SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera's son Zyon sat behind the drum kit for the band's July 31 performance at the Lokerse festival in Lokeren, Belgium following the rumored recent departure of the group's longtime drummer, Joe Nunez. The concert also marked the debut appearance with SOULFLY of the band's new bassist Tony Campos (STATIC-X, PRONG, ASESINO, MINISTRY, POSSESSED), who replaced Bobby Burns earlier in the year.

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

Zyon made many special appearances with Max's other band, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, on CC's recent European tour, performing "Attitude/Cockroaches" at Sonisphere, With Full Force, and Hellfest festivals, to name a few. According to Max's wife/manager (and Zyon's mom) Gloria Cavalera, Zyon learned to drum "sitting at the feet of some of the most gifted metal drummers of all time, including his uncle Igor Cavalera, Bill Ward and Roy Mayorga, to name a few." This was a special guest appearance only, since Zyon's full-time band is MOLD BREAKER, which he formed with his younger brother Igor.

Bassist Johny Chow, who has played with SOULFLY's Max Cavalera and Marc Rizzo (guitar) in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and is a member of FIREBALL MINISTRY, loaned his skills to SOULFLY for the band's recent touring activities.

SOULFLY's latest album, "Omen", sold 6,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Danish thrashers HATESPHERE will release their new album, "The Great Bludgeoning", via Napalm Records on the following dates:

* Spain, Finland, Sweden: September 21
* Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: September 23
* Rest Of Europe: September 26
* USA, Canada: September 27

The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY) at the Antfarm Studios in Aarhus, Denmark. The cover artwork as created by Mircea Gabriel Eftemie, who has previously worked with SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and MNEMIC (for which he also plays the guitar).

"The Great Bludgeoning" track listing:

01. The Killer
02. Venom
03. Smell Of Death
04. Decayer
05. The Wail Of My Threnode
06. Resurrect With A Vengeance
07. The Great Bludgeoning
08. Need To Kill
09. Devil In Your Own Hell

Commented the band: "We have aimed the new album in a more old-school direction than its predecessor.

"With people this experienced joining the band, it has been a very relaxed and enjoyable process to write the songs, and we have all agreed on the concept. More metal and everything that follows. The cover, the title and the lyrics speaks for themselves.

"We are an angry-sounding metal band, and we have no intention of denying that. That's why the cover is more back-to-the-roots and the lyrics are again about aggressions, drinking and hate. The things that HATESPHERE has always been about.

"Expect brutality, melody and groove in just the right dose.

"We have had one hell of a time writing and recording it, and we can't wait to present the album to all of you before long! Within a month or so, we will have the first song snippet and video ready for you — so keep your eyes and ears open."

NO LOVE LOST, the Birmingham, England-based gothic/doom band featuring ex-CANCER bassist Adam Richardson, along with Laura Burton (vocals), Shaun Watts (guitar), Adam Kendrick (guitar) and Kostas Kyriakidis (drums), will release its new mini-CD, "What's It Like To Be Awake?", on August 1 via Audiosyncrasy Records.

The limited-edition digipak contains the following four songs:

01. Trinity (4:55)
02. Sleep For A Thousand Years (6:21)
03. The Bridge Between Heaven & Earth (6:30)
04. Into The Dark (6:49)

A five-minute preview of the forthcoming concert DVD from THE SLEDGE/LEATHER PROJECT, the new band featuring former CHASTAIN singer Leather Leone, can be seen below. The footage was filmed at the Keep It True XIV festival, which was held April 29-30, 2011 at Tauberfrankenhalle in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. Performing alongside Leather at the show were MALIBU BARBI drummer Sandy Sledge, bassist Betsey Stephens and guitarist Brett Baugh (who has since left the group). The setlist contained a lot of CHASTAIN classics, songs from Leather's solo album and brand new songs.

Frontiers Records will release URIAH HEEP's "Live In Armenia" 2CD+DVD package on September 23 in Europe and September 27 in North America.

In October 2009, URIAH HEEP released its 40th-anniversary "Celebration" album, containing new studio recordings of 12 of its most successful, classic tracks, plus two brand new songs. This recording heralded an exciting new phase for the band, taking their classic sound right into the future.

