Former ANTHRAX and current RED LAMB guitarist Dan Spitz has posted the following message on his Facebook page:

"Jesus is the reason I still breathe.

"The heart [doctors] tell me I should be dead.

"I had a heart attack a few years back where my main artery to my heart was 98% closed. I have stents in my heart now.

"I'm blessed to breathe and feel love from all, I'm blessed to know adversity and plow through, I'm blessed to recognize betrayal and move on, I'm blessed to have my art to relieve my inner pain.

"Jesus gave me all I am, all I will be. I have no clue where he'll take me. All I know is I walk by faith and not by site and take baby steps and drink baby milk. He'll show me if I act and pursue diligently HIS way, and HIS footsteps, in HIS sand box I play.... Only.

"I love love."

Spitz is a born-again Christian and Messianic Jew who, in interviews, has frequently cited his faith as an influential component to his life.

The musician and his wife, Candi, are raising two identical mirror image twin boys that both suffer from autism.

Spitz took part in the reunion of ANTHRAX's classic lineup in 2005 and 2006 but left the band after ANTHRAX's last split with singer Joey Belladonna.

Ripper Owens Tap House, the "rockin' sports eatery" in Akron, Ohio co-owned by powerhouse American vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH), is moving to a new location. Owens says: "We are not moving because we could not afford the rent or lack of space; we are moving because the current lease term was up and we could not come to an agreement on a new lease. So starting today, the owner of the building, Russ Mazzolla Jr., will open his own restaurant at the current location. I have agreed with Russ to keep the Ripper Owens Tap House name for the next 30 days so he can slowly move in and make his changes and we can slowly move out and find our new location. The Ripper Owens Tap House name, menu and world tour of wings will all go with me at the end of the 30 days!

"Starting today, there will be no live entertainment at the current location. Russ will fill you in on what format and menu he will be offering.

"Let's all help Russ out and get him off to a great start. I'm sure you will still see me there having dinner and removing my photos... lol.

"Also... With this move comes exciting news... A new partner! It is none other than Micah Posten. Micah is a friend and a very successful businessman who has the passion and a lot of great ideas for the new Ripper Owens Tap House! We will strive to improve every aspect of the Tap House and have a top-notch staff with a lot of familiar faces and also a few new ones. As soon as we have more info, we will pass it along to all of you.

"As of today, Randy Arehart will no longer have any involvement with the Ripper Owens Tap House. He has decided to pursue other interests, both personally and professionally. I myself would like to thank Randy for all the great things he has done and the excitement he brought to the restaurant and we wish him the best of luck!

"Thanks for everyone's patience and I look forward to seeing you all real soon."

Video footage of Owens performing acoustic versions of TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's "Old City Bar" and JOAN BAEZ's "Diamonds & Rust" (also recorded by JUDAS PRIEST) on November 25, 2011 at Ripper Owens Tap House can be viewed below.

Owens joined forces with Arehart to re-launch the Tap House on Waterloo Road in Akron, Ohio in October 2010 to become Ripper Owens Tap House. Guests such as Wendy Dio, Simon Wright and Don Jamieson from VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" were in the house that evening and it was a special event for both Owens and Arehart.

According to CantonRep.com, the Tap House "is decorated with artifacts of Owens' heavy-metal adventures, including signed guitars from PRIEST axemen K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton, Ripper's studded leather PRIEST jacket, autographed photos of ANTHRAX and PANTERA, a large collection of backstage passes and more. There's even a poster from the 2001 film "Rock Star", which stars Mark Wahlberg as a fledgling rocker loosely based on Owens."

"Our motto is that everybody needs to be treated like a rock star," said Owens in a 2010 interview.

Audio samples of the songs "Conflict" and "Family, 'Friends,' And Associates" from legendary PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL and DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo can be streamed at Amazon.com. Both tracks will appear on "War Of The Gargantuas", the new split album featuring Anselmo and Texas thrashers WARBEAST, which will be released on January 8 via Philip's Housecore Records. This album serves as the first release of any solo work by Anselmo during the span of his nearly 30-year legacy.

"This split is a glimpse into the future of both my solo project and ultimate thrash metallers WARBEAST," says Anselmo.

"The title of the split is 'War Of The Gargantuas' and it is fitting on many levels because of our combined love for the '60s Japanese film of the same name, the power of our combined musical output(s) and our humorous affection that plays out within each of our 'Gargantuan' personalities.

"Both WARBEAST and myself have full-length LPs that will be released shortly after this is released, but this split is unique musically. It is a time capsule; a loud pause 'til we both release our full-length products. Enjoy the destruction of music!"

PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS is:

Philip H. Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA) - Vocals
Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL) - Guitar
Bennett Bartley - Bass
José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) - Drums

In a recent interview with U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine, Anselmo spoke about his forthcoming full-length solo debut, "Walk Through Exits Only", which will be released in early 2013 via Housecore.

Asked what prompted him to make a solo CD now, Anselmo said, "I am a lover of all sorts of music but really my heart is ... really I love extreme music, underground music, whether it be grindcore, death metal, thrash, black metal, [or whatever other] subgenre, and I find beauty in a lot of this stuff."

He continued, "I wanted to do an extreme record that didn't necessarily fit in any of those aforementioned categories, really, but it's metal. It's very tough for me to describe, man. I really wanted to do an extreme record again. I did it out of pure, fucking need — need — and love. I just needed to do it for myself."

Anselmo said that he chose to release the CD under his own name because "if I was to name it something, to me, it may be tough on the fans, or people, that might be interested in hearing what I'm doing, just to buy into a whole new band, where in all truth, I'm very, very, what's the word, just very guarded and I wrote every fucking goddamn note of it and that's just how its going to fucking be.

He added, "I don't want another all-star band, I don 't want another supergroup, if you will, I don't want it to be misconstrued, and this is something I can take as a solo artist, as a free agent, I can take this wherever I want to go. If I want to make the next record a completely different style, yet still extreme in its own right, I can do that … So it's gonna be up to y'all to figure it out: it's really not my place to say it's death metal or it's extreme thrash or black metal, I'm not gonna put it in a category. It is extreme, though, in its own right. Anything that was completely traditional, I would stop it and fuck with it a little, make sure it wasn't so paint-by-numbers, because that's the last thing I wanna do, and as a matter of fact, I believe that's what people will be expecting."

On the topic of his lyrical approach on "Walk Through Exits Only", Anselmo said, "[It's] very real, very honest, very close to the sleeve, close to the heart, close to the fingertips, close to everyday life, and maybe [about] periods of my life that I've gone through. People that have heard the record have said it is the angriest record that they've heard in a very, very long time. And I have to agree with them — it is an angry, angry album. It is just a statement of my condition a lotta times. Daily I still deal with heaps of chronic pain, if you will, whether it be my knee, my hip, the shoulder sockets, the elbow, the fucking back — you name it, man. I've busted everything, man, so there is a frustration there that you can't necessarily get across in DOWN, so it does have an angry edge to it and really, truth be told, the name of the record could be 'Songs From The Bedroom Of Philip Anselmo'; it's not a pretty place. [laughs] [It's] not as sexy as it sounds'l [It's a] fucking, raging fucking place where I can simmer and boil over in private."

