Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH have officially entered the studio to begin recording their new album for a tentative June release via Metal Blade Records. The CD is being helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with (MEGADETH, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY and ACCEPT.

Regarding AMON AMARTH's decision to work with Sneap after utilizing Jens Bogren for the band's last three studio efforts (2006's "With Oden On Our Side", 2008's "Twilight Of The Thunder God" and 2011's "Surtur Rising"), AMON AMARTH guitarist Olavi Mikkonen told Decibel magazine, "We were looking for a change, and Andy has been in our thoughts for some years now. After meeting with him, we felt a good connection. We think this is going to be a ripper."

AMON AMARTH's eighth studio album, "Surtur Rising", sold around 15,000 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, "Twilight of the Thunder God", opened with more than 11,000 copies back in 2008 to land at No. 48.

Ohio-based metallers AXEMASTER have parted ways with vocalist Tony Webster and have replaced him with Geoff McGraw.

Commented the band: "Due to personal issues, Tony was unable to do any work with the project for a significant length of time and had informed the band that he was unsure as to whether he would ever be able to continue. After allowing some time to see if the problems could be resolved, it became clear that a change was needed in order to be able to move forward with the band in general and the new album in particular. We all wish Tony the very best for the future and hope that he finds success in whatever path he chooses.

"Enter new vocalist Geoff McGraw! Geoff has been performing and singing since he was practically old enough to walk and at a young age developed a huge appetite for all things heavy metal. He has been a member of various local original bands across the state of Ohio for many years and is very much looking forward to working with AXEMASTER."

Said McGraw: "I am honored and excited to be offered the opportunity to join AXEMASTER, and can't wait to help bring the new music to the world."

Added guitarist Joe Sims: "From the very beginning, I have been impressed with everything about Geoff. He's a talented singer who's voice fits PERFECTLY with what we do musically. Plus he's an excellent songwriter, has a great attitude, and is really easy to work with. It's the kind of unique combination you always hope to find in a singer, or any band member for that matter."

McGraw's style has already been praised by a prominent European contact who heard Geoff's audition demo recording and said: "What I really think is important is his voice matches perfectly with the band's dark riffs. Also, I think his vocals sound quite unique which is also a great advantage. I think this will be well received over here".

A longtime and avid guitar player, Geoff intends to attempt to double his duties within AXEMASTER and take on the second guitar position as well. Once he finishes recording all the vocal tracks for the new album, the band will seriously look into this possibility.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/axemasterofficial.

BLACK STAR RIDERS, the new band formed by THIN LIZZY alumni Ricky Warwick (vocals), Scott Gorham (guitar), Damon Johnson (guitar), Marco Mendoza (bass) with new addition Jimmy DeGrasso (ALICE COOPER, MEGADETH, DAVID LEE ROTH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) on drums, will enter a Los Angeles studio tomorrow (Monday, January 7) with producer Kevin Shirley (LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, RUSH) to begin recording its debut album for a May release via Nuclear Blast.

Commented the band: "Two years ago today THIN LIZZY's reformed lineup played their first show in Aberdeen. Today BLACK STAR RIDERS loaded into the studio in preparation for tomorrow's start to the recording sessions with Kevin Shirley. The rehearsals went very well and the songs are ready. Time to make it happen!"

In October 2012, THIN LIZZY announced that they would not be recording new material under the THIN LIZZY monicker. The last incarnation of the band — Gorham, Brian Downey, Wharton, Warwick, Johnson and Mendoza — would be looking to form a new project.

According to a press release, Brian Downey decided to not become involved with BLACK STAR RIDERS because he didn't want to commit to the touring cycle a new album would entail and Darren Wharton wanted to concentrate on DARE and other music and film projects.

The BLACK STAR RIDERS album will feature material the band wrote while touring as THIN LIZZY and the sound retains that classic feel but is very much its own as well. The BLACK STAR RIDERS record is the next step in the evolution of the THIN LIZZY story.

"We are all very excited about the music that we have created for BLACK STAR RIDERS. The synergy between the five of us has been phenomenal and I can't wait for the world to hear these songs," says Warwick.

BLACK STAR RIDERS was signed to Nuclear Blast by Monte Conner — the former Roadrunner A&R guru who has worked with such acts as SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, SEPULTURA and RUSH. Conner recently joined Nuclear Blast as the president of Nuclear Blast Entertainment, a new U.S. partnership he co-founded with Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger.

GENERATION KILL, the band featuring EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes, is back in the studio working on its second full-length album. The group is in talks with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL, SOULFLY) to produce the CD and promises two things with this album — it will be different and it will be heavy.

Regarding the musical direction of the new effort, Rob Moschetti (bass) and Jason Velez (lead guitar) explained that they basically wanted to "stick to the direction of there is no direction, we want to be artists, people forget that music is art and we want to deliver something that makes people think and want to go back and listen again and again."

The first GENERATION KILL video blog in which they discuss the upcoming CD can be seen below.

GENERATION KILL's new CD is due later this year via Season Of Mist. Zeuss "has a guiding hand in all the songs the band has written" for the upcoming CD so far, according to Dukes.

GENERATION KILL's debut album, "Red White And Blood", was released in September 2011. The CD was recorded at J. Rod Production Studios in New City, New York (where the vocal tracks for EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood" and OVERKILL's "Ironbound" were previously laid down).

GENERATION KILL is:

Rob Dukes - Vocals
Rob Moschetti - Bass/Backing Vocals
Jason Trenczer - Lead Guitar
Jason Velez - Lead Guitar
James DeMaria - Drums

Video blog #1:

According to Hot Metal, BANG TANGO drummer Trent Anderson has quit the band and has been replaced by Timmy Russell, formerly of LITTLE CREATURES. Anderson plans to concentrate on his dance act SUSHI ROLL as well as join veteran California rockers TUFF.

In a statement on Facebook, Trent (all the way on the left in photo below) said: "It is official, after nearly four years, one CD and many miles of travel, I am leaving BANG TANGO.

