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

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

More fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Reviews of Saturday night's concert:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MetalSerbia.com recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow.

On the proposed collaborative project featuring MEGADETH's Mustaine and Ellefson alongside METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich:

David Ellefson: "Look, it would be fun to do it. I think Dave just threw that out there as kind of a wishlist, [as] something [that would be] fun to do. I don't know if it's ever going to be a reality. But a lot of people got excited about the thought of it. If it would ever happen, absolutely, I'd participate. I think it would be a blast."

On MEGADETH being in the headlines for things that are completely unrelated to music, usually as a result of controversial statements by Dave Mustaine:

David Ellefson: "Those are Dave's feelings and opinions and here in America with our freedom of speech and liberties that we have, every one of us can voice their own opinion. He says those things because that's how he feels about them. MEGADETH has always been a band that has been about people's personal freedoms and liberties anyway. So, I think, for us to be able to say and do whatever we want, provided that it doesn't hurt other people, there's nothing wrong with that."

Hetfield laughed off talk of a possible collaboration between members of his band and members of MEGADETH in a recent interview, calling it "crazy" talk on the part of Mustaine. An original member of METALLICA before being kicked out in early 1983, Mustaine has jammed with his ex-bandmates on several occasions over the past couple of years during "Big Four" shows and at METALLICA's 30th anniversary concerts last December.

Although Mustaine recently spoke about assembling a "supergroup" combining him and Ellefson with Hetfield and Ulrich, Hetfield told So What!, METALLICA's fan club magazine, "I see [Mustaine] healthier now. I see him as less of a bitter guy. But I do see a lot of stuff in the press with him talking about jamming with us and making an album. All this other crazy stuff. I read it and say to myself, 'Hold on. This is the Dave that we kind of wanted to forget about. You know, the big-mouth that wants to just go-go-go.'"

Hetfield added, "But there is an authenticity about him when he speaks. He doesn't think too much before he does. He just goes off the cuff. Plus, when he says stuff like that, it's well-intended."

Mustaine feuded with the members of METALLICA for more than two decades before finally patching things up over the last couple of years.

Mustaine recently made headlines when he told Canadian television and radio personality George Stroumboulopoulos that he is certain that President Obama "was born somewhere else than America."

"I have a lot of questions about [Obama], but certainly not where he was born," Mustaine said. "I know he was born somewhere else than America."

When Stroumboulopoulos pointed out that this school of thought made the musician part of the so-called "birther" movement, Mustaine countered, "I'm not calling a question to it, I just, you know, it's a point. How come he was invisible until he became whatever he was in Illinois?"

Stroumboulopoulos tried to further challenge Mustaine on his claims, causing the MEGADETH frontman to attempt to change the subject.

"I don't want to talk about my president," Mustaine said, before going on to admit that he was going to "have to do some more homework on where Obama came from."

Callie Que of the 102.9 The Buzz (WBUZ) radio station in Nashville, Tennessee conducted an interview with DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which was held May 18-20 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.

Regarding DROWNING POOL's plans for the immediate future, Pierce said, "We've been in the studio. DROWNING POOL is recording a new record. We have three weeks left. I've been in the studio all year long and I haven't gone out at all — 12-hour days, seven days a week; I'm not kidding. . . We have our first coming out show with the new [singer], we're gonna be opening up for MÖTLEY CRÜE on July 13 — it's a radio show in Wisconsin, which is great, to get started, again, right where you left off. We were fortunate… Things have been, the last few years… I mean, things are flowing again. It's been great. . . But the new record is heavier, there's more metal on it, there's a lot of double bass, a lot of guitar solos… stepping up a notch."

Pierce declined to reveal the new DROWNING POOL singer's identity, but he did offer that the vocalist's first name contains the letter "J."

DROWNING POOL parted ways with vocalist Ryan McCombs late last year, with Pierce telling the 97-1 The Eagle radio station in Dallas, Texas at the time that the singer and his former bandmates simply "grew apart." He explained, "If you're gonna write music together and tour together, you've gotta be hitting on all four cylinders — everybody's gotta be on the same page. . . So instead of going into the studio and trying to force something and just throwing out a record there, [we thought it would be] better if we part ways now while we're still on good terms."

McCombs joined the band in 2005 and provided some stability on the microphone after the group's first two albums featured two different vocalists. Original frontman Dave Williams died on tour in 2002 after singing on the band's debut, "Sinner". He was replaced by Jason "Gong" Jones, who also contributed to one record, "Desensitized", before being shown the door in 2004.

McCombs sang on two studio efforts by DROWNING POOL, 2007's "Full Circle" and 2010's self-titled fourth album.

DROWNING POOL's fifth album is tentatively due in October.

