Jenn Selby of The Quietus recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Quietus: METALLICA decided to go a bit left-field recently and make "Lulu" with Lou Reed. What would [SLAYER's] equivalent be, if you had to go and make it, and you had to choose an artist to make it with who was completely mismatched, who would it be and why?

Tom: Erm… I can't speak for the whole band, but it would require a lot of thought, and I don't see us doing anything like that. I can't even conceive of the idea of doing something like that, you know? Lou Reed of all people, you know? He's just so avant garde, so out there, so musically different. He was his own thing. He was his own mould. And for them to try to… I don't know, when I found out about that, I thought that it was a little too much.

The Quietus: Did you listen to the album?

Tom: No, I haven't listened to the album. I don't want to. To me, it's like, I hate to say this, but it's trying too hard to be cool.

The Quietus: Lou Reed is trying too hard?

Tom: No, no, no, this is nothing against Lou Reed. Lou Reed is great, I think what he does is amazing, but it's METALLICA trying to be too cool. They're trying to be too cool. Why do you need to do that? Why do you need to be too cool? That's on METALLICA, that's not on Lou Reed. He's awesome… And they're going to hate it if they read this, they're going to hate me saying it, but it's just my personal opinion. I don't even need to listen to the album! [Laughs]

The Quietus: Dave Mustaine [MEGADETH] once told me — and several other people — that without him, thrash wouldn't have existed. What would you say to that?

Tom: Daaave… He's a little late on the draw! [Laughs] You know, because his record and his band MEGADETH didn't materialize until the mid-'80s. He was a founding member of METALLICA, but I think there are other bands that we should owe credit to and they should owe credit to. Credit is due to a band — who made the music that we developed and made it our own — and I hate to say it, but ANVIL. You listen to the first ANVIL album, and you hear echoes of METALLICA. So, you know, there are other bands you can credit to starting thrash metal or attempting to do something new. We just took it and made it our own. And for some reason, ANTHRAX, SLAYER and METALLICA all evolved… And it was all about the same year, in '81. And then we all evolved into this, 30 years later. Like I said, Mustaine was in METALLICA, but got kicked out, and five years later came up with his band. So he's a little slow on the draw.

Read the entire interview from The Quietus.

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

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

Greece's Rockpages.gr recently conducted an interview with former HELLOWEEN and current UNISONIC singer Michael Kiske. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Rockpages.gr: Michael, how do you view UNISONIC... as a real band or as a project?

Michael Kiske: This is real band; a totally different situation from the years before… I mean, I was trying to form a band with SUPARED, but in reality, it was yet another Kiske solo record with a different name. You can't make bands; they just happen… and UNISONIC happened! It was Kosta (Zafeiriou) and Dennis (Ward) approaching me, then Mandy (Meyer) stepped in and we were fooling around with songs for a couple of years. Then I went for a small tour with AVANTASIA and reconnected with Kai (Hansen). We thought that it would be a good time to do something together again and he was really the one who suggested that he should join UNISONIC. But it needed some time. UNISONIC with Kai started working towards the right direction. Before Kai, some songs were just OK and when he joined they started sounding really really good! A good example is the song "Star Rider"… Dennis wrote the verses and he had a chorus but it wasn't that good… When Kai heard it, he suggested to change a few things here and there and then, in a matter of 20 seconds, the chorus sounded excellent! That's what makes a real band. We work and discuss everything together. If someone doesn't like something, he says so. In the end we are trying to make everyone happy…

Rockpages.gr: Lots of fans were thrilled when they learned that Kai Hansen would join the band. How did it feel for you to be working once again with him?

Michael Kiske: (It is) really great… Kai is a person that you really like to have around because he is always goofing around and he has a loveable personality. He likes to enjoy every day as much as he can and he has this gift of making everybody around him laugh and have a great time. Back in the HELLOWEEN days, when Kai was in the band, the chemistry was great. When he left the band, it was a totally different situation. For me, personally, it turned into a nightmare. There was one particular person who always stubbing me behind my back. When Kai was in the band, there was a great atmosphere within the band. It's the same thing with UNISONIC… All the guys are awesome and it's fun to be around with them. To tell you the truth, I don't really enjoy working in the studio and trying to keep up with all those time schedules and deadlines. I like to sing a song when I feel like it… when I am in the right mood. But you can't do that when you have a record deal with a big record label like earMusic that's putting their money into the band. You have to work hard and try to meet their deadlines. The biggest fun is when I am onstage or rehearse with the guys.

Rockpages.gr: We have talked a couple of times in the past under different circumstances. But, now, I guess you are more open to talk about it...if the occasion arises would you be open for a possible reunion with HELLOWEEN?

Michael Kiske: I have the best part of HELLOWEEN in my band now! It's not really necessary to do a reunion. I am not friend with [Michael] Weikath [HELLOWEEN guitarist]. I have always had a good relationship with Kai. Yes, we had our differences, but it was never like we hated each other or something. Now, with Kai in the band, we have every right to play songs from the HELLOWEEN days…. just for fun. Songs that Kai has written or I have written. Of course, we won't play anything that Weikath has written. But the key tracks from the past, at least the majority of them, were written by Kai. We could play those songs live, but I don't see any reason for a reunion. I know the press would love that, but trust me, it wouldn't be that fun. Let me tell you… just for the music, I would love to sing "Eagle Fly Free", as it was always one of my favorite tunes. The things that went on between me and Weikath… I don't forget that! I've never been more betrayed by any person… so I don't see that (reunion) happening, to be honest with you.

Read the entire interview from Rockpages.gr.

Frontiers Records has set an April 24 North American release date for the new album from Swedish hard rockers CRAZY LIXX, "Riot Avenue". Produced by the bandmembers themselves, the CD finds CRAZY LIXX in fine form, with eleven sexy, hard-rocking new tracks on the their third studio release (the second for the Frontiers Records label).

Formed in southern Sweden in 2002, CRAZY LIXX was among the first bands to emerge in what has now become known as "The New Wave Of Swedish Sleaze" alongside CRASHDIET, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, BABYLON BOMBS and VAINS OF JENNA.

"Riot Avenue" track listing:

01. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
02. Young Blood
03. Riot Avenue
04. Fire It Up
05. Downtown
06. In The Night
07. Church Of Rock
08. Heatseeker
09. Sweet, Bad & Beautiful
10. Be Gone
11. Only The Dead Know

CRAZY LIXX is Danny Rexon (vocals), Andy Dawson (guitars) and Edd Liam (guitars); Joel Cirera (drums) and Loke Rivano (bass) are also featured on "Riot Avenue".

Commented Edd: "There's a lot of fast songs, raw riffs with twin guitars on this album. Early AEROSMITH or GUNS N' ROSES really inspired us with this, so it's very different from the other LIXX records, Much more live-sounding and organic and we feel real excited about it.

