Hello all!  Now that I’m finally caught up on concert blogs, I have a ton of exciting music news to pass along.  I have been so busy lately that I have been going nuts trying to keep up with everything, so I’m excited to finally be getting this out.

I’m certainly not a news blog, so this isn’t an all inclusive list, but more a list of hand picked facts about bands that I really like and want to share.  Included below are new albums and music, other interesting band news, and summer tours that have been announced.  Check it out ! (For those that don’t like the variety like I do, skim the red font for bands you like! 🙂  Hope you find something interesting that you didn’t already know!

Album News

  • Memphis May Fire released a new album today called Challenger.  My initial opinion is that it is even better than their previous album (The Hollow), which was fantastic.  I’m very excited about seeing this band at Warped Tour.
  • Living Things, the latest effort from Linkin Park, also dropped today.  Critics say that this album is a return to their aggressive roots, so I’m excited to see how it turns out.  They are embarking on a headlining tour starting this fall, and more info about that is available below.
  • Stone Sour is coming out with a two-part concept album they have entitled House of Gold and Bones.  The first album will drop in October 2012, and the second part will drop sometime next summer.  Corey Taylor seems to be very excited about it, claiming it will be his biggest and most impressive creation.  In the midst of the Slipknot tour on Mayhem this year, I’m not sure how he has time to record this album, so I’m guessing it’s mostly done.  Very excited to see if they can follow up Audio Secrecy with something just as solid.
  • Nonpoint, who puts on a killer show, released a new single, and have a new album dropping this fall.  I’m a big Nonpoint fan, and this is a highly anticipated album for me.
  • Sevendust’s guitarist Clint Lowery and drummer Morgan Rose started a new band called Call Me No One, which released its debut album on June 5th.  Its definitely worth checking out, but the real excitement for me comes from the fact that during an interview, Lowery said that Sevendust will being recording in the fall for an early 2013 release, and heading out on a subsequent headlining tour.  There’s also a rumor flying around that this may be their last album-tour cycle.  Bummer.
  • Metalcore giants The Word Alive, are set to release their album July 3rd.  If nothing else, this band is worth checking out because of their killer drummer, Luke Holland.  He didn’t record on the album, as he just joined the band, but he will be playing with them live, and he is incredible.
  • Green Day also announced a trilogy of new albums, which will be called Uno! Dos! Tre!.  The first, Uno!, is due out September 24th, and the first single from that album will be out July 16th.  Dos! will come out in November, and Tre! will come out in January.  I can’t wait to check this band off my bucket list of live shows!!
  • An old favorite of mine from college, 10 Years, is releasing a new album on July 30th, and going on a tour shortly after.  Very excited to pick this album up – they are due for a great record, and I think they are more than capable.
  • Spineshank is a band that I found by complete accident (they have a song called New Disease, just like Invitro…).  I became a big fan in college, but then they fell completely off the map.  However, according to critics, they are back with a vengeance with their release last week – the first new music they’ve made since 2002.  I haven’t listened to it yet, but my hopes are definitely high.
  • All that Remains has a new album coming out in September called A War You Cannot Win as a follow up to their awesome album from 2010 called For We Are Many.  In my personal opinion, ATR may have overachieved on their previous album (and I’m a HUGE fan) – so I’m hoping this next album is just as good, but am trying to keep my expectations low.

Band News

  • Bullet for my Valentine lead singer Matt Tuck has started a side project called Axewound.  It’s still in the early phases, but anything with this dude singing has my immediate interest.  He also announced that Bullet for my Valentine began recording their fourth album recently as a followup to the 2010 release of Fever.  Can BFMV keep the impressive albums coming, or are they due for a dud?
  • Killswitch Engage has added their original singer, Jesse Leach, back to their lineup, after an abrupt departure from previous singer Howard Jones.  Leach is a great talent, but definitely has a different sound than Jones, and so I’m interested to see if he can pull off the epic sweeping harmonies that Jones could.  They are currently recording their next album in the studio, and a song called This is Confrontation leaked online.  Warner Music is quick with the trigger, but if you’re clever enough, you can find it.  It’s pretty damn good, but will listeners have trouble differentiating it from Times of Grace?
  • Nu-Metal juggernauts (and my favorite band…) Slipknot, has had a flurry of activity going on. First, they announced earlier this year that they would headline Rockstar Mayhem, and then, they announced their own festival, called Knotfest.  Then, they announced a project called Antennas to Hell, which is a greatest hits music and film documentary that will come out later this summer.  (A series of videos on Youtube can already be found, and they are pretty cool.)  Finally, they have announced that they are well underway writing their next album.
  • For those of us that love D.R.U.G.S. – I hope you enjoyed the first album.  The band is completely done, as Craig Owens has rejoined Chiodos, and the rest of the band is moving on.  While I really enjoyed the D.R.U.G.S. album and seeing them live, I am very excited to see what Chiodos has in store for the future.
  • The one and only Jared Leto has announced that 30 Seconds to Mars is currently recording their new album as a follow up to This is War from 2009.  I’ve yet to see this band put out anything but good music, so I’ll definitely be picking this one up.  For a change of pace, few bands sound as good to me as this band does.
  • The first annual Orion Festival, hosted by Metallica, was just completed, and from what critics and fans are saying, it was a pretty incredible event.  There are all kinds of reviews and info about the show if you google Orion festival.

Touring News

  • This year’s Carnival of Madnesswill be headlined by Evanescence in support of their album last year.  While I’m not a fan of Amy Lee as a person, she puts on a hell of a show.  Support is from Chevelle, Halestorm, New Medicine, and info can be found here.
  • In support of their album out today, Linkin Park is co-headlining the Honda Civic Tour with Incubus.  I am definitely going to try to hit up this show, as LP’s live show is really fantastic.  More info here.
  • Rockstar is at it again this summer, with two really killer tours that both come through my city.
    • Mayhem, the only true metal tour these days, is going to be headlined by Slipknot, and also has Slayer, Motorhead, Anthrax, As I Lay Dying, Whitechapel, Asking Alexandria, and The Devil Wears Prada.  HUGE lineup.
    • Uproar, which is Rockstar’s hard rock tour, boasts another solid lineup of Shinedown, Godsmack, Staind, Papa Roach, and Adelitas Way.
  • In what is arguably one of the strongest tours that I’ve seen in years, the Trespass America tour was recently announced, including Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Emmure, God Forbid, and more.  More info here.
  • Another great metalcore / hardcore concert running through this summer is called the All Star Tour.  Headlined by Suicide Silence, it also features 15 other bands like Winds of Plague, The Word Alive, I See Stars, Stick to Your Guns, Unearth, and many more.  More info here.

There’s so much more out there, but I’ll stop there and continue gathering for next month’s update.  Due to failing a college writing paper for not citing sources, I feel obliged to tell you where I get my news.  Here are some sites that I peruse regularly.

Ryans Rock Show
Bryan Stars Interviews and News
Loudwire
Metal Injection
Sputnik Album Reviews
Alternative Press
Metal Sucks

“I swear I’m not bitter, I just see them for who they are:  MONEY…HUNGRY…COWARDS, Sucking the blood out of artists and killing the art.  So count the money you stole from starving artists you watched pave the way.  But you know just as well as I do, Without us, your just an empty name.”

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