dark Saga" (+ 2 previously unreleased bonus tracks)
CD 6+7: "Days Of Purgatory"
CD 8: "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (+ 3 bonus tracks)
CD 9+10: "Enter The Realm Of The Gods" ("Enter The Realm" Demo + "Tribute To The Gods" album)
CD 11-13: "Alive In Athens" (+1 bonus track)
CD 14: "Horror Show" (+ 1 bonus track)
DVD: "Alive In Athens"

All CDs have been redesigned as lavish gatefold-vinyl replicas with enhanced artwork and thus "Slave To The Dark – The Century Media Years" is the best chance to get all the classic ICED EARTH albums in one comprehensive box.

To allow you to purchase only certain albums from this collection, Century Media will also separately release all of the aforementioned albums including the particular bonuses.

The "Slave To The Dark – The Century Media Years" box set and all reissues will be released on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: Friday, February 22
UK, France, Denmark, Norway, Rest Of Europe: Monday, February 25
Spain, Portugal: Tuesday, February 26
Sweden, Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, February 27

Poland's Metal Mind Productions will re-release the two albums from Texas doom legends SOLITUDE AETURNUS — "Through The Darkest Hour" (1994) and "Downfall" (1996) — on March 3 in Europe. Each remastered limited-edition digipack title (limited to 2,000 copies) will include one or more bonus tracks and will be made available on golden disc, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.

"Through The Darkest Hour" (remastered + bonus tracks) track listing:

01. Falling
02. Haunting The Obscure
03. The 8th Day: The Mourning
04. The 9th Day: Awakening
05. Pain
06. Pawns Of Anger
07. Eternal (Dreams Part III)
08. Perfect Insanity
09. Shattered My Spirit

Bonus tracks: Live at Stodola Club, Warsaw, Poland, February 12, 2007:

01. The 9th Day: Awakening
02. Pawns of Anger

"Downfall" (remastered + bonus track) track listing:

01. Phantoms
02. Only This (And Nothing More)
03. Midnight Dreams
04. Together and Wither
05. Elysium
06. Deathwish
07. These Are the Nameless
08. Chapel of Burning
09. Concern

Bonus track: Live at Stodola Club, Warsaw, Poland, February 12, 2007:

01. Phantoms

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES have issued the following update:

"'The Mirror's Truth', the first single from [IN FLAMES' new album] 'A Sense Of Purpose', will be played for the first time on the radio tonight (Thursday, February 14) at 23:07 CET (Swedish time) on the Swedish radio station P3. You can listen online here: click on 'Lyssna på Webradio' which means 'listen to webradio.' If you miss this opportunity don't stress as the song will be up on [the band's MySpace page] VERY VERY soon!"

STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki has issued a following update:

"I was in a photo session in Helsinki two days ago and while we were taking promotional pictures, someone stole my bag and one guitar, a purple Fender Stratocaster Jeff Beck model. It is priceless. But what worries me more is that the bag contained a single master and the graphic master of the whole 'Saana' album [Tolkki's upcoming classical rock opera, 'Saana - Warrior of Light Part 1: Journey to Crystal Island']. I went to the police and filed a report, but they said that it is unlikely I will ever see them again. I just hope this person doesn't realize the contents of the bag. Unfortunately this will postpone the trailer release and I have to think what I will do now. This a very bad situation. Very bad..."

Due in the spring via Italy's Frontiers Records, "Saana - Warrior of Light Part 1: Journey to Crystal Island" is a multimedia adventure containing almost one hour of music and comes with a full all region bonus DVD that contains the whole story in film format as well. It also has lots of other extras and a brand new interview of Timo Tolkki about his past, present and future. Featuring the talents of Jennifer Sowle, Aino Laos, Heikki Poyhiä and Janette Sainio, this album is a breathtaking experience of emotions. They were all carefully chosen for their respective roles and they enhance the musical journey in a way that hasn't really been heard before. Timo Tolkki calls it "a classical rock opera."

STRATOVARIUS debuted a brand new song, entitled "Last Night on Earth", during their appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival on August 4, 2007 on the "True Metal Stage".

