Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, Free Bird, Tuesday's Gone- so fing das damals an. Inzwischen können LYNYRD SKYNYRD auf insgesamt 60 (!!) Alben und mehr als 30 Millionen verkaufte Tonträger zurückblicken und sind seit über 40 Jahren am Start. Erst 2009 platzierten sie das Album God & Guns auf Platz 18 der Billboard Top-20, nun zeigen sie sich mit ihrem brandneuen Album "Last Of A Dying Breed", das am 17. August 2012 erscheint, so munter wie eh und je.

Produziert von Bob Marlette, der schon God & Guns zum höchsten Charteinsteiger der Band seit 1977 machte, präsentiert Last Of A Dying Breed die aktuelle Besetzung Gary Rossington (g), Johnny van Zant (voc) und Rickey Medlocke (g) (ex Blackfoot) zusammen mit dem langjährigen Drummer Michael Cartellone noch immer in bester Southern Rock-Laune. Mit von der Partie ist dabei Bassmann Johnny Colt, Gründungs-Mitglied der Black Crowes, der auch schon mit Train und Rockstar Supernova zu hören war. Als ihn der Anruf von Mickey Medlocke erreichte, sagte er sofort zu: "Was sonst macht man, wenn es um Medlocke, Rossington und Van Zant geht? Wir reden hier vom Königshaus des Southern Rock. Wir sprechen von LYNYRD SKYNYRD. Alles, was aus meinem Mund kam, war: Wann? Wo?"

LYNYRD SKYNYRD gelten als die Urväter des Southern Rock. Sie gründeten sich 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida, und wurden zu kulturellen Ikonen, die den amerikanischen Traum über Generationen hinweg verkörpern - Sweet Home Alabama gehört mit über 2 Millionen Ringtone-Downloads noch immer zu den Klassikern der Rockmusik. Das tragische Flugzeugunglück im Jahre 1977, bei dem Ronnie Van Zant und Steve Gaines ums Leben kamen, setzte der Band zwar zunächst ein vorzeitiges Ende, doch 1987 rafften sich die übriggebliebenen Bandmitglieder wieder auf und machten weiter. Obwohl auch Billy Powell (†2009), Ean Evans (†2009), Allen Collins (†1990), Leon Wilkeson (†2001) und Huey Thomasson (†2008) die irdische Sektion der Band verlassen mussten, geben sich LYNYRD SKYNYRD nach wie vor ungeschlagen.

"Last Of A Dying Breed" Track List:

01. Last Of A Dyin' Breed
02. One Day At A Time
03. Homegrown
04. Ready To Fly
05. Mississippi Blood
06. Good Teacher
07. Something To Live For
08. Life's Twisted
09. Nothing Comes Easy
10. Honey Hole
11. Start Livin' Life Again

Bonus Tracks:
12. Poor Man's Dream
13. Do it Up Right
14. Sad Song
15. Low Down Dirty

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe posted 4 million Czech Koruna bail (approximately $200,000) at noon today (Tuesday, July 3) but will remain in Czech custody for at least the next few days.

Blythe has been jailed in Prague, the Czech Republic, where he is accused of causing the death of a fan at one of the band's shows in 2010.

Due to statutory deadlines and the two-day holiday in the Czech Republic at the end of this week, Blythe — who still hasn't been officially charged in the case — will likely see his release sometime next week.

According to judge Petr Fassati of Prague 8 district court, the prosecutor has three working days to decide whether to approve Blythe's release. Since Thursday and Friday are public holidays in the Czech Republic, the deadline for the prosecutor to make a decision regarding a possible release is Monday, July 9. Even if the prosecutor was to make his/her decision today regarding a possible release, Blythe would not be able to leave the country until next week because the court has another three days to provide an official comment on the prosecutor's approval. If the prosecutor was to oppose Blythe's release, an official complaint would be sent to the municipal court. If both the court and the prosecutor agree to oppose Blythe's release, the bail would likely be canceled and returned to the singer.

Blythe was arrested last week at the Prague airport in connection with a 2010 Prague concert at which he allegedly either pushed or struck a 19-year-old fan named Daniel N. — a guitarist in a local metal band — who had come on stage, and that person died 14 days later of bleeding in the brain.

Blythe faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

A number of Blythe's fellow rockers have come to his defense, with many of them citing the 2004 shooting death onstage of PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as the reason why musicians are so defensive nowadays about fans invading the stage.

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman said on Twitter, "The kid jumped on stage and started a brawl, and Randy defended himself. That his life was lost in the process is truly unfortunate, but Randy is my friend and he's no murderer. I feel for the child and for the family and for Randy, but you have to understand that ever since Dimebag Darrell was assaulted, shot, and murdered on stage by a 'fan,' all of us have been very defensive/cautious of anyone jumping up on stage."

