Contraband Candy's René Ackermann conducted an interview with vocalist Mark Osegueda of San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL at this year's Metalcamp festival, which was held on July 2-8, 2009 in Tolmin, Slovenia. Watch the chat below.

DEATH ANGEL's longtime drummer and original member Andrew Galeon left the band in April. Will Carroll, formerly of SCARECROW, OLD GRANDAD and VICIOUS RUMORS handled the drum duties for the Summer Madness Tour in Europe with KATAKLYSM and KEEP OF KALESSIN.

Regarding Galeon's departure from DEATH ANGEL, Osegueda told Contraband Candy, "[Touring] was always hard on Andy. And when he started having children, it got a bit more difficult. And by the [time he had his] second [kid], you could just see he wasn't happy on the road. Amazing drummer, but just not happy on the road; the road's not for everyone. It's easier when you're 18 to 22, and it's much more difficult when you have children and you're trying to pay mortgages and what-not. Unfortunately, he had hit his wall, and then we got Will Carroll, who's been part of the San Francisco metal scene for years. And we just got him to start filling in, and it's been going great. He brings a great thrash element to the band; it's kind of kicked it up a notch. It's been incredible. And the energy we have on stage now, it's just kind of undeniable."

Five years after the release of the band's acclaimed comeback album, "The Art Of Dying", and the follow-up effort, "Killing Season", DEATH ANGEL recently issued a DVD with two full-length concerts filmed in Germany. Entitled "Sonic German Beatdown", the package — which came out on April 17 — includes footage from the 2007 edition of the Rock Hard Festival and a 2008 performance in Adelsheim.

Guitarist/vocalist Wayne Static of Los Angeles metallers STATIC-X was interviewed on August 22, 2009 at Seattle radio station KISW 99.9 FM's Pain in the Grass 2009 event in Auburn, Washington. Listen to the chat using the audio player below (click on "Static X Interview From Pain In The Grass 2009" to launch audio).

After STATIC-X's Australian tour in November, Wayne Static will focus on his PIGHAMMER solo project which will tentatively release its debut album sometime next year.

In a December 2007 interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Wayne stated about PIGHAMMER, "It is going to be a side project and I'm going to write with a whole bunch of different people and it is going to be heavy as fuck. And it will not have any boundaries as I'm not going to worry about who is going to play it or if we're going to play it live. I am just going to do it for fun. It is going to be very extreme and I'll be working with as many different people as I can. And I'll be doing all the vocals on it too. But beyond that, I'm going to try and get a bunch of different cool people. I'm going to be writing with John 5 [ROB ZOMBIE, ex-MARILYN MANSON], we've talking about working with Al Jourgensen [MINISTRY] too and Tony Campos [STATIC-X] is also going to help me out. Whoever wants to help out, I'd love for them to so. I'm even talking about working with Tommy Victor from PRONG. I want to write some music with these people but then make it my own thing too."

"Cult of Static", the new album from STATIC-X, sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 16 on The Billboard 200 chart.

As previously reported, STATIC-X has tapped drummer Will Hunt (EVANESCENCE, DARK NEW DAY, ex-SKRAPE, TOMMY LEE) to fill in for Nick Oshiro on the group's current tour. Hunt also appears in STATIC-X's new video for the song "Stingwray".

Oshiro is reportedly "taking a break" from STATIC-X, but has not officially left the band.

Mexico's metal podcast Familia Perro recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Jason Netherton of Baltimore, Maryland metal masters MISERY INDEX. The podcast can now be streamed using the audio player below. (Note: The program is in Spanish, but the actual interview was conducted in English.)



MISERY INDEX has been touring almost non-stop since the release of "Traitors" in September 2008. The follow-up to "Discordia" was recorded in May 2008 at Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts.

The band's video for the album's title track was shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with director David Brodsky of My Good Eye.

HeavyMetalSource.com conducted an interview with vocalist Byron Davis of New Jersey metallers GOD FORBID on August 8, 2009 at the Hartford, Connecticut stop of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Watch the chat below.

