The members of HALESTORM invited Germany's Gibson to spend a day with them as they played at Lido in Berlin on April 22. Check out the footage below.

As previously reported, HALESTORM debuted two new songs at two separate shows recently. The first tune, "Heartbreaker", was performed on March 28 at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Tennessee, while the second track, "Mayhem", made its debut in early April in England.

Asked if "Mayhem" is a good indicator of what HALESTORM fans can expect to hear on the band's next album, singer Lzzy 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."

Added drummer Arejay Hale: "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."

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

Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio one thing the band might do differently this time. "We're probably gonna record it in Nashville instead of L.A. this time," she said. "It's a quieter vibe and a little less distractions. I think we can kind of lock ourselves into a studio [laughs] and become intimate with our inner crazy [laughs] and hopefully not kill each other in the process. [laughs]"

HALESTORM last year issued its second covers EP, "ReAniMate 2.0", which featured renditions of songs from JUDAS PRIEST, AC/DC, PAT BENATAR, MARILYN MANSON, DAFT PUNK and FLEETWOOD MAC.

Hardcore/metal veterans BIOHAZARD have inked a new worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast. The band, which was previously signed to Nuclear Blast for Europe only, will enter the studio at the end of the summer to begin recording its new album for an early 2015 release. "We're so psyched to still be involved with the awesome crew at Nuclear Blast and we're looking forward to releasing our new music!" states BIOHAZARD vocalist and guitarist Billy Graziadei. In an April 2014 interview with NoiseEyes.com (see video below), Graziadei stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the BIOHAZARD's follow-up to 2012's "Reborn In Defiance": "It's tough to talk about a record before you release a record. We're writing, sharing ideas and jamming on new stuff. But until the record is done, you don't know what's gonna be on the record."

He continued: "I remember, on the last record, there's a song called 'Reborn', and that was a song that we weren't gonna put on the record, but now it's a song we play live. It's one of the few songs [from that CD] we play live.

"Sometimes you're working on something and you're so focused and you think it's fucking awesome, and then all of a sudden, something just quickly comes along.

"[I have] hundreds [of ideas for the next album]. Some of the ideas I've shown the guys, and other ideas I haven't shown them. Danny [Schuler, drums] showed us his ideas, Bobby [Hambel, guitar] showed us his ideas, but there's a lot of ideas [that we haven't had a chance to show each other] either.

"[Making new music] with BIOHAZARD, it's the kind of machine that we just let run, let it go and [let it happen] naturally. When it's right, when it's done, it's done.

"A lot of bands can work in a different way, where they can stop, 'OK, cool. Next month, on the 15th, we're gonna start writing the record for two weeks, then we record.' We don't work like that. It's way more natural. It just happens. It just comes out. And then when enough of the shit comes out, we'll put it together… You look at it, it's, like, 'Alright, it's a big pile of shit.' Let's fucking record it.' That's pretty much it."

Billy also touched upon the general direction of BIOHAZARD's new material, telling NoiseEyes.com: "It's more focused BIOHAZARD, more songs that we can play live. That's what we all are kind of striving for. We don't wanna have songs on the record that, it sounds great on the record, but there's no way it's gonna work live. I like that side of BIOHAZARD, but right now, we don't wanna do that. So it's heavier, faster, more aggressive."

"Reborn In Defiance" was released in Europe on January 20, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Not only was "Reborn In Defiance" BIOHAZARD's first original lineup album in 18 years, it also marked the last LP recorded by the band before the departure of bassist and co-vocalist Evan Seinfeld. The effort remains a testament to the four founding members (Billy Graziadei, Bobby Hambel, Evan Seinfeld and Danny Schuler) and their unique chemistry.

Seinfeld left the band in June 2011 after the band's new CD was completed and was replaced by Scott Roberts, who played on the band's 2005 "Means To An End" album and has been part of the BIOHAZARD extended family since.

Reactivated influential alt-metal act FAITH NO MORE has hinted at the possibility of new music 17 years after the release of the band's last LP, "Album Of The Year".

The group, which made a comeback in June 2009 with a headlining performance at the Brixton Academy in London, England and has played sporadic shows for the past few years, has just launched a new Twitter account and one of the first posts reads as follows: "The reunion thing was fun, but now it's time to get a little creative."

FAITH NO MORE will play a number of European summer festival shows beginning on June 28 in Hungary.

Speaking to IHeartGuitarBlog.com in November 2012, FAITH NO MORE singer Mike Patton stated about the possibility of the band releasing any live material from its reunion tours: "Right now, we have no plans whatsoever — live, recording or anything. We've done what we set out to do with the reunion, and it's all great, but it's just, 'Let's see what happens next.' And I think you need to take a pause to actually reflect on something like that, because otherwise we could just keep playing, and we're very conscious of overdoing it, y'know, milking material that's so old. You can only do that for so long, and I feel that we've done pretty well. The whole band's naturally came to this conclusion, so now we're just sitting tight."

According to Patton, one of the reasons the FAITH NO MORE reunion didn't happen sooner is the fact that they wanted to avoid making it feel like a nostalgia thing — like "Here's FAITH NO MORE again." "We wanted it to feel fresh and still somehow vital," he said. "It wasn't an money grab. It's funny to say, but we all kind of reconnected, and after quite a long time we all kinda looked at each other and were like, 'Man, we actually spent half of our lives together.' It's interesting to see it through that set of glasses as opposed to the ones you wore back then. I suppose, at least personally speaking, I've grown up a lot since then, and I think I approach the music differently, and I felt better about the music than I did then."




