Video footage of Belgium-based classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen and British heavy metal singer Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) playing an acoustic version of the IRON MAIDEN classic "The Trooper" on Saturday, July 28 at Bannermans in Weston, England can be seen below.

Zwijsen who has recorded an acoustic IRON MAIDEN tribute album called "Nylon Maiden", has joined forces with Bayley for an acoustic tour. Thomas previously said, "We will play [the BLAZE BAYLEY song 'Soundtrack Of My Life'] along with some other Blaze songs, some WOLFSBANE songs, many IRON MAIDEN songs and, of course, some of my 'Nylon Maiden' arrangements."

Bayley contributed his vocals to a cover version of IRON MAIDEN's "The Clansman" for the "Nylon Maiden" album.

Zwijsen is one of the musicians who backed Bayley on Blaze's most recent European "The King Of Metal" tour.

Bayley's new studio album, "The King Of Metal", was released in March. The CD was recorded at Fear Studio in Ravenna, Italy.

The 49-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to replace Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer of IRON MAIDEN.

On July 2, Rustyn Rose of Metalholic.com conducted an interview with vocalist Michael Vampire of Los Angeles-based goth-metallers VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!'s sophomore album, "Hellbound And Heartless", sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 10 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Hellbound And Heartless" was released on June 19 via Hollywood Waste Records. According to a press release, the CD "showcases the darker side of VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!, focusing on message-driven lyrics and deriving musical influence from industrial rock icons such as MARILYN MANSON and ROB ZOMBIE. "

"Hellbound And Heartless" was co-produced by the band and Mike Sarkisyan and Tommy Decker, both members of Grammy-nominated alternative-metal act SPINESHANK. Every song on the album presents a fresh, new morsel of gothic darkness for fans to sink their teeth into.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE! recently parted ways with bassist Philip Kross. Filling in on bass for the Vans Warped Tour this summer is Adam Vex (SUFFER WELL, AESTHETIC PERFECTION, IMPERATIVE REACTION).

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!'s "Drug Of Choice" video can be seen below. The clip was directed by Robby Starbuck (ESCAPE THE FATE, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, PIERCE THE VEIL) and "truly captures the paradoxical squalor and glamour of the song," according to a press release.

Interview:



"Drug Of Choice" video:

JANETSHAREROXYGINA (a.k.a. JSRG), the newly formed group featuring three former members of the platinum-selling all-female '80s band VIXEN — singer Janet Gardner, drummer Roxy Petrucci and bassist Share Ross, along with guitarist Gina Stile, who was the guitarist on VIXEN's "Tangerine" album — made its unofficial live debut last night (Saturday, July 28), performing a three-song "surprise" set at Club Loaded at Ollie's Point/Revolution in Amityville, New York. Fan-filmed video footage of their appearance can be seen below.

Commented Gardner, "It feels so good to be reunited with Roxy and Share. And when we started jammin' some old VIXEN songs with Gina, we knew this was right."

Share Ross added, "With hits like 'Edge Of A Broken Heart', 'Cryin'', 'How Much Love', 'Not a Minute Too Soon', 'Love is a Killer' and 'Rev It Up' emblazoned upon our souls, we knew it was time to resurrect our sound. We want to give the fans what they want."

In 1987, "Edge Of A Broken Heart" climbed the Billboard chart to the Top Ten and VIXEN had hit after hit. EMI suddenly had the only platinum-selling all-female rock band of its time on their roster.

Dubbed "MTV Darlings", the hits kept coming with "Cryin'", "How Much Love", "Love Is A Killer" and "Not a Minute Too Soon". The band earned credibility as they opened up for superstars, including OZZY OSBOURNE, DEEP PURPLE, SCORPIONS and BON JOVI, to name a few. A live performance on the "Arsenio Hall" television show sealed their credibility with the fact that these girls could play.

JSRG will play a select number of casinos, festivals and showcase dates in 2013 and perform all the VIXEN hits along with new songs from their as-yet-unreleased EP. The debut gig will take place at the kick-off party as well as on board the Monsters Of Rock Cruise on March 16-20, 2013 sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida bound for CoCoCay and Freeport, Bahamas.

JSRG is not to be confused with the current version of VIXEN, which consists of founding member Jan Kuehnemund (guitar) alongside Jenna Sanz-Agero (vocals), Lynn Louise Lowrey (bass), and Kat Kraft (drums).

VIXEN's original members Gardner, Kuehnemund, Pedersen and Petrucci appeared together on VH1's "Bands Reunited" in October 2004 to reminisce about their start on L.A.'s Sunset Strip and their rise to fame in the late 1980s, before the onset of grunge in the early 1990s displaced metal at the top of the charts. They also took part in a short performance for the program.

JSRG performing live on July 28, 2012 in Amityville, New York:





Janet Gardner and Gina Stile interview + acoustic performance on WCCC radio station in Hartford, Connecticut - June 22, 2012:

Fan-filmed video footage of LYNCH MOB July 28 performance at this year's Halfway Jam in Royalton, Minnesota can be seen below.

Rat Pak Records has set an August 7 release date for LYNCH MOB's new four-song EP, "Sound Mountain Sessions".

According to a press release, "Sound Mountain Sessions" is a straight-forward, gritty, well-polished American hard rock offering that truly captures the magic of the genre. It's got bite, it's got soul, and lyrically, Oni Logan holds nothing back on this one! The effort was recorded in the traditional "old-school" way, with the bandmembers having locked themselves into Sound Mountain Studios for a week straight and putting their ideas in the capable engineering hands of Chris "The Wizard" Collier. With nothing more than the desert rats as their audience, a steady intake of ramen noodles, and their passion for rock and roll, the band gave birth to "Sound Mountain Sessions", an EP that rivals their previous work from the early years. Another fantastic element about these new songs is the addition of bassist Robbie Crane, who brings solid grooves and melodic backing vocals to each track (a little known fact: Robbie was actually the very first bass player of LYNCH MOB!). George Lynch does what George Lynch has always done best in this amazing release — he plugs in his guitar and then taps into the universal energy that only the elite guitar gods have access to....and delivers the goods. You are not looking for another "Wicked Sensation", you are looking for "Sound Mountain Sessions", a powerful EP that introduces you to the next chapter / best chapter yet, of these legendary rockers.

