Gelap Pekat

"7 Sinners", the 13th studio album from German power metallers HELLOWEEN, is available for streaming in its entirety on the band's MySpace page. The CD will be released in North America on November 9 via The End Records.

If there is a golden thread throughout the more than 25 years of HELLOWEEN's history, 13 studio albums, countless headliner tours around the globe and more than 5 million records sold, then it is their special kind of attitude: don't take yourself too seriously and simply live statements like "just have fun with the shit you're doing." Maybe it is exactly this easiness that allows HELLOWEEN to be one of the most constant bands of the genre while simultaneously being the one band who dares to experiment more than their musical peers.

While some copycats would rather stick with the same old patterns, Andi Deris, Michael Weikath, Sascha Gerstner, Markus Großkopf and Dani Löble aren't afraid of taking risks — and are rightfully rewarded with success.

"7 Sinners" is definitively one of the fastest and hardest albums in the HELLOWEEN's history and it bursts with vitality. That might partly be due to the versatility of the various songwriters within the band, who over time have become so homogenous, that the 13 songs formed a unity on their own in the studio , but it may also be due to the fact that the album was recorded completely without a click track, which, considering the extreme speed of the songs is an impressive feat. Especially drummer Löble, who proves that his technique is at a world-class-level. Following his excellent inner clock, bass and drums drive tracks like "Are You Metal?", "Long Live The King" and "Who Is Mr. Madman?" to dizzying tempos. "7 Sinners", with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a true metal album whose range reaches astonishing dimensions.

It has become a cliche for metal band's to tout their newest opus as their "fastest" or "heaviest" album ever made, but in HELLOWEEN's case, "7 Sinners" is truly a return to form and is indeed their fastest and heaviest release in years. HELLOWEEN bass player Markus Grosskopf stated about the band's new material: "For all those out there who found our special best-of [CD] 'Unarmed' to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: The new album will hit you right in the face! It's gonna be very heavy and contain all [the classic] HELLOWEEN trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani ever played, and this means a lot!"

"7 Sinners" track listing:

01. Where The Sinners Go
02. Are You Metal?
03. Who is Mr. Madman?
04. Raise The Noise
05. World Of Fantasy
06. Long Live The King
07. The Smile Of The Sun
08. You Stupid Mankind
09. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future

The "Are You Metal?" video can be viewed below. The clip was filmed on September 30 in Beelitz, Germany.

A seven-inch single of Alice Cooper's song "Keepin' Halloween Alive!" has been released on special glow-in-the-dark vinyl in a limited edition of 2,300 copies. Of those 2,300, only 1,450 are available for sale, in the U.S. ONLY! The remaining copies will be used for promotional materials and pre-orders in the U.K and the U.S. to promote the release of Alice's new DVD, "Theatre Of Death".

The limited-edition vinyl is available direct from AliceCooper.com for U.S. fans. The item can only be shipped to the U.S. No international orders will be accepted from AliceCooper.com.

Side A: "Keepin' Halloween Alive"
Side C: "I Love The Dead" (Live) (from "Theatre Of Death" DVD/CD)

A short video clip featuring footage of the manufacturing process for the "Keepin' Halloween Alive!" glow-in-the-dark vinyl single can be viewed below.

Alice delivers the song with the garage-punk snarl he is best known for, ensuring that it will soon be a Halloween classic.

"At home my family all gathers around an old spooky tree decorated with skulls and bones in the living room, and we exchange gifts," says Cooper. "It's our holiday. We even all have matching black-and-orange Halloween sweaters! I wanted a theme song for people like me, and for us Halloween never ends. In the chorus I say, 'I'm keepin' Halloween alive, baby, 3–6–5'... and I mean it!"

"Keepin' Halloween Alive" was co-written and co-produced by Cooper with Piggy D. (a member of ROB ZOMBIE's band), who played rhythm guitar/backup vocals. Dave Pino (POWERMAN 5000) is featured on lead guitar, and David Spreng (BOB DYLAN, THE BRAVERY) on drums.

Of the recording, Cooper says, "We played it live as a band to capture the vibe. It was the easiest work I think any of us have ever done, not to mention a blast!"

The first photo of the digipack version of "In War And Pieces", the new album from German thrash metal veterans SODOM, can be seen below. It features the following:

* CD 1: the studio album
* CD 2: bonus live CD (Wacken 2007)
* 16-page booklet

"In War And Pieces" will be released in North America on January 11, 2011 and in Europe on November 22, 2010 via SPV/Steamhammer.

