Swedish modern metallers SONIC SYNDICATE recently shot a video for their new single, "Burn This City", with director Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL) of Revolver Film Company.

A photo of Patric with the band can be viewed below.

"Burn This City" marks the recording debut of SONIC SYNDICATE's latest addition, 23-year-old British singer Nathan James Biggs (formerly of THE HOLLOW EARTH THEORY). The song is one of two tracks that were recently recorded at Abyss studios in Pärlby, outside Ludvika, Sweden. "Burn This City" is said to be the more commercial track of the two that is suitable for the radio, while "Rebellion In Nightmare Land" has been described by guitarist Roger Sjunnesson as a more uptempo song that the group's longtime fans can instantly identify with. Both tracks will appear on a new EP, "Rebellion", which will be released on November 6 as part of an all-in-one-package with the group's latest album, "Love And Other Disasters".

The cover artwork for "Rebellion" will be created by Gustavo Savez of Abstrata art.

A new SONIC SYNDICATE album is tentatively due in April/May 2010.

SONIC SYNDICATE, whose sound has thus far revolved around the dual vocals of Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson, announced in March that Roland (who was responsible for the "clean"/melodic singing in the group) had decided to leave the band "due to personal reasons beyond our control."

Roland played his final show with SONIC SYNDICATE on August 29 at the Geuzenpop festival in Enschede, Holland.

"Love And Other Disasters" landed at position No. 15 on the Swedish and No. 36 on the German chart back in September 2008.

Swedish hard rock band ALL ENDS will enter the studio later this fall to begin recording its second full-length album for an early 2010 release. The forthcoming CD will mark the recording debut of the group's new singer, Jonna Sailon, who replaced Emma Gelotte (sister of IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte) in March.

The self-titled debut album from ALL ENDS was released in Germany on September 26, 2008 via GUN Records. The package contains a special feature and a bonus DVD with several videos.

"What Do You Want", the latest video from ALL ENDS, can be viewed below.

According to The National, AEROSMITH will perform in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, as part of the Formula One racing weekend. The band will play the grand finale for the Grand Prix event, following Formula One's first day/night race on November 1.

StarBulletin.com reported on Monday (September 21) that AEROSMITH will finally make good on playing two concerts in Hawaii next month, after cancelling a Maui concert two years ago that resulted in a class action lawsuit, then recently cancelling the remainder of their recent tour due to injuries to lead singer Steven Tyler.

Promoter Tom Moffatt announced late Monday afternoon that the classic rock band will be performing Sunday, October 18 at the Blaisdell Arena and Tuesday, October 20 at the Maui War Memorial Stadium.

Tickets for the Honolulu show — ranging from $75, $95 and $195 — will go on sale Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at the Blaisdell Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets at all Macy's locations, charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000, or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Fan-filmed video footage of MOTÖRHEAD's September 20, 2009 performance at Stubb's in Austin, Texas can be viewed below.

A review of the show is available at Austin360.com.

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum is filling in for MOTÖRHEAD's regular drummer, Mikkey Dee, on the band's current tour so that Dee can take part in "Kändisdjungeln", the Swedish version of the popular U.K. and U.S. reality-TV show "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!".

"There was a breakdown in communication, really," MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister told Noisecreep. "Our management didn't know that he'd signed up for this when they booked the tour. We didn't want him to have to cancel, they might have sued him or something."

Sorum made his first appearance in Washington D.C. on September 8, after only one rehearsal. "He's rehearsing by watching live DVD," Kilmister said a couple of days before the gig, clearly not worried. "He's a good drummer, he's a professional."

Noisecreep asked Lemmy if he would like to appear on the reality TV show, too? "No, no thank you. I've seen the British one, and it's not for me," he said diplomatically. "Well, you've got to be polite haven't you. But, yeah, it's fucking boring as hell, God damn it!"

The first episode of "Kändisdjungeln" aired on September 11.

Direct Metal Music recently conducted an interview with guitarist Jens Ludwig of the German melodic metal band EDGUY. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Direct Metal Music: You guys have been playing together for seventeen years now, and have put out fourteen records, which is basically an album a year are most of your career. How do you guys keep up with yourselves and stay motivated to keep on putting out new records?

Jens Ludwig: I don't know, we just enjoy it, you know? We don't do this because we have to do it, and you can't compare it with a regular job, you know, like something you would have to do,. It's just that we're really enjoy it, you know, and we're really look forward to all the aspects of what we do, like going to the rehearsal rooms and recording songs that will be on another album, or be it going on tour again. These are all the things that we really enjoy and we want to do. So, really, none of us consider it work, it's just entertainment to us and something that we really like to do. We never have to force ourselves to do anything, cutting another record, doing another tour, it's just what we want to do. The good thing about it is that we're all fairly young, I mean we're not that old (laughs), and we still have a lot of creative potential. You know all these years have proved us as songwriters, as musicians, and hopefully as human beings as well! The whole band is living a dream come true, and this is true for all of us, so nobody has to force us to do anything. This is why we can keep up and continue to release good albums, and how we can keep up playing the shows, it is because we love what we are doing.

Direct Metal Music: It also says to me that you guys must be really close friends. Is that correct?

Jens Ludwig: Yes, and actually we've known each other for so many years that we probably know some things about each other that we honestly don't want to know! We have really grown together in the last few years. I can still remember our first European tour that we did. We didn't have any crew, we were just traveling by a caravan, driving ourselves from show to show, and being stuck together that little space [presumably the van] for six weeks really kept us together after surviving that. Everything after that has been luxury! So we really came up the hard way, and nowadays things are much easier for us! But all of these experiences and things we have gone through together have made us stronger and closer together.

Direct Metal Music: Shifting gears back to the last album, "Tinnitus Sanctus", it just seems like this album was put together in a different way, is that true and if so what was different about the way you put this album together?

Jens Ludwig: It was actually written in the same way we always write all of our albums, Tobi [singer Tobias Sammet] comes up with the main ideas, and then we work on the songs in the rehearsal space. But at some point I agree with you, because the "Rocket Ride" album, for example, was the first album that we worked with an external producer ever. On the previous ones, we also had songs that way into different directions but since we didn't have any producer and since the mix has been done in the same studios, at the end everything sounded all very similar. It all had the same sound, you know? Since Sascha (Paeth) is doing the production, we've tried to get every song what it needs. If it's a song that need some more hard rock direction, then we'll give it a whole or more hard rock sound. If it's a heavier track like "Sacrifice", for example, it's gonna get a different sound than some other song, and that's how it seems we have more diversity concerning the songs on "Rocket Ride" than we had on the previous albums. It's just a matter of giving the songs the right sounds. But I personally feel that "Rocket Ride" was maybe a bit too ambitious, and that maybe we were moving it in too many different directions, even though it revealed a lot of fun experiments like adding reggae in there. But in the end, I can understand why people might think that it's going into too many directions. I think with "Tinnitus", we have the same diversity, and we still have different types of songs going in many different directions, but the whole album sounds like more of a unit than "Rocket Ride", and that's what I'm really proud of.

Direct Metal Music: How do you guys maintain your sense of humor, especially how dark and mystical metal is becoming recent years.

Jens Ludwig: It's a combination, I think, of a lot of things, but one thing that we talked about earlier that we're really enjoying what we're doing, and actually we've never tried to be something that we're not. If you see us acting a certain way onstage, making jokes and what-not, it's the same way we'd act backstage afterwards and when having a beer with you, you know? We don't try to be somebody else, we're just ourselves, and that has a lot to do with the personality of the band. There's definitely no reason why we should have any negativity onstage or in our music. Right now there's a lot of negativity going on in the world, and I think when people go to a concert, you shouldn't tell them how shitty that life in general is. You know what I mean? When they go the show, they should be able to just forget everything and have fun for two and a half hours. And the same is with us, as many problems as all of us might have, of course everyone has problems, you know when we're on stage and we are performing, we forget about everything else and we just try to have a good time. There are plenty of people out there who will tell everyone about how shitty life is, but we don't see it that way, we just want to show people that there are still a lot of things that you can enjoy in your life.

Read the entire interview from Direct Metal Music.

Quality fan-filmed video footage of EDGUY performing the song "Tears Of A Mandrake" at the Rockweekend festival, which was held on July 9-11, 2009 in Kilafors, Sweden, can be viewed below (courtesy of "framednoise").

On October 20, 2009, Time Life commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with an unprecedented, comprehensive collection of performances compiled from a quarter century of induction celebrations. The "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live" DVD collection boasts 125 remarkable performances by the most influential and significant figures in rock music history, as well as the speeches, toasts and roasts by which these members of rock royalty salute each others' accomplishments.

The "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live" DVD set includes nine DVDs, eight of these featuring an assortment of performances spanning more than two decades of ceremonies, as well as induction and acceptance speeches, and never-before-seen backstage and rehearsal footage. A ninth DVD features "The Concert For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame", a star-studded concert event which opened the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum in Cleveland in 1995. Never before available, the "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live" DVD set is an unparalleled rock 'n' roll experience — over 24 hours of rare and exclusive performances and footage — and a must-own for every music fan.

On October 20, the "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live" nine-DVD set will be available for purchase exclusively online for $119.96 via the DVD web site RockHallDVDs.com or TimeLife.com.

Each year, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors rock music's pioneering figures during prestigious, black-tie ceremonies. Rock's biggest stars induct their biggest influences and contemporaries, with heartfelt, wise and witty speeches. Over the years, Paul McCartney has inducted John Lennon, Paul Simon has inducted Stevie Wonder, Steven Tyler has inducted AC/DC, Elton John has inducted the BEACH BOYS, and in turn, Elton John was inducted by Axl Rose. "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live" DVD includes a staggering 52 of these tributes, all complete and unedited. But, it's during the live performance part of the ceremony when rock history is really made.

With egos set aside, the artists take the stage and deliver once-in-a-lifetime performances, often with a truly mind-blowing combination of talent, such as Mick Jagger performing with Bruce Springsteen, REM with Eddie Vedder, THE BAND with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck with Jimmy Page. As Robbie Robertson once commented, "It's an opportunity to see musical combinations we may never see again as long as we live." Case in point, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Joe Perry, Flea, and METALLICA's rendition of "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" at this year's ceremony in April.

The Rock and Roll of Fame Foundation and Museum's anniversary celebration will extend beyond the DVD set, with both a book and two groundbreaking concerts this fall. The "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years", chronicling 25 years of induction ceremonies, will be published by Collins Design (an imprint of HarperCollins) in September. In October, the Hall of Fame will present two live concert events at Madison Square Garden in New York , featuring performances by ERIC CLAPTON, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH, ARETHA FRANKLIN, METALLICA, PAUL SIMON, SIMON & GARFUNKEL, STEVIE WONDER, and U2.

For more information, go to this location.

Road Crew Magazine conducted an interview with DROWNING POOL during the recently completed Crüe Fest 2 tour. The chat can be viewed below.

In a recent interview with The Buffalo News, DROWNING POOL drummer Mike Luce said about how the band has grown over the past few years after acquiring lead singer Ryan McCombs (formerly of SOIL), "[I'm] kind of comparing it to buddies dug into the trenches. You've kind of been through some stuff that you can't really put into words. It just makes you a tighter-knit family."

"We were starting to see our attributes," he added. "We've all grown up quite a bit regardless of the ups and downs. Everybody's matured, older, and we better handle what's expected of us when recording. We're writing some of the very best stuff we've ever been a part of. We're starting to learn the ins and outs of Ryan and he of us. Writing [is] a more tighter, easier experience."

Luce said that while 2007's "Full Circle" explored the band's horizons to the max, the band has been working on an album that mirrors the newly channeled approach to recording.

"It sounds like we're zeroing in on these attributes," Luce said. "I think we're diving into a more soulful, passionate delivery of it. I think people are gonna trip out. [We're] exploring soulful melodic kind of stuff, not just hammering at you the whole time."

Altitude TV has posted video footage of California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE talking about their hatred of metal genres, their scene, partying at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and tattoos. Watch the clips below.

SUICIDE SILENCE's August 30, 2009 performance at The End Of Days festival at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, California was filmed for a future DVD. This was the band's first hometown show since the release of SUICIDE SILENCE's new album, "No Time To Bleed".

"No Time To Bleed" sold 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 32 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort was made available on June 30 in a number of different versions (for a limited time only). Among these are the standard CD version, an LP version (limited to 2,000 pieces), the exclusive Hot Topic edition featuring the standard album with a bonus "Live in Paris" CD (track listing below), the "Maximum Bloodshed" addition ("Maximum Bloodshed" box set with bonus DVD, bonus studio track "Misleading Milligrams", five collector cards, fold-out poster and mail-in t-shirt offer [limited to 10,000 copies]) and the iTunes version with has the exclusive bonus cover track of the hit ALICE IN CHAINS song "Them Bones".

"No Time To Bleed" was recorded with acclaimed producer Machine (LAMB OF GOD).

GWAR will take part in a signing session at Scrape Records in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Monday, November 30 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.scraperecords.com.

"Let Us Slay", the new video from GWAR, can be viewed below. The clip was shot in Richmond, Virginia by director David Brodsky (SUICIDE SILENCE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL) and his MyGoodEye crew.

GWAR's new album, "Lust In Space", sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 96 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Benoît Gagnon of NRJ conducted an interview with METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield before the band's September 19, 2009 concert at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Watch the chat below.

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told Nudge from Dayton, Ohio radio station 103.9 The X last week that fans should not expect a follow-up to last year's "Death Magnetic" album any time soon. Ulrich said that the group will most likely be touring through the end of 2010 before taking a break, and that work on a new record probably wouldn't begin until at least the second half of 2011. Ulrich told The Pulse of Radio something along the same lines when he was asked a similar question. "I wouldn't hold my breath," he said. "Do the math yourself, as I like to hear myself say, you know. You got another year on the road, and then you gotta, you know, breathe for a little while, then you gotta do it all over again. I'd love to put records out more often, but right now, I don't know what's gonna give, in between touring and having some chill time with the family and how long it takes to, you know, make these records."

The drummer did hint to Nudge that, while a full METALLICA album could be three or more years away, the band could join the ranks of artists who are releasing music in new formats. He explained, "The record itself is starting to be sort of an outdated format, so who knows . . . We're out of our record contract, so we could go back to HQ (METALLICA's headquarters in San Rafael, California) and record something and then we could put it up on our web site and whoever wanted to download it could download it."

METALLICA took six years between 1997's "Reload" and 2003's "St. Anger", although they did also issue a covers collection and live album during that time. But it was another five years before "Death Magnetic" came out in 2008.

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will guest on this weekend's (Saturday, September 26) edition of the "Maximum Threshold" show beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST.

The interview will be recorded on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m. EST.

If you would like to hear the interview live, you can do so by going to MaximumThreshold.net prior to 6:00 p.m. on September 23 and logging in to the chatroom. You have to be a registered member to participate in the online chat and question-and-answer session.

"Maximum Threshold" is an Internet radio show dedicated to presenting up-and-coming hard rock bands and successful bands as well as interviews, news and music reviews.

According to Hits Daily Double, Ace Frehley's new solo album, "Anomaly", is on track to sell between 12,000 and 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

In addition to the standard CD release, unique "Anomaly" packages were made available at Wal-Mart and Best Buy locations. The Wal-Mart version includes an Ace autographed tattoo while the Best Buy edition is printed on silver stock, like the KISS "Double Platinum" album.

Strike First Records has announced the signing of the New Zealand's SAVING GRACE. The band's sophomore album, entitled "Unbreakable", is scheduled for release in January 2010.

