A trailer for "3 Inches Of Blood: Warriors Of The Great White North", the brand new documentary about Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, can be seen below. The film follows the band on tour across Canada and gives a first-hand look at what it takes to thrive on the road.

Filmmaker Tom MacLeod is currently submitting "3 Inches Of Blood: Warriors Of The Great White North" to film festivals and seeking a distributor.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD's latest album, "Long Live Heavy Metal", was released on March 27, 2012 via Century Media Records.

For "Long Live Heavy Metal", 3 INCHES OF BLOOD reunited with producer and engineer Terry "Sho" Murray (CITY OF FIRE, EXHIBITIONISTS), who worked with the band on their seven-inch single, "Anthems For The Victorious".

3 INCHES OF BLOOD teamed up with Kim Thiessen to perfect their artistic vision for the album, which was released as a digipack and when opened, lays out similar to that of a book.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD last year recruited Byron Stroud (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY) as its new bassist.

Oulu, Finland-based metallers ZENITH REUNION are recording their second album, "Entropy", for a late spring release via Violent Journey Records. The studio sessions started in the fall of 2012 and have gone ahead with such a speed and success that the release could be expected in the next few months. The artwork for the CD was created by Felipe Machado Franco, who has previously worked with ICED EARTH, BLIND GUARDIAN, AXEL RUDI PELL and BURNING POINT.

According to a press release, "Entropy" "ensures an experience of tight heavy metal along with a couple of slower songs full of feeling — all done by the name of guaranteed ZENITH REUNION style!"

ZENITH REUNION's debut album, "Utopia", entered the official chart in Finland at position No. 9.

Formed in the early '90s, ZENITH REUNION's "unique sound" draws influences from "heavy guitar messengers of the '80s and '90s like STONE, TAROT, ZERO NINE, ACCEPT and DREAM THEATER," according to a press release. These powerful but beautifully rugged guitar riffs together with bass- and drum sections' progressively colored rhythm work are entwined with melodic and harmonic vocals to update the last few decades' heavy rock to present. The whole package is crowned by talented solos bursting with nuances and surprises."

ZENITH REUNION is:

Jouni Juurikka: Lead Vocals
Jukka Uusi-Illikainen: Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jukka Ihme: Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jukka Jokikokko: Bass, Backing Vocals
Ville Hanhisuanto: Drums, Backing Vocals

Swedish death metallers DEMONICAL have issued the following update:

"Since early February we have been isolated at Necromorbus studios in the dark suburbs of Stockholm recording 'Darkness Unbound', our fourth full-length masterpiece and the first album to feature our new determinate lineup. So far the drums for all 11 tracks have been recorded. Now it's time to move on and nail down some guitars.

"The new material is clearly our most sinister, vicious and dark work up until to date and we are confident that 'Darkness Unbound' will be an important milestone not only for us as a band but also an album that will have a certain impact on the current death metal scene and especially the Swedish old-school wave.

"The artwork and visual concept of the album follows the same somber path as the music making it a solid entity of perpetual death metal darkness.

"More reports will be published as the work proceeds."

DEMONICAL last year announced the addition of guitarist Daniel Gustavsson to the group's ranks. The band stated, "Daniel has been touring with us as session member since early spring, and as all admission tests executed on the road turned out nothing but excellent, he therefore became the obvious choice for our vacant axe position."

DEMONICAL's third album, "Death Infernal", was released in April 2011 via Cyclone Empire.

HATRIOT, the new San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band led by former EXODUS and LEGACY (pre-TESTAMENT) frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza, released its debut album, "Heroes Of Origin" on January 25 via Germany's Massacre Records. The CD was recorded with producer Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TESTAMENT) and features guest appearances BY TESTAMENT 's Chuck Billy and MACHINE HEAD 's Phil Demmel . The cover artwork, which can be seen below, was created by Mark DeVito, who has previously worked with MOTÖRHEAD and ANVIL CHORUS, among others.

