Italian symphonic metallers RHAPSODY OF FIRE have "respectfully" parted ways with their American guitarist Tom Hess due to "philosophical differences." The band states: "RHAPSODY OF FIRE and Tom both sincerely wish each other the very best for their respective futures."

RHAPSODY OF FIRE released a new live album, "Live - From Chaos To Eternity", on May 3 in Europe and May 7 in the USA via AFM Records. It was made available as two-CD digipak and as limited three-vinyl set. The material (a mixture of old classics and newer tracks) was recorded on the band’s latest European tour in spring 2012.

Video footage of RHAPSODY OF FIRE performing the song "Dawn Of Victory", taken from "Live - From Chaos To Eternity", can be seen below.

The most recent RHAPSODY OF FIRE lineup made its live debut on April 6, 2012 at the PPM Fest at the Lotto Mons Expo in Mons, Belgium.

Staropoli and RHAPSODY OF FIRE guitarist Luca Turilli in 2011 announced their decision to go their separate ways.

Due to legal reasons, Staropoli is continuing under the RHAPSODY OF FIRE name. Turilli, on the other hand, is making his efforts available under the RHAPSODY moniker (RHAPSODY OF FIRE's original name), in which he is joined by guitarist Dominique Leurquin, bassist Patrice Guers, singer Alessandro Conti (TRICK OR TREAT) and drummer Alex Landenburg (AT VANCE, ANNIHILATOR, MEKONG DELTA, STRATOVARIUS).

RHAPSODY OF FIRE's latest album, "From Chaos To Eternity", was released in North America on July 12, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. Described by the band as "the natural evolution" from 2010's "The Frozen Tears Of Angels", the CD marks RHAPSODY OF FIRE's final release based on the fantasy saga started in 1997 with the group's debut album, "Legendary Tales".

Italian extreme epic metal act STORMLORD will release its new album, "Hesperia", on September 20. The follow-up to 2008's "Mare Nostrum" was recorded at Rome's Outer Sound Studios (NOVEMBRE, NECRODEATH, THE FORESHADOWING, KLIMT 1918) with Giuseppe Orlando.

STORMLORD previously stated about the upcoming album: "We're very proud of how the new stuff sounds and we firmly believe that these will be the best songs of our career, so far: those who enjoyed the epic and mediterranean feeling of 'Mare Nostrum' (2008) and the dynamic flavour of 'Supreme Art Of War' (1999) will not be disappointed, that's a promise! As usual, we are trying to push our sound one step forward, remaining loyal to the roots of our music but dealing with new influences and different styles too. In three worlds: extreme epic metal.

"The title of the new album will be 'Hesperia' (a Greek/Latin word that stands for 'land of the sunset' or 'Western land', the name whereby ancient Greeks called Italy), and it will be a concept album, the first of our career, inspired by the Aeneid, the Latin epic poem written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC."

STORMLORD's fourth full-length album, "Mare Nostrum", was released in May 2008 via Locomotive Records.

"The Legacy – 17 Years of Extreme Epic Metal", a double "best-of" collection from STORMLORD, was released on February 22, 2007 through Scarlet Records. The first CD contains 13 songs spanning the band's 17-year career as of one of Europe's most respected metal merchants, including the rare EP "Under the Sign of the Sword", originally released in 1997. The second CD contains a full live show recorded in Montreal on June 14, 2006 during the band's Canadian tour.

Scarlet Records released STORMLORD's first official DVD, "The Battle of Quebec City: Live in Canada", in July 2007 in Europe.

A video recap of EYES SET TO KILL's trip to Jakarta, Indonesia to perform at the JakCloth 2013 Summer Fest on June 20 can be seen below.

EYES SET TO KILL entered the studio on March 11 with producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SUICIDE SILENCE) to begin recording its next album and debut for Century Media Records for a late summer release.

EYES SET TO KILL's fourth studio album, "White Lotus", came out in August 2011 through a joint venture between the band's management, Maphia Entertainment, and the group's label, Forsee.

After releasing its first three studio albums through BreakSilence/Suburban Noize Records, EYES SET TO KILL decided to "escape the fire-breathing world of label politics" and instead launched its own independent label, Maphia/Foresee Records, to release the last CD.

EYES SET TO KILL has been prominently featured in a number of publications, with inclusions on numerous "bands to know" lists and is a favorite in Revolver magazine's annual "Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock And Metal" issue. With critical acclaim and three previous releases landing on the Billboard charts, listeners will undoubtedly have lofty expectations for the upcoming EYES SET TO KILL album.

UNTIL DAWN 's intense energy, intoxicating guitar riffs along with their lively stage shows has shown that their location in the remote northern depths of Fort McMurray, Alberta will not slow them down as they unleash their latest album, Horizon, on Tuesday, August 6th to follow up their 2011 self titled breakthrough.

Vocalist Adam Macleod comments: "We started working on Horizon two years ago, and the concept came together fast. As a touring band, we are always staring into the horizon geared towards the next show. That’s what we are trying to convey with our next record. We spent an immense amount of time writing and doing pre-production to ensure we lived up to our own expectations and our fans. We believe this is the best representation of what Until Dawn is right now. We are extremely proud and excited to get this record to our fans, to make new ones and hit the road to play the new songs live.

