Original TROUBLE drummer and RETRO GRAVE main man Jeff "Oly" Olson has penned his debut column this month for Germany's bi- monthly music magazine, Big Five. The column, titled Jeff's Heady Metal, will be a regular feature in the magazine with Olson re-capping his most memorable interviews with musicians, and his personal thoughts about them, from his Internet radio show, Heady Metal With Jeff Olson.

The first column entails Olson's thoughts about his first year as a radio show host as well as memorable chats with such musicians as Dave Chandler (SAINT VITUS), Vinnie Paull Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGE PLAN, HELLYEAH), Bobby Liebling and Victor Griffin (PENTAGRAM), Oderus Orungus (GWAR), Aaron Stainthorpe (MY DYING BRIDE) and more.

The December/January 2012 issue of Big Five is on German newsstands now.

The Pulse Of Radio reports that the readers of Rolling Stone magazine have voted "Unchained" as their favorite VAN HALEN song, according to a new poll that asked fans to name their 10 favorite tracks from the legendary band. Eighty percent of the final list of songs came from the David Lee Roth era of the group, while 20 percent voted for tunes featuring singer Sammy Hagar. No tracks from vocalist Gary Cherone's brief tenure were selected.

"Unchained" is from VAN HALEN's fourth album, 1981's "Fair Warning", which is often regarded as the group's heaviest effort. Rolling Stone said about the track, "It's not quite as famous as 'Jump' or 'Hot for Teacher', but 'Unchained' has frequently been voted the favorite song of VAN HALEN fans. During the interlude, producer Ted Templeman breaks in and says 'Come on, Dave, gimme a break!' Dave responds with, 'One break, coming up!' According to legend, Ted felt that Dave was being too over the top and he scolded him. The band liked the moment and kept it in. Recent evidence suggests that the bit was rehearsed, but it's hard to say for sure. Like most things in the VAN HALEN world, there are two competing narratives of one event."

A new report at the Rolling Stone web site, incidentally, contends that it was the BEACH BOYS, and not VAN HALEN, who were supposed to make a "reunion" announcement at the Grammy Nominations Concert on Wednesday night (November 30) in Los Angeles.

The mystery "iconic" band failed to show up, with The Recording Academy president Neil Portnow saying that they were not "quite at the point" where they wanted to appear.

Many assumed that it was supposed to be VAN HALEN, since a tweet from the Grammy organization namedropped a couple of the band's hits as hints about who the act could be. But the tweet was actually directed at speculation from the web site Hitfix, which had guessed VAN HALEN would be the mystery act.

The "reunion" reference was also confusing, since VAN HALEN reunited with Roth four years ago. The band is expected to release a new album early next year.

The 10 favorite VAN HALEN songs according to Rolling Stone readers:

01. Unchained
02. Panama
03. Hot For Teacher
04. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
05. Jump
06. Runnin' With The Devil
07. Mean Street
08. Eruption
09. Right Now
10. Dreams

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON are among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's Grammy nomination is for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter". At present, "Curl Of The Burl" is ascending the Active Rock charts in the Top 15 and moving towards Top 10 territory.

The members of MASTODON received the news of their nomination while on tour and responded in kind: "We were so excited to find out that we've been nominated for a Grammy. It's a huge honor for our band, and we really appreciate the recognition."

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

* DREAM THEATER - "On The Backs Of Angels"
* FOO FIGHTERS - White Limo"
* MASTODON - "Curl Of The Burl"
* MEGADETH - "Public Enemy No. 1"
* SUM 41 - "Blood In My Eyes"

CHICKENFOOT "III" art director Todd Gallopo was nominated in the "Best Recording Package" category.

To be eligible for nomination, an artist's work must have been released between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011.

Nominations for the 54th annual Grammy Awards were announced on Wednesday (November 30) by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest in music over the past year, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. For the fourth year, nominations for the annual Grammy Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night", a one-hour special broadcast live on CBS from Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be held on "Grammy Sunday," February 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

For a complete list of nominees, go to this location.

In an effort to continuously evolve its Grammy Awards process, The Recording Academy announced in April that it had restructured the Grammy categories across all genres and fields, bringing the total number of categories to be recognized at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012, to 78 from 109. As a result, instead of separate "Best Metal" and "Best Hard Rock" performance prizes, there is now a single "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" award.