"We recorded and produced the album ourselves and also mixed it ourselves together with Robert 'Robban' Ahrling. He really helped us gettin' what we wanted, a key person in this recording. Also Vic Zino of HARDCORE SUPERSTAR helped us allot, especially with the guitar sounds, really made them bleed.

"We started working with producer Chris Laney but our visions were different for how this record was gonna sound. We had a great time working together earlie in the process, but we had to part ways because although Laney's sound was good, we felt that it wasn't right this time. We respect each other in this decision."

Added Danny: "This time the music is a little more riff-based and straight-forward. We wanted a more raw feeling in the production, back to the roots sound and songwriting compared to our previous albums and there's a lot more up-tempo songs than we had on 'New Religion'."

ALICE COOPER drummer Glen Sobel — whose previous credits include Vivian Campbell, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, SIXX: A.M. and IMPELLITTERI — has released a video blog recapping the 2011 ALICE COOPER "No More Mr. Nice Guy" world tour which consisted of about 100 shows in 23 countries spread out over five continents. The five-and-a-half-minute clip, which can be seen below, includes drum-cam footage, backstage warmups, hijinks and some of the best fan-filmed video from the tour.

Glen will be back for Alice's 2012 tour which will be starting in spring. Dates already announced include Bonnaroo, the U.K.'s Bloodstock festival, and four weeks with IRON MAIDEN in the U.S. starting in June.

Century Media Records will release a two-track seven-inch EP from Swedish black metallers NAGLFAR, "An Extension Of His Arm And Will", on February 27. This EP will be strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered copies and is exclusively available at www.cmdistro.com.

"An Extension Of His Arm And Will" will feature the title track as well as the exclusive studio bonus cut "As Long As They Fear".

The seven-inch will be released in a die-cut fold-out cover with lyrics to both songs.

Three different vinyl colors are available:

* Black vinyl (limited to 300 copies)
* White vinyl (limited to 100 copies, exclusive for North America)
* Transparent-red vinyl (limited to 100 copies)

NAGLFAR's sixth album, "Téras", is due in March via Century Media Records. The drum tracks on the CD were laid down by Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK).

A brand new track, "Pale Horse", is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.

NAGLFAR's current lineup is as follows:

Kristoffer W. Olivius - Vocals
Marcus E. Norman - Guitar
Andreas Nilsson - Guitar

According to a press release, "Téras" is "another prime example of infernal melodic black metal from the vanguards of the scene."

Finnish metallers KALMAH have announced the addition of keyboardist Veli-Matti Kananen (ONE MORNING LEFT) to the group's ranks. The band states, "Velski has already played session gigs with us in Russia and Switzerland so we knew his skills and most of all his state of mindlessness."

In other news, KALMAH has commenced the songwriting sessions for its seventh full-length album album, which the band hopes to begin recording at the end of the year. The group states, "So far we have four songs on the way — fast and warped. [A] new video will be shot next summer with mosquitos and Finnish swamp soil. [The] song for the video has already been chosen."

Keyboardist Marco Sneck left KALMAH last summer after seven years and three albums with the band.

KALMAH's sixth album, "12 Gauge", entered the official chart in the Finland at position No. 15. The CD was recorded between June and August 2009 at Tico Tico studio in Kemi, Finland and was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden.

Multi-camera video footage of VAN HALEN's February 8 "dress rehearsal" show at the Forum in Los Angeles, which was attended by thousands of "family and friends" as a warm-up for the band's North American tour, can be seen be3low. Guitarist Slash attended and later tweeted, "VAN HALEN was killer tonight at the Forum. Eddie [Van Halen] was brilliant. So amazing to hear/watch."

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. You Really Got Me
02. Running With The Devil
03. She's The Woman
04. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
05. Tattoo
06. Everybody Wants Some
07. Beautiful Girls
08. Ice Cream Man
09. China Town
10. Dance The Night Away
11. Hot For Teacher
12. Blood And Fire
13. Guitar Solo
14. Panama
15. Jump

Check out photos from Kevin Estrada at this location.

VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", sold 187,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. Topping the list once again is ADELE's smash album "21" (with another 242,000 copies sold last week), which is spending its 20th week at No. 1, tying the mark set by the late Whitney Houston soundtrack for "The Bodyguard" in 1993.

"A Different Kind Of Truth" is the band's first full-length offering with original singer David Lee Roth since "1984" was released in January 1984.

Roth exited the group in 1985, a year after its "1984" album was released. According to Billboard.com, "1984" spent five weeks at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 — VAN HALEN's highest charting set with Roth. (1996's "Best Of Volume 1" hits album, which included two new songs with Roth, debuted at No. 1 with 233,000 sold in its first week.)

VAN HALEN's other four other No. 1s were their four studio albums with Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar: "5150" (1986), "OU812" (1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991) and "Balance" (1995).

VAN HALEN's last all-new album, 1998's "Van Halen III", debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 copies, a disappointment compared to their previous platinum efforts.

VAN HALEN will kick off a North American tour on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky.

DENIED, the Swedish metal band featuring vocalist Johan Fahlberg (JADED HEART) and bassist Fredrik Isaksson (formerly of THERION and GRAVE), is recording its third album with producer Fredrik Folkare (UNLEASHED) for a spring release via an as-yet-undetermined record label. Two newly recorded songs — "In Hell" and "Garden Of Stone" — can be streamed at the band's official web site.

DENIED was formed in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm, Sweden in 2003 by Andreas Carlsson. Devoted to heavy-yet-melodic metal, he wanted to expand his vision beyond a simple dream. The band recorded its first album, "Seven Times Your Sin", in 2005 and supported it with local gigs.

In September 2005, DENIED underwent its first lineup change when bassist Robert Stellmar and drummer Pete Dolls were recruited. The group's second album, "New Army For The Old Revolution", saw the light of day in late 2008.

In 2009, DENIED enlisted longtime friend Fahlberg as their new vocalist and in November of that same year, guitarist Chris Vowden joined the group. In May 2011 the band parted ways with Stellmar and recruited Isaksson.

DENIED has "earned a reputation as a great live act from their performances in various rock clubs in the Stockholm area," according to a press release." Through the years, DENIED has supported such acts as DREAM EVIL, SISTER SIN and ENTOMBED. Their ability to work the crowd and drive them into a frenzy has become a trademark for DENIED."

Florida rockers NONPOINT have entered Groovemaster Studios in Chicago, Illinois with Grammy-nominated producer Johnny K (DISTURBED, STAIND, MEGADETH) to begin recording their seventh album, due later in the year via the band's new label home, Razor & Tie.

Founding NONPOINT members Elias Soriano (vocals) and Robb Rivera (drums) last year welcomed three new members to the family: Dave Lizzio (guitar), Adam Wolosyzn (bass), and Rasheed Thomas (guitar). All three musicians come from the Chicago-based rock act INN CINEMA.

Commented Soriano: "We're proud to officially announce the new members of NONPOINT. Dave Lizzio, Rasheed Thomas and Adam Woloszyn have been chased by bands in the Chicago area for years and somehow by a stroke of luck and timing, we now have three of the freshest, most talented players on our team. These guys are great players and even better people.

