Finnish morbid death metallers LANTERN have completed work on their debut album, Below, which will be released this spring through Dark Descent Records on CD and vinyl formats.

Since forming in 2007, Lantern have continued to evolve their unique take on ancient death and Below is a definitive statement by a band in top form. Thirty-eight minutes of pure stench, Below is an album that demonstrates that death's not dead.
A promo video for the song 'Revenant' can be seen below:
Lantern lineup:

Cruciatus - guitar, bass, drums
Necrophilos - vocals

Live musicians:

J. Noisehunter - bass
St. Belial - rhythm guitar
J. Poussu - drums
More on Lantern at this location.

"Portals To Canaan", the ninth album from California extreme metallers DEEDS OF FLESH, will be released on June 25 via Unique Leader Records. The CD features "amazing artwork and numerous conceptual pieces" by Raymond Swanland.

"Portals To Canaan" track listing:

01. Amidst The Ruins
02. Entranced In Decades Of Psychedelic Sleep
03. Rise Of The Virvum Juggernaut
04. Celestial Serpents
05. Caelum Hirundines Terra/The Sky Swallows The Earth
06. Xeno-Virus
07. Hollow Human Husks
08. Portals To Canaan
09. Orphans Of Sickness (GORGUTS cover)

The song "Rise Of The Virvum Juggernaut" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Commented DEEDS OF FLESH founding member Erik Lindmark: "We are very excited to get this release out there amoung the masses.

"The album combines new and old elements of the band and we think the fans will really enjoy it. Zack from Castle Ultimate has done a great job in putting the final touches to the production and 'Portals To Canaan' is most definitely our best production to date.

"The new members, Craig Peters (lead guitar) and Ivan Munguia (bass), fit the band perfectly and really did a great job on the release.

"All in all, we are extremely pleased with the final product and believe the fans will be stoked."

DEEDS OF FLESH's last CD, "Of What's to Come", came out in November 2008 via Unique Leader.

Finnish thrash metal act MY FUNERAL will release their sophomore album, Thrash Destruction, on April 19th via Violent Journey Records.

Thrash Destruction was recorded in the band's new rehearsal space in Jyväskylä. Producing, mixing and engineering was Tero Kangasmaa. Studio57 did the mastering. The album artwork can be seen below:
Thrash Destruction tracklisting:

'Into The Fire'
'Thrash Winter'
'Manhunting Season'
'Thrashman Standing'
'Alcoholic Madness'
'Satanic Black Magic'
'Deathrash Till Death'
'Killing Spree'
'Slay Them All'
'Thrash Destruction'

Pre-Order worldwide at this location.

Listen to 'Into The Fire' and 'Alcoholic Madness' below:





Vocalist/bassist Ilkka Sepponen states: "After the debut our second guitarist left the band. Once the new one was found our bass player decided to depart. Well, for a while we just had fun and trained the new songs. Pretty soon it was clear that I should take the bass. With the four of us the band emerged anew and I really feel that this is our real debut. It reeks of beer and havoc as does our rehearsals and gigs!"

My Funeral lineup:

Ilkka Sepponen - Vocals/Bass
Joonas Kiviniemi - Guitars
Aku Korhonen - Guitars
Hannu Sivusuo - Drums

More on My Funeral at this location.

The official lyric video for the song "Through Treacherous Flames" from German extreme metallers NEAERA can be seen below. The track comes off the band's sixth full-length album, "Ours Is The Storm", which will be releasd on March 1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, March 4 in the rest of Europe, and March 5 in North America via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Alexander Dietz's Chemical Burn studio in Bed Kosen, Germany.

Commented the band: "We are very proud of this record and the hard work we put into making it. We hope that you will be as excited about it as we are.

"Once again, we trusted our good friend Alexander Dietz of Chemical Burn studio with the production as well as the mixing process. The mastering was handled by Tue Madsen at Antfarm studio.

"We want to thank Alex for his sheer will and tireless work on this record, and Tue for bringing out the details and making them shine.

"This record is one of the most open-sounding and versatile we have done so far. We want to challenge ourselves and give you guys something new everytime we step up to the plate. There will be some surprises on this one. We are confident you will enjoy the result of our approach.

"The artwork for the album was done by our friend Markus Ruf, who did an excellent job in creating the cover and visualizing the title. Terje Johnsen did the packaging for the limited edtition and created a simple-yet-exclusive look for it. Thanks very much to both guys."

"Ours Is The Storm" track listing:

01. The Deafening
02. Ours Is The Storm
03. Decolonize The Mind
04. Through Treacherous Flames
05. Ascend To Chaos
06. Walk With Fire
07. My Night Is Starless
08. Black Tomb
09. Between Us And Annihilation
10. Slaying The Wolf Within
11. Back To The Soul
12. Guardian Of Ashes

There will be a limited EMP-exclusive edition (Europe only) featuring the limited edition digipak and an additional song, making it three bonus tracks in total.

NEAERA comments on the bonus tracks: "In addition to the bonus track 'Skeleton World', the limited digi version of 'Ours Is The Storm' will also feature 'Repressed Hate', one of the very first songs we ever wrote. 'Repressed Hate' was on our very first demo, and we decided to re-record it as a treat for all the die-hard NEAERA fans out there who have been supporting us from day one. And for everyone else as well, of course, haha! Furthermore, there will be an additional bonus song featured exclusively on the version of the digipak available at EMP. We chose to cover 'Shadows' by grindcore juggernauts NASUM, simply because it is a killer track and NASUM was one of the most influential grind bands ever and one of our all-time faves. This track is our homage to them. Remember, you can get the version with this additional track only and exclusively at EMP, so be quick to preorder!"

The title track, "Ours Is The Storm", is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.

NEAERA's last album, "Forging The Eclipse", came out in October 2010.

"Through Treacherous Flames" lyric video:

"Teeth Swallower", the new video from Australian metallers KUNVUK, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's second album, "Consume Rapture", which was released in June 2012. The CD was recorded, engineered and mixed by the band's guitarist and singer David Hart and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (DEATH, SWANS, MASTODON, CONVERGE, BARONESS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CLUTCH) in New Windsor, New York.

The nine tracks that form "Consume Rapture" contain the band’s most diverse material yet; demonstrating KUNVUK's complex and contrasting sound scapes. Whether it be through hyperventilating thrash crashing into back-breaking breakdowns ("Become Monster"), agitated structures interbred with downright hostility ("Rapture Pt. 1") or colossal rhythmic structures scarred with angular discord ("Teeth Swallower", "Taped") the album pumps and breathes in some of the most unexpected, energetic and captivating ways.

KUNVUK donated 50% of all profits from its recent "Become Monster" tour to the Save The Tassie Devil foundation, which works to help the endangered Tasmanian Devils through breeding programs and research into devil facial tumor disease.

To spread the stomping noise of "Consume Rapture", KUNVUK will taking its fierce live show to the furthest flung areas of Australia and internationally. No stranger to long jaunts across the earth, KUNVUK is sharpening its teeth in anticipation of the supporting tours for the new record.

