Unreleased Mastodon song and new video out now.

Fans can go to this location to download a rare and previously unreleasedMASTODON song from the "Crack The Skye" sessions, titled"Deathbound", as part of the ten-week 2011 "Adult Swim Singles Program." Also available is an amazing exclusive video for the song, which can be seen below.

MASTODON has revealed more songtitles that will appear on band's new album, "The Hunter", tentatively due in October. The CD is expected to include the following tracks, among others:

* Curl Of The Burl
* Dry Bone Valley
* Blasteroids
* The Octopus Has No Friends
* All The Heavy Lifting
* Stargasm

When asked about the sound of MASTODON's forthcoming album, drummerBrann Dailor told the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, "When you listen to the songs, they don't sound as 'fun' as we perceive them to be, I guess; it's still pretty extremely heavy material." He added, "We had a few songs that were kind of, not left over from 'Crack The Skye', but just stuff that we wanted to be on that album, but that album kind of took on a whole different thing of its own and there were a few stragglers that were super-heavy and crazy that didn't make it, and we finally got to put them on this record. And then we wrote a whole bunch of brand new stuff. There's, like, 14 songs that we recorded. And it's sort all over the place — a lot of different sounds. Some straight-up classic-rock-sounding songs, straight-up death metal-sounding songs and some completely bizarre, weirdo rock songs that we're not really sure what they are, but we love them."

"The Hunter" was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producerMike Elizondo. Drum tracks were previously completed in Los Angeles at the legendary Sound City Studios where NIRVANA's masterwork"Nevermind" was recorded.

MASTODON is currently in Europe for a summer-long tour that includes all dates on this year's Sonisphere festival as well as the Rock Im Park,Rock Am Ring, Roskilde festivals and more. The band will also play a one-off show at The Gorge in Seattle on July 30 with SOUNDGARDEN,QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, and MEAT PUPPETS. 

You can watch the hilarious new video for "Deathbound" here:

Chirs Adler discusses Testament album guest spot.

LAMB OF GOD's Chris Adler will make a special guest appearance on a couple of bonus tracks on the forthcoming album from San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans TESTAMENT. The rest of the drums tracks on the CD are being laid down by Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan(ex-DARK ANGEL, ex-STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY,DETHKLOK), who previously played on TESTAMENT's 1997 album,"Demonic".

Due to a "serious injury," drummer Paul Bostaph is unable to take part in the new CD recordings but will rejoin TESTAMENT for future touring activities.

Regarding his collaboration with TESTAMENT, Chris told Gun Shy Assassin, "They just sent me the first song, so we're going to do that while we're set up [at a studio in New York City recording the new LAMB OF GODalbum]. I haven't had time to sit down and learn the tune, but they have programmed drums on it. I guess Gene is doing the rest of the record, which is amazing. When I first started talking to Eric [Peterson,TESTAMENT guitarist], they had me going out there, sitting with them, and figuring out the whole thing. They said they might do it with Gene, and I was like, 'If you can get Gene, don't bother with me. He's the king.'"

When asked what he thought of the tune he's been sent, he said, "It's great. It sounds a lot like the stuff on [TESTAMENT's 1988 album] 'The New Order'. I still have that vinyl. Definitely my favorite TESTAMENTrecord. This one . . . sounds like old TESTAMENT. It's super old school, and real thrashy. It's definitely very heavy. It's different than what we're doing. They're sticking to their guns: San Francisco thrash. To me, it's a different kind of challenge. I wanted to do the whole record, but at least I get to do two."

The new TESTAMENT album is being helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY,NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD and EXODUS, among many others. 

Rex Brown confirms he is no longer in Down.

Sad news in metal as Blabbermouth has reported that Bassist Rex Brown has confirmed that he is no longer a member ofDOWN. Speaking to Patrick Musumeche of 8countnews.com over the weekend, he said, "I'm officially out of the band. Things came to a head and they're better off doing what they're doing. They've got Patrick Bruders [from CROWBAR] playing bass and I kind of lost my passion after a while. There were some other problems that we had to address and it just turned out better that we just parted ways."

According to Brown, he will focus all of his attention on KILL DEVIL HILL, the new band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Brown on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT,W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg(PISSING RAZORS) on vocals.