"In War And Pieces" track listing:

01. In War And Pieces
02. Hellfire
03. Through Toxic Veins
04. Nothing Counts More Than Blood
05. Storm Raging Up
06. Feigned Death Throes
07. Soul Contraband
08. God Bless You
09. The Art Of Killing Poetry
10. Knarrenheinz
11. Styptic Parasite

The "In War And Pieces" track is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

For bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such, his thrash metal band SODOM is a perfect vehicle to bluntly take a stand. Like few other musicians on this scene, he personifies — along with down-to-earthiness and honesty — a healthily critical position on political authorities and decision-makers from finance and industry. On their latest album, "In War And Pieces", SODOM focuses on the worst excesses of power: arrogance, greed, spotlight-seeking, fanaticism, corruption, cowardice and oppression. Tom strates, "I've always written about what's going on in the world, about the injustice and mistakes that happen everywhere. I know that you can't change anything politically that way, but I would like to at least comment on the situation and generate an awareness of this deplorable state of affairs. Being a singer in a metal band allows me to voice my anger to a large audience."

This uncompromising attitude marks the eleven songs on sodom's latest album which could hardly sound more dynamic and violent. "In War And Pieces" owes its bloodcurdling energy largely to producer Waldemar Sorychta (GRIP INC., ENEMY OF THE SUN), whose great skill and commitment were instrumental in creating the album's — as Tom calls it — "phat, brutal and open" sound. With Sorychta's support, Angelripper (vocals, bass), Bernemann (guitar) and Bobby Schottkowski (drums) succeeded in adding new impulses to their music without watering down the band's long tradition. "Waldemar is a great musician himself and has done some brilliant work, especially on the guitar sound," Tom explains. "He knows how to get the absolute maximum out of a speaker."

As brutal as the production is the diverse songwriting on "In War And Pieces", a kind of tour de force through the whole history of thrash metal, featuring harsh arrangements, melodic solos and raging vocal attacks. "I feel that we sound more contemporary and structured than we did on our recent releases," Tom analyzes. "At the same time, there are also references to recordings such as 'Persecution Mania' and 'Agent Orange'. After VENOM, SODOM were the world's first angry band, and nothing has changed that." Tom lists as examples the impressive title track, as well as "The Art Of Killing Poetry" with its ultra-deep guitar atmospheres and the German-language song, 'Knarrenheinz', which holds up the tradition of classics such as 'Bombenhagel' and "Ausgebombt". "Knarrenheinz is the mascot on the album cover, that's why I felt he deserved his own lyrics," Tom grins. Talking of album covers: the artwork was designed by Eliran Kantor, who enjoys an excellent reputation on the scene thanks to his work for renowned acts such as TESTAMENT, GWAR and MEKONG DELTA.

Danish modern "melodeath thrashers" PITCHBLACK have posted 30-second audio samples (see YouTube clip below) of all the songs that will appear on their second album, "The Devilty", tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label. The CD was recorded at guitarist Thomas "Pede" Pedersen's Earplug Studio in Copenhagen and was mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MNEMIC, HEAVEN SHALL BURN).

Commented the band: "In the video you can also read, what the songs are about in the comments which appears as well as you can check out the bloody photo artwork, which has been made by professional crime photographer Johnny Frederiksen who spent 17 years on the Danish most controversial tabloid Ekstra Bladet."

"The Devilty" track listing:

01. Replacing God
02. Defriended
03. You're Fucking Below Me
04. Don't Make Me Mad
05. The Siren Song
06. I Return
07. One Day We'll Break Them
08. Bandido
09. Revenge (…Injustice For All)
10. Slow The Hate

PITCHBLACK's debut album, "Designed to Dislike", was released in Denmark on August 13, 2007 via Target Distribution. The CD was produced by Steen Mogensen (CORNERSTONE, ex-ROYAL HUNT).

Formed in late 2002, PITCHBLACK released two demo tapes prior to recording its debut album: 2003's "No Sympathy Left" and 2004's "PitchBlack Promo 2004".

For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.

San Diego, California metallers AS I LAY DYING will perform the songs "Anodyne Sea" and "Vacancy" on today's (Wednesday, October 20) edition of Fuel TV's "The Daily Habit" at 9:30 p.m ET/PT. The cast of "Jackass 3-D" will also appear on the episode.

"The Daily Habit" encompasses the world of the action sports enthusiast, mixing the best in pop culture with today's top action sports personalities, cutting-edge music, product reviews, and comedy.

For more information, visit www.fuel.tv.

AS I LAY DYING will release a super deluxe fan box set version of its latest album, "The Powerless Rise", in November.

The limited edition super deluxe fan box includes the following:

* "The Powerless Rise" CD and 12" vinyl picture disc
* "The Powerless Rise" DVD documentary with in-studio footage and interviews + extras
* Guitar, bass and drum tabs featuring Jordan Mancino, Nick Hipa, Phil Sgrosso and Josh Gilbert / song stems for "Upside Down Kingdom" / expanded recording outtakes
* Hardcover book with lyrics, photos, and editorial from the band
* 12" x 12" lithograph
* Three guitar picks
* Mini drumstick keychain
* AS I LAY DYING patch
* AS I LAY DYING window cling
* Metal AS I LAY DYING logo pin

The box set is exclusively available in Europe via EMP.

