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. The Day in Rock - antiMUSIC.com's look at Today's Top Rock News Stories From Across the Web

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Two Bands Drop Off Prog Nation Tour

Blabbermouth reports: Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy has released the following statement: "It is with the utmost disappointment that I am forced to share the unfortunate news of both Pain Of Salvation and Beardfish having to pull out of this summer's [Dream Theater-headlined] Progressive Nation tour....

"Their label, Inside Out, just recently lost the financial funding for the tour as a result of their distributor SPV recently claiming bankruptcy...which effectively meant that both Pain Of Salvation and Beardfish lost the tour support that was essential to their ability to come to North America for Progressive Nation.

"All parties involved (myself, both bands, Inside Out, etc) are beyond devastated at this turn of events and are truly sorry to all of the fans that were looking forward to this lineup. We tried everything we could do to salvage the situation, but in the end it was not possible... - Find out who is taking their place (one of the band's puts on one of the best shows in rock!)

More on Dream Theater - Dream+Theater" >Dream Theater MP3s - Dream+Theater" >Dream Theater CDs

Mr. Rock N Roll: The Alan Freed Story Coming To DVD

Kayos reports: On July 7, Eagle Rock Entertainment will add to its extensive DVD roster Mr. Rock 'N' Roll: The Alan Freed Story. Eagle has already mastered the art of great music DVDs, from classic rock to heavy metal, from jazz to blues, from hip-hop to funk, including the Live at Montreux series and the acclaimed Classic Albums series. With this DVD, they will explore the roots of the expansive rock music catalogue they represent.

Originally aired as a made-for-television film on NBC, Mr. Rock 'N' Roll tells the story of Alan Freed, the man who coined the term "Rock 'N' Roll", and who recognized the earth-shattering power that this music had. In the vein of other music films such as Cadillac Records, Dreamgirls, and Ray, this film captures a historic time in music.

Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire) plays the legendary Cleveland DJ, who was not afraid to acknowledge the power of R&B music, and who stood in the face of racial controversy in the 1950s. While the public at large believed "Race Records" were poisoning the minds of the young, Freed tapped into this burgeoning youth culture. He saw the eruptive energy and pure joy it evoked in teenagers, and became its on-air prophet at its inception. He also realized rock 'n' roll music was a viable market, and that teens were rabidly buying the records that they would hear on his shows. He would later endure controversy for payola scandals, but one cannot deny the impact this one Cleveland man had on generations upon generations of music fans and pop culture. Madchen Amick (E.R.) and Paula Abdul also star in the film. - more on this story

More on Alan Freed - Alan+Freed" >Alan Freed CDs

Evile Announce New Album

Satan Commands Us to Annoyingly All-Cap All Names Records reports: British thrash masters EVILE are ready to reveal to the world their brand new album, INFECTED NATIONS, which is due to be released on September 21st in Europe and on September 22nd in the USA.

Following EVILE's 2007 debut, ENTER THE GRAVE - an homage to the thrash of past - the band are now hitting out and marking a new milestone of their own with INFECTED NATIONS.

EVILE frontman MATT DRAKE comments on INFECTED NATIONS: "We can't wait for everyone to hear our new album, when we did Enter the Grave two years ago it was made up of songs we had been playing for a few years and some written in the excitement of actually getting to record an album, we were happy to just be making noise but since then we've learnt a few things and we're more interested in making music. Evile fans can expect to hear a more mature offering, an album that concentrates on all aspects of what each member can do; it's a heck of a lot more focused, more satisfying and we're really proud of what we've achieved with it. Russ Russell has helped us to push ourselves to the next level and pull us out of the '80s. The whole retro thing has been cool but we feel it's time for us to leave that behind and stand up for ourselves and show people what we can really do, but fear not, it IS a thrash metal album, it is a 2009 thrash metal album, and we're dying to blow your minds with it." - more on this story

More on Evile - Evile" >Evile CDs

The Gay Blades and Ace Enders Tour

PR reports: After nearly a year of touring in support of their 2008 debut Ghosts, The Gay Blades are returning to the US for a summer tour with Ace Enders.

The band is finishing off their summer with the European festival circuit before heading into the studio to begin recording the follow-up to their 4Never/Triple Crown debut.

The Gay Blades are a two piece from New York City and play an acerbic brand of Trash Pop. What is Trash Pop, you ask? Trash pop is what happens when two keenly observant wannabe hipsters write and record songs the same pair couldn't possibly pull off live, and make up for their missing bass player with consistent TNT like performances and a heaping spoonful of swagger. Clark Westfield plays the guitar and Puppy Mills plays the drums. - more on this story

More on Gay Blades - Gay+Blades" >Gay Blades CDs

The Stranglers Frontman Giving Away New Solo CD

PR reports: Hugh Cornwell is a man of the people. The original vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter for punk and new-wave legends The Stranglers, has made his new album, Hooverdam, available for free download to anyone and everyone� right now!

