OPETH and MASTODON took part in a rare joint in-store signing session on Record Store Day — Saturday, April 21 — at Disc Go Round in Corpus Christi, Texas. After signing autographs between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., the bands proceeded to shop for records, to the delight of their fans.

Photos from the signing can be found at this location.

A 14-minute video recap of the event is available below.

MASTODON released a split seven-inch single with Canadian singer-songwriter Feist to celebrate Record Store Day on April 21. This very exclusive and highly anticipated pressing features MASTODON covering the Feist song "A Commotion", while Feist covers MASTODON's "Black Tongue".

About Record Store Day: Record Store Day is managed by the Music Monitor Network and is organized in partnership with the Alliance Of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition Of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and celebrates the culture of independent record stores by playing host to in-store events/performances, signings and special product releases on a global scale.

Record Store Day takes place annually on the third Saturday of April.

Joe Satriani (CHICKENFOOT), John Petrucci (DREAM THEATER) and Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE) will join forces for the South American edition of the G3 tour in October.

Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Oct. 11- Citibank Hall - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Oct. 12 - Credicard Hall - Sao Paulo, Brazil

More shows will be announced soon.

G3 is a concert tour organized by Satriani, featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1996, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Vai (Satriani's former student), Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp, Paul Gilbert, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Adrian Legg and many other special guests, including Tony MacAlpine, Johnny Hiland, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Keith More, Chris Duarte, Andy Timmons, Neal Schon, Gary Hoey, Brian May, Billy Gibbons, Johnny A, George Lynch, Patrick Rondat, Herman Li, Alejandro Silva and Eric Sardinas.

"Take Hold Of The Night", the new video from Raleigh, North Carolina traditional metallers WIDOW, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Blake Faucette and Justin Ryche and was filmed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

"Take Hold Of The Night" comes off WIDOW's fourth album, "Life's Blood", which was released on November 11, 2011 via Pure Steel Records.

On the twelve tracks you get a great mixture of fresh heaviness and enthralling melodies. The inclined listener will hear more than a more of the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) along with influences from some well-known North American bands, but never forgetting the band's European-metal origins. The material ranges from the sublime mid-tempo tracks ("Embrace It" and "Behind The Light") to the faster twin-guitar-orgies such as "Take Hold Of The Night", "The Burning Ones" and the closing song, "The One I Know". The production is powerful yet traditional, so you can expect a bold sound, without faceless sterile production.

"Life's Blood" track listing:

01. Lady Twilight
02. In Dreams
03. Take Hold Of The Night
04. Another Fallen Angel
05. Embrace It
06. Behind The Light
07. The Burning Ones
08. Live Beyond
09. Judgment Day
10. I Scream For Ice Queen
11. Remembering
12. The One I Know

Founded in 2000 in North Carolina, WIDOW previously released three full-length albums: "Midnight Strikes" (2003), "On Fire" (2005) and "Nightlife" (2007).

WIDOW is:

Drums: Peter Lemieux
Vocals/Bass: John E. Wooten
Guitar: Chris Bennett

"Last Parade", the title track of the debut album from CALL ME NO ONE — the new project featuring SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist Clint Lowery — can be streamed using the Soundcloud player below.

"Last Parade" will arrive on June 5. The CD's first single, "Biggest Fan", will be available to purchase on iTunes on April 24.

"Last Parade" track listing:

01. The World Is Dead
02. Thunderbird
03. Soapbox
04. Hillbilly
05. Alls Well
06. Biggest Fan
07. Please To Meet You
08. Broken Record
09. War Song
10. Last Parade

The record will also include two bonus tracks.

Rose told The Pulse Of Radio that CALL ME NO ONE has turned into something bigger than he and Lowery first envisioned. "This isn't really a side project. This is another band," he said. "I mean, other people have done it, but I guess that the closest thing we could compare it to is like STONE SOUR to SLIPKNOT, you know. I mean, we're gonna go ahead and do this, then when this runs its course, it should be right on time for SEVENDUST to get back and rolling."

Lowery recently described the sound of CALL ME NO ONE as "kind of NINE INCH NAILS meets FOO FIGHTERS."

SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly and bassist Vince Hornsby also recently launched a new project, joining forces with CREED/ALTER BRIDGE drummer Scott Phillips in a new outfit called PROJECTED.

PROJECTED has already entered the studio to begin recording its debut disc, to be made available later in the year.

SEVENDUST itself will begin writing its ninth studio effort this summer, with plans for an early 2013 release. SEVENDUST issued its most recent outing, "Cold Day Memory", in April 2010.

"Last Parade" (song) audio stream:



"Biggest Fan" audio stream:

JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the Florida-based band led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, is preparing to hit the road in June to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of heavy metal's most iconic records, "Hall Of The Mountain King" by SAVATAGE, where Oliva himself was the singer and main songwriter from 1982 to 2002. The band will perform the entire album as a special one-time-only treat for the still massive amount of loyal fans, along with songs from the DOCTOR BUTCHER album (by Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery, released in 1995), SAVATAGE and JON OLIVA'S PAIN. The tour will begin with a U.S. warm-up show on June 16 in Tampa, Florida, and then on to Europe for 13 shows plus a visit to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN's lineup for the tour will be as follows:

Jon Oliva (piano, keyboards and vocals)
Jerry Outlaw (guitar)
Joe Diaz (guitar)
Jason Jennings (bass)
Christopher Kinder (drums)

Tour dates:

