ARCH ENEMY, SYMPHONY X and BLACK STONE CHERRY have
been confirmed for this year’s Graspop Metal Meeting,
set to take place June 27-29, 2008 at De Boeretand in
Dessel, Belgium. The festival billing is shaping up as
follows:
36 CRAZYFISTS
ALCHEMIST
APOCALYPTICA
ARCH ENEMY
AT THE GATES
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BEHEMOTH
BLACK STONE CHERRY
BLEEDING THROUGH
BRING ME THE HORIZON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
COMEBACK KID
CONVERGE
DEATHSTARS
DEF LEPPARD
DYING FETUS
FORBIDDEN
HELMET
HOLLENTHON
ICED EARTH
IMMORTAL
IN FLAMES
IRON MAIDEN
JUDAS PRIEST
KORPIKLAANI
MADBALL
MINISTRY
MORBID ANGEL
MY DYING BRIDE
NILE
NOVEMBERS DOOM
OBITUARY
OPETH
PRIMORDIAL
ROTTING CHRIST
ROSE TATTOO
SABATON
SAXON
SOILWORK
SONATA ARCTICA
SYMPHONY X
TESTAMENT
THROWDOWN
VOLBEAT
WHITESNAKE
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

UK metal outfit CROWNING GLORY has been confirmed for
this year’s Bloodstock Open Air festival, set to take
place August 15-17, 2008 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire,
England. The band will open the main stage on Sunday,
August 17.
The festival billing is now shaping up as follows:
AS I LAY DYING
AT THE GATES
CLOUDSCAPE
COMMUNIC
CROWNING GLORY
DIMMU BORGIR
ELUVEITIE
EVILE
HELLOWEEN
ICED EARTH
KATAKLYSM
MOB RULES
MOONSORROW
OPETH
OVERKILL
PRIMAL FEAR
SAINT DEAMON
SOILWORK
SWALLOW THE SUN
TÝR

Rob Zombie has issued the following update;
“Well, yesterday I started work on my next full-length
studio album. We wrote a ton of stuff on the last tour
and are finally putting it down. I don’t have a
release date yet. I’ll keep you all posted as things
progress. That’s it.”
Rob Zombie called the record labels “dinosaurs waiting
to die” in an interview in the March issue of Metal
Edge magazine. Zombie said that the labels “all have a
defeatist attitude. And that’s why in another couple
of years, they won’t exist…They’re just overpaid and
lazy, and it’s all crumbled around them. But the art
is not going anywhere. You go out there, and there’s
more tours than ever, the shows are bigger than ever,
the crowds are crazier than ever, the fans are younger
than ever; there’s no lack of demand for the music or
the bands or anything. It’s just that the record
labels are these overstuffed, overpaid dinosaurs.
They’re gonna die. The music’s not going anywhere.”
Zombie said in a recent conference call that he’s not
sure what future music distribution will look like.
“There’s got to be something else you can do because
CDs, we know that’s done,” he said. “That’s just done.
And a download is just not that exciting. There’s
something missing when you — you can’t walk up to
someone and go, ‘Oh, can you autograph my download?’
There’s got to be something else that can then happen.
I just don’t know. I mean, we’re certainly trying to
figure out what it is, because I want to figure out
something special for the next musical release,
whatever it will be.”
Zombie, who is also a feature film director, also told
Metal Edge, “The problem with the record industry is
that they’ve tried to emulate the film business. The
film business is very much about the opening
weekend…But with a record, it used to be that you’d
work it.” He added that with his recent concert CD,
“Zombie Live”, “They put it out there, they put, like,
five minutes of work into it, and they’re, like,
‘We’re done’…They say ‘No one buys CDs,’so they
don’t bother to sell them.”
Zombie recently confirmed last week that his next
live-action feature film will be called “Tyrannosaurus
Rex”. Reportedly a biker flick and not about
dinosaurs, the film is set for release on August 28,
2009. It will follow his hit 2007 remake of the horror
classic “Halloween” and his upcoming animated film,
“The Haunted World of El Superbeasto”.

PIG DESTROYER and INTO ETERNITY have been added to the
previously announced Extreme The Dojo 20 Japanese tour
featuring reactivated Swedish metallers AT THE GATES,
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and MAYHEM. Confirmed dates
are as follows:
May 08 - Osaka, JPN - Club Hatch
May 09 - Nagoya, JPN - Club Quattro
May 11 - Tokyo, JPN - Studio Coast

April 9th, 2008
Categories: News . Author: admin . Comments: No Comments

SIXX: A.M., the new band featuring MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist
Nikki Sixx, will postpone its spring tour “due to
unforeseen circumstances and will most likely hit the
road in the summer of 2008,” according to a statement
released by the group.
SIXX: A.M. recently let fans vote at VoteSixxAM.com on
which cities the group should play in. Those votes
have now been counted and will be instrumental in
determining which markets the band visits in the
future.
Sixx wrote and recorded an album under the name SIXX:
A.M. with longtime friends James Michael and D.J.
Ashba and has resisted the idea of turning the project
into an actual band. But Sixx told The Pulse of Radio
that may all be changing. “It seems that people have
been able to really feel that it’s a band, they really
feel that it’s something that they can get behind and
they can go, ‘You know, I really support these guys in
what they’re doing,’” he said. “It’s interesting
’cause we never planned on playing live together, and
then we played live together, and that went off so
well that I think we accidentally started a band.”
Rumors initially surfaced that SIXX: A.M. would tour
in February, although Sixx shot down those reports.
The project has only played live once so far, last
fall at a Utah radio festival.
The SIXX: A.M. album serves as the “soundtrack” to
Sixx’s recently published book, “The Heroin Diaries: A
Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star”.
Twenty-five percent of Sixx’s royalties from “The
Heroin Diaries” goes to Running Wild In The Night, a
charity he established in conjunction with Covenant
House to rescue homeless and runaway youth from the
streets.

