GREASE HELMET, the new Finnish band featuring former HANOI ROCKS guitarist Andy McCoy alongside members of AMORPHIS, will release its self-titled debut album in Japan on September 5 and in Finland on September 19.

GREASE HELMET was founded in 2009 by Niclas Etelävuori (bass; AMORPHIS) and Jere Garcia (vocals). They were eventually joined by Jan Rechberger (drums; AMORPHIS) and Ben Varon (rhythm guitar, AMORAL) and McCoy.

According to a press release, "Grease Helmet" "travels from present time to the history of rock with flavors of funk, blues, classic hard rock and psychedelic colors."

Commented the band: "We wrote the songs together in rehearsals from different ideas and riffs. They tell many stories. There is a message from Andy to all non-believers. Songs tell also classic rock stories and bring along L.A. vibes, celebration of rock, pretty women, fast cars and the true spirit."

GREASE HELMET's first single, "Keep Your Helmet Greasy", "represents traditional hard rock," while the single's "B-side, "Mustang Bebe", "respects the early years of rock' n' roll with sounds from the '50"s," according to a press release.

Fan-filmed video footage of Norway's TRAIL OF TEARS performing a brand new song at the seventh edition of the ARTmania festival, which was held August 6-12 in the center of Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania, can be seen below.

TRAIL OF TEARS earlier in the year finished recording its seventh album at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. The band is currently seeking a suitable record label to release the effort.

Commented the band: "Cathrine [Paulsen] came through the extreme schedule with flying colours, putting the finishing vocals on the end result and delivered a performance for the history books!

"We believe that we have created something extraordinary and can't wait to share it with you all. Never before has a recording process involved so much blood, sweat and tears!"

TRAIL OF TEARS in March announced the addition of drummer Bjørn to the group's ranks.

The band's longtime drummer Cato Jensen left the band in January in order to focus on other priorities.

TRAIL OF TEARS in 2010 parted ways with guitarist Pål Olsen and opted to carry on as a five-piece.

TRAIL OF TEARS's sixth album, "Bloodstained Endurance", was recorded and mixed over a six-week period at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes.

In 2007, TRAIL OF TEARS was rejoined by vocalist Cathrine Paulsen, who sang on the group's 2002 album, "A New Dimension of Might".

New song performance:



Behind-the-scenes footage from ARTmania festival:

Helsinki, Finland-based female-fronted metallers SHEAR have parted ways with bassist Eerik Purdon and replaced him with Silver Ots (DEAD SHAPE FIGURE, THE NIBIRUAN, AMORAL).

Commented the band: "Our former bassist, Eerik Purdon, decided to step down after many great years together. We thank Eerik for the good times and wish him the best of luck for the future.

"We are currently writing and rehearsing new material for the next album. We will also be playing gigs later this year. Hope to see you there!"

SHEAR released its full-length debut, "Breaking The Stillness", in March via Lifeforce Records.

SHEAR guitarists Mikael Gronroos and Lauri Koskenniemi, and keyboardist Lari Sorvo have played together since 2001.

SHEAR is:

* Alexa Leroux - Vocals
* Mikael Grönroos (CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Guitar
* Lauri Koskenniemi (THE NIBIRUAN, ELENIUM, CRYSTAL BLAZE, ex-IMPERANON) - Guitar
* Silver Ots (DEAD SHAPE FIGURE, THE NIBIRUAN, AMORAL) - Bass
* Lari Sorvo (CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Keyboards
* Juhana Karlsson (AMORAL, CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Drums

Finnish metallers RETALIATORY MEASURES have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band's debut album, "Withdrawal Syndromes", will be released on October 26.

Formed in early 2009, RETALIATORY MEASURES released its first demo a few months later and followed it up with a second promo CD, "MMX", in 2010.

RETALIATORY MEASURES has shared the stage with such acts as OMNIUM GATHERUM, INSOMNIUM, ROTTEN SOUND and NAPOLEON SKULLFUKK.

RETALIATORY MEASURES is:

Kalle Hahtamo - Guitar
Marko Mäkipanula - Bass
Iiro Aittokoski - Drums
Janne Halima - Guitar
Pessi Haltsonen - Vocals

Reunited '80s metallers WARLORD, featuring guitarist William J. Tsamis and drummer Mark S. Zonder (FATES WARNING) will perform at the Keep It True XVI festival, set to take place April 19-20, 2013 at Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Koenigshofen, Germany. This will mark the group's first appearance in eleven years — having last performed in 2002 in Itzehoe, Germany and at the Wacken Open Air festival. There will also be a brand new WARLORD album released in 2013.

Commented Tsamis: "WARLORD is very happy to be coming to the Keep It True festival this April 2013.

"As you may know, there was a lot of tension whether WARLORD should play Keep It True or Headbangers Open Air. I have great respect for the promoters of HOA and I have great respect for Oliver Weinsheimer, the promoter of Keep It True. In the end, however, our decision was based on one simple factor — and that was 'the fans.'

