Texas black metal squad BAHIMIRON is hard at work on its second album, tentatively titled "Southern Nihilism". A late 2007/early 2008 release via Moribund Records is expected.

Commented drummer Blaash: "96 hours of alcoholocaust, practice, bloodshed and recording in Houston have yielded the final completion of drums for between 10-11 songs — not sure if we're going to use them all. Recording of guitars has started, as well — will be going back at the end of July to start recording bass. Vocals will proceed at my singer's discretion, though I don't think he will start until end of July or early August, due to the fact he has to move in mid-July, which ain't fun in Houston."

Long-running Finnish black metallers AZAGHAL have inked a deal with Moribund Records. The band is currently working on the follow-up to 2006's "Luciferin Valo", tentatively due later this year.

Commented founding guitarist Narqath: "The new album will be a step to a more aggressive and brutal direction from 'Luciferin Valo'. The new album will be called 'Omega', and the recordings are in progress at the moment. Artwork will be handled again by Eelco Duppen, who also did the cover for 'Luciferin Valo'."

VICIOUS ART, the Swedish death/thrash metal band featuring former DARK FUNERAL members Matias Mäkelä and Robert Lundin, along with Jörgen Sandström (THE PROJECT HATE, ex-ENTOMBED, GRAVE) on bass, has set "Pick Up This Sick Child" as the title of its second full-length album, tentatively due in October/November 2007 via Mighty Music. The CD was recorded at Offbeat studios in Jakobsberg, Sweden and was mastered in Denmark by Jacob Hansen. The album artwork is being created by Kristian Karlberg.

"Pick Up This Sick Child" track listing:

01. Tombstone Grind
02. The Paulina Paw Paintings
03. Our Family Flesh
04. Murderer
05. We're Both Into Killing Me
06. Chewing Gunpowder
07. Evicting Dead Tenants
08. Dancing Münchausen
09. And Bent Down For Years
10. Chain Hooks Falling
11. The Topmost Violent God

Three video clips of VICIOUS ART performing at club Satin in Örebro, Sweden on March 17, 2007 have been posted online at YouTube.

VICIOUS ART's debut album, "Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters", was released in October 2004 through Threeman Recordings in Europe (Candlelight Records in the U.S.).

VICIOUS ART is:

Jocke Widfeldt (DOMINION CALIGULA) - Vocals
Matti Mäkelä (DARK FUNERAL) - Guitar
Tobbe Sillman (GUIDANCE OF SIN) - Guitar
Jörgen Sandström (ENTOMBED, GRAVE, KRUX, THE PROJECT HATE) - Bass and Vocals
Robert Lundin (DARK FUNERAL) - Drums

WSOU's interview with WITHIN TEMPTATION frontwoman Sharon den Adel, which originally aired on the South Orange, NJ radio station on Friday, July 6, will be rebroadcast this Wednesday, July 11 between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. during the "No Man's Land" show, which features female artists. NYC/Northern NJ listeners can tune in at 89.5 on their FM dial. Everyone else can listen online at www.wsou.net.

WITHIN TEMPTATION recently released the first U.S. single from its "The Heart of Everything" CD (due on July 24 via Roadrunner). "What Have You Done" features LIFE OF AGONY's Keith Caputo, as does the song's video (available here).

Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH have issued the following update:

"We are in the planning stages of an UNEARTH DVD. If anyone has any footage of you or anyone hanging out with us backstage, sidestage, in town, etc. please send us an email. We are trying to make a comprehensive DVD, and since we have a good amount of live footage, we'd like to have some of the more intimate clips of you hanging wtih us. Please send pictures too! We've set up an email account: UnearthDVD@gmail.com. Please send YouTube-type clips if that is possible. We would like to check them out and if we use them, reward you in some way with merch, tickets, etc."

UNEARTH will be joined on its upcoming Australian tour by legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DEATH, DARK ANGEL, TESTAMENT), who previously played with the band on their most recent U.S. tour with DIMMU BORGIR, DEVILDRIVER and KATAKLYSM. UNEARTH has not yet announced a permanent replacement for Mike Justian, who was let go by the group in May.

UNEARTH's latest album, "III: In the Eyes of Fire", was released last August via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at a Seattle studio with producer Terry Date (PANTERA, DEFTONES). A limited-edition version of "III: In the Eyes of Fire" includes a bonus DVD containing the "making of" footage for the album and a live video filmed on the Sounds of The Underground tour.

