Canadian rock legends RUSH are hoping to release a new studio album early next year, to be a followed by an extensive tour.

Speaking to MoreSugar.com, RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee said, "With a bit of luck we will have an album out early in 2007 and then go out on the road maybe next spring if we are lucky. It's a little too early to tell yet what direction the new material is taking, but Alex [Lifeson, guitar] and I are just having a blast. We are getting songs written so we are getting there. We kind of record while we write and we would say that we will write and record for the duration of this year. You just never know where it is going to go. I think that's what keeps it fun for us and I am glad that there are people out there that appreciate that."

RUSH's "Replay X 3", a four-disc box set containing DVD reissues of "Exit…Stage Left", "Grace Under Pressure" and "A Show Of Hands", along with first-time-in-print CD soundtrack version of "Grace Under Pressure", is set for release June 13. Each DVD features new 5.1 surround sound and stereo mixes created by Alex Lifeson and Mike Fraser from the original concert multi-tracks as well as digitally transferred and remastered visuals. The package also includes mini reprints of the original tour booklets for the three concerts.

According to Rockdetector.com, PRETTY MAIDS are currently in the studio working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2002's "Planet Panic".

The album will be the Danish band's first release to feature former ROYAL HUNT, KINGDOM COME and FURIOUS TRAUMA drummer Allan Tschicaja, who replaced Michael Fast in April. Some tentative song titles already revealed for the album include "Why Die For A Lie", "Another Shot Of Your Love", "Hatebreed", "Where True Beauty Lies" and "I Am The End". The as-yet-untitled album is expected to be released later this year via Italy's Frontiers Records in Europe and JVC Victor Entertainment in Asia.

Denmark's MERCENARY have wrapped up recording and mixing their new album, "The Hours That Remain", with producer Jacob Hansen (RAUNCHY, COMMUNIC, MAROON, HATESPHERE), who had previously worked with the group on their "11 Dreams" offering.

Commented the group: "We made what we feel is the most powerful album in the band's history. Both the writing and the recording processes have really made us a stronger band as we faced quite a few challenges along the way. We can't wait for people to check out the new stuff, and look forward to playing it all live."

Packaged with beautiful artwork by Travis Smith (DEATH, NEVERMORE, OPETH, etc.), "The Hours That Remain" will feature the following track listing (in no particular order):

01. Redefine Me
02. Year Of The Plague
03. My World Is Ending
04. This Eternal Instant
05. Lost Reality
06. Soul Decision
07. Simplicity Demand
08. Obscure Indiscretion
09. My Secret Window
10. The Hours That Remain

"The Hours That Remain" is scheduled for release on August 21 via Century Media Records.

In other news, MERCENARY have announced the addition of bass player René Pedersen to the group's ranks. "We are confident that René fits the bill perfectly, both as a musician and as a person," the band write. "We have been rehearsing with him through the last month, and he is really kicking ass!"

Finnish goth-metallers TO/DIE/FOR have set "Wounds Wide Open" as the title of their their fifth album, tentatively due in October. The follow-up to 2005's "IV" was recorded by Samu Oittinen at Fantom Studios and by Jari-Jukka Nippala at Sonic Image, and will now be sent to Sweden's Abyss Studios where it will be mixed by Peter Tägtgren (DIMMU BORGIR, CELTIC FROST). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Wicked Circle", "Guilt Ridden State", "Quiet Room" and "Liquid Lies".

TO/DIE/FOR recently parted ways with guitarist Mika "Alli" Ahtiainen and have replaced him with returning axeman Joonas "Jope" Koto.

Joonas, who will continue to play in MALPRACTICE, said about his new gig, "It's nice to be back in TO/DIE/FOR. It feels like coming home after a few years of absence. Can't wait to get on the road with these monkeys again. It's gonna be one hell of a ride, I guess..."

TO/DIE/FOR's new CD will be the follow-up to the "IV" album, which was recorded at Sonicimage studios in Kouvola, Finland and was mixed at Finnvox studios in Helsinki with Mikko Karmila.

