Nuclear Blast Records is proud to announce the official launch of its Rockband Network for all Rockband X-Box 360 network users. Music from legendary San Francisco Bay Area thrash bands TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL and EXODUS, Virginia based melodic tech-deathsters ARSIS, and polyrhythmic metal titans MESHUGGAH, can now be purchased for game play.

This marks the first round of Nuclear Blast artist songs available for the Rock Band Network. Metal fans are encouraged to submit artist & song requests for Rock Band here.

Click on the following links to purchase the following songs:

TESTAMENT “Henchmen Ride” http://www.rockband.com/songs/UGC_5002083
MESHUGGAH “Bleed” http://www.rockband.com/songs/UGC_5002233
ARSIS “We Are The Nightmare” http://www.rockband.com/songs/UGC_5002034
DEATH ANGEL “Dethroned” http://www.rockband.com/songs/UGC_5002396
EXODUS “Riot Act” http://www.rockband.com/songs/UGC_5002806

For immediate release:

Tasmania’s technical death metallers PSYCROPTIC are currently hard at work on writting material for their follow up to their Nuclear Blast Records debut Ob(Servant). The band will be writing the new record right up until their US tour with Egyptian themed deathers NILE, the ancient Roman themed arsenal EX DEO, Norwegian extreme metallers KEEP OF KALESSIN, and brutal death grinders PATHOLOGY.

States guitarist Joe Haley:


“We're half way through the writing process for the new PSYCROPTIC album, and everything is going great. The songs are coming together really naturally - nothing sounds forced, and we're really excited to start recording this one. The material is the strongest and most memorable we have written .I know every band says this but if it wasn’t true there wouldn’t be a point in us recording it! The Demoing process will begin in the next few weeks. We hope to have everything finished up before we head out on the last touring for Ob(Servant).

Which brings us to the other news we have - we'll be supporting NILE through the US later this year. We're really happy to be have been extended the invitation to tour with NILE once again - they are an amazing band, and are a pleasure to tour with.”

“Those Whom The Gods Detest Tour II”
NILE, EX DEO, PSYCROPTIC, KEEP OF KALESSIN, PATHOLOGY

10/31/10 Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC

11/01/10 Headliner’s Music Hall – Louisville, KY


11/02/10 Sonar – Baltimore, MD

11/03/10 Crazy Donkey – Farmingdale, NY

11/04.10 Rocko’s – Manchester, NH

11/05/10 Club Hell – Providence, RI

11/06/10 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH

11/07/10 Blondie’s – Detroit, MI


11/08/10 Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL

11/09/10 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN

11/12/10 El Corazon – Seattle, WA

11/13/10 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR

11/14/10 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA

11/15/10 Ramona Mainstage – Ramona, CA


11/16/10 Key Club – Los Angeles, CA

11/17/10 U.B.’s Bar – Mesa, AZ

11/18/10 The Rock – Tucson, AZ

11/20/10 Emo’s – Austin, TX

11/21/10 The Warsaw – Houston, TX

11/23/10 Club Firestone – Orlando, FL


11/24/10 Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, FL

Reduced service charge tickets will go on sale now through www.Enterthevault.com. On sale at all major ticketing services after May 27, 2010.

Visit PSYCROPTIC online at www.PSYCROPTIC.com and www.myspace.com/PSYCROPTIC.

For immediate release Wednesday May 19th, 2010:

FORBIDDEN Announce Headlining Tour!



Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN have announced headlining shows just prior and after their tour with OVERKILL this November. Support will come from fellow thrashers EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, and BONDED BY BLOOD. Confirmed dates are as follows:

FORBIDDEN, EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, BONDED BY BLOOD
11/4 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx

OVERKILL, FORBIDDEN, EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, BONDED BY BLOOD
11/05 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
11/06 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey
11/07 - Providence, RI - Club Hell

11/08 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
11/09 - Virginia Beach, VA - Gil's
11/10 - Charlotte, NC - Amos'
11/11 - Raleigh, NC - Volume 11
11/12 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans
11/13 - Orlando, FL - Club Firestone
11/14 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room
11/15 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
11/16 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's

11/17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
11/18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel Nightclub
11/19 - Manchester, NH - Rocko's
11/20 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom

FORBIDDEN, EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, BONDED BY BLOOD
11/22 - Montreal,QC - Foufounes Electriques
11/23 - Toronto,ON - MOD Club
11/24 - Detroit, MI - Blondies