DEATH DIVISION — the heavy, technically aggressive and melodic band founded by bassist Jerry Montano (HELLYEAH, DANZIG, NOTHINGFACE), drummer Tim Yeung (MORBID ANGEL, DIVINE HERESY, HATE ETERNAL, NILE), vocalist/guitarist Sean De La Tour and lead guitarist Rick Di Marco — has finished recording the music for six new songs at Deathcult Manor (the group's headquarters) with engineer Matt Starr (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, Dizzy Reed). De la Tour is currently in the studio working on his vocals.

Commented Yeung: "We are pumped about how the songs turned out and really into the organic tones we achieved."

A teaser trailer featuring one of the six songs the band is currently working on in the studio can be seen below. Described as a "a look into DEATH DIVISION" featuring Andrew Bryniarski (who played Leatherface in Newline Cinema's remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") and Lacey Conner (singer, songwriter, "Rock Of Love" TV show contestant), the film was shot at Deathcult Manor and contains "nudity, violence and DEATH DIVISION."

Commented Montano: "We wanted to take things in a different direction as far as unveiling the band while still making it interesting and not just another video."

Also on the DEATH DIVISION front, the band has been working with Carin Cronacher of Hazmat Design (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER) on the group's official logo and artwork.

For more information, visit the DEATH DIVISION Facebook page.

Nick Sterling, who played guitar, and co-wrote many of the songs, on Sebastian Bach's latest album, "Kicking & Screaming", has released the following statement regarding his absence from Sebastian's current U.S. shows:

"Hey everyone, just to clear everything up, I will be touring again with Sebastian Bach for the upcoming Europe tour. There was a scheduling conflict that kept me from performing at the last three shows but Andy Wood [who previously played in the Knoxville, Tennessee hard rock band DOWN FROM UP] did a fantastic job filling in. He's a great player! I'm really looking forward to getting back on stage with the band!"

Shortly after joining forces with Sterling in 2009, Bach stated about the young guitarist, "After searching for 'my Randy Rhoads' for the last couple of decades, I am very excited to introduce to you a guitar player whom I feel has what it takes to take on the world of rock n' roll and beyond...

"After flipping through an issue of Guitar World magazine (good place to find guitar players, it turns out!), I saw an ad for an amplifier that featured Nick Sterling. After I found Nick's web sites, I could not believe how talented this guy was... He sings, plays all guitars and basses, and all the drums on his recordings! Now that's something I know very few people are capable of. His songs rock, he plays great... I was very interested in making some music with this dude. I contacted him through his MySpace page, and soon we were emailing song ideas back and forth.

"Nick is younger than I am. The reason I dig his tunes is that, to me, rock 'n' roll is all about the spirit of the 'youth gone wild,' and honestly, some musicians, as they get older, tend to 'write older.' I am simply far too in love with rock n' roll, still, to change my 'musical direction' right now. I just want to keep making albums that have tons of energy, are melodic, cool, groovin' and fit into the catalog of what I have put out so far. Nick's songs and vibe fit perfectly alongside such tracks as 'Youth Gone Wild', '18 & Life', etc."

Bassist Jason Christopher — who filled in for Shawn Economaki during STONE SOUR's spring 2011 tour and who previously played with SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor in the JUNK BEER KIDNAP BAND — recently joined Bach's solo group.

Bach completed a short run of North American dates in February and took part in the Rock 'N' Roll Allstars tour, which hit the road in South America in late April.

Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED have entered the studio with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris to begin recording their new album for a late 2012 release.

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

HATEBREED recently completed a seven-date tour of South America and Mexico with LAMB OF GOD and LACUNA COIL (on select shows).

The self-titled album from HATEBREED sold 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 37 on The Billboard 200 chart.

HATEBREED's previous collection of new material, "Supremacy", opened with around 27,000 copies back in September 2006 to land at No. 31. This number was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Rise Of Brutality", which shifted more than 32,000 copies back in November 2003 to debut at No. 30.

HATEBREED's covers album, entitled "For The Lions", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in May 2009 to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Hatebreed" was released in North America on September 29, 2009 via E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records). The effort was made available on CD, digital download, vinyl and special edition with a bonus 65-minute DVD. "Hatebreed" was issued on Roadrunner in all other territories.

SEVENDUST's latest CD, "Cold Day Memory", sold around 27,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous effort, "Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow", opened with 25,000 units back in April 2008 to land at position No. 19.

"Cold Day Memory" was released on April 20, 2010 on the band's own 7Bros. Records, through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group. The CD — produced by Grammy Award winner Johnny K (DISTURBED, STAIND, 3 DOORS DOWN, PLAIN WHITE T'S) — was the group's first new album with its original lineup back together with Lowery's return after his departure in 2003.

