EarplugsRequired.com recently conducted an interview with Las Vegas rockers OTHERWISE. You can now watch the chat below.

OTHERWISE will release its debut album, "True Love Never Dies", on May 8 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with producer Jay Baumgardner (BUSH, LINKIN PARK, PAPA ROACH, INCUBUS) at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, California.

"True Love Never Dies" track listing:

01. I
02. Die For You
03. Lighthouse
04. Scream Now
05. Don't Be Afraid
06. Vegas Girl
07. II
08. Silence Reigns
09. I Don't Apologize (1000 Pictures)
10. Crimson
11. Full Circle
12. Soldiers (2012 - Remaster)
13. III
14. Heaven (feat. Ashley Costello)

A five-minute "inside look" at the making of "True Love Never Dies" can be seen below.

OTHERWISE's "Soldiers" single became the first song by an unsigned artist to ever occupy the No. 1 spot on the SiriusXM satellite radio's Octane channel and has sold over 26,000 singles to date.

"'For the Warriors who fight and die... so the rest of us may fight to Live.' This quote, which preludes the video itself, is a direct dedication to the brave men and women who serve in the United States military," says OTHERWISE vocalist Adrian Patrick of the "Soldiers" video. "Their service allows our country's citizens to pursue their individual ideas of happiness... this song and video celebrate the beauty that is America. 'Soldiers' is an anthem for everyone living on the front-lines of life; every soldier is human, and we're all human... we are all fighting for something."

OTHERWISE recently toured with POP EVIL and joined Century Media labelmates LACUNA COIL on the 2012 North American "Dark Legacy" trek.

OTHERWISE features brothers Adrian and Ryan Patrick (guitars/vocals) alongside Flavio Ivan (bass/vocals), Corky Gainsford (drums/vocals) and Vassilios Metropoulos (guitar/vocals).

No stranger to the stage, OTHERWISE has honed its captivating live show playing with such acts as AVENGED SEVENFOLD, KORN, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, PUDDLE OF MUDD, PAPA ROACH, ROB ZOMBIE and the DEFTONES. In addition, Adrian Patrick appeared on IN THIS MOMENT's hit duet "The Promise" alongside Maria Brink and spent the summer of 2010 on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour performing the song with the band live.

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

Interview:



Making of "True Love Never Dies":

"Rise Of The Phoenix", the new album from Finnish dark melodic death metal icons BEFORE THE DAWN, has entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 12. The CD was released on April 27 via Nuclear Blast Records.

After the departure of Lars Eikin (bass/clean vocals) and Atte Palokangas (drums), Finland's BEFORE THE DAWN experienced a rebirth of sorts. What could formerly be described as dark metal started to flow much more into melodic death metal waters.

Armed with new members Pyry Hanski (bass) and Joonas Kauppinen (drums), BEFORE THE DAWN will surprise you with a totally new, incredibly thrilling listening experience on their seventh studio album.

The perfectly fitting phoenix symbolism was chosen prudently as mainman, vocalist and mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen explains. "Massive changes in the line-up during 2011 ended an era of great frustration and brought back 110% dedication and professionalism into the band," he says. "The newfound energy and motivation steered us into a victorious European tour and made it possible to produce the strongest, fastest, heaviest and definitely the most epic BEFORE THE DAWN album so far!"

"Rise Of The Phoenix" track listing:

01. Exordium
02. Pitch-Black Universe
03. Phoenix Rising
04. Cross To Bear
05. Throne Of Ice
06. Perfect Storm
07. Fallen World
08. Eclipse
09. Closure

Bonus tracks:

10. Unbreakable (2012 version)
11. Deliverance
12. Reflection (taken from the very first demo, 1999)

"Pitch-Black Universe" video:



"Phoenix Rising" video:

(Thanks: Melica / Night Elves)

U.S. progressive metal icons FATES WARNING tapped Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, TRANSATLANTIC, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) to sit behind the kit for their first-ever visit to South America as special guests for QUEENSRŸCHE on April 14 at HSBC Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil. Multi-camera fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Commented FATES WARNING: "We had a great time playing with Mike back in 2005 at the Headway festival in Holland and [we were] happy that [he was] able to help us out again. We'd also like to make it clear that Bobby Jarzombek is still the drummer for FATES and will be . . . on [our] new record we're currently working on. Unfortunately, Bobby committed to another gig on the same day (ironically, in the same city) before this show was planned."

In a recent interview with Bulgaria's Tangra Mega Rock, FATES WARNING singer Ray Alder stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the new CD, "We're trying as hard as we can. We have these shows [in Europe] and then we go to Brazil in April. And in the meantime we are working as hard as we can to finish the album. Hopefully we'll have it out by the end of this year, If not, the beginning of next year. We're trying our best."

He added, "We need to finish writing right now. We finished the first song. The demo version is already done. We'll continue writing as we have a lot of ideas that we need to put together. But the first song is done and I can tell you it's seven minutes long. The recording process itself usually takes about two months and then after that it's another three more months before the album is released. So, we are talking five months out there after the album has been written."

The "Parallels" lineup of FATES WARNING played a number of shows in 2010 in support of the released special edition of the album, which was made available through Metal Blade Records. In addition to remastered audio, there is a second audio disc of live and demo material. The package also includes a DVD with nearly three hours of material, including a complete live show from the 1992 "Parallels" tour and a documentary on the making of "Parallels" which includes live, studio, and current day interview footage with all the band members, Terry Brown (producer) and Brian Slagel (CEO of Metal Blade Records).

FATES WARNING's latest CD, "X", was released in 2004 on Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2000's "Disconnected" was recorded at Carriage House studios in Stamford, Connecticut and features cover artwork by renowned record-cover artist Ioannis (DREAM THEATER, SEPULTURA, DEEP PURPLE, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, KING CRIMSON, BIOHAZARD, VOIVOD, UFO, OVERKILL).

