Veteran stoner crew Fu Manchu have signed to the Liquor & Poker label. The band are planning to record 13 original songs, and three covers, for their next album. The latter will be ‘Moving In Stereo’ – The Cars, ‘D.O.A.’ – Van Halen and ‘Who Are You’ Void.

Hope Of The States, Jim Noir and Morning Runner have signed up for this year’s Middlesbrough Music Live festival. Bromhead’s Jacket, Captain, The Fratellis, Larrikin Love, The On Offs, Sunshine Underground, Vincent Vincent And The Villains, The Motorettes and The Noisettes are also on the bill for the free one day event on June 18.This […]

New Swedish death metal band Death Breath have signed to the Black Lodge label. Death Breath feature Nicke Andersson (Entombed, Nihilist), Robert Pehrsson (Runemagick, Deathwitch) and Magnus Hedquist (Grinderbitch, Ruthless Mausoleum). Their debut album will be released in September, and has guest vocals from Scott Carlson (Repulsion) and Jörgen Sandström (Grave, Entombed).

Dark Tranquillity have been added to the bill for this year’s Ragnarock UK Festival, which happens at the Perth Concert Hall in Central Scotland on November 4. They join the following names on the bill: Gamma Ray, Dream Evil, Kalmah, Astral Doors, Charon, Elvenking, Circus Maximus, Intense and Headless Cross.

Primal Fear are to release a compilation album in late September. It’s to be called ‘Metal Is Forvever’, and will come with a bonus CD, featuring ‘classic metal tracks’.

Lostprophets return with their first single in over 18 months with the release of the euphoric anthem ‘Rooftops (A Liberation Transmission)’ on 19th June 2006 for Visible Noise. The band gave the new track, alongside 2 others from new album ‘Liberation Transmission’, its first airing in the UK recently in front of 25,000 fans when […]

Jarvis Cocker, Air and The Divine Comedy have joined forces for French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg‘s forthcoming album.Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich has also signed up for the ’21 Grams’ star’s project ‘5:55’.Cocker and The Divine Comedy‘s Neil Hannon have penned lyrics for the album, which is due out on September 4.Air‘s Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel […]

The Scissor Sisters will get the party restarted with the Sept. 26 North American release of its sophomore album, “Ta-Dah.” The Universal Motown set will be preceded by the Elton John collaboration “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin‘,” which will be commercially released Sept. 4 internationally.Рўhe album will probably feature a song, recorded with Roxy Music […]

Masked metal act Slipknot is midway through a year-and-a-half long sabbatical, but it doesn’t mean that the band has been completely idle. A follow-up to its 2002 DVD, “Disasterpieces,” will be issued shortly via Roadrunner, while songwriting for Slipknot‘s fourth studio effort will begin later this year.

Ash have started working on new material for their forthcoming album.The band, who are currently holed up in a New York studio, have already got 27 ‘rough songs’ to choose from for their as yet-untitled-fifth record.Since guitarist Charlotte Hatherley left the band earlier this year to pursue her solo career, Ash have continued to work […]