Vocalist Travis Ryan of San Diego, Californa extreme metallers CATTLE DECAPITATION has recorded a guest appearance on the new SOULFLY album, due in early 2012 via Roadrunner Records. Travis — who was a replacement for SOULFLY's original choice, OCEANO's Adam Warren — recorded his portion of the vocals at Frick'in Studios in San Marcos, California with engineer Dan Frick.

Commented Ryan: "It's an honor to receive a call from someone you had pictures of on your wall as a kid asking you to be on a new album of theirs. I literally had a picture of Max [Cavalera, SOULFLY mainman] and Gloria [Max's wife and manager] holding [Gloria's son] Richie in her arms that I ripped out of a copy of Metal Maniacs on my wall when I was 15 or 16. Now they're asking for my artistic hand in one of their creations; [it] just doesn't get much more surreal than that. Very honored and the song is very 'death metal-ish' and completely crushes. Happy to be a part of it!"

The producer of SOULFLY's new album, Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL, THE RED CHORD) stated about Travis' contribution, "The vocals fucking rule!!!! Fits the song perfect… Very refreshing for me to hear these days."

SOULFLY's new CD was recorded at a Phoenix, Arizona studio and will feature an additional guest appearance by DEVILDRIVER/COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara. The follow-up to 2010's "Omen" was described by SOULFLY's new drummer, David Kinkade (BORKNAGAR, ARSIS, MALEVOLENT CREATION), as "crushing, fast thrash, blasting, tribal and fueled by extreme burrito fury. . . The record is sounding fucking SICK. Thrashy as fuck... totally 'Arise' [referring to SEPULTURA's classic 1991 album] on crack and speed."

A deluxe MR. BIG box set, "Raw Like Sushi 100", will be released in Japan on January 25, 2012 via Victor Entertainment.

This deluxe box set consists of 2 DVDs and 2 CDs in a B4-size hard cover book.

The DVDs feature the concert "Live From The Living Room", held at Toho Studio, Tokyo, Japan, in January 2011 and documentary footage of MR. BIG's 2011 Japan tour (with a running time of over 60 minutes; subject to change).

The CDs contain live tracks from MR. BIG's 100th concert in Japan, held at Osaka-jo Hall on April 7, 2011 mixed by Pat Regan and features K2HD mastering + the high-fidelity HQCD format (compatible with standard CD players).

The hard cover book contains 96-pages (all color) including photos of MR. BIG's 2011 Japan tour taken by William Hames, Japan tour data, a tour pass replica, and more. Size: 24.9 x 29.9cm.

After two years of aggressive touring that saw the group perform alongside AMON AMARTH, BLIND GUARDIAN, EXODUS, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and more, Los Angeles quintet HOLY GRAIL will soon enter the studio to record the follow-up to its debut, "Crisis In Utopia", which Revolver magazine named one of the Top 20 metal releases of 2010.

In the meantime, the band will release a holiday-themed seven-inch single, "Seasons Bleedings", which is available now for pre-order. Limited to 500 copies (250 red, 250 green), the release — which will be available digitally on December 6 and ship to customers shortly thereafter — includes covers of KING DIAMOND's "No Presents For Christmas" and the RAINBOW classic "Kill The King", and features artwork by Sam Turner (3 INCHES OF BLOOD). This marks the first time that guitarist Alex Lee (ex-BONDED BY BLOOD), who joined HOLY GRAIL in the spring, has recorded with the group. The digital version of "Seasons Bleedings" will also include covers of JUDAS PRIEST's "Exciter" and ACCEPT's "Fast As A Shark", both of which originally appeared on the group's out-of-print debut EP, "Improper Burial".

Commented HOLY GRAIL vocalist James Paul Luna: "Back when EJ and I first talked about doing a X-mas seven-inch, the first song that came to mind was 'No Presents For Christmas' so I'm pretty happy to see that came to fruition. Eli was listening to lots of RAINBOW at the time, so naturally 'Kill The King' was our immediate second choice. Even though these versions can't out-do the legendary originals by King and Dio, I feel pretty happy and excited to see this released on vinyl."

