Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE played their first show with original vocalist Jesse Leach back in the band last night (Sunday, April 22) at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Numbered Days
02. Self-Revolution
03. Fixation On The Darkness
04. Rose Of Sharyn (dedicated to ex-KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Howard Jones)
05. This Is Absolution
06. Take This Oath
07. Prelude
08. Vide Infra
09. Temple From The Within
10. The Arms Of Sorrow
11. My Curse
12. The End Of Heartache
13. A Bid Farewell
14. Life To Lifeless

Encore:

15. My Last Serenade
16. Holy Diver (DIO cover)

Leach sang on the band's first self-titled album, which came out in 2000, and on their landmark 2002 Roadrunner debut "Alive Or Just Breathing". Leach left the band in 2002 and was replaced by Howard Jones, but his work on "Alive Or Just Breathing" has always been revered by diehard, longtime KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fans.

"Honestly, we didn't want to jump into anything too quickly," Adam told AOL's Noisecreep in a recent interview. "We were in a position where we could take our time and try out as many singers as we wanted. There are a lot of talented singers out there, and we didn't want to rush everything. We ended up mulling it over a bit, and we tried out a few different people.

"When we got back in the rehearsal room with Jesse, it just felt right. He's one of my good friends, and the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time, and all of that stuff, was gone when he jammed with us again. We also knew what Jesse is capable of, so it just took all of us getting in a room together again to remember how cool it once was. He blew us away."

Regarding the reasons for Leach's original departure from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ten years ago and whether those same issues will come into play now, Adam said, "He was feeling a lot of frustration [back in 2002]. He didn't know how to take care of his voice, and he would blow it out every couple of shows. We had to cancel a lot of shows because of that. He was also a newlywed, and they didn't know how tough it would be to be in a relationship when the other person is a road dog. It was a lot of pressure on him. All of those things piled up, and it put him in that bad place. But these days he's really learned how to take care of himself on the road. His marriage is also going great, and they've figured out how to make it work, even though one of them is a touring musician. Jesse's in a much better place now, that's for sure."

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE is hard at work on material for the follow-up to 2009's second self-titled album.

In a recent interview with the "Brock And The Fatguy" radio show, Jesse stated about KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's new material, "I have the 14 demos for the new KILLSWITCH record, and let me tell you, I'm glad that they didn't turn into TIMES OF GRACE [songs], and I'm glad that KILLSWITCH is gonna have the opportunity to write another record with me — or a few more, God willing. I can tell you right now from the demos, the people are gonna be really surprised; they're setting the bar up high once again. I'm literally within day three of just listening to them and just sort of digesting them. It's really fast and it's really heavy. It's not what people are going to anticipate, I'm sure. I literally am getting chills right now talking about it. It's gonna blow the doors off people, man. It's gonna be great."

Esoteric Antenna announce a new album from Van Der Graaf Generator will be released in June this year. ALT follows up last year’s well received A Grounding In Numbers.

“ALT” is no ordinary Van Der Graaf Generator album (if the term “ordinary” could ever be applied to this visionary group). PETER HAMMILL explains; “Instrumental Improvs & Experiments – Most of the music on “ALT” was made while we weren’t really looking, or perhaps only while the left side of our collective brain was engaged. The album is a mixture of improvisations recorded at sound checks and in the studio and more considered sonic creations which often verge on Musique Concrete. The thirteen pieces here offer a fascinating glimpse into an alternative Van der Graaf Generator sound world. Perhaps the closest comparison would be with the second CD of “Present”, but even the link with those recordings is tenuous. Even by Van der Graaf Generator standards, this stuff’s at the whacky end of the scale!”

This instrumental album is another side of Van Der Graaf Generator, a truly unique listening experience.

The title will come both in CD and limited edition vinyl.

