Norwegian black metal veterans MAYHEM have had their "Live In Leipzig" album released on heavyweight black vinyl, limited to 1,000 numbered copies. This classic MAYHEM reissue includes a performance from the now-legendary Leipzig show in 1990, featuring the seminal MAYHEM lineup of Hellhammer, Necrobutcher, Euronymous and Dead. This is one of very few releases to feature this lineup — vocalist Dead committed suicide the year after the show, and guitarist Euronymous was murdered in 1993. It contains live renditions of tracks from the "Deathcrush" release (1987) such as "Necrolust" and the title track, and 1994's iconic "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas", with songs like "Funeral Fog" and the ultimate black metal classic "The Freezing Moon".

This vinyl edition of the album is limited to 1,000 numbered copies and is issued on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl with printed inner bag and a heavyweight PVC sleeve.

Side 1:

01. Deathcrush
02. Necrolust
03. Funeral Fog
04. The Freezing Moon
05. Carnage

Side 2:

01. Buried By Time And Dust
02. Pagan Fears
03. Chainsaw Gutsfuck
04. Pure Fucking Armageddon

Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN), Brian May (QUEEN), Steve Vai, Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE), Angus and Malcolm Young (AC/DC), Yngwie Malmsteen and Warren DeMartini (RATT) are among the musicians who have recorded guest appearances on "What The Hell Was I Thinking?", the long-awaited new project from guitarist Dweezil Zappa.

In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Zappa stated about the forthcoming CD, "It's a record that I started a while ago, and I just haven't had a chance to really put it all together. I know I'm probably going to add some changes based on my own technical improvements to my playing. I guess the best way to describe the project is it's an audio movie. I recorded a bunch of different music that all segues together, so it's constantly morphing and turning. Each little segment has its own little audio environment, and then you have these cameo appearances by all these different guitar players who sort of start falling out of the speakers. So, it's got about thirty different people on there so far. . . And the thing is, all these different people, they all have a very recognizable sound, and in the world of guitar playing, that's a real challenge — to create your own sound to where when you hear just a couple of notes you actually know who it is. The fun of it is that you're actually hearing a lot of these people out of context, they're playing on things they wouldn't normally be playing over, and that was part of the fun of making this project happen. So, either people are playing on exactly what you would expect them to play over, or something you would never expect them to play over. The Van Halen thing is pretty funny because I put this section together where I asked Edward to play sort of a 'greatest-hits' from all his different guitar licks. We just took different licks from different solos from different records and made him play them all and string them together in one guitar solo. That was pretty fun because it was like having your own toy Eddie Van Halen — like, 'I'll make my Eddie Van Halen play this.'"

When asked if there is a plan to release the project anytime soon, Zappa said, "Now I'm thinking about it in a lot of different forms. When I was first thinking about making it, I didn't ever consider that it could be performed live. But now with the band that I have, I'm almost thinking, 'Maybe, if I put this thing together in the right way, it actually could be performed live.' I don't know if I could get all the guests to play all at once, but the piece of music, in the end, is a continuous piece of music that's seventy-five minutes long with no break. So, it might make for an interesting presentation if it could be put together in a live situation. But, you know, I have to finish the record first (laughs)."

German extreme metal outfit NEAERA have finished recording their fifth album, "Forging The Eclipse", for an October 22 release via Metal Blade Records. The band has been filming studio and concert footage over the course of the last few weeks, and this material will be made into what will be one of many NEAERA webisodes documenting the making of the new CD. The drum tracks for the album were laid down at Stage One Studio with Andy Classen, while the rest of the recording process was overseen by Alexander Dietz. The mixing/mastering will be handled by Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL).