STRATOVARIUS last year entered Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki, Finland to begin recording its new album (the title of which consists of two separate words that both start with "R"). An early 2008 release is expected.

STRATOVARIUS' last, self-titled effort was released in the U.S. in September 2005 via Sanctuary.

Vocalist Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill of the of the Irish dark metal masters PRIMORDIAL has issued the following update:

"Well, it's been a long time coming. Not only this mesage but the current air of positivity that is surrounding the band. It really seems like we have moved in from the fringes of the scene to take maybe not quite centre stage but at least skulk in the immediate shadows cast by the light.

"For the first time ever we had a sold-out show in Dublin the Button Factory (formerly Music Centre), 720 people. An absolute triumph, and I don't think we could have asked for anything more from the show. The crowd were fantastic, not to mention the many people who had travelled far and wide across Europe and even America to attend the show. The only blight being Paul, our bass player, had his appendix out a mere three days before the event. Scuppering our plans to record a live DVD on the night. Thankfully, Ger from MAEL MORDHA stepped up to the plate and rescued us. We followed that last weekend with nearly 600 people in the Underworld in Camden along with GRAND MAGUS and MAEL MORDHA. Another victory...

"At the moment, none of the tours we have been offered seem the right move for us so we are doing what you could call a festival tour. The updated list should follow very soon but it covers nearly all of the bigger festivals and some places we haven't been before. It's obvious right now that festivals are killing touring unless you are an underground band that won't be playing at bigger festivals or you put together a 5/6 band bill to maximise the crowd. One festival show can reach the equivalent of several tours. That is not to say we don't want to go on tour, of course, but right now we will just plough ahead with our summer schedule and see if we can do something in autumn or early winter.

"Our first German shows of the campaign will be the Ragnarok and Tomahawk festivals in March. Not to mention our first show in Poland for 8 years at Metalmania three weeks before...

"Initial signs from Metal Blade are that the sales are going very well. The shipping being greater then the last album sold in three years and very little returns before we've even set foot on a stage in most countries.

"I know my last message may have seemed a little sour regarding the German charts but I've come to realise the sales have been far more staggered then most bands because of mail orders as opposed to the walk-up crowd. Regardless of this, we seem to be in a positive position. Both the digi in 8,000 and vinyl of 1,000 are completely gone... eBay, I guess, it is for some of you. If we can lumber over the 15,000 mark before the summer festival season then it will be a major achievement considering the state of the music industry.

"The picture disc of 'The Gathering Wilderness' is out now on Sentinel Records so if you haven't picked that one up, get it, it's going fast and the first copies come with a free patch. There will also be a pic disc of the new album and one of the demo from No Sign of Life from Finland out very soon...

"I've been getting it in the neck in some quarters of the mainstream for speaking my mind on the state of the current metal scene — well, more specifically the overground or mainstream scene. I've long said but there is fuck-all to interest me or any dedicated metal fan who is willing to scratch the surface in the bloated, plastic, hollow and shallow mainstream metal scene. If I can be so bold...the mainstream needs bands like PRIMORDIAL. I won't pretend we are still underground even if that's where we feel our brethren are but it needs bands like us to challenge and fight the corner of real music not just real metal. I'm also glad there seems to have been little backlash from our long standing fans to the bands recent commercial growth. They seem glad to see us getting the attention we deserve and seem glad for us to have opportunity of showing them how... You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

PRIMORDIAL's latest album, "To the Nameless Dead", was released in November 2007 on Metal Blade Records.

According to The Pulse of Radio, Todd Rundgren says that Robert Plant is in the rare position of being so satisfied with his current projects that a LED ZEPPELIN reunion would only be done for money. Rundgren, who performed at Britain's legendary Knebworth festival along with ZEPPELIN back in 1979, said the buzz around a ZEPPELIN reunion is ironically taking place while Plant enjoys a creative resurgence with his recent collaboration with Alison Krauss, called "Raising Sand". "Robert Plant will probably always have a gig somewhere," he said. "And the only reason for him to reunite with the LED ZEPPELIN thing is because it would just be huge money involved, I guess. But he has an opportunity to play music that he feels like. Some music that he may feel actually more akin to than what he's, I guess, 'obligated' to do (laughs) at this point with LED ZEPPELIN. Everything that he did after he left LED ZEPPELIN was an octave lower (than the ZEPPELIN songs). (Laughs) And now he's got to go back and sing and scream at the top of his lungs."

