Best known for his work with Jag Panzer, power metal drummer Rikard Stjernquist has joined forces with Benedictum as their new member.
Benedictum – a band also specialising in power metal – have released three studio albums to date and are currently signed to the European label Frontiers Records, home of Survivor, Foreigner, Journey and Yes.
Benedictum’s last album was released in March 2011 to generally strong reviews. [Read a review here].
Brighton four-piece Collisions are set to release their debut EP in May.
The band’s crossover sound, bringing together metal and electronic music could see Collisions likened to Skindred meets Pendulum according to reports.
The band have already toured with Senser and attracted the attention of cult US crossover band Hed(pe) who are taking Collisions with them on their European tour, which begins next week.
The dates and venues are as follows:
18 Mar, The Haunt, Brighton, UK
20 Mar, L´empreinte, Savigny le Temple, France
21 Mar, Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht, The Netherlands
22 Mar, Nieuwe Nor, Herleen, The Netherlands
23 Mar, Orange Peel, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
24 Mar, Headcrash, Hamburg, Germany
25 Mar, Cassiopeia, Berlin, Germany
26 Mar, Undeground, Cologne, Germany
28 Mar, Universum, Stuttgart, Germany
29 Mar, Abart Music AG, Zurich, Switzerland
30 Mar, Bloom, Milan, Italy
Collisions’ debut EP ‘Believe In This’ is released on 7th May.
Track listing:
1) Believe in This
2) Fire Fire
3) Chasing Forms
4) Push
5) Once Weary Eyes (remix)
Line up:
Olly Simmons – Vocals/Programming
Andy Trewin – Guitars
Richard ‘Spud’ Speaight – Bass/Backing Vocals
Will Chapman – Drums
US rockers Shinedown have released a video clip for their brand new track ‘Unity’ which can be viewed below.
‘Unity’ is taken from the band’s fourth album, ‘Amaryllis’, which is released on March 27th.
“Ramon” Messina, lead vocalist with Italian power metal outfit Secret Sphere has left the band following a twelve year stint as frontman. His reason for leaving is the oft cited “musical differences”.
The rest of the band intend to carry on with a new vocalist. The band’s rhythm section – Any Buratto and Fede Pennezatto – released the debut album from their extra-curricular band, Hell In The Club, at the beginning of 2011, resulting in one of the year’s most surprisingly enjoyable hard rock albums. [Review here]
Barely weeks after the end of The Devin Townsend Project – albums, tour, full album shows and comprehensive box set – Devin Townsend is back in the studio.
His next album, due for release at some point during the first half of 2012, has a complete tracklisting announced.
The first of Townsend’s 2012 releases, ‘Epicloud’ is set to feature the following tracks:
Taurus / Animals / Liberation / Back Where We Belong / Save Our Now / Kingdom / Divine / Grace / More! / Heatwave / Hold On /Angels
‘Kingdom’ is a re-recording of a track which features much earlier during Townsend’s huge body of work, originally appearing on 2000’s ‘Physicist’. It is not the first time Townsend has re-worked an existing recording – 2009’s ‘Addicted’ included a re-recorded version of ‘Hyperdrive’ which appeared on his ‘Ziltoid The Omnicient’ release just two years previously.
Later in 2012, Devin Townsend will release ‘By a Thread‘, a multi-disc box set chronicling the Devin Townsend Project’s November 2011 London shows.