According to CBC Sports, British rockers DEF LEPPARD will perform at Detroit's Fox Theatre prior to the NHL's North American opener between the Red Wings and the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, October 9 (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7 p.m. ET).

CBCSports.ca will provide live streaming of the concert, which will precede the raising of Detroit's 2008 Stanley Cup championship banner and the game between the Red Wings and the Leafs at Joe Louis Arena.

Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham reportedly give their frontman Robert Plant an ultimatum, saying that if he refuses to re-join Led Zeppelin on their comeback tour, he will then be replaced by a new singer. "They will be finalizing plans for shows over the next couple of months and will tell Robert that if he doesn't want to be involved they will go ahead without him," a source says.

Speaking of the possible reunion, the source reveals that the three members of the band "are determined a tour will go ahead next year" and there's an American guy who has been standing in for Robert regularly and doing a great job. The source close to the band states, "They've been rehearsing frequently in London and the band is really gelling."

Furthermore, some claim that Robert's reluctance to re-join the band happens because he has worked on a side project with country singer Alison Krauss. Their duet on an album called "Raising Sand" has been honored as Album of the Year at Americana Music Association's 7th Annual Honors & Awards show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on September 18.

Previously, Robert admitted that huge amounts of paperwork from the record industry bureaucracy have put him off the idea of the band's comeback plan. Despite the band's last year's success at London's O2 arena, the rocker explains that just for the O2 show, they have to deal with "endless paperwork" that stressed them out. "I'm thinking of compiling them for a book, which I feel sure would be hailed as a sort of literary version of Spinal Tap," he adds.

German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA will enter Gernhart Studios in November to begin recording their new album, titled "Crógacht". The band says, "We're happy to announce that our dear friend Kris Verwimp will not only be in charge of designing first-class album art, but is also arranging first-class lyrical concepts and song texts!" Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Conlaoch", "Isle Of Skye", "Scáthach", "Feats Of War", "Shattering Swords", "Ár Nasc Fola", "Gilded Oars", "Baile's Strand".

The group adds, "As the titles suggest, you can expect a decent Irish influence on the new record, so fans of folk metal can rest easy. Fans of SUIDAKRA's harder tunes must not fear; 'Crógacht' will kick your asses as hard as usual, if not harder."

"Crógacht" will be released in March 2009 through Wacken Records/SPV.

In other news, SUIDAKRA's "13 Years of Celtic Wartunes" DVD + "Best Of" CD digipack package, which was released in Europe in April, will be made available in the U.S. on October 7 via Wacken Records/SPV.

"Switchblade Serenades", the debut album from the Swedish female-fronted heavy rock band SISTER SIN, is available for streaming in its entirety at the group's MySpace page.

Having grown apathetic towards the popular trends in heavy Swedish music, SISTER SIN arose from the gutters of Gothenburg in 2002. Settling on their moniker because it represented their "bound to absolutely nothing" lifestyles, the furious foursome entered the local scene as a hard-hitting, undeniable metal force.

Female lead vocalist Liv, guitarist Jimmy, bassist Chris and drummer Dave created a rough-around-the-edges yet relatable image of dysfunction and attitude. Backed up with fresh lyrics and gritty riffs, SISTER SIN set out to inject some of what had been absent from the heavy metal scene since the glory days of MÖTLEY CRÜE, MOTÖRHEAD, W.A.S.P. and ACCEPT.

"Switchblade Serenades" was produced by Tobias Lindell at Bohus Sound Studios in Sweden and features the following tracks:

01. Beat The Street
02. Death Will Greet Us
03. One Out Of Ten
04. Breaking New Ground
05. On Parole
06. Make My Day (MOTÖRHEAD cover)
07. Hostile-Violent
08. Switchblade Serenade
09. Love/Hate
10. All Systems Go!
11. Eye To Eye

"No More", the new video from LOADED, the band formed by current VELVET REVOLVER bassist Duff McKagan (on guitar and vocals) after he left GUNS N' ROSES, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's new five-song EP, "Wasted Heart", which is scheduled for release on September 22 via Century Media Records. A new full-length album will follow in early 2009. The CD was produced by Martin Feveyear and will include such tracks as "Roll Away", "Forgive Me", "Sick", "No More", "Southern Girl", "No Shame" and "Translucent".

