Leslie Michele Derrough of GlideMagazine.com recently conducted an interview with Todd Kerns, who plays bass in Slash's (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) band. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On working with producer Eric Valentine on Slash's new album:

"He's a very, very talented man. We went through an entire phase where the three of us — myself, Brent [Fitz, drums] and Slash — were sitting around arranging and rearranging and tearing songs apart and putting them back together. Then Myles [Kennedy, vocals] came in and we started that whole process again cause he's sort of putting in his two cents and then Eric comes in and we start doing that process again (laughs) … But it all came together really fantastic; like it's huge and aggressive and it's multi-colored at the same time. It's not sort of one vein or one flavor; it's sort of an array, a rainbow of rock (laughs)."

On what it's like to work with Slash:

"Slash is one of the most intelligent guys I know. I don't think people think he's not smart but I think they have this kind of image of him as this sort of rock and roll, smoking, drugs, rock and roll guy, like he's some sort of a rock and roll animal. I think that's the impression people have of him and that is somewhat true, although all those things I just mentioned he doesn't do anymore. I'm always kind of terrified that I'm spoiling his image somehow by saying that he's a very thoughtful guy."

"A lot of what Slash is all about is he just wants to play guitar. When you know Slash, it's weird to see him without a guitar in his hands. You see him all day long sitting somewhere with a guitar in his hands playing and then you see him onstage playing and then you see him later on playing guitar sitting in the bus (laughs). In the studio, it's a lot more focus and a command to making it the best it can be and he's absolutely tireless. We all kind of joke how like we're all getting hungry or have to go pee and he's still going, 'Hey, let's try this one.' He's so very focused and very sort of driven. He is a very laid back guy but he also knows what he wants."

"Slash has been nothing but awesome to me. He's been very good to me. I didn't expect us to have our photos in the live album, 'Made In Stoke'. I didn't expect us to have our photos in the DVD. I kind of thought, this is Slash's band, it's Slash featuring Myles Kennedy; that's just the way it is. Over the duration of that I've watched my own profile get raised a giant percentage. So to me, it's whatever Slash wants to do. If he decides tomorrow he's going to get Paul McCartney to play bass, that's just the way it goes (laughs). Initially, the whole thing about recording an album with Myles didn't have to be that 'we're going to record an album with Myles and Brent and Todd; we're going to use some session guys in L.A. and it's going to be Myles and Slash.' But he was awesome about it and let us be on the record."

Read the entire interview at GlideMagazine.com.

Classic Swedish heavy metal band OVERDRIVE formed in 1980 and recorded two albums, "Metal Attack" and "Swords And Axes", before splitting up in 1985. A shortlived reformation took place in 1992, at the time featuring original drummer Kenta Svensson, guitarist Janne Stark and singer Pelle Thuresson now handling the bass. In 2003 the band played, what was to be a one-off reunion show, but it became permanent as more concerts were booked and a new deal with Lion Music was signed. The band continued with new singer Per "Perilo" Lengstedt (formerly Karlsson) and has since released an EP and three albums. The group's latest CD, "Angelmaker" (2011), received rave reviews and the band played a number of shows.

In December 2011, internal communication problems caused the group to break up for a short time. Not willing to let go of a great band, the members reformed with Thuresson once again handling the bass.

After leaving OVERDRIVE in 1985, Pelle switched to playing bass and has since played with such bands as OVERHEAT, CROSSEYED MARY and the AC/DC cover band AC/DC JAM.

"It's truly sad it had to come to this, but it was impossible to continue under previous circumstances," OVERDRIVE said in a statement. "It, however, feels really great to have Pelle back in the band, both on a personal and a musical level. We've stayed friends through the years and Pelle even made a guest appearance on one of our shows in 2010. This also opens up possibilities for some more interesting things for OVERDRIVE on a live show level. We are really exited to get this sucker on the road."

Added Pelle: "I didn't expect this at all, but I immediately jumped at it when I was asked. Now I just have to relearn all the old songs on bass instead."

