AEROSMITH Announce European Dates

Aerosmith have announced their European tour dates which includes a show in London.

The headliners for Download, will play a show at the O2 in London on June 15th as part of their Cocked, Locked, Ready To Rock Tour.

The dates are as follows...
June 10th - Sweden, Rock Festival, Solvesborg
June 13th - England, Download Festival, Donington
June 15th - England, London 02 Arena
June 18th - Romania, Bucharest
June 20th - Greece, Athens Olympic Stadium
June 23rd - Holland, Nijmegen Goeffert Park
June 25th - Belgium, Graspop Festival
June 27th - Spain, Barcelona St Jordi Arena
June 29th - France, Paris Bercy Arena
July 01st - Czech Republic, Prague 02 Arena
July 03rd - Italy, Venice Festival



http://www.aeroforceone.com/

EDENBRIDGE Seek New Bassist

Bassist Simon Holzknecht has left the Austrian symphonic metal band EDENBRIDGE due to personal reasons.

Edenbridge is now seeking a replacement who possesses "passion, personality, live experience and, of course, playing technique."

Anyone interested can contact the band at info@edenbridge.org.

Edenbridge's new album "Solitaire", their seventh, is due out in May.

The track listing for "Solitaire" is as follows...
01. Entree Unique
02. Solitaire
03. Higher
04. Skyline's End
05. Bon Voyage Vagabond
06. Come Undone
07. Out Of This World
08. Further Afield
09. A Virtual Dream?
10. Brothers On Diamir
11. Exit Unique

The limited-edition version of the album will include two additional songs namely "Eternity" and "Inward Passage".



www.edenbridge.org

ONSLAUGHT To Play BLOODSTOCK Festival

Thrashers ONSLAUGHT have been confirmed for the Bloodstock festival, set to take place from August 13th-15th, 2010 at Catton Hall, Derbyshire, England.

Drummer Steve Grice commented,

"We are very excited and to be playing Bloodstock 2010. Not only will it be the ONLY U.K. show ONSLAUGHT play this year, but the very first outdoor show we have played in the U.K.

"We look forward to bringing some real flesh-melting thrash metal to the guys and gals of Bloodstock. See you all there!"

The festival line-up so far is as follows...
AMORPHIS
ANDROMEDA
BEHEMOTH
BLACK SPIDERS
BLOODBATH
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CHILDREN OF BODOM
DEVIN TOWNSEND
DORO
DREAM EVIL
EDGUY
ENSIFERUM
FEAR FACTORY
GOJIRA
GORGOROTH
GWAR
HEAVEN & HELL
KORPIKLAANI
LEAVES' EYES
OBITUARY
ONSLAUGHT
RAGE
ROSS THE BOSS
SNAKEBITE
SONATA ARCTICA
SUFFOCATION
TWISTED SISTER



http://www.onslaughtfromhell.com/
www.bloodstock.uk.com

FIREWORKS MAGAZINE Issue 39 Out Now!

The latest issue of the excellent melodic rock magazine "FIREWORKS" is out now.

The March/April issue (Number 39) has Foreigner on the front cover and also features Airbourne, Dare, Brian Howe, Marillion, Ritchie Kotzen, Transatlantic, Jeff Scott Soto, Giant, Cinderella, Touchstone, Tara's Secret, Diamond Head and much more.

The magazine costs £5 and also includes a free 18-track CD (Please click on image to see track listing).

A 6 issue subscription to the UK costs £30, Europe £43 & the Rest of the World £60.

www.rathole.com/fireworks/

ANETTE OLZON Scraps Solo Album Plans

NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon has scrapped her previously announced plans to release a solo album.

On her official blog she says,

"The factors [that contributed to my decision] are mainly that I want to focus on my family during this break from NIGHTWISH. I am sure I will do a solo some other time, but at this time it doesn't fit into my life and then it's better to not do it than to do it and it just won't feel good. But I hope you all will follow me and the boys in NIGHTWISH from the summer when we start to work with the new album. It will be fun!!"

Anette spent time last Autumn in Stockholm, Sweden creating songs for what was supposed to be her solo album with Swedish producers Stefan Örn and Johan Glössner.

The CD was to be supposedly co-produced by Swedish producer/songwriter Anders Bagge, who has previously worked with Madonna, Janet Jackson & Celine Dion.




www.anette-olzon.com/
http://anette-olzon.blogspot.com/
www.nightwish.com

Footage Of Entire LACUNA COIL Paris Concert Posted Online

Fan-filmed video footage of LACUNA COIL's February 8th, performance at Le Bataclan, Paris, France can be viewed below ("Swamped").