"Sound Mountain Sessions" track listing:

01. Slow Drag
02. World Of Chance
03. City Of Freedom
04. Sucka

Click here for audio commercial and exclusive pre-order bundles.

LYNCH MOB shot a video for the song "Slow Drag" on June 29 in Houston, Texas with renowned film producer W. Ross Wells of Zen Film. While in Houston, the band was also filmed for an upcoming episode of "Live From Sugar Hill", a rare all-acoustic performance shot at Sugar Hill Studios by Grammy producer Dan Workman and Zen Film. "Live From Sugar Hill" is sponsored by Vitamin Water/Coca Cola, and will air sometime in mid-August.

LYNCH MOB has tapped Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE) as its new touring drummer for the upcoming summer shows in support of the band's new release.

LYNCH MOB 2012 is:

Oni Logan - vocals
George Lynch - guitar
Robbie Crane - bass
Brian Tichy - drums

BLEEDING THROUGH was forced to cancel last night's (Saturday, July 28) concert at the House Of Blues in San Diego, California with DEMON HUNTER and CANCER BATS after singer Brandan Schieppati underwent emergency orthodontic surgery.

Commented the band: "Symptoms started to appear [on Friday] and put him in a no-choice position [Saturday] morning. [We] can assure you from the many messages he has sent the band saying 'I am so sorry' he would do it if he could. We all apologize for any trouble this could have caused and appreciate your support."

BLEEDING THROUGH's new album, "The Great Fire", was released on January 31 via Rise Records. The band's guitarist, Dave Nassie, described the CD in a recent interview as "a mix of everything. It has a strong, classic SLAYER element to it — because, you know, who doesn't like that? That's something as a band that we all like. It has a heavy black metal and thrash influence in it. This record is an example of what BLEEDING THROUGH like to do. We follow each other. Nobody really picked a direction and said, 'Hey, we want to sound like this.' Brandan came in with a bunch of really aggressive songs, [Guitarist] Brian [Leppke] had a bunch of aggressive songs. My songs kind of lightened it up a little bit, because we started listening back and realized that there were like 15 songs that were just pissed with no break in it at all. [laughs]"

RedBeard of ShipOMetal.co.uk conducted an interview with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz of Florida death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE in March 2012 in Bristol, England. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

CANNIBAL CORPSE and DEVILDRIVER will join forces for a European co-headlining tour in February/March 2013.

CANNIBAL CORPSE's twelfth studio album, "Torture", sold 9,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Evisceration Plague", also opened with 9,600 units to land at No. 66. That was more than 50 percent higher than the opening tally of CANNIBAL CORPSE's 2006 CD, "Kill", which entered the chart at No. 170 after shifting more than 6,000 copies.

"Torture" was again produced by HATE ETERNAL's Erik Rutan at his own Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida as well as Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, and features the maniacal cover art by longtime CANNIBAL CORPSE artist Vincent Locke.

While "Torture" marks the latest progression in the band's sound, it also witnesses a return to what drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz accurately terms "the frenzied attack of 'Butchered At Birth' (1991) or 'Tomb Of The Mutilated' (1992)," infusing the band's advanced musicianship with the raw savagery that haunted their earlier releases, and in the process conceiving the definitive CANNIBAL CORPSE record.

"Ressecution", a brand new song from DAVID SHANKLE GROUP, the progressive power metal band founded by former MANOWAR guitarist David "The Shred Demon" Shankle, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

David was a member of MANOWAR from 1988 to 1994, playing on the epic album "The Triumph Of Steel" and co-writing "Master Of The Wind", "The Burning", "Ride The Dragon" and "Demon's Whip". David left in 1994, after countless sold-out tours all over the world, and attended Roosevelt Music University in Chicago to improve his jazz and classical guitar skills.

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP vocalist Warren Halvarson is a Chicago native who began his singing career in the mid-1980s while fronting a band called CRYSTAL AXE. Warren is one of the most respected and talented vocalists in the Chicago metal scene today. His range, power, clarity and dynamic stage presence are well known to legions of fans.

On bass is Mike Dooley, who grew up and lived entire life in or near the southwest side of Chicago. Currently the frontman for SLAYER tribute act HELL AWAITS, he was recruited this past May to dominate the art of shred with the DAVID SHANKLE GROUP.

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP drummer Gabriel Anthony is a true force in the music industry. Gabriel was so good that at the age of 17, he was already performing in clubs all over the Chicago area.

DSG's debut album, "Ashes To Ashes", was released in 2003 on Magic Circle Music. A sophomore effort, "Hellborn", followed in 2007.

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP is currently in the studio working on new songs for its third CD. David states, "This new album is guaranteed to melt your face."

The four members of METALLICA held a press conference yesterday afternoon (Saturday, July 28) prior ot the opening show of their eight-concert run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City, Mexico. You can watch video footage of the question-and-answer session below. A few excerpts follow.