"Apart from researching the venues and corroborating with our peers from other respected metal bands, it all came down to what the fans were saying.

"Our intelligence sources followed numerous discussions on the Internet, and it was clear that the fans at Keep It True seemed to want WARLORD more than the fans of Headbangers Open Air. Thus, WARLORD is coming like a thunderstorm to deliver epic power metal in a way that you cannot even imagine . . . and we are doing it for the fans because we love the fans. In fact, to us, it's all about the fans. So when the fans tell us by a 10-to-1 margin that we should play Keep It True, we listen to the fans because our radar is up and running and our satellites are watching the situation.

"We hope the energy and affection at Keep it True will be able to match the passion, power and shock that WARLORD will bring, because what we have in store for you is something that you cannot even imagine!"

WARLORD's last album, "Rising Out Of The Ashes", was released in July 2002 via Atrheia/Drakkar. The CD featured Tsamis and Zonder alongside HAMMERFALL vocalist Joacim Cans.

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate taped a guest appearance on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" earlier in the month for an episode which premiered last night (Saturday, August 25).

Asked about the cirumstances that led to the split with his QUEENSRŸCHE bandmates after nearly 30 years of working together, Tate said, "Well, really, it's kind of difficult to explain, 'cause I'm not in their heads. I can only speculate, really. It came out of the blue for me. We've never had any kind of creative differences, or any kind of a situation where we are at odds with each other. It just happened. And I can only speculate that we're in a really tough recession right now all over the world, and I think that when we have economic times like this, it kind of makes people do strange things. That's really the only speculation I can give — that it's a money thing. We have a company together and [now that] they kicked me out, they can split my 25 percent."

When "That Metal Show" co-host Jim Florentine pointed out that QUEENSRŸCHE won't sell as many concert tickets without Tate, Geoff concurred, saying, "I know it doesn't make a lot of sense."

According to Tate, he was given no advance notice that his days in QUEENSRŸCHE were numbered and the whole thing took him by surprise. "It was really out of the blue," he explained. "And I tell you, it's something that I haven't quite come to terms with yet; I'm kind of emotional about it still. We're talking about 30 years of being brothers, people living together, all our decisions were [made] together, our children grew up together, we had camping trips and Fourth Of July [celebrations] together. And for it to all just implode so quickly and all of a sudden out of the blue, it's shocking. These [are] people that I loved, I took care of, I nurtured all our relationships, worked at a very intimate level creatively with these people, [so] the betrayal is immense."

Regarding the claims made by his former bandmates accusing him of assaulting, and spitting on, drummer Scott Rockenfield and guitarist Michael Wilton prior to, and during, QUEENSRŸCHE April 14, 2012, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Geoff didn't deny the allegations, telling "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk, "Oh, I did it. I don't make any bones about it." He continued, "Right before the show, we held a quick meeting in the dressing room and they told me that they just fired my wife, who has been out manager for ten years, and my daughter, who has been our fan-club president, and basically our office assistance all these years, and my son-in-law, who is our guitar tech, and I was next. . . And I lost my temper. I came unglued. I'm glad someone stopped me, 'cause I look back on it with regret that I could have hurt one of them pretty badly. But, man, it's not something I'm proud of."

He added, "The spitting thing… I know a lot of people are giving me hell about that. But spitting is something that, historically, has been the most degrading thing you can do to somebody, and that was exactly what was meant by it."

Asked if he is planning on fighting to keep the name QUEENSRŸCHE for himself, Tate replied, "It's something that I've worked all my adult life to take care of and build and protect, and I feel like, yes, it's mine." He continued, "[Right now] we both have the name. The judge [who denied Tate's motion for a preliminary injunction that would have kept his former bandmates from touring and operating under the band name. — Ed.] said something very interesting. My lawyer wanted to say, 'Look, we think that nobody should use the name until we have our court date.' And the judge says, 'I don't see anything different about QUEENSRŸCHE or the FOUR TOPS. It's the same situation.' The FOUR TOPS… [laughs] But, basically, there's two QUEENSRŸCHEs now. Or [at least we have] the ability to have two QUEENSRŸCHEs."

Addressing the accusations by his former bandmates that he was controlling QUEENSRŸCHE's musical direction for much of the last couple of decades, Tate said, "Well, I don't know how I would do that. I have one vote. We do everything by voting. 'I think we should do this, I think we should do this…' That's how we do it. So I don't have the power to dictate where we go in that regard."

When "That Metal Show" co-host Don Jamieson brought up the fact that QUEENSRŸCHE's latest album, 2011's "Dedicated To Chaos", was a huge departure from the metallic sounds of the band's early efforts, Tate said, "[It's] redefining what metal is? Thank you. That's what we've always tried to do — we've always tried to not be somebody else's version of what metal is. We've always tried to forge our own path. And how people take that, you never know. You have to just, kind of, write what's in your heart, you know?!"