Brown stated about KILL DEVIL HILL, "It's awesome. It's got a huge bottom end on it. It's coming on really well. It clicked and turned into a really cool project and it's gonna be a full-blown band. He added, "This is old school meets new school — it's got the heaviness of [BLACK SABBATH album] 'Mob Rules', with some ALICE IN CHAINS thrown in, some LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. There are a lot of different tunes on this record. It's just kick-ass fucking heavy."

DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower said in an interview withMetalChroniques.fr last week about Brown's status in the band, "It's a real delicate situation, because what he went through was really… [In 2009 Brown was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a sudden inflammation of the pancreas which can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment. — Ed.] I mean, he's got a scar from here [points to his stomach] all the way to here. We just wish him to find peace within himself and be healthy, and we weren't seeing that for DOWN. We havePat now. Pat's playing bass. Pat's from New Orleans, [which] makes sense. He plays with CROWBAR as well." He added, "We love Rex to death, man, and wish him the best. He has a new project as well — KILL DEVIL HILL, with Vinny Appice — and I know he's having fun doing that. He gave Pat his blessing, so it was on a good term [that we parted ways]. But he will not be back."

During a press conference at this year's Sweden Rock Festival, DOWNfrontman Philip Anselmo stated about Brown, "Just to put it kindly, [Rex] needs to address some personal things in his life and when he has to address these personal things, the extremity of them, it's gonna take him away from music and touring and stuff like that. We all support him, we love him, we're still very close with him, speak with him all the time. . . We wish the best for him."

Speaking to The Delaware County Daily Times this past spring, DOWNguitarist Pepper Keenan offered the following when asked about Brown, "Rex is not gonna be with us [on the road for the upcoming shows]. He's got things he needs to deal with, and we gave him an ultimatum and he's trying to work things out. We've got Pat from CROWBAR playing bass, and he's ass-kickin' in the same way. He plays with his fingers — which is really cool; he's got the whole Geezer Butler thing going on."

When asked if Rex was still considered a part of DOWN, Pepper replied, "I don't know what to really say on that; he's not out of the band, but he's not playing with us live."

During a recent interview with the "Focus In The Mix With Denise Ames" TV show, Brown was asked if he still speaks to Anselmo. "We're having a little marital spat, so… I'll just leave it at that. I'm in the doghouse," he replied.

Skeletonwitch announce new album title.

Athens, Ohio's SKELETONWITCH has set "Forever Abomination" as the title of its new record, due in the fall via Prosthetic Records. The follow-up to 2009's "Breathing The Fire" is being recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, KREATOR). The effort will include the track "The Infernal Resurrection", the demo version of which appears as the B-side on the final seven-inch of a limited-edition vinyl trilogy. This marks SKELETONWITCH's first recording with the group's new drummer, former DEMIRICOUS skin-pounder Dustin Boltjes.

The band will play two Midwestern shows — their first with Boltjes — before heading to Europe for a run of dates, including appearances at several of the continent's biggest metal festivals. They will then embark on a fall North American tour alongside ARCH ENEMY, DEVILDRIVER and CHTHONIC.

SKELETONWITCH's latest album, "Breathing the Fire" (2009), debuted at No. 151 on The Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 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. It was SKELETONWITCH's second full-length release for Prosthetic Records, with whom the band recently extended its recording deal. 

Hank III announces a full slate of new projects due this fall.

Hank III has released the following press release on his website:


With his own new label, Hank3 Records, and the sense that he has thrown off the chains holding him back creatively, Shelton Hank Williams III, aka Hank3, is coming out swinging this year with the
release of four records on September 6 - that's right - FOUR.

The unprecedented launch, in a distribution partnership with Megaforce Records (MRI), features a broad range of music that bridges more than one head-thumping genre - a familiar theme that true Hank3 fans have embraced for years. Ghost to a
Ghost/Guttertown, a double-album set, is a straight-shooting country collection, flavored with Hank3's trademark hellbilly sound, and heavily weighted with Cajun influence (especially on Guttertown) and an ambient, lonesome mood - and a few very special
guests.

Two more releases are Attention Deficit Domination and 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin - intensely metal-driven records on which Hank3 plays all instruments. Attention Deficit Domination is a pressure-dropping, doom rock statement that has been anticipated by his hardcore fans for years, and Cattle Callin explores a new mind-bending "Cattle Core" sound, featuring Hank3's speed metal woven in and around actual cattle auctioneering.

