According to the RUSH fan site RushIsABand.com, Audio Fidelity will release an SACD (Super Audio CD) version of RUSH's 1993 album "Counterparts" in December, as well as an SACD of YES' "Close To The Edge" LP. These will be the company's first SACD releases in over 10 years.

"Counterparts" is RUSH's fifteenth studio album. It became the band's highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 on The Billboard 200.

The lyrics of "Counterparts" continue the trends of "Roll The Bones", with dark and emotional themes being the primary focus. Some songs are "heavy"-sounding tracks like "Animate" and "Stick it Out", which topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks for four weeks in late 1993, becoming the band's fifth single to do so. "Leave That Thing Alone" earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Instrumental".

Following the band's successful reunion show at Firefest 2011, Frontiers Records has announced the signing of CONEY HATCH to a a worldwide deal. The band's new studio album will be released in 2013.

CONEY HATCH was one of a gang of young Canadian, loud rock bands that sprang up around the turn of the '80s. Beginning in 1980 with a lineup that included founding members Andy Curran (bass, vocals) and Dave Ketchum (drums), CONEY HATCH thundered across Canada, swapping the first few guitar players for Steve Shelski (lead guitar) and Carl Dixon (vocals & guitar) as they went. Anthem Records signed the band in late November '81, and the following summer saw the first of three worldwide releases: "Coney Hatch" in 1982, "Outa Hand" in 1984 and "Friction" in 1985. After many miles touring with the likes of JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, ACCEPT and KROKUS, the band called it quits in 1986 never having reached a concert stage in Europe.

In April, 2008, Carl Dixon was very seriously injured in a car accident in Australia while returning from a recording session. The other three original bandmembers came to his aid for a benefit show and on August 5, 2010 the original CONEY HATCH lineup (including the now-recovered Carl Dixon) played a reunion show in Toronto. It was the first performance from the original lineup since 1993. A further live date was scheduled for the Firefest rock festival in Nottingham, England on October 23, 2011. It was at that point the guys and Frontiers Records discussed working together for a fourth CONEY HATCH album of all new material.

Photo credit: Marty Moffatt

Massachusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL have tapped Brandon Lundeen from TRUMPET THE HARLOT and Jay Waterman from THY WILL BE DONE to sit behind the drums for their upcoming shows while SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner continues to receive treatment for acute pancreatitis.

Commented Bittner: "As of last week, I was told to rest for one more week and then as long as I'm feeling better, I can resume starting to play again in order to recoup and rejoin the tour. At this present time, it's hard to say exactly when I will be 110% — maybe a week, maybe two, maybe even longer — but rest assured I will be doing my best to get back as soon as humanly possible without chancing a relapse.

"I appreciate all the well-wishing and support, so in my absence please still go and support my other bandmates and the Party To The Apocalypse tour! I shall return."

SHADOWS FALL's first headlining tour in support of their 2012 album, "Fire From The Sky", will also feature GOD FORBID, THY WILL BE DONE and TRUMPET THE HARLOT.

"Fire From The Sky" sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 15 via Razor & Tie.

SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell played an acoustic benefit concert last night (Monday, November 12) at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, with all proceeds going to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Cornell's SOUNDGARDEN bandmates surprised fans in attendance by joining Cornell on stage to perform six SOUNDGARDEN songs: "Fell On Black Days", "Black Saturday", "Blow Up the Outside World", "Halfway There", "Black Hole Sun" and "Outshined".

Fan-filmed footage of the "Black Saturday" performance can be seen below.

SOUNDGARDEN releases its first album in 16 years, titled "King Animal", on Tuesday (November 13). The disc is the first collection of all-new studio material since 1996's "Down On The Upside" and the first fresh recordings by the legendary Seattle grunge act since they reunited in 2010.

SOUNDGARDEN will play three "intimate" North American shows this month to celebrate the release of "King Animal", in New York City on Tuesday, in Toronto on November 16 and in Los Angeles on November 27.