On why METALLICA chose to debut its new stage show in Mexico City:

Lars Ulrich (drums): "We have had a longstanding love affair with all things Mexico, starting back in '93 when we came down here and played five shows at the place we're playing tonight, which resulted in the 'Binge & Purge' box set, which was fantastic. We came back in '99 and played at Foro Sol and did another three nights at Foro Sol a couple of years ago. So when we wanted to do the world premiere of this crazy new show, which is the first new show that we've done since we did 'Death Magnetic' four years ago, we couldn't think of a better place to do it than right here in Mexico City. And obviously, also, we have so many friends here, so many fans, a lot of people who come from Latin America and from a lot of different places. So we figured parking ourselves in Mexico City for a couple of weeks and playing all these shows and premiering this stage and kind of getting the Mexican fans to be part of the initiation of this new stage, we couldn't think of a cooler place to do [it in]. And this whole thing, obviously, as some of you know, is the beginning of the METALLICA 3D movie project, and so that's kind of what we're gonna be spending the next six weeks on. So that culminates up in Vancouver at the end of August, where we're gonna be shooting a movie and playing the last couple of concerts."

On METALLICA's plans to enter the studio in September to start putting ideas together for the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic":

James Hetfield (guitar, vocals): "I've been itching to write for a long time — all of us have — so there's lots of ideas. There's been lots of little things that have kind of jumped up and gotten in the way of writing. So we're pretty excited to get writing again. It could go very quick, it could take a long time; we have no idea. That's the beauty of the artform."

Robert Trujillo (bass): "[There are] lots of riffs to jam on, and that's pretty exciting for us. But, like James said, there are a lot of little walls and barriers we've gotta get through, and then we'll be writing like crazy."

On whether METALLICA's collaboration with Lou Reed ("Lulu"), which was recorded in only 10 days, will affect the writing and recording process for the band's next album:

James Hetfield: "I think everything we do affects the next thing somehow. We don't know how that will show up. That is another way of writing. And I think it gave us confidence that we can go in and trust a little more of the moment. There's another side of this that is complete obsessive and perfectionist. So finding a balance is key to doing a METALLICA record."

On how Hollywood has been treating Lars Ulrich following his recent forays into acting — first in the 2010 Russell Brand comedy "Get Him To The Greek" and then again earlier this year in the HBO drama "Hemingway & Gellhorn":

Lars Ulrich: "I think those are two isolated situations. I've always been incredibly interested in film. I've always been incredibly interest in the creative process, whether it's film or music or painting or sculpture or writing, so being around creative people is always fascinating. So when there people call up and say, 'Come and do this for three days,' or 'Come and do this for a couple of weeks,' it kind of perks up my interest. I think the word 'career' is certainly not applicable. I don't have an agent, I don't have anybody. I can tell you that in the wake of the 'Hemingway' movie, [which] was premiered about two months ago, I've gotten this many phone calls [showing a zero sign, using his index finger and thumb] — zero. So there you go; this may be the end of it. But I'm always interested in just different creative outlets and experiences, and as long as they sort of fit in and don't get in the way of anything METALLICA. But film has always been my passion and when I'm not with my family or with METALLICA, I park myself in the film world and I see film and I read about film and I study film. It's always been kind of my great escape. Those were two interesting experiences, but it's not anything that I'm pursuing in relation to a career or any bullshit like that. If I was ever gonna be involved in film, I would probably be more interested in writing or maybe producing. Acting — sitting around in a trailer for eight hours a day for you to get called — it's not exactly my dream gig. But I think writing or producing would be interesting at some point. But acting is not a huge thing."

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Shadows Promotions conducted an interview with HELMET mainman Page Hamilton on July 28 at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. You can watch the chat below.

HELMET recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of its classic "Meantime" album by embarking on a five-week European tour and playing the LP in its entirety at each and every show.

HELMET's latest full-length album, "Seeing Eye Dog", came out on September 7, 2010. The band's first LP since 2006's critically acclaimed "Monochrome" and its seventh album overall was made available on the indie Work Song label (with physical distribution by Redeye and direct-to-fan digital delivery by Topspin). The CD was produced by HELMET mainman Page Hamilton, with additional production by Toshi Kasai and vocal production by Mark Renk.

Hamilton is joined in the current HELMET lineup by drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Dave Case.

Peter Lizano of MusicTourReviews.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Zach Myers of the Jacksonville, Florida-based hard rock/post-grunge band SHINEDOWN. You can now watch the chat below.

SHINEDOWN's latest album, "Amaryllis", was released earlier this year and made a #1 chart debut on Billboard's Rock Albums chart, and a #4 debut on The Billboard 200.

The CD's first single, "Bully", hit #1 at rock radio, marking SHINEDOWN's seventh consecutive chart-topper at the format.

"Amaryllis", sold 106,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

SHINEDOWN landed the biggest debut of its career in July 2008 when its third album, "The Sound Of Madness", sold 50,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 200. This marked the first Top 10 album of the band's career.

The million-selling "The Sound Of Madness" yielded six chart-topping singles like "Second Chance", "Devour", "If You Only Knew" and the title track. It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, spending 120 weeks on the album chart.

MetalSickness.com conducted an interview with drummer John Boecklin of California metallers DEVILDRIVER at this year's edition of the Hellfest festival, which was held June 15-17 in Clisson, France. You can now watch the chat below.

DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara recently announced plans to record a benefit song for his sister Kerri, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

DEVILDRIVER bassist Aaron "Bubble" Patrick has been sitting out the band's recent tour dates after being diagnosed with Streptococcus pneumonia, an inflammation and swelling of the lung, caused by an infection with the bacteria. Filling in for Patrick is his former BURY YOUR DEAD bandmate Chris Towning.

DEVILDRIVER recently inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records. The band's next album is tentatively scheduled for a release in 2013.

The new QUEENSRŸCHE made its official live debut as the headliner of the last day of this year's Halfway Jam, which took place July 26-28 in Royalton, Minnesota. Also appearing on the bill at the three-day event were ENUFF Z'NUFF, LYNCH MOB, STRYPER, BANG TANGO, TRIXTER, JACKYL, BLACKFOOT, MOLLY HATCHET and .38 SPECIAL.