Daytona Beach, Florida's THE AUTUMN OFFERING has issued the following update

"We are in Audiohammer Studios [in Orlando, Florida] with Jason Suecof [CHIMAIRA, TRIVIUM, BURY YOUR DEAD, DEVILDRIVER] doing some pre-production for our new album. Shit is off the hook... Wait 'til you hear it. We'll be here for the next month or so. New album due in October, then we hit the fucking road! Hope to see all of you there..."

THE AUTUMN OFFERING recently announced the addition of HELL WITHIN's Matt McChesney as the group's new lead singer.

THE AUTUMN OFFERING's sophomore CD, "Embrace the Gutter", was released in May 2006 via Victory. The CD was recorded at AudioHammer with Jason Suecof.

More video footage of the reunited RATT's July 3, 2007 performance in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has been posted at Stephen-Pearcy.com (Windows Media).

As previously reported, other video clips from RATT's current U.S. tour with POISON have been posted at YouTube:

June 26, 2007 at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut:

"Slip of the Lip": Video
"Round and Round": Video

June 30, 2007 at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts:

"Round and Round": Video
"You're in Love": Video

A clip of RATT's performance of "Back for More" on June 13, 2007 at the Bi Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina is available at this location.

RATT will return to stores with new DVD and CD releases on July 31: the first-ever DVD release from the band, "Ratt: Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years", and the audio collection "Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt", which features the hard rockers at their studio and live performance peak and includes an unreleased track.

Both of RATT's previously released video collections will be combined and expanded for the DVD release "Ratt: Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years". Featuring singer Stephen Pearcy, guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer, RATT released four consecutive platinum records in the mid-'80s. In addition to compiling some of RATT's most popular videos — "Round And Round", "Lovin' You's A Dirty Job" and "Lay It Down" — the DVD also contains several bonus features, including highlights from the band's triumphant tour of Japan, exclusive new commentary and never before released videos.

The CD "Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt" features standout songs from all seven of the group's albums, including such classics as "Wanted Man", "Back For More", and "Round And Round" from the band's triple platinum-selling Atlantic debut "Out Of The Cellar". "Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt" will also include an unreleased song from the "Reach For The Sky" sessions in addition to tracks from the Sony Portrait release "Ratt" and the independently released "Collage".

For more information, click here.

Atlanta, Georgia's "epic psych-doom metal" band ZOROASTER will release its full-length debut, "Dog Magic", on September 11 via Battle Kommand Records. Picking up where it left off with its self-titled EP last year on Battle Kommand, ZOROASTER returns with "a devastating album that truly showcases the band's massive progression over the last two years," according to a press release. "Moog synths, theremins, haunting vocal choirs and even a brass section (!!) are brought to the table this time to add to the massive heaviness that protrudes from all angles of this beast-of-a-band's sound."

ZOROASTER will take on the United States again this summer with CHRISTINE and again this fall, and will hopefully reach European shores in early 2008.

For more information, visit www.thezoroaster.com.

At last weekend's (July 6-7) Magic Circle Festival in Bad Arolsen, Germany, bassist Joey DeMaio of MANOWAR — who organized the event — reportedly announced that the festival will be held annually from now on. On the first day of next year's gathering, MANOWAR will sign as much stuff as they can and will give away "thousands" of free beers and copies of their new single as well as four custom-built chopper bikes, each belonging to one of the bandmembers. On top of that, MANOWAR will apparently play their first six albums in their entirety, from "Battle Hymns" to "Kings of Metal".

In addition to different sets by MANOWAR on each day, this year's Magic Circle Festival featured performances by GAMMA RAY, MAJESTY, HOLYHELL, MOB RULES, STORMWARRIOR, MESSIAH'S KISS, DAVID SHANKLE GROUP, LION'S SHARE, HEAVENLY, IMPERIA and SAIDIAN.

(Thanks: Max / longdistancerunner)

Deb Rao of Glam-Metal.com recently conducted an interview with RATT frontman Stephen Pearcy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Glam-Metal.com: How do you feel the tour [with POISON] is going so far?

Pearcy: It is going fine. We just had to get our life back, which we did. We are keeping the set list interesting. We are changing songs here and there. We are having a good time. POISON and us go way back. It is way cool.

Glam-Metal.com: How does it feel back to be touring with POISON again? I know your first full-blown tour with POISON was in 1986. Then you did the 1999 POISON tour.

