Legendary guitarist Michael Schenker has announced he will offer VIP Ticket Packages for his 30th Anniversary North American Tour. The packages offer concert attendees an opportunity to hang out with two of rock’s legendary icons – Michael Schenker and Carmine Appice. VIP Packages also include admission to the show and soundcheck prior to the show; photo opportunities at soundcheck; tour bus send-off after the show; autographed posters; and each VIP Package recipient’s name will be automatically entered in a contest/drawing for a Michael Schenker Dean Guitar; a Carmine Appice Aquarian Drumhead; and a Carmine Appice Signature Snare Drum. The VIP Ticket packages are limited to 10 per show, are sponsored... 

Paradise Comics – Toronto, Ontario: A review by Mike Fairservice I think this is really cool. I just got the go ahead by my masters at Metal Machine to toss up reviews of new comic stores I I manage to find that I haven’t been to before.  I’ll be able to give you a heads up of what I think about the staff, the store and pricing.  

On June 8th, Chicago’s Cardiac Arrest will release their Ibex Moon Records debut, Haven For The Insane. The band’s third full-length, Haven For The Insane promises to deliver the kind of aural pummeling that only the most extreme brand of death metal can provide. Here’s what the critics have to say:  

AS I LAY DYING–whose last four albums count combines sales in excess of one million copies–have entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #10 with over 38,000 copies sold of their much anticipated THE POWERLESS RISE album. THE POWERLESS RISE also reached #2 on Billboard’s Independent Albums Chart and #3 on Billboard’s Hard Music Albums Chart.  

In honor of WHITECHAPEL’s June 8th release, A New Era of Corruption, Metal Blade and AOL’s Noisecreep have teamed up to bring you the exclusive premier of the new track ‘Breeding Violence.’ The brand new song off the upcoming release will stream exclusively on Noisecreep for the next 24 hours so be sure to head over to the site (HERE), check it out, and leave a comment.  

Swedish heavy metal sensations ENFORCER are due to release their new album, DIAMONDS, in Europe on Monday (24th May). DIAMONDS is ENFORCER’s second album and features ten tracks of pure, classic-sounding heavy metal, with soaring vocals, galloping riffs and catchy melodies.  DIAMONDS features the following tracks:  

Dynamite Entertainment has acquired the Chaos! Comics’ library and all assets associated such as Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, Purgatori, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, and Lady Demon, with the exception of Lady Death. Chaos! Comics was the leading independent comics publisher of the 1990’s, achieving over thirty million dollars in sales in eight languages.  

When Skeletonwitch passed through Long Island on Cannibal Corpse’s Evisceration Plague tour, I was able to spend some time with guitarist Scott Hedrick. We talked all things Skeletonwitch from their touring adventures to album recording and the importance of the fans of Heavy Metal.  

    “Nightmare,” the new single from Southern California’s Avenged Sevenfold, is the No. 1 Most Added track at Active Rock Radio in the United States this week.  It is also the No. 1 Rock Song on iTunes in the United States selling over 23,666 units in its first day.  Additionally, across the pond in the United Kingdom, “Nightmare” is the No. 1 Rock Song on iTunes.  

In August, Nick Spencer — the writer behind the critically acclaimed titles EXISTENCE, FORGETLESS and SHUDDERTOWN — will school readers in sci-fi, mystery, and teen angst with MORNING GLORIES, an all new series published by Image Comics.  

Legendary doom band PENTAGRAM have just announced the Southern US tour dates with Relapse recording artist BLACK TUSK. This tour will kick-off in Raleigh, NC and finish at the Maryland Deathfest.  A listing of confirmed tour dates and cities can be found below.  

Boston video game metal masters POWERGLOVE have signed a North American deal with E1 Music. The band will be releasing a new full-length album this fall. “We are all extremely proud to announce E1 as our new label. And really, what better label for us than one who is home to both In Flames and the Sesame Street catalogue?” says POWERGLOVE.