QUEENSRŸCHE's setlist was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Neue Regel
04. Walk In The Shadows
05. En Force
06. I Don't Believe In Love
07. Child Of Fire
08. The Whisper
09. Warning
10. Spreading The Disease
11. The Needle Lies
12. Prophecy
13. Take Hold Of The Flame
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger
16. Empire
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17. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN cover)
18. Jet City Woman
19. Roads To Madness

Video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE's performance can be seen below.

QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Parker Lundgren (guitar) 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 previously played two shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.

Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield defeated Tate's motion for a preliminary injunction on July 13 that would have kept them from touring and operating under the band name,

Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit against Geoff's ex-bandmates on June 22 in King County Superior Court over whether he should be awarded the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being dismissed from the group in June. Their complaint states Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson wrongfully fired the singer and are tarnishing the group's brand by attempting to move forward without him.

If the case goes to trial, the date is set for November 18, 2013.

In the meantime, Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield, along with Lundgren and La Torre have launched a new web site at QueensrycheOfficial.com.

Lundgren was briefly married to Geoff's stepdaughter Miranda; they have since divorced.

Pictured below: New QUEENSRŸCHE lineup

MINISTRY's management has released the following statement:

"[On Saturday] July 28, 2012 [in] Paris [France at] 9:05 p.m. MINISTRY frontman Al Jourgensen collapsed onstage during the live MINISTRY performance and was rushed to hospital via ambulance where he was examined by numerous physicians and diagnosed to have had a full-system collapse due to extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion intensified by the lack of ventilation on stage at the venue. Doctors confirm via blood tests conducted that Jourgensen's alcohol blood levels were well below normal and no narcotics were found in his system.

"As a result, MINISTRY has cancelled today’s appearance at the L'Etaples, France Rock En Stock festival in order to allow Mr. Jourgensen a few days rest to recuperate and receive additional medical attention in Switzerland. Jourgensen fully intends to complete the remaining shows on the MINISTRY 'DeFiBriLlaTouR' European leg.

"Jourgensen extends his most sincere apologies to his devoted Parisian fans who displayed so much love, respect and concern for him before and after the MINISTRY show."

Said Jourgensen: "I will make it up to you, somehow. I love Paris, I love the Parisian people. I'm so sorry… but shit happens and the shit hit the fan for me last night."

Jourgensen officially reformed MINISTRY last year after a three-year hiatus and released a new studio album, "Relapse", in March.

Video footage of KISS's acoustic performance during the meet-and-greet portion of the band's show on Friday, July 27 at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida as part of "The Tour" with MÖTLEY CRÜE can be seen below.

KISS will release its 20th studio album, "Monster", on October 16 through Universal Music Enterprises. Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," the CD features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game.

"Monster" is the group's first studio album since the band's 2009 smash success, "Sonic Boom", and was also produced by Paul Stanley with Greg Collins at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, and The Nook in Studio City, California.

"Monster" represents KISS' nod to the music that first inspired them to pick up their guitars and flame-throwers and don makeup to entertain millions. The group goes back to their own beginnings with THE WHO-like "Freak", while Gene lives up to the title track's declaration on the raucous rock of "Back To The Stone Age" and the bludgeoning "The Devil is Me". Even guitarist Thayer takes a turn on his own with "Outta This World". a tribute to his KISS "spaceman" character, while drummer Singer provides the vocals (and the back story) for the arena anthem "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll".

The authorized memoir by late GIRLSCHOOL guitarist Bernadette Jean "Kelly" Johnson called "Surviving My Friends: The Official Kelly Johnson Story", is now available an e-book at this location. The book was started by Johnson and completed by her friends and family.

Kelly Johnson passed away on July 15, 2007 after a six-year battle with cancer of the spine. Along with Johnson, the classic lineup of GIRLSCHOOL included Kim McAuliffe (guitar), Enid Williams (bass) and Denise Dufort (drums). The band was an integral and major force in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement, beginning with the release of its debut album, "Demolition" (1980), and continuing with the follow-up efforts, "Hit 'n' Run" (1981) and "Screaming Blue Murder" (1982).

Johnson originally left GIRLSCHOOL in 1984 after recording the band's fourth album, "Play Dirty", and moved to Los Angeles where she lived for the next 10 years. She rejoined GIRLSCHOOL in 1993 and moved back to the U.K. From 1993 until 2000 Kelly, Kim, Denise and Tracey Lamb toured Europe and the USA and recorded a live album in March 1995. Kelly decided to quit the music business for good in 2000 after recording her final album with GIRLSCHOOL, "Not That Innocent: 21st Anniversary" (2001).

For more information, visit the Kelly Johnson memorial page.

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman joined Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC on stage earlier today (Sunday, July 29) at the Fuji Rock Festival at Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa-machi, Niigata, Japan.

Commented the band: "It was a unbelievably great experience in Fuji Rock! Heaviest band in Fuji Rock ever! CHTHONIC with special guests, Marty Friedman, Musashi, and Shin Ichikawa."

Added Friedman: "Today at Fuji Rock, yes, that is the ultimate K-1 fighter Musashi in there, he joined the band on a song in Taiwanese!! Incredible...Then I played on their final song, 'Quell The Souls In Sing Ling Temple', which is one of my favorite songs of theirs, totally dramatic theme, I loved playing it!"

A photo of Friedman on stage with CHTHONIC can be seen below. Also available is professionally filmed video footage of the CHTHONIC performance.

CHTHONIC's sixth full-length effort, "Takasago Army", was released in North America last September via Spinefarm Records. Produced by Rickard Bengtsson (ARCH ENEMY, NEMESIS) at Sweet Spot Studios in Halmstad, Sweden, this 10-track outing completes a trilogy of CHTHONIC releases, telling a story that binds together the band's "Seediq Bale" and "Mirror Of Retribution" albums, released in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Friedman will embark on the "Guitar Universe 2012" European tour in October. Support on the trek will come from Israel's Yossi Sassi (ORPHANED LAND) and France's Stéphan Forté (ADAGIO).