Clips from the rest of the concert can be found HERE.

LACUNA COIL have just released a special double-disc "deluxe edition" of their latest album, "Shallow Life".
This edition features alternative artwork, a disc full of rare and previously unreleased material (studio, acoustic and live tracks) and an expanded booklet.

www.lacunacoil.it

WINTER'S END FESTIVAL Announce Draft Timings

MERMAID KISS have replaced RC2 at the Winter’s End Festival, taking place at the Space, Stroud, Gloucestershire on March 13th & 14th.

The following statement was posted by the organisers on Saturday (20/2)...

Due to unforeseen visa issues affecting just one member of the band, we are sad to announce that RC2 will not be able to take part in the festival. We wish the band well, and hope to see them in the UK eventually!

We are delighted that at short notice wonderful pop / prog combo Mermaid Kiss have agreed to replace them. This will be a rare full-band outing for this female-fronted Herefordshire 6 piece, and promises a mixture of acoustic subtlety – where else do you get to see two flutes and a cor anglais on stage - mixed with rockier and more progressive moments.
www.mermaidkiss.co.uk

The draft timings for the Festival are as follows...
Saturday 13th March
12.00 Doors
12.45 to 13.30 - Andonova
14.00 to 15.00 - Lee Abraham and Band
15.30 to 16.30 - Mermaid Kiss
16.50 to 17.20 - James Hollingsworth
18.10 to 19.40 - Moon Safari
19.40 to 21.00 - Dinner break
21.15 to 23.00 - Magenta

Sunday 14th March
Doors 12.00
12.30 to 13.20 - Sanguine Hum
13.40 to 14.40 - Crimson Sky
15.00 to 15.30 - Lou Richardson
16.00 to 17.00 - IO Earth
17.00 to 18.10 - Break
18.20 to 19.50 - Touchstone
19.50 to 21.00 - Break
21.10 to 22.40 - Galahad

Nice to see that MERMAID KISS are now in the line-up - haven't seen them for a while.

http://www.winters-end.co.uk/

Hear New SCORPIONS Song Now!

A new Scorpions track, "The Good Die Young", has recently been aired by online Greek radio station Rockmachine.gr and is now on YouTube (see below).

The song has former Nightwish singer Tarja Turuen guesting and is from the album "Sting In The Tail", due out on March 19th.



www.the-scorpions.com

XANDRIA Lose Lead Singer

Goth metal band XANDRIA has parted ways with its singer of just one year, Kerstin Bischof.

The German group issued the following statement...

"Due to occupational and private reasons, [Kerstin] wants to concentrate on her non-musical career in the future and cannot support Xandria the way it would be necessary. We wish her all the best for the future!

So here and now we are searching for a new singer again, details for applications follow in a few days on our official homepage.

We know that you are waiting for a new album, and we are very sorry for keeping you waiting even longer for the new songs, with which we actually wanted to enter the recording studio now.

The good news is that we will play the coming concerts nevertheless, 'cause our old singer, Lisa Middelhauve, has agreed to step in for them. But she will not enter the band again, so this will be an unexpected last opportunity for many fans to experience her on stage with Xandria once more!"

XANDRIA 2010 dates...
Mar 19 - Mexico City, Mexico - Multiforo Tlalpan
Mar 19 - Teotihuacan, Mexico - Rockstk Festival
Mar 20 - Puebla, Mexico - Estudio 803
Mar 21 - Tabasco, Mexico - El Rock Nos Une Festival
May 07 - Thessaloniki, Greece - 8Ball Club
May 08 - Athens, Greece - AN Club
Jul 10 - Pecs, Hungary - Rockmarathon Festival

Kerstin Bischof joined Xandria a year ago this month as the replacement for Lisa Middelhauve, who left the band in May 2008 for personal reasons.



http://www.xandria.de/

WALTER TROUT Tours The UK In October

Blues guitarist Walter Trout and his band will be back on the road in October for a 16 date UK tour.

The guitarist hits the road on October 6th with a show at the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh with his final gig in Dartford on October 31st.

Trout released his excellent rarities album "Unspoiled By Progress: 20 Years of Hardcore Blues" in June of last year.

