A new two-minute video teaser for "A Healing Place", the forthcoming third album from the Finnish atmospheric rock act THE CHANT, can be seen below. The CD will be released via Lifeforce Records on the following dates:

August 14: North America + digital
August 17: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
August 20: Europe excluding Finland
August 22: Scandinavia

"Since I was in touch with Jussi Hämäläinen about his other very promising band HANGING GARDEN for a while already, it was only logical I gave THE CHANT a fair chance and I must admit I was sold after the first listen!" comments Lifeforce Records owner Stefan Lüdicke. "Being a huge fan of similar bands such as ANATHEMA, KATATONIA and PARADISE LOST, my decision to want to work with THE CHANT was made within a glimpse of an eye and their upcoming album, 'A Healing Place', is on heavy rotation in my stereo since then!"

THE CHANT is a seven-member band from Finland. The current lineup has been existence since 1999, but it took some years and a couple of demo recordings before the group's debut album, "Ghostlines", was released in 2008. It already based on this unique melancholic music full of beautiful melodies and harmonies, THE CHANT have become known for. With "This is The World We Know" (2010), the Finns strengthened their approach of playing atmospheric rock with gothic and progressive influences.

The majority of the songs for "A Healing Place" were recorded by THE CHANT themselves and showcase a band going deeper into an even more complexand layered sound with unexpected twists and an arcane ambience. The Finns take their listeners into a place where they have to fumble ingrey mist, before being able to see all the shades of color. The agonizing sides of life have to be faced, before being able to clean oneself from them. The seemingly positive exterior of "A Healing Place" hides bitter and dismal moods.

With "A Healing Place", the Helsinki-based septet takes a stand as one of Finland's progressive rock bands people have to be aware of. Based on a deeply atmospheric, almost cinematic sound, THE CHANT rely on dreamy guitarmelodies, spherical piano-playing and a remarkable voice. This album full of soundscape-driven, ambitious rock music should please fans of ANATHEMA, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA, PORCUPINE TREE and A PERFECT CIRCLE.

John Harrison, founding bassist for legendary space rock band HAWKWIND, passed away in his sleep on May 26th. John had been suffering from Huntington disease, having been diagnosed with it in 2005. At the time of his death, John was being cared for at Garden Crest clinic in Los Angeles. His caregivers there reported that he passed peacefully at approximately 8PM. John would have been 70 on May 28th.

John's throbbing and inventive bass parts on the band's self-titled 1970 release laid the foundation for Hawkwind's influential sound, both then and now. After his departure from the band, John also worked successfully as a producer and staff engineer at Village Recorders in Los Angeles.

Former Hawkwind guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton said in a statement: "John was an integral part of Hawkwind's formation and eventual success. His honest, solid character and playing held the whole thing together in that first year of the group's existence (in more ways than one)! All who worked with him and have followed in his footsteps (i.e. Lemmy) and all Hawkfans, old and young. Wherever you are owe him big time! May he rock In peace wherever he is now!"

Huw has recently guested on several Cleopatra Records releases including a highly acclaimed BLACK KEYS tribute on a track with KINKS founding guitarist Dave Davies (Huw plays guitar, Dave sings lead vocals), and on 'Love Reign O'er Me' for the eagerly awaited WHO tribute album that also features rock legends Rick Wakeman, Carmine Appice and DEF LEPPARD lead vocalist Joe Elliott.

Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE will release "The Early Years" on August 17. The 2-CD digipak bundle that consists of the band's sought-after debut album, "Spirit", plus a completely re-recorded version of their very first EP, "Vên", which is currently being laid down with producer Tommy Vetterli (CORONER, KREATOR) at his Newsound Studio.

Comented ELUVIETIE vocalist Christian "Chrigel" Glanzmann: "'The Early Years' will give both old and new fans access to the very first steps in ELUVEITIE's history. I can't believe it's been 10 years already! Speaking of that, to celebrate our 10-year anniversary (2002-2012) we wanted to offer you something special. Therefore we have decided to re-record the tracks of our first EP, 'Vên'! We had a lot of fun putting those songs on tape again — some of which we have been playing live to this day and that have developed together with us over all these years."

ELUVEITIE's latest album, "Helvetios", sold 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 3 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.

"Helvetios" was released in Europe on February 10 via Nuclear Blast Records

New York cult metal band BLACKSMITH, featuring guitarist David Smith, vocalist Malcolm "Mania" Lovegrove, drummer Chris Caglione, and new bassist John Dodge, recently entered the studio to begin work on what will be the band's third full-length album. Tentatively untitled, the CD will contain the first new BLACKSMITH material since 1990's "Time Out Of Mind" for Tropical Records, which at the time was shelved and not released until this month through Heaven And Hell Records. The new album will consist of several new tracks, a planned cover of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Electric Funeral", and a re-recorded version of the song "Broken Bastard" (now titled "Broken Master") recorded for a Dean Guitars tribute to "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.

Brutal death metallers DEVOURMENT have entered the studio to record their new album for an early 2013 release via their new label, Relapse Records. The band is tracking at Mana Recording Studio in St. Petersburg, Florida with legendary death metal icon Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL). The CD promises to be DEVOURMENT's heaviest, most crushing release to date. Tentative songtitles set to appear on the album include "Fucked With Rats" and "Fifty Ton War Machine".

Commented DEVOURMENT frontman Mike Majewski: "This will be the deepest album we have done for sure. Definitely expect the intensity, but also more thought-out song structures. I would say abit of a throwback to old school brutal bands, but with the signature DEVOURMENT elements."

DEVOURMENT's calling card is absolute brutality, and the band's three previous albums and international touring and festival appearance have made them one of the more-talked-about acts in the worldwide death metal underground.

"The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh", a brand new song from South Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers NILE, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track comes off the band's seventh full-length album, "At The Gate Of Sethu", which will be released in Europe on June 29 and in the U.S. on July 3 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2009's "Those Whom The Gods Detest" was once again produced and mixed by Neil Kernon, who has previously worked with NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, QUEENSRŸCHE and DEICIDE, among many others. The CD artwork was handled by a true genius of darkened visuals, Seth Siro Anton (SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, SEPTICFLESH).

Commented NILE mastermind Karl Sanders: "Seth Siro Anton has designed the cover. I have been a fan of SEPTICFLESH a long time, and as Seth expressed interest, I knew that he would deliver a great job. I would say his work is easily the best we've ever had. He has captured the darker side of the sound of NILE and reflected the music and ideas, the heart and soul of NILE are forming. Seth is a very talented man and understands exactly who we are."

Added Seth Siro Anton: "It is no secret that I admire the powerful stylistic lines of the magical symbols that still transmit the aura of ancient Egypt, preserving in time the ancient mysteries. Also, I am fascinated from the final frozen moment of the flesh captured in an eternal sleeping stasis, at the completion of the mummification process. So, with a great pleasure I accepted the challenge, to visualize the new masterpiece of NILE, 'At The Gate Of Sethu'."

In a recent interview with CobraMetal.net, Sanders stated about "At The Gate Of Sethu", "Well, we started [working on it] in May of last year (2011) after we finished our European tour. We worked on that fucking record for 10 months straight, to the exclusion of all else. (Laughs) Long hours, every day."

Regarding the new album's concept, Karl said, "It's in similar territory to other NILE records in that a lot of it stems from Ancient Egyptology and sort of has underlying modern themes tied in. We haven't abandoned our identity and I don't believe you should fuck over your fans. If your fans like what you do, and you change too much of what you do, fans don't like it. What matters to me is when I'm out on tour and I meet the actual fans and they share their thoughts…those are the people that I listen to. There's a lot of new ideas within the realm of what we do that we tried to incorporate. We studied real hard on the guitar and have lots of new riffs and musical ideas. There are a lot of surprises on the record."

When asked if fans can expect any guest appearances on the new NILE CD, Karl said, "Jon Vesano is all over this record. (Our former singer and bass guitarist who we're still good friends with.) Jon did some guest vocals on "Those Whom The Gods Detest" and it made us realize all over again all the things we really liked about Jon's vocals. We wanted to incorporate some of his insanity. [laughs] He's wicked, man. He knows how to channel that inner possession. He finds a way to summon it. It's great stuff."

"At The Gate Of Sethu" track listing (North American/European digipack):

01. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame
02. The Fiends Who Come To Steal The Magick Of The Deceased
03. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh
04. When My Wrath Is Done
05. Slaves Of Xul
06. The Gods Who Light Up The Sky At The Gate Of Sethu
07. Natural Liberation Of Fear Through The Ritual Deception Of Death
08. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms
09. Tribunal Of The Dead
10. Supreme Humanism Of Megalomania
11. The Chaining Of The Iniquitous

Bonus:

12. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame (instrumental)
13. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh (instrumental)

"At The Gate Of Sethu" track listing (European jewel case):

01. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame
02. The Fiends Who Come To Steal The Magick Of The Deceased
03. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh
04. When My Wrath Is Done
05. Slaves Of Xul
06. The Gods Who Light Up The Sky At The Gate Of Sethu
07. Natural Liberation Of Fear Through The Ritual Deception Of Death
08. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms
09. Tribunal Of The Dead
10. Supreme Humanism Of Megalomania
11. The Chaining Of The Iniquitous

In a recent interview with RockOverdose.gr, Sanders revealed that NILE will film a video for the song "Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame" this August in Greece.

Although it has not yet been confirmed, it is likely that the clip will be shot in Meteora, which is said to be the largest and most important complex of monasteries in all of Greece, second only to Mount Athos. The monasteries are built on spectacular natural sandstone rock pillars at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly, near the Peneios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. Meteora is home to six monasteries and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

"The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh" audio stream:

Professionally filmed video footage of LIZZY BORDEN's entire June 15 performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Tomorrow Never Comes
02. Red Rum
03. Rod Of Iron
04. Edge Of Glory
05. Bass Solo
06. We Only Come Out A Night
07. There Will Be Blood Tonight
08. Guitar Solos
09. Me Against The World
10. American Metal
11. Something's Crawling

LIZZY BORDEN is currently working on material for the follow-up to 2007's "Appointment With Death", tentatively due in late 2012/early 2013. Lizzy stated in a June 2011 interview with RockEyez, "I'm not that anxious to run out and do another record. The record I have in mind is so unique it's even hard to picture. The way I look at 'Appointment With Death' is we came full circle we all had the same influences on all the records. Now it's time to create something new so that's where my head is at right now. The album I want to do is ten amazing songs. I don't know exactly where it's going to go; it could be the heaviest record we've ever done. You know, you write ten songs and end up loving one. I hope to get something out soon but we have the tour right now, but we are working hard on songs right now. It's coming out really interesting but I'm still looking for that ultimate producer that I can work with so I can create something so unique that is sounds like we're breaking ground a little bit."

LIZZY BORDEN is:

Lizzy Borden: Vocals
Joey Scott: Drums
Marten Andersson: Bass
Dario Lorina: Guitar
A.C. Alexander: Guitar

"1000 Quatrains", the new video from Dallas, Texas-based power metallers PHANTOM-X, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's new album, "The Opera Of The Phantom", which will be released in August via Pure Steel Records.

Nowadays, the sounds of vintage metal are unmistakably heard in countless up-and-coming bands — whereas seemingly just a few years ago, bands that listed IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and DIO as chief influences flew well below the radar. PHANTOM-X is one such band that is proud to wave the flag of metal with an '80s flair.