Asked what expectations he has for the solo record, Anselmo said, "Me being the pessimist, some people will love it, some people will hate it. Will I break new ground? I don't know. I really don't have any fucking idea. Music is vast, people's opinions are vast and boy can you read them on the comments section today.

He continued, "If you enjoyed stuff in the past, then I think you 'll really enjoy the fucking solo record and people who still to this day [say], 'Ah I wish Phil would sing more. He's got such a pretty voice when he sings' then its gonna be a gigantic fucking letdown. [laughs] I cannot wait, truthfully, for the likes of yourself and fans alike to consume this shit. Love it or hate it, it's coming."

The first song from FARMIKOS, the new band led by former OZZY OSBOURNE/DAVID LEE ROTH guitarist Joe Holmes, can be streamed at Farmikos.com. Holmes is joined in the new group by former LAIDLAW singer Robert "Robbie" Locke (pictured below with Holmes).

Says Holmes: "It's been a long time coming. I'm really proud of this music and am excited about getting it out. So far everything has been done without a label or management and we're in the process of figuring the best way to put this music out.

"I've been working with a great vocalist Robbie Locke and fortunate to have had Robert Trujillo [METALLICA, ex-SUICIDAL TENDENCIES] and Brooks Wackerman [BAD RELIGION] guest on this set of songs along with songwriting contributions from Brent Hoffort [MY OWN MACHINE]."

Holmes, 49, took lessons from legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT) in 1979 before forming the Los Angeles-based band TERRIFF in 1983. Holmes briefly left TERRIFF in 1987 to join LIZZY BORDEN and stayed with the latter group for a year before reforming TERRIFF.

After guitarist Jason Becker was diagnosed with ALS while recording DAVID LEE ROTH's album "A Little Ain't Enough" in 1990, Holmes stepped in to replace him.

In 1995, after Ozzy Osbourne had finished recording the "Ozzmosis" album, a replacement for Zakk Wylde was needed for the tour and Holmes got the job.

"It's really spooky," Ozzy once said in an interview, "because when Joe plays the Randy Rhoads stuff, he plays just like him — it's like I can see Randy's fingers."

Holmes remained Ozzy's guitarist for five years, before leaving the band during the writing sessions for the "Down To Earth" album. Although Holmes does not play on the CD, the songs "Facing Hell", "Junkie" and "That I Never Had", which were co-written by Holmes, appear on the album.

TV Rock Live recently conducted an interview with vocalist Biff Byford of British heavy metal legends SAXON in Paris, France. You can now watch the chat below.

With a storming new stomp in their boots and a renewed, lithe swagger to their legendary sound, SAXON will release "Sacrifice" in February through UDR. Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, SAXON have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album "A Call To Arms".

"Less tricks, more power!" roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford. "My brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration."

The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford, with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn's and Doug Scarratt's guitar work the best it's ever been, while Biff's vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in SAXON's history, with the likes of "Warriors Of The Road", "Wheels Of Terror" and "Stand Up And Fight" evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic SAXON sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, "Sacrifice".

"It's certainly been done from a more early '80s thrashier perspective," explains Biff, "and it's not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they've got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective."

Besides the new material, SAXON will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of "Crusader" and an acoustic version of "Frozen Rainbow".

"From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place," concludes Biff, "And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic SAXON songwriting, has in my opinion made SAXON fresher than ever."

The "Sacrifice" cover artwork was created by longtime SAXON artist Paul Raymond Gregory and can be seen below.

"Sacrifice" track listing:

01. Procession
02. Sacrifice
03. Made In Belfast
04. Warriors Of The Road
05. Guardians Of The Tomb
06. Stand Up And Fight
07. Walking The Steel
08. Night Of The Wolf
09. Wheels Of Terror
10. Standing In A Queue

Bonus track:

* Luck Of The Draw (on iTunes only)

01. Crusader (orchestrated version)
02. Just Let Me Rock (re-recorded version)
03. Requiem (acoustic version)
04. Frozen Rainbow (acoustic version)
05. Forever Free (re-recorded version)

Neil Turbin (ANTHRAX, DEATHRIDERS), Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, RING OF FIRE, ROYAL HUNT) and Ronny Munroe (METAL CHURCH) will join forces for the Voices Of Metal concert on March 30 at the House Of Rock in White Marsh, Maryland. The event will feature separate sets from Turbin, Boals and Munroe, plus support from SILVERTUNG and GHOST OF WAR, who will be playing their debut album, "Only Death Is Real", in its entirety.

For ticket information, go to this location.

STONE SOUR vocalist Corey Taylor has revealed via Twitter that the second part of the band's "House Of Gold & Bones" double album will be released in April. The effort will also be made available as a four-issue comic book.

Like the story, the "House Of Gold & Bones" album package comes in two parts. When the two pieces meet, they combine to create the "House Of Gold & Bones".

When asked by ThisIsNotAScene what fans can expect from the second part of "House Of Gold & Bones", Taylor said: "Part 2 is much darker [than the first part], if I'm honest. Aside from it being a completely different album, it feels more like a soundtrack to a movie in a lot of ways, man. It's really thematic. There are themes from part 1 that reveal themselves and that come again, musically. There's actually stuff from part 2 that you'll hear that's on part 1 and you'll be like, 'Fucking hell!'"

He continued: "We essentially recorded these, and this is where technology is now, so you could have these in a playlist on your iTunes and play them top to fucking bottom and really get that experience while you read both parts. So it's some of our darkest music, our most intricate and complex music, some of the best fucking lyrics I've ever written, to be honest. Even writing from a narrative like that, it was so challenging. Plus, it's got some of our best songs on it.

"You guys think part one's good? Fuck off. 'Do Me A Favor' alone is going to kick the shit out of people and that's going to be the first single, which comes out in January, that's going to be the first taste that people get of part 2, and people aren't going to know what to do."

Taylor recently revealed that he would like to see the band's new conceptual record be adapted as a movie as well. Speaking with Artisan News, Taylor said, "Once we've toured and we've got the music out to everyone, the thing I really wanna do is have two movies — Part 1 and Part 2. With the comic and the story and the music, I think we'll be able to do it. I already know who I wanna talk to about doing it, so we'll see what happens."

Taylor did not say who he would like to direct the movie, or if it would be produced through Living, Breathing Films, the production company he and SLIPKNOT percussionist Clown launched last year.

The comic book version of "House Of Gold & Bones" is expected to debut on April 17. The four-issue series will be published by Dark Horse Comics and will visualize the sci-fi short story that forms the basis of the albums.

Californian rockers BUCKCHERRY will release their sixth studio album, "Confessions", on February 13. The disc will be BUCKCHERRY's first domestic release with new label Century Media Records. The CD will be made available via Eleven Seven Music in other parts of the world.

"Confessions" is a loose concept album that revolves around the notion of the seven deadly sins and is inspired by events in singer Josh Todd's childhood. The vocalist told The Pulse Of Radio how first single, "Gluttony", fits into this. "Seven of the songs on the record are the seven sins, so 'Gluttony', you know, it's just about over-consuming everything in your life, you know, and just being a glutton," he said. "And it's got a great hook and I really love the lyrics and everybody likes the song."

