Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

MEGADETH's setlist was as follows:

01. Never Dead
02. Head Crusher
03. Hangar 18
04. She-Wolf
05. Trust
06. Poison Was the Cure
07. Sweating Bullets
08. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
09. Public Enemy No. 1
10. Symphony of Destruction
11. Peace Sells
12. A Tout Le Monde
13. Angry Again
14. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

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 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.

Interview:



Preparing to hit the stage:

Holly of Total Rock conducted an interview with guitarist Willie Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

LAMB OF GOD recently released the first trailer for their projected 2013 feature film, "As The Palaces Burn". The film, directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Don Argott and produced by 9.14 Pictures ("Last Days Here", "Art Of The Steal", "Rock School"), examines the impact that music and particularly heavy metal music has made on people around the globe as they live in a 21st century world full of economic uncertainty, political unrest, social injustice, and under a constant fear of war and violence. Filming has taken place to date in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, India, and Israel. Filming in the United States will take place over the summer months. Embedded in the trailer is the video for the band's second single from the "Resolution" CD, "Desolation". The clip was shot at shows in South America and Mexico and is the follow-up to the animated video for the track "Ghost Walking".

LAMB OF GOD, currently on tour in Europe, begins the North American tour for "Resolution" on August 1 in Seattle, Washinigton along with co-headliners DETHKLOK and special guest GOJIRA.

Hal Leonard has released the official, note-for-note matching guitar tab book for "Resolution", the latest album from LAMB OF GOD. It is now available for purchase from MusicDispatch.com.

"Resolution" sold around 52,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Wrath", opened with around 68,000 units back in March 2009 to enter the chart at No. 2. This figure was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by 2006's "Sacrament", which shifted around 63,000 units to debut at No. 8. It also represented almost double the amount of records sold by its predecessor, "Ashes Of The Wake", which premiered with 35,000 copies in September 2004.

"Resolution" was released in the U.S. via Epic and internationally through Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at various studios in Virginia and New York with producer Josh Wilbur, who worked on the band's last effort, 2009's "Wrath".

Interview:



"As The Palaces Burn" trailer:

Holly of Total Rock conducted an interview with PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION and SIKTH frontman Mikee Goodman at this year's edition of the Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

In addition to Goodman, PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION features in its ranks IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith.

PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION's debut album, "Awoken Broken", was released in the U.S. on April 17 and in Europe onFebruayr 27 through Spinefarm Records. The CD was produced by Adrian and Mikee, and mixed by Simon Hanhart, whose previous credits include everyone from TIN MACHINE to SAXON. The album features 12 tracks top to tail, and it will be available on digipak CD, digital download and double colored vinyl in gatefold sleeve.

"Awoken Broken" track listing:

01. No Friendly Neighbour (4:53)
02. No Place Like Home (3:06)
03. I See Lights (4:59)
04. Bright As A Fire (6:21)
05. Savage World (3:38)
06. Tortured Tone (5:08)
07. White Sheet Robes (5:16)
08. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky (0:47)
09. Awoken Broken (4:58)
10. Search For Bliss (4:13)
11. Snake Ladders (4:43)
12. Mirror and the Moon (5:04)

The brainchild of Adrian Smith and Mikee Goodman, U.K. musicians with different stories to tell, PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION is a fresh new project that manages to be both reassuring and unexpected at one and the same time…

On the one side, there's Adrian, a key member of the IRON MAIDEN setup, a band he first joined back in 1980; and since that time, MAIDEN has gone on to become one of the biggest hard rock bands the world has seen, playing to vast and staunchly committed crowds all over the world, opening exciting new doors in parts of the globe many people will never even have heard of! Their last studio album, "The Final Frontier", hit the No 1 slot in over 28 countries!

With MAIDEN's reputation having been forged through their ability to blend well-crafted vocal and guitar melodies with the sheer brute force of prime heavy metal, it will surely come as no surprise that the debut PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION album, "Awoken Broken", delivers fully on both fronts, but with an extra nod to the underground, the alternative and the downright edgy — an aspect of the music that is enhanced from start to finish by the presence of one-time SIKTH frontman / lyric-writer/spoken-word maestro, Mikee Goodman.

With SIKTH now universally lauded as one of the major inspirations of the new "Djent" movement, it's perfect timing for Mikee to return to the music scene in full force, following that band's decision to take a break after their second "Death Of A Dead Day" album back in 2006; Mikee's unique vocal approach — an arresting, signature blend of spoken word plus a wide variety of vocal tones (some dark and disturbing, others that owe a debt to the world of animation) — was very much a part of what made SIKTH stand out from the chasing pack, and fans will be delighted to know that his key vocal mannerisms have been both retained and honed for PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION, in a form tightly bound to the structure of the songs themselves.

Yes, there are spoken-word elements, and yes, there are more extreme vocal moments peppered throughout the tracks, but generally speaking, this is a more mature and experienced Mikee, showcasing a strong, melodic voice plus an impressive vocal range, using the more "adventurous" end of his repertoire as a way of providing contrast and effect.

