Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's deathcore thrashers CHARIOTS OF THE GODS will release their new full-length album, "Tides Of War", on January 29, 2013. Produced by award-winning producer/engineer/mixer Glen Robinson, who has worked with RAMONES, AC/DC, GWAR, ANNIHILATOR and VOIVOD, the CD delivers 14 epic, crushing tracks to follow up their well received 2010 debut EP, "Reverence", which the band promoted by performing extensively in Quebec and Ontario, sharing the stage with such bands as MISFITS, VOIVOD, DESPISED ICON, KATAKLYSM and MISERY INDEX.

"We can't begin to describe how proud we are to finally share our musical creations with the world. So much has gone into it and we were lucky enough to work with incredible people such as our producer Glen Robinson and Aleksi Sihvonen (NORTHER)," comments vocalist Renaud Jobin. "Our sweat and manly tears gave this full-length album a more authentic and mature sound that will hopefully, rip your face off and leave you breathless."

"Tides Of War" track listing:

01. Overture
02. Seventh Weapon
03. Blind Assassin
04. Ambrosian Wings
05. Tides of War
06. Revillusion (1905)
07. Snow Falls On The White River (1914)
08. Severing The Bloodline (1917)
09. Collapse of An Empire
10. Red Skies
11. Nebula
12. Starborn
13. Unbound (feat. Aleksi Sihvonen)
14. Annihilation of The Gods

Rhode Island's THY WILL BE DONE invited a fan onstage to play the song "Subversion Of The Sleep" with them on November 17 at the Scout Bar on the Houston, Texas date of the "Party To The Apocalypse" tour. Thomas Ebers, who happened to also be a guitar player in one of the local opening acts, had casually mentioned he knew the song on guitar to the band. They asked him to leave his gear near the stage until their set because they wanted him to join them.

Audience-filmed footage of the performance can be seen below.

THY WILL BE DONE's new EP, "Temple", was produced and engineered by the band, mixed by acclaimed metal producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z and is the inaugural release on the band's own Eye.On Lion Recordings with INgrooves Fontana handling worldwide distribution.

Eye.On Lion Recordings is a DIY-style record label designed to release new music, merchandise, as well as other media from THY WILL BE DONE. The first single, "You, The Apathy Divine", was officially released through iTunes on June 26 following the band's performance at the Orion Music + More festival, for which they were hand-picked by the festival curators METALLICA.

"Temple" is THY WILL BE DONE's third release following 2009's "In Ancient Of Days" and the 2007 debut, "Was And Is To Come". The "Temple" EP shows the band expanding on their sound that both peers and press have already described as defying metal sub-genres.

Pennsylvania rockers HALESTORM and their song "Love Bites (So Do I)" have been nominated in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category at the 55th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. They will be going up against ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, MARILYN MANSON, IRON MAIDEN and LAMB OF GOD in the category.

Speaking to Loudwire, HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale stated about the Grammy nomination: "It's crazy, it means a lot considering the rock/metal performance category — it's kind of like a personal victory for the four of us. The performance of our live shows, that's what we love most. It's really neat, we're extremely humbled by it, we had no idea. In fact, I wasn't even paying attention [laughs] to the nominees for the past couple years — that doesn't happen to bands like us!"

She added, "I never expected it but it's really cool though — we actually found out in the middle of a show, so I got to announce it onstage and the crowd went crazy. I'm just so happy about it, it's very cool. It's just one of those things that you never expect to happen. You think about it when you're a little kid: 'Oh it would be cool to get a Grammy,' and then it happens and you're like, 'Wow, who screwed up?' [laughs]"

The nominees in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category are as follows:

ANTHRAX - "I'm Alive"
Track from: "Worship Music"
(Megaforce)

HALESTORM - "Love Bites (So Do I)"
Track from: "The Strange Case Of..."
(Atlantic)

IRON MAIDEN - "Blood Brothers"
Track from: "En Vivo!"
(Ume)

LAMB OF GOD - "Ghost Walking"
Track from: "Resolution"
(Epic)

MARILYN MANSON – "No Reflection"
Track from: "Born Villain"
(Cooking Vinyl)

MEGADETH - "Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)"
Track from: "TH1RT3EN"
(Roadrunner)

This year's Grammy Awards process registered more than 17,000 submissions over a 12-month eligibility period, October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012. Grammy ballots for the final round of voting will be mailed on Wednesday, December 19 to the voting members of The Recording Academy. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by Wednesday, January 16, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the 55th Grammy broadcast.

The 55th annual Grammy Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer and Louis J. Horvitz is director.

Alone Records has announced the signing of Belgium's BLIKSEM. The band's debut album, "Face The Evil", will be released on February 25, 2013 (three days earlier in Germany). Combining blistering tandem guitars, thrashing drums, pounding bass and furious vocals, the resulting eight songs not only explore themes including revenge, oppression and madness but also celebrate the timeless glory of metal. Mastering was done by Herbrand Larsen (ENSLAVED) at the Earshot Studio in Bergen, Norway.

Lightning is one of the most spectacular displays in nature. Bolt temperatures hotter than the sun. Shockwaves radiating out in all directions. In Dutch, this deadly natural phenomenon is called "bliksem." A fitting name for an electrifying five-piece thrash band from Antwerp.