CALL ME NO ONE — the new project featuring Lowery and SEVENDUST drummer Morgan Rose — will release its debut album, "Last Parade", on June 5. The CD's first single, "Biggest Fan", was made available to purchase on iTunes on April 24.

SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly and bassist Vince Hornsby also recently launched a new project, joining forces with CREED/ALTER BRIDGE drummer Scott Phillips in a new outfit called PROJECTED.

PROJECTED has already entered the studio to begin recording its debut disc, to be made available later in the year.

"Now And Forever", the third album from Swedish female-fronted heavy rockers SISTER SIN, which was originally due on May 22 via Victory Records, has been pushed back to later in the year. The band states, "We all decided awhile back that the album needs a remix and the process leading up to this turned out waaay more time-conusming than expected. Stay tuned for more info and a new street date very soon! Thank you all for understanding we just want to deliever the best-sounding, badass SISTER SIN album in our career! And we will!!"

"Now And Forever" was recorded at Standstraight Studios in Stockholm with producer Chris Snyder.

Various pre-order options for "Now And Forever" can be found at VictoryRecords.com.

SISTER SIN last fall released a video for its cover version of the MOTÖRHEAD classic "Rock 'N' Roll". The track, which was made available on all digital platforms worldwide via Victory Records in September, features guest vocals from the German metal queen Doro Pesch. It was produced by Snyder at Standstraight and was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

SISTER SIN's second album, "True Sound Of The Underground", landed at position No. 97 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.

SISTER SIN in November 2010 announced the addition of bassist Andreas Strandh to the group's ranks.

"True Sound Of The Underground" was released in North America on June 22, 2010 via Victory Records and was issued in Europe on July 23, 2010 through Metal Heaven Records. It was produced by Henrik Edenhed (DEAD BY APRIL, ROBYN, LAMBRETTA, TEDDYBEARS, CHRISTIAN WALTZ, THE SOUNDS) in Stockholm at Studio 301 and Cosmos Studios.

For more information, visit www.sistersin.com.

METALLICA's August 24 concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada will be filmed in 3D for the band's upcoming 3D feature-film project.

Commented METALLICA: "We couldn't think of a better place than Vancouver to end our three-week new stage run with cameras capturing it all, so bring your nuttiest, craziest Metalli-self to the show, be a part of movie history, and show the rest of the world how much Vancouver rocks.

The group added, "For those of you wondering what lies ahead, the emphasis here is on 'end of our three-week new stage run' as these are indeed the last dates that we are announcing for summer of 2012."

METALLICA earlier in the year tapped award-winning director Nimród Antal to helm the band's upcoming 3D feature-film project. Charlotte Huggins ("Journey To The Center Of The Earth", "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") will produce.

The film will be a marriage of narrative and concert and will star the "five" members of METALLICA — James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, and the fans. It will begin shooting this August and will be released in the summer of 2013.

"I've been a fan of Nimród's since his first Hungarian film, 'Kontroll', showed up at Cannes in 2004 and blew everybody away," said METALLICA's Lars Ulrich. "I've watched with excitement his career in Hollywood blossom over the last few years. Within five minutes of meeting him I was addicted to his enthusiasm, his take on the creative process and his 'thinking outside of the box' personality. Let's get on with it!!!"

"METALLICA has always been a huge part of my life, and it's an incredible opportunity when we get to work with our heroes," said Antal. "We are going to harness the powerful and almighty energy of METALLICA's live shows, inject a narrative into it, and shoot it in 3D to elevate the entire experience."

Antal is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian-language film "Kontroll" (2003) that won several awards, including the Award of Youth at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and the Gold Hugo prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. He also received a European Film Award nomination for Best Director. His credits include "Vacancy", starring Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, and "Armored", starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne. In 2010 he was hired by Robert Rodriguez to direct "Predators", featuring Adrien Brody.

When METALLICA recently confirmed reports that it was working on a 3D movie, the band was vague about what exactly the project would entail or when it come out. The Pulse Of Radio asked drummer Lars Ulrich for more info and he said that film production is new territory for the group which they're taking very slowly. "It's been an idea that's been kind of circling in everybody's heads for about the last two years," he said. "Getting your own 3D movie off the ground is easier said than done, but we're doing our best and we have a window for that later in the year that we're hoping to still make happen. We just want to make sure that we don't throw ourselves out into something that gets so completely overwhelming that the whole thing just blows up in our face."

Entertainment industry web site Deadline first broke the news in October that METALLICA was looking to self-finance its own 3D feature film, and had Huggins to develop the project for them.

Ulrich did hint to Rolling Stone a few months back what the film might be like, saying, "Imagine if you took [LED ZEPPELIN's concert film] 'The Song Remains The Same', which is 75 percent concert, 25 percent other stuff, and flipped it around. And all the non-concert footage, instead of being about the band members, is a story that unfolds, set against the backdrop of the concert."

METALLICA's next major project is its Orion Music + More festival, a band-curated two-day event which will take place in late June in Atlantic City and feature over 20 bands as well as lifestyle attractions and other entertainment.

A six-minute YouTube clip containing audio samples of all the tracks that will appear on "Prisoners", the long-awaited third studio album from Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based melodic death metallers THE AGONIST, can be found below. Due on June 4 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Century Media Records, the CD was produced by Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, SUICIDE SILENCE) and it "picks right up where 2009's 'Lullabies For The Dormant Mind' left off, with soaring melodies over complex metal passages that fans of thinking-man's metal can appreciate," according to a press release.

In regards to the album artwork, THE AGONIST frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz states: "We wanted to really include a chaotic visual to reflect the chaotic sound of the band, but we also wanted to show that the lyrics on this album are a lot more introverted…The human face was left non-descript on purpose — it doesn't belong to any particular person, but we could call him the Lonely Solipsist."

"Prisoners" track listing:

01. You're Coming With Me
02. The Escape
03. Predator & Prayer
04. Anxious Darwinians
05. Panophobia
06. Ideomotor
07. Lonely Solipsist
08. Dead Ocean
09. The Mass Of The Earth
10. Everybody Wants You (Dead)
11. Revenge Of The Dadaists

THE AGONIST's new song "Ideomotor" can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of GuitarWorld.com ).

In a recent interview with MetalConcerts.net, Alissa White-Gluz stated about the musical direction of the follow-up to 2009's "Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", "I wouldn't say it's heavier or more melodic. I think it sounds more mature. It has the same sort of schizophrenic side that 'Lullabies' has, but it also has some other I guess what you would call classic influences. Like, there's some PANTERA influence, there's some RADIOHEAD influence. I mean, there's a lot of influences that we didn't really have before."

Due to popular demand, Austin, Texas metal luminaries THE SWORD have produced a 1,000-piece, limited-edition vinyl single of "Hammer Of Heaven", an early track dating back to 2003 that was not included on the band's "Age Of Winters" album. The seven-inch picture disc will also feature a version of "Ebethron" recorded live at Austin's legendary Stubb's BBQ. The vinyl picture disc will be released on June 22 and is available now for pre order at this location. Those pre-ordering will receive the single along with a 7 x 7 signed and numbered glossy insert and an exclusive T-shirt. A small quantity of the single will also be available at the band's June dates leading to their appearance at the Orion Music + More festival.

After releasing three critically acclaimed albums on Kemado Records, the Austin, Texas-based quartet featuring guitarist/vocalist J.D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie, and new drummer Santiago "Jimmy" Vela III will commence recording its fourth album on June 24 with a projected release date of fall 2012. The new CD will be supported by extensive global touring that will stretch well into 2013.

THE SWORD's third album, "Warp Riders", sold around 8,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 47 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Warp Riders" marked the first release where the group has worked with an outside producer. Helmed by Matt Bayles (PEARL JAM, MASTODON, ISIS), the album was anchored by an epic science-fiction narrative. The storyline was a psychedelic space opera that explored temporal themes of death and rebirth. "Warp Riders" also found THE SWORD expanding its range from pure metal to include bone-crunching hard rock at large.

Fan-filmed video footage of ADRENALINE MOB — the band featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen, guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP) and DISTURBED bassist John Moyer — performing the song "Undaunted" on May 21 at the House Of Blues in Orlando, Florida can be seen below.

"Undaunted" comes off ADRENALINE MOB's debut album, "Omertá", which sold around 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 70 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in Europe on March 19 in Europe via Century Media Records and in the U.S. on March 13 through the newly formed Elm City Music in conjunction with EMI Label Services.

The 11-song effort — which was produced by ADRENALINE MOB and mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked on ANTHRAX's "Worship Music" and STEEL PANTHER's "Balls Out" — includes a blistering reinterpretation of DURAN DURAN's classic "Come Undone" featuring guest vocals by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM.

ADRENALINE MOB and KILL DEVIL HILL have joined forces for a short co-headlining tour in May. The trek kicked off on May 10 in Cleveland and will make stops in Dallas, Chicago and Orlando before wrapping up in Charlotte on May 22. The shows feature KILL DEVIL HILL followed by ADRENALINE MOB and then end in all-out jam between the two groups.

ADRENALINE MOB will embark on a European tour in June.

