Here is some great news for Ayreonauts everywhere! For the past month and a half Arjen has been hard at work in his studio, piecing together the puzzle of all the recording tapes of Actual Fantasy, Ayreon's second album.

The reason for all this work? Among other things, Arjen wanted to experiment with releasing his music as a 5.1 surround remix, and Actual Fantasy- a little bit of a 'forgotten' album in the Ayreon collection- is sonically and electronically the most extreme release. Furthermore it is hailed by many fellow-musicians as their favorite Ayreon release.

And in order for Arjen to make this 5.1 surround remix- he needed to piece together all recordings and to separate the parts that had been 'glued together' in the studio at the time of the recording... This meant re-recording some parts as well.

Well, once he knew he had to go through all that trouble... why not immediately re-record that what was an 'ear-sore' for Arjen all along? The drums! The drums on Actual Fantasy are generated by a drum computer, which bothers Arjen to this day! And... well... why stop there and really make it truly challenging and exciting project?

For this purpose Ayreon drummer extra-ordinaire Ed Warby will enter the studio next week to record drums for the Actual Fantasy re-issue. After this, Star One bassist Peter Vink will replay all bass guitar, and Arjen will re-record nearly all guitar and keyboard parts, and then rework the vocal performances- essentially making this album a new Ayreon release of sorts.

The new and improved Actual Fantasy (including the 5.1 remix) won't hit stores until early 2005. After this release, The Final Experiment re-issue with some special added elements, will be released soon after that!

www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

The re-issue of The Universal Migrator Part 1 & 2 is already in stores everywhere and the next re-issue by the InsideOut label is already on our doorstep. The long awaited 'Into the Electric Castle', Ayreon's best seller double album will be available (again) in stores on September 27th, 2004 in Europe, and October 12th, 2004 in the United States.

The re-issue features revamped artwork and also linernotes written by Arjen.

On top of this, the release comes with two CD-ROM tracks (Quicktime movie), one on each disc, in which Arjen tells you about what went into making this stellar album.

Among other things, you get to hear stand-alone vocal performances of each of the vocalists as well as some instrumentalist sections. Total duration of the CD-ROM tracks is 30 minutes!

www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

In early 2002, Alex Skolnick Trio emerged as a refreshing and surprising new voice of improvisation: a former speed metal guitar virtuoso who had fallen in love with jazz, gone back to music school in New York, and hooked up with a fiery young rhythm section. Their debut recording ("Goodbye To Romance: Standards For A New Generation") marked the first time such a group had used heavy metal songs as standards, incorporating lush arrangements and sonic textures that run the gamut from soft and delicate to loud and intense. The group has received raves from Downbeat, Jazziz, Billboard, and more and performed for audiences all over the US, including many who never knew they could like jazz before. Now the mission continues with "Transformation". In stores September 14th, 2004.

more info:
http://www.alexskolnick.com/
http://www.magnacarta.net/artists/alexskolnicktrio.html

Band profile:

Testament

Reunited San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN have made their
entire "Breaking the Silence"
(1987) and "Victims of Deception" (1989) albums available for free
download in the media section
via their new official web site www.heathenmetal.com

HEATHEN new CD, "Recovered" OUT NOW!

Check out the new Heathen forum!

Get your free personal email (yourname@heathenmetal.com if you sign up.

More info at www.heathenmetal.com

Buy new CD at:
www.heathenmetal.com
www.rockhard.de
www.justforkicks.de
www.theendrecords.com
www.nuclearblast.de
www.centurymedia.com

Band profile:

Heathen

Divercia will release their second album, entitled "Cycle of Zero", through Karmageddon Media on September the 20th. The new album features 9 tracks as follows:
01. Of Steel & Man
02. Iron Hearted Cross
03. Overwhelming
04. Cycle of Zero
05. Underground
06. 7,62
07. 2nd Ghost
08. Start at the End
09. God for Gold

More info:
http://www.divercia.com/
http://www.karmageddonmedia.com/

Here is a update from their website:
"hello folks and friends!

We are not dead!

we are working double-shifts to give birth to a new pantokrator album.

We have written a couple of new songs and so far, at least WE like them....faster.....harder.....heavier

We'll try our very best to keep you informed about the working progress.

stay true!