The dates are as follows...
Oct 06 - Edinburgh, Liquid Rooms
Oct 07 - Aberdeen, Lemon Tree
Oct 08 - Glasgow, Ferry
Oct 09 - Newcastle, Academy
Oct 15 - London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Oct 16 - Wilbarston, Village Hall
Oct 19 - Wavendon, Stables
Oct 22 - Sevenoaks, Stag Theatre
Oct 23 - Frome, Cheese & Grain
Oct 24 - Exeter, Phoenix Arts Centre
Oct 26 - Kendall, Brewery Arts Centre
Oct 27 - Bilston, Robin 2
Oct 28 - Buxton, Opera House
Oct 29 - Warrington, Parr Hall
Oct 30 - Holmfirth, Picturedrome
Oct 31 - Dartford, Mick Jagger Theatre



http://www.waltertrout.com/

FREE To Release 2DVD Set

Seventies blues rockers FREE will release a 2DVD set on March 23rd.

Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate their career with the release of the "Free Forever" 2DVD set.

The "Free Forever" track listing is as follows...

Disc 1
Beat Club - Germany, 1970
01. Mr. Big
02. Fire and Water
03. All Right Now

Doin' Their Thing - Granada TV, July 1970
04. Ride On Pony
05. Mr. Big
06. Songs of Yesterday
07. I'll Be Creepin'
08. All Right Now

Original Videos
09. All Right Now
10. The Stealer
11. My Brother Jake
12. Love You So
13. Wishing Well

Disc 2
Isle of Wight Audio 1970
01. Ride On Pony
02. Woman
03. The Stealer
04. Be My Friend
05. Mr. Big
06. Fire and Water
07. I'm A Mover
08. The Hunter
09. All Right Now
10. Crossroads

Isle of Wight Videos
01. Be My Friend
02. Mr. Big
03. All Right Now



http://www.allrightnow.com/

CATHEDRAL Release New Album At The End Of Next Month

British doom metal band CATHEDRAL will release their new album via Nuclear Blast, "The Guessing Game", on March 26th.

Their nineth full-length album was recorded at the Chapel studios in Lincolnshire, England and was once again produced by Warren Riker.
The artwork is from band collaborator Dave Patchett.

The album's track listing is as follows...
01. Immaculate Misconception (2:24)
02. Funeral Of Dreams (8:28)
03. Painting In The Dark (6:18)
04. Death Of An Anarchist (7:12)
05. The Guessing Game (3:08)
06. Edwige's Eyes (7:08)
07. One Dimensional People (2:30)
08. Casket Chasers (6:41)
09. La Noche Del Buque Maldito (aka Ghost Ship Of The Blind Dead) (5:46)
10. The Running Man (8:46)
11. Requiem For The Voiceless (9:50)
12. Journey's Into Jade (10:36)



http://www.cathedralcoven.com/

MAIDEN Finish Recording Next Album

Heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have completed the recording process for their new album.

It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas with producer Kevin Shirley.

Kevin said, "There's still work to do, but the band portion is complete and in the can, so to speak."

Shirley worked on the last three Iron Maiden albums.

This will be the band's fifteenth studio CD which is the follow-up to "A Matter of Life and Death".



www.ironmaiden.com/

God Of War EP Details

The God Of War "Blood And Metal" EP featuring Dream Theater, Killswitch Engage, Mutiny Within, Opeth, Taking Dawn, & Trivium is to be released digitally by Roadrunner on March 8th.

This accompanies the new game "God Of War III" Ultimate Edition.

You may buy the EP without the game although the latter will have a voucher code giving you access to all the songs.

The track listing is as follows...
1. Killswitch Engage – My Obsession
2. Trivium – Shattering The Skies Above
3. Dream Theater – Raw Dog
4. Taking Dawn – This Is Madness
5. Opeth – The Throat Of Winter
6. Mutiny Within – The End

All the tracks are exclusive to the EP.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/

GUNS N' ROSES Confirmed For SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL 2010

GUNS N' ROSES has been confirmed for this year's Sweden Rock Festival festival, to take place from June 9th-12th, in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

The festival line-up so far is as follows...
ALDO NOVA (CAN)
ALESTORM (UK)
ANVIL (CAN)
BACHMAN & TURNER (CAN)
BEHEMOTH (PL)
BIGELF (US)
D-A-D (DK)
DANZIG (US)
FATES WARNING (US)
GARY MOORE (UK)
GUNS N' ROSES (US)
JORN (N)
MAGNUM (UK)
MASTODON (US)
MOTHER'S FINEST (US)
NAZARETH (UK)
OPETH (S)
RICK SPRINGFIELD (AUS/US)
RATT (US)
RAVEN (UK/US)
SABATON (S)
SAGA (CAN)
SLAYER (US)
STEEL PANTHER (US)
STRATOVARIUS (FIN)
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES (US)
U.D.O. (D)
UNISONIC (D)
W.A.S.P. (US)
WATAIN (S)
Y&T (US)



More information from...
www.swedenrock.com

OVER THE RAINBOW Announce European Tour Dates

OVER THE RAINBOW have announced the following European dates in April and July.