DEMONIC RESURRECTION frontman Demonstealer has launched a new old school heavy metal supergroup HELLWIND. The band features Akshay Deodhar (SPOOK) on vocals, Rajarshi Bhattacharyya (ex-WORKSHOP) and Kiron Kumar (ex-COLOSSUS) on guitars, Aditya Kadam (Workshop, FUNK THE SYSTEM) with Demonstealer taking over the drummers throne.

As mentioned in an article by Rolling Stone India magazine, the band was initially an effort put in by Riju Dasgupta and Akshay Deodhar, planning to make the band a rock/power metal project, but on jamming with the entire band, they realised that the music wasn’t much of power metal and decided to change the name in the musical direction the band was heading. Riju left the band prior to the release due to work commitments and was replaced by Aditya Kadam from Funk the System/Workshop.

As Makhija told NH7.in: “The band will be playing originals but have decided that we will also do a lot of fun pop rock covers in our own style. There is a gig in the works right now, we’ll let you know as soon as it is confirmed.”

HOUSE OF LORDS singer James Christian is working on his first solo album since 2004's "Meet The Man". According to a posting on his official web site, the as-yet-untitled CD will arrive late summer or early fall and "will be worth the wait and a worthy successor to James's two previous releases."

HOUSE OF LORDS' latest album, "Big Money", came out in September via Frontiers Records.

Christian last year underwent an operation for prostate cancer. He told Metal-Rules.com in a March 2012 interview, "So far it's stabilized. I had a surgery to try to remove most of the problem. That was cancer; no way to go around it. So right now I'm okay, but, you know, you just never know, so I'm just thankful every day that I can go out there and perform." He added, "I feel good. I lost a lot of weight. I would have preferred to lose it a different way, but the way that I had to lose it was the fact that it was, you know, recovery. So now I try to keep it down and try to stay healthy."

A 30-second audio snippet of a rough-mix version of the new DOKKEN song "Burning Empire" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track will appear on DOKKEN's new album, "Broken Bones", which is scheduled for release in the fall via Frontiers Records. The drums for the CD were laid down at MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's The Atrium studio in Calabasas, California.

DOKKEN frontman Don Dokken stated in a recent interview about the new album title, "[It] is a metaphor that we all have broken bones, be it from an accident, failed relationship, or a broken heart. Everybody gets wounded as we go through life, but, as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Dokken previously described the band's new material as "very uptempo and heavy." He added, "We know our fans like the classic DOKKEN sound, and this is where our new music is headed. It's been a band of brothers doing what we love: 'music.'"

Regarding the new songs' lyrical approach, Dokken said, "I write what comes from the heart, I don't believe in writing music trying to repeat what you've already done. I understand what the fans want but as an artist I see no point in painting the same picture over and over."

The cooperation between Frontiers and DOKKEN started with the European release of the group's "Lightning Strikes Again" CD in 2007. The album marked a return to DOKKEN's signature style with melodic hooklines and blazing guitar riffs that epitomized the band's sound on such records as "Tooth And Nail", "Under Lock And Key", "Back For The Attack" and "Dysfunctional".

DOKKEN's current lineup consists of Don Dokken on lead vocals, Jon Levin on guitar, Sean McNabb on bass and Mick Brown on drums.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based extreme metallers KATAKLYSM have unveiled the complete track listing for their multidisc DVD entitled "The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined". The DVD will be released on July 3 via Nuclear Blast and will feature a documentary and bonus CD materials. The set 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

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.

A video for the song "Iron Will" can be seen below.

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).

"Band Of Brothers", the new video from the metal juggernaut known as HELLYEAH — featuring Vinnie Paul Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN), Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE), Tom Maxwell (NOTHINGFACE) and Bob "Zilla" Kakaha (DAMAGEPLAN) — can be seen below. The clip was filmed on March 26 at Loyal Studios in Burbank, California with director David Brodsky of MyGoodEye, who has previously worked with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GOATWHORE, MUNICIPAL WASTE and SUFFOCATION, among many others.

"Band Of Brothers" is the title track of HELLYEAH's third album, which will be released on July 17 via the band's new label home, Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded in Dallas, Texas at Vinnie Paul's home studio, VP's Upstairs Studio, and was produced by the band and Jeremy Parker (GODSMACK, EVANESCENCE), who also served as engineer.