"The Powerless Rise" sold 38,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "An Ocean Between Us", opened with 39,500 units back in August 2007 to land at No. 8.

"The Powerless Rise" was released on May 11 via Metal Blade Records.

AS I LAY DYING will team up with HEAVEN SHALL BURN and SUICIDE SILENCE for a European tour in November.

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the upcoming 30th-anniversary reissue of DEEP PURPLE's "Come Taste The Band" album can be viewed below.

The "Come Taste The Band" 35th-anniversary reissue is due out on October 25 in the U.K. and November 2 in North America via EMI. It includes a remastered version of the album, plus the single edit of "You Keep On Moving" on disc one. Disc two features a remixed version of the LP by Kevin Shirley (LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, JOURNEY, HIM), with input from Glenn Hughes, plus two previously unreleased instrumental tracks from the sessions.

"Come Taste The Band" was recorded between August 3 and September 1, 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, and released in October 1975. The album was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch (IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH). It is the only DEEP PURPLE studio record featuring Tommy Bolin, who replaced Ritchie Blackmore on lead guitar. When Blackmore left the band, many observers and critics assumed that DEEP PURPLE would not continue. It was David Coverdale who asked Jon Lord to keep the band together, and Tommy Bolin was asked to take the guitar slot. The band was rounded off by bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice.

"Come Taste The Band" 35th-anniversary reissue track listing:

CD1

01. Comin' Home
02. Lady Luck
03. Gettin Tighter
04. Dealer
05. I Need Love
06. You Keep on Moving
07. Love Child
08. This Time Around
09. Owed to G
10. Drifter
11. You Keep On Moving (single edit)

CD2

01. Comin Home
02. Lady Luck
03. Gettin Tighter
04. Dealer
05. I Need Love
06. You Keep on Moving
07. Love Child
08. This Time Around
09. Owed To G
10. Drifter
11. Always The Same in LA
12. Bolin/Paice Jam

Check out audio samples at Amazon.co.uk.

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the upcoming reissue of DEEP PURPLE's "Deepest Purple" compilation can be viewed below.

The "Deepest Purple" reissue is due out on October 25 in the U.K. and November 2 in North America via EMI. The new version of the album will include a bonus DVD featuring a range of video clips presented by former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord.

CD features:

01. Black Night (Single Version) (2002 Digital Remaster)
02. Speed King (Edit) (2010 Digital Remaster)
03. Fireball (1996 Digital Remaster)
04. Hush (1998 Digital Remaster)
05. Strange Kind Of Woman (2002 Digital Remaster)
06. Child In Time (1995 Digital Remaster)
07. When A Blind Man Cries (1997 Remix)
08. Woman From Tokyo (2000 Digital Remaster)
09. Highway Star (1997 Digital Remaster)
10. Space Truckin' (1997 Digital Remaster)
11. Burn (2004 Digital Remaster)
12. Stormbringer (2009 Digital Remaster)
13. Soldier Of Fortune (2009 Digital Remaster)
14. Demon's Eye (1996 Digital Remaster)
15. You Keep On Moving (Single Edit) (2002 Digital Remaster)
16. Smoke On The Water (1997 Digital Remaster)

DVD features:

* Jon Lord discusses "Hush"
* Hush (Playboy After Dark, 1968)
* Jon Lord discusses arriving in the U.S. for the first time
* Jon Lord discusses miming for German TV
* Speed King (Vicky Leandros show, German TV, 1970)
* Jon Lord discusses the writing of "Child In Time"
* Child In Time (new clip)
* Jon Lord discusses the power of "Child In Time"
* Jon Lord discusses the recording of "Black Night"
* Black Night (classic 1970 video clip)
* Jon Lord discusses "Fireball"
* Fireball (German TV performance on Disco ZDF, 1971)
* Jon Lord discusses the "Fireball" album
* Jon Lord discusses the writing of "Strange Kind Of Woman"
* Strange Kind Of Woman (Top Of The Pops, BBC, 1971)
* Jon Lord discusses "Demon's Eye"
* Demon's Eye (Music Today, RBB Berlin)
* Jon Lord discusses "Highway Star"
* Highway Star (Beat Club, German TV, 1971)
* Jon Lord discusses "Never Before"
* Never Before (classic 1970s video clip)
* Jon Lord discusses "Smoke On The Water" and the story behind it
* Smoke On The Water (Hofstra University, 1973)
* Jon Lord discusses the choice of singles
* Jon Lord discusses "Woman From Tokyo"
* Woman From Tokyo (new clip)
* Made in Japan / Space Truckin' (new clip from "Made In Japan" footage)
* Jon Lord discusses "Burn"
* Burn (London 1974)
* Jon Lord discusses "You Keep On Moving"
* You Keep On Moving
* Jon Lord discusses "Stormbringer"
* Stormbringer (new clip)
* You Keep On Movin' (new clip)

On October 16, Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault conducted an interview with guitarist Mike Martin of Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS at the House Of Blues in Hollywood, California. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

"For We Are Many", the new album from ALL THAT REMAINS, sold 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Overcome", opened with just under 29,000 units in September 2008 to enter the chart at No. 16.