Over The Rainbow is...
Joe Lynn Turner - Vocals
Bobby Rondinelli - Drums
Greg Smith - Bass
Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore - Guitar
Paul Morris - Keyboards

The dates are as follows...
Apr 15 - Prague, Czech Republic - Retro Music Hall
Apr 16 - Zlin, Czech Republic - Masters of Rock Cafe
Apr 17 - Bratislava, Slovakia - PKO
Apr 19 - Budapest, Hungary - A38
Apr 22 - Kerkrade, Netherlands - The Rock
Apr 23 - Zaandam, Netherlands - De Kade
Jul 08 - Kvinesdal, Norway - Norway Rock Festival
Jul 09 - Söderala, Sweden - Rockweekend Festival
Jul 31 - Kotka, Finland - Festival Tent



www.myspace.com/overtherainbowrocks

PLANT Working On New Solo Album

LedZeppelinNews.com reports that LED ZEPPELIN frontman Robert Plant has set "It's Rude To Say No" as the tentative title of his new solo album, due later this year.

The CD is being produced by Buddy Miller at a studio in Nashville and will feature a guest appearance by singer-songwriter Darrell Scott.

You can read more from LedZeppelinNews.com by clicking HERE.



www.robertplant.com/

STRATOVARIUS - German Footage Online

Video footage of STRATOVARIUS's January 30th concert in Munich can be viewed below.

STRATOVARIUS' latest album, "Polaris", was released in May 2009 via Armoury Records a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The cover artwork for "Polaris" was created by Gyula Havancsák.

The current line-up of Stratovarius is Timo Kotipelto (Vocals), Matias Kupiainen (Guitars), Lauri Porra (Bass), Jörg Michael (Drums) & Jens Johansson (Keyboards).





http://www.stratovarius.com/

GARY MOORE To Play High Voltage Festival

Guitar legend Gary Moore has been added to the line-up for this year’s High Voltage Festival at London’s Victoria Park on July 24th and 25th.

Gary will play the main stage.
Joe Bonamassa has also been announced, along with The Answer.

Also confirmed are Magnum, on the Prog stage and the metal stage hosts heavy rockers, Down.

For the festival's line-up see the banner below (click on it to enlarge)...

www.highvoltagefestival.com/

TYGERS OF PAN TANG - "The Wildcat Sessions" EP Details

NWOBHM legends TYGERS OF PAN TANG celebrate the 30th anniversary of their "Wildcat" album (their first), this year with an EP entitled "The Wildcat Sessions" .

The EP will consist of new recordings of tracks from the album with their current line-up.

The band have announced that the recording and mixing of this EP is now complete.

The track listing for the EP is as follows...
01. Euthanasia
02. Slave to Freedom
03. Suzie Smiled
04. Don't Touch Me There
05. Wildcatz

Check out audio samples HERE.

After mastering, the disc will enter production and the first batch of copies will be ready for dispatch early next month.

The Tygers' line-up for the recordings were...
Rob Weir - Guitar
Dean Robertson - Guitar
Brian West - Bass
Craig Ellis - Drums
Jacopo Meille - Vocals

"The Wildcat Sessions" EP will be limited to only 1,000 copies and available solely through the band's official website (link below).

www.tygersofpantang.com/

Summers End Festival To Be Held In Lydney For The Third Consecutive Year

The following details about this year's Summers End Festival were posted on the festival's MySpace page yesterday...

The Summers End Festival is delighted to announce that this year’s Festival will take place on October 8, 9, 10, and for the third year running will be held at Lydney Town Hall, Lydney, Gloucestershire.

We will start announcing bands in early March, but in the meantime put the date in your diaries.

Don’t also forget Winters End, starring Magenta, Moon Safari, Touchstone and Galahad on March 13-14 at the Space in Stroud. www.winters-end.co.uk . Tickets are selling fast!

www.summersend.co.uk
www.myspace.com/summersendfestival
www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=98170444873
www.twitter.com/summersendfest
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/summersendfestival/

Email: summersend@btinternet.com

Video Footage Of THE GATHERING In MIlan

Fan-filmed video footage of THE GATHERING's show on February 2nd, in Milan, Italy, is available to view below.

