It has been announced that ex-Dixie Dregs/current Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse will be appearing on the European leg of the 2012 G3 tour.

G3 is somewhat of an institution among Joe Satriani fans. The Chickenfoot guitarist founded the “G3” tour many years ago as a vehicle to appear in a live setting alongside other world-class guitarists. Previous tours have often also featured Steve Vai, who is also set to appear on the upcoming tour. Other notable previous G3 participants have included Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert.

So far, these dates have been confirmed for the 2012 tour:

Jul. 21 – Offenbach, Germany
Jul. 23 – München, Germany
Jul. 24 – Hamburg, Germany
Aug. 01 – Budapest, Hungary
Aug. 05 – Moscow, Russia

More dates to be announced later.

The artwork and tracklisting for the upcoming Marilyn Manson album has been unveiled.

Manson’s eighth studio record – entitled ‘Born Villain’ – presents the first new music from the Rev. Marilyn Manson and his crew since 2009’s ‘High End of Low’. It contains the following tracks:

01. Hey Cruel World…
02. No Reflection
03. Pistol Whipped
04. Overneath The Path Of Misery
05. Slo Mo Tion
06. The Gardener
07. The Flowers Of Evil
08. Children Of Cain
09. Disengaged
10. Lay Down Your Goddamn Arms
11. Murders Are Getting Prettier Every Day
12. Born Villain
13. Breaking The Same Old Ground

The first music from the album was heard as far back as September 2011, when the title track was released, along with a NSFW video clip (directed by Shia LeBoeuf), which you can view by clicking the link on this page [embedding has been disabled to protect those of a sensitive nature].

The album is scheduled for release on May 1st in the US (and one day earlier elsewhere) and will be preceded by a US tour (dates to follow).

It has been announced that the current line-up of Thin Lizzy – featuring classic members Scott Gorham and Brian Downey, fronted by The Almighty’s Ricky Warwick – are to support Guns N’ Roses on their upcoming UK tour.

The confirmed May/June dates are as follows:

May 19th Nottingham – Capital FM Arena
May 20th Liverpool – Echo Arena
May 23rd Newcastle – Metro Radio Arena
May 25th Glasgow – SECC
May 26th Birmingham – LG Arena
May 29th Manchester – MEN Arena
May 31st London – 02 Arena
June 1st London – 02 Arena

Since Lizzy already had tour commitments of their own in May, six of the eight original Thin Lizzy shows have been shifted to November/December.

The new dates are as follows:

Bournemouth Academy – November 30th
Norwich UEA – December 3rd
Middlesborough Empire – December 5th
Liverpool Academy – December 7th
Edinburgh Picture House – December 8th
Nottingham Rock City – December 9th

Often cited as one of Paul McCartney’s finest post-Beatles works, ‘Ram’ is released as a super deluxe edition in May.

The 1971 release – the only one in McCartney’s vast catalogue to give Linda McCartney a co-credit – is very much a fan favourite, and includes the popular ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’.

While ‘Ram’ has been released on CD on various occasions, this 2012 release is the most comprehensive to date, spanning four CDs and a DVD. It also marks the first time a mono mix of the album has ever been made available.

In addition to both stereo and mono mixes of the complete ‘Ram’, fans can expect a handful of rarities and b-sides, and the orchestral ‘Thrillington’ release in its entirity, which includes reworkings of all ‘Ram’ tracks.

As with the previous McCartney super deluxe releases, the discs will be housed in a cloth-bound 128 page book.

For those who can’t afford the monster 5 disc release, ‘Ram’ will also be available as a standard issue, newly remastered CD, while vinyl fans will be given the opportunity to own the mono mix of the album on a brand new, limited vinyl release.

Best remembered for attracting a cult audience in the early 90s with their self-titled album and single ‘Give It To Me Good’, Trixter are about to release a new LP.

The band broke up in the mid-90s but reformed in 2007. ‘New Audio Machine’ is Trixter’s first studio release since 1994’s ‘Undercover’ (a collection of cover tunes) and is released on Frontiers Records on April 23rd in the UK and one day later in the US.

The album boasts writing collaborations from Glen Burtnik of Styx and various members of Skid Row.

Track listing:

01. Drag Me Down
02. Get On It
03. Dirty Love
04. Machine
05. Live For The Day
06. Ride
07. Physical Attraction
08. Tattoos & Misery
09. The Coolest Thing
10. Save Your Soul
11. Walk With A Stranger
12. Heart Of Steel (bonus acoustic track)