A long queue is snaking its way outside the venue well before the doors open for this latest visit to the UK by Dutch symphonic rockers Delain, touring in support of soon to be released third album We Are The Others. SoT's Dean Pedley reports from Birmingham where the headliners are in irrisistible form.

When you get an invitation to interview one of the most talented guitarists in Metal you rarely turn down the opportunity and without a doubt Firewind/Ozzy Osborne axe man Gus G fits the bill perfectly. So SoT's Mark Davies sauntered down to the U.K's capital, London, to speak all things six string, Firewind and Ozzy with the fret ripping Gus G!

After playing what was a much acclaimed set at last summer's High Voltage Festival in London, Michael Schenker returns to the UK for a handful of shows in support of rock solid latest album Temple of Rock. SoT staff writer Dean Pedley is on hand to witness the opening night in Wolverhampton as Schenker and his band delivers a career spanning set that takes in the very best of UFO, Scorpions and MSG.

When the news came out about this show, heavy metal fans rejoiced. This is the kind of lineup we can only dream about, especially since all these bands are outstanding live. When I found out this show wasn't coming to Utah, I was disappointed, but I quickly made a call to my in-laws who live in Denver and made plans for a family road trip and visit. I had a few days off from work that week and couldn't think of anything better than seeing three amazing bands together on one night.

Paradise Lost's Tragic Idol tour rolls into town the week of the album release and what a great support bill they have in tow. Like the recent UK weather a cloud has descended upon Nottingham and Paradise Lost have brought the cloak of gloom to block out all light penetration.

Michael Stanley was born and raised in my hometown, the home of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio. He is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and since 1990, the afternoon drive disc jockey for radio station WNCX in Cleveland. Stanley graduated from Rocky River High School in 1966…(me a little further South, and a decade and a couple of years later in life, in that place everyone used to call AMRAP). He made his name along with his band, playing heartland rock throughout the American Midwest of the 1970s and 1980s. Many even call him the "Bruce Springsteen" of the Cleveland area.

Cry for Eden is a female fronted progressive rock band hailing from Portland, Oregon, and are comprised of Lisa Mann, on vocals & bass; Larry London, on drums; Don Graham, on guitars and James Borst, on piano, keyboards, and orchestration. On their latest CD The 11th Hour the band was augmented by Teri Untalan on violin & viola, and Samantha Kushnic on cello. The album was mixed and mastered by engineer Kevin Hahn of Opal Studio in Portland. For someone who has been waiting for a cool female – vocal led heavy progressive band, this is just the ticket to some future live shows. But their debut album is worth the price of admission for anyone that loves well written and performed music. SoT's Mark Johnson was lucky enough to catch up with James Borst and found him willing to talk about the band's debut album The 11th Hour.

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of 10cc, Graham Gouldman led the current incarnation through more than two hours of hits at Birmingham's elegant Symphony Hall. The show encompassed Gouldman's career from before 10cc when, as a much in demand song writer, he provided well known chart-toppers for the likes of The Yardbirds, The Hollies and Herman's Hermits and moved through 10cc's hit laden heyday of the 1970's and beyond. SoT staff writer Dean Pedley reports from the near sold out venue.

In a run up to the annual festival season I'll be featuring some handpicked Metal/Rock festivals that grace the U.K & Europe which all true metal fans should make a pilgrimage to at least once.

This time I've chosen one of my favorite festivals and was a best kept secret until a couple of years ago, HELLFEST, set in the picturesque town of Clisson, in France.

Upwards, Teodasia's debut album, was available in stores globally March, 30, 2012. Priscilla Fiazza's vocals are uniquely full of Italian soprano power and she adds a cute falsetto sound that separates her from many other female singers in the genre. This Venetian band does however follow in the musical tradition of many of their heroes from Northearn Europe and Italy, (Nightwish, Epica, ReVamp and Elvenking, Rhapsody of Fire). Teodasia's music is as their press release describes "an epic journey of sound". The mood of the debut album, as described in their press release, "varies from light to dark, from symphonic and melodic to heavy, intensley dynamic, powerful. Priscilla's voice guides the listener through a path of Light; it's a pilgrimage of the soul that leads upwards, to a state of a mystical rise — which is embodied in the progression of sound throughout the album".

Henta is an excellent female singer/songwriter from the Pacific Northwest. She is originally from Rudgwick, West Sussex in England, so she brings with her not only a world of travels and experiences, but an eclectic sound, incorporating folk, jazzy electronic, pop, and straight ahead rock. I was lucky enough to be asked to review her latest album, Butterfly Song, reviewed here earlier. I decided to catch up with her through e-mail and ask her some questions about her latest release…

Latest album Koloss is quite simply colossal, its track after track of down-tuned, mathematical, rhythmic rumblings and you have to love it. Sadly I missed both support bands as I was running so late time got the better of me, however I made it for the main attraction and I'm so glad I did.

There are few bands that truly depict the spirit and feel of what metal music means to people, but now and again a band emerges from the ashes like a rising phoenix with live performances so intense people drive hundreds of miles to see them. Lifer from South Wales are one such band, take five unassuming humble guys, put them on stage and wait for all hell to break loose!

For nearly two decades Arjen Anthony Lucassen has carved one of the most influential and innovative catalogues in Progressive Rock and Metal. Whether through the hugely popular mixture of Rock and Prog that landed as Ayreon, or with the heavier, more Metallic Star One, Arjen has consistently surprised, enthralled and captivated with the breadth and variety of his music. Back in 1994 Arjen released an unheralded and, truth be told, rather forgotten solo album Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy under the name Anthony and while he has often hinted at "going it alone" again, it has taken him an amazing eighteen years to come up with his second full, solo effort, Lost In The New Real. With Arjen handling all of the vocals, a futuristic concept and the long renowned actor Rutger Hauer narrating the album, Arjen has once again come up with an intricate and complex collection of songs, but also one that shows a different, less Progressive side to his music. Sea Of Tranquility's Steven Reid steps into the New Real to find out more...

Now three releases into their career, it's pretty evident that New Jersey's thrash/power/progressive metal act Dark Empire are a band that want to be taken seriously. With a new CD From Refuge to Ruin out on Nightmare Records, and a hot new line-up, the band are ready to show the metal world what they are made of. Sea of Tranquility Publisher Pete Pardo caught up with founding guitarist Matt Moliti to talk about the bands history, the recent personnel changes, live plans, and of course the brand new album.

Australia isn't a country where you normally expect to hear anything relating to progressive metal, but from the 'land down under' comes this exciting band called Hemina, whose debut full-length CD Synthetic is one of the most exciting releases to come along in the genre in quite some time. Sea of Tranquility Publisher Pete Pardo recently caught up with vocalist/guitarist Doug Skene to talk about the band and their brand new opus, Synthetic.