Two members of METALLICA's road crew may or may not have suffered burns last night (Saturday, July 28) during the opening show of the band's eight-concert run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City.

According to El Universal, near the end of METALLICA's set in Mexico, while the band was performing "Enter Sandman". one of the flare launchers that was placed on stage failed. Two men came on stage to check what was happening, and a huge flame suddenly appeared, engulfing them. (See video below.)

"Stop, stop!" shouted METALLICA lead singer James Hetfield, much to the confusion of the 22 thousand fans who attended the gig.

With fire extinguishers, other METALLICA technicians came on the stage to help their two colleagues, who were then taken out on stretchers.

After several minutes, the band continued the performance.

"It's all part of the show," a spokesperson for Ocesa, the promoter of the concert, said about the onstage commotion.

The incident appeared to be a recreation of the "accident" that was staged for METALLICA's 1998 concert video "Cunning Stunts" when, during the performance of the song "Enter Sandman", the entire stage set collapsed and exploded, with pyrotechnics going off and a technician (referred to in the credits as the "Burning Dude") running across the stage on fire and another technician swinging overhead.

Last night's concert marked the debut of METALLICA's new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

Prior to the gig, the members of METALLICA held a press conference where Hetfield said their focus for the immediate future was "the [new] stage set and the dangerous elements of that — staying alive." METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo added, "We're gonna try and bring the best show possible and get it right. Like James said, it's very dangerous — we've got stuff flying every which way."

A posting in the "Tour Journal" section of METALLICA's official web site described last night's concert as "amazing," adding that "shit really hit the fan [during 'Enter Sandman' with] loud bangs, random fireworks, falling towers, falling spot light guy, falling scaffolding, guy was caught on fire.... then a complete blackout. After a few [minutes], some things were still working, so the crew brought up some work lights, amps and speakers, and the band played on with 'Die, Die My Darling'."

METALLICA's setlist for last night's concert:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride The Lightning
05. One
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Wherever I May Roam
09. Sad But True
10. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
11. ...And Justice For All
12. Fade To Black
13. Master Of Puppets
14. Battery
15. Nothing Else Matters
16. Enter Sandman

Encore:

17. Die, Die My Darling
18. Seek & Destroy

Photos of last night's show can be found at Metallica.com. A few of the pictures are also available below.

In 1993, towards the end of the "Black" album touring cycle, METALLICA played an unprecedented, five sold-out nights at Sports Palace in Mexico City, Mexico. Then in 2009 while touring in support of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum "Death Magnetic", METALLICA played three consecutive sold out nights to over 150,000 fans at Foro Sol Stadium which was immortalized in the "Mexico City Live" CD/DVD.

METALLICA recently announced that it will play at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia on August 24 and August 25, adding that the concert will be filmed in 3D for the band's upcoming 3D feature film project.

The METALLICA movie, which was first announced last year, will be directed by Nimród Antal, perhaps best known for the horror movie "Vacancy" and the 2010 "Predator" sequel "Predators".

The film will be some sort of combination of concert footage and storyline, and is tentatively scheduled to arrive in theatres in the summer of 2013.

Industrial metal pioneers MINISTRY were forced to cut their set short last night (Saturday, July 28) at Bataclan in Paris, France after the band's frontman, Al Jourgensen, appeared to be physically unable to continue the show.

Jourgensen, who, according to RadioMetal.com came on stage looking "rather intoxicated and was nearly unable to move throughout the performance," was reportedly taken to the hospital 50 minutes into the Paris set, forcing the cancelation of the band's appearance Sunday at the Rock En Stock festival at Parc Du Valigot in Etaples, France.

Fan-filmed video footage of the last song of MINISTRY's Paris set — "Worthless" — before Jourgensen left the stage and was rushed to the hospital can be seen below.

The 53-year-old last year told Metal Hammer magazine that his decision to break up MINISTRY in 2011 after 11 albums and 27 years was largely due to his health problems.

"I'd been throwing up blood for the last three tours and like an idiot, I didn't think there was anything wrong," Jourgensen said. "So I came back, [off tour] and it got better for a couple weeks. Then in March 2010, I went into a seizure and bled out 65% of my body and they had to take me by ambulance to the ICU where I flatlined. I was dead. I couldn't hold down food and I just didn't know what was wrong. I spent a week in ICU where they gave me a 100% blood transfusion."

He added, "After a tour I had [an ulcer] burst right over a main artery in my stomach. They found 13 of them from my esophagus to my intestines which had scarred over, which explains why I'd been puking for years.

"I spent most of 2011 in doctor's offices, brain scans, everything. They've probed holes I didn't even know I had, but I've lost 50 pounds. I'm a vegetarian again, I have a personal trainer, I do 20 miles on my bike every day, I eat right, I'm the healthiest I've been in over 20 years."

