Original JUDAS PRIEST singer Al Atkins and Christian guitarist and music artist Paul May have come together once again to create a powerful new CD called "Valley Of Shadows", now available on Gonzo Multimedia. Here once again, the men from the "Black Country" industrial area in the Midlands of Great Britain have produced an album of outstanding quality straight from the "home of metal." This excellent collection of songs sees Atkins deliver some standout vocal performances and May shred the axe like the old guitar masters.

"Valley Of Shadows" offers 10 "killer" tracks that burst with melody and metal mayhem. You'll take a journey through what seems to be an "evolution" of rock. With all the elements of "classic" hard rock and metal, yet retaining an underlying progressive core, "Valley Of Shadows" will not disappoint fans of the genre who decide to take the ride.

Says Al Atkins: "We have kept the same format for 'Valley Of Shadows' since it worked really well for our debut album, 'Serpent's Kiss', so we thought why change a winning formula." Paul May adds: "I think the new album definitely leans more towards that 'classic rock' feel, with some modern twists thrown in for good measure, retaining its metal edge."

Regarding the lyrical concepts covered on "Valley Of Shadows", May states: "The album is mainly about facing trials of life and the 'demons' you encounter on the way. It's about standing up and being counted when you understand who you are. The title 'Valley Of Shadows' relates to many things... that dark night of the soul that finds us all."

"Valley Of Shadows" track listing:

01. Welcome To The Nightmare
02. No Ordinary Man
03. Bitter Waters
04. Enslaved To Love
05. Stronger Is The Grace
06. Harder They Fall
07. Not Ready To Die
08. Messiah (Prelude)
09. Valley Of Shadows
10. The Shallowing (Return)

A five-minute YouTube clip containing audio samples of the tracks that will appear on the CD can be found below.

ATKINS MAY PROJECT's first CD, "Serpent's Kiss", was released last November via Gonzo Multimedia.

Atkins is the co-writer of several PRIEST songs which are included on the band's first two albums, "Rocka Rolla" and "Sad Wings of Destiny", both of which eventually went gold. Atkins co-penned the heavy metal classic "Victim of Changes", which was a combination of Rob Halford's song "Red Light Lady" and Atkins' own "Whiskey Woman". He also co-wrote "Winter", "Never Satisfied", "Dreamer Deceiver" and "Caviar and Meths".

In 1989 Atkins released his debut solo album, "Judgement Day", to great acclaim. But it was "Heavy Thoughts" and "Victim of Changes" (the latter being his collaborative album with ex-JUDAS PRIEST drummer Dave Holland) that brought him strong sales and critical acclaim around the world.

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill penned the foreword to Al Atkins's autobiography, titled "Dawn of the Metal Gods: My Life in Judas Priest and Heavy Metal". The book, which was written with Neil Daniels — a freelance rock writer and heavy metal fan who befriended Atkins during the writing of Neil's book "The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith" (Omnibus Press) — was released in 2009 via Iron Pages.

Portland, Oregon-based "melodic wondercore" act WHISPERS OF WONDER has inked a deal with Standby Records. The band's debut album will be released next year.

According to a press release, "WHISPERS OF WONDER have been growing a massive fan base in Portland and beyond since their inception less than a year ago. In this short time, they have captured the ears of many of the top record labels out today, before signing with Standby.

"The brilliant vocals of Lukkie Thornton draw the listener close while the guitars of Chree Thornton and Tristen Warren pepper their sound of delicious wondercore to a whole new musical level of excellence. The three of them ride the rock solid foundation of Calin Wormdahl on drums and Austin Shaner on bass to create the most intricate, balanced and musically mesmerizing sound heard in recent memory."

"I hear so many bands every day that all want to be signed," claims Standby CEO Neil Sheehan. "Of those bands though, there's only a very few where I stop working, turn up my speakers and marvel at the uniqueness and inspirational vibe the band has created. When I first heard WHISPERS OF WONDER from the demo they sent me, I completely lost track of everything I was doing and had to learn more about this band. In a few mere moments, I knew that WHISPERS OF WONDER was a band that was perfect for the Rock N' Roll 2.0 movement."

WHISPERS OF WONDER is:

Lukkie Thornton: Lead Vocals
Chree Thornton: Guitar/Vocals
Austin Shaner: Bass Guitar/Vocals
Tristen Warren: Guitar/Vocals
Calin Wormdahl: Drums

HELL OR HIGHWATER (formerly known as THE BLACK CLOUD COLLECTIVE), the new band led by ATREYU drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller, has inked a deal with Pavement Entertainment. The group's debut album, "Begin Again", which was originally released independently in August 2011, will be reissued with "bonus content" on January 22, 2013.

Pavement Entertainment CEO/President Mark Nawara states: "We are very excited to work with Brandon and HELL OR HIGHWATER. We are looking forward to pushing the single to radio and expanding on the fan base that the band has already built on their own."

Adds Saller: "We are exited to announce that we have partnered with the Chicago-based record label Pavement Music for the release of our debut album, 'Begin Again'. 2013 promises to be a big year for HELL OR HIGHWATER. We're excited to be a part of the Pavement Music family."

For more than 15 years, Saller put his blood, sweat, and tears into the Southern California metalcore outfit ATREYU. The seasoned drummer/vocalist hammered out five studio LPs with four of his best friends, while traveling the globe and performing for legions of exuberant fans. Saller lived the dream of every musician: to bring the rock 'n' roll to the hungry, fervent masses. And with HELL OR HIGHWATER, Saller emerges from behind the drum kit, with the same unbridled passion, to ignite the next rock 'n' roll firestorm.

