KREATOR To Team Up With EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL For 'Thrashfest 2010' European Tour

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR will headline Thrashfest 2010, the "thrash metal tour of the year," also featuring EXODUS, DEATH ANGEL and SUICIDAL ANGELS.

Confirmed dates are as follows:

Nov. 26 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
Nov. 27 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
Nov. 28 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Hof Ter Loo
Nov. 29 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
Nov. 30 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Dec. 01 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
Dec. 02 - Prague, Czech Republic - KD Vltavska
Dec. 03 - Wien, Austria - Arena
Dec. 04 - Lichtenfels, Germany - X-Mas Metal Festival
Dec. 05 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Dec. 06 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset
Dec. 07 - Oslo, Norway - Betong
Dec. 08 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis
Dec. 09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
Dec. 10 - Hannover, Germany - Capitol
Dec. 11 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
Dec. 12 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
Dec. 13 - Paris, France - Elysee Montmartre
Dec. 14 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Dec. 15 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
Dec. 16 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Cvetlicarna Mediapark
Dec. 17 - Gießen, Germany - Hessenhallen
Dec. 18 - Eindhoven, Holland - Eindhoven Metal Meeting
Dec. 19 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall

More information will be available at Thrashfest.eu soon.

KREATOR recently inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

EXODUS ADDED TO SAN BERNARDINO OZZFEST

San Francisco Bay Area thrash pioneers EXODUS will help kick off Ozzfest 2010 with a one-off appearance at the San Bernardino show on Saturday, August 14th! States guitarist/songwriter Gary Holt: “We are WAY more than fired up to announce that EXODUS will be playing the SoCal date on Ozzfest! We will be filling the slot usually occupied on the tour by Kingdom Of Sorrow who can't make this one show. We were asked if we wanted to jump in, and we said ‘fuck yes!’ See everybody there!”

Ozzfest 2010
Main Stage Acts
OZZY OSBOURNE
MÖTLEY CRÜE
HALFORD
DEVILDRIVER
NONPOINT

Ozzfest 2010 Second Stage Acts on August 14th
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
DROWNING POOL
EXODUS
KATAKLYSM*
GOATWHORE*
SKELETONWITCH*
SAVIOURS*

*Rotating set times

EXODUS’ ninth studio album, Exhibit B: The Human Condition, hit #1 on the CMJ Loud Rock radio chart and has sold over 4,600 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan, debuting at #114 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, #43 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart, #19 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart, and #12 on the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. The album also debuted at #19 on the Neilsen SoundScan LOUD Chart in Canada.

Exhibit B: The Human Condition record release show dates in June are:
• Thursday, June 10th – Chico, CA @ The Senator Theater with Lååz Rockit, Anvil Chorus, plus two local openers (tickets on sale now)
• Friday, June 11th - Los Angeles @ Key Club with Heathen, Bonded By Blood, plus two local openers (tickets on sale now)
• Saturday, June 12th - San Francisco @ Slim's with Heathen, Anvil Chorus, and Passive Aggressive (tickets on sale now)

Album Sales At Their Lowest In Soundscan History

It’s no surprise that album sales have been on a steady decline since 2000, but according to Billboard, the week ending May 30 was the fewest number of albums sold in one week since Soundscan began compiling the list in 1994. The total of 4,984,000 albums stands in stark comparison to late December 2000, when there was a one week sales total of 45.4 million. Even last year, the week ending May 31, 2009 showed album sales of 5.76 million.

There’s no real way to get exact number of albums sold before the Soundscan era, but Billboard compared the number of albums shipped (the way album sales used to be counted by the RIAA) to the number of albums sold as Soundscan reported, from 1992-2009 and found there were about 30% more shipped than there are scanned. Using that equation, you’d have to back t0 1973 to find a time when there were album sales anywhere near as low as they are now.

While some point to the fact that there weren’t any blockbuster releases in the week before May 30, it’s definitely a sign that piracy and file sharing is on the rise, and as one executive puts it, is “pretty scary.” And with June releases by Miley Cyrus, Eminem and more, sales should rebound. But that’s definitely temporary, and a wake up call to any label or artist expecting to get by on album sales alone.