"From day one, the new writing process has been full of great ideas and open minds, and now adding Johnny K into the formula has Robb and I very excited. After listening to the demos, Johnny K said, 'It's easy to find someone to play guitar for a band. It's hard to accomplish what you have by finding Dave, Rasheed and Adam, and that's finding people who can write amazing riffs.' From that point on I knew: This new lineup and record will be epic in the chronicle of NONPOINT."

NONPOINT last year parted ways with guitarist Zach Broderick and founding bassist Ken MacMillan.

The band's latest album, "Miracle", sold around 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 60 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Miracle" was released in Europe on June 14, 2010 via Powerage Records. The CD was made available in the U.S. on May 4, 2010 via the band's own 954 Records in partnership with Rocket Science Ventures / RED / Sony.

NONPOINT's current lineup:

Elias Soriano - Vocals
Robb Rivera - Drums
Rasheed Thomas - Guitar
Dave Lizzio - Guitar
Adam Woloszyn - Bass

Former DIMMU BORGIR and current BORKNAGAR member ICS Vortex (real name: Simen Hestnæs) will perform live for the first time with his solo band at this weekend's prestigious Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki.

The ICS Vortex band lineup for the event will be as follows:

ICS Vortex - Guitar/Vocals
Jens Ryland - Guitar
Steinar Gundersen - Bass
Baard Kolstad - Drums

Commented ICS Vortex: "My buddy Asgeir Mickelson recently (and undramatically) handed over the drums to Baard Kolstad.

"I was not planning on guitar work live, but since Terje Andersen's [a.k.a. Cyrus; SUSPERIA, SATYRICON, DIMMU BORGIR] duties elsewhere for the second time collided with ICS Vortex, we decided together that it is was best to let go and part as friends."

ICS Vortex will also takie part of a special signing session at FME (at the Century Media booth) on Friday, February 17 at 6:15 p.m. The stage time for their show is 9:15 p.m. - 10 p.m, just before PARADISE LOST and EDGUY.

ICS Vortex's solo album, "Storm Seeker", was released last August via Century Media Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. The Blackmobile
02. Odin's Tree
03. Skoal!
04. Dogsmacked
05. Aces
06. Windward
07. When Shuffled Off
08. Oil In Water
09. Storm Seeker
10. Flaskeskipper
11. The Sub Mariner

ICS Vortex describes "Storm Seeker" as "a tribute to the fall and rise of my kind. A generation of misfits, born of hippies and raised by Satan."

Regarding the influences that went into the making of the album, ICS Vortex said, "Inspiration is usually drawn from the things that are close to me. I always write in code, it's often doom related, but never ever whiny. The power of the elements, obscure beauty, religion, death and junk are a few favorites. Knowing I am drawn to the power of the dark side, I decided to include lighter topics into the mix this time to separate 'Storm Seeker' from 'Sideshow Symphonies': 'The Blackmobile' about Mopar and 'Aces' about gambling are the result. Love songs, really."

"Storm Seeker" was released in Europe as initial limited-edition digipak, 180-gram LP and as a digital download. According to a press release, the CD "takes the musical elements from [ICS Vortex's] 10-plus years of experience with DIMMU BORGIR as well as the legacy of the classic bands with whom he is still active (BORKNAGAR, ARCTURUS and LAMENTED SOULS), topping things off with his signature clean vocals in order to make 'Storm Seeker' become a perfectly balanced axe, whether a song is cutting fast, or dicing slow."

"Storm Seeker" features appearances by ICS Vortex's BORKNAGAR bandmate Asgeir Mickelson on drums and Terje "Cyrus" Andersen (SUSPERIA, DIMMU BORGIR) on lead guitar. The CD was recorded at Toproom Studio (MAYHEM, TRISTANIA, BORKNAGAR) with engineer Børge Finstad and mastered by Peter in de Betou at Tailor Maid Studio (ARCH ENEMY, DARK TANQUILLITY, DIMMU BORGIR) in Sweden.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/icsvortexofficial.

On his sixth instructional DVD for the Shred Academy, metal guitar master Joe Stump (HOLYHELL, REIGN OF TERROR) presents a wide variety of techniques and practice tips that will appeal to players on all levels.

While much of the material on many of Joe's previous DVDs was geared towards more experienced metal/shred guitarists, the content on "Shred Guitar 101" is a great learning source for all players. Speed scale chop building studies, open string techniques/soloing ideas, basic arpeggio play, solo breakdowns, technique building etudes and more are all included in Stump's latest installment.

For more information, go to this location.

Stump recently finished recording his new solo record, to be released later in the year. He stated, "It came out killer — my best-sounding record, both sonically and playing-wise."

Over the next few months, Stump will begin recording guitar for the new HOLYHELL album.

Stump's last solo album, "Virtuostic Vendetta", was released in April 2009 via Lion Music.

Nyack, New York-based progressive rock band COHEED AND CAMBRIA, who are in the studio working on their sixth studio album, will tour this summer with IRON MAIDEN in the U.S. and Canada as part of the "Maiden England World Tour". The tour will closely mirror, in terms of production and content, MAIDEN's original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour". COHEED begins its stint on the "Maiden England World Tour" on July 24 in Winnipeg and ends August 18 in Houston, with stops in Seattle, Denver, Dallas and Los Angeles along the way. Tickets go on sale March 2 and March 3.

Earlier this week, COHEED AND CAMBRIA lead singer Claudio Sanchez "leaked" an acoustic version of the brand new song, "Sentry The Defiant", via YouTube (see below), telling fans, "Instead of making you wait until the [new] album is released, I thought I'd share my excitement for this song with you now. I decided with this piece to video document it's creation." He added, "This is literally the first time I played the song through in its entirety."

The video has received more than 100,000 views and seems to be spreading. The band is also giving away a free download to the audio of the song on their web site.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA last November announced the return of drummer Josh Eppard. He rejoined the band following the departure of Chris Pennie, who let the group due to creative differences.

Eppard exited COHEED AND CAMBRIA in 2006 in order to receive treatment for substance abuse.

Pennie officially joined COHEED in 2007, replacing Eppard and touring extensively with the band internationally. He is featured on COHEED's most recent studio album, "Year Of The Black Rainbow".

Brooklyn's "filthy black metal" band MUTILATION RITES has completed recording its debut album in Baltimore, Maryland with Kevin Bernsten (TRIAC) for a spring release via Prosthetic Records. The band has also announced a string of dates in March which will see them playing several shows at Austin's annual South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference.

MUTILATION RITES was conceived by Michael Dimmitt and Justin Ennis in January 2009 and after various incarnations, solidified with the addition of George Paul and Iain Deaderick. Members have done time in acts such as TOMBS, HEURISTIC and CURENDERA. They draw influences from such acts as DARKTHRONE, DISCHARGE, DISSECTION and WEAKLING.

