Swedish metallers DEATHDESTRUCTION have finished recording their sophomore album, tentatively titled "Death Is The Winner", at Bohus Sound studios in Kungälv, Sweden with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE). Laghi is currently mixing the CD, whose sound is described by the new DEATHDESTRUCTION singer Tony Jelencovich as "much wider than [that of] the debut album; it's harder, more mature and has more melancholy."

The following songs were laid down during the "Death Is The Winner" sessions:

* Set The Sail
* Divine Justice
* False Flag
* I Am The Plague
* Moscow Morning
* Dead Pilot
* Taste The Mud
* Insane Stays Sane
* Towards The Light
* I Promised You Nothing
* Dead Tomorrow
* Money, Blood, Crucifixus
* A Shelter From Harm
* Give It A Try

Vocalist Jimmie Strimell quit DEATHDESTRUCTION in June 2012 in order to focus on his other band, DEAD BY APRIL.

Regarding Tony's addditon to DEATHDESTRUCTION, the other members of the group said, "Tony is a friend to the band, and he has truly made a mark in the Gothenburg scene with bands like B-THONG, TRANSPORT LEAGUE and MASSIVE AUDIO NERVE. He's also worked with bands like MNEMIC and the Russian band ICON IN ME.

"Tony has everything we look for in a lead singer and a frontman, so the choice was just so easy when we had to find ourselves a new singer. We're totally stoked about what he will contribute to DEATHDESTRUCTION! This is going to be so fucking good, people!!"

DEATHDESTRUCTION in 2011 inked a deal with the Swedish branch of Sony Music Entertainment. The band's three-song EP, "Fuck Yeah", was released in April 2011 and was followed by the group's self-titled debut album in August 2011. The CD was recorded at IN FLAMES' IF Studios with Laghi.

DEATHDESTRUCTION is:

* Tony Jelencovich (B-THONG, TRANSPORT LEAGUE, MASSIVE AUDIO NERVE) - Vocals
* Henrik Danhage (ex-EVERGREY) - Guitar
* Fredrik "Loppan" Larsson (HAMMERFALL) - Bass
* Jonas Ekdahl (ex-EVERGREY) - Drums

Hollywood, California-based act SYNICAL, which features in its ranks record producer Brian Haught (L7) and notorious musician Eric Griffin (former member of MURDERDOLLS, WEDNESDAY 13, GENITORTURERS and current member of DAVEY SUICIDE), has just released its debut album, "Quit While You're Behind", via the French label Deadlight Entertainment. The CD features guest appearances by Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, ex-SOULFLY), Alex Carapetis (NINE INCH NAILS, JULIAN CASABLANCAS) and Racci Shay (MURDERDOLLS).

SYNICAL was formed by Brian Haught in 1989 as a solo project in Atlanta, Georgia. Its initial sound was created using state-of-the-art electronics with limited rock-based instruments and eventually began to evolve into something much more original.

Dutch female-fronted thrashers IZEGRIM have issued the following update:

"Our alliance with Listenable Records proved to be so fruitfull that we will release a second album on this excellent label.

"As we are firm believers in 'never break a winning team,' we will record the new CD at the Soundlodge Studio Germany.

"Recordings will start late April. Release date has been set for September 2013."

IZEGRIM's latest album, "Code Of Consequences", came out in 2011 via Listenable.

Immediately after the release of the band's 2009 EP, "Point Of No Return", IZEGRIM started writing/composing material for its new CD. Their mission was to create the most versitale, riff-packed, in-your-face-sounding record in the history of IZEGRIM. After more than a year of working as hard as they ever did, they've accomplished their objectives. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken (Soundlodge Studio), this record has become exactly the way they wanted it to be.

IZEGRIM is:

Jeroen Wechgelaer - Guitar
Marloes Voskuil - Bass/Vocals
Bart Van Ginkel - Guitar
Ivo Maarhuis - Drums

Charly Steinhauer, guitarist/vocalist of long-running German metallers PARADOX, underwent open-heart surgery on December 27. His bandmates state: "We've been in the hospital to visit Charly and he's getting better. He wants to thank you all for the good wishes and the love and support you showed him in the last few days! That really does mean a lot to him.

"We shall tell you: PARADOX will never die! As long as it's possible for him, he will write new stuff, and if possible, we will return on stage!

"All planed shows for the next half year had been canceled, but if Charly's health condition allows it, we want to be back on stage in August at Queens Of Metal Open Air!"

The official lyric video for the song "Brutalized" from PARADOX can be seen below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Tales Of The Weird", which was released on December 14 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Steinhauer and was mixed and mastered by Victor Bullok (a.k.a. V. Santura; TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS) at Woodshed Studio in Landshut, Germany. The cover art was created by Claudio Bergamin.

"Tales Of The Weird" features guest appearances by Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND) and Gus Drax (SUNBURST).

The new PARADOX lineup is as follows:

Charly Steinhauer (vocals, guitar)
Christian Muenzner (guitar)
Olly Keller (bass)
Daniel "Evil Ewald" Buld (drums)

"Brutalized" lyric video:

Swedish old-school death metallers NOMINON will celebrate their 20th anniversary this year by playing "a few special shows." In addition, the band is thinking about releasing a "best-of" album and is taking suggestions from fans on Facebook for other possible ways to commemorate the occasion.

NOMINON's fifth album, "The Cleansing", was released in October via Deathgasm Records. The CD was recorded at Studio Hell by Robert Ericsson and was mixed and mastered by Javi Feléz and Perra Karlsson at Moontower Studios in Barcelona, Spain. The CD digipak version of "The Cleansing" comes with a 12-page booklet.

NOMINON's fourth album, "Monumentomb", was released in March 2010 via Deathgasm Records.

