Iggy & the Stooges - Escaped Mania DVD coming!

Here's a real barn-burner for ya – on July 8, 2008, Music Video Distributors will be releasing Escaped Maniacs, a double-DVD set featuring a full-length concert performance from Iggy & the Stooges.

The two-disc DVD offers a powerhouse Iggy & the Stooges appearance at the 2005 Lokerse Festival. The band's set includes blistering versions of most of the tracks from the first two landmark Stooges albums as well as two of Iggy's relatively newer songs, "Skull Ring" and "Dead Rock Star." The band features original Stooges, brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on guitar and drums, respectively, along with former Minutemen bassist Mike Watts and, of course, Iggy himself on explosive vox.

Escaped Maniacs runs over five hours in length, with sixteen live Iggy & the Stooges songs, two different versions of the concert ("Original" and "Director's Cut"), an interview with Iggy, DVD Rom content and an Iggy retrospective documentary.

Black Cobra's new album, European tour starts NOW!

Black Cobra's new album, Feather and Stone, is scheduled for release on May 27, 2008 by At A Loss Recordings.

Feather and Stone will be released as a very cool gatefold vinyl album with a first pressing of 500 copies in black and 500 copies in various marble colors. The vinyl version will also include a free digital download of Feather and Stone. In support of the disc, Black Cobra will kick off a month-long European tour during May, with June dates to be announced soon. Dates are as follows....

05/15 @ Magasin 4, Brussels Belgium
05/16 @ 013, Tilburg Holland
05/17 @ Muziek O Droom, Hasselt Belgium
05/18 @ Het Podium, Hoogeveen Holland
05/19 @ La Zone, Luik Belgium
05/20 @ Hafenklang, Hamburg Germany
05/21 @ Pirate Cove, Berlin Germany
05/22 @ Rosenkeller, Jena Germany
05/23 @ Arena, Vienna Austria
05/24 @ PMK, Innsbruck Austria
05/25 @ Circolo Magnolia, Milano Italy
05/26 @ Le Sonic, Lyon France
05/27 @ Mojomatic, Montpelliers France
05/28 @ Le Férallieurs, Nantes France
05/29 @ Epicentre, Cherbourg France
05/30 @ La Mécanique Onlulatoire, Paris France

Judas Priest predict the future (hint: world tour!)

Heavy metal legends Judas Priest are preparing a world tour in support of their upcoming two-CD set Nostradamus. The sprawling, epic concept album recounts the life of the mysterious 16th Century French prophet. Some of the events that Nostradamus experts have interpreted as his predictions include the great fire of London in 1666, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and most recently, 9-11, among countless other renowned events. Of course, with Rob Halford on the microphone and with twin guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis, you can expect the song cycle to rock with the power and majesty that fans have come to expect from Judas Priest.

Nostradamus will be released as a two-CD set in a regular jewel case, as a special collector's "deluxe" version housed in a 48-page hardbound book, and for the fanatical among you (yeah, I want one too!), as a super-deluxe box set with a triple-vinyl version of the album, the two-CD version, and an expanded booklet and a poster. Expect all of this heavy metal goodness to hit your green grocer's shelf on June 17, 2008 in the United States, a day earlier for lucky fans in the UK and Europe. Can't wait? Check out a streaming mp3 of the album's title track by pointing your little browser to the Live Nation website.

In other Judas Priest news, the band will be teaming with fellow metal legends Motorhead and Testament, along with Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio) for what they're calling "The Metal Masters Tour." This one promises to be a real scorched-earth affair, so be sure to grab your tickets ASAP! Tour dates, of course, are listed below....

(Click on the CD cover to buy Nostradamus from Amazon.com)

The Metal Masters Tour

06-Aug-08 @ Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ
07-Aug-08 @ Nissan Pavilion, Bristow VA
09-Aug-08 @ PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel NJ
10-Aug-08 @ Nikon at Jones Beach, Wantagh NY
13-Aug-08 @ Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto ON
16-Aug-08 @ Post Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh PA
18-Aug-08 @ DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit MI
19-Aug-08 @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Chicago IL
22-Aug-08 @ Superpages.com Amphitheatre, Dallas TX
23-Aug-08 @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston TX
24-Aug-08 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio TX
27-Aug-08 @ Journal Pavilion, Albuquerque NM
28-Aug-08 @ Cricket Wireless Pavilion, Phoenix AZ
30-Aug-08 @ Glen Helen Pavilion, San Bernardino CA
31-Aug-08 @ Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View CA

Mouth of the Architect album, tour dates!

While planning for a two-month, cross-country tour, Mouth of the Architect has posted their new song "Hate And Heartache" on both their MySpace page and on the Translation Loss Records MySpace page. Taken from their upcoming album, titled Quietly, the song kicks serious ass, starting off slowly with some found sounds (kinda like turning the dial across scratchy nighttime AM radio broadcasts) before kicking into full-blown, grinding metallic wreckage.

