Montreal, Canada’s prog metal band FRACTAL CYPHER has a demo called The Human Paradox set for release on September 7th. It was produced by Chris Donaldson of CRYPTOPSY fame.

BONFIRE has fired singer David Reece due to professional and personal reasons. Back in the band is Michael Bormann.

BLIND GUARDIAN will perform its entire 1995 album Imaginations From The Other Side on the upcoming North American tour with GRAVE DIGGER.

After losing a drummer and a singer AC/DC bassist Cliff Williams has also announced that he will retire after the band’s current tour. He has stated that "it's the right thing."

German band FREEDOM CALL has released a single, called Hammer Of The Gods, from its upcoming album Master Of Light.

Relapse has signed heavy rock band SUMERLANDS and will issue its self-titled album on September 16th. SUMERLANDS' debut live performance will be held this October 1st at Union Pool in Brooklyn, New York with ETERNAL CHAMPION, CRYPT SERMON, and CHAIN.

Denver, Colorado-based doom metal quartet KHEMMIS has completed its second full-length album and is preparing Hunted for an autumn release through 20 Buck Spin.

Frontiers Music has signed SHADOWSPELL, a melodic heavy metal project of Italian guitarist Aldo Lonobile (SECRET SPHERE) and Norwegian singer Nils K. Rue (PAGAN’S MIND).

Finland's progressive metal quartet ODDLAND has issued a single from its upcoming album, Origin. The follow-up to the Century Media-released 2012 debut The Treachery Of Senses, the impending album will see release in early September through the band's new label Sensory Records.

FORGED IN BLACK’s demo Fear Reflecting Fear is out now. Chris Tsangarides produced it.

Former SAVATAGE singer Jon Oliva has announced that he suffered a stroke in April.

Former BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and BLACK SABBATH manager Sandy Pearlman died last month at the age of 72.

Spanish Power Metal outfit RAVEN'S GATE has a new album called Blackstar Machinery through Art Gates Records.

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS is a festival taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on August 26th-28th. Organized by the organizers of Psycho California, the three-day and three-stage event will play host to nearly one-hundred acts from around the world with a focus on riffs, doom and psychedelia. Bands include DEATH, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, CONVERGE, DOWN, DRIVE LIKE JEHU, HIGH ON FIRE, SLEEP, PENTAGRAM, YOB and exclusive 2016 US performances from both ELECTRIC WIZARD and CANDLEMASS.

Original drummer Steven Adler rejoined GUNS N' ROSES on Wednesday, July 6th in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and played on the tracks Out Ta Get Me and My Michelle. This was the first time Adler has played with the band since 1990. It was reported that Adler could not join his erstwhile band due to back surgery. More than thirty people were arrested on Saturday July 23rd at the GUNS N' ROSES concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA. Apparently a woman attacked a cop, a few were smoking up and so forth. The band had a gun seized by Canada Border Services on tour upon entering Canada in July for a Toronto concert.

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil was charged with misdemeanour battery in the USA in relation to an incident where he allegedly pulled down an autograph seeker who approached actor Nicolas Cage. Neil had denied the charge, but was caught on camera. Sentencing is due shortly. Neil is touring the US playing solo and MÖTLEY CRÜE songs while being sued.

TYGERS OF PAN TANG is back and will issue a self-titled record this summer.

Right-wing white metal band MEGADETH and LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler, who played on the Dystopia album, have parted ways. SOILWORK’s Dirk Verbeuren is playing with a band now. Drum nomad Tony Laureano, who is a MEGADETH roadie, has also been filling in. MEGADETH cancelled part of its European tour after bassist Ellefson fractured his foot. Subsequently the bassist’s mother also died.

Czech band ANN MY GUARD has announced a European headline tour called Ouraniatour, beginning on August 12 in Prague, Czech Republic. The tour continues with dates in Germany, UK and ending August 20 in London/Wembley, UK. The band recently finished the recordings for its Ourania demo and is looking for a release later this year.

Italian hard rock band MOTORFINGERS has renewed its recording agreement with logic(il)logic Records. The new album Goldfish Motel, the first with new members Faust (bass) and Abba (vocals), will see the light of the day in September.

SAINT VITUS’ Live Vol. 2 is out this September through Season Of Mist.

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry collapsed on stage during a HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES show in Brooklyn, New York. He was subsequently discharged from hospital, but had to leave the tour.

ARMORED SAINT guitarist Phil Sandoval was not playing at the band's German festival appearances this month as he and his girlfriend were expected their first child. Matt Price from BEHOLD! THE MONOLITH stepped in.