Multi-camera fan-filmed video footage:



Drum-cam footage:

WSCA 106.1 FM's "Black Night Meditations" recently conducted an interview with vocalist Sean Peck of San Diego metallers CAGE. Topics discussed included the latest CAGE album, "Supremacy Of Steel"; the band's plans for the follow-up effort; and the Marvel comics universe. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

"Black Night Meditations" is a four-hour metal show focusing on black, death, thrash, folk, shred, prog and power metal. The program is broadcast every Tuesday night at 10 p.m. EST on WSCA 106.1 FM in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

For more information, go to www.blacknightmeditations.com.

CAGE's latest album, "Supremacy Of Steel", was released on November 25, 2011 via Music Buy Mail in Europe and Heavy Metal Media in the U.S. and rest of the world.

Known for crafting great memorable songs, capturing the essence of the classic NWOBHM sound, and always sounding unique and modern, CAGE somehow effortlessly shows how the limits of the genre can be pushed without losing what makes the heavy metal sound a worldwide calling for the faithful. Throughout the 11 tracks, all the smashing CAGE elements are found along with fresh new surprises that are tastefully sprinkled about in just the right fashion. From the blast beats in the opening scream fest "Bloodsteel", to the eerie King Diamond-like falsettos in "Annaliese Michel", CAGE fans new and old will be banging their heads with horns in the air throughout this entire long player for decades to come. "Supremacy Of Steel" also contains the epic, long-awaited sequel song "Hell Destroyer vs. Metal Devil" and a remake of their unreleased cult classic song "Braindead Woman". Anthems like "Metal Empire" and "King Of The Wasteland" will have all metal fans unable to resist such true, convincing metal emotion.

CAGE's latest and greatest lineup yet includes the hulking frame of riff master Dave Garcia, the unmatched vocal diversity and range of singer Sean Peck, drummer Norm Leggio also of PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, and debuting the new additions of thunder-thrash guitarist Steve Brogden and the amazing bass playing of one America's best, Pete Stone. All the power and speed from their previous award-winning albums has once more been ramped up with faster drums, blazing leads and riffs that will stay with you into the night, and the highest of inhumanly impossible supersonic screams.

As always, CAGE has spared no expense when it comes to the presentation and packaging of their products. The amazing artwork of Marc Sasso (DIO, HALFORD, Marvel Comics) depicts the band in a live setting with the very metal godz themselves looking down upon the mayhem! The 16-page interior booklet is second to none with various artists chronicling the contents of each song in vivid color and truly has to be seen to be believed.

Interview (audio):



"Flying Fortress" video:

DREAM THEATER's John Petrucci will be backed by DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini and DIXIE DREGS bassist Dave LaRue on the upcoming South American edition of the G3 tour in October. Also scheduled to appear are Joe Satriani (CHICKENFOOT) and Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE).

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.

Guitarist Zoltan Bathory of Las Vegas metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently made his way to the Odyssey martial arts academy in King William, Virginia for a training session with Odyssey head coach John Simons. You can now watch video footage of his visit below.

Bathory, who has spent time training with UFC fighter Kyle Watson and who often trains out on tour, told ESPN Sports last year that fighting is not all that different from being on stage with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. "You know what, I'm just so into [it]," he said. "When I fight, it's almost like a chess game for me. People have a certain kind of anxiety maybe, or they have a certain kind of nervousness before they fight. I don't get that. I love competitions. I love to go to jiu-jitsu tournaments because I have this euphoric state. Somehow my mind clears and there is a flow. It's actually very similar to being onstage."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has confirmed the dates for Trespass America, the new summer festival tour the band is launching this year. The trek kicks off on July 13 in Broomfield, Colorado, hitting 31 cities before winding down on August 28 in Los Angeles. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, POP EVIL, TRIVIUM, GOD FORBID, EMMURE and BATTLECROSS will round out the lineup of the metal-centric package.

Bathory said in a statement, "All these bands enable us to make a statement, a really loud one. Heavy music wants its place back in the limelight, so get ready, because we are coming, and we are coming in numbers."

The trek is a joint venture with Europe's Metal Hammer magazine, which is sponsoring a U.S. tour for the first time.

Bathory added that his band wants Trespass America to be a "traveling circus that has all the attraction and excitement that creates an experience ...we want to make Trespass America a theme-park-thrill-ride for metalheads."

The guitarist told The Pulse Of Radio that it's important to make audiences feel like they're part of the show. "You know, the people in the audience watch a show, right?" he said. "It's almost there is no difference than they would watch a TV, because they're watching one static little box, which is the stage, and that's what they're looking at. And I think you have to do better than that — to make the audience become a part of the show and have an experience."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is touring behind its third album, "American Capitalist", which came out last fall and looks likely to be the Las Vegas-based act's third consecutive gold album.

Frankie DiVita, radio personality at Southern California's 96.7 KCAL Rocks, conducted an interview with HELLYEAH/ex-PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott on the red carpet of the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards, which was held on April 11 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the chat below.

HELLYEAH's third album, "Band Of Brothers", will be released on July 17 via the band's new label home, Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded in Dallas, Texas at Vinnie Paul's home studio, VP's Upstairs Studio, and was produced by the band and Jeremy Parker (GODSMACK, EVANESCENCE), who also served as engineer.

February 25 marked the 20-year anniversary for PANTERA's "Vulgar Display Of Power", a landmark album widely acknowledged as one of metal's most enduring and influential masterworks. Recorded by singer Philip Anselmo, guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, the album has been certified double platinum by the RIAA and features several of the group's most iconic songs including "Walk", "Mouth For War", "This Love" and "Fucking Hostile".

To celebrate, Rhino channels the album's relentless blitzkrieg of musical aggression onto a two-disc Deluxe Edition. The CD includes the original album remastered and "Piss", a recently discovered unreleased track from the recording sessions. The DVD contains an unreleased live performance filmed in Italy in September of 1992 plus the three official music videos from the album.

Due out May 15 from Rhino, the CD/DVD set will be available at retail outlets, including Pantera.com and Rhino.com, for a suggested list price of $19.98. A version of the release will also be available digitally.

