Brand New Sin/United State review

Listened to the Brand New Sin "United State" and not finding much to like in this hard rocker, except for "Bed Of Nails" and a cover of Black Sabbath's The Wizard the rest of it is quite weak and sackless. Their version of AC/DC's "What Do You Do For Money" is note for note perfect without any of the rasp you'd expect from an AC/DC cover, they might as well have made it a ballad, avoid.

THRASH AND BURN TOUR 2011 TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED!

Come this November, WINDS OF PLAGUE will be hitting the road with CHELSEA GRIN, AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS, UPON A BURNING BODY, IN THE MIDST OF LIONS, LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES, and VOLUMES for "Thrash & Burn Tour 2011"! In regards to this upcoming trek, WINDS OF PLAGUE's Johnny Plague (vocals) comments: "We are very excited that our first US headlining tour in support of our new record 'Against The World' will carry the Thrash & Burn brand. In my opinion, this year's lineup is one of the heaviest lineups I've seen in a while. Each band will deliver their unique brand of crushing metal, and it will prove to be one hell of an evening for fans of heavy music. Our set will consist of an even balance of songs between our three records. We are pulling out all the stops for this tour--if you have seen us before, you've never seen us like how we will be on this tour."

Dates for the trek are below:

Nov. 10 - San Diego, CA @ Soma (no FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS)
Nov. 11 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Nov. 12 - Salt Lake City, UT @ [to be announced]
Nov. 13 - Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
Nov. 15 - St Paul, MN @ Station 4
Nov. 16 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
Nov. 17 - Indianapolis, IN @ Emerson Theatre
Nov. 18 - Detroit, MI @ Harpos
Nov. 19 - Dayton, OH @ The Attic
Nov. 20 - Louisville, KY @ [to be announced]
Nov. 21 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Nov. 22 - St Petersburg, FL @ The State Theatre
Nov. 23 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ TBA
Nov. 25 - Richmond, VA @ Kingdom
Nov. 26 - Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
Nov. 27 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
Nov. 28 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
Nov. 29 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Nov. 30 - Portland, ME @ [to be announced]
Dec. 01 - Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights (w/ HATEBREED) (WINDS OF PLAGUE, CHELSEA GRIN, AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK only)
Dec. 02 - Montreal, QC @ Tulipe
Dec. 03 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Dec. 04 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Dec. 05 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar
Dec. 07 - St. Louis, MO @ [to be announced]
Dec. 08 - Tulsa, OK @ Marquee Theatre
Dec. 09 - San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
Dec. 10 - Dallas, TX @ Unsilent Night Fest
Dec. 11 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
Dec. 12 - Corpus Christi, TX @ House of Rock
Dec. 13 - Austin, TX @ Emo's East
Dec. 14 - El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls

Alice Cooper/Welcome 2 My Nightmare review

Thirty six years after the release of the conservative rocker Alice Cooper's debut solo album "Welcome To My Nightmare" comes the sequel Welcome 2 My Nightmare. The album is chock full of the kind of diversity one comes to expect from the elderly madman, with contributions from Ke$ha, Buck Cherry, Desmond Child, John 5. Stand out tracks such as The Congregation (with back up vocals by horror schlocker Rob Zombie, I'll Bite Your Face Off and When Hell Comes Home (which feature O.G. Alice Cooper Band members) will make this album one of your favorites in no time. This album like classics just gets better with repeated play, so do yourself a favor and buy this now here @ Itunes.

ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL TO HIT THE ROAD WITH THIS FALL'S DON'T-MISS THRASHFEST EXTRAVAGANZA

Thrash titans Anthrax and Testament, who haven't toured together in more than a decade, are set to co-headline a U.S. tour beginning Friday, October 14 in Grand Rapids, MI (itinerary below). Anthrax will close all shows, and Death Angel will be main support for the entire tour. The coast-to-coast trek will figure to decimate more than two dozen cities over a five-week period, with both Anthrax and Death Angel debuting brand new material from their new albums, both set for summer/fall release; Testament's new album is set to be released in 2012. The Anthrax fan club presale begins today at www.anthraxarmy.com, and the public on-sale kicks off Friday, September 9 at 10AM local time. For more information or to purchase tickets, log onto http://anthrax.com http://www.testamentlegions.com/ or http://deathangel.us/



"We've been tight with the guys in Testament for a long, long time," said Anthrax's Charlie Benante. "so we're really looking forward to hanging out with them on the road. And all of us in Anthrax are big Death Angel fans, so this is going to be a monster of a good time - for all of us and for the fans. Plus, with the incredible success of The Big Four shows over the last year, we wanted to tour with some of the 'second wave' of thrash bands."



The tour will follow Anthrax's Big Four "hometown" appearance at Yankee Stadium on September 14, with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth.



"We're excited to do this tour because Anthrax was actually the first band we ever toured with," adds Testament vocalist Chuck Billy. "It's an accomplishment 20 odd years later that we're going to do it again. The tour kick-off date is actually about five days difference from the kick off date of the first tour 20 years ago. The first time we performed with Anthrax, we only had a total of ten songs, so obviously now we have many songs to pick from so it will be very different. It's good to see that a lot of the faces in the bands are the same as back when we first did this original tour 20 years ago."

