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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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Gong 40th Anniversary Tour

Noble reports: To celebrate their 40th Anniversary of live touring, GONG, the progressive/psychedelic rock band originally founded in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen will join forces with guitarist Steve Hillage and other core members from the original line-up for a rare UK tour in November 2009.

The UK tour will celebrate the first time Gong have toured the UK since 2000. Dates as follows: Bristol O2 Academy (Nov 19), Exeter Lemon Tree (Nov 20), Manchester Academy 2 (Nov 21), Edinburgh Picturehouse (Nov 22), Sheffield Leadmill (Nov 23), Leamington Spa Assembly (Nov 25), Cambridge Corn Exchange (Nov 26), London HMV Forum (Nov 27), Oxford Regal Theatre (Nov 28) and Brighton Corn Exchange (Nov 29).

Gong's music has been described as space rock. The highly anticipated forthcoming tour will reunite founding member Daevid Allen with former Gong members Steve Hillage, Gilli Smyth, Mike Howlett, Miquette Giraudy, Chris Taylor, Theo Travis and John McKenzie. - more on this story

More on Gong - Gong" >Gong CDs -

Ashbury Set EP Release

PR reports: With two studio albums under their belt ["City Lights" EP (2005) and "Complacency" LP (2006)], Las Vegas-based rock band Ashbury is set to release their highly-anticipated new EP "Let's Make A Scene" on March 31, 2009 following their show at the Texas Rockfest at SXSW in Austin, TX on March 20 @ 9:00 PM.

Of the new EP, Ashbury shares, "We are a rock band that writes pop music, we have big choruses and vocals, and we play music that kids can identify with. A lot of it is upbeat and fun, but on the other side of the coin it is something that adults and parents can connect with too. We're confident this album has what it takes to catapult us into the music industry fast lane."

Recorded at Millbrook Sound Studio (NY) with producer Lou Giordano (Goo Goo Dolls, Jewel, Plain White T's, Live, The Ataris) and engineer Paul Orofino, the EP showcases the bands energetic, addictive and catchy tunes, while also showing the sophistication of the songwriting and passion of the musicians behind this band. - more on this story

More on Ashbury - Ashbury" >Ashbury CDs -

Loren Battle Dates

PR reports: Phoenix based Loren Battle have announced more dates in support of their recently released debut album "Word Begin Wars". The band has been added to dates with Haste the Day, Antagonist and Oh Sleeper and will continue to tour throughout 2009.

Loren Battle is currently in the studio with producer Curtis Douglas (The Maine, Brighten) to record tracks for their upcoming new album. The band is currently shopping a demo to interested labels and is expected to release a full-length in late 2009. [kind of contradicts the first paragraph but this is what we were sent] - more on this story

More on Loren Battle - Loren+Battle" >Loren Battle CDs -

HalfDown Thomas Rush Back Into The Studio

PR reports: HalfDown Thomas released their album, "Beautifully Strange," on February 17th, but already the band has been back in Rivergate Studios with 3 Doors Down's Chris Henderson as producer.

The band has two new songs they are recording and tracking, and they are also planning to record a cover of Blackfoot's "Train Train," which will be released at some point in the future.

HalfDown Thomas has shared the stage with acts as diverse and influential as Kings of Leon, OutKast, Evanescence, and Fuel, just to name a few. Somewhere between Pearl Jam and Nickleback, between Stone Temple Pilots and Breaking Benjamin, is where you'll find HalfDown Thomas' sound. - more on this story

More on HalfDown Thomas - HalfDown+Thomas" >HalfDown Thomas CDs -

London's Sons of Albion Set for US Debut

PR reports: London-based rock act Sons of Albion are about to make their stateside debut. Although barely 18 months old as a band, they've already played their brand of fiery hard rock at some of The UK's biggest festivals, like T in the Park and Virgin's V Festival, as well as opening for acts like Velvet Revolver, Lenny Kravitz, and The Who.

Mixing a modern hard rock sound that's draw comparison to bands like Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Rage Against The Machine -- delivered with an attitude Esquire dubs "old school swagger" -- Sons Of Albion make songs that quiver with energy and explode with a wall of wailing guitars and thundering drums.

Poised to make their first-ever U.S. trip, the band will perform multiple shows in Austin during South By Southwest, including their official showcase as Latitude on Saturday March 21st at 1am (part of the official British Embassy Showcase), with additional confirmations expected in the coming weeks. Immediately following, the band will make their New York debut, for a series of intimate club shows spanning nearly an entire week. A full itinerary will be announced shortly. - more on this story

More on Sons of Albion - Sons+of+Albion" >Sons of Albion CDs -

Valient Thorr Hitting The Road

PR reports: Valient Thorr, have announced new tour dates in March, including appearances at SXSW in Austin, TX.

Valient Thorr, who have been laying low in an undisclosed location in North Carolina since returning from Hawaii at the end of 2008 where the band played some epic dive bars and front porches as well as learning to surf.

They emerged briefly in January to perform as Funkadelic for 'Raleigh Undercover', an event that revived a former annual Raleigh, NC tradition called 'The Great Cover-Up' that began almost a decade ago at Kings Barcade (r.i.p.), where local bands would work on tribute-act sets in secret that would not be revealed until the band hit the stage. - more on this story

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Leaf First Kill Tour

PR reports: Houston-based band Leaf are currently touring throughout their native Texas in support of their new EP, First Kill, released independently on March 3.

The energetic and talented quartet, consisting of vocalist Jason Thumann, bassist Chris Kubecka, guitarist Mike Sutphen, and drummer Coffee, plays aggressive, catchy rock. With production from Mike Major (At The Drive-In, Sparta, Coheed and Cambria), together with the mastering skills of Alan Yoshida (Maroon 5, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney), First Kill hits the ground running.

The driving pulse of songs like, "Who is it?" and the pounding rhythms and defiant vocals of "Bear Tracks" and "1138", fuse together punk rock, sludge, industrial and melodic rock into an ominous, crunchy guitar sound that will help with that movement, urging the listener to Listen Escape And Fantasize (LEAF). - Grab dates and a preview here

More on Leaf - Leaf" >Leaf CDs -

Wicked Cool Support for The Soundtrack of Our Lives in New York

PR reports: Wicked Cool recording artists The Urges and The Cocktail Slippers will perform with power pop psychedelicists The Soundtrack of Our Lives on two of the band's New York area dates.

Irish rockers The Urges will perform tracks from their latest CD Psych Ward on March 11 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Showtime is 9pm. The Hartford Courant describes the band as "straight-up snotty '60s-style psych-punk played with a lot of youthful energy & enthusiasm. The Urges have given good old garage rock a kick in the butt, and the genre is better for it."

The Cocktail Slippers, Norway's premiere all-girl rock band, will perform in concert for the first time in New York at the Bowery Ballroom on March 12. Showtime is 9pm. The band will preview songs from their upcoming release St. Valentine's Day Massacre in stores April 14th. The disc features two tracks written and produced by Little Steven Van Zandt. - more on this story

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. Headhunter - Parasite of Society

Parasite is not the sound of a genre on its last legs but rather an undiscovered gem that never faded away. Though I for one enjoy the majority of the bands from today's "thrash revival," those craving a more old-fashioned take on the genre should look here first. - Read the full Headhunter - Parasite of Society review

. Those Who Bring the Torture - Tank Gasmask Ammo

Tank Gasmask Ammo is an album which reaffirms the powerful violence of death metal and grind. Over the course of its thirty nine minutes, Ammo flies through 13 slamming anthems about violence, war, drinking, sex, and more violence. - Read the full Those Who Bring the Torture - Tank Gasmask Ammo review

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