OPETH Frontman Treated For Minor Cut On The Head; Maplewood Concert Canceled

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH were forced to cancel their
performance last night (Monday, May 7) at the Myth in Maplewood,
Minnesota after the band's guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt was rushed to the hospital to receive treatment for a minor cut on his head.

Contrary to online reports, Åkerfeldt did not break his arm in a car accident and he is expected to make a
full recovery. The remaining shows on the band's current tour will be
unaffected by last night's cancelation.

OPETH has teamed up with MASTODON for a spring North American co-headlining tour. The trek kicked off on
April 4 in Portland, Maine, and was scheduled to visit more than 30
cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up at Atlanta's Masquerade Music Park on May 12.

DELAIN: 'We Are The Others' To Receive North American Release Via SENSORY RECORDS

"We Are The Others", the third full-length studio album from Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers DELAIN, will be released in North America this summer via the New Jersey-based top-tier progressive metal label Sensory Records. CNR Entertainment will handle the release in The Netherlands and Roadrunner Records will issue the CD in the rest of Europe.

"We Are The Others" track listing (North American version):

01. Mother Machine
02. Electricity
03. We Are The Others
04. Milk And Honey
05. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
06. I Want You
07. Where Is The Blood (feat. Burton C. Bell)
08. Generation Me
09. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough
13. The Gathering (live)
14. Control The Storm (live)
15. Shattered (live)
16. Sleepwalkers Dream (live)

The lead single, "Get The Devil Out Of Me", hit stores on April 13 (April 15 for U.K.) to coincide with the start of the band's European tour.

The "Get The Devil Out Of Me" video can be seen below. The clip features footage from the recording
sessions for the new CD and live material, including footage from the Sonisphere festival in the U.K. (used with kind permission of BlinkTV).

Described as "the band's most powerful, most atmospheric and intoxicating album to date," "We Are The Others" was helmed by producer Jacob Hellner — renowned for his work with RAMMSTEIN, CLAWFINGER and APOCALYPTICA — while the vocals were tracked with the Epicentre team of Fredrik Thomander and Anders Wikström (SCORPIONS, BACKYARD BABIES).

At first glance, some songtitles on "We Are The Others" may sound mysterious and conspiratorial, but there is a very serious
background: The lyrics to the title track were inspired by the hate
crime against a British girl named Sophie Lancaster in 2007. She and her boyfriend were beaten comatose by a gang of youths, because of their goth looks, and Sophie later died from her injuries. This tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the world.

Commented singer Charlotte Wessels: "Sophie's story hit close to home for us, being part of a subculture ourselves
but it's in no way an individual case; people are discriminated against — all the time, to the point of violence — based on their cultural or
ethnic background everywhere.

"'We Are The Others' is our own 'outsiders anthem' for everybody who, deliberately or not, diverts
from the norm. Whether it's by looking different, acting different, or
choosing a different path in life then is expected from you."

Former INTO ETERNITY Guitarist ROB DOHERTY Dies

Rob Doherty, the former INTO ETERNITY guitarist who most recently fronted his own band called FINAL DARKNESS, has died. No further details are currently available.

FINAL DARKNESS's "Ghost" video can be seen below. The clip, which was filmed in January in Serbia, was produced by Stanimir "Staca" Lukic and directed by Ivan Colic.

The
project was put on hold when the label it was originally to be released
under changed priorities and decided to go in a different direction,
but Rob remained determined to push forward and bring FINAL DARKNESS to life.

Doherty rewrote and reworked some of the songs from the original project and began recording the new music last year at Touchwood Studios. The recording was engineered by Justin Bender (INTO ETERNITY), who also provides additional guitars on the track "Memories". The album also features guest performances from Tim Roth (INTO ETERNITY) on the songs "Kill Room", "Memories" and "Darkness Falls". A big break came when legendary producer/engineer Neil Kernon (NILE, NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE) agreed to do the final mix for the project. Neil also helped hook Rob up with mastering engineer Alan Douches from West West Side Music in New Windsor, New York to help give the album a killer sound.

RUSH Honored At Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala

Legendary Canadian rockers RUSH were among those who received prestigious Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, given out by Governor General David Johnston, on Saturday, May 5 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. All
three members of the band were in attendance. Each laureate received a
cash award of $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a
commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee said it was a privilege to be at the gala.

"I'm so proud of Canada for doing such a thing," said Lee. "To value artists and to celebrate art is a real pat on the back for artists."

"We're going to take a run on a really fun take on a RUSH song," show producer Kari Cullen told CTV.ca. "We're going to experiment a little bit with their music, with their permission, and see how much they enjoy it."

Kofi Baker's Cream Experience North American Tour To Begin Spring 2012

Kofi Baker's Cream Experience North American Tour To Begin Spring 2012

Son of drum legend Ginger Baker brings to the stage the closest live experience to the legendary Cream possible!

5/7/2012 – Los Angeles, CA – Fans of the legendary power trio Cream rejoice with the announcement of Kofi Baker's Cream Experience North American tour commencing May 31^st. Kofi Baker, following in the family tradition, displays a mastery of drum technique and groove that rivals that of his father, drum legend Ginger Baker. After seeing the historic Cream reunion in 2005, Kofi was inspired to start his own band – he wanted to continue where Cream, and his father, left off. Kofi's band is the ultimate Cream tribute: combining Cream's innovative and experimental style with virtuoso talent. The trio capture the mood and energy of the late '60s and early '70s; adding their own distinctive styles.