In late 2008, their quest to find a singer on par with Chuck Billy or Dave Mustaine took an unexpected and brilliant turn with the arrival of Peggy Meeussen. Her commanding razor-edged vocals are reminiscent of the late Dawn Crosby (DÉTENTE, FEAR OF GOD) and Nicole Lee (ZNÖWHITE), slicing through the existing legions of goth or guttural female-fronted bands.

BLIKSEM quickly established a strong live reputation playing dozens of youth centers and local metal and rock festivals around Belgium and soon moved up to bigger stages.

In 2010, the band recorded its first EP, which got rave reviews in numerous magazines/e-zines such as Germany's Rock Hard, Aardschok, Lords Of Metal, France's Rock Hard and Rock Tribune as well as alternative-oriented press. Critics praised the quality thrash and some went as far to declare BLIKSEM the best thing to happen to the genre in years.

In 2011, BLIKSEM expanded its horizon, playing shows in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, along with a fiercely convincing performance at Slovenia's Metalcamp festival.

The band went on to play Holland's Paaspop, which featured fellow heavy acts like HELL, ENSLAVED and ACCEPT as well as Dutch chart-toppers, and the renowned Eindhoven Metal Meeting (with EXODUS, HEATHEN, IMMORTAL and other metal greats). The momentum continued, and BLIKSEM was asked to support CHANNEL ZERO, ANGEL WITCH, VANDERBUYST and PRONG. Meanwhile, BLIKSEM created a buzz in the leading alternative media in the Benelux, including 3voor12/VPRO and Kindamuzik.nl, which called them one of the bands to watch in 2012-2013.

The BLIKSEM song "Insanity's Curse", taken from the "Face The Evil" album, can be streamed below.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of DEEP PURPLE's December 6 concert at Zénith in Toulouse, France can be seen below.

According to the DEEP PURPLE fan site The Highway Star, the band's bassist, Roger Glover, revealed in an interview with the Itar-Tass Russian news agency that DEEP PURPLE has completed work on 14 songs for a new studio album with producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER, KANSAS), with 11 or 12 tracks set to appear on the final CD. A tentative February 2013 release for the as-yet-untitled effort is expected.

DEEP PURPLE's 18th studio album, "Rapture of the Deep", was released in November 2005. It was the fourth studio CD from DEEP PURPLE since guitarist Steve Morse joined the band in 1994. It was also the second album to feature veteran keyboardist Don Airey.

"Rapture of the Deep" was produced by Mike Bradford, who also worked on the band's previous release, 2003's "Bananas".

Cleopatra Records is sad to pass on the news that HAWKWIND guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton has passed at the too-young age of 61. Huw had been bravely battling cancer for the past several years and died peacefully at home in England with his devoted wife Marion by his side.

A self-taught guitarist with mind-bending scope and range, Llloyd-Langton joined HAWKWIND in 1970 and immediately made his mark by contributing his unique guitar stylings on the band's groundbreaking self-titled debut album. The album is considered historic in that it was one of the first space-rock albums to be released.

Shortly thereafter, Huw left the band to embark on his own musical journey but he continued to be an integral part of the HAWKWIND sound as both the occasional band member and frequent collaborator with his HAWKWIND mates on numerous occasions as the years unfolded. He was on-board for the albums "Live Seventy Nine", "Levitation", "Sonic Attack", "Church Of Hawkwind", "Choose Your Masques", "The Chronicle Of The Black Sword", "The Xenon Codex" and this year's "Onward".

Huw also toured with Leo Sayer in the 1970s and was a founding member of the acclaimed U.K. hard rock band WIDOWMAKER, which released two well-received albums in 1976 and '77. He was adept at playing all styles of music — from hard rock to classical to blues — performing in the various genres with seamless ease and jaw-dropping talent.

In a statement, founding HAWKWIND bandmate Nik Turner said, "He was a lovely guy and a great, great guitarist. I'm really sad that he's gone. Everybody who knew Huw liked him; he touched a great many people with his playing. I will miss him."

Huw was and will always be a much-loved member of the Cleopatra Records family. He had been a significant part of a number of Cleopatra projects including working with KINKS legend Dave Davies on a track for THE BLACK KEYS tribute album "Black on Blues", and with Joe Elliott, Rick Wakeman and Carmine Appice on "Who Are You", an all-star tribute to THE WHO. His innovative guitar work was featured on the "Space Rock Invasion" DVD taken from the 2011 "Space Rock Invasion" tour on which Huw participated, as he opened to critical applause for NEKTAR and BRAINTICKET.

Cleopatra is preparing to release Huw's "Rare & Unreleased" anthology in January, which will now be an amazing posthumous tribute to his work including never-before-heard solo acoustic recordings of songs later recorded by HAWKWIND along with tracks from Huw's solo band.

California rockers BUCKCHERRY will release "Gluttony", the first single from their forthcoming sixth studio album, "Confessions", on December 11 via iTunes. The track is now available for streaming at TheRockStation99x.com.

As previously reported, BUCKCHERRY will join KID ROCK as special guests on the upcoming "Rebel Soul" tour beginning February 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.

"Confessions" will be BUCKCHERRY's first domestic release with new label Century Media Records. The CD is due in early 2013 on Century Media in the United States and via Eleven Seven Music in other parts of the world.

"Confessions" is an album based on the seven deadly sins, and is part of a larger vision that includes a film written by Josh Todd, who based the album's lyrics on his childhood and transformation into adulthood.

