Legendary British rockers Wishbone Ash , who for over 30 years has been hailed by concert-goers and reviewers alike as one of the best bands ever to grace a stage, is gearing up for an extensive tour of the UK and USA. Hot on the heels of their latest CD release Clan Destiny, which has been receiving rave reviews worldwide, Wishbone Ash will support the new album with a series of exclusive concerts beginning in October.

The tour dates are as followed:
Oct. 4 - Huntingdon Hall - Worcester, UK
Oct. 5 - Mr Kyps - Poole, UK
Oct. 7-8 - Redstack Playhouse - Bexhill On Sea, UK
Oct. 9 - Theatr Brycheiniog - Brecon, UK
Oct. 10 - The Stables - Milton Keynes, UK
Oct. 11 - The Standard - London, UK
Oct. 12 - The Brook - Southampton, UK
Oct. 13 - Pontardawe Arts - Swansea, UK
Oct. 14 - The Wharf - Tavistock, UK
Oct. 15 - The Fleece - Bristol, UK
Oct. 16 - Glee Club - Cardiff Bay, UK
Oct. 18 - Chiddingfold Club - Chiddingfold, UK
Oct. 19 - Brindley Arts Centre - Runcorn, UK
Oct. 20 - Picturedome - Holmfirth, UK
Oct. 21 - Wilbarston Hall - Wilbarston, UK
Oct. 22 - Robin 2 - Wolverhampton, UK
Oct. 24 - Irish Centre - Leeds, UK
Oct. 25 - Academy 2 Newcastle - Newcastle, UK
Oct. 26 - Perth Concert Hall - Perth, UK
Oct. 27 - Lochgelly Centre - Lochgelly, UK
Oct. 28 - Lemon Tree - Aberdeen, UK
Oct. 30 - Cox's Yard -Stratford Upon Avon, UK
Oct. 31 - The Limelight Club - Crewe, UK
Nov. 1 - Festival Hall at The Albert Halls - Bolton, UK
Nov. 2 - The Renfrew Ferry - Glasgow, UK
Nov. 3 - The Platform - Morecambe, UK
Nov. 4 - AshCon 2006 - Chesterfield, UK
Nov. 15 - Sellersville Theater - Sellersville, PA - USA
Nov. 16 - Bank Street - New London, CT - USA
Nov. 17 - Bull Run - Shirley, MA - USA
Nov. 18 - ? - Saranac Lake, NY - USA
Nov. 19 - Infinity - Buffalo, NY - USA
Nov. 20 - Moondog's - Blawnox, PA - USA
Nov. 21 - Thirsty Ear - Columbus, OH - USA
(Nov. 22 - Dec. 2 dates TBA)

Founded in England in 1969, Wishbone Ash has released over 30 albums to date, and has been touted as one of the first dual-guitar rock bands. Rolling Stone magazine boasts that Ash guitarists Andy Powell and Ted Turner are amongst the world's top 20 best of all time! The group's 1972 classic release Argus, which was voted 'Album Of The Year' by readers of UK's Melody Maker and NME , was remixed and reissued in 2002 as a special 30th anniversary edition and consequently was MCA's fastest selling reissue in the label's history.

Wishbone Ash's current line-up features original founding member Andy Powell , whose name is synonymous with the Gibson Flying V (and he has probably done more to influence its use than any other guitarist!) Through the years, Powell has been prominently featured in such notable publications as Guitar, Guitarist and most recently Vintage Guitar . He has also recorded with the likes of George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Stewart Copeland and Renaissance. Adding to the quartet is guitarist Jyrki "Muddy" Manninen, who brings a blues-y style to the band with his hot slide playing. Bassist Bob Skeat has worked with everyone from Colin Blunstone, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Chris Farlowe to Princess Stephanie of Monaco! Lastly, drummer Ray Weston 's impressive credits include Del Shannon, Bjork, Tom Jones, Peter Green, Robert Palmer, Steve Howe, Ultravox, Katrina and the Waves, Andy Summers, The Bay City Rollers and Bill Wyman amongst many others.

While the band prepares for the upcoming tour, a full night of classic Wishbone Ash is promised, including band hits "The King Will Come", "Warrior", "Blowin' Free" and "Jailbait". Most recently the band's seminal track "Throw Down The Sword" was voted #14, in the list of top 40 guitar solos by listeners of Planet Rock Radio in the UK.

