Italy’s Resurrecturis will release their new album, Nazienda, on September 25th via Mighty Music. Their new video for “6:30 The Alarm” can be seen below.

In the video, actor Roberto Marinelli is subjected to a brutal awakening treatment by members of Resurrecturis who chase him and scream at him during the early morning preparation before going to work.

"For sure the video is pretty funny and ironic, but is built upon a bitter reflection on today's suffocatingly tightening time use schedules and the ever increasing stress at work... Preoccupations don't leave us even in the privacy of our bedroom or in the toilet! The song “6:30 The Alarm” occupies an important position in the economy of Resurrecturis' Nazienda since it marks the abrupt transition from the comfort we experience at home with our dears to the stress-filled time of the working day. Significantly the lyrics end saying The working day has begun, and it is pretty crazy since the character is still in the stairs at home, but his mind is already filled by anxiety." - Carlo Strappa, Resurrecturis

The album-title, “Nazienda”, a neologism that merges the words “nazism” and “azienda” (Italian for company, corporation), sets a tone that is tragic and ironic at the same time. Just listen to the song “10:30 Animals In The Meeting Room”: solid and fierce metallic extremism with crazy animal verses going cuckoo.

The songs run through the routine of a typical working day, each number even bearing an indication of the hour in the title: from the irritating buzz of the alarm early in the morning until the character slips into unconsciousness on the couch in front of the TV. In-between a flood of annoying phone calls, company meetings, work on the PC, solidarity among colleagues and introspective reflections.

The album was produced and engineered by Alessandro Vagnoni (Dark Lunacy, Bologna Violenta, Infernal Poetry, Darkside). Nazienda - Graphic Novel written by Carlo Strappa and drawn by Albano Scevola also available.

Front cover by Italian artist Daniele Cudini:

Nazienda tracklisting:

“6:29 Sleeping With Your Hair Spread Over My Chest”
“6:30 The Alarm”
“07:12 On The Way To Work”
“08:01 The Number You Have Dialed”
“10:30 Animals In The Meeting Room”
“13:00 Lunch Break Alienation”
“14:16 Col-League-S”
“16:00 The Thought That Something Went Wrong With My Life”
“16:59 Never Happy”
“19:12 Two Half Lives Don’t Make One”
“23:31 Falling Asleep On The Couch”

“19:12 Two Half Lives Don’t Make One” lyric video:

Heavy metal is a universal language. And this is proven once and for all by the formation of Metaspherical, whose debut single, "Cloth Of Ought To", is planned for release September 4th via Amazon and iTunes.

This first single features Kelly Shaefer (Atheist, Neurotica) on lead vocals, Jason Morley (Metaspherical) on guitar, Gene Hoglan (Testament, Dethklok, Dark Angel) on drums, Travis Morgan (Atheist) on bass, Shawn Bowen (DidgesChrist Superdrum, Neurotica) on backing vocals, and an amazing guest lead from Andy LaRocque (King Diamond, Death).
 
Metaspherical is a global collective of players from all corners of the planet who have come together to fuse aspects of many of the classic sub-genres of metal. At this time, the countries currently represented include: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, and the United States. Some of the musicians who are currently on board for this project include past and present members associated with such acclaimed bands/artists as Atheist, Cynic, Death, King Diamond, Origin, Steve Vai, Testament, Voivod, and Zimmer's Hole, as well as some incredibly talented unknown players, who all bring unique aspects of their varying styles to the table.

Metaspherical and all the musicians involved are very proud to partner with Sweet Relief (Sweetrelief.org) for this Global Metal Adventure! When the track is purchased, you are helping raise the money to complete a full-length Metaspherical album, and also, to help aid working musicians who are suffering with physical and mental disabilities.

Morley (who is also Metaspherical's producer) is the survivor of a very severe head injury, which required him to undergo seven brain surgeries and forced him to face some very serious challenges. One of these many challenges was struggling over a long period of time to physically build up dexterity in his hands, as well as having to re-teach himself many aspects of the guitar. Jason had previously studied  classical guitar and played heavy metal on electric guitars (without a pick) for well over a decade prior to this accident.

This is just the beginning, as Metaspherical will be looking for many more artists, both known and unknown, to grow this into something much larger where we can give back and help others through the spirit of Heavy Metal.

Soon, the rest of the world will be able to experience the mighty metal of Metaspherical.

For a taster, check out these video clips:

Metaspherical trailer:

Cloth Of Ought To video:

 

"Cast The First Stone", a brand new song from SLAYER , can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. The track is taken from the band's eleventh studio album, "Repentless", which will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast.

"Cast The First Stone" can be downloaded for free at AdultSwim.com.

"Repentless" track listing:

01. Delusions Of Saviour02. Repentless03. Take Control04. Vices05. Cast The First Stone06. When The Stillness Comes07. Chasing Death08. Implode09. Piano Wire10. Atrocity Vendor11. You Against You12. Pride In Prejudice

The "Repentless" title track went on sale digitally virtually everywhere in June.

"'Repentless' is my Jeff [Hanneman] tribute," said King. "I call it the 'HannemAnthem.' It's my perspective of Jeff's perspective, it's what I think... If Jeff wrote a song for himself, 'Repentless' would be it."

"Repentless" will be made available in a wide array of formats, as detailed below:

* Limited CD + Blu-ray digipak (includes Blu-ray of "Slayer Live at Wacken 2014" and the "Making of Repentless" documentary)* Limited CD + DVD digipak (includes DVD of "Slayer Live at Wacken 2014" and the "Making of Repentless" documentary)* Strictly limited 12-inch sized Box (includes CD + Blu-ray digipak, DVD, exclusive Repentless 12-inch picture vinyl, "Slayer Live at Wacken 2014" CD, 12-inch photo card, 12-inch fold-out poster)* CD jewel case* Vinyl in gatefold (audio mastered for vinyl)* Digital (all digital platforms)* Limited edition "Metal Eagle Edition"

The artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco in collaboration with the band's Tom Araya and Kerry King.

"We had a number of submitted ideas for the cover artwork," said Araya, "and we felt Marcelo's was the best. We made some suggestions and the result is an awesome album cover."

The highly anticipated "Repentless" is SLAYER's eleventh studio album, the first since 2009's critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated "World Painted Blood" and the first with producer Terry Date (PANTERA, SLIPKNOT, SOUNDGARDEN). The band — Tom Araya (bass, vocals), Kerry King (guitar), Paul Bostaph (drums), and Gary Holt (guitar), who recorded lead guitar parts for about a half-dozen of the album's new tracks — started recording "Repentless" in March 2014, and made the track "Implode" available as a free download in April of that year. The band and Date continued to record between September 2014 and mid-January 2015 at Henson Studios in Los Angeles. For the album, "Implode" was completely re-recorded from the ground up, and "When The Stillness Comes", used as an instrumental track in a Scion commercial, got a revamped intro and all new vocals.

"Repentless" also includes "Piano Wire", an unfinished song from the "World Painted Blood" sessions written by Hanneman. About the track, Rolling Stone wrote that it "begins with an eerie guitar line before evolving into a full-on-doom (and classic SLAYER) riff onslaught." King put it this way: "When I hear it, I think 'Jeff.' It sounds like a Jeff Hanneman song."

