John Bush (ARMORED SAINT, ANTHRAX), Jason Miller (GODHEAD) and Howard Jones (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) are among the musicians who performed at the launch event for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on February 18 at GameStop at Universal CityWalk in Universal City, California.

Fan-filmed video footage of some of the performances can be seen below.

Award-winning film, TV and video game composer Jamie Christopherson ("Lost Planet", "Spiderman: Web of Shadows") was commissioned by PlatinumGames to write both the score and songs for Konami's action title developed by Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames Inc., Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Albums of both were made available on February 19, the same day that the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance video game was released. Featuring extremely fast hardcore electronic/heavy metal music, the soundtrack in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance marks a clear departure from the music of the previous Metal Gear games.

Christopherson said: "With action-packed gameplay this intense, we knew that the music for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance had to be something really special and different from previous Metal Gear Solid games. In order to accomplish this, we decided early on to have hardcore electronic/metal songs with vocals that would lyrically and sonically mirror the game storyline during boss battles. Pre-existing licensed songs or traditional orchestral score wouldn't suffice for these sections; the music had to be something fresh and impactful."

To achieve the desired result, Christopherson enlisted five-time gold record artist/producer Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY) to co-write and co-produce a portion of the songs from the soundtrack. Mader also produced live drum recordings and many of the vocal sessions for the songs.

The soundtrack features many talented recording artists from across the globe, such as electronic remixer Maniac Agenda and DJ sensation Ferry Corsten. Well-known vocalists, including Bush, Tyson Yen (STATE LINE EMPIRE, DRIST), Miller, Graeme Cronies, Kit Walters, Free Dominguez (KIDNEYTHIEVES) and Jimmy Gnecco (OURS) were chosen to match specific bosses based on the quality of their voices.

Christopherson said: "I had a blast working with PlatinumGames and all of the wonderful artists on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The culminating result is something I'm really proud of and definitely puts the 'metal' in Metal Gear series."

For more information, visit www.metalgearsolid.com/rising.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based metallers BISON B.C. have issued the following update:

“This just in — we have just received our 'drop letter' from Metal Blade.

"If you didn't know, we were on Metal Blade.

"The last seven years has been a strange and crazy adventure toiling and crawling through the music industry. We met some great people as well as some awful people and loved every minute. Now it's time to get back to why we truly do this, and to officially be free and answer to no person, company, magazine article, chart, or poser douche bags.

"Raise a glass to a new beginning!

"Thanks to everyone at Metal Blade for trying to help us polish this turd."

BISON B.C.'s latest album, "Lovelessness", came out last October via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded with acclaimed producer Sanford Parker at Soma and Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago.

BISON B.C. is:

James Farwell: Guitar/Vocals
Dan And: Guitar/Vocals
Masa Anzai: Bass
Matt Wood: Drums

Guitarist Mark Morton of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD has released a song that he wrote for the score to the band's projected feature film, "As The Palaces Burn". The film, directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Don Argott and produced by 9.14 Pictures ("Last Days Here", "Art Of The Steal", "Rock School"), examines the impact that music and particularly heavy metal music has made on people around the globe as they live in a 21st century world full of economic uncertainty, political unrest, social injustice, and under a constant fear of war and violence. Filming has taken place to date in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, India, and Israel and other countries over the last few months. Embedded in the trailer is the video for the band's second single from the "Resolution" CD, "Desolation". The clip was shot at shows in South America and Mexico and is the follow-up to the animated video for the track "Ghost Walking".

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe returned to the U.S. last week after it was announced in a Czech Republic court his trial would be delayed.

Blythe's defense team asked for the delay because a key witness was sick, according to The Prague Post reporter Jonathan Crane who is helping cover the trial for WTVR.com. The defense team wanted that witness to testify in person.

The singer is being allowed to stay in the U.S. until his trial resumes on March 4. He indicated in court that he would definitely return to Prague next month.

Blythe is facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a May 2010 incident in which a fan, Daniel Nosek, who attended a LAMB OF GOD performance in Prague, died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage.

A young girl was reportedly horribly burned and disfigured earlier today (Sunday, February 24) after a member of the audience at the Soundwave festival in Sydney smuggled in a magnesium flare and ignited it in the middle of the crowd during BRING ME THE HORIZON's performance.

According to The Australian, the woman underwent emergency treatment after sustaining burns to her forearm. It has also been reported that a similar incident took place during METALLICA's closing set on the main stage. That flare, however, is not believed to have caused any injuries.

Promoter AJ Maddah is calling for action from Soundwave attendees and is offering a reward to anyone can identify the perpetrators.

"If anyone can correctly identify this son of a bitch, I will shower you with so much tickets, backstage and cash, you won't know what to do," he said.

He is also asking punters to assist in finding the person who lit the flare. “If you see anyone with a lit flare please take their photo and tweet to me so I can hand to police.”

A 23-year-old man was critically injured in an accident during last year's Soundwave festival at Brisbane's RNA Showgrounds. He reportedly underwent life-saving surgery after he suffered massive head injuries caused by a five-meter fall from the top of a staircase at the exhibition hall.

Veteran Japanese metallers LOUDNESS will be rejoined by vocalist Mike Vescera (pictured below) for a special one-off performance on April 14 at the Live N' Louder festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Although Vescera will sing the entire set with LOUDNESS at the event, he has no plans to permanently replace the band's original frontman Minoru Niihara, who remains LOUDNESS' official vocalist after having rejoined the group in 2001.

Vescera joined LOUDNESS in 1988 following the firing of Niihara. In pursuit of greater commercial success with English-speaking audiences, Vescera and the rest of LOUDNESS recorded two albums, "Soldier Of Fortune" (1989) and "On The Prowl" (1991). However, the pairing did little to improve the band's status in America and also took its toll on LOUDNESS' Japanese fan base. Vescera exited LOUDNESS (and joined Yngwie J. Malmsteen in 1993) during the group's American tour in 1991 and was eventually replaced by EZO vocalist Masaki Yamada.

Vescera rose to metal popularity at the age of 18 years old as the legendary vocalist of the band OBSESSION. A classically trained pianist, Mike chose the path of a metal frontman instead of Julliard.

In recent years, Mike Vescera has gained a reputation in the business as being a masterful producer and engineer working from his studio The Toy Room, which was located in the hills of Connecticut just outside of New York. A few years ago the studio moved to Nashville, where Mike now makes his home. The studio is second to none, utilizing state-of-the-art software and technology to achieve unrivaled flexibility and dimension of sound. It holds both major-label and small-budget accounts serving all styles of music. It also holds major network voice-over accounts for several popular shows.

Mike continues to front OBSESSION and ANIMETAL USA, the American counterpart to ANIMETAL, the Japanese heavy metal band which specialized in metal covers of popular Japanese anime/tokusatsu theme songs.

Former OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Bob Daisley is putting the finishing touches on his memoir, "For Facts Sake!", which he promises will explain his side of the story of the split with the legendary BLACK SABBATH singer. According to Daisley, he is "working on photo placement now" and the book "will be ready this year."

In a 2012 interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, Daisley revealed that the 30th-anniversary remastered reissues of Osbourne's classic early albums, 1980's "Blizzard Of Ozz" and 1981's "Diary Of A Madman", which came with a box set of previously unreleased live recordings, a coffee table book and other goodies, could have packed much more material than what actually made the release.

"There'd been talk about it during 2010, and it was then that I offered to supply tapes of our rehearsals and writing sessions, to go as proper bonus material," Daisley said. "And I just said that I wanted a royalty out of it, because it's my stuff. But they wouldn't do it because they didn't want to give me a royalty — they just wanted to buy it.

"So no agreement was made, and as a result the bonus material in the box set is minimal, which is unfortunate because I know the fans want to hear the stuff that I've got — recordings of the writing sessions, rehearsals and the songs taking shape. But the Osbournes wouldn't come to the table, y'know. I didn't even ask for an equal royalty, it was just a small royalty I wanted because it's my stuff…"

Daisley added that he had "literally hours and hours of tapes I've got from us writing those albums and rehearsing it" that could have been included in the package. "You can hear the songs changing, the different parts taking shape, and all this stuff would have been perfect bonus material for the box set," he said. "Sadly, the Osbournes are just too greedy and self-absorbed."

Bob Daisley said in a 2010 interview with his web site that he had not been contacted about the 30th-anniversary editions of "Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman". The tracks played by Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake on both albums were replaced on a previous reissue after Daisley and Kerslake sued Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne over royalties.

Daisley told the web site, "Neither Lee nor I have been contacted, considered or consulted in the decision to re-release the original recordings. As for royalties, we have not been approached for a reconciliation and have been offered and promised nothing."

Ozzy told The Pulse of Radio he was against the idea of replacing the original tracks when he found out about it. "Believe me, it wasn't my doing," he said. "I mean, I didn't know that was being done, 'cause Sharon was fighting all the legal things that were going down at the time. I said, 'What did you do that for?' And she said, 'The only way I could stop everything was if it went to that level.' And I said, 'You know what, whatever the circumstances were, I want the original thing back.' I mean, I wouldn't have done that."

The replacement tracks were played by current METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo and FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin.

Daisley says that he and Kerslake were fired because of disagreements with Sharon over a number of things, including refusing to do two shows in one day out of worry that Ozzy would blow out his voice.

Australia's Heavy magazine recently spoke to DISTURBED frontman David Draiman about his new project, DEVICE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Heavy: So where did the idea for DEVICE come from?

Draiman: It came about quite accidentally, to be honest. [The members of DISTURBED] always intended during this hiatus to do some of things we'd never had a chance to. I'd planned to do some producing, working with the guys from TRIVIUM on their new record, but I'd not really planned another project. Geno Lenardo from FILTER, a friend and colleague of mine, reached out to me about participating in the "Underworld: Awakening" soundtrack. I told him to send me some music, and I listened to what he sent me and was really into it. I wrote something to it, and then called him the next day and said, "Alright, when are we tracking this, because it's big?" So I flew to Chicago within a week and tracked it, then kind of sat back and was really amazed at what we'd done. Lakeshore wanted to use it as the lead track on the soundtrack, but we had a DISTURBED track from "The Lost Children" B-sides compilation out on radio at the time and we didn't want the two tracks competing with each other. So I said, "Let's hold on to it, and wait for the next opportunity." Then the song grew on us, and we started talking and said maybe we should write some more, so Geno came out to my home in March 2012 and we started writing. "Hunted" was the track for the soundtrack, and it set the template for what the project was to become.

Heavy: Has it be a different experience writing/recording away from DISTURBED?

Draiman: It's been a wonderful experience. [laughs] I've been loving it, really, just free to go and create. With as much respect as I've had from the people I've been working with, with as much great input I've had from the people I've been working with, it's really been an amazing new experience and process. Like, imagine you have an opportunity to create something really amazing and unique after already being in the business of doing that for 16 years; being given the chance to start over again with all the knowledge and experience that you've already accumulated, and being a better musican as well — I'm chomping at the bit. I love being the guy where nobody has any idea what this is about yet. Although that has some weird consequences. I think it's pretty ridiculous I'm nominated for a Golden God award, for instance. I don't get it — I'm very thankful and I thank everyone so much for the nomination, but no one has heard this! How can you nominate something for "best new act" when you haven't even heard it. I appreciate it, but … it's almost an overwhelming vote of confidence, and it can be quite a burden to have to live up to that kind of hype.

Heavy: You've seen a lot over the past 16 years in the industry. Would you rather be launching DEVICE in 2013 or in 2003?

Draiman: Oh, I would so have preferred to put it out in 2003! It's just night and day … even as hard as it was in 2003, it certainly wasn't as bad as where we are now. As a business, it has gotten so much worse. It's trench warfare out there, everybody fighting for everything, everybody expecting to do everything with nothing. [laughs] Really, it's an unreasonable state of affairs; as an industry, it's very frightening. We all, no matter who we are, no matter how strong a record we've created, we all need all the luck in the world right now. And I believe if you're going to go into battle, you better bring your biggest guns — that's what I'm doing with DEVICE.

Read the entire interview from Heavy magazine.

HOTEL DIABLO — the new band featuring guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT), vocalist Rick Stitch (LADYJACK, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE), bassist Mike Duda and drummer Mike Dupke (both of W.A.S.P.) — tapped nine-time Emmy Award-winning and MTV Video Music Award-nominated director Fabio Jafet (PITBULL, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, CHILDREN OF BODOM) to direct the video for the song "Psycho, California". The clip, which was shot in December 2012 in Los Angeles, can be seen below.

HOTEL DIABLO debuted the video to a capacity crowd at House Of Blues on Sunset Strip in Hollywood on Saturday, Feburary 23. The set included appearances by Chris Wyse (THE CULT, OWL) and Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA).

"We are extremely proud of what Fabio came up with for us," says Grossi. "We are already putting some more things into motion with him and his production team that will be announced very soon."

Fabio edited PITBULL's "I Know You Want Me", which ended up being the No. 1 music video of 2009 on YouTube, with over a 190 million views to date, making it one of the most-watched YouTube video of all time. He is currently managing the band COYOTE THEORY.

HOTEL DIABLO's "The Return To Psycho, California" was released in September via Scarlet Records. The CD was produced by Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA), with additional production by Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES). "The Return To Psycho, California" is also available digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers.

California thrash metal veterans SLAYER performed with only two original members on stage for the first time ever on Saturday (February 23) at the opening show of this year's Soundwave festival in Brisbane, Australia.

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo is sitting out the band's current tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group, while guitarist Jeff Hanneman is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite. Filling in for them are returning member Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX) and Gary Holt (EXODUS), respectively.

SLAYER's setlist for the Brisbane show was as follows:

01. Disciple
02. Die By The Sword
03. War Ensemble
04. Chemical Warfare
05. Altar Of Sacrifice
06. Jesus Saves
07. Mandatory Suicide
08. Seasons In The Abyss
09. Dead Skin Mask
10. Angel of Death
11. South of Heaven
12. Raining Blood

Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

In an interview with Soundwave TV conducted on Saturday, SLAYER frontman Tom Araya stated about performing with Dette again: "He actually played in the band [in the late 1990s] for, like, three years. It's gonna be good. He's matured and I'm sure he's gotten much better on the drums. It'll be exciting, and I think that's just gonna pump everything up even more. I can tell you this: Jon's gonna have a lot of energy. He's known to play very fast, and he's gotten better at that."

Prior to joining SLAYER, Dette appeared on TESTAMENT's "Live At The Fillmore" album, which came out in 1995.

Dette is currently also playing with ANTHRAX as a temporary replacement for the band's longtime drummer Charlie Benante, who "is dealing with personal issues right now and can't leave" the U.S., according to ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.

Finnish rock band HIM (His Infernal Majesty) will release its new album, "Tears On Tape", on April 30 via Razor & Tie in North America and on April 29 through DoubleCross (Cooking Vinyl's specialist rock imprint) in the U.K. and Ireland. The "love metal" act's eighth official album was recorded at Helsinki's Finnvox Studios with longtime producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, MOONSPELL) and was mixed in London, England by Tim Palmer, who previously helmed 2005's "Dark Light" and 2007's "Venus Doom".

The "Tears On Tape" cover artwork has now been unveiled and can be seen below.

"Basically, we're making what I'd call 'modern retro,'" HIM singer Ville Valo told Revolver magazine about the musical direction of the new album, which he says will sound like "ROY ORBISON meeting METALLICA." "We wanted it to be nasty, fucked-up, and messy, and have that punk-rock attitude. But then on the other hand, it would also have that Roy Orbison naive, sentimental, dream-like quality."

According to Valo, HIM was originally scheduled to begin work on "Tears On Tape" at the end of 2011, but a repetitive-strain injury suffered by drummer Mika Kristian Karppinen (a.k.a. Gas Lipstick) — which left the skinsman unable to lift even a cup of coffee, much less pound a drum kit — forced the bandmembers to re-evaluate their desire to carry on.

"I think because he had the ailment, we had the opportunity to reassess what we had," Valo explained. "It was a miniscule existential crisis. We had to figure out what we really want to do and if we really like each other enough to continue through the hardest times-or do we want to call it a day?"

Asked about the meaning of the new HIM album title, Valo said, "For me, what it means is how songs —I'm not talking about our songs, but songs in general — can be milestones. You hear a song and it brings you to where you heard that song for the first time, or when it meant something really big to you. 'Tears On Tape' means that I appreciate the people who have really poured their souls and hearts out on tape, and showed that to the rest of the world for the better or for the worse. I wouldn't be here without those tears of Elvis Presley on tape."

HIM's current lineup is Ville Valo (vocals), Mikko "Linde" Lindström (guitar), Mikko "Migé" Paananen (bass), Janne "Burton" Puurtinen (keyboards), and Mika "Gas" Karppinen (drums). The band is managed by Seppo Vesterinen at Hinterland, Inc. and represented for U.S. touring by Justin Hirschman/AGI.

HIM performed a brand new song entitled "I Will Be The End Of You" during their headlining concert at the Helldone festival on December 29, 2012 at Tavastia in Helsinki, Finland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Multinational metallers RAVEN LORD have have parted ways with drummer Larry Paterson and have replaced him with Rich Smith (POWER QUEST).

Commented Smith: "I'm delighted to of been offered the throne to drum for RAVEN LORD. I can't wait to get in the rehearsal room with these guys and hit the road to play some kick-ass shows I'd like to thank all the guys in the band and the management for this opportunity."

Added Paterson: "It is meant as no disrespect to any of you at all — and I wish great success for everybody. To cut a long story short, things are pretty tough right now as I have another band, a book and a documentary to make. All of this is running on a very tight schedule, which WILL definitely get in the way of RAVEN LORD."

Said RAVEN LORD singer and bandleader Csaba Zvekan: "I'm saddened to see Larry go from RAVEN LORD, but if dates are clashing, there is not much any of us can do. The good thing is me and Larry Paterson will continue working on another band project called EXORCISM, which is expected to be released in 2014.

"Well, you know what they say: the show must go on! And with summer shows in the pipeline, we had to act fast and find another drummer as a permanent solution.

"Rich Smith is highly motivated to be the next LORD drummer, and with POWER QUEST calling it the quits, it was obvious that he was available for grabs. We took the opportunity and welcome Rich Smith to RAVEN LORD."

RAVEN LORD is:

* Csaba Zvekan (KILLING MACHINE) - Vocals
* Joe Stump (HOLYHELL, REIGN OF TERROR) - Lead Guitar
* Jamie Mallender (TONY MARTIN) - Bass
* Rich Smith (POWER QUEST) - Drums
* George Karafotis (VERMILLION DAYS) - Guitar
* Alessandro Duo (VOODOO HIGHWAY) - Keyboards

RAVEN LORD's debut album, "Descent To The Underworld", was released on February 1 in Europe and February 12 in North America via Mausoleum Records. The CD was mixed by acclaimed Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström (AT THE GATES, ARCH ENEMY, NIGHTRAGE, IN FLAMES, DREAM EVIL, OPETH) and was mastered by U.S. mastering engineer Maor Appelbaum (SEPULTURA, HALFORD, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ANGRA, DOKKEN). The cover artwork was created by Brazilian artist Caio Caldas of CadiesArt, who has previously worked with DORO, PAUL DI'ANNO, SEVEN KINGDOMS, DOMINANZ and VIOLET SUN, among others.

Heavy music presenter Christina Rowatt of Soundwave TV conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya earlier today (Saturday, February 23) at the Brisbane stop of this year's Soundwave festival in Australia. You can now watch the chat below.

On the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's new album:

Tom: "They're actually working on new stuff. And I'm hoping… well, now. We're gonna continue working on stuff. [laughs] No comment! [laughs]"

On how the songwriting process in SLAYER works:

Tom: "Kerry [King, guitar] comes up with ideas, Jeff [Hanneman, guitar] comes up with ideas. They do a lot of home stuff. And then they'll say, 'Hey, there's an idea. What do you think?' And then we'll listen to 'em, and if we like how it's coming along, we keep 'em, and if we don't,

On the health status of SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who is still recovering from necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease, which he is believed to have gotten from a spider bite:

Tom: "Jeff's just had a rough time coming back. That's about it. I reach out to him all the time and tell him that everybody misses him. We miss him. I miss him as a bandmember, because he's such a big focal point in the band. But we're waiting for him to say, 'OK, I'm ready.' He's actually working on material [for the next SLAYER album], so that's something we've encouraged him to do. We said, 'Listen, if you're not gonna come out and perform, at least get your ideas together and we can work them out.'"

On SLAYER's current stand-in drummer Jon Dette:

Tom: "He actually played in the band [in the late 1990s] for, like, three years. It's gonna be good. He's matured and I'm sure he's gotten much better on the drums. It'll be exciting, and I think that's just gonna pump everything up even more. I can tell you this: Jon's gonna have a lot of energy. He's known to play very fast, and he's gotten better at that.

On how they decided to hire Jon Dette to fill in for the Soundwave festival shows:

Tom: "It was just a name that we pulled out of our hat. [laughs] It was a huge fucking hat, and it had one name in it."

Eric Blair of "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" conducted an interview with drummer Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, ANIMETAL USA) at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, a massive music-products convention that took place January 24-27 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now watch the chat below.

On how he came to play with ANTHRAX:

Dette: "Actually, Jason Bittner from SHADOWS FALL, who was filling in for Charlie [Benante, ANTHRAX drummer] on this last ANTHRAX run last year, couldn't do one of the tours that was coming up and called me and asked me if I would be available to do it. And I said, 'Of course. It would be great.' And the next day Charlie called me — which, Charlie is one my biggest influences ever, next to [Dave] Lombardo [of SLAYER], so it was kind of a surreal moment for me to get a call like that, saying, 'Hey, can you help me out?' Which, of course, I said, 'Absolutely.' I just went and did a Europe tour with ANTHRAX and MOTÖRHEAD, and now I'm getting ready to actually head off to India and Australia with them in February and March."

On how it feels to be playing with ANTHRAX:

Dette: "It's amazing, man. The first day that I started playing drums — a lot of people may or may not know this — the first album I ever got from the day I got my drum set was 'Fistful Of Metal' [by ANTHRAX], and literally, the first song I ever tried playing on drums was 'Metal Thrashing Mad'. Actually, I [was] hanging out with Charlie and I told him that this morning, and he was, like, 'Really?' And I'm, like, 'Yeah, really.' [laughs] ANTHRAX, METALLICA and SLAYER, they were such a foundation of my style growing up, and I've been privileged now to actually play for two of those bands. It's a very natural thing for me to play, but at the same time, seeing the back of their heads on stage, and Joey [Belladonna] is looking at me and he's singing, and I'm just, like, 'This is great.' I guess you can say that I play with a lot of passion when I'm with those bands, 'cause it's just absolutely passion and just an amazing experience."

On how he got the call to be in SLAYER:

Dette: "Well, I was playing drums for TESTAMENT at the time, and my attorney was also SLAYER's attorney, and I got a call from, actually, a crew member in the SLAYER camp that said, '[Paul] Bostaph just left and you should try out.' So, I asked my attorney and, long story short, he put us in touch together and I went down and auditioned. Again, SLAYER is one of those bands I've been playing forever, and so it was so natural, and I think we really felt that when we were in a room together. We rehearsed for two days and it just felt right, and they asked me to join the band at the end of our rehearsal the second night."

On what he took away from the experience of playing with SLAYER:

Dette: "Well, so many things. I mean, one, it's like my first experience playing with one of my true idol bands. Again, to temporarily replace Dave Lombardo, basically, even though I was replacing Paul, who, Paul's an amazing drummer in his own right. So many business things that I got to learn — just the music business in general, good and bad. But, again, just to have the opportunity to play for one of my all-time favorite bands and see the back of their heads every night… People would ask, 'Was there anything bad about playing for SLAYER?' And I would say, 'Yeah, every time I go to a SLAYER show, I have to look at the back of their heads now. I can't enjoy the show anymore.' 'Cause I would always be at SLAYER shows rocking out. I'd like to think I did it justice at the time I was with the band and it was just an amazing experience."

"The Mystery Of Time", the new album from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project, will be released on March 30. The effort will be made available as a regular CD, limited-edition vinyl and limited-edition hardcover book with a 28-page booklet containing ten regular songs and two bonus tracks ("The Cross And You", "Death Is Just A Feeling"). The cover artwork was hand-painted by world acclaimed British fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Among Rodney's most famous artworks are not only album covers for rock legends such as MAGNUM, THIN LIZZY, ASIA and NAZARETH, he has also designed the characters for the TV series "Lavender Castle" and created the covers for novels by British fantasy author Michael Moorcock and many more.

Photos of the limited-edition hardcover book can be seen below.

Comments Tobias: "It is a great honor for me to have Rodney create the artwork of 'The Mystery Of Time'.

"Since the new album is a conceptual album and its story has a magical and enchanting atmosphere, there was no other painter I could think of to create the artwork.

"I've had several creative conversations with Rodney during the process and I had the feeling that the concept was inspiring to him right from the start.

"I put a lot of energy into producing a very detailed and fascinating album, and Rodney had that same enthusiasm to create an artwork just as detailed and fascinating.

"This is a new chapter in AVANTASIA's history and I think it didn't deserve less than a magical painting by my favorite painter and childhood hero: The one and only Rodney Matthews!"

"The Mystery Of Time" will feature guest appearances by Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), Michael Kiske (UNISONIC, HELLOWEEN), SAXON frontman Biff Byford, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, drummer Russell Gilbrook of URIAH HEEP, AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen (also ex-BODINE, VENGEANCE), Ronnie Atkins of Danish hard rock veterans PRETTY MAIDS and MR. BIG frontman Eric Martin.

The new AVANTASIA CD was recorded in part at VOX Klangstudio in Bendestorf, Germany with producer Sascha Paeth (KAMELOT, EDGUY, EPICA, RHAPSODY).

"The Mystery Of Time" track listing:

01. Spectres
02. The Watchmakers' Dream
03. Black Orchid
04. Where Clock Hands Freeze
05. Sleepwalking
06. Savior In The Clockwork
07. Invoke The Machine
08. What's Left Of Me
09. Dweller In A Dream
10. The Great Mystery

Immediately after the release of "The Mystery Of Time", a metal opera based on a story written by Sammet, the band will embark on a full-fledged indoor tour, during which the band and special guests will bring the epic undertaking to the stage.

Since the performances will embrace all the different eras and history of AVANTASIA, these shows will feature an extended playing time and the entire evening will be dedicated to AVANTASIA with no support acts.

Tobias originally wanted to put AVANTASIA to rest after the release of the "The Flying Opera - Around The World In 20 Days" concert DVD in April 2011, but he has since had a change of heart. He explains, "Even though I love to record and tour with EDGUY, I didn't foresee how much I need AVANTASIA when I decided to finish this chapter of my life in 2011. I didn't know if there would be another AVANTASIA album one day, but I didn‘t feel like doing it. After the worldwide success of the latest studio releases, an arena world tour that was sold out pretty much everywhere, collaborations with childhood heroes like Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Eric Singer of KISS, etc. I 'knew' that I had said everything I could possibly say in the name of AVANTASIA. But that's not what AVANTASIA is all about. I wanna create more great music, I wanna create more fantasy worlds, the bigger and the more epic, the better. And listening to the material that I have created for this forthcoming chapter in the history of AVANTASIA, I know there is no way I am not going to do it! I have got the feeling and the certainty that this is absolutely meant to happen and to be!"

"Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Super Town", the new single from ROB ZOMBIE, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The song comes off his eagerly awaited new album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", which will be released on April 23 on Zodiac Swan/T-Boy/Ume. The CD was produced by Bob Marlette, who has previously worked with everyone from BLACK SABBATH and ALICE COOPER to WILSON PHILLIPS and LYNYRD SKYNYRD.

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" track listing:

01. Teenage Nosferatu Pussy
02. Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Supertown
03. Revelation Revolution
04. Theme For The Rat Vendor
05. Gong Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga
06. Rock And Roll (In A Black Hole)
07. Behold! The Pretty Filthy Creatures
08. White Trash Freaks
09. We're An American Band (GRAND FUNK RAILROAD cover)
10. Lucifer Rising
11. The Girl Who Loved The Monsters
12. Trade In Your Guns For A Coffin

The "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" cover artwork can be seen below.

"I think for the first time this new album perfectly merges the old days of WHITE ZOMBIE with the future of what I am doing now," says Rob. "I think fans of both will agree that this is the perfect combo of both worlds."

A rock icon and auteur filmmaker with insight and unlimited vision, Rob Zombie has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of music, film, and publishing. Now, the seven-time Grammy-nominated recording artist releases his fifth solo album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", which includes "Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Super Town", along with such tracks as "Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga", "Lucifer Rising", "Behold! The Pretty Filthy Creatures" and a heavy-duty cover of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's "We're an American Band".

"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor" is the first release on Rob's new label, Zodiac Swan, through T-Boy Records/UMe.

Zombie told The Pulse Of Radio what goals he set for himself in making the new album. "I wanted someone to hear it and go, 'Wow, I haven't heard that before,'" he said. "I wanted it to be just different. We really went out of our way with the sounds, so every song has a very different sound, a very different guitar sound, drum sound, just everything, where the sound, the actual sound becomes very important. You know, after all these years you want to still try to feel that you can break through new, creative areas in your own mind, and that's really what we're just trying to do, you know."

T-Boy Records is veteran rock manager Andy Gould's new partnership with Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) which will serve as an umbrella label releasing new music and albums from established iconic hard-rock bands with major followings.

Gould, who currently heads his own Spectacle Entertainment Group, has managed Rob Zombie since his days in WHITE ZOMBIE. Gould's track record includes sales exceeding fifteen million worldwide and seven Grammy nominations with Zombie, including securing deals for Zombie to become one of only a handful of people to have unprecedented success for six feature films as the writer and director.

"We have had a great deal of success in the past with Rob Zombie," explains Gould about his decision to take the new venture to UMe. "We want to sign rock bands with brand names that do good business on the road, and have been underserved by the major label system. The idea I had arose out of discussions with the other managers of major hard-rock acts who all felt their artists could benefit from an improved label experience. We're looking to super-serve this niche audience, which is tremendously loyal, and is often even larger internationally than here in the States."

As a musician, Rob Zombie has sold over fifteen million albums worldwide to date. His last studio album was "Hellbilly Deluxe 2". The CD came a decade after its predecessor, "Hellbilly Deluxe", the album that established Zombie as a solo artist after the breakup of multi-platinum group WHITE ZOMBIE. That triple-platinum album also yielded a string of successful radio singles, namely "Dragula", "Superbeast" and "Living Dead Girl", which dominated the airwaves.

The rocker-turned-film director is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of five feature films, with a worldwide gross totaling more than $100 million dollars. The week of his album release, Zombie will premiere his sixth motion picture, "The Lords Of Salem", that he wrote, directed and produced in tandem with the producers of the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, on April 26, with Anchor Bay Films.

Last year, in addition to working on his film, Zombie also dominated the touring world in 2012, blowing away audiences on the road with MEGADETH, then with MARILYN MANSON for the "Twins Of Evil Tour". Zombie and his band of maniacs — John 5 on guitar, Piggy D on bass and Ginger Fish on drums — brought their elaborate, multi-media production, complete with hair-raising theatrics, animatronic robots, oversized LED screens, a non-stop collage of psychotronic monster film clips, a spectacular light show, a gigantic robot with flames shooting out of its body, pyrotechnics, insane guitar riffs and vicious beats to audiences and festivals around the world.

Long-running Venice Beach, California thrash/punk band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES will release a new album, "13", on March 26.

A teaser for the CD's first video, "Cyco Style", directed by Pep Williams, can be seen below.

The first leg of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' "Slam City" tour starts April 11 at the Regency Ballroom in San Franscisco and ends May 12 in San Diego at House Of Blues. All dates will see WAKE THE DEAD open. D.R.I. will support from Minneapolis to Charleston and SICK OF IT ALL will be join SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in Philadelphia, New York, Worchester, Baltimore, and from St. Petersburg until the end of the tour.

When asked why he thinks the sound of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has stood the test of time, the band's frotnman, Mike Muir, told Loudwire in a 2012 interview, "I think for us, when we started we didn't really know what we were doing. We didn't really set out and try to do something for other people. We stood there and did what we liked. We didn't care what other people thought. After we did our first record, one of my good friends came up to me and said, 'Yo, Mike, I got to talk to you. People aren't going to like the album. It's not music. You have an opportunity to make music that people can listen to on the radio.' But I didn't think that was an opportunity because I didn't like what I was hearing on the radio. Our barometer is not what people are going to think or how many records we can sell. We just want to be proud of what we make. That's why it stands the test of time. We did records that we thought were really good."

On the topic of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' plans to release a new studio album, Muir said, "We've always had new music in the works. Now it's actually to the point that we have some that we're ready to put out. Now is the time to put out a new record and we feel really, really good about it. There will definitely be a record out this year.

Regarding what fans can expect from the upcoming CD, Muir said, "The way we look at it is that next year will be the 30th anniversary of our first record. When we look at a record, we don't want to have it sound like 2012. We want it to sound awesome 25 years from now, so when a kid who wasn't even born when we made it listens to it, he's like, 'Damn, that's a cool record!' I just had a guy from a radio station tell me that some listeners have been requesting the new song 'Institutionalized'. The young listeners don't realize that's an old song! Something like [METALLICA's recent Orion Music + More festival] is good for us, too, because a lot of people who wouldn't have listened to us will check us out because they know Robert [Trujillo, METALLICA bassist] was in the band."

PROJECT TERROR (formerly BLOOD REDSKIES), the Texas-based power metal band featuring ex-VICIOUS RUMORS frontman Ronnie Stixx, will release its debut album, "Absolute Power", later this year through Pure Steel Records.

A song from the effort, "Take To The Sky", can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

"Absolute Power" track listing:

01. Day Of The Jackal
02. Breaking The Spell
03. Conquistador
04. Take To The Sky
05. Killing Machine
06. Hail To The King
07. Destiny's Eyes
08. Blood Red Skies

PROJECT TERROR's current lineup is completed by bassist Joseph Benjamin and drummer Mark Reyes.

Regarding the band's decision to change its name from BLOOD REDSKIES to PROJECT TERROR, Stixx previously said, "After fours years of establishing the name BLOOD REDSKIES, I know people are saying, 'What the hell?' Well, I thought long and hard about the name change even though I love the name BLOOD REDSKIES. I even named the band after a song I wrote. But at the end of the day, I just wasn't really happy with it."

He added, "I have always wanted to call the band PROJECT TERROR after a local sci-fi/horror TV show from 1970 which originated in my hometown San Antonio, Texas. As a kid, this show would scare the hell out of me. Through the years, I knew I wanted that name for a band. The name fits the new energy and direction in which the band is going."

PROJECT TERROR's music is described in the band's official bio as "a great blend of European and U.S. power metal, with catchy riffs [and] strong vocal melodies . . . in the vein of DIO, TNT, HALFORD, SAXON and PRIMAL FEAR."

Guitarist John 5 has been a busy artist this last year in between tours with ROB ZOMBIE and solo undertakings. John 5's extraordinary talent has led him to be an integral part of rock icon and auteur filmmaker Rob Zombie. Last year John 5 stepped up to fully to score Zombie's upcoming movie release, "The Lords Of Salem", and once again partnered with Zombie for the new album, "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor".

For his first time ever, John 5 scored a full-length motion picture.

"This was a huge challenge for me," explains John 5. "It was like 10 times the intensity of writing a record. It took months and months as the timing is key to each scene. The music was very challenging and sometimes there was no key signature or time signature for this music, which is all orchestral and acoustic with the exception of one death metal song. You had to be able to follow the story and create emotions for each scene with the music. I cannot wait for people to see and hear this movie. It is incredible!"

"The Lords Of Salem" tells the tale of Heidi (played by Rob's wife Sheri Moon Zombie), a radio station DJ living in Salem, Massachusetts, who receives a strange wooden box containing a record, a "gift from the Lords." Heidi listens, and the bizarre sounds within the grooves immediately trigger flashbacks of the town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are "The Lords Of Salem" returning for revenge on modern-day Salem?

John 5, in full collaboration with Zombie, created "Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor", which streets April 23, and includes the first single "Dead City Radio And The New Gods Of Super Town", along with such tracks as "Ging Gang Gong De Do Gong De Laga Raga", "Lucifer Rising", "Behold! The Pretty Filthy Creatures" and a heavy-duty cover of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD's "We're an American Band".

"I can only describe this album as an aggressive, live-sounding and totally unique album," states John 5. "This album has a little bit for everybody. The guitar tones are not traditional. There is also an instrumental track called 'The Theme For The Rat Regeneration Vendor' which is a all played aggressively with an electric sitar."

Last year, in addition to working on all of these music projects and recording, John 5 dominated the touring world in 2012, blowing away audiences with his guitar mastery on the road with MEGADETH, then with MARILYN MANSON for the "Twins Of Evil Tour".

According to The Pulse Of Radio, GODSMACK singer Sully Erna is taking some time to revisit one of his favorite hobbies — playing poker. Erna told ESPN that after spending a few years away from the game, he's got the itch to start competing in tournaments again. Erna won nearly $18,000 in 2006 and $45,000 in 2007 at the World Series Of Poker before bringing home $307,000 that same year at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic.

So why did he walk away? Erna said, "I was finding that I was very impatient and playing crappy hands. I was losing patience every time I was playing. I had to take a break. (But) I'm making a comeback! I've studied the game. I'm getting the itch to play poker again. In fact, I'm in Los Angeles today and I'll be playing tonight. I need to shake the rust off. I'm ready to go deep and win a lot of money!"

Erna says that part of the reason he's doing solo dates at casinos is so that he can brush up on his game again, explaining, "I love that environment. It works to my advantage, also it's a transient audience. I can't wait."

The singer has booked six solo shows on the East Coast, beginning on March 22 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The concerts will feature songs from the entire span of Erna's career, including GODSMACK tracks and tunes from his 2010 debut solo album, "Avalon".

Guitarist Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, SPIRALARMS) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) are among the featured musicians on the forthcoming album from the new lineup of the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE. The CD, which is currently being mixed by Jason Slater, is due later in the year via the Los Angeles-based independent label Cleopatra Records.

Says Craig: "Whelp, I guess the cat is out of the proverbial bag. Nikki Blakk [of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone] has announced that Paul Bostaph and I have played most of the music on Geoff Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE record. It is being mixed by Jason Slater as I type this and it is WAY HEAVIER then most anyone is expecting!

"Geoff and Jason have been nothing but awesome to us and it gave Paul and I a chance to contribute together on a metal record once again. I was working on it for a few weeks and play on every song. There are kick-ass solo contributions from Dave Meniketti [Y&T], Ty Tabor [KING'S X], Brad Gillis [NIGHT RANGER], K.K. Downing [JUDAS PRIEST] and Chris Cannella. As well as bass played by Rudy Sarzo and more drums from Simon Wright. It's some great company to be around and it was an honor to be a part of it.

"I know what the perception of the QUEENSRŸCHE camp is and I really don't give a f*ck. QUEENSRŸCHE was one of my favorite bands from the EP through 'Operation: Mindcrime'.

"When I was approached about doing the record, I did contemplate all of the turmoil, but I love a challenge. I accepted the challenge and think Geoff has a kick-ass record to deliver the fans...in spite of what some may expect. The songs are cool, classy and in some cases stupidly heavy!

"So there you have it. I am not in QUEENSRŸCHE, SPIRALARMS is still my baby with a killer record to be released very soon. So Geoff has a touring lineup ready to go this summer. I'm simply stoked to have put some my riffage in the mix with once of heavy metal's most recognizable and classic voices."

Although a lineup for Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE was originally announced in the fall of 2012, things have changed. The band will now feature Tate along with bassist Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO, WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT), guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and new additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).

Wright takes over for previously announced drummer Bobby Blotzer, who will be returning to RATT as an integral part of the band that made him famous.

Beginning in early April, Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE will be hitting the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band's epic 1988 release, "Operation: Mindcrime", performing all fifteen songs from the album along with other well-known hits and rarities from the catalog they've compiled over the past 30 years.

"I try to surround myself with the best players available and feel our longtime fans deserve nothing less," says Tate. "I expect the forthcoming effort to be one of our best yet."

Tate, who was fired from QUEENSRŸCHE in June 2012 after fronting the group for three decades, last year sought to prevent his former bandmates from touring and operating under the QUEENSRŸCHE name without him. While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an all-new lineup of musicians. "I don't see any reason that Mr. Tate can't have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of using the brand," Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said during the July 13, 2012 court hearing. "I think [doing that would be] inherently confusing, although I'm sure the market can get these things sorted out," she added.

Last November, Tate released his first solo CD in over a decade titled "Kings & Thieves" (InsideOut Music) and toured with his solo band in support of the CD, which included dates with the legendary ALICE COOPER.

Pictured below: Craig Locicero and Paul Bostaph

German rock band GLOOMBALL will release its debut album, "The Distance", in Germany on April 26, in the rest of Europe on April 29 and in North America on May 7 via SPV/Steamhammer.