OVERDRIVE's new single, "Short Moments", is in heavy rotation on the Swedish radio channel P4 and a digital release will follow soon. The band will also support NAZARETH in Sweden.

Pictured below is OVERDRIVE's current lineup (left to right): Kjell Jacobsson (guitar), Pelle Thuresson (bass), Per "Periloz" Karlsson (vocals), Janne Stark (guitar) and Kenta Svensson (drums).

The family of late RIOT guitarist Mark Reale will receive friends on Tuesday, January 31 from 6:00 ot 8:00 p.m. at Porter Loring Mortuary North in San Antonio, Texas. A mass will be held on Wednesday, February 1 at 12 p.m. at St. Mark The Evangelist Catholic Church. A processional will follow to Holy Cross Cemetery for interment.

A guestbook can be found at this location.

Reale died Wednesday (January 25) in a San Antonio hospital due to complications of Crohn's disease — an ailment he had battled for most of his life. He was 56 years old.

Reale had reportedly been in a coma for the past two weeks after suffering a subarachnoid hemorrhage on January 11.

Mark is survived by his father, Anthony Reale, and was preceded in death by his mother, Frances Reale.

Mark spent most of his life working and performing while enduring almost constant pain and the side effects of treatment for Crohn's disease. He was in Texas bravely attempting to practice for the shows, but was felled by a severe onset of Crohn's symptoms, leaving him in the Intensive Care Unit at an undisclosed facility. Mark was struggling with these symptoms throughout the production of RIOT's new album, "Immortal Soul", and guitarist Mike Flyntz recorded a major portion of the guitars on the LP with Mark's creative direction while Reale was unable to perform.

Kaaos TV conducted an interview with guitarist Herman Li and new vocalist Marc Hudson of British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE during the the Spinefeast At Sea cruise, which which set sail on January 19 aboard the Tallink Baltic Princess from Helsinki, Finland and returned the following day. You can now watch the chat below.

DRAGONFORCE recently canceled its appearance at this year's Soundwave Festival in Australia due to the delay in completing their new album.

Commented DRAGONFORCE guitarist Sam Totman: "It's bitterly disappointing for us not to be able to play our debut Soundwave in 2012, because we were so looking forward to it and were going to kick off the world tour there. The problem is we've only just finished the actual recording of the new album and now have the mastering, videos and a ton of worldwide promo to do. The album recording was already running late when Marc [Hudson, new DRAGONFORCE singer] contracted laryngitis a couple of months back which meant he couldn't finish his vocals in the studio on time and pushed the album release date back even further.

"Australia has always been great to us and we can 100% assure our Aussie fans that we will be touring there at some point in 2012; we just have to move our touring plans around a little to accommodate the delay. The good news is the album is sounding awesome and we are all eager for our fans to hear it and we hope everyone has a great Soundwave!"

The new DRAGONFORCE album will be released in Australia through 3Wise Records in the spring.

DRAGONFORCE will be replaced by PARADISE LOST and SWITCHFOOT as the final two bands on the monstrous Soundwave Festival lineup.

DRAGONFORCE has announced its first U.K. headline concert with Hudson on February 16 at at the 100 Club on Oxford Street in London. The gig is timed to give DRAGONFORCE fans an opportunity to celebrate with the band the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, and the fact that the group's new album is finally finished and due for release in the spring.

After entries from thousands of hopefuls across the globe, DRAGONFORCE in March 2011 welcomed 23-year-old Marc Hudson to the band to fill the boots left by ZP Theart, who parted ways with the group in March 2010.

Born in Oxford England, Marc was picked from the thousands of applications via a number of impressive video auditions and live performances, which left the rest of the band in no doubt that they'd found their man. Since the age of 16, Marc has been building his vocal skills gigging with bands in the U.K. underground scene, developing a powerful style with influences which include Bruce Dickinson, Michael Kiske and Sebastian Bach.

