Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, the company which creates "beautiful lullaby versions of your favorite artists," has just released "Lullaby Versions Of Iron Maiden" via iTunes. The 12-track set features reworkings of metal classics such as "Run To The Hills", "The Trooper" and "Fear Of The Dark".

In its mission statement, Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star says, "We feel our lullaby line fills a vacant musical niche. There are other lines of pop music lullabies but we decided to take the approach of being high end musically rather than simply doing these as a novelty. After all, just because the music is for a baby it doesn’t have to sound unsophisticated. We feel we owe it to the artists that we are covering to do their music justice and our standard of quality transcends the lullaby genre. In fact, in addition to soothing babies our fans use our music for yoga, massage and sleep therapy or just general relaxation. We like to call them 'lullabies for all ages' and the diversity of use is testament to that."

"Lullaby Versions Of Iron Maiden" track listing:

01. Run To The Hills
02. The Number Of The Beast
03. The Trooper
04. Hallowed Be Thy Name
05. Aces High
06. Fear Of The Dark
07. Wasted Years
08. Can I Play With Madness
09. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
10. Flight Of Icarus
11. 2 Minutes To Midnight
12. Where Eagles Dare

For more information, visit www.ttlrs.com.

METALLICA made its first-ever live appearance in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates earlier tonight (Tuesday, October 25) at Yas Island.

The band had arrived in the country shortly before showtime after attending a listening party Monday night in New York City for "Lulu", their collaborative album with former VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman Lou Reed.

"A lot of us just stared out of the window in the plane and to just see this stretch of desert, followed by a strip of water and then this body of land is just amazing," METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo told The National.

"It's really great to be doing things for the first time, to come here and then go to India after this for the first time also, it keeps thing fresh."

"I travelled many places and to see people from different cultures together in unity, having fun and singing the exact same words at the exact same time is a really beautiful feeling. It is things like this that keeps us going."

METALLICA's setlist for tonight's concert was as follows:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom the Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride the Lightning
05. Fade to Black
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
09. Sad But True
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman

Encore:

16. Am I Evil?
17. Motorbreath
18. Seek & Destroy

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR will enter Fascination Street studio in Örebro, Sweden in January with producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, PARADISE LOST) to begin recording their new album for a late spring 2012 release. The band's guitarist/vocalist Miland "Mille" Petrozza states, "The songs are coming along great and I think it's OK to say that this will be our most epic album so far. There's some classical, a lot of traditional metal, and, of course, a huge dose of thrash metal influences in the new stuff. Everyone in the band is very excited at this point. The demos sound killer so far. We have about 10 songs we're working on so far.

Regarding the lyrical and visual concept for the forthcoming CD, Petrozza says, "It's too early to talk about the lyrics yet; many are written, but they keep changing all the time. Visually, we have tapped Wes Benscoter [BLACK SABBATH, DIO, SLAYER, CATTLE DECAPITATION, BLOODBATH] for the cover art. I can tell you this much: The artwork will be insane!"

In a recent interview with Aftonbladet journalist Mattias Kling, Petrozza stated about KREATOR's collaboration with Jens Bogren, "He's really good; I like him. I like the sounds that he gets. And I think the combination — Jens Bogren and KREATOR — it will be pretty heavy."

Regarding how the new material is different from KREATOR's previous output, Mille said, "It's always a little hard for me to talk about music has been written but is not released yet. It will definitely have all the KREATOR trademarks. The lyrics will talk about nowadays stuff, as usual, so it will be like a photography of the year 2012. Also the lyrics will deal a lot of things that are actually happening at this point in time. It will be like reading a newspaper or something [laughs], with all the stuff happening. And, of course, the music will be typical KREATOR, and we also wanna expand the sound and progress as musicians. I mean, this lineup has been the strongest lineup KREATOR ever had since ten years, and now I think we're ready to come out with an album that blows everyone away."

