The boyfriend-girlfriend team of Alex Lopez of SUICIDE SILENCE and Alexia Rodriguez of EYES SET TO KILL have launched an official webstore for their collaborative art, Secret Destroyers.

In a 2010 interview, Alexia said, "When I'm not writing or playing music, I am usually doodling or painting. Lately we have been so busy with tour that we barely have down time at home. So I always make sure to bring some sidewalk chalk and a sketch pad."

Knoxville, Tennessee hard rockers 10 YEARS will release their new album, "Minus The Machine", on July 17 via their own Palehorse Records in conjunction with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group. The CD marks the band's first release on their new label, after a long tenure at Universal.

10 YEARS frontman Jesse Hasek explains the decision to release the album independently: "We wanted to create an album that has no boundaries. When you feel like you're being told to go through motions and jump through hoops, it takes the heart out of it. It's better to do what comes naturally and then figure out the after-effect."

The band will kick off the "Minus the Machine" headlining tour on June 27 in New Orleans, supported by FAIR TO MIDLAND and KYNG. The four-week trek will take the band to Dallas, Nashville, Chicago and more, and includes a hometown show in Knoxville on July 6.

After a hugely successful year and a half tour to support their previous record "Feeding The Wolves", the rock quartet is ready to get back on the road and see the fans. "We live and die by the loyalty of the club audiences," says Hasek. "Our fans are loyal. They travel with us, and they want us to be loyal to ourselves. What we tried to do on this album is really give them what they want because they've been so good to us through the ups and downs of our career."

São Paulo, Brazil-based metallers KAMALA will release their third studio album, "The Deadly Seven Chakras", before the summer via MS Metal Records. The cover artwork, which features the Brazilian adult-film actress Bruna Vieira, was created by Luiz Moura, who previously worked with KAMALA on the band's first two albums, 2007's "Kamala" and 2009's "Fractal".

Comments KAMALA guitarist and founder Raphael Olmos: "In defining the concept of the album during the recording process, we met with Luiz Moura thinking about the way the artwork should take in this new album. The idea to show the naked body exposed to the world seemed like the right way to represent the whole context, because the human body reflects the sins and absorbs energy through the chakras in a pure form and with no influence."

He adds, "We met Bruna Vieira through [porn film producer] Xplastic, with whom we established a partnership last year, where in one scene Bruna had our music as the soundtrack. We stayed in touch, and when she heard about the project, she was really into it. She has a very strong visual presence, and together with Castro's art, resulted in a wonderful job, not only on the cover, but in all contents of the booklet, which contains 24 pages. We can't wait to share it all with you!"

"The Deadly Seven Chakras" track listing:

01. Envy
02. Gluttony
03. Root
04. Heart
05. Solar Plexus
06. Third Eye
07. Greed
08. Pride
09. Sloth
10. Sacral
11. Lust
12. Wrath
13. Throat
14. Crown

Die Briten von CRADLE OF FILTH haben nach dem Cover Artwork zum Orchestral Album "Midnight In The Labyrinth" jetzt auch die Track List enthüllt. Das neue Album kommt am 21. April 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records in den Handel.

"Midnight In The Labyrinth" Track List:

CD 1:
01. A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)
02. The Forest Whispers My Name
03. The Twisted Nails Of Faith
04. THe Rape And Ruin Of Angels (Hosannas In Extremis)
05. Funeral In Carpathia
06. Summer Dying Fast
07. Thirteen Autumns And A Widow
08. Dusk And Her Embrace
09. Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
10. Goetia (Invoking The Unclean)

CD 2:
01. The Rape And Ruin Of Angels (Hosannas In Extremis)
02. Dusk And Her Embrace
03. Summer Dying Fast
04. The Twisted Nails Of Faith
05. Funeral In Carpathia
06. The Forest Whispers My Name
07. Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
08. A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)
09. Thirteen Autumns And A Widow

Jägermeister recently hosted its latest "Ice Cold" studio session, where rock bands and icons meet for the first time in a recording studio and "break the ice" by working on a track together. The "Ice Cold" studio session featured British heavy metal band MALEFICE and football legend Marcus Hahnemann and took place at London's famous Strongroom Studios.

Hahnemann, the U.S. international goalkeeper who is currently playing for Everton, is a well-known heavy metal fan, but it was the first time he had ever taken his passion for metal into a recording studio.

Said Hahnemann: "[It was] a great day. I wanted to come down and just see what recording would be like, piecing a track together. I had an awesome time."

Added MALEFICE vocalist Dale Butler: "[The session went] really well. It exceeded expectations. We knew Marcus was going to be good, but he was actually better than even he firstly anticipated."

