According to the official DIO fan club newsletter, DIO will be working on a new album in January/February and going back on the road sometime in March for an extended South American tour. The band will resume work on the new CD in April/May, with plans to complete the album by the end of the year. The band's management has also confirmed that DIO will be making several European festival appearances during June, July and August. No U.S. tour plans for 2006 have yet been announced.

The current DIO touring lineup includes guitarist Doug Aldrich (WHITESNAKE), who has been filling in for an injured Craig Goldy since early October. Craig

Israel's MELECHESH have announced the addition of drummer Xul (THANATOS, ABODE OF THE BLESSED, LIAR OF GOLGOTHA) to the group's ranks. "Xul is a tremendously talented drummer with outstanding technical ability," founding member Ashmedi said in a statement.

MELECHESH have been working on new material with Xul for the last year. Prior to joining MELECHESH on a full-time basis, Xul performed with the band at various gigs and festivals where he proved his drumming capabilities by offering flawless and exceptional performances.

Commented Xul: "I am honored to finally be part of this cult. Playing with MELECHESH is an enriching experience both on a musical and on an ideological level."

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Rod Harmon of HeraldTribune.com has issued the following report:

Among prog-metal lovers, the Sarasota-Bradenton band CRIMSON GLORY is semi-legendary, a rival to QUEENSRŸCHE and TOOL — especially in Europe, where its out-of-print albums are highly sought collectors' items.

It's been six years since the band released its last album, and 16 years since it performed with its classic lineup.

That will change in 2006, when CRIMSON GLORY celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first album with reissues of its back catalog, new releases of rare audio and video, ...

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We would like to welcome Ken to the staff of metalreviews.com this week. As you are probably aware, his ID in the forums is "Eyesore." We hope that he enjoys being a part of MetalReviews!

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REBELLION, the German band that features in its ranks former GRAVE DIGGER members Uwe Lulis (guitar) and Tomi Göttlich (bass), have parted ways with guitarist Björn Eilen. "Unfortunately, Björn [was forced] to quit the band [because of] health problems, and Simone [Wenzel] has taken his place," the group write on their web site. A photo of the band's new lineup can be found at this location.

REBELLION's latest album, "Sagas of Iceland", was released in May via Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2003's "Born ...

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EMPEROR's creative core, guitarist Samoth and frontman Ihsahn recently spoke to Terrorizer magazine about their upcoming reunion concerts and their plans for the future. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On the band's break-up:

Ihsahn: "When we announced the split in 2001, we didn't think we would do anything more with EMPEROR ever again."

Samoth: "At that point, we both had other priorities that we wanted to pursue and we both felt that splitting up EMPEROR was the best thing to do. We really wanted to focus on other things, and felt it was the o ...

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Sam Bagnall, producer of the "Death Metal Murders" special which is scheduled to air tonight on BBC Two, has issued the following report via the BBC News web site:

One man's relentless search for his missing son led him to uncover one of the most shocking crimes in post-war Italy — a tale of satanism and violence that has gripped the country for more than a year.

In January 1998 Fabio Tollis and Chiara Marino, both just 16, disappeared.

They had been drinking at a pub called the Midnight — the centre of the heavy metal s ...

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JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford is strongly rumored to have been tapped to play the role of "Dr. X" on QUEENSRŸCHE's sequel to their platinum 1988 concept album, "Operation: Mindcrime", tentatively titled "Operation: Mindcrime II".

Although there has been no official announcement on the matter, a posting on QUEENSRŸCHE's official web site (dated Nov. 19) reads, "The band is confirming the singer who plays Dr. X by the end of next week. I think you'll be surprised, he is VERY well known and respected."

As previously reported, QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield and guitarist Michael Wilton record ...

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Reunited Norwegian black metal legends EMPEROR have announced the following U.S. dates in July 2006:

Jul. 14 - BB Kings Blues Club - New York, NY
Jul. 16 - Key Club - Los Angeles, CA

As previously reported, EMPEROR reunited after four years to play a surprise three-song set at Scream's 15-year anniversary party at Oslo, Norway's Rockefeller on Sept. 30, 2005. The illustrious black metal band, whose split in 2001 took the scene by surprise, performed three tracks — "The Loss And Curse Of Reverence", "I Am The Black Wizards", "Inno A Satana" — and received a rapturous welcome by an ecstatic crowd. Check out photos of the perf ...

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Swedish epic/power metallers FALCONER have confirmed the departure of singer Kristoffer Göbel. In a posting on their official web site, the band write, "Well, once again the line up of FALCONER is changing. 'Now again!!' you might say. It does sound a bit unstable to do this every once in a while, I know.

"After realizing that changing vocalist was not that applauded by people nor was the musical change on the last album (isn't it great when people are open minded....) we thought: 'OK, sailing towards the wind is getting boring' (personally I would say a sense of cynicism started to grow), 'Why not sail with it instead in good mood?'

"After changing the ne ...

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