The UK branch of Roadrunner Records has set an October 27 release date for MACHINE HEAD's "The Blackening" (2CD & DVD 2008 Special Edition).

The complete track listing is as follows:

"The Blackening":

01. Clenching The Fists of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics Of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell To Arms

Bonus CD (B-sides/Rarities 1994-2008):

01. Hallowed Be Thy Name (IRON MAIDEN cover)
02. Alan's On Fire (POISON IDEA cover)
03. Negative Creep (NIRVANA cover)
04. Seasons Wither
05. My Misery
06. House Of Suffering (BAD BRAINS cover)
07. The Possibility Of Life's Destruction (DISCHARGE cover)
08. Ten Ton Hammer (Extended Original Mix)
09. Hole In The Sky (BLACK SABBATH cover)
10. Colors (ICE-T cover)
11. Hard Times (live) (CRO-MAGS cover)
12. Halo (I Want Your Soul) demo)
13. Aesthetics Of Hate (Thrash-terpiece) (demo)

Bonus DVD:

Live performances:

01. Clenching The Fists Of Dissent (With Full Force 2008)
02. Now I Lay Thee Down (With Full Force 2008)
03. Halo (With Full Force 2008)
04. Aesthetics Of Hate (Rock In Rio 2008)
05. Davidian (Rock In Rio 2008)
06. Imperium (Download 2007)
07. Old (Download 2007)
08. A Thousand Lies (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
09. The Rage To Overcome (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
10. Death Church (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
11. Blood For Blood (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)

Uncensored & Unedited Music Videos:

01. Halo
02. Now I Lay Thee Down
03. Aesthetics Of Hate

Plus a "Making Of...." feature for each video

Swedish metallers IN FLAMES have been nominated in the "Biggest International Success" category at the Swedish Music Publishers Association (SMFF) annual awards. "This is a VERY prestigious award in Sweden and we are very proud to have been nominated," the band says in a statement.

The nominees in this category are as follows:

* Anders Fridén/Björn Gelotte/Jesper Strömblad (IN FLAMES) (Whoracle Publishing/Kobalt Music)
* Andreas Kleerup/Robin Carlsson (Universal Music Publishing, Robynsongs/Universal Music Publishing)
* Jonas Altberg (BASSHUNTER) (Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia)
* Christian Karlsson/Pontus Winnberg (BLOODSHY & AVANT) (Crosstown/Universal Music Publishing)

This year's awards ceremony will be held on November 7 at Berns Salonger in Stockholm.

"Morphogenesis", the new video from Swedish melodic death metallers SCAR SYMMETRY, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's latest album, "Holographic Universe", which registered the following first-week chart positions in Europe:

Finland: #37
UK: #39 (Indie chart)
Austria: #65
Germany: #68

In the U.S., the CD debuted at No. 33 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The cover artwork for "Tinnitus Sanctus", the new album from German melodic metallers EDGUY, can be viewed below. The was recorded at Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany with producer Sascha Paeth and is scheduled to be released on November 16.

In a recent interview, EDGUYfrontman Tobias Sammet stated about the group's new material, "We don't go back to the roots. We never denied who we are and where we come from, so I don't see a reason to go back to wherever. I go straight forward and follow my heart as I've always done, 'Tinnitus Sanctus' is exactly the music we wanna play, we are happy and I don't give a fuck if it's gonna be our biggest-selling album or not. It's so great, even if my career would go down the drain and this would be the last album, I'd be more than happy to be remembered as the guy who recorded 'Tinnitus Sanctus'. I'd rather ruin my carreer with a creative killer album like that than trying to play safe with a boring stereotype power metal stinker constructed on a drawing table. We have a couple of song titles such as 'Dragonfly', 'Dead Or Rock', 'Wake Up Dreaming Black' or 'Sex Fire Religion'. And we'll shoot a video for a very heavy midtempo anthem by the name of 'Ministry Of Saints'. And there'll be a bonus track called 'Aren't You A Little Pervert Too?' which is quite nasty."