11/26 - Louisville, KY - Phoenix Hill Tavern
11/27 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
11/28 - Milwaukee,WI - The Rave
11/29 - St Paul , MN - Station 4
12/1 - San Antonio , TX - Scout Bar
12/2 - Austin , TX - Emo's
12/3 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
12/4 - Ft Worth , TX - Trees
12/6 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock

12/7 - Mesa , AZ - U.B.'s
12/8 - West Hollyood , CA - Whiskey a Go Go
12/9 - Ramona , CA - Ramona Mainstage
12/10 - Sparks , NV - New Oasis
12/11 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge

Tickets go on sale today through EnterTheVault.com www.enterthevault.com exclusively until June 3 when they go on sale through all major ticketing systems. FORBIDDEN have now added a special event VIP ticket for a pre-show meet-and-greet to take place one hour before doors. Each night, fans will get to meet and greet FORBIDDEN for a special event that is being offered. Fans will also receive a customized poster signed by the band. These special VIP tickets are on sale now at EnterTheVault.com www.enterthevault.com


Song titles on the new FORBIDDEN album are as follows:



· Alpha Century

· Forsaken At The Gates

· Swine

· Immortal Wounds


· Hopenosis

· Adapt Or Die

· Inhuman Race

· Behind The Mask

· Dragging My Casket

· Overthrow


· Omega Wave



FORBIDDEN 2010 features Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.



Omega Wave is being produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero and Tim Narducci, will be mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails), and will feature artwork by Kent Mathieu (FORBIDDEN, Exodus, Autopsy, Exhorder).




Hear two new FORBIDDEN demo tracks, "Adapt Or Die" and "Hopenosis," and the entire Green album at www.myspace.com/FORBIDDENOFFICIAL.



Visit FORBIDDEN on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FORBIDDENOFFICIAL.

For Immediate Release :: 18 May 2010



RHAPSODY OF FIRE'S LUCA TURILLI OFFERS SONG COMMENTARY




Composer, guitarist, producer and teacher Luca Turilli offers some song commentary to three tracks on the band’s latest album, The Frozen Tears Of Angels, scheduled for North American release on June 29th.



“Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio” : “For the solo, I used simply my electric guitar’s clean sound. I love the result and I plan to do it more often in the future. For me, it is very easy to play in this way because especially in the early years, I used to play electric guitar in an ‘acoustic way,’ without using an amplifier.”



“On The Way To Ainor” : “I am a big fan of chromatic licks and Frederic Chopin is one of my favorite composers. In his piano compositions, he used a lot of chromatic ideas. Paganini, another one of my classical influences, used to play violin in this way too.”



“The Frozen Tears Of Angels” : “The use of Italian lyrics allows me to write in a special way (using many ‘old’ words not typical of the modern language in order to have a more poetic result)that can not be easily translated in English. Sooner or later, we will add an English translation of the Italian passages on The Frozen Tears Of Angels to the website just as a ‘résumé’ of what I wanted to mean in those lyrical, Italian parts of the album… for the people to understand at least the meaning behind those words.”



Produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, The Frozen Tears Of Angels was mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth (EDGUY, AVANTASIA, EPICA) and debuted on the following international album charts following their European release: Italy #31; Germany #33; Switzerland #39; Japan #41; Austria #58 and Belgium #96. The track listing for The Frozen Tears Of Angels is as follows:




01. Dark Frozen World

02. Sea Of Fate

03. Crystal Moonlight

04. Reign Of Terror

05. Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio


06. Raging Starfire

07. Lost In Cold Dreams

08. On The Way To Ainor

09. The Frozen Tears Of Angels



North American Bonus Tracks


10. Labyrinth Of Madness

11. Sea Of Fate (Orchestral Version)



View the video for “Sea Of Fate” here.



RHAPSODY OF FIRE are: Luca Turilli on guitar, Alex Staropoli on keyboards, Fabio Lione on vocals, Patrice Guers on bass, Dominique Leurquin on guitar, and Alex Holzwarth on drums.




Visit RHAPSODY OF FIRE online at www.RHAPSODYOFFIRE.com, www.myspace.com/RHAPSODYOFFIRE, and on Facebook.



Visit Luca Turilli online at www.LUCATURILLI.com, www.epic-metal.com/DREAMQUEST2006/, and www.NEOCLASSICALREVELATION.com

For Immediate Release :: 14 May 2010



RHAPSODY OF FIRE: WORLDWIDE CHART DEBUTS



The Frozen Tears Of Angels, the new album from Italy’s symphonic metal band RHAPSODY OF FIRE, has debuted on the following international album charts following their European release: Italy #31; Germany #33; Switzerland #39; Japan #41; Austria #58 and Belgium #96.