Pearcy: Well, good, you know. I have always been on the road. To me, playing to 1,000 people, 10,000 people are all the same. We went on the road with POISON in 1999, I believe. It wasn't executed properly. This is a better timing. We got the new CD and DVD coming out, "Tell the World: The Very Best of Ratt", at the end of the month on Rhino Records. It should be very cool. The CD is a "best-of," and songs that we actually wanted to put on there. The DVD features videos at the time that we weren't able to present back then and they went platinum and gold. So we are excited about just getting them out and letting people seeing all of them at all at once.

Glam-Metal.com: One of the things I noticed at your concert the other night is that the RATT songs are really timeless. It felt so good to hear them being played live again. Everybody was on there feet from "Lay it Down" to your last song, "Round and Round". Why do you think RATT music has remained so popular and garnering a whole generation of RATT fans?

Pearcy: Well, we never claimed or wanted to be press darlings. From day one, we always just wanted to do our own kind of music which we called "ratt and roll." Nothing has changed. You learn a lot more. We are survivors. We have as many original members involved. There is a certain element. To have this style of music or whatever they label it hair bands, it was just that era that was timeless. That will never happen again. It will never go down again. To be part of it and have the success that we did and continue. It is new again. It is all good. Whatever defends the faith, you know?!

Glam-Metal.com: Who initiated the RATT reunion? I know we talked prior to the debut of the RATT VH1 "Behind the Music" and possible a RATT reunion in 2005. It is so great that it is finally happening.

Pearcy: Well, we wish that Juan [Croucier, bass] had been a part of it. But it didn't happen. It is a way of life. It is a full commitment. We are already working on some new music. Again, we will see what that gets us at the end of this tour.

Glam-Metal.com: Well, I know you have the mobile recording studio out. How is the songwriting going?

Pearcy: Yes, we have a studio out here digital. It is real cool. We are already working on stuff. We will continue to work on music, until the end of the tour. Hopefully, we will have a big bag of RATT songs.

Glam-Metal.com: Will RATT remain on the road after the POISON tour wraps up in September?

Pearcy: Yes, we have a lot of ground to cover. We have some international stuff, and finish up some stuff in the States. As I say, we are trying to get a record going. That is the plan and we will see where it will take us. We got a lot of things to do. It is a whole new breed of RATT. This time, we are having a real patience with things.

Read the entire interview at Glam-Metal.com.

Goodfellow Records has announced the signing of THE FUCKING WRATH. The band has just completed work on its Goodfellow debut, "Season of Evil", for an August release. An extensive tour will follow.

According to a press release, THE FUCKING WRATH hosts members from bands such as MISSING 23RD and OX VS. THUNDERBIRD but sounds like "an amalgamation of groups such as TRAGEDY, BLACK SABBATH, and 'Kill 'em All'-era METALLICA."

Hailing from Montalvo, California, THE FUCKING WRATH consists of three longtime friends that all work in record stores and live on the same street. While the members have each been playing in bands for more than ten years, THE FUCKING WRATH formed a year-and-a-half ago as a result of jamming for fun after work.

Since their initial gig in November of 2005, THE FUCKING WRATH has played nearly 70 shows to date, including the No Idea Fest IV in Florida. The band recently completed a five-and-a-half week U.S. tour with GLASS AND ASHES and is set to embark on another nationwide tour with OX VS. THUNDERBIRD in the summer of 2007. Some of the notable bands that they have played with include TRAGEDY, COLISEUM, PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS, DAS OATH, ADOLESCENTS, and DR. KNOW.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thefuckingwrath.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH — the Los Angeles-based band featuring ex-W.A.S.P. guitarist Darrell Roberts, former MOTOGRATER vocalist Ivan Moody (Ghost), ex-U.P.O. guitarist Zoltan Bathory, former DEADSETT bassist Matt Snell, and drummer Jeremy Spencer — has just released a three-song EP via iTunes. The EP features both studio and acoustic versions of the group's first single, "The Bleeding", as well as a live recording of the track "The Devil's Own".

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH shot a video in Los Angeles for "The Bleeding" with director Bradley Scott, known for his work with THE COMAS, MIDNIGHT MOVIES and RINGSIDE. The clip deals with a familiar subject for many of us — unhealthy relationships. Bathory says of the impetus for the clip, "We're getting a lot of fan mail about how this song is helping people through these relationships, where there's nothing left but the thorns, not the roses. A huge number of people living their lives in these emotional prisons… I should say emotional crack houses… hitting that 'pipe of pain. We actually shot a 'mini movie.'" Also appearing in the video is prolific actress Danielle Harris — star of the upcoming remake of the horror classic "Halloween", directed by Rob Zombie. Her gritty performance brings the drama to new heights in the clip.