Our single 'This Fallen Fortress' started as a song about being from Fort McMurray and the struggles we face as a band secluded so far north. But quickly turn into being about gaining strength through out any obstacle you are faced with. We as a band believe you can find strength and perseverance in any situation, and turn it into a positive. Let this dawn awaken."

Mixing the sound of modern metal and classic rock, brothers Luke and Deke Worrell, with Adam MacLeod and Steve White have created a thirteen track exploder that appeals to both young and old alike.
Horizon tracklisting:

'Roamers And Lurkers'
'Strings Of The Dammed'
'The Red Sun Rises This Day'
'Third Knee'
'This Fallen Fortress'
'A Conjurer Of Cheap Tricks'
'DNR'
'Time Tested Fortune'
'The Trial'
'Polar Parallels'
'Horizon'
'WM3'
'Richard'

'This Fallen Fortress':
Until Dawn lineup:

Steve White – Guitar
Darren Ehler – Bass
Adam Macleod – Vocals
Luke Worrell – Drums
Deke Worrell – Guitar
More on Until Dawn at this location.

Anthony Morgan of Metal Forces recently conducted an interview with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman and ex-OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Zakk Wylde. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the paperback release of his book, "Bringing Metal To The Children":

Zakk: "The book all started from me and Eric [Hendrikx, co-author] just sitting around, talking, like any of the guys. It'd be like me and you sitting at the bar, talking about 'You're not gonna believe what happened the other day,' and this and that. It's the music business, where there are no rules [laughs]. There's no qualifications; you don't have to have a Master's degree. You just show up and you're there, but that's where you get the cast of characters, and that's where you get all of the comedy man. Like I always say, it's unimportant people making important decisions. They have no business doing what they're doing, but that's how it gets run. Anywhere else, if you wanna apply for a job welding or being a brain surgeon or any of that, you have to have a degree and you have to have a license, and everything like that [laughs]. Not in the music business, though. But yeah, it just came out of funny stories and us just laughing our balls off, talking about how ridiculously goofy the music business is. That's how the book came about, me saying 'You've gotta write a book about all this crap someday.'"

On LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe's acquittal for manslaughter:

Zakk: "Dude, what a mess, man. Randy's a good dude and he would never hurt anybody, let alone a LAMB OF GOD fan. It's just terrible, because the whole thing is when you go to extreme metal concerts, extreme rock concerts — like PANTERA, SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, that genre of music — crowd-surfing, stage-diving, and moshing is actually part of the whole experience. When you buy a ticket for a rollercoaster ride, the 18-storey drop, the three loop-the-loops, and the spiral, that's all a part of the ride. Especially with what happened with Dime's situation [Dimebag Darrell, late PANTERA guitarist], and then now with Randy, it's literally almost to the point where you really wanna stop that and just do this. You go on a soccer field, you go on a football field, you go on a baseball field, you jump on the court, and you go onstage at a concert, then you get two years mandatory in prison. Two years in jail, and that's it. You jump up onstage, you jump on the field at a soccer game, or you run on the field, then you get two years in prison and that's it. Then you'll see how many people will jump up onstage. People will go, 'Dude, I'm gonna spend two to three years in prison if I jump up onstage? Fuck that. I'm not doing that.' I don't give a shit how much you like the band. [laughs]"

On recording acoustic DVD/CD "Unblackened":

Zakk: "The 'Unblackened' thing was awesome, because we had been talking about doing it for awhile. It was just that we were touring for so long, for over two years. That's why it kept getting pushed back, because we were gonna put it in-between there somewhere. I said, 'Dude, we don't have enough time,' because we had to rehearse and everything like that. To actually do the show was great, because we had fans from all over. Canada, from the East Coast, from Boston, from New York, from Texas, from North Carolina. People from all over."

On writing a new BLACK LABEL SOCIETY album:

Zakk: "I have been stockpiling riffs and getting ready in many ways, though. It depends on what I've been listening to that day, whether I've been listening to JUSTIN BIEBER, LADY GAGA, ABBA. All the quality stuff, man. It depends on what side of the bed I've woken up on. I pretty much listen to everything. When I'm in the truck, I'll either listen to Woodstock Radio or usually the same stuff that I listened to when I was 15. Just a lot of classic rock. Maybe I'll put on some MINISTRY, Dimebag, MESHUGGAH, or some [LED] ZEPPELIN, or [BLACK] SABBATH, and then you're good to go."

Read the entire interview at www.metalforcesmagazine.com.

Reactivated Los Angeles rap/hardcore/metal act DOWNSET has issued the following update:

"As we all know, change is imminent.

"After reaching out in repeated attempts to reunite all of the original members of the band, we are apologetic to you, our friends and family, to announce that they have failed. Some members did not want to do it for their own reasons and the rest of us respect that. There is no ill will on either end and we all feel it is very important to push forward and honor our fans and obligations as artists, as DOWNSET, to all of you in appreciation of your continued support.

"That being said, the touring lineup for 2013 will be Neil Roemer handling vocal duties as Rogelio Lozano is back on guitar, Chris Lee is back on the drums, and J.D. Manhart will be filling in on bass. Over the past several months, this collective unit has proven to be a powerful lineup with great chemistry and skilled musicianship in the studio as well as on stage under a different name.

"So, family and friends, we personally invite all of you to catch us on tour in 2013 with dates in Colombia, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria; and watch for a new single dropping very soon!

