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17 май 2011
Former INIQUITY Guitarist/Singer Dead At 37
 According to Metal Zone, Brian Petrowsky, former vocalist/guitarist of the long-defunct Danish death metal band INIQUITY, passed away at the age of 37. His body has since been cremated.
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17 май 2011
HAEMORRHAGE - \'Hospital Carnage\' Full Album Stream
 Die wild um sich prügelnden spanischen Chaoten von HAEMORRHAGE haben ihr neues Album "Hospital Carnage", welches am 30. Mai 2011 via Relapse Records bei uns in den Handel kommen wird, steht via Eligiendo Muerte…, the Spanish edition of Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore, and its publisher Bazillion Points im Komplet Stream bereit. http://www.bazillionpoints.com/escoger-muerte/
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17 май 2011
SARAH JEZEBEL DEVA: New Song Available For Streaming
 "The World Won't Hold Your Hand", a brand new song from British vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva — who has toured and/or recorded with CRADLE OF FILTH, THERION, MORTIIS and ANGTORIA — can be streamed on her Facebook page. The track comes off Sarah Jezebel Deva's sophomore solo album, "The Corruption Of Mercy", which will be released in Europe on June 20 via Listenable Records. The cover art for the CD was created by CRADLE OF FILTH artist Matt Lombard and will come in a slipcase due to its slightly "dark/close-to-the-mark" nature.
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17 май 2011
GUNS N\' ROSES Guitarist BUMBLEFOOT Releases \'Father\' Digital Single
 GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has released the fifth in a series of singles being made available digitally this year, an original song entitled "Father". Described as "melodic and grungy," the track is available in MP3 (320kps), AAC, and higher-quality formats FLAC, MP3 HD, Apple Lossless and WAV. An instrumental version of the song is available in these formats as well.
For guitarists, there's a Player Pack that has a transcription of the entire lead guitar track as a PDF file — musical notation, TAB, fingers, picking, and helpful hints. Included with the transcription is a Backing Track mix and a Boosted Lead Guitar mix, in both WAV and MP3 formats.
The Producer Pack contains 48kHz/24-bit Stereo WAV files of the mix "stems" — there's a file of drums, bass, guitar, strings, lead vocals and backing vocals that you can load into your multi-track software and play with levels, make your own mixes, and hear every nuance of each instrument's performance on its own track. | 0 | |
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17 май 2011
BETHLEHEM Announces New Vocalist
 German extreme metallers BETHLEHEM have announced the addition of vocalist Malte Langenbrinck (CHAOS INVOCATION) to the group's ranks.
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17 май 2011
PRIMORDIAL Live In Bucharest: Photos, Video Footage Available
 Irish pagan metal masters PRIMORDIAL played a headlining show this past Sunday, May 15 at Wings Club in Bucharest, Romania in front of 300 people.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. No Grave Deep Enough
02. Gallows Hymn
03. Sons of the Morrigan
04. Bloodied Yet Unbowed
05. As Rome Burns
06. Lain With The Wolf
07. Autumn's Ablaze
08. The Coffin Ships
09. The Burning Season
10. Death Of The Gods
11. Heathen Tribes
12. Gods To The Godless
13. Empire Falls
14. [unknown title]
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17 май 2011
BELPHEGOR: Entire Spokane Show Available For Viewing
 BELPHEGOR's May 14 concert from The Knitting Factory in Spokane, Washington was streamed live via Livestream.com. You can now watch video footage of the performance below.
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17 май 2011
IRON MAIDEN Singer Meets LADY GAGA; Photo Available
 A new photo of IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson spending time with pop superstar Lady Gaga at the MAIDEN concert in Tampa, Florida on April 17 can be seen below.
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17 май 2011
MURDERDOLLS Frontman WEDNESDAY 13 Begins Recording New Solo Album
 MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13 entered a studio in Irvine, California on Friday, May 13 to begin recording his fourth solo album titled "Calling All Corpses".
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17 май 2011
JUNGLE ROT: New Song Available For Streaming
 "Rise Up And Revolt", a brand new song from Wisconsin death metallers JUNGLE ROT, is available for streaming at VictoryRecords.com. The track comes off the band's new album, "Kill On Command", which will be released on June 21 via Victory Records.