SOULFLY's video for the song "World Scum" can be seen below. The clip was conceptualized by SOULFLY mianman Max Cavalera and director Thomas Mignone (MUDVAYNE, SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, MORBID ANGEL) and produced through Mignone's production company Doom Incorporated. Mignone filmed the video in and around Los Angeles. Various scenes depicting humanity's perspectives of some of the world's significant historical — such as the attack on the Russian Czar by nihilists, the mass production of Zyklon B poisons, the Gulag prisons, the assassination of the president, and a final showdown between Jesus and the Anti-christ — are seen and reflected in the song's lyrics. The cinematography is by Peter Leininger; the special EFX makeup is by Maggie Hunter, the production design is by Hanna Dryland, and digital compositing and post-production is by editor/visual EFX artist Christopher Neil.

"World Scum" lyrics:

Bloody century is upon thee
Revolution, war and disease
Earthquake, the cities falling
Catastrophe will kill the east
There will be fire
There will be famine, drought and plague
We will succumb in the arena
Thumbs down to seal our fate

World scum
Bloody century eclipses the sun
Blood scum
The generation of sin returns…

Down at the gates, the gates of hell, open and fell
JFK shot in the head – conspiracy
Auschwitz – they breathe Zyklon B
Gas chamber they all marched in…
Many shall come, many shall go, many shall learn
Many shall live, many shall die, many shall burn
One thing is certain, we all share the guilt
We'll die alone in the house religion built

World scum
Bloody century eclipses the sun
Blood scum
The generation of sin returns…

Procreation of the wicked
Mass slaughter of the weak
Mustafa and his children
Knife down and kill the living

Eternal devastation
Eternal devastation

The brutal human instinct
The spirit of inhumanity
Scum of a species failing
Holy war – death knell tolling

eternal devastation
Eternal devastation

Assassination of the czar
No more kings – no more czars
Damnation on the rise
Baptized by fire

A warning i see in these eyes
You cannot put a price on life
Holy purge will crack the sky
Terror screaming in the dark

H-Bomb – dropped out on the front
Hiroshima – Nagasaki – brutality
Armageddon draws a meggido
The final war – antichrist and Jesus
Arise descendents of Babylon
Judgement day has come and gone
Words of hate, words of filth and on and on
Influence for generations beyond…

The final war – antichrist and Jesus
The final war – antichrist and Jesus
The final war – antichrist and Jesus (End of lyrics.)

"World Scum" is the first video from SOULFLY's eighth album, "Enslaved", which is due on March 13 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at TallCat Studios in Phoenix, Arizona and was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, the seasoned knob twiddler behind some of the most notable bands in metal today, such as SHADOWS FALL, HATEBREED, THE RED CHORD and more.

"Enslaved" standard CD features the following 11 tracks:

01. Resistance
02. World Scum
03. Intervention
04. Gladiator
05. Legions
06. American Steel
07. Redemption of Man By God
08. Treachery
09. Plata O Plomo
10. Chains
11. Revengeance

The digital-only edition includes the following three bonus tracks:

12. Slave
13. Bastard
14. Soulfly VIII

SOULFLY's current lineup features Max and guitar dynamo Marc Rizzo, with STATIC-X's Tony Campos taking up the bass. The lineup is rounded out by drummer David Kinkade (BORKNAGAR, ARSIS, MALEVOLENT CREATION), a new-school, extreme skinsman whose brutality behind the kit brings a new flavor to the band.

Slash — the iconic, Grammy-winning rock guitarist and songwriter — is currently in a Los Angeles studio putting the finishing touches on his second solo album. Entitled "Apocalyptic Love", the disc is due out May 22 on Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI and will follow his 2010 debut album, "Slash", and his November 2011 first-ever live solo album, the two-CD/DVD set "Made In Stoke 24/7/11". Notably, the "Slash" album debuted on The Billboard 200 chart at #3 (#1 on the Rock chart, #1 on the Independent chart, and #1 on the Hard Music chart). Digitally, the album also became the #1 overall digital album and hit #1 on iTunes in 13 countries. Internationally, the disc achieved Top 5 chart positions in over a dozen major territories, hitting #1 in both Japan and New Zealand.

In the U.K., the album will be released on May 21 in exclusive Classic Rock Fan Pack form — providing a unique collectable package containing the studio album with bonus tracks alongside a specially created magazine with unseen behind-the-scenes content put together by Classic Rock. The Fan Pack format will also come with free gifts, including a pin badge and artwork poster and will be available to buy via more than 2000 retail outlets on newsstands nationally as well as the traditional high street and online music retailers. Roadrunner Records will simultaneously release the record digitally. The standard physical release of the Slash album will follow through Roadrunner Records on June 18.

For the new album, Slash — along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) — teamed with producer Eric Valentine, who also produced the "Slash" disc. All the songs were written together by Slash and Kennedy, and cameras have been rolling throughout the entire making of the album. Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes footage airing weekly beginning today.

A question-and-answer session with Slash about the new album follows below.

Q: Looking at all your Twitter updates, you sound really pumped about the new disc. This time around, you and Myles wrote all the songs and he sings lead on all the tracks. What inspired this scenario since your debut solo album featured multiple vocalists (including Myles on two songs)?

Slash: Well, having Myles sing on the first record inspired me to take him on the road, then taking him on the road inspired me to have him sing on the whole record. So yeah, the tour last year definitely inspired the decision for him to sing on the new record. He has a really broad range. He is just very musical as far as his melodic style is concerned and he's also very lyrical and just a really powerful singer. There's a lot of positives about the way he sings.

Q: Perhaps you want to talk a bit here about your other bandmates and what they each bring to the sound?

Slash: There's Brent who is probably one of the best drummers I've ever played with — he has a great way of playing very powerful rock n roll while still being able to keep it behind the beat and sexy. And then Todd has got to be one of the most overall talented musicians I've worked with, just a really great bass player. Todd's very quick in the studio, a quick learner and creative as a writer; on top of that, he's also a great singer.

Q: Beyond you and Myles writing all the songs and Myles singing all the leads, in what other ways is the new album perhaps different from your debut solo album?

Slash: Myles and I basically collaborated on the new material. The main thing is we wrote these songs together which is a big difference from the last album where I wrote each song with all of the different collaborators. The whole creative nucleus is between Myles and me. On top of this, the whole rhythm section of Brent and Todd brings something to the table and changes the dynamic completely from the last record — it's much more cohesive.

Q: With your record company Dik Hayd Records, you remain an independent artist and work with major companies for distribution. Can you talk about how you as an artist benefit by this scenario in these interesting times for the music industry?

Slash: It puts me more in the driver's seat of how I want to market the record, but even more importantly than that, I'm not giving half of everything that comes in on the album to the record company.

Q: Eric Valentine returns as producer for the new disc. What do you feel he brings as a producer to these songs and the overall approach?

