"Bleed For Me", the new video from REVERENCE, the power metal band featuring vocalist Todd Michael Hall (JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR, HARLET), guitarist Bryan Holland (TOKYO BLADE, ARREST), drummer Steve "Dr. Killdrums" Wacholz (SAVATAGE, CRIMSON GLORY), bassist Ned Meloni and lead guitarist Pete Rossi, can be seen below. The song comes off the group's debut album, "When Darkness Calls", which was released on May 31 via Razar Ice Records, the band's official web site, iTunes, Amazon and various other music providers. The CD cover artwork was designed by renowned artist Jobert Mello of Sledgehamer Graphix (PRIMAL FEAR, SABATON, HYSTERIA) and can be seen below.

"When Darkness Calls" track listing:

01. When Darkness Calls
02. Bleed For Me
03. Phantom Road
04. Devil In Disguise
05. Too Late
06. Gatekeeper
07. The Price You Pay
08. Monster
09. Revolution Rising
10. After The Leaves Have Fallen
11. Vengeance Is Mine
12. Lost Generation (bonus track)

"When Darkness Calls" features a guest appearance by SANXTION drummer Tony Rossi.

REVERENCE will embark on a European tour in November. Exact cities and dates will be announced shortly.

For more information, visit www.ReverenceMetal.com.

ANATOMY OF I, the project featuring vocalist/guitarist Michael Dorrian, bassist Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, DEATH, TESTAMENT) and drummer Dirk Verbeuren (SCARVE, SOILWORK), is looking for a permanent second guitarist. Dorrian states, "We're looking for a musician with experience and a pro attitude in the proximity of Amsterdam." Interested parties can contact the group at anatomyofi@hotmail.com

ANATOMY OF I started playing live this year as a three-piece with a lineup featuring OBSIDIAN drummer Melle Kramer and Giuseppe Formisano on fretless bass, replacing Verbeuren and DiGiorgio due to conflicting schedules.

The scheduled shows in September and October will be performed as a three-piece.

ANATOMY OF I's debut album, "Substratum", came out last year.

Last Saturday (July 28) at The Summer Slaughter Tour at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas, Rusty Cooley and the Guitar Asylum TV crew filmed video shoutouts of support to LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe from members of CANNIBAL CORPSE, THE FACELESS, PERIPHERY, VEIL OF MAYA and EXHUMED. Check out the footage below.

Blythe was released from custody yesterday (Thursday, August 2) after spending more than a month at a Prague, Czech Republic prison on manslaughter charges. The singer boarded a direct flight to New York at approximately 1:00 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time) today and has since landed on U.S. soil.

Blythe was arrested at the Prague airport on June 27 and was accused of shoving a local fan off the stage during LAMB OF GOD's May 2010 concert in the city. The man, who is said to have stormed the stage three times during the show, reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage that resulted in his death nearly a month later.

After the court doubled Blythe's bail last month from about $200,000 to about $400,000, the prosecutor once again filed a complaint against the singer's release.

A Prague court on Thursday (August 2) dismissed the request that Blythe be banned from leaving the country.

Blythe confirmed earlier today that he will return to the Czech Republic — if necessary — to face trial. "I'm an international touring artist," he said. "I have to clear my name. So, yes, I will come back [to Prague] if I'm called to court."

"Supremacy Enforced", a brand new song from Australian/Los Angeles tech-metal masters DEVOLVED, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Reprisal", which will be released on November 20 via Unique Leader Records. The CD will feature guest appearances by Francesco Artusato (ALL SHALL PERISH), Nate Vennarucci (ONTOGENY, ANOMALOUS), Malcolm Pugh (DISKREET, A LOATHING REQUIEM) and Vishal Singh (ROBOTS PULLING LEVERS).

Commented DEVOLVED drummer, lyricist and founding member John Sankey: "I deliberately wanted to combine an organic death metal approach with more progressive and modern elements, while still incorporating a cold and futuristic soundscape which has always been a signature of our sound and concept.

"I had a very specific vision for this album and it is finally the definitive representation of what I have always wanted DEVOLVED to be.

"After our last studio release, 'Oblivion', I decided to work on my own and wrote all the new song structures and arrangements in their entirety by tracking just drums and vocals myself. Once they were complete, I recruited new guitarist Mark Hawkins [ROBOTS PULLING LEVERS] who then wrote and recorded all the guitar and bass parts. His involvement really allowed us to push the boundaries of each track and took the music to a totally new level of speed and technicality.

"To say the guitar work on this album is far beyond anything we have done before would be a huge understatement! New singer Mark Haggblad [UNVEIL THE STRENGTH] also brings a rejuvenated ferocity to the band; his relentless vocal delivery is extremely aggressive throughout each track while still maintaining a unique tone that fits the dynamics and diversity of the songs perfectly.

"It has been a renewed creative experience working with such focused and talented new members, and it has definitely allowed us to surpass anything the band has been capable of in the past. 'Reprisal' is without doubt the album I have always strived to create since the formation of DEVOLVED!"

"Reprisal" track listing:

01. Systematic Avenger
02. Accelerated Human Degeneration
03. Reprisal Of The Damned
04. Supremacy Enforced
05. Embodiment
06. Collateral Damage
07. Apocalyptic Visionary
08. Terminal Enslavement
09. Corrupted Mind Processor
10. Inanimate Infinity
11. (Cadence Of) The Dirge (EXHORDER cover; bonus track)

Sankey late last year recorded all the demo drum sessions for the new FEAR FACTORY album, "The Industrialist", and co-wrote and programmed all the drum parts, along with FF guitarist Dino Cazares, for the final CD. He was unable to join FEAR FACTORY as the band's new touring drummer due to visa restrictions.

Cazares previously stated about the new DEVOLVED material, "Systematic brutality at its best. Raising the bar once again with their intellectual song arrangements [and] insane drum patterns that would make any tech metal fan turn their heads. This band just keeps getting better and better. Welcome to the end of everything that you once knew and say hello to the future."

DEVOLVED's last album, "Oblivion", was released in May 2011 via Unique Leader Records.

Video footage of VICIOUS RUMORS' August 2 performance at the Rambler in Eindhoven, Holland can be seen below.

After the monster "Razorback Killers" album and tour of 2011, VICIOUS RUMORS took some much-needed time off the road to work on new material. Two new albums are in the works, with more details to be made available soon.

"Razorback Killers" was released in Europe in March 2011 and in the U.S. in April 2011 via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was recorded at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producers Juan Urteaga and Geoff Thorpe.

VICIOUS RUMORS is:

Larry Howe - Drums
Brian Allen (LAST EMPIRE, MALICE, WILD DOGS) - Vocals
Kiyoshi Morgan - Guitar
Stephen Goodwin - Bass
Geoff Thorpe - Guitar

ISIS will release "Temporal", a retrospective collection of unreleased rarities, remixes and videos, on November 6 via and Ipecac Recordings.

"Temporal" spans the groundbreaking band's entire discography with inclusions from "Mosquito Control" to the band's final full-length album, "Wavering Radiant".

"It was fun and also very nostalgic collecting material for this release," commented Aaron Harris. "I hear our catalogue differently now that I'm not living with these songs day to day. This is a special collection of outtakes, demos, unreleased tracks and videos; some of which I think we even forgot about."

More details including a complete track listing will be released soon.

In other news, Decibel magazine profiles one of ISIS' landmark albums, "Oceanic", in the magazine's September issue. The seven-page interview with all five bandmembers (Jeff Caxide, Mike Gallagher, Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Aaron Turner) speaks to the "sea change" that "Oceanic" was for heavy music. Albert Mudrian, editor-in-chief for Decibel, explains: "ISIS may have left a massive void in heavy music's body when they sailed away for good a couple of years ago, but the ripples of 'Oceanic' continue to cause waves a decade after its release."

Harris, Caxide and Meyer recently partnered with Chino Moreno (DEFTONES) to form PALMS. The band's debut album will be out in early 2013 via Ipecac.

Turner's OLD MAN GLOOM released "No" in late June and he will be touring Japan this September with MAMIFFER.

Gallagher continues on with his solo project MGR as well as scoring films, most recently "22nd Of May".

Photo credit: Robin Laananen

On July 27, Artisan News conducted an interview with MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee at the Camden, New Jersey stop of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.

Asked about MOTÖRHEAD's plans for a new CD, Mikkey said, "We are gonna finish our studio album. We have a lot of songs done already. It's not finished. We're gonna keep writing and we'll record it next year, and it will come out next year."

MOTÖRHEAD will release "The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else" in Germany on September 21, three days later in the rest of Europe and October 9 in North America via UDR/EMI. The follow-up to 2011's "The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" will feature the band's 2011 Wacken Open Air headline appearance as well as highlights from Sonisphere (United Kingdom) and Rock In Rio (Brazil) shows.

"The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else" will be available as a digipack (DVD plus two CDs), double-CD, double-vinyl (Wacken Open Air show), Blu-ray and direct-to-consumer version featuring 2 CDs, a DVD/Blu-ray and a special booklet.

MOTÖRHEAD's latest album, "The Wörld Is Yours", sold 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 94 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous effort, "Motörizer", premiered with 6,400 units back in 2008 to debut at No. 82, while 2006's "Kiss Of Death" registered a first-week tally of 3,500.

New York progressive rockers COHEED AND CAMBRIA have announced details of their upcoming sixth studio album, a double concept album entitled "The Afterman", to be released in two separate full-length volumes.

The first volume, "The Afterman: Ascension", will be available on both physical and digital platforms in the U.S. on October 9 via Hundred Handed/Everything Evil, and distributed through Fontana/Ingrooves (to be available in Canada via Universal Music Canada). The second volume, "The Afterman: Descension", is due in February 2013.

A deluxe version of "The Afterman" will include a hardcover coffee-table book with expansive art by Heidi Taillefer and Nathan Spoor with collaborative written work from singer/creator Claudio Sanchez and writer Peter David that will create a song by song experience.

The two records follow-up to 2010's "Year Of The Black Rainbow", and will feature new bassist Zach Cooper and returning drummer Josh Eppard, who have replaced Michael Todd and Chris Pennie, respectively.

The concept albums will continue to be set in the band's alternate universe of "Heaven's Fence", which are part of their series titled "The Amory Wars". "The Amory Wars" is currently being developed by Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of Leverage Productions for a live-action feature film. It follows the story of a superhuman dictator named Wilhelm Ryan, and a family that may have the ability to free the world from his control.