Draiman's bandmate and drummer Mike Wengren told The Pulse Of Radio not along after Dimebag was shot that his death had cast a shadow over live performing. "I think one of the most scariest things is, you go up onstage, and there's this energy transfer between the band and the crowd, and you almost feel invincible. You feel very empowered. Never in a million years would anyone ever think something like that was even possible, and I think it just caught everyone off guard. It's pretty scary."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael simply tweeted, ""Everything changed on December 8, 2004. #stayoffthestage #FreeRandyBlythe."

Slash also posted the "Free Randy Blythe" hashtag, while ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian wrote, "It's complete and utter bullshit for him to be treated like a criminal for something he didn't do. Now fans can see firsthand why there's no stage diving anymore. Especially in the post-Darrell world we live in . . . Of course it's sad that this person died, it's a tragedy, but it's not Randy's fault."

LAMB OF GOD had been touring Europe in support of its latest album, "Resolution", when Blythe was arrested. The band canceled the rest of its shows and returned home to Richmond, Virginia on Sunday (July 1) — all, of course, except Blythe.

LAMB OF GOD's publicist, Adrenaline PR, issued a statement on Friday stressing that "under no circumstances was there a fight of any kind involved [during LAMB OF GOD's 2010 concert]. This incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head."

Images below courtesy of Czech Republic's TV Nova

After his concert in Jaromer, Czech Republic on June 30 as part of the Rock Rebellion festival was reportedly canceled by the promoter, British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) performed impromptu a cappella versions of the songs "The Clansman" (IRON MAIDEN) and "Soundtrack Of My Life" (BLAZE) while accompanied by a couple of dozen fans or so clapping and singing along. Video footage of this unique event can be seen below.

Commented Blaze: "When I arrived [in the Czech Republic], I had photos with some fans and signed some stuff. Then the tour manager told me the festival was canceled because of no electricity! I was gutted. The stage looked really nice — purpose built with a big sound system and lots of lights, but nothing working. . . Some of my hardcore Czech fans were still there and the only thing I could do as a kind of thank you to them for their support was sing a couple of songs on my own a cappella.

"I'm so sorry to everyone who travelled and didn't get the day of metal that they paid for. I will now return to Prague on the 4th of August as a special guest of SEVEN, the top Czech band."

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

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM have released the following statement:

"It is with great regret that we are forced to cancel tonight's show in Oslo [Norway] as well as tomorrow night's show in Malmö [Sweden].

"Alexi [Laiho, guitar/vocals] was rushed to the Oslo hospital earlier this evening with extreme stomach pain. The doctors in the emergency unit checked him and while we are still waiting for a diagnosis, they made clear that he will not be able to perform within the next 48 hours.

"We apologize to all our fans who have bought tickets to these shows — we will try to reschedule both Oslo and Malmö at the earliest possibility. Keep your fingers crossed with us that Alexi will get well again soon!"

CHILDREN OF BODOM recently inked a worldwide deal (excluding Japan) with Nuclear Blast Records. The band, which kicked off a year-long celebration of its 15th anniversary with a successful North American tour alongside labelmates ELUVEITIE, has a new studio album planned for release in 2013.

"Holiday At Lake Bodom (15 Years Of Wasted Youth)", a very special CD+DVD career retrospective in celebration of CHILDREN OF BODOM's 15th anniversary, sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The effort spotlights specially selected tracks from every one of CHILDREN OF BODOM's critically acclaimed albums (1997's "Something Wild", 1999's "Hatebreeder", 2000's "Follow The Reaper", 2003's "Hate Crew Deathroll", 2005's "Are You Dead Yet?", 2008's "Blooddrunk" and 2011's "Relentless Reckless Forever"), plus two newly recorded (and undeniably fun) cover songs and detailed liner notes penned by the members of CHILDREN OF BODOM themselves. The DVD portion of the package includes "candid touring and backstage footage from around the world”, plus the "Shovel Knockout" video.

AFM Records has announced the signing of the Los Angeles-based metal act ALL HAIL THE YETI. The band's debut album will be released in August.

Commented vocalist Connor Garritty: ""This is a dream come true for us. We have worked so hard to get to this point, and are very excited to be a part of the AFM family. When we started talking to them, it was immediately apparent that they understood who we are and what we've been trying to do.

"It's been a long road for us, simply trying to stand on our own. To write good, solid songs while remaining as heavy as anyone out there — especially here in Los Angeles.

"Our record not only sums up where we've been over the past few years but more importantly, where we're going. We put all of our blood and sweat into it and it shows.

"There needs to be a cleansing in the heavy metal world! We are the hundred-year storm, to wash away the filth!!! Follow us into the Woods!"

Since coming together in 2006, the brainchild of Canadian vocalist and tattoo artist Connor Garritty, and guitarist K.J Duval, ALL HAIL THE YETI earned a local following with their swampy, chaotic guitar tone and Garritty's "look 'em dead in the eyes" stage demeanor.