"With the utmost respect and humility; thank you for your continued support!"

DOWNSET 2013 touring lineup:

Neil Roemer - Vocals
Rogelio Lozano - Guitar
Christopher Lee - Drums
J.D. Manhart - Bass

California death metallers THE ZENITH PASSAGE has inked multi-album deal with Unique Leader Records. The band is currently working on material for its full-length debut.

It was in early 2012 that a small recording collaboration between two friends (Justin McKinney and Greg Hampton) began to coalesce into something that would prove to be well more than the sum of its parts. The atmosphere created clearly nods to inspiration drawn from legendary acts such as DEEDS OF FLESH, SOREPTION, FALLUJAH, SEVERED SAVIOR and AEON.

The project's initial offerings generated enough buzz in social media circles alone to convince the duo to redouble their efforts in earnest, and to begin seeking out members to complete their lineup. This proved no small task in a saturated market, but persistent scouting over to following months precipitated the addition of friend and drummer Josh Slater (AETHERE) into the mix. The subsequent release of a proper EP, entitled "Cosmic Dissonance", in January 2013 catapulted THE ZENITH PASSAGE's recognition to unprecedented heights and not long thereafter, it was announced that Rob Maramonte (ex-FALLUJAH) would also be stepping in to lend his talents and fill the role of second guitarist.

Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA) joined reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT on stage this past Saturday, June 22 at Hellfest in Clisson, France to perform the band's classic song "Fast As A Shark". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

ACCEPT's April 12 concert at Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile was professionally filmed for the band's forthcoming DVD.

During a recent interview with Radio Futuro, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann revealed that ACCEPT is planning to enter the studio soon to begin work on the follow-up to 2012's "Stalingrad". "We're currently gathering material," he said. "We're writing stuff actively, so give us a few more months, and hopefully, by the end of the year, we 'll have enough material to actually start working on a new studio album. But it won't be long. I can't guarantee when exactly it's gonna be happening, but we wanna definitely go back to the studio as soon as we can."

"Stalingrad" sold around 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 81 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Blood Of The Nations", opened with around 2,900 units back in September 2010 to land at No. 187.

"Stalingrad" was released on April 6, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was once again helmed by British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY), who worked on the band's critically acclaimed comeback effort, "Blood Of The Nations".

Fan-filmed video footage of SLAYER's June 23 concert at Tvornica Kulture in Zagreb, Croatia can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. World Painted Blood
02. Hallowed Point
03. War Ensemble
04. Hate Worldwide
05. At Dawn They Sleep
06. Bloodline
07. Disciple
08. Mandatory Suicide
09. Chemical Warfare
10. The Antichrist
11. Die By The Sword
12. Postmortem
13. Altar Of Sacrifice
14. Jesus Saves
15. Payback
16. Seasons In The Abyss
17. Hell Awaits
18. Dead Skin Mask
19. Raining Blood

Encore:

20. South Of Heaven
21. Angel Of Death

It was announced on May 30 by SLAYER's Tom Araya (bass, vocals) and Kerry King (guitar) that Paul Bostaph would be behind the drum kit for the first leg of the band's 2013 international tour. EXODUS' Gary Holt is continuing to fill in for fallen guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died on May 2 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver.

Bostaph was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band — the gold-certified "Divine Intervention" (1994), the 1996 punk covers album "Undisputed Attitude", "Diabolus In Musica" (1998), "God Hates Us All" (2001) that received a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance", as well as the DVD "War At The Warfield" (2001), also certified gold. In addition to SLAYER, Bostaph has been a member of FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, SYSTEMATIC and TESTAMENT.

SLAYER's 2013 itinerary will have the band playing 35 dates that will include headline shows as well as a number of major summer festivals in Europe, Eastern Europe and South America between June and October.

"Paul's a great drummer and a good friend, and we're very happy that he's decided to rejoin the band," said Araya. "We're still pretty numb from the loss of Jeff, but we don't want to disappoint our European and South American fans, and we need to begin moving forward... Having Paul back in the band makes that a whole lot easier."

Original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo sat out the band's recent Australian tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX).

Video footage of COAL CHAMBER's June 22 performance at this year's Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

COAL CHAMBER and SEVENDUST earlier in the year took part in a U.S. co-headlining tour. Also appearing on the bill was LACUNA COIL.

In a recent interview with the WGRD 97.9 FM radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara (also of DEVILDRIVER) stated about theband's current status: "COAL CHAMBER, for me right now, is like a really fine woman, man. I've gotta re-date her — she's back in my life, I've gotta see how she is, and we've gotta take our time with each other. And that's what we're doing. And I think that's the important thing — we're doing it for the love of the music as well. There's a lot of people that never got to either see COAL CHAMBER live or haven't seen us in a long time due to the breakup.

"It's good to see [the other guys in the band] off hard drugs, man, and you can see their guys are crystal clear, and it makes me wanna do music with them again.

"Right now, with COAL CHAMBER, that's what we're doing — we're taking it slow. [Last September], they sent me some new tunes and said, 'Hey, would you ever think about doing a new record? Here's some new tunes.' And they were absolutely killer. They were moving forward with their sound, but yet you could tell it was COAL CHAMBER, but it wasn't so linear. So who knows what's gonna happen in the future, man? We're just playing it by ear at this point. I've got a lot going on right now, so we just have to really see."