"Confessions" track listing:

01. Gluttony
02. Wrath
03. Nothing Left But Tears
04. The Truth
05. Greed
06. Water
07. Seven Ways To Die
08. Air
09. Sloth
10. Pride
11. Envy
12. Lust
13. Dreamin' Of You

Todd has helped co-write a short film that will come out around the same time as the album and expand upon the record's themes. It's not clear yet how the film will be distributed. BUCKCHERRY did do some sort of video shoot in November in Los Angeles for an unspecified song from the album, putting out an open casting call for fans to appear in the clip.

Todd said that "Confessions" is "definitely a heavier, musically, record than we've ever had, and more melodic. It's pretty intense, but everybody's gonna love it. It's quintessential BUCKCHERRY at the end of the day."

The band will join KID ROCK as special guests on his upcoming "Rebel Soul" tour, beginning February 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Former KISS and current GRAND FUNK RAILROAD guitarist has announced that he got engaged to his girlfriend, Lisa Lane, over the holidays. Bruce says: "I proposed on a London holiday on [Christmas] eve. It's been a great holiday season!"

A photo of the happy couple couple can be found at this location.

In 1984, Bruce joined KISS, where he remained as their lead guitarist for twelve years, accompanying the band on the "Animalize" tour and continuing with the band until the 1996 reunion tour. Bruce is heavily featured on "Kissology – Vol. 2" and "Vol. 3", the band's DVDs spanning their historic 35-year career.

Kulick's third solo album, "BK3", was released in Europe in January 2010 via Frontiers Records and in North America in February 2010 through Twenty 4 Records/Rocket Science Ventures. The first single from the album, "Hand Of The King", featuring Nick Simmons (son of KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons), was a digital-only release available at all online music stores, including iTunes.

After a busy year, culminating with shoots for MEGADETH, COHEED AND CAMBRIA, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, MISFITS, GWAR, ARSIS and EPICA, spreads in Alternative Press, Revolver and Outburn magazines, as well as time well spent raising over $1,500 for late SUICIDE SILENCE singer Mitch Lucker's daughter Kenadee with a legacy print series (all proceeds went to Kenadee's education fund), Jeremy Saffer can now announce the new dates for his first West Coast music photography seminar.

Set to take place February 9-10 at SoundCheck Hollywood (located at 8872 Sunset Blvd.) in West Hollywood, California, the two-day seminar and workshop will focus on portrait work with musicians and will cover the entire process — from setting up the photo shoot, scouting locations, posing, different types of lighting and lighting equipment for different situations, shooting endorsements, promotional images, CD layouts, and magazine layouts, to walking attendees through the process of what to do post-shoot, invoicing, getting repeat business, and even how to price yourself. Many other business aspects of being a professional photographer within the music industry will be discussed.

The first day will be the official seminar day, where all of the above is taught in the morning, as well as a lightroom and photoshop post processing tutorial. In the afternoon of day one, attendees will complete mock-photo shoots experimenting with different types of lighting equipment, lighting set-ups, poses, etc. Jeremy has also expanded the music photography business section even more, and will also include private portfolio critique for attendees that specifically request it.

On the second day of the seminar, attendees will experience a hands-on photo shoot of special guest bands done first by Jeremy (as a real-life example), and next by themselves! Attendees will take over and complete a real photo shoot with the band in various locations.

Hopeful attendees must act now; there are only 10 tickets available to this seminar!

On February 9 at 6 p.m., SoundCheck Hollywood will re-open to the public for a brief meet-and-greet/signing where Jeremy will be signing his copies of his book, "Bring The Noise", and will have exclusive, limited-edition prints available for purchase at a special one-time-only price.

For more information and tickets, go to this location.

CINDERELLA frontman Tom Keifer will embark on his first-ever solo tour in February. The 14-city trek will see Tom playing small, intimate rooms and offering an up-close-and-personal preview of songs from his solo debut, "The Way Life Goes", along with some CINDERELLA classics. The tour will kick off on February 9 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and will include a February 11 New York City date.

The dates are as follows:

Feb. 09 - Winston-Salem, NC - Ziggy's
Feb. 11 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
Feb. 13 - Philadelphia, PA - JC Dobbs
Feb. 15 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
Feb. 16 - Salisbury, MA - Blue Ocean
Feb. 17 - Portland, ME - Asylum
Feb. 19 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Feb. 22 - Lincolnshire, IL - Viper Alley
Feb. 23 - Lexington, KY - Busters
Feb. 24 - Detroit, MI - Magic Bag
Feb. 26 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
Feb. 27 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater
Feb. 28 - White Marsh, MD - House of Rock

Keifer has inked a deal with Jack Ponti's Merovee Records, a joint venture with David Letterman's Worldwide Pants, for the release of "The Way Life Goes". Due in early 2013, the CD will feature 14 tracks that are described by Ponti as “intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots." The lyrics will take an introspective look at the roller coaster ride that has been Keifer's life for the past 15 years. From being told that he would never sing again as a result of a partially paralyzed left vocal cord, to the emotional and personal battles that followed, his solo debut is a story of perseverance, a testament to the power of passion and will, when combined with a true love of music.

In a 2011 interview with Sweden's Metalshrine, Keifer was asked whether his solo album was going to be a whole lot different from CINDERELLA. Tom replied, "No, not really, because being the lead singer and the main songwriter and I did a lot of the guitar work in CINDERELLA, it's kind of hard to run from my sound. I had a lot of influence over those records so… I'm just doing what I do and that's hard rock inspired by blues and roots music. What I did in CINDERELLA is what I love to do and what I'm doing on my own is what I love to do. I try to be true to what I like. It's similar in that way, you know. Dynamically the records, the CINDERELLA records, and especially as they went on into 'Long Cold Winter' and 'Heartbreak Station', they had a lot of different flavors and colors and dynamics and different types of songs, which I always like because the bands that I grew up on, like, [LED] ZEPPELIN and THE [ROLLING] STONES, they really covered a lot of area musically. My solo record does that, too, and I think it makes for a more interesting record when it's not just the same song for 14 tracks."

According to TravelMole, a spokesman for the Birmingham, England airport has played down reports that it could be renamed after BLACK SABBATH frontman Ozzy Osbourne.

The record company honcho who discovered BLACK SABBATH last month called for the airport to be named after Ozzy since a suggested "Black Sabbath Day" in the city to celebrate the heavy metal legends' contribution to music apparently failed to generate enough support.

"I believe that there is a masterstroke that would instantly confound the cynics," Jim Simpson, boss of Big Bear Music, said. "Just re-name our airport! How does The Ozzy Osbourne International Airport resonate? The message that would carry is instantly international, confident, powerful, unforgettable and says, 'Hey, world, we are proud of our own. Ozzy might not always have been a paragon of virtue, but he is a genuine flesh and blood Brummie."

Council member Philip Parkin, who first brought up the idea of a "Black Sabbath Day" in a report titled "Destination Birmingham," said he was receptive to the airport renaming suggestion.

"It's an interesting idea and I've got an open mind but I think something like that would need to be consulted on fairly widely because it's a significant part of our infrastructure," he told the Birmingham Mail. "I would be interested to know what people thought about that as an idea."

