With over ten years playing in one of the best British rock bands ever, guitarist Doug Aldrich has cemented his place as one of the greats. With fellow American and guitar partner Reb Beach, only band leader David Coverdale has spent more time in the Whitesnake camp. And this snake continues to slither.

With the imminent release of the CD/DVD Made In Japan, recorded in 2011 at the Saitama Super Arena, came the news that iconic drummer Tommy Aldridge would be returning to the drumseat.

The band is gearing up for another busy year of touring and is due to hit UK shores in May on a dream bill with Journey and Thunder. Aldrich was on hand to give us the lowdown.

Geeks of Doom: Are you excited to have Tommy [Aldridge] back in the band?

Doug Aldrich: Absolutely. Tommy is a legend and a part of Whitesnake history. He’s one of the greats on drums. We have been in WS together and I love working with him. We are all very excited.

Currently hard at work on album number four, British thrash metal band Evile are hoping the follow-up to the stunning Five Serpent’s Teeth will see them fully establish themselves and join the genre’s greats. Frontman Matt Drake is confident his band can deliver the goods.

It’s already been a long journey for the Yorkshiremen having started out as Metal Militia, a metal covers band, before breaking out on their own. Working with a superstar producer kick-started a run of three great thrash albums in Enter The Grave, Infected Nations, and Five Serpent’s Teeth, while the death of a bandmate continues to spur them on.

Geeks of Doom: How’s the new album coming?

Matt Drake: Very good so far … like we’ve always done, we’ve gone Grave, Nations was different to Grave, Serpent’s is different to them two … I’m thinking a bit more ballsy, more to the point, but without losing the melody that we can do and the harmonies we’ve done.

Geeks of Doom: There was a bit of a fuss made about “In Memoriam” [from the Five Serpent’s Teeth album, “˜inspired’ by the death of original bass player Mike Alexander].

Star of the original The A-Team and Battlestar Galactica, actor Dirk Benedict has been a household name for over 30 years.

His latest project features tales of skirt-chasing, cigar-chomping, joke-telling, and time-travelling in his very own comic book, Dirk Benedict in the 25th Century.

Never shy or short of strong opinions, Benedict spoke through a haze of his trademark cigar smoke as we discussed his life, his comic, and how The A-Team killed his career…

Geeks of Doom: Whose idea was it to send you into the 25th Century?

Dirk Benedict: Darren [Davis, Bluewater Comics President], not mine! When they approached me I didn’t get it. They explained they had done one with Adam West and a couple other people, but I said I would do it if I had a little bit of input and he said, “˜Sure’. So I’ve been co-writing them with Scott [S. Phillips].

Geeks of Doom: I read that you and Scott have been trading emails on dialogue he said you made some really good contributions and had him laughing out loud – have you tried to bring more humor to it?

This year, progressive heavy metal band Voivod celebrate their 30th anniversary. Over the last three decades the “specialized” Canadian outfit has been through just about everything a band going this long can: many line-up changes, serious car crashes, and the death of the band’s musical figurehead.

In a fitting tribute to the band’s extraordinary career, this week they will release their thirteenth studio album, the superb Target Earth. Drummer and ever-present Voivod member Michel “˜Away’ Langevin stopped to talk with Geeks of Doom about the band’s fascinating career, the new album, touring, and dealing with Denis “˜Piggy’ D’Amour’s death, as well as working on a documentary on the band with filmmaker Sam Dunn (Iron Maiden: Flight 666, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage).

Geeks of Doom: Target Earth: Are you happy with how the album sounds?

Michel “˜Away’ Langevin: Oh yeah, definitely, we worked very hard on it for the past two years or more. I’m also very happy with what Sanford Parker did in terms of mixing the album, it really brought the psychedelic metal side of us to the forefront. I’m very happy. Actually, finally, for the first time in many years circumstances were right and we were able to make it epic like we really wanted to do it.

Geeks of Doom: Yeah, it does have that epic feel, which is certainly different to the first Voivod album.

British musician and actor Wilko Johnson has announced four UK dates on his final farewell tour.

It was announced last week on Wilko Johnson’s official facebook page to a shocked audience that Johnson had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was refusing any treatment.

See below for the full message from Facebook, as well as tour dates and information on ticket sales.