"I am seeking new bands and projects to tour with in 2013. I hope to see all my friends out there soon. I wish the best of luck and much success to Joe (Leste) , Scott (Laflamme), and Lance (Eric).

He later added: "So many nice comments about me leaving BANG TANGO. I love all of you, and will have a couple tour date announcents next week nothing major but more will hopefully roll in every week."

In a separate Facebook post, BANG TANGO guitarist Scott LaFlamme said: "Well, friends and fans, Trent Anderson and BANG TANGO have decided to part ways. Trent is a huge part of the BANG TANGO family and we wish him well. Taking Trent's position on the drum kit is our great friend Timmy Russell. Timmy has played for BANG TANGO in the past as well as BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and BURN HALO. Trent will always be one of our bros."

Underkill TV conducted an interview with vocalist Brittany Paige of Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based metallers KOBRA AND THE LOTUS at the Hard Rock Hell festival, which took place between November 29, 2012 and December 3, 2012 at Hafan-y-Mor Holiday Camp in North Wales, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS recently released a video for "50 Shades Of Evil", the second single from the their current self-titled album, released in August 2012 via Spinefarm.

Directed by Lisa Mann, whose previous credits include videos for APOCALYPTICA, THE USED and CASCADA, "50 Shades Of Evil" sees Brittany Paige surviving a full-tilt attack on the senses, while her bandmembers run through the song like men (literally) possessed!

"50 Shades Of Evil" was released as a digital single on November 5, 2012. The bonus track is an acoustic cover of the DIO classic "Rainbow In The Dark" performed by KOBRA AND THE LOTUS during their acoustic session at the Bloodstock Open Air festival back in August 2012.

In a recent interview with May The Rock Be With You, Brittany Paige stated about the band's sound, "KOBRA AND THE LOTUS is a traditional, straight-up heavy metal band. It's not a niche, it's just driving riffs, duelling guitars, there's a melodicness to the music and there is a classic metal vocal. We are all about traditional heavy metal, but bringing in the flavors of our generation for a slight twist."

She added, "Our music will always stay as heavy metal, even though it will evolve in some shape or form. But we all listen to such different things, which is a really great thing. There's certainly death metal and black metal influences, we've got experimental and folk metal, there's so many different things that come into play, and if you listen to the music, you can hear some of those coming through, but which you wouldn't really pick up on unless you knew someone in the band was into Gary Moore, or the blues, for example, then it makes sense."

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS is:

Brittany Paige - Vocals
Jasio Kulakowski - Guitar
Griffin Kissack - Drums
Peter Dimov - Bass
Charlie Parra Del Riego - Guitar

Interview:



Performance (November 2 at Trix in Antwerp, Belgium):

MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine, who last year revealed his "birther" opinions on a Canadian talk show, saying he doubted President Barack Obama was born in the United States, has thrown his weight behind yet another conspiracy theory — this time involving "chemtrails."

The "chemtrail" conspiracy theory holds that some trails left by aircraft are chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for purposes undisclosed to the general public in clandestine programs directed by various government officials. This theory is not accepted by the scientific community, which states that they are just normal contrails, short for "condensation trails," as there is no scientific evidence supporting the chemtrail theory.

In two separate tweets on Saturday (January 5), Mustaine wrote: "Shame on the pilots spraying the grid lines in the once beautiful skies of San Diego. Shame, shame, shame! It's aluminum oxides & barium salts. They know what their cargo is. Only a fool or an accomplice would argue the unarguable. #chemtrails"

Mustaine made headlines last August when he said on stage during a concert in Singapore that Obama was behind recent shooting rampages near Denver and Milwaukee. He continued his diatribe by wondering where he was going to live "if America keeps going the way it's going, because it looks like it's turning into Nazi America."

Fan-filmed video footage of BUTCHER BABIES' November 16, 2012 performance at Kamikazes in Ogden, Utah can be seen below.

BUTCHER BABIES will support MARILYN MANSON on a North American tour in January/February. A list of confirmed dates can be found on BUTCHER BABIES' Facebook page.

BUTCHER BABIES recently signed a deal with Century Media Records. The band's full-length debut is scheduled for a summer 2013 release.

Hailing from Los Angeles, the BUTCHER BABIES have emerged as one of the biggest draws on the Sunset Strip, their incendiary blend of heavy metal and horror-inspired theatrics inciting crowds worldwide.

Fronted by Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd — named two of the "Hottest Women In Rock" by Revolver magazine — the blood-splattered band left its mark on the United Kingdom in June 2012, appearing on the Download festival and supporting ANTHRAX in Cardiff. They returned to America last fall as direct support for OTEP.

When asked by Revolver magazine why the BUTCHER BABIES refer to themselves as "slut metal" and what the hell "slut metal" exactly is, Shepherd said, "We can't go balls out — so we go tits out! When girls are perceived as sexual or outspoken, they get labeled sluts, but we embrace those qualities and bring them to our music as well. BUTCHER BABIES is true slut metal: We're doing what we want, how we want."

On the topic of BUTCHER BABIES' goals, Harvey told Revolver, "To bring slut metal to the masses — duh! In all seriousness, we feel like we are just touching on what we are capable of, and we want to continue to grow, get our music out there, and get on the road! There are so many repressed people out there that need to see a show like ours. Hopefully they will take home with them the message that they are able to do everything they want to do regardless of who they are told they are supposed to be."

SKID ROW has entered Open Sky Studio, the Atlanta, Georgia-based facility owned and operated by producer/drummer Mike Froedge (DREADED MARCO, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DOUBLEDRIVE, SPEED X), to resume recording its new CD, "United World Rebellion - Chapter 1", due later in the year.

Several video clips and photos from the sessions, some of which took place at Bonehead Studio in Atlanta, can be seen below.

