Los Angeles-based extreme prog metallers ANA KEFR have checked in with the following update:

"In just one week and two days, on December 21st, Ana Kefr friends XANTHOCROID will be releasing their full-length debut album, Blessed He With Boils, via Erthe And Axen Records. The album features multiple guest appearances from AK frontman Rhiis Lopez, doing choral and brutal vocals. Be sure to 'like' them on Facebook, sign up for their mailing list via this link and order their album."

Ana Kefr updates are coming. Brace yourselves."

Xanthcroid's first single 'In Putris Stagnum', featuring Lopez, is available for free here.
Lopez recently issued the following statement regarding the recent departure of Ana Kefr lead guitarist Brendan Moore and drummer Shane Dawson:

"After three years of working together, recording the digi-single ‘Tonight We Watch the Children Fucking Burn’ and our critically-acclaimed second full-length album The Burial Tree (II), we have decided that it would be in the best interests of all involved to let Brendan and Shane pursue their own different musical paths. The reasons all boil down to a conflict of personal interests, but the parting has been on amicable terms and we genuinely wish them the absolute best in their future endeavors. It has been a good ride these past three years!

At the moment, Ana Kefr is focused on the future and writing, for a strong return in 2013. We are extremely excited about the new material and can't wait to share it with everyone!"

Ana Kefr released their latest album The Burial Tree (II) in 2011. The album was produced and mixed by Ana Kefr and David Franklin, engineered by David Franklin.

KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean François Dagenais has been tapped to produce the new album from Brazilian metallers PSYCHOTIC EYES. He had previously worked with the band on their latest album, I Only Smile Behind The Mask. Still untitled, the new album is in the pre-production phase and will be released in the first semester of 2013.

Vocalist/guitarist Dimitri Brandi comments:

"One of the most touching moments of my career as musician happened when I listened, for the first time, one Psychotic Eyes song mixed by Dagenais. He was starting to work on what would turn our second album, and sent me the track 'Welcome Fatality', already mixed, for me 'to see what I thought.' The song was perfect, with all the timbres brutal and aggressive, but without loosing clarity and definition. Just like I always thought how Psychotic Eyes should sound. We are very excited to work with him again. The recordings will happen in Brazil, but the mixing and mastering will be done on his new studio in Dallas (USA). This time he invited us to follow the job personally, I hope it works, will be a great lesson".
As for Jean François Dagenais, the continuing of a work brings expressive results: "It was a great experience to have worked with Psychotic Eyes on I Only Smile Behind The Mask. It's very good to have the privilege to work with the same band with several albums because it makes you grown with the musicians and develop a work dynamic that, I believe, brings very good results."

For more details visit Psychoticeyes.com.

North American syndicated rock radio show "In The Studio: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands" goes one-on-one with Ozzy Osbourne, singer for heavy metal godfathers BLACK SABBATH, to get the story behind "Vol. 4", which is widely viewed as the last great album from the original SABBATH lineup, on its 40th anniversary. BLACK SABBATH was fracturing under its own internal pressures with the added complication of substantial substance abuse, but by his own admission, Ozzy tells "In The Studio" host Redbeard what the real culprit was to the eventual demise of the original band.

"What happened with me and BLACK SABBATH was that, in the beginning we all had a purpose, but as we went along that inevitable thing stepped in called ego," Ozzy said. "The fact is that success does change you. It affected me. I was full of cocaine. That stuff makes you talk the biggest load of horse crap. There shouldn't be a problem (left) in the world, 'cause we solved them all in the bathroom of a hotel with a bag of that white powder."

BLACK SABBATH "Vol. 4" "In The Studio" program is available now to stream at this location. It can also be heard below.

California rockers L.A. GUNS have announced the addition of guitarist Frankie Wilsey to the group's ranks.

Commented the band: "We first met [Frankie] back in 2007 when he was playing in Stephen Pearcy's band, ARCADE, on the Rock Never Stops tour. Frankie spent more time on our bus than his own, impressing us with hours of classic bootleg videos from the '70s and '80s. He was clearly a rock aficionado, truly a scholar and a gentleman.

"Frankie's been playing guitar since 1977. He formed his first band, HEAD ON, in San Francisco in '81 and then went on to form the hometown Bay Area champions SEA HAGS in '88. He moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s, where he teamed up with Stephen Pearcy of RATT and Fred Coury of CINDERELLA to form ARCADE. In addition to lots of sessions in Los Angeles, Frankie recently toured with legendary singer John Waite and also had a residency in Las Vegas as Joe Perry in the definitive AEROSMITH tribute band AEROMYTH.

"Frankie joins [L.A. GUNS] with guns blazing, ready to tour the world and get involved in writing and recording new original material."

Says Frankie: "I met Phil [Lewis, vocals] and Steve [Riley, drums] years ago, traveling down this road. Found out they're blessed with classic-rock style and a road-warrior ethic that is rare in this weakling world of music.

"I have to say I think this is a very good matchup. Let's hope the fans feel the same."

Due to "extenuating circumstances and musical differences," guitarist Stacey Blades announced his departure from L.A. GUNS last week.

Blades played on four L.A. GUNS albums: "Rips The Covers Off" (2004), "Tales Trom The Strip" (2005), "Loud And Dangerous: Live From Hollywood" (2006) and "Hollywood Forever" (2012). He also authored a book, "Confessions Of A Replacement Rockstar", which was published in 2009.

Dutch thrashers LEGION OF THE DAMNED have announced the addition of session guitarist Hein Willekens to the group's rank.