The current TO/DIE/FOR lineup is completed by vocalist Jarno "Jape" Perätalo, ex-SOULRELIC axeman Antza Talala, ex-NEW DAWN FOUNDATION drummer/ex-TO/DIE/FOR drum tech Santtu Lonka, and bassist Jarkko "Josey" Strandmann (ex-NEW DAWN FOUNDATION).

Escapi Music has set a July 28 European release date (August 1 in North America) for the new DISSECTION DVD, entitled "Rebirth of Dissection". With Jon Nödtveidt's release from an eight-year prison sentence on September 6, 2004, he recruited a completely new lineup. First to join the ranks was ex-DARK FUNERAL drummer Tomas Asklund, followed shortly by bass player Brice Leclerq (ex-NIGHTRAGE). After auditioning guitarists in the summer of 2004, ex-ABORYM member Set Teitan finally entered to complete the lineup. Embarking on a vast European march of triumph, supported by Swedish black metallers WATAIN, DISSECTION's "Rebirth of Dissection European Tour 2004" turned out to be a huge success. This DVD includes lots of extras and bonus material recorded from this tour, and shows why the band are again at the top of the black metal genre.

DISSECTION released their long-awaited new album, "Reinkaos", last week on The End Records.

DISSECTION recently announced a one-off "exclusive" European concert on June 24 in Stockholm, Sweden. The performance, dubbed "Midsummer Massacre '06", will be filmed and recorded for a "massive DVD production" and a live album. The band will play a couple of exclusive North American dates later in the year before officially splitting up once again.

On June 27, 2006, DISSECTION's classic "The Somberlain" and "Storm of the Light's Bane" albums will be reissued in the U.S. by The End Records. The remastered CDs will come with multiple bonus tracks, previously unreleased material and new layouts.

STREAM OF PASSION, the new band featuring AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen, have uploaded audio samples from their upcoming live double CD and DVD, entitled "Live in the Real World", at this location. A video trailer for the DVD is available for download here.

"Live in the Real World" is scheduled for release on the following dates:

• Benelux: June 15
  
• Germany: June 16
  
• Rest of Europe: June 19
  
• USA: July 18
  

The live recordings were made on February 17, 2006 at the Lucky & Co. venue in Rijssen, Holland during the band's "Embrace the Storm" tour. The double CD set contains the full concert and a booklet featuring live photos. The DVD contains the full concert shot with seven high-definition cameras and mixed in both 2.0 and 5.1.

"Live in the Real World" DVD/CD (view artwork here) track listing:

1. Intro
   
2. Spellbound
   
3. Passion
   
4. Waracle
   
5. Wherever You Are
   
6. Computer Eyes
   
7. Calliopeia
   
8. Valley Of The Queens
   
9. Haunted
   
10. The Charm of the Seer
    
11. Deceiver / Songs of the Ocean
    
12. Day One: Vigil
    
13. Day Three: Pain
    
14. Nostalgia
    
15. Out in the Real World
    
16. The Castle Hall
    
17. Into The Black Hole
    
18. When The Levee Breaks
    
19. Day Eleven: Love
    

Bonus DVD Features:

* Live in Concert (Dolby 2.0 and 5.1)
* Behind the Scenes
* Photo Gallery
* Video Clip: "Out in the Real World"
* Making of the Video Clip
* Tour Diary

The DVD will be available in both PAL and NTSC (region-free).

STREAM OF PASSION's debut album, "Embrace the Storm", was released in Holland in October via Sony/BMG Benelux. The CD was issued in the rest of Europe and the U.S./Canada via InsideOut Music.

STREAM OF PASSION is:

• Johan van Stratum - Bass guitar
  
• Davy Mickers - Drums
  
• Marcela Bovio - Vocals, Lyrics, Violin
  
• Arjen Lucassen - Guitars, Music
  
• Lori Linstruth - Lead Guitar
  
• Alejandro Millán - Piano
  

Salzburg, Austria-based doom/sludge metal band OUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON US — now featuring in its ranks Barth (ex-BELPHEGOR) on bass — have chosen to fully provide their album "Jumping Once Too Often Into The Ocean That Had Always Been Our Inspiration" for free download on their web site. The LP was released in April 2005 as a vinyl-only release (white vinyl, 500 hand-numbered pieces) via Austria's Mju.org Records. Because of the increasing demand for a digital release, the complete album is now also available in MP3 format (192 kBps / 44.1 kHz) for free from www.osdou.com/.