“My son, Kofi, he's playing amazingly,” says legendary drummer Ginger Baker. “I was at the Frankfurt Fair (music trade show) a few years ago and one of the Zildjian people said to me, 'Man, have you heard your son play? He's amazing!' It's great to get feedback from people in the business on how well he's playing.”

Featuring:

Kofi Baker – drums

Tony Spinner (TOTO) – guitar, vocals

Ric Fierabracci (Chick Corea) – bass

Kofi's upcoming tour comes off the heels of his whirlwind trip to SXSW in Austin, TX where he was promoting the award winning documentary 'Beware of Mr. Baker', a film about his famous father Ginger Baker, which received the prestigious Grand Jury prize for its category. Kofi, who's first stage appearance was with his father at the age of six when they performed together on the BBC TV show 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' in 1975, was also interviewed for the 'Beware of Mr. Baker' documentary. Over the years Kofi Baker has become a well-respected drummer in his own right having tour with artists such as legendary Steve Marriott of Humble Pie, John Ethridge of Soft Machine and Steve Waller of Manfred Mann, as well as touring Europe with his father during the early '80s playing drum duets of complex African polyrhythms. In the '90s Kofi teamed up with Jonas Hellborg and Shawn Lane to record the album 'Abstract Logic'. Along with working on a new solo album, Kofi in recent years has been recording and touring with the band OHM, fronted by Chris Poland, former guitarist with Megadeth. Kofi has also recently become Head of the Drum Department at the Artisthead New Music Academy.

Kofi Baker's Cream Experience North American Tour Dates:

May 31 - Madison Theater - Cincinnati, OH www.madisontheateronline.com

June 1 - The Place - Indianapolis, IN

June 2 - Arcada Theatre - Chicago, IL www.oshows.com

June 3 - Rascal’s Live - Moline, IL www.rascalsmoline.com

June 9 - Stargazer’s Theatre - Colorado Springs, CO www.stargazerstheatre.com

For more information visit: http://kofibaker.com

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius Release New Album, THE NEXT WORLD through Digital Nations/D-Zone Entertainment, May 24

Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius' new album, THE NEXT WORLD is being released on May 24 through Steve Vai's Digital Nations and Joe's imprint D-Zone Entertainment. The band's acclaimed sound is a melodic mixture of progressive hard rock with jam band, funk, jazz, and Gypsy influences. The unique merging of these sounds can be heard on the album's fiery "Gods," the energetic power clash in "The Missing Link" and the glorious intro, "Release." The album's wide ranging instrumentals are the superfast "Road Rage" and the soulful "Ballad for Ding Bang," and the post-apocolyptic "Fleshbot." Joe & his band bend genres in the electronic/ska-inspired "Tech Support," the country rock ballad "Climbing," and the bluesy "The House Always Wins."

THE NEXT WORLD is chockful of dynamic musicianship, and creative energies of bandmates--leader Joe Deninzon on electric violin and lead vocals, French guitarist Aurelien Budynek (Cindy Blackman, Vernon Reid), bassist Jamie Bishop (The Syn, Francis Dunnery), and drummer Lucianna Padmore (praised by Modern Drummer Magazine for her “Deep grooves and serious fusion chops."

The album is dedicated to the memory of Bob Bowen, the bassist in both Stratospheerius and the Joe Deninzon Trio. Bob was killed in a bicycle accident in Manhattan in 2010. Bob's bass playing can be heard on "The House Always Wins." He was also a talented visual artist and drew the cover artwork for the album.

Stratospheerius has played at colleges, festivals, and clubs throughout the US. The New York-based group has opened for Tim Reynolds, Mickey Hart, The Slip, Ekoostik Hookah, and John Scofield. The group was a winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, won the Online People's Choice Awards in the Cornucopia Festival, and was named "Best Jam Band" in Musician's Atlas Independent Music Awards.

Joe Deninzon is the music world's expert on alternative violin techniques and has been called the "Jimi Hendrix of the electric Violin." His song "Scarlett's Waltz" is in the soundtrack of the Will Ferrell-produced movie, VIRGINITY HIT. This year Mel Bay books published his "PLUGGING IN: A Guide To Gear and New Techniques for the 21st Century Violinist." A musician who transcends many genres, he has recorded and performed with a variety of artists including Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Matthis, Les Paul, Phoebe Snow, Jane Monheit, and Robert Bonfiglio among others.

Joe has appeared as a soloist with the New York City Ballet, has performed on MTV and at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and has played for former President Clinton. His music has been featured on CMT, VH1, ABC, Comedy Central, the Travel Channel, History Channel, Food Network, and National Geographic. An active clinician, Joe has taught at Mark O'Connor's renowned String Camp and Mark Wood's Rock Orchestra Camp.

DREAM THEATER Guitarist To Be Backed By MIKE MANGINI, DAVE LARUE On 'G3' Tour

DREAM THEATER's John Petrucci will be backed by DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini and DIXIE DREGS bassist Dave LaRue on the upcoming South American edition of the G3 tour in October. Also scheduled to appear are Joe Satriani (CHICKENFOOT) and Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE).

Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Oct. 11- Citibank Hall - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Oct. 12 - Credicard Hall - Sao Paulo, Brazil

More shows will be announced soon.

G3 is a concert tour organized by Satriani, featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1996, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Vai (Satriani's former student), Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp, Paul Gilbert, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Adrian Legg and many other special guests, including Tony MacAlpine, Johnny Hiland, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Keith More, Chris Duarte, Andy Timmons, Neal Schon, Gary Hoey, Brian May, Billy Gibbons, Johnny A, George Lynch, Patrick Rondat, Herman Li, Alejandro Silva and Eric Sardinas.