Kevin and Ian of the "Metal Shop" radio show, which airs on the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM, conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine at the third show of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival on July 12 in Auburn, Washington. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked when fans can expect to see the return of Gigantour — the acclaimed traveling heavy music festival launched by Mustaine — the MEGADETH frontman said, "Next year. We just started booking that last week. We've got three of the four bands booked and confirmed, but we're gonna wait until the whole package [is set] before we say it. But I'm pretty excited about that. I always thought the Gigantour is a really cool vibe, because it's about the guitar playing. Now, these bands that are gonna be part of Gigantour [next] year aren't shredding bands by any means, but I think they're cool just the same. There's really not a lot of great bands left to go out and tour [with] that are guitar-playing bands. Most people got afraid of doing solos — probably because they couldn't.

Conceived in 2005, Gigantour — proclaimed "the mother of all shred fests" by Revolver magazine — resurrects metal's focus on stellar musicianship.

The third installment of the North American Gigantour officially launched on April 12, 2008 in Denver, Colorado with headliner MEGADETH, Swedish metal band IN FLAMES, Finland's CHILDREN OF BODOM, Arizona's modern extreme act JOB FOR A COWBOY and Oakland, California heavy power trio HIGH ON FIRE. The 29-date trek criss-crossed North America and wrapped May 22, 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona.

X JAPAN mainman Yoshiki has released the following statement regarding the passing of the band's former bassist Taiji Sawada:

"Receiving the news of Taiji's death has left me speechless. I don't know how to cope with the loss yet.

"Playing at the Nissan Stadium together last year brings memories as it was yesterday.

"To imagine what the fans are feeling right now breaks my heart. But that is the reason why we have to stay strong.

"X JAPAN will have to carry on with not only [late X JAPAN guitarist] Hide, but Taiji as well in our hearts.

"May the amazing bassist Taiji rest in peace."

Sawada died on Sunday, July 17 at the intensive care unit in Commonwealth Health Center in Saipan after being removed from life support.

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will release their new album, "Heritage", on September 20 (one day earlier internationally) via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by the band's mainman, Mikael Åkerfeldt, and was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and Åkerfeldt. Longtime collaborator Travis Smith also worked with Åkerfeldt to create, design and execute the album's artwork, which can be seen below.

Play.com has listed a pre-order deal for "Heritage" that is not to be missed! The special edition includes a 5.1 mix of the album and making-of documentary, including a download card with two bonus tracks: "Pyre" and "Face In the Snow". The package also includes an OPETH coin, which can be seen in the picture below.

"The Violation", the new Salvatore Perrone-directed video from the Italian brutal/symphonic horde FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's second full-length album, "Agony", which is scheduled for release on August 9 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD's intricate cover design was handled by Marco Hasmann, who previously worked with the band on the "Mafia" and "Oracles" releases.

"Agony" track listing:

01. Temptation
02. The Hypocrisy
03. The Imposition
04. The Deceit
05. The Violation
06. The Egoism
07. The Betrayal
08. The Forsaking
09. The Oppression
10. Agony
11. Heartwork (CARCASS cover; iTunes exclusive bonus track)

Walt Disney Records is set to release the soundtrack to "Phineas And Ferb Across: The 1st And 2nd Dimensions", on August 2. The album features seven new songs ("Everything's Better With Perry", "Brand New Best Friend", "Summer (Where Do We Begin?)", "Taking Care Of Things", "Mysterious Force", "Robot Riot",) and the end credit track "Kick It Up A Notch", the Phineas And Ferb collaboration with legendary guitarist Slash. The soundtrack also includes 15 songs from the hit animated series. The Disney Channel original movie "Phineas And Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension" premieres Friday, August 5 (8 p.m., ET/PT), on Disney Channel, Saturday, August 13 on Disney XD and also on the ABC television network (date to be determined).

French black metallers GLORIOR BELLI have revealed the cover art and track listing for their new album, "The Great Southern Darkness", to be released in North America on September 27.

Commented the band on the new release: "'The Great Southern Darkness' has been recorded over a few months period and is comprised of 11 tracks that magnify all the best elements of GLORIOR BELLI in a twisted unique way again; a tremendous journey through dark deserts and evil swamps with Lucifer as a personal guide. It's also dangerously violent and fast, yet at the same time really dark with all the Americana/stoner/blues elements that we cherish.