Your friends in Pantokrator. "

http://panto.tk/

"Hi everyone, This morning I got a phone call from Marcus who told me that he is in hospital for quite a few days. Pretending to be a skateboarder he finally stumbled and fell right in front of his house and broke his leg, last Saturday. Since a regular fracture is not enough, Marcus took the severe way and made it a little more complicated. The leg got broken 4 times. He is going to undertake some surgeries and some serious therapies before he will be able to use his leg normally. First surgery will take place somewhere during the week. I will keep you informed.

Hansi "

www.blind-guardian.com

Band profile:

Blind Guardian

The English band that reunited recently during this year (and released an ep) has parted ways with guitarist Rob Engvikson, he will be working in his band Asatru.

Here are few words from Carl Strokes: "There is no malice between the band and Rob, and we wish him well with his Asatru project, and we'll see him down the pub for a beer."

Also the band is concentrated on the writing of the new album.

www.tothegoryend.co.uk

"DETONATION (Hol) to hit the studios in December"

Dutch melodic Death/Thrash metal band DETONATION is currently working on the pre-production of their highly anticipated 2nd full length album. The follow up to last years' "An Epic Defiance" is due to be recorded in December this year at studio Excess, Rotterdam. 11 new songs have been created, to which singer/guitarplayer Koen Romeijn made the following statement; "expect nothing less than pure melodic Death/Thrash, in the vein of our debut album...but this time the songs are more intense, more technical and better structured than before! There's also more variation to be found among the songs, it's going to be a killer!"

No official album title has been revealed yet, but the following songs will appear on the new album:

-Beyond the Margin
-Chaos Banished
-Structural Deceit
-End of Sight-End of Fears
-Clinically Dead
-The Source to Delve
-Solitude Reflected
-Lost Euphoria Part III
-The Loss of Motion Control
-Into Sulfur I Descend
-The Discharge of Isolation

Source:

Osmose Production

Here are some interesting details concerning the new album of Devon Graves band, Dead Soul Tribe, entitled "The January Tree". To be mentioned that these were taken from InsideOut website (www.insideout.de).

"A tree in winter - naked, the leaves have fallen, it almost desparately stretches it's thin branches to the cloudy sky. A good many people associate dreariness with such an image, others think of loneliness, hopelessness, emptiness or even romanticism. But at any rate, Devon Graves of Dead Soul Tribe was fascinated so much by this spectacle of nature that he used it as a basic idea for his new album "The January Tree".

With the predecessor "A Murder of Crows", a dead crow - on a pylon with electric cables, it's wings stretched as if it were crucified - served as starting point for a fascinating concept, a unique symbiosis between poetic lyrics and suspenseful and dramatic music. This time it's similar: "A tree in winter is a mirror image of today's world. A leaf is only a leaf but it is a small wonder that a tree lives with the help of his leaves. It is just the small things which decide over life and death and the level inbetween", philosophizes the father of a family. Graves, who was born in San Diego and who moved to Vienna because of the love he found, can easily be counted as one of the authentic artists of the current music scene. The album's title, "The January Tree", was established even before a tone of music was composed or a line of song lyrics was written. Graves had the inspiration which forced him to continue and to intensively search for the meaning of his idea. Almost for a year the pensive musician experimented with riffs and melodies. "I had a kind of basis in my mind but for a long time I didn't find the appropriate and expressive words, so I initially arranged the music without song lyrics."

As with the debut work "Dead Soul Tribe", as well with "A Murder of Crows", Devon Graves did almost everything himself on "The January Tree": he plays guitar, bass and more flute than before, plus keyboards and piano, he sings and produces. However, this time drummer Adel Moustafa is responsible for the basic structures of three songs. "'A Murder of Crows' remains an important work but I wasn't able to direct my ideas on the really right ways then. 'Angels In Vertigo', 'Some Things You Can't Return', and 'Feed' are great songs but the rest of the album is more like some additions. In retrospect, I think the differences in quality are too big. With 'The January Tree', I had finally found the self-confidence to create almost an hour of homogeneous music without any quality differences."

Read more ››

Enchant DVD and live album coming in October.

This Enchant show, which was recorded on the 13th of March of this year, will be released as a double live CD and double DVD at end of October. The DVD will feature the complete 2 1/2 hour set, plus a second disc with bonus material. More information will follow soon.

Source:

insideout.de

The Tangent new album will be entitled as "The World That We Drive Through".