Asked if he can still drink, Jourgensen told Revolver magazine earlier this year, "I have a male nurse who weights 350 pounds named Hector. I call him 'Hector, the third bottle rejecter.' I'm only allowed two bottles of wine a day now. And it doesn't even get to that. It's about a bottle and a half, and that seems to be good along with the medicine I have to take every day for the rest of my life. I just went and saw my doctor and she said, 'Yeah, you're actually doing pretty good for being a fucking degenerate.'"

DEFTONES played two brand new songs — "Roller Derby" and "Rosemary" — during last night's (Saturday, July 28) concert at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"Roller Derby" and "Rosemary" are slated to appear on DEFTONES's seventh album, which is tentatively scheduled for release on October 9. The CD will follow up 2010's "Diamond Eyes", which was the group's most successful and acclaimed outing in years. Lead singer Chino Moreno told Billboard.com why the band got back to work faster than usual. "It was important that we wanted to not drag it out," he said. "We have a well-documented history of taking forever to make records. But with our last record, we did it in a really short, good amount of time, probably four or five months from the time we started writing until we finished it. For us, that was record time, so this time the idea was, 'Let's go in and start a record on this date and let's try to be finished by summertime and keep this work ethic we kind of stumbled upon on the last one,' and we did."

DEFTONES worked again with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who produced "Diamond Eyes" and has also worked on albums by RUSH and FOO FIGHTERS.

Asked how the new DEFTONES disc sounds, Moreno told Billboard.com, "It's not a super fast or slow record. It's very dynamic. Some of my favorite things about DEFTONES are the dynamics. Yes, we're a heavy band, but we're not just in-your-face aggro the whole time, punching you in the face. There's a lot of aggression in some of the music, but there's also this very soothing element where there's a lot of soundscapes rather than attack, attack, attack the whole time. I understand that's a big part of our sound, but I really feel like we reached a peak on our dynamics on this record with those two qualities — the beauty of something and just straight, ruthless aggression."

The group also intends to continue their tradition of recording several cover tunes that could end up as B-sides, with Moreno revealing that they've been toying with songs from ELVIS PRESLEY and EARTH, WIND & FIRE, among others.

DEFTONES will promote the new CD's upcoming release with a string of tour dates with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, beginning on August 2 in Camden, New Jersey.

"Diamond Eyes" debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart when it came out, making it the band's highest charting effort since 2003's "Deftones".

"Diamond Eyes" featured two Top 20 rock hits in the title track and "You've Seen The Butcher".

The album was written and recorded after the late 2008 auto accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a semi-comatose state. An album completed before Cheng's accident, titled "Eros", remains unreleased.

Cheng remains in a semi-comatose state although he has been showing gradual signs of consciousness and recovery for the past year. His replacement on "Diamond Eyes", Sergio Vega, also plays on the new DEFTONES disc.

CALL ME NO ONE — the new project featuring SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist Clint Lowery — made its live debut this past Friday, July 27 at Piere's in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the support act for NONPOINT.

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

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The World Is Dead
02. Hillbilly
03. War Song
04. All's Well
05. Thunderbird
06. Pleased to Meet You
07. Biggest Fan
08. Last Parade

CALL ME NO ONE's lineup is rounded out by bassist Rek Mohr (HURT) and guitarist Alan Price (SOULS HARBOR, SHINEDOWN).

The band's debut album, "Last Parade", arrived on June 5. The CD's first single, "Biggest Fan", was made available to purchase on iTunes on April 24.

Lowery posted an emotional dedication online last month to mark that day's release of "Last Parade". He wrote, "I just lost my father, Willie Lowery — the reason I do this in the first place. He played music his whole life, believed he was gonna make it to the next level his whole life. I watched him play his guitar in an assisted-living home as if he was playing to a sold-out crowd in a stadium. He never lost hope; he was on the sunset of his life and believed in music — it never abandoned him and he never stopped playing it. When I think about doing something else or getting jaded or bitter at this business, I think of him."

Lowery closed by dedicating the album to his father, his wife, his son and "to God for giving me life, love and music."

Rose told The Pulse Of Radio how the seeds for CALL ME NO ONE were first planted. "You know, we'd write songs for SEVENDUST records, and sometimes we'd write stuff and go, 'Man, that's such a cool song, you know. I don't know if that's really a SEVENDUST song, but it's cool,'" he said. "And we started talking real serious about putting some songs together, and when we had the time, put them together, throw 'em on the Internet, put 'em on iTunes, you know, and let people hear that we could do something different."

Lowery recently described the sound of CALL ME NO ONE as "kind of NINE INCH NAILS meets FOO FIGHTERS."

The second in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from ICED EARTH's North American tour with VOLBEAT and HELLYEAH can be seen below.

To coincide with the current trek, ICED EARTH released a limited tour edition of its latest album, "Dystopia". Currently available only at the merchandise stands on the tour, the two-disc "Dystopia Tour Edition" contains the original full-length album, as well as B-side covers of IRON MAIDEN's "The Trooper" and BLACK SABBATH's "Mob Rules", as well as the classic 17-minute ICED EARTH track "Dante's Inferno", re-recorded with vocalist Stu Block. The bonus disc also contains both music videos from "Dystopia" — the title track and "Anthem" — as well as a "Making Of Dystopia" studio interview with the band, and exclusive cell phone skins and desktop backgrounds.

