ATTIKA 7 (formerly ATTIKA) — the Los Angeles-based heavy metal/hard rock band featuring Tony Campos (SOULFLY, POSSESSED, STATIC-X, ASESINO, MINISTRY) on bass; Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD) on vocals; and songwriter and famed motorcycle builder Rusty Coones on guitar — will release its debut album, "Blood Of My Enemies", on July 31 via THC: Music/Rocket Science Ventures. The CD was recorded with producer Mudrock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, GODSMACK).

Commented Seinfeld: "As I embarked on my journey of musical and personal reinvention, the first step was to put together a band of incredible players, with diverse styles and a unified vision to write, record and perform timeless heavy metal, backed by an authentic outlaw lifestyle.

"After 10 albums and probably around 4000 concerts with BIOHAZARD in over 90 countries, all I can say is that the only thing constant in life is change, and without it, things can become stagnant and repetitious. The creative situation for me playing with Rusty and Tony in ATTIKA fosters my genuine creativity to flow, and allowed us to build something heavy, authentic, new and exciting from the ground up; more than music, but real camaraderie."

The ATTIKA7 sound "boasts very heavy, down-tuned and melodic harmonies, all the while boasting brutal hooks and grooves," according to a press release. "The band draws from several musical influences, including their own additional projects, and has been compared to the likes of BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, GODSMACK, PANTERA, and WHITE ZOMBIE. The timeless no-frills songwriting of ATTIKA 7 is set apart from today's homogenized, derivative copycat bands by so many things, but above all: authenticity."

The majority of the ATTIKA7 album was written by lifetime biker and ATTIKA 7 lead guitarist Rusty Coones while serving a seven-year federal prison sentence for a false conviction. Rather than rat on his friends, Rusty used the tension to teach himself how to play guitar in solitary confinement. The passion and street credibility in his lyrics and riffs speak to the underdogs of the world who will not break, will not bend, but stand against forever.

When Rusty called best friend and riding buddy Evan Seinfeld to check in on whether he knew of a singer who could join his band, Evan immediately jumped in without hesitation. Since then, Rusty and Evan have been writing, recording, living and breathing ATTIKA 7 and haven't looked back.

"Repossession", the new video from the Virginia crossover thrash metal band MUNICIPAL WASTE, can be seen below. The clip was directed by David Brodsky of MyGoodEye, who has previously worked with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GOATWHORE, HELLYEAH and SUFFOCATION, among many others.

Commented MUNICIPAL WASTE vocalist Tony Foresta: "We've been wanting to play in a junkyard for a really long time and felt the video for 'Repossession' was the perfect oportunity. This video is kind of sad for us, though, because we we say goodbye to our old tour van Pablo in it. We thought to have it imortalized in our video would be a cool way to see it go. RIP, Pablo!"

"Repossession" comes off MUNICIPAL WASTE's fifth album, "The Fatal Feast", which sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at 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. The band's previous effort, "Massive Aggressive", opened with around 2,100 copies back in September 2009 to debut at No. 10 on the Heatseekers chart.

"The Fatal Feast" was released on April 10 in North America and April 13 in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover artwork for the CD was created by Justin Osbourn of Slasher Design and can be seen below.

"The Fatal Feast" track listing:

01. Waste In Space
02. Repossession
03. New Dead Masters
04. Unholy Abductor
05. Idiot Check
06. Covered In Sick/The Barfer
07. You're Cut Off
08. Authority Complex
09. Standards And Practices
10. Crushing Chest Wound
11. The Monster With 21 Faces
12. Jesus Freaks
13. The Fatal Feast
14. 12 Step Program
15. Death Tax
16. Residential Disaster

Both the digipack and vinyl editions include the bonus track "Eviction Party".

"The Fatal Feast" features guest appearances by John Connelly (guitarist and vocalist for NUCLEAR ASSAULT), Steve Moore (who plays bass and synthesizers for ZOMBI), and vocalist Tim Barry (ex-AVAIL).

BEHEMOTH's return to touring in North America has been nothing short of triumphant. Shows on the Decibel Magazine Tour with WATAIN, THE DEVIL'S BLOOD and IN SOLITUDE have been jam-packed with fans eager to see BEHEMOTH take the stage. The mutual energy between the bands on the stage and the crowds throughout North America is immediately evident.

Commented BEHEMOTH frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski: "I'm sitting in The Old Absynthe House in New Orleans as I'm writing these words. It's said that Crowley used to spend time here, getting wasted and gaining inspiration. A good place to hang out, my friends.

"BEHEMOTH is having a day off and we have only 10 shows left on the tour.

"This is the fastest-running trek I've ever done in my life!

"There are not enough words to describe how comfortable and happy we are with the fact that we are touring in such noble company and shows are being so massively attended. Every night when I'm off stage, I have the feeling this was the highlight of the tour. People are fuckin' raging and we are feeding on that energy. Thank you."

Nergal continued, elaborating on the inspiration behind the tour, "When I was putting this bill together with my manager months ago, I wanted to recreate the feeling of the early '90s when the 'Fuck Christ' tour hit Europe (BLASPHEMY, ROTTING CHRIST and IMMORTAL). It's fifteen years later, but we are still trying to make an impact, do exciting things, think outside of the box and eventually fuck up the system with attitude that's far from compromise and political correctness. We are on the right path. Join us or step away…"

Kevin and Ian of the "Metal Shop" radio show, which airs airs every Saturday night from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM, conducted an interview with Nergal prior to BEHEMOTH's's April 20 concert at El Corazon in Seattle, Washington. You can listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Interview (audio):

According to Entertainment Tonight, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry has composed two instrumental tracks for this Wednesday's episode ("Dune And Gloom") of the CBS-TV show "CSI".