The Kenosha-based quartet has garnered a great and faithful following in the last 17 years due in large part to having a style more similar to the "Big Four" heavyweights rather than the typical CANNIBAL CORPSE and SUFFOCATION imitations that the underground extreme music scene is so oversaturated with. The style and approach JUNGLE ROT exposes the public to is one of efficiency and execution that has been perfected over the years. Touring with such notable acts as HATEBREED, DEICIDE, CATTLE DECAPITATION, GOATWHORE, VADER, and many others has solidified the band's place in metal history.
"We are all very happy to be a part of the Victory family," said guitarist and vocalist Dave Matrise. "'Kill On Command' is our eighth album, and it's by far our heaviest and most brutal to date. Our new drummer, Jesse Beahler, really took this new CD to the next level of heaviness.
"As always, there were ups and downs when making the record, but we do what we do best: keep fighting through all the bullshit that is dished out while being in a band, and in the end we came out with a killer new CD and a killer new label." | 0 | |
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17 май 2011
BLINDSIDE: Acoustic Performance Footage Of New Song
 Video footage of Stockholm, Sweden's BLINDSIDE performing an acoustic version of a brand new song, "Our Love Saves Us", can be viewed below. The track comes off the band's sixth album, "With Shivering Hearts We Wait", which is scheduled for release on June 7 via INO Records/RED.
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17 май 2011
AMORAL: New Single Available For Streaming
 "Same Difference", the new single from the Finnish metal/hard rock outfit AMORAL, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. Released on May 17, "Same Difference" gives a little taste of things to come on the upcoming CD, "Beneath", due for release in October.
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17 май 2011
AUGUST BURNS RED - neuer Song via Facebook
 Das neue AUGUST BURNS RED Album wird "Leveler" heißen und am 21. Juni 2011 via Solid State Records in den Handel kommen. Auf der Facebook Page der Band kann man bereits in ein neues Stück reinhören!
"Leveler" Track List:
01. Empire
02. Internal Cannon
03. Divisions
04. Cutting the Ties
05. Pangaea
06. Carpe Diem
07. 40 Nights
08. Salt & Light
09. Poor Millionaire
10. 1/16/2011
11. Boys of Fall
12. Leveler | 0 | |
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17 май 2011
MICHAEL SCHENKER: \'By Invitation Only\' Covers Album Detailed
 According to a posting on the Michael Schenker News and Tour Information web site, Store For Music will release a new Michael Schenker covers album on June 3.
"Heavy Hitters", the 2005 covers album featured Schenker and a revolving all-star cast of guest musicians. In 2008, it was re-released as a Michael Schenker solo album under the title "Doctor Doctor: The Kulick Sessions" and included four additional tracks — "Save Yourself", "Finding My Way", "Doctor Doctor" (instrumental) and "War Pigs". This latest re-release, entitled "By Invitation Only" contains all the previous cover tracks supplemented with the IRON MAIDEN cover "Run To The Hills" with Robin McAuley, a track which originally appeared on the IRON MAIDEN tribute "Numbers From The Beast".
"By Invitation Only" track listing:
01. Run To The Hills
Vocals: Robin McAuley
Rhythm Guitar: Pete Fletcher (PYMMY LOVE CIRCUS)
Bass: Tony Franklin (THE FIRM)
Drums: Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, BILLY IDOL)
02. Save Yourself
Vocals: Robin McAuley
03. Finding My Way
Vocals: Sebastian Bach
04. All Shook Up
Vocals: Joe Lynn Turner (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW)
Bass: Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN, DIO)
Drums: Aynsley Dunbar (WHITESNAKE, UFO)
05. Blood Of The Sun
Vocals: Leslie West (MOUNTAIN)
Bass: Rudy Sarzo (DIO, QUIET RIOT)
Drums: Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC)
06. Doctor Doctor
Vocals: Jeff Scott Soto (TALISMAN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN)
Bass: Marco Mendoza (SOUL SIRKUS, WHITESNAKE)
Drums: Brett Chassen (BRET MICHAELS)
07. War Pigs
Vocals: Tim "Ripper" Owens (ICED EARTH, JUDAS PRIEST)
Drums: Aynsley Dunbar
Bass: Mike Inez (OZZY OSBOURNE, ALICE IN CHAINS)
08. I'm Not Talking
Vocals: Mark Slaughter (SLAUGHTER)
Drums: Aynsley Dunbar
Bass: Jeff Pilson
09. Money
Vocals: Tommy Shaw (STYX)
Sax: Edgar Winter (EDGAR WINTER BAND)
Bass: Tony Levin (PETER GABRIEL)
Drums: Mike Baird (JOURNEY)
10. Out In The Fields
Vocals: Gary Barden (MSG)
Bass: Chuck Wright (QUIET RIOT, ALICE COOPER)
Drums: Brett Chassen
11. Hair Of The Dog
Vocals: Paul Di'Anno -IRON MAIDEN)
Bass: Phil Soussan (OZZY OSBOURNE)
Drums; Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO)
12. I Don't Live Today
Vocals: Sebastian Bach (ex-SKID ROW)
Drums: Eric Singer (KISS)
Bass: Tony Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER)
13. Politician
Vocals/Bass: Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN, DIO)
Drums: Brett Chassen
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17 май 2011
THE GATHERING: New Song Available For Free Download
 "Heroes For Ghosts", a brand new song from Dutch/Norwegian rockers THE GATHERING, is available for free download at the group's Bandcamp page. You can choose between various formats, such as mp3 320k or VBR, FLAC, ACC, ALAC and Ogg Vobis.