"We live for playing this music live," the band says. "Many bands say that but we actually mean it. We get sick when we don't play. We get weak when we don't scream. A KUNVUK live show is a physical and mental exorcism. We load in, sweat, bleed, howl and then load out for the next show. We aren't here to fix our hair and pat each other on the back. We are here to explode and that is all we are interested in."

Frontiers Records last month announced the signing of iconic Christian rockers STRYPER to a multi-album deal. The first CD to be made available the agreement will be a collection of re-recorded versions of the band's classic songs, due in North America on March 26. Entitled "Second Coming" and produced by frontman Michael Sweet, the CD will contain a total of 16 cuts — two from "The Yellow And Black Attack", six from "Soldiers Under Command", six from "To Hell With The Devil", as well as two new tracks, "Bleeding From Inside Out" and "Blackened".

Commented Sweet: "We're really excited about this record. The re-recorded songs are sounding awesome... better than the originals in many ways! One word to describe the record? Heavier."

He added: "Why did we re-record old songs? That's a multiple-answer question.

"First, because we wanted to cut out the middle men and have a little more control over our own songs.

"Second, we wanted to 'fix' some things that have annoyed the 'hell' out of us for the past 30 years such as: no bass in the mix of 'The Yellow And Black Attack' or 'Soldiers Under Command', and no Tim [Gaines, bass] on the mix of 'To Hell With The Devil'. The fact that I sound a little more like a man instead of a helium-induced kid at Disneyland. :-) The sheer joy of still loving these songs and still being able to perform these songs (well, we'll let the experts be the judge of that). And last but not certainly least? We did it just because we wanted to :-)

"So there you go, the mystery is over and the reasons have been revealed.

"Seriously, we're really excited about this record. It's one of the few re-records that I believe will stand against any of the originals if not surpass them.

"If you liked 'The Covering', you'll love 'Second Coming'!"

"Second Coming" track listing:

01. Loud N' Clear
02. Loving You
03. Soldiers Under Command
04. Makes Me Wanna Sing
05. First Love
06. The Rock That Makes Me Roll
07. Reach Out
08. Surrender
09. To Hell With The Devil
10. Calling On You
11. Free
12. The Way
13. Sing Along Song
14. More Than A Man
15. Bleeding From Inside Out (new track)
16. Blackened (new track)

Check out the "Second Coming" EPK (Electronic Press Kit) below.

"Bleeding From the Inside Out", the first digital single off "Second Coming", is now available via iTunes, Amazon and other digital music provdiers.

STRYPER's "Live In Indonesia At Java Rockin' Land" DVD was released in October 2012 via MVD Visual. The set was recorded in front of an enthusiastic crowd in 2010.

STRYPER's covers album, "The Covering", was unlike any previous STRYPER recording in that it was a collection of cover songs from bands that inspired them and helped to shape their sound and musical identity, including hits from JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, LED ZEPPELIN, KANSAS and many others. "The Covering" also included "God", a new original recording from STRYPER.

A brand new lineup of NINE INCH NAILS will will embark on an extensive U.S. tour this summer. Joining the band's mainman Trent Reznor in the group's latest incarnation will be Eric Avery (JANE'S ADDICTION), Adrian Belew (KING CRIMSON), and Josh Eustis (TELEFON TEL AVIV), along with previous NIN collaborators Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin.

Commented Reznor: "I was working with Adrian Belew on some musical ideas, which led to some discussion on performing, which led to some beard-scratching, which (many steps later) led to the decision to re-think the idea of what NINE INCH NAILS could be, and the idea of playing a show. Calls were made to some friends, lots of new ideas were discussed, and a show was booked — which led to another, which somehow led to a lot of shows.

"The first shows will begin this summer, followed by a full-on arena tour of the US this fall, and lots of other dates worldwide to follow through 2014."

In early 2009, Reznor announced that NINE INCH NAILS was embarking on a 20th-anniversary farewell tour, after which he stayed busy recording with HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS, writing music for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" and scoring "The Social Network" and "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" with composer Atticus Ross.

HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS is the project featuring Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig (ex-WEST INDIAN GIRL) along with Ross and NIN's longtime graphic designer Rob Sheridan.

HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS' first full-length album, "Welcome Oblivion", arrives March 5 and will be supported with a brief U.S. tour.

"Heart Poacher", the new Dina De La Rocha-directed video from EVEN THE DEAD LOVE A PARADE, the Dallas, Texas-based metal band featuring Stevie Benton (DROWNING POOL), Clint Litton (CORY MORROW) and Braxton Henry, can be seen below.

Three more songs from EVEN THE DEAD LOVE A PARADE — "The Cancer And Host", "Morphine Queen" and "Humane" — can be streamed usung the ReverbNation widget at the bottom of this article.

EVEN THE DEAD LOVE A PARADE is

Braxton Henry - Guitar
Matt Raffaele - Guitar
Jordan Condrey - Vocals
Stevie Benton - Bass
Clint Litton - Drums

DROWNING POOL's fifth studio, "Resilience", will be released on April 2 via Eleven Seven Music. The band teamed up with producer Kato Khandwalla at House Of Loud Studios in New Jersey, as well as John Feldmann (THE USED, STORY OF THE YEAR), and completed the album in Dallas.

"Apex Predator", the new video from singer poet, illustrator, author and activist Otep Shamaya, can be seen below. Directed by P.R. Brown (SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, CHEVELLE, DEVICE), the clip "is uncut and uncensored! It might even get banned in a few places for its sexual and violent content, but the message is important. Challenging phobias, hypocrisies and delighting the vices in your mind," comments Otep.

OTEP will kick off the "Seduce And Destroy" headlining tour on March 8 in Sacramento, California, covering the entire U.S. over seven weeks. Support will come from ONE EYED DOLL and PICTURE ME BROKEN.

"Apex Predator" comes off Otep's sixth full-length studio album, "Hydra", which sold around 2,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 155 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on January 22 via Victory Records.

"Atavist", the fifth full-length album from Otep (2011), opened with 7,000 units to land at No. 61.

Otep's 2009 CD, "Smash The Control Machine", registered a first-week tally of 10,400 copies to enter the chart at No. 47.

In a recent interview with AOL's link textNoisecreep, Shamaya explained her decision to make "Hydra" her last album.

"Music's been great for me and given me a wonderful life," Shamaya said.

"The climate has changed in music. The way the industry has responded to pirating. The way it has sort of become part of our culture now. People say, 'Pirating is here to stay.' Sure it is, and I understand it. I understand it too when artists decide that they need to do something else.

"I've spent my whole life wanting to be a working artist. I didn't want it to be a hobby. This is what I wanted to do full time.

"People complain some artists leave the genre so they can sell more records. It's just about surviving. I wanted to become a professional, working, living artist.

"It's hard to devote a decade of your life to something. Before 'Hydra' even came out, it was on YouTube because someone who had an advanced copy leaked it because they felt like being an asshole.