An EP titled "Trees On Fire With Songs OF Blood" was released in 2010. It began to satiate local fans with live favorites like "Deep Creek".

Without waiting for the "industry" to take notice of what their audience already knew, ALL HAIL THE YETI entered the studio in late 2011 to record their debut full-length with producers Tommy Decker and Mike Sarkisyan. The results prove that ALL HAIL THE YETI has learned to master the riff and make it feel as good as it is savage. While the likes of "Suicide Woods" is lean and mean, "After The Great Fire" verges on an epic journey, its churning vocal melody courtesy of bassist Nick Diltz proving that ALL HAIL THE YETI have yet to show all of their creative cards.

Now with their lineup rounded out by drummer Skylar Feigel and guitarist Craw NeQuent, ALL HAIL THE YETI are ready to take over the world with no intention of turning back.

How would Garritty describe just what the hell ALL HAIL THE YETI is about? "The best way to describe our sound is to capture how it makes each individual feel," says the frontman. "Our songs touch on topics of death, life, love, love lost, the paranormal, crypto zoology, mythical creatures, partying, etc. It's tough to describe our sound with one sentence."

ALL HAIL THE YETI is:

Connor Garritty (vocals)
Nicholas Diltz (bass)
Skylar Feigel (drums)
Craw NeQuent (guitar)

"You're Gonna Listen", a brand new song from Southern California's IN THIS MOMENT, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's fourth album, "Blood", which will be released on August 14 via longtime label Century Media Records. The CD was once again produced by Kevin Churko, who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE and FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, among others.

IN THIS MOMENT began work on the new album just a few months following the departures of drummer Jeff Fabb and guitarist Blake Bunzel, who left the band late last year in order to join the backing group of "American Idol" finalist James Durbin. Fabb and Bunzel have since been replaced by Tom Hane (THYATEIRA) and Randy Weitzel (FLATLINE, 3/13, AMERICAN MASSACRE), respectively.

"Blood" track listing:

01. Rise With Me
02. Blood
03. Adrenalize
04. Whore
05. You're Gonna Listen
06. It Is Written
07. Burn
08. Scarlet
09. Aries
10. From The Ashes
11. Beast Within
12. Comanche
13. The Blood Legion
14. 11_11

A teaser for the "Blood" video can be seen below. The full clip will make its online debut on July 9.

Commented singer Maria Brink: "There are no words to describe how excited we are... We are on fire with this record. It's by far the most powerful material we have ever written.

"IN THIS MOMENT has gone through some big changes. I admit sometimes change is scary, especially when facing the unknown, but in this case everything has been perfectly meant to be. It's a brave, dark, hard-hitting album that will make you feel dirty inside, but still wanting more."

Added guitarist Chris Howorth: "Over the last [few] months, we have undergone some interesting changes within the band. As a result, Maria and I were brought closer together united in our mutual determination to top everything we have previously done with IN THIS MOMENT. It's our fourth album and we definitely have something to prove this time. During the writing process, Maria, Kevin and I are pushing ourselves to make sure every song is something unique and special. I honestly feel this is the most focused and powerful music we have ever created and I am beyond psyched to get it out there for people to hear."

In a recent interview with Australia's Loud magazine, Maria stated about IN THIS MOMENT's new material, "We brought some stuff to the table that we've never done before and it really sounds like something special, something new. I can't explain it; I mean, if you know our old music, when you hear the new stuff you're going to go, 'Holy shit, okay, I totally get it.' But I don't want to give away anything either, it's just unique; it's something new we've brought to the table. We found something special within us; we found this certain thing, so I'm excited for it."

Regarding IN THIS MOMENT's split with Fabb and Bunzel, Brink said, "You know how sometimes, you don't realize sometimes something happening (that's) traumatic, that it can be the most beautiful thing that could have happened to you? It's like one of those situations. It got really stripped back down to me and Chris [Howorth, guitar], and me and Chris started this band together, just me and him, and then it was like everybody came to the table, everybody brings their own influence. I believe it was all meant to be, all of those albums with them. I love them, I wish them the best. But it was almost like this new, with just me and Chris, this new fire, this new strength within me that I just… magical things started happening between what we started creating. And it's just so meant to be; it's meant to be that they moved on and some other things in my life, it's so cool 'cause it's just like this brand new everything and it feels really awesome. And you're going to be able to hear it."

"You're Gonna Listen" audio stream:

Indie Recordings has announced the signing of POSTHUM

The sound of POSTHUM is the sound of dark, Norwegian forests and endless snow-covered plains. It is melancholic, atmospheric and hypnotizing Norwegian black metal.

POSTHUM released its self-titled debut album in 2009, received great reviews from the underground press and triggered a strong demand for a swift sequel.

