Headline News

Arsonists Get All The Girls Bassist Dies At 21

Arsonists Get All The Girls bassist Pat Mason has passed away at age twenty-one. The band has issued the following statement:

"We can't describe the pain and sorrow that we all are feeling right now. Last night/early this morning our bassist, Pat Mason, passed away. Pat was an amazing person and brother to all of us. It was his 21st birthday and we all got to see him at band practice. He then proceeded to go out to the bars. He went to sleep at a friend's house. We don't know the full details but when friends tried to wake him up this morning he didn't wake up. We could never trade him for the world and could never replace him. We will always love him and will always be in our hearts. We are going to continue with the band cause that is what Pat would have wanted. There will be a donation account set up soon for his family and possibly a local benefit show as well. Thanks for everyone for the support that the band has since the beginning. We love you all and Pat loves you all as well."

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Siege Of Amida Records Signs Four Bands

London's Siege Of Amida Records recently expanded their roster with the addition of four more bands.

Terminally Your Aborted Ghost is a death metal band from Boston, MA that has previously released material with Permeated Records and The Spew Records, among many others. Their SOAR debut will surface next summer. You can check them out here.

Hailing from Wales, Endurance Of Hate is categorized as "a superbly executed mix of melodic thrash metal in the style of Soilwork and the mainstream metal accessibility of bands like Killswitch engage and Funeral For A Friend." Some of their demo material can be heard here.

Meanwhile, Montreal's Plasmarifle features members of Neuraxis and plays a combination of death metal, grindcore, and progressive metal. Their debut full-length will surface in June 2008. You can listen to them here.

Finally, Implosive Disgorgence is a death metal/grind outfit from Pompano Beach, Florida. Formed in 2004, the band will release their debut album next summer. Their obligatory Myspace can be found here.

Via their recent deal with Ferret Music, all SOAR releases will be released in the U.S. through Ferret.

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Pulling Teeth and Triac Tour Dates

Pulling Teeth and Triac will team up for a tour of the Southeast in late-December and early-January. Here are the latest tour dates:

12/27 Arden, NC @ Graffitti Music Hall
12/28 Kernersville, NC @ Creation Skatepark
12/29 Daytona Beach, FL @ This Is For You Fest
12/30 Orlando, FL @ Uncle Joe's
12/31 Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
1/1 Atlanta, GA @ The Treehouse
1/2 Chatanooga, TN @ Anarchtica
1/3 Nashville, TN @ The Anchor
1/4 Louisville, KY @ The Brickhouse
1/5 Virginia Beach, VA @ Gil's
1/6 Richmond, VA @ Ramakins

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Sonic Syndicate Posts Video #3 From the Road

The third enstallment of SONIC SYNDICATE’s “Sonic TV“ is now online here (and below). This episode documents the band‘s on hijinx while on tour in Europe recently with SOILWORK, DARK TRANQUILLITY and CALIBAN.

SONIC SYDICATE are currently making their US debut with AMON AMARTH and HIMSA. The band will be returning next May as direct support to NIGHTWISH. Confirmed dates with NIGHTWISH so far are as follows:

05/05/08 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
05/06/08 Webster Theater – Hartford, CT
05/07/08 Chance Theater – Poughkeepsie, NY
05/09/08 Centre De Foire – Quebec City, QC – CANADA
05/11/08 Cowboy’s – London, ON – CANADA
05/14/08 Garrik Centre – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
05/15/08 The Drink – Regina, SK – CANADA
05/16/08 Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANDA
05/17/08 MacEwan Hall Ballroom – Calgary, AB – CANADA
05/19/08 Sugar – Victoria, BC – CANADA
05/20/08 Croation Cultural Centre – Vancouver, BC – CANADA
05/22/08 The Boardwalk – Orangevale, CA
05/23/08 House of Blues – San Diego, CA
05/24/08 House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
05/26/08 Ogden Theater – Denver, CO
05/27/08 Granada – Lawrence, KS
05/28/07 Pop’s – Sauget, IL
05/29/07 The Muse – Nashville, TN
05/30/07 Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY
05/31/07 The Pearl Room – Mokena, IL More...

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Queensryche Confirmed For Bang Your Head Festival

QUEENSRŸCHE have been confirmed as one of the headlining acts for next year's instalment of the Bang Your Head!!! festival, set to take place on June 27-28, 2008 in Balingen, Germany. The band will deliver a very special three-hour performance with the full "Operation: Mindcrime" sets along with a huge stage production including stage actors, dialogue intermissions, video screens and other audio-visual effects.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

AGE OF EVIL
AGENT STEEL
BREAKER
CONTRACRASH
ENSIFERUM
FORBIDDEN
GRAVE DIGGER
GREAT WHITE
KORPIKLAANI
LIZZY BORDEN
OBITUARY
ONSLAUGHT
QUEENSRŸCHE
RAGE
SAXON
SECRECY
TANKARD
TRAMP'S WHITE LION
TYR

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Death Angel Guitarist Talks About New Album

Veteran San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL will release their new album, "Killing Season", on February 26, 2008 in the U.S. and February 29 internationally via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented guitarist Rob Cavestany: "'Killing Season', our latest album, is a true story that has happened before, time and time again, as it is happening at this moment. It's a tale told of tyranny, rebellion and justice. Each song is a reflection of this oppressive situation through the eyes of those affected by it. Driven by greed, the actions of those 'in control' inflict irreversible consequences upon innocent victims of the power hungry swine! The eventual result is frustration, despair, anger and finally revolution. This record speaks of truth and freedom. It also tells of the pain and suffering caused by this brutal reality we're forced to live in. Fueled by angst combined with hope, 'Killing Season' is about to begin..."

DEATH ANGEL recorded "Killing Season" in Los Angeles with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH, VELVET REVOLVER, SHADOWS FALL and STONE SOUR, among other acts.