HELL OR HIGHWATER has been brewing for nerly three years, as Saller's songwriting drew inspiration from classic rock, doo-wop, punk and pop. Once armed with a solid collection of tunes, he unleashed his newfound vigor in a slew of gigs, and it felt totally natural. When ATREYU announced their hiatus in January 2011, Saller felt the timing was spot on to bring HELL OR HIGHWATER to the forefront.

"THE BLACK CLOUD COLLECTIVE was just a name. We felt that it didn't speak to, or represent the five of us. HELL OR HIGHWATER spoke to who we are as a band. HELL OR HIGHWATER is who we are," says Saller.

HELL OR HIGHWATER lineup came together through word of mouth and via good old-fashioned tryouts. Each member had crossed paths throughout their respective careers, but once guitarist Matt Pauling (THE CONFESSION), guitarist Neal Tiemann (MWK, DAVID COOK), bassist Joey Bradford (THIEVES AND LIARS), and drummer Captain Carl synced up with Saller, things just clicked.

"I was lucky enough to find, in my opinion, some of the greatest musicians I could have ever found," Saller said. "The music has energized all of us to the point where we're foaming at the mouth. This music makes me want to body slam someone and run a mile, while waving an American flag!"

A promotional video for the expanded edition of late DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord's Concerto For Group And Orchestra — which includes a CD, documentary DVD, and 80-page book — can be seen below. The set will be released on December 7.

The book contains Marco de Goeij's essay on how he struggled with his recreation of the Concerto and his initial meeting with Jon while he was on tour with DEEP PURPLE. Marco de Goeij caught him outside his hotel in Rotterdam and remembers the crucial moment, when Jon first heard about the reconstructed score: "Jon decided to have a look at my work right away. For the next two hours we sat in the lobby of the hotel discussing the score. With every turn of a page new thoughts and memories surfaced and at some points Jon could see his own handwriting coming through the printed score, remembering what the manuscript had looked like when he wrote it, complete with the stains caused by erasing mistakes. As he studied the work, it slowly dawned on him that it would now be possible to play the piece again. He grabbed my arm, asking, 'Are you real? Am I dreaming?'"

The DVD contains "The Making Of Concerto for Group and Orchestra", complete with unseen footage from the recording sessions in Liverpool and at Abbey Road Studios, along with filmed interviews with Paul Mann and Marco de Goeij.

Lord assembled guest musicians such as IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson, Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and DEEP PURPLE guitarist Steve Morse at the Abbey Road Studios to work with his trusted partner, director Paul Mann, on the 2012 version of the legendary concert.

"Over these last years since leaving DEEP PURPLE, I've played it over 30 times with different orchestras and conductors all over the world, and, of course, in 2000 I did it well over 30 times with PURPLE on the Concerto tour, so I've been honing the piece live on stage and I've had the opportunity to change things in the score that weren't sounding quite right," Lord said in a May 2011 interview. "It is therefore a marvelous and exciting prospect to have the definitive recording of the definitive version of the score."

He added, "I'm thrilled to have the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic on board. I have immensely enjoyed working with them on several occasions since recording Durham Concerto with them in 2007. They are a wonderful group of players, and with Paul Mann conducting — a dear friend and a man who knows the score inside out — there couldn't be a better conductor and orchestra for this studio recording of the Concerto."

On July 16, Lord passed away in London at the age of 71. This album is a joyful testament of a great musician and fantastic man.

"His dignity and graciousness touched us all," the surviving members of DEEP PURPLE said in a statement following Lord's passing. "His music was an inspiration and took us to places beyond our imagination… A truly great man. We humbly express our eternal love and great respect."

Jon Lord's Concerto For Group And Orchestra was released on September 25 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Movement One
02. Movement Two
03. Movement Three

The new lineup of FLYLEAF, featuring singer Kristen May (formerly of the group VEDERA) made its live debut this past Saturday, November at the sold-out 400-capacity Grand Stafford Theater in downtown Bryan, Texas.

Local radio station KJXJ Rock 103.9 promoted the concert as a CD-release party for regional rockers SIGNAL RISING and their new disc, entitled "Novo", with opening acts DIMITRIS RAIL and ECLIPSE.

Just after May was announced as the new vocalist of FLYLEAF, the band contacted its longtime friend Christerfer Pate, lead singer of SIGNAL RISING, inquiring if they could use the CD-release party as a warm-up show.

Everything was hush-hush leading up to the night. Rock 103.9 joked of a "super-secret headliner named AERONAUTICAL FOLIAGE" so the diehard FLYLEAF fans could grab tickets.

Fan-filmed video footage of FLYLEAF's performance can be seen below.

FLYLEAF's third studio album, "New Horizons", is likely to sell between 15,000 and 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on October 30 via A&M/Octone. The CD's cover artwork was designed by FLYLEAF bassist Pat Seals, who also created a fold-out poster as part of the packaging.

Longtime FLYLEAF lead singer Lacey Sturm last month announced her departure from the band. She stated about her decision to exit the group, "I am very thankful to have recently become a mom to one of the greatest blessings of my life, my son Jack.

"You may have also heard that we recently lost our brilliant sound engineer, Rich Caldwell, in a devastating car accident. Now, more than ever, I understand the phrase 'Memento Mori.' I understand that, for me, living life to the fullest in this season means to step down as the lead singer for FLYLEAF."