Scheduled for release by Translation Loss Records on July 22, 2008, Quietly will be available as both a CD and a double-gatefold vinyl album. The band's "Ultimate Brodeo Tour" kicks off on August 1st in Columbus, Ohio with Mouth of the Architect and their friends Intronaut and Behold The Arctopus sharing the bill. Check 'em out at a city near you....

The Ultimate Brodeo Tour

08/01 @ Ravari Room, Columbus OH
08/02 @ Melody Inn,Indianapolis IN
08/03 @ Howler's Coyote Cafe Pittsburgh, PA
08/04 @ Xtreme Wheels, Buffalo NY
08/05 @ Downtown Quarterback, Endicott NY
08/06 @ Middle East, Cambridge MA
08/07 @ Living Room, Providence RI
08/08 @ Knitting Factory, New York NY
08/09 @ Siren Records, Doylestown PA w/Fight Amp
08/10 @ DC-9, Washington DC
08/11 @ Nara Sushi, Richmond VA
08/12 @ The Milestone, Charlotte NC
08/13 @ Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta GA
08/14 @ The Haven, Orlando FL
08/15 @ Brass Mug, Tampa FL
08/16 @ The Atlantic, Gainesville FL
08/17 @ High Ground, Metarie LA
08/18 @ Hi Tone Cafe, Memphis TN
08/19 @ OPO Downstairs, Fayetteville AR
08/20 @ Downtown Music, Little Rock AR
08/21 @ Red Blood Club, Dallas TX
08/22 @ Red 7, Austin TX
08/23 @ The Conservatory, Oklahoma City OK
08/25 @ Gator's, Farmington NM
08/26 @ The Clubhouse, Tempe AZ
08/27 @ Knitting Factory, Hollywood CA
08/28 @ Chaser's, San Diego CA
08/29 @ Annie's Social Club, San Francisco CA
08/30 @ Rotture, Portland OR
08/31 @ Riversdale Grange, Roseburg OR
09/01 @ Studio Seven, Seattle WA
09/03 @ Marquis Theater, Denver CO
09/04 @ Replay Lounge, Lawrence KS
09/05 @ 2 Cents Plain, St Louis MO
09/06 @ Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines IA
09/07 @ Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago IL

Hard Rock and Metal Artists Owed Money!

The technology news site p2pnet had this article recently about Sound Exchange and the millions of dollars of royalties being held by the organization on the behalf of musicians that can’t be found. A number of heavy metal and hard rock musicians are among those artists that the non-profit claims that they can't find.

Sound Exchange was formed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the music industry's lobbying arm, as a non-profit organization. Sound Exchange's primary reason for being is to collect royalties from the digital transmissions of sound recordings and then pay these monies back out to artists and record labels. For example, Sound Exchange collects royalties from satellite radio stations like XM Radio and Sirius that play recorded music; from cable and satellite television (Muzak or MusicChoice channels); and from Internet radio stations like Pandora.

There's just one problem – Sound Exchange can't find many of the musicians that they're supposed to pay royalties. On the organization's website they include a list of over 8,000 of these "lost artists," musicians and bands that are due money. Although Sound Exchange claims that they're currently paying royalties to some 31,000 artists, some critics claim that the number of "lost artists" might actually be as high as 40,000 musicians.

Your humble scribe pored through 88 pages of names to dig out the below-listed pearls:

Accept, Aldo Nova, Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent), American Pearl, Amon Amarth, Archy Enemy, Atheist, Atomic Bitchwax

Badlands, Bang Tango, Behemoth, Biohazard, Bolt Thrower, Brujeria, Buzzoven

Carcass, Chuck Dukowski, Circus Of Power, Crowbar

D.R.I., Demons & Wizards, Dimebag Darrell

Enuff Znuff

Fastway, Fate's Warning, Fudge Tunnel

Goatsnake, Godflesh

Hateplow, Heathen

Ian Astbury, Iced Earth

Kreator

Life Of Agony, Lizzy Borden

Malevolent Creation, Meliah Rage, Metal Church, Mission U.K., Mountain, My Dying Bride

Nevermore

Obituary, Orange Goblin, Overkill

Pissing Razors, Poundhound (Doug Pinnick), Pride & Glory, Pro-Pain

Raging Slab, Riot

Sacred Reich, Saint Vitus, sHeavy, Skinyard

Trouble, Tygers of Pan Tang, Type O Negative

This is just a small list compiled from thousands shown on the Sound Exchange website. Many of these artists/bands are still active musicians, touring and recording. Why couldn't Sound Exchange just assign an intern or two on the task and have them Google some of these "lost artists" that they're holding money for in their bank account? Many of 'em have websites with contact info.

All recording artists are strongly urged to get in touch with Sound Exchange and see if you're owed any money; and if you haven't registered with the organization, you should do so as soon as possible so that you, too, don't end up "lost." You may be owed some little money from the Internet and, if not, you can at least get on their books for any future cash that might come your way. It's your money...don't let them keep it!

Hanoi Rocks live concert DVD coming!