NOMINON is:

Henke Skoog - Vocals
Juha Sulasalmi - Bass, Backing Vocals
Perra Karlsson - Drums
AntiChristian - Guitar
Alex Lyrbo - Guitar, Backing Vocals

"Until The Sun Comes", the new video from California blues rockers RIVAL SONS, can be seen below. The clip was filmed in November 2012 with director Simon Gesrel, who is well known for his stop-motion work and his collaboration with Michel Gondry (THE WHITE STRIPES, BJORK).

Commented RIVAL SONS frontman Jay Buchanan: "I really dig this video; it's a completely new direction for us.

"Filming videos can be very awkward for me, but this time I got to ride a dirt bike out in the desert where I'm most comfortable; it just felt so natural for the song. We're all pretty good on a bike so we just took turns doing tricks and trying to outdo each other. We ended up with some sweet footage. Nice."

"Until The Sun Comes" comes off RIVAL SONS' new album, "Head Down", which was released in Europe on September 17, 2012 via Earache Records. The CD, which will be made available on physical formats in the USA on January 22, 2013, was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with Grammy-nominated producer Dave Cobb (JAMIE JOHNSON, SHOOTER JENNINGS) and Grammy-wining engineer Vance Powell (JACK WHITE, THE WHITE STRIPES, KINGS OF LEON). The artwork was created by Jason Holley (JOSH RITTER, RAY LAMONTAGNE) and can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Shindig! magazine's hip little sister Happening, RIVAL SONS guitarist Scott Holiday stated about "Head Down", "We toured for over a year straight on the back of 'Pressure & Time', lots of improvisation. Making a lot of shit up on a nightly basis — getting very tuned in. Doing this made us closer to each other, the songs, and our audience. Much more in touch. That said, I think we put together a more live, conversational record (musically) than any of our others. It's our fourth record, technically. We knew where we wanted to fill in the gaps. It's more of a 'long-form record for us, too, which I wanted because that will better reflect the live show. We really got to stretch out, hit some new influences. I definitely got to explore and show a few new tricks in my bag. That's what it's all about though, right? Pushing your personal boundaries. It still sounds very much like a RIVAL SONS record, though. I think it's definitely our best-'sounding' record sonically. And most complete, as far as the concept, songs, artwork. And I will mention it's a double vinyl, which I can really dig, with gatefold cover of a beautiful painting created for us by Jason Holley."

Video footage of Helsinki, Finland-based female-fronted metallers SHEAR performing an acoustic set on December 26, 2012 at On The Rocks in their hometown can be seen below.

SHEAR last year parted ways with bassist Eerik Purdon and replaced him with Silver Ots (DEAD SHAPE FIGURE, THE NIBIRUAN, AMORAL).

SHEAR released its full-length debut, "Breaking The Stillness", in March 2012 via Lifeforce Records.

SHEAR guitarists Mikael Gronroos and Lauri Koskenniemi, and keyboardist Lari Sorvo have played together since 2001.

SHEAR is:

* Alexa Leroux - Vocals
* Mikael Grönroos (CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Guitar
* Lauri Koskenniemi (THE NIBIRUAN, ELENIUM, CRYSTAL BLAZE, ex-IMPERANON) - Guitar
* Silver Ots (DEAD SHAPE FIGURE, THE NIBIRUAN, AMORAL) - Bass
* Lari Sorvo (CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Keyboards
* Juhana Karlsson (AMORAL, CRYSTAL BLAZE) - Drums

ASESINO — the death metal/grindcore project featuring FEAR FACTORY/DIVINE HERESY guitarist Dino Cazares and ex-STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos (on bass/vocals) — is preparing to enter the studio to begin recording its third album, "La Segunda Venida" (English-language translation: "The Second Coming") for a late 2013 release via Odio Records.

Prior to laying down the new CD, ASESINO will embark on a short tour, dubbed "Regresando Odio Gira 2013" (English-language translation: "Returning Hate Tour"), consisting of the following dates:

Jan. 11 - West Hollywood, CA - Key Club
Jan. 12 - Las Vegas, NV - Cheyenne Saloon
Jan. 18 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
Jan. 19 - Fresno, CA - Starline
Jan. 28 - Fullerton, CA - Slidebar

In a 2011 interview with Noisecreep, Cazares stated about ASESINO's planned follow-up to 2006's "Cristo Satanico": "On the first record [2002's 'Corridos de Muerte'], it's an introduction to who Asesino [official character based on an actual person, who was an assassin for a certain mafia] is. It introduces what his job is — to kill. At the end of the album, he gets caught, gets sentenced to death on the electric chair. He dies and goes to hell. Unfortunately, the way he dies was a priest was frightened by what he said on the electric chair. The priest pulled the lever on the assassin. He goes to hell and strikes a deal with the devil. The devil says, 'I will grant you life on Earth but you have to carry out this one task for me.' Asesino says, 'No problem.'

"So, on the second album, 'Cristo Satanico', which means 'Satanic Christ,' Asesino comes back to Earth, since Lucifer granted him life on Earth if he carries out this one task. He had to go out and kill somebody. No problem. But also Asesino had revenge that he wanted to seek on the priest who killed him. He found out that his boss, a person he was killing for, was the person who set him up, got him in prison, and got him into the death sentence in the first place. So he had two people he wanted to go kill. That was his boss and the priest. Obviously when an assassin is going to kill somebody, he investigates where they go, where they work, what time they go to bed, what time they shit... he knows everything about the person before he kills them. So he's investigating the priest, he finds out the priest is a pedophile. He likes to fuck little boys. He's been taking money from the community. He's been living very lavishly, very rich and wealthy. All of the money has been coming from the church and from the people. He's also been molesting little boys and raping them.

"So Asesino goes and captures the priest, tortures him and makes him admit to everything he's doing wrong. He tortures him and buries him alive, so he could suffer down there for all the suffering he's caused. At the end of the album, he confronts his boss and has his boss on his knees, saying 'I know why you set me up.' His boss was jealous of the assassin because he was gaining respect amongst the mafia, more than his boss. He ended up cutting his head off with a machete.