He added: "I still feel in general we need to be making the most of the talent we have got and did have in this city and with something like this we have to ask people their opinion."

Birmingham airport confirmed that it would be a decision for the airport itself, with a spokesman adding: "We've no plans to rename the airport so not quite sure where the story's come from but we're certainly not in discussions."

HOTEL DIABLO — the new band featuring guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT), vocalist Rick Stitch (LADYJACK, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE), bassist Mike Duda and drummer Mike Dupke (both of W.A.S.P.) — tapped nine-time Emmy Award-winning and MTV Video Music Award-nominated director Fabio Jafet (PITBULL, ENRIQUE IGLESIAS, CHILDREN OF BODOM) to direct the video for the song "Psycho, California". A teaser for the clip, which was shot in December 2012 in Los Angeles, can be seen below.

"We are beyond excited to be working with Fabio," said Grossi. "We have all been fans of his work for a long time and feel he is the perfect director to bring 'Psycho, California' to life on screen."

Fabio edited PITBULL's "I Know You Want Me", which ended up being the No. 1 music video of 2009 on YouTube, with over a 190 million views to date, making it one of the most-watched YouTube video of all time. He is currently managing the band COYOTE THEORY.

HOTEL DIABLO's "The Return To Psycho, California" was released in September via Scarlet Records. The CD was produced by Gilby Clarke (GUNS N' ROSES, ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA), with additional production by Matt Starr (ACE FREHLEY, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES). "The Return To Psycho, California" is also available digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers.

RUSH fan site RushIsABand.com has posted the official Billboard Boxscore attendance and sales figures for all but one of the U.S. dates on the band's 2012 "Clockwork Angels" tour; only the Atlanta show numbers are still pending along with the six Canadian dates. Eight of the 28 shows reported — Manchester, Bridgeport, Newark, Buffalo, San Jose, Universal City, Dallas and Houston — were sellouts. The highest-grossing date on the tour was the September 15 show in Chicago, which grossed $1,113,292. The most-attended show was the sold-out October 26 show in Buffalo where 13,215 fans filled the First Niagara Center.

Note that the capacity figures reported do not always correspond to the actual physical capacity of the venue; it reflects the number of tickets that were made available for sale.

* Show Date: September 7
* Show Venue: Verizon Wireless Arena
* City/State: Manchester, NH
* Attendance: 8,137
* Capacity: 8,137
* Gross Ticket Sales: $608,383

* Show Date: September 9
* Show Venue: Jiffy Lube Live
* City/State: Bristow, VA
* Attendance: 10,345
* Capacity: 12,822
* Gross Ticket Sales: $757,162

* Show Date: September 11
* Show Venue: CONSOL Energy Center
* City/State: Pittsburgh, PA
* Attendance: 8,655
* Capacity: 10,268
* Gross Ticket Sales: $507,952

* Show Date: September 13
* Show Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
* City/State: Indianapolis, IN
* Attendance: 7,303
* Capacity: 10,899
* Gross Ticket Sales: $489,034

* Show Date: September 15
* Show Venue: United Center
* City/State: Chicago, IL
* Attendance: 11,307
* Capacity: 12,130
* Gross Ticket Sales: $1,113,292

* Show Date: September 18
* Show Venue: The Palace of Auburn Hills
* City/State: Auburn Hills, MI
* Attendance: 8,238
* Capacity: 13,485
* Gross Ticket Sales: $616,595

* Show Date: September 20
* Show Venue: Nationwide Arena
* City/State: Columbus, OH
* Attendance: 8,611
* Capacity: 10,204
* Gross Ticket Sales: $587,173

* Show Date: September 22
* Show Venue: Scottrade Center
* City/State: St. Louis, MO
* Attendance: 10,772
* Capacity: 10,942
* Gross Ticket Sales: $790,134

* Show Date: September 24
* Show Venue: Target Center
* City/State: Minneapolis, MN
* Attendance: 8,013
* Capacity: 10,652
* Gross Ticket Sales: $561,972

* Show Date: October 10
* Show Venue: Webster Bank Arena
* City/State: Bridgeport, CT
* Attendance: 7,339
* Capacity: 7,339
* Gross Ticket Sales: $650,355

* Show Date: October 12
* Show Venue: Wells Fargo Center
* City/State: Philadelphia, PA
* Attendance: 11,885
* Capacity: 12,810
* Gross Ticket Sales: $943,272

* Show Date: October 20
* Show Venue: Prudential Center
* City/State: Newark, NJ
* Attendance: 12,139
* Capacity: 12,139
* Gross Ticket Sales: $1,022,913

* Show Date: October 22
* Show Venue: Barclays Center
* City/State: Brooklyn, NY
* Attendance: 9,904
* Capacity: 10,815
* Gross Ticket Sales: $870,736

* Show Date: October 24
* Show Venue: TD Garden
* City/State: Boston, MA
* Attendance: 9,861
* Capacity: 10,031
* Gross Ticket Sales: $841,953

* Show Date: October 26
* Show Venue: First Niagara Center
Buffalo, NY
* Attendance: 13,215
* Capacity: 13,215
* Gross Ticket Sales: $831,239

* Show Date: October 28
* Show Venue: Quicken Loans Arena
* City/State: Cleveland, OH
* Attendance: 8,025
* Capacity: 10,383
* Gross Ticket Sales: $594,890

* Show Date: October 30
* Show Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena
* City/State: Charlotte, NC
* Attendance: 7,523
* Capacity: 10,095
* Gross Ticket Sales: $541,143

* Show Date: November 3
* Show Venue: 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
* City/State: Tampa, FL
* Attendance: 10,567
* Capacity: 11,542
* Gross Ticket Sales: $720,653

* Show Date: November 13
* Show Venue: KeyArena
* City/State: Seattle, WA
* Attendance: 9,793
* Capacity: 10,199
* Gross Ticket Sales: $823,060

* Show Date: November 15
* Show Venue: HP Pavilion
* City/State: San Jose, CA
* Attendance: 10,719
* Capacity: 10,719
* Gross Ticket Sales: $846,843

* Show Date: November 17
* Show Venue: Honda Center
* City/State: Anaheim, CA
* Attendance: 9,065
* Capacity: 10,102
* Gross Ticket Sales: $761,265

* Show Date: November 19
* Show Venue: Gibson Amphitheatre
* City/State: Universal City, CA
* Attendance: 5,981
* Capacity: 5,981
* Gross Ticket Sales: $706,342

* Show Date: November 21
* Show Venue: Vally View Casino
* City/State: San Diego, CA
* Attendance: 7,065
* Capacity: 10,101
* Gross Ticket Sales: $359,321

* Show Date: November 23
* Show Venue: MGM Grand Hotel
* City/State: Las Vegas, NV
* Attendance: 7,847
* Capacity: 10,006
* Gross Ticket Sales: $839,405

* Show Date: November 25
* Show Venue: US Airways Center
* City/State: Phoenix, AZ
* Attendance: 8,858
* Capacity: 10,121
* Gross Ticket Sales: $604,667

* Show Date: November 28
* Show Venue: American Airlines Center
* City/State: Dallas, TX
* Attendance: 10,509
* Capacity: 10,509
* Gross Ticket Sales: $764,483

* Show Date: November 30
* Show Venue: AT&T Center
* City/State: San Antonio, TX
* Attendance: 9,396
* Capacity: 10,150
* Gross Ticket Sales: $742,544

* Show Date: December 2
* Show Venue: Toyota Center
* City/State: Houston, TX
* Attendance: 11,091
* Capacity: 11,091
* Gross Ticket Sales: $904,931

RUSH captured the "Clockwork Angels" tour by filming in Phoenix and Dallas on November 25 and November 28, respectively. The shows were recorded for a DVD release in 2013.

