On November 25th, 2006 LOUDNESS played their 25th Anniversary show at the International Forum Hall A in Tokyo Japan, 25 years to the day they officially became a band. An official DVD of the show, entitled Live Rock Shocks 2006: Thanks, was released in Japan on February 22nd through Tokuma Communications.

The DVD tracklist is as follows:

'Exultation'
'Lunatic'
'Crazy Doctor'
'The Winds Of Victory'
Medley 1: ('Loudness', 'Street Woman', 'Lonely Player', 'Angel Dust', 'In The Mirror', ' Black Wall', 'Esper')
'So Lonely'
'Cross'
'Crazy Samurai'
Medley 2: ('Let It Go', 'Rock N' Roll Gypsy', 'Like Hell', 'Soldier Of Fortune', 'Pray For The Dead', 'Never Change Your Mind')
'The End Of Earth'
'Stay Wild'
'Crazy Night'
'The Pandemonium'
'The Battlehsip Musashi'
'The Love Of My Life' (new song)
'S.D.I.'
'Speed' (new version).

The DVD also features footage spanningthe course of their career, footage from their 2006 North American tour, and band member interviews. Approximate running time is 130 minutes. It can be purchased online at this location.

As previously reported, Loudness' 25th Anniversary album, Breaking The Taboo, was released on December 27th, 2006.

Source BW&BK

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn has commented on the band's decision to release "Now I Lay Thee Down" as the first video/single from the group's new album, "The Blackening".

Said Flynn: "It's a tough choice. The problem is that, most video stations in the U.S. will absolutely not play anything past 5 1/2 minutes (unless you're double platinum... which we ain't). Some stations in the U.K. won't play anything past four minutes (?!), and they wil do their own video edits without the bands' consent (which is fuckin lame). And in Germany there are almost no major video stations for metal at all.

"We tried editing 'Clenching the Fists of Dissent' and 'Halo', both 10 minutes, and it was just WACK. I mean where do you start? You literally have to cut out half the song. It just didn't make sense as a song anymore... So then we looked at how much play 'Imperium' and 'Days Turn Blue To Gray' got in the U.S., five spins each... on MTV2... that's it!! Not main MTV like the 'Davidian' video did all over Europe (when 'Headbanger's Ball' was still on MTV) ... MTV2. And the 'Days' vid got those five spins over the course of six months, which is just crazy, considering what it cost to make a video. We have to give them something they want play more than that, or financially, we might as well just not make one.

"So we kinda look at it like this, MH 2007, hardcore fans wil have heard the album, most likely from more web-savvy sources / street sources, the tour will spread the news in another way — as that is always how we've made fans, the album will speak for itself, and if someone is just seeing our MTV2 video as the first taste of the new album they are obviously out of the main loop of our fanbase, because let's face it, were not a new band, so hopefully, we trick them into thinking we are a new band and get some new fans, and turn some of the MTV2 generation into metalheads instead of fucking emo kids!!"

Source BBM

HEAVEN AND HELL, DREAM THEATER and ICED EARTH are among the newly confirmed bands for this year's installment of Rockwave Festival, which is set to take place from July 1 to July 3 in Terra Vibe, Malakasa, Greece. The billing is now shaping up as follows:

July 1

HEAVEN AND HELL
DREAM THEATER
ICED EARTH
ANATHEMA
KINETIC
Plus more to be announced

July 3:

METALLICA
Plus more to be announced

Pre-sale starts on March 1. Tickets cost 50 euros general admission, Pitch A 70 euros and Distinguished area 80 euros.

Source BBM