DEATH ANGEL's latest CD, "The Art of Dying", was released in May 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records. The group's first studio album since 1990's "Act III" was recorded at SF Soundworks studios in San Francisco, California with producer Brian Joseph Dobbs (VOIVOD, MANMADEGOD).

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Bury Your Dead Start Recording New Album

Never ones to dwell on the past, Boston natives BURY YOUR DEAD are forging ahead to the future with new vocalist Myke Terry (formerly of CASSIUS) in tow. The band has returned to Florida's Audiohammer Studios, the exact facility where their previous release, "Beauty and the Breakdown", was recorded. BURY YOUR DEAD has also brought back producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, GOD FORBID), continuing with the theme of tradition. Drummer Mark Castillo states, "All I have to say is the new BURY YOUR DEAD isn't what people are going to expect. You really have to hear this."

The as-yet-untitled album is due in stores this spring via Victory Records.

BURY YOUR DEAD parted ways with vocalist Michael Crafter (formerly of the the Australian metal band I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN) less than two months after he was named the group's new lead singer.

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Exodus Guitarist Talks About Next Album

Norway's Imhotep spoke to EXODUS guitar legend Gary Holt recently about a number of topics including their new album, The Atrocity Exhibition – Exhibit A, which is out now via Nuclear Blast. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Imhotep: What can you tell about Exhibit B, just how much of that is already written and how would you compare it to Exhibit A?

Gary Holt: "When we recorded Exhibit A we had too many songs and none of them were your typical throwaway, b-side bonus songs. We had long debates, which songs should be on the album. Finally we just chose the ones we felt would work best together for this album and create the right kind of atmosphere. We chose four songs to save, so now we have four songs recorded and done for the next album and we have to finish the remaining songs. About the direction of the next album, I can only comment on the four songs that are finished, and they all stand on their own compared to the first album. There will be some themes, both musical and lyrical that kind of tie each album together, but it’s not going to be like a two album concept record, really."

Imhotep: Comment on being the godfather of thrash.

Gary Holt: "I’ve become wiser during the years. You learn from past mistakes. I mean, he who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it. As far as the band goes, the eighties were a magical and special time, but right now this is version two of the band and we are more deadly and dangerous than ever and we are most certainly hungrier than ever because we don’t take anything for granted. We are out to reclaim our spot at the top of the thrash metal world. I am pretty driven and I am not letting anything to get on my way. In the eighties there was newness on everything and we didn’t understand the business side of things. That’s was kind of bad but it was also good because we were just kids wanting to play thrash metal and getting wasted and looking for chicks. We didn’t have the business side of things to worry about and it was fun, you know. Haha, like 1989 the Headbangers Ball Tour, that was as close as any thrash metal band ever, got to feel like they are in MÖTLEY CRÜE, hahaha. We were playing in these huge places with ANTHRAX and HELLOWEEN and there were like 25 or 30 girls waiting for us outside the venue. It was fucking fun, but now we are older and little wiser and don’t want to get caught in any scandals. I have two daughters of my own now, so there a little difference in the way I feel about that stuff now, haha."

Imhotep: What about other plans, are you planning to release any DVD’s or something in the near future?

Gary Holt: "Right now this album is last in our contract with Nuclear Blast, so until we have come into terms with any kind of a new deal, any future projects are in halt – including Exhibit B. The one thing we are putting out this year on our own is a double-DVD called Double Live Dynamo, which has a 1985 Dynamo Club Show with Paul Baloff and 1997 Dynamo Festival Show. They’re the only shows Paul Baloff ever did in Eindhoven, Holland and especially the 1985 show is a legendary gig and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face when watching it."

Read the full article at imhotep.

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Tool Frontman Speaks About The Wine Business

Steve Baltin from Spinner.com spoke to TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan recently about a number of topics including the state of the music industry, his inspirations, his wine business and more.

Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Spinner.com: Do you think people have the same love for music today as previous generations of kids?
Keenan: "One thing that's not going to change is people like music. They're really inspired by music and even now with the digital downloading it's actually made it a lot more accessible to people who might not have heard stuff before because you had to buy the CD with this mysterious cover, you don't know what it's about. Well, now a lot of people are just passing around MP3s. 'Check this world music out, check out this country song, check out this GIPSY KINGS' - stuff you wouldn't normally have been exposed to because radio stations have pigeonholed themselves. They're not going to be diverse in what they're playing on their format. They're just going to play this. And some people are going to spend that $14.99 on a CD."

Spinner.com: With Tool and A PERFECT CIRCLE you say had to be more knowledgeable, 'cause what you were doing was different. Yet you found that audience. Was there a moment where you knew you had found that audience?
Keenan: "Yeah, over the years it's obvious there are people that have come around, and that's inspiring to kind of know, 'Oh, yeah, you guys are kind of getting it.' But then it starts to get to that weird Holy Grail level where at some point you go, 'Dude, we were just having fun. They were just songs. We inserted some codes in there just as a joke, but we weren't serious. We're not wearing masks in some basement chanting, nothing to do with any of that stuff. It's just us having fun.' And so when it becomes familiar, like most of my peers, we take off in different directions, and do something else to just have more fun in a different way."

Spinner.com: How did you get interested in the wine business?
Keenan: "Wine is just in my blood. I'm just a creative, restless person, and I like to challenge myself, and winemaking definitely takes patience, so this is teaching me patience. And the payoff when you open up the wine is immense. I have a history of winemaking; apparently my great-grandfather made wine in Northern Italy. So because I'm a person who believes in that intuition, that thing that brought me here, I want to believe, on some level, that history in my family was somehow speaking in my ear and brought me here to start this industry here, to pioneer this with Eric in this area."

Spinner.com: How do you find people perceive you in this industry?
Keenan: "They immediately just shrug and go, 'OK.' They think I'm Vince Neil coming in with a bottle of vinegar. Initially people go, 'Oh, you're in a band. It'll sell just because you're in a band.' Yeah, but it doesn't mean that people are going to take it seriously. So I have to try three times harder, work three times harder, and have three times as good a product for them to take it seriously."

