Finnish melodic death metallers INSOMNIUM have inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The band will enter the studio before the end of the year to begin recording its new album for a 2011 release.

Commented the group in a statement: "Throughout the spring and summer we negotiated with several attractive labels, but in the end it was clear that Century Media would be our home for the years to come. Their enthusiasm, professionalism and genuine love for music made an instant impact on us. We are convinced that this alliance will lead to even greater achievements in the future and also avails us to tour outside Europe more often. And, naturally, it is a great honor for us to stand in the same team with the likes of DARK TRANQUILLITY, ARCH ENEMY, PARADISE LOST, THE HAUNTED, FINNTROLL and TURISAS. A new exciting chapter in the story of INSOMNIUM has begun!"

Added Jens Prueter, Head Of A&R at Century Media Records in Europe: "It's great to welcome a band that has developed over the past year to one of the most exciting bands in the metal scene. I always liked their unique mix of Finnish melancholy with melodic death metal and even more so they always blew my mind seeing them live. You can feel that this is a band of brothers who haven't changed their lineup since their debut album in 2002. In case of doubt, go and see them on their tour with DARK TRANQUILLITY this fall — you won't be disappointed!"

Former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA CONSPIRACY drummer Igor Cavalera is featured in the new video from JAMAICA, the French duo formerly known as PONEY PONEY. Watch the clip below.

Packed with stop-start metallic guitars and fuzzy indie-pop melodies, the "Short & Entertaining" video was directed by Jeremie Rozan and Martial Schmetz from Surface2Air (JUSTICE VS. SIMIAN, THE STREETS).

The "Short & Entertaining" single is being released on August 16 through Co-op Music. The track comes off JAMAICA's debut album, "No Problem", which was produced in Paris by Grammy Award winners Xavier de Rosnay (JUSTICE) and Peter Franco. Contrary to what people might expect, there isn't a synth in sight. In fact, the only rule when recording the album was "No synthesizers would be involved!"

Based in Paris, JAMAICA consists of Antoine Hilaire and Flo Lyonnet. Antoine's inspirations range from MICHAEL JACKSON and THE BEATLES to '60s girl groups and NIRVANA, while Flo is the electro head but holds a special place in his heart for the likes of PANTERA and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.

This wide spectrum of influences gives JAMAICA its distinct sound: sleek pop hooks and rock undertones alongside super tight electronic production. The album's yacht rock sound — resplendent with guitar solos reminiscent of DAFT PUNK's "Discovery" — arrives just at the right time for summer.

JAMAICA, which plays with a live drummer, opened the NME Radar Stage at The Great Escape earlier this year and recently supported TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB on their French tour.

John Benson of Vindy.com recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Rust In Peace" album by touring and playing it in its entirety:

"We're doing this for the fans. This is their album, is what they requested, so this is their tour. As far as memories go, it's funny that that became such a fan-favorite record because it was not the most mainstream of our records, and yet it has become this thrash-metal cult classic. It doesn't surprise me because I get it. Musically, it's a ferocious album. And our fans who love the intricacy of MEGADETH and love the musical scope of what we do, I guess 'Rust in Peace' really encapsulates that, and it set forth really the best years of our career that followed."

"The song I was really looking forward to playing was 'Five Magics'. It's a really intricate track. Just as a composition, I think Beethoven would be proud of MEGADETH. In our five- and six-minute tunes, we basically have opuses. And that's what 'Rust in Peace' is full of, especially 'Five Magics'. So is the song 'Rust in Peace ... Polaris'."

On the band's camaraderie:

"Things are feeling really good. We've been at our leisure writing material and creating some things, and there's really a cool dynamic happening where lots of times it's just the four of us backstage before a show, and we're throwing some ideas at each other. There's a real camaraderie that's happening. What's interesting about that is it's exactly the way it was when we concluded the 'Rust In Peace' tour 19 years ago and then rolled into what became our biggest record, which was 'Countdown To Extinction'. This is going to be a great year for us to just really make things right, go out and lock arms, plant our flag again and stake our claim."

Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Did what occurred between VELVET REVOLVER and Scott Weiland burn you out on the band concept for a bit?

Slash: No. The band concept is fine, but we had to find a new singer, and I knew that wasn't gonna be the easiest thing in the world to get. I just wanted to take that opportunity to just clear my own head, and just do something by myself. It's as simple as that. I'm still a member of VELVET REVOLVER.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: You've obviously been as part of a solo group for several months now, so how would you describe the differences between being in a solo group compared to when you're usually in a band setup?

