YESTERDAY's NEWs

Here's the rather crude page where we are temporarily keeping the old news until a better home can be found for it. 

 

March 25th, 2001
UPDATE
Review:
Re-live the days of a Roth-less Van Halen, of happy times in the VH camp and the band flaunting the great vocal catch of Sammy Hagar.  Was it really that long ago? Journey back to 1986 with Joseph White's review of Van Halen - "5150".

Top Ten: Added hot spots to Andy Craven's picks for the bi-Weekly Top 10.

NEWS
Thrall Set to Lay Down the Law

Z Records have recently signed the band: Liddell, Rush & Thrall to an exclusive deal.   As you can guess its a collaboration between these three musicians, Tony Liddell (Strangeways, Tygers of Pan Tang), Billy Rush (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes) and Pat Thrall (Pat Travers, Hughes-Thrall, Meatloaf, Asia).  Their offering "Lay Down The Law" is scheduled for an October 2001 release date.

Jaded Heart at Z Rock 2001 Germany
Z Records have announced that Jaded Heart has been added to the roster for the August, 09th show in Mannheim, Germany.  The lineup includes: Tygers of Pan Tang, Enuff Z Nuff, Shy, Jaded Heart, Dreamhunter, Seven Wishes, Contagious.  Also don't forget ZRock 2001 in Manchester, England coming up May 6th.  All the mentioned bands will be there (minus Tygers of Pan Tang and Jaded Heart) but Burning Rain is added to the lineup to make up for it.

Hades News
Metal Blade will release the new Hades disc called "DamNation" in Europe on the 30th of April.  Those that can grab the first edition will be treated to a bonus disc that is the complete Homevideo of the band released in the US last year.  This edition is limited to 3,000 copies. Dan Lorenzo states about the album: "People will finally have a Hades record where you can hear every instrument.  I'm not even going to tell you these are the best songs we ever wrote.  You will soon hear that."   On their new drummer he states, "After Wacken we found Ron Lipnicki. Holy shit! This guy is going to be a star.  He inspired us so much, he got me back into Hades 100%.  We started REALLY writing."  As for the cover and title of the new disc, "Man I know some Americans are going to be shocked when they see the cd cover, but you Europeans will understand!  America is a great country, I used to get a tear in my eye when I would hear our National Anthem.  I am so embarrassed after the O.J. trial, Monica, Pardongate. 'This country is going to hell' people say.   That's what our cover depicts."  Pretty strong stuff...a US release date is still TBA.

Giant Update
The new album will be a collection of unreleased songs and live tracks.  Some of the studio tracks are already complete but still need work, and three are being re-recorded from their original base.  The live stuff comes from an assortment of London acoustic shows and the US radio show Rockline.  Some of the titles being consider for the album are: Don't Leave Me In Love, You Will Be Mine, Over You, Oh Yeah, Can't Let Go and Sky is the Limit.  Rockline material:  Can't Get Close Enough, It Takes Two and Shake Me Up.  A release around August is what they are aiming for.

RELEASE DATES
Z Records albums coming up are:  Von Groove - The Seventh Day (April 12th), Prisoner - II (April 12th), Shy - TBC (May 7th), Dreamhunter - Bad Attitude (May 7th), Prophet - ST (May 21st).

March 24th, 2001
UPDATE
Review:
Alanna Evans cranks out a review for the new Seven Wishes - "Utopia" disc.  Does it hold up to their 1999 debut?  Do they still sound like Dokken?  Should we even care?  Click the link and find out. 

Top Ten: The first bi-weekly Top 10 is here! And surprise, surprise, its a tie in with our current ongoing poll battle: The Top 10 Guitarists *Ever*.  Not just of the 80s, the 70s, the 90s, or the 00s... but of all-time.  Now before the flames start being thrown keep in mind this is meant to be *metal* or *hard rock* guitarists.  A link has been added to the left sidebar for easy access. For those that might have guessed, this idea came from the ashes of our 80s Weekend Top Tens.    

March 23rd, 2001
UPDATE
Tired of Aerosmith gone pop? Here's an alternative.  Andy Craven reviews an album by an ex-Aerosmith guitarist that was almost lost to the vaults.  Check it out: Rick Dufay - "Written in Stone".

