An eight-and-a-half-minute audio preview of "Helvetios", the new album from Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE, is available below. Due in Europe on February 10 via Nuclear Blast Records, the CD was recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy T. Baron; CORONER/ex-KREATOR guitarist). According to the band, Vetterli "record[ed] drums, guitars and vocals and also produc[ed] and mix[ed] the record. Most folk instruments and also vocals [were] recorded by Anna Murphy and Marco Jencarelli at the Soundfarm studios in Lucerne."

"Helvetios" track listing:

01. Prologue
02. Helvetios
03. Luxtos
04. Home
05. Santonian Shores
06. Scorched Earth
07. Meet The Enemy
08. Neverland
09. A Rose For Epona
10. Havoc
11. The Uprising
12. Hope
13. The Siege
14. Alesia
15. Tullianum
16. Uxellodunon
17. Epilogue

ELUVEITIE's last album, "Everything Remains (As It Never Was)", sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 23 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.

ELUVEITIE has joined CHILDREN OF BODOM on the Finnish metallers' North American headlining tour in celebration of the band's 15th anniversary. The trek kicked off on January 30 in Rochester, New York and will run through March 4, hitting 26 cities over the course of the five-week jaunt. Boston-based extreme metal band REVOCATION and Canada's THREAT SIGNAL are also on the bill.

"Helvetios" preview:

Slash — the iconic, Grammy-winning rock guitarist and songwriter — will begin mixing his second solo album on Monday, February 13. He writes on Facebook, "The rough mixes sound great. It's a really solid record. [I] can't wait to get it out there!"

The as-yet-untitled disc is due out May 22 on Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI.

In the U.K., the album will be released on May 21 in exclusive Classic Rock Fan Pack form — providing a unique collectable package containing the studio album with bonus tracks alongside a specially created magazine with unseen behind-the-scenes content put together by Classic Rock. The Fan Pack format will also come with free gifts, including a pin badge and artwork poster and will be available to buy via more than 2000 retail outlets on newsstands nationally as well as the traditional high street and online music retailers. Roadrunner Records will simultaneously release the record digitally. The standard physical release of the Slash album will follow through Roadrunner Records on June 18.

For the new album, Slash — along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) — teamed with producer Eric Valentine, who also produced the "Slash" disc. All the songs were written together by Slash and Kennedy, and cameras have been rolling throughout the entire making of the album. Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes footage airing weekly beginning today.

Photo credit: Travis Shinn

Video footage of Italian heavy metal singer Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY OF FIRE, KAMELOT) performing a karaoke-style cover version of the QUEEN classic "The Show Must Go On" on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise — which set sail on January 23 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, Florida to George Town, Cayman Islands and returned four days later — can be viewed below.

Lione was the lead singer for KAMELOT for their most recent North American, South American and European tours following the departure of the band's longtime frontman, Roy Khan.

Lione stated in a 2011 interview that he would "would love" to join KAMELOT permanently. He said, "The KAMELOT songs are great, I really like the style and Khan is probably one of the few singers that I like. So, of course, I would consider that!!! But first let's do the North American [tour]. Then if they will ask me, I'll be more than happy to join the band permanently."

He added, "Since the first time we met and played together, we had a very good feeling. Everything was easy and natural like we knew each other for years and everybody who saw the band in South America or Europe said we did great shows. I'm happy for the guys and the fans, so let's see what the future will bring for us. Never say never."

"Love", the previously unreleased third album from the long-defunct 1990s Swedish death metal band LEUKEMIA, will be made available next month via Vic Records.

LEUKEMIA was formed in 1989 by Lord K. (THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX, TORTURE DIVISION, DARK FUNERAL, HABITAT) and Jocke Granlund (HABITAT, URBERGET, ALAN HANSEN) as a thrash metal band with death metal influences. LEUKEMIA released its debut album, "Suck My Heaven", in 1993 on the legendary Swedish label Black Mark. Their second album, "Grey-Flannel Souled", followed in 1994 on Step One Records (FURBOWL, MORHPEUS).

By the end of 1994, LEUKEMIA entered Unisound Studios (OPETH, KATATONIA, EDGE OF SANITY) with Dan Swanö to record their third album named "Love", this time with Dan Swanö as a member doing all backing vocals (clean vocals, screams and grunts). After the recordings, the LEUKEMIA members went on to form different bands and projects and they didn't shop around for a record deal for this fully recorded and mixed album. When Vic Records signed THE PROJECT HATE in 2006, Lord K. mentioned this album which was very special to him and which he wanted to see finally released. The deal was signed and Swanö mastered the album 13 years after it was recorded. The cover and booklet art was created by Marko Saarelainen (PESTILENCE, THE PROJECT HATE).

For more information, go to this location.

"Paths Of The Formless", the new video from NIGHTFIRE, the Newark, Delaware-based progressive/melodic/technical death/black metal band featuring members of ANTIKYTHERA, BLOOD OF ABEL and JUNGLE ROT, can be seen below. The song comes off the group's latest album, "Penumbra", which was released on December 22, 2011.

Formed in August 2008, NIGHTFIRE's current lineup consists of Dan Reidinger (guitar), James Dorton (vocals), Jesse Beahler (drums), Ryan "Der Verführer" (bass) and Andy Thomas (guitar). The band toured Europe in autumn of 2009 with JUNGLE ROT, ION, DREAD and VERMIN, and has played live shows with such international acts as MARDUK, DYING FETUS, THE FACELESS, NACHTMYSTIUM, DEICIDE, IMMOLATION and NILE.

German thrash metal veterans KREATOR will release their new album, "Phantom Antichrist" on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD is currently being recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).

The cover artwork for "Phantom Antichrist" was created by Wes Benscoter (SLAYER, DIO, BLACK SABBATH) and can be seen below.

KREATOR will release a seven-inch single containing the "Phantom Antichrist" title track on April 20. The collector's item will be available in colored red vinyl (limited to 250 pieces) as well as in clear vinyl (limited to 250 pieces, exclusively available at the Nuclear Blast mailorder).

A brand new promotional photo of KREATOR can be seen below (photo by Stefan Heilemann of Stuttgart, Germany's Heilemania).

When asked about the musical direction of KREATOR's new material, the band's guitarist/vocalist Miland "Mille" Petrozza stated in a recent interview, "The songs are coming along great and I think it's OK to say that this will be our most epic album so far. There's some classical, a lot of traditional metal, and, of course, a huge dose of thrash metal influences in the new stuff. Everyone in the band is very excited at this point. The demos sound killer so far. We have about 10 songs we're working on so far.