Comments the band: "'Heroes For Ghost' is a song which will appear on our new album, title and release date [to be announced].
"We will play this song live in the Netherlands (May/June) and during our South American 'Ghost Ride Tour'. We thought it would be nice if you people already know the song a bit so you can sing with us.
"We hope you will like it as much as we do. We think we made something really special. On top of this, our friend Marcus Moonen is also busy with a video clip (or short movie). We will let you know when it's finished. In the meantime, enjoy! (and yes, it's totally for free!"
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17 май 2011
CRIMSON GLORY Issues European Tour Recap; New Album In The Works
 Reactivated Florida-based melodic metallers CRIMSON GLORY have released a statement following the overwhelming success of their recent 25th-anniversary European tour:
"We are incredibly proud and pleased with how well our shows were received in Europe! The fans were amazing and really impressed us with how sincere and genuine they were. We truly have the most passionate, loyal fans in the world! It was so great to see people who were at the first shows twenty five years ago, to hear how they've grown and changed, and to see the insane amount of photos, records and memorabilia that they brought with them.
"Everyone was on-point; our friends in TRIOSPHERE and CIRRHA NIVA were great company and delivered excellent shows, but the real star of this tour was new [CRIMSON GLORY] vocalist Todd La Torre.
"Todd blew the doors off of every venue we played, and proved himself every night, from the first show to the last! The fans, club owners, promoters and press, were all amazed by him and impressed by the band's performance overall. Todd rose to the challenge presented to him and exceeded everyone's expectations! The amount of love and acceptance shown to him by our fans was overwhelming, and there were many whom he met who could only whisper 'Thank you,' with tears in their eyes.
"There is no doubt that Todd is the perfect fit for CRIMSON GLORY, and we all agree that [late CRIMSON singer] Midnight would be extremely proud of him and his performance of all our classic songs.
"We would also like to take a moment to again express our sincere apologies to our friends and many fans in Milan, Italy. We were very saddened to learn of the Milan show's short-notice cancellation, and to this end we wish to remind you all that this was a situation that was outside of CRIMSON GLORY and the tour, and completely beyond our control.
"We want to personally thank every one of you who made the long trip to the Pratteln and Essen shows, and we are making plans to return to Italy in summer or autumn 2011.
"We are eager to get back out on the road again, and we will be announcing more dates shortly. CRIMSON GLORY will also be going back into the studio to continue work on our new record, tentatively scheduled for release in early 2012.
"Thank you all again for making the beginning of our 25th-anniversary tour a smashing success!"
Chile's Blitzkrieg conducted an interview with guitarist Jon Drenning and vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY before the band's April 28, 2011 concert in Zoetermeer, Holland. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is performance footage from the Zoetermeer show.
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17 май 2011
OZZY OSBOURNE Receives First Copy Of \'Blizzard\', \'Diary\' Reissues
 Ozzy Osbourne was the first to see forthcoming reissues of the two albums which form the cornerstone of hiscareer as a solo artist: "Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman" (Epic Records/Legacy Recordings) and OzTV was there to capture it. Watch the clip below.
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17 май 2011
JOB FOR A COWBOY: Multi-Camera Performance Footage Of New Song
 Capital Chaos has uploaded multi-camera video footage of Glendale, Arizona extreme metallers JOB FOR A COWBOY performing a brand new song, "Signature Of Starving Power", on May 3, 2011 at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California. You can now watch the clip below.
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17 май 2011
LEVIATHAN Introduces New Singer At CD-Release Party
 Colorado-based prog-metal veterans LEVIATHAN have announced the addition of singer Brice Cave to the group's ranks.