Commented Perry, "It was really exciting that 'CSI' gave me this opportunity to contribute to the show. The first piece is pure adrenaline rock 'n' roll. The second gave me a chance to work for my DJ son Roman, who contributed some of his electronic dance music."

A sample of Perry's work can be heard in the video below.

"CSI" airs Wednesdays at 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

On April 27, QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate and his solo band played an acoustic version of his song "Hopeless" at the studios of the Las Vegas, Nevada radio station KOMP 92.3. You can now watch video footage of performance below.

Tate entered the studio on February 29 to begin recording his second solo album.

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

Geoff played a handful of acoustic solo dates, billed as GEOFF TATE AND FRIENDS, beginning on January 26 at Anthology in San Diego, California. According to Tate, he performed "acoustic renditions of songs from my solo album as well as some of my favorite QUEENSRŸCHE songs."

In a recent interview with AnthologySD.com, Tate was asked if he is looking into any future solo projects. "I am!" he replied. "I'm actually working on one right now that I hope to have wrapped up pretty soon. This show that I'm doing [on the solo tour] is an acoustic show with some friends of mine who are fantastic acoustic players. We're doing kind of a blend of my last solo album, some QUEENSRŸCHE songs, and we'll toss in some new ones that haven't been released yet. It'll just be a really fun night. Very homey, intimate, we'll probably take requests, things like that."

He added, "For the last couple of years, I've been doing more stuff outside of QUEENSRŸCHE in order to just stretch out. But I'll tell you, even though I've sang shows in front of hundreds of thousands of people and also intimate shows of a few hundred, but whenever I go out to an event or something and someone asks me to sing a song with them, I'm petrified! (Laughs) I don't know much material outside of my own material that I've written, and so if someone asks me to sing 'Danny Boy', I couldn't sing it! Not even if someone offered me a million dollars could I sing that song. So I'm trying to be a bit more versatile and learn more stuff."

French progressive metallers GOJIRA played the title track of their forthcoming fifth album, "L'Enfant Sauvage", last night (Monday, April 30) at Rockstore in Montpellier, France. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Due 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, GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist 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

"L'Enfant Sauvage" performance:

California thrash metal veterans SLAYER have released the following "open letter" to their "fans around the world":

"SLAYER fans everywhere — it's time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman [guitar].

"As you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated, and we didn't know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really bad shape. It's been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he's had several painful skin grafts, he's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of all, he's been playing guitar. We were all excited when he joined us onstage for the encore a year ago at the 'Big Four' show at Coachella. Since then, we've given him all the time and support he's needed to continue his rehab so he can come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we all want him to.

"While Jeff's been doing some writing and has been coming to rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more time to continue his rehab. While we want him back onstage with the band, all of us support his decision. So, we're very grateful that Gary Holt [EXODUS] will continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.' We also wanted you to know that we've been doing some writing and recording for the next SLAYER album — we've tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we're off the road later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the U.K. in May and June, and then we'll all see you on this summer's [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem Festival."

In a fall 2011 intervew with U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Hanneman said that was kicking back in a hot tub with a couple of beers when noticed a spider bite him on the arm.

"Didn't even feel it," he said. "But an hour later, I knew that I was ill." On his way to the hospital, "I could see the flesh corrupting," he recalled. "The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was. By chance, although it's pretty rare, she had seen a case a little while before. At that point, I was an hour away from death."

Although the spider bite itself was not serious, it had caused bacterial infection in the deeper layers of the skin and tissues of the arm.

"Unbelivably, the doctor was a SLAYER fan," said Hanneman, "First thing he said to me was: 'First I am going to save your life. Then I am going to save your arm. Then I am going to save your career.'"

Hanneman underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead and dying tissue. The doctor was able to save the muscles and the tendons, but the guitarist had a large open wound on his arm. He spent the next two months in hospital, having extensive skin grafts and heavy doses of antibiotics to suppress the infection.

"I had to learn to walk again," Hanneman said: "I hadn't stood up for a month, apart from anything else. The skin grafts were very painful and all the muscles and tendons in the arm where very weak. That was OK, though. I count myself lucky that the nurse and doctor knew right away what had happened to me, because things could have been a whole lot worse."

Pictured below: Jeff Hanneman on April 23, 2011 in Indio, California (photo credit: Andrew Stuart)

"Harakiri", the new studio album from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian, will be released July 10 on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike. The official lyric video for the first single, "Figure It Out", is available below.

"Harakiri", a Japanese word meaning ritual suicide, is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed "Imperfect Harmonies", and the third solo release from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman. As with 2007's "Elect The Dead" and "Imperfect Harmonies", Serj produced "Harakiri" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. He tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," explains Serj. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results." The album will also feature performances by Serj's touring band, THE F.C.C. — Dan Monti on guitar, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album was mastered by Vlado Meller (METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KANYE WEST, BEASTIE BOYS).

Serj reveals each of the songtitles in a statement describing "Harakiri" below. The song names are in order and in bold:

"The Cornucopia of love/hate affairs with Gaia have made us scream 'Figure It Out! CEOs are the disease." Where abusive capitalism's only fate is human/environmental devastation. The Ching Chime, diminutive drama of a gangsta Butterfly revealed that humanity's tears actually outweigh yearly rainfall on the planet.

"We have witnessed Harakiri on a grand scale tearing out the Occupied Tears of victims preyed on by victims turned aggressors creating a Deafening Silence through which we hear a voice plead, 'Forget Me Knot, my child.'

"Reality TV has become the searing indictment of a society best described as the Uneducated Democracy. The daughters of the evolution Weave On with blood dripping down their guilty hands onto the flag as the word republic is replaced by empire."

Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so far." In February, the rock musical "Prometheus Bound", which he composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release his second poetry book, "Glaring Through Oblivion". He toured with SYSTEM OF A DOWN across three continents, performed with the Opera Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the U.S., he finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, a full classical symphony called "Orca", and the new solo rock record that he is currently mastering.

"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, New Zealand were setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within five days of that, reports came out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."

The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo artist," he says. "It is much more driving and punk-oriented, with influences ranging from goth to electronic to '80s vibes, dynamically heavy rock to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."

He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," he says. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results."

Dee Snider, the unmistakable front-man of the rock band TWISTED SISTER, filmed a video for the song "Mack The Knife", with his son, Cody Blue Snider, in the director's chair. Producing the clip was Robby Starbuck, who has previously worked with TIMES OF GRACE, AUGUST BURNS RED, SILVERSTEIN, A STATIC LULLABY and A SKYLIT DRIVE.

"This was the first time we had the opportunity to work together strictly as a director and an artist," Cody Blue told Entertainment Weekly about working with his father. "That could have made this a tumultuous shoot, but my father and I have so much mutual respect for one another that it was anything but that. Working with Dee was the most joyous part of the production for me, and I'm sure we'll continue working together until I am changing his diapers in-between takes."

Check out the "Mack The Knife" video at Entertainment Weekly.

"Mack The Knife" comes off Dee's new studio album, "Dee Does Broadway", which will be released on May 8 via Razor & Tie. The CD features Dee's powerful voice and theatrical persona as he exudes his rock ' n' roll take on several Broadway classics. The new album will coincide with the release of his first-ever autobiography, "Shut Up And Give Me The Mic" (Gallery Books) on May 8.

"Dee Does Broadway" features several special guest stars, including Broadway and television icon Bebe Neuwirth on the DAMN YANKEES song "Whatever Lola Wants", Broadway legend Patti LuPone on a "West Side Story" medley "Tonight/Somewhere", pop icon Cyndi Lauper on SWEET CHARITY's "Big Spender", Clay Aiken of "American Idol" on the GUYS AND DOLLS classic "Luck Be a Lady Tonight", the stars of the Broadway hit musical "Priscilla Queen Of The Desert" (Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon, and Nick Adams) on SOUTH PACIFIC's "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame", Mark Wood of the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA playing violin on the "Phantom Of The Opera" ballad "Music Of The Night", as well a special rendition of "The Joint Is Jumpin" from "Ain't Misbehavin'" with Dee's oldest son, Jesse "Blaze" Snider. Songs are also featured from classic Broadway shows including "Cabaret", "Chicago", "The Threepenny Opera", "Anything Goes" and "Sweeney Todd".

"Dee Does Broadway" was spawned from a number of voicemails exchanged featuring "Broadway tunes" sung as messages between Dee Snider and Alice Cooper in 2009 and Dee's 2010 Broadway run in the Broadway rock musical "Rock Of Ages". Inspired to take this musical journey, the classically trained countertenor (who sang with his high school choir and always loud as hell) Snider enlisted producers Bob Kulick and Brett Chassen (whom Dee worked with on the metalized Frank Sinatra tribute called "Sin-atra"). The album was mixed by the legendary Ric Wake and Gustavo Celis, and features the incredible orchestrations and playing by the renowned composer/arranger Doug Katsaros and the bass guitar playing of one of rock's prolific players, the legendary Rudy Sarzo.

Dee Snider explains the process: "Over the past year, I have worked closely with my team and collaborators picking from decades of musical hits with only two rules: The song had to speak to me as a singer on some level, and it could not be a rock song to begin with. No 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'Grease', 'Hair', 'Rent', 'Rocky Horror', etc. What would be the challenge in that?" He continues, "There are many who think doing an album of rocked out show tunes is pure insanity on my part. Apparently, they haven't seen any photos of me from the '70s and '80s. Could I have been in a more theatrical band? Ever since I was a kid, I'd heard the real power inherent in a lot of songs from musicals and this record gives me the chance to show it".

"Dee Does Broadway" track listing:

01. Cabaret
02. The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd
03. Big Spender (with Cyndi Lauper)
04. Mack The Knife
05. Whatever Lola Wants (with Bebe Neuwirth)
06. Music Of The Night (with guest violinist Mark Wood)
07. The Joint Is Jumpin' (with Jesse Blaze Snider)
08. Luck Be A Lady (with Clay Aiken)
09. I Get A Kick Out Of You
10. There Is Nothin' Like A Dame (with the stars of "Priscilla Queen Of The Desert": Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams)
11. Razzle Dazzle
12. Tonight/Somewhere (with Patti LuPone)

Three songs from the album — "Tonight/Somewhere", "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and "Cabaret" — are available for streaming below.

Audio samples of the entire CD can be found at Amazon.com.

EX DEO, the Ancient Roman-themed arsenal fronted by KATAKLYSM singer Maurizio Iacono, will release its sophomore album, "Caligvla", on August 31 via Austria's Napalm Records. The CD was mixed by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX and DESPISED ICON, among others. The artwork and layout for the album were handled by SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton.

The first trailer for "Caligvla" can be seen below.

Commented the band: "Eight months in the making and we are sure we have a classic album in our hands, producer JF Dagenais has done a fabulous and great production, all guests appearances are massive, the gods are pleased. Expect the artwork to be unveiled very soon and also a new teaser trailer. Where all have failed in the past... EX DEO will succeed, Roma caput mundi!! Epic Roman-inspired metal!!"

EX DEO debuted a brand new song "I, Caligvla", on April 1 at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of the "Paganfest America Part III" tour with TURISAS, ALESTORM, ARKONA and HUNTRESS. Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

In addition to the previously announced guest appearances by ALL SHALL PERISH guitarist Francesco Artusato and TRISTANIA singer Mariangela Demurtas, "Caligvla" will feature contributions from SEPTICFLESH's Seth Siro Anton and GRAVEWORM's Stefano Fiori. Every invited guest on the album is of Roman or Greek descent.

"Caligvla" track listing:

01. I, Caligvla
02. The Tiberius Cliff (Exile To Capri)
03. Per Oculos Aquila
04. Pollice Verso (Damnatio Ad Bestia)
05. Divide Et Impera
06. Burned To Serve As Nocturnal Light
07. Teutuborg (Ambush Of Varus)
08. Along The Appian Way
09. Once Were Romans
10. Evocatio: The Temple Of Castor & Pollux

The "Caligvla" cover artwork can be seen below.

EX DEO recently canceled its participation in the "Paganfest America Part III" tour due to delays in the production of "Caligvla". The band still performed with Paganfest on April 1 in Montreal at Club Soda and April 2 in Toronto at The Opera House.

EX DEO last year completed a North American tour with NILE, PSYCROPTIC and KEEP OF KALESSIN.

"Romulus", the debut album from EX DEO, landed at position No. 90 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.

"Caligvla" trailer:

Quality fan-filmed video footage of GODSMACK's April 28 performance at KUPD's U-Fest, which was held at the Quail Run Park in Mesa, Arizona, can be seen below.

GODSMACK will unleash its first-ever live album, "Live & Inspired", on May 15 via Universal Republic Records.

"Live & Inspired" features fierce and furious live renditions of numerous hits from the Massachusetts rockers' five studio albums. Their incendiary and infectious shows have become legendary in modern rock, and they continue to impress both critics and audiences alike every time they hit the stage. The group sounds unchained on rousing performances of "Awake", "Keep Away", "Straight Out of Line", "Whatever", "Voodoo", and "I Stand Alone".

This is the first time that's been captured on CD, and bonus tracks of covers that have "inspired" GODSMACK is also going to be included along with it. The four tracks are quite close to the band's collective heart. The band started ripping through local Massachusetts haunts with their renditions of some of these songs, and these recordings bring everything full circle.

About the collection, frontman Sully Erna reveals, "'Live & Inspired' is our way of saying 'Thank you' to all of our fans for believing in us throughout the years, and helping us to become a great live band! Along with this ass-whooping set live from Detroit Rock City, we've also included four cover songs of our favorite hits in the past to show you that, we too, are simply just fans that appreciate nothing more than good old fashion ass-kicking rock 'n' roll! Enjoy!"

Erna told Loudwire in a recent interview, "We were going to do a compilation with this song from Vegas, this song is from Chicago, this one is from Dallas, but I don't know, the more we listened to the Detroit show, the more we kind of figured out that it was a really good show for us."

Erna also said that GODSMACK has nothing but love for the Motor City, explaining, "It's always a great audience, as any rock band will tell you. Playing there is a special kind of fanbase that they have there, they live up to their reputation. They're a great rock audience."

In addition, the quartet encouraged its legion of supporters to be a part of the release. The collection's packaging actually showcases a variety of fan photos. Fans may submit live snapshots of the group on stage, pictures of themselves rocking out at GODSMACK concerts, or photos of their tattoos of the group's iconic logo on the band's official Facebook. Now, the winning photos adorn the album's booklet and packaging.

The album will hit shelves and digital retailers while the band is in the midst of its Mass Chaos Tour with STAIND and HALESTORM. The jaunt commenced on April 13 in Augusta, Georgia at the James Brown Arena.

French death metallers TREPALIUM have posted their cover version of PANTERA's classic "I'm Broken" via YouTube. The track is featured on the band's highly anticipated new album, "H.N.P.", which is set for release on June 8 through Klonosphere/Season Of Mist.

The follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed "XIII", "H.N.P." was recorded, mixed and mastered at Thibault Chaumont's Deviant Lab studio, and is described in a press release as "a bellowing, vibrant explosion of crushing but groovy riffs, which is calibrated for maximum impact."

"H.N.P." track listing:

01. Heic Noenum Pax
02. Prescription Of Crisis
03. Slave The World
04. Order The Labyrinth
05. Insane Architect
06. Let The Clown Rise
07. I Was
08. The Worst Friend
09. Raining Past
10. I'm Broken (PANTERA cover)

TREPALIUM is:

KK: Vocals
Harun Demiraslan: Guitar, Keyboards
Nicolas Amossé: Guitar
Ludovic Chauveau: Bass
Sylvain Bouvier: Drums

Tommy Vitaly, the guitar player for the Italian power metal band SEVENGATES, will release his second album, "Hanging Rock", on May 3 via IceWarrior Records/Rock It Up Records. The CD features "fantastic cover and booklet art" by Felipe Machado Franco, who has previously worked with RHAPSODY, AXEL RUDI PELL, BLIND GUARDIAN, AXENSTAR and ICED EARTH.

The first official video clip from the album for the song "Misanthropy" can be viewed below.