Slash: In the studio, it was obviously something that I had to do on my own from the ground up; getting the material together, calling the different singers, getting the material to the singers, setting all that up, finding a producer, hiring a backline — everything. That's way different from doing it with a band, because in a band, you've got the other four guys and you all work together. It's more of a team effort, whereas this was just something where I was responsible for putting the whole thing together. I hired new management to help work out sales and that kind of thing. At this point, I'm on the road and I'm back to the band situation. Although I'm sort of labelled the boss, I still — at this point — treat it like a group. I call the shots, but at the same time, I think of what's best as a whole. It's actually interesting going from doing a solo record to then getting a band to tour, and getting all the material together and going out, and being in a group again.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: How are you finding being the boss, so to speak?

Slash: I'm not really the kind of person, in no way, shape or form, to play the dictator role. I think everybody I'm working with is very professional, and they know exactly what their roles are. They carry their own weight, and they know what they have to do. I just guide the whole thing, and make some of the decisions (laughs), but I definitely don't treat it like I'm the boss.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: In an interview, you said that two singers you would've liked to have worked with for your solo album were AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler and MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine. If you had the opportunity, what type of tracks would you potentially record with them two?

Slash: Actually, I worked with Steven for a second, but it was just a huge conflict of interest with AEROSMITH. The song hasn't been used with anybody else, but there was no chance that the record company was gonna allow us to release it, so we had to let it go. I might go back and revisit that with Steven. The song that I did with M. Shadows [AVENGED SEVENFOLD] was originally an idea that I thought would be great for Dave, but Dave was on the road. I like to work quickly, so I never even pursued the idea because I thought M. Shadows would be cool. He's very melodic as far as heavy metal is concerned, so it just went there. I think Dave is probably one of the metal riff masters though. I think that with a lot of the shit he's done, he's naturally a genius. I used to jam with him back in the day, and with the style of riffs that he does, it would've been an interesting thing. I'm sure Dave and I will get together at some point and do something, but schedule wise, it wasn't possible at the time. I don't even think he knows (laughs), but I knew he was on tour, so... Anyway...

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Are there any other vocalists you'd like to work with in future?

Slash: Really, when it came down to it, I ended up working with everybody I had pegged for the material that I wrote. There's probably a lot of vocalists I could work with if I had the material for them, but I'm not gonna start naming names. Otherwise, things'll blow out of proportion, but there's a lot of people that I admire. It's not like I got every single singer that I like. It was just that the music that I wrote I got the right singers for. If I was gonna do another one of these records, depending on the material, names'll probably spring up.

Swiss goth metal veterans LACRIMOSA have issued the following update from Tilo Wolff (vocals, piano, guitar, trumpet, fluegelhorn):

"As we keep this tradition already for some years now, it was not so long ago that we last celebrated the release of the new Lacrimosa album while listening to it at the very same time. Wherever we spent these moments on this planet we were connected with eachother through the music and our emotions arising from it!

Now we were asked if we could continue with this tradition also when there is no new album coming out. We like this idea as there are plenty of Lacrimosa albums to share together and therefor we invite you to join us for the next LacriNight...

It will occur on Friday, August 20th of at 9 PM (CET) and the program is the album Inferno from 1995!

So, prepare yourself your favorite drink, make yourself comfortable, turn your speakers to the max and join us and everyone with the same music at the same time! Additionally – if you want – you can visite the Lacrimosa Fourm and share your thoughts with whoever is joining. At 9 PM (CET) I will press play and I'm looking forward to dive into this album once more with you!"

Singer Brian Vollmer from Canuck hard rock legends HELIX has issued the following update:

"We’re presently putting together a CD of HELIX tunes that were released between 2000-2010. Actually, if you want to be technically correct, three of the songs are going to be from my solo CD. The songs on this CD will probably be: 'I’m A Live Frankenstein', 'X-Ray Eyes', 'King Of The Hill', 'Get Up!', 'Fill Your Head With Rock', 'Cyberspace Girl', 'The Animal Inside', 'Make ‘Em Dance', and 'Hung Over (But Still Hanging In)'. Bonus tracks will be 'The William Tell Overture' and our remake of 'It’s a Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock N’ Roll' (AC/DC cover).

Then in September we’ll be recording an acoustic CD of all the Helix hits: 'No Rest for the Wicked', 'Heavy Metal Love', 'Rock You', 'Make Me Do (Anything You Want)', 'Gimme Good Lovin’', 'Wild In The Streets', 'Dream On', 'Good To The Last Drop', 'That Day Is Gonna Come', and a cover of JAMES LEROY's 'Touch Of Magic'."

Australian melodic metallers LORD will release a new EP, "Return Of The Tyrant", later in the year.

Commented LORD mainmain Lord Tim: "Anyone who has followed our history knows about DUNGEON, the band that spawned LORD after it dissolved in 2005. DUNGEON had a popular song called 'Tarranno Del Mar' — a fun pirate-themed song that LORD still enjoys playing to this day. We felt it was time to revisit the story and write the next part in the saga.