"Band Of Brothers" track listing:

01. War In Me
02. Band Of Brothers
03. Rage/Burn
04. Drink Drank Drunk
05. Bigger God
06. Between You And Nowhere
07. Call It
08. Why Does It Always
09. WM Free
10. Dig Myself A Hole
11. What It Takes To Be Me

"Band Of Brothers" (song) lyrics:

We walk the walk, like we're 10 feet tall,
Hide in the tree tops of the timber, deliver death to all
We talk the talk, our voice is thunder,
My mission here is truly clear, I am the butcher
We are the shadow storm, rolling defenders,
Filled with piss and pride, and a courage unprecedented
It's time to man up, when you've got a man down
It's time to man up, never leave a man down

I've got your back and you've got mine,
As long as we stand together,
Everything's gonna be alright
I'll keep you high when you get low,
Just a band of brothers raising hell,
Like a murder of crows

We've got the skills, we've got the know how,
We bring a fury that makes you bow down,
My blood is poison, pumping through my veins,
Stalking like a madman killer, we bring the pain
I'd die for all of you, it's my destiny,
My killer instinct, iron man with a war face scream
It's time to man up, when you've got a man down
It's time to man up, never leave a man down

I've got your back and you've got mine,
As long as we stand together,
Everything's gonna be alright
I'll keep you high when you get low,
Just a band of brothers raising hell,
Like a murder of crows

We've got the look, and it's open season,
We've got that 1000 yard stare, and all we need is a reason
We're locked and loaded, full metal jacket
We're in the shit and we love it, let's motherfucking do this [End of lyrics]

HELLYEAH last month released the "War In Me" digital single via iTunes.

Having produced track after track of heavy-hitting, in-your-face, feel-good rock and roll on their previous two albums (2010's "Stampede" and 2007's self-titled debut), HELLYEAH takes a slightly different musical direction on "Band Of Brothers". Drawing on their former bands' collective metal roots for inspiration, the influences and style of MUDVAYNE, PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN and NOTHINGFACE are immediately recognizable in tracks such as "Band Of Brothers", "War In Me" and "Rage Burn", while the party anthem "Drink, Drank, Drunk" retains the essence of earlier HELLYEAH.

Commented HELLYEAH singer Chad Gray, "I'm really excited about what we've done on this new album. I've always separated MUDVAYNE and HELLYEAH as much as I could, even though it was my voice. Melodies, lyrics and just the overall style of writing were different. With 'Band Of Brothers', I just quit being afraid of who I am in relation to this band. I think we've all really gotten back to the original roots of what we've done individually and brought it together on this album. As an artist, as long as you're painting with your own brush, no one can compare or challenge you. I just painted with a bigger, heavier brush than I had with HELLYEAH in the past. I think this is what fans have always expected to hear from us, and now were giving it to them."

In a recent interview with Loudwire, Vinnie stated about "Band Of Brothers", "On our first two records, we were a new band. We really wanted to branch out and expand and experiment with all different styles. We all come from traditional metal bands and backgrounds, so it was a great breath of fresh air to play in a band that was rock 'n' roll, blues and Southern rock. We got that out of our system and got really focused on going back to our metal roots. It's heavy, focused, groove-oriented and I'm excited about it."

"Valhalla Rising", a brand new song from Swedish heavy rockers GRAND MAGUS, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. Due in Europe on May 25 via Nuclear Blast Records, the CD's cover artwork was created by Arik Roper (CATHEDRAL, HIGH ON FIRE, SLEEP), who also handled the art on GRAND MAGUS' "Iron Will" LP.

Commented GRAND MAGUS frontman Janne "J.B." Christoffersson: "Arik Roper is a super-talented artist and we've had the pleasure of working with him before when he did the cover art for our album 'Iron Will'. This time around with the overall feel and lyrical themes of our new album 'The Hunt', Arik was the perfect choice once again. We basicallly just gave him the title and he created one of the most haunting and suggestive images ever seen. He totally nailed what the album is all about. To say we are pleased is a gigantic understatement! This piece of art will stand the test of time and become classic."

"The Hunt" track listing:

01. Starlight Slaughter
02. Sword Of The Ocean
03. Valhalla Rising
04. Storm King
05. Silver Moon
06. The Hunt
07. Son Of The Last Breath
08. Iron Hand
09. Draksådd
10. Silver Moon (demo version, bonus track)
11. Storm King (demo version, bonus track)
12. Sword Of The Ocean (demo version, bonus track)

Due to family obligations and work commitments, drummer Sebastian "Seb" Sippola has left GRAND MAGUS. The new man behind the kit is Ludwig "Ludde" Witt (SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, FIREBIRD, SHINING).

GRAND MAGUS's last album, "Hammer Of The North", was released digitally in North America in January 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at 301 studios outside of Stockholm and features artwork by Necrolord.

Fan-filmed video footage of DOWN's performance at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which was held May 18-20 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, can be seen below.

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

The first six-song EP, which heralds the sound of DOWN going back to its roots, with influences from BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and WITCHFINDER GENERAL, will be released "late summer," according to guitarist Kirk Windstein. "[It's] kind of a throwback to what we were doing at the very beginning, on the 'Nola' record [DOWN's 1995 debut]," he said. "I think the fans are going to love it."

