Infected is a new industrial metal project featuring Troctapuss (aka Brian Troch) and Jeff Vincent. Troch is also known for being the lead vocalist for Cyclone Temple, Hammeron, The Reign Of Terror, Znöwhite and Shooting Hemlock. Look for more music and live performances, coming soon.
 
Check out the new song "Infected" below. Download the single from iTunes here.

For information and updates on Infected check out the official Facebook page here.

Bulgaria's Enthrallment called Eugenic Wombs contains nine new tracks and will be available on December 4th again via Germany's Rebirth The Metal Productions. Expect more details soon. 

Eugenic Wombs tracklisting is as follows:
“Deserved Fears”
“Few Are Those Who Find It”
“Last Judgment Waltz”
“Totally Dismembered”
“Defame The Incarnation”
“Inspired Lunatic”
“Path To Silence”
“Nature Dose Not Allow Doubling”
“Enslaved by Your Own Seed”

Listen to “Last Judgment Waltz” below:

 

SLIPKNOT was forced to walk off stage several songs into its performance earlier tonight (Sunday, August 2) in Hartford, Connecticut after their bassist, Alessandro "Vman" Venturella, had an unknown medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital. After about a twenty-minute break, SLIPKNOT returned to the stage without Venturella and played the rest of the set as an eight-piece.

Before SLIPKNOT resumed its performance, singer Corey Taylor addressed the crowd, explaining (see video below): "I'm gonna let you know what's going on right now. I'm sorry to say that our bass player, Alex, had… Something happened. I'm not sure what happened. He's been put into an ambulance and he's going to the hospital right now as we speak. But I want you all to make fucking noise for him. Send him some fucking love. Now, we had a choice to come back out here. We've had to modify some shit, but we're gonna keep on playing for you. It's what we want, it's what Alex would fucking want."

SLIPKNOT guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson reportedly handled most of the bass duties on the band's latest album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", with some help from Venturella and former touring bassist Donnie Steele. Taylor spoke to the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast about how SLIPKNOT eventually decided to hire Venturella to finish out the record and join the band on the road. He said: "[The way] Vman [came into SLIPKNOT] was a little different [from the way drummer Jay Weinberg did], because we had a couple of people that we were looking at and that we had actually worked with, and it just wasn't vibing. Nothing against them technically — it just wasn't vibing. And I think Jim was actually the one who said, 'For now, let's bring Vman in. He can handle it.' 'Cause the dude is a ripper. A lot of people don't know that. We met him through MASTODON, so we've known him a long time, and Jim knew just how good he was. So he came in, and he just started handling it. And he's so easy to hang out with. He's such a great dude. And it just got better and better and better and better and better. And the question got brought up towards the end of the album. It was, like, 'What are we gonna do live?' And we were, like, 'What do you mean? He's coming with us.' It was a slower burn for him, because we had tried a couple of other people. But it worked so well that it was just, like, 'Okay, this is it.' And then it was trial by fire, 'cause now you're jumping out of the airplane. The first gig was Knotfest in front of 25,000 people. That was their first gig. But it came off, man, and it's just gotten better. It never gets easier, but it's gotten better."

SLIPKNOT's original bassist Paul Gray passed away in May 2010 from an accidental overdose of drugs.

SLIPKNOT's "Summer's Last Stand" tour kicked off on July 24 in West Palm Beach, Florida and is scheduled to hit Boston's Xfinity Center on Tuesday, August 4.


(Thanks: Concert attendee Nick Mucha)

IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain and former OVERKILL guitarist Bobby Gustafson joined the heavy metal tribute act MADE OF METAL on stage this past Friday, July 31 at the Culture Room in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to perform the MAIDEN classic "Two Minutes To Midnight" at a concert hosted by VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show". Fan-filmed video footage can be seen below.

Due globally on September 4 through Parlophone Records (Sanctuary Copyrights/BMG in the U.S.), IRON MAIDEN's new album, "The Book Of Souls", was recorded in Paris, France with producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley in late 2014, with the finishing touches added earlier this year. However, the band decided to delay its release so that singer Bruce Dickinson, who was recently given the all-clear from the tumor, would have time to recuperate sufficiently to join in the preparations for the album's launch.

Gustafson is involved in a new band called SATANS TAINT, which has made its debut EP, "Songs For The Einherjar", available via iTunes. The effort contains four tracks: "The Hammer And The Cross", "Song For Einherjar", "Battle Of Bravalla" and "Gothic Serpant". Joining Gustafson in the recording lineup for "Songs For The Einherjar" are Jim McCourt on drums, Mark Dykstra on guitar, and Jorgen Kristensen, Blue Heavener and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.

Former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash has recorded a guest appearance on a cover version of a THIN LIZZY classic for original KISS axeman Ace Frehley's forthcoming covers album, due later in the year via SPV/Steamhammer.

A photo of Slash in the studio with Ace's drummer Matt Starr and their engineer can be seen below.

Slash wrote on Twitter: "Had a really fun, live session with @Ace_Frehley last night jamming on a #ThinLizzy tune for his new covers album. Good times!"

Frehley told Billboard.com earlier in the year about his covers disc: "The album's going to be about my influences. I'm probably going to do a ROLLING STONES song, a WHO song, possibly a LED ZEPPELIN song, maybe a BEATLES song. Stuff from bands that I grew up on and greatly influenced me. Those are the songs I'd redo, besides vintage KISS stuff and a FREHLEY'S COMET track."