"The song 'Return Of The Tyrant' is full of piratey singalongs and is nearly ten minutes long, so it's quite an epic! Apart from that, we have some cool cover songs and a whole bunch of cool interpretations of LORD and DUNGEON songs, so there's quite a lot of material for an EP."

LORD has unveiled its latest touring venture, taking the band across Australia once again, including trips to the far north, as well as making their way back to Japan for the second year in a row.

Commented Lord Tim, "We're finally able to announce the tour dates for the rest of the year. This was a logistical nightmare with so many other high-profile acts touring Australia right now,meant that some places we wanted to get to just weren't realistic this time around. This tour will also include our run of shows in Japan with DORO and JADED HEART, which we're extremely excited about."

LORD's latest album, "Set In Stone", was released in the band's home country in late August 2009 via Riot! Entertainment. The cover art was once again created by Felipe Machado Franco, who has previously worked with ICED EARTH, BLAZE BAYLEY and AXEL RUDI PELL, among others.

WARBEAST (formerly TEXAS METAL ALLIANCE) have announced that Bobby Tillotson aka "J.R." is the next guitarist for the band.

According to a statement, "regretfully this will mean the departure of a vital piece of Warbeast; "The Governor" Rick Perry. So sadly, this will be the end of an era and that chapter of Warbeast.

We are all parting on good-terms and there are no hard feelings between any of us. We LOVE Rick Perry and he will always be our brother and an important part of the Warbeast history. Rick is part of our Warbeast family forever! There are no specific reasons that this is happening... so don't even bother to ask why. Just certain commitments with careers made this is a mutual decision between all of us. We are all in agreement that this is what's best for Warbeast at this time.

We would like to ask all of you to give your appreciation to Rick Perry for his incredible work with Warbeast. Obviously we wouldn't have gotten this far without him. So please give the man his props and the respect he deserves for his creativity and talents.

At the same time we would like all of you to welcome Bobby into the band. No one feels worse about this and has more respect for "The Governor" than Bobby does. So as we end one memorable chapter... we look forward to what the future brings for Warbeast. We hope all of you will be behind us as we enter this new chapter of Warbeast."

AMARANTHE (formerly AVALANCHE) — the new project featuring Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND), Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND), Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM), Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION) and Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) — will enter Hansen Studio in Ribe, Denmark in October with producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, MERCENARY, NIGHTRAGE) to begin recording its debut album for a spring 2011 release via Spinefarm Records.

Commented guitarist Olof Mörck: "Needless to say, we are very much looking forward to getting all the tracks on tape!

"There has been quite a stir and hype around AMARANTHE lately, and it is funny to think that everything that people have heard so far are demos recorded in bedroom. It is going to be fantastic to able to show people the true potential of our music, with a killer sound!

"This whole production is going to be HUGE and spending two months with Jacob Hansen recording the album will ensure that we will have a production second to none!

"Jacob Hansen is definitely one of the top names in today's metal recording scene, and when we found out that he was available on quite short notice, we where very enthused!"

INFINITUM OBSCURE guitarist/vocalist Roberto Lizarraga has posted the following message:

"4 years ago... my good friend Jon Nödtveidt (DISSECTION) left this physical realm...

Many people criticize me for commemorating this date or for having a fascination with Jon and his music, but they do not know what lied within, the unity... that which united both of our persons...

When I was a teenager I was fascinated with Jon's concept about Death... as I shared the exact same vision but I had not written about it or expressed myself about it just yet...

I always believed in my mind that me and Jon would one day meet and address these topics...

Years passed and life being as silly as it is, lead to THAT.

A friendship grew, many other friends and close ones criticized it.... but they did not understand.

5 years ago, I was able to share the stage with the mighty Dissection... and Jon in the audience watching me directly in my eyes as I sang and
played 'The Final Aeon'.... a few months later I met my biggest acknowledgment in my entire life as a musician.

In 2006 my band Infinitum Obscure was scheduled to open for Dissection in New York City and L.A. as direct support. Plans fell through as Jon was denied entry to the USA, a few weeks later, Jon passed on.

A few weeks ago, on July 6th, 2010, Infinitum Obscure was finally able to perform in New York City and it was a special show, full house, great reception. To those who were there you might remember that I dedicated a few words to Jon and it it because, we finally fulfilled a part of what me and him had planned that was left undone...

Today all that remains is memories... and deep DEEP sense of gratitude to you, my friend, my partner... Jon.

People criticize me but do not understand... TONITE, AGAIN I RAISE MY CHALICE IN YOU HONOR, JON!!!

Only I am Illuminated..."