For more information on Wishbone Ash and their upcoming tours go to: www.wishboneash.com

Liberation Entertainment announces the 6th November 2006 U.K. release of the first-ever live DVD from U.S based, multi-platinum recording artists, Collective Soul. Recorded in April 2005, this out-standing concert was filmed in the band’s hometown of Atlanta, during two special sold-out performances featuring the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Not only will ‘Home’ be available on DVD, but fans will also have the chance to purchase ‘Home’ as a 2 disc CD, comprising of the concert soundtrack with bonus tracks, and finally, the ultimate audio – visual treat, a DVD and CD double-bill package.

The 20-song collection spans ninety minutes and encompasses hits from Collective Soul’s seven studio albums, including their most recent release, ‘Youth’. The talented youngsters who make up the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra do a sterling job, aided by the fact that Collective Soul’s alternative rock lends itself to their atmospheric sounds. Band and orchestra engage brilliantly, providing an audio and visual experience set to entertain and satisfy existing fans, but strong and unique enough to capture and hold the attention of those only just discovering the music of Collective Soul.

The DVD special features include behind-the-scenes footage and documentary, and the CD is enhanced with video, never-before-released tracks, and more. Recording in an orchestral setting enabled the group to reinterpret their hits. Songs such as ‘Shine’, ‘December’, ‘The World I Know’, and ‘Precious Declaration’ have all been given a new twist.

Collective Soul have sold over 10 million records worldwide, and their most recent studio album charted high in the U.S. Billboard 100. Their songs feature in the hit films ‘Scream 2’ and Wes Craven’s ‘Cursed’, plus their 1994 single ‘Shine’ was recently covered by Country legend Dolly Parton, who went on to make it a world-wide hit.

Teesside trio DARTZ! announce details of their forthcoming single ‘St Petersburg’ and huge UK tour supporting Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.

Released on 23rd October 2006 on Xtra Mile Recordings, ‘St Petersburg’ is a brand new track taken from DARTZ!’s forthcoming debut album and demonstrates once again the ability of William (bass/vocals), Henry (guitar) and Philip (drums/co-vocals) to produce intelligent, spiky and angular pop. Available on limited edition 7” vinyl and digital download, the single is backed by old live favourite ‘X-Ray Bex’.

In support of the single release, DARTZ! headline their own UK tour before immediately joining pal Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly on his huge jaunt of the country.

Full tour dates are:

September
29 Nottingham Junktion 7
30 Liverpool KorovaOctober
1 Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
2 Manchester Retro Bar
3 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bac
4 Kingston Bacchus
5 Leicester Firebug
6 York Fibbers
7 Newcastle Grainger Social Club
8 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
10 London Barfly
11 Leeds Cockpit ***
12 Tunbridge Wells The Forum
13 Goole The Vikings Hotel ***
14 Stockton Georgian Theatre
15 Oxford Zodiac ***
16 Bristol Academy ***
18 Brighton Concorde 2 ***
19 Bridgend Rec ***
20 Penzance Acorn ***
21 Bridport Arts Centre ***
22 Exeter Cavern ***
23 Southampton Lennons
24 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms ***
25 London Islington Academy ***
26 Kingston Banquet Records (instore)
(*** with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly)
November (with The Rumble Strips)
8 Cambridge
10 Brighton Sumo
11 Cardiff Barfly
12 Bournemouth Opera House

Since playing their first gig in March 2005, the evolution of DARTZ! has been an intriguing journey to say the least and the fact that the band started as nothing more than a "joke" between a drummer and a guitarist who thought it'd be funny to swap instruments now seems almost irrelevant. The first couple of months prior to their debut live performance were spent hidden away in the smallest practice room on earth learning how to play their new found instruments whilst simultaneously writing what they like to call “pop songs”. Influenced equally as much by their surroundings and life experiences as by the music that they listen to, DARTZ! have earned comparisons with such luminaries as Q and Not U and The Dismemberment Plan whilst still retaining a sound that is very much their own.

A series of critically acclaimed limited edition releases as well as a relentless touring schedule which included explosive sets at In The City in Manchester (alongside The Maccabees and Forward, Russia!) and The Great Escape festival in Brighton led Xtra Mile Recordings to beat off competition from a whole host of other labels to capture the band’s signatures in June 2006.

