BODY COUNT, the metal band fronted by hip-hop legend, actor and director Ice-T, has released the official music video for its cover of the SLAYER classic "Raining Blood". The clip, which was directed by Ice-T and Treach, also features the end of another SLAYER song, "Postmortem".

BODY COUNT's version of "Raining Blood" is featured on the band's latest album, "Bloodlust", which was released at the end of March. The follow-up to 2014's "Manslaughter" includes contributions from MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine, SOULFLY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's Max Cavalera and LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe.

BODY COUNT bassist Vincent Price recently spoke about how he approached recording "Raining Blood" in the studio. He said: "I got this phone call from Ice-T at the same time he told me about trying to find people to be on this record. He goes, 'Vince, I want to cover 'Raining Blood'. I'm thinking, 'Wait a minute, 'Raining Blood' starts with the end of 'Postmortem'. I was, like, 'You know what? Let's put a twist on it — start our 'Raining Blood' and then end with 'Postmortem', which I do vocals on."

Ice-T previously said of the decision to release a new BODY COUNT album: "Music happens in climates. Groups like RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and KORN were born when the world was in turmoil, then music went into this delusional period where hip-hop became about nothing more than poppin' bottles. Now we have impending doom again, racism is at an all-time high and it's our season again. This is the optimal time for a BODY COUNT record."

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the band led by brothers and founding SEPULTURA members Max (also of SOULFLY) and Igor Cavalera, recently completed work on its its fourth album at a studio in Phoenix, Arizona. The disc, which was produced by longtime friend Arthur Rizk, will tentatively be released in October via Napalm Records.

Speaking to Australia's The Rockpit, Max stated about the follow-up to 2014's "Pandemonium": "It's a beast of a record. I think it's got a really cool mix of death and thrash metal. It's a really well-put-together album and we have Justin [Broadrick] from GODFLESH singing on one song.

"I put it neck to neck with anything we did in the past — by far my favorite of all the CAVALERA albums," he continued. "I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. I think we did a great job on the production. Igor's drums sound huge. The guitar sounds super crispy, super catchy and crunchy. Our friend Arthur Rizk, he produced the last POWER TRIP record and INQUISITION album, so he's kind of an underground up-and-coming producer, he was really excited and motivated to work with us, and I really think he got some stuff out of me and Igor that wouldn't come out normally. He managed to get it out of us. That was great, so I'm very excited for people to hear it."

Regarding the songwriting process for the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album, Max said: "I started with riffs. I worked for two months only on the riffs, and I went crazy writing riffs all day long. [Then] we separated the best riffs out of those two months and out of those riffs, we could make the best songs from it. Then once the music was all done, it was time to work on the vocals. We worked very closely on the vocals, and it was cool because he was showing me a way of singing that I haven't sung since [SEPULTURA's] 'Morbid Visions'. He would play pieces of 'Morbid Visions' for me and would say, 'What do you think when you sung that?' I was, like, 'I wasn't thinking.' 'Do the same with this song — just don't think about it.' I would do something crazy, and it was fantastic. It was kind of a liberating experience when you have that no-hope-no-fear-type feeling you know? So we just went for it. We have an instrumental song that's amazing, we have the GODFLESH song and great thrash songs like 'Impalement Execution' and 'Judas Pariah'. I think people will really love this one."

Igor told HeavyMetal.dk last month that it was "good" for him and Max to have Rizk involved with the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album because Arthur "is super passionate about music, the same way we are. So to have someone like him coming in and helping us with ideas and things like that, I think it's gonna surprise a lot of people, 'cause he understands a lot about what's going on today in music, and that's pretty cool — that exchange with us, with the old-school ideas with also someone that understands music right now. I'm far more excited than I've been in many years to put out a record like this. So I have to say I'm quite into it, what we're doing right now."

Max concurred, telling HeavyMetal.dk: "[Arthur] captured the classic Max and Igor in a way that's never really quite been captured before. It was always his objective from the beginning — he wanted to capture the soul of the brothers, and I think he did. I think it's quite amazing, looking back, that somebody can get that out of you after twenty-five years, man. That's awesome. But, like Igor said, there's a lot of noise also — between songs we're gonna hear all this kind of crazy just pure noise and heaviness, which is unheard of. So I'm very excited."

"Pandemonium" sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 177 on The Billboard 200 chart.

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's previous CD, 2011's "Blunt Force Trauma" opened with around 5,000 units to land at No. 122.

The band's first CD, 2008's "Inflikted", registered a first-week tally of 9,000 copies to enter the chart at No. 72.

"Pandemonium" was produced by John Gray, who has previously worked with SOULFLY.

Max and Igor have spent the last year celebrating the twentieth anniversary of SEPULTURA's classic album "Roots" by performing the LP in its entirety.

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour is the most popular and highest-grossing global tour of 2017 so far, according to the mid-year report from live entertainment trade Pollstar.

Grossing $151.5 million, GUNS N' ROSES was the only group to sell more than one million tickets so far this year, says Pollstar president Gary Bongiovanni.

With an average ticket price of $108.98, GUNS' two shows at London Stadium on June 16 and June 17 generated the largest individual box office gross anywhere on the planet, raking in $17.3 million.

On tour in North America, U2 had a better average gross of $7.38 million on 19 shows, compared to GN'R's $5.61 million on 30 shows.

METALLICA was seen by 688,909 people at a gross of $88 million.

Other rock acts who appear in the Top 20 include RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, BON JOVI, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND and GREEN DAY.

Pollstar reports that the Top 50 Worldwide Tours grossed a combined $1.97 billion, just short of last year's record $1.98 billion.

GUNS kicked off its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour in April 2016 with a club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

The "Not In This Lifetime" tour features classic lineup members Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass) and Axl Rose (vocals) backed by guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Fank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and new second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS N' ROSES, with this same lineup, will come back to North America for at least another 15 stadium dates this summer, starting on July 27 in St. Louis and ending on September 8 in San Antonio. "The hard work hasn't even started yet," said the band's booking agent, UTA's Ken Fermaglich.

NINE INCH NAILS will release a new five-song EP titled "Add Violence" on Friday, July 21. The outfit, which consists primarily of founder Trent Reznor and longtime collaborator Atticus Ross, has issued the second track from the set, called "This Isn't The Place". Check it out below.

"Add Violence" is the second of three EPs that NINE INCH NAILS is releasing at roughly six-month intervals. The first one, "Not The Actual Events", came out last December. No release date or title has been announced yet for the third and final EP.

Speaking about the EPs on Beats 1 Radio on Thursday (July 13), Reznor said: "I love the format of an album. I like having forty minutes to ninety minutes to communicate a grand suite of songs that relate to each other and have something to say beyond the single song serving."

He continued: "But we were thinking about the amount of time it takes to do that and a bit of awareness about what it's like as a fan with so much choice… We thought it might be interesting to split the record up into three parts that come out and have their own moment of attention — each of which are stylistically a bit different."

Reznor added that when all three EPs are out, they will tell a "singular story."

"Add Violence" track listing:

01. Less Than 02. The Lovers03. This Isn't The Place04. Not Anymore05. The Background World

The last full-length NIN album, "Hesitation Marks", came out in 2013.

NINE INCH NAILS will begin a string of live shows on July 23 at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles, with Reznor saying that the band's new live show will be "anti-technology."