"Pray", the new video from German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's forthcoming album, "Ballads Of A Hangman", which is scheduled for a January 9, 2009 release via Austria's Napalm Records. The "Pray" single will precede the album on November 28. The group's frontman Chris Boltendahl states, "We are very happy with the result. I think it is one of the hardest records we ever did. But don't get irritated, [the 'Pray' video] is the extended single version. The album is a 'bit' harder than the single."

In other news, GRAVE DIGGER has scheduled the following dates in Russia:

Oct. 19 - Moscow, Russia - Plan B
Oct. 20 - Kaliningrad, Russia - DK Rybakov
Oct. 21 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Orlandina

Boltendahl previously stated about the band's decision to sign with Napalm, "We have observed the excellent work of the label in the past few years. Napalm did see the writings on the wall and is one of the leading companies, for example, in online promotion and marketing. They elevated older bands like ATROCITY to new heights and established newcomers like ALESTORM. Thus, we are convinced that Napalm will bring out the best in us, and in return we will deliver a masterpiece of German true metal. A storm is coming, the sea is rough, the coxswains are the veterans, only the ship is new and manned by an excellent crew who know their craft."

"Vertebrae", the new album from the Norwegian masters of progressive/experimental metal ENSLAVED, is available for streaming in its entirety at Terrorizer.com. The CD will be released in Europe on September 29 via Indie Recordings and in North America on October 28 through Nuclear Blast Records (via a licensing arrangement with Indie Recordings).

"Vertebrae" was recorded during the first months of 2008 — then mixed by Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) and mastered by the legendary George Marino in Sterling Sound. Produced by Ivar Bjørnson, Herbrand Larsen and Grutle Kjellson, "Vertebrae" is "one of the strongest albums to emerge from the extreme metal scene," according to a press release. "The sound, songs and atmosphere mark a great leap for the band and genre as a whole."

The album will be supported by extensive touring starting with the the "Vertebrae European Tour" in November/December 2008 also featuring STONEGARD and KRAKOW.

Professionally filmed video footage of WITHIN TEMPTATION performing the song "What Have You Done?", taken from the Dutch female-fronted goth rock band's forthcoming "Black Symphony" double-DVD, can be streamed on the web site of the Australian branch of Roadrunner Records. The clip features a special guest appearance by LIFE OF AGONY singer Keith Caputo who also collaborated with WITHIN TEMPTATION on the studio version of the track.

Due on September 22, "Black Symphony" will also be released as a double-CD and a special Blu-Ray disc.

Brazilian singer André Matos (ex-ANGRA, SHAAMAN) will make a special guest appearance on "Word To The Wise", the debut album from the Italian heavy metal band CLAIRVOYANTS (formerly an IRON MAIDEN tribute act). Matos will sing the only cover song featured on the album — IRON MAIDEN's "Hallowed Be Thy Name", which was chosen by Matos as his favorite track ever in MAIDEN's repertoire. Also scheduled to appear on the CD is KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai.

Longtime friends Matos and CLAIRVOYANTS will perform together on Octoebr 24 at Milan's Live Club and October 25 at Tempo Rock in Gualtieri (RE), Italy.

"Word To The Wise" is will be released at the end of October by Valery Records. It will contain nine original songs plus the MAIDEN cover. The CD's artwork was created by Nerve Design Studio (THRESHOLD, VISION DIVINE, ELDRITCH, EXTREMA).

"Word To The Wise" track listing:

01. Journey Through the Stars
02. The Lone
03. Choose the Truth
04. The Pain of Sight
05. Sheer Hate
06. Back to my Dreams
07. Step Aside
08. Closure
09. Word to the Wise
10. Hallowed Be Thy Name

Swedish melodic metallers HAMMERFALL will enter Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden on September 22 to continue recording their eighth full-length album, due on February 20, 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records. The as-yet-untitled CD will include an instrumental written by the group's latest addition, guitarist Pontus Norgren (THE POODLES, TALISMAN, GREAT KING RAT), and a song entitled "One of a Kind", which was written as a collaboration between HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak and IN FLAMES axeman Jesper Strömblad (who was a member of HAMMERFALL in the band's earliest incarnation).