A few weeks later they headed into Battery Studios in London with Mark Williams (Yourcodenameis:milo, Fightstar, Million Dead etc) to document the sounds they’d been creating over the past year and a half. The result is twelve stunning tracks set for release early in 2007 under the title of ‘This Is My Ship’. William and Philip had to nip back home briefly towards the end of recording to collect their A-Level results and despite being on tour whilst they should really have been revising, they both did very well!

University’s loss is music’s gain for the time being though…

Frontiers Records have announced the release of the long awaited ZION album on December 8th 2006!

ZION is Freddy Curci’s brand new project/band set to bring back his magical voice on an all new material that could resemble the best production of his ALIAS and SHERIFF days.

Freddy Curci is arguably one of the best vocalists in Rock History. He's got the combination of vocal talents that all singers strive for. He can sing a ballad with a beautiful, smooth voice like Steve Perry of Journey or Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon and then turn around and belt out rocker with a rough edge on his voice like Brad Delp of Boston.

He started his career in SHERIFF recording a classic album in 1979 and (four years later!) having a number one song in the USA charts, called "When I'm With You". That song put Freddy into the World Records Book for holding a note for almost 30 seconds!

Hot on the heels of the chart success, Freddy and former SHERIFF bandmate Steve DeMarchi on guitar fromed legendary band ALIAS together with ex HEART members Steve Fossen, Mike Derosier and Roger Fisher. Alias released one album in 1989 for EMI worldwide. That record had two U.S. top ten hits: "More Than Words Can Say" and "Waiting For Love", which was penned by famed songwriters Brett Walker and Jeff Paris.

In 1994 Freddy Curci debuted as a solo artist with a cd called "Dreamer's Road" achieving good success in Canada. Six years later a compilation featuring some unreleased songs was unleashed on the market, marking the start of his cooperation with Frontiers Records who released that album in Italy.

Freddy then started his new ZION project which almost took four years to make it to completion “I got really sick for a long time and I couldn't sing for over a year... But I'm glad to say things are much better now and I am very excited to come back after such a long time! I could not even realize so much time passed. I guess In my mind I never left.. It was the journey I took that that brought me here now. To quote Paul McCartney, It was a long and winding road....”. “Zion is” continues Freddy, “one of those things that if there's enough demand, I'll ask the guys if they want to go on the road and tour this record! This would be a fun record to tour… it really rocks!”

  

Featured on ZION are professional musicians such as Jason Hook (ex BULLET BOYS) and Joey Scoleri on guitars, Paul Marangoni (KIM MITCHELL, THE WORKS, CONEY HATCH) and Joey Greco on drums, Ken Malandrino on bass and Ross Greene on keyboards with the collaboration of Fabrizio Grossi on bass as well. He gathered the best songs from his repertoire written with Steve DeMarchi (Curci’s ALIAS and SHERIFF songwriting partner), Jeff Paris, Marc Ribler and Bob Marlette, among others.

The resulting record simply entitled ZION is everything the ALIAS fans would have wanted to hear from Freddy and more!

Final track listing: Only Takes a Minute; How Much Longer Is Forever; One Man Alone; Dangerous; I Am Running Home; Everybody’s Watching; No Surprise; Sky Is Falling; Devil’s Dance; Who Do You Think You Are; Crash The Mirror.

The recently reunited legends VAIN and TIGERTAILZ have been confirmed as the headliners for the inaugural Wildside Festival, set to take place on November 18, 2006 at the MG Ballroom in Nottingham. The official website is online at http://wildsidefestival.com  and tickets priced at £20 are on sale now.

The Wildside Festival is a new venture from the Wildside Club http://wildside-net.com  — a monthly sleaze-glam club night held in Nottingham that has become the home of glam in the U.K. at present. Organizer, promoter and DJ Al White explains: "We've been running the Wildside nights for over three years now, and it's been a resounding success right from the start. The reason why glam rock fans have taken to us so passionately is probably due to the fact that we don't deviate from what we set out to do — and that's put on a full on sleaze-glam night! No deviations into other genres here! We've had everyone from L.A. GUNS to ROADSTAR play the Wildside club, and people have travelled from all over — even other countries as far as Sweden and Spain! We're at a point where we now feel the time is right to venture into putting on something spectacular and special. So what we have here is the two headliners VAIN and TIGERTAILZ (featuring Kim Hooker, Pepsi Tate, and Jay Pepper), undisputed leaders of the genre who've both got themselves back together and released new albums that are fresh, relevant and in line with their classic albums — receiving universal critical acclaim across the board. And we've decided to team them up with the very best of the new and current sleaze rock bands the U.K. has to offer at present! Wildside is always looking forward to the future, rather than the past."