Read the full article at spinner.com.

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Brain Drill Reveal Final New Album Track Listing

Santa Cruz, California-based death metallers BRAIN DRILL have finalized the track listing for their Metal Blade debut, "Apocalyptic Feasting", due on February 5, 2008. It is as follows:

01. Gorification
02. The Parasites
03. Apocalyptic Feasting
04. Swine Slaughter
05. Forcefed Human Shit
06. Consumed by the Dead
07. Revelation
08. Bury the Living
09. The Depths of Darkness
10. Sadistic Abductive

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Bullet For My Valentine Post New Song Online

A new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE track entitled "Scream Aim Fire" has been posted on the group's MySpace page. The song is the title cut of the Welsh metallers' forthcoming sophomore album, due in the U.S. on January 29, 2008 (Jive/SonyBMG).

"Scream Aim Fire" was produced by Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY) who also produced "The Poison", and was recorded at Sonic Ranch near El Paso, TX earlier this year. The eleven new songs are, according to frontman Matthew Tuck, "really melodic heavy metal...catchy, hooky choruses and full-on vocals, with the music being very in-your-face and heavy...it's a lot more uptempo [than 'The Poison'], a lot more aggressive."

An exclusive 15-minute digital single — a special sneak preview of "Scream Aim Fire" — will be available for download beginning December 18. Two of the album's tracks, "Eye of the Storm" plus the title cut, will be included, along with the band's Matt and Moose providing a behind-the-scenes track-by-track commentary about the album. The "Scream Aim Fire" digital single will sell for $1.98 and be available through all the major digital media services (iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc.). More...

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One Hour Hell Post Album Samples Online

Swedish thrash/death metal act ONE HOUR HELL has posted audio samples from its upcoming debut album, "A Product of Massmurderer", on the group's MySpace page. The CD was recorded at Studiomega (BY NIGHT, THE CROWN, IMPIOUS, ANATA, OLD MAN'S CHILD) in Varberg, Sweden with producer Johan Örnborg. A January 21, 2008 release via Deaf And Blind Records is expected. More...

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In Flames Post Studio Diary Episode 12 Online

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES are currently at the band's own IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden working on the follow-up to last year's "Come Clarity". The group is receiving 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".

The band's studio video diary is online now with Episode 12. Watch it here.

IN FLAMES's new CD is tentatively scheduled for release in April 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records. More...

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The_Network, Belay My Last, Moria Tour Dates

The_Network will hit the road with Belay My Last and Moria in January. Here are the tour dates:

1/3 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
1/5 Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
1/6 Shawnee, OK @ Fusion Affect
1/7 Leavenworth, KS @ Groundworks
1/8 Tulsa, OK @ The Pinkeye
1/9 Witchita falls, TX @ VFW post 8878
1/10 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
1/11 Corpus Christi, TX @ The Compound
1/12 Abilene, TX @ Trinity Activity Center
1/13 Tucson, AZ @ AZ Underground
1/15 San Bernardino, CA @ Gotham
1/16 Bakersfield, CA @ The Dome
1/18 Santa Cruz, CA @ The 418 Project

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Dark Tranquillity Reissue Early Albums In Japan

Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY have issued the following update:

"To coincide with our shows in the Land Of The Rising Sun [Japan], 'Haven' [2000] and 'Projector' [1999] will be released in new versions. Both albums will feature lengthy liner notes by sensei [Mikael] Stanne [vocals] detailing the writing and recording process as well as the inner working of the band at the time of creating the songs. 'Projector' will feature the extra track 'Exposure' — previously unreleased in Japan — and 'Haven' will be graced with 'Cornered' as bonus song."

DARK TRANQUILLITY and THE HAUNTED will team up for the "The Double Titans Tour In Japan" in January. Confirmed dates are as follows:

Jan. 16 - Osaka, JPN - Big Cat
Jan. 17 - Nagoya, JPN - Club Quattro
Jan. 18 - Tokyo, JPN - O-East More...

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It Prevails, The Ghost Inside 2008 Tour Dates

It Prevails and The Ghost Inside will team up for tour in early-2008. Here are the latest tour dates:

2/17 Kansas City, MO @ TBA
2/18 Hutchinson, KS @ McGraws
2/19 Tulsa, OK @ The Pinkeye
2/20 Shawnee, OK @ Fusion Affect
2/21 Plano, TX @ TBA
2/22 Arlington, TX @ Dreamworld Music Complex
2/23 Wichita Falls, TX @ TBA
2/26 Mesa, AZ @ The Cell Block
2/27 Yuma, AZ @ TBA
2/29 Westlake Village, CA @ Kung Foo Corner
3/2 Bakersfield, CA @ The Dome
3/4 Modesto, CA @ The Rock
3/5 Alameda, CA @ Roosters Roadhouse
3/6 Sacramento, CA @ Club Retro

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Total Fucking Destruction Announce European Dates

Pennsylvania's TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION has scheduled the following European dates:

Jan. 10 - L'espace B - Paris, France
Jan. 11 - Heretic Club - Bordeaux, France
Jan. 12 - TUNK! - Irun, Spain
Jan. 13 - KGB - Barcelona, Spain
Jan. 14 - Le Black Hand Inn - Marseille, France
Jan. 15 - Le Molodoi - Strasbourg, France
Jan. 16 - Kessel - Offenburg, Germany
Jan. 17 - Club 007 - Prague, Czech Republic
Jan. 18 - AZ Conni - Dresden, Germany
Jan. 19 - Bahndamn - Wermelskirchen, Germany
Jan. 20 - Club 013 / Batcave - Tilburg, Netherlands

Support on all shows will come from France's SUPPOSITORY.

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Oceans of Sadness To Enter Studio In March

Vocalist Tijs Vanneste of Belgian progressive metallers OCEANS OF SADNESS has issued the following update:

"At this time we've finished about 75% of the new material for a fifth album and you may call us fools if these songs don't rock like burning hell! This is again a big step in the unpredictable evolution of your favourite Belgian brass band."