"We crafted in the studio 18 hours a day for 16 weeks only to see it end up on YouTube for free.

"We don't make money off YouTube.

"People say, 'We come to your shows. We buy your merch.' I'm very grateful of that. But you're supporting the tour then. You're supporting fuel, transportation and food and salaries for the crew. It's like a traveling circus. Tickets and all that pay for the tour and manufacturing of the merch. These are real live things. They don't just materialize themselves into place. It's a business, you have to run it. If people are constantly stealing from you, there's no way to compete against pop bands or rap bands or country and western bands. Their fans still buy records.

"When you are trying to create music, be an artist and live life, it's difficult when you've got so many things against you, including your own supporters," continued Shamaya. "So when I'm fighting against these things and people want me to speak out and endorse me, I have an instinct to do it, to want to fight injustice. You have this practice of pirating music. And people say 'Well, isn't it supposed to be about the music and not the money?' I'm not asking people to surrender their life savings. I'm just asking to pay for what you want to hear. That's not for my sake, it's for the industry itself.

"You have producers, technicians, people who have great skill and artistic ability who have devoted themselves to music only to see the industry cannibalize itself. So they have to get jobs doing something else. And you have fans complaining that large retail chains don't carry aggressive music. They don't carry metal, underground music, but they'll carry Justin Bieber or rap music with 'dangerous' lyrics and all those things. It's not a cultural thing. It's about money. These large retail chains don't care what you say as long as it sells. That's the bottom line. I understand the economy and people are hurting. We've tried very diligently to work with retail chains that do still carry our music to give us low pricing. It's hard to see what you love dissolve in front of you. I don't want to become resentful of something that has been so good to me. And I don't want to become resentful of something I care so deeply about.

"Maybe in the future I'll come back to music, but for now I think I've done what I need to do. I'm really proud of this record. I think it's an amalgamation of all my records. Everything I kind of wanted to do on an album I made sure I got it in on 'Hydra'. I've got a lot of other things I'm interested in doing. I don't have the time to devote the energy and attention to them that they deserve."

The official video for "Sacrifice", the title track of the new album from British heavy metal legends SAXON, can be seen below.

"Sacrifice" will now be released on March 1 in Europe (except in the U.K., where it will be made available on March 4) and March 26 in North America through UDR. Taking a sharper, reinvigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, SAXON have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album "A Call To Arms".

"Less tricks, more power!" roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford. "My brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration."

The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford, with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn's and Doug Scarratt's guitar work the best it's ever been, while Biff's vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in SAXON's history, with the likes of "Warriors Of The Road", "Wheels Of Terror" and "Stand Up And Fight" evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic SAXON sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, "Sacrifice".

"It's certainly been done from a more early '80s thrashier perspective," explains Biff, "and it's not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they've got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective."

Besides the new material, SAXON will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of "Crusader" and an acoustic version of "Frozen Rainbow".

"From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place," concludes Biff, "And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic SAXON songwriting, has in my opinion made SAXON fresher than ever."

The "Sacrifice" cover artwork was created by longtime SAXON artist Paul Raymond Gregory and can be seen below.

"Sacrifice" track listing:

01. Procession
02. Sacrifice
03. Made In Belfast
04. Warriors Of The Road
05. Guardians Of The Tomb
06. Stand Up And Fight
07. Walking The Steel
08. Night Of The Wolf
09. Wheels Of Terror
10. Standing In A Queue

Bonus track:

* Luck Of The Draw (on iTunes only)

01. Crusader (orchestrated version)
02. Just Let Me Rock (re-recorded version)
03. Requiem (acoustic version)
04. Frozen Rainbow (acoustic version)
05. Forever Free (re-recorded version)

"Sacrifice" (song) video:

"Prophecy", a brand new song from death metal behemoths SIX FEET UNDER, can be streamed using the audio player below. The track cpmes off the band's tenth full-length album, "Unborn", which will be released on March 19 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-to to 2012's "Undead" was mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who has previously worked with SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL and SOULFLY, among others. The cover artwork for the CD can be found below.

"Unborn" track listing:

01. Neuro Osmosis
02. Prophecy
03. Zombie Blood Curse
04. Decapitate
05. Incision
06. Fragment
07. Alive To Kill You
08. The Sinister Craving
09. Inferno
10. Psychosis
11. The Curse Of Ancients

"Unborn" will be released as an exclusive European box-set edition which will include the limited digipak of "Unborn" and a bonus track entitled "Illusions". Additionally the box will feature a poster, a patch, two pins and a sticker plus enough space for last year's "Undead" album. The bonus track will be featured on the vinyl version of "Unborn" as well.

Led by the inimitable Chris Barnes, owner of one of the most powerful and instantly recognizable voices in the genre, SIX FEET UNDER are returning with an overhauled lineup that sees them reinvigorated and churning out some of the most visceral music they have ever put their name to.

In November of 2010 when vocalist and founding member Chris Barnes first started to get the idea of working with new writers for SIX FEET UNDER's next release, he contacted Rob Arnold, Jari Laine, and Ben Savage to share in the writing process. After just two years of writing and recording 20 plus tracks, and releasing "Undead" in May of 2012, SIX FEET UNDER are now proud to unveil "Undead"'s demented fraternal twin...

"The journey to create, write, and record 'Undead' and 'Unborn' has been the most challenging and exciting musical endeavor and process I have ever been involved with," says Barnes. "Working with all these amazing writers and musicians like Ben Savage (WHITECHAPEL) on songs like 'Neuro Osmosis' and 'Fragment' are some of the most dynamic, beautiful, and brutal songs I've ever had the pleasure of putting lyrics to." Barnes continues, "I believe Ben is a true innovator of the death metal genre. It was also a lot of fun working Jari Laine from TORTURE KILLER again. We wrote a great album together a few years back called 'Swarm!' — one of my favorite releases I've been involved with — and Jari is someone who I have really wanted to work with again ever since. I wanted to revisit collaborating with Jari because of how well we work together; proof of that on 'Unborn' are the hook heavy sounds of songs like 'Zombie Blood Curse' and 'Incision'."

Barnes concludes, "I can't wait for 'Unborn' to be unleashed upon the death metal masses this spring!! 'Unborn' is gonna make you wish you were never born."

SIX FEET UNDER in May 2012 announced the addition of Swedish rhythm guitarist Ola Englund (FEARED, SCARPOINT) to the group's ranks. Englund, who made his first official appearance with the band on the "18 Nights Of Blood Tour", took the place of Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA).

"Undead" was released on May 22, 2012 through Metal Blade Records. The 12-track CD was produced by Mark Lewis (DEICIDE, DEVILDRIVER) and mixed by Jason Suecof (WHITECHAPEL, JOB FOR A COWBOY), at AudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.