The North American leg of the "Clockwork Angels" tour kicked off on September 7 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire and wrapped on December 2 in Houston, Texas.

In addition to adding a lot of rarely played songs to their opening set, RUSH brought a string ensemble out on tour with the band for the first time ever in its career. Orchestrations provided by well-known arranger David Campbell were used on several tracks from the band's new album, "Clockwork Angels", and RUSH recreated that sound during the tour.

"Clockwork Angels" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, selling 103,000 copies in its first week of release. The disc marked RUSH 's highest chart debut since 1993's "Counterparts", which also entered at No. 2.

"Shadow Moses", the new single from British metalcore act BRING ME THE HORIZON, will be released digitally next week. The track will be premiered this coming Friday, January 4 on BBC Radio 1's "Rock Show" with Daniel P. Carter between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. U.K. time.

"Shadow Moses" is the first single from BRING ME THE HORIZON's fourth album, "Sempiternal", which will be released later in the year via RCA. The follow-up to 2010's "There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret" was recorded in part at Angelic Studio in Banbury, Oxfordshire with producer Terry Date, who has previously worked with such acts as DEFTONES, PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN and PRONG.

"I've never been so confident about an album," BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oli Sykes told Kerrang! magazine. "It makes our last record just sound shit. We're doing stuff we could never dreamed of doing before."

BRING ME THE HORIZON performed "Shadow Moses" live for the first time when they played their only U.K. show of 2012 at the Alexandra Palace in London on November 10 as the co-headliners of the Vans Warped Tour with LOSTPROPHETS. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

"There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret" sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 17 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD also entered the official chart in the U.K. at position No. 13.

Justin Oakey — famous for his music videos for HEXVESSEL, ULVER and HOODED MENACE — will begin shooting his debut film, "The World is Burning", this spring. Mat McNerney of HEXVESSEL is currently writing exclusive music for the film, which will be released by Svart Records on seperate CD/DVD and LP/DVD sets during the autumn of 2013.

As part of the funding campaign for the short movie — going on until the end of January at Indiegogo — interested parties can purchase a limited-edition, colored vinyl version of the soundtrack, of which only 100 will be made, courtesy of Svart, for 50 CAD, including worldwide shipping. Also available to pre-order via the campaign site is the CD/DVD version, also to be released by Svart. The campaign has already gone over the 5000 CAD goal, but all extra funds are welcome and will be used to make the film sets more lavish.

"The World Is Burning" is a short narrative film set in Newfoundland, written and to be directed by Justin Oakey. The story focuses on a young man living in Toronto. After learning his grandfather was fatally attacked by coyotes, he returns to rural Newfoundland to be with his family. His return becomes a reunion with a traditional lifestyle he had left behind when, late one night, he finds himself deep in the forest hunting the coyotes.

The film primarily takes place during Newfoundland's distinct (and excessive) winter season, so you can expect snow-covered trees, icy waves crashing against the coast, and gorgeous depictions of rural life on the island.

Shooting will take place in Fortune Bay, Newfoundland as well as in St. John's, Newfoundland and Toronto, Ontario.

The story explores the disintegration of the bond between a man and his land. The main character has a strong connection to his roots and traditions, but has left them behind in order to follow what he thinks is the "conventional" path. At its heart, it is an examination of culture and identity. The story is influenced by Justin Oakey's personal life and came about when his grandfather was pursued by coyotes on his land, in a very small community on the south coast of Newfoundland.

OnTourLive.com and the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE have decided to give all their fans that purchased the band's December 29 concert in Tempe, Arizona some additional footage of their New Year's Eve show in Las Vegas. Your Tempe download, which will include the entire concert utilizing high-definition, multi-cam video and sound directly recorded from the board that fed the live mix on the night of the show, will be available the morning of Thursday, January 3. Due to the New Year's holiday, the turnaround time had to be extended, "but the wait will be worth it," says the group.

QUEENSRŸCHE recently finished recording the drums for its new album at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington with producer James "Jimbo" Barton — the man who engineered and mixed the band's classic 1988 LP, "Operation: Mindcrime", and its 1990 follow-up, "Empire", and co-produced 1994's "Promised Land". The rest of the music and vocals are being laid down over the coming weeks at several different facilities on the West Coast.

In a posting on his official Facebook page, La Torre — who is also a member of Florida melodic metallers CRIMSON GLORY — wrote last month: "People stare speechless [when we play 'Queen Of The Reich' live], because they are shocked to hear the song performed well, a song that 'broke out' this legendary pioneering band." He added, in a what appeared to be a dig at the man he replaced, Geoff Tate, "Shame on anyone to deny the music that garnished fans in the first place and still resonates 30 years later."

Asked by Rock Show Critique in a recent interview with why QUEENSRŸCHE rarely performs "Queen Of The Reich" live despite it being one of the band's most popular tunes, Tate said, "Actually, it's not very popular at all. It's funny, actually — a lot of people don't know about that song. A lot of people don't care about that song. It's an early song that was written and it shows. It's funny the reaction you get, because it's a lot of blank stares. In fact, it's the same stare you get when you play a new song that nobody's heard before. People just aren't that familiar with it. Given there are a few hardcore fans that might know that song, or like that song, and know what it is, but the majority of the people there don't. So it's not really a song that I enjoy singing, strictly because, lyrically, it's pretty adolescent. It was the first song written thirty-some-odd years ago and obviously I cannot relate to it anymore. I think, for performance, it's always best for the performer to really believe in the material they're singing or playing. If you don't believe in it, it's really difficult to get behind a song, do it well and do it at a level that comes across with any kind of believability. For me, I honestly can't relate to the whole dungeons-and-dragons lyrical content of that song; it's really cartoonish and juvenile to me."

ANTHRAX's "rock 'n' roll comeback story of 2011" began in 2009, reaching a pinnacle with last month's surprise Grammy nomination for the track "I'm Alive" in the category of "Best Rock/Metal Performance. " The surprise was that the acknowledgement came more than a year after the track's September 13, 2011 release on the band's critical smash album, "Worship Music", which was named one of the best metal albums of the year by numerous media outlets.

There were great highs — Joey Belladonna's return, the "Big Four" concerts, playing Yankee Stadium, the overwhelming acclaim of "Worship Music", the "bare-bones, guerilla" set at last summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, the band's "Got The Time" being the first metal song played on Mars — and there were challenges as well, but, ANTHRAX — Charlie Benante (drums), Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano (guitar), Frank Bello (bass) and Joey Belladonna (vocals) — redefined the joy of rooting for the underdog.

