The first promotional trailer for the release of Shadow Gallery's 'Room V' CD is available at official homepage. Quick Time trailer is available for download in two versions, dial-up and a broadband version.

New album 'Room V' is a follow-up to a successful album 'Tyranny' released in 1998 and will hit the stores on June 7 through InsideOut records. So, wait for it!

Source:

shadowgallery.com

On Friday February 25th 2005, Dream Theater wrapped up recording on their latest album. Mixing will be begin on Monday February 28th and the record will be delivered to the label in Mid-March. A release is expected for sometime around May/June through Atlantic Records.

Dream Theater began writing and recording their latest album last November at the world famous Hit Factory studios in New York City. (everybody from Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Britney Spears, U2, Mariah Carey, REM, etc. etc. have all recorded at the legendary studio) As has been reported in the media several weeks ago, the famous recording studio is closing down upon the completion of Dream Theater's recording session.

This album will hold the distinction of being the VERY LAST album ever recorded at the Hit Factory in NYC. (the first was Stevie Wonder's "Songs In The Key Of Life") After the Dream Theater sessions ended on Friday night, the lights were turned off and doors were locked to the world famous studio - ending an era in the music industry....

http://www.dreamtheater.net

Band profile:

Dream Theater

The new video for Paradise Lost's first single from the new album - "Forever After" - is online for the weekend only!

http://www.paradiselost.co.uk/whats_new_news_english_details.asp?id=272

Band profile:

Paradise Lost

26-01-2005 - After Forever will record a new album!

At the end of February the recordings of the fourth album of After Forever will start! After Forever will record the drums, bass guitar and the guitars in the Excess Studio in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) again. The vocals, classical stuff and the mix will be done in the Gate Studio of Sascha Peath and Miro in Wolfsburg, Germany.

The writing proces has just finished and we are very happy about the results again! The songs are more compact, fresh, catchy and again; typically After Forever. In melodic aspect, the album will be more simular to Decipher.For more specific updates about the music: check our forum!!!!!!

It will not become a concept album just like Invisible Circles. The songs have several subjects, some about your imagined life when you dream, some about the reality of this world. The title will be REMAGINE.

Remagine means you can reflect on life and you imagine in. Both ingredients are there in the lyrics and in the music. The word is a combination between Reflection and Imagination.

The album will be released in September 2005!!! We would love to see you on some of the summer festivals we are now planning to do to introduce some of the new songs there!!!

Keep checking www.afterforever.com about the progress of the recordings. After Forever will write a studio report every week when the recordings have started!!!

www.afterforever.com

Band profile:

After Forever

* Mission Statement:

ProgAID was set-up in the wake of the terrible earthquake and Tsunami disaster that tragically struck on the 26th December 2004. The sheer destruction and loss of human life was of a scale that shook the world. It was therefore decided, that maybe the Progressive Rock Community could do something, even in a small way, to help alleviate some of the suffering endured and help towards the rebuilding of lives and communities.

ProgAID at this point, is focused on this one particular cause, but now that it is up and running, our intention is to stay together and help where ever and whenever countries, communities and people need the support of people who care and want to help.

ALL monies paid to us go direct to the people we are aiming to help and your support is needed and appreciated. We thank you for visiting us and for being aware of situations that we can't control but can aid to put right.

