Confirmed singers on the new Ayreon projects:
Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
Fabio Leone (Rhapsody)
Andy Deris (Helloween)
Ian Parry (Elegy, Ayreon)
Scheepers (Primal Fear, ex-Gamma Ray)
Soeterboek (My Brother Jake, Ayreon)
Reekers (Kayak, Ayreon)
Lana Lane (Lana Lane)

Confirmed musicians on the new Ayreon projects:
Clive Nolan - keyboards (Arena, Pendragon, Ayreon)
Erik Noorlander - keyboards (Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists)
Keiko - keyboards (Ars Nova)
Ed Warby (ex-Elegy, Gorefest, Ayreon) - drums

ICED EARTH upcoming live album is entitled "Alive in Athens", which was recorded in two shows happened in January of 1999. Both shows recorded were sold-out. It will be a three set CD containing at least three hours of music. Century Media will also release a five-disc vinyl edition. In United States, a shortened two CD version will be sold in stores.

Tough break once more for those over-seas.

MULLMUZZLER, the solo project of James LaBrie (Dream Theater), will have its first studio album out in August 24. Other musicians playing in the album are drummer Mike Mangini (Steve Vai, Extreme), guitarist Mike Keneally (Steve Vai, Beer For Dolphins), bassist Brian Beller (Beer For Dolphins) and keyboardist Matt Guillory (Dali's Dilemma). Trent Gardner (Madellan), Carl Cadden-James (Shadow Gallery) and Matt Guillory, among others, helped LaBrie in the songwriting. The title of the CD is "Keep It to Yourself".

The 21 of June Secret Sphere will enter in Studio at New Sin (Labyrinth, Domine, Eldrich) to record their first album. The sound of the band is an epic speed metal with catchy chorus and fantasy lyrics in the vein of bands like Rhapsody.

This week the recording sessions of the Heimdall’s come back will start. The Album will be released in Japan in August and in the rest of the world at the end of September.

After the split from their old singer, Alex D’Este, Black Jester have a new line-up:

Bass: Gianluca Tassi ( bassist also in the first line.up)
Keyboards: Daniele Soravia ( Ex Helreid)
Vocals: Alex Secchi (ex Dark Lord, and Epica)
Guitar : Paolo Viani (former member)
Drums : Alberto Masiero

The come back of 'The Divine Comedy' will be out in the first part of 2000 and the title probably will be "Outskirts of reality"

After the Japanese and European release, DGM ‘Wings Of Time’ will be released also in South America. Maybe the album will have also an extra track, different from the Japanese edition (that have two bonus extra tks, including Whitesnake cover ‘Fool For Your Lovin’). More news soon.

William Stravato album will be out at the end of May. Stravato is one of the most talented Italian guitar hero and in this deput is playing also great guests like Brett Garsed and Michael Angelo.

EMPTY TREMORS (that already recorded an album for Rising Sun) are now on Elevate Records.

Scythe has been signed by Mp3.com. You can now download their entire album from http://www.mp3.com/scythe/.

According to Mike Portnoy, the music for the new Dream Theater album should be finished by mid-May (right now 90% of it is done). After a short break, the band will resume for vocals in June... Mixing will probably take place in July... To quote Mike Portnoy, "we are making THE album that I always wanted Dream Theater to make".

EVENT 'Electric Skies' will be released on Rising Sun Records in Europe on May 17th. For more info on the band:
http://www.leviathanrecords.com/
event.htm

Zizania Entertainment Group has signed a new major band out of Sweden called Wolverine. This band will release in the summer a mini CD entitled 'Fervent Dream' and shall appear in November on.

The new Vanden Plas album will be entitled "Far Of Grace". It's the first time that the band uses a song name as an album title. The album will be recorded in Dennis Ward's studio in Karlsruhe starting on April 16th. The release date for France is September 3rd. The band has just completed the recordings of three songs for the EP which will be released May 14th in France exclusively: Inside Of Your Head Kiss Of Death (original version: Dokken) Shape Of My Heart (original version: Sting)

Aghora will no longer be signed to Laser`s Edge due to contract problems. This also indicate that Neil Kernon is out of the picture as producer. Everything else stays the same though. They plan on recording an album soon, and the guests still plan to play on it. Can someone please give this talented band a record deal a.s.a.p ?