The set will "probably" include Frehley's versions of the KISS classics "Cold Gin" and "Parasite". "On KISS records, I'm not singing lead. So I'm going to sing lead on them like I do live so there's [studio tracks] out there with me," Ace said.

Frehley said that he has approached Lita Ford, Slash and Mike McCready (PEARL JAM) about making guest appearances on the CD. "I was actually going to ask [KISS bassist/vocalist] Gene Simmons to play bass on a track and sing with me. I haven't gotten to that stage yet," he said.

With all the back-and-forth in the media between Ace and his former KISS bandmates over the past year, VH1 Radio Network asked Frehley if he thinks Gene would accept his invitation to appear on Ace's covers album. "I think he'd consider it," Ace said. "I don't know if he'd do it. Maybe [KISS guitarist/vocalist] Paul [Stanley] won't let him. Who knows?"

AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd pleaded not guilty on Monday (August 3) to breaching the circumstances of his home detention.

He is now facing an additional charge of possessing and consuming alcohol — a breach of the conditions of an eight-month home detention sentence handed down last month.

The 61-year-old was remanded on bail until November 24 when he will return for a two-hour judge-alone hearing on the possible breach.

The drummer previously appealed his sentence of eight months' home detention after pleading guilty to charges of attempting to "procure a murder" and drug possession. He faced up to seven years behind bars.

Rudd's son submitted an affidavit to the court which said in part that his father "has a heart of gold and wouldn't hurt a fly. It's just when the drugs take over, he behaves how he taught me not to." Rudd has reportedly been struggling with a meth addiction.

When his first solo effort, "Head Job", flopped, Rudd reportedly threatened a former employee. A month later, Rudd told an associate that he wanted him to "take out" his personal assistant, whom he then called and verbally threatened, allegedly saying: "I'm going to come over and kill you."

Rudd offered $200,000 and a choice of vehicles and house as payment to kill the assistant, according to reports. When police raided his home in Tauranga, New Zealand, they found methamphetamine and other drugs.

Prior the ruling, the court was told that Rudd's actions were the result of psychosis, brought on by drugs. While he initially denied the allegations, he submitted a guilty plea in April.

Rudd played with AC/DC for 30 years and performed on AC/DC's new album, "Rock Or Bust". Chris Slade, who played with AC/DC from 1990 to 1993, was announced in February as the group's drummer for its current world tour.

ADLER, the band led by former GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler, performed the GN'R classic "Used To Love Her" on the Peruvian show "Fuera Del Estudio". You can watch video footage of the group's appearance below.

ADLER is comprised of Adler, frontman Jacob Bunton (LYNAM, MARS ELECTRIC), guitarist Lonny Paul (ADLER'S APPETITE), and bassist Johnny Martin (CHELSEA SMILES).

The band is working on material for its sophomore album for a tentative February 2016 release.

ADLER recently returned to the studio with producer Jeff Pilson (FOREIGNER, DOKKEN) to record one new track, "Life Ain't Gonna.

Steven, who appeared on season two of on the "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" show and the first season of the spin-off program "Sober House" back in late 2008 and early 2009, told the "Fox Rocks" show about ADLER: "[Our debut] album 'Back From The Dead' came out, actually, in November 2012. But because of the addiction problems I had, we were not able to tour the record in 2013. In 2014, I just took the whole year off and focused on my sobriety. I got into an AA program, I have a sponsor, I'm doing the steps. I'm doing the work, basically, and giving a big effort, and it's working out great."

He continued: "It's been such a joy to wake up in the morning. My life [just took] a complete 180[-degree turn]. Life's exciting again. And I love coming down to the studio and playing, even if it's just by myself. Sometimes I get bored, and I go, 'Well, it's time to get out of the house.' And I come out and I come and jam for a couple of hours, and it feels great."

Steven Adler was the drummer for GUNS N' ROSES from 1985 to 1990. He was eventually fired from the band due to his drug addiction, which caused him to spiral down into depression and more drug use.

GUNS N' ROSES was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012. Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and Adler attended the ceremony, while Axl and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.

Guima Drum conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) during his recent workshop tour of Brazil. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the most common relationship problems between members of a rock band:

Vinny: "When you're in a rock band, it's like being married to four guys… and if there's any girls in there too. You travel together, you live together… you're always in close quarters with those people, so it does create problems. Sometimes silly little things cause a problem. A big problem is when people are late, or drunk. They let the band down. You know, the band's there and somebody has not arrived yet. Everybody's waiting around and you're keeping everybody… killing everybody's free time. So things like that. And not playing good every night. You've gotta be a team. That's why it's called a band. It's like a ring — everybody's in a circle and carries their own weight and keeps it going."

On the most difficulty he has ever faced in the music industry:

Vinny: "Right now I don't even know what the music business is. I have no idea. There's no record stores. We live in Los Angeles, and the radio sucks. It's better elsewhere. The bands put an album out, and they don't play it. Then everybody downloads it for free. And it's a fucking mess. 'Cause people need to earn money when they play music, just like you go earn money when you go to work. It costs money to make an album. You can't just give it away for free. But that's crazy right now. So I don't know what's going on. I'm glad I grew up and made noise in the '80s and built myself up, 'cause it's hard now. For new bands, everybody makes CDs. Years ago, nobody had CDs. You had to have a record deal. Everybody's got it [now]. And there's so much competition. The Internet is good in a way to get your stuff out there, but the whole music industry is wrecked."