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".

MASTODON will end its current U.S. tour today (Friday, December 2) in the band's hometown of Atlanta with a special show. A tour of Europe will follow and wrap on February 11.

Video footage of KILL DEVIL HILL — the band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals — performing on November 5, 2011 at Pitter's Cafe and Lounge in Cape Girardeau, Missouri can be seen below.

Appice and Brown will appear on this Saturday's (December 3) episode of "That Metal Show" on VH1 Classic. The show premieres at 11:00 p.m. EST.

KILL DEVIL HILL's self-titled debut album is scheduled for a March 2012 release via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD is being produced by Warren Riker, who is best known for his work with DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SUBLIME and CATHEDRAL.

KILL DEVIL HILL recently finished demoed around 10 songs, which, according to Appice, sound "like a cross between BLACK SABBATH, ALICE IN CHAINS and a little bit of LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. It's heavy, but with a lot of cool hooks and melodic overtones, too."

The members of KILL DEVIL HILL previously stated about their songwriting and recording approach, "We are going old school meets new; no sample drums here!!"

KILL DEVIL HILL made its live debut on April 29, 2011 at the Key Club in Hollywood, California.

KILL DEVIL HILL is:

* Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) - Vocals
* Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) - Guitar
* Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) - Bass
* Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) - Drums

On November 25th, Las Vegas' favorite band SIN CITY SINNERS released their third CD, A Sinners Christmas. The CD includes guest appearances by George Lynch (LYNCH MOB, ex-DOKKEN), Ron Keel (KEEL), Slim Jim Phantom (THE STRAY CATS) Jizzy Pearl (RATT, LOVE/HATE), Pete Loran (TRIXTER), Louie Merlino (BEGGARS & THIEVES), Frank Dimino (ANGEL) and Sammy Serious (THE ZEROS).

Audio samples for all songs on A Sinners Christmas can be found at this location.

A Sinners Christmas was recorded, mixed and mastered at Hit Track Studios in Las Vegas and produced by Brent Muscat and Tom Parham. Executive produced by Jason Green

A Sinners Christmas tracklisting is as follows:
'We Three Kings' (featuring George Lynch and Todd Kerns)
'Winter Wonderland' (featuring Frank Dimino of Angel)
'Run Rudolph Run' (featuring Brent Muscat)
'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree' (featuring Todd Kerns)
'O Holy Night' (featuring Jizzy Pearl)
'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' (featuring Louie Merlino of Beggars & Thieves)
'Jingle Bell Rock' (featuring Slim Jim Phantom and Michael Ellis)
'Silent Night' (featuring Ron Keel)
'I'll Be Home For Christmas' (featuring Pete Loran of Trixter)
'We Wish You A Sinners Christmas' (featuring Todd Kerns and Louie Merlino)

A portion of the sales from A Sinners Christmas will be donated to the Toys For Tots' Las Vegas chapter, who help to make sure less fortunate children have toys for Christmas.

Sin City Sinners are composed of core members Todd Kerns (SLASH, AGE OF ELECTRIC) Brent Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT) Dr. Michael Ellis and Rob Cournoyer (RAGING SLAB).

Viking metallers HAMMER HORDE have revealed the cover artwork for their forthcoming album, Vinlander. The concept is based on the album’s title track, and was created by the hand of legendary Belgian artist Kris Verwimp (ARKONA, MANEGARM , SUIDAKRA).

Vinlander tracklisting:

'Infinite Warthirst'
'Vinlander'
'Hero's Heart'
'Oathkeeper '
'Hymn Of The Fjords'
'Riders Of Annihilation'
'Archaic Offerings'
'Led By The Ancient Light'
'Midgårdian Revelry'
'Hoddmímir's Holt'
'The Curse Of Andvari'

The release date for Vinlander, which was mastered at Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussila, is planned for early 2012 via Storm Surge Records. An exact date will be announced soon.

The official live video for "All Night Doctors", the second single from reformed British alternative rock band BUSH's new studio album, "The Sea Of Memories", can be seen below.

"The Sea Of Memories" sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on September 13, the CD was produced by Bob Rock (AEROSMITH, METALLICA) and is the first BUSH album to be made available via the band’s own imprint, Zuma Rock Records, through an exclusive partnership with eOne Music.

