Murder by Death and Amanda Palmer Team Up for Vinyl Split

"We're excited to be working with Amanda," said MBD's Adam Turla. "We thought it would be a real challenge to perform a song by someone whose lyrics are so personal and revealing. After a lot of searching, we found the right song - 'Another Year.' Thanks for doing the series with us!" - more on this story

Nylon Records Launches With Plastiscines Release

Girlie reports: Nylon is proud to announce the launch of Nylon Records and their debut release Paris' Plastiscines' About Love. The French lovelies bring their stylishly sexy candy-punk (???)to NYLON as part of a global deal the band has announced with the newly-launched label.

The jeune filles set up HQ in Los Angeles with producer Butch Walker (Katy Perry, Pink, Avril Lavigne) and mix-master Claudius Mittendorfer (Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Muse) to create the new disc, which will be released in June.

In the meantime, the girls offer up a sweet video teaser trailer and EP entitled Barcelona, available on iTunes April 21st, to tide fans over. - Watch the video here

Emperor's Final Recordings Released

Candlelight reports: Candlelight Records confirms the completion of the final recordings from black metal legends Emperor. Titled Live Inferno, the special live series features various releases recorded/filmed during the band's sold out 2005-2007 reunion performances. Several formats will be available including a 2cd/slip case with 16-page booklet, a limited edition box featuring 2 cds & dvd with an enhanced 24 page booklet, a single dvd, and two limited edition double-vinyl gatefold sets.

April 20th is set as the European release date for the series. The audio aspect of the Live Inferno series features exclusive recordings from the band's headlining performances at Norway's Inferno Festival and Germany's Wacken Open Air Festival. Each recording will be pressed as individual double-vinyl sets; the first pressing limited to 1000 on black vinyl with any additional pressings in varied colors selected by the band. A special gold-vinyl seven-inch limited to 2000 titled Thus Spake the Nightspirit (featuring a live rendition of the band's famed song from the album Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk with a live recording of "Inno A Satana" from the album band's popular In the Nightside Eclipse album on the b-side) will be pressed and released via the label's official webstores beginning February 16. [yeah their PR is a little slow]

The video portion, titled Live at Wacken Open Air 2006 - A Night of Emperial Wrath, has a running time of 70-minutes and includes footage professionally filmed at the Wacken Open Air Festival with additional on-stage and exclusive backstage footage filmed and compiled by the band. "It looks like these releases will be the final nail in the coffin for Emperor," says guitarist Samoth. "They are a testimony of the live reunion that took Emperor to even new heights; unique events like Wacken where Emperor headlined in front of 60 000 people. We had a great run of shows and feel lucky that we were able to come back even bigger and perform songs from our complete catalogue for a lot of dedicated fans old and new. There will be several cool formats and limited editions coming that should be a nice treat for the fans and a worthy representation of the Emperor legacy. Emperor is dead, long live the Emperor!" - more on this story

The Moog Set Sophomore Release

PR reports: Hungary has made some notable contributions to the world over the years: goulash, Rubik's Cube, and Zsa Zsa Gabor, among them... but rock music?? That certainly doesn't come to mind-that is, until now. Budapest's The Moog (yes, that's in Hungary) blend glam, 60s garage punk and goth with catchy pop rock on their second album Razzmatazz Orfeum, out July 21st on MuSick Recordings.

Led by baritone-voiced singer Tonyo Szabo, The Moog are an explosive combination of alternative and glam-punk made unique by the band's catchy Eastern European rock 'n roll touch. The highly anticipated second album was recorded in Seattle with producer Geoff Ott (Pearl Jam, Queens Of The Stone Age, Mark Lanegan) and offers the listener something quite uncommon in this day and age: the immersion of a total album experience.

The first single from Razzmatazz Orfeum will be "You Raised A Vampire" and will be released in colored vinyl 7" with stunning artwork by Gris Grimly. The 7" also includes a B-side cover of the Bauhaus classic "The Passion Of Lovers" featuring Bauhaus/Love & Rockets bassist/vocalist David J, who became a fan of The Moog after seeing them perform in Hollywood in 2008. The video for "You Raised A Vampire," which was shot in Budapest in the historic Gothic building where the first 'Underworld' movie was filmed, will hit outlets in May. - more on this story

Artillery Return with New Album

MMP reports: A new chapter in the life of Artillery has now begun with their brand new studio album, "When Death Comes", which contains 10 blistering tracks that fill the void between past glory and future splendour. New material was recorded between March and April 2009 at Medley Studios in Denmark with Søren Andersen as the producer.

Metal Mind Productions will release the "When Death Comes" on 15th June in Europe, 23rd July in Japan (via King Records) and 11th August in USA (via MVD). Additional info to follow soon!

"When Death Comes" will be released as a jewel case CD and as a digipak CD including 2 bonus tracks. Japanese edition of the album will include an exclusive bonus track which won't be available elsewhere. The band will promote the new album on a massive tour, which will be confirmed soon. - more on this story including initial dates and tracklistings

For What It's Worth, Placebo Release New Video

Charm School reports: Placebo have announced that MySpace will host the exclusive premiere of their brand new video, "For What It's Worth" today, April 21 at 3pm EDT/12pm PDT. The video was directed by longtime Placebo collaborator Howard Greenhalgh (Muse, Zero 7, Faithless) and is the first video from Placebo's upcoming album Battle For The Sun (June 9, Vagrant).