Hey! Stay tuned for more Tweets from Twats!!!
The reunion thing was fun, but now it's time to get a little creative. pic.twitter.com/6RBFE7aHbd

— Faith No More (@FaithNoMore) May 30, 2014

Swedish folk metal forerunners FALCONER return to glory with their new album, "Black Moon Rising", which is scheduled for release on June 9 in Europe and June 10 in North America via Metal Blade Records. You can now stream the entire CD using the SoundCloud widget below.

After the release of FALCONER's last album, "Armod", in 2011, the band first effort sung entirely in Swedish and concentrating on the folk elements in the music, the group returned to KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque's Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden to record the new CD. This effort is described in a press release as "the most guitar-oriented, riff-filled, and fastest FALCONER release to date. This is a much hungrier and more vital FALCONER, with some of their finest material in many years."

Comments FALCONER main composer Stefan Weinerhall: "After an eight-month complete break from music on the verge of quitting it, I finally returned with a feeling of hunger, power and commitment to the songwriting. The goal we all had was to wake up, stir things up a bit and perform at our very best. And so we all did!!"

"Black Moon Rising" track listing:

01. Locust Swarm02. Halls And Chambers03. Black Moon Rising04. Scoundrel And The Squire05. Wasteland06. In Ruins07. At The Jester's Ball08. There's A Crow On The Barrow09. Dawning Of A Sombre Age10. Age Of Runes11. The Priory

The song "Halls And Chambers" can be streamed below.

FALCONER is:

Mathias Blad: vocalsStefan Weinerhall: guitarJimmy Hedlund: guitarMagnus Linhardt: bassKarsten Larsson: drums

The official video for the song "Mountaintop" from CASUALTIES OF COOL, the collaboration between Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend and Vancouver artist Ché Aimee Dorval, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Jessica Cope.

Says Devin: "I have been a fan of Jessica Cope's work for a while now, and the opportunity to work with her rose for this album and we are thrilled with the result.

"Although the concept of the video is loosely based on the concept of the record, we found it worked better as a stand alone piece. Ché and I therefore decided not to have the characters in the video portray us personally.

"I hope you enjoy this, I'm so happy to have an opportunity to work with brilliant artists in my career. I'm very proud of this album and video!"

CASUALTIES OF COOL's debut album was released without record-label backing.

In a 2013 interview with BluntMag.com.au, Devin stated about CASUALTIES OF COOL: "If there's anybody who's new to what I do, who maybe heard 'Liberation' or some of the songs off 'Epicloud' and thought, 'This is really cool, I could get into this,' you're going to hate CASUALTIES. [laughs] I mean, really, it's as opposite of 'Epicloud' as 'Ghost' was to 'Deconstruction'. It's this weird, dark, not evil but verging on it, bluesy, Johnny Cash-y, strange, quiet folk record. But I love it, it's the one record that I've done over the past 10 or 15 years where I can truly say, 'This is where I am right now.'"

He continued: "You know, the other things that I've done have been as well in their own right, 'Epicloud', 'Deconstruction' and 'Addicted!', but there was an agenda with those, I was trying to say something with them or I was trying to prove a point, make a statement about the past or whatever. CASUALTIES is something that I've done without any pressure, without anybody telling me what to do, without showing it to anyone, it's just what evolved when I wasn't thinking about it. As a result of that, I'm incredibly proud of it, but it remains to be seen whether or not other people will resonate with it. I think they will, man. I think it's fucking awesome, and I mean, I haven't smoked weed in a long time but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be awesome while you're smoking. [laughs]"

Asked where CASUALTIES OF COOL will fit into the Devin Townsend discography in terms of sound — among his more traditional-sounding albums, or a bit more removed like his ambient albums, Devin said: "Somewhere in the middle, you know, somewhere in the middle. It's like, if you took the weird elements of 'Ki' and the weird elements of 'Devlab' and added a vintage sort of vibe.

"My management had a suggestion, which I think is pretty cool, which was, 'You shouldn't call it DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, you shouldn't even put your name on it, just call it CASUALTIES OF COOL and put it out as its own thing.' It's got a different singer, I sing on like half of it right, but it's got this lady who's just this brilliant singer, she's a young, despondent-sounding bluesy vocalist and it's creepy. I think that that might be a way for me to get away with it, putting it out without it being part of the DTP [DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT] or whatever.

"I don't know what to tell you, man. I just go where it feels the most honest to go, then I deal with people thinking it's weird afterwards. [laughs]"

"Radar", the new video from the Swedish hard rock band BLACK TRIP, can be seen below. The song is taken from the group's debut album, , "Goin' Under", which will be released by SPV/Steamhammer on July 4 in Germany and July 7 in the rest of Europe (excluding Scandinavia) on CD, LP and as a digital download.

The idea for BLACK TRIP goes all the way back to 2003. Peter Stjärnvind, a veteran of the Swedish metal scene, and a former drummer for (among others) ENTOMBED, NIFELHEIM and MERCILESS, was hanging out with his good mate and fellow drummer Daniel Bergqvist (ex-WOLF) when the two decided to start a new band and name it BLACK TRIP. They wanted this band to build on the musical heritage and sound of the bands they both grew up with. Stjärnvind traded in his drums for the guitar and set to writing and recording new tracks. Unfortunately, the whole project then came to a halt and nothing happened for several years. Fast forward to 2011 and backstage at a festival in Germany, Stjärnvind got to talking with Joseph Tholl, guitarist for ENFORCER and CORRUPT. They got to discussing who was their favorite NWOBHM singer of all time, and Tholl acknowledged that he'd long had ambitions to be the singer in a band. That was it! BLACK TRIP was alive again and Tholl was the new singer. BLACK TRIP recorded another demo and also released a seven-inch single. By this time, the band's sound had matured; Stjärnvind's raw and unpolished riffs and Joseph Tholl's amazing bluesy rock voice created the perfect canvas. The group was completed by Sebastian Ramstedt (ex-NIFELHEIM) on guitar, Johan Bergebäck (ex-NIFELHEIM) on bass and Jonas Wikstrand on the drums.