Bassist Freddie Vidales recently left ICED EARTH and was replaced by Luke Appleton of FURY UK.

ICED EARTH's video for the song "Anthem" was filmed on December 7, 2011 at Essigfabrik in Cologne, Germany.

Produced and directed by Kosch Fabian Film, "Anthem" is the second music video from ICED EARTH's new album, "Dystopia", which sold around 6,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 67 on The Billboard 200 chart.

ICED EARTH's previous CD, "The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part II)", opened with 6,700 units in September 2008 to debut at No. 79.

ICED EARTH's 10th studio offering, "Dystopia", was released in Europe on October 17, 2011 and in the U.S. on October 18 via Century Media Records. Two bonus tracks were also recorded for inclusion on special editions of the album.

Facedown Records has announced the signing of ARK OF THE COVENANT. The band's full-length debut, "Self Harvest", will be released this coming winter.

ARK OF THE COVENANT came out swinging in 2011 with that infamous Connecticut brand of driven hardcore. They recorded their EP, "Separation", at Silver Bullet Studio (SHAI HULUD, LIFE IN YOUR WAY) and released it through Strike First Records. Now they're back at Silver Bullet, recording their first LP with Gregory Thomas of MISERY SIGNALS.

ARK OF THE COVENANT is:

Alexander Vincelette - Vocals
Jacob Johnson - Guitar
Daniel Graves - Bass/Vocals
Michael Hnath - Drums

Guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH has been named one of the most valuable Polish stars by the Polish edition of Forbes magazine.

Commented Nergal: "That's quite unexpected, I must say. Excuse my ignorance, but to be honest I've never been a Forbes reader, and I'm not sure what this is all about… I reckon it's quite an awarding affair, though. Anyway, I really hope I'm the first extreme metal musician that has ever appeared in the pages of this elite magazine. Am I?"

Darski is putting the finishing touches on his autobiography, "Sacrum Profanum", for an October release. The book, whicih was previously described by Nergal as "a really long in-depth interview," will initially only be made available in Polish, but "depending on interest, we might be translating this into English," he says.

The "Sacrum Profanum" cover photo was taken by Ivo Ledwozyw, with post-production by Seth Siro Anton (PARADISE LOST, KAMELOT, MOONSPELL, SOILWORK, EXODUS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, DECAPITATED, VADER).

In addition to publishing the book, Nergal will be working with Polish producers Grupa 13, with whom he had previously collaborated on the BEHEMOTH videos "At The Left Hand Ov God" and "Ov Fire And The Void", on several promotional clips.

"We're shooting some trailers to support it," Nergal told Terrorizer magazine. "The episodes will be little portraits of certain chapters of the book."

In December 2010, Darski underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure after being diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia.

Former STRATOVARIUS, REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE and SYMFONIA mainman Timo Tolkki, who recently launched a PledgeMusic.com campaign to support the release of his fourth solo album, "Classical Variations 2: Credo", has issued the following update:

"While I have been working on the new 'Credo' album, I have started to speak with several friends in the music business to exchange creative ideas.

"A lot of musicians and people I talked to were really impressed with how the material is coming along. This brought me in contact with some people that offered me a really interesting and better situation on both artistic and personal level. However, this new incredible opportunity that I have is not compatible with the PledgeMusic project which I have started with you.

"Considering that I am looking at a way more interesting and exciting project which will ultimately make you happier, dear friends and fans, I have decided to cancel the work done so far on the 'Credo' album. Everybody will be contacted and reimbursed from the pledges I have received. In the case of questions, please turn to PledgeMusic.

"Again, there is no reason to be disappointed, you will hear and see very soon (probably in the first quarter of 2013) the outcome of what is happening behind the curtain.

"Needless to say, this is an exciting and creative period in my life and it has been very uplifting to see that you are out there supporting my music and work.
Please know that this is important for me and has given me strength to create and look to the the future in a brighter and more exciting way. Stay tuned for more great news soon!"

A double album, "Classical Variations 2: Credo" had a tentative release date of October 29, 2012 and was supposed to include over two hours of music with guest appearances by Michael Kiske (

NoiseArt Records and Rock The Nation have announced the signing of Hungarian black metal horde BORNHOLM. The band's third album, "Inexorable Defiance", will be unleashed in early 2013.

According to a press release, BORNHOLM "offers an extremely cold, evil version of black metal which has been made even richer by sickening, epic and mind-blowingly aggressive elements. With their incredible, fantastic visual components such as front cover, booklet artwork as well as the official pictures BORNHOLM are way beyond the generic crowd and look down on them from a 'throne of crows.'"