The video for "Omega" can be seen below. The clip features footage that was taken by Daniel Bache, Edd Haddon and Jeremy Haddon and edited by Mark Smith at The Dark Box.

MALEFICE's third full-length album, "Awaken The Tides", was released in July 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The 10-song effort was recorded at The Face studios in Reading with drums laid down at Fortress Studios in London. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Justin Hill.

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante has posted a short video clip of the band's March 31 performance at Carnaval Beach Ancol in Jakarta, Indonesia. Check it out below.

Photos of ANTHRAX's and HELLYEAH's joint press conference in Jakarta, which took place on March 30 at the Sheraton Hotel, Gunung Sahari, are available at iRockumentary.com.

ANTHRAX has begin recording a cover version of RUSH's "Anthem" (from the Canadian rock band's second album, 1975's "Fly By Night") for an upcoming tribute album. No further details are currently available.

According to guitarist Scott Ian, ANTHRAX's sold-out March 15 concert at O2 Islington Academy in London, England was filmed for an upcoming DVD.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous studio CD, 2003's "We've Come For You All", opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122.

The CD cover artwork for "Worship Music" was handled by renowned comic book artist Alex Ross, who has worked with Marvel Comics and DC Comics and is known for his "Marvels", "Kingdom Come", and "Astro City" illustrations. Ross also did the original artwork for ANTHRAX's "We've Come For You All" and "Music Of Mass Destruction" albums.

ANTHRAX recently completed the second leg of its U.S. tour with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL.

METALLICA's Lars Ulrich and MACHINE HEAD's Robb Flynn were the featured guests on this past Saturday's (March 31) episode of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show". You can now watch the entire program below.

Remaining episodes in season ten of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show":

Premiere date - April 7:

* Alice Cooper
* Jack Russell (GREAT WHITE)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE) (guest drummer)

Premiere date - April 14:

* Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES)
* George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB, T&N)
* Jeff Pilson (DOKKEN, T&N, FOREIGNER)
* Mick Brown (DOKKEN, T&N)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE) (guest drummer)

Premiere date - April 21:

* Adrian Smith (IRON MAIDEN, PRIMAL ROCK REBELLION)
* Michael Schenker (guest guitarist)

Premiere date - April 28:

* Robert Mason (WARRANT, LYNCH MOB)
* Jerry Dixon (WARRANT)
* Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD)
* Michael Schenker (MSG, UFO, SCORPIONS) (guest guitarist)

Premiere date - May 5:

* Michael Schenker (MSG, UFO, SCORPIONS)
* Mike McCready (PEARL JAM)
* Frank Hannon (TESLA) (guest guitarist)

Premiere date - May 12:

* Billy Duffy (THE CULT)
* Ian Astbury (THE CULT)
* Doro Pesch
* Frank Hannon (TESLA) (guest guitarist)

Premiere date – May 19:

* Vinnie Paul Abbott (PANTERA, HELLYEAH, DAMAGEPLAN)
* Tommy Shaw (STYX)
* James Young (STYX)
* Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) (guest guitarist)

Episodes originally shot for Season 10 that will now air as part of Season 11 this summer:

Premiere date - to be announced:

* Bobby Blotzer (RATT)
* Steve Riley, Phil Lewis (L.A. GUNS)
* Steve Stevens (BILLY IDOL) (guest guitarist)

Premiere date - to be announced:

* David Draiman (DISTURBED)
* Russell Allen, Mike Orlando (ADRENALINE MOB)
* Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, DREAM THEATER) (guest drummer)

Distilling decades of your favorite hard rock and heavy metal into sixty minutes of mayhem; "That Metal Show" will deliver the ever-popular "Stump The Trunk" as well as the triumphant return of "TMS Top 5" to your TV every Saturday night at 11 p.m., only on VH1 Classic.

"That Metal Show" is a production of VH1 Classic. Lee Rolontz and Keshia Williams as executive producers for VH1. Jeff Baumgardner serves as producer for the series for VH1.

Seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST have been added to three shows (Orlando, Atlanta and Dallas) on the "Death To All Tour 2012" in benefit of Sweet Relief. This five-city trek will feature a majority of DEATH's amazing musicians, as well as special guests. This tour will celebrate the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner, as well as to raise awareness of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund — a charity that provides financial assistance to career musicians faced with illness, disability or age-related problems.