Asked what he hopes will happen in his ongoing legal battle with his former bandmates, Tate said, "I'd like to sit in a room with those gentlemen and have them tell me face to face what the situation is. Explain their actions. I'd like to know, and actually understand, their point of view. I'd like to see them talk to me face to face rather than through the Internet. . . Communication is a big part of any kind of relationship — you've gotta have it. And if nobody's talking, then nothing's getting settled. And that’s where we're at right now — nobody's talking."

Tate revealed last week that he will support ALICE COOPER on a Canadian tour in November, and will embark on a QUEENSRŸCHE "anniversary tour" in 2013 backed by an "all-star lineup" of musicians.

The singer recently completed work on his sophomore solo album, "Kings And Thieves", for an October release via InsideOut Music.

Tate's personal web site, GeoffTate.com, was recently upgraded with a new banner that reads "Geoff Tate: The Voice Of QUEENSRŸCHE." He is also billed on the web site for booking agency Monterey International as "QUEENSRŸCHE Starring Geoff Tate: The Original Voice." The band's lineup isn't listed.

Guitarist Michael Wilton, drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson and Parker Lundgren (guitar) announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with Geoff Tate and recruiting La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY as his replacement.

Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield defeated Tate's motion for a preliminary injunction on July 13 that would have kept them from touring and operating under the band name,

Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit against Geoff's ex-bandmates on June 22 in King County Superior Court over whether he should be awarded the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being dismissed from the group in June. Their complaint states Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson wrongfully fired the singer and are tarnishing the group's brand by attempting to move forward without him.

If the case goes to trial, the date is set for November 18, 2013.

Longtime bassist Marcus Riewaldt has announced his departure from German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA. He says in a statement, "After more than 250 shows and 10 years being in the band, I feel that now time has come to change my priorities a bit and see what else life has to offer for me. No hard feelings involved; it's just that I cannot motivate myself for another writing-rehearsing-recording-promoting-touring cycle and that I'm really annoyed by some of the music business mechanisms that one has to deal with in order to continue this beautiful and exciting, but at the same time very time- and energy-consuming hobby. I wish SUIDAKRA much luck and success for the future — it would all be well deserved!"

SUIDAKRA has already secured a replacement bassist in Tim Siebrecht, who was a stand-in guitar player for SUIDAKRA on several occasions in recent years.

SUIDAKRA is tentatively scheduled to enter the studio in January to begin recording its new CD for a mid-2013 release. Singer Arkadius Antonik recently told Metal Kaoz, "The songs we have finished [so far] are bombastic and we also finished the first song with Tina's female vocals. This time, it's gonna be a faster song with a real epic and catchy chorus." Famous Belgian graphic artist Kris Verwimp will once again create the art for the new effort.

SUIDAKRA's tenth album, "Book Of Dowth", was released on March 25, 2011 via AFM Records.

Swedish death metallers INSISION have issued the following update:

"We are currently working on new material for INSISION's next, yet-untitled full length album [for an early 2013 release].

"Now, we're not the fastest band on the planet to release a full-length record, so for now we'll give you one track of the latest recording of the song 'Exaggerated Torment', recorded this year. The track appears on our newly released 15-year anniversary CD, '15 Years Of Exaggerated Torment'. This song was recorded along with OffBeat studio's sound enginner Anders Eriksson in January 2012."

"15 Years Of Exaggerated Torment" is a 23-song collection containing material from INSISION's first demo, 1998's "Meant To Suffer"; a recording of the band's second live appearance in 1998, "Live Like A Worm"; the 1999 mini-CD "The Dead Live On"; 2000's "Promo 2000" demo; 2001's "Revelation Of The SadoGod" demo; plus a newly re-recorded version of an old track. Due on May 25 in the U.S. and June 1 in Europe via Sevared Records, the double-CD set was once again completed with the help of engineer Anders Eriksson at Off Beat Studio in Stockholm. The cover art was created by Rian from Indonesia and can be seen below.

INSISION previously described its new material as "a mix of the complex stuff we did on our first record, 'Beneath The Folds Of Flesh' back in 2001 along with rhythm parts that can be explained with a more darker approach."

INSISION's "End Of All" EP came out last year via Sevared.

Austria's Stormbringer.at conducted an interview with Allen Blickle (drums) and Matt Maggioni (bass) of the Savannah, Georgia-based quartet BARONESS before the band's August 5 concert at Arena in Vienna. You can now watch the chat below.

BARONESS was involved in a road accident on August 15 in England when the band's tour bus reportedly plummeted for 30 feet over a viaduct after going through a security barrier during heavy rain. Nine people, including the four members of the group, were sent to the hospital, two of them with serious injuries. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.

All previously scheduled BARONESS shows have been postponed until further notice.

John Baizley (guitar, vocals) broke his left arm and left leg. Allen Blickle (drums) and Matt Maggioni (bass) each suffered fractured vertebrae. Pete Adams (lead guitar, vocals) was treated and released from the hospital.

BARONESS released its new album, "Yellow & Green", last month via Relapse Records.

Travel In Rock Music webzine conducted an interview with KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer prior to the band's August 23 concert in Saint Petersburg, Russia. You can now watch the chat below.

KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu is sitting out the band's shows in Europe this month so that he can be home for the birth of his child. Filling in for him is Ryan Martinie of MUDVAYNE.

Fieldy married Dena Beber on May 13, 2006 at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, California. It was her first marriage and his third. Fieldy has two daughters, Sarina and Olivia Arvizu, from his second marriage from Shela Arvizu; he and Dena had a son in early 2007 and named him Israel.

Fieldy's 2009 memoir, "Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn", details his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN's early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.

After its dates in Europe, KORN will co-headline the fourth annual ShipRocked, the ultimate rock music cruise vacation which sails November 27 - December 1.

According to The Vancouver Sun, tickets to METALLICA's $5 charity concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada are going for as much as $50 on Craiglist.

The band announced on Thursday that will be following up its full-priced Friday and Saturday night shows at Rogers Arena, which are being shot in 3D for the band's upcoming feature-film project, with a much cheaper third performance on Monday.

All proceeds from tomorrow's concert will benefit the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

Fans who attend the show are being asked to stick around for the entire evening as film crew will interrupt the band and the musicians promise "lots of breaks," but the band has promised "a full night of fun and games."

"We will be running through the full live show one last time," reads a message on the METALLICA web site. "But unlike the Friday and Saturday shows there will be lots of breaks in it to allow for the cameras and lights to be repositioned as the director sees fit."

A Craigslist seller who bought six tickets to Monday's concert told The Vancouver Sun that he plans on attending the show with two other friends and selling the remaining three tickets for $50 each.

"I do feel a tinge of guilt, but I'm willing to do it anyway because I'm not exactly a rich guy," he told the paper.

The group earlier in the year tapped award-winning director Nimród Antal to helm the movie. Charlotte Huggins ("Journey To The Center Of The Earth", "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") will produce.

The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the "five" members of METALLICA — James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans. It will be released in the summer of 2013.

Antal is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film "Kontroll" (2003) that won several awards, including the Award of Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Gold Hugo prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. He also received a European Film Award nomination for Best Director. His credits include "Vacancy", starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, and "Armored", starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne. In 2010 he was hired by Robert Rodriguez to direct "Predators", featuring Adrien Brody.

Ulrich did hint to Rolling Stone a few months back what the film might be like, saying, "Imagine if you took [LED ZEPPELIN's concert film] 'The Song Remains The Same', which is 75 percent concert, 25 percent other stuff, and flipped it around. And all the non-concert footage, instead of being about the band members, is a story that unfolds, set against the backdrop of the concert."

Finnish metallers VALONKANTAJAT have inked a deal with Violent Journey Records. The band's debut album, "Tuomittu Elämään", will be released on October 12. The CD's title track will be released on September 7 in digisingle format.

The "Tuomittu Elämään" cover artwork was designed by Ville Saloranta and Petri Lampela and can be seen below.

"Tuomittu Elämään" track listing:

01. Tuomittu Elämään
02. Surunmurtama
03. Rakkaasi Kadotat
04. Raskas Päivä Päättyy
05. Ihmisen Laulu
06. Paha Ei Saa Palkkaansa
07. Tavoitinko Taivaan
08. Käädyt
09. Lupaus
10. Hiljainen Mies

Norway's Dark Essence Records has announced the signing of the Ukrainian band RATTENFÄNGER. The group's debut album, "Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum", will be released in late October/early November.

Although RATTENFÄNGER is a new band, its lineup of Thurios on guitars, Krechet on bass, Vlad on drums and keyboards, and Roman on guitars and vocals, has a depth of musical experience behind them that most bands would envy, hailing as they do from cult acts such as DRUDKH, BLOOD OF KINGU, HATE FOREST and DARK AGES.

According to Dark Essence Records, if, after seeing this pedigree, anyone assumes that they know what to expect from RATTENFÄNGER, they would most likely be off target, because this band is a very different beast indeed. Inevitably there will be nuances from the members other projects, and comparisons can also be made with bands such as CELTIC FROST, early DARKTHRONE, ASPHYX, WINTER, BOLT THROWER and NIHILIST among others, but RATTENFÄNGER, is the epitome of old-school death metal and "Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum" has its own, very distinctive, sound. It is pitch black and bone crushingly brutal. It is death metal in its original form - and it is devastating.

The name RATTENFÄNGER is taken from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin (Rattenfänger von Hameln), who was hired by the townsfolk of Hameln, Germany, to rid the town of the rats that had overrun it. Unfortunately he is deceived and cheated of his payment, and he exacts a dreadful revenge on the citizens.

Very much in keeping with the period of the legend, the lyrics for "Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum" are in Latin and are written in style of the medieval poets, the thinkers and the troubadours/minstrels of old.

"Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum" was recorded during the spring and summer of 2012 in Kharviv in the Ukraine, and produced by RATTENFÄNGER.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Coelo Affixus Sed Terris Omnibus Sparsus (intro)
02. Grimorium Verum
03. Victa Lacet Virtus
04. Nunc Scio Tenebris Lux
05. Allegoria De Gula Et Luxuria
06. Clausae Patent
07. Deest Remedii Locus, Ubi, Quae Vitia Fuerunt, Mores Fiunt
08. Regno, Regnavi, Regnabo

On Tuesday, October 9, a second volume of DIO's best tracks will be unleashed via Niji Entertainment — "The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2" – a follow-up to the gold-certified "The Very Beast Of Dio". The 17-track CD picks up exactly where the first volume left off — from 1996 onward. And in addition to featuring such latter-day DIO classics as "Killing The Dragon", "Push" and "Fever Dreams", the compilation will also include several rarities that fans have long requested on a single disc — "Electra" (which previously was only a part of the ultra-rare "Tournado" box set), "Prisoner of Paradise" and "Metal Will Never Die".

"The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2" is now available for streaming in its entirety at this location.

As the Ronnie James Dio Facebook page administrator raves, "I absolutely know that every single Dio fan is going to want 'The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2'! I'm a HUGE Dio fan, just like all of you, and I can't tell you how excited I am about this CD. I had the pleasure of listening to the CD that was produced, mixed, and remastered by Ronnie's longtime engineer, Wyn Davis, and it sounds BLOODY INSANE!!!"

Also included as part of the release will be liner notes penned by long-time supporter and friend of Ronnie's, Eddie Trunk from VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show", as well as an awesome front cover painting by artist Marc Sasso (who previously created the covers for DIO's "Killing The Dragon" and "Master Of The Moon" albums).

"The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2" will also be receiving a significant promotional push, as it will be promoted on Trunk's radio program, and will be given away via the infamous "Box Of Junk" on an episode of "That Metal Show". And, of course, the very popular official Ronnie James Dio Facebook page will get behind the release — which has over 735,000 fans (and receives between 800,000 to 1,000,000 hits per month).

As the Dio Facebook page administrator notes, "Just to let you know, the first 'Beast Of Dio' was only released in the USA and Canada, and has sold over 800,000 CDs to date! This CD will be in EVERY COUNTRY and our Dio store too!"

"The Very Beast Of Dio Vol. 2" track listing:

01. Killing the Dragon
02. Push
03. The Eyes
04. Along Comes A Spider
05. Better In The Dark
06. Fever Dreams
07. Black
08. Feed My Head
09. Shivers
10. Hunter Of The Heart (live)
11. One More For The Road
12. Lord Of The Last Day
13. Electra (bonus track)
14. As Long As It's Not About Love
15. This Is Your Life
16. Metal Will Never Die (bonus track)
17. Prisoner Of Paradise (bonus track)

Eric Blair of "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" recently conducted an interview with ANIMETAL USA, the American counterpart to ANIMETAL, the Japanese heavy metal band which specialized in metal covers of popular Japanese anime/tokusatsu theme songs. You can now watch the second part of the chat below.

ANIMETAL USA made its U.S. live debut on June 29 at the Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center at the Main Events/Hall G.

ANIMETAL USA released its self-titled debut album in the U.S. on June 26 via Century Media Records.

The track listing of "Animetal USA" is the same as that of the album that was issued in Japan, but also includes four bonus songs — "Touch", "JAM Project Medley", "Give Lee Give Lee Rock Lee" (Japanese single version) and "Give Lee Give Lee Rock Lee" (English version). "Give Lee Give Lee Rock Lee" is already familiar to anime fans, as it is the opening song to the "Naruto" spin-off, "Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals".

ANIMETAL USA is:

* Mike Vescera (OBSESSION, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, LOUDNESS) - Vocals
* Rudy Sarzo (BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT, WHITESNAKE, DIO) – Bass
* Jon Dette (SLAYER, TESTAMENT) - Drums
* Chris Impellitteri (IMPELLITTERI) - Guitar

The drums on ANIMETAL USA's debut album were laid down by JUDAS PRIEST's Scott Travis. He has since been forced to leave the group due to his touring commitments with PRIEST.

Interview – Sarzo and Dette:



Interview - Impellitteri and Vescera:



Performance:

DREAM THEATER's August 19 and August 20 concerts at Estadio Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina were professionally filmed and recorded for the band's next live DVD, to be released sometime next year.

The setlists for the two concerts were as follows:

Sunday, August 19

01. Bridges In The Sky
02. 6:00
03. The Dark Eternal Night
04. This Is The Life
05. The Root Of All Evil
06. Lost Not Forgotten
07. Drum Solo
08. A Fortune In Lies
09. The Silent Man (with a string quartet)
10. Beneath The Surface (with a string quartet)
11. Outcry
12. Surrounded (preceded by Jordan Rudess' keyboard solo)
13. On The Backs Of Angels
14. War Inside My Head
15. The Test That Stumped Them All
16. The Spirit Carries On (preceded by John Petrucci's guitar solo)
17. Breaking All Illusions

Encore:

18. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper

Monday, August 20

01. Bridges In The Sky
02. These Walls
03. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
04. This Is The Life
05. Caught In A Web
06. Lost Not Forgotten
07. Drum Solo
08. A Fortune In Lies
09. Wait For Sleep (with a string quartet)
10. Far From Heaven (with a string quartet)
11. Outcry
12. Surrounded (preceded by Jordan Rudess' keyboard solo)
13. On The Backs Of Angels
14. War Inside My Head
15. The Test That Stumped Them All
16. The Spirit Carries On (preceded by John Petrucci's guitar solo)
17. Breaking All Illusions

Encore:

18. Pull Me Under

Roadrunner Records e-mailed guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess to get their thoughts on these special shows.