The festival line up is currently as follows:

VAIN
TIGERTAILZ
KID EGO
RATTLESNAKE REMEDY
RED STAR REBELS
SWEET SEDUCTION
ROLLIN' THUNDER
NEW GENERATION SUPERSTARS

The festival also has its own MySpace at this location - http://myspace.com/wildsideglam  "

Swedish metallers Evergrey have lined up a quarteto of UK dates in November. The gigs confirmed are:

Nov. 06 - London  Dingwalls
Nov. 07 - Dudley  JBs
Nov. 08 - Bolton The Soundhouse
Nov. 09 - Bradford Rio

Dayton, Ohio Hardcore outfit Twelve Tribes, due to release their latest album Midwest Pandemic via Ferret Music on October 2nd, have been confirmed as support to Hatebreed and Unearth on their European tour this November. The dates for the UK leg of the tour are as follow:

Nov 21st - Manchester  MDH
Nov 22nd - London Mean Fiddler
Nov 23rd - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Nov 24th - Glasgow Garage
Nov 25th - Sheffield Corporation

Harem Scarem's new record "Human Nature" will be released November 21st in Asia through Avalon/Marquee and will be available from December 6th in the rest of the world through various online retailers and traditional record shops throughout Europe, more details to come.

Slipknot, the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, hard rock and heavy metal enigma, will release a new DVD, entitled 'Voliminal: Inside the Nine' on December 4, 2006 through Roadrunner Records

A special double disc package, Voliminal: Inside the Nine takes the viewer on a several hour journey into the world of Slipknot as the band recently circled the globe in support of the multi-platinum album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Far from your usual tour film, Voliminal: Inside the Nine is more of an art piece - while fans are taken in the studio, on stage, backstage, on their tour bus and everywhere in between as they experience the energy of a band literally living, breathing and fighting for the music they created, none of it unfolds in ways you'd expect.

Disc 1, titled Voliminal, features a 90-minute film, created and directed by M. Shawn Crahan, better known as Clown, that gives the Slipknot fan a window into the world of the band as seen through the mind of its creator. The film was shot on hand-held cameras and, as a result, is brutally honest and visually unique. The sound and visual edits are intense, disturbing and jarring while the cinematography brings the viewer as close as one can get to the band. Buried in Disc 1 are nine different "rabbit holes," which, when activated, will show a short vignette of each one of the nine members of the band. Not the typical extra footage often found as "easter eggs" on the average DVD, this footage contains some of the most surprising and revealing elements on the DVD.

Disc 2 features three main elements: live footage, music videos and interviews with each member of the band. The live shows were captured at various venues around the world and show Slipknot in unique and somewhat unconventional settings. Everything from outdoor and daytime shows all the way to television award-show performances are included as are the celebrated music videos for "Duality", "Vermilion," "Before I Forget," "The Nameless," and the controversial video for "Vermilion 2," which was never officially released. Additionally, for the first time ever, fans get an up-close look at the band's "Death Masks" used onstage during this tour.

The interviews on this disc are just as groundbreaking as anything the band has ever done. After twelve years, everything is about to change. Nothing is held back and everything is discussed.

Former Wildhearts frontman Ginger takes to road again beginning at the end of October for another series of solo shows. The dates so far confirmed are as follows:

October 27th - Nottingham Junktion 7
October 28th - Blackpool Riffs
October 29th - Dumfries The Venue
October 30th - ABerdeen Kef
October 31st - Glasgow The Classic Grand
Nov 1st - Keighley New Variety Club

After their successful sojourn back to the UK in June Journey are to make a quick return to these shores with a full Uk tour scheduled for March next year.

Neal Schon

The full list of dates so far confirmed for the trek are:

1st March -  Sheffield City Hall
2nd March - Newcastle City Hall
3rd March -  Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
5th March - Nottingham Royal Centre
6th March - Manchester Apollo
9th March - Cardiff Int Centre
10th March - Bournemouth Int Centre
13th March - Birmingham NIA
14th March - London Hammersmith Apollo

Finnish post-hardcore troop Disco Ensemble will release their 'FIRST AID KIT' album on Nov 6 2006. It will be preceded by the 'BLACK EURO' single on Oct 30.