To top off this week of work, the band will have a Friday, July 13 "wreckerd release" party at Los Angeles' famous Roxy. To celebrate, all fans in attendance will be eligible to win a guitar signed by the FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH boys themselves. The group will meet fans and VIPs alike after the show.

An interview with Moody and some behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the "The Bleeding" clip can be viewed at this location.

An e-card for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut opus, "The Way of the Fist", can be accessed at this location. Due on July 31 via Firm Music, a branch of the highly successful entertainment talent management company The Firm, the CD was recorded at Next Level Studios with Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno (PRONG, MÖTLEY CRÜE) and at Complex Studios with Mikey Sarkisyan (SPINESHANK). Mixing and mastering duties were handled by Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY).

As previously reported, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has been confirmed for the second stage at this year's Family Values tour. Headlining the tour will be KORN, with additional appearances by EVANESCENCE, HELLYEAH, TRIVIUM, ATREYU and FLYLEAF.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH describes its music as "true metal... undiluted, raw as metal was always meant to be. In fact, for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH it was important that everyone involved at any stage of this recording was a diehard metalhead."

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/ffdp.

France's Radio Metal has posted an audio interview with TYPE O NEGATIVE keyboardist Josh Silver, conducted at this year's Hellfest, which took place late last month in Clisson, France. Listen to it at this location (look for the audio player to the right of the "Dead Again" album cover).

Professionally filmed footage of TYPE O NEGATIVE's performance at the Rock am Ring festival on Saturday, June 2 in Nürburgring, Germany has been posted at YouTube:

Peter Steele interview: Video
"We Hate Everyone": Video
"Profits of Doom": Video
"Christian Woman": Video

TYPE O NEGATIVE's video for the song "Profit of Doom" has been posted online at YouTube. The track comes off TYPE O NEGATIVE's latest album, "Dead Again", which entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 18. The CD sold just over 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Mexican doom rockers MALIGNO and Austin, Texas' own sludge doomsters MALA SUERTE will team up for the first Tex-Mex doom night on Friday, July 20 at the Cafe Iguana in Monterrey, Mexico. This is the first date in a soon-to-be-scheduled series of shows that will run through Texas and Mexico. Also on the bill is AVATAR.

MALIGNO was the support act on the Mexican leg of the GUNS N' ROSES 2007 world tour and also took part in the Mägo de Oz fest with MÄGO DE OZ, U.D.O., WARCRY and CAGE.

MALIGNO's self-titled debut album was released last year through Asenath Records. The band is currently working on its first video.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/malignodoom.

Toronto-based thrashers RAMMER posted a track from their forthcoming "Siege of Madness" album, entitled "Obliteration: WWIV", on their MySpace page. According to the band, track is "just a taste of the wild mayhem and sheer brain pulverizing thrash anthems coming your way."

In other news, the group has issued the following update: "We were also back in the studio recently to record three additional songs. Firstly, 'Rust and Paranoia' from the 'Cancer' album got a reworking and a maniacal speed boost to finally do it justice. 'Death Stirs' is a new song to be revealed on our forthcoming split 7" with Philippines' KORIHOR. And finally, we recorded a cover version of LAAZ ROCKIT's infamous tune 'Leatherface', and this version is a prime example of RAMMER at our utmost devastating! All these songs are slated to come out soon on various releases, so stay hungry and keep watch!"

RAMMER dates with COLISEUM and BURIED INSIDE:

July 13 - Hamilton, ON - The Underground
July 14 - Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee's
July 15 - Kingston, ON - Time To Laugh Club

RAMMER plays a distinctly twisting, musical mutation of heavy and destructive thrash reminiscent of a wide variety of heavy music such as VIO-LENCE, KREATOR, REPULSION and ARTILLERY.

France's Radio Metal has posted an audio interview with MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel, conducted at this year's Hellfest, which took place late last month in Clisson, France. Listen to it at this location (look for the audio player to the right of "The Blackening" album cover).

Holland's FaceCulture recently conducted an interview with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn about the group's new album, "The Blackening", the band's future and being a parent, among other topics. Watch the video footage at www.faceculture.nl.