Commented LEGION OF THE DAMNED frontman Maurice Swinkels: "Ever since we started as LEGION OF THE DAMNED with the four of us, we felt this was the best way to continue our journey. Now and then we got comments that we could be more powerful live with an extra guitar, but our bond was so strong that we truly believed that when another person would enter the band, the band would eventually collapse and that no one would fit in perfectly." In addition, LEGION OF THE DAMNED's former guitarist Richard Ebisch was strongly against bringing an extra person into the band.

"Bringing this topic up in the band sometimes resulted in heavy discussions with our management as well as in the band itself, because opinions changed," Maurice added.

After Richard's departure and with Twan van Geel having spent more than a year as LEGION OF THE DAMNED's lead guitarist, the band gave the idea of expanding the lineup more thought and discussed it internally. After numerous meetings, LEGION OF THE DAMNED decided it was time to take the step.

Stated Twan van Geel: "After years with just one guitar player, we felt it was time to extend. The use of a second guitar player shall bring more audial hell on stage and more exiting options in songwriting."

Asked if he is happy being part of LEGION OF THE DAMNED, Hein said: "If one would ask me: What would you like to do most? For me, it would be an easy answer: playing guitar like a madman and destroy every stage I'm playing on. I'm very proud, grateful and excited to announce that LEGION OF THE DAMNED is giving me the opportunity to join them as their second live guitarist, and do exactly that! This is a big once in a lifetime chance for me and I can't wait to hit the road with these guys. Let's crank up the volume and kick some major ass!"

LEGION OF THE DAMNED is:

Maurice Swinkels - Vocals
Twan van Geel - Guitar
Harold Gielen - Bass
Erik Fleuren - Drums
Hein Willekens - Guitar

LEGION OF THE DAMNED's latest album, "Descent Into Chaos", was released in January 2011 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded at Abyss Studios in Pärlby, Sweden with producer and PAIN/HYPOCRISY mainman Peter Tägtgren, who also makes a guest appearance on the limited-edition bonus track "Legion Of The Damned".

"No Wisdom Brings Solace", the new video from Swiss metallers SYBREED, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Anthony Dubois and was filmed on October 18 during the Euroblast Festival 2012 at the Underground in Cologne, Germany.

"No Wisdom Brings Solace" comes off SYBREED's fourth album, "God Is An Automaton", which was released on September 24 in Europe and October 2 in North America via Listenable Records. The follow-up to 2010's "The Pulse Of Awakening" was recorded at Downtone Studio in Geneva and was once again mixed in Los Angeles by Rhys Fulber, who has previously worked with FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, FEAR FACTORY and PARADISE LOST, among others. The artwork was created by Seth Siro Anton (SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, SEPTICFLESH) and can be seen below.

Seth Siro Anton previously commented on his artwork for "God Is An Automaton": "My works are distorting dream mirrors of the body and soul. Human nature attracted often to specific art forms which are essentially attracted by the reflected dream world. On SYBREED new artwork, I tried to decode-externalize the architect of the blackest light, an automated God, an ironic priest which is fighting between two different levels of reality. An ironic synthesis combination of modern classicism. It was a great challenge and pleasure trying to visualize their new masterpiece."

A Hungarian black metal documentary, entitled "Attention! Black Metal!", will be released at the end of this month.

According to a press release, "This documentary shows symphonic black metal by respected musicians like Fernando Ribeiro and Mike Gaspar (MOONSPELL), Ardek (CARACH ANGREN), Miron Chirva (TVANGESTE), Sakis Tolis (ROTING CHRIST) and many more. Fans, academic people, and outsiders are also speaking in the documentary. There will be some surprises like Nigel of HECATE ENTHRONED who doesn’t give interviews but this time he made exception, or two members of BISHOP OF HEXEN reveal their faces, what have never been seen before."

The English version of "Attention! Black Metal!" will be available on December 29, with the Hungarian and Russian editions to follow in the early months of 2013. All versions will be freely downloadable from the movie's web site in 720p HD format.

Synopsis: "People in many cases think that black metal is a mean and satanist way of music making. Others think it's just an unworthy noiesemaking thing which is just a crooked mean to express agression and confronting conduct. The problem is that they don't take a look behind the mask.

"This documentary doesn't want to engage in the deviant behave and doesn't want to be another historical black metal doc. It has some parts from history of black metal and introduces some events of the early '90s, but just as much as it is needed to understand why people look at black metal like a freak of nature. This documentary investigates and shows three important points of this genre.

1. What is black metal? How do the musicians, the fans and the outsiders look at this, and how do they feel the point of it.

2. Black metal as art. How can it be an art and how does the artistic way delineate.

3. Social contexts of black metal. In this point we examine what stereotypes hits black metal and the fans."

California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE were interviewed on frontman Mitch Lucker's 28th birthday (October 20) about the charity work they had done during the previous year's holiday season. The interview was carried heavily by Mitch and ended up being his final video interview. Check out the footage below.

Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD), Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA) are among the "surprise" guests who performed with with the surviving members of SUICIDE SILENCE at a special show on December 21 at the Fox theater in Pomona, California as a tribute to Lucker, who died November 1, after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle crash in Huntington Beach on Halloween night. All proceeds from the event will go towards the education of Mitch's five-year-old daughter, Kenadee Lucker.

In announcing the benefit event, SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Mark Heylmun said, "If there was anything that Mitch gave a fuck about in the world besides SUICIDE SILENCE, it would obviously be his daughter; he cared more about her than anything in the fucking world. We're here and we're gonna make sure that she's taken care of, and that's what we have to do."

A funeral service for Mitch Lucker was held on November 8. The ceremony was attended by family and friends, including SUICIDE SILENCE bassist Dan Kenny, who tweeted afterwards, "Had to bury my brother today, he looked peaceful when I saw him. It was very hard but it was needed! To the fans just know Mitch loved yall"

SUICIDE SILENCE has launched a memorial fund to provide assistance to Lucker's family. Those who donate $20 or more will receive a commemorative t-shirt.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lucker struck a light pole near the intersection of Main and 13th streets and was thrown from his 2013 Harley Davidson. The motorcycle continued sliding south on Main Street and struck a northbound 2007 Nissan Titan pickup.