Commented ATHEIST frontman Kelly Shaefer: "We could not be more honored to be direct support on the upcoming 'Death To All' tour! It's gonna be a blast to gather with all our old and dear friends form the early days of extreme metal, and also to help celebrate the music from the godfather of death metal, Chuck Schuldiner. Any fan of death/extreme metal, I'm telling you now, sell everything to attend one or more of these shows. It's going to be legendary and you can bet on that! We will be doing the Orlando, Atlanta and Dallas shows, so we hope to see all the Southern metalheads out in force. Thanks to Anton and the organizers for asking us to be a part of this monumental moment in extreme metal history! See you all there!"

Canadian technical death metallers GORGUTS will open all shows up to, but not including, Orlando.

The drums on the "Death To All Tour 2012" will be handled by Gene Hoglan ("Individual Thought Patterns", "Symbolic") and Sean Reinert ("Human"). On bass will be Steve DiGiorgio ("Human", "Individual Thought Patterns") and Scott Clendenin ("The Sound Of Perseverance"). Guitar duties will be shared by Paul Masvidal ("Human"), Shannon Hamm ("The Sound of Perseverance") and Bobby Koelble ("Symbolic"). The vocals will be taken care of by Steffen Kummerer of OBSCURA and Charles Elliott of ABYSMAL DAWN and BEREFT.

The dates are as follows (opening act listed in parenthesis):

June 22 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA (GORGUTS)
June 23 - House of Blues – West Hollywood, CA (GORGUTS)
June 26 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL (GORGUTS)
June 28 - Irving Plaza – New York, NY (GORGUTS)
June 30 - The Beacham - Orlando, FL (ATHEIST)
July 01 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA (ATHEIST)
July 03 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX (ATHEIST)

For more information, go to this location.

Chuck died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

Omnibus Press has set an October 15 tentative release date for "Inside The Machine", whch is said to be the world's first MACHINE HEAD biography. Written by British rock author Joel McIver — whose 20 books to date include "Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica", "Crazy Train: The High Life And Tragic Death Of Randy Rhoads", "Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography", "To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Metallica's Cliff Burton", "Overkill: The Untold Story Of Motörhead", "The Bloody Reign Of Slayer" and "Unleashed: The Story Of Tool" — "Inside The Machine" details "the rise, fall and rise again of Oakland's finest thrash/groove metallers." More details will be made available soon.

MACHINE HEAD recently completed a North American headlining with support from SUICIDE SILENCE and DARKEST HOUR.

MACHINE HEAD's new album, "Unto The Locust", sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history.

MACHINE HEAD has consistently averaged more than 100,000 copies sold in the U.S. for each of its seven albums and has shifted double that overseas (accruing several silver records in the U.K.), resulting in cumulative worldwide sales of more than 2.4 million.

MACHINE HEAD's previous CD, "The Blackening", opened with just under 15,000 units back in April 2007 to debut at No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's 2004 effort, "Through The Ashes Of Empires", premiered with less than 12,000 copies to land at No. 88.

Die Death Metal-Giganten von JOB FOR A COWBOY werden ihr neues Studioalbum "Demonocracy" am 6./10. April über Metal Blade Records veröffentlichen! Der 9-Tracker wurde produziert von Jason Seucof (Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Trivium), der auch schon für das formidable Ruination verantwortlich zeichnete, in den Audiohammer Studios. Das erneut äußerst detailverliebte Cover Artwork kreierte Brent Elliott White.

"Demonocracy" kocht über vor ungezügelten Gemeinheiten und grenzenloser Empörung. Das Quintett hat es während seiner Karriere geschafft, sich dank eines ausgefüllten Tourkalenders und kompromissloser Musik eine treue Fanbasis zu errichten. 2012 klingen JOB FOR A COWBOY hungriger denn je!

Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based female-fronted melodic death metallers THE AGONIST have completed work on their long-awaited third studio album, "Prisoners", due on June 5 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. Produced by Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, SUICIDE SILENCE), the CD "picks right up where 2009's 'Lullabies For The Dormant Mind' left off, with soaring melodies over complex metal passages that fans of thinking-man's metal can appreciate," according to a press release.

Commented singer Alissa White-Gluz: "Creating 'Prisoners' was the most challenging under-taking to date for THE AGONIST. Years of emotion, passion, thought and experience went into making this album, and I think people will be able to hear, feel and think right along with us when they listen to 'Prisoners'."

Fans don't have to wait until release date to hear new music though. The band will be selling digital download cards throughout their upcoming tour with KITTIE. The brand new track "Ideomotor" and the previously limited-edition EP-only track "The Escape" will be available for immediate download, with the remainder of the album available on release date.

