Returning to the realm of majestic heavy music after a three-year hiatus, former SAVATAGE vocalist and Tampa native Zak Stevens is prepared to unleash the debut album, "Watching In Silence", of his new band CIRCLE II CIRCLE through AFM Records (distributed in North America through The End Records) on July 8. "Watching In Silence" represents the culmination of passion & fury that defines Zak's style.

Joining Zak on this exploration into visceral melody are guitarists Matt LaPorte (who auditioned for SAVATAGE for "Dead Winter Dead", but lost out to Al Pitrelli) and Shane French, drummer

This autumn, GMR Music Group will re-issue the following six albums by the Swedish hard rock band TALISMAN:

01. "Talisman" (1990)
02. "Genesis" (1993)
03. "Humanimal" (1994)
04. "Humanimal Part 2" (1994)
05. "Life" (1995)
06. "Truth" (1999)

The albums will be re-mastered and will include bonus material and extra discs. Each CD will be nicely packaged with extensive booklets.

The main forces in TALISMAN are the bassist Marcel Jacob (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOHN NORUM) and singer Jeff Scott Soto (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN). TALISMAN's debut album, "Talisman", yielded a huge hit with the song "I'll Be Waiting" shortly upon its release in 1990.

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An uncut audio recording of IRON MAIDEN's performance at this year's Roskilde Festival, taped a few days ago in Roskilde, Denmark, will be broadcast this Sunday, July 6, between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. on the "Stahlwerk" show on Radio Fritz in Germany. Listen to it online at this location.

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In a move that was widely anticipated, ICED EARTH have now officially withdrawn from this year's installment of Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place Jul. 31-Aug. 2, 2003 in Wacken, Germany. Replacing ICED EARTH on the bill are none other than TWISTED SISTER.

The complete list of artists currently scheduled to appear the event is as follows:

ANCIENT RITES
ANNIHILATOR
ASSASSIN
CARPATHIAN FOREST
CIRCLE II CIRCLE
DARK AGE
DARKANE
DARK ANGEL
DARK FUNERAL
DEW-SCENTED
DIAMOND HEAD
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DISMEMBER
EIDOLON
EXTREME NOISE TERROR
FREEDOM CALL
GAMMA RAY
HEAVENSHALLBURN ...

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Veteran German power metallers HELLOWEEN have announced the dates for their forthcoming world tour in support of their recently released "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" album. The trek will be the group's first with new members Sascha Gerstner (guitar) and Stefan Schwarzmann (drums).

Upcoming HELLOWEEN tour dates:

South America

Sep. 11 - Bar Opiniao - Porto Allegre, BRA
Sep. 12 - Moinho Sao Roque – Curitiba, BRA
Sep. 13 - Via Funchal - Sao Paulo, BRA
Sep. 14 - TBA - Belo Horizonte, BRA
Sep. 16 - Canecao - Rio De Janeiro, BRA
Sep. 18 – Estadio – Santiago, CHL
Sep. 19 - El Teatro - Buenos Aires, ARG
Sep. 21 - Teatro ...

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SEPULTURA have officially inked a North American and Australian deal with SPV/Steamhammer Records.

The Brazilian metallers, who were previously signed to SPV only for the European continent, are expected to release their new album, "Roorback", in the U.S. later in the summer.

The follow-up to 2001's "Nation" was recorded and mixed by producer Steve Evetts (SNAPCASE, EARTH CRISIS) at Mosh Studios in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was released in Europe last month through SPV.

Upcoming SEPULTURA tour dates:

Jun. 23 - Hildesheim, GER @ Vier Linden
Jun. 24 - Prague, CZR @ Acropolis
Jun ...

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The first music from SEVEN X SEVENTY, the new project featuring former ANTHRAX guitarist Dan Spitz and IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain, has finally made its way online. A track called "Off The Chain", which reportedly features lead vocals courtesy of '80s rapper-turned-nu-metaller Vanilla Ice, can be downloaded in MP3 format from this location.

Currently unsigned, SEVEN X SEVENTY is also said to feature in its ranks Spitz's brother Dave (ex-BLACK SABBATH, LITA FORD, GREAT WHITE) on bass. Former MEGADETH bassist Dave Ellefson, who was previously approached to participate in the project, has since issued a statement denying his involvement in the group.

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Nearly six years after the release of the self-titled debut, legendary METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof's alter ego outfit VANDERHOOF returns with a dynamic follow-up, the adventurous "A Blur In Time". Released once again through SPV Records, the album pays homage to the acts of the '70s that made hard rock memorable, while implementing an edge of modern vitality.

"VANDERHOOF was designed out of complete frustration," says Kurdt. "I wanted to write the kind of music I wanted to listen to - melodic hard rock just does not seem to exist anymore. The '70s style rock that made me want to learn to play guitar in the first place. I' ...

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Norwegian black metal pioneers MAYHEM have set "Chimera" as the title for their next album, tentatively due in early 2004 through Season Of Mist Records. The follow-up to 2000's "Grand Declaration Of War" will be recorded at a Danish studio beginning in early November. No further details are available at this time.

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King Diamond and Andy LaRocque are in the process of mixing the new KING DIAMOND album, "The Puppet Master", for a fall release through Metal Blade Records. "After the mixing is done we will have someone out to videotape me telling the story of 'The Puppet Master' for bonus material on the second disc," King said. "We will also approach our band pictures a little different this time around and I think people are really going to love it. It will definitely be different and twisted! As far as the music goes, everything has been going very well and it all sounds killer! It just has such an awesome sound and it is everything I expected and then some. The few people that have heard it so far, and are also very familiar with all the past albums, think it's some of the best material to date. You're really gonna love this stuff!!!"

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