Tracklist:

01 . The Winning Game 11.09
02. Skipping The Distance 08:55
03. Photosynthesis 07:39
04. The World We Drive Through 12:57
05. A Gap In The Night 18:22

"For the first time you will hear symphonic elements in The Tangent's work, most often added by Tillison with a newer version of a mellotron, but in the overture of the opener "The Winning Game" this is generated just by multi-layered flute and saxophone lines, as Tillison reveals. Unusual rock can be heard on "Skipping the Distance" and the album's title song when Reingold and Csorsz can really shine while "Photosynthesis" produces an almost romantic flair reminding one of nature. And what the title song indicates, finds fulfilment with dark and deeply searching chords in the album's longest song, the 18 minute track "A Gap In The Night": a clear reminiscence of Van der Graaf, which will much please Peter Hammill, combined with psychedelic additions brought in by Theo Travis from his work with Gong.

"The World That We Drive Through" is a concept album. "We don't see much of those things that happen in the world", explains Andy, "because we are too much concerned with the things going on in our own lives. So many negative but also some wonderful things escape our attention. The album shall illuminate all those aspects." And he adds: "I remember a few rich guys who fell off a bridge in San Francisco during an earthquake. Inside their expensive cars they fell into a very poor ghetto. There they were freed by those people to whom they had no points of contact until then. This set the ball rolling for this album." Now, since the ball rolls, one maybe cannot stop it anymore...

"The World That We Drive Through" is released as regular edition as well as special edition in jewel case and slip case, with extended booklet and the 14 minute long bonus track "Exponenzgesetz".

source & more details: www.insideout.de

Steve Souze is out of Exodus, here is a message post by Gary Holt on Exodus official forum:

"Okay people, the word has leaked, so I'm here to give you a brief rundown.
Let me give you an idea of what we've had to deal with as far as that fat motherfuckin' shit brick is concerned. He pulled out of going to Mexico city only about twenty four hours before were ready to leave, saying " I'm not getting on the plane, you'll see me on Thursday to go to South America." He lied to our manager, saying that he had talked to me already about this, which was a totall lie. He then ducked every fuckin' phone call and just hid out. The promoter had already paid a non-refundable 8 thousand dollars for the room and it would have been a disaster to have canceled. None of this mattered to that miserable piece of shit. The only thing he cares about is himself and money. If only you could have heard some of the shit that has come out of his fat pie hole over the last couple of years. Things like " Why does Jack get the same money as me, who the hell is he anyway?" "We should hire a body guard for South America", " If the fans want more than 12 songs out of me they should pay more money, they are getting their moneys worth already!", "Why is Gary in the front of this promo picture,I should be in the front, that's copyright infringement!", (true! he said that!). There is soooo much more shit you wouldn't believe it. This motherfucker sat backstage and cried at Provinsi rock fest in Finland like a pussy. Waaaaaah! Now you can keep your fat fuckin' ass at home and go off your Atkins diet ( like it's working lard ass!) and blow up as much as you'd like! If he had been a man and finished his commitments and said that it's too hard and he can't do it anymore I'd have shaken his hand and wished him well, but not now. He is the enemy. I hate him more than I've ever hated anyone on this planet. He is human crap. Fuck him. Some people wonder what will happen now. Well this band will continue. As for tight nit unity! The show in Mexico was the most liberating moment in my career, not have to listen to him bitch and complain once! And you know what? The crowd did not care. But I am not quitting. This is MY band ( the thing that he hated most), I write the songs and I've got some crushing new shit written already. So fuck that pussy. Zetro is dead, love live Exodus"

Read more ››

Band profile:

Exodus

Graham Bonnet's management have post the following statement:

"Hi everyone. I thought it is about time to let you all know what is happening with Graham Bonnet. The answer to your question is that there will be a new album and world tour in the near future. Yes we have been offered to do a tour of the UK with our friends Dokken although all the dates are not yet confirmed. We are in negotiations to do a tour of Japan in the near future and this will be with an original guitarist from Alcatrazz. I will give an official press release when it is confirmed. Graham Bonnet would like to thank all the fans and is looking forward to touring and recording a new album. Rest assured you will all be the first to know when everything is confirmed. Take care and long live rock and roll. Cheers, Mark Wilkinson Bonnet Management"

www.bonnetrocks.com

The band called F5 consist of David Ellefson (ex Megadeth) on bass, Dale Steele(ex Sick Speed) on Vocals, Steve Conley and John Davis on the guitars and David Small on Drums, to listen to the song go to their official website:

http://www.f5theband.com/Sound/Sound.aspx

Band profile:

Megadeth