Asked about the reports that "Confessions" is a "concept" album, Nelson told PopCultureMadness.com, "Basically, it kind of started off as a concept record and then evolved away from that, so I wouldn't really call it a concept record right now. But it definitely has a theme to the record. And the record, it evolved into Josh writing a screenplay, basically, loosely based on some events of his life. So the story of the record goes with the film and the film goes with the record and they really work together. It tells a story."

He added, "The whole idea was to, basically, make the record stand alone on its own and the film stand alone on its own, but they could both come together and work really well together. And same thing with the songs — there isn't anything on the record that is so weird that you wouldn't understand it unless you saw the movie. So the record really needs to stand on its own, like every other record we've made."

Todd told an Oklahoma radio station about the "Confessions" screenplay, "It's based around the seven sins and true events that happened in my life as well, when I was younger."

Todd, however, shot down the idea of playing the lead role in the film, although he did say that the band will appear somewhere in it.

He added, "I think (the film is) gonna be a real treat for people who love this band and people who are just discovering BUCKCHERRY for the first time."

As for "Confessions", Todd said that the new disc 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."

Video footage of NEKROFEIST — the Australian groove/thrash metal outfit whose frontman, Dave Tinelt, was briefly a member of thrash veterans MORTAL SIN — performing a cover version of DAMAGEPLAN's "Breathing New Life" on November 24 at "The Sydney Dime Show" in Sydney, Australia can be seen below.

NEKROFEIST recently release its debut album, "Without Reserve Or Regret". The CD was recorded with producer Darren "jENK" Jenkins.

Tinelt is renowned for his broad, powerful, stentorian-like vocal abilities. Whether smooth and clean or throaty and aggressive, Dave has an incredible depth and tone to his voice, and is proud to present these varied qualities in the forefront of NEKROFEIST's music. For his lyrics, Dave draws on very personal life experiences, which lends NEKROFEIST's music an honesty and raw integrity seldom found in today's scene.

NEKROFEIST's debut EP was released in 2010. The CD was recorded at Gadigal Studios with producer Ash Manning (TOURETTES) and engineer Lachlan Mitchell (NAXZUL, HENRY'S ANGER).

NEKROFEIST is:

Dave Tinelt - Vocals
Rob Giles - Bass
Paul Gilroy - Drums
Damon Bishop - Guitar

Former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted has posted the following message on his Facebook page:

"I want y'all to know that I am ultra-proud of my time in [METALLICA]... I am thankful for the wonderful experiences of our 15 years together and I will always be open to jammin' with the boys... I am very happy in my life now! I have a new band that bears my own name, we're just finishing our first record, I'm feeling strong again playing bass and singing lead vocals and you all wiil be hearing it in one month's time!!!! New year, new band, new life!! Bless you all and I can't wait to share my music with everyone!! I'm entrusting all of my friends to help me get the word out!!! Jason's back!"

In a recent interview with Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Newsted stated about his plans to release original music via his newly launched official web site, NewstedHeavyMetal.com, "It'll be called Newsted Heavy Metal Music. Whatever it ends up being — if it's five songs, 20 songs, 50 songs… I don't even know what the heck I'm gonna do. I have so much music from over the years. I have a bunch of new stuff, I have so many mixes of projects with people — new players, young players, old-school players like myself — so I'm just trying to figure out exactly what I wanna unleash on everybody first. That's kind of what it's coming down to — the timing of things and how I wanna hit people with it, and which stuff [to release first]."

Asked how he plans to release his music, Jason said, "I see a couple of the old avenues still being there that will always be there in the purest form — making the vinyl and everybody having the special-edition vinyl to be able to read the lyrics, stuff like you and I loved the most, that's the closest to us that's the most endearing and the most personal. So that's always gonna be there and I never wanna dismiss that, so that will be percentage of it for the fans that really dig the real American kick-ass guitar music … And then the newest avenues that I'm just really now learning about as I expose myself to all this stuff… I saw a piece of one of ['That Metal Show' espisodes on VH1 Classic] and somebody talked about DOWN and some other bands doing four tracks at a time in EP form every few months, letting people have some fresh metal. I think that's a pretty good concept, a pretty good formula — I'm hip to that, [and] I'd like to warm up to that. Since it is new territory for me, I'm really open to that idea; I think it's a good way to spread stuff."

Newsted married his longtime girlfriend Nicole Leigh Smith in October.

In his acceptance speech at METALLICA's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in April 2009, Jason thanked Nicole — whom he referred to as "the love of my life" — for "standing by me through the last seven years of challenges and adventures."

Jacob Grant of Capital Chaos TV conducted an interview with bassist Jukka Koskinen of Finnish epic metallers WINTERSUN before the band's November 30 performance at the Oakland Metro Operahouse in Oakland, California as part of a North American tour with ELUVEITIE and VARG. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is footage of WINTERSUN's Oakland show.

WINTERSUN's long-awaited new album, "Time I", sold nearly 4,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 109 on The Billboard 200 chart.

According to Mäenpää, there are several reasons why the band's new effort, "Time" is being released as two separate albums, titled "Time I" and "Time II". He says:

* "All the 80 minutes of material won't fit on a regular CD and we didn't want to cut anything out.
* "We want you to be able to hear new material sooner and not wait any longer and we want to go on tour sooner.
* "The music is very full and complex, so listening this kind of 'hard listening (not easy listening)' material straight for 80 minutes is a bit too much (even for me).
* "Both albums will be approximately. nice 40 min epic packages of fireworks.
* "We like the idea of releasing two albums within one year, so the band will stay more visible longer, which is important in these 'modern times.' No more years of silence for us!"