The four-piece Gisborne City hardcore metal hybrid has been making waves worldwide for a half decade during which the band's list of accomplishments includes the release of a self-titled demo EP in 2005, a split with friends UPHELD in 2006 and a studio album, "Behind Enemy Lines", in 2008 which received rave reviews across their homeland and beyond in USA and Europe, and took the band on a 35-date whirlwind tour across New Zealand, Australia, Mexico and USA.

SAVING GRACE's hard work, dedication to touring and ever-growing fan base has gained the band the reputation of the most successful spirit-filled hardcore act Down Under.

Playing a brutal style of music influenced by mid-'90s hardcore bands such as ARKANGEL, REPRISAL and EARTH CRISIS as well as legendary extreme metal classics SLAYER, SEPULTURA, MORBID ANGEL and CANNIBAL CORPSE, SAVING GRACE creates a blend of brutal metallic hardcore unlike many of its modern day contemporaries.

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

Reunited seminal grindcore/extreme metal outfit BRUTAL TRUTH has scheduled the following tour dates:

With MUNICIPAL WASTE, PHOBIA, CAULDRON:

Dec. 04 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
Dec. 05 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Dec. 06 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
Dec. 07 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes
Dec. 08 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Dec. 09 - New York, NY - Gramercy Theater
Dec. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church

With CONVERGE, VENOMOUS CONCEPT:

Dec. 15 - Tokyo, Japan - O East
Dec. 16 - Nagoya, Japan - Club Quattro
Dec. 17 - Osaka, Japan - Big Cat

With BLOOD DUSTER, CAPTAIN CLEANOFF:

Dec. 19 - Brisbane, Australia - The Hi-Fi
Dec. 20 - Melbourne, Australia - The Hifi Bar
Dec. 21 - Sydney, Australia - Manning Bar

"Evolution Through Revolution", the first full-length album in 10 years from BRUTAL TRUTH, sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 65 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

BRUTAL TRUTH released its first-ever DVD, "For the Ugly and Unwanted - This is Grindcore", in Europe on June 22 via Season of Mist (June 2 in the U.S.). The disc contains a full show shot with five cameras at the Obscene Extreme Festival 2007 in Czech Republic and four more full shows from the "Sounds of the Animal Kindgom" tour as extras.

Video footage of TESTAMENT's Eric Peterson showing off his new Dean signature guitar, the "Old Skull V", can be viewed below.

"It's a guitar I've been playing for a while, and I think people will enjoy the action," Peterson previously said. "It's got triple-binding, all-black EMG pick-ups, block inlay, and some really cool artwork. Not too much, but enough to keep it evil!"

TESTAMENT performed on August 10 at the New York City studios of Sirius XM as part of the satellite radio service's "Artist Confidential" series.

"Artist Confidential" features the most important and timeless artists in music sitting down for candid interviews, intimate conversations with fans and live performances.

The show is scheduled to air later this year on Sirius XM's Liquid Metal, Sirius channel 27 and XM channel 42.

TESTAMENT recently canceled its previously announced South American dates in September in order to focus on recording the follow-up to its acclaimed 2008 album, "The Formation Of Damnation".

TESTAMENT has been touring non-stop in support of "The Formation Of Damnation", including this year's Priest Feast tour in Europe with JUDAS PRIEST and a phenomenal run on the Metal Masters tour last year with HEAVEN & HELL and MOTÖRHEAD.

VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash is recording a song tonight (Tuesday, September 22) with Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA, THEM CROOKED VULTURES) and Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) for inclusion on Slash's forthcoming solo album, tentatively due in early 2010. The axeman states, "It promises to be killer."

Slash tracked most of the CD with former NINE INCH NAILS drummer Josh Freese and ex-JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Chris Chaney. Confirmed guest singers so far include Ozzy Osbourne and AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows. The CD was produced by Eric Valentine (GOOD CHARLOTTE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) and features additional appearances by ex-GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS bassist Flea. Freese told MusicRadar.com that Iggy Pop, Fergie (a.k.a. Stacy Ann Ferguson) of the BLACK EYED PEAS and Chris Cornell (SOUNDGARDEN, AUDIOSLAVE) will also appear on the LP. Working songtitles include "We're All Gonna Die", "These Last Words", "Crucify The Dead" and "Beautiful, Dangerous".

Slash left GUNS N' ROSES in the mid-'90s, forming SLASH'S SNAKEPIT before later assembling VELVET REVOLVER with several other ex-members of GUNS N' ROSES and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland (who was dismissed in April 2008).

NEVERMORE's Warrel Dane and Jim Sheppard are on their way to Nashville, Tennessee to finish recording the vocals and bass, respectively, for the band's new album, "The Obsidian Conspiracy", at producer's (and SOILWORK guitarist) Peter Wichers studio.

The drum tracks for "The Obsidian Conspiracy" were completed in the group's hometown of Seattle with Wichers, who previously worked with Dane on the singer's solo debut, "Praises to the War Machine". Longtime friend and collaborator Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD) will once again be handling mixing duties.

Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Emptiness Unobstructed", "And The Maiden Spoke", "Termination Proclamation" and "Without Morals". The band is also recording two cover songs during the current sessions: "The Crystal Ship" by THE DOORS and "Transmission" by THE TEA PARTY.

According to Dane, the song "And The Maiden Spoke" "is going to blow your minds; it's twisted, progressive lunatic fringe riffing with vicious hooklines."