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and political activist Serj Tankian will release a new solo album, titled "Imperfect Harmonies", on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on September 7, 2010. The CD is the second solo release from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman, following up his critically acclaimed 2007 solo debut "Elect the Dead". As with "Elect the Dead", Tankian produced "Imperfect Harmonies" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. The CD's first single, "Left Of Center", is now available via iTunes and can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"Where 'Elect the Dead' was essentially a rock record with progressive melodic elements," Tankian says, "'Imperfect Harmonies' could be classified as rock because it is punchy with many peaks throughout, but the instrumentation is somewhat different. Though there are live drums, bass, and some guitars, the driving aspects are electronic and orchestral. It's quite unique in its sound palette. This is, in essence, music that has sat in the vat and matured to a ripe sensation and is now ready to serve."

"Imperfect Harmonies" is as powerful and musically eclectic as its predecessor. "I have been calling the music 'electro-orchestral-jazz-rock' because it has all of those aspects in prominence within the songs," Tankian says. "A few are more stripped down, but the majority of the songs have this huge wall of sound presented in a way I've never heard before. It's not common to have a song that is both electronic and orchestral since one is synthetic and the other organic, but I found a way of meshing a lot of these colors together."

The album has been influenced by Tankian's experience making "Elect the Dead Symphony", a symphonic interpretation of his debut that had its inaugural performance in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in March 2009. The performance has been captured on the CD/DVD "Elect the Dead Symphony".

Norwegian singer ISSA (full name: Isabell Oversveen) will release her debut album, "Sign Of Angels", on September 14 in Europe and October 10 in the USA via Frontiers Records.

Helped by producer Ronny Milianowicz (SAINT DEAMON) and killer musicians such as Peter Huss on guitar, Uli Kusch (ex-MASTERPLAN, HELLOWEEN) on drums, Nobby Noberg on bass and Tim Larsson (NICK LACHEY) on keyboards, Issa has managed to create a superb album which offers soaring and instantly likeable hooklines, solid guitar riffs and a crisp sound. Described in a press release as "BROTHER FIRETRIBE meets TREAT with tons of melodies, class and attitude," "Sign of Angels" features songwriting contributions from Joacim Cans (HAMMERFALL), Thomas Vikström (CANDLEMASS, THERION), Daniel Flores (THE MURDER OF MY SWEET), Soren Kronkvist (CRASH THE SYSTEM) and many more.

A video clip for the song "I'm Alive" was shot by Thomas Tjader (PRETTY MAIDS, IN FLAMES) and will be included with the album.

Issa is a 26 years old girl from Oslo. At 17 she started to work her way into the music business as a demo singer for different labels in studios all around Norway. At 19 she won a competition with almost 150,000 votes singing the song "Fade Away" written by Stian Aarstad, who was previously a member of DIMMU BORGIR. The track was released on a record in co-operation with the TV channel Fox Kids.

Issa has performed on many metal and rock records, including albums by GAIA EPICUS and ILLUSION SUITE.

"Sign Of Angels" track listing:

01. Angels Crying
02. I'm Alive
03. Give Me A Sign
04. River Of Love
05. What Can I Do
06. Closer
07. Unbelievable
08. How Will I Know
09. As I Live and Breathe
10. Flying High
11. It's Not Me
12. Fallen Angel
13. I'm Alive (bonus video clip)

Fan-filmed video footage of former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach singing "Happy Birthday" to Ronnie James Dio on what would have been Dio's 68th birthday on July 10, 2010 at the Norway Rock Festival in Kvinesdal, Norway can be viewed below. Also available is performance footage of the song "Here I Am".

Sebastian Bach is currently working on material for a new solo album which will likely be released through Sony Music in Japan.

Bach's current solo band includes guitarists Nick Sterling and Johnny Chromatic, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and bassist Rob DeLuca.

Sebastian last year collaborated with HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta on several tracks for Bach's new solo album, with Nick and Charlie Bellmore of the Connecticut band PHANTOMS assisting during the pre-production process. The singer has also written material with John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON).

Bach supported GUNS N' ROSES on the band's recently completed South American and Canadian tours.