"The Afterman" albums will focus on a character named Sirius Amory, a scientist who discovers an energy force that can connect the universe's 78 planets together.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA frontman Claudio Sanchez said of the album: "This is, without a doubt, the most honest record I've ever written. Though all the songs can be interpreted through our main character in the story, they were initially written in a very spontaneous manner. In the past, I've always had a predetermined idea of what the story was going to be when I approached the songs. With 'The Afterman' being a new story within 'The Amory Wars' arc, I allowed the events of my life to drive the concept, and therefore opened up the songwriting to a fuller degree."

COHEED AND CAMBRIA is currently touring with IRON MAIDEN and will be hitting the road for a headline run beginning in mid-September.

JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR — the U.S. power metal act led by former VIRGIN STEELE guitarist Jack Starr — has recruited Marta Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER) to play rhythm guitar for the band at the Keep It True festival and all other European live shows that will be scheduled for 2013.

According to a press release, "Jack Starr was quite impressed with the rock-solid playing of Marta Gabriel and asked her if she would be available to do some shows with BURNING STARR as the recorded music of BURNING STARR usually features more than one guitar part."

JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR's "Land Of The Dead" video can be seen below. The song is the title track of the band's latest studio album, which was released on November 11, 2011 via Limb Music. The CD was produced by Bart Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER, SACRED STEEL, LONEWOLF), and features cover artwork by Ken Kelly (RAINBOW, KISS, MANOWAR).

"Land Of The Dead" was recorded by the same lineup that was responsible for 2009's "Defiance" album: Starr on guitar, Ned Meloni on bass, Kenny "Rhino" Earl (ex-MANOWAR) on drums, and Todd Hall on vocals. The CD also features guest appearances by David Shankle and Ross The Boss (both ex-MANOWAR) on lead guitar, and Marta Gabriel (CRYSTAL VIPER) on grand piano and keyboards.

JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR album from 1986, "No Turning Back!", was reissued on July 25 via Skol Records. This was the first official CD re-release of this LP since 1998. The remastered reissue includes new artwork (painted by the famous Polish artist Tomasz Oracz) and contains two bonus tracks and thick booklet with all lyrics and many previously unseen photos. The CD will be limited to only 1000 copies.

Polish hard rockers KRUK are currently in the studio working on the material for their as-yet-untitled third album, to be released in the fall. The CD is being produced by Marcin Kindla, previously associated with the Polish pop scene.

"The material on which we are currently working is undoubtedly still rock music. However, we do feel a great urge to write it in a slightly different way than it was with our two previous albums," says KRUK guitarist Piotr Brzychcy. "We are open to other genres of music and this time we are trying to make use of it. That’s why I am counting on Marcin Kindla, who, despite being brought up on rock music, comes from a totally different music sphere. He has astonishing intuition and taste in what he is doing and, what is more important, he is open to crazy ideas. Of course, there would be no fun if we didn't prepare some special surprises, but let this remain our secret. And the truth is we still do not know what we will end up with at the end of the recordings."

KRUK's sophomore album, "It Will Not Come Back", was released in 2011. The CD featured guest appearances by Doogie White (RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TANK) and Piotr Kupicha (FEEL). The effort was made available with a bonus DVD featuring 100 minutes of concert footage.

KRUK has supported such rock legends as DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP, THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE and MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP.

KRUK is:

Piotr Brzychcy - Guitar
Tomasz Wisniewski - Vocals
Krzysiek Nowak - Bass
Darek Nawara - Drums
Michal Kurys - Keyboards

LAMB OF GOD's publicist, Adrenaline PR, released the following statement:

"After five weeks in a prison in Prague in the Czech Republic, [LAMB OF GOD frotnman] Randy Blythe has been released on bail and is returning to the United States.

"Although LAMB OF GOD has canceled their summer co-headline tour with DETHKLOK, the band has agreed to play the Knotfest shows on August 17th in Council Bluffs, Iowa and August 18th in Somerset, Wisconsin.

"The band is currently targeting October 26th as the start date for a U.S tour. Dates and cities will be released as soon as possible.

"Randy will be making a public statement discussing his time in Prague and thanking fans worldwide for their support in the next week."

Audio samples of all the tracks that are set to appear on "Epicloud", the next album from Canadian musician/producer Devin Townsend to be released under the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT banner, are available in the YouTube clip below.

"Epicloud" will be issued on September 18 in North America and September 24 in Europe via InsideOut Music. The CD features a guest appearance by former THE GATHERING frontwoman and previous Devin collaborator Anneke Van Giersbergen.

The first taste of "Epicloud", featuring the album's intro, "Effervescent!", is available in the YouTube clip below. Also available is the CD's cover artwork.

Commented Devin: "This record is unique to me in that I became interested in simpler, commercial structures based on (I suppose) a reaction to [the previous the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT albums] 'Deconstruction' and 'Ghost'. I admit, it's not too far removed, but far enough to take a few people off guard, I think.

"With 'Epicloud', I wanted something catchy as the flu, but with a sentiment that is romantic, positive and beautiful. Spiritual without religion and set to heavy music.