"Time II" will be released in 2013.

WINTERSUN recently headlined this year's edition of the Heidenfest tour. Support on the trek came from KORPIKLAANI, VARG, TROLLFEST and KRAMPUS.

WINTERSUN's debut CD was released in September 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records.

Interview:

German death metallers DAMNATION DEFACED have made their new EP, "Slaughter Race", available for free download via their official web site. The effort, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by Kai Reidenbach (OUT OF MIND), contains "four brand new tracks which will blast your ears!" according to a press release. "It comes with groove, is brutal, straight but still has its unique melodies." The cover artwork was created by Jonathan Stenger (CRIPPER, DRONE, HATRED, Wacken Open Air, 70000 Tons Of Metal).

The EP's opening track, "Warlord", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

For collectors, "Slaughter Race" is available as a numbered box, limited to only 250 copies. It can be ordered directly from the band.

DAMNATION DEFACED is:

Philipp Bischoff - Vocals
Lutz Gudehus - Guitars
Mathias Opitz - Bass
Lucas Katzmann - Drums

The band's debut album, "Beyond The Pale", came out in 2010.

MOTÖRHEAD was joined by members of ANTHRAX on stage this past Wednesday, December 5 at Columbiahalle in Berlin, Germany at the final date of the two bands' joint European tour to perform the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Overkill". Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

ANTHRAX tapped former TESTAMENT/SLAYER and current ANIMETAL USA drummer Jon Dette to sit behind the kit for the MOTÖRHEAD tour, which kicked off on November 5 in Wolverhampton, England. Dette temporary replaced longtime ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, who stayed home to "take care of personal stuff," according to ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.

MOTÖRHEAD will enter the studio in January with longtime producer Cameron Webb to begin recording its next album for a mid-2013 release.

MOTÖRHEAD released "The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else" in Germany on September 21, three days later in the rest of Europe and October 9 in North America via UDR/EMI. The follow-up to 2011's "The Wörld Is Ours - Vol 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" features the band's 2011 Wacken Open Air headline appearance as well as highlights from Sonisphere (United Kingdom) and Rock In Rio (Brazil) shows.

On December 10, METALLICA will release a live DVD called "Quebec Magnetic" through the band's newly launched Blackened Recordings label. The double DVD and single disc Blu-ray will be available for a price a "very METALLICA fan-friendly" price — suggested retail will be $15.98 for either format. Filmed by Wayne Isham during a two-night stand in October of 2009 in Quebec City, it will be METALLICA's first self-released project. "We just played two really phenomenal shows. They were outrageously great and the audience was great and we had a bunch of people filming it," METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told Billboard.com. "We felt like we're really doing a disservice just sitting on this great live footage, so we decided to put it out."

"Quebec Magnetic" track listing:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. The Four Horsemen
04. The Shortest Straw
05. One
06. Broken, Beat & Scarred
07. My Apocalypse
08. Sad But True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. The Judas Kiss
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Battery
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
16. Killing Time
17. Whiplash
18. Seek & Destroy

Bonus songs:

19. For Whom The Bell Tolls
20. Holier Than Thou
21. Cyanide
22. Turn The Page
23. All Nightmare Long
24. Damage, Inc.
25. Breadfan
26. Phantom Lord

The "The Four Horsemen" performance clip from "Quebec Magnetic" can be seen below.

Wayne Isham, 54, is an American movie director who has directed music videos of many popular artists such as MÖTLEY CRÜE, SIMPLE PLAN, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, PANTERA, 'N SYNC, SHANIA TWAIN, GODSMACK, BRITNEY SPEARS, LEONA LEWIS, PINK FLOYD, SHERYL CROW, JOSS STONE, MADONNA, AVRIL LAVIGNE, DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI, among others.

Previous METALLICA videos that were directed by Wayne Isham:

* "Enter Sandman"
* "Wherever I May Roam"
* "Sad But True"
* "Fuel"
* "No Leaf Clover"
* "Nothing Else Matters" (from "S&M")
* "I Disappear"
* "Frantic"
* "Broken, Beat And Scarred"

METALLICA announced on November 30 that it has taken ownership of all the band's master recordings and long-form videos under a provision of the band's 1994 joint venture agreement with the Warner Music Group. According to that provision — almost unheard of for acts signed to major label contracts — all the masters reverted back to the band. Frontman James Hetfield said in a statement, "We would like to thank everyone at the Warner Music Group for 28 years of a fantastic relationship, particularly since 1994 where we truly felt we had partners in every aspect of our business in North America."

The band has also revealed that it is launching its own label, called Blackened Recordings, that will be the new home for all of their recordings and videos, as well as anything else that the band may come up with. All marketing and promotion will be handled by Blackened, with distribution through Rhino Entertainment in North America and the Universal Music Group internationally. Drummer Lars Ulrich said, "Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, giving us 100 percent control and putting us in the driver's seat of our own creative destiny."

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that METALLICA was long past the point where the band needed a corporate record label to support it. "The great thing about being in a band like us is that we're in a position to bypass the record company," he said. "Basically record companies act like banks. And when you don't need the bank element of a record company, then you can kind of do it yourself."

METALLICA is also working on a 3D feature film for release next summer, as well as a new studio album that should surface in early 2014.

ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer will be featured as guest vocalist on Syrian thrashers ANARCHADIA's upcoming album, "Let Us All Unite", performing alongside the band’s singer, Nour, on a track entitled "True World Order". The song is now available for streaming below.

