"Lethean Tear", the new video from SOLUTION .45 — the Swedish/Finnish progressive metal "supergroup" which features in its ranks former SCAR SYMMETRY vocalist Christian Älvestam — can be seen below. The song comes off the band's debut album, "For Aeons Past", which was released in Europe in April 2010 and in North America one month later. The CD was recorded at Panic Room studios in with producer Tomas "Plec" Johansson and was made available in Japan through Marquee/Avalon. The album features lyrics written entirely by Mikael Stanne of DARK TRANQUILLITY. The cover artwork was created by Pär Olofsson.

SLIPKNOT recently completed a three-week European tour that was the band's first run of dates since the death of bassist Paul Gray in May 2010. Singer Corey Taylor, who has been unsure of SLIPKNOT's future since Gray's death, told Artisan News last week that "It's more about trying to figure out what it means to me in this day and age. I mean, I know what the original music means to me; it's something that I will always be proud of. I'm trying to figure out what the next steps are. And without Paul, and the way that the turmoil in the band is right now, it's gonna take some time. The tour went really well that we just did, so that's a step in the right direction. But there's still a lot of things that we've gotta work on before we can run back in and be like, 'OK, let's do another album.' It's like, let's slow down a little bit. It's here if we want it. But if we make the wrong choices for the wrong reasons, then it could all [snaps fingers] go like that, and I don't wanna be a part of that."

SLIPKNOT concluded its three-week European tour on July 10 with a headlining set at England's Sonisphere festival. Taylor said he had a good time. "I did enjoy the show," he said. "The whole tour has been great. Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who participated in the two minutes of silence for Paulie; he would have been so proud."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, the people and officials of Aberdeen, Washington have officially rejected a proposal to rename the town's Young Street Bridge as the Kurt Cobain Bridge. The City Council voted 10 to one on Wednesday (July 27) against the idea after it drew a strong negative reaction from residents. Several citizens who came to the council meeting to voice their disapproval, along with a number of council members, were not pleased with the prospect of naming the bridge after a musician who used drugs. The final vote was reportedly met with applause from the audience.

All was not lost, however: a small park near the bridge will still be named the Cobain Landing.

The bridge that would have been named in the late NIRVANA frontman's honor is allegedly the one under which Cobain lived for a while in his younger days, an experience he wrote about in the song "Something In The Way".

As previously reported, Facebook has denied that the cover art from NIRVANA's classic 1991 album "Nevermind" was banned from the social network because it contained nudity — specifically a naked baby floating in a pool. Reports circulated on Wednesday that Facebook had taken the cover art down because it violated Facebook standards.

According to NME, Facebook issued a statement saying, "The photo on the cover of 'Nevermind' does not actually violate Facebook's terms. Facebook does allow photos of naked children 'that are clearly unable to stand on their own' in a non-sexual situation — so in other words, babies. Why? Put it this way — if a parent wanted to share some photos of a newborn with their grandparents, we wouldn't want them to not be able to share them on Facebook."

"Nevermind" will be reissued on September 27 in both standard and deluxe editions to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

"Batman", the new video from the international videogame metal act POWERGLOVE, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Saturday Morning Apocalypse", which came out last September via eOne Music. The CD features POWERGLOVE's power metal renditions of '80s cartoon themes.

Commented guitarist Chris Marchiel: "[Director] David Brodsky and I just finished our music video for 'Batman'. In typical POWERGLOVE fashion, we did things a little differently. After shooting our green-screen performance footage, we captured tons of 'sprite' images of ourselves in the style of Mortal Kombat then processed those into full sets of 16-bit action moves. Then, instead of just animating those, I programmed several video game fight scenarios with the band as playable characters and recorded takes of me playing through the mini games. The result is a combination of green-screen performance in original 16-bit environments, traditional sprite-based animation and recorded gaming sequences and the end result is silly, unique and just plain fun."