Regarding the lyrical and visual concept for the forthcoming CD, Petrozza said, "It's too early to talk about the lyrics yet; many are written, but they keep changing all the time. Visually, we have tapped Wes Benscoter [BLACK SABBATH, DIO, SLAYER, CATTLE DECAPITATION, BLOODBATH] for the cover art. I can tell you this much: The artwork will be insane!"

In an interview with Aftonbladet journalist Mattias Kling, Petrozza stated about KREATOR's collaboration with Jens Bogren, "He's really good; I like him. I like the sounds that he gets. And I think the combination — Jens Bogren and KREATOR — it will be pretty heavy."

On the topic of how the new material is different from KREATOR's previous output, Mille said, "It's always a little hard for me to talk about music has been written but is not released yet. It will definitely have all the KREATOR trademarks. The lyrics will talk about nowadays stuff, as usual, so it will be like a photography of the year 2012. Also the lyrics will deal a lot of things that are actually happening at this point in time. It will be like reading a newspaper or something [laughs], with all the stuff happening. And, of course, the music will be typical KREATOR, and we also wanna expand the sound and progress as musicians. I mean, this lineup has been the strongest lineup KREATOR ever had since ten years, and now I think we're ready to come out with an album that blows everyone away."

KREATOR is:

Miland "Mille" Petrozza – Vocals, Guitrar
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitar
Christian "Speesy" Giesler - Bass
Jürgen "Ventor" Reil - Drums

"Phantom Antichrist" album artwork:

The self-titled debut album from UNISONIC — the band featuring former HELLOWEEN vocalist Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY, ex-HELLOWEEN) alongside Dennis Ward (bass) and Kosta Zafiriou (drums) of Germany's PINK CREAM 69 and Swiss guitarist Mandy Meyer (who has previously played with ASIA, GOTTHARD and KROKUS) — will be released on March 30 (nine days earlier in Japan) via earMUSIC/Edel. The effort will be made available in the following configurations:

Europe & rest of the world:

* CD jewel case
* CD limited edition Mediabook format with and extended booklet plus bonus track
* Vinyl and CD package limited edition

Japan:

*CD jewel case
* CD limited-edition digipack plus bonus track (exclusive for Japan)

The cover artwork, which was created by graphic artist Martin Häusler (MEAT LOAF, GOTTHARD, HELLOWEEN, MOTÖRHEAD), can be seen below.

"Unisonic" track listing:

01. Unisonic
02. Souls Alive
03. Never Too Late
04. I've Tried
05. Star Rider
06. Never Change Me
07. Renegade
08. My Sanctuary
09. King For A Day
10. We Rise
11. No One Ever Sees Me
12. Over The Rainbow (limited-edition bonus track)

UNISONIC's video for the song "Unisonic" can be seen below. According to a press release, the clip, which was directed by Häusler, "shows a powerful band performance at a magnificent ballroom in Heidelberg, Germany."

UNISONIC released its debut EP, "Ignition" on January 27 via earMUSIC/Edel. The effort includes the track "Unisonic" plus one demo song and a cover version of the HELLOWEEN classic "I Want Out", recorded live on October 15 at last year's edition of the Loud Park festival at Saitama Super Arena, a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Saitama City, Japan.

After the addition of Hansen to the group's lineup in early 2011, UNISONIC continued the songwriting process for its debut release, incorporating Kai's talent for writing great anthemic rock songs into its existing material. The recordings for the album started at end of September at ICP studios in Brussels, Belgium.

UNISONIC's music is very versatile and shows a broad approach to heavy rock without sacrificing the power and strong, catchy melodies that characterized the bandmembers' previous projects.

Commented Kiske: "It feels great to finally bring the band to the studio and record the songs we've been working on. We took our time to grow as a band, but it was definitely worth it and we are very proud of the result."

Added bassist/producer Ward: "We have a bunch of very strong songs and can't wait until people can hear them. Everyone in the band is now looking even more positive into the future."

Regarding Hansen's addition to UNISONIC, Kiske previously said, "After so many years of abstinence, I had a lot of fun doing my first live shows with UNISONIC in summer 2010, so I agreed to do the short world tour with AVANTASIA. It was a great experience to be on stage with all those great artists, but with Kai it was something different: We instantly felt the magic again and had a lot of fun together on and off stage. We both realized that we want to be together in band again. He was interested in the open musical concept of UNISONIC and finally asked me if he can join the band. I talked to my bandmates and they all felt great about it. His talent as a guitarist and songwriter is an enrichment for the band and we are looking forward to his contribution for the music of UNISONIC."

Kai Hansen's position in GAMMA RAY will be unaffected by his involvement with UNISONIC.

UNISONIC is:

Michael Kiske (vocals)
Mandy Meyer (guitar)
Kai Hansen (guitar)
Dennis Ward (bass)
Kosta Zafiriou (drums)

Having split with HELLOWEEN in late 1993, Kiske participated in various projects and released several solo albums but had not been part of a real group effort until now.

While collaborating with Ward and Zafiriou on the PLACE VENDOME project five years ago, Kiske found two musical soulmates. They ended up recording two PLACE VENDOME albums before deciding to join forces in a new brand new band. Ward, who had previously produced a record for KROKUS, suggested Meyer as the perfect addition to the group in the vacant guitarist slot.

Kiske, one of the finest and most unique voices in contemporary rock music, explains his motivation of becoming a part of a band again: "Since the PLACE VENDOME productions I was impressed by Dennis Ward's skills as a songwriter and producer. We were occasionally fooling around since then via email that we should do more together in the future, so the idea came up to do a new band. I was generally getting a bit tired of doing everything on my own for so many years, so it just felt like the right thing to do now."

During a brand new interview with the Detroit Free Press, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was asked how he is feeling several months after undergoing surgery for stenosis, a neck and spine condition that he says was caused by years of headbanging. "My neck is completely recovered," he said. "The surgery was a breeze. The doctor I used ... did Peyton Manning's surgery. Fortunately, my recovery time has been a lot faster than Peyton's. He was in before me and I'm out playing before him. I wish him well in his recovery."

When asked if he can still headbang, Mustaine said, "I can headbang, but I've found with the limitation of, 'Do I want to headbang or do I want to be in a wheelchair?' I kind of toned it down a little bit. There's more body parts you can move around. I mean, I'm not dancing or anything like that but I'm making the best use of it I can."