"We receive the comment that we are old school and nothing new," says Goocher. "But we are not trying to be anything new in particular. We give homage to the sounds of the Metal Gods. Our music is inspired by the greats like IRON MAIDEN. It's power metal, with great hooks and melody, with a horror influence. What sets us apart is that we are not set in solely one type of song. We draw inspiration from anywhere that inspires. If it comes out speedy, then you get speedy. If it comes out melodic, then you get melodic. We have a variety of songs for any mood. Our songs are stories. I write lyrically to tell a story, not just to fill a song. In fact, we have chapters that have been released on each CD thus far that are all a part of one story."

Formed in 2003, PHANTOM-X is comprised of members Kevin Goocher (vocalist), Bill Engfer (guitar), Glenn Malicki (bass), and Reece Stanley (drums).

"I was singing for the band OMEN, and we were on a hiatus," recalls Goocher. "I decided that I wanted to do another project. I had noticed Glenn Malicki in a band he was playing in around Dallas. We started talking, and realized we were a good fit. We decided to put together some musicians and see what would come of it. We had started out as a Ronnie James Dio tribute band in 2003, called STARGAZER. Almost immediately, we started writing originals and released our first CD on Mausoleum Records in 2005, 'Rise Of The Phantom'. To support 'Phantom', we toured with ANVIL on the now-legendary tour that was documented in their 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' movie. Then, we released 'Storm Riders' in 2006, and followed that with a tour. In 2009, Reece Stanley and Bill Engfer joined us and we released 'This Is War' on Perris Records."

Profesionally filmed video footage of BIOHAZARD performing the song "Vengeance Is Mine" on June 15 at the Reload Festival in Sulingen, Germany can be seen below.

BIOHAZARD's latest album, "Reborn In Defiance", was released in Europe on January 20 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Not only is "Reborn In Defiance" BIOHAZARD's first original lineup album in 18 years, but it also marks the last album recorded by the band before the departure of bassist and co-vocalist Evan Seinfeld. The effort remains a testament to the four founding members (Billy Graziadei, Bobby Hambel, Evan Seinfeld and Danny Schuler) and their unique chemistry.

Seinfeld left the band in June 2011 after the band's new CD was completed and was replaced by Scott Roberts, who played on the band's 2005 "Means To An End" album and has been part of the BIOHAZARD extended family since.

"Reign Supreme", the new album from Maryland extreme metallers DYING FETUS, is available for streaming in its entirety at this location. Due on June 19 via Relapse Records, the CD was recorded at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX). It will feature nine tracks and is "a 'return to roots,' with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works," according to a press release. "Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know."

Commented DYING FETUS guitarist/vocalist John Gallagher: "The last album had some groove in it, but [it] was basically a lot of tech; this one is a return to form of older DYING FETUS albums, so to speak — more modern production, though, of course. Everything's tight, the sound is crushing, the drums are amazing."

"Reign Supreme" track listing:

01. Invert The Idols
02. Subjected To A Beating
03. Second Skin
04. From Womb To Waste
05. Dissidence
06. In The Trenches
07. Devout Atrocity
08. Revisionist Past
09. The Blood Of Power

The "From Womb To Waste" video can be seen below. The clip, which features 12 camera angles from last month's live show at Maryland Deathfest at Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland, was filmed and directed by Scott Hansen (ANIMALS AS LEADERS, A DAY TO REMEMBER).

DYING FETUS recently completed the Metal Alliance Tour with DEVILDRIVER, THE FACELESS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and IMPENDING DOOM.

"Devout Atrocity" audio stream:

Video footage of MÖTLEY CRÜE's June 17 performance at this year's edition of the Hellfest festival, which took place June 15-17 in Clisson, France, can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Wild Side
02. Live Wire
03. Too Fast for Love
04. Saints of Los Angeles
05. Shout at the Devil
06. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
07. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
08. Looks That Kill
09. Piece of Your Action
10. Smokin' in the Boys' Room (BROWNSVILLE STATION cover)
11. Dr. Feelgood
12. Girls, Girls, Girls
13. Home Sweet Home
14. Kickstart My Heart

MÖTLEY CRÜE earlier in the year entered drummer Tommy Lee's studio called The Atrium in Calabasas, California to begin recording a new song that will be released to coincide with the band's upcoming summer co-headlining tour with KISS.

Speaking to VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner following the March 20 press conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California to officially announce details of the tour, Sixx stated about the band's new track, "We're gonna play it on tour. We just wrote it and recorded it. It's called 'Sex' and it sounds very much like it's off of the first record [1981's 'Too Fast For Love']. And that was definitely on purpose. I've been writing very simple riffs for the last year and focusing on how these riffs would work for Vince [Neil, vocals], basically, and took it in the studio with Tommy and Mick [Mars, guitar] and the thing just came alive."

"Disclosure", the tenth studio album from Dutch/Norwegian rockers THE GATHERING, will be mastered on Friday, June 22. A 10-inch EP, "Afterlights", will be released on colored vinyl (limited to 1,000 copies) and digitally via the band's Bandcamp page.

"Disclosure" is scheduled for release on September 12 via Psychonaut Records.

In a recent interview with Greece's RockOverdose.gr web site, THE GATHERING drummer Hans Rutten stated about "Disclosure", "On and off, we worked two years on the album, and I'm really very, very happy with it. We've tried a lot of new things, but it's still THE GATHERING sound, and I think we've evolved, and I'm really happy. We had some ideas with this record. We wanted to make an album with more epic songs, longer songs, songs with dynamics, and also changes, like we did in the past, which we didn't do on 'Home' and 'The West Pole'. It just happened. We had some ideas lying around, we felt it would be cool to combine the parts we had. We had an urge to make a very atmospheric album. 'The West Pole' is more rock-orientated, it has some atmospheric parts, of course. This time, it's way more dreamy; it's not ambient, because there's a lot of rhythms involved, it's more dream rock! We already used the term trip rock, it's perfect for it. It's still THE GATHERING, you can really hear it, but we tried, of course, a lot of new elements on it. You can also hear it on the last single we have released, 'Meltdown'. . . We have some songs which are six, seven minutes and there's one other very long song which is almost nine minutes, so yes, we have a lot of long songs. Also some small songs, but especially long songs. It's one of the strongest points of THE GATHERING. Of course, we look at the past, and a lot of people really like the long songs, because we're quite good at making atmospheres; it's our strongest point. This is what we tried to achieve on this album. . . 'The West Pole', it was quite harsh, maybe. Rock songs now and then, it was really in the now. Right now, it's much more dreamy. It's the thing we wanted to do. It's a starting point with writing songs. We had a lot of ideas lying around, and we just picked up the atmospheric ones. But there's a lot of diversity in these songs, there's one song that's really industrial, kind of strange, a very slow, doomy, one song that's up-tempo - it's not happy, but there's a positive feeling going around. There's a very heavy ending of a song — of course, I can't talk a lot about it, but it also has a bit of surprise for listeners also. But it's a very diverse album. I think it's a good album, organic and electronic sounds. We worked a bit more with electronics, like we did with 'Souvenirs', and a bit with 'Home'. It's a bit back again, it just happens."

The "Disclosure" cover artwork was created by the Chilean artist Carlos Vergara Rivera. THE GATHERING keyboardist Frank Boeijen says, "The handcrafted cover art is inspired by our track 'Heroes For Ghosts', which we released last year."

"Disclosure" track listing:

01. Paper Waves
02. Meltdown
03. Gemini I
04. Heroes For Ghosts
05. Missing Seasons
06. See For Miles
07. Paralyzed
08. Gemini II

The new song "Meltdown" can be streamed below. According to the band, it is "an epic song with emotional atmosphere and a typical THE GATHERING touch. This time, though, the band also has a brand new voice coloring the song: Frank Boeijen!"

THE GATHERING's new CD includes the song "Heroes For Ghosts", which was made available for free download last year at the group's Bandcamp page. A video for the track was shot in Norway by the band's "dear friend" Marcus Moonen and can be seen below.

THE GATHERING's previous album, "The West Pole", was released in North America on June 2, 2009 via Season of Mist. The CD was issued in most of Europe on May 4, 2009 via the group's own label, Psychonaut Records.

"The West Pole" marked the recording debut of new THE GATHERING singer Silje Wergeland, who was previously in the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI. It also included two very talented guest vocalists, Anne van den Hoogen and Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION), along with other guest musicians.

Singer Anneke van Giersbergen announced her departure from THE GATHERING in 2007. She has since released four albums on her own and with her AGUA DE ANNIQUE solo project: "Air" (2007), "Pure Air" (2009), "In Your Room" (2009) and "Everything Is Changing" (2012).

Canadian "metal queen" Lee Aaron will release a DVD of his performance at the 2011 edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, which was held June 8-11, 2011 in Sölvesborg.

Due on June 20, "Live In Sweden" features the following track listing:

* Powerline
* Concrete And Ice
* Hands On
* Baby Go Round
* Handcuffed To A Fence In Mississippi
* Sweet Talk
* Some Girls Do
* Odds Of Love
* Barely Holdin' On
* Whatcha Do To My Body
* Metal Queen
* Do I Move You
* Bad Boyfriend

Bonus features include press conference, backstage interview, Lee Aaron's special message to Sweden Rock fans and tons of pictures.

For more information, go to this location.

Aaron (born Karen Lynn Greening on July 21, 1962, in Belleville, Ontario) is a Canadian rock and jazz singer. She had several hits in the 1980s and early 1990s such as "Metal Queen", "Whatcha Do to My Body" and "Sex with Love".

In 2000, she released "Slick Chick", on her own imprint, Barking Dog Music (with distribution by Fusion 3). Aaron played extensively for this release, showcasing at The Top of the Senator in Toronto and numerous jazz festivals across Canada and Europe.

In 2002, Aaron was approached to audition with the Modern Baroque Opera Company. She was cast and appeared that year in an ALCAN Performing Arts award-winning production called "101 Songs For The Marquis De Sade".

Her eleventh album, "Beautiful Things", a pop-jazz hybrid, was released in 2004.

Aaron and husband John Cody have two children: Angella, born June 7, 2004 and Jett, born January 7, 2006.

Aaron continues to play both rock and selected jazz shows.

"Nothing Left For Me", the new video from the reactivated original lineup of SPINESHANK — featuring Jonny Santos (vocals), Tommy Decker (drums), Mike Sarkisyan (guitar) and Rob Garcia (bass) — can be seen below. The track comes off the band's long-awaited fourth album, "Anger Denial Acceptance", which will be released on June 19 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. Produced by Sarkisyan and Decker and mixed by Mike Plotnikoff (PAPA ROACH, BUCKCHERRY), the CD promises to surpass everyone's expectation of what SPINESHANK is capable of.

Commented guitarist Mike Sarkisyan, "It was very important to us, as artists, to make this record. We felt like we had something to say as a band." Their message was urgent and unambiguous, a sonic exorcism of sorts. "Some of us were going through divorces, others lost people very close to them and that's what basically surrounded us during the creative process."

"Anger Denial Acceptance" track listing:

01. After The End
02. Nothing Left For Me
03. Anger Denial Acceptance
04. I Want You To Know
05. Murder Suicide
06. The Endless Disconnect
07. I Am Damage
08. Ploratio Morbus (interlude)
09. Everything Everyone Everywhere Ends
10. The Reckoning
11. God Complex (Anger)
12. Motive Method Opportunity (Denial)
13. Exit Wound (Acceptance)

In a recent interview with FrontRowRock.com, Decker stated about "Anger Denial Acceptance", "It's three of the stages of grieving, rearranged a bit. I think it's something a lot of people can relate to; things ending, relationships, people. Members of this band have been through a lot in the last few years and it all came out in this record. This is the most personal record we've ever done. Everything you hear is real. The pain, anger and sadness come from a real place. It was not a fun record to make."