Vocalist Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL will be designing a piece with Seventh Circle Artworks, the London, England-based hand-crafted custom jewelry company specializing in rock and roll jewelry. Cristina states, "[Iam] so happy I'll be playing with my creativity into a different territory."

Recent Seventh Circle Artworks clients include SAINT VITUS and Simone Simons of symphonic metallers EPICA.

In a recent interview with Legendary Rock Interviews, Cristina stated about the prospect of pursuing a solo career, "I have been approached about a solo career, but I think the interest in something like that only comes about when you are not allowed to be creative or don't feel like you can express yourself in your current band. Honestly, that has not been the case and I have always felt comfortable in LACUNA COIL; it is like a family to me. I like the fact that we had been in a rehearsal studio and known each other for so long in real life and I like the fact that we have toured so much together. I am so happy with this band that I would honestly never consider such a thing as a solo career."

Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) recently announced his first signature-edition guitar instruction collection, exclusively available at Guitar Centers across the country beginning October 1.

Guitar Apprentice takes a hit guitar song and breaks it down into 15 different levels of playing. The user is playing great guitar songs with a full band, supplying only a chord or two at first. The user can then work on songs at any desired speed and when it is completed is playing 100 percent of the song — including solos. At every level, Guitar Apprentice shows the user visually, exactly what and when to play at the pace he or she desires.

The Zakk Wylde Signature Edition Guitar Apprentice was recorded live at Wylde's Black Vatican studio in Los Angeles and features six DVDs of guitar instruction by Wylde himself, including signature rhythm patterns, solo breakdowns, tones, pedals and gear. Fifteen levels of learning are provided per song.

The Zakk Wylde Signature Edition Guitar Apprentice features exclusive videos, personal tours of the Black Vatican, and interviews.

Asked how the idea of an instructional set of DVDs came about, Zakk told MusicRadar.com, "The guys behind the project approached me, basically. They asked me what I thought of 'Guitar Hero', and I said it was awesome. Who knows — you could have the next Jimmy Page or Dimebag or Yngwie coming out of that thing. Some kid starts out on that, and eventually he says, 'Man, I want to get a real guitar.' That's what you want to happen. To me, anything that promotes the guitar is good. So the guys with 'Guitar Apprentice' came to me and said that it would be like a game, but you'd actually learn how to play. It's not like you're playing with a controller or anything like that — you're using a real guitar. I said, 'Yeah, of course. Sounds great!' I added a couple of songs from the new record that they wanted to do. 'Overlord' came up, so did 'Crazy Horse' and 'Parade Of The Dead'. I performed the songs from beginning to end, and then we broke them down. When you're playing the game, you're learning the song. You're learning how to play. And you learn the scales and how they connect. It's cool."

Zakk was also asked if he learned anything about his style in making these DVDs. "Well, no," he replied. "You know, I know the names of the modes, the names of the scales — I know the shit that I'm playing. [laughs] I don't just go, 'Yeah, use this fingering…' I know more than that. Tell me an F #, and I'll show you all over the fingerboard where an F# is. I've studied theory, so I've got that down."

Regarding whether he is nice and patient as a teacher, Zakk said, "Without a doubt. When I was teaching guitar back in the day, before I got the gig with Ozzy, I always liked doing it. You'd get the prize student who sinks his teeth into it and actually practices and learns the language. It's cool when somebody takes the time to understand it. Some people grasp it naturally, and for other people it's hard."

The Guitar Center-exclusive version features a bonus 60 minutes of concert and interview footage including a never-before-seen prison concert and interviews from an appearance Wylde made in the U.K., interviews at the Black Vatican, a conversation with Wylde on replacing Randy Rhoads, gear talk, the story of Wylde's first guitar, a question-and-answer session and more.

There will be in-store promotions, including a chance to win a private lesson with Wylde — or a dream gear package featuring the same equipment Wylde uses. Fans can register by visiting their local Guitar Center and trying out the new product.

A second sample of the "Crazy Horse" video from Zakk Wylde Signature Edition Guitar Apprentice can be seen below.

For more information on the Zakk Wylde Signature Edition Guitar Apprentice, go to www.guitarapprentice.com.

Philip Lawvere, the artist behind such classic album covers as KREATOR's "Pleasure To Kill" and CELTIC FROST's "Emperor's Return", has come out of retirement and will design the as-yet-untitled new HIRAX album, which is scheduled for a spring 2013 release.

Lawvere had done stunning illustrations for numerous albums and is best known for a slew of thrash metal offerings released on Noise Records.

Commented HIRAX frontman Katon W. De Pena: "We couldn't be happier to have Philip Lawvere illustrating the cover of our new album. After getting Bill Metoyer to produce it, this is truly the icing on the thrash metal cake!"

In other news, HIRAX has announced that its new single, "La Boca De La Bestia (The Mouth of the Beast)", is now the most downloaded song in the band's history.

"La Boca De La Bestia (The Mouth Of The Beast)" was recorded, produced and mastered by Bill Metoyer at Skull Seven Productions.

"La Boca De La Bestia" (The Mouth Of The Beast)" details:

Part I: The Conquest (guitar intro)
Part II: Thunder Roar
Part III: La Boca De La Bestia (The Mouth Of The Beast)

HIRAX is:

Katon W. De Pena (vocals)
Lance Harrison (lead guitars)
Steve Harrison (bass guitar)
Jorge Iacobellis (drums)
Mike Guerreo (lead guitars)

California metallers SUICIDE SILENCE have asked their fans to refrain from purchasing bootleg merchandise to honor the band's singer Mitch Lucker, who died Thursday, November 1, after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle crash in Huntington Beach on Halloween night.