The band has issued the following statement: “We are really amazed by the way this new album has been welcomed! We couldn’t expect such an incredible result and we thank for it all the people that during these years gave us their never-ending support. A special and felt ‘thank you’ goes surely to Nuclear Blast, a great label and an ultra-professional team of people who enormously contributed to the success of our new release. The Frozen Tears Of Angels is a special album for us. Its composition has been an intimate journey of strong deep feelings and its immediate success means that someone out there was really able to get the emotional impact on which the album was built. We are looking forward to meeting you as soon as ‘THE FROZEN TOUR OF ANGELS’ will bring us on the stages of the whole world. Peace and respect!!!”




Produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, The Frozen Tears Of Angels was mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth (EDGUY, AVANTASIA, EPICA). The album will be released in North America on June 29th. The track listing is as follows:



01. Dark Frozen World

02. Sea Of Fate

03. Crystal Moonlight


04. Reign Of Terror

05. Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio

06. Raging Starfire

07. Lost In Cold Dreams

08. On The Way To Ainor

09. The Frozen Tears Of Angels




North American Bonus Tracks

10. Labyrinth Of Madness

11. Sea Of Fate (Orchestral Version)



View the video for “Sea Of Fate” HERE.




RHAPSODY OF FIRE are: Luca Turilli on guitar, Alex Staropoli on keyboards, Fabio Lione on vocals, Patrice Guers on bass, Dominique Leurquin on guitar, and Alex Holzwarth on drums.



Visit RHAPSODY OF FIRE online at www.RHAPSODYOFFIRE.com, www.myspace.com/RHAPSODYOFFIRE, and on Facebook.

For immediate release:

IMMOLATION Announces US Headlining Tour!



New York death metal legends IMMOLATION are pleased to announce their US headlining tour this Fall in support of their Nuclear Blast debut, Majesty and Decay. Joining them will be the Polish death metal tank and label mates VADER, along with ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, and PATHOLOGY:

“We are very excited to announce this upcoming tour here in the States,” commented the band. “It will be our first official tour for the Majesty and Decay album and we are really looking forward to playing our full live set debuting material off the new record as well as a lot of our older material off our previous 7 albums. Joining us on the tour will be our good friends of 22 years, VADER! VADER is a tremendous band that we have a lot of respect for not only for their longevity and immense contribution to the extreme music scene, but simply put, they are a great band and we are also huge fans! Also joining us will be ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, PATHOLOGY, so we hope it will be something that will appeal to all fans of extreme metal. We look forward to seeing you all in Sept/Oct. "

IMMOLATION, VADER, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, PATHOLOGY
9/29 Baltimore, MD - Sonar
9/30 Farmingdale , NY - Crazy Donkey
10/1 Providence, RI - Club Hell
10/2 Manchester , NH - Rocko’s

10/3 Montreal, ON – Foufounes Electriques
10/4 Toronto, ON - MOD Club
10/5 Cleveland, OH - Peabody’s
10/6 Detroit, MI - Blondie’s
10/7 Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
10/8 St Paul , MN - Station4
10/10 Seattle, WA - El Corazon
10/11 Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
10/12 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater

10/13 San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
10/14 West Hollywood, CA – The Whiskey
10/15 Santa Ana ,CA - The Galaxy
10/16 Ramona , CA - Ramona Mainstage
10/17 Mesa, AZ - U.B.’s
10/18 Tucson, AZ - The Rock
10/20 Austin, TX - Emo’s
10/21 Houston, TX - The Warsaw
10/22 Tulsa, OK - Marquee

10/23 Louisville, KY - Uncle Pleasants
10/24 Raleigh, NC - Volume 11
10/25 Springfield, VA - Jaxx
10/26 Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
10/27 Indianapolis, IN - Emerson Theatre
10/28 Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Rock Club

Reduced service charge tickets will go on sale today through www.Enterthevault.com. On sale at all major ticketing services after June 4, 2010.




IMMOLATION, recently entered Millbrook Sound Studios in New York with longtime producer Paul Orofino. Mixing duties were handled this time by Zack Ohren (DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION, ALL SHALL PERISH). Cover art was created by Pär Olofsson (THE FACELESS, IMMORTAL, ABYSMAL DAWN). IMMOLATION recently wrapped the “Those Whom The Gods Detest Tour” as direct support to NILE.



Visit IMMOLATION online at www.myspace.com/IMMOLATION & www.EVERLASTINGFIRE.com.