Commented the band: "Since we have began to work on the new album, we felt that is a turning point in our history. We wanted new possibilities, new goals and a higher level of playing this kind of music. Now we proudly announce that we have signed to NoiseArt Records/Rock The Nation and this new era has begun. We want much more concerts in the future and a more professional management and we feel that can be a perfect solution. Our third album, 'Inexorable Defiance', is on the way, we are very proud of it, this is a blueprint of the last years full of majesty, medieval feelings and a unique atmosphere."

"Inexorable Defiance" track listing:

01. Fear Of Wonders
02. Swordbearer
03. Flaming Pride And Inexorable Defiance
04. Walk On Pagan Ways
05. Archaic Pale Visions
06. Throne Of Crows
07. Moonlight Wanderer
08. Equinox
09. The Spiral Path
10. Fiery Golden Dawn
11. Towards The Golden Halls

BORNHOLM is:

Sahsnot - Guitar
Vozargh - Guitar
Renfield - Vocal
Hjules - Bass
D - Drums

DEFTONES debuted a brand new song called "Rosemary" during a private show yesterday afternoon (Friday, July 27) at Warner Bros. Records in Burbank, California. An audio recording of the performance can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"Rosemary" is slated to appear on DEFTONES's seventh album, which is tentatively scheduled for release on October 9. The CD will follow up 2010's "Diamond Eyes", which was the group's most successful and acclaimed outing in years. Lead singer Chino Moreno told Billboard.com why the band got back to work faster than usual. "It was important that we wanted to not drag it out," he said. "We have a well-documented history of taking forever to make records. But with our last record, we did it in a really short, good amount of time, probably four or five months from the time we started writing until we finished it. For us, that was record time, so this time the idea was, 'Let's go in and start a record on this date and let's try to be finished by summertime and keep this work ethic we kind of stumbled upon on the last one,' and we did."

DEFTONES worked again with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who produced "Diamond Eyes" and has also worked on albums by RUSH and FOO FIGHTERS.

Asked how the new DEFTONES disc sounds, Moreno told Billboard.com, "It's not a super fast or slow record. It's very dynamic. Some of my favorite things about DEFTONES are the dynamics. Yes, we're a heavy band, but we're not just in-your-face aggro the whole time, punching you in the face. There's a lot of aggression in some of the music, but there's also this very soothing element where there's a lot of soundscapes rather than attack, attack, attack the whole time. I understand that's a big part of our sound, but I really feel like we reached a peak on our dynamics on this record with those two qualities — the beauty of something and just straight, ruthless aggression."

The group also intends to continue their tradition of recording several cover tunes that could end up as B-sides, with Moreno revealing that they've been toying with songs from ELVIS PRESLEY and EARTH, WIND & FIRE, among others.

DEFTONES will promote the new CD's upcoming release with a string of tour dates with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, beginning on August 2 in Camden, New Jersey.

"Diamond Eyes" debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart when it came out, making it the band's highest charting effort since 2003's "Deftones".

"Diamond Eyes" featured two Top 20 rock hits in the title track and "You've Seen The Butcher".

The album was written and recorded after the late 2008 auto accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a semi-comatose state. An album completed before Cheng's accident, titled "Eros", remains unreleased.

Cheng remains in a semi-comatose state although he has been showing gradual signs of consciousness and recovery for the past year. His replacement on "Diamond Eyes", Sergio Vega, also plays on the new DEFTONES disc.

French melodic death metal band DESTINITY have entered Hansen studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacon Hansen (DESTRUCTION, MAROON, HATESPHERE, ILLDISPOSED, MERCENARY, RAUNCHY, DEADLOCK) to begin recording their sixth full-length album for a late 2012/early 2013 release via Lifeforce Records.

A two-minute video clip featuring footage from the guitar- and bass-tracking sessions can be seen below.

DESTINITY's last CD, "XI Reasons To See", came out in February 2010 via Lifeforce.

According to a press release, DESTINITY's music is "melodic and anthem-like while being technical and extreme at the same time. This is exactly what makes the band unique and relevant because [they are] not focusing on one single style of metal exclusively. DESTINITY pay attention to the tradition of death and thrash metal and are technically experienced. On the other hand you will find an impulsive, catchy approach to the sound of DESTINITY that will blow you away!"

On Wednesday, July 25, Todd Hancock of the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada radio station 99.3 The Fox conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich. You can now listen to the entire 20-minute chat using the SoundCloud player below.

When asked how close METALLICA fans are to seeing a new studio album from the band, Ulrich said, "I wouldn't use the word 'close.' I mean, obviously, in the context of, say, the age of planet Earth, we're pretty close. But in the context of, say, other things, there may be one or two football seasons, or one or two baseball seasons, or one or two hockey seasons… We've gotta do this movie, and we're gonna get back to writing when we've done this movie. I would say late '13 or early '14. It's difficult to imagine… I think even late '13 may be a bit optimistic. I would say hopefully we can realistically get a record out probably about a year and half from now, so maybe early '14."

METALLICA's 3D movie begins filming later this summer and will mix concert footage with a storyline.