THE SANITY DAYS — the project featuring four former members of legendary Bristol thrash metallers ONSLAUGHT who have teamed up to play music from the band's most commercially successful album, "In Search of Sanity" — performed at the Metal Assault II Festival on January 14 at Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany.

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. In Search Of Sanity (ONSLAUGHT song)
02. Shellshock (ONSLAUGHT song)
03. Blood Upon The Ice (ONSLAUGHT song)
04. Welcome To Dying (ONSLAUGHT song)
05. Lightning War (ONSLAUGHT song)
06. Rock You To Hell (GRIM REAPER cover)
07. Atomic Punk (VAN HALEN cover)
08. See You In Hell (GRIM REAPER cover)
09. Let There Be Rock (AC/DC cover)

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

THE SANITY DAYS is intended as a bit of fun for the musicians and an opportunity for fans to hear music that no longer features in ONSLAUGHT's live repertoire.

THE SANITY DAYS was launched by Steve Grice, former drummer and founding member of the ONSLAUGHT, who played on all ONSLAUGHT albums thus far. He is joined in the new project by former ONSLAUGHT guitarist Alan Jordan (2007's "Killing Peace"), bassist Jase Stallard (1985's "Power From Hell" and 1986's "The Force"), and ex-GRIM REAPER singer Steve Grimmett, who fronted ONSLAUGHT for the 1989 album "In Search Of Sanity".

Released on London Records in 1989, "In Search Of Sanity" was the last album ONSLAUGHT recorded before it disbanded. Despite reaching the U.K. Top 50, its mainstream production proved controversial among bandmembers and fans alike. "We were always pleased with the songs, though," states Grice. "Over the past few years, people have nagged me to play tracks from the 'Sanity' album, but we always struggled to get them sounding right without Steve Grimmett's involvement."

Former GRIM REAPER frontman Grimmett lent his powerful voice to ONSLAUGHT for just this one album and now returns as a member of THE SANITY DAYS. "It's been a long time since I sang any songs from 'In Search of Sanity', but this was an opportunity I couldn't turn down," he says. "I have also been asked to play these songs, but it never seemed the right thing to do after ONSLAUGHT got back together."

"I'm really excited to be involved with Steve Grice again, and playing with Al and Steve Grimmett makes it extra special to me," says Stallard. "For the past six years I have been watching ONSLAUGHT's progress, thinking to myself how much I would love to get out and play again. Now this chance has arisen, I intend to enjoy every second of it."

Underkill TV conducted an interview with THE SANITY DAYS at U.K.'s Hard Rock Hell V festival, which took place December 1-4, 2011 at Pontins in Prestatyn, North Wales. You can now watch the chat below.

Interview:

MÖTLEY CRÜE recently became the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The CRÜE will play a three-week series of four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting on February 3 and running through February 19.

2012's Mötley Crüe In Sin City show is sure to leave the loud impression that what happens in Vegas will be heard around the world. Vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee have big plans for Mötley Crüe In Sin City to create a never-been-done-before and incredibly interactive Vegas experience.

In a new online posting, Sixx writes, "Band is tight. Show is coming together fast. The mix of vintage CRÜE and hits is really cool to play while keeping it fresh for all Crüeheads. There are so many pieces of this puzzle being put together by so many people. It's like a giant creative think tank for everybody. Kinda hard, as much work as it is, to imagine this as WORK. We are having a BLAST. Can't wait for opening night here in Vegas. You guys getting excited?"

A photo of the giant billboard situatued high above Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California and advertising MÖTLEY CRÜE's upcoming Las Vegas shows can be seen below.

Exact details about the show — expected to supersede the band's high standard of production — are being kept under wraps for now to keep an element of surprise for fans. The engagement falls during a holiday-packed time in the calendar year: Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine's Day and President's Day.

Said Vince Neil: "We're the first hard rock band ever to have a residency [in Las Vegas]. There's been bands like SANTANA and ELTON JOHN and these kinds of acts, but for us… MÖTLEY CRÜE, we're all about theater and about over-the-top stage show, so it's a perfect fit for us. So we're really, really excited."

"It's not a traditional concert," Neil said in a recent teleconference with journalists. "There's going to be stuff around the whole venue that's going to come up behind you, the side of you, above you and below you. This is a whole different thing."

Added Tommy Lee, "When you think of The Joint, you see the stage and there's the chairs, and we're really going to change the appearance of that and perform from different areas. We really want the audience to be in the show, not watching the show."

He continued, "We've gone to a lot of the big Vegas shows, and we've all talked about it many times, going, 'Could you imagine if we could only get our hands on this kind of opportunity? What we could with it?' This has been something that we've talked about for a long time."

Neil said that if the run of shows is a success, the CRÜE could return for more dates in the future.

"We are very excited to announce our upcoming partnership with legendary rockers MÖTLEY CRÜE," said Paul Davis, vice president of entertainment at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "The one-of-a-kind production will be the most unique, interactive, fan-driven concert experience the band has ever created. MÖTLEY CRÜE is a perfect fit for the Hard Rock and we can't wait for this unforgettable residency to begin!"

Added Bobby Reynolds, Vice President of Booking for AEG Live Las Vegas, "We're thrilled that MÖTLEY CRÜE is creating their most notorious show ever and bringing it to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in notorious Las Vegas. This concert experience is going to represent what the fans love most about MÖTLEY CRÜE, the Hard Rock and Las Vegas: good times, rock n' roll and a stage show like no one has ever seen before!"

"I think it'd be nice for it to be as long as possible," he said. "It's easy on everybody, and the production part of it is just going to be so much more fun than the stuff that we have to haul around and build and tear down every single night (on tour). There's much cooler stuff that we can do. I'd hate for it to go by quick."

To purchase tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com.

"Resolution", the new album from Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD, has entered the official Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) chart at position No. 3.

As previously reported, "Resolution" is likely to sell between 50,000 and 55,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on January 24 via Epic.

LAMB OF GOD's previous CD, "Wrath", opened with around 68,000 units back in March 2009 to land at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. This figure was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by 2006's "Sacrament", which shifted around 63,000 units to enter the chart at No. 8. It also represented almost double the amount of records sold by its predecessor, "Ashes Of The Wake", which premiered with 35,000 copies in September 2004.

"Resolution" was released internationally through Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at various studios in Virginia and New York with producer Josh Wilbur, who worked on the band's last effort, 2009's "Wrath".

"Resolution" track listing:

01. Straight For The Sun
02. Desolation
03. Ghost Walking
04. Guilty
05. The Undertow
06. The Number Six
07. Barbarosa
08. Invictus
09. Cheated
10. Insurrection
11. Terminally Unique
12. To The End
13. Visitation
14. King Me

Bay Area Rocks conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander of Canadian metallers KITTIE on September 16, 2011 at The Avalon in Santa Clara, California. You can now watch the chat below.

KITTIE's new album, "I've Failed You", sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "In The Black", opened with around 3,400 units back in 2009 to land at No. 132.

KITTIE's fourth album, "Funeral for Yesterday", registered a first-week tally of 9,000 in February 2007 to enter the chart at No. 101.

"I've Failed You" was released on August 30, 2011 via eOne Music. The CD was recorded at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. The band once again worked with producer Siegfried "Siggy" Meier, who helmed KITTIE's last CD, 2009's "In The Black".

Guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander previously stated about KITTIE's new material, "In some cases these new songs are faster, darker and much more sinister than our previous release. It contains some of the most difficult and personal subject matter I have had the pleasure (or displeasure) of writing."

KITTIE is:

Morgan Lander (Guitar, Vocals)
Mercedes Lander (Drums)
Tara Mcleod (Guitar)
Ivy Vujic (Bass)

VELVET REVOLVER reunited with singer Scott Weiland for a one-off performance at the January 12 "Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California. The band played a four-song set — including a cover version of the PINK FLOYD classic "Wish You Were Here" — at the event, which paid tribute to award-winning ASCAP composer John O'Brien, who was found dead in his Chicago hotel room last August.

Speaking to Frankie DiVita, radio personality for 96.7 KCAL Rocks, at the 2012 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show (see video below), VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum stated about the experience of playing with Weiland again, "It was cool, man. We hadn't played together in a long time. We soundchecked a few songs. We only played, like, three songs. But it was cool to be on stage and play music again. It was like riding a bike. Everyone had a good time and we raised some money for a really sad situation. John O'Brien passed away and left a pregnant wife and another child. And a lot of people turned out for the show… Amazing turnout."

He added, "We had a good time. Me and Scott worked out some stuff backstage and had talked, and that was nice. He came up to me and he was real humble and really cool. 'Cause stuff happens when you're out on the road and people are tired and you say shit. Everything is on the Internet now; you can't get away with anything.

"Being in the music business for as long as I have been, I'm still learning lessons. We were out on the road for 18 months. And we got tired and things happened. There's a lot of pressure. You think you'd always wanna do it differently, but stuff goes the way it's gonna go; I can't explain it.

"We made some good records [with Scott]. The second record [2007's 'Libertad'] didn't get as much action as the first one [2004's 'Contraband'], but I think it's a cool record, too. I liked a lot of that record, and working with [producer] Brendan O'Brien. The first record, obviously, was a huge success for us."

When asked about whether there is any chance of VELVET REVOLVER working with Weiland again, Sorum said, "I don't know… We'll see what happens. [VELVET REVOLVER guitarist] Slash is booked up for about another year [touring in support of his upcoming solo album], so I don't know what's gonna go on with anything, to be honest. We haven't discussed it. . . I don't know… I can't say. It hasn't really been discussed, so I don't wanna speak out of turn."

On the topic of why it's been so hard for VELVET REVOLVER to find a replacement for Weiland, Sorum said, "We were trying [to find a new singer last year], but it didn't work out that way. . . We had Corey Taylor [from SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR coming in and writing songs with us]; it's kind of well known. We did some songs, and it just didn't turn everybody on completely. So we, basically, put the brakes on that. I think I was a little bit excited to get going, but maybe that was more excitement than… I thought it was cool, but Slash wasn't into it. And if we're not all firing on the same cylinders, we don't usually… We respect that, you know."

VELVET REVOLVER's setlist for the January 12 performance with Scott Weiland at the "Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" event was as follows:

01. Sucker Train Blues
02. She Builds Quick Machines
03. Slither
04. Wish You Were Here (PINK FLOYD cover)

Fan-filmed video footage of VELVET REVOLVER's entire performance can be seen below.

Weiland reunited with his original band, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, just as his run with VELVET REVOLVER was coming to a close. STP has toured constantly since and recorded a new album in 2010.

Interview:



"Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" performance:

Frankie DiVita, radio personality for 96.7 KCAL Rocks, conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD/ex-DIO guitarist Vivian Campbell at the 2012 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention which took place January 19-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about DEF LEPPARD's touring plans, Vivian said, "We're gonna go out again this summer. We don't know the exact details yet, but we'll be out in America this summer."

In a recent interview with AOL's Noisecreep, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen offered a few more details of the band's upcoming road activities. "We're actually going to be back on tour around when the [film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical 'Rock Of Ages'] is out, and it would be a lot of fun to get some of the other bands featured in 'Rock Of Ages' out with us," he said. "Nothing has been finalized yet, but apparently POISON will be joining us — at least according to [POISON singer] Bret Michaels, who has been telling everyone that they'll be touring with us this year. [Laughs] We went out with POISON in 2009, and we all had so much fun. If it does end up happening like that, I would love for the third band to be someone like TWISTED SISTER, since they're also in the new movie. I think that would make for a great lineup."

"Rock Of Ages" is a love story told through the music of DEF LEPPARD, PAT BENATAR, BON JOVI, JOURNEY, POISON, TWISTED SISTER and other artists from the 1980s.

"Rock Of Ages" stars Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Malin Akerman and many others. It scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 1.

In a brand new interview with the QMI Agency, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited new album, which is tentatively due later this year.

When asked about the sound of AEROSMITH's new material, Perry said, "It definitely has a feel like some of the early stuff. We've tried to bring that back. People are always asking for something that sounds like the old stuff, but you can't rewrite 'Mama Kin' or 'Same Old Song And Dance'. All you can do is go in and start from the same place you started when you made those records. So we just went in with (producer) Jack Douglas and we all worked on the record. There's a song or two that the band helped write, and Tom (Hamilton, bass) wrote and Brad (Whitford, guitar) has a track on there. So from that point of view, it's a lot more like an early AEROSMITH record. We were all in the room when we were pulling these songs together and recording them. Every way that we used to make our records, that's what we did to get this to where it is. Right down to what we're doing now, which is going over the tracks and bringing them up to speed. Steven [Tyler] is finishing up the lyrics and we're just going to put the finishing touches on it."

During a recent interview, Tyler stated about the new AEROSMITH album, "All of it's been written, but I gotta lay lyrics on it and I haven't had a lot of time," he said. "But what I've listened to so far just knocked me out. I know a good song, I know what's gonna get played on the radio, I'm not that pretentious to say I think we've got hits, but I think we've got something, and that's all that matters."

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

The band has been working with producer Jack Douglas, who collaborated with them on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks".

Perry recently wrote on Twitter, "People have said when we play the rough tracks it sounds like it's from the '70s but for me, it's too early to tell."

Meanwhile, Tyler also said at the TCA press conference that sales of AEROSMITH's back catalog were up 260 percent since he began appearing on "Idol".

The 11th season of the series began with its two-night premiere on January 18.

British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST are filming a video this weekend for an as-yet-undisclosed song off their upcoming album, "Tragic Idol".

The first photo from the video shoot can be seen below.

"Tragic Idol" was recorded in part at The Chapel studios in Lincolnshire, England for an April 24 release via Century Media Records.

Commented Gregor Mackintosh: "The [new CD was] again produced by Jens Bogren and is influenced by classic doom metal and classic metal. I would say it is more melodic than the last record whilst retaining the heaviness. There are lots of guitar solos and melodies. The album will contain such track titles as 'Honesty in Death', 'Theories from Another World', 'In this We Dwell' and the title track, 'Tragic Idol'."

PARADISE LOST's last full-length effort, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us", came out in October 2009.

The band recently released the "Draconian Times MMXI" DVD via Century Media.

Sony Music reissued PARADISE LOST's seminal 1995 album "Draconian Times" through the "Legacy" series; featuring the entire digitally remastered album, including a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix in a brand-new collector's edition digipak box set, so fans could hear the album like never before. Along with this release, the band performed "Draconian Times" live at a series of seven exclusive gigs this past spring in Utrecht, Bochum, London, Paris, Athens, and Thessaloniki.

"Draconian Times MMXI" features the London show at The Forum on April 1, 2011, a documentary from the whole tour filmed by the band's bass player Steve Edmondson, interviews about the history of "Draconian Times" with producer Simon Efemey, Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh (guitar), Aaron Aedy (guitar), Steve Edmondson (bass) and Andy Farrow (manager since 1990) and the two promo videos from PARADISE LOST's latest album, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us".

Frankie DiVita, radio personality for 96.7 KCAL Rocks, conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain at the 2012 NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention which took place January 19-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about what is going on with IRON MAIDEN at the moment, Nicko replied, "Well, we're taking some time off. And we're gonna go back out on tour sometime this year. We're not sure yet when. It's in the words of a very famous British singer from the Second World War called Vera Lynn. And she had a song and it went something like, 'We'll meet again. Don't know where. Don't know when.' So that's in the line of Vera Lynn. We're doing a Vera Lynn. We don't know where, we don't know when. . . [But] IRON MAIDEN is touring sometime this year, yeah. I don't think [it will be a world tour this time]. Next year, maybe. But this year, it's just gonna be a little tour — short run."

EMI has set a March 26 release date for "En Vivo!", the new concert Blu-Ray, two-DVD set and double soundtrack album from legendary British metallers IRON MAIDEN.

"En Vivo!" was filmed on April 10, 2011 in front of over 50,000 ecstatic fans at the Estadio Nacional, Santiago during the "Round The World In 66 Days" leg of "The Final Frontier World Tour", and captures a magnificent performance by the band, ardently embraced by the legendary Latino passion and energy of their Chilean fans. With spectacular stage backdrops, dynamic musicianship and a literally jaw-dropping appearance by Eddie, this live show encapsulates to perfection the heart and soul of IRON MAIDEN 2011.

In addition to the Blu-Ray, the two-DVD will initially be available as a limited-edition double DVD in collectors' steel book case and double vinyl picture disc. As well as a traditional two-CD soundtrack album, "En Vivo!" will be available as a digital download CD soundtrack album and digital download video.

CrankItUp.se conducted an interview with guitarist Bill Kelliher of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON when the band performed in Stockholm, Sweden on Janaury 14. You can now watch the chat below.

MASTODON bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders recently confirmed that the band will team up with Sweden's OPETH and GHOST for a North American tour in April.

MASTODON is among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's Grammy nomination is for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter".

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".

Spanish female-fronted symphonic metallers DIABULUS IN MUSICA will release their sophomore album, "The Wanderer", in Europe on March 5 via Napalm Records.

According to a press release, "With their latest album, the Spanish quintet proves that impressive symphonic metal need not hail from Scandinavia. The musicians revolving around vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez have refined the trademark sound first heard on their debut album, 'Secrets', and brought their latest work, 'The Wanderer', to a whole new level. DIABULUS IN MUSICA unites heavy riffs with sensual melodies and appealing refrains. 'The Wanderer' is not a mere collection of songs, but rather a passionate and sweeping symphonic metal album that will mesmerize from beginning to end."

DIABULUS IN MUSICA previously described the material on "The Wanderer" as "full of passion, energetic, yet delicate, and also a big step forward in our music."

"The Wanderer" track listing:

01. A Journey's End (intro)
02. Ex Nihilio
03. Sceneries Of Hope
04. Blazing A Trail
05. Call From A Rising Memory (intro)
06. Hidden Reality
07. Shadow Of The Throne
08. Allegory Of Faith, Innocence And Future
09. Sentenced To Life
10. Ohiuka Bihotzetik
11. No Time For Repentance (Lamentatio)
12. The Wanderer

The "Sceneries Of Hope" video can be seen below.

Formed in 2006, DIABULUS IN MUSICA's debut album, "Secrets", came out in May 2010 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was engineered by Spanish producer Iñaki Llarena and was mixed by former EPICA guitarist Ad Sluijter. It was mastered by Sascha Paeth, Simon Oberender and Michael "Miro" Rodenberg at Gate studios in Wolfsburg, Germany.

DIABULUS IN MUSICA is:

Zuberoa Aznárez: Vocals
Gorka Elso: Keyboards
Adrián M. Vallejo: Guitars
Alex Sanz: Bass Guitar
Xabi Jareño: Drums

The third in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Carolus Rex", the new album from Swedish metallers SABATON, can be seen below. The CD is tentatively due at the end of May via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented the band: "We felt it was time for America to get something of a special show and this time the release party will be in Los Angeles, California [on May 23 at the Key Club in West Hollywood]. This show will be the only U.S. West Coast show and it will be the world premiere of new songs."

SABATON will embark on a North American headlining tour in the spring. The "Swedish Empire Tour 2012" will kick off on April 10 in Tampa, Florida.

SABATON bassist Pär Sundström was forced to sit out several shows on the Canadian leg of the band's most recent North American tour due to a knee injury.

"World War Live: Battle Of The Baltic Sea", the first-ever live album from SABATON, was released on August 5, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

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Legendary rocker Alice Cooper, along with members of his backing band — Chuck Garric, Steve Hunter, Tommy Henriksen, Keri Kelli (filling in for Orianthi) and Glen Sobel — took Montreal, Quebec, Canada by storm last night (Saturday, January 28) at the 2012 "Show Harley" event. The band played a blistering 60-minute set for a huge crowd of rowdy, Harley-Davidson-loving Alice Cooper fans. According to a post on Cooper's web site, "the setlist consisted of classics, a few covers, Alice gave away a brand new Harley, the stage lit up with fire, there were the infamously... ahem... attractive 'Show Harley' girls on stage for the biker classic 'Born To Be Wild'. It was a wild night."

Alice's setlist was as follows:

01. Black Widow
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. Under My Wheels
04. I'm Eighteen
05. I'll Bite Your Face Off
06. Billion Dollar Babies
07. Muscle Love
08. Feed My Frankenstein
09. Poison
10. School's Out
11. Elected
12. Brown Sugar
13. Born To Be Wild

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

Check out photos at AliceCooper.com.

Jeremy Deacon, the former bassist of South Florida-based female-fronted extreme metallers WYKKED WYTCH, has died of lymphoma at age 33. The band's vocalist Ipek Warnock said, "[Jeremy] was a great friend and kind/gentle soul with great talent. I'm very saddened with heavy heart and shock!! This is the second member we lost from that era. Timur, [former] WYKKED WYTCH drummer, was the other member died from suicide few years back.

"[It's] very sad to lose a band members and friends who have made an impact in my life personally and for the band!

"Thanks for the great memories, Jeremy, hope you find Timur wherever you are and jam WYKKED WYTCH tunes! RIP, brother!!"

WYKKED WYTCH's fifth full-length album, "The Ultimate Deception", will be released on February 14 via Goomba Music. The follow-up to 2008's "Memories Of A Dying Whore" "continues where its predecessor left off and pushes the boundaries of extreme music as well as the legacy of WYKKED WYTCH," according to a press release.

Austrian symphonic extreme metal outfit HOLLENTHON is making professionally filmed video footage of its entire December 4, 2010 concert at Szene in Vienna available for streaming in five parts. The third and the fourth clips can be seen below, with the fifth and final part set to follow on February 5.

HOLLENTHON's latest EP, "Tyrants and Wraiths", came out in 2009.The CD featured four new tracks and two live videos from the 2008 Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium.

HOLLENTHON's most recent album, "Opus Magnum", was released in June 2008 via the Austrian record label Napalm Records. The CD featured eight songs and a cover version, plus a video.

HOLLENTHON issued two critically acclaimed albums a decade ago — "Domus Mundi" (1999) and "With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell" (2001).

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Video footage of members of CHILDREN OF BODOM, SUFFOCATION and CROWBAR performing karaoke-style cover versions of several popular standards on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise — which set sail Monday, January 23 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, Florida to George Town, Cayman Islands and returned four days later — can be viewed below.

The following bands performed on this year's cruise:

ALESTORM
AMORPHIS
ANNIHILATOR
ATHEIST
CANDLEMASS
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CHANNEL ZERO
CHILDREN OF BODOM
CORONER
DARK FUNERAL
DIAMOND PLATE
EDGUY
ELUVEITIE
EXCITER
GOD DETHRONED
GRAVE DIGGER
HAMMERFALL
IN EXTREMO
KAMELOT
KATAKLYSM
MASSACRE
MEGORA
MOONSORROW
MY DYING BRIDE
NIGHTWISH
OVERKILL
PENTAGRAM
PESTILENCE
PRETTY MAIDS
RIOT
SAMAEL
SAPIENCY
STRATOVARIUS
SUFFOCATION
TANKARD
THERION
TRISTANIA
VENOM
VICIOUS RUMORS
VIRGIN STEELE
WHIPLASH

For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.