The band hit the road to celebrate 40 years at the top and opened new frontiers in Eastern Europe, Australia, South Africa, Japan and America. The band has played 53 different countries in total. The band's motto has always been "if the people cannot come to see and hear HEEP music, we will take it to them," and based on that, when the band was invited to play for the first time in Armenia, they did not think twice and went for it. So when the band agreed they were approached by TV and film crews to document this concert which shows an epic performance and an incredibly strong and powerful audience reaction.

"It was unique because it was a first for us, and the fact that our music meant so much to so many people, was just wonderful," says Mick Box. "It cannot get any better than that. There were some technical problems to overcome, as we played on hired equipment, but the emotion of the night won through, and if asked, we would indeed go back and play again".

URIAH HEEP, who indisputably invented hard rock in conjunction with BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and LED ZEPPELIN, have sold in excess of 30 million albums since their inception in 1969. From their early incarnation as THE GODS AND SPICE, through record breaking tours, gold and platinum selling albums, timeless chart scaling anthems and a fiercely dedicated fan base of worldwide proportions, URIAH HEEP can rightly claim to be one of the greatest U.K. progressive heavy rock bands of both the 20th and 21st centuries.

"Live in Armenia" will be exclusively released in a glossy digipak 2CD+DVD package and on a limited 2LP gatefold sleeve version (including only the audio portion).

The full track listing is as follows:

CD1:

01. Wake The Sleeper
02. Overload
03. Tears Of The World
04. Stealin'
05. Book Of Lies
06. Gypsy
07. Look At Yourself
08. What Kind Of God
09. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow

CD2:

01. July Morning
02. Easy Livin'
03. Sunrise
04. Sympathy
05. Lady In Black

DVD:

01. Wake the Sleeper
02. Overload
03. Tears Of The World
04. Stealin'
05. Book Of Lies
06. Gypsy
07. Look At Yourself
08. What Kind of God
09. Angels Walk With You
10. Shadow
11. July Morning
12. Easy Livin'
13. Sunrise
14. Sympathy
15. Lady In Black

Slash's (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) "homecoming" gig on July 24 at the Victoria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent — the town where Slash was raised — was filmed for a DVD release, tentatively due in October.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time and for some reason it just never seemed possible," said Slash.

"One of the things about doing the solo record and setting up my own tour was that I told the powers-that-be that I wanted to play in places I'd never played before. And so Stoke was something that was high on my list and I told them just make it happen."

Slash, whose real name is Saul Hudson, left Stoke-on-Trent when he was five years old. But he said he still had "vivid memories" of the city.

"I have memories that I went to school there, of the basic neighbourhood that I lived in. I remember exactly what the house looked like. Just everything in general, for some reason my memory is really clear. Better than my memory of later years."

The Stoke-on-Trent concert sold out in less than two hours after tickets went on sale on May 6.

Over 1,500 fans attended the show, which marked Slash's first-ever concert in his hometown.

David Bradbury, Group Press Officer of the Ambassador Theatre Group, told StaffsLive, "We always knew the gig was going to be popular and the fact that the gig sold out in less than two hours is brilliant.

"Slash is a local hero, he's from Stoke-on-Trent and not a lot of people know that. I think he lived here until he was 11 so this is a bit of a homecoming gig."

Slash stated after the concert: "Stoke was a [fuckin'] blast!! Great vibe and energy. It's going to make a killer DVD. We'll be back next year definitely!"

Slash's setlist was as follows:

01. Been There Lately (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT song)
02. Nightrain (GUNS N' ROSES song)
03. Ghost
04. Mean Bone (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT song)
05. Back From Cali
06. Rocket Queen (GUNS N' ROSES song)
07. Civil War (GUNS N' ROSES song)
08. Nothing To Say
09. Promise
10. Starlight
11. Doctor Alibi (with Todd Kerns on vocals)
12. Speed Parade (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT song)
13. Watch This
14. Beggars & Hangers-On (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT song)
15. Patience (GUNS N' ROSES song)
16. Guitar Solo / Godfather Theme
17. Sweet Child O' Mine (GUNS N' ROSES song)
18. Slither (VELVET REVOLVER song)

Encore:

19. By The Sword
20. Mr. Brownstone (GUNS N' ROSES song)
21. Paradise City (GUNS N' ROSES song)

The reformed LYNCH MOB, featuring former DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch, was set to begin its summer U.S. tour on Friday, July 29 in Houston. It was a surprise to the Texas crowd when the dynamic band showed up without singer Oni Logan, who decided to sit this tour out at home. Chaz West of BONHAM will now be replacing Logan on this trek.