Speaking to Decibel magazine last November, Mustaine stated about his neck injury, "The way [2011's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival] ended, with me being hurt, I knew I was hurt, but I didn't know how bad. Nobody knew the writing was on the wall. I pretty much thought, 'Well, I''m hurt, but I'll just take it easy, have a couple of glasses of wine. I'll get through it, get a couple of trigger point injections, get an epidural.' There were a couple of times they gave me a shot in my neck that numbed me up. I saw chiropractors and masseuses all the time. It inevitably gets to the point where you're starting to take medication, and that's never good, because if you're taking something and you never feel the pain… You saw Curt Schilling when he was playing for the Diamondbacks, and Randy Johnson; I can't remember if [Schilling] was playing for the Diamondbacks that time he had the bloody sock or if he'd gone back to Boston or not yet — [he] did some heroic feat where he had his foot put back together and he went out there and played."

He added, "I'm an athlete, as a guitar player and as an onstage persona. But as far as being a musician that has to do hurdles — I don't think most musicians, when they start playing music, think that they're going to be playing this demanding-type music that those of us who are part of the 'Big Four' and all the bands we influenced and kind of created [play]. With the advent of the headbanging — which was not my invention, by any means; I'm not like Al Gore who invented the Internet — there was that whole headbanging thing that came around, it's hurt a lot us… What is headbanging, anyway? It's kind of like chronic whiplash syndrome, isn't it?"

A two-minute trailer for the forthcoming European headlining tour from Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers DELAIN — featuring audio samples of the band's new songs "Mother Machine" and "Get The Devil Out Of Me" — can be seen below. Both tracks will appear on DELAIN's third album, "We Are The Others", which will be released later in the year via Roadrunner Records. Described as "the band's most powerful, most atmospheric and intoxicating album to date," the CD was helmed by producer Jacob Hellner — renowned for his work with RAMMSTEIN, CLAWFINGER and APOCALYPTICA — while the vocals were tracked with the Epicentre team of Fredrik Thomander and Anders Wikström (SCORPIONS, BACKYARD BABIES).

Commented the band: "As you might expect from us, this album again offers some interesting collaborations, both in musical and visual terms.

"This record features none less than FEAR FACTORY shouter Burton C. Bell as a guest singer, and visual artist Glenn Arthur provided the cover artwork [see below].

"We met Burton at the Wacken Open Air festival a year ago and stayed in touch afterwards. When we were working on [the song] 'Where Is The Blood', we didn't hesitate to contact him for cooperation. He's done such an amazing job on the song turning the song into a most violent duet; his exceptional, raw voice fits perfectly to this song!

"The cover artwork was created by Glenn Arthur, a California-based visual artist whose work is inspired by art nouveau design and steampunk imagery. Charlotte [Wessels, vocals] is a big admirer of Glenn's work and she dedicated multiple blogs to his art.

"For the artwork of 'We Are The Others', we gave Glenn the lyrics to the song as inspiration.

"We're incredibly happy with how the cover turned out."

Added Charlotte: "From the first time I saw [Glenn's] work, I've been imagining it as cover artwork; something in the way his work is both esthetically very delicate, but always with a dark undertone, fits our music very well."

"We Are The Others" track listing:

01. Mother Machine
02. Electricity
03. We Are The Others
04. Milk And Honey
05. Hit Me With Your Best Shot
06. I Want You
07. Where Is The Blood (feat. Burton C. Bell)
08. Generation Me
09. Babylon
10. Are You Done With Me
11. Get The Devil Out Of Me
12. Not Enough

At first glance, some songtitles on "We Are The Others" may sound mysterious and conspiratorial, but there is a very serious background: The lyrics to the title track were inspired by the hate crime against a British girl named Sophie Lancaster in 2007. She and her boyfriend were beaten comatose by a gang of youths, because of their goth looks, and Sophie later died from her injuries. This tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the world.

Commented Charlotte: "Sophie's story hit close to home for us, being part of a subculture ourselves but it's in no way an individual case; people are discriminated against — all the time, to the point of violence — based on their cultural or ethnic background everywhere.

"'We Are The Others' is our own 'outsiders anthem' for everybody who, deliberately or not, diverts from the norm. Whether it's by looking different, acting different, or choosing a different path in life then is expected from you."

DELAIN will embark on a European headlining tour in April with support from TRILLIUM, the metal project masterminded by American singer/songwriter Amanda Somerville.

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES were forced to cut their set short last night (Thursday, February 9) at the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico after someone called in a bomb threat. According to Twitter messages from various members of IN FLAMES and their tour co-headliners TRIVIUM, the police showed up at the venue and pulled the plug on IN FLAMES' performance just as the band was about to play the closing song of its set, "Take This Life".

IN FLAMES is continuing to tour in support of its tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", which sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.

IN FLAMES' previous CD, "A Sense of Purpose" (Koch) opened with 20,000 units to land at No. 28. This was slightly less than the opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret), which shifted just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to enter the chart at position No. 58.

Guitarist Jeff Kendrick of California metallers DEVILDRIVER has revealed via Twitter that he has begun the process of writing the group's sixth album with his bandmates Mike Spreitzer (guitar) and John Boecklin (drums). Kendrick adds, "[I am] excited to get going!"

DEVILDRIVER recently took part in the European "The Eighth Plague Tour" with MACHINE HEAD, BRING ME THE HORIZON and DARKEST HOUR.
"The Eighth Plague Tour" kicked off on November 1 in Oslo, Norway and wrapped on December 6 in Manchester, England.

DEVILDRIVER bassist Aaron "Bubble" Patrick (ex-BURY YOUR DEAD) joined the band as the replacement for Jonathan Miller, who quit DEVILDRIVER in March 2011, calling it "the most difficult decision of my life" but "something that I needed to do for myself."

"Beast", the fifth album from DEVILDRIVER, sold a little over 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart.

MEGADETH played a six-song acoustic set for around 50 contest winners chosen by Detroit, Michigan's WRIF 101.1 FM radio station. The performance took place earlier today (Thursday, February 9) at 3:00 p.m. EST at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan and was streamed online at WRIF.com.

The band performed the following songs:

* Use The Man
* Angry Again
* A Tout Le Monde
* She-Wolf
* Public Enemy No. 1
* Symphony Of Destruction

Video footage of the performance can be seen in the YouTube clip below.

Gigantour — the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH — is making its highly anticipated return for the first time since 2008. The multi-artist bill — with metal heavyweights MOTÖRHEAD, VOLBEAT and LACUNA COIL all personally picked by MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine — kicked off on January 26 in Camden, New Jersey. Before wrapping February 28 in Denver, Colorado, the tour will make stops all across the U.S. and Canada, including a February 24 show in Los Angeles.