In support of the new CD, SKID ROW will embark on a U.K. headlining tour in April. The band's guitarist, Dave "Snake" Sabo, said, "The U.K. has been so loyal to us from the beginning. It's been far too long since we've been there. We're all very excited about going back and about the other great bands on the bill. We promise that these will be some of the best shows of our career."

The band's bassist Rachel Bolan previously told Times-Standard.com about SKID ROW's forthcoming sixth LP, "I think the next record, as far as what Snake and I are writing, is going back to what people would expect from SKID ROW. We're looking forward to it."

SKID ROW's last album "Revolutions Per Minute", was released on October 24, 2006 via SPV Records.

The band in 2010 parted ways with drummer Dave Gara and replaced him with Atlanta native Rob Hammersmith.

Rob spent many years touring and recording with Atlanta-based rockers ROCKETS TO RUIN and has performed with GUNFIRE 76, the band featuring MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13.

BLACK LIGHT BURNS, the avant-garde alter ego of LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland, will release a new album, "Lotus Island", on January 21 through digital retailers such as Amazon or iTunes, as well as via the band's official web site. The 40-minute effort includes seven instrumental tracks, three brand new songs, and a complete remix and remaster of the "It Rapes All In Its Path" tune.

Wes recently hinted that "Lotus Island" can be listened to on its own or experienced along with the 1973 Alejandro Jodorowsky film "The Holy Mountain" as an alternative soundtrack during the first 40 minutes, "before and up to the point where the movie launches into the individual stories of the most powerful people in the world."

"Lotus Island" track listing:

01. The Alchemist
02. The Thief
03. The City
04. It's Good To Be Gold
05. The Opportunists
06. The Hate Of My Life
07. The Dancers
08. It Rapes All In Its Path
09. The Parasite
10. My Love Is Coming For You
11. The Master

Check out audio samples of the entire album at Amazon.com.

"Lotus Island" was mixed by Borland and follows last year's "The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall", which sold around 900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 20 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.

"The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall" was issued on August 14, 2012 via Rocket Science Ventures/THC: Music.

Colorado Springs, Colorado radio station 94.3 KILO has premiered SEVENDUST's new single, "Decay", ahead of its official release on January 22. A low-quality stream of the broadcast is available in the YouTube clip below.

"Decay" is the first single from SEVENDUST's ninth album, "Black Out The Sun", which will be released on March 26, 2013 via the band's 7Bros. Records label (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group). The CD was recorded at Architekt Music studios in Butler, New Jersey with engineer Mike Ferretti.

"The craziest thing about this record is finishing it in about a month," guitarist John Connolly told Revolver magazine. "We haven't done that since our debut album [1997's self-titled effort]. This is one of the fastest records we've ever made, but also one of the strongest — working off instinct mostly."

According to Connolly, SEVENDUST's forthcoming CD finds the band exploring "a darker vibe," but "there's still plenty of melody," he added. "The record fits right in with 'Animosity' [2002], 'Alpha' [2007], and our self-titled album. Lots of heavy stuff and some more mellow, moody songs as well It's a nice balance of what makes for the SEVENDUST sound."

Other songtitles set to appear on the 12-track CD, which was produced by the bandmembers themselves, include "Mountain" and "Murder Bar". The latter was reportedly inspired by a Butler, New Jersey bar across from the hotel where SEVENDUST was staying while recording the new CD. Rumor had it the place was popular with many of New Jersey's murderers.

"It's a basic SEVENDUST record," guitarist Clint Lowery recently told "Source Of The Sound With Wendy Campbell". "There's nothing, like, too completely different than anything we've done before. It's got a darker vibe to it. We've got a good amount of the programming element in there. It's a lot of what we do — it's heavy and it's got its melodic element in it. So if you're a SEVENDUST fan, it's more along the lines of the second and third records we did — it's kind of like that. It's got a couple of throwback vibes to it. 'Animosity' and 'Home' [1999], if I can put those two records together, it would [sound similar to the new CD]."

SEVENDUST and LACUNA COIL will join forces for a U.S. tour in early 2013. The bands will head out on a 17-date run throughout the month of February. The trek kicks off on February 2 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"Decay" audio stream:



"Black Out The Sun" teaser:

French progressive metallers GOJIRA will take part in a meet-and-greet and signing session at Scrape Records in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Saturday, January 19 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, visit ScrapeRecords.com.

GOJIRA and the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT will join forces for a North American tour in January/February.

The trek, which was announced during Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, will also include support from THE ATLAS MOTH.

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).

Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth (ex-SCORPIONS) has issued the following update:

"Greetings to all of you! I hope you had a great New Year.

"Here is a condensed list of some of the events that are planned for the first half of this year. 2013 is going to be a very busy and intensely productive year ahead, it seems.

"We will start off with a two-day Sky Academy in Los Angeles, at the Santa Monica Playhouse, January 21-22. This is a beautiful, intimate theatre, where we held one of the previous Sky Academies, of which we all have fond memories. I'm looking forward to being there again!

"On the next day, I will take part in Jason Becker's 'Not Dead Yet' concert in San Francisco, together with my friends Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE), Richie Kotzen, Gus G. (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIREWIND) and several other great players. Jason is an inspiration to all of us and I feel honored to be part of this worthwhile cause.

"Following that, I shall be attending the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California, and will do a signing event for the Sky Guitar limited edition at the Dean booth.

"At the end of January, we are embarking on my extensive 40th-anniversary tour of the U.S., which will take us all the way through February until the beginning of March.

"2013 marks the 40th anniversary of my involvement with the SCORPIONS. The main theme of this tour will therefore be dedicated to performing my personal favourites from the five albums which I recorded with that great band. I have chosen about 30 songs in all from that era as the basis of our repertoire, several of whom have never even been performed live by either the SCORPIONS or myself. We shall be rotating a selection of these songs on the tour, varying our sets on a nightly basis, because we cannot possibly play all of them in one go. We will, of course, also play some Electric Sun and Sky Of Avalon music, but the main theme of the performance will be dedicated to the early SCORPIONS era. Every show will be recorded for a live album, which will feature only songs from my time with the SCORPIONS. This will result in a double CD, which will be mixed in 5.1 Surround. The release will also contain a DVD and a documentary, including personal behind-the-scenes Super-8 footage, which I shot to document our tours from 1973-1978.