Lucker, who was treated at the scene by paramedics, died shortly after 6 a.m. at UC Irvine Medical Center.

CHIMAIRA frontman Mark Hunter has revealed to Metal Insider that the band is "really deep" into the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2011's "The Age Of Hell" for a tentative summer release via eOne Music. "We have twelve demos written and we've actually gone into the studio and demoed it professionally instead of just a standard computer/Pro Tools kind of thing," he said. "We're getting ready to enter the studio in February and make a new album."

He added: "2011 sucked. [laughs] This year's been all about rebuilding and we got a chance to do overseas. Our first show with the new line-up was at Soundwave in Australia in front of 10,000 people. It was really nice to have to go through such a terrible year and just kind of stand on top of a mountain and go, 'Wow, OK, we got out of it, and we're here, we got a band, we sound great, and we can move forward.' So this year has been restructuring the entire business from the ground up, realigning ourselves with new teams; be it management, agent, merchandise companies, everything from the whole ground up. In my opinion, the only way to move forward was to rebuild the whole thing from the bottom up.

"We want to come out with an album that not only captures the essence of what the fans have grown to know over the years, but we want to do something not only for the scene that's special, but for musicians out there, too. The musicianship in this band now is definitely on the next level. Everyone's pretty much a virtuoso at their instrument. Some of the stuff Emil [Werstler, guitar] was writing yesterday on this new song, I'm watching him play and I'm like, 'There are only going to be about a handful of people that'll able to play this!' [laughs] I'm imagining like a kid getting home, getting our new record and maybe they have the guitar, and they go sit down and try play along to it. And it's going to take them a very long time. [laughs]

"We couldn't be happier moving forward. It sucks that we had to go through hell — no pun intended — to get to where we are now. But I think all of us, coming from lessons of life, lessons of bands, lessons of the industry, we've lived and learned and now we have something completely different to prove."

CHIMAIRA will return to the stage for its first and only remaining U.S. appearance of 2012 on December 29. The 13th annual Chimaira Christmas will take place at Cleveland, Ohio's House Of Blues.

CHIMAIRA's current lineup is as follows:

Mark Hunter - Vocals
Matt Szlachta (DIRGE WITHIN) - Guitar
Jeremy Creamer (DAATH) - Bass
Emil Werstler (DAATH) - Guitar
Sean Zatorsky (DAATH) - Keyboards
Austin D'Amond (BLEED THE SKY, THE ELITE) - Drums

"The Age Of Hell" sold more than 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "The Infection", opened with 15,000 units back in April 2009 to land at No. 30. This figure was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by CHIMAIRA's 2007 album, "Resurrection", which shifted 16,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 42.

"The Age Of Hell" was released in the U.S. on August 16, 2011 via eOne Music; in Germany on August 26; and in the United Kingdom, Australia and the rest of Europe on August 29 through Long Branch Records.

California-based rockers FAITHSEDGE have inked a worldwide management deal with Germany’s Rock N Growl Management. The follow-up album to their debut is tentativley titled The Answer Of Insanity, and is a concept record based on stories from singer/songwriter Giancarlo Floridia’s life that lead up to the first album with an intresting twist at the end.
After the critical acclaim of the Faithsedge debut around the world, the band has a new keyboard player Eric Ragno. Eric is internationally known for being on many melodic rock albums such as Fergie Fredrickson (TOTO) and TRIXTER's return album, New Audio Machine, and many more. Eric has also done many live gig’s from playing with legends like Graham Bonnet (RAINBOW) to also playing with vocal icons of other genre’s like Dawn Robinson of EN VOGUE.

Faithsedge is a heavy heavy metal/hard rock/progressive project started by singer/songwriter Giancarlo Floridia in Huntington Beach, California, in early 2009. Giancarlo has a solid musical background, having previously worked with renowned producers such as Mike Talanca (DAVID BOWIE, FOREIGNER) and Juan Croucier (ex-RATT) among others.
Giancarlo contacted producer and bass player Fabrizio Grossi (STEVE LUKATHER, ALICE COOPER) after not only being impressed with his work on numerous albums as a producer but also with his amazing bass playing skills. Fabrizio has worked with some of the biggest names in the most diverse music genres (GEORGE CLINTON, ICE T and CYPRESS HILL are among his endless list of collaborations) and after hearing Giancarlo’s demos put together an incredible band to back up the project along with himself playing bass duties and producing the resulting debut CD.

Alex De Rosso joined Faithsedge on guitar. Having handled live lead guitar duties in DOKKEN, with whom he toured the world and shared the stage with the likes of SCORPIONS, WHITESNAKE, Ratt, WARRANT and FIREHOUSE among others, Alex has also played on many critically acclaimed albums with artists such as Joseph Williams (Toto, Disney’s The Lion King), Kelly Hansen (Foreigner, HURRICANE) and Pamela Moore (also known as Sister Mary from QUEENSRŸCHE’s concept album Operation Mindcrime).
Tony Morra completes the line-up on drums. Tony owns his own studio in Nashville, Tennessee, the Downtown Batterie and has played with many great artists such as Rebecca St James and Van Zant among others. He is also credited for playing on the Grammy Award winning album Songs From The Neighborhood – A Tribute To Fred Rogers in 2006 and for touring as a member of pop legend STEVIE B’s Band and SWEET SENSATION. Tony has also played drums for different movie soundtracks such as Chronicles Of Narnia and Just Married to name a few.