POWERGLOVE is composed of four battle-hardened rockers out of Boston: Alex Berkson, Bassil Silver-Hajo, Chris Marchiel, and Nick Avila. This band shreds metal renditions of everything from old-school 8-bit video game classics to contemporary blockbusters, all with a heavy metal attitude.

German metallers BRAINSTORM will release their new album, "On The Spur Of The Moment", on September 30 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at Studio 22 in Ludwigsburg, Germany with Axel Heckert. According to BRAINSTORM, "Axel is a huge fan of the band and he [helped] us to reach a whole new level."

"On The Spur Of The Moment" track listing:

01. Below The Line
02. In The Blink Of An Eye
03. Temple Of Stone
04. In These Walls
05. Still Insane
06. Dark Life
07. No Saint - No Sinner
08. Where Your Actions Lead You To Live
09. A Life On Hold
10. My Own Hell

The song "Below The Line" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

German folk metallers SALTATIO MORTIS will release their new album, "Sturm Aufs Paradies", on September 2 via Napalm Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Habgier Und Tod
02. Hochzeitstanz
03. Ode An Die Feindschaft
04. Eulenspiegel
05. Sündenfall
06. Nachtigall Und Rose
07. Gott Würfelt Nicht
08. Nach Jahr Und Tag
09. Orpheus
10. Spiel Mit Dem Feuer
11. Fiat Lux
12. Der Letzte Spielmann
13. Wieder Unterwegs
14. Wer Nicht Kämpft (bonus track)

A video for the song "Hochzeitstanz" can be seen below.

Eight years after the release of "Blot", legendary Viking metal act EINHERJER will issue its comeback album, "Nørrøn", on September 9 via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded at Studio Borealis and was produced by EINHERJER's Frode Glesnes. Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET) mixed the effort. The cover artwork was painted by Renathe H. Bryn.

According to a press release, "Nørrøn" is "an album which combines the best qualities from all of EINHERJER's previous albums. It's dark bombastic and aggressive, but still atmospheric, beautiful and melancholic. 'Norrøn' has the quality to send you on a musical journey where your present dies and all your senses starts to relive the music. Where you are plunged into a life of forgotten wisdom, beliefs and forces. Where all that was lost and taken has been resurrected. Where you stand steadfast on Norse ground, calling for revenge from your heathen heart."

Commented EINHERJER drummer Gerhard Storesund: "This is an album that has caused much joy and despair in the creative process. I hope and believe all the blood, sweat and hard work reflect and color our relentless pursuit of creating something beautiful, original and epic, and at the same time giving you the raw and attacking feeling of the real Viking metal spirit."

"Nørrøn" track listing:

01. Norrøn Kraft
02. Naglfar
03. Alu Alu Laukar
04. Varden Brenne
05. Malmting
06. Balladen Om Bifrost

Quality video footage of U.D.O.'s May 6, 2011 performance at El Teatro Colegiales in Buenos Aires, Argentina can be seen below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. The Bogeyman
02. Dominator
03. Independence Day
04. The Bullet and the Bomb
05. Restless and Wild (ACCEPT cover)
06. Son of a Bitch (ACCEPT cover)
07. Thunderball
08. Vendetta
09. Princess of the Dawn (ACCEPT cover)
10. Midnight Mover (ACCEPT cover)
11. Man and Machine
12. Breaker (ACCEPT cover)
13. Animal House
14. Metal Heart (ACCEPT cover)

Encore:

15. Holy
16. Balls to the Wall (ACCEPT cover)

Encore 2:

17. I'm a Rebel (ACCEPT cover)
18. Burning (ACCEPT cover)
19. Fast as a Shark (ACCEPT cover)

Denmark's ANUBIS GATE will release its new, self-titled album on September 13 via Nightmare Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Hold Back Tomorrow
02. The Re-Formation Show
03. Facing Dawn
04. World In A Dome
05. Desiderio Omnibus
06. Oh My Precious Life
07. Golden Days
08. Telltale Eyes
09. River
10. Circumstanced