Comments the group: "We are proud to announce that we've signed a worldwide record deal with Germany's premier rock and metal label Steamhammer, a division of SPV GmbH! We are stoked and can't wait to get busy!"

According to a press release, "The Distance" documents an amazing diversity of styles, influences and ingredients.

"We refer to our material simply as rock music, but you could also call it alternative metal or modern rock," GLOOMBALL guitarist Björn Daigger, who composed the majority of the tracks together with vocalist Alen Ljubic, explains, adding: "At the end of the day, our range includes elements from pop to death metal. In addition, there are classic orchestra parts as well as ultra-deep seven-string guitars. There are no stylistic taboos in GLOOMBALL."

"The Distance" title track will be released as a single and video on March 22.

A teaser for "The Distance" album can be seen below.

GLOOMBALL is:

Alen Ljubic - Vocals
Björn Daigger - Guitars
Jossi Lenk - Guitars
Basti Moser - Bass
Danny Joe - Drums

HELLION has announced a contest to name the title of the band's upcoming anthology CD, which is scheduled for release this summer. The anthology will include fan favorites from all of HELLION's albums. The deadline for submissions is March 15.

The winner of the contest will receive his or her name on the album's credits as well as a collection of the HELLION's new line of merchandise.

People desiring to enter the contest should send their suggestions to newrenaissance@yahoo.com.

In 1982, HELLION became the first American metal act with a female singer to achieve international acclaim. Throughout the last three decades, HELLION has shared stages throughout the world with acts such as SLAYER, DIO, EXODUS, WHITESNAKE and many more. HELLION was the first American metal band to to tour in the former Soviet Union (now Russia). HELLION was also the first female-fronted metal act to gain airplay on MTV and VH1.

Pictured below: HELLION singer Ann Boleyn in January 2013 (photo by Alex Solca)

Canadian guitarist Glen Drover (MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND, TESTAMENT, EIDOLON) has returned from Colorado when he filmed his first instructional video for JamPlay. He says: "[It] was a great experience. Had a blast!"
A mini-jam segment and interview that Drover did with JamPlay on location while shooting the video can be seen below.

When asked if his desire to spend time more time with his family was the reason he left MEGADETH in 2007, Drover told the "Metal Attack MTL" radio show, "No, not necessarily. I mean, it was part of that, but there was a lot of turmoil going on in the band while I was there, and it wasn't as much fun. See, the first couple of years in MEGADETH, it was a lot of fun — it was a very healthy atmosphere — but towards the end it wasn't, and I think that kind of magnified the fact that I didn't wanna be a part of that kind of destructive kind of atmosphere, and I wanted to be at home with my family and then stage the next plan of attack for the next project, whatever that may be."

Drover was replaced in MEGADETH by Chris Broderick, who has previously played with NEVERMORE and JAG PANZER.

Glen's debut solo album, "Metalusion", was released in April 2011 via Magna Carta Records.

On September 25, 2011, Drover took part in a historic performance that was webcast worldwide as part of the "Live At Metalworks" series from Mississauga, Canada.

Glen's "Live At Metalworks" performance was released as a DVD via Magna Carta.

Vocalist Justin Hawkins of reunited British rockers THE DARKNESS fell off the stage during the second song ("Black Shuck") of the band's February 17 concert at Tyrol in Stockholm, Sweden. Fan-filmed video footage of the incident can be seen below (around 25-second mark).

As previously reported, THE DARKNESS is planning to enter the studio in early 2014 to begin recording a new album for release later that year.

"I think it's important the next album comes out quickly," THE DARKNESS guitarist Dan Hawkins told Billboard.com. "[Last year's] 'Hot Cakes' has been a great introduction to let people know we're back. Now we need to keep the output up, really."

According to Hawkins, he and his bandmates have already started collecting ideas for the new CD. "Every day we set up our little [portable] studio and start jotting down ideas.

"It'll be out in 2014. This year we'll be touring and writing, then early 2014 we'll hopefully be recording it or continuing to write it and get it out later that year."

As for what fans should expect to hear on the upcoming album, Hawkins said: "I think we want to get even more old school. We want to make it even more of a performance record. We just want to be really brave and try to do something as live as humanly possible, warts and all. We've lost a bit of that in music today. It's time to get a bit of character in there, so we'll be going for something as fucking Route 1 as possible."

Hawkins isn't worried about internal strife once again rearing its ugly head and putting an end to THE DARKNESS reunion. "We've settled into a nice groove, really," he said. "We feel like more of a team than we did before. If something is broke, you've got to fix it, haven't you? And that's what we did. I think (success) went to all of our respective heads, but you've got to go there, haven't you? What's the point of being in a rock 'n' roll band if you don't take it to 11? Now the music is on 11, the gigs are on 11 but the drug intake is on, like, zero to one. That's how it should be."

Los Angeles glam-metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER have entered the studio to begin recording their third full-length album for a late 2013 release. Drummer Stix Zadinia has completed tracking his drums for the as-yet-untitled CD, and according to a series of tweets from Zadinia, rhythm guitars are also done, with bassist Lexxi Foxxx next in line to lay down his parts.

STEEL PANTHER's sophomore album, "Balls Out", sold nearly 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in October 2011 to debut at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart.

STEEL PANTHER's first-ever DVD, "British Invasion", opened with 3,300 units to land at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart. Recorded with 16 cameras in pristine HD over a two-year period, the disc chronicles STEEL PANTHER's legendary live show that the band has come to be known for. Beginning in March 2010 at the band's sold-out concert at Brixton Academy in London during their highly successful "Feel The Steel" tour, the DVD feaures some of the group's most memorable hits, including "Asian Hooker", "Community Property", "The Shocker" and "Stripper Girl", in a way never seen before. Included in the package is a laugh-out-loud documentary that follows the band backstage and on their tour that is not to be missed. The deluxe box set includes two DVDs — one with the full show and one with the documentary — deleted scenes and five songs from Download Festival 2012. The packaging also includes a 16-page color book.

Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM have posted a short video update from the studio where they are recording their as-yet-untitled eighth album for a summer release via Nuclear Blast Records. Check it out below.

CHILDREN OF BODOM's new CD was recorded at Danger Johnny Studios in Helsinki. For the recording of the LP, CHILDREN OF BODOM has teamed up with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their fan-favorite albums "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll", as well as Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (MARDUK, AMON AMARTH), who oversaw production of both vocals and keyboards on the record. The album is being mixed at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki.

In an in-depth interview with Soundi last September, CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist Roope Latvala expressed interest in taking a more prominent role in the arranging of the band material.

"In my opinion many guitar parts could be made more interesting and balanced with just minor tweaks," Roope said, perhaps inspired by his recent work with Finn composer Anssi Tikanmäki's national anthem album project.

Has this comment led to CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho giving the former STONE axeman more leeway and responsibility in the fine-tuning of the songwriting process?

"Now that you mention it, Roope did voice his opinions more than usual this time around," Alexi told Soundi magazine. "And maybe the others, too. As far as the actual question goes, the usual rule applies: all good ideas are taken into consideration."