"Heroes Of Origin" track listing:

01. Suicide Run
02. Weapons Of Class Destruction
03. Murder American Style
04. Blood Stained Wings
05. The Violent Time Of My Dark Passenger
06. Globicidal
07. And Your Children To Be Damned
08. The Mechanics Of Annihilation
09. Shadows Of The Buried
10. Heroes Of Origin

The entire album can now be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

HATRIOT's new drummer is none other than Steve's son, Nicholas Souza. Nicholas auditioned for the band after the departure of Alex Bent and "proved himself to be the best choice," according to Steve.

HATRIOT's lineup also includes Zetro's 21-year-old son Cody, who got his first bass as a present from his father after Zetro bought it off current EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson. "I told him," Zetro said in a recent interview with Metalholic.com, "'You have to try out [for the bassist position in HATRIOT if you want to be in the band]. There's no nepotism here, boy. If you can hang, you're on.' So he actually tried out, and he got the gig."

Regarding HATRIOT's musical direction, Zetro said, "It's in the vein of typical Bay Area thrash, but these guys are a lot younger, so there's gonna be some blast-beats in there. There's gonna be some kind of death [metal] approach to it, a little bit. 'Cause these guys are new. They're raw, and they're fast, young, heavy, hard and aggressive, and I'm trying to convey that along as well."

He added, "These new kids seem to understand what we did in the '80s, but still bring a little bit of a new essence to it. We put that together with what I write vocally and it's turned out to be really, really killer. It's good stuff."

Asked why he thinks thrash metal has enjoyed something of a revival in more recent years, Zetro told Über Röck, "You know, I get asked this a lot, and I think it is because the first wave of thrash came and went so fast. I mean, it started in the mid-'80s and was gone by 1991 or so. The older bands still have something to say, and I feel that's why they are still able to put out great music so many years later. Now the fans that were young kids back then have bands of their own, so these new bands are naturally influenced by the old sound and it has come full circle. Of course, with technology and things like they are today, it is a totally different ballgame when it comes to marketing the music. I don't know that there will ever be another band as big as the 'Big Four' or anything, because the business structure just isn't there anymore, but it is really cool to see these new bands carrying the torch of what we helped invent back in the old scene."

HATRIOT's "Blood Stained Wings" video can be seen below.

HATRIOT is:

Steve "Zetro" Souza - Vocals
Kosta Varvatakis - Guitar
Miguel Esparza - Guitar
Nicholas Souza - Drums
Cody Souza - Bass

French progressive metallers HACRIDE will release their new album, "Back To Where You've Never Been", on April 19 in Norway, Germany and Austria and on April 22 in the rest of Europe via Indie Recordings.

2013 is a big year for HACRIDE because not only does it mark the unleashing of a fourth album, but it also marks the launching of a new collaboration for the team now welcoming two members to their ranks, Florent Marcadet (KLONE, STEP IN FLUID) on drums and Luiss Roux on vocals.

According to a press release, "Back To Where You've Never Been" is "an evocative album title that represents a transitional phase. It is a deeply personal record that acts as a bridge between two eras and could become a royal path to a second life."

"Back To Where You've Never Been" track listing:

01. Introversion
02. Strive Ever To More
03. Synesthesia
04. Overcome
05. Edification Of The Fall
06. To Numb The Pain
07. Ghosts Of The Modern World
08. Requiem For A Lullaby

HACRIDE's follow-up to 2007's "Amoeba", entitled "Lazarus", was released IN 2009 via Listenable Records. The CD was recorded at Loko Studio in Normandie, France with producers Franck Hueso and Marc Casanova.

Finland's DEATHCHAIN will release its new album, "Ritual Death Metal", on April 5 via Svart Records.