DEF LEPPARD, Great Britain’s premiere arena rock band,
is back with a bang-kicking off 2008 with the release
of their 14th studio album and a U.S. arena concert
tour scheduled for this spring. Entitled “Songs From
The Sparkle Lounge” (Bludgeon Riffola/Island/UMe), the
album set for release on April 29, contains 11 new
songs including the highly-anticipated single “Nine
Lives” featuring a groundbreaking collaboration with
country music superstar Tim McGraw. The band is set to
debut the single on ABC-TV’s “Dancing With The Stars”
on April 29 and on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on April 30.
“Songs From The Sparkle Lounge” is DEF LEPPARD’s first
album of brand new material since 2002’s “X” and
begins yet another remarkable new chapter in the
band’s 30-year recording career.
Recorded last year during month-long stints at lead
singer Joe Elliott’s Dublin studio, the album’s title
refers to a backstage area called “The Sparkle Lounge”
on DEF LEPPARD’s 2006 tour where the band would go to
write songs. Tracks from the album have been described
by the group as written in the style of “Hysteria”,
with the production of “High N’ Dry”.
“The whole record’s got a great ’70s feel,” said lead
singer Joe Elliott. “By our standards, it’s a very
different album as we’ve been very adventurous,
musically, on certain numbers. On the album there are
classic DEF LEPPARD songs and then there’s also tracks
that are very new-wave influenced while others sound
like middle-to-late ’70s AC/DC. There will definitely
be some moments on it where anybody that’s familiar
with our music will go, ‘Whoa! I wasn’t expecting
that!’”
The foundation for the album’s collaboration with
country music superstar Tim McGraw was layed at DEF
LEPPARD’s 2006 Hollywood Bowl show where McGraw joined
the band on stage for an encore performance of “Pour
Some Sugar On Me”. The artists stayed in touch
following the performance, and when the band started
writing the song “Nine Lives” they immediately thought
of reaching out to McGraw to sing on it. Guitarist
Phil Collen flew to Nashville to play it for McGraw
who loved it and recorded the song in Nashville
shortly after. Other standout tracks on the album
include “Go”, reminiscent of the band’s classic track
“Rocket” in its power and aggressive tribal beat;
“Love”, an emotive and moving epic song; and the
anthemic “Tomorrow”, a song written by guitarist
Collen about the death of his father.

ALESTORM and NEGURA BUNGET have been confirmed for
this year’s installment of the Wacken Open Air
festival, set to take place July 31 - August 2, 2008
in Wacken, Germany.
Wacken Open Air festival billing is shaping up as
follows:
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
ALESTORM
AS I LAY DYING
AT THE GATES
AUTUMN
AVANTASIA
AXEL RUDI PELL
AXXIS
BEFORE THE DAWN
CARCASS
CHILDREN OF BODOM
CORVUS CORAX
CREMATORY
CYNIC
DESTRUCTOR
DREAM OF AN OPIUM EATER
ENEMY OF THE SUN
ENSIFERUM
EVOCATION
EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS
EXODUS
GIRUGÄMESH
GOREROTTED
GORGOROTH
GRAVE
HATEBREED
HEADHUNTER
IRON MAIDEN
JOB FOR A COWBOY
KAMELOT
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
KREATOR
KRYPTERIA
LEAVES’ EYES
LORD BELIAL
LORDI
MACHINE MEN
MERCENARY
NEGURA BUNGET
NIFELHEIM
NIGHTWISH
OBITUARY
OPETH
POWERWOLF
PRIMORDIAL
PSYCHOPUNCH
SABATON
SALTATIO MORTIS
SOILWORK
SONATA ARCTICA
STURM UND DRANG
THE BONES
TORTURE SQUAD
UNEARTH
VAN CANTO
WARBRINGER
WATAIN

CLUTCH, DARK TRANQUILLITY, CHRIS CORNELL, DANKO JONES,
DIE MANNEQUIN and DEAD BY APRIL have been confirmed
for this year’s Metaltown festival, set to take place
June 27-28 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
IN FLAMES
NIGHTWISH
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
MONSTER MAGNET
CHRIS CORNELL
DIMMU BORGIR
DANKO JONES
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CONVERGE
DARK TRANQUILLITY
SOILWORK
AMON AMARTH
CLUTCH
JOB FOR A COWBOY
OPETH
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
NIFELHEIM
DIE MANNEQUIN
SONIC SYNDICATE
WITCHCRAFT
DEAD BY APRIL
For more information, visit www.metaltown.se.

April 9th, 2008
Categories: News . Author: admin . Comments: No Comments

Former JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH singer Tim “Ripper”
Owens has commented on his latest gig as the frontman
of the solo band of the legendary Swedish guitarist
Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Speaking exclusively to D.X.
Ferris of the Cleveland Scene, Owens said, “Yes, it is
official, I will be singing on the next YNGWIE
MALMSTEEN CD, and I couldn’t be more excited about
working with him. We have known each other for a while
and we have never had the opportunity to work together
(aside from the ‘Mr. Crowley’ song) until now. Back
when I was in PRIEST, we had tried to get together to
do something but we couldn’t get our schedules to
align.”
In addition, Ripper told the Cleveland Scene that
he’ll just be singing for the project, and won’t be
writing material, but expects to tour behind the
record. He says he’s learning old and new material,
including “You Don’t Remember”.
As far as his other band, Owens added, “I’m still
doing BEYOND FEAR [which is signed to SPV Records],
but not sure of the timing of everything. To all the
fans who are writing in expressing their congrats and
concerns, please know that BEYOND FEAR will always be
a main focus of mine, but I now have a great
opportunity to work with one of the greatest
guitarists ever… I AM A VIKING…LOL!”
Owens first mentioned the possibility of Malmsteen’s
band during a live interview that took place on the
January 11, 2008 edition of the “Friday Night Rocks”
radio show on New York City’s Q104.3 FM. While
discussing his departure from ICED EARTH and the
perception that guitarist and primary songwriter Jon
Schaffer rules ICED EARTH with an iron hand, Owens
said, “If I went out and joined somebody like YNGWIE
MALMSTEEN, well, you know what you’re getting into —
you’re not joining a band, you’re just joining a
project to jump in and sing with him real quick. It’s
a whole different experience. I thought I was getting
into a band and I was promised different things, and
it all worked out until now. And I think everybody
does know that it’s the Jon Schaffer thing. It’s a
revolving door with everybody, and that’s a cool
thing, and Jon has built this thing from the ground
up.”
Owens and Malmsteen previously collaborated on a cover
of OZZY OSBOURNE’s “Mr. Crowley”, which appeared on
the “Flying High Again: The World’s Greatest Tribute
to Ozzy Osbourne”, released in March 2006 via Magick
Records. Listen to the track below.
Sadie Rene’s nightclub in North Canton, Ohio and
Canton/Akron’s Rock 106.9 are forming Northeast Ohio’s
“ultimate band.” According to a press release, “Tim
‘Ripper’ Owens [ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH] will be
the lead singer and we want three instrumentalists to
join him — a bass player, a guitar player and a
drummer.
“The contest takes place at Sadie Rene’s on Whipple
Ave. each Sunday night.
“Doors open at eight on Sundays and the competition
starts at 9 ’till midnight.
“Everything kick[ed] off on February 24 when the
Ripper [had] a concert at Sadie Rene’s. Then March 2
the contest begins with the first auditions. There
will be three judges each week. The judges will be all
professional musicians.”
Below is the list of songs that will be randomly
chosen each night for auditions:
JUDAS PRIEST - “Green Manalishi”
JUDAS PRIEST - “Grinder”
JUDAS PRIEST - “Breaking the Law’
KISS - “Cold Gin”
PANTERA - “Walk”
ALICE IN CHAINS - “Man in the Box”
MEGADETH - “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?!”
BLACK SABBATH - “Paranoid”
GODSMACK - “Awake”
GODSMACK - “Forever”
DROWNING POOL - “Bodies”
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - “Plush”