As previously reported, three recent albums by Marty Friedman — whose groundbreaking work with MEGADETH and CACOPHONY continues to receive international acclaim to this day — will be released in North America by Prosthetic Records on August 14.

KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley will appear on Extra TV's "Mansions and Millionaires: Celebrity Real Estate" this weekend.

The driving force behind the greatest band ever born on American soil will take viewers on an all-access tour of his Los Angeles Italian Villa as well as give a sneak peek of what fans can expect from this summer's concert event of the season, The Tour, and the equally anticipated forthcoming KISS album, the Paul Stanley-produced "Monster".

Check your local listings for airtimes.

According to WSBT.com, a television station in South Bend, Indiana, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante and his wife were arrested Friday (July 27) for domestic battery in front of a child.

Arrest records indicate the pair were picked up at the Hilton Garden Inn in Elkhart, Indiana, and both were released from Elkhart County Jail on Saturday (July 28).

The Benantes' booking details show a court date set for this Friday, August 3 at 8:30 a.m.

For more information, visit the web site of the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department.

Benante, 49, and his wife Sandra, 41, had a daughter, Mia Charley Benante, in January 2006. They currently reside in Long Grove, Illinois.

Charlie and ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello (who is Benante's nephew) missed several shows on ANTHRAX's North American tour in February in order to spend time with Charlie's mother, who was terminally ill. On February 4, Benante informed fans via his official web site that his mother passed away.

More recently, Benante was forced to miss a number of shows on this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival while he was recovering from a minor hand injury. Filling in for him is SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner.

In February 2011, Charlie took his then-five-year-old daughter to a Lady Gaga concert at the United Center in Charlie's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Benante said afterwards, "Gaga gave ANTHRAX a big shout-out tonight. She treated my daughter like a little queen and proved again that she is a metalhead at heart!"

Booking photos courtesy of Elkhart County Sheriff's Department

Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY were forced to cut their concert short last night (Saturday, July 28) at Bataclan in Paris, France after the band's frontman, Al Jourgensen, appeared to be physically incapable of continuing the show.

Jourgensen, who, according to RadioMetal.com, came on stage looking "rather intoxicated and was nearly unable to move throughout the performance," was reportedly taken to the hospital 50 minutes into the Paris set, causing the cancelation of the band's appearance Sunday at the Rock En Stock festival at Parc Du Valigot in Etaples, France.

Fan-filmed video footage of the last song of MINISTRY's Paris set — "Waiting" — before Jourgensen left the stage and was rushed to the hospital can be seen below.

The 53-year-old Jourgensen last year told Metal Hammer magazine that his decision to break up MINISTRY in 2008 after 11 albums and 27 years was largely due to his health problems.

"I'd been throwing up blood for the last three tours and like an idiot, I didn't think there was anything wrong," Jourgensen said. "So I came back, [off tour] and it got better for a couple weeks. Then in March 2010, I went into a seizure and bled out 65% of my body and they had to take me by ambulance to the ICU where I flatlined. I was dead. I couldn't hold down food and I just didn't know what was wrong. I spent a week in ICU where they gave me a 100% blood transfusion."

He added, "After a tour I had [an ulcer] burst right over a main artery in my stomach. They found 13 of them from my esophagus to my intestines which had scarred over, which explains why I'd been puking for years.

"I spent most of 2011 in doctor's offices, brain scans, everything. They've probed holes I didn't even know I had, but I've lost 50 pounds. I'm a vegetarian again, I have a personal trainer, I do 20 miles on my bike every day, I eat right, I'm the healthiest I've been in over 20 years."

Asked if he can still drink, Jourgensen told Revolver magazine earlier this year, "I have a male nurse who weights 350 pounds named Hector. I call him 'Hector, the third bottle rejecter.' I'm only allowed two bottles of wine a day now. And it doesn't even get to that. It's about a bottle and a half, and that seems to be good along with the medicine I have to take every day for the rest of my life. I just went and saw my doctor and she said, 'Yeah, you're actually doing pretty good for being a fucking degenerate.'"

Jourgensen officially reformed MINISTRY last year and released a new studio album, "Relapse", in March. The CD was recorded last fall at Al's industrial compound studio in with his favorite co-conspirators Mike Scaccia (RIGOR MORTIS), Tony Campos (STATIC-X, SOULFLY), Tommy Victor (PRONG) and Casey Orr (RIGOR MORTIS, GWAR).

MINISTRY's current touring lineup:

* Al Jourgensen - Vocals, Guitar
* Mike Scaccia (RIGOR MORTIS) - Guitar
* Casey Orr (RIGOR MORTIS) - Bass
* John Bechdel (KILLING JOKE, FEAR FACTORY) - Keyboards
* Aaron Rossi (REVOLTING COCKS) - Drums
* Sin Quirin (REVOLTING COCKS) - Guitar

Kris Engelhart of BackstageAxxess.com recently conducted an interview with CINDERELLA guitarist Jeff LaBar. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

BackstageAxxess.com: I know one of the first tours CINDERELLA ever did was with LOUDNESS. What was that tour like and how would it compare to the tours now?

Jeff: Well, that was our very first tour away from home. After we made the first record, but before the first record came out, we were still playing the same clubs that we were playing before we made the record. So this first tour we got was LOUDNESS and I'm a big fan. My mother's Japanese; why wouldn't I be? I was listening to a lot of that type of music then, the early Eighties shredder bands. Yeah, I love LOUDNESS and that was very cool. It was us and POISON, actually, us and POISON's first tour, both of us opening for LOUDNESS. It was awesome. It was a small theater, auditorium type of tour, started in Santa Monica. That was my first time in California and it was just a thrill to be on tour. It was kind of the size of the tour we're playing right now. But I got to know them a little bit, they were very cool. They were very funny, funny little Japanese guys. That was the year that David Lee Roth put out "Eat 'Em and Smile", his first solo record away from VAN HALEN. So it was a big deal. He was putting together his first tour, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette. They were looking for an opening band, us and POISON were up for the slot. That was the best part of the tour. That was getting to know POISON. Now we have a twenty-five year relationship and we've toured together five or six times, something like that. But we were both up for the opening spot for David Lee Roth and we got it. So we did five months with David Lee Roth and he was selling out two nights in some cities in arenas. Then we got on the "Slippery When Wet" tour with BON JOVI. So we were on like the two biggest rock tours that year, '86, '87. BON JOVI and us were on the same label and that was good for Mercury/Polygram. We were selling out like up to five arena shows. So that was a very good year.

BackstageAxxess.com: I remember those tours and it seemed like CINDERELLA just took off like a rocket. Were you expecting "Night Songs" to do that well or was the sudden success a surprise?

Jeff: Well, I had no expectations for "Night Songs", although hopes were high because as we were recording it being a new band, the budget was exceeded constantly. Every time we ran out of money, we had to go back to the label. So the A&R guy would come out and see what we had so far and determine whether we deserved more money. And they would give us more each time. So it was like, "Oh we're doing well." Yeah, I had no expectations. It was all just like, it was overnight for everybody else, but for us, it was a long journey and some hard work. It was gradual for us from the time that we got signed to the time that the record came out was a year. I know a year doesn't sound like a long time unless you're in it. Even after we had done the record, working the same town with the same people in the same clubs. There was a little hype in Philadelphia and south Jersey. Well actually, there was a lot of hype but it was all local. So, I didn't know how it was gonna do nationally, but then slowly but surely the pieces came together. LOUDNESS and POISON and David Lee Roth and BON JOVI. By the time we got on BON JOVI, it was blowing up. The record went gold with David Lee Roth and the BON JOVI tour was ridiculous. "Slippery When Wet" was No. 1 on Billboard and we were No. 3. The label couldn't have been happier.

BackstageAxxess.com: Well, there certainly are a lot of options out there to get your music out. Do you think it's easier for bands now that they can have that immediate exposure?

Jeff: I think it's easier if you know how to do it. It's easier if you're young and you grew up with this technology. Me, not so much. I grew up when we recorded on tape and you were on a label that gave you a bunch of money and said, "Here, make songs and we'll do the rest." It's not like that anymore. Everything is online. Yeah, I have to have younger people tell me how to do it. It's like dad telling his son, "Here. Tell me how to get on Facebook." I do that with my wife. I give her my iPhone and tell her, "Here. Make a phone call for me."

Read the entire interview from BackstageAxxess.com.

DEFTONES played two brand new songs — "Roller Derby" and "Rosemary" — during last night's (Saturday, July 28) concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"Roller Derby" and "Rosemary" are slated to appear on DEFTONES's seventh album, which is tentatively scheduled for release on October 9. The CD will follow up 2010's "Diamond Eyes", which was the group's most successful and acclaimed outing in years. Lead singer Chino Moreno told Billboard.com why the band got back to work faster than usual. "It was important that we wanted to not drag it out," he said. "We have a well-documented history of taking forever to make records. But with our last record, we did it in a really short, good amount of time, probably four or five months from the time we started writing until we finished it. For us, that was record time, so this time the idea was, 'Let's go in and start a record on this date and let's try to be finished by summertime and keep this work ethic we kind of stumbled upon on the last one,' and we did."

DEFTONES worked again with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who produced "Diamond Eyes" and has also worked on albums by RUSH and FOO FIGHTERS.

Asked how the new DEFTONES disc sounds, Moreno told Billboard.com, "It's not a super fast or slow record. It's very dynamic. Some of my favorite things about DEFTONES are the dynamics. Yes, we're a heavy band, but we're not just in-your-face aggro the whole time, punching you in the face. There's a lot of aggression in some of the music, but there's also this very soothing element where there's a lot of soundscapes rather than attack, attack, attack the whole time. I understand that's a big part of our sound, but I really feel like we reached a peak on our dynamics on this record with those two qualities — the beauty of something and just straight, ruthless aggression."

The group also intends to continue their tradition of recording several cover tunes that could end up as B-sides, with Moreno revealing that they've been toying with songs from ELVIS PRESLEY and EARTH, WIND & FIRE, among others.

DEFTONES will promote the new CD's upcoming release with a string of tour dates with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, beginning on August 2 in Camden, New Jersey.

"Diamond Eyes" debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart when it came out, making it the band's highest charting effort since 2003's "Deftones".

"Diamond Eyes" featured two Top 20 rock hits in the title track and "You've Seen The Butcher".

The album was written and recorded after the late 2008 auto accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a semi-comatose state. An album completed before Cheng's accident, titled "Eros", remains unreleased.

Cheng remains in a semi-comatose state although he has been showing gradual signs of consciousness and recovery for the past year. His replacement on "Diamond Eyes", Sergio Vega, also plays on the new DEFTONES disc.

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM were forced to cancel several shows earlier this month — including those in Oslo, Norway and Malmö, Sweden — after the band's guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho was rushed to the hospital with extreme stomach pain.

After spending a week and a half receiving treatment in Oslo, Alexi was released from the hospital and the band performed at this year's Ilosaarirock festival, which took place July 13-15 in Joensuu, Finland.

CHILDREN OF BODOM drummer Jaska Raatikainen has posted a lengthy recap of the band's most recent tour, including Alexi's health scare. It follows in its entirety below.

"I am writing this last blog of the summer tour little late but wanted to tell about what happened in the last days on it. It feels different now when everything happened a few weeks ago. Luckily, we were so close to end and had a chance to play most of the shows. Unfortunately, the shows in Oslo and Malmö were canceled, as well as one of the two festivals we were supposed to play in Finland.

