The official lyric video for "Captivity & Devourment", the title track of the new album from ARMAGEDDON, the band led by former ARCH ENEMY guitarist Christopher Amott, can be seen below.

ARMAGEDDON first came to life in Sweden in 1997 as a studio project, with the release of "Crossing The Rubicon", a sci-fi themed concept album. Two more full-length efforts followed, "Embrace The Mystery" in 2000 and "Three" in 2003, both featuring different lineups and different musical directions, with Amott as the sole remaining original member.

ARMAGEDDON is now resurrected in its most powerful form. The band is based out of New York City, and has brought unto itself a crushing lineup of musicians. Together they have once again conjured up the force that is ARMAGEDDON.

Due later in the year, "Captivity & Devourment" consists of 10 awe-inspiring and ingeniously crafted songs, full of devastating riffs, soaring guitar leads and fist-pumping choruses. Heavy, melodic, technical, and groovy, this is creative metal songwriting with one foot in deep in the classics and and one eye gazing towards the distant future.

ARMAGEDDON 2014 is:

Matt Hallquist - Lead VocalsChristopher Amott - Guitar, Clean VocalsJoey Concepcion - GuitarSara Claudius - BassMárton Veress - Drums

Amott's latest solo album, "Impulses", can be purchased directly from his music store.

Amott in March 2012 issued a statement explaining that he left ARCH ENEMY to pursue his solo career. He said, "I'm gonna continue to be very active in music, working with all kinds of styles — this does not rule out metal."

ARCH ENEMY recruited American guitarist Nick Cordle (ARSIS) to replace Christopher.

Christopher Amott started his career in music in 1995 as a founding creative force and guitarist in ARCH ENEMY. In this context, he is known for his tastefully technical guitar work and memorably emotive playing style.

After garnering his early success, Christopher had the desire to express himself on a personal level in the same genre. At this time he began writing albums under the name ARMAGEDDON. Christopher wrote and recorded three albums over the next few years as ARCH ENEMY grew into an internationally recognized act, with his compositions featuring his own vocal stylings on the last album. This would be Christopher's first foray into singing and a spark of inspiration for his later musical ventures.

In 2008, Christopher began to consider his creative options as a mature musician. He began writing songs of an entirely different atmosphere, which saw his guitar playing focused less on technical ecstasy and more on a chord-based blues rock ambience as a foundation for more prominent vocal and lyrical ideas. These compositions developed into his next solo project; the album would be called "Follow Your Heart", released under his own name in 2010.

Photo credit: John Fell

Fan-Filmed video footage of former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman's May 17 concert at Muziekodroom in Hasselt, Belgium can be seen below.

Friedman's new solo album, "Inferno", was released on May 27 via Prosthetic Records. The CD — which 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 flamenco/metal acoustic guitar duo RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, 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.

"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."

According to Billboard.com, METALLICA's self-titled 1991 LP has become the first album to sell 16 million copies since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991. The set — often referred to as "the black album" — shifted another 2,533 units for the week ending May 25, bringing its cumulative total to 16,001,741.

"Metallica" was already certified 16 times platinum on December 13, 2012 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for shipments in excess of 16 million copies in the U.S.

The album in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era.

Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

Drummer Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone in 1991 about the record's musical shift, "We felt inadequate as musicians and as songwriters (early in our career). That made us go too far, around 'Master Of Puppets' and on '...And Justice For All', in the direction of trying to prove ourselves. We'll do all this weird-ass shit sideways to prove that we are capable musicians and songwriters."

Ulrich added about the eight months it took to make the album, "[Recording] should have gone quicker, in theory, than trying to get everything note-perfect like we have before. But as usual with METALLICA, all those theories and normalities go straight out the window. It took us twice as long to make a record that is twice as loose."

Frontman James Hetfield said, "It was [once] a challenge for us to jam every riff in the universe into one song and make it work. Now we're pretty much doing the opposite. Which is even more of a challenge."

The album was the first of four collaborations with producer Bob Rock, with whom the band clashed throughout the recording of the disc. Rock recalled to Music Radar, "The first three months were difficult. They were all very suspicious of me. It wasn't a fun, easy record to make. I told the guys when we were done that I'd never work with them again. They felt the same way about me."

Ulrich said about Rock in NME, "We'd never really had anybody push us before . . . We've always thought of ourselves as 'Big Bad Metallica,' but Bob taught us a new word none of us had ever heard before: soulful."

METALLICA performed "the black album" in its entirety at a number of European festivals in 2012.

Vocalist Russ Graham of Canadian rockers KILLER DWARFS has been released from hospital and is recuperating with the rest of the band in Indiana after they were involved in a serious crash following their performance at the Rocklahoma festival this past weekend. The accident took place just before 2:00 Monday afternoon (May 26) near a construction zone along interstate 70 in Indiana when the band's pickup truck — driven by KILLER DWARFS bassist Johnny Fenton — pulling a box trailer failed to slow or stop and hit a vehicle and another pickup truck. The second truck then hit a SUV. Graham was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for head injuries while Fenton, drummer Darrell Millar and guitarist Gerry Finn suffered only minor cuts and bruises.

Says KILLER DWARFS: "We are working on getting the band and their gear back home safe to Canada to reunite them with their loving friends and families.

"As of now, there are no show cancellations and the June 7th Hard Rock Café Toronto Trike iduction and show will still take place."

A video report on the incident from WTHI TV can be seen below.

KILLER DWARFS was formed in Toronto in 1981 and continues to rock, showing no signs of slowing down. From its first single, the anthem "Keep The Spirit Alive", to its 2013 album "STaRT @ oNe", the band's timeline includes extensive MTV airplay, recording for major labels, racking up a few Juno nominations and playing some of the largest venues throughout the world.