"As far as live albums go, I am intending to record two further ones in the following years: one will be featuring my favourite ELECTRIC SUN material, and the next one will consist of Sky Of Avalon/Transcendental Sky Guitar music.

"In order to do full justice to my selection of SCORPIONS songs, we are bringing a large band with an exciting lineup.

"Due to the length of the tour, not all members were free to do the whole tour. Therefore some of the positions will be filled by two musicians — each of them playing part of the tour.

The 40th-anniversary U.S. tour lineup will be:

* Uli Jon Roth: guitars, vocals
* Henning Basse: lead vocals
* Ali Clinton: guitars, vocals
* Niklas Turmann: guitars, lead vocals
* Ule W. Ritgen, Elliott Rubinson: - bass
* Jamie Little, Peter Holmes: drums
* Paul Rahme, Corvin Bahn: keyboards, vocals

"In addition to the concerts, there are 14 introductory Sky Academy seminars to be held during the course of the tour! These are usually taking place at the venues of the shows, on the same days and prior to the concerts. Pre-booking is essential, though.

"The seminars are not only geared for musicians. Anyone who loves music can attend. Sky Academy is about much more than just guitar playing, but players are also very welcome to bring their guitars and practice amps. The teaching should be useful to players of all levels.

"March, April and May will be dedicated to studio work and some shows in England.

"I also have been invited to play at the Royal Albert Hall in London by Alfie Boe as a guest for his concerts in April. Aside from this, we are going to collaborate on a new release of Bridge To Heaven intended for the Sunflower Jam cancer charity.

"In June, we will play six concerts in South America, co-headlining with Michael Schenker. The dates will be posted very soon.

"We are planning further European and U.K. dates for the second half of 2013 and a tour of Japan. All of these will be announced on [my official] website as well as on Facebook.

"I am also looking forward to my continued involvement in the Robert Johnson award in Hamburg, Germany, which is a great platform for genuine young guitar talents. As a special appreciation of his talent, I have chosen one of last years' participants, the 14-year old Merlin Lauert, to share the stage with us at our Wacken 2013 show.

"And last, but not least: I have written an entire album's worth of new material, which I am very excited about. As soon as time permits we will begin to record it.

"Once again, many thanks to all of you and God bless! Have a great 2013!"

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER are preparing to begin work on the follow-up to 2011's "A Dramatic Turn Of Events". The band's guitarist, John Petrucci, has posted several photos of the DREAM THEATER studio along with the caption, "Let the fun begin…"

In an interview with Metal Insider conducted early last month, Petrucci stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the next DREAM THEATER CD: "So far it's not very developed at all. We're scheduled to go into the studio in January… We have a handful of ideas we compiled while we were on the road, and we have those archived. And since I got back from the road, and have had some time off, I've been spending more time compiling, writing and demoing some things. There are a bunch of seeds, a bunch of ideas, and a definite direction. Everybody is hired, the studio is locked, and the vision for the type of album has been talked about and secured. The only thing that's not there is the main material, but we'll go in January full force."

He added: "Before we go into an album, I like to sit down and think about what we're going to do instead of just going in and winging it. I'll usually come up with some sort of proposal, and we'll talk about it a bunch of times over the course of the month, and get everyone on the same page. This way, people can start to think about musical ideas in that direction, and get in the right headspace. For me, it makes everything so much clearer when you're in the studio. If you have a direction and a goal, you get better results."

Asked if drummer Mike Mangini — who replaced Mike Portnoy in 2010 — will be more involved in the making of the new record than he was in "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", Petruci said: "Yes. For the last album, he wasn't involved in the writing. We wrote it without him for 2 ½ months, and he came in and tracked. This time, he's going to be in from day one, so we'll write together as a full group. The tapes that we have from doing that a bit on the road have been incredible. At soundcheck, if I'd come in with an idea and we'd start jamming on it, he was really quick and had great creative concepts. I think it's going to be a very cool experience."

Regarding a possible release date for the new DREAM THEATER album, the guitarist said: "I'm not sure. We're on the same schedule as 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events', meaning that we entered the studio at the same time to work on that album, and it didn't come out until September. It's too early to tell if it will follow the same release schedule. By the time we're done, writing, recording, mixing, mastering, it could be May-ish, and then we hit the summer festival season in Europe around July or so, it'll probably be a similar schedule."

DREAM THEATER's next CD will be released through te Roadrunner, with whom the band re-signed last fall. DREAM THEATER first joined forces with Roadrunner in January 2007 and has so far released three critically acclaimed albums with the label. Roadrunner issued DREAM THEATER's ninth studio LP, "Systematic Chaos", in 2007 and went on to release "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" in 2009 as well as "A Dramatic Turn Of Events".

D.T. Metal of Metal Storm conducted an interview with bassist Orion (real name: Tomasz Wróblewski) of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH aboard Barge To Hell — the world's most extreme metal cruise — which sailed on December 3, 2012 from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas and returned to the real world on December 7, 2012. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Storm: As [BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski] did have a brush with death (in December 2010, Darski underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure after being diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia. — Ed.), did the daily business routine of BEHEMOTH change since tomorrow could be the last day?

Orion: Tomorrow could be the last day for any of us, but the situation we had with Nergal makes us more aware of this fact. It was just one big lesson and I feel that the way we treat the band, and life in general, now is just — better. We do have a lot more appreciation for everything and we are trying to get as much as we can out of it all, professionally and personally. And everything that is happening with the band, it takes some work, but it's growing. It's hard to explain…

We are actually working on a new album right now and it's going really good. We have been rehearsing for a couple of weeks now and we have about four or five songs ready. We recorded a demo so we can listen to it and see if the approach is the right one. It's going really good and we have scheduled the studio for the end of February. If everything goes as planned, the album will be done in the summer and we plan on releasing it in the fall of 2013.

