Montreal's rambunctious and unique classical/black metal ensemble UNEXPECT recently completed work on its sophomore album, "Fables Of The Sleepless Empire", at Badass Studio with producer Jef Fortin. The CD's cover artwork was created by Spanish artist Mario Sanchez Nevado. All inside graphic work was handled by Eric Charron while the photography was taken care of by Elaine Phaneuf.

"Fables Of The Sleepless Empire" track listing:

01. Unsolved Ideas Of A Distorted Guest
02. Words
03. Orange Vigilantes
04. Mechanical Phoenix
05. The Quantum Symphony
06. Unfed Pendulum
07. In The Mind Of The Last Whale
08. Silence This Parasite
09. A Fading Stance
10. When The Joyful Dead Are Dancing
11. Until Yet A Few More Deaths Do Us Part

Regarding the new album release, the group previously said, "After some deep and profound thinking, we finally decided to take back the reins of our destiny and go independent for the release of the next album! We gave this option a lot of attention/thinking time and the conclusion was that we think it's all positive and for the best! And the fact of removing intermediaries will let us be even closer to our public!"

UNEXPECT last year announced the departure of keyboardist Exod. The band said, "The lifestyle and sacrifices that go with touring is not to everyone's taste and it's been the main reason behind his choice. We were already talking about all of this while touring North America in 2008 so it's been a well-thought decision that we all knew of for a long time. That said, it doesn't mean that there won't be more future collaborations with him as we're still very good friends and are, as always, totally musically compatible...as you'll be able to hear on the new album."

UNEXPECT is:

Syriak - Vocals, Guitar
Artagoth - Vocals, Guitar
Leïlindel - Vocals
Chaoth - 9-Stringed Bass
Borboën - Violin
Landryx - Drum

Tom Hess, der Gitarren Virtuose, der durch seine einzigartigen Fähigkeiten an der Gitarre und als Schöpfer der berühmten Online-Gitarren-Kurse weltweit bekannt wurde, ist nun ein offizielles Mitglied von RHAPSODY OF FIRE! Für das kommende Album "From Chaos to Eternity" (VÖ am 17. Juni) hat er bereits viele der rhythmischen Parts und zwei Gitarren-Solos eingespielt.

Alex Starpoli äußert sich dazu: "Ich habe Tom Hess bereits einige Male auf der Bühne spielen sehen und war jedes Mal von seiner großartigen Bühnenpräsents und seiner Art zu spielen beeindruckt. Als ich seine rhythmischen Parts und die Solos für RHAPSODY OF FIRE gehört habe, hat es mich regelrecht weggeblasen. Ich konnte seine Präsenz bei jeder einzelnen Note spüren."

Luca fügt hinzu: "Ich kenne Tom seit vielen Jahren. Er ist eine großartige Person, ein guter Freund von mir und es verwundert mich auch nicht, dass er weltweit großen Erfolg mit seinem Gitarren-Unterricht hat. Ich bin wirklich stolz, dass ich eine starke Partnerschaft zu ihm aufgebaut habe und ich werde ihm immer dankbar die Unterstützung sein, die er mir beim Aufbau meiner Neoclassical Revelation Gitarren Kurse entgegengebracht hat. Folglich fühl ich mich sehr geehrt, Tom als den Mann all unseren Fans präsentieren zu können, der durch sein künstlerisches Talent und seine einzigartigen Fähigkeiten für den Unterschied in den kommenden Jahren sorgen wird."

Als Vorgeschmack auf das neue Album, schenken Euch RHAPSODY OF FIRE abermals einen brandneuen Song als Gratis Download!

Ihr könnt Euch den von Alex und Luca komponierten Song "Aeons Of Raging Darkness" vom neuen Album „From Chaos To Eternity“ kostenlos downloaden.

"Ein Song wie dieser, ist allen unschuldigen Leuten gewidmet, den Opfern des Krieges, den Misshandelten… diese Gewalttaten sind es, die die Seele unseren wundervollen Planten vergewaltigen!" erklärt Luca.