NEWS
Flying Beyond the 9
James Byrd's latest is done!   Best known for helping revolutionize metal in the 80s as guitarist and lead songwriter in Fifth Angel, Byrd is set to shake the foundations again and rebuild them from the ground up with his latest opus.  One song apparently has no guitar in it at all, 'All of Me'.  Byrd comments on this oddity, "Sure I could have put guitar on it, and I felt people expected it but it just didn't seem right.  It's a song, period."  Well said.  He continues, "My guitar is just a tool, and it wasn't right for this song.  I also like the transistion from words with no guitars to a track with guitar from one end to the other with no words (Avianti Suite)."

The track listing is as follows:
1. Flying Beyond the 9
2. Dark Heart
3. W.T.O. (We Took Over)
4. Nevermore
5. Everything To Me
6. Unity (While You Were Sleeping)
7. Paradise Tonight
8. All Of Me (An Allegory to the Church)
9. Avianti Suite

There is still no known release date but watch this one carefully.  For a warmup you can read Andy's review of Byrd's last release, 1998's Crimes of Virtuosity, Alanna's old review of The Apocalypse Chime, and then head on over to http://www.jbyrd.co.uk, the UK fansite.  More Byrd/Fifth Angel reviews can also be found in our review page here at RFMD.

March 22nd, 2001
UPDATE
Magnum - "Vigilante"
goes under the knife today as Alanna Evans takes it apart in her review and then puts it back together again.   This was Magnum's first total foray into 100% commerical rock, and came out with mixed results, but some awesome tunes.

NEWS
Black is Back II
Another Black is back on the scene, the ex-voice of Shark Island, Richard Black.  Along with him he has brought an all-star lineup that is reminiscent of the one-off supergroup he sang lead for in the early 90s, Contraband.  On the new project which has been titled Bourgeois Pigs will be Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) and Michael Guy on the guitar, Tony Franklin (Blue Murder) on bass and Linsday Vannoy (Alice Cooper) handling keyboards.  Guests on the recording will include Matt Sorum (Guns 'n' Roses, The Cult) and Ken Mary (House of Lords) on drums with Kelly Hansen (Hurricane, Sons of Angels) on vocals.  The sound style has been stated as being "quite adventurous, but will remain firmly rooted in melodic hard rock." That's good news all around. 

Westworld in New England
Live in the New York/New Jersey area? Then you can catch Tony Harnell and the boys touring as Westworld with the possibilty of a brand new track added to the setlist.  Harnell says on the band's upcoming live album, "the band is sounding great live and I really want people who can't see us to at least be able to hear us on stage." 
Here are the dates:
March 30th     Westbury, New York
April 6th          Old Bridge, New Jersey
April 14th        Brooklyn, New York
April  28th       Centerreach, N.Y. (Long Island)
May 9th           N.Y.C

Eyewitness' Trinity
Plans for a new Eyewitness album is in the works, with the likely title of "Trinity".  The style will go back to their roots and debut release.   Most of the material is already written and will shortly be recorded at Morrisound with the lineup of Todd Plant, Oliver Hanson, Steve Hodson and Ralph Santolla.

The Millenium Cover
A new Millenium album is being prepared called "Long Live Rock N Roll" (familiar title eh?) and will be nothing but a collection of hard rock covers.  Judging by Millenium's lead singer, Jorn Lande's solo project, "Starfire" which featured mostly covers, this will be a smashing disc to look forward to.  To get a taste of what's to come, you can read a RFMD review of Jorn's "Starfire" album here.

Burning the Sun
Speaking of Lande, his other band Ark will release their latest, "Burn the Sun", April 2nd in Europe. Early reports of this disc seem to all say the same thing: this one is something else. 