MICHAEL HARRIS has just released his new instrumental Cd 'DISTORTED VIEWS.' This new Cd showcases Michael's amazing guitar playing and compositions. A must for every guitar fan worldwide. Michael's debut 1991 release 'Defense Mechanizms' has just been remastered and repackaged. http://www.leviathanrecords.com/
catalog2g.htm

According to www.queensryche.com, the title of QUEENSRYCHE's forthcoming album is Q2k. The album features the following tracks: 'Falling Down','One Life', 'Sacred Ground', 'When The Rain Comes', 'How Could I', 'Beside You', 'Liquid Sky', 'Breakdown', 'Burning Man', 'What Kind Of Man' and 'The Right Side of My Mind'.

Tiamat are still holed up in Woodhouse Studios working on their forthcoming album, Skeleton Skeletron, due out in August. Label sources say that fans can expect a "slight return to the band's heavier past mixed with some of the odd atmospherics".

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, who is currently working on his new studio album at home in Miami, has ousted new vocalist JOHN WEST only weeks into working with the Artension frontman. Ironically, West was originally slated to tour with the Michael Schenker Group but changed his mind in order to work with Malmsteen. Yngwie is said to have once again recruited Mark Boals whose ties with the Swedish guitar god go back to the classic Trilogy album and more recently Inspiration. The new album, which is said to be a return to the early Rising Force days and promises to be Malmsteen heaviest in years, will also feature John Macaluso (ex-TNT, RIOT, POWERMAD) on drums and returnee Mats Olausson on keyboards; Yngwie himself will be doing all the bass tracks. Look for a release around October.

ANNIHILATOR has signed a deal with their original label Roadrunner and are releasing their 9th official release in June entitled Criteria For A Black Widow. Founding guitarist Jeff Waters spoke to BW&BK recently. "We are in rehersals in Vancouver, BC for some headline shows in Holland and Belgium and some gigs with the SCORPIONS and GRIP INC. We leave to Amsterdam this Tuesday and look forward to carrying the canadian "torch" over there, once again! ... Criteria features the return of our Alice in Hell vocalist, Randy Rampage and all but one of the original members. Criteria For A Black Widow features the following tracks: 'Loving The Sinner', 'Bloodbath, 'Punctured', 'Nothing Left', 'Back To The Palace', Schizos (Are Never Alone) Part III', 'Sonic Homicide', 'Mending', 'Criteria For A Black Widow' and 'Double Dare'.

According to Tony Webster's unofficial Where The Rain Grows HELLOWEEN site: http://www.en.com/users/tw/, Helloween plan to hit the studio in September or October to begin work on the follow up to last year's brilliant Better Than Raw album. As for their upcoming covers album, the following tracks will appear: 'Lay Your Love On Me' (ABBA), 'Space Oddity' (David Bowie), 'Saturdaynight' (HERMAN BROOD), 'Locomotive Breath' (JETHRO TULL), 'Something' (THE BEATLES), 'All My Loving' (THE BEATLES), 'Hocus Pocus' (FOCUS), 'White Room' (CREAM), 'Faith Healer' (ALEX HARVEY), Rat Bat Blue (DEEP PURPLE) and 'Juggernaut' (FRANK MARINO).

This week in 1980, BLACK SABBATH officially announce Ozzy Osbourne's replacement - former ELF/RAINBOW vocalist Ronnie James Dio. In related news, on October 5, Spitfire Records will be releasing the long-awaited album from DIO titled Magica. The album will be recorded at Rumbo Studios and produced by Ronnie James Dio himself. Dio is joined by bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Ansley Dunbar. However, only days after announcing the recording of a new album comes word that guitarist Tracy G has left the group. Rumor has it that Ronnie James Dio will replace Mr.G with not one but two yet-to-be named guitar players. Sources close to the project say that Magica embraces the very heavy classic Dio sound of his early '80s material. Spitfire will also be reissuing Angry Machines and Inferno: Last In Live in October as well.

Grave Digger's next album, tentatively titled Excalibur, will be another concept album revolving around the topis of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table as voted on by on-line fans at http://www.grave-digger.de/.

Angra's Angel's Cry (bonus tracks) and Holy Land will be reissued by Century Media on June 6, as well as the EPs Holy Live and Freedom's Call (+ bonus tracks) on August 10. The band has just finished touring Europe and South America with STRATOVARIUS and have most of their year plotted out with additional tour dates throughout the world.

Sentenced, who look to be receiving a gold record in their native Finland, for their Frozen opus, have already been writing new material and four songs are completed at the moment.

Empyria's new CD Changing Currents is now available in Canada through HMV and Scrape Records and in the U.S. through Nightmare Discs and Laser's Edge CD's. The band start working on a third CD soon.