An official t-shirt and memorial fund is being set up and will be announced this week.

"We appreciate everyone trying to help out, but there is no existing fund at this time. Please check back here for official updates," the group wrote on its Facebook page.

The band added in a separate posting, "Please do not purchase any bootleg RIP shirts from eBay or other online stores. We want to ensure that those of you who wish to make such purchases will have your money going to the right place and that you’ll receive a quality commemorative product. An official t-shirt and donation fund will be surfacing this week and nothing officially connected to the cause currently exists. Please continue to check this page to keep informed."

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.

Some of the singer's friends gathered Thursday night in Riverside, California, where the 28-year-old grew up, to celebrate his life. A separate vigil was held at the crash site in Huntington Beach that was attended by fans as well as some of Mitch's family members, including his wife of two years, Jolie, and his five-year-old daughter, Kenadee.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine believes that he "probably should've said things differently" when he suggested onstage at a concert that President Obama was behind the mass shootings in Aurora and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

While performing with MEGADETH on August 7 in Singapore, Mustaine told the crowd, "Back in my country, my president is trying to pass a gun ban. So he's staging all of these murders, like the Fast And Furious thing down at the border and Aurora, Colorado, all the people that were killed there. And now the beautiful people at the Sikh temple."

He continued: "I don't know where I'm gonna live if America keeps going the way it's going because it looks like it's turning into Nazi America."

Speaking to RollingStone.com, Mustaine admitted that he is wary of the media these days.

"You can't say what you want to say anymore without people punishing you," he said. "You can't joke around very much anymore without people misinterpreting what you're saying."

"You know, I probably should've said things differently," he said about his statements in Singapore. "I probably should've skipped that altogether. I learned a valuable lesson from all of this stuff."

According to Mustaine, when he made his comments in Singapore, he was merely repeating the theories of Larry Pratt, a pro-gun activist who runs the organization Gun Owners Of America.

"He said something about it and no one went after him. But everyone went crazy on me," Mustaine told RollingStone.com. "I've been talking about politics my whole career. The second album — my God, it shows the U.N. completely blown up and destroyed. So I don't know why, all of a sudden, now's the time for people to take exception with what I'm saying."

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR unveiled a "huge 3D show" during their current European headlining tour with MORBID ANGEL, NILE and FUELED BY FIRE, which kicked off on November 1 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Fan-filmed video footage of the fourth show of the trek — which took place last night (Sunday, November 4) at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands — can be seen below.

KREATOR will release a new seven-inch single, "Civilization Collapse" (retail version: black; Nuclear Blast mailorder-only version: red, yellow, white) and as digital download on November 9. The single will contain the title cut backed by the non-album track "Wolfchild", which was featured on the "Dark Symphonies - A Tribute To John Sinclair" album, released this past September in Germany via Lübbe-Audio. The band also made a video for the song "Civilization Collapse", which is said to be "mainly about the riots that took place in Greece most recently."

While researching the above-mentioned riots, the KREATOR art direction team became aware of Marios Lolos, president of the Greek union of journalistic photographers. In the past, Greek photographers have become victims of police brutality and Marios himself barely got out alive when he was subjected to one of these extreme attacks.

When KREATOR showed Marios the song and the lyrics, he immediately agreed participate by offering parts of his huge photographic archives.

"Civilization Collapse" comes off KREATOR's new album, "Phantom Antichrist", which sold 3,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 1 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records, "Phantom Antichrist" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).

"Torn Apart", the new video from the Southern California hardcore band STRIFE, can be seen below. The song comes off the group's new album, "Witness A Rebirth", which will be released on November 6 via 6131 Records.

Some bands leave such an impression on fans that, even after two decades, their sound still resonates deep and wide. STRIFE is just such a band, having once again tapped into the energy that has kept listeners interested for 21 years.

After touring throughout the world in recent years, STRIFE decided it was time to unleash a new batch of songs and break their 11-year streak of recording silence. The groundwork for what would become their newest album, "Witness A Rebirth", had been laid and their collective efforts began down the road to realization.

With producer Nick Jett (TERROR, ROTTING OUT, BACKTRACK) at the helm, STRIFE recruited friend and previous collaborator Igor Cavalera (founding member of SEPULTURA) to perform drums for the album and traveled to Brazil to start the recording process with him. Soon after, they returned to California and put the rest of the pieces into place, including guest vocals by Billy Graziadei (of BIOHAZARD) and Scott Vogel (of TERROR), plus a guitar solo by Marc Rizzo (of SOULFLY). The result serves as a testament to their talent, bridging their past (especially the highly acclaimed album "In This Defiance", with which this album shares four-fifths of the members) with a more contemporary hardcore sound. "Witness A Rebirth" is at once both refreshing and evocative.

U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 concert at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria was professionally filmed for release as a DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD. Entitled "Live In Sofia", it will be made available on November 9 via AFM Records.

Commented the group: "The audience was absolutely fantastic and forced us to play for nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes. More than 2,000 fans welcomed back us after 7 years and pushed everybody over his personal limit. Sofia was absolutely great and we will never forget this show. To make sure all the fans can participate of this great event, we will do everything to release the DVD/CD/Blu-ray as soon as possible."