In essence, PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION is the meeting of different minds, different mentalities and different musical backgrounds, but the end result is very much a cohesive, self-produced whole… albeit one that reflects the individual talents of the musicians involved: Adrian provides the guitars, the bass and the advanced song-writing skills — the sense of drama, of light and shade, of music designed to stir the senses, all of them.

Right from the start, it's been very much a labor of love…

Adrian: "It was great working at my own pace and in my own studio with no time constraints. I think during the making of this album I went around the world twice with MAIDEN, working on the project in between. In the process, it allowed for a bit more of an experimental approach."

Meanwhile, Mikee goes head to head with this renowned player as a full writing & production partner, adding new (sometimes surprising, often experimental) layers to the tracks, and ensuring that the music glistens with an inherent contemporary sheen.

Mikee: "Adrian inspired me in many ways. I learnt the importance and the power of choruses in songs. Adrian also gave me a lot more belief in myself melodically. I think we pulled each other out of our comfort zones, creating something fresh and exciting along the way. We co-produced the album together, and the whole recording process was very relaxed — no deadlines, just honing the songs naturally as we recorded them, a new experience for both of us."

In addition to the PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION pair, there are backing vocals on three of the tracks (delivered by Tarin Kerry, discovered by Mikee while he was acting as producer for a band she was in), viola on the bulk of the songs (provided by Abi Fry of BAT FOR LASHES), plus original SIKTH member Dan "Loord" Foord on drums.

The track "I See Lights" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

Interview:



"No Friendly Neighbour" video:



"Awoken Broken" audio samples:

Quality fan-filmed video footage of TRILLIUM — the metal project launched by American singer/songwriter Amanda Somerville — performing on May 9 at Biebob in Vosselaar, Belgium as the support act for DELAIN can be seen below.

TRILLIUM released its debut album, "Alloy", on November 1, 2011 in North America (three days later in Europe) via Frontiers Records.

"Alloy" is a collection of songs that's charged with emotion and exploration and a very personal statement from Amanda.

"Since I'm an eclectic and diverse person and musician, that certainly comes out in this album," the singer states in a press release. "I think that the diversity is what is going to set this album apart from other stuff that's out there right now. It's got big choruses and epic symphonic hits, guitar solos you could imagine being played on a mountain top with an aerial camera view, but it's also got a lot of soul added to the raise-your-fists-in-the-air-and-make-a-mean-face vibe".

Musically, TRILLIUM melts rock and metal in a new, interesting and different way from anything Amanda has worked on so far. "Alloy" is also graced with the talents of several musicians with whom Amanda had the honor of working in the past. Sander Gommans (AFTER FOREVER, HDK) and Sascha Paeth (KAMELOT, AVANTASIA, EPICA, AFTER FOREVER) were the main songwriters along with the American singer on this album. They have brought a lot to the project and have certainly allowed the sound to be a lot richer and stronger.

"Sander is all around an awesome songwriter and guitar player, and he's especially good at coming up with riffs and movements of a song, while Sascha is a fantastic producer who can play any instrument there is — and play the hell out of it — and his sense of songwriting is really strong!" says Amanda.

Other contributing musicians include Miro Rodenberg, who handled all of the orchestral and keyboard arrangements, Robert Hunecke on drums, Olaf Reitmeier on acoustic guitar, Simon Oberender on keyboards (and mastering). But there are more surprises are on the record.

"Working with Mat Sinner on KISKE-SOMERVILLE established a solid professional relationship and I also found a good friend in him," says Amanda. "We co-wrote 'Love Is An Illusion' together for this album and it was a pleasure working with him once again!"

And last, but in no way least, Jorn Lande has lent his epic voice to the song "Scream It". Somerville tells the story: "I actually wrote that song with Jorn in mind not for his status in the scene, but because I absolutely love his voice, he's a wonderful friend of mine through working together on AVANTASIA and he was the perfect 'actor' to play the character in the song. And he nailed it!"

"Alloy" was released in a lavish digipack CD edition and includes the following songs:

01. Machine Gun
02. Coward
03. Purge
04. Utter Descension
05. Bow To The Ego
06. Mistaken
07. Scream It
08. Justifiable Casualty
09. Path Of Least Resistance
10. Into The Dissonance
11. Slow It Down
12. Love Is An Illusion *

* bonus track

"Alloy" recording lineup:

* Amanda Somerville - Lead and backing Vocals, Keyboards
* Sascha Paeth - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums
* Sander Gommans - Guitar
* Miro - Arrangements and Keyboards
* Olaf Reitmeier - Acoustic Guitar
* Robert Hunecke - Drums
* Simon Oberender - Keyboards
* Jorn Lande - Guest Lead Vocals on "Scream It"

Video footage of GOTTHARD's press conference and performance at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, which took place June 7-9 in Sölvesborg, Sweden, can be seen below.

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

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 "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.

Drummer Ian Haugland of Swedish hard rockers EUROPE has issued the following updateL

"What a bummer at [U.K.'s] Download [festival]. We were forced to cancel the show due to the fucked up weather... We had a bad start already in the morning when the flight was two hours delayed from [Stockholm, Sweden's] Arlanda due to hurricane winds at Heathrow.

"When we got to Heathrow, we had a tourbus that picked us up to drive us to the festival. But because of the delayed flight, we manged to catch Friday traffic from London... I've never been in a worse traffic jam ever! The traffic jams I've been in in Tokyo (that are relly bad) felt like open highway. The trip that was plannd to take two hours took close to four hours!!!

"When we finally approached the festival site, our crew, in a last desperate act to try and make the show, left the bus and started running across the muddy fields towards the festival area. They made it there and started putting up our stuff, but since we were still trapped in the traffic, it was too late!

"It felt really shitty when we got there... so close but so far away.

"We feel really bad for all the fans that came to se us, but what can you do when the weather gods are in a shitty mood!? We managed to some interviews, though, and the festival promotors didn't blame us, so hopefully we can come back another year.

"Once again... Sorry to all you guys the went through mud and rain to see us at Download! Bummer."

EUROPE's ninth studio album, "Bag Of Bones", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2.

"Bag Of Bones" was released in Europe on April 27 via earMusic/Edel. The CD, which features a guest appearance by blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), was produced by Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with IRON MAIDEN, JOE BONAMASSA, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BLACK STONE CHERRY and JOURNEY, among others.

Jägermeister U.K. conducted an interview with vocalist Tony Sylvester of the Norwegian five-piece TURBONEGRO at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

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. The official video for the track can also be seen below.

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

Interview:



"You Give Me Worms" video:

Legendary British heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH closed this year's edition of the Download festival earlier tonight (Sunday, June 10) at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Black Sabbath
02. The Wizard
03. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
04. N.I.B.
05. Into The Void
06. Under The Sun
07. Snowblind
08. War Pigs
09. Sweet Leaf
10. Drum Solo
11. Iron Man
12. Fairies Wear Boots
13. Tomorrow's Dream
14. Dirty Women
15. Children Of The Grave

Encore:

16. Paranoid

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

Original BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler performed live together for the first time in seven years on May 19, playing an intimate show at the 3,800-person O2 Academy in SABBATH's hometown of Birmingham, England. The show, which served as a warm-up for the group's appearance at the Download festival, was laced with emotion and drama: it was the first live appearance for Iommi since being diagnosed with cancer, and it was the first with stand-in drummer Tommy Clufetos, making the split official between founding drummer Bill Ward and the rest of SABBATH.

Iommi, Osbourne and Butler discussed their new album in a video interview posted at NME.com. The three musicians are working with producer Rick Rubin on their first recording project together in 34 years, with Osbourne saying, "We've written about 15 songs so far. Whether they all get on the album, I don't know. We just keep on writing." Osbourne also dropped a clue about the set's title, hinting, "Next year, 2013, is a good clue to what we're going to call the album."

As for how Rubin influenced the band's approach to writing together again, Butler explained, "He sat us down, put the first album on and said 'listen to this', imagine it's 1969, you've just done that, what would you do next?"

Iommi added, "It's taken on the flavor of the old stuff in the way we put things together, but with a different look on it."

The project suffered another blow earlier this year when Iommi was diagnosed with cancer, although he said that playing the warm-up show in Birmingham, was a boost to his spirits. "It was great," he said. "Going through what I've gone through over the past year has been like living in a different world — being onstage and to get that (reaction from the fans) is just fantastic, it really boosts you up."

SABBATH has curtailed almost all its planned touring activities for 2012 while Iommi undergoes treatment. The band is still scheduled to headline Chicago's Lollapalooza event in early August.

Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

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

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. The new effort is tentatively scheduled for release in early 2013 via Roadrunner Records.

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."

Interview:



Rock Am Ring performance:

Luis Fernando Orquera of Quito, Ecuador's Últimas Noticias recently conducted an interview with American singer Lori Lewis of Swedish progressive/experimental metallers THERION. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

THERION will celebrate their 25th anniversary by embarking on a European tour in the fall. The trek, aptly dubbed the "25th Anniversary Tour", will kick off on September 28 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

THERION is currently working on its as-yet-untitled new studio album, to be released in September, shortly before the tour kicks off.

THERION's latest CD, "Sitra Ahra", sold around 800 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.

"Sitra Ahra" was released in North America on October 26, 2010 through Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed at the legendary Polar Studios in Stockholm by Lennart Östlund (LED ZEPPELIN, ABBA). The cover artwork was created by Thomas Ewerhard, who worked on all of the band's most recent releases in addition to collaborating with EDGUY, AVANTASIA, RAGE and HAMMERFALL, among others.

Shark of Colorado's classic rock radio station 103.5 The Fox recently conducted an interview with AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton. You can now listen to the chat below.

A preview of the official video for AEROSMITH's new single, "Legendary Child", is available below. The clip was filmed with director Casey Patrick Tebo, who also is helming a new concert film titled "Aerosmith: Rock For The Rising Sun". According to Tebo's official web site, the movie, which will focus on AEROSMITH's relationship with the group's Japanese fans, will be released later this year or in 2013.