"Jumping Once Too Often Into The Ocean That Had Always Been Our Inspiration" (view LP cover here) track listing:

1. Enter the Eye of the Cyclone
   
2. Washing Hands in Innocence
   
3. A Stream that Won't Run Dry
   
4. The Element Beholder
   
5. Breathe
   
6. Ocean of Inspiration
   

OUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON US's style is being described as "a self-contained mixture of bands like NEUROSIS, BREACH, 16 HORSEPOWER and THE MELVINS."

Norwegian metallers SUSPERIA are scheduled to enter the studio in August to begin recording their new album, tentatively due in early 2007. The follow-up to 2004's "Unlimited" will reportedly contain 10 "very diverse individual songs with a lot of variation." One of the tracks that will appear on the CD, entitled "More", was performed during the band's recent appearance at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, Norway.

SUSPERIA's most recent release was an EP entitled "Devil May Care". The band entered the single chart for the first time in their career in October when the EP made its debut at No. 21 on Norway's official "Hit List."

"Devil May Care" was released in Europe through TABU Recordings as a special-edition CD featuring a combination of original and cover songs that have been drawn from various recording sessions. Tracks appearing on the release are the "Unlimited" album cut "Devil May Care", new song "Venting the Anger" and three covers, "Lack Of Comprehension" (originally recorded by DEATH), "Wild Child" (originally recorded by W.A.S.P.) and a version of "The Sun Always Shines On TV" (a worldwide hit for fellow Norwegians A-HA). As an added bonus, the release contains the promo videos for "Chemistry" and "Devil May Care" as well as screensavers, wallpapers and booklet picture gallery.

French metallers LYZANXIA have inked a worldwide deal with Listenable Records. The group's third full-length album, "Unsu", will be released in September all over Europe and a short time later in the U.S. The follow-up to 2004's "Mindcrimes" was recorded and mixed at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden by Fredrik Nordström and Patrick J. Sten. The mastering was done by Peter In De Betou at Tailor Maid Studio. The album has 12 tracks and the cover artwork was designed by Alain Tréhard.

For more information, visit www.lyzanxia.com.

Swedish "heavy doom progressive" metallers MORGANA LEFAY have announced the addition of drummer Pelle Åkerlind (LEDNOTE, ROCK TOOLS, live session member of BLOODBOUND) to the group's ranks. "We will continue as planed with playing festivals this summer, and a European tour in September," the band write on their web site. "After that we’ll start preparing for the recording of our next album."

MORGANA LEFAY's latest album, "Grand Materia", was released in April 2005 via Black Mark Records. The follow-up to 2000's "SOS" (released under the LEFAY band moniker) is a concept album about Nicholas Flamel, a 14th-century alchemist who supposedly lived on forever.

MORGANA LEFAY performed at the Chicago Powerfest 2006 in early April at Mr. Kelley's Music Box in Chicago Heights, IL.

Video footage of LORDI's press conference that took place shortly after they were named the Eurovision Song Contest winners on Saturday (May 20) in Athens, Greece has been posted online at BBC.co.uk.

According to the BBC News, LORDI have been defended against claims of Satanism by their country's ambassador to the U.K.

"This is entertainment," Jaakko Laajava told BBC Radio 4's "Today" program. "Let's not take this too seriously."

"They have produced an album called "The Devil Is A Loser" and maybe that tells a little bit about this," he continued.

The mask-wearing hard rock band have been accused of promoting Satanism by some conservative Greek organisations.

Their win "shows that people are seeking something to prop themselves on and fill their empty souls," said Archbishop Christodoulos of the Greek Orthodox Church in a sermon on Sunday.

The band's lead singer, also called Lordi, has addressed the complaints, insisting: "We are not Satanists. We are not devil-worshippers. This is entertainment."