The band was formed in 2004 in a small town in the east of Norway, and until 2009 POSTHUM kept fairly isolated from other musical communities and groups. This resulted in their music not being particularly influenced by the trends in the scene, and despite their obvious roots in Norwegian black metal, POSTHUM sounds new and fresh. Their debut record ensured them some well-deserved attention that led to a European tour with legendary SATYRICON and SHINING (Sweden) the same year. In fact, POSTHUM's first concert ever was supporting SATYRICON and SHINING in front of a completely sold-out venue with 800 fans in Antwerp, Belgium. Since then, Posthum has played at Under The Black Sun festival in Germany, done several shows in Norway and a toured Europe again with NARGAROTH and CHAOS INVOCATION.

The name "Posthum" means "after exitus," which especially refers to compositions and tributes to dead artists. For the band, "Posthum" is a tribute and reminder to all life that has existed before them.

Commented POSTHUM: "It's fascinating to know that what surrounds us are the results of the efforts of ordinary mortal explorers, of flesh and blood, and that one day we too will be history, but what we leave behind is something very alive, the music."

The members of BLACK SABBATH say that there's still a chance for founding drummer Bill Ward to return to the band. Ward has so far sat out the legendary metal act's reunion — not participating in the recording of a new album or live shows — due to his dissatisfaction with the contract he was offered. But singer Ozzy Osbourne told The Times. "There was no row, there was no argument. The door ain't closed. Whether we work something out up the road, I don't know."

Added guitarist Tony Iommi, "It's not a personal thing. If he phoned us up tomorrow, which he hasn't, but if he did…"

Osbourne previously told NME about Ward's contractual dispute with SABBATH's management, "As far as I know his requests were very unreasonable. Nothing would have been better [than] if he would have been [willing to play with us]. I don't know. I don't deal with the business." Iommi added, "We've tried everything with Bill at the moment, and it's just not happening. Our legal people are dealing with his legal people. It's all nonsense. We haven't actually heard from Bill, any of this stuff. It's all been through his lawyers."

Ward has said that he's ready to travel and rejoin the band if and when a contract is offered that is to his liking.

Ward was present with the rest of the group when they announced a new album — the original lineup's first since 1978 — and world tour at a press conference last November, but went on strike shortly after that.

In the meantime, Iommi was diagnosed with cancer, forcing SABBATH to drastically curtail its touring plans and move the recording of the new CD to London, so that Iommi could remain close to his doctors.

The drum parts on the record are reportedly being played by Tommy Clufetos, who also played an intimate hometown gig in Birmingham, England with SABBATH in May and appeared with the group when it headlined the U.K.'s Download festival in June.

Barring a last-minute breakthrough with Ward, Clufetos will be behind the kit in August when the band appears at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

Guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH 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.

In a recent interview with Turbo from RSU Radio and the Metal Meltdown, Darski was asked how long fans will have to wait for a new BEHEMOTH studio album. "I've got plenty of stuff written down — not completely finished lyrics, but a lot of ideas and verses here and there and some choruses here and there," Nergal replied. "It's a slow process. I'm screwing around with some riffs here and there at the backstage of the venue or the back lounge [of the bus], I'm just jamming out. I think there's plenty of ideas, but sometimes it takes me weeks to realize or to come up with something that I consider, myself, 'Wow, this is it. This is the stuff that should be on the next BEHEMOTH record.' It looks like, with the tenth record, it's worse and worse for me to come up with something I will feel that is great.

He added, "I've always said that... Right now we're good musicians, and we could easily fabricate anything. Metal Blade would have the record fucking in three months — if we want that — but it wouldn't be honest. It wouldn't be 'us.' I just tear out a piece of my heart and soul and my skin and I just fucking put it into my art. Otherwise it makes no sense to me. So this process sometimes takes time and energy and experience, and I'm collecting these experiences by now. But you can be sure that the next BEHEMOTH album is coming out next year; that's for sure. I just can't say if it's before or after summer, but we [will] start working [on it] intensively this summer."

Resurrected 1990s Florida-based death metallers MASSACRE will release a seven-inch single, "Condemned To The Shadows", on July 30, in time for the group's appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. The single, which is now available for pre-order at CMDistro.com, will contain two brand new songs — "Succumb To Rapture" and "Back From Beyond" — that were recorded in February at CGM Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida with Tim Vazquez at the helm.

The cover artwork for "Condemned To The Shadows" was created by Richard Schouten and can be seen below . According to MASSACRE guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo, "the art will wrap around from front to back of the seven-inch."

MASSACRE played "Succumb To Rapture" for the first time during the group's January 14 headlining concert at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Video footage of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Brutal Broadcast).

The Brass Mug show marked the first-ever appearance by MASSACRE's new lineup, which consists of bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo alongside the band's latest additions, Mike Mazzonetto (drums; M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) and Ed Webb (vocals; DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN).

MASSACRE's current lineup is as follows:

* Mike Mazzonetto (M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) - Drums
* Ed Webb (DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN) - Vocals
* Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo (MANTAS, DEATH) – Guitar
* Terry Butler (OBITUARY, SIX FEET UNDER, DEATH) – Bass

MASSACRE recently inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records.