Hanoi Rocks was one of the great lost bands of the 1980s. The band's mix of glam, metal and punk became known as "sleaze-rock" and proved to be influential on a generation of Aquanetted nerf-metal outfits later in the decade. Chart-toppers like Guns N' Roses and the Manic Street Preachers are direct descendants of the Hanoi Rocks sound. Why Hanoi Rocks never made it to the big time while inferior third-generation carbon copy bands made major bank with their sound is one of the great mysteries of the era....

Formed in 1979 in Helsinki Finland, the Hanoi Rocks sound was a revved-up cross between the Stooges and the New York Dolls, with a hint of Chuck Berry and the Sweet thrown in for good measure. Between 1981 and 1985, the band released five classic sleaze-rock studio albums and a rockin' live set. Outside of other musicians and a few diehard fans, the band was still virtually unknown, and they broke up. After a lengthy hiatus, lead singer Michael Monroe and guitarist Andy McCoy – the heart and soul of the band, reformed Hanoi Rocks in 2002 and recorded the strong comeback album, Twelve Shots On The Rocks, followed by Street Poetry in 2007. Hanoi Rocks continues to tour today.

On June 10, 2008 Music Video Distributors will release The Nottingham Tapes DVD. The disc captures one of Hanoi Rocks' legendary performances, from April 23rd 1984 at the Palais in Nottingham, England. This show has circulated in audio form on bootlegs for years, now all you punters can grab up the full visual Hanoi Rocks experience for less than a twenty. This hour-long disc is the first Hanoi Rocks DVD ever and includes some of the band's coolest songs, high-octane rockers like "Lost In The City" and "Back To Mystery City." In short, buy it!

(Click on the DVD cover to buy The Nottingham Tapes from Amazon.com)

April Wine likes to rock!

When Canadian rockers April Wine struck gold in the United States with their 1981 hit "Just Between You And Me," it seemed as if the band had come out of nowhere. The song would propel the band's Nature of the Beast album to Platinum sales status, and would be the first in a string of Top 30 U.S. chart hits enjoyed by April Wine.

Truth is, April Wine had better than a decade's experience and a reputation as Canada's best live band by the time of their breakthrough below the border. Formed in 1969, April Wine enjoyed their first Canadian hit in '71 with "Fast Train," from their self-titled debut. Subsequent albums increased the band's status as they toured constantly and scored hit after hit. The band's seventh album, 1976's The Whole World's Going Crazy, was their first to go Platinum in Canada, and by the time April Wine hit the big time in the U.S. they had eleven albums under their collective belts, including three live albums.

On June 10, 2008 our friends at Music Video Distributors will release April Wine's I Like To Rock: Live In London 1981 DVD. The disc captures a performance at the legendary Hammersmith Odeon in London during the band's 1981 tour in support of Nature Of The Beast. Caught on tape at their commercial peak, this will showcase April Wine at their very best. The 66-minute video features sixteen songs, including the hits "Just Between You And Me" and "I Like To Rock." This is the first DVD of classic archive material ever released on the band, so April Wine fans are sure to grab this one up, pronto!

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live In London from Amazon.com)

Javelina tour dates announced!

Javelina, Philly's favorite sons, will be bringing their heavy metal sound to a city near you when they kick off a month-long tour this weekend in their hometown. The band will be touring in support of their self-titled Translation Loss label album.

Sayeth the press release: "Formed by ex-members of Philadelphia bands Lickgoldensky, SMUT and Otophobia/Endless Nightmare they spent over a year honing their sound before playing their first show. Javelina’s sound embodies the massive sludgy nature of Buzzoven and Eyehategod with the raw punk intensity of His Hero Is Gone and the straightforward nature of High On Fire all wrapped up into one."

Javelina Tourdates

04/18 @ First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia w/Disfear, Parasytic, Dissystema
04/19 @ Khyber Pass, Philadelphia PA w/The Claw, Hatchetface
05/07 @ The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh PA w/The Plastered Bastards
05/08 @ Now That’s Class, Cleveland OH w/Rue, If He Dies He Dies
05/10 @ Ronny's Bar, Chicago IL w/Raise The Red Lantern
05/11 @ The Haunted Kitchen, Lawrence KS w/Samothrace
05/12 @ The Conservatory, Oklahoma City OK
05/13 @ Downtown Music, Little Rock AR w/Power Bastard
05/14 @ The Cavern, Dallas TX w/The Dead See, Vorvadoss
05/15 @ Red 7, Austin TX w/The Dead See, Lions of Tsavo
05/17 @ The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta GA w/Withered
05/18 @ Hell, Chapel Hill NC w/Tooth, Horsefang
05/19 @ NARA Sushi, Richmond VA w/Tooth, Lord By Fire, Inter Arma

Leverage - Blind Fire CD review

Progressive metal has become a victim of its own excess lately, with so many bands jumping not only on the symphonic rock bandwagon, but having also succumbed to the sickly syndrome known as 'opus-itus.' These days, it seems like too many metal musicians are trying their hand at becoming modern classical composers (and only a few are doing it right), trying to prove some point and taking it further by attempting to teach us something by stretching a 'concerto' out with a wild concept to not only 'entice' and ‘intrigue’ us, but to also 'impress' the fans and 'outdo' their peers for all the wrong reasons – and in the process, the heart and soul always tend to suffer (the melodies and the songs), where the music often lacks catchiness and soul – so trust me man, we want to rock and roll and not have to be 'taught' about what the hell is going on, even when the music has a technical edge to it.

But when it comes to the whole genre of the supposed 'thinking man's metal,' there have been several great bands appearing out of the woodwork lately that have shrugged off the "I'm progressive/I'm a fucking composer" arrogance to rock out with the technical edge; artists such as Dominici, Sun Caged, Vox Tempus, Sphere of Souls, Twinspirits, Stride, Circus Maximus, and Saint Deamon, among others, are putting the melodic gusto forward, first and foremost.

Another band that is no exception to that rule is Finland's Leverage, a six-piece outfit that truly delivers the musical goods, with music that kicks ass, executing the thick riffage, layered instrumentation, and big choruses; blending AOR and skillful progressions in the right manner for powerful and thoughtful anthems of real progressive metal glory, complimenting and expanding upon what Dream Theater and Fates Warning created. You won't hear any wild tangents or improvisations here, folks.

And it’s no surprise that this band has inked a deal with melodic rock giant Frontiers Records where, of course, it's all about the mastery of good tunes, not wanky, spanky musicianship. But don't get me wrong – these guys can play; dueling leads, harmonious keyboards, powerful rhythmic punch, and fierce vocals provided by Pekka Heino (like Graham Bonnet crossed with Jimi Jamison), all the right elements of honest-to-God metal are in place. Just having hit the racks is their latest album, Blind Fire, a record of melodic progressive metal mastery; where you have anthemic cuts such as "Hellhorn," "Mister Universe," "Heart of Darkness," and the hard-driving "Shadow of the Rain" that sound like late-period Stratovarius crossed with House of Lords, executing catchy AOR mastery with a sub-power metal approach. Still, cuts such as the dark, staccato-laden "King of the Night," the emotive "Sentenced," and the ballad "Learn to Live," keep Blind Fire within a diverse path.

Offering up a heap of brutally sweet tracks with a highly dense sound, the album really touches the heart and soul while nailing the basis of what a 'thinking man’s metal' album should be, but then again, does metal really require any 'thinking' at all.

Not only has Blind Fire hit the racks, but their debut, titled Tides, is finally more widely available, as it has been reissued by Frontiers with bonus tracks. Tides is the album that planted Leverage's flag, and although tracks such as "Dreamworld," "Marching to War," and "Follow Down that River" make the record fall into more precision-based territories (think Mattsson crossed with Europe), with lush arrangements and the abundance of solos, these guys knew how to convey melodies all along – offering up an impressive debut, where Blind Fire tends to be more "song-based," Tides has a higher knack for the technical ear candy.

So, unlike most bands that are building a trap for themselves and literally falling into it, trying to make 'the next project kick the last one’s ass,' all Leverage has to do is write great songs and play the hell out of them – and we will continue loving them for it, for Leverage is another band that is helping bring back the real magic of progressive metal. Both albums are highly recommended for fans of both grassroots progressive metal (early-Queensryche and Dream Theater) and dark melodic metal (Headless Cross-era Black Sabbath). (Frontiers Records) – Review by Tommy "Hashman" Hash

(Click on the CD covers to buy Blind Fire or Tides from Amazon.com)

Burzum - Anthology CD review

One of the more notorious founding fathers of the Norwegian black metal sound, Burzum – the musical realm of Count Grishnackh, a/k/a Varg Vikernes – is also one of the few truly three-dimensional bands in the genre. Whereas other black-cum-death-metal outfits steadfastly refuse to step outside of the growl/rip/tear/bash approach to vocals and instrumentation, Burzum would mix things up lyrically, drawing from a number of Northern European folk and mythological traditions; and musically, tossing in electronic experimentation anathema to two-dimensional black metal stalwarts.

Burzum's good Count, the infamous VV, has spent much of his recording career behind bars, imprisoned for the 1993 murder of Euronymous, his bandmate in the influential death metal forebears Mayhem. The pagan, anti-Christian, seemingly racist, back-to-the-days-of-Viking-yore Vikernes was also suspected in the burning of several historic churches in Norway. His 'evil' reputation thus sealed within the metal underground, Vikernes launched Burzum in 1992 with a self-titled album of mostly traditionally-styled 2d black metal, albeit with a few slower passages devoid of the typical blastbeat rhythms, and including a few synthesized flourishes.