THE AGONIST last fall took part in a North American tour with KAMELOT, ALESTORM and BLACKGUARD. Unfortunately, THE AGONIST lead guitarist Danny Marino was unable to join the band on this trek, and was replaced by ex-THE CATALYST guitarist Justin Deguire on rhythm guitar while Pascal "Paco" Jobin took over lead guitar duties.

In a recent interview with MetalConcerts.net, Alissa White-Gluz stated about the musical direction of the follow-up to 2009's "Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", "I wouldn't say it's heavier or more melodic. I think it sounds more mature. It has the same sort of schizophrenic side that 'Lullabies' has, but it also has some other I guess what you would call classic influences. Like, there's some PANTERA influence, there's some RADIOHEAD influence. I mean, there's a lot of influences that we didn't really have before."

"Lullabies For A Dormant Mind" debuted at No. 105 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.

First off we announce the departure of our long standing drummer Urakbarameel. After nine years of dedication to the band we would like to thank him for his all his hard work & wish him the best for the future, he can now be found beating the skins for London based rock/metal band DAKEN. As we say goodbye to one drummer we welcome another in the form of Norse stick assassin André Kjelbergvik Thung, who can also be found performing in J.D. Tait's other bands EBONILLUMINI & THE HIGHER CRAFT as well as Norwegian band DOZARNE.

Heading straight to the studio with our new drummer we have recorded a cover of BATHORY's 'Destroyer of Worlds' for the BATHORY tribute album 'Voices From Valhalla' due for release in May via Godreah Records. The release will also feature Metatron's other band WOLVES OF AVALON as well as MEADS cohorts SIGH & OLD CORPSE ROAD.

The first quarter of 2012 has drawn to a close & the writing & recording of the new meads album 'Sondercommando' is well underway, hopefully to be released in the last quarter of the year.

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has announced OZZY OSBOURNE seven-inch and 12-inch vinyl releases created especially for Record Store Day 2012, celebrated at independent record stores worldwide on Saturday, April 21.

Now in its fifth year, Record Store Day is an annual day-long celebration of record store culture taking place on the third Saturday in April. In January, RSD announced the appointment of Iggy Pop to the post of Record Store Day 2012 Ambassador.

Legacy Recordings' OZZY OSBOURNE releases for Record Store Day 2012 are:

* "Live" 12-inch 180-gram audiophile vinyl LPs (two-disc set): A limited, numbered collector's edition recorded live on the 1981 "Blizzard Of Ozz" tour with legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads

* "Believer" live seven-inch single: A limited, numbered collector's edition on polka-dot vinyl featuring "Believer" (live) + "Goodbye to Romance" (2010 guitar and vocal mix)

Fan-filmed video footage of HELLYEAH's March 31 concert at Carnaval Beach Ancol in Jakarta, Indonesia as the support act for ANTHRAX can be seen below.

Photos from the two bands' joint press conference in Jakarta, which took place on March 30 at the Sheraton Hotel, Gunung Sahari, are available at iRockumentary.com.

HELLYEAH's third album, "Band Of Brothers", will be released on June 5 via the band's new label home, Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded in Dallas, Texas at drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott's home studio, VP's Upstairs Studio, and was produced by the band and Jeremy Parker (GODSMACK, EVANESCENCE), who also served as engineer.

Having produced track after track of heavy-hitting, in-your-face, feel-good rock and roll on their previous two albums (2010's "Stampede" and 2007's self-titled debut), HELLYEAH takes a slightly different musical direction on "Band Of Brothers". Drawing on their former bands' collective metal roots for inspiration, the influences and style of MUDVAYNE, PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN and NOTHINGFACE are immediately recognizable in tracks such as "Band Of Brothers", "War In Me" and "Rage Burn", while the party anthem "Drink, Drank, Drunk" retains the essence of earlier HELLYEAH.

Video footage of GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna performing an acoustic cover version of the METALLICA classic "Nothing Else Matters" during his solo concert last night (Sunday, April 1) at the Paramount in Huntington, New York can be seen bleow.

A review of the concert by Elliot Levin of the NY Hard Rock Music Examiner is available at this location.

Erna is touring to promote the release of "Avalon Live", his upcoming live DVD/Blu-ray that features the singer and an eight-piece band performing songs from his 2010 solo debut, "Avalon". A late April release for the disc is planned, although an exact arrival date has yet to be confirmed.

Many fans feared when Erna announced his solo project a couple of years ago that it would mean the end of GODSMACK. But Erna told The Pulse Of Radio that nothing could be further from the truth. "For me, I didn't go off and do a solo thing because I was angry at my band," he said. "As an artist, I need both for balance. It's just creative, you know, juices that need to come out and I can't write some of the stuff I wrote for the solo record and fit it into GODSMACK's world. It doesn't work, it's not the same texture."