The 12-track "Repentless" is, according to those who have heard it, a sonic assault of brutal, ominous, lightening-fast and heavy-as-hell music with lyrics that unmask what SLAYER knows best — the terror, the corruption and the societal turmoil that dominates our world.

"The new album sounds like SLAYER," said Araya. "In the past, our fans have always known what to expect, this time they don't. But we really like it, and I don't think the fans are going to be disappointed."

"The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)", the new video from Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES, can be seen below. The clip was created by Costin Chioreanu, who was already responsible for the challenging artwork concept of the band's comeback album, "At War With Reality", as well as the creation of the animated video for the song "Heroes And Tombs".

"The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)" video consists of performance footage shot at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Romania on August 15:

Comments AT THE GATES guitarist Anders Björler: "Costin has been a huge part of 'At War With Reality' every step of the way. He did the magnificent album art and artwork as well as the impressive animated video for 'Heroes And Tombs'. Now, he captures the magic of our visit in Romania a couple of weeks ago. A festival situated on the grounds of Transylvania.

"'The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)' was actually the first song written for the new album and contains elements from our entire musical history."

Asked if there are any plans for AT THE GATES to head back into the studio to begin work on the follow-up to "At War With Reality", singer Tomas Lindberg told GetYourRockOut in June: "Right now, we're just doing this, because the album took so long; it was lots of hard work for us. And we are so happy with how it's received. And we are so happy to be able to play it live. Because we don't wanna do it as a career thing; we just wanna enjoy where we are. We're enjoying this now and this is what we do. When we feel like we're done touring this record, that's when we'll sit down and see, 'Do we have any more songs?' It's very undramatic. We don't want this to get stale either. When we're done with this record, that's when we'll start thinking about the new one."

On April 6, AT THE GATES released a very special split seven-inch EP (together with VOIVOD) to accompany the band's latest tour. The EP featured the AT THE GATES bonus track "Language Of The Dead" from the "At War With Reality" sessions — previously unreleased on vinyl! — while VOIVOD contributed a new track, "We Are Connected". The EP was "double A-sided" (meaning, each band has their own, reversible front-cover side!) and came with artwork created for both bands by VOIVOD's Michel "Away" Langevin.

"At War With Reality" was released on October 28, 2014 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media. The CD, which sold 7,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 53 on The Billboard 200 chart, was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg and was mixed at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, KREATOR).

An EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for "Suicide Society", the fifteenth studio album from Canadian thrash/heavy metal masters ANNIHILATOR, is available below. The CD will be released on September 18 via UDR Music. As he has in the past, guitar wizard Jeff Waters handled all songwriting duties, played all guitar and bass, engineered, produced, mixed and mastered "Suicide Society", and he is also back commanding lead-vocal duties, as he did on the critically acclaimed "King Of The Kill" (1994), "Refresh The Demon" (1996), "Remains" (1997) and other ANNIHILATOR albums over the years.

Waters previously stated about his return to vocal duties: "Dave [Padden, ANNIHILATOR's vocalist from 2003 to 2014) and I have, essentially, been ANNIHILATOR since 2003 but he resigned last December, citing having had enough of touring, being away from home and other commitments. I thank him for his 11 years with ANNIHILATOR. That said, ANNIHILATOR and I are known for never giving up and, occasionally, coming up with something even better than its former offering(s): this is undeniably the case with 'Suicide Society'!"

With "Suicide Society", ANNIHILATOR goes headfirst into some of the most technically perfect, crisp, and crushingly taut, riffage Waters has ever produced. Although Waters' vocals keep traces of stylings from his "King Of The Kill" album, they now evoke a surprising blend of legends such as Layne Staley, Ozzy Osbourne, James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine. This, in a twisted way, mirrors Waters' signature blend of riffing, drums grooves and bass; all drawing from multiple sources and genres.

Waters has built a worldwide reputation as being a premier guitarist and songwriter; the conciseness and arrangement of "Creepin' Again" is both an air-guitarist's dream and a sharp reminder of this. The gloriously-brutal thrash of "My Revenge" calls up a vintage of '85 with the technical chops of 2015. The neo-classic title track defiantly expresses anger at the state of world affairs, while offering up hope in closing. With the multi-layered power of the anthem "Snap", Waters illustrates the diversity of ANNIHILATOR's sound, without sacrificing one decibel of attack.

"Metal fans will likely sport evil, satisfied grins on their faces, when they hear this record" chuckles Waters, "but in the words of Joe Perry: 'Let the music do the talking!'"

"Suicide Society" track listing:

01. Suicide Society02. My Revenge03. Snap04. Creepin' Again05. Narcotic Avenue06. The One You Serve07. Break, Enter08. Death Scent09. Every Minute

ANNIHILATOR's touring lineup will include drum monster Mike Harshaw, who continues on for his fourth year with the band; and new guitarist Aaron Homma.

Frontiers Music Srl will release the sophomore album from MAGNUS KARLSSON'S FREEFALL, "Kingdom Of Rock", on November 6.

Magnus Karlsson is the mastermind behind several Frontiers Music Srl productions, including the successful initial ALLEN/LANDE trilogy, STARBREAKER, BOB CATLEY, KISKE/SOMERVILLE and several others. In 2008, he joined the German heavy metal icons PRIMAL FEAR and with them has toured the world and recorded three successful albums that climbed high on the charts in several countries.

For this new album — aptly titled "Kingdom Of Rock" — Magnus enlisted again a dream team featuring some of the strongest melodic singers in metal and hard rock! Magnus says: "I didn't plan to make a second FREEFALL album at first but one album wasn't enough for my wish list of singers… so after the summer last year, I started on some ideas. Without pressure or a deadline… just for fun. So I started to look at the list with singers and thought if can I get these guys on board, I will work harder than ever before to make the best album I could. I wanted not only some of the best singers I ever heard, but singers that meant a lot to me and that have given me inspiration. For example: Tony Martin and Joe Lynn Turner… I grew up with their music and that made me the musician I am today. It feels unreal to make music with them now!"

The final list includes Tony Harnell (SKID ROW, TNT, STARBREAKER), Rick Altzi (MASTERPLAN, AT VANCE), David Readman (PINK CREAM 69, VOODOO CIRCLE), Jorn Lande, Jakob Samuel (THE POODLES), Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, DEEP PURPLE), Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH), Harry Hess (HAREM SCAREM) and Rebecca De La Motte. Rounding out the lineup on the album is Jaime Salazar on drums, with production duties handled by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, PRIMAL FEAR, AMARANTHE, PRETTY MAIDS).

Magnus says: "There is a lot more work in this album. Normally, I don't throw away good ideas. This time I skipped great ideas and replaced it with something better.

"I don't want to do the same thing over and over. I want to do something better. I also had a bigger budget for the production and was able to work in great studios.

"Jacob Hansen did a fantastic job with the mix and mastering and the sound is just what I always wanted.

"This is not about having big names on the album, this is simply about making the best music I possibly can for the best singers I know!"

"Kingdom Of Rock" track listing:

01. Kingdom Of Rock (Jorn Lande, vocals)02. Out Of The Dark (Jakob Samuel, vocals)03. No Control (Joe Lynn Turner, vocals)04. When The Sky Falls (Tony Martin, vocals)05. Angel Of The Night (David Readman, vocals)06. I Am Coming For You (Magnus Karlsson, vocals)07. Another Life (Rick Altzi, vocals)08. Never Look Away (Tony Harnell, vocals)09. A Heart So Cold (Harry Hess, vocals)10. The Right Moment (Rebecca De La Motte, vocals)11. Walk This Road Alone (Magnus Karlsson, vocals)

Twin dual harpists Camille And Kennerly have a released a video for their cover of Metallica's "One":

Camille And Kennerly recently released a video for their cover of Nightwish’s “Nemo”.

On their new album Harp Attack 2, the duo perform 14 harp duet covers of rock and metal songs from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s, plus a 15th bonus track featuring special guest musicians.

Order Harp Attack 2 at CDBaby.

 

According to Billboard.com, DISTURBED has landed its fifth No. 1 album on The Billboard 200 chart with its latest studio effort, "Immortalized".

The new disc opens with 98,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending August 27, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 93,000 were pure album sales.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

DISTURBED is only the third group to score five consecutive No. 1-debuting studio albums. They join METALLICA (five No. 1-debuting studio sets between 1991-2008) and DAVE MATTHEWS BAND (six; 1998-2012).

"Immortalized" is DISTURBED's first studio set since 2010's "Asylum", which opened atop The Billboard 200 with 179,000 copies sold in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. The act previously led the list with "Indestructible" (released in 2008), "Ten Thousand Fists" (2005) and "Believe" (2002).

The only DISTURBED album to miss the top position was the band's debut, "The Sickness", which peaked at No. 29 in 2000.

Norwegian hard rockers Malice In Wonderland have decided to end the band.

“After being in Malice In Wonderland half my life I have decided to put Malice In Wonderland to rest", says singer and founder Chris Wicked in a statement.  "Earlier this summer Tracy (guitarist) informed me that he wanted a break from the music industry to focus on other stuff. I don't want to bring in a new guitarist in the band at this point and therefor feel it is time to end this incredibly journey. It's been 10 years since we released our debut CD, it's been a hell of a ride and we all agree it's a good time to close the book. Two farewell shows (Helsinki & Bergen) will be held before we take the final bow.

“We would like to thank everyone who has supported us and stood by us over the years. Friends and family, business partners and bands we've toured and played with. But most of all we would like to thank our dedicated and beautiful fans around the world, you know who you are and we love you. Here's to all of us. Cheers!

“Stay Malice and all the best, Chris Wicked - On behalf of Malice In Wonderland”

Malice In Wonderland released two EPs in the nineties before Chris Wicked went from keyboard player to frontman. Since then they have released two albums and several EPs and singles. Their latest album The Royal Brigade was released December 2013. Malice In Wonderland will play two farewell shows before it's over, MeriRock in Finland, September 12 and a final hometown show at Garage, October 9.

Bucharest’s Bloodway will release their debut full-length album, Mapping The Moment With The Logic Of Dreams, on CD on September 25th via I, Voidhanger Records. The album is streaming in full below:

“Bloodway exist without expectations, and without trying to please anybody but ourselves,” proudly asserts Costin Chioreanu, the band’s leader and
one of the most acclaimed graphic artists within the metal field.

He adds: "Conceptually speaking, this album represents the continuation of our debut EP. Sunstone Voyager And The Clandestine Horizon ends with the moment when our main character escapes the whale of illusions and falls into the infinite cosmos. He wants so bad to have the big picture of everything so he floats far, far away through space, until he reaches its limit. Mapping the Moment With The Logic Of Dreams starts with this moment. The character has the complete picture of the entire universe just for one second and then, he gets instantly absorbed into nothingness. Finding himself in that infinite lack of presence, he meets the highest solitude and he starts introspection. The entire album is a very tough introspection and meditation on the relationship between mind, soul and the outside world. The name presents the main conclusion of the album, as it can be easily translated into 'Live in the present and focus on the unseen.'"

Together with drummer Alex Ghita and bassist Mihai Andrei, he formed the band in 2013 and since then has been busy refining its style: An intriguing, surprising brew of black metal, psych-prog and avant-garde music, filtered through Chioreanu’s metaphysic visions and life’s deepest emotions. In a certain way, Bloodway’s music is an extension of Chioreanu’s art, and twice as bold: A shape-shifting creature inhabiting a bizarre reality, heavily deformed under the band’s surrealistic lens.

2014’s Sunstone Voyager And The Clandestine Horizon debut EP prepared the ground for Bloodway’s first full-length, a very mature work appropriately titled Mapping The Moment With The Logic Of Dreams. The album features Dr. Mikannibal from Sigh playing saxophone in one track, the mind-shattering prog instrumental “A Hallow Bridge”. The rest is Chioreanu, Ghita and Andrei at their best, injecting heavy doses of angst and craziness into a polymorphic musical matter that is adventurous as it is undeniably original.

Available as a CD in jewel case, 20-page booklet with lyrics. Cover art and additional booklet drawings by Costin Chioreanu.

Tracklisting:

“Seeding Distance”
“The Transfinite Castaway”
“Walking Past Near The Lighthouse”
“Mirror Twins”
“Early Glade Test Pilot”
“A Hallow Bridge”
“Garden Of Diurnal Fractals”
“Mapping The Moment With The Logic Of Dreams”

Former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE drummer Shawn Drover was recently interviewed for the "Metal Brainiac" podcast. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the current landscape for metal bands:

Drover: "From an artistic perspective, it's probably the best it's been since the '80s. The festivals in Europe are thriving. For metal fans, it's unbelievable. It's not just Europe anymore. It's probably bigger in South America, I would almost say, than pretty much anywhere in the world, if you wanna have a contest about it. But, you know, the point being, there's so many places… Dubai, India… It just goes on… Australia… It goes on and on and on. There's a lot of fans who love metal — certainly a whole new generation since I was younger back in the '80s and stuff. But it's a different time. The flipside to this conversation, which we can talk about this forever, is that, unlike the '80s when MTV came out and everybody supported the music by buying the product — 'cause it was the only way you could do it; you had to physically buy the product — now everybody can steal it. So although there's, I would say, as many fans for metal as there was back in the '80s, maybe even more, the fact that you can get something for free is killing the industry, because now the record companies don't have tour support for young bands, so you can't put anything into your stage production. Record companies won't sign you. They'll drop you in a heartbeat if you don't sell… your first record doesn't do well. All those things… There's no taking time and building the artist over three or four records, like there was back in the '70s, with RUSH and VAN HALEN and all those bands. If one record didn't do well, well, they would try again. That was certainly the case with RUSH. So when people don't buy music, they can bitch about it all they want, saying that everybody's trying to be a rock star. Horseshit! It's like me going into your house and stealing your TV. It's theft, and it's killing the industry."

On what's going to happen to younger bands that can't afford to tour to the level that more established acts can:

Drover: "That's ultimately the question, isn't it? Ultimately, what can be done to get people to buy and support the bands again? That's the $64,000 question. And the answer is, at this point, no one has the answer. Do you come up with a new format to put out music, where you can't put it in your computer and ultimately burn it? That enabled someone to figure out how to get that onto your computer to where you can start doing filesharing. Which, that whole Napster horseshit happened in the late '90s that Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] got crucified for by certain people, because they thought he was being pretentious and all that stuff, when he was absolutely right — he was a hundred percent right — and no one can argue that. But at the end of the day, the proof is in the decline of sales. Look at it every year. Look at it from 1995 to now. Look from 1985 to now."

On whether the decline in sales of CDs can be attributed to the fact that the currrent generation of Internet users is accustomed to obtaining free music:

Drover: "You could take the viewpoint of the kid, saying, 'We were always able to get this for free. Why should I pay for it?' And I get it. Some of them do it without really thinking about what it's really doing; others do it in a malicious way where they're, like, 'Fuck those guys! I'm gonna steal it 'cause I think it's funny,' or just being a douche. But you can find someone who would go steal your CD in a music store too, so there'll always be that kind of people… The only thing that people can't steal anymore is going to a concert and being at the concert and having that experience. Of course, everybody films that and puts in on YouTube, but it's obviously not the same. Watching old VAN HALEN videos from 1981, it's cool to watch on YouTube, but unless you were there, like I was, it's a completely different experience, man. You just have no clue."

ACT OF DEFIANCE, which also includes former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Broderick, ex-SCAR THE MARTYR singer Henry Derek Bonner and SHADOWS FALL's Matt Bachand (bass), released its debut album, "Birth And The Burial", on August 21 via Metal Blade Records.

Last September, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons made headlines when he declared in an Esquire article that rock was "finally dead." In the months that followed, many a musician has weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons's full comments and others just glossing over the headline.

Speaking with Loudwire, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman offered his opinion on the subject when he was asked if his band's decision to return from a four-year hiatus was influenced by the fact that the first half of 2015 was relatively quiet in terms of big rock releases. He responded (see video below): "Nothing made the timing right other than us having the desire to come back; it's as simple as that.

"We could look at any number of variables, economic indicators, graphs, charts, statistics… whatever you want. At the end of the day, I don't give a fuck. At the end of the day, it comes down to: do we have the desire, do we have the drive to get back out there? Are we ready as a band?"

He continued: "People make their own destinies. And I'm so sick and tired of hearing from people — whether it's Gene or anybody else… And I respect Gene; don't get me wrong. 'Destroyer' was the first rock record I ever bought. I'm a huge KISS fan. I appreciate his business acumen. But when you continually try to cut the head off the very thing that gives you life, what the hell are you doing?

"I don't think rock is dead by any means. And if we have anything to do with it, we're going to pump life support into this thing as much as possible. Which I don't even think it needs; I don't think it's on life support."

Draiman added: "I've said in other articles… If you want, I'll forward you a link. The Spotify report that was just put out recently that shows hard rock and heavy metal fans to be the most dedicated, the most involved fan base on the entire streaming network. The fact that metal is actually at the top of those genres and that we're at the top of 'Alt Metal.' The fact that if you look at global touring proceeds and global touring draws, hard rock and heavy metal festivals and tours are still outdrawing every single other genre on the planet. It doesn't look dead to me. It's just a very tasty little press snippet. 'Oh, let's go ahead and bring up the old notion that rock is dead. Rock is dead. Rock is…' Nothing is over until we say it is. And there's always going to be a fan base out there that has a desire for more aggressive music, darker music, something that they can sink their teeth into, a little bit more satisfying. That's never going to go away. No matter how much the naysayers want to go ahead and try and beat it into submission, we're gonna keep roaring back."

DISTURBED played its first show in four years on August 21 in its hometown of Chicago, to celebrate that day's release of the band's sixth studio album, "Immortalized". Draiman told "HardDrive Radio" how it felt for the band to be back onstage and playing live again. "Ah, the show was amazing," he said. "It was great to be back in front of the disturbed ones, and playing for two hours was just bliss. [Laughs] Everybody was firing on all cylinders. It was magic that night. That was a beautiful, beautiful moment."

"Immortalized" is expected to debut at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 album chart this weekend, with sales of between 70,000 and 75,000 copies.

That would make the disc the band's fifth consecutive chart-topper in a row, dating back to its second album, 2002's "Believe".

The group will hit the road next spring in support of "Immortalized". The trek kicks off on March 11 in Vancouver, Canada, wrapping up on April 10 in Memphis.

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM in May announced the departure of the band's guitarist of the past decade, Roope Latvala. He has since been replaced on the road by Antti Wirman, the younger brother of the group's keyboardist, Janne Wirman.

Speaking about Roope's exit from CHILDREN OF BODOM, frontman Alexi Laiho told Artisan News: "Well, without going into too many details, you know, I think that… Well, basically, what it was… was that, you know, we had… We were at a phase where we wanted to, sort of, have a new beginning and reinvent ourselves, on a certain level. And everybody — all four of us — were pushing it harder and putting more effort on the band and just working extra, extra hard. And he wasn't quite there with us, you know, as far as the level of work ethics and, you know, stuff like that. So we felt like everyone's better off if we part ways at this point, and that's what happened. And, yeah, it [happened] three days before we hit the studio [to record the new CHILDREN OF BODOM album, 'I Worship Chaos'], but it was not… I mean, it was something that everybody was sort of anticipating already. And I had… To be honest, I had decided, a month or so before that, that I was gonna do all the guitars on the album. Because, like I said, it wasn't just working out with him."

He continued: "I don't wanna talk shit or anything; it's just that that happens. It's life. And you can't dwell on it. It sucks. It really does, man. He was around for twelve years, and, for us, the band, it really is a family, and losing a member, it's a big deal for us. 'Cause we're not the type of band [where] we change members every other week. But, you know, you've gotta move on. And that's that, really."

You can watch the clip on the Artisan News YouTube channel.

Antti, who has been a member of Janne's band WARMEN since 2001, made his live debut with CHILDREN OF BODOM on May 30 when the group played a surprise six-song set at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland.

"We wanted to go with someone close to the band we can count on and who can nail these songs. Antti was the obvious choice," said Janne.

Antti will play with CHILDREN OF BODOM through the end of the year. The group will then decide what to do about the second-guitarist position on a more permanent basis.

CHILDREN OF BODOM's first official concert with Antti took place on June 4 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

"I Worship Chaos" will be released on October 2 via Nuclear Blast. The artwork for the CD was created by Finnish artist Tuomas Korpi.

"I Worship Chaos" was once again recorded at Helsinki, Finland's Danger Johnny Studios and was produced by CHILDREN OF BODOM and Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their earlier albums "Halo Of Blood", "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll". The CD was mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.

"I Worship Chaos" will be available in following formats:

* CD + DVD digibook (incl. bonus DVD and three bonustracks!)* CD* 2LP (black, clear, silver, yellow, picture)* digibook + canvas (Nuclear Blast mailorder edition)

The album can be pre-ordered at this location.

Bon Jovi recently announced that, after 32 year on Mercury Records, the band is parting ways with the label. The band's new album, Burning Bridges, will be the last to sport the Mercury Records imprint.

"It's the end of an era," singer Jon Bon Jovi, 53, tells Billboard. "I've stayed at that label my entire life -- 32 years. I am the longest tenured artist on Mercury, or whatever they are called this week. But my deal was up, and that's that."

Bon Jovi alludes to tension with the Universal Music Group ­subsidiary, which effectively ­operates under the Island banner, in the title track to the band's self-­proclaimed "fan album," one he readily admits is meant to fulfill the group's contractual commitment.