Get ready to mosh in the privacy of your own home, because multiple Grammy-nominated thrash masters ANTHRAX have announced the release of "Chile On Hell", a live-in-concert DVD that is due on September 16. "Chile On Hell" was filmed at the Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile on May 10, 2013 and features ANTHRAX performing an extended set that featured songs from the band's entire catalogue.

"Chile On Hell" will be available on DVD and Blu-ray, was recorded in 5.1 Surround Sound, and will retail for $16.98.

"Santiago was the perfect place to film the show for this," said ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante. "When we'd played there in the past, we'd finish our set, play our encore and go back to the dressing room. But every time, the fans would continue to scream and cheer and clap. I mean, they went on and on, they wouldn't stop. One time Scott [Ian, guitar] and I walked out to the side of the stage just to watch what was going on in the audience, it was intense. Why wouldn't we want to film a DVD in front of an audience like that?

"Plus," Benante continued, "the time was right to do this DVD… We wanted to finish on a high note. We didn't want to look back and regret that we didn't record the live show."

"Chile On Hell" was produced by Jay Ruston and filmed by City Drive Entertainment Group and DC3 Global. The DVD's cover art was designed by Stephen Thompson, who partnered with Benante to "redesign" the artwork from last year's "Anthems" EP.

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

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Among The Living 02. Caught In A Mosh 03. I Am The Law 04. Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.) 05. A Skeleton In The Closet 06. March Of The S.O.D. (STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH cover)07. In The End 08. Deathrider 09. T.N.T. (AC/DC cover)10. I'm Alive 11. Indians12. Medusa 13. In My World 14. Got The Time (Joe Jackson cover)15. Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't

Encore:

16. I'm The Man / Raining Blood (SLAYER cover)17. Madhouse 18. Antisocial (TRUST cover)

SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais, who has been touring with ANTHRAX since Rob Caggiano's departure in January 2013, handled the lead-guitar parts at the Santiago show.

"Anthems", ANTHRAX's eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the band's favorite acts from the 1970s, sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 52 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in North America on March 19, 2013 (MRI/Megaforce), and on March 22, 2013 in Europe (Nuclear Blast).

ANTHRAX's latest full-length album, "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at No. 12. The band's previous studio CD, 2003's "We've Come For You All", opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122.



Fan-filmed video footage of the Santiago concert:

Digital Tour Bus, which gives fans "an all-access pass" to the tour buses that their favorite bands travel in, has posted its latest "Bus Invaders" episode, focusing on Chicago rockers SOIL. The five-minute clip, which was filmed on May 1 in Arlington Heights, Ilinois, can be seen below.

SOIL's sixth studio album, "Whole", was released on August 20, 2013 via Pavement Entertainment.

"Whole" is the first SOIL album with original frontman Ryan McCombs since 2004's "Re.De.Fine" (after which he joined DROWNING POOL). It sees SOIL returning to its classic sound that fans have come to admire, with a pres release calling it the CD "that could have come directly after the 'Scars' album in 2001." Following the 2012 release of its first-ever live DVD, "Re-LIVE-ing The Scars", SOIL began writing new material and entered the studio in February 2013 with producer Ulrich Wild (PANTERA, BREAKING BENJAMIN) to begin recording. "This was by far the most comfortable and natural recording process we have ever experienced," said guitarist Adam Zadel. "From the writing, pre-production, and through the main tracking and mixing, everything was smooth and fluid." Other tracks featured on "Whole" include "Way Gone" and "Amalgamation", the latter of which sees McCombs taking songtitles from both the SOIL and DROWNING POOL releases he was a part of and weaving them into verses of the song. "I think, lyrically speaking, those that are familiar with the work I've done are going to get the next chapter that they would expect," McCombs said about the lyrical process. "Words from a heart and mind that has lived them.

"One of the greatest things I experience as a lyricist is when people come up and share with me how a song, or a specific verse or line from a song, got them through a hard time or times in their lives. It reminds me of the times music did that for me and how powerful music and/or a lyric can be in a person's life." Drums and percussion on "Whole" were performed by Will Hunt (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, EVANESCENCE, DEVICE).

"Will added a whole new dimension to the songs," stated King. "He added a monstrous and aggressive vibe to the album."

A guest guitar solo on "Wake Up" was performed by longtime friend Mike Mushok of the band STAIND.

Still riding high from the success of their critically acclaimed 2011 album "The Great Mass", Hellenic metallers SEPTICFLESH will release their new full-length album, "Titan", on June 24 via Season Of Mist in Europe and Prosthetic in North America. The new CD consists of 10 songs that were recorded once again at Devasoundz Studios in Athens, Greece and in the Czech Republic with the collaboration of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra And Choir. From there, the album was mixed and mastered in Los Angeles by acclaimed producer Logan Mader (GOJIRA, FEAR FACTORY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY).

"Titan" track listing:

01. War In Heaven02. Burn03. Order Of Dracul04. Prototype05. Dogma06. Prometheus07. Titan08. Confessions Of A Serial Killer09. Ground Zero10. The First Immortal

The song "Prototype" can be streamed below.

Says the band: "We are really exhausted from the work on this record, but also very proud of the results. We worked hard with Logan to bring you the ultimate death metal soundtrack for your darkest dreams. The compositions are progressive with a lot of emotional peaks, while at the same time the songs sound very aggressive and powerful. We also had the chance to work for the first time with a full children's choir besides the regular adult choir, and that helped us dive deeper into darker cinematic atmospheres. We have achieved a new level of extreme emotions."