Vinny Appice has anchored the rhythm and power live and in the studio for the music of DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, WWIII, AXIS, Rick Derringer, John Lennon, and more. He has recorded and co-written songs on over 25 albums and CDs, including many multi-platinum records. Touring the world for over two decades resulted in selling millions of records. Vinny's drumming can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Wayne's World 2", "Heavy Metal", "Iron Eagle" and "Bedazzled". Vinny, the author of drum instruction book "Rock Steady" and DVD "Hard Rock Drumming Techniques", has performed incredible powerhouse drum clinics around the globe. Numerous books have been written about BLACK SABBATH and DIO with the authors always mentioned Vinny's unique powerful drumming style.

Sofia Samrad of DCW50 conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King and drummer Paul Bostaph at a recent stop of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. You can watch the report below.

Asked about the title of SLAYER's forthcoming album, "Repentless", Kerry said: "I made [the word] up. I didn't realize I made it up. I mean, it seemed like a word to me, and then I looked it up and it wasn't there. [Laughs]"

He continued: "To me, 'repentless,' you know, is, basically, having no regrets, not looking back and saying, 'I wish I should have done things differently.' 'Repentless' is meaning I have no reason to repent."

Asked if there is anything that stands out that he wishes he would have done, Kerry said: "No, I like where we're at. I mean, if I said anything, I'd probably wish I would have paid more attention in the '90s, but we got past it."

The "Repentless" title track is an ode to SLAYER's late guitarist, Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in 2013. "I call it the Hannemanthem!" King said of the song. "I wrote that for Jeff. Oh, dude, it's fast as fuck. You don't know what the fuck's coming!"

He added: "It's my perspective of Jeff's perspective. It's what I think... If Jeff wrote a song for himself, 'Repentless' would be it."

SLAYER's eleventh studio album, "Repentless", will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" was produced by Terry Date, who has previously worked with PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN.

GUNS N' ROSES drummer Frank Ferrer was interviewed by rock journalist Mitch Lafon for a recent edition of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page). You can now listen to using the Spreaker widget below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether he is still a member of GUNS N' ROSES:

"I am a member of GUNS. [GUNS N' ROSES singer] Axl [Rose] and I text all the time. But, yeah, I am a member of GUNS, and GUNS still exists."

On GUNS N' ROSES' current status as a band:

"Well, the best way to answer that is [to say] that GUNS has a future. GUNS definitely has a lot of moving parts, and there's a lot of things in the works. And once we're ready to announce something, the whole world will know. But everything is moving forward."

On when GUNS N' ROSES will play out again:

"As of right now, we don't have anything booked, but I'm hearing rumors that there probably might be stuff towards the end of this year [or] beginning of next year, but there's nothing booked as of yet."

On why it took Axl Rose so long to release GUNS N' ROSES' last album, "Chinese Democracy":

"I guess the only thing I can say is he wasn't ready, he just wasn't ready, to put it out. He didn't feel like it was completely done. It’s his baby, and he wanted it to be perfect. Still today, even today, he wants everything to come off just right. And that's a lot of pressure to put on yourself. And he deals with it in his own way. He is probably one of the greatest living rock stars in the history of music, and they're becoming rare, as you know. I mean, think of a rock star in the last fifteen years that's popped up. You can't think of anybody. Everybody's still… NINE INCH NAILS is still headlining festivals, and SOUNDGARDEN, and ALICE IN CHAINS. It's, like, there's nobody out there. And Axl puts that pressure on himself. That's a lot of pressure. He just wants it to be right. That's the only thing I can say: he wants everything to be just right. That's who he is. That's what every artist is. They're perfectionists in their own right. Very rarely… For every one great song you hear, they've written sixty songs that probably are great, but they don't feel are great. That's the way they think. He has a lot of pressure on him."

Guitarist D.J. Ashba issued a statement on Monday (July 27) announcing that he was leaving GUNS N' ROSES.

Ashba joined GUNS N' ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck.

Although Ashba and other members of GUNS N' ROSES have hinted in the last year that recording and touring plans were on tap for 2015, none have materialized.

Meanwhile, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal recently revealed that he was focusing on his solo career after spending eight years playing in GUNS N' ROSES. He has stopped short, however, of saying that he was no longer a member of the band.

Asked by journalist Gary Graff to clarify his status with GUNS, Thal said: "That is the thing I am not to elaborate on. I think there's enough clues out there for you to figure out what I'm up to now."

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King says that he didn't take it personally when Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival co-founder Kevin Lyman criticized the metal scene for the lower-than-usual attendance at this year's edition of the travelling event. The tour is smaller this year, with fewer bands overall and fewer "headline-worthy" acts at the top.

"The bands at the top all demand a certain level of fee to be on a tour," Lyman told the Detroit Free Press. "Unlike punk rock, metal never knows how to take a step back to move the whole scene forward…What happened was metal chased girls away because what happened was metal aged. Metal got gray, bald and fat."

King, whose band is headlining this year's Mayhem, told the Houston Press that the problem with this summer's event lies not so much with the metal bands themselves but with the way the festival was booked.

"I didn't take what he said personally," Kerry said. "He just definitely had a mike put in front of him and said some shit that's detrimental to this tour and any tours he has in the future — not just Mayhem, but whatever else he promotes. Because, to me, he committed business suicide.

"At the end of the day, what I think happened to Mayhem was that they waited too late in the game to get the talent they needed to pull it off correctly," Kerry continued. "Because what happens is, people get booked up so early these days that it seems like all the bands that could have made this more of a success are playing in Europe now instead of being on a U.S. festival. It just made the talent pool less than it could be."