Eagle Rock Entertainment will release DEEP PURPLE: Live At The NEC, which was recorded at the venue in Birmingham, UK. The DVD features the band’s farewell to keyboardist Jon Lord who is on stage alongside replacement key man Don Airey. The show was previously available as a part of the Around The World Live package.

LORDI has picked Monstereophonic: Theaterror Vs. Demonarchy as the title for its next album, which is due on September 16ththrough AFM Records.

VOW OF THORNS - FAREWELL TO THE SUN
The Canadians' first full-length is 51 minutes and six songs long. The bio claims that the quartet pair two seemingly opposing forces of black metal and trash (sic) and that the band fuse black metal and doom. Grand claims. The actual product is something that can be described as post-black metal perhaps a la Agalloch, not surprisingly Farewell To The Sun is mixed and mastered by Jason Walton of Agalloch fame. To write and pull off an album with 10 minutes plus songs without over indulging in random mood and tempo changes is not an easy task and a song like the opener, Meeting On The Astral Plane, perhaps neither succeeds nor fails in that regard. An acoustic passage in the middle of driving mid-tempo and slower riffs are expected and delivered. The vocals provide the anguish angle. Great Abomination is less than half the length of opener and more straightforward black metal than the opener. Farewell To The Sun Pt I is, of course, the first part of a three-part title track but it is constructed much like an (four minutes long) instrumental intermission than a full song. Farewell To The Sun Pt II is over 10 minutes long and spends a big chunk of it with too few riffs to capture the ears and minds of a listener, at a moment or two this ventures into Metallica's The Unforgiven and the doom and gloom work but only to a degree. The third and last part of the title track seems to be building up to something big but the emphasis remains on the screams and pain of the vocals before closing without fanfare. The near 13 minutes closer Doomed Woods (...of Ypres?) has a heavier doomier feel and does speed up later on too, it is best of the six songs. Say hello at www.facebook.com/vowofthorns - Anna Tergel

3 KISSES - CARDBOARD CUTOUTS
Female fronted and based in Alaska 3 Kisses has been around for over a decade and fronted by Tish Meeks. Cardboard Cutouts is described as a “big metal pot of punk rock stew”. The early songs are closer to ‘90s (pop) rock, a punk element can be attributed to 3 Kisses based on the simple riffs and sometimes energetic or faster song sections and perhaps similarities to some well-known bands like Green Day. There are certainly sections with metal elements and guitar riffs but 3 Kisses is not primarily metal and the aforementioned pot contains very few sprinkles of the heavier stuff that is certainly the case in the first four songs. One, for example, slows down and is more retrospect or thoughtful than lively. Love Is A Grave picks up the tempo compared to the previous songs. March seems to indicate a trend towards songs with more metal elements. However, Go Away reverts to the more punkish and popish. End Of Time doesn't deviate much either. The songs seem to try to contain a short solo or metal element to offer a bit more of the tastier side dish. Songs like Love Is A Grave, Master Of No One, Go Away and others hint at a love theme throughout these 12 songs and the closer, Slow Down, seems to be a note to self with lines like 'Slow down, you'll be fine ... Don't let the moment pass you by'. Steal kisses at www.3kisses.com. - Anna Tergel

ASSÀL – DEMO
This young Italian band has some ways to go, but at least there is potential for something good here. While the three-year old band has much it cans till learn and work on, it is not a opera rock or K&F (Keyboards & Female vocals) poseur act so all hope is not lost.
With that said, the two track demo is not ready for prime time. The better song, namely The Last Enchantment, is a cross between Iron Maiden (but of course nowhere near as good as early Iron Maiden, but on par with Iron Maiden post-1990) and Cirith Ungol (and again by definition 1,000 times better than that crappy act, which does not say much). City Of Dreamers is a Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner wanna-be without the class or structure. The band’s vocalist has some character, but is largely flat, while the guitar playing (this is a solo act) is novice-like. One does not always demand an Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar - and Buddha knows if Yngvay was in a band with me someone would be deported from Metallian Towers faster than you could say ‘ego hack goes astray’ – but evidently, a few lessons are in order here. The bass fares better.
“Demo’ is a listenable enterprise and a short one at that at two tracks, but as far as ‘heroic heavy metal’ bands go the world has seen better (and worse – see above). Instead of an actual website the band has a corporate page on one of those NSA spying honeypots so instead simply write the band at assal.metal@gmail.com. – Ali “The Metallian”