"For We Are Many" was released through a joint venture between Prosthetic Records and Razor & Tie.

"We're thrilled with ALL THAT REMAINS' debut sales and chart positions for this fantastic new album," said Jeremy Kramer, VP of Marketing at Razor & Tie. "In a market where sales are trending downward, ALL THAT REMAINS' first-week numbers and overall sales have increased with every release, which is a testament to this phenomenal band as well as the team supporting them.

"There's no shortcut to success in artist development — this band has worked tirelessly over the years, creating a real and passionate fan base that continues to grow with every album."

Prosthetic Records co-owner and co-founder E.J. Johantgen added, "ALL THAT REMAINS' success can be summarized simply — steady wins the race."

"For We Are Many", hit the same day the band headed out on a month-long U.S. headlining tour with support from ASKING ALEXANDRIA, UNEARTH, BORN OF OSIRIS and AND SHE WHISPERED. Decibel magazine called the album, "Proof that neck-snapping tempos, thoughtful soloing and a catchy chorus or three can co-exist," while Outburn magazine remarked, "If there was ever any question as to whether ALL THAT REMAINS deserved to be considered among the melodic metalcore elite, 'For We Are Many' will dispel any lingering doubts once and for all."

"For We Are Many" was recorded this spring at Zing Studios in Massachusetts and produced by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who also helmed ALL THAT REMAINS' "This Darkened Heart" and "The Fall of Ideals". In warming up for their headlining tour, ALL THAT REMAINS is on the road with AS I LAY DYING and UNEARTH for a run of dates concluding October 12. After their headlining U.S. tour, the band will head to Europe for dates in November and December.

"Hold On", the new video from ALL THAT REMAINS, can be viewed below. The clip, helmed by Ramon Boutviseth (TRIVIUM, DREAM THEATER, INCUBUS), features a narrative involving a variety of characters dealing with internal struggles and their inability to change their fate as their world crumbles down around them, both figuratively and literally. The force behind the destruction is the manifestation of their dark emotions, which ALL THAT REMAINS embodies as they unleash an epic performance in a post-apocalyptic urban wasteland.

Interview:

How do you continue to celebrate the life of one of heavy metal’s true legends? You call on those who had the most admiration and respect to gather in one place and do what they do best to pay homage — which includes fellow musicians and fans alike. On October 29 at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, fans and an all-star lineup will do just that and no doubt pulverize the heavens with a night of ungodly metallic thunder at this year's Dimebash 2010, in honor of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN). "The thing I remember the most about Darrell was the way he loved to jump up on stage with anyone at the drop of a hat,", states Rita Haney, longtime girlfriend of Dime and the person who knew him best. "When this tragedy originally happened, I saw the music community unite like I've never seen before. To have the name 'Dimebag,' still to this day, bring together musicians and fans to pay homage in such a respectful way to such an amazing person and cause is very overwhelming! In Dime's vision... it's always been about a damn good time!" At the same time, proceeds will benefit in the name of another metal legend that left us too early, the Ronnie James Dio Stand up and Shout Cancer Fund.

The all-star lineup to share the stage will include hard rock and heavy metal titans: Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS; Simon Wright from DIO; Brent Smith, Zach Myers and Eric Bass of SHINEDOWN; Kerry King and Dave Lombardo of SLAYER; Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD; Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT; Chris Howorth and Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT; and many more, including some surprises that will surely nail your jaw to the floor. This incredible event is being hosted by radio/television personality Jose Mangin, a veteran of several Dimebag events. In addition, attendees will be able to land some limited-edition merchandise, nab raffle tickets for chances to win some cool collectables and purchase Monster Energy cocktail drink specials, all of which partial proceeds go to benefit the cause. And if the all-star jam with legends and legends in the making isn't enough, special guest opener includes hard rock juggernauts REV THEORY. The metal brotherhood and community comes together once again to not only help themselves heal, but to also help the world around them. Good guys sometimes do wear black!

Tickets are $15.00 and are available at this location.

Metal Hammer, the U.K.'s best-selling heavy metal magazine, has teamed up with black metal's most revered band, DIMMU BORGIR, for a very special collectors’ issue, complete with sound.