KRUX — the Swedish band featuring CANDLEMASS bassist Leif Edling, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN singer Mats Levén, ex-ENTOMBED drummer Peter Stjärnvind, guitarist Jörgen Sandstrom (also in THE PROJECT HATE, ex-ENTOMBED/GRAVE), OPETH/ex-ARCH ENEMY guitarist Fredrik Åkesson and OPETH keyboardist Pär Wiberg — will enter the studio this fall to record its third album for an early 2011 release.

Video footage of vocalist Joakim "Jocke" Berg and guitarist Vic Zino of Swedish sleaze rockers HARDCORE SUPERSTAR performing an acoustic version of a brand new song, "Here Comes That Sick Bitch Again", on Sweden's TV4 can be viewed below.

"Here Comes That Sick Bitch Again" will appear on HARDCORE SUPERSTAR's new album, "Split Your Lip", which is tentatively due in January 2011.

Songtitles set to appear on the CD include:

* Last Call
* Sick As A Dog
* Won't Be Bullied
* Sadistic Girls
* Lowlife
* Beat On The Bully
* Party Ain't Over 'Til I Say So
* Here Comes That Sick Bitch Again

Kevin Talley of DAATH and Jonas Kjellgren of SCAR SYMMETRY will make guest appearances on "Worship The Bled", the new album from Australian extreme thrash metallers TRUTH CORRODED. Talley (who has also played with such bands as MISERY INDEX, CHIMAIRA, DYING FETUS and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) laid down the drums on the entire CD while Kjellgren contributed a solo to the album's opening song, "Knives Of The Betrayed". Jonas will also mix and master the record at Black Lounge Studio in Sweden in August.

Commented TRUTH CORRODED bassist Greg Shaw: "To have Kevin and Jonas involved with the album is immense.

"Due to our recent lineup change and inability to reschedule the recording, we were really fortunate that Kevin could record the drums for our album, and his work is outstanding, completing what is the most intense music we have ever written.

"Kevin has worked with some very influential bands and his style is ideal for our sound.

"To have Jonas back on board to mix and master the album and also contribute a solo is incredibl. He has been a great friend and offered great encouragement to the band.

"We cannot wait to hear the final result."

Since the release of TRUTH CORRODED's last album, "Upon The Warlords Crawl", in 2008, the band has toured across Australia and Asia, performing in China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand, and supporting such acts as LAMB OF GOD, BEHEMOTH, ARCH ENEMY, DEATH ANGEL and SUFFOCATION. The group is now planning on returning to Japan and touring Europe in early 2011.

Metal Unleashed conducted an interview with TRUTH CORRODED on May 22, 2010 at Fowlers Live in Adelaide, Australia. Watch the chat below.

TRUTH CORRODED recently announced the addition of drummer Andrew Parkinson to the group's ranks.

"Unhealed", a brand new song from Belgium-based metallers THURISAZ, is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the group's third album, "The Cimmerian Years", which is tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented the band: "After three years of hard working, nagging, good times and bad times, THURISAZ are very proud to introduce you to their new song on MySpace.

"The song is called 'Unhealed' and will be the first song on 'The Cimmerian Years'. We think it pretty sums up what to expect of the new album.

"Throughout the years we have evolved a lot as a band, but we always try to stick to the core of THURISAZ: making music that is not especially difficult nor technical but tries to reach people to the depths of their hearts. Guest vocals are done by the wonderful Els Blieck (INIS CATHAIGH). Needless to say that we are very thrilled about the result. Mixing was once again done by Kris of CCR, who (once again) did an outstanding job!"

Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS will release their fifth album, "For We Are Many", on October 12 via Prosthetic Records/Razor & Tie. The follow-up to 2008's "Overcome" was recorded this past spring at Zing Studios in Massachusetts and was produced by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who previously helmed ALL THAT REMAINS' "The Fall of Ideals" (2006) and "This Darkened Heart" (2004) releases.

"I'm really proud of the artwork for this disc," vocalist Phil Labonte told AOL's Noisecreep about the album's cover design and concept. "I wanted it to be heavy and let the art speak for itself. That was part of the reason for leaving the name of the band off the cover."

Labonte continued, "This is the first time I've had the idea for a cover before we started. Other discs, I would tell the artist, 'I can tell ya what I don't want, but I can't tell ya what I want.'

"Travis Smith is really cool to work with. He'd done 'The Fall of Ideals', so I knew him and he's great to work with. I'd told him what I wanted, and it came together pretty fast.

"Hope people dig it like we do."

"Cadence", the new studio album from the reunited melodic hard rock band BANGALORE CHOIR, will be released on September 24 via Metal Heaven Records.

It has been 18 years since BANGALORE CHOIR's only release, "On Target", on Giant Records in 1992, which came out on the same day as NIRVANA's "Nevermind". Shortly after, BANGALORE CHOIR disbanded after being released from the label.

After several years under the radar on a ranch in Montana, lead vocalist David Reece (ex-ACCEPT, DAREFORCE) was contacted by Escape Records in 2007 to see what the chances would be for him to go to Sweden to sing on Swedish band GYPSY ROSE's next release. Soon after that David found himself in the studio for the next year recording and writing for the new GYPSY ROSE CD, "Another World", which was released in June 2008.

While touring and doing the Sweden Rock Festival in June 2007 and opening for AEROSMITH in Europe, Reece regained his passion for music, deciding he wanted to put BANGALORE CHOIR back together. Reece reached out to guitarist Curt Mitchell and bassist Danny Greenberg and asked them if they would like to make a new record. Both of them eagerly accepted the challenge. Joining them on the new album are Hans in't Zandt on drums and guitarist Andy Susemihl of U.D.O. fame, who contributed to the songwriting process and did a masterful job on the CD's production.

Commented Reece: "We knew if we were to make a new record that in order for it to be viable we had to keep some of the old formula that worked so well in the past which we have done!

"The new record by BANGALORE CHOIR is called 'Cadence' — continuing with blistering guitars pounding rhythms and big, hooky choruses."

"Target Rich Environment", a brand new song from Florida-based death metallers MALEVOLENT CREATION, is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the group's eleventh album, "Invidious Dominion", which will be released on August 24 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records (three days later in Europe through Massacre). The effort will made available in various territories as a regular CD; digipack with bonus material; and vinyl LP.

According to CDJapan.co.jp, a special Japanese edition of OZZY OSBOURNE's latest album, "Scream", will be released on October 13 via Sony Music Entertainment. The CD will include a Japan original sport towel as well as several bonus songs.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Let It Die
02. Let Me Hear You Scream
03. Soul Sucker
04. Life Won't Wait
05. Diggin' Me Down
06. Crucify
07. Fearless
08. Time
09. I Want It More
10. Latimer's Mercy
11. I Love You All
12. Hand of the Enemy (new song)
13. One More Time (previously released as iTunes bonus)
14. Jump The Moon (Japanese bonus track)
15. Let Me Hear You Scream (live)
16. Bark At The Moon (live)
17. No More Tears (live)

To commemorate the 40-year anniversary of ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years DVD on August 24th. The marriage of sweeping orchestral harmonies with rock ‘n’ roll’s electricity led to global album sales in excess of 50 million, making ELO one of the biggest selling bands of the seventies and eighties.

ELO was formed in 1970 by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood from the ashes of their band THE MOVE. Wood left shortly after, and Lynne led the band to international acclaim. A triple concert trip down memory lane, Electric Live Orchestra Live: The Early Years amasses excerpts from three 70s’ performances. Filmed in 1973, the first concert is from the UK’s Brunel University; the second is a six-track culmination from German TV’s Rockpalast in 1974. Finally, ELO tears through 12 songs at the Fusion concert from the New Victoria Theatre in London, as part of the Face The Music tour. As a bonus, fans are treated to a vintage band interview from Rockpalast.

Electric Light Orchestra Live: The Early Years is a welcome reflection on this band’s beginnings, and proves why their music stands the test of time forty years later.

Tracklisting:

Brunel University 1973:
'King of the Universe'
'Ma-Ma-Ma Belle'
'In The Hall Of The Mountain King'
'Great Balls of Fire'

Germany 1974-Rockpalast:
'Daybreaker'
'Showdown'
'Orange Blossom Special'
'Ma-Ma-Ma Belle'
'In The Hall Of The Mountain King'
'Great Balls of Fire'

London 1976-Fusion:
'Poker'
'Nightrider'
'Showdown'
'Eldorado Overture'
'Can’t Get It Out Of My Head'
'Poor Boy (The Greenwood)'
'Illusions in G Major'
'Strange Magic'
'10538 Overture'
'Do Ya'
'Evil Woman'
'Ma-Ma-Ma Belle'

Bonus feature – Rockpalast Interview

Rapid City Journal correspondent T.J. Tranchell has filed the following report:

The final hours of Friday the 13th seemed like bad luck for the Rock ‘N Rev crowd. The cool wind began to blow, ALICE IN CHAINS had just finished its set at 11 p.m., and Axl Rose was nowhere to be seen.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jeremy Stark, 33, of Independence, Mo., said. “This is what Axl does.”

GUNS N' ROSES was set to play at 10:30, 11:30 or midnight, depending on which schedule you saw or rumor you heard. It was nothing new to Stark, who followed the band throughout its “Use Your Illusion” world tour in the early 1990s.

“He makes people wait,” Stark said. “The complainers leave early, and the rest of us get to see the show.”

Not everyone was happy with the wait. Angry voices could be heard. Beer bottles and cans were tossed at the stage. Some people left, not wanting to wait until Saturday morning for Rose and his band to begin performing. Some of them had bought two-for-one tickets at the gate.

About 10 minutes after midnight, a helicopter flew over the Monkey Rock USA compound, giving fans hope that Rose might be on board.

“That’s him right there!” Stark said.

The pre-concert tension did not concern festival organizer Dan Catullo III, who said Guns N’ Roses had done a sound check early Friday morning in preparation for the show.

“I woke up this morning, and Guns N’ Roses was doing their sound check,” he said. “That’s when it sunk in for me: We got Guns N’ Roses.”

Catullo’s other job was just beginning as Friday night’s concerts began. He soon would be directing the cameras for the night. The plan is to release concert DVDs, as well as use the footage to show future acts just what Rock ‘N Rev has to offer.

When it comes to Axl Rose, that plan can get tricky.

UPDATE:Official: AXL ROSE Not To Blame For GUNS N' ROSES' Late Start At ROCK 'N REV Festival

According to the Rapid City Journal, GUNS N' ROSES late start Friday night (August 13) at the Rock 'N Rev festival at the 70th annual Sturgis Bike Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota was not the fault of singer Axl Rose, despite widespread speculation to the contrary.

Dan Catullo, one of the festival's founders, told the Rapid City Journal that a technical glitch that took longer than expected to fix caused GUNS N' ROSES' set to begin at 12:50 a.m. Saturday — around an hour and 20 minutes later than scheduled.

The late start upset some of those at the concert who threw beer bottles and cans at the stage while waiting.

"Good To See You Again" byAlice Cooper is one of the greatest rock movies of all time. The concert film, which features the original band lineup in the middle of the legendary 1973 "Billion Dollar Babies Tour" is now making its Blu-ray debut: newly restored, and featuring 5.1 DTS Master audio, 1080p picture, plus a multitude of extras, including movie-length commentary by Alice himself. The film that out-grosses them all as it was originally billed is back, looking and sounding better than ever.

"Good To See You Again" features 13 Alice Cooper classics recorded live in concert:

01. Hello, Hooray
02. Billion Dollar Babies
03. Elected
04. I'm Eighteen
05. Raped And Freezin'
06. No More Mr. Nice Guy
07. My Stars
08. Unfinished Sweet
09. Sick Things
10. Dead Babies
11. I Love The Dead
12. School's Out
13. Under My Wheels
14. The Lady Is A Tramp (studio performance)

Special Features:

01. Audio Commentary by Alice Cooper
02. Play-Concert-Only Option
03. Deleted Scene and Outtakes
04. Original Theatrical Trailer and Radio Spots
05. Poster Gallery With Original Promotional Material
05. Band Biographies
06. DVD Easter Eggs

IMV Blueline has set an October 19 release date for the "Attack In Switzerland: Live In 2002" DVD from MOTÖRHEAD.

Recorded for Swiss TV at the Open Air Gampel Festival in Wallis, Switzerland on August 16, 2002, the DVD features the following track listing:

* No Class
* Bomber
* Civil War
* Damage Case
* Love For Sale
* God Save The Queen
* Brave New World
* Metropolis
* Nothing Up Sleeve
* Dr Rock
* Ramones
* Shoot You In The Back
* Sacrifice

For the first time in its near 30-year history, SLAYER, the single most distinctive and radical thrash metal band ever, will see its ten American Recordings albums released as a limited-edition, high-end box set — "The Vinyl Conflict" (American Recordings/Sony Legacy). Ten albums on 11 discs, "The Vinyl Conflict" will feature the band's entire Def/American Recordings catalogue:

* Reign in Blood (1986)
* South of Heaven (1988)
* Seasons In The Abyss (1990)
* Live Decade of Aggression (1991)
* Divine Intervention (1994)
* Undisputed Attitude (1998)
* God Hates Us All (2001)
* Christ Illusion (2006)
* World Painted Blood (2009)

"The Vinyl Conflict" will be released on October 12, 2010.

Reactivated late '80s/early '90s technical-thrash metallers BELIEVER have entered the studio to begin recording their new album for a tentative early 2011 release. Guitarist/vocalist Kurt Bachman writes in an online posting, "The drums are just about finished and I have many tunes in the bag for the initial rhythm guitars.

"Once again, the tunes are quite different and when I listen to them it kind of sounds like someone else wrote them which creeped me out at first.

"I really like the tunes and you will be able to tell that we stepped outside our comfort zones. Always fun to do that!

"We hope to finish this up in the next couple months and I will keep you posted on possible release dates once we discuss with Metal Blade."

Pat Prince of Goldmine magazine recently conducted an interview with legendary BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward. An excerpt from the chat follow below.

Goldmine: Looking back, is there anything you would do different, concerning BLACK SABBATH?

Ward: I don't regret anything that we've gone through or I've gone through personally. I don't regret any of it. I wouldn't do it differently, including all the mistakes … everything. The first trigger instinct that came out when you asked that question was, "Yeah, I'd like to redo certain drum pieces." (laughs) Not redo but work on the sound of certain drum things, back on those first two or three album in particular. Perhaps a better bass drum sound for "Iron Man", things like that. All musicians are like that.

Goldmine: Speaking of "Iron Man", do you think the song itself has become too commercialized, too mainstream?

Ward: For me, I had to kind of let go of any personal grip I might have had on it. It's like, "No, you can't do that. It's underground music and it has to stay true to itself and everything else." And then life happens. The world opens up. The first indication, to me, that "Iron Man" belonged to everybody else was when I heard it being played by a local marching band on a football field. I went, "Oh My God, they're playing 'Iron Man'." To me, that's when it became public. Then it would go too commercial and just get caught up in everything, you know. And it's actually nice these days. I'm not complaining at all because when it went to "Iron Man", the movie, it gives the song a new lease on life and it says to me, "This is still current." So, in that sense, I'll take it as a compliment, you know. But a lot of my self-righteousness, like, "That's not organic, you can't do that," has trimmed down a little bit over the years, towards the songs like "Iron Man" that have tended to become more commercial over the years, I don't fight as much as I used to, about it now. And when we play these shows together, we always try to play some of the songs we haven't played in years but inevitably we end up coming up with a set that seems to be a little bit of everything for everybody.

Goldmine: What's next for BLACK SABBATH?

Ward: Well, everybody's off working, you know. I've been talking to Tony (Iommi) in recent months so … and I was with him and Glenn (Hughes) at the funeral for Ron (Ronnie James Dio). And I think Terry (Geezer) … Terry is just trying to get past the death of Ronnie and where it's gonna go next. Then Ozzy's embarking on a huge tour. He's going out on the road for quite a considerable amount of time. But I speak to him all the time.

Goldmine: What do you think about Ozzy's new album, "Scream", by the way?

Ward: What I like about his new album, is I like where his voice is at. His voice is as clear as a bell. He's coming through. he has conviction. and he's very clear and he's very precise on everything. His voice is really commanding throughout all the tracks. I think it's very good myself. But as far as SABBATH, BLACK SABBATH, as the original band. I'm not aware of any plans or anything but at the same time, I know we're all conversing to each other. I'm not aware of any walls or bad vibes with anybody. I always have the hope that if everything is okay and everything is amicable then we can tour again. I would love to do that, as long as everything's in order with me. I'd love to move ahead, not only tour but I'd love to make a new record as well, another SABBATH record. That, to me, would be the ultimate. But I would also love to do a longer tour. The last tour we did was nice, it lasted about three and a half months. But the thing is we were so settled in — and you got to get your joints back together and your muscles, all you have to do to get yourself really well-tuned — by the time we were half way between the last tour I felt really well-tuned and then in no time at all we had to stop, and I was just like, "Fuck!' Let's take this around the world, man. This is great." We had to stop and that was a bit of a pisser. That was the only problem. It takes quite a while to take a 62-year old body and get it to be ready to play in BLACK SABBATH. And me and Ozzy, we are really physical onstage, so we really have to be in shape. And all the reunion dates, as far as playing is concerned, had been beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, onstage it was just the best. I had a really good time. A really good time.

German extreme metallers DEATH OF DESIRE have issued the following update from vocalist Dawn Desiree:

"I wanted to stay out of the back and forth internet bullshit because this whole ordeal has been difficult for me. However, PERVERSE PRODUCTIONS does not want to let it go. Now I am compelled to tell my side of the story.

Morbid and I were to meet up with George, from Perverse Productions, and a potential bass player for a couple of upcoming shows in Mexico. Thursday, August 5th at 9:45 PM we met up with them at a local bar. During the course of the night 4 other guy friends of George showed up to the bar. We found out later that most of them were members of Georges band ANTEBELLUM.

I had 4 beers from 9:45 till 2 AM when the bar closed. After that I only remember George taking my car keys and getting in my car while I asked everyone around to give me my bag that was in my car. No one answered me regarding my bag specifically. I heard someone say 'don’t worry everything will be fine'. That is the last thing I remember.

This leads me to believe that one of my drinks was drugged. We are all metal heads and you know 4 beers is not enough to make someone lose several hours. In speaking to Morbid he told me that he was trying to talk to me in the parking lot... trying to get me to get up and leave because all five dudes were trying to jump him. He told me I just sat there in a catatonic state, completely unresponsive to anyone around and staring into the distance.

The next thing I remember is waking up at 9 AM in a strange house. Later I found out I was at the house of one of the guys at the bar. I had no phone and no car. I walked the streets looking everywhere for my car and it was nowhere to be found. I stayed at the house all day because I knew if I left I would never see my car again.

At 7 PM George rolls up with one of the shadiest looking motherfuckers I have ever seen. He walks up to me and hands me the keys to my car. Then he said something about forgetting he had the keys. I asked him where the car was parked and he said it has been right down the street the whole day. This of course is a blatant lie. I had walked several blocks in all directions of the house and my car was not there.

George assured me the car was there and he took me ONE BLOCK AWAY and the car was there. I first inspect the car for damage and notice that it was unlocked. I asked George why he didn’t lock the car and he said he didn’t know how... Hmmm... OK what person over 5 doesn’t know how to lock a car door? I kept my mouth shut because I am currently with 3 guys I don’t know or trust in the ghetto. I open the car door and my spare tire is in the back seat, then I go to my trunk, which was open, and the whole trunk was ransacked. My things were thrown everywhere and I couldn’t really tell what was there and what wasn’t. I asked George about my purse, which I know was in the car when George took it and he said doesn’t remember anything about it.

I was furious. Not only did he steal my car, and my purse with my GPS and Cellphone and my metal CDs (only the metal ones) but he was also a terrible liar. I left that fucking ghetto minutes later. When I got home I cleared out my trunk and saw that a DoD shirt was stolen out of the back. This shirt was custom and cut up almost in rags but still looked bitchin. The fact that the shirt was stolen cements my belief even more that George had stolen my things and they did this out of spite for the band. What homeless person or random thief would want half a shirt?

Everything that was stolen and missing from the car was related to metal, spiked arm wrists, metal CDS, metal clothing, none other music CDs were taken, not the spare tire or any other more sellable equipment. This only confirms the guilt of this people. Then I found my driver’s license and an expired credit card underneath my front seat. These two items were in my wallet, which was in my purse.

What is even more unsettling is that George has now changed his nickname to “Rape” on the Perverse Productions MySpace. I am completely devastated by this because I have no idea what happened to me between the hours of 2 AM and 9 AM. The police have been notified and I am confident justice will be served. No one deserves to be treated in this way and unfortunately I am probably not the first.

In response to Morbid being a Nazi and us lying about being from Germany:

The band started in Germany when Morbid and I lived there for 8 months in 2008. We came back to our home countries to finish school and we are now moving back to Berlin in a few months. We never said that we were “German” but the band started there and we believe that the spirits that haunted the halls in the attic where we started have been with us since the bands inception, so we kept the origin of the band as Germany. We are in no way Nazi’s or believe in any of the ideals from the National Socialist party of that time and we have never said so at all."

"Think Again", the brand new DVD release from legendary cult metal thrashers TOXIK, will be self-released by the band on August 20.

According to TOXIK drummer Tad Leger, "Think Again" "contains both vintage and brand new never-before-seen footage. The main feature is a 1989 headlining set from the Paramount Theater in TOXIK's hometown of Peekskill, New York. This performance came shortly after the release of 'World Circus' and the energy level of the band is truly at its peak for TOXIK's first headlining show. The set contains all the tracks from 'World Circus' and an early version of 'Spontaneous' that appeared on our second album, 'Think This'.

"The Paramount was by far the largest stage we had ever played at the time and we constructed a massive drum riser out of hundreds of milk crates that were swiped at night from local supermarkets. The footage was taken from the crowd and has a great live feel. This was NOT [professionally] shot, so please don't expect an anamorphic HD picture. We did use professional post-production studios to get the best transfer possible, however.

"We did a brand new interview with Mike [Sanders, vocals], Josh [Christian, guitar] and myself, that has some great stories and moments recalled from our years in TOXIK. I edited in tons of pics into the interview from our archives, that we hope you'll enjoy.

"Josh provided me with a SUPER-rare video of TOKYO from 1986, who became TOXIK shortly after this show and recorded the legendary TOXIK demo. It's a very cool glimpse into the roots of the band and both Mike and Josh are kicking ass! Also in the extras is a gallery of close to 100 images of posters, back stage passes, ads, pics of us and our awesome road crew. Even King Diamond from when we toured with him."

Hailing from New York's Hudson Valley area, TOXIK released a pair of classic thinking-man's thrash metal albums in the late '80s. An upstart record label named Roadrunner Records (later home to SLIPKNOT and NICKELBACK) released the band's two astounding masterworks, 1988's "World Circus" and 1989's "Think This". Both releases saw TOXIK take the aggression and brutality of speed metal and mix it with the technicality and proficiency of progressive hard rock.
TOXIK left the Hudson Valley region and toured the United States and the world, playing shows with the likes of PANTERA, SEPULTURA, EXODUS, KING DIAMOND and others in their quest for metal ascendancy before their premature implosion in 1992.