The international edition of the Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has published a profile of Ewo Pohjola, one of the two owners of King Foo, which currently manages about 20 bands, including Finnish/Swedish symphonic metal sueprstars NIGHTWISH.

Pohjola emphasises that he learned how to be a rock manager simply by doing it. He feels that international music fairs have been his most important schools. "There you can meet an amazing array of people, and knowing the right people is crucial for a manager," he says. "Many probably would be better educated for this work, but if you don't know anybody, there's no point."

More important than education has been the experience.

"I would say that those who want to become managers should play in a band, and work for a year or two in a record company or agency," he says. "All of this is useful, because everyone is in it for personal gain. It is easier to see things in perspective after seeing all of this from the inside."

NIGHTWISH's 2007 album, "Dark Passion Play", was the most expensive and cumbersome to produce, but it has sold more than a million copies.

"We have been lucky with record companies and tour agencies, and they have also been willing to take risks," Pohjola says. "However, the most important thing is that the pieces have continued to be challenging and of high quality."

Henry Rollins recruited SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian, SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo, JANE'S ADDICTION guitarist Dave Navarro, STONE SOUR drummer Roy Mayorga and members of Rob Zombie's band, including guitarist John 5, for a benefit concert on November 30 at the Avalon in Hollywood, California.

Legendary artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the exclusive poster for the event, was a guest DJ, and Kate Flannery of "The Office" delivered a hilarious musical comedy routine with her ironic lounge act, THE LAMPSHADES.

The setlist was as follows:

01. Calling Dr. Love (KISS cover)
02. Fairies Wear Boots (BLACK SABBATH cover)
03. Everlong (FOO FIGHTERS cover)
04. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
05. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC cover)
06. Walk All Over You (AC/DC cover)
07. Unchained (VAN HALEN cover)
08. Would? (ALICE IN CHAINS cover)
09. Heading Out To The Highway (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
10. Crazy Train (OZZY OSBOURNE cover)
11. Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love (VAN HALEN cover)

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

All proceeds from the show will go to Drop In The Bucket, a Los Angeles- and Gulu, Uganda-based non-profit organization that constructs water wells and sanitation systems at large rural schools in sub-Saharan Africa.

Canadian producer Bob Rock, who is best known for his long creative partnership with METALLICA, tells The Canadian Press that he he has enjoyed the freedom to explore different projects since parting ways with the group following the release of 2003's "St. Anger".

"When I was with them, they were kind of all-encompassing," he says of working with METALLICA.

"Their whole trip was so almost draining. And I didn't get a chance to do a lot of other things while I was working with them, so I'm really having a lot of fun."

Rock, who produced METALLICA's smash self-titled '91 album and remains on good terms with the iconic metal group, has only positive things to say when asked whether he'd listened to METALLICA's critically panned collaboration with Lou Reed, "Lulu", which currently has a 41 score on the review aggregator Metacritic.com.

"I'm a huge Lou Reed fan and a huge METALLICA fan ... I know those guys very well, and it sounds like they did what they wanted to do, and I see the art in it," Rock said.

"For METALLICA, I think it's amazingly courageous for them to do a record like this, and to put it out like they did, 'cause they didn't really put out as a side project, they put it out (as) a METALLICA record with Lou Reed. That's really gutsy."

MEGADETH is among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 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.

Commented MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine: "In such uncertain times, it's just an honor to be recognized by our peers, and anything above that is remarkable."

"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 nominees in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category are as follows:

* DREAM THEATER - "On The Backs Of Angels"
* FOO FIGHTERS - White Limo"
* MASTODON - "Curl Of The Burl"
* MEGADETH - "Public Enemy No. 1"
* SUM 41 - "Blood In My Eyes"

Guitarist GLEN DROVER (ex-MEGADETH) has contacted BW&BK with the following update:

"As I write this on my always fun to play with iPad, I'm just getting ready to leave the hotel here in Irkutsk , Russia for tonight's opening show on this Russian HAIL! tour. This is my very first time in this country. Very nice place here in Irkutsk. great people and lots of snow! Tonight is show #1, and we will be busting out all the metal classics tonight for sure! Really excited about the set list for this tour as well. We finished rehearsals yesterday and everyone and everything is sounding killer. I will keep you all updated as the tour progresses..."