When asked about the recording process for the new CD, Decker said, "The recording process was a lot different this time. It was the first record where we didn't have an outside producer come in, we did it completely on our own. We also did it in different sessions. We'd write three or four songs and then go record them. Write three or four more and record them in a different studio. We actually took our Pro Tools rig to a cabin in Big Bear and did a lot of the vocals there. We were totally isolated from the outside world; we were able to fully focus and concentrate on the songs. It was a really cool way to record."

Speaking to Valerie Bastien of RockSource360, Sarkisyan stated about "Anger Denial Acceptance", "I think the biggest difference in making this record was that it was done by us from the writing stage all the way to tracking. We didn't have a label rep up our asses all the time and we just kind of had the freedom to do what we wanted, when we wanted and how we wanted. Musically, it's light years ahead of what 'Self-Destructive Pattern' was, as it should be. We all have grown as writers and performers, and we've gotten better at expressing ourselves in our music.

On the topic of the new album's title track and why the band felt it was a perfect fit to name the whole album after it, Mike said, "That song was like my 'baby' on this record. I had come up with the skeleton of it before bringing it up to the guys. I had a pretty clear idea of where it needed to be, musically. Those three words just kept ringing in my head the whole time I was putting this together. It's some of the stages of dealing with loss. Any kind of loss. It was the first time that me, Tommy and Jonny collaborated on lyrics. It sort of became the centerpiece of the record and although it's not a full concept album, the album does tie together in more ways than one. And it's not structured like a basic song either. It's not that 'verse/chorus/verse…' thing. It has three distinct and different parts that sorta tie in together and represent 'Anger Denial Acceptance'. I'm super happy with the way it came out and am very proud of it."

SPINESHANK's third and last album, "Self-Destructive Pattern", was released on September 9, 2003. The album's lead single, "Smothered", was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Metal Performance".

Following his departure from SPINESHANK, Santos formed SILENT CIVILIAN, which released its debut album, "Rebirth of the Temple", in May 2006. A follow-up effort, "Ghost Stories", came out in May 2010 via Mediaskare/Century Media.

"Nothing Left For Me" video:

Fan-filmed video footage of KING DIAMOND's June 15 performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The Candle
02. Welcome Home
03. Drum Solo
04. Voodoo
05. At The Graves
06. Up From The Grave
07. Dreams
08. Sleepless Nights
09. Guitar Solo
10. Shapes Of Black
11. Come To The Sabbath (MERCYFUL FATE cover)
12. Eye Of The Witch

Encore:

13. The Family Ghost
14. Halloween

Encore 2:

15. Black Horsemen

Danish heavy metal singer King Diamond (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE) (real name: Kim Bendix Petersen), 55, underwent open-heart triple-bypass surgery in November 2010. He has since completed his cardiac rehabilitation program and has stopped smoking entirely, changed his diet and is getting regular exercise, according to his wife Livia Zita.

King Diamond made his long-anticipated return to the stage with his MERCYFUL FATE bandmates Hank Shermann, Timi Hansen and Michael Denner on December 7, 2011 at the second of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of METALLICA's week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

King Diamond played a surprise three-song set on January 27 at Tree's in Dallas, Texas during the "5th Annual Nomad Recording Studio Throwdown". King, who appeared without his trademark makeup, was joined for the performance by Michael Harris on guitar, Neil Brincks on bass, J.T. Longoria on guitar and Matt Thompson (KING DIAMOND, SHAOLIN DEATH SQUAD) on drums. King also presented awards at the event, which featured additional performances by BORN & RAISED, SHAOLIN DEATH SQUAD, LOVE STRICKEN DEMISE and RIVETHEAD.

On May 23, Christian hard rockers P.O.D. (PAYABLE ON DEATH) performed an acoustic version of their new single, "Lost In Forever", live in the Buzz Acoustic Den in front of a small group of 102.9 The Buzz listeners in Nashville, Tennessee. Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

P.O.D.'s new album, "Murdered Love", will be released on July 10 via Razor & Tie. The band's long-awaited follow-up to "When Angels & Serpents Dance" sees them reunited with longtime producer Howard Benson, who also produced the group's massive "Satellite" album as well as hit CDs for Kelly Clarkson, THEORY OF A DEADMAN, DAUGHTRY, THE ALL AMERICAN REJECTS and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. The CD cover and packaging was illustrated and designed by Invisible Creature, whose previous credits include the FOO FIGHTERS, NORMA JEAN, Chris Cornell and many more.

P.O.D.'s "Lost In Forever" can be seen below. The clip was shot in the California desert with director Spence Nicholson (BLEEDING THROUGH, THE BLED).

"When Angels & Serpents Dance" sold 34,000 in the United States in its first week of release in April 2008 to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Testify", registered a first-week tally of just over 54,000 back in February 2006 to land at No. 9.

"When Angels & Serpents Dance" featured guest appearances from the MARLEY SISTERS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES singer Mike Muir and HELMET guitarist Page Hamilton.

"Lost In Forever" acoustic performance:

"L'Enfant Sauvage", the fifth album from French progressive metallers GOJIRA, is available for streaming in its entirety at Australia's TheMusic.com.au web site. The CD will be released on June 26 via Roadrunner Records.

"L'Enfant Sauvage" (which translates to "The Wild Child") features 11 tracks of mind-bending, thunderous metal. The CD was recorded at Spin Recording Studios in Long Island City, New York with co-producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD).

In a recent interview with Metalshrine, Joseph Duplantier stated about the new album title, "We couldn't call it 'The Wild Child', because it's hard to translate 'L'Enfant Sauvage'. It's not really the wild child as understood in English, because a wild child for me, has an aspect like someone out of control somehow. 'L'Enfant Sauvage' in French… 'Sauvage' is something that is not educated or something that is like free and completely free in nature. A wild flower that goes wherever she wants and becomes something beautiful. The idea with 'L'Enfant Sauvage' is like with a human that would grow up in nature, raised by wolves, for example, without the influence from others and the influence from institutions or society in general. Without a social security number. [laughs] Not even a name. This is what you are and I am on the inside, right? How much the education and the culture, emotions and the guilt are interacting with us and it changes us and how far are we from this pure child inside? That's the question we had on this album."