Keeping up with the band's tradition of including the word "death" or "dead" in its titles, DEATHCHAIN's sixth full-length feels like a warning. In the wake of an already impressive "Death Gods" three years ago, this new offering to the Ancients been recorded last summer with Swedish wünderkid Tore Stjerna in Stockholm at his world-renowned Necromorbus studio, where most famously WATAIN but also ONDSKAPT, FUNERAL MIST, and many others have sworn a pact with the Great Horned One. Guest starring on the album is one Lars Göran Petrov from ENTOMBED, who provides vocals for the track "Like Worms Upon The Lands". Cover art is by Babalon Graphics, other layout work by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13 Media.

As eclectic as the label is, Svart Records has a strong foundation in death metal, having reissued albums by vintage acts like ABHORRENCE, XYSMA and the resuscitated CONVULSE. However, DEATHCHAIN is the first contemporary death metal band operating on the label. Each member sports an impressive curriculum vitae of musical misbehaviours that reads like a who's who of the Finnish extreme metal scene (DEMILICH, DEATHBOUND, AJATTARA, FORGOTTEN HORROR, and so on), and the band's two guitarists are already part of the Svart family with JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES. But it's the sheer intensity of its music that has put DEATHCHAIN at the top of the foodchain as, unlike others, they've taken their time to shed their previous collective skins one by one. And what started off back in 2003 with "Deadmeat Disciples" as one frantic yet somehow still conventional thrash/death vehicle has now become, a decade later, an altogether even more unique and ten-times-more-intense beast. "Rebellion — rebellion and liberty, they've always been at the heart of what we do," says guitarist Corpse. "During our years as a band, we have grown to disrespect all boundaries, and the fire inside burns ever higher."

Defying all categories, DEATHCHAIN's "Ritual Death Metal" applies elements from the entire extreme metal spectrum to achieve its pernicious goal, from the doom-laden rumblings of "Like Worms Upon The Land" to the blackish fury of "King Pazuzu". The result is a defiant, gloomy and epic 45-minute tour de force dedicated to summoning ancient Mesopotamian deities. Says Corpse of the theme of the album: "Thematically, we have moved closer to the source, and all laughter around it has died. We work on our music and lyrics with the greatest intensity and map our inner beings to find the Lightbringer, who stands beyond everything. On this album, we concentrate on the Mesopotamian pandemonium as we examine the different manifestations of the Adversary."

"Ritual Death Metal" track listing:

01. Voice of Sharur
02. Stele of the Vultures
03. Seven Asakku Shadows
04. Our Lady Under The Earth
05. King Pazuzu 6. Like Worms Upon The Lands
07. Tiamat's Eyes Of Death
08. Abzu Doom

Sweden's ARCKANUM, one of the spearheads of traditional black metal, is back with a vengeance. Leader Shamaatae's seventh album is entitled "Fenris Kindir" and will hit stores on May 10 (May 14 in North America). The cover artwork and tracklisting will be unveiled soon.

ARCKANUM was founded in 1992 by Shamaatae, who decided to continue solo after first demo, "Demo-93". The Swede had previously played drums in CONQUEST/GROTESQUE (which were to become AT THE GATES) and founded the death metal band ABSORPTION with his brother Sataros, before renaming it DISENTERMENT.

ARCKANUM embodies Shamaatae's return to black metal taking inspiration from Pan, anti-cosmic Satanism, Old Norse tradition, runic witchcraft and chaos-Gnosticism. Musically, the Swede draws inspiration from black and death metal with strong influences from the '80s, with a clear penchant for a dirty and thrashing sound.

ARCKANUM's first albums — "Fran Marder" (1995), "Kostogher" (1997) and "Kampen" (1998) — as well as a host of EPs gained Shamaatae a large following in the underground.

France's CROWN will release its new album, "Psychurgy", on April 22 via Candlelight Records.

Check out the CD cover artwork below.

CROWN is two men and a machine who tune their neutron guitars to the Richter scale, and deliver the sound of a molten universe collapsing. Touching on early ISIS, GODFLESH, FLOOR and even KILLING JOKE, CROWN explore the depths of slow tempos on their début album, "The One", and their split EP with ST VALLEY through sheer exuberant heaviness.