Capital Chaos TV has posted a video clip of INVITRO's June 7, 2007 performance at Fat Cats in Modesto, California. Watch it at YouTube.

As previously reported, a video interview with INVITRO, conducted by Possum of Altitude TV's "Metalogy 101", has been posted at YouTube. Former SNOT/SOULFLY guitarist Mikey Doling and his INVITRO bandmates discuss forming their own label with NFL superstar Kyle Turley, playing with HELLYEAH and STATIC-X, and whether OTEP is really cool behind the scenes. Also Mikey tells the story of the one and only SNOT reunion that happened earlier this year.

INVITRO recently became the #5 most requested band on Sirius Satellite Radio's Hard Attack with the song "Hollyvision".

"Hollyvision" can be heard at the group's MySpace page along with other tracks from INVITRO's debut album, "When I Was A Planet", which lands in stores on August 7, 2007.

INVITRO, who recently completed sold-out tours supporting SEVENDUST and STATIC-X, has been confirmed for the second stage at this summer's Family Values tour alongside KORN, EVANESCENCE and HELLYEAH, among others. The trek is scheduled to kick off July 20 in St. Louis, MO.

MALEVOLENT CREATION's album, "Doomsday X", is available for streaming in its entirety at MP3.com. Due in the U.S. on July 17 via Nuclear Blast Records and in Europe on August 24 via Massacre Records, the CD was recorded and engineered at Mercury Recording Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida by longtime friend and producer (and sometimes session member) Gus Rios, and is said to be the most diverse MALEVOLENT CREATION album recorded to date and "without a doubt their fastest!!"

"Doomsday X" track listing:

01. Deliver My Enemy
02. Cauterized
03. Culture Of Doubt
04. Strength In Numbers
05. Hollowed
06. Unleash Hell
07. Dawn Of Defeat
08. Upon Their Cross
09. Bio Terror
10. Buried In A Nameless Grave
11. Prelude To Doomsday

Mick Thomson, guitarist for SLIPKNOT, also contributed a "ripping" guitar solo for the song "Deliver My Enemy".

MALEVOLENT CREATION's current recording and touring lineup is:

Jon Rubin - Guitars
Phil Fasciana - Guitars
Dave Culross - Drums
Jason Blachowicz - Bass
Brett Hoffmann - Vocals

An 18-minute video interview with KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza, conducted by MetalAct.com late last month at Hellfest in Clisson, France, has been posted at this location. Also available is a text version of the chat.

KREATOR played their first-ever concert in Belgrade, Serbia on June 16. Support at the gig, which was held at SKC, came from local extreme metallers AMON DIN. Check out photos and low-quality, fan-filmed video footage from the show:

Photos
Clip#1
Clip#2

KREATOR's live video for "People of the Lie" received its U.S. small-screen premiere in March on MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball". Taken from the DVD portion of their latest release, "Enemy of God Revisited", the clip was filmed in front of 30,000 enthusiastic metalheads during the bands appearance at the 2005 Wacken Open Air festival. The video can be viewed online at YouTube.

The first episode of POISON frontman Bret Michaels' upcoming "reality" TV show "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" — a 10-part series premiering on July 15 on VH1 in which 25 single women (photo) vie to win Bret's heart — is available for viewing at www.vh1.com.

An extended cut of the "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" theme, "Go That Far", set to a montage of Bret Michaels' onstage antics, pieced together by Michaels himself, is available for viewing/listening at this location.

"Rock of Love with Bret Michaels" will premier on Sunday, July 15 at 9:00 p.m. EST on VH1.

A new audio interview with Bret Michaels, conducted by Tori Thomas of 95.1 WZZO in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been posted online in two parts at this location. Michaels talks about the band's current tour, his reality TV show, and he also chimed in on the pending lawsuit between MÖTLEY CRÜE and its management over bad career advice/reality TV shows.

EXODUS, HELSTAR and VICIOUS RUMORS are among the confirmed bands for the Burning Star Metal Fest 2007, set to take place August 4-5 at The Jumping Turtle in San Marcos, California. The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

Saturday, August 4 (show starts at 2:00 p.m.)

EXODUS
HELSTAR
PATHS OF POSSESSION
DARK FAITH
MUDFACE
WARBRINGER
DAMCYAN
ANIMAL CORPSE
VIVISECT
ABOMINATION
AXXYS

Sunday, August 5 (show starts at 1:00 p.m.)