Roadrunner Records: You played four songs with a string quartet over the two nights. Who did the arrangements?

Jordan Rudess: All the string parts were written by Eren Basbug, the young and talented Turkish musician that I discovered online through his beautiful orchestrations of DREAM THEATER's music and then his great work orchestrating and conducting the premiere of my own composition, "Explorations For Keyboard And Orchestra". For two of the songs we did live with the quartet ("Beneath The Surface" and "Far From Heaven") I had originally arranged and recorded quartet-like string parts from my keyboard, and that is what you hear on "A Dramatic Turn Of Events". Eren was able to take those two songs and really make sure what I wrote worked for real players, as well as add some nice touches! For the other two songs, "The Silent Man" and "Wait For Sleep", he created original quartet arrangements.

Roadrunner Records: How much rehearsal time did you have with the quartet?

John Petrucci: We played through each song with them a couple of times at soundcheck. We probably spent about an hour in total making sure they were comfortable and that they knew certain cues, etc.

Jordan Rudess: We had one rehearsal before the first show. I had sent all the music to coordinator Luis Gorelik (who is a well known conductor in South America) and he helped organize the players.

Roadrunner Records: How did their presence alter the way you guys in the band played those songs? Obviously they weren't just sawing away in the background; they were integral to the music, so…in what ways?

John Petrucci: Honestly, we played the songs just as we have been and they followed us. On "Beneath The Surface" and "Far From Heaven", they basically played the arrangements that are on the album. Original arrangements were created for "The Silent Man" and "Wait For Sleep".

Jordan Rudess: In our rehearsal, I was literally conducting them and we all worked quickly to get things into shape and make sure the players really understood the music and what was going to happen in the chain of events on stage. The good thing was that these four songs all really are totally suitable for real strings, so it was an easy conceptual/musical addition to our presentation.

Roadrunner Records: Other than the new album (which was played almost in its entirety each night), the albums you played the most material from were "Images And Words", "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" and "Awake". Why those albums, from your perspective?

John Petrucci: We try to create a show that has a certain curve to it. The way that it begins, unfolds and concludes are all carefully thought about. We have so much material at this point that it's difficult to fit in songs from each album. Based on what we played on past tours as well as the flow and arc of the show, we thought these were the strongest choices.

Jordan Rudess: There are so many factors that are in play to create a setlist. Generally, we all felt that we offered a night of music that was a well-balanced mixture of our material that not only spanned a lot of our albums but also flowed really well for the course of the evening.

Roadrunner Records: On the second night, you guys played "Pull Me Under" as the encore, which you've been playing a lot more on tour this year than in the past few years… but only outside the U.S. Is that a song foreign audiences want to hear more than fans at home?

John Petrucci: "Pull Me Under" always goes over, no matter what country we are in. It just has that kind of power and familiarity, I guess. We really thought that it sounded great with [new drummer] Mike Mangini playing it and wanted to share that with our listeners.

Jordan Rudess: I don't know — but I will tell you that they literally were trying to rush the stage in Buenos Aires when we played it. It was nuts!

Lead singer of AC/DC and self-confessed car fanatic, Brian Johnson will share the songs and artists that have provided the soundtrack to his life for six weeks on BBC Radio 2.

Drawing from 32 years as the frontman of one of the world's biggest ever rock bands, Brian shares stories of rock 'n' roll loves, laughs and losses, plus anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from a lifetime of tour bus mischief and a devotion to rockin' all night long.

Listeners can expect massive hits from the likes of LED ZEPPELIN, QUEEN, Joe Walsh and ZZ TOP, as well as rare gems from THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND, NASHVILLE TEENS and the PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND.

"Everyone thinks doing radio is just sitting down, you put a mic in front of you and just waffle, but it's not that easy," Brian told Sunday Sun.

"I sat in this studio with a big black mic in front of us and not an idea. Thankfully Ben Jones and Dan Cocker helped me out. I have to thank those two."

He added, "Basically, I wrote a book called 'Rockers And Rollers', not about me, there's enough of them."

"My memory is terrible, but cars always help me remember things. If someone asked, 'What's the name of the girl you went out with when you were 19?' you couldn't remember, but you'd remember having a Mini Cooper. Cars started to get cool and groovy when rock and roll started — when Ike Turner brought out Rocket 88 it was about his car, the thing he loved.

"The thing you wanted when you were a young man was a car because it was freedom!"

"Cars and music, the two of them sort of went together, so I start to marry the two."