All tracks on "Goin' Under" were written by Stjärnvind and Tholl, and the influences couldn't be more clear; it's classic NWOBHM bands like IRON MAIDEN and SAXON, whose heavy riffs have always been paired with an impeccable sense of melody, but there's also a hint of the slightly bluesier sensibilities of THIN LIZZY and the dirty attitude of the '70s-era SCORPIONS.

BLACK TRIP is:

Peter Stjärnvind - GuitarJoseph Tholl - VocalsSebastian Ramstedt - GuitarJohan Bergebäck - BassJonas Wikstrand - Drums

The official video for the song "United" from METAL CHURCH frontman Ronny Munroe can be seen below. The clip was produced by Ross Wells and the ZenFilm crew in Houston, Texas. The track is taken from Munroe's third solo album, "Electric Wake", which will be released on June 24 via Rat Pak Records. Guest musicians on the CD include George Lynch (KXM, LYNCH MOB, ex-DOKKEN), Dave Rude (TESLA), Pamela Moore (QUEENSRŸCHE's "Sister Mary") and Paul Kleff (ex-FIREWOLFE).

Produced by Bruce Bouillet and mixed by Jon Wyman, "Electric Wake" "truly captures all the magic of the classic metal genre," according to a press release. "I wanted to create something that was totally new, but at the same time allow all my influences to shine through," states Ronny. "I put two years into the writing process of this album, but when it came time to start recording, I threw everything out the window and just went with my gut and it worked out better than I could have imagined."

The cover artwork for "Electric Wake" was created by Rainer Kalwitz and can be seen below.

"Electric Wake" track listing:

01. Burning Time02. Ghosts 03. Electric Wake04. Turn To Stone05. My Shadow06. Not You Not Me07. Pray08. Ritual Damage09. Sleepless Mountain10. The Others11. United

Bonus tracks

12. Tainted Nation13. Total Eclipse (IRON MAIDEN cover)

Speaking to the Auburn Reporter last year, Munroe stated about his musical upbringing: "I wanted to be a rock star from a very, very young age. I just had a love for music in general from a young age, as a baby."

Munroe said he decided to become a singer after being exposed to legendary metal frontman Ronnie James Dio's vocals on the RAINBOW song "Man On The Silver Mountain". "I heard it on KISW and took off my headphones, ran downstairs and called the station asking, 'Who is that singing?'" he said.

Ronny also spoke about how he landed the METAL CHURCH gig, telling the Auburn Reporter. "I originally tried out for Kurdt's [Vanderhoof, guitar] solo band, VANDERHOOF," he said. "But of course, my being a huge METAL CHURCH fan like everyone else, I was like 'Dude, how about METAL CHURCH? Why don't we do METAL CHURCH?' A couple of weeks later, Kurdt called me and said, 'OK, you want to do METAL CHURCH, let's do it.'"

"I thought that it was going to just be handed to me, but it took many years until I made it in 2003 when I got the gig in METAL CHURCH," he said. "I truly believe everything does happen for a reason, and it took me awhile to get where I wanted to be."

Although METAL CHURCH called it quits after "This Present Wasteland", the band reformed in 2012, this time with Munroe, Vanderhoof, Steve Unger on bass, drummer Jeff Plate and second guitarist Rick Van Zandt.

"METAL CHURCH is my main focus and will be for years to come, and my solo project," Munroe said. "So those are my main focuses. Will I do other projects? Yes, because I need to do that to survive. But I'm not searching any longer to be in a big name band. I'm home."

"Every time that I go up there, even now that we're back together, I do my job," he said. "I put my own stamp on the songs, but I also pay as much respect to [previous METAL CHURCH singers] Dave [Wayne, who died in 2004] and Mike [Howe] and the way they sang the original songs. There are always signature parts that the fans want to hear. So I do that, but I also put a little bit of me in there."

"I'm lucky to be doing what I'm doing and lucky there are people out there that like what I'm doing," he said. "There are people who don't. I'll never live down the David or Mike thing, but that's just how it is. Anybody coming into an established band and replacing somebody, you're never going to get rid of that. That's part of the band's history. So I really don't want that to go away. I'm a fan of the band and the first record too. And then I ended up becoming the singer."

"The Stalker", the new Mess Santos-directed video from Brazilian metallers EMINENCE, can be seen below.

"The Stalker" is the title track from EMINENCE's fourth full-length album, which came out last year. The cover artwork for the CD was created by Viktor Koen. The effort was produced by Tue Madsen (DARK TRANQUILITY, HEAVEN SHALL BURN).

"[Tue] is a great producer and a good friend of the band," EMINENCE guitarist Alan Wallace told Revolver magazine. "We spent an entire year producing this album, and worked really hard together to make 'The Stalker' become a reality."

"The Stalker" track listing:

01. Self Rejection02. Unfold03. 3 Times 604. Atmosphere (intro)05. Veins Of Memories06. The Stalker07. Eyetricity08. Satellite (intro)09. Critical Path10. No Code11. Visions Of Hate

EMINENCE guitarist/founding member Alan Wallace also plays with SEPULTURA bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. in the Brazilian metal project THE UNABOMBER FILES.

EMINENCE's previous CD, "The God Of All Mistakes", was released in March 2008 via Locomotive Records.