The music is available worldwide from Hugh's website www.hughcornwell.com, which can be viewed in twelve languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Mandarin, Turkish, Italian and Japanese), making Hugh's music freely available to most of the world's population.

Why make it available for free? "Everything that's ever been recorded or filmed is now online and free � whether the copyright owners like it or not, and any work of artists that is honest � either from decades ago or right now � has intellectual value that will always translate into monetary value," explains Charles Kennedy, head of Invisible Hands Music. This is a great record, made without ProTools, AutoTune, or any other piece of performance-enhancing stuff. It comes from the heart of a great thinker, writer and musician, and will be shared and listened to for decades to come. Physical copies will be available on vinyl and as a triple-sleeved digi-pak CD/DVD, which will contain Hugh's film "Blueprint," featuring live studio performance inter-spliced with an interview with Hugh at the Tate Gallery in London. Both Hooverdam and "Blueprint" were recorded in Toerag Studios with producer Liam Watson (best known for producing the White Stripes' Elephant). - more on this story

More on Hugh Cornwell - Hugh+Cornwell" >Hugh Cornwell CDs

Audrye Sessions Has A New Way To Help Fans Battle The Recession

PR reports: Tough economic times might keep some music lovers from catching their favorite band when they're in town, but for fans of Audrye Sessions this may not be the case.

The band is teaming up with Paper Route for the New Deal tour, which kicks off July 6th in Newport, KY and goes through the end of the month.

Fans can submit their tales of financial woe to an email address found on the Audrye Sessions Myspace page. [you'll have to find it as the announcement didn't include the link] The band will select the best stories in each city and give away free tickets- as many as the venue permits- to those people. - more on this story

More on Audrye Sessions - Audrye+Sessions" >Audrye Sessions CDs

Cathedral DualDisc Reissue

PR reports: The Ethereal Mirror, the breakthrough second album from British doom metal legends Cathedral has been reissued on DualDisc and is out now in Europe.

The Ethereal Mirror was originally released in 1993 and spawned two hit MTV videos, "Midnight Mountain" and "Ride". Now reissued, the album comes on a DualDisc, which features the album on one side and a bonus DVD on the other side.

The DVD side of the DualDisc features a brand new 40-minute documentary titled "Ethereal Reflections" with key early band members, including long-standing core duo Lee Dorrian and Garry Jennings, plus an interview with famed cover artist Dave Patchett. - more on this story

More on Cathedral - Cathedral" >Cathedral CDs

Asia Featuring Long Past Their Heyday Replacement Vocalist Going On tour

PR reports: Classic AOR band Asia Featuring John Payne is scheduled to appear at festivals and venues around the USA this summer beginning July 5th at the American Music Festival in Riverfront Park, Harrisburg, PA.

ASIA Featuring John Payne will perform many of Asia's hit songs plus new material from their upcoming release "Military Man".

John Payne became the frontman of the supergroup ASIA in 1992 at the invitation of keyboardist Geoff Downes, replacing vocalist/bassist John Wetton. ASIA extensively toured the world for the next 14 years performing new classics and old favorites. With John Payne fronting the band, ASIA released 8 stunning studio albums and several live recordings. In 2006, Geoff Downes left the band to reform the 1982 line up for their 25th anniversary. On the 9th of May 2006, John Payne, Geoff Downes, John Wetton, Carl Palmer and Steve Howe contractually agreed that John Payne would continue his 14 year legacy with ASIA as "ASIA Featuring John Payne". ASIA Featuring John Payne have commenced touring in North America and a new studio album is planned for release in late 2009. - more on this story

More on Asia - Asia" >Asia CDs

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros North American Tour

PR reports: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros announce North American tour dates in support of their debut album Up From Below, to be released by Community Music and Fairfax Recordings on July 14.

The first date is in the band's hometown of Los Angeles on July 23 and dates announced go through the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco on October 18.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros recently played live in the studio at KCRW for its show Morning Become Eclectic and has been featured twice in the LA Times- once in the paper's "Calendar" and most recently in its "Sunday Magazine." - more on this story

More on Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Edward+Sharpe+&+The+Magnetic+Zeros" >Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros CDs

. Queensryche - American Soldier

In the hands of another band, or any country artist, a project like this could be schmaltzy or blandly sentimental. Queensryche strikes the right balance by allowing the story to tell itself, over the top of swirling guitars. (3.5 stars) - Read the full Queensryche - American Soldier review

.... Rob Thomas Photos

- Check out Rob's Photo Blog of this show

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