Label Collections Part I
MTM is celebrating their 5th Anniversary as a label with this special compilation release.   It features a wide range of material from some of their best artists and represents them with new, unreleased or Japanese bonus tracks.  Here's a few of the songs to look forward to:
Guild of Ages - Everybody (unreleased)
Kharma - Cold as Ice (Japan - yes the Foreigner cover)
Jaded Heart - Under the Sky of Africa (Japan)
House of Shakira - Wish to Survive, Stone in Love (Japan)
Dogface - Suicide (Thin Lizzy cover)
Elements of Friction - Innocent Touch (unreleased)

Label Collections Part II
Now and Then & Frontiers Records are celebrating their 4th year of their Union with a double disc compilation cd.   Artists included are Bob Catley, Iain Ashley Hersey, Prime Time, Brad Gillis, Kip Winger, Heaven and Earth, Mark Boals, Into the Light, Millenium, Praying Mantis, David Glen Eisley, Voodoo Hill, Teer, The Sign, Ten, Kelly Keagy, Emerald Rain...plus Hurricane, Giant, Hardline and Bourgeois Pigs.

March 20th, 2001
NEWS
Bon Jovi's First Live Disc
Is coming sooner than you might think. The band has confirmed they are putting the final touches on their first live album, a long time in coming since Bon Jovi (the band) has released seven studio discs, and live videos/dvds including last year's The Crush Tour DVD/VHS.  It is not yet titled but is aimed for a May 22nd release and will most likely have favorites such as 'Runaway', 'Bad Medicine', 'Living on A Prayer' and their latest hit, 'It's My Life'.

Black is Back
Ousted from Crimson Glory, but not idly waiting for the next Seven Witches project, the band which he recently joined, vocalist Wade Black will be teaming up with Crimson Glory guitarist Ben Jackson and touring drummer Jesse Martillo in a new band called Sector 9.   It's been in discussion since last Summer, before Black committed to Seven Witches.

Cashing In On the Thunder
The Japanese loved their Thunder, who called it quits a year or two ago.  A memorial edition of their "Live At the Monsters of Rock 1990" was released in Japan on May 16th, the tracklisting includes 'She's So Fine', 'Until My Dying Day' and 'Dirty Love', all which were positively awesome at the Monsters of Rock.  If those tracks are any indication of the quality of the disc, then this is one to be looked into, as Thunder was quite the live band.

Loudness New Album Scores Big in Japan
'Spiritual Canoe' has been doing quite well in the Land of the Rising Sun, hitting the Japanese charts at #20.  The band have currently been in talks about playing Wacken as well as a short European tour to be held later in the year. 

Savatage's Caffery Speaks Out
On new singer Damond Jiniya, Caffery says, "he walked into the room and I thought, 'If this kid can sing one note, he's going to be brilliant,' because he just has that Sebastian Bach kind of electricity when he walks into a room.  It's a great thing."  But can he sing?  "I think, if anything people are going to be blown away by him" continues Caffery, "his voice is very similiar to Zack's but he's definitely a different type of animal."

Heavenly Lose Guitarist, Prepare New Album
But gain a replacement, by the name of Frederic Leclercq who has played keyboards on the tour with Stratovarius.  Their former guitarist, Chris Savourey, of course, quit.  The new album is underway, with the drums being recorded at the Jailhouse in Denmark with Tommy Hansen.  The rest of the disc will be done in Paris in the band's studio, but Hansen will be handling the mixing.  It's slated for a September release date and features the following track listing: 'Sign of the Winner', 'Condamned to Die', 'Destiny', 'Still Believe', 'The Sandman', 'The World Will Be Better', 'The Angel' and 'Words of Change'. 

March 19th, 2001
UPDATE
Alanna Evans reviews Iron Fire - On the Edge, the second album by these Danish upstarts, and quite a fine one at that, although those who can't deal with innovation in their power metal might not be too pleased with the outcome.  Thanks to Torham for resizing/cropping the images of the disc cover.

Also today is the official release date for Frontier's Iain Ashley Hersey - Fallen Angel disc, here's your opportunity to check out Andy's review of this excellent disc even if you missed the review the first time around.    

March 18th, 2001
UPDATE
One of the most respected bass players in the metal biz today, Barry Sparks, is interviewed by Andy Craven.  Sparks has played bass for a very respectable stable of artists, including Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth and Yngwie Malmsteen.

