One of the worlds newest and most exciting festival, Sonisphere, have released day tickets that you can snap up for £67.50 on THURSDAY 4TH JUNE at 9AM, and of course this does not include any hidden extra costs like booking fees as the organisers abolished those weeks ago! Fans now have the opportunity to select the day that they would rather put all their energy into ripping it up and generally partying so hard that they can’t manage a second day of it! So whether your preference is Metallica, NIN and Mastodon or Linkin Park, Heaven & Hell and Taking Back Sunday, one thing is clear, whichever day you want to go, it will be a day full of some of the greatest rock music on the planet at the moment.

Sonisphere Festival is set to start touring Europe in less than three weeks, and the festival organisers have already announced the stage splits on the two outdoor stages at Knebworth on 1st and 2nd August (see overleaf), and the schedule of the bands will ensure that you will not miss a power chord from ANY of the acts. There will also be more shenanigans and bands to be announced in the Bohemia area in the coming weeks.

All tickets, including day tickets are available now http://www.sonispherefestivals.com

Billy Talent are back. The Canadian four-piece return this summer with their third studio album - Billy Talent III. Produced by Brendan O’Brien (Rage Against The Machine, AC/DC, Mastodon) the album is set for release on July 13, preceded by single ‘Rusted From The Rain’ on June 29. Renowned for the electrifying energy of their live shows, Billy Talent will be performing at several major festivals around the world in the lead up to the album release. Here in the UK they have been confirmed to headline the prestigious Lock Up stage at this year’s Reading/ Leeds festivals, and will be making an appearance on the main stage at Download festival in June. Elsewhere other festival appearances include Coachella, Bamboozle, Rock Am Ring and Edgefest. The band are also treating their UK fans to two intimate shows in June, at the Camden Underworld and O2 Academy 2 Newcastle, whilst July will see them head out on a tour of the US with Rise Against and Rancid. Since the release of their self-titled album in 2003, Billy Talent have become one of Canada’s biggest rock bands and constant touring and incendiary live shows have taken the Toronto-based band to the upper echelon of the Rock World. 2006 saw the release of the band’s second album, Billy Talent II, it debuted at number one in Canada and Germany whilst here in the UK the album went Silver – selling over 60,000 copies. Spawning hits such as the infectious ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ and ‘Fallen Leaves’, the success of the album led to the band headlining sold-out tours across Canada, United States and Europe. Here in the UK the band sold out two UK tours including headline dates at Brixton Academy and Hammersmith Palais.

Catch Billy Talent live:

JUNE
Tues 9 LONDON Camden Underworld
Wed 10 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy 2
Fri 12 DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL Main Stage

AUGUST
Fri 28 READING FESTIVAL Headlining Lock Up Stage
Sun 30 LEEDS FESTIVAL Headlining Lock Up Stage

Billy Talent are:
Ben Kowalewicz – Vocals
Ian D’Sa – Guitars
Jon Gallant – Bass
Aaron Solowoniuk - Drums

Billy Talent fans can access more information about the new album by logging on to www.billytalent3.com. Leading up to the album’s release, the new website will be constantly updated with behind the scenes video footage of the band in the studio and on the set of their video shoot as well as the latest photos. Band members will be posting regular reports from the road prior to the release of the new record. Fans will be able to pre-order Billy Talent III on the site as well as having access to a free downloadable media rich reward-based widget that they can share with friends. The more they use the widget, the more content they will get access to.

www.billytalent.com
www.billytalent3.com
www.myspace.com/billytalent

Montreal extreme metallers DESPISED ICON have finished tracking their much anticipated still untitled new album, which will surface later this year on
Century Media Records.

The band states:

“Guitar solos are done! Check out this week’s studio update to see the latest shred. This means we’re finally done recording our new record! The whole thing is being mixed right now by Zeuss (Hatebreed, The Acacia Strain, Whitechapel) in Massachusetts and the rough mixes sound killer so far! Mastering will be done in about a week by Alan Douches (Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nile).
Get stoked guys!”

See below for the links to the band’s latest clips from the studio:

STUDIO REPORT - Episode 6: Guitar Solos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wfn0bPzQKU
STUDIO REPORT - Episode 5: Gang Vocals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5KFKrPGqmA
Expect nothing but one of the most brutal albums in 2009!

DESPISED ICON will unleash a whirlwind of violence on the following European shows and festival gigs in June/July 2009, be there and be ready to be crushed!

DESPISED ICON live

22.06.2024 Belgium, Brügge @ Magdalenazaal
26.06.2024 Netherlands, Enschede @ Atak

For more info on DESPISED ICON please visit:

http://www.despisedicon.com
http://myspace.com/despisedicon

With a line up already boasting METALLICA, LINKIN PARK, THIN LIZZY, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, NINE INCH NAILS and ALICE IN CHAINS amongst others, SONISPHERE FESTIVAL KNEBWORTH has managed to impress once again, with four new additions to the already stellar line up, perfectly showcasing the diversity of the most exciting Rock event the UK has seen in years.

Platinum selling Welsh rockers FEEDER are joining the all-star SONISPHERE cast. FEEDER boast 24 top 75 singles (20 of which hit the top 40) and 8 top 75 albums in the UK, a remarkable achievement for any band and one recognised by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, which names FEEDER one of the most successful UK chart acts of the last 50 years. Hit singles such as ‘Buck Rogers’ and ‘Come Back Around’ are perfectly suited for a hot summer’s day at Knebworth.

LINE UP SO FAR:

METALLICA
LINKIN PARK
AIRBOURNE
ALICE IN CHAINS
ANTHRAX
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
FEEDER
FRANK TURNER
KILLING JOKE
LAMB OF GOD
MACHINE HEAD
MASTODON
NINE INCH NAILS
SKINDRED
TAKING BACK SUNDAY
THE SWORD
THIN LIZZY

Advance reviews and phenomenal media and fan reaction from private screenings of the first ever full length feature film from Brit award winners IRON MAIDEN have prompted Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) to rush release the film and soundtrack for home-viewing enjoyment. FLIGHT 666 will be released on extended Blu-ray and DVD formats, alongside a double-CD soundtrack album and limited edition double-vinyl picture disc which will be available Tuesday, June 9, via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) in the USA. Filmed digitally in Hi Def to provide pristine picture quality, FLIGHT 666 was directed by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen with the award-winning Banger Productions team (”Metal; A Headbanger’s Story” and “Global Metal”) who take you right inside the Maiden family with almost total access to the band, something which Maiden has never allowed before. The stunning 5.1 soundtrack was specially mixed by Maiden producer Kevin Shirley to complement the picture quality as an ultimate attack on your senses. FLIGHT 666 documents the first leg of Maiden’s legendary SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR which took them 50,000 miles round the planet playing 23 concerts on five continents in just 45 days. One of the stars of the movie is the band’s customized Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which carried the band, all their crew and 12 tons of stage equipment and was piloted by Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a fully qualified and active Airline Captain with Astraeus Airlines. Taking you on a visual global tour from Mumbai to Sydney, Tokyo to L.A., Mexico City to Costa Rica, Bogota to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago to New York and Toronto and places in-between, you travel with the band and crew on the plane, to and from shows, in the bar and during leisure time, while experiencing the exhaustion and fan pandemonium that comes with such a mission. FLIGHT 666 (named after the official airways flight call) reveals how the idea for this unique tour actually came about and how complex planning turned it into a reality. The documentary also contains some of the most spectacular live footage yet seen of the band, filmed in all of those locations and beyond. If you have ever wanted to see the inside story of a truly unique and worldwide tour, taking you to places you never imagined, Maiden fan or not, this is your opportunity. To recognize the global phenomenon of Maiden, the Blu-ray/DVD are also subtitled in Hindi, Japanese, Dutch, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish. Comments band manager Rod Smallwood; “It’s been a mammoth undertaking. From the first twinkle in Bruce’s eye it’s taken about three years to put band, crew and equipment in a giant flying ’splitter bus’, to go through all the long and tiresome prep and safety regulations and planning, to the actual filming and of the tour itself, through to post production and right up to putting together all these items in the very best quality possible for our fans.” “It’s great that with MAIDEN DAY on Tuesday, April 21, we can give our fans the opportunity of seeing this digitally on big screen in Hi Def with full-on 5.1 sound experience with other fans around them. It was also very rewarding that it has won the prestigious SXSW Film Festival Award for Best Music Documentary.” “The ‘Somewhere Back in Time Tour’ reached almost 2 million fans in 39 countries and, if there is one thing I know from managing Maiden all these years, it’s that our fans are not happy to wait too long, so we are delighted that UMe is rush-releasing the DVD. This closes the chapter on an absolutely brilliant experience delving into the past for the band, myself and my team, the crew and hopefully all of you fans out there. After the summer and some deserved time off, we will concentrate on the ‘new’ with the band starting to put together material for a brand new studio album due sometime later in 2010. And, of course, after that we will look forward to seeing all our fans again!!”

The film FLIGHT 666 is being released in the following manner:

Long-play Blu-ray with FLIGHT 666: THE FILM and FLIGHT 666: The Concert (215 minutes)*

Double DVD
Disc One: FLIGHT 666 : THE FILM (112 minutes)
Disc Two: FLIGHT 666 : The Concert (104 minutes)*

Plus Limited Edition Deluxe Double DVD of the above with special packaging and 30 page booklet

FLIGHT 666: The Original Soundtrack album - Double CD*

FLIGHT 666: The Original Soundtrack album - Limited Edition Double Vinyl Picture Disc

FULL TRACK LISTING
for the bonus *concert footage on DVD and Blu-ray, plus the double Live Soundtrack CD

(CD 1)
ACES HIGH
Bandra Kurla Complex/Mumbai, India
February 1, 2025

2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
Rod Laver Arena/Melbourne, Australia
February 7, 2025

REVELATIONS
Acer Arena/Sydney, Australia
February 9, 2025

THE TROOPER
Makuhari Messe/Tokyo, Japan
February 16, 2025

WASTED YEARS
Arena Monterrey/Monterrey, Mexico
February 22, 2025

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
The Forum/Los Angeles, USA
February 19, 2025

CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
Foro Sol/Mexico City, Mexico
February 24, 2025

RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER
Izod Center/New Jersey, USA
March 14, 2025

(CD 2)
POWERSLAVE
Saprissa Stadium/San Jose, Costa Rica
February 26, 2025

HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Palmeiras Stadium/Sao Paulo, Brazil
March 2, 2025

RUN TO THE HILLS
Simon Bolivar Park/Bogota, Colombia
February 28, 2025

FEAR OF THE DARK
Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium/Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 7, 2025

IRON MAIDEN
Pista Atletica/Santiago, Chile
March 9, 2025

MOONCHILD
Coliseo de Puerto Rico/San Juan, Puerto Rico
March 12, 2025

THE CLAIRVOYANT
Pedreira Paulo Leminski/Curitiba, Brazil
March 4, 2025

HALLOWED BE THY NAME
Air Canada Centre/Toronto, Canada
March 16, 2025
http://www.ironmaiden.com/

The location of this arts and music festival helps it draw 90,000 revellers from around the world. Set in the lush Coachella valley surrounded by mountains that provide the stunning backdroptobandsperforming on the two stages. In stark contrast to Glastonbury, which may boast such a consistently strong line-up, temperatures soar as high as 38C and clouds are nonexistent. The indie rock and pop line-up at the 10-year-old festival features The Cure, Paul McCartney, The Killers, Morrissey, My Bloody Valentine, Amy Winehouse and Beirut.

Friday, April 17th
A Place To Bury Strangers ,Alberta Cross ,Bajofondo ,Beirut ,Buraka Som Sistema, Hercules and Love AffairCage the Elephant, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Craze and Klever , Crystal Castles, Dear and the Headlights, Felix da Housecat, Franz Ferdinand, Genghis Tron, Ghostland Observatory, Girl Talk, Gui Boratto ,Leonard Cohen , Los Campesinos! ,M. Ward, Molotov, Morrissey, N.A.S.A., Noah and the Whale, Patton & Rahzel, Paul McCartney, Peanut Butter Wolf, People Under the Stairs, Ryan Bingham, Silversun Pickups, Steve Aoki, Switch, The Crystal Method, The Aggrolites, The Airborne Toxic Event , The Black Keys, The Bug featuring Warrior Queen, The Courteeners, The Hold Steady, The Presets, The Ting Tings, We Are Scientists,White Lies (see picture)

Saturday, April 18th

Amanda Palmer, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti , Atmosphere , Band Of Horses , ,Billy Talent , Blitzen Trapper , Bob Mould Band, Booker T , Calexico, Cloud Cult , Crookers , Dr. Dog , Drive By Truckers , Drop The Lime , Electric Touch , Fleet Foxes Gang Gang Dance , Glass Candy , Glasvegas, Henry Rollins - spoken word , Hercules and Love Affair, Ida Maria , James Morrison, Jenny Lewis, Junior Boys, Liars , Mastodon, M.I.A , Michael Franti & Spearhead , MSTRKRFT, Surkin. Para One (Live), Superchunk , The Bloody Beetroots, The Chemical Brothers (DJ Set), The Killers, Thenewno2, Thievery Corporation, Tinariwen, TRV$DJ-AM, Turbonegro, TV On The Radio, Zane Lowe,
Zizek Club,

Sunday, April 19th

Antony and the Johnsons, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Busy P., Christopher Lawrence, Clipse, Devendra Banhart, Etienne De Crecy, Friendly Fires , Fucked Up , Groove Armada (DJ Set) , K’naan , Late of the Pier, Lupe Fiasco, Lykke Li, M.A.N.D.Y., Marshall Barnes,
Mexican Institute of Sound, My Bloody Valentine, No Age, Okkervil River, Paolo Nutini( see photo), Paul Weller, Perry Farrell, Peter Bjorn and John, Plump Djs, Public Enemy, Roni Size Reprazent, Sebastien Tellier, Shepard Fairey, Supermayer, The Cure, The Gaslight Anthem, The Horrors,
The Kills , The Knux, The Murder City Devils, The Night Marchers, The Orb, Themselves, Throbbing Gristle, Vivian Girls, X Yeah Yeah Yeah’s .

More info on Coachella