"On the new album, the reason we are calling it 'The Second Coming' is because when he buried the priest alive, the priest gets out. He gets out of the grave that he buried him in. The priest is resurrected in a way. So it's going to be a battle of evil [against] evil... A battle between Asesino and the priest."

Rockabye Baby! — which transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies — will release "Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Rush" on January 29.

Album description: "Do you have a modern-day warrior putting up a fight at bedtime? Looking for a reliable way to put baby to sleep and not some fly-by-night sandman? Try Rockabye Baby’s tender lullaby versions of RUSH's hard-rock hits. This magic music will bring your baby closer to the heart of slumberland."

"Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions Of Rush" track listing:

01. Fly By Night
02. The Trees
03. Freewill
04. Closer To The Heart
05. A Farewell To Kings
06. Limelight
07. 2112: Overture
08. Tom Sawyer
09. The Spirit Of Radio
10. Working Man
11. Subdivisions
12. Red Barchetta

Check out audio samples of all the tracks at RockabyeBabyMusic.com.

"Fly By Night" audio sample:

Video footage of the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE performing live on December 31 at Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Walk In The Shadows
04. The Whisper
05. En Force
06. Child Of Fire
07. Warning
08. The Needle Lies
09. Prophecy
10. Road To Madness
11. I Don't Believe In Love
12. My Empty Room
13. Eyes Of A Stranger

Encore:

14. Take Hold Of The Flame
15. Jet City Woman
16. Silent Lucidity
17. Empire

QUEENSRŸCHE has finished recording the drums for its new album at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington with producer James "Jimbo" Barton — the man who engineered and mixed the band's classic 1988 LP, "Operation: Mindcrime", and its 1990 follow-up, "Empire", and co-produced 1994's "Promised Land". The rest of the music and vocals are being laid down at several different facilities on the West Coast.

In a recent interview with Metal Assault, drummer Scott Rockenfield stated about QUEENSRŸCHE's renewed collaboration with Barton: "It's a great thing — we're really excited about it, he's really excited about it. We've wanted to work with him for a while, but for whatever reason, we just hadn't gone there yet. This is a great time for us to do that, though. We all discussed who we wanted to do the record with, and he was one of the first names that came up. It was easy for us to pick up the phone and call him. It was like our relationship picked up right where it left off, so it's gonna be a lot of fun. He's a very creative guy that did some great records with us in the past. I think that's one of the most important things when it comes to why we want to work with him."

Asked if fans will see a return to the progressive metal sound QUEENSRŸCHE had in the '80s, Scott said: "What we're trying to do, and what has been really interesting since Todd has jumped into the band, we're trying to revisit the old QUEENSRŸCHE catalog — stuff off of the EP and "The Warning". That's always been a part of what we are, so yeah, definitely! I think in my opinion, we're really revisiting that vibe of why that music was special back then for us. There will be a modern flair to it, though, just because we're in the modern age. The fun thing about Jimbo being a part of it is that he can help tie together the two sides. He does come from our past and some of the great records and some of the great sounds that we're known for, but he's also living in the modern age and doing some interesting things as well. I think it's going to be a really great QUEENSRŸCHE record. People are going to go, 'Wow, that's QUEENSRŸCHE! That sounds just like what we've known them to be, and what we would expect them to now be.' That's what I think peple will get out of it."

CORRECTIONS HOUSE, the new collective featuring Mike IX Williams (EYEHATEGOD), Scott Kelly (NEUROSIS), Sanford Parker (NACHTMYSTIUM) and Bruce Lamont (YAKUZA), has scheduled a string a rare live shows in January/February. The 19-date trek will commence on January 21 in Brooklyn, New York and wind its way through much of the of the East Coast before concluding in Denver, Colorado. Special solo sets by Parker, Lamont, Kelly and Williams will be performed prior to closing each night as CORRECTIONS HOUSE.

CORRECTIONS HOUSE winter tour 2013:

Jan. 21 - Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY
Jan. 22 - Great Scott - Boston, MA
Jan. 23 - BAR - New Haven, CT
Jan. 24 - Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD
Jan. 25 - DC9 - Washington, DC
Jan. 26 - Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
Jan. 27 - Kings Barcade - Raleigh, NC
Jan. 28 - The Atlantic - Gainesville, FL
Jan. 30 - Churchill’s - Miami, FL
Jan. 31 - Crowbar - Tampa, FL
Feb. 02 - Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
Feb. 06 - Siberia - New Orleans, LA
Feb. 07 - Rudyyards - Houston, TX
Feb. 08 - Korova - San Antonio, TX
Feb. 09 - Red 7 - Austin, TX
Feb. 10 - Bryan Street Tavern - Dallas, TX
Feb. 11 - Opolis - Norman, OK
Feb. 13 - Slowdown - Omaha, NE
Feb. 15 - Moon Room - Denver, CO

METALLICA, VAN HALEN, SCORPIONS and AEROSMITH had some of the top-grossing tours of 2012 worldwide, according to industry tracker Pollstar.

The top spot went to Madonna, whose 2012 tour took in a whopping $296.1 million from 88 shows.

METALLICA landed at No. 8, with a gross estimate of $86.1 million for 30 concerts.

The "Top 50 Worldwide Tours" did a combined gross of $3 billion, which was down about 2 percent from $3.07 billion in 2011.

Total tickets sold was 34.9 million which continued the decline from 35.48 million the previous year and is well off the pace from 2009 when the Top 50 sold 45.3 million. The average global ticket price was $85.93 which was down 60 cents from last year but still well above the $73.83 charged in the more robust year of 2009.