Slash: The first thing we always talk about with Eric is he's an extremely gifted musician, but he is basically as talented an engineer, so it makes for a great combination as a producer. As a person he's easy to work with — he's very patient and he lives and breathes what he does. That's a lot like how I am, we're similar; I can call him at any moment and ask him a question or share an idea I have with him. He's always in his element and it's something that I can appreciate.

Q: You toured the world seven times with the last album. What are your tour plans for the new album?

Slash: Right now we're starting off with radio shows in the states and then we'll do as much of Europe as possible. We'll also tour in Asia and Australia, and try to hit South Africa this year as well as India and a couple other spots. Trying to just broaden our horizons a bit.

Slash earlier in the week unveiled the details of a headlining U.S. tour that will kick off on May 3 in Baltimore. The road trip will also includes stops at major festivals like Rock On The Range and Rocklahoma.

This Saturday (February 18), Slash will join Stevie Wonder, Chris Cornell, Lenny Kravitz, LL Cool J, Common, Snoop Dogg, former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Hopkins and more at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a 70th birthday celebration to honor boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Proceeds from the event will go toward awareness and prevention of numerous neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases, with funds also going to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Studio webisode #3:

The first look at the packaging for "Out To Die", the fifth full-length studio album from Norway's blackened thrashers AURA NOIR, is available below. The CD is scheduled for release on March 23 in Europe and March 27 in North America via Indie Recordings.

Speaking to Terrorizer magazine shortly after a recent listening session in Oslo, AURA NOIR guitarist/vocalist Aggressor stated about the band's new CD, "It feels right. That's all I can say really. I'm not sitting here digging it; it's more like I'm content with having the finished product there, and now we can go play live. Because I think our music comes into its element when we're playing live. For me, a new album is like, 'Okay, we have more songs to play live now.'"

"Out To Die" marks the return of guitarist Rune Eriksen (a.k.a. ex-MAYHEM guitarist/songwriter Blasphemer), who now resides in Portugal and leads his own band AVA INFERI. Eriksen made several trips back to Norway to work on the new AURA NOIR songs with Aggressor and Apollyon (guitar, bass, vocals, drums; also bassist in IMMORTAL).

"I wish we were all living in the same apartment and rehearsing every day, all three of us together, but obviously that's not possible because we have our private lives and everything," Aggressor told Terrorizer. "But it brought about some new ways of working, and it actually worked out okay in the end."

"Out To Die" track listing:

01. Trenches
02. Fed To The Flames
03. Abbadon
04. The Grin From The Gallows
05. Withheld
06. Priest's Hellish Fiend
07. Deathwish
08. Out To Die

Following the massively successful "Final Frontier World Tour 2010-11", IRON MAIDEN are back on the road this summer with a series of arena, amphitheatre and festival shows in the USA and Canada, opening in Charlotte, North Carolina on June 21 and finishing in Houston, Texas on Aug 18 (dates listed below), to be followed by further dates around the world in 2013. The "Maiden England World Tour" will closely mirror, in terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour". This opening section of the world tour is the band's most extensive visit to North America for many years and includes a number of cities the band have not played in a very long time, such as Charlotte, Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.

In most venues, tickets will go on sale on March 2 and March 3 but watch the band's official site or check local venue information for fuller details. Fan-club members should check out ironmaiden.com for exclusive first day ticket presales and contest to be "First To The Barrier."

"Maiden England" marks the third chapter in the history of IRON MAIDEN, a journey which began in 2004 with "The Early Days" DVD and subsequent 2005 "Early Days Tour". Part two followed in 2008 with the "Live After Death" DVD — the seminal 1984 concert recorded at Long Beach Arena in California during the "World Slavery Tour" — and the band embarking on their groundbreaking "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 2008/9", which saw them play to over two million fans in almost 40 countries.

Comments vocalist Bruce Dickinson: "We have great fun playing the history of MAIDEN tours because it gives us an opportunity between new albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue. It's always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live before, and of course we know our longstanding fans will enjoy seeing the original 'Seventh Son Tour' revisited — with many other surprises! Our intention is to play about two thirds of the original track list of 'Maiden England', including some songs we have not played live in a very,very long time, plus other favourites we just know the fans are going to want to hear! We always try to give our fans a great show musically, but we have always tried to make it as entertaining and memorable an experience as we can visually. And we all feel this show is going to do that splendidly! We can't wait to get started in Charlotte."

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

IRON MAIDEN continue to be actively dedicated to ensuring their fans always have full access to the best possible tickets in the fairest possible way. Manager Rod Smallwood comments: "We are trying to ensure that our fans get the tickets they want in the prime positions without paying over the odds to ticket scalpers. MAIDEN get infuriated with the way fans sometimes have to pay more than the ticket price to get good positions at our shows. So we will, wherever possible (festivals excluded), with the assistance of the promoters, arrange a paperless ticketing system at least for the front sections to try to eliminate as much of the ticket scalping and exchanges as we can. We put this into practice on our North American tour in 2010; it worked well and we received many positive comments back from our fans, so we intend to increase this where feasible. With paperless ticketing, only those who actually pay initially for the tickets will get into the show so scalping is generally avoided. We are also doing everything we can to avoid any drain of prime tickets going to the secondary ticketing sites which we feel make unfair profits from music fans.

"As we consider all our fans to be VIPs, no tickets will be held specifically for VIP use. At some venues, the promoter may provide the option for fans to pay extra for 'VIP parking,' early access, access to 'VIP bar' etc. But these will be purely optional for ticket holders only and will not be tied to ticket locations — the ability to get the best tickets should be the same for everybody outside of the usual presales.

"Finally, we are, of course, once again arranging exclusive ticket pre-sales for our fan club members so they can be quick off the mark for great tickets and will also continue to run the contest in appropriate venues for fan club members so they can be 'First To The Barrier' prior to the show. We hope that these measures will help our fans as much as possible and ask that they keep checking for details on our web site."

Ticketmaster comments: "Where possible the North American IRON MAIDEN shows will operate a paperless ticket policy. Select tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster's Paperless Ticket delivery, which means fans will not receive a physical concert ticket for their entry into the event. Buying paperless helps ensure fans have secure and convenient access to event tickets at the intended original sale price. On the day of show, concert goers just need to bring the credit card they used for the ticket purchase and a government-issued photo ID to the concert. All members of the ticket purchaser's party must be present at the same time to enter the venue. The venue's ticket usher will swipe their credit card upon entry and present each person in their party with seat locator slips for quick access into the show. To purchase paperless tickets or for more information, fans should visit www.ticketmaster.com/paperless or call the Ticketmaster charge-by-phone number at 1-800-745-3000."