Stated Jon: "I have always been impressed with the efforts and music from metal bands coming from the Middle East and when I got the invite to guest on ANARCHADIA's album, I was immediately into it. I am hoping these guys will go far in their career; they certainly deserve it."

Added ANARCHADIA: "No words can express how honored we are to work with a heavy metal icon such as Jon who happens to be a very cool and down-to-earth guy and a true metal brother. Cheers, guys. [We] hope you will dig the new stuff!"

"Lost", the new video from German metallers MOB RULES, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's seventh album, "Cannibal Nation", which was released on October 19 via AFM Records. According to a press release, the CD "is a varied, hook-oriented and energetic record. By building their own studio, a whole lot of new possibilities opened to the band. So the Dwelling Mound studio of guitarist Sven Lüdke became the place for MOB RULES to compose their new material. The result: every song on 'Cannibal Nation' appears sophisticated and right on point. From the prog metal-influenced opening track 'Close My Eyes' to the following 'Lost' with its strong hookline, the first single 'Ice & Fire' (inspired by the story of the abducted Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt), which features atmospheric orchestral parts by Michael 'Miro' Rodenberg (AVANTASIA), to 'Scream For The Sun' (lyrically dealing with the first ascent of Mount Everest) and the album's final song 'Sunrise', every track was arranged with passion and reason. With 'Tele Box Fool' also a song whose lyrics criticize today's dull TV/media culture, can be found on the album."

"Cannibal Nation" track listing:

01. Close My Eyes
02. Lost
03. Tele Box Fool
04. Ice And Fire
05. Soldiers Of Fortune
06. The Sirens
07. Scream For The Sun (May 29th 1953)
08. Cannibal Nation
09. Sunrise
10. Children Of The Flames (live in Atlanta) (digipak bonus track)

MOB RULES is:

Klaus Dirks - Vocals
Matthias Mineur - Guitar
Sven Lüdke - Guitar
Jan Christian Halfbrodt - Keyboards
Markus Brinkmann - Bass
Nikolas Fritz – Drums

Mark Holmes of Metal Discovery conducted an interview with bassist Pär Sundström of Swedish metallers SABATON before the band's November 3 concert in Manchester, England. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Discovery: I interviewed Joakim [Brodén, vocals] on the DRAGONFORCE tour back in 2009 and I think you'd just left your old label, Black Lodge, and it was announced during that tour you'd signed to Nuclear Blast. During those last three years your popularity seems to have soared so do you think the label had a big part in that or do you think SABATON would have naturally become bigger anyway?

Pär: Well, actually, Nuclear Blast has done a lot for us, especially in territories where we couldn't do so much else ourselves. When we were with Black Lodge, we could do Sweden very well and we could do a little bit in Germany because we had good connections and good people working with us. But the rest were basically nothing. Of course, changing to Nuclear Blast with their international working promotional machine changed a lot, definitely, directly. For the U.K., we have done step by step over time and we're still growing. We still have a long way to go, but we're doing well.

Metal Discovery: The latest album went gold in Sweden recently so is there a sense you've yet to peak with your popularity and you're still growing the whole time?

Pär: Oh yeah, yeah. We see that it's growing all the time and the tour's a very good example of that because everywhere, wherever we go, it's better results than on the last tour. We see so many bands, and we're told by promoters in everywhere we come that this band goes down, this band goes down and times are so hard now, times are shit, but for us, it's growing.

Metal Discovery: Obviously four members left earlier this year and three new ones have joined so do you see this as a fresh start and a new chapter for SABATON or just business as usual with some new guys?

Pär: No, no, it was a big thing for us. We didn't know if it was gonna work but we're like, "Okay, will it work?" Then we went off to America and played our first show and we're like, "It will work". And now it works better than ever and it's so fresh, as you said, and it feels really good. The spirit in the band is higher than ever.

Metal Discovery: So have the new guys brought a renewed energy that was maybe lacking with the guys that left?

Pär: Yeah, that's the reason why the people left because of the lack of…sometimes motivation or not wanting to be away on such long tours. And, of course, when you have people on the stage who are not there for one hundred and ten percent, the whole thing goes down. Now we have only people there on the stage who are there for this.

Metal Discovery: The new musicians seem to have been greeted with open arms by your fanbase but were you initially apprehensive that such a big change in the band with four members leaving might be received negatively by your fanbase?

Pär: Yeah, of course we were afraid in the beginning but after people saw reviews and YouTube clips of the first shows, people calmed down. And a lot of promoters were afraid, especially in the U.K.… "Ohhh, it's never gonna be the same, it's gonna suck now, the new SABATON's gonna be shitty" and people were like that but you can see on the stage, it's better than ever.

Metal Discovery: You're embarking on a two-day SABATON cruise in December and it's completely sold out, so did the level of interest in that surprise you?

Pär: It's the third year we're doing it and the two previous ones were sold out and this one was sold out in two weeks or something. So it's a big success. People do a lot of metal cruises around the world — there are some metal cruises in Germany, there are several in America and some in Sweden — but everybody who goes to a lot of them say it's nothing like going on the SABATON cruise because the atmosphere is the best. There are two thousand SABATON fans on one cruise ship and the atmosphere when we play is we have the most diehard fans from around the world. The atmosphere when we go on stage is unbeatable. People say that there is nothing like that. Our fans are very loyal and when you see them all connected, some of them, as a unit in one place, that's amazing. So that is special. The atmosphere, you cannot think of it, you have to be there to experience it.