"Hanging Rock" features guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Tommy Vitaly (SEVEN GATES) - Guitars
* Todd LaTorre (CRIMSON GLORY) - Vocals
* David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE) - Vocals
* Zak Stevens (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, ex-SAVATAGE) - Vocals
* Michele Luppi (THAUROROD, ex-VISION DIVINE) - Vocals
* Carsten Lizard-Schulz (EVIDENCE ONE, ex-DOMAIN) - Vocals
* Andrea "Tower" Torricini (ex-VISION DIVINE, ex-SHADOWS OF STEEL) - Bass
* Norifumi Shima (CONCERTO MOON) - Guitars
* David Shankle (DSG, ex-MANOWAR) - Guitars
* Kenny Earl Edwards (a.k.a. Rhino; HOLY HELL, ex-MANOWAR) - Drums

Shankle previously made a guest appearance on Vitaly's debut album, "Just Me".

FORTÉ was founded in Oklahoma City in 1987 and in those early stages they band played an abundant amount of shows quickly establishing themselves within the flourishing underground metal scene by opening for bands like PANTERA, DREAM THEATER, FATES WARNING, WATCHTOWER, OVERKILL, SAVATAGE and TROUBLE. After signing to Germany's Massacre Records, the band released four critically acclaimed albums throughout the '90s, with their last, "Rise Above", coming in 1999.

Now 12 years later, FORTÉ has returned with a vengeance on their new album, "Unholy War". Due on June 12 via Tribunal Records, the CD has everything fans have come to expect from the band: soaring vocals, razor-sharp riffs and a battering ram for a rhythm section. Ten tracks of traditional U.S. thrashing power metal that will not disappoint the fans. The cover illustration was created by Steven R. Cobb (SOLITUDE, KILLWHITNEYDEAD).

"Unholy War" track listing:

01. Vae Solis
02. Unholy War
03. Dead To Me
04. Take The Mark
05. Absolute Power
06. Undying
07. Stronger Than Death
08. Rain Of Fire
09. Gears Of Damnation
10. Light To The Blind

Chicago heavy rockers SOIL will release their first-ever DVD, entitled "Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars", on May 8 via Bieler Bros. Records. The two-disc set, which was recorded live on October 14, 2011 at Electric Ballroom in London, England, will contain an audio CD version of the same concert. Also included is over one hour of backstage and behind-the-scenes bonus footage and photos.

SOIL's current lineup consists of founding members Ryan McCombs (vocals; ex-DROWNING POOL), Tim King (bass) and Adam Zadel (guitar) alongside former STAIND drummer Jon Wysocki.

"Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars" track listing:

01. Breaking Me Down
02. Need To Feel
03. My Own
04. Redefine
05. Cross My Heart
06. Inside
07. The One
08. Wide Open
09. Black 7
10. Unreal
11. Halo
12. Pride

The "Halo" performance clip, taken from the "Re-LIVE-Ing The Scars" DVD, can be seen below.

The 10th-anniversary edition of SOIL's breakthrough album "Scars" — featuring the hits "Halo" and "Unreal" — was made available digitally on October 10 through Sony Music. The release features the rare B-side "Center" and the previously unreleased track "Damaged You" from the "Scars" recording sessions.

Dutch death/thrash metallers DEVIOUS will release their new EP, "Wolfhagen", on May 11 as a limited edition, hand numbered metal case. On that very night, the band will present the new effort live on stage at Metropool in Hengelo, The Netherlands. Also set to appear are DEATH SQUAD and DECEIVING FAITH.

"Wolfhagen" was mixed and mastered last month by Jörg Uken at Soundlodge Studios in Rhauderfehn, Germany.

The bass tracks on the new EP were laid down by Alwin Zuur (ASPHYX) following the departure of Daniël Centiago. A session touring bass player has since been recruited in the shape of Niels Achtereekte (VITAMIN 14, ex-NEXT WASTE DIMENSION).

"Wolfhagen" marks the recording debut of DEVIOUS' new singer, Dennis Lusseveld, who joined the band in November.

The opening track from the new EP, "One Man Horde", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

DEVIOUS' third full-length album, "Vision", was released in December 2009 via Deity Down Records.

For more information, visit www.devious.nl.

Lansing, Michigan's FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS will release its new album, "Wasted Youth", on July 17 via Artery Recordings/Razor & Tie. The CD was produced by Tom Denney (formerly of A DAY TO REMEMBER) in his Florida studio during the winter of 2012.

FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS have taken to Facebook and are asking their fans to select the final cover art for "Wasted Youth". Four options can be found on the band's Facebook page and the design with the most likes by May 4 will be selected as the official album cover. The cover options can be viewed here.

FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS recently wrapped up a nationwide tour with Artery Recordings labelmates CHELSEA GRIN, ATTILA and VANNA. They will hit the road this summer as part of the high-profile 2012 All Stars Tour, which kicks off on July 26 and makes stops across the country before concluding on August 25. SUICIDE SILENCE will headline the tour with additional support from UNEARTH and DANCE GAVIN DANCE (both on select dates) as well as THE WORD ALIVE, I SEE STARS, A SKYLIT DRIVE, WINDS OF PLAGUE and ATTILA, among others.

Formed in 2003, FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS has released three full-length albums — "Changes" (2008), "Relentless" (2009) and "Back Burner" (2011) on Rise Records — and a self-titled EP (2003). The band has toured extensively, including taking part in national stints with UNEARTH, FOR TODAY, NORMA JEAN, CHELSEA GRIN and OF MICE & MEN, as well as European shows supporting A DAY TO REMEMBER, BURY YOUR DEAD and more. Revolver magazine said of FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS' music, "The band does manage to create material that will engage even the most jaded heavy-music listener" and Alter The Press said, "They do a great job at the divide between melody and angst, giving enough of each to both move and pump fists, just what every band that walks the line of hardcore needs, wishes for and much, much more."

FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS is Dylan Richter (vocals), Kalan Blehm (guitar), Jim Hocking (guitar) and Arvin Sarathy (drums). The band is managed by Dog of The Artery Foundation and represented for touring by Matt Andersen of The Pantheon Agency.