The band is financing the project itself and has hired "Predators" director Nimród Antal to get behind the camera. Antal will film METALLICA's August 24-25 concerts at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada for use in the movie. "The rest of the film will be shot the next two or three weeks after the shows in Vancouver, into the middle to the third week of September," Ulrich said.

The Vancouver show will feature a brand new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that will include what a post at the band's web site called "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career."

When asked if METALLICA's movie will contain any "The Song Remains The Same"-style fantasy sequences from the group, Ulrich told Billboard.com, "Yeah, I've got my horse and my sword and my battle armor. Not quite that, but the are stranger references than 'The Song Remains The Same'. I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful in that way; I have nothing but love for LED ZEPPELIN and 'The Song Remains The Same'. [The film] is a narrative, and the rest of the stuff that goes on outside of the concert is not going to feature members of METALLICA... in any way, shape or form. It's a split narrative that kind of runs parallel to the concert."

Original BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler performed live together for the first time in seven years on May 19, playing an intimate show at the 3,800-person O2 Academy in SABBATH's hometown of Birmingham, England. The show, which served as a warm-up for the group's headlining appearance the following month at the Download festival, was laced with emotion and drama: it was the first live appearance for Iommi since being diagnosed with cancer, and it was the first with stand-in drummer Tommy Clufetos, making the split official between founding drummer Bill Ward and the rest of SABBATH.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Iommi was visibly moved when the audience began chanting his name after opening number "Into The Void", and continued chanting it intermittently throughout the show.

Professionally filmed video footage of the "Paranoid" performance from the Birmingham concert can be seen below.

BLACK SABBATH's setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Into The Void
02. Under The Sun
03. Snowblind
04. War Pigs
05. Wheels Of Confusion
06. Electric Funeral
07. Black Sabbath
08. The Wizard
09. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
10. N.I.B.
11. Fairies Wear Boots
12. Tomorrow's Dream
13. Sweet Leaf
14. Symptom Of The Universe (intro only)
15. Drum Solo
16. Iron Man
17. Dirty Women
18. Children Of The Grave

Encore:

19. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (intro only)
20. Paranoid

Reviews of the May 19 concert:

* Kerrang!
* Rolling Stone
* The Midlands Rocks
* Counteract Magazine
* ThrashHits.com
* Classic Rock
* Terrorizer
* Metal Hammer
* Noise11
* Birmingham Mail

Ward in May announced again that he was declining to join his former bandmates for its scheduled 2012 dates, as well as the recording of a new album, due to a contractual dispute.

He also allegedly had his lawyers direct SABBATH to remove him from photos of the band posted at the official BLACK SABBATH web site "so as to not give the public the wrong impression about his involvement in the current BLACK SABBATH lineup," according to a statement issued by the band's publicist.

Geezer Butler issued a lengthy retort at his own web site, writing that Ward "hadn't told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us let alone in public."

Butler added that the band did not expect to make a lot of money from its Download appearance and planned to donate the proceeds from the Birmingham gig, saying, "Apparently, this wasn't acceptable to Bill's representatives, they wanted an amount that was so unrealistic that it seemed to have been a joke."

Until now, Iommi told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that the members of SABBATH stayed friendly even when there were legal or other issues going on. "We've always been talking. We've always been in touch with each other," he said. "There might be a lawsuit in the thing between us, but we still talk to each other like nothing's happened, you know."

The members of SABBATH will play at Lollapalooza this August in Chicago, their only scheduled U.S. gig. The rest of the scheduled SABBATH tour dates were played by Ozzy and billed as "Ozzy & Friends."

Ozzy, Iommi and Butler are working on their first new album together in 33 years. Clufetos is a member of Ozzy's solo touring band.

"Paranoid" pro-shot footage:

"Epicloud", the next album from Canadian musician/producer Devin Townsend to be released under the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT banner, will be made available on September 18 in North America and September 24 in Europe via InsideOut Music. The CD features a guest appearance by former THE GATHERING frontwoman and previous Devin collaborator Anneke Van Giersbergen.

The first taste of "Epicloud", featuring the album's intro, "Effervescent!", is available in the YouTube clip below. Also available is the CD's cover artwork.

Commented Devin: "This record is unique to me in that I became interested in simpler, commercial structures based on (I suppose) a reaction to [the previous the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums] 'Deconstruction' and 'Ghost'. I admit, it's not too far removed, but far enough to take a few people off guard, I think.

"With 'Epicloud', I wanted something catchy as the flu, but with a sentiment that is romantic, positive and beautiful. Spiritual without religion and set to heavy music.

"Again, because some structures are 'common' (but new to me), this record is my take on what a big, epic, commercial sounding record that sings about nice stuff would sound like in Dev-land. Please don't take it as a 'sell-out' move, because it truly surprised me as well and is a 'transition' between the four DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT records and my upcoming musical, 'Z2'."

Townsend debuted a song from "Epicloud" called "Back Where We Belong" during an acoustic performance on March 31 at Club Saw in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as part of this year's Junofest.