BUSH frontmanGavin Rossdale said he's happy to be back with his band because things were "odd and weird" when he was a solo artist. He told People magazine, "Even at the height of everything going really well and the great reaction to [my] solo record, there was always, 'When's the band getting back together?'"

He added, "It was this ricochet around my head. For me, it felt like the right place to be because it feels complete. When I wasn't in BUSH, it was just odd and weird being under my name."

The current BUSH lineup includes original drummer Robin Goodridge, guitarist Chris Traynor and bassist Corey Britz. Traynor replaced original axeman Nigel Pulsford in 2001 while Britz has stepped in for Dave Parsons.

Chuck Billy, vocalist for Bay Area thrash legends TESTAMENT, throws down the following update on drummer Paul Bostaph’s departure from the band:

“I, Eric, Alex, and Greg want to congratulate our brother, forever, Paul Bostaph on his new band, BLACKGATES. And while ‘The Hands of Mayhem’ will be sorely missed from our band, we wish him the ultimate success in everything that he does in his future.”

Testament is now actively seeking the heaviest drummer on the planet. Details will be announced soon.

Testament's new album, The Dark Roots Of Earth, will be unleashed upon the world this spring, 2012. Updates to follow.

Back in September, Bostaph was a guest on the 107.7 The Bone's Metal Zone, where he discussed with Nikki Blakk the injury that has kept him from drumming most of 2011, as well as his new project, BLACKGATES.

Video footage of Colombian pop star Shakira talking about her decision to perform a cover version of the METALLICA classic "Nothing Else Matters" during her most recent world tour can be seen below.

"I am great fan of bands like [LED] ZEPPELIN, NIRVANA or THE CURE," she says. "I used to be a huge METALLICA fan when I was 15, 16 years old. I remember I was graduating from high school back then and I used to sing 'Nothing Else Matters' all day long. I am still a very huge METALLICA fan, though. [And] I thought it would be kind of surprising to include it in my repertoire for this tour."

The original version of "Nothing Else Matters" was released as the fourth single from METALLICA's fifth, self-titled album, which came out in 1991. The song reached position No. 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as top-ten positions on many European charts.

"Nothing Else Matters" was featured as a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica and has been covered over forty times by a host of different artists, including STAIND, BIF NAKED, DIE KRUPPS, REV THEORY and APOCALYPTICA.

Professionally filmed video footage of ALICE IN CHAINS' entire November 12, 2011 concert at the Maquinaria Festival in Santiago, Chile can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Them Bones
02. Dam That River
03. Rain When I Die
04. Again
05. Check My Brain
06. It Ain't Like That
07. Your Decision
08. Got Me Wrong
09. We Die Young
10. Last of My Kind
11. Down In A Hole
12. Nutshell
13. Acid Bubble
14. Angry Chair
15. Man In The Box

Encore:

16. Rooster (with Duff McKagan)
17. No Excuses
18. Would?

ALICE IN CHAINS is working on material for a new record since completing the touring cycle behind 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue".

"Black Gives Way To Blue" was the first all-new ALICE IN CHAINS record in 14 years and Cantrell told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that it represented a rebirth for the group. "You know, the possibilities are limitless," he said. "The cool thing is, this band is alive, and we're alive. And we've had an amazing life. And we've lost some people along the way, and we've had to change, and we've had to dig within ourselves to answer some very serious questions about life. It's been a real meaningful journey, and we're really dedicated to going through the process, you know, and seeing what life has to offer."

ALICE IN CHAINS went into hibernation in 1996, mostly due to vocalist Layne Staley's long struggle with drug addiction.

Staley died in April 2002 and the band appeared to have died with him. But the group returned in 2006 with singer/guitarist William DuVall introduced into the lineup.

The group did several tours through 2008 before finally committing itself to writing and recording "Black Gives Way To Blue".

Swedish tech-death assassins SPAWN OF POSSESSION have completed work on teir third full-length album, "Incurso", for a spring release via Relapse Records. The CD, which will contain nine tracks plus an instrumental intro, was recorded at Pama Studios in Kristianopel, Sweden with engineer Magnus "Mankan" Sedenberg.

According to a press release, "devastating riffs, jaw-dropping time-signatures and improbably complex songwriting coalesce to create an opus of next-level death metal on 'Incurso', which the band promises to be their most supreme work to date, and more devastating than ever."

As previously announced, SPAWN OF POSSESSION will embark on a month-long European tour in March as the support act for labelmates OBSCURA. Also scheduled to appear on the bill are GOROD and EXIVIOUS.

SPAWN OF POSSESSION (Jonas Bryssling: guitar, Dennis Röndum: vocals, Erlend Casperson: bass, Henrik Schönström: drums, Christian Münzner: guitar) formed in 1997 and has previously released two full-length albums. The band's latest CD, "Noctambulant" (2006, Neurotic Records), received international critical acclaim for its blend of musical chops and unfettered extremity.

Quality video footage of JUDAS PRIEST performing the song "Beyond The Realms Of Death" on December 1, 2011 at Bayfront Park Amphitheater in Miami, Florida can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Rapid Fire
02. Metal Gods
03. Heading Out To The Highway
04. Judas Rising
05. Starbreaker
06. Victim Of Changes
07. Never Satisfied
08. Diamonds & Rust (JOAN BAEZ cover)
09. Prophecy
10. Night Crawler
11. Turbo Lover
12. Beyond The Realms Of Death
13. The Sentinel
14. Blood Red Skies
15. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (FLEETWOOD MAC cover)
16. Breaking The Law
17. Painkiller

Encore:

18. The Hellion (taped intro)
19. Electric Eye
20. Hell Bent For Leather
21. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off the North American leg of its "Epitaph" farewell tour on October 12 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas (with support from THIN LIZZY and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY).

"The Chosen Few", the newly released compilation album from JUDAS PRIEST, sold 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The collection, which came out on October 11 via Legacy/Sony, contains songs that were selected by some of the biggest names of the hard rock/heavy metal world, including KISS' Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, METALLICA's James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, Alice Cooper and SLIPKNOT's Corey Taylor.

Regarding JUDAS PRIEST's farewell world tour, singer Rob Halford previously said, "We're pulling out all the stops. We've built a brand new stage set, we've got all the effects that people love us for — the lasers, the fire, the bombs, the smoke, new costumes, and the bike. It's just a full-on metal extravaganza."

As for whether this is really the end of JUDAS PRIEST's touring days, guitarist Glenn Tipton said, "We don't plan on retiring. We've said that this is our last world tour. It takes a chunk out of your life — 18 months. We won't be doing any more world tours as such and in many parts of the world, it will be the last time people will get a chance to see us. But we're not gonna stop. We've got an album in the can now, we will start to write with [new guitarist] Richie [Faulkner], there will be more albums, and who knows?! There might be a string of dates that we can manage to do. We're just not gonna do another major world tour. We've been doing it for 40 years and it's time to let the younger bands have the chance."

Former STRATOVARIUS and current SYMFONIA guitarist/songwriter Timo Tolkki has released the following statement via his Facebook page:

"I don't know how many of you are interested in reading this and quite frankly, I dont even care so much, but I am just writing down some early morning thoughts regarding SYMFONIA and other stuff going on in my life.

"As it turned out to be, it all started from a cake. I thought it might be some kind of a celestial joke and maybe it was, but when two fans handed me a SYMFONIA cake after the last gig of SYMFONIA's South American tour, after spending three nights in a 15-buck cold motel with grey concrete walls looking like a prison in Santiago de Chile and flying 28 hours to another continent to play to audiences varying from 100 to 350, I started to think that maybe this really is it. The cake was in a funny way telling me: 'Hey, Timo, don't you see: it's over.' And I started to really consider my whole musician's career. This happened in June.

"Exactly a year before, I had flown to Sweden to record three demo songs I had composed hoping to record some vocals of André [Matos; SYMFONIA vocalist; also formerly of ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIPER]. I spent there six days and from those days, I was able to squeeze about six hours of singing from him. In between going to supermarkets, changing diapers and me trying to solve some of their domestic disputes, I started to think if it was such a good idea after all. But people liked the demos and I went full-on producing the [debut SYMFONIA album] 'In Paradisum' to which I put around 1000 working hours.

"André Matos told me very clear that this band should not do any gigs if it doesnt make any money. I basically agreed, but at the same time I knew that people would still consider it as a new band, not 'The Spartacus of Metal' where the gates of superstardom would open just like that.