Dutch death metallers SINISTER have completed work on their new album, "The Carnage Ending", for a summer release via Massacre Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Defamatory Content
02. Regarding The Imagery
03. The Carnage Ending
04. Transylvania (City Of The Damned)
05. My Casual Enemy
06. Crown Of Thorns
07. Blood Ecstasy
08. Unheavenly Domain
09. The Final Destroyer
10. Oath Of Rebirth

SINISTER also recorded five cover songs for a bonus disc which will be included with the upcoming album.

Poland's Metal Mind Productions released an exclusive box containing SINISTER's full discography in February 2011. Entitled "Altered Since Birth", the set contains eight studio albums, a live DVD, a compilation of demo tracks, plus a booklet containing a full biography based on an exclusive interview, the complete discography, lyrics to all songs and a selection of amazing archive photos. The cover artwork was created by the well-known Polish graphic designer Graal.

"Legacy of Ashes" came out on December 17, 2010 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded at Soundlodge studios in Rhauderfehn, Germany with producer Jörg Uken (GOD DETHRONED, OBSCENITY).

According to WPRI.com, a 10-year-old Rhode Island boy with a brain tumor recently was able to Skype with his hero, AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler.

In late January, Cole Grace was hospitalized with a brain tumor diagnosis that was soon identified as a Grade IV Glioblastoma, and has since had three brain surgeries.

While in the hospital, Cole and Steven had a long conversation and sang AEROSMITH's "Walk This Way" together.

Steven, who is one of the judges on Fox's singing competition "American Idol", also mentioned Cole during one of the show's nationally-televised episodes a few weeks ago.

Check out a WPRI video report below.

French progressive metallers GOJIRA will release a new DVD/Blu-ray, "The Flesh Alive", in Europe on June 4 via Mascot. The three-disc set will chronicle the making of the band's 2008 album, "The Way Of All Flesh", and the touring activity that followed the CD's release.

"The Flesh Alive" track listing:

Disc 1:

01. Garorock Show: Oroborus
02. The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe
03. Backbone
04. Love
05. From The Skyg
06. A Sight To Behold
07. The Art Of Dying
08. Drum Solo
09. Clone
10. Flying Whales
11. The Way Of All Flesh
12. Terra Incognita
13. Vacuity
14. Les Vieilles Charrues Show: Lizard Skin
15. Indians
16. Toxic Garbage Island
17. World To Come

Disc 2:

01. Documentary "The Way Of All Flesh Inside"
02. Oroborus
03. The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe
04. Backbone
05. Flying Whales
06. Toxic Garbage Island
07. The Way Of All Flesh
08. Terra Incognita
09. Vacuity

CD:

01. Oroborus
02. The Heaviest Matter Of The Universe
03. Backbone
04. Love
05. From The Sky
06. A Sight To Behold
07. The Art Of Dying
08. Clone
09. Flying Whales
10. The Way Of All Flesh
11. Terra Incognita
12. Vacuity

GOJIRA's fifth album, "L'Enfant Sauvage", will be released on June 26 via Roadrunner Records. The CD (the title of which translates to "The Wild Child") features 11 tracks of mind-bending, thunderous metal.

The "L'Enfant Sauvage" title track will be released digitally on May 1.

EPHEL DUATH, the formerly Italian, currently U.S.-based band which is known as a modern mixture of avant-garde metal and progressive rock with jazz-fusion and hardcore punk elements, will release its new EP, "On Death And Cosmos", on June 21 in Europe and August 14 in the U.S. via Agonia Records. The CD cover artwork was created by visionary French artist Dehn Sora and can be seen below.

"On Death And Cosmos" is a 20-minute mini-concept EP that develops through three songs — "Black Prism", "Raqia" and "Stardust Rain" — creating some of the most intense and mournful music EPHEL DUATH has ever offered. The lyrics are about death and abandonment, loss and self- transforming will: a dive into the darkness that can reveal a new birth in light.