Being a heady mix of Refused meets Jimmy Eat World these releases look set to catapult Finland's best kept secret on to the world !!

Disco Ensemble

To support these releases the band also head out on the road on the EASTPAK TOUR (with Gogol Bordello, Danko Jones, Bedouin Soundclash). Catch them at one of the following shows:

Oct 31st - Leeds, Uni
Nov 1st - Glasgow, Barrowlands
Nov 2nd - Birmingham, Academy
Nov 3rd - Manchester, Academy
Nov 4th - London, Brixton Academy
Nov 6th - Brighton, Dome

It is a common fact that knowledge is power and the education system is failing our children. Without power we are nothing and it is evident the world needs someone or something to teach the important facts of the world.

Let us introduce you to Down I Go, not only a musical headfuck of noise, but teachers of essential historical events. 'This Is Disastercore', the London trio's debut album for Undergroove, as its name suggests, documents some of the world's most terrible disasters from the view point of the victims or the force behind it. It is not a sick joke, but a novel way of dealing with world events through noise experimentation and groove.

Including songs about The Hindenburg, The Great Plague, and The Challenger Space Shuttle, Chernobyl, the Extinction of the Dinosaurs, the sinking of the Titanic and many more, 'This Is Disastercore' is 13 disastrous tracks of brutally evolved hardcore, recorded entirely in the confines of the band's London abode (including the full string section and hand claps).

Already Down I Go has self-released their now deleted and sought after debut 'This Is Dinocore', documenting the life and times of the prehistoric beasts. 'This Is Disastercore' is the second in the 'core' series. Down I Go's third and fourth series of 'core' albums are already underway.

In the meantime 'This Is Disastercore' is released through Undergroove Records on November 13.

Swedish melodic hard rockers House Of Shakira are set to rock Italian fans with a six live gigs over six days in November. The band signed to Lion Music have won worldwide acclaim with albums such as "Lint" and "First Class" and for their live performances at "Firefest 2005" (captured on the live DVD "House Of Shakira – Live At Firefest 05") and 2006's "Sweden Rock Festival" have taken a break from the writing and recording of their forthcoming studio album to perform to their Italian fans.

House Of Shakira vocalist Andreas Eklund comments, "When this opportunity came up it was too good to turn down. The chance to play live in Italy to fans that haven't seen us before and have some fun on the road will help fire us up even more with the new material when we get back in the studio".

The confirmed dates and venues are:

THU 2 NOVEMBER - BERGAMO (KELLER)
FRI 3 NOVEMBER - PORTO D'ASCOLI (TITTY TWISTER)
SAT 4 NOVEMBER - ROMA (Venue to be announced)
SUN 5 NOVEMBER - BOLOGNA (DERKINDERGARTEN)
MON 6 NOVEMBER - MILANO (TRANSILVANIA LIVE)
TUE 7 NOVEMBER - PADOVA (BANALE)

The production of SHADRANE - 'TEMPORAL' is almost over.  'TEMPORAL' tells the story of an impossible love between a fictional US Army Commander and a Hawaiian Lady during the American-Japanese war in the 1940's.

This highly anticipated debut from Shadrane features Göran Edman (vocals), Vivien Lalu (keys), JoOp Wolters (guitars), Matt Bissonette (bass), Gregg Bissonette (drums), Virgil Donati (drums) and a few guest musicians (guitarist Marco Sfogli from JAMES LABRIE and Italian keyboard prodigy Alex Argento, amongst others). Expect a full energetic blend of prog-metal, melodic rock, neo-classical and even jazz/fusion!

Here is the final track-listing:

Skipjack, Temporal, Madoka, Requiem For A Rose, She Writes, The Seed Of Love, Lanterns' Dance, Morpheus, Manzanar, Consider It, Babies In The Bath , The Dance Of Solitude and Scarabee.