"Stoneface", the debut album from AHOLA, the new "vital rock act" launched by Jarkko Ahola of the Finnish metal groups TERÄSBETONI and NORTHERN KINGS, has entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 41. Released on April 25, the CD was recorded at Headline Studio in Tampere.

Commented Ahola: "AHOLA is a band that strives from the foundation of rock giving the listeners those vibes that the songs made people feel during the golden era of rock and heavy music. We write our music boldly and by experimenting new stuff, bringing the good stuff to this day, with a modern and unique twist and sound."

"Stoneface" track listing:

01. Donwana
02. Beerland
03. As Long As I Live (Rock 'N' Roll Is Not Dead)
04. Hurricane
05. Restless
06. The Spell
07. I Walk Alone
08. We Want Out
09. Eat Me Alive
10. Livin' The Dream
11. Stoneface
12. I Want You
13. Does It Matter What I Wear
14. Hurt You
15. Cold'n'Lonely'

A nine-minute YouTube clip containing audio samples of the songs on "Stoneface" is available below.

AHOLA in August 2011 announced the addition of guitarist Antti Karhumaa to the group's ranks.

According to a press release, AHOLA "has a suitable mix of past and present — which is always an essential part of rock music. The band's musical core consists of hit tunes, feeling and of course the skill to write and play true and powerful rock music, wherein the authenticity and emotion are relevant, leaving the vain posing to others."

Commented Ahola: "AHOLA is something I've been working on for a long time.

"From the beginning I've written rock songs in English, but since being a musician, you find yourself doing something you did never expect like singing and playing in a huge act called TERÄSBETONI or participating a cool project called NORTHERN KINGS. I guess that's part of the fascination!

"Anyway, still riff-based rock being the heart of my musical world, I wanted to add some spice to the soup and do something that I wasn't so familiar with: super tightness, speed… a flavor of punk rock, you might say."

He continued, "The way I want to see AHOLA's music is: songs are, I dare say, approachable with catchy choruses but when giving the songs a deeper thought, loaded with layers you can dig into. You can hear echoes from classic rock of the '70s, alternative rock and metal of the '90s and last decade, pop music in general, that punk rock I mentioned and… well, listen to yourselves."

AHOLA is:

Jari "Jamo" Laitinen: Bass
Jarkko Ahola: Vocals, Guitar
Antti Mäkelä: Drums
Antti Karhumaa: Guitar

For more information, visit the AHOLA Facebook page.

"Stoneface" audio samples:



"Hurricane" audio stream:

Photo by Samuli Karala

(Thanks: Melica / Night Elves)

BLACKGATES — the new East San Francisco Bay Area/New York metal outfit featuring former ANTHRAX singer Dan Nelson, drummer Paul Bostaph (ex-TESTAMENT, EXODUS, SLAYER, FORBIDDEN) and guitarist Jeremy Epp (THE VENTING MACHINE) — made its live debut last night (Saturday, May 5) at Rooster's Roadhouse in Alameda, California as part of the Cinco De Mayo Metal Throwdown with guests MUDFACE, FALLING TO PIECES and ANOTHER VOID. Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

BLACKGATES recently parted ways with bassist Uriah Duffy (ex-WHITESNAKE) and replaced him with Luis Barillas (THE VENTING MACHINE).

Commented Bostaph: "Luis is a veteran of the Bay Area metal scene and a welcome addition to the band." Von Epp added, "[Barillas has] got that Steve Harris/Geezer Butler vibe on the bass which fits perfect with what were doing, not to mention that he's a solid dude." Nelson stated, "Luis is an amazing bassist and a perfect fit for the BLACKGATES sound. He's a true bro who you know from day one will have your back in the trenches."

BLACKGATES last year entered the studio to begin work on its debut album.

Bostaph previously stated about BLACKGATES's musical direction, "Our sound is drawn from all of our influences. Mostly, we don't want to be a thrash metal band, although we draw from that genre as well. There is something in our music for everyone. Heavy grooves, good hooks and Dan's killer pipes. I think we have an independent sound that will stand on its own." Nelson added, "It's thrashy and heavy, so it will appeal to ANTHRAX and TESTAMENT fans. But has the groove and brutality of PANTERA, and is also very melodic. The guitarist is a kid from the Bay Area named Jeremy Epp, who's an unknown, but sensational. People are gonna love him."

BLACKGATES's first demo was recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area with producer Tim Narducci (SYSTEMATIC, SPIRALARMS).

BLACKGATES is:

* Dan Nelson (ANTHRAX): Vocals/guitar
* Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS): Drums
* Luis Barillas (THE VENTING MACHINE): Bass
* Jeremy Von Epp (THE VENTING MACHINE): Guitar/Vocals

Drum-cam footage of PRIMAL FEAR's Randy Black laying down the drums to the song "Strike" can be seen below. The track comes off the band's latest album, "Unbreakable", which sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 44 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.

As previously reported, "Unbreakable" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 31. The group's previous CD, 2009's "16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)" , opened at No. 46, while 2007's "New Religion" premiered at No. 60.

Released on January 24, 2012 in the U.S. via Frontiers Records, "Unbreakable" was tracked in part at House Of Music studios in Winterbach, Germany with producer/bassist Mat Sinner and engineer Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN).

According to a press release, "Unbreakable" "combines the skills of the strongest PRIMAL FEAR lineup ever with a well-balanced 'back-to-the-roots" vibe and an ambitious learning process during their longest tour so far. Classic and ultra-fresh PRIMAL FEAR riff-rockers like 'Strike', 'Give 'Em Hell' or the high-speed track 'And There Was Silence' will hit the bulls-eye, like the rhythm paced metal anthem, first single and new video clip 'Bad Guys Wear Black'. Less experiments, more rock! But there will be a nine-minute epic journey with a lot prog approach named 'Where Angels Die', a classic wonderful ballad 'Born Again' and the melodic power bomb 'Metal Nation'."