The resulting effort is a perfect mix of hard rock, heavy metal and progressive, with lots of vocals and hooks, shredding guitar solos, pounding bass and drums and plenty of melodically challenging songwriting. Faithsedge was mastered by Tom Baker of Precision Mastering (JUDAS PRIEST, MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Faithsedge is:
Giancarlo Floridia – Vocals, Guitar
Alex De Rosso – Lead Guitar
Tony Morra – Drums
Eric Ragno – Keyboards
More on Faithsedge at this location.

According to Billboard.biz, the sales of METALLICA's studio albums were negatively impacted by the band's decision to add its catalog to the streaming service Spotify on December 6.

Based on Nielsen SoundScan data for METALLICA's studio albums for four-week periods leading up to Christmas from 2008 to 2012, sales were 15% below expectations the week the titles were added to Spotify and 35% below expectations the following week.

METALLICA sales had jumped 60% to 61% in the four-week period leading up to Christmas in both 2010 and 2011. In 2012 that four-week increase was just 27.2%.

METALLICA has made all nine of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify. The move is significant because Sean Parker, who co-founded Napster, now sits on the board of Spotify. METALLICA waged a battle with Napster more than a decade ago over the illegal sharing of the band's music, which resulted in both legal action and a battered public image for the band.

At the press conference in New York announcing the Spotify deal on December 6, Parker and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich appeared together and seemingly buried the hatchet. Ulrich said, "When [Parker] and I saw each other a few months ago. We could see that we had been put down as adversaries. We realize we had much more in common and sitting down was long overdue . . . We were younger, maybe somewhat more ignorant. We sat down and had a heart to heart."

In a statement at its web site, METALLICA said, "We are extremely proud to be a part of Spotify, who not only has a proven track record, but is by far the best streaming service."

METALLICA is now able to make these deals directly since, as of last month, the band has complete control over the master tapes of all its audio and video recordings. The band has also launched its own label, Blackened Recordings.

The first release for the new label was the "Quebec Magnetic" DVD on December 10, which showcases footage from two Quebec City live performances recorded in 2009.

Pulverised Records has announced the signing of Swedish grind guerrillas EXHALE.

Formed in 2004, EXHALE has proven to be a devastating force, bombarding the grindcore community with two full-length albums, "Prototype" in 2006 and "Blind" in 2010.

Due in early 2013, EXHALE's new CD, "When Worlds Collide", sees the band taking on a much more dynamic approach while still maintaining an extremely strict diet of sick and demented modern grind-sanity.

Commented the band: "We're really proud to announce that we have inked a deal with Pulverised Records. The label has released some really good albums during the years (BOMBS OF HADES, DESULTORY, MORBUS CHRON, just to name a few), so it feels great to be among them.

"'When Worlds Collide' contains 14 tracks of grinding death metal. You will recognize the sound of EXHALE but there are also a few surprises for you!

"Can't wait to release this monster! See you on the road in 2013!"

Added Pulverised Records A&R Manager Calvin: "Throughout the years of our search for the signing the 'right' bands, there were, of course, many bands that we felt were a great addition to our roster. Then came along EXHALE's four-song promo by way of email one day, and those four tracks became an instant hit with us! There are some real serious chops and unbelievably stalwart songwriting amongst all that chaos; it is almost unreal.

"We are extremely proud to have EXHALE join the Pulverised family, and we cannot wait to present 'When Worlds Collide' on a worldwide domination crusade. Onward to grind-gotha we shall!"

EXHALE recently filmed a video for the song "Wrath Unleashed," the opening track from "When Worlds Collide". The clip, which can be seen below, was shot and directed by acclaimed Swedish videographer Daniel Falk from FramedNoise.com.

EXHALE is:

Martin Brzezinski - Vocals
Johan Wold Ylenstrand - Guitar
Gustav Elowson - Drums
Johan Fogelberg - Bass
Andreas Allenmark - Guitar

As 2012 is coming to an end, a new chapter opens for Greek melodic metallers CRYSTAL TEARS. After quite a few months of secrecy and mystic chats... the band has announced the additions of Scandinavian multi-vocal schizo Soren Adamsen (ex-ARTILLERY) and Hungarian guitar wizard Matt Nagy.
Commented Chrisafis: "Our band was never afraid of storms for we've been constantly learning how to sail this ship and FOOOCK YEAH, things are shaping up for an absolute solid metal mayhem! I'm so looking forward to the release of the album & bring this metal extravaganza on the road! The band feels stronger than ever, well... it just feels right!"

The new album, produced by R. D. Liapakis (MYSTIC PROPHECY, DEVIL'S TRAIN, SUICIDAL ANGELS), is in the mixing and mastering process in Prophecy & Music Factory studio.

Crystal Tears line-up:
Soren Adamsen - vocals
Kostas Sotos - guitars
Mate Nagy - guitars
Alex Chamalidis - bass
Chrisafis Tantanozis - drums

Switzerland-based chaotic post-metal act CORTEZ has announced they will release their brand new album Phoebus on January 31th.

Recorded between the band's own studio and Rec Studios with Serge Morattel, these ten tracks will be released on deluxe gatefold 2xLP by Throatruiner Records, Basement Apes and Get A Life! The album will also be released on CD via Basement Apes and Lost Pilgrims.

The artwork for the album was created by Dehn Sora (BLUT AUS NORD, ULVER, OMEGA MASSIF).

The album is available for streaming at this location.
Tracklisting is as follows:

‘Temps-mort’
‘Transhumance’
‘Au delà des flots’
‘Arrogants que nous sommes’
‘Un lendemain sans chaine...’
‘L'autre estime’
‘Sulfure’
‘Nos souvenirs errants’
‘Idylle’
‘Borrelia’

An album tease can be heard below:

German black/death metallers NEGATOR have finished recording their fourth album at Hammer Studios in Hamburg with producer Eike Freese (GAMMA RAY, CALLEJON, DARK AGE, NEOPERA) for an early 2013 release via Viva Hate Records. The follow-up to 2010's "Panzer Metal" will be mixed and mastered in January.

