The new EP of the Italian thrashers BLINDEATH is available today. The first studio release of the band, recorded at Reclab Studios in Milan, Italy contains six tracks and is published by the Italian My Graveyard Productions.

A press release describes the EP: “The band is as young as aggressive. They have in fact benefit the age that makes them brazenly spontaneous and direct, showing an 'attitude worthy of the band from the early '80s, offering a rocky sound made even more effective by a modern recording.”

Headshot tracklisting:
‘Intro’
‘Fury Of The Damned’
‘Keep Pushing’
‘Dawn Of Disease’
‘Headshot’
‘Kill The Brave’

Check out a video for ‘Headshot’ below:

ISIS will reissue their landmark full-length 2000 debut, Celestial, on July 9th via Ipecac Recordings. The hard to find and long out-of-print release will be reissued with new artwork from Aaron Turner as well as the audio having been recently remastered by James Plotkin.

Celestial tracklisting:

'SGNL>01
'Celestial (The Tower)'
'Glisten'
'Swarm Reigns (Down)'
'SGNL>02'
'Deconstructing Towers'
'SGNL>03'
'Collapse And Crush'
'C.F.T. (New Circuitry and Continued Evolution)'
'Gentle Time'
'SGNL>04 (End Transmission)'

Fan-filmed video footage of NEWSTED — the new band led by former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted — performing on June 1 at the Sonisphere festival in Barcelona, Spain can be seen below.

NEWSTED's full-length debut, "Heavy Metal Music", will be released on August 6 in North America via Chophouse Records/Collective Sounds and August 5 in Europe through Spinefarm Records. Jason told Billboard.com the 11-song album will be very similar to the band's debut EP, "Metal", which sold around 6,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 62 on The Billboard 200 chart. "The EP was always intended to be the primer, a sampler of what was to come on the LP," he said. "It's all metal all the time. It's not all fast, but it is all heavy."

"Heavy Metal Music" track listing:

01. Heroic Dose
02. Soldierhead
03. ...As The Crow Flies
04. Ampossible
05. Long Time Dead
06. Above All
07. King Of The Underdogs
08. Nocturnus
09. Twisted Tail Of The Comet
10. Kindevillusion
11. Futureality

NEWSTED has been confirmed for this year's edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. Also scheduled to appear on the bill are headliners MEGADETH, along with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DEVICE, HELLYEAH and DEATH DIVISION.

NEWSTED kicked off its first-ever U.S. tour on April 19 at Red House in Walnut Creek, California. The 14-date trek concluded on May 23 in Asbury Park, New Jersey and has led into a number of European festival appearances for the band, which is rounded out by STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok, drummer Jesus Mendez Jr. and guitarist Jessie Farnsworth.

NEWSTED is:

Jason Newsted - Bass, Lead Vocals
Jesus Mendez Jr. (THE NAPOLEON BLOWNAPARTS) - Drums
Jessie Farnsworth - Guitar, Backing Voice
Mike Mushok (STAIND) – Guitar

AMORPHIS is confirmed to support IRON MAIDEN at the July 20th show in Helsinki, Finland. The band replaces the canceled BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE support slot and takes the stage together with SABATON and GHOST. To purchase tickets visit here.

Amorphis recently completed work on the official music video for the song 'The Wanderer' taken from the band's most recent album Circle.
The video will premiere online next Tuesday, June 11. Commented the band: "We've had super fun shooting this new video with Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, IN FLAMES) who did an amazing job as always! See for yourselves - for us, it's one of our favourite music videos from all the ones we've done so far! Enjoy and keep rocking!"

Three screenshots of 'The Wanderer' can be found below:
For more details on Amorphis visit Amorphis.net.

UK-based progressive rock band THE CUSTODIAN formed in late 2012, and the band is already primed to release their debut offering, Necessary Wasted Time, on June 18th via The Laser's Edge. Check out the new video, for the album cut 'Stop Talking':
The band is lead by British musician Richard Thomson, better known as the vocalist of progressive metal group XERATH. The project was initially started in a bedroom in Warwickshire and has now, after several years of lying dormant due to other commitments, become a fully fledged band ready to take the prog rock world by storm.

Thomson, commented on the band's signing to The Lasers Edge: "We are extremely proud to be joining The Lasers Edge family. Not only is their roster exceptional but working with Ken and the team has been a superb experience for us. They take huge pride in what they do and more importantly the enthusiasm they have for the development of their bands is fantastic. We look forward to making some great music with them and bringing it out on the road as soon as possible! "

Label head Ken Golden explained how the signing of The Custodian came about: "An unexpected e-mail from a mysterious band named The Custodian caught my attention. I started to listen to their debut album Necessary Wasted Time... and I kept listening... and listening. In short I became addicted. Rich Thomson and crew are creating the type of forward thinking music that helps define the fabric of The Laser's Edge. I'm very excited to present The Custodian to a worldwide audience."

The band takes influence not only from prog rock, but anything and everything else that fits. Expect lots of beautiful acoustic passages, warm synth, tasteful leads, complex drumming and great production.
The album was recorded by the band in their home studio, mixed by Danish producer Jacob Hansen and mastered by Bob Katz. The artwork was created by British artist Colin Marks of Rainsong design.
The Custodian are:

Richard Thomson: Drums, Vocals, Synth
Michael Pitman: Bass, Vocals
Owain Williams: Lead Guitar
Nariman Poushin: Electro Acoustic Guitar

More on The Custodian at this location.

Californian thrashers FUELED BY FIRE will release their new album, Trapped In Perdition, in Europe on July 26th and in North America on August 6th via NoiseArt Records.

Drummer Carlos Gutierrez states: "I would say the biggest difference to the previous album is the influence. We have more of an old school death metal influence along with late 80s early 90s thrash metal. A little heavier stuff on this one and lots of solos. Also some more technicality. I think it's a step up from Plunging Into Darkness.“

The album was recorded at Mana Recording Studios, Florida with death metal legend Erik Rutan of HATE ETERNAL. The front cover was done by artist Axel Hermann (MORGOTH, ASPHYX, ICED EARTH).
Trapped In Perdition tracklisting:

'Catastrophe'
'Suffering Entities'
'Forsaken Deity'
'Profane Path'
'Deface Mortality'
'Rotten Creation'
'Pharmaceutical Extermination'
'Symbolic Slaying'
'Obliteration'
'Abeyant Future' (Outro)
'Depiction Of Demise' (Bonus track)

'Catastrophe':

Pre-order the album here.
More on Fueled By Fire at this location.

METALLICA played its 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All", from beginning to end during a surprise performance yesterday afternoon at the band's Orion Music + More festival at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

After word got around that a group called DEHAAN (presumably a nod to actor Dane DeHaan, who stars in METALLICA's upcoming IMAX 3D movie, "Metallica Through The Never") was set to play the event's Vans Damage Inc. stage at 4:30 p.m., the METALLICA members themselves came on and reeled off songs from "Kill 'Em All" one by one, including such classics as "Hit The Lights", "Seek And Destroy" and "No Remorse".

Prior to the performance, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield posted a photo on Instagram of the DEHAAN backdrop on the Vans Damage Inc. stage (see below) along with the following message: "Don't miss Dehaan! #MUYA #mff #UwillRegretMissingThem #IfUdoUmightKillEmAll #winkWink #getIt?"

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hit The Lights
02. The Four Horsemen
03. Motorbreath
04. Jump In The Fire
05. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth
06. Whiplash
07. Phantom Lord
08. No Remorse
09. Seek And Destroy
10. Metal Militia

Check out fan-filmed video footage of the entire concert below.

Originally issued on July 25, 1983 through the independent label Megaforce Records, "Kill 'Em All" was recorded in two weeks on a miniscule budget in upstate New York. Although only 1,500 copies were initially pressed, the album was reissued by Elektra Records after the band signed to that label in 1984 and has since been certified triple platinum for sales of more than three million copies.

The original title of "Kill 'Em All" was "Metal Up Your Ass".

The album's opening cut, "Hit the Lights", was the first song that frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich wrote together after forming METALLICA. An early version of the track appeared on the 1982 compilation "Metal Massacre".

Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammett shortly before recording commenced, although Mustaine still has several writing credits on the disc and went on to form MEGADETH.

A number of songs from the album are still part of METALLICA's set list to this day, including "The Four Horsemen", "Seek and Destroy" and "No Remorse".

METALLICA has since gone on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, selling tens of millions of copies of its eight studio albums, including 16 million alone of 1991's self-titled "black album." The band's ninth effort, "Death Magnetic", arrived in 2008.

Part 1:

According to Soundsblog.it, LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia joined MEGADETH on stage yesterday (Saturday, June 8) during the Italian edition of the Sonisphere festival in Milan to perform the MEGADETH song "A Tout Le Monde". Fan-filmed video footage of her appearance can be seen below.

MEGADETH's setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Trust
02. Hangar 18
03. Kingmaker
04. She-Wolf
05. A Tout Le Monde (with Cristina Scabbia)
06. Countdown To Extinction
07. Sweating Bullets
08. Public Enemy No. 1
09. Super Collider
10. Cold Sweat (THIN LIZZY cover)
11. Symphony Of Destruction
12. Peace Sells

"A Tout Le Monde", which originally appeared on MEGADETH's 1994 CD "Youthanasia", created controversy in September 2006 because the song was cited in an online post by Dawson College killer Kimveer Gill as one of his favorites before his Montreal shooting spree. MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine contended that he wanted to give the song a second shot at success, as the original video for it had been banned by MTV, and most radio stations followed suit. The track ended up featuring Cristina Scabbia after "the first singer didn't work out," Mustaine told Straight.com. "The second one didn't work, and the third one was Lisa Marie Presley. She was on the way to the airport, and we had to call and say, 'Sorry, we changed our minds.' I would have loved to have heard what Lisa Marie Presley would have done, but because of the demographics of the LACUNA COIL fan base, and Cristina's reign in the heavy-metal business, it was the right thing to do."

In a 2008 interview Cristina stated about her collaboration with MEGADETH, "[Dave Mustaine] actually asked me to be part of this duet, and I was really surprised about it because 'A Tout Le Monde' is a song that I've always loved, even if it's not like the new [version] because [the original song] [was released on] the album 'Youthanasia'. It was a big surprise for me to get this invitation — I was really honored to be part of it. And seriously, when I heard the final result, I was awesomely surprised 'cause I think that the two voices are fitting incredibly [well together]. I think that the version of 'A Tout le Monde' 2007 has a stronger attitude. If the original version was for the mellow mood, this one is way more rock, way more powerful. I totally love it. I was surprised myself, and I think that a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised. It was recorded, like an hour from Birgmingham [England]. So I flew in and recorded my parts with Andy Sneap [producer]. He's [Andy] an amazing guy — super professional — and the atmosphere in the studio was so relaxed. It was like a family vibe, and I think that's the most amazing thing when you have to work. You can work and still smile, you know, and be relaxed. I tracked the entire song because we weren't really sure what we had to do, so we just wanted to be totally sure, so we recorded all the parts that Dave sung with some improvisation with it, double vocals. We basically made anything possible, so they could pick up whatever they wanted to."

"A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free)" appeared on MEGADETH's 2007 album "United Abominations", which was released via Roadrunner Records.

Professionally filmed video footage of AIRBOURNE's June 8 performance at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany can be seen below.

AIRBOURNE's third album, "Black Dog Barking", was released on May 21 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2010's "No Guts. No Glory." was produced by Brian Howes, who has previously worked with HINDER, DAUGHTRY and PUDDLE OF MUDD.

In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect.com, AIRBOURNE stated about the new CD: "With the second album, 'No Guts. No Glory.', we might've rushed a few things here and there because we had two world tours back to back up against each other. We recorded the music just in the middle of all that. We even had some shows between recording. This time, we spaced it out, and got our sound back to tape again…. [This time] we worked with producer Brian Howes. He loves the same kind of music that we do like IRON MAIDEN, MOTÖRHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST and Elvis Presley. He always wanted to make a rock 'n' roll record, but he never got the chance to. When we recorded with him, that was our goal. It was very comfortable. We got to do this right."

Regarding the "Black Dog Barking" album title, AIRBOURNE said: "When we started this band, the music scene had a lot of new stuff going on in the late '90s and early 2000s. METALLICA were still as big as they are. However, when we'd play shows, people would be like, 'What do you need all of those amps for?' We were like, 'What? This is rock 'n' roll.' They played this fucking indie shit or whatever the fuck it is. Our mindset was, 'Fuck you and your indie shit. We're going to play rock 'n' roll!' The venues started closing down because of noise pollution. We weren't going to let rock 'n' roll die, though. That's what 'Black Dog Barking' is about. It's a call to arms. If you're with us, you're on our side. If you're not, then we're coming for you."

AIRBOURNE is Joel O'Keeffe (vocals/lead guitar), Ryan O'Keeffe (drums), David Roads (guitar) and Justin Street (bass).

Fan-filmed video footage of the legendary NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band SATAN performing on June 8 at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden can be seen below.

SATAN's new album, "Life Sentence", was released on April 29 in Europe and May 21 in the U.S. via Listenable Records. The cover artwork for the effort was drawn by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, HATEBREED, SODOM) and depicts a similar graphic concept as that of the band's debut album, "Court In The Act", originally issued 30 years ago.

"Life Sentence" was mixed by Dario Mollo, who is part of TONY MARTIN'S HEADLESS CROSS touring project and has worked with numerous artists as a producer and engineer, including SKYCLAD, ANATHEMA, CRADLE OF FILTH, LACUNA COIL, Tony Martin and Glenn Hughes. The CD was recorded September-November 2012 at First Avenue Studios in Newcastle, England and was mixed and mastered by Mollo at Damage Inc. Studio in Italy.

"Life Sentence" track listing:

01. Time To Die
02. Twenty Twenty Five
03. Cenotaph
04. Siege Mentality
05. Incantations
06. Testimony
07. Tears Of Blood
08. Life Sentence
09. Personal Demons
10. Another Universe

The songs deal with the following topics: injustice, impending death, reincarnation, atonement, third-world politics, and biblical retribution.

"Life Sentence" is the culmination of a process that began when the original "Court In The Act" lineup got together for an exclusive "one-off" reunion show at Germany's Keep It True festival in 2011 in what marked their first performance together in 28 years. The band was somewhat overwhelmed with the response — 10 minutes into headliners CRIMSON GLORY's set, the crowd could still be heard chanting, "Satan! Satan!" The SATAN bandmembers immediately booked more shows in Germany, Holland, Belgium and London, and have since kept in close contact with each other, writing songs and making demos.

The recording lineup for "Life Sentence" was the same as that on "Court In The Act":

Brian Ross (vocals)
Steve Ramsey (guitar)
Russ Tippins (guitar)
Graeme English (bass)
Sean Taylor (drums)

SATAN will perform at the Wings Of Metal festival, set to take place August 30-31 at Katacombes in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This special event will mark SATAN's first appearance in North America.

For more information, visit www.wingsofmetal.com.

SATAN is one of the most important groups that emerged in the early NWOBHM era. Their unique mixture of heavy and power metal spirit with thrash riffage brought a handful of unforgettable tunes and revolutionized heavy music as we know it.

"Court in the Act" was SATAN's debut release and was considered a true milestone at the time of its release (1983). The songs were melodic, but at the same time very aggressive. The band's two guitarists, Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey, delivered a truly amazing performance; although their styles were completely different, they managed to perfectly complement each other's playing and introduced a handful of timeless riffs and solos.

A digipack reissue of "Court In The Act" was made available in November 2008 featuring three bonus tracks.

Los Angeles-based experimental heavy rock band IWRESTLEDABEARONCE will release its third studio album, "Late For Nothing", on August 6 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded, mixed and mastered by the group's guitarist/programmer Steven Bradley at the band's home studio in Los Angeles. It also marks IWRESTLEDABEARONCE's first record with their new singer Courtney LaPlante, who joined the band with only a day's notice during last summer's Vans Warped Tour.

Newly recharged with the addition of LaPlante, Bradley and cohorts John Ganey (guitar/programming), Mike "Rickshaw" Martin (bass) and Mikey Montgomery (drums) are set to keep their fans guessing with "Late For Nothing". While the band's signature, avant-garde style is well intact on the new album; their style has progressed immensely. By far their boldest and most accessible release to date, "Late For Nothing" rips and roars with blunt force intensity, incorporating their brain joggling breakdowns with a unique blend of electronics, jazzed-out time signatures and break neck riffage.

"The entire album came together as a result of us wanting to do something different," affirms Bradley. "We didn't want to make another weird IWRESTLEDABEARONCE album or whatever people were expecting. We set out to make something different and better than anything we've ever released. It's a more evolved version of the band. We explored new styles and genres as well — especially in terms of the more spacey, epic, and beautiful parts. It's got the most melodic moments of our career as well as the heaviest."

Featuring the forthcoming, schizophrenic first single "Thunder Chunky", "Late For Nothing" scales the summit of heavy rock/metal with twelve teeth gnashing tracks that find a happy medium between crushing metal and beautifully orchestrated melody. The album's opener, "Thunder Chunky", sets the tone for the album as they slash their way through songs like "Letters To Stallone" that showcases LaPlante's incredible balance of full throttle screams and melodic choruses, and "Carnage Asada", which features a guest solo from the legendary Steve Vai.

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE will head to Europe for a summer run before returning to support the release of "Late For Nothing" in the U.S. on The All Stars Tour 2013 with EVERY TIME I DIE.

"Late For Nothing" track listing:

01. Thunder Chunky
02. Letters To Stallone
03. Snake Charmer
04. Boat Paddle
05. Firebees
06. Mind The Gap
07. Carnage Asada
08. The Map
09. That's A Horse Of A Different Color
10. I'd Buy That For A Dollar
11. Inside Job
12. It Don't Make Me No Nevermind

Queens, New York hardoore veterans SWORN ENEMY have decided to forego standard band label arrangement and go directly to the fans to support their current recording endeavor.

Explains vocalist Sal LoCoco: "Many of you may know SWORN ENEMY has been on the scene for a long time. We have been creating some killer new music and we are ready to get it to the fans who want it. However, we are in need of fan support.

"This campaign will not only get you some very cool limited time only merchandise and deals, but most of all it will help us fund the making of our new album.

"This band has always thrived on the help of the underground and our passionate fans. This time around it will count more than ever, as it will help to get the new music out to the masses!!!! With your contributions, no matter how big or small, we will be able to record, mix, master, and release a hard and brutal album.

"This is as real as it gets people... Let's make it happen."

SWORN ENEMY will tour with BIOHAZARD this June and playing this year's Amnesia Rockfest in Quebec.

SWORN ENEMY is:

Sal Lococo - Vocals
Danny Lamagna - Drums
Jeff Cummings - Guitar
Matt Garzilli - Guitar
Mike Pucciarelli - Bass

Audio snippets of the songs that will appear on "About That Life", the new album from Atlanta's favorite party moshers ATTILA, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The CD 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.

METALLICA played its 1983 debut album, "Kill 'Em All", from beginning to end during a surprise performance earlier this afternoon at the band's Orion Music + More festival at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

After word got around that a group called DEHAAN (presumably a nod to actor Dane DeHaan, who stars in METALLICA's upcoming IMAX 3D movie, "Metallica Through The Never") was set to play the event's Vans Damage Inc. stage at 4:30 p.m., the METALLICA members themselves came on and reeled off songs from "Kill 'Em All" one by one, including such classics as "Hit The Lights", "Seek And Destroy" and "No Remorse".

Prior to the performance, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield posted a photo on Instagram of the DEHAAN backdrop on the Vans Damage Inc. stage (see below) along with the following message: "Don't miss Dehaan! #MUYA #mff #UwillRegretMissingThem #IfUdoUmightKillEmAll #winkWink #getIt?"

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Hit The Lights
02. The Four Horsemen
03. Motorbreath
04. Jump In The Fire
05. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth
06. Whiplash
07. Phantom Lord
08. No Remorse
09. Seek And Destroy
10. Metal Militia

Check out fan-filmed video footage of the concert below. Photos are available at Overkill.pl.

Originally issued on July 25, 1983 through the independent label Megaforce Records, "Kill 'Em All" was recorded in two weeks on a miniscule budget in upstate New York. Although only 1,500 copies were initially pressed, the album was reissued by Elektra Records after the band signed to that label in 1984 and has since been certified triple platinum for sales of more than three million copies.

The original title of "Kill 'Em All" was "Metal Up Your Ass".

The album's opening cut, "Hit the Lights", was the first song that frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich wrote together after forming METALLICA. An early version of the track appeared on the 1982 compilation "Metal Massacre".

Lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was replaced by Kirk Hammett shortly before recording commenced, although Mustaine still has several writing credits on the disc and went on to form MEGADETH.

A number of songs from the album are still part of METALLICA's set list to this day, including "The Four Horsemen", "Seek and Destroy" and "No Remorse".

METALLICA has since gone on to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world, selling tens of millions of copies of its eight studio albums, including 16 million alone of 1991's self-titled "black album." The band's ninth effort, "Death Magnetic", arrived in 2008.

Professionally filmed video footage of VOLBEAT's entire June 8 performance at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany can be seen below.

VOLBEAT will take part in this summer's Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance Tour alongside HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE.

"The fans have made our North American visits thus far this year great fun and truly memorable," VOLBEAT guitarist/vocalist Michael Poulsen said in a statement. "We are looking forward to headlining Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance festival tour this summer, and sharing the stage with HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE."

VOLBEAT's fifth studio album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", sold 39,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on April 9 via Universal Republic

Former ANTHRAX axeman Caggiano, who was a producer on the new disc, recently joined VOLBEAT as its new guitarist. He replaces guitarist Thomas Bredahl, who was given his walking papers in November 2011.

The new disc follows up 2010's "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven", which featured three No. 1 rock radio hits, "A Warrior's Call", "Still Counting" and "Heaven Nor Hell".

Professionally filmed video footage of Swedish melodic death metallers AMON AMARTH performing the title track of their ninth studio album, "Deceiver Of The Gods", live on June 7 at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany can be seen below.

Recorded at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and produced, mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap (OPETH, MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), the follow-up to the band's critically acclaimed 2011 "Surtur Rising" full-length delivers ten fiery battle hymns made of buzzsaw riffs and epic harmonies all driven by vocalist Johan Hegg's commanding Viking roar and absorbing accounts of Norse crusades and treachery.

"Deceiver Of The Gods" comes adorned with another outstanding Tom Thiel-created cover portraying a mythical battle between the Norse Gods Loki and Thor. As an added bonus, Messiah Marcolin (CANDLEMASS) makes an appearance as guest vocalist on eighth track, "Hel".

"Deceiver Of The Gods" will be released in North America via Metal Blade Records on June 25, in Europe June 24 and Japan on June 26.

Following a run of European festival dates, AMON AMARTH will open the main stage of this year's edition of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, set to commence June 29 in San Bernardino.

"Deceiver Of The Gods" (song) performance:

Professionally filmed video footage of Swedish doom metal veterans CANDLEMASS performing their classic song "Solitude" at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival — which is being held June 5-8 in Sölvesborg, Sweden — can be seen below.

CANDLEMASS played its first show with singer Mats Levén on June 5, 2012 at Debaser Slussen in Stockholm, Sweden.

Levén is a former member of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, THERION and TREAT, who also plays with CANDLEMASS bassist/mainman Leif Edling in KRUX.

Also joining the group for CANDLEMASS' recent live performances was keyboard player Per Wiberg (OPETH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS).

CANDLEMASS in June 2012 parted ways singer Robert Lowe. The band stated at the time that this was "a very difficult decision" to make and had "mainly to do with the quality of the live performances."

Lowe — who is still a member of SOLITUDE AETERNUS — joined CANDLEMASS in January 2007 and sang on the band's last three studio albums: "King Of The Grey Islands" (2007), "Death Magic Doom" (2009) and "Psalms For The Dead" (2012).

CANDLEMASS released its 11th and final album, "Psalms For The Dead", on June 8, 2012 via Napalm Records. A limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single contaning two album tracks —"Dancing In The Temple Of The Mad Queen Bee" and "The Killing Of The Sun" — preceded the full-length effort on April 13, 2012.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of BLACK STAR RIDERS' June 2 performance at the HiRock Festival in Loreley Freilichtbühne, Germany can be seen below.

"All Hell Breaks Loose", the debut album from BLACK STAR RIDERS, the new band formed by THIN LIZZY alumni Ricky Warwick (guitar, vocals), Damon Johnson (guitar), Scott Gorham (guitar), Marco Mendoza (bass) with new addition Jimmy DeGrasso (ALICE COOPER, MEGADETH, DAVID LEE ROTH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) on drums, has registered the following first-week chart positions:

Sweden: #15
UK: #25
Germany: #29
Finland: #38
Switzerland: #63
Ireland: #64
Wallonia: #107
France: #122
Belgium: #163

"All Hell Breaks Loose" sold around 2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 5 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The "All Hell Breaks Loose" artwork features a painting by Gil Elvgren (March 15, 1914 - February 29, 1980), the legendary U.S. painter best known for his work on pin-up girls, advertising and illustration.

"All Hell Breaks Loose" was recorded and mixed by producer Kevin Shirley (LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, RUSH) at his The Cave studios in Malibu, California. Mastering duties were handled by Bob Ludwig (JIMI HENDRIX, RUSH, KISS, LED ZEPPELIN) at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.

The album was released as a standard CD and also as a special-edition digipak featuring a bonus track, "Right To Be Wrong", and a "making-of" DVD.

BLACK STAR RIDERS made its live debut on May 30 at The Marshall Theatre in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. The set featured a mix of music from "All Hell Breaks Loose" along with classic THIN LIZZY tracks.

A two-minute trailer for the forthcoming RUSH "Clockwork Angels" concert film from Fadoo Productions can be seen below. The set will likely arrive sometime in the fall.

RUSH captured the "Clockwork Angels" tour by filming in Phoenix and Dallas on November 25, 2012 and November 28, 2012, respectively. Reports at the time indicated that the Dallas show would be the primary source for the film, with the Phoenix footage used mainly as a backup.

The official Billboard Boxscore attendance and sales figures for the Phoenix and Dallas shows are as follows:

* Show Date: November 25
* Show Venue: US Airways Center
* City/State: Phoenix, AZ
* Attendance: 8,858
* Capacity: 10,121
* Gross Ticket Sales: $604,667

* Show Date: November 28
* Show Venue: American Airlines Center
* City/State: Dallas, TX
* Attendance: 10,509
* Capacity: 10,509
* Gross Ticket Sales: $764,483

The North American leg of the "Clockwork Angels" tour kicked off on September 7, 2012 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire and wrapped on December 2, 2012 in Houston, Texas.

In addition to adding a lot of rarely played songs to their opening set, RUSH brought a string ensemble out on tour with the band for the first time ever in its career. Orchestrations provided by well-known arranger David Campbell were used on several tracks from the band's new album, "Clockwork Angels", and RUSH recreated that sound during the tour.

"Clockwork Angels" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, selling 103,000 copies in its first week of release. The disc marked RUSH 's highest chart debut since 1993's "Counterparts", which also entered at No. 2.

Paul Lester of The Guardian recently conducted an inter view with BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar), Ozzy Osbourne (vocals) and Terry "Geezer" Butler (bass). A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On whether they believe in God:

Butler: "I do when I'm on a plane — the first thing I do is say my prayers."

Ozzy: "I've done a good job of trying to kill myself for 64 years. But something's kept me alive. I don't know if it's God, fate or whatever. I'm open-minded. But I don't believe in organized religion at all."

On the few myths surrounding BLACK SABBATH, including the one about Ozzy biting off the head of a live bat, which he had presumed was rubber, in 1982:

Ozzy: "We were never really into the occult. It was a hobby, until we started getting invites to black-magic rites in cemeteries. Then I got accused of doing this and biting that and there would be people picketing the arena with banners. But if you listen to the lyrics, there's nothing that's pro-black magic or pro-satanic worship. It's like God Is Dead? — at the end it says: 'I don't believe that God is dead,' but they only hear the words 'God is dead.'"

On Ozzy not being focused in the studio during the band's early years:

Butler: "You can't write or play songs if you're out of your brains . But because [Osbourne] didn't have to play an instrument, while we were writing he'd be in the bar getting legless or doing all kinds of things." The latter included relentless pleasure-seeking, leading to blackouts."

Ozzy: "I didn't believe it when they said I had blackouts. I'd look at my watch and it would say four o'clock. Then I'd look again and it would say 9:30. I'd totally forget where I'd been or what I'd done. But then you don't think about that before you start drinking. You don't think: 'I wonder what jail I'll wake up in tomorrow?' Because that's not your intention."

On BLACK SABBATH's "13" being the most important record of Ozzy's career:

Ozzy: "Yes, we've had our disagreements. We all said bad things and did our different trips, but it's great to be with the guys. The last time [2001] it didn't gel. But this time it worked out better than our wildest expectations. For Tony to come up with riffs like these is unbelievable. He deserves a medal because if I'd been diagnosed with lymphoma I'd have gone 'Fuck this,' and gone back to bed with a bottle of morphine. But we kept on going because we knew this was probably our last hurrah."

Read the entire interview from The Guardian.

"Breaking Point", the new video from Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fourth album, "Temper Temper", which sold 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on February 12 via RCA.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's previous effort, 2010's "Fever", opened with 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 3. It was also a Top 10 release in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.

The Welsh quartet changed the way they approached making an album this time around, with guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck and drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas traveling to Thailand to do the initial writing and recording for the album. Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio why they made the trip. "It was just nice being in a studio 24/7, really, you know, with no distractions from home and stuff," he said. "So that was kind of the main reason why we went there and it just worked out well, you know, because we didn't have any pressures from having to travel, having to cook your own food — just all the stuff that is an everyday process obviously takes a lot of time out of the day to be creative. So just being there, being able to write 24/7, was a huge advantage."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently headlined the fifth edition of the "HardDrive Live" tour, which kicked off on April 12 in Denver. Joining them were main support HALESTORM, plus special guests YOUNG GUNS and openers STARS IN STEREO. The trek was sponsored by "HardDrive".

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will release a brand new single, "P.O.W.", on June 17.

Having completed sold-out tours of the Australia, Europe and America, the band will return to the U.K. in June where they will be second headliners on the main stage at Download festival on Friday, June 14. The band will also make a special announcement that afternoon at Download.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of MEGADETH's June 6 headling concert at O2 Academy Brixton in London, England can be seen below.

MEGADETH's new album, "Super Collider", is likely to sell between 28,000 and 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on June 4 via MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). The disc follows up "TH1RT3EN", which opened with 42,000 units back in November 2011 to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's 2009 CD, "Endgame", premiered with 45,000 copies to debut at No. 9. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which entered the chart at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).

The album is available as a limited-edition CD with 3-D cover and bonus tracks, regular CD, regular LP, limited LP plus a bonus colored seven-inch single with two bonus tracks, and a download voucher.

The track "Super Collider", which was premiered on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio metal show on April 20, was released digitally on April 23 via iTunes.

"That song kind of came from that 'Symphony Of Destruction' corner of my mind," Mustaine told Guitar World magazine. "You can't always play aggressive, thrashy stuff. Sometimes those aren't even songs; they're like musical rams. But because I'm not a pop guy, I'm also not really comfortable playing sing-along songs. To me, 'Super Collider' made sense like a normal song — a verse-chorus-verse-chorus kind of thing. It's written the way a real songwriter would write the song, instead of just taking all these musical twists and turns."

"Super Collider" is MEGADETH's first release since the band's recent split with Roadrunner Records.

MEGADETH filmed a video for the "Super Collider" title track on May 10 in the Los Angeles area. California-based model, actress, singer and songwriter Hunter Elizabeth was cast in the lead role in the clip, which she says is "about a high-school couple still loving each other after all the years after graduation, and at the 10-year reunion, both characters find themselves successful (a model and a mathematician) and still very in love."

Fan-filmed video footage of FIREWIND's June 7 performance at this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden can be seen below.

Vocalist Apollo Papathanasio left FIREWIND in January and has been temporarily replaced by American singer Kelly Sundown Carpenter (BEYOND TWILIGHT, OUTWORLD, DARKOLOGY, ADAGIO).

In a recent interview with Metal Assault, Gus G. stated about Apollo's departure: "People following the band for the past few years would know that we've had different session guys at the live shows even when Apollo was in the band because he just had to skip a few tours during the year. So whenever the schedule was getting too heavy for him and he would have to take care of stuff back home, we had to get other guys. So this time, he had to skip again and he was like, 'You know, instead of holding you guys back, I might as well just quit.' I think he did the right thing for him, for us as well, because we can only do that [getting session vocalists] so many times and we're better off trying to find a new permanent guy instead of getting replacements for a tour. So at least now we know that we have to find somebody new, and in a sense it's a bit sad, but at the same time it's some sort of relief."

Asked if Carpenter is going to be the permanent replacement for Papathanasio, Gus said: "We don't know yet. We're not going to rush that decision. We're really happy with what he's doing on stage; he's doing a really good job. But we have this tour and then we have a few festivals back home and then FIREWIND might be on hiatus for a while, so we're going to see what we're going to do."

FIREWIND will celebrate its 10th anniversary by releasing a live album on June 24 via Century Media Records in Europe. Entitled "Apotheosis - Live 2012", the CD will contain 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band's "Few Against Many" tour in 2012. With a playing time of 69 minutes, the effort is a great overview of the band's career so far, which consists of seven studio albums. It also marks FIREWIND's final release with singer Apollo Papathanasio.

Professionally filmed video footage of LIMP BIZKIT performing a cover version of the RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE classic "Killing In The Name" on June 7 at the Rock Am Ring festival in Nürburgring, Germany can be seen below.

LIMP BIZKIT recently released a new single, "Ready to Go", and is putting the finishing touches on its new studio album, "Stampede Of The Disco Elephants".

"We're really trying to get it hammered out here," LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland told Billboard last month. "We're done with most of the music, pretty much all the music. The lyrics and vocals are probably 30 percent done, and [Fred Durst] is working as we speak, on tour."

Regarding the musical direction of LIMP BIZKIT's new CD, Borland said that the songs on "Stampede Of The Disco Elephants" have a "very live and sort of wild" feel. Moreover, fans shouldn't expect the same old LIMP BIZKIT on the album; instead, there will be quite a bit of experimentation on the effort. "I think it's a little bit more, sort of playful, taking chances, a little less pop, structured type of stuff," Borland said. "I don't want to say it [sounds] younger, but maybe a little more carefree, musically, to where we don't over-think what we’re doing."

LIMP BIZKIT and Lil Wayne's collaborative single, "Ready To Go", was released via the band's new label home, Cash Money, Lil Wayne's longtime record company.

LIMP BIZKIT in 2011 parted ways with Interscope, the label that released all of the band's records thus far through its subsidiaries Flip, Geffen and Suretone Records.