"Titan"is currently available for pre-order in the following formats:

- 2CD digipak (including a bonus disc featuring the album's orchestral score, as recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra) - Gatefold black 2LP (featuring hand-screened artwork on Side D) - Gatefold white/flesh 2LP (featuring hand-screened artwork on Side D) - Limited-edition 3LP box set (includes a bonus LP of the orchestral score along with exclusive hand-screened jackets)

SEPTICFLESH and FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE will join forces this summer for the most momentous event of the season: the "Conquers Of The World Festival 2014". Support on the trek will come from HOUR OF PENANCE and NECROMONICON.

An extended sample of the new JUDAS PRIEST song "Halls Of Valhalla", along with footage of vocalist Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton discussing the cut, is available in the YouTube clip below.

"Halls Of Valhalla" is taken from JUDAS PRIEST's forthcoming studio album, "Redeemer Of Souls", which will be released in North America on 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




"Redeemer Of Souls" album artwork:



"Redeemer Of Souls" single artwork:

The official video for "Magic Forest", the title track of the new album from the Finnish female-fronted symphonic metal band AMBERIAN DAWN, can be seen below. The CD will be released on July 8 (one day earlier internationally) via Napalm Records.

Says AMBERIAN DAWN songwriter Tuomas Seppälä: "I'm very glad about this new deal with Napalm Records. I'm sure that our cooperation will be successful and enjoyable. This label showed interest in us at the very beginning of our career so I feel very comfortable working with this great label today! Together with our booking agency/management Twisted Talent Concerts, we're surely going to make something happen here.

"New album, 'Magic Forest', is AMBERIAN DAWN's first studio album with singer Capri. Now with her I've been able to fullfill some of my early dreams with musical styles and this new style is really big, fresh and naturally flowing. New sound is more keyboard-driven and the vocal lines have some strong influence of 1980s. But since this is AMBERIAN DAWN, there's, of course, also some fast songs included and some really serious guitar and keyboard shredding too. Mr. Jens Johansson of STRATOVARIUS once again contributed some really awesome playing in form of one keyboard solo. Thank you, Jens, you've been supporting us so many years now. This is also first time on AMBERIAN DAWN's history when we had an actual production team put together.

"Thank you, Mikko P. Mustonen and Capri, for your awesome support and work. We really have an extraordinary good production team here.

"We had so much fun in doing this album and you can really sense and hear the relaxed atmosphere we had on the process.”

"Magic Forest" track listing:

01. Cherish My Memory 02. Dance Of Life 03. Magic Forest04. Agonizing Night 05. Warning06. Son Of Rainbow 07. I'm Still Here08. Memorial09. Endless Silence 10. Green-Eyed

AMBERIAN DAWN released a compilation album of songs that originally appeared on their first four albums — "Circus Black" (2012), "End Of Eden" (2010), "The Clouds Of Northland Thunder" (2009) and "River Of Tuoni" (2008) — to showcase new singer Päivi "Capri" Virkkunen after the departure of Heidi Parviainen. "Re-Evolution" was made available on June 14, 2013 in Finland, distributed by Suomen Musiikki.

"Re-Evolution" was mixed by Mikko Mustonen and mastered by Henkka Niemisto at Chartmakers.

AMBERIAN DAWN parted ways with vocalist Heidi Parviainen in November 2012. Her final appearance with the band was at the Metal Female Voices Fest at the end of October 2012 in Belgium.

"To Kill A Man", the new video from the Swedish all-girl hard rock quartet CRUCIFIED BARBARA, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "In The Red", which will be released on August 20 via Despotz Records. "We and many of us feel a huge impotence and rage when we hear and read about men who systematically abuse and rape women," commented the band. "This type of crime is something that happens every day, everywhere. "Of anger, we create music. Heavy substances and harsh riffs became the song 'To Kill A Man', a really heavy song in a double sense."

"In The Red" was recorded at Music A Matic studio in Gothenburg with producer Chips Kiesby and engineer Henryk Lip, and is the follow-up to 2012's "The Midnight Chase".

Formed in Stockholm in 1998 by bassist Ida Evileye (now-wife of MESHUGGAH drummer Tomas Haake) and Force, CRUCIFIED BARBARA plays a fiery brand of rock 'n' roll tinged with metal and lashings of punk, pop, thrash, and whatever else dares to cross their path. Ida Evileye dominates her trusty Sandberg bass, Force rocks steady on her '76 Gibson Explorer, Coldheart belts out her unapologetic vocals while riffing all over her Gibson Gothic Flying V, and Nicki Wicked pounds on her hot pink sparkle Yamaha Maple drum kit until you're splayed across the floor with a bull's-eye knock-out punch that'll make you spit your teeth out. Now you know what happens when MOTÖRHEAD mates with THE RUNAWAYS.

As a teaser for the June 3 deluxe reissues of LED ZEPPELIN's first three albums, the band has compiled a new video for the alternate version of 1969's "Whole Lotta Love", which is featured on the "Led Zeppelin II" set. The track was among a handful of unreleased versions of legendary tunes Jimmy Page previewed earlier this month in a New York City listening session for the press. Page said in a statement announcing the new video, "You can see how songs grow. There must have been five or six other takes of that, which are not present. So the shaping of these things is very interesting and you can hear with this particular version that we haven't quite reached the point yet, and that it's very, very close."

Bassist John Paul Jones said of the newly unearthed take: "'Whole Lotta Love' must have been very early on its life, so it probably hadn't developed into the juggernaut that it became in later years. But it's fresher, I think."