Vocalist Asim Searah has left THE NIBIRUAN — the Finnish metal band featuring former AMORAL guitarist Silver Ots alongside Lauri Koskenniemi (guitar) of SHEAR — in order to join KIUAS. He has since been replaced by Jules Näveri (PROFANE OMEN, ENEMY OF THE SUN). THE NIBIRUAN also parted ways with Eerik Purdon (bass) and recruited a new bassist in the shape of Tuomo Räisänen (ELENIUM).

The new THE NIBIRUAN lineup is:

* Jules Näveri (PROFANE OMEN, ENEMY OF THE SUN) - Vocals
* Lauri Koskenniemi (SHEAR) - Guitar
* Silver Ots (ex-AMORAL) - Guitar
* Tuomo Räisänen (ELENIUM) - Bass
* Lari Sorvo (SHEAR) - Keyboards
* Petri Mäkipää (GHOUL PATROL) - Drums

Two new tracks from THE NIBIRUAN — "Alchemy For The Blind" and "Painting The Darkness" — can be streamed on the band's homepage.

MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel walked off stage after being hit by a flying shoe during the final song of the band's headlining concert at Vorst Nationaal in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday (November 29).

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

MACHINE HEAD's setlist was as follows:

01. I Am Hell
02. Be Still And Know
03. Imperium
04. Beautiful Mourning
05. The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
06. Locust
07. This Is The End
08. Aesthetics of Hate
09. Old
10. Darkness Within
11. Bulldozer
13. Ten Ton Hammer
14. Who We Are

Encore:

15. Halo
16. Davidian

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER are among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Commented the band: "2011 has been quite an amazing year for us. We watched 'A Dramatic Turn Of Events' — our eleventh studio album — enter the Top Ten in 14 countries around the world, including the U.S. And now we land our first-ever Grammy nomination [for the song 'On The Backs Of Angels' in the 'Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance' category]. It's the icing on the cake — we're honored and thrilled, no doubt about it. It took us a while to receive this Grammy attention — and we've done it on our own terms musically, so it feels particularly sweet.

"What keeps you going as a musician is the love and support from the fans — they are always there for us on this crazy adventure. So we give them a big shout-out as we celebrate our Grammy nomination.

"See you all on the road… and let's all keep dreaming big."

The nominees in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category are as follows:

* DREAM THEATER - "On The Backs Of Angels"
* FOO FIGHTERS - White Limo"
* MASTODON - "Curl Of The Burl"
* MEGADETH - "Public Enemy No. 1"
* SUM 41 - "Blood In My Eyes"

CHICKENFOOT "III" art director Todd Gallopo was nominated in the "Best Recording Package" category.

To be eligible for nomination, an artist's work must have been released between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011.

Nominations for the 54th annual Grammy Awards were announced last night (Wednesday, November 30) by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest in music over the past year, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. For the fourth year, nominations for the annual Grammy Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night", a one-hour special broadcast live on CBS from Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live.

The 54th annual Grammy Awards will be held on "Grammy Sunday," February 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Video footage of former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin performing the song "If There's A Heaven" from his first solo album, "Back Where I Belong", on the German television network RTL in 1992 can be seen at this location.

Commented Martin: "[In] 1992 I was touring with COZY POWELL'S HAMMER and I had the offer to appear on a TV show in Germany. We interupted the tour specially to do it.

"It doesn't show us at our best, but it is so cool to know I still have it. I thought it was lost untill now.

"We never met the host, and we didnt have a chance to make a show out of it.

"Featuring the late great Cozy Powell, and also Neil Murray and Mario Parga, it is the ONLY song that was ever filmed from ['Back Where I Belong']."

Goomba Music has announced the signing of SCUM OF THE EARTH, the brainchild of former ROB ZOMBIE guitarist Mike Riggs. The band's as-yet-untitled new album will be recorded before the end of the year for a 2012 release.

"The new material is like classic SCUM OF THE EARTH material being possessed by demons with a modern twist," states Riggs. "I'm excited to get into the studio and start recording. There will be some crazy tracks on this one!"

SCUM OF THE EARTH's latest CD, "Sleaze Freak", was released on October 23, 2007. The explicit (PA) version of the album was made available at most retailers containing an added DVD video. The DVD consists of footage filmed while recording and mixing the album documenting the recording and mixing process and many hijinks of the band around town, in the studio, and on the road.