* Who's Who

Impressive line-up has gathered:
Steve Babb - Glass Hammer
Fiona Ford - Fula
Stu Nicholson - Galahad
Doogie White - ex Rainbow / Yngwie Malmsteen
Mike Baker - Shadow Gallery
Steve Gee - Landmarq
Clive Nolan - Arena / Pendragon
Steve Balsamo - Alan Parsons Project
Daniel Gildenlow - Pain Of Salvation
Martin Orford - IQ
Nick Barrett - Pendragon
Rob Gould - Fula
Mick Pointer - Arena
Gary Chandler - Jadis
Tracy Hitchings - Landmarq
Liz Prendagast - Bluehorses
Alain Chiarazzo - Eclat
Bryan Josh - Mostly Autumn
Alan Reed - Pallas
Chris Dale - Sack Trick / Bruce Dickinson
John Jowitt - IQ
Bruce Soord - Pineapple Thief
Danny Chang - Briar Bank Studios
Paul Davies - ex Karnataka / Panic Room
Arjen Lucassen - Ayreon
Roine Stolt - The Flower Kings
Nick Gielkins - Mostly Pink
Troy Donockley - Iona
Magenta
Steve Taylor - Strangefish
Martin Hudson - Classic Rock Society
Andy Edwards - Ezra
John Mitchell - Arena / The Urbane
Oliver Wakeman - Oliver Wakeman Band
Danny Mayo & Jem - Hairless Heart Herald
Colin Edwards - Ezra
Neal Morse
Nic Waulker - Bluehorses
Nick Shilton - Classic Rock Magazine
Jonathan Edwards - ex Karnataka / Panic Room
Pete Nicholls - IQ
Gary Wehrkamp - Shadow Gallery
Chris Walkden - Photographer

* The Single

"All Around The World" - The Official ProgAID single to be released mid February 2005. More details soon.

http://www.progaid.com/

Arjen has revealed a bit of news about the project he will be working on in 2005. Here's a piece of Arjen's New Year greeting.

"A new project...

Ah yes... the new CD... You'll be glad to know that I will start working on it first thing this year. Which means that when you are reading this... I'm working! ;-) So what will it be? It is hard to explain, simply because I've only just started. But I can say at least a few things about it that I know for sure.

First off, it will be an entirely new project/band and I fully intent to make it sound very different from my other projects Ayreon, Ambeon and Star One. This actually means that ...if I succeed... there will be no analog keyboards, there will be no concept and there will be just one singer (there, I said it out loud, so now I have to stick to it!). I know I am not supposed to talk about this yet because it's far too early (and my manager Yvette will probably kill me for this) but I really can't stop myself from revealing the vocalist for this project to you (just don't tell anyone I told you) ;-)

The singer is the very talented and beautiful Marcela Bovio from Mexico, who sang the part of 'Wife' on 'The Human Equation'. Some months ago I sent Marcela a couple of basic ideas on acoustic guitar, and she returned them with some of her melodies. I'm not even gonna try to avoid my old cliches: WOAH, AMAZING, GOOSEBUMPS! Marcela will write her own melodies and lyrics, (and most of it will be English). To be honest... I have no idea yet what style it will be, and I really want it all to develop naturally as we work on it. It will definitely not become a happy or poppy album; some of it will be heavy, some of it will be soft... or maybe... aaargh, I'm just as curious as you are! I'll keep you posted on all developments as much as I can."

For full greeting go to the official site.
www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

Posted on official website:

We now announce the guest singers who will appear on the semi-acoustic bonus disc that will go with The Final Experiment re-issue. Audioclips, reports and more information coming soon!

The singers:
* Astrid van der Veen - Dreamtime
* Ruud Houweling - Eyes of Time
* Rodney Blaze - The Accusation
* Esther Boer-Ladiges - Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy
* John JayCee Cuijpers - Sail Away to Avalon
* Peter Daltrey- Nature's Dance
* Marcela Bovio - Waracle
* Irene Jansen - Merlin's Will
* Valentine - Charm of the Seer

The instrumentalists:
* Arjen Lucassen - guitars, drums and percussion
* Lori Linstruth ? electric guitar solos
* Davy Mickers ? drums
* Marieke van der Heyden ? cello
* Ewa Albering ? Flute
* Jeroen Goossens ? Wind instruments
* Valentine ? piano
* Peter Vink ? acoustic bass guitar
* Dewi Kerstens ? cello

www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

According to Queen's official website Queenonline:

QOL can confirm the rumours and now endorse both Roger and Brian's comments in regards to the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour.

The tour is official and will take place in the Spring of 2005 across mainland Europe and the UK. The show will consist of both Queen and Paul Rodgers material.

Full details of venues and dates are to be confirmed very soon. Tickets will be made available here on www.queenonline.com so make sure you are signed up to the database.

www.queenonline-com

A newsletter came in earlier today:

The Final Experiment 10th aniversary!

The last re-issue in the Ayreon series will be The Final Experiment which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2005! To mark this special occasion Arjen decided to create a bonus album containing over 30 minutes of extra music!

