German gothic metal band REGICIDE have been confirmed for the Rock Hard Festival, set to take place May 13-15 at Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The complete list of bands currently scheduled to perform at the festival is as follows: ACCEPT AMON AMARTH CHILDREN OF BODOM COMMUNIC ENSIFERUM HEAVEN SHALL BURN HELLFUELED JON OLIVA'S PAIN MASTERPLAN ...
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ICED EARTH have posted the following update at their official web site: "The new year will begin for ICED EARTH with the delivery of the long-awaited 'Gettysburg' DVD. This unique release will feature the epic work 'Gettysburg (1863)' from 2004's 'The Glorious Burden' stepping out of its stereo confines and expanding into a powerful 5.1-channel ...
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Danish metallers MERCENARY have been confirmed for the 2005 edition of Dynamo Open Air festival, set to be held May 7 in Hellendoorn, the Netherlands. Also scheduled to appear at the festival are GOREFEST and JON OLIVA'S PAIN. More confirmations will be announced soon. As previously reported, Century Media Records has set a February 8 ...
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BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch has posted the following message at the group's official web site: "Though you have not heard a lot from us during the last months we have not been lazy at all. There are a lot of things going on at the moment. Just to mention a few: the DEMONS AND ...
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Sweden's WOLF have been confirmed for the Rock Hard Festival, set to take place May 13-15 at Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The complete list of bands currently scheduled to perform at the festival is as follows: ACCEPT AMON AMARTH CHILDREN OF BODOM COMMUNIC ENSIFERUM HEAVEN SHALL BURN HELLFUELED JON OLIVA'S PAIN MASTERPLAN OVERKILL PRETTY MAIDS ...
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JAG PANZER's official web site has been updated with an online interview with guitarist Mark Briody composed solely of questions submitted by fans. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow: Q: I know that you and Jon Schaffer [ICED EARTH] have been friends for a long time. My question is how did you're involvement ...
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DOHENY, the California-based band formed by ex-THE CULT touring bassist Billy Morrison (on guitar) and former PITCHSHIFTER frontman Jon "J.S." Clayden, completed a one-day recording session earlier this week with veteran producer Mike Clink (GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA). The band tracked a song entitled "Dust", which had previously only been performed live. Commented DOHENY bassist ...
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Former SLAYER/TESTAMENT drummer Jon Dette has joined forces with ex-MEGADETH/current F5 bassist David Ellefson in a brand new project tentatively called ENEMY OF GOD. Completing the group's current lineup are Peter Scheithauer (PUSHED, KILLING MACHINE) on guitar and Todd Barnes (13-A) on vocals. ENEMY OF GOD are in the final stages of signing a "major ...
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Drummer extraordinaire Bobby Jarzombek (ICED EARTH, HALFORD) has posted the following message on his web site: "Hey all, we're already two weeks into the New Year — high time to fill you in on what's been cooking and what's in store for the immediate future. "Last month I flew out to Tampa, Florida to record ...
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Canadian heavy metal legend THOR (a.k.a. Jon Mikl Thor) has inked a deal with Smog Veil Records. A new album, "Thor Against the World", has already been recorded, and should be unleashed very soon. According to an official press release, the new CD is "extremely catchy and addictive, with a timeless quality that will make ...
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U.K. progressive metallers THRESHOLD have been confirmed for the Rock Hard Festival, set to take place May 13-15 at Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The complete list of bands currently scheduled to perform at the festival is as follows: ACCEPT AMON AMARTH CHILDREN OF BODOM COMMUNIC ENSIFERUM HEAVEN SHALL BURN HELLFUELED JON OLIVA'S PAIN MASTERPLAN OVERKILL ...
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Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth is featured in the 25th anniversary issue of Guitar World magazine. Uli gave his first-ever on-camera lesson about the classic SCORPIONS track "The Sails of Charon". He was being interviewed by Andy Aledort, who also did the printed transcription. For demonstration purposes, Uli opted to play with a completely undistorted ...
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SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery has posted the following message regarding the death of Dawn Marae Oliva (photo collage), widow of original SAVATAGE guitarist Criss Oliva, who passed away on Tuesday (Jan. 11): "Once again in this year of loss and sorrow I would like to express my thoughts and prayers to the close ...
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SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva's official web site has posted the following message regarding the death of Dawn Marae Oliva, widow of original SAVATAGE guitarist Criss Oliva, who passed away on Tuesday (Jan. 11): "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we at jonoliva.net announce the passing of Dawn Oliva on Tuesday, January 11, 2005. ...
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COMMUNIC, the Norwegian progressive/power metal band featuring ex-SCARIOT members Oddleif Stensland (vocals) and Tor Atle Andersen (drums), have been confirmed for the Rock Hard Festival, set to take place May 13-15 at Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen. The complete list of bands currently scheduled to perform at the festival is as follows: ACCEPT AMON AMARTH CHILDREN OF ...