With October 28th fast approaching, it looks as if FF3 will be the busiest show to date. Tickets have been flying out the door (quite literally to places such as Chile, Brazil, South Korea and wait for this one…..China!!).The pre show party is now as good as sold out!! Thank you. For the main day , we have finally managed to come up with a suitable running order which we’re sure will appeal to everybody. Less bands, more stage time seemed to be the order of the day from the huge number of e mails we received, so bearing this in mind here’s the running order and stage times for FIREFEST 3 , October 28th

Doors Open : 12.15
NEXX : 1.00 - 1.45
TREAT: 2.05 - 3.00
WIG WAM : 3.20 - 4.20
FAIR WARNING: 4.40 - 5.40
BONFIRE: 6.00 -7.00
GOTTHARD : 7.25 - 8.35
WINGER : 9.00 - 10.30
FINISH

Please note due to a music curfew at Rock City all stage times will be strictly adhered to so please be sure to make a note of what time your favourite band hits the stage. At the end of the show on Saturday night , if you feel like continuing the party a little longer ALL fans attending the FIREFEST show can enter The Rig downstairs and party away until 2.00am to the sounds of more quality melodic hard rock. As you leave the main room , make your way downstairs and into the Rig by taking the door to the right at the bottom of the stairs. ADMISSION to The Rig is FREE as long as you do not leave the building and re enter.

Merchandise : All bands appearing at the show will have a selection of merchandise available , cd’s , dvd’s , tee shirts etc. and these can only be purchased from the official merchandise desk located at the rear of the venue . You can also pick up your Firefest 3 event t shirts there. On the subject of t shirts , t shirts will be available for pre order on www.thefirefest.com very shortly. We did have a small glitch with the shirts but they are due back from the manufacturers any day now. There will be 2 styles available, plain black short sleeve and two colour baseball style. Make sure to grab yours a.s.a.p. as there is a strictly limited run of 100 only shirts.

As you may know we are giving away a guitar (signed by all the bands appearing at FF3) in a free raffle on the day. Now, not only is the guitar a sweet piece of axe but courtesy of our good friends over at www.guitarstore.co.uk they have agreed to supply a top quality hard case to carry it home in. Now that’s one hell of a prize!!!

Cameras: Rock City have asked us to once again point out that the use of camcorders and/or mp3 recorders/mini discs etc. are strictly prohibited on the day, and people found using them will have the item confiscated and be ejected from the venue. You are however encouraged to bring along your camera to capture your favourite artists .

And for those of you who cannot make the show in person on the day ARFM led by the legend he is , Steve Price will be doing an outside broadcast from Rock City on the day with lots of music , interviews and news. Be sure to tune in to ARFM on the web at www.arfm.co.uk to catch it as it happens.

The PRE SHOW: With the event now almost sold out the running order for the pre show is as follows:

Doors Open :6.45 pm
Alibi :7.00 - 7.30
Newman :7.50 - 8.35
Bombay Black : 8.50- 9.40
Bad Habit 10.00 - 11.00
FINISH.

As soon as the live portion of the show is finished anybody who has attended the gig can remain in The Rig until 2.00am to party the night away to the very best in aor/melodic rock , but the best bit is (aside from Dave Reynolds being the quizmaster and a stack of great spot prizes , including yet another class guitar from those great people at www.guitarstore.co.uk which also includes a hard case) is the fact that we are having a promo night in the alcohol department. No I hear you cry, but sadly yes, all draught larger will cost only £1.50 ALL NIGHT and a double JD & Coke a princely £2 a shot!! Value for money or what!! Now as is the case with every pre show, the various members of bands playing the following day will be at the pre show and more than happy to say hello or pose for a photo , so far Bonfire, Treat, Nexx and Fair Warning will be in attendance so make sure you do say hello and extend a big Firefest welcome to them.

We would like to thank everybody who has supported the show thus far. It genuinely does look as if it will be very, very busy . For all the latest updates please log on to www.thefirefest.com where the message board is waiting for your comments, good, bad or indifferent. We hope to see everybody in Nottingham on Oct 27th and 28th .

By the way………….maybe it’s time to bring back the ‘loud shirt’ competition and the ‘wet beer belly’ competition as well………….now maybe that’s an idea???? Let us know

Aaron Lewis, lead singer with Staind hits UK shores for a one off solo date at London's Islington Union Chapel on November 18th

Michael Schenker has cancelled his proposed appearance at Guitarfest 2006 which takes place at Cocks Moors Woods Centre in Birmingham on September 24th. According to a posting on the Guitafets website this was down to 'unforrseen personal circumstances and beyond the control of the organisers.