"Though often warm and almost inviting, the allure of GLORIOR BELLI's bidding is revealed by a vicious duplicity; you will find comfort here, but at an unspeakable toll. The production is clear yet just harsh enough to bring a warm, fuzzy and completely unique sound you won't find in any other modern recordings. So load up your haversack and hit the dusty road!"

"The Great Southern Darkness" track listing:

01. Dark Gnosis
02. Secret Ride To Rebellion
03. They Call Me Black Devil
04. Negative Incarnate
05. Bring Down The Cosmic Scheme
06. The Great Southern Darkness
07. The Foolhardy Venturer
08. Per Nox Regna
09. The Science Of Shifting
10. Chaos Manifested
11. Horns In My Pathway

Austrian symphonic metallers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS have parted ways with bassist Mario Lochert (EMERGENCY GATE). The band states, "After some crucial internal differences Mario Lochert is no longer a member of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS.

"For the upcoming shows we're already working with new session members who will take over this position for now as the band is currently not looking for a new fix bassplayer! We're looking forward to meeting you all at the next shows.

"There will be more positive surprises coming up soon as we're working on some great specials für our fans, so stay tuned for more news! See you at the upcoming shows."

Norway's BORKNAGAR is 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: "As we speak, I am currently sitting in my home studio (The Bork-tower) in Bergen recording guitars for the new BORKNAGAR album.

"I have been working 24/7 the last weeks to get out the very best of my abilities and polish all riffs into perfection.

"I am so excited about this production as we have been planning to take a huge step forward in terms of production and being able to finalize our new effort with Jens at Fascination Street Studio is a perfect match.

"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!"

"Midas Secret", a brand new song from Sacramento, California's WILL HAVEN, is available for streaming on the band's Facebook page (you must "like" the group in order to hear the cut). The track comes off WILL HAVEN's new album, "Voir Dire", which will be released on October 11 via Bieler Bros. Records. The follow-up to 2007's "The Hierophant" marks the return of the band's original vocalist Grady Avenell, who rejoined WILL HAVEN in October 2009 after a two-year break. The CD will also feature SLIPKNOT percussionist Chris Fehn handling bass duties, following the departure of Mike Martin, who left the group to focus on family life.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was interviewed for the summer 2011 issue of U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Classic Rock: Is it fair to say "St. Anger" is your worst album?

Lars: I think it's fair to say that some people think that.

Classic Rock: Would you agree with them?

Lars: I can't. The way I view the world, I can't rank them from best to worst. That kind of simplicity just doesn't exist for me. If I was 14, I could probably do it. Now, the way I see the world is nothing but greys, mainly.

Classic Rock: The drum sound on that record was abysmal.

Lars: That was on purpose. It wasn't like we put it out and somebody went, "Whoa! Whoops!" I view "St. Anger" as an isolated experiment. I'm the biggest METALLICA fan, you've got to remember that. Once again, as we've been known to do, once in a while these boundaries have to be fucked with. We'd already done "Ride The Lightning", which I believe is a fine record. It didn't need to be re-done.

Classic Rock: But even the good songs on "St. Anger" go on forever.

Lars: When we heard the record from beginning to end, I felt — and it was mostly me — that the experience was so pummeling, it became almost about hurting the listener, about challenging the listener, so we left the songs unedited. I can understand that people felt it was too long.

Classic Rock: Do you have anything in common with James Hetfield away from METALLICA?

Lars: That's a good question. We're both pretty passionate about movies and hockey. We both like fine food. We both put shoes on in the morning.

Classic Rock: What keeps the two of you together? You seem like the ultimate odd couple.

Lars: Because it's really fun. When we're playing, I really enjoy it. The main thing that we have in common other than METALLICA is that we both prioritize our families over METALLICA. And that's a new thing. The fact that we've both had kids at the same time, of the same age, is probably directly responsible for the band still being together. If one of us was not on that keel, we probably couldn't sustain the relationship.

Classic Rock: Do you think that some people might have the wrong idea about James?

Lars: Certainly. I have a couple of thoughts. He's much sweeter and more vulnerable than people think he is. Most of that toughness, that he-man thing, that was just a façade for him to deal with his own insecurities. I always felt that he was a very gentle soul and a very loving guy. Me and him always had the best relationship when we were alone. The problem was as soon as there were other people in the room, we started fighting for pole position or playing each other against the other people in the room. It became weird.

"Temple Of Rock", the new album from legendary guitarist Michael Schenker, will be released on September 7 in Japan. The CD will arrive in the U.K, on September 26

The CD will reportedly feature guest appearances by the following musicians:

* Rudolf Schenker (SCORPIONS) - Guitar
* Pete Way (UFO) - Bass
* Neil Murray (BLACK SABBATH, WHITESNAKE) - Bass
* Chris Glen (MSG) - Bass
* Simon Phillips (TOTO, THE WHO, JUDAS PRIEST) - Drums
* Carmine Appice (KING KOBRA, VANILLA FUDGE, ROD STEWART, JEFF BECK, OZZY OSBOURNE, BLUE MURDER) - Drums
* Chris Slade (AC/DC) - Drums
* Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW) - Keyboards
* Michael Voss - Vocals
* Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE, SLASH) - Vocals

"Temple Of Rock" track listing:

01. Intro
02. How Long
03. The End Of An Era
04. Saturday Night
05. Fallen Angel
06. Hangin' On
07. With You
08. Miss Claustrophobia
09. Scene Of Crime
10. Lovers Sinfony-Speed
11. Stormin' In
12. Speed
13. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead
14. How Long (guitar battle version)
15. Remember (bonus track for Japan)

According to The Pulse Of Radio, NINE INCH NAILS frontman Trent Reznor has taken to Twitter to tell fans to ignore a new reissue of the band's debut album, 1989's "Pretty Hate Machine", that was just recently released. Reznor wrote, "NIN fans, don't waste your money on this version of 'Pretty Hate Machine' that was just released," adding that it is "very similar to original TVT version. This is not a remastered release." He also tweeted that the reissue was "a record label bullshit move repackaging the old version. Ignore, please."

Reznor himself reissued the album last November, remastering it and adding a previously hard-to-find cover of QUEEN's "Get Down, Make Love".

Austrian black metallers HELLSAW entered Munich, Germany's Dreamsound Studios last week to begin recording their fourth full-length album. Titled "Trist", the follow-up to 2009's "Cold" and is due for release in early 2012 on Napalm Records.

Commented HELLSAW frontman and founder Aries: "The German word 'Trist' is difficult to define exactly, but if you think of various connotations of solemnity and sadness you'd be thinking along the right lines.

"'Cold' was more about melancholy, 'Trist' is darker; it's like the scent of fine whiskey and damp earth.

"As a band, we always prepare thoroughly before going into the studio, but this time we've rehearsed even more in order to perfect the sound for each track. We've also sought to redefine the HELLSAW sound without losing our identity.

"There needs to be a certain amount of experimentation with each new album in order to bring the sound up to date.

"Without giving too much away, with 'Trist' we believe we have found the perfect symbiosis between the old and new elements. All the songs are strong, and it will definitely kick ass."

SEPULTURA's Andreas Kisser filled in for ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian at 11 shows in July while Ian spent time with his family following the birth of his first child.

Kisser made his live debut with ANTHRAX on July 2 at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany as part of a "Big Four" show with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH.

In a letter addressed to Andreas on ANTHRAX's official Facebook page, the band writes, "Words cannot express the feeling of love we have for you. From the first day, you were a part of the family. You were the only choice to fill in for Scott and that decision proved to be the right one. Thank you for being you, we miss you already. Have a great tour with the mighty SEPULTURA."

Speaking to RockAAA at the U.K. installment of the Sonisphere festival, Andreas stated about what it was like to receive the call asking him to fill in for Ian, "It was amazing. ANTHRAX… I mean, all the four bands here [METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX] are the DNA of my guitar playing. I started listening to them, the heavier music, and I wanted to play the same. They were my teachers. And to be here, it's just… I don't think even a dream. I [couldn't have] dreamt something like that to happen. And the good thing is it's a very positive situation. Scott is not sick, [he doesn't have a] a broken arm or something like that. It's very, very positive. It couldn't be better. So I'm very honored to be here, by these guys, and jam. We're having fun."

Added ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello: "Andreas locks in with the band like he was always here. So there's not a thought to playing; we don't have to worry. It's nice to go on stage and not have to worry. That's the last thing we wanted to do. And he's good, he's so locked in, even with the cues, the vocals — everything. Boom! It's ANTHRAX."