U.D.O.'s setlist for the Sofia concert was as follows:

01. Rev-Raptor
02. Dominator
03. Thunderball
04. Leatherhead
05. Independence Day
06. Screaming For A Love Bite (ACCEPT cover)
07. Heart Of Gold
08. Vendetta
09. Princess Of The Dawn (ACCEPT cover)
10. I Give As Good As I Get
11. Guitar Solo
12. Neon Nights (ACCEPT cover)
13. Break The Rules
14. Man And Machine
15. Drum Solo
16. Living On A Frontline
17. Up To The Limit (ACCEPT cover)
18. Two Faced Woman
19. Metal Heart (ACCEPT cover)

Encore:

20. The Bogeyman
21. I'm A Rebel (ACCEPT cover)

Encore 2:

22. Balls To The Wall (ACCEPT cover)
23. Burning (ACCEPT cover)

The "Heart Of Gold" performance clip from "Live In Sofia" can be seen below.

Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann recently left U.D.O. for health reasons.

Stefan will continue to work with U.D.O. behind the scenes and produce other bands at his Roxx studio.

Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run due to health problems.

Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and has recorded nine albums with them.

U.D.O. 's latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records.

On October 26, "Tales From The Stage Volume 1" author Michael Toney (web site) conducted an interview with acclaimed vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (DIO DISCIPLES, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH). You can now watch the chat below.

On the recently formed DIO tribute band featuring former DIO and current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell and fellow original DIO members Vinny Appice (drums), Jimmy Bain (bass) and Claude Schnell (keyboards) along with singer Andrew Freeman:

Owens: "I'm a bit shocked. But I could care less what [Vivian] does. I wish he would have probably done something, I guess, or had good things to say about Ronnie when Ronnie was alive. So it is shocking. It's shocking also that… I'm friends also with Vinny as well, but Vinny pretty much knocked [DIO DISCIPLES] for doing [the same thing]. [Editor's note: During an April 2011 appearance on the "All Hail Hair" show on Fightin' Words Radio, Vinny Appice was asked what he thought of DIO DISCIPLES going out on the road and paying tribute to Ronnie James Dio. "I think it's disgusting," he said. "I mean, why are they even doing it? Plus, [Ronnie has] not even been passed away for a year. And, you know… It's kind of… I don't know. It's kind of weird, man. It's weird."] And from the looks of it, we're definitely doing it for the right reason and we're celebrating Ronnie's legacy. And I think they are as well. It's shocking, but I'm glad, to be honest. You can't do too much of this for Ronnie. I just worry about, and focus on, DIO DISCIPLES, really."

On his current status with Yngwie Malmsteen:

Owens: "I've kind of just gotten so busy doing solo work. I mean, I just [did a tour of] 25 shows in Europe and I came right from that and did this [the DIO DISCIPLES U.S. tour], and I'm off to South America, doing 15 shows right from this. You know, I had a choice this summer of [doing] a couple of shows [with Yngwie which conflicted with DIO DISCIPLES' schedule], and I picked DIO DISCIPLES. I had to pick something and I start doing something, I've had to say 'no' to a lot of Yngwie stuff, because I'm just busy. We've [Yngwie and I] had a great relationship, but I just don't see how I could fit it in anymore. But us two, I really enjoyed being with him. He's a funny, funny guy to be with. We'd laugh and laugh. And he had nothing but good things to say about me, and other people, really. He never talked bad about anybody."

"A War You Cannot Win", the new album from Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS, is available for streaming in its entirety at AOL Music. Due on November 6 via Razor & Tie/Prosthetic, the CD sees the band reunited with longtime producer Adam Dutkiewicz (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, AS I LAY DYING, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE). The record is the culmination of an intense writing period for the group that began shortly after their 18-month tour in support of "For We Are Many".

The "A War You Cannot Win" cover artwork was created by Paul R. Brown (STONE SOUR, SLIPKNOT, MÖTLEY CRÜE, KORN, GODSMACK, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and can be seen below.

ALL THAT REMAINS has created an exclusive new "A War You Cannot Win"-inspired super-limited-edition skate deck, which is available now for purchase here.

"A War You Cannot Win" track listing:

01. Down Through The Ages
02. You Can't Fill My Shadow
03. Stand Up
04. A Call To All Non-Believers
05. Asking Too Much
06. Intro
07. Just Moments In Time
08. What If I Was Nothing
09. Sing For Liberty
10. Not Fading
11. Calculating Loneliness
12. A War You Cannot Win

ALL THAT REMAINS has just hit the road with DETHKLOK, MACHINE HEAD and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. ALL THAT REMAINS is serving as direct support to DETHKLOK (alternating with MACHINE HEAD). The trek will make more than 30 stops throughout the United States and Canada before coming to an end in New York City.

Rainstorm Entertainment has announced that it will produce the biographical documentary "It's So Easy And Other Lies", which will be directed and produced by Christopher Duddy ("Cougar Club"). The film will be produced by Steven G. Kaplan ("The Big Empty", "F*CK" and "Sunset Strip") for Rainstorm Entertainment, and by former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan, whose life story the film is based on. The start date is scheduled for later this year. Executive producers include Daniel Zirilli ("Locked Down"), Joe Mundo ("Sunset Strip"), Christopher Shelburne and Kati Thomson ("Sunset Strip").

The film, which takes its name from the title of Duff McKagan's best-selling autobiography, will document the remarkable life of one of the founding members of both GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER. It is the story of his rise to the pinnacle of fame and fortune, his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, his personal crash and burn, and his phoenix-like transformation via a unique path to sobriety and eventual redemption. The book was a best seller in 2011, with the film being targeted at not only that fan base, but to fans of Duff's bands, including GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER and LOADED. Combined, these bands have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Said Steven G. Kaplan: "We are thrilled to partner with Duff McKagan on this impactful documentary which transcends the rise, fall and redemption of a rock star and delves into real life issues of addiction and sobriety."