Metal Storm: You are going back to Hertz Studios? And weren't you involved with the production or studio work on the last album as well?

Orion: The last recording session — I don't even remember how many studios were involved… Like, six or seven, and lots of sound engineers as well; that's just the way we work. This time we will probably do most of the work in Hertz Studio, but we might do some stuff in other places as well. Plus we are still talking about mixing of the album and that's going to be probably somewhere else other than Poland.

Metal Storm: So you might go back to Colin Richardson for the mixing?

Orion: He did our last record and it went really good, so we are still considering working with the guy again; but there are a few other ideas as well.

Metal Storm: What's on next year's calendar for BEHEMOTH other than the new album, of course?

Orion: I am pretty sure I can talk about that; I don't think it is confirmed yet, but we are coming back to the States this summer to play on the Rockstar [Energy Drink] Mayhem Festival. This will be the very first thing we will do before the new record comes out. After that, we plan on doing some other festivals, but they are not confirmed yet either. We have done quite a few European festivals this year (2012) and I am not sure if it would be the best thing to do before the album comes out.

Read the entire interview from Metal Storm.

Acclaimed Swedish metallers GARDENIAN reunited for a one-off concert last night (Saturday, January 5) at the inaugural edition of the Gothenburg Sound Festival at Trädgår'n in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fan-filmed video footage of the "Ecstasy Of Life" performance from the 1999 album "Soulburner" can be seen below.

The double-CD reissue of GARDENIAN's "Soulburner" and "Sindustries" (2000) albums came out in February 2008 via Metal Mind Productions. The limited-edition digipack release (limited to 2,000 copies) was made available on golden disc, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.

GARDENIAN was yet another spawn of the Swedish metal community, but unlike many other bands from the Gothenburg region, they managed to stand up to the fathers of the genre and deliver a huge dose of solid melodic death metal, at the same time presenting a sound of their own.

The two GARDENIAN albums that were originally released through Nuclear Blast — "Soulburner" and "Sindustries" — received an impressive number of positive reviews over the years, but GARDENIAN sadly never managed to get the acclaim it deserved, resulting in the band's breakup in 2004.

GARDENIAN is:

Jim Kjell - Vocals, Guitar
Niklas Engelin - Guitar
Thim Blom - Drums
Håkan Skoger - Bass



Pictured below: GARDENIAN in December 2012

CEREMONIAL OATH, the reunited late '80s/early '90s Swedish extreme metal band whose members went on to create or join such acclaimed acts as IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL and TIAMAT, played their first show in 20 years on January 4 at the inaugural edition of the Gothenburg Sound Festival at Trädgår'n in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Sworn To Avenge (intro)
02. The Invocator
03. For I Have Sinned/The Praise
04. Enthroned
05. Only Evil Prevails
06. Thunderworld (Welcome To Forever)
07. Lords Of Twilight
08. Ceremonial Oath
09. The Lost Name Of God
10. The Book Of Thruth
11. Hellbound
12. Submit To Death (GROTESQUE cover with Tomas Lindberg on vocals)

A review of the concert, including live photos, can be found at this location.

Formed in 1988 under the name DESECRATOR, CEREMONIAL OATH released three demos, one EP and two full-length albums before calling it quits in 1995. The band's former members include such internationally recognized names as Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES), Oscar Dronjak (HAMMERFALL), Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES) and Anders Iwers (TIAMAT).

CEREMONIAL OATH has inked a deal with Century Media Records for the re-release of the majority of its catalog, up to and including the 1993 CD "The Book Of Truth". A remixed version of the latter effort will be made available on January 28.

CEREMONIAL OATH is:

Oscar Dronjak (HAMMERFALL): Guitar, vocals
Anders Iwers (TIAMAT): Guitar
Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES, DIMENSION ZERO): Bass
Markus Nordberg (THE CHUCK NORRIS EXPERIMENT): Drums

More CEREMONIAL OATH dates will be announced soon.

Photo credit: Daniel Falk of FramedNoise.com (courtesy of CEREMONIAL OATH's Facebook page)

On December 5, Kat of Cack Blabbath conducted an interview with FOZZY singer and WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho at the Electric Ballroom in London during the band's U.K. tour with SOIL. You can watch the chat below.

The lead single from FOZZY's new album, "Sin And Bones", "Sandpaper" features guest vocals by M. Shadows of AVENGED SEVENFOLD. Directed by Sean McEwen, the accompanying video is inspired by horror classic "Evil Dead", with Shadows playing the role of FOZZY's evil puppet master.

Jericho recently told Loudwire about the "Sandpaper" clip, "It kind of started from that and then we said, 'What if we do a whole 'Evil Dead'-type homage?' And then we found this bad-ass cabin in the woods in Atlanta, and just everything kind of fell together from there. We found, right by the cabin, there was a civil war burial ground, and there was this creepy bridge that was near it, and the cabin couldn't have been more perfect for what we were looking for."

Asked how the Shadows collaboration came about, Jericho told LocalBozo.com: "Shad's a friend of mine and when I was recording the vocals, I wasn't really feeling the one part: 'a cat scratch whiplash / a witch hunt in black.' So I thought it'd be cool to have somebody else do it, like a calm response. So I called Matt and asked him if he'd be interested. I knew they were off and he was at home, so he's like, 'Send me the song and I'll see what I think.' I sent it to him and he really dug it. He was a fan of ours from before anyways — he liked a bunch of our songs. He thought that 'Sandpaper' was one of the catchiest choruses that we'd ever done and so he kind of took it and laid down the part like I asked him to and then he also rearranged the song a bit — gave it a little bit of a different arrangement, streamlined it, made it a little bit more compact, and in my opinion made it a better song. So not only did he sing what I asked him to, he also put his own spin on it and really went above and beyond to create this amazing song that's just been doing huge for us since it came out. So it was cool. It was cool on a professional standpoint, on a creative standpoint, and on a friendship standpoint to have him involved."
"Sin And Bones" was released on August 14, 2012 (one day earlier internationally) via FOZZY's new label, Century Media Records.