According to a press release, "Anubis Gate" is "the most beautiful album the band has yet emerged with. The songwriting stands stronger than ever. This time emphasized by the fact that Henrik Fevre, who was largely responsible for writing the vocals on the previous albums, gets to sing the songs he wrote himself, injecting the emotion and meaning into the lyrics that he had in mind when writing them. Once again produced by Kim Olesen and Jacob Hansen, and with a stunningly great mix done by the latter, this album brims with the twin guitar attack of Jesper M. Jensen and Kim Olesen's guitars, the rich emotion of Henrik Fevre's voice, the rich soundscapes of Kim Olesen's keyboard work and the dream rhythm section of Morten Sørensen's drumming and Henrik Fevre's bass playing. 'Anubis Gate' isn't an album that's about endless keyboard/guitar unison soloing. It's all about the songs. . . This album displays ANUBIS GATE at the top of their game while in no way rehashing the last two albums. Quite to the contrary, this album sees the band taking new turns whilst retaining the core of all the albums that came before."

Western Australia's masters of progressive metal experimentation VOYAGER have signed with the New Jersey-based prog metal pros at Sensory Records for the release of the band's upcoming fourth full-length album, "The Meaning Of I".

Conceived in 1999 by German-born musician Danny Estrin, VOYAGER is certainly well known throughout the prog metal circuit worldwide, having carved an incredible, diehard cult fan base since inception. The unit's previous three albums display their unique and even strange integration of symphonic, electronic and progressive elements crafted into a seamless, incredibly executed, multi-genre style all their own, bridging gaps between metal subgenres and even verging on '80s pop.

The official street date for the incredibly layered "The Meaning Of I" is set for October 11, 2011. But the band are also aiming this release to be available to fans in-person at their upcoming performance September 16 at the annual ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta, Georgia, where VOYAGER will share co-headline slots of the massive festival with THERION, IHSAHN, SANCTUARY, DREAM EVIL, LABYRINTH and more. Just days prior to ProgPower, on September 11, VOYAGER will make their debut North American performance at a one-off show in New York City alongside now-labelmates CREATION'S END.

With an impressive history of Australian music awards, as well as many titles of "album of the month" in Romanian, Finnish, Italian, German and Belgian music press, VOYAGER's notoriety for their energetic live performances has captured audiences worldwide. The band have battled geographical isolation to tour Europe twice, perform at ProgPower Europe 2006 and share stages with diverse acts like NIGHTWISH, STEVE VAI, SOILWORK and ALESTORM.

"Skull Crusher", the new video from Swedish metallers WOLF, can be seen below. The clip was helmed by Morningstar Film Production, which previously worked on the band's video for the song "Hail Caesar" from WOLF's "Ravenous" album.

Commented WOLF vocalist/guitarist Niklas Stålvind: "We have never had so much fun making a video as we had on this one. Smashing a car into smithereens is something we always wanted to do without cleaning up after us or get in trouble with the police. It was the best exercise/therapy you could ever wish for. I felt like I was 10 kilos lighter in both body and spirit afterwards. We had to work hard to demolish it good. A Volvo is made in Sweden and hard to tear apart — just like this heavy metal band. This one is for all the skull-crushing metal heads out there — we salute you!"

Greek old-school thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS will enter Prophecy & Music Factory Studios in Kempten, Germany early October to begin recording the follow-up to last year's "Dead Again". The band will once again work with Greek producer Roberto Dimitri Liapakis, who helmed SUICIDAL ANGELS' last CD and is said to "know better than anyone else which sound the group is looking for." According to the band, "Everybody is looking forward to be working together on the new album. Never change a winning team."

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"Thirty years of METALLICA... can you believe it? We think it's cause for a major celebration!

"You've been asking for a while now, 'Just what the hell are you going to do to mark 30 years as a band?' closely followed by, 'Why don't we have more exclusive shows for fan-club members?'