Bach is best known for selling 20 million albums as the former lead singer of SKID ROW. He has gone on to star on Broadway and television, including five seasons on CW's "Gilmore Girls", as well as hit shows on VH1, MTV and CMT. Bach's most recent studio project was "Angel Down", his first solo album since 1999. The record features 14 songs with a guest appearance by GUNS N' ROSES front man Axl Rose on three cuts, including a blistering version of AEROSMITH's "Back In The Saddle".

Danish modern metal combo RAUNCHY will release its new album, "A Discord Electric", through Lifeforce Records on September 20 in Denmark; October 8 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; October 11 in the rest of Europe; and on October 12 in the U.S.

"A Discord Electric" track listing:

01. Dim the Lights and Run
02. Rumors of Worship
03. Blueprints For Lost Sounds
04. NGHT PRTY
05. Street Emperor
06. Shake Your Grave
07. Tiger Crown
08. Big Truth
09. The Great Depression
10. The Yeah Thing
11. Ire Vampire
12. Gunslingers and Tombstones

A live EP featuring six songs that were recorded during Ozzy Osbourne's July 3, 2010 performance at the iTunes festival at London, England's Roundhouse has been released exclusively via Apple's iTunes Store.

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

* Let Me Hear You Scream (live)
* Mr. Crowley (live)
* I Don't Know (live)
* Suicide Solution (live)
* I Don't Want To Change The World (live)
* War Pigs (live)

Swedish progressive/experimental metallers THERION have confirmed that their split with vocalist Snowy Shaw (real name: Tommie Helgesson; DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, NOTRE DAME) was caused by his decision to join "another big band" — rumored to be the Norwegian symphonic black metal act DIMMU BORGIR (as first reported by BLABBERMOUTH.NET on July 8) — as a bass player.

"We are sad to confirm that Snowy Shaw has suddenly decided to not do any of the upcoming shows with THERION," THERION said in a statement. "This decision took us by surprise, because, up to now, we have had a great collaboration. The reason is simply that he has been working on an album with another big band (as a bass player — that came as a surprise, too!), who have now offered him a deal he felt he could not refuse. We don't think this is a good decision, but accept the situation and wish him good luck.

"We realize many will miss Snowy, who did a great job during the more theatrical direction THERION took during the 'Gothic Kabbalah' era (as well as on the coming album, 'Sitra Ahra'). Like all the other close guest collaborators in the history of the band (Mats Levén, Andy 'the bald guy' Engberg, Karin Fjellander, Sara Jezebel Deva, Martina Hornbacher, Dan Swanö...) he contributed with something unique and put his mark on the ongoing THERION development. And just like the choice of Mats Levén was questioned in the beginning, (for being too rock n roll for THERION) and later became a beloved part of the bands identity at the time, Snowy also made the journey from being regarded as a somewhat odd choice to becoming a popular character in the THERION show. This vacancy, however, gives us an opportunity to yet again take a different direction.

"We are right now in the process of creating the new production that will be used for the 'Sitra Ahra' world tour, and we have some thrilling options to choose from.

"As always, THERION will deliver something unique and challenging that will turn the water of the sceptics into the wine of a classic setup. Stay tuned!"

Shaw announced his departure from THERION on July 7 after four years, two studio albums, live DVDs and numerous tours around the world.

"I've had a terrific and great time touring and working with THERION and I do wish them nothing but the best in the future, but I've felt for some time that it's time for me to move on," Snowy told BLABBERMOUTH.NET in a statement. "I also wanna take the opportunity to show my gratitude and thank all the loyal fans for their support, love and understanding."