"After 30 years of loyalty, they let you dig the grave," he sings on "Burning Bridges". "Now maybe you can learn to ... strum along/Well I'll give you half the ­publishing/You're why I wrote this song." Says Bon Jovi: "It hits the nail on the head."

To hear Bon Jovi tell it, he has seen it all. "I've been in three ­buildings and (gone through) ­countless presidents and CEOs," he says. "It broke my heart, but it was time to leave."

Go to this location for the complete Billboard report.

Bon Jovi’s “album for fans”, Burning Bridges, was released on August 21st. The tracklisting is as follows:

"A Teardrop To The Sea"
"We Don't Run"
"Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning"
"We All Fall Down"
"Blind Love"
"Who Would You Die For"
"Fingerprints"
"Life Is Beautiful"
"I'm Your Man"
"Burning Bridges"
"Take Back The Night" (Japan Bonus)

"A Teardrop To The Sea" lyric video:

“Blind Love” lyric video:

“We Don’t Run” lyric video:

Bon Jovi are hard at work on their next album, which will see a full-scale release in 2016.

The band kicks off their tour on September 11th in Jakarta, Indonesia, and runs through till October 3rd in Tel Aviv, Israel. Visit BonJovi.com/Tour for all the of the details and ticketing information.

The stars are aligning for the new Rossetti Productions movie "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You". The rock stars, that is. Writer/director Chip Rossetti announced the project in June and cameras will roll this fall in Nashville, Tennessee. There has been a constant stream of news coming out of the Rossetti Productions camp about the movie and the hype around the project continues to increase as posts about cast members stir excitement on social media and the Internet at large. Initial interest swelled with the release that PETRA singer John Schlitt was cast as one of the lead characters in the movie. Following this was that up-and-coming rockers CHAOTIC RESEMBLANCE would be playing the band IRON CROSS in the movie. After that, the stars have continued falling into place. STRYPER drummer Robert Sweet joined the cast playing, of all people, himself.

"Robert was one of our first choices for this," Rossetti said. "This story is very similar to STRYPER's story, and who better to be involved then someone that lived through it?" This week Rossetti Productions followed up the Robert Sweet casting with the announcement that rockers Troy Luccketta and Eric Brittingham would also be bringing their talent to the film. Luccketta is best known as the drummer for the '80s mega band TESLA. Troy started playing drums at 10 years old and has a wide variety of musical tastes, including CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, Neil Diamond, LED ZEPPELIN, and Latin-style percussion. Troy grew up in the east San Francisco bay area playing in bands such as WHISPER, BENNY AND THE JETS, 415 and the ERIC MARTIN BAND before joining TESLA in 1985. A firm believer and outspoken Christian, Troy is excited to join the cast of "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You".

"As soon as I read the script," Luccketta said, " I knew it was a truly inspirational story for those who take a stand in faith. I loved it". Brittingham is best known for playing bass in the iconic '80s band CINDERELLA. Eric was born in Salisbury, Maryland. In addition to CINDERELLA, he was in a side-band with CINDERELLA bandmate Jeff LaBar, of which his wife, Inga Brittingham, was the lead vocalist. Now living in Nashville, Eric saw it as a great opportunity to join the cast of the movie.

"I'm excited to be a part of a movie with such a positive message", Brittingham said. "And the fact that it is about a band in 1987 just makes it that much more awesome." Set in 1987, "God Gave Rock n Roll To You" tells the story of IRON CROSS and their attempt to cement their place in rock 'n' roll history.

Production of "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You" is slated to begin in early November in and around the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Rossetti Productions has produced 15 feature films, all in the Christian, faith-based and family genres.

One of the most vile and tormented sounds to ever exist is the “Mental Metal Musik” belonging to none other than the now-infamous Sadistik Exekution of Sydney, Australia. Although these lunatics gained much of their notoriety from their full-length albums, the full scope of Sadistik Exekution's unforgiving violence cannot be entirely appreciated without proper exposure to the atrocities committed on their demos and EPs. 

Nuclear War Now! Productions has conspired with none other than Dave Slave himself to dig up several of these wretched slabs of audial torment and once again offer them posthumously to any who dare expose themselves to such vileness. Set for international release on October 15, the LP release of 30 Years Of Agonizing The Dead (AKA Sadistik Exekution’s Shittest Hits) compiles two of these demos – Agonizing The Dead (1992) and Suspiral (1991) – as well as two EP singles – Demon With Wings (1996) and Sadistik Elektrocution (1997) – for your listening displeasure. 

Also included is a 20-page booklet featuring incriminating band photos from the era, the unmistakably demented artwork of Rok, and a recent, never-before-seen interview with Mental Metalkutioner, Dave Slave. In case that isn’t enough for you, Nuclear War Now! will also release a die-hard (AKA “dick-hard”) LP version that will include the rare Rehearsal Demo 1987as a bonus 7” EP for the most masochistic among us.

Tracklisting:

“Agonizing The Dead”
“Magus”
“Suspiral”
“Ipsissimus”
“Proxima Centauri”
“Demon With Wings”
“Sadistik Elektrokution (Bastard Mix)”
“Voltage By Sadism”
“Bastard Bass”

Artistically imperious, instinctively forward-thinking and remorselessly creative, Satyricon have long since earned the right to be hailed as one of black metal’s most important and influential bands. And now they are to revisit the album that raised them from underground heroes to bold contenders on the world stage… the timeless and towering Nemesis Divina. Satyricon will return in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this seminal masterpiece, with a never-to-be-repeated series of exclusive European shows, wherein the Norwegian trailblazers will perform the album in its entirety for the first and last time.

“It’s not what we do and it won’t happen again!” avows frontman and creative mastermind Satyr. “This band, as you know, is definitely not retrospective. But we started playing live in 1996. Our most groundbreaking milestone record came out in 1996. Nemesis Divina is the only one of the first three records that has aged really well. It’s the only one that we still play several songs from in our set to this day… so if I’m ever going to do anniversary shows and do a reissue and make it a big deal, it’s gonna be Nemesis Divina and it has to be now.”

When Satyricon released their third album in 1996, their status as one of the most significant and creatively vital bands in Norwegian black metal was already beyond dispute. But Nemesis Divina was no ordinary record or just another step along the road to infamy. Instead, this was a revolutionary and groundbreaking piece of work from a band that had suddenly hit their stride on every conceivable level. From its uniquely vibrant and impactful artwork, which broke every supposed rule in the black metal handbook with its vivid colours and refined aesthetic core, to the supremely confident and idiosyncratic songs and individual performances that heralded a newfound sophistication and a freshly incisive vision, Nemesis Divina almost single-handedly took black metal from its voluntarily shadowy and obscure origins into the glaring spotlight of the international metal scene. There are many classic albums to salute from the Norwegian scene of the early 90s and while the likes of Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor and Immortal undoubtedly share Satyricon’s esteemed position in the genre’s spectral hall of fame, it was arguably Nemesis Divina that most vigorously announced the arrival of this arcane musical phenomenon to the rest of the world, destroying the notion that black metal was an entirely self-contained and inward-looking subculture in the process. Most of all, however, Nemesis Divina showcased a band that finally had the skill and the musical intuition to back up the undeniable potency of their artistic vision. Sonically devastating and compositionally meticulous, songs like Mother North and The Dawn Of A New Age redefined what black metal was capable of, while proudly retaining the genre’s ageless essence and aesthetic values.

“Everything expanded tenfold with Nemesis Divina,” Satyr states. “For most people who liked the first two records, Satyricon climbed to a whole different level on Nemesis Divina and people really started to love the band. This album has a special place in our history. Suddenly we were selling 80,000 and then 100,000 records, and those numbers were unheard of in our small part of the world. That was the record that everyone that was into this scene wanted to buy. If you say there are two stages of evolution in black metal – the 80s, with Venom and Celtic Frost and Bathory, and then the 90s with the Norwegian stuff and everything followed in its wake – there are, at most, a handful of albums and a handful of songs that really define modern day black metal. Nemesis Divina is definitely one of those records and Mother North is definitely one of those songs.”

To herald the 20th anniversary of this most illustrious piece of dark art, Nemesis Divina will be re-released in spring 2016, newly remastered by Satyr himself and boasting upgraded and revamped packaging worthy of an album that has had a huge and enduring impact on both the black metal scene and underground heavy music in general.  Satyricon will then embark on a series of exclusive one-off shows, performing the record in full for the first and only time.

“Next year its 20 years since Satyricon made its live debut as a band, and 20 years since we released Nemesis Divina,” Satyr states. “I thought  ‘Either we do multiple shows, re-release the album and do it properly… or we don’t do it at all’. «So here we are. We’ll be performing Nemesis Divina, front to back, doing only a few exclusive shows in 2016 and we look forward to sharing this unique experience with our loyal fans."

Video footage of legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) performing an acoustic cover version of the VAN MORRISON classic "Moondance" on July 23 at Berkeley 2 Studios in Glasgow, Scotland can be seen below.

The clip, which was filmed and edited by James MacKenzie of Soundshape Studios, features the following musicians:

Joe Lynn Turner - Lead VocalsRoss McEwen - GuitarStuart McArthur - BassJames Bird - GuitarRyan McEwen - Percussion

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

1990 saw reunited Turner with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore in a reformed DEEP PURPLE for the "Slaves And Masters" album.

Glenn Danzig's long-awaited covers record, "Skeletons", will be released in Europe this fall via Evilive Music/AFM Records. The CD, which was recorded with PRONG guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor and former TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly, will include the ex-MISFITS frontman's take on songs by BLACK SABBATH ("N.I.B."), ZZ TOP ("Rough Boy"), THE TROGGS ("A Girl Like You"), THE EVERLY BROTHERS ("Crying In The Rain") and others.

The first single from "Skeletons" will be "Devil's Angels", which was originaly the theme song for the late '60s biker film of the same title. The track will be released on September 4 on seven-inch vinyl, strictly limited to 500 units. The B-side of the single will be a vocal-and-keyboard version of "Satan", from the 1969 biker flick "Satan's Sadists".

The cover artwork for the "Devil's Angels" single can be seen below.

Commented DANZIG singer and namesake Glenn Danzig: "I've wanted to record ['Devil's Angels'] since 1979 and this is exactly the same arrangement I had for it back then, so it pretty much sounds like that late '70s style of mine. I'm really happy with the way it turned out; it actually came out much better than I had hoped it would."

"Devil's Angels" was originally made available via Glenn's official web site in 2012 and was performed live that same year (see video below).

Asked how he decided which songs to cover on "Skeletons", Glenn told LasVegasMagazine.com: "I just start thinking of what songs I want to record, especially for the covers record. What do I want to cover? Can I bring a new element to it? Can't just be songs I like. It's got to be songs I like and that I think I can give a new direction to, and bring a new dimension to."

He continued: "That's my attitude with covers. Unless you're going to do something different with it and give it a new life, or give it a new dimension, leave it alone. It's going to be judged against the original anyway. If you just try to record it exactly like the original, everyone's just going to like the original better because they've heard it a million times. Also, why cover it if all you're going to do is just cover it? At least that's my opinion, and that's why if I'm going to cover a song, I'm going to give it a new life, new dimension, new feeling. Do something different with it."

Danzig also spoke about some of the other tracks that were recorded for "Skeletons". "[There is an] Elvis cover, of course. It wouldn't be a DANZIG covers record unless there was an Elvis and a SABBATH track. The Elvis cover I did was 'Let Yourself Go'. There's two biker movie theme songs from the old A.I.P. (1950s-1970s low-budget, independent film company American International Pictures) movies that I covered, 'Devil's Angels' and 'Satan's Sadists'. Then there's a RASCALS cover on there, an AEROSMITH cover. A lot of people have been like, 'Wow, this is all over the place,' but it gives insight into some stuff that I listen to."

According to Glenn, the full skull makeup which he wore for the first time since his MISFITS days nearly 40 years ago for the "Skeletons" photo shoot was inspired by legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie.

"One of my favorite covers records is David Bowie's 'Pinups' and I wanted to do a take on that and the record is called 'Skeletons' so I decided I'd do the skull face," he told OC Weekly.

Photo credit: Corey Soria

According to the web site of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, BULLETBOYS frontman Marq Torien (born Mark Maytorena) was arrested early this morning (Saturday, August 29) following the band's concert in Tampa, Florida and charged with "failure to pay child support." The 53-year-old singer was booked and remains in jail at press time under a $2,802 bail.

Torien was previously arrested under similar circumstances in November 2009 after performing at the Bourbon St. nightclub in New Port Richey, Florida. He was charged with "non-support of children or spouse" and was released the following day.

BULLETBOYS' next concert is scheduled for tonight (Saturday, August 29) in Jacksonville, Florida.

BULLETBOYS recently completed filming the music video for the single "Rollover". Taken from the band's latest album, "Elefantè", the song helped drive the album to the Top 10 in the metal radio charts and has been a crowd pleaser during the group's summer 2015 tour.

The "Rollover" music video features voluptuous Playboy model Ivy Ferguson and plays off the dichotomous relationship between the artist who's married to his music while simultaneously trying to keep his best gal happy. The sparks start to fly during the band's live performance as the music and the tempestuous relationship reaches a fever pitch — all captured brilliantly by director Diego Negrete.

The BULLETBOYS are founding member Marq Torien (vocals/lead guitar), Nick Rozz (guitar), Chad MacDonald (bass) and Shawn Duncan (drums).

Released in June via Cleopatra/Deadline, "Elefantè" — the band's first studio album of original material since 2009 — was produced by Ryan Greene (ALICE COOPER, LITA FORD, CHEAP TRICK) and Marq Torien and engineered by Matt Thorne (TRAPT, DISTURBED). The CD was mastered in Nashville, Tennessee by Anthony Focx (MILEY CYRUS, AEROSMITH, SANTANA, BUCKCHERRY).

BULLETBOYS was one of the prominent bands in the flourishing Hollywood metal scene during the late 1980s, with numerous smash hits such as "Smooth Up In Ya", "For The Love Of Money" and "Hang On St. Christopher" off the group's platinum-selling classic self-titled debut and follow-up, "Freakshow", dominating both MTV and radio airwaves.

Booking photo above courtesy of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (booking number: 15033132)

@MetalSludge #marqtorien of #bulletboys arrested again in Tampa last night. #deadbeatdad #smoothupinjail pic.twitter.com/aaZpztkrrp

— Heather Vulcano (@salvulcano4eva) August 29, 2015

METALLICA played the biggest-ever hard rock concert in Sweden on August 22 in front of over 63,000 screaming fans at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg.