Swedish death metalers GRAVE ready to kick-off North American tour

As one of the very first Swedish death metal bands, the now classic GRAVE has inspired countless metal acts to deliver unrelenting death metal to the masses. While others have fallen victim to the latest music trends, they've persevered the metal ages by remaining true to their roots since their humble beginnings in 1988. They truly are the MOTORHEAD of death metal-GRAVE has never broken-up, reunited, or deviated from their same, classic sound!

To celebrate the longevity of their career and the 20th anniversary of their debut album, "Into The Grave", GRAVE will be touring North America this August and September. In regards to their upcoming tour, vocalist/guitarist Ola Lindgren comments:

"We are really psyched to get over to the states and Canada again after 5 years of absence. It's great to be back on the Century Media train again and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 'Into the Grave' with another visit to North America. During the summer festivals here in Europe, we set out to play the entire first album from start to finish in the order that the songs are on the album. It turned out to be extremely well received from our fans, so we decided to bring the concept on the road for this upcoming tour. Since we are headlining, there will be more material than just the 'Into' album of course. So be there or be square...C y'all!"

BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY, and GIGAN will also join GRAVE on their North American trek, so be sure to catch this epic death metal show at a city near you! Dates for the tour are below.

GRAVE North American Tour 2011 with BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY, GIGAN

8/30--Tampa, FL @ Brass Mug
8/31--Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
9/1--Charlotte, NC @ The Casbah
9/2--Trenton, NJ @ Championship Bar and Grill
9/3--New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
9/4--Montreal, QUE @ Petit Campus
9/5--Toronto, ONT @ Mod Club
9/6--Buffalo, NY @ Broadway Joe's
9/7--Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
9/8--Detroit, MI @ Blondie's
9/9--Chicago, IL @ Reggie Rock Club
9/10--St Paul, MN @ Station 4
9/11--Winnipeg, MB @ The Osbourne Village Inn
9/12--Regina, SK @ The Exchange
9/13--Calgary, AL @ Dickens
9/14--Edmonton, AL @ Pawn Shop
9/15--Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore
9/16--Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
9/17--Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
9/18--San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
9/19--Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club
9/20--Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
9/21--Las Vegas, NV @ Area 702 Skatepark
9/22--Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse

Thrash and Burn Tour 2011 Lineup: Winds of Plague, Chelsea Grin, As Blood Runs Black, For The Fallen Dreams

The lineup has been revealed for this year’s Thrash and Burn Tour. On the bill: Winds of Plague, Chelsea Grin, As Blood Runs Black, For The Fallen Dreams, Upon A Burning Body, In The Midst of Lions, and Like Moths To Flames.

Voting is being held on Winds of Plague’s Facebook page to determine the opening act. Amongst the candidates: Across The Sun, Betraying The Martyrs, The Devastated, Dr. Acula, The Great Commission, Onward To Olympas, The Plot In You, This Romantic Tragedy, Volumes, and White Arms of Athena.

It's Official: Reunited Original Lineup Of BLACK SABBATH Working On New Album

BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi has confirmed to Birmingham Mail that the band's original lineup has reunited and is rehearsing for a tour and new studio album.



Iommi and singer Ozzy Osbourne wrote new material in June for a record that will be released next year.

"We're really looking forward to it and I think the stuff we've been writing is really good," said Iommi. "It's more back to the old original stuff."

He added that the reunion has been kept under wraps for some time.

"It's all been very hush-hush. Ozzy's been the worst at trying to hold it back. He's doing a lot of TV and he's being asked stuff about a reunion and he's going, 'Well, I never say never.' He told me, 'I don't know what to say."

Iommi told the Birmingham Mail that his only apprehension about a reunion of BLACK SABBATH's original lineup was the health of drummer Bill Ward who in 1998 suffered a heart attack.

"He hasn't been 100 percent. He had an operation a few months ago, so we'll see how he is."

Ozzy was asked by QMI Agency in a recent interview why the four members of SABBATH couldn't seem to agree on playing together again. Ozzy replied, "I haven't got a clue. If they want to call me, they can call me. I never say never. If it works, fine. If it don't, I'll move on. It ain't the end of the world. I ain't gonna get a box of Kleenex and cry my eyes out for the rest of my life."

Ozzy added, "I would love to do a great album with BLACK SABBATH. I would love to get the credit we so roundly deserve. At the same time, the pressure would be really intense. I could go tomorrow and make an album with them, but it wouldn't necessarily be something I would be proud of."

The original SABBATH lineup has not toured together since summer 2005, and last convened for their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in early 2006.

SABBATH did try to record a new album 12 years ago, their first since 1978, but abandoned the attempt after just a couple of songs.

Osbourne and Iommi last year amicably resolved their problems over the ownership of the BLACK SABBATH name and court proceedings in New York were discontinued.

Ozzy filed a lawsuit against Iommi in May 2009, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Osbourne sued Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.

The Manhattan federal court suit also charged that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.

Lawyer Andrew DeVore argued that Osbourne signed away all his rights to the BLACK SABBATH trademark after he quit the band in 1979.

Osbourne's lawyer, Howard Shire, called that agreement a "red herring" that was "repudiated" when the singer rejoined in 1997 and took over "quality control" of the band's merchandise, tours and recordings.