Jeb Wright from Classicrockrevisited.com spoke to KROKUS singer Marc Storace recently about a number of topics including the band's current struggle to break back into the North American market. An excerpt follows:

Classicrockrevisited.com: The United States is a tougher market for bands then Europe is.

Storace: "That is the impression I get. I am not able to pinpoint the problem. We came to the States in 2005 and did a quick revisit to the East Coast. All of the venues there are close together and that cuts down expenses. We knew we had to give it all we had and we did that every night. We played like wild animals on stage. For me it was almost like a homecoming. There were a few members of the band who had never toured the US and for them it was a great time to learn what the States are all about. I had been there in the '80's so I could tell other stories but at the same time we have to take it like it is right now. If we ponder and cry over the old days then we are not going to be able to make it work. We have to find ways and means to make it work and for me that would be to land on a good package with a couple of good bands and do some festivals. We have good booking agents in Paradise Artists. They have QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS and a lot of other great bands. We have a great manager but he seems to be having difficulty with the label he is dealing with. There are some politics to be discussed in order to make things right for Krokus. We would love to regain the status that we had in the '80's but we know that is not going to happen easily."

Source Classicrockrevisited

METALLICA has announced that it will perform on June 29 at Recinto Kobetamendi in Bilbao, Spain. "This is the first time that we will playing at the Bilbao BBK Live Festival, a four-day extravaganza with a ton of cool bands and we're psyched to be rockin' the closing show," the band writes on its web site.

"We can't wait to hit the road and start spreading the 'TALLICA love in the summer. Hope to see you at a couple of stops along the way and we promise to keep you posted as opening acts and other details get filled in. Thanks for hangin' with us during the 'it-takes-us-six-weeks-to-announce-eleven-shows' phase!!"

The group's "Sick Of The Studio '07" tour schedule is now shaping up as follows:

Jun. 28 - Lisbon, Portugal - Super Bock Super Rock Festival
Jun. 29 - Bilbao, SPA - Bilbao BBK Live Festival
Jul. 01 - Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
Jul. 03 - Athens, Greece - Rockwave Festival
Jul. 05 - Vienna, Austria - Rotundenplatz
Jul. 08 - London, England – Wembley Stadium
Jul. 10 - Oslo, Norway - Valle Hovin Stadion
Jul. 12 - Stockholm, Sweden - Stadion
Jul. 13 - Aarhus, Denmark - Vestereng
Jul. 15 - Helsinki, Finland - Olympic Stadium
Jul. 18 - Moscow, Russia - Lushniki Stadium

Source Classicrockrevisited

THIN LIZZY, FOCUS, KRUX, WARRIOR SOUL and SWITCHBLADE have been confirmed for the 2007 edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 6-9 in Sölvesborg, Sweden. The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):

AEROSMITH (US)
AFTER FOREVER (NL)
ALL ENDS (S)
AMON AMARTH (S)
ANNIHILATOR (CAN)
AXEL RUDI PELL (D/US)
BLACK DEBBATH (N)
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS (US)
BLIND GUARDIAN (D)
BLOODBOUND (S)
BLUESTONE COMPANY with Chris Duarte (JAP)
CIRCUS MAXIMUS (N)
CRASHDÏET (S)
DARK TRANQUILLITY (S)
DIMMU BORGIR (N)
ELDRITCH (I)
FALCONER (S)
FASTWAY (UK)
FOCUS (NL)
GODA GRANNAR / GOOD NEIGHBOURS (S)
GOV'T MULE (US)
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR (S)
HEAVEN AND HELL (UK)
HELLFUELED (S)
ICED EARTH (US)
KORPIKLAANI (FIN)
KREATOR (D)
KRUX (S)
LION'S SHARE (S)
MCQUEEN (UK)
MEAT LOAF (US)
MEMFIS (S)
MOTÖRHEAD (UK)
NOCTURNAL RITES (S)
NOVEMBER (S)
POINT BLANK (US)
PRETTY MAIDS (DK)
QUIET RIOT (US)
QUIREBOYS (UK)
RANDY PIPER´S ANIMAL (US)
REO SPEEDWAGON (US)
SCORPIONS with special guest Uli Jon Roth (D)
SKID ROW (US)
STURM UND DRANG (FIN)
SUZI QUATRO (UK)
SWITCHBLADE (DK)
SYMPHONY X (US)
TALISMAN (S)
THE ANSWER (UK)
THE AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD SHOW (AUS)
THIN LIZZY (IRL)
THUNDER (UK)
TIAMAT (S)
TOKYO DRAGONS (UK)
TRAIL OF TEARS (N)
TROUBLE (US)
TYR (FAR)
U.D.O. (D)
VOMITORY (S)
WARRIOR SOUL (US)
WHITE LION (DK)

Source BBM