According to a posting on The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy
web site, former YNGWIE MALMSTEEN/RAINBOW singer
Doogie White will perform with a DEEP PURPLE tribute
band, THE PURPLE PROJECT, tonight (Thursday, February
28) at Rivermead, Reading, England.
White and Yngwie Malmsteen officially parted company
earlier this week after six and a half years together.
Doogie joined Malmsteen’s band in September 2001 and
recorded two albums with the legendary Swedish
guitarist: “Attack” (2002) and “Unleash the Fury”
(2005).
“I had a long chat with Yngwie today and it is clear
that he wants to move musically in a new direction,”
Doogie said in a statement that was released to
BLABBERMOUTH.NET on Tuesday (Feb. 26). “It’s great
news that he will be expanding on his undoubted
talents both as a writer and guitarist. I just want to
thank, publicly, Yngwie and the many band members past
and present that I have worked with. It seems
appropriate that we started our working relationship
in South America in September 2001 and finished in
South America in December 2007. Now, anyone need a
singer??”
White’s replacement in Malmsteen’s band is none other
than former JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH singer Tim
“Ripper” Owens.

TimeOutDubai.com recently conducted an interview with
VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash. A
few excerpts from the chat follow:
On surviving the ’80s and ’90s excess:
“Oh yeah, there are moments when I stop and think of
that, I definitely feel like I’m blessed because I’m
still here, and I really had every reason to not be. .
. Either someone’s been looking out for me or it’s
just sheer luck, but because of that I decided that I
should probably stop taking it for granted. That I
should put my nose to the grindstone and do what my
whole purpose for being here is.”
On the fact that GUNS N’ ROSES never seemed to fit in
with the ’80s L.A. scene:
“As soon as the ’80s started, there was not a lot
going on to be influenced by. Everything that inspired
me was the stuff I listened to while growing up, and
there was a dramatic shift in the ’80s — GUNS N’ ROSES
was a proponent of change. We were a result of what
the ’80s was all about and the antitheses of it.”
On the height of GUNS N’ ROSES’ success:
“We got to a point where it was really huge and it was
fun in lots of ways, and in a lot of ways it was very
overwhelming. But I enjoyed it, especially given where
we all came from, which was basically nothing, to
becoming this huge band on a global level.”
“It had its moments where it became a little
excessive. Luckily there was always some semblance of
clarity which basically won out in the end. When I was
working I never felt as destructive as when I wasn’t
working, and that was my problem — I figured that one
out over the years.”
On his decision to quit GUNS N’ ROSES in 1996:
“It was a huge relief when I made that decision. From
the early ’90s onwards it was a very stressful
situation, so I relieved myself of that burden, but
then it was a hell of a lot of work to keep that all
going, because from then I was out on my own. It’s a
tough business, I learned a lot about it, and I
learned that without the umbrella of the whole GUNS N’
ROSES name, I needed to be a bit more alert on a
regular basis to stay afloat — it was slow learning .
. . The one thing I learned? To take charge of
everything to do with my career… and really not to
trust anybody.”
On the perceived wisdom that NIRVANA and the Seattle
grunge scene overtook hard rock (and bands like GUNS
N’ ROSES) in the early 90s:
“That’s pretty much a line of bulls*** right there,
that never happened. Basically the band broke up right
around the time that all that was happening, and a lot
of the grunge bands — who are majorly influenced by
GUNS N’ ROSES — all of a sudden thought they’d taken
over. But we just broke up and it had nothing to do
with what was going on [with grunge], because in 1994
we were still the biggest stadium band, so it didn’t
really have any effect on us.”
On how touring now compares to the days of
intoxication, other than the obvious:
“It’s not that much of a change. Some things have
changed, but y’know the basics of it stay the same.
Sure, there were some great times in the ’80s too, but
I just enjoy what I do — it’s a very rock and roll
family, so it kind of reminds me of my childhood.”
On singer Scott Weiland’s recent rehab stint:
“He’s in rehab so I think he’s doing OK. We helped him
in the very early days, and we are always there if he
needs support, but at this moment he’s being taken
care of.”

KID ROCK, ALTER BRIDGE, AIRBOURNE, JAGUAR LOVE,
SUNSHINE and FIRE IN THE ATTIC have been confirmed for
the Nova Rock festival, set to take place June 13-15
on the Pannonia Fields in Burgenland, the easternmost
federal state of Austria (near Nickelsdorf and the
Hungarian and Slovak borders).
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AIRBOURNE
ALTER BRIDGE
ANTI FLAG
BAD RELIGION
BEATSTEAKS
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
DIE ÄRZTE
DIE MANNEQUIN
DISTURBED
DONOTS
ENTER SHIKARI
FIRE IN THE ATTIC
GUADALAJARA
IN FLAMES
INCUBUS
JAGUAR LOVE
JUDAS PRIEST
KID ROCK
MAD CADDIES
NOFX
PUDDLE OF MUDD
RISE AGAINST
SKINDRED
SONIC SYNDICATE
SUBWAY TO SALLY
SUNSHINE
THE SORROW
VOLBEAT

April 9th, 2008
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The reunited STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have scheduled the
following dates:
May 17 - Columbus, OH - Crew Stadium (Rock on the
Range)
May 18 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center (WMMR
Event)
May 23 - Indianapolis, IN - Indianapolis Motor
Speedway
May 31 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Garden State Amphitheatre
(WXRK Event)
Jun. 01 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center (WBCN Event)
Jun. 07 - Kansas City, MO - [to be announced] (KQRC
Event)
Jul. 12 - Toronto, ON - Downsview Park (Edgefest)
More shows will be announced soon.
Although STONE TEMPLE PILOTS broke up in 2002 under
less than friendly circumstances, both singer Scott
Weiland (who currently fronts VELVET REVOLVER) and
guitarist Dean DeLeo have said that the band members
are all on good terms now. Weiland even told The Pulse
of Radio he could envision making another STP album.
“We were never a band that felt like we needed to lean
too hard onto our muscle,” he said. “We always felt
like we had enough beauty and enough finesse in our
music, you know, while we were together, that could
carry us into a long career. So for us to make a
record at an older age doesn’t seem like a stretch,
you know, ’cause we were never all about brawn.”
The last STP album, “Shangri-La-Dee-Da”, came out in

2001. The band’s initial success in the early and
mid-’90s was derailed in the latter part of the decade
by Weiland’s well-documented drug problems and
arrests.
Weiland, who entered rehab earlier in the month at an
undisclosed location, has struggled with substance
abuse problems for more than a decade, although he has
reportedly been clean for nearly four years until now.
Questions about his condition flared a few weeks ago
when he missed a VELVET REVOLVER performance at the
Sundance Film Festival in Utah, claiming
transportation problems.