GOD FORBID guitarist Doc Coyle told EMG TV in a recent interview that he might fill in for LAMB OF GOD's Mark Morton on the Richmond, Virginia metal band's upcoming U.S. tour with METALLICA (as well as LOG's headlining "off" dates), which is scheduled to kick off on September 14 in Nashville and conclude on November 15 in New York City. However, this information has not been corroborated by an official source within the LAMB OF GOD camp and should be treated as a rumor only at this point.

Morton did not perform with LAMB OF GOD at the last six shows of the group's recently completed European tour as his wife was expecting a baby. UNEARTH six-stringer Buz McGrath stepped in for these dates, which included an appearance at U.K.'s Sonisphere festival.

GOD FORBID has recruited former HIMSA axeman Matt Wicklund to handle second-guitar duties on the road following the recent departure of Dallas Coyle (Doc's brother).

Former DARKEST HOUR axeman Kris Norris played second guitar for GOD FORBID during the recently completed No Fear Energy Tour with LAMB OF GOD, AS I LAY DYING, CHILDREN OF BODOM and MUNICIPAL WASTE.

GOD FORBID's new album, "Earthsblood", sold around 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to land at position No. 110 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD debuted at 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.

GOD FORBID's previous album, "IV: Constitution of Treason", entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 119 in September 2005 after shifting 8,300 units.

Vicky Bradley (a.k.a. Vix the Angel Of Metal) conducted an interview with guitarist Johannes "Axeman" Losbäck of Swedish heavy metallers WOLF on August 8, 2009 at the Dean Owners of America U.K. faction party at the Albany Theatre in London, England. Watch the chat below.

"Ravenous", the latest album from WOLF, is now available as a luxurious LP, including a poster, a killer gatefold sleeve and the entire album on CD as a bonus, strictly limited to 500 copies!

The "Ravenous" LP edition is only available in Sweden, Germany and the U.K., so vinyl lovers head out and get this hellish piece of metal!

"Ravenous" was released in North America on March 24 via Century Media Records. Out in Europe since February, the CD features a guest guitar solo by Hank Shermann (FORCE OF EVIL, MERCYFUL FATE) and guest vocals by Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ROYAL HUNT). For the fierce and bloody artwork, the band once again decided to work with its longtime cover artist Thomas Holm (MERCYFUL FATE). Topped off by the phenomenal production by Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, JUDAS PRIEST), "Ravenous" promises "a heavy metal delicacy par excellence!"

WOLF will embark on a U.K. headlining tour in October. Support on the trek will come from the Canadian traditional heavy metal band CAULDRON.

A seven-and-a-half-minute trailer for "The Voice Of Melodic Metal - Live In Atlanta", the recently released DVD from Rob Rock (IMPELLITTERI, DRIVER, JOSHUA), can be viewed below. The disc was shot on September 27, 2008 at the ProgPower USA IX festival at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia and was made available in Europe on May 22 via AFM Records and in the U.S. on June 30 through Regain/KOCH. The set was issued as a CD and DVD/CD package.

Rob will promote "The Voice Of Melodic Metal" with an appearance at the ProgPower USA IX festival on September 11-12, 2009 in Atlanta. He will take part in a signing session on Friday, September 11 at 7:45 p.m. and will also perform as a guest singer with CRIMSON GLORY later that night.

Rob's first official DVD release since the "voice of melodic metal" began his 20-year singing career, "The Voice Of Melodic Metal - Live In Atlanta" includes bonus interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and selections from current and past bands, tours, rehearsals and concert footage that has been previously unreleased. This is also Rob's first-ever live CD and features song performances from his four acclaimed solo albums and other selections from his past studio recordings.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Garden Of Chaos
02. First Winds Of The End Of Time
03. Rock The Earth
04. In The Night
05. Slayer Of Souls
06. Judgment Day
07. Only A Matter Of Time
08. This Time Is The Last Time
09. Savior's Call
10. Metal Breed
11. I'm A Warrior

Check out the cover artwork below.

Rob's band for the ProgPower concert consisted of the following musicians:

Tracy Shell - Drums
CJ Grimmark (NARNIA) - Guitar
Andreas Olsson Passmark (DIVINEFIRE, NARNIA) - Bass
Peter Halgren - Guitar
Rob Rock - Vocals

ROB ROCK's latest solo album, "Garden of Chaos", was released in September 2007 through AFM Records. The CD was produced by ROB ROCK guitarist Carl-Johan Grimmark and co-produced by Roy Z (JUDAS PRIEST, BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD) and Rob Rock. Rob wrote seven of the 11 tracks with longtime partner Roy Z, and the other tracks were co-written by Rob with Gus G. (FIREWIND), Carl-Johan Grimmark, Bob Rossi, and Liza Rock. The album was mixed and mastered at Hansen Studios in Denmark by Jacob Hansen.