Finland has embraced the band since their Eurovision win in Athens on Saturday, despite earlier concerns that they would tarnish the country's reputation.

"We have not been really spectacularly successful in Eurovision before," said Ambassador Laajava, "and we are all very thrilled and encouraged by this."

The ambassador said he was comfortable with the image of Finland being portrayed by the heavy metal "monsters".

"There are other very successful heavy metal bands in Finland [who are] known also here in Britain — NIGHTWISH, H.I.M., THE RASMUS and others.

"So there is some tradition in this area."

Saturday's ceremony marked Finland's first Eurovision victory. The country has finished in last place eight times.

Dutch death metallers GOD DETHRONED have entered Soundlodge Studios in Germany to begin recoring their new album, tentatively due before the end of the year. The band's guitarist Isaac Delahaye has posted the following studio update on the band's official web site:

"Back with some great news: the recording of our new album is almost finished!
Bass, clean guitars, overdubs, melodies & solo's were added since the last update, and all the pieces start to fit the puzzle. I really can't wait to hear the Serpent King terrorizing the songs with grunts and screams. My job is basically done in the studio, so it's hard to be patient now...

"The wall of rhythm guitars blew us all away, so we spent quite some time to search for the perfect bass sound to match it and to make the overall sound even thicker. But the mission is accomplished! Being in the studio with TWO drummers (producer Jorg Uken also comes from that planet) was definitely a plus. 'Play on the kicks!!'

"Recording extra layers of melodies, clean stuff, etc. went pretty fast, but let me tell you: coming up with good solo stuff took me AGES this time!! The last couple of months I had been practicing new techniques/licks at home, in order to use them while improvising solo's in the studio. I'm not a real fan of worked-out-solos; I always try to create something 'on the spot.' But this time some songs asked for a certain solo/atmosphere, so I just hád to work on it before getting it on tape. But I'm VERY happy about the result! I hope I'll make my mom & dad proud."

GOD DETHRONED's most recent album, "The Lair of the White Worm", was released in November 2004 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2003's "Into the Lungs of Hell" was recorded at Berno Studios in Malmö, Sweden by Henrik Larsson and was mastered at Franky's Recording Kitchen by Berthus Westerhuis.

Seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST have uploaded several photos of their current touring lineup rehearsing for their upcoming European dates. Check them out at this location.

Veteran ATHEIST guitarist Rand Burkey has been forced to bow out of the band's forthcoming festival performances due to legal troubles. Filling in for Burkey on the upcoming reunion shows will be veteran guitarist Chris Baker. Baker will be joining core ATHEIST members Kelly Shaefer (vocals), Tony Choy (bass), and Steve Flynn (drums) as well as guitarist Sonny Carson (who will be playing Shaefer's guitar role due to Shaefer's long-running battles with tendonitis and carpal tunnel). Baker and Carson are currently playing with Steve Flynn's new band GNOSTIC.

Commented Shaefer: "In fine ATHEIST tradition, we've been dealt another set of obstacles to overcome. These new problems have made these upcoming shows come very close to not happening but Chris is an extraordinary player, and has done a great job on the very difficult task of dissecting and learning Rand's guitar parts. Not having Rand be able to take part is a disappointment to us, but we have always honored our band commitments, even in the face of unbelievable odds, and this will be no exception. We've been playing these songs for months now, they are sounding great! We simply cannot wait to get it on!"

As previously reported, ATHEIST will be performing the following songs on their upcoming tour:

01. On They Slay
02. Unholy War
03. Piece of Time
04. Unquestionable Presence
05. Retribution
06. Mother Man
07. An Incarnation's Dream
08. And the Psychic Saw
09. I Deny
10. Mineral
11. Air
12. Fire

Israeli atmospheric black metallers BISHOP OF HEXEN will release their long-awaited second album, "The Nightmarish Compositions", on June 23 via the Austrian metal label CCP Records. The upcoming CD will mark the group's first release since 1997's "Archives of an Enchanted Philosophy", which was released through Hammerheart Records.