Official fly-on-the-wall footage of the show can be seen below. The 13-minute clip, which was shot by a MetOnTour reporter, includes drummer Lars Ulrich in the meet-and-greet, pre-show tuning-room footage, and "Battery" from the show.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Fuel02. For Whom The Bell Tolls03. Battery04. King Nothing05. Disposable Heroes06. The Day That Never Comes07. The Memory Remains08. The Unforgiven09. Sad But True10. Turn The Page11. The Frayed Ends of Sanity12. One13. Master Of Puppets14. Fade To Black15. Seek And Destroy

Encore:

16. Whiskey In The Jar17. Nothing Else Matters18. Enter Sandman

METALLICA currently has seven dates on its calendar between now and mid-September, including two shows in Quebec City, Canada and an appearance at the Rock In Rio festival.

The band has reportedly been working on its tenth studio album, which will follow up 2008's "Death Magnetic".

METALLICA has made available for purchase a limited-edition box set containing 50 CDs that chronicle the band's tours of Australia and New Zealand in 2010 and 2013. The set features recordings of 62 different METALLICA originals and covers from 25 different shows, each on two discs, and retails for a hefty $395.

Despite insisting that work has been proceeding on a new CD, METALLICA has spent a lot of time outside the studio in the last year, with activities that included a string of European all-request shows last summer, a week-long residency on "The Late Show With Craig Ferguson", and a Rock In Rio USA stint.

METALLICA has not revealed when it plans to begin recording or tentatively release the new album.

British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) was interviewed at this year's edition of the Blues Sotto Le Stelle festival on August 5 in L'Aquila, Italy. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his time with IRON MAIDEN, Blaze said: "They were great years for me. I loved being a part of IRON MAIDEN, and I had a lot of support and encouragement from the fans as the new man in IRON MAIDEN; I had a lot of support. So I say a huge thank you to all the fans for making me feel so welcome when I was in IRON MAIDEN."

He continued: "They were great days for me, and, really, I found my true voice and my identity when I was working in IRON MAIDEN with Steve Harris and the other musicians. And then after IRON MAIDEN, my solo work, it really reflects the lessons that I learned when I was in IRON MAIDEN. So they were great days for me, and I look back very fondly, and I'm very, very proud of the work that we did together and the songs that we did."

As previously reported, Bayley has started to create his eighth, and he hopes, his greatest ever studio album. For the first time he wants to offer his fans an insight into the creative part of this process.

Writing this project started in March 2015. It is an album based on a science fiction story that Blaze is writing. He is still in the early stages of putting together the huge concept for this studio effort, so he felt it would be a right time to give his fans the opportunity to get involved.

When pre-orders start on September 1, fans will have the opportunity to opt in on an exclusive membership. As members, they will receive exclusive items and monthly e-mail updates on the new album. These monthly updates will contain information on the development of the artwork, the album and songtitles, videos of writing and recording sessions and rehearsals, and interviews with the musicians involved. When the album is released in March 2016, the members will also receive a printed magazine and a "making-of" DVD. These items will be created by Blaze for the exclusive members to celebrate the journey he has taken with them. Blaze will also give those fans a chance to talk with him during this process. For a few hours each month, he will be available for personal calls with the members to discuss the progress of the album and any other questions those fans may have. Some lucky fans will even have their voices on the album! Fans that are ultimate members will be able to take part in an exclusive competition. The winners' voices will be a part of the dream song on the album.

More details on the pre-order packages can be found on the web site www.blazebayley.net and. The pre-orders for the new album start on September 1 at 8 p.m. U.K. time.

The 52-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to join MAIDEN, with whom he recorded two studio albums — 1995's "The X Factor" 1998's and "Virtual XI" — before Bruce Dickinson returned to the group.

Bayley released a career-spanning double-disc collection, "Soundtracks Of My Life", on October 31, 2013.

The singer's latest studio album, "The King Of Metal", was released in March 2012.

Former JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens joined the METALLICA tribute band THE FOUR HORSEMEN on stage at the Furraitti Brothers Festival in Doylestown, Ohio earlier in the month to perform a couple of JUDAS PRIEST and DIO classics. Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below.

Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Rob Halford.

In an interview with CantonRep.com, Tim was asked if he thinks metal fans who didn't accept him fronting JUDAS PRIEST are able to view that period more fondly now that time has passed.

"I think some," he responded. "Some will never give it a shot. The funny thing about me is I'm a JUDAS PRIEST fan from the old school. If I had listened to 'Jugulator' or 'Demolition' and saw it live, I'd have said, 'This is pretty good.' Some fans look at those records and go, 'I'll never accept it.' And that's cool. I understand it 100 percent. When you think of JUDAS PRIEST, you think of Rob [Halford], Glenn [Tipton], K.K. [Downing] and Ian [Hill]."

Epic Records president Sylvia Rhone has confirmed to Billboard.com that Ozzy Osbourne is working on "a really special album." She added: "It's going to be amazing. It's something Ozzy has never done before that he's always wanted to do."

Ozzy performed with his solo band on Saturday, August 29 at the first annual Epic Fest — a celebration of the record label on Los Angeles' Sony Pictures lot. His set included "Suicide Solution", "I Don't Know", "Bark At The Moon" and the BLACK SABBATH staples "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Paranoid". Video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Ozzy Osbourne said last October that his "Memoirs Of A Madman" compilation was meant to remind fans that he hadn't put an end to his solo career after spending a couple of years recording and touring with BLACK SABBATH.

"Memoirs Of A Madman" served as a career-spanning audio release, featuring 17 of Ozzy's greatest hit singles compiled in one place for the first time in his career, and was made available in a single CD, two-LP set and two-LP picture disc set configurations.

Speaking to GMI Rock last year, Ozzy stated about the collection: "'Memoirs Of A Madman' was, because I've been not doing my solo stuff for quite awhile now, I've been touring with BLACK SABBATH, I just wanted to let everybody know I haven't stopped doing my solo stuff. It's like a bridge thing... So I'm gonna do one more BLACK SABBATH tour, one more album with BLACK SABBATH, and I'm in the process, as we go along, [of] collecting stuff that I'm writing. I've co-written about three songs so far for my own solo thing...It'll take about two or three years before I release solo stuff again, so 'Memoirs Of The Madman' is just to say to the fans that I haven't stopped, y'know?"

Ozzy's last solo studio effort was 2010's "Scream".

In a May 2011 interview with Planet Rock, Ozzy revealed that he would go back to basics on his forthcoming CD. "On my next album, I can assure you it's going to be back to balls to the wall," he said.

Speaking to Metal Messiah Radio's "Heavy Metal Thunder" show, Ozzy stated about his planned follow-up to 2010's "Scream", "I don't stick to a formula. I just try and experiment a lot. 'Scream' was more like an experimental album because I didn't have a band at the time. [Guitarist] Gus [G.] came along and the guys played on the album after I'd done a lot of the work myself and my producer, Kevin Churko, in my studio."