THE ORCHESTRA (featuring former members of ELO and ELO
II performing ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA), THE HOOTERS,
AXEL RUDI PELL, TEN YEARS AFTER and the QUEEN tribute
act ALMOST QUEEN (featuring former ANGEL, DEE SNIDER
and THIN LIZZY musician Randy Gregg) are the first
confirmed acts for this year’s installment of the Rock
Of Ages festival, set to take place on July 25-26,
2008 in Seebronn, Germany. More bands will be
announced soon.

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has set “Pain in
the Neck” as the title of his new solo album,
tentatively due in the spring.
“I was all ready and set up to track a record when I
was offered the KISS reunion,” Frehley told The Akron
Beacon Journal. “I got back with KISS and that kind of
derailed me from 1996 to 2001 and it took me a while
to get my wits back.”
Frehley said he is still putting the finishing touches
on “Pain in the Neck”, including some scheduled
six-string contributions from VELVET REVOLVER/ex-

GUNS ‘ ROSES guitarist Slash.
Though most of the tunes were written in the past
several years, Frehley also looked to his own past for
guidance.
“I’ve been listening to my first solo album with KISS,
because everybody says that’s their favorite record. I
was trying to figure out what made it so special, so
I’m trying to incorporate a lot of what that record
had for this new CD,” he said.
“It has a lot of different aspects and shows different
musical sides of me and it’s something I’m trying to
recapture. I don’t know if I can do it but I’m gonna
take a shot at it.”
He added, “The record to me is secondary to the fact
that I needed to come back and let everybody know I’m
alive and well. Some of my old band mates kind of
dragged my name through the mud a little, so I figured
that it was time for me to re-emerge and let everybody
know I’m not dead.”

DOWN/ex-PANTERA bassist Rex “Rocker” Brown has issued
the following update:
“Hello, all DOWN fans, lifers and powers of the riff
united. Just wanted to drop a quick thank you to every
single one of you who came out for our ‘Evening with
DOWN’ tours here in the States. Every single night,
you fuckers were over the top. Amazing. We’re off to
the other side of the globe starting in Moscow to
spread the fucking word. 2008 is far from over and we
ain’t done with you yet. Thanx again, you guys are incredible.”

April 9th, 2008
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According to Rollingstone.com, LED ZEPPELIN, U2,

MADONNA are among the artists tapped to participate in
a series of international concerts by World Peace One,
a not-for-profit world peace group. The shows would
begin May 17th, though no acts have been confirmed.

Ticketmaster has announced that US ’80s rockers KIX
will perform at Mulcahy’s in Wantagh, NY on Saturday,
June 7th.
This marks the first time the Hagerstown, MD hard rock
act has performed outside of the mid-Atlantic region
in over 12 years. Kix has reformed annually for
several years to do fall shows in their home
territory.
Singer Steve Whiteman and drummer Jimmy Chalfant
currently play in FUNNY MONEY, guitarist Ronnie
Younkins’ current project is THE BLUES VULTURES and
guitarist Brian Forsythe is now a member of RHINO
BUCKET.
But the reunited KIX is slated to perform a host of
dates around the country this spring and summer
leading to a rumored appearance at July’s second
annual Rocklahoma event.
The official announcement of the 2008 Rocklahoma
lineup is expected at a press conference held in
Hollywood on March 4th.

Power metal legends HELLOWEEN and GAMMA RAY will team
up for a pre-ProgPower USA IX festival concert on
Thursday, September 25 at Center Stage in Atlanta,
Georgia. This marks the first confirmed North American
date for the prestigious “Hellish Rock World Tour”,
which has hit Europe, Asia and Australia so far.
Exclusive support for the Atlanta date will be
provided by Denmark’s MANTICORA.
“It took a while, but we finally got it done. Between
this added show and the festival roster, I don’t think
it gets any better here in the States,” stated
ProgPower USA promoter Glenn Harveston.
Tickets for the show go on sale March 15
(***Important*

**: The HELLOWEEN / GAMMA RAY concert is
not part of the ProgPower USA IX festival and separate
tickets will be needed to attend the gig).
Finland’s AMORPHIS was recently confirmed as the
second headliner of ProgPower USA IX. America’s
premiere metal festival returns to Center Stage in
Atlanta on September 26 and September 27.
Joining the band are festival headliner ICED EARTH,
Florida’s JON OLIVA’S PAIN, Poland’s RIVERSIDE,
Germany’s IRON SAVIOR, Denmark’s VOLBEAT, Sweden’s
ANDROMEDA, Florida’s ROB ROCK, Italy’s ELVENKING,
France’s SPHERIC UNIVERSE EXPERIENCE, Austria’s
SERENITY, and Italy’s PATHOSRAY.
Tickets for ProgPower USA IX go on sale March 1 and
limited to 900 tickets. Advance gold badges are sold
out for the seventh consecutive year.
For more information, visit www.progpowerusa.com.

According to Ashladan.be, PRIMORDIAL and ROSE TATTOO
have been confirmed for this year’s Graspop Metal
Meeting, set to take place June 27-29, 2008 at De
Boeretand in Dessel, Belgium. The festival billing is
shaping up as follows:
36 CRAZYFISTS
ALCHEMIST
APOCALYPTICA
AT THE GATES
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BEHEMOTH
BLEEDING THROUGH
BRING ME THE HORIZON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
COMEBACK KID
CONVERGE
DEATHSTARS
DEF LEPPARD
DYING FETUS
FORBIDDEN
HELMET
HOLLENTHON
ICED EARTH
IN FLAMES
IRON MAIDEN
JUDAS PRIEST
KORPIKLAANI
MADBALL
MINISTRY
MORBID ANGEL
MY DYING BRIDE
NILE
NOVEMBERS DOOM
OBITUARY
OPETH
PRIMORDIAL
ROTTING CHRIST
ROSE TATTOO
SABATON
SAXON
SOILWORK
SONATA ARCTICA
TESTAMENT
THROWDOWN
VOLBEAT
WHITESNAKE
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

METAL CHURCH singer Ronny Munroe has issued the
following update:
“As you all know we are busy working on the new
release. Metal Church is back with a vengeance and we
know where you are. In appreciation for our fans old
and new over the past two plus decades we have decided
to accept artwork for the new cover from those who
know us best…..our Congregation! If we accept your
artwork and use it we will include your name on the
CD.
The working title of the new release is This Present
Wasteland. So use your imagination. We will desplay
some of the artwork we get on the Metal Church myspace
page for everyone to see. We know there are many
talented fans out there and we would love to see one
of you get the cover. You can submit your artwork to
This_Present_Wasteland @yahoo.com.
This new release is sounding incredable and we are all
very excited for you to hear it. Until then good luck
and Metal Horns to you.”