Read the entire interview from Metal Discovery.

GIANT X, the new band formed by RUNNING WILD members Rolf Kasparek and Peter J. Jordan, will release its debut album, "I", on January 18 in Germany, January 21 in the rest of Europe and January 22 in USA/Canada via Steamhammer/SPV.

A snippet of the track "Rough Ride" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

This sensational collaboration was sparked by the unexpectedly euphoric reactions from all over the world to the Kasparek/Jordan composition "Burning Wheels" (off EMI's rock/metal album), which featured Kasparek on vocals. Encouraged by those positive responses, Jordan and Kasparek decided to co-compose more tracks and offer them to interested record companies under the band name of GIANT X. They decided on the Hanover label Steamhammer/SPV, which previously released the latest RUNNING WILD opus, "Shadowmaker".

"GIANT X have a broader musical range which allows Rolf and myself to present ourselves from a totally different side," Jordan explains. "Our material consists of consciously multi-layered numbers, more in the tradition of KISS, QUEEN, THIN LIZZY, VAN HALEN but also BILLY TALENT. In other words: rock music in the tradition of the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties — our shared musical roots. The main thing for us was that people would be able hear the lightness and spontaneity of our collaboration."

"I" contains a total of 13 brand new songs, all of them penned by Jordan and Kasparek. The recording was produced and mixed by Jordan, with lots of support from Kasparek and RUNNING WILD's live mixer Niki Nowy.

No plans for GIANT X's future have yet been made, but according to Jordan and Kasparek, they are happy to "take things as they come. We don't rule anything out at this point."

French death/black metal band SVART CROWN has entered St. Marthe studio (KICKBACK, HANGMAN'S CHAIR, ARKHON INFAUTUS) to begin recording its new album for a fall 2013 release via Listenable Records.

SVART CROWN's most recent album, "Witnessing The Fall", was released in February 2011 through Listenable.

Spawned in France by guitarist/vocalist J.B. Le Bail, SVART CROWN was born in 2005 with the idea to push the boundaries of extreme music and create a new dimension of brutality and blackness. Following numerous tours in its native land, SVART CROWN released its first album, "Ages Of Decay", in early 2008.

The video for "Power & Volume", the title track of the forthcoming debut album from FREE FALL, the Swedish rock band featuring guitarist Mattias Bärjed (SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES) and drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (THE [INTERNATIONAL] NOISE CONSPIRACY), can be seen below. The band states: "The purpose of this video is to replace an empty mind with an open mind."

"Power & Volume" will be released in early 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.

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

FREE FALL is:

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

Fan-filmed video footage of Vince Neil taking a closed-fist, rage-fueled swing at a front row concert-goer during the MÖTLEY CRÜE singer's December 1 solo show at Inn Of The Mountain Gods Resort & Casino in Mescalero, New Mexico can be seen below.

According to TMZ.com, "Neil had just started performing 'Kickstart My Heart' when the fan did something that pissed him off. Vince stopped the song and started yelling at the guy to 'get the fuck outta here!' When the guy started getting mouthy back at Neil, the singer reached back and tried to punch the dude in the kisser ... but the guy ducked ... and Neil totally whiffed. Didn't faze Neil though — security rushed in and escorted the trouble-maker out of the show ... and Vince got right back into the song like nothing ever happened."

Neil was videotaped in August screaming at a group of Miracle Mile Shops parking attendants in Las Vegas after a valet refused to return the singer's Rolls-Royce because Neil couldn't produce a claim ticket.

Vince failed three field sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit during his June 27, 2010 Las Vegas arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The singer in April 2011 completed all of the requirements of his sentence stemming from his DUI case. The sentence ordered him to serve 15 days of jail time, 15 days of house arrest, pay a $585 fine, attend DUI school and attend a victim-impact panel online.

The surprise isn't that ANTHRAX's "I'm Alive" received a Grammy nomination last night for "Best Rock/Metal Performance"; the surprise is that it comes more than a year after the track's September 13, 2011 release on the band's critical smash, "Worship Music", which was named was of the best metal albums of 2011 by numerous media outlets, and provided the band with the rock 'n' roll comeback story of the year. This is the fourth Grammy nomination for ANTHRAX — Charlie Benante on drums, Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano on guitars, Frank Bello on bass, Joey Belladonna on vocals.

"I was watching the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND perform when I received a text saying 'Congrats on the Grammy nomination!'," said Benante. "Huh? I had lost all hope of ever being nominated for another Grammy, but I guess I was wrong. We put so much hard work into 'Worship Music', and I am so honored to be nominated with a group of bands that have also sustained the test of time like the legendary MAIDEN and MEGADETH. Heavy metal is a force, it has fans that range from six to 66, and I'm so proud to be a part of this force...it's in all of us."

ANTHRAX recently spent time in the studio recording several cover versions of some of their favorite rock classics, to be included with the upcoming re-release of the band's latest album, "Worship Music".

In addition to RUSH ("Anthem") and BOSTON ("Smokin'") covers, ANTHRAX is also recording its versions of AC/DC's "T.N.T.", JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" and BLACK SABBATH's "Neon Knights". The latter song is expected to appear on the upcoming Ronnie James Dio tribute album which is being assembled by the singer's widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio.