Heavy metal/hard rock artists on Pollstar's 2012 "Top 50 Worldwide Tours" chart:

#8 - METALLICA: $86.1 million from 30 shows
#15 - VAN HALEN: $49.9 million from 50 shows
#38 - SCORPIONS: $32.7 million from 74 shows
#44 - AEROSMITH: $31 million from 33 shows

According to AOL's Noisecreep, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt, SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, AMEN vocalist Casey Chaos and ex-QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE bassist Nick Oliveri have joined forces in an as-yet-unnamed project. The new group is currently recording music for a documentary about House Of Shock, the infamous New Orleans haunted house attraction founded in 1992 by ex-PANTERA frontman Philip Anselmo. Helming the sessions is producer Ross Robinson (SLIPKNOT, KORN, DEFTONES), who was approached to provide music for the film by director Dean Karr (best known for his landmark videos for MARILYN MANSON) and producer Sean E. Demott.

Holt, who has been touring with SLAYER for the past two years, filling in for Jeff Hanneman (who is still recuperating from the spider bite that nearly cost him his arm), tells Noisecreep: "Whenever Dave and I would get on deck for soundcheck [during the SLAYER tours], we'd go up there first and jam make up stuff every day. It just comes easy for us. We're both into being spontaneous and improvising. We probably have an album's worth of material."

He adds: "The [song] we were working on today, it's like a combination of all of our bands with DISCHARGE and THE EXPLOITED and GBH on it. Really, really punk. Super crunchy and super brutal. It just came together so naturally. There's a beat and a riff and Casey starts spewing some venom on top of it. It's awesome!"

Read more from Noisecreep.

Pictured below (left to right): Ross Robinson, Gary Holt, Dave Lombardo, Casey Chaos

Audio samples of the songs "Conflict" and "Family, 'Friends,' And Associates" from legendary PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL and DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo can be streamed at Amazon.com. Both tracks will appear on "War Of The Gargantuas", the new split album featuring Anselmo and Texas thrashers WARBEAST, which will be released on January 8 via Philip's Housecore Records. This album serves as the first release of any solo work by Anselmo during the span of his nearly 30-year legacy.

"This split is a glimpse into the future of both my solo project and ultimate thrash metallers WARBEAST," says Anselmo.

"The title of the split is 'War Of The Gargantuas' and it is fitting on many levels because of our combined love for the '60s Japanese film of the same name, the power of our combined musical output(s) and our humorous affection that plays out within each of our 'Gargantuan' personalities.

"Both WARBEAST and myself have full-length LPs that will be released shortly after this is released, but this split is unique musically. It is a time capsule; a loud pause 'til we both release our full-length products. Enjoy the destruction of music!"

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS is:

Philip H. Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA) - Vocals
Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL) - Guitar
Bennett Bartley - Bass
José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) - Drums

In a recent interview with U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine, Anselmo spoke about his forthcoming full-length solo debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which will be released in early 2013 via Housecore.

Asked what prompted him to make a solo CD now, Anselmo said, "I am a lover of all sorts of music but really my heart is ... really I love extreme music, underground music, whether it be grindcore, death metal, thrash, black metal, [or whatever other] subgenre, and I find beauty in a lot of this stuff."

He continued, "I wanted to do an extreme record that didn't necessarily fit in any of those aforementioned categories, really, but it's metal. It's very tough for me to describe, man. I really wanted to do an extreme record again. I did it out of pure, fucking need — need — and love. I just needed to do it for myself."

Anselmo said that he chose to release the CD under his own name because "if I was to name it something, to me, it may be tough on the fans, or people, that might be interested in hearing what I'm doing, just to buy into a whole new band, where in all truth, I'm very, very, what's the word, just very guarded and I wrote every fucking goddamn note of it and that's just how its going to fucking be.

He added, "I don't want another all-star band, I don 't want another supergroup, if you will, I don't want it to be misconstrued, and this is something I can take as a solo artist, as a free agent, I can take this wherever I want to go. If I want to make the next record a completely different style, yet still extreme in its own right, I can do that … So it's gonna be up to y'all to figure it out: it's really not my place to say it's death metal or it's extreme thrash or black metal, I'm not gonna put it in a category. It is extreme, though, in its own right. Anything that was completely traditional, I would stop it and fuck with it a little, make sure it wasn't so paint-by-numbers, because that's the last thing I wanna do, and as a matter of fact, I believe that's what people will be expecting."

On the topic of his lyrical approach on "Walk Through Exits Only", Anselmo said, "[It's] very real, very honest, very close to the sleeve, close to the heart, close to the fingertips, close to everyday life, and maybe [about] periods of my life that I've gone through. People that have heard the record have said it is the angriest record that they've heard in a very, very long time. And I have to agree with them — it is an angry, angry album. It is just a statement of my condition a lotta times. Daily I still deal with heaps of chronic pain, if you will, whether it be my knee, my hip, the shoulder sockets, the elbow, the fucking back — you name it, man. I've busted everything, man, so there is a frustration there that you can't necessarily get across in DOWN, so it does have an angry edge to it and really, truth be told, the name of the record could be 'Songs From The Bedroom Of Philip Anselmo'; it's not a pretty place. [laughs] [It's] not as sexy as it sounds'l [It's a] fucking, raging fucking place where I can simmer and boil over in private."

Asked what expectations he has for the solo record, Anselmo said, "Me being the pessimist, some people will love it, some people will hate it. Will I break new ground? I don't know. I really don't have any fucking idea. Music is vast, people's opinions are vast and boy can you read them on the comments section today.

He continued, "If you enjoyed stuff in the past, then I think you 'll really enjoy the fucking solo record and people who still to this day [say], 'Ah I wish Phil would sing more. He's got such a pretty voice when he sings' then its gonna be a gigantic fucking letdown. [laughs] I cannot wait, truthfully, for the likes of yourself and fans alike to consume this shit. Love it or hate it, it's coming."