With a thirteen year history that takes in five studio albums, ten million album sales, breakdowns, clean ups and the dizzy swell of global success, Placebo are still brimming with new ideas. "For What It's Worth" embodies the urgency, optimism and color that characterize the new album.

The band will be showcasing new material on their three sold-out UK warm up dates and begin their European tour in late May. US dates, pre-order info and much more will be announced in the coming weeks. - Myspace link

Former Springsteen Bandmate Danny Federici Tribute Attacks Tons of Stars

PR reports: On Sunday night, April 19, the Troubadour saw a star-studded evening featuring performances by Tom Morello, Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls, The Low Stars and Joe Purdy - all in tribute to E Street Band accordionist Danny Federici to raise awareness and funds for melanoma research through the DannyFund.

Hosted by cancer survivor and comedian Robert Schimmel, the night Tom Morelloalso included surprise appearances by The Alarm's Mike Peters, himself a two-time cancer survivor,and Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim, in addition to performances by Chris Joyner and Alexa George. Morello used the occasion to debut new band Streetsweeper Social Club, featuring Boots Riley, former frontman for Oakland rap group The Coup, who will tour with Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction this year.

The event - which sold out weeks in advance - raised $9,500 towards continued melanoma research in conjunction with the fund Dannyfund.org. The figure does not include the incredible amount of internet contributions the fund online, which continues to increase. - more on this story

Gary Lewis & The Playboys' The Complete Liberty Singles Collection

conqueroo reports: In the tradition of Collectors' Choice Music's hits collections from Jan & Dean and Tommy James & the Shondells, the label will issue Gary Lewis & the Playboys' The Complete Liberty Singles collection, featuring 55 songs — many for the first time on CD and all in their original mono mixes. The collection, due out on May 26, 2009, features such hits as "This Diamond Ring," "Count Me In," "Save Your Heart for Me," "Everybody Loves a Clown," "She's Just My Style," "Sure Gonna Miss Her," "Green Grass," "My Heart's Symphony" "Jill," "Rhythm of the Rain," "Loser (With a Broken Heart)," "Sealed With A Kiss" and many more, including B-sides, "Doin' The Flake" (from a cereal box-top offer), and the promo-only rarity, "Way Way Out."

The set, annotated by Ed Osborne, is enhanced by interviews with Lewis as well as producer Snuff Garrett, arranger Leon Russell, drummers Hal Blaine and Jim Keltner, and others who comprised the Gary Lewis & the Playboys creative team.

Gary Lewis & the Playboys were discovered by producer Snuff Garrett through a tip from Lou Brown, a friend of Gary's father Jerry Lewis. Garrett had heard a demo of a song called "This Diamond Ring" co-written by Al Kooper and thought Lewis would be perfect to record it. In November 1964, the band — Lewis, drums and vocals; Allan Lawson Ramsey, lead guitar; Dave Costell, rhythm guitar; and Cordovox player John West — found themselves in the studio with Garrett's arranger, Leon Russell. To the band's initial dismay, the famed Wrecking Crew session musicians played the instruments, with Lewis promoted to lead singer and session singer Ron Hicklin (of The Eligibles) brought in to bolster Lewis' voice. Liberty Records president Al Bennett reportedly "despised" the song initially, possibly because Garrett had left an A&R position at the label to go independent. But after the band debuted it on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 6, 1964, it roared to Billboard's #1 position, bumping the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" out of the top spot and burying Sammy Ambrose's R&B version of "Diamond Ring" along the way. - more on this story

The Jadewalkers Limited Edition Vinyl

Puta reports: Puta Records, a burgeoning all-vinyl micro-label out of NYC, announces the release of The Jadewalkers, EP II, a limited edition 7 inch record of 500 copies.

The Jadewalkers are a punk influenced rock-n-roll quartet originally from Gotenberg, Sweden. Singer-guitarist-writer Emma Viking Skull relocated the band to NYC in 2005. The album is engineered by Ivan Julian of seminal 70's Punk band The Voidoids, and is mastered by underground Garagepunk baron Tim Warren of Crypt Records.

The promoters of SupermodeldeathdivE Party will be hosting a record release party at Bar Matchless (Manhattan Ave at Driggs Ave) in Greenpoint-Brooklyn, Saturday night April 25th, 9pm to 4am. Open vodka bar 9pm. Champagne at Midnight. - more on this story

. Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life

With 2006s Karmacode, Italys Lacuna Coil pulled off the most difficult of stunts: The band changed its sound without sacrificing its integrity. On the new Shallow Life, however, the band tries to take it one step further, and falls flat on its face. (2 stars) - Read the full Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life review

. Sky Eats Airplane

While most of today's metalcore bands are content with chugging riffs and smashing breakdowns, Sky Eats Airplane subverts that formula with pulsing electronica beats, winding polyrhythms and melodic shredding. - Read the full Sky Eats Airplane review

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