Commented the band in a statement: "Oni let the band and our fans down. He quit the band at 5:30 a.m. before our 7:30 a.m. scheduled flight. He left us high and dry and did not fulfill his commitment. We are saddened and disappointed — but as a band, we are committed to honoring our obligations." George also stated that he plans on emulating the vocals with his guitar, if necessary!

In 2009, Lynch reformed LYNCH MOB and released "Smoke And Mirrors", which was followed by an extended tour.

In a January 2010 interview with PureGrainAudio.com, Oni stated about his return to LYNCH MOB, "I never thought it would happen, honestly. I am glad that it did happen, and now that it has, it is like going back in time and visiting an old friend and kind of just picking up where we left off. This is such a natural thing for me and George. Our chemistry is great, he does the music and I do the lyrics and what you have is 'Smoke And Mirrors'."

When asked how he prepares for the physical demands of a tour, Oni said, "Well, we try to do some different things as opposed to years ago when we were younger. We are pretty level-headed guys and I think we have a way of dealing with touring, for sure. I try to stay fit as much as I can. Obviously, when you are out on the road, you do not get to eat quite as well and you are pretty much sleep-deprived at times. It is all a matter of trying to find ways to keep yourself happy and sane. It is a pretty crazy rock and roll world out there, you know. Fans come out to have a good time, which is great, but there are a lot of things that come along with that as well. We try to keep level-headed and press on, because it is all about the music and nothing else."

Swedish melodic death metal band WITHIN Y has released a new digital EP, "Asylum", via Spotify and iTunes. The three-song single serves as a teaser for the group's forthcoming fourth album, which is scheduled for a September 28 release via Gain Music Entertainment.

According to the band, "The song 'Asylum' shows the diversity of the new album which contains guest vocals (Niclas Bergstrand, Sun Wahlberg), guest musicians and a lot of new elements that we´ve never used before. The EP also contains two more songs ['Lost' and '…At The End Of The Rope'] that will also be featured on the album."

WITHIN Y's third album, "The Cult", entered the Swedish national chart at position No. 24 back in March 2008.

Video footage of Dutch singer Anneke Van Giersbergen's (AGUA DE ANNIQUE, ex-THE GATHERING) July 28, 2011 concert at El Teatro Colegiales in Buenos Aires, Argentina can be seen below.

Her setlist was as follows:

01. Fury
02. Saturnine (THE GATHERING song)
03. Ice Water
04. I Want
05. Adore
06. Hyperdrive (DEVIN TOWNSEND cover)
07. Hey Okay!
08. Wonder
09. Shrink (THE GATHERING song)
10. Laugh it Out
11. Beautiful One
12. Locked Away (THE GATHERING song)
13. Witnesses

U.K. doom metal legends MY DYING BRIDE have issued the following update:

"MY DYING BRIDE are back in the studio to record a three-part EP due for release later in the year. No titles revealed just yet, but the news is that it is to be a concept EP of effectively one track of over 25 minutes long split into three 'acts.' Recording is to take place at Futureworks Studios in late August with long-term sound engineer Mags once again taking the pain.

"The new LP is being delayed as the band are simply not ready to record this yet as 'things are progressing in a very interesting manner.'

"This release is to be a precursor of things to come."

British glam veterans WRATHCHILD UK will release their long-awaited fourth studio album, "Stakkattakktwo", on August 23 via Perris Records. A tour, dubbed "Glam Godz – Stalkin' The Earth Tour", will follow later in the year.

Commented the band: "We are really excited that the album is going to be distributed worldwide and that all of our fans will finally get to hear what we've been up to these last few years.

"We thought long and hard about who to do this record with, but at the end of the day it was a no-brainer — the guys at Perris cut their teeth getting off on the same vibes that we we've been into from the start of the WRATHCHILD journey. Perris Records (USA) have distribution networks worldwide second to none, and more importantly, they truly worship at the altar of all that is rock 'n' roll!"