MEGADETH is among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's tenth Grammy nomination is for its new single, "Public Enemy No. 1", off MEGADETH's latest album, "TH1RT3EN", which came out on November 1.

"Public Enemy No. 1" actually marks the second Grammy nomination for music from "TH1RT3EN", as the song "Sudden Death" was first unveiled in the 2010 video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock" and received a "Best Metal Performance" nod.

The video for DEVIL'S TRAIN's cover version of THE GUESS WHO classic "American Woman" can be seen below.

DEVIL'S TRAIN is the new band featuring MYSTIC PROPHECY mainman/producer Roberto Dimitri Liapakis Liapakis, STRATOVARIUS drummer Jörg Michael, guitarist Lakis Ragazas, and SYMFONIA/ex-STRATOVARIUS bassist Jari Kainulainen.

"American Woman" is featured on DEVIL'S TRAIN's self-titled debut album, which is scheduled for release on February 17 via earMUSIC/Edel. The CD was recorded at Prophecy and Music Factory studios with the production team of Liapakis and Christian Schmid.

DEVIL'S TRAIN is a project Liapakis had been working on with Greek guitarist Lakis Ragazas for a year and as soon as Michael heard it, he asked to become part of it as the group's drummer.

Commented Liapakis: "I am rock and roll down to my veins and I always had diverse influences in my music, a great part of which are expressed in the music I write with MYSTIC PROPHECY. However, the style of music I have been preparing for DEVIL'S TRAIN with Lakis Ragazas isn't the style that would fit MYSTIC PROPHECY and this is why I decided to initiate a side band. Luckily, other people with whom I have common musical background share my vice for rock 'n' roll and Jörg, as I found out when we toured together [in] January [2010], is one of them."

"Devil's Train" track listing:

01. Fire And Water
02. Devil's Train
03. Roll The Dice
04. To The Ground
05. Forever
06. Sweet Devil's Kiss
07. Find New Love
08. Room 66-64
09. Coming Home
10. Yellow Blaze
11. The Answers
12. American Woman (THE GUESS WHO cover)

Former CHIMAIRA guitarist Matt DeVries has decided to leave his post as the touring bassist for Florida-based death metallers SIX FEET UNDER to pursue other musical endeavors. Details on who will be stepping in as the permanent bassist will be announced in the coming months.

SIX FEET UNDER is currently mixing its new album at Audiohammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM).

When asked about the musical direction of the material SIX FEET UNDER has written for its next album, Barnes said in a recent interview, "The music is gonna be, really, kind of an accelerated version of what we were doing before — faster-paced, more interesting time signatures as well as really wild choruses and some heavy vocals. I think people are really gonna be interested in this album. It's something different, but it's something the same. The feel of it is SIX FEET UNDER, but we've pushed it and added some horsepower."

In a separate interview, Chris stated about the forthcoming SIX FEET UNDER CD, "It's the best album I've written in a long time. Rob Arnold [SIX FEET UNDER guitarist] is writing some songs, got Ben [Savage] from WHITECHAPEL writing some songs. I've got Jari [Laine] from TORTURE KILLER writing some songs and Steve [Swanson, SIX FEET UNDER lead guitarist]. So we're really happy with it. It's really good stuff." He added, "I think that each album's a different journey for me, you know? The music speaks to me, so I kind of write from what it tells me and this album's been such a pleasure to be involved with because it's so interesting and it's given me more options to do different things or do things I haven't done in a while, so it's a lot of fun on that level."

Bassist Terry Butler and drummer Greg Gall announced their departures from SIX FEET UNDER in January 2011. Butler has since joined OBITUARY as a permanent member.

Multi-camera footage of SIX FEET UNDER performing the song "Hammer Smashed Faced" at the July 28, 2011 Sacramento, California stop of the "Summer Slaughter Tour" can be seen below.

SIX FEET UNDER's most recent touring lineup was as follows:

* Rob Arnold (CHIMAIRA) - Guitar
* Kevin Talley (DAATH, MISERY INDEX, CHIMAIRA) - Drums
* Chris Barnes (CANNIBAL CORPSE) - Vocals
* Steve Swanson - Guitar
* Matt DeVries (CHIMAIRA) – Bass

ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante and bassist Frank Bello (who is Charlie's nephew) rejoined the band on stage last night (Wednesday, Febraury 8) at the Best Buy Theater in New York City after missing several shows on the group's just-completed U.S. tour 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.

Fan-filmed video footage of the New York City concert can be seen below.

SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner will fill in for Charlie Benante at the following ANTHRAX shows:

Feb. 11 - Cordoba, Argentina - Cosquin Rock
Feb. 13 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Malvinas

Bittner last joined ANTHRAX on stage on November 8, 2011 at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, New York to perform the ANTHRAX classic "Madhouse".

Bittner previously filled in on drums for ANTHRAX for two shows in January 2006 after Charlie Benante was forced to leave the tour early to attend to his wife Sandra, who gave birth to the couple's first child, Mia Charley Benante.

ANTHRAX's latest album, "Worship Music", has sold more than 80,000 copies in the United States since its September 13, 2011 release.

Cameron Edney of Hardrock Haven recently conducted an interview with vocalist Nick Holmes of British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Hardrock Haven: Do you still enjoy a drop or two whilst on the road?

Nick Holmes: I think drinking and being a travelling musician is the worst combination on earth! I discovered that in the last ten years, it just doesn't work. I think drinking and staying awake is a bad idea. I just can't do that anymore. I can't do a show the next day. In my early twenties, it wasn't a problem, but now, forget it. I try to be semi-professional. The whole rock 'n' roll lifestyle is a bit of a mess, really; most people I know, they don't party as much as perhaps they'd like people to believe.

Hardrock Haven: I've always been curious to know how bands deal with living together on the road. I mean, no doubt at times it can become frustrating when you share buses rooms for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. How do you personally find the best way to deal with other members on the road, especially during those harder, not-so-pleasant moments that occur?

Nick Holmes: It's just a matter of putting your headphones on and switching off. Everyone knows everybody else's tolerance levels, so you can see an argument coming very early on. Usually it's me and Steve [Edmondson], our bass player, that argues, it's usually when we're tired too so when we arrive in Australia [for the Soundwave festival], we'll probably be bickering then. [laughs]

Hardrock Haven: I want to talk to you about life in the studio also, in 2009 you released a great album in "Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us" and the follow-up will be released this year. What can you tell us about that?

