Nuclear Blast has stated that on the 23rd of March 2013, female fronted symphonic metal band EPICA is celebrating their 10th anniversary with a special performance entitled Retrospect. Joining them on stage will be the 70-piece Extended Remenyi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre.

This together with special effects and unexpected guests will make this the band’s most ambitious project ever.

As we approach the eleventh year anniversary of one of America's greatest tragedies, all of us should look back with great respect, to honor those who lost and gave their lives on September 11, 2001.

Hopefully you will be able to pay tribute to those heroes who died for what they believe in and pledge to "Never Forget."

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

text via Wikipedi

This weekend we all here is the US celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer but there is a much more important reason for the holiday. Memorial Day. May 28, 2012. The day we honor those that have given the ultimate sacrifice defending their country.

With this in mind, take a few minutes to honor those in YOUR country that have died in service protecting your borders.

Some friends were on a skype call and decided to call AOL tech support.. this is that call in it's entirety. Listen to it, you'll understand.

Players: Draelen, TSS_Killer, PPN, Winter.

Actual call made by Draelen.

This week’s Media Create software chart sees five new entries in the top ten, led by Kid Icarus: Uprising on the 3DS. It’s been 21 years since the last Kid Icarus title appeared on the Game Boy so it’s wonderful to see the series being reintroduced with a quality title like Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter comes in at number two on the chart. The latest portable Yakuza titles appears to retain many of the same elements from the original PSP game, including graphic novel style cut-scenes and the usual assortment of hostesses to romance.

Further down the list we see the Devil May Cry HD Collection and Ninja Gaiden 3 in fourth and fifth position respectively. I’m sure NinjaGaiden 3 would have sold a lot more copies if it had been better reviewed as Ninja Gaiden games traditionally perform well in Japan.

01./00. [3DS] Kid Icarus: Uprising <ACT> (Nintendo) {2012.03.22} (¥5.800) - 132.526 / NEW <77,49%>
02./00. [PSP] Black Panther 2: Yakuza Ashura Chapter <ADV> (Sega) {2012.03.22} (¥6.279) - 104.937 / NEW <58,60%>
03./01. [NDS] Pokemon + Nobunaga's Ambition <SLG> (Pokemon Co.) {2012.03.17} (¥5.800) - 65.046 / 237.073 (-62%)
04./00. [PS3] Devil May Cry HD Collection <ACT> (Capcom) {2012.03.22} (¥4.990) - 43.791 / NEW
05./00. [PS3] Ninja Gaiden 3 # <ACT> (Koei Tecmo) {2012.03.22} (¥8.190) - 29.797 / NEW
06./00. [PS3] Attouteki Yuugi: Mugen Souls # <RPG> (Compile Heart) {2012.03.22} (¥7.329) - 23.004 / NEW
07./09. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3G # <ACT> (Capcom) {2011.12.10} (¥5.800) - 22.402 / 1.337.122 (+32%)
08./08. [3DS] Mario Kart 7 <RCE> (Nintendo) {2011.12.01} (¥4.800) - 20.890 / 1.601.979 (+22%)
09./11. [3DS] Super Mario 3D Land # <ACT> (Nintendo) {2011.11.03} (¥4.800) - 20.305 / 1.439.760 (+29%)
10./02. [PSP] Shining Blade <RPG> (Sega) {2012.03.15} (¥6.279) - 19.032 / 141.289 (-84%)

Pokemon Company's crossover of Pokemon and Tecmo Koei's Nobunaga's Ambition series topped the charts in its first week of sales. Its 172,000 units was enough to beat Shining Blade, the latest PSP entry in Sega's Shining series, which sold 122,000 units in its first week, and the PSP conversion of the popular Madoka Magika franchise, which sold 62,000.

Other debuts this week include the PSP version of Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side Premium 3rd Story (originally released on DS), 3DS escape game If I Were in a Sealed Room with a Girl I'd Probably XXX, horse racing game Winning Post 7 2012, and visual novel/adventure game Amnesia Later.

Nippon Ichi's PS3 RPG Legasista saw a low debut with under 10,000 units sold. The PS3 version of Mass Effect 3 narrowly made it into the top 20 with 8,124 units sold.

Here's the full top 20 Media Create sales chart covering March 12 through March 18. Life to date sales are in parentheses.

Hey guys, in case you haven’t realized it from the last few years, March is Metal Month.

For four years now, the guys at EMI Label Services and Caroline Distribution have been celebrating the releases on the labels they distribute, which include Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Candlelight, Earache, Elm City, Season of Mist, Prospect Park and more. The real meat of what this is about is working with independent record stores to help support metal.

The campaign encourages consumers to connect with their independent music retailers to access goodies such as a special CD sampler (get the March is Metal Month - 2012 Sampler), a limited edition T-shirt designed by artist Rich Hall, exclusive prizes and more.

March is Metal Month continues the tradition of working with the best rock labels to showcase top tracks from their roster of talent. This year's sampler includes the tracks 'Undaunted' from Adrenaline Mob's upcoming album 'Omerta'; Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah's 'The Demon's Name is Silence' and Five Finger Death Punch have added their previously digital-only release 'The Tragic Truth'. Fans of Southern hardcore metal band Corrosion Of Conformity are in for a treat with their track 'The Money Changers' also included - their first release in 25 years.

A rash of new entries has dominated the Japanese top twenty this week, with the top six titles all newly released.

Once again, the PSP takes top spot with Namco Bandai's Tales of the Heroes Twin Brave, selling over 85,000 units to pip the newest Harvest Moon title, a 3DS exclusive, to the top of the chart.

Namco Bandai took third and fourth too, with a new PS3 Naruto title and I Have Few Friends Portable for PSP. Capcom's Asura's Wrath managed fifth, whilst Namco bracketed the new releases at the top of the chart with another PSP title, Nendoroid Generation, in sixth.

Hardware positions remained unchanged except for the 360 overtaking the PS2 after last week's resurgence for the ageing platform. 3DS is still the clear market leader for the territory, selling nearly three times as many units as nearest rival the PS3.

All figures are courtesy of Media Create, via Andriasang.

Japanese software chart February 20 - 26, 2012. Figures in brackets are lifetime sales

This week’s Media Create software chart has a wide variety of genres represented in the top ten. Konami’s dating sim New Love Plus was released on Valentine’s Day and proved to be the biggest hit of the week - landing in first place with 104 969 units sold.

Sega’s futuristic squad-based shooter Binary Domain was the week’s next best-performing title with 73 683 units sold. The game is developed by the newly formed Yakuza Studio led by industry veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi.