Fan-filmed video footage of GUNS N' ROSES' May 19 concert at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England can be seen below.

GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose skipped the band's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last month and declined to be inducted along with the rest of the group. The singer also reaffirmed that there is no chance of the original lineup reuniting, and seemed to speak directly to fans still hoping for a reunion when he added, "Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense."

In at least a partial nod to his former bandmates, however, Rose wrote, "For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from GUNS their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show, not mine."

Original GN'R members Slash, Steven Adler and Duff McKagan, along with later members Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke, performed three songs at the induction ceremony in Cleveland. They were joined on vocals by Myles Kennedy, who sings in Slash's solo band.

In addition sole original member Axl Rose, the current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES includes guitarists Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Richard Fortus and DJ Ashba, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.

In a recent interview with the India-based web site Tehelka, drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD was asked for his thoughts on LAMB OF GOD vocalist Randy Blythe comment that the music industry is dying because Marilyn Manson's new album sold "only" 38,000 copies in its first week of release and still managed to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Randy and I don't always agree," Chris was quoted as saying. "According to me, Manson's career finished a long time ago."

Earlier today (Sunday, May 20), Adler released the following statement/clarification to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"We are preparing to leave for our show in Bangalore, India this week. Very exciting for us. In preparation, we have been doing a lot of interviews for publications in India.

"In a recent interview, I was asked what I thought of Randy's comments about the record industry dying based on a sales number achieved by Marilyn Manson. My response was paraphrased, likely due to it being transcribed by hand during the interview. There were also some language issues that created a few misquotes here and there.

"My full response was: 'Randy and I don't see eye to eye on everything. I agree that the commerce of the music industry is in a rough spot, but I personally wouldn't look to Marilyn Manson as a barometer."

"That's it.

"'Antichrist Superstar' is, to this day, one hell of a record. I saw the tour and was blown away. Incredible stuff.

"I have no interest in publicly commenting on anyone's career path or choices. Not my business. We are all in this to create art and keep food on the table. Good luck to us all.

"P.S.: MESHUGGAH!!!!"

SWALLOW THE SUN writer and guitarist Juha Raivio's female-fronted side project with singer Aleah Stanbridge, TREES OF ETERNITY, recently signed a publishing deal with AMF Music — a U.K.-based servicing publishing company that also offers management services, synchronization opportunities and additional marketing. Andy Farrow, who manages bands such as PARADISE LOST, OPETH, Devin Townsend and KATATONIA, is head of the company and now in charge of finalizing the album deal TREES OF ETERNITY has on the table. "The current plan is to record the album with Jens Bogren at Fascination Street studios in Sweden, and hopefully a recording date and more details can be announced soon," he says.

TREES OF ETERNITY's musical style is described in a press release as "down-tempo, doom/death inspired melancholia with ghostly female vocals." The full band's recording lineup will include three more musicians (whose identities will not be revealed until album recording details are released), as well as some acclaimed guest musicians.

TREES OF ETERNITY came into being when Raivio and Stanbridge got together in the studio to work on the song "Lights On The Lake" for SWALLOW THE SUN's album "New Moon". The plan was to to feature Aleah's vocals on part of the song already prepared by Juha, but when they instead began to experiment with a vocal line Aleah had written for the occasion, the session quickly headed off in a new direction and the project took on a life of its own.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/treesofeternity.

Zero To Hero Films conducted an interview with guitarists Craig Locicero and Steve Smyth of San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN before the band's April 21 concert at The Avalon in Santa Clara, California. The nine-minute clip, which includes performance footage, can be seen below.

FORBIDDEN is currently writing material for the follow-up to 2010's "Omega Wave" for a 2013 release. Locicero recently described the new songs as "smoking-shit-hot-thrash-attack" and added that new drummer Sasha Horn (ex-NOVEMBER'S DOOM, AVA INFERI) "has been a lightning rod for our original energy since he's joined up. The only issue we have is the amount of time we get to spend together with Steve Smyth [guitar] and Sasha both living elsewhere. . . While we get together to practice, we also work on new songs."

"Omega Wave" was released in Europe on October 22, 2010 and in North America on October 26, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD landed at position No. 27 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.

BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has released the following statement:

"Dear SABBATH fans and musicians,

"I have read Geezer's [Butler, BLACK SABBATH bassist] statement of May 19, 2012 titled 'Heavy Heart.' Out of respect for the Birmingham gig, I wanted to wait 24 hours before releasing this statement. There are some points he brought up which I want to respond to.

"1) I had indeed notified Ozzy [Osbourne, BLACK SABBATH singer], Tony [Iommi, BLACK SABBATH guitarist] and Geezer well before my first public statement that I was having contractual difficulties.

"2) I came out into a public forum to be accountable to the fans primarily, and to say at a public level there's a problem. The band members stopped talking and corresponding with me some time ago, with the exception of a nice letter from Tony on my birthday. Prior to that, Geezer and I were corresponding, but that stopped abruptly in late February after I emailed a specific question to him.

"3) In my statement of May 15, I clearly stated I would play Birmingham for free. That was not a problem — charity or otherwise.

"4) My Download fee was not an extravagant amount. Originally, when Download was part of a full tour, I had asked for a decent fee. More recently, as we were negotiating just Download/Birmingham and Lollapalooza, I told my attorney that I would accept the proposed small Download fee, but there were other parts of the offer that were unsatisfactory.

"I will continue to be honest and respectful towards the band and our fans. I will also confront any untruths about me, and any fault-finding missions aimed at me that come to my attention.

"I hope the band and the fans had a good gig in Brum."

"Stay safe/stay strong."