"Canceling a show is always such an unpleasant thing to do and it is frustrating when it happens. CHILDREN OF BODOM is not a band that easily cancels a show.

"The half way of the tour is usually the worst and toughest one. You know how long you have already been on tour and you know what there is yet to come. This tour was quite easy and short for us, and like I told before, I enjoy touring in Europe especially in the summer, although I got a little sick at some point, which was not that nice.

"When the tour is coming to its end, I start hoping that there would be little more nice countries and cities you could visit. You hope it wouldn't have ended so soon.

"We played this one festival, Basinfirefest in Czech Rebublik. It was weird mix of folk and metal festivals. Very hot and nice athmosphere, though. Good crowd. Finnish band called APOCALYPTICA also played there after us and it was nice to see friends playing.

"The next day I woke up to bright sunshine. It didn't only look hot outside, it really was very hot. We were in Dischingen at the festival called Rock Am Härtsfeldsee. Nice little village festival again. That day we did a signing session which was something special to our normal daily routines. Only funny thing was that almost every fan spoke German to us. When we spoke English to them, they were quiet or kept talking German. I learned the basics of German in school and we have had German crew guys so we all understand something.

"During the night, heavy thunder storm covered the whole festival area. We heard that some people were injured by some flying items. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. Also a good thing was that the show was in a tent and they collected all the people inside and closed it totally.

"We started at midnight. We were tired but happy that everybody was there and enjoying. That night there was supposed to be a shower at some gym hall, but the local promoter turned that to a shelter for campers. Kindly thought, of course, but also it meant that me and Henkka [Seppälä, bass] had to take showers with the garden hose behind a bus. Cold, but did the job nicely. And yes, we were naked hoping the guys from RAGE wouldn't come out from their bus, because it was behind their bus where we were hiding.

"With Full Force got hit the same storm and it was even worse there. People lost their tents, flying placates everywhere and what have you. We even heard that a few people got hit by lightning or something very serious. Hopefully these people are alright now. I slept long and didn't see the mess, basically, at all. These kind of things are usually fixed very fast. That's why there is festival staff working 24/7. Respect! The show there was very good and crowd showed their best to us again. After the show, ELÄKELÄISET (humppa cover band from Finland) asked us to feature on stage. Well, Roope [Latvala, guitar] did, and played banjo on their version of COB's 'Hate Me'. Janne [Wirman, keyboards] was dancing on their 'keyboard stand.'

"During the night I woke up to some loud sound that came under the bus and noticed that we were moving very slowly. I thought it wasn't anything serious. Next day we spent the whole day off at a garage. So no day off in Oslo.

"The show day in Oslo started normally. The stage was already set when I woke up. I sent some e-mails and went to eat. I was supposed to meet some friends after that but then I got a text message where they asked if everything were alright. There was an ambulance next to the bus. I answered yes, but soon after that I heard somebody talking about ambulance, Alexi, hospital and stomach pain. The first thought was of course that will he be back in time. I was afraid of something worse. He was in a hospital over a year ago almost for a week because of something similar. When we heard the results, we called the management to book us new flights home the next morning. We left Alexi behind but he was in good hands.

"The next week was frustrating because nobody wasn't sure when Alexi would get out from the hospital and if we could play Ruisrock, the one of the two festivals in Finland next weekend.

"The night before the show, I got the message that said the show was canceled. Honestly speaking, I was so angry and so frustrated and I believe I wasn't the only one. We didn't know what was the exact reason for the situation. We just heard there was a very bad infection on the stomach area. Alexi will tell the rest if he wants.

"After the Ruisrock weekend, we heard that Alexi will be home on Thursday, a couple days before we had to leave to Joensuu, to Ilosaarirock. So, seems that everybody got home safe and we were lucky enough to play at least one Finnish festival this summer.

"Alexi was a little quiet when I saw him the first time after what happened. Everybody was concerned how the show will go. When I went on stage, I immediately sensed that the show will be good and Alexi will do his job well. We all felt relieved and happy after the show.

"Despite the unfortunate events on this tour, I know I will miss the shows a lot. It is incredible how getting to the stage makes you forget pretty much everything else.

"It was nice to share these experiences with you all. Also thank you so much for your positive feedback. It helped me a lot. Now it is time to create some new material. I will try to keep you updated!"

CHILDREN OF BODOM recently inked a worldwide deal (excluding Japan) with Nuclear Blast Records. The band, which kicked off a year-long celebration of its 15th anniversary with a successful North American tour alongside labelmates ELUVEITIE, has a new studio album planned for release in 2013.

"Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)", a very special CD+DVD career retrospective in celebration of CHILDREN OF BODOM's 15th anniversary, spotlights specially selected tracks from every one of CHILDREN OF BODOM's critically acclaimed albums (1997's "Something Wild", 1999's "Hatebreeder", 2000's "Follow The Reaper", 2003's "Hate Crew Deathroll", 2005's "Are You Dead Yet?", 2008's "Blooddrunk" and 2011's "Relentless Reckless Forever"), plus two newly recorded (and undeniably fun) cover songs and detailed liner notes penned by the members of CHILDREN OF BODOM themselves. The DVD portion of the package includes "candid touring and backstage footage from around the world”, plus the "Shovel Knockout" video.

CALL ME NO ONE — the new project featuring SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist Clint Lowery — made its live debut this past Friday, July 27 at Piere's in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the support act for NONPOINT.

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

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The World Is Dead
02. Hillbilly
03. War Song
04. All's Well
05. Thunderbird
06. Pleased to Meet You
07. Biggest Fan
08. Last Parade

CALL ME NO ONE's lineup is rounded out by bassist Rek Mohr (HURT) and guitarist Alan Price (SOULS HARBOR, SHINEDOWN).