Jun. 16 - Tampa, Ritz Ybor (USA)
Jun. 23 - Bonn, Brückenforum (Germany)
Jun. 24 - Dessel, Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium)
Jun. 26 - Dubai, Club Sensation (United Arab Emirates)
Jun. 29 - Essen, Turock (Germany)
Jun. 30 - Dokkum, Dokk'em Open Air (Netherlands)
Jul. 03 - Aschaffenburg, Colos-Saal (Germany)
Jul. 04 - Zoetermeer, Boerderij (Netherlands)
Jul. 05 - Vosselaar, Biebob (Belgium)
Jul. 07 - Haugesund, Byscenen (Norway)
Jul. 09 - Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7 (Switzerland)
Jul. 10 - Trezzo Sull'Adda, Live Club (Italy)
Jul. 12 - Balingen, Bang Your Head!!! (Germany)
Jul. 13 - Tilburg, 013 (Netherlands)
Jul. 15 - London, The Garage (United Kingdom)

Jon Oliva comments: "With the passing of our dear friend and guitarist Matt LaPorte just a year ago, it is time to get the machine back up and running. I miss performing live, and the timing of the 25th anniversary of 'Hall Of The Mountain King' makes this the perfect opportunity. We will perform what I consider one of the best and most important records of SAVATAGE's career, and this is of course another chance I get to honor my brother Criss [late SAVATAGE guitarist], one of the greatest guitar players ever. I am still going through old tapes and recordings, and can't believe what a talent he was and how he continues to inspire me. I hope you can attend this special show, we will be leaving it all on stage every night with you, the legions, by our sides. See you soon and much love to all!"

Christopher Kinder comments: "This is a celebration of the life and music that we feel is worthy of this tour. 'Hall Of The Mountain King' is a staple to many heavy metal fans around the globe, and it certainly deserves a party. The band has been in rehearsal mode for quite some time now, and really sounds fantastic. A few more weeks and we will all be on auto-pilot. It's going to be EPIC! This opportunity — and there will only be these 15 shows — comes along once in a lifetime, and we have prepared a very special night for all who attend."

"Hall Of The Mountain King" was the first SAVATAGE album to be produced by Paul O'Neill and it showed the beginning of the band's progressive tendencies as they explored new forms of expression in their music. Many fans consider this LP a turning point in SAVATAGE's musical identity. As the group's first concept effort, it had a constant tone and was more complex than their previous albums, with two entirely instrumental tracks that go beyond simple guitar riffs and solos, namely "Prelude To Madness" and "Last Dawn".

MESHUGGAH drummer, lyricist, and vertigo-inducer Tomas Haake is featured on the cover of Drum! magazine's May 2012 issue (#191), available at newsstands now. Assistant editor Andrew Lentz attanded the January listening party for the band's new album in Fullerton, California, braved the noise level at January's NAMM convention in Anaheim, California to interview Haake, and then returned home to Northern California haggard and sleepless to face a deadline and piece the eight-page feature together.

"When you ride metal's bleeding edge," writes Lentz, "your biggest competition is yourself. In a counterintuitive move, MESHUGGAH's maestro of the mathematical beat-down, Tomas Haake found a way to upstage himself on 'Koloss' — by playing less."

The feature — with photos by world-renowned photographer Neil Zlozower — covers the making of the album and MESHUGGAH's writing process, the difference between performing live and doing drum clinics, and a sidebar with MESHUGGAH bassist Dick Lövgren.

Purchase the magazine online at this location.

MESHUGGAH's new album, "Koloss", sold 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 17 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Released in March 2008, MESHUGGAH's previous CD, "obZen", opened with 11,400 units to debut at No. 59. This was substantially more than the 7,000 first-week total achieved by its predecessor, "Catch 33", which entered the chart at No. 170 back in June 2005.

"Koloss" was released in Germany on March 23 and the rest of Europe on March 26 (March 27 in North America) as a CD digi, limited-edition Magic Cube (CD digi plus DVD exclusive to Nuclear Blast mail order) and two-LP brown vinyl via Nuclear Blast Records.

Metal Mark of SkullsNBones.com conducted an interview with guitarists Nate Garnette and Scott Hedrick of Ohio's SKELETONWITCH before the band's April 13 concert in Atlanta, Georgia. You can now watch the chat below.

"Tragedy Of Days", a rare track from SKELETONWITCH, can be streamed below. Never formally released on record in the States, the tune was recorded during the "Forever Abomination" sessions with producer Matt Hyde and appeared on the Decibel magazine flexi-disc series (October 2011 issue) as well as the Japanese edition of "Forever Abomination".

Comments SKELETONWITCH guitarist Scott Hedrick: "'Tragedy Of Days' was an epic instrumental by [guitarist] Nate [Garnette]'s former band SERKESORON. They disbanded after the untimely passing of SERKESORON's frontman Thom Wright. Shortly after the band called it quits, SKELETONWITCH was born. We re-recorded the track and Chance [Garnette] added vocals as a tribute to Thom, immortalizing him in song."

The new vinyl reissues of the SKELETONWITCH's breakthrough releases "Breathing The Fire" and "Beyond The Permafrost" are now available from the Prosthetic store. Both are available in three variants — splatter, half-and-half and 180-gram black wax — and feature gatefold Stoughton "tip-on" record jackets. The black vinyl versions of both albums were made available in select retail stores on April 10.

SKELETONWITCH is currently setting stage ablaze on tour alongside THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NILE and labelmates HOUR OF PENANCE. This marks the group's first North American tour action of 2012 in support of "Forever Abomination". The band will take a brief break before heading overseas for a stretch of European dates.

Michigan's unstoppable sons of molten melodic death metal THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER have announced the addition of bassist Max Lavelle (BURN IN SILENCE, GORATORY, DESPISED ICON) to the group's ranks.