A special collector's package of "L'Enfant Sauvage" will feature two bonus tracks and a double-colored vinyl version of the record, along with an exclusive t-shirt.

"L'Enfant Sauvage" track listing:

01. Explosia
02. L'Enfant Sauvage
03. The Axe
04. Liquid Fire
05. The Wild Healer
06. Planned Obsolescence
07. Mouth Of Kala
08. The Gift Of Guilt
09. Pain Is A Master
10. Born In Winter
11. The Fall

GOJIRA will release a new DVD/Blu-ray, "The Flesh Alive", in the U.S. on July 31 via Mascot. The set will be made available in the following formats:

* 2-DVD+CD
* Blu-ray+CD with free poster

The three-disc "The Flesh Alive" chronicles the making of GOJIRA's 2008 album, "The Way Of All Flesh", and the touring activity that followed the CD's release.

"L'Enfant Sauvage" audio stream:

Benjy Eisen of RollingStone.com recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

RollingStone.com: In the liner notes for [PANTERA's "Vulgar Display Of Power"] reissue, you say that METALLICA abandoned thrash metal when they released The Black Album, and that you guys saw that as an opportunity. How explicitly was that talked about in the studio back then?

Vinnie: I think the biggest goal of the whole record was to top [PANTERA's 1990 album] "Cowboys From Hell". We thought that with "Cowboys From Hell" we got really close to getting the definitive PANTERA sound that we wanted. We felt like the songs were really moving in the direction that we had grown into as a band, and we just were really, really hungry. We got in there and we worked so hard. Our intention was just to be a heavy metal band. When METALLICA put out The Black Album, it was kind of a letdown to a lot of fans and we felt like that was a window of opportunity for us to go ahead and step up to the front of the heavy metal plate.

RollingStone.com: Now that two decades have passed, do you feel differently about the album in any way?

Vinnie: Not really, man. I just remember at that point in time, we truly were an army. And if you fucked with one of us, you fucked with all four of us. We pulled the very best out of each one of ourselves, and with each record that we made, that mountain got taller and taller to climb. After "Vulgar", we had to make "Far Beyond Driven"; it was just another level to go to, and that was [reflected in] the title. We learned a lot during "Cowboys From Hell". We took all our experiences from playing live on the road, we knew what parts in which songs moved people and we really made sure that we incorporated lots of those kinds of parts in "Vulgar". We just did our thing, man.

RollingStone.com: What lies ahead for the band's legacy? Is there any chance of performing the material live in any configuration, or putting out additional archival material?

Vinnie: Stuff has always come out every two years consistently, so two years from now you'll be looking forward to the 20th anniversary of "Far Beyond Driven", and four years from now the 20th anniversary of "The Great Southern Trendkill", and on and on. So it will just keep building and keep growing. And the music will be untouched. It stands the test of time. It's better left as it is. It really was a great time and a time period, and it's time for all of us to move on with all of the other things that we're doing. And we're all doing our own thing and happy about it. But PANTERA definitely was special.

Read the entire interview from RollingStone.com.

Professionally filmed video footage of Canadian metallers KOBRA AND THE LOTUS performing the song "Heaven's Veins" at this year's edition of the Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, can be seen below.

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS will release its new album in the U.K. on August 6. The CD's first single, "Forever One", preceded the full-length effort on May 28.

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS last year inked a deal with KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons' revived Simmons Records label via a partnership with Universal Music Canada. Simmons confirmed the signing on his Twitter profile, calling KOBRA AND THE LOTUS "real metal."

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS' debut album, "Out Of The Pit", produced by Kevin Shirley, was launched in March 2010. In the following 16 months, the band performed 168 gigs, across five countries, including seven festival stages. The second album was produced by Kevin Churko (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, OZZY OSBOURNE), along with Julius "Juice" Butty. A video for the song "Welcome To My Funeral" points to an undisputed evolution in the band; the music is stronger, meaner and heavier.

"Touring for 'Out Of The Pit' had a huge influence on us in terms of realizing which direction we wanted the new music to take," says singer Brittany Paige. "We really wanted to create new music that would portray the large amount of energy we put forward in a live performance."

KOBRA AND THE LOTUS is:

Brittany Paige - Vocals
Jasio Kulakowski - Guitar
Griffin Kissack - Drums
Peter Dimov - Bass
Timothy Vega - Guitar

Chicago's Mortal Music has announced the second in its DR (digital release) series, "Man: Instincts", from expansionist U.K. metallers MONSTERWORKS on July 10. As was done with Mortal Music's first DR release, ION VEIN's "IV v1.0", the MONSTERWORKS DR will also be available as a free download for a limited time.

"Man: Instincts" track listing:

01. The Creation Dream
02. All Suns Die
03. Freewill

In the course of its existence, MONSTERWORKS has been responsible for albums as farfetched as a metal space adventure concept album in two parts (2007's "Spacial Operations" and 2009's "Singularity"), but more recently has explored philosophical territory (2011's "The God Album") and an approach to recording that mostly relies on "old-school" technology, i.e. 24 track, 2-inch tape, like the classic albums the band grew up with. It was time to take a step back and rediscover the grit that made metal great, rather than the over-polished mechanical production that is often evident in modern releases.

Stylistically the band has always been difficult to pin down, at one moment death metal, in another stoner rock, then back to thrash; but the challenge to the listener is intentional and somehow in the end it works (in the context of heavy metal, which is the only essential influence). What is important is that the music does not switch between styles for the sake of it, nor to show off; it is just what feels right in the moment.

"Rewind", the new video from Gothenburg, Sweden's RUINED SOUL, can be seen below. The clip was filmed on March 16 with Greenworks. The track comes off the band's debut album, "My Dying Day", which was released in 2010 via Suicide Records.

Greenworks previously helmed RUINED SOUL's music video for the track "My Dying Day".

RUINED SOUL, which was started by Johnny Johansson a one-man metal project due to Johnny's focus on DISDAIN, recently evolved into a full-blown band.

Commented Johnny: "Yes, RUINED SOUL was supposed to be a solo project, but… no more! The urge of playing these songs live and spending more time on RUINED SOUL has grown since day one. I really feel that it's time to get this machine started. I can't wait to get this machine going and get out there and play for you guys! The guys that complete the band are the right guys to play with, so I'm pretty excited."

RUINED SOUL lineup (right to left in photo below):

* Johnny Johansson (DISDAIN) - Guitars
* Jonathan Thorpenberg (TRENCHES) - Guitar
* Janne Jaloma (DEALS DEATH) - Drums
* Patrik Johansson (ARISE) - Vocals

"My Dying Day" features guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY)
* Matias Kupiainen (STRATOVARIUS)
* Niklas Stålvind (WOLF)
* Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE)
* Eric Rauti (DREAMLAND)
* Marios Iliopoulos (NIGHTRAGE)
* Benny Jansson (RIDE THE SKY)
* Jonas Hörnqvist (TREASURE LAND)
* Tobias Jansson (THE LAW)
* Patrik Johansson (ARISE)
* Peter Huss (SHINING)
* Janne Stark (CONSTANCIA)

Johnny has already written 10 songs for RUINED SOUL's as-yet-untitled forthcoming sophomore album. The CD, which is expected to be recorded later in the year, will feature guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Patrik Johansson (ARISE)
* Christofer Malmström (DARKANE)
* Carl Johan Grimmark (NARNIA, ROB ROCK)
* Eric Rauti (DREAMLAND, TORCH)
* Jonas Jarlsby (AVATAR)
* Simon Andersson (ex-AVATAR)
* David Sücz (DEGRADEAD)
* Anders Nyström (DEGRADEAD)
* Jake Fredén (NOSTRADAMEUS)

Fan-filmed video footage of OBSCURA's June 12 performance at Club Quattro in Tokyo, Japan can be seen below.

Commented the band: "With the recent trip to Japan, the 'Omnivium' world tour is almost finished. It was a pleasure to meet our fans from the Land Of The Rising Sun again. Thank you for your never-ending support!"

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. Septuagint
02. Vortex Omnivium
03. Incarnated
04. Orbital Elements
05. Universe Momentum
06. Drum Solo
07. Ocean Gateways
08. Anticosmic Overload
09. Centric Flow
10. Flesh And The Power It Holds (DEATH cover)

OBSCURA recently released its first-ever demo collection, entitled "Illegimitation", independently. The collection contains ten never-before-heard tracks, including the band's earliest recordings from 2003, unreleased songs from the "Cosmogenesis" sessions in 2006, and brand new cover songs featuring the band's current lineup.

OBSCURA's latest album, "Omnivium", sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 11 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.

Video footage of Lou Reed performing the song "Mistress Dread" from his collaborative album with METALLICA, "Lulu", on June 18 at Falconer Salen in Copenhagen, Denmark can be seen below. Reed's backing band for the concert consisted of Tony "Thunder" Smith (drums), Rob Wasserman (bass), Aram Bajakian (guitars), Kevin Hearn (keyboards), Tony Diodore (guitars, violin) and Ulrich Krieger (saxophone).

In a recent interview with SPIN magazine, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was asked if he was surprised by the overwhelmingly negative reaction to "Lulu". "It was more spiteful than anyone was prepared for," Lars replied. "Especially against Lou. He is such a sweet man. But when METALLICA do impulsive riffing and Lou Reed is reciting abstract poetry about German bohemians from 150 years ago, it can be difficult to embrace."

Lars also said that he never had second thoughts when sweet Lou came in with lyrics like "I swallow your sharpest cutter / Like a colored man's dick". "I understand that to some 13-year-old in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, it can all seem a little cringe-worthy, but to someone raised in an art community in Copenhagen in the late '60s, that was expected," he said.

Ulrich told Brazil's Wikimetal last September that he felt good about recording "Lulu", which came out to poor sales and disastrous reviews last November. Ulrich said, "It's definitely very unique, and whether it's unique in a good way or unique in a not-so-good way, I have no idea yet. The people whose opinions I trust say it's very good. It feels very good; it's a lot of fun to do. But whether it's making a new sound, or paving a new way, I have no idea."

The drummer added that METALLICA's success has given them the freedom to try new things, which is essential to the band's longevity. He explained, "I think that 30 years in, we have to kind of do these things to keep us alive. If we get stuck doing the same thing over and over again, it becomes automatic . . . that's not the band I'd like METALLICA to be. I know some people would like METALLICA to make the same record every two years, but that's not what I want METALLICA to do, and I'm not interested in doing that."

"Lulu" polarized fans around the world and earned METALLICA some of the most scathing reviews of its career. The effort features the former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman's spoken-word poetry and lyrics combined with METALLICA's musical assault for a jarring experience that doesn't sound like anything METALLICA has ever attempted before. A concept album based on two early 20th century plays by German author Frank Wedekind, the CD was co-produced by Reed, METALLICA, Hal Willner — who has produced albums for Reed, Marianne Faithfull, and Laurie Anderson, among others — and Greg Fidelman. Fidelman also mixed the record.

The collaboration between METALLICA and Reed was sparked by their performance together of Reed's "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat" at the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009.

The songs were all written by Reed with extensive arrangement contributions by METALLICA.

Only two songs on the album are under five minutes in length, while two are more than 11 minutes long and the closing cut, "Junior Dad", clocks in at 19 minutes.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based extreme metallers KATAKLYSM will release a multidisc DVD entitled "The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined" on July 3 via Nuclear Blast. The set, which will feature a documentary and bonus CD materials, will depict the ups and downs of the band's long, turbulent career, as well as footage of KATAKLYSM's performance at last year's Summer Breeze festival, which took place August 18-20, 2011 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. The cover art for the release was created by artist Colin Marks (ORIGIN, EXODUS, NEVERMORE) and can be viewed below.

Commented KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono: "Director Tommy Jones has really captured the band's story and magic on this thing. I'm super-excited; this DVD will turn many heads. Our fans will be proud. Most of all, I got memories immortalized of a beautiful story. If we don't earn the respect with this, then the ones not giving it are in the wrong biz."

"The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined" track listing:

DVD I
Iron Will Part I
The Early Years 1991-2004

01. Let’s Start A Band 1991-1993
02. Signing to Nuclear Blast in 1994
03. Mexico in 1995
04. Max Leaves the Band
05. The Temple of Knowledge
06. The Reformation in 1997
07. Leaving NB in 1998
08. The Prophecy Returns to NB in 2000
09. EPIC 2001
10. In Shadows & Dust
11. Max Quits, Again

DVD II
Iron Will Part II
The Rebirth 2004-2011

01. Serenity In Fire with Martin in 2004
02. Max Comes Back
03. In The Arms... 2006
04. Prevailing in 2008
05. 2010 Heaven’s Venom
06. Ozzfest
07. Albano’s & Saverio
08. The World Tour
09. Transylvania
10. SPQR Rome
11. Touring with Kids
12. New Orleans
13. 2 Decades of Congrats
14. Credits
+ "Iron Will" video clip

DVD II and CD I
On Fire At Summer Breeze
Live at Summer Breeze Open Air 2011

01. Determined (Vows Of Vengeance)
02. Taking The World By Storm
03. The Awakener
04. To Reign Again
05. Manipulator Of Souls
06. As I Slither
07. At The Edge Of The World
08. As My World Burns
09. Drum Solo
10. Blood On The Swans
11. Astral Empire
12. Feeling The Neverworld
13. The Orb Of Uncreation
14. In Shadows And Dust
15. Crippled And Broken
16. Push The Venom

CD II
Best Of Kataklysm

01. Iron Will
02. Like Angels Weeping (The Dark)
03. Push The Venom
04. In Shadows And Dust
05. Manipulator Of Souls
06. Crippled And Broken
07. Prevail
08. As I Slither
09. The Awakener
10. The Resurrected
11. Let Them Burn
12. At The Edge Of The World
13. Taking The World By Storm
14. Blood In Heaven
15. The Ambassador Of Pain
16. Where The Enemy Sleeps
17. The Road To Devastation
18. Sorcery
19. The Orb Of Uncreation

The "At The Edge Of The World" performance clip, taken from the "The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined" DVD can be seen below.

KATAKLYSM recently recorded the single "Iron Will" in Montreal, Canada with guitarist/producer Jean-François Dagenais. It was mixed Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, BEHEMOTH, MNEMIC) in Denmark.

KATAKLYSM's "At The Edge Of The World" video was filmed on March 20, 2011 at the band's hometown show at Club Soda. This concert also marked the end of the group's "Spread the Venom" European/North American tour. The video was helmed by director Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, SOILWORK), who also worked with KATAKLYSM on "The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined".

KATAKLYSM's latest album, "Heaven's Venom", sold around 2,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 8 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.

KATAKLYSM's previous CD, "Prevail", opened with 2,250 units back in June 2008.

"Heaven's Venom" was produced by Jean-Francois Dagenais and was mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MNEMIC, DARK TRANQUILLITY).

"At The Edge Of The World" performance video:

Chilean power metal band INFERIS have released their latest EP, Lead the Chain, for free download via Digmetalworld Records. To download the full EP, the video for the title track, and a high quality poster go this location. An email address is required for the download.

The tracklist for the EP is as follows:

'Lead The Chain'
'I've Been The Wind'
'When Men Collide' (live)
'Think About it' (live)

As previously reported, Inferis have been confirmed to support RHAPSODY OF FIRE on June 26th at Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile. The band will perform their entire new EP.

ADRENALINE MOB drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-DREAM THEATER) is featured in a new interview with Stereoboard. An excerpt is availabe below:

Stereoboard: Are you comfortable with the ‘supergroup’ tag that has been attached to Adrenaline Mob or is that something you would rather avoid?

Mike Portnoy: "Sure...why not? Most of us have celebrated pasts with other bands, so I suppose when you get guys together from other bands, that is the obvious term to use."

Stereoboard: Without wishing to sound impertinent, was it quite important to you that your new project(s) were very much distinct from your past with Dream Theater?

Mike Portnoy: "Yes, I purposely looked for projects and musical outlets that were completely different stylistically from Dream Theater. That was one of the reasons I needed a break from them and a new change of scenery."

Stereoboard: Do you see Adrenaline Mob as your main concern now…or is it quite nice not to have a main concern as such anymore? I know you’re involved in other projects as well, like Flying Colours for example…

Mike Portnoy: "I have many things going at the moment and they are ALL important to me. Between June and November I will be touring with four different bands. However, I do believe Adrenaline Mob has the most potential of a sustained career with some longevity and I am willing to give it my all to get there."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon Osbourne spoke to Britain's Hello! magazine about their son Jack's revelation that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

"I keep thinking, 'What did I do wrong? What did I eat or drink when I was pregnant?'" Sharon, 59, said. "I feel like it's somehow my fault."

"If it was me, you'd think: 'Ozzy had a reputation and it caught up with him,'" Ozzy, 63, said. "But Jack is such a good guy."

Jack, 26, and his fiancée, actress Lisa Stelly, welcomed a daughter named Pearl Clementine on April 24.

"I was just angry and frustrated and kept thinking, 'Why now?'" Jack said. "I've got a family and that's what's supposed to be the most important thing."

Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another.