"In the second half of March 2008 we'll pay the smelliest of smelly, Sir Jens Bogren at Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden another visit in his dark cave and won't return to civilization before we clensed our souls from every possible stain. But before that we'll be doing two more supports for EPICA in The Netherlands and in February we'll do three headlining shows in Italy." More...

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Sodom Announce Post-X-Mas Show

SODOM, along with RAGE, STORMWARRIOR and a to-be-announced guest, will play "After X-Mas Metal Blast 2007", scheduled for Saturday, December 29th, 2007at Halle Gartlage - Schlachthofstrasse, Osnabrück, Germany

Further show details can be found at this location.

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Former Dio Guitarist Joins Budgie

The following message has been posted via Budgie's official Myspace account:

"Budgie are proud to announce that Ronnie James Dio guitarist, Craig Goldy, is to be "Guest" guitarist on our first Australian tour in February 08. We would like to thank him for helping out and are all very much looking forward to working with him.

Many thanks to our myspace friends for all your messages of support and offers of help.

Budgieregards."

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Darkside Cancel Tonight's Date In Prague

Austria's DARKSIDE have issued the following message:

"Due to the nationwide cancellation of trains and most of all flights from Milano today, our guitar player Janos cannot join us for tonight's show in Prague and therefor we are sorry to tell you that we have to cancel the show, because Janos at this moment is the only guitar player available for Darkside."

"We are very sorry for our Czech fans, especially the people from Prague and surrounding areas and we try to do all we can to save the show tomorrow near Kolin."

"We will keep you posted about this issue. Again we ask for your kind understanding but unfortunately this is beyond our possibilities of taking action."

"-Darkside."

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Labyrinth Announce New Date For Italy

Italian metallers LABYRINTH are touring Japan, in support of their new album 6 Days To Nowhere, available through V2 Records.

The band have also just announced a new date in Italy on February 9th.

Upcoming dates currently include:

December
3 - Tokyo Shibuya, Japan - O-EAST
5 - Nagoya, Japan - Bottom Line
6 - Osaka, Japan - Shinsaibash Club Quattro
15 - Pinarella di Cervia (Ra), Italy - Rockplanet

February
2 - Genova, Italy - Logo Loco
8 - Verona, Italy - Lucille
9 - Romagnano Sesia (No), Italy - Le Piccole Iene (New Date)

March
2 - Milano, Italy - Alcatraz (Gods Of Metal Festival)

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Turisas Announce European Headlining Tour

After a support slot for ICED EARTH and ANNIHILATOR, Finnish warlords TURISAS will be on the road again in March and April 2008.

Commented Warlord Nygard: "The tour with ICED EARTH and ANNIHILATOR in October was great; we made a lot of new friends and fans, and both bands were great guys to be on the road with. The reactions were awesome, even if there was a lot of people in the crowd who had never heard of us before. However, we could easily understand that some of our fans weren't prepared to pay the tickets on some 30 euro for seeing us play for 30 minutes — that's one euro a minute if you were not too bothered about the other two bands! This is why we are now returning to play full headline sets in Europe for a reasonable ticket price. We are all very excited about getting back on the road and doing our first headlining European tour."

TURISAS European tour dates:

Mar. 01 - Northampton, UK @ Soundhouse
Mar. 02 - Sheffield, UK @ Corporation
Mar. 03 - Aberdeen, UK @ Moshulu
Mar. 04 - Edinburgh, UK @ Studio 24
Mar. 05 - Liverpool, UK @ Academy 2
Mar. 06 - Norwich, UK @ Waterfront
Mar. 07 - Peterborough, UK @ Park
Mar. 08 - Leeds, UK @ Cockpit
Mar. 10 - Exeter, UK @ Cavern
Mar. 11 - Cardiff Clwb, UK @ Ifor Bach
Mar. 12 - Southampton, UK @ The Brook
Mar. 13 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
Mar. 14 - Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Mar. 15 - Haarlem, Netherlands @ Patronaat
Mar. 16 - Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Doornroosje
Mar. 18 - Hamburg, Germany @ Marx
Mar. 19 - Karlsruhe, Germany @ Substage
Mar. 20 - Munich, Germany @ Metropolis
Mar. 21 - Winterthur, Switzerland @ Salzhaus
Mar. 22 - Bochum, Germany @ Matrix
Mar. 23 - Berlin, Germany @ Kato
Mar. 25 - Vienna, Austria @ Planet Music
Mar. 26 - Bratislava, Slovakia @ Randal
Mar. 27 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Rock Café
Mar. 28 - Lichtenfels, Germany @ Ragnarök Festival
Mar. 29 - Osnabrueck, Germany @ Tomahawk Festival
Mar. 31 - Malmö, Sweden @ KB
Apr. 01 - Gothenburg, Germany @ Musikens Hus
Apr. 02 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ The Rock
Apr. 03 - Oslo, Norway @ John Dee
Apr. 04 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Klubben More...

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TwinSpirits Issue "Fire" Video Update

Italian progressive metallers TWINSPIRITS check in with the following update:

"Hot news from the band!"

"The first TwinSpirits video clip has come to life! In October a great crew has been recruited to shoot a video clip for the song 'Fire'."

"Elia Cristofoli and SOLINGO productions took care of the whole thing and the video will be ready to be broadcast in a few days, on music TV stations and even on YouTube. Stay tuned for more!"

"The band is also planning an Italian club tour starting February - March 2008, that will reach some of the coolest clubs in every side on the country."

"Check the Tour page and see if your favourite club is already listed! And keep checking it for frequent updates!!"

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Carnal Forge New Video Nearly Complete

Director Owe Lingvall is working on the last editing of the new CARNAL FORGE video for the song 'Numb (The Dead)'.
About the video's story-line, Lingvall comments: "The video is based on a story about a rich, overclass family that abduct children and cage them in their basement just for pleasure - nothing else. This video is pushing the boundries of what Village Road Film has ever done before in terms of actors, budget and extras"

Check out the photo section of the band's MySpace for some pics from the making of the video.