Says the band: "The highly anticipated fourth album will see the black of the world in spring 2013 and will — again — take no prisoners. The Panzer keeps on rolling relentlessly, even though there will be some surprises. Expect nothing but a great NEGATOR album. And it will be that very year — 2013 — when the NEGATOR will see his 10th anniversary. And after one decade of raging, extreme black metal one thing still applies: lined up to create values — made to be indispensable!"

In other news, NEGATOR has released a limited-edition seven-inch single, "The Great Atrocities", on white vinyl through EMP. The single comes with a dark-gray-logo shirt and is limited to only 200 copies worldwide.

NEGATOR vocalist Nachtgarm has been fronting Swedish black metallers DARK FUNERAL since June 2011.

"Those Having Been Hidden Away", a brand new song from the South Carolina-based extreme metal band LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, can be streamed using the audio player below. The track comes off the group's third album, "Behold Almighty Doctrine", which will be released on March 19, 2013 via Unique Leader Records. The CD was recorded at SoundLab Studio in Lexington, South Carolina with longtime engineer Bob Moore.

The "Behold Almighty Doctrine" artwork can be seen below.

Vocalist Jason Hohenstein announced his departure from LECHEROUS NOCTURNE in July 2011, telling BLABBERMOUTH.NET in a statement, "I was writing/arranging in preparation of the new record when I was asked to leave." He added, "I did not quit! I want to make that perfectly clear."

LECHEROUS NOCTURNE 2012 is:

Christian "Kreishloff" Lofgren: Guitar
Ethan Lane: Guitar
James Oneal: Bass
Alex Lancia: Drums
Chris Lollis: Vocals

LECHEROUS NOCTURNE's second album, "The Age of Miracles Has Passed", was released in October 2008 via Unique Leader Records.

"Those Having Been Hidden Away" audio stream:

Legendary vocalist/bassist GLENN HUGHES (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, DEEP PURPLE) is featured in a new interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited. An excerpt is available below, including an intro from Wright explaining the basis for the interview:

While Hughes, Jason Bonham (drums) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards) long to hit the road with BCC, Joe Bonamassa (guitars) is enjoying an amazing solo career and time simply has not allowed this band to tour in the way they would need to garner the reputation to take it to the next level—a fact that frustrates Hughes and the other band members.

Truth be told, BCC has accidentally became much more than originally intended. While the members knew they would make great music, they had no idea that it would be this damn good. The frustration caused by having a great band that only works three weeks in the studio every three years, coupled by no touring, led to words being said in the press. Hughes and Bonamassa traded barbs and each stood has their ground.

In the interview that follows, Hughes speaks openly and honestly about the debacle and the uncertainly of what will become of Black Country Communion:
Hughes: "Let’s cut to the chase, last September and October, when Black Country Communion were finishing up the 33rd show of our tour—I will go over the statistics with you. We did three albums and one live DVD in two and a half years. Jeb, you’ve been around a long time and you know that never happens. That would take a band like Whitesnake or Aerosmith fifteen years to do that. We did it in breakneck speed. We’ve done a wonderful job with Kevin (Shirley).

Here is the kicker: There are a lot of Black Country fans. There are Joe fans, Jason fans, Derek fans and Glenn fans, but there are also a lot of BCC fans. I believe our band, Black Country Communion, is making the best rock music in, possibly, the last twenty years. We found ourselves in a situation. When the band set out almost two and half years ago, the template was that the band would make records and we would evolve in the studio and we would do some shows, from time to time. Joe and his manager, Roy Weisman, are right in saying that is how it was.

Do you want to know something? Derek, Jason and I kind of forgot about that. We are a great band and we are making great fucking records and all of the sudden, we get lost in the beautiful music we are making and we forgot about the template that was there. We just kind of went, 'Surly, this is going to go all the way. This could go global.'

Roy and Joe have not budged. We were supposed to tour in 2012 and we didn’t. Last November, Kevin Shirley was asking me to do Black Country Communion III, which became Afterglow, and this is the kicker of the whole thing: I’d been writing a solo record that would involve all of my friends in the industry. We were going to do a record and I was writing the songs.

Last November, Kevin asked me to do the Black Country Communion record. I said, 'No, I really need to do a Glenn record and take a year away, as we are not touring in 2012.' Seven of the songs I wrote became songs that are on Afterglow.

I want to be clear with you that the next solo album I make will not be a return to the funky sort of street thing; it will be the rock Glenn. The difference between the next Glenn album and Black Country Communion is sort of like walking a fine line.

After Christmas, Kevin and I got into some deep conversations and he thinks I really need to do another Black Country Communion album. I said, 'Kevin, I’m kind of committing myself to a record with X, Y and Z as guests.' I was on the fence, but I decided to do the BCC album. I told Kevin, 'If we do not tour behind it then this will be my last album with them.' Did Joe know that? I’m not sure. I know that Kevin knew it and Jason knew it.

I told them that in order for us to move on we needed to be a live band. Apparently, this is what really upset the applecart. Fans just want to see this band live, but, unfortunately, we have to go with Joe and the template that has been set.

This whole controversy got out before the album came out because things were said in the heat of the moment. The fact is that I’m not going to be the one that says Black Country is breaking up because I sure hope not. Are we going to play some shows? I bloody well hope so."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Black Country Communion entered the UK charts at #29 and the US Billboard charts at #48 with their third album, Afterglow.
Just like its two predecessors, Afterglow was overseen by Kevin Shirley, whose catalogue of hit records for LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, JOURNEY, THE BLACK CROWES and many more has made him the hottest producer that rock music has to offer. Shirley – who had the idea of putting Hughes and Bonamassa together in a band together after seeing them jamming onstage in Los Angeles back in November 2009 – is the group’s unofficial ‘fifth member’.