"Legendary Child" recently landed on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart at No. 32 and the Hard Rock Digital Songs chart at No. 2. On the former chart, the song is the group's first entry since 2006, when "Devil's Got a New Disguise" reached No. 15.

"Legendary Child" will appear on AEROSMITH's 15th studio album, titled "Music From Another Dimension", which will arrive on August 28 via Columbia Records. The track was also supposed to be included in the upcoming summer film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation", but that movie was abruptly bumped from its June 29 release date to March 2013.

AEROSMITH premiered "Legendary Child"with a live performance during the season finale of "American Idol". It is a reworked version of a song originally written in 1991 during the sessions for the "Get A Grip" album.

"Music From Another Dimension" track listing:

01. What Could Have Been Love
02. Beautiful
03. Street Jesus
04. Legendary Child
05. Oh Yeah
06. We All Fall Down
07. Another Last Goodbye
08. Out Go the Lights
09. Love Three Times a Day (Hello Goodbye)
10. Closer
11. Shakey Ground
12. Lover A Lot
13. Freedom Fighter
14. Up On The Mountain

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while singer Steven Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

"Music From Another Dimension" is being helmed by producer Jack Douglas, who previously worked with AEROSMITH on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" as well as on 2004's "Honkin' On Bobo".

"This record is different from the recent past, say the last 20 years, where everybody is getting in the studio and throwing down their songs," guitarist Joe Perry recently told Billboard.com. "This record is a lot more band-written stuff than there has been in the recent past."

AEROSMITH's "The Global Warming" tour will kick it off on June 16 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota and wrap up on August 8 in Tacoma, Washington.

Interview:



"Legendary Child" video sneak peek:



"Legendary Child" audio stream:

Holland's FaceCulture recently conducted an interview with vocalist Charlotte Wessels of Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN. You can now watch the chat in three parts below.

DELAIN's third full-length studio album, "We Are The Others", will be released in North America this summer via the New Jersey-based top-tier progressive metal label Sensory Records. CNR Entertainment is handling the release in The Netherlands and Roadrunner Records is issuing the CD in the rest of Europe.

"We Are The Others" track listing (North American version):

01. Mother Machine
02. Electricity
03. We Are The Others
04. Milk And Honey
05. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
06. I Want You
07. Where Is The Blood (feat. Burton C. Bell)
08. Generation Me
09. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough
13. The Gathering (live)
14. Control The Storm (live)
15. Shattered (live)
16. Sleepwalkers Dream (live)

The lead single, "Get The Devil Out Of Me", hit stores on April 13 (April 15 for U.K.) to coincide with the start of the band's European tour.

The "Get The Devil Out Of Me" video can be seen below. The clip features footage from the recording sessions for the new CD and live material, including footage from the Sonisphere festival in the U.K. (used with kind permission of BlinkTV).

Described as "the band's most powerful, most atmospheric and intoxicating album to date," "We Are The Others" was helmed by producer Jacob Hellner — renowned for his work with RAMMSTEIN, CLAWFINGER and APOCALYPTICA — while the vocals were tracked with the Epicentre team of Fredrik Thomander and Anders Wikström (SCORPIONS, BACKYARD BABIES).

At first glance, some songtitles on "We Are The Others" may sound mysterious and conspiratorial, but there is a very serious background: The lyrics to the title track were inspired by the hate crime against a British girl named Sophie Lancaster in 2007. She and her boyfriend were beaten comatose by a gang of youths, because of their goth looks, and Sophie later died from her injuries. This tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the world.

Commented Charlotte Wessels: "Sophie's story hit close to home for us, being part of a subculture ourselves but it's in no way an individual case; people are discriminated against — all the time, to the point of violence — based on their cultural or ethnic background everywhere.

"'We Are The Others' is our own 'outsiders anthem' for everybody who, deliberately or not, diverts from the norm. Whether it's by looking different, acting different, or choosing a different path in life then is expected from you."

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



News report:



"We Are The Others" samples:



"Get The Devil Out Of Me" video:

Photo credit: Sandra Ludewig

Total Rock conducted an interview with SOIL at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

SOIL released its first-ever DVD, entitled "Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars", on May 8 via Bieler Bros. Records. The two-disc set, which was recorded live on October 14, 2011 at Electric Ballroom in London, England, contains an audio CD version of the same concert. Also included is over one hour of backstage and behind-the-scenes bonus footage and photos.

SOIL's current lineup consists of founding members Ryan McCombs (vocals; ex-DROWNING POOL), Tim King (bass) and Adam Zadel (guitar) alongside former STAIND drummer Jon Wysocki.

"Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars" track listing:

01. Breaking Me Down
02. Need To Feel
03. My Own
04. Redefine
05. Cross My Heart
06. Inside
07. The One
08. Wide Open
09. Black 7
10. Unreal
11. Halo
12. Pride

The "Halo" performance clip, taken from the "Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars" DVD, can be seen below.