Aske, an EP, followed Burzum's debut, the cover featuring the corpse of a burned-out church (which only further fueled VV's infamy). The similarly metal-oriented Det Som Engang Var came out in 1993, after which VV went to prison; the four Burzum albums that have been subsequently released were either pieced together from pre-recorded material (Hvis Lyset Tar Oss in 1994 and Filosofem in '96) or were recorded by the artist while still in prison (1997's Daudi Baldrs and 1999's Hlidskjalf – my apologies for not having the proper Norwegian typefaces available). Although much of Burzum's catalog is reasonably well-known in Northern Europe – there have been better than a half-dozen tribute albums released of Burzum material, fer chrissakes! – for the typical American or British metal fan, this stuff is largely unknown (and more than a little unknowable).

Anthology will be the first collection of Burzum recordings to be released on these shores. Although a few Burzum albums have shown up stateside through various metal-specialty retailers (especially the first album and the Aske EP, both of which were hot shit at the peak of VV's trial), for many this will be their first exposure to the controversial artist's milieu. Note: this new Candlelight Records Anthology album should not be confused with the 2002 release by VV's own Cymophane Productions – the two albums have widely differing tracklists, and the Candlelight collection will undoubtedly receive wider distribution.

So what can black-metal fans expect to hear from Burzum? Not what you're expecting to hear, to be sure…outside of the self-titled debut and Aske, the Reverend is unfamiliar with the entirety of Burzum's work, so much of Anthology came as a surprise to me. If you're expecting something along the lines of Mayhem's early albums, or maybe Darkthrone, you'll be sorely disappointed. This is more cerebral material, less sonically powerful, perhaps, than traditional 2D death-metal, but more intellectually challenging and, in the end, offering deeper musical textures and fields to play in. Pulling material from across Burzum's first five albums and Aske, Burzum's Anthology presents an incredible snapshot of this intriguing artist.

First of all, forget about understanding a word of Vikernes' vocals, which sound like nothing more than the death throes of a tortured beast. I honestly can't tell if the artist is being controversial or not with his lyrics as they're in a tongue unknown to me, thus I can only speak of the overall sound-and-fury of these tracks. Anthology kicks off with "Feeble Screams From Forests Unknown" from Burzum's debut album, opening with an unrelenting blastbeat paired with guttural vox and screaming guitar in typical death mode before dropping into an interesting slurry of doom-laden instrumentation and gutted vocal punctuations. "Stemmen Fra Tarnet," from the EP, descends into darker territory, with fallow guitarwork and strong, albeit more conventional drumbeats.

"Lost Wisdom," from Det Som Engang Var, shows the beginning of a gradual evolution of the Burzum sound. Slower, downtuned guitars and plodding rhythms would tread closely to doom-metal turf if not for VV's howling vox and some imaginative metallic six-string flights of fancy. With "Svarte Troner," also from Det Som Engang Var, the game really begins to change. The shortest song on Anthology at a mere two minutes, eighteen seconds, it is a provocative ambient soundscape that sounds like being lost in the murky woods as malevolent creatures circle your campfire with hunger on their minds.

"Det Som En Gang Var," from the 1994 album Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, continues the trend towards dark-ambience, beginning with a single guitar ringing out above the ever-shifting sands of electronic instrumentation. At times it sounds like Killing Joke, and other times it sounds like Brian Eno's worst nightmare. It's an exhaustive, fourteen-minute track that changes directions several times throughout, but it is well worth the journey.

Ditto for "Jesus Tod," from Filosofem. An eight-minute barrage of white light/white heat with a noise chaser, the song's unrelenting brilliance and changing moods is simply exhilarating. While rapidfire machinegun drumbeats prime the canvas, Burzum layers on industrial-styled echoed vocals, often lost in the mix, scattergun blasts of (synthesized?) fretwork, and colorful electronic tinting. Fans of contemporary noisemakers like Earth or Boris could probably embrace this sound.

Both "Gebrechichkeit, from Filosofem, and "Balferd Baldrs," from Daudi Baldrs, sojourn further into ambient madness, gentle tones dotted throughout tense white noise on the former, while the latter follows a more conventional tact with a strident, almost symphonic recurring riff augmented by shots of menacing keyboards and foreboding synthesized sounds. By the time that you stumble through the album-closing "Dunkelheit," also from Filosofem, the song's industrial clash and forged metallic tones offer a respite from the dominating ambient darkness of the previous songs. A bonus QuickTime video of "Dunkelheit" on this enhanced disc sounds different than the album-closing song, but no less dangerous. Anyway, what the hell do I know?

If all of this sounds interesting well, it is…it's seldom that you get a chance to find something as fresh and relatively unknown as Burzum in this day-and-age of cloned bands and media overkill. Anthology is an important collection of past work by a near-legendary figure on the black-metal horizon, and well worth further study and discussion. Grab it while you have the chance… (Candlelight Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Anthology from Amazon.com)

Candlemass Tour Dates Confirmed!

Legendary doom-metal giants Candlemass have confirmed North American tour dates for May and June. This is the band's first tour of the states in 17 years, so to say that it is greatly anticipated may well be an understatement. This is also the first time that Candlemass will be performing stateside with Texas native and former Solitude Aeturnus vocalist Robert Lowe at the helm.