Zum Download gelingt ihr HIER – ihr must lediglich eure e-mail Adresse angeben und erhaltet prompt einen Zugangscode:

Über metalsucks.net streamen die Griechen derzeit mit dem Track "Oceans of Grey" die erste Hörprobe ihres am 18. April 2011 erscheinenden neuen Albums "The Great Mass".

Das Ganze findet ihr hier...

"The Great Mass" track listing:

01. The Vampire From Nazareth
02. A Great Mass Of Death
03. Pyramid God
04. Five-Pointed Star
05. Oceans Of Grey
06. The Undead Keep Dreaming
07. Rising
08. Apocalypse
09. Mad Architect
10. Therianthropy

Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH have set "Darkness In The Light" as the title of their new album, tentatively due this summer via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts with producer (and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist) Adam Dutkiewicz. Sitting in on drums during the sessions was Justin Foley of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED. The effort was mixed by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM) from Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.

Regarding the band's decision to work with Foley on the new CD, UNEARTH previously said in a statement, "Foley was an obvious choice for this album for many reasons, but mainly because of his abilities and knowledge of heavy music as well as his longtime friendship with the band. A decade-plus of friendship has made this an easy transition for the band, Foley and our producer/engineer Adam."

UNEARTH last fall parted ways with drummer Derek Kerswill due to "creative differences." The band stated at the time, "The differences between Kerswill and the band started off as subtle, but became increasingly obvious over the past few months and it was time for both parties to go their separate ways."

UNEARTH recruited drummer Branden Morgan of MISERY SIGNALS to sit behind the kit for the band's European dates as part of last year's Persistence Tour.

Casey Norman, who hosts the "Power Drive" show on Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada's radio station Power 97, asked FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook earlier today (Thursday, April 14) if there was any truth to the rumors that the band has parted ways with bassist Matt Snell. "At this time, we're... I mean, there is something going on in regards to that, but I would rather keep my mouth shut so that I don't get myself in trouble," Hook replied.

You can hear Hook's brief response to the Matt Snell question in the YouTube clip below.

Swedish folk metal masters YGGDRASIL will release their new album, "Irrbloss" (English translation: "Will-o-wisps") on April 25 via Grand Master Music. The long-awaited follow up to 2008's "Vedergällning" was recorded, mixed and mastered at Grand Master Audio in Sweden.

"Irrbloss" track listing:

01. Höstmörkrets Natt
02. Bergtagen
03. Skaldefader
04. Irrbloss
05. Tokikvad
06. Norrland
07. Uppåkra
08. Kungabål

Glenn Danzig has contributed a brand new song to the soundtrack of the new film "The Hangover Part II". Director Todd Phillips and music supervisor George Drakoulius asked if the one-time MISFITS frontman would write a new track for the sequel to the blockbuster dark comedy that featured Danzig's version of the song Glenn wrote for Johnny Cash, "Thirteen". Danzig agreed and the result is the lead track "Black Hell".

"The Hangover Part II" is scheduled to arrive May 26. The film will feature much of the cast from the first movie, including Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis and Justin Bartha. However, Phillips couldn't find room for Heather Graham, who married Helms' character, Stu, in the original.

In "The Hangover Part II", Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to exotic Thailand for Stu's wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don't always go as planned. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can't even be imagined.

Canadian metallers THREAT SIGNAL have uploaded video footage from the pre-production sessions for the follow-up to their 2009 album "Vigilance". Check out the clip below.

Commented THREAT SIGNAL vocalist and mastermind Jon Howard: "You may have thought lately, 'Where the f#*k has THREAT SIGNAL gone?' Well, we have been in pre-production for the last five months writing some killer new songs for our third release. We plan to hit the studio within the next few months, so we will let you know the details about that soon. We will also provide studio video updates as well. But for now we've put together this short pre-production video clip of a song called 'Fallen Disciples'. This will give you a taste of what we are up to.