Commented singer Ralf Scheepers: "The plan was to record an album for the fans with rough metal riffs, screaming vocals and good melodies ...and finally it became a monster — a tough 'bang-your-head' metal album called 'Unbreakable'."

"Unbreakable" track listing:

01. Unbreakable (Part 1)
02. Strike
03. Give 'Em Hell
04. Bad Guys Wear Black
05. And There Was Silence
06. Metal Nation
07. Where Angels Die
08. Unbreakable (Part 2)
09. Marching Again
10. Born Again
11. Blaze Of Glory
12. Conviction
13. Night Of The Jumps (Bonus Track)*
14. Bad Guys Wear Black (Video)*

* Only available in the first pressing in digipak

The digital-only single "Bad Guys Wear Black" was made available for download on December 5. The single also includes "Metal Nation" in an exclusive single mix.

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy of Florida metallers TRIVIUM was recently interviewed by Joe D, host of the metal show "Saturday Night Scream", which airs every Saturday night from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on WAQX (95X) in Syracuse, New York. The chat is now available for streaming using the audio player below.

Interview (audio):



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.

ARCH/MATHEOS — the new progressive rock band featuring FATES WARNING/OSI guitarist Jim Matheos and former FATES WARNING singer John Arch — played its first-ever U.S. show last night (Saturday, May 5) at the Webster Theater in Hartford, Connecticut.

The band's lineup for the performance was as follows:

* John Arch (FATES WARNING) - Vocals
* Jim Matheos (FATES WARNING, OSI) - Guitar
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX, FATES WARNING, SEVEN WITCHES) - Bass
* Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, FATES WARNING, SEBASTIAN BACH, RIOT) - Drums
* Frank Aresti (FATES WARNING) - Additional Lead Guitar

The setlist was:

01. Neurotically Wired
02. Midnight Serenade
03. The Sorceress
04. Stained Glass Sky
05. Damnation
06. The Apparition
07. Any Given Day/Strangers Like Me
08. Guardian

Encore:

09. Epitaph
10. Exodus

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.

ARCH/MATHEOS made its live debut on April 28 at the Keep It True XV festival Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.

ARCH/MATHEOS last year filmed a video for the song "Midnight Serenade" with director David Brodsky of MyGoodEye (DEVIN TOWNSEND, HELMET, IN THIS MOMENT). The track comes off the group's debut album, "Sympathetic Resonance", which sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 13 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.

"Sympathetic Resonance" entered the official chart in Germany at No. 27, in Austria at No. 67, and in Switzerland at No. 78.

The cover art for "Sympathetic Resonance" was fashioned using an image created by light painting photographer Dennis Calvert, who has described light painting as "The ability to see in four dimensions, time traveling, and creating fantasy using only what we base all reality on, light."

Released on September 13, 2011 via Metal Blade Records, "Sympathetic Resonance" features the following track listing:

01. Neurotically Wired
02. Midnight Serenade
03. Stained Glass Sky
04. On the Fence
05. Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)
06. Incense and Myrrh

Comments Matheos: "I think John and I work really well together. There's a lot of mutual respect and trust in what we do. But we're also both very critical of ourselves, and each other. This can make for a long and sometimes tedious process. But ultimately it's one I enjoy because I think it brings out the best in both of us."

Guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor of PRONG was recently interviewed by Joe D, host of the metal show "Saturday Night Scream", which airs every Saturday night from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on WAQX (95X) in Syracuse, New York. The chat is now available for streaming using the audio player below.

Interview (audio):



PRONG's new album, "Carved Into Stone", sold around 1,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 13 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.

"Carved Into Stone" was released on April 24 in North America via Long Branch Records/SPV. The CD was recorded with producer Steve Evetts, who has previously worked with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X, SEPULTURA and HATEBREED, among others. The cover artwork was created by Vance Kelly (DOWN, THE SWORD) and can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Carved Into Stone" "is quintessentially PRONG. It stretches into the band's earliest and dirtiest foundations on which the band was founded on New York's Lower East Side to the present as a staple of today's post-metal and rock scenes."

Comments Tommy Victor: "It was hardest I've ever worked in the studio on any record I've ever been involved with."

PRONG — whose lineup is rounded out by bassist Tony Campos and drummer Alexei Rodriguez — has taken a major step forward in their constantly evolving brand of sonic schematics.

"I always believed there were many dimensions to PRONG," says Tommy. "Every record we've been associated with different scenes — hardcore, metal, industrial — even dance! I think this record brings all of that together and sounds very modern at the same time."

"Carved Into Stone" track listing

01. Eternal Heat
02. Keep On Living In Pain
03. Ammunition
04. Revenge ... Best Served Cold
05. State of Rebellion
06. Put Myself to Sleep
07. List of Grievances
08. Carved Into Stone
09. Subtract
10. Path of Least Resistance
11. Reinvestigate

Founded in 1986, PRONG is considered to be a pioneer of the American post-hardcore and post-metal scenes whose influence is still being felt today.

PRONG's last release was "Power Of The Damn Mixxxer", the remix counterpart to the band's 2007 album "Power of The Damager".

"Superskum" (web site) has uploaded video footage of PRONG's recent performance at the Marquis Theater in Denver, Colorado with CROWBAR. Check it out below.

Performance:

"Puolikas Ihminen", the new video from Lemi, Finland-based metallers STAM1NA, can be seen below. The clip, which was directed and edited by Jouni Kallio, features an appearance by actress Linda Zilliacus, who is best known for her role in the Oscar-nominated movie called "Ondskan" (nominated in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category).

"Puolikas Ihminen" comes off STAM1NA's fifth album, "Nocebo", which will be released in the U.S. on July 17 via Bieler Bros. Records.

Commented Bieler Bros. co-founder Jason Bieler: "STAM1NA encapsulates everything Bieler Bros. looks for when signing a new artist. Musically ferocious, melodically brilliant and structurally boundless, STAM1NA is the most exciting band in metal to me at the moment."

"Nocebo" in February entered the official Finnish album chart in the band's home country at position No. 1. The CD has been certified gold in Finland for sales in excess of 10,000 copies.