The limited edition of "Avalon Live" will include the show, a documentary and behind-the-scenes footage on three DVDs, two CDs, a book, T-shirt, guitar pick, poster, incense, and a custom Sully Erna engraved metal box with a suede lining. There will only be 5,000 of the box sets produced.

GODSMACK will release a live album called "Live And Inspired" this spring. The effort will include 13 songs recorded at a show in Detroit, Michigan on the band's last tour and will be packaged with a bonus disc containing four cover songs.

Scott Vogel (TERROR) is the latest guest musician to appear on the forthcoming full-length album from the Los Angeles hardcore band STRIFE. The group enlisted longtime friend Igor Cavalera (SEPULTURA, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY) to play drums on the CD, which is being produced by TERROR drummer Nick Jett (TAKE OFFENSE, LIONHEART). Igor laid down the drum tracks at Mix Nova Studios in Brazil, with additional recordings taking place at Blood Tracks Studio and Sunset Lodge in Los Angeles. Producer Matt Hyde (HATEBREED, SLAYER) will take care of the mastering duties later this month.

STRIFE's new album will also feature a guest appearance by guitarist Marc Rizzo (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY).

Commented STRIFE guitarist Andrew Kline: "Igor absolutely killed the drum tracks. He played a lot more straight-forward than he normally does to fit our style, and then added the right fills and touches to really stand out."

A final release date, label, cover art and additional information on STRIFE's first CD since 2001's "Angermeans" will be revealed in the near future.

Cavalera previously made a guest appearance on STRIFE's second album, 1997's "In This Defiance".

STRIFE is:

Rick Rodney - Vocals
Andrew Kline - Guitar
Chad Peterson - Bass
Todd Turnham - Guitar
Pepe Magana - Drums

DEATH DIVISION — the heavy, technically aggressive and melodic band founded by bassist Jerry Montano (HELLYEAH, DANZIG, NOTHINGFACE), drummer Tim Yeung (MORBID ANGEL, DIVINE HERESY, HATE ETERNAL, NILE), vocalist/guitarist Sean de La Tour and lead guitarist Rick Di Marco — has started recording new material with engineer Matt Starr (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, Dizzy Reed) .

Commented the group: "We are tracking everything at Deathcult Manor (DEATH DIVISION headquarters). We are doing it old school like [LED] ZEPPELIN, DOWN and [Dave] Grohl. The band is extremely excited about getting music out."

In other news, Bill Weiss (THE EXIES videographer) has been hard at work editing the DEATH DIVISION short film. Described as a "a look into DEATH DIVISION" featuring Andrew Bryniarski (who played Leatherface in Newline Cinema's remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre") and Lacey Conner (singer, songwriter, "Rock Of Love" TV show contestant), the film was shot at Deathcult Manor and contains "nudity, violence and DEATH DIVISION."

Also on the DEATH DIVISION front, the band has been working with Carin Cronacher of Hazmat Design (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER) on the group's official logo and artwork.

For more information, visit the DEATH DIVISION Facebook page.

U.K. doom metal veterans MY DYING BRIDE have entered Futureworks Studios in Manchester with longtime production partner Rob "Mags" Magoolagan to begin recording the follow-up to 2009's "For Lies I Sire" for a fall release via Peaceville Records.

According to a press release, "MY DYING BRIDE have been deep into the writing process since last year when they marked 20 years of existence with the special orchestral 'Evinta' release, plus the dose of supreme doom metal that was 'The Barghest O' Whitby'; a single 27-minute track exploring the dark and immensely heavy side of the band, ranking among their heaviest and most ferocious material ever written, as well as being the first studio recording to feature new keyboard/violin player Shawn McGowan."

"The Barghest O' Whitby" was recorded at Futureworks sees the return of Shaun "Winter" Taylor Steels to the drum stool for this recording.

The cover artwork for "The Barghest O' Whitby" was created by MY DYING BRIDE vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe.

The "Always…"-era (1992) lineup of the Dutch rock outfit THE GATHERING played its 20th-anniversary celebration concert last night (Sunday, April 1) at W2 in Den Bosch, Holland. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Regarding their decision to recurrect the "Always…" lineup of THE GATHERING, the group previously said, "After years we (THE GATHERING) came in contact again, thanks to Facebook, with the nice people from ACROSTICHON (Corinne and Richard). Of course, we talked a lot about the good old days, especially the ones we had at the Willem II concert hall in Den Bosch. There was a matinee gig every month (I think it was every last Sunday), and we saw some great bands such as CANDLEMASS, MORBID ANGEL, DEATH, and, of course, we played there as well. Those days were so much fun. We had a great nostalgic trip talking about those days. Soon we came to the conclusion we would love to do this again!