The duo's depth-charging guitars and buried melodic tendencies snake around hissing electronics, a tribal / military percussive thwack, and the splashing cymbals of a minimal-yet-completely-effective drum-machine. Their sound is further emboldened by a massive bestial roar, heavy and oppressive, leading to an abyss of nothingness…. Welcome to the dark, spiralling, and obscure experiments of CROWN.

MAIDEN UNITED, the all-acoustic IRON MAIDEN tribute project featuring Damian Wilson (THRESHOLD, HEADSPACE) and Ruud Jolie (WITHIN TEMPTATION), has posted footage from the band's "Across The Seventh Sea" European tour.

MAIDEN UNITED was joined on stage in Holland during the last weekend of the trek by Perttu Kivilaakso (APOCALYPTICA) as they performed songs from the band's latest album, "Across The Seventh Sea", and their debut CD, "Mind The Acoustic Pieces".

Check out the clip below.

MAIDEN UNITED has announced a lineup change for the upcoming shows in April.
Mike Coolen (WITHIN TEMPTATION) and Marco Kuypers (CLOUDMACHINE) will leave the band to focus on their other bands and projects.

New musicians will be:

* Lee Morris (ex-PARADISE LOST) on drums for the U.K. shows
* Stef Broks (TEXTURES) on drums for the shows in Holland and Belgium
* Huub van Loon (DEARWORLD) on piano

"Across The Seventh Sea" was released on September 28, 2012 on CD, iTunes and limited-edition black-and-blue transparent vinyl.

"Across The Seventh Sea" track listing:

01. Seven Deadly Sins
02. Only The Good Die Young
03. 2 Minutes To Midnight
04. Prowler
05. Flash Of The Blade
06. Children Of The Damned
07. Infinite Dreams
08. 22 Acacia Avenue
09. The Evil That Men Do
10. Wasted Years

The cover artwork for the CD was once again created by Blacklake, who also worked with MAIDEN UNITED on their first studio album, "Mind The Acoustic Pieces".

MAIDEN UNITED's debut album, "Mind The Acoustic Pieces" (2010), was described as "an acoustic re-imagining of the entire classic IRON MAIDEN album "Piece Of Mind" with new arrangements."

For more information, go to www.MaidenuniteD.com.

Steve Baltin of Rolling Stone magazine recently conducted a wide-ranging interview with VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth that primarily documents the frontman's recent adventures living in Japan but also touches upon VAN HALEN's future plans and the possibility of new music from the band. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the possibility of new VAN HALEN music in the future:

Roth: "I would certainly look forward to working with Ed [Van Halen] on some new material, but we have yet to do that. Almost all of the music that you hear on our most recent album was written and demoed before the first album. And I would certainly look forward to writing a whole list of songs with Ed, but we haven't found the time to do that. [laughs] You hear the tone. I'm not sure what's in Ed's mind at this point. I'm gonna guess that his plans are to write with his son, and I'm not sure where that actually leads. But truth be told, Edward and I haven't written a new song in 20 years."

On whether there will be more shows after the upcoming Japanese dates:

Roth: "There's nothing on the ticket as far as travel, and that's a disappointment, frankly. How long have I been back with the gang? Maybe six years, we'll say and we have yet to travel to Europe, South America, Japan, anywhere outside of those basic 50 cities in the United States. And, again, that's been a disappointment. We have an audience and we have a potential future in many, many places, but our story is one of a whole lotta Shakespeare going on. And I don't know where the VAN HALEN future lies aside from the States. We'll always be able to play our hits — and keep in mind we have more hits than Beethoven, we have more hits than Tony Soprano — so getting onstage and playing that is glorious, and certainly getting onstage with the brothers will always be an excitement for me. But in terms of taking the music past where we found it, I'm not sure where that's going to go."