Ozzy Osbourne's current touring drummer, Tommy Clufetos, told the "Talking Metal" podcast in 2011 that early work was already underway for a follow-up to "Scream" and that he thought Ozzy was "going to return to a classic rock band record." Clufetos added, "What he has expressed is that he wants to make it the band playing live in a room so wherever that takes us. Less technology and more amps and drums." Ozzy recorded much of "Scream" in a studio at his home in Los Angeles with producer Kevin Churko, doing most of the writing and recording on computers. He told The Pulse Of Radio he liked working that way but wanted to do something different next time out. "At the end of the day, the end result was pretty cool, but I don't know whether I want to continue to do it that way," he said. "I like to — like the earlier albums, I'd go rehearse and jam out with the band, get some, like, vibe going, you know. I want to incorporate that and this new technology thing, next album."

Ozzy's first album under the SABBATH banner in 35 years, "13", came out in June 2013 and topped both the U.S. and U.K. album charts, later winning a Grammy Award as well.

On August 26, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson flew 150 lucky fans out to Paris, France from Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom onboard a chartered Boeing 737-400 plane so they could attend a listening session for the band's new album, "The Book Of Souls", at the Guillaume Tell Studios. The aircraft was in an all-white livery with small IRON MAIDEN logos on the front of the aircraft and VVB Aviation markings to the rear. It is believed to be one of the aircraft that will operate with VVB Aviation on behalf of Air Djibouti.

Dickinson, who was recently given the all-clear after being diagnosed with a tumor on his tongue late last year, told the audience at Wednesday's event (see video report below courtesy of Metal XS): "Thanks to radiation and chemicals and great doctors and support of everybody on the planet, apparently [the tumor has] disappeared. I did ask where it's gone, and the doctor looked at me and went, 'Well, the body just sort of gets rid of it,' which tends to mean they probably don't know — they don't bloody know!"

Asked by a fan if "The Book Of Souls" will turn out to IRON MAIDEN's final full-length release, Dickinson responded: "I really hope that this is not the last album. I've had way too much fun making this one. I'm gonna have way too much fun and enjoy the next tour for a variety of reasons. I'm happily chatting to you and running around and leaping around or flying airplanes. And the next stop is gonna be a tour and some singing."

"The Book Of Souls" will be released on September 4, 2015 through BMG in the U.S.A. (Parlophone Records in the rest of world).

The band announced in May that touring plans to support the album wouldn't happen until 2016 to allow Dickinson time to fully recuperate after his successful cancer treatment.

"Whenever we do a new album, we always go out with a new stage show; that's exciting in itself," bassist Steve Harris said. "We always feel like every show is sacred these days anyway, and I suppose even more so now after the scare with what's happened with Bruce. It makes everything more important to us."

He continued: "'The Book Of Souls' is a really powerful album, we're really proud of it and we can't wait to come out and play new songs on the tour. We're really looking forward to it."

Video report below courtesy of Metal XS

VIDA! Cardiff >>>Paris>>>Cardiff #TheBookOfSouls #IronMaiden #BruceAir #Flight666 \m/ pic.twitter.com/XuWwyiPAyl

— Marcello (@marcelloamorim) August 28, 2015

Exciting day at Cardiff Airport for Iron Maiden fans - flown by Bruce to album launch in Paris. Flt - Maiden 666!! pic.twitter.com/s3cDpmQRrp

— Deb Barber (@debbarber27) August 26, 2015

U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine caught up with the Japanese teenage girl pop metal band BABYMETAL backstage at this weekend's Reading festival to learn their dance moves. Check out the clip below to see what happened.

BABYMETAL has announced its return to the U.K. next year. The group will headline London SSE Arena Wembley on April 2, 2016. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2.

BABYMETAL has signed with RAL/Sony Music Entertainment for the U.S. release of the band's 2014 critically acclaimed self-titled debut album. The CD features two bonus tracks and was made available digitally on May 12 and physically on June 16.

"Babymetal" was released via earMUSIC in Germany, Sweden, Finland and Spain on May 29, in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark on June 1, and in Italy on June 2

The European release was made available as the standard edition as well as a deluxe edition that includes a bonus DVD compiling six music videos from BABYMETAL.

MOTÖRHEAD canceled its show in Denver, Colorado Friday night (August 28) as part of Riot Fest, a day after the band cut short a Utah gig when frontman Lemmy Kilmister fell ill.

MOTÖRHEAD issued a statement last night via Facebook, saying: "The Rocky Mountain High has affected Lemmy like the high altitude of Salt Lake City. It's been quite a while since Lemmy was this 'high' in the U.S., and thus having got a burst of altitude sickness (which made it hard for him to breathe and sing properly), he has very reluctantly decided not perform in Denver. Lemmy is really sorry and wants to thank the fans for their support and trust. He looks forward to the next-up Texas shows…at low elevations."

MOTÖRHEAD's next concert is scheduled for Tuesday, September 1 in Austin, Texas.

Lemmy, who turned 69 years old in December, in 2013 suffered a haematoma (where blood collects outside of a blood vessel), causing the cancelation of a number of the band's European festival shows. The band has since scrapped a couple of tours and, during last year's Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, abandoned its set midway through so Lemmy could be taken to the hospital.

"I've had some health scares," Lemmy told Kerrang! for last week's issue of the U.K. magazine, "and I've had to really cut back on smoking and drinking and whatever. But it is what it is. I've had a good life, a good run. I do what I do still. I'm sure I'll die on the road, one way or another."

Asked if he is afraid of death, Lemmy said, "No."

The rocker told Classic Rock he didn't expect to still be here at 30,

"I don't do regrets," he said. "Regrets are pointless. It's too late for regrets. You've already done it, haven't you? You've lived your life. No point wishing you could change it.

"There are a couple of things I might have done differently, but nothing major; nothing that would have made that much of a difference.

"I'm pretty happy with the way things have turned out. I like to think I've brought a lot of joy to a lot of people all over the world. I'm true to myself and I'm straight with people."

Asked if his illness in 2013 has made him more aware of his own mortality, Lemmy said: "Death is an inevitability, isn't it? You become more aware of that when you get to my age. I don't worry about it. I'm ready for it. When I go, I want to go doing what I do best. If I died tomorrow, I couldn't complain. It's been good."

VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth slammed a beer-throwing fan during the band's August 27 concert at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, New Jersey. The incident occurred just as the group had finished performing the song "In A Simple Rhyme" and was launching into "Dirty Movies". Roth instructed his bandmates to stop playing and addressed the crowd (see video below). "Somebody just threw a beer up here," he said, as a roadie cleaned up the spilled liquid. He continued: "In a younger day, I would've promised I would've slept with his girlfriend. At this point in my career, the roughest, most fucked insult I could probably make to this guy is that I probably already have slept with his wife."

Roth went on to say: "Can you control that motherfucker? I'll talk to you later, sweetheart."

With a hand motion, Roth signaled to his bandmates to start the next song, before adding: "Next time, you save the beer for me, you slime." He then made an obscene gesture with the microphone and flipped the bird.

VAN HALEN was forced to cancel the August 23 scheduled concert in Hershey, Pennsylvania after Roth was advised by doctors not to perform due to a bout with the flu.

VAN HALEN's next performance is scheduled for tonight (Saturday, August 29) in Washington, DC.

The tour will wrap on October 4 at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.

The trek is VAN HALEN's first since an aborted North American run three years ago in support of its then-new studio album, "A Different Kind Of Truth".