Tickets go on sale on Friday, April 16 at 9:00 a.m, with a special pre-sale for members of the IRON MAIDEN fan club starting on Tuesday, April 13 at 9:00 a.m.
The tour takes its name from IRON MAIDEN's forthcoming studio album, "The Final Frontier", which is expected be released in the late summer of this year.
Following shows in USA and Canada, the "Final Frontier World Tour" will travel to Europe for a few selected major festival and stadium shows, with the band planning to continue to many other countries in 2011.
"The Final Frontier" was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas with Kevin Shirley at the helm.
Shirley previously worked on the last three MAIDEN albums — 2000's "Brave New World", 2003's "Dance of Death" and 2006's "A Matter of Life and Death".
The next IRON MAIDEN album will be the band's fifteenth studio record, and they face a challenge to follow up "A Matter of Life and Death", which was received well critically and saw the group play the whole album on tour.
IRON MAIDEN will kick off a North American tour with very special guests DREAM THEATER in Dallas, Texas, on June 9 and finish in Washington D.C. on July 20, making it MAIDEN's most extensive North American tour in many years.
Following these shows in USA and Canada, "The Final Frontier World Tour" will travel back to Europe for a few selected major festival and stadium shows with the band planning to continue to many other countries in 2011.
IRON MAIDEN will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, June 7 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with IRON MAIDEN by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625).
AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton spoke to the Boston Herald about the band's near-break-up and eventual reconciliation with singer Steven Tyler.
AEROSMITH's U.S. trek with ZZ TOP was scrapped midway through last summer when Tyler injured himself in a fall from the stage, which began a troubled six-month period for the group.
The singer subsequently announced his intention to take a two-year break from AEROSMITH and focus on a solo project, which in turn led the rest of the band to publicly discuss getting a new frontman.
Tyler entered rehab in December for an addiction to painkillers, and his management and attorneys threatened legal action if AEROSMITH went forward with finding a new singer.
"There was a lot of sort of reconciling and processing feelings and stuff," bassist Tom Hamilton told the Boston Herald. "Everyone said how they wanted things to be in the future and it became clear that, for everybody, the coolest thing to do would be to resolve things with the band."
Hamilton joked that he and bandmates Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer came to the February sit-down in their rehearsal studio "all lawyered up."
"There was management there," he said, adding that "it took a while" to get everybody to realize that the best thing for everyone was for AEROSMITH to be AEROSMITH.
Former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord released his latest album, "To Notice Such Things", on March 29 through Avie Records. The CD has entered the U.K.'s official classical chart at No. 4.
An interview with Lord about the CD can be found at his official web site. Also available is a track-by-track breakdown of the album.
Titled after the main work — a six movement suite for solo flute, piano and string orchestra — the album was inspired by, and is dedicated to the memory of Jon's dear friend Sir John Mortimer, the English barrister, dramatist, screenwriter, author and creator of British television series "Rumpole of The Bailey", who died in January 2009.
"He was a great friend and a great inspiration to me and I hope my love and respect for him comes out in the music," says Jon.
"A few weeks after he passed away, I was offered a commission to write a piece for solo flute and strings — a flute concerto in essence. At first I turned it down because I thought there wasn't enough time, but after a couple of days of thought, I realized that I had these three little pieces for flute and piano that I had written for the theater shows that I used to do with Sir John, and I thought that they might provide the basis for this 'flute concerto' and that I could write in his memory.
"John and I became friends about 12 years ago. A couple of years later he asked if I would be interested in playing the piano and writing a bit of music for him, for his theater shows — Mortimer's Miscellany — during which he sat on the stage and, accompanied by two actresses, a pianist and a flute player, he read poetry and prose, told stories and jokes and related hilarious legal anecdotes, giving his wonderfully wise and witty take on life, love and the law."
The music written for those shows has now evolved into Jon's new album, "To Notice Such Things".
"There was a total of about six minutes of music which has now grown into a 27-minute suite for solo flute, piano and string orchestra," Lord says. "I wrote it during March, April and May, and it was an emotional yet fascinating experience to work on it when John's presence was still so very strong. In fact it still is, but back then he had only just passed away.
"I think he's pretty much in every note of the piece and I'm really pleased with it, because I think he would be happy with what my thoughts about him are."
The suite ends with a movement called Afterwards, named after the Thomas Hardy poem that John Mortimer used to read at the end of his show.
Both the Suite itself and the album are called "To Notice Such Things" because the last line of the Hardy poem are "He was a man who used to notice such things."
The all-instrumental album was recorded at the end of last September with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Clark Rundell with Cormac Henry on flute, and also features three additional pieces.
"To Notice Such Things" track listing:
01. To Notice Such Things
a. As I Walked Out One Evening
b. At Court
c. Turville Heath
d. The Stick Dance
e. The Winter of a Doormouse
f. Afterwards
02. Evening Song
03. For Example
04. Air on the Blue String
Tonight's (Friday, April 9) GUNS N' ROSES concert at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica has reportedly been cancelled. According to local media reports, the show was called off because part of the stage collapsed from the weight of the screen which the band has been using as part of its live performances.
Outside the stadium, fans of GUNS N' ROSES have been lining up to obtain refunds for tickets which cost between ¢ 16,000 (approximately $29) and ¢ 63,000 ($113).
A four-minute video report on the GUNS N' ROSES concert cancellation from the Costa Rican news channel NR6 can be viewed below.
As previously reported, GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose is being sued by his former manager for nearly $2 million dollars in unpaid commissions, according to the Associated Press. Front Line Management, led by music industry powerhouse Irving Azoff, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on March 25, claiming that Rose owes the company $1.9 million, or 15 percent of the more than $12 million that Rose has earned from performances in Europe, Canada and South America, based on an oral agreement.