"Uli Kusch [former SYMFONIA drummer] had been in and out of band due to his hand injury and in the middle of vocal recordings in Sweden, he sent me a mail telling me he would never ever play any gigs in his life because 'he was tired of piss-smelling backstage rooms, the chaos, the travelling, etc. In vain I tried to tell him that this was not what we agreed. He did tell me that if SYMFONIA would make a second album, we could use his name for 10,000 euros and use Alex Landenburg for the recordings. And after 10 minutes came a text message that he also wanted me to pay the taxes of his fee so it would total 13,000 euros for the usage of his name. I did not respond to that but I really found it hard to believe. Then Matos lost his voice in the middle of the vocal recordings for four days and while hunting for cortison shots in the middle of the deepest Swedish countryside, I really started to think that this is not gonna work.

"Well, we got the vocals done, did the interviews and released the album. I still think it's a good album.

"Also the Japanese earthquake messed the little touring plans the band had. Then André told me we could make a lucrative tour in South America booked by his manager. Apparently, there was some mysterious investor that was in the game.

"I should have known better even hearing the word 'investor.'

"I decided to do the tour and after flying 30 hours — Helsinki-Frankfurt-Rome-Sao Paulo — we landed only to hear that the tour is cancelled. At that point I was already ready to buy a ticket back to Finland but they managed to make a settlement and we did, I guess it was, six gigs. It was the worst and heaviest tour I have ever done in my career.

"Keyboard player Mikko Harkin developed high fever and lung inflammation that was bounding pneumonia.

"While lying two days in Sao Paulo in Formula 1 hotel (the cheapest you can get there) in a darkness I was starting to really get doubts about my future as a musician.

"When I got the sales figures from Edel Records [for the debut SYMFONIA album] and the report from the booking agency for the festivals of summer 2012, I decided to call it a day. It didnt make any sense to try to 'conquer' the metal world since it was obvious that there was not enough interest. Don't get me wrong, it's totally cool if there is no interest. Then I thought about my career. Around 3000 gigs, 20 years, 20 CDs, productions, clinics, travelling. I realised that I have done a lot.

"I guess most of you know that I am suffereing from bipolar disorder, one of the worst mental disorders, but with medication and non-stressful lifestyle, this illness can be controlled but never cured. Playing in a touring band is far from 'non stressful lifestyle' and in fact the rock 'n' roll life itself is manic with its highs and lows.

"In those long STRATOVARIUS tours being undiagnosed with the illlness, I could have died. I am not kidding.

"[On March 3] next year I will be 46.

"This autumn I made a decision to take some time off from music business and concentrate on something else.

"I have a wonderful wife and daughter, who also happens to be a world-class singer. I started giving guitar lessons again. I'm taking lots of photos. In other words, living quite normal life.

"I do realize the marks the years have left in me and that I should rest and heal the wounds. There is a lot to heal.

"The music business is in extremely sick state in this moment and it's not gonna get any better. In a few years we will know what kind of form it will take. Maybe I one day take some part of it, maybe I don't. I really don't know at the moment.

"So what about my future? If you are interested in that, I can only say that it is possible that I will never record anything again. For some of you this might come as a relief.

"I don't know what the future will hold for me but I want to thank all of you who have supported me in these 22 some years.

"For you who haven't supported me and continuosly are mocking me, for example at Stratoboard ([the official STRATOVARIUS message board] which makes me really sad mainly due lack of respect from a band that was my vision for 22 years and that still plays 80% of my songs although there is two guys left in the band called STRATOVARIUS), I also want to thank you because without you guys, I could never have done everything I have done.

"It's been a great career. I hope the future brings more music, but most likely it will not. But still after all I can say... I did it my way.

"Hope to see you somewhere. Take care of yourselves."

Despite rumors brewing all over the industry that QUEEN is prepping a new album featuring unfinished Freddie Mercury tracks, drummer Roger Taylor broke the news that, sadly, they're not.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Taylor, who along with guitarist, Brian May, keeps the QUEEN brand alive, spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock, and explained, "I've got to tell you, there won't be an album. There's just not enough and the last thing I want to do is have a sort of barrel-scraping exercise. But there's a couple of great tracks that Freddie recorded with Michael Jackson that Brian and I are working on and they are good. So at some point they will surface I think when we feel it's a good moment. I don't really want to ride any sort of wave there. So that's an interesting thing, but that will be probably later some point next year."