The follow-up to 2005's "This Godless Endeavor" is tentatively due in early 2010 via Century Media Records.

Added Dane: "These songs are full of newfound rage, lyrically and musically. Jeff Loomis has come up with some amazing new riffs that will no doubt please old and new fans alike. Also, I think the combination of Peter and Andy will result in something very, very special."

The German edition of Metal Hammer magazine conducted an interview with Jeff Loomis at this year's Wacken Open Air festival, which was held July 30 - August 1, 2009 in Wacken, Germany. The chat can now be viewed at this location.

When asked if his instrumental solo album, "Zero Order Phase" (which was released in September 2008 through Century Media Records), affected the musical direction of the new NEVERMORE material, Loomis replied, "I wanted to do an instrumental CD for so long, just because I'm a fan of that style of music, and I finally had that opportunity. But I think that with the new NEVERMORE, it still sounds like the band, but I think I'm giving Warrel [Dane, vocals] a little bit more room this time around for more vocals rather than all the notey, kind of complex stuff and all that, so this time around it's just a little bit more wide open musically for him to really be able to do whatever he wants vocally this time around. So we'll see what happens. It's gonna be an interesting album for us, for sure.

JELLO BIAFRA AND THE GUANTANAMO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, the new band led by former DEAD KENNEDYS frontman Jello Biafra, will release its debut album, "The Audacity of Hype", on October 20 via Alternative Tentacles Records. The CD was produced by Biafra and engineered by hip hop producer and longtime Jello co-conspirator Matt Kelley (HIEROGLYPHICS, THE COUP, DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, VICTIMS FAMILY, TUMOR CIRCUS) at Prairie Sun Recording in Cotati, California and San Francisco's Hyde Street Studios.

Topically, the album explores how our forced Iraqnophobia and Homeland Insecurity continues to feed lawlessness at the top ("The Terror Of Tiny Town") vs. a runaway police state and class war towards the bottom ("Three Strikes", "Electronic Plantation"; originally done by the NO WTO COMBO, Jello's one-off collaboration with Krist Novelselic [NIRVANA] and Kim Thayil [SOUNDGARDEN]). "Clean As A Thistle" becomes more timely every day as "Family Values" blowhards from Sanford to Berlusconi get caught in sinful trysts, while album closer "I Won't Give Up" offers an age of Obama anthem on how change comes from agitation from below, not from glamour and sound bites from the top.

Though many of Jello Biafra's "collaborations" (LARD, NO WTO COMBO, TUMOR CIRCUS and records with MELVINS, DOA, NOMEANSNO and MOJO NIXON) would have been called solo albums by other artists, this is his first full-time working band since DEAD KENNEDYS, and it shows. Also on board are Ralph Spight (VICTIMS FAMILY, FREAK ACCIDENT, HELLWORMS), Jon Weiss (SHARKBAIT, HORSEY), Billy Gould (FAITH NO MORE), and Kimo Ball (FREAK ACCIDENT, CARNEYBALL JOHNSON, MOL TRIFFID, GRIDDLE).

Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with SHADOWS FALL frontman Brian Fair. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

About.com: What led you to release "Retribution" on your own label?

Brian Fair: A lot of things led that way. It began with us coming through every cycle of the music industry since our beginning. We self-released our first album, then we spent years at Century Media, which was a great independent label that was growing at the time. Then we had the major label experience with Atlantic. So we've pieced together through all our experiences how we want to do everything. Having the leverage of being a band for ten years with a decent track record and a good following, we were able to work the dream deal. We just found a distributor that had the major label strength to put the record in stores. Then we hired Ferret Records to do the promotions. But at the end of the day we had the final say and input on every decision made, from little things to big things. It's really to us how we've always wanted to work it. Also, at a time when record sales are diminishing and labels may be losing some of that traditional power they had, it's easier for us to stay focused on having a peer to peer style in our approach, where we're reaching out to OUR fans, not trying to blanket things we know are unnecessary. And we are changing the business model of how we get paid and keeping ownership of the record and publishing so it's in our hands as opposed to being owned by a label.

About.com: Is this the first album where you'll own the masters?

Brian Fair: All of our deals had a clause where we do own the masters at some point in the future, but this is the first time where out of the gates it's our record. That's opposed to the traditional trickle down of royalties, where everything gets recouped, everyone else gets paid, and the fractions of cents left are sent to the band. We flipped that upside down since we are officially the label. Like any business, the labels have a bottom line and are trying to make a profit. Now us making a profit only benefits the band. None of those decisions will be in lieu of our career. That's a nice feeling. Of course, a label will always tell you they are doing things in your best interest, but now we actually know.

About.com: "Retribution" isn't a dramatic departure sound-wise for SHADOWS FALL, but it does seem a little more intense than the last album.

Brian Fair: It's more aggressive, maybe a little more immediate. The songs come right out of the gates and are unrelenting, where with "Threads Of Life" we had just come off tour with bands like IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST and were in that very grandiose, big-hook songwriting stage, which was awesome. I think we're in more of a thrash metal, technical style. I think a lot of that had to do with us writing the songs in the practice space all together at full volume. It wasn't like we were sending audio files back and forth and messing around on computers and listening to each other's ideas. We were jamming them out, which probably added more energy out of the gate.

About.com: You went back to using Zeuss as your producer for this CD. What do you like about his producing style?