April 9th, 2008
Categories: News . Author: admin . Comments: No Comments

Vocalist Doogie White and Yngwie Malmsteen have
decided to part company after six and a half years
together. Doogie joined Malmsteen’s band in September
2001 and recorded two albums with the legendary
Swedish guitarist: “Attack” (2002) and “Unleash the
Fury” (2005).
“I had a long chat with Yngwie today and it is clear
that he wants to move musically in a new direction,”
Doogie said in a statement that was released to
BLABBERMOUTH.

NET earlier today. “It’s great news that
he will be expanding on his undoubted talents both as
a writer and guitarist. I just want to thank,
publicly, Yngwie and the many band members past and
present that I have worked with. It seems appropriate
that we started our working relationship in South
America in September 2001 and finished in South
America in December 2007. Now, anyone need a singer??”
Although there has been no official announcement on
the matter, BLABBERMOUTH.NET can reveal that White’s
**rumored** replacement in Malmsteen’s band is none
other than former JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH singer Tim
“Ripper” Owens.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Owens briefly broached
the subject of him joining Malmsteen’s band during a
live interview that took place on the January 11, 2008
edition of the “Friday Night Rocks” radio show on New
York City’s Q104.3 FM. While discussing his departure
from ICED EARTH and the perception that guitarist and
primary songwriter Jon Schaffer rules ICED EARTH with
an iron hand, Owens said, “If I went out and joined
somebody like YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, well, you know what
you’re getting into — you’re not joining a band,
you’re just joining a project to jump in and sing with
him real quick. It’s a whole different experience. I
thought I was getting into a band and I was promised
different things, and it all worked out until now. And
I think everybody does know that it’s the Jon Schaffer
thing. It’s a revolving door with everybody, and
that’s a cool thing, and Jon has built this thing from
the ground up.”

The Pulse of Radio reports: More information has
possibly crept out about the next movie from
rocker-turned-filmmaker Rob Zombie, titled

“Tyrannosaurus Rex”. According to
Bloody-Disgusting.com, the movie is about a
semi-professional wrestler named Tyrannosaurus Rex who
is being pursued by a “biker gang from hell.” If that
is in fact the premise, it closely resembles a comic
book that Zombie co-authored a few years ago, called
“The Nail”. Although a film version of “The Nail” was
reportedly in the works at one point, nothing ever
came of it.
Zombie created “The Nail” with hot horror comics
writer Steve Niles, author of the graphic novel “30
Days of Night”. Zombie told The Pulse of Radio at the
time how the partnership began. “We got together and
we’re like the same age, and we sort of have the same
background, you know, he was in these DC hardcore
bands, and somehow we just were very similar,” he
said. “So we started working together and, I don’t
know, it just worked. ‘The Nail’ is pretty ridiculous,
it’s sort of like (’70s biker horror film) ‘Satan’s
Sadists’ meets (’70s Peter Fonda horror movie) ‘Race
With The Devil’.”
Zombie has not made any public announcements about
“Tyrannosaurus Rex” except for the title. The film is
due out on August 28, 2009 and will follow his hit
2007 remake of “Halloween”.
Zombie’s upcoming animated film, “The Haunted World of
El Superbeasto”, was also based on a comic book
character he created.

As BLABBERMOUTH.NET exclusively reported earlier

today, former JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH singer Tim
“Ripper” Owens has now officially joined YNGWIE
MALMSTEEN’s band. The legendary Swedish guitarist
announced the news to the Guitar World staff today
when he came to the magazine’s New York headquarters
for an exclusive interview and photo shoot.
Malmsteen and Owens are hard at work on a new CD,
which is currently scheduled for a July release.

POISON frontman Bret Michaels and the reunited WARRANT
— featuring lead singer Jani Lane — are scheduled to
appear at the Rocklahoma 2008 press conference on
Tuesday, March 4 at the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go.
XM 41 The Boneyard, the official satellite radio
channel of Rocklahoma, will broadcast the Rocklahoma
press conference live beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Radio/TV personality Eddie Trunk — who will emcee the
press conference — and Kevin Kash will be on site with
full coverage of the event. The press conference will
announce this year’s lineup for Rocklahoma, which will
be held July 10-13, 2008 at the Catch The Fever
Festival Grounds, four miles north of Pryor, Oklahoma.
Whisky A Go-Go is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard in
West Hollywood, California.
The press conference will replay that Tuesday night at
midnight on XM 41 The Boneyard.
Rocklahoma 2008 lineup so far:
BRET MICHAELS
KROKUS
VIXEN
L.A. GUNS (featuring Tracii Guns)
HOUSE OF LORDS
WARRANT (featuring lead singer Jani Lane)
VAIN
TORA TORA
Rocklahoma 2007 was the largest rock festival of its
type featuring bands from the Eighties. Attendance
came from all fifty states, every province in Canada,
every country in Europe. A total of thirty-two
different countries from throughout the world
representing every continent with the exception of
Antarctica.
Located four miles north of Pryor, OK, off Highway 69,
the Catch the Fever facilities include over 6,200
assigned and numbered seats, as well as general
admission on the lawn for over 50,000 people. The
grounds also feature over 4,000 campsites, on-site
parking, bathroom facilities, a convenience store, and
overnight security provided by Mayes County Sheriff’s
Department. Rocklahoma also has a Picture Alley that
allows anyone in attendance to approach the stage
during any performance and take photographs of a
favorite artist at close range.
There are a limited amount of V.I.P. tickets available
to Rocklahoma, which includes free beer and food for
Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is a special
pre-party on Thursday July 10 for all three-day and
V.I.P. ticket holders at no extra cost. Through
February 29, prices for V.I.P. tickets are $325 and
three day general admission tickets for just $110.
They can be purchased by calling toll free
866-310-2288 or click here to buy online.

April 9th, 2008
Categories: News . Author: admin . Comments: No Comments

San Diego-based metallers AS I LAY DYING have been
confirmed for this year’s Bloodstock Open Air
festival, set to take place August 15-17, 2008 at
Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England. The festival
billing is now shaping up as follows:
AS I LAY DYING
AT THE GATES
CLOUDSCAPE
COMMUNIC
DIMMU BORGIR
ELUVEITIE
EVILE
HELLOWEEN
ICED EARTH
KATAKLYSM
MOB RULES
MOONSORROW
OPETH
OVERKILL
PRIMAL FEAR
SAINT DEAMON
SOILWORK
SWALLOW THE SUN
TÝR
AS I LAY DYING received a Grammy nomination in the
“Best Metal Performance” category for “Nothing Left”,
the first single from the band’s newest release, “An
Ocean Between Us”.
AS I LAY DYING recently completed a video for the
band’s new track “The Sound Of Truth”. The clip, a
sequel to the story in the video for “Nothing Left”,
was filmed in Los Angeles while the band was between
tours. It was directed by Brian Thompson.