London metallers THE DEFILED have posted their new video ahead of their upcoming UK tour. 'Black Death' was filmed in Shropshire, directed by Tiernan Hanby, who also directed the band’s previous 'Call To Arms Video' and explains:

"The video takes its narrative from one of the darkest and most gruesome moments of history and lays it down over the band's brooding gothic imagery. Its great working with a band who know how far they want to take the imagery and give the opportunity to go to those dark places with them".

Keyboardist The AvD shares his thoughts:

“This is The Defiled's third video and we wanted to do something different than just rock out in front of a camera. So, Tiernan invited me and Stitch to Shropshire to get dressed up in plague doctors outfits and go around his quaint home town condemning people to death. This is the second time we have worked with Tiernan and his team and it felt more like a school trip then a day at the office.”

This time round, the band roped in some help from the some of the best in the business with costumes courtesy of controversial British designer Rachel Freire, who recently made headlines with her dress made of 3000 cow and yak nipples, and has previously clothed the likes of Courtney Love and Beth Ditto, and make up by Tristan Versluis, who took time away from working on the soon to be released new Batman movie and who’s previous work includes the Sweeney Todd and Harry Potter films.

The AvD continues: “It was a wonderful mess and the guys were so good and patient with us… there was puking in masks, blackouts… come to think of it , thank god for the masks. You can't see our confused faces under them! It was an amazing experience for us and an honour to work with such a cool but professional team!”

OVERTORTURE, the new Swedish death metal band featuring former and current members of GRAVE, COLDWORKER, WITCHERY and MACHINERY, has finished recording an 11-song demo and is currently seeking a record deal.

One of the tracks from the most recent recordings sessions, "Slaves To the Atom", can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.

Formed earlier this year, OVERTORTURE's mission is "to deliver new, fresh, groovy and pure crushing death metal!"

OVERTORTURE is:

* Joel Fornbrant (COLDWORKER) - Vocals
* Magnus Martinsson (ex-GRAVE, ex-INSISION) - Guitar
* Mano Lewys (ex-MACHINERY) - Guitar
* Jonas Torndal (ex-GRAVE) - Bass
* Fredrik Widigs (THE UGLY, session WITCHERY) - Drums

Swedish death metal veterans GRAVE have parted ways with guitarist Magnus Martinsson. According to the group, Magnus — who has played with GRAVE since 2008 — and his now-former bandmates made "this joint decision after going through plans for next year and we needed to address this within the band before we start the new album process. There aren't now, and have never been, any hard feelings between us and we wish him the best in any future endeavors."

Regarding his departure from GRAVE, Magnus said, "People develop on and off the field, and sometimes in different directions, and I feel I can't fully commit to the band's upcoming and intense touring plans. So the time has come for me to pass the torch. No drama or bloodshed has occurred and I wish the guys all the best for the future.

"It's been a great time since I joined GRAVE back in 2008; I have many amazing memories from our gigs, tours and travels together, and all amazing fans and friends out there. We've toured all over the world, toured together with great bands/guys like NILE, MISERY INDEX, BELPHEGOR, KRISIUN and VADER, just to mention a few. It's been a blast!

"But don't worry folks; I wont' stop playing music. Check out my new band OVERTORTURE."

Québec City-based metallers BLINDED BY FAITH have announced that the new album will be titled Tchernobyl Survivor. The tracklisting is as follows:

'Tchernobyl Survivor'
'Pace Of The Race'
'Dead End'
'Drastic Medicine'
'So Speak The Voice Of Law'
'Stranger In The Mirror'
'Shrivelled Wings'
'Alone'
'Bitter Aftertaste'
'Pornscars'
'Prophet Of Nothing'

Jeff Fortin (ANONYMUS) is currently mixing the album and the the band hope that Tchernobyl Survivor will be released for Christmas.

Durung a recent interview with U.K.'s Express & Star, DEEP PURPLE frotnman Ian Gillan was asked when fans might be able to expect the band's follow-up to 2005's "Rapture Of The Deep" album.

"The fact is that we've been touring flat out," said Gillan. "We did 48 countries last year. We're getting so much off on that we just don't feel the drive at the moment for writing."

Gillan did reveal, though, that DEEP PURPLE convened for a mini writing session earlier in the year.

