German hard rockers SCORPIONS are among the artists whose BMG Music Publishing catalog is being purchased by Vivendi’s Universal Music unit for $2.09 billion.Paris-based Vivendi said the deal will make Universal the world’s leading music publisher.Vivendi said BMG‘s catalog includes over a million copyrights, including COLDPLAY, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, MAROON 5, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, R KELLY and […]

Damon Albarn is writing the music for a Chinese circus production.The work is due to get its debut at the inaugural Manchester International Festival next June.The Blur/Gorillaz singer recently returned from several weeks spent travelling across China, where he recorded with a variety of local musicians. He is now back in London working on the […]

For the first time in 30 years, Bob Dylan tops The Billboard 200 with “Modern Times.” Not only is it the legendary songwriter’s first album to reach the throne since “Desire” in 1976, it’s also his highest debuting album and his best sales week since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. The Columbia set […]

The Cooper Temple Clause are back with a single and a UK tour.After a long absence, the Reading band release ‘Homo Sapiens‘ on October 23, their first release for new label Sequel, an imprint of Sanctuary.The single is taken from the band’s third album ‘Make This Your Own‘, due for release in January 2007.

Swedish “death ‘n’ roll” band HEARSE, featuring former ARCH ENEMY singer Johan Liiva and ex-FURBOWL drummer Max Thornell, has finalized the track listing and artwork for its fourth album, “In These Veins“, due in October via Dental Records. The follow-up to 2005’s “The Last Ordeal” was recorded and mixed by Dan SwanГ¶ (EDGE OF SANITY, […]

Long-defunct New Orleans metallers EXHORDER — cited by many as the originators of the riff-heavy power-groove approach popularized by PANTERA — have had several live video clips from their 1998 reunion show posted online. These three clips are from August 14, 1998 and were filmed at a club called Zeppelin’s in Metairie, Louisiana (although the […]

Norwegian metallers LOWDOWN will release their sophomore album, “Antidote“, in contental Europe on October 16 via Black Balloon Records/Soulfood (the CD was issued in Norway on August 28).Described as “heavy, aggressive metal in the vein of PANTERA, CHIMAIRA and MACHINE HEAD, but still with a superb melodic sense,” “Antidote” was recorded by Zet from RAM-ZET, […]

RAMMSTEIN guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe has introduced the first songs of his new project, EMIGRATE. The album is nearing completion but Kruspe has made some of the music available to the fans for download. Registration is required in order to have access to the music but an audio sample ofthe song ‘Wake Up‘ can be […]

TO-MERA – групата сформирана РѕС‚ бившата вокалистка РЅР° WITHOUT FACE – Джули РљРёСЃ Рё басиста Лии Барет (ex-EXTREME NOISE TERROR, DISGUST, MUSSOLINI HEADKICK), пуснаха клипа РєСЉРј парчето СЃРё “Blood” РЅР° страницата СЃРё РІ MySpace. TO-MERA, the new U.K.-based dark progressive metal band formed by former WITHOUT FACE vocalist Julie Kiss and bassist Lee Barrett (ex-EXTREME […]

R.E.M. will perform three songs with original drummer Bill Berry to celebrate its induction into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, to be held Sept. 16 in Atlanta. Berry has only played three times with his longtime colleagues since exiting the band in 1997, most prominently at the October 2005 wedding of R.E.M. guitar tech […]