EMINENCE is:

Alan Wallace - GuitarBruno Paraguay - VocalsAndre Marcio - DrumsThiago Correa - Bass

Fan-filmed video footage of ARCH ENEMY's June 3 performance at Le 106 in Rouen, France can be seen below.

ARCH ENEMY vocalist Alissa White-Gluz has been performing with broken ribs after crashing into a stage riser during the band's current European tour. She explained in an online posting: "Anyone at that show who saw me body slam through the fucking riser could imagine there would be some damage. But I'm a stubborn fuck and I waited a few shows before going to get x-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests. The damage to my head, arms and legs is just bad bruising, there is no apparent organ damage and no internal bleeding. Unfortunately, there is a compound break on one rib and severe bruising around several others. Good news is that the pieces of the rib are well aligned to heal back in place!" She added: "The doctor forbade me to continue playing shows… But cancelling shows would hurt way worse."

ARCH ENEMY's new album, "War Eternal", will be released in North America on June 10 via Century Media Records. The cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu.

ARCH ENEMY played its first show with Alissa White-Gluz, former vocalist of THE AGONIST, on May 23 at Turbohalle in Bucharest, Romania. Angela Gossow, who joined ARCH ENEMY in 2000 and made her debut on the now-classic "Wages Of Sin" (2001), has stepped down as frontwoman and will focus on management, while Alissa takes her place.

Candlelight Records has set a June 24 North American release date for "IX", the new album from CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. The CD was produced by the band and longtime comrade John Custer.

The song "On Your Way", taken from "IX", can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. Video footage filmed at the recording studio, including vocalist Mike Dean and drummer Reed Mullin laying down vocal tracks, plus guitarist Woodroe Weatherman tracking some of the albums killer riffs, has been seen by fans around the globe.

"The making of 'IX' was drawn out because of us having to step away to do other projects," comments Dean. "I think being forced to step away kept us hungry and then being back on the case with deadlines casting a shadow gave us a 'failure is no option' vibe and that really helped the final product." "This album is another step forward for us," adds Weatherman. "It seems like we keep heading more and more toward our rawer live sound with the studio recordings." Having recently returned from a successful European tour, the band is gearing up for the album's release and a year full of nonstop touring.

"CORROSION OF CONFORMITY are very much firing on all cylinders," noted Terrorizer magazine preceding the trio of English dates that were part of the larger Euro tour that had the band visiting ten countries for the first time in more than a year.

"We had some good shows," shares Dean. "To go back to Paris for the first time in years, without a new album, and have the type of response we had just shows me that there is new interest in the more creative heavier rock. And that this younger group of people is actually checking us out is huge to me." The band surprised European audiences with some new material from "IX". "We had 'On Your Way' in the set and people were jamming along," notes Dean. "It's uptempo but syncopated. I thought it fit right in even though technically we were still working it out."

"We did sneak in some new material on the European tour," asserts Weatherman. "It's great to see folks digging on stuff they have never heard before." "IX" track listing:

01. Brand New Sleep02. Elphyn03. Denmark Vesey04. The Nectar05. Interlude06. On Your Way07. Trucker08. The Hanged Man09. Tarquinius Superbus10. Who You Need To Blame11. The Nectar Revised

FOZZY, the band featuring WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho alongside members of STUCK MOJO, will release its new album, "Do You Wanna Start A War", on July 22 via Century Media.

Fans can now pre-order the 12-track album at iTunes and receive an instant download of the song "One Crazed Anarchist".

The official lyric video for "One Crazed Anarchist" can be seen below.

Produced by FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward, "Do You Wanna Start A War" features 12 tracks, including the debut single, "Lights Go Out", the title track and the return of the Theremin in "Bad Tattoo". SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor recently described the CD as "dark, dense and sharp. Sonically and lyrically, this feels like it's going somewhere big. I love it!"

Asked about whether FOZZY's new album will feature any special guests, Jericho told the Boise, Idaho radio station 100.3 The X Rocks: "I mean, we always have a guest or two on every record, because… It's interesting when you see… You listen to Top 40 radio — every radio when I drive my kids to school, we listen to it — and you'll always hear Jay-Z plus Beyonce, or featuring Beyonce, or Rihanna featuring Lil Jon. And we thought, why don't we do more of that in rock and roll? I man, that's what we did. The last record, we had 'Sandpaper' with M. Shadows [AVENGED SEVENFOLD] and we had 'She's My Addiction' with Phil Campbell of MOTÖRHEAD. So this record we have one collaboration — a song called 'Tonight' with Michael Starr from STEEL PANTHER, who we toured with in Australia; a great singer. And we like that vibe. Musicians like jamming with other musicians; it's kind of what we do."

Regarding FOZZY's musical uproach on "Do You Wanna Start A War", Jericho said: "We wanted to do something a little different. We love, obviously, AVENGED SEVENFOLD or FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, we love IRON MAIDEN, we love OZZY [OSBOURNE]. But we also love PINK FLOYD and LED ZEPPELIN and QUEEN and U2 and THE BEATLES, bands that would always broaden their horizons, but still sound… the core of the band's sound was still there, but they would different things. And when we were listening to a lot of songs on rock radio, we felt that they fit a certain pattern. We wanted to do something that was different from that, and that's what 'Lights Go Out' kind of came from that mindset. So it is a different type of tune, but we wanted to do that and shake things up and take a chance. You know, when you do something like that, sometimes your hardcore fans will go, 'Well, this isn't what we've heard before,' but they'll eventually like it. And you do this to appeal to new fans, and that's what we're getting from 'Lights Go Out', who'd never heard FOZZY before, who'd never listened to FOZZY. 'Man, you guys rock! This song is amazing!' That's what you want…. This is a song that you can hear in a strip club, you can hear it in a dance club, you can hear it in next to a SLAYER song. It's kind of got all things to all people. 'Cause all that matters with music and a good song is the melody and the hook. And this has a great hook; you could catch 'Jaws' with this hook, that's how big it is. But it's dark, it grooves, it's sexy, it's sleek, and the chicks dig it, which is the most important thing. 'Cause when the chicks like something, that means the guys will follow."