Regarding why neither of the two former COAL CHAMBER bassists — Nadja Peulen or Rayna Foss — is involved in the band's reunion, Dez told Full Metal Jackie in a separate interview, "Rayna was not [asked to be a part of it]. Rayna has been out of the band for a very long time. We did speak to Nadja. She has other things going and it wasn't really in the headspace where we were at as a band. We found Chela; she's Canadian and she's a bad-ass player. She's been playing for nearly [15] years. She plays five-string and it's good to have her on bass. She grew up with COAL CHAMBER. Where Meegs and Mikey and I am right now, we're really excited so we needed someone that filled that excitement drawer and she did for sure; she's stoked."

Experimental rock group STOLEN BABIES, which has been swiftly taking over the experimental and alternative rock and metal underground in the past few years, has teamed up with Vice's Noisey channel to unveil the eerie-yet-beautifully-mesmerizing new music video for the track "Second Sleep". The clip was helmed by Ilan Sharone, well-known video director and brother of Rani and Gil, with visual FX and animation by Meats Meier. The track comes off the band’s most recent full-length release, entitled "Naught". The album is available at your local music retailer and through iTunes, Amazon and all other standard digital retailers.

"We wanted the video to feel dream-like and echo the vibe of the song," states STOLEN BABIES states vocalist Dominique Lenore Persi. "Something is always a little off but not in a way you can put your finger on. When we're underwater, everything is more of a struggle, which adds to the feeling of being unable to control the situation."

STOLEN BABIES will perform select dates this summer in their home state of California. On July 5, the band will play its first Bay Area show in some time at The New Parish in Oakland. A month later, the group will be in West Hollywood, California at The Roxy as part of Hollywood's annual Sunset Strip Music Festival.

Fan-filmed video footage of WHITESNAKE's June 21 performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

Regarding WHITESNAKE's upcoming touring plans, the band's mainman and lead singer David Coverdale recently told the Coventry Telegraph, "I absolutely love being at home with my family, so it has to be something exciting to get me out of my house. I enjoy performing, but the travelling sucks on ice. I am treated very nicely when I'm on the road these days, but if you could beam me to Birmingham or wherever, I would love it."

On the topic of WHITESNAKE's co-headlining tour with JOURNEY, whose hits include "Don't Stop Believin'", "Any Way You Want It" and "Faithfully", with the added attraction of English hard rockers THUNDER, Coverdale said: "JOURNEY I have known for decades. The difficulty of having a co-headliner is to find someone with an equal number of familiar songs, so that you give audiences more bang for their buck. In these difficult times, the more you can offer for the price of a ticket the better, I feel. And JOURNEY have a lot of great songs. As for my dear friends THUNDER, (guitarist and songwriter) Luke Morley has put the band back together specially for this tour."

Frontiers Records will release WHITESNAKE's "Made In Britain/The World Record" in Europe on July 5 and in North America on July 9. The album will be released in Japan on June 19 via Ward Records.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have announced Jared MacEachern as their new bass player. Jared has already begun rehearsals with the rest of the band for the upcoming Rockstar Energy Mayhem Drink Festival tour and will soon relocate from North Carolina to Northern California to begin pre-production for MACHINE HEAD's upcoming eighth studio release.

Some fans might remember MacEachern from MACHINE HEAD's 2007 "The Black Tyranny" tour, on which he performed with his previous band, SANCTITY. MACHINE HEAD, challenged to find a fill-in bass player for the North American tour after an injury sidelined their then-four-stringer Adam Duce, also found themselves in need of someone to sing harmony with singer/guitarist Robb Flynn. Flynn remembers: "We had locked in Brandon Sigmund of local boys HOSTILITY to play bass on that tour, but we soon realized we'd need someone to hit the high harmonies. Our A&R guy [at Roadrunner Records], Monte Conner, recommended Jared since he was already on the tour, and that ended up being a great call. Jared flew out a few days before the tour and rehearsed with us and did great. What was most impressive about the whole thing was that he was doing double duty — opening for MACHINE HEAD with his band at the time, SANCTITY, and then later singing with us. He would stay sober until after our set, and often get in the van and drive all night. His seriousness and dedication was awesome to see and it stuck with us."

Earlier this year, MACHINE HEAD conducted an extensive search for candidates through various channels, the most fruitful of which proved to be video submissions. Sifting through more than 400 videos, the band personally reviewed and evaluated everyone's performances, including MacEachern, who made the short list without a second thought. Lead guitarist Phil Demmel recalls: "There were dozens of amazing players, and it was interesting to watch each one take on our tunes. One of our biggest criteria for this gig was to be able to sing the high harmonies. That was our litmus test. And Jared passed with flying colors."

After reviewing all of the submissions, the band narrowed down the 400-plus candidates to a short list of seven, each of whom took a trip to Oakland to perform a handful of songs in person and spend the day hanging with the band. Drummer Dave McClain remembers: "Jared came in to the audition and just killed it! Besides being able to nail the bass and vocal harmonies, he also had the vibe and personality to make it feel like we were a BAND again. It was a great feeling and we all knew he was the guy."

MacEachern first picked up concert bass at 12, and around the same time discovered metal. Jared recalls: "I heard the [METALLICA] song 'Unforgiven' and really liked it. The next day my friend gave me [METALLICA's first album] 'Kill 'Em All' and it was over. I became completely enamored with all the metal bands of that time; METALLICA, MEGADETH, SLAYER and PANTERA, but when it came to bass, it was all about Cliff Burton, he was, and is my dude." With a brief stint at the Brevard School for Music Performance, Jared has consistently played bass for the past 22 years, most notably in SANCTITY, where oddly enough, the band needed a guitar player. "That was purely out of necessity," he explains, "I'd been a bass player, but that gig opened up and I gave it a shot on the six-stringer."

After extensive global touring with SANCTITY and the birth of Jared's daughter in 2007, the band's release from their label ignited Jared's sense of responsibility and he quit the group to focus on her. But music stayed a part of his life and he continued to jam locally throughout the south with death metal bands FROM A DIG and TELIC, until he saw MACHINE HEAD were in need and thought he'd try out.

Frontman Robb Flynn reflects: "We really wanted a guy that was hungry for this, someone who could live and breathe this with us. Dave would joke around that we didn't want to get someone too green that'd be, like, 'Oh my god, is this a dressing room?!', but we also didn't want someone who was too jaded by the whole thing and 'been there done that.' We thought the perfect guy would be someone who'd paid some dues, who had done nine or ten crummy van tours, and wasn't broken by that, but inspired to keep going and play music, and in many ways that was Jared. I mean, hell, the guy's only rode in a bus for two nights, one of which was with us! It brings a really cool level of appreciation to the table, and it shows where his heart's at."

Jared enthuses: "I'm ready to get to work! This tour is going to kick ass and the new tunes are heavy as shit! I'm SO looking forward to making good music with good dudes!"

Jared's audition videos can be seen below.

For more information, visit MachineHead1.com.

Swedish Viking trio EREB ALTOR recently finished the recordings for their fourth studio album, Fire Meets Ice. The album was recorded and mixed at Studio Apocalypse by Jonas Lindström in spring 2013 and delivers once more pure epic black/doom metal to carry on Quorthon’s spirit. Fire Meets Ice will be released on July 26th via Cyclone Empire, available as CD and limited edition LP.
Guitarist and singer Mats comments: "Fire Meets Ice will unite the epic history with the harsher side of Ereb Altor by building huge atmospheres using echoing choirs from the snow covered mountains which at times will be shred apart by fierce and aggressive parts with screams from the darkest forests of Scandinavia creating a dynamic and varied piece of art.

"Ereb Altor is once again hailing the Norse Gods and the lyrical theme on Fire meets Ice is all about Norse Mythology. All stories come in chronological order starting with the birth of the world where Fire Meets Ice and the first giant Ymer was born. At the end of the album you will hear stories from the time after Ragnarök and our obligation to take care of our legacy."

Listen to the album track, 'Nifelheim' with the following lyric video:
Updates to follow. More on Ereb Altor at this location.

Hungarian black metal band SEAR BLISS have started this year with a new lineup, as Zoltan Vigh from BORNHOLM replaced Csaba Csejtei on guitars due to his other commitments. Csaba is still a great friend of band and will contribute to the new album too, but he is no longer an active member of the band.

Csaba’s brother Gyula replaced Oliver Zisko on drums. Oliver is no longer into playing metal music plus he has several other projects, therefore it became more and more difficult to arrange things with him. Regarding brass, there has also been a change, as the band’s former long-time trombone player Zoltan Pal returned to Sear Bliss.
2013 is an important year for Sear Bliss, this being the 20th anniversary of the band. It will be celebrated with a huge show in Budapest at the end of the year.

Another important step is that the band started writing new songs for their upcoming album. It will differ a lot compared to the previous one, but anyone who is familiar with Sear Bliss knows they never repeat a record, however the new songs reflect the atmosphere of the band’s earlier, more epic, obscure era.

In terms of live shows, Sear Bliss will play at several European festivals in the summmer and more dates can be expected in autumn.
Check out the band’s brand new website here, and check out their Facebook page here.

Canadian extreme metallers CRYPTOPSY reunited with their original vocalist Lord Worm to perform a medley of tracks from their 1994 debut album, "Blasphemy Made Flesh", during an appearance at the eighth edition of the Amnesia Rockfest on June 15 in Montebello, Quebec, Canada.

Says CRYPTOPSY: "A big thanks to the one the only Lord Worm for coming out and making Rockfest amazing!"

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

CRYPTOPSY parted ways with Lord Worm (a.k.a. Dan Greening) in April 2007. No reason was given for Lord Worm's departure, but according to guitarist Alex Auburn, the vocalist was "kicked out" of the band and didn't leave of his own accord (an account later disputed by Lord Worm).

The self-titled album from CRYPTOPSY was released in the U.S. on November 20, 2012 via Cryptopsy/Defen Society in association with Revolution Harmony/Candlelight Records.

The official MetOnTour video recap of METALLICA's March 4 concert in Perth, Australia during this year's Soundwave festival can be seen below.

There has been a lot of talk about METALLICA's next album, with singer/guitarist James Hetfield saying they've got a handful of music already and drummer Lars Ulrich stating he'd be surprised if their next record comes out before 2015. So what's the holdup? VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner asked METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo what it is about the band's writing process that requires them to take so much time to create their music.

"Basically, we jam but we jam over a period of time," Robert said. "We have a jam room when we go on tour, and obviously we have a studio, and every little riff gets recorded, every idea, every chordal pattern, every progression, every drumbeat, bass line, we have it, we file it away and then we go through the process of elimination.

Trujillo then told VH1 Radio Network more about the riffs they've been working on.

"James Hetfield has, like, a thousand riffs and they're all great," he said. "His worst riff would be another band's best riff. So we're blessed… the blessing is also a curse, because we have so many cool ideas that it becomes challenging to decide what should not survive, at least for me, from where I'm sitting. I'm always like, 'Well that's a good riff!' and James might be, like, 'Eh, nah, I don't like it.' You know what I mean? But then again, maybe two weeks later he may like it. But you gotta have some sort of process of elimination. So that's what we've been going through."

Robert explained that process of elimination to VH1 Radio Network.

"What that entails is that we listen to the ideas, we go out on the floor in our studio, in the jam room, and we play that idea, and we maybe spend maybe a minute jamming it, maybe more," he said. "Sometimes we come up with a full arrangement and then we put it aside and then we revisit all that like eight months later to see how it holds up and then you narrow it down basically to the best ideas to formulate about 15 songs or maybe more."

Although METALLICA is not quite ready to get into the studio and begin recording its 10th album, Trujillo says that working with producer Rick Rubin again is a possibility. Rubin produced the band's last effort, 2008's "Death Magnetic". When asked about possible producers for the next one, Trujillo told South Africa's Muse magazine, "First things first, we've got to start getting our blueprints for songs together and make sure they're the best possible — and then we see what producers are available. We made a great album with Rick Rubin the last time — that's a strong possibility still."

Trujillo added, "Obviously, there are no guarantees in anything in this day and age, but if there is a great producer, who has something to bring to METALLICA, we will investigate it."

While METALLICA has said that they enjoyed the results they got with Rubin, a number of fans complained that the sound on "Death Magnetic" was too compressed and mixed too "hot," making for an unpleasant listening experience.

SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based heavy rock band featuring Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, ex-MANMADEGOD) on guitar, Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, Brad Barth on keyboards, Anthony Traslavina on rhythm guitar and Ron Redeen (THE ESSENESS PROJECT) on drums, has inked a worldwide deal with Steamhammer/SPV. The group's second album, "Freedom", is scheduled for an October release.

SPIRALARMS rose from the ashes of millennial bands SYSTEMATIC, FORBIDDEN and MANMADE GOD.

Friends since the age of 15, Narducci and Locicero bonded over their love of heavy metal and hard rock music. Looking back at that time period, Craig said, "[We were] probably the youngest kids in the East Bay metal scene that were drinking beer out in the parking lot after seeing bands like TESTAMENT and EXODUS play."

Although the two remained friends throughout the years, they both went their separate ways and started bands of their own.

After years of playing with their respective groups, the two friends contacted each other and decided it was time to start playing music together again, and in 2004 SPIRALARMS was born.

Comments Narducci: "We're very proud to be a part of the SPV/Steamhammer Records! SPV is the perfect home for us to grow into the band that we had envisioned when we started. Their belief in SPIRALARMS has only inspired us to rock harder then ever! We always felt like we just needed a crack in the door so we can kick it all the way open with our brand of heaviness."

Adds Steamhammer/SPV A&R representative Georg Schröder: "This band rocks hard! Their debut album, 'Highest Society', which was released in 2010, already showed that these guys are really able to deliver some true, honest and super-heavy melodic rock. The upcoming album, 'Freedom', goes one step further and just blew us away. The songs recall on the times of the really big rock songs of the past but the band managed it to sound amazingly fresh and modern. We can't wait to release this rock monster in October!"

The song "Dropping Like Flies" from "Freedom" can be streamed below.

SPIRALARMS is:

Tim Narducci - Vocals/Guitar
Craig Locicero - Guitar
Anthony Traslavina - Guitar
Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo - Bass/Vocals
Brad Barth - Keyboards
Ron Redeen - Drums

"Dög Song", the new video from Swiss hard rock veterans KROKUS, can be seen below. The clip focuses on the band's the new mascot, the English Bulldog Da Dög, who is pictured on cover of KROKUS' latest album, "Dirty Dynamite".

"Dirty Dynamite", the 17th studio album from KROKUS, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 17. This marks the first time in KROKUS' history that the band has landed in the Top 20 of the German chart.

"Dirty Dynamite" was released on February 22 in Europe via Sony Music and in North America on March 5 via The End Records. The CD marks the return of KROKUS guitarist Mandy Meyer after 30 years. Sound engineer for the recording sessions was again Dennis Ward, who also recorded the band's last album, "Hoodoo".

Drummer Freddy Steady left KROKUS in May 2011 because he "concluded that he really wanted to play music just for fun in small clubs rather than conquering the world, playing arenas on huge stages with pyro props, etc.," according to guitarist Fernando Von Arb.

KROKUS recently recruited Flavio Mezzodi as the band's new drummer.

"Frozen Vision", the brand new Walker Pachler-directed video from the French progressive metalcore outfit AS THEY BURN, can be seen below. The clip conjures up and showcases AS THEY BURN's Parisian, artistic inner forces. Conceptually imaginative, the video is an amalgamation of abstract art and atmospheric naturism in elemental and human form. This moving composition is harmoniously riveting and stimulating, aurally and visually.

"'Frozen Vision' is completely different than anything we've done," explains vocalist Kevin Trevor. "Shooting was an incredible experience: painting, aquarium diving and face scanning." The track comes off the group's new album, "Will, Love, Life", which was released on February 19 via Victory Records.

Regarding the CD title, AS THEY BURN guitarist Fabio Meschini told Live-Metal.net, "Will, Love, Life are three things that we can't separate. If now we are who we are, it's because of those three things have permitted us to do all the things we've done! Our passion is only what motivates us every day to give the best! All the lyrics are talking about that. Like (our previous album), 'Aeon's War', Thelema is really present in the meaning of the lyrics."

Asked about the band's decision to sign with Victory, b>AS THEY BURN vocalist Kevin Traore said: "From the day we decided to be a band, we realized our common dream to become musicians, and from that moment forward, we did everything we could to make this happen. We are musicians and that's it. We're not businessmen, managers or anything else. We worked very hard to promote our music, release CDs and book shows, but it seems that we needed more support to reach the next step. We had a very good feeling with Victory Records before all of this happened. We met Mr. [Tony] Brummel, the owner of Victory, in Paris during the summer time. We discussed of everything concerning this collaboration, and both of us agreed on many points, so we decided to make this happen, and we're very satisfied."

Emerging from the streets of Paris, AS THEY BURN was formed in 2007 by bassist Ronald Pastor, guitarist Fabio Meschini and drummer Milton Bakech. Vocalist Kévin Traore, known for his chillingly aggressive vocals, was enlisted shortly thereafter, along with guitarist Hoby Arinosy.

AS THEY BURN's debut album, "Aeon's War", was digitally released on June 20, 2011.

KORN has set a September 24 release date for its 11th studio album, the first to feature founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch since 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror".

Drummer Ray Luzier revealed the release date while sharing a photo of himself and his bandmates via an Instagram post with the caption: "Korn press Konference in France, we played them parts of 2 new songs off our SIC new record coming out Sept 24th. #korntour2013 #kornfans #korn #korn2013 #fieldy #brianheadwelch #munky #jdevil."

Video footage of KORN's June 22 press conference at Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

With singer Jonathan Davis saying not long ago that he thinks the new disc is the best KORN has ever done, The Pulse Of Radio asked KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer for his assessment. "It's heavy metal with lots of melody," he said. "Jonathan's lyrics are — the way he elaborates and articulates on different subjects, his melodies are so killer. I can't wait for people to hear it."

The new KORN set will follow up 2011's "The Path Of Totality", which found the group experimenting with dubstep.

Welch left the band in 2005 to pursue a solo career and devote more of his life to Christianity, but rejoined them for one gig last year and several more in 2013, leading to plans to record together again.

KORN kicked off a world tour last month with a round of dates in the U.S. and is now on tour in Europe for a large chunk of this month and July This is Welch's first full run of dates with the band after playing one song with them last year at the Carolina Rebellion festival.

The official lyric video for "Count It All As Lost", a brand new song from the Manheim, Pennsylvania-based quintet AUGUST BURNS RED, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's fifth album, "Rescue & Restore", which will be released on June 25 via Solid State Records.

The new effort, described by guitarist and principal songwriter JB Brubaker as the band’s "most ambitious album yet," turns a critical eye to the oft-maligned genre of metalcore, leading by example to prove that bands can still find exciting new ways to expand the genre.

"'Rescue & Restore' is about challenging other bands and ourselves, as well as fans of this music, to want more than whatever happens to be the current buzz," explains Brubaker.

"We’ve done our best with each new album to try to push our sound in new directions and we’d like to see our peers do the same.

"People need to realize that there’s not much of a difference between a metalcore song that has a couple breakdowns with a repeating chorus and the latest LADY GAGA song. This genre used to be better than that. It can still be better than that."

Throughout the album, AUGUST BURNS RED continue to do their part to challenge the conventions of heavy music. Over the course of 11 tracks, the band artfully blend piano, cello, violin, trumpet, various percussive elements and more into their sonic arsenal, taking their music into new aesthetic territory and contorting the boundaries of the genre.

In support of "Rescue & Restore", AUGUST BURNS RED will perform all summer long as a mainstage act on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour, marking their third appearance overall and first since 2011.

With "Rescue & Restore", AUGUST BURNS RED have proven that it is possible to reshape music in a way that challenges listeners, reinvigorates fans and puts art first. But for any fans who fear AUGUST BURNS RED turning their back on the sound that catapulted them to the forefront of a genre, Brubaker advises them not to worry.

"At the end of the day, we are still a very heavy band," he explains. "'Rescue & Restore' still has plenty of really heavy stuff, techy odd meter riffs, and all the stuff that people have come to expect from us; it just has a lot more surprises along the way."

"Rescue & Restore" track listing:

01. Provisions
02. Treatment
03. Spirit Breaker
04. Count It All As Lost
05. Sincerity
06. Creative Captivity
07. Fault Line
08. Beauty In Tragedy
09. Animals
10. Echoes
11. The First Step

Legendary guitarist Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) played three intimate shows earlier in the month at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York. The first gig saw him performing with the LES PAUL TRIO, but for the last two dates, it was just the Wylde and his longtime cohort Nick Cantanese.

Dubbed "An Evening With Zakk Wylde", the acoustic performance featured renditions of "Blessed Hellride", "Queen Of Sorrow" and "Machine Gun Man" as well as a piano performance of "In This River" along with "The Damage Is Done". There was also a brief fan question-and-answer session with Wylde.

Professionally filmed video footage of the June 12 performance can be seen below.

In the two decades since Ozzy Osbourne hired him away from his job at a New Jersey gas station to become his new guitarist, Zakk Wylde has established himself as a guitar icon known and revered the world over. Writing and recording with Osbourne led to multi-platinum success, inspiring him to create the now legendary BLACK LABEL SOCIETY in 1998. In the decade since, BLS has turned the notion of what a rock band should be upside down by inspiring legions of fans (known as Berzerkers) all over the world to follow the mantra: Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever — SDMF for short. The Berzerkers, with Wylde as their leader, have created a heavy metal institution true to his vision of uncompromising, unfiltered, and unrestrained rock and roll. Wylde has won nearly every guitar award imaginable, and is a major influence on a new battalion of rock guitarists currently popular today.

"Goat Of Departure", the new video from Michigan's unstoppable sons of molten melodic death metal THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, can be seen below. The clip, directed by Ben Mayer, was filmed last month in the band's hometown of Detroit. In typical THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER fashion, the video is over-the-top and even features the return of a classic THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER character, and a real, live goat.

Says THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER frontman Trevor Strnad: "It's our pleasure to release our latest exercise in music video stupidity to you all at long last… We'd like to thank Guiness the Goat for penciling us in and all of the rabid THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER fans for getting wild with us. Press the play button and embrace the glory of the goat!"

"Goat Of Departure" comes off THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER's sixth full-length album, "Everblack", which sold 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 32 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Everblack" was released on June 11 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Audiohammer Studios (lead guitars and vocals), Rustbelt Studios (drums), and Regal Fecal (guitar and bass). Mixing was handled by Jason Suecof and Ryan Williams, mastering was completed by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York. Frontman Trevor Strnad's horror-inspired lyrics persist on "Everblack", beginning with "In Hell Is Where She Waits For Me", a reference to the murder from which the band took for its moniker. The cover artwork was painted by renowned artist Nick Keller.

Chicago rockers THE LAST VEGAS are back with another eye-catching music video for the song "She's My Confusion", off the band's fourth full-length album, "Bad Decisions", released last fall through FrostByte Media. The clip was produced and directed by the Chicago-based video production company Motion Source Video Solutions, the same team responsible for the "Evil Eyes" music video.

The "She's My Confusion" video is based on a well-known Chicago area ghost story named "Resurrection Mary" that's been around since the '30s. The young woman, Mary, had spent the evening dancing at the Oh Henry Ballroom (now the Willowbrook) with a boyfriend. Following an argument that evening, Mary stormed out into the cold winter's night, leaving the ballroom behind and walked along Archer Avenue. Not long after, she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene leaving her to die. The story survives through the many men who claim picking up a young female hitchhiker along Archer Avenue between the Willowbrook Ballroom (which is the locale for the video) and Resurrection Cemetery. When reaching the cemetery, the young woman is let out only to disappear into the cemetery.

"The Willowbrook Ballroom is a Chicago musical institution; one bad-ass, old-school place which drips of mystery, intrigue and aura," said THE LAST VEGAS guitarist Adam Arling. "What better place to film an unconventional rock video for 'She's My Confusion'? We stepped back in time and addressed whether those noises we hear in the night are real, or just a dream?"

THE LAST VEGAS is in studio this month laying down tracks for its fifth full-length album, title yet to be determined, working with the great Roy Z (JUDAS PRIEST, BRUCE DICKINSON, SEPULTURA). A North American tour will follow, as will a European tour supporting BUCKCHERRY and HARDCORE SUPERSTAR. Partnering with fans through PledgeMusic, THE LAST VEGAS is offering up a variety of great exclusive opportunities like a studio hang, an acoustic performance/backyard BBQ and more.

"Break Shit", the new video from Atlanta's favorite party moshers ATTILA, can be seen below. Portions of this clip may contain graphic imagery which may offend and/or trigger sensitive viewers and is not recommended for viewing by persons under the age of 18. Viewer discretion is advised.

"Break Shit" comes off ATTILA's new album, "About That Life", which will be released on June 25 via Artery Recordings/Razor & Tie.

On May 28, the "About That Life" title track was made available for purchase at all DSPs. Fans who pre-order "About That Life" on the iTunes store will also receive the song as an "instant grat" track.

ATTILA formed in 2005, storming their way onto the metal scene in recent years. They've quickly and deservedly earned a reputation as a good time, "party metal" band. They've developed into an international sensation known for their crushing, explosive live shows.

ATTILA have honed their live chops by remaining on the road in near-nonstop fashion over the last two years, performing with heavyweights such as ASKING ALEXANDRIA, AS I LAY DYING, ALESANA, A SKYLIT DRIVE, IWRESTLEDABEARONCE, SUICIDE SILENCE and more, all the while holding their own.

As frontman Chris "Fronz" Fronzak puts it: "All we want is for the listener to have a fun experience, and that is the main message behind our music."

ATTILA's last album, 2011's "Outlawed", landed at No. 7 on the Billboard Independent Chart; at No. 8 on the Hard Music Chart; and at No. 87 on the Top 200 Chart. The band has sold more than 50,000 albums to date via Artery/Razor & Tie.