Brice made his live debut with LEVAITHAN at the band's CD-release party on April 22 at The Toad Tavern in Littleton, Colorado. Video footage of that performance can be seen below. | 0 | |
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17 май 2011
Ex-INTO ETERNITY Drummer Replaces MIKE MANGINI At BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC
 Renowned drummer Steve Bolognese (BAPTIZED IN BLOOD, ex-INTO ETERNITY) has been officially named Mike Mangini's replacement at the Berklee College Of Music.
Berklee College Of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip hop, reggae, salsa, rock, heavy metal, and bluegrass, in addition to its traditional jazz courses. It offers degrees in composition, contemporary writing and production, film scoring, jazz composition, music business/management, music education, music production and engineering, electronic production and design, music therapy, performance, professional music, and songwriting.
Commented Bolognese: "As the world knows, Mike Mangini has joined DREAM THEATER as their new drummer.
"Mike was my drum teacher for years, beginning back in 2000. He is one of the most talented, dedicated drummers in the world, and also one of the most inspirational teachers one could ask for. Unfortunately, Mike, or any of us for that matter, cannot be in two places at once. Therefore, he has recommended me to teach his classes at Berklee. It's an amazing opportunity and I'm totally honored.
"Mike is obviously irreplaceable, but I'm going to do my best to share the invaluable information that Mike has taught me. It always feels great to share the knowledge with aspiring students."
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17 май 2011
SYSTEM OF A DOWN Drummer Breaks Silence On Reunion
 According to The Pulse Of Radio, SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan has broken the silence around the band's reunion tour, which kicked off on Tuesday (May 10) in Edmonton, Canada and hits Seattle Friday night (May 13). Speaking with Straight.com, Dolmayan said about the band's five-year hiatus, "I personally don't like breaks — I like to continue playing. But it was nice to go off and be John Dolmayan, as opposed to John from SYSTEM, for a while. I think everybody had similar feelings."
The drummer explained that a desire to pull off the road for a while and reconnect with their lives is what led SYSTEM to take an extended vacation from each other, saying, "When you're on the road and in the studio all the time, it's kind of like traveling at light speed. When you come back, it's like 20 years have passed by, and you're only one or two hours older . . . You're living a nomadic life, and you lose touch with people because they have grown away from you. People get older, get married, die — life is still going on."
Dolmayan admitted that he was lobbying to end the hiatus for the last three years, saying, "There's no real personality in the band that can be pushed to do anything that they don't want to. We are four very strong individuals."
But Dolmayan also said that the occasional clash of those four strong personalities led to the break as well, explaining, "We all have our idiosyncrasies and things that irritate the shit out of each other. Some of [singer] Serj's [Tankian] stuff irritates me, and I'm sure some of my stuff irritates the shit out of him. That's natural. You're in a relationship when you're in a band . . . But look at us — we've been together longer than most marriages last."
"And a band is a marriage," Dolmayan continued, "except that you don't have one headache, you have three to four headaches, and, on top of that, everyone having other people that influence each member. It's almost like a congress, there are so many people involved. Ultimately, though, we make the decisions because we are the band. Our relationships are all intact, and we always have a great time together. The other day, it took us 20 minutes to start a rehearsal because we were all too busy laughing. I don't even remember what was so funny, but that's a sign that we don't take things too seriously. We like to just get up there and play."
SYSTEM's last two albums, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize", were released in 2005. The band has not indicated whether it will work on new studio material or not after this tour is completed.
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17 май 2011
PAIN - \'Dirty Woman\'-Remix online
 Die schwedischen Industrial Metaller PAIN um den legendären Produzenten/Musiker Peter Tägtgren, haben dem Remix ihrer ersten Single "Dirty Woman" online gestellt.
Tägtgren dazu: "The remix version of "Dirty Woman" is something Petja Turunen, a famous DJ from Finland, did for me. The outcome is kinda unexpected since it has that whole house/dance thing to it. He did it his way and I hope people enjoy it as much as I do!"
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16 май 2011
VENOM: New Album Title Revealed
 British black metal pioneers VENOM have set "Fallen Angels" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in August/September via Universal Music. The CD was mixed with producer Tom Belton at his London studio and will contain 13 new "classics."