Multinational symphonic prog metal band REIGN OF THE ARCHITECT will release its debut album, "Rise", later this year. Yuval Kramer's (AMASEFFER) brand new sci-fi project features guest appearances by Mike LePond (SYMPHONY X), Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY) and Joost van den Broek (AYREON), among others.

The second single from "Rise", "We Must Retaliate", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

Comments the band: "It was an unbelievable pleasure to work on the material with Jeff, who provides not only an amazing vocal performance, but exhibits powerful and theatrical abilities. He was the perfect choice for this role and we are happy that the opportunity to work with him went through!"

REIGN OF THE ARCHITECT will make its live debut on June 6 at Hangar 11 club in Tel Aviv as the support act for SYMPHONY X. A European tour will follow later in the year.

REIGN OF THE ARCHITECT was formed in 2007 as a collaboration between Kramer and Mexican drummer Mauricio Bustamante. In 2010, Mauricio joined Yuval in Jerusalem, Israel to finally begin recording their debut effort.

The story, which the band has yet to reveal, will unfold over the course of two albums.

Joining Mauricio (drums) and Yuval (guitars), are Israeli vocalists Yotam Avni (PREY FOR NOTHING), Tom Gefen, Davidavi "Vidi" Dolev, Adva Kramer and Grace Hannah Woolf.

"Even though we had the chance to collaborate with some of our favorite musicians out there," Mauricio and Yuval state, "we wanted to introduce fresh and unknown artists, both instrumentalists and vocalists, to the world. Artists we can guarantee will blow your mind!"

REIGN OF THE ARCHITECT's debut CD will feature "a plentitude of layers consisting, among others, multiple guitar and vocal layers, and multitudes of orchestral and exotic instruments," according to a press release.

For more information, visit www.reignofthearchitect.com.

MARILYN MANSON kicked off his U.S. tour this past Friday, April 27 at Lupo's in Providence, Rhodie Island.

The setlist for the concert was as follows:

01. Hey, Cruel World...
02. Disposable Teens
03. The Love Song
04. No Reflection
05. mOBSCENE
06. The Dope Show
07. Slo-Mo-Tion
08. Rock Is Dead
09. Personal Jesus (DEPECHE MODE cover)
10. Pistol Whipped
11. Tourniquet
12. Irresponsible Hate Anthem
13. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (EURYTHMICS cover)
14. Antichrist Superstar
15. The Beautiful People

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

MARILYN MANSON's long-awaited new album, "Born Villain", is available for streaming in its entirety at AOL Music. The CD will be released on May 1 (one day earlier internationally) via Cooking Vinyl and Manson's own label Hell, Etc.

Marilyn Manson's new video, "No Reflection", was directed by Lukas Ettlin, who previously worked with Manson on the award-winning "Personal Jesus" clip.

"No Reflection" was released as a white seven-inch vinyl in Europe on April 21. The vinyl is strictly limited to 1500 copies and features "No Reflection" (album version) and "No Reflection" (single edit). The release was in support of Record Store Day.

Manson last September unveiled a new music video for the song "Born Villain" directed by actor Shia LaBeouf.

Drummer Ginger Fish (real name: Kenneth Robert Wilson) quit MARILYN MANSON in February 2011 and has since joined ROB ZOMBIE. He has been replaced by the Los Angeles-based drummer Jason Sutter.

MARILYN MANSON in 2009 parted ways with longtime record label Interscope following the disappointing sales performance of "The High End Of Low".

"The High End Of Low" was Manson's first album with longtime bassist Twiggy Ramirez since 2000's "Holy Wood".

Finnish death/thrash metallers THE UNDIVINE will release their sophomore album, "Delusional Noise", on May 18 via Inverse Records.

According to a press release, "Delusional Noise" is "a theme album about insanity divided into two brain blocks. The left cortex titled Secretary Of Lunacy deals with the outcome resulting from substances, fear and paranoia. The right cortex titled Strength, Hope And Fall deals with so called 'mechanical keys' used to open the gate to oblivion. The end not necessarily meaning death, but an end of an episode or some kind of change. The central character from both stories are indeed insane, but don't see themselves that way. Instead they see themselves as the solution for their problems, whatever they are."

"Delusional Noise" track listing:

Left Cortex - Secretary of Lunacy

01. Columbian Tie
02. Satellite Monarchy
03. 'Til Dreads Come Home
04. Seduction

Right Cortex - Strength, Hope and Fall

05. Landmine Marathon
06. The Walker Experience
07. One Step to Parabellum
08. Balisong Flip

09. Delusional Noise

THE UNDIVINE is:

Henri Harberg - Vocals
Iiro Illman - Guitar
Juha Pakalén - Guitar
Ville Riihelä - Bass
Rainer Tuomikanto - Drums (session)

The season finale of "Adults Only", the web series that features former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach as an adult video store clerk named Shifty, premiered on Wednesday, April 25 and can now be seen below.

People can watch the web series via YouTube, and can learn more about the show and Sebastian's involvement at this location.

"Adults Only" is about a former Olympic gold medalist, who, after falling on hard times, is forced to accept a job managing his brother-in-law's adult video/novelty store.

Series description: "After winning a pair of gold medals at the 1988 Olympics, gymnast Chance Rioux became America's Sweetheart, but times change and even the shiniest of medals eventually give way to rust. Now America's Forgotten, Chance must accept a job managing his brother-in-law's adult video/novelty store in order to make ends meet, all while trying to conceal his identity from the public, particularly a new love interest who serves as the trigger in his reinvention of self."

Cast:

* Danny Nucci as Gary
* Vincent Pastore as Mitch
* Brian Austin Green as Dick
* Sebastian Bach as Shifty
* Brianna Brown as Kris
* Ronnie Marmo as Crotch
* Adrienne LaValley as Larissa
* Todd Poudrier as Chance Rioux
* Caralyne Fondulis as Janice

"When I Was Flesh", the new video from Norwegian black metallers 1349, can be seen below. The performance footage for the clip was filmed at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway on September 10, 2011. The video was direced and edited by S.A Destroyer at Necrolab Studio and was produced by Concept Machine I:A.

1349 has recruited JOB FOR A COWBOY's Jon "The Charn" Rice to sit behind the kit for their upcoming North American tour as the support act for MARDUK. The trek, which kicks off June 2 in Baltimore, marks 1349's first activity on this continent since 2010, when they supported CANNIBAL CORPSE and TRIPTYKON on separate treks. That same year saw the release of the critically acclaimed "Demonoir", which Decibel magazine called "a riff-packed, forward-looking blast of rockin'-yet-technical grimness."

The tour will include one 1349 headline performance at The Glass House in Pomona, California on June 18. After wrapping up the tour in San Diego two nights later, the group will travel to Chile, where they will perform at Santiago's Club 334 on June 23.

1349 released its first-ever live DVD, "Hellvetia Fire - The Official 1349 Bootleg", last October via Candlelight Records. The disc was filmed at Bikini Test La chaux De Fonds in Switzerland in 2005 and features a special guest appearance by Tom G. Warrior (HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, TRYPTIKON).

The critically acclaimed album "Demonoir" by 1349 was reissued as a limited box set as part of the Indie Recordings Norwegian Collector's Edition Series. It contains seven bonus tracks, including an unreleased track that did not appear on the expanded edition or the limited edition, 12-page booklet, poster, guitar pick, a patch and autographed photo card. The box is handnumbered and limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

"Demonoir", the fifth full-length album from 1349, was recorded at Studio Nyhagen, deep in the woods in Norway with Tom G. Warrior (HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST), who showed the greatest respect for the task and played a key role as motivator and catalyst. His technical role of the recording was that of a co-producer, but far more important was his presence and understanding of what a challenging project "Demonoir" was.

AXEWOUND is the new "supergroup" formed in 2011 as a side project for BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck. The band, which is completed by Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) on vocals, Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) on guitar, Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) on bass, and Jason Bowld (ex-PITCHSHIFTER) on drums, was officially unveiled earlier tonight (Monday, April 30) on the BBC Radio 1 "Rock Show" with the airing of the group's first single, "Post Apocalyptic Party". The track can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

AXEWOUND is:

Matt Tuck (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) - Guitar, Vocals
Liam Cormier (CANCER BATS) – Vocals
Mike Kingswood (GLAMOUR OF THE KILL) - Guitar
Joe Copcutt (RISE TO REMAIN) - Bass
Jason Bowld (ex-PITCHSHIFTER) - Drums

Tuck first revealed that he was collaborating with other musicians on a "metal-as-fuck" side project last October during an interview with "Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone. Tuck said at the time, "At the moment, there's just three [guys in the new band], but there'll be a minimum of four [in the final lineup]." Regarding the new group's musical direction, Matt said, "It's, like, far more like SLIPKNOT, PANTERA… It's metal as fuck, you know what I mean?! Stepping away from the melodic, not giving a fuck… 'Cause obviously BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is a business and we have our formula, and what we do works — it's great — so we won't stray from that. So it's nice to step out of that comfort zone and do something fucking ridiculous and not worry about what people are gonna think, because it doesn't exist yet. . . We wanted to go in there with kind of like a SLIPKNOT attitude of just everything… Like the 'Iowa' album — just fucking violent. Let it all out. No holds barred."

Quality fan-filmed video footage of OPETH's April 20 performance at Backstage Live in San Antonio, Texas as part of the "Heritage Hunter" tour with MASTODON and GHOST can be seen below.

OPETH's new album, "Heritage", sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous studio CD, 2008's "Watershed", opened with more than 19,000 units to land at No. 23.

"Watershed" was the follow-up to the band's acclaimed "Ghost Reveries" CD, which debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard chart back in September 2005 with first-week sales of just under 15,000.

OPETH's 2003 album, "Damnation", premiered with a little over 5,000 copies.

When asked how OPETH planned to deliver the more technical songs from "Heritage" in the live show, the band's vocalist/guitarist, Mikael Åkerfeldt, said in a 2011 interview, "I thought that might be a problem. But it's not been difficult at all. The live versions of the new songs sound closer to the originals than many of the other songs. We have a new keyboard player who's really into the different sounds we create and he's got lots of kit. When he plays, it's like he has four arms. He's doing a lot to make sure the current live show is something very special. But we'd never record anything that we didn't think we could pull off live."

SLAYER/PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo came to Guitar Center in Hollywood, California to show off his new Ludwig Vistalite Kit and give his some insight for young and aspiring drummers. Check out interview footage below.

Lombardo is a Cuban-American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band SLAYER. Lombardo's music career has spanned more than 30 years, during which he has been involved in the production of more than 30 commercial recordings spanning a number of major genres with bands such as GRIP INC., FANTÔMAS, and TESTAMENT in addition to SLAYER.

Lombardo's musical interest was sparked by playing along to a SANTANA record with bongo drums and was later influenced by the musical styles of LED ZEPPELIN and KISS.

Lombardo is known as an aggressive heavy metal drummer and his use of the drums have been called "astonishingly innovative" and earned him the title "the godfather of metal double bass" from Drummer World. Over his career, he has had a significant influence on the metal scene, and has inspired many modern metal drummers.

