The first of three video "chapters" introducing "The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall", the long-awaited sophomore album from BLACK LIGHT BURNS, the avant-garde alter ego of LIMP BIZKIT/ex-MARILYN MANSON guitarist Wes Borland, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Agata Alexander.

"The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall" will be released on August 14 via Rocket Science Ventures/THC: Music.

"This is a really personal record for me," says Wes. "I spent three years writing it . . . and I am confident it's the best BLACK LIGHT BURNS record yet."

"The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall" track listing:

01. How To Look Naked
02. We Light Up
03. I Want You To
04. The Girl In Black
05. The Colour Escapes
06. Tiger By The Tail
07. Your Head Will Be Rotting On A Spike
08. Torch From The Sky
09. Because Of You
10. Splayed
11. Scream Hallelujah
12. Bakelite
13. Burn The World
14. Grinning Like A Slit
15. The Moment You Realize You're Going To Fall

"Scream Hallelujah" audio stream (courtesy of AOL's Noisecreep):



BLACK LIGHT BURNS will support LIMP BIZKIT on a U.S. tour in the fall.

BLACK LIGHT BURNS released its debut album, "Cruel Melody", in 2007 through I Am: Wolfpack, the record label headed by producer Ross Robinson (KORN, SLIPKNOT, SEPULTURA, SOULFLY, LIMP BIZKIT). The group's original recording lineup featured Danny Lohner (NINE INCH NAILS), Josh Eustis (PUSCIFER) and Josh Freese (WEEZER, A PERFECT CIRCLE, GUNS N' ROSES, DEVO). An LP/DVD of unreleased B-side material, "Cover Your Heart And The Anvil Pants Odyssey", followed in 2008. In 2009, after a yearlong stint playing guitar for MARILYN MANSON, Wes and BLACK LIGHT BURNS hit the road for an extended run with industrial powerhouse COMBICHRIST, and contributed the track "I Want You To" to the "Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans" soundtrack. BLACK LIGHT BURNS took a temporary hiatus while Borland stayed busy with the reformed LIMP BIZKIT, who embarked on an ongoing world tour supporting their recently released LP "Gold Cobra". In 2012, BLACK LIGHT BURNS returned, to the delight of fans, with the track "It Rapes All In Its Path" on the "Underworld: Awakening" soundtrack.

BLACK LIGHT BURNS 2012 touring lineup:

* Wes Borland: Vocals, Guitar
* Nick Annis: Guitar
* Dennis Sanders Jr.: Bass
* Joe Letz (COMBICHRIST): Drums

Earlier today (Sunday, July 15), Rustyn Rose of Metalholic.com conducted an interview with drummer Jeremy Spencer of Las Vegas metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is taking part in the Trespass America summer festival tour, which kicked off this past Friday, July 13 in Broomfield, Colorado. The trek, which will hit 31 cities before winding down on August 28 in Los Angeles, also features KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, POP EVIL, TRIVIUM, GOD FORBID, EMMURE and BATTLECROSS.

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

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.

MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil joined SLAUGHTER on stage in July 6 at the Sunset Station Amphitheater in Henderson, Nevada to perform the CRÜE classic "Home Sweet Home". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

SLAUGHTER bassist Dana Strum and guitarist Jeff "Blando" Bland are both longtime members of Neil's solo backing band.

Neil's latest solo album, "Tattoos & Tequila", was recorded in the winter of 2009 with Strum, Bland and drummer Zoltan Chaney. The album includes two new songs — "Tattoos & Tequila" and "Another Bad Day", both produced by Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE, DEF LEPPARD) — plus a selection of classic cuts from some of the rock giants that have influenced Vince Neil throughout his musical career.

A 16-minute video clip containing behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the self-titled debut album from the Stuttgart, Germany-based sleaze metal band HELLDORADOS can be seen below.

"Helldorados" was released on July 13 via Massacre Records/Soulfood. The CD was recorded between February and April at the legendary Horus Sound Studios (SCORPIONS, HELLOWEEN, KREATOR, VICTORY, GUANO APES) in Hannover, Germany with producer Mirko Hofmann, who previously worked with the group on a four-song promotional EP in 2011. ELOY frontman and founder of the Horus Sound Studios, Frank Bornemann, acted as "a godfather." The cover artwork was created by the Unesco prize winner Timo Wuerz.

Commented HELLDORADOS singer Pierre: "We got to know Timo Wuerz by accident at an art and commerce congress. Between all of the geeks, he looked more like us." They discovered that they had many things in common — including a love for rock music and art. "Moreover, we both grew up in the same small town. That probably [had something to do with it]."

According to a press release, HELLDORADOS' sound lies "somewhere between the hit potential of a catchy ABBA tune, the sleaze of GUNS N' ROSES and the striking force of PANTERA. A strange mixture but it seems to function."