Brian Fair: Zeuss knows us and the bedrock of our sound better than anyone. He's been there since our earliest of days. Even though he didn't produce the last record he mixed it, so he was still involved in the process. He gets amazing guitar tones, great drum sounds, really knows how to get us to play our best because he knows everyone's skill level so well and knows what you can do and won't settle for any less than that. This is also the first record where we did vocals elsewhere. It originally came up as a time constraint thing, because Zeuss had signed on to do the MUNICIPAL WASTE record. We couldn't physically finish the record with Zeuss at his studio. So we went to Virginia and did vocals with Michael "Elvis" Baskette. It was amazing. He's got an incredible studio right on the beach, tucked away in this little spot. You're isolated and locked in with this amazing gear. He's listened to our band, but we've never worked together. He didn't know where we thought our limits were, so he started thinking beyond them and pushing us to try things that we wouldn't have thought of, because you get stuck in a comfort zone. He's got a great ear for harmonies. I think having someone that understood our sound like Zeuss, and then bringing in a fresh set of ears as well, really gave us the best of both perspectives and added to a very cohesive record that helped us retain our identity, but pushed our sound to new places.

Read the entire interview at About.com.

Orange County, California's ATREYU will shoot a video this week for "Storm to Pass", the first single from the band's new album, "Congregation of the Damned". The song is currently streaming on the group's MySpace page along with the new cut "Stop! Before It's Too Late and We've Destroyed it All".

The video for "Storm to Pass" will be shot September 22 and 23 in the desert near Palm Springs, California and will be directed by Sean Stiegemeier, who has worked with the band on clips for "Falling Down", "Doomsday", "The Crimson" and "Lip Gloss and Black".

In the video, the band is shot from a variety of angles rocking out as storms build around them. "[Vocalist] Alex [Varkatzas] talks so much in the song about weather and storms, so I thought it would be visually cool to incorporate a lot of that," Stiegemeier says. "And when you dive deeper into the song, you realize Alex is using the storms as a metaphor for the problems you create for yourself. So there are all these people creating these storms that ATREYU are forced to play in."

Varkatzas and two other characters will play the role of deities, and as the tension and turbulence grows, they'll create a windstorm, then a lightning storm that sets the area ablaze and finally a rainstorm that extinguishes the fire.

"We're not going to be pampering ATREYU in this one," Stiegemeier says. "We'll be blowing fans as fast as humanly possible at them, and ash and dust will be flying at them and fire will be surrounding them. We'll be drenching them in rain and putting them through all kinds of hell. It's a good thing we're friends and they're letting me get away with all this. But I'm sure they'll get me back somehow in the end."

The video for "Storm to Pass" is scheduled to debut the week of October 12.

The "Storm to Pass" video isn't the only high-tech treat that awaits ATREYU fans before the October 27 release of "Congregation of the Damned". An upcoming video game on the band's web site will premiere on October 13 and will give fans a sneak preview of the track Gallows". In the game, which was influenced by George Romero's classic movie "Night of the Living Dead", players battle a variety of zombies — some of whom resemble powerful political figures — in an attempt to stay alive. The third in a series of ATREYU games was designed by Jason Oda, who has also a designed hit game for FALL OUT BOY and conceived the classic "Dropkick the Faint".

In other Internet media, ATREYU will be the special guests on this week's AOL Noisecreep podcast "Creep Show", which debuts September 23. During the program, a panel of journalists interviewed Varkatzas and drummer Brandon Saller about the creation of "Congregation of the Damned", the meanings of "Storm to Pass" and "You Were the King Now You're Unconscious", and the political focus of the new album. Noisecreep also talked with ATREYU about Varkatzas' martial arts training, the insignificance of genre labeling and the effect Varkatzas' upcoming marriage might have on the band's future output.

ATREYU will roll out the last three of their "Congregation of the Damned" webisodes September 22, October 6 and October 20. And don't miss them on tour with HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, starting October 16 in Lubbock, Texas and running through November 21 in Los Angeles.

"Congregation Of The Damned" track listing:

01. Stop! Before It's Too Late and We've Destroyed it All
02. Bleeding Is A Luxury
03. Congregation Of The Damned
04. Coffin Nails
05. Black Days Begin
06. Gallows
07. Storm To Pass
08. You Were King Now You're Unconscious
09. Insatiable
10. So Wrong
11. Ravenous
12. Lonely
13. Wait For You

The CD cover artwork can be viewed below.

Long-running German metallers PARADOX will release their fifth album, "Riot Squad", on October 16, 2009 via AFM Records. The cover artwork was once again created by Claudio Bergamin and can be viewed below.

"Riot Squad" was produced by Charly Steinhauer and it was mixed and mastered by Achim Köhler. It contains "10 crystal-clear and powerful sounding thrashers full of energy, speed, melody and originality," according to a press release.

"Riot Squad" track listing:

01. Suburban Riot Squad (5:07)
02. Hollow Peace (5:33)
03. Riptide (4:03)
04. Rise In Rank (4:26)
05. Evolution Reset (5:31)
06. Nothingness (5:24)
07. No Place To Survive (2:55)
08. Dream Hero (5:08)
09. Planet Terror (6:43)
10. Psychofficial (3:37)

A trailer for "Riot Squad" can be viewed below.