The members of STAM1NA were presented with gold plaques for "Nocebo" on February 18 during their appearance at the Finnish Metal Expo where they also performed the album in its entirety.

"Nocebo" was released in Finland on February 8 via Sakara Records. The CD was recorded at Petrax studios with producer Joe Barresi (TOOL, BAD RELIGION, APOCALYPTICA, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, WOLFMOTHER).

"Nocebo" track listing:

01. Pirunpaska
02. Valtiaan Uudet Vaateet
03. Tavastia Palamaan!
04. Puolikas Ihminen
05. Aivohalvaus
06. Rabies
07. Lepositeet
08. Nomad
09. Ei Encorea
10. Arveton On Arvoton

The digipack version of "Nocebo" comes with an extended booklet and a DVD containing a half-hour "making-of" documentary, filmed at Petrax studios and produced by STAM1NA's bassist, Kai-Pekka Kangasmäki.

According to a press release, the collaboration between Barresi and STAM1NA came about as a result of a meeting the producer had with the band in February 2010 when Joe was in Helsinki working on the latest APOCALYPTICA album.

STAM1NA was honored in the "Metal Album Of The Year" and "Band Of The Year" categories at last year's Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammy equivalent), which was held on February 26, 2011 at Barona Areena in Espoo, Finland.

"Valtiaan uudet vaateet" video:

Photo credit: Teemu Leinonen

(Thanks: Melica / Night Elves)

Reactivated Swedish death/thrash metallers THE CROWN played their first concert with returning vocalist Johan Lindstrand last night (Saturday, May 5) at Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg, Sweden. This marked the band's first appearance in Gothenburg in 12 years and will likely be the group's only show in Sweden this year.

Check out photos of last night's performance at this location.

THE CROWN is currently writing material for a new studio album, tentatively due late 2012 via Century Media Records.

Commented Lindstrand: "We do have plenty of songs to fill a whole album.

"We have rehearsed on 5-6 songs now and they sound truly amazing. [They contain] a lot of variation, for sure, but with a pretty visible red line through it all.

"There's still a couple of songs left to start messing with and a lot of lyrics to be written, but you can definitely begin to see an album getting formed and shaped into a real classic.

"There's no date set for entering the studio but Marko [Tervonen, guitar] will handle the engineering and mixing and there's no doubt that he will create a killer sound.

"We're all very excited and we wanna start recording right now, but, as I've said before, there's no room for mistakes. There's only room for death fucking metal in the best possible way, so therefore we will not rush anything."

THE CROWN's current lineup:

Johan Lindstrand - Vocals
Magnus Olsfelt - Bass
Marko Tervonen - Rhythm Guitar
Janne Saarenpää - Drums
Marcus Sunesson - Lead Guitar

THE CROWN's latest album, "Doomsday King", came out in September 2010 via Century Media Records. The CD was the group's first — and only — release to feature vocalist Jonas Stålhammar.

DANZIG will premier the track "Devil's Angels" from his new covers CD on radio stations in some of the cities where he will perform on his upcoming tour. 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."

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."

Reunited grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN made a surprise apearance on stage as the special guest at the 20th annual KROQ Weenie Roast Y Fiesta on Saturday, May 5 in Irvine, California. The band hit the stage at 8:30 p.m. and blazed through a short seven-song set which includes the first-ever live performance of the new song "Live To Rise".

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Spoonman
02. Rusty Cage
03. Outshined
04. Jesus Christ Pose
05. Fell On Black Days
06. Live To Rise
07. Slaves And Bulldozers

Professionally filmed video footage of the "Live To Rise" performance can be seen below.

"Live To Rise", the first SOUNDGARDEN song in almost 16 years, was made available as a free download on iTunes beginning April 17 as part of the promotion of "Marvel's The Avengers". The seven-day promotion included an exclusive clip, "The Face Off", from the superhero team-up movie coming out on May 4.

"Live To Rise" was written specifically for "Marvel's The Avengers" after SOUNDGARDEN was approached about contributing a song to the film.

"The hard part of writing a song for a film is it has to act as a SOUNDGARDEN song, first and foremost, then obviously, it has to coexist with the film," SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell told Billboard.com.

Cornell told Seattle radio station KISW that fans should not think of "Live To Rise" as an indication of what the rest of the group's new record will sound like. Chris explained, "Some of the songs on our new album are pretty far left of center, and sort of zero in on more of a hardcore SOUNDGARDEN fan and not necessarily a family that goes to see a film like that. Although ['Live To Rise' is] not really what I think of as a necessarily family-friendly song, but it's as close as we've ever come."

The singer added that the tune wasn't specifically based on the movie, saying, "I think a film like this appeals to little kids all the way to old people because it's an action film, it's comic book characters, but it's also pretty witty dialog and accomplished actors doing it. So it had to be somewhat open to all of that. But also first and foremost it has to be a SOUNDGARDEN song."

SOUNDGARDEN officially reunited in early 2010 after disbanding in 1997. Since then, the group has played one full-length North American tour, a batch of festival and club gigs, and some overseas shows.

The group also released a career retrospective called "Telephantasm" as well as a concert album titled "Live On I5", which was recorded on its last tour before breaking up.

A release date and title for the new SOUNDGARDEN album have yet to be announced.

Jackie Kajzer, better known as Full Metal Jackie, conducted interviews with various hard rock and heavy metal musicians on the "black carpet" at the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards, which was held on April 11 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. Featured artists include members of SLIPKNOT, MOTÖRHEAD, TWISTED SISTER, HATEBREED, MARILYN MANSON, LACUNA COIL, AS I LAY DYING, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD and SUICIDE SILENCE. You can now watch the footage below.

For the first time ever, Revolver Golden Gods was broadcast live in its entirety on Xbox LIVE, as well as on the Xbox and Revolver Facebook pages.