"Sin And Bones" sold around 3,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on the Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 1 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.



"Sandpaper" video:

Bryan Odell, a reporter from Lincoln, Nebraska, recently conducted an interview with Los Angeles-based goth-metallers VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! on October 31, 2012 in Dallas, Texas during the "Inked Music Tour" with ALESANA. You can now watch the chat below.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!'s sophomore album, "Hellbound And Heartless", sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 10 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.

"Hellbound And Heartless" was released on June 19, 2012 via Hollywood Waste Records. According to a press release, the CD "showcases the darker side of VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!, focusing on message-driven lyrics and deriving musical influence from industrial rock icons such as MARILYN MANSON and ROB ZOMBIE. "

"Hellbound And Heartless" was co-produced by the band and Mike Sarkisyan and Tommy Decker, both members of Grammy-nominated alternative-metal act SPINESHANK. Every song on the album presents a fresh, new morsel of gothic darkness for fans to sink their teeth into.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!'s "Drug Of Choice" video can be seen below. The clip was directed by Robby Starbuck (ESCAPE THE FATE, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, PIERCE THE VEIL) and "truly captures the paradoxical squalor and glamour of the song," according to a press release.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! last year parted ways with bassist Philip Kross.

Interview:



"Drug Of Choice" video:

AmbPirate of Capital Chaos TV conducted an interview with the genre-defying Denton, Texas-based experimental noise merchants SURROUNDED BY MONSTERS on October 7, 2012 at Ace Of Spades in Sacramento, California. You can now watch the chat below.

SURROUNDED BY MONSTERS' new album, "Novella", was released on October 22, 2012 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Infrasonic Sound and Bucket Of Truth studios in Los Angeles, California with producer and IWRESTLEDABEARONCE guitarist Steven Bradley. The cover artwork was created by Rick McDonald.

SURROUNDED BY MONSTERS' video for the song "New Blood", taken from "Novella", can be seen below.

"We are super excited for this new video," commented the band. "Director Justin Beasley always does amazing work. He took our ideas and made them exactly what we wanted. This video really reflects the feel of the song and we couldn't be happier with how it came out."

Interview:



"New Blood" video:

French webmagazine Hard Force has posted the third and fourth episodes of "Metal XS", featuring interviews with STEEL PANTHER, Stéphane Buriez (LOUDBLAST) and Anneke Van Giersbergen (ex-THE GATHERING). Check them out below.

STEEL PANTHER's first-ever DVD, "British Invasion", sold 3,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 2 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart. Recorded with 16 cameras in pristine HD over a two-year period, the disc chronicles STEEL PANTHER's legendary live show that the band has come to be known for. Beginning in March 2010 at the band's sold-out concert at Brixton Academy in London during their highly successful "Feel The Steel" tour, the DVD feaures some of the group's most memorable hits, including "Asian Hooker", "Community Property", "The Shocker" and "Stripper Girl", in a way never seen before. Included in the package is a laugh-out-loud documentary that follows the band backstage and on their tour that is not to be missed. The deluxe box set includes two DVDs — one with the full show and one with the documentary — deleted scenes and five songs from Download Festival 2012. The packaging also includes a 16-page color book.

Anneke Van Giersbergen will play two exclusive U.S. shows in Chicago at the end of March. Also appearing on the bill both nights are Anneke's "dear friends" NOVEMBERS DOOM.

Anneke van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released four albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project: "Air" (2007), "Pure Air" (2009), "In Your Room" (2009) and "Everything Is Changing" (2012).

"Everything Is Changing" was released on January 20, 2012 via PIAS Holland. The CD was recorded at Ultrasound Studios in Braga, Portugal with producer Daniel Cardoso.

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH, the band featuring Brooklyn, New York native Sal Abruscato — who played drums on three TYPE O NEGATIVE albums ("Slow, Deep & Hard", "Origin Of The Feces", "Bloody Kisses"), as well as four LIFE OF AGONY releases ("River Runs Red", "Ugly", "River Runs Again", "Broken Valley") — on guitar and vocals, will release its sophomore album on May 27, 2013 via Steamhammer/SPV. The group has once again commissioned famed artist Sam Shearon (a.k.a. Mister-Sam; ROB ZOMBIE, FEAR FACTORY, RAMMSTEIN) to create the artwork for the CD, which will be mastered on January 17 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. Abruscato states: "I can now say with satisfaction that we have created a very deep, dark, sonically brutal album. I can't wait for all of you wonderful fans to hear it."

Regarding the musical direction of A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH's forthcoming album, Abruscato said: "The sound has evolved and become a bit more orchestrated. More harmony work has been done on this album, including new elements such as a Hammond B3 organ and piano. To me, the album has an even darker sound and feel than the first one."

He continued: "The new album is a natural progression in songwriting and vocals yet keeping continuity with the first album musically and artistically. Fans of our first album will find all the traits they love melded with even bigger production and mastering."

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH's debut album, "And Hell Will Follow Me", came out in 2011.

The band made its live debut on February 20, 2011 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey as the support act for MONSTER MAGNET and SEVENTH VOID.

A PALE HORSE NAMED DEATH is:

Sal Abruscato - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Matt Brown – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Johnny Kelly - Drums
Eric Morgan - Bass
Eddie Heedles - Guitar

For more information, visit www.apalehorsenameddeath.com.

Legendary guitarist Michael Schenker was interviewed on the latest edition of "Rich Davenport's Rock Show". The program can be streamed using the Mixcloud player below.

Michael Schenker's "Temple Of Rock: Live In Europe" was released on CD, DVD, Blu-ray and as a limited deluxe edition containing all three formats on December 3, 2012 in Europe and will be made available on January 15, 2013 in North America via Inakustik. This essential live rock'n'roll release includes songs performed live in Tilburg, The Netherlands in May 2012, and at London's High Voltage festival in 2011.