According to King, there is a certain benefit to headlining a big package like Mayhem. "The advantage, for me, is that if we're doing our own tour, we're carrying our own sound and lights, whereas if we do a big tour like this, sound and lights are provided," he said. "It lets us invest more in the show, which is why at Mayhem you always see us with fire and video screens behind us instead of a backdrop."

Despite his public war of words with Lyman, King told the Houston Press that he wouldn't rule out another Mayhem stint for SLAYER in the future.

"Under different circumstances, of course," he said. "One of the owners is a close friend of mine, and I can't wait for him to come back. Not to chew him out, just to say, 'Hey dude, I understand your partner made some shitty comments, but I don't hold that against you. You didn't say 'em, you're my bro, and somebody never should have put a mike in front of that guy. In the future you better keep a mike away from him if you want your festivals to be well-attended, because he's just fucking everything up.'"

This year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival kicked off on June 26 in Chula Vista, California and will wrap on August 2 in Dallas, Texas.

In a brand new interview with CTNow, drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE spoke about the band's decision to abandon all traces of pop accessibility on their new album, "Venom", and return to the more aggressive approach of their earlier efforts. He said: "We definitely know who we are at this point, and our fans definitely want that from us.

"Working with certain people and producers in the music industry, if you've had a radio hit at one time in your career, they try and make your whole album sound like that," he continued. "We tried to do that on the last album, and we failed miserably. So we went back to our roots and picked up where we left off."

Moose added: "People liked the band in the beginning because we had nothing to prove. On the first album, we didn't know what we were doing. We were just writing songs. Then, with a little bit of success, you think, 'Maybe if we tone it down a little, we'll get even more success.' But I don't think that's the case in heavy music at all. People like you for who you are, so if you just stay true to yourselves, people will like you all the more."

Thomas also talked about the writing process for "Venom" following the departure of bassist Jason "Jay" James.

"God bless him, but he never really contributed anyway," the drummer said about his former bandmate. "It was just the three of us putting stuff together. It was business as usual."

Asked how Jamie Matthias, Jason's replacement, is fitting in, Thomas said: "Awesome. He just fit right in, like he's been here for the last nine years. It's like having a naughty little brother on tour. I just got on with him so easily. Him and Matt [Tuck, guitar/vocals], when they sing together, it's just perfect. We can do things that we've never done before."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fifth studio album, "Venom", will be released on August 14 via RCA. The CD was produced by Carl Bown and Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, TRIVIUM) at Metropolis Studio in London.

Mick Burgess of Metal Express Radio conducted an interview with BIOHAZARD drummer Danny Schuler on July 6 in Newcastle, England. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On BIOHAZARD's forthcoming follow-up to 2012's "Reborn In Defiance" album:

"We've got a bunch of songs, and we're still working on it. We should be getting it done pretty soon, I think."

On where BIOHAZARD gets inspiration for new songs:

"Life. I mean, like everybody else — just like everybody else — things happen in life that can motivate you or inspire you or frustrate you, can instigate you. So there's always those things going on in our lives, so we never run out of material, we never run out of motivation, I guess."

On BIOHAZARD's current bassist/vocalist Scott Roberts, who replaced Evan Seinfeld in 2011:

"Scott's great. He likes to get to work and actually be a part of it, which is nice, 'cause it didn't use to be like that. It's great having Scott as a part of the band. He's really come into his own. It's difficult for him to do what he does… in the eyes of a lot of people, it's very difficult. It's a hard job. But he does a great job."

On how the music business has changed since BIOHAZARD started in the late 1980s:

"I think the bands have an opportunity now to take back the business from those that they think haven't done a good job promoting their music or whatever. You know, a partnership with a record company to physically produce the music and distribute it can be a good idea if you can make it work. I'm not anti-record company, but the way the music business now is, it's very difficult to make money selling records, [because] people don't buy 'em anymore. Which is crazy to me, because I never stopped buying records — I've always bought records — and now I just buy 'em… you know, I buy MP3s and I have it on my iPod. I mean, I still buy all my music. I couldn't imagine how… I don't understand how people could just steal music. I just don't do that. I don't know… Like, a band like LED ZEPPELIN doesn't need the money, but if they put something out, like they did recently, I buy it. You know, I buy. You support the bands. I also like the convenience of just having it on my iPod. But, like, my friends' bands, I buy every one of 'em. If I wanna support them and hear their music, I don't ask for a free copy. I go buy it. I don't understand that whole thing — how you can justify stealing music."

Interview (audio):


Performance footage (Dynamo Metalfest in Eindhoven, The Netherlands):

Arte conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish progressive metallers OPETH at this year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, which is taking place this weekend in Wacken, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his early musical influences and the evolution of OPETH's sound, Mikael said: "On a very early stage, I was interested in progressive rock, because it was a form of music that I had never heard, really. I didn't know it existed until I started digging around the record shops and stumbled on bands like KING CRIMSON, YES and GENESIS — those types of bands. And that's also where I found my own voice, so to speak, my own kind of musicality. Even if I was a death metalhead, or a metalhead, something clicked with me with that type of music, because there was no limitations. And that's the way I like it, if you know what I mean."

He continued: "I think limitations on music [are] ugly and wrong. And I didn't know the metal scene was so conservative, but it really is. But we have been struggling… We certainly haven't been an overnight sensation, this band — we did things and people were, like, 'What are they doing? Why aren't they heavy all the time?' But that doesn't really have anything to do with music for me. I love the heavy stuff, but I also love the soft stuff and the complicated stuff and the simple stuff. So I want everything in… I think it kind of makes sense."

Mikael added: "I made the choice a long time ago to be a musician and to put all my energy into being a musician, and I don't wanna restrict myself because we're supposed to fit in somewhere. So progressive rock, and the kind of discovery of progressive rock, helped me, like I said, to find my own style, and to this day, I still think that we have… We're pretty much on our own. There's other bands who are progressive, so to speak, but I think we're on our own, which I like."

Asked for his opinion about some OPETH fans' position that Mikael should have started a side project under a new name instead of taking the band completely away from the death metal-tinged sounds of OPETH's early albums, Åkerfeldt told Lady Obscure: "Well, I mean… It doesn't really work like that, does it? First and foremost, people can have their opinions. It doesn't mean we'll follow it. We love our fans, [and] we respect them, but we're a band first and foremost. I never felt that… Whatever we do with this band, whatever ends up being OPETH is OPETH, because it's us. And that argument kind of fails in that sense… How does that work with Joni Mitchell [or] David Bowie? For solo artists who have a sound. Should they change their name? It's just a random and, I think, a bit ignorant and stupid comment, to be honest. I think it's easier if [the fans] just stop listening to it. I think the best solution is that they stop listening to it if they don't like it."

During an interview with Australia's The Rockpit, Mikael spoke about the sharp musical turn OPETH took with 2011's "Heritage" album and its follow-up release, 2014's "Pale Communion". He said: "I do understand and appreciate that 'Heritage' was a little bit of a shock to fans who are more into the heavy, death metal type of sound, and maybe it's a bit much to expect them to take it all in so we got a bit of shit for that record. I love that album with a passion, because, for me, it was natural, but I have seen that with the coming of the 'Pale Communion' record that people come up to me and say, 'I did not like 'Heritage' when it came out, but when you put out 'Pale Communion', I finally understood 'Heritage' and now I'm starting to like it.' So I'm hoping it's going to escalate into a love for that record."

He continued: "People have been more gentle with us with 'Pale Communion' coming out, but there is still... Like, I don't have social media, I don't correspond with the fans in that sense, so I don't really get a lot of the confrontations about what the hell we are doing. My overall response to that question would be that people might be getting used to and maybe understand a little bit better about what we are trying to do. And, for me, that is good, of course. I never had a problem. For me, it was never a big step. For everybody in the band, it was not a massive thing for us to do 'Heritage', but I do accept that it might have been too curvy of a curveball for people who are not in the band, but now it's starting to calm down a little bit."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman says that as much as 95 percent of the music he's written for the band has been created while he was high. Speaking with Revolver, Draiman revealed that the new song "Fire It Up", which opens with the sound of a bong hit, was inspired by the singer's routine. He explained: "There was a big fat bowl before that one. 95 percent of the songs I've written in my life, I've written them while high. That's the god's honest truth."

Draiman continued: "I'll have a very skeletal musical idea in my head, and then I'll light one up, go in the shower and let the steam kind of build up. It helps me relax, and I can see the gaps. I can see the holes in the rhythm and the melody and I'll know where I can go, and what the possibilities are. It helps me be able to perceive everything a little bit more clearly."

Draiman told The Pulse Of Radio that "Fire It Up" was inspired by a recording session where he sang DISTURBED's new cover of SIMON AND GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence" while high. "I was done with the day and I wanted to relax, so I went ahead and I smoked a bowl," he laughed. "[I] came back and was high out of my mind and no, no, by no means ready to track vocals by any stretch of the imagination. And they all encouraged me to go into the vocal booth, and I was pretty blown away. I hadn't heard my voice that vulnerable in a very, very long time."

Draiman added that "Fire It Up" is more lighthearted than usual for DISTURBED, remarking: "Yeah, that's me saying it: There' s a song on this DISTURBED record that's fun… And God knows there's certainly enough people out there that appreciate the enlightening aspects of smoking marijuana."

"Fire It Up" can be found on DISTURBED's sixth studio album, "Immortalized", which arrives on August 21. The band released a lyric video for the title track last week.

The album ends a four-year hiatus for the band and features the current Top 10 rock single, "The Vengeful One".

DISTURBED will play its first show in four years on August 21 at the House of Blues in the band's hometown of Chicago.

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor released his third book, "You're Making Me Hate You: A Cantankerous Look At The Common Misconception That Humans Have Any Common Sense Left", on July 7 via Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. The book acts as a commentary on society and pop culture and has been described as "Taylor's take on Peter Griffin's 'You Know What Really Grinds My Gears'."

Taylor promoted the book with a combination of bookstore events and a solo tour which were one-of-a-kind shows featuring readings from the book, acoustic performance, and audience discussion.

Fan-filmed video footage of Taylor's entire July 11 appearance at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago, Illinois can be seen below.

Taylor said that his original title — which the publisher refused to allow him to use — was "You're Making Me Hate You (Or How Justin Bieber Sucked A Million Dicks To Make His Money)".

Taylor's last book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven", was published in the summer of 2013 and landed at No. 23 on the New York Times "Hardcover Non-Fiction" best sellers list.

His first book, 2011's "Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good", also made the list at No. 26.

Kristyn Clark of Pop Culture Madness conducted an interview with SLAYER and EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt at a recent stop on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. You can now watch the chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On pulling double duty with SLAYER and EXODUS:

Gary: "Yeah, I've been busy. It has its challenges. The main challenges are the physicality of it all and juggling two bands and family. It makes it rough. But, you know, there's a lot shittier positions you can be in than play in two legendary thrash bands and be busy. I could be sitting at home wondering what I'm going to do. Which isn't bad. I'm lazy as hell when I'm at home. Everybody says I'm the hardest-working guy in metal, but at home I don't do anything; I don't wear shoes for five days."

On whether it's ever challenging to switch hats between EXODUS and SLAYER:

Gary: "I've gotta remember which songs I'm playing on a certain night. I know a pretty vast amount of the SLAYER catalog, and, obviously, my knowledge of the EXODUS one is even greater than that. You know, it's all thrash metal to me. As long as I do my homework and show up prepared for a SLAYER tour, I'm ready to go, and they know it. It's, like, I do most of my rehearsing at home. And when EXODUS has work that I can't do, we use Kragen Lum from HEATHEN. I call him my stunt double. They just did five, six weeks in Europe without me, which is, in its own way, sad and bittersweet. Especially when I hear from friends of mine who say, 'I just EXODUS at blah-blah festival,' and I'm sitting in Boise. It breaks my heart a little. When your baby has to move on without you, and I completely, one thousand percent support them and respect them and back them in continuing to work when I can't be there. I remember the first time anybody ever said that to me. I think it was Troy from MASTODON. We were in Europe, I was with SLAYER, and he goes, 'Yeah, we just played with EXODUS the other day.' And I was, like, 'That's the weirdest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life.' A guy who's been on every album and never missed a show, ever, and people tell you they just saw your band play. It's bizarre, but it's worked out well for all of us, and it's kept everybody busy."

On whether there is more pressure for bands to stay out on the road nowadays:

Gary: "Back in the '80s, EXODUS would do an album and we'd tour for a year and then we wouldn't tour for a year, and we wouldn't play. We were under no pressure to be back out on the road right away. We'd write an album, maybe do a couple of hometown shows, maybe fly in and play, like, when they used to have the New Music Seminar down in Los Angeles, or CMJ, or something like that. We'd go and play that. But, you know, it was not an issue to stay home for a year and not tour. And now, it's, like, even the biggest bands have to tour. Even METALLICA is over playing festivals every year in Europe."

On the challenges facing newer bands today:

Gary: "Some of these young pups, they're on the road constantly. I'm, like, 'Man, I don't know how you guys do it.' It's dedication; they're doing it out of love. But we didn't have that problem when we were younger, 'cause we actually sold albums."

On SLAYER's upcoming album, "Repentless":

Gary: "It's crushing. It's SLAYER. Although I think there's some new twists to it. When you say, 'It's SLAYER,' you want the fans to know that they're getting what they're expecting, but also, at the same time, they're not getting just a rehash of anything done before. There's some new things going on there, and some pleasant surprises. It's brutally crushing, and the production, I think, is the best on any SLAYER album I've ever heard."

Brent Hinds (MASTODON) and William Duvall (ALICE IN CHAINS) are among the musicians who make guest appearances on the debut solo album from Bevan Davies, the American musician best known as the drummer for the groups STILL RAIN, MADFLY, COMES WITH THE FALL and DANZIG. Also appearing on the CD are Nate Utz (THE BLONDZ), Tuk (BITERS), Roy Cathey (THE FIFTH, COLD SWEAT), Angela Wolfe (DIRTY POLLYANNA).

Davies stated about his solo CD: "Over a year ago, I set out to record an album that would allow me the opportunity to pay tribute to the incredible drummers who inspired me to pursue this rock 'n' roll dream I'm living. I am proud to announce that the album is finally finished and available.

"I've had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest musicians in the business along the way, and I assembled an all-star cast to record the album. It was a daunting task, to say the least, but well worth the effort.

"I hope you will all take the time to enjoy the album in its entirety. It has truly been a labor of love. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed creating it."

"Bevan Davies" track listing:

01. Kill The King
02. Light Up The Sky
03. Rip It Out
04. Time Of The Season
05. Cornucopia
06. Fireball
07. Strange Days
08. High Wire
09. Dreaming
10. Ready An' Willing
11. Bad Reputation

DuVall was Bevan Davies's bandmate in MADFLY and COMES WITH THE FALL. DuVall also produced the debut album from MONSTRO, the band featuring Davies and Kyle Sanders (HELLYEAH).

For more information, visit www.bevan-davies.com.
It's been a very busy year! I have finally completed something I've always wanted to do. Over a year ago, I set out to record an album that would allow me the opportunity to pay tribute to the incredible drummers who inspired me to pursue this rock n' roll dream I'm living. I am proud to announce that the album is finally finished and available here - www.BevanDaviesMusic.com

Posted by BEVAN DAVIES MUSIC on Wednesday, July 29, 2015

HALESTORM frontwoman Lzzy Hale talked with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel music writer Piet Levy before the band's July 1 headlining set on Summerfest's Harley-Davidson Roadhouse stage. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked if the title of HALESTORM's third album, "Into The Wild Life", is telling the truth about her own life, Lzzy said: "I think after… probably in the past two or three years, I've gone a little nuts. I'm trying to act my age this year. It's very difficult, actually, 'cause inside I'm perpetually 17. But then all of a sudden, you have these responsibilities. I'm 31 now. So that's a little bit of a relief."

Speaking about life on the road these days, Lzzy said:"For me, personally, I think… Really, I guess, it's kind of on me. Our schedule has gotten really nuts, and so I've kind of discovered in the last few months to a year that if I wake up hung over and can't find my pants, and I'm having a bad singing night or have to cancel a show, that's not just on me anymore, that's on… Well, it's on me, but it doesn't just affect me. That means that a lot of people don't get paid, and we have to re-route the system. So it's kind of… I don't know. I'm feeling the pressure, I think, as of lately."