"We were in Spain for a little while and we had a week off," he said. "We spent most of the time in the bar, to be honest with you. It was a good session, but nothing absolutely dynamic came out of it.

"I think to get some progress as far as an album's concerned you've got to have a target, you've got to work to a date, and that gives you pressure. If you've got the pressure, you get stuff done. We don't have a plan, to be honest.

"Things have always been chaos, certainly since I joined, and we've never been able to plan anything. If we'd been able to make plans, we'd probably have retired by now!"

"People like to do stuff that they're good at, that they enjoy, that they get something out of. So while it's fun and we're all getting older and bits are dropping off here and there, it's still great. I think there probably will be another album.

"And because we're not doing an album (right now) doesn't mean I don't write every day. It's a day off today and for me it's a full day at the office. This morning is interviews and this afternoon I've got two or three interesting pieces I'm working on at the moment. I write every day and so when I do come round to making an album there's never a shortage of what I call colour material."

NIGHTWISH founder/songwriter/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen has checked in with the following update:

"Greets from the grey Oslo! The European promo tour brought me here yesterday, and will take me to London later tonight. It`s been a madly busy couple of weeks - 11 countries in two weeks - but we`re glad to see the heat is on. The sincere positive feedback from practically everyone who`s heard the album has left us totally flabbergasted and excited of things to come. I find myself humbled, encouraged and completely awestruck by all this.

Gotta hurry now to talk to our Norwegian mates, stay tuned."

According to TMZ.com, AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler was suffering from dehydration caused by a bout of food poisoning when he collapsed in a Paraguay hotel shower today.

Tyler was treated at a hospital in Paraguay's capital for injuries to his face, including the loss of two teeth and cuts to his eyebrow and mouth.

TMZ.com spoke with the singer's manager, who described Tyler's injuries as "minor" and said Steven has already been released from the hospital.

AEROSMITH rescheduled its Tuesday night concert in Asuncion to Wednesday evening, and the band rep tells TMZ.com that Tyler would like to "sincerely apologize" for any inconvenience this may have caused his fans.

Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD will release their original demo tape from 1984. Entitled "To The Death 84", the set will include material that was recorded in the band's Quebec jam space in January 1984. The lineup for this record includes Snake (Denis Bélanger) on vocals, Piggy (Denis D'Amour) on guitar, Blacky (Jean-Yves Thériault) on bass and Away (Michel Langevin) on drums.

In addition to material that would later appear on the band's "War And Pain" debut, this collection includes several other early VOIVOD offerings, as well as covers of MERCYFUL FATE and VENOM.

"To The Death 1984" will be released on November 22 as a CD or double LP via Alternative Tentacles.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Voivod
02. Condemned To The Gallows
03. Hell Driver
04. Live For Violence
05. War And Pain
06. Incantation
07. Buried Alive / Suck Your Bone
08. Blower
09. Slaughter In A Grave
10. Nuclear War
11. Black City
12. Iron Gang
13. Evil
14. Bursting Out
15. Warriors Of Ice

GulfNews.com recently conducted an interview with METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

GulfNews.com: In terms of new music, your last album, "Death Magnetic", was out in 2008, and you have been touring heavily with that. Are you currently working on new material?

Trujillo: We've been busy writing and recording. We've got a couple of new songs we have been working on the past couple of weeks. The writing process for the new METALLICA album has begun. We've been in the studio with Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we're going to be recording during the most of next year. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. But the great thing is that we have sort of already jumped off the launch pad and we're swimming. It's happening. It's reality. It's a lot of fun, there are a lot of ideas, and we're really excited about the new record. For me, personally, "Death Magnetic" was the launch pad for the next record. This is the beginning of something very, very cool.

GulfNews.com: The band have been going strong for 30 years. What keeps the passion alive?

Trujillo: When we go into the studio and put our guitars on, and Lars [Ulrich] gets behind the drums, we feel like teenagers again, hanging out in the garage jamming to [IRON] MAIDEN or BLACK SABBATH, and we still do that. And the jokes fly around, and there's really good energy. There's new riffs and new song ideas. And that's where it is very special, because a band like METALLICA have been around for nearly 30 years now, and we haven't lost that spark. Unfortunately, a lot of older bands lose that spark after a while. We're excited to create and we still feel like punk kids.

GulfNews.com: How do you balance your work life with your family life?

Trujillo: We like to keep things flowing in a positive way, and believe it or not, a lot of what we do revolves around our family. We centre our tours around what is going on in our family life to keep things solid at home as well. In the summertime, we bring the kids out on tour with us. You can have the best of both worlds. During the course of "Death Magnetic", the reason the record took so long for us to finish was because we had five kids born between us. Two from my wife, and Kirk [Hammett, guitar] had two children and Lars had a child. It is a large family now, because James [Hetfield, guitar/vocals] already has three older children, and Lars has two older children.

GulfNews.com: METALLICA fans are arguably like no other. What do the fans mean to METALLICA?

Trujillo: The fans are very passionate. They embrace the lyrics that James brings to them. There's something wonderful about having them take something that you identify with in your life and have it mean so much to them as well, so it's very soulful. We really like to meet our fans, so every show we would have a meet and greet with a few fans. Obviously it is impossible to meet 20,000 fans in one setting, but we do take the time to meet about 20 fans per night, shake their hands and sign things for them. And that goes a long way.

An Japanese IRON MAIDEN "2 Minutes To Midnight" seven-inch promotional EP was sold on eBay for $3,350. The EP was reportedly issued as a "special DJ copy" and is considered by collectors to be one of the rarest MAIDEN records of all time.

The "2 Minutes To Midnight" EP — which is said to be one of only five Japanese vinyl seven-inch promos — has a white label with a color sleeve front and a Japanese one-sheet. It was listed in "very good condition" and was sold in an auction that drew 16 bidders before closing on October 21.

Maryland-based experimental, progressive metal band PERIPHERY has announced the addition of guitarist Mark Holcomb to the group's ranks. Holcomb previously had a project with PERIPHERY axeman Misha Mansoor called HAUNTED SHORES and was the fill-in guitarist on PERIPHERY's "Frak The Gods" tour.

Commented Mansoor: "We are happy to announce that Mark Holcomb will be joining the PERIPHERY ranks as a full-time guitarist! He toured with with us our headlining run of Australia, our 'Frak The Gods' U.S. headliner and our two shows opening for DREAM THEATER and we feel that we have found a perfect fit for us both live and in the studio. We are extremely excited to have him on board, and can't wait to show you all the cool new music we have been working on together!

"Since we made arrangements for the tour before Mark was inducted, our good friend Nolly (RED SEAS FIRE) will be filling in on the European tour opening for DREAM THEATER. However that will be the last tour we do with a fill-in guitarist, as Mark will join on full time after that!"

Added bassist Thomas Murphy: "The most important thing about a band is the chemistry between its members. We've all known Mark for years and are very proud to announce him as our newest member. Not only is he an amazing writer and guitarist, but also an amazing person. We can't wait to see what the future holds for the band now that he has joined."

Stated Holcomb: "I couldn't be more excited as not only have these guys been great friends of mine for a long time but I consider every last one of them musical siblings in a sense. Each of us brings something different to the table and I can't wait to see what we can accomplish."

Coming off two roof-raising sold-out shows last week at Irving Plaza in New York City (October 17-18) as part of a special small venue run that also brought the band to Chicago and Los Angeles, JANE'S ADDICTION — frontman Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins, along with Chris Chaney on bass — performed a new song, "Underground", last night (Monday, October 24) on CBS-TV's "Late Show With David Letterman". Video footage of their appearance can be seen below.

JANE'S ADDICTION's new album, "The Great Escape Artist", is likely to sell between 25,000 and 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on October 18 via Capitol.

"The Great Escape Artist" is JANE'S ADDICTION's first all-new studio effort since 2003's "Strays", and is only their fourth album of original material in 20 years. Like other bands that have reunited in recent years such as BLINK-182, the members of JANE'S ADDICTION recorded a lot of the album in separate studios. Drummer Stephen Perkins told The Pulse Of Radio why this worked in JANE'S' favor. "Back in the day, we spent all our time together playing," he said. "Now we have a big pie. JANE'S is just a slice of that pie. But we still want to work and be efficient musicians, so hey, you can't make it to Burbank, you're in Santa Monica? I'll send you the tracks, let's get to work. So it is still just as raw and as emotional as being in the same room together, but it also lets, I guess, a more efficient way of making the record nowadays that we have different things going on in our life."

Greg Prato of RollingStone.com recently conducted an interview with legendary BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

RollingStone.com: I remember reading earlier this year that the original BLACK SABBATH lineup was reuniting for a new album and tour. What's the status?

Iommi: I remember reading that, as well [laughs]. There is no status at the moment. That's something that always can happen. We just get on with it and see what happens.

RollingStone.com: Are all the original SABBATH members on good terms?

Iommi: Yes, I think so. I talk to Ozzy [Osbourne, vocals] a lot — we've always been in contact. And I talk to Bill [Ward, drums] occasionally. Geez [bassist Geezer Butler], I played with him until Ronnie [James Dio] passed away. We still stay in contact. Geezer is not one for being on the phone, we normally email. We all get on well — I don't think there's any bad vibes or anything.

RollingStone.com: When was the last time all four original SABBATH members were in the same room?

Iommi: A long time ago.

RollingStone.com: If SABBATH were to work on a new album, do you think the new material could measure up to the group's early classics?

Iommi: I don't know — that's always the question, isn't it? But I don't know if you'd try and match it up. We've moved on since then. I don't know quite what we'd be doing. It would be a BLACK SABBATH thing, but I don't know to what extent. Until that's written and done, I wouldn't know.

RollingStone.com: What would it take then for the original SABBATH to reunite?

Iommi: The band can decide to do something, but there are a lot of people involved, and everybody's got individual managers. It's not as easy as like it was in the old days — us all going in one room and it all works. I mean, we can certainly do that, but it's a bit more involved than that.

Norway's BORKNAGAR has issued the following update:

"BORKNAGAR has decided to part ways with the U.S. drummer David Kinkade. This is first and foremost due to the logistical challenges we have been facing having a U.S. drummer in a Norwegian band the last couple of years. Sometimes reality bites and in order to be a fully operative band, we need a drummer based in Norway. The split is of friendly manner and we would like to say thanks for everything David has contributed with in relations to the band and we would also like to wish him the best of luck for his future endeavors."

In a statement released to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Kinkade said about his departure from BORKNAGAR, "I am leaving BORKNAGAR due to a number of reasons completely out of my control but I assure you that I've thought it through for quite some time now and I can honestly say that the spark just isn't there for me anymore. I tried everything I could over the past three years to make things happen. Now I just hope, for the fans' sake, that they will completely deliver... The fans really deserve it. I wish BORKNAGAR all the best in their future endeavors."

Kinkade, who has previously played with joined ARSIS and MALEVOLENT CREATION, joined SOULFLY a few weeks ago following the departure of that group's longtime skinsman Joe Nunez. Kinkade will appear on SOULFLY's already completed new album, which was recorded last month at a Phoenix, Arizona studio with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (CHIMAIRA, HATEBREED, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE ACACIA STRAIN, BORN OF OSIRIS, SHADOWS FALL) for an early 2012 release via Roadrunner Records.

BORKNAGAR is currently recording its next album for a tentative February 2012 release via Century Media Records. The CD will be mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren in November at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden.

Commented BORKNAGAR mainman Øystein G. Brun: "Looking back on our previous releases, our major challenge has always been to materialize our highly detailed music and compromises have been done production-wise. This time around there will be no compromise and hopefully you will witness the most powerful, rich, detailed and dynamic BORKNAGAR album to date!"

BORKNAGAR's latest album, "Universal", sold around 500 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 116 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.

"Universal" was released on February 22, 2010 in Europe and March 2, 2010 in North America through Indie Recordings. The effort was made available in four different formats: regular jewelcase CD, limited digipack (including bonus disc), CD box with extras and gatefold LP with double vinyl.