Added guitarist Eli Santana: "It was pretty rad because after all the touring we've done the past year we got to get back into recording mode and test the waters plus have fun with it before settling down to work on the album."

"Seasons Bleedings" seven-inch single track listing:

A. No Presents For Christmas
B. Kill The King

"Seasons Bleedings" digital track listing:

After two years of aggressive touring that saw the group perform alongside AMON AMARTH, BLIND GUARDIAN, EXODUS, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and more, Los Angeles quintet HOLY GRAIL will soon enter the studio to record the follow-up to its debut, "Crisis In Utopia", which Revolver magazine named one of the Top 20 metal releases of 2010.

In the meantime, the band will release a holiday-themed seven-inch single, "Seasons Bleedings", which is available now for pre-order. Limited to 500 copies (250 red, 250 green), the release — which will be available digitally on December 6 and ship to customers shortly thereafter — includes covers of KING DIAMOND's "No Presents For Christmas" and the RAINBOW classic "Kill The King", and features artwork by Sam Turner (3 INCHES OF BLOOD). This marks the first time that guitarist Alex Lee (ex-BONDED BY BLOOD), who joined HOLY GRAIL in the spring, has recorded with the group. The digital version of "Seasons Bleedings" will also include covers of JUDAS PRIEST's "Exciter" and ACCEPT's "Fast As A Shark", both of which originally appeared on the group's out-of-print debut EP, "Improper Burial".

Commented HOLY GRAIL vocalist James Paul Luna: "Back when EJ and I first talked about doing a X-mas seven-inch, the first song that came to mind was 'No Presents For Christmas' so I'm pretty happy to see that came to fruition. Eli was listening to lots of RAINBOW at the time, so naturally 'Kill The King' was our immediate second choice. Even though these versions can't out-do the legendary originals by King and Dio, I feel pretty happy and excited to see this released on vinyl."

Added guitarist Eli Santana: "It was pretty rad because after all the touring we've done the past year we got to get back into recording mode and test the waters plus have fun with it before settling down to work on the album."

"Seasons Bleedings" seven-inch single track listing:

A. No Presents For Christmas
B. Kill The King

"Seasons Bleedings" digital track listing:

01. No Presents For Christmas
02. Kill The King
03. Exciter
04. Fast As A Shark

"The Scarecrow", the new video from the Dutch heavy rock collective AUTUMN, can be viewed below. The track comes off the band's fifth full-length album, "Cold Comfort", which was released on November 7 in Europe via Metal Blade Records. According to a press release, the CD "offers a collection of striking songs blended into a diverse and yet surprisingly compact album, one that AUTUMN considers to be their most personal and meaningful to date. While AUTUMN's roots remain firmly planted in heavy rock/guitar-oriented soil, their branches are stretching out to more progressive musical genres and alternative approaches to the sound of individual songs."

Maryland-based experimental, progressive metal band PERIPHERY has entered the studio to begin recording its sophomore full-length album for an early 2012 relesae via Sumerian Records.

Commented guitarist Jake Bowen: "We've got a ton of new songs ready that we can't wait for you guys to hear.

"We'll spend the winter in the studio with Taylor Larson (our good friend Nolly Getgood is co-producing with Misha Mansoor).

"We've decided to go a new direction with our music and we're calling this new genre DjentSlam!

"JUST KIDDING! Get stoked!"

Bassist Tom Murphy recently announced his departure from PERIPHERY "to pursue something new." Adam "Nolly" Getgood of RED SEAS FIRE will fill in on bass and Mark Holcomb will take up his position as the full-time guitarist on the band's upcoming tour.

German metal queen Doro Pesch has announced the release of the "official" Christmas anthem for all metalheads.

"I had a feeling the time was right to record a song for Christmas," says Doro. "I am recording my new album right now, which should be out by next summer. While doing this, I suddenly came up with a fitting melody and lyrics."