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16 май 2011
 Album release from Versailles for the first time since a new member MASASHI joined the band. Includes tracks "DESTINY -The Lovers-," the theme song of the TV program "Onegai Kanaete Versailles," "Philia," and the main theme of the film "Vampire Stories." Contains a bonus DVD with music videos featuring each members and music video making-of. This edition comes with a poster and about 100-page photo booklet. *Unless otherwise indicated, DVDs are region-2 encoded (Japan, Europe, and Middle East), and carry no subtitles.
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16 май 2011
ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION Announces New Vocalist, Guitarist
 Finnish thrashers ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION have announced the addition of vocalist Jarno Samppala and guitarist Jussi Arkela to the group's ranks.
Samppala, who is the brother of ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION drummer Jussi Samppala, replaces longtime vocalist and original bandmember Mika Luoma.
Regarding his departure from the group, Mika said in a statement: "I feel it's the fair thing to do, now that new ambitions have risen. The core of the band have worked hard in the past months. My lack of time and motivation would only stand in the way of four other musicians' chances. Thanks to everyone in the past few years for support and helping start the new ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION chapter."
Arkela previously made a guest appearance on ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION's album "Gallery Of Pain".
The addition of Jussi Arkela now means that ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION has a full lineup and is ready to start playing out.
The first chance to see ALTARS OF DESTRUCTION live after a long break is the Rotta Festival (Rottavestivaali) in Nummijärvi, Finland on Saturday, August 20. | 0 | |
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16 май 2011
QUEENSRŸCHE: Audio Samples Of Entire New Album Available
 Audio samples of all tracks that will appear on "Dedicated To Chaos", the twelfth studio album from Seattle progressive rockers QUEENSRŸCHE, are available for streaming at Amazon.com.
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16 май 2011
ENDSTILLE: \'Anomie\' Video Released
 "Anomie", the new video from German black metallers ENDSTILLE, can be viewed below. The track comes off the band's seventh album, "Infektion 1813", which will be released on May 17 (one day earlier internationally) via Season Of Mist. The first pressing of the CD will be a limited-edition digipak.
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16 май 2011
RONNIE JAMES DIO Remembered On One-Year Anniversary Of His Death
 Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and his own band DIO, died of stomach cancer one year ago on Monday (May 16) at the age of 67.
A three-minute Artisan News Service report in which Dio's BLACK SABBATH and HEAVEN & HELL bandmate Geezer Butler, Ronnie's cousin David "Rock" Feinstein (both played in ELF) and wife/manager Wendy remember the heavy metal legend can be viewed below.
Butler said that Dio was so special "because he had an incredible voice; he was blessed with it. And he loved his fans. He'd talk to his fans after every show until there was nobody left. He was so genuine."
Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.
A free public memorial service was held on May 30, 2010 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, attended by more than 1,500 fans, friends and fellow musicians.
This past March, it was announced that the surviving members of the final lineup of DIO would embark on a project with former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens under the name DIO DISCIPLES.
His wife and manager, Wendy Dio, still oversees all projects and releases related to the career and music of her late husband.
Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.
He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.
He released his first single, with a band called RONNIE AND THE REDCAPS, in 1959.
His first heavy rock act, ELF, released three albums and opened for DEEP PURPLE, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, RAINBOW, after leaving PURPLE in 1975.
Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with RAINBOW before exiting in 1978, including "Rising" and "Long Live Rock And Roll".
He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.
He has also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, DIO, including a classic 1983 debut, "Holy Diver", and an equally renowned follow-up, 1984's "The Last In Line".
Dio was also behind the HEAR N' AID project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.
Rock and metal musicians around the world paid tribute to Dio in the weeks and months following his death. STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor shared his feelings with The Pulse Of Radio about the fallen metal icon. "When I got that news that he had passed away, man, it seriously — it broke my heart. It broke it in two. Because honestly, I just feel like there will never be another Ronnie James Dio. He had such a pure voice — and still singing his ass off. I just know he'll be missed, and I will miss him as well."
Ex-VAN HALEN and current CHICKENFOOT bassist Michael Anthony also shared his memories of Dio with The Pulse Of Radio. "I don't know anybody that didn't grow up listening to his stuff," he said. "You know, VAN HALEN, we used to do from the first RAINBOW album, we did 'Man On The Silver Mountain'. I remember one time, the second VAN HALEN tour we were doing some festivals in Europe, and we actually played on the same show as Ronnie's band. Real powerful voice, you know, and definitely a driving force in hard rock music, that guy was."