In other news, Carnal Forge are confirmed for the SWR Barroselas Metalfest XI, set to take place April 24th-26th in Barroselas, Portugal.

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Enemynside Ink Deal With Sleaszy Rider Records

Italian thrashers ENEMYNSIDE have issued the following update:

"Enemynside have inked a deal with Sleaszy Rider Records."

"The group's sophomore album, In The Middle Of Nowher", was recorded in March 2006 at 16th Cellar Studios with producer Stefano Morabito and is scheduled for release in early 2008."

Stay tuned for further updates.

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Neurosonic's Springfield, MO Show Only $1.06

Canada's NEUROSONIC have issued the following announcement:

"Neurosonic at Remington's Downtown in Springfield, MO, December 3rd. All ages. doors at 7:00pm"

"It is a low dough show with KZRQ 106.7, so tickets will be a whopping $1.06!! That means you can look like a baller and drop a large 10 spot and bring your friends out to witness our show! Tickets will be at the door!"

"Please help spread the word if you are coming to the show. Let your friends know. This is our last show of 2007 so let's make it count!" More...

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Bonded By Blood Set To Record Debut Album

New-school LA thrashers Bonded By Blood are set to record their debut Earache release 'Feed The Beast' with US producer Michael Rosen. Rosen, who has worked with the likes of Testament, Violence, Sadus, Joe Satriani and Death Angel will begin working with the band in the New Year.

Bonded By Blood vocalist Aladdin has spoken out about how he feels about working with the well known producer:

"It feels freaking awesome. He has produced and engineered some of my favorite bands Testament Vio-lence Sadus and now BBB. Its like a dream come true. 'Feed The Beast' is sure to be one kick ass album". More...

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Godsmack Frontman Questioned In Murder Probe

Dave Wedge of BostonHerald.com reports: Grammy-nominated GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna and a guitar hero pal partied with a Tyngsboro, Massachusetts woman just days before she was allegedly slashed to death by her jealous husband, and both rockers have been questioned as part of the murder probe, the Herald has learned.

Erna, lead singer of the multi-platinum Bay State metal band, recently met Christine McGee and hung out with her and others on at least three occasions in the days leading up to her savage murder last week, according to Erna's manager, Paul Geary.

"She was pretty enamored with the whole thing. She was at his house and couldn't believe she was hanging around Sully," Geary said. "She was kind of like star-struck."

But Geary said Erna was not romantically involved with the 31-year-old McGee, and that the rocker met her through his musician pal Gary Hoey.

Read the full article at the BostonHerald.com.

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New Budgie Guitarist Leaves

The following message has been posted via Budgie's official Myspace account:

"For those of you who are interested (apologies to those who are not ) Andy James, recently named as Simon Lees replacement, will not now be Budgies new guitarist. For personal reasons he has decided not to join the band. Band and management are in talks with someone else who may take the role of "Guest" guitarist for the upcoming Australian tour . More to follow shortly.
Thanks and Biudgieregards."

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Velvet Revolver Announce Two U.S. Shows

VELVET REVOLVER has announced the following dates:

Dec. 29 - Trenton, NJ - Sovereign Bank Arena
Dec. 31 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom

As previously reported, VELVET REVOLVER's Australian tour, which was due to kick off in Brisbane next Tuesday, has been postponed until early next year. The band is disappointed that they have to wait even longer to get to Australia, as they were extremely excited to play for their Australian fans. New Australian dates, expected to be between January and March of next year, will be announced on Monday. This postponement also applies to the exclusive event for Harley-Davidson Australia that was scheduled for next Friday in Sydney, which was to be used as a showcase for the new 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

All tickets for the December shows will remain valid for the rescheduled shows in 2008.

VELVET REVOLVER wrapped up a North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS last month as it continues promoting its second album, "Libertad". The record has sold 255,000 copies in the United States since its release last July, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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More Bands Confirmed For Hellfest

According to VSWebzine.com, CARCASS, MESHUGGAH, MINISTRY, AT THE GATES, FORBIDDEN and TESTAMENT are among the confirmed bands for next year's Hellfest festival, set to take place June 20-22, 2008 in Clisson, France. More than 60 bands will perform on 2 stages. The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):

ANATHEMA
ANAAL NATHRAKH
ANGRA
AT THE GATES
BENIGHTED
BORN FROM PAIN
CARCASS
CULT OF LUNA
ELUVEITIE
FORBIDDEN
GHOST BRIGADE
LEGION OF THE DAMNED
MESHUGGAH
MINISTRY
MY DYING BRIDE
PARADISE LOST
SEPTIC FLESH
SHINING
SICK OF IT ALL
SONATA ARCTICA
TESTAMENT
THE OLD DEAD TREE

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Apocalyptica U.S. Release Pushed Back

APOCALYPTICA's new album, Worlds Collide, was initially scheduled for release in North America on February 5th. That date has now been changed to March 18th.

As previously reported, the first single, 'I'm Not Jesus', features Corey Taylor from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR on vocals. That track can be heard on Apocalyptica's official MySpace page.

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Leaves' Eyes Frontman Talks King Diamond Tour

As previously reported, the North American Tour together with KING DIAMOND, KREATOR, LEAVES’ EYES and CELLADOR in spring 2008 has been cancelled due to serious health problems concerning King Diamond.

Leaves’ Eyes mainman Alex Krull (ATROCITY) comments: "Hello everybody, we unfortunately have to say that the North American Tour from Leaves’ Eyes together with King Diamond, Kreator and Cellador had to be cancelled as many of you already know. King Diamond has got a serious problem with his back which makes it impossible for him to go on tour in the next time. We got this news with a heavy heart, all our best wishes for a fast recovery for the King!! Healthiness goes first and we can understand his decision 100%. Of course we would have loved to present a great show for our fans in the USA and Canada. We even wanted to surprise you with new material from the next Leaves’ Eyes album! We hope however seeing all of you very soon.