With the prospect of new QUEEN albums drying up, The Pulse Of Radio asked Taylor if he had planned on QUEEN growing old in there second incarnation with former frontman, Paul Rodgers. "Y'know, that was never going to happen," he said. "That was always. . . it was a thing, Paul had his career — we had our different things. Now, Brian and I, we're never going to tour with that kind of intensity any more, I think."

1991's "Innuendo" was the last album of new music QUEEN released during Freddie Mercury's lifetime. Mercury died of AIDS on November 24, 1991 at age 45.

In 1995, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon overdubbed Mercury's final piano and vocal recordings to create the band's 15th — and final-four man QUEEN album — "Made In Heaven".

Deacon officially retired from music in 1997 — although he is still a voting member and quarter partner in QUEEN.

In 2008, Brian May and Roger Taylor, who had been touring with Paul Rodgers as QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS, released the chart bomb, "The Cosmos Rocks", before calling it a day as a trio and a recording entity — despite a string of globally sold out concerts.

QUEEN is currently prepping a self-produced tribute act — dubbed QUEEN EXTRAVAGANZA — to tour next year "playing the band's music combined with unseen footage and a production spectacle" which is completely sanctioned and controlled by the band. The competition is now in its second round of tryouts.

Recently released are deluxe editions of their final five albums as part of the band's 40th-anniversary celebration. The albums — "The Works" (1984), "A Kind Of Magic" (1986), "The Miracle" (1989), "Innuendo" (1991), and "Made In Heaven" (1995) — all of which are sold in a exclusive box set through Amazon.com.

Spanish female-fronted symphonic metallers DIABULUS IN MUSICA have inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records. The band's sophomore album will be released in March 2012.

Comments the group: "We feel extremely happy and proud to start working hand-in-hand with one of the biggest labels in our genre today. We both share a similar enthusiasm towards the new album, which is why we feel confident about our future and are strongly motivated.

"Our upcoming release is full of passion, energetic, yet delicate, and also a big step forward in our music. We are sure that this new deal with Napalm Records will bring our music to the next level!"

Formed in 2006, DIABULUS IN MUSICA's sound is described as "symphonic with gothic elements, although their influences are diverse."

DIABULUS IN MUSICA's debut album, "Secrets", was released in May 2010 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was engineered by Spanish producer Iñaki Llarena and was mixed by former EPICA guitarist Ad Sluijter. It was mastered by Sascha Paeth, Simon Oberender and Michael "Miro" Rodenberg at Gate studios in Wolfsburg, Germany.

DIABULUS IN MUSICA is:

Zuberoa Aznárez: Vocals
Gorka Elso: Keyboards
Adrián M. Vallejo: Guitars
Alex Sanz: Bass Guitar
Xabi Jareño: Drums

Indie Recordings has announced the signing of Norway's DUNDERBEIST. The band's new album will be released on Febuary 3 in Norway, February 10 in the rest of Europe and February 14 in North America.

DUNDERBEIST is described in a press release as "a seven-headed animal [which] is ready to make an everlasting impression on the hard rock/metal world."

Featuring members of STONEGARD (plus several other renowned Norwegian rock/metal bands), DUNDERBEIST has been building a solid reputation in Norway as one of the strongest live acts and an exciting and innovative band to bring the metal sound to new levels and new generations.

German metal queen Doro Pesch recently announced the release of the "official" Christmas anthem for all metalheads.

"I had a feeling the time was right to record a song for Christmas," says Doro. "I am recording my new album right now, which should be out by next summer. While doing this, I suddenly came up with a fitting melody and lyrics."

Entitled "Merry Metal X-Mas", the track is performed by Doro and features a guest appearance by bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such of German thrash metal veterans SODOM.

"I definitely wanted something loud and funny," Doro explains.

"Merry Metal X-Mas" will be released December 9, 2011 and will be available as digitial download and limited seven-inch vinyl single (Christmas tree green).

A five-minute video clip of Doro talking about "Merry Metal X-Mas" can be seen below.