"Do You Wanna Start A War" track listing:

01. Do You Wanna Start A War02. Bad Tattoo03. Lights Go Out04. Died With You05. Tonite06. Brides of Fire07. One Crazed Anarchist 08. Unstoppable09. Scarecrow10. No Good Way11. SOS12. Witchery FOZZY's last album, "Sin And Bones", sold around 3,400 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. 1 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.

FOZZY is Chris Jericho on vocals, Rich Ward on guitar and vocals, Frank Fontsere on drums, Billy Grey on guitar, and Paul Di Leo on bass.

Seminal progressive rock heroes YES will release their 21st studio album, "Heaven & Earth", on July 22 via Frontiers Records.

Having sold nearly 40 million albums in a career that has so far spanned more than four decades, YES continues with its tradition of symphonic progressive rock that remains timelessly fresh and innovative.

"Heaven & Earth" contains eight new tracks, each of which boasts the unique musicianship and craftsmanship that have come to be known as "the YES sound." YES' distinctive layered music, swirling arrangements, brilliant vocals and harmonies are all in abundance.

For "Heaven & Earth", YES teamed up with legendary Grammy Award winner Roy Thomas Baker (QUEEN, THE CARS, GUNS N’ ROSES, FOREIGNER, SMASHING PUMPKINS, ALICE COOPER), who handled the production and Billy Sherwood (TOTO, PAUL RODGERS, AIR SUPPLY) who mixed the album. Also onboard is longtime YES artist, the world-renowned Roger Dean, who again brings his masterful artistic creativity to the album's cover art and packaging.

"Heaven & Earth" track listing:

01. Believe Again02. The Game03. Step Beyond04. To Ascend05. In A World Of Our Own06. Light Of The Ages07. It Was All We Knew08. Subway Walls

To coincide with the release of "Heaven & Earth", YES wil launch a 35-date summer tour featuring the band performing 1971's groundbreaking album "Fragile" in its entirety for the first time ever and a repeat performance from last year's tour of 1972's "Close To The Edge", followed by an encore of the band's greatest hits.

YES is: Steve Howe - Electric, Acoustic, & Steel Guitars. Backing VocalsChris Squire - Bass Guitar. Backing VocalsAlan White - Drums. PercussionGeoff Downes - Keyboards. Computer ProgrammingJon Davison - Lead & Backing Vocals. Acoustic Guitar

Swedish metallers WOLF will release their seventh studio album, "Devil Seed", on August 25 in Europe and September 2 in North America via Century Media. This time around, the band worked with Jens Bogren (KREATOR, PARADISE LOST, OPETH) at Fascination Street Studios and has delivered not only a heavy-sounding release but also one chock-full of clarity and complexity. The cover artwork was once again created by Thomas Holm (MERCYFUL FATE, KING DIAMOND).

A lyric video for the CD's first single, "My Demon", can be seen below.

Comments WOLF founding member Niklas Stalvind: "Please enjoy 'My Demon', the first taste of the 'Devil Seed'. Spread it, share it and play it loud! Watch out for the whole album in August."

Fans will be pleased to hear that WOLF is not only still true to its musical ideal, but delivers a fresh and unique take on the sound that is their unmistakable trademark.

"I haven't been this pleased with the songs on a WOLF album since the release of 'Black Wings'," says Niklas Stalvind. "I really think we have taking our songwriting to the next level on this one and I hope that the metal fans will love it as much as we do."

A short time after the new album's release, WOLF will take to the streets with a tour of the U.K., with further European dates to be announced soon.

WOLF in 2011 parted ways with guitarist Johannes "Axeman" Losbäck and replaced him with Simon Johansson (ABSTRAKT ALGEBRA, BIBLEBLACK, MEMORY GARDEN). Simon previously played with WOLF in 2009 when they supported W.A.S.P. for four shows.

WOLF's sixth album, "Legions Of Bastards", was released in April 2011 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2009's "Ravenous" was produced by Pelle Saether at Studio Underground in Vasterås, Sweden. The cover artwork was once again created by Thomas Holm (the man who was responsible for the legendary MERCYFUL FATE "Melissa" and "Don't Break The Oath" covers).

"Wings Of Feather And Wax", the first video fromKILLER BE KILLED, the new band comprised of Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA), Greg Puciato (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), Troy Sanders (MASTODON) and Dave Elitch (ex-THE MARS VOLTA), can be seen below. The clip was shot by renowned director Thomas Mignone of Doom Inc. (SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, CRADLE OF FILTH, MUDVAYNE, SUICIDE SILENCE).

"Wings Of Feather And Wax" is taken from KILLER BE KILLED's self-titled debut album from KILLER BE KILLED, which sold around 5,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Killer Be Killed" was released on May 13 (one day earlier internationally) via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The CD was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur, whose credits include work with GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ESCAPE THE FATE, P!NK and STEVE EARLE. Cover art and packaging was executed by Ryan Clark of Invisible Creature Design, the Grammy-nominated design firm whose clients include ALICE IN CHAINS, FOO FIGHTERS, CHRIS CORNELL, DEVILDRIVER, MONSTER MAGNET, WOLFMOTHER and DEMON HUNTER.