The band's setlist was as follows...
01. When Trust Becomes Sound
02. No One Spoke
03. Inuit
04. A Constant Run
05. Analog Park
06. The West Pole
07. Great Ocean Road
08. In Motion #1
09. No Bird Call
10. Even The Spirits Are Afraid
11. Marooned
12. Saturnine
13. All You Are
ENCORES
14. Leaves
15. Travel

THE GATHERING's latest album, "The West Pole", was released during the middle of last year via the group's own label, Psychonaut Records.

"The West Pole" marked the recording debut of the band's new singer Silje Wergeland, who was previously in the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI.
It also includes guest vocalists, Anne van den Hoogen and Marcela Bovio (Stream Of Passion).

An excellent album it is too.



http://www.gathering.nl/

SCORPIONS Announce New Album Track Listing

Germany's hard rockers the SCORPIONS will release their new studio album, "Sting In The Tail", on March 22nd.

The album was recorded at a studio in Hannover, Germany with Swedish producers Mikael "Nord" Andersson and Martin Hansen.

The track listing for the CD is as follows...
01. Raised On Rock (3:57)
02. Sting In The Tail (3:12)
03. Slave Me (2:44)
04. The Good Die Young (feat. Tarja Turunen) (5:14)
05. No Limit (3:24)
06. Rock Zone (3:17)
07. Lorelei (4:31)
08. Turn You On (4:25)
09. Let's Rock (3:21)
10. SLY (5:15)
11. Spirit Of Rock (3:43)
12. The Best Is Yet To Come (4:34)

After the release of the album and a mammoth world tour (over 2 years), the band will retire and split up.


My favourite Scorpions song - sounds even better live than in the studio!

www.the-scorpions.com/

HEAVEN & HELL To Headline Bloodstock

Heaven & Hell are all set to top the bill at this year’s Bloodstock Open Air Festival.
Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice are to headline the festival on Sunday, August 15th, the final day of the three-day event.

GWAR and Doro will join them on the main stage the same day.

The festival takes place at Catton Hall in Derbyshire.

Heaven And Hell will also play the Classic Rock’s High Voltage festival at the end of July.

www.bloodstock.uk.com

AFTER FOREVER Guitarist Joins DORO

DORO, the band led by German metal legend Doro Pesch, has announced the addition of former AFTER FOREVER guitarist Bas Maas to the group.

The Dutch guitarist successfully performed with DORO as a fill-in during the band's April 2009 UK tour and also played in front of 80,000 fans at last year's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.



www.doropesch.com/

Joan Jett Gives Her Approval To Runaways Movie

Joan Jett said that she was impressed with the biopic of The Runaways.

The movie, called "The Runaways", has recently premiered in America at the Sundance Festival.

Kirsten Stewart plays Jett, with Dakota Fanning in the role of vocalist Cherie Currie.

Jett said of Stewart...

“I think she’s a really real person. She’s authentic. She cared about it, it wasn’t just a gig.

She cut off her hair, she really immersed herself in it. I don’t mean to put words in her mouth, but what I get is she feels she has to do it justice.

She knows The Runaways have fans, she knows I have fans, and she was concerned about being authentic. I found her wonderful to be around. We got along great.

It’s really scary – when you see us together physically, the energy is so similar. The way we move, the way our hands move and our hair, the way we talk, we start and don’t finish sentences. It’s really bizarre, but in a great way.

When you see Kristen singing, that’s really her singing. Same thing for Dakota and Cherie. I think they did an incredible job. I was very proud.”

www..joanjett.com
www.myspace.com/joanjettntheblackhearts
http://therunaways.com/

JON OLIVA'S PAIN - Making Of "Festival" Part 1 Now Online

The first in a three-part series of video clips featuring behind the scenes footage from the making of JON OLIVA'S PAIN's fourth album, "Festival", can be viewed below.

"Festival" will be released on February 19th via AFM Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows...
01. Lies
02. Death Rides A Black Horse
03. Festival
04. Afterglow
05. Living On The Edge
06. Looking For Nothing
07. The Evil Within
08. Winter Haven
09. I Fear You
10. Now



http://www.jonoliva.net/

TRISTANIA Begin Recording Latest Album

Norwegian gothic metallers TRISTANIA have entered the studio to record their new album slated for a Spring/Summer release.

Guitarist & vocalist Anders Høyvik Hidle commented,

"Drum recordings for the new album is about to be finalized. 11 songs completed, only one left. Guitar and bass session is starting on Sunday. The result turns out to be great — we can't wait to release this baby!"

Song titles set to appear on the new album include "Patriot Games", "Year of the Rat", "The Emerald Piper" and "Sirens".



www.tristania.com