Slash told The Pulse Of Radio that he felt the loss of Dio very keenly. "He's just somebody I was influenced by," he said. " I played all the RAINBOW stuff, I played the DIO stuff, the SABBATH stuff when I was in, you know, high school. I don't think that it's really set in what a, you know, huge figure in rock 'n' roll we lost, you know. Really major. Probably one of the most influential heavy metal singers of all time."
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16 май 2011
JOHN PETRUCCI Says MIKE MANGINI Is Permanent Member Of DREAM THEATER
 Guitarist John Petrucci of progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER spoke to the Artisan News Service (see video below) about fan speculation that the band's new drummer, Mike Mangini, is merely a temporary replacement for founding member Mike Portnoy, who left the group last fall.
"[Mangini is] a [permanent] bandmember," Petrucci said. "That's what we were looking for. I think it depends on the band and what they [are] looking for. We're not looking for a session guy to come in temporarily. We don't wanna be known as the temporary DREAM THEATER; we want a member. You know, like when we got Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] in the band. We wanted a new member."
When asked if DREAM THEATER is planning on finishing out its career with the current lineup, Petrucci said, "I would hope so. That's the way I like to live life and think about things; I don't think of things as being temporary. I like to think of this as moving forward in a positive way and direction with all intentions of staying this way forever. Unless some unforeseen event should happen, which happens. [Laughs] You could have asked me the same question before Mike [Portnoy] left and I would have had the same answer. 'Of course this is the way… This is who we are. This is the way we'll always be.' You never know what's gonna happen. But, yeah, [we have] full intentions of moving forward this way."
DREAM THEATER is currently recording its much-anticipated new album for a fall release via Roadrunner Records.
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16 май 2011
ROB HALFORD On JUDAS PRIEST\'s New Guitarist, Split With K.K. DOWNING And Band\'s Future
 On May 9, longtime Spanish heavy metal journalist Rafa Basa of RafaBasa.com conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford about the departure of the band's founding member, Kenneth "K.K." Downing; the addition of 31-year-old guitarist Richie Faulkner (LAUREN HARRIS, DIRTY DEEDS); and the group's upcoming "Epitaph" farewell tour. Several excerpts from the chat follow below (transcribed exclusively by BLABBERMOUTH.NET from the original 27-minute audio, which can be streamed at the bottom of this article).
On why JUDAS PRIEST has chosen to embark on a farewell tour at this point in the band's career:
Halford: "I think we're just being very careful. We wanna be able to still do these big shows and to still give out the same kind of power and energy that we've always been able to do. And so, 40 years later, we're doing that really successfully and we feel that we would like this to be a kind of celebration of many, many things about JUDAS PRIEST and give the fans a really, really great metal show. And then maybe just take things easier next time, you know, because… I wish we were all immortal. [Laughs] Metal is immortal [Laughs], but I don't feel immortal. It's a lot of reasons, and it happens to everybody in one way or another. I think metal touring is very, very difficult. I mean, you've got all the travelling to do and you don't get much sleep. And it's different on your body all these years later. PRIEST is famous for these very big, long grueling tours, and we just wanna still be able to make our shows, but we just wanna be able to kind of enjoy them and put on a great performance. But just kind of kick back a little bit and enjoy the golden metal years and still be with our fans, but just on a different level now."
On whether the next PRIEST studio album will be similar to the band's last CD, "Nostradamus" (2008), or if it will be a return to a classic PRIEST album format along the lines of "Angel Of Retribution" (2005):
Halford: "Well, I can tell you that it's gonna be a very strong, powerful, solid heavy metal album with all of the famous things people love about PRIEST — all the big sledgehammer heavy metal riffs from Birmingham and the screaming vocals. And it's just a very straightforward record as far as looking at our past and all of the wonderful things that we've done in heavy metal — from 'British Steel' to 'Painkiller' to 'Sad Wings Of Destiny'. We've got this wonderful heritage in our music, so I think we're just letting our heart lead us on this record. It's not as complicated or as complex in the arrangements as 'Nostradamus' was and I think we always felt that it would have been wrong to finish the recording side of PRIEST with 'Nostradamus'; we felt it was very important to kind of re-focus and put the metal in its place that we're most famous for, and I think that's what we're gonna do with this new record. It's coming out next year. It's almost completed. A lot of the songs have been already written, not fully recorded, but all of the arrangements have been made. That's the time-consuming part — the actual writing of the songs and then getting the arrangements right and all the pieces into place. And then when you go in the studio, the studio is generally a pretty straightforward operation. But we're excited, yeah. It's kind of unusual, isn't it?! 'Cause it's farewell, but it's full of new things; we have a new show, new costumes, new setlist and that's we've always tried to do for our fans and for ourselves — to make every tour special, and that's definitely the case with this one."