Nick Holmes: The new album is called "Tragic Idol". It has ten songs on it. I think that people seem to think that we're going into a more gothic direction, but it's a very "metal" album! I think it's a lot more metal than the last one, to be honest. It's very dark. It's got to be expected, we're not going to do anything out of the ordinary. We're really pleased with it. I was listening to it last night, actually… I can't wait for people to hear it and let us know their thoughts.

Hardrock Haven: "Tragic Idol"… I love the title. Tell us where that came from…

Nick Holmes: "Tragic Idol" is about how if someone is put on a pedestal and they somehow start to believe it, [when] really they're not. With the Internet and the way that media are now at the end of the day, we're all human beings, nobody's better than anybody else. Some are smarter, but that's about it! In England, people love to see people fall from grace. The bigger people get and the more successful that people get, people like to see them fall. I find that to be really sad. People help to get people to where they are, and once they get there, they just want to tear them down. It's a real Northern England thing in particular — everyone wants you to fail in Northern England, and you never get encouragement for anything in your life.

Hardrock Haven: Having recorded twelve studio albums now, I would imagine the creative process in some cases would be a breeze and yet it must at times be a nightmare to come up with fresh material!

Nick Holmes: It's weird… I found this album quite hard to write. Lyrically I quite enjoyed writing this more than some previous albums; overall though I didn't find it all enjoyable which is a weird thing.

Read the entire interview from Hardrock Haven.

Sharon Osbourne, the wife/manager of BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne, has shot down Internet rumors that she has effectively "fired" founding SABBATH drummer Bill Ward, who announced last week that he could not participate in the band's recording sessions or tour plans due to his unhappiness with the contract he was offered. Writing on Twitter, she said, "I am not in any position to hire or fire anyone in BLACK SABBATH. I don't manage the band, I manage my husband."

A source told the MetalTalk.net web site that the three remaining original members of BLACK SABBATH have recruited Tommy Clufetos, who plays drums in singer Ozzy's solo band, to sit behind the SABBATH kit for the foreseeable future.

Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler responded to Ward's February 2 statement by saying, "We have no choice but to continue recording without him although our door is always open."

The absence of Ward effectively prevents this from being the full-blown regrouping of the original SABBATH lineup that was first envisioned last year.

A number of SABBATH fans have rallied around Ward and have launched a new Facebook page dubbed "1,000,000 Black Sabbath Fans Say Yes To Bill Ward".

Ward said in his statement that he could not participate in the reunion, which was announced last November, unless presented with what he described as a "fair agreement" and a "signable contract" that financially reflected his contributions to SABBATH's history and his standing as a founding member of the band.

The recording sessions for what was meant to be the original band's first new album in 33 years were recently moved to London so that Iommi, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, could be close to his doctors.

SABBATH is scheduled to release its new album later this year and is confirmed to play the U.K.'s Download festival in June. All other tour plans, however, are up in the air pending Iommi's ability to overcome his illness.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, AEROSMITH producer Jack Douglas told Classic Rock magazine that he suggested recruiting author Stephen King to work with Steven Tyler on lyrics for the band's new album. Douglas said he threw his idea out there when he was asked by the record label if Tyler needed anyone to write with. Douglas explained, "They looked at me like I was crazy. I said, 'No, I'm serious. If there's anyone who's going to inspire him, it'd be Stephen King. Steven doesn't need melody — he needs someone who's going to inspire him as a wordsmith. I don't want a guy who's just writing hits right now.'"

The best-selling horror author is a huge rock 'n' roll fan and has even worked with John Mellencamp on a stage musical, but it's not known whether he has actually been approached by the AEROSMITH camp.

Douglas also said that AEROSMITH's first all-new album in over a decade, which is tentatively due out in May, "may take you back to places you used to know."

The band has recorded 15 songs with Douglas, who was behind the board for AEROSMITH classics like "Rocks" and "Toys In The Attic".

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry recently revealed via Twitter that the band will embark on a U.S. tour in June. Tickets will go on sale in March. Exact cities and dates will be announced during the coming weeks.

A six-year-old boy by the name of Jacob teamed up with the Melbourne, Florida-based two-piece post-hardcore band TERABRITE and smashed out "a brutal track" called "My First Hardcore Song" as a response to the recently released track from Juliet, an eight-year-old Brisbane, Australia girl. Check out the clip below.

Juliet became an Internet sensation after releasing her version of "My First Hardcore Song", a track about her pet fishes and dog.

According to Ninemsn, Juliet's mother Kristina Childs uploaded the video, which was put together by Queensland producer and family friend Rob Sharpe, on YouTube. The clip has since attracted nearly 20 million views.

Juliet's father, Steven Childs, is a musician in Australian rock band BRIGHT LIGHTS.

The music clip, filmed in a local park, opens with Juliet climbing trees and bashing at imaginary drums before shouting the opening lyrics, "Get your two step on!"

A three-minute preview of "Dusk...Subside", the forthcoming debut mini-LP from Melbourne, Australia's doom dwellers INVERLOCH, is available in the YouTube clip below. The CD will be released on April 10 via Relapse Records.

Featuring one half of the legendary diSEMBOWELMENT, INVERLOCH (Matthew Skarajew - guitar, Paul Mazziotta - drums, Ben James - vocals, Mark Cullen - guitar, Tony Bryant - bass) picks right up where diSEMBOWELMENT left off close to two decades ago, composing crawling, lurching, plodding and downtuned dirges, that are sure to be some of the most powerful and beautiful pieces of crust/death/doom heard in years!

As previously reported, INVERLOCH has been invited to play a pair of rare festival shows this spring, performing for a limited time under the name d.USK. They will be presenting diSEMBOWELMENT's legendary funeral doom opus "Transcendence Into The Peripheral" live in its entirety at Roadburn in the Netherlands and offering a different, though equally devastating set at the legendary Hellfest in France.

Commented drummer Paul Mazziotta: "It has been a pleasure to bring the old diSEMBOWELMENT songs to life, and along the journey we have discovered some new music inside of us that we felt compelled to capture. INVERLOCH is our musical voice of the past, re-discovered...combining heaviness and ambience once more …"

POISON singer Bret Michaels told RollingStone.com that his upcoming solo album, "Get Your Rock On", will include guest appearances by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, MY DARKEST DAYS axeman Sal Costa, Jimmy Buffett and country singer Loretta Lynn.

"Loretta Lynn and I are gonna redo [POISON's] 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' together," Bret told RollingStone.com. "And, for me, growing up in a family that my father loved country music and 'Coal Miner's Daughter', this is gonna be a really awesome time."