The idea for "Epicloud" came about while Devin was attempting to write material for the follow-up to his 2007 "Ziltoid The Omniscient" concept album about a fictional extraterrestrial being named Ziltoid from the planet Ziltoidia 9.

In a recent interview with Soundwave TV, Devin stated about how "Epicloud" was conceived, "In this sort of process of writing that I've discovered that I guess I'm capable of now, with a sober frame of mind, part of that is just not second-guessing it, so if I write something like that, I just do it, and just finish it."

He continued, "Over the past couple of years, I thought, 'OK, I've gotta write this next 'Ziltoid' thing; I'm inspired to make this epic space opera and, like, really overdo it, and [make it] really dark. And so I sat down to write, but every time I went to write, I'd write some poppy hard rock thing. And I was like, 'OK, we'll get that one out of the way and then I'll write 'Ziltoid'.' And I got it out of the way and I'd go write 'Ziltoid'. And I'd write another one. So I'm thinking, 'OK, it's pretty obvious to me that I've got this that wants to come out before that.'"

Regarding the musical direction of "Epicloud", Devin told Noisecreep, "Over the course of the full record, there's sort of new agey stuff, jazzy stuff, really heavy stuff. We basically cover the gamut. 'Epicloud' is the first record that I felt confident enough to include all those things on one record so it goes between melodic hard rock to schizophrenic heavy metal to country to really ambient stuff and it's all in one place. I'm using a gospel choir, a string section and a horn section for this one as well. On [the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT album] 'Deconstruction', I got to use the Prague Philharmonic [orchestra] and really go far into making an absurd album as over the top as possible and on 'Epicloud' I'm trying to take the same advantages to make some things musically very pleasing, as opposed to just claustrophobic."

On the topic of his decision to re-record "Kingdom", a song from his PHYSICIST album, which came out in 2000 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, Devin said, "We re-did 'Kingdom' because it's a live set staple, and so much better now than the PHYSICIST recording."

DOWN entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next few years (with a year between EPs), each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound.

The first six-song EP, "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP", which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, will be released on September 18. It will be followed by the second collection of songs early next year, around the time of a planned U.S. tour. EPs three and four are scheduled for later in 2013.

The cover artwork for "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP" can be seen below.

"I have not really put too much pressure on myself with DOWN, and I think that's the best approach," vocalist Philip Anselmo tells RollingStone.com. "Right now I'm looking forward to the public's consumption and letting them hear it. I'm not sure if it's gonna break any ground. I never put any expectation on any friggin' record I do. We didn't overanalyze anything. We just let the songs kind of unfold, and once it felt right, there was no reason to go back."

"I do believe that we have delivered a record that will be accepted and hopefully enjoyed by the DOWN horde — if you will," says Anselmo. "If you're looking for a DOWN record, it's very pure and real."

Lyrically, the EP goes beyond just personal experiences, and explores themes that include the faith of mankind, the imperfection of mankind and cultural belief systems.

"DOWN gives me the platform to be poetic and paint imagery with lyrics," says Anselmo. "That's the approach I took. They complement the music and create an ominous feeling. Ultimately, when people consume the words, it's always their interpretation that matters. I could be image-conscious though when I wrote. It's not so gut level or street. The darker shit is some of my favorite."

When asked about DOWN's plans to release four separate EPs, Anselmo recently said, "That's the idea right now, but I think that after you work on a body of music, you need to reload, you need to refresh, you need to clear your head. Get that, digest it, get it out of your system, and then decide what direction you're going to go. It's a good idea and I think we should see it through. But there's no way we can rush it. Because I think if it is a series of four, each one should be unique, and that… We've shown flexibility — we have songs like 'Bury Me In Smoke' and then we have songs like 'Stone The Crow'… acoustic pieces and what-not… We have all that. So we've touched on many, I guess, dynamics, so… I would expect each EP to have its own life."

Anselmo previously described DOWN's new EP as "very stripped down. Nothing flashy. Straight to the point… really just DOWN music. If you liked the first record, the demos… something like that… This record, we're pretty dead straight and honest and on the money as far as making it as simple and direct as possible and I think we did that. . . It has that practice-room vibe to it. We didn't really try and fucking slick it out and anything. We went the more raw route, as far as an approach."

"Down IV Part I - The Purple EP" track listing:

01. Levitation
02. Witchtripper
03. Open Coffins
04. The Curse Is A Lie
05. This Work Is Timeless
06. Misfortune Teller

Virginia-based melodic tech-death metal masters ARSIS have set "Unwelcome" as the title of their fifth full-length album, due in the fall via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, DEICIDE, SIX FEET UNDER). The cover artwork is being created by Riddickart's Mark Riddick.

An image of the "digipak CD layout and artwork in progress" for the new ARSIS album can be seen on Riddick's Facebook page.