"Worship Music" has sold more than 100,000 copies in the U.S. since its September 2011 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Swedish sleaze rockers HARDCORE SUPERSTAR will release a new album, "C'mon Take On Me", in Europe on March 1, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2010's "Split Your Lip" was produced by the bandmembers themselves and mixed by Randy Staub (METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE CULT).

The first single from the album, "One More Minute", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. It is also available for free download from the Nuclear Blast web site.

Commented the band: "We found this cool abandoned studio that we took over, where we spent the entire summer tracking songs in between the shows.

"Speaking of shows — we'll start rehearsing in January so that we'll be ready to play live everywhere again soon. If there's a stage, we'll rock it!!!"

HARDCORE SUPERSTAR celebrated its 10th anniversary last year with a best-of album, "The Party Ain't Over 'Til We Say So". The collection contained songs from all the records that the band released between 2000 and 2010 along with a newly written track, "We Don't Need A Cure".

"Split Your Lip" was released in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records except in Scandinavia, where it was made available through Gain Records.

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam", the new album from New York death metal veterans SUFFOCATION, will be released on February 15, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork was handled this time around by Raymond Swanland and can be found below.

Commented SUFFOCATION bassist Derek Boyer: "This artwork is a perfect portrayal of our music. The cover depicts lyrical content like 'scales tip in degradation' and 'hooded messenger of death is now set forth, punishment for all.' Raymond is an absolute BEAST of an artist!"

Added SUFFOCATION guitarist Guy Marchais: "The artwork for 'Pinnacle' brings another element to an already brutal album. Raymond knew exactly what we were looking for and delivered!"

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" was produced by the band at Full Force Studios in New York with longtime collaborator Joe Cincotta. The mixing and mastering of the effort was handled by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, ARSIS, SUICIDE SILENCE).

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" features 10 genre-defining-bone-crushing tracks and also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who previously played on the "Despise The Sun" EP. Founding member and former drummer Mike Smith also makes a special guest appearance on the re-recorded "Breeding The Spawn" track "Beginning Of Sorrow".

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" track listing:

01. Cycles Of Suffering
02. Purgatorial Punishment
03. Eminent Wrath
04. As Grace Descends
05. Sullen Days
06. Pinnacle Of Bedlam
07. My Demise
08. Inversion
09. Rapture Of Revocation
10. Beginning Of Sorrow

Stated guitarist Terrance Hobbs: "The meaning of the album title 'Pinnacle Of Bedlam', is the tipping point or most elevated moment as we approach the chaotic climax of this existence. The cosmic scale teeters and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

"People should expect nothing less than sheer brutality, as we perform together with this incredible lineup! We feel this CD will be the best SUFFOCATION album ever to have been released and are confident the fans will love it."

SUFFOCATION was among the inductees for this year's class of the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame. TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider received the Harry Chapin Award at the event, which was held on October 18 at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.

METALLICA has released the following statement:

"We're beyond excited to announce that music from every single METALLICA album is now streaming on Spotify!

"In our never-ending quest for total control of the way our music is presented, we always make it a point to be sure that we are offering you the very best service by partnering with ground-breaking technology companies. So with that 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.

"Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 and has grown into a massive world-wide service with on-demand access to over 20 million songs. You can create and manage all your play-lists, share them with your friends and add to them by importing MP3s you already own. Now you can also take Spotify with you through their new mobile app.

"We're always looking for more ways to get our music out to you, whether it's streaming live videos through our tour page on this site or offering downloads of live shows through LiveMetallica.com. Connecting with Spotify was the next logical step and we can't wait to see what the future brings!"

Back in 2000, METALLICA launched legal action against Napster, claiming that the pioneering music file-sharing service was illegally allowing users to download METALLICA tracks without paying royalties to the band. Although the case was settled out of court, 300,000 users were banned from Napster as a result and METALLICA's image took a tremendous beating in the eyes of music fans.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who was the main spokesperson for METALLICA in the Napster battle, later admitted that he wished he had dealt with the situation differently.

METALLICA announced on November 30 that it has taken ownership of all the band's master recordings and long-form videos under a provision of the band's 1994 joint venture agreement with the Warner Music Group. According to that provision — almost unheard of for acts signed to major label contracts — all the masters reverted back to the band as of Friday. Frontman James Hetfield said in a statement, "We would like to thank everyone at the Warner Music Group for 28 years of a fantastic relationship, particularly since 1994 where we truly felt we had partners in every aspect of our business in North America."

The band has also revealed that it is launching its own label, called Blackened Recordings, that will be the new home for all of their recordings and videos, as well as anything else that the band may come up with. All marketing and promotion will be handled by Blackened, with distribution through Rhino Entertainment in North America and the Universal Music Group internationally. Drummer Lars Ulrich said, "Forming Blackened Recordings is the ultimate in independence, giving us 100 percent control and putting us in the driver's seat of our own creative destiny."

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that METALLICA was long past the point where the band needed a corporate record label to support it. "The great thing about being in a band like us is that we're in a position to bypass the record company," he said. "Basically record companies act like banks. And when you don't need the bank element of a record company, then you can kind of do it yourself."

METALLICA is also working on a 3D feature film for release next summer, as well as a new studio album that should surface in early 2014.

Belgian power metallers FIREFORCE are preparing to enter The Prophecy & Music Factory studios in Germany to record their new album. Greek producer Roberto Dimitri Liapakis (MYSTIC PROPHECY, SUICIDAL ANGELS, DEVIL'S TRAIN, CRYSTAL TEARS) will helm the effort, which is tentatively due in early 2013.

FIREFORCE was recently rejoined by guitarist Steve Deleu, who has previously toured with Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) and Tim "The Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN).

FIREFORCE's latest album, "March On", was released in March 2011 via 7Hard. The CD artwork was designed by Eric Philippe, who has previously worked with RHAPSODY, RIOT, MOB RULES, TNT and many others.
Formed in August 2008 by former DOUBLE DIAMOND members Flype and Erwin, FIREFORCE's lineup was completed by THB (drums; ex-DD), Joeri (guitars; ex-SELF INFLICTED) and Patrik (bass; ex-GRINNING GHOUL). In February 2009, the band entered the studio to record a four-song EP with producer Roberto Dimitri Liapakis. Joeri subsequently decided to leave FIREFORCE for family reasons and was replaced by Steve Deleu (ex-GWYLLION).

Swedish hardcore/experimental/progressive band THE MOTH GATHERER has inked a deal with Agonia Records. The group's debut album will be released in April 2013.

THE MOTH GATHERER's music is hard to label, due to band's non-one-dimensional approach towards the songs they create; the hardcore/experimental/progressive etiquette seems almost too laconic to fully do justice to the spirit of the compositions.

THE MOTH GATHERER's debut offers up long and complex tracks, but still surprisingly simple and compelling. Abundance of tempo changes and variations that surround the album bask in emotionally charged, progressive yet utterly melodic slower-sections, addictive enough to stimulate the imagination.

"We just want our music to be an emotional explosion," comments the band's co-founder Alex Stjernfeldt. "A lot of the songs is about death, missing people you loved who have passed away and losing hope in mankind. We want the music to make you feel like you can move mountains with it. I wish for that when people hear our music, they start to dream away."

THE MOTH GATHERER is recommended for fans of NEUROSIS, BREACH and CULT OF LUNA.

The band is: Alex Stjernfeldt and Victor Wegeborn — who both handle: guitars, bass, electronics, vocals and drums.

"Call You Out", the new video from FLYLEAF can be seen below. The animated clip follows an angry bear destined to destroy the smaller animals towns, only to find himself faced with the masses.

The "Call You Out" video was directed by Brad Scott, who had this to say about the band and creating the video: "Our team has been a fan of FLYLEAF since the very beginning, so working on a music video for the album 'New Horizons' was a great honor.

"FLYLEAF's new song 'Call You Out' is about the power of truth rising against evil. We aligned our characters with a cast of animals who were pitted against the ultimate antagonist in a forest. Through this, the video became the ultimate musical fable; light versus dark, and the triumph of good versus evil. Using live-action and animation we decided to limit our style to a monochromatic tone, with a dark and stormy vibe.

"I feel that FLYLEAF fans all around will love this video, and we're really excited for the premiere."

FLYLEAF's new lineup made its live debut on November 1 at the Grand Stafford Theater in Bryan, Texas in front of a sold-out capacity crowd of 400. The show featured the debut of new singer Kristen May, who replaced original vocalist Lacey Sturm after the latter abruptly departed the group in October.

Sturm left the band on the eve of the release of its third album, "New Horizons", which came out on October 30 and sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 16 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Sturm issued a statement about her exit from the group she co-founded, saying, "I am very thankful to have recently become a mom to one of the greatest blessings of my life, my son Jack . . . I understand that, for me, living life to the fullest in this season means to step down as the lead singer for FLYLEAF."

The new album follows up 2009's "Memento Mori" and FLYLEAF's self-titled 2005 debut, which have combined to sell more than 1.6 million copies in the U.S.

The U.K.'s Terrorrizer magazine is honoring British extreme metal record label Earache Records with a very special "Secret History Of Earache" issue.

Earache is currently celebrating 25 years of bringing extreme music to the masses, and what better way to round off the year than with a fitting tribute from the U.K.'s most extreme magazine.

Terrorizer's "Secret History Of Earache" looks back at Earache's illustrious catalogue, examining classic albums from some of the biggest names in metal, revealing long-forgotten and hidden gems, and looking ahead to the label's new generation of talent. Also included in the magazine are exclusive new interviews with MORBID ANGEL, NAPALM DEATH, AT THE GATES and CATHEDRAL, the true story of Earache in the words of its founder, Digby Pearson, and many photos from deep within the Earache archives. Each copy of the magazine also includes a free compilation CD featuring rare and unreleased tracks, including a brand new EVILE cover of ENTOMBED's classic track "Drowned", plus the World's Shortest Album, which clocks in at less than one-and-a-half minutes.

Earache founder/owner Digby Pearson comments: "Wow, twenty-five years of extreme metal already? Not bad for a crazy fad which most pundits — and even some of the musicians involved — gave about twenty-five days, if that. It really is a quite far-fetched tale of how a couple dozen noise-obsessed teenagers did actually leave a scar on the face of the global music scene.

"This special edition of Terrorizer is dedicated to the early fans who made it all happen, and a thank you to the unseen army of Earache staffers who toiled behind the scenes, creating the careers of the pioneering bands in the extreme metal scene. Stay heavy."

Terrorizer publisher Miranda Yardley comments: "Terrorizer is proud to be able to have worked with Dig and Dan at Earache to produce the definitive documentary of the history of a great British label that changed the face of extreme music forever."

Terrorizer's "Secret History Of Earache" will be available in shops this Thursday, November 29, and will also be available from the Terrorizer web site at www.terrorizer.com.