• INXS have announced their first European tour dates since 2002. The band, who are currently in the midst of a sold-out North American tour, will perform for the first time with their new lead singer, J.D. Fortune, who won the coveted role of stepping into the void left by the late Michael Hutchence on last year's successful television show, "Rock Star: INXS." Kicking off at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on Thursday October 12th, the trek will see INXS play a series of highly intimate venues as they reconnect with their ardent European fans. Tickets go on sale beginning Wednesday, May 3rd via fan club pre-sale, and on Friday, May 5th to the general public.

• INTO ETERNITY will head out for three upcoming East Coast dates before recording the follow up to 2004's "Buried In Oblivion." Commenting on the band's upcoming plans, guitarist/vocalist Tim Roth said: "Once again, we will be recording in our hometown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada at Touchwood Studios. There will be one recording change - for the first time, we are going to send the album out to be mixed. Any Sneap (Nevermore, Arch Enemy) will be handling the record's final mix. We are fans of Andy's work and know he is the right man. This final step ensures that this will be our best-sounding effort to date."

• PRESTO BALLET have been added to the line-up for the 2006 CalProg Summer festival held in Whittier, California. The Seattle-based, hard-rocking "classic style" Progressive Rock band is a new group featuring Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Evoking a classic 70's feel, their debut album, "Peace Among The Ruins," heralds a return to a time when music was at its most colorful and influential. An album full of tasteful guitar parts, crunching Hammond organ and rich vocals, the band follow a path previously tread by 70's Rock pioneers such as Kansas, Yes, Genesis and Deep Purple.

• KATAKLYSM have issued a statement explaining their decision to pull out of the remaining dates on the Bolt Thrower European tour. An excerpt follows: "Kataklysm have been forced to cancel the remainder of the Euro tour for reasons beyond the band's control that have to be dealt with back home. The band would like to add that they had a great time, and all the shows missed after Saarbrucken, Germany will be rescheduled in September as we are planning a headlining tour for the fall in Europe. Also, we will make up the Helsinki show as soon as we can. All Metal Crusaders dates will not be affected by this in the States."

• EVANESCENCE's upcoming release, "The Open Door," will be released on October 3rd, it has been announced. Following the multi-platinum, worldwide success of "Fallen," "The Open Door" is an ideal showcase for the band's inevitable personal and professional growth, with songs of introspection, longing, doubt, self-respect and ultimately, empowerment and anticipation. Several songs on the new album include a choir, as well as strings recorded in an old chapel. "The Open Door" is defined by vocalist Amy Lee's strong melodies, profound lyrics, impressive vocals and poignant piano, which fuse with Terry Balsamo's intricate guitar playing to form an ethereal blend of sounds.

• MORTIIS releases three early albums this week on Earache Records. "Fodt Til A Herske," "Crypt Of The Wizard" and "The Stargate" each come packaged in collector's slipcases with extensive, expanded liner notes including in-depth interviews with Mortiis by Tommy Udo (Metal Hammer) about the making of each album. To coincide, Mortiis is taking time out for a string of UK dates at the end of this month. "The UK has always been good to us," says vocalist/mainman Mortiis. "Even though we are starting work on the next record, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to tour the UK."

• JUCIFER, one of Rock's more enigmatic duos, have signed a recording deal with Relapse Records. "We are really looking forward to working with everyone at Relapse. It feels like everyone there is in it for the right reason - loving the hell out of music," comments Jucifer frontwoman Amber Valentine. "It's cool to share a label with some bands we've become friends with over the years and so many others we're looking forward to meeting and touring with." Jucifer's forthcoming Relapse debut, "At The Hands Of Our Intercessors," features Valentine's trademark sultry vocals layered over colossal guitars and drums, courtesy of Edward Livengood.

• STONEHENGE 2006 is being officially sponsored by Rebel Extravaganza, a website based in Detroit, Michigan. The one-day, eight-band festival focuses on putting the best of Midwestern Metal on the stage with four national touring acts, and is to be the first of what will soon become known as an annual tradition. Taking place on May 20th, the weekend before Memorial Day Weekend, and being held at legendary local Hard Rock/Metal venue The I-Rock Nightclub, Stonehenge is an all ages event, this time focusing on the genre of Death Metal, tossing a few Doom-influenced bands into the pit for variety's sake.

• FIREBALL MINISTRY will soon return to the road for a series of shows alongside Disturbed. The groups -- who performed a sold-out California show together in January -- will tour America and Canada for two weeks beginning on May 20th. The Disturbed run marks Fireball Ministry's first tour of 2006. The group criss-crossed America no fewer than five times late last year in support of their new album, "Their Rock Is Not Our Rock." "We took a rest, but now we're back to get you drunk and make you deaf," says FM vocalist/guitarist James A. Rota.

• ENSLAVED will release a new album in the U.S. via Candlelight Records on May 2nd. Entitled "Ruun," the release is reportedly every bit as epic and monumental as fans of the much-acclaimed band have come to expect. Recorded at Amper Studios in Olso, mixed by Mike Hartung in Propeller Studios, and mastered at The Cutting Room in Sweden, the album follows the critically-acclaimed "Isa" and represents the culmination of the bands 15 years together. Candlelight is also slated ro release a limited edition run of 500 copies of a 2-LP version of "Ruun" on June 27th.