On the future of JUDAS PRIEST after the "Epitaph" tour:
Halford: "It's a very open set of opportunities, of course. We will still be making shows, we won't be going out on these long, massive world tours as much. But we'll still be getting together every now and again and doing a festival here and there. Personally, I don't see any reason why we need to stop the writing and the recording, because that's always a great joy and pleasure and it's not as stressful and difficult, physically and mentally, as a tour. So yeah, the future is not really laid out for certain, but I guess we'll just be and do what we've always tried to do as a metal band, which is, in one way or another, still keep recording and still do some shows."
On what it means to him to be working a new JUDAS PRIEST studio album at this point in the band's career:
Halford: "I think it's just another testament to the self-belief we have as a band. We still feel that we've got something to say. We still feel that we've got important things to display in our music, especially. And so, for a brand new studio album to come this far on in our career, I think it's a wonderful achievement, and I think it's just letting our fans, especially, see that the things that are important to us — the passion of metal and the power of metal — is still alive inside of us and we still get a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from making metal songs and recording them and putting on a show. That's not changed. I think in our hearts we wish we could do this forever. [Laughs] It's like your favorite soccer player; you wish he could keep playing the game forever, but eventually you have to be realistic and sensible and say, 'This has been great. I'm still gonna do a few things — maybe do some coaching.' Still stay in the mix of metal. But life goes on and things change. But like I said, we hope that people will see this as a time to celebrate, with a lot of new experiences. We're celebrating a lot of great moments from our past, but we're also looking forward to the future."
On K.K. Downing's statement that his departure from JUDAS PRIEST was brought on in part by "an ongoing breakdown in [the] working relationship between [him], elements of the band, and the band's management":
Halford: "Well, I'm sure you've been around a lot of bands in your life as a journalist and I'm sure you've heard a lot of stories about the creative differences that happen in a group, and you always overcome them. It's not easy being in a band; it's a very difficult, temperamental machine, because you're dealing with very emotional people, very talented people, and so you have your ups and your downs. I think that in the light of all of the excitement and the confusion over the last few weeks, a lot of the things have been kind of distorted out of the fact. I don't really know why K.K. said what he said in his press release. I think maybe K.K. himself was feeling very emotional and very kind of… I don't know… maybe retrospective about all of the things that have been going on in PRIEST for the last few years. . . If you go onto his web site today, he put up a new press release and he says, you know, he's had a great time and he's not feeling bitter, he's not feeling in any other way than feeling just very satisfied and complete that he's done all the things that he wants to do. And I think that's great. I think K.K.'s really answered a lot of questions for a lot of people. But I think it was unfair to single out the bandmembers and I think it was unfair to single out management as the reason why he left, because it was more than that. And so there you go. We're all separate, individual people that all have lives to live and all have different needs and choices to be made, and this is the one that K.K.'s gone with. And we love him dearly; he'll always be in the spirit of JUDAS PRIEST. We wish things were different, but they're not, so we have to look forward and be positive and be excited about the shows that we're gonna do and a great new guitar player, Richie. JUDAS PRIEST is not just one person, JUDAS PRIEST is the whole experience, and we've always felt that way. Even when I was away from the band, JUDAS PRIEST carried on. So this is what we're gonna do — we're gonna be strong and we're gonna put on some powerful shows and we're gonna celebrate and have some great metal experiences together again."
On why K.K. couldn't wait until after the "Epitaph" tour to leave the band:
Halford: "It's a great question. I can't answer it. You have to get in touch with K.K. and ask him that question, 'cause I can't answer it. I think we've tried to be as honest and as straightforward as we can be on both sides of the discussion, and it is very emotional. I mean, you could just as easily [have asked] that same question — which you may have done — when I was away from the band, and Ripper, my good friend Ripper, was holding the mic for me. You just have to carry on. I think more than anything, it's just kind of difficult, 'cause it's a farewell tour. Why is it happening now? Well, you've got no control over life, have you? [Laughs] You can't control life and these things happen. So you just have to accept them and see what your options are. So that's the way it is. Of course, it will never be the same without K.K., like I'm sure a lot of people said it was never the same without me. But you can't just grind to a halt, you can't just stop everything — that would be ridiculous. We have obligations to our fans and to promoters and to everybody else, and to our record company, and we wanna fulfill them and be professional and do the right thing, which is what I think we are doing."