"As you might know, our debut album, 'Always…', is almost 20 years old (April 1992). [We] contacted all old-school THE GATHERING 'Always…'-era members and everybody immediatly liked the idea to do something together. An old-school doom/death party! ACROSTICHON released their debut album, 'Engraved In Black', almost the same period, and our friends from PENTACLE released their debut demo, 'Caressed By Both Sides', as well 20 years ago. Why not celebrate this?"

THE GATHERING's latest album, "The West Pole", was released in North America on June 2, 2009 via Season of Mist. The CD was issued in most of Europe on May 4, 2009 via the group's own label, Psychonaut Records.

"The West Pole" marks the recording debut of new THE GATHERING singer Silje Wergeland, who was previously in the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI. It also includes two very talented guest vocalists, Anne van den Hoogen and Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION), along with other guest musicians.

"Let The Maggots Have It", the new video from Danish thrash metallers THE KANDIDATE (formerly THE DOWNWARD CANDIDATE), can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's sophomore album, "Facing The Imminent Prospect Of Death", which was released in January via Napalm Records.

According to a press release, "Facing the Imminent Prospect of Death" "continues to deliver the band's characteristic vigor and intensity. Songs like 'Total War', 'Let The Maggots Have It' and 'Fucked In The Search For Life' speak a stern language dominated by heavy riffs and all-destroying grooves sure to cause more than one case of whiplash. The band's sound also includes death and hardcore elements that give the album a newfound energy. The recording, mixing, and mastering were personally overseen by Jacob Bredahl himself. His expertise is apparent in the resulting release. 'Facing The Imminent Prospect Of Death' is a brutal riff rapid-fire barrage to be most enthusiastically received in the mosh pit!"

"Facing The Imminent Prospect Of Death" track listing:

01. Death
02. Beyond The Mind, Sleep You'll Find
03. One And Alone
04. Total War
05. Modvind
06. Let The Maggots Have It
07. Standing On The Cliffs Of Madness
08. Fucked In The Search For Life
09. Disillusionized
10. Dommedag
11. The Knives Spit

Professionally filmed video footage of MASTODON performing the song "Dry Bone Valley" on February 11 at the O2 Academy in Brixton, England (suburban London) can be seen below.

MASTODON will hit the road for a spring North American tour in support of their current album "The Hunter", which was released by Reprise Records in September. The tour kicks off on April 4 in Portland, Maine, and visits more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up with a hometown show at Atlanta's Masquerade Music Park on May 12. These shows will feature an amazing night of powerful music featuring a dream bill with Swedish metal band OPETH as co-headliners, with special guest GHOST providing support on all dates. Collectively MASTODON has stated: "We're excited to co-headline this tour with OPETH for whom we have great respect and admiration. Having GHOST along as well will make this tour a special event."

MASTODON was among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which was held on February 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's Grammy nomination was for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter".

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".

The official lyric video for "Subjected To A Beating", a brand new song from Maryland extreme metallers DYING FETUS, can be seen below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Reign Supreme", which will be released on June 17 via Relapse Records. The CD, which was recorded at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX), will feature nine tracks and is "a 'return to roots,' with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works," according to a press release. "Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know."

Commented DYING FETUS guitarist/vocalist John Gallagher: "The last album had some groove in it, but [it] was basically a lot of tech; this one is a return to form of older DYING FETUS albums, so to speak — more modern production, though, of course. Everything's tight, the sound is crushing, the drums are amazing."

Video footage of DYING FETUS performing a brand new song, "Invert The Idols", on March 20 at Sonar in Baltimore, Maryland can be seen below.

DYING FETUS is currently on the road in North America with DEVILDRIVER, THE FACELESS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and IMPENDING DOOM as part of the Metal Alliance Tour.

DYING FETUS' latest album, "Descend Into Depravity", sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 166 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at position No. 4 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.

"Subjected To A Beating" lyric video:

"Tragedy Of Days", a rare track from Ohio metal goliaths SKELETONWITCH, can be streamed below. Never formally released on record in the States, the tune was recorded during the "Forever Abomination" sessions with producer Matt Hyde and appeared on the Decibel magazine flexi-disc series (October 2011 issue) as well as the Japanese edition of "Forever Abomination".