Fans that have seen METAL CHURCH live at their recent shows in the United States and Europe may have noticed a new face on stage. The guy behind the kit has been none other than Stet Howland, and now that the transitionary process is complete, METAL CHURCH is happy to announce the addition of Howland as the band's permanent new drummer. METAL CHURCH vocalist Mike Howe commented: "I am overwhelmed and grateful that Stet has found his way into the fold and I look forward to many successful and joyful performances together." METAL CHURCH guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof added: "We are extremely happy to have Stet as our new engine. He is a fantastic drummer and a great guy to work with. But the hazing shall continue relentlessly!" Howland shared his excitement about joining METAL CHURCH: "After being home for only a few days from possibly the best tour of my life, I received a conference call from Kurdt and Mike, for a split second I thought to myself 'Oh shit, what did I do?' But my concern quickly turned to an unremovable smile when they asked if I would be interested in being a permanent member of METAL CHURCH. "It's no secret that METAL CHURCH have always been one of my favorite metal bands and that, in my opinion, they are on the strongest ascent of any band in their genre! And given that the band kicks ass live, has an incredible record label, a rabid fan base, relevant new music, recent Billboard chart positions and first-week CD sales that rival multi-platinum acts, my answer was an unwavering 'YES'! "On my maiden journey I was blown away by Mike Howe's consistent crowd destruction, Kurdt's ridiculously heavy riffs, Rick Van Zandt's refusal to make even one mistake and my glue-like bond with Steve (it's a well-known fact that METAL CHURCH bass player Steve Unger is one of my closest friends and it was Steve who initially suggested me to the band). "There is understanding, mutual respect and camaraderie present here that is missing in so many 'famous' acts. I am honoured to be a member of such a group of people and will do my best to deliver strong performances both live and in the studio."

METAL CHURCH's latest studio album, "XI", was released on March 25, 2016 via Rat Pak Records. Produced by Vanderhoof and co-produced by Chris "The Wizard" Collier, the band's eleventh studio release marked the return of Howe.

METAL CHURCH released "Classic Live" via Rat Pak Records on April 28. Produced by Vanderhoof, this special-edition release features nine classic METAL CHURCH songs recorded live on the band's 2016 tour and also includes a special bonus track, a powerful new studio version of "Fake Healer" that features a duet with QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Todd La Torre.

Photo credit: Markus Wiedenmann Photography

According to Times Leader, ADRENALINE MOB's tour manager, Jane Train, remains in critical condition in a Gainesville, Florida hospital, four days after a crash that killed the band's bassist and injured several others.

A close associate of Train, whose real name is Janet Rains, told the Times Leader: "She is not in a coma; however, she is not fully conscious. She had surgery (Monday) morning and did very well. She is in very good hands. Please pray for her and the entire ADRENALINE MOB family."

The 48-year-old Train is best known as lead singer of '80s cover band M80.

The accident occurred near Micanopy early Friday afternoon when a tractor-trailer veered off Interstate 75 and struck the group's RV, which had pulled off the highway with a flat tire. ADRENALINE MOB was traveling in the RV and a van that was pulling a covered trailer.

According to Gainesville.com, a total of nine people were in the vehicles. One died, six were taken to area hospitals, and the other two declined medical treatment. The majority of those injured were listed in serious condition and one was in critical condition. Those injured were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital and North Florida Regional Medical Center.

ADRENALINE MOB bassist David "Z" Zablidowsky was killed in the crash.

Robert Dressler, 45, of Plains, who was the band's soundman on the tour; and Jason McCole, 41, of Wilkes-Barre, who was driving the RV, were also injured.

ADRENALINE MOB singer Russell Allen posted a message over the weekend in which he revealed that he helped pull Train and McCole from the wreckage before the RV became engulfed in flames. Allen sent special thanks to passer-by and Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Dumon for his "bravery in assisting me."

ADRENALINE MOB was scheduled to play Friday night in St. Petersburg.

The band was touring in support of its third studio album, "We The People", which was released on June 2 via Century Media. The follow-up to 2014's "Men Of Honor" was the first ADRENALINE MOB release to feature Zablidowsky and drummer Jordan Cannata.

Ozzy Osbourne played his second solo concert since the completion of BLACK SABBATH's "The End" tour this past Sunday night (July 16) at the Chicago Open Air festival in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Ozzy is joined on the current run of dates by guitarist Zakk Wylde, who was the SABBATH frontman's regular axeman from 1988 to 2007, although they've often performed together since then. Osbourne's touring lineup also includes Rob "Blasko" Nicholson on bass, Tommy Clufetos on drums and Adam Wakeman on keyboards.

Ozzy currently has only six more dates scheduled between now and early November. Next month will see the singer play Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota, Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Welch, Minnestoa and the Moonstock festival in Cartersville, Illinois. More shows will follow in September and October, with the final date take place at this year's edition of the Ozzfest Meets Knotfest on November 4 in San Bernadino, California.

Speaking to the Chicago Tribune about the possibility of collaborating with Ozzy on a new studio album, Zakk said: "My relationship with Ozzy and Mrs. O [Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne] is if they call me up and say, 'Bring eggs and milk over and clean the dog run,' I do it. If Oz wants to do another record, then we knock it out. We haven't spoken yet about a record. Basically, right now it's about the shows."

Wylde originally joined Osbourne's band three decades ago and backed the legendary frontman from 1987 to 1995, then again in 1998, from 2001 to 2004 and also from 2006 to 2009. His guitar playing can be heard on Osbourne's studio albums "No Rest For The Wicked", "No More Tears", "Ozzmosis", "Down To Earth", "Under Cover" and "Black Rain". The first album with Wylde went double platinum and "No More Tears" remains Ozzy's most successful album, going four times platinum in the United States with four Top 10 songs on the U.S. Billboard chart. Wylde also appeared with Ozzy on three live albums.

GUNS N' ROSES appears to be teasing a celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of its iconic debut album, "Appetite For Destruction", by placing ads around New York City featuring the record's artwork with the hashtag #APPETITE30TH.

"Appetite" will officially turn thirty this Friday (July 21), and the band is scheduled to perform an intimate show one day earlier at New York City's famed Apollo Theater.

Among the "Appetite" anniversary ads popping up around town is a particularly notable one in Times Square, which longtime GN'R associate Del James took a picture of and posted on his Instagram account. An anniversary poster has also surfaced right outside the Apollo, which has previously partnered with SiriusXM for similar concerts with Paul McCartney in 2010, Bruce Springsteen in 2012, METALLICA in 2013 and James Taylor in 2015.

GN'R's invitation-only performance for SiriusXM subscribers will air live nationwide on SiriusXM's Guns N' Roses Radio and Howard Stern's Howard 101 channel. Guns N' Roses Radio launched on Thursday, July 13 and will air through Saturday, July 22.

Former GUNS drummer Steven Adler told the "Trunk Nation" show earlier this year that Fernando Lebeis, who is part of GN'R's management team, had "some good ideas" for the thirtieth-anniversary celebration of "Appetite For Destruction".

Adler appeared with GUNS onstage last November in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as on three separate occasions during the U.S. leg of the "Not In This Lifetime" tour last summer.

It was rumored in September that former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Izzy Stradlin turned down a five-figure fee to play with the band at their April 2016 reunion shows.

Stradlin tweeted about the dispute, writing that the group didn't want to "split the loot equally."

