SCOTT KELLY American Winter Tour With Eugene S. Robinson Announced

In an ongoing stream of tour announcements over recent weeks, Neurosis/Shrinebuilder frontman Scott Kelly has just confirmed another run of American solo acoustic performances to take place this Winter.

Scott Kelly's Western U.S. tour is currently underway alongside Bob Wayne and Jay Munly. Following the tour, Kelly will play a one-off show in Chicago the first week of the year alongside Bruce Lamont, followed by his first tour of Australia and New Zealand as a solo artist this February with direct support from John Baizley (Baroness).

The newly-confirmed tour will take place immediately upon Kelly's return from his stint in Australia and New Zealand, with 22 new dates now confirmed, kicking off in Atlanta on February 15th and running a clockwise swath through the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast into mid-March. For this tour the solo talents of Eugene S. Robinson (Oxbow) will serve as support for Scott Kelly on all dates.

Scott Kelly Western U.S. Tour w/ Jay Munly, Bob Wayne [remaining dates]:

12/07/2011 Club Congress - Tucson, AZ
12/08/2011 Bar Pink - San Diego, CA
12/09/2011 Juke Joint - Anaheim, CA
12/10/2011 Echo - Los Angeles, CA
12/11/2011 Alex’s Bar - Long Beach, CA
12/13/2011 Fulton 55 - Fresno, CA
12/14/2011 The New Parish - Oakland, CA
12/15/2011 Brick and Mortar - San Francisco, CA
12/16/2011 Crepe Place - Santa Cruz, CA

Scott Kelly Solo Headlining Show:

1/04/2012 Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL w/ Bruce Lamont [free RSVP here]

Scott Kelly New Zealand/Australian Tour w/ John Baizely

2/02/2012 King's Arms - Auckland

2/03/2012 SF Bath House - Wellington

2/04/2011 The Civic - Perth

2/05/2012 Fowlers Live - Adelaide

2/06/2012 The National Hotel - Geelong

2/08/2012 ANU - Canberra

2/09/2012 The Zoo - Brisbane

2/10/2012 Corner Hotel - Melbourne

2/11/2012 Manning Bar - Sydney

2/12/2012 The Brisbane Hotel - Hobart

*NEW - SCOTT KELLY American Winter Tour w/ Eugene S. Robinson:

2/15/2012 The 529 - Atlanta, GA

2/16/2012 The End - Nashville, TN

2/17/2012 Downtown Music Hall - Little Rock, AR w/ Iron Tongue

2/18/2012 La Grange - Dallas, TX

2/19/2012 Mohawk - Austin, TX

2/21/2012 Record Bar - Kansas City, MO

2/22/2012 Fubar Lounge - St Louis, MO

2/23/2012 MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH

2/24/2012 Intersection Front Bar - Grand Rapids, MI

2/25/2012 Lager House- Detroit, MI

2/26/2012 Rockstar Pro Arena - Dayton, OH

2/28/2012 Now That's Class - Cleveland, OH

2/29/2012 Ace Of Cups - Columbus, OH

3/01/2012 Mohawk Place - Buffalo, NY

3/02/2012 Cafe Nine - New Haven, CT

3/03/2012 Church of Boston - Boston, MA w/ Marc Pinansky

3/04/2012 Knitting Factory - Brooklyn, NY

3/06/2012 Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA

3/07/2012 Golden West Cafe - Baltimore, MD

3/08/2012 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA

3/09/2012 The Pinhook - Durham, NC

3/10/2012 Snug Harbor - Charlotte, NC

UFOMAMMUT Complete Two-Part Neurot Recordings Debut

UFOMAMMUT, Northern Italy's sorcerers of supernatural and obliterating doom, have completed the recordings for their sixth full-length, and first as part of the Neurot Recordings family. This week we are beyond excited to announce the details of this highly anticipated, mammoth follow-up to their 2010 full-length Eve, the band's most critically-acclaimed and devastating piece of magic to date... until now.

Oro is the title for UFOMAMMUT's latest work, divided into ten massive movements overall

which is now confirmed to be delivered in two separate pieces during the coming year. The first chapter, Opus Primum, will see arrival in April, and the second, Opus Alter, in September. The vinyl versions of both chapters will be handled directly by UFOMAMMUT's own label Supernatural Cat Records, who were responsible for the release of all of the band's previous material. This is the third album in a row the band recorded with Lorenzo Stecconi.

As with all previous UFOMAMMUT albums, the concepts behind Oro are expansive and multi-faceted, mutating the Italian palindrome which translates to "gold" with the Latin translation of "I prey." Oro explores the concept of knowledge and its power; the magical stream controlled by the human mind to gain control of every single particle of the World surrounding us. Oro is the alchemical process to transform the human fears into pure essence; into Gold. Although Oro's two chapters will be released months apart from each other, they must be considered as a single track in which the musical themes and the sounds show up and hide, mutating and evolving, progressively and increasingly stratifying culminating in the crushing final movement. Oro is like an alchemic laboratory in which substances are flowing, dividing and blending themselves in ten increments from the alembics and stills, culminating into the creation of Gold. The band are also in the process of crafting a full video/visual version of Oro which will accompany the audio.