An Afterglow album trailer can be viewed below:

Corey Taylor tells Billboard.com that "next year's going to be very, very busy" for STONE SOUR, which would seem to leave little time for the singer and guitarist Jim Root to focus on SLIPKNOT. But Taylor says that group will play four shows — including Ozzfest Japan on May 11 — while the recording process for a new SLIPKNOT album is probably at least a couple of years away.

"It's gonna be awhile yet," Taylor says. "We're throwing demos at each other. Once we all kind of see what the album could be, that`s when we'll go in. I think the worst thing that we could do as a band, and we're different from other bands, the worst thing that we could do is go right in and do something that feels forced, because the fans will see right through that, and we've never done that. So to me it makes more sense to kind of let the album come to us."

SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray died in May 2010 from an overdose of drugs — a devastating tragedy which brought the other members of the band closer together and helped them reconnect after they grew apart through years of touring and success.

"We had all stretched ourselves into different lives for the most part, and then we lost Paul," Taylor told DesMoinesRegister.com in August. "It was such a shock to us that it made us sit up and look at what we were doing with our lives and how we were toward each other. We were so close in the beginning, then for whatever reason we all drifted apart here and there.

"Losing someone like that, a great friend and an amazing brother — someone who is so important to the band in so many ways — you start to look at what you take for granted."

Gray made his final recorded appearance on SLIPKNOT's 2008 album, "All Hope Is Gone", which was certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in August 2010 for shipments in excess of one million copes in the United States — the band's fourth consecutive full-length release to achieve the milestone.

Video footage of Maryland rockers CLUTCH performing the title track of their forthcoming album, "Earth Rocker", at a secret CD-listening party on October 17 at the Machine Shop in Belleville, New Jersey can be seen below.

With three months left before the release of "Earth Rocker", CLUTCH has unveiled the album's artwork and has announced the initial dates for the first leg of the North American "Earth Rocker" world tour.

The artwork was created by Nick Lakiotes, longtime CLUTCH art director, who has worked on previous efforts, including "Robot Hive/Exodus" and "Strange Cousins From The West".

"Earth Rocker" will be released in March 2013 via CLUTCH's own Weathermaker Music label. The CD was produced by Machine (LAMB OF GOD, FOUR YEAR STRONG, FALL OUT BOY) and is described by CLUTCH guitarist Tim Sult as "the heaviest and fastest CLUTCH album to date."

CLUTCH's North American dates kick off March 8 in Cincinnati, Ohio and are currently slated to run through March 24 in Anaheim, California. Support on the trek will come from ORANGE GOBLIN, LIONIZE and KYNG. Tickets for fan club members go on sale today via Pro-Rock.com and tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, December 21. Look for more dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

CLUTCH's holiday dates kick off December 26 in Washington, D.C. and conclude with a special New Year's Eve performance in Worcester, Massachusetts at The Palladium. The show originally scheduled for December 30 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey has been moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania at Crocodile Rock due to damage sustained from Hurricane Sandy.

Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE), Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL), Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT) and Linda Perry (4 NON BLONDES) are are among the guest musicians who performed with CAMP FREDDY on the last night of their three-show residency at The Roxy in West Hollywood, California on December 20-22.

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

CAMP FREDDY is the Los Angeles-based "jam" group featuring Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS), Billy Morrison (ex-THE CULT bassist, current CIRCUS DIABLO vocalist), Matt Sorum (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES), Donovan Leitch (son of legendary folk singer Donovan), and Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION, ALANIS MORRISETTE).

In an interview with Gibson.com, Navarro was asked if there will ever be a CAMP FREDDY album. "We talked about it for many, many years, but the logistics of something like that really doesn't translate to what we're about," he replied. "We're a live band and we're about the fun on stage and whoever's gonna get up with us — we don't know from night to night. And when you go into a studio to record songs that have already been recorded, it's difficult to recreate that kind of energy and spontaneity, so it's unlikely at this juncture."

Since its formation nine years ago when they rocked the opening of The Standard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles at the invitation of Brent Bolthouse, CAMP FREDDY has performed on both coasts of America and on national television shows ("The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", "Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn", "Last Call with Carson Daly").

Vocalist Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES was interviewed on the December 14-16 edition of Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

To see a full list of stations carrying the program and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com.

Interview (audio):

Full Metal Jackie: What makes IN FLAMES such a good fit on a bill with HATEBREED and LAMB OF GOD, in your opinion?

Anders: We can play with anyone; we are a metal band and we fit in with everyone. We play anywhere, with everyone. I mean, we've known those guys for a long time. We all have history together, so I think it's really cool and a very relaxed atmosphere. Last night was the first night and there was no tension, no nothing. It was awesome.

Full Metal Jackie: IN FLAMES have been on and off the road. You guys have only been to the States twice this year?

Anders: Yeah, we've been pretty busy doing Europe. We've been in America twice, but we've been pretty much touring constantly. We had a month of prior to this, but it's been a busy year.

Full Metal Jackie: Offstage, what do you think the difference is with your camaraderie with U.S. bands compared to other European bands?

Anders: We've been to America so many times and we have a lot of friends over here and we have a history with them, as I said, and we feel a bond somewhere. I believe we are pretty easygoing as people and hopefully they see that. We don't pretend like we're someone else; we are who we are and we let the music talk.

Full Metal Jackie: You guys are on the road now and everyone's always wondering about a band's activities when they travel and when they're touring. What would you say the most essential non-musical item you must have to have with you while you're on tour?