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour features three members of the classic GUNS N' ROSES lineup — guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and singer Axl Rose — backed by drummer Frank Ferrer, guitarist Richard Fortus, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash, METALLICA axeman Kirk Hammett and Rob Zombie all reacted online to the death of filmmaker George A. Romero, who changed the horror genre in 1968 with his classic "Night Of The Living Dead" and invented the modern concept of the zombie. Romero, who died on Sunday (July 16) at age 77 after a brief battle with lung cancer, also directed the zombie masterpieces "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Day Of The Dead", while collaborating with Stephen King on 1982's "Creepshow".

Romero told The Pulse Of Radio years ago that he tried to break away from the horror genre but that was where he had his greatest success. "The times that I've gone out away from the genre, the things that I did didn't make a lot of money," he said. "You know, I don't mind it. I was reflecting back to right after 'Night Of The Living Dead': I was reluctant, and the second film we did didn't even get distribution. Actually, the next three films weren't horror films. I tried for a number of years to resist it and none of those things went out and made any money 'cause everybody wanted me to do 'Night Of The Living Dead' again. So we did 'Dawn Of The Dead', and I guess that really sealed my fate 'cause it was the most successful of the three."

All three musicians are massive horror fans, with Slash also a producer of one thriller and Rob Zombie a writer, producer and director of seven genre films.

Slash wrote online about Romero, "Trailblazer is an understatement. We will miss you."

Slash told Rolling Stone a while back, "'Night Of The Living Dead' was a very ominous, haunting and brutal movie, and I remember specific scenes that have stayed with me all these years."

Hammett, who has a vast horror collection and has also published a book and staged a genre convention, called Romero the "founding father of the modern zombie movie" in his own Twitter post, adding, "long live Romero!"

Rob Zombie chimed in, "I can't believe George Romero has died. All the zombies owe him everything! He was the master."

Romero's other movies included "Martin", "The Crazies", "The Dark Half" and three more installments of his "Dead" franchise. He was set to produce a seventh at the time of his death.

SEPULTURA broadened its musical horizons with "Chaos A.D." and "Roots", a pair of acclaimed albums that took the Brazilian band's hard-rocking sound in bold and exciting new directions. This fall, Rhino will revisit those back-to-back classics with remastered versions that are expanded with rare and unreleased studio and live recordings.

"Chaos A.D.: Expanded Edition" will be available on October 6 and "Roots: Expanded Edition" will be available on November 3, both as double-disc sets for $19.98 each. Double-LP versions, with similar track listings, will also be available for $31.98 each.

SEPULTURA was founded in 1983 by the brothers Max and Igor Cavalera with Wagner Lamounier and Jairo Guedes. Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. joined just a few short months later and in 1987, with the departure of Jairo and addition of guitarist Andreas Kisser, the solid lineup of SEPULTURA was final. The band quickly became an influential force in heavy metal music thanks to its dynamic studio recordings and intense live performances.

The band was in the midst of a creative and commercial peak in 1993 when it released "Chaos A.D." with Max Cavalera on vocals and guitar, Andreas Kisser on guitar, Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. on bass, and Igor Cavalera on drums. The record ushered in a more groove-based sound on songs like the singles "Refuse/Resist", "Territory" and "Slave New World".

"Chaos A.D.: Expanded Edition" includes a newly remastered version of the original album along with 17 bonus tracks. Among the highlights are a cover of BLACK SABBATH's "Symptom Of The Universe" that was originally issued as a B-side, plus nine scorching live versions of album tracks like "Territory" and "Biotech Is Godzilla". Also featured are several unreleased instrumental tracks that the band used during rehearsals for "Clenched Fist" and "Propaganda".

Three years after "Chaos A.D.", the band returned with "Roots", an album that was deeply influenced by Brazilian rhythms, which were incorporated into tracks like "Itsári" and "Ratamahatta". Since its release in 1996, the album has sold more than two million copies worldwide.

"Roots: Expanded Edition" features a newly remastered version of the original album, plus 17 bonus tracks. Standouts include demos for "Dusted" and "Roots Bloody Roots", instrumental versions of "Dictatorshit" and "Cutthroat", a version of "Attitude" recorded live at Ozzfest, and the unreleased first take of "Kaiowas".

SEPULTURA has sold nearly 20 million albums worldwide, including more than three million in the United States.

"Chaos A.D.: Expanded Edition"

CD track listing:

Disc One

01. Refuse/Resist02. Territory03. Slave New World04. Amen05. Kaiowas06. Propaganda07. Biotech Is Godzilla08. Nomad09. We Who Are Not As Others10. Manifest11. The Hunt12. Clenched Fist

Disc Two

01. Chaos B.C.02. Symptom Of The Universe03. Inhuman Nature04. Policia05. Crucificados Pelo Sistema06. Clenched Fist - Instrumental Version 1 07. Propaganda - Instrumental 08. Clenched Fist - Instrumental Version 2 09. Refuse/Resist - Live10. Slave New World - Live11. Propaganda - Live12. Beneath The Remains/Escape To The Void - Live13. Kaiowa - Live14. Clenched Fist - Live15. Biotech Is Godzilla - Live16. Territory - Live17. Amen/Inner Self - Live

LP track listing:

Side One

01. Refuse/Resist02. Territory03. Slave New World04. Amen05. Kaiowas06. Propaganda

Side Two

01. Biotech Is Godzilla02. Nomad03. We Who Are Not As Others04. Manifest05. The Hunt06. Clenched Fist

Side Three

01. Chaos B.C.02. Symptom Of The Universe03. Inhuman Nature04. Policia05. Crucificados Pelo Sistema06. Propaganda - Instrumental 07. Clenched Fist - Instrumental Version 2

Side Four

01. Refuse/Resist - Live02. Slave New World - Live03. Propaganda - Live04. Kaiowas - Live05. Clenched Fist - Live06. Biotech Is Godzilla - Live07. Territory - Live

"Roots: Expanded Edition"

CD track listing:

Disc One

01. Roots Bloody Roots02. Attitude03. Cut-Throat04. Ratamahatta05. Breed Apart06. Straighthate07. Spit08. Lookaway09. Dusted10. Born Stubborn11. Jasco12. Itsári13. Ambush14. Endangered Species15. Dictatorshit

Disc Two

01. Ratamahatta - 2 Meter Sessions02. Roots Bloody Roots - 2 Meter Sessions03. Attitude - 2 Meter Sessions04. Kaiowas - Take One 05. Procreation (Of The Wicked)06. Roots Bloody Roots - Demo07. Attitude - Instrumental08. Cutthroat - Instrumental09. Dictatorshit - Instrumental10. Untitled - Demo11. R.D.P. - Demo12. Dusted - Demo13. War14. Mine15. Lookaway - Master Vibe Mix16. Roots Bloody Roots - Megawatt Mix17. Attitude - Live at Ozzfest

LP track listing:

Side One

01. Roots Bloody Roots02. Attitude03. Cut-Throat04. Ratamahatta05. Breed Apart06. Straighthate07. Spit08. Lookaway

Side Two

01. Dusted02. Born Stubborn03. Jasco04. Itsári05. Ambush06. Endangered Species07. Dictatorshit

Side Three

01. Ratamahatta - 2 Meter Sessions02. Roots Bloody Roots - 2 Meter Sessions03. Attitude - 2 Meter Sessions04. Kaiowas - Take One 05. Procreation (Of The Wicked)