"Maiden England" 1988 longform video VHS track listing:

* Moonchild
* The Evil That Men Do
* The Prisoner
* Still Life
* Die With Your Boots On
* Infinite Dreams
* Killers
* Can I Play With Madness
* Heaven Can Wait
* Wasted Years
* The Clairvoyant
* Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
* The Number Of The Beast
* Hallowed Be Thy Name
* Iron Maiden

"Maiden England" 2012 tour dates:

Jun. 21 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Jun. 23 - Atlanta, GA - Aarons Amphitheatre
Jun. 26 - Boston, MA - Comcast Center
Jun. 27 - Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach
Jun. 29 - Philadelphia, PI - Susquehanna Bank Center
Jun. 30 - Washington, DC - Jiffy Lube Live
Jul. 02 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
Jul. 05 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank
Jul. 08 - Quebec, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
Jul. 11 - Montreal, QC - Bell Center
Jul. 13 - Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre
Jul. 14 - Sarnia, ON - Bayfest
Jul. 16 - Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Jul. 18 - Detroit, MI - DTE Music Theatre
Jul. 19 - Indianapolis, IN - Klipsch Music Centre
Jul. 24 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Center
Jul. 26 - Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
Jul. 27 - Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
Jul. 29 - Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum
Jul. 30 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
Aug. 01 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre
Aug. 03 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug. 06 - Phoenix, AZ - Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
Aug. 09 - Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 12 - Albuquerque, NM - Hard Rock Pavilion
Aug. 13 - Denver, CO - Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
Aug. 15 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
Aug. 17 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion
Aug. 18 - Houston, TX - The Woodlands

GRAVEYARD was honored with the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" award at the Swedish "Grammis" gala, which was held last night (Tuesday, February 14) at Kungliga Operan in Stockholm.

The nominees in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" category were as follows:

* GRAVEYARD - "Hisingen Blues"
* HAMMERFALL - "Infected"
* IN FLAMES - "Sounds Of A Playground Fading"
* OPETH - "Heritage"
* THE HAUNTED - "Unseen"

The bands were all nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2011.

Last year's Grammis award in the "Best Hard Rock" category went to WATAIN for the band's "Lawless Darkness" album.

GRAVEYARD's second full-length album, "Hisingen Blues", sold 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 48 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.

"Hisingen Blues" entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 1. The CD, which was released in North America on April 19, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records, was produced, recorded, and mixed in 100 percent analog by Don Alsterberg (JOSÉ GONZALES, JUNIP, SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES, THE INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY) at Don Pierre Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Florida-based melodic metallers KAMELOT have posted a four-and-a-half-minute recap of their appearance on this year's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise — which set sail on January 23 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, Florida to George Town, Cayman Islands and returned four days later. You can now watch the footage below.

KAMELOT has announced its highly anticipated return to Europe on the heels of their new album. The trek kicks off in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on November 2, taking the band's spectacular show to over 20 top venues and cities in Europe.

KAMELOT has a flair for the theatrical, as well as their innovative and creative spirit. The tour promises to push the limits of the live concert experience, bringing fans a spectacle each and every night.

"This new tour is yet another step for us and the fans, it's more theatrical and we will be bringing the usual 'in-your-face' attitude our fans deserve," guitarist Thomas Youngblood said in a January interview. "It's an enigmatic theme, a new stage design and even more surprises for the KAMELOT fans!"

KAMELOT's recently completed North American, South American and European tours featured guest singer Fabio Lione of RHAPSODY OF FIRE following the departure of KAMELOT's longtime frontman, Roy Khan. A permanent replacement for Khan has not yet been announced.

KAMELOT returned to Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany last month with Sascha Paeth producing, to begin recording its new album. The production is expected to be several months long and will include special guests, orchestra arrangements and much more.

MAGENTA HARVEST, the Finnish death metal band featuring current and former members of FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN, MYGRAIN and ...AND OCEANS, has made its second demo, "Apparition Of Ending", available for streaming on MySpace. According to a press release, the new effort sees the group widening its soundscape with the help of Aleksi Virta of FINNTROLL, who "create[d] some epic keyboard stuff" to go along with the material.

"Apparition Of Ending" track listing:

* Apparition Of Ending
* The Unavailing Surpasser
* Carrion Of Men
* One Walks Down

"Apparition Of Ending" will be made available as a physical CD "in a month or two," according to the band.

MAGENTA HARVEST released its debut EP, "A Familiar Room", in February 2011. The four tracks — "Spawn Of Neglect", "Sermon", "Killing Sign" and "A Familiar Room" — can also be streamed on MySpace.

MAGENTA HARVEST was formed in 2005 as a two-man project featuring Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) on guitar and Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) on drums. In 2009, second guitarist Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) and bassist Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) joined the band. Another year went by before Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) agreed to front the group.

MAGENTA HARVEST states: "[Lillmåns' addition to the band] was easy because we had discussed about this with Mathias already a few years earlier, but the decision wasn't that clear at first because Mathias were quite busy with his other musical activities and we thought also that there was no need for any singer before we had the rest of band in order and also some stuff ready to work with.

"When Mathias joined the band he actually came directly to the studio. Of course he didn't have any lyrics ready then, but luckily we got help from Jan (ex-FINNTROLL). "

MAGENTA HARVEST is:

* Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) - Guitar
* Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) - Bass
* Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) - Guitar
* Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) - Vocals
* Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) - Drums

Avant-garde black metal act FORMLOFF will release its new album, "Spyhorelandet", in North America on March 12 via Eisenwald. The follow-up to 2006's "Adjø Silo" finds the eclectic Norwegian duo — Bernt Karsten Sannerud and Marius Sjøli – exploring the darker, more atmospheric realms of their past. Several session musicians were recruited to complete the nine-track recording, including two bass players, a drummer and a saxophonist.

Where most black metal revels in stories of fictional deities, benign and malignant, "Spyhorelandet" wallows in everyday themes. Much like the cover art, the music contained within bears the stark truth: When you peel back the skin, no matter how beautiful, what is left is the ugly personal histories each of us carries. Throughout "Spyhorelandet", naked inhabitants of our world are quoted directly. For many, defeat is their best and sometimes only asset.

In celebration of the record's upcoming release, Decibel magazine is currently streaming the title cut, "Spyhorelandet", noting "the track definitely sounds refreshing, as if gulping down fresh glacial streams after a half-decade of parched post-whatever, atavistic too-true-for-school black, or the floating-on-toilet bowl-water bullshit employed by the high-lo mind/musically daft of Liturgy, et al."

"Spyhorelandet" track listing:

01. Det Dritet Som Renner Ut I Ua
02. Harde Ord På Kammerset
03. Spyhorelandet
04. Faen!
05. Mig Og Drit
06. Skævven
07. Kon-Tiki Museet Brenner
08. Den Gamle Jorda
09. Drokkne I Ei Flo Ta Åske

"Spyhorelandet" audio stream:

"The Beginning And The End", a brand new song from the U.K. atmospheric rock band ANATHEMA, is available for free download at this location (e-mail sign-up required). The track comes off the group's new album, "Weather Systems", which will be released on April 24 via The End Records. The follow-up to 2010's "We're Here Because We're Here" was recorded in Liverpool, North Wales and Oslo, each place significant to ANATHEMA past, present and future. The record was produced and mastered by Christer-André Cederberg (ANIMAL ALPHA, IN THE WOODS..., DRAWN), whom ANATHEMA's Daniel Cavanagh has described as "a revelation. His calmness and brilliance has helped to bring about the greatest inter-band chemistry that ANATHEMA have experienced together in their career."