"I am so pleased with the way this album is coming together," commented founding guitarist and vocalist James Malone. "I know we all have put ourselves into this recording and I am sure this will be reflected in the end product. Noah [Martin, bass] and I did more pre-production for the album than any other ARSIS recording."

ARSIS's 2010 album, "Starve For The Devil" (Nuclear Blast Records), sold 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release, landing at No. 13 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.

Video footage of Belgium-based classical guitarist Thomas Zwijsen and British heavy metal singer Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) playing an acoustic version of the IRON MAIDEN song "The Angel And The Gambler" on Monday, July 23 at Bannermans in Edinburgh, Scotland can be seen below.

Zwijsen who has recorded an acoustic IRON MAIDEN tribute album called "Nylon Maiden", has joined forces with Bayley for an acoustic tour. Thomas previously said, "We will play [the BLAZE BAYLEY song 'Soundtrack Of My Life'] along with some other Blaze songs, some WOLFSBANE songs, many IRON MAIDEN songs and, of course, some of my 'Nylon Maiden' arrangements."

Bayley contributed his vocals to a cover version of IRON MAIDEN's "The Clansman" for the "Nylon Maiden" album.

Zwijsen is one of the musicians who backed Bayley on Blaze's most recent European "The King Of Metal" tour.

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

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

"Backlash", the new video from Knoxville, Tennessee hard rockers 10 YEARS, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fifth album, "Minus The Machine", which is set to arrive on August 7 through the group's own label, Palehorse Records, a partnership with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group (ILG). 10 YEARS parted ways last year with major label Universal Music, and bassist Lewis Cosby told The Pulse Of Radio why it was time to move on. "When it starts really becoming a business, the labels treat the music as a business as well, and it kills the creativity within the band," he said. "It kills it when you have people coming to you saying, 'Hey, we need a three-and-a-half minute ballad, we need a three-and-a-half minute hard rock song and then a midtempo ballad,' and you're just sitting there going, 'Are you kidding me?' You know, it just stifles every creative bone in your body."

"Minus The Machine" is the follow-up to 2010's "Feeding The Wolves".

The first official single from the disc is "Backlash".

Singer Jesse Hasek said about the album, "We're proud of this album in its entirety. That speaks volumes to us because we're our own worst critics. We pick everything apart. An album is your child, it's your baby, and you know it better than anyone. To sit back and be 100 percent proud of what we've accomplished is so gratifying, and we think everything else will fall into place."

10 YEARS is currently on a headlining tour that wraps up on July 24 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

"Backlash" video:

"Into The Sun", the new video from former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, can be seen below. The track comes off Tarja's first-ever live solo album, "Act I", which will be unleashed to North American fans on September 4 in 2-CD, 2-DVD and Blu-ray format via the Eagle Rock imprint Armoury Records, in conjunction with Hamburg, Germany-based earMUSIC.

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

Comments Turunen of the offering: "Those two nights in Rosario were a huge emotional drive to me personally," adding that she was many times "ready to burst into tears."

"Act I" track listing:

CD 1

01. Anteroom Of Death
02. My Little Phoenix
03. Dark Star
04. Naiad
05. Falling Awake
06. I Walk Alone
07. Little Lies
08. Into The Sun (previously unreleased)
09. Nemo (NIGHWISH)
10. Never Enough (previously unreleased)
11. Still Of The Night (WHITESNAKE)
12. In For A Kill

CD 2

01. Boy And The Ghost
02. Lost Northern Star
03. Ciaran's Well
04. Tired Of Being Alone (written with Schiller)
05. Where Were You Last Night / Heaven Is A Place On Earth / Livin' On A Prayer (Medley)
06. Underneath
07. Oasis / The Archive Of Lost Dreams
08. Crimson Deep
09. The Phantom Of The Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
10. Die Alive
11. Until My Last Breath
12. Over The Hills And Far Away (Gary Moore)

DVD 1

01. If You Believe
02. Anteroom Of Death
03. My Little Phoenix
04. Dark Star
05. Naiad
06. Falling Awake
07. I Walk Alone
08. Orpheus Hallucination / Orpheus In The Underworld
09. Little Lies (band jam)
10. Little Lies
11. Into The Sun (previously unreleased)
12. Nemo
13. Rivers Of Lust
14. Minor Heaven
15. Montañas De Silencio
16. Sing For Me
17. I Feel Immortal
18. Never Enough (previously unreleased)
19. In For A Kill
20. Toccata And Fugue D-minor (BWV 565) (Johann Sebastian Bach)
21. The Phantom Of The Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
22. Die Alive
23. Until My Last Breath
24. Over The Hills And Far Away (Gary Moore)

DVD 2

01. Boy And The Ghost
02. Lost Northern Star
03. Ciaran's Well
04. Tired Of Being Alone (written with Schiller)
05. Where Were You Last Night / Heaven Is A Place On Earth / Livin' On A Prayer (Medley)
06. Underneath
07. The Reign
08. Oasis/The Archive Of Lost Dreams
09. Still Of The Night (WHITESNAKE)

Blu-ray track listing is the same as DVD 1 and 2.

