German power metallers RAGE have parted ways with drummer Mike Terrana.

Commented vocalist/bassist Peter "Peavy" Wagner and guitarist Victor Smolski: "From now on, we won't continue our collaboration with Mike because of personal and musical differences that have been existing for a while now and became unbearable. This cut is definitely not easy for us — but to avoid damage to RAGE we have no other choice. Unfortunately, there's not much left from our former unity. A while ago comunication between Mike and us broke down completely, so we have to pull the emergency brake. We decided to work with a new drummer in the future because we ...

---

Lana Lane and husband/producer Erik Norlander have just released their bi-annual “specialty albums.” Lane’s album comes in the form of Gemini, a covers album that follows a theme of “two.” Lane recorded two songs each by the classic rock artists Cream, Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Heart, Jefferson Airplane and Foreigner. Of particular note is Lana's “Pink Moon Suite” that combines the song “Johnny Moon”—originally recorded by Heart—with songs from most of “side one” of Pink Floyd's landmark Dark Side Of The Moon.

Not be outdone, Norlander released Homage Symphonique< ...

---

Frontman Buddy Lackey (a.k.a. Devon Graves; ex-PSYCHOTIC WALTZ) of DEADSOUL TRIBE has issued the following update:

"I changed my mind about making a double [DEADSOUL TRIBE] album. To me, it was an ambitious thought but probably a senseless business move. With all of today's downloading, it is becoming increasingly difficult for independent bands to keep running, selling enough to keep the bands in some sort of recording deal. Therefore it seems a bit risky to put out an album that is even more expensive, like a double disc set would inevitably have to be. Instead, I have taken what I consider the very best of the best between the two discs, and just ...

---

Dan McNew, the organizer of the Ride for Dime bike rally in honor of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, has posted the following message on the RideForDime.com web site:

"We all know Dimebag's musical roots were in country western music, and we all know what a great sense of humor he had. And last but not least, Dime supported the local music scene in Dallas and would sometimes record with local musicians. I ran into one of those musicians, 'Throbbin Donnie Rodd' tonight [Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006] in a club who told me the story of how Dimebag ...

---

Former HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske will rearrange and re-record all of the songs that he wrote with his former band for an upcoming CD, to be released next year through Frontiers Records. The projected track listing for the album is as follows:

01. We Got the Right
02. A Little Time
03. Kids Of the Century
04. Goin' Home
05. You Always Walk Alone
06. When the Sinner
07. I Believe
08. Longing
09. In the Night
10. Your Turn
+ as-yet-undisclosed new song

When asked by a fan named Deborah Schwichtenberg what he thinks of people who are criticizing his ...

---

Norway's TRAIL OF TEARS has split up. The group's official statement on the matter reads as follows:

"It is with great regret that we announce that Jonathan [Perez; drums], Kjell [Hagen; bass], Runar [Hansen; guitar] and Kjetil [Nordhus; vocals] yesterday (November 28th, 2006) left TRAIL OF TEARS. The decision was taken with immediate effect, and thus the band does not longer excist. TRAIL OF TEARS will therefore have to cancel all forthcoming shows, including the X-mas [Festivals] tour dates in December, and we sincerely appologize for any inconvenience this might lead to. We would like to than ...

---

Andy Winter (WINDS, AGE OF SILENCE) has posted an extensive year-end summary on the official WINDS forum located at www.theendrecords.com. The main points from the posting are as follows:

* WINDS are still working on the new album. Andy says they have now sifted through the "terra-quads of music" that was recorded, and the guitars, drums and vocals for the album are now finalized. He plans to re-record his piano parts before taking the album to mix some time in the spring.

* The possibility of an additional guest appearance on the forthcoming WINDS album by Dan Swan� ...

---

The original lineup of the long-defunct Arizona thrashers SACRED REICH — Phil Rind (bass, vocals), Wiley Arnett (lead guitar), Jason Rainey (rhythm guitar) and Greg Hall (drums) — will reunite for several shows in Europe next summer, including an appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival on August 4, 2007. The group's schedule is shaping up as follows:

Jul. 29 - Underworld – London, UK
Aug. 01 - Hof Ter Loo – Antwerp, BEL
Aug. 02 - Dynamo Club – Eindhoven, NETH
Aug. 04 - Wacken Open Air – Wacken, GER

In August 2006, XMFan conducted an interview with Wiley Arnett about SACRED REICH's past and ...

---

Rock My Monkey recently conducted an interview with SAVATAGE/JON OLIVA'S PAIN mastermind Jon Oliva. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Rock My Monkey: You made it clear that SAVATAGE is over, but when I talked to Zach Stevens a week ago...

Jon Oliva: Well, it's over but it's not over, you know what I mean? It's over right now because no one's doing anything. We haven't disbanded or anything. We have plans to do something in the future. We're just... It's like every time we talk about it, and every time I say we're going to do something, something happens to fuck it up. ...

---

A brand new HALFORD song, entitled "Forgotten Generation", has been made available for streaming at MP3.com. The track, which was officially released yesterday (Tuesday, November 21) via iTunes, is the first new HALFORD song in more than four years. Rob Halford wrote the tune and another new cut, "Drop Out", with the HALFORD band this year during downtime from working with JUDAS PRIEST on their upcoming album "Nostrad ...

---