"We've heard you loud and clear and are beyond psyched to announce that the week of December 5, 2011 will be a full-on METALLICA week in the Bay Area, more specifically we will be playing four shows for Met Club members only at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco on December 5, 7, 9, and 10 to celebrate our 30th anniversary. These unique shows will include special guests and events, rare songs, varied set lists, odds and ends, and all the nutty stuff you expect from METALLICA... fun for the entire family!

"Come to the Bay Area and spend the week with us to not only close out 2011 out with a bang, but to celebrate over three decades worth of craziness.

"Participate in the entire week of festivities with special four-pack tickets (one ticket for each of the four shows) and automatic entry into the contests for various other special events, available for the clever price of $19.81 (get it??). If you can't join us for the full week, we'll have individual show tickets too and as you can see we're going back to early '80s ticket pricing (but not the hair!)... single-show tickets will be just $6.00 each. Both four packs and individual show tickets will be available for fan-club members only through a reservation system and we do have to add facility fees, blah, blah. Clubbers can log in for all the details... we're taking reservations through August 8.

"Hope to see you for a week of madness in December!"

São Paulo, Brazil-based thrash metallers MUSICA DIABLO have parted ways with SEPULTURA singer Derrick Green.

Commented MUSICA DIABLO guitarist André NM (also of NITROMINDS): "It was very hard for us to take this decision, but Derrick being very busy for the last two years was making things hard especially to perform live. Lately we have been demoing for the new album, even Derrick was trying to do have an input on the process while on tour with SEPULTURA, but fact is that we all (including him) came to a conclusion that is not possible with the busy agenda from his other band to make things work as we wanted. We are now looking for a new singer to prepared and finish the material we have and get the band on the road again. As for Derrick, we all wish him and SEPULTURA the best luck with their new album, 'Kairos'."

According to NME.com, Facebook has denied that it has banned the iconic cover art of NIRVANA's 1991 album "Nevermind" — featuring a naked baby boy floating in a pool — from being posted from the site.

It was reported yesterday that after product shots of the album — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this fall — were uploaded to NIRVANA's Facebook page, the social networking company removed the photo citing a violation of its Terms of Use. However, representatives for the web site have told NME.com this is not the case.

"The photo on the cover of 'Nevermind' album does not actually violate Facebook's terms," a statement from Facebook reads. "Facebook does allow photos of naked children 'that are clearly unable to stand on their own' in a non-sexual situation — so, in other words, babies. Why? Put it this way — if a parent wanted to share some photos of a newborn with their grandparents, we wouldn’t want them to not be able to share them on Facebook."

Due out on September 27, the 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of "Nevermind" will arrive as a remastered CD and digital release, a two-disc set featuring B-sides and demo recordings, and a "super deluxe" four-CD/one-DVD limited edition that will include an alternate mix of the album by producer Butch Vig. This version will also come with a 90-page book and a CD/DVD of NIRVANA's 1991 Halloween gig in Seattle.

A vinyl edition of "Nevermind" will also be released, along with separate Blu-ray and DVD versions of the Halloween 1991 show.

All but the standard CD will feature dozens of previously unreleased recordings, obscure B-sides, alternate mixes, radio sessions, studio rarities and live tracks.

The new mix by Vig will be substantially different from the final album mix by Andy Wallace that was released commercially.

The Halloween 1991 show is the only known NIRVANA concert shot on film and has been transferred to a high-definition picture with Surround Sound.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will release their new album, "Unto The Locust", on September 27 via longtime label Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at JingleTown Studios in Oakland, with frontman Robb Flynn producing. The mixing duties were handled by Flynn and Juan Urteaga (EXODUS, SADUS, TESTAMENT, NIGHT RANGER, VICIOUS RUMORS, HEATHEN, VILE, CATTLE DECAPITATION). (Note: Due the recent passing of his ex-wife and manager, Colin Richardson [BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY, TRIVIUM] was unable to oversee the mix.)