EPHEL DUATH's new EP was recorded at Sharkbyte Studios (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE) in Oakland, California. The effort features guest appearances by Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH, TESTAMENT, SADUS, OBSCURA), Karyn Crisis (CRISIS) and Marco Minemann (PAUL GILBERT, NECROPHAGIST, KREATOR, TONY MACALPINE). The CD was mixed by Erik Rutan at his Mana Recording Studio (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL, GOATWHORE, AGNOSTIC FRONT) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alan Douches mastered the material at West West Side Music (DEATH, SWANS, MASTODON, CONVERGE, BARONESS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CLUTCH) in New Windsor, New York.

EPHEL DUATH's current recording lineup:

Davide Tiso - Guitar
Karyn Crisis - Vocals
Steve DiGiorgio - Bass
Marco Minemann - Drums

OK, we’ve just unveiled our first ever Paradise Lost cover story [Decibel #92] and exclusive Paradise Lost B-side flexi disc—which we’re super-chuffed about—but to say that we’ve been sleeping on one of the UK’s most important heavy acts of all time is all kinds of hyperbole.

See, at Camp Decibel, Paradise Lost is given “special status.” Sure, they’ve had sophomore full-length, Gothic, inducted into the hallowed halls of the Decibel Hall of Fame, a vibrant defense of much-maligned “sellout” album Host, and a few one-page stories in 2007 and 2009 to commemorate “comeback” albums nobody in the U.S. cared about—except for Decibel and a few dedicated Painless—but for new album Tragic Idol we felt it was high time to honor the creator of “gothic metal”, the band that influenced so many and so much.

Part of that honor goes into the group’s cover story. Another is the ability to exclusively stream Paradise Lost’s thirteenth full-length album Tragic Idol in its entirety. We know the Painless out there will eat this up blind as bats in the sun, but we want the naysayers, the too-cools, and the don’t-cares to stream at least one track—you pick! Go on. It’s OK.

Die Orange County, CA Hardcore Punk Veteranen DEATH BY STEREO werden ihr neues Album "Black Sheep of the American Dream" am 24. April 2012 via Viking Funeral Records veröffentlichen. Die Jungs haben jetzt ihr neues Album "Black Sheep of the American Dream" HIER auf AOL Music komplett zum probehören online gestellt.

"Black Sheep of the American Dream" Track List:

01. Wtf Is Going On Around Here
02. Much Like A Sore Dick
03. Growing Numb
04. Get British
05. Harmonic Divisor
06. Depression Expression
07. Something's Changing
08. Following Is What You Do Best
09. 5th Of July
10. Please Go To Heaven Now

Am 27.April 2012 veröffentlicht die Crossover-Combo KONTRUST ihr zweites Album "Second Hand Wonderland" und untermauert hiermit ihren einzigartigen Stil in eindrucksvoller Art und Weise. Die im April 2012 erscheinende Platte schließt nahtlos an das Erfolgsalbum "Time To Tango" an, auf dem sich auch die Single "Bomba" befindet, mit der Kontrust ihr Durchbruch gelang.

Ausgezeichnet mit dem Austrian Newcomer Award 2006 und dem AMADEUS Austrian Music Award 2010, sowie internationalen Chart-Platzierungen, überrascht die Band immer wieder mit einzigartigen Konzepten. Mit ihren außergewöhnlichen Ideen, ihrer kompromisslosen Live-Show und ihrem kraftvollen Stil wird KONTRUST auch in Zukunft verblüffen.

German power metallers HELLOWEEN are working on the follow-up to 2010's "7 Sinners" for an early 2013 release.

Says HELLOWEEN guitarist Michael Weikath: "Right now we are busy with finalizing the songwriting process and are getting ready to take the accumulated ideas into a final selection for the new record. Everybody in the band is excited and eager to take what we have worked on so far to the next level."

HELLOWEEN's new album will once again be helmed by long-time producer Charlie Bauerfeind and will contain "all the trademark" elements on the band's sound," according to a press release. "Already in this early stage the new effort promises to be much more than a fine follow-up to the highly acclaimed 'Gambling With The Devil' and '7 Sinners' albums. Bombastic epic pieces have been worked on as well as ultrafast heavy songs and mid-tempo anthems."