Side Four

01. Roots Bloody Roots - Demo02. Attitude - Instrumental03. Cutthroat - Instrumental04. Dictatorshit - Instrumental05. Untitled - Demo06. R.D.P. - Demo07. Dusted - Demo

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for the self-titled debut album from KEE OF HEARTS, the project featuring singer Tommy Heart (FAIR WARNING) and guitarist Kee Marcello (ex-EUROPE), can be found below. The disc will be released on September 15 via Frontiers Music Srl. With a lineup rounded out by Ken Sandin (ex-ALIEN) on bass and Italian drummer Marco Di Salvia (PINO SCOTTO), the guys started working on the album in late 2016. With their songwriting strongly focused on melodic rock songs, the album came to completion under the direction of producer Alessandro Del Vecchio and covers a wide spectrum of styles with a lot of attention given to crafting great hooks delivered by musicians that know how to deliver the goods. Musically, the band operates in a territory defined by Scandinavian AOR meeting German melodic hard rock with influences from the classic U.S. AOR giants (think GIANT, JOURNEY, etc.).

"Kee Of Hearts" track listing:

01. The Storm02. A New Dimension03. Crimson Dawn04. Bridge To Heaven05. Stranded06. Mama Don't Cry07. Invincible08. S.O.S.09. Edge Of Paradise10. Twist Of Fate11. Learn To Love Again

Brazilian metallers SHADOWSIDE, who feature in their ranks Swedish bass player Magnus Rosén (ex-HAMMERFALL), have released the official music video for the song "Alive". The track is the first single from the new SHADOWSIDE album, "Shades Of Humanity", which was recorded and produced in Sweden by Fredrik Nordström (ARCH ENEMY, HAMMERFALL, EVERGREY) and Henrik Udd (ARCHITECTS, ARCH ENEMY, DREAM EVIL).

The "Alive" clip was produced and shot at Adrenaline Studios in Orlando, Florida by director of photography Daniel Stilling, known for his works in "The Martian" film and "Criminal Minds" series.

"Alive" is not only a music video, it is a short film that features the power of resilience represented by the four elements of nature, where the band members Dani Nolden (Air), Magnus Rosén (Earth), Raphael Mattos (fire) and Fabio Buitvidas (water) experience situations of life and death, at the edge of impending disasters. Will they be able to fight for their lives?

"Shades of Humanity" explores deep subjects such as depression, abortion, the Mariana Dam disaster in Brazil and mankind's moral values, branching out in musical ways nobody expected while still keeping their heavy guitar riffs and catchy melodies.

"Shades of Humanity" will be released on July 26 in Japan via Spiritual Beast, July 28 in North America/Europe via EMP Label Group (the U.S.-based label of MEGADETH bass player David Ellefson) and September 4 in Brazil via Furia Music Records.

"Shades Of Humanity" track listing:

01. The Fall02. Beast Inside03. What If04. Make My Fate05. Insidious Me06. The Crossing07. Stream Of Shame08. Parade The Sacrifice09. Drifter10. Unreality11. Alive12. Haunted (Japanese bonus track)

According to CBC News, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson flew the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's prized Lancaster Bomber plane before the band's sold-out Toronto show Saturday night (July 15).

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum museum CEO and pilot David Rohrer said that the storied aircraft, nicknamed Vera because of its VRA flight initials, holds a special place in the heart of the British musician.

"The first model airplane he ever built as a young lad was a Lancaster," Rohrer told CBC News.

The 72-year-old aircraft Dickinson flew is said to be Canada's only operational Second World War-era Lancaster bomber plane.

During the war, the Lancaster was able to carry 22,000 pounds of bombs.

Rohrer said a total of 7,377 Lancaster planes were built in both the U.K. and Canada.

Following the war, more than 200 Lancaster planes remained in service for Arctic reconnaissance and patrol. The Royal Canadian Air Force discontinued the Lancaster in 1964.

Dickinson, a registered commercial pilot who owns Cardiff Aviation, told Wales Online in a recent interview that he still gets a thrill out of flying, but that it's a totally different sensation to playing live.

"The satisfaction flying airplanes is getting the job done, but the satisfaction with playing live is external, looking out at all the people looking at you," he said. "With an airliner, it's all internal. If you've got passengers, nobody goes, 'Wow! Wasn't that great?' They're thinking about the rest of their day. Your job as an airline pilot is to deliver them safely and be invisible. That's quite nice for me because it's completely the opposite to what I do when I sing."

Dickinson flew his band around the world in their plane dubbed Ed Force One, named after IRON MAIDEN's iconic mascot Eddie.

He gained a commercial pilot's license after learning to fly in the 1990s. In 2012 he set up Cardiff Aviation, an aircraft maintenance company which has signed an agreement with the Djibouti government to help re-launch their national airline.




Yesterday Bruce Dickinson, pilot and singer for Iron Maiden, joined us as a crew member for a Lancaster flight. What a...

Posted by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum on Sunday, July 16, 2017

California death metal horde Acephalix - featuring members of Vastum, Necrot, Depressor, and more - has completed their third LP, and is preparing to unleash Decreation upon the public masses on September 22nd. New label home 20 Buck Spin has unloaded a YouTube stream of the album's pummeling second track, "Suffer (Life In Fragments)," along with early pre-orders for the record.

The rotten corpse of Acephalix, the Bay Area's beast of barbarism, has been re-animated. Abnormally deceased since the band's Southern Lord debut, Deathless Master, the crushing return of Decreation leaves no bone unbroken and no skull intact, the album was recorded and mixed by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios (Vastum, Necrot, Ghoul), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Obituary, Black Breath), and completed with artwork by Adam Burke (Occultation, Loss, Gatecreeper, Artificial Brain).

Foul American death metal maggotry eating back to life coagulated remains of hardcore's guts. Opener "Upon This Altar" rages with d-beat ferocity morphing into a slithering puzzle of pierced flesh. Primitive savagery pervades on "Suffer (Life In Fragments)" through to the cro-magnon battering of "Excremental Offerings." All the while an obscure weirdness that characterized the idiosyncratic deformities of certain Cannibal Corpse, Nocturnus, and Death moments arises out of the Acephalix tomb.

With each release, the Acephalix horde grows more intense, vicious and bestial. Decreation is the culmination of five years of dormancy, letting loose upon the Earth the calamitous consequence of pent-up wrath.

Tracklisting:

"Upon This Altar"
"Suffer (Life In Fragments)"
"Mnemonic Death"
"God Is Laughing"
"Excremental Offerings"
"Egoic Skin"
"Decreation"

 

Death metal veterans MORBID ANGEL have been forced to cancel their European summer festival appearances slated for late July and August due to "unfortunate and last minute, unforeseen problems with a passport for one of the members of the band."

MORBID ANGEL's management, World Management, said in a statement: "In well over thirty years, we have never had an incident like this, nor have we ever canceled shows in our past. We have been advised by the U.S. State Department / passport agency that a new passport will not be forthcoming in time for any of the upcoming festivals.

"MORBID ANGEL are extremely unhappy about this loss of shows and want to apologize to all the fans, promoters, and vendors in Europe! We are working to have this issue remedied for the future and are looking forward to coming back to Europe and playing for all of our fans in November!"