Hosting duties for the Golden Gods awards show were handled by FOZZY frontman and WWE pro-wrestling legend Chris Jericho, who returned for the third consecutive year. The nominees in 11 different categories, plus the recipient of this year's prestigious "Golden God Award," were revealed on February 15 at a press conference held at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

The Golden God Award, given to one special honoree a year who embodies the spirit of hard rock and metal, went to KISS demon Gene Simmons, whose band will release their highly anticipated 20th studio album, "Monster", this summer. (Previous honorees include hard-rock and metal legends Alice Cooper, Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST and Dave Mustaine of MEGADETH.)

Adding to the celebration, The 2012 Revolver Golden Gods awards show featured one-of-a-kind special performances and collaborations that honored both the past, present and future of heavy music. The night's hard-rocking musical performances included sets by MARILYN MANSON (in his first U.S. performance in nearly three years); iconic Grammy-winning guitarist Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and THE CONSPIRATORS; EVANESCENCE; SIXX: A.M. featuring Nikki Sixx of MÖTLEY CRÜE, James Michael, acclaimed rock producer and songwriter, and DJ Ashba of GUNS N' ROSES (in their first performance in almost four years); and 2011 "Best New Band" Golden Gods Award winner BLACK VEIL BRIDES, who performed their only U.S. show of 2012 so far.

Revolver Golden Gods winners:

* Best Guitarists: Jinxx and Jake Pitts (BLACK VEIL BRIDES)
* Best Drummer: Jeremy Spencer (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH)
* Paul Gray Best Bassist: Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE, SIXX: A.M.)
* Riff Lord: Slash
* Comeback Of The Year: SLIPKNOT
* Best International Band: X JAPAN
* Best Live Band: AVENGED SEVENFOLD
* Best Vocalist: Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE)
* Most Metal Athlete: CM Punk (WWE wrestling)
* Most Dedicated Fans: AVENGED SEVENFOLD
* Album Of The Year: KORN's "The Path Of Totality"
* Golden God: Gene Simmons (KISS)
* Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: RUSH

Bassist Mike D'Antonio of Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE was recently interviewed by Joe D, host of the metal show "Saturday Night Scream", which airs every Saturday night from 9:00 p.m. to midnight on WAQX (95X) in Syracuse, New York. The chat is now available for streaming using the audio player below.

Interview (audio):



KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 's April 22 performance at at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival marked the band's first concert with singer Jesse Leach in more than nine years.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Numbered Days
02. Self-Revolution
03. Fixation On The Darkness
04. Rose Of Sharyn (dedicated to ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Howard Jones)
05. This Is Absolution
06. Take This Oath
07. Prelude
08. Vide Infra
09. Temple From The Within
10. The Arms Of Sorrow
11. My Curse
12. The End Of Heartache
13. A Bid Farewell
14. Life To Lifeless

Encore:

15. My Last Serenade
16. Holy Diver (DIO cover)

Leach sang on the band's first self-titled album, which came out in 2000, and on their landmark 2002 Roadrunner debut "Alive Or Just Breathing". Leach left the band in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones, but his work on "Alive Or Just Breathing" has always been revered by diehard, longtime KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fans.

"Honestly, we didn't want to jump into anything too quickly," Adam told AOL's Noisecreep in a recent interview. "We were in a position where we could take our time and try out as many singers as we wanted. There are a lot of talented singers out there, and we didn't want to rush everything. We ended up mulling it over a bit, and we tried out a few different people.

"When we got back in the rehearsal room with Jesse, it just felt right. He's one of my good friends, and the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time, and all of that stuff, was gone when he jammed with us again. We also knew what Jesse is capable of, so it just took all of us getting in a room together again to remember how cool it once was. He blew us away."

Regarding the reasons for Leach's original departure from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ten years ago and whether those same issues will come into play now, Adam said, "He was feeling a lot of frustration [back in 2002]. He didn't know how to take care of his voice, and he would blow it out every couple of shows. We had to cancel a lot of shows because of that. He was also a newlywed, and they didn't know how tough it would be to be in a relationship when the other person is a road dog. It was a lot of pressure on him. All of those things piled up, and it put him in that bad place. But these days he's really learned how to take care of himself on the road. His marriage is also going great, and they've figured out how to make it work, even though one of them is a touring musician. Jesse's in a much better place now, that's for sure."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE is hard at work on material for the follow-up to 2009's second self-titled album.

In a recent interview with the "Brock And The Fatguy" radio show, Jesse stated about KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's new material, "I have the 14 demos for the new KILLSWITCH record, and let me tell you, I'm glad that they didn't turn into TIMES OF GRACE [songs], and I'm glad that KILLSWITCH is gonna have the opportunity to write another record with me — or a few more, God willing. I can tell you right now from the demos, the people are gonna be really surprised; they're setting the bar up high once again. I'm literally within day three of just listening to them and just sort of digesting them. It's really fast and it's really heavy. It's not what people are going to anticipate, I'm sure. I literally am getting chills right now talking about it. It's gonna blow the doors off people, man. It's gonna be great."

Performance:

The fourth and final video clip of a journey through SOULFLY's eight-album discography with the band's mainman, Max Cavalera, can be seen below. In the fourth clip, he tells stories from the making of 2010's "Omen" and 2012's "Enslaved".

SOULFLY's eighth album, "Enslaved", sold 5,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Omen", opened with 6,000 units in June 2010 to land at No. 73.

SOULFLY's 2008 album, "Conquer", premiered with 8,400 copies to enter the chart at No. 66. This number was in line with the opening tally of the CD's predecessor, "Dark Ages", which shifted a little more than 8,000 copies during its first week of release in October 2005 to debut at No. 155.

"Enslaved" was released on March 13 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at TallCat Studios in Phoenix, Arizona and was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, the seasoned knob twiddler behind some of the most notable bands in metal today, such as SHADOWS FALL, HATEBREED, THE RED CHORD and more.