Gamma Ray's singer/guitarist/frontman Kai Hansen has recently suffered some minor throat problems resulting in the cancellation of two of the band's German dates. The band had not even been out a week when Hansen started to notice some problems, went to a doctor and was advised to take it easy for a while. Determined not to cancel anymore shows, Hansen and crew are looking into the possibility of having either STEEL PROPHET or EDGUY's singer split the set with the singer of Gamma Ray drummer Daniel Zimmerman's other band, FREEDOM CALL. Then if Hansen's up to it, he'll perform the encores.

Some NASTY HELLOWEEN rumours on the Net recently stated that singer Andi Deris has AIDS and has 6 months to live. Don't fret, the rumours are totally UNTRUE! Helloween guitarist Michael Weikath had this to say to the unofficial Helloween Page: http://www.en.com/users/tw/: "I guess it merely shows that Andi must be much more important for Helloween now than former members ever were...because no rumour of that level has ever been made up before...I should be happy to announce that he is fine, and if he had to live only for six more months, it would definitely show on the photo session we will have to do on April 29th...so everyone should give the resulting pix a close look, if one can't possibly see traces of an advanced disease...Andi shouldn't actually be visible as the one one has got used to see...so we will all have to eagerly await what the pix will look like."

DEATH mastermind Chuck Schuldiner has decided to part company with bassist Scott Clendenin in the midst of recording the long-in-the-works CONTROL DENIED debut album. Taking over bass duties in the studio will be Steve DiGiorgio from SADUS, currently with TESTAMENT. In addition, DiGiorgio may also be contributing bass on the next Death record.

MERCYFUL FATE have finished recording their new album entitled 9. The music, produced by Sterling Winfield, is said to be heading back to their roots with cover art to match! Here's the tracklisting: '9', 'Burn In Hell, 'Insane', 'Buried Alive', 'Kiss The Demon', 'Sold My Soul', 'The Grave', 'Last Rites', 'Church Of St. Anne' and 'House On The Hill'. The King himself has dubbed 9 "brutal". Watch for it on June 15. Mercyful Fate will head to Europe to perform at many prestigous summer festivals. The band are scheduled to open up for METALLICA on many dates. A full North America tour is planned as well.

MICHAEL SCHENKER has recruited STEELHOUSE LANE vocalist Keith Slack in place of John West, who was originally set to take over for Kelly Keeling, for his upcoming American tour in support of his latest album, The Unforgiven. Other than Schenker and Slack, the current touring line-up consists of Wayne Finley (g/keys) and MSG alumni Barry Sparks (bs) and Shane Gaalaas (dr). In a rather odd twist, Finley, Sparks, and Gaalaas will also be backing up VINNIE MOORE who's the opener for MSG in the US. Both bands are touring throughout May and early June.

True metal warriors HAMMERFALL have reportedly parted ways with drummer Patrik Rafling and are said to be rehearsing with former RISING FORCE/SILVER MOUNTAIN man Anders Johansson.

Kkleq Muzzil, featuring former drummer Dave Lombardo and CIVIL DEFIANCE members Gerry Nestler (g/v) and Juan Perez (bs), have just finished recording a 3-song demo at Lombardo's home studio. No deal has been inked as of yet, but the trio are looking at recording an album later this fall once Lombardo has fullfilled his touring commitments with GRIP INC., FANTOMAS and TESTAMENT.

Lefay are still in the studio re-recording their first album, Symphony Of The Damned. This "re-Symphonised" version will be available this fall on Noise.

Grapow's Kaleidoscope is out this week in Europe and features the following guests: Mike Vescela (ex-LOUDNESS/YNGWIE MALMSTEN vocalist), Mike Terrana (ARTENSION's drummer), Barry Sparks (M.S.G.'s bassist) and Furdie Dohenberg (ROUGH SILK's keyboardist). Jens Johansson also appears. In Japan, the record contains 'Lord I'm Dancing' and 'Separate Ways' as bonus tracks. Grapow will be opening up for GAMMA RAY throuighout June/July in South America and Japan.

HG's new album, Menergy, is out in Europe now.

Before the end of the year, THERION will release an EP containing the first part of 'Carmina Burana' (classical music, by Carl Orff).

Watch for double-live albums from ICED EARTH and THE GATHERING in July and August respectively.

releasing the SHOOTING HEMLOCK CD, Clockwatcher, featuring Joe Stump on guitar. The band's material varies from standard metal, hard rock, punk, industrial and everything in between.

Guitarist Jarno Keskinen and his band KENZINER are currently in the studio recording their follow up to Timescape. This new release is tentatively titled The Prophecies and should emerge in the fall.