"Again, because some structures are 'common' (but new to me), this record is my take on what a big, epic, commercial sounding record that sings about nice stuff would sound like in Dev-land. Please don't take it as a 'sell-out' move, because it truly surprised me as well and is a 'transition' between the four DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT records and my upcoming musical, 'Z2'."

Townsend debuted a song from "Epicloud" called "Back Where We Belong" during an acoustic performance on March 31 at Club Saw in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as part of this year's Junofest.

The idea for "Epicloud" came about while Devin was attempting to write material for the follow-up to his 2007 "Ziltoid The Omniscient" concept album about a fictional extraterrestrial being named Ziltoid from the planet Ziltoidia 9.

In a recent interview with Soundwave TV, Devin stated about how "Epicloud" was conceived, "In this sort of process of writing that I've discovered that I guess I'm capable of now, with a sober frame of mind, part of that is just not second-guessing it, so if I write something like that, I just do it, and just finish it."

He continued, "Over the past couple of years, I thought, 'OK, I've gotta write this next 'Ziltoid' thing; I'm inspired to make this epic space opera and, like, really overdo it, and [make it] really dark. And so I sat down to write, but every time I went to write, I'd write some poppy hard rock thing. And I was like, 'OK, we'll get that one out of the way and then I'll write 'Ziltoid'.' And I got it out of the way and I'd go write 'Ziltoid'. And I'd write another one. So I'm thinking, 'OK, it's pretty obvious to me that I've got this that wants to come out before that.'"

Regarding the musical direction of "Epicloud", Devin told Noisecreep, "Over the course of the full record, there's sort of new agey stuff, jazzy stuff, really heavy stuff. We basically cover the gamut. 'Epicloud' is the first record that I felt confident enough to include all those things on one record so it goes between melodic hard rock to schizophrenic heavy metal to country to really ambient stuff and it's all in one place. I'm using a gospel choir, a string section and a horn section for this one as well. On [the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT album] 'Deconstruction', I got to use the Prague Philharmonic [orchestra] and really go far into making an absurd album as over the top as possible and on 'Epicloud' I'm trying to take the same advantages to make some things musically very pleasing, as opposed to just claustrophobic."

On the topic of his decision to re-record "Kingdom", a song from his PHYSICIST album, which came out in 2000 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, Devin said, "We re-did 'Kingdom' because it's a live set staple, and so much better now than the PHYSICIST recording."

German power metallers PARAGON have inked a deal with Napalm Records. The band's tenth album, "Force Of Destruction", will be released at the end of October. The CD was produced by Piet Sielck (GAMMA RAY, BLIND GUARDIAN, IRON SAVIOUR) at Powerhouse in Hamburg. Guest vocals on the bonus version of the song "Blood & Iron" were laid down by Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY, UNISONIC) and Sielck.

PARAGON bassist Jan Bünning previously stated about "Force Of Destruction", "Piet Sielck has done an awesome job. To me, it sounds like a heavier and more 'life' version of 'Revenge' mixed with the guitar sound of 'Law Of The Blade'. Just perfect!

"Our guitar player Wolle [Wolfgang Tewes] wrote a album full of PARAGON classics and our 'newbie' Jan Bertram shredded a whole bunch of great lead guitar parts. And Buschi [Andreas Babuschkin; vocals] seems to be like wine — he's getting better and better and has delievered the best performance he has ever done."

The track listing for the new PARAGON CD is as follows:

01. Last Day On Earth (intro)
02. Iron Will
03. Tornado
04. Gods Of Thunder
05. Bulletstorm
06. Blood & Iron
07. Blades Of Hell
08. Dynasty
09. Rising From The Black
10. Demon's Lair
11. Secrecy

The cover artwork was once again created by Dirk Illing (SCORPIONS, RUNNING WILD), while the photos are being handled by Stefan Malzkorn (GAMMA RAY, SAXON) and the cover layout is being overseen by Claudia von Bihl (Auburn Records, ACCEPT, ANVIL).

Jan Betram previously played with PARAGON's drummer, Chris Gripp.

PARAGON 2012 is:

Andreas Babuschkin - Vocals
Wolfgang Tewes - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jan Bertram - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jan Bünning - Bass, Backing Vocals
Chris Gripp - Drums, Backing Vocals

PARAGON's last album, "Screenslaves", was released in November 2008 via Massacre Records. The CD was produced by Uwe Lullis (ex-GRAVE DIGGER, REBELLION) at Black Solaris Studio in Frankfurt.

Bünning quit PARAGON after the recording of 2007's "Forgotten Prophecies" because of "musical differences" but rejoined the band in 2009.

Video footage of KISS performing the song "Shout it Out Loud" on August 1 at KFC Yum! Arena in Louisville, Kentucky can be seen below.

KISS will release its 20th studio album, "Monster", on October 16 through Universal Music Enterprises. Described in a press release as a "12-track, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album," the CD features collaborations among all four members — including co-founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and longtime members guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer — in an album that shows the band at the top of its game.

"Monster" is the group's first studio album since the band's 2009 smash success, "Sonic Boom", and was also produced by Paul Stanley with Greg Collins at Conway Studios in Hollywood, California, and The Nook in Studio City, California.

"Monster" represents KISS' nod to the music that first inspired them to pick up their guitars and flame-throwers and don makeup to entertain millions. The group goes back to their own beginnings with THE WHO-like "Freak", while Gene lives up to the title track's declaration on the raucous rock of "Back To The Stone Age" and the bludgeoning "The Devil is Me". Even guitarist Thayer takes a turn on his own with "Outta This World". a tribute to his KISS "spaceman" character, while drummer Singer provides the vocals (and the back story) for the arena anthem "All For The Love Of Rock & Roll".

"There are no symphony orchestras, boy choirs, keyboards, outside producers or songwriters on this album," promises Gene Simmons. "The best thing we did was to turn inwards to ourselves. Tommy and Eric have revitalized this band, with a work ethic and the talent to back it up. This is a real band effort. KISS has become a behemoth. We're going where no bands have gone before."

Swedish avantgarde prog/death metallers LOCH VOSTOK will release their fifth album, "V - The Doctrine Decoded", on October 4 through Vicisolum Records (the digital release is set for September 28).

According to a press release, LOCH VOSTOK is "one of Sweden's hidden gems, musically spanding very different genres, like death, prog, melody and thrash — making LOCH VOSTOK a very hard band to label. Avantgarde-metal seems to be the most fitting brand."

LOCH VOSTOK will head out on European tour in September/October as direct support band for Norwegian progressive metallers LEPROUS.

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was released from custody yesterday (Thursday, August 2) after spending more than a month at a Prague, Czech Republic prison on manslaughter charges.

According to Blesk.cz, Blythe boarded a direct flight to New York at approximately 1:00 p.m. CEST (Central European Summer Time) today. He is expected to land on U.S. soil this afternoon.

"I'm relieved to be out of Pankrác jail," Blythe told TV Nova at the airport before catching his flight. "It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly fun."

He added, "I'm relieved to be out of jail, but if it's necessary for me to return to Prague to go to this court thing, I certainly will. I'm no flight risk."

A short video clip of Randy talking to TV Nova at the Prague airport earlier today can be seen at this location.

Audio of Randy speaking to TV Nova about his release:

German thrashers ACCU§ER have set "Diabolic" as the title of their next record, to be released in April 2013 via Red Shift Music/H'ART. The CD will be recorded in October at Gernhart studio with producer Martin Buchwalter (DESTRUCTION, PERZONAL WAR, SUIDAKRA).

ACCU§ER's last CD, "Dependent Domination", came out in July 2011 via Red Shift.

Formed in 1986, ACCU§ER received international acclaim with such albums as "Who Dominates Who" (1989) and "Repent" (1992) and songs rife with both technical and compositional pyrotechnics. Right from the beginning, the band established itself as an original among its American brethren from the San Francisco Bay Area as well as fellow countrymen KREATOR and DESTRUCTION, a fact cemented through its collaborations with TESTAMENT/ANTHRAX producer Alex Perialis and industrial pioneers DIE KRUPPS.

ACCU§ER split up in 1996 but reformed in 2008.

SinSquid, a one-man independent game company based in Trondheim, Norway, released Black Metal Man, "the first black metal videogame," earlier this week for the iPhone.

The game's creator, Knut Erik Overjord, states: "I got this idea, and discovered there are a lack of games for metal fans on the app store. So I rigged up my guitar and bass, made some brutal music, and made a game with a black metal dude that has to escape from the light. Endless runners are nothing new, but I think the consept and the stressful music makes this unique and absurd."

"Maybe the most stressful, dark and intense game on the app store," Black Metal Man features "brutal metal music, exhausting gameplay, awesome power-ups and dark graphics."

Game description: "You follow the story of a man fleeing from the light and his fight to reach the depths of hell. Be brave as you run, jump, rides a motorcycle, rides the lightning and much more. This is no ordinary man we're talking about… it's the Black Metal Man."

Features:

* Simple one-touch controls
* Six difficult levels
* Game Center leaderboards
* Retina support
* Virtual headbanging

A video trailer is available below.

To purchase Black Metal Man, go to this location.

Malta-based death metallers BEHEADED will release their new album, "Never To Dawn", on November 6 via Unique Leader Records. The CD was recorded at Temple Studios in Malta and was mixed at 16th Cell Studio in Rome, Italy.

Commented the band: "We're really enthusiastic to see the album finally coming together.

"Musically, we held to our roots and delved into those areas that define the BEHEADED sound. The sound is making justice to the songs and captures the feel we wanted to project.

"All songs entail a common concept — the water element, which in turn reflects BEHEADED's Maltese origins. Artwork and lyrics are a continuation of the concept.

"The tracks are packed with slabs of pure death metal which should go down well on record as well as on the live front."

Songtitles set to appear on "Never To Dawn" include "Where Hours Etch Their Names", "Lament Of A Sordid God" and "The Ancient Acumen".

The song "Elapsed In The Vortex Of Extinction" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

BEHEADED is:

Frank Calleja - Vocals
David "Cejca" Cachia - Bass
Omar Grech - Guitar
Robert Agius - Guitar
Chris Brincat - Drums

A unnamed, corpse-painted, black metal-meets-industrial-style band is featured in a new commercial for FedEx, the king of air, ground and freight delivery services. According to Adweek, the 30-second spot, which was created by the New York City-based advertising agency network BBDO, "touts the delivery firm's golf club shipping services for die-hard duffers. In this case, the teetotalers are a KISS/SLIPKNOT/MOTÖRHEAD mix lounging in a luxury suite as their manager grouses, 'How am I supposed to sell you guys as the most dangerous band in the world when you're seen schlepping golf clubs through the airport?' The sharply written scenario is enhanced by the marvelously meek deliveries of the supposedly 'dangerous' metalheads, who, despite their fright masks, face tattoos and garish makeup, can't stop espousing their love for the links."

"Band" is one of three new FedEx commercials which were helmed by Jim Jenkins, a film director based in Los Angeles and co-founder of O Positive.

LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was released from custody after spending more than a month at a Prague, Czech Republic prison on manslaughter charges.

Blythe was arrested at the Prague airport on June 27 and was accused of shoving a local fan off the stage during LAMB OF GOD's May 2010 concert in the city. The man, who is said to have stormed the stage three times during the show, reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage that resulted in his death nearly a month later.

After the court doubled Blythe's bail last month from about $200,000 to about $400,000, the prosecutor once again filed a complaint against the singer's release.

"I can confirm that was released yesterday afternoon," Gabriela Pohlová, a spokesman for the prison, said on Friday (August 3).

The Prague Municipal Court's ruling against the prosecutor of the Prague 8 District Court was made Thursday afternoon behind closed doors.

"The decision was reached yesterday at the end of a 16-hour closed session," Prague court spokeswoman Martina Lhotáková said.

"The only condition of release was the approximately 8 million Czech Koruna bail," she added.

Blythe's Czech attorney Martin Radvan told Radio Prague that he expected Blythe to be able to travel home, but that the singer will have to return to the Czech Republic to face trial. "That's what he wants to do," Radvan said. "As a world-renowned artist, in a specific genre of music, of course, he cannot afford to simply disappear."

Radvan added that Randy's stature as a public figure makes it highly unlikely that he would vanish before the trial, saying, "There would be posters with his picture all around the world, and if he wants to continue performing, he will have to return. And he wants to return because he believes he is not guilty of anything he has been charged with."

Jonathan Crane, a reporter from the Prague Post, told WTVR-TV that a legal expert believes the Blythe's defense team should have quite a strong case. "Even if Randy was responsible for the alleged attack, the expert said that who is to say that he wasn't accidentally kicked or trodden on or left without help by fans below the stage," Crane said.

The U.S. Embassy in Prague on July 11 released a very brief statement regarding Blythe: "The U.S. Embassy provides standard consular services to American citizens in need of assistance. We cannot discuss specific cases due to privacy concerns."

GOREMENT — one of the finest yet most obscure death metal bands to ever emerge from Sweden — has inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records for the release of the band's entire catalog.

"Within The Shadow Of Darkness - The Complete Recordings" will be made available on September 24 on 2CD and double vinyl as well as digital download.

Other than on GOREMENT's discography compilation, "Darkness Of The Dead" (released in 2004), the entire musical content included on the upcoming release has been carefully remastered from the original master tapes by Dan Swanö, who has already been in charge for the production of GOREMENT's demos and the "Into Shadows" EP. The result is mind-blowing: All songs sound fresh and incredibly massive without ever losing their original character.

Commented Swanö: "GOREMENT was one of the first bands outside my 'circle' that I ever recorded. The first demo was done on a four-track portastudio, and I must say I am a bit surprised that the sound on that one is the coolest after the restoration!! GOREMENT could have been so much bigger if they had recorded the first album in a studio that would have given them the fat and 'gory' sound their music deserves. The songs are catchy and the musicianship high above average in the SweDeath scene at the time. It was a pure pleasure to revisit these recordings and carve out the best sonics possible."

"Within The Shadow Of Darkness – The Complete Recordings" track listing:

CD1

01. My Ending Quest
02. Vale Of Tears
03. Human Relic
04. The Memorial
05. The Lost Breed
06. Silent Hymn (For The Dead)
07. Sea Of Silence
08. Obsequies Of Mankind
09. Darkness Of The Dead
10. Into Shadows

All songs taken from the album "The Ending Quest" (1994)

CD2

01. Intro
02. Darkness Of The Dead
03. Human Relic
04. Moulder Within
05. Intro
06. Process Of Cent
07. Gruesome Modification Of Form
08. Obsequies Of Mankind
09. The Memorial
10. Into Shadows
11. Garden Of Delight
12. Profound Harmony
13. Soulless Sanity
14. Gruesome Modification Of Form (live)
15. Obsequies Of Mankind (live)
16. Darkness Of The Dead (live)
17. Exhume To Consume (live)
18. Blood, Pus And Gastric Juice (live)


* Tracks 1-4 taken from the "Human Relic" demo (1991)
* Tracks 5-8 taken from the "Obsequies …" demo (1991)
* Tracks 9-10 taken from the "Into Shadows" EP (1992)
* Tracks 11-13 taken from the "Promo '95" demo (1995)
* Tracks 14-18 are previously unreleased live tracks (1991) - only on CD

"Within The Shadow Of Darkness" features cover artwork by German/Swiss artist Carlos Schwabe († 1926) whose creepy painting "La Vague" fits the release like perfectly. The album is packed with everything you can ask for: liner notes by the band, a detailed interview done by Nicola Costantini (well known for his books "Encyclopedia of Svensk Dödsmetall" and "The Return … Of Svensk Dödsmetall"), all lyrics and loads of old flyers, photos, covers, fanzine interviews, etc.

"Within The Shadow Of Darkness - The Complete Recordings" is meant for all those true fans who either missed the chance to get a copy of the super-rare album, demos or EP of the band or who don't have the money to pay a fortune for them at online auctions. It's also released to stop the material for being bootlegged. This album is the one and only official release of GOREMENT to date.

Century Media Records has announced the signing of the black metal outfit TWILIGHT.

Composed of some of the most talented members of the underground metal community, TWILIGHT previously released two full-length albums (2005's "Twilight" and 2010's "Monument To Time End") and is ready to begin work on a third album this August — this time, with Thurston Moore (CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING, SONIC YOUTH) added to the band's ranks.

In regards to joining TWILIGHT, Thurston Moore comments, "We're not coming together to make music, we're joining forces to destroy all rational thought."

TWILIGHT's upcoming album will be produced by the band's own Sanford Parker (NACHTMYSTIUM, MINSK) and will see a 2013 release.

"I had SONIC YOUTH records when I was 12," Judd told The 1st Five in an interview. "And to now know that, not only am I having a dialogue with this person about anything, but dude's gonna join a band I started, and it's like . . . whoah. Fucking amazing, amazing feeling."

He added, "I've done so much shit, and worked with so many cool people, and I'll get to work with Thurston. You know Century Media could offer us $100,000 to make that TWILIGHT record and say: 'Blake, you get ninety percent of that money but Thurston Moore's not gonna be on the record, or, you can be on it and we'll give you 10 grand and that's what you have to make it work.' And I would, I would take the 10 grand and work with Thurston. That's like how much I love SONIC YOUTH."

TWILIGHT 2012 is:

Blake Judd (NACHTMYSTIUM) - Guitars
Sanford Parker (NACHTMYSTIUM, MINSK) - Synth, Production
Thurston Moore (CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING, SONIC YOUTH) - Guitar
Stavros Giannopoulos (THE ATLAS MOTH) - Guitar
Wrest (LEVIATHAN) - Drums, Bass
Imperial (KRIEG) - Vocals

Drummer Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFLOLD, FLYING COLORS) was interviewed last month by Ollie Winiberg of BBC's "Introducing In Essex" radio show during the U.K. leg of ADRENALINE MOB's European tour. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow.

On the current state of the music industry:

Portnoy: "Well, it's tough. On one hand, I like that artists are gaining control of their music again and their bands and their careers. I think that's a great thing that bands can actually maintain that creative and financial control. On the other hand, there's the other side of the coin, which is that artists are getting all of their music ripped off as well, and record companies are folding and sales are down. So it's a double-edged sword, but it's the nature of the business, and you've gotta roll with the changes."

On whether he's had any particularly bad experiences during his career that he hopes to never repeat:

Portnoy: "Well, strangely enough, one of DREAM THEATER's most successful and popular albums, 'Images And Words', which I am extremely proud of, it was an incredible difficult to make. So, actually, as much as I look back at that album and the tour and the explosion that happened as a result of it — I mean, I look back at all that with great, great memories — the making of the record was very, very difficult, because it was our first record with a major label and they made us work with a producer, who made a great-sounding record, but was very, very hard and difficult to work with; he wasn't really a 'people person.' So the making of that record was very painful and difficult from a personal point of view. So, yeah, even though I love everything in the catalog and I'm proud of it all, some of them were [more] painful or harder to make than others, but the end result is something that I've always been proud of."

On the commercial success of "Images And Words":

Portnoy: "That is pretty amazing that we were able to get away with what we were doing, especially in 1991, and that was the height of the whole NIRVANA explosion. I don't know… On paper, you would think that would have been a recipe for the biggest disaster, but maybe that's why that album did well — because we kind of stuck out like a sore thumb at the time."

A one-minute trailer for "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue", the new album from Canadian rockers DANKO JONES, can be seen below. The CD will be released in North America on October 9.

Over the course of six full-length albums, DANKO JONES has forged a singular sound that draws equally from the blues, '60s garage, '70s hard rock, '80s hardcore, punky power-pop, Scandinavian metal, and classic stand-up comedy records without ever being fully defined by any of those sources. But while built from the same rudiments, each DANKO JONES record possesses a distinct sonic identity. "Born A Lion" (2002) brought the boogie and sledgehammer soul; "We Sweat Blood" (2003) was, by contrast, more anxious and aggro. "Sleep Is The Enemy" (2006) wielded the sharpest hooks. "Never Too Loud" (2008) was as slick as "Below The Belt" (2010) was stripped-down. But, compared to all that's come before, "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue" is, hands down, the most emotional and, as a result, the most epic DANKO JONES album to date.

Now, don't be scared off by those E-words — there's not a children's choir, orchestra or piano ballad to be found within a 500-mile radius of this album. But what you hear on "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue" is the DANKO JONES ideal blown up to skyscraping proportions, resulting in 13 tracks that are bolder, brasher, and brawnier than anything they've attempted before. The album is produced in full by their longtime partner in crime Matt DeMatteo and was mixed by Mike Fraser, known for his work with AC/DC, AEROSMITH, FRANZ FERDINAND and ELVIS COSTELLO, to name a few. It is also the first album recorded with "new" drummer Atom Willard — the sixth person in DANKO JONES history to hold the "drummer" title, but the first to stand on equal creative footing with Danko and his longtime foil, bassist John "JC" Calabrese. The man's résumé speaks for itself: Not only was Willard the driving percussive force behind Danko's all-time favorite San Diegan garage-punk armada ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, he's also been keeping time for the multi-platinum likes of THE OFFSPRING, SOCIAL DISTORTION and ANGELS & AIRWAVES, so he knows how to drum his way around a massive tune.

The first single from , "Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue" — "Just A Beautiful Day" — will be serviced to radio all over the world shortly.

The new DANKO JONES album follows the June release of "Bring On The Mountain" — a two-disc DVD featuring a 90-minute documentary, a short film, exclusive live clips from around the world and all the music videos they have ever done. A lengthy European tour scheduled for October/November was announced during spring. Tour dates in Canada, U.S. and Australia will be announced soon, with more European touring and a busy festival summer in 2013 also on the horizon.

Canadian metallers KITTIE will release a best-of compilation, "Not So… Safe", on September11 via eOne Music. The collection will feature tracks from the band's records "Spit" (1999), "Oracle" (2001), "Safe" (2002), "In The Black" (2009) and "I've Failed You" (2011).

"Not So… Safe" track listing:

01. Brackish
02. Charlotte
03. Spit
04. Paper Doll
05. What I Always Wanted
06. Run Like Hell
07. Safe (KMFDM Inc. Remix)
08. Into The Darkness
09. Look So Pretty
10. Cut Throat
11. My Plague
12. Do You Think... (live)

Bassist Trish Doan recently rejoined KITTIE as the replacement for Ivy Vujic. Trish was previously with the band from 2005 to 2007, appearing on the band's 2007 release "Funeral For Yesterday".

KITTIE's new album, "I've Failed You", sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "In The Black", opened with around 3,400 units back in 2009 to land at No. 132.

KITTIE's fourth album, "Funeral for Yesterday", registered a first-week tally of 9,000 in February 2007 to enter the chart at No. 101.

"I've Failed You" was released on August 30, 2011 via eOne Music. The CD was recorded at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. The band once again worked with producer Siegfried "Siggy" Meier, who helmed KITTIE's last CD, 2009's "In The Black".

San Francisco based doom rockers ORCHID will release an EP featuring three brand new tracks and one song from their latest full-length album, "Capricorn", on September 7, 2012. The EP, entitled "Heretic", marks the band's first release for Nuclear Blast Records and will be made available both digitally as well as on 10-inch vinyl.

"Heretic" EP track listing:

01. Heretic
02. Falling Away
03. Saviours Of The Blind
04. He Who Walks Alone

Commented ORCHID guitarist Mark Baker: "Late in 2010, after we submitted the 'Capricorn' full-length to our label and waited for the release, we realized that there wouldn't be any extensive touring, so we just kept writing and rehearsing new material. A few months later, we were back in the studio cutting basics for new songs. By the time we finished the business of changing labels, we had way more than one album worth of new songs. We, along with Nuclear Blast, decided it would be a great idea to release a few of those on an EP this year while we wrap up everything for our next full-length. We're really excited for people worldwide to get a chance to check out what we've been up to in the last year. These new songs have the classic, anthemic ORCHID sound that people expect from us, along with a few elements that we've never shown before."

Since its inception in 2006, ORCHID — which features in its ranks well-known tattoo artist Theo Mindell on vocals — has achieved massive global awareness with their stunning releases "Through The Devil's Doorway" (EP, 2009) and "Capricorn" (full-length, 2011).

ORCHID is:

Theo Mindell: Vocals
Carter Kennedy: Drums
Mark Thomas Baker: Guitar
Keith Nickel: Bass

Legendary hardcore band PRO-PAIN has inked a deal with the Chicago independent record company Goomba Music. The band's new album, "Straight To The Dome", will be released in North America on September 25. The CD was recorded at Little Creek Studio in Gelterkinden, Switzerland and produced by V.O. Pulver.

Aggressive, meticulous, passionate, righteous — all distinguishing traits that have come to symbolize the fundamentals of metal/hardcore pioneers PRO-PAIN. Since their crushing 1992 NAIRD-nominated debut album, "Foul Taste Of Freedom", PRO-PAIN have become a staple in the diets of heavy music listeners around the globe. Their successful and enviable career has perpetually prospered throughout its course, and yet they still manage to find room to improve, and more importantly, impress.

Commented PRO-PAIN frontman Gary Meskil, "We intended to make an old-school PRO-PAIN album with this one, and I think that this is perhaps our most sonically brutal effort since 'The Truth Hurts'. Having said that, the album does have a few tasteful melodic moments here and there, which in my opinion contribute to its depth and diversity."

Professionally filmed video footage of SEPULTURA's entire performance at this year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival — shot earlier today (Thursday, August 2) in Wacken, Germany — can be seen below. The band was joined on stage by Les Tambours Du Bronx, featuring sixteen drummers from France.

Founded in 1987, Les Tambours Du Bronx beat 225-liter barrels with beech wood bats or even axe handles. In more than 1000 concerts they've smashed about 16,000 barrels and more than 110,000 broken "drum sticks!"

SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25, 2011 in Lichtenfels, Germany.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.