Asked what the stupidest thing was that she has done, Lzzy said: "There was one time… And hence the pants inside joke we have right now. There's something about a bottle of tequila that… and this has only happened to me three times in my life… but every time that I share a bottle of tequila with somebody, I do end up misplacing my pants. Now, I don't get naked, like the song says, but I will somehow lose my pants and place them somewhere during the night, whether that be… once it was in the refrigerator… I woke up and my pants were in the refrigerator. The next time they were stuffed under a bunk mattress. And then the third time they were in somebody else's bag. I think it was my brother's backpack."

HALESTORM recently tied THE PRETTY RECKLESS's record for the most No. 1 songs on by an act with a female vocalist on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

HALESTORM's "Amen" jumped 4-1 on the August 1 Mainstream Rock Songs chart, tying the mark established by THE PRETTY RECKLESS when "Follow Me Down" became its third No. 1 on the chart dated May 2.

Previous HALESTORM chart-toppers were "Apocalyptic" (March 28) and the 2013 single "Freak Like Me".

HALESTORM and THE PRETTY RECKLESS are the only two female-fronted bands to lead Mainstream Rock Songs since Alannah Myles's "Black Velvet" topped the chart in 1990, according to Billboard.com.

"Into The Wild Life" was released on April 14. The CD follows up HALESTORM's Grammy-winning 2012 sophomore effort, "The Strange Case Of…"

METALLICA headlined this year's edition of Lollapalooza, which kicked off its 11th year as a destination festival on Friday (July 31) at its longtime home, Chicago's Grant Park.

The band closed the show on Saturday (August 1).

"The METALLICA family is here," frontman James Hetfield told the crowd, according to Billboard.com. "How many are virgins here?" A sizable crowd roars in response. He chuckled. "If you don't know what to do, just look at the people who have been here before… they'll show you to have some fun here!"

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Fuel02. For Whom The Bell Tolls03. Wherever I May Roam04. King Nothing05. Disposable Heroes06. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)07. Cyanide08. The Unforgiven09. Sad But True10. One11. Master of Puppets12. Creeping Death13. Fade to Black14. Seek and Destroy

Encore:

15. Whiskey In The Jar16. Am I Evil?17. Nothing Else Matters18. Enter Sandman

As many as 300,000 people were expected to attend the three-day music event, which runs through Sunday.

METALLICA last appeared on the Lollapalooza bill back in 1996, when it was still a traveling festival. That year's lineup also featured SOUNDGARDEN and the RAMONES.

Lollapalooza was launched in 1991 as a farewell tour for JANE'S ADDICTION.

JANE'S ADDICTION singer Perry Farrell and the promoters turned it into a yearly traveling festival and showcase for a wide range of alternative music acts.

The tour's popularity declined later that decade, with the 1997 edition the last for several years.

Lollapalooza resurfaced one more time as a traveling festival in 2003 before morphing into a destination event and making Chicago its permanent home two years later.

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian says that bands won't be able to make records anymore and tour as much as they used to due to the continuing alteration of the way fans consume music.

Despite the fact that Spotify, iTunes and other digital outlets have made music easier to purchase, more mobile and cheaper than ever, people either pick and choose the odd single to buy, or they stream music on services such as Spotify or YouTube, often free of charge.

During an appearance on the July 27 edition of Eddie Trunk's SiriusXM satellite radio show, "Eddie Trunk Live", Ian lamented the state of the music industry, saying it's harder than ever to make money from album sales, and rejected the popular notion these days that music should be free.

"Music's never been cheaper now," Ian said. "I'm talking about the cost to buy a CD. You can get a brand new record from your favorite band for ten dollars, basically. And even that's high, 'cause most bands will sell 'em cheaper, especially the first or two the records are out. So, for ten bucks you can get a new record. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that CDs cost $18.99 at the Virgin Megastore. Records cost half what they used to cost, and people aren't buying them as much, which is crazy to me. It's never been cheaper. What more do the people want?"

He continued: "I get it. I understand there's a thing called the Internet and people have the ability to steal music. So I understand why it's happening, but you would think that people would just have the attitude, 'I'm gonna support music, I'm gonna support the bands I love, because if I don't support this, well, the bands I love aren't gonna be able to make records anymore and they're not gonna be able to tour as much anymore. So it's this weird conundrum that everybody is finding themselves in in the last few years. I get it.'

Ian added: "Look, if I was a kid, and it was 1977 and I had a way to get KISS albums for free, I'm pretty sure I probably would have jumped on that bandwagon. But for me to get a free KISS album in 1977 would have meant having the balls to walk into a record store, take a vinyl album, stick it under my shirt and walk out without getting caught. There was a consequence to that. So it's a completely different thing [today]. There's no consequence to stealing music online … or anything: movies, or books, or anything. Maybe until there's a proper consequence and people actually realize they're breaking a law, then maybe it will change. But, I mean, it's, like… C'mon, man! Seriously? Ten dollars for a CD? That's asking too much?"

Ian also spoke about the fact that more consumers are streaming music over the internet to their smartphones or computers, instead of owning collections of songs.

"I'm not against streaming," he said. "I also do look forward and understand that it's the way of the future; it's the way things have been going for years and years and years. From the days of cassette Walkmans back in the '80s, the technology has been pushing forward to make music more portable. And this is just the next wave of it, really."