Comments SKELETONWITCH guitarist Scott Hedrick: "'Tragedy Of Days' was an epic instrumental by [guitarist] Nate [Garnette]'s former band SERKESORON. They disbanded after the untimely passing of SERKESORON's frontman Thom Wright. Shortly after the band called it quits, SKELETONWITCH was born. We re-recorded the track and Chance [Garnette] added vocals as a tribute to Thom, immortalizing him in song."

The new vinyl reissues of the SKELETONWITCH's breakthrough releases "Breathing The Fire" and "Beyond The Permafrost" are now shipping from the Prosthetic store. Both are available in three variants — splatter, half-and-half and 180-gram black wax — and feature gatefold Stoughton "tip-on" record jackets. The black vinyl versions of both albums will be available in select retail stores on April 10.

SKELETONWITCH is currently setting stage ablaze on tour alongside THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NILE and labelmates HOUR OF PENANCE. This marks the group's first North American tour action of 2012 in support of "Forever Abomination". The band will take a brief break before heading overseas for a stretch of European dates.

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet, political activist and SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian is in his Serjical Strike Studios in Los Angeles putting the finishing touches on his third solo studio album, "Harakiri", the follow-up to 2010's "Imperfect Harmonies", which will be released this summer on Serjical Strike/Reprise Records.

Much of the new record was written in 2011, which was an incredibly busy year for the diversely talented musician and what Serj describes as "the busiest, most productive year of my life so far." In February, the rock musical "Prometheus Bound", which he composed all of the music for, opened at the Oberon Theater at Harvard in Boston to rave reviews. 2011 also saw Serj release his second poetry book, "Glaring Through Oblivion". He toured with SYSTEM OF A DOWN across three continents, performed with the Opera Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia, where he also had political meetings with heads of state and hosted non-profit events. He then performed his first ever concert in Lebanon, the place of his birth, with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. When he returned to the U.S., he finished writing four records: a jazz record, an electronic record he wrote with his friend Jimmy Urine of MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE, a full classical symphony called "Orca", and the new solo rock record that he is currently mastering.

"The year 2011 started with a fire. Some kids in Piha, New Zealand were setting off fireworks that landed on my neighbor's property and lit the whole hill on fire. I knew it was going to be a hell of a year and it certainly was," says Tankian. "Within five days of that, reports came out about birds and fish dying in massive numbers globally. The omen was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive hara-kiri (the Japanese term signifying ritualistic suicide.) Do they know something we don't about the coming times or the sustainability of the environment? That is the day I started writing this record."

The symbolism of entire species eradicating themselves on a large scale struck Serj emotionally, and is an underlying theme on the entire record. He took that idea and went to work writing, incorporating all of the experiences of his chaotic year to make a different kind of record. "The record is different than any I've made as a solo artist," he says. "It is much more driving and punk-oriented, with influences ranging from goth to electronic to '80s vibes, dynamically heavy rock to epic melodic songs. Lyrically, it spans the gauntlet of themes from personal, political and philosophical to spiritual, humor and love."

He also tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," he says. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results."

The new album is slated for a summer release, and is all performed, written, produced, and engineered by Serj. The album will also feature performances by Serj's touring band, THE F.C.C. — Dan Monti on guitar, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album will be mastered by Vlado Meller (METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KANYE WEST, BEASTIE BOYS).

Photo credit: John Papp

U.K. metalcore act BURY TOMORROW has inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's second album, "The Union Of Crowns", will be released on July 16.

"We are unbelievably honoured to be signing to Nuclear Blast," said the the group in a statement. "It feels unreal to be part of a label with such immense pedigree that has so much faith in our music. From the first demo they were sent, the guys at Nuclear Blast were just as stoked on the potential of the record as we were, and that means an awful lot to us.

"We have always said that this album would be how we defined the genre we've grown up in; what better place to start this path on, than with the world's biggest heavy metal label!"

Jaap Wagemaker at Nuclear Blast says, "After listening to the first music that was sent to us, we decided that we HAD to work with this young band immediately! Having just finished recording their debut album for Nuclear Blast, 'The Union Of Crowns'… this incredible record clearly shows that this band has everything to make it big in today's metal scene and go far beyond that! We at Nuclear Blast are looking forward to bring this band to the next level!"

"The Union Of Crowns" track listing:

01. Redeemer
02. The Maiden
03. Lionheart
04. Message to a King
05. An Honourable Reign
06. Knight Life
07. Royal Blood
08. Bitemarks
09. Abdication of Power
10. Kingdom
11. 1603
12. Sceptres
13. Vacant Throne
14. A Curse

BURY TOMORROW is:

Davyd Winter Bates - Bass
Mehdi Vismara - Guitar
Daniel Winter Bates - Vocals
Adam Jackson - Drums
Jason Cameron - Vocals/Guitar

After taking part in the "Covan Wake The Fuck Up Tour 2012" in January, Polish industrial metallers THY DISEASE returned to the studio to resume work their new album for a late 2012 release.

Commented THY DISEASE guitarist Yanuary: "We have happily reached the end of the tour and after a short break, we've started working under our sixth album in our rehearsal room in Krakow. I'm very impressed with how this album is created; the entire band is involved in this process. However, the music which is composed at the present moment, should surely show the path, which the band is going to walk for the next 10 years, I suppose. Very soon we will definitely share with you some details in the form of couple of video reports, which you will be able to watch on our YouTube channel. Meanwhile, we are extremely focused on composing the new tracks. The only exception is going to be the Eliminations For Woodstock concert, which is planned on 15 April in Zabrze in CK Wiatrak club. We cordially invite you to this event. The entrance will be for free, so we hope that all our fans will show us a support."

THY DISEASE's latest album, "Anshur-Za", was released in November 2009 via Mystic Productions. The follow-up to 2006's "Rat Age" was recorded in three different studios and was once again produced by Tomasz Zalewski. The CD's artwork was created by Xaay, who has previously worked with BEHEMOTH.

"Anshur-Za" included two bonus tracks — cover versions of MADONNA's "Frozen" and DEPECHE MODE's "Sinner In Me".

Southern Lord recently announced a deluxe reissue of one of the towering achievements in metal history, "Dopesmoker" by SLEEP.

For the 2012 reissue, there are some very notable changes. The original studio tapes have been remastered, presenting the album as the band had originally intended. The audio is clearer, louder, and at last brings a true representation of SLEEP's hour-plus Weedian chronicle. Exclusive to this Southern Lord edition is brand new artwork by longtime SLEEP artist Arik Roper, who crafted something truly special and consciousness-expanding for the album’s rebirth. Additionally, this reborn version of "Dopesmoker" boasts an unreleased live recording of one of the band's best all-time performances: "Holy Mountain" from San Francisco's I-Beam in 1994.

This edition ensures that this mesmerizing, incredibly complex document remains unrivaled in the annals of stoner metal.

"Dopesmoker" track listing:

01. Dopesmoker (1:03:31)
02. Holy Mountain (Live @ the I-Beam SF, CA. 1994) (11:54)

In conjunction with the "Dopesmoker" reissue, SLEEP will headline the 2012 edition of the Roadburn festival in Tilburg, Netherlands before departing on a 24-city tour of Europe, commencing May 3 in Wroclaw, Poland.

Italian power metallers SECRET SPHERE have recruited an as-yet-undisclosed new lead singer following the recent departure of Roberto "Ramon" Messina. According to the band, the new vocalist is "inishing laying down vocals, and lyrics for the new album, and he's doing a huge amount of work in a very short time and he's constantly in touch with Aldo [Lonobile, guitar], updating the work process!"

The group adds, "What can we say? He's great, really great, so please be patient as we wait for the right time to prepare a proper welcome to the family and we will introduce him to you all! Stay tuned, something great is coming!!! "
After 12 years, six albums, and tours around the world, Messina decided to leave SECRET SPHERE due to musical differences.

SECRET SPHERE's sixth album, "Archetype", was released in Europe in September 2010 via Scarlet Records. The CD was recorded at Authoma Studios and was produced by guitarist Aldo Lonobile and Federico Pennazzato. The album was mastered at Massive Arts Studio, while the cover artwork was handled by Gustavo Sazes.

"Daybreaker", das Folgealbum zum erfolgreichen "The Here And Now" von ARCHITECTS aus Brighton, UK, ist endlich fertig. Die Band hat die Arbeiten daran zusammen mit John Mitchell und Ben Humphreys (Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, The Blackout, Funeral For A Friend, Exit Ten, Your Demise, Lower Than Atlantis, Kids In Glass Houses) - dasselbe Team unter dessen Regie bereits "Hollow Crown" entstand in den Outhouse Studios in Reading abgeschlossen. Das fantastische Artwork stammt von Paul Jackson (Tank.Axe.Love). "Daybreaker" erscheint am 25. Mai 2012.

"Daybreaker" Track List

1. The Bitter End
2. Alpha Omega
3. These Colours Don't Run
4. Daybreak
5. Truth, Be Told
6. Even If You Win, You're Still A Rat
7. Outsider Heart
8. Behind The Throne
9. Devil's Island
10. Feather Of Lead
11. Unbeliever