Vocalist Roger Miret of New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT was interviewed by Slovenia's Vest when the band performed at the this year's Paranoid Open Air festival, which was held August 13-15, 2009 at Autopoligon Ljubecna, near Celje, Slovenia. Watch the chat below.

AGNOSTIC FRONT's latest album, "Warriors" was released in North America on November 6, 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was produced by MADBALL/HAZEN STREET frontman Freddy Cricien, who also happens to be Miret's younger brother. The engineering duties were handled by Zeuss at Planet Z in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Vicky Bradley (a.k.a. Vix the Angel Of Metal) conducted an interview with guitarist Michael Angelo Batio (NITRO) on August 8, 2009 at the Dean Owners of America U.K. faction party at the Albany Theatre in London, England. Watch the seven-minute chat below.

Batio recently collaborated with Metal Method founder Doug Marks to release the "Speed Lives 3 - The Neo Classical Zone" DVD. Marks directed and produced the DVD, which features Michael teaching and performing his song "The Finish Line". Michael breaks down this fun to learn and challenging song into 29 sections.

"The Finish Line" features many different kinds of guitar techniques including several different kinds of arpeggios, long alternate picking sequences and the use of many different keys and scales including the whole tone scale. The great thing about learning to play "The Finish Line" is that you will not only be learning techniques that you can use with any style of music but you also be able to play one of Michael's most popular songs.

"Speed Lives 3 - The Neo Classical Zone" is a three-camera video shoot and the production in every area is outstanding. The disc also includes right-hand picking close-ups on screen (picture in picture) along with the fret board hand.

All exercises, explanations and examples are marked with dozens of detailed chapters. These chapters allow you to find any section instantly.

This DVD has an extensive menu system to help you navigate through the program with your DVD player's remote control. The DVD includes an "on-disk" printable booklet, animated "play along" tablature, and a printable chapter guide.

The studio version of "The Finish Line" is available on the CD titled "Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity Part 2" by Michael Angelo Batio.



(Thanks: Fullshred)

VOODOO SIX, the British band formed by ex-DIRTY DEEDS bassist Tony Newton, is hard at work on its sophomore full-length CD for a tentative early 2010 release. According to the group, Mike Fraser (AC/DC, AEROSMITH, GUNS N' ROSES, METALLICA) "has started mixing the second half of the album; only four more songs and the album is finished!! It is sounding amazing, we can't wait to get out and start playing the new songs live. We are looking into booking some shows now, so all very exciting."

VOODOO SIX recently parted ways with singer Henry Rundell and replaced him with Luke Purdie (RECULVER).

The band's critically acclaimed debut album, "First Hit for Free", was released in continental Europe in October 2008 via Locomotive Records. The CD, which was issued in the U.K. in March 2008, was mixed by Fraser.

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

VOODOO SIX's "Feed My Soul" video:

Reactivated Long Island, New York hardcore/metallers VISION OF DISORDER supported KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on August 29, 2009 at Bay Stage @ Jones Beach in Wantagh, New York. Check out photos from Kurt Christensen at this location.

Fan-filmed video footage of VISION OF DISORDER's performance can be viewed below.

VISION OF DISORDER is currently crafting material for the band's long-awaited comeback album, which is tentatively due sometime next year via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

"We're just writing now, and things are going pretty good," frontman Tim Williams told Noisecreep. "We're staying busy. We're not rushing too much, and we've got like nine or 10 songs/ideas going for the new record."

Williams said the songs they've finished so far "sound very V.O.D., kind of old 'Imprint'-y type songs, but with a new, good energy to them. Raw. Good stuff. There's elements of V.O.D.-style hardcore in a couple of songs, which is exciting to see again."