Leaves’ Eyes are currently working at their next album and the finishing of the first Leaves’ Eyes DVD. Furthermore, new musicians are being sought for the position of drummer and bass player for Leaves’ Eyes and Atrocity.

Says Alex Krull: "We were very pleased with the reactions so far. Many interesting musicians of all different genres and places have applied so far. A big thank you to all of you who already wrote to us. We are checking all applications and we are still looking for more potential candidates. We would like to have people around us that are somehow down-to-earth and reliable but very much committed to music. This is for sure very important for us because of the two different directions of both bands. On the one hand we need people that are able to play all the crazy stuff in Atrocity such as extreme (double-bass) drumming and bass patterns beyond 225 bpm. On the other hand we need people who can play the groovy and filigree mid-tempo-beats for Leaves’ Eyes. Not an easy job and a real challenge for every musician. People who want to apply for the job, contact us at info@mastersoundentertainment.de."

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Lemmy Action Figure Delayed

Originally expected to ship in mid-December, the Lemmy Kilmister Motörhead action figure has been delayed until February due to manufacturing issues. It's expected to retail for $21.95.

As previously reported, this 6-inch Lemmy action figure will include one of three randomly inserted bass guitars and accessories, as well as a base for the action figure featuring one of four randomly themed backdrops.

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Sebastian Bach Talks Vocal Style And More

Mark Carras of Rock My Monkey recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW vocalist Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Rock My Monkey: One thing that I did notice on this CD ["Angel Down"] is that you're using your higher octaves more than you have in a long time.

Sebastian Bach: Yeah. That's true.

Rock My Monkey: What was the reason behind that?

Sebastian Bach: That's very, very true. One thing, I did a play, "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2002 that really got me screaming high again. It felt so good that I really said to myself "I'm always going to sing like this, only because I can.' You know what I mean? (laughs) And why not? So I said, "My next record, man, I'm going to scream like 'Slave To The Grind'. I'm going to try to sing like that first SKID ROW album, that really high style." And a lot of singers came out that were singing in that style that are starting to make it cool again. One guy is AFI, Davey Chaos, and-there's a lot-is that his name? Davey Havok, sorry. (both laugh)

Rock My Monkey: Havoc, chaos.

Sebastian Bach: (laughs) A lot of these high singers were coming out. The thing is when I recorded most of the vocals for "Angel Down", I was coming right off the GUNS N' ROSES tour. We did a couple weeks of shows with GUNS N' ROSES in Europe and then flew, we flew straight from Vienna, Austria. We did a festival with TOOL and GUNS N' ROSES all in the same day. It was an amazing festival. Then I got right on a plane and we flew right to L.A. from Vienna, and started recording right when we got there. And so my voice on the record is really high on the record on some of the songs because I was screaming with Axl Rose every night, and doing my set, and then doing my set and then "My Michelle". And I can remember coming in to do the vocals for "Angel Down", and my voice was so fucking high. Like really high! And it was hard to get it to go low. Like the last song, "Falling Into You", is quite low, the verses, and I was so used to singing high that that was one of the hardest ones for me to nail, because my voice was really, really, really high when I was singing the album. And "You Don't Understand" — I'm glad you mentioned that one. Because one thing I definitely concentrated on that song was to do it clean, and that's very challenging to sing really clean and pure for a guy my age. (laughs) So I really concentrated on that song, making it really pure and clean, and I love how it turned out. I love that song, too. I'm glad you dig it.

Rock My Monkey: Other than getting you to do "Back In The Saddle", what do you think Roy Z's brought to the CD as a producer that would not have been there otherwise?

Sebastian Bach: He brought one thing that was totally essential, and he really made the album a better album. And I'll tell you why. Because as you said, my band is a great metal band, but they are real metal players. Like, Steve DiGiorgio plays bass on the record. He plays a fretless bass throughout the whole record, and he's one of the world's best heavy metal bass players. And to have him on my record is such an honor, and he did such a great job. Blows me away. But here's the deal. We had songs like "Negative Light". I wrote that with Steve. "Take It Down With Me", I wrote that with Steve. Metal Mike, I had "American Metalhead". Johnny had "Stuck Inside". We had "Angel Down", because I had that from Adam Albright. What I'm trying to say, all the songs I'm mentioning are fucking all super-metal songs. And Roy said, "Dude, this is great, but you know what you need?" I go, "What?" He says, "You need straight-up rock." And I didn't really know what he meant, because I'm the artist. That's why you get a producer. So he's like, "Let me fucking show you some shit." Then he plays me the riff to "Love Is A Bitchslap", which is (imitates guitar riff). It's just fun. It's not like "Negative Light", which is so metal. So what he did was he made the record more balanced. He balanced it out, which was very important. It was his idea to do "Back In The Saddle", which I never would have thought of. It was his idea to add more straight-up rock like "Love Is A Bitchslap", which is actually the first single. Rock and roll should always be fun, you know? And that's what he brought to the table. A real fun, straight-up rock vibe. That's what he did.

Read the full article at this location.

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Cadaveria Post New Video Online

CADAVERIA, the Italian band featuring former OPERA IX vocalist Cadaveria and ex-OPERA IX drummer/NECRODEATH vocalist Marçelo Santos (a.k.a. Flegias), has released the video for its song "Anagram". The track comes off the group's latest album, "In Your Blood", which was released in May via Season of Mist.

Commented the group: "Switch your mind to the profane, to flesh and to madness. 'Anagram' is a mass of deranged surrealism, of innocence turned into sin, stuffed with first choice offal.

"From a concept by Marçelo Santos and Cadaveria, the video features the contribution of Italian artist Max Bottino and involves theater actresses and performers.