"The new music speaks for itself, so turn up the volume, grab a beer, and get ready to have your ass handed to you."

Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD), Slim Jim Phantom (THE STRAY CATS) and Danny B. Harvey (ROCKATS, 13 CATS, LONESOME SPURS), have teamed up in a high-energy, "take-no-prisoners" combo to remind the world how real rock 'n' roll is "supposed to fuckin sound. THE HEAD CAT serves up a delicious melting pot with flavors of rockabilly, punk, blues and undeniable rock 'n roll!

THE HEAD CAT's new album, "Walk The Walk...Talk The Talk", will be released on June 21 via Niji Entertainment Group, a label that was created by Ronnie James Dio and his wife/manager, Wendy Dio.

"Walk The Walk...Talk The Talk" track listing:

01. American Beat
02. Say Mama
03. I Ain't Never
04. Bad Boy
05. Shaking All Over
06. Let It Rock
07. Something Else
08. The Eagle Flies On Friday
09. Trying To Get To You
10. You Can't Do That
11. It'll Be Me
12. Crossroads

The album's first single, "American Beat", will go for radio adds shortly.

Lemmy previously stated about THE HEAD CAT, "[It's all about] having fun. Fun for the sake of it. No ulterior motive. No politics. No gender. No fucking around! (laughs)"

When asked what each member of THE HEAD CAT brings to the sound of the band, Lemmy replied, "I don't know. You'd be the one to tell me that! . . . Well, you'd have to because I can't judge it, because I'm in it! (laughs) You can't judge what you're in the middle of. It's for the outsiders to judge that. It's for the fans to interpret a song, you know. You can write a song and three different people will write three different stories. I can't tell you what we bring to it. We bring what we got."

Video footage of MANOWAR bassist/leader Joey DeMaio's onstage speech filmed during the band's April 8, 2011 headlining concert at Rodahal in Kerkrade, Netherlands in which he addresses the recent passing of MANOWAR's former drummer Scott Columbus can be viewed below.

"I'm sure by now all of you have heard that we lost Scott Columbus this week; he passed away just a few days ago," Joey said. "I can only tell you there's a lot of rumors on the Internet flying around [referring to Internet chatter and speculation that Scott took his own life because he was battling addiction and depression after splitting with MANOWAR in 2008. — Ed.] because people have nothing better to do with their fucking boring lives than to stir up shit and create rumors 'cause their lives have no fucking meaning. But I can tell you the truth, and the truth is this: Scott Columbus was our brother and your brother in metal. He was a father, and he was a friend. And he was a great musician, and he was a great guy. And he had a heart of gold. And he liked to drink beer, and he certainly liked this country a hell of a lot.

"Scott Columbus will never be forgotten — his memory will live on — because he was one of those rare people. And heavy metal will never die as long as we all stick together.

"So, Scott, here's to you for all the times we played this great country of Holland; I know you're looking down on all of us. He's up there with Ronnie Dio and Gary Moore and all the other greats.

"So we're gonna play one of Scott's favorite songs for you, and this is for him. This is called 'Gates Of Valhalla'."

Columbus died on April 4 at the age of 54.

KISS has officially entered the studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2009's "Sonic Boom" for a late 2011 release.

A video message from KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley can be viewed below.

Said Stanley in the clip: "Wednesday, April 13. We are in the studio again doing the follow-up to 'Sonic Boom'. Today is the first day in the studio. All the gear got set up yesterday. Eric [Singer] is sitting behind the drums feverishly waiting to cut that first track. So history will be made. This album, I'm telling you, everybody agrees, leaves 'Sonic Boom' in the dust. So this is awesome, and you'll be hearing it soon."

In a March 10, 2011 interview with DJ JC Green of Alfa Rock 105.7 FM and Metal Messiah Radio's "Heavy Metal Thunder" program, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons stated about the forthcoming CD, "The new record, which we already started working on, is gonna be the next step to 'Sonic Boom'. Very similar — straight rock songs, no ballads, no keyboards, no nothing, just rock. . . A lot of the songs [have been] written by the whole band together, so no outside writers, just the band doing what it did on the first three records — writing the songs ourselves." He added, "We have almost all the songs written. In fact, we have too many songs; we have about 20 to 25 things that look and sound good."

KISS has been rocking out arenas for the last four decades and has become one of the most renowned rock bands in the history of music, with popular songs like "Rock And Roll All Nite" and "Calling Dr. Love". They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide and have continued their incredible success with the release of their latest album, "Sonic Boom".

ARCH ENEMY haben mittlerweile die Aufnahmen der neuen CD "Khaos Legions" in die Sweet Spot Studios in Südschweden beendet. Erscheinen soll das neue Werk am 27. Mai 2011 via Century Media Records, also rechtzeitig vor den METALFEST Open Air Festivals, wo ja ARCH ENEMY bekanntlich bestätigt sind.

Produzent des neuen Werkes "Khaos Legions" ist Rickard Bengtsson, der 2005 bereits am "Doomsday Machine"-Album beteiligt war. Jetzt wurde der neue Song "No Gods No Masters" zum probehören online gestellt!

Reunited U.K. rockers WOLFSBANE — featuring former IRON MAIDEN frontman Blaze Bayley — released their first record in 17 years on April 9. Entitled "Did It For The Money", it contains the brand new title track along with re-recordings of four old WOLFSBANE numbers.

"Did It For The Money" EP track listing:

* Did It For The Money (new song)
* Limo
* GSB
* Killing Machine
* Dance My Tune

The band — which features Bayley, guitarist Jase Edwards, bassist Jeff Hateley and drummer Steve Danger — headlined The Borderline in London the day of the EP's release.

You can now stream the EP's title track in the YouTube clip below.

"Death, The Dead And Me", a brand new song from reactivated Swedish death metallers MALFEITOR, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

The band is currently working on new material for a 2011 release.

MALFEITOR recently announced the addition of drummer Janne (Rudberg) Björkenfjäll (EXCRUCIATE, MORPHEUS, MASTICATION, EXHUMED) to the group's ranks.

Another new track, "Scenes From A Slaughterhouse", can be streamed using the audio player below.

"Wretched Eyes Of God", a brand new song from Australian/Los Angeles tech-metal masters DEVOLVED, can be streamed below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Oblivion", which will be released on May 24 via Unique Leader Records. According to a press release, the CD will contain "10 songs of unrelenting modern metal which combines uncompromising intensity, chaotic timing signitures, insane musicianship and a futuristic soundscape blended to create an epic and totally crushing listening experience from start to stop! 'Oblivion' features the furious drumming of founding member John Sankey, who has also worked with DIVINE HERESY, FEAR FACTORY and contributed to the Roadrunner all-star sessions. The album also marks the recording debut of vocalist Kyle Zemanek, who previously fronted L.A. metal heavyweights DEADSETT, and has collaborated with members of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH."

Commented Sankey: "'Oblivion' is absolutely our most innovative, ambitious and intense work to date.

"Writing this CD was an excruciating and very time-consuming process, but we have created what I definitely consider a unique metal album that showcases each of us pushing the limits of our playing and songwriting. The end result is a listening experience that will speak for itself. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved!"

"Oblivion" track listing :

01. Existential Crisis
02. Into Fire
03. Awakening
04. World In Denial
05. Virus
06. Wretched Eyes Of God
07. Transcendence
08. From The Ashes
09. Legions Rise
10. Divinity (cover song; bonus track)

A six-minute YouTube clip featuring snippets of all the tracks that are set to appear on "Oblivion" is available below.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will enter GREEN DAY's Jingletown Studios in Oakland, California this Saturday, April 16 to begin recording their as-yet-untitled seventh album for a late summer release via Roadrunner Records.

A six-minute video clip in which the four members of MACHINE HEAD talk about the forthcoming CD can be viewed below.

Robb Flynn (guitar, vocals): "I wasn't really raised with religion. And in a lot of ways, that's what this record seems to be symbolizing for me — music as religion, music as the thing that's carried me through the darkest chapters in my life. It's carried me through the brightest, highest highs of my life, and everything in between. It's always been there for me."

Phil Demmel (guitar): "Expectations? There's always high expectations. I mean, we don't just put a record out that often, so there's a lot that goes into this. We expect a lot out of ourselves; we expect everything that we can possibly put into a record. So we're reaching deep, but we've grown a lot in the past five years as well — as musicians, as friends, as bandmates, and just as people in general. So I think there's a lot of emotion getting poured into this, and a lot of creativity, too. So don't expect 'The Blackening 2'. It's gonna be... We're putting everything that we have into this one, but we do that on every record. 'It's gonna be heavy, but melodic, too. It's gonna be the heaviest thing we've ever done.' I'm gonna stay away from all the quotes you see all the time. It's gonna be our best effort, though — for sure."

Dave McClain (drums): "The first two or three songs that we started working on were just parts that were really exciting. And we knew — as with the last two records, [2003's] 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' and [2007's] 'The Blackening' — we knew we were onto something really good.

"The songwriting process can definitely be frustrating sometimes. Because sometimes you're working on the same thing for two or three weeks and the same parts, you're kind of waiting for something to happen. The next time you don't have a part coming up, and you're kind of just waiting around for something to happen. You can get kind of stuck in a rut. And it's frustrating, to say the least. At this point, where we're at now, as far as demoing everything, that's when everything just starts flowing, whether it's by accident or on purpose or whatever, things just start happening. And doing this right now — demoing — definitely gets you excited for getting into the studio, and by that time we're pretty well prepared. I mean, after demoing things a few times and everything else, you're kind of chomping and ready to start recording."

Adam Duce (bass): "We were looking at recording at a couple of different places in Oakland, but it turns out that we're gonna end up doing everything over at Jingletown.

"Right now in the recording process, we just finished demoing some stuff.

"Putting out music for as many years as we have, we always have to kind of make it new and fresh and interesting for us, and we always look for that thing that makes it MACHINE HEAD, that gives you that feeling.

"The feeling that you get from a MACHINE HEAD record is nothing if not motivating. I mean, that's what we do; that's our niche. So that's enough motivation. Just to be in here making music, when that finally gets there, it's so epic and huge and fulfilling when you get it right. I mean, you jam it sometimes for nine months without it being right, but the time that you play it and it comes out right and the one little twist that you didn't have in there gets put into it, and it makes it. It's like magic. I mean, that's what the magic of music is right there."

In a recent issue of Metal Hammer maga

Legendary New Orleans metallers EXHORDER have tapped Jorge Caicedo (THE VOID, BUILT TO DESTROY) to play bass for the band for the following shows with RIGOR MORTIS:

Apr. 15 - Ft. Worth, TX - The Rail
Apr. 16 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's
Apr. 17 - New Orleans, LA - The Hangar

EXHORDER vocalist Kyle Thomas recently sent the following update to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"Although the tough time that we are experiencing right now is far from over, we have begun the arduous task of healing following the passing of our friend and bandmate, Frankie Sparcello [EXHORDER bassist who passed away on March 22. — Ed.].

"We would like to thank everyone that reached out to us in so many ways during the last two weeks. It has meant so much to us and Frankie's family that so many have shown such immense support and love.

"Many people are asking or wondering exactly what happened to him that caused his untimely death, but at this time it is not known for certain. Medical reports from the coroner have not returned and may not for several weeks, so until then we all must wait, unfortunately. In the meantime, we would like to say that in Frankie's honor and memory we have decided to play all of the shows we have booked in April and May. April 15-17 we will play Ft. Worth, Austin and New Orleans respectively, and May 28 we will play the Maryland Deathfest. It has been decided based on how excited Frankie was about playing these shows, and how much he loved the band both as a member and a fan of the music he played with us.

"We are looking forward to our return to our home away from home, the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area. Many friends await, and we are excited to play with RIGOR MORTIS, WORLD BENEATH WORLD, and the rest of the great bands on these bills.

"EXHORDER will get past these difficulties that face us at this moment. Even though we have already gotten into the writing process of our new album after working in new drummer Seth Davis, the time to focus on diving in to these songs could not be more imminent. We are aware that this recording is way overdue, but the inspiration could not be more tangible than it is now to deliver this to our fan base.

"Thanks, once again, to all that have been so kind and supportive to us in our darkest days. We will not let you down."

Sparcello joined EXHORDER prior to the recording sessions for the band's sophomore album, "The Law", which came out in 1992. The group broke up a short time later and reformed with its original lineup a few years later. Sparcello rejoined EXHORDER in 2009 and was scheduled to perform with the band at this year's Maryland Deathfest IX, which is set to take place May 26-29, 2011 at Sonar in Baltimore.

EXHORDER played the first concert with its new drummer Seth Davis on December 10, 2010 at The Hangar in the band's hometown. Video footage of the performance can be viewed below.

Joe Siegler of the unofficial BLACK SABBATH web site Black-Sabbath.com has revealed more details about the forthcoming deluxe-expanded-edition reissue of BLACK SABBATH's "Born Again" album, which is due in the U.K. on May 30 via Sanctuary. He writes, "It's been heavily rumored for some time now that 'Born Again' was getting a little extra treatment. In the Universal Deluxe Edition series, they went from 'Heaven And Hell' / 'Mob Rules' / 'Live Evil' to the release batch that had 'Seventh Star' and 'Eternal Idol' (November 2010). Then in February 2011, they did 'Dehumanizer'. 'Born Again' got skipped over. I was told earlier in 2010 that 'Born Again' was going to be skipped (even before its turn in the original release order came up), because they were doing some extra work on it, hence the extra time, or 'delay.' I later came to believe from a couple of sources that it was because it was finally getting the legendary 'proper mix.'

"You've all heard the stories about Ian Gillan's hearing the final mix and throwing up. Well, the rumors go that the 2011 release of the album would do away with Mr. Gillan's propensity for vomiting in regards to the final mix.

"When the news broke of what is going to be on the 'Born Again' two-CD Deluxe Edition a couple of days ago, I decided to look into the status of the original album's representation in the package. Much to the disappointment of several people, I was told that the album was not remixed — it was just remastered. When I inquired why, I was told that they couldn't find the original multi-track master tapes that would be needed to do a remix. This was the primary reason for the delay, that they kept trying to track down the multi-tracks to do a remix, but could not. They couldn't delay the release indefinitely, so instead, they opted for a completely new remaster. The only other time the album was remastered was in 1996 for the Castle remaster series.

"It's disappointing yes, but all is not lost.

"[BLACK SABBATH guitarist] Tony Iommi's manager did go on to say this: 'The tapes have been held by a number of labels — Vertigo, Castle, Sanctuary, Universal, and moved around, which is why we still have hopes that they have simply been separated.'

"They haven't completely given up hope on the 'proper remix' project, which is good news."

Ozzy Osbourne will play an exclusive, one-off show at London, England's Hammersmith Apollo on June 21 as part of Kerrang! magazine's 30th-birthday celebrations. The former BLACK SABBATH singer will also be honored with the Legend Award at this year's Kerrang! Awards on June 9.

"It's an incredible honor to be the second recipient of Kerrang!'s Legend Award," said Ozzy, "and I'm looking forward to you all going 'fucking crazy' at the 30th-anniversary party at the Hammersmith Apollo!"

Kerrang! editor Nichola Browne said: "We are so unbelievably excited to have Ozzy play this very special show for our 30th-birthday celebrations in June. We are privileged that the Prince of Darkness can help us mark this momentous milestone in style and it's guaranteed to be a night to remember.

"Ozzy has been the mainstay of rock music. During his long and colorful career, he's not only helped define heavy metal as the voice of BLACK SABBATH, he's also enjoyed a three-decade reign as a solo artist and inspired thousands of rock fans to 'go fucking crazy' during his unmissable live shows. He's a much-loved, larger-than-life personality, and it is only fitting that we will be honoring Ozzy with the prestigious Legend Award at this year's Kerrang! Awards."

The awards, voted for by readers, will once again be hosted by SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor and ANTHRAX/THE DAMNED THINGS guitarist Scott Ian.

Legendary horror author Stephen King still enjoys listening to bands like METALLICA while working on stories and novels, according to a new interview with The Atlantic. Asked what he prefers putting on while working, King said, "METALLICA, ANTHRAX, I still listen to those guys . . . There's a band called the LIVING THINGS that I like a lot. Very loud group. I never cared for Ozzy very much . . . [BLACK SABBATH] don't really work for me."

King has a new short story in the latest issue of The Atlantic, called "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive".

King famously tapped AC/DC to assemble "Who Made Who", the 1986 soundtrack album to the film version of his novel "Maximum Overdrive".

Los Angeles-based Cleopatra Records has inked legendary actor William Shatner to a worldwide recording deal for a space-themed concept album entitled "Searching For Major Tom" (formerly "Seeking Major Tom"), to be released later this year.

Comprised of 19 "interpretations" of classic intergalactic rock anthems, the release features guest appearances by Ritchie Blackmore (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE), Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE), Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, ROD STEWART, OZZY OSBOURNE), Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS) and Michael Schenker (MSG, UFO, SCORPIONS).

Of Wylde, Shatner previously said, "He's fantastic! I'm energized." Wylde was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Shatner and added, "He's super cool, we had an awesome time working together."

"Searching For Major Tom" track listing:

01. Space Trucking (DEEP PURPLE)

* Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE) on drums
* Johnny Winter on guitar

02. She Blinded Me With Science (THOMAS DOLBY)

* Bootsy Collins on bass
* Patrick Moraz (YES, MOODY BLUES) on keyboards/synthesizers

03. In A Little While (U2)

* Manuel Gottsching (ASH RA TEMPEL) on guitar

04. Empty Glass (THE TEA PARTY)

* Michael Schenker (MSG, UFO, SCORPIONS) on guitar

05. Lost In The Stars (FRANK SINATRA version)

* Ernie Watts on saxophone

06. Twilight Zone (GOLDEN EARRING)

* Warren Haynes (GOV'T MULE, ALLMAN BROTHERS) on guitar

07. Space Cowboy (STEVE MILLER)

* Brad Paisley on guitar and vocals

08. Rocket Man (ELTON JOHN)

* Steve Hillage (GONG) on guitar

09. Space Oddity (DAVID BOWIE)

* Ritchie Blackmore (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW) on guitar
* Alan Parsons on keyboards

10. Spirit In The Sky (NORMAN GREENBAUM)

* Peter Frampton on guitar

11. Bohemian Rhapsody (QUEEN)

* John Wetton (ASIA) on bass and vocals

12. Silver Machine (HAWKWIND)

* Wayne Kramer (MC5) on guitar
* Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, ROD STEWART, OZZY OSBOURNE) on drums

13. Major Tom (PETER SHILLING)

* Nick Valensi (THE STROKES) on guitar
* Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) on guitar
* Mike Inez (ALICE IN CHAINS) on bass

14. Learning to Fly (PINK FLOYD)

* Edgar Froese (TANGERINE DREAM) on guitar and keyboards

15. Mr. Spaceman (THE BYRDS)

* Dave Davies (THE KINKS) on guitar

16. Iron Man (BLACK SABBATH)

* Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) on guitar and vocals

17. Planet Earth (Duran Duran)

* Steve Howe (YES) on guitar

18. Walking On The Moon (THE POLICE)

* Toots (TOOTS & THE MAYTALS) on vocals

19. Mrs. Major Tom

* Female guest vocalist to be announced