SIX FEET UNDER last year parted ways with bassist Matt DeVries and replaced him with Jeff Hughell, formerly of the Santa Cruz, California technical death metal band BRAIN DRILL and Concord, California death metal group VILE, and currently of RECIPROCAL.

A snippet of the demo version of the song "Stardust" that will be featured on singer Todd La Torre (QUEENSRŸCHE, ex-CRIMSON GLORY) solo album that is still in the writing phase can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

La Torre recently officially quit Florida metal veterans CRIMSON GLORY.

La Torre, who joined QUEENSRŸCHE in June 2012 as the replacement for Geoff Tate, became an official member of CRIMSON GLORY in April 2010 and has played a number of shows with the band during the past two and a half years.

"We were writing the new album and things were looking good," La Torre said in a statement. "We had interest from two major European labels, which was very promising. I was very honored and proud that we were on the rise, and the fans were embracing all that we were doing. We had wonderful momentum and we were working within an important window of time within which the new record should have been recorded and released to have the most impact given the bands resurgence. Unfortunately, the record never materialized despite my best efforts."

He continued: "My involvement with QUEENSRŸCHE had nothing to do with the album progress. I haven’t been contacted to write with CRIMSON GLORY for over six months. As a band, our writing sessions were slow, eventually becoming non-existent before I ever joined QUEENSRŸCHE. During the specific timeframe that I was in talks with QUEENSRŸCHE, members of CRIMSON GLORY were simultaneously occupied by other external and internal endeavors that apparently absorbed the time and/or will away from CRIMSON GLORY, which is not fallacious per se, but it proceeded in passivity. The main reason for my resignation from CRIMSON GLORY is primarily due to its inertia status."

La Torre made his first public appearance with CRIMSON GLORY at ProgPower USA X as one of seventeen guest performers paying tribute to Midnight, the band's original singer.

Essentially unknown to the mainstream progressive metal scene, La Torre spent 22 years earning his stripes and solidifying himself as an unquestionable talent behind the drum kit of various hard rock and heavy metal projects in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. However, his vocal aspirations went largely unfulfilled until 2009 when Matt LaPorte (JON OLIVA'S PAIN), who had only heard La Torre sing on a few occasions, casually mentioned to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning that he might make a nice addition to the already stellar lineup of performers the band had accumulated. It was only a short time later that La Torre found himself at the band's rehearsal studio, and the pieces began to fall into place.

Midnight passed away in 2009 due to long-term health complications.

La Torre, who says that QUEENSRŸCHE has been his favorite band since he was 15 years old, first met QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton at last year's NAMM convention in Anaheim, California.

A six-minute video clip featuring footage of vocalist Timo Kotipelto and keyboardist Jens Johansson of Finnish/Swedish melodic metallers STRATOVARIUS as they make their journey across the world, promoting the band's new album, "Nemesis", can be seen below.

"Nemesis" was released on February 22 via earMUSIC. The CD was made available as a standard 11-track edition as well as 13-track special edition.

STRATOVARIUS are hailed as one of the most influential and successful symphonic metal bands in the world and they have managed to establish themselves as one of the metal scene's heavy names. The new album, "Nemesis", unites all the best traits of the band's melodic, powerful, fresh and technically elaborated metal, all spiced up with an incredible sense for melody.

The album was produced and mixed by Matias Kupiainen and mastered by Mika Jussila from Finnvox studios, who has a long history with the band.

"Nemesis" has a dark and more modern sound compared to the band's last album, "Elysium". It clearly shows how much the band has matured and grown as songwriters. At the same time, the band focused all their attention and work into creating and recording "Nemesis". Singer Timo Kotipelto spent three weeks recording the vocals in a cottage in the Finnish countryside.

"Nemesis" track listing:

01. Abandon
02. Unbreakable
03. Stand My Ground
04. Halcyon Days
05. Fantasy
06. Out Of The Fog
07. Castles In The Air
08. Dragons
09. One Must Fall
10. If The Story Is Over
11. Nemesis

STRATOVARIUS in June 2012 announced the addition of drummer Rolf Pilve to the group's ranks.

Finnish rock band HIM (His Infernal Majesty) will release its new album, "Tears On Tape", on April 30 via Razor & Tie in North America and on April 29 through DoubleCross (Cooking Vinyl's specialist rock imprint) in the U.K. and Ireland. The "love metal" act's eighth official album was recorded at Helsinki's Finnvox Studios with longtime producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, MOONSPELL) and was mixed in London, England by Tim Palmer, who previously helmed 2005's "Dark Light" and 2007's "Venus Doom".

"Tears On Tape" track listing:

01. Unleash The Red
02. All Lips Go Blue
03. Love Without Tears
04. I Will Be The End Of You
05. Tears On Tape
06. Into The Night
07. Hearts At War
08. Trapped In Autumn
09. No Love
10. Drawn & Quartered
11. Lucifer's Chorale
12. W.L.S.T.D.
13. Kiss The Void

In addition to the 13 new tracks, the very exclusive and very limited "fanpack", presented by Metal Hammer magazine and DoubleCross Records features some not-to-be-found-anywhere-else content. Exclusively available from April 29 for four weeks, it comes with a bespoke 132-page magazine edited by frontman Ville Valo himself that plays as the ultimate sleeve notes to the album, including:

* Full studio album + 2 bonus tracks ("Buried Alive By Love" and "The Kiss Of Dawn" recorded live in the studio)
* Giant double-sided door poster
* Exclusive interviews with Ville Valo and all members of HIM
* An extended track-by-track guide to "Tears On Tape"
* An interview with the architects behind the sound of "love metal" Hiili Hiilesmaa and Tim Palmer
* A detailed guide to HIM's extensive back catalog
* The true, exclusive story of the Heartagram
* An exclusive gallery from the band's own private collections
* Interviews by the band with as assortment of their own heroes

The album's artwork, which artist Daniel P. Carter describes as having come about via "a series of strange coincidences involving Lee Dorrian, sacred geometry and the ramblings of a madman," is revealed below.

"I think Ville and I share similar interests in a lot of the more esoteric things," says Dan, "so working on the art was an intense and exciting collaboration..."

"Basically, we're making what I'd call 'modern retro,'" HIM singer Ville Valo told Revolver magazine about the musical direction of the new album, which he says will sound like "ROY ORBISON meeting METALLICA." "We wanted it to be nasty, fucked-up, and messy, and have that punk-rock attitude. But then on the other hand, it would also have that Roy Orbison naive, sentimental, dream-like quality."

According to Valo, HIM was originally scheduled to begin work on "Tears On Tape" at the end of 2011, but a repetitive-strain injury suffered by drummer Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick) — which left the skinsman unable to lift even a cup of coffee, much less pound a drum kit — forced the bandmembers to re-evaluate their desire to carry on.

"I think because he had the ailment, we had the opportunity to reassess what we had," Valo explained. "It was a miniscule existential crisis. We had to figure out what we really want to do and if we really like each other enough to continue through the hardest times-or do we want to call it a day?"