A two-and-a-half-minute video clip featuring some of what got ANTHRAX to this 2013 Grammy nomination can be seen below.

"I was watching the DAVE MATTHEWS BAND perform when I received a text saying 'Congrats on the Grammy nomination!'," said Benante. "Huh? I had lost all hope of ever being nominated for another Grammy, but I guess I was wrong. We put so much hard work into 'Worship Music', and I am so honored to be nominated with a group of bands that have also sustained the test of time like the legendary MAIDEN and MEGADETH. Heavy metal is a force, it has fans that range from six to 66, and I'm so proud to be a part of this force...it's in all of us."

ANTHRAX recently spent time in the studio recording several cover versions of some of their favorite rock classics, to be included with the upcoming re-release of "Worship Music".

In addition to RUSH ("Anthem") and BOSTON ("Smokin'") covers, ANTHRAX is also recording its versions of AC/DC's "T.N.T.", JOURNEY's "Keep On Runnin'" and BLACK SABBATH's "Neon Knights". The latter song is expected to appear on the upcoming Ronnie James Dio tribute album which is being assembled by the singer's widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio.

"Worship Music" has sold more than 100,000 copies in the U.S. since its September 2011 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has slammed NME.com for allegedly "twisting" his words "into an attack" on the band's lead singer, Axl Rose.

In a recent interview with Ryze-Up magazine, Thal was asked what advice he would give to newbies in the music scene. "1. Be on time," he replied. "By 'on time' I mean 'be early.' Make sure you're there for when you need to be — wait in your car, communicate, let them know 10 minutes early that you'll be there in 5 minutes, and walk in 5 minutes later. 2. Be prepared. By 'prepared' I mean 'overly prepared.' Know more than you need to. If you're gonna lay guitar parts, know the drum grooves and where all the accents and up-beats and fills and breaks are, know the bass lines... When the bassist doesn't show and they freak out and you say, 'I know the bass part. I can lay it down,' you'll be the MVP 3. Be cool. And by that I mean, be a calm, relaxed, easy-going, soothing presence in the room. When everyone is contagiously breaking into panic and stress mode, you'll be their voice of reason without even trying. Players can be replaced — people are chosen by who others want to spend their time with."

Earlier today, NME.com reported on the above-mentioned interview and erroneously included a comment that was posted on Metal Hammer's web site — "Remember kids, only massive goobers make a habit of not being on time." — as part of Bumblefoot's response. This prompted the guitarist to pen the following missive via his Facebook page:

"Some 'info' sites will twist anything into an attack on Axl, lol (only way to get more readers and hike up rates on advertisers I guess...) NME is *not* a legit source of music info by any stretch. Not only do they make up quotes that aren't true (I've NEVER used the term 'massive goobers' in my life, lol), I also didn't speak to Metal Hammer. NME is using a piece of an interview I did with Ryze-Up magazine. If NME is going to point fingers, they should have more integrity and class in what *they* do, yes?"

He added: "I'm at the venue early, I'll have dinner with crew, watch opening acts, get warmed up, I'm at every meet-n-greet, and I'm ready to get on stage at show time. That's me. My advice was for musicians starting out, hopefully it served its positive purpose :)"

A teaser for "Soldierhead", the first video from NEWSTED, the new band led by former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted, can be seen below. The clip was filmed on December 15 in an abandoned factory in California.

In a recent interview with Sonic Excess, Newsted stated about the video shoot: "It's just a simple thing, and I just wanted to capture the band. There is no heavy concept, no literal thing about bullets chasing your head or any of those things. It's old-school metal and most likely will be black and white. It was shot in an old factory. It was a gnarly, dusty, old factory and it had energy. That is what I will describe it as. I haven't got to play to the camera like that for a long time, and I was really going for it. The soldier version is something everyone will have. An HD version will be available on iTunes, but I want everyone to have it for free across the world. I want it to be the tip of the spear for everybody to see and hear what exactly it's all about."

"Soldierhead" was premiered on the December 17 edition of the "Eddie Trunk Live" show on SiriusXM satellite radio. The song comes off NEWSTED's four-song EP, entitled "Metal", which will be released exclusively via iTunes on January 8.

"Metal" will contain the following tracks:

* Soldierhead
* Godsnake
* King Of The Underdogs
* Skyscraper

By purchasing all four songs, you will receive a copy of Jason's handwritten lyrics.

NEWSTED is:

Jason Newsted - Bass, Lead Vocals
Jesus Mendez Jr. (THE NAPOLEON BLOWNAPARTS) - Drums
Jessie Farnsworth - Guitar, Backing Voice

Newsted and his bandmates will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, January 14 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with Jason by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). The show will be streamed on the "Rockline" web site for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.

For more information, visit RocklineRadio.com.

In the Sonic Excess interview, Newsted stated about his new band: "NEWSTED is the project that's happening now, I would like to see it grow, get somewhere, of course, and be able to share it with everyone who wants to share it with me. It has been a lot of years coming. It's ready for me, and I'm finally ready for it. I never thought I was going to put my name on a project; I've always come up with cool enough band names. We did it with this, and I'm very proud of it. Things are lining up very well, and I'm hoping to take it out to the people live [this] year."

On the topic of what the spark was that got NEWSTED ignited, Jason said: "We always play a lot of improv music. We have though the years, and we just keep it going in the Chophouse Studio [Newsted's home studio in Walnut Creek, California] and play with a lot of different cats through time. What really happened was about a year and a week ago, with the METALLICA 30th-anniversary shows, where we played The Fillmore in San Francisco. Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] had called me in October of last year and said, 'Do you want to jam?' I said 'What time do you want me there?' I haven't seen them in a long time, and I hadn't seen them since the [Rock And Roll] Hall Of Fame thing anyway. He said, 'What songs do you want to play?' and I said, 'You pick the fastest one dude.' We took the 14 fastest ones. I rocked a few each night, and we had a good time. What came from it was the realization of the energy of the fans. There were probably 30-35 countries represented on the floor that week. The energy I got back, and the appreciation, the real, true fan-dom, and being able to look into people's eyes made me think it could happen again. Maybe, I could bring it out on my own and sing, play bass, play guitar, and do my own stuff. Make it fast and make it ugly, like old METALLICA, like 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Ride The Lightning' records, and the old FLOTSAM AND JETSAM records, make real, old-school metal. One year later, I have 11 songs total, and we are doing it in batches. The first batch is in four."

Jason also spoke about the other members of NEWSTED. He said: " Jesus Mendez, Jr. is the drummer. I have been playing with him for about 10 years, and we have known each other for longer than that. He was a California roadie guy for METALLICA and worked at headquarters for some years. Then, he was the drum tech on the ECHOBRAIN tour, so we have been friends for a while. We have played a lot of hours, for a lot of years. He comes from like Vinny Appice, DIO, MOTÖRHEAD, AC/DC, but way down with double bass. He is a very serious, hard-working player. Our secret weapon is Jessie Farnsworth; he is a little bit younger than us. He is 32 and he is from the East, from Connecticut. He has been out here for a while, and I have been playing with him for about four years. We swap back and forth with bass and guitar. I choose people who have not quite risen in their own bands. I didn't want people who were jaded or had ugly baggage come into this band, and I didn't want to make it a supergroup. I wanted real friends that I get along with, and I wanted to play real true music."