According to VVN Music, METALLICA upped their platinum album totals in December on two of their classics, with the band's self-titled LP (a.k.a. the Black Album) getting its 16th platinum certificate from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America), signifying 16,000,000 copies sold, while "Ride The Lightning" landed its sixth. They also secured six gold certificates for passing 500,000 digital downloads of individual songs and two gold certificates for songs that exceeded 500,000 downloads as ringtones.

Multi-Platinum Album (1,000,000 units sold)

* Metallica (16x Platinum)
* Ride The Lightning (6x Platinum)

Digital Gold Single (500,000 units sold)

* Nothing Else Matters
* Fade to Black
* The Unforgiven
* For Whom the Bell Tolls
* Master of Puppets
* The Day That Never Comes

Mastertone Gold Song (500,000 ringtone downloads)

* Enter Sandman
* One

"Metallica" in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era.

Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.

METALLICA played the complete "black album" at its own Orion Music + More festival, which took place last June in Atlantic City, New Jersey. METALLICA headlined both days and performed its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on the other day of the festival.

"Lie To Me", the new video from Italian power metallers SECRET SPHERE, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Ludovico Galletti and Sam Skenia for LAB35 Films, and it features actress Chiara "Dirty" Brambilla from Ladydiabolika Dolls. The song comes off the band's seventh album, "Portrait Of A Dying Heart", which was released on November 25, 2012 via Scarlet Records. The CD features a 40-page booklet, including the novel "She Complies With The Night" on which the album is based.

"Portrait Of A Dying Heart" track listing:

01. Portrait Of A Dying Heart
02. X
03. Wish & Steadiness
04. Union
05. The Fall
06. Healing
07. Lie To Me
08. Secrets Fear
09. The Rising Of Love
10. Eternity

SECRET SPHERE last year announced the addition of former VISION DIVINE and THAUROROD vocalist Michele Luppi to the group's ranks.

Said Luppi in a statement: "'Portrait Of A Dying Heart' is by far one of the best album I've done."

He added, "I wanna thank [the other members of SECRET SPHERE] for their trust and belief, and I'm willing to share all my experience and passion in order to write and perform our music the best way we can... For us and, most of all, for you."

After 12 years, six albums, and tours around the world, Roberto "Ramon" Messina decided to leave SECRET SPHERE due to musical differences.

SECRET SPHERE's sixth album, "Archetype", was released in Europe in September 2010 via Scarlet Records.

Californian rockers BUCKCHERRY will release their sixth studio album, "Confessions", on February 13. The disc will be BUCKCHERRY's first domestic release with new label Century Media Records. The CD will be made available via Eleven Seven Music in other parts of the world.

"Confessions" is a loose concept album that revolves around the notion of the seven deadly sins and is inspired by events in singer Josh Todd's childhood. The vocalist told The Pulse Of Radio how first single, "Gluttony", fits into this. "Seven of the songs on the record are the seven sins, so 'Gluttony', you know, it's just about over-consuming everything in your life, you know, and just being a glutton," he said. "And it's got a great hook and I really love the lyrics and everybody likes the song."

"Confessions" track listing:

01. Gluttony
02. Wrath
03. Nothing Left But Tears
04. The Truth
05. Greed
06. Water
07. Seven Ways To Die
08. Air
09. Sloth
10. Pride
11. Envy
12. Lust
13. Dreamin' Of You

Todd has helped co-write a short film that will come out around the same time as the album and expand upon the record's themes. It's not clear yet how the film will be distributed. BUCKCHERRY did do some sort of video shoot in November in Los Angeles for an unspecified song from the album, putting out an open casting call for fans to appear in the clip.

Todd said that "Confessions" is "definitely a heavier, musically, record than we've ever had, and more melodic. It's pretty intense, but everybody's gonna love it. It's quintessential BUCKCHERRY at the end of the day."

The band will join KID ROCK as special guests on his upcoming "Rebel Soul" tour, beginning February 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.

German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA have entered the studio to begin recording their new album, "Eternal Defiance", for a mid-2013 release.

The first photo from the sessions can be seen below.

Commented SUIDAKRA singer Arkadius Antonik: "As on the previous two releases, it will be a concept album again, created by [famous Belgian graphic artist] Kris Verwimp in cooperation with us. Our new concept includes a lot of new elements and suprises which will be reflected in the music as well."

In a 2012 interview with Metal Kaoz, Antonik stated about SUIDAKRA's new material: "The songs we have finished [so far] are bombastic and we also finished the first song with Tina's [Stabel] female vocals. This time, it's gonna be a faster song with a real epic and catchy chorus."

Bassist Marcus Riewaldt last year announced his departure from SUIDAKRA. He said in a statement, "After more than 250 shows and 10 years being in the band, I feel that now time has come to change my priorities a bit and see what else life has to offer for me. No hard feelings involved; it's just that I cannot motivate myself for another writing-rehearsing-recording-promoting-touring cycle and that I'm really annoyed by some of the music business mechanisms that one has to deal with in order to continue this beautiful and exciting, but at the same time very time- and energy-consuming hobby. I wish SUIDAKRA much luck and success for the future — it would all be well deserved!"

SUIDAKRA has already secured a replacement bassist in Tim Siebrecht, who was a stand-in guitar player for SUIDAKRA on several occasions in recent years.

SUIDAKRA's tenth album, "Book Of Dowth", was released on March 25, 2011 via AFM Records.

The cover artwork for "Temper Temper", the fourth studio album from Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, can be seen below. Due on February 12, the LP will be available in both standard and deluxe editions on RCA Records.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE in November filmed a video for the song "Riot" in New York City with renowned director P.R. Brown, who has previously worked with such artists as MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, John Mayer, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, Prince, AUDIOSLAVE, MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M. The track will be available at all digital providers on January 15.

"Temper Temper" was once again produced by Don Gilmore (LINKIN PARK, GOOD CHARLOTTE), who worked on the group's last LP, 2010's "Fever", and was mixed by noted engineer Chris Lord-Alge (DEFTONES, NICKELBACK, AVENGED SEVENFOLD).