Regarding VISION OF DISORDER's possible new label home, Williams said, "We're not ready. We're about to record a real proper demo. We had recorded a demo earlier, and we gave that to a couple of people. Maybe one or two. The next demo will go out to labels, but we are not going to sign to a big label. We're not signing any lengthy fucking deals with anybody. We want to sign for one record, and we want to own a significant percentage of the record, and whoever's going to field that kind of deal is who we're going to go with.

"V.O.D. doesn't need a label to break us or any bullshit like that," he continued. "We've already done the hard work during the '90s of getting the V.O.D. name out there, so we don't really need a traditional record deal from anybody. We'll probably end up signing with a strong indie label. We're holding all the cards, and when we're ready, we'll know."

U.K. death metallers ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY have issued the following update:

"Our new album, 'The Reign Of Darkness', is now fully recorded. During this month it is being mixed by a good friend of ours, the one and only Erik Rutan from HATE ETERNAL/ex-MORBID ANGEL. You may know his work as he has worked with CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS, GOATWHORE, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, NILE, AEON and loads more.

"Here's what the man himself had to say on the project: 'I am super-excited to work with ANNOTATIONS here at Mana [Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida] with their hybrid of heavy-as-hell death metal. They are a bunch of great guys and an incredible band with tons of potential and look forward to making this album one heavy S.O.B!'

"We're really glad to have him onboard for this because not only is he an awesome guy but he has been a part of a lot of music that has influenced this band over time and we know he will do it justice!

"Once Erik has done his thing, it will be mastered and released via Nuclear Blast Records and Siege of Amida Records, The release date is still up in the air but it is planned for the very start of 2010. I know we said summer originally but we had to push it back which was unavoidable!

"Now to the artwork… The album art is nearly complete and has been taken care of by Pär Olofsson (PSYCROPTIC, THE FACELESS, CONDEMNED). The album is a concept album so the cover follows closely and, yes, it is another epic piece!"

ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY's August 27, 2009 performance at the Live Club in Wendlingen, Germany was filmed for an upcoming music video. The show was part of the "Dominatour Europe 2009", which featured ANNOTATIONS in the headlining slot, with support from TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED, BURNING SKIES and VIATROPHY.

ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY was formed in late 2006 with the purpose of writing aggressive low-end death metal and playing it with passion, aggression and determination.

The band mixes old and new-school death metal to form its own brand of aggressive death.

For more information, go to this location.

MAEL MÓRDHA — the world's only "Gaelic doom metal" band — has issued the following update:

"Due to some 'internal restructuring' in our label, Grau Records, our album, 'Manannán', is now not going to be released until next year. When next year we cannot tell you. When they decide to let us know the release date, you'll be the first to know.

"Our Irish dates are still confirmed with the exception of the Waterford date which seems to be in doubt (but this was in no way related to the album launch). We were planning on airing some of the songs off of our new album and still intend on doing this along with a health mix from 'Cluain Tarbh' and 'Gealtacht Mael Mórdha'.

"Many thanks for your patience.

"If you feel annoyed by this delay in the new album release then feel free to contact Grau and vent your anger there."

A 90-second YouTube clip featuring audio samples from "Manannán" is available below.

Regarding the upcoming CD, the group recently stated, "It's called 'Manannán', after the Irish God of the Sea. It's a concept album and there are eight tracks in total."

"Manannán" track listing:

01. Through the Lungs of the Dead
02. The Summoning
03. The Doom of the Races of Éire
04. Our Ancestors Dwell Here
05. Manannán
06. A Nation in Ruins
07. The Gaelic Twilight
08. Back To Éire

MAEL MÓRDHA is:

Roibéard Ó Bogail: Vocals, Whistles
Gerry Clince: Guitars
Anthony Lindsay: Guitars
Dave Murphy: Bass Guitar
Shane Cahill: Drums

For more information, visit www.mael-mordha.com.

A champion of the stage joins with Detroit's own champions of the ring as "musical heavyweight" Philip Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN, SUPERJOINT RITUAL) pays a special visit to the first annual Kronk Fest 2009 on Sunday, September 20 at Clutch Cargos in Pontiac, Michigan.

New Orleans native Philip Anselmo is a world-renowned vocalist and musician who has sold more than 25 million records with PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL and his longtime band of brothers in DOWN. But he is also a devoted boxing fan, historian and journalist. He is a regular contributor to Boxing Digest magazine and BoxingInsider.com. And he is a FOK, a Friend of Kronk, newly appointed to the board of the Kronk Gym Foundation.

