On 9/4, HIM will be announcing new shows in the US and Canada, and on that day, fans can get tickets before anyone else, plus order a copy of the regular edition of Venus Doom and get a free one-month membership to the new HIM club, which opens on Thursday the 6th! For fans who have already pre-ordered the album, tickets can be purchased on Thursday the 6th! Also available for pre-order is the special edition of Venus Doom with a different album cover and two bonus songs, plus a very limited edition that comes with a journal with 60 pages of photos, and a bonus disc with three songs in parchment envelopes and 3 polaroid-style photos by clicking here.

Below is a recent press release by Thrice for their new upcoming album, The Alchemy Index:

Orange, CA- August 23, 2007- The first installment of The Alchemy Index, Vols. I & II: Fire & Water will be available October 16th, 2007, followed in Spring 2008 by Vols III & IV: Earth & Air. By turning the model for rock music on its head, Thrice have exposed the different components that create their signature sound, exploring each factor thoroughly, instead of condensing them to fit with one other. In the process, they?ve created a series of songs that shift from gritty to spacious and scorching to fluid between discs.

?We?re doing something that?s the opposite of what a producer is supposed to do on a record?which is make everything make sense and fit together?whereas this project is all about taking things apart and pushing them one way,? says Teranishi. ?We really wanted to try doing things our way this time around, and make this record sound the way we want it to sound, not the way it?s ?supposed? to sound.

?Dustin [Kensrue] came up with the idea of using the elements, and separating all of the feels that we normally come up with,? adds bassist Eddie Breckenridge. ?That was scary at first, because part of what our sound is, is that combination and the experiment of mixing different feels, but this is actually helping us push each feel in a further direction.?

Thrice fans will likely find the thundering strains of Fire to be the most familiar of the four EPs, with the kind of blistering riffs and captivating melodies the band has built a career upon. From the opening bombast of ?Firebreather? to the towering, unforgettable “Burn the Fleet” – with its Elliot Smith meets Isis vibe, is a song representative of the vast dynamics in these albums. Fire exhibits a Thrice who still know how to punish with decibels, and with greater force and impact than ever before. ?I?m really happy on how [?Burn The Fleet?] came out,? says drummer Riley Breckenridge, who also resides in the house that holds the band?s studio. ?It?s really melancholy, yet crushing.?

Water, on the other hand, offers some of the most subdued textures the band have explored to date, and makes extensive use of a palette of electronic sounds, particularly for rhythms and synthesized effects. Haunting and beautiful, Water is an aural aquatic voyage as serene as it is somber, with the shimmering bliss of ?Open Water? naturally coexisting with the dark, moody ?The Whaler? and the groundbreaking and evocative instrumental track, ?Night Diving.?
?For [?Night Diving?], we ended up making this whole plot outline of what?s happening in the song, even though there are no lyrics. That was how we decided on the different movements?when they?d come up, and when they?d come down,? Kensrue says. ?It?s the story of this guy diving at night, and the things that he encounters. That was a pretty interesting way to write a song; we definitely had never done anything like that before.?

Kensrue took the elemental theme still further by composing an original sonnet for each EP, set to music, yet organized in the traditional English structure and rhythmic fashion. These passages (?The Flame Deluge? on Fire; and ?Kings Upon The Main? for Water) offer powerful sentiments that serve as thought-provoking closers for each EP?s respective journey.
?Each sonnet is written from the point of view of the personified element, speaking to mankind, and lamenting our various failings,? explains Kensrue. “The Fire sonnet deals with fire being resentful and ashamed of the way that it?s been used in destruction and war, while the Water sonnet deals with man?s pride, and the futility and idiocy of that pride, when it comes face to face with the power of the sea.?

On The Alchemy Index, Thrice destroyed the rock rulebook and created their most engrossing and accomplished work to date?The true evolution of a band.

Thrice is releasing music videos in installments of one per week for the next 8 weeks. Click below for the first two:
Here is 1/10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOMAoIeLKE
Here is 2/10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGp1tyak-o

For more information on Thrice and The Alchemy Index please check out www.thrice.net or www.alchemyindex.com and be sure to check them out on their upcoming headline (9 week ? 42 dates) tour with Brand New.

Here’s a recent message from The Used:

Hi Everyone

WE ARE BACK ON THE ROAD …….Hells Yes!!!! BERT IS BACK and the throat is A OK!!!!!

Bert is feeling great and we are happy to be back on tour. Hopefully we will see you in an upcoming city. We will be on the road from now until hell freezes over. A lot of great stuff has been going on including the Transformers movie. Halo 3 dentist appointments and shite like that. Our favorite thing is touring so we are very happy to get back on the road and play music.

We have created a pretty cool custom search engine for a chance for you to win free tickets to our shows in your city from now till forever at: https://searchwiththeused.com

We are also giving away shirts and swag and autographed shite through this site.

You can use this just like you use any search engine and there are no trackers or spam bullshit. Sweepstakes entries and prizes are awarded every few hours.

You can also download a search & win toolbar for your Internet browser that you can download in seconds for free!

https://theused.prodege.vmn.net

We should have it worked out in 4 weeks for people outside of America to be able to win prizes through the mail or post or whatever you call it where you live.

Peace and Hope,

THE USED

You can now preorder Emery‘s upcoming album, I’m Only A Man by clicking here.