BLACK SABBATH played a hometown concert last night (Saturday, May 19) at the intimate 3,800-capacity O2 Academy in Birmingham, England as a warm-up show for the band's appearance at the Download festival at Donington next month. The band's first performance in Birmingham in 13 years — and their first concert since 2005 — featured three-quarters of the legendary heavy metal act's original lineup — Iommi, Osbourne and Butler. Tommy Clufetos, a member of Ozzy's solo band, is filling in for Ward, who is sitting out the group's reunion shows due to a contractual dispute with his bandmates.

BLACK SABBATH was supposed to tour the Europe and North America this year as part of a worldwide trek in support of a new album, but Iommi's cancer diagnosis put those plans on hold.

Ozzy, Iommi and Butler recently spent time in London recording their first album together in 33 years, although without drummer Bill Ward it is not the original SABBATH reunion announced last November.

Earlier today (Sunday, May 20), Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT. You can now listen to the chat using the Mixcloud player below.

ACCEPT's new album, "Stalingrad", sold around 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 81 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Blood Of The Nations", opened with around 2,900 units back in September 2010 to land at No. 187.

"Stalingrad" was released on April 6 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was once again helmed by British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY), who worked on the band's critically acclaimed comeback effort, "Blood Of The Nations".

"Stalingrad"was made available in the following formats:

* Limited CD+DVD
* CD
* 2LP (red) in gatefold
* 2LP (white/red) in gatefold - exclusive Nuclear Blast mailorder edition

Commented Wolf Hoffman: "ACCEPT and Andy Sneap have the perfect synergy. This was so clear with 'Blood Of The Nations' and we are excited to continue on that path. Andy is not only an amazing and prolific producer but also a very good friend who has long become a member of the ACCEPT family."

Regarding the musical direction of ACCEPT's new album, Hoffmann told The Rock Pit last year, "We're just gonna have the same attitude, the approach; we're just gonna do more of the same, you know, without it being the same. More similar-style stuff, hopefully fresh new ideas. And I mean, we're not gonna… The intention is not to change it right now. I mean, why would we? . . . But I have to say, it's always easier said than done. It's incredibly difficult to write songs that are sort of reminiscent of the past but they're not, you know, rip-offs of your own music. That sounds incredibly very simple, but it's really not, especially if you have a sort of history of 15 albums or whatever we have. Then there are always similarities that you have to avoid. It can't be too close, but it can't be too far away from it. So it's a pretty fine line that you have to walk sometimes, but, you know, hopefully we'll manage again."

ACCEPT 2012 is:

Wolf Hoffmann: Guitar
Peter Baltes: Bass
Herman Frank: Guitar
Mark Tornillo: Vocals
Stefan Schwarzmann: Drums

Fan-filmed video footage of DOWN performing an impromptu cover version of the JUDAS PRIEST classic "Breaking The Law" at the opening show of DOWN's current mini-tour this past Friday, May 18 at The Station in Broussard, Lousiana can be seen below.

DOWN entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next few years (with a year between EPs), each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound.

The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, will be released "late summer," according to guitarist Kirk Windstein. "[It's] kind of a throwback to what we were doing at the very beginning, on the 'Nola' record [DOWN's 1995 debut]," he said. "I think the fans are going to love it."

DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo recently described the band's new EP as "very stripped down. Nothing flashy. Straight to the point… really just DOWN music. If you liked the first record, the demos… something like that… This record, we're pretty dead straight and honest and on the money as far as making it as simple and direct as possible and I think we did that. . . It has that practice-room vibe to it. We didn't really try and fucking slick it out and anything. We went the more raw route, as far as an approach."

The track listing for the effort is as follows (in no particular order):

01. Levitation
02. Witchtripper
03. The Misfortune Teller
04. The Curse Is A Lie
05. Open Coffins
06. This Work Is Timeless

Rolling Stone magazine conducted separate interviews with the four members of METALLICA — guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo — during a recent visit to the band's headquarters in San Rafael, California. The full interviews can be found in Rolling Stone's "The Big Issue", available on newsstands now. A few excerpts follow below.

Rolling Stone: How far have you gotten into writing for a new album?

James Hetfield: "I only have 846 riffs."

Rolling Stone: Is that an exact figure?

James Hetfield: "In iTunes, you can see how many things you've got. And that does not include the soundchecks, the stuff we goof around with here. You plug in an amp. Suddenly it makes you feel good — you come up with a riff. 'Dude, did you get that?' You can't get away from being recorded here.

"But Lars, the hoarder of METALLICA, is obsessed with revisiting every stone, turning it over: 'That could be great!' Yeah, it could all be great. But I've got a new one right now. That's the Catch-22. You've got a riff from five years on tour that's amazing. Do I still feel it? Don't worry. Something better will show up."

Rolling Stone: Are there too many distractions — tours, the [Orion Music + More] festival, the [upcoming 3D] movie — that take you away from the primary business of…

James Hetfield: "Writing songs? Absolutely. This week is interviews, photo shoots, shooting videos for things. When are we going to start writing? 'We've got to rehearse the 'black' album.' I would love to sit and write without having to think of other stuff."

Rolling Stone: How much will playing [the "black" album in its entirety on METALLICA's current tour] affect your next album?

Lars Ulrich: "I've been sitting with [the songs from the 'black' album] for a month now, listening to them while I'm driving, immersing myself before we play them: 'Why did we go one key up there? Why did we repeat that thing four times instead of two?' I was thinking about it again today. There was a moment in 'Sad But True' with that half-chorus in the middle. Then it went back to the guitar solo, and then there was a little break before it goes into the third verse.

"I couldn't help thinking, 'Why was it put together like that?' Maybe we can slightly borrow that?' If you can't rip yourself off, what's the point? It will be interesting to see, once we take this album out to people in different countries, what we'll come back with for the writing sessions in the fall."

Rolling Stone: You do have a lot of projects that get in the way of making new music.

Lars Ulrich: "I don't want to be that band that just does record, tour; record, tour. I will say to my dying day, 'Who wouldn't want to make a record with Lou Reed?' They are adventures, uncharted territory, places where you do more than just use muscle memory. I want to get away from that model, that the sole reason for a band to exist is to just make another record."

Rolling Stone: How do you look at your long-term future? You just celebrated your 30th anniversary. Another 30 years might be optimistic.

Lars Ulrich: "I still don't feel we've challenged ourselves enough. We still talk about 'the next album.' We can do whatever we want with our music. 'We've hidden a new METALLICA CD in each ZIP code in America. Go find it!' There's nothing but options.

"Just don't mention the word 'work.' The a.m. grind, getting my three kids ready for school — that is the work part of my day. When I come in here, that's when the fun starts."

Rolling Stone: You've fallen way behind in making new music, because you're so busy with touring, the festival and the 3D movie.

Kirk Hammett: "We've known for at least two years that we have to start writing songs. It feels like I'm standing on the side of a hill: There's this big boulder at the top that I know is going to start rolling one of these days. And when it does, we won't be able to stop it. But it hasn't started rolling yet.

"It's on everybody's mind. When we finished [playing the 30th-anniversary shows] at the Fillmore [in San Francisco] last year, I thought, 'A year from now, I'm going to be 50. At this rate, does that mean I have two albums left in me? Three?' But if we run at a different rate, who knows? Five? The one thing I've learned is you can't be too prophectic in this band, because something happens, and things completely change."

Rolling Stone: How much have you written, riff-wise, for the next record?

Robert Trujillo: I have about 20 ideas that I feel really good about, whereas on 'Death Magnetic' I had one or two. But one of them ended up being 'Suicide And Redemption'. Hetfield — he's a writing machine. Kirk has over 300 ideas. There's so much stuff from the tuning-room jams, from all those years of touring. I like to think I have 20 ideas I believe in."

Rolling Stone: What's the best one so far?

Robert Trujillo: "[Grins] There's one that reminds me of something off BLACK SABBATH's 'Vol. 4'."

WatchMojo.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT and ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO. Skolnick talked about how he first became interested in music thanks to KISS trading cards, how his guitar lessons with Joe Satriani taught him to blend work and play, and how he blends thrash metal and jazz. You can now watch the chat below.

Nuclear Blast Records has set a July 31 North American release date (one day earlier internationally) for "Dark Roots Of Earth", the new album from TESTAMENT. The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, ACCEPT, EXODUS). Special bonus tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga (CATTLE DECAPITATION, HEATHEN, VILE, SADUS) at his Trident Studios. =The cover artwork for the effort (see below) was painted by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.

Alex Skolnick is a true guitar hero. At sixteen years old, he joined a group of twenty-somethings who'd formed a thrash metal band called TESTAMENT. Alex stayed with the band through five critically acclaimed albums and countless tours with, among others, SLAYER, MEGADETH, JUDAS PRIEST and WHITE ZOMBIE. After hearing and seeing one of Miles Davis' electric bands on TV, Alex relocated to New York City to play and study jazz.

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO (AST) was formed while Alex was earning his BFA in jazz from New School University in Manhattan. AST has been lauded by critics, fans and musical heroes alike ranging from Downbeat to Jazziz to the Village Voice to Kirk Hammett of METALLICA.

According to The Australian, Sydney, Australia-based quintet OUROBOROS may be the first death-metal band to receive support from the Australian government through the Australia Council For The Arts.

The Australia Council For The Arts offers a broad range of grants for Australian artists and arts organizations. In 2010-2011, the arts-funding body invested over AUD 163 million (approximately $160 million) in artists and arts organizations to support Australian artists to make art for Australian and international audiences.

OUROBOROS' AUD 20,000 grant (approximately $19,670) is to help the band write new songs for its next album that will include a symphony orchestra.

"This is amazing for us," drummer David Horgan told The Australian. "We couldn't consider hiring an orchestra to do this without this kind of support."

Composer Matthew Hindson, chair of the Australia Council music board which approved the grant, said of OUROBOROS: "They have a degree of technical virtuosity and musicianship. No matter what kind of music you are involved in, that comes through."

Read more from The Australian.

BLACK SABBATH played a hometown concert last night (Saturday, May 19) at the intimate 3,800-capacity O2 Academy in Birmingham, England as a warm-up show for the band's appearance at the Download festival at Donington next month.

Reviews of last night's concert can be found by following the links below:

* Kerrang!
* Rolling Stone
* The Midlands Rocks
* Counteract Magazine
* ThrashHits.com
* Classic Rock
* Terrorizer
* Metal Hammer
* Noise11

BLACK SABBATH's setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Into The Void
02. Under The Sun
03. Snowblind
04. War Pigs
05. Wheels Of Confusion
06. Electric Funeral
07. Black Sabbath
08. The Wizard
09. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
10. N.I.B.
11. Fairies Wear Boots
12. Tomorrow's Dream
13. Sweet Leaf
14. Symptom Of The Universe (intro only)
15. Drum Solo
16. Iron Man
17. Dirty Women
18. Children Of The Grave

Encore:

19. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (intro only)
20. Paranoid

Fan-filmed video footage is available below. Also available is audio of the entire concert.

BLACK SABBATH's first performance in the band's hometown in 13 years — and their first concert since 2005 — featured three-quarters of the legendary heavy metal act's original lineup — guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler. Tommy Clufetos, a member of Ozzy's solo band, is filling in for original SABBATH drummer Bill Ward, who is sitting out the group's reunion shows due to a contractual dispute with his bandmates.

Commented Butler after the concert: "Thank you, thank you, thank you Birmingham. Best fans ever — you brought out the best in us. It was a privilege playing for you tonight. Tony [Iommi, SABBATH guitarist] was a hero — you were the best medicine he has had. Proud to be a Brummie."

According to Black-Sabbath.com, last night's concert was professionally recorded and filmed.

All tickets for last night's show reportedly sold out within 10 minutes of going on sale on May 4.

BLACK SABBATH was supposed to tour the Europe and North America this year as part of a worldwide trek in support of a new album, but Iommi's cancer diagnosis put those plans on hold.

Ozzy, Iommi and Butler recently spent time in London recording their first album together in 33 years, although without drummer Bill Ward it is not the original SABBATH reunion announced last November.

BLACK SABBATH has been confirmed for this year's Lollapalooza festival, which takes place on August 3-5 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

Audio of entire concert:



Fan-filmed video footage:

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's pre-show meet-and-greet, tuning-room jam and "The God That Failed" performance at the May 10 show of the band's European tour at the Sonisphere festival at the Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland can be viewed below.

METALLICA performed its top-selling 1991 LP, "Metallica", a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety at the Warsaw concert. As they have done on all the shows on their current European tour, the band played the LP backwards, starting with closing number "The Struggle Within" and ending with "Enter Sandman".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hit The Lights
02. Master Of Puppets
03. The Shortest Straw
04. For Whom The Bell Tolls
05. Fight Fire With Fire
06. The Struggle Within
07. My Friend Of Misery
08. The God That Failed
09. Of Wolf & Man
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Through The Never
12. Don't Tread On Me
13. Wherever I May Roam
14. The Unforgiven
15. Holier Than Thou
16. Sad But True
17. Enter Sandman

Encore:

18. Creeping Death
19. One
20. Seek & Destroy

Asked whose idea it was for METALLICA to play the "black" album in reverse on the current tour, the band's drummer, Lars Ulrich, told Rolling Stone magazine, "If you like the idea, it was mine. If you don't, it was James' [Hetfield, guitar/vocals]. For better or worse, I'm the setlist guy. This is all subject to change if it doesn't work. But the idea of starting off with the lesser-known songs buried down there and ending up with 'Sad But True' and 'Enter Sandman' seems like a winner. You finish with the money shot, which is the first song."

On the topic of the "black" album's shift away from sped metal to shorter, simpler songs, which set the tone for the rest of METALLICA's career, Lars said, "I'm a big believer that the records all thread together. That straighter, four-on-the-floor thing was present on earlier records, in 'Harvester Of Sorrow' and 'Ride The Lightning'. But we went all-out because there was nowhere else to go. Where do you go after 'Dyer's Eve'? You can't get faster. You can't get more pissed off than Hetfield barking at his parents. That was the end of the Eighties for us."

He continued, "We played a show with AEROSMITH in the summer of 1990, right at the time we started writing the 'black' album. I remember sitting under the grandstand with [co-manager] Cliff Burnstein. He said, 'The MISFITS are a huge part of your influence — 'Last Caress' is a minute and a half long, [THE ROLLING STONES'] 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' is part of who you are. You just haven't released it yet.'

"I went back to San Francisco and there was a riff on Kirk's [Hammett, guitar] on tape [hums the 'Enter Sandman' lick]. The whole thing is just that riff. 'Enter Sandman' was the blueprint. The rest of the record appeared over two months."

METALLICA will play the complete "black album" at its own Orion Music + More festival, scheduled for June 23-24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. METALLICA is headlining both days and will perform its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on the other day of the festival.

"Metallica" in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era. To date, the black album has sold 15,776,000 copies in the United States.

Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

The second in a series of video clips featuring a track-by-track commentary on "Firebirth", the new album from Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD, can be seen below.

"Firebirth" will be released on June 1 via Nuclear Blast/Warner Music. The CD was produced at the band's own Yellow House Studios in Lugano, Switzerland, with guitarist/songwriter Leo Leoni and Paul Lani (who has previously worked with GOTTHARD on several of their earlier albums, including "G-Spot" and "Homerun") at the helm.

"Firebirth" marks GOTTHARD's first release with singer Nic Maeder, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and "Down Under."

"Firebirth" track listing:

01. Starlight
02. Give Me Real
03. Remember It's Me
04. Fight
05. Yippie Aye Yay
06. Tell Me
07. Shine
08. The Story Is Over
09. Right On
10. S.O.S.
11. Take It All Back
12. I Can
13. Where Are You? (dedicated to Steve Lee)

GOTTHARD vocalist Steve Lee was killed on October 5, 2010 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada.

The "Firebirth" album cover depicts the firebird Phoenix, which symbolically rises "from the ashes to the sky" — this line expresses what each GOTTHARD fan feels and underlines the turbulent time that GOTTHARD has gone through in the past months.

GOTTHARD's first live shows with Maeder are taking place right now in South America before the band makes several European festival appearances. The new group's German live debut will take place on July 14 at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen.

GOTTHARD's "Starlight" video was filmed in an old animal food factory near Berlin, Germany where scenes from the Quentin Tarantino film "Inglorious Basterds" were previously shot.

"Firebirth" track by track – part 2:



"Firebirth" track by track – part 1:



"Starlight" video:

Canadian hard rockers HELIX will release a compilation CD entitled "1983-2012" in September. Singer Brian Vollmer states, "It will feature 19 tracks from various HELIX CDs over the years plus one brand new track, the Christmas track that Sean [Kelly; CRASH KELLY] and I wrote. We're keeping the name of the song under wraps for the time present, but as we get into the later part of the summer I'll let everyone know what it is. Last Friday, I was at Brent's [Doerner, guitar] place in Kitchener and we were working on the video and it was looking good. The game plan is to have the song go to radio the first week of September and the video to be released on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and [the] Planet Helix [web site] at the same time. At the end of the video will be the Christmas tour dates plus a link to the Heavy Mental Christmas web site where fans will be able to buy tickets online. I'm very excited about this and everyone who has heard the song thinks it's going to get lots of airplay/video play. We'll see..."

"1983-2012" CD tentative track listing:

01. Danger Zone
02. Running Wild In The 21st Century
03. Give It To You
04. Jaws Of The Tiger
05. Deep Cuts The Knife
06. Skin In The Game
07. Good To The Last Drop
08. The Same Room
09. Heavy Metal Love
10. Fill Your Head With Rock
11. Get Up!
12. Wild In The Streets
13. Six Feet Underground
14. Rock You
15. Champagne Communist
16. Animal Inside
17. Make 'Em Dance
18. I'm A Live Frankenstein
19. You Got The Love That I Like
20. Mystery Christmas Song

HELIX last year released the "Skin In The Game" EP. The CD was mixed by Aaron Murray and was mastered at Carvello Mastering in Toronto, Ontario. The artwork was once again created by Babyjack Design, who previously worked with the band on the "Vagabond Bones" and "Smash Hits Unplugged" releases.

Glenn Danzig will perform his "Legacy" career-spanning set featuring songs from DANZIG, SAMHAIN and MISFITS, in a number of U.S. cities in late May and early June. In addition, he has announced four DANZIG shows where he will be joined by ex-MISFITS axeman Doyle Von Frankenstein as a "special guest."

A "Danzig Legacy" TV special will be filmed on Tuesday, May 29 in Glendale, California with director Mark Brooks (Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse"). There will be two separate tapings with very limited seating available at each one. Seperate tickets will be required for each as there will be different segments shot at each taping. You must have a ticket to the Irvine "Danzig Legacy" show on May 26 to be eligible.

Glenn Danzig is streaming the track "Devil's Angels" on his official web site. It was originaly the theme song for the late '60's biker film of the same title.

Commented Glenn: "I've wanted to record this song since 1979 and this is exactly the same arrangement I had for it back then, so it pretty much sounds like that late '70s style of mine. I'm really happy with the way it turned out; it actually came out much better than I had hoped it would. We're going to be playing it live on these upcoming shows."

DANZIG is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on the as-yet-untitled covers record for a late summer/early fall release.

When asked about the reports that he was recording an album of covers, Glenn said in a 2011 interview, "It's [got] lots of different stuff [on it]. Of course there's an Elvis [Presley] song on there, there's a BLACK SABBATH cover… Then I took some old biker-movie theme songs and made them all old punk-sounding or whatever… Just fucking around, really — just having a good time taking songs and giving them a different life or a different dimension. I just do what I feel like doing, as long as I don't just cover it, because that's boring to me. I wanna take it and change it and give it some other kind of thing. Otherwise just leave it alone."

French-Canadian technical death masters MARTYR, who feature in their ranks current VOIVOD guitarist Daniel Mongrain, have issued the following update:

"After 14 years of great musical adventures, drummer Pat Hamelin has decided to leave the band MARTYR due to personal reasons. We all wish him well. The remaining members of MARTYR are unsure about the future of the band, as there has been a lot of undergoing tensions through the last years that was not taken care of, thus resulting in a frustrating negative vibe that would stagnate creativity and motivation. MARTYR is on hold for now. More news to come later. Thanks for your support over all these years!!"

MARTYR's third studio album, "Feeding the Abscess", was released in October 2006 via Galy Records. The CD was recorded and mixed by Pierre Rémillard (ANVIL, GORGUTS, CRYPTOPSY, KRISIUN) and was mastered by Alan Douches. MARTYR's back catalog was also reissued through Galy Records. The "Hopeless Hopes" (1997) album was re-released with a stunning new booklet, while both "Hopeless Hopes" and "Warp Zone" (2000) were remastered by Yannick St-Amand and contain four bonus tracks.

Citizen Brick prides itself creating Minifigs for collectors of all sorts. Even if they happen to love Satan. This guy may or may not have a sacrificial alter in his apartment storage unit, yet still embodies the Norwegian black metal aesthetic in sinister detail. Perfect for your dystopian horrorscapes or as a gift for your metalhead cousin.

Citizen Brick premium printed LEGO-compatible Minifigs are said to be the finest quality Minifigs and bricks around. They feature no labels, decals, hand painting, or ink jet digital. Printed like the real thing using authentic LEGO parts.

For more information, visit CitizenBrick.com.

The latest episode of the "Mars Attacks" podcast features an interview with legendary drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, KILL DEVIL HILL). Vinny talks about what it was like to put KILL DEVIL HILL together, the challenge of getting the perfect sound on the band's debut album, rumors surrounding him filling in for Bill Ward in BLACK SABBATH, and working with Dave Grohl on the FOO FIGHTERS frontman's Sound City studios documentary. The podcast can be streamed using the audio player below.

"Mars Attacks" podcast (audio):



In addition to Appice, KILL DEVIL HILL features in its ranks Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals.

The band's self-titled debut album 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)

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

"Revenge" audio stream:



"Voodoo Doll" audio stream:



"Time & Time Again" audio stream:

On April 27, "Superskum" (web site) conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL prior to the band's concert at the Bluebird Theater in Denver, Colorado. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is performance footage from the Denver concert.

OVERKILL has just completed a North American headlining tour with support from GOD FORBID, SUIDAKRA and DIAMOND PLATE.

OVERKILL's new album, "The Electric Age", sold 6,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 77 on The Billboard 200 chart.

OVERKILL's previous CD, "Ironbound", opened with 4,100 units to enter the chart at No. 192. The effort landed at No. 4 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 Electric Age" track listing:

01. Come And Get It
02. Electric Rattlesnake
03. Wish You Were Dead
04. Black Daze
05. Save Yourself
06. Drop The Hammer Down
07. 21st Century Man
08. Old Wounds, New Scars
09. All Over But The Shouting
10. Good Night

The "Electric Rattlesnake" video was directed by Kevin J. Custer (HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, SUFFOCATION), who previously worked with OVERKILL on the "Bring Me The Night" video.

"The Electric Age" was recorded and mixed at Gear Recording Studios in New Jersey, owned and operated by OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni.

OVERKILL is Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (vocals), D.D. Verni (bass, backing vocals), Derek "The Skull" Tailer (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Dave Linsk (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Ron Lipnicki (drums).

Interview:



Performance:

On May 17, vocalist Jacoby Shaddix of Sacramento, California rockers PAPA ROACH was interviewed by Army Sergeant Russell Toof of American Forces Network Europe. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

PAPA ROACH last fall entered the studio with producer James Michael (MÖTLEY CRÜE, HALESTORM, SIXX: A.M., SCORPIONS) to begin recording its new album for a late 2012 release.

When asked if he can reveal any detals about the forthcoming CD, such as a title or exact release date, Jacoby told American Forces Network, "We don't know the name of the album; we're still kind of going back and forth on what we feel like the album should be called. The release date is gonna be sometime in September. And that will be the worldwide release date; I don't have the date yet, but sometime in September. The first single, we're still trying to whittle down to the final right now. We're actually about to send another batch of songs off to the label and kind of see which songs they're feeling. So all that stuff is gonna be decided in the next week of two. We recorded it in Sacramento and James Michael produced the album. We bought a recording studio at home, and this is the first time we've written and recorded in Sacramento since our first major label release, 'Infest'. And so, it's kind of cool. It's all come full circle. We're back home in Sacramento ripping it. I think we've topped ourselves again with this new record, so I think the fans are gonna trip on where we took the music this time."

In an October 2011 interview with the Albany, New York radio station Q103, Shaddix said that the band was focusing on creating something unusual this time around. He stressed the importance of creating something "out of the norm" — including a duet with a female vocalist, which they'd never done before — that will be "aggressive and uplifting."

Shaddix previously stated about PAPA ROACH's new music, "We want to separate ourselves from the pack again. When we came out in '99 and 2000, we were like part of an underground movement and then that was really cool. Then that movement kind of fell apart and there weren't many bands still out there doing it. So we evolved and separated ourselves again and evolved into more of a rock band. Now we have been lumped into all these rock bands and we are like, 'Cool we like that. We like that sense of community in rock.' But I want to evolve it into something more even of our own sound." He added, "I wouldn't necessarily say that is the move to make it creatively original. I just think the music we have been listening to, we have been listening to everything from honkytonk country music to electronic music to heavy metal to punk rock. I don't want to make an average white-guy rock record. I want to make a fucking record that inspires people to fuck, fight, love, forgive. An inspiring album that makes people want to move, makes people want to do something."

PAPA ROACH's 2010 release "Time For Annihilation... On The Road And On The Record", featured a mix of live tracks and new studio cuts.

"Time For Annihilation" was PAPA ROACH's first release on Eleven Seven Music, after parting ways with Interscope/Geffen Records in 2010.

Ohio metal goliaths SKELETONWITCH are featured in the latest "Through the TurnStyle" session. The eight-minute clip, which can be seen below, includes an interview with the band followed by a performance of the song "Reduced To The Failure Of Prayer" at the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

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 recently completed a tour alongside THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NILE and labelmates HOUR OF PENANCE. This marked 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.

Tori Stafford of the Kingston Whig-Standard recently conducted an interview with vocalist/guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Canadian metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether he's ever surprised the band is still together and rocking some 40-plus years after its formation:

Lips: "What, that ANVIL's still together? Hell, no, Man! Not at all. You have to understand that when you talk about two guys that started in 1973, we were just 15 or 16 years old. I mean, would we have ever thought at that point that I'd be doing it when I was 56? Well, probably not. But at the same time, it's no big surprise."

On touring:

Lips: "Nothing could feel more at home and more normal, really. We're one of those bands that kind of loves to be on the road, we're not one of those bands that can't wait to get home. It's usually the opposite. But I think what that has to do with is a long, long period of deprivation."

"The schedules are extraordinarily hectic at some points where you don't really sleep. Sometimes there is no time, and I've found myself asleep in change rooms an hour before stage. But you sleep when you can."

On recently being approached in London's Heathrow Airport by a small man in a long coat and a hat that turned out to be Ian Anderson of JETHRO TULL:

Lips: "He had a solemn voice, a deep voice, one that I knew, but couldn't place for the life of me. He told me he wanted to let me know how inspiring and life-changing the movie was for him. He said ‘It made me put my band back together and back on the road. How out there is that?! But it feels amazing. I want to be humble, but it really is a great feeling to have people searching me out to let me know they have respect for the band and what we've done."

On putting on a really great show:

Lips: "As much as this band is about the love of metal, I've learned recently there's a lot more to performing than just loving the metal. I love to entertain. People come away from ANVIL shows with a smile on their faces having just seen a great show. It's not normal, I guess, for a metal band — we don't inspire punching someone out, or Satan worshiping. But we have enough angst to keep die hard metal lovers happy, and entertain a whole age range, from the kids of today to elderly rockers."

On whether he is ever surprised that ANVIL can still pull in an audience, still fill the seats after all these years:

Lips: "I think I'm more surprised when we don't! It truly has been a hard and long road to get here, and it's more of a surprise when we don't do well than when we do… At this point. Because it used to be the other way around!"

Read more from Kingston Whig-Standard.

Niclas Müller-Hansen of Sweden's Metalshrine recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza of German thrash metal veterans KREATOR. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metalshrine: Where did the title "Phantom Antichrist" come from?

Mille: It's a metaphor. It was inspired by certain things that I read in the media, especially the death of Osama Bin Laden, who got killed and thrown into the ocean for religious reasons, even though there are no such thing as a sea burial in the Muslim religion. It's a metaphor for control and for the state of the world at this time basically and that's also what most of the songs are about. You get your typical KREATOR treatments where I talk about injustice, war, horror, pain and oppression of course.