The 10th-anniversary edition of SOIL's breakthrough album "Scars" — featuring the hits "Halo" and "Unreal" — was made available digitally on October 10 through Sony Music. The release features the rare B-side "Center" and the previously unreleased track "Damaged You" from the "Scars" recording sessions.

Interview:



DVD preview clips:

Kalle-Rock.de conducted an interview with guitarist Isaac Delahaye of Dutch female-fronted metallers EPICA on May 20 in Berlin, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

EPICA's fifth full-length album, "Requiem For The Indifferent", sold 4,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 104 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Design Your Universe", opened with 2,100 units to land at position No. 12 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.

"Requiem For The Indifferent" was released on March 9 in Europe and four days later in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth.

EPICA will embark on an extensive North American tour this fall. Support on the trek will come from ALESTORM, INSOMNIUM, SYSTEM DIVIDE, DESTINY POTATO.

Bassist Rob van der Loo (MAYAN, DELAIN) recently joined EPICA as the replacement for Yves Huts.

Video footage of SACRED REICH's June 9 performance at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden can be seen below.

The remastered edition of SACRED REICH's classic 1992 album "Independent" was released as a digipack and jewelbox on March 15, 2010 via Displeased Records. The first 2,500 copies contain a free SACRED REICH patch.

Bonus tracks:

* "A Question" (from "A Question" EP)
* "Let's Have A War" (FEAR cover from "A Question" EP)
* "Who's To Blame" (from "A Question" EP)
* "The Big Picture" (MDC cover from "Open Book" EP)
* "Crawling" [radio edit] (from "Crawling" EP)

Displeased Records' reissue of SACRED REICH's classic album "The American Way" came out in February 2009. With upgraded layout, to-the-point remastering plus unreleased pre-production demo bonus tracks and a video clip, this new and improved CD reissue is an essential addition to every thrash metal collection.

"The American Way" was made available in a limited digipak version and standard jewel case version. The first 2,500 copies came with a free logo patch.

UGLY KID JOE vocalist Whitfield Crane and KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque joined MOTÖRHEAD on stage this past Friday, June 8 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden to perform the song "Killed By Death". Video footage of their appearance can be seen below.

According to the official blog of the MOTÖRHEAD fan club organizer/editor Alan Burridge, the band's "The Wörld Is Ours Vol. 2" DVD will be released to tie in with MOTÖRHEAD's annual U.K. tour in November.

Released in North America in January via Motörhead Music/UDR, "The Wörld Is Ours Vol. 1 - Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" was a blistering DVD containing some of the finest moments from MOTÖRHEAD's 2011 tour.

Mixed by the band's long-time producer Cameron Webb, "The Wörld Is Ours Vol. 1 - Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" was stuffed with the classics Motörfans demanded, from "Overkill" to "Ace Of Spades" to "Killed By Death" as well as some old gems like "Over The Top" and new favorites such as "I Know How To Die".

"The Wörld Is Ours Vol. 1 - Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" contains the complete set from the band's supreme performance in Chile at the Teatro Caupolican in Santiago on April 9, 2011, shot by Banger Films and Sam Dunn ("Iron Maiden Flight 666", "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage"). The DVD continues with some tasty morsels from New York's Best Buy Theater and the Manchester Apollo.

Holly of Total Rock conducted an interview with KYUSS LIVES! members John Garcia (vocals) and Brant Bjork (drums) at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

The current KYUSS LIVES! lineup features former KYUSS members Garcia and Bjork (drums) alongside guitarist Bruno Fevery and bassist Billy Cordell.

Garcia, Bjork and ex-KYUSS bassist Nick Oliveri reunited for shows last year under the KYUSS LIVES! banner, in which they were joined by Fevery. The band has since toured on both sides of the Atlantic and is said to be currently working on a live album for a late 2012 release. There are also plans for the group to record a brand new studio CD — albeit without Oliveri, who exited the group earlier this year.

In March of this year, Garcia and Bjork were sued by their former KYUSS bandmates Josh Homme and Scott Reeder over the use of the KYUSS name.

In a recent interview with RollingStone,com, Bjork claimed that there was a "misconception" that KYUSS was Homme's band. "This untruth has affected Josh's ability to accept historical fact to the point that he truly believes he is entitled to dictate what we do with a band that we're all responsible for," he said.

"The simple fact that we got the band back together without him has left his ego bruised. I swallowed the bitter pill watching the band carry on after I left — now Josh is getting a taste."

Homme was the guitarist in KYUSS from the band's inception until its split in 1995.

Homme and Reeder released a statement on March 10 via public relations firm Nasty Little Man in which they claimed that they "made every attempt to help [Garcia, Bjork and Oliveri] continue KYUSS LIVES! respectfully. Only to discover while they looked us in the eye, KYUSS LIVES! management and band had filed federal documents in 2011 in an attempt to steal the name KYUSS. This is desperately what we were trying to avoid."

Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

When ANTHRAX was given the choice of playing this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival main stage or the festival's Jägermeister Stage, the band opted to headline the latter, and to do something special for the crowd.

Since vocalist Joey Belladonna rejoined the ANTHRAX lineup two years ago, ANTHRAX has made one of the most impressive comebacks in rock 'n' roll. As one of the "Big Four," the original architects of speed and thrash-metal, ANTHRAX joined METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH during the summer of 2010 on a series of "Big Four" shows in ten European cities, followed by a "Big Four" show outside of Los Angeles at the Coachella site (April 2011), and the big "homecoming" event for the New York-born-and-bred band members at Yankee Stadium last September.

The band released "Worship Music" on September 13, 2011, its first new album in eight years and the first with Belladonna on vocals in twenty years. "Worship Music" debuted at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart, received stellar reviews that included being named one of the best albums of the year in countless media outlets.

ADRENALINE MOB guitarist Mike Orlando took part in a guitar clinic and question-and-answer session this past Friday (June 8) at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. Check out video footage of his appearance below.

In addition to Orlando, ADRENALINE MOB features SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen, drummer Mike Portnoy (formerly of DREAM THEATER) and bassist John Moyer (also of DISTURBED).

ADRENALINE MOB's "Indifferent" video can be seen below. The clip was was filmed in March in the desert in California and throughout Los Angeles with director Scott Hansen, who has previously worked with A DAY TO REMEMBER, UNEARTH and WILLIE NELSON, among others.

"Indifferent" comes off ADRENALINE MOB's debut album, "Omertá", which sold around 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 70 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in Europe on March 19 in Europe via Century Media Records and in the U.S. on March 13 through the newly formed Elm City Music in conjunction with EMI Label Services.

The 11-song effort — which was produced by ADRENALINE MOB and mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked on ANTHRAX's "Worship Music" and STEEL PANTHER's "Balls Out" — includes a blistering reinterpretation of DURAN DURAN's classic "Come Undone" featuring guest vocals by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM.

ADRENALINE MOB and KILL DEVIL HILL recently joined forces for a short co-headlining tour. The trek kicked off on May 10 in Cleveland and made stops in Dallas, Chicago and Orlando before wrapping up in Charlotte on May 22. The shows featured KILL DEVIL HILL followed by ADRENALINE MOB and then end in all-out jam between the two groups.

Guitar clinic + Q&A:



"Indifferent" video:

Vocalist/guitarist Rolf Kasparek of German metallers RUNNING WILD was interviewed on the latest edition of "Rich Davenport's Rock Show". The program can be streamed using the Mixcloud player below. (Note: The Kasparek interview begins around the 18-minute mark.)

RUNNING WILD's latest album, "Shadowmaker", registered the following first-week chart positions:

Germany: #12
Sweden: #43
Austria: #61
Finland: #90

The CD was released in Germany on April 20, and was made available in the rest of Europe on April 23 and in the U.S./Canada on April 24 via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort was issued as a limited first edition in a black jewel case with silver printing and slipcase plus a 40-minute bonus DVD with a "making-of" documentary and a track-by-track commentary by RUNNING WILD mainman Rock 'N' Rolf. The double gatefold LP comes with printed innersleeves and clear vinyl. There is also a boxset limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. It contains 2 LPs, the black jewel case with the DVD, a poster, a sticker, a postcard and a 30-page book in LP size about the history of the band.

The cover of "Shadowmaker" is the most unusual in the history of the band, but when you listen to the title track and read the lyrics, you will understand the meaning of it. It was created by Rock 'N' Rolf and Jens Reinhold (EVERGREY, FREEDOM CALL, VIRGIN STEELE), who also handled artwork for all configurations.

Black Jewel Case + DVD track listing:

CD

01. Piece Of The Action (4:25)
02. Riding On The Tide (4:18)
03. I Am Who I Am (4:51)
04. Black Shadow (5:13)
05. Locomotive (4:35)
06. Me & The Boys (5:00)
07. Shadowmaker (4:25)
08. Sailing Fire (4:14)
09. Into The Black (4:57)
10. Dracula (7:29)

DVD

* Making of "Shadowmaker"
* Track-by-track commentary by Rock 'N' Rolf

Length: approximately 40 min

LP track listing:

LP 1

Side 1

01. Piece Of The Action (4:25)
02. Riding On The Tide (4:18)
03. I Am Who I Am (4:51)

Side 2

01. Black Shadow (5:13)
02. Locomotive (4:35)
03. Me & The Boys (5:00)

LP 2

Side 1

01. Shadowmaker (4:25)
02. Sailing Fire (4:14)
03. Into The Black (4:57)

Side 2

01. Dracula (7:29)

Box Set:

* 2 LPs, clear vinyl
* Black jewel case including DVD
* Poster
* Postcard
* Sticker
* 30 page book in LP size about the history of the band plus photos
* 35 x 35 cm
* Hard cardboard material with top

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has uploaded an eight-minute video clip featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the band's appearance earlier today (Sunday, June 10) at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Check it out below.