Known as the "demon box," the November issue continues Future PLC's run of innovative, attention-grabbing "event issues" for Metal Hammer — which have included a blood-soaked cover to celebrate the 20th anniversary of SLAYER's influential "Reign in Blood" album and the world's only magazine cover struck from metal plate for the return of METALLICA with their "Death Magnetic" album, and a high-definition 3D cover to herald the release of Brit-award winners IRON MAIDEN's "The Final Frontier" album.

Thanks to unrivalled access, Metal Hammer spent exclusive time with Norway's biggest metal export and reveals DIMMU BORGIR's insane new look and their latest opus — "Abrahadabra" — a heavy metal masterpiece recorded with a complete symphony. Emerging from a musical genre most associated with church burnings, the award-winning, Billboard-charting metallers have grown to world-beating status and are now ready to go for the big time.

The issue includes an official DIMMU BORGIR beanie hat and pin page. When it''s opened, the packaging plays a special message from their enigmatic frontman and founder Shagrath — recorded exclusively for Metal Hammer.

Elsewhere inside the December issue, the team catches up with fast-rising Australian brutalists PARKWAY DRIVE, heads to Brighton for a dose of homegrown brutality with LOWER THAN ATLANTIS and TRC, and celebrates the 20th anniversary of PANTERA's "Cowboys From Hell".

Alexander Milas, editor of Metal Hammer, said: "DIMMU BORGIR are an enigma — one of those bands who've risen from an underground scene in Norway to become a household name for metalheads. Their latest album is as breathtaking as it is ambitious, so what better way to toast their return than with something fittingly demonic?"

The November issue of Metal Hammer, complete with official DIMMU BORGIR merchandise and sound chip, is on sale now, with a cover price of £4.99.

Vocalist Sven De Caluwé of death metal psychopaths ABORTED has issued the following update:

"Besides ABORTED I have been busy with the release of the SYSTEM DIVIDE record, and further working on Avernus studios (graphic design studio) and Skarewear (serial killer/horror clothing line). Ken [Sorceron; guitar] has been busy with ABIGAIL WILLIAMS who also just released a new album and are touring at the moment. Dirk [Verbeuren; drums] has been busy touring with SOILWORK and Jb [Van De Wal; bass] just recorded the new WHORECORE album, etc.

"As you see, we have all been busy on different levels. This, however, does NOT mean we are not working on ABORTED stuff. Have no fear, fellow misanthropes, we are hard at work on writing the next album.

"There won't be much shows until we actually have the record out, but when it hits, expect it to hit hard!!! So far about eight songs are written. The aim is to have about 11 ready for the record and two bonus tracks because, well, 2011 is going to be a special year for ABORTED. More about that later! We have the whole concept written out and there won't be any spoilers yet but I think there will be quite some surprises for everyone, in a good, horrific ABORTED way, of corpse! The material itself is definitely good ole ABORTED. As we said with 'Coronary Reconstruction', we are getting that old-school brutal vibe back mixing it up with some newer stuff. All I can say is this is definitely some [of], if not the most punishing material the band has ever written, we are going to bpms that we never went to before, some of the riffing is pretty damn technical. Imagine a bastard child of 'Engineering The Dead', 'Goremageddon' and 'Archaic' on steroids. That, and of course, some new elements as we don't really like to write the same record twice. All this to say that we are busting our nads to get you guys the best album we can possibly get done. Expect it to be out September 2011. More details and all that yazz to be revealed soon.

"We are very excited. I hope you guys are, too!!"

ABORTED's recent "Machines Of Grind/Terrorizer Tourture" European tour with ROTTEN SOUND was the first trek featuring the band's new lineup, which released a new EP entitled "Coronary Reconstruction". The EP got released on a limited-edition digipack sold through the band and Indiemerch containing four new tracks and a cover of ENTOMBED's "Left Hand Path".

The artwork for "Coronary Reconstruction" was created by Justin Osbourn from Slasher design and comprises the most gruesome and disgusting art the band ever had.

Swedish black metallers MARDUK will embark on the "Asian Black Death Redemption Tour 2010" in December. Confirmed dates are as follows:

Dec. 04 - Beijing, China - Mao Livehouse
Dec. 06 - Bangkok, Thailand - Rock Pub
Dec. 07 - Singapore, Singapore - Substation Theatre
Dec. 10 - Surabaya, Indonesia - Graha Pemuda
Dec. 11 - Semarang, Indonesia - Gor Tri Lomba Juang
Dec. 12 - Jakarta, Indonesia - Bulungan Outdoor

The vinyl edition of "Wormwood", the latest album from MARDUK, was released this past spring. The effort is available as a regular black vinyl with a gatefold sleeve (700 copies), picture disc (333 copies) and also as a gatefold deluxe edition with a 32-page booklet with lyrics on red vinyl (500 copies). Also newly released are the remastered versions on vinyl of MARDUK's "Germania", "Nightwing" and "Panzer Division Marduk" (available on regular vinyl and picture disc).