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck recently revealed that the band's recording process on this album was influenced in part by his work in his side project AXEWOUND. "We approached the record a lot differently this time around," he said. "It was kind of more inspired by the way I did the AXEWOUND record. And that was basically: Get in the studio and write and record as you went along."

"Temper Temper" track listing:

01. Breaking Point
02. Truth Hurts
03. Temper Temper
04. Pow
05. Dirty Little Secret
06. Leech
07. Dead To The World
08. Riot
09. Saints n Sinners
10. Tears Don't Fall (Part 2)
11. Livin Life (On The Edge of A Knife)

Deluxe-edition bonus tracks:

12. Not Invincible
13. Whole Lotta Rosie (from the "Live Lounge" show on BBC Radio 1)
14. Scream Aim Fire (from the "Live Lounge" show on BBC Radio)

The "Temper Temper" title track was released on November 25 across all digital providers.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will embark on a U.K. tour in March. Support on all dates will come from HALESTORM.

"The Distance", the new video from U.K. post-hardcore veterans FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's sixth studio album, "Conduit", which will be released in North America on Tuesday, February 5 via The End Records.

"Conduit", the follow-up to 2011's critically acclaimed "Welcome Home Armageddon", an album which saw the band approach their music with renewed vigor following the addition of new members Gavin Burrough and Richard Boucher, belts out a tightly wound collection of tracks, bursting with emotion and personal conflict but also full of commentary on the inner workings and experiences of an established band. It's the sound of a band growing and progressing both as a unit and individually.

Again with producer Romesh Dodangoda (MOTÖRHEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, LOSTPROPHETS) at the helm, the album's opening track "Spine", a song handling the issue of intense pressure and overcoming tough obstacles in your life to achieve a sense of personal fulfillment, hope and love, went for radio adds in December.

Last year, the group tapped director Ryan Mackfall of Team Crashburn (FOUR YEAR STRONG, SHARKS, FOXY SHAZAM) to direct the video for "Best Friends And Hospital Beds". Set in a bleak and derelict landscape, the song revolves around themes of friendship and death.

The End Records has assembled the ultimate FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND fan package! The exclusive limited-edition box set contains the new album "Conduit", an exclusive second disc "Live From The Roundhouse", FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND t-shirt, signed poster, cassette version of the album and booklet featuring handwritten notes from all the band about the album. Additionally, the label is taking pre-orders for a limited edition run of 12-inch gatefold splatter color vinyl. All orders will come signed and numbered, strictly limited to 500 copies. Also includes digital download card.

"Conduit" track listing:

01. Spine
02. Conduit
03. The Distance
04. Best Friends And Hospital Beds
05. Nails
06. Death Comes To Us All
07. Travelled
08. Grey
09. Sun-Less
10. Elements
11. High Castles

Quality video footage of Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) performing the IRON MAIDEN classic "The Clansman" on November 11, 2012 at Masters of Rock Café in Zlín, Czech Republic can be seen below.

Blaze will release his upcoming collaborative acoustic EP with Belgium-based classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen, "Russian Holiday" on February 5. The effort, which is available for pre-order in Basic, Silver (name mentioned in the booklet) and Gold (name mentioned in the booklet and a limited edition t-shirt) packages, features four re-arranged songs from previous albums and one brand new song written by Bayley and Zwijsen.

"Russian Holiday" is expected to include a "full classical guitar arrangement" of the IRON MAIDEN song "Sign Of The Cross", which the duo performed on their recent U.K. acoustic tour.

Bayley's new studio album, "The King Of Metal", was released in March 2012. The CD was recorded at Fear Studio in Ravenna, Italy.

The 49-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to replace Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer of IRON MAIDEN.

Drummer Matt Sorum (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER, THE CULT) has entered the studio to begin recording his new solo album. He says: "My new solo record will not be a rock record and I am not playing drums on it. [I am] singing and [playing] acoustic [guitar] mainly, [and] using another drummer [for the recording sessions]."

According to Sorum, the material that is being laid down for his upcoming solo CD can best be described as "a cross between DOORS, PINK FLOYD, WILCO, DAVID GRAY, PETER MURPHY and PORTISHEAD." Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Sea", "What Ziggy Says", "Killers N' Lovers", "Ode To Nick Drake", "Blue Josephine", "Gone", "Lady Of The Stone" and "Land Of The Pure", the latter of which is "about children of Pakistan," says Sorum.

Sorum's solo debut, "Hollywood Zen", came out in 2003

Sorum was born Matthew William Sorum (Norwegian spelling Sørum), on November 19, 1960, in the present-day city of Mission Viejo, California. His parents were of English and Norwegian descent.

Sorum achieved fame with GUNS N' ROSES, where he replaced Steven Adler in the band, who was fired because of drug addiction. While with the Los Angeles-based hard rock group (1990-1997), Sorum recorded the highly successful albums "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" (both 1991) and "The Spaghetti Incident" (1994). He also supported the group on the "Use Your Illusion" tour and can be heard on GUNS N' ROSES' "Live Era: '87-'93" (1999) and "Greatest Hits" (2004).

Starting out as a season musician in Los Angeles in the 1980s, Sorum had his first taste with success as part of THE CULT in 1989. A decade later, after being fired from GUNS N' ROSES, he was reunited with the group and played the drums for their 2001 album "Beyond Good And Evil".

Sorum is the drummer of VELVET REVOLVER, a group he founded in 2002 with former GUNS N' ROSES band members Slash and Duff McKagan. The band has released two albums, "Contraband" (2004) and "Libertad" (2007), but has been inactive since 2008 after parting ways with singer Scott Weiland.