The official "Temple Of Rock" microsite has been launched at this location.

Schenker sees his music as a building block in the construction of the Temple Of Rock. "The Temple is almost finished," explains Michael. "The foundation was laid in the '60s by LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH. The walls were then built by UFO and others in the '70s. By the '80s, it was further reinforced by the likes of the SCORPIONS, and many more influential rock bands."

The Tilburg gig, recorded May 2012, features Schenker (lead guitar), Doogie White (vocals; RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TANK), Herman Rarebell (drums), Francis Buchholz (bass) and Wayne Findley (rhythm guitar, keyboards). London's 2011 High Voltage festival features Michael Voss (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (SCORPIONS), who plays rhythm guitar on "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Hanging On" and "Doctor Doctor", UFO's Pete Way, who plays bass guitar on "Doctor Doctor", and vocalists Jeff Scott Soto (TALISMAN, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) and Doogie White, who both sing on "Doctor Doctor".

"Live In Tilburg" track listing:

01. Into The Arena
02. Armed And Ready
03. Lovedrive
04. Another Piece Of Meat
05. Hanging On
06. Cry For The Nations
07. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
08. Coast To Coast
09. Assault Attack
10. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
11. Lights Out
12. On And On
13. Let It Roll
14. Shoot Shoot
15. Rock You Like A Hurricane
16. Rock Bottom
17. Holiday
18. Blackout
19. Doctor Doctor

"Live At High Voltage" track listing:

01. Armed And Ready
02. Another Piece Of Meat
03. Rock You Like A Hurricane (ft. Rudolph Schenker)
04. Hanging On (ft. Rudolph Schenker)
05. Doctor Doctor (ft. Rudolph Schenker)

Formats and special features:

CD Edition - 2 Disc

* Recording from 2012's Tilburg, Netherlands concert
* Recording (extracts) from London's 2011
* High Voltage Festival

DVD Edition - 1 Disc

* Recording from 2012's Tilburg, Netherlands concert
* Recording (extracts) from London's 2011
* High Voltage Festival
* Bonus-Footage‚ Before The Show (Tilburg)
* Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, dts, Stereo

Blu-ray Edition - 1 Disc

* Recording from 2012's Tilburg, Netherlands concert
* Recording (extracts) from London's 2011
* High Voltage Festival
* Bonus-Footage‚ Before The Show (Tilburg)
* Bonus-Footage‚ Sound check (Tilburg)
* Audio: DTS HD Master, Stereo

Limited Deluxe Edition - 4 Discs

* Includes 2 CDs, 1 Blu-ray, 1 Bonus DVD.
Bonus DVD includes the following content:
- Brighton Rehearsal
- Doogie's Video Impressions

Interview:



"Temple Of Rock: Live In Europe" trailer:

Let There Be Rock conducted an interview with guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö of German/Finnish thrash metal veterans KREATOR before the band's December 16 concert in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

KREATOR had its December 22, 2012 concert in Oberhausen, Germany professionally filmed and recorded for future DVD/Blu-ray release. The band's guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza said: "The 'Phantom Antichrist' world tour is among the most successful and amazing tours in the history of KREATOR, thanks to all of you — the fans! So we have decided to record a new live album, DVD and Blu-ray at our homecoming show. The show [was] recorded with 24 (!) cameras and in 5.1. sound. We are trying to produce the ultimate KREATOR concert experience for you to enjoy in your living room!"

On November 9, 2012, KREATOR released a new seven-inch single, "Civilization Collapse" (retail version: black; Nuclear Blast mailorder-only version: red, yellow, white) and as a digital download. The single contains the title cut backed by the non-album track "Wolfchild", which was featured on the "Dark Symphonies - A Tribute To John Sinclair" album, released in September 2012 in Germany via Lübbe-Audio. The band also made a video for the song "Civilization Collapse", which is said to be "mainly about the riots that took place in Greece most recently."

"Civilization Collapse" comes off KREATOR's new album, "Phantom Antichrist", which sold 3,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 1 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.



Photo by Stefan Heilemann of Heilemania

The second in a series of clips featuring track-by-track descriptions of "Straight Out Of Hell", the new album from German power metallers HELLOWEEN, can be seen below.

The official video for "Nabataea", the first single from "Straight Out Of Hell", can be seen below. The seven-minute-plus composition about the legendary kingdom, located in today's Middle East, where the first real democracy existed over 3000 years ago, develops on several levels, including 3-D animation at motion picture level. The secret Nabatean city, Petra, only discovered last century, is the backdrop for many myths and legends, and here it provides the ideal subject matter for a set of lyrics far removed from the rock 'n' roll norm. HELLOWEEN singer Andi Deris was inspired to write the song during a holiday.

"Straight Out Of Hell" will be released in Europe on January 18 and in North America on January 22, 2013. The cover artwork for the CD was once again created by Martin Häusler, who previously worked with the band on the "7 Sinners" and "Gambling With The Devil" CDs.

"Straight Out Of Hell" was produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, who also worked on "7 Sinners", and sees the five musicians maintaining a rawer edge throughout, working quickly in the studio (MiSueno Studio in Tenerife) and delivering 13 brand new compositions that, in the words of founding member, guitarist Michael Weikath, will "kick even the laziest listener's ass!"

Bristling with positive energy, songs such as "Make Fire Catch The Fly", "Far From The Stars" and the title track itself, written by bassist Markus Grosskopf, show that when HELLOWEEN push their collective foot to the floor they are never too keen to ease off the gas; and they take chances, ever willing to use their well-documented virtuosity to break out of the mould.