"Wormwood", the eleventh album from MARDUK, sold around 650 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 99 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Wormwood" was released in the U.S. on October 13, 2009 via Regain Records (September 24 in Europe). The CD was recorded at Endarker Studios in Norrköping, Sweden with engineer/producer Magnus Devo Andersson.

The first track-by-track review of "The Final Frontier", the new album from British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN, has been posted on the Radio Metal web site.

IRON MAIDEN's 15th studio LP, "The Final Frontier", will be released in North America on August 17 (one day earlier internationally) via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).

The band reunited with long-time MAIDEN producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in early 2010 at Compass Point Studios, Nassau to record the album and then moved to The Cave Studios in Malibu, California to finish the recording and do the mixing. Compass Point Studio is very familiar to the band, it was where they recorded the "Piece Of Mind" (1983), "Powerslave" (1984) and "Somewhere In Time" (1986) albums.

"The Final Frontier" features artwork illustrated by Melvyn Grant.

The track listing for the CD is as follows (total running time 76:35):

01. Satellite 15....The Final Frontier (Smith/Harris) (8:40)
02. El Dorado (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) (6:49)
03. Mother Of Mercy (Smith/Harris) (5:20)
04. Coming Home (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) (5:52)
05. The Alchemist (Gers/Harris/Dickinson) (4:29)
06. Isle Of Avalon (Smith/Harris) (9:06)
07. Starblind (Smith/Harris/Dickinson) (7:48)
08. The Talisman (Gers/Harris) (9:03)
09. The Man Who Would Be King (Murray/Harris) (8:28)
10. When The Wild Wind Blows (Harris) (10:59)

IRON MAIDEN guitarist Dave Murray recently told Billboard.com about "The Final Frontier", "We breezed through the album, really. We actually finished it in six weeks. We were getting down a track a day — all playing together as a band, Bruce (Dickinson) singing, all in the same room, so there's a very live-in-the-studio feel to it. Once we finished a track we'd jump straight into doing some extra guitar bits. It was very quick for us."

Murray said the 10-track set mixes "straight-ahead, uptempo rock songs with good grooves with some other tracks that are kind of longer and more complex." The album closer, "When the Wild Wind Blows", is an 11-minute track that's one of the longest songs IRON MAIDEN has ever recorded. "The rhythm's a little bit different from what we've done before, and there's lots of melodies," Murray said. "It's a big song. We learned it in sections just because it was such a complex arrangement, but it sounds quite natural (on the record)."

Bassist Uriah Duffy has released the following statement regarding his departure from the legendary rock band WHITESNAKE:

"My time with WHITESNAKE was awesome. David [Coverdale; WHITESNAKE frontman] and I have a great relationship; there are no hard feelings. It was simply time for us to go our separate ways."

Duffy spent five years with WHITESNAKE during which time he recorded an award-winning studio album, "Good To Be Bad", and played on the live release "Live In The Shadow Of The Blues". He also performed over 200 live shows on three world tours, including headlining appearances at major music festivals, among them the 2009 edition of the Download festival in the U.K. (to an audience of 80,000).

A member of WHITESNAKE since 2005, Duffy continued to work on outside projects. Officially parting ways with the band allows Dufy to give focus to a range of projects, including new acts THE MEMORIALS (with Thomas Pridgen of THE MARS VOLTA), BLACKGATES (also featuring former ANTHRAX vocalist Dan Nelson, drummer Paul Bostaph [TESTAMENT, ex-EXODUS, SLAYER, FORBIDDEN] and guitarist Jeremy Epp [THE VENTING MACHINE]), ongoing work with renowned rapper Lyrics Born, The Jazz Ma a, and his upcoming solo album for his own project, THE URIAH DUFFY BAND.

At this time WHITESNAKE is still exploring its options for the position of the band's new bassist.

WHITESNAKE is currently in the studio writing and recording the follow-up to 2008's "Good To Be Bad" for a spring 2011 release via Frontiers Records.

The cover artwork for "Under A New Sun", the forthcoming fourth full-length album from Melbourne, Australia's dark rockers THE ETERNAL, can be found below. The band states, "The cover and several images in the booklet are based on photography by fantastic Romanian photographer Felicia Simion. Her photography really touched us and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do."

"Under A New Sun" was recorded at 301 Studios in Byron Bay with acclaimed producer and multi-platinum recording artist Jeff Martin (THE ARMADA, THE TEA PARTY). Songtitles set to appear on the follow-up to 2008's "Kartika" include "The Sleeper", "Control", "Under A New Sun", "A Thousand Shades of You", "Collapse" and "Cast In Stone".