Robert Plant added: "This version of 'Whole Lotta Love' is the mix down from the night that we recorded it, so it doesn't have any of the overdubs that everyone will be familiar with, because when they hear this they'll think, 'Oh yeah, that's the original' and all of a sudden they'll go, 'No, it's not.'"

The five-minute "Whole Lotta Love" video, which contains a montage of archival footage from various LED ZEPPELIN performances, can be seen below.

Coming on June 3 will be deluxe editions of LED ZEPPELIN's first three albums: "Led Zeppelin", "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin III". The launch of the reissue program, which is being led by Jimmy Page, includes the band opening "its vaults to share dozens of unheard studio and live recordings, with each album featuring a second disc of companion audio comprised entirely of unreleased music related to that album."

The albums are being issued in six different versions — the Super Deluxe Box; Deluxe Edition; Deluxe Edition Vinyl; Single CD; Original Album Vinyl; and Digital Download.

"When these things were originally done, they were done for vinyl," Page explained on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". "And then they were remastered about 20 years ago for the CD market. But now there's a re-emerging vinyl market, CD, digital online — so the whole lot of these original albums has been remastered for all of those different media, if you like." He continued: "I thought, 'Other people have done this — other people have remastered their catalog, so let's see what we can do to make it, like, really special.'"

The Super Deluxe Box set of each LED ZEPPELIN album features:

* Remastered album on CD in vinyl replica sleeve.* Companion audio on CD in a new sleeve and on 180-gram vinyl ("Led Zeppelin" features a previously unreleased October 1969 concert from Paris; "II" and "III" feature previously unreleased studio outtakes).* Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl in a sleeve replicating the first pressing.* High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit (Live tracks are 48kHz/24bit).* Hard-bound, 70-plus-page book filled with rare and previously unseen photos and memorabilia.* High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered.* "Led Zeppelin" will also include a replica of the band's original Atlantic press kit.

Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of Dutch death metallers DICTATED. The band's new album, "The Deceived", will be released on August 15.

Comments DICTATED: "DICTATED is very honored and proud to have signed with the mighty Metal Blade Records!

"We have just finished our album, 'The Deceived', and we are thrilled to see it being released amongst legends. A great step in our musical careers and we would like to thank Metal Blade for welcoming us into their world and all who believe in us!"

Once upon a time, the furious female guitar tandem Yessica Otten and Sonja Schuringa stumbled upon Michiel vd Plicht and Henri Sattler during a heavy drinking session. While Henri was hustling to sell the girls one of his custom-made SK guitars, they managed to talk business in creating the new DICTATED album. On that very same night, vocalist York picked up the sense of success and after another night in the Irish pub, he was there to stay.

Forces joined together, the five of them took over the rehearsal rooms and Henri enslaved the others into writing at their utmost. Ten new songs were born with the help of an overload of sweat, beer and coffee. In September 2013, DICTATED took over Studio Soundlodge for the recordings of their new album, "The Deceived". In the meantime, various hilarious photo shoots took place where friends and family of DICTATED found themselves back mutilated in the artwork. Humor, some serious questionability of the sane mind and above all, determination and willpower produced the new story of DICTATED and "The Deceived".

DICTATED is:

York Keijzer - vocals Sonja Schuringa - guitarYessica Otten - guitarHenri Sattler - (session) bass Michiel vd Plicht - (session) drums

NIGHTWISH singer Floor Jansen, who is currently touring South America with her REVAMP project, has released the following open letter to her fans:

"Dear fans,

"After nightmares and many worried thoughts, I decided to write this letter in reaction to the negative messages that are going around about me on the Internet. Messages that hurt me very much because they're either not true or they are based on the interpretation of a person with different expectations. I feel the need to explain myself to hopefully stop the negative reactions.

"I am a humble person. Happy with what I am doing and grateful for all the support.

"When I have the opportunity to meet fans that support me, I always try to do so. However, sometimes it's not possible to meet. This is not because I don't want to, but more because time or energy doesn't allow it. It's nothing personal.

"Next to this, I must stress out that my reason of being on tour is to play good shows! Meeting fans and taking pictures is an extra I would like to offer when time and energy allow it. It's not something a fan can presume to have…

"If I meet people and I ask not to touch me, this again is nothing personal. I don't like it. Some people (in general) are more physical than others and I am not comfortable with touching strangers or being grabbed. There are dozens of people every day who want this and I try to politely tell people not to touch. It's a personal boundary I ask people to respect. If you're a fan, you should be able to respect this.

"During the first show in Brazil, I almost tumbled over on stage because I lost my balance at the moment more than a 100 people at the same time used their flash on their photo cameras. I asked people to stop using flash because of that, in a nice way… I had to repeat this request a few times. I am not asking it to nag about something….only because we as a band cannot do the show well with it.

"I am asking for understanding and respect. I'm sad that some people got mad and called me a diva for it.

"Filming during shows is not allowed. But everyone does it, so it almost became normal.

"If you, as a fan of us, want to film something of the show, I think you should do that. But if you want to film the entire show, I must say no. I also say no to people who film on stage, with the camera too close. It's intimidating and distracting and the person holding it is not rocking along with us, he or she is just standing there, focusing on making a bootleg.

"Is that support for a band? Is that having a great time?

"It would please all of us on stage if the focus is more on the moment and not on making pictures and films for later or Internet.

"Now, I hope I have been able to explain why some things are the way they are. And that I love touring, making music, doing shows and meeting fans.

