South Africa's Mail & Guardian Online reported that dozens of literary masterpieces and international bestsellers have been banned in Iran in a dramatic rise in censorship that has plunged the country's publishing industry into crisis.

Among the forbidden items is a successful series of books featuring lyrics by BLACK SABBATH , QUEEN and GUNS N' ROSES . Stores were told to remove the books or face closure. Permission was subsequently denied for the publisher to reprint.

The clampdown has been headed by the hardline Culture Minister, Mohammed Hossein Saffar Harandi , a former revolutionary guard and close ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . It follows a relative thaw during the eight-year presidency of Ahmadinejad's reformist predecessor, Mohammed Khatami .

Source Mail & Guardian Online

Velvet Revolver is currently being in pre-production stage for its upcoming album with producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine, and Radioslave). Drummer, Matt Sorum says "Things are moving quick now, and we are all very excited. Rome was not built in a day so I believe everyone will be very happy when [the new CD is] finished."

Source Velvet Revolver

KITTIE will perform at the Peoria Expo Garden in Peoria, IL on December 8.

As previously reported, a radio-broadcast-quality version of the new KITTIE song "Funeral for Yesterday" has been posted online at this location . The track is the title cut of the Canadian all-girl metal band's new album, due on February 20, 2007 via the group's own Kiss of Infamy record label. more detail here .

KITTIE 's new CD was recorded at Retromedia Studio in Red Bank, New Jersey with producer Jack Ponti (BON JOVI , SKID ROW , and ALICE COOPER.)

Songtitles appearing on the new album include

"Never Again"
"Funeral for Yesterday"
"The Change"
"Breathe"
"Last Goodbye"
"Slow Motion"
and "Flowers of Flesh and Blood"

The band recently finished mixing the effort with producer Kevin Shirley ( IRON MAIDEN , DREAM THEATER ).

Other news: Kittie frontwoman Morgan Lander recently told MTV about making comeback of the group with the new album. Few excerpt are follow:

"In order to have rebirth, you must have death," Morgan explained. "So, all of the songs are about the demise of the former band, the resurrection of something new. It's really about letting go of what's already gone and putting everything negative or unfortunate to rest."

"On the last few albums we've had this strange divide where one song would be all full-out scary screaming metal and then we'd have a hard rock-ish ballad song," she said. "This time I wanted to blend the two styles together where you have the music of something really thrashy and heavy, but there's melody overtop."

Despite the obvious improvements, KITTIE still face an uncertain future. Much has happened in metal since 2004's "Until the End" was released, and it's unclear if the band's former fanbase will still be there. It's also not yet known how well their label will be able to promote "Funeral for Yesterday" . Still, Lander looks to the days ahead with more enthusiasm than trepidation.

"Taking your future into your hands is very scary, but it's also really empowering," she said. "Yes, we've been out of the loop for a while, but I think the entire ordeal was a learning experience that allowed us to find ourselves. And now we're ready to come back with a vengeance."

Source BBW