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's latest album, "Ritual", sold 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 31 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Deflorate", opened with around 12,000 units to enter the chart at No. 43.

Released on June 21, 2011 via Metal Blade Records, "Ritual" is a collection of 12 tracks that see the band staying true to their sound and style while progressing in both writing and musicianship. Guitarist Ryan Knight has delivered truly searing leads that will without a doubt daze and lay waste the ears of both loyal BLACK DAHLIA diehards and burgeoning fans alike. Music for "Ritual" was recorded in early 2011 in Detroit, Michigan, with Mark Lewis (DEICIDE, UNEARTH) and the band producing. The vocal-recording sessions and mixing took place at Audiohammer in Sanford, Florida with Jason Suecof (BENEATH THE MASSACRE, JOB FOR A COWBOY, ALL THAT REMAINS) at the helm.

On March 27, Jason Saulnier of the MusicLegends.ca web site conducted an interview with former WHITE ZOMBIE bassist Sean Yseult about her book, "I'm In The Band - Backstage Notes From The Chick In White Zombie". You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube below.

Yseult's new band, STAR & DAGGER, recently finished mixing its new album, "Tomorrowland Blues", with Ethan Allen and Dave Catching at the helm. The CD will feature the original 2010 recordings from Hicksville Trailer Palace Studios and five new tracks that were laid down last year at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California.

Yseult in January 2011 spoke with the New York Daily News about her time with WHITE ZOMBIE and her relationship with Rob Zombie, with whom she lived for years before and during the group's career. Asked if she has any sort of relationship with Zombie today, 15 years after the band split up, Yseult revealed, "Zero. He hasn't spoken to any of us in the band since the day we broke up . . . As soon as you're not in his world, you're out of his world. He just kind of moves on. No hard feelings at all, but that's just how he is."

Zombie launched a solo career in 1998 and is also now a filmmaker. He told The Pulse Of Radio that his younger fans don't always know that he was in WHITE ZOMBIE. "I wouldn't normally think that but, like, if some kid's, like, 15, you know, WHITE ZOMBIE had broken up as a band when the kid was, like, eight or something so he doesn't remember it," he said. "So there's always confusion, like, 'Hey, was he in that band?' and 'What songs should I listen to?'"

Yseult told the News that she and Zombie first met at CBGB, then again at the school cafeteria of the Parsons Institute in New York City. She recalled, "We basically moved in together that night and were never apart for seven years."

The couple lived in Yseult's "really, really nasty apartment" on the Lower East Side with two other roommates in the days before WHITE ZOMBIE became a national touring act. She recalled a lot of punk rock musicians crashing there all the time: "There was one sink, in the bathroom, and it was colored in every color of hair dye from everybody coming over and dyeing their hair at our place."

Yseult and her husband lived in New Orleans and ran their own bar there for many years until Hurricane Katrina left them homeless. She now lives on Manhattan's Lower East Side again, and says, "It's still the Bowery but it's kinda swanky! I've never in my life lived in a building with a doorman and an elevator and it's hilarious. I mean, I'm enjoying it, but it's ironic for sure."

Guitarist Steve Brown and drummer Gus Scott of reunited good-time rock and rollers TRIXTER were interviewed by Terrie Carr for the latest edition of "Box Of Rock" on WDHA-FM 105.5 FM, the rock music station licensed to Dover and Morristown, New Jersey. You can now watch the chat below.

"Tattoos & Misery", the new single from TRIXTER, is now available on iTunes. Click here to purchase.

"Tattoos & Misery" was written by Steve Brown, P.J. Farley, Mark "Gus" Scott and Xandy Barry (THE ROLLING STONES, PUDDLE OF MUDD, BACKSTREET BOYS, MILEY CYRUS), mixed by Corey Pensa and is featured on TRIXTER's forthcoming album, "New Audio Machine", which will be released on April 24 in North America via Frontiers Records. Featuring the band's original lineup, the CD was produced by Steve Brown with extra production and engineering by Chuck Alkazian (ELTON JOHN, CHRISTINA AGUILERA, TESLA) and includes songwriting contributions by SKID ROW's Snake Sabo and Rachel Bolan and STYX's Glen Burtnik.

Commented TRIXTER frontman Pete Loran, "After all these years playing and recording with this band, I would say I am most proud of this record!" Lead guitarist Steve Brown added, "'New Audio Machine is everything TRIXTER was and everything we are now. I can't wait for the world to hear it!"

"New Audio Machine" track listing:

01. Drag Me Down
02. Get On It
03. Dirty Love
04. Machine
05. Live For The Day
06. Ride
07. Physical Attraction
08. Tattoos & Misery
09. The Coolest Thing
10. Save Your Soul
11. Walk With A Stranger
12. Heart Of Steel (bonus acoustic track)

Formed in Paramus, New Jersey in 1984, TRIXTER's self-titled debut album attained gold status (reaching #28 on The Billboard 200 in 1990), and spawned three minor hit singles: "Surrender" (#72), "One In A Million" (#75), and "Give It To Me Good" (#65). Despite the fact that none of the singles made the Top 40 or garnered much radio airplay, the videos for all three tunes were in heavy rotation on MTV (especially "Give It To Me Good", which was #1 on the channel for several weeks). A follow-up effort, "Hear", came out in 1992, but failed to reach the same commercial heights. The band recorded an album of cover songs, "Undercovers", in 1994, which garnered little commercial success, and TRIXTER broke up shortly after its release.

TRIXTER announced the reunion of its original lineup in 2007 and has since played a number of shows, including the Rocklahoma festival in 2008.