Founding Candlemass member, bassist Leif Edling had this to say about the band's return to North America:

"Last time we were over was in 1991 and that’s way too long! We wanna make this tour a very special event for all our fans in the States and all new American fans of doom and metal too. It will be great to meet up and hang out, and play all the classic Candlemass songs for you guys plus some new ones of course. We’ve been waiting 17 years for this so make sure you don’t miss this opportunity to catch the Kings of Doom in your hometown! See ya soon in a city near you!"

Candlemass tourdates:

May 19 - Springfield VA @ JAXX
May 20 - New York NY @ BB KING’s
May 22 - Sayreville NJ @ STARLAND BALLROOM
May 23 - Clevelan, OH @ PEABODY’s
May 24 - Chicago Mokene, IL @ THE PEARL ROOM
May 25 - Minneapolis MN @ STATION 4.
May 28 - Seattle WA, @ STUDIO 7
May 29 - Portland OR @ HAWTHORNE THEATER
May 30 - San Francisco CA @ SLIM’s
May 31 - San Marcos CA @ JUMPING TURTLE

June 1 - West Hollywood CA - WHISKU A-GO-GO
June 3 - Phoenix AZ – BRICKHOUSE
June 4 - Albuquerque NM – LAUNCHPAD
June 5 - San Antonio TX – SCOUT BAR
June 6 - Houston TX - SCOUT BAR
June 7 - Dallas-Fort Worth TX – RIDGELA THEATER

(Click on the CD cover to buy King Of The Grey Islands from Amazon.com)

Spiritual Beggars debut to be reissued!

Now this is very cool news, indeed! The long-lost debut album from Spiritual Beggars will be reissued by Regain Records sometime in the near future. Originally released in 1994 by Wrong Again Records (the label later became Regain), the self-titled album was the first recording by the hard rock alter-ego of former Carcass guitarist Michael Amott. Sadly, this ground-breaking disc has been out-of-print for too many years.

Since that first Spiritual Beggars album, Amott has worked between projects by his current band, Arch Enemy, to record five subsequent albums with the psychedelic stoner-rock forefathers. The original album has become a sought-after collector's item selling for a premium; the Regain reissue will include four additional bonus tracks. We'll let you know when the exact release date it set. Stay tuned!

Bangkok Five release new CD, plan tour!

They've been compared to both Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction and The Cult, so we have big hopes for We Love What Kills Us, the second album from The Bangkok Five. The band will be hitting the road in May with Bobaflex in support of the new disc, which will be released by Long Live Crime Records on June 10, 2008.

We Love What Kills Us is the follow-up to the band's 2006 album, Who's Gonna Take Us Alive?, which won The Bangkok Five no little praise and high-profile tourdates with bands like Buckcherry, Hot Hot Heat, the Stooges, The Bronx and Papa Roach. Advance praise for the new album has been equally positive, with one scribe stating that the album has a "touch of sleaze, a touch of glam and a whole bunch of attitude." Another critic says "…their music and lyrics on their new album have established them as one of the premier hard rock bands of the year." The Bangkok Five tour dates are listed below:

5/1 - New Port Richey FL @ Bourbon Street Night Club
5/2 - Orlando FL @ AKA Lounge
5/4 - Marietta GA @ Three Bears Café
5/6 - Spartanburg SC @ Ground Zero
5/9 - Goose Creek SC @ The Dive
5/10 - Fayetteville NC @ Jester’s
5/14 - Ft. Wayne IN @ Legends Sports Bar
5/16 - Huntington WV @ Club Echo
5/17 - Johnstown PA @ Ace’s
5/20 - Mokena IL @ The Colosseum at the Pearl Room
5/21 - Maplewood MN @ The Rock
5/23 - Green Bay WI @ Toxic
5/24 - Cedar Falls IA @ The Reverb

Meteor City releases will rock your world!

MeteorCity, the official record label of the heavy music community StonerRock.com, has announced the impending release dates from two very cool bands, Farflung (pic above) and Dead Man. Sometimes the press release simply says it best, so we'll just let 'er rip....

First up, info on the album A Wound In Eternity from Farflung:

Like an apocalyptic beacon from the dark cosmos, Farflung awake from the cryogenic tubes with warped sensibilities and cosmic wrath... This is the heaviest and most tripped-out offering from these musicnauts to date. Dive bombing moogs, crushing riffs, and mind numbing cataclysmic overtures. This is A Wound In Eternity. Spacewarped by the various crew members voyages with Chrome, Nik Turner’s Hawkwind,Damo Suzuki Network, and Pressurehed. They set off in this new year to bring spacerock to your mental galaxy bathed in infrared, shuddering under the strobes, and warping the eyes. Look to the skies for a touchdown near you. Deluxe Double Gatefold Vinyl coming in April, 2008! Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition CDs coming in May, 2008!!

and, on the disc Euphoria, from Dead Man...