Asked about the meaning of the new HIM album title, Valo said, "For me, what it means is how songs —I'm not talking about our songs, but songs in general — can be milestones. You hear a song and it brings you to where you heard that song for the first time, or when it meant something really big to you. 'Tears On Tape' means that I appreciate the people who have really poured their souls and hearts out on tape, and showed that to the rest of the world for the better or for the worse. I wouldn't be here without those tears of Elvis Presley on tape."

HIM's current lineup is Ville Valo (vocals), Mikko "Linde" Lindström (guitar), Mikko "Migé" Paananen (bass), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards), and Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums). The band is managed by Seppo Vesterinen at Hinterland, Inc. and represented for U.S. touring by Justin Hirschman/AGI.

HIM performed a brand new song entitled "I Will Be The End Of You" during their headlining concert at the Helldone festival on December 29, 2012 at Tavastia in Helsinki, Finland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"World Domination", the new video from FREE FALL, the Swedish rock band featuring guitarist Mattias Bärjed (SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES) and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (THE [INTERNATIONAL] NOISE CONSPIRACY), can be seen below. The clip was directed by Artur Wolgers and Olle Bergman and features animation by Tobias Petersson.

"World Domination" comes off FREE FALL's debut album, "Power & Volume", which was released on February 22 via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Power & Volume" track listing:

01. Power & Volume
02. Free Fall
03. Midnight Vulture
04. Top Of The World
05. Attila
06. World Domination
07. Love Bombing
08. Damnation
09. Meriola Blues
10. Meat

Bonus:

11. Change Coming
12. Yeah!!!

The "Power & Volume" song was made available as a seven-inch single on black (retail version) and white vinyl (Nuclear Blast mailorder only) as well as digitally via iTunes. All versions also include the rare non-album track "Stand Up For Your Rock 'N' Roll".

FREE FALL is:

Jan Martens - Bass
Mattias Bärjed - Guitar
Kim Fransson - Lead vocals
Ludwig Dahlberg - Drums

Fan-filmed video footage of ANTHRAX performing a cover version of AC/DC's "TNT" on Saturday, February 23 at the Brisbane, Australia stop of this year's Soundwave festival can be seen below.

"Anthems", ANTHRAX's long-awaited, eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the band's favorite acts from the 1970s, will be released in North America on March 19 (MRI/Megaforce), and on March 22 in Europe (Nuclear Blast).

"Anthems" track listing

01. Anthem (RUSH cover)
02. Jailbreak (THIN LIZZY cover)
03. TNT (AC/DC cover)
04. Smokin' (BOSTON cover)
05. Big Eyes (CHEAP TRICK cover)
06. Keep On Runnin' (JOURNEY cover)
07. Crawl (album version)
08. Crawl (special remix)

ANTHRAX's studio recording of "TNT" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

Speaking to Music Radar, ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante stated about the decision to cover "TNT": "This was Joey's [Belladonna, vocals] track. We already had 'Whole Lotta Rosie' recorded, but he wanted 'TNT'. I can see why: his voice totally lends itself to this track.

"AC/DC is probably one of the greatest bands ever. The came in with a certain sound, and they'll end with that same exact sound. They never altered it; they just stayed true to what they were. To me, that's an honest-to-goodness rock 'n' roll band.

"It would have been obvious to pick something off of 'Highway To Hell' or 'Back In Black', and so we didn't. [laughs] I studied every Phil Rudd lick, and I did not go overboard with anything. I played exactly what he played on 'TNT'. You can't do a fast drum fill on the song — it'll stand out as being out of place. I laid it down, pulled it back, and that was that."

The "Anthems" EP will be available on CD as well as digitally via iTunes and other online retailers. In addition to "Anthems"' cover art, Benante and artist Stephen Thompson have subtly redesigned each track's original album cover art to "Anthrax" it. The "Anthems" EP will first be housed in one of the "re-imagined" digipak covers, and then inserted inside the main CD cover sleeve. The main cover sleeve has been designed in such a way so fans will be able to see which one of the six "re-imagined" covers is inside.

"Anthems" was produced by ANTHRAX, Jay Ruston and Rob Caggiano and recorded for the most part throughout 2012 literally all over the world: at Benante's home studio, in Ruston's New York studio, on the band's tour bus while on last summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, in hotel rooms, and backstage at their Berlin show last December.

The Grammy-nominated ANTHRAX has just hit the road in support "Anthems" with dates in Australia, and will return to North America to headline the Metal Alliance Tour that kicks off March 22. For all of these dates, ANTHRAX is being joined by SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais.

"TNT" live performance:

STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet is putting the finishing touches on his autobiography, "Honestly", to be made available later in the year. There is also a 12-song solo record to go hand in hand with the release of the book.

According to Sweet, his "friend and brother," MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was "kind enough" to write the following blurb/quote for the book:

"Sometimes you see someone or something and you think you got it all figured out, just to find you were pretty far off base. That's a sucky feeling. I learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover, and as much as I used to think that I am nothing like Michael Sweet, I have come to realize that we both have had a lot of hardships in common; the same trials and tribulations, the same band problems, and some of the same relationship issues. Fortunately for us, we both believe in the same Jesus, and serve the same amazing, loving creator, so it's no wonder that we would both be standing on the same victorious side of life, once all the smoke clears at the end of the fight. I hope you will enjoy his memoirs and come to a new understanding and a new appreciation of Michael Sweet."

Sweet previously stated about his upcoming book: "Writing and finishing my autobiography has gone WAY beyond my expectations, good and bad. It's been much more difficult than I could ever imagine yet it's been somewhat therapeutic being able to talk about my life and the past 30+ years of all things STRYPER. I get into everything and share things that may surprise you. I talk about the disfunction in this band, the pain and heartache of being so close to each other that we sometimes hurt each other the most, the ups and downs from our highest point (1987-1988) to our lowest point (1991-1992) and why we were driven to bankruptcy and how we climbed our way back from complete loss and despair. I share my personal pain from considering to give up music altogether to the day I broke the news to the guys that I would be leaving the band and why. From that day forward, I had everything a man could ask for and then, in what seemed like an instant, it was all taken away.

"I'm almost 50 yet I feel like I've lived the life of a man who is almost 90. I look back on everything and all I can say is thank you God for allowing me to serve you and for giving me my gift, my life!

"'Honestly' will be available soon and I can say from the bottom of my heart, it is brutally honest and my hopes and prayers are that it touches you in some way."

Michael's new solo album will be issued via Big3 Records. Guest musicians set to appear on the CD include CHICKENFOOT drummer Kenny Aronoff, FOZZY singer Chris Jericho, WHITESNAKE guitarist Doug Aldrich; Tony Harnell of TNT, and Michael's brother Robert Sweet and STRYPER's Timothy Gaines.