"To Breach And Grieve", the new video from Belgian thrashers AFTER ALL, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's eighth studio album, "Dawn Of The Enforcer", which was released last March through Roadrunner Records. The CD was mixed and mastered by Swedish producer Dan Swanö, who also worked on AFTER ALL's previous album, "Cult Of Sin" (2009), and the band's two EP releases, "Betrayed By The Gods" (2010) and "Becoming The Martyr" (2011). The cover artwork was created by legendary illustrator Ed Repka, who is best known for his collaboration with MEGADETH, EVIL DEAD, TOXIK, NUCLEAR ASSAULT and DEATH.

AFTER ALL previously described the songs on "Dawn Of The Enforcer" as both the heaviest and the most versatile of their long-running career.

AFTER ALL is:

Sammy Peleman - Vocals
Dries Van Damme - Guitar
Christophe Depree - Guitar
Frederik Vanmassenhove - Bass
Kevin Strubbe - Drums

San Francisco Bay Area metallers FORBIDDEN have "likely seen [their] last days as a recording band," according to their guitarist, Craig Locicero. "[Drummer] Sasha [Horn] and [guitarist] Steve [Smyth] came through like champs last year when we had every intention to write and record our next record," he continues. "We started working on some INSANELY cool stuff! But alas, real life stepped in. Matt [Camacho, bass] has retired from music and Russ [Anderson, vocals] simply has no fire or desire to do the work it takes to get back to relevancy. It is a tough road; ask DEATH ANGEL. But they committed to it and I commend them. Russ just does not have the fire at his stage of life. I must respect that."

FORBIDDEN's latest album, "Omega Wave", was released in Europe on October 22, 2010 and in North America on October 26, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD landed at position No. 27 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.

Locicero is currently focusing all his attention on SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based heavy rock band also featuring Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, Brad Barth on keyboards, Anthony Traslavina on rhythm guitar and Ron Redeen (THE ESSENESS PROJECT) on drums.

SPIRALARMS' sophomore album, "Freedom", will be released later in the year.

According to TravelMole, a spokesman for the Birmingham, England airport has played down reports that it could be renamed after BLACK SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne.

The record company honcho who discovered BLACK SABBATH last month called for the airport to be named after Ozzy since a suggested "Black Sabbath Day" in the city to celebrate the heavy metal legends' contribution to music apparently failed to generate enough support.

"I believe that there is a masterstroke that would instantly confound the cynics," Jim Simpson, boss of Big Bear Music, said. "Just re-name our airport! How does The Ozzy Osbourne International Airport resonate? The message that would carry is instantly international, confident, powerful, unforgettable and says, 'Hey, world, we are proud of our own. Ozzy might not always have been a paragon of virtue, but he is a genuine flesh and blood Brummie."

Council member Philip Parkin, who first brought up the idea of a "Black Sabbath Day" in a report titled "Destination Birmingham," said he was receptive to the airport renaming suggestion.

"It's an interesting idea and I've got an open mind but I think something like that would need to be consulted on fairly widely because it's a significant part of our infrastructure," he told the Birmingham Mail. "I would be interested to know what people thought about that as an idea."

He added: "I still feel in general we need to be making the most of the talent we have got and did have in this city and with something like this we have to ask people their opinion."

Birmingham airport confirmed that it would be a decision for the airport itself, with a spokesman adding: "We've no plans to rename the airport so not quite sure where the story's come from but we're certainly not in discussions."

Magna Carta has set a February 12 release date for the self-titled debut album from PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN.

It's often been said that three-piece bands are the most expressive and most balanced musical units known to the rock world. CREAM, THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, RUSH, THE POLICE, PRIMUS… These legendary acts struck upon the correct ratio of musicianship and progressive songwriting by exploring uncharted musical territories while highlighting the individual talents within their collective ranks.

Now Magna Carta Records unveils PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN, a visionary power trio (emphasis on power) and a supergroup to boot, which is sure to take its rightful place in rock's hallowed halls.

Composed of bassist/vocalist Doug "dUg" Pinnick of the progressive metal band KING'S X, southpaw blues-rock guitarist Eric Gales (LAURYN HILL) and ambitious ambidextrous drummer and former THE MARS VOLTA member Thomas Pridgen, PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN unites three versatile artists, who demand, as much as share, the musical spotlight.

On the band's debut, each member of PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN infuses the material with his own set of musical influences, transforming his individual instrument into a lead instrument. The absolutely slamming musicianship frames the recognizable melodies of these songs and catapults the music into the realms of psychedelic blues, hard rock, and progressive soul/R&B.

"This record is three guys, with music in us, who said, 'Let's go for it,'" says Pinnick. "It was built upon raw energy."

Produced by Mike Varney, PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN's debut contains all the stinging bite and all-out sonic boom of KING'S X, THE MARS VOLTA and the ERIC GALES BAND. In addition, fans of artists as far ranging as Jimi Hendrix, CREAM, LIVING COLOUR, Stevie Ray Vaughan, TOOL, THE WHO, Stevie Wonder and LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT might find something meaningful in these meaty, extended tracks.

PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN show some of their influences with their brilliant version of seminal power trio CREAM's "Sunshine Of Your Love". Pinnick says, "Our version has a different vibe: it's tuned down, real low."

"I think the record has a combination of all of the good things about our playing," says Pridgen.

"This is just colossal," Gales concludes. "This is just some slammin' [stuff]. When you put a project out like this, man, people will want to hear that [material] live. I know I would."

PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN is:

* Doug "dUg" Pinnick (KING'S X) - Bass and Vocals
* Eric Gales (ERIC GALES BAND, LAURYN HILL) - Guitar and Vocals
* Thomas Pridgen (THE MARS VOLTA) – Drums

Check out audio samples at this location.

STONE SOUR vocalist Corey Taylor has revealed via Twitter that the second part of the band's "House Of Gold & Bones" double album will be released in April. The effort will also be made available as a four-issue comic book.

Like the story, the "House Of Gold & Bones" album package comes in two parts. When the two pieces meet, they combine to create the "House Of Gold & Bones".

When asked by ThisIsNotAScene what fans can expect from the second part of "House Of Gold & Bones", Taylor said: "Part 2 is much darker [than the first part], if I'm honest. Aside from it being a completely different album, it feels more like a soundtrack to a movie in a lot of ways, man. It's really thematic. There are themes from part 1 that reveal themselves and that come again, musically. There's actually stuff from part 2 that you'll hear that's on part 1 and you'll be like, 'Fucking hell!'"

He continued: "We essentially recorded these, and this is where technology is now, so you could have these in a playlist on your iTunes and play them top to fucking bottom and really get that experience while you read both parts. So it's some of our darkest music, our most intricate and complex music, some of the best fucking lyrics I've ever written, to be honest. Even writing from a narrative like that, it was so challenging. Plus, it's got some of our best songs on it.

"You guys think part one's good? Fuck off. 'Do Me A Favor' alone is going to kick the shit out of people and that's going to be the first single, which comes out in January, that's going to be the first taste that people get of part 2, and people aren't going to know what to do."

Taylor recently revealed that he would like to see the band's new conceptual record be adapted as a movie as well. Speaking with Artisan News, Taylor said, "Once we've toured and we've got the music out to everyone, the thing I really wanna do is have two movies — Part 1 and Part 2. With the comic and the story and the music, I think we'll be able to do it. I already know who I wanna talk to about doing it, so we'll see what happens."

Taylor did not say who he would like to direct the movie, or if it would be produced through Living, Breathing Films, the production company he and SLIPKNOT percussionist Clown launched last year.

The comic book version of "House Of Gold & Bones" is expected to debut on April 17. The four-issue series will be published by Dark Horse Comics and will visualize the sci-fi short story that forms the basis of the albums.

"Shadow Moses", the new single from British metalcore act BRING ME THE HORIZON, will be released digitally next week. The track will be premiered this coming Friday, January 4 on BBC Radio 1's "Rock Show" with Daniel P. Carter between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. U.K. time.

"Shadow Moses" is the first single from BRING ME THE HORIZON's fourth album, "Sempiternal", which will be released later in the year via RCA. The follow-up to 2010's "There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret" was recorded in part at Angelic Studio in Banbury, Oxfordshire with producer Terry Date, who has previously worked with such acts as DEFTONES, PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN and PRONG.

"I've never been so confident about an album," BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oli Sykes told Kerrang! magazine. "It makes our last record just sound shit. We're doing stuff we could never dreamed of doing before."

BRING ME THE HORIZON performed "Shadow Moses" live for the first time when they played their only U.K. show of 2012 at the Alexandra Palace in London on November 10 as the co-headliners of the Vans Warped Tour with LOSTPROPHETS. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret" sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 17 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD also entered the official chart in the U.K. at position No. 13.

Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen has returned to the studio to resume recording vocals for her next solo album, tentatively due in late summer/early fall.

In a recent interview with the Music Legends web site, Turunen stated about her upcoming CD: "We have recorded drums, guitars and bass for it already and at the moment we are finishing recording keyboards. The production will take until May next year, because I have several classical music tours in between that are breaking the process. If all goes fine, I hope that the album could be released in August/September [this] year."

She added: "I have just recently found my style and sound so I would like to establish it with the third studio album. The elements on the album will remain the same as in my previous albums, also the versatile style of songs. I like to keep the big dynamic changes between my songs, so that album songs feel radically different from each other.

"I am not stressed at all this time, even though I am producing the album on my own again. I have been lucky to gather around a group of musicians who are willing to work with me, so everything is going smoothly."

Tarja and her husband/manager Marcelo Cabuli recently became the parents of their first child.

Turunen, who currently resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina with her husband, kept her pregnancy a secret until the very end.

"Act I", the first-ever live solo album from Tarja Turunen, was released in North America on September 4 in 2-CD, 2-DVD and Blu-ray format via the Eagle Rock imprint Armoury Records, in conjunction with Hamburg, Germany-based earMUSIC.

The first-ever live audio/video offering from the former NIGHTWISH soprano, "Act I" is a mammoth undertaking recorded and filmed with 10 HD cameras at the breathtaking Teatro El Círculo in Rosario, Argentina in March 2012. With an elaborate track listing of solo tunes, NIGHTWISH classics and various covers, including a rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom Of The Opera", Gary Moore's "Over The Hills And Far Away", WHITESNAKE's "Still Of The Night" and a variety of video extras, "Act I" provides a full-fledged bill of fare to every diehard Tarja fan.

Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 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.

Photo below courtesy of Tarja Turunen's Facebook page

According to Yahoo! Japan, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman is rumored to have married Hiyori Okuda, the 41-year-old Japanese cellist who performed on the song "Aitakatta" from his 2011 album "Tokyo Jukebox 2".

The guitarist, who has been living in Japan for the past decade, reportedly started dating Okuda after meeting her on a TV show in 2009 and told some of his friends at his 50th-birthday party early last month that he and his girlfriend were about to tie the knot. Since December 28, the Japanese media started spotting a wedding ring on Marty's finger, leading to speculation that the ceremony took place several days earlier.

In a 2012 interview with Metal Assault, Friedman stated about his decision to relocate to Japan and focus most of his efforts on building a music career for himself in that territory: "When I came to Japan, things went a whole lot better for me than I ever would have expected. I got year-long TV commitments and some big projects so there wound up being no time left over to make the rest of the world a priority anymore."

He added: "[Upon my arrival in Japan] I was very lucky to start touring and recording almost immediately with a J-pop legend, Aikawa Nanase. That opened some doors to a lot of new things musically, but doing TV really took me into the mainstream more than anything. I hadn't planned on that."

Friedman last fall completed the "Guitar Universe 2012" European tour with support from Israel's Yossi Sassi (ORPHANED LAND) and France's Stéphan Forté (ADAGIO).