Rozz started his career at the age of 16 when he formed MANTAS with Chuck Schuldiner. The band's "Death By Metal" demo from 1984 was as influential on the early death metal scene as early recordings by POSSESSED (who released their infamous "Death Metal" demo the same year) and HELLHAMMER's 1983 demos. MANTAS changed its name to DEATH later in 1984, followed by the creation of MASSACRE, with Butler joining the group a short time later. After recording and touring as members of DEATH, Rozz and Butler released the MASSACRE death metal cult classic "From Beyond" in 1991, influencing generations of extreme metal bands worldwide.

"From Beyond" was reissued as a limited-edition digipak CD via Earache Records.The long-out-of-print album was made available on CD with four bonus EP tracks and comes housed in a digipak with extended artwork and a fold-out poster.

A different version of MASSACRE — consisting of DENIAL FIEND members Sam Williams (guitar), Curt Beeson (drums; NASTY SAVAGE), along with Terry Butler, Steve Swanson (guitar) and Kam Lee (vocals; MASSACRE, DEATH, MANTAS) — completed a European tour in late 2007.

Illinois-based Vikings thrashers THE HORDE have inked a deal with Abyss Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Thy Blackened Reign" is tentatively titled "Destroyer... Slayer Of Men" and is scheduled for release in the fall.

Commented guitarist Tim Matthews: "THE HORDE are thrilled to have signed with Abyss Records. This is a match made in Valhalla as they will suit up in their armor and go to war with us as we ride into the flames of battle!

"We are currently working on our third album. Some songtitles are 'Pray Hater', '10,000 Strong' and 'Firevurm'. We'll be entering Mercenary Digital Studios in Zion, Illinois at some point this winter to record with Scott Creekmore."

THE HORDE is slated to appear at Spring Bash IV in April 2013 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin alongside DECEASED, MORTA SKULD and other acts. More U.S. festival appearances for 2013 are in the works.

The "Death To All Tour 2012" kicked off on June 22 at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California and concluded on June 30 at The Beacham in Orlando, Florida. The trek, which features a majority of DEATH's amazing musicians, celebrated the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner, as well as raised awareness of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund — a charity that provides financial assistance to career musicians faced with illness, disability or age-related problems.

The drums on the "Death To All Tour 2012" were handled by Gene Hoglan ("Individual Thought Patterns", "Symbolic"), Danny Walker (INTRONAUT, BEREFT) and Sean Reinert ("Human"). On bass was Steve DiGiorgio ("Human", "Individual Thought Patterns") and Scott Clendenin ("The Sound Of Perseverance"). Guitar duties were shared by Paul Masvidal ("Human"), Shannon Hamm ("The Sound of Perseverance") and Bobby Koelble ("Symbolic"). The vocals were taken care of by EXHUMED's Matt Harvey and Charles Elliott of ABYSMAL DAWN and BEREFT.

Harvey replaced OBSCURA vocalist Steffen Kummerer due to visa issues and had only nine days to learn his entire set.

Commented Elliott at the end of the tour: "I just want to thank all the DEATH fans that were supportive of the 'Death To All Tour'. I wasn't sure how people would take someone besides Chuck playing these songs but people were very supportive. I'm obviously not trying to replace Chuck, just pay tribute to one of my favorite bands for a good cause. The people that realized this had an amazing time sharing in Chuck's memory and music at the shows.

"Getting up on stage with these incredible musicians and playing those songs for people that love DEATH as much as I do, was an incredible and surreal experience that I'll always remember. I'd like to thank Sick Drummer Magazine, the Schuldiner family and estate, all the crew on the tour, and all the crazy fans that came out to the shows."

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

For more information, go to this location.

Chuck died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

"Knives", the new video from Knoxville, Tennessee hard rockers 10 YEARS, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's upcoming fifth album, "Minus The Machine", which is set to arrive on August 7 through the group's own label, Palehorse Records. 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 called "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 brings it to Pensacola, Florida on Tuesday (July 3) and wraps up on July 24 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Hugely influential British melodic hard rockers MAGNUM will release their eighteenth studio album, "On The 13th Day" on September 19 in Scandinavia, September 21 in Germany, September 24 in the rest of Europe and September 25 in the U.S./Canada via on Steamhammer/SPV. A single, "So Let It Rain", will precede the full-length CD at the end of August.

"On The 13th Day" will be available as a limited digipak edition with a bonus CD featuring unreleased, acoustic and live tracks from the MAGNUM vaults, plus as a double colored vinyl LP, standard jewel case CD and download. The cover is once again created by famous fantasy artist Rodney Matthews (ASIA, NAZARETH, ELOY).