"Soaked of tension and of obscure energy, the video shows the anguished face of the band's last album 'In Your Blood'."

Watch the "Anagram" video below.

CADAVERIA's sophomore album, "Far Away from Conformity", was released in early 2004. The follow-up to 2002's "The Shadows' Madame" was recorded and mixed at Capitan Woofer Studio in Italy and was mastered at the Mastering Room in Sweden. More...

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Judas Priest And More To Play Gods Of Metal

According to a posting on the Italian rock/metal webzine Groovebox.it, JUDAS PRIEST, MESHUGGAH and AT THE GATES are among the newly confirmed bands for the Gods of Metal festival, set to take place June 27-29, 2008 in Bologna, Italy. The festival billing is now shaping up as follows:

IRON MAIDEN (June 27 headliners)
JUDAS PRIEST (June 29 headliners)
MESHUGGAH
AT THE GATES
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
ENSLAVED

More bands will be announced soon.

As previously reported, JUDAS PRIEST has also been confirmed for next year's Sweden Rock Festival, which will be held June 4-7, 2008 in in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

JUDAS PRIEST's upcoming tour will include shows where the group's entire upcoming "Nostradamus" album (based on the legendary 16th century prophet Nostradamus) will be performed as well as concerts featuring the band's classic songs, singer Rob Halford revealed during a November 16, 2007 appearance on Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show.

Regarding the direction of the material and how whole concept for the "Nostradamus" record came about, Halford recently told PureGrainAudio.com, "It sounds absolutely fucking amazing and that's not me inflating it, it is genuinely spectacular. So we're still carrying on with that and it should be out sometime in 2008. The idea (for the record) came from our manager Bill Curbishley, because we were ready to go in and do another studio record, but Bill came to see us towards the end of the 'Angel of Retribution' tour, he came to Russia, we were playing Russia and we had lunch with him and he said, 'Look, I have this idea.' Bill manages THE WHO, you know, Pete and Roger, and Bill was behind the enormous success of 'Tommy' and he said, 'I just think that you know, maybe you should think about this possibility of doing a concept album and I've been thinking about this guy Nostradamus.' And as soon as he brought the name up, I'm like, I'm there, let's go, you don't have to say anything else. I knew something of him already like everybody does about the books that you read about him, or on the Internet or on TV, documentaries and I thought wow, this is absolutely brilliant so that's where it all came about from."

On the rumors that "Nostradamus" will be a double album, Halford said, "It is a rumor still. I mean, there is an enormous amount of material and you can only put so much on a single CD so you know, we're trying to tell the story of his life and we're trying to cover every significant moment of his life and I think you know, when we got it all recorded, that's when you're faced with the reality of how much time you got and how much a CD will afford you and the timing of it all. So we just ask everyone to bear with us and as we actually get into the mixing mode, we'll be able to be more definitive and tell everybody exactly what we've got, but we just want to make sure we tell his life story so we'll do whatever it takes to do that."

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Terror Syndrome Drummer Checks In

TERROR SYNDROME drummer Ryan van Poederooyen (THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND) has issued the following update:

"Hey Everyone,

Dave Young just laid down some fucking awesome new guitar tracks. We lost some when our 'Hard Drive Mishap' happened. I also decided to add a couple new parts to some songs as well. I had some new production ideas kicking around the past couple months and now that we had to do some touch ups, I decided to add a couple more things to some of the songs. It turned out awesome. Dave did an amazing job and he's really excited for you all to hear this record!

We're going to do a few more guitar things and then we'll finish off fixing the mishap with re-recording some vocal touch ups which again we have some new ideas to add. So all in all something good has come out of something bad!

Thanks for your continued support, you all rule our world and you all will be rewarded with one hell of an album in 2008!"

Horns High,

Ryan and TS

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Korn Singer Talks About Solo Tour

KORN vocalist Jonathan Davis recently spoke to the Artisan News Service about his first solo tour, which features the singer playing reworked KORN songs, covers and songs from the movie he scored, "Queen of The Damned". Davis talked about what his favorites are live and what the vibe of the shows has been like.

"'Queen Of The Damned' songs I love," he said. "There are KORN songs that I really like, 'Hey Daddy', and 'Kick The P.A.' because they're so fun. They're super funky. Some of the shows there's chicks dancing in the aisles and people are dancing and head bobbing. It's a totally completely different thing than what Korn would be doing you know ours would be huge crowds of people mosh pits and just people beating the sh-t out of each other. It's just really crazy. This is more laid back, people having a good time, dancing. But this still has that dark vibe to it. It's weird, it's hard to explain."

So how do his KORN mates feel about Davis branching off solo?

"Field and Munk are very supportive," Jonathan said. "Munky is coming to see me tonight. Fieldy is going to come see me in L.A.. They're like, 'Do your thing,' because they know me and I'm obsessed with music. I love writing music and performing music, and recording music. When KORN had those couple of months off we did the break, we're taking a break. Munk has his record company he's working on, but that's more business. Me it's music, music, music, film. They're very supportive, and everything's good."

Davis notes that for collectors and those that have a new-found appreciation for Davis and his solo stuff, there's both a CD and DVD already available for purchase at the shows.

"Yeah I did... The day before we left for our first show I did a special show at Richard Gibb's house, the woodshed, and we did a DVD and a CD that we've got here that we're selling," he said. "It's amazing, the DVD is amazing, all the extras. Richard talking about the band, all the band members, me talking about the making of this whole project, the engineer talking about recording it and putting it all together. It was done in a crazy amount of time. We recorded it, filmed it, and had the product in my hand three days later."

Watch Artisan News Service's interview with Jonathan Davis below.
More...

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Edguy Frontman Answers Fans Questions

EDGUY/AVANTASIA mastermind Tobias Sammet's official web site has been updated with the following question-and-answer session:

Q: Your new [AVANTASIA] EPs have entered the top10 of the single charts in various countries, a.o. at #9 in Germany, in Sweden even at #3 and #4. Are you satisfied with everything so far?