MORBID ANGEL recently completed work on a new studio album, tentatively due in the fall via UDR Music. The disc was recorded at Mana Recording in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer — and former MORBID ANGEL guitarist — Erik Rutan. The LP will mark the band's first release with drummer Scott Fuller (ANNIHILATED, ex-ABYSMAL DAWN) who joined MORBID ANGEL last year following the departure of Tim Yeung. It will also be MORBID ANGEL's first album to feature bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker since 2003's "Heretic".

Tucker told "The Metal Magdalene With Jet" show about MORBID ANGEL's approach on the upcoming album: "It was really just about writing music — it was just about writing a MORBID ANGEL album. Nobody said, 'Hey, we wanna go in this direction,' nobody said anything. I mean, there's obvious things there. I've said it before — I'm a death metal guy, so, for me, it's gonna be a death metal album; if I'm on it, it's death metal. So it was just about making a MORBID ANGEL album. It was really about coming in with something new, something fresh, but yet it still being MORBID ANGEL. Really, honestly, we didn't approach this any differently than any of the other albums I was involved in except for maybe [1998's] 'Formulas Fatal To The Flesh', which 'Formulas', Trey wrote all the music, all the lyrics and things like that. But this was done more similar to maybe [2000's] 'Gateways To Annihilation', where everybody had their contribution. Trey wrote a bunch of songs, I wrote songs, Scotty contributed some ideas. There was a lot of back-and-forth. In the end, it has to become a MORBID ANGEL song. And at this point, I feel that it's very much a MORBID ANGEL album."

MORBID ANGEL in January announced the addition of Dan Vadim Von (guitarist/frontman of the American death metal band VADIMVON) to the band's lineup on second guitar. He joined the group as the replacement for Norwegian guitarist Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren), who left the band a year and a half ago.

Regina, SK titans of brutality Planet Eater return from the flat lands of Western Canada's prairies to offer their latest assault to the masses with their first full length Blackness From The Stars, to follow their 2015 self-titled debut EP. 

Blending thrash and death metal with crushing grooves and devastating vocals, Planet Eater demonstrate hints of Morbid Angel, Converge and Bolt Thrower with elements of Sepultura, Strapping Young Lad and Gojira embedded at the core of their sound.

The band's first single "The Boats" off Blackness From The Stars due out August 4th is now streaming via the YouTube clip below.

The band comments: "This track tells a tale of the brutal Persian torture tactic known as The Boats. 'The Boats' exemplifies the evolution of the Planet Eater sound and gives the listener a taste of what's to come in our first full length release, Blackness From The Stars."

Album pre-order available at this location.

Tracklisting:

"The Boats"    
"Pile Of Bones"
"Cold Confines"
"Lies Evolution"
"Suffer What They Must"
"Kill On Sight"
"A Fault To Fix"
"The Spoil"
"Blackness From The Stars"

Planet Eater's intense and heavy live set can be seen this summer as the quintet will be bludgeoning for the third consecutive year Loud As Hell Fest in Drumheller, AB on August 5th with Battlecross, Aggression, Black Wizard and more, plus a hometown CD release show on July 28th at The Exchange in Regina, SK.

Planet Eater is:

Troy Bleich - bass / backing vocals
Luc Hart - guitar
Devin Ubell - guitar 
Nick Eichhorst - drums
Donovon Turner - lead vocals

For further details, visit Planet Eater on Facebook.

 

Following two years of touring behind their debut album, Baptized In The Rio Grande, Sons Of Texas returned to the studio earlier this year with producer Josh Wilbur to record their follow up. The result is the 11 song CD, Forged By Fortitude, set for a September 22nd release with Razor & Tie. The album will be available in Europe through Spinefarm Records and with Sony in Japan.

The album is available today for pre-order on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and at Merch Now. The Merch Now pre-order features multiple bundles including exclusive t-shirt and hoodie designs, a flask, a dog tag bottle opener, and a knit cap. All bundle orders will have the option at checkout to buy a limited edition seven-inch vinyl single featuring the album track "Beneath The Riverbed" and a B-side of the Social Distortion song "Ball And Chain".

Tracklisting:

"Buy In To Sell Out"    
"Feed The Need"    
"Down In the Trenches"   
"Cast In Stone"   
"Beneath The Riverbed"    
"Expedition To Perdition"    
"Turnin’ The Page"   
"Jaded Eyes"   
"Wasp Woman"   
"Forged By Fortitude"    
"Slam With The Lights On" 

Premiering today is a lyric video of the album track “Feed The Need”. Those pre-ordering the album will receive the song as an instant grat track.

Sons of Texas are planning an extensive worldwide tour lasting throughout 2018.  

(Band photo by Lindsey Byrnes)

 

Since their inception in 2002, over the course of five studio albums and hundreds of live performances, Wolves In The Throne Room have refracted black metal through their own Cascadian prism. Their songs explore the hidden world of magic that one accesses through dreams, visions and music and the resulting sounds are intimately linked to the wild lands of the Pacific Northwest.

Now, a portal into the dreamworld of Wolves In The Throne Room opens again with their forthcoming sixth LP, Thrice Woven - a glorious return to the blazing and furious black metal that they alone can create. Today, the band has unveiled a magical new music video for a segment of the album’s first single, “Born From The Serpent's Eye”.

Wolves In The Throne Room commented: "This is our first video. We lit a bonfire and blasted through the first part of “Born From The Serpent’s Eye”. You’ll have to listen to the full track to hear Anna Von Hausswollf’s glory. This is the first time we’d played the song with Kody and it f*cking slayed. Peter and Nico captured the magic. May the good fires blaze!"

On September 22nd the band will release Thrice Woven on their own label, Artemisia Records. The album begins with "Born From The Serpent’s Eye" a true thrashing black metal epic that is bisected with a haunting northern lament sung by Swedish star Anna von Hausswolff.

"The Old Ones Are With Us" opens with the crackling of a fire and the voice of Steve Von Till (Neurosis) invoking the springtime thaw. It then storms into a dirge inspired by 90’s Finnish doom with lyrics that celebrate Imbolc, the holy day which marks the end of winter and the first stirrings of spring. Figures from Norse mythology intertwine with personal heartbreak and rebirth in the bleak "Angrboda". The song is named after a frost giantess who birthed Fenrir Wolf, a beast who was destined to destroy the world and murder the gods.

Fenrir Wolf also appears on the cover of Thrice Woven in a painting by Russian occult artist Denis Forkas. Forkas’ obscure medieval painting techniques perfectly compliment the music of Wolves In The Throne Room, you can explore the glimmering painting at the bottom of this post.

A raven’s wings stir the air in the interlude "Mother Owl, Father Ocean". Anna von Hausswolff returns in a duet with Turkish harpist Zeynep Oyku, forlorn industrial atmospheres haunt the mix, Hausswolff’s lyrics, sung in Swedish, echo over a barren grey seascape. "Fires Roar In The Palace Of The Moon" is the classic Cascadian black metal epic, the third eye opens to see holy rivers being born from the ice on the tallest peaks, the lyrics offer blessings to the waters of the earth as they flow from the high places to the source of darkness, the ocean.

When the band returned to the road in summer 2016 long-time touring guitar player Kody Keyworth was welcomed as a full member of Wolves In The Throne Room. On Thrice Woven, Kody contributes raven’s screams and some of the most brutal and dark riffs. The live lineup also features Peregrine Somerville (Sadhaka) playing third guitar and Brittany McConnell (Wolvserpent) on keyboards and percussion. The effect of three guitars on stage is mesmerizing and reflects the dark psychedelia of the band’s albums.