SOULFLY's video for the song "World Scum" was conceptualized by SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera and director Thomas Mignone (MUDVAYNE, SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, MORBID ANGEL) and produced through Mignone's production company Doom Incorporated. Mignone filmed the video in and around Los Angeles. Various scenes depicting humanity's perspectives of some of the world's significant historical — such as the attack on the Russian Czar by nihilists, the mass production of Zyklon B poisons, the Gulag prisons, the assassination of the president, and a final showdown between Jesus and the Anti-christ — are seen and reflected in the song's lyrics. The cinematography is by Peter Leininger; the special EFX makeup is by Maggie Hunter, the production design is by Hanna Dryland, and digital compositing and post-production is by editor/visual EFX artist Christopher Neil.

SOULFLY's current lineup features Kinkade, Max and guitar dynamo Marc Rizzo, with STATIC-X's Tony Campos taking up the bass.

Part 4:



Part 3:



Part 2:



Part 1:

Legendary Canadian rockers RUSH were among those who received prestigious Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, given out by Governor General David Johnston, on Saturday, May 5 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. All three members of the band were in attendance. Each laureate received a cash award of $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a commemorative medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.

RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee said it was a privilege to be at the gala.

"I'm so proud of Canada for doing such a thing," said Lee. "To value artists and to celebrate art is a real pat on the back for artists."

"We're going to take a run on a really fun take on a RUSH song," show producer Kari Cullen told CTV.ca. "We're going to experiment a little bit with their music, with their permission, and see how much they enjoy it."

Check out a photo gallery at this location.

Video footage of the choir version of "The Spirit Of Radio" along with the NAC Orchestra's rendition of "Tom Sawyer" from yesterday's ceremony can be viewed below.

This weekend's Beale St. Fest in Memphis has one of the most eclectic lineups of any summer music fest, with its bill spanning from rap to rock, jazz to electro. Reppin' for the metal genre is MEGADETH, whose frontman Dave Mustaine chatted with Fuse TV backstage.

Mustaine dishes about the 20th anniversary of their LP "Countdown To Extinction", his touring mate Rob Zombie, the new bands he likes (including TRIVIUM), MEGADETH's latest video, Cracker Barrel and much more.

On touring with Rob Zombie:

Mustaine: "We've done shows with Rob as Rob Zombie, we've also played with him when his band was called WHITE ZOMBIE. We have formed a friendship with him over the years, it's pretty interesting to see how he's been so successful with movies. There are some people that don't even know he's a musician because he's been so successful with his movies."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the production, I know he's got such an incredible show. I think it's going to be cool too because MEGADETH is a little bit about that 'Fangoria' kind of stuff because we started around that whole comic kind of thing. The two bands are going to meld together pretty well."

On how MEGADETH will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the "Countdown To Extinction" album:

Mustaine: "MEGADETH will be going down to South America, we're going celebrate 'Countdown To Extinction''s 20th anniversary and 'Peace Sells… But Who's Buying''s 25th anniversary, so depending on where we're at we might end up doing more than one show. We're definitely going to do 'Countdown To Extinction' in its entirety and if we get a second night, we'll probably play most of 'Peace Sells'. There's a couple of songs on there I don't really like playing anymore, but other than that, it's a fun record to play."

Watch the interview in two parts below.

As previously reported, MEGADETH will perform its 1992 album, "Countdown To Extinction", in its entirety on September 7 at Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile.

MEGADETH's fifth LP, "Countdown To Extinction" was released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. The band's best-selling full-length CD to date, it was certified double-platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for U.S. shipments in excess of two million copies. The album also produced the band's most successful hit singles, "Symphony Of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets", "Skin O' My Teeth" and "Foreclosure Of A Dream".

MEGADETH 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 tenth Grammy nomination was for its new single, "Public Enemy No. 1", off MEGADETH's latest album, "TH1RT3EN", which came out on November 1, 2011.

"Public Enemy No. 1" actually marked the second Grammy nomination for music from "TH1RT3EN", as the song "Sudden Death" was first unveiled in the 2010 video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" and received a "Best Metal Performance" nod.

Inner Wound Recordings has announced the release of a 12-inch vinyl edition of "The Duke", a classic album from Norwegian powerhouse vocalist Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, AVANTASIA), A deal was struck with the German label AFM Records, and the release date is set for June 1. The edition includes an insert with lyrics.

"The Duke" is available for pre-order at the Inner Wound Recordings store.

Track listing;

Side A

01. We Brought The Angels Down
02. Blacksong
03. Stormcrow
04. End Of Time
05. Duke Of Love

Side B

01. Burning Chains
02. After The Dying
03. Midnight Madness
04. Are You Ready
05. Starfire

Jorn's new album, "Bring Heavy Rock To The Land", will be released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Frontiers Records.

One of BLACK SABBATH's biggest fans tells U.K.'s Sunday Mercury that online ticket scalpers have made it impossible for him to see his favorite band's reunion concert in their hometown.

Tickets for the show, which will be at the O2 Academy in Birmingham on May 19, are going for £250 (approximately $400) on the Internet — more than for five times the original price of £45.

Sean May, who has SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne's name tattooed on his knuckles, tells Sunday Mercury, "I've been following the band since I was 14, but the real fans are missing out so these ticket scalpers can make money. I think it's wrong, and it's not the venue or the band that are profiting, it's online ticket touts. It's only a small concert, with 3,000 tickets.

He added, "I tried to get on to the official web site as soon as they went on sale at 9 a.m. on Friday, but it crashed. When I got through to the venue 10 minutes later but they had sold out.

"The venue say they only sell two tickets per person — how on earth did they sell to 1,500 people in 10 minutes?"

BLACK SABBATH's promoter Andy Copping added, "Of course the show sold out quickly, it's BLACK SABBATH playing a small show in their hometown. Sadly, some people feel the need to purchase tickets and put them on the secondary market. I personally find it disgusting and unethical but until the government do something and pass some legislation to outlaw this practice, we are powerless. What makes matters worse is that the show will be making a sizeable financial contribution to charity – maybe the people that are seeking to profiteer from their tickets should donate the additional money they make to the charity, then at least it's going to a good cause."

A donation to Help For Heroes will be made from the proceeds of the show.

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 guitarist Tony Iommi's cancer diagnosis put those plans on hold.

Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon, said recently that SABBATH would now play just one date each in North America and the U.K.

Ozzy, Iommi and bassist Geezer 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.

Ward has been sitting out the sessions due to being offered what he called "an unsignable contract" in an open letter to SABBATH fans.

Ward posted an update on February 17 in which he said he "remains hopeful" for a positive outcome to the situation.

The rest of SABBATH's scheduled European summer gigs will be replaced by "Ozzy And Friends", at which the singer will be joined by Butler, former Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde and other special guests, including Slash on selected dates.

The new lineup of FEAR FACTORY performed live on May 2 at Trees in Dallas, Texas as part of its North American tour with SHADOWS FALL, THE BROWNING, THE DEVASTATED and LEGACY OF DISORDER. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can now be seen below.

FEAR FACTORY recently enlisted Matt DeVries as the band's new bass player. DeVries, previously of CHIMAIRA (where he played guitar) and most recently SIX FEET UNDER, joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for Byron Stroud (now with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD).

FEAR FACTORY has tapped Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY, SYSTEM DIVIDE) as its new touring drummer.

Commented Heller: "It is an incredible honor to be chosen as the new drummer for FEAR FACTORY! It's something I never would have dreamt of as a kid listening to 'Soul Of A New Machine' and 'Demanufacture' over and over again in middle school. It's also an incredible honor to be following in the footsteps of two of the most amazing and influential drummers in metal drumming history. I hope to continue their legacy, creating some of the most forward-thinking and innovative music available today."

"Recharger", the new single from FEAR FACTORY, can be purchased via iTunes. The track comes off the band's new album, "The Industrialist", which is due in North America on June 5 via Candlelight Records. The CD is a conceptual record based around a story written by vocalist Burton C. Bell. Lyrics to the album's ten songs divulge the narrative as discussed recently by Bell with Decibel magazine. The album's artwork was created by American designer Anthony Clarkson with additional direction from the band. The album will be available on three formats — standard CD, a limited edition deluxe digi-book (featuring two additional songs), and 180-gram double vinyl.

Bell notes, "The protagonist (The Industrialist) is the incarnation of all industries in the form of an automaton. The mechanical, technological, and scientific advances through the industrial age led to the creation of The Industrialist. In the story, the automaton becomes sentient as it collects memories with each passing day. Through observation and learning, it gains the will to exist. What was meant to help man, will eventually be man's demise."

"The Industrialist" again pairs FEAR FACTORY with producer Rhys Fulber. Mixed by Greg Reely (PARADISE LOST, SKINNY PUPPY, MACHINE HEAD), with additional tracking by Logan Mader (GOJIRA, DIVINE HERESY), the album is the second written by Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares since reuniting in 2009 after a seven-year split. Cazares says, "Collaborating with Burton again on the new album was like magic. Everything just fell into place naturally. It felt good to recapture the true sound of FEAR FACTORY, taking it back to where it all started while raising it to new levels." Regarding Fulber, Cazares says, "Rhys has been our secret member. He is the one producer who has been able to understand what we have been trying to accomplish from the beginning and has opened our eyes to new things without sacrificing our original sound. His production and keyboard talents has made FEAR FACTORY stand out amongst the many bands of our genre."

"The Industrialist" track listing:

01. The Industrialist
02. Recharger
03. New Messiah
04. God Eater
05. Depraved Mind Murder
06. Virus of Faith
07. Difference Engine
08. Dissemble
09. Religion is Flawed Because Man is Flawed
10. Human Augmentation
11. Blush Response (Difference Engine) *
12. Landfill *

* Available on deluxe digibook only

"Recharger" audio stream:



"The Industrialist" trailer:

Fan-filmed video footage of ACCEPT's April 28 performance at Milk club in Moscow, Russia can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hellfire
02. Stalingrad
03. Restless And Wild
04. Living For Tonite
05. Breaker
06. Son Of A Bitch
07. Bucket Full Of Hate
08. Monsterman
09. Shadow Soldiers
10. Guitar Solo (by Wolf Hoffmann)
11. Neon Nights
12. Bulletproof
13. Losers And Winners
14. Aiming High
15. Princess Of The Dawn (with bass solo)
16. Up To The Limit
17. No Shelter
18. Pandemic
19. Fast As A Shark

Encore:

20. Metal Heart
21. Teutonic Terror
22. Balls To The Wall

ACCEPT's new album, "Stalingrad", registered the following first-week chart positions:

Hungary: #5
Germany: #6
Finland: #8
Sweden: #10
Switzerland: #17
Norway: #22
Czech Republic: #25
Austria: #32
UK: #32 (#2 on Rock Chart)
Poland: #46
France: #50
Spain: #66
USA: #81
Canada: #101 (#7 on Rock Chart)

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

"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 ACCEPT guitarist 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

Norwegian five-piece TURBONEGRO will release its ninth studio album, "Sexual Harassment", digitally on June 13 via Volcom Entertainment. Fine quality LPs and CDs of "Sexual Harassment" will be available in August. The first single from the album, "You Give Me Worms", recently premiered on Vice, and is now available digitally.

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, "Sexual Harassment" is a ten-song album which "showcase TURBONEGRO's roots in hardcore punk, '80s alternative, the thrift-store riffs of THE STOOGES and THE ROLLING STONES, platform-booted glitter rock, and spectacular bubblegum radio music of any era — all executed with an attitude that's unmistakably TURBONEGRO," according to a press release. The CD was produced by Matt Sweeney and mixed at Malabar Studio in Oslo by Nick Terry. The artwork was created by Martin Kvamme, Gardar Eide Einarsson and Matias Faldbakken.

TURBONEGRO is:

Tony Sylvester (a.k.a. Duke Of Nothing) - vocals
Euroboy - lead guitar
Rune Rebellion - rhythm guitar
Happy-Tom - bass
Tommy Manboy - drums