While on the "black carpet" at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone this past Thursday (May 2) at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California, members of METALLICA spoke about SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away earlier that day at the age of 49.

"Well, it's always difficult when you lose a metal brother, especially one that grew up in your area, grew up in your time zone, [was part of the] same genre, [had the] same goals in life… same everything," METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield told Artisan News (see video report below). "And to see someone go too early always sucks. It's not the first time for us, but it's never easy… never easy. And God bless him, and R.I.P. Jeff Hanneman."

Added METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo: "I've gotta say Jeff Hanneman was an amazing human being. He was very low profile; he actually chose to lie low and just write some of the greatest riffs ever. So rest in peace, Jeff. We're gonna miss you tremendously."

Hanneman died at about 11 a.m. on Thursday (May 2) near his Southern California home. He was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

Hanneman had been on hiatus from SLAYER since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that doctors believed might have been caused by a spider bite. Hanneman almost lost his arm, and was briefly placed in a medically induced coma. After a series of skin grafts, he had been working on his physical rehabilitation. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

Following recent live dates in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, METALLICA played a four-song set at Revolver Golden Gods — "Disposable Heroes", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Rapid Fire" JUDAS PRIEST cover, featuring a guest appearance by PRIEST singer Rob Halford) and "Seek And Destroy" — where the group was also honored as "Golden Gods."

ROB ZOMBIE/ex-MARILYN MANSON guitar virtuoso John 5 was named "Best Guitarist" at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone this past Thursday (May 2) at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California.

John 5 is one of the most sought-after players and composers of the last decade. His ability to play many styles to perfection on multiple-stringed instruments, from guitar to banjo, has led him to being one of the newest trailblazers in the music industry. He has won the hearts of thousands, and even the legendary Les Paul gave John 5 the ultimate compliment by saying, "Not many people impress me, but tonight you did."

"I'm so honored that I got the best guitarist award for the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards," states John 5. "It really does mean the world to me and thank you to all the fans that have voted."

Best known for his early stint with MARILYN MANSON and mostly his current home of the last nine years with ROB ZOMBIE, John 5 has written with an eclectic group of artists — a list that includes MEAT LOAF, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, David Lee Roth and Rob Halford — and recently penned the first U.K. single, with Kevin Savigar, from Rod Stewart's new album, "Time". Speaking about the collaboration, John 5 said: "Rod is a tremendous artist to work with and it's an absolute honor to co-write this song with him. I hope everyone enjoys it."

Dallas, TX-based hard rock outfit BRAND NEW MACHINE have revealed the cover art and tracklisting for their upcoming new album, The Devil Made Me Do It, which is scheduled for a July 23rd release via Epochal Artist Records/Capital Music Group.

The Devil Made Me Do It was recorded at Validus Recording Studios in Los Angeles, CA under the watchful eye of producer/mixer Ryan Greene (ALICE COOPER, CHEAP TRICK).

"The album ended up being everything we set out to create. It's just raw rock 'n' roll riffs with soaring anthem hooks and melodies," said Brand New Machine bassist Wiley Oliver. "Everyone in the band has a diverse background which helped us create a unique sound in a familiar genre. If you are a rock 'n' roll fan at heart you will hear, feel, and identify with this album immediately."

Brand New Machine recently returned from touring overseas supporting GUNS N' ROSES on select dates and will be touring this summer. The band is currently riding high off the success of their current single 'Girls Like You', which has began to heat up local radio request lines around Dallas earlier this year. Brand New Machine's new album takes the band's hard-living lifestyle and mixes it with arena ready rock anthems to create a soundtrack for debauchery. Brand New Machine's explosive live show has earned them countless opening slots for national acts.
The Devil Made Me Do It tracklisting:

'Here I Am'
'Girls Like You'
'Devil Made me Do It'
'Dust The Sky'
'Here And Gone Today'
'Living for Another Day'
'Always On The Run'
'Blackout Overdose'
'Lettin It Roll'
'What Do I Gotta Do'
'Let Me Go'
More on Brand New Machine at this location.

A new version of the HALESTORM song "Here's To Us" featuring guest appearances by a number of well-known hard rock and heavy metal musicians has surfaced online and can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. Joining the band on the song are Slash, SHINEDOWN's Brent Smith, ALTER BRIDGE's Myles Kennedy, SIXX: A.M.'s James Michael, THEORY OF A DEADMAN's Tyler Connolly, DISTURBED and DEVICE's David Draiman and IN THIS MOMENT's Maria Brink.

HALESTORM is also offering its fans a chance to record their own shout-outs for the song and they intend on taking some of the best pieces and working them into a "fan edit" of "Here's To Us".

"Do you love your mom? Your awesome boyfriend? Want to tell the graduating class of 2013 how much you love them? We want to hear it!," states the band on its web site. Fans are encouraged to say their first name, where they are from, offer their shout-out and then upload their video for the band to check out. Submissions are being taken through May 8.

For more information, click here.

"Here's To Us" (Guest Version) features guest appearances by:

* Slash (appears courtesy of Dik Hayd Records)
* Brent Smith of SHINEDOWN
* Myles Kennedy of ALTER BRIDGE & THE CONSPIRATORS
* James Michael of SIXX: A.M.
* Tyler Connolly of THEORY OF A DEADMAN
* David Draiman of DISTURBED / DEVICE (appears courtesy of Reprise Records)
* Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT (appears courtesy of Century Media Records)

"Here's To Us", which is featured on HALESTORM's 2012 album "The Strange Case Of….", was previously covered on the hit television show "Glee". The musical comedy show did a cover of the tune on a February 2012 episode.

Agony Defined, the debut LP from Baltimore-based thrash division NOISEM - formerly known as NECROPSY - is set to break loose on June 11th via A389 Recordings.

A press release describes the album: “The riot-inducing whiplash of the album boasts high-octane death/thrash with a filthy and crispy delivery, unloading nine tracks in under twenty-six minutes, every attack surging with massive divebomb guitar solos and punishing beats.”

NPR, National Public Radio, has offered to bring a new Noisem track to the masses, and today the rasping, bludgeoning title and closing track to Agony Defined has been featured as the Viking’s Choice in this week’s All Things Considered podcast.

Check out the track at NPR.

Agony Defined tracklisting:

‘Voices In The Morgue’
‘Birthing The Bestial’
‘Desire And Disgust’
‘Mortuary’
‘Rotten Remains’
‘Severed’
‘Split From The Inside Out’
‘Chronic Dementia’
‘Agony Defined’

A389 will release Noisem’s Agony Defined on CD, LP and digital download on June 11th; fans of AUDIOPAIN, HAVOK, TOXIC HOLOCAUST and the originators/masters of the style will not be disappointed, and all nonbelievers will be extinguished.
Coinciding with the album’s release, Noisem has been confirmed to annihilate the masses of extreme music fans invading their turf for Maryland Deathfest 2013, set to storm the stage opening night, Thursday, May 23rd alongside ABIGAIL, BOLT THROWER, COBALT and more. The band has also been confirmed to take part in the upcoming installment of the Scion Rock Fest in Memphis, Tennessee on June 1st. Additional tour news will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more info on Noisem visit Bandcamp.

Athens, Greece-based melodic power metal band THE SILENT RAGE have announced the addition of new singer Steve Venardo, known from his work with AIRGED L’AMH, DOUBLE SQUARE, VALET PARN while in the past he was also a member of VERDICT, DREAM DEVOID, HEATHENDOM among others.
Founding member/guitarist Nikos Siglidis comments: “I still can’t believe that Steve has joined our ranks. Having known his work, I have always been a huge fan of him. Luckily now he’s a part of The Silent Rage family and all I can say, is that we are truly blessed for having him. Welcome aboard Steve!”

Steve Venardo adds: “I'm more than happy to be part of The Silent Rage family and eager to the formation of some really heavy music for our debut album as well as many live gigs that will surely follow to promote it.”

The band adds: "We have already started working on the band’s new material, which sounds a bit heavier comparing to our previous releases. Two of those songs, 'Between Harmony & Sorrow' and 'Stormwarrior', will be performed live on the 28th of June at Gagarin 205, Athens, Greece where the band will be the opening act to Finnish power metal pioneers STRATOVARIUS, alongside with our friends SECRET ILLUSION."

CARRIER FLUX - an avant garde black metal project fronted by Jeff Phillips of Minneapolis - has signed a three-album contract with Aural Music imprint Code666. Carrier Flux’s third album titled Objection, due for release in June, is an exploratory work that frays the edges of the genre, according to a press release. Fans of dark, atmospheric metal will appreciate the intricate song structures and evocative qualities. the Visionary Artwork has been created by the very talented artist Costin Chioreanu.
A multi-instrumentalist, Jeff Phillips plays guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals and programs drums for Carrier Flux, mixing and mastering the audio in his Minneapolis-based sound studio. Phillips has also been involved with a number of metal and dark ambient projects, including COLD COLOURS, BLOOD OF THE EARTH and VEDISNI.

Kaotoxin Records will release a new single from French U.S.-style Death Metallers DARKALL SLAVES on June 3 (June 4th in the UK). Abysses Of Seclusion, from the revamped, two-vocalist band - featuring past and present members of UNSU, AMPUTATED REPUGNANCE and VISCERAL CARNAGE - began as a pre-production demo (Tsun Tsun Productions) that Kaotoxin decided to release it as a single featuring two tracks (plus an intro) of bulldozer-ing brutal death metal performed in a style that is distinctly American.

Abysses Of Seclusion tracklisting:

‘Intro’
‘Mindless Damnation’
‘Abysses Of Seclusion’

Darkall Slaves is:
Moots - vocals
Markus - vocals
Gaut - guitars
Mupp's- drums
Alex – bass

For more info visit Facebook.

In March 2011, Japan was beset by a huge earthquake, a monstrous tsunami and the subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. In the autumn of 2011, despite advice to the contrary, AEROSMITH brought their "Back On The Road" tour to Japan, a country with which they'd always had a special relationship. The Japanese fans came out in their droves and AEROSMITH responded with some of the finest gigs of their distinguished career.

"Rock For The Rising Sun" follows the band on that tour combining full-length live tracks with behind-the-scenes footage which is at times touching and emotional and at others humorous and insightful. More than anything else it demonstrates the Japanese fans' love affair with AEROSMITH and their music.

AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler wrote on Facebook about the movie: "Hey, ya'll…How 'bout sum of our new movie!!! 2 start ur day or nite. Can't wait for u to see it."

"Rock For The Rising Sun" was directed by Casey Patrick Tebo, and combines live performance material with behind-the-scenes footage that shows the nation coping with the destruction. The movie is due for release on DVD and Blu-ray in June.

Check out a trailer for the film below.

Denver’s ARCANIUM has announced the addition of new bassist Ryan Dehart.

“It feels great to have a solid lineup that we can depend on, and to bring another person into the writing process for the record we are working on now, which should be released sometime in 2014," says J-Sinn, Arcanium’s lead vocalist.
Dehart, an accomplished tattoo artist and owner of Bombshell Bodyworks in Greeley, CO exclaims: “I can’t wait to see what the future holds, I’ve known a couple of these guys for years and it’s pretty bad ass to join them and represent what they have worked so hard for. I am excited to begin the writing process with them as well and to be a part of the band on a permanent basis.”

The band’s sophomore record Ontogenesis is set for release in stores and digitally on June 18th and Arcanium will appear live on July 20th at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins, CO. Arcanium states that they will be touring through the rest of 2013 as much as possible.

For more details visit Arcanium.info.

BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne spoke to Mojo magazine about original drummer Bill Ward's decision to bow out of the band's reunion early last year.

The drum tracks on BLACK SABBATH's first LP with Ozzy since 1978, "13", were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk.

Ozzy's touring drummer Tommy Clufetos sat behind the kit for SABBATH's three shows last year — a warm-up gig in Birmingham, England, a headlining spot at the U.K.'s Download festival in June, and a second headlining set at Chicago's Lollapalooza in August — and is currently on the road with the band in Australia.

Regarding Ward's absence from the SABBATH reunion, Ozzy told Mojo: "I guess it's to do with finances or something. But there was also another side to it. When Bill came along, we all had to ask, 'Can he do an hour-and-a-half, two-hour gig? Can he cope?' My suggestion was that we run through a set and see how he got on because he was so out of condition and the drummer is the most demanding job in the whole band. We looked at Bill, and he couldn't remember what the fuck we were doing. But he didn't come clean and say, 'I can't cut this gig, but can we work something out, guys, where I'll come on but with another drummer backing me up?' Or, 'I'll come and play a few songs.' That would have been cool."

He continued: "I get where he's coming from, though. His pride was hurt and I get it. I really do get it. The guy will always be a dear, dear friend and a brother to me, but ... He can't be surprised that he didn't get the gig. ... You know them yellow fucking stick-on memo notes? He had them all over his fucking drums. I was like, 'What the fuck's that for, Bill?' He said, 'I can't remember what I'm doing.' I go, 'How are you gonna remember out of those 500,000 bits of paper stuck all over your kit, which one you're looking at, Bill?' (He said) 'I'll know.' Ah, OK great. I'm not gonna give Bill a hatchet job, but at the same time we haven't got the patience to deal with it."

Ward in May 2012 announced again that he was declining to join his former bandmates for its scheduled 2012 dates, as well as the recording of a new album, due to a contractual dispute.

He also allegedly had his lawyers direct SABBATH to remove him from photos of the band posted at the official BLACK SABBATH web site "so as to not give the public the wrong impression about his involvement in the current BLACK SABBATH lineup," according to a statement issued by the band's publicist.

Bassist Geezer Butler issued a lengthy retort at his own web site, writing that Ward "hadn't told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us, let alone in public."

Until now, Iommi told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that the members of SABBATH stayed friendly even when there were legal or other issues going on. "We've always been talking. We've always been in touch with each other," he said. "There might be a lawsuit in the thing between us, but we still talk to each other like nothing's happened, you know."

Asked if there is any chance of Ward rejoining the band, Iommi said last October, "We'll always have a heart for Bill, but I think it's gone past that now, because it's gone on so long that I don't see that happening at the moment. Maybe at some point we might [play together again]."

SLAYER's estranged drummer Dave Lombardo has commented on the passing of the band's guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

Said Lombardo via Twitter: "I'm deeply saddened, shocked and speechless. It's difficult for me to write my feelings at this moment. My heart goes out to Kathy Hanneman."

Lombardo sat out SLAYER'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).

Asked if he will be sitting behind the kit for SLAYER when they return to Europe this summer, Lombardo told Greece's Rock Overdose: "I don't know yet. I hope to be there, but at this point, I don't know if I'm returning or not." He added. "I love my fans so much and they've been so supportive through the years; they've always been there. And their concern and sadness for what happened in Australia is more than I could have ever imagined fans to react. It's unbelievable. I just love my fans and I hope to continue playing for them. This is all I do. This is my life. I don't do anything else. I don't have a snakefarm, I don't have a farm with cows… I'm not like that. Music is my passion and my life, and this is all I do. So for the fans to be this nice and kind and concerned, I just love them."

Hanneman had been on hiatus from SLAYER since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that doctors believed might have been caused by a spider bite. Hanneman almost lost his arm, and was briefly placed in a medically induced coma. After a series of skin grafts, he had been working on his physical rehabilitation. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

Guitarist Gary Holt of San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans EXODUS has commented on the passing of SLAYER axeman Jeff Hanneman, who died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

Holt has spent the last two years filling in for Hanneman who had been on hiatus from SLAYER since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that doctors believed might have been caused by a spider bite. Hanneman almost lost his arm, and was briefly placed in a medically induced coma. After a series of skin grafts, he had been working on his physical rehabilitation.

Said Holt: "I'm at a loss for words. The news yesterday of Jeff's passing hit me like a ton of bricks. Totally devastating sadness is all I have right now. 'In shock' are the best words I can come up with to describe how I'm feeling.

"Jeff, it's been an honor, my brother, to TRY my best to honor your songs best I could.

"There is only one Jeff Hanneman. All I ever could HOPE to do was play those songs you wrote with the conviction with which you played and wrote them, 'cause there is only one of you; that mold was broken long ago.

"My old friend, we had some amazing times on the greatest shows and tours I've ever done (VENOM, SLAYER, EXODUS, anyone?), young and hungry thrashers out to lay waste to everything, and had the best time ever while doing it. Exactly why we all started playing in the first place.

"Much love and respect, and my deepest condolences to the Hanneman family and the whole SLAYER family. Gone but NEVER forgotten and always missed. R.I.P."

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King led the crowd in a "moment of noise" followed by a toast in honor of the band's late axeman Jeff Hanneman at the Revolver Golden Gods on Thursday night (May 2) in Los Angeles. Video footage of King's tribute can be seen below.

Hanneman died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

Hanneman had been on hiatus from SLAYER since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that doctors believed might have been caused by a spider bite. Hanneman almost lost his arm, and was briefly placed in a medically induced coma. After a series of skin grafts, he had been working on his physical rehabilitation. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

In a March 1, 2013 interview with MetalObsession.net's Nick Tevelis, King stated about Jeff Hanneman's health status: "I don't have an update. I haven't seen Jeff in forever. He's always been a recluse, and he's even been more of a recluse since he's not going on tour with us. But our manager talks to him from time to time and sees him in L.A. just randomly. But I'm far from L.A., so I'm not in that loop. But I guess he's just getting better. It's just one of those things where he can do anything in life. He could be hanging here having a good time with us. He can probably play 'South Of Heaven', but he's not gonna be playing 'Jihad', you know what I mean?! So it's just a muscle memory kind of thing, I guess, at this point."

Asked whether Jeff had been involved in the songwriting process for the new SLAYER album, Kerry said: "It's just all my stuff for now. But I did that just in case, 'cause I don't know what Jeff's intentions are. So I wanted to have SLAYER covered in case he doesn't come to the party. If he comes to the party, then we've got tons of songs."

Regarding whether contingencies had been made in case Jeff doesn't make it back to SLAYER in the near future, Kerry said: "I think Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist who has been filling in for Jeff for the past couple of years] is in for the long haul. I haven't really discussed it with him. But he keeps his schedule free when he knows we're on tour. And I'm pretty sure, if Jeff all of a sudden came back in June, we would probably pay Gary for freeing up his time. I don't wanna treat somebody that's bailed us out for two years badly. But if Gary played with us forever? I'm OK with that. But if Jeff got better and said, 'Hey, man, I'm ready to play,' and he came to rehearsal and showed us he was good enough, that's his show."

Guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD (pictured below) has comented on the passing of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

In the latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings - Life Affirming", Flynn wrote: "Still can't believe the Jeff Hanneman from SLAYER is dead. Things like that just don't happen. Thrashers don't die??!! WTF!!??

"I'm not going to sit here and say how him and I were best buds or something; we definitely weren't, I'd barely call us acquaintances, I did 8 tours and over 120 shows with the dude and honestly, I never really got to 'know him.' I was always closer with Kerry [King]. Jeff was super quiet, really kept to himself, would get rowdy when he was drunk, but was a bit aloof, and seemed annoyed at the people partying around him despite the fact that he himself would be getting hammered.

"I can remember some good hangs with him, though. The first was in Basel, Switzerland back in November, 1994 when MACHINE HEAD was main support to SLAYER on the 'Divine Intervention' tour. It was one of those shows were something so random happens, it just never leaves you, in this case, the show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and every kid entering the show got 2 free packs of smokes. I've never seen so much smoke in a venue in my life. I remember walking onstage and yelling at our roadie / everything-guy Mike Scum, 'DUDE, turn off the fuckin' smoke machine,' he said 'YOOOOO, it's not the smoke machine, bro, it's the cigarettes!' It was damn near impossible to breathe onstage.

"After the show, we were hanging backstage and Jeff walked back, we started bitching about the crazy cigarette show, and he invited me back to the dressing room to grab a beer. We sat down and chatted for a while, and then I went all SLAYER-nerd on him and started grilling him on what songs he wrote.

Me: 'Who wrote 'Angel Of Death'?'
Jeff: 'I did'
Me: 'Lyrics too?'
Jeff: 'Yep'
Me: 'Raining Blood'?'
Jeff: 'Me'
Me: 'Dead Skin Mask'?'
Jeff: 'Yep'
Me: 'South Of Heaven'?'
Jeff: 'Me'
Me: 'Black Magic'?'
Jeff: 'You know it'
Me: 'Hell Awaits'?'
Jeff: 'Yep'

"On and on it went, that man wrote both the music and lyrics to a large goddamn portion of my favorite SLAYER songs. He was a huge influence on my songwriting growing up in particular with arrangements and the bold use of key changes. The one thing SLAYER band always had over so many other bands is they were all over the guitar neck when it came to key changes. Leads would be in some of the most random keys ever, but somehow it made it all that much more frantic, and when the chorus kicked back in, BOOM! CRUSHING! Set up perfectly. He was one of the few metal heads I met who never really got into PANTERA, he told me he 'liked some stuff,' but thought they were 'too bluesy at times,' and that he 'liked more evil notes or sad riffs.'

"Another good memory was sharing a tour bus on the August 2001 Korean / Japan / Australia tour, it was all 'fly' dates and hotels, we were sharing crew, tour manager and manager, so we all rode on the bus together to and from the airport to the hotel every day. Sometimes the rides were an hour or two, so you'd just all BS and hang. One time a kid in Australia bum-rushed the bus while we were all sitting in it, hammered after partying one night. He was desperate for autographs and came on the bus screaming (what else?) 'SLAAAAAAAAAYYYYYEEEEERRRR!!!' He then saw me and went all, 'Oh shit, Robb Flynn, mate I fuckin' LOVE MACHINE HEAD, but it's fuckin' SLAAAAAAAYYYYYYYEEEERRRRR.' I looked the fucker right in the eye and slurred, "Oh just FUCK RIGHT OFF!!" Hanneman fell out dying, he laughed for 10 minutes straight, cracked him up, that slightly feminine high-pitched giggle that he always did.

"Dude backed me when Kerry King and I were beefin all that time long ago, he would come up to me at festivals and would talk, just be normal. He even backed me in Decibel magazine when they asked him about the beef, saying 'Robb is a good dude,' and that 'Kerry was like the girlfriend of the band, always beefin' with someone.' I got a good laugh outta that.

"The last memory I'll share is from the American leg of the 'Divine Intervention' tour in March 1995. It was SLAYER band, BIOHAZARD supporting, and MACHINE HEAD opening. We were playing the International Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. He had been sitting out some of the new songs from 'Divine', which was odd to me. We were hanging out in their dressing room before the show, just him and I, and I mustered up the nerve to ask him what the deal with it was. At first he joked that he just 'didn't feel like learning them, didn't like 'em, Kerry wrote them.' He was chuckling, and then he stopped. He looked down and got serious. He said he'd been having a lot of pain in his wrists, his hands and wrists were going numb all the time, and would go numb during those songs because they were really fast, then he started to cry. It was a startling confession. I offered some awkward feel-good comment, but he just continued to cry, and I decided to sit there in the silence with him for a minute. He gave me a hug, and said 'Whoa!' and laughed, walked out toward the stage, turned back and said, 'Thanks, dude.'

"It was an intense moment, one of those rare, intense moments you have with someone, let alone with someone from another band.

"It made me really respect the dude.

"That's the Jeff I'm gonna remember.

"To Kerry, Tom, Dave, Paul, Rick Sales Mgmt and Jeff's family, my sincere condolences.

"R.I.P brother."

Metal Kaoz recently conducted an interview with former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked if she has been approached to rejoin NIGHTWISH following the departure of singer Anette Olzon last September, Tarja said: "I don't think it will ever happen. I doubt it very seriously — deeply, deeply I doubt it will happen, because so many things changed. I'm in a very good place at the moment. I'm happy, I'm healthy, I am not looking backwards — I'm only heading towards some kind of dreams of mine and living my dreams. So I think it's better this way."

She added: "I completely understand [fans who always ask that question], and I do feel for these people. But life sucks sometimes — it sucks big time — people change also. But, you know… It's difficult."

Turunen, who currently resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina with her husband and manager Marcelo Cabuli, was in NIGHTWISH from 1996 until 2005.

Marcelo Cabuli and his business partners in 2011 demanded nearly 100,000 euros (approximately $135,000) in defamation damages from the parties behind "Once Upon a Nightwish: The Official Biography 1996-2006". Named in the lawsuit were the publishing house Like Kustannus Oy and the author of the book, Marko "Mape" Ollila. Cabuli and his Brazilian business partners argued that the book includes false accusations and insinuations that have caused them suffering and financial problems.

The book, which was published in Finnish in 2006 and in English three years later, blames Cabuli for the events leading up to Turunen's dramatic expulsion from the band in late 2005.

The court ruled that the book — which criticizes Cabuli on only a few of its 380 pages — did not detrimentally affect his work or reputation in South America. In addition, the court determined that Ollila did not maliciously portray Cabuli in a negative light.

Turunen was fired from NIGHTWISH a year before the book was published.

Interview (audio):

Last night (Thursday, May 2) on the "black carpet" at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California, Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA), Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD), Rob Zombie, Corey Taylor (STONE SOUR, SLIPKNOT), Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW), Alexi Laiho (CHILDREN OF BODOM), Chris Jericho (FOZZY) and Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD) celebrated the life of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away yesterday at the age of 49. Check out two separate video reports from Fuse and Horns Up Rocks!

Hanneman died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure.

Hanneman had been on hiatus from SLAYER since early 2011, when he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease that doctors believed might have been caused by a spider bite. Hanneman almost lost his arm, and was briefly placed in a medically induced coma. After a series of skin grafts, he had been working on his physical rehabilitation. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

Guitarist Dino Cazares (pictured below) of Los Angeles cyber metallers FEAR FACTORY has released the following statement regarding the passing of SLAYER axeman Jeff Hanneman:

"I'm extremely shocked and sad to hear about Jeff Hanneman. He was a huge influence on my playing when I was growing up. He wrote some of the best riffs and lyrics ever!!! Fucking 'Reign In Blood'!!!

"My condolences go out to his family.

"We lost a true legend."

Jeff Hanneman died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

Las Vegas metallers FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH introduced the first single from their upcoming album, called "Lift Me Up", via a live performance at the Revolver Golden Gods on Thursday night (May 2) in Los Angeles. The performance featured a special surprise guest — Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST — who also appears on the studio version of the track.

Video footage of the "Lift Me Up" live premiere — featuring Halford — can be seen below.

The studio version of the song will premiere on U.S. radio stations on May 13 and will be available for purchase online May 14.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's fourth studio effort will be a double album that the band will release in two installments, according to a press released issued by the group on Wednesday (May 1). The first volume of the yet-to-be-titled album will arrive on July 23, with the second half to surface sometime later this fall. Guitarist Zoltan Bathory said, "We came off the road after a couple of great years of touring and were really amped up to write the fourth record . . . (we) found ourselves 12-13 songs deep fairly quick but were still coming up with better and better material so we looked at each other and said, 'OK, why stop there? Let's keep going.' Once we passed the 24th song, we knew we're going to have to do a double album."

Bathory added, "We had this massive amount of music that's very dear to us, possibly the best material this band has ever created. At that point there was no way to decide which songs to leave off the album. So we made the decision to release them all."

The guitarist told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that everyone in FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is capable of coming up with music. "You know, it's important to write songs," he said. "There was a time when people couldn't be in a band if they couldn't write songs or they couldn't play their instruments. In this band, that's how this band was kind of assembled, like everybody's a top shelf musician. Everybody can really kick ass, and we have a singer who can sing. And then we write songs."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will co-headline the 2013 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival this summer alongside ROB ZOMBIE, with the tour kicking off in San Bernardino, California on June 29.

The new double disc follows up 2011's "American Capitalist", the group's third studio album and its third consecutive release to reach gold status for sales of half a million copies or more.

Southern California heavy music act THROWDOWN will enter the studio next week to begin recording its new full-length album. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2009's "Deathless" will be mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris for a late 2013 release via eOne Music.

Commented THROWDOWN vocalist Dave Peters: "It's really exciting, if not a little nerve-wracking, to be recording again.

"It has been almost four years since 'Deathless' came out, which is about twice as long as the time between albums before it. While that has probably been annoying for fans that have been waiting and expecting a new record, it has also been the best thing for the writing process for the new album.

"I'm really meticulous when writing and arranging even the simplest riffs and songs, so I like to take my time. It has been strange and nice having the freedom to come back to a song or part several weeks later with a different perspective after hitting a wall with it.

"We're taking a very minimalist approach with these songs, more like 'Vendetta' and (the first half of) 'Haymaker'. I avoid putting the cart before the horse, but I see the songs on the record coming out stripped down and yet still refined. A two-minute song can arrive at the same place as one that fucks around for six, and while it's more challenging to get there in less time, it is a lot cooler when you do. I've been going back to that when I find myself maybe adding parts or lines that are at risk of being superfluous.

"I'm very proud of 'Deathless' and all the work that went into it, but it wasn't a record that THROWDOWN fans expected. It was really polarizing on account of that. I'm simply not looking to continue down that stylistic road with these songs. This is going to be a hard record. I look forward to making it as much for myself as for longtime fans of the band."

Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church has tweeted about the passing of Jeff Hanneman, claiming that the SLAYER guitarist was just the latest in a line of musicians who were killed by "God."

"Which of your idols will God kill next? Yesterday Chris Kelly #kriskross. Today Jeff Hanneman #Slayer." Westboro Baptist Church wrote Thursday afternoon (May 2). It was followed by the hashtag #picketfunerals and accompanied by the picture below.

The Westboro Baptist Church is described by the Wall Street Journal as a "tiny Kansas church… [that] … preaches that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for American's tolerance of homosexuality and abortion." As Examiner.com noted of the church, "their flamboyant demonstrations at the funerals of non-gay service members, using the events to highlight their belief that military deaths overseas are justified punishment for U-S tolerance of homosexuality. ('You're Going to Hell,' 'Thank God for Dead Soldiers,' and 'God Hates You' are popular Westboro slogans.)."

In a June 2010 appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline", BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne blasted the Westboro Baptist Church's protest of Ronnie James Dio's funeral. "I thought it was in such bad taste that those people had those banners about Ronnie James Dio. That's disgusting. They say that we're the anti-christ. Well, what makes them any better?"

Jeff Hanneman died at about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday, May 2) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.

"Metal Machine", the new video from U.D.O. — the German metal band led by former ACCEPT frontman Udo Dirkschneider — can be seen below. The song comes off U.D.O.'s new album, "Steelhammer", which will be released on May 24 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold.

"Steelhammer" track listings:

Standard CD

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Stay True
13. When Love Becomes A Lie
14. Book Of Faith

Digipack

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Shadows Come Alive (bonus track)
13. Stay True Stay You
14. When Love Becomes A Lie
15. Book Of Faith

Japanese version

01. Steelhammer
02. A Cry Of A Nation
03. Metal Machine
04. Basta Ya
05. Heavy Rain
06. Devil's Bite
07. Death Ride
08. King Of Mean
09. Time Keeper
10. Never Cross My Way
11. Take My Medicine
12. Stay True Stay You
13. When Love Becomes A Lie
14. Book Of Faith
15. Dust And Rust (bonus track)

Guitarist Igor Gianola recently left U.D.O. and was replaced by Finnish axeman Kasperi Heikkinen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.D.O. 's latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records.

The official lyric video for the song "Transference" from Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM can be seen below. The track comes off the band's eighth album, "Halo Of Blood", which will be released on June 11 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover art was created by Sami Saramäki, who was responsible for the artwork on previous CHILDREN OF BODOM albums "Follow The Reaper", "Are You Dead Yet?" and "Hate Crew Deathroll".

Pre-order the CD (including the bonus track and digital booklet) now and get the single "Transference" instantly.

Comments CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho: "'Transference' is a straight-up CHILDREN OF BODOM to-the-core-type song and therefore was a good pick for a video and obviously is one of our favorite tracks. It always had an evil vibe to it, which I wish I knew how to explain because it still gives me chills… Enjoy!"

CHILDREN OF BODOM's new CD was recorded at Danger Johnny Studios in Helsinki. For the recording of the LP, CHILDREN OF BODOM has teamed up with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their fan-favorite albums "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll", as well as Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (MARDUK, AMON AMARTH), who oversaw production of both vocals and keyboards on the record. The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki.

Commented Laiho: "'Halo Of Blood' is the eighth studio album from CHILDREN OF BODOM, and believe it or not, but we still managed to keep it fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make COB sound recognizable. It's got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics wise there are themes we had never had before. It's 10 new songs of pure Nordic metal and whether you enjoy it with a beer or a glass of water, I'm sure you will have a good time."

"Halo Of Blood" track listing:

01. Waste Of Skin
02. Halo Of Blood
03. Scream For Silence
04. Transference
05. Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
06. The Days Are Numbered
07. Dead Man's Hand On You
08. Damage Beyond Repair
09. All Twisted
10. One Bottle And A Knee Deep

According to The Pulse Of Radio, PEARL JAM guitarist Stone Gossard has revealed in a new interview that the 10th studio album from the band is nearing completion. Speaking with GuerillaCandy.com, Gossard said, "It's almost done and as far as what it sounds like, it sounds like PEARL JAM. You're going to hear some rock songs and you're going to hear some quiet songs and you'll hear some song in between. That's all I can really say about it because we aren't talking about it yet, so it doesn't make much sense for me to say anything."

Gossard did not give any hint of when the record, the first from the band since 2009's "Backspacer", would come out.

Guitarist Mike McCready discussed the disc recently, saying some of the songs were "pretty amazing." He added that drummer Matt Cameron had written "a really cool one that's kind of ethereal meets U2-ness, I wrote kind of a punk rock one and a PINK FLOYD thing, so there's all these kinds of things going on . . . We'll put all of those things in the PEARL JAM thing, and hit mix, and mix it up."

The new album will reportedly come out in late 2013 or early 2014.

Meanwhile, Gossard will release a new solo album called "Moonlander" on June 25, his second solo effort and first since 2001's "Bayleaf".

PEARL JAM will play in London, Ontario on July 16, Chicago's Wrigley Field on July 19, and at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans in early November.

Two years after their current release "Juggernaut Of Justice", Canadian metal legends ANVIL are back with their latest studio album. "Hope In Hell", an impressive metal recording featuring 13 haunting songs, is for release on May 27 in Europe and May 24 in Germany on SPV/Steamhammer and will be available in four different formats: as a limited-edition digipak including two bonus tracks, as a jewel case CD, double gatefold colored vinyl LP and as a digital download. These are the first cuts featuring ANVIL's new bassist Sal Italiano, who joined the band a year ago.

The "Hope In Hell" title track can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"We're really happy with Sal. His style is powerful and amazingly imaginative," says ANVIL guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow, who composed the entire album along with drummer Robb Reiner. "It's a little as if we'd enlisted Steve Harris."

"Hope In Hell" was written and recorded following an 18-month world tour which took ANVIL around the globe. "We hadn't expected this kind of extensive tour when we brought out 'Juggernaut Of Justice'," Kudlow confesses. "Time just flew by. I could hardly believe it when I found myself in the studio again after the tour, ready to work on the next album. The reactions to 'Juggernaut Of Justice' and the shows had been so positive that we had plenty of ideas and inspiration for new material."

Kudlow is referring to typical ANVIL tracks such as "Hope In Hell", which the ANVIL guitarist considers a logical continuation of legendary numbers like "Forged In Fire", "Metal On Metal" and "Plenty Of Power". He also mentions "Eat Your Words", according to Kudlow a "hybrid between 'Jackhammer' and '666', in other words pure ANVIL, like in our early days." Pretty much the same applies to haunting new tracks like "The Fight Is Never Won" and "Call Of Duty", which present ANVIL true to form. But there are also a number of real surprises on "Hope In Hell": "A song like 'Badass Rock'n'Roll' with its rock'n'roll groove surprised even me," Kudlow admits. "It shows our great respect for bands like AC/DC and MOTÖRHEAD. I'm sure that all ANVIL fans will love this song because it's the best we've done in this direction." "Mankind Machine" sees Kudlow & Co. break new ground: never before has this band sounded so mechanical (like the title suggests). And never before has it sounded as oriented to the classic rock feel of the seventies as in "Time Shows No Mercy".

So ANVIL are proud to present the kind of album that ANVIL fans will love: no concessions to short-lived trends, no modern frills but traditional metal with lots of classic rock music elements.

"What we do is totally timeless," says ANVIL's frontman. "We've never tried to change our sound or experiment with trends and fashions. We live in our own world and have maintained our individuality and own identity."

Like "Juggernaut Of Justice", "Hope In Hell" was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, AIRBOURNE, ALICE COOPER) at the NRG Recording studios in North Hollywood, California and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, SEPULTURA).

"The album's flair reminds me of the beginnings of classic heavy metal in the most positive sense of the term," says Kudlow. "I grew up in the Seventies, and I still like what I listened to back then.

"You can always rely on ANVIL. We don't write our music for the radio and we don't want to break any records. Some media criticize our uncompromising attitude, but we're proud of never having betrayed our ideals and having remained faithful to our roots.

"We're really proud and already love the new album just as much as our early releases from the beginning of the Eighties, because 'Hope In Hell' sounds like ANVIL live on stage: natural, honest, unvarnished, never over-produced and straight from the heart."

"Hope In Hell" track listing:

01. Hope In Hell
02. Eat Your Words
03. Through With You
04. The Fight Is Never Won
05. Pay The Toll
06. Flying
07. Call Of Duty
08. Badass Rock N Roll
09. Time Shows No Mercy
10. Mankind Machine
11. Shut The Fuck Up
12. Hard Wired (bonus track)
13. Fire At Will (bonus track)

"Hope In Hell" (song) audio stream:

DISTURBED and DEVICE singer David Draiman joined HALESTORM on stage last night (Thursday, May 2) at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California to perform the LED ZEPPELIN classic "Whole Lotta Love". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

HALESTORM singer Lzzy Hale is one of many guests appearing on the self-titled debut album from DEVICE, the new industrial rock act led by David Draiman. Hale, who duets with Draiman on a cover of the Ozzy Osbourne/Lita Ford song "Close My Eyes Forever", told Artisan News: "David Draiman has been such an amazing mentor over the years. I've always felt like a little sister in heavy metal to him. And we had talked about doing that song for years, and we just never had any time to do it. And so I kind of thought that he had forgotten all about it. And then I got a call one day and he was, like, 'I know you're on tour, but can we make this happen?' So I literally flew to New York and got into this tiny, little studio and we did it."

She added: "[David is] an amazing man. Talk about a hard-working band. DISTURBED has been around for so long and really got us into new metal."

Draiman stated about his collaboration with Hale on "Close My Eyes Forever": "It's a song I've wanted to cover for many years, and I'm glad we were able to do it with this project, because it definitely took on its own unique identity and its own unique reformation of the song. Having Lzzy Hale be the guest female vocalist on the track is about as true to form as it could have been. There's nobody better in the music field to be the modern day embodiment of Lita Ford. She has got riot girl in her and she is, in my opinion, one of the best voices, if not the best female voice, in modern rock. And I was very very honored to have her sing. I can only hope that Ozzy and Sharon are as happy with it and proud of it as I am. It's definitely part of an homage to the greatness of who I consider to be one of, if not the, most seminal frontmen of all time, the godfather of heavy metal, and a guy I look up to so much, and to a family that's done so much for me and for DISTURBED over the years. I can only hope that it makes them proud."

He added: "I actually gave [Lzzy] even more to sing than the original version. Initially in the original arrangement they each had their own specific choruses instead of trading off. I gave Lzzy a lot more because I love her voice. I think she's amazing and I just thought it would be a cooler dynamic for my version of the song to incorporate more of the female voice in this version of the cover. I'm really glad it ended up happening the way that it did with the DEVICE project as opposed to with DISTURBED, because it enabled me to go to that place with my voice that really wouldn't have been appropriate on a DISTURBED record.

"I loved doing it, it's that classical delivery and technique and that part of me that harkens back to the early cantorial days. I had tracked all of these songs completely beforehand and I had tracked Lzzy's parts ahead of the time and brought them with me to New York when I tracked her so I had given her a guide the whole way through the song. We did everything very efficiently, very effectively to the extent where one of her label guys came in to take a peek at what was going on and he said, 'Oh, man, you're a real taskmaster, you're making her go take after take.' I'm not pushing her beyond her limits — it's only because she knows where she needs to go and there's no experimentation, it's very easy.

"It was great and Lzzy did make a bunch of the parts her own, different emphasis and slight changes of cadence — and she's very talented. She's bulletproof. I've never seen her have a bad night."

DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno joined THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN on stage last night (Thursday, May 2) at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California to perform a rocked out version of DEPECHE MODE's "Behind The Wheel". Video footage of the band's appearance can be seen below.

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's fifth full-length album, "One Of Us Is The Killer", will be released on May 14 through the band's own Party Smasher Inc., in partnership with Sumerian Records in North America. Party Smasher's partnership with BMG covers the rest of the world, including licensing deals with Grind House for Japan and Remote Control in Australia.

"One Of Us Is The Killer" was recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts (GLASSJAW, THE CURE, SUICIDE SILENCE), with additional production at guitarist/co-founder Ben Weinman's studio. Mastering will be handled by Tom Baker (DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, BEASTIE BOYS).

Joe Satriani, the incomparable guitar aficionado, will release his 14th studio album, "Unstoppable Momentum", on May 7 through Epic Records. You can now listen to the entire CDD before it is released, exclusively at MSN Music's Listening Booth, at this location.

Produced by Satriani and Mike Fraser (AC/DC), "Unstoppable Momentum" features an amazing array of talented players, including Vinnie Colauita (STING, JEFF BECK) on drums, Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) on bass and on keyboards, Mike Keneally (DETHKLOK). All band members and Satriani are featured in various stages of the sessions.

Fans are encouraged to pre-order "Unstoppable Momentum" via Sony Music and Satriani's own website store. When pre-ordering through the Epic Records store, fans will be given the chance to bundle new signed copies of the album with exclusive t-shirts and guitar straps. At Satriani.com, fans will receive an exclusive, never-before-seen art book featuring years of drawings, doodles and sketches that Satriani has done over the years.

"Some of my drawings have made their way on to guitars, straps and picks, LP and CD booklets, t-shirts, hats, keychains, etc…and even my live stage productions," explains Satriani. "This book represents my first effort to finally compile my oddly drawn friends into one place, a wildly colorful portfolio of sorts. A collection of drawings meant to inspire and entertain."

After returning from the South American G3 tour last October, Satriani got down to writing new music over the next two months. As he recalls, "A very prolific and cathartic two months followed resulting in a bundle of new music I was very excited to get recorded!"

Eleven songs were selected to record, all "heading in different directions and touching on a variety of musical influences." With that in mind, Satriani decided to assemble a new studio band. "The idea was to crank up the energy level of the sessions, and allow for more individual expression of the material from each player. The chemistry with Mike, Chris and Vinnie was fantastic and we blazed through all of the tracks with everyone laying down amazing performances."

For two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star "G3" guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, CHICKENFOOT, featuring former VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar, former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at No. 9. In late 2010, music sensation Nicki Minaj sampled the classic Satriani track "Always With Me Always With You" in her song "Right Through Me" from her multi-platinum debut album. In 2011, Satriani recreated his national anthem performance for the opening day of the Oakland A's historic 2002 season in the Brad Pitt movie "Moneyball".

"Unstoppable Momentum" track listing:

01. Unstoppable Momentum
02. Can't Go Back
03. Lies And Truths
04. Three Sheets To The Wind
05. I'll Put A Stone On Your Cairn
06. A Door Into Summer
07. Shine On American Dreamer
08. Jumpin' In
09. Jumpin' Out
10. The Weight Of The World
11. A Celebration

The "A Door Into Summer" video, conceived as a musical journey of sorts, was actually shot as Satriani and his band made their way to the legendary Skywalker Sound studio, on the famed Skywalker Ranch in the Bay Area. The clip features a behind-the-scenes look at the band arriving, setting up and starting the album recording process intercut with a collage of stills from the album cover photo shoot.

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford joined METALLICA on stage last night (Thursday, May 2) at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California to perform the PRIEST classic "Rapid Fire". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

METALLICA played a four-song set at Revolver Golden Gods: "Disposable Heroes", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Rapid Fire" and "Seek And Destroy".

Halford previously performed "Rapid Fire" with METALLICA at one of the band's four intimate shows in December 2011 at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of METALLICA's 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

This Friday (May 3) has been declared Metallica Night at AT&T Park in San Francisco, home of baseball's San Francisco Giants. According to a press release issued by the team, members of METALLICA will participate in pre-game festivities which will include throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett performing the National Anthem. The custom Giants-themed guitars that will be played by the pair will be signed immediately following the National Anthem and auctioned off at the Giants Community Clubhouse, with proceeds being shared by the Giants Community Fund and the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation.

METALLICA is also gearing up to headline its second annual Orion Music + More festival, scheduled for June 8-9 in Detroit.

Former PANTERA members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) joined ANTHRAX on stage last night (Thursday, May 2) at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California to perform the PANTERA classic "This Love". Video footage of their appearance, which was dedicated by Anselmo to late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, can be seen below.

Asked by France's Radio Metal in a recent interview if he is fed up having to answer questions about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar, Anselmo said: "I'm not fed up with it. I understand the…. I understand. I'm a music fan myself. I love music. I love bands, I love collecting music. And for your average fan out there, if you're a PANTERA fan, of course, you want to see it. And, really, if you think about it, our career was pretty short. And here we are in 2013 and we're still talking about PANTERA. Obviously there's a great strength there, obviously there's a great memory there. But as far as us reforming or anything like that, the only thing… Look, I've said it in the past… It's not a very hopeful thing to think about, because I would guess Vinnie Paul [Abbott, former PANTERA drummer and Dimebag's brother] and I would have to sit down and talk, and right now, I don't think he wants to talk about that at all. And he definitely, sure as hell, doesn't wanna talk to me. Put it this way: my door is open always; his door is closed and locked. And until we can sort the situation out — if we can ever sort the situation out — then I would pretty much forget about a PANTERA reunion."