Since their inception in 1999, UFOMAMMUT has toured several times, and crossed the oceans to the United States for the first time in 2009 for a tour of the West Coast. They've performed at renowned, international music festivals including Roadburn, Hellfest, Ieper, Stoned from the Underground, Asymmetry, sharing the stage with Neurosis, Down, Amen Ra, Baroness, Sons Of Otis, Motorpsycho and endless more along the way. The band's live show is supported by the internationally acclaimed video and graphic art of Malleus, a rock artists’ collective who conjure the entirety of UFOMAMMUT’s visual impact.

2012 will see the band expanding their touring circles wider across the face of the planet in support of Oro. Stay tuned throughout the year as more details on the release and the act's tour schedule are confirmed.

UFOMAMMUT is:

Poia - guitars and effect

Urlo - bass, vocals and synths

Vita - drums

Ciccio - soundlord

Lu - visuals

KATAKLYSM FRONTMAN LAUNCHES CM-BACKED BOOKING AGENCY, ROCK THE NATION AMERICA

The North American metal scene just got a lot heavier. The launch of Rock The Nation America celebrates a groundbreaking booking agency partnership between Kataklysm frontman Maurizio Iacono, his agent and Canadian metal promoter Stephan Mellul, and Century Media Records.

Rock The Nation America will be focused on bringing the best names in heavy metal to North American audiences, while maintaining a razor-sharp focus on emerging acts and artist development. Iacono will capitalize on his decade as frontman of the Canadian death metal band Kataklysm as he heads the agency's artist relations efforts, while Mellul will build on his history as one of Canada's premier metal promoters and agents. Based out of the same Los Angeles offices that the Century Media and Nuclear Blast record labels call home, the pair will be supported by Century Media for all marketing and administrative needs.

"I spent the last 15 years touring and learning what being on the road is all about, and my partner, Stephan Mellul, has been booking shows for 18 years - together, we decided to bring something different to the industry," says Iacono. "We decided to create an agency that will help new artists develop, as well as preserve and grow the careers of established bands. I'm a soldier on the field, I understand the touring life, I still live it... and the fans deserve unselfish packages and lineups that are worth paying the ticket price. We thank Europe's premier agency, Rock The Nation, for joining forces."

"Rock The Nation going overseas was always a big wish of RTN Europe," says Stefan Hattinger, CEO of RTN Group Europe. "We found experienced and hard-working people in Maurizio and Steph who know the market and what the artists need, thus the right people to run Rock The Nation America."

At their launch, the Rock The Nation America roster contains more than two dozen acts spanning the extreme metal market, including Hammerfall, Hypocrisy, Kataklysm, Wintersun and more. The agency's first tour will be Paganfest USA Tour 2012, a package featuring worldwide metal acts Turisas (Finland), Alestorm (Scotland), Ex Deo (Rome), Arkona (Russia) and Huntress (USA) - a complete itinerary will be announced shortly.

"What really excites me about this agency is that it is a true metal organization," says Century Media founder Robert Kampf. "From metal agents, metal bookers and metal bands, straight to metal fans - when I heard of this I wanted nothing more than to be a part of it... Horns up!"

Visit Rock The Nation America online: http://www.rockthenationusa.com/

Rush unveil new "Sectors" widget featuring two audio documentaries

Rush have just unveiled a new widget that features a new two part audio-documentary featuring Mercury-era interviews with Geddy, Alex, and Neil which are compiled from the archives of inthestudio.net in celebration of the Sectors Box Sets releases. The widget's audio content gives a great glimpse into the band's humble beginnings, creative process, and their rise to prog-rock icons.

The recently released Sectors Box Sets feature the band's entire Mercury catalog. Each "Sector" or box set, contains five of their 15 Mercury albums in chronological order, all transferred to high resolution 96kHz/24-bit audio and digitally re-mastered for optimal quality. In addition, each volume includes an exclusive booklet packed with unpublished photos, original album lyrics and credits, and features one album from each set specially remixed on DVD in high resolution 96kHZ/24-bit, 5.1 surround sound and stereo, compatible with both DVD-Audio players and DVD-Video players. Each album is packaged in a replica vinyl mini-jacket of the original album release with all three box sets forming a Rush CD road case.

For more info on Sectors and to keep up to date with everything RUSH visit: www.rush.com

Soulfly to Release "Enslaved" in March

2012 will see the release of Enslaved, a brand new Soulfly album, which will be their eighth overall. While many bands barely make it to a third album, the Max Cavalera-led collective is still going strong two decades deep. 2012 also marks the band's 15^th anniversary of making a tribally-influenced metallic racket and what better way to celebrate than with a new record?

The album will be released via longtime label Roadrunner Records, which has been Soulfly's home for the course of its career. The label has also been Cavalera's home for the duration of his career, which began in the '80s as a member of Sepultura, who essentially rewrote the rules of heavy music when they arrived on the scene; Max continues to do the same today.

The song remains insane for Soulfly, as does the lineup. The powerhouse lineup features Max and guitar dynamo Marc Rizzo, with Static-X's Tony Campos taking up the bass. The lineup is rounded out by drummer David Kinkade, a new school, extreme skinsman whose brutality behind the kit brings a new flavor to the band.

Enslaved was recorded at Tallcat Studios in Phoenix, Arizona and was produced by Zeuss, the seasoned knob twiddler behind some of the most notable bands in metal today, such as Shadows Fall, Hatebreed, The Red Chord and more. Cavalera also shared production duties.

As is customary with Soulfly, the band will introduce some new and unexpected elements into the mix, including a guest violinist. Soulfly also collaborates with two metal veterans: Dez Fafara of Devildriver and Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation. With Dez and Max sharing a longtime connection through the Roadrunner family, it was only a matter of time before Fafara guested on a Soulfly album. Meanwhile, Ryan said it was "an honor to receive a call from someone you had pictures of on your wall as a kid."

Cavalera also wrote a song "Revengeance" about his slain stepson Dana, whose death was the catalyst for the creation of Soulfly. He partners with his sons Igor and Richie on vocals, while his other son Zyon plays drums. It is the first time Max has performed with three of his sons.

The band tracked 14 songs, 11 of which will be on the record, with the other three being made available for the special edition. Track titles are as follows: "Resistance," "World Scum," "Intervention," "Gladiator," "Legions," "American Steel," "Redemption of Man By God," "Treachery," "Plata O Plomo," "Revengeance," "Chains," "Slave," "Bastards" and "Soulfly VIII." Please note this is not the final track sequencing.

The album is due out in March 13, 2012. It follows 2010's Omen.

Megadeth + Dream Theater Grammy Nominations

Roadrunner Records would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Megadeth and Dream Theater for their nominations in the newly combined "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" Grammy category for the 54^th Annual Grammy Awards.

Megadeth, led by singer/guitarist/metal legend Dave Mustaine, have received the 10th nomination of their storied career. The band's first nomination landed in 1990 and they're still garnering nods two decades later. That's a testament to the band’s continued and unassailable legacy, permanence and relevance! The band was nominated for "Public Enemy No. 1," from its latest Roadrunner album, Th1rt3en. True to its title, it is the 13^th album of the band's career. Megadeth, who have enjoyed five Platinum and multi-Platinum certifications, as well as seven Gold certifications, entered the hard rock and metal scene as standard setters and they've never veered from that path. This 10^th Grammy nomination is more proof of this fact. It's also worth noting the auspicious fact that this is Category #13.

Dream Theater have garnered their very first nomination for "On the Backs of Angels" from their latest Roadrunner release, A Dramatic Turn of Events. The band is universally recognized as a prog rock institution - they were voted as such by readers of Rolling Stone in an online poll that was conducted earlier this summer. Essentially, the band is globally revered by fans of forward-thinking hard rock. This nomination is well-deserved, as the band embarked on a new journey with a new drummer, emerging from the studio stronger than ever. The album debuted in the Top 10 of sales charts in 11 territories. Dream Theater have sold in excess of 10 million records and DVDs worldwide in their 26 year career.

Congratulations again to both Megadeth and Dream Theater.

Roadrunner Records, a Warner Music Group label, is extremely pleased to represent two out of the five nominees in this competitive category. The utter dominance in this category is further evidence of the fact that the label remains the most formidable force in the hard rock and metal genre, a claim it has staked for the past 31 years.

The 54^th annual Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 12, 2011. The event will broadcast on CBS.

IN FLAMES Confirmed for Wacken 2012

Things keep getting more exciting for IN FLAMES. The band's newest release Sounds Of A Playground Fading was just certified Gold in their native home of Sweden, the band is currently on a highly successful tour with Trivium, Ghost, Rise To Remain and Insense, and now IN FLAMES has been confirmed for Germany's prestigious Wacken Open Air 2012!

"We are happy to announce that we will headline the Friday night at Wacken 2012. It's gonna be great. Expect loads of pyros, loads of good music and five beer drinking heavy metal guys on stage."

See the band's Wacken profile here.

Before playing a massive show in Gothenburg's Scandinavium IN FLAMES invited Trivium's Matt Heafy for a dinner at 2112, the restaurant of bassist Peter Iwers and guitarist Björn Gelotte. Check out an entertaining clip here and see what Matt Heafy (vocals/guitar) from Trivium and Anders Fridén (vocals) from IN FLAMES thought about the food and drinks - apart from some other fun stories.

Next on their agenda will be the UK (with Trivium taking over headlining duties) on the Metal Hammer Defenders Of The Faith-tour.

After a short break around Christmas IN FLAMES will tour North America with Trivium, Veil Of Maya and Kyng in early 2012 before heading for Australia's prestigious Soundwave Festival tour. For April/May 2012 they have announced a very exclusive Scandinavian club tour as a special treat for their supportive Scandinavian fans.

A full list of tour dates can be seen here.