Entitled "Merry Metal X-Mas", the track is performed by Doro and features a guest appearance by bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such of German thrash metal veterans SODOM.

"I definitely wanted something loud and funny," Doro explains.

"Merry Metal X-Mas" will be released December 9, 2011 and will be available as digitial download and limited seven-inch vinyl single (Christmas tree green).

German modern metallers DEADLOCK have issued the following update:

"After having recently announced the departure of our singer Johannes Prem, we're now officially introducing the new lineup to you!

"For the new guy behind the microphone we found a band-internal solution with John Gahlert, who raped the bass so far. As you might know, he already helped out a couple of times, when Joe was not able to play and he proofed his vocal qualities very well.

"The vacant position on the bass is taking over our longtime friend Ferdinand Rewicki, who joined us on several tours as driver, merch guy or tour mananger. For us it was no question that Ferdinand is the perfect addition for DEADLOCK and on bass."

METALLICA will headline the 10th installment of the Download festival at Donington Park on Saturday, June 9, 2012, with an exclusive U.K. performance of the band's top-selling 1991 LP, "Metallica", a.k.a. "the black album." It will be the eighth time the California metal titans will have played at Donington during their three-decade-long career, having previously performed at both Monsters Of Rock and Download festivals.

Asked why METALLICA decided to do the gig, the band's drummer, Lars Ulrich, told Kerrang! magazine, "The people at Download asked. It wasn't our idea.

"The thing is, although we haven't played at Donington for six years, we have been to the U.K. pretty much every single summer since then."

He added, "So they wanted us to do something different, and that's what they came up with. I quite like the fact that come next summer it'll be the 21st anniversary of the 'black album,' not the 20th."

Asked whether he and his bandmates would have to re-learn the two songs from the record — "Don't Tread On Me" and "The Struggle Within" — that METALLICA has never played live before, Lars said,"Yeah. Although to be honest with you, a song like 'The Struggle Within' is a lot easier to re-learn than 'The Frayed Ends Of Sanity'.

"I don't think it's going to be too difficult for us to figure out these songs."

United Guttural has announced the signing of the Bulgarian death metallers
ENTHRALLMENT. The band is putting the finishing touches to its new album, "People From The Lands Of Vit", for an early 2012 release.

According to a press release, "ENTHRALLMENT's music can be described as brutal-yet-technical, early-'90s-era death metal. All instruments play a major role in the formation of every intense song. The string section is totally heavy and sick, delivering riff after memorable riff. Driving percussion blasts and pounds and ultimately reinterprets shredding riffs into headbang inducing hooks while intensely pissed off guttural vocals deliver the sadistic sermon. Their sound has been compared to SUFFOCATION, CANNIBAL CORPSE and DEVOURMENT."

According to DailyMail.co.uk, a British rock music fan stabbed himself to death after seeing the rock supergroup THEM CROOKED VULTURES perform left him with severe tinnitus.

Robert McIndoe, 52, was unable to sleep for three months after seeing the band — made up of current and former members of LED ZEPPELIN, FOO FIGHTERS and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE — in July 2010 at the Brixton Academy in London.

His psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Stinson, said, "He accepted death as a side-effect of stopping the noise."

McIndoe's wife Shirley said, "When it first happened, he wasn't too bothered about it because he thought it would subside, and the friend he had been with also had ringing in his ears that day. But it was a constant irritation. He didn't get a night of sleep after that."

Tinnitus is characterized by a constant ringing in the ears, with the noise coming from inside the body rather than an outside source.

The final cover artwork for "Reborn In Defiance", the much-anticipated new album from New York hardcore metal legends BIOHAZARD, can be seen below. Due on January 20, 2012, the CD will be made available via Nuclear Blast outside of North America, with a U.S. label partner soon to be announced. The band will celebrate the launch with a record-release party on January 17 at the Gramercy Theater in New York City before setting off on an extensive international tour.