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

The track listing for the effort is as follows (in no particular order):

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

Stuttgart, Germany-based sleaze metal band HELLDORADOS will release its self-titled debut album on July 13 via Massacre Records/Soulfood. The CD was recorded between February and April at the legendary Horus Sound Studios (SCORPIONS, HELLOWEEN, KREATOR, VICTORY, GUANO APES) in Hannover, Germany with producer Mirko Hofmann, who previously worked with the group on a four-song promotional EP in 2011. ELOY frontman and founder of the Horus Sound Studios, Frank Bornemann, acted as "a godfather." The cover artwork was created by the Unesco prize winner Timo Wuerz.

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

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

"Helldorados" track listing:

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

A trailer for the album can be seen below.

"Helldorados" trailer:

Members of the hard rock/metal community have paid tributes to BEE GEES legend ROBIN GIBB, the British-born singer and songwriter who died yesterday (May 20th) at 62.

According to CBC News, Gibb had been battling colon and liver cancer since last year and fell into a coma for a week in mid-April. He missed the London premiere last month of his first classical work, The Titanic Requiem, which he wrote with his son, Robin-John Gibb. At that time, he was reported to be suffering from pneumonia.

Gibb spent part of his career as a solo artist, but is best known as a singer and songwriter for the Bee Gees, the band he formed with his brothers Maurice and Barry.

Despite financial success, Robin Gibb and his brothers endured repeated tragedies. Maurice died suddenly of intestinal and cardiac problems in 2003. Their younger brother Andy Gibb, who also enjoyed considerable chart success as a solo artist, had died in 1988 just after turning 30. He suffered from an inflamed heart muscle attributed to a severe viral infection.

Robin Gibb himself took care of his health and, at the time of his death, was a vegan who did not drink alcohol.

Mike Portnoy (ADRENALIN MOB, ex-DREAM THEATER): "Sad to hear about Robin Gibb...was a fan of '60's Bee Gees (check out Lemons Never Forget on Cover 2 Cover)...he's now with Maurice and Andy again."

GLENN HUGHES: "So sad to hear that a lovley man, Robin Gibb has left us: so very sad…."

Kip Winger (WINGER): "Reb Beach played on a Bee Gees record. He always tells the story of how, to show him a tune, they would circle him in the studio and sing 3 part harmony at point blank range, perfectly.. a gift from the heavens! Always one of my favorite acts..hit after hit."

THE DOORS: "We send our condolences to the family and fans of Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who passed away today. Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini described Gibb as “talented beyond even his own understanding,” and with his brothers Maurice and Barry, Robin was part of one of the most successful songwriting teams in British popular music. Their hits as the Bee Gees included 'Stayin’ Alive', 'Massachusetts', 'I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You', and 'How Deep Is Your Love'. He also wrote songs for Dolly Parton, Destiny’s Child, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand and more. Robin, you will be missed. From The Doors and everyone at JAM, Inc."

British power metal mercenaries TANK — featuring Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar alongside ex-RAINBOW/YNGWIE MALMSTEEN frontman Doogie White and ex-BRUCE DICKINSON bassist Chris Dale and drummer Steve Hopgood — will release their new album, "War Nation", on June 5 via MVD (one day earlier in Europe through Metal Mind Productions). The follow-up to 2010's "War Machine" was helmed by new hotshot producer Phil Kinman at his west London studios.

Check out audio samples at TankOfficial.com.

Commented Evans: "As with our 'War Machine' album, 'War Nation' will include a variety of different influences and styles.

"With a wealth of musical ability to draw from, we don't like to limit ourselves.

"Individually we've worked with names such as Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Paul Di'Anno and Yngwie Malmsteen.

"So many bands release albums now where once you've listened to the first two songs you've heard the whole album. Not with TANK. Each song that makes it onto our album has to deserve it. Our standards are high."

Added White: "With songs like 'Justice For All' and 'Grace Of God', we are upgrading the TANK sound while retaining all the elements that made 'War Machine' so successful. There are killer riffs and haunting melodies and lyrics that you can take from, what you want, or indeed what you need."

"War Nation" track listing:

01. War Nation
02. Song For The Dead
03. Hammer And Nails
04. Don't Dream In The Dark
05. Grace Of God
06. Dreamer
07. Justice For All
08. Wings Of Heaven
09. State Of The Union
10. Hard Road

Said Evans: "The [cover] painting was done by infamous London graffiti artist Jay Bryce exclusively for TANK. We've always admired his work and it's an honor to be the first band to feature his artwork on an album cover."

