KISS will perform with "American Idol" finalist Caleb Johnson as he battles it out with Jena Irene on the Season 13 finale next week. The show will also see Jena hitting the stage with PARAMORE.

After learning on this week's show that he was going to be performing with KISS, which is said to be one of his biggest musical influences, Caleb got so excited he jumped into the arms of his "little" brother, who's got several inches on him, according to USA Today.

The two-part Season 13 finale of "American Idol" will air on Tuesday, May 20 and Wednesday, May 21, starting at 8 p.m. on Fox.

KISS' upcoming appearance on "American Idol" will not be the first time the band has played on the annual reality show and singing competition. KISS previously performed its classic songs "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock And Roll All Nite" on the 2009 season finale of "American Idol". They were introduced by finalist Adam Lambert, who sang the KISS classic "Beth" prior to the band taking the stage (with Adam joining in).

A new series hosted by AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson, "Cars That Rock", is airing in the U.K. on Thursdays starting on May 8 on Quest, Freeview Channel 38.

The Back2Back Productions series follows Johnson as he pursues his passion of cars, looking into the history, meeting the fanatics and of racing.

"Cars That Rock" is described as a series of six 60-minute episodes in which Brian looks at six of his favorite makes of car (three from the U.K. and three from other parts of Europe). Brian races some of the cars in professional races and he also drives other cars at high speed. From the Bugatti and Ferrari to the humble Mini, Brian delves into their fascinating histories, from big-screen appearances in blockbusters to some very famous owners.

A new video clip from "Cars That Rock" in which Johnson talks about and drives a Bugatti Veyron (capable of 268 mph and British television series "Top Gear"'s "Car Of The Decade") can be seen below.

Said Johnson: "A few years ago, AC/DC did a gig at the Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. There were 119,000 people gathered on the hills and stands. It was wonderful to stand up there with the band, but when I was on stage singing, I thought, I wish I could drive this track.

"If someone had asked me when I was a teenager whether I wanted to become a top driver or the lead singer with one of the world's biggest rock 'n' roll bands, I'd have said driver. I always imagined myself as Stirling Moss or Graham Hill. Luckily, the music worked out and has meant I can live the dream of racing.

"I am often asked to compare the two. When you are strapped into a car hurtling towards the first bend, the adrenaline has to be greater than it is when you're on stage. Maybe that's because the risk of hurting yourself or worse on stage is not the same as in motor racing.

"I was once racing a Porsche when the engine of the car in front blew up. Driving through a wall of smoke, with oil all over the windscreen, I couldn't see a thing. At times like that you wonder if you will emerge alive. Now I count myself as a lucky man in that I get the opportunity both to sing and to drive.

"The idea [for 'Cars That Rock'] started when a TV producer read my book, 'Rockers And Rollers', and thought: 'Rock 'n' roll and cars — let's give it a shot.' I was quite amazed because, apart from fronting a few fun short films about racing in America, I had not really done any presenting.

"They said to me: 'Brian, can you pick six makes of car from the past 100 years that have made a significant impact on automotive history?' Of course there are dozens, but I could pick only six. It was difficult, because I knew people would disagree with some of them. It ended up being Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche, Mini, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. I was looking for individual genius: men who, through their inventiveness and design skills, changed the face of motorcars: Ettore Bugatti, Ferruccio Lamborghini and WO Bentley, for example."

HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale joined classical-rock crossover violinist Lindsey Stirling on stage last (Thursday, May 15) at Club Nokia in Los Angeles to perform the title track of Stirling's sophomore album, "Shatter Me". Fan-filmed video footage of Hale's appearance can be seen below.

The studio version of the "Shatter Me" song — featuring Hale — was released as the first single and video from the CD, which debuted at an impressive No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 56,000 copies.

Stirling told rock journalist Gary Graff it wasn't a collaboration she envisioned prior to making the album. "I was looking for a singer who's just a powerhouse singer...women who can belt out those power ballads, "she said. "I started to dig into (HALESTORM) videos and thought, 'Wow, this girl is powerful,' almost a perfect mix between a little bit of (EVANESCENCE's) Amy Lee's style and the power of Hayley Williams from PARAMORE. So I reached out to (HALESTORM's management) and immediately they responded."

She added: "It was funny, because Lzzy had never heard of me and I'd never heard of Lzzy, but we immediately became fans of each other's music and respectful of each other. We have similar stories; they're a self-made band that paved their way through touring the world over and over again and working their records, where I did it through YouTube. It's just cool how we can have this respect for each other as self-made artists who did it their own way. And I absolutely loved Lzzy; she's one of my favorite people in the world."

Stirling's self-titled 2012 debut spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Classical Crossover Albums chart and two at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart and sold more than 300,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Stirling kicked off her current tour on May 13 in San Diego with special guest Dia Frampton, who sings on the "Shatter Me" track "We Are Giants".

"Shatter Me" performance from Club Nokia:


"Shatter Me" video (featuring Lzzy Hale):


Studio footage from "Shatter Me" recording sessions:

ANTHRAX members Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums) and Frank Bello (bass) joined Danish/American metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT on stage on May 3 at the Carolina Rebellion festival at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina to perform the song "Pool Of Booze, Booze, Booza". Fan-filmed video footage of their appearance can be seen below.

Current VOLBEAT guitarist Rob Caggiano announced his departure from ANTHRAX in January 2013 to focus on his other passion: producing records. The following month, it was revealed that he had joined VOLBEAT after serving as producer on VOLBEAT's latest album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", alongside longtime production partner Jacob Hansen, who produced and mixed the band's prior four albums. Caggiano's other producer credits include THE DAMNED THINGS, BLEEDING THROUGH and ANTHRAX, and he was a member of ANTHRAX for two tenures — from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2007 to 2013.

In a February 2013 interview with Metal Insider, Benante stated about Caggiano's exit from ANTHRAX: "It was a bit of a surprise to me. I was bummed. He said that he wanted to pursue more producing options, and that was his reason for leaving. He had other reasons, so I guess it was something that he'd been thinking about for a while. He wanted to get back to producing and getting off the road. And you're probably going to tell me, 'Well, you do know he joined another band [VOLBEAT], right?' That makes it a bit confusing. I know a lot of our fans were sad to see him go, but were like, 'If you want to go produce, we understand that.' But when you read that he went to go join another band, that makes it seem a bit sketchy."

"Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" has sold more than 214,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of PESTILENCE's May 5 performance at Magasin 4 in Brussels, Belgium can be seen below.

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

"Obsideo", which means to besiege, features band mastermind Mameli and longtime partner, guitarist Patrick Uterwijk, with new German bassist George Maier and Dave Haley. Mameli notes: "PESTILENCE is chuffed to have Dave Haley in the lineup. Dave is one of the five best extreme drummers in the world, and his talent brings PESTILENCE to new levels that couldn't be reached otherwise. Georg Maier is a young and talented bass player that will turn some heads. Both guys are really down to earth and real easy going. Of course, Patrick Uterwijk is my most respectable and long-going friend and musician."

The official lyric video for the song "Necro Morph" is available below.

PESTILENCE is:

Patrick Mameli - Lead guitar/VocalsPatrick Uterwijk - Lead guitarGeorge Maier - BassDavid Haley - Drums

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo were interviewed on the red carpet of this past Monday's (May 12) 10th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert, which honored BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne. Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for METALLICA's long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Death Magnetic", Trujillo said (see video below): "The ideas are all there; there's no shortage of ideas. It's just finding the time to really nail it down and focus. And that will come very soon. After tonight, hopefully." Hammett added: "And we're old school about it, too; we like to all get in a room and bash it out. I know a lot of bands and a lot of musicians work digitally now, with just trading files, but, you know, we're still cavemen about it. We like to get in a room and bash it out and talk amongst ourselves and argue and fight. It's all part of the process, but it still feels real once you get to the end result."

Hammett told Guitar World in a recent interview that METALLICA will start working in earnest on a new album this fall, saying, "We totally want to make an album. But we have all these other touring commitments, and we have families now. It's gonna be summertime soon, and it's hard to work because the kids are out of school." As he has insisted repeatedly in other interviews, Hammett claimed that the band has "a backlog of riffs in the riff bank," adding, "Now it's about picking riffs out, putting them together and moving along. Later, we'll revisit it all and see where it goes. We've all said to each other that September is gonna be the time when we buckle down. I know I told everyone it was gonna be last January . . . but that's just the way it goes!"

Drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that METALLICA no longer wants to devote large chunks of time to any one project. "You know, METALLICA, in order for it to be true and pure and honest, has to be fun," he said. "And so the days of, you know, writing for a year and then recording for a year and then going on the road for three years — those kind of endlessly long cycles — they're just behind us. I don't think we have the stamina to do anything for those elongated periods of time any longer."

METALLICA recently completed a South American tour where the band played a nearly all-request set, with 17 songs chosen online by fans prior to each gig and the last slot filled by the new track "Lords Of Summer".

That song or possibly another new one will also feature in the set list for the band's upcoming European festival run, on which it will repeat the "by request" format.

Hammett said that "Lords Of Summer" is far from finished, telling Guitar World, "I didn't have time to work out the guitar solo in 'Lords Of Summer'. The solo that's on the demo track was all we had time to do . . . If you compare the solo in the demo version to what I've been playing live at those South American shows, it's a lot better and more refined now."

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

MÖTLEY CRÜE's Tommy Lee has confirmed to Billboard.com that he has finished laying down the drums for "All Bad Things Must End", a brand new CRÜE track the band hopes to release to coincide with its "The Final Tour", which kicks off July 2 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "We're just mixing (the song) and getting it together," Lee said. "It's pretty heavy, but it's really melodic. It's definitely about this time right now with the band and what the feeling is and kind of all that wrapped into a song. I hate to say it's like a goodbye, but it definitely references our time here."

According to Lee, fans can also expect to see a new CRÜE greatest-hits album, with the possibility of more new material "still an open conversation, so who knows. Maybe there's some more music for us down there," he said.

"All Bad Things Must End" is being helmed by producer James Michael, who sings for MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx's SIXX: A.M. project. Speaking to Artisan News at this year's Revolver Golden Gods event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, Michael said about the track: "As we know, the CRÜE is getting ready to hang it up. And we discussed for a while doing a final song. And that's a tall order. There was a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we did it right and that we celebrated everything that they were known for. So I think we've done it. And it's an outstanding song. I think it's gonna be an absolutely amazing way to go out swinging."

Sixx in January said that that it's unlikely that the band will release another full-length album of new material and will instead make select tracks available via special projects in order to maximize their impact.

"My take on it right now and the way that things work is very much reverted back to the '60s where people buy singles," Mars told Trunk. "I don't want an album full of fillers. And that's why I said I would release [a solo] EP or singles."

Sixx told the Rapid City, South Dakota radio station 95.1 KSKY: "We have music written, [but] it's not put together yet." He added: "It's hard, to be honest with you, to spend six [or] nine months to write eleven songs — all those lyrics… everything… the vocals, the guitars, the bass, the sonics, the mixing, the mastering, the artwork… You put it out and nothing [happens], because now people cherry-pick songs. So we go, 'Why don't we write songs and find vehicles to get one, two or four songs to ten million people rather than eleven songs to a hundred thousand people. That's how we're thinking. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but that's how we're thinking."

MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2012 released a brand new song called "Sex" to coincide with the launch of the band's North American co-headlining tour with KISS. Written when the group was together during their residency in Las Vegas in February 2012, it was the first studio track from the CRÜE since the June 2008 release of "Saints Of Los Angeles".

THE DEAD DAISIES will release the "Face I Love" EP on August 5 via Caroline/Universal. The title track will drop June 24 along with an innovative interactive Facebook application that will allow fans to be a part of the album cover art and music video. That same day, the EP will be available for pre-order with the song "Face I Love" given away as an instant-grat track to those who pre-order the album. Summer is synonymous with the road for this rock collective and they'll be spending July on tour with BAD COMPANY and LYNYRD SKYNYRD for seven East Coast dates starting July 10.

THE DEAD DAISIES were formed by singer-songwriter Jon Stevens and guitarist David Lowy in 2012. They have assembled a powerful musical collective created by a rotating lineup that features some of the best rock musicians on the planet with a sound that's influenced by late '70s and early '80s hard rock — big choruses, powerful melodies and strong hooks. The 2014 lineup includes Jon Stevens (NOISEWORKS, INXS) on vocals, David Lowy (MINK, RED PHOENIX) on guitar, Richard Fortus (GUNS N' ROSES, PSYCHEDELIC FURS) on lead guitar, Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE) on bass, Dizzy Reed (GUNS N' ROSES, HOOKERS & BLOW) on keyboards and Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER, BILLY IDOL) on drums.

"This is the first group of songs that Diz, Marco and I have recorded with the DAISIES," declares Fortus. "I haven't been this excited about a recording in a long, long time and think they really capture what the band has developed in to over the last year of touring. It's new music for classic rock fans!"

Despite being a band that consists of seasoned rock veterans, THE DEAD DAISIES celebrate technology and are heavily integrated into social media. On Tuesday, June 24, THE DEAD DAISIES will launch the "Face I Love" app on their Facebook page. Created to represent the iconic daisy skull logo of the band, Facebook users will be able to upload an image of the face they love to the app to create a photo-mosaic portrait of THE DEAD DAISIES skull — and make it bloom.

"Face I Love is dedicated to all music fans around the world, especially THE DEAD DAISIES fans, because, without you, we don't get to do what we do," attests Stevens. "It's like having a massive extended family seeing your smiling faces at our shows and for us that makes it all worthwhile."

When the project comes to a close on July 27, the photo-mosaic portrait of THE DEAD DAISIES' floral skull, made up of thousands of images of fans of the band, will be used as the artwork for EP, music video, single and other promotional items. The promotion is a true collaboration between the band and their fans, bringing real meaning to the title of the song, "Face I Love".

Marco Mendoza affirms: "'Face I Love' was written for our fans and all the faces we see out in the audience when we play. I believe it was one of the first songs that we all collaborated on in the studio for the first time and BAM!! Magic!!"

In early 2013, THE DEAD DAISIES were invited to open for ZZ TOP in Australia. Word about their dynamic live show spread quickly and the band soon joined legendary American rockers AEROSMITH on their first Australian tour in 23 years. In August and September, THE DEAD DAISIES were part of the massive 25-date Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival through the U.S. and Canada alongside ALICE IN CHAINS and JANE'S ADDICTION, among others.

THE DEAD DAISIES' self-titled debut album was released in the U.S. and Canada through Caroline/Universal in August 2013 to exceptional reviews and was a featured iTunes release. Their first single, "Lock 'N' Load", a track co-written by and featuring legendary guitarist Slash, received airplay on radio networks across the U.S., including national airplay on SiriusXM satellite radio, both Alice Cooper's and Nikki Sixx's popular syndicated radio programs and was named Rolling Stone's Daily Download. The video for the single has been shown on over 20 outlets, including play on MuchMusic, which beams into more than 30 million homes across North America. The song also stormed the U.K. radio airwaves and was placed on a number of key playlists, including TeamRock, Kerrang! Radio, and went to No. 1 on Planet Rock radio. It has also received spins on the U.K.'s largest station BBC Radio 2. Their follow-up second single, "Washington", was equally successful and went top 20 on the rock radio chart (Mediabase).

THE DEAD DAISIES is:

* Jon Stevens (NOISEWORKS, INXS) - vocals
* David Lowy (MINK, RED PHOENIX) - guitar
* Richard Fortus (GUNS N' ROSES, PSYCHEDELIC FURS) - lead guitar
* Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE) - bass
* Dizzy Reed (GUNS N' ROSES, HOOKERS & BLOW) - keys
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER, BILLY IDOL) - drums

Eagle Rock Entertainment has announced the DVD, Blu-ray and Deluxe Limited Edition Boxed set release of the critically acclaimed Banger Films documentary "Super Duper Alice Cooper" on June 3.

Premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this past April, "Super Duper Alice Cooper" is the first ever "doc opera" film, presented with a dizzying blend of documentary archive footage, animation, and rock opera. The film was also screened in theaters nationally in late April.

"Super Duper Alice Cooper" is the story of Vincent Furnier, a preacher's son who struck fear into the hearts of parents everywhere as the ultimate rock star of the bizarre, Alice Cooper. Yet beyond the make-up, there is a richer, deeper story. Presented here is the twisted tale of a teenage Dr. Jekyll whose rock 'n' roll Mr. Hyde almost kills him.

Through the advent of Alice as front man of a rock band group of Phoenix misfits in the '60s, to the hazy decadence of celebrity in the '70s, to his triumphant comeback as '80s glam metal godfather, the film reveals how Alice and Vincent battled for each other's souls, and how these two opposite characters came to co-exist within one mind. Alice's story is told not only by the man himself, but through exclusive interviews with members of the original ALICE COOPER band, Elton John, Iggy Pop, John Lydon and Dee Snider.

The DVD and Blu-ray version of "Super Duper Alice Cooper" includes bonus deleted scenes, Alice Cooper interviews from the VH1 Classic series "Metal Evolution", and additional rare footage. The Deluxe Edition features not only the full film on DVD and Blu-ray, but also a second DVD of previously unreleased concert footage from Montreal University in 1972, and a CD of Cooper's performance at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival, all housed in an LP-sized box with 60-page hardback photobook.

"Super Duper Alice Cooper" is the creation of Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Banger Films, producers of "Iron Maiden: Flight 666" (2009 SXSW Audience Choice Winner) and "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage" (2010 Grammy-nominated and Tribeca Audience Choice Winner), and much-lauded filmmaker Reginald Harkema (winner of the TIFF Special Jury Prize for his film "Monkey Warfare").

"Super Duper Alice Cooper" will also air on VH1 Classic this September.

"Super Duper Alice Cooper" Deluxe Track Listing

DVD - Montreal 1972:

01. Be My Lover
02. You Drive Me Nervous
03. I'm Eighteen
04. Is It My Body
05. Dead Babies
06. Killer
07. Long Way To Go
08. School's Out
09. Under My Wheels

CD - Montreux 2009:

01. It's Hot Tonight
02. No More Mr. Nice Guy
03. I'm Eighteen
04. Feed My Frankenstein
05. Acoustic Solo
06. (In Touch With) Your Feminine Side
07. Dirty Diamonds
08. Vengeance Is Mine
09. Halo Files
10. Welcome To My Nightmare
11. Only Women Bleed
12. Steven
13. Dead Babies
14. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
15. Devil's Food / Killer / I Love The Dead
16. School's Out
17. Billion Dollar Babies

Robert Herrera of FrontRowLiveEnt.com spoke to SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor on the red carpet of this past Monday's (May 12) 10th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert, which honored BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne. Speaking about the progress of the songwriting sessions for SLIPKNOT's long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "All Hope Is Gone", Taylor said (see video below): "The album is coming along. I actually left the studio to come right down here. So it's a matter of time, trust me. It's gonna be rad… Everything is going exactly how it needs to go. So it's gonna be really awesome."

Taylor also addressed the long gap between SLIPKNOT studio albums, telling FrontRowLiveEnt.com: "The good thing is we've always been writing, so there's a ton of stuff that we're pretty stoked on. It's exactly what you want it to be."

As previously reported, SLIPKNOT is rumored to have recruited former MADBALL and AGAINST ME! drummer Jay Weinberg to assist them during the sessions for the band's new studio album following last year's departure of Joey Jordison.

Weinberg — the 23-year-old son of Max Weinberg (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND) — was most recently a member of AGAINST ME!, having played with the Florida-based act from November 2010 until December 2012.

Weinberg joined AGAINST ME! shortly after he was ousted from MADBALL and following the departure of AGAINST ME!'s previous sticksman, George Rebelo.

In May 2013, Weinberg filled in for KVELERTAK drummer Kjetil Gjermundrod during the band's North American tour because Gjermundrod had to bow out of the run after experiencing significant pain in his arm.

SLIPKNOT announced in December 2013 that it had parted ways with Jordison, one of the band's founding members and key songwriters. The group posted a statement at its web site which read, "It is with great pain but quiet respect that, for personal reasons, Joey Jordison and SLIPKNOT are parting ways. We all wish Joey the best in whatever his future holds. We understand that many of you will want to know how and why this has come to be, and we will do our best to respond to these questions in the near future." The statement added, "It is our love for all of you, as well as for the music we create, that spurs us to continue on and move forward with our plans for releasing new material in the next year. We hope that all of you will come to understand this, and we appreciate your continued support while we plan the next phase of the future of SLIPKNOT."

SLIPKNOT has not disclosed the reasons for Jordison's exit, although the drummer issued a statement in January saying that he did not quit the band.

SLIPKNOT's forthcoming CD will be the band's first since the 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray.

FAILURE quietly unveiled the song "Come Crashing" overnight via Bandcamp. The song marks the band's first new music since the 1996 release of the landmark album "Fantastic Planet", and arrives as the Los Angeles trio embarks on its first North American tour in seventeen years. "Come Crashing" is also included on a tour-only EP, "Tree Of Stars", which includes live recordings of "Let It Drip", "Frogs", "Sergeant Politeness" and "Heliotropic". FAILURE announced its eagerly awaited reunion in November, which was followed in February by a sold-out show at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Spin said the performance "was so dynamic, sweeping, warm, and expansive that it felt like the perfect combination of an arena show with an intimate setting." The band joined former touring partners TOOL for a brief March outing and most recently helped Maynard James Keenan celebrate his 50th birthday at Cinquanta.

In a recent interview with Noisey, FAILURE's Ken Andrews revealed the band is currently working on a new album. FAILURE formed in Los Angeles in the early '90s and released its debut album, "Comfort", in 1992 via Slash Records. "Magnified" followed in the spring of 1994, with the band's final offering, "Fantastic Planet", seeing the light of day in 1996.

"Fantastic Planet" earned a perfect 5-star score from Alternative Press, with the magazine saying the album was able "to breathe life into the corpse of contemporary, guitar-driven rock," adding that the band was "willing to stretch the definition of both their instruments and their songs."


Come Crashing by Failure

The official video for SEPULTURA's cover version of CHICO SCIENCE & NAÇÃO ZUMBI's "Da Lama ao Caos" can be seen below. The track is taken from SEPULTURA's new album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", which sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

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

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

In a 2013 interview with Live-Metal.net, SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green stated about the new album title: "We always have the simple one-word titles or very basic. And with this we knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to maybe make people think a little bit.

"I think we have become lobotomized, including myself, because I'm not putting myself outside of anything. I think a lot of times we live in a time where people are thinking actions or creating ideas — doing something in their head but going right to their hands. And they're missing the essential part, the heart and the compassion, that's behind what you are doing. And (the title) came from a movie called 'Metropolis' (1927) by a director called Fritz Lang, and it's a silent movie. And it's actually the first thing you see in the movie. And the meaning behind it is just that: It's impossible to be human without having the heart dictate what you're doing and why you're doing certain things.

"So I believe this album has that passion and drive and love for music.

"So many things I've been hearing are just about trying to be perfect, with the digital age and trying to make everything sound perfect. Like on albums and things like that, it doesn't even sound real. It doesn't sound human anymore. So this is something going back to really trying not to be perfect. We're trying to pull out that love and desire and just grabbing that moment, placing it on an album and recording it, and not being worried about those other things."

Quality fan-filmed video footage of MASSACRE's May 5 performance at Magasin 4 in Brussels, Belgium can be seen below.

MASSACRE's long-awaited comeback album, "Back From Beyond", was released on March 24 in Europe and April 1 in North America via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded and mixed by Tim Vazquez of CGM Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and features original MASSACRE members Rick Rozz (guitar; ex-MANTAS/DEATH) and Terry Butler (bass; OBITUARY, ex-DEATH/SIX FEET UNDER), as well as Ed Webb (vocals; ex-DIABOLIC/EULOGY) and Mike Mazzonetto (drums; ex-PAIN PRINCIPLE). The cover artwork was created by Toshihiro Egawa (CRYPTOPSY, KRISIUN, DEVOURMENT).

"Back From Beyond" track listing:

01. The Ancient Ones 02. As We Wait To Die 03. Ascension Of The Deceased 04. Hunter’s Blood 05. Darkness Fell 06. False Revelation 07. Succumb To Rapture 08. Remnants Of Hatred 09. Shield Of The Son 10. The Evil Within 11. Sands Of Time 12. Beast With Vengeance 13. Back From Beyond14. Honor The Fallen

MASSACRE released a seven-inch single, "Condemned To The Shadows", on July 30, 2012. The single, which is available as a regular black-wax version, a transparent wax limited edition and a yellow-wax limited edition, contains the songs "Succumb To Rapture" and "Back From Beyond" that were recorded in February 2012 at CGM Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida with Tim Vazquez at the helm.

Russia has a special meaning for Udo Dirkschneider and his band U.D.O. They were one of the very first international artists to tour the huge country of Russia — and their fans are still very thankful until this day. So recording a live DVD on September 28, 2013 at the Arena Hall in Moscow to highlight the "Steelhammer" tour was an opportunity the band didn’t want to miss. It is the first live release of U.D.O.'s new lineup (with a Russian bandmember) which easily convinced fans and critics alike on recent festivals and headlining gigs.

The band put together an exceptional setlist, including many classics that haven't been played for a long time, fan favorites and tracks from "Steelhammer".

Due on May 23, "Steelhammer - Live From Moscow" will be available as DVD/2-CD, Bluray/2-CD and triple-vinyl in Russian national colors (tricolor).

"Steelhammer - Live From Moscow" track listing:

01. Intro02. Steelhammer03. King Of Mean04. Future Land05. Cry Of A Nation06. Trip To Nowhere07. They Want War08. Never Cross My Way09. Stranger10. Stay True11. In the Darkness12. Azrael13. No Limits14. Mean Machine15. Burning Heat16. Metal Machine17. Devil's Bite18. Go Back To Hell19. Timebomb20. Holy21. Metal Heart

Bonus content of the DVD/Blu-ray:

* Behind The Scenes* Russia Travel Documentary* Trainride In Russia

The "Trip To Nowhere" performance clip from "Steelhammer - Live From Moscow" can be seen below.

U.D.O.'s latest album, "Steelhammer", was released on May 24, 2013 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold.

U.D.O. in 2012 announced the addition of guitarist Andrey Smirnov to the group's ranks. He replaced Stefan Kaufmann, who left the group for health reasons.

Stefan will continue to work with U.D.O. behind the scenes and produce other bands at his Roxx studio.

Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run due to health problems.

Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and has recorded nine albums with them.

"Live In Sofia", the most recent DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD from U.D.O., entered the Music DVD chart in Finland at position No. 1 and in Germany at No. 4.

"Live In Sofia" contains footage of U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 concert at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Fan-filmed video footage of BUTCHER BABIES' May 14 performance at The Lost Horizon in Syracuse, New York can be seen below.

BUTCHER BABIES' debut album, "Goliath", sold around 3,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 107 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD came out on July 9, 2013 via Century Media Records. The Los Angeles-based band — frontwomen Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd, guitarist Henry Flury, bassist Jason Klein and drummer Chris Warner — wrapped its tour with MARILYN MANSON in late February 2013 and went straight into the studio with producer Josh Wilbur (GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED).

In a 2013 interview with Metal Exiles, Heidi stated about BUTCHER BABIES being labeled a "shock rock" band: "People say that we are, but sometimes I do not see us that way. I think people are just shocked at a couple of girls acting the way that we do. I think that’s what's mostly shocking. Besides Wendy O. Williams, I haven't seen a female do anything shocking in music in a long time. This is really who we are, but with the blood, the theatrics and the horror; those are things that we love, it's what we are about. It's part of our character, it is who we are when we jump on stage, so it's not for shock, it's just how we feel."

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "Goliath", Heidi said: "'Goliath' is something that we have held inside us for a long time. I have a green binder that I have all of my writing in, and I have had it since I was 12, so anything I have ever experienced in my life is in there and that's where we pulled a lot of the material from. A lot of things on this record are things that most people go through and we just turned a negative into a positive."

In an interview with CrypticRock.com, Shepherd stated about the musical direction of "Goliath": "The album, as a whole, is very diverse. There is basically something for everybody. We all have different influences and everything is portrayed on this album. Jason [Klein, bass] loves death metal; Henry [Flury, guitar], in general, metal; I love nu-metal; and Carla loves classic metal. We all love every [kind of] metal but those are our favorite and those are where we came from. All our influences shine bright on this album. It's definitely a coloration of everybody's influences and everybody's love. We're all very proud of it in one way or another. There is something for everybody in it."

British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST will release their new studio album, "Redeemer Of Souls", 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.

The "Redeemer Of Souls" cover artwork was released earlier today and can be seen below.

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, guitarist 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

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral

"Redeemer Of Souls" album artwork:



"Redeemer Of Souls" single artwork:

"Would You Still Be There", the new video from the California-based rock quintet OF MICE & MEN, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Nathan Cox for Renaissance Man Productions. The song is taken from the band's third studio album, "Restoring Force", which sold around 51,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 4 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on January 28 via Rise Records.

"I'm super excited for the debut of our new video for 'Would You Still Be There'," said Aaron Pauley, the band's bassist and clean vocalist. "Directed by Nathan Cox, who has worked with bands like LINKIN PARK and CHEVELLE, the video offers a peek into a present day small town set in an alternate post-apocalyptic reality and its gas mask clad inhabitants.

"Shooting the video was a great experience. Nathan and his staff did an incredible job with the imagery and location, and created a believable setting in an abandoned mining town north of L.A. Despite chipping my tooth on that pesky vintage microphone, I had a blast, and it was awesome getting to hang with some of our fans; which can be seen in the video's ending performances parts."

The follow-up to OF MICE & MEN's 2011's "The Flood", "Restoring Force" was recorded at House Of Loud in New Jersey and was produced by David Bendeth (PARAMORE, PAPA ROACH, A DAY TO REMEMBER, BREAKING BENJAMIN).

In a recent interview with UMusicians, OF MICE & MEN guitarist Phil Manansala stated about the "Restoring Force" album title: "The whole album is about restoring the equilibrium of rock music. We have developed our sound to a new level and want to display it. We have heavy influences from '90s bands such as LINKIN PARK and KORN and there hasn't exactly been music like that around lately, so the album is really about restoring rock music and the force that it has."

Asked how the making of "Restoring Force" was different from the recording process for "The Flood", Manansala said: "Well, this album we recorded while we weren't on tour. 'The Flood' was mostly written on the road in between shows. It was different to write all this music together and not be on a tour bus. This was also our first album recording with our bassist Aaron Pauley."

"The Flood" was originally released on June 14, 2011 and received a re-release on July 24, 2012 and included four new tracks. OF MICE & MEN is Austin Carlile (vocals), Alan Ashby (guitar), Valentino Arteaga (drums), Aaron Pauley (vocals / bass) and Phil Manansala (guitar).

German/American metallers ACCEPT will release their new album, "Blind Rage", on August 15 (postponed from the previously announced July 18) via Nuclear Blast. Like its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", the new CD was helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ARCH ENEMY and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. The cover artwork was created by Daniel Goldsworthy.

"Blind Rage" standard version track listing:

01. Stampede02. Dying Breed03. Dark Side Of My Heart04. Fall Of The Empire05. Trail Of Tears06. Wanna Be Free07. 200 Years08. Bloodbath Mastermind09. From The Ashes We Rise10. The Curse11. Final Journey The limited-edition digipak will include either a bonus DVD or Blu-ray disc. It features ACCEPT's complete April 12, 2013 concert at Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile during the "Stalingrad" tour.

Bonus DVD / Blu-ray disc track listing: 01. Intro02. Hung, Drawn & Quartered03. Hellfire04. Restless & Wild05. Losers & Winners06. Stalingrad07. Breaker08. Bucket Full Of Hate09. Monsterman10. Shadow Soldier11. Amamos La Vida12. Guitar Solo Wolf13. Neon Nights14. Bulletproof15. Aiming High16. Princess Of The Dawn17. Up To The Limit18. No Shelter19. Pandemic20. Fast As A Shark21. Metal Heart22. Teutonic Terror23. Balls To The Wall A single, "Stampede", will precede the full-length album on July 11, available digitally and as a limited vinyl edition. The band recently filmed a video for "Stampede", which will make its online debut by the end of June.

You can pre-order "Blind Rage" from the Nuclear Blast webshop.

ACCEPT will promote "Blind Rage" with a European headlining tour which will kick off on September 19 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

In a recent interview with Metal Assault, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann stated about the musical direction of "Blind Rage": "I think what we have here is really a collection of totally typical ACCEPT songs with the classic feel, and, of course, as always, there's an overriding theme of aggression and rage in all our music. I mean, otherwise it wouldn't be metal.

"People call our music at this point 'classic metal,' I believe, and we just fell in love with the title 'Blind Rage' and the artwork. Interestingly enough, we don't even have a song called 'Blind Rage'. We just have a collection of songs that to me all feel totally 100 percent classic ACCEPT."

Regarding the songwriting and recording process for "Blind Rage", Wolf said: "Andy is such a good partner now, we couldn't even imagine working without him on this album. He's such a natural fit and he did a great job on the last two albums. The only thing that we did way different this time from 'Stalingrad' is, we really took our time. 'Stalingrad' was really made almost in a rush, to be honest, because we had so many commitments right before we went to the studio to do the album and right after. Basically, by the time we started working on that album, we already knew when it had to be finished and what gigs we had booked. So that put us under enormous pressure, but this time, we really made sure it's right before it's ever released. We didn't work excessively long, we just took a little more time to make sure that we were in a little more comfortable place. These last few weeks we've just refined and tweaked little things that we normally wouldn't have the time to do."

Speaking to Metal Wani ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo stated about what fans can expect to hear on "Blind Rage": "You can expect more of the same, but you can also expect, on this album, a little more diversity, I think. And the way I see it, some of the songs sound more classic than the stuff that we've done. I mean, there are songs, I think, when I hear the opening riff, I go, 'Wow! That could be on 'Balls To The Wall'.' So you're gonna get a few different… I mean, we're not searching for a direction at this point. We're writing to please ourselves and to please our fans… We're not changing horses in the middle of a stream. I mean, if something works for us, we're gonna stick with it. We're certainly not gonna change direction, but I think we're not afraid to step out a little bit. We're also not afraid to go back and be what the band was in the '80s, which is what we've really strived for."

On the topic of the vibe in ACCEPT during the songwriting process for "Blind Rage", compared to how it was for its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", Tornillo said: "The vibe is good. We're, I think, more relaxed at this point. 'Blood Of The Nations' was… We really had no idea where we were going at that point; we didn't even have a record deal when we wrote that record. We had no idea what was gonna happen and where it was gonna go, and we had a lot of time to do it. And then the response came, and we set the bar pretty darn high with that record. And then when we went back to do 'Stalingrad', we didn't have that luxury of time; they gave us a deadline, that they wanted the record by such and such a time, and it was a little more hectic. There was a lot more pressure than [there was on 'Blood Of The Nations']. Plus we had 'Blood Of The Nations' out there, and we had to try to top it, if possible, or at least try to get to where that record was. This one, we've had a little more time. This past year, all we did was festivals, which was nice, which gave us time to write on the road. And when we were done touring, we had a good three or four months to complete everything, which is a nice time frame."

The Age Of Metal interview with Wolf Hoffmann:

THE DAGGER (formerly DAGGER) — the Swedish metal/rock band featuring Fred Estby (drums), Tobias Cristiansson (bass), David Blomqvist (guitars) and Jani Kataja (vocals), who have been active in bands such as DISMEMBER, GRAVE and SIDEBURN— will release its self-titled debut album on June 30 in Europe and on July 22 in North America via Century Media Records.

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

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

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

The song "Ahead Of You All" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

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

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

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

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

THE DAGGER is:

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

Photo credit: Nikko Knösch

Relapse Records has announced the signing of the Pacific Northwest death/doom/sludge quartet USNEA. The band is currently recording its sophomore full-length album at Haywire Studios with producer Jared "Fester" See for a late 2014 release.

Commented USNEA in a statement: "We are stoked and honored to sign with Relapse and join the ranks of fellow heavy acts (and buddies) COUGH, INDIAN, INTER ARMA, PRIMITIVE MAN, CHRISTIAN MISTRESS, NUX VOMICA, LORD DYING and so many more.

"Relapse has put out some incredible, seriously solid heavy albums over the past 20-plus years and we couldn't be happier having them release our next album. On top of that, everyone at Relapse has been awesome and supportive and couldn't be nicer folks."

Formed in 2011, USNEA released its eponymous debut last year via Orca Wolf Records. USNEA will hit the road in August for a short run of West Coast dates that includes shows with LYCUS and BELL WITCH. The tour is in support of USNEA's upcoming split seven-inch single with Germany's RUINS, to be released on Halo Of Flies Records in North America and Twisted Chords in Europe.

USNEA is: Zeke Rogers - DrumsJoel Williams - Bass, VocalsJohnny Lovingood - GuitarJustin Cory - Guitar, Vocals


Usnea by Usnea

Northern Finland thrash metal veterans NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE will release a new mini CD, "Lex Talionis", on June 27 via Violent Journey Records. The disc features the band's original vocalist, Aku Raaska, and original drummer, Pasi Pauanne. The CD's recording lineup is completed by the third original member Jukka Kyrö (guitar) and new recruits Hapa Lampinen (guitar) and Niko Karppinen (bass).

According to a press release, "Lex Talionis" is a return to NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE's classic thrash sound from the '80s." It is described as "old-school thrash metal with no mercy for the faint-hearted. The POSSESSED and SLAYER influences are still there, with a nice twist of EXODUS to make things a bit more interesting."

"Lex Talionis" contains two new smashing original songs and three covers. The covers are from legendary Finnish hardcore/punk bands KANSANTURVAMUSIIKKIKOMISSIO (KTMK) and VIVISEKTIO. As a bonus track, there's a cover of NUCLEAR ASSAULT's "My America", the title of which was changed to "My Pudasjärvi", an ode to the original birthplace of NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE. This song is previously unreleased and is taken from NATIONAL NAPALM SYNDICATE's 1988 "FEAR2" demo tape.

"Lex Talionis" track listing: 01. The Church Of The Rat02. Planet Satan03. Oulu Palaa04. Jeesus Oli Venäläinen Kantoraketti05. My Pudasjärvi

Austrian death/ black metal metallers BELPHEGOR will release their tenth album, "Conjuring The Dead", on August August 11 in Europe via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2011's "Blood Magick Necromance" was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The cover artwork was created by Greek artist Anthon Siro Seth, who previously worked on BELPHEGOR's "Pestapokalypse VI" album in 2006.

"Conjuring The Dead" track listing: 01. Gasmask Terror02. Conjuring The Dead03. In Death04. Rex Tremendae Majestatis05. Black Winged Torment06. The Eyes07. Legions Of Destruction08. Flesh, Bones And Blood09. Lucifer, Take Her!10. Pactum In Aeternum

Commented BELPHEGOR guitarist/vocalist Helmuth Lehner: "The spectacular cover, the offensive lyrical content, the Death Musick. BELPHEGOR's nine new sound collages are a new dimension of intensity and dynamics." Added Seth: "Once you can customize the basic principles of Renaissance painting and deriving energy/data from chaotic reservoir of unconscious... you get BELPHEGOR's 'Conjuring The Dead' cover art." "Blood Magick Necromance" was released in January 2011 in Europe and February 2011 in the U.S. via Nuclear Blast Records.

Xplicit Concerts has uploaded video footage of AVENGED SEVENFOLD's entire May 10 concert at the Rise Above Fest in Bangor, Maine. Check it out below.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD headed out last month on a spring North American headlining trek dubbed the "Shepherd Of Fire Tour" in honor of the band's current single.

The dates kicked off on April 12 in British Columbia, hitting arenas in the United States and Canada as well as several major festivals before winding down on May 17 at Columbus, Ohio's Rock On The Range blowout. Support on the headlining dates is coming from HELLYEAH.

The song "Shepherd Of Fire" is taken from AVENGED SEVENFOLD's 2013 album, "Hail To The King". The single is the band's second consecutive chart-topper on the Active Rock radio chart, following the album's title track.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, AVENGED SEVENFOLD has a lot of plans in store for the rest of 2014, but first on the band's to-do list is the long-awaited arrival of its mobile video game, Hail To The King: Deathbat. The game has been two years in the making and singer M. Shadows told The Pulse Of Radio where things are at. "It's gonna be a big game," he said. "It's really pushing the boundaries of mobile in a lot of technical ways. Right now we're just working out the bugs. You know, there's some people sitting in a dark room somewhere just playing the game over and over and sending us notes on it. So that's kind of where it stands."

MUSHROOMHEAD, the influential industrial metal band from Cleveland, Ohio, released its eighth studio album, "The Righteous & The Butterfly", on May 13 via Megaforce Records. Recorded in Cleveland with longtime co-producer Bill Korecky, the CD consists of 14 tracks, ranging from songs about survival and balance ("Devils Be Damned", "Qwerty", "Son Of 7") to emotionally charged anthems ("For Your Pleasure", "Worlds Collide") to a riff-heavy rendition of Adele's No. 1 hit "Rumor Has It".

The song "Out Of My Mind" can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

MUSHROOMHEAD is comprised of drummers Skinny, Robert Diablo and Stitch; vocalists J Mann, Jeffery Nothing and Waylon; guitarist Church; keyboardist Schmotz; and bassist Dr. F.

The album's title, "The Righteous & The Butterfly", is a dedication to original guitarist J.J. Righteous and the band's former photographer (and drummer Steve "Skinny" Felton's wife) Vanessa Solowiow, who both passed away too soon.

"J.J. was a key member of our band," says Skinny. "He played on the first three records and Vanessa was our photographer and the mother of my children. They were both huge pieces of MUSHROOMHEAD and this record is dedicated to them."

"The Righteous & The Butterfly" marks the return of vocalist J Mann and the debut of new guitarist Church and bassist Dr. F.

"This album damn near wrote itself," proclaims Skinny. "With J Mann's return, this album is a fresh twist on a familiar vibe. It's also the first album with Church and Dr. F. They brought in fresh blood while keeping the integrity of the band's sound and vision intact.

"This is the 20th year of MUSHROOMHEAD and this album is us getting back to our roots."

"The Righteous & The Butterfly" track listing:

01. Our Apologies02. How Many Times03. Devils Be Damned04. Qwerty05. Portraits Of The Poor06. Childlike07. This Cold Reign 08. We Are The Truth09. Son Of 710. For Your Pleasure11. Worlds Collide12. Graveyard Du Jour13. Out Of My Mind14. Rumor Has It

MUSHROOMHEAD will be touring extensively in 2014 to support the effort.

Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has commented on the settlement singer Geoff Tate reached with his former bandmates over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name, which gives Geoff sole ability to perform "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety.

Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more 29 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).

During an appearance on yesterday's (Monday, May 12) edition of Eddie Trunk's show "Trunk Nation" on SiriusXM's Hair Nation, Portnoy stated about the legal agreement between Tate and the other original members of QUEENSRŸCHE: "I think it's smart [that Geoff retained the rights to 'Operation: Mindcrime' and 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. I mean, that's what Roger Watersa [of PINK FLOYD] did with 'The Wall'. And, to be honest, I wish I did it with my Twelve-Step Suite, [but] I didn't think of it at the time. 'Cause I get that. If DREAM THEATER was to go out there and perform my five-song concept thing that was completely my concept and my baby, it would break my heart to see them doing that. So I get it."

He continued: "I know for the first ten years of Roger Waters' post-PINK FLOYD career, it would kill him that PINK FLOYD would be playing stadiums — we're not talking arenas; stadiums! — and Roger was playing theaters or half-filled areneas, and only because they had the name. But he smartly did retain the rights to 'The Wall', and I think he got the last laugh where over the last three years or so, he's been playing stadiums and making billions of dollars.

"When Geoff worked [the rights to 'Operation: Mindcrime' and 'Operation: Mindcrime II'] into his settlement with QUEENSRYCHE, I mean, I get that. If it was indeed his baby and his concept, then it makes sense. But, to be hionest, who the hell cares about 'Operation: Mindcrime' at this point? It's been so done to death over the last 20 years, who the hell cares?"

Portnoy concluded: "But the reality is, I think it's right that Michael [Wilton] and Scott [Rockenfield] and Eddie [Jackson] got the name [QUEENSRYCHE], because it's those three guys and they are in the band. I shouldn't have gotten the name DREAM THEATER; it makes sense [and] I get it. [Michael, Scott and Eddie are] sticking together, they're gonna see it out. But the fact of the matter is they're playing the stuff that people wanna hear; they're solely doing the stuff from their first five [QUEENSRYCHE] albums. And what is Geoff gonna do now? I guess he's gonna have to start working on a solo career and start to build up his own name…. I think he can play whatever he wants, but they can't do 'Mindcrime' [parts] I or II without him. But, like I said, it's been done so many times, who the hell cares at this point?"

The Twelve-Step Suite (also known as the Twelve-step Saga or Alcoholics Anonymous Suite), is a set of five songs by DREAM THEATER, with one track has featured on each of the band's studio albums from "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" through "Black Clouds & Silver Linings". The lyrics to each song, written by Portnoy, deal with his experience of alcoholism.

A few weeks after QUEENSRYCHE fired Geoff Tate in June 2012 and replaced him with Todd La Torre, Portnoy publicly commented on the split, telling Eddie Trunk on the "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM: "I was there in Brazil when the fireworks went down [between Tate and the other QUEENSRŸCHE guys]. I was filling in, playing drums for [QUEENSRŸCHE's support act] FATES WARNING at that gig [in April 2012] in Sao Paulo, so I've had to kind of keep my mouth shut on [what happened] that [night]. But we witnessed a lot of what went down firsthand, and it was just shocking. But, to be honest, the writing has kind of been on the wall for years.

"Geoff and I have had our words in the press and all that kind of stuff through the years, and I've seen some of this stuff definitely in the works through the years, so it doesn't come as a surprise to me."

He continued, "I don't wanna say too much, because I think anything I say will probably used against me [chuckles], but I will say that I'm excited to see where Scott [Rockenfield, drums], Michael [Wilton, guitar] and Eddie [Jackson, bass] go. 'Cause I really do like those guys and I've always gotten along with those three guys; I think they're awesome dudes. I think, to a certain extent, they haven't been able to be themselves and have the creative outlet that, I think, all three have wanted to have for all these years. So I will just say I'm excited to see what they come out with musically and I truly support them. I really like those guys."

He added, "I've seen the writing on the all for years, since [QUEENSRŸCHE and DREAM THEATER] toured together, and some of the war of words that went down, it's no surprise to me. I know for a lot of people it's all shocking, but for [me], I've kind of seen some of the behind-the-scenes stuff through the years, so it's not so shocking to me."

Portnoy and Tate engaged in a minor public feud in 2006 over Tate's alleged "bashing" of DREAM THEATER following the two bands' co-headlining tour in the summer of 2003. The two progressive hard rock giants had originally intended to join forces for a package tour in 2000 — a plan that failed to materialize after QUEENSRŸCHE decided to take the middle slot on IRON MAIDEN's "Brave New World" tour instead. This move infuriated Portnoy, who told Metal Sludge several months later, "I have a bone to pick with [QUEENSRŸCHE]... We had a summer tour in the works being booked with them which I think would have been cool for the fans and they backed out in the 11th hour which fucked us over....I think maybe they realized that having to play after us would make their fans realize how much they suck now!"

Vocalist John Kevill of Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER has released the following statement via the band's Facebook page:

"So, guys, all our fans and supporters, Kevill here up way too late drinkin', there's some bad news and as our awesome fans you guys deserve to know. I don't feel right about our prolonged silence on this issue and I think it's time we clear things up.

"Drummer for the third and fouth records, Carlos Cruz, and founding guitarist John Laux have left the band. This is a huge and devastating blow to us, and it makes even my own self doubt our future.

"Carlos made great contributions on the last two records, and John Laux started the band with me; we wrote our first songs together.

"The more astute listeners have noticed this, as our last tour we did not have either of them on board.

"As for the whys, I don't entirely understand it myself, so I can't provide a decent explanation here. I really wish I understood more than I do.

"Still remaining is myself, founding member Adam Carroll (he's back) and bassist of the fourth record, Ben Mottsman.

"This is why you haven't heard much from us lately, why the nonstop touring machine has grinded to a halt, and why any updates here are more about the past than they are of the future.

"Honestly I have my own doubts on if we can continue, or if it will be right if we do. At the same time, I started this band out of high school, it is my first and only band, and everything I feel I've accomplished in life that I can really be proud of is tied to this in one way or another. I have plenty of ideas left, and Adam has a million sweet riffs, and to be honest, I never wanted this to be over, I wanted to tour straight through the fourth album and go onto the fifth. I felt like this band has evolved on every album, developed its own brand of ripping thrash metal, and I only wanted to continue that further.

"So I need to ask all you guys, what do you think of this? In light of all I just said, do you want to hear another WARBRINGER record, or come see us again? Basically, are you guys still with us?

"At any rate, if you listen to any of the music we have made, remember to play it loud. Whatever the outcome may be, keep rocking."

WARBRINGER's "Black Sun, Black Moon" video was filmed with directorDean Ciocca. The song is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "IV: Empires Collapse", which was released in October 2013 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with producer Steve Evetts (SEPULTURA, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SUICIDE SILENCE), mixed by Brett Eliason (PEARL JAM, HEART) and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATEBREED, CONVERGE). The album's cover artwork was designed by Adrienne Rozzi.

According to The Journal News, BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler has donated $1,000 toward the reward fund to find the suspect wanted in the recent killing of 25 cats in Yonkers, New York.

"It is so tragic that we have human beings among us that are capable of committing such a heinous and heartless crime," Butler said in a statement. "Surely there is someone out there that knows who has done this. Please do the right thing and come forward to get this coward off the streets."

Butler's contribution, which was announced Tuesday by Shannon Laukhuf, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (SPCA) executive director, increases the reward to $25,000.

"The total amount of the reward money reflects the resolve of the SPCA and the community to find the perpetrators of one of the worst cases of animal cruelty Westchester has ever known," Laukhuf said.

The cats were found hanging in bags on a tree late last month.

Three of the cats were brought to a veterinary hospital for necropsies and the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, according to the SPCA. It is believed that all of the cats suffered the same death.