"Yesterworlds", a collection of early DARK TRANQUILLITY recordings gathered from the legendary "Trail Of Life" demo, the highly sought-after "A Moonclad Reflection" seven-inch single and songs from the long-out-of-print W.A.R. compilation as well as other unreleased gems, has just been released via Floga Records.

Specifications:

* 350gsm gatefold cover
* High glossy lamination with full-colored 220gsm (carton) printed inner sleeve with UV lacquer
* 12-page booklet in 7" size
* 400 x Yello/Blue

DARK TRANQUILLITY recently re-signed with Century Media Records. The influential band from Gothenburg released its first album on Century Media in 1999, and has since issued six full-length CDs, two DVDs and a handful of special releases.
DARK TRANQUILLITY's ninth album, "We Are The Void", sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 15 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.

"We Are The Void" was released in North America on March 9, 2010 via Century Media Records. The LP was made available in Europe as a CD, digital download and strictly limited-edition die-cut digipak featuring two bonus songs ("Stars Of Nothingness" and "To Where Fires Cannot Feed") and a bonus DVD.

"Superskum" (web site) conducted an interview with guitarist Andreas Kisser of Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA prior to the band's April 15 concert at the Gothic Theater in Englewood, Colorado as part of a North American tour with DEATH ANGEL, KRISIUN and HAVOK. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is quality multi-camera performance footage from the Englewood concert.

SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25, 2011 in Lichtenfels, Germany.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.

Interview:

"Superskum" (web site) conducted an interview with guitarist Ted Aguilar of San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans DEATH ANGEL prior to the band's April 15 concert at the Gothic Theater in Englewood, Colorado as part of a North American tour with SEPULTURA, KRISIUN and HAVOK. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is quality multi-camera performance footage from the Englewood concert.

DEATH ANGEL will make its 1987 debut album, "The Ultra-Violence", available as a 25th-anniversary reissue after more than 10 years of being out of print. 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's North American tour with SEPULTURA, KRISIUN and HAVOK kicked off on April 10 at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, California.

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.

Interview:

"Superskum" (web site) conducted an interview with vocalist/bassist Alex Camargo of Brazilian death metal veterans KRISIUN prior to the band's April 15 concert at the Gothic Theater in Englewood, Colorado as part of a North American tour with SEPULTURA, DEATH ANGEL and HAVOK. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is quality multi-camera performance footage from the Englewood concert.

KRISIUN's new album, "The Great Execution", was released on October 31, 2011 in Europe and November 1, 2011 in North America via Century Media Records. The band's eighth studio CD "musically expands KRISIUN trademark high-speed death metal violence with a heavily increased amount of diversity ranging from extreme tempo variations over distinct rhythm patterns to clean guitars and even Flamenco parts!" according to a press release.

KRISIUN only used analog gear and instruments this time to avoid the compressed sound that so many musicians produce today. This wise decision resulted in a more organic sound, with the songs on "The Great Execution" possessing both warmth and rawness, which are so often lost through digital production. The low end is deeper, with drums that pound instead of bounce and guitar tones that sear rather than hiss.

Going back to Stage One Studio in Germany and working with producer Andy Classen again was the right choice: the album came out with a very distinctive and natural sound, shattering the boundaries of the style once more.

The cover artwork was created by Japanese artist Toshihiro Egawa who has been doing tons of great designs for acts like SUICIDE SILENCE, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DEVOURMENT and DYING FETUS, among others.

"The Great Execution" was made available as a limited-edition digipack including a re-recorded version of the classic KRISIUN song "Black Force Domain" as a bonus track, as a 180-gram gatefold vinyl and as a digital download.

Classen previously worked with KRISIUN on the "Conquerors Of Armageddon" (1999), "AssasiNation" (2005) and "Southern Storm" (2008) releases.

Interview:

"The Axe Of God", the new video from French progressive technical death metallers GOROD, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fourth full-length album, "A Perfect Absolution", which will be released in the U.S. on May 8 via Unique Leader Records (March in Europe through Listenable Records). The CD was mixed by producer Frédéric "Elmobo" Motte, who oversaw the recording of the drums, bass and vocals, while all guitars were tracked by GOROD's mastermind Matthieu Pascal at his Bud Records Studio. The mix and the mastering were done at Elmobo's Conkrete Studio by Pascal and Elmobo.

The lyrical concept of "A Perfect Absolution" is based on the history of Kievan Rus during the 10th century.

In the year 945, Igor, King of Kiev, was killed while collecting a "tribute" when he visited a neighbor pagan tribe (the Derevlians) who lives in the forest. He left a widow, Olga, who avenged him in an extremely harsh manner before converting to Orthodox Christianity.

"A Perfect Absolution" features guest guitar solos by Christian Muenzner (OBSCURA) and Mike Keene (THE FACELESS).

"A Perfect Absolution" track listing:

01. Birds Of Sulphur
02. Sailing Into The Earth
03. Elements And Spirit
04. The Axe Of God
05. 5000 At The Funeral
06. Carved In The Wind
07. Varangian Paradise
08. Tribute Of Blood

GOROD will join OBSCURA for the "Omnivium Europe 2012" tour in March/April. Also appearing on the bill are SPAWN OF POSSESSION and EXIVIOUS.

GOROD's last full-length album, "Process Of A New Decline", came out in 2009 via Listenable Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Leading Vision" marked the recording debut of GOROD's new drummer, Samuel Santiago.

GOROD's "Transcendence" EP came out last spring. The disc included a 15-minute-long new song, one acoustic track, a CYNIC cover and two re-recorded songs from the band's first two albums.