NUMBNUTS, the Danish band which features in its ranks singer Esben "Esse" Hansen (HATESPHERE, ex-AS WE FIGHT), has inked a deal with Mighty Music. The group's debut album, "Smokey The Salmon And Horny Mermaids Of Detention", will be released in Europe on August 1. The CD was produced by Jacob Olsen (THE SETUP, CROCELL) and features guest appearances by Henrik Heinz Jacobsen (KOLDBORN, ex-HATESPHERE) and Martin O$ Olsen (AS WE FIGHT, KOLDBORN).

DOMINANZ, the atmospheric metal band from Norway, will release its new album, "As I Shine", in Europe on August 19 via Industrial Silence Production and Rock N Growl Distro/Cargo Records. The CD was recorded and mixed at Conclave Studio by Bjørnar E. Nilsen and Roy N. Mathisen and mastered at Earshot Studio by Herbrand Larsen.

"As I Shine" track listing:

01. Infinity
02. Agony and Domination
03. As I Shine
04. Eternal Sin
05. Abusos
06. The Philanthropic
07. Last Day of Your Life
08. Man on Top
09. From Skin to Heart
10. The End of All There Is

FIREHOUSE vocalist C J Snare and FURYON guitarist Chris Green have teamed up to form a new modern heavy metal/melodic rock band called RUBICON CROSS. A four-song EP has just been released through iTunes and Amazon and is being described in a press release as a "soundtrack for your summer."

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Movin’ On
02. Next Worst Enemy
03. R U Angry
04. Shine

NIGHTWISH have been hard at work on their Imaginarium project, the band's forthcoming new album/movie (the album is currently scheduled to be released early in 2012, followed by the movie after an indefinite time).

Mainman Tuomas Holopainen has issued the following update from Helsinki's Finnvox Studios:

"After three years of brainstorming and songwriting, over a year of rehearsing, arranging and studio work, this triumph of musical passion and piety is finally ready to be mastered.




Yesterday, after a six-week mixing session in Studio C at Finnvox, I listened to the whole thing from start to finish alone for the first time, and couldn't make heads nor tails of it. It's the same old story - the same feeling of bottomless emptiness that has marked the completion of all previous albums.

We could have honed the songs till Armageddon, but at some point you just have to let go and start admiring the scenery.

This time, the landscape consists of 13 songs totalling 75 minutes. I think I'll probably be able to savour the end result only after a couple of months of mixing detox, but the encouraging comments by those near to me assure that it is a decent album. One person who heard Imaginarium called it "the greatest adventure he ever heard with his two ears".

There's clearly more grin to the new album than on the last one, more funfair, Moomins, smoky taverns, and twisted landscapes. It equals the Milky Way in width and breadth, even according to our standards. As Markus Selin put it, "Now you've really gone and emptied the bag of tricks!"




We're now going to get some distance to the album before mastering it later in the autumn. Meanwhile, we're going to be busy designing the cover, completing the instrumental and orchestral versions of the album, planning the upcoming tour, shooting the movie, and digesting the audio bloat. An excellent cure for the latter should be peaceful country atmosphere, fishing, and following the games of the current pesäpallo season. (By the way, during the home games of Kiteen Pallo, the entry music will be a remix consisting of the main riff and chorus of song number 11 off Imaginarium.)

Big thanks and bear hugs to the whole band for their patience; to Mikko Karmila and Tee Cee Kinnunen for their forbearance, craftsmanship and enormous amount of work; and in advance to Mika Jussila for the finishing touch! It's been a magnificent journey so far. Big thanks to you, too, for living with us through this process and having faith in what's to come. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

Legendary heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne kicked off his European summer tour with a headlining appearance on Thursday, June 9 at the Sauna Open Air festival in Tampere, Finland (SAXON is the headliner on Friday and JUDAS PRIEST will top the bill on Saturday).

Ozzy's setlist consisted of the following songs:

01. I Don't Know
02. Suicide Solution
03. Mr. Crowley
04. Good Bye To Romance
05. Bark At The Moon
06. Road To Nowhere
07. Shot In The Dark
08. [Guitar And Drum Solos]
09. Iron Man
10. Fairies Wear Boots
11. I Don't Want To Change The World
12. Crazy Train
13. Mama, I'm Coming Home
14. Paranoid

According to Musictap.net, Concord Records will release a RUSH DVD and Blu-ray titled "Time Machine" on September 27. The disc will most likely contain footage of RUSH's April 15 concert at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio filmed by the award-winning documentary makers Banger Productions from Toronto in Canada, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", "Global Metal" and the RUSH documentary called "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage".

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have set "The Hunter" as the title of their new album, which the band recently finished recording at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producer Mike Elizondo. Drum tracks were previously completed in Los Angeles at the legendary Sound City Studios where NIRVANA's masterwork "Nevermind" was recorded. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Blasteroids" and "All The Heavy Lifting".