Swiss folk act ELUVEITIE have revealed the cover art and the tracklist for their upcoming album, Helvetios, which is scheduled to be released on February 10, via Nuclear Blast.

Helvetios tracklist:
'Prologue'
'Helvetios'
'Luxtos'
'Home'
'Santonian Shores'
'Scorched Earth'
'Meet The Enemy'
'Neverland'
'A Rose For Epona'
'Havoc'
'The Uprising'
'Hope'
'The Siege'
'Alesia'
'Tullianum'
'Uxellodunon'
'Epilogue'

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor has slammed Scott Weiland as a "lazy piece of shit" following the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER frontman's decision to record and release "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year", an album of holiday standards.

During the spoken-word segment at Corey's November 28, 2011 "An Evening With Corey Taylor" solo appearance at Radio Radio in Indianapolis, Indiana, the SLIPKNOT vocalist expressed his disdain over the lack of imagination in modern art, particularly a it relates to movie sequels and remakes.

"Tonight's topic, if you haven't figured it out, is sloth," Corey said. "Because these motherfuckers would rather just 'cha-ching' than actually use their fucking brains to give us anything good these fucking days.' He added, "More and more people are only interested in money than fucking doing anything that's good. I'm not saying everyone, but there's a lot of fucking people out there who would rather just take your money and leave you with nothing. I'll give you another example. Does anyone know who Scott Weiland is? Do you know that Scott Weiland has a Christmas album now? [Laughs] Oh, it's bad. It's bad. Let me fucking explain to you how bad it is. There is a video online of him singing, and he's very serious. 'Cause Christmas is serious. His hair is all slicked back and he's in his shitty tuxedo. He goes [imitates Weiland's singing]. So I'm watching this — painfully watching this, because hey, know your enemy — and I'm just like, 'Why?' It's not that he's a bad singer, 'cause he's not. I love STP, I love some of the shit that he did with VELVET REVOLVER. It's not that he's a bad fucking singer. He's a lazy piece of shit, is what he is at this point. 'I'm gonna get up here…' [imitates Weiland singing and makes snoring sound]. It's all these people who would rather cash in on the little fucking notoriety that they have and take your money and give you nothing back. And that, to me, is the real — the real — sloth in this country. Because I don't know about you, [but] I work really hard for my money — I work very fucking hard for my money — and when I actually spend money on something, I expect it not to suck. Is that too much to fucking ask for anymore, man?"

In a recent interview with The Sudbury Star, Weiland stated about his decision to record a Christmas album, "Um, well, why not?" He continued, "Well, you know what, man? People don't know me. They know what someone’s opinion is. And they know my songs. But they really don't know me. Christmas, ever since I was a kid, was a big thing. It still is a big thing."

"My memories of Christmas are very joyful," he added. "It was a special time. I remember we would wake up in the morning, and my father would put on the record player and play old albums. He would usually start out with orchestral versions of classics and chorals. Listening to those songs is something I always remember."

Taylor earlier in the year recorded an album's worth of material with VELVET REVOLVER, which has been more or less on hiatus since its split with Weiland in April 2008.

VELVET guitarist Slash admitted in a recent interview that he was the main reason why Taylor didn't get the frontman job, explaining, "It just didn't seem to fit right to me. And he's great, and I love Corey, but it didn't seem like the answer to the VELVET REVOLVER problem."

Taylor told a Canadian radio station after hearing of Slash's comments, "I guess it just wasn't working for him, which . . . He's Slash and he's entitled to have that, and I'm not gonna argue with him. But it was cool to just be able to get together and jam with those guys and I made some really cool friends."

Corey Taylor talking about Scott Weiland

As previously reported, German metallers RAGE will release their new album, 21, on February 24th via Nuclear Blast. The material was recorded with Charlie Bauerfeind (BLIND GUARDIAN, HALFORD, HAMMERFALL) at Twilight Hall studios in Grefrath. 21 will feature the following tracks:

'House Wins'
'Twenty One'
'Forever Dead'
'Feel My Pain'
'Serial Killer'
'Psycho Terror'
'Destiny'
'Death Romantic'
'Black And White'
'Concrete Wall'
'Eternally'

The international edition of the Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has published a profile of Ewo Pohjola, one of the two owners of King Foo, which currently manages about 20 bands, including Finnish/Swedish symphonic metal sueprstars NIGHTWISH.