Says Deris: "We've always followed our own path when it comes to music… and if someone had ever tried to stop us, well, we'd have done what we wanted, anyway! Some of our moves have attracted negative reactions at first, but in time they've gone on to reap success and reward, and that's the kind of freedom you can feel on this new album — we don't allow ourselves to be put under pressure…"

With Deris, Weikath, Grosskopf (also a founding member) and guitarist Sascha Gerstner all providing material, "Straight…" is a passionate, multi-layered affair, complete with a limited-edition premium package featuring a special Hammond organ run-through of Weikath outing, "Burning Sun" — this version conceived as a tribute to DEEP PURPLE's Jon Lord.

On the live front, meanwhile, HELLOWEEN (fresh from appearing at prestigious Japanese festival Loud Park) will be returning to the road in March 2013 — the first part of a world tour set to kick off in mainland Europe, with GAMMA RAY as special guests. The follow-up to the "Hellish Rock Tour" of 2007-2008, this extended outing, dubbed "Hellish Rock Part II", will bring the band to the U.K. on April 16 for a one-off date at the London Forum.

"Straight Out Of Hell" track listing:

01. Nabataea
02. World Of War
03. Live Now!
04. Far From The Stars
05. Burning Sun
06. Waiting For The Thunder
07. Hold Me In Your Arms
08. Wanna Be God
09. Straight Out Of Hell
10. Asshole
11. Years
12. Make Fire Catch The Fly
13. Church Breaks Down

Limited-edition bonus tracks:

14. Another Shot Of Life
15. Burning Sun (Hammond version; dedicated to Jon Lord)

"World Of War" description:



"Nabataea" description:



"Nabataea" video:

Valerie Bastien of VoiceYourselfGoes360.com recently conducted an interview with GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

As previously reported, GODSMACK will take 2013 off, according to an interview Erna gave to ARTISTdirect.com. The band spent much of 2012 on the road, both with the Uproar festival tour and Mass Chaos trek, and Erna says that a break is in order. He explained, "We're going to take some time away now because we just ran for the last two years. It's time for us to take a break and get away from the markets for a little bit so we don't overplay them. We're taking 2013 off."

Erna added, "Maybe towards the end of the year or early 2014, we may start getting into the studio and writing. Now, we're going to lay low. We may pop up once in a while to do a radio festival or something."

That doesn't mean Erna won't stay busy himself. He told The Pulse Of Radio that he has a number of plans in the works for this year. "GODSMACK's gonna take a break for a while, and I'm gonna continue to work as I always do," he said. "You know, really looking forward to 2013 and building more of a solo career. I'm gonna try to start looking more into film and TV again and things like that, along with, you know, writing some new music and trying to launch some new solo music."

Erna has released a massive limited edition box set of his 2010 solo album, "Avalon". The set, limited to 5,000 copies, includes a full performance of the "Avalon" record taped at Boston's Wilbur Theatre in December 2011, a documentary, a bloopers CD, the album itself, and collectibles such as a coffee table book, a hat, a T-shirt, guitar pick, poster, incense, Erna's biography, a commemorative backstage pass, and a more.

GODSMACK's last studio effort, "The Oracle", came out in 2010. The group issued its first concert album, "Live & Inspired", in May 2012.

Interview (audio):

"Cry For Love", the new single and video from VOODOO CIRCLE, will be made available on February 1. The track comes off the band's third album, "More Than One Way Home", which will be released on February 22, 2013 via AFM Records.

An audio sample of the song "Graveyard City" from "More Than One Way Home" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

VOODOO CIRCLE is the German/British band featuring members of PRIMAL FEAR and PINK CREAM 69.

VOODOO CIRCLE's sophomore CD, "Broken Heart Syndrome", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 64. The effort was once again mixed and mastered by Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69, KROKUS), and was described in a press release as "a huge step forward and shows the band's boundless musical possibilities."

Alex is well known throughout the rock and metal scene as the mastermind of SILENT FORCE, former guitarist of SINNER and touring guitarist of PRIMAL FEAR. His exceptional compositions and instrumental skills secured him highest respect from other musicians and a strong worldwide fan base. In Japan, where quality is still the most important aspect when it comes to music, he is hailed as a "guitar hero" and fills the venues.

According to a press release, "Alex chose to walk in huge footsteps with VOODOO CIRCLE, because the immense impact and influence that bands like RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE had are undeniable. But if there is just one German musician who can fill this big boots and arouse with new energy, we definitely talk about Alex Beyrodt."

VOODOO CIRCLE is:

Alex Beyrodt (PRIMAL FEAR, SILENT FORCE, SINNER) - Guitar
David Readman (PINK CREAM 69) - Vocals
Mat Sinner (SINNER, PRIMAL FEAR) - Bass
Markus Kullmann (DEZPERADOZ) - Drums
Zlatko "Jimmy" Kresic (LIQUID HOME) - Keyboards

VOODOO CIRCLE's self-titled debut album was released in 2008.

Fan-filmed video footage of POISON singer Bret Michaels' solo performance on Monday, December 31 at the Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Welch, Minnesota can be seen below.

Michaels will release his new solo album, "Good Songs & Great Friends", on February 26 via Poor Boy Records. The effort features some of the rocker's famous friends helping him out on various tracks, including Ace Frehley (KISS), Michael Anthony (CHICKENFOOT, VAN HALEN), Phil Collen (DEF LEPPARD), Joe Perry (AEROSMITH), Loretta Lynn, Lil Jon, Bobby Capps (.38 SPECIAL), Sal Coz Costa (MY DARKEST DAYS), Jimmy Buffett, Edwin McCain, Miley Cyrus, Gary Rossington, Peter Keys and Rickey Medlocke (LYNYRD SKYNYRD), Leslie West (MOUNTAIN), Jaret Reddick (BOWLING FOR SOUP) and C.C. Deville (POISON).

In a recent interview with Gimme Noise, Bret stated about his upcoming CD, "I'm really proud of what we've done with it. It's really not just a Bret Michaels album. I had so many other talented artists come in and support that it's really a 'Bret Michaels And Friends' album. There's a staggering amount of talent on this album. . . It's been such a fun project for me and I'm excited to share it with the fans."