"Under A New Sun" was co-engineered by Paul Pilsneniks who has worked with such artists as THE LIVING END, THE MARS VOLTA, SILVERCHAIR, GRINSPOON and ALANIS MORISSETTE. THE ETERNAL has also enlisted acclaimed Finnish keyboard player Maria Ilmoniemi (TARJA, HUSKY RESCUE) to contribute.

Video footage of THE ETERNAL singer/guitarist Mark Kelson performing an acoustic version of the new song "The Sleeper" off "Under A New Sun" with Jeff Martin (who produced the album and contributed vocals to this track on the CD version) and Jeff's bass player Jay Cortez on May 14, 2010 at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia can be viewed below.

THE ETERNAL has scheduled its first hometown show in a year at Ruby's Lounge in Belgrave on Friday, July 23 with local rockers TREAD. THE ETERNAL states, "We will be playing loads of new material from 'Under A New Sun' so come and check it out."

THE ETERNAL recently made a new DVD, "Kartika World Tour 2009", available exclusively via the band's web site. The disc contains the "Kartika World Tour" and "The Making Of Kartika" documentaries as well at two promotional videos and plenty of photos.

Fan-filmed video footage of CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED — the new project led by acclaimed metal drummer Richard Christy (ICED EARTH, DEATH, LEASH LAW, CONTROL DENIED, BURNING INSIDE) — performing on July 8, 2010 at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City can be viewed below (courtesy of "Pantera42057" and "hornsuprocks").

Fans finally got a chance to watch Christy and vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH) perform the songs from CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's debut album. They toured from Chicago through Canada and up to Worcester, Massachusetts for a massive show with DREAM THEATER. The trek also featured comedian Don Jamieson from VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show".

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's touring lineup made its live debut on July 1 in Chicago, Illinois. Stepping in for concerts were Cleveland guitarists John Comprix and Matt Sorg. Comprix is Owens' bandmate in several projects, and Sorg plays with Comprix in RINGWORM.

The self-titled debut album from CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED sold around 2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 6 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's album contains nine tracks, a bonus DVD ("The Making of Charred Walls of the Damned"), and comes in a digipack.

The recording sessions for the CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED CD took place at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof, who has previously worked with TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, BURY YOUR DEAD, AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DAATH, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER and GOD FORBID, among others.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED's recording lineup:

* Richard Christy - Drums
* Jason Suecof - Guitar, Producer
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH) - Vocals
* Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, TESTAMENT) - Bass

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/charredwallsofthedamned.

On July 19, Candlelight Records will release a box set from the now-defunct Norwegian extreme metal act ZYKLON, entitled "The Storm Manifesto", featuring all three of the group's full-length albums plus bonus material.

Founded in 1998, it was evident from the start that ZYKLON was to be more than just a "side project" for the then-EMPEROR guitarist and drummer. Teaming with Destructhor (also of MYRKSKOG), the trio's rehearsals ignited a spark that would put them on the fast track. Enter England's Candlelight Records. Already home to EMPEROR, Candlelight was the best and obvious first choice for the band and its recording future.

"The Storm Manifesto" track listing:

Disc 1 - "World ov Worms":

01. Hammer Revelation
02. Deduced To Overkill
03. Chaos Deathcult
04. Storm Detonation
05. Zycloned
06. Terrordome
07. Worm World
08. Transcendental War - The Battle Between Gods
09. Dominate (bonus)
10. Worm World (video)
11. Transcendal War - Battle Between Gods (video)

Disc 2 - "Aeon":

01. Psyklon Aeon
02. Core Solution
03. Two Thousand Years
04. No Names Above The Names
05. The Prophetic Method
06. Specimen Eruption
07. Electric Current
08. An Eclectic Manner
09. Pull the Plug (bonus)
10. Core Solution (video)
11. Psyklon Aeon (video)

Disc 3 - "Disintegrate":

01. In Hindsight
02. Disintegrate
03. Ways of the World
04. Subversive Faith
05. A Cold Grave
06. Vile Ritual
07. Underdog
08. Wrenched
09. Vulture
10. Skinned and Endangered
11. Wrenched (video)
12. Underdog (video)

Check out an e-card for "The Storm Manifesto" at this location.

ZYKLON played its final show in Tokyo, Japan on September 28, 2007.

All members of ZYKLON are still active on various fronts. Guitarist Samoth is in the studio working on the debut album for his new project, THE WRETCHED END. Fellow axeman Destructhor is still touring with MORBID ANGEL, and is still planning to complete a new MYRKSKOG album with bassist/vocalist Secthdamon. Drummer Trym is mainly working in his tattoo shop, but is scheduled to appear in a new music project soon.

ZYKLON's third album, "Disintegrate", was released in 2006 via Candlelight Records. The CD was recorded at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio in Norway and was mixed at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden.