The bar for "Weather Systems" has been set pretty high, but Daniel Cavanagh is certain that the album will exceed these lofty expectations, stating, "it feels like we are at a creative peak right now, and this album reflects that. Everything from the production to the writing to the performances are a step up from our last album."

He continues, "This is not background music for parties. The music is written to deeply move the listener, to uplift or take the listener to the coldest depths of the soul."

The intertwining melodic structures of these profoundly beautiful songs are intensely powerful, yet simple. These are songs that will transport the listener closer to the heart of life, that is to say, to the heart of themselves.

It is also an album of polarity. The play of opposites; light and shade, birth and death, love and fear. The simple truths of life and loss, hope and strength and darker internal themes are all explored here.

ANATHEMA's career stretches back to 1990 when the band formed in Liverpool. Since then the band has embarked on a remarkable musical journey, initially emerging as pioneers of melodic heavy music and continually evolving over the ensuing years, always remaining true to their original goal of creating forward thinking, meaningful, passionate and honest music.

"Weather Systems" will please fans who call for more of Lee Douglas' vocals, as her role within ANATHEMA's brand of alternative, melodic rock has matured to become an integral energy. In this way and more, "Weather Systems" is the sound of a band finding their voice and growing in stature, moving further along their artistic path with a truly stunning musical vision.

Their best ever work? "Not yet," says Daniel, but he does believe that with "Weather Systems" they have surpassed previous glories. "We are pleased and proud of the record and we feel that, alongside the best moments of 'We're Here Because We're Here', this record contains our very best work so far in what is becoming a long career."

"Weather Systems" track listing:

01. Untouchable, Part 1
02. Untouchable, Part 2
03. The Gathering Of The Clouds
04. Lightning Song
05. Sunlight
06. The Storm Before The Calm
07. The Beginning And The End
08. The Lost Child
09. Internal Landscapes

"Carolus Rex", the new album from Swedish metallers SABATON, will be released in Europe on May 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The lyrics for the CD deal with the Swedish Empire (referring to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721) and are sung entirely in Swedish.

Commented the band: "For the first time ever we have had an expert to help us out with the theme, the well-known Swedish historian Bengt Liljegren. We have also added some extra time in the studio to find the absolute right sound on 'Carolus Rex', and our producer, Peter Tägtgren, says that this album will mark a brand new standard for how a heavy metal album should sound like!"

Liljegren's previously published works include acclaimed biographies of Adolf Hitler and Karl XII. He also appeared in the popular Swedish TV series "Boston Tea Party".

"Carolus Rex" track listing:

01. Dominium Maris Baltici
02. Lejonet Från Norden
03. Gott Mit Uns
04. En Livstid I Krig
05. 1 6 4 8
06. Karolinens Bön
07. Carolus Rex
08. Ett Slag Färgat Rött
09. Poltava
10. Konungens Likfärd
11. Ruina Imperii

The "Carolus Rex" cover artwork can be seen below.

The album's release will be followed by a two-year world tour.

SABATON will embark on a North American headlining tour in the spring. The "Swedish Empire Tour 2012" will kick off on April 10 in Tampa, Florida.

SABATON bassist Pär Sundström was forced to sit out several shows on the Canadian leg of the band's most recent North American tour due to a knee injury.

"World War Live: Battle Of The Baltic Sea", the first-ever live album from SABATON, was released on August 5, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.

According to SwedenAbroad.com, Swedish progressive metallers OPETH performed live in Singapore on February 9 at Fort Gate, Fort Canning.

In celebration of OPETH's nomination to the Swedish Music Export Prize and the Swedish Grammis award (Swedish Grammy equivalent), Ingemar Dolfe, who serves as Ambassador of Sweden to Singapore, hosted a reception at the Swedish residence where the band members had the opportunity to meet representatives from the local music industry and music bloggers.

In his welcome speech, Dolfe highlighted Sweden as one of the top five music exporters in the world and applauded the success OPETH had achieved on the world stage. He emphasized that the music industry is important for people's image of Sweden abroad and that the talented musicians and songwriters have helped to put Sweden on the world map.

Check out photos of the concert at this location. Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

The third in a series of four clips in which vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British/American grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH explains the lyrics and meaning behind each and every song on the band's new album, "Utilitarian", can be seen below. The eight-minute video covers the tracks "Orders of Magnitude", "Think Tank Trials", "Blank Look About Face" and "Leper Colony".

NAPALM DEATH will release its 14th studio album (excluding the cover album "Leaders Not Followers"), "Utilitarian", on February 27 in Europe and February 28 in North America via the band's longtime partner, Century Media Records. The cover artwork (see below) perfectly fits the album's theme and was created by the Danish artist Frode Sylthe, who is also responsible for THE HAUNTED's "rEVOLVEr" artwork.

In anticipation of this release, the band has now launched an "Occupy Napalm" Facebook tab to show their support for the Occupy movement and to provide fans with the latest news about their politically-charged "Utilitarian". With downloadable Occupy-themed stencils and screensavers, plus a special video teaser for "Utilitarian" created by Mitch Harris (guitar, vocals), this Facebook tab is the place to go for everything NAPALM DEATH!

"Utilitarian" track listing

01. Circumspect
02. Errors In The Signals
03. Everyday Pox
04. Protection Racket
05. The Wolf I Feed
06. Quarantined
07. Fall On Their Swords
08. Collision Course
09. Orders Of Magnitude
10. Think Tank Trials
11. Blank Look About Face
12. Leper Colony
13. Nom De Guerre
14. Analysis Paralysis
15. Opposite Repellent
16. A Gag Reflex
17. Aim Without An Aim (bonus track)
18. Everything In Mono (bonus track)

Upon "Utilitarian"'s release, NAPALM DEATH's limited-edition "Analysis Paralysis" seen-inch EP will also be available for purchase at CM Distro in black and clear vinyl. Its B-side includes the exclusive track "Youth Offender", making this a very collectable piece for any diehard NAPALM DEATH fan.

Greenway explains the album title and concept: "After some deliberation, we have decided on 'Utilitarian' as the album title. We generally try to avoid generic titles, and this seemed to have a lot of scope to it. I won't explain the full meaning of utilitarianism here because it's an ethical theory, and as ethical theories go, the depth and debate around it is quite heavy at times. It has a certain 'morality' aspect to it and that isn't something that drives me, so I also certainly have issues with it."

"So, rather than just nail that straight to the mast, of course we wanted to put our own spin on it by suggesting that those (i.e. the utilitarian in us, perhaps) who try to challenge everything, or fight against conventions, well, we go through periods of real self-doubt where we wonder if we're really making a difference. I suppose the conclusion is that, for the sake of all our freedoms, you should never stop, as even the feeling of resistance is at least a signal to those who would like to entirely control and dominate us — meaning everything from our instinctive behavior to our human entitlement to walk the earth unprovoked.