"He's a Polish worker in the back of a dark truck, but he looked like a criminal to me," explains Clark about his choice for the cover's image. "Multiplying his face seemed to give him a sort of split personality/schizophrenic vibe, which feels like a good mesh. Not just for the band name but the idea of a (for the lack of a better term) supergroup." "Killer Be Killed" track listing:

01. Wings Of Feather And Wax02. Face Down03. Melting Of My Marrow04. Snakes of Jehova05. Curb Crusher06. Save The Robots07. Fire To Your Flag08. I.E.D.09. Dust Into Darkness10. Twelve Labors11. Forbidden Fire12. Ghosts Of Chernobyl (vinyl-only bonus track)

"Killer Be Killed" first-week chart positions:

Australia: #47USA: #58UK: #71Canada: #71Germany: #90Switzerland: #91Belgium: #113France: #173

MetalSucks placed Puciato at #1 on their list of the Top 25 Modern Metal Frontmen, but he also expresses himself through the dark electro-pop of THE BLACK QUEEN, together with NINE INCH NAILS touring guitarist Josh Eustis of TELEFON TEL AVIV and Maynard James Keenan's PUSCIFER. Puciato made a guest appearance in 2012 with MIXHELL, the DJ project of Max's brother, SEPULTURA co-founder Igor Cavalera. Cavalera is no stranger to collaborations, of course, having invited multiple guests onto SEPULTURA's genre-defining "Roots" and SOULFLY's gold-selling debut album in 1998. One such SOULFLY guest, Chino Moreno, has often joined Puciato onstage with both THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and DEFTONES. Max was one-half of the incendiary NAILBOMB, together with English record producer and FUDGE TUNNEL mastermind Alex Newport. The pair released one studio album in 1993 and performed a blistering set at the Dynamo festival in 1995. "We did the song on SOULFLY's 'Omen' and then we started talking about doing an entire album together, the way he had with Alex Newport," Puciato explains. "We eventually got together with some riffs we both had and wrote a bunch more material in a 72-hour blast out in the desert. We left with about 15 demos we made using the same drum machine and four track Max used working on 'Chaos A.D.'" Cognizant of the reputation both of them have cultivated after working with some of the world's best drummers, Puciato called upon David Elitch, who had toured internationally with the mind-bendingly psychedelic group THE MARS VOLTA. His expertise in everything from jazz to metal has led to live and studio collaborations with a diverse range of major artists including Justin Timberlake, French electronic wizards M83 and Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør. KILLER BE KILLED has come together even as their main projects hit a collective stride: Max released his ninth studio album with SOULFLY, "Savages", to many of the strongest reviews of his legendary career. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's "One Of Us Is The Killer" debuted at #1 on Billboard's Hard Rock Album chart last year. MASTODON's most recent album, "The Hunter", was Album Of The Year in Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Total Guitar in 2011. MASTODON and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN have toured together many times. During one such tour in the U.S., in late 2011, Puciato was telling Sanders about the new project. Before too long, Sanders and Cavalera were meeting at a festival in South America for the first time: "Hey, I'm Troy. And I think we're in a band together." The electric chemistry was apparent the first time they all assembled. "Having met, created and recorded an album together, this experience has easily exceeded my initial expectations," says Sanders. "The collective energy and mutual respect for one another eased the entire process and has been very therapeutic for me." KILLER BE KILLED is: Greg Puciato - vocals, guitarMax Cavalera - vocals, guitarTroy Sanders - vocals, bassDave Elitch - drums


Photo credit: Glen La Ferman

Napalm Records has announced the signing of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Brant Björk.

Brant is looking forward to working with Napalm Records on his new solo release. "I am super stoked to be recording some more rock music for Napalm," he says. "Stand by for Low Desert Punk."

Brant is globally recognizable as a founding member of the legendary KYUSS and more recently for his work with John Garcia in VISTA CHINO. In addition, he has had quite an eventful career as a founder of the record labels (El Camino and Duna Records) and as a world-renowned producer. In addition to founding the record labels, performing, touring, and recording; Brant also works as a producer and has worked with many amazing artists throughout the years.

Brant Björk has also played with a host of outfits including teaming up with LAB (featuring ex-BL'AST members), FATSO JETSON, FU MANCHU and re-uniting with Nick Oliveri in MONDO GENERATOR.

Brant is currently working on a new album that you is expected to be released this fall.

Reunited grunge legends SOUNDGARDEN performed on last night's (Tuesday, June 3) episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". The group played the song "Spoonman" on the program, with an additional performance of "My Wave" available exclusively via the web. Check out the footage below.

SOUNDGARDEN's breakthrough 1994 album, "Superunknown", was reissued yesterday in a deluxe 20th anniversary edition featuring a remastered version of the album and plenty of bonus content like rarities, demo tracks and B-sides. But the band is already looking ahead to more retrospective releases, as guitarist Kim Thayil revealed, telling Billboard.com, "We definitely have discussed giving this treatment to [1991 album] 'Badmotorfinger', for sure… 'Badmotorfinger' was very influential in the rock community. It had a strong influence on other musicians. 'Superunknown' probably did as well, but it's success was not just with musicians but with fans as well."

"Badmotorfinger" was SOUNDGARDEN's third studio album and first to go gold and then platinum. It also featured the first two songs by the band, "Outshined" and "Jesus Christ Pose", to get substantial commercial radio airplay.

Also in the works is a long-promised compilation of B-sides and non-album tracks, about which Thayil said, "I've been talking about that since the mid-90s... The B-sides and all that stuff will be compiled in the future into a separate, stand-alone record."