In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, McKagan stated about the "It's So Easy" book, "It's not really my story, it's really not even my autobiography or memoir. I think that term is overused. It is a story of some shit that happened to me, but probably not the typical [things] what people might expect. It's not my story of GUNS N' ROSES or VELVET REVOLVER. All of those things are sort of in it, because they're things I bounced through as I was getting deeper and deeper into addiction and finding my way out. It was challenging going through some of these things that I hadn't thought about for a long time. And writing forces you to take your own part of your life, of what role you actually played — as opposed to the one you make up later on."

Duff's VELVET REVOLVER/GUNS N' ROSES bandmate Slash has published his own book, as has ex-GUNS drummer Steven Adler, who released his life story, "My Appetite For Destruction: Sex And Drugs And Guns N' Roses", in July 2010.

Rainstorm Entertainment is a privately financed development, production, financing and sales company. It was launched in 2002 by Kaplan. Rainstorm's mission is to produce high-quality, commercially viable, financially responsible and talent-driven feature films by writers and directors who have compelling stories and unique visions.

Drummer Pedro "Pete" Sandoval's (MORBID ANGEL, TERRORIZER) has released the following statement:

"Just wanted to tell you that my recovery [after a 2010 back surgery] is almost 100%. I'm able to play drums, but I don't want to push it doing a tour just yet. However, I am working with Wolf [a.k.a. Anthony Rezhawk; vocals] and Kat [Katina Culture, guitar] on new songs for a new TERRORIZER album, and I'm also recording drums for two RESISTANT CULTURE tracks that will be featured on their upcoming full-length release. Keep an eye out for it, it'll destroy!!!!"

A preview clip from Sandoval's forthcoming DVD can be seen below. The disc will contain great features such as angle view selection or multi audio (drums only, with music). The song played in the clip is "Generation Chaos" from TERRORIZER's new album "Hordes Of Zombies", which released this past March via the French label Season Of Mist.

In a November 21, 2011 interview with Metal Storm, MORBID ANGEL bassist/vocalist David Vincent was asked if the band's current touring and recording drummer, Tim Yeung, is now a permanent member of the group. "Permanent is an interesting word," Vincent replied. "When we got Tim to do [the latest MORBID ANGEL album, 'Illud Divinum Insanus'] — everybody knows what the story is on that — it was to do the record and to do the subsequent touring for the record. So that's what I'm prepared to discuss this evening. Tim is a very capable drummer, a very talented fellow. He's a good friend, and I feel very pleased that his schedule worked out, as such, that he could do this, 'cause we're having a good time."

During a chat with Brazil's Som Extremo in October 2011, Sandoval was asked for his opinion about MORBID ANGEL's "controversial" new CD, "Illud Divinum Insanus", which incorporates industrial and electronic elements into the band's traditional death metal sound. "No comment! I don't play on that album." He was then questioned about what he thought he would have done different on "Illud Divinum Insanus" had he played on the record. "More exreme deathgrind metal and less DJ, boring awful typical I care less industrial experimental same as everybody boring bull!" he said. "This is not what MORBID has been all about! ...Hmmmmmm, and I really care less...!"

Quality video footage of MORBID ANGEL's November 4 performance at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show, MORBID ANGEL vocalist/bassist David Vincent stated about the band's latest album, "Illud Divinium Insanus", "One thing about MORBID ANGEL is that there's never been any rules and it's an interesting perspective. We just kind of go in and do what we do, and sometimes it blossoms; every flower is a different color and a different smell. This album, it surprises people, a couple of tracks on there, and then there's a couple of other tracks that are as MORBID ANGEL as you can get. People are coming around. It was slow going at first — people were going, 'What are these guys doing here?' and night after night, I'm getting comments, people are like, 'I finally really listened to it and I really like it. It just took me a while.' That's no different than some of the other records we've done in the past, so everything is going as planned."

"Illud Divinum Insanus" sold around 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 141. The effort marked MORBID ANGEL's first CD to feature Vincent since 1995's "Domination".

After Mauricio Bustamente left REIGN OF THE ARCHITECT, he started work on his new multinational project called EXXILES. According to a press release, the band's debut CD "will reflect how sometimes we are exile in life by simple or great things when we are betrayed by something we believed in. At the end there is only one result, abandonment. With pain… With anger… With passion, you discover that you learn how to rise, to liberate and fight for the things you believe in once again, at that moment the exile transforms into something that makes you stronger while you leave it behind, to keep walking towards some other kind of exile. [The] conceptual album will talk about loyalty. Loyalty should be a symbol of friendship, politics, religion, love… It will have a lot of stories but at the end they will all have the same direction to become one. It will show how loyalty becomes weak when personal interests are involved in it."

EXXILES' debut release will feature guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Mike Lepond (SYMPHONY X)
* Zak Stevens (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, SAVATAGE)
* Oddleif Stensland (COMMUNIC)
* Chris Caffery (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SAVATAGE)
* Mats Haugen (CIRCUS MAXIMUS)
* David Grey (LOST IN THOUGHT)

Mauricio will be joined on the CD by Mexican musicians Sergio Aguilar (AGORA), Simon Rojas and Noel Martinez.

Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED will release their new studio album, "The Divinity Of Purpose", on January 29, 2013 in North America via Razor & Tie and on January 25, 2013 in Europe through Nuclear Blast. The CD was co-produced by HATEBREED, Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL) and Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), with Wilbur also handling mixing duties. The cover artwork was created and illustrated by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS, GWAR) and can be seen below.