On VAN HALEN's future and the possibility of a reunion with bassist Michael Anthony:

Roth: "Ed has his own vision, I'm assuming. We haven't really been able to speak about it and it's a disappointment, just as not having a chance for a reunion of the original band. Clearly, vocals are every bit as much a component of success as a rhythm section or a guitar solo, and there's an old expression saying, 'They don't go home singing the lighting show, they don't go home singing the production.' You're right, they sing my words and my melodies. And what we have at our fingertips is arguably one of the greatest high tenor voices ever — that was in Michael Anthony. In our tiny little corner of the universe, that voice is as identifiable as the high voice in EARTH, WIND & FIRE, as identifiable as the high voice in the BEACH BOYS. VAN HALEN is an indelicate house blend of both — that's intentionally. So I would always look forward to that reunion, and I would always look forward to writing a whole variety of material. I've offered the fellows, come on out here to the land of the gods. And if you don't want to make it that far we'll make it halfway — Konishiki [his friend and former champion sumo wrestler] has said he'll lend me his house in Hawaii, Let's go woodshed. But so far there hasn't been any response, so hope and faith are not actual tactics and strategies — they're strippers from Albuquerque."

Read the entire interview from Rolling Stone magazine.

Los Angeles-based Metal Blade Records, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012, has partnered with the Trenton Titans declare them as metal's official hockey team. The two brands will be launching various cross-promotions over the next few months, primarily through both companies' array of social networks. The Trenton Titans play in the ECHL the premier "AA" hockey league and are the proud affiliate to the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL and the Adirondack Phantoms in the AHL.

The Trenton Titans host a weekly Google+ and YouTube live video feed. On the show, Titans GM Rich Lisk discusses the latest games, player moves, promotions, a top 10 related to current events in Titans Nation and a question-and-answer segment. Previous broadcasts are available on the Trenton Titans YouTube channel. The Trenton Titans are about halfway through their regular season as part of the ECHL's Eastern Atlantic divison, with the remaining schedule available on TrentonTitansHockey.com. Fans can follow the team there, as well as via their other social outlets.

Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel teamed up at the beginning of 2011 with NHL.com's Shawn Roarke for a new radio show called "Metal Misconduct". This show features interviews with musicians and athletes, merging the worlds of sports and metal music. Past guests have included Drew Stafford (Buffallo Sabres), Josh Barnett (MMA), Kyle Turley (Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints), and more. The podcast is available on iTunes here .

According to The Pulse Of Radio, singer and guitarist Lzzy Hale of the Grammy-winning hard rock band HALESTORM spoke with Playboy.com about using her sex appeal to sell the band and the focus on image in the music industry. Hale remarked, "I don't mind dressing up and doing the short skirt and high heels thing . . . the only stipulation that I have about this is that you have to make sure you have something to back it up. You can't totally ride on the fact that I'm going to show my legs and people are going to show attention. If they can get past the legs, make sure you can actually sing and be good at your instruments."

Hale added, "Sex and rock 'n' roll have been going together hand-in-hand since the beginning of time. You can't get away from it."

The vocalist told The Pulse Of Radio that she believes it can be too easy sometimes for female musicians to rely solely on their looks. "Actually, I've been encouraging a lot of people to challenge us, and make sure that when you're reading these articles or you're seeing us in magazines or something, that you go and you check us out live, or you go and you sample a CD, something like that," she said. "If people start doing that and don't just look at us because we're a quote-unquote pretty face, or scantily clad — I think if more people were looking beyond that, it would make us step up a little bit."

Hale also said that she's pleased to see the percentage of females in HALESTORM's audience growing, explaining, "I see all of these girls who are not there because their boyfriends dragged them along, you know? They're very empowered, a little crazy like me, and it's wonderful to be in a room like that because when we first started out there weren't a whole lot of girls at the rock shows unless you count the girlfriends of somebody in the band."