Danish death metallers CROCELL will enter Death Island Studios in Nykøbing Mors in February 2013 with producer Marco Angioni to begin recording their third album, to be released later in the year via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

"Come Forth Plague" and "Perfidious Ceremony", the first two songs from CROCELL to feature the band's new lead singer Asbjørn Steffensen (MORDAX), can be streamed using the ReverbNation player below. The tracks were produced by Jacob Olsen at JBO Sound.

Regarding Steffensen's addition to CROCELL, the band's guitarist, Tommy Christensen, previously said: "A number of skilled vocalists auditioned, but when Asbjørn visited, we knew straight away that we had found our new guy. Asbjørn could already sing most of the songs perfectly and together CROCELL sound better than ever before."

CROCELL's second album, "The Wretched Eidola", was released in May 2011 via Ultimhate Records.

Iconic hardcore/punk band BAD BRAINS will release its new album, "Into The Future", on November 20 via Megaforce. The CD features the classic lineup of H.R. , Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know and Earl Hudson.

BAD BRAINS is releasing a vinyl version of "Into The Future" on November 13 in multiple colors (red, yellow and green) at various independent record stores. This vinyl comes prior to the album's street date and is limited to 500 numbered copies.

American artist Shepard Fairey, a lifelong fan of BAD BRAINS, designed the cover artwork for "Into The Future". Check it out below. Also available is an audio stream of the CD's title track.

"'Into The Future' is the purest BAD BRAINS recording since the ROIR cassette," says bassist Darryl Jenifer, referring to the early-'80s sound and energy that defined the band. "This self-produced record shines with a true sense of freedom and musical experimentation, with blends of soulful backgrounds meshed with blistering hardcore and metal riffs, with classic dub."

While searching for something epic and different, the band decided to self-produce the album and capture that spirit only the group itself could find. Included on the album is a remix of "Peace Be Unto Thee", a tribute to longtime fan, friend and producer Adam Yauch (BEASTIE BOYS), who marked the BAD BRAINS' return to form by producing their previous album, "Build A Nation".

The BAD BRAINS helped define American punk and hardcore music. Considered to be the holy grail of punk rock, they are one of the definitive American punk groups who garner the same respect as SEX PISTOLS, BLACK FLAG, RAMONES and THE CLASH.

Scion Audio/Visual, (a.k.a. Scion A/V), the in-house record label and lifestyle marketing division of the Scion marque produced by Toyota Motor Corporation for the North American market, will release "Megalodon", the new EP from Raleigh, North Carolina legends CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, on November 13. Entitled "Megalodon", the effort will feature the following "five heavy tracks":

01. Feed On
02. Priest Brains
03. The Megalodon
04. Strong Medicine Too Late
05. The Vulture

You can now stream the entire EP at ScionAV.com.

In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist Woody Weatherman stated about the band's forthcoming EP, "It's totally done, mixed and mastered, and we just got finished with it this past week. And I think it's coming out in about three or four weeks. It's a pretty quick turnaround, which is unusual in this day and age, but they can do it, they can make it happen … We did that in our hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, which is kind of nice, to be able to hang around in town and not have to go out somewhere, go to L.A. or New York. Sometimes it's nice to record at home. You get a little better vibe. Plus I got to use all of my own gear. So it was fun."

The "Megalodon" cover artwork can be seen below.

Candlelight Records has just re-released CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's "Eye For An Eye". This special reissue has been remastered/packaged and includes the EP "Six Songs With Mike Singing". Both titles have been out of print for years. It follows the successful release of the band's self-titled album earlier this year. A deluxe digibook edition of the album, limited to 1000 for North America, is available at limited retailers and via Candlelight's official webstore. The digibook version includes extended liner notes and a rare pictorial gallery.

Originally released in 1984, "Eye For An Eye" featured the original lineup of Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean, drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist Eric Eycke. Reissued to incorporate the 1989 EP by Mike Dean (who left the band between 1987-1992), "Eye For An Eye" is raw in sound but focused on message. The years that followed would see the band rise to worldwide popularity with breakthrough and Billboard-charting releases "Blind" and "Deliverance".

Formed in Raleigh in 1982, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY quickly transformed heavy music. Politically charged and socially aware, the band has influenced countless others and today remains humble about their accomplishments. With over 1.1 million albums sold in the United States, the band continues to find new fans via nonstop touring.