Singer Chris Cornell told The Pulse Of Radio why the B-sides set is important to SOUNDGARDEN even though it has been delayed for so long. "B-sides were sort of extra tracks for outside the U.S. releases," he said. " I always felt like that was sort of a backhanded slap to our fans in the U.S. or Canada, because those were our hardcore fans that had been there from the very beginning, and yet we're giving away this other stuff to other people. Because of that, we've always kind of been chomping at the bit to make this B-sides record."

SOUNDGARDEN will embark on a co-headlining North American tour with NINE INCH NAILS in July. Some of those shows may feature complete "Superunknown" performances.

An extended sample of the new JUDAS PRIEST song "Crossfire", along with footage of vocalist Rob Halford discussing the cut, is available in the YouTube clip below.

"Crossfire" is taken from JUDAS PRIEST's forthcoming studio album, "Redeemer Of Souls", which will be released in North America on July 8 (pushed up a week from the originally announced July 15) via Epic Records. The CD's title track was made available for purchase via iTunes and other digital service providers on April 29.

Speaking to the "Trunk Nation" show, which airs live Mondays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST on SiriusXM's Hair Nation, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford stated about "Redeemer Of Souls": "When we finished [the] 'Epitaph' [tour], we just got so buzzed from the fans and the reaction wherever we went. Just to put the 'Epitaph' tour together, which was we tried to put a song from every record into the show, and we were living in the life of JUDAS PRIEST, all those decades, in one show, night after night on the world trek, and I think that really did something to us eternally; as musicians, it should do when you tour. So we realized that this next record really had to be really strong, full of energy, because it's relentless, the tracks are relentless. The energy that you feel off 'Redeemer Of Souls' is replicated in that direction time and time and time again."

Asked whether the members of JUDAS PRIEST still feel good about "Nostradamus" six years after the album's release, Halford said: "If you look at bands of longevity, like PRIEST, you see the trail of music that we've left, I don't think we could have probably made as great a record as we have with 'Redeemer Of Souls' if we didn't have 'Nostradamus' as a reference point. It's a stepping stone to the next place.

"Every record that we've made, we've tried to give it some distinction, some separate identity. 'British Steel' doesn't sound like 'Stained Class', 'Stained Class' doesn't sound like 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller' doesn't sound like 'Defenders Of The Faith'… So I think everything has its place and has its moments, and we've always fed off these different areas that we've gone into with our metal. So thanks to 'Nostradamus', we've got 'Redeemer Of Souls'."

Regarding why there are five "bonus" tracks that are included on the deluxe version of "Redeemer Of Souls" and do not appear on the CD's regular version, Glenn Tipton said: "They are all great songs. The reason they are not on the album is because the 13 that we chose are very consistent with what we wanted to do, which was release an undisputable heavy metal album. The others, they are not lightweight by any chance, but they've got a different feel, a different texture. So it's not a case of trying to rip the kids off and trying to get more money for an extra album, it's just a case of, these five tracks seem to deserve to go on their own CD, and that's what we did."

Added Halford: "We didn't want to drop the energy. From the opening thunder-and-lightning on 'Dragonaut' right up 'till the end of 'Battle Cry', it's just full-on, it's relentless. It's great."

"Redeemer Of Souls" CD track listing:

01. Dragonaut02. Redeemer Of Souls03. Halls Of Valhalla04. Sword Of Damocles05. March Of The Damned06. Down In Flames07. Hell & Back08. Cold Blooded09. Metalizer10. Crossfire11. Secrets Of The Dead12. Battle Cry13. Beginning Of The End

Bonus tracks:

14. Snakebite15. Tears Of Blood16. Creatures17. Bring It On18. Never Forget

"Crossfire" preview:


"Halls Of Valhalla" preview:


"March Of The Damned" audio stream:


"Redeemer Of Souls" song audio stream:


"Redeemer Of Souls" album artwork:



"Redeemer Of Souls" single artwork:

Official Metallica.com footage of the band's May 28 performance at the Sonisphere festival in Helsinki, Finland can be seen below. The 30-minute clip includes footage of the band soundchecking on May 27, a scary moment in the tuning room, and "Enter Sandman" and "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" from the show.

METALLICA played the song "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" live in its entirety for the first time ever on May 28 during the band's set at the Sonisphere festival in Helsinki. The group had previously played the song's intro many times before, but always went from that into another track entirely. Wednesday night's performance was part of the band's "Metallica By Request" format for its current European tour, on which fans have selected each night's songs online.

"The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" is taken from METALLICA's 1988 fourth album, "…And Justice For All". Until Wednesday night, it was the last original song from the first five METALLICA studio albums that had never been performed live.

Prior to the Helsinki show, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told MTV about the "Metallica By Request" format: "It's really amazing because, at the onset of this, we thought that the fans would pick all weird stuff and kind of leave all the songs that we've been playing forever and ever alone, but as the results started coming in, people just voted for all the same stuff that we already played. Like, the top songs were songs like 'Nothing Else Matters', 'Enter Sandman', 'Sad But True', 'Creeping Death'… And in a lot of different places, it was similar, too, which was interesting to us. There have been, like, three or four songs that have come through that have been songs that we don't usually play, and we were hoping that we would get a few more of those types of songs, but we didn't. But when we looked at all the results — because we got the results before the tour started — we noticed that the most weirdest, most unusual request was from Finland, and it was for 'The Frayed Ends Of Sanity'. And we thought, 'Yes! We have a place where they actually wanna hear 'The Frayed Ends Of Sanity'.' Because we've never played that before. It was a song that we never paid much attention to, it's a pretty deep cut. So we've been rehearsing that song a lot, and we're gonna play it tonight for the very first time, and we're really psyched. I just hope that we'll be able to play it well, because it's so cold onstage. But yeah, I think it's gonna be pretty exciting, and it's gonna be a METALLICA first tonight here in Helsinki."