Anders: Beer. [laughs]

Full Metal Jackie: Well, beer you got anywhere you go.

Anders: Well, it is music and beer, that's what it is — that's my life. When I'm on the road, I try to get away and play golf once in a while. I love to play golf. I didn't bring my clubs this time because I thought the weather would be not as good, but I do miss them today. It would have been great to go to a course, a golf course. Apart from that, just walking around a little bit and looking at the city you're in, shopping for some vinyls. That's what me and Niclas [Engelin, IN FLAMES guitarist] did today. It was expensive but fun. [laughs]

Full Metal Jackie: It's funny because for us, you're buying what's considered an import for you.

Anders: Yeah, but in Sweden, it's so expensive.

Full Metal Jackie: You mentioned you were a golfer. Is golfing a big deal in Sweden?

Anders: I think it is. We're like 9 million [living in Sweden] and there are a half million people golfing, so I consider that a pretty big thing.

Full Metal Jackie: I've never been to Sweden. I just imagine that it's cold.

Anders: Right now it's extremely cold — it's below zero, I think. It's nice to be here.

Full Metal Jackie: Rather than write on the road, IN FLAMES seems to be more interested in enjoying the romance of being on tour, good food, good beer and good company. What about such experiences do you think will affect new music once you're back home?

Anders: I highly doubt it will affect music whatsoever. I mean, I guess you work better if you're in a good mood, somehow. It's really hard to say what affects our music, because I can't really say what we have as an influence these days anymore. When we started out, it was, like, "We want to be like our heroes," and a few albums in, I don't know anymore.

Full Metal Jackie: Obviously, you guys are still working off the last record, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading". What's the plan in terms of new music? Do you guys have anything new written or a timeline for when you're going to go back?

Anders: I wish we can write on the road but we can't. We have all the time in the world, but I don't know — too much beer to drink. We're looking into writing and recording something at the end of the next year, I think. So we're hoping to have a release in early 2014. It seems so far away, but it's not.

MINDCAGE is presently completing their new album Our Own Devices under the helm of famed rock and metal producer Michael Wagener (ACCEPT, OZZY OSBOURNE, METALLICA) at his WireWorld Studios.
According to a press release, the album is "set in an alternate history of a highly plausible future, Mindcage's ground-breaking concept album, Our Own Devices, warns of what may become of our society if we turn our backs on the importance of arts, music, humanities, and spirituality. It also introduces the world to Arabella Vash, a woman on a mission to awaken and enlighten a world gone wrong. Her message will shake humanity to its very core."

Guitarist Dietrick Hardwick comments, "We are very excited to announce that we have chosen Julie Westlake (HYDROGYN) as the voice of Arabella Vash for Our Own Devices. Julie has the power and emotion in her voice needed to convey Arabella's journey and character. She sounds amazing and has a command and range of voice that is just uncanny. It's also been a real dream come true for us to work with one of the greatest record producers of all time, the legendary Michael Wagener. We couldn't be happier!"

"This has just been an extraordinary experience, seeing how everything is coming together. The band works so efficiently with Michael Wagener that they have finished recording ahead of schedule and are now entering the mix phase." cites Executive Producer Ben Galecki, "Michael really knows how to decipher what the band is going for and get the absolute best from them. This is going to be epic!"

A video introduction to the album can be seen below. For information on Mindcage go to this location.

According to an update from drummer MIKE PORTNOY (ADRENALINE MOB, ex-DREAM THEATER), he will be on tour in Europe as part of the NEAL MORSE BAND through February and March when Morse hits the road with THE FLOWER KINGS. Dates are listed below, venues are due to be confirmed soon.
February
22 - Stockholm, Sweden
23 - Malmö, Sweden
25 - Hamburg, Germany
26 - Cologne, Germany
27 - Pratteln, Switzerland
28 - Milan, Italy

March
1 - Barcelona, Spain
2 - Madrid, Spain
5 - Rüsselsheim, Germany
6 - Zoertermeer, Holland
7 - London, England

Footage from Morse's October 5th show in Mexico City has surfaced featuring Morse and drummer Portnoy switching places for a cover of THE OSMONDS' 1972 hit 'Crazy Horses'. Check it out below.
The new MORSE/PORTNOY/GEORGE album - featuring Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George - was released on May 22nd via Radiant Records. The complete tracklist is as follows:
2012 Momentum Sessions:
'Lido Shuffle' (BOZ SCAGGS)
'I Saw The Light' (TODD RUNDGREN)
'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' (STEELY DAN)
'Teacher' (JETHRO TULL)
'Driven To Tears' (THE POLICE)
'Come Sail Away (STYX)
'Southern Man / Needle And The Damage Done / Cinnamon Girl' (NEIL YOUNG)

2008 Lifeline Sessions:
'Crazy Horses' (THE OSMONDS)
'Lemons Never Forget' (THE BEE GEES)
'The Letter' (JOE COCKER version)
'(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding' (ELVIS COSTELLO)
'Starless' (KING CRIMSON)

The album is available exclusively through www.radiantrecords.com.

A clip of the trio performing 'Crazy Horses' is available below. Guitars on the track were performed by Paul Gilbert (MR. BIG), who does not appear in the clip. Previously released footage of the trio covering the Styx classic 'Come Sail Away' is also available.

Tampa Bay-area metallers SHADOW SOCIETY have announced a Facebook contest to promote the release of their new track ‘Shrouded In Darkness’.

To enter visit the band’s Facebook page, share the song and leave a comment.

12 people will receive a digital copy of the EP upon release; 21 people will get a personal email from Rob Thoth with the song ‘Shrouded In Darkness’; and 12 people will win a free digital copy of their upcoming EP, and their name will appear in the thank you section of the liner notes of the physical EP.