Regarding Harnell's appearance on the CD, Sweet previously stated, "I think Tony is truly one of the most underrated singers of all time. He's always been one of my favorites and is an incredibly nice, humble guy to boot. I've always wanted to work with Tony and I knew this would be the perfect song and opportunity to do so. 'Taking On The World Tonight' is very heavy with a combination of old-school riffs and solos yet it's got a very modern, relevant sound as well. It's the best of both worlds!"

California thrash metal veterans SLAYER performed with only two original members on stage for the second time ever on Sunday (February 24) at the Sydney, Australia stop of this year's Soundwave festival at Olympic Park.

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo is sitting out the band's current tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group, while guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite. Filling in for them are returning member Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX) and Gary Holt (EXODUS), respectively.

SLAYER's setlist for the Sydney show was as follows:

01. Disciple
02. Die By The Sword
03. War Ensemble
04. Chemical Warfare
05. Altar Of Sacrifice
06. Jesus Saves
07. Mandatory Suicide
08. Seasons In The Abyss
09. Dead Skin Mask
10. Angel of Death
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

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

In an interview with Soundwave TV conducted on Saturday, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya stated about performing with Dette again: "He actually played in the band [in the late 1990s] for, like, three years. It's gonna be good. He's matured and I'm sure he's gotten much better on the drums. It'll be exciting, and I think that's just gonna pump everything up even more. I can tell you this: Jon's gonna have a lot of energy. He's known to play very fast, and he's gotten better at that."

Prior to joining SLAYER, Dette appeared on TESTAMENT's "Live At The Fillmore" album, which came out in 1995.

Dette is currently also playing with ANTHRAX as a temporary replacement for the band's longtime drummer Charlie Benante, who "is dealing with personal issues right now and can't leave" the U.S., according to ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.

John Bush (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX), Jason Miller (GODHEAD) and Howard Jones (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) are among the musicians who performed at the launch event for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on February 18 at GameStop at Universal CityWalk in Universal City, California.

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

Award-winning film, TV and video game composer Jamie Christopherson ("Lost Planet", "Spiderman: Web of Shadows") was commissioned by PlatinumGames to write both the score and songs for Konami's action title developed by Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames Inc., Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Albums of both were made available on February 19, the same day that the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance video game was released. Featuring extremely fast hardcore electronic/heavy metal music, the soundtrack in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance marks a clear departure from the music of the previous Metal Gear games.

Christopherson said: "With action-packed gameplay this intense, we knew that the music for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance had to be something really special and different from previous Metal Gear Solid games. In order to accomplish this, we decided early on to have hardcore electronic/metal songs with vocals that would lyrically and sonically mirror the game storyline during boss battles. Pre-existing licensed songs or traditional orchestral score wouldn't suffice for these sections; the music had to be something fresh and impactful."

To achieve the desired result, Christopherson enlisted five-time gold record artist/producer Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY) to co-write and co-produce a portion of the songs from the soundtrack. Mader also produced live drum recordings and many of the vocal sessions for the songs.

The soundtrack features many talented recording artists from across the globe, such as electronic remixer Maniac Agenda and DJ sensation Ferry Corsten. Well-known vocalists, including Bush, Tyson Yen (STATE LINE EMPIRE, DRIST), Miller, Graeme Cronies, Kit Walters, Free Dominguez (KIDNEYTHIEVES) and Jimmy Gnecco (OURS) were chosen to match specific bosses based on the quality of their voices.

Christopherson said: "I had a blast working with PlatinumGames and all of the wonderful artists on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The culminating result is something I'm really proud of and definitely puts the 'metal' in Metal Gear series."

For more information, visit www.metalgearsolid.com/rising.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers BISON B.C. have issued the following update:

“This just in — we have just received our 'drop letter' from Metal Blade.

"If you didn't know, we were on Metal Blade.

"The last seven years has been a strange and crazy adventure toiling and crawling through the music industry. We met some great people as well as some awful people and loved every minute. Now it's time to get back to why we truly do this, and to officially be free and answer to no person, company, magazine article, chart, or poser douche bags.

"Raise a glass to a new beginning!

"Thanks to everyone at Metal Blade for trying to help us polish this turd."

BISON B.C.'s latest album, "Lovelessness", came out last October via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded with acclaimed producer Sanford Parker at Soma and Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago.

BISON B.C. is:

James Farwell: Guitar/Vocals
Dan And: Guitar/Vocals
Masa Anzai: Bass
Matt Wood: Drums

Guitarist Mark Morton of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD has released a song that he wrote for the score to the band's projected feature film, "As The Palaces Burn". The film, directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Don Argott and produced by 9.14 Pictures ("Last Days Here", "Art Of The Steal", "Rock School"), examines the impact that music and particularly heavy metal music has made on people around the globe as they live in a 21st century world full of economic uncertainty, political unrest, social injustice, and under a constant fear of war and violence. Filming has taken place to date in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, India, and Israel and other countries over the last few months. Embedded in the trailer is the video for the band's second single from the "Resolution" CD, "Desolation". The clip was shot at shows in South America and Mexico and is the follow-up to the animated video for the track "Ghost Walking".

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe returned to the U.S. last week after it was announced in a Czech Republic court his trial would be delayed.

Blythe's defense team asked for the delay because a key witness was sick, according to The Prague Post reporter Jonathan Crane who is helping cover the trial for WTVR.com. The defense team wanted that witness to testify in person.

The singer is being allowed to stay in the U.S. until his trial resumes on March 4. He indicated in court that he would definitely return to Prague next month.

Blythe is facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a May 2010 incident in which a fan, Daniel Nosek, who attended a LAMB OF GOD performance in Prague, died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage.

A young girl was reportedly horribly burned and disfigured earlier today (Sunday, February 24) after a member of the audience at the Soundwave festival in Sydney smuggled in a magnesium flare and ignited it in the middle of the crowd during BRING ME THE HORIZON's performance.

According to The Australian, the woman underwent emergency treatment after sustaining burns to her forearm. It has also been reported that a similar incident took place during METALLICA's closing set on the main stage. That flare, however, is not believed to have caused any injuries.

Promoter AJ Maddah is calling for action from Soundwave attendees and is offering a reward to anyone can identify the perpetrators.

"If anyone can correctly identify this son of a bitch, I will shower you with so much tickets, backstage and cash, you won't know what to do," he said.

He is also asking punters to assist in finding the person who lit the flare. “If you see anyone with a lit flare please take their photo and tweet to me so I can hand to police.”

A 23-year-old man was critically injured in an accident during last year's Soundwave festival at Brisbane's RNA Showgrounds. He reportedly underwent life-saving surgery after he suffered massive head injuries caused by a five-meter fall from the top of a staircase at the exhibition hall.

Veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS will be rejoined by vocalist Mike Vescera (pictured below) for a special one-off performance on April 14 at the Live N' Louder festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Although Vescera will sing the entire set with LOUDNESS at the event, he has no plans to permanently replace the band's original frontman Minoru Niihara, who remains LOUDNESS' official vocalist after having rejoined the group in 2001.