TRIXTER's current lineup features Pete Loran on lead vocals and guitar, Steve Brown on lead guitar, P.J. Farley on bass and Gus Scott on drums.

TRIXTER will take to the road beginning in May to support the new offering.

According to WPRI.com, a 10-year-old Rhode Island boy with a brain tumor recently was able to Skype with his hero, AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler.

In late January, Cole Grace was hospitalized with a brain tumor diagnosis that was soon identified as a Grade IV Glioblastoma, and has since had three brain surgeries.

While in the hospital, Cole and Steven had a long conversation and sang AEROSMITH's "Walk This Way" together.

Steven, who is one of the judges on Fox's singing competition "American Idol", also mentioned Cole during one of the show's nationally-televised episodes a few weeks ago.

Check out a WPRI video report below.

Los Angeles-based traditional metallers WHITE WIZZARD will be in the studio May 1 and May 2 to record a new song called "Torpedo Of Truth". According to the band, "It will feature beastly rhythm, thunderous melodic bass and some serious shred at a whole new level... Anybody that was whining about the lack of more shreddy leads on the 'Flying Tigers' album better get ready to get an injection of some serious shit. A 'Torpedo Of Truth' right up your ass!”

WHITE WIZZARD recently confirmed a special show in Tokyo, Japan in support of their latest album, "Flying Tigers".

WHITE WIZZARD will perform at Shibuya Club Quattro on May 12, and as a special treat for fans, the band will be joined by vocalist Wyatt Anderson, who sang on "Flying Tigers" as well as the band's first full-length album, "Over The Top"

Commented WHITE WIZZARD mainman and bassist Jon Leon: "To our fans: We have a big show coming up in Tokyo, Japan on May 12, 2012. This is to support the Japanese release of 'Flying Tigers'. Wyatt 'Screaming Demon' Anderson has agreed to do this show for our Japanese fans and we will be performing the entire 'Starman's Son' six-song epic from 'Flying Tigers', as well as many more songs from all releases. We hope to film some great footage and we are excited for the experience!"

WHITE WIZZARD released its new album, "Flying Tigers", on September 19 via Earache Records. The CD features twelve new tracks and expands on the band's traditional heavy metal blueprint, with songs ranging from fist-pumping NWOBHM-style anthems, through the arena rock power of "Starchild", to a six-track epic concept piece featuring science-fiction and philosophical elements tied together with a progressive vibe.

"Flying Tigers" features the core WHITE WIZZARD lineup of bassist, songwriter and founding member Jon Leon, drummer Giovanni Durst and studio vocalist Wyatt Anderson, who featured on the band's debut album, "Over The Top". The album was once again recorded with producer Ralph Patlan in Phoenix, Arizona.

WHITE WIZZARD recently recruited Jake Dreyer as the band's new second guitarist.

According to Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper, MOTÖRHEAD's signature wine — which made its debut in Sweden in 2010 — has sold more than 250,000 bottles since it was launched.

The Australian Shiraz has been carefully selected by the hard rock legends and has been described as a wine with a fruity aroma, flavors of vanilla, blackberries, plums, eucalyptus and liquorice, but with soft rounded tannins. Or, as Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer, bass player and founder of the band, puts it: "My advice is — approach it with caution. I mean, wine is deceptive, anything can happen."

The wine, which should be served slightly cooler than usual around 16-18 degrees, goes well with lamb or beef dishes, as well as pasta and flavoursome cheeses. The band recommends drinking it with grilled lamp chops with garlic and rosemary, while listening to anything by MOTÖRHEAD, from 1980's "Ace Of Spades" to 2010's universally acclaimed "The Wörld Is Yours" — denim and leather optional.

The initiative for Motörhead Shiraz came from Bevarages Per Minute Sweden who contacted the band with the idea. Grapes Svenska AB was commissioned to produce it.

When asked how the idea for Motörhead Shiraz came about, Lemmy said in a recent interview, "Well, the company takes care of the business end and all I have to worry about is the quality. I am not going to sell shit to people, you know. We have a wine as well, that is very good. It was really simple how I got into it. This guy came up and said, 'You know, you could make money if we make this wine.' I said, 'Okay.' I think it is a California wine or it might be Spanish, I don't know. The vodka is Swedish."

For more information, please visit www.motorheadwine.com.

On April 15, Brian Rademacher of RockEyez conducted an interview with guitarist John Ricci of Canadian thrash metal pioneers EXCITER. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

EXCITER released its new album, "Death Machine", on October 29, 2010 via Massacre Records. The effort was made available as a standard CD, a digipak and a limited-edition (500 copies) gatefold LP.

In a recent interview with Music Legends, Ricci stated about the making of the new album, "The recording sessions for "Death Machine" were a little disjointed. We recorded all the instruments at different times because of scheduling conflicts and also the fact our singer, Kenny, lives in New York City, therefore it wasn't one smooth recording session. Kenny arrived to record vocals after all the music was done and he sang the songs for the very first time without really hearing the songs previously. Nevertheless, the album turned out good. Because we were trying to meet the deadline to complete the record, I think we rushed the mixing process as well. All in all, no matter what we do or what gear we use, we always get this raw garage or 'very analog' sound."

When asked where he finds the inspiration to write music, John replied, "EXCITER's inspirations to write music comes from everyday news events, mostly of violent topics. Killings, murders, etc. We live in such a sick world, with senseless killings and unprovoked violence. The lyrics I write do not glamorize violence but condone it. Of course, some song topics include witches and Satan, but these topics are strictly fantasy. For example, if you watch a horror movie, it's not for real only make-believe. The instrumental part of EXCITER's music is always from an angry point of view. As far as I'm concerned, metal has to be played with aggression and simple power chords to get the message across to the listener. This has been the EXCITER formula for over 30 years."