Bassist Robert Trujillo told CraveOnline.com last year that "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" was METALLICA's "most challenging" song to learn on bass.

Drummer Lars Ulrich told the Delaware County Daily Times about playing the song, "We're going to have sit down and spin that one around for an hour or two."

METALLICA's setlist for the Helsinki concert:

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. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity17. Whiskey In The Jar18. Seek & Destroy

METALLICA spent some time this spring working on material for the follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic", but the band's 10th studio album is not expected out until 2015.

James Kottak, the American drummer of German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS, has released the following statement:

"After years of drinking alcohol, on April 3rd, 2014 my addiction finally caught up with me during a five-hour flight from Ekaterinburg, Russia to Bahrain via Dubai, during which I consumed 5 or 6 glasses of wine. While at the airport in Dubai, I approached an airline representative to check on status of my flight. The representative informed me that I was in the wrong place and I replied, 'WTF?!' The representative then called the police and reported that I was intoxicated (which I was) and that I made a lewd gesture.

"One of the police officers recognised me as drummer of the SCORPIONS. When the police asked me to show my ID, I showed them the 'Rock & Roll Forever' tattoo on my back instead of my actual ID, which was in my back pack my friend was carrying for me. Apparently, the police did not find this funny and I was charged with 'drinking without a license,' for which I pleaded guilty and received a one-month sentence and a 2,000 Dirham (300 USD) fine. I was also charged with insulting Islam/Muslims by making a lewd gesture, for which I pleaded not guilty and did not actually do.

"Upon returning to the United States on May 6th, I immediately reached out to Bob Forrest, an addiction specialist known for his work with musicians and 'Celebrity Rehab'. I have been meeting with Bob on a regular basis. He has guided me to the MusiCares organization, which provides musicians with help for mental health and addiction issues.

"I am determined to come to grips with my alcoholism and am doing everything on a daily basis to beat this relentless disease.

"This entire incident caused me to realize that it is time to stop drinking once and for all so that I can become the father, musician, and friend that I know I can be.

"I am glad to put this unfortunate incident behind me and move onward and upward with my life.

"I would like to send out a HUGE thank-you to my family, friends and fans around the world for their incredible loving support…you kick ass! I would also like to send a sincere apology from the bottom of my heart to everyone I have affected and look forward to seeing you all!!

"With love, James Kottak.

"Tomorrow is a brand new day!"

SCORPIONS recently released a statement in which they said about Kottak: "[James] will have to find the time to sort out his problems."

For SCORPIONS' recent concerts in Germany, Swedish drummer Johan Franzon filled in for Kottak.

Because of his arrest, Kottak did not perform with his bandmates at the April 5 show at the 2014 Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and was replaced at the gig by Mark Cross (TAINTED NATION, FIREWIND, OUTLOUD, HELLOWEEN, METALLIUM).

In a 2005 interview, Kottak, who has been in the SCORPIONS since 1996, stated about his audition for the band: "I was always a SCORPIONS fan for the songs on the radio because in America they played them non-stop. I was never the guy that went out and bought their records but I always liked their songwriting and the songs and the whole vibe. Then I was in a band called KINGDOM COME in 1987-1990 and we opened for the SCORPIONS and I saw them and they were so professional on the Monsters Of Rock tour, [and] I was totally blown away. But I never went out and bought their albums, I never went out and bought any other albums either. I was a fan of all music — good or bad. It was on the radio so much, I didn't need to buy it. I spent all my money buying drums, drumsticks and cymbals. In the audition, I knew most of the SCORPIONS music from playing in cover bands. I'm from Louisville, Kentucky. That's how I earned my money in the early '80s — we played 'Still Loving You', 'Rock You Like a Hurricane', 'Big City Nights'. The flattering point with the SCORPIONS [was] when I did fly to Germany for the 'audition,' it wasn't so much an audition, more like, 'Let's get together and see how it feels.' So, I was very flattered about that because they did audition like another 25 drummers. I was very flattered to be picked."

Veteran thrashers WHIPLASH have parted ways with drummer Dan Foord and have replaced him with Charlie Zeleny. Charlie will make his live debut with WHIPLASH on June 22 at Dingbatz in Clifton, New Jersey.

Tony Portaro, guitarist and founding member of WHIPLASH, first witnessed Charlie Z in action with Joe Lynn Turner's band, blowing the roof off Dingbatz, located in Tony's hometown.

Foord left WHIPLASH to focus on the reformation of his former band SIKTH, plus his new band KROKODIL, as well as his drum teaching and touring obligations. His last show with WHIPLASH will take place on July 25 at the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany.

Charlie Z has toured/recorded with Joe Lynn Turner, BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS, BLOTTED SCIENCE, SUSPYRE and Jurgen Blackmore, among many others. He has played with Jordan Rudess (keyboardist of DREAM THEATER) and has performed drum duets with Terry Bozzio for The Drum Channel.

"Walk The Plank", the new video from veteran WHIPLASH, can be seen at this location. The clip was shot on May 25, 2013 at the Del Putas Fest ("Festival Of Whores") at the Teatro al Aire Libre Carlos Vieco amphitheater in Medellin, Colombia. Filmed and edited by Medellin videographer Juan Molina, of Juanchope Studios, it features concert footage and a montage of scenes from the event.

"Walk The Plank" is a re-recording of the song that originally appeared on WHIPLASH's 1987 album "Ticket To Mayhem". Produced by Tony Portaro, the new version of the track was laid down by guitarist and vocalist Portaro, bassist Dank DeLong and drummer Dan Foord, and mixed and mastered by Kostadin "Mozart" Kamcev at Mozart Studio in Clifton, New Jersey.