SHAMAN (formerly SHAAMAN) — the Brazilian melodic metal band featuring drummer Ricardo Confessori alongside guitarist Léo Mancini, vocalist Thiago Bianchi and bassist Fernando Quesada — released a new studio album, "Origins", in June via AFM Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Origins (The Day I Died)
02. Lethal Awakening
03. Inferno Veil
04. Ego Pt. 1
05. Ego Pt. 2
06. Finally Home
07. Rising Up To Life
08. No Mind
09. Blind Messiah
10. S.S.D. (Signed, Sealed & Delivered)

Professionally filmed video footage of FAITH NO MORE's performance at the Optimus Alive! 10 festival — which took place July 8-9, 2010 at Passeio Marítimo de Algés in Oeiras, Portugal — can be viewed at this location (the footage originally aired on the Portuguese cable television channel SIC Radical). A couple of the clips are available below.

FAITH NO MORE frontman Mike Patton recently spoke with ArtistDirect.com about reuniting with the band after 12 years and what their music means to him now. Patton said, "To be honest, I never thought that I would ever revisit that stuff again. After some reflection and speaking with the guys, I realized, 'Well, wait a minute. I'm not embarrassed about it (laughs). It's still good music! Is there a way that we can still pull it off and do it justice?' So we rehearsed! When we rehearsed, I realized this is good and I feel great about it."

Patton added that the public's interest in seeing the band again after more than a decade was "staggering" to him, explaining, "Basically, there's more interest in us now than when we were an active band, which is really strange, kind of haunting and maybe a bit morbid, but it also inspired us."

FAITH NO MORE officially reunited last year and played several European shows and festivals.

The band played at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on April 17 in Indio, California.

TORTURE DIVISION, the Swedish death metal project featuring guitarist Lord K. Philipson (THE PROJECT HATE, ex-GOD AMONG INSECTS, LEUKEMIA), bassist/vocalist Jörgen Sandström (VICIOUS ART, THE PROJECT HATE, ex-ENTOMBED, GRAVE) and drummer Tobias "Tobben" Gustafsson (VOMITORY, THE PROJECT HATE), has completed work on the third part of the band's second demo trilogy, "Evighetens Dårar".

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. The Axe Murderer
02. Under Fire Command
03. Ravishing Rampage Sluts
04. Evighetens Dårar

For more information, go to this location.

TORTURE DIVISION's first demo trilogy — which is available at their site for free (as all of the band's material is) — was released in CD format through Abyss Records in 2009. Entitled "With Endless Wrath We Bring Upon Thee Our Infernal Torture", the effort contains the band's "Suffer The Shitmass" seven-inch EP as bonus tracks.

Video footage of ANTHRAX and SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo taking part in a backstage jam on a cover version of the AC/DC classic "Whole Lotta Rosie" — featuring MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's guitar tech, Willie G, on vocals — can be viewed below.

1991's original American "Clash of the Titans" lineup — SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — will hit the road together once again on leg two of the "American Carnage" tour. This trek kicks off September 24 at Verizon Wireless Theatre in Dallas, Texas and will play 20 dates, including New York's Nassau Coliseum, concluding at Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on October 21.

On leg two of "American Carnage", MEGADETH will continue to roar through its landmark 1990 album "Rust in Peace" from front to back, while SLAYER will rip the roof off by performing its much-lauded "Seasons in the Abyss" album, which was also released in 1990. ANTHRAX recently welcomed back singer Joey Belladonna, who defined the band during its heyday, and now permanently back in the band, will be front-and-center.

SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX will kick off the second leg of the "American Carnage" tour on the heels of the historic "Big Four" Sonisphere festival concerts they played with METALLICA in seven European cities this summer. The dates marked the first time that these four bands — acknowledged as the most influential bands of the thrash genre — had shared a concert bill.

The original "Clash of the Titans" tour united the three forces of thrash metal for the entire summer of 1991, with then-little known ALICE IN CHAINS serving as the opener. This tour, which falls under the "American Carnage" banner, isn't rewriting history, it's writing a whole new chapter of head-banging history that is sure to delight fans new and old.