"On The 13th Day" track listings:

Limited Digipak

Disc 1

01. All The Dreamers
02. Blood Red Laughter
03. Didn't Like You Anyway
04. On The 13th Day
05. So Let It Rain
06. Dance Of The Black Tattoo
07. Shadow Town
08. Putting Things In Place
09. Broken Promises
10. See How They Fall
11. From Within

Bonus Disc 2

01. Those Were The Days (Demo From 1988-89)
02. Eyes Like Fire (Full Version)
03. Blood Red Laughter (Acoustic Version)
04. We All Need To Be Loved (Live From Prague CZ)
05. Shadow Town (Acoustic Version)
06. Moonking (Live From Mannheim D)

Jewel Case

01. All The Dreamers
02. Blood Red Laughter
03. Didn't Like You Anyway
04. On The 13th Day
05. So Let It Rain
06. Dance Of The Black Tattoo
07. Shadow Town
08. Putting Things In Place
09. Broken Promises
10. See How They Fall
11. From Within

Vinyl Version

LP 1

Side A

01. All The Dreamers
02. Blood Red Laughter
03. Didn't Like You Anyway

Side B

01. On The 13th Day
02. So Let It Rain
03. Dance Of The Black Tattoo

LP 2

Side A

01. Shadow Town
02. Putting Things In Place
03. Broken Promises

Side B

01. See How They Fall
02. From Within

"On The 13th Day" follows the success of "The Visitation", which charted at #19 in Germany, #46 in Sweden, #55 in the U.K. and #56 in Switzerland at the end of January 2011. "On The 13th Day" also picks up where "The Visitation" left off, boasting 11 soaring, brand new totally epic rock songs packed with hook-filled choruses, glorious flowing melodies, luscious keyboards and flowing guitar licks. Right from the opening track, "All The Dreamers" (set to be the new "Sacred Hour"), you get an instant feeling that this album has something very special to offer. "So Let It Rain", the first single to be taken from "On The 13th Day", will without a doubt soon be officially classified as "classic," while "Dance Of The Black Tattoo", which, from the moment the first drum beats crash out of the speakers, mesmerizes from start to finish.

One month after the release of "On The 13th Day", MAGNUM will set off on a 31-date European tour.

NWOBHM legends DIAMOND HEAD were forced to cancel their show tonight (Tuesday, July 3) at the O2 Academy in Islington, London, England after the band's drummer, Karl Wilcox, was admitted to hospital with a suspected blood clot. The group issued an update on his condition later in the day, stating, "Karl has had hospital treatment today and should be fit again by tomorrow morning. We hope to go ahead with the York show tomorrow, but please check with the venue before setting out. The show on Thursday 5th July at Wolverhampton, and the remainder of the tour will go ahead as planned."

DIAMOND HEAD's only previous U.S. appearance was at the Metal Meltdown IV festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey in 2002 for a sold-out show with fellow British stalwarts SAXON and WITCHFYNDE. Now, for the first time ever, DIAMOND HEAD's U.S. fans got the opportunity to see the band perform live.

The tour kicked off in Seattle on August 15 and concluded in New York City on September 1.

DIAMOND HEAD's first-ever appearance with the "Big Four" (METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX and MEGADETH), the artists on whom they had a major influence, at the Sonisphere festivals in the U.K. and France, was followed by their first performances in Canada, playing with MOTÖRHEAD, and MEGADETH at the Heavy TO festival in Toronto, along with an appearance with GIRLSCHOOL, MOTÖRHEAD and KISS, at the Heavy MTL festival in Montreal.

Swedish death metal masters DIABOLICAL have entered Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, UNANIMATED, DESTRÖYER 666) in Alvik, Sweden to begin recording their fifth album, "Neogenesis". The CD is once again being produced by the band's vocalist/guitarist Sverker Widgren.

DIABOLICAL guitarist Carl Stjärnlöv explains the album title: "Apart from being a physiological term, the title 'Neogenesis' translates to 'new beginning.' The word originates from greek and latin and it marks a new beginning for DIABOLICAL in many ways. Furthermore the title has a much more profound significance to the theme and concept of this album."

Regarding the recording process and musical direction of tne new material, he added, "The drum tracks laid down are amazing, and we are all very excited about continuing to work on 'Neogenesis'. There are definitely some new flavors to our sound, and most importantly, the song material of 'Neogenesis' is by far the greatest we've done."

"Neogenesis" track listing:

01. Into Oblivion
02. Metamorphosis
03. Oracle
04. Ex
05. World in Silence
06. Reincarnation of the Damned
07. Fields of Nihil
08. Dialogue with the Dead
09. Wolves' Choir
10. The Age to Come
11. Humanitas

The second in a series of video reports featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Neogenesis" can be seen below.

DIABOLICAL's latest album, "Ars Vitae", came out in February 2011 via Abyss Records.

The band's third full-length CD, "The Gallery of Bleeding Art", was released in November 2008 through ViciSolum Productions.

The official lyric video for "Hell Or Hallelujah", the new single from rock legends KISS, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's 20th studio album, "Monster", which is scheduled for release in October through Universal Music Enterprises. KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley calls the track, "a battle cry that encapsulates the entire record...one way or another, we're going to do it our way."

Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," "Monster" features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game. And that's saying something, considering their illustrious, 40-plus year history — 28 U.S. gold albums, the most gold records for any American rock band, 40 million sales in the U.S., and a total exceeding 100 million worldwide.

"Monster" is the group's first studio album since the band's 2009 smash success, "Sonic Boom", and was also produced by Paul Stanley with Greg Collins at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, and The Nook in Studio City, California.

"Monster" represents KISS' nod to the music that first inspired them to pick up their guitars and flame-throwers and don makeup to entertain millions. The group goes back to their own beginnings with THE WHO-like "Freak", while Gene lives up to the title track's declaration on the raucous rock of "Back To The Stone Age" and the bludgeoning "The Devil is Me". Even guitarist Thayer takes a turn on his own with "Outta This World". a tribute to his KISS "spaceman" character, while drummer Singer provides the vocals (and the back story) for the arena anthem "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll".

"There are no symphony orchestras, boy choirs, keyboards, outside producers or songwriters on this album," promises Gene Simmons. "The best thing we did was to turn inwards to ourselves. Tommy and Eric have revitalized this band, with a work ethic and the talent to back it up. This is a real band effort. KISS has become a behemoth. We're going where no bands have gone before."

On July 4, the day after "Hell Or Hallelujah" hits digital retail in North America, KISS crosses the ocean for its very own Tea Party, performing an Independence Day show at The Forum in London, a holiday most certainly not celebrated in the U.K., though this show might just offer some reparation for that bitter defeat in 1776. The concert will serve as a benefit for the British "Help For Heroes" organization, which raises money for its wounded, sick and injured troops. The band owes its own debt of gratitude to the English, admitting that "Monster" is influenced by the country's great, legendary rock groups who influenced and inspired them to pick up their instruments in the first place.

"We're all Anglophiles in this band," says Simmons. "America may have invented rock and roll, but England knew what to do with it. They gave us THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, LED ZEPPELIN and THE WHO."

Timed to coincide with the release of the "Monster" album is the deluxe coffee table, limited edition KISS Monster, a collection of artworks, 126 photos from the band's 40-year career, including never-before-seen images from the world's greatest rock photographers. The three-foot high, two and a half feet wide and two-inch thick Monster will be available in copies signed by all four band members and limited to only 1,000 copies worldwide. More info at www.kissmonsterbook.com.

Multi-camera video footage of IRON MAIDEN July 2 performance at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Moonchild
02. Can I Play With Madness
03. The Prisoner
04. 2 Minutes To Midnight
05. Afraid To Shoot Strangers
06. The Trooper
07. The Number Of The Beast
08. Phantom Of The Opera
09. Run To The Hills
10. Wasted Years
11. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
12. The Clairvoyant
13. Fear Of The Dark
14. Iron Maiden

Encore:

15. Aces High
16. The Evil That Men Do
17. Running Free

The 34-date "Maiden England" tour is IRON MAIDEN's most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of other cities the band have not played in a very long time such as Atlanta, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and Sacramento, and places like Sarnia (Ontario, Canada) and Cadott, Wisconsin where they have never visited before. The tour is based on the band's "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour", with a setlist almost exclusively from the 1980s featuring all the classic songs and hits. The same spectacular stage set as was used on the original 1988 tour has been recreated, complete with a magnificent light show, pyro and a newly reincarnated Eddie!

When asked by The Aquarian Weekly what the reason was behind choosing a setlist like that of the famous 1988 excursion, 7th Tour Of A 7th Tour, IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith said, "Well, we just thought it'd be fun to revisit that period in time — there were some good songs there. It's just great revisiting some of the songs we haven't played for a long while. It keeps us fresh and it's just, you know, we got a lot of new fans coming on board now, a lot of younger fans who probably never saw or were around when we did that tour. That's one factor of it for us revisiting that time and I think there's some good songs from that period, so it's fun to do."

On the topic of how this tour differs from those in the recent years, Adrian said, "Well, this is a new set; we haven't taken the stage set out, for example, so it's a new stage set. We got new effects. I think it's going to be actually more spectacular than the original tour and probably, technically, you got more stuff now to put into a live show in terms of lighting and that, which will make it quite spectacular, so I think this is going to be pretty special, this tour. What with the songs, we love playing these songs, and with the stage set and effects and of course we got Eddie, he's back, so it should be fun."

The extraordinary and legendary ALICE COOPER is IRON MAIDEN's very special guest on all shows up to July 21. After that date, special guest will be COHEED AND CAMBRIA, the inspiring, cutting-edge band from New York.

For a complete list of "Maiden England" 2012 tour dates, visit IronMaiden.com.