A one-minute TV commercial for LED ZEPPELIN's "Celebration Day", which documents the band's 2007 concert at London, England's O2 Arena, can be seen below.

The film made its U.S. debut at the historic Ziegfeld Theater in New York's theater district on October 9. Prior to the premiere, founding members John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant were joined by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham, for a press conference at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

LED ZEPPELIN took the stage at London's O2 Arena on December 10, 2007 to headline a tribute concert for dear friend and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. What followed was a two-hour-plus tour de force of the band's signature blues-infused rock 'n' roll that instantly became part of the legend of LED ZEPPELIN. Although 20 million people applied for tickets, the band's first headline show in 27 years was seen only by the 18,000 ticket holders who were fortunate enough to have secured seats through the worldwide lottery.

The film of "Celebration Day" saw a worldwide theatrical release by Omniverse Vision on 1,500 screens in over 40 territories on October 17.

"Celebration Day" will then be available in multiple video and audio formats on November 19 from Swan Song/Atlantic Records. Available for pre-order now, the details on all configurations of "Celebration Day" are listed below.

* Standard Editions – 1-DVD/2-CD set and 1-Blu-ray/2-CD set
* Deluxe Editions – 2-DVD/2-CD set and 1-Blu-ray/1-DVD/2-CD set featuring exclusive bonus video content including the Shepperton rehearsals, and BBC news footage.
* Music Only CD Edition – 2-CD set
* Music Only Blu-ray Audio Edition – Blu-ray Audio release featuring high-resolution 48K 24 bit PCM stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound audio only, no video
* Vinyl Edition – 3 LPs, 180-gram, audiophile quality vinyl (Available December 11)
* Digital Edition – Audio will be available at all digital retail outlets

A "Celebration Day" widget is available below.

LED ZEPPELIN met with the press on September 21 in London to launch "Celebration Day". The band was adamant about not addressing any reunion rumors — despite the fact that they were promoting a film of their last reunion. When asked if the band would be performing together again, Jimmy Page told a reporter: "Let me ask you a question. Have you seen the film? Did you enjoy it? Then we've done our job, haven't we?" When asked if ZEPPELIN would "do it again," Plant cracked: "With you?"

Page told the press that he was thrilled with Jason Bonham's performance filling in for his late father, John Bonham, saying, "Jason was absolutely monumental. From the very first rehearsal right through to the O2." Plant added: "It was appropriate and it was wonderful and also his vigor was so fantastic too. He drove us, y'know? It was peculiar and strange at times, but at the same time it was very rewarding for all of us."

Plant went on to talk about the band's relationship these days: "We don't see each other too often, but we've just spent about an hour together. . .and no sooner we start talking, than some little innuendo creeps in. It's just what happens when you've spent a lot of time together."

When asked why it took five years for the 2007 reunion concert to see the light of day, John Paul Jones joked: "Five years is like five minutes in ZEPPELIN time."

SAPPHIRE EYES — featuring ALYSON AVENUE's Niclas Olsson and lead singer Thomas Bursell — will release its self-titled debut album on November 30 via Avenue Of Allies.

Niclas and Thomas, who recorded the vocals for seven album tracks, are joined by two other male Swedish singers: Mikael Erlandsson (LAST AUTUMN'S DREAM, SALUTE), who sings lead vocals on two songs; and Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE), who handles the vocal duties on one track. Also guesting of the album is Anette Olzon (ex-NIGHTWISH) and Arabella Vitanc, recording backing vocals for two songs each.

Guitar contributions on "Sapphire Eyes" come from Sven Larsson (STREET TALK, LIONVILLE), Rik Priem (FROZEN RAIN), Emil Knabe and Christopher Dahlmann. Mikey K Nilsson (NASTY IDOLS) also performs guitars and Göran Forssén does the bass.

The recording lineup is completed by bassists Thomas Löyskä and Mats Ståhl as well as Francesco Jovino (U.D.O., HARDLINE) on drums.