Escape Music have announced the signing of Final Frontier for the release of the album Freelight. Featuring lead vocalist Rob Moratti alingside Von Groove's Mladen who handles guitar, bass and keyboard duties the album also features Lawrence Falconer on Lead Guitars and a special guest appearance by drummer  Kevin Howley.  The music  on 'Freelight' is very similar to previous Final Frontier albums and yet much stronger. 'Freelight'  will be released on 17th November 2006 with the following track listing:

Freelight, Dynamo, Foolish Pride, Only The Lonely, I Hope You Don't Mind, Someone's Watching You, All The Way, Nothing Is Easy, Lion's Den, The Witches Mask plus two bonus tracks in the shape of Half Way Home and Delia which be feature on the limited edition first pressings of the album.

Final Frontier

Mastodon have been confirmed as special guests on the forthcoming Tool trek round the UK.

Machine Head are continuing work on its sixth studio album, "The Blackening", which is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2007. The group is recording the new CD at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA, with frontman Robert Flynn returning to the producer's chair, and Mark Keaton once again handling engineering duties. Potential  song titles set for inclusion onfor "The Blackening" include "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", "Aesthetics of Hate", "Halo", "The Beautiful Mourning", "Now I Lay Thee Down", "Slanderous Love", "Wolves" and "A Farewell to Arms".

Commented Flynn: "Record is coming along spectacularly, though we are running a little behind our own self-imposed schedule. Shit is sounding killer. We have the honorable Sir Colin Richardson scheduled to mix the second week of October. And we have a possible cover art idea finally that's, well... kinda black... and kinda deathy."

Glenn Hughes will play Dudley JB's on October 28th & London Shepherd's Bush Empire on October 29th

W.A.S.P. have inked a deal with Steamhammer/SPV for the release of their new studio album, 'Dominator' ,scheduled to hit the streets on November 13th.

With nine releases to date, Blackie Lawless & Co. not only count among the most charismatic hard rock bands of our time, but also among the most dynamic and rich in ideas. Legendary are the albums "The Crimson Idol" and "The Headless Children", cult above all the hit singles "I Wanna Be Somebody", "Blind In Texas" and in particular "Animal: Fuck Like A Beast", for which W.A.S.P. got a good public scolding in their somewhat prudish home country of America. But Lawless and his colleagues remain undaunted and continue to rub salt into open wounds in 2006.

With "Dominator", Blackie Lawless & Co are to release a further masterpiece that simply bristles with phenomenal riffs and catchy arrangements. Besides numerous quality compositions of their own, such as "Mercy", "Take Me Up" or "Heaven's Hung In Black" bearing the band's typical trademarks, "Dominator" also offers with Deep Purple's "Burn" and Creddance Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" two cover versions that stay true to the W.A.S.P. tradition of "The Real Me" and "I Don't Need No Doctor".

The band are renowned for their dynamic and energetic live shows. Beginning of September they embarked on their extensive European tour that will take W.A.S.P. through Germany, Norway, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Italy, France, England, Ireland, Russia, Spain and Portugal, among others. This means that the fans in many countries can see their idols in the flesh before the release of the new album and can almost certainly look forward to a particularly interesting set list. All in all, three full months of performances in Europe will make this the longest tour in the band's history.

The track listing for Dominator is as follows:

Mercy, Burn, Take Me Up, Heaven's Blessed, Heaven's Hung In Black, Long Long Way To Go, Teacher, Heaven's Hung In Black (Reprise) and Fortunate Son

W.A.S.P hit the UK & Ireland for a series of shows this autumn to promote the album. The full list of dates is as follows:

Oct 27th - Glasgow Garage
Oct 28th - Manchester Academy
Oct 29th - Newcastle Academy
Oct 30th - Nottingham Rock City
Oct 31st - Southampton The Brook
Nov 1st -  Tenby
Nov 2nd -  Ebbw Vale Leisure Center
Nov 3rd - Sheffield Cooperation
Nov 16th - Norwich Waterfront
Nov 17th - London Astoria
Nov 18th - Dublin Tripod
Nov 19th - Belfast Spring & Airbrake
Nov 20th - Belfast Spring & Airbrake

The 2006 edition of the Bloodstock Festival kicks off in next Friday at the Assembly Rooms in Derby. The full running order for the event has now been announced and is as follows: