While waiting for the release of the debut album Repellent Gastronomy, Italian death metallers CRAWLING CHAOS have decided to start the dance with the first single 'From The Unsafe Shrines Cometh The Abyss', now streaming below.

Says the band: “Wanna get a clue of what the upcoming album tastes like? Listen to 'From The Unsafe Shrines Cometh The Abyss', then. We are sure you'll be compelled to headbang your brains out. Lyrics wise, this song talks about democracy and forces you to answer a couple of interesting questions. Cool thing is, it's all a big metaphor with an old temple, many tentacles and a lot of people crushed under debris. Come on, click on "Play"!"
The album was co-produced by SBRT, and will be available from November 12th on all digital stores and in Italy via Andromeda Rock in physical version. A mix between old school and some of the new trends of the extreme fringes of metal, Crawling Chaos are ready to conquer media and fans.
The first comment from the band about Repellent Gastronomy: "Repellent Gastronomy is the savoury course that will introduce you to a disquieting world of brutality, groove and unspeakable horrors. Fans of DEATH, LAMB OF GOD, NILE and BEHEMOTH will definitely have something to sink their teeth in. Don't be fussy, feast on it!”.
Tracklisting:

'Rue D’Auseil'
'Blind Fiends Of The Ancient Evil'
'From The Unsafe Shrines Cometh The Abyss'
'Plate XII'
'Encephalitic Cyst'
'Let The Vultures Sing Our Deeds'
'Closing The Gates'
'Premature Burial'
'Visceral Breeding Army'
'Promised UnHeaven'
'The Sleep Of Inanna'
'Manifest Of Chaos'
'Glory To My Enemy'

Repellent Gastronomy trailer:
More on Crawling Chaos at Facebook.

Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD will release a special 10th-anniversary edition of their "As The Palaces Burn" album on November 11.

After some serious detective work tracking down the original album master tapes, the band went in with producer Josh Wilbur (who also produced LAMB OF GOD's "Wrath" and "Resolution" CDs) and gave "Palaces" a full-on, ass-kicking remix and remaster, front to back, top to bottom. The remixed version of "Palaces" is now how they had originally intended it to be.

To go along with the album re-release, LAMB OF GOD also shot a brand new DVD documentary recounting the recording process and the stories behind the music which features new interviews with original producer Devin Townsend, the band members and current producer, Josh Wilbur.

You can now stream the entire documentary at Qello.

LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler comments: "We are lucky to have the opportunity, a decade after our first attempt, to bring what I consider to be our master work up to speed sonically.

"Ever since the original release, we've been distraught about the sonic qualities of 'As The Palaces Burn'.

"The band had captured lightning in a bottle and the budget limitation of a sophomore album turned our lightning into a firefly in a jar.

"The songs are undeniable and we've always been very proud of how this album launched our career. It feels appropriate to revisit now that we can and give this very special album the chance to reach our original hopes and its true potential."

"As The Palaces Burn" 10th-anniversary edition track listing:

01. Ruin 02. As The Palaces Burn 03. Purified 04. 11th Hour 05. For Your Malice 06. Boot Scraper 07. A Devil In God’s Country 08. In Defense Of Our Good Name 09. Blood Junkie 10. Vigil 11. Ruin (previously unreleased demo) 12. As The Palaces Burn (previously unreleased demo) 13. Blood Junkie (previously unreleased demo)

To order "As The Palaces Burn" 10th-anniversary edition, go to this location.

The "Vigil" video can be seen below. The clip was directed by Don Argott and edited by Demian Fenton, the team responsible for the forthcoming LAMB OF GOD feature film "As The Palaces Burn", which is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release in February 2014.

The new FINAL DEPRAVITY album, Thrash Is Just The Beginning, will be released on December 13th via Nihilistic Empire Records and New Music Distribution.

Thrash Is Just The Beginning was produced by Sascha Risseler, and mastered by Dennis Koehne (SODOM). The tracklisting and cover art, courtesy of Killustrations Design (DEW-SCENTED, NERVECELL) run by German artist Bjoern Goosses, are as follows:
'Thrash Is Just The Beginning'
'Tale Of Woe'
'The Prediction'
'Dementia'
'Gates To Nothingness'
'Garden Hate'
'Vengeance'
'Create Havoc'
'Requiescat In Pace (R.I.P.)'
'Pleasure To Kill'

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has released the official trailer for their Unblackened release, out now in DVD, Blu-ray, digital video/audio and CD formats:
Listen to the album, streaming in it's entirety, at this location (restricted in some regions).

A special one night only Unblackened performance by Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society was held at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles this past March 6th. This limited deluxe box set is the best way for you to experience and commemorate this special evening. It includes:

- Double CD containing the live performance from the show and six studio tracks
- DVD of entire show
- Custom pewter dagger necklace, the same that Zakk wears
- Extended photo book with live shots from the show
- One of a kind custom packaging



DVD tracklisting:

'Losin’ Your Mind'
'The Blessed Hellride'
'Sold My Soul'
'Road Back Home'
'Spoke In The Wheel'
'House Of Doom'
'Queen Of Sorrow'
'Machine Gun Man'
'Sweet Jesus'
'In This River'
'Throwin’ It All Away'
'Takillya (Estyabon)'
'Won’t Find It Here'
'Rust'
'Speedball'
'I Thank You Child'
'Stillborn'

CD tracklisting:

Disc 1
'Losin' Your Mind'
'The Blessed Hellride'
'Sold My Soul'
'Road Back Home'
'Spoke In the Wheel'
'House Of Doom'
'Queen Of Sorrow'
'Machine Gun Man'
'Sweet Jesus'
'In This River'
'Throwin' It All Away'

Disc 2
'Takillya (Estyabon)'
'Won't Find It Here'
'Rust'
'Speedball'
'I Thank You Child'
'Stillborn'
'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone' (cover)
'Lovin' Woman'
'Queen Of Sorrow' (unplugged)
'Song For You' (cover)
'Won't Find It Here' (unplugged)
'Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow'

Check out the video for the BLS cover of the classic BILL WITHERS song 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone' and 'Spoke In The Wheel' below:

Decibel's 100th-issue-show celebration was professionally shot and recorded on January 19, 2013 in the magazine's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The nearly two-hour "Decibel's 100th Issue Show: The Movie" features performances from CONVERGE, PIG DESTROYER, REPULSION, MUNICIPAL WASTE, TOMBS and EVOKEN, as well as guest performances by Tomas Lindberg of AT THE GATES and John Baizley of BARONESS. The DVD also contains nearly three hours' worth of exclusive bonus material.

The DVD is limited to 1000 copies and available exclusively through Decibel's webstore.

Video footage of CONVERGE performing the song "Locust Reign", taken from "Decibel's 100th Issue Show: The Movie", can be seen below.

Founded in 2004, Decibel's credo was to examine and expose the best extreme music had to offer. Since its debut issue (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, October 2004), Decibel has prided itself in exploring the lurid, the outlandish, in hoisting the unsung. Decibel's covered the controversial, too. Homosexuality in metal? Check. The relationship between metal and National Socialism? Check. Guys with inverted crosses burned into their foreheads? Check. The magazine's revered Hall Of Fame series explores and honors metal milestones. In fact, some of its most celebrated Hall Of Fame stories made the magazine-to-book journey. "Precious Metal: Decibel Presents The Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces" (Da Capo) has been called "required reading," "gripping" and "skull-crushing." The magazine also reviews musical instruments, movies and other diversions. Occasionally funny, but always insightful and informed, Decibel's opinion is respected. Even revered. Maybe that's why The Village Voice called the publication "the best music magazine around right now."

CONVERGE performing "Locust Reign":

Witches Brew has announced the release date for the new MIDNITE HELLION 7” single, 'Hour Of The Wolf', to be unveiled on Friday, November 29th.
There will be two versions available, one on blue translucent vinyl (limited to 100 hand-numbered copies), and the other on standard black vinyl (limited to 400 hand-numbered copies). The blue translucent vinyl will also include a sticker of the cover artwork, and both editions will feature a full-color A1-sized poster (33.1” x 23.4”), lyric sheet, and merchandise order form.

The pre-sale for both editions has begun, with the blue translucent vinyl already almost sold out. Pre-sale links are as follows:

- Blue Translucent Vinyl Edition
- Black Standard Vinyl Edition

In the same year that pagan black metallers DRAUGR are celebrating their tenth anniversary, the Italian band, whose music has been a tribute to their pagan ancestors and the history of the Abruzzo region of Italy, have decided to call it a day. In a statement issued both in Italian and English, the group explains its decision to disband — a decision which they are keen to emphasize, is entirely amicable:

"As friends, brothers and the 'legio linteata,' we announce our decision today to bring to an end the experience that is DRAUGR.

"Having arrived at the threshold of 2014, we decided to bring to a close this chapter in our lives that has been so important to us in order that we may follow different artistic paths.

"We thank all those who have taken part in the project over the years, and especially the fans for their support.

"Our last show will take place on December 22 in Pescara and we will shortly be revealing more details about it”.

DRAUGR’s debut album, "Nocturnal Pagan Supremacy", was released on Christhunt Productions in 2006. Keyboards were added to the band in 2007, creating the much more epic feel which DRAUGR describes as "Italic hordish metal." The sophomore album, "De Ferro Italico", appeared on To React Records in 2011. Today’s lineup includes Nemesis on vocals, Triumphator and Mors on guitar, Ursus Arctos on keyboards, Stolas on bass and Jonny on drums. DRAUGR's final performance will take place at the Tipogragfia in Pescara, Italy, on December 22.

Northwestern US stoner rock gurus MOS GENERATOR have revealed that their forthcoming album will be entitled Electric Mountain Majesty. The band have released the album's title track, streaming below:
Tony Reeds comments on the track: "'Electric Mountain Majesty' was riffed out and recorded in about 15 minutes. Shawn and I did a demo of it and when I sat down and started to work on it the next day I realized that the drum track on this demo was killer! It had all of the fire and expression that shawn would have live. I tracked the guitars and performed the vocals over the course of the next day and here it is. Our love for heavy rock, metal, and melody all come together in this tune."

The band 's new album is scheduled for a March 2014 release with a European tour to follow in May.

"We made a point of being more honest and true when writing for this album. We put any idea on the table and if it developed into something that we felt was an interesting addition to the Mos Generator sound then we would use it. We are trying to fuse heavy rock, NWOBHM, doom, classic rock, melody and groove, all into the existing sound of the band. That approach, along with a very 'live" way of recording the basic tracks has given us an album that marries our live energy with our studio sound. "

The cover artwork and a new song will be unveiled in a couple of weeks.

Electric Mountain Majesty tracklisting:

'Beyond The Whip'
'Nothing Left But Night'
'Enter The Fire'
'Spectres'
'Neon Nightmare'
'Breaker'
'Early Mourning'
'Electric Mountain Majesty'
'Black Magic Mirror'
(Interloping: 'Heavy Ritual')
'Heavy Ritual'
The album was recorded at HeavyHead Recording Co., Vault, Waterman Grange and produced by T. Dallas Reed, mixed and mastered by Reed at HeavyHead Recording Co. Port Orchard, WA.

For more info visit Facebook.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD performed live on November 1 at KROQ Presents Fright Night in the Red Bull Sound Space in Los Angeles. This unique setting put fans mere feet from the band in what was an extraordinary evening for all in attendance. Fans worldwide not in attendance were able to live-stream the performance via the KROQ web site.

Video footage of AVENGED SEVENFOLD performing a couple of tracks during the KROQ Presents Fright Night set can be seen below.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has issued a music video for "Shepherd Of Fire", a song from the band's sixth and latest album, "Hail To The King". The track was also included in the Call Of Duty: Black Ops II video game series earlier this year. Directed by Wayne Isham, the clip features the band driving through the a hellish countryside filled with flames, skulls and burning landscapes, mixed with footage of the group in concert. Singer M. Shadows described the song to Kerrang! by saying, "If you just listen to the music, if feels you’ve been taken down to Hell. From the riffs, to the bells ringing, to the horns, to the drumbeat, it feels like you’ve been dragged down."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has always included references to God and the Devil in its music, even taking its name from a passage in the Bible. But frontman M. Shadows told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that the band isn't pushing any messages about either one. "Anyone that read the lyrics and really knew anything about us, they would know we're not promoting either," he said. "That's one thing about this band that I love is that we never really shove any kind of, like, political or religious beliefs on people. We just, the music's there to entertain and maybe thought-provoking on both sides, but we don't try to, like, really shove anything down anyone's throat. There's too many bands that do that nowadays, I think."

The band's name comes from a passage in the Genesis story of Cain and Abel, which reads, "But the Lord said to him, 'Therefore whoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.'"

"Hail To The King" sold 159,000 copies in its first week of release earlier this fall, giving AVENGED SEVENFOLD its second straight No. 1 debut on the Billboard album chart after 2010's "Nightmare".

The band has just launched a co-headlining tour of Europe with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH.

Scottish death/grind powerhouse MAN MUST DIE released its new album, "Peace Was Never An Option", on October 28 in Europe and one day later in North America via Lifeforce Records. The CD features a guest appearance by Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA) on the song "Abuser Friendly", which can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"Peace Was Never An Option" track listing:

01. Congregation02. Hiding In Plain Sight03. Patriot04. The Hell I Fear05. Sectarian06. Dissolution07. Absence Makes The Hate Grow Stronger08. The Price You Pay09. Antisocial Network10. Abuser Friendly (feat. Max Cavalera)11. On The Verge Of Collapse12. The Day I Died

Comments the band: "This album is by far the angriest yet most diverse one we have done yet. It's the next level for MAN MUST DIE. We couldn't be happier with how it's turned out. It's brutal beyond the word and yet more melodic and memorable than ever.

"With 'Peace was Never An Option', we really focused on the songwriting, which is really important in MAN MUST DIE's sound, [and] seems to be bypassed a lot in modern music.

"All the classic metal is all about the songs; this is what influences us, this is what we do."

MAN MUST DIE are an extreme metal band hailing from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2002 and originally born of the founding members' desire to push their music to new levels of intensity and brutality, the band's dedication to their craft has since manifested itself in a rich touring history, sharing stages with such acts as EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD and DECAPITATED.

MAN MUST DIE has released three full-length studio albums thus far: 2004's "...Start Killing" (Retribute Records), "The Human Condition" (2007, Relapse Records) and "No Tolerance For Imperfection" (2009, Relapse Records). Their music manages to incorporate the heaviest elements of extreme metal whilst retaining an attuned sense of melody, confidently shifting from epic, uplifting passages to pure sickness. Augmented by a keen compositional flair and furious, socially aware vocals, MAN MUST DIE is a highly focused musical force.

MAN MUST DIE is:

Joe McGlynn - VocalsAlan McFarland - GuitarDan Firth - BassJames Burke - Drums

Estranged BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward claims that he has not been able to listen to the band's new album, "13", because the experience would be "too painful."

Ward was originally announced as part of BLACK SABBATH's reunion album and tour in late 2011, but bowed out in early 2012 over a contract dispute.

Although Ward never specified what his issues were, the other members of SABBATH — most notably singer Ozzy Osbourne — later hinted that Ward was not physically up to the task of performing live.

SABBATH has used Ozzy's regular touring drummer Tommy Clufetos since then for live work. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Brad Wilk laid down the drum tracks on "13", which came out June 11.

Asked by Rock Cellar Magazine if he has listened to the new SABBATH CD, Ward said: "The only thing I've heard from '13' is… maybe 40 seconds of the first song, and then I turned it off. I haven't heard anything off that album at all. And to be quite honest, I don't care to either. It's too painful. If I want to rip my guts out, I'll put it on."

He continued: "I mean, I wish them all the luck — well, not luck, they don't need luck — but I wish them all the best in the world. But for me, I can't listen to it, it's too close to home, you know.

"Like I said, I listened to the first 40 seconds of 'God Is Dead?' and I just said, 'I can't listen to this anymore.'"

Ward, however, acknowledged that the fans' support has made it easier for him to get through the entire ordeal.

"The fans have been brilliant," he said. "I feel like I've got a real close contact with them.

"I've never reached such a point of really having such closeness with everybody.

"I'm trying to grasp this moment now. Their reactions and their words. Even up until last night when I went shopping, I bumped into a guy who was absolutely wonderful and he had wonderful things to say to me.

"It's happening all the time. I'm getting letters from all over the world, musicians, all kinds of things and they completely support me. And I'm forever grateful that they've reacted in a really positive way. It's just been this huge endearing experience. I can't say enough about it, really.

"I'm at a loss for words. [Long pause] It tears me up, you know. Even as I'm talking to you now, I'm not far away from a tear.

"I had to follow my heart under the most difficult circumstances."

It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, which he allegedly balked at. Ward said in one interview that he "would never, ever show up for a commitment that I could not do physically."

Ward said he would return on one condition, that he "play all or nothing." It's been speculated that SABBATH wanted Ward to play only part of its live shows because he wasn't in shape to perform an entire concert.

Ozzy told the New York Daily News, "I don't think [Ward] could have done the gig, to be honest. He's incredibly overweight. A drummer has to be in shape. He's already had two heart attacks. I don't want to be responsible for his life."

In a recent interview with the Phoenix New Times, guitarist Tony Iommi stated about Bill's absence from the SABBATH reunion: "We were hoping Bill was going to do it.

"It was Bill who pulled the plug, it wasn't us. Bill decided on his own he didn't want to do this, because he didn't like things the way it was. But we still don't know exactly what that was, because Bill won't exactly talk to us about it. He got his lawyers to talk with our lawyers, and it went that way instead of talking to the band personally. It got to be a silly situation.

"It would have been nice to have had Bill on the album, but it was getting too complicated. It had been after a year of this stuff, and we just had to get on with it."

MY DYING BRIDE’s As The Flowers Withers will be reissued on vinyl by Peaceville Records on December 9th. The reissue can be preordered here.

Released in May 1992, As The Flower Withers was My Dying Bride's debut album.

With its dark and sinister atmospherics, poetic lyrics, and apocalyptic doom metal traits, the album received ecstatic reviews and immediately established MDB as a significant creative force.

The band have been a leading light of doom metal ever since. Influenced by acts such as CELTIC FROST and CANDLEMASS, MDB's heavy atmospheric sound has amassed a devoted worldwide following over the years and the band remain at the pinnacle of their powers and one of the most instantly recognizable metal bands.

As The Flowers Withers tracklisting:

Side A
‘Silent Dance’
‘Sear Me’
‘The Forever People’
‘The Bitterness And The Bereavement’

Side B
‘Vast Choirs’
‘The Return Of The Beautiful’

Australian extreme thrash metal act TRUTH CORRODED have released the lyric video for the song ‘They Are Horror’, which can be found on the band's new album The Saviours Slain, due out in late November via their new deal with AFM Records and exclusively in Australia and New Zealand through Truth Inc Records on December 6th. The track also features a guest lead by Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN).
Truth Corroded recentlyrevealed the cover art for The Saviours Slain. The design was created by Bjorn Gooses from Killustrations who also worked with the band on its previous album Worship The Bled. "Bjorn has once again captured the imagery that defines our band and the message we want to communicate," comments vocalist Jason North. "Like Worship the design is controversial, but it will make people look deeper at what the title and image is really depicting."
The Saviours Slain was mixed and mastered at Audiohammer Studio by acclaimed producer Mark Lewis who has worked on recent albums by DEVILDRIVER, WHITECHAPEL, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, BATTLECROSS and UNEARTH. The album also features guest appearances by Bret Hoffman of MALEVOLENT CREATION and Kevin Talley (CHIMAIRA, MISERY INDEX, DAATH) performing session drums.
For more details visit Truthcorroded.com.

French avant-garde black-metal group SMOHALLA has recently released a video for the track ‘Õ Deluge’. This singular song comes from the band's split-CD with UK’s OMEGA CENTAURI, released early this year via Duplicate Records.



Tellur/Epitome sees two of the most irreverent and eerie black-metal projects of nowadays joining forces and as expected it’s bound to shatter boundaries and dazzle minds. The music heard on Tellur is still Smohalla, a complex, emotional, and provoking amalgamation of extreme and unearthly sounds that’s quite difficult to fathom and describe in mere words. It’s like a burlesque and bizarre carnival travelling down to Hades with the late Quorthon leading from the front.

Epitome by Omega Centauri is less enigmatic and more chaotic, but no less mesmerizing. It sees the two-man project blending some harsh black metal, with ambient sounds and post-rock melodies with stunning results.

The third single extracted from Evolve, the new album of contemporary thrashers UNSOULED receives the title of ‘Tracert’.



This is a new cut extracted from the album, which shows the compositional and technical skills of the band, combining evocative acoustic passages with frenetic guitar riffs, through progressive interludes, which, combined with the distinctive voice of José Gil, gives as result the original and unique sound of Unsouled.

Currently the band is on tour presenting Evolve through Spain. Unsouled also have been recently added to the rooster of bands of Stigia Booking & Management Agency, which already works with recognized artists from the Spanish metal scene as NOCTEM, RISE TO FALL or KILLUS, among others.

For more info visit Facebook.

BEAUTY IN THE SUFFERING, the newly launched electro-metal studio project from producer DieTrich Thrall (MARAZENE), have released the lyric video for their debut single ‘The Crazies (The Zombie Song)’ - the ultimate zombie apocalypse party/rally as told from the perspective of the zombies. The track is available for download now at the band's Bandcamp page.



Two years in the making, ‘The Crazies (The Zombie Song)’ marks the first new material released by DieTrich since MARAZENE's 2011's cover of MOTLEY CRUE's ‘Live Wire’. and subsequent final single ‘Welcome To Your Holiday’.



Tracking for Beauty In The Suffering, who plan to release their initial releases backed with full production zombie videos, is being done at Pirated Sounds Studios and Bell Labs Recording in Oklahoma City with SKINLAB guitarist Provo Provenzano (RIKETS) handling engineering.

"Beauty In The Suffering is one of the most exciting projects I've worked on lately," Provenzano commented. "DieTrich is insanely precise in the studio and has a great vision for where his songs need to be and the DIY ability and attitude to get it done right. DieTrich has also brought in some amazing studio musicians to help round out a unique and catchy collection of gritty and electronic based songs. I can't wait to get them out there for the world to here!"

DISFIGURING THE GODDESS are streaming the track 'Home Of The Dollmaker', from the upcoming full-length death metal release, Deprive, hitting music outlets December 10th via Decomp Records. ‘Home Of The Dollmaker’ is streaming below:

You can pre-order Deprive now via DTG’s merch store at this location. Each pre-order package includes an item featuring the Deprive album art released today (below), illustrated by none other than brutal death metal illustrator Toshihiro Egawa. In addition, select pre-order packages include merch items featuring the art of Mark Riddick, another legendary death metal artist. See all pre-order packages at the link above.



You can also pre-order the Deprive CD alone, which ships December 6th.

More on Disfiguring The Goddess at Facebook.

Former SLAYER and current PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo perfomed an amazing piece of music by Christopher Young called "Ghost Rider" with the Golden State Pops Orchestra at the haunted Warner Grand Theatre in Los Angeles on October 19. It was an evening of horror movie scores performed with the chills and intensity only a 75-piece orchestra can convey.

Video footage of the "Ghost Rider" performance can be seen below.

PHILM — the Los Angeles-based experimental post-hardcore triumvirate featuring drummer Lombardo, guitarist/vocalist Gerry Nestler (CIVIL DEFIANCE), and bassist Pancho Tomaselli (WAR) — released its debut album, "Harmonic", on May 15, 2012 via Ipecac Recordings.

"When people hear about my involvement in PHILM, they automatically assume that it will compare to SLAYER's sound," explained Lombardo. "They couldn't be more different. I have scaled down my drum set to a four-piece, reminiscent of the drummers from the late '60s that influenced me. Each song is unique in itself, I like to refer to it as 'rhythmic emotion.' It's almost like taking all the heavy songs of the '60s and bringing that era to a modern plateau, then blending them with the modern trance and psychedelic sounds of today."

Lombardo sat out SLAYER's Australian tour in February/March due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX). Dave has since been replaced in the band by Paul Bostaph, who was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the group.

During BROKEN HOPE's performance at the Tricky Falls club in El Paso, Texas on October 22, several fans were horrifically attacked by a maniacal concert-goer with a box cutter. One of the injured fans, Julio Serrano, had his throat slashed during the band's set and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Numerous media outlets reported on the status of Julio, and BROKEN HOPE can now issue an accurate update on the progress of their most hardcore of fans. Right after the incident, BROKEN HOPE rushed Julio Serrano a special care package in the hopes that the gifts would brighten his spirits. Julio responded recently with an update that he received the package and he is doing much better now. See below for a happier and healing photo of Julio. BROKEN HOPE states: "BROKEN HOPE sent a special BH care package to Julio Serrano — w wanted to lift Julio's spirits and let him know we genuinely support and care about him. If this photo says anything, Julio Serrano is doing much better! Cheers and the best of health to you, Julio!!!"

According to KVIA.com, a 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the BROKEN HOPE concert attack.

Jesus Ortega was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

BABYMETAL, the heavy metal offshoot of the Japanese pop idol group SAKURA GAKUIN that performs a distinctly Japanese mix of schoolgirl J-pop and death metal, will release its first-ever concert Blu-ray, "Live ～Legend I, D, Z Apocalypse～", on November 20 (the limited-edition DVD box was issued on October 19). The set contains footage of the band's performances at Shibuya O-East (October 2012), Akasaka Blitz (December 2012) and Zepp Tokyo (February 2013).

A performance clip from the Shibuya O-East concert can be seen below.

BABYMETAL's "Megitsune" single was released on June 19. The song is said to combine traditional Japanese instruments with metal overtones and an enka ballad to create a festive sound. The theme of the track is "women are born actresses." Four different versions were made available for fans to purchase: a limited "Tsu", limited "Ki", and a limited "Ne" edition, as well as a less expensive regular edition. The limited versions come with bonus videos from the BABYMETAL live events that were held from 2012 to early 2013.

BABYMETAL recently embarked on the "Death Match Tour 2013" and was accompanied by a "full metal band."

In the spring of 2013, Suzuka Nakamoto graduated from junior high school and therefore had to "graduate" from the group SAKURA GAKUIN (which consists of girls of up to junior high). However, it was decided by the management that BABYMETAL would not dissolve and would continue their activities as a band.

BABYMETAL released its first major single, "Ijime, Dame, Zettai", on January 9.

BABY METAL is:

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

AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler performed the band's classic song "Dream On" Saturday night (November 9) at the Miss Universe annual pageant, which was held at an exhibition hall in Moscow, Russia.

Video footage of his performance can be seen below.

Steven Tyler told the WZLX radio station last month that he is "finishing up some songs" for long-in-the-works solo debut, which is tentatively due next year.

The singer said that his plans to go out on his own should not be a cause of concern for AEROSMITH fans. "I'm just doing a solo record because I think it's kinky, you know, to go write a song with Johnny Depp," he told The Pulse Of Radio. "I think it's ridiculous to go, you know, write a bunch of songs that I started five years ago and never finished. It feeds my passion, you know. But, no, the band's not breaking up. Me doing a solo record doesn't mean the band's not working on a record, you know what I mean? But I get that in the press one has to hear that from one lead singer of one AEROSMITH." Tyler issued his first-ever solo song, called "(It) Feels So Good", in May 2011 while serving as a judge on "American Idol".

AEROSMITH's latest album, "Music From Another Dimension!", came out in November 2012 and debuted at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 album chart, selling 63,000 copies in its first week of release.

Austrian extreme metallers MASTIC SCUM will release their fifth album, "CTRL", on December 6 via Massacre Records. The CD will contain 11 tracks, including a re-recorded aong from the band's 1994 demo. The effort was mixed at Metalforge Studio by Mike Kronstorfer. The artwork was designed by Isisdesignstudio and can be seen below.

Says the band: "The concept of the album depicts a futuristic vision of the technological evolution and development of society — the need to control and the inevitable collapse of a system!"

"CTRL" track listing:

01. Controlled Collapse02. Dehumanized03. Cause & Effect04. Brute-Force-Methode05. D1s3mb0d1m3nt06. Rebornation07. Perceptive Illusion08. Hyper-Detection 2.009. Create/Negate10. The Vortex Within11. Resurrection

The song "Controlled Collapse" is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.

MASTIC SCUM's last album, "Dust", was released on November 13, 2009 via Twilight Distribution.

The band in 2009 parted ways with vocalist Will due to "musical differences" and replaced him with Maggo Wenzel (INZEST, TRISTWOOD, WATCH ME BLEED).

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has set "Inferno" as the title of his new solo album, due in early 2014 via Prosthetic Records. The CD will be the 50-year-old musician's first collection of material recorded for the U.S. market since 2003's "Music For Speeding". Among the guest collaborators set to appear on the effort are CHILDREN OF BODOM's Alexi Laiho, REVOCATION's Dave Davidson, acoustic flamenco-metal hybridists RODRIGO Y GABRIELA and Friedman's pre-MEGADETH bandmate in CACOPHONY, Jason Becker.

Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Friedman said: Each of the guests on this record too a song from scratch — they would write it and then I would arrange it and add my parts to it. That way we were both invested in it and it's a little bit of a deeper experience."

Friedman described the new album as the most "Marty" record has has done in years. "I figured if I was going to come back to America, I was going to come back big and give people something they want out of me," he told the magazine. "And I know that what they want is not some avant-garde thing. What they want is just the most intense writing and playing I can do."

That said, Friedman made it clear that fans should not expect anything that resembles the music he recorded with MEGADETH and CACOPHONY. "It definitely doesn't sound like that stuff, if only because my playing has a thousand times more richness and deepness and intensity than what I was able to do with the chops I had back then," he said. "Truthfully, I can't even listen to a lot of my old material. Some of the ideas were good, but the execution was just absolutely unacceptable."

He continued: "I will say that a lot of the same spirit I had back in the day is coming back into play now, on this record. That idea of just going completely balls-out with my playing I there again. It's kind of a childish way to think, but my goal on this record was just to go completely ape shit and smoke everything else I've ever done."

During a recent interview with the "Metal Assault" radio show, Friedman said about "Inferno": "The idea that got me into doing this American thing is this record company, Prosthetic, put together kind of a list of the people who have said good things about me in the press in America. And I don't really follow what's going on outside of Japan, so I kind of really didn't know. The Prosthetic guys made this big list of all these people and they wrote this wonderful stuff about me. And I was literally drawn to tears with what these guys were saying, and how they were influenced by me, and just the stuff that they were saying about my music in detail and my playing. And I was really blown away, 'cause I really don't follow a lot of that — what people say in the press. And it was just so nice to see it in print and to check out the guys who were saying it.

"There's so many great musicians in metal nowadays — more so than back in the '90s. Metal has really evolved into something cool, and I'm really interested in it much more now than when I was playing in MEGADETH.

"When I was in MEGADETH, I thought we were the best, and that was it. Now there's a lot of great bands, and when some of these new bands come back and say, 'I listen to a lot of Marty's stuff,' really, it's a big deal for me. So that kind of got me inspired to do collaborations with some of these great people, as well as doing the most intense, revved up version of Marty's stuff. So a lot of these great people that I've wanted to collaborate with, I'm actually collaborating with them on my new record."

Friedman also elaborated on the musical direction he wanted to take with "Inferno", telling "Metal Asault": I rarely listen to my previous stuff, but sometimes I listen back to it and see what was going on. And a song called 'Forbidden City' kind of made me think, 'I'm really still happy with this song, even though it was recorded a long, long time ago. I wanted to do something, not along the lines of 'Forbidden City', but much more intense, because that was a long time ago, and I've come so far since then, and I can do so much more, and I know how to do that kind of thing so much better than I did back then. So I wanted to do kind of like the 2014 version of just the deeper, heavier, more intense version of that kind of 'Forbidden City' kind of mood. And I remember, that type of mood was very, very uncommercial at that time, so it's probably way more uncommercial now, but it's just like, the hell with it, I'm just doing it my way. So that's kind of the theme of whole album — just all abandon, all bets off, just go crazy."