NEWS
Rick Dufay News

Former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay has made an album of songs recorded in 1989 available at http://www.mp3.com/rickdufay . The title track 'Written In Stone' was originally conceived as an Aerosmith tune before the reformation with Perry and Whitford in 1984. For a prime slice of "classic" Aero-Rock check it out, look out for a review here at RFMD very soon.

Mother's Army to Conquer North America
Mother's Army is getting ready to release their 3 CDs in America, this summer, for the first time. The first release will be their latest 1998's "Fire on the Moon", with "Mother's Army" (1993), and the enviromental themed "Planet Earth" (1997) to follow.  For those not familiar with the band, it is Jeff Watson's (Night Ranger) project which also features an all-star lineup: Aynsley Dunbar, Bob Daisley and Joe Lynn Turner.

Joe Lynn Turner Updates
Joe Lynn is going to be a very busy singer this year.  He is working on a new solo cd which will be ready for recording in May and then in July will be teaming up with Glenn Hughes to record another disc.  For those that live in Florida, you can catch Joe in concert on March 30-31st.

Prophet Reformed + Re-releases
New Jersey based Prophet will have their albums re-released and made available to the general public once again through Z Records.  The 1985 self titled debut will be released on May 21st  with 1988's "Cycle of the Moon" following on August 6th and their final disc, 1991's "Recycled" coming on October 14th.  The band have reformed with original members Scott Metaxas, Russel Arcara and Ken Dubman, and are putting together new material for a fourth disc that will see release in spring of 2002. 

March 16th, 2001
UPDATE
A power metal classic gets worked over as the barbaric Omen - Battle Cry is reviewed by Alanna Evans.  "Battle Cry" is to metal what George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" series is to books or what Diablo is to PC games, and no I don't mean international blockbuster either.  Those power metal fans that might have missed this often forgotten 80s gem should read through this one, which might also aid in figuring out what all these cryptic comparisons might mean. 

NEWS
New Savatage Singer Details
Well folks, you heard it here first (or maybe not really first but close enough), here's the new Savatage vocalist: Violence and Poetry by Damond Jiniya.   Apparently he's from some little Florida band called Diet of Worms.  They have toured with such 'class acts' (cough) as Christian Death and the Genitorturers, and he looks like one of those freaky goth singers.  I guess time will tell if he's worthy of the Savatage name but I am rather skeptical at this point.  Check out the link there and decide for yourself.  Thanks to BlackmoreBabe for the 'heads up' on this one.

Crossroads Just Wasn't Enough...
...for those hard rock luvin' Japanese since Bon Jovi is getting another Best Of release called "Tokyo Road" that will be available only in the Land of the Rising Sun.  The first pressing will have an extra bonus: a 3" single that will feature a rare track (a new version of 'One Wild Night' from JBJ's latest, "Crush") plus a couple of live songs.  

RELEASE DATES
Those that might have missed it, a handful of discs were released on March 14th, including Mad Max "Criminal Religion", Prime Time's third studio disc "Free the Dream" with ex-Elegy singer Hovinga, and finally Aerosmith's latest pop album "Just Push Play" saw a Japanese release as well.

March 15th, 2001
UPDATE
Torgeir Krokfjord is back with a new review for Nightwish - Oceanborn, the first in a series of Nightwish reviews he'll be doing throughout the next few weeks in celebration of the US release of their catalogue. 

NEWS
Judas Priest New Album + Other News
The legendary band that came out of the 70s will release their still untitled follow up to 1997's 'Jugulator' in April.  The Japanese release will have a bonus track, and you can catch it April 21st.  Their back catalogue is getting the royal treatment, all re-mastered with additional tracks added as a special bonus and will be released soon worldwide.

Fair Warning Frontman News
Nothing can keep a good singer down, as the pipes of Tommy Heart will be heard once again in a new band called Soul Doctor.  The disc is set for an April 25th release and should appeal to those that love their AOR.

Comeback Bands Give Their Upcoming Discs Titles
Hardline's will be called 'Hyperspace' and Hurricane's has been given the name of 'Liquifury'.  A little wait for these is in order, since neither is scheduled until much later this year.