Regarding the musical direction of the new HATEBREED material, vocalist Jamey Jasta told "Maximum Threshold", "We did enough experimenting, I think, on the last record… A lot of people really liked that record and it did gain us a lot of new fans, but on this record, with the 10-year anniversary of [HATEBREED's 2002 album] 'Perseverance' and with Wayne [Lozinak, guitar] being back in the band — this will be his second record with us — it's just fun to kind of keep with the old-school influences. I hear more CRO-MAGS and KILLING TIME and SHEER TERROR and OBITUARY and BOLT THROWER and SLAYER and ENTOMBED and those kind of '80s and '90s influences in there. Which is fun for us, because we emulate the bands that we love. We try to make it our own sound and make it our own style, but at the end of the day, we're just fans of those styles of bands."

"The Divinity Of Purpose" will be supported by extensive global touring that will stretch well into 2014.

HATEBREED is currently on the road with LAMB OF GOD, IN FLAMES and SYLOSIS and will headline the Persistence Tour 2013 in Europe in January.

Photo credit: Clay Patrick McBride

Frontiers Records will release ROYAL HUNT's new box set, "20th Anniversary – Special Edition", on November 23 in Europe and January 21, 2013 in North America.

After the highly successful 20th-aniversary tour in support of ROYAL HUNT's latest album, "Show Me How To Live", ROYAL HUNT decided to celebrate the occasion with this very special "best-of" package containing three CDs and one DVD. The release will include the best ROYAL HUNT songs from all 11 albums, a brand new song plus three newly recorded acoustic versions of three additional tracks and a DVD featuring all the promotional video clips shot by the band during their long ride.

Disc 1:

01. Flight
02. Kingdom Dark
03. Stranded
04. Clown In The Mirror
05. Wasted Time
06. Epilogue
07. Time
08. Far Away
09. 1348
10. River Of Pain
11. Tearing Down The World
12. Message To God

Disc 2:

01. Cold City Lights
02. Follow Me
03. Surrender
04. The Mission
05. Can't Let Go
06. Paper Blood
07. Season's Change
08. The First Of Rock
09. Tears Of The Sun
10. The Well
11. Shadowman
12. Hard Rain Is Coming
13. Half Past Loneliness

Disc 3:

01. Save Me (new song)
02. One By One (new recording, unplugged version)
03. Bodyguard (new recording, unplugged version)
04. Restless (new recording, unplugged version)
05. Bad Luck
06. Double Conversion
07. U-Turn
08. Sixth Sense
09. Day Is Dawning

Disc 4 DVD:

Videos:

01. Land Of Broken Hearts
02. Day In Day Out
03. Clown In The Mirror
04. Far Away
05. Last Goodbye
06. Stay Down
07. River Of Pain
08. Tearing Down The World
09. Martial Arts
10. Third Stage
11. Wasted Time
12. Interview
13. Message To God

"Save Me" (new song) audio sample:

Australia's MAMMOTH MAMMOTH will release its new album, "Volume III: Hell's Likely", via Napalm Records on the following dates:

Nov. 21 - Spain, Sweden, Greece
Nov. 23 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Benelux
Nov. 26 - Rest of Europe
Nov. 27 - North America

The effort will be made available as a limited digipack and special limited vinyl edition. All vinyl editions feature an exclusive bonus track and are available as double LP in cream (limited to 100 copies) and orange (limited to 400 copies). The first 250 orders will receive a free A2 size cover poster of the new album.

"Volume III: Hell's Likely" track listing:

01. Hell's Likely
02. Go
03. Bare Bones
04. (Up All Night) Demons To Fight
05. Sittin' Pretty
06. I Want It Too
07. Bury Me
08. Another Drink *
09. Let's Roll *
10. Weapon Of Mass Self Destruction *
11. Slacker *
12. The Bad Oil *

* Limited-edition bonus tracks

A five-minute "Volume III: Hell's Likely" audio preview is available below.

Commented MAMMOTH MAMMOTH frontman Mikey Tucker: "We're thrilled to be partnering with Napalm Records. Their current roster of MONSTER MAGNET, KARMA TO BURN, BRANT BJORK, to name a few, showcase their dedication to the rock scene across the globe. We are also very excited about the new opportunities that this signing will bring to help spread MAMMOTH MAMMOTH to the rest of the world. We have many loyal fans in Europe, Scandinavia and South America, so this new partnership will enable us to smash stages outside of Australia with our first European tour penciled in for mid-2013. So lock up your goats and call your lawyer coz, we're coming to a town near you."

MAMMOTH MAMMOTH's video for the song "Hell's Likely" can be seen below.

Paul Haug of Australian metallers CONTRIVE joined longtime friends AT THE GATES on stage on Friday, November 2 to perform the track "Blinded By Fear" from AT THE GATES' classic album "Slaughter Of The Soul". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

AT THE GATES released its definitive album, "Slaughter Of The Soul" — often regarded as one of the all-time greatest metal albums — on Earache in 1995, before touring the world and abruptly disbanding. Members of the band went on to play major roles in other notorious metal acts such as THE HAUNTED and CRADLE OF FILTH, before reforming for a tour in 2008 to rapturous response. The band has played sporadic live shows ever since.

AT THE GATES' "The Flames Of The End" DVD was released in April 2010 in the U.S. through Earache.

CONTRIVE has begin writing material for its third album for a tentative 2013 release.

