Just before Christmas, Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN, PRETTY MAIDS, JORN) finalized the mix of Scandinavian band EVIL MASQUERADE‘s upcoming album ‘The Digital Crucifix‘. This is their 6th album and it marks a new important chapter of the band, since it introduces Swedish powerhouse singer Tobias Jansson who joined the band last summer and will be released via Dark Minstrel Music.
Even though the previous album ‘Pentagram’ was released almost two years ago – it still hasn’t had a chance to cool off. It continues to pop up on new radio playlists around the world. The reception has been nothing but amazing.
Henrik Flyman spent about a year (between shows and tours) composing the new album. This has now resulted in, what is likely to be considered, their best collection of songs ever. ‘The Digital Crucifix’ is playful, powerful and sometimes almost aggressive. It has already been described as “Iron Maiden on crack” and “ABBA on speed”. Add some darkness to that and it’s close to the truth. You won’t be disappointed!
And as if this wasn’t enough; EVIL MASQUERADE celebrates 10 years as a band!
This will be an exciting year.
For more information on EVIL MASQUERADE, check out their official website here and their official Facebook page here.
Source: Bravewords.com TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA guitarist Chris Caffery has checked in with the following update:
“A little over 24 hours and this view from the stage at the beautiful Manchester Apollo will include a lot of people and more smoke in the air! About to start run through a for the last rehearsal day. You guys will love this set! I know I said no spoilers but I will tell you this we are doing quite a few more Savatage songs! It’s gonna rock! Really excited!”
TSO’s upcoming European tour dates are as follows:
January
Tour Dates:
10 – O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
11 – Hammersmith Eventim Apollo – London, UK
14 – Olympia – Paris, France
15 – Porsche Arena – Stuttgart, Germany
16 – Mitsubishi Electric Halle – Dusseldorf, Germany
17 – Forest National – Brussels, Belgium
20 – The Arena – Nuremberg, Germany
21 – Festhalle – Frankfurt, Germany
22 – AWD Hall – Hanover, Germany
25 – Tempodrom – Berlin, Germany
26 – Stadthalle – Vienna, Austria
28 – Big Box – Kempten, Germany
TSO celebrated New Year’s Eve by playing to over one million people in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany after two shows in the US, all in 27 hours.
A short documentary on the build-up to the show, as well as footage from the performance, is available below:
As previously mentioned several months ago, English metal band HELL had developed their own ale, Devil’s Deadly Weapon, with North Star Brewery. The strong dark ale, with its 6.66% ABV is now available, as the band recently announced via their official Facebook page:
“IT’S HERE !! \m/ \m/ \m/ The 6.66% ABV Devil’s Deadly Weapon beer is now available for mailorder in the UK. Case of 12 x 500ml bottles, delivered to your door by APC Overnight. PLEASE READ THE NOTES on the merch page regarding worldwide shipments – they are coming soon. Cheers !!”
Metal Shock Finland‘s Chief Editor Mohsen Fayyazi recently published his review of the latest HELL album “Curse & Chapter.” You can read his thoughts about it at this location.
An SACD (Super Audio CD) edition of SCORPIONS‘ classic 1982 album, “Blackout”, will be released soon through Audio Fidelity.
Blackout, their eighth studio album, is Scorpions at their peak… it is the band’s 1982 breakthrough album that made them global superstars. Every song is a gem and this album contains a splendid balance of pop/rock, power ballads and catchy heavy metal. Scorpions dish-out catchy fist-poundin’ anthems like the top ten hit ‘No One Like You’ then turn around and offer the soul stirring ballad ‘When
The Smoke Is Going Down’.
Klaus Meine is a singer who knows how to wring the last ounce of impact from each song. The band sounds great as highlighted by the
fast-paced performances of guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs. Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz add a tight and powerful
drum and bass bottom. Blackout is the band’s heaviest and most solid album and Dieter Dierks production is immaculate.
A self-portrait of artist Gottfried Helnwein is featured on the cover of the album.