RELEASE DATES
Megadeth
's newest 'The World Needs A Hero' will get an added bonus track for its May 12th Japanese release.

WASP's 'Unholy Terror', their follow-up to 'Helldorado' also gets a Japanese bonus track, a Karaoke Mix of "Hate to Love Me" for its April 21st release.

April 21st is a busy date for the Land of the Rising Sun and as At Vance's 'Dragon Chaser' sees a release (again, bonus track) and a new TM Stevens album.

Guild of Ages' 'Citadel' disc will be hitting Japan March 23rd, no extra tracks this time, but it will feature a new cover.   Another for the collectors I suppose.

April 25th is a good date for guitarists' solo albums.   Billy Sheehan and Reb Beach will both release their debut solo discs on this date.  The Reb Beach one has bounced on and off of release schedules for awhile now, it's great to see it back, especially with the looming Winger reformation on the horizon.

March 14th, 2001
UPDATE
What's the deal with the poll? (if you don't see it, it is under the album covers to the right, right underneath the "2000 Year in Review" graphic).  This poll will single out "the best guitarist ever" to be put in RFMD's "ultimate dreamband".  Every three weeks (or so) we'll run a new poll so you can vote for your favorite musician with each instrument.  Then when we run out of instruments & musicians we'll get the totals for each poll and each of us "on staff" here at the Domain will write up a description of what we think this band would sound like and how well they would work together, etc.  Sounds like fun? Then get with it and vote!

New feature to the left sidebar (under the RFMD Radio link), the Playlist.  Get a peek at what each member of RFMD is currently spinning in their cd players.  It will be updated bi-weekly.

Album review! Alanna Evans' review of Mattsson - Another Dimension.  Well composed neo-classical prog but it has it's faults too.   Check it out.

NEWS
Metal Flick Trailer

Rock Star (previously was known as Metal God), the upcoming comedy set in the world of 80s rock 'n' roll, has finished filming and will be released soon.  The band members in the film include Zakk Wylde, Jason Bonham and Jeff Pilson.  The trailer for the movie is now online and can be seen here.  

New War & Peace Record
Jeff Pilson who fronted his own band, War & Peace is set to return with a brand new album called "Light at the End of the Tunnel" which will be full of songs intended for use in Dokken but passed up on, songs Jeff never completed, plus a few that appeared elsewhere.  Jeff sings and plays all the basic tracks but is helped out by a plethora of name artists including Reb Beach (Winger), John Norum, Scorpions drummer James Kottak, Paul Gilbert, Jon Levin (who played one date with Dokken, the ex-Warlock guitarist, now a lawyer) and Gilbert's Mr. Big replacement and ex-Poison chicken picker, Richie Kotzen.

The Glam Slam Metal Jam 2001
Can the name get any cheesier? However for those that want their glam 'n' glitz fix, the ball will get rolling beginning on May 27th, hitting cities in the U.S. and Canada with overseas shows likely to be added in the future.  The tour (so far) features Poison as headliners and Warrant and Enuff Z'Nuff as supporting acts. 

Most Unlikely Guest Appearance of the Year?
Ex-G'N'R axeslinger with the top hat, SLASH guests on a bonus track for Rod Stewart's latest single.  It's a cover of a Prince tune called 'Peach'. 

Savatage Gets (Another) New Member
As Jon Oliva says of the new vocalist, "When he opened his mouth to sing, we were all blown away." That's high praise for their new singer, Florida's Damond Jiniya (what a name eh!).  We won't be hearing him on a Sava-record anytime soon, as their latest, "Poets & Madman" has been completed with Jon handling the vocal duties.   It will be out in the US April 17th through Nuclear Blast.

March 11th, 2001
UPDATE
Andy Craven's review of Bob Catley - Middle Earth is the current hot pick and a must read!  It's Catley's follow up to the awesome "Legends" album, and again it was written by Ten's leadman, Gary Hughes.  The theme of the album is based after one of the true masterpieces of fantasy literature, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".