Pontus Norgren joined HAMMERFALL as the replacement for Stefan Elmgren, who left the band in early April to focus on his new career as a pilot.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has posted the following message on his web site:

"[I] was happy to lend a hand to the powerful and attractive Bruce Kulick, who is in the midst of his solo record.

Bruce, as you all know, was lead axe grinder in KISS for many years. He's now playing with GRAND FUNK RAILROAD. My son, Nick, recently went to one of the gigs and came back raving about it.

"Anyway, Bruce and I wrote a toon called 'Ain't Gonna Die'. Pretty cool stuff. The songwriting happened very fast. We sat around the house and came up with chord patterns and the basic melody came to me almost immediately. Then we met at Henson Studios in Hollywood, and between Jeremy (who played my Axe bass on the track), Bruce and myself, hashed out the lyric in one sitting. The vocals and the track were mostly done in one day. My good-lookin' son Nick also came down to the studio and found himself in the vocal booth scatting his own melody/lyric. What a voice this kid has, if I DO say so myself. Nick will be working with Bruce on a song or two, as well. Singing lead. And we brought down our 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' TV crew to film some of the recording."

German progressive metallers SIEGES EVEN have split up "due to internal differences." No further information is currently available.

SIEGES EVEN released its first-ever live album, "Playgrounds", at the end of July via InsideOut Music. The CD contains ten songs from the "A Sense Of Change", "The Art Of Navigating By The Stars" and "Paramount" albums recorded during the first leg of the band's "Paramount" tour 2007-2008.

SIEGES EVEN's latest CD, entitled "Paramount", last year entered the Greek album chart at position No. 46. Released in North America on October 10, 2007 via Inside Out Music, the CD's cover artwork can be seen at this location. The photo was taken by British artist David J. Nightingale, while Thomas Ewerhard was responsible for the actual cover design.

SIEGES EVEN's most recent lineup consisted of Arno Menses (vocals), Oliver Holzwarth (bass), Markus Steffen (guitar) and Alex Holzwarth (drums).

Rick Florino from ARTISTdirect recently spoke to a number of "prominent fans" — including members of OPETH, DREAM THEATER, MACHINE HEAD, DRAGONFORCE, DEVILDRIVER and DAATH — about how they first got into METALLICA. A couple of excerpts follow below.

Mikael Akerfeldt, OPETH:

"I first took notice of them when the 'Master of Puppets' album came out, around 1986 I believe. I had heard some songs off the previous record, but at the time, I thought it was too fast or something for me. The 'Puppets' album, however, had some slower stuff on there that attracted me to them. It showed they had some interest in music overall, rather than just being heavy, I guess. I became a fan pretty fast, and soon enough I was worshipping them. By the time '...And Justice' came out, I was already a 'TALLICA superfan. That record got me to re-evaluate my ideas on what heavy metal was, and through them, I started developing my own style."

Mike Portnoy, DREAM THEATER:

"I remember the first time I heard METALLICA. I found them really early on. It was sometime in 1983, shortly after their debut 'Kill 'Em All' was released. A friend of mine was a college radio DJ, and he was sent a promo version of the album. He thought it sounded like noise, but I listened to it and was immediately blown away by its raw intensity. I traded him my copy of AC/DC's 'Back In Black' for it and never looked back. It was the heaviest thing I had ever heard, and I had been looking for a sound like that for years.

"I immediately started covering 'Seek & Destroy' in the band I was in at the time, and I even remember that 'Ride The Lightning' was released the very same day I passed my road test and got my driver's license. I made my very first drive a trip to the local record shop to pick up the album that very afternoon. I also remember seeing them live for the first time at L'Amour in Brooklyn when they were opening for W.A.S.P. and knowing that they were inevitably going to blow up the whole scene and change music forever.

"'Master Of Puppets' was released when myself, John Petrucci and John Myung were at the Berklee College Of Music. I totally remember picking up the album the day it came out. The three of us sat around my stereo like some sort of religious ritual. I dropped the needle onto the record (what the hell is that?), and we were floored by what we heard. About 50 minutes later, we peeled our faces off the walls and realized that we had just listened to metal's quintessential masterpiece.

I also remember the three of us being together in September '86 when we heard that Cliff Burton had died. We sat in my bedroom with a case of beer listening to 'Orion' and practically were brought to tears.

"16 years later in 2002, DREAM THEATER paid tribute to the mighty METALLICA by performing the 'Master Of Puppets' album live in its entirety at three different shows in Barcelona, Chicago and New York City — an idea that Lars Ulrich has since told me directly inspired METALLICA's doing the same thing themselves a few years later!

"People have always known DT's obvious influences to be bands like RUSH, YES, PINK FLOYD, etc....but it was always just as important for us to incorporate the 'balls and chunk' of the metal bands we grew up with. Those first few METALLICA albums were a big part of our early days.

"I continue to admire and respect METALLICA for not only what they've done in the past, but for what I know they are still capable of doing in the future...."

MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover has issued the following update:

"90% done with what I am working on here in San Diego at the new MEGADETH recording studio. Everything looks killer now (my past-life work skills have not left me, thankfully). A few little touch-ups, and all will be done on my end. It's been a fun trip. Kind of reminds me a bit of how 'Evolver' ['Evolver: The Making of Youthanasia', which chronicles MEGADETH's experience recording the 1994 release 'Youthanasia', including constructing their own recording studio inside of a warehouse] was done, all of us taking part in creating something cool, that should really benefit us all in the long run."

Dave Mustaine revealed in a recent online posting that acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD) was to fly over to Southern California on September 8 to "tweak some last-minute stuff" at Mustaine's new recording studio before returning again at the end of the month, presumably to helm the recording sessions for the group's new album.

Sneap produced MEGADETH's last album, "United Abominations", which came out in May 2007 via Roadrunner Records. Mustaine previously stated about working with Andy, "We'd been working with Jeff Balding, who does a great job. But we knew we needed something else to give the material that extra push, so we brought in Andy. It was cool because he isn't like some big rock-star producer. He was just another Joe to me. So we were trading jokes and laughing and it was fun. My sense of humour is pretty close to a British one, so we worked well together. Also, Andy told me I was the reason that he got into playing metal in the first place, which was really flattering."

MEGADETH's forthcoming album will be the group's first with guitarist Chris Broderick (NEVERMORE, JAG PANZER), who replaced Glen Drover at the end of last year.

Bassist Alex Webster of the long-running death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE has issued the following update:

"Alex from CANNIBAL here checking in from Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. Paul [Mazurkiewicz] has finished all the drum tracks for our new album, and we think he did an amazing job. Things really went smoothly with the drum tracking this time, and that gave us a little extra time for Paul to get creative with some of the drum parts. Everything is still fast and brutal as you'd expect, but there are a few different rhythmic ideas happening that we think our fans will appreciate. The next step for us will be to start working on a guitar sound, and then begin guitar tracking. The sound of the rhythm guitar is one of the most important things on a metal album, so we will take our time and make sure that we get the heaviest sound possible. The recording of the rhythm guitars will be something we'll take our time with as well. Rob [Barrett, guitar], Pat [O'Brien, guitar] and producer Erik Rutan [MORBID ANGEL, HATE ETERNAL] are truly perfectionists when it comes to guitar tracking, they'll settle for nothing less than a flawless performance. That kind of dedication can make for a challenging recording session, but when the end result is a crushingly heavy album it's more than worth the time and effort."

Bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such of the German thrash veterans SODOM has released the following statement regarding the passing of the group's original drummer, Chris Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter):

"In the beginning of [last] week, I received the message that Chris Witchhunter had died. I was shocked — and you can believe me… I still am.

"As we recorded 'The Final Sign Of Evil' [2007 LP featuring re-recordings of the material from SODOM's classic first EP, 'In the Sign of Evil', plus bonus tracks], I noticed that Chris was in a very bad condition. It took more than 18 months to finish the recording for this record.

"My God, I don't know what to say about this tragedy and I'm feeling really down.

"After Chris had left the band, we didn't meet very often. If you take a look at the 'Lords Of Depravity' DVD, everybody realizes that Chris was really ill and confused. You can also understand why Chris and I didn't have much contact during the last few years. His sickness was a slow process and everybody saw what happened — but Chris never took a helping hand from anybody else. All of Chris' friends will tell you so. The worst thing was that Chris himself never realized the situation he was in and that it was important to accept help from others.

"I can't write any 'clear' words as I am in South America right now and we are flying from show to show. At first I thought that it might be better to cancel the tour but that wouldn't have been fair to our fans and Chris wouldn't have liked it either.

"I hope that all of Chris' friends will help his lovely mom and support her in these dark times. In the beginning of our friendship, she was like my own mom to me. After my return from South America I will surely support her, too. I hope that we can arrange a big show for Chris with a couple of friends to give him a special farewell and to make some money for his mother!

"Hey, Chris, you created music history. R.I.P.!"

Chris Dudek reportedly died on September 8, 2008 around 6:00 a.m. due to vital organ failure.

ALISON HELL, the Hungarian progressive/power metal project led by guitarist/vocalist Tamas Horvath, has completed work on its debut album, entitled "Goret" (cover).

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Nightmare
02. The Key
03. Vision
04. Goret
05. Orion
06. Alone in the Dark
07. Final Pray
08. Invisible World
09. Now
10. Braincontrol
11. Piramid

Audio samples are available at MySpace page. The group's touring lineup will consist of:

Tamas Horvath - guitars, vocals
Gyula Havancsak - bass
Mihaly Molnar - drums
Peter Gyalog - keyboards

According to ContactMusic.com, Robert Plant has not ruled out another reunion with his band LED ZEPPELIN — insisting it's the bureaucracy involved that puts him off the idea. The band has been dogged by rumors of a world tour since they reformed for a one-off gig in London last year — its first concert in 19 years. But Plant, who is currently touring with bluegrass star Alison Krauss, has so far refused to agree to hit the road with the legendary group again.

He tells Britain's GQ magazine: "The endless paperwork was like nothing I've experienced before. I've kept every one of the e-mails that were exchanged before the concert and I'm thinking of compiling them for a book, which I feel sure would be hailed as a sort of literary version of SPINAL TAP (semi-fictional heavy metal band featured in spoof documentary 'This Is Spinal Tap'). LED ZEPPELIN's never been about the fans. We've always been about four guys coming together to make thrilling, disturbing rock 'n' roll. On our own terms."

n a recent interview with BW&BK about his new SINNER album Crash & Burn, PRIMAL FEAR bassist/co-founder Mat Sinner discussed juggling both bands and the success of Primal Fear's last album, New Religion.

"I have to admit that Primal Fear is my priority," says Mat. "I can live as a professional musician because Primal Fear is always touring. We have a good contract and we’re a successful band all over the world. I had to step back with Sinner because Primal Fear was so successful. I don’t know what would happen with Sinner if we could do it full time, but that’s not something I question. I wouldn’t turn things back to find out now because I prefer to look to the future.”

"Right now, for me, Primal Fear has the best line-up of our career," he adds. "We have sensational musicians in the band, and with Magnus Karlsson on second lead guitar now things are amazing. He’s not only a great lead player, he’s a good producer and a good songwriter. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of him being in the band. And from a musical point of view I think Primal Fear is at its peak."

Mat admits to having mixed feelings about Primal Fear's last album, New Religion, a record that was hit and miss with their otherwise loyal fanbase.

“I was satisfied with the numbers, because if you change record companies you never know what will happen," he says, referring to the band's move from Nuclear Blast to Frontiers. "The recording process for the last album was the most difficult one in our career because we had some (internal) problems. On the other hand I was very proud of the team because we could work around the problems and get the album done. I’m very proud of some of those songs, like ‘Fighting The Darkness’ because it’s 10 solid minutes. We still play it live and the people love it. There are other songs I’m not happy with. The most important thing is that Frontiers did a good job, so we’ll go on in this way. With the mood we have in Primal Fear now, I think we’ll come up with a really strong album next time out."

Swedish heavy metal band WOLF will enter Studio Seven in Örebro, Sweden on September 17 to begin recording its fifth album, tentatively titled "Ravenous", for an early 2009 release via Century Media Records. Producing the effort will be Roy Z, who has previously worked with JUDAS PRIEST, SEBASTIAN BACH, HALFORD, HELLOWEEN and BRUCE DICKINSON, among others.

The band comments: "It is an honor and a great privilege to get to work with Roy. We're big fans of his work and we are 100% sure that he'll fuel the black flame that is WOLF. He knows his heavy metal and so do we!?"

Roy Z states: "I first heard WOLF a few years back when a good friend of mine was cranking 'Evil Star' in his car. Since then WOLF have been one of my favorite new bands. The opportunity came up for me to work on the new album, so I am off. I am looking forward to be a part of the new recordings with the lads. The new tunes rock so to Sweden I will roll to be a part of a great new CD with the WOLF gang! I am ready to howl!"

Swedish industrial goth metal band DEATHSTARS has finished recording its third album, "Deathglam", and has begun mixing the effort at Toytown studios in Stockholm, Sweden with Stefan Glaumann.

Commented the group: "We are all very excited about the material and feel really proud over what we have achieved. We hope you have patience to wait for the heart of deathglam in the raw — the new stunning album. The new album will be released in Europe by the end of January." Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Night Electric Night", "Chertograd", "Blood Stains Blondes", "Opium" and "Venus In Arms".

In a recent interview with Lucem Fero, DEATHSTARS vocalist Andreas "Whiplasher Bernadotte" Bergh stated about "Deathglam", "It'll just continue with the deathglam that we play. In terms of this new album's style, I think it's more DEATHSTARS than ever. . . We're digging deeper and deeper into the impression that we began with 'Synthetic Generation', and we're achieving more and more freedom. We're breaking more and more away from metal and things like, which is all we just played before. It makes 'Deathglam' interesting."

AC/DC's new video, "Rock 'N Roll Train", can be viewed below. A higher-quality version can be found on ACDC.com. The clip was shot on August 15 in London, England and is the first taste of the band's new "Black Ice" album, due in October.

According to online reports, the fans who were present at the video shoot were told to jump and wave their arms while they were filmed for the chorus of the song which goes "Runaway train, running off the track."

The set looked something like "Terminator" with big cogs turning and flaming flying out.

AC/DC's first new single in eight years, "Rock 'N Roll Train", hit the band's web site and radio stations on August 28.

"Black Ice", the band's first studio album in eight years, will arrive on October 20 and will sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and ACDC.com in the U.S. All three plan multiple promotional campaigns aimed at the group's millions of fans.

AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. The band has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, including 69 million in the U.S. alone.

"No Bull: The Director's Cut", a chronicle of the band's famed July 1996 concert at the Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain, was released on DVD and Blu-ray September 9.

According to Billboard.biz, two official days of opening sales were enough to drive METALLICA's "Death Magnetic" (Vertigo/Universal) to the top of European Top 100 Albums. The LP, released last Friday (Sept. 12), goes straight to the summit in the United Kingdom, where it was leaked for early release 24 and in some cases even 48 hours ahead of the official launch. Sales there had reached 75,000 by the end of Saturday, while "Magnetic" also arrives at No. 1 in France, Denmark, Portugal and the Belgian region of Flanders, No. 2 in neighboring Wallony and Spain, No. 3 in Ireland, and climbs 7-1 in Norway.

"Death Magnetic" is on track to sell around 200-250,000 copies in the United States in its first full week of release, according to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS. It will battle it out for the No. 1 position on The Billboard 200 chart with hit songwriter/performer NE-YO, whose "Year of the Gentleman" is said to have "a slight edge" right now for the top of next week's chart.

METALLICA is the first group to see five of its albums bow at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. Previously, the act was tied with THE BEATLES, U2 and the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, with four each. The group's latest LP, "Death Magnetic", which sold nearly half a million copies in the United States in just a three-day sales window, is also METALLICA's fifth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 and its seventh release to start with more than 300,000 since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data.