"The Nightmarish Compositions" (view cover here) track listing:

1. Unveil the Curtain of Sanity
   
2. Eyes Gaze to a Future Foreseen
   
3. A Serpentine Crave
   
4. Sleeping by Nightmares
   
5. Self Loathing Orchestration
   
6. Spiritual Soul Sunset
   
7. The Somber Grounds of Truth
   
8. Stride the Corridors of One's Mind
   
9. Velvet Demise
   
10. Dreaming...Dementia
    

An audio sample of the track "Velvet Demise" is available at the band's official web site.

Blender.com just posted a two-part video interview with DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li. Watch as he pulls off unimaginable sound effects and is interviewed alongside fellow guitar wizard Sam Totman — then read more about the group and their forthcoming Roadrunner album, "Inhuman Rampage", by clicking here.

DRAGONFORCE have been confirmed for the main stage at this year's Ozzest, which is set to kick off June 29 in Auburn, Washington. The band's third album, "Inhuman Rampage", which was issued in Europe four months back, will receive a U.S. release on June 20 via Roadrunner.

A WALTARI two-CD collection, entitled "Early Years", is scheduled for release in Finland on May 31. The double album will include the following:

CD 1:

Remastered re-release of first album "Monk Punk"; special version with additional songs, recorded by the original trio (Jariot, Kärtsy, Sale) during winter 2005/2006.

CD 2:

Remastered re-release of "Pala Leipaa - Ein Stueckchen Brot"; collection of early singles and EP releases and unreleased songs. The package also includes a poster booklet containing lots of information and showing a bunch of old WALTARI photos.

WALTARI's latest CD, "Blood Sample", was issued in Europe on April 24 via Dockyard 1, the new company formed by Dirk Putzke, Christine Stephan (both ex-Sanctuary/Noise Records) and Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR). The album was originally released in Finland last September.

Belgian death metallers FLESHMOULD have uploaded an audio sample of the track "Eternal Shifting Portals" at this location. The song comes off the group's upcoming album, "The Lazarus Breed", due on June 6 via Shiver Records. The recordings took place at the ShumCot Soundlab and the mastering was done at the CCR Studio.

"The Lazarus Breed" (view cover here) track listing:

1. Argus
   
2. God Of Nihil
   
3. Apocalyptus Rexx*
   
4. Structures In Decline
   
5. Eternal Shifting Portals
   
6. Bitter Harvest*
   
7. Havoc
   
8. (I Am Your) Thorn
   

*new and re-recorded version

FLESHMOULD's most recent release was an EP, entitled "Apocalyptus Rexx". The CD — the group's first release to feature guitarist Dave Vanlokeren and singer Sven Houfflijn (ex-ANESTHESY, IMPEDIGON) — was also recorded at Shumcot Soundlab in Aartrijke.

Finnish melodic death/thrash metallers MORS PRINCIPIUM EST will enter the studio in June to begin recording their third album, tentatively due in early 2007 via Listenable Records. The mixing for the follow-up to 2005's "The Unborn" will take place at Astia Studios in Finland in late August while the mastering will be done in September at Helsinki's Finnvox.

MORS PRINCIPIUM EST's debut album, "Inhumanity", was reissued through Listenable, with completely new artwork and with three bonus songs, in February. The band's most recent CD, "The Unborn" was recorded at Tico Tico studio (SONATA ARCTICA, SENTENCED, FOR MY PAIN…, ALTARIA) in Kemi, Finland. Mastering duties were handled at Finnvox studios. The album cover was designed by Mattias Norèn.

A high-quality video of LORDI's winning performance at the Eurovision Song Contest final on Saturday (May 20) in Athens, Greece can be downloaded at this location (75 MB).

At the end of LORDI's performance, right before the file is cut, you can hear one of the hosts (this is taken from French television) saying, "Finland has been participating in the Eurovision contest for the past 44 years and has never won. They're certainly not gonna win with this."

More videos of LORDI's performance at the Eurovision final are available at this location.

The Associated Press is reporting that LORDI scandalized some of their Finnish compatriots when their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" was chosen to represent the nation. At a press conference, the band's frontman said his plan for the final was to "scream louder and turn the amps up."

"This is a victory for rock music ... and also a victory for open-mindedness," the band's lead singer, Mr. Lordi, said after the win, Finland's first. "We are not Satanists. We are not devil worshipers. This is entertainment."

Combining crunchy guitars, a catchy chorus and mock-demonic imagery, LORDI are reminiscent of U.S. '70s stars KISS, an acknowledged inspiration of Mr. Lordi.

Band members never appear without their elaborate masks and makeup, and do not reveal their true names.

LORDI's latest CD, "The Arockalypse", entered the official Finnish chart at position No. 5 in early March and climbed up to position No. 4 in its second week of release. The album features guest appearances by TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider and guitarist Jay Jay French, as well as former ACCEPT vocalist Udo Dirkschneider and ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Saturday's showdown was broadcast live in 38 countries to a TV audience estimated at 100 million. About 13,000 fans packed the indoor arena used during the 2004 Olympic Games, from Goth supporters of LORDI to cowboy-hatted Germans supporting TEXAS LIGHTNING. About 3,000 police officers were on duty for the event.

German gothic rockers LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE will release their seventh album, "Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts", on July 7 via Napalm Records. The CD was produced by John Fryer (H.I.M., PARADISE LOST, NINE INCH NAILS, DEPECHE MODE) and will be preceded by a single, "Again It's Over", due in Europe on June 9. The six-track mini-CD jewel-case edition will include three non-album tracks. A video for "Again It's Over" was recently filmed and can be viewed at this location (Windows Media).

Evil Legend Records has announced the signing of '80s Canadian thrash metal act DEATH MILITIA. The band will be issuing "The Anthology of Death Militia", a collection of tracks from all of their '80s demos and unreleased songs over their entire career. A release date for the effort has yet to be announced.

For more information, visit www.evillegendrecords.com.

Audio and video clips from NIGHTWISH's upcoming live CD/DVD package, entitled "End of an Era", have been posted online at MusicBay.se. Due out June 2, "End of an Era" contains recordings/footage of NIGHTWISH's final concert with singer Tarja Turunen, which took place on October 21, 2005 at the Hartwall arena in Helsinki, Finland. In addition to the live footage, the DVD includes a slideshow of pictures from the Hartwall show and a 55-minute documentary, "A Day Before Tomorrow", featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the band in the 15 days prior to the Hartwall Show. The documentary was edited by Timo Halo, who also edited and directed the "From Wishes To Eternity - Deleted Scenes" and "End of Innocence" movies that were released on previous NIGHTWISH DVDs.

"End of an Era" track listing:

1. Dark Chest Of Wonders
   
2. Planet Hell
   
3. Ever Dream
   
4. Kinslayer
   
5. Phantom Of The Opera
   
6. The Siren
   
7. Sleeping Sun
   
8. High Hopes
   
9. Bless The Child
   
10. Wishmaster
    
11. Slaying The Dreamer
    
12. Kuolema Tekee Taiteilijan
    
13. Nemo
    
14. Ghost Love Score
    
15. Stone People
    
16. Creek Mary's Blood
    
17. Over The Hills and Far Away
    
18. Wish I Had an Angel
    

NIGHTWISH fired Turunen via an "open letter," which was given to the singer immediately following the Helsinki show. The group are currently seeking a replacement vocalist before entering the studio in September 2006 to begin recording the follow-up to 2004's "Once", tentatively due in mid-2007.

LUPARA, the Chicago-land extreme metal band formed by ex-BROKEN HOPE guitarist Jeremy Wagner, are currently finishing pre-production for their yet-to-be recorded debut album for Crash Music, Inc. Actual recording of the album will take place the first week of June. Wagner says, "The album should be out by fall. There are going to be around 12 total tracks for our first album. Each song is extremely ferocious…the capacity of the album is measured in power, heaviness, metal, and blood."

Less than a week after announcing the addition of guitarist Mark Zavon (STEPHEN PEARCY, 40 CYCLE HUM) to the group's ranks following the departure of Darrell Roberts, W.A.S.P. appears to have had a change of heart and have welcomed back axeman Doug Blair.