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Dawn Marae Oliva, widow of original SAVATAGE guitarist Criss Oliva, passed away on Tuesday (Jan. 11). No cause of death has yet been revealed. As most SAVATAGE fans know, in the early morning hours of October 17, 1993 Criss Oliva and Dawn were en route to the Livestock Festival in Zephyrhills, Florida when tragedy struck. ...
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DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover's 1984 solo album "The Mask" is scheduled to be reissued on CD by Cherry Red. The album, which was available on CD via the Connoisseur label several years ago but has since gone out of print, will not include the bonus track "Unnatural", which had previously only appeared on the ...
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DEVILDRIVER, the Santa Barbara, California-based band featuring former COAL CHAMBER singer Dez Fafara, will release their sophomore album, "The Fury of Our Maker's Hand" on Roadrunner Records this coming spring. The follow-up to DEVILDRIVER's 2002 critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album, "The Fury of Our Maker's Hand" will be "a much more brutal, metal release" for the ...
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U.K. progressive epic thrash metallers BIOMECHANICAL have confirmed that legendary knob-tweaker Andy Sneap (EXODUS, OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) will be mixing the group's sophomore album, "Empires of the World". "He was the band's first choice and luckily, Andy, having an unexpected gap in his schedule, allowed this to happen," the group write in a press ...
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Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth has posted the following message on his official web site: "I don't know about you, but for me, personally, 2004 was a good and productive year in all and I really hope that you have also had a good year. Among the many personal highlights for me this ...
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Reunited San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN have been confirmed for the Headbangers Open Air 2005 festival, set to take place July 9-10, 2005 in Germany. Also scheduled to perform at the festival are TYRANT'S REIGN, WEAPON, RAVENSTHORN, ALL SOULS' DAY, Z-IRON, INNER WISH, ATTACKER, WARRANT (not the Los Angeles hard rock combo), GASKIN, MYSTERY ...
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Sweden's NASUM have posted the following update regarding the group's singer/guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk, who is among the 1,500 Swedes still missing in Thailand following the massive undersea earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale and resulting tsunamis along South Asia's coasts: "As of midnight Wednesday/Thursday [Dec. 29-30] we have nothing to report about the whereabouts ...
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NASUM singer/guitarist Mieszko Talarczyk is among the 800 Swedes still missing in Thailand following the massive undersea earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale and resulting tsunamis along South Asia's coasts. The latest estimates are that over 23,000 have perished in the region. The remaining members of NASUM have posted the following message on their ...
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A TV/DVD documentary special marking DEEP PURPLE frontman Ian Gillan's forty years on the road is currently being put together for a tentative summer 2005 release. "I have been honoured by the contributions made by many friends and peers to a TV/DVD special, being made to mark my forty years on the road," Ian writes ...
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KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has been named one of the worst rock-star actors of all time, according to IrishExaminer.com. Madonna, who has enjoyed phenomenal success as a pop superstar, but whose efforts on the silver screen have been met with an icy response from both critics and fans, landed at the top of the Top ...
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In a recent interview with Metal-Rules.com, JAG PANZER guitarist Mark Briody, whose computer graphics skills are well documented, offered an update on the ICED EARTH DVD which was originally slated to be included with the band's "Glorious Burden" album: "My basic work is done," he said. "I'm waiting for the 'Declaration Day' video, ...
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Launch Radio Networks is reporting that STAIND has filed a lawsuit in Ohio federal court against Jon C. Stainbrook for trademark infringement and breach of contract, while also seeking a judicial declaration that the band's trademark registrations are valid. STAIND was forced to take legal action, according to a statement issued by the band yesterday ...
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Reunited San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN are scheduled to enter the studio in January to begin recording their new full-length album. An early spring release through an as-yet-undetermined label is expected. HEATHEN are currently in the process of booking a tour for 2005. Those interested in booking HEATHEN in 2005 can contact management at ...
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Ex-TYGERS OF PAN TANG singer Richie Wicks has hit back at his former bandmates over their suggestion that his "unprofessionalism" led to his departure from the group. In a recent press release announcing the addition of Wicks' replacement, Jacopo Meille, to the band's ranks, TYGERS OF PAN TANG guitarist Robb Weir stated, "We are over ...
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JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the solo project of SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, performed two electric shows in Greece as part of their world tour (tour kick-off was in Florida on Dec. 11). During Sunday night's (Dec. 19) performance in Athens, Jon Oliva dedicated SAVATAGE's "Ghost In The Ruins" to DAMAGEPLAN/ex-PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was ...
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