The track can be heard below:
The ban has also announced the addition of bassist Scott Patrick.

The band commented: “Scott's incredible bass skills can be heard on ‘Shrouded In Darkness’, as well as with ORDER OF ENNEAD, COUNCIL OF THE FALLEN, and RESSURECTION.”

Video Of Patrick tracking bass for Order Of Ennead in 2008 can be seen below:

German progressive metallers DANTE will release their new album November Red on January 25th via Massacre Records.

Tracklisting for the album is as follows:

‘Birds Of Passage (Caught In A Dream)’
‘The Lone And Level Sands’
‘Beautifully Broken’
‘The Day That Bled’
‘Shores Of Time’
‘Allan’
‘November Red (In Praise Of Dreams)’
The track ‘The Lone And Level Sands’, which was inspired by the Percy Bisshe Shelley poem Ozymandias, is available for streaming below:
An album trailer can also be seen below:
The band recently signed with Massacre Records at the beginning of December.

Mysterious Swedish buzz band GHOST will release its sophomore album, "Infestissumam", in the spring via Loma Vista Recordings, the new record label founded by Tom Whalley in partnership with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group. Frontman Papa Emeritus and his Nameless Ghouls summoned Nashville-based Grammy Award-winning Nick Raskulinecz (DEATH ANGEL, DEFTONES, FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH) to produce this offering.

Speaking to Decibel for the magazine's February 2013 cover story, one of the Nameless Ghouls stated about GHOST's decision to use Raskulinecz: "The reason we wanted to work with Nick was because all the recordings he has produced sound uniquely like those bands. The RUSH album he did sounded like a RUSH album. The ALICE IN CHAINS album sounded like ALICE IN CHAINS; the FOO FIGHTERS sounded like FOO FIGHTERS, and so on. Whereas there are producers out there who are very fond of stamping whatever record they're producing with their own sort of sound. Nick is not one of those, and he seemed to be one of the few who seemed to understand our archaeological approach when it comes to our sound, which is something that we began doing on the first record. Now, with more resources, we're doing what we set out to do, which is to make a record that sounds like a real expensive record done in 1978, as opposed to a lo-fi album done in the '70s. Nick is one of the few who understood what we meant by that, and he's very devoted to Satan."

Asked about GHOST's decision to sign with a major label and the impact it has had on the expectations for the new album, the Ghoul said: "In some aspects, [being on a major label] has changed things for the better. Obviously, we went into this with expectations and demands, and so far it's been surprisingly open-minded in terms of creative freedom. There haven't been any problems. Obviously, if you compare this with releasing an album like [GHOST's debut CD] 'Opus Eponymous', the expectancy is very different at this point. The planning and overall scheme for this release is much different than what we're used to. Nobody had any expectations for the first record, whereas obviously this record is going to be given to a lot of people who already have expectations.

"Overall, it's not really as corporate as I expected it to be," he added. "I think a lot of the major labels have shifted from being these conglomerates of people who don't give a shit about music, because that didn't work. Those guys were kicked out. Now the ones that are actually still working there —not the owners, but the guys who work there — they're die-hard record-collectors, like guys who would run an independent label. They have dedicated their lives to rock 'n' roll debauchery, so they have first-row seats in hell, as do all people in show business. In that sense, they are true devil worshippers. But obviously this is our first record on a major label. It's an experiment. Ask me again in a year."

One of the songs GHOST recorded during the sessions for "Infestissumam" is a cover version of ABBA's "I'm A Marionette" as a potential b-side or bonus track.

"We are Swedish, and ABBA has always been a very, very strong part of our modern musical heritage," the Ghoul explained about what the move that might seem strange or even ill-advised on paper. "We all grew up with their music very present. Not only that-ABBA basically took a few hundred years of traditional Swedish music and made it into pop songs. I'm talking about folk music from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Anybody outside Scandinavia probably isn't familiar with those tones or musical language. But one of the reasons ABBA broke through so enormously first in Sweden was probably because of their folk music influences. I think anyone from Scandinavia is easily infatuated with that sort of music, so ABBA has a deeper meaning to us, I think."

Rock Revolt Magazine recently conducted an interview with bassist John Campbell of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe's arrest and incarceration in Prague for over five weeks which resulted in the cancelation of the band's tour this past summer:

John: "The experience had such a profound effect on us as people, as his friends, as a band as a whole. We were seriously just so worried about him that all we really did was sit around in shock with our friends and families most of the time, waiting for word from his attorneys. It was excruciating, emotionally, and to say that it was a difficult and trying time is an understatement."

On the support shown for Randy by many fellow musicians in raising funds for his legal representation:

John: "We've had so many staunch supporters. It was great the way everyone donated some amazing items for an eBay auction we held to help with the legal fees. I mean, so many of our long time friends like Chris Kael and all the guys from FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD), Dave Ellefson (MEGADETH) and Slash all came through. So many friends have been supportive within the industry and beyond that if I named them all here it would take up your whole magazine and then some!"

On the fan support over the course of the last few months:

John: "There have been so many people that have helped us in so many different ways. Our fans have been amazing! They've formed petitions, started letter writing campaigns, all kinds of things to show Randy and all of us that they are there. We all feel very lucky to have people that take time out of their day to write something cool on Facebook or on the 'Congregation' members section on our web site. Stuff like that goes a long way on a bad day, ya know?"

On how, ever since a fan gunned down PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott during a performance, it simply is not OK for fans to jump on stage anymore:

John: "It can get scary sometimes. You just don't know anymore. We're just trying to work. Granted, we are a hardcore metal band, so people are going to mosh and jump around and stuff, but there has to be a limit. We don't want to get hurt and we don't want anyone else to get hurt either."

Read the entire interview from Rock Revolt Magazine (PDF file).