TANK's March 9 concert at Stodola in Warsaw, Poland was professionally recorded and filmed for the band's fist official live DVD, to be released later in the year via Metal Mind Productions. Apart from the material recorded in Warsaw, the DVD will also contain footage of TANK's appearance at Metal Hammer Festival (August 10, 2011 in Katowice, Poland), a warm-up gig in Chorzów (March 8, 2012), along with interviews with bandmembers and other bonus material.

TANK's most recent album, "War Machine", was released on October 25, 2010 in Europe via Metal Mind Productions (December 7, 2010 in the U.S. through MVD). The production was handled by Pedro Ferreira (THE DARKNESS, THERAPY?, MEAT LOAF) and the bulk of the recording was done at Pedrock Studios in London. Drums were laid down by Tony Newton at Steve Harris' (IRON MAIDEN) Barnyard Studios.

Veteran San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL will make their 1987 debut album, "The Ultra-Violence", available as a 25th-anniversary reissue after more than 10 years of being out of print. The CD will be released on June 6 at 6:00 a.m. PST exclusively at the official DEATH ANGEL webstore. Guitarist Rob Cavestany says, "Digitally remastered but not altered, it sounds leagues better than the original pressing yet retains every ounce of vibe, character and feel that we put into our first record.

"To coincide with this release we will be performing the full album in its entirety this summer on tour in Europe. Perhaps even select dates in other parts of the world… We shall see where this takes us.

"Hope you enjoy this blast from the past as we go 'old school' and bring Bay Area thrash in its most primal form from 1987 to 2012. Join us as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of 'The Ultra-Violence'!"

"The Ultra-Violence" track listing:

01. Thrashers (Cavestany, Dennis Pepa) (7:09)
02. Evil Priest (Cavestany, Osegueda) (4:53)
03. Voracious Souls (Cavestany, Osegueda) (5:39)
04. Kill As One (Cavestany) (4:57)
05. The Ultra-Violence (instrumental) (Cavestany, Dennis Pepa) (10:32)
06. Mistress Of Pain (Cavestany) (4:03)
07. Final Death (Cavestany) (6:02)
08. I.P.F.S. (Cavestany) (1:54)

DEATH ANGEL recently joined forces with SEPULTURA, KRISIUN and HAVOK for a North American tour.

DEATH ANGEL will release a DVD entitled "A Thrashumentary" later this year. According to a press release, "A Thrashumentary" is a combination live video and documentary, all wrapped up in one thrashing DVD. The footage was directed by Tommy Jones (SOILWORK, KATAKLYSM) and mixed by Chris Clancy of The Studio. The film gives the viewer an in-depth look into one of the longest-running thrash acts out of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for turning out historic thrash bands such as METALLICA, TESTAMENT and EXODUS.

"Relentless Retribution", the latest album from DEATH ANGEL, sold 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 10 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. The band's previous album, "Killing Season", opened with around 2,300 units back in March 2008. This number was in line with the performance of its predecessor, "The Art of Dying", which registered a first-week sales tally of around 2,100 back in May 2004.

JIMMIE VAN ZANT – cousin to LYNYRD SKYNYRD’s Johnny Van Zant and Ronnie Van Zant – has announced that his new album, Feels Like Freedom, will be released on July 3rd via MRI/RED.

The album was recorded at Sound Kitchen Studios in Nashville, TN.

Van Zant commented: “I personally picked these eleven songs based on the lyrical content and the emotional melodies tied to them. Each song tells a story with true meaning and either takes you on a journey to some place, relives fond memories, lessons learned from someone or our own experiences. I hope you enjoy this collection of songs as much as I did recording them.”

The music video for the title track can be seen below.

Van Zant commented on the video: "This song is about ones that find their mate, but were bound by others point of view in relationships. They break away and follow their hearts and live in the moment."

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

Commented Iommi: "I was extremely nervous beforehand about playing a long set, not knowing whether I'd be able to last. It turned out to be no problem whatsoever because Ozzy, Geezer and Tommy were nailing everything; no chance to feel tired! I'm really pleased with how it turned out, fantastic crowd and I want to say thank you to all of them for giving me such an amazing reception. On our way again at last! Finally, a special thanks to Tommy; we invited him to play and he was brilliant."

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

Reviews of Saturday night's concert can be found by following the links below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swedish death metal masters DIABOLICAL are preparing to enter Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, UNANIMATED, DESTRÖYER 666) in Alvik, Sweden to begin recording their as-yet-untitled fifth album. The CD will once again be produced by the band's vocalist/guitarist Sverker Widgren.

Commented guitarist Carl Stjärnlöv: "We have more than enough material written and pre-produced already, and we are confident that this album will be a milestone for DIABOLICAL as a band and for metal as a genre."

The first in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the studio 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.