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen will host today's edition of the "My Turn" radio show, which airs on the Los Angeles station KQLZ 100.3 FM, at 6:00 p.m. PST. Click hereto stream the program live via the Internet.

DEF LEPPARD will make a return to the United States this June with a massive summer tour which will include fellow rockers POISON and LITA FORD.

DEF LEPPARD's influential career includes numerous hit singles and ground-breaking multi-platinum albums — including two of the best-selling albums of all time, "Pyromania" and "Hysteria". Most recently, the band released their first live album, "Mirror Ball: Live & More" last summer, which rose to the Top 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. The album captures the group's legendary concert experience, bringing together live versions of classic LEPPARD hits such as "Rock Of Ages", "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Foolin'".

With 100 million records sold worldwide and two prestigious Diamond Awards to their credit, DEF LEPPARD — Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick "Sav" Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) — continues to be one of the most important forces in rock music. Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artists alike. The group's spectacular live shows, filled with powerful melodic rock anthems, have become synonymous with their name. For the past thirty years the band's concerts have become must-see events and have quickly made them an institution in the touring industry, as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.

Ruben Mosqueda of Oregon Music News recently conducted an interview with singer Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Oregon Music News: Your third album, "Comalies", was a breakthrough album for you in North America and brought you continued success around the world. Did you know that the album was going to be huge for you?

Cristina: No, it just happened. If you recall that by the time we did Ozzfest in 2004, "Comalies" had already been out for about two years. We had already established a following in Europe and we had done various tours with bands like OPETH. After Ozzfest, the song "Heaven's a Lie" took off and radio picked the song up; that helped a lot of people to become familiar with LACUNA COIL.

Oregon Music News: In the years since older fans feel that they've been alienated as a result of the LACUNA COIL's continued "growth" with albums like "Comalies", "Karmacode", "Shallow Life" and now with "Dark Adrenaline". What do you make of such a statement?

Cristina: People's perception is like this. They were there from the beginning so they are connected to that period of LACUNA COIL. I can't think of many bands with a long career that are currently appreciated for their last album. To be honest with you, we've never really changed — an evolution isn't a change. We never stopped using heavy guitars, we never stopped playing heavier songs, I think we might write "heavier" music now than we did in the past. I think for some reason people think that our early albums are "more metal," but if I think about a song like "No Need To Explain" — which we'll be playing tonight — that was not a heavy song. If you take a close listen you could say it was almost a pop song. I think people's perception regarding our change has something to do with our look. If you look at "Shallow Life", people didn't understand the way we were dressed — they were costumes. They were meant to make fun of the "shallow life." I was dressed up like a "pop princess" and Andrea [Ferro] was dressed up like a "hip-hop pimp." People would come up to us and say, "You guys changed your look?!" I said, "What the fuck?! You think we're really going to be dressed up like that?! Didn't you see that we even enhanced my boobs on the photos just to make fun of this fake world?!" I bet you if we would have gone with the typical black look people wouldn't have said a thing. That's frustrating because you have to go with the most obvious choice, the more bland choice, so people will get it.

Oregon Music News: "Dark Adrenaline" was pushed back on a couple of occasions. Did you go back and re-cut or record more material?

Cristina: No, what happened was that the IN FLAMES record was doing very well, I think it was number one on the German charts and that affected everybody. The label wanted to put a lot of time on promoting our new album, but they had a chance to promote a band who was currently selling very well. During all of this we took the opportunity to remix "Dark Adrenaline" so the final product was released the way that we really wanted. I think it worked out very well, we postponed it for a little bit but we ended up with the album that we really wanted.

Read the entire interview from Oregon Music News.

Peter Ruttan of MetalTitans.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Ted Aguilar of San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL. You can now watch the chat below.

DEATH ANGEL has joined forces with SEPULTURA, KRISIUN and HAVOK for a North American tour, which kicked off on April 10 at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, California.

Video footage of DEATH ANGEL's performance at in Santa Ana can be seen below (courtesy of Stephanie Cabral). Photos of the concert are available at this location (all photos by Stephanie Cabral).

DEATH ANGEL will release a DVD entitled "A Thrashumentary" in the spring. According to a press release, "A Thrashumentary" is a combination live video and documentary, all wrapped up in one thrashing DVD. The footage was directed by Tommy Jones (SOILWORK, KATAKLYSM) and mixed by Chris Clancy of The Studio. The film gives the viewer an in-depth look into one of the longest-running thrash acts out of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for turning out historic thrash bands such as METALLICA, TESTAMENT and EXODUS.

"Relentless Retribution", the latest album from DEATH ANGEL, sold 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 10 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200. The band's previous album, "Killing Season", opened with around 2,300 units back in March 2008. This number was in line with the performance of its predecessor, "The Art of Dying", which registered a first-week sales tally of around 2,100 back in May 2004.

Interview:



Performance footage (April 10 at Yost Theater in Santa Ana, California):

On April 19, Brian Rademacher of RockEyez conducted an interview with former KORN guitarist and current LOVE AND DEATH frontman Brian "Head" Welch. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

LOVE AND DEATH's new single, "Chemicals", will be released on April 24. An intense semi-animated music video for the title track shot by POAB Designs/Martillo Pictures will follow soon.

Regarding his decision to call his group LOVE AND DEATH, Welch recently said, "I put this band together in 2009. Since then, we've experienced some very intense highs and lows. Michael Valentine, Dan Johnson, J.R. Bareis and myself have toured around the world playing a lot of killer shows, but we've also had some heart-shattering difficulties along the way. To us, the name LOVE AND DEATH symbolizes everything we've been through as a band over the last few years. We love this band so much and we'll go through hell to connect with our fans. We've proven that to ourselves over and over again."

With LOVE AND DEATH, the music now lives under its own banner.

"Many people have confused my speaking dates and our band dates because they were both being booked as Brian 'Head' Welch," said Welch. "I have wanted to use a band name for branding my music for a few years. It has been an ongoing discussion with my management, but we were just starting to tour and I was in the middle of supporting my third book and it seemed like a bad time to switch names. Now with the new music coming out, it's time to really separate the things I do. I want the music to be about music. I will still be doing public speaking under Brian 'Head' Welch. I am happy that all the confusion will be over."

LOVE AND DEATH formed when Welch decided to have open auditions on YouTube in 2009. "I picked the guys and then had a jam session in Phoenix," says Welch. "Over the last couple of years, there have been a few lineup changes as we went through normal growing pains. The current band has been together and touring for a while now and they are a big part of the new music and the future of LOVE AND DEATH."

For more information, visit www.loveanddeathmusic.com.

Interview:

"Chemicals" audio stream:

Knoxville, Tennessee-based female-fronted metal/hardcore act STRAIGHT LINE STITCH will embark on a U.S. tour on Tuesday, April 24 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The band will be joined on the road by former STRAIGHT LINE STITCH and DARKEST HOUR guitarist Kris Norris, back with the group for two months of shredding alongside Kris Hawkins. Up until the tour begins, STRAIGHT LINE STITCH will continue writing material for its third album, which they hope to be in the studio for by the end of the year.

STRAIGHT LINE STITCH recently re-emerged as free agents looking for a new label home. "I think, as a band, we are looking forward mostly to just getting back to basics, and at the very heart of that is hitting the road and letting everyone know that STRAIGHT LINE STITCH is still going strong," states frontwoman Alexis Brown. "There are some new faces in the mix but the feeling and the essence of the band is still the same, which is to go out and give it all we've got."

STRAIGHT LINE STITCH tour dates:

Apr. 24 - Bowling Green, KY @ Berlenz Bar & Grille
Apr. 26 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Geared Up Rock Bar
Apr. 27 - Raleigh, NC @ Berkley Café
Apr. 28 - Enoree, SC @ Carolina MetalFest
May 02 - West Greenwich, RI @ Rock Junction
May 03 - Bristol, CT @ Bleachers
May 05 - Brookfield, CT @ The Room
May 06 - Trenton, NJ @ Championship Bar
May 08 - Reading, PA @ Reverb
May 09 - Albany, NY @ Bogies
May 11 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Musichall
May 12 - Dayton, OH @ McGuffy’s
May 13 - Kent, OH @ Outpost
May 15 - S. Barrington, IL @ Penny Road
May 16 - Crest Hill, IL @ Bada Brew
May 17 - Rockford, IL @ Bar 3
May 18 - Cincinnati, OH @ Inner Circle
May 19 - Danville, IL @ Sarges (w/ Dirge Within)
May 20 - South Bend, IN @ Cheers Pub
May 21 - Ft Wayne, IN @ Wrigley Field
May 22 - Indianapolis, IN @ Visions
May 24 - Clarksville, TN @ The Warehouse
May 25 - Little Rock, AK @ Juanita’s (w/ Psycho Stick)
May 26 - Shreveport, LA @ The Warehouse
May 27 - New Orleans, LA @ Southport, Hall
May 28 - Covington, LA @ Green Room
May 29 - Pascagoula, MS @ Celtic
May 31 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Jun. 01 - Birmingham, AL @ Club Crush
Jun. 02 - Montgomery, AL @ Liquids

STRAIGHT LINE STITCH is:

Alexis Brown - Vocals
Jason White - Bass
Ian Shuirr - Drums
Kris Hawkins - Guitar
Kris Norris – Guitar

STRAIGHT LINE STITCH's sophomore album, "The Fight Of Our Lives", sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 5 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The follow-up to 2008's "When Skies Wash Ashore", "The Fight Of Our Lives" was produced and mixed by the Grammy Award-nominated producer Johnny K (DISTURBED, MACHINE HEAD, SEVENDUST) and includes eleven new songs. Additional work on the album was done by Ben Schigel.

Brendon Small, co-creator of "Metalocalypse", the smash hit animated series on Adult Swim featuring the fictitious metal band DETHKLOK, was interviewed on a recent edition of the "Across The Board" radio show. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Brendon Small has written and produced BRENDON SMALL'S GALAKTIKON "A High Stakes Intergalactic Extreme Rock Album", the debut release from his long-awaited side project. Due on April 29, the CD's arrival will coincide with the Season 4 premiere of "Metalocalypse".

"On My Way", the closing track from "A High Stakes", can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of CraveOnline.com).

"I'm thrilled to finally give people a taste of what I've been blabbing about doing for months," states Brendon. "'On My Way' is the last track on the record, where our hero confronts the villain and saves the girl, while complaining the whole time!"

Coming off of the second DETHKLOK album which was heavier and darker than the first, BRENDON SMALL'S GALAKTIKON searches for melody (in the vocal) and finds inspiration in modern black metal, QUEEN, FOO FIGHTERS, SOUNDGARDEN, SMASHING PUMPKINS and WEEZER. No influence is unwelcome on this project. Brendon Small paired with DETHKLOK drummer Gene Hoglan (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, TESTAMENT, FEAR FACTORY) and DETHKLOK bassist Bryan Beller (DETHKLOK, STEVE VAI, MIKE KENEALLY) and DETHKLOK engineer and mixer Ulrich Wild.