NEWS
On Sacred Ground with Reign of Terror
Joe Stump and Mike Vescera's next collaboration under the 'Reign of Terror' moniker will release their new album "Sacred Ground" in Europe and the US on the 9th of April on LIMB Music, Mats Olausson supplies keyboards on 8 tracks.   About the album, Joe states, "I had been trying to hook up with a great vocalist and by luck I met Mike and we hit it off instantly.  We did a few live dates just to see if we clicked in a concert environment and to say it was musical magic is being humble.  We seemed to think as one when it came to writing the material for Sacred Ground." Mike adds "Joe Handed me the music to the songs and told me to write whatever I wanted.  I set out to try to write the absolute best lyrics and melodies to the amazing music that Joe had composed. I spent nearly a year making sure that everything was just right before we let it out the door.  The music is a perfect fit for my voice and style.  I have never been happier with a recording!" From someone who has played on half a dozen classic records with bands such as Loudness, Obsession and Yngwie, those are some mighty strong words.  The Reign of Terror new cd will also feature the much covered Rainbow classic "Kill the King".  Its out in Japan already on Avalon/Marquee records.

Iced Earth's Horror Show
The band have finished recording their follow up to the much celebrated 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'.  The new album "Horror Show" is a concept album based on a variety of different infamous monsters.  The two new members are drummer Richard Christy who did live shows with Demons & Wizards and also drums for Death and Control Denied and bassist Steve DiGiorgio who has also played for some impressive bands such as Control Denied, Death, Sadus and Testament.  Look for the new album in stores mid 2001.

Blind Guardian Recording New Album
Yes BG fans, the band is finally recording their follow up to "Nightfall in Middle Earth".  Lyrically the as of yet untitled new disc will have a topical issue for each song, with the longest tune they have written so far in the band's career (a 12 minute epic) will be dedicated to (surprise) author J.R.R. Tolkien.  Reportedly it wll not be finished before June 2001 so no release date is expected until late September.  As a teaser, a single is scheduled to be released in August. 

Nightwish in the Studio + Domestic Releases
Finnish metal favorites, Nightwish began recording a MCD on February 23rd in the Caverock studio in Kitee, Finland, while Tarja's vocals will be recorded in Finnvox.  It will include a cover of Gary Moore's 'Over the Hills and Far Away', two new songs and a remake of 'Astral Romance' which was originally on their debut "Angels Fall First".  Tony Kakko from Sonata Arctica will add his voice in as guest on the disc.  Century Media also released their first two albums, "Angels Fall First" and "Oceanborn" on March 6th.

Pegazus Still Flying High
They were schedued to go into the studio Monday March 5th, to record demos of some new songs, but since they felt they were not ready yet due to missing some band rehearsals because of other committments, they have postponed it until Saturday, March 31st.   According to Johnny Stoj, "The actual proper recording time for the new album has been also pushed back and looks like we will be recording during the whole month of May and should be fully finished and mastered by early June."   As for a release date?  "would be 3 months later around September sometime." The coverart will be done by Russell Bennett, the previous albums had been done by Andreas Masrchall, why the change? "We feel we want to try someone else and much closer to home for us where we can have a bit more of an influence on the final outcome of the artwork." The new album should be classic Pegazus being described by Stoj as "...still very melodic but heavy, the Pegazus way!!!"

Kamelot's Karma
The mixing is almost finished and it has been tagged for a release date of April 30th. It is rumored that the band has outdone themselves and that it might even top the mighty "The Fourth Legacy". 

March 10th, 2001
UPDATE
The debut of a new monthly feature doubles as a new album review in the 80s Classic of the Month: Kane Roberts - Kane Roberts, written by Alanna Evans.  Get familiar with this AOR/sleaze classic by clicking on the album cover on the right sidebar.

RELEASE DATES
A double dose from Z Records, Arabia "1001 Nights" and Seven Wishes "Utopia" both coming up March 12th.

NEWS
Tim Donahue/Into the Light Press Release
Frontiers Records recording artist Tim Donahue (see interview & review) announces his exclusive endorsement of Vigier Guitars of France, makers of the world's finest fretless guitars.  Donahue describes this new collaboration as "a match made in Heaven".  Look for Vigier's SURFRETER fretless guitar to play a role in Tim's new CD "Farewell to the Sun", currently in pre-production.