The album was produced by Niclas Olsson. It was mixed and mastered by Anders "Theo" Theander at RoastingHouse Studios in Malmö, Sweden. All drums were recorded by Alessandro Del Vecchio at Ivorytears Music Works in Somma Lombardo, Italy. Executive producer was Gregor Klee.

German heavy rockers THE NEW BLACK have entered the studio to begin recording their third album for an early 2013 release via AFM Records.

A few photos from the sessions can be found at this location.

The band's sophomore CD, "II: Better In Black", came out in January 2011 in Europe via AFM.

THE NEW BLACK's music was previously described as "BLACK LABEL SOCIETY inviting the NICKELBACK guy over for some THIN LIZZY covers, all dressed in PANTERA shirts."

THE NEW BLACK is:

Fludid (Vocals)
Christof "Leimsen" Leim (Guitar)
Fabian "Fabs" Schwarz (Guitar)
Günt (Bass)
Chris Weiß (Drums)

The 30-minute U.D.O. documentary "Eine Deutsche Rockband In Russland" (English-language translation: "A German Rock Band In Russia") will air on the German DW (Deutsche Welle) network on the program "In Focus" on December 8.

A trailer for the documentary, which was produced by Martin Schiffler (ZDF) and Stefan Kaufmann (U.D.O., ACCEPT), can be seen below.

U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 concert at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria was professionally filmed for release as a DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD. Entitled "Live In Sofia", it was made available on November 9 via AFM Records.

Guitarist Stefan Kaufmann recently left U.D.O. for health reasons.

Stefan will continue to work with U.D.O. behind the scenes and produce other bands at his Roxx studio.

Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run due to health problems.

Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and has recorded nine albums with them.

U.D.O. 's latest album, "Rev-Raptor", was released on May 20, 2011 via AFM Records.

MusikUniverse.net conducted an interview with former PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN and current HELLYEAH drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott before HELLYEAH's November 10 concert at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Asked about how he deals with constant rumors and talk of a possible reunion of the classic PANTERA lineup, with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (Vinnie's brother) on guitar, Vinnie said, "It's easy, man. I don't live in the past, man. I wanna look forward, I wanna keep moving forward. I understand [fans] wanting to see it, especially people who've never had an opportunity to see PANTERA, but without my brother being part of it, it just doesn't make any sense. I'm not gonna trample on his legacy to make some people happy. We had 14 amazing years together and we sold nearly 40 million records around the world. That's some pretty amazing stuff. And the band is, actually, to me, bigger today than it was then. I mean, it really is; it's really grown and grown and grown. There's plenty of DVDs and videos out there for them to watch. And I would highly suggest you come and see me play with HELLYEAH, 'cause that's what I do."

He added, "[It's just] rumors, man. That's all I got to say. And you heard that AEROSMITH song, [singing] 'Dream on, dream on.' It ain't gonna happen, man. I have no interest in playing with those guys. I love [HELLYEAH]; I'm really into it. And I really believe if I stick with it long enough, it will see the same kind of success eventually."

Dimebag was shot to death along with three others during a DAMAGEPLAN performance at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio in December 2004.

NIGHTWISH mainman Tuomas Holopainen is extremely pleased with the addition of singer Floor Jansen to the group and feels that she is only getting better gig by gig.

"We have done 13 shows with her and every concert has been better than the previous one," he tells Finland's MTV.fi. "We are taking it day by day as much as we can. The vibe in the band is marvellous. We are enjoying every moment."

Holopainen has known Jansen, who is Dutch, for more than 10 years already, having previously toured with her former band, AFTER FOREVER.

"We are very much on the same wavelength and we have a similar sense of humor," Holopainen says of his new bandmate.

Stepping into NIGHTWISH was made easier for Jansen by the fact that she has extensive experience in both classical and rock music.

Following AFTER FOREVER's split, Jansen launched a brand new project called REVAMP, which has thus far released one album and is prearing to record a follow-up effort.

"She has been in these circles since the late '90s," says Tuomas. "She has toured a lot and has been part of this genre of music. This way, it was easier for her to enter the band."

Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of the past five years, Anette Olzon.