The band's debut album, "Last Parade", arrived on June 5. The CD's first single, "Biggest Fan", was made available to purchase on iTunes on April 24.

Lowery posted an emotional dedication online last month to mark that day's release of "Last Parade". He wrote, "I just lost my father, Willie Lowery — the reason I do this in the first place. He played music his whole life, believed he was gonna make it to the next level his whole life. I watched him play his guitar in an assisted-living home as if he was playing to a sold-out crowd in a stadium. He never lost hope; he was on the sunset of his life and believed in music — it never abandoned him and he never stopped playing it. When I think about doing something else or getting jaded or bitter at this business, I think of him."

Lowery closed by dedicating the album to his father, his wife, his son and "to God for giving me life, love and music."

Rose told The Pulse Of Radio how the seeds for CALL ME NO ONE were first planted. "You know, we'd write songs for SEVENDUST records, and sometimes we'd write stuff and go, 'Man, that's such a cool song, you know. I don't know if that's really a SEVENDUST song, but it's cool,'" he said. "And we started talking real serious about putting some songs together, and when we had the time, put them together, throw 'em on the Internet, put 'em on iTunes, you know, and let people hear that we could do something different."

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

The second in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from ICED EARTH's North American tour with VOLBEAT and HELLYEAH can be seen below.

To coincide with the current trek, ICED EARTH released a limited tour edition of its latest album, "Dystopia". Currently available only at the merchandise stands on the tour, the two-disc "Dystopia Tour Edition" contains the original full-length album, as well as B-side covers of IRON MAIDEN's "The Trooper" and BLACK SABBATH's "Mob Rules", as well as the classic 17-minute ICED EARTH track "Dante's Inferno", re-recorded with vocalist Stu Block. The bonus disc also contains both music videos from "Dystopia" — the title track and "Anthem" — as well as a "Making Of Dystopia" studio interview with the band, and exclusive cell phone skins and desktop backgrounds.

Bassist Freddie Vidales recently left ICED EARTH and was replaced by Luke Appleton of FURY UK.

ICED EARTH's video for the song "Anthem" was filmed on December 7, 2011 at Essigfabrik in Cologne, Germany.

Produced and directed by Kosch Fabian Film, "Anthem" is the second music video from ICED EARTH's new album, "Dystopia", which sold around 6,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 67 on The Billboard 200 chart.

ICED EARTH's previous CD, "The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part II)", opened with 6,700 units in September 2008 to debut at No. 79.

ICED EARTH's 10th studio offering, "Dystopia", was released in Europe on October 17, 2011 and in the U.S. on October 18 via Century Media Records. Two bonus tracks were also recorded for inclusion on special editions of the album.

Two members of METALLICA's road crew may or may not have suffered burns last night (Saturday, July 28) during the opening show of the band's eight-concert run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City.

According to El Universal, near the end of METALLICA's set in Mexico, while the band was performing "Enter Sandman", one of the flare launchers that was placed on stage failed. Two men came on stage to check what was happening, and a huge flame suddenly appeared, engulfing them. (See video below.)

"Stop, stop!" shouted METALLICA lead singer James Hetfield, much to the confusion of the 22 thousand fans who attended the gig.

With fire extinguishers, other METALLICA technicians came on the stage to help their two colleagues, who were then taken out on stretchers.

After several minutes, the band continued the performance.

"It's all part of the show," a spokesperson for Ocesa, the promoter of the concert, said about the onstage commotion.

The incident appeared to be a recreation of the "accident" that was staged for METALLICA's 1998 concert video "Cunning Stunts" when, during the performance of the song "Enter Sandman", the entire stage set collapsed and exploded, with pyrotechnics going off and a technician (referred to in the credits as the "Burning Dude") running across the stage on fire and another technician swinging overhead.

Last night's concert marked the debut of METALLICA's new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

Prior to the gig, the members of METALLICA held a press conference where Hetfield said their focus for the immediate future was "the [new] stage set and the dangerous elements of that — staying alive." METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo added, "We're gonna try and bring the best show possible and get it right. Like James said, it's very dangerous — we've got stuff flying every which way."

A posting in the "Tour Journal" section of METALLICA's official web site described last night's concert as "amazing," adding that "shit really hit the fan [during 'Enter Sandman' with] loud bangs, random fireworks, falling towers, falling spot light guy, falling scaffolding, guy was caught on fire.... then a complete blackout. After a few [minutes], some things were still working, so the crew brought up some work lights, amps and speakers, and the band played on with 'Die, Die My Darling'."

METALLICA's setlist for last night's concert:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride The Lightning
05. One
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Wherever I May Roam
09. Sad But True
10. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
11. ...And Justice For All
12. Fade To Black
13. Master Of Puppets
14. Battery
15. Nothing Else Matters
16. Enter Sandman

Encore:

17. Die, Die My Darling
18. Seek & Destroy

Photos of last night's show can be found at Metallica.com. A few of the pictures are also available below.

In 1993, towards the end of the "Black" album touring cycle, METALLICA played an unprecedented, five sold-out nights at Sports Palace in Mexico City, Mexico. Then in 2009 while touring in support of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum "Death Magnetic", METALLICA played three consecutive sold out nights to over 150,000 fans at Foro Sol Stadium which was immortalized in the "Mexico City Live" CD/DVD.

METALLICA recently announced that it will play at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia on August 24 and August 25, adding that the concert will be filmed in 3D for the band's upcoming 3D feature film project.

The METALLICA movie, which was first announced last year, will be directed by Nimród Antal, perhaps best known for the horror movie "Vacancy" and the 2010 "Predator" sequel "Predators".

The film will be some sort of combination of concert footage and storyline, and is tentatively scheduled to arrive in theatres in the summer of 2013.















Photos below courtesy of Metallica.com