Look for Thrice Woven to be available on September 22nd and stay tuned for more news from Wolves In The Throne Room to surface soon.

Thrice Woven tracklisting:

“Born From The Serpent's Eye”
“The Old Ones Are With Us”
“Angrboda”
“Mother Owl, Father Ocean”
“Fires Roar In The Palace Of The Moon”

Teaser:

(Band photo - Peter Beste)

Israel-based progressive metal band, Soul Enema, released their new album, Of Clans And Clones And Clowns, on June 23rd. The album is available via Bandcamp and iTunes.

The band have released a new video for the album track “Spymania”, available for streaming below.

"As it turns out, an evil reptilians from planet Nibiru came down to Earth, and they are very close to get the key to universal knowledge. The super-human powers of Batman and Chuck Norris stand on their way, but it turns out, that only something related to the world of music is able to save the human race. What is it? Watch out till the end!,” the band commented.

"We used some paintings of a brilliant modern Russian artist Vasya Lozhkin, who's a big phenomenon in his home country, but still not really known in the Western World yet,” says songwriter and keyboard player Constantin Glantz, adding, “I must state that “Spymania” has some amusing background. The lyrics for this song were written way back in 2006, or maybe even earlier, and it features a kind of goofy, paranoid mock story about someone being mysteriously thrown down from the roof of Empire State Building, and seen too much things you ain't allowed to see, while flying down to the ground. So much, in fact, that this person was forcefully killed even before he naturally hit the ground. Fast forward to the year 2015, and guess what - suddenly we have a totally real conspiracy scandal taking place around the same Empire State Building during a big ecological happening, when some claimed there's Kali or Satan images projected on a building windows, as part of some mystic apocalyptic ritual! The Hell you know, indeed.”

The band's second album represents an interesting and varied combination of influences, including 14 tracks mixed an mastered by legendary Jens Bogren (Opeth, Devin Townsend, Paradise Lost, Symphony X).

Of Clans And Clones And Clowns also features guest contributions from Ayreon’s Arjen Lucassen, Yossi Sassi (ex-Orphaned Land, Yossi Sassi Band), Sergey Kalugin and Yuri Ruslanov (from leading Russian proggers Orgia Pravednikov).

Of Clans And Clones And Clowns tracklsting:

“Omon Ra”
“Cannibalissimo Ltd.”
“Spymania”
“Breaking The Waves”
“The Age Of Cosmic Baboon”
“In Bed With An Enemy” (ft. Y. Ruslanov, S. Kalugin)
“Last Days Of Rome”
“Dear Bollock (Was A Sensitive Man)”
“Aral Sea I - Feeding Hand”
“Aral Sea II - Dustbin Of History” (ft. Yossi Sassi)
“Aral Sea III - Epilogue” (ft. Sergey Kalugin)
“Octopus Song”
“Eternal Child” (ft. Arjen Lucassen)
“Of Clans And Clones And Clowns”

“Aral Sea III - Epilogue” video:

“Breaking The Waves” lyric video:

“In Bed With An Enemy” video:

Teaser:

Soul Enema lineup:

Noa Gruman - vocals
Yoel Genin - guitars
Michael Rosenfeld - bass, sitar, violin
Dor Levin - drums
Constantin Glantz - keyboards, programming, songwriting, production

In 1983, Star Licks Productions created a series of instructional videos featuring well-known musicians demonstrating their unique musical styles and techniques. The portfolio debuted with a wide-ranging group of players including Steve Lukather of Toto, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, guitarist Albert Lee, and acclaimed guitarist/educator Wolf Marshall.

In one of the videos, Queen’s Brian May discussed his equipment and techniques, and demonstrates a number of his guitar solos. He covers both famous and lesser known Queen songs, including “Brighton Rock”, “Tie Your Mother Down”, “Somebody To Love”, “It's Late”, “Dead On Time”, “Put Out The Fire”, “It's A Hard Life”, “Keep Yourself Alive”, “Jesus”, “Father To Son” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”.

Watch a clip featuring “Dragon Attack” below.

The programme was produced and directed by Mark Freed and Robert Decker, and recorded at Sarm West, London, England. The video was originally released in 1983 and later reissued in 1993/4.

Note from Brian: “Mark initially came to me with an idea for making audio cassettes of guitarists explaining their techniques. It seemed a good one and we arranged to meet and make it happen. But I said ... if we’re going to the trouble of recording this stuff, why not film it as well, and make it into a Video Cassette ?! So we made a ‘pilot’ video, and people liked it, and this became the template for a whole collection of videos which, I think, stand up very well to this day. Maybe we should do an update?!”

Subscribe to Brian May’s channel here.

Queen + Adam Lambert Tour Dates 2017:

July
17 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
18 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
20 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
21 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
23 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
25 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
26 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
28 - New York, NY - Barclays Center
30 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
31 - Washington D.C. - Verizon Center

August
2 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
4 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
5 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center

November
1 - Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena
2 - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle
4 - Budapest, Hungary - Sportarena
6 - Lodz, Poland - Atlas Arena
8 - Vienna, Austria - Stadhalle
10 - Bologna, Italy - Unipol Arena
12 - Luxembourg, Amneville - Galaxie
13 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Ziggo Dome
17 - Kaunas, Lithuania - Zalgiris Arena
25 - Dublin, Ireland - 3 Arena
26 - Belfast, Ireland - SSE Arena
28 - Liverpool, England - Echo Arena
30 - Birmingham, England - Barclaycard Arena

December
1 - Newcastle, England - Metro Radio Arena
3 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro
5 - Nottingham, England - Motorpoint Arena
6 - Leeds, England - First Direct Arena
8 - Sheffield, England - Motorpoint Arena
9 - Manchester, England - Arena
12 - London, England - 02 Arena
15 - London, England - The SSE Arena, Wembley

German metal legends Primal Fear performed at Wacken Open Air festival in the summer of 2011. Video of the band’s full performance is available for streaming below.

Setlist:

“Sign Of Fear”
“Chainbreaker”
“Battalions Of Hate”
“Nuclear Fire”
“Running In The Dust”
“Angel In Black”
“Six Times Dead”
“Seven Seals”
“Final Embrace”
“Metal Is Forever”

Australia’s premiere incendiary musical export, Thy Art Is Murder, have released a first official trailer for their upcoming Dear Desolation album, out on August 18th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.

Dear Desolation was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio in Belleville, NJ. Artwork was created by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Iced Earth).

Comments vocalist C.J. McMahon: "I feel the strongest I've ever felt going into a record. Coming back to the fold of our band has reinvigorated me. I missed my brothers, touring, and of course all our dedicated fans around the world who have always given us their all.

"This new record is going to shape our future; we gave it everything we could and then some. In the past, I was the weakest link and now that I have re-built myself, we are stronger than ever and nothing can stand in our way."

Adds guitarist Andy Marsh: "Hate, War, Desolation; the trilogy series of the path mankind has laid out before himself. We are prouder than ever of our efforts on this record. A lot of time, planning, creativity and teamwork has culminated in what we think is our most completed vision yet: Dear Desolation."

Pre-order Dear Desolation in various formats and bundles from around the world here. Pre-order the album digitally now from iTunes and Amazon and receive the song "Slaves Beyond Death" instantly.

Tracklisting:

“Slaves Beyond Death”
“The Son Of Misery”
“Puppet Master”
“Dear Desolation”
“Death Dealer”
“Man Is The Enemy”
“The Skin Of The Serpent”
“Fire In The Sky”
“Into Chaos We Climb”
“The Final Curtain”

“Dear Desolation” video trailer:

“Slaves Beyond Death” video:

Thy Art Is Murder and Polish metal extremists Decapitated, will co-headline a North American tour together this August/September. Joining them are progressive death metal masters Fallujah and depressive black metal sensations Ghost Bath.

Tour dates:

August
20 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
21 - Richmond, VA - Canal Club
22 - Greensboro, NC - Blind Tiger
23 - Atlanta, GA - The New Masquerade
25 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
26 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
27 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey Bar 'N Grill
29 - Denver, CO - The Summit Music Hall
30 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
31 - Spokane, WA - The Pin

September
1 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
2 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater
3 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
5 - Reno, NV - Jub Jub’s
6 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
7 - West Hollywood, CA - The Roxy Theatre
8 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
9 - Mesa, AZ - Club Red
10 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls
11 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
13 - Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater
14 - Joliet, IL - The Forge
15 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
16 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
17 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
18 - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey
19 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
20 - Syracuse, NY - The Lost Horizon
21 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
23 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Soundstage
24 - Columbus, OH - Park Street

Meltdown of the WRIF radio station conducted an interview with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield before the band's July 12 concert at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if he would ever consider doing a side or solo project, Hetfield said: "METALLICA's pretty much my side project. I get to do whatever I want in METALLICA. [Laughs] There's not really a need for it. I write things that make me feel good, and if they end up in METALLICA, then that's even better. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they're like a 'Nothing Else Matters' kind of thing, and they're trying to be hidden: 'Don't listen to that.' But, no, there's really no need for that. Or time — there's no time for that either. [Laughs]"

Hetfield's comments echo those he made during a 2015 interview with METALLICA's fan-club magazine So What!. He said at the time: "I think METALLICA, for Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] and myself— I'll speak mainly for me, but I know he feels the same way — METALLICA is our side project too. It's our main project, it's our side project, it's our 24-7 project. It doesn't mean that I don't want to try other things, like voiceover work, a book, photography, art, cars… you name it. I want it to add to me, not subtract from METALLICA."

He continued: "Before, I might have come to the table with a negative attitude around side projects: 'You're doing that, which means you're not into this band as much as I am or Lars is.' I'm tired of that feeling and I'm tired of that resentment.

"At the end of the day, I know Lars and I are the guides of this. We steer METALLICA most of the time, and the other two guys are very happy that that is the way it is. And we're all equal. We're all contributing in our way. But I think Lars and I are very comfortable being the spearheads of it. And we are in a great spot right now, because everyone knows the band is prioritized above everything, but everyone also feels free to to explore other things."

Former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted said in a 2014 interview that he left the band sixteen years ago over the way his then-side band, ECHOBRAIN, was handled. Newsted explained: "The management of METALLICA was very, very excited about ECHOBRAIN, wanted to take it out for me, wanted me to do ECHOBRAIN also, with METALLICA. They felt ECHOBRAIN was that good, the singer was that good, and it didn't affect METALLICA because it was a totally different kind of thing, and I was in METALLICA; that would give it its pedigree already."

Newsted continued: "They had told me, pretty convincingly, 'This is a great record, we've been playing it around the office, that's all I’ve been hearing, it's fantastic, this kid has a great voice. Let's do something with this.' That's what they told me, and then James heard about it and was not happy. He was, I think, pretty much out to put the kibosh on the whole thing because it would somehow affect METALLICA in his eyes, because now the managers were interested in something I was doing that had nothing to do with him."

METALLICA is touring in support of its tenth studio album, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", which came out last November.

The North American leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" trek will hit stadiums in ten more cities before ending in mid-August.

The next stop on the tour is Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 16.

Italy's Linea Rock recently conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of German/American metallers ACCEPT. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about the new ACCEPT album title, "The Rise Of Chaos", Wolf said: "It was really inspired by what we see in the world today. I mean, we had these words, 'the rise of chaos', and we thought they really fit into the times that we live in, so we chose it as an album title — or a songtitle first, and then it became the album title. It just felt right — there's chaos in the air, or the rise of chaos in the air right now, so we felt it was a great title to use. But other than that, we're not trying to have a hidden message or anything; it's not a concept album. It's just one of the strongest songs, or one of the strongest titles that we had, and we felt it was very fitting into the times. And every month goes by and it feels more current."

Regarding what ACCEPT fans should accept from the music on "The Rise Of Chaos", Wolf said: "I think it sounds exactly like fans want it to sound and fans expect it to sound, and I think we're delivering. We're not really trying to change anything at this point in our career; we're just trying to go forward on a very narrow, straight path without going sideways, left or right, stylistically. So we're trying to get better without ever really becoming any different. Because after all these many albums, we know exactly who we are and who we are not."

"The Rise Of Chaos" will be released on August 4 via Nuclear Blast.

The cover artwork for the new disc was created by the Hungarian artist Gyula Havancsák and can be seen below.

The follow-up to 2014's "Blind Rage" is the first ACCEPT album to feature the band's latest additions, guitarist Uwe Lulis (GRAVE DIGGER, REBELLION) and drummer Christopher Williams.

ACCEPT parted ways with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann in December 2014.

Former DIO and current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell says that is "saddened" that he and Ronnie James Dio "never had a chance to make it up" after their bitter split three decades ago.

Campbell and Ronnie James Dio worked together on the first three DIO albums 1983's "Holy Diver", 1984's "The Last In Line" and 1985's "Sacred Heart" — before Irishman Campbell left to join WHITESNAKE in 1987.

Vivian, along with drummer Vinny Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain, was part of the original DIO lineup, which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to form LAST IN LINE.

When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.

During an appearance on the "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" podcast, Vivian spoke about his relationship with the legendary heavy metal singer who passed away in 2010 after a six-month battle with stomach cancer.

"In many ways, I'm kind of saddened that Ronnie and I never had a chance to make it up," Vivian said. "Because I know that there was a part of Ronnie that was really dark and really angry, but I know that there was another part of him that was really sweet and forthcoming. And I think that under the right circumstances, Ronnie and I would have sat down and had a beer and made our peace and we could have even worked together again, and it would have been great. But, you know, there's a lot of gatekeepers in this industry, and one of the things that they do very, very well is keep people apart. So it wouldn't have happened as long as those gatekeepers were there. That's my point."

Campbell also talked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for LAST IN LINE's follow-up to 2016's "Heavy Crown" debut. He said: "We're about fifty percent into the LAST IN LINE album; we've got about fifty percent of it written. We begin in the next couple of weeks to do some more shows and we'll do some more writing. We actually have a start date. We'll go back in the studio, again with Jeff Pilson [FOREIGNER, DOKKEN] to produce, we start on September 11, I believe — [that's] our first tracking day. But given Jeff's schedule and our schedule, it probably won't be delivered until December, so it would be early 2018 before it gets out. But it is coming. And the new songs are really interesting. I can really hear the growth of the band and the growth of the style and the songwriting. Some of the arrangements are a bit more complex than they were on the first album, and it's been a real joy."

Ronnie James Dio made headlines in 2007 when a clip of him surfaced calling Campbell "a fucking asshole" and "a piece of shit." Although Vivian has since expressed regret over referring to Dio as "one of the vilest people in the industry," the guitarist has consistently maintained that he was wronged by the now-deceased vocalist.

In a May 2011 interview with Brazil's Roadie Crew magazine, Dio's widow and manager Wendy stated about the controversy surrounding Ronnie's relationship with Campbell: "[Vivian] always said that he hated all the albums that he played on with Ronnie, and that was very hurtful to Ronnie. Very hurtful. Would you like someone who said something like that about your albums? He said a lot of things in the press that I don't wanna get into, because it really wasn't Ronnie's feud at all. Ronnie didn't fire him. I fired [Vivian]. He wanted as much money as Ronnie wanted. He thought he was as important as Ronnie was, and that was just wrong. But I don't wanna get into that. It's water under the bridge. It doesn't matter."

Soon after DEF LEPPARD's Phil Collen was invited to join the annual G4 Experience, led by guitar great Joe Satriani, he was moved to write an instrumental in homage to the guitar master.

"I was honored when Joe invited me to join the G4 Experience and I decided to write and record an instrumental track called 'Yo 2 Joe' as a tribute to him. I was further honored when he played on the track with me because he is such an amazing artist. I wanted the track to reflect the vibe of his influential 'Surfing With The Alien' album. Thirty years later, he continues to wow generations of guitar players and music fans alike."

The track will be released as a single on July 21 and will be given free to those attending the camp. Pre-orders for the track begin today. Also joining Satriani and Collen at this year's "G4 Experience: Surfing With The Alien 30th Anniversary" are Warren DeMartini (RATT) and Paul Gilbert (MR. BIG). The event takes place on July 24-28 at Asilomar Center in Carmel, California.

For its fourth installment, the G4 Experience enjoys a game-changing and historic first. The camp will celebrate the writing, recording, and performance of Satriani's seminal Grammy Award-nominated, platinum-selling 1987 epic "Surfing With The Alien" — one of the most successful instrumental guitar albums ever made. Recognizing the record's thirtieth anniversary, campers will enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pull back the curtain on the album with the visionaries behind the music.

Satriani will be joined by his original live band during the record's tour cycle. Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover will return for the first time since 1995 for the evenings' performances.

For more information on G4, visit g4experience.com.

Straus Project conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson on Friday, July 14 at the Chicago Open Air festival at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about MEGADETH's latest album, 2016's "Dystopia", Ellefson said: "Well, it was a record that we… We probably worked on it for almost a year before we recorded it. And it took another six months or so, probably, to cut the record. It went through a lot of transitional things to get it to just kind of boil it down to the essence of what it really is. And I think what fans are happy about is they like to hear us being this MEGADETH that they grew up with."

He continued: "We've done a lot of different things in our career. We're a band that can write really intricate riffs, we're a band who can write great choruses and hooks. I think the trick with 'Dystopia' was sort of finetuning it and bringing all those elements together, because you can't be the band you were on your debut record, and you're not even gonna be the band you were on your last record, because life moves forward and developmens happen. And [LAMB OF GOD drummer] Chris Adler [who played on 'Dystopia'] was a big part of helping 'Dystopia' get focused. And Kiko [Loureiro, MEGADETH guitarist] coming in brought that… MEGADETH's always had two… Dave [Mustaine, MEGADETH leader] and then this other juxtaposed guitar player, and I think Kiko really complemented that well… And live, Kiko's an incredible performer as well."

MEGADETH has just completed a North American tour with MESHUGGAH and will play arenas later in the year as the support act for German hard rock veterans SCORPIONS.

MEGADETH is planning on returning to the studio at the end of the year to begin work on the follow-up to "Dystopia".

The band's upcoming effort will mark MEGADETH's first release to feature new drummer Dirk Verbeuren, who officially joined the group a year ago.

Warrel Dane says that the upcoming SANCTUARY album will be "much faster and much thrashier" than the band's comeback effort, 2014's "The Year The Sun Died".

When "The Year The Sun Died" was first released, many people compared the disc to the most recent output from Dane's long-running-but-currently-inactive outfit NEVERMORE, a connection that the singer has steadfastly rejected.

"The music of SANCTUARY and the music of NEVERMORE I don't think sound anything alike," Warrel said during a July 8 appearance on Israel's "Met Al Metal" (hear audio below). "However, I will tell you that the new SANCTUARY songs that I've heard, that are being worked on, are much faster and much thrashier."

He continued: "I've heard a lot of people say ['The Year The Sun Died'] does sound a bit like NEVERMORE, but I put that on the fact that I'm singing in my lower register a lot of the time, and people associate that with NEVERMORE."

Dane also spoke about MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine, who helped get SANCTUARY signed to CBS/Epic Records, produced their first album (1988's "Refuge Denied"), and took them on the road with MEGADETH.

"I have to tell you: I have a mad amount of respect for Dave Mustaine," Warrel said. "He gets a really bad reputation in the press because of some of the stuff he says. I might not be on point with him as far as ideology and beliefs, but I have to give him respect, because he's pretty much the reason that I'm talking to you right now. He gave me a start in the music business, and it's not easy to get your foot in the door. And for that, I will always admire him."

Asked if he still keeps in touch with Mustaine, Dane said: "Kind of. I mean, I see him at festivals occasionally. NEVERMORE did the very first Gigantour in the U.S., and, yeah, I hung out with him a lot, and I see him at festivals, and, yeah, we're still friends. I mean, we're not best buddies or anything, but he's still approachable."

SANCTUARY's last release was "Inception", the official prequel to 1988's classic debut "Refuge Denied". "Inception" contains presumed lost 1986 studio recordings, which guitarist Lenny Rutledge discovered recently and which were magically restored, remixed and remastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (QUEENSRŸCHE, HATEBREED).

SANCTUARY recently recruited Attila Vörös (NEVERMORE) as its new second guitar player.

Ritchie Blackmore says that he would be willing to reunite with DEEP PURPLE for one final concert.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

In a brand new interview with Germany's Rock N Roll Reporter, Ritchie stated about the prospect of sharing the stage with PURPLE again: "I think if they would be interested, and our schedules aligned, I would be available for one show — for nostalgic reasons. But I don't think DEEP PURPLE have any interest in that. They have their niche and are not into doing things like that. We are friends and I've doing my music for twenty years, and they're doing their stuff for twenty years. It's probably not likely [to happen]. Also, their management wouldn't like it, even if it was for just one show. Their management wouldn't allow it, I'm sure."

DEEP PURPLE drummer Ian Paice recently told "The Rock Brigade" podcast that there was "no point" for the band to consider a reunion with Blackmore, explaining that "we have a wonderful feeling within the band, everybody's very friendly, and all we have to do is go on stage and make the music; there's no other considerations to worry about. I think Ritchie's life doesn't work like that. I think it's a little more complex. And at this stage of my life, I don't need cloudy areas. I like it to be clear and crystal and know that it's gonna be fun. I love Ritchie to death, but I can't guarantee every day with him is gonna be fun."

Blackmore was absent from DEEP PURPLE's induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year. He later posted a statement on his Facebook page in which he said: "I have my reason for not attending the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, although I appreciate the award."

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at last year's Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".