"[Floor is] a vocal coach herself, so she's very professional," says Tuomas. "The fact that she had about 40 hours to learn 15 songs is quite revealing. She practically learned our tour set on the flight from Amsterdam to Seattle. We're talking about a high-level professional and her attitude is fabulous as well. It can be seen in her stage presence. She clearly enjoys what she does."

According to USA Today, DEF LEPPARD will play its 1987 album "Hysteria" in its entirety as part of a nine-show residency at the 2,950-capacity The Joint at Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, starting at the end of March.

"We're very happy to be part of what I call the first wave of rockers to take Vegas back from the lounge singers — Wayne Newton and his type," says DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott.

"Things like 'Run Riot', 'Don't Shoot Shotgun' and 'Love And Affection' got left by the wayside because of the popularity of other songs that, to be frank, if you don't play them live, you don't get out of the building alive," Elliott adds. "The oddest thing is going to be doing 'Pur Some Sugar On Me' fifth. In many respects, it's like the TROGGS opening with 'Wild Thing'."

"In Las Vegas, you have to give people something they can't see anywhere else," says Bobby Reynolds, vice president of booking at AEG Live.

Viva Hysteria! will begin March 22 and follows Hard Rock residencies from MÖTLEY CRÜE and GUNS N' ROSES.

Tickets go on sale Friday and start at $49.50, with floor seats going for $125.

DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock earlier this year about the possibility of a Las Vegas residency. "We've been talking about this for 10 years, me and Joe Elliott, more than anyone else," he said. "We [would] do [whole albums like] 'Hysteria' or we do 'Pyromania' one night and something like that would be great, but we've just talked about it. Obviously we haven't got it into gear, it would be cool. It's getting the time to do it in a venue; I think that's brilliant MÖTLEY CRÜE doing it."

On August 3, 1987, DEF LEPPARD released the album "Hysteria". Already a major force in rock music, "Hysteria" catapulted the band into the stratosphere. The statistics for "Hysteria" are astounding. The album has sold in excess of 17 million copies and counting. Due to the incredible success of previous album "Pyromania" (released in 1983) and "Hysteria", DEF LEPPARD are one of only five rock groups who can claim two separate original 10-million-plus-selling albums in the U.S. The others are THE BEATLES, LED ZEPPELIN, PINK FLOYD and VAN HALEN. The "Hysteria" album also spawned seven hit singles! Enormous hits such as "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Animal", "Love Bites", "Armageddon It" and "Rocket" are rock staples that still enjoy huge popularity today and have helped make DEF LEPPARD Britain's greatest ever arena rock band. The album remains DEF LEPPARD's best loved.

Power went out for 30 minutes during KREATOR's headlining performance this past Sunday night (November 11) at Salamandra in Barcelona, Spain as part of the band's European tour with MORBID ANGEL, NILE and FUELED BY FIRE. After power was restored and the musicians returned to the stage, a visibly angry KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza addressed the crowd, saying, "Fuck the promoter. Fuck those people. Those people rip you off and they rip us off. We don't wanna play this place ever again. I hope you destroy this fucker." The band then launched into the appropriately titled "Extreme Aggression".

Fan-filmed video footage of the power outage as well as Petrozza's subsequent comments can be seen below.

KREATOR is touring in support of its latest album, "Phantom Antichrist", which sold 3,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 1 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records, "Phantom Antichrist" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).

Michael Kiske (UNISONIC, ex-HELLOWEEN) has agreed to record a third PLACE VENDÔME album. His UNISONIC bandmate Dennis Ward will once again produce the CD, which will be tracked this winter for a tentative late summer/early fall 2013 release via Frontiers Records.

PLACE VENDÔME's second album, "Streets Of Fire", was released in February 2009 through Frontiers. The CD was recorded at Ward's studio in Karlsdorf, Germany, with Ward's PINK CREAM 69 bandmate Kosta Zafiriou and Gunther Werno of VANDEN PLAS laying down drums and keyboards, respectively. A promotional video for the song "My Guardian Angel" — written by Magnus Karlsson (BOB CATLEY, PRIMAL FEAR) — was included as a special interactive bonus on the album and marked Kiske's visual return to the scene after years of a self-imposed exile.

eOne/Good Fight Music has announced the signing of Western Massachusetts metal titans WITHIN THE RUINS. The band's already completed third album is scheduled for release early next year.