A teaser trailer for "Act I" can be seen below.

In other news, Tarja is in pre-production for her third solo album, which is expected to be released sometime next year. She says, "I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me."

Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.

"Into The Sun" video:

According to Lady Gaga fan site PropaGaga, WHITESNAKE/ex-DIO guitarist Doug Aldrich hit the studio with the pop superstar on Tuesday, July 24. The rumored musical collaboration, which is expected to appear on Lady Gaga's next album, is said to have taken place in Los Angeles. "Whitesnake guitarist, Doug Aldrich, was recording with Gaga today in L.A.," the site tweeted. "@DJWS [DJ White Shadow] is rumored to have been in studio, as well."

Gaga previously worked with QUEEN guitarist Brian May on her last album, "Born This Way", on the track "Yoü And I", which was helmed by legendary DEF LEPPARD and AC/DC producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange.

Lady Gaga in January revealed she was a massive fan of DEF LEPPARD, stating her own music is influenced by the British rockers. She told The Sun, "With my music there's lots of really big DEF LEPPARD-style melodies in the choruses but it's electronic dance music. I'd call it avant-garde techno rock. It is very hard and very edgy."

She added, "There are a lot of rock influences on the album but not that it is rock music. It is an exploration of electronic music and techno songs but I have created a genre of metal/dance/techno/rock/pop music with a lot of anthemic choruses, because that is actually the music I love."

Lady Gaga previously spoke about her love for IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH, calling the experience of seeing MAIDEN for the first time a "life-changing" event.

The singer also appeared in photos with ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante and last year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Alice Cooper.

Guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli of the resurrected late '80s/early '90s death metal outfit PESTILENCE has issued the following update:

"We are very pleased that we can officially announce that David Haley (PSYCROPTIC) will replace Tim Yeung for the upcoming PESTILENCE album and upcoming shows. Bassist Stefan Fimmers (ex-NECROPHAGIST) already joined PESTILENCE for the new album, 'Obsideo', and live performances.

"Although Tim was really excited to join PESTILENCE, it was because of his conflicting tour schedules with MORBID ANGEL (and other projects), that made it nearly impossible for Tim to tour with PESTILENCE. But we (guitarist Patrick Uterwijk, Fimmers and Mameli) weren't really too disappointed by this unfortunate development because of our talks with David soon after.

"The new material will fit David perfectly. He is such an amazing drummer and a really cool guy as well!!! We all welcome him into the PESTILENCE camp."

Added Haley: "I'm very excited to be performing the drums on the new PESTILENCE album...and quite nervous about it, too!! PESTILENCE have been such an influential band within the metal community throughout their whole career, so it's quite an honor to be asked to perform for the upcoming album. The material I've heard thus far is amazing — and I am really looking forward to start the recording process."

PESTILENCE has written eight songs so far for "Obsideo" and hopes to begin recording the CD before the end of the year for an early 2013 release. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Necromorph", "Saturation", "Soulrot", "Laniatus" and "Superconcious". According to Mameli, the CD's overall lyrical theme will be "the journey of the human soul."

PESTILENCE 2012 is:

Patrick Mameli - Lead guitar/Vocals
Patrick Uterwijk - Lead guitar
Stefan Fimmers - Bass
David Haley - Drums

PESTILENCE's latest album, "Doctrine", was released in North America in July 2011 via Mascot Records. The eleven-track CD was recorded and mixed at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer Victor Bullok (a.k.a. V. Santura; TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS). The artwork was designed by Marko Saarelainen.

"You Live, You Learn, You Die", the new video from the Stuttgart, Germany-based sleaze metal band HELLDORADOS, can be seen below. The song comes off the group's self-titled debut album, which was released on July 13 via Massacre Records/Soulfood. The CD was recorded between February and April at the legendary Horus Sound Studios (SCORPIONS, HELLOWEEN, KREATOR, VICTORY, GUANO APES) in Hannover, Germany with producer Mirko Hofmann, who previously worked with the group on a four-song promotional EP in 2011. ELOY frontman and founder of the Horus Sound Studios, Frank Bornemann, acted as "a godfather." The cover artwork was created by the Unesco prize winner Timo Wuerz.

Commented HELLDORADOS singer Pierre: "We got to know Timo Wuerz by accident at an art and commerce congress. Between all of the geeks, he looked more like us." They discovered that they had many things in common — including a love for rock music and art. "Moreover, we both grew up in the same small town. That probably [had something to do with it]."

According to a press release, HELLDORADOS' sound lies "somewhere between the hit potential of a catchy ABBA tune, the sleaze of GUNS N' ROSES and the striking force of PANTERA. A strange mixture but it seems to function."

"Helldorados" track listing:

01. In The Beginning
02. Never Gonna Stop
03. You Live, You Learn, You Die
04. Go To Hell
05. Changes
06. Shout Out
07. Hunter
08. Double Dealer
09. Gone
10. Torture Is My Name
11. Girls
12. Got Laid