"1978", the new video from THE DAGGER (formerly DAGGER) — the Swedish metal/rock band featuring Fred Estby (drums), Tobias Cristiansson (bass), David Blomqvist (guitars) and Jani Kataja (vocals), who have been active in bands such as DISMEMBER, GRAVE and SIDEBURN — can be seen below. The clip was directed by Stefan Jansson for PE Production AB.

"1978" is taken from THE DAGGER's self-titled debut album, which was released on June 30 in Europe and will be made available on July 22 in North America via Century Media Records.

"The Dagger" contains ten tracks that combine outstanding songwriting skills with the untamable power of early '80s NWOBHM and the spirit of epic '70s rock.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Ahead Of You All02. Call Of 903. Ballad Of An Old Man04. Skygazer05. Electric Dawn06. 197807. Dogs Of Warning08. Nocturnal Triumph09. Inside The Monolithic Dome10. Dark Cloud

THE DAGGER was formed in 2009 with the aim to create real classic hard rock/heavy metal rooted in blues rock and to perform it simply the way they like to hear it themselves.

After the release of the group's debut seven-inch single "Mainline Riders" (via High Roller Records), THE DAGGER started recording its debut album at Gutterview Recorders (astudio owned by Fred Estby and Nicke Andersson) in Stockholm, where bands like IMPERIAL STATE ELECTRIC, '77, BULLET and MORBUS CHRON already put their material on tape.

In a recent interview with Terrorizer magazine, Fred stated about how THE DAGGER came together: "At the end of 2008, I was working on the NECRONAUT album. After I had all songs down, I realized I had a bunch of material that didn't really fit for NECRONAUT but was way too good to throw away. I talked to David about this as he participated on some of the NECRONAUT songs and it turned out he also had material in the same style as mine. Not long after this, Tobias told us he had been thinking about doing something different musically than what he was doing in DISMEMBER and GRAVE. This made us intrigued to see if we could get a band together playing hard rock the way we wanted to hear it. The stuff in between us three was surprisingly similar and not like other bands in the hard rock/heavy metal genre of today."

Regarding the band's slight name change (from DAGGER to THE DAGGER), Fred said: "It was all about avoiding clashes with other bands called DAGGER. There have been a few and we don't wanna be caught in a name dispute. It has happened to quite a few bands lately, as we all know."

THE DAGGER is:

* Jani Kataja (SIDEBURN) - Vocals* Fred Estby (NECRONAUT, ex-DISMEMBER) - Drums* David Blomqvist (ex-DISMEMBER) - Electric Guitar* Tobias Cristiansson (GRAVE, ex-DISMEMBER) - Electric Bass

"The Extirpation Agenda", the video from death metal psychopaths ABORTED, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Phil Berridge of Creative Media Junkie. The song is taken from the band's eighth full-length album, "The Necrotic Manifesto", which was released on April 28 in Europe and on April 29 in North America via Century Media Records. The CD was completed with Danish producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, MERCENARY).

"The Necrotic Manifesto" features guest appearances by Phlegethon (WORMED) and Vincent Bennett (THE ACACIA STRAIN). The artwork was created by Pär Olofsson (PATHOLOGY, IMMOLATION, IMMORTAL).

In a recent interview with Rock Your Lyrics, ABORTED frontman Sven De Caluwé was asked how the lyrical approach on "The Necrotic Manifesto" differs from that on the band's previous CDs. "It doesn't, really," he replied. "It's your typical ABORTED album dealing with old-school horror, slasher, gore guts and some social criticism thrown in. There is definitely a message, but we are not a preaching band and it is up to the fans to pick it up from between the lines themselves."

He added: "The main challenge I had this time around was deadline; we literally finished the songs the day I would start writing the lyrics, and the next day had to record the songs. So I would write about four lyrics per evening, while then recording those same four the next day, and then write four more in the evening of that day. So it was very intense, but I had my ideas upfront. I'm just not the kind of person that writes lyrics before he has vocal patterns worked out, and I wait for the music to be finished to do that."

"The Necrotic Manifesto" track listing:

01. Six Feet Of Foreplay02. The Extirpation Agenda03. Necrotic Manifesto04. An Enumeration Of Cadavers05. Your Entitlement Means Nothing06. The Davidian Deceit07. Coffin Upon Coffin08. Chronicles Of Detruncation09. Sade & Libertine Lunacy10. Die Verzweiflung11. Excremental Veracity12. Purity Of Perversion13. Of Dead Skin & Decay14. Cenobites ABORTED is:

Sven De Caluwé: VocalsMendel Bij De Leij: GuitarDanny Tunker: GuitarJB van der Wal: BassKen Bedene: Drums

Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE will release their new album, "Origins", on August 5 via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork for the CD was created by ELUVEITIE frontman Chrigel Glanzmann and can be seen below. The effort was once again recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy T. Baron; CORONER/ex-KREATOR guitarist).

"Origins" track listing:

01. Origins02. The Nameless03. From Darkness04. Celtos05. Virunus06. Nothing07. The Call Of The Mountains08. Sucellos09. Inception10. Vianna11. The Silver Sister12. King13. The Day Of Strife14. Ogmios15. Carry The Torch16. Eternity

The song "The Call Of The Mountains" can be streamed below. The second single from the CD was recorded in all four of Switzerland's beautiful national languages.

Comments ELUVEITIE: "[This is] a song about the long-searched-for destination at the end of the epic journey of the Celts, who were to become the Helvetians — a song about our mystical and unparalleled alps. Besides the English album version, you will find the full song in Swiss German, French, Italian and, of course, Romansh both on Nuclear Blast's mailorder edition and on iTunes, where you will, of course, be able to get them separately, too."

Chrigel previously stated about ELUVEITIE's new album: "'Origins' deals in depth with Celtic mythology, or, to be more precise, with aetiological tales from Gaul in particular. Hence we're facing strongly mythical as well as spiritual subjects on this album, topics which we have approached very scientifically and in cooperation with several scientists and diverse universities.

"Many aspects of Gaulish mythology and spirituality remain in the dark nonetheless, while others run through the theme like a golden thread — like this eminent, yet innominate god, for instance, of which the Gauls claimed to be direct descendants and which was compared to the Roman chtonic deity Dis Pater.

"Today we cannot say which Gaulish god this was exactly. But according to all we know, it's likely that we're dealing with Sucellos here. Throughout space and time he appears over and over again — from very old spiritual customs of ancient Gaulish tribes in today's northern Spain all the way to later statues in today's Switzerland, France and elsewhere.Perhaps he is this mysterious nameless one.

"The album cover of 'Origins' is designed after the hammer/club-shaped 'halo' of Sucellos, as seen on a statue, that was found in a shrine of a gallo-roman household in today's France. It was created under the scientific supervision of experts from the university of Zürich." ELUVEITIE recently announced the addition of violinist Nicole Ansperger to the group's ranks.

ELUVEITIE's last album, "Helvetios", sold 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 3 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.

"Angel Of Mercy", the new video from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, can be seen below. Directed by longtime collaborator Justin Reich of the Antimatter Studio, the clip depicts a stripped down version of the wall of sound that is widely associated with the band.

"Angel Of Mercy" is taken from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's new studio album, "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican", which sold around 26,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 5 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous studio CD, "Order Of The Black", opened with around 33,000 units to enter the chart at No. 4.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's 2006 album, "Shot to Hell", registered a first-week tally of 32,000 to land at No. 21. This was less than the 45,000 copies shifted by BLS's "Mafia" (Artemis) back in March 2005 to debut at No. 15.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "The Song Remains Not The Same" opened with around 12,000 copies to land at No. 41. Released on May 10, 2011 via Entertainment One Music, the offering featured unplugged versions of material from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Order Of The Black" album as well as additional material recorded during the "Order Of The Black" sessions. "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican" was released in Europe on April 7 via Mascot Label Group and one day later in North America through eOne Music.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY recently amicably parted ways with longtime guitarist Nick Catanese and replaced him with Dario Lorina (LIZZY BORDEN).

QUEEN has returned to North America for a 24-date arena tour with "American Idol" finalist Adam Lambert once again fronting the band.

Fan-filmed video footage of the tour's second Las Vegas concert, which took place Sunday night (July 6) at The Joint at the Hard Rock, can be seen below.

QUEEN members Brian May and Roger Taylor recently admitted that their current collaboration with Lambert is a better fit than their previous involvement with legendary rock singer Paul Rodgers.

In 2008, May and Taylor, who had been touring with Rodgers as QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, released the chart bomb, "The Cosmos Rocks", before calling it a day as a trio and a recording entity — despite a string of globally sold-out concerts.

"Paul has one of the greatest rock voices but it's more blues- and soul-orientated I would have thought," Taylor told the Toronto Sun. "I would say, with all due respect to Paul, that Adam is more suited to a lot of our material and whereas we had great tours with Paul, I think Adam is more naturally at home with us." May concurred and added that Lambert's remarkable range and flamboyant stage presence are much more in line with those of QUEEN's original singer, Freddie Mercury. "Yeah, I think the styles match more closely in a sense," May said. "But we had a great time with Paul, no doubt about it, and it kind of stretched it to a new place and, I think, a thoroughly good experience. But Adam is really… Like us, he has many, many colors, so we can explore some of those strange excursions that QUEEN likes to."

QUEEN's North American tour with Lambert winds down on July 28 at Toronto, Ontario's Air Canada Centre.

"It's surreal," Lambert told the Toronto Sun about performing with QUEEN. "Having auditioned with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on 'American Idol', and this weird full-circle gorgeous dream come true. When we did our first [tour] run, like giving a full set, it was definitely was intimidating. The idea that I would be in front of QUEEN die-hard fans and I was taking on a large chunk of the catalogue and it was a short time to put it together. And we did it and I think it turned out really, really beautifully, and then when the Vegas thing happened [September 2013 appearance at the iHeartRadio Festival], I feel like it really grounded itself a little bit more."

The threesome first shared the stage during "American Idol" in May 2009 for a performance of "We Are The Champions". They teamed up again in 2011 at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast, Ireland for an electrifying eight-minute finale of "The Show Must Go On", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" and in the summer of 2012, Lambert performed a series of shows with QUEEN across Europe as well as dates in Russia, Ukraine and Poland. They also performed three sold-out gigs at London’s Hammersmith Apollo.

"Exceptional", the new video from UNISONIC — the band featuring former HELLOWEEN vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen alongside guitarist Mandy Meyer (ASIA, GOTTHARD and KROKUS), bassist Dennis Ward and drummer Kosta Zafiriou (both of Germany's PINK CREAM 69) — can be seen below. The song is taken from UNISONIC's second album, "Light Of Dawn", which will be released on August 1 in Europe and August 12 in the U.S. via earMUSIC. The effort will be released in four different configurations: * Standard CD featuring 12 tracks* Deluxe digipak edition CD which contains 13 tracks* Gatefold double vinyl (also featuring 13 tracks plus a download code)* A strictly limited box set

The "Light Of Dawn" artwork was again created by graphic artist Martin Hausler.

"Light Of Dawn" track listing:

Standard CD

01. Venite 2.002. Your Time Has Come03. Exceptional04. For The Kingdom05. Not Gonna Take Anymore06. Night Of The Long Knives07. Find Shelter08. Blood 09. When The Deed Is Done10. Throne Of The Dawn11. Manhunter12. You And I

Deluxe CD

01. Venite 2.002. Your Time Has Come03. Exceptional04. For The Kingdom05. Not Gonna Take Anymore06. Night Of The Long Knives07. Find Shelter08. Blood09. When The Deed Is Done10. Throne Of The Dawn11. Manhunter12. You And I13. Judgement Day

Boxset Deluxe CD

01. Venite 2.002. Your Time Has Come03. Exceptional04. For The Kingdom05. Not Gonna Take Anymore06. Night Of The Long Knives07. Find Shelter08. Blood09. When The Deed Is Done10. Throne Of The Dawn11. Manhunter12. You And I13. Judgement Day

Exclusive "The Early Demos" CD

01. Souls Alive02. I've Tried03. Cry Out Loud04. The Other Side05. No One Ever Sees Me

* Exclusive Seven-Inch Vinyl single

A1. Exceptional (Karaoke version) B1. We Rise (Live 2012)

* Exclusive T-Shirt * 6 brand new pictures * Exclusive poster

Vinyl

A1. Venite 2.0A2. Your Time Has ComeA3. ExceptionalA4. For The KingdomB1. Not Gonna Take AnymoreB2. Night Of The Long KnivesB3. Find ShelterC1. BloodC2. When The Deed Is DoneC3. Throne Of The DawnD1. ManhunterD2. You And ID3. Judgement Day

UNISONIC released a new EP, "For The Kingdom", on May 23 via earMUSIC. Produced by Ward, the EP contains the fast album track "For The Kingdom", the exclusive song "You Come Undone" (only available on this release) plus four previously unreleased live cuts: "Unisonic", "Never Too Late", "Star Rider" and "Souls Alive", all recorded at the 2012 edition of the Masters Of Rock festival in Czech Republic. The EP cover artwork was created by Martin Hausler.

"For The Kingdom" was made available on CD, strictly limited 12-inch vinyl and as a digital download.

The track listing is as follows:

01. For The Kingdom02. You Come Undone (EP exclusive track)03. Unisonic (live 2012; EP exclusive track)04. Never Too Late (live 2012; EP exclusive track)05. Star Rider (live 2012; EP exclusive track)06. Souls Alive (live 2012; EP exclusive track)

The official lyric video for the song "For The Kingdom" can be seen below.

UNISONIC's self-titled debut studio album was released in North America on May 22, 2012 via Eagle Rock imprint Armoury Records. Hansen's position in GAMMA RAY is unaffected by his involvement with UNISONIC.

UNISONIC is:

Michael Kiske (vocals)Mandy Meyer (guitar)Kai Hansen (guitar)Dennis Ward (bass)Kosta Zafiriou (drums)

"Cutting Teeth", a brand new song from Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Exit Wounds", which will be released on August 25 in Europe and September 2 in North America via Century Media. The CD was once again recorded with the group's longtime producer Tue Madsen at Denmark's Antfarm Studio (DARK TRANQUILLITY, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, SICK OF IT ALL) and features THE HAUNTED's revamped lineup: founding members Jonas Björler (bass) and Patrik Jensen (guitar) along with with returning members Adrian Erlandsson (drums) and Marco Aro (vocals), and the band's latest addition, guitarist Ola Englund.

Aro states about "Cutting Teeth": "Here's an evil little piece of work that was one of the last songs we recorded for 'Exit Wounds'. It represents quite a lot of what THE HAUNTED is all about: breaking new ground, pissing people off, exploring unfamiliar territories, all of this... just to feed the hungry machine that is THE HAUNTED! Always curious, always hungry, always thirsting for more... in words... 'Cutting Teeth'!"

THE HAUNTED has also revealed that "Exit Wounds" features two special guests appearing on the song "Trend Killer": Jed Simon (SCAR THE MARTYR, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) on lead guitar and Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT) on vocals.

Said Billy: "I have always been a THE HAUNTED fan and became friends with the band over the years. When they asked if I would like to sing on a song for the new album with Marco singing, I didn't have to think twice about doing it. When I received the track and listened for the first time, I said, 'Fuck Yeah...this is gonna be brutal!'"

"Exit Wounds" track listing:

01. 31702. Cutting Teeth03. My Salvation04. Psychonaut05. Eye Of The Storm06. Trend Killer (feat. Chuck Billy, Jed Simon)07. Time (Will Not Heal)08. All I Have09. Temptation10. My Enemy11. Kill The Light12. This War13. Infiltrator14. Ghost In The Machine

Comments Aro: "This time around we've found our way back to where we once started! You could say that we've gathered the old crew, both in music and the artwork.

"Our old friend Andreas 'Diaz' Pettersson is back, an amazing artist with a rap sheet which includes the artwork on no less than four THE HAUNTED albums. He always finds a way to put our thoughts into print where he sometimes even scares us a bit...and this release in no different.

"We decided on 'Exit Wounds' as being a good title for the album given the recent history of the band, but also a sort of a phoenix rising.

"We are so excited about this little thing we've created!

"Can't wait to get out there and start playing these songs and for me personally, I could not be more proud of what we have done. I really hope you're going to enjoy it!"

THE HAUNTED released a new three-song single, "Eye Of The Storm", on January 20 in Europe and January 21 in North America via Century Media Records.

"Eye Of The Storm" was made available as limited-edition seven-inch EP (1,000 copies split as follows: 500 on black vinyl, 300 on red vinyl and 200 on white vinyl) and as digital single, featuring the new songs "Eye Of The Storm", "Infiltrator" and "My Enemy".

"Eye Of The Storm" track listing:

01. Eye Of The Storm02. Infiltrator03. My Enemy

The single marked the recording debut of THE HAUNTED's new lineup, which was announced last summer, featuring founding members Patrik Jensen (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass), returning members Marco Aro (vocals) and Adrian Erlandsson (drums), as well as new guitarist Ola Englund.

THE HAUNTED's 2014 lineup:

* Patrik Jensen - Guitar * Ola Englund (SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED) - Guitar * Marco Aro (THE RESISTANCE, FACE DOWN) - Vocals * Jonas Björler - Bass * Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums

Vocalist Marco Aro (ex-FACE DOWN, also in THE RESISTANCE) was previously involved with THE HAUNTED for three acclaimed releases between 1999 and 2003 as well as for several worldwide touring campaigns. Drummer Adrian Erlandsson (also in AT THE GATES and PARADISE LOST) belonged to the original lineup of THE HAUNTED together the Björler twins after the demise of their previous legendary group, AT THE GATES. Together with Jensen, they launched THE HAUNTED's self-titled debut in 1998, an album which has been widely considered as the kick-start for a new era in the thrash metal movement and which, despite its initial underground status, climbed to be a massively inspirational record for a whole new generation of musicians and bands in the following decade. Guitarist Ola Englund is a highly talented young player from Sweden, who has recently been active as touring and recording member of U.S. death metal institution SIX FEET UNDER.

Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno's April 9 performance at Lizard Club in Krakow, Poland as part of the Doładowanie festival was professionally filmed for an upcoming DVD, titled "The Beast Arises", to be released on October 6 in Europe through Metal Mind Productions and October 7 in North America via MVD. "The Beast Arises" will also be made available on CD, digital and vinyl.

The setlist for Di'Anno's concert in Krakow included some of the best IRON MAIDEN tracks from the period when Di'Anno was the band’s lead singer, as well as KILLERS and Di'Anno solo tracks. The DVD will also contain bonus features such as an interview with Di'Anno, a photo gallery and more.

A short preview of the "The Beast Arises" DVD is available below.

Di'Anno completed his first North American tour in early 2010, 17 years after he was deported following a prison term for guns and drug offenses.

On August 27, 2011, Di'Anno played his first show since serving time in a U.K. prison after he falsely collected U.K. government benefits by claiming he suffered nerve damage to his back that prevented him from working.

Due to a number of health issues, including a knee problem, Di'Anno announced in July 2012 that he would stop touring in 2013. His farewell tour has since been extended to 2014.

Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records.

Asked why he thinks his two LPs with MAIDEN became timeless and iconic in the rock history, Di'Anno told Spotlight Report: "I think because when we started, the whole punk thing was so bloody huge, which I loved and still love punk to this day, and the heavier music just became so distant; they called it dinosaur rock back in the day."

He continued: "When we got signed and the whole New Wave Of British Heavy Metal started, that's what really kicked off what we have today. If it wasn't for MAIDEN and bands like SAXON, MOTÖRHEAD, etc., you would never have had bands like METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX. If you didn't have those bands, you would never have had SEPULTURA, MORBID ANGEL and then PANTERA, etc. So at the time, they were just bloody good albums, but in the history of things, they really kicked off what started for anything today that has heavy guitar. And yeah, they are timeless. Those albums still sell millions. You don't see the crap that was around then still selling shit, like SHAKIN' STEVENS or SPANDAU BALLET, do ya?"

Fan-filmed video footage of KISS performing the song "Rock And Roll All Nite" on July 8 at The Forum in Inglewood, California during the band's U.S. tour with DEF LEPPARD can be seen below.

KISS and DEF LEPPARD announced their 42-date 2014 summer tour in March during a press conference at the House Of Blues in Los Angeles. The nearly 10-week trek will run through August 31 in Woodlands, TX at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, hitting both major cities and secondary markets. DEF LEPPARD will open each show — although the tour is billed as KISS and LEPPARD co-headlining. KISS frontman Paul Stanley explained that although DEF LEPPARD and KISS have no shared history — they've been equal admirers for decades. "We've run into each other at festivals and, y'know, it just seemed a natural fit," he said.

"At some point it really becomes important to go out there and give everybody bang for buck. Give everybody something more, perhaps, than other bands are.

"We have history of going out there and trying to do the greatest shows possible.

"Summer is a great time to go out, enjoy yourself, you can go out with your family, just go out on a date — but in any case, you want full night. And you're not going to hear more better songs than with the two of us. I wanna just hang around and listen to these guys."

Gene Simmons — along Joe Elliott and Paul Stanley — explained that this tour was created with the band's fans in mind. "Anybody that thinks this is just about ego — yeah, we love each other and all kind of stuff; this is for the fans, of the fans, by the fans — we are fans of DEF LEPPARD," he said. "And we hope the fans are going to get the most out of this, and that's what it's all about." Elliott added: "Hallelujah!" Stanley said: "So, it's by the fans -- buy the tickets."

TheRockRevival.com's Matt Bishop recently conducted an interview with GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist Dizzy Reed. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

On whether GUNS N' ROSES was re-energized by having the band's former bassist Duff McKagan rejoin the group for several shows in South America in April:

Dizzy: "I kind of think that it did inject a little bit of energy, a little bit of enthusiasm. It's always great to see Duff, it was just a pleasure to be around him again and kind of a trip to see him on stage. It was definitely a treat for the guys who hadn't played with him in the past, and also a huge treat for the fans. And it was great that Duff was available to do that and willing to do that. So it all worked out great."

On whether it was a bit of a nostalgia trip for him and singer Axl Rose seeing Duff again:

Dizzy: "We definitely fired up some stories. Duff's such a positive to be around and hes' a consummate professional too. It was a blast, and like I said, it was really cool he was able to do it."

On whether GUNS N' ROSES fans can expect to hear some new music from the band in the not-too-distant future:

Dizzy: "That's the plan, although we haven't really discussed it for awhile. But I know that there's a lot of stuff that people need to hear that's ready to come out. So it's gonna happen. I just don't have an actual date for you yet. My fingers are crossed, but they're getting a little bit looser."

Rose hinted in a rare new interview with Revolver magazine that a follow-up to the 2008 album "Chinese Democracy" could be in the works. Rose explained, "We recorded a lot of things before 'Chinese' was out. We've worked more on some of those things and we've written a few new things. But basically, we have what I call kind of the second half of 'Chinese'. That's already recorded. And then we have a remix album made of the songs from 'Chinese'. That's been done for a while, too."

GUNS N' ROSES released "Appetite For Democracy 3D: Live From The Hard Rock Casino - Las Vegas" on July 1 via Universal Music Enterprises. The show was filmed on November 21, 2012 during the "Appetite For Democracy" tour in celebration of the 25th anniversary of GUNS' classic 1987 debut, "Appetite For Destruction", as well as four years of touring behind 2008's "Chinese Democracy".

NME conducted an interview with ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian at the U.K. edition of the Sonisphere festival, which was held July 4-6 at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On performing the 1987 album "Among The Living" in its entirety at Sonisphere:

Scott: "We've done all the songs in a concert before, but we've broken it up. Like, we'done it side A, and then played a bunch of other stuff, and then side B and then do some encores. So we've done it in that context. But tonight we're only playing the nine songs off 'Among The Living', so it's the first time ever."

On the making of "Among The Living":

Scott: "We had just come off the METALLICA tour in the fall of '86 when [METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton was killed, and we had come off that tour obviously early because of the tragedy. And that's when we started recording that record, pretty much right after that. I feel like the energy just really jumps off that record; you fucking hear how pissed off we are playing our instruments on that record. There's a brutality on that album that you don't hear on the two records before 'Among The Living'. It was just the record of its time; it really was."

On pop superstar Lady Gaga:

Scott: "We are actually hoping Lady Gaga will cover an ANTHRAX song. 'Cause we know she's a big fan, and Charlie [Benante] is actually friends with her, our drummer, and so is our bass player, Frankie [Bello], actually. And she is a huge metalhead. She knows her shit. She knows all about ANTHRAX and she knows things that we don't even remember. So I jokingly said once, 'Tell her to cover one of our songs and put it on iTunes.' [laughs]"

On sharing the stage with other bands:

Scott: "We just did three shows with LIMP BIKZIT in Germany on this tour. And on paper, you might say, 'OK, well, ANTHRAX did some rap stuff and LIMP BIZKIT is rap metal. It kind of makes sense.' It makes no sense at all when we walk on stage in fucking Munich to 5,000 people staring at us like this [makes expressionless face]. I'm talking for four songs. And then slowly but surely hands start to come up. And by the fifth song, we fucking own them. And then we still have another 40 minutes to play. And we just made new fans. And that's what you're supposed to do as a band. Preaching to the choir is great, but the fact that we got to play three shows with LIMP BIZKIT to their audience who's all young kids, and they left there, and you know a whole shitload of them went home, Googled ANTHRAX and fucking stole 'Antisocial' off the Internet. [laughs]"

Scranton, Pennsylvania-based metalcore quintet MOTIONLESS IN WHITE will release its third studio album, "Reincarnate", on September 16 via Fearless. Produced by Dan Korneff (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BREAKING BENJAMIN, LAMB OF GOD), the follow-up to "Infamous" includes the new single "Reincarnate", which will be made available on July 8. The CD features guest appearances by Dani Filth (CRADLE OF FILTH), Maria Brink (IN THIS MOMENT) and Tim Skold (SKOLD, MARILYN MANSON).

"Reincarnate" track listing:

01. Death March02. Reincarnate03. Puppets III (The Grand Finale) [feat. Dani Filth)04. Unstoppable05. Everybody Sells Cocaine06. Conptemptress (feat. Maria Brink)07. Break The Cycle08. Generation Lost09. Dark Passenger10. Wasp11. Final Dictvm (feat. Tim Skold)12. Carry The Torch13. Sinematic (acoustic version) [bonus track] "I think I speak for most artists of any kind when I say that it's a rarity to step back from something you created and feel 100% satisfied without seeing the flaws or things you wish you had made differently," said MOTIONLESS IN WHITE singer Chris Motionless. "This is the first time in my life I've composed an album and have departed from the studio feeling like everything I've ever wanted to accomplish, has finally materialized. I put past mistakes behind me and focused on becoming a new body of musical existence, while maintaining the characteristics that I enjoyed most about our band. As it is mine, this will absolutely be your favorite MOTIONLESS record."

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE returned to the road to introduce North America to "Reincarnate" as a main-stage act on the Vans Warped Tour 2014, which kicked off last month in Houston, Texas.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE has carved out a corner in the metal scene with its aggressive electro-tinged anthems, crowd-empowering choruses, melding with their dark and profound message. The band recruited a collection of devout fans across the world, having toured with metal juggernauts such as MARILYN MANSON, SLIPKNOT, A DAY TO REMEMBER, ESCAPE THE FATE and BLACK VEIL BRIDES.

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE's sophomore album, "Infamous", was released on November 13, 2012 via Fearless.

Strong Management has welcomed guitarist Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE, HELLYEAH) to its producer/songwriter roster.

As a recording artist, Greg's albums have sold over six million copies worldwide.

His songwriting credits include the first three HELLYEAH albums, MAN MADE MACHINE, and of course, all of the MUDVAYNE releases, which have reached as high as #2 on The Billboard 200 album charts and #1 on the Billboard Mainstream charts.

Greg has co-produced all of the MUDVAYNE albums, three of which have been certified gold in the United States. His production work also includes the first three HELLYEAH albums, NONPOINT's "Miracle" and MAN MADE MACHINE's "Become".

Greg is also open to working with projects outside of hard rock and metal if it's something he feels passionate about. He is based near Dallas, Texas, but can work out of any studio worldwide.

Please send any inquiries to [email protected]
/* */


HELLYEAH members Tom Maxwell (guitar) and Chad Gray (vocals) said in a recent interview with Artisan News that the hardest part of making their new album, "Blood For Blood", was parting ways with Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kahaha just before recording began. Maxwell explained about their dismissal, "It was just personal stuff. Both of those guys just had some stuff going on that was distracting, some more severe than the other, and it just got to a point where it was just a toxic situation, and it could have broken us up, actually." Maxwell added, "We said, 'Hey, this is bigger than any individual. We need to, kind of, pull the reins in, tighten up and really make this happen for us. We can't let somebody else's decline and downward spiral drag us down along with it.'"

HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott told The Pulse Of Radio that the problems started before the band even began writing. "You know, once we got together to start writing the new songs, it just became apparent to us that Greg and Bob didn't have the same focus that we had, you know," he said. "And we knew the only way for us to make the record of our career — which we needed to make at the time — was to part ways with them. And so myself, Tom and Chad wrote all the music, recorded all the music, and then comes time to put together a live band, you know."

The new members of HELLYEAH are bassist Kyle Sanders and touring guitarist Christian Brady.

According to TVLive, Courtney Love will join the cast of FX drama "Sons Of Anarchy" in a recurring role for the show's final season, set to air this fall. She will play Ms. Harrison, the preschool teacher for the eldest son of the show's main character Jax, who is played by Charlie Hunnam.

Love is expected to appear in multiple episodes of the series' seventh season, beginning with episode four.

Love made her cinematic debut with a small role in Alex Cox's 1986 classic "Sid And Nancy", followed by widely praised appearances in a number of independent films, including 1996's "Basquiat" and "Feeling Minnesota". Her much-celebrated turn as the tragic Althea Flynt in the 1996 film "The People Vs. Larry Flynt" was a career breakthrough, earning her a Golden Globe nomination, along with "Best Supporting Actress" awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Boston Society Of Film Critics, "Most Promising Actress" from Chicago Film Critics Association, and "Best Supporting Actress" runner-up from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Courtney furthered her calling as an actress with acclaimed performances in such films as 1999's "200 Cigarettes", 1999's "Man On The Moon" (which reunited her with "Larry Flynt" director Milos Forman), 2000's "Beat", 2001's "Julie Johnson", and 2002's "Trapped". Love also appeared as a youth in several productions at the prestigious Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Love won't be the only musician in the cast of "Sons Of Anarchy", which tells the story of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in California's Central Valley. Fellow rocker Marilyn Manson will play Ron Tully, a "white supremacist prison shot-caller" whom Charlie Hunnam's character uses to expand his power base during the show's seventh season.

Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Mameli of veteran Dutch extreme metallers PESTILENCE has released the following statement:

"As of now, PESTILENCE is no longer active in recording new material. As a matter of fact, it's on a permanent hold, as I want to concentrate fully on my new project NECROMORPH. The style will be more brutal, more crazy, more tech, more futuristic and more death. I'm pretty sure all my fans will dig this!

"Please don't be sad about PESTILENCE. We've been holding the PEST flag strong for 25 years and we feel it's now done.

"I thank all my fans for being there and supporting us all the way.

"If there is any interest in PESTILENCE doing old-school shows in the future, me and Patrick Uterwijk [guitar] will surely think about the options.

"I thanks all the PESTILENCE members since '86 for their musical talent and input.

"HAILZ TO THE FANS, we all love you.

"Now, let's give birth to NECROMORPH!!!!!!"

NECROMORPH is described as a "death-jazz-fusion project featuring all-new and original members, including possibly Georg Majer on bass, in which Mameli will put down the eight-string and get reacquainted with his six-string Steinberger once more.

Not dissimilar to the jazz fusion elements found on "Spheres", but combined with the modern PESTILENCE riffing attack, NECROMORPH is set to blast past all expectations and shatter the eardrums of those thinking just another straightforward "jazzy progressive metal" album is on its way. "It's similar to jazz fusion," says Mameli, "but these riffs and songs will be more brutal than PESTILENCE… but way different than PESTILENCE!"

PESTILENCE's seventh album, "Obsideo", was released on November 12, 2013 via Candlelight Records. The CD was produced by Mameli and featured ten new songs. According to Mameli, the album's overall lyrical theme was "the journey of the human soul."

Fan-filmed video footage of HALESTORM performing a new song, "Mayhem", along with cover versions of classic tracks by DIO, JUDAS PRIEST and GUNS N' ROSES, on June 21 at Awesome Biker Nights in Sioux City, Iowa can be seen below.

HALESTORM singer and guitarist Lzzy Hale has told Loudwire in a new interview that the band is "almost done" with recording its third album. Hale explained, "We have a lot of really great songs. I think we finally cracked the code for this next record… That's what I love about writing records, you don't really know what you want to say on a record when you begin writing it. At least we don't. It's always halfway through the process and then all of a sudden, the light bulb goes off and the floodgates open."

Asked if "Mayhem" is a good indicator of what HALESTORM fans can expect to hear on the band's next album, Hale said: "Definitely. Especially since that one was the one that we felt like it needed a little bit of work, and we weren't really considering it one of our best songs. So we wanted to see how we could develop it on tour, and I think that the crowd has really gotten us excited about it now. So it might actually have a shot at being on the record." Drummer Arejay Hale added: "It definitely will help the writing process for the rest of the songs. Now we have an idea of, kind of, how the crowd reacts to certain things. So it kind ofgives you a good guideline, I guess."

Hale told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that HALESTORM never has firm concepts for a new record before they start making it. "I guess the pattern that we've kind of followed, or fell into I should say, 'cause there's never really a plan in this camp, has been we don't really know, you know, how the record is gonna develop until we get into the studio," she said.

Hale added that fans might hear some more personal material on this record, saying, "I think that when our fans began to kind of let me into their lives a little bit, they made me feel so incredibly comfortable in my own skin that they're going to be hearing some stories on this record that they might not know about me."

Hale also said that the band wants to "bridge the gap" between its live show and its recorded sound on the next album, remarking, "I'm really proud of the last two records, but I think its time to simplify and really get back to what, in all honesty, what we do best."

HALESTORM debuted two new songs — "Heartbreaker" and "Mayhem" — at shows in Tennessee and England this past spring.

The group began writing its third album in January, after completing more than 20 months of touring behind 2012's "The Strange Case Of…"

SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green, an American national who has called Brazil home for most of the last 16 years, says it is "good" that people are criticizing the Brazilian government for spending billions on hosting a football tournament when that money could be better directed towards alleviating poverty.

According to CNN, the Brazilian government puts expenditure in terms of funds, loans and credit lines from the public purse for World Cup-related stadium projects at at $3.5 billion. But a recent audit suggested the price had escalated to $4.2 billion. Total investments in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by the Brazilian government reportedly amounts to $11.2 billion.

Speaking to LoudTV.net at last weekend's Hellfest in Clisson, France, Green said about protests from Brazilian activists interested in drawing attention to their country's persistent problems of poverty and inequality: "A lot of the stuff that people are talking about, it's good, because the fact is that a lot of the money and everything has been going into the wrong places. And especially, they shouldn't have been having a World Cup there — even though it's the biggest dream of a Brazilian to have a World Cup in Brazil. But I don't think a lot of people realized what FIFA [soccer's world governing body] was about. And that's a big problem. I mean, if you look at the history of FIFA and what it's done to certain places, you would really understand how wrong it can go. But it's gone horribly gone there [in Brazil], because it was already corrupted to begin with, and when you add those two together, it's just gonna be an even bigger amount of corruption. So all those things that people are talking about, it's good that people are actually talking about and kind of waking up Brazilians, because there's a lot of things that were problematic way before the World Cup that I recognized, just being an outsider so it's easier for me to see those different things, especially coming from the U.S., where they have their own problems as well. But the first time entering Brazil, I realized, I was, like, 'Wow. There's a lot of education that's needed,' number one, with hospitals and all this stuff."

He continued: "People get psyched on the propaganda of the World Cup and everything. It's the biggest sport in the world and, of course, Brazil has been a five-time champion, so it's in the blood of Brazilians.

"It's unfortunate that all this money was wasted on… I feel… I'm a fan of sports and everything, but I'm not fanatical, and I understand there's much more important things that are needed in the country than a football stadium that nobody's going to go to after the World Cup is done. It's just a strong wake-up call, like I was saying. But hopefully people will see things differently now….

"Like I was saying, coming from the U.S., where they designed that whole idea of mass propaganda — it's such a genius way to manipulate people, and it's neverending, but people don't understand the power that it has. And especially growing up in the U.S., you're bombarded by it every day where you become completely numb to what's really going on, and I grew up with that way. But living in Brazil now for almost, or being outside the U.S. for 16 years, I've really been able to see all these different changes and how effective it is."

SEPULTURA's new album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

In October, PINK FLOYD will release its first new studio set in 20 years, called "The Endless River". The unexpected news of the album was announced by David Gilmour's wife and sometime lyricist Polly Samson, with a tweet that read: "[By the way] PINK FLOYD album out in October is called 'The Endless River', based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright's swan song and very beautiful." According to The Pulse Of Radio, some of the new material was laid down during the sessions for FLOYD's last studio set, 1994's "The Division Bell", which accounts for Wright's contribution. Wright died in 2008 following a bout with cancer. By all accounts — despite Gilmour and Roger Waters being on speaking terms and even performing together on occasion — Waters is not involved in "The Endless River", which is strictly a Gilmour and Nick Mason project. Mason, who is the sole member of PINK FLOYD to perform in all of its various lineups, co-owns the band's name, trademark, and license with Gilmour.

In a post on his Facebook page, veteran drummer, and self-proclaimed huge PINK FLOYD fan, Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, TRANSATLANTIC, DREAM THEATER) weighed in on the idea of a new PINK FLOYD record, writing: "What's this about a new PINK FLOYD album? Last I checked, Waters is no longer in the band and Wright and [Syd] Barrett are dead. If these are leftovers from 'The Division Bell' sessions, then just put 'em on a 'The Division Bell' special-edition release! It's disrespectful to Roger and everything he built for all those years! Just do a solo album, Dave."

He added: "In my opinion, the PINK FLOYD heyday was 'Atom Heart Mother' through 'The Wall', and those were mainly driven by Roger (conceptually, musically, everything). 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason' and 'The Division Bell' are essentially David Gilmour solo albums 'as' PINK FLOYD (granted, just as 'The Final Cut' was a Roger Waters solo album 'as' PINK FLOYD).

"If you really want, I'll meet you, Gilmour fans, halfway and at least concede with saying, okay, 'real' PINK FLOYD is really only when Waters and Gilmour work together."

Rolling Stone reported that FLOYD studio and stage veteran Durga McBroom-Hudson posted an update on her Facebook page, explaining, "The recording did start during 'The Division Bell' sessions (and yes, it was the side project originally titled 'THE BIG SPLIFF' that Nick Mason spoke about). Which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick have gone in and done a lot more since then. It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them." She added that "The Endless River" consists of "completely unreleased songs."

In a 2011 interview with Greece's Rock Hard magazine, Portnoy compared his departure from DREAM THEATER to the split between Waters and Gilmour. Commenting on some DREAM THEATER fans' opinion that the "magic is gone" from the band's sound and songwriting chemistry now that he is no longer part of the group, Portnoy said: "I always thought that the strongest elements and personalities in DREAM THEATER were me and [guitarist] John Petrucci. And in the early days Kevin Moore [former DREAM THEATER keyboardist] was a big, big part of that chemistry, and then in the later days Jordan Rudess was a big part of that chemistry. But at the end of the day, it was always me and John [Petrucci]. And John Myung, of course, but he's a quieter person, so he's not as strong of an element because he's quiet by nature. But yeah, John Petrucci and myself were, and I think will always be, the sound and the style and the heart and the soul of DREAM THEATER. And I think if you take either one of us out, I think it's like when Roger Waters and David Gilmour split. David Gilmour carried on PINK FLOYD without Roger Waters, but as far as I was concerned, it was never the same. Roger Waters was a big part of the [sound on] all the classic PINK FLOYD albums, and once he left, I think PINK FLOYD sounded like a David Gilmour solo band. I honestly think if John Petrucci came to me [in 2010] and said he needed a break, I wouldn't have continued DREAM THEATER without him; I would have absolutely respected his desire for a break and I would have put the band on hold and waited for him. So it saddens me that he wouldn't do that for me, because I think DREAM THEATER, at the end of the day, was always about the chemistry between me and him."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis was asked by Audio Ink Radio to name the one song that defines both the band as well as his solo career as a country artist. Lewis said, "For STAIND, 'It's Been Awhile', and for my solo work, 'Country Boy'. 'It's Been Awhile' was the No. 1 most-played rock song of the decade, so that's why it would sum up that project. 'Country Boy' has over 21 million views on YouTube. Those two songs I will have to play for the rest of my life."

STAIND is playing just a handful of shows this year, with Lewis devoting much of 2014 to solo shows.

The last STAIND album, a self-titled effort, came out in 2011. The band does not yet have plans to enter the studio.

Guitarist Mike Mushok told the Midland Daily News back in May about the band's future, "It's got to be something that Aaron wants to do. I always enjoy writing with [Aaron] and I look forward to it. We complement each other. He makes what I do better."

Mushok has composed music for ESPN and some documentaries while also touring in NEWSTED, the band recently launched by ex-METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted.

Fan-filmed video footage of Swedish occult rockers GHOST performing on July 5 at the U.K. edition of the Sonisphere festival at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire can be seen below.

A Nameless Ghoul from GHOST told Jägermeister about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to 2013's "Infestissumam" and the covers EP "If You Have Ghost": "Obviously, we have plans for pretty much everything. We are a very strictly planning band in that sense, that we have contingencies for basically everything. But I can say as much as there is a plan for everything, but at this point, there's still a long way to go."

He continued: "We are obviously very much in the process of making the next album, and we have come a long way with that. And we know what it's about, we know what it is, we know what the songs are, we know what the concepts are. The EP was very much a sort of a sideways step for us a little bit, with all the covers and all that, but it was a very deliberate thing to do. And it centers, obviously, around the session with Dave Grohl [FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA] and the time we spent with him at [his] Studio 606 [in California]. And we did a lot of different stuff there for us, whereas the next step is gonna be back to full-on, more traditional-type GHOST stuff.

"We're kind of finishing up the writing, actually. The conceptual stuff has been finished for a long, long time, so we know, basically, what we're gonna do with the next album and quite some time after that as well. So we have a very deliberate plan of doing things. But the actual album in terms of material and imagery and stage plots and everything is basically finished."

GHOST was honored in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" category at the Swedish Grammis awards (Swedish Grammy equivalent), which was held on February 19 at Cirkus in Stockholm. The bands were all nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2013. GHOST was also honored with the P3 Guld award (for "Infestissumam") from Swedish radio station P3 in the "Best Rock/Metal Album Of The Year" category. The winners were announced on January 18 during a live awards ceremony broadcast from the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden.

GHOST's sophomore album, "Infestissumam", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 28 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The CD topped the official chart in the group's home country after selling nearly five times as many copies as the No. 2 album, MISS LI's "Wolves".

GHOST was forced to modify its name in the U.S. to GHOST B.C. for "legal reasons."

"Darker Side Of The Moon", the lead single from Las Vegas rockers OTHERWISE's new album, "Peace At All Costs", has just been released to Active Rock radio and is available on all digital platforms via Century Media. "Peace At All Costs" will be in stores at the end of this summer.

The official lyric video for "Darker Side Of The Moon" can be seen below.

OTHERWISE singer Adrian Patrick comments: "'Darker Side Of The Moon" is just the beginning of the journey that we plan to take with everyone.

"The Moon is a heavenly body that we've come to cherish and worship throughout our meager lives... but there is another side to it that most of us know nothing about.

"We hope that our album, 'Peace At All Costs', will help the world navigate the depths of its own darkness and break through into the Light on the other side."

"Peace At All Costs" is the follow-up to OTHERWISE's 2012 album "True Love Never Dies", which sold over 55,000 albums and 275,000 singles, including the hit songs "Soldiers", "I Don't Apologize (1000 Pictures)" and "Die For You".

According to The Local, BURZUM mastermind Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh) has been slapped with a fine and suspended prison sentence for allegedly inciting racial hatred and glorifying war crimes.

Vikerenes, 41, who has been living in France for the past four years, and his wife were arrested in July 2013 as a preventive measure after Vikernes posted aggressive racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic comments on Internet forums. The couple's home was searched and five guns were found, including four rifles legally purchased by Varg's wife as a member of a rifle club.

A French court Tuesday gave Vikernes a six-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay a fine of €8,000 ($10,000).

Ten excerpts from the blogs written between March and June 2013 that attack Muslims and Jews were presented as evidence in court.

Vikernes told the court that he did not pen the racist blogs and said that a possible misunderstanding could have occurred as a result of the fact that he communicated through a Danish interpreter when he was detained last year. He added there were "at any given moment, 350 people pretending to be Varg Vikernes on Facebook. Anybody can very easily put up a blog [claiming to be Varg]."

According to RTL, Vikernes was one 530 supporters to have received the manifesto of Anders Breivik, the man responsible for the July 2011 bomb attack in central Oslo, Norway and shooting rampage in Utøya island that resulted in the deaths of 77 people, many of them children. Breivik e-mailed the 1,518-page manifesto to his contacts hours before he set out on a murderous rampage.

In 2011, Vikernes called for the French to vote for the National Front (FN), writing on his official web site that doing so would be the only way to avoid the scourge of mass immigration.

In the open letter, entitled "Dear France," he said: "Your parents may induce you into a vote other than for the FN, but do not listen. They are responsible for the plight of today’s France, because they were too ignorant and too loose, or too brainwashed, to do as they should. They have already proved to the world that they have failed and betrayed France."

Varg was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to Norway's longest prison term of 21 years for the August 1993 murder of MAYHEM guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) and for burning down three churches, including the original Holmenkollen Chapel next to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo. He was released from prison in 2009 after serving 16 years of that sentence.

METALLICA's official YouTube channel Metallica TV has been updated with fly-on-the-wall footage shot by a MetOnTour.com reporter on July 1 in Rome, Italy. The 18-minute clip includes footage of the band warming up in the tuning room and performance clips of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" and "Blackened" from the show.

The band's setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Battery02. Master Of Puppets03. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)04. Ride The Lightning05. The Unforgiven06. Lords Of Summer07. ...And Justice For All08. Sad But True09. Fade To Black10. Orion11. One12. For Whom The Bell Tolls13. Blackened14. Nothing Else Matters15. Enter Sandman

Encore:

16. Creeping Death17. Fuel18. Seek & Destroy

As previously reported, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Metal Hammer in a new interview that the band's new song, "Lords Of Summer", is going over well with fans hearing it live on the band's current "By Request" tour. Ulrich explained, "It's fun to play. It seems like the kids are enjoying it. There was actually somebody in the 'Snake Pit' the other day with a homemade 'Lords Of Summer' T-shirt on, which was very endearing."

Ulrich added, "It's a good song. Hey, listen, who knows by the time the next record comes out whether it will be in its same shape or format. But it's fun to play. And I think it's going down well, from what I can tell, from my little spot."

Ulrich said that in the past when the band has played fresh material live, sometimes the songs have not even had finished lyrics or titles. But he remarked that "Lords Of Summer" is "a little further along in terms of it being, sort of, together, so we're quite comfortable playing it. It's kind of written for this tour."

The drummer recently told "Metal Zone" about the band's next record, "I'm pretty convinced that 90 percent of the record is actually written, it's just gotta be kind of assembled between all those riffs. It's just a matter of connecting this to this and sort of shaping it into a song."

Frontman James Hetfield said something very similar when The Pulse Of Radio asked him a while back about the status of the band's new material. "We've come up with enough material for a record, for sure," he said. "We've gone through maybe one-tenth of the material that's on our riff CDs, but we've got enough for an album. We just haven't had the time to really focus on it and dial in and start whittling at these masterpieces, hopefully."

The "Metallica By Request" tour is hitting Europe this summer, with a single North American date confirmed in Montreal. The tour features the band playing 17 songs requested online by fans in each city, with the final slot in the set list taken by "Lords Of Summer".

U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine spoke to BABYMETAL fans who attended the band's sold-out July 7 concert at the Forum in London. Check out the footage below.

BABYMETAL is the offshoot of the Japanese pop idol group SAKURA GAKUIN that performs a distinctly Japanese mix of schoolgirl J-pop and heavy metal.

"Our goal is to start a new genre of metal called Kawaii Metal [Cute Metal]," BABYMETAL said in an interview at the Sonisphere festival. "We are the only band making music in this genre right now and we want this genre to be accepted."

BABYMETAL kicked off its world tour with a headlining show on July 1 at La Cigale in Paris, France.

The band will support pop superstar Lady Gaga on five shows in July and August:

Jul. 30 - Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways ArenaAug. 01 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden ArenaAug. 02 - Stateline, NV @ Harveys Lake Tahoe Aug. 04 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Solutions ArenaAug. 06 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center

BABYMETAL will also play a headlining show at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on July 27.

BABYMETAL became the youngest artists to ever appear at Tokyo Nippon Budokan when they took the stage at the famed venue on March 1 and March 2.

Sayuri Iwai, previous holder of the title, made her Budokan debut at 15 years old and one month. She was usurped by Suzuka Nakamoto (16), Moa Kikuchi (14) and Yui Mizono (14), who hold a mean age of 14.6 years.

BABYMETAL released its debut album on February 26 via Toy's Factory. The effort was made available in regular and limited editions. The CD includes five of BABYMETAL's singles that were released in 2011 - 2013, from "Doki Doki Morning" (digital single) to "Megitsune", their B-sides and three new songs.

"Babymetal" made it to No 3 on iTunes' U.S. rock chart and was in the Top 10 in six other countries, including the U.K. The band's video for the song "Gimme Chocolate" has received nearly 10 million views on YouTube, and BABYMETAL was featured on the cover of the U.K. weekly rock magazine Kerrang!

The band's first major single, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai", sold 19,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 6 in the Japanese Orion weekly singles chart.

BABYMETAL released its first-ever concert Blu-ray, "Live ~Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse~", on November 20, 2013 (the limited-edition DVD box was issued on October 19). The set contains footage of the band's performances at Shibuya O-East (October 2012), Akasaka Blitz (December 2012) and Zepp Tokyo (February 2013).

BABYMETAL is:

Su-Metal - Vocals and DanceMoametal - Screamer and DanceYuimetal - Screamer and Dance

Fan interviews:


Pro-shot performance footage:





OMG! BABYMETAL first-ever solo concert in UK was sold out twice! See you at The Forum on July 7th with 2,300 fans!! pic.twitter.com/Z6Ublteuy3

— BABYMETAL (@BABYMETAL_JAPAN) May 20, 2014

Reunited late '80s/early '90s San Francisco Bay Area funk-metallers MORDRED will embark on a U.K, tour in August. In addition, the band will release a new single, "The Baroness", along with its back catalogue and "In This Live" video, which documents the 1991 sold-out shows at the Marquee in London. They will be made available digitally on August 11. MORDRED has been on hiatus for a couple of decades and returns with the lineup responsible for "In This Life" and "Vision". The band established itself as an impressive live act with its first show with POSSESSED in 1984 and looks forward to being on the road again. "The land of kings is where MORDRED was born, so to us it's always been a blast to know that our greatest supporters are from there as well. We plan to party like it's 525 (A.D.)!" says bassist Arthur Liboon. With their band name straight out of Arthurian legend and their musical style a genre-hopping mash-up of thrash seasoned with whatever flavors they like the taste of, it's safe to say MORDRED has never been afraid to challenge convention. The BNR Metal Pages says: Initially part of the San Francisco thrash fraternity of the Eighties, MORDRED starting making a name for themselves by incorporating funk influences to their sound, then quite a novelty. Most of "Fool's Game" (1989) is pretty much thrash (save one song), but the follow-up "In This Life" (1991) is where the new influences (aided by the rap-style turntables of Aaron Vaughn) really come to the fore, giving the album and band a very distinctive style. By the time of the "Vision" EP (1992), internal friction within the band developed, leading to the departure of longtime vocalist Scott Holderby. With new vocalist Paul Kimball, the band released "The Next Room" (1994), a slightly toned-down release compared to their previous efforts.

MORDRED is:

Scott Holderby - VocalsJames Sanguinetti - GuitarDanny White - GuitarArthur Liboon - BassAaron "Pause" Vaughn - Keyboards, Vocals, Turntables Jeff Gomes - Drums

Eagle Rock Entertainment will release "Sepultura With Les Tambours Du Bronx: Metal Veins - Alive At Rock In Rio" on Blu-ray and DVD on September 15. The footage on the disc was filmed at the legendary Rock In Rio festival in SEPULTURA's home country of Brazil on September 19, 2013. It is a spectacular performance which sees the band accompanied throughout by the French industrial percussion group LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX. The sheer volume of sound and the powerful presentation of the songs sets this apart from any previous SEPULTURA concert release. In addition to the live show, the set will include a bonus documentary feature.

"Sepultura With Les Tambours Du Bronx: Metal Veins - Alive At Rock In Rio" is the first SEPULTURA live release since 2005 and the band's first-ever Blu-ray release.

Founded in 1987, LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX beat 225-liter barrels with beech wood bats or even axe handles. In more than 1000 concerts they've smashed about 16,000 barrels and more than 110,000 broken "drum sticks!"

SEPULTURA's setlist was as follows:

01. Kaiowas 02. Spectrum 03. Refuse/Resist 04. Sepulnation 05. Delirium (LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX cover)06. Fever (LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX cover) 07. We've Lost You08. Firestarter (THE PRODIGY cover)09. Requiem (LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX cover)10. Structure Violence (Azzes)11. Territory 12. Big Foot (LES TAMBOURS DU BRONX cover)13. Roots Bloody Roots

SEPULTURA's new album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Although it was inspired by Fritz Lang's classic 1927 movie "Metropolis", "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart" is not a concept album or a soundtrack like its precedessors "Dante XXI" (based on "The Divine Comedy") and "A-Lex" (based on "A Clockwork Orange").

"The Mediator Between The Head And Hands Must Be The Heart" was tracked over a 40-day period at producer Ross Robinson's (KORN, LIMP BIZKIT, SLIPKNOT) studio in Venice, California and was mixed and mastered by co-producer Steve Evetts, who previously worked with SEPULTURA on the "Nation" (2001), "Revolusongs" (2002) and "Roorback" (2003) albums, in addition to having collaborated with Ross on a number of other projects in the past.

"Hyper Doom", the new video from former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, can be seen below. The song is taken from Marty's new solo album, "Inferno", which sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 186 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 26 via Prosthetic Records (except in Japan, where the album was made available through Universal Music).

"Inferno" was recorded primarily in Los Angeles with engineer Chris Rakestraw (DANZIG, CHILDREN OF BODOM) and mixed by Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH) — features what Friedman recently told Guitar World is "the most intense writing and playing I can do." The album also includes notable guest appearances by several artists influenced by Friedman, including CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho, SKYHARBOR mastermind Keshav Dhar and David Davidson, as well as Friedman's first songwriting collaboration with Jason Becker since the pair played together in CACOPHONY, the pioneering duo of guitar mayhem.

In addition, "Inferno" breaks all genre rules and creates new ones with an exhilarating and musically daring mash-up with Jørgen Munkeby of the acclaimed "blackjazz" act SHINING, as well as two tracks featuring vocals by rock guru Danko Jones. Overall, "Inferno" is by fa Friedman's most thrilling and adventurous effort to date.

"Inferno" track listing:

01. Inferno02. Resin03. Wicked Panacea (feat. Rodrigo y Gabriela)04. Steroidhead (feat. Keshav Dhar)05. I Can't Relax (feat. Danko Jones)06. Meat Hook (feat. Jørgen Munkeby)07. Hyper Doom08. Sociopaths (feat. David Davidson)09. Lycanthrope (feat. Alexi Laiho & Danko Jones)10. Undertow11. Horrors (co-written by Jason Becker)12. Inferno (reprise)

"I'm extremely proud of the work I've done with CACOPHONY and MEGADETH, but I was never interested in stopping there," Friedman said. "'Inferno' is the album that fans of my work with those two bands have always wanted me to make. I've finally made it, and completely on my own maniacal terms."

He added: "On the guests' songs, each would write a song from scratch, and then I would arrange it and add my parts to it," Friedman said. "That way, we were both invested in it, and it’s a little bit of a deeper experience than just banging out a guest solo.

"I wanted to create a new landmark to which my future music will be compared," Friedman said. "That idea of just going completely balls-out — knowing what the full potential of my music and my playing could possibly be, and actually making it a reality — was what drove me through the whole process."

"Hyper Doom" video:


"Inferno" video:

Fan-filmed video footage of SKID ROW's June 23 performance at Lent festival in Maribor, Slovenia can be seen below.

SKID ROW — Johnny Solinger (vocals), Scotti Hill (guitar), Rachel Bolan (bass), Dave "Snake" Sabo (guitar) and Rob Hammersmith (drums) — will release a new seven-song EP, "Rise Of The Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two", on August 5 via Megaforce Records. The CD will contain covers of QUEEN and AEROSMITH classics as bonus tracks.

Asked about the main differences are between last year's "United World Rebellion: Chapter One" EP and "Rise Of The Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two", bassist Rachel Bolan told Finland's Kaaos TV: "Well, there's not many differences except in the recording process. We recorded in a few different places with the first EP, where we recorded the whole thing in the same studio with the second. But we took the same approach to writing and recording. The writing for the first one, I'd say, we labored a little more, because we were trying to go back to our roots, and I know that's a cliché saying for bands to say, but it was true. And after 25 years, it's really hard — harder than you would think — to retrace your steps to where you were when you were that 22-year-old kid jamming in front of a mirror and playing your first big gigs or whatever. So we really had to find our roots and rediscover what got us off in the first place, the guys that wrote the first two records, and I think we succeeded in it. That was the biggest difference — I think it was a little harder to write the songs [for the first EP] — but I think what we came out with, the final product, was well worth it."

"Rise Of The Damnation Army - United World Rebellion: Chapter Two" EP track listing:

01. We Are The Damned 02. Give It The Gun 03. Catch Your Fall 04. Damnation Army 05. Zero Day

Bonus tracks:

06. Sheer Heart Attack (QUEEN cover)07. Rats In The Cellar (AEROSMITH cover)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, the company which creates "beautiful lullaby versions of your favorite artists," has just released "Lullaby Versions Of Five Finger Death Punch" via Roma Music Group.

"Lullaby Versions Of Five Finger Death Punch" track listing:

01. Battle Born02. House Of The Rising Sun03. Wrong Side Of Heaven04. Far From Home05. Remember Everything06. Cold07. Coming Down08. The Bleeding09. Lift Me Up10. The Pride11. Bad Company 12. Under And Over It

The song "Battle Born" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Check out audio samples at Amazon.com.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star was born for the parent that wants to pass along their biggest passion to their child, music. Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star transforms popular music into instrumental lullabies perfect for babies, yoga or just relaxation. Now, parents can enjoy the music from LADY GAGA to METALLICA in soothing lullaby style. With over 135 titles to choose from, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star is the largest line of pop, rock, metal and jamband music lullabies in the world. These aren't novelty recordings. They are cute, they are soft but these are serious recordings. Roma Music Group, which releases Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, is run by two music industry veterans who put the fidelity of these recording at the top of the priority list. Let's face it, much like the brand name clothes you buy for your infant, this music is really for you. Whether you are raising a metal baby, rocker or hippie baby, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star has your music transformed from arena anthems into nursery classics.