"Helldorados" track listing:

01. In The Beginning
02. Never Gonna Stop
03. You Live, You Learn, You Die
04. Go To Hell
05. Changes
06. Shout Out
07. Hunter
08. Double Dealer
09. Gone
10. Torture Is My Name
11. Girls
12. Got Laid

Oakland, California death metallers SUFFOKATE have gone public with their vocalist search following the recent departure of Ricky Hoover. More information is available on the band's Facebook page .

Hoover quit SUFFOKATE in May, claiming that it was "in the best interest for everyone" for him to depart. He revealed that he "could no longer continue" to front the band due to reasons he "[wouldn't] get into." He added, "I have no bad feelings or ill will towards the band and will always have love for them and the music I was fortunate enough to help create. I have poured my all and given everything I have into these last two albums and will always be grateful for them and everyone who supported me. No matter what happens, the guys in SUFFOKATE will always be my brothers. I will do whatever i can to help them out. They are some of the greatest people I have ever met and I'm truly thankful I've gotten to do this with them."

SUFFOKATE's latest album, "Return To Despair", was released last September via Mediaskare Records. The CD was recorded at Undercity Studios in North Hollywood, California.

LoudTV.net recently conducted an interview with guitarist/co-founder Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström of Swedish dark rockers KATATONIA. You can now watch the chat below.

KATATONIA has announced dates for an extensive European tour in support of its forthcoming ninth album, "Dead End Kings", which hits stores in Europe on August 27 and in North America on August 28 through Peaceville Records. Support on the trek will come from French shoe-gazers ALCEST and Boston's JUNIUS.

Tickets go on sale from Monday, July 16, with general and VIP options being available direct from Katatonia.com and the band's official Facebook page.

"Dead End Kings", which features a guest appearance by Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland (THE GATHERING), was recorded over a two-month period at Stockholm's Ghost Ward studios and the band's new, as-yet-unnamed headquarters. David Castillo returned to "twiddle the knobs," while band co-founders Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström and Jonas Renkse handled the rest of the production duties.

Commented Renkse: "'Dead End Kings' is about the corridors of our mind from where there is no return. Be a king or queen in your own right in these hallways, even at the dead end. Carry your burden with pride. That's what we are doing, twenty years and counting. Kings, because we believe in what we are creating, in our own disturbing faith."

Added Anders: "This album has doors revolving into many different genres of music but remain disguised within the KATATONIA trademark. We have walked the fine line between attempting not to repeat ourselves but also not to distance us away from what people know and love. We're now ready to hand over the evidence and whatever the direction this has taken is now for you to decide. We're confident the creativity and passion on this album is something that will be echoing even beyond the dead end."

"Our seal of identity is on here for sure," Nyström told Decibel magazine. "We haven't gone and changed our sound, but we've further explored some different angles of good music, and that's what we need to do to keep the focus. It might not be so obvious to some, but to others it will be a bigger deal. So, sure, a few surprises and a few songs going off territory are in there, but overall this album is a natural follow-up to [2009's] 'Night Is The New Day', and that is what we wanted to do."

"Dead Letters" lyric video:

DETHKLOK, the animated band from Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse", performed this past Friday night (July 13) on the USS Midway battleship in San Diego, California. The group made its first live appearance of 2012 as "Metalocalypse" came to life at the San Diego Comic-Con convention. Those attending the free concert enjoyed new animation and new songs from DETHKLOK's upcoming album.

A 15-minute fan-filmed video report on the concert can be seen below.

The current DETHKLOK touring lineup consists of Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, TESTAMENT, DEATH, DARK ANGEL), Mike Keneally (FRANK ZAPPA) and Bryan Beller (STEVE VAI).

Created by Brendon Small ("Home Movies") and Tommy Blacha ("Da Ali G Show"), the "Metalocalypse" TV series launched in 2006 and kicked off its fourth season at the end of April on Adult Swim. One of the most popular series on the cable network, "Metalocalypse" portrays DETHKLOK as a death metal band with enough popularity to be the world's seventh-largest economy. In reality, DETHKLOK is the highest-selling band in death metal, exploding onto The Billboard 200 with "The Dethalbum", debuting at No. 21 in 2007 and "Dethalbum II" at No. 15 in 2009. Both albums contain full-length versions of songs partially heard on the show.

Alfred Music Publishing last year partnered with Cartoon Network Enterprises, the licensing and merchandising arm of Adult Swim, to present the first authentic bass TAB transcriptions of songs by DETHKLOK.

During a new interview with RollingStone.com, legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) revealed that he is already looking ahead to recording his next album, to feature the same band with which he made the current "Apocalyptic Love" CD. "We've got the tour that's gonna go into next year, we're starting work on the next record," Slash said.