All three projects were recorded at The Haunted Ranch, Hank3's home and studio that lies on the outskirts of Nashville - a fitting place since the town has never really known what to do with this grandson of the American icon. He finally parted ways with Curb
Records January 1.

"I have musical freedom. I'm able to say 'Here's my record' and I don't have to go through a million different channels just to put out a song," he says. "It's all me now."

Hank3 wrote the lion's share of the songs that appear on the 41-track Ghost to a Ghost. The players are Andy Gibson on steel guitar and banjo, who also aided in its recording, David McElfresh on fiddle and mandolin, Zach Shedd on standup bass, Daniel
Mason on banjo, super-picker Johnny Hiland on guitar, Billy Contreras on fiddle, and Rory Hoffman on accordion.

Guest appearances include the mythical Tom Waits on the haunted "Fadin Moon" from Guttertown and on the Ghost to a Ghost title track, Alan King of Hellstomper, Les Claypool of Primus fame and beyond, Dave Sherman, Troy Medlin and Hank3's dog,
Trooper.

Cuts such as "Guttertown," "Ridin The Wave," and "The Devil's Movin In" on Ghost to A Ghost, and "Goin to Guttertown," "The Low Line," and "I'll Save My Tears" on Guttertown highlight both the excellent musicianship on the records, and Hank3's
unmistakable, confident vocals.

Attention Deficit Domination allows the listener into Hank3's crunching, metal world of the heavy and the slow, complete with his renowned, fundamental percussion. The nine tracks hardly allow you to get up from the floor. With songs such as "I Feel Sacrificed" and the tormented "Livin Beyond Doom," Hank3 works a ground somewhere between devastation and high theatre.

"Both A.D.D. and Cattle Callin are very intense. It's very manic," Hank3 says. "It's hard to follow, even for the guys I play with. I'm playing everything on these two. It's very complex."

There are 23 tracks on Cattle Callin, featuring Hank3's driving, formidable guitar attack, with instrumentation build around the auctioneering and, in some cases, his own higherregister vocal treatment laid over the top. Metal fans will notice some tongue-in-cheek humor with titles such as "Heavy Cattle" and "Angus of Death." Also, fans of bluegrass will love the banjo-driven "Cattle Callin Lonesome Blues," featuring Mason.

"I was raised around it [cattle auctioneering] and it's pretty amazing how fast these guys are," Hank3 says. "Hip-hop has looped auctioneers. Bluegrass has messed around with it a little bit. This has never been done in the heavy metal world."

The September release of all three projects represents a new birth for Hank3, and he's happy to have the chance.

"Megaforce Records has helped me with my vision to do something that's never been done before," he says. "They're handling my distribution, and I wanted to flood the market and do everything different. I wanted to come out of the gate strong.

"I'm opening up the mind a little bit and bringing some different styles together."

Puscifer to release new album in October. Tour to follow.

 PUSCIFER, the project ringleader Maynard James Keenan describes as "'Twin Peaks' in the desert," will release "Conditions Of My Parole" on October 18 via Puscifer Entertainment.

"Man Overboard", the first single from the album, will be available viaiTunes and other digital service providers on July 19.

"The Verde Valley is an intrinsic part of what PUSCIFER is," explainsKeenan. "It's equal parts 'Twilight Zone', 'Mayberry' and 'Road Warrior'. The ghosts and aliens, Republicans and Democrats, cowboys and artists living side by side with hostile creatures such as scorpions, spiders, rattlesnakes, javelina and hippies are just a few of the spicy ingredients that give 'Conditions Of My Parole' its unique flavor."

"Conditions Of My Parole" was recorded in Jerome, Arizona this spring with tracking done amidst the wine barrels from Keenan's Caduceus Cellars. The album was produced by Keenan, Mat Mitchell, and Josh Eustis. Contributing musicians for the new album include the aforementioned Keenan, Mitchell, and Eustis as well as Carina Round,Juliette Commagere, Matt McJunkins, Jeff Freidl, Gil and Rani Sharone, Jonny Polonsky, Tim Alexander, Devo Keenan, Alessandro Cortini, Sarah Jones, and Jon Theodore.

PUSCIFER's debut album, the infamously censored "V is for V*****"(2007), charted on both the rock and dance singles charts simultaneously (the full album at #9 on the Billboard Rock Album and "C*ntry Boner" at #1 on Billboard's Dance Singles Chart). "V is for V*****" entered The Billboard 200 at #25. The band turned multimedia troupe carried outKeenan's vision of an evening that seamlessly combined music, recorded skits and live character sketches over two U.S. tours which were described as an "X-rated episode of 'Hee-Haw'" (Spin) and "a performance art spectacle equal parts comedy cabaret show and guerilla theater" (Las Vegas Review-Journal). Keenan has often stated in interviews that his concept for PUSCIFER required nearly two decades to pass before the technology was available to create the live performance.

A North American tour kicks off in early November, with more information to come.

Machine Head name album, announce European tour.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have set Unto The Locust as the title of their new album, due in late September via longtime label Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at JingleTown Studios in Oakland, with frontman Robb Flynn producing, and it is sure to level anything and everything that happens upon its path.

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

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

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

Musically, the song is the essence of what MACHINE HEAD have been doing for nearly two decades. "It feels like the culmination of what we've been doing for the last 17 years: power grooves, patented MACHINE HEAD harmonics, crushing guitars and dark melodies, but taken to a new level," Flynn said. "It's a natural progression from [2007's] 'The Blackening', but different than anything on that record. In the past, when we debuted a new song, it was usually the fastest, thrashiest tune. This time we wanted to go with something just straight-up heavy."

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

"Locust" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below (courtesy ofRoadrunner Records).

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

MACHINE HEAD will embark on a European headlining tour, dubbed "The Eighth Plague", in the fall. Support on the trek will come from BRING ME THE HORIZON, DEVILDRIVER and DARKEST HOUR.


"This will no doubt be the heaviest show you're going to see this year," states Flynn. "A lot of the greatest shows of our last touring cycle were in Europe and the U.K., so the prospect of this lineup combined with these crowds has us extremely stoked to get out there and tear it up! New material, great venues, killer fans... we absolutely cannot wait!"

Adds BRING ME THE HORIZON vocalist Oliver Sykes, "We're proper excited for these dates with MACHINE HEAD! We were listening to them before we even started BMTH, so to be going on tour with them is blowin' our minds! These will be our last U.K./Euro dates before we take a break to record our next album as well, so it's gonna be mental! We honestly can't wait."

Says DEVILDRIVER vocalist Dez Fafara, "We always love touring in packages that offer a diversity of styles of metal. This is yet another one of those packages. I would like to personally thank Robb Flynn for inviting us to the party. See you in the fucking pit."

"We are so excited to announce our upcoming winter European tour withMACHINE HEAD, BRING ME THE HORIZON, and DEVILDRIVER," exclaimsDARKEST HOUR vocalist John Henry. "European audiences are true purists when it comes to their love for metal music and great metal concerts, so there's no better place in a world for this tour to go down. It will take us to cities we haven't been to in a decade, as well as a few new ones. Meeting new friends and exploring other cultures has always been something we enjoy as a band, and getting to explore some of these places with this great bill for the first time is both a great privilege and an honor. If you can make it out to one of these shows please do, you won't be let down."

Judas Priest Announces Additional North American Dates

Judas Priest has added more dates to their North American tour with Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society, which begins in mid-October in San Antonio, Texas.

The newly added dates are:

Oct. 27 - Sleep Train Pavilion, Concord, CA
Nov. 08 - US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH
Nov. 09 - Prairie Capital Convention Center, Springfield, IL
Nov. 10 - The Family Arena, St. Louis, MO
Nov. 15 - Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Nov. 16 - The Armory, Rochester, NY
Nov. 22 - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
Nov. 23 - Colisee Pepsi Arena, Quebec City, QC
Nov. 24 - Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
Nov. 26 - Sovereign Center, Reading, PA
Nov. 30 - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, Tampa
Dec. 01 - Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, Miami
Dec. 03 - Hard Rock Biloxi Hotel & Casino, Biloxi

Lamb of God begins recording their new album.

Blabbermouth.net has reported that Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD have entered the studio with producer Josh Wilbur to begin recording their new album for a tentative late 2011 release.

In a recent online posting, drummer Chris stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the new album, "We have been busting our butts full-time for months writing the new record. It's fantastic so far, to say the very least."

Speaking to the Artisan News Service earlier in the year, Adler revealed that "because of the amount of time we've spent on the road and the [rest of the] guys spending time alone in hotel rooms, there's a lot more material coming into the process than we've had in the past. Normally, we would tour, then get together and write. But the guitar players, with the technology changing and improving, have been able to do a lot on their own coming in, so there's a lot more ideas than we've ever had, which is great. Normally, it takes... We weed through all the stuff and it takes a really long time to get to what everybody agrees on. Now we've got a plethora of material, so I think it's gonna be... It's always an interesting process, but I think we're coming a little more armed this time."

When asked if 2009's "Wrath" — which was also produced by Wilbur — set the standard for what fans can expect to hear on LAMB OF GOD's next album, Adler said, "In the past, my perspective has always been very reactive to what the immediate previous album was, as in 'Wrath' was more aggressive than [2006's] 'Sacrament' and 'Sacrament' was more produced than [2004's] 'Ashes Of The Wake', and those were choices that we made. But this time I feel that with all the records we've covered the bases and creatively gotten a lot of stuff out, grown as a band, evolved, made interesting choices along the way, and I think, this time, there's no real... I can't speak for [the rest of] the band, but myself, I'm not really particularly reactive to 'Wrath' in that I was very happy with the way 'Wrath' came out. So I feel a little more free coming into this album to not be so driven in one particular direction. I think we might be a little more wide open this time."

"Wrath" landed at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart back in February 2009 with first-week sales of over 67,000 copies.

LAMB OF GOD performed at the sixth edition of D-TOX Rockfest on June 17 in Montebello, Quebec, Canada. This marked the group's first and only 2011 appearance.

Slipknot plays its first show ever without Paul Gray (#2).

Blabbermouth.net has reported that SLIPKNOT's first show since the passing of bassist Paul Gray took place earlier today (Friday, June 17) in front of 25,000 fans on the Apollo Stage at the Greek installment of the Sonisphere festival at Terravibe Park in Athens.

According to a review that was posted at SonisphereFestivals.com, Gray's red jumpsuit, his mask and his bass guitar, stood symbolically at the back of the stage alongside his bandmates, who also "turned the clock back to don matching red jump suits and old school style masks."

Playing bass at the concert was Donnie Steele, a former SLIPKNOTguitarist from the group's early days, although he was apparently hidden from the audience's view.

Frontman Taylor took a moment to mark the enormity and significance of the occasion, stating, "It's been a long time. Hello Athens, how are you? As you know, tonight is very emotional show for us but it is not, NOT, a negative day. It is a positive day. A day for celebration. This is our first show — with you. Are you having a good time and will you celebrate with us today?" Later in the show, he added, "This is very hard for us but he would have wanted us to come out with you all and celebrate his life. So will you all help me sing a song for my brother? Can you do that, Athens? Sing so loud so he can hear us because he is here with us tonight. Can you feel it?"

According to the review, SLIPKNOT closed out its set with a triple dose of metal medicine in "Spit It Out", "People = Shit" and "Surfacing", before Taylor humbly thanked the crowd for playing their part in a night neither the band nor the Athens fans will ever forget, saying, "Thank you all for spending this night with us. You'll never know how much this means, Athens."

The band's setlist was as follows:

01.(sic)
02.Eyeless
03.Wait And Bleed
04.The Blister Exists
05.Liberate
06.Before I Forget
07.Pulse Of The Maggots
08.Disasterpiece
09.Psychosocial
10.The Heretic Anthem
11.Duality
12.Spit It Out
13.People = Shit
14.Surfacing

More info on Mastodon's new album revealed.

Blabbermouth.net has reported that Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have revealed more song titles that will appear on their new album, "The Hunter", tentatively due in October. The CD is expected to include the following tracks, among others:

* Blasteroids
* The Octopus Has No Friends
* Stargasm
* Curl Of The Burl
* All The Heavy Lifting
* The Sparrow
* The Ruiner

When asked about the sound of MASTODON's forthcoming album, drummer Brann Dailor told the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, "When you listen to the songs, they don't sound as 'fun' as we perceive them to be, I guess; it's still pretty extremely heavy material." He added, "We had a few songs that were kind of, not left over from 'Crack The Skye', but just stuff that we wanted to be on that album, but that album kind of took on a whole different thing of its own and there were a few stragglers that were super-heavy and crazy that didn't make it, and we finally got to put them on this record. And then we wrote a whole bunch of brand new stuff. There's, like, 14 songs that we recorded. And it's sort all over the place — a lot of different sounds. Some straight-up classic-rock-sounding songs, straight-up death metal-sounding songs and some completely bizarre, weirdo rock songs that we're not really sure what they are, but we love them."

"The Hunter" was recorded at Doppler Studios in Atlanta with producer Mike Elizondo. Drum tracks were previously completed in Los Angeles at the legendary Sound City Studios where NIRVANA's masterwork "Nevermind” was recorded. Song titles set to appear on the album include"Blasteroids" and "All The Heavy Lifting".

MASTODON is currently in Europe for a summer-long tour that includes all dates on this year's Sonisphere festival as well as the Rock Im Park,Rock Am Ring, Roskilde festivals and more. The band will also play a one-off show at The Gorge in Seattle on July 30 with SOUNDGARDEN,QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, and MEAT PUPPETS.  

Metallica unveils "secret project" with Lou Reed

Metallica.com today revealed that the "secret recording project" they have been planning for months is a full album collaboration with Rock N Roll Hall of Famer Lou Reed. They have an entire album of songs written (10), but no release date as of yet.

“A few months ago our own Kirk Hammett hinted at a new Metallica project that’s “not really 100 percent a Metallica record.” While Kirk may have jumped the gun a little (and has since been properly punished with a series of push-ups!), we are more than proud to announce that we have just completed recording a full length album that is a collaboration with none other than the legendary Lou Reed.

Ever since we had the pleasure of performing with Lou at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in October of 2009, we have been kicking around the idea of making a record together. Some of you astute Bay Area residents may have picked up news of recent Lou Reed sightings in the greater San Francisco area and we have indeed been working at our home studio at HQ on and off over the last few months. In what would be lightning speed for a Metallica related project, we recorded ten songs during this time and while at this moment we’re not exactly sure when you’ll hear it, we’re beyond excited to share with you that the recording sessions wrapped up last week.

Neither Metallica or Lou Reed have record deals and the possibility exists for a self-release since "Metallica Inc." is so big they don't need to rely on traditional distribution options. Metallica.com is the third largest seller of mp3's in the world outside of iTunes and Amazon.com.

Trivium to release new album In Waves August. 9th, tour.

Trivium exploded onto the global metal scene with their Roadrunner Records debut album Ascendency (2005) which was certified Gold in the UK (and earned them the 2005 Best New International Artist honors in Kerrang!). Extremely young at the time and with songwriting and musicianship far beyond their years, the band toured with giants of the metal world, including Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Metallica, Heaven & Hell and many more. Over the course of those years and albums - including 2006's The Crusade, and 2008's Shogun– the band honed their skills even further, while sharpening their vision for the band and its music. In the words of vocalist/guitarist Matt Heafy, this new album is the culmination: "In Waves to us… is Trivium. In Waves is the music, the artwork, the videos and the live show; they are all part of an interconnected whole. There's no question about it, in our eyes, that this is the most complete project we’ve ever done. We think we’ve finally made the record that we’ve always strived to make."

While the tracks boast the guitar-driven edge that fans have come to love and expect from the band – pushing some of the tracks even further in their heaviness and aggression - the visual and lyrical world that “In Waves” inhabits is overall a fantastic leap forward for the band. Inspired as much by contemporary film and visual art as by the band’s love of heavy music, all of the imagery – including album art, videos, stage sets and web properties - take Trivium into territory that few bands have the confidence, or vision, to visit. The visuals create the special world of In Waves where the entire album package will take the listener on a journey where the destination may not have even been decided yet, much less known. It's a wide, open road and one littered with darkness and other curiosities. The visual project was collaborative effort between the band and a team of select artists. The band and their artists created a new, unique and wholly original set of visuals that are like a graphic novel come to life.

The video for "In Waves" will premiere this Friday at altpress.com in the US and on NME.com in the UK. The band appears but does not perform in the clip.

There is a unifying theme to In Waves, but it's not a concept album by any means. Heafy continued, "The album is not a concept record, but there is a certain theme to all of the visuals and sonically and visually it all ties together. We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished with In Waves and we are excited to share it with everyone.”

Track listing for In Waves:

1. Capsizing the Sea
2. In Waves
3. Inception of the End
4. Watch The World Burn
5. Dusk Dismantled
6. Black
7. Built To Fall
8. Caustic Are the Ties That Bind
9. A Skyline's Severance
10. Forsake Not the Dream
11. Chaos Reigns
12. Of All These Yesterdays
13. Leaving This World Behind

A two-disc special edition will also be available. It features five bonus tracks, plus a DVD with a 40-minute, behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as an exclusive concert filmed in a warehouse located in Orlando, Florida, which is the band's stomping grounds. This concert features the first performances of tracks from In Waves, along with Trivium classics.

Special Edition Track Listing:

1. Capsizing the Sea
2. In Waves
3. Inception of the End
4. Dusk Dismantled
5. Watch the World Burn
6. Black
7. A Skyline's Severance
8. Ensnare the Sun*
9. Built To Fall
10. Caustic Are the Ties That Bind
11. Forsake Not the Dream
12. Drowning In Slow Motion*
13. A Grey So Dark*
14. Chaos Reigns
15. Of All These Yesterdays
16. Leaving This World Behind
17. Shattering The Skies Above*
18. Slave New World*

*Bonus tracks

Bonus DVD includes:

- In Waves (Live)
- In Waves (Documentary)
“In Waves” Music Video

The band will spend the summer on their second go-round at the Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. They will spend a portion of the tour as openers on the main stage. The band will leave the Mayhem Festival for a few days to play two very special European album release shows – Friday August 5th on the main stage at the legendary Wacken Festival, and Saturday August 6th as Special Guest to Iron Maiden at the O2 Arena in London.

This winter will see the band tour Europe, including headlining the Metal Hammer “Defenders of The Faith” tour in the UK.

Arch Enemy Announces North American Headlining Tour With DevilDriver and Skeletonwitch

Fresh off the release of their new album, Khaos Legions, Arch Enemy has been announced as the headliner of Metalsucks's Magical Mystery Tour. Support will come from DevilDriver, Skeletonwitch, and Chthonic.

The dates are as follows:

Sept. 08 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head
Sept. 09 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theater
Sept. 10 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Sept. 12 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
Sept. 13 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Sept. 14 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix
Sept. 17 – Winnipeg, MB – The Garrick Center
Sept. 19 – Calgary, AB – McEwan Hall
Sept. 20 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Events Centre
Sept. 22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
Sept. 24 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Sept. 26 – San Francisco, CA – Regency Center
Sept. 27 – Los Angeles – Nokia Theatre
Sept. 29 – Phoenix, AZ – The Marquee
Sept. 30 – Albuquerque, NM – The Sunshine
Oct. 01 – Denver, CO – The Gothic
Oct. 03 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct. 04 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues

Diamond Head Announces First US Tour

For the first time in its 35-year history, legendary NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band DIAMOND HEAD will make its way stateside for a U.S. tour.

DIAMOND HEAD's only previous U.S. appearance was at the Metal Meltdown IV festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey in 2002 for a sold-out show with fellow British stalwarts SAXON and WITCHFYNDE. Now, for the first time ever, DIAMOND HEAD's U.S. fans will get the opportunity to see the band perform live.

The tour will kick off in Seattle on August 15 and will conclude in New York City on September 1.

The dates are as follows:

Aug. 15 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Aug. 16 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
Aug. 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Elbo Room
Aug. 18 - Santa, Ana, CA @ The Galaxy Theater
Aug. 19 - Tempe, AZ @ The Club House
Aug. 20 - Ramona, CA @ Ramona's Main Stage
Aug. 21 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse
Aug. 23 - Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads
Aug. 24 - St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
Aug. 25 - Wisconsin Rapids, WI @ The Pour House
Aug. 26 - Detroit, MI @ Blondies
Aug. 27 - Chicago, IL @ Tailgaters
Aug. 28 - Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
Aug. 29 - Dayton, OH @ McGuffy's House of Rock
Aug. 30 - Pittsburg, PA @ Club Diesel
Aug. 31 - Baltimore, MD @ The Otto Bar
Sep. 01 – New York, NY @ BB King Blues Bar & Grill

Credit for the article goes to Blabbermouth.net