"I am not an arrogant bitch But if you think that I am, based on a brief moment, because you got disappointed and I was not able to meet your expectations, I ask you to reconsider these expectations and to look at the same situation again, also a bit through my eyes. I try to understand you as well. I understand you waited and want a moment with me. That is why I do my best to meet people as much as possible (for example: meet-and-greets every day and photos and autographs with everyone who comes to the hotels and airport). I also try to include our fans into our world by making tour reports. I spend hours on making them. For you!

"So, I hope tonight I can sleep better knowing I told you this. Asking for mutual understanding and respect."

REVAMP's second album, "Wild Card", was released in Europe on August 23, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at SandLane Studio in Rijen, The Netherlands with Joost van den Broek (ex-AFTER FOREVER) and features guest choir parts by Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION) and Daniël de Jongh (TEXTURES).

Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.

"Demons In The Dirt", a brand new song from HELLYEAH, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Blood For Blood", which will be released on June 10 via Eleven Seven Music. The CD was helmed by producer Kevin Churko at his The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Churko is the Canadian musician, sound engineer, songwriter and record producer who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and IN THIS MOMENT, among other acts.

On the cover artwork for "Blood For Blood", HELLYEAH vocalist Chad Gray collaborated with renowned tattoo artist Paul Booth. Booth has been tattooing for over twenty years, and in that time he has worked on many celebrities and rock bands, including SLAYER, SLIPKNOT, SEPULTURA, SOULFLY and LAMB OF GOD. Paul says of the "Blood For Blood" artwork: "The last project that Chad and I worked on together was the MUDVAYNE blacklight design. I had such a great time working on that art, when Chad called on me to design HELLYEAH's 'Blood For Blood', I jumped right into it as I knew it, too, would likely be a fun one. Chad always gives me the freedom to explore and interpret his ideas. It always makes for great collaboration. I look forward to seeing it all in print!"

"Blood For Blood" track listing:

01. Sangre Por Sangre (Blood For Blood)02. Demons In The Dirt03. Soul Killer04. Moth05. Cross To Bier (Cradle Of Bones)06. DMF07. Gift08. Hush09. Say When10. Black December

HELLYEAH parted ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kahaha before making the new album, with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott saying that the split became necessary after HELLYEAH finished its last tour.

He explained, "We felt like we had really got some momentum and the fans were really into where we were going and what we were doing musically and we got into the studio about three weeks after that tour was over and it just really became obvious to us that Greg and Zilla, they weren't really in the same head space as us."

HELLYEAH has recruited new bassist Kyle Sanders, a former member of BLOODSIMPLE and the brother of MASTODON's Troy Sanders. Also in the current lineup is touring guitarist Christian Brady. who has previously played with MAGNA-FI and FRANKY PEREZ & THE TRUTH.

A press release describes "Blood For Blood" as a "welcome return to form" for the band, adding that it "sounds like a recharged HELLYEAH, taken up many notches."

"Barcelonian", the new video from VISTA CHINO, the group comprised of two founding members of the legendary rock band KYUSS — Brant Bjork and John Garcia — and guitarist Bruno Fevery, can be seen below. The song is taken from VISTA CHINO's debut album, "Peace", which was released on September 3, 2013 (one day earlier internationally) via Napalm Records. The cover artwork for the CD was created by the renowned California art collective The Date Farmers.

"Peace" track listing:

01. Good Morning Wasteland02. Dargona Dragona03. Sweet Remain04. As You Wish05. Planets 1 & 206. Adara07. Mas Vino08. Dark and Lovely09. Barcelonian10. Acidize - The Gambling Moose

VISTA CHINO tapped Mike Dean (CORROSION OF CONFORMITY) to play bass on the band's recent tour.

Dean handled bass duties for VISTA CHINO at their first North American performance, which took place at last year's Orion Music + More festival — curated by METALLICA — in Detroit, Michigan. The final live appearances of KYUSS LIVES! — featuring the same lineup as VISTA CHINO — took place in early 2013 as part of Australia's Soundwave Festival.

KYUSS LIVES! decided to change its name after a lawsuit launched by former KYUSS members Josh Homme and Scott Reeder prevented KYUSS LIVES! from recording and releasing any new material. Speaking to Music Feeds, drummer Brant Bjork was asked whether there was a slight sense of relief that the legal dispute over the KYUSS name is over. "Absolutely," he replied. "There's always relief when conflict is resolved and people can just let go and move forward. That's where we're at and we feel great. It's always unfortunate to experience differences with specific people, but we feel great as a band. We're really, really excited to move forward into the future and focus on what it is that we do, which is play music."

Regarding whether the change of band's name to VISTA CHINO would have happened had it not been for the lawsuit, Brant said: "That's a good question. The answer to that question is: I don't know. Possibly. We didn't really think about it. We were really just looking at what was in front of us and making our decisions based on what our present situation was. But now we just came to a point where we felt that changing the name was appropriate and was the fastest way for us to get back to playing music."

"Back To The Front", the album that was recorded last year by four members of the most recent lineup of the legendary Swedish metal act ENTOMBED — Lars Göran Petrov (vocals), Olle Dahlstedt (drums), Nico Elgstrand (guitar) and Victor Brandt (bass) — will be released on August 5 via Century Media Records under the band name ENTOMBED A.D.

Petrov will only perform with ENTOMBED A.D. and will not take part in any upcoming shows announced under the name ENTOMBED. Says Petrov: "After a year of struggles, we are happy to finally get 'Back To The Front' out! There is no one stopping us this time from playing music, being on the road and headbang as metalheads do!"

"Back To The Front" original track listing (subject to change):

01. Kill To Live02. Bedlam Attack03. The Underminer04. Second To None05. Allegiance06. Waiting For Death07. Eternal Woe08. Digitus Medius09. Vulture And The Traitor10. Pandemic Rage11. Soldier Of No Fortune

The cover artwork for the CD was created by Zbigniew Bielak (WATAIN, VADER) and can be seen below.

The song "Bedlam Attack" can be streamed below. It is also available for free download at this location.

Says Petrov about "Bedlam Attack": “It was the first song we recorded for the album, fitting that it's the first one out! We had a hard time getting it right due to its somewhat unorthodox arrangement. Took its bloody time before everybody started to really like it. Now we do, though, and very much so, thank Satan! It's about losing one's mind in a mental hospital. Obviously you've lost it already since you're locked in. This is about when you really lose it and realize that you have to get out before things go completely tits up inside your head. All the while knowing deep inside that you will never get out." ENTOMBED A.D. is:

Lars Göran Petrov - VocalsNico Elgstrand - GuitarVictor Brandt - BassOlle Dahlstedt - Drums Original ENTOMBED members Alex Hellid (guitar) and Ulf "Uffe" Cederlund (guitar) joined forces with former ENTOMBED frontman Orvar Säfström to perform the band's classic second album, "Clandestine" (1991), on February 1 at Gävle Konserthus in Gävle, Sweden. They were backed by the 65-piece Gävle Symphonic Orchestra and a 40-piece choir.

Hellid did not participate in the writing and recording of "Back To The Front".

Century Media Records announced last fall that the release date of "Back To The Front" — which was originally supposed to be made available under the ENTOMBED moniker — was being pushed back to 2014 from the previously announced October 29, 2013 due to "unpredictable technical problems."

Asked in an interview with France's MetalChroniques.fr if the omission of Hellid's name from the ENTOMBED biography accompanying the original promotional copy of "Back To The Front" was a mistake on the record label's part, Petrov replied: "I do not want to speak publicly about this at the moment; this is something we want to keep internal and private for now. But this is not an error in the biography. Next question?"

Hellid, who did not accompany the Petrov-fronted lineup of ENTOMBED when the band performed at the Manizales Grita Rock festival in Colombia in August 2013, reportedly threatened his former bandmates with legal action if they continued to record and perform under the ENTOMBED name.

"Back To The Front" was recorded at Studio Bohus (ABBA, EUROPE) in Kungälv, Sweden with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR). The CD's original cover artwork was painted by Zbigniew Bielak (WATAIN, VADER) and can be seen below.

A press release states: "Don't be afraid that it will sound like ABBA — it's 666% true to the ENTOMBED everybody loves. While not falling for total regression back to the early classics 'Left Hand Path' or 'Clandestine', expect a total bone-crushing opus that will have fans of 'Wolverine Blues', 'To Ride…' or 'Morning Star' cry tears of joy. From the morbid, pissed-off lyrics over detuned, massive riffs to the inimitable brick-heavy groove and L.G. Petrov's titanic roar, 'Back To The Front' has it all, so get ready for a stone-cold stunner!"

"Pale Communion", the highly anticipated eleventh studio album from Swedish progressive metallers OPETH, will be released on August 26 via Roadrunner Records. The cover artwork was once again created by Travis Smith — with art direction by b>OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt — and can be seen below.

"Pale Communion", which was produced by Åkerfeldt and mixed by longtime collaborator and PORCUPINE TREE frontman/guitarist Steven Wilson, will be heralded by the lead single "Cusp Of Eternity" and available for pre-order starting Tuesday, June 3. Pre-orders for "Pale Communion" made via the iTunes Store will receive an instant download of "Cusp Of Eternity" as well as a second album track, to be released on July 15, with multiple configurations also available via both the Roadrunner Records webstore and O Merch.

"Pale Communion" track listing:

01. Eternal Rains Will Come02. Cusp Of Eternity03. Moon Above, Sun Below04. Elysian Woes05. Goblin06. River07. Voice Of Treason08. Faith In Others

In a recent interview with Noisey, Åkerfeldt stated about "Pale Communion": "Normally when I start writing for a record, I'm a bit nervous. You don't know whether or not you're going to be able to come up with something that you like or come up with something at all, to be honest. I was inspired because pretty early on, I wrote a song on the new album — the last song on there, which I ended up being really happy with. So I had some type of guidelines which was more melody, I think."

He continued: "[2011's] 'Heritage' was somewhat deliberately fucked up all over the place because I love fucked-up-all-over-the-place-type music, but I wanted to do something more melodic with this album, so there's stronger vocal melodies and more melodies overall for this album. I was pretty consistent with that frame of mind throughout the writing process, so at least I had a plan with this album, and I normally don't, to be honest."

Mikael added in a separate interview with Metal Assault: "['Pale Communion' is] the next album, so I guess it's closer to ['Heritage'] than, say, the first album. But I'd like to think there's an upgraded sound, and by that I don't mean a modern sound. We were looking at some of the late '70s and early '80s production, and that's what we were going for sound-wise and it's one of the reasons why we ended up recording at Rockfield Studios in Wales, which is a legendary studio where many of our favorite bands recorded. So, musically, I guess you could say it's similar to 'Heritage', but I'd like to think it's more hard rock and metal sounding. We also have something new that we didn't have before in certain songs. I don't really know what it is, which I like. I like to either recognize our sound or to hear something completely new, and I think we have both on the new album."

Asked if he thinks if it would be fair to say that people who liked "Heritage" will like this new album as much as, or even more than, the last OPETH CD, Mikael said: "Yeah, I hope so. I hope everybody will like it, of course. I think it's probably a bit easier to get into because it's a bit more melodic. There's definitely more attention to melodies and I wouldn't say it's an easy-listening album at all, but there's more melody than ever before, not just 'Heritage'. I'm hoping that people who liked 'Heritage' will like this one too and also fans who liked the old shit will hopefully like this one as well, and may be some new fans. You never know."