In existence for nearly 10 years, WITHIN THE RUINS has released two full-length albums and has amassed an impressive touring resume.

Commented guitarist Joe Cocchi: "This is extremely exciting for us. We're proud to be a part of this new family. We look forward to growing as a band with eOne/Good Fight now behind us, and we're thankful to be working with people who care. The new album is complete! It's also completely different so we're very excited for our fans to hear it."

WITHIN THE RUINS is: Tim Goergen (vocals), Joe Cocchi (guitar), Andrew Tate (bass), Kevin McGuill (drums)

eOne/Good Fight Music has announced the signing of Tampa, Florida's DARK SERMON. The band's new album will be released next year.

Formed in 2009, DARK SERMON "uses their fast, thrashy riffs, bone-crushing blast beats, and throaty vocals to bring something fresh and new to the table," according to a press release.

Commented DARK SERMON frontman Johnny Crowder: "We are humbled and extremely excited to be working with such heavy-hitters as eOne and Good Fight. We couldn't have asked for a more welcoming reception to our new label home.

"As far as the new record goes, there is a great deal of diversity throughout; think dark, think fast, think heavy.

"With great minds such as Scott Givens and Carl Severson behind us, it is safe to say that 2013 will be a big year for us."

DARK SERMON is: Johnny Crowder (vocals), Austin Good (guitar), Neal Minor (guitar), Austin Chandler (bass), Bryson St. Angelo (drums).

HATRIOT, the new San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band led by former EXODUS and LEGACY (pre-TESTAMENT) frontman Steve "Zetro" Souza, will release its debut album, "Heroes Of Origin", on January 25, 2013 via Germany's Massacre Records. The CD was recorded with producer Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TESTAMENT) and features guest appearances BY TESTAMENT 's Chuck Billy and MACHINE HEAD 's Phil Demmel . The cover artwork, which can be seen below, was created by Mark DeVito, who has previously worked with MOTÖRHEAD and ANVIL CHORUS, among others.

HATRIOT's new drummer is none other than Steve's 18-year-old son, Nicholas Souza. Nicholas auditioned for the band after the recent departure of Alex Bent and "proved himself to be the best choice," according to Steve.

HATRIOT's lineup also includes Zetro's 21-year-old son Cody, who got his first bass as a present from his father after Zetro bought it off current EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson. "I told him," Zetro said in a recent interview with Metalholic.com, "'You have to try out [for the bassist position in HATRIOT if you want to be in the band]. There's no nepotism here, boy. If you can hang, you're on.' So he actually tried out, and he got the gig."

Regarding HATRIOT's musical direction, Zetro said, "It's in the vein of typical Bay Area thrash, but these guys are a lot younger, so there's gonna be some blast-beats in there. There's gonna be some kind of death [metal] approach to it, a little bit. 'Cause these guys are new. They're raw, and they're fast, young, heavy, hard and aggressive, and I'm trying to convey that along as well."

He added, "These new kids seem to understand what we did in the '80s, but still bring a little bit of a new essence to it. We put that together with what I write vocally and it's turned out to be really, really killer. It's good stuff."

Asked why he thinks thrash metal has enjoyed something of a revival in more recent years, Zetro told Über Röck, "You know, I get asked this a lot, and I think it is because the first wave of thrash came and went so fast. I mean, it started in the mid-'80s and was gone by 1991 or so. The older bands still have something to say, and I feel that's why they are still able to put out great music so many years later. Now the fans that were young kids back then have bands of their own, so these new bands are naturally influenced by the old sound and it has come full circle. Of course, with technology and things like they are today, it is a totally different ballgame when it comes to marketing the music. I don't know that there will ever be another band as big as the 'Big Four' or anything, because the business structure just isn't there anymore, but it is really cool to see these new bands carrying the torch of what we helped invent back in the old scene."

HATRIOT's "Blood Stained Wings" video can be seen below.