Born February 11, 1963 as Douglas Blair Lucek, Doug Blair was a member of W.A.S.P. for a short time in 1992, according to Wikipedia. He was also a quick replacement on W.A.S.P.'s Unholy Terror Tour in 2001 on two festival gigs when Chris Holmes left the band.

Blair is known for inventing the innovative instrument the "GuitarCross" which blend five guitar strings with three bass strings (guitar strings sent to one amplifier, bass strings to another) to make a very unique sound. He uses this invention in S2N and also uses a unique 12-string acoustic named "Asia."

Blair is not the only new addition to W.A.S.P. The band also recently acquired drummer Mike Dupke (HAIR OF THE DOG, ERIC SARDINAS) as the replacement for Stet Howland. The group's U.S. tour is scheduled to kick off May 19 in Sacramento, California.

According to a posting on producer Kevin Shirley's web site, Shirley will be "heading up to New York to master the IRON MAIDEN opus next week. Actually, we're so wary of the process, we even considered not mastering at all, but we'll see how it goes — there's plenty of time to check it through. And 'Arry [IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris] knows what he likes!"

IRON MAIDEN recently confirmed a full European leg of their world tour for this coming winter 2006. The trek will start in Scandinavia on November 9 and will include new album material, which will be released prior to the tour.

Finnish melodic death metallers AMORAL have uploaded a performance video of the song "Decrowning", recorded live at Pakkahuone in Tampere, Finland on April 13, 2006, at this location (Windows Media; right-click, "Save Target As").

"Decrowning" is the title track of the band's second album, which was released in the U.S. in March via Candlelight Records USA. The CD is available in Europe on Spikefarm Records.

AMORAL signed a deal with Spikefarm in July 2004 following their split with the U.K.'s Rage of Achilles. The group's debut album, "Wound Creations", was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios and was mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox studios in Helsinki.

DRAGONLORD's video for the song "Until the End", directed by Chad Michael Ward, has been posted online at this location.

As previously reported, the "Until the End" clip will be included on the upcoming re-release of DRAGONLORD's latest CD, "Black Wings of Destiny", due later in the year via Escapi Music.

DRAGONLORD — the San Francisco-based black metal band featuring Eric Peterson (guitar, vocals; TESTAMENT), Gian Pyres (guitar; ex-CRADLE OF FILTH), Derrick Ramirez (bass), Lyle Livingstone (keys) and Jon Allen (drums; SADUS, ex-TESTAMENT) — have lined up the following dates during the coming months:

Jun. 23 - Bourbon Street - Concord, CA
Jun. 24 - Kennel Club - Sacramento, CA
Jun. 27 - Iliff Park Saloon - Aurora, CO
Jun. 29 - Mr. Kelly's Music Box - Chicago Heights, ILL
Jun. 30 - I-Rock Nightclub - Detroit, MI
Jul. 01 - Topcat's - Cleveland, OH
Jul. 02 - Vamp's - Toledo, OH
Jul. 03 - Pirate's Cove - Cincinnati, OH
Jul. 06 - Crazy Donkey - Long Island, NY
Jul. 07 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
Sep. 16 - Club Citta - Kanagawa, JPN
Sep. 17 - Club Citta - Kanagawa, JPN

"Black Wings of Destiny" was originally released in the U.S. in October 2005 via Escapi Music. The follow-up to 2001's "Rapture" (Spitfire Records) was recorded and mixed by Fredrik Nordström (HAMMERFALL, DIMMU BORGIR, ARCH ENEMY) at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden.

DRAGONLORD performed on July 23, 2005 at the Earthshaker Fest in Geiselwind, Germany, where they showcased some of the new material and filmed footage for an upcoming DVD.

Legendary hard rockers UFO have finished recording new album and will begin mixing the effort mid-June for a fall release.

UFO, who were recently rejoined by drummer Andy Parker, released a live CD/DVD, "Showtime", last year via SPV. The set was recorded at Pumpwerk in Wilhelmshaven, Germany on May 13, 2005.

In other news, UFO have been confirmed to play at the Busan Culture Festival in South Korea on August 5.