CAGE
VICIOUS RUMORS
NIHILIST
FUELED BY FIRE
RISE TO MOURN
MEDIUS
AWAITING SAMSARA
ABYSMAL DAWN
AGHORI
KEAPER
LIGHT OF DOOM

These shows are open to all ages through 10:00 p.m., which includes all bands but PATHS OF POSSESSION, DARK FAITH, and RISE TO MOURN.

Tickets are available pre-sale at www.thejumpingturtle.com for $20 ($25 day of show). A ticket to one of the days gets you in the other day for only $15.

Before taking the stage this past Sunday (July 8) at New York City's B.B. King Blues Club & Grill stop of the Summer Slughter tour, vocalist Covan of Polish extreme metallers DECAPITATED reportedly told fans that his band will hit the road as direct support to AMON AMARTH on the Swedish group's first U.S. headlining tour this November.

Covan was recently interviewed by Andrew Haug of Triple J's "Full Metal Racket" (based in Australia). Download the interview in MP3 format at this location.

DECAPITATED's latest effort, "Organic Halucinosis", is a pummeling wall of concise sound that has turned the heads and ears of many within the metal community. The "Day 69" music video, a featured track from "Organic Halucinosis", is available for viewing at Earache.com.

French metallers X-VISION will team up with S-CORE (France), SUPERBUTT (Hungary), HOUSEBOUND (France) and SIKH (France) for Dirty8's "IH8U Tour 2K7" between November 15 and December 1.

For a list of upcoming X-VISION tour dates, go to this location.

X-VISION recently released its second album, "So Close, So Far", via Dirty 8/Nocturne. The CD was recorded with producer Stéphane Buriez.

The band's debut album, "Time of the New Slavery", was released in May 2004 via Slalom Music / Night&Day / Evolution Prod.

X-VISION supported SEPULTURA in the spring on several dates in France, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

DAYSEND and FIVE STAR PRISON CELL will team up for a Western Australian tour in August. Confirmed dates are as follows:

Aug. 10 - Odyssey Night Club, Bunbury
Aug. 11 - Club Capitol, Perth
Aug. 12 - Soundworks, Joondalup

DAYSEND released its sophomore album, "The Warning", in May through Faultline Records/Stomp Distribution. The follow-up to 2003's "Severance", was produced by dw Norton at Backbeach Recording Studios in Victoria, Australia and marks the band's first release with vocalist Mark McKernan.

FIVE STAR PRISON CELL recently posted its video for the song "Deloris" on YouTube. The track comes off the group's second album, "Slaves of Virgo", which came out in March via Faultline Records.

"Slaves of Virgo" was produced by dw Norton at Back Beach studios in Rye, Victoria, Australia.

Launch Radio Networks reports: Former KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch has come clean about his past drug abuse in his new memoir, "Save Me from Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story". Welch told Launch that he was in especially bad shape the last two years before he left KORN in early 2005. "2003 is when I started using speed every day," he said. "Meth. I got hooked on meth and in order to get up and function, even play the show, I had to snort lines, you know. And I told myself, 'I'll do this tour, I'll do this Ozzfest, and I'll do meth the whole time and I'll go home and check into a rehab.'And it scared me, you know, 'cause I was like coming — every month I would tell myself, 'I'm gonna stop this tour,'and I wouldn't be able to do it. Like a fear would come over me. I was just trapped."

Welch's book chronicles his life, his career with KORN and his recent embrace of Christianity.

The guitarist told the Bakersfield Californian last week that his biggest regret about his time with the band was "punching my wife."

Welch intends to release his first solo album later this year.

KORN will issue its untitled eighth studio effort at the end of this month.

Welch's current replacement in KORN, touring guitarist Clint Lowery, was arrested on Thursday (July 5) at the Hodokvas Festival in Piestany, Slovakia after a "wild, drunken night" at the event, which ended with the guitarist trashing his room. Lowery was released the following afternoon from police custody after apologizing and paying for the damages.

BODY OF SCARS, the new Phoenix, Arizona-based band featuring JAG PANZER drummer Rikard Stjernquist and former 40 GRIT vocalist/guitarist James Santiago, has scheduled a CD-release show for its self-titled debut on September 28, 2007 at The Sets in Tempe, Arizona. Also slated to appear is AUTUMN'S END.

BODY OF SCARS recently completed work on 10 tracks for its upcoming album. Four one-minute snippets of the new material have been posted on the group's MySpace page.