"Regarding the album overall, the final creases should be ironed out fairly soon, and immediately after that, we thought it would be good to top it off with a few U.K. dates. We've been playing one new song ('Quarantined') out on a tour of Canada and it's been well received, so we hope to perhaps throw in another one for now. Either way, we'll be bouncing off the walls again near you very soon."

Fan-filmed video footage of NAPALM DEATH performing two new songs — "Analysis Paralysis" and "Quarantined" — on January 27 at the Vortex club in Siegen, Germany can be seen below.

"Utilitarian" track-by-track - part 3:

"All Tomorrow's Funerals", the new video from the legendary San Francisco Bay Area gore grind act AUTOPSY, can be seen below. The song is the title cut of the band's new collection, which will be released on February 28 via Peaceville Records. This monstrous 22-track effort contains all of AUTOPSY's EPs remastered by the bandmembers themselves, as well as new cuts. Everything from "Retribution For The Dead" to the now-sold-out "The Tomb Within" will be presented on CD and DLP with all original artworks, liner notes from the band and new cover art from renowned artist Matt Cavotta.

"All Tomorrow's Funerals" track listing:

01. All Tomorrow’s Funerals (new track)
02. Broken People (new track)
03. Mauled To Death (new track)
04. Maggot Holes (new track)
05. The Tomb Within
06. My Corpse Shall Rise
07. Seven Skulls
08. Human Genocide
09. Mutant Village
10. Horrific Obsession
11. Feast of the Graveworm
12. Funereality
13. Fiend For Blood
14. Keeper Of Decay
15. Squeal Like A Pig
16. Ravenous Freaks
17. A Different Kind of Mindfuck
18. Dead Hole
19. Retribution For The Dead
20. Destined To Fester
21. In The Grip of Winter
22. Sign of the Corpse

Commented the band: "[The] few new tracks for 'All Tomorrow's Funerals' came out brutal and heavy as hell. Along with the newly written songs, we did a revamped version of 'Mauled To Death', which is the very last of the old songs that needed a proper album quality recording. This album will also contain all four EPs, all of which are out of print, as well as a compilation track from 1991, so the grand total is 22 tracks. It's something we've wanted to do for quite awhile, getting all the loose chunks together in one place rather than having them split up and added on as bonus tracks here and there. Everything has been painstakingly remastered with the band's guidance and sounds better and more crushing than ever. And don't worry, we didn't get carried away and ruin anything! Combine all that with killer new cover art from Matt Cavotta and we've got one hell of release."

AUTOPSY is currently working on all new material for its next album, due out late 2012/early 2013. The band states, "We can definitely promise more of what you would expect from AUTOPSY. There will be no compromise and no holding back. If you want 100% pure death metal brutality, you will certainly get it."

"Macabre Eternal", the first full-length album from AUTOPSY since 1995's "Shitfun", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 67 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.

"Macabre Eternal" was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California and includes AUTOPSY's first 10-plus minute song "Sadistic Gratification".

AUTOPSY had previously decided to make an official comeback after working together on two songs for the special 20th-anniversary edition of debut album, "Severed Survival", in late 2008; the band having originally split before the release of its fourth album, "Shitfun", in 1995. A five-song EP, "The Tomb Within", came out last September and saw the original trio of Chris Reifert, Danny Coralles and Eric Cutler joined on bass by Joe Trevisano (ex-ABSCESS).

"Fukushima", a new song from Regina, Saskatchewan-based Canadian extreme progressive metallers INTO ETERNITY, can be streamed below. The track was written about the Fukushima Daiichi, Japan nuclear disaster, a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The song talks about the struggles involved, and the amazing ability of the Japanese people to overcome such a tragedy.

"Fukushima", which features guest death vocals by Rob Doherty, was engineered, mixed and mastered by Justin Bender at Touchwood Studios in Regina. The artwork for the single was created by Mattias Norén.

INTO ETERNITY recently tapped Amanda Kiernan of the Edmonton, Alberta-based metal band THE ORDER OF CHAOS as their new touring vocalist. Kiernan takes over from Stu Block, who was hired away last year by American metallers ICED EARTH, leaving INTO ETERNITY without a full-time singer.

INTO ETERNITY founder and guitarist Tim Roth told the Regina Leader-Post that he invited Kiernan to Regina to try out for the band after hearing a tape of her performing his songs.

"I had all these guys who told me they could do the songs and hit the notes Stu could. So I had them try out and it was like, 'No way.' Nobody could do it," Roth said. "But Amanda's got this great voice … none of the dudes could hit the notes Stu could, so maybe it makes sense that only a chick can do it. Besides, she already fits in like she's one of the guys."

Kiernan, who said she's been an INTO ETERNITY fan since she was in high school, told the Regina Leader-Post about her audition, "At first, I was pretty intimidated. These guys are rock stars to me. There were times when I was sitting around with the guys, and then all of a sudden I'd get this little burst of energy because I reminded myself that I was sitting with INTO ETERNITY."

INTO ETERNITY's signature sound has often been described as a hybrid of latter-day DEATH and CONTROL DENIED, combined with the technical stylings of DREAM THEATER.

INTO ETERNITY is among the confirmed bands for the 11th edition of the Manitoba Metalfest, set to take place February 24-25 at The Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

INTO ETERNITY last year released its first new material since 2008 in the form of a new song called "Sandstorm". The track, which is available on iTunes and Bandcamp, features guest death vocals by Rob Doherty and marks the recording debut of Newbury, who was previously known in the western Canadian metal scene as a member of Edmonton, Alberta-based group DEATH TOLL RISING.

"Sandstorm" was written the day the USA took out Osama Bin Laden, and is inspired by the events that transpired.

INTO ETERNITY's last album, "The Incurable Tragedy", came out in 2008 via Century Media.

"To Smoulder", the new video from Hungarian extreme metallers EKTOMORF, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's very special "acoustic" album, "The Acoustic", which will be released on February 17 via AFM Records.

"The Acoustic" contains cover versions (LYNYRD SKYNYRD's "Simple Man" and "Folsom Prison Blues" by JOHNNY CASH), re-recorded EKTOMORF classics ("I Know Them", "Redemption", "Who Can I Trust", "Stigmatized" and "I'm In Hate"), plus five brand new tracks, written specially for this release. All artwork for the CD was created by Tim Eckhorst, who previously did illustrations for the Wacken Open Air festival and various other bands.

"The Acoustic" track listing:

01. I Know Them
02. I'm In Hate
03. Be Free
04. Redemption
05. Simple Man
06. To Smoulder
07. Folsom Prison Blues
08. Again
09. Through Your Eyes
10. Fate
11. Stigmatized
12. Who Can I Trust

EKTOMORF's last album, "Redemption", was released on December 17, 2010 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at Antfarm studios in Århus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen, who has previously worked with DARK TRANQUILLITY, THE HAUNTED and HEAVEN SHALL BURN, among others.