Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest recalled that 2009 marks the band's 40th year of activity and that the band plans to do something special to celebrate the event. Interviewed by the 'Sunday Mercury' in the British Midlands, Tipton revealed that unfortunately the latest album 'Nostradamus' will never be performed at one of Priest's best-loved and most prestigious venues in the world: New York's Madison Square Garden. The rocker said that an unfortunate incident, which occurred in 1984 at one of the band's concerts at Madison, resulted in the band being banned for life. 'Madison Square Garden banned us for life,' Tipton said. "At that concert the audience went nuts and destroyed all the seats. It cost more than $250,000 to replace them. One day Ken and I went back to Madison; we wanted to see a tennis match with John McEnroe and were forced to disguise ourselves. That's right, we had to go incognito, hood pulled over our heads so we wouldn't be recognised. Instead, at one point the security people came and said, 'Hey guys, thanks for the new seats'".
Dave Mustaine stated that its Megadeth have nine songs ready for the new album. In addition, the band has sixteen ideas, in various states of completion, for as many new songs. The band, founded in Los Angeles in 1983, has not yet set any official release date for the successor to 'United abominations', although some sources report that its arrival seems possible next April. 'United abominations', released in May 2007, entered the US Top 10.
Listeners of the 'Metal on metal' programme, which airs on the frequencies of US radio station WJCU, preferred the latest album by the Testament to Metallica's celebrated 'Death Magnetic'. The radio poll from Cleveland, Ohio, has been held since 1984. This year, more than nine hundred listeners took part in the list of the best records of 2008. The host of the programme, Bill Peters, said: "We have very attentive and loyal listeners. It's a ranking put together by real heavy-metal fans, not by critics, not by label people, DJs or record industry people. The fans have assembled another great year-end chart'. The station broadcasts locally on 88.7 FM and streams on wjcu.org. These are the top ten of the 'Metal on metal Top 25':
1 Testament, 'The formation of damnation'.
2 Metallica, 'Death magnetic
3 Motorhead, 'Motorizer'
4 Amon Amarth, 'Twilight of the thunder god'.
5 Judas Priest, 'Nostradamus'.
6 Death Angel, 'Killing season
7 Firewind, 'Premonition'.
8 Opeth, 'Watershed'
9 Children Of Bodom, 'Blooddrunk'.
10 AC/DC, 'Black ice'
JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH and TESTAMENT set Milan ablaze, in the only Italian date of the Priest Feast, TUESDAY 10 MARCH at the Palasharp.
Bigllietti on sale from Monday 13 October
Concert starts at 6 p.m.