Slash and his band MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS — Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass) and Frank Sidoris (guitar) — announced a fall headlining tour starting September 4 in San Diego, California and wrapping October 3 in Los Angeles, California.

Slash scored his first-ever No. 1 hit at rock radio as a solo artist with "You're A Lie", the first single from his second solo effort, "Apocalyptic Love". The record came out on May 22 and debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard album chart a week later, selling 38,000 copies in its first week of release.

Unlike Slash's solo debut, which featured different vocalists on each track and a number of guest musicians, Slash has recorded all of the new CD with his touring band, MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS.

Slash co-wrote all the material with ALTER BRIDGE singer Myles Kennedy and told The Pulse Of Radio that they never struggled to find a groove together. "There was never any kind of like, 'OK, we need to sit down and focus on writing,'" he said. "Just whenever ideas happened, I would just lay them down, and if I thought it was good enough to send to him, then I'd send it to him. And he miraculously would come up with melodies for everything I came up with, and it just happened like that."

Slash and his band recently completed a month-long tour of Europe.

Vocalist Tobias Sammet of German melodic metallers EDGUY slipped off the stage yesterday (Saturday, July 14) during the fifth song of the band's performance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany. While the rest of the band continued to play, Tobias fell into the photographers' pit, hit the concrete ground and sustained a number of injuries: a fracture of the nose, a severe hip contusion, a severe rib contusion and several abrasions and cuts. Despite the fact that Tobias was in severe pain, EDGUY performed its full set, which went on for another hour.

Commented Tobias:"Thanks for your kind wishes. I am alright. I do not have a clue how it happened. The stage wasn't damp, my shoes were alright, I do not have to mention that I was completely sober as this must have been obvious to everyone. I have no clue how it happened. I just fell and suddenly there was blood and a little pain, which got worse song by song. I didn't know you can squeeze so much blood out of such a little nose (well, it‘s not exactly little at this point...). The doctor just said the nose will be fine in a few weeks. Anyway, there was too much adrenaline to stop the show. The fans were so great, it just felt wrong to stop the show, so we decided to just go on and have the doctors repair me afterwards. I am okay now, looking terrible and hurting, but who cares... I‘ll be fine. Thank you for your wishes and for making the show a great show, despite the little incident."

EDGUY's new album, "Age Of The Joker", sold around 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD debuted at No. 21 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.

EDGUY's previous CD, "Tinnitus Sanctus", opened with 600 units back in February 2009 to land at No. 88 on the Top New Artist Albums chart.

"Age Of The Joker" was released in Europe on August 29, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Peppermint Park studio (SCORPIONS, PHIL COLLINS) in Hannover, which was previously described by the group as "a recording temple with a tremendously great-sounding room." The album features 11 songs with a total running time of over one hour. The limited-edition digipack contains a bonus disc with six additional songs.

Producer Jason Slater, who worked with QUEENSRŸCHE's on on their last three studio albums, claims that the the band's members Scott Rockenfield (drums), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Eddie Jackson (bass), had very little to no involvement with the band's 2006 CD, "Operation: Mindcrime II", despite the fact that they were credited with having played on the record.

Wilton, Jackson, Rockenfield and guitarist Parker Lundgren announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with singer Geoff Tate and recruiting powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY as his replacement. The new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup has already performed live, having played two shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.

Slater submitted a sworn declaration in support of Tate's motion for preliminary injunction to prevent Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren from using the name QUEENSRŸCHE for their new group.

Slater said in his declaration: "I first worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on their 'Operation: Mindcrime II' CD.

"When I met the band, everyone seemed enthusiastic about making the CD, but as we began working, none of the band members except for Geoff Tate were interested in contributing, showing up for recording sessions or participating in any fashion. On several occasions, studio time was arranged but none of the band members showed up. This left myself, Geoff Tate, and [then-QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist] Mike Stone to write and record the record the record. Every attempt was made to include the band. They received copies of the songs after they were written and time was set aside for them to come in and record. We scheduled two weeks at a local studio to record Michael Wilton. When he showed up, he hadn't learned any of the songs, so all the time was spent trying to teach him the songs so he could record them. In the end, he wasn't capable of performing any of the songs accurately enough to be used on the record. In the end, we had no guitars from Mike that could be used. The guitars on the record were played by Mike Stone, a session guitarist and myself.

"Scott Rockenfield did not participate in the making of the record at all, and a session drummer was brought in to play on the record. I don't believe [Scott] listened to any of the music until after the record was completed.

"We had Eddie Jackson come to the [San Francisco] Bay Area, where Geoff and I were finishing recording the vocals and mixing the record, with the intent of recording his bass parts. Again, he hadn't learned the songs and we spent 10 days trying to get professional recordings but couldn't get much that could be added to the songs, so I played the majority of the bass on the record.

"The members of the band badmouthed the record to the press and important people in the industry until they saw the record getting favorable reviews. At that point, they started taking credit for all the work that was done in their absence.

"The next full-length record I worked on with them was 'American Soldier'. The band was supposed to submit songs they had written and we were supposed to start recording as songs carne in. It quickly became apparent that they were again going to leave all the work to Geoff as nobody submitted any songs. Geoff and I wrote all but two songs on the record, the other two carne from outside writers. The band did play on this record, but put the minimum amount of effort into it. They did nothing beyond copying the performances Geoff and I recorded on the songwriting demos.

"As the producer of over 20 major label records, countless independent releases and several film scores, my opinion of the process wasn't that of working with a band, but that of working with a solo artist and some mediocre hired musicians."

Slater's account appears to corroborated, at least in part, by guitarist Mitch Doran (a former member of SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY, which also featured Slater), who wrote on the MyLesPaul.com forum, "If you guys read the rest of the [QUEENSRŸCHE] depositions, there are numerous references to the fact that a session guitarist had to be brought in to play on a few QUEENSRŸCHE records post-2005. I am said session guitarist.

"I ended up re-playing 90% of the rhythm guitar on 'Operation: Mindcrime II' record, and also wrote and played most of the guitar solos. I was still in my late teens when I played that stuff. At the point that I wrote the solos and played all of the rythms, we didn't have a lot of time. Geoff Tate kept calling us during the one week we had to mix the record and asking for things to sound 'heavier.' The producer would then have me re-play all of the rythms through a Mesa/Marshall dual head setup we had running. I did this for the song 'Hands' and 'I'm American' probably three times before we settled on a combination of different amp settings/takes.

"Scott Rockenfield isn't even on 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. A session drummer/old friend of mine named Matt Lucich from South San Francisco played all of the drums except for one bridge, which me and the producer simultaneously played on two kits spaced across the room from each other. Then there's the track 'I'm American', which is a bad midi-programmed drum take that I did on a laptop and it ended up getting used for some reason (time constraints, or the producer didn't like the live take).

"After the first guitar recording session, they hired me to engineer for the rest of the record as well.

"They broke the silence (pun intended) about my involvement in their declarations. I spent five long years not talking about this stuff to ANYONE.

"That record, for all intents and purposes, SHOULD carry the following credits:

* Drums: Matt Lucich
* Guitars: Mitch Doran (yours truly), Ashif Hakik, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton
* Bass: Ed Jackson, Jason Slater
* Vocals: Geoff Tate (Miranda Tate, Pamela Moore)
* Orchestration/Keys: Ashif Hakik
* Mixed: Chris Wolfe

"So as you can see, it's a QUEENSRŸCHE-related record, but not exactly a classic or traditonal QUEENSRŸCHE lineup.

"I always had a lot of respect and admiration for that band, from back when 'Mindcrime' and 'Empire' were two great records that I enjoyed.

"When I was asked to play guitar on their record, by Geoff Tate and their then-producer, I had no idea what the rest of their situation was. Ed Jackson showed up and played his ass off. Mike Wilton was never at the studio when I was, and now that I read the deposition that he wrote, he says he was kept away from the studio. I had no idea about any of that, and it was explained to me that Wilton was just not showing up to play. It never made sense to me at all. Neither did Scott not being there. I always thought of Scott as a master drummer. Why then was I programming drums for this record? I was told a lot of stories as to why, but when you are a hungry kid and getting offered good engineer/session guitar work on a tight deadline, you drink the coffee and do the work. Years later I met Scott and worked on some songs with him and Geoff, Scott was always very nice, and indeed the master drummer that I had originally pictured.

"It's really sad that it had to come to this, and I feel like if these guys could have wrote all of those depositions, as heartfelt messages to one another in private, things would be a lot different. Also, Geoff was always a calm and peaceful guy. He'd drive us around the Bay Area to the mastering facilities, he'd offer to bring stuff in, he sent us gifts after the record was done mixing, he sat the engineers down and gave us a talk thanking us for being professionals and apologizing for any toes he could have stepped on during the creative process (which he didn't)

"I will say that there were a few screaming arguments in the lobby between Geoff's manager and the producer, and more than once the producer came in and told me to stop working (while recording ed playing his bass parts) and not to let the hard drive with the Pro Tools files out of my sight.

"I have always had a large black spot in my heart over having played on this record, having it debut at #15 on Billboard, and then not being able to tell anyone about it. I have a lot to say about each song on it. I also completely understand why a QUEENSRŸCHE fan would put it on and say, 'WTF?'"

In his sworn declaration, Wilton stated about the writing and recording process for "Operation: Mindcrime II", "Susan Tate [Geoff's wife and QUEENSRŸCHE's then-manager] brought to the table the idea to record 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. The band was hesitant and did not want to lessen the original. But Susan Tate and Geoff Tate hired a budget producer and took control without really any other input. The manipulation of upfront monies was the Tates' main tool to get what they wanted. Scott Rockenfield, Eddie Jackson and I were squeezed out of having any input in the musical direction or business decisions, thus the project suffered. The rest was an organizational nightmare. The producer was never around when needed; he was constantly asleep on the job or playing games on his media player. He would send emails to the wrong email addresses. During the initial writing phase, I would show up to bring my input to the creative process only to find that the producer, the new guitar player (who were both staying with the Tates at the time), along with Geoff Tate had been up late the night before or up early that morning and had written the songs without me. I was then told my ideas were not needed as the songs were now done. I could, however, 'bring my own style' in during the recording after learning to play what they wrote for me. In frustration, I gave up on the writing process knowing that I would at least get to make changes in the studio to bring back the QUEENSRŸCHE sound into these songs that we were known for. The final straw was when they refused to let me to be a part of the final recordings and mixes. I was shut out and they had the nerve to replace some of my parts on my songs. They denied me flying to San Francisco to be a part of my band, telling me that everything was ready to go and I was not needed. Had the communication been better, and had I been aware that parts needed to be recorded or rewritten, I would have been there. It was not until years later that I even became aware of the issues during the final recording and mixing of 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. It was all under the control of Geoff and Susan Tate. Call it delusions of grandeur, but they were convinced that this was going to sell three times more than the original, and to date (six years later) this album has sold fewer than 150,000 copies. The original album sold over 500,000 copies within a year."

Norwegian black metallers DJEVEL (Norwegian word for "devil") will release a brand new seven-inch vinyl single, "Besatt Av Maane Og Natt", on August 24. This very limited EP features two demo songs from the band's forthcoming album. Mainman T. Ciekals states, "The tracks are, as always, dark and infected with malicious Norwegian melodies."

Pre-orders are being taken at www.aftermath-music.com.

DJEVEL recently announced the addition of drummer Dirge Rep (GEHENNA, ENSLAVED, GORGOROTH, ORCUSTUS) to the group's ranks.

DJEVEL's debut album, "Dødssanger", was released last year via Aftermath Music. The cover artwork was created by DJEVEL's T. Ciekals and Truls Espedal, who has previously worked with ENSLAVED.

DJEVEL was formed in June 2009 when T. Ciekals decided to disband his previous group, LJÅ. With a lot of material already composed for the next LJÅ album, he decided to put all this and more into DJEVEL. Initially DJEVEL was supposed to be a one-man project but it has slowly grown into something resembling a band.

In other news, Dirge Rep and T. Ciekals are also involved in another band, NETTLECARRIER, which entered Caliban Studio on March 23 to record its debut album. According to T. Ciekals, the CD will contain "eight tracks of infernal Norwegian black metal" and will be released later in the year via Indie Recordings.

NETTLECARRIER is:

T.Ciekals (DJEVEL, ex-LJÅ) - Guitar
Dirge Rep (GEHENNA, ORCUSTUS, ex-GORGOROTH) - Drums
Mannevond (KOLDBRANN, DJEVEL, ex-URGEHAL) - Bass

Italy's TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY has inked a deal with Agonia Records. The band's debut album, "Ruralizer", will be released in the fall.

Commented the group: "We're very proud of how the album came out and we strongly believe it's the perfect way to begin our legacy. People into heavy, ballsy southern-tinged hard rock should take note!"

According to a press release, TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY "emerges from the muddy shores of the Po River in Piacenza and draws strong inspiration from the rural and folklore parts of its homeland. Their upcoming debut album is a classic blend of feisty stoner/southern rock and doom metal, with catchy guitar solos and old-school heavy metal parts that may remind of LYNYRD SKYNYRD, CORRISON OF CONFORMITY, PRIDE AND GLORY, DOWN, BLACK SABBATH, or even ZZ TOP riffage. Apart from hard rock instruments, the band uses also a banjo and Hammond organs."

The Metallic Onslaught conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIESTESS — the New York City-based all-girl JUDAS PRIEST tribute band — on July 14 at the Clarence Hotel in Seneca Falls, New York. You can now watch the chat below.

JUDAS PRIESTESS is band of hard-rocking chicks hell-bent on hitting stages across the USA and tearing up the classic headbangers of the undisputed masters of metal, JUDAS PRIEST.

Formed in July 2009, this spike-and-chain-clad group of loud and grinding heavy metal-lovin' gals crashed head-on into the music scene a scant four months after forming and have already begun to receive critical acclaim from the press.

In a recent interview with The Morning News, JUDAS PRIESTESS guitarist D. Mercedes stated about her band's live performances, "The fans who show up want to get the music the way they know it. They also want to come to see if we can do it, if we can really play. Especially since we're women. Men have more leeway."

She added, "Many is the time that men will come up to us after the show and say, 'We came here to laugh.' They say, 'We thought you would stink and this would be a goof.' And then they say, 'Wow, were we surprised.'

"We're not upset or whatever playing in tribute bands. Far from it. We had a discussion recently, and came to the conclusion: Who's the most important person in the entertainment industry? Lady Gaga — the ultimate tribute to Madonna! Hello?! Is that not the biggest tribute act on the planet? This lady has taken it to the stratosphere, but it's still a tribute act."

Interview:



Performance:

PitCam.TV conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD at this year's edition of the With Full Force festival, which was held June 29 - July 1 at Flugplatz Roitzschjora in Löbnitz, Germany (near Leipzig). You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about the recent Roadrunner Records "restructuring" under parent label Warner Music Group, which resulted in roughly 36 staff members worldwide being let go and several regional offices being closed, Flynn said, "It's a shame, man. It's a fucking shame. Considering that these are, like, the premier people in their field… I mean, when it comes to metal, there was no one better. They were profitable, which almost no label in this day and age can say. The thing that was most bizarre was that Warner had all of their rock and metal bands going through Roadrunner [in Europe] 'cause [Warner] didn't know what to do. So it's kind of like, 'Why would you [close the Roadrunner offices in those territories]?' But they did it."

He continued, "We're still trying to see how it is; we're trying to get a feel for what's going on. We're in between labels right now — the last record was the [final one under our most recent contract with] Roadrunner, so we're actually in a pretty unique position, because we've got a lot of different choices that we can go with right now, and the world is, basically, our oyster. It's a rad position to be in. Eight years ago, we got turned down by 35 labels, and now every label on the planet wants to sign us. [laughs] So it's pretty awesome. So we're gonna play it out. Roadrunner's still got a lot of people that we know and love there — especially in America, they've got a real strong… the core people that are there are huge MACHINE HEAD supporters. We're gonna check it out and we may very well end up on Roadrunner. We just need to make sure that it's the right thing and that they get what we're doing, because we're not a pop band, we're not some mainstream artist. I mean, we're the biggest underground metal band, I guess, there is."

On the topic of how the record industry woes affect the up-and-coming heavy metal artists, Flynn said, "I don't think any new band is gonna have trouble. I mean, you look at… SUICIDE SILENCE is the perfect example. They came out of nowhere, they got an Internet buzz and they made themselves a hot band. And they made people care. And that's ultimately all that you have to do. That's all any band has ever had to do for the history of time. You have to make people care about your music and about your trip and about how you do it. And if you can do that, then the labels will come to you."

Flynn also stressed that, while the Internet is a great tool for new bands to promote themselves, they will still need the backing of an experienced and established label to get their music out to the masses. "You need money to do stuff, and you need [the labels] to loan you money to do stuff," he said. "You need them to knock on all of the doors and go, 'Hey, this is cool,' or 'This is not cool.' You need a staff of people. It's a lot more involved than most people think. I mean, yeah, you can get a buzz going, and you can probably put out a self-financed demo and do great stuff, but at some point, in order to make the whole thing work on a worldwide level, you need something like that. And [it's] better to have their money than have to spend your own. [laughs]"

MACHINE HEAD recently announced plans to film a video for the song 'Darkness Within' in the Czech Republic. The track comes off the band's new album, "Unto The Locust", which sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN have posted an eight-minute video report from the East Coast leg of their "Maiden England" tour. You can watch it below.

The 34-date "Maiden England" tour is IRON MAIDEN's most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of other cities the band have not played in a very long time such as Atlanta, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento, and places like Sarnia (Ontario, Canada) and Cadott, Wisconsin where they have never visited before. The tour is based on the band's "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour", with a setlist almost exclusively from the 1980s featuring all the classic songs and hits. The same spectacular stage set as was used on the original 1988 tour has been recreated, complete with a magnificent light show, pyro and a newly reincarnated Eddie!

When asked by The Aquarian Weekly what the reason was behind choosing a setlist like that of the famous 1988 excursion, 7th Tour Of A 7th Tour, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said, "Well, we just thought it'd be fun to revisit that period in time — there were some good songs there. It's just great revisiting some of the songs we haven't played for a long while. It keeps us fresh and it's just, you know, we got a lot of new fans coming on board now, a lot of younger fans who probably never saw or were around when we did that tour. That's one factor of it for us revisiting that time and I think there's some good songs from that period, so it's fun to do."

On the topic of how this tour differs from those in the recent years, Adrian said, "Well, this is a new set; we haven't taken the stage set out, for example, so it's a new stage set. We got new effects. I think it's going to be actually more spectacular than the original tour and probably, technically, you got more stuff now to put into a live show in terms of lighting and that, which will make it quite spectacular, so I think this is going to be pretty special, this tour. What with the songs, we love playing these songs, and with the stage set and effects and of course we got Eddie, he's back, so it should be fun."

The extraordinary and legendary ALICE COOPER is IRON MAIDEN's very special guest on all shows up to July 21. After that date, special guest will be COHEED AND CAMBRIA, the inspiring, cutting-edge band from New York.

For a complete list of "Maiden England" 2012 tour dates, visit IronMaiden.com.

Christian metallers TOURNIQUET will release a new album, "Antiseptic Bloodbath", this summer via Pathogenic Records. The CD will feature guest guitar solos by Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH), Karl Sanders (NILE), Pat Travers, Bruce Franklin (TROUBLE) and Santiago Dobles (AGHORA).

A two-and-a-half-minute video clip featuring footage from the album's April 2012 recording sessions can be seen below. Also available is the CD's cover artwork, which was created by Travis Smith of Seempieces (OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND, NEVERMORE, ICED EARTH, DEATH, AMORPHIS).

Commented TOURNIQUET: "The title track, 'Antiseptic Bloodbath', speaks of the way our society prefers to sanitize brutality. We can have our tidy Christian faith, or continue with no faith at all, as long as we don't consider the painful bloody price that was paid for us.

"We use animals for our food, profit, and amusement, but would rather not know about the needless, often systematic suffering that is inflicted on them by a callous and greedy humanity. 'Don't upset my comfort zone — brutal truth, leave me alone.' The great news is that we have the ability to choose. This album encourages us to make good and humane choices in our daily lives that reflect these images."

TOURNIQUET's last studio release, 2003's "Where Moth and Rust Destroy" (Metal Blade), featured special guest appearances by guitarists Marty Friedman (ex-MEGADETH) and Bruce Franklin (TROUBLE).

Late last year, Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) and Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG) tapped Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON) to be the guitarist/vocalist of their new project following the departure of John Sykes (WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THIN LIZZY).

Although Portnoy and Sykes demoed a dozen or so songs at a Los Angeles studio last year, their vastly different work ethics and conflicting schedules were solely to blame for the dissolution of their collaboration.

During an interview that aired on this past Friday night's (July 13) edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Portnoy said, "I love John personally, and we get along great — he's a sweetheart of a guy — but I need to keep moving. I can't sit still and kind of wait to make an album over the next three years, I need to put things on the calendar and move forward and get them done, and John's kind of just a 'wait, wait, wait' guy. Sadly, it kind of just stopped in its tracks, and Billy and I said, 'Look, let's do something.' And you [Eddie] were the one, actually, that suggested Richie Kotzen and I thought it was a brilliant suggestion, because he's an unbelievably underrated talent, not only [as] a guitar player but a phemonal singer, and just an amazing songwriter and artist. I think people just kind of lump him, or write him off as the guy that was with POISON and MR. BIG. I think they have no idea what he's really capable of."

He continued, "Me and Billy have already done two writing sessions with Richie, with the three of us, and we have about eight songs done and written and we've got another handful that are ready to go, so we're gonna start the album next month."

When asked to describe the musical direction of the project, Portnoy said, "It's a classic-rock kind of power-trio sound. If you picture the classic-rock bands of… the classic ones — [LED] ZEPPELIN, CREAM, [JIMI] HENDRIX, GRAND FUNK [RAILROAD] — if you take that classic-rock power-trio sound of the early '70s, and then you sprinkle it on top with some of the modern kind of sounds of SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS or BLACK CROWES or LENNY KRAVITZ… It's in that vein; it's kind of a [mixture] of all of those bands. But on top of it all you've got the phenomenal playing that Richie and Billy do, and I could play a couple of things on the drums as well [chuckles], so... And all three of us are singing — Richie is the lead vocalist, obviously, but me and Billy are also singing."

As previously reported, Portnoy and Sheehan, guitarist Tony Macalpine and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, PLANET X, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) will join forces this fall, embarking on an extended tour of Europe and Asia. The virtuoso band will play an all-instrumental set consisting of material from each of their solo records and their previous collaborations as well as classic instrumental covers and extended solo spots.

ASHENVEIL, the new "ambitious" female-fronted metal band out of New Jersey featuring OPERATIKA drummer Yuri Liakhovitch and SYMPHONY X bassist Mike LePond, will release an EP, "Black Of Light", in August. The CD was mixed by Jeremy Krull (DARK EMPIRE) and was mastered at Finnvox studios (NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM) in Helsinki, Finland. The cover artwork was created by Albino-Z and Robert Ladd and can be seen below.