He continued: "As kids, we didn't look at your Walkmans, we didn't look at them as a threat to the way of life for the music industry, but if you go back to that time, to the older generations, to them, [they were thinking], 'What the fuck is a Walkman? You're gonna walk around and listen to music in headphones while you're on a subway train going to work? What kind of shit is this?' So it's the same thing. It's really the same thing."

Ian added: "I mean, who knew that this is where it was gonna end up? And not even end up. Where is it gonna be fifty years from now? Then you'll just have a chip inside, planted in your neck, with the whole catalog of all the hit music in history, and you just think about it and the song comes in your head. Eventually, maybe it's gonna go there. You just have to buy the chip for, like, a million dollars."

ANTHRAX is currently putting the finishing touches on its long-awaited follow-up to 2011's "Worship Music" album for an early 2016 release. The CD, which is once again being produced by Jay Ruston (STONE SOUR, STEEL PANTHER), will include such songtitles as "The Battle Chose Us", "You Gotta Believe" and "The Evil Twin".

ANTHRAX recently completed a six-week North American tour with VOLBEAT. The band's setlist included the new song "Soror Irrumator (Lords Of The Rock)", ANTHRAX's contribution to the the second installment of "Catch The Throne: The Mixtape", for HBO's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning series "Game Of Thrones".

Fan-filmed video footage of RIOT V, the new band featuring the remaining members of legendary metal pioneers RIOT, performing their song "Warrior" with Akira Takasaki and Masayoshi Yamashita of LOUDNESS on June 25 at this year's edition of the Rock Fest Barcelona festival in Barcelona, Spain can be seen below.

RIOT V released its debut album, "Unleash The Fire", last October via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD marks the first release from RIOT without the late, great founding guitarist Mark Reale, who passed away in early 2012 and was limited on his participation on 2011's reunion album "Immortal Soul" because of his health issues. The band was encouraged at the request of Mark and the Reale estate to forge ahead in his honor and has dedicated this new offering to him.

"Unleash The Fire" promises to please fans of the "Thundersteel" era of RIOT, as main songwriter and longtime Reale music collaborator Don Van Stavern does much of the writing, as he did on "Thundersteel" and "The Privilege Of Power". Don is joined by longtime RIOT bandmate, songwriter and Reale's guitar partner of over 20 years, Mike Flyntz, to create what they feel is something they are proud to call a RIOT record. The RIOT V lineup is completed by powerhouse vocalist extraordinaire Todd Michael Hall (BURNING STARR, REVERENCE), Frank Gilchriest (VIRGIN STEELE, RIOT's "Army Of One") and former Mike Flyntz guitar student and resident shredder Nick Lee.

Former SEPULTURA drummer Igor Cavalera joined SOULFLY, the band led by his brother, and fellow CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and ex-SEPULTURA member, Max Cavalera, on stage on July 25 at O2 Academy Islington in London, England to perform the SEPULTURA classic "Roots Bloody Roots". Fan-filmed video footage of Igor's appearance can be seen below.

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band fired Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006).

After Max exited SEPULTURA, there was a rift between him and Igor, one that was eventually repaired through the redemptive power of music. Some time had passed and Max and Igor were unable to resist the musical pull in their magnetic fields and their musical collaboration was renewed. The duo are back for round two with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, which released its debut album, "Inflikted", in March 2008 and follow-up effort, Blunt Force Trauma", in March 2011.

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's third album, "Pandemonium", was released last November via Napalm Records. The CD was produced by John Gray, who has previously worked with SOULFLY.

Max and Igor played together for the first time in 10 years at the 10th annual D-Low Memorial Festival on August 17, 2006 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona.

Toronto-based progressive groove metallers My Hollow have released their debut full-length, On Borrowed Time. A full album stream can be found below.

On Borrowed Time arrives three years after 2012 debut EP Cold Dark Days. The momentum built quickly with the band's release of an official video for the EP's title track in 2013. With momentum building My Hollow then entered the Wacken Metal Battle in 2014 for a chance to perform at the prestigious Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. The band made it past all preliminary rounds and made it to the finals at The Opera House in Toronto and finished as one of the Top 5 metal bands in Canada.

Album artwork by Jennifer White:

On Borrowed Time tracklisting:

“On Borrowed Time”
“As Seams Seep Red”
“Cold Dark Days”
“History Of Violence”
“Life In The Shadows (Interlude)”
“King With No Castles”
“Wade Through The Thorns”
“We Cross The Sun”
“Blood Seeds”

Album stream:

On Borrowed Time by My Hollow

“On Borrowed Time” video:

 

Greece-based dark melodic doom metallers, Lachrymose, will release their new album, Carpe Noctum, on August 28th via Pure Steel. The pre-order phase will start on August 14th.

Main protagonist Blackmass might be well known in the black/death-scene as the mastermind of Rotting Flesh. Enhanced by the talented female singer Hel, bass player Kerk and drummer Mancer (also playing in Rotting Flesh), they have just recorded ten dark metal tunes together with producer Chris Fielding (Primordial, Electric Wizard). Some decent doom metal elements powered by sophisticated melodies: on Carpe Noctum the Hellenic quartet mix up exciting metal harmonies with high, operatic female vocals.

Tracklisting:

“Precipice Of Bliss”
“Fales God”
“Pinnacle Of Faith”
“Black Legend”
“My Shadow (A Revelation)”
“Face Of Horror”
“Carpe Noctum”
“In A Reverie” (feat. Thomas Vikstrom)
“Thyella”
“Fade”

Band lineup:

Blackmass - vocals, guitars
Hel - vocals
Mancer - drums
Kerk – bass

(Photo: Stelio Alevropoulos)