The classic first EP from Los Angeles metal legends ARMORED SAINT will be reissued on August 13 in Europe via Metal Blade Records with bonus tracks and etching on vinyl.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Lesson Well Learned
02. No Reason To Live
03. False Alarm
04. Stricken By Fate
05. On The Way

ARMORED SAINT will be heading back to Europe next week. Singer John Bush states, "I'm very excited for our upcoming summer dates. First, ARMORED SAINT has never played in France. Not only are we doing the awesome Sonisphere show, we are also doing a headline club show in Paris. About fucking time. Also, we're extremely pumped to play the Bang Your Head!!! festival again. It's one of the best metal shows in Germany. Plus, we get to be part of the Dong festival. First time there. The tour wouldn't be complete without playing in Holland, which is the first country ARMORED SAINT ever played in Europe back in 1989; and Zurich, where it will be our first time to headline in the beautiful country of Switzerland.

"ARMORED SAINT doesn't tour all that often so come out and join us, cause you're never sure when or if we'll be touring again. We'll be playing songs from our entire catalog as well as from our most recent record, 'La Raza', which we're extremely proud of."

"La Raza" sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 18 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. "La Raza" also entered the German Media Control chart at No. 96 and the Canadian Independent chart at No. 85.

"La Raza" was recorded at Burbank, California's Tranzformer Studios, which is owned by Dave Jerdan (ALICE IN CHAINS, JANE'S ADDICTION), who produced ARMORED SAINT's 1991 classic "Symbol of Salvation" and Bryan Carlstrom, who engineered the same album. The band's first new release since 2001's "Nod to the Old School" was produced by Joey Vera and engineered by Carlstrom and his assistant John Nuss.

Florida-based death metal veterans MORBID ANGEL have announced that they will play a set of "all-time classic songs" on their upcoming European tour with KREATOR, NILE and FUELED BY FIRE, which kicks off on November 1 in Antwerp, Belgium.

A complete list of dates can be found on the poster below.

On February 24 (February 28 in North America), Season of Mist released a compilation of remixed tracks from MORBID ANGEL's latest album, "Illud Divinum Insanus". Far from being just revamped versions of the seminal extreme metal band's newest songs, this collection presents the work of 39 artists from the electro / industrial, techno and club scene.

MORBID ANGEL's latest album, "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 marks MORBID ANGEL's first CD to feature bassist/vocalist David Vincent since 1995's "Domination".

Norwegian black metallers RAGNAROK have released a video for the title track of their latest album, "Collectors Of The King". The clip was produced by William Brovold, directed by Stefan E. Pedersen and features cinematography by Lasse Roed.

Commented RAGNAROK drummer and founder Jontho: "It's the first official video we've done for the band, and for a band that's been around as long as we have, you could say it's been a long time in coming. It's a very dark piece in every sense of the word and perfectly conveys the atmosphere and subject matter of the track itself. We're very pleased with the result, and now we've got a taste for it, it certainly won't be the last video we make and you can rest assured that the new album will provide plenty of material for the next one."

Formed in 1994 by drummer Jontho and then-bassist Jerv, RAGNAROK's current lineup includes Jontho on drums, Hans Fyrste on vocals, DezeptiCunt on bass and Bolverk on guitars. The band recently inked a deal with Agonia Records and entered Endarker Studios in Norrköping, Sweden on June 24 to record what will be their seventh full-length album. At the production helm is studio owner and MARDUK bassist Magnus "Devo" Andersson. So far all the drum and guitar tracks have been recorded for the as-yet-untitled CD, which is due for release later this year.

The band's next live appearance will be in August at this year's Party.San Open Air festival in Schlotheim, Germany.

Fan-filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT's July 1 performance at the Mountain View, California stop of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival can be seen below.

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root was forced to miss the first couple of dates of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour because a burst appendix. A statement issued by the band said that Root had been seriously ill for the past few weeks and that the situation could have been life threatening. He is likely to miss several more Mayhem Festival shows, although it is hoped he can rejoin the tour as soon as possible.

The statement read, "Jim has been seriously sick for the past two weeks and went to the hospital last week where he was advised that his appendix burst a couple weeks before and that it could have been life-threatening. Jim is at home recovering and is awaiting surgery to have pieces of his appendix removed and hopes to join the tour as soon as he is able. SLIPKNOT will continue to headline the Mayhem Festival and all other shows. We refuse to let our fans down and will not miss a single date. We will miss Jim greatly and our thoughts are with him. Jim sends his love to each and every one of our fans."

SLIPKNOT's stint on the Mayhem tour is the band's first U.S. trek since the May 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray.

The tour also features SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD, ANTHRAX and others on the bill.

Following the end of the tour, the group will headline Knotfest, two festival dates put together by the band itself on August 17 in Council Bluffs, Iowa and August 18 in Somerset, Wisconsin.

SLIPKNOT will tentatively enter the studio sometime in early 2013 to begin recording its fifth album. In the meantime, a greatest hits collection called "Antennas To Hell" arrives on July 24.