Vescera joined LOUDNESS in 1988 following the firing of Niihara. In pursuit of greater commercial success with English-speaking audiences, Vescera and the rest of LOUDNESS recorded two albums, "Soldier Of Fortune" (1989) and "On The Prowl" (1991). However, the pairing did little to improve the band's status in America and also took its toll on LOUDNESS' Japanese fan base. Vescera exited LOUDNESS (and joined Yngwie J. Malmsteen in 1993) during the group's American tour in 1991 and was eventually replaced by EZO vocalist Masaki Yamada.

Vescera rose to metal popularity at the age of 18 years old as the legendary vocalist of the band OBSESSION. A classically trained pianist, Mike chose the path of a metal frontman instead of Julliard.

In recent years, Mike Vescera has gained a reputation in the business as being a masterful producer and engineer working from his studio The Toy Room, which was located in the hills of Connecticut just outside of New York. A few years ago the studio moved to Nashville, where Mike now makes his home. The studio is second to none, utilizing state-of-the-art software and technology to achieve unrivaled flexibility and dimension of sound. It holds both major-label and small-budget accounts serving all styles of music. It also holds major network voice-over accounts for several popular shows.

Mike continues to front OBSESSION and ANIMETAL USA, the American counterpart to ANIMETAL, the Japanese heavy metal band which specialized in metal covers of popular Japanese anime/tokusatsu theme songs.

Former OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Bob Daisley is putting the finishing touches on his memoir, "For Facts Sake!", which he promises will explain his side of the story of the split with the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer. According to Daisley, he is "working on photo placement now" and the book "will be ready this year."

In a 2012 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Daisley revealed that the 30th-anniversary remastered reissues of Osbourne's classic early albums, 1980's "Blizzard Of Ozz" and 1981's "Diary Of A Madman", which came with a box set of previously unreleased live recordings, a coffee table book and other goodies, could have packed much more material than what actually made the release.

"There'd been talk about it during 2010, and it was then that I offered to supply tapes of our rehearsals and writing sessions, to go as proper bonus material," Daisley said. "And I just said that I wanted a royalty out of it, because it's my stuff. But they wouldn't do it because they didn't want to give me a royalty — they just wanted to buy it.

"So no agreement was made, and as a result the bonus material in the box set is minimal, which is unfortunate because I know the fans want to hear the stuff that I've got — recordings of the writing sessions, rehearsals and the songs taking shape. But the Osbournes wouldn't come to the table, y'know. I didn't even ask for an equal royalty, it was just a small royalty I wanted because it's my stuff…"

Daisley added that he had "literally hours and hours of tapes I've got from us writing those albums and rehearsing it" that could have been included in the package. "You can hear the songs changing, the different parts taking shape, and all this stuff would have been perfect bonus material for the box set," he said. "Sadly, the Osbournes are just too greedy and self-absorbed."

Bob Daisley said in a 2010 interview with his web site that he had not been contacted about the 30th-anniversary editions of "Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman". The tracks played by Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake on both albums were replaced on a previous reissue after Daisley and Kerslake sued Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne over royalties.

Daisley told the web site, "Neither Lee nor I have been contacted, considered or consulted in the decision to re-release the original recordings. As for royalties, we have not been approached for a reconciliation and have been offered and promised nothing."

Ozzy told The Pulse of Radio he was against the idea of replacing the original tracks when he found out about it. "Believe me, it wasn't my doing," he said. "I mean, I didn't know that was being done, 'cause Sharon was fighting all the legal things that were going down at the time. I said, 'What did you do that for?' And she said, 'The only way I could stop everything was if it went to that level.' And I said, 'You know what, whatever the circumstances were, I want the original thing back.' I mean, I wouldn't have done that."

The replacement tracks were played by current METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin.

Daisley says that he and Kerslake were fired because of disagreements with Sharon over a number of things, including refusing to do two shows in one day out of worry that Ozzy would blow out his voice.

Australia's Heavy magazine recently spoke to DISTURBED frontman David Draiman about his new project, DEVICE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Heavy: So where did the idea for DEVICE come from?

Draiman: It came about quite accidentally, to be honest. [The members of DISTURBED] always intended during this hiatus to do some of things we'd never had a chance to. I'd planned to do some producing, working with the guys from TRIVIUM on their new record, but I'd not really planned another project. Geno Lenardo from FILTER, a friend and colleague of mine, reached out to me about participating in the "Underworld: Awakening" soundtrack. I told him to send me some music, and I listened to what he sent me and was really into it. I wrote something to it, and then called him the next day and said, "Alright, when are we tracking this, because it's big?" So I flew to Chicago within a week and tracked it, then kind of sat back and was really amazed at what we'd done. Lakeshore wanted to use it as the lead track on the soundtrack, but we had a DISTURBED track from "The Lost Children" B-sides compilation out on radio at the time and we didn't want the two tracks competing with each other. So I said, "Let's hold on to it, and wait for the next opportunity." Then the song grew on us, and we started talking and said maybe we should write some more, so Geno came out to my home in March 2012 and we started writing. "Hunted" was the track for the soundtrack, and it set the template for what the project was to become.

Heavy: Has it be a different experience writing/recording away from DISTURBED?

Draiman: It's been a wonderful experience. [laughs] I've been loving it, really, just free to go and create. With as much respect as I've had from the people I've been working with, with as much great input I've had from the people I've been working with, it's really been an amazing new experience and process. Like, imagine you have an opportunity to create something really amazing and unique after already being in the business of doing that for 16 years; being given the chance to start over again with all the knowledge and experience that you've already accumulated, and being a better musican as well — I'm chomping at the bit. I love being the guy where nobody has any idea what this is about yet. Although that has some weird consequences. I think it's pretty ridiculous I'm nominated for a Golden God award, for instance. I don't get it — I'm very thankful and I thank everyone so much for the nomination, but no one has heard this! How can you nominate something for "best new act" when you haven't even heard it. I appreciate it, but … it's almost an overwhelming vote of confidence, and it can be quite a burden to have to live up to that kind of hype.

Heavy: You've seen a lot over the past 16 years in the industry. Would you rather be launching DEVICE in 2013 or in 2003?

Draiman: Oh, I would so have preferred to put it out in 2003! It's just night and day … even as hard as it was in 2003, it certainly wasn't as bad as where we are now. As a business, it has gotten so much worse. It's trench warfare out there, everybody fighting for everything, everybody expecting to do everything with nothing. [laughs] Really, it's an unreasonable state of affairs; as an industry, it's very frightening. We all, no matter who we are, no matter how strong a record we've created, we all need all the luck in the world right now. And I believe if you're going to go into battle, you better bring your biggest guns — that's what I'm doing with DEVICE.

Read the entire interview from Heavy magazine.

HOTEL DIABLO — the new band featuring guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT), vocalist Rick Stitch (LADYJACK, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE), bassist Mike Duda and drummer Mike Dupke (both of W.A.S.P.) — tapped nine-time Emmy Award-winning and MTV Video Music Award-nominated director Fabio Jafet (PITBULL, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, CHILDREN OF BODOM) to direct the video for the song "Psycho, California". The clip, which was shot in December 2012 in Los Angeles, can be seen below.

HOTEL DIABLO debuted the video to a capacity crowd at House Of Blues on Sunset Strip in Hollywood on Saturday, Feburary 23. The set included appearances by Chris Wyse (THE CULT, OWL) and Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA).

"We are extremely proud of what Fabio came up with for us," says Grossi. "We are already putting some more things into motion with him and his production team that will be announced very soon."

Fabio edited PITBULL's "I Know You Want Me", which ended up being the No. 1 music video of 2009 on YouTube, with over a 190 million views to date, making it one of the most-watched YouTube video of all time. He is currently managing the band COYOTE THEORY.

HOTEL DIABLO's "The Return To Psycho, California" was released in September via Scarlet Records. The CD was produced by Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA), with additional production by Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES). "The Return To Psycho, California" is also available digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers.

California thrash metal veterans SLAYER performed with only two original members on stage for the first time ever on Saturday (February 23) at the opening show of this year's Soundwave festival in Brisbane, Australia.

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo is sitting out the band's current tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group, while guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite. Filling in for them are returning member Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX) and Gary Holt (EXODUS), respectively.

SLAYER's setlist for the Brisbane show was as follows:

01. Disciple
02. Die By The Sword
03. War Ensemble
04. Chemical Warfare
05. Altar Of Sacrifice
06. Jesus Saves
07. Mandatory Suicide
08. Seasons In The Abyss
09. Dead Skin Mask
10. Angel of Death
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

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

In an interview with Soundwave TV conducted on Saturday, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya stated about performing with Dette again: "He actually played in the band [in the late 1990s] for, like, three years. It's gonna be good. He's matured and I'm sure he's gotten much better on the drums. It'll be exciting, and I think that's just gonna pump everything up even more. I can tell you this: Jon's gonna have a lot of energy. He's known to play very fast, and he's gotten better at that."

Prior to joining SLAYER, Dette appeared on TESTAMENT's "Live At The Fillmore" album, which came out in 1995.

Dette is currently also playing with ANTHRAX as a temporary replacement for the band's longtime drummer Charlie Benante, who "is dealing with personal issues right now and can't leave" the U.S., according to ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.

Finnish rock band HIM (His Infernal Majesty) will release its new album, "Tears On Tape", on April 30 via Razor & Tie in North America and on April 29 through DoubleCross (Cooking Vinyl's specialist rock imprint) in the U.K. and Ireland. The "love metal" act's eighth official album was recorded at Helsinki's Finnvox Studios with longtime producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, MOONSPELL) and was mixed in London, England by Tim Palmer, who previously helmed 2005's "Dark Light" and 2007's "Venus Doom".

The "Tears On Tape" cover artwork has now been unveiled and can be seen below.

"Basically, we're making what I'd call 'modern retro,'" HIM singer Ville Valo told Revolver magazine about the musical direction of the new album, which he says will sound like "ROY ORBISON meeting METALLICA." "We wanted it to be nasty, fucked-up, and messy, and have that punk-rock attitude. But then on the other hand, it would also have that Roy Orbison naive, sentimental, dream-like quality."

According to Valo, HIM was originally scheduled to begin work on "Tears On Tape" at the end of 2011, but a repetitive-strain injury suffered by drummer Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick) — which left the skinsman unable to lift even a cup of coffee, much less pound a drum kit — forced the bandmembers to re-evaluate their desire to carry on.

"I think because he had the ailment, we had the opportunity to reassess what we had," Valo explained. "It was a miniscule existential crisis. We had to figure out what we really want to do and if we really like each other enough to continue through the hardest times-or do we want to call it a day?"

Asked about the meaning of the new HIM album title, Valo said, "For me, what it means is how songs —I'm not talking about our songs, but songs in general — can be milestones. You hear a song and it brings you to where you heard that song for the first time, or when it meant something really big to you. 'Tears On Tape' means that I appreciate the people who have really poured their souls and hearts out on tape, and showed that to the rest of the world for the better or for the worse. I wouldn't be here without those tears of Elvis Presley on tape."

HIM's current lineup is Ville Valo (vocals), Mikko "Linde" Lindström (guitar), Mikko "Migé" Paananen (bass), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards), and Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums). The band is managed by Seppo Vesterinen at Hinterland, Inc. and represented for U.S. touring by Justin Hirschman/AGI.

HIM performed a brand new song entitled "I Will Be The End Of You" during their headlining concert at the Helldone festival on December 29, 2012 at Tavastia in Helsinki, Finland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Multinational metallers RAVEN LORD have have parted ways with drummer Larry Paterson and have replaced him with Rich Smith (POWER QUEST).

Commented Smith: "I'm delighted to of been offered the throne to drum for RAVEN LORD. I can't wait to get in the rehearsal room with these guys and hit the road to play some kick-ass shows I'd like to thank all the guys in the band and the management for this opportunity."

Added Paterson: "It is meant as no disrespect to any of you at all — and I wish great success for everybody. To cut a long story short, things are pretty tough right now as I have another band, a book and a documentary to make. All of this is running on a very tight schedule, which WILL definitely get in the way of RAVEN LORD."

Said RAVEN LORD singer and bandleader Csaba Zvekan: "I'm saddened to see Larry go from RAVEN LORD, but if dates are clashing, there is not much any of us can do. The good thing is me and Larry Paterson will continue working on another band project called EXORCISM, which is expected to be released in 2014.

"Well, you know what they say: the show must go on! And with summer shows in the pipeline, we had to act fast and find another drummer as a permanent solution.

"Rich Smith is highly motivated to be the next LORD drummer, and with POWER QUEST calling it the quits, it was obvious that he was available for grabs. We took the opportunity and welcome Rich Smith to RAVEN LORD."

RAVEN LORD is:

* Csaba Zvekan (KILLING MACHINE) - Vocals
* Joe Stump (HOLYHELL, REIGN OF TERROR) - Lead Guitar
* Jamie Mallender (TONY MARTIN) - Bass
* Rich Smith (POWER QUEST) - Drums
* George Karafotis (VERMILLION DAYS) - Guitar
* Alessandro Duo (VOODOO HIGHWAY) - Keyboards

RAVEN LORD's debut album, "Descent To The Underworld", was released on February 1 in Europe and February 12 in North America via Mausoleum Records. The CD was mixed by acclaimed Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström (AT THE GATES, ARCH ENEMY, NIGHTRAGE, IN FLAMES, DREAM EVIL, OPETH) and was mastered by U.S. mastering engineer Maor Appelbaum (SEPULTURA, HALFORD, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ANGRA, DOKKEN). The cover artwork was created by Brazilian artist Caio Caldas of CadiesArt, who has previously worked with DORO, PAUL DI'ANNO, SEVEN KINGDOMS, DOMINANZ and VIOLET SUN, among others.