The band's second CD, "The Internal Dialogue", was mixed by Canadian musician/producer Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, STEVE VAI, LAMB OF GOD, DARKEST HOUR, GWAR), with drummer Andrew Haug sitting in on the process at Studio D in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

"Vertikal", the new studio album from Swedish "art rockers" CULT OF LUNA, will be released in Europe on January 25 via Indie Recordings and in the U.S. on January 29, 2013 through Density Records.

According to a press release, "Vertikal" marks a much-anticipated return for the band after five years spent cultivating the ideas and directing the influences that have helped form a concept for the album. Distilled throughout are themes of machinery, repetition and clear, linear structures honed to the visual imagery of Fritz Lang's classic expressionist science fiction film "Metropolis". The music broods, builds and boils as you may expect from CULT OF LUNA, but never overcomplicates itself or veers from its intentions; it is arguably their finest and most cohesive piece of work to date.

Commented the band: "Before we started writing, we were keen to find a theme that in a very direct way could be shown through the music, and we hope to have achieved this. We developed clear structures — very linear, refusing to over complicate the writing process.

"We realize fans have been waiting for what seems like an age for us to return to the live arena properly, but we were not keen on playing shows before we had the new material ready. There have been changes, and we wanted to come back on our own terms with something completely new. It is very important for us to transpose the idea of a new album into the live setting, to not tread water, and to include the fans in what we’ve been working on; you will be hearing this very soon."

CULT OF LUNA will return to the live arena for a full European tour, with a new set of dates just announced in April and May in addition to the previously announced period around the album's release in January and February. There are U.S. dates being planned and the band intend to tour further in late 2013.

CULT OF LUNA released a hardback book/audiobook called "Eviga Riket" on February 23, 2010 via C.O.L Press. According to the band, the book is "a short story covering the life and times of Mr. Holger Nilsson, the full story behind the 'Eternal Kingdom' [CULT OF LUNA's latest album] theme. The book will be bilingual, written in Swedish and translated into English. The narrated versions of this short story is accompanied by newly written CULT OF LUNA pieces and soundscapes."

CULT OF LUNA's DVD, "Fire Was Born", was released in April 2009 via Earache Records). Along with an epic live show recorded on July 1, 2008 at Scala in London, England, the disc — which was mixed, edited and designed by the band — features footage of mainman Johannes Persson and Anders Teglund (keyboards) answering questions from fans all around the world and the videos for "The Watchtower", "Leave Me Here" and "Back To Chapel Town".

"Slithering", the new video from Portuguese extreme progressive metallers MALEVOLENCE, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's upcoming third full-length album, "Antithetical", which was written and produced by Carlos Cariano, recorded by Paulo Pereira at 20m2sea Studio (Portugal), and mixed and mastered at Woodshed Studio (Germany) by V. Santura (TRIPTYKON, OBSCURA, PESTILENCE).

Commented Carlos: "[For the 'Slithering' video], we worked with 4therecords, a young company producing mainly short films and commercials. 'Slithering' is their boldest achievement to date and we are truly pleased with the visual quality of our first cooperation with this entity. The support of 4therecords was central and decisive to attain the professional final results."

The follow-up to 1999's "Martyrialized", "Antithetical" features the lineup that recorded "Martyrialized", including core members Carlos Cariano (vocals, guitar), Aires Pereira (bass), Fred Noel (guitar), Paulo Pereira (keyboards) alongside session drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, JEFF LOOMIS).

The main theme of "Antithetical" illustrates a razor-sharp concept inspired from Ancient Greek Etymology (1580s, from Gk. Antithetikos) that reflects the diametrical opposition to a number of propositions consisting in the revelation of a divergent thought. Pertaining to "Antithetical", the Anti (against) + Thesis (position), as a figure of speech (mainly used by the authors of the Baroque period; style of the epoch known as the art of conflict) acknowledge opposition towards the relative thesis expressed.

Dennis Rowehl of Entertaim.net magazine conducted an interview with vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy of Florida metallers TRIVIUM prior to the band's October 28 concert in Cologne, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, Heafy said, "The trick with America is that it's completely divided. It's so right and so left and there's nothing in the middle ground. So never before has the country been this divided. And it's really upsetting, the fact that people don't really look into either side. People don't really look into what a president truly is 100 percent about; they just look at what the [party affiliation] is. They're like, 'Oh, I'm a Republican, so I'm only gonna vote Republican.' Or, 'I'm a Democrat, so I'm only gonna vote Democrat.' Sometimes the person you're voting for is the person maybe that won't represent you as well or that goes against your belief just out of some kind of underlying need to call yourself something. America is just so obsessed with that. We've got… Look at the airline [industry]. We've got First Class, Premier Business, Business this, Economy Plus, Economy… all these different subsections of class systems that we have, and I feel like it's the same thing with politics. A lot of people in the States rip on Obama for 'You haven't done enough,' but how do you clean up eight years of what just happened in half the amount of time. So it's a really difficult thing for the country. And our fans are divided; it's amazing that they are. I sent in my absentee ballot vote, and I just always hope for the better. It just sucks how divided the U.S. is right now. If we didn't have the Democrat and Republican system and people can just say, 'This is what I'm gonna do for the country. These are my beliefs. Vote for me or not,' I think it would work out a lot better versus people having to cling to the 'Well, I only vote in my party, regardless of what the person says.' I think the country would be in a much better place."

TRIVIUM is currently touring Europe with AS I LAY DYING, CALIBAN and UPON A BURNING BODY.

TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career.