"Black Of Light" track listing:

01. Black Of Light
02. Venomous
03. Naked Smile
04. Lost In Dreams
05. Giordano

Described by LePond as "heavy metal-sounding BLACKMORE'S NIGHT," ASHENVEIL was formed in the summer of 2009 when a group of friends met up for a jamming session. They clicked and the chemistry between the players was obvious to all. At that point, the songwriting process began and the direction of the band was musically defined and established. Eager for great things to happen, after a series of extensive rehearsals, the band — under its former name, TRACE OF EMPTINESS — performed several shows locally to get their foot in the door, gain exposure and start building the fan base. However, it wasn’t until singer and songwriter Christine Greenwood joined in March 2010 to take over the vocal duties that the band was able to maximize its potential and reach the point where "only sky was the limit." With Christine's unique voice handling operatic soprano or alto singing styles, modified and tailored for each individual song, the band went on to record its first demo that was completed by the end of April 2010. After a series of lineup changes, Rich Fischer on the guitar joined the band in 2011 and brought much-needed technicality and versatility to complete the band’s unique and multidimensional sound.

In the 10-minute video below, LePond talks about ASHENVEIL, the band's upcoming EP and some of the individual songs that will appear on the CD.

"Venomous" audio stream:





Interview:

"Collector Vs Protector", the new video from THE INIQUITY DESCENT, the extreme-metal project featuring vocalist Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns of Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL, can be seen below. The song comes off THE INIQUITY DESCENT's debut album, "The Human Apheresis", which was released on May 25 via Massacre Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. In Prostration
02. An Empty Temple
03. The Human Apheresis
04. Obedience Torn
05. Collector Vs Protector
06. Believers In The Apotheosis; Imaginary Ectoplasmic Hands
07. Decimate, Disintegrate
08. Trust The Serpent
09. The Invisible
10. Infected

THE INIQUITY DESCENT released its debut EP, "Trust The Serpent", in November 2010. The CD was mastered at Nordic Audio Labs by Sami "Hannu" Koivisto and contains four songs (out of 11 that were tracked).

THE INIQUITY DESCENT is:

Mathias Lillmåns - Vocals
Mikael Mannström - Guitars
Philip Kerbs - Guitars
Jonas Frilund - Bass
Kenna Nygård - Drums

A tribute album to David Gold — a founding member of the Ontario, Canada-based black and doom metal band WOODS OF YPRES, who was killed in December in a car accident near Barrie, Ontario — will be released later in the year.

The project's mastermind, Steph LeDrew, states about the collection: "On December 21, the world lost WOODS OF YPRES founder/frontman David Gold. Not only was the entire local metal community but the international metal family mourned the loss of such a brilliant soul. As a thank you and farewell to WOODS OF YPRES, I reached out to those who were influenced by WOODS and David, so join me in creating a musical salute to one of the greatest doom metal bands to unleash onto the underground metal scene."

Arists and songs featured on the album are as follows:

* NOVEMBERS DOOM - "Wet Leather"
* GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH - "Suicide Cargoload"
* ECLIPSE ETERNAL - "Crossing The 45th Parallel"
* EMPYREAN PLAGUE - "Shedding The Deadwood"
* PANZERFAUST - "A Meeting Place And Time"
* PAGAN RITUAL - "The Shams Of Optimism"
* AMARANTH - "Allure Of The Earth"
* ALBIREON - "Retrosleep In The Morning Calm"
* ANEMIC - "The Sun Was In My Eyes: Part Doom"
* BEGOTTEN - "The Sea Of Immeasureable Loss"
* RELIQUIS - "Career Suicide"
* JOEL VIOLETTE and RAE AMITAY - "Silver"
* CANOPY - "Falling Apart"
* UNBOWED - "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground"
* DEATHMARCH - "Northern Cold"
* KUHRZARTH - "Finality"
* THE GOV' AND FRIENDS - "Intro: The Looming Of Dust In The Dark"
* THE BEAR HUNTERS - "Thrill Of The Struggle"
* SVARTE KRAKE - "You Were The Light"
* JUSTIN BENDER (INTO ETERNITY) - "Trillium: The 3rd Of Three Winters"

For more information, go to this location.

Formed in 2002, WOODS OF YPRES has earned critical acclaim for its ever-evolving, envelope-pushing mix of blackened doom metal. Most often compared to bands such as AGALLOCH and TYPE O NEGATIVE, WOODS OF YPRES toes a thin line between the catchy, the artistic and the extreme to create an unmistakable signature sound.