"7 Sinners", the 13th studio album from HELLOWEEN, sold around 1,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 7 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.

According to Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper, MOTÖRHEAD's signature wine made — which made its debut in Sweden in 2010 — has sold more than 250,000 bottles since it was launched.

The Australian Shiraz has been carefully selected by the hard rock legends and has been described as a wine with a fruity aroma, flavors of vanilla, blackberries, plums, eucalyptus and liquorice, but with soft rounded tannins. Or, as Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer, bass player and founder of the band, puts it: "My advice is — approach it with caution. I mean, wine is deceptive, anything can happen."

The wine, which should be served slightly cooler than usual around 16-18 degrees, goes well with lamb or beef dishes, as well as pasta and flavoursome cheeses. The band recommends drinking it with grilled lamp chops with garlic and rosemary, while listening to anything by MOTÖRHEAD, from 1980's "Ace Of Spades" to 2010's universally acclaimed "The Wörld Is Yours" — denim and leather optional.

The initiative for Motörhead Shiraz came from Bevarages Per Minute Sweden who contacted the band with the idea. Grapes Svenska AB was commissioned to produce it.

When asked how the idea for Motörhead Shiraz came about, Lemmy said in a recent interview, "Well, the company takes care of the business end and all I have to worry about is the quality. I am not going to sell shit to people, you know. We have a wine as well, that is very good. It was really simple how I got into it. This guy came up and said, 'You know, you could make money if we make this wine.' I said, 'Okay.' I think it is a California wine or it might be Spanish, I don't know. The vodka is Swedish."

For more information, please visit www.motorheadwine.com.

According to MTV3.fi, NIGHTWISH's song "The Last Ride Of The Day" has been chosen as the official "anthem" for the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, set to take place May 4-20 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

"When I heard that we might be involved with the event, I called all the bandmembers right away, and we were all pretty excited," says NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, plenty of tickets are still available for the Helsinki matches of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.

The Finnish Ice Hockey Association will receive the lion's share of the box office receipts from the Helsinki matches. The aim is to sell a total of 350,000 tickets to the Hartwall Arena's 34 games.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based extreme metallers KATAKLYSM will release a multidisc DVD, "The Iron Will: 20 Years Determined", on June 19 via Nuclear Blast. 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."

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).

Former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the fact that the band's lead singer, Axl Rose, refused to be inducted along with the rest of the classic GN'R lineup.

Said Adler: "It was the greatest way to end that chapter of my life. It couldn't have gone better. It ended that chapter of my life great, and it's starting this new chapter of my life, with my new band, even bigger and better. It's very exciting. It's fucking exciting. Life is exciting again."

He added, I was hoping that the five of us would have been there to play and show our respect to the fans, but the three of us who really do care about what our fans think and how much they've done for us were there, and we showed our love and respect. In my thank-you speech, I ended it with the words of the late, great Freddie Mercury. 'I've taken my bows, my curtain calls, you've brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it, and I thank you all.' I think that says it. It couldn't have gone better. I showed my thanks and my love. Slash is really the main person from that band that is really super-duper…they're all important, but Slash is the most important, because we grew up together, we started the whole thing together, so it was really great ending that chapter with him."

When asked how if felt playing those songs with Slash and Duff McKagan again, Adler said, "It was great, and Myles Kennedy did a fabulous job…This is the only thing I'm going to say about Axl, and this is the last thing I'm ever going to say, ever, you're getting it, is I feel blessed and thankful that he was a part of my life for that chapter of my life, but that's it. That's it. I have no desire to know him or work with him or do anything with him again. Letting go of that was like a huge weight was lifted off my body. I feel fucking free. Yay!"

"If [the reunion] was going to happen, that's when it was going to happen, and in Axl's letter [declining ot be inducted], he showed his true colors to the world. After that, that's it. Like I said, the main person I wanted to end that chapter with, and I'm going to start a new chapter with, was Slash."