According to eFestivals.co.uk, CHRIS CORNELL, JIMMY
EAT WORLD, KORN frontman Jonathan Davis, 36
CRAZYFISTS, and JOB FOR A COWBOY have been confirmed
for this year’s Download festival, set to take place
the weekend of June 13-15 at Donington Park,
Leicestershire, UK.
36 CRAZYFISTS
ALTER BRIDGE
CHILDREN OF BODOM
CHRIS CORNELL
COHEED AND CAMBRIA
DISTURBED
HIM
IN FLAMES
INCUBUS
JIMMY EAT WORLD
JOB FOR A COWBOY
JONATHAN DAVIS
JUDAS PRIEST
KISS
LOSTPROPHETS
MOTÖRHEAD
RISE AGAINST
THE OFFSPRING
Tickets for Download are on sale now priced at: a full
weekend ticket £130, standard camping £20, camper van
£40, family zone camping £20, lockers £11, parking £10
in advance or £15 on the day.

Jonathan Cohen of Billboard.com reports that STONE
TEMPLE PILOTS and LINKIN PARK will head the bill for
the 2008 Edgefest in Toronto, which is returning after
a one-year hiatus. The event will be held July 12 at
Downsview Park.
Rounding out the bill are SAM ROBERTS BAND, THE
BRAVERY, ASHES DIVIDE, ATTACK IN BLACK, ARKELLS, THE
COAST, CREATURE, THE FLATLINERS, HOSTAGE LIFE,
MODERNBOYS MODERNGIRLS, THE STEREOHOAX, SWEET THING
and USS.
Tickets go on sale Saturday (March 1) to the general
public; members of 102.1 The Edge’s Inside Edge club
will have access to a discounted pre-sale tomorrow.

Ozzfest, the long-running touring metal package, is
rumored to be morphing into a two-day “destination
festival” in Dallas. There has been no official word
yet on what format Ozzfest will take or who will be on
the bill.
The rumors come in the wake of this year’s arrival of
the metal-oriented Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour, which
will play 30 North American amphitheaters during July
and August, the time when Ozzfest is traditionally
making its rounds.
Last year’s Ozzfest offered free admission, with fans
acquiring tickets mostly through sponsoring web sites.
But the acts were not paid either, which resulted in a
decidedly less than impressive main stage lineup. The
Mayhem trek has already robbed Ozzfest of two
potential main-stage heavyweights in DISTURBED and
SLIPKNOT, with fan favorites DRAGONFORCE and MASTODON
also taking part in the Mayhem tour.
OZZY OSBOURNE is likely to headline Ozzfest as a solo
act again, since his BLACK SABBATH bandmates are busy
with their HEAVEN AND HELL offshoot.
The Mayhem tour is being co-produced by Kevin Lyman,
who has the successful Warped and Taste of Chaos
packages on his resume.

April 9th, 2008
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Church of the 8th Day, the organizers behind the Los
Angeles Murderfest, have announced the next round of
bands for the festival, set to take place April 18-20
at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, California.
Daniel Dismal, the festivals founder had this to say
about the line-up thus far: “This year’s Murderfest
has been coming together in ways that we could never
imagine! The response thus far has been amazing and
most of it has come without us actually announcing
most of the headliners. We’re definitely excited about
4.0 and I think once the whole lineup is released
people will be amazed at this year’s fest. I encourage
everyone to try and buy their tickets in advance as
the Knitting Factory realistically only holds 700
people.”
Sunday’s headliner will be announced next week. The
entire festival lineup will be announced within the
next few weeks.
Tickets are on sale NOW at www.ticketweb.

com.
Friday, April 18 - $15 advance / $15 at the door
Saturday, April 19 - $33 advance / $35 at the door
Sunday, April 20 - $33 advance / $35 at the door
Two-Day Pass (April 19-20) - $60 (Only available in
advance)
Friday, April 18:
CONVERGE
THE RED CHORD
BARONESS
GENGHIS TRON
Saturday, April 19:
ENTOMBED
MASSACRE
REPULSION
VITAL REMAINS
MONSTROSITY
DEMIRICOUS
ANAL BLAST
IMPALED
MORGION
WACO JESUS
DENIAL FIEND
ABYSMAL DAWN
SCARECROW
RISE
Sunday, April 20:
Headliner to be announced on Feb. 29
EXTREME NOISE TERROR
TODAY IS THE DAY
CATTLE DECAPITATION
GHOUL
TRAP THEM
STRONG INTENTION
AT ALL COST
COMPLETE FAILURE
MAGRUDERGRIND
TERMINALLY YOUR ABORTED GHOST
CARDIAC ARREST
IVEBEENSHOT
POPULATION REDUCTION
THE_NETWORK
CALL THE PARAMEDICS
For more information, visit visit
www.losangelesmurderfest.com.

MESHUGGAH, FINNTROLL and AIRBOURNE have been confirmed
for the Fields of Rock festival, set to take place
June 20-22 at on the Evenemententerrein of Walibi
World in Biddinghuizen, the Netherlands. The festival
billing is shaping up as follows:
AIRBOURNE
APOCALYPTICA
ARCH ENEMY
BRING ME THE HORIZON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY
CHRIS CORNELL
DANKO JONES
DIMMU BORGIR
DISTURBED
FINNTROLL
ICED EARTH
JUDAS PRIEST
MADBALL
MESHUGGAH
MINISTRY
MOTÖRHEAD
ONE BULLET LEFT
OPETH
RISE AGAINST
SEX PISTOLS
SICK OF IT ALL
SONATA ARCTICA
Ticket price is 115 euros for three days, including
camping and parking.

CHILDREN OF BODOM will perform at this year’s Download
festival, set to take place the weekend of June 13-15
at Donington Park, Leicestershire, UK. Although the
Finnish outfit has been approached about the event a
number of times in the past, a consistently tight
schedule has never made it possible for them to take
up the offer. Until now.
Says bassist Henkka T. Blacksmith: “We’ve been aware
of the Download festival for a number of years now,
but our touring & recording schedule has meant that
we’ve just never been available at the right time.
However, with the campaign for our new album,
‘Blooddrunk’

, we plotted everything out well in
advance, so if the offer to appear should come our
way, we’d be ready… and we’re delighted to say that
it has! And we ARE! You know, it’s a great pleasure
for us to be involved with an event that has such an
incredible history. Back in the early ’80s, the Castle
Donington festival was a truly ground-breaking event,
one that every band dreamed of playing, and now in
2008 it’s our turn to make a bit of history. See you
down the front… then in the bar!”
Also scheduled to appear at Download are KISS,
LOSTPROPHETS, THE OFFSPRING, JUDAS PRIEST, MOTÖRHEAD,
RISE AGAINST, HIM, ALTER BRIDGE, DISTURBED, IN FLAMES
and INCUBUS, among others.
In other news, June will see the reissue of the first
four CHILDREN OF BODOM albums: “Something Wild”
(1997), “Hatebreeder” (1999), “Tokyo Warhearts” (1999
– recorded live in Japan) and “Follow The Reaper”
(2000), an album produced by noted musician and
performer Peter Tägtgren, who recently rejoined forces
with the band for parts of the recording of
forthcoming CD, “Blooddrunk”.