HATRIOT is:

Steve "Zetro" Souza - Vocals
Kosta Varvatakis - Guitar
Miguel Esparza - Guitar
Nicholas Souza - Drums
Cody Souza - Bass

ANTHRAX has tapped former TESTAMENT/SLAYER and current ANIMETAL USA drummer Jon Dette (pictured below) to sit behind the kit for the veteran thrash metal band's current European tour as the support act for MOTÖRHEAD, which kicked off on November 5 in Wolverhampton, England. Dette is "kicking ass" as a temporary replacement for longtime ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante, who "is home taking care of personal stuff," according to ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian.

Said Dette: "I've been bestowed the great honor to fill in for Charlie while he takes care of some things back home."

Fan-filmed video footage of last night's (Sunday, November 11) concert in Leicester, England can be seen below.

Dette joined SLAYER in 1996 when Paul Bostaph left to work on his side project, THE TRUTH ABOUT SEAFOOD. Dette performed with SLAYER at the 1996 Ozzfest to promote the band's covers album, "Undisputed Attitude".

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

Benante and his wife were arrested on July 27 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Elkhart, Indiana for domestic battery in front of a child. The drummer later issued a statement through his attorney claiming that he "was assaulted several times during an altercation that sent him to the emergency room with a gash at the back of his head that required several staples to close."

Charlie and ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello (who is Benante's nephew) missed several shows on ANTHRAX's North American tour in February in order to spend time with Charlie's mother, who was terminally ill. On February 4, Benante informed fans via his official web site that his mother passed away.

More recently, Benante was forced to miss a number of shows on this past summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival while he was recovering from a minor hand injury. Filling in for him was SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner.

Former THE HAUNTED drummer Per Møller Jensen has joined forces with Danish musician Carsten Lender in a new "musical collaboration" dubbed DEEP ARCHITECTURE. The first two songs from the project will be released soon.

Per Møller Jensen quit THE HAUNTED last month. He said in a statement released to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "This decision has been underway for a long time and cannot be attributed to [former THE HAUNTED frontman Peter] Dolving's departure earlier this year.

"My penchant for music, creating — as in digging deep — and practicing has never been at a higher peak than now. When you throw musical differences between members in with that, I started feeling unfulfilled. This is not pointing fingers at anybody, but rather just seeing, accepting and acting on that fact."

THE HAUNTED's seventh studio CD, "Unseen", landed at position No. 33 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

A clip from the "Call Of Duty: Black Ops II" video game where an animated version of AVENGED SEVENFOLD plays the song the band wrote just for the game, "Carry On", can be seen below. The clip features the members of AVENGED SEVENFOLD and characters Raul Menendez and Sergeant Frank Woods "performing" after the credits (skip to about 1:36 in the video).

"Call Of Duty: Black Ops II" arrives in stores on November 13.

The last time AVENGED SEVENFOLD issued new music was also for the "Call Of Duty" series, when they released "Not Ready To Die" as part of the "Call Of The Dead" game expansion pack in 2011.

The band has kept a relatively low profile since completing the touring cycle for its fifth album, 2010's "Nightmare", but guitarist Zacky Vengeance told The Pulse Of Radio that AVENGED SEVENFOLD doesn't like to sit still for very long. "We're not the kind of people to just take a break and say everything's going good, you know, let's rest on our laurels, act like rock stars — we take it very seriously and we certainly aren't just celebrating and doing a victory lap," he said. "We're focused on making our fans happy, keeping each other happy, so we can do this forever."

"Nightmare" was the group's first recording project since the late 2009 death of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan.

Following overseas tours in April and May of this year, the band last performed at METALLICA's Orion Music + More festival in Atlantic City in late June.

"Not Ready To Die" was the first song recorded with drummer Arin Ilejay, who took over behind the kid in early 2011.

Although the group was reportedly going to begin work on its sixth studio effort this year, there has been no word on its progress.

Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA has posted a six-part video diary, filmed on their current European tour in support of the band's latest album, "Stones Grow Her Name". Check it out below.

"Stones Grow Her Name" was certified gold in Finland for sales in excess of 10,000 copies. Released in Europe on May 18 and in North America on May 22 via Nuclear Blast Records, the CD was recorded in several studios all over Finland, mixed at Sonic Pump Studios by Mikko Karmila and mastered at Chartmakers by Svante Forsbäck. The effort was released as a limited-edition digipak, standard jewel case, vinyl and download.