MEGADETH's setlist was as follows:

01. Never Dead
02. Head Crusher
03. Hangar 18
04. She-Wolf
05. Trust
06. Poison Was the Cure
07. Sweating Bullets
08. Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
09. Public Enemy No. 1
10. Symphony of Destruction
11. Peace Sells
12. A Tout Le Monde
13. Angry Again
14. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

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 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.

Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate's June 8 solo performance at Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California can be seen below.

Geoff entered the studio on February 29 to begin recording his second solo album.

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

When asked about the sound of his new solo album, Tate told AnthologySD.com, "Well, it's very different from my last one, for sure. It's a new bunch of people I've been working with to write and record it, so that changes things. When you're working with different people, it really changes the record. This one is really hard rock. The last one was really all over the place with different styles of music and everything, but this one really keeps with the hard rock style. It does it in kind of a different way — more of my way or what I would envision. I guess it's experimental in some ways, while in others it's very traditional. What I tried to do was take traditional rock instrumentation and apply it in kind of a different song structure. That's what I would best describe it as. [laughs]"

Regarding his current solo tour, Tate told the Lincoln Journal Star, "QUEENSRŸCHE is not doing much together this year. I wanted to keep touring and I wanted to move in a different direction. It's kind of a singer's dream, really. You're not competing with the other instruments, especially the drum kit. The whole idea was hatched after a dinner party at my house one night."

RISING WEST, the new band featuring Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren of QUEENSRŸCHE, along with powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY, played its first two shows ever this past Friday (June 8) and Saturday, June 9 at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, Washington. The band performed rare and classic hits from the first five QUEENSRŸCHE albums — from the 1983 EP through 1990's "Empire" — as well as a cover version of the IRON MAIDEN staple "Wrathchild".

Commented Wilton: "To all our friends and fans — thank you for the support this weekend for the debut RISING WEST invasion!! Of our two shows, both were SOLD OUT!! We injected the metal everyone has been longing for and served it in slab size proportions! Thank you to our hard working crew, the Hard Rock Café Seattle, and our friends WINDOWPANE for making this a historical and FUN event!!!"

RISING WEST's setlist for both shows was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Walk In The Shadows
04. En Force
05. Child Of Fire
06. The Whisper
07. Warning
08. The Needle Lies
09. Take Hold Of The Flame
10. Prophecy
11. My Empty Room
12. Eyes Of A Stranger

Encore:

13. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN cover)
14. Roads To Madness

Fan-filmed video footage of RISING WEST's June 9 concert at Seattle's Hard Rock Café can be seen below.

Speaking to "The Men's Room" radio show, which airs on the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM, Wilton stated about the formation of RISING WEST and the status of QUEENSRŸCHE, "We have some time off this year, so we put a project and this kind of turned into this monumental, epic band. And we're doing that as kind of a side thing away from QUEENSRŸCHE." He added, "We still very much are QUEENSRŸCHE, and QUEENSRŸCHE will be continuing on. We want to just have some fun, play some old 'RŸCHE, bring back some memories and just kick it."

Regarding his involvement with RISING WEST, Todd said, "For me to be able to come in and be asked to perform these songs is an honor. It's a lot of fun. I have personal attachment to some of these songs. When my grandmother passed away, I remember riding in my car and listening to the [QUEENSRŸCHE] song 'Roads To Madness'. I mean, these songs resonate with me in a different way. So when I sing it, it comes from my heart."

He added, "We're playing all the old [QUEENSRŸCHE] classics and I can belt it out just like the record."

Quality fan-filmed video footage of SOUNDGARDEN's June 7 performance at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden 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, which came 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," 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.

Fan-filmed video footage of legendary rocker Alice Cooper and his band performing a cover version of Lady Gaga's empowerment anthem "Born This Way" this past Friday (June 8) at at Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi can be seen below.

In a September 2011 interview, Cooper said that Lady Gaga reminded him of himself. "[She] is the female Alice Cooper," he said. 'She totally gets it. She created a character named Lady Gaga and wrote songs for Lady Gaga, just as I write songs for Alice. But when you meet her offstage, she's nothing like that person… and neither am I."

Cooper previously praised the 25-year-old singer — who is said to be a fan of heavy metal and hard rock — saying: "She can sing, write and play piano — she's not just a costume queen ... you can be as outrageous as you want as long as you back it up with the music."

Cooper was photographed backstage at Lady Gaga's show on March 25, 2011 in Phoenix. The pop singer marked the occasion by smearing fake blood over her chest and posting on her Twitter profile, "I just died and went to hell" after the meeting.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach performing the SKID ROW classic "Slave To The Grind" this past Thursday (June 7) at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden can be seen below.

Bach last week released a video for the song "I'm Alive". The clip is one of three videos (alongside "Kicking & Screaming" and "TunnelVision") that the singer filmed on June 28, 2011 in Hollywood, California with director Devin DeHaven of Fortress Entertainment (PAPA ROACH, WHITESNAKE, METHOD MAN, TALIB KWELI).

"I'm Alive" comes off Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", which sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer's previous CD, "Angel Down", opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.