The Norwegian foreign ministry has begun training aspiring diplomats in “TNBM – True Norwegian Black Metal” – after foreign service missions reported a rise in enquiries about the musical genre from around the world. Indeed, the popularity and scale of the black metal phenomenon were demonstrated recently as one of the style’s foremost proponents, Dimmu Borgir, took the stage in Oslo with an orchestra and choir in a collaboration that has gained widespread media attention.

The head of the foreign ministry’s centre of excellence, Kjersti Sommerset, told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv that “we now have 106 foreign service missions and they get many enquiries from people who want information about Norwegian black metal as a phenomenon. In the training program, we have a large cultural program in order to give the trainees a good understanding of Norwegian culture and the cultural industry.”

Black metal “is clearly a part of this,” Sommerset added.

‘Global awakening’
Author Håvard Rem, the author of a leading book on TNBM called Innfødte skrik (“Native calls”), described the phenomenon to Dagens Næringsliv as “a global awakening that gets the children of the ‘68ers to search for their roots from pre-colonial and pre-Christian times.”

Rem suggests that “young people all over the world identify with this search,” and explained that where young Norwegian boys might find “Norse religion and Odin” in their cultural roots, “in Asia, Vedic metal has arisen with TNBM as its inspiration.” Rem supports efforts to train budding diplomats in the subtleties of black metal, stating that “for people under 40, it is this that they connect to Norway” and that “even if one does not like the music, it quickly becomes a topic for discussion.”

Rem’s own lectures to the foreign ministry trainees also include information about a dark period in black metal history during the 1990s, when a number of murders, acts of violence and incidents of church-burning occurred that put the movement under the spotlight. “You have to realize that this is the history, but it was 20 years ago and, today, Norwegian bands are acceptable,” Rem told Dagens Næringsliv. He stressed that the past problems of Norwegian black metal were not necessarily relevant to selling the genre today, stating that “one can talk about Norwegian salmon without talking about salmon lice, and Ibsen was seen as destructive in his day.”

Aspiring foreign policy professionals themselves are reportedly keen on the move. Silje Bryne, who will work in the Norwegian mission in Paris next year, told Dagens Næringsliv that she feels she “will have a very big use for this” in the future. “I see the value in not just talking about Ibsen and fjords when one talks about Norway, but also about the export product that is black metal.” Bryne added that having “such a strong brand that means that we stand out among the Nordic countries is worth its weight in gold, it’s black gold.”

‘Goosebumps all over’
Meanwhile, in Oslo, leading black metal band Dimmu Borgir has received much attention for its most recent concert in Oslo, for which the band took the stage with Norwegian Broadcasting’s Kringkastingsorkestret (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and Schola Cantorum, a chamber choir associated with the Department of Musicology at the University of Oslo. In total, 96 musicians graced the stage at Oslo Spektrum and gave the 3,500 audience members an enhanced experience of the symphonic black metal sound, with Dimmu Borgir playing a number of songs from classic albums such as Death Cult Armageddon and Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia.

Many commentators were impressed by the spectacle but noted that the different sounds often cancelled one another out. Nonetheless, newspaper Aftenposten commented that “when it works, you get goosebumps all over.”

Fan-filmed video footage of MORBID ANGEL's May 25, 2011 concert at D'Marquee, Downtown East, Singapore can be viewed below. Also available is footage of the band's signing session in Singapore.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Immortal Rites
02. Fall From Grace
03. Rapture
04. Pain Divine
05. Maze of Torment
06. Sworn to the Black
07. Existo Vulgoré
08. Nevermore
09. Angel of Disease
10. Lord of All Fevers and Plague
11. Day of Suffering
12. Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost
13. Chapel of Ghouls

Encore:

14. God of Emptiness
15. World of Shit (The Promised Land)

"Musical Chairs", the new video from Texas natives FAIR TO MIDLAND, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's new full-length album, "Arrows And Anchors", which will be released on June 14 via eOne Music. The follow-up to 2007's "Fables From A Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True" was produced by Joe Barresi, who has previously worked with TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and COHEED AND CAMBRIA, among others.

Back On Black, which specializes in vinyl editions of classic metal albums and is dedicated to providing top-quality releases for record collectors and metal fans worldwide, will re-release TESTAMENT's first four albums — "The Legacy", "The New Order", "Practice What You Preach" and "Souls Of Black" — on June 27 on deluxe limited-edition180-gram vinyl:

* "The Legacy" (originally released in 1987) (purple vinyl)
* "The New Order" (originally released in 1988) (clear vinyl)
* "Practice What You Preach" (originally released in 1989) (white vinyl)
* "Souls Of Black" (originally released in 1990) (blue vinyl)

DEVIL, the Norwegian heavy doom rock band featuring members of VESEN, RIKETS CRUST, CEASE.AND.DESIST, FUCK YOU ALL and FAUSTCOVEN, has entered the studio to begin recording its debut album, "Time To Repent", for a late 2011 release via the Dutch label Soulseller Records.

Commented guitarist Stian Fossum: "I must say it sounds pretty damn vintage, and those not afraid of Devilish catchy tunes, are in for a treat. Ranging from hard rock to heavy metal, and even with a very good, if we can say so, ballad, we feel that the diversity and quality of the album is really up there. It's still not for feinschmeckers or proggers, but we're a hard rock 'n' roll band, and fans of PENTAGRAM, BLACK SABBATH and NWOBHM will still be our main audience. We haven't timed the album yet, but it will clock in somewhere around 40 minutes. The next few days we'll be doing vocals and stuff, and hopefully the mixing and mastering process will start in a couple of weeks."

"Time To Repent" track listing:

01. The Welcome (intro)
02. Break The Curse
03. Blood Is Boiling
04. Time To Repent
05. Crazy Woman
06. Open Casket
07. Death Of A Sorcerer
08. Howling (At The World)
09. At The Blacksmith's
10. Outro

DEVIL is:

Stian Fossum - Guitar
Ronny Østli - Drums
Thomas Ljosaak - Bass
Kai Wanderås - Guitar
Joakim Trangsrud - Vocals

According to TMZ.com, Weston "Arcane" Coppola Cage, the 20-year-old frontman of the California-based black metal band EYES OF NOCTUM and son of actor Nicolas Cage, was taken to the hospital by ambulance for a mental evaluation and possible 5150 hold.

(A 5150 hold allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to himself/herself and/or others and/or gravely disabled.)

Sources tell TMZ.com, "Weston was at the Farmer's Kitchen in Hollywood at around 4:00 today when his trainer told him he couldn't eat something on the menu. For some reason, Weston went off and started pushing the trainer in a violent way, at one point trying to roundhouse the trainer," reads the report on the site. "The trainer took Weston down, and someone else tried calming Nic's son down, to no avail. Weston got up and continued freaking out. Cops showed up and told Weston if he didn't get on the ground they would tase him. Weston then complied. Cops put Weston in handcuffs but they were so worried he was unstable they strapped him to a gurney."

TMZ.com has obtained video footage of Weston "Arcane" Coppola Cage — the 20-year-old frontman of the California-based black metal band EYES OF NOCTUM and son of actor Nicolas Cage — taking "13 hard punches to the face" in the middle of a Hollywood street during a violent confrontation with his personal trainer yesterday.

The footage begins moments after Weston allegedly tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to his trainer when the trainer refused to allow Weston to order a certain item off the menu at the Farmer's Kitchen. The site reports, "After a brief scuffle, the trainer takes Nic's son down to the ground ... climbs on top of him ... and rains down with a flurry of barely-contested punches to Weston's face. At one point, Weston tries to punch back — but the trainer blasts him in the face — once again taking control of the situation. The trainer kept Weston pinned down on the concrete until cops arrived."

As previously reported, Weston Cage was taken to the hospital by ambulance for a mental evaluation and possible 5150 psychiatric hold.

(A 5150 hold allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed to have a mental disorder that makes them a danger to himself/herself and/or others and/or gravely disabled.)

A 30-second audio sample of the new MACHINE HEAD track "Locust" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

[Note: This version of the song was mixed by Juan Urteaga (EXODUS, SADUS, TESTAMENT, NIGHT RANGER, VICIOUS RUMORS, HEATHEN, VILE, CATTLE DECAPITATION). The final mix will be handled by longtime MACHINE HEAD producer Colin Richardson (BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY, TRIVIUM).]

The band, which released the back-to-back, modern classics, 2004's "Through the Ashes Of Empires" and 2007's "The Blackening", is aiming to unleash its third masterwork in a row on September 27 via longtime label Roadrunner Records. The as-yet untitled new album is being recorded at JingleTown Studios in Oakland, with frontman Robb Flynn producing, and it is sure to level anything and everything that happens upon its path.

MACHINE HEAD will prepare for the release of their new album by appearing on the main stage of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival for key dates, while headlining the Extreme Stage for others, this summer, which kicks off this July. This is the band's second tour of duty on Mayhem, as they appeared on the festival during its inaugural run in 2008.

An advance mix of "Locust" will be on sale at iTunes on June 14 and will be included on an iTunes Mayhem digital sampler. Download cards for the digital sampler will be 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.

"We've been working on the record for a few weeks now, and when the opportunity to be a part of the free Mayhem sampler came up, we did not want to pass up the chance," said MACHINE HEAD vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn. "We're so pumped for our fans to hear the new music that we're so proud of."

Flynn went a little deeper about the meaning of the song, saying, "'Locust' is a metaphor. Locusts fly in a swarm, but they can't control which direction they fly; they float on the wind, they land, cause massive destruction, and then float away on the wind to leave you in the aftermath. The song is a metaphor for a type of person that sometimes comes into your life and has a similar effect."

Musically, the song is the essence of what MACHINE HEAD have been doing for nearly two decades. "It feels like the culmination of what we've been doing for the last 17 years: power grooves, patented MACHINE HEAD harmonics, crushing guitars and dark melodies, but taken to a new level," Flynn said. "It's a natural progression from 'The Blackening', but different than anything on that record. In the past, when we debuted a new song, it was usually the fastest, thrashiest tune. This time we wanted to go with something just straight-up heavy."

The song is eight minutes in length, which is not unfamiliar territory for the band. Flynn even joked, "We still can't seem to write a damn song under six minutes. But MACHINE HEAD aren't writing music for the radio or MTV. This is for us. This is for the metalhead who let's music take him on a journey. This for the metalhead for whom music is the only thing that matters, to whom music is a savior. The music fan who's going to study every detail of the artwork, go online and find the lyrics and memorize every word, and let it take them away from their fucked up life for a while. It's for the music freak, who maybe just wants to get hammered, air-guitar and sing at the top of his lungs, and act like an friggin' idiot while starting a moshpit in their living room with reckless abandon. Because that's who wrote this song, and that is the only people we care about connecting with."

Flynn finished, "We know you'll be as excited about it as we are, so Head Cases, on June 14, check out 'Locust'."

"Locust" is a true metal anthem from these metal torchbearers, and it's erected upon the band's signature, crunchy guitar tone, pummeling riffage, a thunderstorm of percussion and Flynn's militaristic barks. "Locust" is one of those cathartic, "gets the red out" songs that will incite moshpits across the globe and cause the listener to be purged of all their anger (and exhausted from rocking the hell out) once the last note fades out.

Prepare to suffer unto the "Locust" on June 14 and beyond.

Video footage of MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's new "360" drum roller coaster can be seen below. During the band's current tour, Lee is being launched into multiple loops while continuing to perform.

MÖTLEY CRÜE's current headlining trek with support from POISON and special guests NEW YORK DOLLS kicked off last night (Tuesday, June 7) at Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, Texas and will hit approximately more than 40 cities before coming to a close in August.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Wild Side
02. Saints of Los Angeles
03. Live Wire
04. Shout at the Devil
05. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
06. Primal Scream
07. Home Sweet Home
08. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
09. Drum Solo
10. Looks That Kill
11. Dr. Feelgood
12. Too Young to Fall in Love
13. Too Fast for Love
14. Girls, Girls, Girls
15. Smokin' In The Boys Room (BROWNSVILLE STATION cover)
16. Kickstart My Heart

One of the world's most popular board games, Monopoly, has been customized to celebrate the history and music of heavy metal giants METALLICA. The game will be available starting next week from the band's official webstore.

METALLICA follows KISS, THE BEATLES, ELVIS PRESLEY and THE GRATEFUL DEAD, among other artists, who have their own Monopoly games.

Concert Live, which enables fans all over the world to relive the experience with instant recordings of live gigs available within minutes of the last note being played, will team up with legendary rocker Alice Cooper to produce exclusive live CDs of from across his mammoth 2011 European tour. Each CD will be available to pick up straight after the shows, and if you're unfortunate enough not to be there, you can still order this CD be delivered straight to your home, where you can re-live five decades of classic Cooper from your living room.

For more information, visit ConcertLive.co.uk.

British metal gods JUDAS PRIEST kicked off their final tour dubbed Epitaph, last night (June 7th) at Eindhaar in Tilburg, Holland. The tour marks the debut of the band's new line-up featuring Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Scott Travis, and K.K. Downing's recently announced replacement Richie Faulkner (ex-DIRTY DEEDS, VOODOO SIX, LAUREN HARRIS).




Judas Priest's set-list included material from every album as voted for by fans.

'Rapid Fire'
'Metal Gods'
'Heading Out to the Highway'
'Judas Rising'
'Starbreaker'
'Victim of Changes'
'Never Satisfied'
'Diamonds & Rust'
'Prophecy'
'Night Crawler'
'Turbo Lover'
'Beyond the Realms of Death'
'The Sentinel'
'Blood Red Skies'
'The Green Manalishi'
'Breaking the Law'
'Painkiller'

Encore:
'The Hellion'/'Electric Eye'
'Hell Bent for Leather'
'You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’'

Check out photos from the show courtesy of Spanish website Rafa Basa at this location.