"Stakkattakktwo" track listing:

01. Goin' Down
02. All About U
03. Cherie Cherie
04. Trikk Or Treat
05. Hollywood Or Bust
06. Nice 'N' Eazy
07. White Hot Fever
08. I'll Be Your Rokk 'N' Roll
09. Bad Billy
10. I Luv The Night
11. Sycophantic Suicide

WRATHCHILD UK's current lineup:

Gaz "Psychowrath" Harris - Lead Vocals
Marc Angel - Bass, Backing vocals
Phil "Wrathchild" Vokins - Guitar, Backing vocals
Eddie Star - Drums, Backing vocals

WRATHCHILD, who released three albums in the 1980s ("Stakk Attakk", "The Biz Suxx" and "Delirium"), have long hinted at reforming and indeed it was reported in 2005 that the group was rehearsing with three-quarters of the most popular lineup — vocalist Rocky Shades, Star and Angel, plus original guitarist Phil Vokins. However, in an about-turn, the band chose a new singer in Gaz Harris and decided to call themselves PSYCHOWRATH instead (before reverting to the WRATHCHILD moniker in 2009).

A new video update from former HANOI ROCKS guitarist Andy McCoy can be seen below.

McCoy recently completed work on the debut album from his side project GREASE HELMET (which features members of AMORPHIS) and has begun recording a new solo album for a 2012 release.

McCoy previously stated about his upcoming solo CD, "It will be released under the name Andy McCoy." He added, "There's already heavy interest from the labels. We are looking at the way to release it simultaneously worldwide."

Regarding the musical direction of the album, Andy stated, "I am really trying to get back to my roots with the new material."

McCoy's decadent autobiography, "Sheriff McCoy: Legend of Hanoi Rocks", is available in English in a deluxe hardcover edition through North American publisher Bazillion Points.

A national icon in his native Finland, McCoy has been called the Finnish Keith Richards — except Richards only fell out of a coconut tree; Andy McCoy fell from a fourth-story balcony and lived to tell the tale. His over-the-top image and streetwise bending of punk, glam, and old-fashioned rock 'n' roll inspired a generation of platinum-selling bands — rock authors Slash of GUNS N' ROSES and Nikki Sixx of MÖTLEY CRÜE have already admitted their musical and stylistic debts. Now the real McCoy speaks from the heart on subjects including rock stardom, true love, his arsenal of vintage guitars, and surviving every imaginable variety of intoxication.

METALLICA performed in a front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 on July 16 at this year's edition of Quebec's Summer Festival (Festival d'été de Québec). The event ran July 7-17 in Québec City, Québec, Canada, with an amazing 300 shows spanning 11 days, making it Canada's biggest outdoor artistic festival.

"When I was a kid, this was my dream," METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told the crowd toward the end of the concert, according to Spinner.

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's pre-show tuning-room jam and performance at Festival d'été de Québec can be viewed below.

Check out photos from MusikUniverse.net, Demotix.com.

METALLICA's setlist was as follows:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom the Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride the Lightning
05. Fade to Black
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
09. Sad But True
10. All Nightmare Long
11. One
12. Master of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman

Encore:

16. Am I Evil?
17. Hit the Lights
18. Seek & Destroy

This is the 44th year for the festival, which began in 1968 by showcasing local artists, and has since evolved into an annual major attraction featuring the cream of international talent across all genres of music.

Festival d'été de Québec is a major cultural enterprise that generates CAD $25.4 million in added value for Québec and CAD $7.4 million in provincial and federal tax and parafiscal revenues. Still Quebec City’s best-loved event, the Festival now draws more and more tourists and foreign media to town.

According to Billboard.com, FOREIGNER is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the band's formation by going acoustic, electric and live - all on the same package.

Feels Like the First Time is a CD/DVD package that will be released by Razor & Tie exclusively via Wal-Mart on September 13, while the audio components will also be available on iTunes. The set comprises a pair of CDs - Acoustique: The Classics Unplugged and Juke Box Heroes: Brand New Digital Recordings of Foreigner's Greatest Hits, along with the DVD Live in Chicago, which was filmed in March during two shows at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Ill., and will also be shown during PBS' pledge drive this fall.

The tracklistings for the component parts of Foreigner's Feels Like the First Time package include:

Acoustique: The Classics Unplugged:
Long, Long Way From Home'
'Cold As Ice'
'The Flame Still Burns'
'Double Vision'
'Fool For You Anyway'
'Say You Will'
'Starrider'
'Waiting For A Girl Like You'
'Feels Like The First Time'
'Juke Box Hero'
'That's All Right'

Juke Box Heroes: Brand New Digital Recordings of Foreigner's Greatest Hits:
'Save Me'
'Feels Like The First Time'
'Cold As Ice'
'Long, Long Way From Home'
'Hot Blooded'
'Double Vision'
'Head Games'
'Dirty White Boy'
'Urgent; Waiting For A Girl Like You'
'I Want To Know What Love Is'
'Juke Box Hero'

Live in Chicago (DVD):
'Double Vision'
'Head Games'
'Cold As Ice'
'Waiting For A Girl Like You'
'When It Comes To Love'
'Blue Morning, Blue Day'
'Dirty White Boy'
'Starrider'
'Feels Like The First Time'
'Urgent; I Want To Know What Love Is'
'Hot Blooded'
'Juke Box Hero'

Unique, artful Japanese rockers DIR EN GREY will release their eigth studio album, Dum Spiro Spero, on Tuesday, August 2nd, via The End Records. In advance of the release, the band have announced that they will give fans an exclusive preview of the new music.

The album will stream in its entirety on the band’s MySpace page, accessible from Saturday, July 30th - Monday, August 1st.

Dir En Grey release Dum Spiro Spero two years and nine months after Uroboros, which garnered overwhelming support as the strongest and the maddest record resonating across the globe.

There are 14 tracks, including 'Hageshisa To, Kono Mune No Naka De Karamitsuita Shakunetsu No Yami', 'Lotus', and 'Different Sense' as single-cut tracks on this album.

With the combination of world-noted engineers and the individuality of a Japanese born and bred band. After all, Dir En Grey is the only artist that can surpass themselves.

Brendan Crabb of Australia's Loud recently conducted an interview with drummer Mario Duplantier of French progressive metallers GOJIRA. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On GOJIRA's forthcoming four-song EP, the proceeds from which will benefit Sea Shepherd, an anti-whaling organization ,and featuring guest appearances by Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), Fredrik Thordendal (MESHUGGAH), Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD), Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA):

"The music is ready, but we're waiting on [a] vocalist. We want to release it as soon as possible, maybe August or September. When you ask to put singers on the record, it makes it difficult. If it's just Joe [Duplantier; guitar/vocals] on voice, that makes it easier, but it's not easy . . . The music has been ready for six months, but the people who accepted to be part of the project had a lot of scheduling conflicts. Each song has different vocalists; it will be four very different songs. It's not an album, so we decided to have fun. One is very fast, one is very slow, one has a very rock vibe — it's very different to the album."

On the collaboration with by Devin Townsend:

"We decided to invite him because we've known him since a long time, when we shared a stage in 2006. We were big fans of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, we're amazed by his work. He told us he had a lot of respect [for] and loved our music as well. We wanted to share something and when Joe decided to make the project, Devin was the first guy we decided to contact. He agreed to participate as he was a big fan of GOJIRA, but he was also a big fan of the project."

On GOJIRA's next full-length album which the band hopes to finish recording in October for an early 2012 release:

"We don't have the name of the album or the songs yet, as that usually comes later."

On GOJIRA's forthcoming DVD, featuring live footage with a bonus section entitled "The Way Of All Flesh From The Inside":

"It's to close [2008's] 'The Way Of All Flesh' [touring cycle]. We toured for three years on that. Some shows had some great shots and we wanted to immortalize it. We are also working on a documentary, one hour talking about the three years of the band on the road. It's a way to finish that period. . . Maybe (they'll use) one show, but we have three or four very good quality shows [recorded]. But we have to choose one. Maybe it will be one we did in a small venue in France… The atmosphere was fantastic and the fans were crazy. We have a festival one, but that is a different energy. We may decide to put a couple of songs from each show."

It has been two long years since vocalist Luke Kenny and rest of Australian masters of grind THE BERZERKER graced a stage in anger.

Completely fed up with the music industry, Luke threw in the towel in 2009 and pursued his interest in glamour photography.

Even though the members of THE BERZERKER have gone their separate ways, Luke is still in contact with Ed Lacey and Todd Hansen. Hansen has moved to Canada to pursue his drumming career, Ed Lacey has finished law school, Damien Palmer has a new metalcore band and Tim Aldridge is off playing in other bands.

Commented Luke: "Over the past 14 years, the music industry has drained every ounce of passion I had for extreme music. I was very unfilled (even when performing on stage) and at the end I was not the best person to be around.

"We played our final show in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia on Halloween and it was awesome!! Great crowd, great show, great send-off! Shortly after that I relocated to a warmer climate and started to pursue my photography career by shooting swimsuit models. I quickly got work filming for FashionTV and then started my own magazine, Evokke magazine for iPhone and iPad.

"The main difference between THE BERZERKER and Evokke is now is I spend my days with beautiful women instead of sweaty men."

"Slaughterhouse Five", the new video from BURY YOUR DEAD, can be seen below. The clip was filmed on June 19 at
"Slaughterhouse Five" comes off the band's new album, "Mosh 'N' Roll", which is scheduled for release on August 2 via Mediaskare Records.

"Mosh 'N' Roll" track listing:

01. Slaughterhouse Five
02. Nothing Is Lost Save Honor
03. Bluebeard
04. The Sirens Of Titan
05. Deadeye Dick
06. Timequake
07. Sun Moon Star
08. Slapstick
09. Mother Night
10. Jailbird
11. Mosh 'N' Roll

"This Is Where It Ends", the fourth full-length album from Oakland, California's extreme metallers ALL SHALL PERISH, is available for streaming in its entirety on the band's Facebook page. The CD was released on July 26 in North America and on July 29 in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records. The majority of the follow-up to 2008's "Awaken The Dreamers" was recorded and mixed once again at Castle Ultimate Studios in Oakland with producer Zack Ohren (LIGHT THIS CITY, DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION).

"This Is Where It Ends" track listing:

01. Divine Illusion
02. There Is Nothing Left
03. Procession Of Ashes
04. A Pure Evil
05. Embrace The Curse
06. Spineless
07. The Past Will Haunt Us Both
08. Royalty Into Exile
09. My Retaliation
10. Rebirth
11. The Death Plague
12. In This Life Of Pain

The "There Is Nothing Left" video can be seen below. The clip was David Brodsky of MyGoodEye.

Peter Hodgson of Gibson.com recently conducted an interview with former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Gibson.com: What are your proudest individual BLACK SABBATH lyrical and vocal moments? "Cross Purposes", in particular, is an album that I find myself listening to for the lyrics just as much as for the songs and performances.

Tony Martin: Yeah. I can see why you may pick up on that one. I was gettin' a bit more real with lyrics instead of historical. But I actually invented some words, and to this day, only one person has found them and questioned me about them. I challenge anyone to find them, but everyone sings them. It's those things that I find really interesting.

Gibson.com: How did you feel about your work on [BLACK SABBATH's] "Forbidden"?

Tony Martin: Well, "Forbidden" is… I want to say "crap," but it's actually not. The songs worked really well in rehearsals, and then things started to get political, and I got wind of an Ozzy reunion [with SABBATH] — not from SABBATH directly, of course. But before that came, there was a meeting at the SABBATH offices in London to which we were summoned to discuss the possibility of doing a RUN-D.M.C. type of album. I thought it wouldn't work, and voiced that. Cozy Powell [late BLACK SABBATH drummer] thought it wouldn't work. I was never sure that most of the others were convinced, but we were kinda steered into a "rap SABBATH" album. Then I was told that [rapper] Ice-T was gonna be doing it and they couldn't or wouldn't tell me if he was doing the whole thing or just one track... and I still didn't know the answer to that when I was in the studio singing the tracks. They said they were gonna take it and see what Ice-T wanted to do. So it has a distinct ill feeling about it. The album eventually didn't really work, although some fans love it. And it was the penultimate album to my being removed from the band, the last album to be released being "Sabbath Stones", a compilation album, which kept my name in the band to span 10 years and six albums.

Gibson.com: How is your new project with bassist Magnus Rosén (HAMMERFALL), guitarist Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND) and drummer Danny "Danté" Needham (VENOM, TONY MARTIN) going? What's it sound like? Will you tour?

Tony Martin: Well, we are all doing individual projects and other things right now. We are talking often about how we progress, but until we have finished our current projects, we can't really get it on the road. The plan is to release the music in a controlled way that will be different to the normal record-label release. We have two songs written that sound very unique and we are excited about those. It's very accessible dark rock.