by Todd Matthy Last night All That Remains and Lacuna Coil graced an excited and fired up New York City crowd at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza. I arrived after the two opening acts in time for Lacuna Coil to take the stage. Lacuna Coil was great. The crowd roared the second Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro took the stage. I was very impressed with the harmonizing of Cristina and Andrea. Every note and lyric they sang together was perfect and a second or pitch off. The star of the show, obviously, was Cristina.  

Influential Death Metallists, Oppressor, Get Anthologized With “The Solstice of Agony and Corrosion” Mortal Music and MVD Audio are proud to announce the release of Oppressor – The Solstice of Agony and Corrosion on November 3rd worldwide. Despite being listed as an influence by such renowned metal acts as God Forbid and Shadows Fall, the Chicago, IL-based Oppressor largely fell under the metallic radar during their years as an active band (1991-1999). But now, ten years after they ceased to be, highlights from all three of Oppressor’s studio albums will be highlighted on the forthcoming fourteen-track compilation, The Solstice of Agony and Corrosion. Since all of the group’s albums... 

Hey all you Kittie fans. Metalmachine.net and E1 Entertainment are bringing you a Kittie contest to rock your socks off. To celebrate the release of the bands latest CD “In The Black”, were giving away 5 signed CDs and posters. Also, 1 Grand Prize winner will get a pair of tix to the bands NYC show on September 27th at B.B. Kings.  

Stratovarius Review by Todd Matthy How do you talk about a concert for a band your not familiar with? That’s the dilemma I faced at the Stratovarius concert last night. My familiarity with Stratovarius is brief. I’ve listened to them before (even played them on my college radio show) and liked their Dream Theater meets classical sound, but for some reason I never followed through on exploring them.  

Die-hard Slayer fans, get ready. Slayer’s World Painted Blood, the band’s highly-anticipated new album set for a November 3 release (American Recordings), will initially ship with four special collector’s edition CD covers. Each of the four covers will display one-fourth of a provocative continental map illustrated with human skulls and bones; when placed together, the four images form a complete and grisly map of the world. All four of the initial CD packages will include a special blood-red, see-through top panel with the map displayed beneath it. The World Painted Blood Deluxe Edition will have its own special layout of the map cover art and will be in a double-digipak housed in a blood-red,... 

TRENTON, N.J. – Frontiers Records proudly announces the release of Winger’s fifth studio album entitled “Karma” on October 16 in Europe and October 27 in the USA. Winger reunited after more than a decade in 2006 for the release of the successful come back album entitled “IV,” a record that pushed the boundaries of Winger’s classic sound to new heights, dealing with the concept of the military life and what it was like to be a soldier, from a soldier’s perspective, leaving politics at the door.  

Megadeth-Endgame Review by Todd Matthy “This is the end of the road; this is the end of the line; this is the end of your life; this is the endgame” snarls Dave Mustaine on the title track of Megadeth’s new release, Endgame. Megadeth is back with a new album, a new guitarist, and a vengeance. Dave is pissed off at a lot of people and if you are a member of the government, an ex-girlfriend, or a Wall Street tycoon, prepare to taste his wrath.  

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 15, 2009) – As Rammstein prepare for the release of their first studio album in four years, LIEBE IST FÜR ALLE DA (Oct. 20, Universal Music Germany), the band is unveiling a video for the single “Pussy” that will likely be banned by video sharing services and simultaneously be one of the most viewed music videos of the year. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the video (available via Rammstein.com) will premiere on Sept. 16 at 4 pm eastern/1 pm pacific (with ongoing availability thereafter). Teases from the video have been splashing across German TV in the overnight hours with websites posting the grainy images worldwide.  

Alice in Chains have just released a short film which features the band speaking on the tragedy of former singer Layne Staley’s death to the triumphant return of the band with new singer William Duvall. Follow the band as they recount their first performance without Layne in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, their introduction to William, and the creative processes that led to the birth of the new album: all whilst getting their faces painted KISS style. Black Gives Way To Blue drops everywhere September 29th.  

Motorhead: The Experience of a Lifetime by Todd Matthy Last night Motorhead once again rocked Roseland Ballroom. Opening acts included Nashville Pussy and Reverend Horton Heat (who I felt was a little out of place but if Lemmy likes him that’s good enough). Unfortunately, Mikky Dee was absent due to starring on Sweden’s or England’s version of “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here”, however the band found a great replacement in former Gun’s N Roses drummer Matt Sorum. None of it mattered though once the band took the stage and Lemmy gave the battle cry “We’re Motorhead and we play Rock N Fuckin’ Roll!”  

An open challenge to Skid Row: REUNITE NOW!!!!!! By Todd Matthy It’s no secret that the reunion metal fans dream the most about is Guns N Roses. Unfortunately, since Axl and Slash can’t speak to each other without lawyers present, the odds of that happening are the odds of President Obama going Conservative. But there is another band out there whose reunion is just as anticipated as Guns N Roses, Skid Row and Sebastian Bach.