Azoff, considered one of the most powerful men in music, has managed the careers of artists such as the EAGLES and VAN HALEN, and at one point handled the affairs of Rose's former GUNS bandmates in VELVET REVOLVER.
He is widely credited with pushing Rose to finally complete and release the 2008 GUNS album "Chinese Democracy" after a 15-year delay.
Rose parted ways with Azoff at some point in the last year and claims he is now handled by Doc McGhee, a veteran rock manager whose clients over the years have included KISS, BON JOVI and MÖTLEY CRÜE. However, KISS frontman Paul Stanley recently told Classic Rock magazine that McGhee is in fact not managing Rose nor GUNS N' ROSES.
The eccentric singer has not yet commented publicly on the lawsuit.
According to Billboard.com, METALLICA and GUNS N' ROSES have taken the top two positions of this week's Hot Tours ranking based on box office totals from Brazil and Argentina reported by concert promoter T4F. Continuing its "World Magnetic Tour", METALLICA is No. 1 with over $10 million in gross sales from three performances in Brazil. One concert at Parque Condor in Porto Alegre (Jan. 28) and two nights at São Paulo's 80,000-seat stadium, Estádio do Morumbi (Jan. 30-31) take the veteran rock band over the $100 million mark in ticket sales since the tour began in October 2008.
GUNS N' ROSES ranks No. 2 for the week based on ticket sales from four concerts in Brazil and one in Argentina. Top-grosser was Estádio Palestra Italia in São Paulo (March 13) with $3 million earned at the box office and 34,872 in attendance. Another stadium date, Estadio Vélez Sársfield in Buenos Aires on March 22 drew over 35,000 fans. The five reported March dates on the band's "Chinese Democracy World Tour" grossed a combined total of $8.4 million.
The NEW YORK DOLLS have paid tribute to former SEX PISTOLS manager Malcolm McLaren, who suddenly passed away from his fight with cancer on April 8.
The legendary rock band from New York City says that it will dedicate its classic song "Jet Boy" to McLaren when the group plays its only U.K. concert at London Koko on Monday, April 19.
"Malcolm McLaren was such a marvelous amalgam of exuberation, sensuality, culture and literacy," says NEW YORK DOLLS lead singer David Johansen. "All of this was salted with the essential recognition of his own rascality. He was the perfect preservation against stuffiness and a lack of humanity. We are going to miss him terribly."
"Malcolm opened up the doors for punk music around the world," adds Sylvain Sylvain, the DOLLS' original founding guitarist. "He was a visionary and took what was going on in New York City and made it global. He was a massive influence on everyone who ever had a punk shop or a punk band. His passing represents the final chapter in an era when music was exciting."
SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones has issued the following statement regarding the passing of the band's former manager Malcolm McLaren:
"I was upset when I heard the news, as I've always had a soft spot for Malcolm. I knew him since I was 17 before the PISTOLS formed — I used to drive him around in Vivienne Westwood's car to the tailors in London in the days of the 'Let It Rock' clothing store.
"Malcolm was definitely the Brian Epstein of punk — without him it wouldn't have happened the way it did. I stayed friends with him throughout the years despite some of our differences. He came on 'Jonesy's Jukebox' [Steve's radio show] a couple of years ago, and that's a good memory. But my fondest memory of Malcolm, and I loved the guy, was his birthday gift to me when I turned 21 — he got me a hooker and some heroin."
Despite early reports that he had died in New York, McLaren's girlfriend of many years, Young Kim, 37, confirmed the impresario died of mesothelioma at a hospital in Switzerland. He was 64 years old.
Billboard.biz reports that Universal Music Publishing Group has signed a worldwide, deal encompassing the entire STONE TEMPLE PILOTS song catalog, including the group's upcoming self-titled, sixth-studio album coming out on May 25.
The deal consists of signing up the group's frontman Scott Weiland to a worldwide publishing administration and a renewed/extended exclusive administration agreement with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' brothers Robert DeLeo (bass guitar, vocals) and Dean DeLeo (guitar), and Eric Kretz (drums, percussion).
This month's issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine comes packaged with a previously unheard track that was recorded by the late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.
SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, who produced the song, tells the magazine, "I got the track and put it into Pro Tools and trimmed the edges and made it shine a bit but the true producer and engineer was Dime. The sounds you hear are the ones he recorded, I just cleaned it up.
"I've never done anything like this and it was an honor to work on something that no one has ever heard and to be one of the first to listen to it.
"[Dime's former girlfriend] Rita [Haney] told me about the song, about Zakk [Wylde] and the whole the story about them getting together and ending up drunk. It's really cool.
"Rita fills me in and all the stories are so great. They had such a nice life.
"I've come know more about him and his impact later in life than I did at the time. You really appreciate his art and what he contributes to metal."
Other bands featured on the CD include SOULFLY, BLEEDING THROUGH, CANCER BATS and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN.
"Dimebag" Darrell was co-founder and lead guitarist for PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul formed DAMAGEPLAN. On Dec. 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. He was 38 years old.
Austin, Texas' THE SWORD has completed work on its third album for a late 2010 release via Kemado Records. The CD was recorded with producer Matt Bayles, who has previously worked with MASTODON, ISIS and MINUS THE BEAR, among others.
In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, THE SWORD guitarist/vocalist John "J. D." Cronise stated about the forthcoming effort, "This is what you'd technically call a 'concept album,' though I'd describe it as more of a soundtrack to a story I came up with. All the songs are about aspects of the story, but they don't cover every detail from beginning to end. It's a science fiction story, and it deals heavily with themes of light and dark and perceptions of time. One of the main settings is a planet, which has experienced tidal locking, creating a side of perpetual day and a side of perpetual night. The reason for creating a narrative to base the songs around was essentially to provide interesting and varied lyrical subject matter with a core theme to tie it all together."
Cronise previously told AOL's Noisecreep that the as-yet-untitled record will have a broader hard rock sound but stressed that the band's aim isn't to broaden its appeal outside of the heavy metal market. "If more people listen that's great, but we're not doing it for that reason," he said. "We are just more interested in expanding our sound for ourselves. If we wanted to expand our audience we should just remake the second album over again, rather than challenge people with something new."
THE SWORD's last album, "Gods of the Earth", was released on April 1, 2008 via Kemado Records.
HAIL!, the supergroup featuring mainstays Tim Ripper Owens (BEYOND FEAR, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ex-JUDAS PRIEST), David Ellefson (MEGADETH) and Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA) have confirmed their performance at the Sauna Open Air Festival in Tampere, Finland on Saturday, June 12th. Hail! will also be playing the following dates in Finland/Estonia:
June
8 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
9 - Tallin, Estonia - Rock Cafe
11 - Kouvala, Finland - House Of Rock
12 - Tampere, Finland - Sauna Open Air Festival
One of the more talented bands to emerge out of the 1980s was Cinderella. Their blues based hard rock sound garnered them major respectability among critics and their peers. They have been around for 24 years and will be gearing up for a major tour his summer with the Scorpions. We were able to chat with lead singer Tom Keifer about the tour, how his voice is holding up, and the very latest about his future solo album. Let's "Push, Push" to the interview…
Gus: Tom... first of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with us at Backstageaxxess.com. We know the band is revving up for some dates this weekend, so we appreciate you taking the time.
Tom: Sure! No problem.
Gus: The question everybody wants to know, how's your voice holding up?
Tom: Great! It feels really great! We just did our first shows in Denver and Salt Lake City. My voice felt really good and I really feel I got the problems behind me. I've been working with some really great coaches and think I have it worked out.
Gus: Can you explain to our readers what exactly happened to your voice.. and how did you rehabilitate it?
Tom: I've had voice problems going back to the early 1990s. That's why there was such a big period of time between the 3rd and 4th records 'Heartbreak Station and Still Climbing.' It was a kind of a mystery at the time. It's a long story, but I will try to condense it. My voice went kind of crazy and haywire towards the end of the Heartbreak Station tour. I just couldn't control the notes and stuff. I went to a bunch of different doctors and had a lot of frustration of not being able to figure out what was going on. I was diagnosed with paresis of my left vocal cord. Paresis is like a partial paralysis. The left vocal cord doesn't move the same as the right one. It can be a sudden thing. It's usually not caused by how you sing or anything like that. It's caused from the nerve being degenerated by viruses like a cold virus that embodies into the nerve or something like that. They don't exactly know what the cause of it was. It's
something that usually can be career ending for a lot of people because there isn't any kind of surgery or medicine to fix it. You have to retrain the vocal cord to do what it is supposed to do. I had to work real hard for 3 or 4 years there, to get enough strength back to make the 4th record. We toured shortly on that one, had to do some more work and the band broke up for a while. Got back together in 1998. My voice was doing pretty well and we have done a bunch of tours since we got back together and in 2006, I got hit with it again. It kinda of came back tenfold. We were well into rehearsals for that tour and the boat was ready to roll. I didn't have a whole lot of choice. It was our 20 year anniversary and we were with Poison. I made the decision to go, even with my voice being somewhat less than expected. The beginning of the tour started off fairly well. I was able to hit most of the notes. As the tour went on, my voice got worse and worse
to the point that by the end of the tour, I was probably talking through a lot of songs and changing melodies. Things I never had to do on tour. Because of the stress of that, I put some wear and tear on the vocal cords. I had to have some surgery to repair some tissue damage from straining and that kind of thing. I had that after the 2006 tour. I have pretty much been rehabbing and retraining it since. I had been working with 4-to-5 different voice teachers and finally found someone who helped teach me techniques to get around it and make my voice work again. I'm just thankful I got it to that place. For the shows we did back in Denver and Salt Lake a couple of weekends ago, my voice felt better than it has in years!
Gus: I'm sure you were very nervous before the show in Denver.
Tom: Oh Yeah (laughs)!
Gus: When you completed the show, how did it feel?
Tom: It felt good throughout both shows, particularly the first one. I felt I sang well, but not quite as well as I did in rehearsals and stuff, but I was just nervous. Particularly at the beginning of the set, I was a deer caught in the headlights. Towards the end of the set, I feel I loosened up and opened up more both nights. For both of our shows this weekend (Verona, NY and Philadelphia, PA), I will be more relaxed.
Gus: You have a couple of shows this weekend in Verona, NY (which isn't too far way from where I am in Buffalo, NY) and Philadelphia, PA, your hometown, which I'm sure your really looking forward in playing.
Tom: For sure. We haven't played there in years!
Gus: Frontier Records released 'Live at the Mohegan Sun' in November of 2009. The show was recorded in 2005 on the Rock that Never Stops tour. Why was this show used as a recording and not something more recent?
Tom: It was one of the few that we recorded. I don't think we really did any recording in 2006. On the 2005 tour, we recorded a couple of shows. We liked that performance and we have a couple of other things recorded from that tour. That record was originally released by Sony here in the States. They had a five year license. When that license was up, Frontier decided to license it to release overseas.
Gus: What is going on with your solo record?
Tom: It's pretty much finished. I'm booking a mastering date, probably in May sometime, before we hit the road for the summer. Then I will be looking for a label for it.
Gus: When can we expect a possible release?
Tom: It's hard to say. I kind of predicted that in the past and have been wrong. I didn't really want to do that again.
Gus: When the CD is released, will you be doing a tour in support of that?
Tom: Yeah, I definitely would want to support it and that's one of the reasons why I'm kind of putting it on the back burner... because of the voice situation. I didn't want to sign a deal for it and not be able to support it when the record came out.
Gus: Compare this record to a Cinderella record. Are there similarities? Are there differences?
Tom: There are differences, but a lot of similarities because I was the songwriter who did a lot of guitar work and was the lead singer in Cinderella. It has a lot of my sound in it. If I had to describe it, I would say it's somewhere between Long Cold Winter and Heartbreak Station. Hopefully with a newer twist too.
Gus: Cinderella's last studio record 'Still Climbing' was released in 1994. When can the fans expect a new studio album?
Tom: Right now it's been so long since we've just been a band and on the road and that's what we are looking forward to. To just get out there and play and see where that takes us.
Gus: you are a very talented musician where in concert you not only play the guitar, but the piano and saxophone as well. How did you become so diverse in playing multiple musical instruments?
Tom: Well, I don't know. There were a lot of different kinds of music growing up. Guitars have been always my main instrument. I also liked a lot of bands that had piano. I was big Skynyrd fan and Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith. A lot of stuff from the 70s that utilized a lot of others, other than guitars, so that's where a lot of the interest came from.
Gus: Tom, you pretty much stay out of the public eye when you're not out on tour. What are some of your other enjoyments away from music?
Tom: I really just enjoy being home with my family. I became a father 6 years ago. It has been really great to be home with him during some really important moments. Sometimes I think the voice problems... well there is never just some ill wind without bringing some good. Of course, as much of a struggle that was and I didn't like it, it kept me home. I had no choice. I got to see him in his first baseball league. That's been really great! You always try to look at the positive of things!
Gus: You talk about living in Nashville now and its one of the heartbeats of the music scene in America. Have you ever thought about producing other musicians' music?
Tom: Yeah, and I do from time to time. I worked with Andy Griggs and produced some stuff for him. I produced some stuff for Bo Bice a couple of years back.
Gus: Any other acts you may be working with in the future?
Tom: Not that I have planned, but those things just kind of fall out of the sky. I get things presented to me all of the time and it just has to be something I really love. Then I will get involved in that.
Gus: You're going out on tour with the Scorpions this summer. What other dates can we expect from the band that haven't already been announced?
Tom: To be honest, I'm not sure exactly if everything has been announced, so I probably need to step carefully here. We do have some dates with the Scorpions. We are going overseas to do some festivals like Download and Sweden Rock. We have some other various festivals here in the states this summer.
Gus: So the touring will lead you to just the end of summer then? When you can concentrate on the release of your solo record?
Tom: Yeah! I want to get the mastering and editing all finished up before we leave and then I will start to look for a label when I'm out on the road.
Gus: In wrapping up, what can the fans expect from the band going forward?
Tom: Well, I'm going to get my record out and we are going to tour this summer. Then we will see where that all leads for the band. Possibly, a record down the road? I don't know when or if that will happen. We are certainly opened to the idea. If it's the right place at the right time, and it feels right, and a label that's interested in doing the right thing by the band. It's certainly a possibility in the future. Right now, we are just really focused in being a band, getting comfortable on stage again, and getting out there and just having some fun!
Gus: You guys are definitely a great band to see live and I want to wish you luck with your tour with the Scorpions and your festivals and what not.
Tom: Thanks!
We would like to thank Sky Nicholas of Union Entertainment Group for setting up the interview. For more information on Tom and the current Cinderella tour, you can go to: http://www.cinderella.net/
NWOBHM legends SALEM have signed to Pure Steel Records.
The upcoming release, In The Beginning..., will contain remastered material from the band's 3 demos, and their singles from 1981-1983.
The material was remastered by Rocco Stellmacher, and the release will be available in the second quarter of 2010.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Frontiers Records has set a June 4 European release date for MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil's new solo album, "Tattoos & Tequila". The digital-only release of the title track will precede the full-length effort on April 16.
Neil recorded "Tattoos & Tequila" in the winter of 2009 with The CD was recorded with bassist Dana Strum and Jeff Blando (both of SLAUGHTER) and drummer Zoltan Chaney. The album will include two new songs — "Tattoos and Tequila" and "Another Bad Day", both produced by Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE, DEF LEPPARD) —plus a selection of classic cuts from some of the rock giants that have influenced Vince Neil throughout his musical career. The cover songs were produced by Vince and Jack Blades (DAMN YANKEES, NIGHT RANGER).
"Tattoos & Tequila" track listing:
01. Tattoos & Tequila (album version)
02. He's A Whore (CHEAP TRICK)
03. AC/DC (SWEET)
04. Nobody's Fault (AEROSMITH)
05. Another Bad Day
06. No Feelings (SEX PISTOLS)
07. Long Cool Woman (THE HOLLIES)
08. Another Piece Of Meat (SCORPIONS)
09. Who Will Stop The Rain (CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL)
10. Viva Las Vegas (ELVIS PRESLEY)
11. Bitch Is Back (ELTON JOHN)
12. Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers (ZZ TOP) *
* Bonus track available on first pressing in digipak
In a recent interview with The News Tribune, Vince stated about the upcoming CD's title, "It's rock 'n' roll. That's it. It has nothing to do with MÖTLEY CRÜE. Tattoos and tequila is basically my life."
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Neil is also writing a book akin to MÖTLEY's autobiography, "The Dirt", with Esquire writer Mike Sage
LYNCH MOB vocalist Oni Logan has announced that the band will play the following US dates in May in support of the band's latest album, Smoke And Mirrors:
May
6 - Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theater
7 - Tempe, AZ - Club Red
8 - West Hollywood, CA - Key Club
The band recently announced a string of European tour dates, which include:
October
30/31 - Firefest - Nottingham, UK
November
3 - A38 Ship - Budapest, Hungary
6 - De Bosuil - Weert, Holland
10 - Atelier - Luxembourg, Luxembourg
11 - Szene - Vienna, Austria
12 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
14 - Matrioska Club - Modena, Italy
18 - Sticky Fingers - Gothenborg, Sweden
19 - Sigurdsgatan - Vasteras, Sweden
20 - Smuget - Oslo, Norway
More shows will be announced soon.
Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT will celebrate the completion of their brand new studio album with high-profile shows alongside two of rock's most legendary names — METALLICA and AC/DC.
Between May 11 and May 23, the four-piece will be main support to METALLICA in Belfast (Ireland), Budapest (Hungary), Zagreb (Croatia), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lyon (France). Then the following month, on June 20 and June 22, VOLBEAT will support AC/DC in the German towns of Dresden and Berlin.
VOLBEAT will return to the U.K.'s Download festival this June, an event they first participated in last year. Just prior to the band's Download appearance, VOLBEAT will open for German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN at the 10-Oren venue in the group's hometown of Copenhagen, Denmark.
VOLBEAT has set "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" as the title of its fourth studio album, tentatively due in Europe in September. The CD is once again being recorded at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen.
Commented guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen: "The title refers to the overall theme of the album, and it continues the storyline from where [the last VOLBEAT CD] 'Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood' left off…
VOLBEAT is "very excited about the writing process, carrying the songs into both extreme metallic territory, punk variations and some very catchy stuff at the same time," according to a posting on the band's web site. In addition, fans can expect to hear various guest musicians on the CD.
Added Poulsen: "We have fast, slow and mid-tempo songs. We still blend different styles of punk, rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, metal, heavy metal, thrash metal, country — we still keep it very open, it's just music! I cannot say too much about it right now, but we're really excited about it and it's going to be very, very cool. Again, we're going to give people something they haven't heard before. We always try to do something special and different on each and every album."
A video message from VOLBEAT regarding the new album title and the songwriting process for the new CD can be viewed at this location .
"Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood", the third studio album from VOLBEAT, received a U.S. release in March 2009 via Mascot Records. The follow-up to "Rock The Rebel / Metal The Devil" featured 14 tracks, including a SOCIAL DISTORTION cover as a bonus cut on all editions.
"Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" was certified gold in Denmark for sales in excess of 20,000 copies less than a month after its release. The CD entered the Danish chart at No. 1, and was beaten only by METALLICA's "Death Magnetic" in its second week of release.
San Francisco Bay Area thrashers DEATH ANGEL are the latest act confirmed for the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico on January 24th, 2011 and returning four days later.
So far the confirmed 15 out of 40 bands are: AMON AMARTH, DEATH ANGEL, EPICA, FINNTROLL, MOONSPELL, OBITUARY RAVEN, ULI JON ROTH, SAXON, SODOM, SONATA ARCTICA, STRATOVARIUS, SWASHBUCKLE, TROUBLE, WITCHBURNER.
70,000 Tons Of Metal will sail Monday, January 24 , 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami FL to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011.
Make no mistake, 70000 Tons Of Metal is not your Grandma's cruise. It's also not one of the cruises that share the ship with normal cruise guests. This is 100% Heavy Fucking Metal! Can you imagine that? A whole luxury cruise ship full of metalheads? Since there is no backstage area you will have the opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It's like everyone has a backstage pass.
Ticket prices start at 666 US$ plus 249 US$ taxes and fees per person. This includes all on-board entertainment, all meals, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated drinks at the on-board restaurants and 24 room service.
For more info visit www.70000tons.com.
SOULFLY has been confirmed for this year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 5-7, 2010 in Wacken, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
1349
ALICE COOPER
ANVIL
ARCH ENEMY
AMORPHIS
ASTRAL DOORS
ATROCITY
BROILERS
BRUTUS
CALIBAN
CANDLEMASS
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CORVUS CORAX
CRUCIFIED BARBARA
DEAD MEANS NOTHING
DEBAUCHERY
DEGRADEAD
DELAIN
DESPISED ICON
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DIE KASSIERER
EDGUY
EQUILIBRIUM
END OF GREEN
ENDSTILLE
ETERNAL LEGACY
EVILE
FEAR FACTORY
FIDDLER'S GREEN
FREI.WILD
GHOST BRIGADE
GOJIRA
GRAVE DIGGER
HACKNEYED
HANGGAI
HELLS BELLES
HOLY GRAIL
IHSAHN
ILL NINO
IMMORTAL
IMPERIUM DEKADENZ
IRON MAIDEN
JOB FOR A COWBOY
KAMPFAR
KATAKLYSM
KILLING MACHINE
LAKE OF TEARS
LETZTE INSTANZ
LIZZY BORDEN
MAD MAX
MAMBO KURT
MAROON
METSATÖLL
MÖTLEY CRÜE
NIGHTMARE
ORDEN OGAN
ORPHANED LAND
OVERKILL
PRIMAL FEAR
RAVEN
ROTTING CHRIST
SCHELMISH
SECRETS OF THE MOON
SKANNERS
SLAYER
SMOKE BLOW
SÓLSTAFIR
SOULFLY
STRATOVARIUS
SUICIDAL ANGELS
SVARTSOT
TARJA
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
THE KELTICS
THE NEW BLACK
THE OTHER
TIAMAT
TYR
U.D.O.
UNLEASHED
VARG
VICTIMS OF MADNESS
VOIVOD
W.A.S.P.
ENSIFERUM, EQUILIBRIUM, SWASHBUCKLE and HEIDEVOLK will join forces for the Heidenfest 2010 European tour, which will take place in September/October. An as-yet-announced "special guest" will also take part in the trek.
EQUILIBRIUM's René Berthiaume comments: "Heidenfest tour 2008 was our first real European tour and it was a killer time back then. We can't wait to kick off this tour in Fall with all those other fantastic bands! This time around we will come to some cities we've never been to before — a great chance for the fans who haven't seen us live till now! Furthermore it's a great opportunity to present our new album, 'Rekreatur', which will be out in June 2010!"
SWASHBUCKLE's Admiral Nobeard adds: "Aye, once again Europe has seemed to grace us with a killer tour and excellent adventures across some of yar finest lands. We pirates be proud to partake in this year's Heidenfest. It'll be a bitchin' good time chock-full of metal and the utmost fun. Europe prepare yourselves to get caught in a mosh. Stay classy!"
The dates are as follows:
Sep. 10 - München, Germany - Backstage
Sep. 11 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
Sep. 12 - Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
Sep. 13 - Aarhus, Germany - Voxhall
Sep. 14 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Sep. 15 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
Sep. 16 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Sep. 17 - Geiselwind, Germany - Music Hall (with EISREGEN)
Sep. 18 - Bochum, Germany - Ruhrcongress (with Eisregen)
Sep. 19 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli
Sep. 20 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom
Sep. 21 - Rennes, France - Antipode
Sep. 22 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
Sep. 23 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Sep. 24 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn (with Eisregen)
Sep. 25 - Wien, Austria - Gasometer (with Eisregen)
Sep. 26 - Prague, Czech Republic - Abaton
Sep. 27 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
Sep. 28 - Budapest, Hungary - WigWam
Sep. 29 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna Mediapark
Sep. 30 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
Oct. 01 - Innsbruck, Austria - Hafen
Oct. 02 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
For more information, visit www.heidenfest.eu.
WATAIN, SUFFOCATION, IHSAHN and ROTTING CHRIST are among the newly confirmed bands for this year's edition of the Hole In The Sky festival (a.k.a. Bergen Metal Fest XI), set to take place August 25-28 in Bergen, Norway.
Commented the festival organizers: "Welcome to Hell, or should we say, welcome to Hole In The Sky 2010.
"This particular introduction is of course chosen carefully as we all know what happened back in 1981, when three lads by the name of VENOM decided to put out their debut album with that heartfelt title. Metal music has never been the same afterwards. VENOM has influenced everything from METALLICA and SLAYER to the vast majority of all black metal bands we know today, even coining the genre name with their second album, 'Black Metal'.
"But Hole In The Sky isn't all about the legends; it's about drawing the lines from the roots to the present. Lately there's been a great resurrection of underground talent and a growing interest in the underground in general, something that we find healthy and inspiring. Lately a lot of smaller specialized festivals has surfaced around in Scandinavia and on the continent and these gatherings plays a major role in keeping the music scene alive and exciting.
"This year all four days has been put together with a loose theme for each day that all together is intended to be the ultimate celebration of death, doom and black metal, from the pioneers VENOM, OBITUARY and CATHEDRAL, via underground heroes such as GRAVE MIASMA, ENFORCER, and DEAD CONGREGATION, to rising stars SECRETS OF THE MOON, THE DEVIL'S BLOOD and WATAIN. In-between, you'll find legends in new outfits such as IHSAHN and Tom G. Warrior's TRIPTYKON and a whole bunch of other fantastic bands that makes the world a better place.
In addition to usual four days of metal mayhem, there is also a few other occasion ideal for some serious hellraising. On the Sunday before the festival kicks off Bergen Live in cooperation with Hole In The Sky is presenting the absolutely brilliant French metal act, GOJIRA, which did their first gig in Norway during the Hole in the Sky festival in 2006. In addition we have the 'Incoming' day on Tuesday, featuring some mighty fine acts from Oslo and Bergen."
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
VENOM (UK)
CATHEDRAL (UK)
OBITUARY (US)
WATAIN (S)
SUFFOCATION (US)
IHSAHN (N)
TRIPTYKON (CH)
ROTTING CHRIST (GR)
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD (NL)
ANGEL WITCH (UK)
NUNSLAUGHTER (US)
EVILE (UK)
SOLSTAFIR (ISL)
SECRETS OF THE MOON (D)
DEAD CONGREGATION (GR)
OBLITERATION (N)
REPUGNANT (S)
ENFORCER (S)
ASTROSONIQ (NL)
GRAVE MIASMA (UK)
URFAUST (NL)
For more information, visit www.holeinthesky.no.
Guitarist/songwriter Nicolas van Dyk of the Los Angeles-based progressive metal band REDEMPTION has issued the following update:
"I am sorry to say that we are faced with the reality of having to cancel REDEMPTION's intended European shows the summer.
"Part of our unique sound comes from our vocalist, Ray Alder of FATES WARNING.
"As a longtime fan of FATES myself, I have always maintained that REDEMPTION would not interfere with Ray's commitment to FATES, and we have worked very carefully and diligently since Ray joined REDEMPTION in 2005 to ensure that both bands would be able to record and perform without conflict.
"We intended to play several shows in several countries this summer in support of our new CD, 'Snowfall On Judgement Day'. Our management and local promoters in Europe worked hard to line up some great shows that we were very much looking forward to playing. Originally, there was no conflict, even when FATES announced some special shows and festivals to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their fantastic 'Parallels' CD. However, some additional shows were then added on FATES' schedule. We intended to carry on and simply reschedule some of our dates, shortening the tour to ensure that there would not be a conflict. Again, our management and local promoters worked hard to ensure we'd be able to do this. It became economically more difficult, but REDEMPTION was prepared to accept that since we really wanted to play for our fans in Europe.
"As of a week ago, we still intended to move forward. However, after considering it, Ray determined that the schedule — which would have involved him performing headline sets with us, then taking a very long flight, having only a brief time to recover before performing headline sets with FATES, then having to fly back to Europe and perform again — is simply too much to take on. There's just no way to do it while performing at the level that I know Ray wants to.
"So I'm left with the unfortunate reality that we're not going to be able to play Europe this summer.
"Please understand we've done everything we can to find a solution — but none were available to us.
"We look forward to coming to Europe at another time, and thank you for your interest and support."
on February 4, REDEMPTION WAS interviewed for an episode of "Hard" on the AUX music channel out of Canada. The six-minute segment, which includes performance footage, can be viewed below.
REDEMPTION released its fourth CD, "Snowfall on Judgment Day", on October 6, 2009 through Inside Out Music. The album was mixed and mastered by Tommy Newton, who produced the group's last two CDs, at Area 51 Studios in Celle, Germany. The artwork was once again created by Travis Smith.
REDEMPTION is:
Ray Alder - Vocals
Nick van Dyk - Guitar, Keyboards
Bernie Versailles - Guitar
Sean Andrews - Bass
Chris Quirarte - Drums
Greg Hosharian - Keyboards
REDEMPTION released a concert DVD, "Frozen in the Moment: Live in Atlanta", in late February/early March 2009. The disc contains a five-camera, high-definition shoot of the band's ProgPower USA VIII festival appearance in Atlanta, Georgia in October 2007. In addition, there is a 12-minute video and photo tour diary set to the band's previously unreleased instrumental from the DREAM THEATER songwriting contest that REDEMPTION wrote back in 2003.
Sweden's PAIN OF SALVATION will release its 11th album, "Road Salt One", in the U.S. on June 8.
In a world governed by increasingly rigid rules and conformist conceptions of art, PAIN OF SALVATION has created its own niche in the international music scene. The band's new album, "Road Salt One" is the first installment of a double album project which showcases the band's outstanding emotion and intensity while leaning a little more towards modern rock with a colourful '70s flare.
Since the band's inception in 1984 (originally called REALITY then renamed PAIN OF SALVATION in 1991), frontman Daniel Gildenlöw has followed his own musical path mixing elements of metal, pop, funk, disco, blues, goth, folk, Arabian and Asian influences and, of course, prog.
"Skills and complexity should be part of the machinery, not the functionality or design," says Gildenlöw, "so I try to hide it away where the engine is supposed to be — under the hood of a machine built mainly to process ideas and emotions."
PAIN OF SALVATION's 2009 EP release, "Linoleum", was a preview of the new double album concept. The band supported its release with a string of headlining shows throughout Europe and Russia as well as on tour with DREAM THEATER in Australia.
PAIN OF SALVATION recently took part in the national Swedish competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, Melodifestivalen, with the band's very atmospheric rendition of the song "Road Salt". Although they didn't win the competition, the exposure helped catapult the digital version of "Road Salt" to No. 12 on the Swedish chart.
In addition to the title cut, "Road Salt One" includes the previous EP single/title track "Linoleum" (which was accompanied by a great energetic video). Other highlights include the captivating opening track, "No Way", the awe-inspiring "Sisters" (which will be the second single) and the acute "Where It Hurts" (which will also be put in video form).
"'Road Salt One' is twelve tracks of sweaty gravel, asphalt butterflies, untrodden paths and brave decisions," says Gildenlöw. "It will not beg for your liking, it will not make excuses, it will not carry you safely across the dangerous waters. If you don't pick up its pace, it will leave you stranded at the curb of the road. Yes, 'Road Salt One' might indeed be a harsh lover, but if you have the guts to follow it whole-heartedly and dare to surrender to its voice, it will take you places you need to visit."
Finnish atmospheric rock/metal band EMBASSY OF SILENCE will release its debut album, "Euphorialight", on May 12 through the Swedish label Supernova Records.
Supernova is the new sublabel of Bonnier Amigo Music Group focusing on rock and metal genres. The publisher for the digital single is IODA Nordic, which is the global distributor for Supernova Records. The single "Soul-Broken" will be released in digital form on April 12, and samples from the album can be heard at the band's MySpace page.
According to a press release, "Euphorialight" is a "many-splendored album, with the dark gloominess of KATATONIA and ANATHEMA, or the progressive touches of PINK FLOYD and OPETH. The common denominator in the songs are Ines' spine-chillingly beautiful voice and the catchy melodies of the choruses."
"Euphorialight" features several guest artists, such as Aapo Romu, the cellist of VANGUARD, and on backing vocals Andy Koski Semmens (EREPIA, 0 X I S T; ex-ESOTERIC, ex-PANTHEIST), Juhani Palomäki (COLOSSEUM) and Teppo Tirkkonen (THE PURIFICATION). The CD was recorded at D-Studios, Finland with Jarno Hänninen, and mastered at Sweden's Cutting Room with Björn Engelmann.
"Euphorialight" track listing:
01. Soul-Broken
02. I Ride Alone
03. Passion and Savagery
04. Baron Samedi
05. Absinthe Eyes, Opium Words
06. Deadline Playtime
07. Catherine and Heathcliff
08. Maneater
09. Void
10. The Mercury Lamp
11. Euphorialight
EMBASSY OF SILENCE is:
Ines Lukkanen - Vocals
Tero Kalliomäki - Guitars
Jarno Suodenjoki - Guitars
Samu Lahtinen - Bass
Harri Koskela - Keyboards
Jaakko Hauru - Drums
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada-based metallers BLINDED BY FAITH have announced the addition of bassist Michaël Beaudoin is to the group's ranks. The group's new lineup will make its live debut on Saturday, April 17 in Drummondville.
BLINDED BY FAITH recently entered the studio to record three new songs ("The Pace Of The Race", "Dead End" and "Drastic Medicine"), to be used to procure a new record deal. During the process, the band was working with Antoine Baril (ex-AUGURY drummer), Yannick St-Amand (DESPISED ICON, BENEATH THE MASSACRE) and Pierre Rémillard (ANONYMUS, MISERY INDEX, MARTYR).
BLINDED BY FAITH's sophomore album, "Weapons Of Mass Distraction", was released in May 2007.
BLINDED BY FAITH is:
Tommy Demers (vocals)
Danny Émond (keyboards and sampling)
Michaël Beaudoin (bass)
Julien Marcotte (drums)
Daric Grenier (guitar)
Pascal Côté (guitar)
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/blindedbyfaith.
Melbourne, Australia's dark rockers THE ETERNAL have scheduled the following dates in their home countryL
July 02 - Byron Bay, AUS - The Buddha Bar
July 03 - Brisbane, AUS - The Jubilee Hotel (Dead Of Winter Festival)
THE ETERNAL recently made a new DVD, "Kartika World Tour 2009", available exclusively via the band's web site. The disc contains the "Kartika World Tour" and "The Making Of Kartika" documentaries as well at two promotional videos and plenty of photos.
A trailer for the DVD can be viewed below.
THE ETERNAL entered 301 Studios in Byron Bay on December 4, 2009 with acclaimed producer and multi-platinum recording artist Jeff Martin (THE AMARDA, THE TEA PARTY) to begin recording the band's fourth full-length album, "Under A New Sun", due later in the year. Songtitles set to appear on the follow-up to 2008's "Kartika" include "Control", "Under A New Sun", "A Thousand Shades of You", "Collapse" and "Cast In Stone".
Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY will embark on a tour of Mexico and South America in June.
Commented the band, "We're very excited to finally return and perform for some of the most devoted DARK TRANQUILLITY fans on earth and are looking forward to visiting no less than three new countries for the first time: Peru, Uruguay and Brazil."
The dates are as follows:
June 03 - Mexico city, Mexico - Circo Volador
June 04 - Puebla, Mexico - Salon JP de Puebla
June 05 - Bogota, Colombia - Teatro Metropol (with HIRAX)
June 06 - Caracas, Venezuela - CECIM (with CYNIC)
June 08 - Lima, Peru - Voce
June 09 - Santiago, Chile - Teatro Novedades
June 10 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Teatro Flores
June 11 - Monte Video, Uruguay - Complejo Troya
June 12 - Sao Paulo, Brazil - [to be announced]
June 13 - Curitiba, Brazil - [to be announced]
THREAT SIGNAL and MUTINY WITHIN have been confirmed as the support acts on DARK TRANQUILLITY's upcoming North American headlining tour.
"We Are The Void", the ninth album from DARK TRANQUILLITY, sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 15 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"We Are The Void" was released in North America on March 9 via Century Media Records. The LP was made available in Europe as a CD, digital download and strictly limited-edition die-cut digipak featuring two bonus songs ("Stars Of Nothingness" and "To Where Fires Cannot Feed") and a bonus DVD.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based death/thrash metallers NERVECELL will open for DEICIDE on May 28 at Arabian Winds in Istanbul, Turkey. Also scheduled to appear are Turkish bands MORIBUND OBLIVION and HECATOMB.
This will be NERVECELL's first performance since the band's just-completed tour of Europe with SUFFOCATION.
NERVECELL last year inked a deal with Lifeforce Records. The band's "Preaching Venom" album was released in Europe on October 26, 2009.
"Preaching Venom" was released in April 2008 in the Middle East (via Spellbind Records) and features PSYCROPTIC's David Haley (also of THE AMENTA, RUINS) on drums. The CD was mixed at Hertz Studio (VADER, DECAPITATED, HATE) in Poland by Wieslawscy Bros. and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York.
San Francisco Bay Area metallers SKINLAB have been confirme for the California Metalfest IV, set to take place May 15-16 at The Fox Theatre and The Glasshouse in Pomona, California.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
May 15:
FEAR FACTORY
JOB FOR A COWBOY
WHITECHAPEL
DYING FETUS
ARSIS
DECREPIT BIRTH
CATTLE DECAPITATION
MISERY INDEX
ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY
GAZA
SKINLAB
May 16:
BLEEDING THROUGH
THE FACELESS
BORN OF OSIRIS
SLEEPING GIANT
EARTH CRISIS
OCEANO
ARSONISTS GET ALL THE GIRLS
THICK AS BLOOD
ENFOLD DARKNESS
UPON A BURNING BODY
SON OF AURELIUS
For more information, go to this location.
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