Def Leppard Internet Pictorial
Serge Entertainment Group has announced the launch of a Def Leppard Internet Pictorial.   A medley of "Back in Your Face", "Photograph", "Rock, Rock (Til You Drop)" and clips from "Stagefright" and "Let's Get Rocked" play in the background while you are assaulted with 50 photos taken at Wisconsin, August 4th & 5th, 2000.  It's 12 minutes and you have to have Flash and Realplayer to view it.  It comes in a variety of three different speeds so even modem users can get in on the 'almost live - almost in motion' Def Leppard 'action'.   Check it out here.

March 09th, 2001
UPDATE
New album review added by Alanna Evans for Cornerstone - Arrival, Steen Mogensen's project with Doogie White. 

NEWS
Frost Joins Savatage
Guitarist Jack Frost (Seven Witches/ex-Metalium/Speeed) has just joined Savatage. Jack Frost states: "I can't believe they picked me.  I went to see Symphony X the other night and Chris Caffery comes over to me and says, 'Pick up the (cell) phone.' It was Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill.   They said, 'What are you doing for the rest of your life?' I said, 'I guess I'm playing in Savatage!'" For those in the US, they might be able to catch Frost and the rest of the Sava-gang on tour this summer with Dio, Judas Priest, and Scorpions, though nothing has been confirmed at this date.

Air Pavilion goes Anime
The band has recorded three songs for Gehenna, a Japanese animated series.  These include: '2005' with vocals done by L.A. Guns' Phil Lewis, 'Emerald Oasis' with Don Dokken and 'The Rescue' with usual Air Pavilion vocalist, Hurricane's Kelly Hansen.

New Virgin Steele Opera
A new metal-opera based off of material from various VS albums called Die Rebellen, will debut in Memmingen, Germany on June 6th. Reportedly there will be 20 songs used and will come to a total of 3 hours. 

In the Studio
Two well-known 80s bands are currently hard at work in the studio working on brand new albums: Tygers of Pantang and Zebra.  Power metal upstarts Heavenly are also in the studio working on the follow up to their critically acclaimed debut, "Coming From the Sky".

Stratovarius DVD
A little late with this newsbit, Infinite Visions was released March 6th, a DVD/VHS package that includes two hours of live performances, all of their promo videos, backstage and behind the scenes footage from recording sessions and much more. It spans the entire career of these Finnish demigods.  Any more Strato-goodness than this would be a crime!

March 08th, 2001
UPDATE
Updated the "About Us" page, uploaded another 120+ songs to RFMD Radio that brings the total of music up to over 24 hours worth, including stuff by Alex Masi, Anthem, Blacksmith, Kick Axe, Marshall Law, The Sygnet, Warlock and more plus brand new material by Falconer, Rage, Magnitude 9, and W.A.S.P. If you haven't checked it out yet, then get with it.  The RFMD Radio page has been updated with an almost-complete band list and instructions on an alternate method of connecting to the station with Winamp.

NEWS
Metallica Strikes Again
Who will Metallica sue next?  Well the question has been answered.  The threat of a lawsuit caused a Texas based furniture business to change their name which was previously Metallika. Hodges said he would not fight the band in court.  Jill Pietrini, an attourney for the band said that "When we find out about things like this, we actively protect the band's trademark rights. "It's not like we're trying to protect a name commonly used, like United. It's a unique name."

Giant Is Back!
Hard rock 'giants' Giant have finally returned, signed to a deal with Frontiers Records.   Brothers Dann and David Huff have expressed interest in bringing back the sounds of their past two Giant releases.  They are shooting for a late summer 2001 release.

March 07th, 2001
UPDATE

Welcome to the re-designed version of RainbowFlame's Metal Domain.  We hope this new look will make our site easier to navigate and quicker to load.  Like it? Don't like it? Send a complaint/suggestion here.

Of course there's gotta be more than *that*, and indeed there is.   Andy Craven has submitted a review for Brad Gillis - Alligator.   Check it out in all it's reptilian glory.