HALESTORM won the Grammy Award for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" on Sunday night (February 10) for the song "Love Bites (So Do I)", beating out veteran acts like IRON MAIDEN and MARILYN MANSON.

The group continues to hit the trail in support of its second album, last year's "The Strange Case Of..." They'll join headliners BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE on this year's edition of the "HardDrive Live" tour, which kicks off on April 12 in Denver and runs through late May.

TBFM Online conducted an interview with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach at the Hard Rock Hell festival, which took place between November 29, 2012 and December 3, 2012 at Hafan-y-Mor Holiday Camp in North Wales, United Kingdom. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

TBFM Online: Late 2011, [your latest solo album] "Kicking & Screaming" came out, of course. How well has that done?

Bach: People love it! I play the songs in concert right next to the SKID ROW songs and they stick together. I think I've proven, you know, with [all the albums I've recorded], the fans know I make good fucking albums. [laughs] I've made a lot of 'em now! When I get excited about a song, it's a real excitement. It's not fake, and I can't fake that feeling. If a songwriter writes a song with me and I don't like it, I can't lie to him and say, "Oh, this is great." I either love it or I can't sing it. I can't sing a song that I don't love.

TBFM Online: You don't feel it?

Bach: I've tried to, but in the old band, I would come up with something that I wouldn't be into, and I'd go up to the mic and try to be a good guy and one of the team, and I would start singing and then my mouth would just shut [laughs] and everyone would go, "What the fuck, dude?" I don't know what to tell you … I can't pretend to rock. I have to love the music. I didn't get into this business to release music that I don't like. I got into this business to create music that I fucking love and I wanna grab you by the collar and go, "Listen to this!" [laughs]

TBFM Online: How hard do you find it, with radio stations and the like, to get your new stuff heard? Everyone likes to play old SKID ROW tracks that everyone knows.

Bach: Well, I just keep my head down. I don't bother… Like, the video for the song "Kicking & Screaming" is over a million plays on YouTube. A million plays is a million plays, and you can't fucking argue with that! I mean, how many people is that? It's a million fucking people! So I'm lucky, you know. I just keep my fucking head down, you know. I don't say, "Oh, what's everyone else doing?" I don't give a shit what anyone is doing. I have one life, and I've been doing this all my life, and just like Ronnie James Dio, I will do this when I'm 63, god willing, if I make it that far. But I am that kind of guy — I will be singing '18 And Life', hitting the scream, god willing, when I'm fucking in my 60s, 'cause I can do it.

Read the entire interview from TBFM Online.

Fan-filmed video footage of Polish extreme metal veterans VADER performing on February 10 in Alkmaar, The Netherlands can be seen below.

VADER is currently working on material for its new album, "Straight To Hell", for a late 2013 release.

The band's latest CD, "Welcome To The Morbid Reich", was released in Europe on August 12, 2011 and in North America on September 13, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland and features the cover artwork of Zbigniew Bielak (DESTRÖYER 666, WATAIN). The band laid down a total of 12 songs for the CD, which was mixed and mastered in May 2011.

Phil Fiumano of New York Rocks conducted an interview with German metal queen Doro Pesch when she played at B.B King Blues Club & Grill in New York City on February 4. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is footage of the New York City performance.

Doro was forced to cancel tonight's (Tuesday, February 12) concert at The Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan due to illness. As per doctor's orders, Doro is required to rest her voice after suffering from a sinus and throat infection for the last few days.

Doro's latest album, "Raise Your Fist", sold 585 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 65 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

In a recent interview with Lords Of Metal, Doro stated about her expectations for "Raise Your Fist", Doro said, "I will be very happy when the fans say they love the record; that's the most important for me. I really don't keep up with numbers, which are, in my opinion, great to talk about afterwards. It's nice if we will be able to make the charts again, but to me, those kind of things don't really matter. Much more important is that the fans dig the songs in a live situation and, since we already played 'Raise Your Fist' several times live, the first signs are very positive."