Plant and Krauss' "Raising Sand" was released last October and peaked at Number Two in the charts. The album currently sits at Number 21 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

"Raising Sand" is Plant's highest charting post-ZEPPELIN album.

At a recent press conference in Japan, Jimmy Page said that the earliest that LED ZEPPELIN could reconvene for a reunion tour would be in September, when Plant and Krauss end their series of dates to promote the album.

Roland Grapow (HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN) is the latest member to make an appearance on the debut album from ASYLUM, the Illinois-based project featuring Marcus Johnson (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Johnny Rox (bass). Also contributing to the CD are Kevin Talley (DAATH, CHIMAIRA, DYING FETUS, MISERY INDEX), Gene Hoglan (DARK ANGEL, TESTAMENT, DEATH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), Larry Tarnowski (ICED EARTH), David Shankle (MANOWAR, DSG), Andy LaRocque (KING DIAMOND), and Michael Angelo Batio (NITRO, MAB).

Accompanied by Talley and Tarnowski, Johnson and Rox began recording the debut ASYLUM album in May 2006. By October of 2006, Gene Hoglan made a guest appearance, ripping up the drums on the bonus track "Get Up", a VAN HALEN cover. Brendon Small of DETHKLOK and "Metalocalypse" fame also contributed a guest guitar solo to the same song.

ASYLUM's debut album is being engineered by Grammy nominee Bob "Doc" Pucci. In addition, the album will be mixed by Grammy nominee Ulrich Wild, best known for his mixing/engineering work with DETHKLOK, SLIPKNOT, STATIC-X, PANTERA and WHITE ZOMBIE. The CD will be mastered by Tom Baker, who has worked with bands like NINE INCH NAILS, MARILYN MANSON, MÖTLEY CRÜE, WHITE ZOMBIE and VELVET REVOLVER.

ASYLUM is currently unsigned and looking for label representation.

CRADLE OF FILTH backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva, who also fronts the Swedish/British orchestral/metal band ANGTORIA, has posted a solo track, entitled "Daddy's Not Coming Home", on her Myspace page.

Commented Sarah: "I have decided to upload a song I wrote when I was 12 years old. This song will eventually get released, whenever [my] solo album gets written and recorded but I wanted to give people something to listen to."

She added, "I have to follow my heart and this song means a lot to me BUT do not think that this will be the song to represent the overall sound of the album. There will be guitars, there may be some heavy tracks but I don't know until it has been written. I feel that whatever direction it takes I am following my heart and people will support me regardless, or at least I hope so.

"People have asked, 'Will it be extreme?' Well, I have taken part in 27 albums that are pretty heavy.... so what is the point in doing a 28th? I am influenced by everything from EMPEROR to DEAD CAN DANCE to MADONNA to MAYHEM! Whichever way the writing process goes, I will keep you informed.

"The track is called 'Daddy's Not Coming Home' and reflects how I felt as a kid when I was 12."

In addition to Sarah Jezebel Deva, ANGTORIA features in its ranks composer Chris Rehn (ABYSSOS), CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus and Tommy Rehn (MOAHNI MOAHNA). The group's debut album, "God Has a Plan for Us All", was released in 2006 via Listenable Records.

German "metal queen" Doro Pesch (ex-WARLOCK) will celebrate her 25th anniversary as a performer with a special concert in her hometown of Düsseldorf, Germany on December 13, 2008 at the ISS Dome. According to a posting on Doro's web site, "the party starts at 2:00 p.m. with a metal market that all guests can visit for free. Signing sessions with the bands will also be taking place there. At around 4:00 p.m. the doors open and about one hour later the party finally starts!!

"Just like five years ago (December 13th, 2003, Philipshalle, Düsseldorf) various bands will rock before the Metal Queen enters the stage and guest musicians will come to join Doro on stage to perform songs with her during her headliner show.