Iron Maiden Unveil The Final Frontier With Free Download

Iron Maiden have announced via their website that they have a new album, The Final Frontier, coming out on August 17. To commemorate the new album, as well as the tour that starts in Dallas on Wednesday (9), they’re givingaway a free MP3 of the first single, “El Dorado.” The announcement temporarily crashed the band’s site when the song was first made available at 7pm EST. The new album was recorded by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley, who produced their last few albums, and was recorded in Compass Point Studios, which was there the band recorded their mid-80s masterpieces Piece of Mind, Powerslave, and Somewhere In Time.

The band also unveiled artwork for The Final Frontier. Instead of original artist Derek Riggs, the artwork featuring a futuristic looking Eddie (if it even is Eddie) in a space setting was illustrated by Melvyn Grant, who’s done several other Maiden album covers, like Fear of the Dark and Virtual XI.

Lime Wire Given Two-Week Reprieve

File-sharing service Limewire will be around for at least another two weeks after being given a temporary stay of execution by a U.S. District Judge. According to CNET, a motion was filed on Friday by the RIAA to shut down the service. Judge Kimba Wood, who granted summary judgment in favor of the RIAA’s claims that Lime Group committed copyright infringement last month, gave Lime Wire’s lawyers two weeks to respond to the motion. Once Lime Wire responds to the RIAA, the RIAA (which is the trade group for the big four record companies) will have two weeks to respond to them, but Wood could make a ruling as soon as she gets Lime Wire’s response.

SERENITY DIES DEBUT NEW TRACK ONLINE

Maldives-based melodic thrashers, SERENITY DIES, have posted the title track from new EP Hacksawcracy on their myspace page. Hacksawcracy boasts contributions from Anthrax's Rob Caggiano and Kiuas guitarist Mikko Salovaara. Coming out on July 15th, the EP is already being touted as an "in-your-face experience" by Chris Ballard of Blogcritics.org, who also credits the band with "creating a brand of thrash metal all their own" with Hacksawcracy. For more information on SERENITY DIES or to check out the new song, go to www.myspace.com/serenitydies.

1. Bullet Reign

2. Psycho Ride (featuring Rob Caggiano)

3. In Devils Symmetry

4. Blood Serenade

5. Hacksawcracy

6. Dystopian Law (featuring Mkko Salovaara)



BIO

Formed in 2005 SERENITY DIES is a thrash metal band from Maldives. The tropical island nation in the Indian sub-continent is nothing but a nature’s tranquil setting in the eye of every vacationer. Yet SERENITY DIES appeared in the dark side of paradise. With the influence of bands such as Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer, the band came up with their own material, releasing their debut album in 2006. Murder was well accepted and the band gained massive support in the local and regional metal scenes. With the release the band geared up to perform in all major festivals held in Maldives and in the South Asian region. With their raging music and stunning performances, the crowd paid the band with homage, showing true dedication to their music.

After coming out in a big way in their own county the band headed to work with Children of Bodom producer Anssi Kippo as the production and mixing engineer at Astia Studios in Finland, alongside Grammy Award winning Hollywood mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen (Slumdog Millionaire, Across the Universe, Iron Man, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper). With Hacksawcracy, SERENITY DIES has set a new global standard in heavy metal.
The Hacksawcracy EP will be released in all major digital outlets in US, UK, Japan and Finland on July 15, 2010.

The Tidal Wave 12 FREE 2-day outdoor metal concert in S.F.

YES!!!!! CONFIRMED, The Tidal Wave (a FREE 2-day outdoor metal concert in San Francisco) is coming back! This is the big news we have been waiting for. (latest update 5.30.2010, updates shown at bottom of post; includes planning meeting notes + minor lineup change etc.)


The Tidal Wave 12 is Saturday & Sunday July 24 & 25, 2010 Noon-6pm @ McLaren Park Amphitheater, S.F.
This is a daytime event, Noon-6pm both days (Saturday & Sunday). Yes, it actually starts at Noon, due to a very tight schedule, usually about 7 good metal bands each day.
SAT: Near Life, Desecrater, Abysmal Dawn, Giant Squid, Stone Vengeance, Anvil Chorus, RAVEN
Sun: Go Like This, OR3O, Witchaven, Vastum, Elk, Amber Asylum…. (and if lucky, Prong)
Did i mention it’s FREE?
Of course a few details might change between now and the show. But MARK YOUR CALENDARS for July 24 and July 25, 2010.

The Tidal Wave – official site HERE.