"This album should be thought of as an audio comic book, an over acted chamber drama, a ridiculous premise that takes itself way too seriously all the way to the end," states Small.

The BRENDON SMALL'S GALAKTIKON "A High Stakes Intergalactic Extreme Rock Album" cover art was designed by Antonio Canobbio and can be seen below.

In a July 2011 interview with Revolver magazine, Small was asked at what point he decided it was time to make a solo record. "There was a time when I didn't know if I was going to do the second DETHKLOK album," he said. "I had the studio lined up, and the players lined up, and the engineer and co-producer, and all that shit, and unfortunately, the guy we were negotiating with went on vacation and left things kind of dead. So I said, 'OK, fuck this — I'm going to spend my own money and get these guys doing something.'

"I love melody and I love melodic vocals in metal, not just the guttural stuff — though obviously it works with DETHKLOK, and I wouldn't want to change a thing. I long for melody in the vocal.

"When I was developing the DETHKLOK sound, some of the things I was writing weren't heavy enough for DETHKLOK, but I still liked them. So I was like, I'm going to make this into something, so I'm going to get Gene [Hoglan] and I'm going to get Bryan Beller, and we're going to make this project, and I'm going to figure out what it is. Then the negotiations got all cleared up, and we went right back into the same studio and did the second DETHKLOK album."

Regarding whether those non-DETHKLOK songs eventually became the basis for "Brendon Small's Galaktikon", Small said, Yeah. I had all these songs where there were elements of QUEEN, but also elements of FOO FIGHTERS and SMASHING PUMPKINS, with some DIO elements as well. My kind of rule for the record was, it's going to be whatever it ends up being, and I'm going to tell a story through the whole thing. Once I started putting the pieces together, I found the story, and I realized that, OK, this is a high-stakes, intergalactic, extreme rock album. And if I do this right, it's going to be like an audio comic book. It's turned out to be something that I'm really happy to have done because I flexed a different muscles while making it — but if you're one of the kids who liked DETHKLOK, you're going to be able to tell that it's the same dude playing guitar, and Gene Hoglan on drums and Bryan Beller on bass. DETHKLOK has to be a certain kind of sound, but this other thing is whatever it needs to be. I got to pull out a vocoder and do ELO-style things here and there, and there's an instrumental on there that's a total tribute to Vai and Satriani and Yngwie and Steve Morse.



Interview:

Stig Nordahl of Metal Express Radio recently conducted an interview with bassist Rex Brown (KILL DEVIL HILL, DOWN, PANTERA). You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Interview (audio):



The self-titled debut album from KILL DEVIL HILL — the band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Rex Brown on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals — will be released via SPV/Steamhammer on the following dates:

U.S./Canada: May 22
Germany: May 25
Rest Of Europe: May 28

"Kill Devil Hill" was originally due on March 27 but had its release date pushed back so that the band could record another track at the last minute. The group explained, "It was decided that a song that was to be a bonus track might be released as a single, so in order to include that song on the CD we needed an additional track to include as a bonus in its place."

"Kill Devil Hill" was produced by Warren Riker, who is best known for his work with DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SUBLIME and CATHEDRAL. The effort will be available in a standard CD edition, as an iTunes digital download, and double gatefold LP.

"Kill Devil Hill" track listing:

CD:

01. War Machine (3:09)
02. Hangman (3:40)
03. Voodoo Doll (3:53)
04. Gates Of Hell (4:53)
05. Rise From The Shadows (4:03)
06. We're All Gonna Die (4:26)
07. Strange (3:31)
08. Time & Time Again (3:50)
09. Old Man (3:06)
10. Mysterious Ways (2:25)
11. Up In Flames (6:04)
12. Revenge (4:54)

Double Gatefold LP:

Side 1 (14:56)

01. War Machine (3:09)
02. Hangman (3:40)
03. We're All Gonna Die (4:26)
04. Time & Time Again (3:50)

Side 2 (10:21)

01. Old Man (3:06)
02. Mysterious Ways (2:25
03. Revenge (4:54)

Side 3 (10:07)

01. Rise From The Shadows (4:03)
02. Up In Flames (6:04)
03. Strange (3:31)

Side 4 (12:56)

01. Voodoo Doll (3:53)
02. Gates Of Hell (4:53)
03. Drawbridge (5:58) (bonus track)

iTunes Digital Download:

01. War Machine (3:09)
02. Hangman (3:40)
03. Voodoo Doll (3:53)
04. Gates Of Hell (4:53)
05. Rise From The Shadows (4:03)
06. We're All Gonna Die (4:26)
07. Strange (3:31)
08. Time & Time Again (3:50)
09. Old Man (3:06)
10. Mysterious Ways (2:25)
11. Up In Flames (6:04)
12. Revenge (4:54)
13. Gates Of Hell (acoustic version; bonus track)

The song "Time & Time Again" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of RevolverMag.com).

According to Appice, KILL DEVIL HILL's sound is "like a cross between BLACK SABBATH, ALICE IN CHAINS and a little bit of LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. It's heavy, but with a lot of cool hooks and melodic overtones, too."

The members of KILL DEVIL HILL previously stated about their songwriting and recording approach, "We are going old school meets new; no sample drums here!!"

KILL DEVIL HILL made its live debut on April 29, 2011 at the Key Club in Hollywood, California.