Hollywood, California-based act SYNICAL, which features in its ranks record producer Brian Haught (L7) and notorious musician Eric Griffin (former member of MURDERDOLLS, WEDNESDAY 13, GENITORTURERS and current member of DAVEY SUICIDE), has just released its debut album, "Quit While You're Behind", via the French label Deadlight Entertainment. The CD features guest appearances by Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, ex-SOULFLY), Alex Carapetis (NINE INCH NAILS, JULIAN CASABLANCAS) and Racci Shay (MURDERDOLLS).

SYNICAL was formed by Brian Haught in 1989 as a solo project in Atlanta, Georgia. Its initial sound was created using state-of-the-art electronics with limited rock-based instruments and eventually began to evolve into something much more original.

Swedish melodic rockers COVERED CALL have tapped producer/engineer Lars Chriss (LION’S SHARE) to mix their brand new studio album, tentatively due in early 2013 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

The band's sophomore CD, "Impact", will mark the recording debut of COVERED CALL's new singer, Göran Edman (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOHN NORUM, MADISON), and bass player, Andy Loos (LION’S SHARE, GLORY).

"To hear Göran belt out the vocals made me shiver," says COVERED CALL founding member and drummer Ronny Svanströmer. "It was exactly what I pictured the songs like."

COVERED CALL's North American debut, "Money Never Sleeps", was released in January 2009 (end of March 2009 in Europe) via Blistering Records. The CD was recorded and mixed at Studio Fredman by Fredrik Nordström (IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL, DIMMU BORGIR) and Henrik Udd.

Dutch female-fronted thrashers IZEGRIM have issued the following update:

"Our alliance with Listenable Records proved to be so fruitfull that we will release a second album on this excellent label.

"As we are firm believers in 'never break a winning team,' we will record the new CD at the Soundlodge Studio Germany.

"Recordings will start late April. Release date has been set for September 2013."

IZEGRIM's latest album, "Code Of Consequences", came out in 2011 via Listenable.

Immediately after the release of the band's 2009 EP, "Point Of No Return", IZEGRIM started writing/composing material for its new CD. Their mission was to create the most versitale, riff-packed, in-your-face-sounding record in the history of IZEGRIM. After more than a year of working as hard as they ever did, they've accomplished their objectives. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken (Soundlodge Studio), this record has become exactly the way they wanted it to be.

IZEGRIM is:

Jeroen Wechgelaer - Guitar
Marloes Voskuil - Bass/Vocals
Bart Van Ginkel - Guitar
Ivo Maarhuis - Drums

Magna Carta has set a February 12 release date for the self-titled debut album from PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN.

It's often been said that three-piece bands are the most expressive and most balanced musical units known to the rock world. CREAM, THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE, RUSH, THE POLICE, PRIMUS… These legendary acts struck upon the correct ratio of musicianship and progressive songwriting by exploring uncharted musical territories while highlighting the individual talents within their collective ranks.

Now Magna Carta Records unveils PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN, a visionary power trio (emphasis on power) and a supergroup to boot, which is sure to take its rightful place in rock's hallowed halls.

Composed of bassist/vocalist Doug "dUg" Pinnick of the progressive metal band KING'S X, southpaw blues-rock guitarist Eric Gales (LAURYN HILL) and ambitious ambidextrous drummer and former THE MARS VOLTA member Thomas Pridgen, PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN unites three versatile artists, who demand, as much as share, the musical spotlight.

On the band's debut, each member of PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN infuses the material with his own set of musical influences, transforming his individual instrument into a lead instrument. The absolutely slamming musicianship frames the recognizable melodies of these songs and catapults the music into the realms of psychedelic blues, hard rock, and progressive soul/R&B.

"This record is three guys, with music in us, who said, 'Let's go for it,'" says Pinnick. "It was built upon raw energy."

Produced by Mike Varney, PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN's debut contains all the stinging bite and all-out sonic boom of KING'S X, THE MARS VOLTA and the ERIC GALES BAND. In addition, fans of artists as far ranging as Jimi Hendrix, CREAM, LIVING COLOUR, Stevie Ray Vaughan, TOOL, THE WHO, Stevie Wonder and LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT might find something meaningful in these meaty, extended tracks.

PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN show some of their influences with their brilliant version of seminal power trio CREAM's "Sunshine Of Your Love". Pinnick says, "Our version has a different vibe: it's tuned down, real low."

"I think the record has a combination of all of the good things about our playing," says Pridgen.

"This is just colossal," Gales concludes. "This is just some slammin' [stuff]. When you put a project out like this, man, people will want to hear that [material] live. I know I would."

PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN is:

* Doug "dUg" Pinnick (KING'S X) - Bass and Vocals
* Eric Gales (ERIC GALES BAND, LAURYN HILL) - Guitar and Vocals
* Thomas Pridgen (THE MARS VOLTA) – Drums

Check out audio samples at this location.

California thrash metal veterans SLAYER became the first metal band other than METALLICA to make it into the Dutch Top 2000, the annual countdown which is broadcast every year between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Dutch metalheads united and contributed heavily to the poll, which was based on a public vote, with "Angel Of Death" managing to make it to the No. 199 spot.

The past Monday (December 31), the countdown was aired was live on national radio and TV and video footage was captured of of the DJs headbanging and "slamming" in the studio while the SLAYER track was being played. Check out the clip below.

"Angel Of Death" is the opeing track on "Reign In Blood", the third studio album and the major label debut by SLAYER.

"Reign In Blood" was released on October 7, 1986 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's first collaboration with record producer Rick Rubin, whose input helped the band's sound evolve. Kerrang! magazine described the record as "the heaviest album of all time," and a breakthrough in thrash metal and speed metal.

"Reign In Blood"'s release was delayed because of concerns regarding its graphic artwork and lyrical subject matter. "Angel Of Death", which refers to Josef Mengele and describes acts such as human experimentation that Mengele committed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, provoked allegations of Nazism. However, the bandmembers stated numerous times they do not condone Nazism, and are merely interested in the subject.

On the topic the controversy surrounding "Reign In Blood"'s lyrical content, SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman said, "'Angel Of Death' was a big problem. I remember getting a phone call after the album was done: Sony wasn't going to release it. I remember being at home, pissed, throwing things. What the fuck? I didn't think anything was wrong with 'Angel Of Death' or anything else we did, it's a documentary! There's no 'Heil Hitler' or 'white people rule,' it's a documentary; grow up, people. It took months before they picked it up again. Finally, we got signed by a distributor."

"Reign In Blood" was SLAYER's first album to enter The Billboard 200 chart (at No. 94). The LP was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) on November 20, 1992 for sales in excess of 500,000 copies.

(Thanks: Martin a.k.a. Kens)

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with vocalist J. Costa of Rhode Island's THY WILL BE DONE after the band's December 16 performance at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York. You can now watch the chat below.

THY WILL BE DONE's new EP, "Temple", was produced and engineered by the band, mixed by acclaimed metal producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z and is the inaugural release on the band's own Eye.On Lion Recordings with INgrooves Fontana handling worldwide distribution.

Eye.On Lion Recordings is a DIY-style record label designed to release new music, merchandise, as well as other media from THY WILL BE DONE. The first single, "You, The Apathy Divine", was officially released through iTunes on June 26, 2012 following the band's performance at the Orion Music + More festival, for which they were hand-picked by the festival curators METALLICA.

"Temple" is THY WILL BE DONE's third release following 2009's "In Ancient Of Days" and the 2007 debut, "Was And Is To Come". The "Temple" EP shows the band expanding on their sound that both peers and press have already described as defying metal sub-genres.

On deciding to pave their way and start their own label, J Costa commented, "As a band, we've always wanted to preserve our expressions as well as the way they reach the listener. It's important for us to have a fan feel, see, and hear the finished piece as closely to the creative source of energy as possible. Eye.On Lion is a way for us to offer our artistic creations to those who choose to support us and by proxy, excludes a lot of 'middle-people'."

He added, "Growing up, I've always thought about having my own label and could identify with labels like Dischord that seemed to be doing things from a passionate perspective. I also found it inspiring seeing artists like Jack White and Mike Patton, amongst others, as well as bands like NEUROSIS, TOOL, and CLUTCH, whom have decided to blaze their own trail in this ever-changing industry. Having worked with Jamey Jasta and his Stillborn label for our first two releases, I was inspired even more to want to maintain the DIY ethos I've always had and start this label. Jamey's belief in us got us started on this journey. Not only do we consider him family, but also an inspiration to us."

Alia Lorae conducted an interview with guitarist Mike Martin of Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS prior to their December 14 concert at the Roseladn Ballroom in New York City with DETHKLOK and MACHINE HEAD. You can now watch the chat below.

ALL THAT REMAINS' "Stand Up" video was directed by P.R. Brown (SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, MARILYN MANSON), who also collaborated with the band on their recent album packaging and photos. The clip was filmed on location in New Hampshire.

"Stand Up" comes off ALL THAT REMAINS' seventh album, "A War You Cannot Win", which sold 25,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"A War You Cannot Win" sees ALL THAT REMAINS reunited with longtime producer Adam Dutkiewicz (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, AS I LAY DYING, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE). The record is the culmination of an intense writing period for the group that began shortly after their 18-month tour in support of "For We Are Many".

New York death metal veterans SUFFOCATION will film a video for a track off their upcoming album, "Pinnacle Of Bedlam", this coming Saturday, January 5 at 4 p.m. at Duff's Brooklyn in in Williamsburg, New York.

Says the band: "This is a video shoot, not a live show. It's free! [You've] gotta be at least 18 or older, but we prefer that you look old enough to be in a bar."

The address is:

Duff's Brooklyn
168 Marcy Avenue (between S 5th & Broadway)
Williamsburg, New York

For more information, visit www.duffsbrooklyn.com.

A two-minute trailer for "Pinnacle Of Bedlam" can be seen below. The CD will be released on February 15, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork was handled this time around by Raymond Swanland and can be found below.

Commented SUFFOCATION bassist Derek Boyer: "This artwork is a perfect portrayal of our music. The cover depicts lyrical content like 'scales tip in degradation' and 'hooded messenger of death is now set forth, punishment for all.' Raymond is an absolute BEAST of an artist!"

Added SUFFOCATION guitarist Guy Marchais: "The artwork for 'Pinnacle' brings another element to an already brutal album. Raymond knew exactly what we were looking for and delivered!"

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" was produced by the band at Full Force Studios in New York with longtime collaborator Joe Cincotta. The mixing and mastering of the effort was handled by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, ARSIS, SUICIDE SILENCE).

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" features 10 genre-defining-bone-crushing tracks and also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who previously played on the "Despise The Sun" EP. Founding member and former drummer Mike Smith also makes a special guest appearance on the re-recorded "Breeding The Spawn" track "Beginning Of Sorrow".

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" track listing:

01. Cycles Of Suffering
02. Purgatorial Punishment
03. Eminent Wrath
04. As Grace Descends
05. Sullen Days
06. Pinnacle Of Bedlam
07. My Demise
08. Inversion
09. Rapture Of Revocation
10. Beginning Of Sorrow

Stated guitarist Terrance Hobbs: "The meaning of the album title 'Pinnacle Of Bedlam', is the tipping point or most elevated moment as we approach the chaotic climax of this existence. The cosmic scale teeters and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

"People should expect nothing less than sheer brutality, as we perform together with this incredible lineup! We feel this CD will be the best SUFFOCATION album ever to have been released and are confident the fans will love it."

"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" trailer:



"As Grace Descends" lyric video:

German black metallers NEBELKRÄHE have inked a deal with Mighty Music.

Three years after the release of its debut album, NEBELKRÄHE has completed work on the follow-up, "Lebensweisen", to be made available on February 18.

NEBELKRÄHE was founded as a traditional death/black metal band in early 2007 in Munich. Not long after this, the style of the band changed in to a slightly progressive yet melancholic black metal, and in early 2008 umbrA (ATRORUM) joined the band, thus completing the lineup. NEBELKRÄHE released its debut CD, "entfremdet", in June 2009 and is now ready with its second full-length album, "Lebensweisen". The CD was mixed and mastered by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios (IMPERIUM DEKADENZ, NECROPHAGIST, UNLIGHT). The aim of his work was to give the material a contemporary sound, yet maintain the charm of a "natural“ black metal production, as well as combine tradition and a modern feel in the sound.

According to a press release, "Lebensweisen" offers a versatile and highly individual combination of traditional black metal elements and a plethora of influences from other genres, that makes the sound progressive and vintage at the same time, and clearly aimed at fans from both ends of the genre. Markus Stock (EMPYRIUM, THE VISION BLEAK, NOEKK) calls it "a very original album that can hardly be compared to others."

Charly Steinhauer, guitarist/vocalist of long-running German metallers PARADOX, underwent open-heart surgery on December 27. His bandmates state: "We've been in the hospital to visit Charly and he's getting better. He wants to thank you all for the good wishes and the love and support you showed him in the last few days! That really does mean a lot to him.

"We shall tell you: PARADOX will never die! As long as it's possible for him, he will write new stuff, and if possible, we will return on stage!

"All planed shows for the next half year had been canceled, but if Charly's health condition allows it, we want to be back on stage in August at Queens Of Metal Open Air!"

The official lyric video for the song "Brutalized" from PARADOX can be seen below. The track comes off the band's new album, "Tales Of The Weird", which was released on December 14 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Steinhauer and was mixed and mastered by Victor Bullok (a.k.a. V. Santura; TRIPTYKON, DARK FORTRESS) at Woodshed Studio in Landshut, Germany. The cover art was created by Claudio Bergamin.

"Tales Of The Weird" features guest appearances by Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND) and Gus Drax (SUNBURST).

The new PARADOX lineup is as follows:

Charly Steinhauer (vocals, guitar)
Christian Muenzner (guitar)
Olly Keller (bass)
Daniel "Evil Ewald" Buld (drums)

"Brutalized" lyric video: