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Competition - Children of Bodom Give-away
Universal Music has sponsored 4 copies of the new Children of Bodom album, Bloddrunk. This is the limited edition which includes a bonus DVD with the whole album in 5.1 surround mix. All you have to do for a chance to win is email your full address to competition@revelationz.net. A draw between all entries will take place on May 21'st and the winners will be announced here.
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Latest news
| Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - Revolution Renaissance - Timo Tolkki Announces Singer | Timo Tolkki has issued the following update on Revolution Renaissance:
"I'm writing this from Hong Kong overlooking the amazing bay. It is a great pleasure to announce the new singer of REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE I have chosen from over 400 vocalists that sent me their MP3s. Thank you so much for sending all those...all together I have received over 1500 applications and I have listened through them all. I am sorry for those who were not chosen, but I can tell you that you should NEVER give up. Follow your heart and you will get there eventually. Don't think about money or success, think about your art, the money comes by itself, not the other way around.
So here is the man himself, with his own words:
Hi there, everyone!!
My name is Gus Monsanto. I am a 33-year old metal singer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and I am really glad to announce I have been chosen amongst a bunch of talented beasts to front REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE. The band is going to be an amazing experience and the album New Era totally kicked my ass when Timo sent it to me.
I have been on a beautiful journey making music since I started playing the guitar age 10. Ups, downs, ins, outs & but this infatuation keeps coming back and you're more and more into it. There's a lot more about me in www.myspace.com/gusmonsanto2.
In brief: the last four years of my life were spent fronting the metal band ADAGIO. We played all over the world, did the Dominate album and it was a great learning experience for me. Lately, I have also replaced Jeff Scott Soto, one of the best singers in business, in TAKARA. Two days after Adagio and I parted ways, I got this great message from Timo and the rest is history in the making.
Timo used to be surrounded by a great band that made history. I am aware of the responsibility. I am aware of the fans. Rest assured: we will kill. He's got all my respect, since he didn't take the easy way, which would be using the old bands name. Personally, I even had the mega pleasure of introducing Bruno Agra, one of my best friends and kick ass drummer extraordinaire to Timo and Revolution Renaissance, which makes it even more special.
Hope to see all of you really soon. Think about the words. Revolution. Renaissance. Look deep within their meanings.
Best, GUS
Tolkki continues:
In Gus I have found everything I look for a singer. He is a real world citizen and a soul-mate. We all feel this connection and that we did not arrive crossing each other's paths by accident. Gus has a very versatile voice, amazing range and no accent and he can sing in many different styles yet he has a very recognizable voice. His pictures are in Revolution Renaissance folder. Now the only remaining thing is to find the bass player who fits into this team that is multinational, but spirituality doesn't know any nationalities. It's been over two years since I wrote the songs for New Era and because the first album was kind of a special one, we want to make our first real album together soon, so we will enter the studio already in this August to record the new album. We are very excited and full of good and positive energy. We don't know when the album will come out, but probably already January 2009 followed by a massive world tour where we will of course play all the biggest Stratovarius hits and few less played as well and material from the two RR albums. We will also be doing a massive South American tour in December this year just to have some fun and present ourselves to the fans.
So here it is ladies and gentlemen: THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN!!!!"
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| Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - The Gathering news | News from The Gathering:
"Dear all, Sorry it has been a while since you've heard from us. We apologize for this. It actually means that we have been really busy with the band. During the last couple of months we created a lot of new ideas that lead to the first songs of our upcoming CD. Yes, we are working on a new album! Or actually, two new albums! Many of our new songs are very rock and guitar orientated and will end up on a heavy rock album for sure. The second album will be filled with more 'shoe gaze', dreamy tracks.
We can imagine if you are very curious about new vocalists. Currently, we are working with several. It feels very refreshing and interesting to work with different voices and it adds beautiful new colours to our music. Names will be presented as soon as our ideas become more concrete. As promised you will hear new material by the end of this year. The release of our new album is planned for Spring 2009.
On behalf of the band, Hans Rutten"
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| Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - Angel Dust album news | Angel Dust have issued the following update:
"After all the name of the new album will not be 'VII', because in the last year there were so many releases from other bands with exactly the same title. The name of the new album is not certain yet. Carsten (Kaiser) has now started the vocal recording (nice that we are one step closer to the release). ANGEL DUST will also play on June 7th at the Century Media Yardsale. They will not play a complete set (they haven't had enough time for rehearsing) but they will play a few titles. TURISAS will also be there."
ANGEL DUST guitarist Bernd Aufermann (also of RUNNING WILD) previously stated about the material that is slated to appear on the follow-up to 2002's "Of Human Bondage", "I'm VERY satisfied with the way the guitar will approach in the music and the material is, in my opinion, the best we've ever written."
ANGEL DUST's forthcoming album will feature the following tracks:
01. Before My Fall
02. Shoot The Needle
03. Marching - Stampeding
04. Alien Man
05. One More Time
06. Street Of Iron Will
07. Consumed
08. Fear No Evil
ANGEL DUST 2008 is:
Dirk Assmuth (drums)
Bernd Aufermann (guitar)
Christian Pohlmann (bass)
Steven Banx (keyboard)
Carsten Kaiser (vocals)
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| Monday, May 12, 2008 - New Chaoswave streaming online | Chaoswave have uploaded the song "10 Years of Denial" from their upcoming album on their myspace page. The cd entitled "Dead Eye Dreaming" is the band's sophomore album after the succesful debut The White Noise Within, released in 2006 by DVS Records.
The album was mixed by King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque and contains 3 guest solos by none other than Steve Smyth (ex-Nevermore, ex-Testament. Chaoswave are right now searching for the right label to release the new cd.
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| Monday, May 12, 2008 - Z'nuff Goes to the Movies / Reissues / New Donnie Interview / Ballads Revisited | Latest news from Enuff Z'nuff:
"There Goes My Heart" is the featured song in the trailer for the new John C Reilly (Walk Hard / Gangs of New York / Talladega Nights / The Perfect Storm / Boogie Nights) and Seann William Scott (American Pie / Dude, Where's My Car? / Final Destination) comedy "The Promotion". Watch it here
Donnie says in a new interview that the new album is being mixed, he also talks about his new project LA Smogg, plans for a Live Z'nuff DVD and more - read it here
The first batch of reissues are out! They include the debut, Brothers, Strength, Animals, 1985, Tweaked, Peachfuzz and Live. Some come with bonus tracks and different artwork. Take at a look at the EZN store
Donnie has released the first in a series of "acoustic live in the studio" digital albums. This one is called "Raw Memories: The Tale of 12 Ballads" and is available on his his site
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| Monday, May 12, 2008 - Evergrey sign with Steamhammer / SPV | Following intense and very constructive discussions, Steamhammer/SPV have announced their future collaboration with Swedish dark melodic metal act, Evergrey. The deal includes not only the group's brand-new studio album, Torn, which will arrive at the stores at the beginning of September, but also Evergrey's complete back catalogue. Evergrey mastermind Tom S. Englund is looking forward to a productive cooperation with Steamhammer, explaining: "After long and intense negotiations, we feel that we have arrived at optimum conditions for everybody involved. We are confident that Evergrey will continue to grow artistically under the terms of this contract, that SPV will enjoy our cooperation and - this is definitely the most important aspect - that our fans will thoroughly benefit from the new deal."
The first stage of this ambitious target will see the release of Evergrey's new studio album, Torn, at the beginning of September, featuring eleven compositions, described by Englund as a "modern mix of In Search Of Truth and Recreation Day". "The tracks are all guitar-oriented and very atmospheric. They have exactly the sound that our fans expect from us." According to Englund, the slightly more experimental direction of Evergrey's previous release, Monday Morning Apocalypse, has given way again to old strengths and virtues. "Two years ago we needed an album with a slightly different approach and an expensive producer, just to find out how that sort of thing works. It was the right album at the time, but now we have returned to our typical trademarks." This is one of the reasons why the tracks on Torn were self-produced by Englund together with drummer Jonas Ekdahl. In addition, the band has a new bassist, Fredrik Larsson having been replaced by former Stratovarius musician Jari Kainulainen.
Since the band arrived on the scene in 1998, Evergrey have brought out six studio albums and one live cut. All of them made the top 20 in their native Sweden and the last two made the top 10 (no. 6 and 3, respectively). On top of that, their DVD was number 1 for four weeks and nominated for a Grammy in Sweden. The band has toured around the globe several times, together with In Flames, Nevermore, Throwdown, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom and Iced Earth, among others. Along with Torn, their new contract with Steamhammer/SPV includes the band's complete back catalogue, so top-quality reissues featuring a selection of bonus tracks are likely in future. "There is so much additional material for each album that we could theoretically re-release it on an extra DVD. Whatever we manage to do - premium reissues are certainly a possibility."
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| Monday, May 12, 2008 - Timo Tolkki - "I Will Be Away For A While" | Timo Tolkki has issued the following update:
"Just wanted to let you know, that I will be away for a while. I need to get away from this negative and hate filled atmosphere of the last days.
The statement of Jens and co. hurt me deeply with its aggressiveness and hate, not to mention the lies they wrote to make it look like totally my fault. I have been very down the last days, so I need some time alone.
I still cannot believe that it is not possible to go separate ways in a civilized way. My statement was in my opinion like this. From their statement, all I get is this enormous hate and bitterness towards me plus that they made it public even including figures there. Being accused of being greedy narcistic Faust by someone I talked on the phone in the last 6 months countless times laughing like before and making jokes, comes as a very heavy blow. I thought Jens was my friend.
Instead of staying what I considered a very sick band and getting all that money, I decided to start from scratch without anything, even members. And knowing I will have to pay lot of money too from the legal costs, but that was irrelevant at that point, because I gave the management and lawyer all the time I could and 60 days before the release of my new band, I had to come to public about Stratovarius.
So the greediness attack comes as a total surprise to me against the facts and also their lies.
Mainly about the timings. The idea for RR was born and the contract singned long after October 2007, when I broke Stratovarius.
Since it really seems that they will continue under the name Stratovarius, that I own and that I have contracts with each of them, I have to of course think what should I do?
As clearly as there can't be Strato without Kotipelto, as clearly there cannot be Stratovarius without me. That was my band totally since around '86, ten years before anyone of these guys joined the band. I think there is something else behind this and I dont believe that they really will continue under that name. That would make them look like they would just want to use the bands name to make money. Why not start from the clean table like me?
In any case, my first initial thought was to let them use the name, but now I have started to think that since all this hatred is projected to me and the obvious reasons to use the name would be just financial, why should I give it to them. Stratovarius was a band that I controlled in a very similar way than Tuomas of NIGHTWISH up until I got very sick in 2004. The things started to be taken away from my control and that lead actually to the demise of the band. Do you think Nightwish could exist without its soul? I suppose it could, but again what would be any other point, than capitalize the name?
With these thoughts I leave you now for some time and come back with a bit more clear head.
Thank you for your support and take care of yourselves.
Love, Timo."
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| Thursday, May 08, 2008 - Former Stratovarius Members: Timo Tolkki's Main Motivation Was Greed | Former Stratovarius members Timo Kotipelto (vocals), Jens Johansson (keyboards), Lauri Porra (bass) and Jörg Michael (drums) have issued the following joint statement:
"Timo Tolkki published a statement on April 2 this year. The other members of STRATOVARIUS would now like to set the record straight. You can't argue with someone's perception of things, you can just explain how you see things differently.
"The confrontations, fights, incompetence, tensions, negativity, bitterness, hostility, disinterest, bad musicianship, and unfriendliness that Timo described were never there. He constructed this alternate reality around these simple and for him painful facts:
1) The band's momentum has been slowing since 2004.
2) The media chaos of 2004 made him lose a lot of trust and respect both within and outside the band.
3) STRATOVARIUS' label Sanctuary had severe financial problems from 2005 on. It forced us to start a legal process at the beginning of 2007.
"If you live your life through other people's eyes, declining sales or a perceived loss of power are matters of deep, stinging personal humiliation.
"Other sad facts remain. The legal fight left us without a way to make a new album, and financially strapped. Timo's main motivation for what he did was greed, not issues of friendship or art.
"In the summer of 2007, he presented the STRATOVARIUS/REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE demos we had all financed and recorded to Frontiers Records, and signed a recording agreement for a solo project. Unbelievably, he promised Frontiers that he alone could (and would) stop STRATOVARIUS from being active for the duration of the R.R. project, for marketing reasons. In exchange for this, Timo alone was paid 154,000 US dollars. He did this behind our backs, as we were deep in pursuit of Sanctuary legally with a large legal bill. He still hasn't had the guts to tell us what he did. We pieced it together from various press releases of his and scattered email correspondence.
"In October he sent us a mail saying he didn't want to continue, a quite impersonal way after having been in the same band for 12 years. He explained that he was tired of STRATOVARIUS, and would concentrate on things like his opera. We had known for some time he really hated playing live. He did not mention anything about his Frontiers deal, which placed the rest of us at great financial risk. He very clearly asked that we wouldn't contact him and try to talk him out of it, which we all respected. He would later make much of the fact that nobody tried to talk him out of it.
"This year, Sanctuary agreed to settle, but Timo's announcement and Timo's announcement alone ruined that, leaving us with a debt of 54,000 US dollars. The total loss is around 346,000 US dollars. There was no reason for the timing of his announcement other than some foolish belief it would make the promotion of Timo's project record a bit easier. What he did to the rest of us was stupid, selfish and more than disappointing to us since we all stood shoulder to shoulder with him financially in 2004.
"Then late January, surprisingly, he proposed us playing as hired guns on R.R. (turning it into a STRATOVARIUS record), and doing a tour with Jari on bass. Apparently he again had financial problems due to his failed opera project. He then quickly dismissed the idea himself.
"In short it's not so much a story of simmering discontent leading to a wise and respectable decision. It's definitely not a story of naiveté. It's the story of Faust, the story of madness, of a band's natural and slow decline, but in the end something mundane: the story of a supreme narcissist going broke and betraying friends of 12 years who helped save him a few years earlier.
"Hopefully this explains the situation a little bit. Sorry if it is long on business crap, and short on humor or music. This was a terrible, disaapointing blow to us.
"We would like to thank our fans who make it all worth it, and despite it all, we would like to thank Timo for the past, the nice music and the good moments.
"The rest of us want to make clear that we are doing great and that we will continue making music together, because we care about each other and we care about our fans. We have grand plans indeed, and we will have some very interesting news in the months ahead!"
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| Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - I Remember Now: The 20th Anniversary Of Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime | To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Queensrÿche's Operation:Mindcrime album, Blistering.com will be running a multi-part retrospective detailing the album's creation titled, "I Remember Now: The 20th Anniversary of Operation:Mindcrime."
Compiled by noted Queensrÿche historian Christa Titus, the series will feature interviews with members involved in the album's creation, plus perspectives from two other relevant sources. With topics ranging from guitarist Michael Wilton's initial displeasure with the album's mix and singer Geoff Tate's assessment of how TV helped sell "Mindcrime," to bassist Eddie Jackson's take on dealing with new-found success and drummer Scott Rockenfield's intimate details of the band's rehearsal space, "I Remember Now: The 20th Anniversary of Operation: Mindcrime" is one of the first complete and comprehensive looks at one of rock's most intriguing concept albums and the players involved in it.
The first installment of Blistering's Queensrÿche's Mindcrime retrospective will be posted on Tuesday, May 6th and will feature guitarist Michael Wilton.
For more information go here.
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| Tuesday, May 06, 2008 - Enuff Z'nuff news | antiMusic caught up with Donnie Vie last week to get the latest on the new Enuff Z'nuff album and ended up learning a lot more. Not only is the new Z'nuff album almost complete, but the band has undergone a major lineup change with a new lead guitarist and Donnie returning to fronting the band full time. Donnie has also started a new group called LA Smogg, which is already hard at work on their debut. And as if that wasn't enough on his plate, he's also auditioning for a major rock band that recently lost their singer.
Donnie shocked fans seven years ago when he more or less retired from touring. Part of his reasoning was his new marriage at the time and relocating to Los Angeles from Chicago. In L.A. he kept busy and released a string of solo projects, but sadly Donnie and his wife split recently. "I apologize to the fans for falling off the face of the earth for seven odd years. But praise God I survived it," Donnie told antiMusic. "With all due respect to Joni Vie, who is wonderful girl, the marriage thing just didn't pan out. But you know me, I gotta try everything."
He told us his "lost weekend" is over and he's back to music 100% and seems to be following the advice of one of his biggest hits by "finding much invigoration" from his new freedom. "As where the past six/seven years I've been learning the ropes of computer recording, obviously I'm not the best at that so I'm gonna leave that to the experts," he joked. "Now I'm living the complete flipside of that record, total music. I'm feeling more alive and stronger than ever and the whole thing is fresh and new to me again. I've beat-off... all my demons. Now I'm getting high on music again."
We asked him about progress on the new Enuff Z'nuff album, "Lost in Vegas" and he let out some surprising details, "At the last moment we totally turned the whole Enuff Z'nuff record around and it's amazing. The reason it's been delayed is that I didn't want to put out another record that wasn't up to z'snuff. It started out with me having to tweak songs I wrote for my solo projects to fit the Z'nuff sound. But we tossed all of that out and wrote new ones in traditional Enuff Z'nuff form. It's in the process of being mixed. And a limited collectors edition will be available at Rocklahoma. We're also planning on filming that performance for a DVD.
Donnie has also been hard at work with his new band L.A. Smogg, a band he started so he could create music that doesn't have to conform to the Z'nuff sound. He found his perfect partner in crime by posting a Myspace bulletin looking for musicians that might be interested in the group. Out of the hundreds of responses, the name CJ Szuter stood out to him, having been a big fan of CJ's work in The Szuters and Magna-Fi. He knew that he and CJ would get along musically, but little did he know that he had found a musical blood brother. "I'm CJ's biggest fan. In Smogg he's the McCartney to my Lennon; we're sharing lead vocal duties and complementing each other perfectly. We also got our Ringo Bonham, he goes by the name of Vic Alfaro," he said before filling us in on the progress in the band. "We got two brand tracks up on our Myspace and some videos. And we're tracking the rest of the album. This is the band I've always wanted to be in. After too many years of compromising by taking it in the ass musically, I'm finally achieving the musical goals that I've always dreamt up. There is strength in numbers here. I know you're gonna love what you hear!"
Then he quickly switched on his Lennon-esq sense of humor to drop a little dig, along with a bombshell, "I have even better news, CJ is also going to fill the small shoes with his big talent in Z'nuff as our new lead guitarist."
He told us that he's planning to reopen his online fanclub to new members within a couple weeks, with the LA Smogg songs being the first downloads. As for that audition we mentioned in the beginning of the article, Donnie is keeping a tight lid on that (for now). You can check out the LA Smogg MySpace to hear the two new tracks and some in-the-studio video clips.
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| Monday, May 05, 2008 - Steel Prophet - New Song Posted Online | A rough-mix version of the newest Steel Prophet song "Trickery of the Scourge" has been uploaded to the band's MySpace page. This is the group's first new material available since 2004 and the first Steel Prophet track recorded with singer Rick Mythiasin since 2002.
The song was mixed by Gene McEwen and "E" at For The Record Studios in Orange, California.
The band will headline the Swordbrothers Festival VII in Andernach, Germany on September 13, 2008.
Steel Prophet's current lineup is:
Vince Dennis - Bass
Steve Kachinsky - Guitar
Rick Mythiasin - Vocals
Gene McEwen - Drums
Horacio Colmenares - Guitar
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| Saturday, May 03, 2008 - Cloudscape Announce release of new CD. | News from Cloudscape:
It's been a long wait for the announcement of releasedates and info regarding the third Cloudscape album entitled "Global Drama". The original plan was to release the album during spring 2008 but, those plans took a different direction. But, now it's decided that Global Drama will be released during August/September 2008 but, you have to wait a few more days to get the exact releasedates and info + sneakpeak(s). All details such as releasedates and info will be announced at www.cloudscape.se very, very soon.
But, until then you can watch the album cover made by Mattias Norén here.
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - Narnia part ways with vocalist | Narnia have issued the following:
"We are sad to announce that Christian Liljegren has left Narnia.
Christian was Narnia's singer for 12 years and he was also one of it's founding members. The decision behind the split was a mutual agreement between Christian and the rest of the band.
We understand that this comes as a surprise for most of you but we ask you for your understanding, prayers and support.
We thank Christian for all the years we had together on the road, in the studio and for our friendship and we wish him the best for the future.
Stay tuned for more info about the future of the band...
Long live the King!"
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - Steelheart album update | News from Steelheart:
"I will be launching my new website on May 10th. My team and I have built a powerful cutting edge music/media site, which will feature SteelHeart and my new material, media, and other ventures we have embarked on. We will also be announcing the official release date of my new album Good 2B Alive. Thank you for all of your support and I am looking forward to getting to know more of you through as we build our dreams!
Miljenko Matijevic"
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - News from Extreme | Extreme singer Gary Cherone checks in with the following update:
"Extreme fans have spoken!
And you are right! I apologize to you. Extreme have the most loyal and patient fans on the planet and you deserve an update every once in a while from the band. Is that too much to ask? OK enough with the groveling.
The record is finished except for one lead vocal and a few backgrounds. Nuno (Bettencourt) is working overtime finishing up the mixes, and believe the hype!
These are the best performances of the band... ever!
You're gonna hear everything you expect from Extreme, and everything you don't!
The release of the record will ultimately depend on the label, and what's best for the band. We're working on an American run for mid/late summer. Europe, Japan, and the rest of the world to follow!
Until the next time, yeah I know, what was so hard about that?
Your humble and lovable shoe shine boy,
Gary."
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 - Virgin Steele Sign To Dockyard 1 | Virgin Steele have inked a deal with Dockyard 1, the label that collaborated with the band on re-releases of Age Of Consent and Noble Savage.
"This took quite awhile to conclude, as it was a difficult decision to make in regards to who to sign with, as we were offered several very good agreements from various labels, but in the end we decided to go with Dockyard 1, as we have a very long history with several of the key members of the team there and have always enjoyed working with them", said David DeFeis, the Virgin Steele's vocalist.
A brand new album is expected for about January 2009. DeFeis claims: "If all goes well we should be able to issue a new album sometime between January and March."
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 - Michele Luppi leaves Vision Divine | Vision Divine have issued the following statement:
"Michele Luppi is no longer singing with Vision Divine.
Beside any speculation which could be done regarding the truth behind all this, we simply believe it was the right time to both make the right choice.
We wish Michele all the best with his future and we thank him for the great time we had together."
In an update, the band state, "Any scheduled activity will be accomplished, and there won't be any delay in our plans.
The new singer will be announced on May 1st .
Please stay tuned for more news in the forthcoming days."
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 - New Edguy album on the way | Edguy are currently preparing to hit the studio to work on the successor of their recent album "Rocket Ride".
Tobias: "People think that we are quite fast but that's not the truth. I completed the Avantasia album last autumn, the Avantasia songwriting itself was completed even way back in 2006. All the new ideas I've had since then could be taken for Edguy. In fact, this is a long time to refresh your creativity and gather new stuff. The material sounds very fresh, it embraces all the different trademarks of Edguy, I think it is a logical continuation of Rocket Ride and Hellfire Club. Maybe it doesn't come across as goofy as Rocket Ride, but I am sure if we have fun in the studio we'll have enough possibilities to ruin the day for notoriously bitter people, haha. Yet it's more bombastic and heavier, not too fast cause I really don't like pure Speed Metal that much anymore. I like Lavatory Love Machine, The Piper Never Dies, Mandrake and Sacrifice. There's three fast tracks, but they are all good, not 'just fast'! We'll enter the studio next week and work whenever producer Sascha Paeth and me come back from the Avantasia weekends."
Furthermore Edguy will be touring the USA and Canada as special guest of Kamelot in October.
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 - Avantasia news | Avantasia news from Tobias Sammet:
Hello friends,
How are you doing? It's been a while since I have been speaking to you. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for your great support. "The Scarecrow" is an album that means a lot to me and it was quite a commercial risk to just follow my heart instead of doing exactly what people expected. But if I take a look at the chart positions and sales - it went into the album charts in 16 countries, hitting the Top10 in four countries - it seems like you appreciate my honesty! Thank you!
Now preparing for the festival summer with Avantasia seems so surreal. Avantasia has never been on stage before and all of the sudden we are headlining the biggest festivals in the world, just been confirmed for the Sziget festival in Hungary on the 13th of August, playing amongst legendary bands such as R.E.M., die Ärzte, Iron Maiden and the Sex Pistols. Amazing!
The Avantasia line up will be Jorn Lande, André Matos, Amanda Somerville, Olli Hartmann, Bob Catley (not all shows), Sascha Paeth, Miro, Robert Hunecke, Claudy Yang and Frank Lindenthal who is gonna replace Eric Singer who'll be playing with KISS. Despite all rumors Michael Kiske will not be there, as he didn't wanna do it and I respect that! We'll put on a huge epic show anyway. Nobody has done something like that before and I swear, nobody will ever forget the event, neither you nor us!!!
Check the tour section to read all the dates or check www.edguy.net to read some other interesting news about a new Edguy album maybe?! Now I can't wait to hit the road.
Love and peace, Tobias
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 - Wacken Open Air Festival 2008 - Running Order Confirmed | The Wacken Open Air Festival - set to take place July 31st - August 2nd, in Wacken, Germany, has confirmed the running order of the festival - click here
to view.
The following bands will play at the festival:
Airbourne
Alestorm
As I Lay Dying
At The Gates
Autumn
Avantasia
Avenged Sevenfold
Axxis
Before The Dawn
Carcass
Children Of Bodom
Corvus Corax
Crematory
Cynic
Destructor
Dream Of An Opium Eater
Enemy Of The Sun
Ensiferum
Excrementory Grindfuckers
Exodus
Evocation
Girugämesh
Gorerotted
Gorgoroth
Grave
Lauren Harris
Hatebreed
The Haunted
Headhunter
Holy Moses
Iron Maiden
Job For A Cowboy
Kamelot
Killswitch Engage
Kreator
Krypteria
Leaves' Eyes
Lord Belial
Lordi
Machine Men
Massacre
Mercenary
Metakilla
Mortal Sin
Mustasch
Nashville Pussy
Negura Bunget
Nifelheim
Nightwish
Obituary
Opeth
Axel Rudi Pell
Powerwolf
Primordial
Psycho Punch
Sabaton
Saltatio Mortis
Soilwork
Sonata Arctica
Stam1na
Sturm Und Drang
The Bones
3 Inches Of Blood
Unearth
Van Canto
Watain
Warbringer
For more information visit The official wWebsite.
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| Thursday, April 24, 2008 - More bands confirmed for Magic Circle Festival 2008 | Michael Schenker Group (MSG), Beloved Enemy, Titanium Black, Mob Rules and Benedictum have been confirmed for the Magic Circle Festival 2008, set to take place July 9-12 in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
Also, a third full day of music has been added to the Magic Circle Festival at no additional charge. "Magic Circle Music is all about value for the fans, and three nights at the original price is the best way we could think of to add to that value," says Magic Circle Music founder and MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio.
For more information and tickets please visit: http://www.magiccirclefestival.com/
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| Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - Opeth - New Song 'The Lotus Eater' Streaming Online | Opeth are currently streaming the new track 'The Lotus Eater' from the band's forthcoming album Watershed at this location.
Watershed is due out on June 3rd in North America - a day earlier internationally via Roadrunner. The album will be released as a Regular Edition CD and Collector's Edition two-disc CD/DVD and Limited Edition 180-gram Vinyl.
Watershed tracklisting:
'Coil'
'Heir Apparent'
'The Lotus Eater'
'Burden'
'Porcelain Heart'
'Hessian Peel'
'Hex Omega'
The Collector's Edition 2-disc CD/DVD set includes three bonus tracks - 'Bridge Of Sighs' from ROBIN TROWER's 1974 album of the same title, 'Den Ständiga Resan' (sung in Swedish) by Marie Fredriksson as well as the classic ALICE IN CHAINS song, 'Would?' - 5.1 audio mix of the entire album, extensive video content, and expanded artwork.
Limited Edition 180-Gram Double LP Set includes bonus track, exclusive poster and expanded artwork and more.
Watershed was recorded at Fascination street studios during November 1 and December 13. Some additional recordings were done between January 3rd and 7th. Produced by Jens Bogren and Mikael Åkerfeldt and Opeth.
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| Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - Destruction Enter Hansen Studios And Reveal Title Of New Album "D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." | Press release from Destruction:
25 years of German Thrash Metal history has elapsed, but still the unrelenting Thrash Monster that is Destruction is hungry, out there and on your trail!! The degeneration of the human race can be delayed no longer.
Perfectly transforming this ethos into 10 destructive new Thrash hymns including blistering moments such as "OFFENDERS OF THE THRONE", "UNDER COMPULSION" or "DOOMED TO DEVOLUTION", this upcoming album will re-write Thrash Metal history! Meaner and more musical than ever before, the German metal originator reports back after three years without a new studio record! Sure, "Thrash Anthems" put down a marker, but that was bringing the past stingingly up to date. This is the future. Mark the 29th of August as an "Official" THRASH METAL HOLIDAY!!!
While we were enjoying the first rays of Spring earlier this month, Destruction's three way killing machine was hard at work. Songwriting and final rehearsals are now complete, and Schmier, Mike and Marc will withdraw to the Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with Jacob Hansen.
"Celebrating 25 years of Destruction is of course an additional motivation to record a new classic", reports Schmier with his characteristic "Code Of Honour"!! "But the band has never before been so well prepared for a recording, and the new material is very dynamic crashing straight in your face! All Thrash maniacs can now look forward to a merciless and varied album which will put its predecessors in the shade! Beware!!"
On the release front the new album is set to be released in Germany on the 29th of August 2008 (Sept. 1st in the rest of the world). And, Destruction will then devastate the musical landscape with their historic "25th Anniversary World Tour" details of which will follow in due course. There are also plans for a full DVD release later in the year; all in the cause of celebrating one-quarter century of classic German Thrash Metal with all the faithful fans worldwide!
The first confirmed live dates:
09.05.2008 - SPAIN - Lleida/ FIESTAS DE LLEIDA 2008 - FREE ENTRY!!!
30.05.2008 - SERBIA - Legacy Festival, Beograd @ Usce 10, Blok 15
21- 22.06.2008 - FINLAND - Nummirock, Open Air festival
12.07.2008 - GER - Baden in Blut, Lörrach, Grütt-Park
14.-16.08.2008 - GER- Summer Breeze Open Air, Dinkelsbühl
20.09.2008 -GER - Hellflame Festival, Osnabrück
25.10.2008 - SPAIN - Heavy Metal Heart Festival IV, Valencia, Sala Fussion
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| Monday, April 21, 2008 - Adagio announce new singer | News from Adagio:
"We are please to announce that finnish singer Christian Palin is now officially the new singer of Adagio.
The band is at the moment in studio, here's a message from Stéphan:
We are all very glad to have Chris now on board , he is an incredible vocalist and an awesome ball of energy. We have already started to work together one month ago, and we will start the vocals recording on April 24th. Drums, Bass and guitars are finished, and we expect the cd to be totally done, mixed and mastered, for May 20th.
So far the guitar sound is incredibly heavy, and we feel that Archangels In Black is about to be a fuckin heavy album!!!"
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| Monday, April 21, 2008 - Falconer album news | Latest news from Falconer:
The new album (Among beggars and thieves) will be mixed in the end of May in "Sonic train studios". The release date is set to the end of August. A music video will be shot for the song "Carnival of disgust".
Apart from the new album 2008 will be a year off for the band. The activity will start in 2009 again, when we´ll try to do a bunch of live shows again.
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| Monday, April 21, 2008 - Timo Tolkki Unveils Revolution Renaissance | Press release from Frontiers Records:
Frontiers Records is pleased to announce all details about the sensational new band REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE, brainchild of ex STRATOVARIUS main man Timo Tolkki.
"Everything that was to be said with that band, with those members, had already been said and to continue would have simply been repeating the same formula over and over again", says Tolkki about this much talked split. Furthermore, tensions between the members brought Tolkki's decision to form a brand new band REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE, which is the logical progression of the Stratovarius legacy.
The first record from the new band, aptly entitled "New Era", includes the vocal talents of Michael Kiske (ex HELLOWEEN), Tobias Sammet (EDGUY, AVANTASIA) and Pasi Rantanen (THUNDERSTONE) plus Mirka Rantanen on drums (THUNDERSTONE), Pasi Heikkilä on bass (45 DEGREE WOMAN) and Joonas Puolakka on keyboards.
Tolkki originally composed all the songs included in this album for Stratovarius, but after the group broke up, he thought he needed to get these songs out and did not spend time looking for a permanent band line-up. He is currently still auditioning singers and musicians and, as soon as a stable line-up is set in stone, Revolution Renaissance will start its life as a live unit.
"New Era" pays tribute musically to the trademark Stratovarius albums "Visions" and "Episode", with its Melodic Power Metal style that Tolkki was instrumental in creating, along with such bands as Helloween and Gamma Ray. His trademark guitar playing that earned him a position in "The 80 best guitar players of the World" category in the American "Guitar World" magazine readers poll, shines throughout the album.
Tracklisting of "New Era" includes:
Heroes (lead vocals: Tobias Sammet)
I Did It My Way (lead vocals: Michael Kiske)
We Are Magic (lead vocals: Pasi Rantanen)
Angel (lead vocals: Michael Kiske)
Eden Is Burning (lead vocals: Pasi Rantanen)
Glorious And Divine (lead vocals: Tobias Sammet)
Born Upon The Cross (lead vocals: Pasi Rantanen)
Keep The Flame Alive (lead vocals: Michael Kiske)
Last Night On Earth (lead vocals: Michael Kiske)
Revolution Renaissance (lead vocals: Michael Kiske)
Witness the rebirth of Timo Tolkki and his music the way the fans want to hear him on June 6th
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| Monday, April 21, 2008 - Hammerfall - New guitarist and new releases announced | Pontus Norgren from THE POODLES will be replacing Stefan Elmgren, who left HAMMERFALL in early April to focus on his new career as a pilot/ "Pontus is a fantastic guitar player with musical roots in ACCEPT and neo-classical metal," comments drummer Anders Johansson. "I have know him for many years, I know how he works as a musician and as a person."
"I like Hammerfall, I think they have amazing stage shows and I like their songs, so when I heard they were looking for a guitar player I thought I'd give it a try," says Pontus. "Playing in The Poodles has been a wonderful experience in many ways, but I have always liked a little heavier music and have felt at times that this wasn't the right kind of forum for the music I'd most like to play. It's simply time to move on."
"Replacing Stefan is not easy, he has a very characteristic way of playing and is a great guitarist," explains singer Joacim Cans. "But Pontus will add a different style than Stefan since they are two quite different persons. I'm looking forward to see how we will mesh as a band during the coming months!"
At the moment, Hammerfall has a scheduled gig in Montréal, QC on June 21st (HEAVY MTL Festival) and in July the recordings of a new studio album will begin.
Next HammerFall releases: June 27th
On June 27th, 2008, two new HammerFall releases will see the light of day: a DVD - continuing chronicling the band's career - and a cover CD - a collection of all the covers recorded by HF to date plus three new, unreleased ones. Incidentally, this will be Stefan's last release with HammerFall. Detailed information from www.nuclearblast.de. follows:
Rebels With A Cause - Unruly, Unrestrained, Uninhibited (DVD)
The DVD will be a continuation of the previous two (The First Crusade and The Templar/Renegade Crusades) and contain newly recorded interviews with the band interspersed with footage from their own cameras. The time span is six years, from the beginning of 2002 til the end of 2007, and it's edited together as a documentary of sorts, i.e. one continuous film, but of course with chapters.
Also included will be all six promo videos made during the time in question plus some behind the scenes, four professionally filmed live songs from Filderstadt 2005, five TV clips they have purchased the rights to from SVT (the Swedish national television network) and some more home-made stuff as bonus. The complete running time is estimated to 1h 30-1h 45 plus 1h 15-1h 30.
Masterpieces (CD)
01. Child of the Damned (Tsamis) - Originally recorded by Warlord
02. Ravenlord (Spengler) - Originally recorded by Stormwitch
03. Eternal Dark (Lovell/Jaarsveld/Vreugdenhil/Manen/Bakker) - Originally recorded by Picture
04. Back to Back (Hammer/Owen/Atkins) - Originally recorded by Pretty Maids
05. I Want Out (Hansen) - Originally recorded by Helloween
06. Man on the Silver Mountain (Blackmore/Dio) - Originally recorded by Rainbow
07. Head Over Heels (Accept/Deaffy) - Originally recorded by Accept
08. Run With the Devil (Wahlquist) - Originally recorded by Heavy Load
09. We..re Gonna Make It (Snider) - Originally recorded by Twisted Sister
10. Breaking the Law (Downing/Tipton/Halford) - Originally recorded by Judas Priest
11. Angel of Mercy (Chastain) - Originally recorded by Chastain
12. Rising Force (Malmsteen/Turner) -Originally recorded by Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force
13. Detroit Rock City (Stanley/Ezrin) Originally recorded by KISS
14. Crazy Nights (Takasaki/Nihara) - Originally recorded by Loudness
15. När Vindarna Viskar Mitt Namn (Holmstrand/Jansson/Dahl) - Originally recorded by Roger Pontare
16. Flight of the Warrior (Reale/Van Stavern/Moore) - Originally recorded by Riot
17. Youth Gone Wild (Bolan/Sabo) - Originally recorded by Skid Row
18. Aphasia (Norum) - Originally recorded by Europe
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| Thursday, April 17, 2008 - Judas Priest - Nostradamus album details | Over two years in the making, Judas Priest will finally unveil its 16th studio album, Nostradamus, June 17 via Epic in North America and a day earlier internationally.
A double-disc set that tells the story of the 16th century prophet, Michel de Nostredame (whose name is often 'Latinized' as Nostradamus), the release is Priest's first-ever concept album, and was recorded throughout 2006 and 2007 at Old Smithy Studio in the UK.
"Making Nostradamus was a new experience for us in Judas Priest, insomuch as this was going to be a conceptual writing and recording event," Priest singer Rob Halford tells Billboard.com. "His life is well-documented, so for us it was all about taking the significant episodes he went through, and then with the right emotion, create music and lyrics that would convey them."
On the album, Halford, guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis spread their stylistic wings, experimenting with symphonic orchestration and choirs.
Three configurations of Nostradamus will be issued. The most common will be a regular jewel-cased double CD, but there will also be a "CD deluxe hardbound version," which features a 48-page booklet, while a "super deluxe version" will include three vinyl records (in addition to the CD deluxe packaging, plus a poster).
While there have been some European dates announced in support of Nostradamus (the chief one being a performance as part of this year's Download Festival in England, which also features KISS and MOTÖRHEAD, among others), there will soon be an announcement about Priest's plans for a U.S. tour.
In the meantime, Halford dropped a hint as to what's in store for the group's later headline dates. "As we recorded and listened to the music, and much like a lot of Priest songs, you cannot help but see images in your mind. We constantly thought about special effects and visual elements that will connect musically that we want to use onstage when we will perform all of 'Nostradamus' live," he says. "Again, like every song we compose, the transition from studio to concert is one we think about and make sure we can deliver the goods."
Here is the track list for Nostradamus:
Dawn Of Creation - "Prophecy"
Awakening - "Revelations"
The Four Horsemen - "War"
Sands Of Time - "Pestilence And Plague"
"Death"
Peace - "Conquest"
"Lost Love"
"Persecution"
Solitude - "Exiled"
"Alone"
Shadows In The Flame - "Visions"
Hope - "New Beginnings"
Calm Before The Storm - "Nostradamus"
"Future Of Mankind"
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| Thursday, April 10, 2008 - New review | Another Album of the month made it online
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Daily Spotlight
Lizzy Borden - Visual Lies (Remastered/Expanded)
 Originally released towards the end of the 80's underground metal scene in the United States, Lizzy Borden brought forth yet ....
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Albums of the month
(Alanna)
Whitesnake - Good to Be Bad
"A superb double shot of hard rock from one of the biggest names in the 80s..."
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(Steen)
Jon Oliva's Pain - Global Warning
"A new album from singer and songwriter Jon Oliva is always an anticipated event for an old Savatage fan like myself..."
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(Michael)
Saints of the Underground - Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner
"Saints of the Underground is Hard Rock with a modern twist..."
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(Stuart)
Deicide - Till Death Do Us Part
"Expectations for this latest excretion have without a doubt been the highest for any Deicide release in years..."
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Retro reviews
(Alanna)
Whitesnake - Snakebite
"...let's knock off the dust of the first true Whitesnake album and let the good times begin..."
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Archive
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