Formed in August 2006, BODY OF SCARS' current lineup is completed by lead guitarist Randy Davis (MOTIVE) and bassist Joe Dunn.

Photos of Israeli metal band ORPHANED LAND's July 6, 2007 performance in Lisbon, Portugal have been posted online at this location.

ORPHANED LAND vocalist Kobi Farhi recently stated about the group's current activities, "We are still in the writing process of our next album, 'OrwarriOR'. We know it [is taking] quite a while, but you all know how complex our latest album, 'Mabool', was and we want to give you no less than that. The final result is most important to us and we simply haven't found the formula to produce an album every year. However, I can assure you that your patience will be rewarded! Right now, to keep the flame burning, we have confirmed a few headline and co-headline shows on some summer festivals and we hope to meet all of you there!"

Upcoming ORPHANED LAND shows:

Jul. 13 - Neukirchen-Vluyn (D) @ Dong Open Air
Jul. 20 - Xanthi (GRE) @ Metal Healing Festival
Aug. 11 - Cluj Napoca (RO) @ Maximum Rock Festival
Oct. 5-7 - Baarlo (NETH) @ ProgPower Europe
Nov. 10 - Copenhagen (DK) @ ProgPower Scandinavia

MP3.com is streaming NILE's fifth studio album, "Ithyphallic", in its entirety for seven days prior to the album's North American street date of July 17 at this location.

Engineered by Bob Moore and produced by Neil Kernon (CANNIBAL CORPSE, NEVERMORE, DEICIDE), the CD was recorded at Sound Lab Studios in Columbia, South Carolina.

In a Decibel magazine article penned by journalist Rod Smith, guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders provided the background story for the song "Papyrus Containing The Spell To Protect The Possessor From Attacks From He Who Is In The Water", which debuted on the official Ozzfest web site on June 6. "It's from 'The Book Of Overthrowing Apep'," he said. "There's a spell in there, a chant that's supposed to stop crocodiles from attacking your boat. I tried to picture it and thought, 'Your boat's being attacked by crocodiles. Are you really supposed to dig out your scroll, fumble through it, find the right chapter, repeat the words, and the crocodiles are gonna leave you alone? When the croc is about to bite you in half, are you gonna be able to find that chapter fast enough?' It's a ridiculous concept. I found myself thinking, 'This song needs to have the words said as fast as possible.' We decided this song would be frantic, fast as anything we'd ever done, with the words super-frantic fast, for that 'trying to escape from the jaws of the crocodile' feeling."

Launch Radio Networks reports: The SMASHING PUMPKINS release their comeback album, "Zeitgeist", on Tuesday (July 10) and it contains the first new music under the PUMPKINS banner since frontman Billy Corgan disbanded the group in late 2000. After seven years apart, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin said that recapturing the PUMPKINS sound wasn't a simple matter. "One thing we found when we got back together was that what we do, whatever that kind of thing is, takes a lot of work and it takes a lot of searching to kind of get there," he said. "It was a bit of a journey. The first three weeks were kind of, scratching our heads, wondering, like, when it was gonna happen, if it was gonna happen. And then about three and a half weeks in, it started to click and things started to sound like SMASHING PUMPKINS, which was kind of cool."

Corgan and Chamberlin are the only original PUMPKINS members in this lineup, which introduces new guitarist Jeff Schroeder, bassist Ginger Reyes and keyboardist Lisa Harriton. None of them played on the album, however.

The band has launched the "Ask A Pumpkin" YouTube group, where fans can post videos of themselves asking questions that Corgan and Chamberlin will answer, also via video clips.

The PUMPKINS will play a record release party on Tuesday night at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.

The band will perform 13 shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco later this month and have also announced a major fall tour, beginning on September 8 in Montreal. Tickets go on sale July 14.

Italy's NOVEMBRE has postponed its previously announced U.S. tour (which was scheduled to kick off in September) until the winter or spring of 2008. No further information is currently available.

NOVEMBRE was scheduled to enter Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland at the end of May to record the rhythm guitars and mix its new album with producer Mikko Karmila (NIGHTWISH, SENTENCED, AMORPHIS). The CD is expected before the end of the year through U.K. label Peaceville Records.

NOVEMBRE's latest album, "Materia", came out in 2006. It was the group's first release for the Peaceville label. The group's last CD for Century Media, "Dreams d'Azur", came out in 2002.