"Unto The Locust" standard CD track listing:

01. I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
I) Sangre Sani
II) I Am Hell
III) Ashes To The Sky
02. Be Still And Know
03. Locust
04. This Is The End
05. Darkness Within
06. Pearls Before The Swine
07. Who We Are

"Unto The Locust" special-edition CD track listing:

01. I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)
I) Sangre Sani
II) I Am Hell
III) Ashes To The Sky
02. Be Still And Know
03. Locust
04. This Is The End
05. Darkness Within
06. Pearls Before The Swine
07. Who We Are
08. The Sentinel (JUDAS PRIEST cover) *
09. Witch Hunt (RUSH cover) *
10. Darkness Within (Acoustic) *

* Bonus tracks

DVD:

* "The Making Of Unto The Locust" Documentary

An advance mix of the new MACHINE HEAD song "Locust" was released via iTunes on June 14 and was included on an iTunes Mayhem digital sampler. Download cards for the digital sampler are being distributed at every date of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival so fans can redeem the song after being summarily kicked in the face by MACHINE HEAD's always devastating live show.

ZZ TOP’s new album is now finished, being mixed, and will be released in the fall of 2011. Billy Gibbons tells Mojo magazine, “It sounds and feels like Tres Hombres, with a few elements of the Eliminator period thrown in. A pretty wide range, from basic blues to slightly more fancy stuff.

Songs recorded include 'Flyin’ High,' 'More Slower Blues', 'Chartreuse' and 'Have A Little Mercy'. The latter is, says Gibbons, inspired by early B.B. KING cuts.

The sessions have been executive-produced by Rick Rubin (METALLICA, SLAYER). Gibbons adds, “The thing about Rick is he pushes the artists to spend more time reaching down deeper than they normally would.”

ZZ top recorded at the famous Shangri La Studios in Malibu with engineeer Dave Sardy (OASIS, JET). The trio then moved back to Texas, to Foam Box Recordings in Houston, with long-time engineer Joe Hardy. “It was the Sardy and Hardy party,” said Gibbons.

A version of 'Flyin’ High', which is not confirmed for the album, has already debuted: played en-route to the International Space Station on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. “We figured it’d be the perfect song to pass along to the astronauts,” said Gibbons.

Not every song will be as as radio-friendly as 'Flyin’ High', insists Billy. 'More Slower Blues' is “simply one chord, that never stops.”

ZZ Top have yet to reveal the album’s title and its final tracklisting.

"Heritage", the new album from Swedish progressive metallers OPETH, is scheduled for release on September 20 (one day earlier internationally) via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced by the band's mainman, Mikael Åkerfeldt, and was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and Åkerfeldt. Longtime collaborator Travis Smith also worked with Åkerfeldt to create, design and execute the album's artwork, which can be seen below.

"Heritage" will be released in several configurations that will certainly incite the interest of OPETH's legion of fans, known for their passion for collecting and collectibles. The album will be released as a standard version; as a special edition loaded with extras; as a box set exclusive to the Roadrunner and the band's own official Omerch webstore; and as a double LP.

Standard CD

01. Heritage
02. The Devil's Orchard
03. I Feel The Dark
04. Slither
05. Nepenthe
06. Häxprocess
07. Famine
08. The Lines In My Hand
09. Folklore
10. Marrow Of The Earth

Special-Edition Digipack CD/DVD

As above plus additional DVD including:

* Bonus audio tracks: "Pyre" and "Face In The Snow"
* 5.1 mix of the whole album
* "Making of the album" documentary
* Card to download the bonus tracks
* Limited-edition OPETH coin (until stocks last)

The Deluxe Box Set:

* Double-LP set of "Heritage" with exclusive lenticular artwork (180-gram vinyl
in gatefold jacket)
* Custom gatefold jacket that houses the "Heritage" special edition CD/DVD set
(includes 2 bonus tracks, 5.1 audio mix of album and "Making Of Heritage" documentary)
* Exclusive 7" of 2 bonus tracks
* Litho print of album cover
* Oversized 16-page booklet with exclusive photos and artwork
* All content housed in custom slipcase
* Receive a digital download of the album the day before release

According to JonLord.org, former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord has received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Leicester.

"Jon Lord is one of British music's most eclectic and talented instrumentalists. There are no signs of his creative talents abating.”

These words rounded off a detailed account of Jon Lord's musical life that preceded Jon being presented with the Honorary Degree.

"It is humbling to hear your life retold with such accuracy," Lord said in his acceptance speech, where he also spoke fondly of his musical childhood in Leicester.

His first concert was experience was in the same hall where the presentation ceremony was being held.

"I was 6 or 7 years old and heard cutting edge classical stuff performed by the Haley Orchestra; the William Tell Overture, Grieg's Piano Concerto and the New World Symphony.

"It thrilled me and possibly changed things right there," he explained.

Years later in the same hall, he saw Buddy Holly.

"He spun my head around," Lord said. "The love of what Buddy Holly represented and the love of what the Haley Orchestra represented has defined my musical life.

"This town was and still is deep inside my bones, and it's a huge, huge privilege and an honor to come back here and accept this honorary degree. My parents — were they alive — would be dancing in the street. I suspect and hope they're dancing somewhere far more pleasant than Averill Road [Jon's childhood home]. Thank you and God bless!"

Video footage of Jon Lord receiving and responding to the presentation of the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Leicester can be seen below.

Swedish black metallers DARK FUNERAL have announced the addition of bassist Zornheym to the group's ranks.

Commented guitarist Lord Ahriman: "Now, that we face our new lineup, I must say that the atmosphere and the chemistry within the band feels absolutely fantastic. Furthermore, every single member of DARK FUNERAL is once again sharing a tremendously strong commitment, an absolute dedication as well as utter professionalism. And I am absolutely sure that what you, our dear fans, soon will be able to witness that this unholy gathering of these five knights in Satan’s service is the most sinful and powerful DARK FUNERAL ever!

"We have rehearsed together for a few months already. And it feels like we are already tighter and sound much better than ever before. So once we kick off touring again, we will be like an infernal war machine that will crush everything in its path."

Added Zornheym: It is with great honor to be now part of this undefeatable armada of black metal warriors. When you join the truly ineffable kings of Swedish black metal it is beyond doubt that great excitement accompanies this unholy path of trampled souls. Onwards into Battle! The circle is closed!"

Guitarist Chris Caffery (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SAVATAGE) will soon release his first commercial hot sauce through High River Sauces. More details will be made available soon.

High River Sauces was started by music industry veteran, food junkie and heavy metal cookbook author Steve "Buckshot" Seabury. His cookbook titled "Mosh Potatoes - Recipes, Anecdotes & Mayhem From The Heavyweights Of Heavy Metal" (Simon & Schuster) is a collection of recipes from the biggest names in hard rock and heavy metal.

While putting together the cookbook, Seabury found that his passion for BBQ and hot sauces was shared by many of his favorite icons. After getting such a great response from his friends and family, he decided to start High River Sauces.

Seabury recently sat down with Mike Hultquist of Hot Sauce Madness, a web site that caters to fans of fiery foods and extreme hot sauces. They discussed his inspiration for creating new recipes, the tour sauces, goals for the future and his love of heavy music. You can read his interview and the review of the Hellacious Hot Sauce at this location.

9 CHAMBERS, the new band featuring producer/singer/guitarist Greg Hampton (ALICE COOPER, BOOTSY COLLINS, LITA FORD), ex-MONSTER MAGNET guitarist Ed Mundell and current GOV'T MULE bassist Jorgen Carlsson, will release its self-titled debut album on September 27 via Samson Records/E1 Entertainment.

Hampton and Mundell recently recalled how they crossed paths and came up with the idea of working together. "I used to run into Greg at the bootleg place up at the Pasadena Flea Market," remembers Mundell. "He'd always be buying MAHOGANY RUSH, FREE, or JIMI HENDRIX bootlegs!" Adds Hampton, "I would see Ed and we'd run into each other at NAMM, and we'd go have dinner. I knew he was sort of looking for other projects to get involved in, because with the MONSTER MAGNET thing; he had a huge history."

As one of the trailblazers of the "stoner rock movement" Ed Mundell's signature guitar sound can be heard on MONSTER MAGNET classic albums "Superjudge", "Dopes To Infinity" and gold-certified "Powertrip". But by late 2010, Mundell had had enough. "It was 18 years with MAGNET. Since 1992, since I was a kid, barely legal to drink I'd been on the road! The last few years of touring was just the same old thing. It wasn't treading on any new territory — we were just playing the same set every night, all the time. And I was just like, 'I've got to do something else, I'm going to go crazy here.' So I just needed to take a break. I ran into Greg, and we started playing."

And just like that, 9 CHAMBERS came together — the same way plenty of classic rock bands did way back when, naturally, and over the love of similar styles of music. "We just started jamming, and all of a sudden, we wrote a couple of songs," recalls Hampton. "The next thing we knew, we wrote six songs or something. It was pretty organic with the fact that we have a lot of the same guitar players that we love. We've pretty much got the same record collection. I'd play the verse, and then hand him the guitar halfway through, and he'd play the rest of it. Sometimes, you don't even know who's playing what." And as Mundell adds, "All of a sudden, it's 20 songs later! Like, what the hell? We're mixing now and going, 'God, how many guitars are on there?' We forgot about all these cool parts."

The superheroes are here! Check out J.D. Overdrive's first video!

The video for the song "Ballbreaker" can now be watched on Metal Mind Productions' official YouTube channel. Watching the superheroes traversing the streets of Katowice, Poland, you can easily see that the most important thing for the band while shooting the video was having loads of fun. Wojciech ‘Suseł’ Kałuża, band’s vocalist, says: “Basically we just wanted to have fun with this video, hence the whole goofy superhero theme. On one hand we take our music really seriously, but on the other we're not really serious people. I hope this video proves it. And sure, the quality of the production might have been a bit better but then again, we saved a lot of money for booze. And you can't go wrong with that.”

Watch the video HERE.
The song "Ballbreaker" comes from J.D. Overdrive's debut album "Sex, Whiskey & Southern Blood", which features eleven stoner metal songs that all fans of such bands as Down or Black Label Society will certainly find to their liking. The album has been released by Metal Mind Productions on 6th June in Europe and on 12th July in USA (via MVD).

J.D. Overdrive
"Sex, Whiskey & Southern Blood"

Guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metal veterans BEHEMOTH has confirmed to U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine that he is in talks to be a judge on Poland's version of the hit American singing competition "The Voice", appropriately named "The Voice Of Poland".

Commented Nergal: "I haven't signed a deal yet, but I got a deal waiting and most probably it's happening. So it's going to be fun. The first black metal judge ever in history doing a mainstream thing, you know? People are going to freak out! Some are going to love it, some are going to fucking hate it. But that's what this music has always been about, right? To provoke, to cause different opinions. The more extreme opinions, the better, I think."

He added of the attention he has received in his home country, "This so-called celebrity life is not my environment at all, but I am a part of it if I want it or not. So it's been crazy. Then the whole case with my sickness and me getting out alive [Nergal was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010 and underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure in December. — Ed.], it just brought some extra attention to it. And there's definitely some people that want to make some money on it because it's a cool story for them to write about and stuff, but I was like, 'Okay, if they're going to make money, I want to have my share, too.' I was away from music and away from being active live for a good year, so yeah, I need to get something in return!"

It was previously reported in the Polish media that the producers of "The Voice Of Poland" are hoping that Nergal's presence on the program will attract a new audience as well as improve its chances of competing against rival television talent-show franchise "X Factor".

The American version of "The Voice" was a big hit for NBC and helped breathe new life into the careers of coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.