"Builders Of The Future", the new album from POWERMAN 5000, can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. Available on May 27, the CD is the first release through POWERMAN 5000's partnership with T-Boy Records, a co-venture with Universal Music Enterprises founded by veteran rock manager Andy Gould. T-Boy releases include ROB ZOMBIE's "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", MEGADETH's "Super Collider" and the self-titled debut album from KOBRA AND THE LOTUS.

"Builders Of The Future" track listing:

01. Invade, Destroy, Repeat02. We Want It All03. How To Be A Human04. You're Gonna Love It, If You Like It Or Not05. Builders Of The Future06. I Want To Kill You07. Modern World08. Live It Up Before You're Dead09. I Can't F-cking Hear You10. Evil World

POWERMAN 5000 has carved out a corner of the galaxy where their devoted supporters created a culture that's bigger than music, drawing upon a tapestry of comic books, horror films and fantasy cobbled together years before "geek" became a hip buzzword.

New tracks like "How To Be A Human", "Invade, Destroy, Repeat", "Live It Up Before You're Dead" and "Modern World" are turbocharged with the same futuristic, b-movie bite of enduring, electro-tinged POWERMAN 5000 anthems like "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real".

"I never would have imagined that after all the albums, the band members, the ups-and-downs of the always changing music business, I'd still be here doing this, which is thanks to our most diehard fans," marvels band leader, visionary and sole remaining original member Spider One, who founded POWERMAN 5000 with a 4-track and a drum machine.

Armed with giant hooks and crowd-empowering choruses, Spider and his merry band of musical superheroes have made a record vibrantly reminiscent of their commercial breakthrough "Tonight The Stars Revolt!" (which gave DreamWorks Records their first platinum plaque). "Builders Of The Future" delivers on the promise of 2009's return to form "Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere". POWERMAN 5000 has retrofitted their songwriting prowess even further, sounding hungry yet sophisticated, as if smiling amid a dystopian landscape, flipping middle fingers in the air and dancing till doomsday.

"At the end of the day, we are the ones who will go out and play these songs in every city in America and everywhere else around the world we can," Spider points out. "You have to live and breathe it. If you don't believe in it, it's easy for people to smell a rat. We can sit around and cry all day long about how the music business isn't what it used to be, but none of that really matters. What matters is to have a blast being in a band."

"We've replanted our flag as the weird, sci-fi, electronic band," proclaims Spider. "This is what we are. This is what we do best. This is clearly what people like from us the most, too. So I'm going to love it like they love it. We're back. The fanbase has really rallied around us again. The enthusiasm feels like it's picked right up from the year 2000. The electronic-metal-dance thing, we've locked it down once and for all with this one."

Brazilian/Italian metallers ANGRA have uploaded video footage of their recent "open rehearsal" in Brazil. You can watch it below.

ANGRA's current lineup includes acclaimed Italian vocalist Fabio Lione (VISION DIVINE, RHAPSODY OF FIRE, KAMELOT).

The band celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of its 1993 debut album, "Angels Cry", with a special concert on August 25, 2013 at HSBC Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil.

As a means of celebrating its successful trajectory, the band took the opportunity to schedule a small tour through Brazil and Latin America, which culminated with the show in São Paulo, after 11 dates. If there was any aura of uncertainty towards the future, ANGRA shook it off for good with a very special concert, truly a night to remember. As guitar player Rafael Bittencourt put it, "For those who think we should quit, I tell you: we're just getting started". That pretty much summons up the very apparent joy that the band showed onstage, not only that night, but on the whole tour.

A stellar team of guests made everything even more special. Tarja Turunen, formerly of NIGHTWISH, lends her talent and angelic voice on two songs: "Stand Away" and Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". On the latter, the legendary Uli Jon Roth (SCORPIONS) is also featured, and shows why he is such a reference for the majority of guitar players around the world. The Brazilian string quartet FAMILIA LIMA appears in three songs, and drummer Amilcar Christopharo, from the band TORTURE SQUAD, grabs the sticks on "Evil Warning", representing the metal bands from Brazil.

"Angels Cry 20th Anniversary Tour" was released as a separate DVD and a double CD, containing over 20 tracks in total and extra behind-the-scenes footage captured during the latest tour.

Singer Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi quit ANGRA in May 2012. He explained in a statement, "There comes a moment in a man's life when it is necessary to make a radical decision in order to move forward with dignity and renewed energy."

Falaschi joined ANGRA in 2000 and appeared on the band's last four studio albums — 2001's "Rebirth", 2004's "Temple Of Shadows", 2006's "Aurora Consurgens" and 2010's "Aqua".

VOODOO GODS, the death metal project led by African drummer Alex Voodoo, will release its new full-length album, "Anticipation For Blood Leveled In Darkness", on July 28. The CD, which features contributions from former and current members of CANNIBAL CORPSE, SEVERE TORTURE and VIRGIN SNATCH, was mixed and mastered by KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque at his Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden.

A 14-minute trailer for "Anticipation For Blood Leveled In Darkness" can be seen below.

According to VOODOO GODS ' official bio, "This band shares metaphysical conceptions based on a dual cosmological machinery of art. You could describe VOODOO GODS as 'the serpent under whose auspices gather all who share the faith' and music is the vehicle for the expression of the serpent's power. Their music is an expression of spirituality, of connection with divinity and the spirit world."

VOODOO GODS is:

George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (CANNIBAL CORPSE) - VocalsJean Baudin - BassJacek Hiro - GuitarAlex Voodoo - DrumsSeth Van De Loo (SEVERE TORTURE, CENTURIAN) - Vocals

SEVENDUST recently stopped by Guitar Center in Hollywood, California and played an acoustic version of the song "Black". Check out the footage below.

SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose recently spoke to VH1 Radio Network about the band's upcoming two-DVD set, which will include an acoustic show and a heavy concert. He said: "Nobody knows this but I'm going to start telling everybody now, but we're going to do a two-DVD set with an acoustic show and a heavy show and we're bringing out massive production for the heavy show and we're going to do it in New York and we're going to do it at Hammerstein [Ballroom] and it's going to be free and we're going to destroy that place." Morgan went on to describe what fans can expect from that "heavy" show. "We're going to bring out so much production, it might be the only time you ever see us like that," he said. "I mean, we're blowing shit up. We're going to blow stuff up, we're going to have fire, we're going to have dragons. We're going all the way. And I'm not kidding. I talked to the people last night and they're, like, 'Listen, you have to have fire.' They're, like, 'I love your band, your band is underrated, you've never been able to play with fire and bombs, we're playing with fire and bombs. We're going to let people see what SEVENDUST would look like if they had everybody else's money.' So I was, like, 'Yeah, I like that.'" Morgan said to expect the heavy show to happen before the end of August, while SEVENDUST's June 8 acoustic gig in Sayreville, New Jersey will be the one they film for the DVD. The package will be out in time for the holidays. SEVENDUST's new acoustic album, "Time Travelers & Bonfires", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available on April 15 via 7Bros. Records, in conjunction with ADA Label Services. The Atlanta band — Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Morgan Rose (drums/vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar/vocals), John Connolly (guitar/vocals) and Vince Hornsby (bass/vocals) — recorded "Time Travelers & Bonfires" at Architekt Studios in Butler, New Jersey (where they recorded their previous "Black Out The Sun" album). It is a collection of brand new songs, along with re-recorded SEVENDUST classics. Newly re-recorded songs include "Black", "Gone", "Denial", "Karma", "Trust" and "Crucified". Six brand new songs have also been written and recorded for the acoustic album. It's not the first time SEVENDUST has explored their acoustic side. Their critically acclaimed "Southside Double-Wide" live acoustic album was released in 2004.

STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER, the revamped version of the cult '80s British metal act GRIM REAPER led by singer Steve Grimmett, will embark on an eight-show North American tour in June. Three of the concerts — June 10 and June 11 at St. Vitus in Brooklyn, New York and June 15 at Ramona Mainstage in Ramona, California — will feature a special guest appearance by original GRIM REAPER guitarist Nick Bowcott. STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER performed in the USA for the first time since 1987 on April 5 at the Ragnarökkr Metal Apocalypse festival at Reggies bar in Chicago, Illinois. The band's set consisted of many of the classic GRIM REAPER tunes but also included new tracks from STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER's upcoming studio album, tentatively titled "From Hell", due out before the end of the year. Bowcott joined STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER on stage for several songs, marking the first time Steve and Nick have performed together in more than 25 years.

Prior to the Ragnarökkr Metal Apocalypse concert, STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER and Nick Bowcott took part in a joint interview with TV6. You can now watch the chat below.

Multi-camera video footage of Bowcott and STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER performing the song "Lust For Freedom" at Ragnarökkr Metal Apocalypse can be seen below.

STEVE GRIMMETT'S GRIM REAPER is:

Steve Grimmett - VocalsIan Nash - GuitarChaz Grimaldi - BassPaul White - Drums

The back catalog from GRIM REAPER was reissued in Japan in October 2008 via RCA/BMG. "See You in Hell" (1984), "Fear No Evil" (1985) and "Rock You to Hell" (1987) feature JVC K2 24-bit remastering and are available for order at this location.

Interview:


Performance footage:

SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell has revealed to RollingStone.com that he has just started coming up with ideas for songs for the follow-up to 2012's "King Animal". He said: "I can't describe the direction it's taking, though. There's no album we've ever made where I would have been able to describe a direction it was taking while making it. Like [SOUNDGARDEN's 1994 LP] 'Superunknown', I understood what it was near the end. 'King Animal' was that way, too. I really didn't understand the personality of the record until it was almost finished. Then I thought, 'Oh, it's this. Awesome.'"

SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil told a Washington D.C. radio station that his group will play before NINE INCH NAILS on the two bands' upcoming co-headlining tour. Thayil explained: "It makes sense that we perform before them. NINE INCH NAILS is a production-heavy band... We're more of a live rock act, and they use a lot of production, both in the audio performance and the visual performance. If we were to play after them, it would be a long wait while they struck all their equipment and gear and they cleared the stage for us. It's a lot easier for us to play before them." As for whether there was a chance that the two bands would collaborate onstage at some point, Cornell told The Pulse Of Radio it was hard to say if that could happen. "We tend to be really open, and we've toured with bands that are and we've toured with bands that aren't, and then there are some bands that like are completely just not even set up for that, so it's hard to say," he said. "You never know. Some bands kind of have a thing that they have to do, and the idea of a collaboration might sort of open the curtain so people can see behind it. [laughs] You never know."

SOUNDGARDEN's North American tour with NINE INCH NAILS will kick off of July 19 in Las Vegas.

SOUNDGARDEN will perform its 1994 album "Superunknown" in its entirety at a special show on June 2 at the intimate Webster Hall in New York City.

This will be just the second time that the band performs the album live from start to finish, following a similar show at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas this past March.

The show will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of the album, which is being reissued in a deluxe edition on June 3.