Sammet: When the record company told me about the single chart entry, I was overwhelmed. Nobody could have expected this, especially unlike all the other Top10 hits our song wasn't played on radio or TV. It was just the hardcore of my fans who made this possible, and that's what I am really thankful for. On one hand, the most important thing is that I am happy with the material myself but on the other hand, chart positions like that are the icing on the cake. We are the first band on our label Nuclear Blast Records that has a single rocketing into the Top10 upon its release.

Q: I don't know if this has got through to you at all, but there are a few of your older fans that don't like the softer direction especially of the song "Lost In Space". They accuse you of selling out commercially. Any comment on this?

Sammet: That's totally unfair. Every successful artist has to go through this, I guess, especially when you dare to break down a few stylistic barriers here and there. I love the song as it is, and everybody's got the right to like or dislike it. But nobody has the right to come up with accusals of things that are just not true. It is good for our beloved metal to break out of certain schemes, be controversial and take a risk. I don't wanna be a square and boring slave that wants to be loved by everybody and that delivers ten speed metal songs just because someone demands it. I know that especially in Japan my fans would have loved to have ten speed metal songs, even a copy of the first two AVANTASIA albums. But they understand I can't do that, because it would be dishonest and unfair. Maybe I'd get a lot of money for that, but I can not do things just because someone demands anything. "Avantasia 1" and "2" are parts of me, and you will surely hear that on "The Scarecrow". But nevertheless I wanna come up with new elements as well, no matter if I get flak or not! "Lost In Space" is one of two radio-friendly songs that will never be heard on radio, I guess; the rest of the album is heavier stuff. The whole discussion is completely stupid.

Q: So to put your fans at ease we can assure, that you won't become the German Jon Bon Jovi.

Sammet: Haha, it seems like he is the public enemy number one for the young heavy metal generation. I gotta say something: BON JOVI headlined the Monsters Of Rock in Donington 1987, I love his old stuff. But I am Tobias Sammet. An artist with the name Tobias Sammet will be ignored by radio whatever I do. Bon Jovi gets airplay because of his name. If you know how the music biz works you gotta admit that — no matter how radio friendly "Lost In Space" may appear to some fans — the chance to get airplay equals almost zero. Tailoring a song in order to get airplay would be lunatic.

Q: To come to an end with the commerce topic, a last reproach of a few fans: Some reproach you for sell out because you released two EPs prior to the album:

Sammet: Bollocks! The labels need singles in order to get attention for the forthcoming record. I just don't like singles, because I wouldn't wanna buy a CD with one song in three versions. We just had so much additional material, so we did two singles with a lot of bonus stuff. A single is very important to prepare the market for the release of an album but ecconomically they generate a big loss, everybody who knows the business will have to admit that. All you can do is hope that the single enters the charts on a good position, because that will make the retailers order bigger amounts of the real album later on. That's an important thing, the CD market is doing so bad these days, you gotta make sure your album is available out there.

Q: Okay, then we have finally cleared this up. So after "Lost In Space" what do we have to expect from the forthcoming album "The Scarecrow"? The EPs had a lot of variety already, will that variety continue on the album?

Sammet: Absolutely! There will be a lot of elements on the album resembling the first two AVANTASIA albums, but there's also gonna be more variety. There is the highly bombastic title track with a running time of more than eleven minutes, which could doubtlessly be the mature brother of "The Seven Angels". We have heavy groovers like "Twisted Mind" or the eerie "The Toy Master" that has a weird horror touch, thanks to Alice Cooper and his cutting voice. But there'll be also a few singalong rock songs like "Lost In Space" or a modern semi-ballad called "Carry Me Over". I'd say it's basically a bombastic metal album, but I was impudent enough to dare to include uncommon elements here and there, just to make it a bit more exciting. The metal press says that it's the strongest AVANTASIA album so far, that it sounds like AVANTASIA but that it also sounds very fresh, new and mature. Despite a BON JOVI single I can't be that wrong I guess, haha. By the way, wait until people see the second video "Carry Me Over", people who thought "Lost In Space" was commercial will crucify me after that one, haha. But that's my definition of metal: I know that I'll get flak and people wanna kill me for doing certain things, but I do what I like anyway.

Q: What do you think, you'll achieve with this new record? Do you think you will repeat the success you had with "The Metal Opera Part 1 & 2"?

Sammet: Hard to say. Success is a feeling you give to yourself. To me success means to love the record I have recorded, even though the record was way more expensive than I had expected, Haha. Every aspect of the production was top notch, we mixed six weeks, we mastered a whole week, we worked in the best and most expensive studios. I had the chance to work with icons like Alice Cooper and Rudolf Schenker. I am so damn happy with the album and the many beautiful recollections of the recording process. One press guy told me that this could become a milestone in metal history. Well, I am not in the position to judge and I don't know that. All I can do is hope that a lot of other people out there will be very happy with this album as well.

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Velvet Revolver Postpone Australian Tour

News.com.au reports that VELVET REVOLVER has postponed next week's Australian tour citing "health issues."

The band, formed by former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland with GUNS N' ROSES legends Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum, had five Australian dates scheduled between December 4 and December 9.

They were forced to pull their dates in Japan when immigration officials refused their visa requests due to the criminal backgrounds of some of their members, particularly Weiland, who has a long history of battling drug addiction.

Neither the band’s record label SonyBMG nor Australian promoter KMW Productions were able to explain the last-minute change of heart by the band — with a spokeswoman telling News.com.au that VELVET REVOLVER management would not go into details about the mysterious health issues and which band members were afflicted.

Slash conducted interviews with Australian media on Thursday (November 29) and was excited about the band returning to Australia to perform.

The promoter is expected to release details about the rescheduling of the tour and refund of tickets tomorrow (November 30).

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This Is Hell Post New Song Online

You can check out a new song from THIS IS HELL entitled “Infected,” off their Cripplers EP, over at the band’s official MySpace page.

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