Euphoria is much darker and heavier than their first album while maintaining a thoroughly vintage vibe. There are bluesy up-tempo rockers alongside melodic folk-pop masterpieces and an unexpected turn into dark and psyched-out heavy rock. While their debut Self Titled album made a huge impact on the stoner/prog rock fanatics, Euphoria will establish Dead Man with cult-status like their contemporaries Witchcraft and Black Mountain have achieved. CD coming in June, 2008!

Fans of heavy space/stoner/prog-oriented rock should be, well, "euphoric"! Check 'em out!

Nachmystium Release Dates Announced

Nachtmystium's Worldfall EP will hit a store near you on April 22nd, 2008. The EP is available TODAY via Century Media Distribution and on iTunes.

CM Distro is offering the EP at a super low cost with a coupon good for two bucks off the highly anticipated full-length album Assassins: Black Meddle Part I, which will be officially released in North America on June 10th, 2008.

Click on the banner to your right and go straight to Century Media Distribution for the Nachtmystium EP and other cool stuff!

Terror - Live June 10, 2004 CD review

Lead "terrorizer" Scott Vogel – he of the asbestos lungs and fresh asphalt vocals – used to bang around Buffalo and WNY with musical gangs like Despair and Buried Alive before making the hyper-speed jump to the west coast. In L.A. Vogel put together the hardcore outfit Terror, the band subsequently going the '80s-underground route and circulating a four-song demo tape that got them a lot of props but little in the way of fame and fortune. A nine-song sonic boom of an album titled Lowest Of The Low was released in 2003; the band signed with Trustkill Records to release 2004's One With The Underdogs, a longer…albeit not an iota slower-paced…13-song collection of stunning ferocity.

Of course, hardcore's pissed off attitude, lack of constraint and ear-shredding fury translates better from the stage to an audience, and Terror is a prime example of this. While the band's albums have been brain-blistering exercises in musical firestarting, Live June 10, 2004 – part of the CBGB OMFUG Masters "Bowery Collection" featuring performances from the legendary club – shows Terror to be masters of mosh, cranking out music as bleak as a dark alleyway at midnight and as brutal as being on the short end of a midget chain-whipping.

Most of the eleven songs captured on tape for Live June 10, 2004 are taken from Lowest Of The Low, recreating almost the entire EP/album in a 30-minute, liver-shaking blur. For those metal fans that prefer bone-crunching 'core that'll rattle yer teeth and make you cry "mommy" in your sleep, Terror delivers in spades. Vogel's raw, guttural vox sound like a werewolf's mating cries, while energetic, scalpel-sharp six-strings dissect songs like "I Don't Need Your Help" or "Life And Death," cutting straight to the bone to get to the meat of the song. Rhythm is the engine that drives this beast, each song boasting of big, headknocking drumbeats and roaring basslines that shake, rattle and roll like a jet's turbines.

Terror's music isn't for everybody, Terror live even less so – these songs are smelly, hairy-fisted, knuckle-dragging, guitar-driven, beat-bruising, take-no-fuckin'-prisoners tunes that appeal only to committed hardcore fans…or those that should be committed, take your pick. If this stuff sounds like your cup of high-octane hemlock, then by all means, terrorize yourself today…. (CBGB Masters / MVD Audio)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live June 10, 2004 from Amazon.com)

Earth U.S. tour dates announced!

Doom-drone faves Earth have returned from a month-long tour of Europe in support of their latest album, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull, and now they're ready to bring their aural assault to these shores. The first batch of tour dates have been announced and we have 'em! More regional show dates will be announced later. Check out the list below to see if Earth will be plowing through your town:

Date / Venue / City / Supporting Artist
04/25/2008 @ Bottom Lounge, Chicago IL w/Helen Money
04/26/2008 @ Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus OH w/Sword Heaven
04/27/2008 @ The Dame, Lexington KY
04/28/2008 @ TBA, Nashville TN
04/29/2008 @ Bottletree, Birmingham AL w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett
04/30/2008 @ The Earl, Atlanta GA w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett
05/01/2008 @ Calendonia, Athens GA w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett
05/02/2008 @ Rocket Club, Asheville NC
05/03/2008 @ Downtown Events Center, Raleigh NC
05/04/2008 @ Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington DC w/Kayo Dot
05/05/2008 @ Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA w/Kayo Dot
05/06/2008 @ Knitting Factory, New York NY w/Kayo Dot

Ascend's Ample Fire Within due May 27th...

Ascend is an eagerly-anticipated collaboration between Gentry Densley (Iceburn, Eagle Twin) and Greg Anderson of Sunn O))) and Goatsnake. The two musicians have crossed paths several times through the years, including touring together during the '90s, their bands at the time (Iceburn & Engine Kid) recording a split LP.

Ascend's Ample Fire Within, the result of this musical collaboration, will be released on May 27th, 2008 by Southern Lord Records. The album will mark a departure for both artists, featuring vocals by Densley and a dark mix of jazz-fusion and tones of experimental and noise music. The album also includes guest shots from the likes of Earth's Steve Moore and Soundgarden's Kim Thayil.

FREE MP3: Get a taste of Ascend, download this free song (right click and choose "save as" to download to your computer):

Ascend - "Ample Fire Within (edit)"

Winter's doom-metal remembered...

Every now and then a band comes along that is just too damn far ahead of its time. Such a band was Winter, a doom-metal outfit hailing from New York. Winter was bassist John Alman on vocals, along with guitarist Stephen Flam and drummer Joe Goncalves. The trio recorded their ill-fated debut album, Into Darkness, for Future Shock Records in 1990. However, the label went belly-up and OOB shortly after the album's release, and it took Winter a couple of years to find a new buyer.

Nuclear Blast subsequently released Into Darkness with wider distribution in 1992, but the band's dark, gloomy brand of ear-sludge failed to make much of a dent in an era dominated by grunge bands. Although Winter broke-up before mid-decade, Nuclear Blast released the band's original demo tape in 1995 as the Eternal Frost EP; the label would revisit Winter once again in 2000 by putting both recordings together on a single CD.

In the intervening years, Winter's cult status has grown, propelled, in part, by the scarcity of the band's two recordings, which have been out-of-print for years. However, on May 13, 2008 our friends at MVD Audio will be reissuing both Into Darkness and Eternal Frost on CD for those who want a taste of Winter. With the growing popularity of such drone-and-burn noisemasters as Earth, Sun O))) and Boris, perhaps Winter's time has finally come!

(Click on the CD cover to buy Into Darkness/Eternal Frost from Amazon.com)

NWOBHM: Rogue Male reissues

In retrospect, England's Rogue Male were one of the most underrated and overlooked of the "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" bands to come out of the decade of the '80s. The band's 1985 debut album, First Visit, was championed by metal magazine Kerrang!, who called Rogue Male the "next big thing" in heavy metal. The groundbreaking album featured a mix of speed metal with rhythmic overtones and hook-laden melodies.

Rogue Male released its follow-up, Animal Man, a year after its debut, delivering fans more of the same. However, when album sales failed to meet expectations, the band broke up, leaving behind just these two albums, which have sadly been out-of-print for years. This situation will be remedied on June 10, 2008 when MVD Audio reissues both of these long-lost Rogue Male albums, remastered and including bonus tracks. Both albums will be released in limited edition digipak editions of 2,000 copies, and are certain to introduce new fans to Rogue Male's breathless NWOBHM sound.

(Click on the CD cover to buy First Visit from Amazon.com)

Flotsam & Jetsam revisited!

Thrash-metal cult faves Flotsam & Jetsam have been around the block a time or two, and through the years they've released a number of albums that have disappeared among the metal masses. Although the band's 1986 debut album for Metal Blade, Doomsday For The Deceiver, won the second-generation thrashmasters a fair amount of acclaim, the band's subsequent major label output was largely overlooked at the time.

Kudos to our friends at MVD Audio, who will be reissuing three early-90s Flotsam & Jetsam albums in the months to come. The three titles – 1990's When The Storm Comes Down, 1992's Cuatro, and 1995's Drift – were all originally recorded for MCA Records and while not considered as overall brilliant as the band's later work upon returning to Metal Blade, they deserve another look nevertheless. All three feature vocalist Eric A.K. along with original axemen Edward Carlson and Michael Gilbert, as well as big-beat drummer Kelly David Smith.

Cuatro, Flotsam & Jetsam's fourth album, will be reissued on May 13, 2008 and will include a handful of bonus tracks such as the songs "Date For Hate" and the industrial mix of "Wading Through The Darkness." When The Storm Comes Down and Drift will both be reissued on June 10, 2008; the former will include a bonus interview and the latter will include three bonus tracks. All three albums have been remastered using a 24-bit process and will be pressed on gold discs in a limited edition of 2,000 copies.

(Click on the CD cover to buy Drift from Amazon.com. Click here to buy When The Storm Comes Down, or click here to buy Cuatro.)

Final Breath's Mind Explosion reissued!

German heavy metal band Final Breath has enjoyed a growing cult following in Western Europe, though they sadly remain largely unknown in the United States. Formed in 1993, the band had been around for 7 years before they recorded their debut album, Flash-Burnt Crucifixes, which did not receive U.S. distribution at the time.

Final Breath followed its debut two years later with Mind Explosion, which featured healthy mix of aggressive speed metal and technical instrumentation. Released in Europe by Nuclear Blast, Mind Explosion never enjoyed stateside exposure...until now. MVD Audio will be reissuing the 2002 album on June 10, 2008 in a limited edition of 2,000 copies on gold discs. Mind Explosion will be complimented by bonus tracks taken from the band's 1997 EP, End Of It All. Often compared to such metal stalwarts as Slayer, Death and Dark Angel, worldwide audiences are certain to embrace Final Breath.

(Click on the CD cover to buy Mind Explosion from Amazon.com)