He added, "The song 'Get Your Rock On' has Phil Collen playing guitar with me and it also has Sal Costa from MY DARKEST DAYS — [a] really, really good guitar player and good friend. Jimmy Buffet and I did a live version of 'Margaritaville' together."

Michaels said the two duets, with Lynn and Buffett, will be "two bonus tracks." And of the rest of the record he said, "It is just straight-up in-your-face rock and roll."

Read more from RollingStone.com.

Weathermaker Music has set a February 28 release date for the CLUTCH double vinyl edition of "Blast Tyrant". This 180-gram expanded vinyl contains 16 songs and includes six mini-posters taken straight from "Blast Tyrant"'s "Atlas Of The Invisible World". Each illustrated poster is sized 8.5" x 11" and depicts one of the various characters featured within the "Blast Tyrant" storyline. Prior to February 28, the double vinyl edition of "Blast Tyrant" is exclusively available via www.clutchmerch.com.

In other CLUTCH news, you will be hearing the band's music in the mid-season premiere of "The Walking Dead" on February 12 on AMC. A sneak preview of the episode is available below. CLUTCH music will also be featured in the soon-to-be-released film "The Baytown Disco" starring Andre Braugher, Billy Bob Thornton, and Eva Longoria. A six-minute preview of the film, featuring CLUTCH music, can be viewed below. And for all you hockey fans, CLUTCH's "Electric Worry" is still the goal music for the Vancouver Canucks.

CLUTCH is about to confirm a North American spring tour. The band will also be returning to Europe this festival season.

Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will enter a Thailand studio next week to begin work on their fourth album. More details will be made available soon.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE released a deluxe CD/DVD edition of its third full-length album, "Fever", titled "Fever Tour Edition", in February 2011. The set featured three new songs recorded live at Xfm radio in the U.K. ("Fever", "The Last Fight" and "Bittersweet Memories") and a DVD of "Your Betrayal", "Fever" and "Waking the Demon", recorded live from Graspop Metal Meeting 2010 in Dessel, Belgium. The DVD also included videos for "Your Betrayal", "The Last Fight" and "The Making of The Last Fight" as well as a BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE track-by-track commentary of "Fever".

"Fever" sold 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart. "Fever" also landed in the Top Five in Australia, the U.K., Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

In a September 2011 interview with Lithium Magazine, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE guitarist Michael "Padge" Paget stated about "Fever", "As opposed to the other albums, this is right up there. This is definitely where we wanted to go as a band and it's definitely the right record when it comes to maturing. It's the third album; it's definitely where we wanted to go and has taken us where we want to be. It's ticking all the boxes so far and hopefully the next record does the same thing . . . We strive to write great songs and I think 'Fever' comes across as a great album, not just songs, and a complete album. You can sit down and listen to the whole thing as opposed to 'Scream, Aim, Fire'. We tried to take it back to the roots to the 'Poison' sort of thing on the new album, if you know what I mean."

Dutch progressive technical metallers TEXTURES have released a video podcast recapping their recent North American tour with PERIPHERY, THE HUMAN ABSTRACT and THE CONTORTIONIST. Their first-ever North American trek saw them play 32 shows over the course of five weeks to packed houses from New York to California, Canada, Mexico and everywhere in between. Check out the eight-minute clip below.

TEXTURES will tour Europe in March and April with support on different dates from SYLOSIS, UNEVEN STRUCTURE and MY OWN PRIVATE ALASKA, culminating in several shows in their native Holland in April and May. They'll hit the European festival circuit this summer with appearances at Tuska (Finland), Vagos Open Air (Portugal), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic) and more.

TEXTURES's new album, "Dualism", was released on September 23, 2011 in Europe, South America, Asia and Australia and September 27 in North America. The CD was recorded at Split Second Sound Studio in Amsterdam and was produced by TEXTURES guitar player Jochem Jacobs, who helmed all of the band's previous albums. The cover artwork was designed by former TEXTURES frontman Eric Kalsbeek and the band's bass player Remko Tielemans.

Video footage of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL performing during the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise — which set sail on January 23 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, Florida to George Town, Cayman Islands and returned four days later — can be seen below.

OVERKILL utilized a stand-in drummer — their soundman Eddy Garcia, who was previously a member of the El Paso, Texas band PISSING RAZORS — for the 70000 Tons Of Metal shows after their regular drummer, Ron Lipnicki, broke his hand.

Jay Nanda of the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner conducted an interview with OVERKILL vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth during the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. You can watch the chat below.

OVERKILL will release its new album, "The Electric Age", in North America on March 27 via eOne Music. The CD will be made available in Europe on March 30 through Nuclear Blast Records.

"The Electric Age" was recorded and mixed at Gain Studios in New Jersey, owned and operated by OVERKILL bassist D.D. Verni.

OVERKILL will embark on the "Killfest 2" headlining tour in April/May. Support on the trek will come from BELPHEGOR, BLACKGUARD and DIAMOND PLATE.

OVERKILL is Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (vocals), D.D. Verni (bass, backing vocals), Derek "The Skull" Tailer (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Dave Linsk (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Ron Lipnicki (drums).

Performance:

Florida-based melodic metal veterans CRIMSON GLORY are working on getting their hands on professionally filmed video footage of their appearance at last year's edition of Bang Your Head!!! festival — which was held July 15-16, 2011 in Balingen, Germany — to release as a full-length concert DVD.

Fan-filmed footage of CRIMSON GLORY's performance at the 2011 installment of Bang Your Head!!! can be seen below.

In a November 2011 interview with Sakis Fragos, publisher and chief editor of the Greek edition of Rock Hard magazine, CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning stated about the fans' reaction to the band's 25th-anniversary European tour and new singer Todd La Torre, "The fans have been really supportive and receptive to Todd, and I think that much of it is due to the fact that Todd gives them the same things that [late CRIMSON GLORY singer] Midnight gave them: A real sense of emotional connectivity, and the beautiful, ethereal, haunting sounds that were so unique to Midnight and to CRIMSON GLORY. I think that it's kind of cathartic for the fans, because they can have their closure without really having to let go of the idea that Midnight is still with us, at least in spirit. There were fans who we met on tour who expressed such a profound love and gratitude to Todd, and I really think that he was a bit surprised, and very much honored and flattered, by the outpouring of acceptance by the fans around the world. This tour has been the most appropriate introduction to Todd and the next chapter of CRIMSON GLORY, while still being the proper send-off to Midnight with all of the respect and reverence deserved."