"Stones Grow Her Name" sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 9 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

Progressive instrumentalists SCALE THE SUMMIT have set "The Migration" as the title of their new album, due in the spring of 2013 via Prosthetic Records.

A one-minute video clip featuring footage of the writing sessions for the follow-up to 2011's "The Collective" can be seen below.

Commented SCALE THE SUMMIT guitarist Chris Letchford: "We just started work on our next album. The material we have written so far is definitely pushing us into new territory.

"[I'm] very excited to see what we create!

"It's been a lot of fun writing these songs with our new bassist, Mark Michell. He is a very skilled and talented guy, so these songs will definitely be our best yet!

"[I'm looking forward to getting them all finished and recorded so we can get out there and play them live."

SCALE THE SUMMIT's third album, "The Collective", sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 39 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The follow-up to 2009's "Carving Desert Canyons", "The Collective" was recorded at Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (DEVILDRIVER, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER).

SCALE THE SUMMIT formed in 2005 while attending the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. The band relocated to Texas in 2006, where they recorded their first, self-released album. After signing with Prosthetic, they issued "Carving Desert Canyons", which Revolver called "a cinematic blast of intricately melodic fretwork and pummeling percussion," in 2009.

According to Stereoboard.com, MOTÖRHEAD have partnered with an Australian winery Distorted Beverages in order to launch a branded red wine for their fans in Oz.

The Chief of Distorted Beverages said, “when the opportunity came about to produce the most iconic of Australian wines, Shiraz; for the band I jumped up and grabbed it. Without knowing exactly how I would pull this small feat off, I set about contacting pretty much everyone I knew in the wine industry and started a voyage of discovery.”
The Motörhead Shiraz remains unbeatable as the top-selling rock wine. The heavy metal legends have sold more than 300,000 bottles of their red wine.

“The wine reflects Motörhead’s spirit. Like the band, this wine is rock hard on the outside, but dark and intriguing on the inside,” says Mikkey Dee.
This rockin' Shiraz named after the legendary British icons, has a very fruity aroma with flavours of vanilla, blackberries, plums, eucalyptus and liquorice. It is full-bodied with soft rounded tannins and packs a real punch.
Motörhead mainman Lemmy Kilmister says "approach it with caution. I mean, wine is deceptive, anything could happen."

Enjoy Motörhead Shiraz with dishes like grilled lamb chops with garlic and rosemary. Also goes well with other lamb or beef dishes, as well as pasta and flavoursome cheeses.
Lemmy adds that the optimum temperature is 16 - 18°C - fractionally cooler than most red wines.

For more details visit Motorheadwine.com.

Fan-filmed video footage of DIO DISCIPLES — the project featuring former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) — performing on November 11 at Ripper Owens Tap House in Akron, Ohio can be seen below.

The group, which pays tribute to legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager, Wendy, currently consists of the following musicians:

* Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) - Vocals
* Oni Logan (LYNCH MOB) - Vocals
* Craig Goldy (DIO) - Guitar
* Bjorn Englen (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Bass
* Scott Warren (DIO,HEAVEN & HELL) - Keyboards
* Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC, UFO) – Drums

Commented Goldy: "After Ronnie's passing and a lengthy mourning period, Wendy Dio and the band that was left behind have decided it was time to honor and keep the memory and legacy of Ronnie James Dio alive in the most respectful way possible!

"There is something special that happens when a group of people gather together with the same heart, mind and spirit as one another... and that is what happens every night we (the DIO DISCIPLES) perform! I never know when... but I know that it will happen because it always does... some time during the concert, the audience and the band connect and become as one!

"And with the large speaker system, lights and special performances by past members of AC/DC, JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and LYNCH MOB... you don't want to rely on all the crappy little cell phone recordings that look and sound like shit posted on YouTube!

"I've never lied about anything to any DIO fan and I'm not about to start now! Every time we perform there's always several very special moments that just can't be defined into words! You just have to trust me and come experience it for yourselves! And I hope you do!"