DEATH DEALER, featuring MANOWAR guitarist Ross "The Boss" Friedman, will play its first live shows this month in Southern California and Mexico. DEATH DEALER's album, War Master, was released in Japan on June 12th through Rubicon Records.

ANNIHILATOR will release a studio album, called Feast, on August 23rd through UDR. The “deluxe eco-book” version will also feature a bonus disc with 15 re-recorded ANNIHILATOR songs. The package will feature a 3D cover.

DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell is undergoing chemotherapy following the discovery of Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer in his throat.

TIGERTAILZ has signed a deal with Scarlet Records. The band's new EP, Knives, was recorded at Red Rock Studios in Wales and will be released in September.

Professor Mats Eriksson of Sweden has named several fossils after his favourite rock stars. One called Kingnites Diamondi, named after King Diamond, was part of a Danish exhibition last month called Heavy Metal And Punk Fossils. King Diamond was on hand at the official unveiling.

Australian heavy metallers TABERAH have set Necromancer as the title for the second album, due out in August through Dust On The Tracks Records. The CD was engineered by Theo B (SCORPIONS) produced and mixed by Joe Haley (PSYCROPTIC) and mastered by Stu Marshall.

Perris Records is proud to announce the worldwide release of Show No Mercy, the new CD by Atlanta rockers MAD MARGRITT. The nine-song CD hits stores on July 16th, 2013.

Following their recent performance at the Fifth Annual Scion Fest in Memphis, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has announced live assaults for August. In addition to its already planned participation at GWAR’s annual BBQ, the trio will perform a headlining show in Wilmington, Delaware before heading to South America for a string of dates. The August shows mark a break from continued work in the recording studio on the band’s new album, expected for release in early 2014.

Lion Music is releasing Pictures From A Time Traveller, the debut instrumental album from EVERGREY guitarist MARCUS JIDELL.

From July 18th through 21st MONARCH will play in Australian cities Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth as support for SAINT VITUS. Just days later, on July 27th the quartet will return to Sydney to headline Slaughterfest VI over thirteen other underground acts on the bill.

LEATHERWOLF was joined by bassist Paul Carman for its June shows replacing bass player, Pat Guyton.

MIDAS FATE, the band featuring former RIOT and MASTERPLAN singer Mike DiMeo, has been joined by ANGRA drummer Aquiles Priester.

METALLICA will play in China for the first time on August 13th at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.

CRYSTAL TEARS have has picked Hellmade as the title for its next album, which is due later in the year through Massacre Records. The album was recorded with producer Roberto Dimitri Liapakis.

Massacre Records will release the new album Systematrix from German progressive metal band IVANHOE this summer. The North American street date of July 2nd is now locked down.

My Graveyard Productions has signed a deal with Canadian band CROMLECH in order to release the band’s debut album, Ave Mortis. The band’s sound is described as “a dark gloomy epic/doom sound.” The act was founded in Toronto, Canada in 2011.

Milan-based heavy metal band RULER has entered Elnor Studio (Magnago, Milan, Italy) to record an album, Rise To Power. This new chapter follows the debut Evil Nightmares and will be released by My Graveyard Productions on September 21st, 2013.

Even more income: IRON MAIDEN’s Bruce Dickinson has told the Norwegian newspaper VG that he will premiere his one-man talking tour in Oslo, Norway in November. The show will be based around the Iron Maiden: Flight 666 film and include audience Q&A.

KILLING RABIES' four-song EP is available on the band’s corporate page https://www.facebook.com/KillingRabies/app_204974879526524. KILLING RABIES was the side-project of LETHAL members Tom Mallicoat and guitarist David McElfresh in the ‘90s.

MOTÖRHEAD has picked Aftershock as the title for its new album, which is due in September. MOTÖRHEAD singer Lemmy Kilmister has had a defibrillator placed on his heart after experiencing heartbeat problems.

ACCEPT is headlining several European festivals, working on a new album and a live DVD and CD. The band is compiling material for an anthology documentary spanning the group’s history.

BAD COMPANY made an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on June 10th on US TV. The band appeared at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles the day after for a question-and-answer session with fans.

ReEvolution, the second full-length of a trilogy of albums from Pleasanton, California-based progressive metal band CYNTHESIS, is out worldwide through Sensory Records, a division of The Laser’s Edge.

Massacre Records is preparing to release The Rise Of Resistance, the blazing fourth studio full-length from German metal warriors CIRCLE OF SILENCE, the label having just confirmed July 2nd as the North American street date.

SKID ROW is touring Europe without guitarist Dave "Snake" Sabo who is temporarily replaced by Damon Johnson (THIN LIZZY, ALICE COOPER, etc.).

‘80s super group project PHENOMENA will make its first live appearance at 2014’s edition of the Sweden Rock Festival taking place June 4th to 7th.

The American spy machine is downloading our information illegally. How many metal bands are singing in protest?

ARATRON – THE RECOVERY
What are these guys recovering from? Is this a sex, drugs and rock & roll band? Then why play death metal. That is what is playing on the disc never mind that the last song of five on the demo is one called Thrashed. The band Aratron from The Netherlands is most analogous to Hypocrisy from Sweden. The Recovery, Imprisoned and others are reminiscent of the Swedes with sharp guitars, thrashy death metal and gruff-screech vocals to boot. Even the plodding and inferior Cause Of Death (not from Florida) is reminiscent of Hypocrisy’s flop album, The Fourth Dimension. Staring Into Black begins with some bass work which, if nothing else, serves to show the band is capable to vary the pace a tad. The solos are lower quality and noise however. Aratron has been around on and off since 2000. This is a mature piece of underground metal and the group deserves some recognition finally. – Ali “The Metallian”

KINETIK – HEAVIER ELEMENTS
The obvious influenced here are progressive, quasi-industrial and so-called modern bands. Still, do not stop reading there is adequate dosage of metal in the full-length to justify inclusion and a moderate praise of Kinetik.
The dystopian future-bleak artwork speaks to the music and intent, as does the typography, titles and logo, on a disc that is professionally designed and delivered. Heavier Elements musically goes where Fear Factory and Meshuggah might go were they mated. The clean vocals are not the norm here necessarily, but certainly present. The balance of the singing is either of the screamed-whisper or growl-a-la-Pantera variety. The heavy growling that occurs elsewhere is my personal favourite. Musically, there is the techno-future babble that leaves one cold, extreme pounding and even a Messhuggah-esque bass romp on Acres Of Space. On Starless Nights is a superlative closer.
Heavier Elements is neither my favourite style nor the best of its sub-genre, but Kinetic are an independent band with a full-length that retains ones attention from start to finish, which in itself is saying a lot. Before I forget, the guitarist can really solo.
The band and album are available at http://kinetikmetal.bandcamp.com/ for $7 or by contacting Donarus Management & PR through the same site. – Ali “The Metallian”