ZYKLON's DVD, titled "Storm Detonation Live", came out in March 2006 via Candlelight. Recorded at Germany's 2004 Party.San Open Air festival, the DVD contained the band's live show plus exclusive on-the-road/backstage footage, an exclusive look into reheasals for "Disintegrate" and both the "Psyklon Aeon" and "Core Solution" videos.

"Cadence", the new studio album from the reunited melodic hard rock band BANGALORE CHOIR, will be released on September 24 via Metal Heaven Records.

It has been 18 years since BANGALORE CHOIR's only release, "On Target", on Giant Records in 1992, which came out on the same day as NIRVANA's "Nevermind". Shortly after, BANGALORE CHOIR disbanded after being released from the label.

After several years under the radar on a ranch in Montana, lead vocalist David Reece (ex-ACCEPT, DAREFORCE) was contacted by Escape Records in 2007 to see what the chances would be for him to go to Sweden to sing on Swedish band GYPSY ROSE's next release. Soon after that David found himself in the studio for the next year recording and writing for the new GYPSY ROSE CD, "Another World", which was released in June 2008.

While touring and doing the Sweden Rock Festival in June 2007 and opening for AEROSMITH in Europe, Reece regained his passion for music, deciding he wanted to put BANGALORE CHOIR back together. Reece reached out to guitarist Curt Mitchell and bassist Danny Greenberg and asked them if they would like to make a new record. Both of them eagerly accepted the challenge. Joining them on the new album are Hans in't Zandt on drums and guitarist Andy Susemihl of U.D.O. fame, who contributed to the songwriting process and did a masterful job on the CD's production.

Commented Reece: "We knew if we were to make a new record that in order for it to be viable we had to keep some of the old formula that worked so well in the past which we have done!

"The new record by BANGALORE CHOIR is called 'Cadence' — continuing with blistering guitars pounding rhythms and big, hooky choruses."

"Cadent" (new song) audio sample:

On July 14, Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault conducted an interview with vocalist Tony Harnell (TNT, WESTWORLD, STARBREAKER) about his latest project, TONY HARNELL & THE MERCURY TRAIN. You can now listen to the chat in two parts below.

"Northern Lights", the debut video from TONY HARNELL & THE MERCURY TRAIN, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's debut album, "Round Trip", which was released in Europe on July 2 and will be made available in the USA on July 27 via Frontiers Records.

"Round Trip" is a very special record: a stripped down, reinvented retrospective of Tony Harnell's past classics originally recorded with his previous bands TNT, WESTWORLD and STARBREAKER, with one brand new song, "Anywhere But Here", recorded exclusively for this release.

The idea of re-recording some repertoire classics came about after Tony performed some low-key shows in New York in late 2008, with some talented and accomplished musicians that were not part of the metal/hard rock scene. The desire was to breathe new life into the songs with new arrangements, key changes and added parts; it's like listening to songs you know in a whole new way. Frontiers Records president Serafino Perugino liked the concept, and in Harnell's own words, "The idea was originally based on it being the usual cliché 'acoustic' album. Well, for us hard rockers that usually means simply playing the songs pretty much as they were but with acoustic guitars. That's not exactly what I had in mind. If I was going to do this, I was going to have some fun. I wanted to strip things down and see what would happen when musicians outside the hard rock community played my songs. That intrigued me. So I gave all the guys the original album versions and then pretty much gave them carte blanche to reinterpret the songs. That meant key changes ('cause you can't sing like a banshee when you strip things down, sounds silly), chord changes and even arrangement changes if the mood hit. I also wanted a semi-live vibe. What we ended up with is an album that honors the original songs with a little added spice, color, and above all… fun."

At the end of 2008 Tony and the other musicians entered the studio for a marathon two-day recording session that was supposed to lead into a whirlwind mixing session and an immediate release. But immediately after the session Tony hit some rather intense personal bumps in the road and production stopped. Months later the album was quickly completed.

"Recording this album was an extremely cathartic experience, allowing me to gently close the door to the past with love and gratitude and regain the pride I rightly deserve to have for these songs and for the years of my life I gave to the various periods when they were written," states Tony. "This is in no way meant to erase, dismiss or compete with the incredible original recordings of these songs. This is just a little fun reinvention, a way to leave the past behind on my own terms. These are your songs as much as they are mine, some of you, like me, have all kinds of memories attached to them. My lyrics were, are and always will be filled with my experiences, struggles, hopes and dreams and my observations of the world around me. Hopefully you'll listen to these songs in a new way and hear them with new ears. I know I have."

"Round Trip" track listing:

01. Somebody Told You
02. Intuition
03. Month Of Sundays
04. Lonely Nights
05. Shame
06. Northern Lights
07. Down To The River To Pray
08. Satellite
09. 10K Lovers
10. Uninvited
11. Ready To Fly
12. When I'm Away *
13. Song For Dianne
14. Anywhere But Here

* Bonus track

"Intuition" audio sample: