Berlin’s most famous industrial metal outfit have announced a hefty North American tour schedule for 2012. The band explained via a press release that they will be bringing their traditionally pyro-heavy performance back our way next spring. While the trip kicks off in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on April 20, Canadian stops on the jaunt include Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Tour dates:
4/20 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – BankAtlantic Center
4/21 Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
4/23 Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
4/25 Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena
4/26 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
4/28 Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
4/29 Worcester, MA – DCU Center
5/1 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
5/3 Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
5/4 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
5/6 Detroit, MI – The Palace of Auburn Hill
5/8 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
5/10 Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
5/13 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
5/14 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
5/17 Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
5/18 Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena
5/20 Denver, CO – Denver Coliseum
5/22 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
5/24 San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
5/25 Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Singer Brian Vollmer from of HELIX has issued the following update:
“In September I will be releasing a new Helix compilation CD entitled simply: Helix: 1983-2012. It will feature 19 tracks from various Helix CDs over the years plus one brand new track, the Christmas track that Sean (Kelly; CRASH KELLY) and I wrote. We’re keeping the name of the song under wraps for the time present, but as we get into the later part of the summer I’ll let everyone know what it is. Last Friday I was at Brent’s (Doerner) place in Kitchener and we were working on the video and it was looking good. The game plan is to have the song go to radio the first week of September and the video to be released on Facebook/MySpace/YouTube and Planet Helix at the same time. At the end of the video will be the Christmas tour dates plus a link to the Heavy Mental Christmas website where fans will be able to buy tickets online. I’m very excited about this and everyone who has heard the song thinks it’s going to get lots of airplay/video play. We’ll see…”
Tentative songs for the Helix 1983-2012 CD:
‘Danger Zone’
‘Running Wild In The 21St Century’
‘Give It To You’
‘Jaws Of The Tiger’
‘Deep Cuts The Knife’
‘Skin In The Game’
‘Good To The Last Drop’
‘The Same Room’
‘Heavy Metal Love’
‘Fill Your Head With Rock’
‘Get Up!’
‘Wild In The Streets’
‘Six Feet Underground’
‘Rock You’
‘Champagne Communist’
‘Animal Inside’
‘Make ‘Em Dance’
‘I’m A Live Frankenstein’
‘You Got The Love That I Like’
‘Mystery Christmas Song’
SABATON have uploaded series of live clips from their current US tour on YouTube below:
To make their record release party in Hollywood a memorable one, Sabaton are inviting all their Southern California fans to attend their May 23rd show at the Key Club dressed in World War I or World War II period regalia to celebrate the release of their sixth studio album, Carolus Rex.
Any female or male in period dress can pick up their FREE Nuclear Blast grab bag at Sabaton’s merch table after the show. Those interested in putting an outfit together can visit The Supply Sergeant on Hollywood Boulevard or California Surplus Mart on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Carolus Rex – due out May 25th via Nuclear Blast – will be available for purchase on single Swedish CD (Sweden only) and single English CD plus a limited edition which features a double CD with both language versions. The double CD will also feature a different cover artwork. The album is produced by Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN).
Sabaton - "Carolus Rex"
Carolus Rex features the following tracklisting:
English version:
‘Dominium Maris Baltici’
‘The Lion From the North’
‘Gott Mit Uns’ (featuring Peter Tägtgren on vocals)
‘A Lifetime of War’
’1 6 4 8′
‘The Carolean’s Prayer’
‘Carolus Rex’
‘Killing Ground’
‘Poltava’
‘Long Live the King’
‘Ruina Imperii’
Swedish version:
‘Dominium Maris Baltici’
‘Lejonet från Norden’
‘Gott Mit Uns’ (featuring Peter Tägtgren on vocals)
‘En Livstid i Krig’
’1 6 4 8′
‘Karolinens bon’
‘Carolus Rex’
‘Ett Slag Färgat Rött’
‘Poltava’
‘Konungens Likfärd’
‘Ruina Imperii’
Sabaton recently confirmed the departure of guitarists Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sundén, drummer Daniel Mulback and keyboardist Daniel Mÿhr, with vocalist Joakim Bróden and bassist Pär Sundström vowing to continue the band with new members.
BLACK SABBATH’s May 19th show at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England, was the band’s first performance in their home city for the first time in thirteen years. The anxiously anticipated (partial) reunion featured guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Tommy Clufetos replacing original skinsman Bill Ward.
Black Sabbath - May 19th 2012
Butler commented after the show: “Thank you, thank you, thank you Birmingham. Best fans ever – you brought out the best in us. It was a privilege playing for you tonight. Tony was a hero – you were the best medicine he has had. Proud to be a Brummie.”
Black Sabbath’s set-list:
‘Into The Void’
‘Under The Sun’
‘Snowblind’
‘War Pigs’
‘Wheels Of Confusion’
‘Electric Funeral’
‘Black Sabbath’
‘The Wizard’
‘Behind The Wall Of Sleep’
‘N.I.B.’
‘Fairies Wear Boots’
‘Lord Of This World’
‘Tomorrow’s Dream’
‘Sweet Leaf’ (edit)
‘Symptom Of The Universe’ (edit)
Drum solo
‘Iron Man’
‘Dirty Women’
‘Children Of the Grave’
‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ (edit)
‘Paranoid’
Fan-filmed footage of the band in action can be seen below:
In related news, BLACK SABBATH have defended their decision to remove original drummer Bill Ward from photos on the main pages of their official website.
“At the request of Bill Ward, through his attorney, so as to not give the public the wrong impression about his involvement in the current Black Sabbath lineup, we have temporarily removed Bill Ward’s images from the main pages of the Blacksabbath.com official website. In accordance with Bill Ward’s attorney’s request, we are doing so for the duration of the forthcoming shows.”
Mexican heavy metal band , Split Heaven, announce the release of their long awaited video: “Vuelo Nocturno“ ( Spanish and English version) and a live streaming to show it for the first time. The streaming is going to be the 25 of May at 8pm(Mexico City) and you can see it through a link that will be posted the same day on Split Heaven`s official pages.
For the video the 5 bandmates had to train over a month to fight against a Mexican professional wrestler called “Vuelo Nocturno“ and it was delayed from its original release date due to the production of a series of webisodes taking advantage of the great quality and quantity of takes /shoots that didn’t make it to the end. The webisodes show the work and the actual training the five rockers had to pass through to do the shooting of “Vuelo Nocturno“. You can see the trailer of the webisodes here:
Split Heaven also will be touring Europe in mid September, starting in the legendary old school festival Swordbrothers in Andernach in Germany.
TRILLIUM, featuring vocalist Amanda Somerville (AVANTASIA, HDK) recently wrapped up their first official tour, supporting DELAIN. Photo galleries from the tour have been posted on Somerville’s official Facebook page. Click here and here to check them out.
As previously reported, Trillium played their first ever UK show at the HMV Institute in Birmingham on May 12th supporting DELAIN. Fan-filmed quality footage is available below:
Trillium’s debut album, Alloy, was released on November 4th, 2011 in Europe and November 1st in North America. The tracklist is as follows:
‘Machine Gun’
‘Coward’
‘Purge’
‘Utter Descension’
‘Bow To The Ego’
‘Mistaken’
‘Scream It’
‘Justifiable Casualty’
‘Path Of Least Resistance’
‘Into The Dissonance’
‘Slow It Down’
‘Love Is An Illusion’ (bonus track)
The first video from the album is for the track ‘Coward’ which can be viewed below:
During a brand new interview with Greece’s Rock Overdose, SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo revealed that the band is putting the finishing touches on a two-song EP, to be released later this year, possibly in time for their appearance at this summer’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival . “Kerry and Tom are recording it right now; they are doing the vocals,” he said.
Lombardo previously stated about SLAYER’s new material, “[It sounds like] SLAYER. . . Traditional fans will be pacified and non-traditional fans will be like, ‘Again?’”
Speaking to U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine, Kerry described the new SLAYER songs as “really refreshing and energetic.” He added, “One thing I can tell you is that the songs are shaping up in the classic SLAYER style. You won’t be hearing us doing acoustic stuff. [laughs]”
Kerry also said that he was hoping that Greg Fidelman, who co-produced 2009′s “World Painted Blood” with Rick Rubin, would be at the helm for the new album. “That’s the idea, anyway,” Kerry told Metal Hammer. “But it all depends on his availability. . . I don’t think we’ll spend long in the studio this time, either. We’re gonna do it old-school style and get things done fast.”
SLAYER will perform its classic 1986 album “Reign In Blood” in its entirety at All Tomorrow’s Parties’ second U.K. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” event, which is scheduled to take place the weekend of May 25-27 at Alexandra Palace, London, England.
SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman has been forced to sit the band’s forthcoming tour dates due to complications from a spider bite.
Hanneman contracted necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite over a year ago.
EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt will fill in for Hanneman on SLAYER’s summer tour, which begins at All Tomorrow’s Parties.
SLAYER’s latest album, “World Painted Blood”, sold 41,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Lombardo’s side project PHILM — which also features guitarist/vocalist Gerry Nestler (CIVIL DEFIANCE) and bassist Pancho Tomaselli (WAR) — released its debut album, “Harmonic”, on May 15 via Ipecac Recordings.
Finally, a glorious, illustrated celebration of one of the most successful rock bands of all time!
Formed in east London in 1975, Iron Maiden went on to become one of the most successful rock acts in history. With more than 85 million album sales to their credit, the legendary metal band remains hugely popular worldwide: Their 2010 album, The Final Frontier , debuted at #1 in 30 countries and received unanimous critical praise.
In this, the first complete illustrated treatment of Iron Maiden, a roster of respected heavy metal journalists including Ian Christe, Martin Popoff, Mick Wall, Daniel Bukszpan, and more relate the band’s history, analyse their recordings, and provide a complete discography.
The stories behind the band’s formation, recordings, and tours, are complemented with more than 400 images, including live performance and candid off-stage photographs, as well as memorabilia, gig posters, T-shirts, backstage passes, buttons, and tickets. And with Derek Riggs (the man behind Iron Maiden’s iconic mascot, Eddie) having created the book’s exclusive cover art, this really is a must for any serious Iron Maiden collector.
Few bands have as widespread global appeal as Iron Maiden. Here is the book that gives that history its just treatment.
Author Bio
Neil Daniels has written about classic rock and heavy metal for a wide range of magazines, fanzines, and websites. He had more than 10 books published between 2007 and 2011, including titles on Judas Priest, Robert Plant, Bon Jovi, and Journey. His reviews, articles, and interviews have appeared in The Guardian , Rock Sound, Record Collector and myriad other publications and websites.
Demonic Resurrection frontman Demonstealer has launched a new old school heavy metal supergroup ‘Hellwind’. The band features Akshay Deodhar (Spook) on vocals, Rajarshi Bhattacharyya (ex-Workshop) and Kiron Kumar (ex-Colossus) on guitars, Aditya Kadam (Workshop, Funk The System) with Demonstealer taking over the drummers throne.
Hellwind
As mentioned in an article by Rolling Stone India magazine, the band was initially an effort put in by Riju Dasgupta and Akshay Deodhar, planning to make the band a rock/power metal project, but on jamming with the entire band, they realised that the music wasn’t much of power metal and decided to change the name in the musical direction the band was heading. Riju left the band prior to the release due to work commitments and was replaced by Aditya Kadam from Funk the System/Workshop.
As Makhija told NH7.in, “The band will be playing originals but have decided that we will also do a lot of fun pop rock covers in our own style. There is a gig in the works right now, we’ll let you know as soon as it is confirmed.”
The band has already created a storm, as with the news of the band, they also launched a single called ‘Taste of Metal’ on their SoundCloud page.
Vesperia formerly known as Bolero as it was previously announced this month are proud to release their next track ‘Huntress’, the second of four free downloads set to be unleashed over the month of May from their new demo ‘The Swordsman’.
Vesperia will also be on tour with fellow metal warriors Crimson Shadows playing the following dates in Ontario.
‘For the Glory of the Swordsman’ Tour Dates:
May 18, 2012 – The Port – Barrie, ON w/ Crimson Shadows, Goliath, The Isosceles Project
June 1, 2012 – The Granite Club – North Bay, ON w/ Crimson Shadows, The Killing Field, Face the Hate, Sign of the Raven
June 2, 2012 – The Serbian Centre – Sudbury, ON w/ Crimson Shadows, Before the Black Gates
June 8, 2012 – The Corktown Pub – Hamilton, ON w/ Crimson Shadows, Deathmarch
June 9, 2012 – Dominion House Tavern – Windsor, ON w/ Crimson Shadows, Aeron’s Wake, Final Stage, Nepenthe
June 15, 2012 – Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON w/ Valfreya, Protokult, Nordheim
June 22, 2012 – The Atria – Oshawa, ON w/ Crimson Shadows
June 29, 2012 – The Brass Monkey – Ottawa, ON w/ Sonburst, Crimson Shadows, Signs of Chaos
1. The Swordsman 04:42
2. Huntress 03:28
3. To Times End We Ride 07:47
4. A Silence Prolonging (In Longing) 04:58
About: After several months of deep thinking and more than half a decade of live shows, line-up changes and the constant shake-ups in the music industry, the four musicians behind Bolero decided it was time for a big move – a change in name and mentality. Ladies, gentlemen and metal Vikings, we present to you, VESPERIA formerly known as Bolero.
Continuing to derive influences from thrash, black metal and traditional folk music, Vesperia are not leaving their epic orchestrations, throat-crushing speed nor ear-piercing guitar riffs behind, rather, they’re intensifying each element, adding more energy to their live shows just when fans thought they couldn’t get any more amped up and prepping to release their new demo as Vesperia, entitled ‘The Swordsman’.
Converting listeners and critics across the globe into believers and preachers of symphonic Celtic death metal since 2007, it’s clear VESPERIA has no plans of slowing down.
Black Sabbath in 2011. The reunion that should of happened.
I feel sad to see the Sabbath reunion becoming a bit of a soap opera on the internet. It has been a very tough year for us as a band, having announced our reunion plans, only for Tony to be diagnosed with lymphoma, leaving us no choice but to postpone the proposed Sabbath tour, and then for Bill to go public on his site about an un-signable contract. None of us knew how Tony was going to respond to his intensive chemo therapy, and radiotherapy. Ozzy and myself flew to England to be with Tony, and on his “good” days, we’d meet at his home studio and put ideas together for the upcoming album, all sitting down together, no drummer involved, just 3 of us quietly putting together ideas. We thought that when we had enough songs together for a full band rehearsal, we’d move back to L.A and put the whole thing together with Bill. Unfortunately, to our surprise, Bill issued a statement on his site saying he’d been offered an un-signable contract. He hadn’t told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us let alone in public. We had the idea of keeping just one show in this year, hoping that Tony would be well enough for that show, and that things with Bill would be sorted. As you may expect, a one off show at Donnington Festival (Download) costs an absolute fortune to stage, involving over 50 people, transport, air fares, hotels, meals, agents, promotors, accountants, lawyers etc, so none of us, expected to make much money from it- it was a one off Sabbath show for the fans, before we go into recording the new album. Apparently, this wasn’t acceptable to Bill’s representatives, they wanted an amount that was so unrealistic that it seemed to have been a joke. So we resigned ourselves to doing Download without Bill, hoping he’d change his mind and at least make a guest appearance. We started rehearsals a few weeks ago with Tommy Cluefetos, the drummer who will be on the Ozzy and Friends Tour. Brilliant drummer and good bloke. It was decided we’d better do a warm up show, to break the ice since we haven’t played together live. The O2 Academy was available in Birmingham, where we were rehearsing, so we decided on that, and to make a donation to Help For Heroes Charity, since we’d be ironing out any glitches we may have. Then Bill put out a further statement saying he’d been ready to play the Birmingham show , but he was expected to have to do it “for free”- well, I think that’s basically how you raise money from gigs for charity – you play them “for free”.
All I am saying is that there are two sides to everything. I do hope to play with Bill again some day. For whatever reason; it wasn’t meant to be this time. Bill’s made his decision, and I have to respect that. Hopefully this painful year will be worth the wait for the new Sabbath album and end in joy and happiness for all.
Listenable Records is proud to announce the addition of ZONARIA to their roster.After releasing several eps, 2 full length albums and having toured Europe with the likes of SATYRICON, PAIN, MARDUK,NILE, and VADER among others, Swedish death commanders ZONARIA have recorded an eleven-track monster entitled Arrival of the Red Sun with Jonas Kjellgren at Abyss Studios. The album is scheduled to be released by Listenable on July 23rd in Europe and on August 14th in North America. Arrival of the Red Sun is the band’s most defined and accomplished album so far, get ready for a thick sounding dose of militant rhythms, smashing heavy riffing and stomping drums.
Tracklisting for Arrival of the Red Sun is as follows:
1) Arrival Of The Red Sun
2) Silent Holocaust
3) Gunpoint Salvation
4) Liberation Zero
5) The Blood That Must Be Paid
6) Desert Storms
7) A Lullaby To Those Still Alive Full Spectrum Dominance
9) My Vengeance Remains
10) Face My Justice
11) CC Cowboys (bonus track Limited edition CD only)
ZONARIA’s most recent official video, for the song “At War With The Inferior” from their 2009 release The Cancer Empire [Century Media Records] has been posted here.
ZONARIA – At War With The Inferior (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
A year after the release of their debut album, “Illusion”, Greek power metallers SECRET ILLUSION are back with a new EP titled “Turn Back Time”! The EP, which will be ready in a few days, will include a new track and a new piano / orchestral version of “Silent Voices” which will feature the extraordinary voice of MEDEN AGAN’s singer, Iliana Tsakiraki! As with our debut album, “Illusion”, the cover will be designed by Thass Jillion and the mixing / mastering process by Dion (SORROWFUL ANGELS).
This is also a first for the band’s new singer, Dimitris Giannakopoulos. The EP will be distributed freely to the band’s fans via download or physical format (CD), through the band’s recently redesigned official website (www.secret-illusion.com) and also at live shows!
Preparations for the band’s sophomore album shall begin shortly. The album is estimated to be ready by the end of the year and is expected to be released in 2013!
he much-anticipated video from Canadian melodic metal five-piece Unleash the Archers was released to the public today and can be viewed here:
‘General of the Dark Army’ is the second music video from the band’s 2011 album, ‘Demons of the AstroWaste,’ and was released after an initial appeal for $1900 in fan funding raised over $2600. The pledges helped to cover the costs of production and to bring in the vision of director Richard Olak (of indie cult film ‘The Battle of Burgledorf’); donors received perks such as free premiere tickets and music lessons.
“This has been a whirlwind, that’s for sure,” says vocalist Brittney Hayes. “Thanks to the support of tons of amazing fans we were able to make this video far more epic than the last. Getting to watch the General come to life was phenomenal, and mind blowing actually. I’ve had this vision of him ever since I wrote the song… And I think we got really close, as close as an indie band could ever get to realizing that vision.”
Demonstrating a professional flair that reflects the band’s ongoing progress, the video release is also a milestone for 2012, kicking off a western Canada tour and preceding more extensive touring to be announced late spring.
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS have worked diligently over the last four years to create a niche for themselves in the Canadian metal scene. Being fronted by a female singer adds to their distinctive sound, and their energy on and off stage captivates listeners of all musical tastes. They have honed their professionalism through multiple west coast and cross-Canada tours and have shared the stage with renowned metal acts such as 3 Inches of Blood, Kataklysm, Augury and Stratovarius.
German a cappella metal act VAN CANTO have released a video for the song ‘If I Die In Battle’, taken from their latest album Break The Silence. Check it out below:
Watch a track- by-track rundown and studio outtakes for Break The Silence below.
The VAN HALEN News Desk have issued the following update regarding the band’s postponed tour:
“First off, no one in the band is sick. No health problems. Second, we knew right away that Rolling Stone’s “source” is completely wrong, and can not possibly be a person with actual inside knowledge of the tour, because all four band members have been getting along splendidly throughout the entire tour. Roth and the Van Halen’s talk every day, and they are all smiles on stage. Everyone who’s seen the tour or even youtube videos can confirm that.
In fact, the band is on such a high from playing together this year and they were really taken aback by the Rolling Stone quote. They’re older and wiser and haven’t had any issues with one another.
Why were these dates postponed? The band has been working tirelessly for the last 18 months – writing and recording A Different Kind Of Truth, filming the ‘Tattoo’ video, rehearsing, putting together the show themselves (lighting, the videos, the stage, routing the tour, and lots of behind the scenes stuff that most people don’t even know about). The band wants the second leg to be as awesome as the first. And for that to happen they want to put more time into the planning of it. Not just continue on with the same show.
Van Halen is very enthusiastic about the rest of the tour and wants be on the road for a long time. Just how long remains to be seen, but we’ll say that the tour will probably continue into next year. They are now considering touring Australia and Japan in the near future.
As it stands now, the 31 postponed US shows are due to be rescheduled. There should be some sort of official announcement forthcoming.”
Full Spectrum Dominance