The new CHILDREN OF BODOM album may also feature a special guest appearance, as Alexi reveals exclusively to Soundi, where he was once again named "Musician Of The Year" in the annual readers' poll.

"I played on ANNIHILATOR's album 'Metal' in 2007, so the way I see it, [ANNIHILATOR mainman] Jeff Waters owes BODOM a solo or two! It's payback time."

And finally, CHILDREN OF BODOM wouldn't be CHILDREN OF BODOM without some new off-the-wall cover tracks recorded during the sessions for later use as bonus tracks for the as-of-yet untitled disc, due out before the summer.

"We will be doing our versions of songs by BANANARAMA and ROXETTE, and a track chosen for us by the readers of the Japanese magazine Burrn!" Alexi says.

A 90-second audio sample of a new song called "Redemption" from the the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE was premiered on last night's (Friday, February 22) edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM and can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

As previously reported, the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE has finished recording the drums for its new album at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington with producer James "Jimbo" Barton — the man who engineered and mixed the band's classic 1988 LP, "Operation: Mindcrime", and its 1990 follow-up, "Empire", and co-produced 1994's "Promised Land". The rest of the music and vocals are being laid down at several different facilities on the West Coast.

In a recent interview with Metal Assault, drummer Scott Rockenfield stated about QUEENSRŸCHE's renewed collaboration with Barton: "It's a great thing — we're really excited about it, he's really excited about it. We've wanted to work with him for a while, but for whatever reason, we just hadn't gone there yet. This is a great time for us to do that, though. We all discussed who we wanted to do the record with, and he was one of the first names that came up. It was easy for us to pick up the phone and call him. It was like our relationship picked up right where it left off, so it's gonna be a lot of fun. He's a very creative guy that did some great records with us in the past. I think that's one of the most important things when it comes to why we want to work with him."

Asked if fans will see a return to the progressive metal sound QUEENSRŸCHE had in the '80s, Scott said: "What we're trying to do, and what has been really interesting since Todd has jumped into the band, we're trying to revisit the old QUEENSRŸCHE catalog — stuff off of the EP and "The Warning". That's always been a part of what we are, so yeah, definitely! I think in my opinion, we're really revisiting that vibe of why that music was special back then for us. There will be a modern flair to it, though, just because we're in the modern age. The fun thing about Jimbo being a part of it is that he can help tie together the two sides. He does come from our past and some of the great records and some of the great sounds that we're known for, but he's also living in the modern age and doing some interesting things as well. I think it's going to be a really great QUEENSRŸCHE record. People are going to go, 'Wow, that's QUEENSRŸCHE! That sounds just like what we've known them to be, and what we would expect them to now be.' That's what I think peple will get out of it."

"So Jaded", the new video from Swedish rockers PSYCHOPUNCH, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Smakk Valley", which will be released on February 25 via SPV/Steamhammer.

With the band's typical mix of full throttle and diversity, toughness and melodies, simplicity and complexity, PSYCHOPUNCH have produced an album full of highlights. Be it with their typical straightforwardness on tracks such as "Last Night" and "Back Of My Car", or mercilessly driving on "So Jaded", "Kick In The Head" and "I Will Never Ever", PSYCHOPUNCH always hit the golden mean between raw ferociousness and concentration on the things that really matter. In addition, "Smakk Valley" features a number of surprising moments: despite its slightly slower pace, "Sitting By The Railroad" impresses with its amazing power and gritty melodies, while the unusual "Emelie" impresses with its — as bassist Lindell calls it — "great country rock'n'roll bad-ass feeling. I get a big smile on my face every time I hear it."

"We tried to make and give every song that little bit extra special and I think that we've succeeded in doing that," guitarist/vocalist JM explains the band's special philosophy which in the end always shines through on PSYCHOPUNCH's material. Drummer Jocke describes "Smakk Valley" as consisting of "powerful songs with strong and catchy melodies," while Lindell considers PSYCHOPUNCH first and foremost a "great and honest no-bullshit rock'n'roll punk powerpop band" that keeps the spirit and tradition alive from such bands and artists as the RAMONES, SEX PISTOLS, JOHNNY THUNDERS, NEW YORK DOLLS, CHEAP TRICK, CHUCK BERRY, IGGY & THE STOOGES, GENERATION X or THE CLASH. "This list could go on forever, and we don't think our attitude has changed over the years in terms of wanting to be a great live band that makes people happy and gives them a chance to forget about their problems."

"Smakk Valley" was produced by PSYCHOPUNCH's longtime friend Pelle Saether, who has been part of the band's inner circle for years. Saether knows how to handle the group, he knows all about their moments of euphoria and exuberance which can easily turn into self-doubt and dissatisfaction in view of the great significance of album productions if there's nobody there to indicate the general direction. "We had some fantastic and some bad times at the studio," JM admits, "but most of it was fun. We had high expectations of ourselves. Pelle is always a great help to us. He and I worked really hard with the vocal melodies on the choruses to get the most out of every song. All in all we are very happy with the outcome of the new album, so it was well worth the pain."

But back to the question of the band's amazing output and the energy source which has fed their haunting new album "Smakk Valley". "To be honest, I sometimes wonder where we get the power from," JM admits, "but in the end I think it has to do with the fact that we love what we do. We all have our roots in punk rock, rock'n'roll, hard rock and metal. So making people feel good and having a great time, that's what gives us boundless energy!"

"Smakk Valley" track listing:

01. Back Of My Car
02. So Jaded
03. Last Night
04. Kick In The Head
05. Sitting By The Railroad
06. My Empty Head
07. All I Wanna Say
08. I Will Never Ever
09. Dead By Dawn
10. Smakk Valley Train
11. Emelie
12. Down On My Dreams
13. Everybody Wants An Answer
14. Your're Totally Mistaken

A teaser for the album can be seen below.

PSYCHOPUNCH guitasrist Joey recently left the band due to personal reasons. He will be replaced by Lindell (former bass player in the band) on guitar and new bass player is Walle.

Guitarist John Norum of Swedish hard rockers EUROPE has inked a solo deal with Gain Music Entertainment, which is distributed and partly owned by Sony Music. He will enter the studio shortly to begin recording his new solo album, to be released in September.

"It feels real good," Norum said of his deal with Gain. "I'm finally on the only real Swedish rock label with international ambitions."

Added Markus Tagaris of Gain: "It's gonna be great working with John Norum's solo album. He's one of the best and most respected guitarists in the world."

Norum released his first solo album, "Total Control", in 1987 and has made eight solo LPs in total since then. His latest CD, "Play Yard Blues", came out in 2010.

John has previously worked with Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and Don Dokken (DOKKEN), so fans shouldn't be surprised if there are some other international guest appearances on the forthcoming album.

Norum will perform live this year both as a solo artist and with EUROPE. In addition, EUROPE will play a very special 30-anniversary show as the headlining act at this year's Sweden Rock Festival on June 7.

Pictured below (left to right): Markus Tagaris (Gain), John Norum, Magnus Lundbäck (Gain)