Commented BIOHAZARD drummer Danny Schuler: "Being a huge fan of vinyl records and the amazing sleeve artwork that used to come with them, I really wanted our artwork to be unique.

"In the spirit of being 'Reborn In Defiance', the album cover represents to me an interesting paradox: an embryo, not yet spoiled by the world, but already possessing the heart of a rebel."

Added guitarist/vocalist Billy Graziadei: "The innocence of youth has always been a strong subject for us, with the children playing over a crime scene on the 'Urban Discipline' album cover to the child running with a biological gas mask on the 'State Of The World Address' cover. For 'Reborn In Defiance', an unborn child waits to be thrown into a world that will steal the untainted purity of infancy we all start out with."

Danny summed up the cover art's significance quite simply: "It all begins in the womb."

The new lineup of ATTIKA 7 (formerly ATTIKA) — the Los Angeles-based heavy metal/hard rock band featuring Tony Campos (SOULFLY, POSSESSED, STATIC-X, ASESINO, MINISTRY) on bass; Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD) on vocals; songwriter and famed motorcycle builder Rusty Coones on guitar; and Dustin Schoenhofer (WALLS OF JERICHO, BURY YOUR DEAD) on drums — made its live debut on November 10 at Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

ATTIKA 7 will release its debut album soon. A video for the single "Serial Killer" is currently in the works.

The ATTIKA7 sound "boasts very heavy, down-tuned and melodic harmonies, all the while boasting brutal hooks and grooves," according to a press release. "The band draws from several musical influences, including their own additional projects, and has been compared to the likes of BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, GODSMACK, PANTERA, and WHITE ZOMBIE. The timeless no-frills songwriting of ATTIKA 7 is set apart from today's homogenized, derivative copycat bands by so many things, but above all: authenticity."

The majority of the ATTIKA7 album was written by lifetime biker and ATTIKA 7 lead guitarist Rusty Coones while serving a seven-year federal prison sentence for a false conviction. Rather than rat on his friends, Rusty used the tension to teach himself how to play guitar in solitary confinement. The passion and street credibility in his lyrics and riffs speak to the underdogs of the world who will not break, will not bend, but stand against forever.

When Rusty called best friend and riding buddy Evan Seinfeld to check in on whether he knew of a singer who could join his band, Evan immediately jumped in without hesitation. Since then, Rusty and Evan have been writing, recording, living and breathing ATTIKA 7 and haven't looked back.

Evan feels that ATTIKA 7 is the beginning of a new chapter. "As much as BIOHAZARD has been the biggest part of my musical past and my main musical focus for more than two decades, it is time for me to do something new," states Evan. "It is time for me to cement my musical future. I continue to stand behind the ideals projected in songs I wrote like 'Down For Life'... and philosophies like standing up for what you believe in no matter what and sticking by your true friends and family to the end! I have so many creative ideas that needed a new home to flourish and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a member of ATTIKA 7! It is time for me to go on to something exciting and fresh to pursue my dreams and expand my horizons in a more positive situation for me. BIOHAZARD is a band that I personally conjured and founded in 1987 and helped me to realize many of my dreams, see the world, and connect with many fans everywhere. I hope to keep the memory of BIOHAZARD where it belongs, in a place of dignity and respect!”

The rebellious anthems of ATTIKA 7 speak volumes to the outlaws of society who refuse to compromise, refuse to fit in, refuse to play it safe, or refuse to sell out their beliefs, whatever they may be. ATTIKA 7 is your own personal soundtrack to your badass lifestyle, as you speed past the cops on your beefed up Harley with your middle finger in the air!

ATTIKA7 is:

* Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD) - Vocals
* Rusty Coones - Guitar
* Tony Campos (SOULFLY, POSSESSED, STATIC-X, ASESINO, MINISTRY) - Bass
* Dustin Schoenhofer (WALLS OF JERICHO) - Drums

Seinfeld left BIOHAZARD in June after the band's new CD was completed and was temporarily replaced by Scott Roberts, who played on the group's 2005 "Means To An End" album.

Former FEAR FACTORY guitarist/bassist Christian Olde Wolbers has joined Venice Beach, California crossover thrashers BEOWÜLF as the band's new bassist. The group's sixth studio effort, "Jesus Freak", will be released on December 23. The CD was produced by founding member, vocalist/guitarist Dale Henderson, and Olde Wolbers. The tracks were cut at LiL' Antwerp Studioz and Christian is credited as the engineer.

Formed in 1981 by Henderson, Michael Alvarado, Mike Jensen and Paul Yamada, BEOWÜLF never gained a large mainstream success, but is considered one of the first bands that defined the "Venice scene" in the 1980s, along with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, LOS CYCOS, NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH, NO MERCY, EXCEL and UNCLE SLAM, who all played a mix of skate punk, hardcore, heavy metal and thrash.

BEOWÜLF split up in 1995 but reformed in 2000. The band has had numerous lineup changes and Henderson has been the only constant member.

BEOWÜLF 2011 is:

Dale Henderson: Vocals, Guitars
Rich Rowan: Drums
Stephan Crapia: Guitar
Christian Olde Wolbers: Bass

STRATOVARIUS' November 19, 2011 concert at Pakkahuone in Tampere, Finland was filmed for future DVD release. The show was part of the band's "Jörg Farewell Tour" — the last one to feature STRATOVARIUS' longtime drummer Jörg Michael, who is leaving the group for personal reasons. Jörg, who has been in the band for sixteen years, will play all the remaining tour dates until the end of January.

STRATOVARIUS' setlist for the Tampere concert was as follows:

01. Under Flaming Skies
02. I Walk To My Own Song
03. Speed Of Light
04. The Kiss Of Judas
05. Deep Unknown
06. Eagleheart
07. Paradise
08. Visions (Southern Cross)
09. Coming Home
10. Legions
11. Darkest Hours

Encore:

12. Burn (DEEP PURPLE cover)
13. Behind Blue Eyes (THE WHO cover)
14. I Don't Believe In Love (QUEENSRŸCHE cover)
15. Winter Skies
16. Black Diamond

Encore 2:

17. Father Time
18. Hunting High And Low

Norwegian singer Liv Kristine (LEAVES' EYES, ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY) has entered Mastersound Studio in Steinheim, Germany — the facility owned by her husband, Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES) — to begin recording her fourth solo album. She is collaborating on the effort with Dutch musician J.B. van der Wal (ABORTED, DR. DOOM), who recently joined LEAVES' EYES and ATROCITY as the two bands' new bassist.

Liv will debut one of her new tracks, "Libertine", at a special concert on December 2 at Alte Seminarturnhalle in Nagold, Germany under the banner "One Night With Liv Kristine". Liv will perform acoustic versions of her original songs as well as a few covers, including tracks from LEAVES' EYES and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.

"Rise And Fall", the new video from Copenhagen, Denmark-based rockers SUPERCHARGER, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's second album, "That's How We Roll", which was released on March 21 via VME. The 12-song follow-up to "Handgrenade Blues" "presents a much more sharp, varied and surprising rock sound, which can be heard in both arrangement and production." according to a press release. "Whereas the debut were pure hard rock and (as the band proudly announced) 'without one single ballad,' the boys have this time drawn from a larger scale, music-wise. With reference to their inspiration through their lives, the band is this time also playing with country and railroad blues, but still with their explosive hard rock as their main thing."

According to Billboard.biz, LED ZEPPELIN's classic 1971 album "Led Zeppelin IV" (which spent four weeks at No. 2), sold around 3,600 copies in the United States last week to return to the chart (No. 166) for the first time since 1987. The LP — which is priced at $5.99 at AmazonMP3 and $6.99 at iTunes — is up 273% in overall sales (compared to around 980 copies sold the previous week) and 654% in downloads.

On November 8, "Led Zeppelin" turned 40. The album has been referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV", following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums and even four symbols that symbolized each band member: singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and late drummer John Bonham. Not only does the album have no title, but there is no writing on the front or back cover, or even a catalogue number on the spine (at least on the original LP release).

Following the lukewarm reaction to the band's acoustic-leaning "III" album, "Led Zeppelin IV" was more upbeat and sits as one of the most influential albums in hard rock/heavy metal history.

"Led Zeppelin IV" is the third best-selling album of all time in the U.S., with cumulative sales of more than 23 million.

New singer confirmed. He is Swiss!

Dear GOTTHARD Fans – it gives us great pleasure to announce that we have found a new singer. The successor to Steve Lee, who was killed in a tragic accident last year, is Nic Maeder and is Swiss-born. Nic was born in 1971 in Lausanne, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and “Down Under”. “Nic not only has a great voice and is a fantastic musician, but we also have a great person in our midst”, says Leo. “We can rock again at last”.

During the months after the decision to carry on was taken, we received a huge amount of applications from all over the world; it was really overwhelming! At this point we would really like to thank everyone, especially the candidates, to whom we were not able to send a personal message. Thank you for your understanding and we wish all of you lots of luck and success in the future!

“The search took a long time but it was clear to all of us when we met Nic that he was the right guy. With him we can enjoy the music again and celebrate new success,” states Hena. “I’m really happy that we are continuing”. The final decision for Nic Maeder was unanimous. “We noticed straight away that the chemistry, both musically and personally, was right. For us, he is the new member of the family”, says Freddy.

Nic Maeder, who besides his singing position also plays guitar and piano, is a very talented and creative person. His songwriting ability also means he fits perfectly into the Gotthard family. He is the missing piece in the puzzle. “Music has been my companion all my life and always was an important part of it. It is a great feeling to be able to share in the birth of a song and to see how it keeps growing. I can experience that with GOTTHARD and it makes me happy. I am making music with friends,” says Nic Maeder.

Of course you can write a lot about a new singer, but in the end there is nothing better than seeing and hearing him sing. We therefore decided to produce a song plus video as a thank you to our fans, which can be downloaded free of charge. It is dedicated to all our Fans who didn’t lose their faith and trust in GOTTHARD. You have supported us with all your strength during the past months. Thank you so much!

Marc “With Nic, we have taken the right decision for GOTTHARD. A lot of courage is needed to step into the footsteps of such a great singer. For that, Nic has earned our respect. Let’s never forget this and make Nic welcome in the family.

We are in the studio at the moment and are working with renewed energy and enthusiasm on songs for a new album, which will be released in the spring of 2012…keep on rocking!!!

GOTTHARD

Austria awakens with the breaking of the extremely long silence around the country's best electronic output ever: L'âme Immortelle. For the past three years since "Durch fremde Hand" (August 2008), Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer have been working on a new album, "Momente", to be released on January 27th, 2012.

Originally, the album was meant to be simply called "L'âme Immortelle" which shows clearly that Sonja Kraushofer and Thomas Rainer were planning to let this be the very artistic essence of this project.

The new L'âme Immortelle album "Momente" will hold 10 new songs and will be available in two editions: a standard edition and limited digibook special edition. The latter holds the following:
CD in digibook format (14 x 21 cm approx) and slipcase
Lavish "insideout" print for the digibook and slipcase
32 page booklet, semigloss art print on high quality paper
Includes all lyrics and additional artwork

This fine gem comes hand-numbered and personally signed by Sonja Kraushofer and Thomas Rainer and is strictly limited to 2000 copies

Portuguese death prog masters DISAFFECTED have inked a deal with the German label Massacre Records. The band's new album, "Rebirth", was recorded between August and December 2010 at The Pentagon in Lisbon, Portugal and was produced by Fernando Matias (MOONSPELL, GWYDION) and DISAFFECTED.

Commented DISAFFECTED: "As you can imagine, DISAFFECTED are simply radiant about the unique opportunity of being featured in a roster alongside artists such as KING DIAMOND, MALEVOLENT CREATION, SINISTER, CREMATORY and so many others. A dream comes true!"