Former MISFITS frontman Michale Graves has lined up a
number of U.S. headlining dates during March, April
and May.
Graves recently released the third installment of his
“Demos & Live Cuts” series. The latest volume is a
live recording featuring the original line up of
GRAVES (Graves, Dr. Chud, Tom Logan, and Graham
Westfield) recorded at Connections in Clifton, New
Jersey on August 8, 2002. The album consists of 26
tracks and is available for $8. This was the first
tour and the project that immediately followed
Michale’s stormy departure from the MISFITS. Not long
after this very show, Michale decided he would again
move onto another darker, heavier project and began a
band he called GOTHAM RD. Now with the writing power
of his new guitarist Loki along with JV Bastard and
Paul Lifeless they released a demo CD called “Seasons
of the Witch”, which will be available again soon with
all-new never-before-heard studio tracks.

April 9th, 2008
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Massachusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL will reissue
their Century Media debut, “Of One Blood”, on April
15.
Commented SHADOWS FALL frontman Brian Fair: “It is
almost impossible to believe that it has been nearly a
decade since these songs were laid down at Planet Z.
Zeuss had barely finished putting together the studio
and we had barely finished writing these songs, but
here we where recording our debut for Century Media.
It was a very hectic time as the band was getting to
know each other and our sound was evolving constantly.
“This record captures that sense of urgency and
exploration and was the groundwork to everything we
would go on to accomplish. We never imagined where we
would find ourselves today.
“When I first threw in the remixed version, the first
thing I noticed was how huge the guitars sound!! Zeuss
must have slapped some down home gravy on the disk
because this shit is thicky thick!! All of the nuances
that were once lost have been restored and brought to
the forefront as originally intended.
“This was originally recorded without ProTools and
high tech editing while we learned our way around a
studio and Zeuss learned what all his gear could do. A
lot of the work was done manually and it was tedious
and demanding but I feel like that human element is
what breathed life into this album.
“For me, it was a cool experience to relive these
songs and lyrics while remembering those early days of
cruising the country in a shitty van with a bunch of
drunk mass-holes.
“Good times.

Dutch symphonic metallers WITHIN TEMPTATION will
headline this year’s Rock Harz open-air festival, set
to take place July 17-19, 2008 in Osterode/Förste,
Germany. The festival billing is shaping up as follows
(in alphabetical order):
ALESTORM
AMON AMARTH
BELOVED ENEMY
CAST IN SILENCE
CREMATORY
DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA
DOWN BELOW
EISBRECHER
FEUERSCHWANZ
KNORKATOR
LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE
MAROON
NEAERA
OHRENFEINDT
ONE BULLET LEFT
SALTATIO MORTIS
SAXON
SECRETS OF THE MOON
SODOM
TORFROCK
TÝR
WITHIN TEMPTATION

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY bassist John “JD” DeServio has
signed with Reform Records for his project CYCLE OF
PAIN.
Accompanying DeServio in CYCLE OF PAIN is
vocalist/rhythm guitarist Gregg Locascio, lead
guitarist Joe Taylor (who plays with Doro Pesch) and
drummer Rich Monica. In fact, DeServio, Locascio and
Taylor were in a band together when they were only 15
years old. “We grew up together,” says DeServio. “It’s
family, just like BLS.”
The reason behind CYCLE OF PAIN is simple, “The tunes
were written to create some awesome music,” explains
DeServio. “This record is very diverse. Our influences
range from BLACK SABBATH to JOHN COLTRANE, there’s
even a piano ballad with string arrangements on here.
Zakk Wylde is going to do a guitar solo or two and
Brian Tichy will be on a few songs as well. CYPRESS
HILL is also doing a track with us.”
Endorsed by Schecter Guitars and an alumni of the
prestigious Berklee College of Music, DeServio’s rock
‘n’ roll resume includes playing bass for LITA FORD
when she opened for MÖTLEY CRÜE on the “Dr. Feelgood”
tour. DeServio then joined UFO guitarist Vinnie
Moore’s band for their opening stint in front of RUSH
on the “Roll the Bones” tour. Aligning himself with
Zakk Wylde in PRIDE & GLORY, DeServio got to open for
AEROSMITH. In addition to working with Richie Kotzen
and Derek Sherinian amongst others, DeServio often
holds bass clinics and teaches.
CYCLE OF PAIN’s debut will be release late spring
2008.
For more information, visit
www.myspace.com/cycleofpain.
About Reform Records: the truth of their vision lives
in their name. Based in New Jersey, Reform believes in
and understands that artist development is an endless
and subjective process. Fully embracing change and
accepting the current revolution the music industry is
undergoing, Reform aims to work with business minded
artists who are committed to success.
Reform’s staff includes former label executives from
Interscope, A&M and Elektra Records as well as Sirius
Satellite Radio. While the label may be new, those
running it come armed with a wealth of experience.
This is a record company that avoids overblown budgets
and unfair agreements, instead focusing on hard work
and appropriate partnerships.

Late ’80s/early ’90s Memphis, Tennesse-based rockers
TORA TORA will reunite for an appearance at this
year’s Rocklahoma festival, which will be held July
10-13, 2008 at the Catch The Fever Festival Grounds,
four miles north of Pryor, Oklahoma. Also expected to
perform at the event are POISON singer Bret Michaels,
KROKUS, VIXEN, L.A. GUNS (featuring Tracii Guns),
HOUSE OF LORDS and WARRANT (featuring lead singer Jani
Lane).
TORA TORA has issued the following update regarding
its appearance at the festival:
“Let me clear this up NOW!! TORA TORA at Rocklahoma IS
all ORIGINAL members!!!
“Before the rumor mill gets stirring, I wanted to go
ahead and clear this up. On some other message boards,
it has been speculated that the TORA TORA reunion is
only Anthony [Corder, vocals] and Patrick [Francis,
bass]. That is NOT true.
“The TORA TORA reunion for Rocklahoma 2008 is ALL FOUR
ORIGINAL MEMBERS!!!
Anthony Corder - Vocals
Patrick Francis - Bass
Keith Douglas - Guitar
John Patterson - Drums
“Apparently, a radio station mistakenly was referring
to Anthony/Patrick’s former local band, HOMEMADE
FLAVOR, and some people took it the wrong way and
started posting misinformation. So I just wanted to
set the record straight.
“Again, it IS all four ORIGINAL members playing
Rocklahoma 2008!!”
TORA TORA started out as a local garage band then
eventually got studio time when they won a local
Battle of the Bands contest. Following this, the band
recorded “To Rock To Roll” as an independent EP. After
its release, the songs “Phantom Rider” and “Love’s A
Bitch” received extensive airplay on local radio
station Rock 98. A deal with A&M Records followed, and
the band recorded its debut album, “Surprise! Attack”,
in 1989. This LP peaked on Billboard’s Top 200 at #47.
The single “Dancing With A Gypsy” was on the
soundtrack for the film “Bill and Ted’s Excellent
Adventure” later that year. In 1992, TORA TORA’s
second album, “Wild America”, was released. It only
achieved #134 on the Billboard chart and it did not
sell as well, but it was a more mature step at
songwriting. A third album, “Revolution Day”, was
recorded in 1994, but it was never released due to
label restructuring.