When asked if he is taking part in the creative process for CRIMSON GLORY's next album, Todd said, "Yes, I am an equal writer in the new material. It was very important for the band to not have 'just' a singer, but a songwriter as well. Being able to play guitar, drums, and sing, clearly gives me and advantage with the creative process, and an understanding with regard to all of the intricacies that go into songwriting. Drumming helps with vocal phrasing, and guitar playing with melody. Being a viable creative member also allows me to truly feel what we are writing, as opposed to singing what someone has already written for me. I have ideas; some will work, while others may not be conducive to that particular feel or sound. I'm very open-minded. That's the beauty of true collaboration; otherwise I'd just put out my own record. I'm very much looking forward to putting my stamp on the new material and bridging the past 25 years of CRIMSON GLORY into the future."

Aron, the son of original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward, has posted the following message on Facebook regarding his father's recent announcement that he could not participate in the group's reunion due to his unhappiness with the contract he was offered:

"The press is spinning this shitstorm to read as if my dad has quit. This is not true. The guys know that. That's why they said the door is ALWAYS open.

"My dad hasn't 'declined' playing with BLACK SABBATH or 'threatened' to pull out of this reunion. As he stated, his bags are packed and he's ready to go. He says it loud and clear, he definitely wants to play on the album and he definitely wants to tour. I know he's been committed to this project from the beginning all the way to the point everyone else flew off to the U.K. When I saw him over the summer, he had this little CD case with him that had all the rehearsals and song ideas. Each CD was Sharpie scrawled with rough titles and ideas they had been working on.

"About a month ago, my dad called me to let me know that Tony [Iommi, guitar] had been diagnosed with cancer. He said they were all flying over in the next couple of weeks to continue recording the album in the U.K. and begin rehearsals for the summer tours. He'd been rehearsing more than I've ever known him to.

"Up 'till about three weeks ago, he was working extremely hard and close with the other three on this album/reunion tour. He was in very good spirits and sounded excited to be writing with Tony, Geezer [Butler, bass] and Ozzy [Osbourne, vocals] again.

"I know if they sort this shit out, you guys won't be disappointed.

"I've always stayed out of my dad's business and would like nothing more than for everything to be worked out swiftly between the guys. Unfortunately, it's become personal with all these idiots slagging off my dad, so this is for the fucking morons saying, 'Get over it, Bill': My dad has 'gotten over it' again and again. He's risen above this bullshit thing called showbiz for the last 30 years. He's respected because he's real and honest, not just because he's a complete bad-ass on the drums. He's been there for other musicians. In all kinds of circles — punk rock, hardcore, metal whatever. He was one of the first to get his head screwed back on after the '70s and get cleaned up. He's given so much support to so many people trying to pull themselves out of the hell called addiction. He tries so hard to stay in touch with the fans. He'll talk your ear off if you get a chance. He is humbled by your support and loves you.

"'Can't believe he needs to make this public' or 'it's not the first time': you're an idiot and have no idea what the hell's really going on. Just shut the fuck up and keep the speculation and lies to yourself. What my dad posted was from his heart, on the level and as usual completely honest. He wants you to know what's really going on. That he has been given a contract that he can't sign. Nothing more to it. No hidden agenda. Disappointingly, someone else is trying to shroud everything in some kind of X factor 'yeah, it's full steam ahead — we have no choice' bullshit. Of course they have a choice.

"'Don't be so greedy': he is by no means greedy, man. If he was, he would have settled with whatever contract given him. It's kind of obvious someone else is greedy. Wake up. He lives in a modest home in Southern California. Pays rent like the rest of us. In case you're still blind, look at it this way — sadly, the current 'SABBATH' statement reads as if someone would rather see the remaining members play in front of thousands of disappointed, confused and resentful fans then give my dad a dignified agreement. Additionally, the record sales will be severely affected because it isn't the promised original lineup. All this because of someone's inability to respect him as the committed founding member he is. This has derailed the fans' hopes of seeing the original lineup and strongly divided the fans. What a way to fuck up such a powerful, influential and inspirational legacy for the rest of time.

"'Who cares? It's just a bunch pensioners': I'm just as cynical about old rock legends getting back on the road 'one more time' as anyone, but this is BLACK SABBATH. They've never been a conventional band. Thing is, I know these guys have been rehearsing loads. Over the last couple months. When I've caught up with my dad, he's been talking about how heavy the jams have been and how hard he's been playing. Do you think people were looking at Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman or Max Roach going, 'Man, these guys are boring and old?' No! It's the music that's important, played by the masters themselves. That's what we want. They're here to teach us, inspire us and make us flip out.

"I saw the (CAPTAIN BEEFHEART) MAGIC BAND recently on tour and they were clearly the definite article. Legends. Completely schooled any new, hip shiny, processed, hyped out mush you've been exposed to in the last couple years. There's no doubt that there are loads of new heavy as fuck bands out there, but to me, BLACK SABBATH are still totally relevant. It's pointless to bitch about their age. They will kick serious fucking ass. Trust.

"To Terry ([a.k.a. Geezer] my godfather), Ozzy (my friend when I was little) and Tony (towering hero), I hope that you will listen to your fans. They want all of you together. As YOU are BLACK SABBATH, so is my Dad. I hope you guys can work it out."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, a source has told MetalTalk.net that the three remaining original members of BLACK SABBATH have recruited Tommy Clufetos, who plays drums in singer Ozzy Osbourne's solo band, to sit behind the SABBATH kit for the foreseeable future. The source added that manager Sharon Osbourne has effectively "fired" Ward, although this has not yet been corroborated by an official source.

Ozzy, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler responded to Ward's February 2 statement by saying, "We have no choice but to continue recording without him although our door is always open."

The absence of Ward effectively prevents this from being the full-blown regrouping of the original SABBATH lineup that was first envisioned last year.

SABBATH is scheduled to release its new album later this year and is confirmed to play the U.K.'s Download festival in June. All other tour plans, however, are up in the air pending Iommi's ability to overcome his illness.

"Roots", a brand new song from Norwegian avantgarde metallers BORKNAGAR, can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below (courtesy of Germany's Metal Hammer magazine). The track comes off the band's new album, "Urd", which will be released on March 26 in Europe and March 27 in North America via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (OPETH, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA) in Örebro, Sweden.

Commented BORKNAGAR mastermind Øystein G. Brun: "In regards to the depth, diversity and magnitude of our new album, 'Urd', it almost feels painful to slice off just a tiny bit of the bloody roast for the very first official 'starter.' I would argue that each and every song on the new album stands on solid ground, but as usual with our music, the songs empower each other in the context of a full album. That said, 'Roots' is probably the song on the album that gives you the most representative impression of 'Urd'. Musically, it contains most of the elements that framework the musical universe of BORKNAGAR, and lyrically this song is gnawing on the very spine of our lyrical tradition."

He added, "Hope you enjoy this song, the first tiny glimpse into our new opus. The beast is about to be unleashed…"

The "Urd" artwork was designed by Brazilian artist Marcelo Vasco, who has not only already worked on BORKNAGAR's previous "Universal" release but also with artists such as SOULFLY, BELPHEGOR, EINHERJER and KEEP OF KALESSIN.

Commented Brun: "The cover and design for 'Urd' is spot on when it comes to portraying the very core of the band. This time around we wanted an earthly expression through our cover and general design to support and empower the main themes on the album. You can almost smell and feel the texture of the old Norse wooden carvings — still there is a sophisticated and eclectic approach to the expression that entwines perfectly into the music. Marcelo Vasco enhanced our ideas into brilliance, he painted the face of the beast that is about to be unleashed..."

"Urd" track listing:

01. Epochalypse
02. Roots
03. The Beauty Of Dead Cities
04. The Earthling
05. The Plains Of Memories
06. Mount Regency
07. Frostrite
08. The Winter Eclipse
09. In A Deeper World

Brun previously stated about the upcoming CD, "Our new album, 'Urd', was finished in mid December and all in all we spent about six months to record, produce and mix it. In the 'Bork-World' this isn't really long, but I can assure you that we have never before invested so much time, energy and effort into one single production. It has been a tough, yet inspiring ride.

"Since June 2011 I have constantly been working with this album, recording, editing and so forth — day and night. The same goes for my comrades. Never before have we made an album where everybody in the band has been so heavily involved and dedicated as this time around.

"'Urd' is surely the peak of our musical journey so far and we are extremely proud to have made this giant of an album! It's massive, it's emotional, it's fast, it's slow, it's epic, and it's progressive… all the ingredients that we have crafted our musical world on! And not to mention the 'golden threesome' on vocals (Vintersorg, Mr. Vortex and Lazare) really shines on this album… Do I need to say more?!"

Regarding where the album title fits in within BORKNAGAR's historical context, Øystein explained, "Our previous album was called 'Universal' and where should we go after an album title with such a magnitude? Well, we decided to head back home to earth. We really wanted to get back to the core of the band, where it all started - the admiration and pondering about nature and mankind's place therein. 'Urd' is the name of one of the norns that according to northern mythology stands under Yggdrasill and weaves the lifeline of mankind. 'Urd' is representing the past, while 'Verdande' is representing the present and 'Skuld' is representing the future. You might very well say that this is an ancient expression of what we today know as DNA. And I have always been very fascinated by the fact that parts and bits of our DNA actually derive from the very beginning of time. All living creatures are somewhat connected to the very first organic cell. That is some of the story behind the album title…"

BORKNAGAR 2012 is:

* Øystein G. Brun (Cronian, ex-Molested) – Clean and Electric Guitar
* Vintersorg (VINTERSORG, FISSION) - Grim Vocals, Clean Vocals and Choirs
* Lars A. Nedland (SOLEFALD, ex-CARPATHIAN FOREST) - Keyboards, Clean Vocals, Choirs
* Jens F. Ryland (ICS VORTEX) - Lead Guitar
* ICS Vortex (ex-DIMNMU BORGIR, ARCTURUS, ICS VORTEX) - Bass, Clean Vocals and Choirs

Drums and percussion on "Urd" were performed by David Kinkade (SOULFLY, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION).

Finnish death metallers SADISTIK FOREST will release their second album, "Death, Doom, Radiation", on March 21 via Violent Journey Records. The CD was produced by Samu Männikkö and features cover artwork by legendary artist Juha Vuorma (AUTOPSY, EDGE OF SANITY, USURPER).

"'Death, Doom, Radiation' is a big step ahead for us," says SADISTIK FOREST vocalist/bassist Markus Makkonen. "Matti [Salo, guitar] was now along through the whole creative process and his input was crucial while making 'Death, Doom, Radiation' the monster it is. He brought along more individual sound, musicianship and wider musical vision, so the new one will definitely surprise some people."

"Death, Doom, Radiation" track listing:

01. Radiation Cloud
02. Fabrics Of Lies
03. Code For Liberation
04. Down Pours The Rain Of Blood
05. Pit Of Debris
06. Entrapment
07. It's Raining Napalm
08. Lacking Capacity
09. Violent Confrontation

SADISTIK FOREST will celebrate the release of "Death, Doom, Radiation" by playing a headlining show in Helsinki on March 23.

SADISTIK FOREST is:

Antti Heikkinen - Guitar
Markus Makkonen – Vocals, Bass
Vesa Mutka - Drums
Matti Salo - Guitar

Heavy music innovators PRONG will release new album, "Carved Into Stone", on April 24 in North America via Long Branch Records/SPV. The CD was recorded with producer Steve Evetts, who has previously worked with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X, SEPULTURA and HATEBREED, among others. The cover artwork was created by Vance Kelly (DOWN, THE SWORD) and can be seen below.

According to a press release, "Carved Into Stone" "is quintessentially PRONG. It stretches into the band's earliest and dirtiest foundations on which the band was founded on New York's Lower East Side to the present as a staple of today's post-metal and rock scenes."

Comments PRONG guitarist, vocalist and founder Tommy Victor: "It was hardest I've ever worked in the studio on any record I've ever been involved with."

PRONG — whose lineup is rounded out by bassist Tony Campos and drummer Alexei Rodriguez — has taken a major step forward in their constantly evolving brand of sonic schematics.

"I always believed there were many dimensions to PRONG," says Tommy. "Every record we've been associated with different scenes — hardcore, metal, industrial — even dance! I think this record brings all of that together and sounds very modern at the same time."

"Carved Into Stone" track listing

01. Eternal Heat
02. Keep On Living In Pain
03. Ammunition
04. Revenge ... Best Served Cold
05. State of Rebellion
06. Put Myself to Sleep
07. List of Grievances
08. Carved Into Stone
09. Subtract
10. Path of Least Resistance
11. Reinvestigate

PRONG will be touring throughout 2012 in support of "Carved Into Stone". The initial dates have been confirmed, including two shows supporting Bay Area thrashers TESTAMENT in February, followed by a string of headlining gigs in March. More dates will be announced shortly.

Founded in 1986, PRONG is considered to be a pioneer of the American post-hardcore and post-metal scenes whose influence is still being felt today.

PRONG's last release was "Power Of The Damn Mixxxer", the remix counterpart to the band's 2007 album "Power of The Damager".