"We can already tell you a secret: LEAVES' EYES will be one of the bands of the evening and they will present their new album live on stage that night.

"Those of you who want to order tickets in advance can look forward to a cool special. In co-operation with MetalTix.com we arranged an exclusive package containing a hard ticket, a T-shirt and a signed autograph card for the first 1,000 orders coming in. So be quick and order your ticket at www.metaltix.com. Tickets cost 42 euros (plus fees) and include a ticket that enables you to go by bus, train or tube on that day. They can be ordered now."

Swedish death metal "supergroup" BLOODBATH will release its new four-song mini-CD, "Unblessing The Purity", on March 10 through Peaceville Records. According to the band, "The classic old-school-looking cover artwork was created by Dusty Peterson who won last year's competition. We'd like to congratulate Dusty and thank him for visualizing our art concept. We'd also like to thank all the other artists for taking their time and effort to submit their creations even though it didn't make it all the way. Look out for audio-preview teasers to be posted shortly."

BLOODBATH 2008 is:

Mikael Åkerfeldt - Vocals
Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström - Guitar
Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson - Guitar
Jonas Renkse - Bass
Martin "Axe" Axenrot – Drums

Check out a photo of the new lineup at this location.

"Unblessing The Purity" track listing:

01. Blasting The Virginborn (Music & Lyrics by Renkse)
02. Weak Aside (Music & Lyrics by Nyström)
03. Sick Salvation (Music by Eriksson, Lyrics by Renkse)
04. Mouth Of Empty Praise (Music by Eriksson/Renkse, lyrics by Renkse)

OPETH's Mikael Åkerfeldt previously stated about his return to BLOODBATH, "I was slightly 'talked into' coming back but I certainly don't regret it now. Obviously I am busy all the time, both with my family and OPETH, so don't hold your breath for any massively extensive tours, BUT, I do believe we'll do the occasional gigs when the time is right. I was asked to sing on a four-track release the other guys been working with entitled 'Unblessing the Purity' and I have to say it's the best fucking death metal I've heard since 'Domination', and I'm not even counting my own involvement. I just basically did what they wanted me to and it sounds really good! We might record another album as well sometime later..."

BLOODBATH's latest album, "Nightmares Made Flesh", received a U.S. release in March 2005 via Century Media Records. Due to the long gap between the European and North American release dates, the American version was enhanced with two bonus songs taken from a previously unreleased demo recording of "Breeding Death" EP, as well as a different front cover, featuring artwork by Wes Benscoter.

Swedish metallers DREAMLAND have issued the following update:

"After some turbulence around the band the last couple of weeks, we are back on track and are happy to announce a new show in Borås, Sweden on March 29th (venue to be announced). We also like to welcome our new drummer Alexx to the band. Right now we have full focus on writing new songs for the upcoming album, But we promise you there will be a couple of more shows added to the calendar soon."

Swedish metallers SOILWORK, who recently completed the LAMB OF GOD/KILLSWITCH ENGAGE U.S. tour in support of their new album "Sworn To A Great Divide", have decided to part ways with guitarist Ola Frenning.

It was felt that Ola resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled.

"Sworn To A Great Divide" is SOILWORK's fastest seller and the live demand for the band is growing. They intend to play everywhere and fulfill the album's potential.

Vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid says: "It was a very difficult decision to make because Ola has been our friend and bandmate for a very long time."

The decision will not affect any of SOILWORK's plans. Guitarist David Andersson will fill in on their upcoming Finnish/Baltic tour as well as the "Scum Of The Earth" U.S. tour with THROWDOWN. The band will then tour Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia before returning to Europe for festivals and a headlining U.S. tour in the fall.

Ola Frenning comments: "After 10 years, seven albums and several world wide tours, we've realized that we have developed in different directions and have a different set of values, profession wise. The disagreements have reached their peak and it has become an untenable situation. The band's solution is that I part ways with them so that I won't be in the way for the future plans of SOILWORK. However, since I'm not gonna be on the road (at least for a while), I will now be able to continue with my songwriting and producing at another level. For further information, visit www.myspace.com/olafrenning. The page will be updated in the near future. Cheers to ya all... And thanks for making these 10 years with the band memorable."