Track Listing:
1. Rock-N-Rule
2. The Party Song
3. World Away
4. After The Devil Beats His Wife
5. Can’t Stop The Killer
6. Story About A Man With A Bad Heart
7. Don’t Bore Us, Get To The Chorus
8. What Makes A Man A Man
9. The Movie Song
10. You Think You’re Nickel Slick (But I Got Your Penny Change)
11. From Crib To Coffin

The album will be released on October 2nd, 2007.

Seether will be releasing a new album, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, this upcoming October 23rd. Their first single “Fake It” will be released on the radio August 28th. Further album details are still to come, check back later or subscribe to RedPillMusic.com for exclusive emails and up to the minute news.

Motion City Soundtrack are looking to release their new upcoming album, Even If It Kills Me, on September 18th. Here is what the band had to say about what is going on recently:

Hi all, we’re in sunny Los Angeles shooting the final takes for our newvideo for “This Is For Real”. You’ll see this puppy in a few weeks, but we wanted to give you the head’s up that this thing is going to be “RIDICULOUS”, to put it in the words of Mr. Josh Cain.

Lots of other stuff happening in MCS world. We’re less then one month away from the release of our new album (Even If It Kills Me, in stores September 18), and of course, our big U.S. Headlining Tour this Fall with MAE, ANBERLIN, and METRO STATION is going to be great. Also, in case you forgot, we released the digital single for “This Is For Real” last week on iTunes.

Some cool stuff happening on the press front as well. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we played Lollapalooza? Well, we had the privilege of doing some fun stuff with Blender magazine, including this interview from backstage at Lolla. There is some live footage mixed in as well, so check it out to find out the latest on what’s happening in our world.

ALSO, there is a great new feature in the latest issue of Kerrang Magazine for you folks across the pond (it’s also available in the U.S.) where Justin talks about the songs and artists that changed his life. Be sure to check it out on the newstands, or, head over to our Myspace page to give it a read.

xoxo TEAM MCS

Atreyu will premiere their new album Lead Sails Paper Anchor to the world on August 24th. The band has set-up a special listening party with Myspace where all their fans can preview the new album before it goes on sale August 28th. To listen to the new album just go to www.myspace.com/atreyurock.

To celebrate the release of Lead Sails Paper Anchor, Atreyu have scheduled two special in store events for their home town fans. On August 28th, the band will be in Irvine, CA at the Irvine Spectrum and will be signing copies of their new album starting at 5pm. Then on August 30th, the band head down to Horton Plaza in San Diego, CA for another signing at the Hot Topic store. Fans that purchase the record in advance of street date at the Irvine location will get a wristband that will guarantee them a meet-and-greet with Atreyu and the same applies to the San Diego fans that purchase the record on August 28th.

Click here to pre-order the album

Most fans probably remember Nikki Sixx from the days he spent with Motley Crue. The days he spent heavily abusing drugs and his strong addiction to heroin. Since then he has recovered from his addiction and now re-released himself back into the rock scene with an incredibly real and powerful album. Sixx has team up with DJ Ashba and James Michaels (The Exies, Saliva, Meatloaf, Sammy Hagar…) with his new band, Sixx: AM. Nikki Sixx recently recovered a diary that he kept during prime years when he was with Motley Crue, vividly detailing and documenting his life as a rockstar and his heroin addiction. The diaries, The Heroin Diaries, will be released this September. His new album, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack, is a strong, and powerful album that, brutally and emotionally, enters you into the world of a rockstar, drugs and all.

The album opens with a possible excerpt from his diaries, vividly putting you into a scene of drugs and the solitude it brings. A perfect precursor for what you’re about to hear. As the Christmas sounds drown the next track, Van Nuys, brings feet back to reality with a chorus, “Everybody gets high, everbody gets low…“, a chorus that you’ll surely be singing along too. The first single of album, Life Is Beautiful, is full of energy. James Michaels vocals are fulfilling, ranging from low to high notes. It amazes me to think that he hasn’t stepped up to the mic as a lead vocalist yet. Pray For Me, Tomorrow, and Accidents Can Happen are all solid songs which in turn is followed by an intermission, that made it hard for me not to think Trans Siberian Orchestra.

The second half of the album continues with Dead Man’s Ballet, which, begins with a narrated story of a near death experience, background choirs and changing tempos. The album mellows out and continues to share the honest stories of Sixx and his drug addictions. Girl With Golden Eyes, a track explicitly detailing what his body went through day by day as he gave up the drugs. “It’s like shock therapy to my guts”, Sixx remembers, but he keeps strong, continually repeating to himself “Everything will be ok, everything will be alright.” The album ends with monumental instrumentals and concluding narrations by Nikki Sixx, sharing his bitter realizations and his life after death.

The album is a solid release by Sixx:AM. I really felt like Sixx wrote his troubles and life changing moments with drugs through each song. This is everything a soundtrack would be, what you’d expect from a soundtrack, and it’s for a book. Sixx, DJ Ashba, and Michaels put together an album that is impactful, honest, explicit and just real. Not only do you feel the raw emotion in the lyrics, the music itself lives beyond it’s expectations. Make sure to pick up yourself a copy of Sixx:AM – Heroin Diaries, in stores every where August 28th. Or just click on this link to preorder it: Sixx:AM – The Heroin Diaries

{Review by: Anthony Montalbano}