The tracks are completely new arrangements of 9 songs of The Final Experiment featuring drums, bass, cello, flute, electric and acoustic guitars plus 9 different vocalists and various instrumentalists from past, present and future albums.

Arjen is currently having a great time in the studio recording the newly arranged versions of 'Dreamtime', 'Eyes of Time', ' The Accusation', 'Ye Courtyard Minstrel Boy', 'Sail Away to Avalon', 'Nature's Dance', 'Waracle', 'Merlin's Will', 'Charm of the Seer'.

This double album will be re-issued February 28, 2005 by InsideOut Music. Stay tuned for more information!

www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

Posted on official site www.megatherion.com by webmaster on 26.11.2004:

As all good things must come to an end, for some time now I have been feeling that my time with this page is almost over. Due to many personal reasons, mainly me being overworked with other, more proffitable jobs (Hey, you gotta eat, right? The Therion page isn't really an employer.), I simply don't have the time nor the initiative to do stuff on this page, after I spend 15 hours a day in front of a computer screen. So I have decided to do the only proper thing, and that is to formally quit the Megatherion Intelligence Page project. I will do so in a matter of days, as I still have a lot of unsorted mail to sort (and forward to appropriate persons) and to add quite a lot of pictures from the gigs (thanx a lot for sending them people, they are great!) to add to the photo section.

As of today, this page has no webmaster but it's looking for one! If there's a Therion fan(atic) out there who is willing to work for free for the next couple of years, 1-2 hours a day, has appropriate linux/webdesign/php/perl/mysql/whatever needed knowledge and skills, and wants to seriously take over this page into his/her care, please send your inquires to: therionsociety.NOSP@M.bredband.net. Before you freak out with "Me! Me! I wanna do it!", do have in mind that Chris may already have someone else in mind, and if he doesn't there is really a lot of work to be done. It's not a simple job, but if you're applying then you already know that. Page currently has NO user interfaces, everything has to be edited manualy directly in Mysql, etc, etc, and whoever takes the job will have to build something and brng the page out of the stone age.

Well. What's there else to say? Please don't mail me any more with the site problems/pics/interview requests, I will deal with the ones currently in queue, but no new ones. Also I'll be removing my email address from the appropriate webmaster mailto links, they are now all replaced by the therionsociety one (it's the address of the TS administration, and acts as temporary headquarters until someone is hired). If you really need to contact me, try ivo.NOSP@M.element.hr.

Bye everyone, it's been my privilege and honour to be the webmaster of this glorious band for the last seven and a half years, I wish both Therion and the regular visitors of this page (and it's forums) all the best luck in the future.

Band profile:

Therion

From official website www.anathema.ws

'Were You There' DVD finally to be released on the 15th of November!!!

We are pleased to announce that our DVD will be finally coming out! The date is set for the 15th of November! Sorry about the wait... it was out of our control. We finished it ages ago but now it's finally coming out.

The DVD will contain a full live show recorded on the recent 'A Natural Disaster' tour. An acoustic concert performed with a string quartet from the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Plus extra features. The artwork and menu designs have again been designed by the very able Mr. Travis Smith.

The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Intro: Childhood Dreams
2. Balance
3. Closer
4. Pressure
5. Release
6. Forgoten Hopes
7. Destiny Is Dead
8. Are You There?
9. One Last Goodbye
10. Pulled Under At 2000 Metres A Second
11. Parisienne Moonlight
12. A Natural Disaster
13. Judgement
14. Panic
15. Temporary Peace
16. Flying
17. One Last Goodbye (Acoustic, W/Liverpool Phil String Quart)
18. Temporary Peace (Acoustic, W/Liverpool Phil String Quart)
19. Flying (Acoustic, W/Liverpool Phil String Quart)
20. Pressure (Promo Video Clip)
21. Release (Live In London, Nov 2002)
22. A Natural Disaster (Live In Hamburg)

Read more ››

Band profile:

Anathema

According to official website:

Now that the album is completely finished, we are happy to announce the release dates for Actual Fantasy: Revisited. Since this release is an audio CD with a bonus DVD, there are two different versions. (It is a region free DVD, but there are two formats!).