Metalshrine: It is a crazy world. In your country, how are things with the former East and Germany as a whole? Are things getting better for former East Germany?

Mille: That's a tough question to answer. I mean, I'd like to say yes, but I'm not an expert on these things. I can say it has definitely gotten better in some parts and a bit worse in others. There are places in the eastern part of Germany where there's nothing and all the people there, when they turn 18, they leave to go to Berlin or somewhere in the west, maybe. There's no work there. Of course, it's great to have access to the eastern part of Germany, which wasn't the case when the Wall was still there and it is also great that the people who live in East Germany can go wherever they want to, but there are still a lot of things that need work in the future.

Metalshrine: The ["Phantom Antichrist"] video then? It looks like you spent some money on that one. It's a great looking video!

Mille: In my opinion, it's either you do a video and you do it right, or you don't. In this day and age, maybe it's not necessary to make videos anymore. For me it's an art form and it's always exciting. It makes sense to me. There are still a couple of TV stations in Germany that play it and some stations play it in South America and even in North America. There are still some stations that play metal videos. It's not money out the window, but, of course, most people watch it on YouTube, but I think it's a great promotion tool and also a great art form, in my opinion.

Metalshrine: A video like that, how much is your idea and how much of it is the director's idea?

Mille: Basically, it's all the director's idea. I sent him some rough scripts and then he came up with his own script and I was fine with it. The script that I had was a little bit different, but it was all his idea. I sent him the lyrics I think. The lyrics they wanted and I think they did a great job. It looks spectacular and it doesn't look like an amateur video or something.

Metalshrine: Those old school gas masks are always kinda creepy.

Mille: I know. [laughs] I think it's still some kinda '80s trauma and nightmarish vision that we all have. It gives an association of terror and the apocalypse. It's quite disturbing, if you think about it, but that's what I like about it also. The artwork and the music round it up quite nicely.

Metalshrine: What was it like working with [Swedish producer] Jens Bogren and was that something that you decided early on and what made you go with him?

Mille: Well, we were basically looking for a new producer and there were a couple of people that I had in mind, but a friend of mine who worked with Jens, Nick [Holmes] in PARADISE LOST, he recommended Jens in 2009 already. He was like "You should check him out, he's great!" and I checked out Nick's album and I was really enjoying it and I thought it sounded great and it was quite an organic-sounding record, so when I first talked with Jens on the phone, it was either I work with him or I don't, but I got a great vibe from him and the most important thing, if you work with somebody for production, is that you like that person and when he makes a suggestion you have respect for it and he has respect for the band. I didn't really think too much about working with Jens, because I had a great feel towards the guy. He's a metalhead and he knows a lot about music. When I sent him the first demo tape, he wasn't like "Oh, this is great!" He was very critical, which I thought was great. He was never too enthusiastic, but if he liked something, he was like "Yeah!" and if he didn't like it, he made it better. To me, he was the perfect producer and we had some really great times. Sweden is very cool for a recording situation. The people were very nice and it was nice living in Örebro. A nice little city. There was not much to do there, but if we went out, it was always great. There were a couple of great nights we had there, and it was good.

Metalshrine: You've been doing this for such a long time now, but do you still feel that you need a producer?

Mille: Yeah, definitely. In my opinion, there are very few bands that can produce themselves without losing focus. I mean, you might focus on things but sometimes you… you know, when you're in the studio you're very emotional about your music and I think somebody from the outside is always more critical. If I was to record my own album and produce my own album, not only would it be more work, but I wouldn't know whether or not it's gonna be better. I trust people, I trusted Jens and I've trusted the people we've worked with in the past so, yeah, we need a producer. We've always done it with a producer. Sometimes we had producers that were great and sometimes we had producers that were OK, but it was always a good experience or an experience. Sometimes it was a bad experience, but most of the time it was great experiences. You always learn something.

Metalshrine: Does it ever happen that you write something and you realize that you've already written about it 10 years ago or that you've used similar lyrics before?

Mille: Many times. And then you have to rewrite the whole song, which doesn't make your life easier. [laughs] It doesn't start with the title, it starts with the words. Look at a band like MANOWAR. I've got nothing [against] MANOWAR, but if you take their lyrics, their vocabulary is very limited. Not that I'm saying that my vocabulary is larger or anything. I also have words that I use all the time like terror, war, pain, death… They've all been used and I think you have to be convincing. Even on the new record there's a couple of songs, like I had this title "Death To The World" and it's a great title, but it sounds like I've heard it before and there's probably a couple of bands that have that title. Then you start googling and you see that NIGHTWISH has a song called "Death To The World" and you wonder "Can I still use it? Is it cool?", but you have to make it your own song. There are so many songs that have the same names and you cannot always have an album with songtitles that nobody's used before. But I think a song title like "Phantom Antichrist", with two words combined that doesn't really make any sense, is a song title that nobody has. It's also a very controversial song. When we put up the song title, many people on our website said "This sucks man! What's up with that?" There's always people complaining.

Metalshrine: That's something that has happened a lot lately, a lot of metal musicians talking about people writing negative comments and so on. It's so easy these days, to sit at home in front of your computer and write negative stuff and not be creative at all.

Mille: Yeah and it's something that I don't take that serious. Of course, we get that many times and I know in rap it's even worse. In metal it's still OK. People are very passionate about metal, so it's OK with me. On the other hand, it's so strange. The reality on the Internet is so much different from the actual world out there. I've never heard anybody, at a concert or anywhere else, say something like that to my face. As easy as it is for people to write negative things, it's just as hard to actually say that to anyone. Whatever. I guess it's just a human thing when you have too much time on your hands and you start complaining about things. People that don't do much have the time to complain.

Read the entire interview from Metalshrine.

"Phantom Antichrist" (song) video:



"Phantom Antichrist" album artwork:

Photo by Stefan Heilemann of Heilemania

VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth has released a videotaped message for the fans explaining the reasons for the postponement of 31 of the band's concerts — starting from their July 7 show at Uncasville, Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Arena through their September 25 concert at Milwaukee's Bradley Center.

Un unnamed insider close to the band told Rolling Stone that VAN HALEN's members "hate each other" and that "the band is arguing like mad. They are fighting." The magazine questioned an industry source as to why the band is, seemingly, shelving such a large amount of dates, saying: "You want to know the absolute fuckin' truth? I have no fuckin' idea." A source at the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, where the band was scheduled to play on July 7, said: "It's selling pretty good — I don't know why they would say it's being canceled."

In the videotaped statement, which can be seen below, Roth says, "The band is getting along famously, better than we have in quite some time, and I think the shows reveal that through the miracle of YouTube. I think we're one of the few bands who relishes you bringing whatever camera — if you can carry it in and pull the trigger on it yourself, then please do. And through the eye of YouTube, you can see that we're having ourselves a hell of a time, and I think that translates into the music. As usual, we've bit off way more than we could chew when it came to scheduling. The band is winning but our schedule has been sidelined for unnecessary roughness. If we continue past July 4 and all the way into Australia and Japan, then we're asking for the robot-zombie tour when you start getting a lot of 'yes' questions. [Adopts robotic voice] 'Do you feel alright' 'Yes.' 'Are you having a good time?' 'Ahh…' You don't wanna get to that point. And we're nowhere near that point. But we're gonna take a break and we're gonna come all the way back around, because this tour is gonna take us about two years. And we're the guys who brought you KOOL & THE GANG as the ultimate and arguably left-handed top bill co-headline tour — they just went on first every night — and we have in mind a supersize monster truck rally VAN HALEN tractor pull sort of event, and we're gonna be bringing that back around for the United States as soon as we learn to speak Australian. So stay tuned and we'll see you down the road in just a little bit."

A major selling point of VAN HALEN and David Lee Roth reuniting was that all of the squabbles and musical differences that tore the band apart in the mid-'80s had been resolved — a point that Roth and Van Halen have always been quick to drive home to the public. "We really have reformed this team like a brother team that it never was before," Roth said, according to The Pulse Of Radio. "I think you hear that in my voice here, and we think we got it right this time. You come and judge the performance harshly. Please, I beg you, come on down and see." Added Eddie Van Halen: "None of us want to give you less than our best and we are at our best."

VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", has sold 377,000 copies in the United States since its February 7 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Acclaimed Raleigh, North Carolina-based progressive doom metal band CONFESSOR played a hometown show this past Friday night (May 18) at the Lincoln Theatre. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. Intro
02. Cross The Bar
03. Prepare Yourself
04. Until Tomorrow
05. The Stain
06. Uncontrolled
07. Wigstand
08. Blueprint Soul
09. Collapse Into Despair
10. Condemned
11. Alone
12. Endtime
13. Eve Of Salvation
14. Suffer

"Uncontrolled", a compilation of all three demo taptes from CONFESSOR, was relased on May 8 via Divebomb Records.

CONFESSOR made a name for itself by writing unapologetically heavy riffs, with a unique flare for timing changes. The band had created quite a stir by playing all over the Southeast and landing two tours in Europe, including the now legendary "Gods of Grind" tour with CARCASS and ENTOMBED. With the release of their debut album, "Condemned", the band felt as though their chance was at hand to show the world what they knew, that CONFESSOR was unlike anything else out at the time. Unfortunately, label merging and politics forced CONFESSOR off of the U.S. leg of that famous tour in favor of the latest "new band." CONFESSOR's struggles with their label led to lineup changes that seriously altered the band's trajectory and eventually they disbanded after only a single album was released. Luckily, over the years CONFESSOR's controversial-yet-pioneering sound became accepted and adored by many in the metal community and in 2004 the band reunited for some festival appearances. They have reunited once again for a special appearance at the Maryland Deathfest in 2012.

"Uncontrolled" is the first time all three CONFESSOR demo tapes have been released officially. These are the demos that helped the band get signed to Earache Records back in 1990 and led to the eventual release of "Condemned".
For the diehards, Divebomb has unearthed raw archival live footage as part of both an enhanced CD and bonus DVD. Jeff Wagner, author of "Mean Deviation: Four Decades Of Progressive Metal", has also contributed a brand new essay to the liners.

The demos themselves were converted from original reels and/or DAT by The Kitchen Mastering in 2004. Jamie King remastered the entire set in 2012 at his Basement Studios.

CONFESSOR released its latest full-length album, "Unraveled", in 2005 via Season of Mist. The CD was produced by Dick Hodgin (ex-CORROSION OF CONFORMITY producer) and is "a wonderful representation of the classic CONFESSOR twisted guitar riffing and complex drumming, meshed with some more straightforward parts and a toned down and very melodic vocal approach," according to Jeffreys.

CONFESSOR split up in the early '90s after releasing one full-length album (1991's "Condemned") and EP (1992's "Confessor"), with the with the rhythm section going on to form FLY MACHINE. CONFESSOR reformed in 2002 following the death of guitarist Ivan Colon, who passed away due to cardiac complications.

Drummer Brann Dailor of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON was interviewed on the latest episode of the official Danko Jones podcast. You can now stream it using the SoundCloud player below.

MASTODON is touring in support of its latest album "The Hunter", which was released by Reprise Records in September. The band's latest trek kicked off on April 4 in Portland, Maine, and visited more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up with a hometown show at Atlanta's Masquerade Music Park on May 12. These shows featured Swedish metal band OPETH as co-headliners, with special guest GHOST providing support on all dates.

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

MASTODON was among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's Grammy nomination was for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter".

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".