The track "Hollow Peace" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

PARADOX is:

Charly Steinhauer (vocals, guitar)
Kai Pasemann (guit)
Olly Keller (bass)
Roland Jahoda (drums)

ARCH ENEMY's Angela Gossow will take part in a vocal workshop at the "Heavy Metal And Gender" international congress on October 8 at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany. She will also take part in the panel discussion on "Women In Metal" later the same day along with Doro Pesch (DORO, WARLOCK), Sabina Classen (HOLY MOSES) and Britta Görtz.

The "Heavy Metal And Gender" congress will discuss gender roles, differences and stereotypes in heavy metal culture from an interdisciplinary and international perspective involving scholars as well as musicians and fans. It brings into account the broad variety of heavy metal as it has developed over the last 40 years and its global dissemination manifested in a high amount of subgenres. It will be the first scholarly conference on heavy metal in Germany and the first metal conference worldwide which focuses on issues of gender.

For more information, visit www.metalandgender.de.

Eddie's Bar, the Santa Barbara De Nexe, Portugal bar owned by IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris, will be closing down for good at the end of this month.

The bar opened in 1989 with Manu Da Silva, a former roadie for IRON MAIDEN, as manager. After Manu's death in 2005, the bar closed and reopened in July 2006 with new managers Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance — both of whom played guitar in the first-ever IRON MAIDEN lineup — and Jeff Daniels, who was a MAIDEN roadie in the 1970s.

The bar featured many props used during past MAIDEN tours, like sarcophagi from the World Slavery Tour 1984/85, Steve Harris' bass, Nicko McBrain's cymbals and signed records, photos and posters of the band. Heavy metal videos were played during the bar's opening hours.

"Existence Is Futile", the second full-length album from Boston's REVOCATION, is available for streaming in its entirety at this location.

"Existence Is Futile" is scheduled for release on September 29 in North America and October 5 internationally via Relapse Records. The follow-up to "Empire Of The Obscene" was recorded at Damage Studios in Southbridge, Massachusetts with engineer Pete Rutchko.

"Existence Is Futile" track listing:

01. Enter The Hall
02. Pestilence Reigns
03. Deathonomics
04. Existence Is Futile
05. The Brain Scramblers
06. Across Forests And Fjords
07. ReaniManiac
08. Dismantle The Dictator
09. Anthem Of The Betrayed
10. Leviathan Awaits
11. Tragedy Of Modern Ages

REVOCATION has announced two record-release shows in support of "Existence Is Futile" for later this month. The first will be in Providence, Rhode Island alongside VITAL REMAINS and DESTROYER 666, and will be followed by a hometown Boston show on September 30.

REVOCATION tour dates:

Sep. 29 - Providence, RI - Club Hell (w/ VITAL REMAINS, DESTROYER 666)
Sep. 30 - Boston, MA - The Church

Israeli dark power metal band DESERT has posted a new track, "Lament For Soldier's Glory", on the group's MySpace page. The song, which features a guest appearance by Joakim Broden, the lead singer of the Swedish band SABATON, comes off DESERT's upcoming debut album, "Star Of Delusive Hopes", which was recorded in June 2009 at Remaster Studio in Vicenza, Italy with producer Nick Savio (ex-guitarist for WHITE SKULL, also known for his work with acts like POWER QUEST, RAINTIME, CYBER CROSS and ELDRITCH, among others). The CD was mixed and mastered by Andy LaRocque of KING DIAMOND at his Sonic Train Studio in Varberg, Sweden.

"Star Of Delusive Hopes" track listing:

01. The Unsubdued
02. Massada Will Never Fall
03. Letter Of Marque
04. Victim Of The Light
05. Release Me
06. Soul Of A Wanderer
07. Whispers
08. Lament For Soldier's Glory (Order 227) (feat. Joakim Broden)
09. Star Of Delusive Hopes

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry's solo band, dubbed THE JOE PERRY PROJECT, performed this past Sunday night (September 20) at Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be viewed below (courtesy of "HowellKenny").

Upcoming THE JOE PERRY PROJECT shows:

Sep. 26 - Fusion 5 - Foxboro, MA
Sep. 27 - Club Hell - Providence, RI
Oct. 06 - Viper Room - West Hollywood, CA

Perry's fifth solo album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel", will be released on October 6 via Roman Records. The hard driving, ten-song, in your face, collection features Perry's trademark rock and blues ferocity, as well as the CD's first single, the blazing "We've Got A Long Way To Go". Recorded this past spring at the BoneYard, Perry's state-of-the-art home studio, where AEROSMITH's "Honkin' On Bobo" and "Just Push Play" were recorded, "Have Guitar, Will Travel" is entirely written and produced by Perry.

"We've Got A Long Way To Go", the CDs first single, showcases the voice of a young German singer known as Hagen, found completely by chance on YouTube by Joe's wife Billie. "I first called him from Cleveland when I went to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame jam with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Flea and METALLICA," said Perry. "It took several minutes to convince him that it wasn't a prank call, but a true invitation to audition to sing on the CD." Hagen mans the microphone for five tracks, while Perry sings lead on four. The remaining tenth song is an instrumental entitled "Wooden Ships".

In addition, Perry attracted an esteemed roster of some of the best players that the music world has to offer; bassist David Hull, who played with THE BUDDY MILES BAND at 19 and was in THE JOE PERRY PROJECT in the '80s, drummer Ben Tileston, a Boston University percussion graduate, who plays drums with two of Perry's sons in TAB THE BAND, Paul Santo, who's played Hammond organ/pipe organ with the likes of Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Ozzy Osbourne, drummers Scott Meeder and Marty Richards and Willie "Loco" Alexander, Boston's "Godfather of Punk," who was part of the Bostown sound of the band THE BAGATELLE.

Former KISS and current GRAND FUNK RAILROAD guitarist Bruce Kulick will appear at the seventh annual Rock And Roll Bash to raise money to benefit the programs of the Casey Cares Foundation. The event will be held at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore this Saturday, September 26 starting at 6:30 p.m. Along with great music and dancing will be dinner, an open bar, auctions and the chance to get "up close and personal" with the musicians.

Tickets are required for admission to the event.

For ticket information, please visit the Casey Cares Foundation.

New York based extreme metal legends SUFFOCATION have scheduled the following dates:

Nov. 13 - Trois-Rivieres, QC @ Batisse Industrielle (Trois-Rivieres Metalfest)
Nov. 14 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven (Emerald City Metalfest)
Nov. 15 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre

Relapse Records will release SUFFOCATION's only official live record, "The Close Of A Chapter: Live In Quebec City", on October 27 in North America and November 2 internationally. Recorded in 2005 during the band's "Souls To Deny" world tour, the CD — which contains the band's complete, unedited performance — features the following track listing:

01. Infecting The Crypts
02. Thrones Of Blood
03. Surgery Of Implalement
04. Catatonia
05. Liege Of Inveracity
06. Despise The Sun
07. Subconsciously Enslaved
08. Immortally Condemned
09. Effigy Of The Forgotten
10. Tomes Of Acrimony
11. Breeding The Spawn
12. Pierced From Within
13. Funeral Inception

For more information, go to this location.

SUFFOCATION's latest album, "Blood Oath" (Nuclear Blast), sold around 3,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 135 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 2 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

The follow-up to 2006's self-titled record, "Blood Oath" was recorded with Joe Cincotta (who worked on the band's last two releases) and was mixed by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH). The cover artwork (see below) was once again brought to life by Jon Zig (DEEDS OF FLESH, DISGORGE, GORGASM).

SUFFOCATION filmed a video clip for the track "Cataclysmic Purification" on May 31 with director David Brodsky (ARSIS, GOD FORBID, KATAKLYSM, SWASHBUCKLE).

Video footage of SUFFOCATION performing the song "Dismal Dream" on June 6, 2009 at The national in Richmond, Virginia can be viewed below (courtesy of Metal Injection).

Long-running Israeli extreme metallers SALEM have posted a new three-minute video clip (see below) containing footage from the recording sessions for the band's new album, "Playing God And Other Short Stories". The clip includes the percussion session for the song "Drums of the Dead".

SALEM's new CD will contain a song called "Heartbeat" which was previously described by the band as "a 13-minute long percussive ordeal."

The group's last album, "Necessary Evil", came out in June 2007 via Season of Mist. The follow-up to 2005's "Strings Attached" included a 27-minute piece entitled "Once Upon a Lifetime Parts I - V".

Steven Tyler of AEROSMITH, Robin Zander of CHEAP TRICK and Roger Daltrey of THE WHO will make guest appearances with the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA this fall.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, the rock orchestra that brought symphonic-rock to the mainstream audiences, will begin its holiday tour on November 1, 2009. The group, which derived its name from the Trans-Siberian Railway, was founded in 1996 by New York native Paul O'Neill who produced albums for hard rock groups including AEROSMITH, SAVATAGE and the SCORPIONS. Since then, it has grown into a thirty-piece orchestra featuring two narrators, fourteen singers and fourteen musicians with expertise in genres ranging from R&B to Broadway and classic Rock.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, abbreviated TSO, typically tours throughout the United States during the peak period of the holiday season combining classic Christmas scores with hard rock and metal genres of music. TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA wasn't always well received, though. With symphonic rock music dying in the seventies, it wasn't until the re-release of the SAVATAGE single "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" that the orchestra would become a holiday hit show.

TSO has released four studio albums, three of which garnered platinum and double platinum status. Their fifth album, tentatively titled "Night Castle", is set for release in October 2009.

"An exciting aspect of the 2009 TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA tour is that fans will get an opportunity to see a live performance featuring TSO for the first time in five years," stated Alexandra Owens, managing editor, TicketLiquidator. "Audience members can expect to see performances characterized by a rock opera tone highlighted by laser and light shows setting it apart from other holiday shows such as Mannheim Steamroller or the Radio City Christmas Spectacular," added Owens.

Shows are typically divided into two parts following a plot; the first half includes songs from "Christmas Eve and Other Stories", and the second half features a mixture of their most popular material.

Gary Graff of Billboard.com reports: Having his autobiography, "Roses and Thorns: The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy to My Reality", pushed back into 2010 by publisher Simon & Schuster is allowing POISON's Bret Michaels to tell the rest of the story.

The book was originally due out this past June, and while Michaels acknowledges "it would've been great to have it out there," he says that the delay "let me talk about the Tonys and the (summer) tour with DEF LEPPARD and CHEAP TRICK and all the nutty stories I'll have from the summer." Michaels made headlines on June 7 when he fractured his nose at the Tony Awards, colliding with a piece of moving scenery after he performed POISON's "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of "Rock Of Ages".

Read more from Billboard.com.