Trackisting:
‘Blackout
‘Can’t Live Without You’
‘No One Like You’
‘You Give Me All I Need’
‘Now! ‘
‘Dynamite ‘
‘Arizona’
‘China White’
‘When The Smoke Is Going Down’
DREAM THEATER announce their first 360° App (iOS). The DreamTheater360° App will offer fans a unique 360° interactive experience into the Grammy-nominated progressive metal titans’ performance as captured onstage by Mativision multi-camera 360° video technology at Luna Park in Buenos Aires. The DreamTheater360° App is released on January 9th, and it promises to be a thrilling way for fans to interactively experience the band’s onstage world.
The DreamTheater360° App in its first release will include five interactive songs filmed and produced using the Mativision technology, which virtually transports fans directly onto the Luna Park stage right next to the band members and completely immerses them in a unique experience that they can control in real time. Each fan can direct the show by manipulating Mativision’s multi-camera iOS player, and enjoy the concert in any way they want. They can seamlessly choose to switch from among six different cameras while also being able to rotate camera angles by taping and dragging, or by using the device’s built-in gyroscope. Fans can even zoom in and out or simply switch to “auto pilot” mode and enjoy the show without interaction.
With this groundbreaking app, Dream Theater aim to share with fans all the intense moments of a live performance from right beside them on stage, and provide fans with true interactivity to experience the onstage moments with complete freedom.
Along with the unique interactive 360° content, the DreamTheater360° App will also include enriched up-to-date band-related content such as a biography, discography, photos, and continuously updated tour information, news, and social media.
The first release will be just the start: Mativision will constantly surprise fans with frequent updates, adding more and more amazing and exclusive band content. The DreamTheater360° App is available from the iOS AppStore on January 9th, priced at $9.99.
Dream Theater recently announced new tour dates for a North American headline trek billed as the Along For The Ride tour. The coast-to-coast run will pick up on March 20th in Toronto, ON following the band’s European tour and then continues through the end of April where it will eventually wrap up in Guadalajara, Mexico.
A show in Red Bank, NJ at Count Basie on March 31st has been added to the schedule. Tickets go on sale starting today (January 8th).
Dream Theater’s guitarist, John Petrucci commented, “We are all really pumped and excited to bring our new live show to North America and to take all of our amazing fans ‘Along For The Ride’! Returning to the ‘An Evening With’ format will enable us to deliver the best DT live experience yet with time for lots of music, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you. With this tour, our goal is for you to be able to step into the world of Dream Theater from the moment you enter the venue. We hope to create an intense and stimulating night both musically and visually and have prepared some really cool things this time around. We’ll be premiering some songs we’ve never played live before, as well as featured tracks from our latest self-titled release and plenty of classic DT songs for all of our long time and hard-core fans. We are all looking forward to a great night of music and super-psyched to kick it all off!”
Along For The Ride Tour dates include:
March
20 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
21 – Montreal, QC – Bell Center
25 – Boston, MA – Opera House
27 – Upper Darby, PA – Tower Theatre
28 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
31 – Red Bank, NJ – Count Basie
April
1 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theater
2 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Palace
4 – Detroit, MI – Fillmore
5 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
6 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
8 – Minneapolis, MN – Burnsville Performing Arts Center
9 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
10 – Denver, CO – Paramount
12 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
15 – Salem, OR – Elsinore Theatre
17 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
18 – Riverside, CA – Fox PAC
19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Orpheum
23 – Monterrey, MX – Arena Monterrey
25 – Mexico City, MX – Arena Ciudad De Mexico
26 – Guadalajara, MX – Auditorio Telmex
Three (yes three) new videos for the song ‘Overload’ from JORN‘s eighth and latest studio album entitled Traveller have been uploaded to YouTube. Check out footage from the Czech Republic and the Netherlands below:
In November, Jorn parted ways with drummer Willy Bendiksen. Jorn leader Jorn Lande states: “After many years of working together, I am sorry to announce that Willy Bendiksen will no longer be playing with us. We wish him all the best and good luck for the future. A new drummer will be announced.”
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