Please note: You can already purchase the PAL edition of the new album at the Mega Record and CD fair in Utrecht from Millennium Records on the 20th of November. Arjen will be signing at the stand, and perform at the terrace of the Fair with Robert Soeterboek and Peter Vink.

PAL
* Netherlands:  November 25, 2004
* Rest of Europe: December 6, 2004

NTSC
* Through Plato.nl: December 6, 2004 (tentative) 
* USA/Canada: January 11, 2005

You can pre-order the album through Plato. Please note the different release dates of the PAL and NTSC versions.

www.ayreon.com

Band profile:

Ayreon

Dan Swanö is productively back with another band of his, this time it's Nightingale. According to Black Mark records website the album 'Invisible' is out since 25th October 2004. I'm listening to the sample and I sure can hear the familiar sound of Nightingale that I've come to love.

More, on 6th November a releaseparty will be held at Lördagen. See http://nightingale.ultimatemetal.com/news.html for a flyer.

Preview available at Black Mark homepage: http://www.blackmark.net/

Official homepage has news on the upcoming rerelease of the Ayreon's 'Actual Fantasy' album.

By now most of you know that a trailer is the ultimate way for fans to get a first glimpse at what's has been happening behind the scenes of a new release.

And as far as we are all concerned, Actual Fantasy: Revisited in a way is indeed a new album. Arjen is very proud of the results of the 5.1 mix he just finished and can't wait for fans to hear his music coming from all corners of a room: the way music should be heard!

The album will feature both a CD and a bonus DVD. The CD contains the 2004 recording. And the DVD will feature the 5.1 mix of this recording as well as the original 1996 version of Actual Fantasy. There is also a featurette on the 2004 recording process. The album is due out by the end of this year.

www.ayreon.com
www.arjenlucassen.com/news/news.php?news_id=140

Band profile:

Ayreon

A studio report came online earlier today on the official website www.ayreon.com

Arjen is currently putting the finishing touches on the Actual Fantasy 2004 edition named Actual Fantasy:  Revisited. It features, among other things, a CD of the 2004 recording and a bonus DVD with a 5.1 surround sound remix of the 2004 recording.  At the end of September Ed Warby recorded drums for this edition, and recently Peter Vink recorded bass guitars. Time to catch up with Arjen on how the process of revitalizing the 1996 recording has been so far.

After mixing "Star Child" in dolby pro-logic and "Day Eleven: Love" in 5.1, Arjen couldn't wait to mix an entire album 5.1. The first real opportunity came up when InsideOut began planning their release of the old Ayreon albums. He figured it would be great to give the least selling and seriously overlooked 2nd Ayreon album Actual Fantasy some new attention.

For years Arjen had wondered what Actual Fantasy would sound like with real drums, instead of the drum computer. And when Arjen began working with drummer extra-ordinaire Ed Warby on Ayreon and Star One recordings, the idea grew: wouldn't it be great to record the album with real drums? It was a daunting task that kept Arjen from considering it seriously. However, in order to make a 5.1 mix work for the album he had to re-record a number of elements that were lost, and remaking the album by recording real drums became a serious option.

"After I was finished with 'The Human Equation', I took some time to think it over. I knew it would be a lot of work and would cost a lot of time, effort and money. How could I know it would be worth it? But then I talked it over with Ed, I knew I just had to do this. Of course at the time back in 1996 it was my intention to make the album completely electronic to match the themes of the songs, but what a waste when you have someone like Ed who can really make the album come alive with his drums. In fact Ed himself recently told me that when he heard Actual Fantasy for the first time (we hadn's met yet back then) he told people he should have drummed it instead of a computer!"

"The recording process is completely different from recording a new album. Even though I could replay the guitar and the bass parts, all vocals and most of the keyboards were set in stone. Ed Warby had less room to move and the margin of error was very small, but on the other hand he could now interact with the vocals and solos that were already recorded. As we all know by now Ed is such a skilled drummer and as expected he did a great job. He found enough room to be creative and innovative. I can't begin to describe how great it was to hear the album coming together in a new style in the recording studio."

Read more ››

Band profile:

Ayreon