SCUM OF THE EARTH's first studio album of all-new material since the critically-acclaimed debut "Blah…Blah…Blah…Love Songs For The New Millennium" (2004), "Sleaze Freak" contained 13 brand new songs described by Riggs as "heavy-as-hell grinding, stripper-rock." "It's a much more intense collection of material than 'Blah…Blah…Blah…'" said Riggs. "We did everything we wanted to do this time around, which allowed us to really embody the whole red-light-district sleazy vibe into the material."

Dutch symphonic rockers EPICA recently completed recordings for their new album. Producer Sascha Paeth mixed the album at Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Epica have now revealed that the album, to be released via Nuclear Blast on March 9th, 2012, will be titled Requiem For The Indifferent.

Says the band: "This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. A Requiem For The Indifferent but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!"

Epica will present this album to the public on March 16th at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands. Tickets are still available but are going fast.

TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy has confirmed to U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine that drummer Paul Bostaph has left the band.

Due to a "serious injury," Bostaph was absent from the recording sessions for TESTAMENT's new album, "The Dark Roots Of Earth", which is scheduled for release on April 27, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. He was replaced in the studio by Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (ex-DARK ANGEL, ex-STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK), who also sat behind the kit for select dates on TESTAMENT's recent North American tour with ANTHRAX.

"We just found our last week Paul Bostaph is not coming back to the band, he's starting his own new project and doing some things on his own," Billy told Terrorizer. "So we're actually going to be holding a couple of auditions with probably small group of drummers that we chose — we don't want to have a revolving drum stool, we have a new record we want a permanent drummer."

According to Chuck, the split with Bostaph is amicable. "We're still buddies," he said. "It's just that Paul feels at this point in his career he wants to be in a little more in control of the artistic creation of the songs and with his new project, they are all involved with that process whereas with our group, Eric [Peterson, guitar] is pretty much the main songwriter and that's just the way its been with us for 25 years."

Icelandic death metal band BENEATH has revealed the cover art and track listing for its upcoming debut album, "Enslaved By Fear", due out in early 2012 via Unique Leader Records. The CD was mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, BEHEMOTH, IN FLAMES, DARK FUNERAL) and features artwork by Raymond Swanland (DEEDS OF FLESH, PSYCROPTIC).

"Enslaved By Fear" track listing:

01. As Gods Walk The Earth
02. Lies Of The Dead
03. Enslaved By Fear
04. No One Above
05. Heretics
06. Bloodlust
07. Writhe
08. Monolith
09. Sacrificial Ritual

According to a press release, BENEATH mixes "furious speed and technicality with song structures and melodies, resulting in a distinctively Icelandic brand of extreme metal. Not afraid to draw influences from other genres, BENEATH infuses old-school vibe into modern death metal while creating soundtracks to their apocalyptic and anti-religious lyrical content."

BENEATH's debut EP, "Hollow Empty Void", was released in February 2010 via Mordbrann Musikk. The CD was recorded, mixed and mastered by guitarist Johann Ingi Sigurdsson at Fossland Studio in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland.

German modern metallers CALIBAN will release their eighth studio album, "I Am Nemesis", on February 28, 2012 via Century Media Records. The CD will feature guest appearances by Marcus Bischoff (HEAVEN SHALL BURN) and Mitch Lucker (SUICIDE SILENCE).

After spending 10 months writing new material, the band is very excited to get the record out to fans. "It was important to us to have an elaborate album without any fillers," says lead guitarist Marc Görtz. "Additionally, the sound of the album is the best we've ever had by far: it is heavy and brutal without being chaotic."

Lyrically, "I Am Nemesis" is a continuation of the band's last record, "Say Hello To Tragedy", and focuses on controversial and often overlooked world issues. Musically, Görtz says, "The album breaks new soil without forgetting our roots. There are new influences such as shimmering guitar melodies and technical grooves with MESHUGGAH-like heaviness."

"I Am Nemesis" track listing:

01. We Are The Many
02. The Bogeyman
03. Memorial
04. No Tomorrow
05. Edge Of Black
06. Davy Jones
07. Deadly Dream
08. Open Letter
09. Dein R3.ich
10. Broadcast To Damnation
11. This Oath
12. Modern Warfare

British rock legends UFO will release their new album, "Seven Deadly", on February 28, 2012 (one day earlier internationally) via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort, which was recorded with producer Tommy Newton at his Area 51 studio in Celle, Germany, will be made available as a limited-edition digipack (including two bonus tracks), a double gatefold LP with printed innersleeves and colored vinyl, standard-edition CD and as a digital download.

According to a press release, "Seven Deadly" is "an atmospherically dense fabric consisting of classy guitars, tight rock grooves and vocals which are unique to UFO. The classic rock of 'Burn Your House Down' features all the important UFO strengths, 'Going Down To Mojotown' sees the musicians sound tougher than ever, and last but not least, 'Wonderland' features a pointed reference to UFO's early days. 'Angel Station' sees the band prove how classic rock music is complemented perfectly with epic elements, while 'Fight Night' is an excellent track to be performed in a live context."

LIMP BIZKIT has parted ways with Interscope, the label that has released all of the band's records thus far through its subsidiaries Flip, Geffen and Suretone Records.

Even though LIMP BIZKIT's latest album, "Gold Cobra", was the band's first CD to feature the original lineup of Fred Durst (vocals), Wes Borland (guitar), Sam Rivers (bass), John Otto (drums), and DJ Lethal since 2000's "Chocolate Starfish And Hot Dog Flavored Water", it has only sold 63,000 copies in the United States since its June 28 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

During an appearance on the November 21 edition of the "Poolside With Dean Delray" podcast, Durst stated about the band's current status, "One of the things with 'Gold Cobra' was that that was a record, for us, to do for ourselves, for the core fans, for some of the people that we know in the industry — its wasn't our step forward to make a big pop, smash radio record; we just didn't wanna make that record at that time. We have been working for awhile now to renavigate where we are going to take LIMP BIZKIT, and finally we have been able to get off our label and become independent.

"We were all about the live show. Once we realized we had to start writing records, that became the obstacle.

"The thing was, we just wanna go play a concert and crush it and turn it into a big-ass party and just let people have a place that they can go release whatever they've gotta release and have a great experience. The record thing sort of kind of always got in our way, but it's part of the game and we love writing music and it happened that we had some songs that became popular and we never thought that would happen; we were always kind of fish swimming upstream. So with this way, we can still go tour.

"We do very, very good on our touring, and we mainly tour outside the United States, because we wanna make sure that when we push something to our homeland that it kind of catches their attention in a way that they're used to it catching their attention. It seems like in the United States, man, they're waiting on a song, they're waiting on a hit, and the rest of the world doesn't necessarily operate that way; they're, sort of, career people. So I'm waiting until we can really give them something they can sink their teeth into and then they can be reminded about how ill LIMP BIZKIT is live, 'cause we're having a lot of fun doing what we do, and if it's not fun anymore, we don't wanna do it. We don't wanna go out in the United States without it being a lot of fun, so we're just waiting until that song happens . . . without forcing it. We're not gonna go in the studio and try to write a mega-hit song that people in America are gonna like; when it happens, we'll know."

German metallers RAGE entered Twilight Hall Studio in Grefrath, Germany last month to begin recording their 21st studio album, titled "21", for February 24, 2012 release via Nuclear Blast Records. The recordings were once again helmed by Charlie Bauerfeind, who has previously worked with SAXON, BLIND GUARDIAN, HAMMERFALL and HELLOWEEN, among others. Songtitles set to appear on the 10-track CD include "Psycho Terror", "Forever Dead", "Twenty One", "Serial Killer", "Concrete Wall" and "Death Romantic".

Check out descriptions of all the above-mentioned tracks at Rage-On.de.

Commented guitarist Victor Smolski: "The songs of '21' are even better than they sounded in the rehearsal room. Everything is real powerful and aggressive and has got much more energy and the necessary aggression. I have taken much time for the soundcheck and took lots of effort for the arrangements.

"I think '21' is the best-arranged album concerning interaction of guitar, bass and drum playing that RAGE has done in recent years.

"As a producer I have a big responsibility, but after 10 years of working together with Charlie Bauerfeind, it's always getting easier; we understand each other blind, so to say.

"I'm very happy with the performances of Peavy [Peter 'Peavy' Wagner, abss/vocals] and André [Hilgers, drums] (so evil you haven't heard Peavy before), with my guitar work I'm also really satisfied, I've tried to implement the best I can momentarily.

"The concept of the album has become really round, all songs are completely rounded, hard, aggressive, no 'happy metal melodies,' but nevertheless varying. My favorite song: 'Forever Dead', something between 'Kill Your Gods' and 'Down'."

RAGE will embark on the "Metal Firestorm 2012" headlining tour with support from TÝR and COMMUNIC in March/April.

The next chapter in Relapse's DEATH reissue campaign is "Vivus!", a deluxe two-CD collection compiling two separate DEATH concerts, both of which were recorded in 1998. Disc One features the band at the height of its prowess, tearing the roof off the infamous Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California, while Disc Two is a brilliant recording of the band on the festival stage at Dynamo Open Air in Eindhoven, Holland.

"Vivus!" will be made available on February 28 in North America, March 2 in the Benelux and Germany, and March 5 in the rest of Europe.

"Vivus!" follows the recent Relapse Records reissues of "Individual Though Patterns", "The Sound Of Perseverance" and "Human". Like those reissues, this collection will contain extensive liner notes from DEATH insiders and never-before-seen photos of the band.

"Vivus!" track listing:

Disc 1 - Live In Hollywood (1998)

01. The Philosopher
02. Spirit Crusher
03. Trapped In A Corner
04. Scavenger Of Human Sorrow
05. Crystal Mountain
06. Flesh And The Power It Holds
07. Zero Tolerance
08. Zombie Ritual
09. Suicide Machine
10. Together As One
11. Empty Words
12. Symbolic
13. Pull The Plug

Disc 2 - Live In Eindhoven (1998)

01. The Philosopher
02. Trapped In A Corner
03. Crystal Mountain
04. Suicide Machine
05. Together As One
06. Zero Tolerance
07. Lack Of Comprehension
08. Flesh And The Power It Holds
09. Flattening Of Emotions
10. Spirit Crusher
11. Pull The Plug

Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are continuing to write and demo material for the follow-up to their 2009 self-titled album. Bassist Mike D'Antonio writes in an online posting, "KILLSWITCH ENGAGE should be in the studio in February/March, so expect a summer 2012 release for the new record. We have a bit of a breather in the writing schedule so Adam [Dutkiewicz, guitar] can finish [producing] the [new] SHADOWS FALL record, but as of now we have eight demos finished for the new record. Everything is coming together nicely at the moment… My demos are pretty fast. Blast beats, anyone?"

Swedish black metallers NAGLFAR have entered the studio to begin recording their sixth album, "Téras", for a late spring/early summer 2012 release via Century Media Records. According to a press release, fans should "expect nothing less than another prime example of infernal melodic black metal from the vanguards of the scene."

Prior to the new album release, NAGLFAR will issue a strictly limited seven-inch EP featuring one track taken from the upcoming CD as well as a second song exclusive to this single.

A limited-edition version of "Harvest", the 2007 album from NAGLFAR, contained a bonus DVD (featuring four professionally recorded live clips from the Party.San Open Air festival 2006, the video for the track "The Perpetual Horrors" as well as an interview with lead singer Kristoffer Olivius). The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith.

Over the Thanksgiving break, TOOL entered the studio with producer Joe Barresi (ISIS, COHEED & CAMBRIA, PUSCIFER, TOMAHAWK) to begin recording the group's new album. According to a posting on TOOL's official web site, he bandmembers are tracking all songs to tape — using a Studer A827 analog tape recorder — at their own home studio instead of going the digital route.

TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan this past summer gave The Pulse Of Radio an update on the band's next album and warned fans not to believe everything they read. "We're just always writing and it's just progressing as it progresses," he said. "We normally don't say anything about anything until it's actually happening, because there's a lot of people online that apparently can't read very well. I put an April Fool's notice up there for the album release, and it was this year, 2011, I said, 'New TOOL album, such-and-such a date, 2009, and everybody ran around like, 'Oh, really, the new TOOL --?' God, you guys are dumb. I swear to God. You've got to read. Please, read."

TOOL has not issued a new album since 2006's "10,000 Days".