On how he feels personally about K.K.'s departure from the band:
Halford: "I just feel very sad that this whole episode has taken place at the time that it has. I think that we're all dealing with it differently. I love Ken like a brother; we've been in each other's lives for over 40 years. And we're all still good friends; that's the important thing. It doesn't matter about the breakdown in the communication or the creative differences; that's just part of being in a band. The friendship and the caring for each other, that doesn't go away. It should never go away. Because we've been through too much together and you can't let differences of opinion over different incidents and different moments, you can't let that affect your long-term-standing relationship, business-wise and personal-wise, you can't let that get destroyed; that would be a terrible thing to do. So you just respect each other, you respect each other's choices and you respect each other's decisions. And I'm sure that at some point K.K. will probably want to be a little bit more open about his reasons for departing PRIEST; that's entirely up to K.K. We've made it clear that we're not speaking for K.K.; we can only speak for ourselves and what we need to do. So there you go — that's about as much as we can really offer to the press and to our fans at this point."
On what fans can expect from the upcoming tour:
Halford: "Well, I think, looking at the history and the tradition of PRIEST, whenever we've gone out on these world tours, we've tried to do something different, so we do have a brand new stage set, light show, we've got some special effects that we're bringing back in terms of pyro and lights and lasers and flames and all these other great, crazy things that you love about metal that we haven't used in a while; we're bringing all those back. I think the setlist is the most exciting part, because we're trying to do everything from all of our music, so it really is a celebration of the music of PRIEST as much as anything else — right from 'Rocka Rolla' all the way up to maybe a track from the brand new record. So that's quite special and unique; we've never done before that for our fans. New stage, new costumes, new songs… it's just gonna be a really special event. . . The fact that we've said we're gonna try to do something from every record is already creating a lot of excitement and people are looking at the songs and going, 'I wonder, will they do this song?' or 'I wonder, will they do that song?' So I think we wanna keep that as a surprise until the first few shows because obviously when the first few shows start to happen, it will be all over the Internet and everybody will know. But we are actually rehearsing a lot of songs, so we're gonna try to mix it up. We're gonna try to put on… maybe one song will be not in the setlist one night, so maybe we'll put two more in another night. So it will be quite varied. It's important, I think, to try and keep an element of surprise; it just gives you something to look forward to."
On the decision to hire a relatively unknown guitar player, Richie Faulkner, to replace K.K. Downing:
Halford: "I think it would have diluted the moment if we would have gone with one of our friends. We know some very famous metal guitar players and I'm sure that they would have said, 'Yeah, I'll help you out if you need the help.' But I think we wanted to give this moment its own special feeling. Obviously, nobody can replace K.K. entirely, so I think we worked really hard to find someone of the same caliber and with the same kind of discipline and guitarmanship as K.K.'s always displayed, and I think we found that in Richie. Richie's been around for awhile; he's already had a successful career up until this point with his solo activities and some of the other bands that he's worked with. But this is a big leap for Richie to go into a band like PRIEST. And he's gonna be the right man for the job, you know. It is gonna be a tremendously exciting moment for Richie as a player. I can only imagine what's going on in his mind. I suppose it's the same as when Ripper walked out each night; you just have to go out and do your very best, and that's what Richie's gonna do. I think he's gonna show the metal world that he's a very competent, exciting player that's gonna not only be able to do the parts he needs to play but also inject his own special style and technique. And I think the metal fans are really grateful that Richie's there, because if Richie was not in the spot, this tour would have been canceled. So, yeah, it's gonna be tremendous for Richie to be able to do what's gotta do and he's gonna do it really well. And I think the fans are gonna love him."
On how it will feel seeing Richie in K.K.'s spot on stage:
Halford: "Yeah, I think K.K. felt the same when he looked to the left and saw Ripper [Laughs], he didn't see me. So history repeats itself, doesn't it? Emotionally, it's always very challenging to deal with these types of things, but you just have to accept the facts and this is it now; this is the way that PRIEST is looking and the band is still together. I know we've always said JUDAS PRIEST is not just one member; JUDAS PRIEST is the whole combination of players coming together to make the sounds of PRIEST, and we have 100 percent faith that Richie can do that part. So we're excited about the shows that we're gonna and the way that we're gonna display ourselves."
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Iniquity