Pohjola emphasises that he learned how to be a rock manager simply by doing it. He feels that international music fairs have been his most important schools. "There you can meet an amazing array of people, and knowing the right people is crucial for a manager," he says. "Many probably would be better educated for this work, but if you don't know anybody, there's no point."

More important than education has been the experience.

"I would say that those who want to become managers should play in a band, and work for a year or two in a record company or agency," he says. "All of this is useful, because everyone is in it for personal gain. It is easier to see things in perspective after seeing all of this from the inside."

NIGHTWISH's 2007 album, "Dark Passion Play", was the most expensive and cumbersome to produce, but it has sold more than a million copies.

"We have been lucky with record companies and tour agencies, and they have also been willing to take risks," Pohjola says. "However, the most important thing is that the pieces have continued to be challenging and of high quality."

Henry Rollins recruited SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro, STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga and members of Rob Zombie's band, including guitarist John 5, for a benefit concert on November 30 at the Avalon in Hollywood, California.

Legendary artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the exclusive poster for the event, was a guest DJ, and Kate Flannery of "The Office" delivered a hilarious musical comedy routine with her ironic lounge act, THE LAMPSHADES.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Calling Dr. Love (KISS cover)
02. Fairies Wear Boots (BLACK SABBATH cover)
03. Everlong (FOO FIGHTERS cover)
04. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
05. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC cover)
06. Walk All Over You (AC/DC cover)
07. Unchained (VAN HALEN cover)
08. Would? (ALICE IN CHAINS cover)
09. Heading Out To The Highway (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
10. Crazy Train (OZZY OSBOURNE cover)
11. Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love (VAN HALEN cover)

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

All proceeds from the show will go to Drop In The Bucket, a Los Angeles- and Gulu, Uganda-based non-profit organization that constructs water wells and sanitation systems at large rural schools in sub-Saharan Africa.

Canadian producer Bob Rock, who is best known for his long creative partnership with METALLICA, tells The Canadian Press that he he has enjoyed the freedom to explore different projects since parting ways with the group following the release of 2003's "St. Anger".

"When I was with them, they were kind of all-encompassing," he says of working with METALLICA.

"Their whole trip was so almost draining. And I didn't get a chance to do a lot of other things while I was working with them, so I'm really having a lot of fun."

Rock, who produced METALLICA's smash self-titled '91 album and remains on good terms with the iconic metal group, has only positive things to say when asked whether he'd listened to METALLICA's critically panned collaboration with Lou Reed, "Lulu", which currently has a 41 score on the review aggregator Metacritic.com.

"I'm a huge Lou Reed fan and a huge METALLICA fan ... I know those guys very well, and it sounds like they did what they wanted to do, and I see the art in it," Rock said.

"For METALLICA, I think it's amazingly courageous for them to do a record like this, and to put it out like they did, 'cause they didn't really put out as a side project, they put it out (as) a METALLICA record with Lou Reed. That's really gutsy."

MEGADETH is among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's tenth Grammy nomination is for its new single, "Public Enemy No. 1", off MEGADETH's latest album, "TH1RT3EN", which came out on November 1.

Commented MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: "In such uncertain times, it's just an honor to be recognized by our peers, and anything above that is remarkable."

"Public Enemy No. 1" actually marks the second Grammy nomination for music from "TH1RT3EN", as the song "Sudden Death" was first unveiled in the 2010 video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" and received a "Best Metal Performance" nod.

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

* DREAM THEATER - "On The Backs Of Angels"
* FOO FIGHTERS - White Limo"
* MASTODON - "Curl Of The Burl"
* MEGADETH - "Public Enemy No. 1"
* SUM 41 - "Blood In My Eyes"

Guitarist GLEN DROVER (ex-MEGADETH) has contacted BW&BK with the following update:

"As I write this on my always fun to play with iPad, I'm just getting ready to leave the hotel here in Irkutsk , Russia for tonight's opening show on this Russian HAIL! tour. This is my very first time in this country. Very nice place here in Irkutsk. great people and lots of snow! Tonight is show #1, and we will be busting out all the metal classics tonight for sure! Really excited about the set list for this tour as well. We finished rehearsals yesterday and everyone and everything is sounding killer. I will keep you all updated as the tour progresses..."