For Immediate Release



FORBIDDEN: NEW ALBUM TITLE + DETAILS ANNOUNCED






Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN continue their
work at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California
recording their upcoming new album Omega Wave. Album artwork has been
commissioned from Kent Mathieu
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/RENZO4...hieu_cover_art

(FORBIDDEN, Exodus, Autopsy, Exhorder). The album is being produced by
FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero and Tim Narducci. All
tracks will be mixed by Sean Beavan
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...fyxqrgld0e~T40
(Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).



States Locicero:


"After a year of writing and a couple of months recording this son of a
bitchin' album, we've finally decided to call it Omega Wave. It
certainly would have been easy to self-title it, but anyone who knows
anything about FORBIDDEN and our history understands that we spend a
considerable amount of time thinking about these things. That's just
what we do. Omega Wave seemed most fitting and it's one of the
thrashiest songs on the record! An 'omega wave' is the feeling of
impending doom that hangs over everyone in these difficult times, more
so than any other era in history. Many feel that our time is almost up,

partly because it has been written and predicted in almost every ancient
society; also because most people can tell which way the wind is
blowing, if you know what I mean. So the question is, is this all really
happening by design or is it a self-fulfilled, man-made hysteria that we
are creating by accepting it in our collective consciousness? Either
way, it's a black wave of negative energy that exists to billions of
people. That is the Omega Wave."




On why the band sought out the artist FORBIDDEN's career began with:


"Within the last few months, we've reconnected with the original artist
who painted the artwork for our first two albums, Forbidden Evil and
Twisted Into Form: Kent Mathieu. I love the work he's done with
everyone, but there is no denying that the first two covers he did for
Forbidden are a couple of the most iconic pieces for our genre. Getting
Kent on board was a coupe and he gets us like no other artist could.

He's got a pile of lyrics to inspire him and he fully understands the
Omega Wave concept. I can't wait to see what he comes up with. Should
be perfect!"



On the dedication of co-producer Tim Narducci:


"Tim and I have know each other since '86, when I was in Forbidden Evil
and he was in Tyrannicide! We were under-aged kids drinking beer in the

Ruthie's Inn parking lot! That's some history and he knows his metal!
Some of my peers have been grilling me on what it's like to produce a
record for the first time. It's time consuming and somewhat difficult to
get the performances out of someone you've known since you were kids,
but I am not doing this alone. Tim Narducci has been by my side every
step of the way. We help each other stay focused and motivated. He's
excellent and catching the little things and bringing the big picture
together. We also have a great engineer and person in Brad Barth, who is
a recording wizard and also owns Audio Voyage/Sonic Room (where we're

tracking). I really love working with these guys. Tim, Brad, and I
have been playing together in SpiralArms since 2005. We've learned a lot
about ourselves and recording over the last 5 years and recently
completed Spiral's first full length album that comes out this summer.
We started recording and finished that album before we began the
FORBIDDEN record."



On the talents of mixer Sean Beavan:




"Once we finish the recording process, everything gets into the hands of
a true genius. I still can't believe how lucky we are to have Sean to do
it. Sonically, he's very unique and on a different level. He's
produced, engineered, and mixed some of the best sounding material out
there. I met Sean through my work with Rick Rubin on the Manmade God
record I did in 2003. Sean mixed it and we became friends. I learned a
lot from him and he really listened to my input when Rick asked him not

to (ha, ha). Sean will make the Forbidden record sound like nothing
else going, and that's a great thing! Hopefully everyone will
appreciate how cool and organic the tones and performances are. We set
out not to make a record that sounds like anyone else besides Forbidden.
I don't feel like it could be in any better hands than Sean's to keep
the integrity of what we started all the way to the finish line."



As a final comment on the new album, Locicero adds: "Whatever Omega Wave

turns out to be will ultimately rest upon my shoulders. I picked the
team and that's fine with me. I can live with that."



Song titles on the new FORBIDDEN album are as follows:



* Alpha Century


* Forsaken At The Gates

* Swine

* Immortal Wounds

* Hopenosis

* Adapt Or Die

* Inhuman Race


* Behind The Mask

* Dragging My Casket

* Overthrow

* Omega Wave






The 2010 line-up for FORBIDDEN is Russ Anderson on vocals; Craig
Locicero, guitar; Steve Smyth, guitar; Matt Camacho on bass; and Mark
Hernandez, drums.



Hear two new FORBIDDEN demo tracks, "Adapt Or Die" and "Hopenosis," at

www.myspace.com/FORBIDDENOFFICIAL.



Visit FORBIDDEN on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FORBIDDENOFFICIAL.