AMARANTHE (formerly AVALANCHE) — the new project featuring Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND), Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND), Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM), Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION) and Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) — has inked a deal with Spinefarm Records for the release of its debut album, tentatively due in early 2011.

Commented guitarist Olof Mörck: "After talking to several of the highest-profile labels, Spinefarm completely outdid them all, most importantly through the understanding they've shown towards what we are trying to achieve as a band, musically and visually. The deal we have struck will enable us to take the band to levels we have yet only dreamt of, and beyond! You can expect a HUGE release that is bound some send tremors throughout the metal world early 2011!"

Commented Hannu Lehtonen of Spinefarm: "We are very happy and proud to have a chance to work with this very talented and fresh-sounding Swedish group! AMARANTHE has definitely found their own, unique sound and they are ready to start working with their debut album to be released during early 2011 through Spinefarm Records."

AMARANTHE vocalist Elize Ryd was selected to fill the female singer spot on KAMELOT's last European tour.

Yasmin, featured guest vocalist on the new ATROCITY album, After The Storm, recently offered the following comments on the new record:

"I am very happy about the atmosphere & authenticity of the album, which for me as a vocalist and storyteller is of great importance! The sensitive and skilful mixing and mastering keep the vocals alive, let them breathe and gel beautifully with the music. On the other hand, I love that only live recorded instruments are used in our album and my handcrafted flutes are having the space to voice and paint moods within the overall mix. I truly appreciate that the intention fully works, to have every song as a completed story with its own colours and shades and the tracks were treated accordingly in the mixing process… yet the very different pieces are flowing from one to another, conveying a harmonious and unique atmosphere as a whole in After The Storm.

Another contribution to this is the order of the songs/instrumentals, which works for me for many reasons, some of which are very personal."

Release dates for After The Storm are as follows:

Spain - September 1st
Germany / Austria / Switzerland / Benelux / Sweden - September 4th
Europe / Rest of World - September 6th
North America - September 14th

Surviving HEAVEN & HELL members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice will play a very special tribute to their fallen bandmate, Ronnie James Dio, at this year's High Voltage festival on July 24 at Victoria Park in London, England. The musicians will be joined by legendary former DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH man Glenn Hughes and Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande, who sings for power metallers MASTERPLAN and has just released his own tribute to Ronnie.

Proceeds from this performance will go to the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund.

Speaking to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Butler said, "It's gonna be very emotional doing this set with different singers, and it will very strange being on stage without Ronnie. But Wendy Dio told us that, if he could, then Ronnie would certainly have given this his blessing."

As the band prepares to go into rehearsals for this special set, Butler added, "What we'll do is a typical HEAVEN & HELL set as we've been touring with it recently. But it's the only time we'll do this. It won't happen again."

MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson has issued his most recent blog, from Russian during the band's 2010 European summer tour. Check out the video below:

Megadeth drummer Shawn Drover earlier issued the following update from Russia:

"Just got back to my hotel room after going to The Red Square with my tech, Big Nick and our monitor tech Scott, to which we had a good time and saw some great sites.

This is my first trip to Russia and I do have to say that I really dig it here. Of course, having Starbucks around the corner is certainly a good thing for us, so I can Joe up and just enjoy this nice sunny day here in Moscow.

We have two shows here before we head over to Estonia and then back stateside to reconnect with our families. To those of you who will attend these last three shows on this Euro tour leg, I do hope you enjoy it."

LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has entered Mastersound Studio in Germany to begin recording its new album for a tentative late 2010/early 2011 release.

Commented drummer Roland Navratil: "It's done! After the European tour and a lot of festival shows, the drum recordings for the upcoming LEAVES' EYES record are done. Only the percussions and big drums are left to record.

"We had a lot of fun in the studio and the drums sound killer!

"There are new fresh elements and influences in the songs. It will be a very versatile album and I am sure you will like it as much as I do!"

KORN performed for an hour and twenty minutes inside the mysterious crop circle that was recently revealed in the final installment of a viral web campaign. The band worked closely with longtime U.K.-based circle makers, CircleMakers.org, on the shadowy design which features a series of intricate circles, one of which includes the iconic KORN logo, and stretches over 920 feet long and 350 feet wide. The concert event, which is a first for a rock band, takes inspiration from the eerie atmosphere of PINK FLOYD's legendary "Live at Pompei". The concert made its North American broadcast premiere on HDNet on Sunday, July 11 and had a worldwide online premiere on Monday, July 12 via MySpace in countries all over the world.

Check out footage of the performance below.

"The setting and the mood took us into a totally new direction musically. We took the opportunity to stretch out and experiment with the performance. I don't think we'll ever be the same," said frontman Jonathan Davis.

"I felt like we were on some new frontier musically for KORN," said guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer. "This is definitely going to add a new dimension to our live shows."

Over the last month, web watchers were exposed to mysterious, unexplainable footage shot from a wheat field near KORN's native Bakersfield, California. The viral series lead many to wonder what was going on and what exactly KORN had in store for their loyal fans. Well, the time has come to find out what is really going on with these ominous "signs." The band performed several songs from "Korn III - Remember Who You Are", their new album which is due out July 13. KORN also dipped into its beloved catalog and played numerous classics and fan favorites.

"We spent a lot of time fooling around in the wheat fields and corn fields surrounding Bako when we were kids, and it gets pretty spooky out there at night. That's where we got the inspiration for the whole thing, so we decided to have some fun with the viral videos," Davis also said.

KORN is one of the co-headliners of the third annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.

Veteran German thrashers SODOM will release their long-awaited new DVD, "Lords Of Depravity - Part II", via SPV/Steamhammer on the following dates:

Germany: June 25
Rest of Europe: July 12
USA: July 13

The double digipak DVD with o-card will contain the following:

DOWNSPIRIT, the German/Swiss blues/metal-oriented band formed by SYMPHORCE/ex-FREEDOM CALL guitarist Cedric "Cede" Dupont, recently inked a deal with Metalville, the band and label pool launched by the Cologne, Germany-based company Flying Dolphin Entertainment Group UG. The group's debut album, "Point Of Origin", will be released in Europe on July 23 and in the U.S. on August 17.

A five-minute trailer for the CD can be viewed below.

"Blending old blues roots with a modern, downtuned guitar-feel, [DOWNSPIRIT's] songs are a mixture of typical bluesy '80s hard rock and a contemporary metal sound, which also includes some electro loops," according to a press release.

DOWNSPIRIT is:

Cédric "Cede" Dupont - Lead Guitars
Steffen Lauth - Vocals
Axel "Aki" Reissmann - Rhythm Guitars
Sven Rakowitz - Bass
Sebastian Dunkel - Drums

The cover artwork for "Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants", the new album from reformed Greek metallers NIGHTFALL — featuring frontman and lyricist Efthimis Karadimas alongside Evan Hensley on guitar, Stathis Kassios on keyboards and Jörg Uken on drums — can be viewed below. The CD is scheduled for release on August 31 (one day earlier internationally) via Metal Blade Records. The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith (OPETH, DEATH, NEVERMORE, KATATONIA).

Commented the band: "The front cover depicts the sea, the grand opposite of the sky-cum-space, and the means we humans are inventing to explore the unexplored. We are part of this universe and we use its planets to navigate, to tune our lives through the 'time' set by their motion, and who knows, may be to escape to some day in the future."

"Astron Black And The Thirty Tyrants" track listing:

01. Intro
02. Astron Black
03. Astronomica / Saturnian Moon
04. Astra Planeta / We Chose The Sun
05. Ambassador Of Mass
06. The Criterion
07. Asebeia
08. I-I
09. Archon Basileus
10. Proxima Centauri / Dead Bodies
11. The Thirty Tyrants
12. Epsilon Lyrae