• THE BEATLES' musical legacy has joined forces with Cirque Du Soleil to create a show entitled "Love," which celebrates the unique history of The Beatles. Tickets have just gone on sale, Preview performances begin June 2 at The Mirage in Las Vegas. The Gala Premiere of "Love" will be held on June 30th. Original producer George Martin and son Giles have created a unique soundscape of music for the show. "After spending more than 40 years of my life working with The Beatles and their wonderful music, I am thrilled to be working with it once again, on this exciting project with Cirque Du Soleil," says Martin. "The show will be a unique and magical experience."

• DEVILDRIVER are making two appearances on Sirius Satellite Radio's "Hard Attack" channel. The band's takeover, where they crib the mic (and the playlist) from regular host Jose, airs this Saturday, April 22nd, at 3 PM EST. You can listen to Devildriver vocalist Dez Fafara and drummer John Boecklin talk it up with Jose and select songs by Metallica, Torture Killer, Superjoint Ritual, Morbid Angel, Testament, Venom, and Pantera. So make sure to remember to tune your ears to Sirius this weekend for the Devildriver playlist takeover.

• SPARTA have added former Denali/Engine Down member Keeley to their lineup. The band are about to enter the studio to record their third album for Hollywood Records. Here is what was reported on the band's website: "Sparta met Keeley, formerly of the Richmond, VA-based groups Denali and Engine Down, while touring together last year. "We're proud to welcome him to the band," says Ward. We love what he's done in the past and his musical ability, vocals and down-to-earth personality is a perfect fit for us."

• EVIDENCE ONE have checked in with the following: "Hello all you out there. There's a big change for E1 going on, which in fact might sound more tremendous than it actually is. To make a long story short, Robby has chosen to not be a member of the performing band any more, but will continue to write and produce. We've already started recording 'E3' (working title), the first new track's entitled 'Gallery Of Broken Glass,' a killer sped-up Melodic Metal track in the vein of 'Virus In My Veins.' So, don't worry, simply nothing has changed musically. As for the live shows, we'll have Rami's close friend and Justice pal Jorg "Warthy" Wartmann in! That guy's smokin'!"

• STEREOPHONICS' 2-disc "Live From Dakota" album has just been released in North America on the band's own label, Vox Populi Records. "Feels like a long time since we've done anything, but it's really not that long at all," says bassist Richard Jones. "But I think the reason why it feels like that is cause daytime TV is killing me! So I think I'll do the rock n' roll thing and sling the fucking thing outta the window! 'Live From Dakota' is out in North America this week, so hopefully you can get yer mits on it. If not get it anyway you can."

• FUCK THE FACTS are currently recording their new full-length album, "Stigmata High-Five," at Studio En-Phase in Montreal, which is on target for a late Summer release. "There's no doubt we're hyped about working with Relapse, a label that has been a huge influence on us for years now," comments band member Das. "We're also happy to help Relapse maintain their streak of signing bands named after Naked City songs." FUCK THE FACTS were named "one of Ottawa's greatest live acts" by the Ottawa Xpress, and have a rich touring history that will be furthered when they kick off an eastern Canada tour with new label mates Leng T'Che in early May.

• THE HAZE, a fresh new Rock band hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, will take to the road again in mid-May for a series of UK live dates. The tour follows the hugely successful outing the band undertook last March. Led by the distinctive lead vocals of James Cairns, The Haze combine the contemporary feel of artists such as Kings of Leon with an earthy nod towards Led Zeppelin and The Doors, with their live shows combining the brooding menace of the latter with soaring guitars. Add to that their unique backline-heavy rhythms, and The Haze have developed a truly powerful sound.

• AC/DC, METALLICA and PANTERA made history in 1991 when they performed at the very first open-air festival to be held in the former Soviet Union. Captured on film, "For Those About To Rock...We Salute You: Monsters In Moscow" will be released on DVD June 5th via Warner Home Video. In September of 1991, just days after an attempted military coup failed to restore Communism to the newly democratic Russia and its affiliated nations, 500,000 fans converged in Moscow to witness the evening kick off with Pantera. Metallica performed old-school classics 'Enter Sandman,' 'Creeping Death' and 'Fade To Black.' The DVD also offers a look at the efforts of the Russian Army to try and postpone the concert.

• LOSER has been dropped by Island Records after founding member John 5 decided to leave the band and maintain his position as the guitarist for Rob Zombie. "Being the founding member of Loser, my decision to leave was not an easy one," states John 5. "I've been juggling two careers both with Loser and Rob Zombie for over 1 year now. I found it impossible to be in two places at once." In discussions, John 5 had wanted to bring in a replacement guitarist for Loser's live shows, with Island in opposition to that suggestion as that is not "what they had signed on for."

• THE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINERS have signed a recording deal with Relapse Records. TCME are a collection of real-life pathologists with an unhealthy adoration of and fixation on the band Carcass. Formed by Dr. Morton Fairbanks M.D. (Guitar) and Dr. Jack Putnam M.D. (Drums), the band -- rounded out by 63-year-old Dr. Guy Radcliffe -- have always felt that the label "Carcass Clone" should be a badge of honor and distinction, and pursue that emulation with an almost religious zeal. Currently nearing completion of their next full-length album, "Olidous Operettas," TCME previously recorded for Razorback Records.