A worthy cause…
Tom Scholz (Boston), Aaron Lewis (Staind), Tesla, Twisted Sister and Stryper, along with host Dee Snider will perform Feb. 25 in Providence, RI, at a charity event marking the fifth anniversary of The Station nightclub fire. Funds available for survivors are woefully inadequate, so for more info, visit www.stationfamilyfund.org or contact Todd King at 919-607-0763 or todd@stationfamilyfund.org.
Releases…

Airbourne’s absolutely friggin’ awesome Runnin’ Wild is out now, as are Brainstorm’s Downburst and Ayreon’s 01011001… Avantasia’s The Scarecrow is now available… Iron Maiden’s Live After Death DVD’s is out everywhere… Overdrive, a Swedish band that had an underground all-time classic in ’84 called Swords And Axes, has released a new album via Lion Music — Let The Metal Do The Talking…

Before they became Celtic Frost, they existed as Hellhammer, a Swiss band that recorded several demos before unleashing Apocalyptic Raids on an unsuspecting metal world in 1984. Now in 2008, band leader Thomas Gabriel Fischer has finally seen fit to properly reissue said demos in a package called Demon Entrails on Feb. 25 via Century Media …

Death Angel’s Killing Season hits the streets via Nuclear Blast on Feb. 26… Benedictum’s Seasons Of Tragedy is available Mar. 4… Agent Steel’s new one is Alienigma… Firewind’s The Premonition comes out Mar. 25… Apr. 29 finally sees the release of the new Testament album, The Formation Of Damnation… Highway Chile, one of the greatest underground bands of the 80’s, is planning to release a new album titled Keeper Of The Earth any day now. Judging from what they have streaming at www.myspace.com/highwaychileofficial, it’s gonna be worth checking out…

Axel Rudi Pell’s Live Over Europe double DVD comes out next month… Baton Rouge’s Shake Your Soul and Lights Out On The Playground will be reissued next month… Dokken’s next one is Lightning Strikes Again. Samples can be heard at www.dokken.net... Exciter’s next is Thrash, Speed, Burn… Hericane Alice’s Tear The House Down is being reissued… House Of Lords’ Come To My Kingdom will be available next month… Jon Oliva’s Pain’s next one is Global Warning… Keel’s Lay Down The Law debut is finally being reissued on CD in March…
Rage’s Carved In Stone will be available next month, as will the reissues of Tangier’s Stranded and Four Winds… Singer Mike Tramp has re-staffed White Lion and will release a new album, Return Of The Pride, next month… German thrashers Paradox have returned with Infected… Sacred Reich’s Ignorance and Surf Nicaragua have been reissued on one CD with a live DVD… Sleeze Beez’ Screwed, Blued & Tattooed and Powertool have also been reissued… Loudness has finished recording a new CD entitled Metal Mad… Nevermore singer Warrel Dane has prepared a solo album, Praise To The War Machine.

Bravewords.com reviews…
The following releases were recently reviewed by our friends at www.bravewords.com. Overdrive – Let The Metal Do The Talking (Lion Music): Rating: 8… Razor – The Evil Invaders Alive (Oxidized): 7… The Ocean – Precambrian (Metal Blade): 7.5… Merciless Death – Evil In The Night (Heavy Artillery): 8.5… Megadeth – Warchest (Capitol): 9… Crystal Viper – The Curse Of The Crystal Viper (Karthago): 6.5… Enemy Of The Sun – Shadows (The End): 8… Blackmore’s Night – Full Moon In Paris DVD (SPV): 7.5… October File – Holy Armour Through The Jaws Of God (Candlelight): 9… Martin Popoff – Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers Book (ECW Press): 9… Destructor – Forever In Leather (Auburn): 8… Graveyard – Graveyard (Tee Pee): 9… Bestial Mockery – Slaying The Life (Season Of Mist): 8… Mago De Oz – Acosta De Morte (Locomotive): 7… Dictators – Every Day Is Saturday (Norton): 9… Svartsot – Ravenenes Saga (Napalm): 7… Broken Teeth – Electric (Broken Teeth): 8… Onslaught – Live Polish Assault (Metal Mind): 7… Tank – Live And Rare (Soundhouse): 7.5… Ayreon – 01011001 (InsideOut Music): 6… Enthroned – Tetra Karcist (Napalm): 8… Brainstorm – Downburst (Metal Blade): 8…