Fan-filmed video footage of SEPULTURA's June 7 performance at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden can be seen below.

SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25, 2011 in Lichtenfels, Germany.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.

Reunited hard rockers UGLY KID JOE performed this past Friday (June 8) at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. Also available is an interview with UGLY KID JOE singer Whitfield Crane conducted at this year's Download festival, which is being held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom.

UGLY KID JOE released a new six-song EP, "Stairway To Hell", digitally on June 5 and will make it available physically on July 9.

"Stairway To Hell" heralds UGLY KID JOE's return, containing songs spanning the full repertoire of influences which made UGLY KID JOE one of the prime soundtracks for young snowboarders, surfers, keggers and characters worldwide. Whether it's "Devil’s Paradise", with it's hypnotic riffery and hook line, grooving and grinding its hips seductively, the melodic power-fueled darkness of "No One Survives" or the irrepressibly memorable chug-and-chorus of "I'm Alright" it's clear that UGLY KID JOE have everything they started with plus fatter chops and a (frankly) superior curve on songwriting.

"Stairway To Hell" track listing:

01. Devil's Paradise
02. You Make Me Sick
03. No One Survives
04. I'm Alright
05. Love Ain't True! (feat. Angelo Moore and Dirty Walt of FISHBONE)
06. Another Beer

All six tracks can now be streamed using the widget below. Also available is the video for "Devil's Paradise", which was filmed in early April in Lake Tahoe, Nevada with Mike and Dave Hatchett of Standard Films.

UGLY KID JOE released three full-length albums and toured extensively throughout the 1990s before disbanding in 1997.

UGLY KID JOE 2012 is:

Whitfield Crane - Vocals
Klaus Eichstadt - Guitar
Dave Fortman - Guitar
Cordell Crockett - Bass
Shannon Larkin - Drums

Performance footage ( Sweden Rock Festival):





Interview ( Download festival):

Kerrang! magazine conducted an interview with vocalist Dez Fafara of California metallers DEVILDRIVER at this year's Download festival, which is being held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

The DEVILDRIVER-headlined Metal Alliance Tour — which also featured THE FACELESS, DYING FETUS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, IMPENDING DOOM and WRETCHED — kicked off on March 15 at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas and concluded on April 21 in Houston, Texas.

When asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for DEVILDRIVER's sixth album, Fafara told Peek From The Pit in a March 2012 interview, "We used to put a record every two years. I don't think it's gonna be [like that this time]. We are free agents right now, which means we're [no longer signed to Roadrunner Records and we're] talking to many record companies. It's gonna be a very critical record for us, when it does come out, and we're gonna take time to write it. I actually heard one track the other night that is incredible. We all started writing vocals to it right when we were sitting in the back [of the bus], so if it's gonna stay on that route, I think it's gonna be an incredible record."

Dez also spoke about the the musical direction of DEVILDRIVER's new material and whether the band will attempt to make the next record even more "brutal" than "Beast". "We continue to make our records diverse, which is cool," he said. "Every record is different with DEVILDRIVER, so I think we're gonna surpass what we've done in the past. And then going into the 'brutal' question, it's like, man, everybody is as brutal as everybody now. So we wanna have some diversity and we wanna have some moments and some clarity within the songs. I think the thing we're really focused on is songwriting. We don't have a producer chosen, we don't have the [studio] time [booked]. We don't even know if we're gonna release a record in 2013, maybe 2014, or maybe fall of 2013; we're not sure. So there's all this stuff up in the air. But what we do know is we're having a good time writing and exchanging feelings on the songs. . . Like I said, it's gonna be a very important record in our career, so we're gonna take time and we're gonna craft it."

As previously reported, DEVILDRIVER bassist Aaron "Bubble" Patrick sat out the Metal Alliance Tour after being diagnosed with Streptococcus pneumonia, an inflammation and swelling of the lung, caused by an infection with the bacteria. Filling in for Patrick was his former BURY YOUR DEAD bandmate Chris Towning.

Patrick joined DEVILDRIVER as the replacement for Jonathan Miller, who quit the band in March 2011, calling it "the most difficult decision of my life" but "something that I needed to do for myself."

Terry "Beez" Bezer of Download festival's "The Lowdown Reloaded" conducted an interview with the metal juggernaut known as HELLYEAH — featuring Vinnie Paul Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN), Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE), Tom Maxwell (NOTHINGFACE) and Bob "Zilla" Kakaha (DAMAGEPLAN) — at this year's Download festival, which is being held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

HELLYEAH will take part in a signing session on July 17 at Looney Tunes in West Babylon, New York beginning at 7:00 p.m. More information is available at this location.
Professionally filmed video footage of HELLYEAH's entire May 27 performance at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, Oklahoma can be seen 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.

HELLYEAH's "Band Of Brothers" video was filmed on March 26 at Loyal Studios in Burbank, California with director David Brodsky of MyGoodEye, who has previously worked with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GOATWHORE, MUNICIPAL WASTE and SUFFOCATION, among many others.