KILL DEVIL HILL is:

* Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) - Vocals
* Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) - Guitar
* Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) - Bass
* Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) – Drums

"Time & Time Again" audio stream:

On April 12, SLAYER guitarist Kerry King spoke to Loudwire about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's next album, tentatively due later in the year. "We've only been working on it for a couple of weeks right now, since our producer from the last record [Greg Fidelman] had a small window and me and Dave [Lombardo, drums] are working on nine songs so we thought we could get in and finish two or three and demo everything else so that’s what we’re trying to do now," he said. "I don’t know if anything will come out by [the time we hit the road as part of this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem [Festival] or not. Hopefully we’ll get two done and we can get it out to Mayhem."

Lombardo confirmed to Metal Injection at the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards — which was held on April 11 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California — that the band will release a new EP prior to taking part Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.

During an interview with The Nervous Breakdown, Lombardo stated about SLAYER's current status, "[We're] writing new music. Kerry [King, guitar] and I are writing new material. We have nine songs and everything's moving forward."

When asked what the new material sounds like, Lombardo said, "[It sounds like] SLAYER. . . Traditional fans will be pacified and non-traditional fans will be like, 'Again?'"

On the topic of when SLAYER fans can expect to hear some new music from the band, Lombardo said, "I don't know, but we're going to do a three- or four-song EP to keep the fans pacified until we come out with the full-length record. Kind of like what we did with 'Psycopathy Red', which was like a two-song 45."

Photo credit: Mark Seliger

Bassist Paolo Gregoletto of Florida metallers TRIVIUM will take part in an online chat on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. EST. More information is available at this location.

TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career. The group's previous CD, "Shogun", opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up "The Crusade", which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.

"In Waves" was recorded primarily at Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, Florida (with only the drums having been tracked at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida) with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin "Ginge" Ford, along with engineer Carl Bown. A two-disc special edition is also available. It features five bonus tracks, plus a DVD with a 40-minute, behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as an exclusive concert filmed in a warehouse located in Orlando, Florida, which is the band's stomping grounds. This concert features the first performances of tracks from "In Waves", along with TRIVIUM classics.

Finnish metallers COREDUST will release their full-length debut, "Decent "Death", on May 9 via Inverse Records. The album was recorded last fall at Scandal Recording Studios, with Kari Huikuri handling all the recording, engineering and mixing duties. The drums on the CD, which was mastered at Chartmakers by Henkka Niemistö, were laid down by CHILDREN OF BODOM's Jaska Raatikainen.

COREDUST in February announced the addition of drummer Petri Heinonen to the group's ranks.

Video footage of Raatikainen recording the drums for "Decent Death" can be seen below.

"Decent Death" is the follow-up to COREDUST's "Past Lives" EP, which was released in the beginning of 2008.

"Decent Death" track listing:

01. Intro
02. Without Disguise
03. Dead End
04. Decent Death
05. 03:00 AM
06. Pain Unfiltered
07. Brainwash
08. It's No Good

Bert Weedon, a British guitarist whose "Play in a Day" guitar guide taught the instrument to a generation of young hopefuls, died on Friday at his home in Beaconsfield, in the English county of Buckinghamshire. He was 91.

BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler has posted the following message on Weedon's passing: "I had stopped commenting on deaths and disasters, because my [online] 'journal' was starting to resemble an obituary column. However, I cannot ignore the passing of Bert Weedon. Some of you won't have heard of him, but I can safely say that many U.K. and Ireland guitarists from John Lennon onwards throughout the 1960s and '70s would probably have never learned to play without Bert Weedon's 'Play In A Day' book. He produced a book with pictures of chords, rather than musical notation, making it possible for those of us who couldn't afford music lessons, or didn't read music, to gradually learn basic chords on the guitar. I know BLACK SABBATH wouldn't exist without his book, since both Tony Iommi and myself learned to play guitar chords from it. RIP Bert!"

Darryl Smyers of the Dallas Observer recently conducted an interview with drummer Brann Dailor of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Dallas Observer: Oftentimes, your music is described as sludge metal, but your newest effort, "The Hunter", doesn't fit that description. Do you agree?

Brann: Yes, there are all sorts of silly ways that people label bands. It's often about each person's musical vocabulary. Some people just throw labels out there so they can have something to write, so that they can try to explain what something sounds like. I don't feel like the new album is that sludgy, but it might have a little of that in there. I try not to label it. I just play it. But I understand the need people have to label bands, to put it somewhere.

Dallas Observer: When "The Hunter" came out, it debuted at number ten on Billboard. Were you surprised?

Brann: Sure, I'm always surprised when somebody buys our records. You know what I mean? I was excited about it. Ten is a good number. It's cool that people still buy records. Our fans are actually committed to buying the music. We are lucky in that regard. But we wanted to move away from making another concept record, so we tried to write the best collection of songs we could and just put them on one album. I guess fans like that idea.

Dallas Observer: Why do metal bands love concept albums?

Brann: I don't know. Maybe it's folks like KING DIAMOND and IRON MAIDEN. Those are two of my favorite bands. For me, it all started with those two and then I started getting into the progressive stuff, even YES' "Close To The Edge".That style has always appealed to me, to my inner nerd.

Read the entire interview from Dallas Observer.

Fan-filmed video footage of OBITUARY's April 14 performance at Hangar 110 in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below.

OBITUARY's current touring lineup includes MONSTROSITY drummer Lee Harrison on second guitar.

Guitarist Ralph Santolla, who joined OBITUARY in 2007 as the replacement for Allen West, has not played any shows with the group since last year.

OBITUARY is currently writing material for the follow-up to the "Darkest Day" full-length CD, released in 2009 via Candlelight Records.

"Darkest Day" landed at position No. 32 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.