April 9th, 2008
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The second edition of the Magic Circle Festival set to
take place in Bad Arolsen, Germany, will feature a
special performance by MANOWAR on July 11 and July 12,
playing the entire first six albums of their career.
DORO and W.A.S.P. have just confirmed their exclusive
festival appearances in Germany this summer at the
Magic Circle Festival. Also, Swiss hard rock legends
GOTTHARD have just been confirmed! The stage will
continue to rock on with the special guest appearance
of BRAZEN ABBOT featuring the classic voice of
ex-RAINBOW/DEEP PURPLE singer Joe Lynn Turner.
More bands will be announced soon.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure the fans
have a good time”, says Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio.
The Magic Circle Festival 2008 will be held in Bad
Arolsen, Germany from July 9 to 12, 2008. Tickets are
available at www.magiccirclefestival.com and ww.nuclearblast.de.

SOILWORK, DESPISED ICON, MUSTASCH and THE WILDHEARTS
have been confirmed for this year’s installment of the
Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 14-16
in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. The festival billing is now
shaping up as follows:
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
ABORTED
AGRYPNIE
AHAB
ALL ENDS
ARCH ENEMY
AS I LAY DYING
ASP
AUTUMN
BEHEMOTH
BELOVED ENEMY
BLOOD RED THRONE
BORN FROM PAIN
CEPHALIC CARNAGE
DARK FORTRESS
DEBAUCHERY
DELAIN
DESPISED ICON
DESTRUCTION
DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA
DISMEMBER
DRONE
ELUVEITIE
END OF GREEN
ENDSTILLE
ENEMY OF THE SUN
ENSIFERUM
EXODUS
FLESHCRAWL
GOREROTTED
GRAVEWORM
HACRIDE
HAIL OF BULLETS
H-BLOCKX
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
HEIDEVOLK
HELLOWEEN
JAPANISCHE KAMPFHÖRSPIELE
JESUS ON EXTASY
KATAKLYSM
KISSIN’ DYNAMITE
KORPIKLAANI
LAY DOWN ROTTEN
MAD SIN
MÅNEGARM
MARDUK
MEGAHERZ
MIDNATTSOL
MISANTHROPE
MISERY SPEAKS
MUSTASCH
NEAERA
NEGURA BUNGET
NME.MINE
NOVEMBRE
THE OLD DEAD TREE
ORPHANED LAND
PARADISE LOST
PRIMAL FEAR
PRIMORDIAL
PRO-PAIN
ROTTEN SOUND
SALTATIO MORTIS
SCHELMISH
SHADOW REICHENSTEIN
SIX FEET UNDER
SOILWORK
SONIC SYNDICATE
SUBWAY TO SALLY
SWORN
TEXTURES
THE OCEAN
THE VISION BLEAK
THE WILDHEARTS
TÝR
XIV DARK CENTURIES
More acts will be announced over the coming weeks.

A St. Paul, Minnesota date has been announced for the
forthcoming North American tour featuring ARCH ENEMY,
DARK TRANQUILLITY, DIVINE HERESY and FIREWIND. So far,
the following seven shows have been confirmed:
May 10 - Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
May 11 - New York, NY @ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
May 16 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
May 17 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
May 19 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
May 20 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
May 30 - Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
ARCH ENEMY was honored with the P3 Guld award (for the
band’s critically acclaimed “Rise of the Tyrant”
release) from Swedish radio station P3 in the “Best
Rock/Metal Album of the Year” category. The awards
show was broadcasted live on national radio on January
18.
DARK TRANQUILLTY was honored in the “Metal” category
at Sweden’s annual Manifestgalan awards, which
recognizes fantastic music and musicians from
independent record labels. DARK TRANQUILLTY received
the award for its latest album, “Fiction”, which was
released in April 2007 via Century Media Records. The
CD was mixed by Tue Madsen (HIMSA, THE HAUNTED) and
“encompasses all of the elements on which the band
built their career: thought-provoking lyrics,
shredding guitar work, captivating melodies and sheer
brutality,” according to a press release.

Veteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS have scheduled
the following dates:
Mar. 09 - Bremen, Germany - AWD Dome
Apr. 10 - Saint Petersburg, Russia - Ice Palace
Apr. 12 - Rostov On - Don, Russia - Palace Of Sports
Apr. 13 - Samara, Russia - MTL Arena
Apr. 14 - Kazan, Russia - Tatneft Arena
Apr. 16 - Novosibirsk, Russia - Sport Palace
Apr. 18 - Krasnoyarsk, Russia - Sport Palace
Apr. 20 - Vladivistok, Russia - Fesco Hall
Apr. 21 - Habarovsk, Russia - Platinum Arena
Apr. 22 - Komsomolsk On Amur, Russia - Sport Palace
Metallurg
Apr. 23 - Novokuznetsk, Russia - Sport Palace
Apr. 24 - Ekaterinburg, Russia - Sport Palace
Apr. 25 - Moscow, Russia - Vasilyevskiy Spusk
Aug. 24 - Wolpertshausen - Germany - Air Field
Hohenlohe
Aug. 31 - Goiânia, Brazil - Ginasio Goiania Arena
Sep. 04 - Manaus, Brazil - Arena Amadeu Teixeira
Oct. 25 - Strasbourg, France – [to be announced]
“Live At Wacken Open Air 2006: A Night To Remember - A
Journey Through Time” DVD — which contains footage of
SCORPIONS’ concert at Wacken Open Air in Wacken,
Germany on August 3, 2006 — was made avalable in North
America on January 8 as an Internet-only release and
cannot currently be found in stores, The SCORPIONS’
management is still working on getting a U.S.
distribution deal for the DVD.
“Live At Wacken Open Air 2006: A Night To Remember - A
Journey Through Time” includes the German hard rock
band’s historic performance at the festival during
which they were joined by former bandmates Uli Jon
Roth, Michael Schenker and Herman Rarebell.

April 9th, 2008
Categories: News . Author: admin . Comments: No Comments