Brian Johnson's "Rockers And Rollers" starts this Thursday, August 30 at 10 p.m. on BBC Radio 2.

Video footage of Greek guitarist Gus G.'s (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) August 7 clinic at Sam Ash in Carle Place, New York can be seen below.

In a recent interview with About.com Heavy Metal, Gus spoke about how illegal music downloading and diminishing record sales have affected bands like FIREWIND. "When I started, it was already all about MP3s and Napster, so I'm used to always having to work with small budgets for recording or touring and you learn to appreciate every step; that selling a few thousand more albums can take you to the next level," he said. "It's changing drastically every other month almost, with new platforms and I'm totally cool with that."

He added, "I don't have any nostalgia for vinyl — I use an iPad and iTunes to buy music, but you have to pay. Music isn't free. I was reading an interview with Zakk Wylde [OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY] and he found his nephew with a load of copied CDs. He said, well, you might as well go the whole way, jump over the barrier and take a t-shirt too. Because it's not physical, kids don't understand it's illegal."

Asked if it has become difficult planning for FIREWIND touring and recording due to this commitments to Ozzy's solo band, Gus said, "It's not too bad, really. The only thing is you never know what will change. Like this summer, I wasn't going to be with Ozzy because of the BLACK SABBATH tour, but with Tony Iommi sadly getting sick, the whole 'Ozzy And Friends' thing came up and, of course, I was going to be part of that, so [then] I [had] six weeks touring with Ozzy. It's not that hard; the business is like that and as long as you're always ready for something to change, you'll do OK."

Mike Bax of Lithium Magazine conducted an interview with vocalist Jonny Davy of Arizona extreme metallers JOB FOR A COWBOY backstage at the Heavy T.O. festival on August 12 at Downsview Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.

JOB FOR A COWBOY's new album, "Demonocracy", sold 4,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 87 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's sophomore full-length CD, "Ruination", opened with around 10,600 units back in July 2009 to land at No. 42.

Released on April 10 via Metal Blade Records, "Demonocracy" was produced by Jason Seucof (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, TRIVIUM) who recorded the band's blistering "Ruination" full-length, at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida, and features another strikingly detailed concept cover by artist Brent Elliott White.

JOB FOR A COWBOY's "Tarnished Gluttony" video can be seen below. The disturbing nine-and-a-half-minute clip was directed by Michael Panduro, who has previously worked with SAINT VITUS and CEPHALIC CARNAGE.

Comments Davy: "'Tarnished Gluttony' originally runs off the idea of blind faith into our government and monetary system. The director ran with the idea and spliced it with a H.P. Lovecraftian twist. The video streams the fascination of religion and the actions people justify in the name of religion, and this video is a spin on the old biblical tale of Abraham and Isaac, however, set in the world of Lovecraftian mythology. The point is, acting blindly in faith to a Christian deity is just as absurd as worshiping squid like monsters from space who live under the sea."

Adds Panduro: "As a commercial director, I'm a complete failure. The band asked for just one thing and I couldn't deliver. Indeed, this video has no boobs."

Interview:



"Tarnished Gluttony" video:

89.5 FM WSOU's DJ The Dylan Escape Plan conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier of French progressive metallers GOJIRA backstage at this year's edition of the Heavy T.O. festival, which was held August 11-12 at Downsview Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.

GOJIRA was originally scheduled to take part in a North American tour co-headlined by LAMB OF GOD and DETHKLOK, but that trek was canceled due to the recent incarceration of LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe in the Czech Republic.

GOJIRA's fifth album, "L'Enfant Sauvage", sold almost 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 34 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "The Way Of All Flesh", opened with 4,200 units back in 2008 to land at No. 138.

"L'Enfant Sauvage" entered the official chart in France at position No. 7 (No. 17 on the digital chart).

"L'Enfant Sauvage" (which translates to "The Wild Child") features 11 tracks of mind-bending, thunderous metal. The CD was recorded at Spin Recording Studios in Long Island City, New York with co-producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD).

A special collector's package of "L'Enfant Sauvage" features two bonus tracks and a double-colored vinyl version of the record, along with an exclusive t-shirt.

Interview:



Performance (EHZ festival on June 29, 2012 in Hélette, France):

89.5 FM WSOU's DJ Kayla conducted an interview with Florida metallers TRIVIUM backstage at the Heavy T.O. festival on August 11 at Downsview Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.

In a recent interview with Sweden's Metalshrine, TRIVIUM guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy stated about the band's plans for the next album, "We have nine songs pretty much completely recorded as pre-production, recorded on our bass player's laptop, and it actually sounds better than our first record. Paolo's [Gregoletto] really good at recording shit. It's all programmed drums, but programmed in a way that Paolo programmed the bass part, like the underlying drum tracks and Nick [Augusto, drums] would sit with him and rewrite them, but on the computer. We tracked guitars, we tracked bass and we're gonna track vocals soon, we tracked solos and I've got an album title, album arts, song names. We've got about 15 songs and everything's planned out. Video ideas, photo shoot ideas, everything. But we just can't reveal anything."

When asked about who will produce the next TRIVIUM CD, Heafy said, "We don't exactly know. We've got the plan, but we can't reveal. It's also kinda far to tell, but it will be different again. The new stuff sounds amazing and I know every bands says that, but yeah, it's really great. The fact that we're all working on it so much already, we know that it's something really special."

TRIVIUM, AS I LAY DYING, CALIBAN and UPON A BURNING BODY will join forces for a European tour this fall.

TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career.

Vocalist Tim Lambesis and bassist/vocalist Josh Gilbert of San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING spoke with Sam Hatch of WWUH Radio's "The House of Zazz" program at the August 5 stop of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in Hartford, Connecticut. Tim and Josh discuss their new single, "Cauterize", and the impending release of their sixth studio album, "Awakened"; and the new art direction courtesy of Metastazis. They also explain the differences between Mayhem festival and other similar U.S. festivals, the difference between American and European audiences after recently performing at U.K.'s Download and Germany's Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park festivals. The guys also talk about tuning and instrument tone, how key changes affect vocals, and just how badass SLAYER is with EXODUS' Gary Holt on guitar.

You can listen to "The House Of Zazz" Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings from midnight until 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time on 91.3 FM WWUH (in CT) and streaming live via the Internet at www.wwuh.org.

"Awakened", the sixth album from AS I LAY DYING, will be released on September 25 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was produced by Bill Stevenson, who has played drums for both the DESCENDENTS and BLACK FLAG and is one of the most highly renowned producers in rock. His production credits include work on records by RISE AGAINST, NOFX, PROPAGANDHI, THE CASUALTIES, ANTI-FLAG and many more. The album was mixed by Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT).

The cover artwork for "Awakened" was created by Metastazis with Tiffanie Uldry and can be seen below.

AS I LAY DYING just completed a video for the new single "A Greater Foundation" with director Drew Russ (A DAY TO REMEMBER, FALLING IN REVERSE) and producer Robby Starbuck. The performance-based clip was shot on location in Los Angeles.

"We were all impressed with Drew's ability to capture the intensity of live band performances in his videos, and 'A Greater Foundation' is no exception," explains AS I LAY DYING bassist Josh Gilbert. "Drew's technique, along with the all-day participation of some of our diehard fans in Los Angeles, definitely accentuated the energy of the song and makes for an exciting and dynamic video. We can't wait to unveil it!"

After wrapping a successful run as a main-stage act on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival with SLIPKNOT, SLAYER and more, the group will headline a special album release show-full details to be announced soon. On October 15, they'll launch a European tour with TRIVIUM, CALIBAN and UPON A BURNING BODY before returning to the U.S. in November for a nationwide tour.

Interview:



"Awakened" studio webisode:

New York progressive rockers COHEED AND CAMBRIA have announced details of their upcoming sixth studio album, a double concept album entitled "The Afterman", to be released in two separate full-length volumes.

The first volume, "The Afterman: Ascension", will be available on both physical and digital platforms in the U.S. on October 9 via Hundred Handed/Everything Evil, and distributed through Fontana/Ingrooves (to be available in Canada via Universal Music Canada). The second volume, "The Afterman: Descension", is due in February 2013.

"The Afterman: Ascension" track listing:

01. The Hollow
02. Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute
03. The Afterman
04. Mothers Of Men
05. Goodnight, Fair Lady
06. Key Entity Extraction II: Hollywood The Cracked
07. Key Entity Extraction III: Vic The Butcher
08. Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria The Faithful
09. Subtraction

A deluxe version of "The Afterman" will include a hardcover coffee-table book with expansive art by Heidi Taillefer and Nathan Spoor with collaborative written work from singer/creator Claudio Sanchez and writer Peter David that will create a song by song experience.

The two records follow-up to 2010's "Year Of The Black Rainbow", and will feature new bassist Zach Cooper and returning drummer Josh Eppard, who have replaced Michael Todd and Chris Pennie, respectively.

The concept albums will continue to be set in the band's alternate universe of "Heaven's Fence", which are part of their series titled "The Amory Wars". "The Amory Wars" is currently being developed by Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of Leverage Productions for a live-action feature film. It follows the story of a superhuman dictator named Wilhelm Ryan, and a family that may have the ability to free the world from his control.

"The Afterman" albums will focus on a character named Sirius Amory, a scientist who discovers an energy force that can connect the universe's 78 planets together.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA frontman Claudio Sanchez said of the album: "This is, without a doubt, the most honest record I've ever written. Though all the songs can be interpreted through our main character in the story, they were initially written in a very spontaneous manner. In the past, I've always had a predetermined idea of what the story was going to be when I approached the songs. With 'The Afterman' being a new story within 'The Amory Wars' arc, I allowed the events of my life to drive the concept, and therefore opened up the songwriting to a fuller degree."

COHEED AND CAMBRIA is currently touring with IRON MAIDEN and will be hitting the road for a headline run beginning in mid-September.