Anselmo will make a special guest appearance at Kronk Fest 2009, which will benefit the Kronk Gym Foundation in its efforts to provide new equipment for the Kronk boxing gym, plus tournament funding for the Kronk amateur boxing team.

Playing live at the Kronk Fest will be two Michigan heavy-metal sluggers: DEADHOUSE rocking out of Detroit and CAVALCADE from Lansing. As an extra-special bonus, there will be an exclusive sneak preview of the long-awaited rockumentary "Down – Diary of a Mad Band", which is scheduled for release in 2010. Watch the members of DOWN as they tear up Europe — literally and figuratively — on their first European tour.

Doors for this special evening open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. A $50 VIP ticket earns you the right to party with Anselmo in the VIP section and a limited-edition autographed photo.

The Kronk Gym is an internationally known boxing center, which, under the direction of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, has produced a cavalcade of ring champions, including Thomas Hearns, Hilmer Kenty, Lennox Lewis and is currently training heavyweight champion of the world Wladimir Klitschko.

Steward has recently established the Kronk Gym Foundation, which seeks to keep kids off the street and in the ring, where they can learn how to be good boxers and better citizens.

To make a donation or purchase tickets for Kronk Fest 2009, visit www.KronkGymFoundation.com or call (248) 917-1793.

Footage of Anselmo facing the unique challenge of training a boxer known as The Anvil for a November 2007 episode of MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" can be viewed below.

A boxing fanatic since before he was in PANTERA, the singer jumped at the opportunity to get in the ring and offer some pointers to an aspiring champion.

ALICE IN CHAINS kicked off its U.S. headlining tour this past Friday night (September 4) at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C.

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. Rain When I Die
02. Angry Chair
03. Man in the Box
04. Them Bones
05. Dam That River
06. A Looking In View
07. We Die Young
08. Nutshell
09. Love, Hate, Love
10. Sludge Factory
11. Acid Bubble
12. Again
13. Junkhead
14. Would?

Encore:

15. Check My Brain
16. No Excuses
17. Rooster

Check out reviews of the show:

Live-Metal.net
Rock N Roll Experience

Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be viewed below.

ALICE IN CHAINS will take part in an exclusive private performance at the PC Richard & Son Theater in New York City this Wednesday, September 9.

PC Richard & Son Theater is located on the ground floor of 32 Avenue of the Americas. Doors open at 4 p.m. Performance at 5 p.m.

In other news, ALICE IN CHAINS will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, September 25 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio program, dubbed "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the broadcast live via the Internet between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. (midnight) U.K. time at BBC.co.uk.

As previously reported, ALICE IN CHAINS will celebrate the release of its highly anticipated new album, "Black Gives Way To Blue", with an outdoor mini-concert on ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Tuesday, September 29 (which will actually air the morning of Wednesday, September 30).

If you pre-order ALICE IN CHAINS' new album, "Black Gives Way To Blue", via iTunes, you will receive two exclusive bonus tracks: "Your Decision" (live) and "Black Gives Way To Blue (Elton John Piano Mix)".

ALICE IN CHAINS recently tapped U2 and WHITE STRIPES video director Alex Courtes to shoot a clip for "Check My Brain", the first official single from "Black Gives Way To Blue".

"Black Gives Way To Blue" arrives in stores on September 29 and is the first all-new ALICE IN CHAINS album in 14 years.

The disc features the recording debut with the group of singer and guitarist William DuVall. Original frontman Layne Staley died in 2002.

Due to the national election in Greece (set for Sunday, October 4) and the pre-election speeches of the participant political parties, CANDLEMASS' October 2 concert in Thessaloniki has been cancelled. Meanwhile, the band's show in Athens, which was supposed to take place on October 4 at Gagarin205 has been moved forward a day. All previously purchased tickets will be honored.

CANDLEMASS' shows in Greece could not be rescheduled because the band will not be doing any more touring until April 2010.

As previously reported, CANDLEMASS' show in Athens will be recorded for an upcoming DVD. The band's performance will reportedly be two hours long, although this has not been officially confirmed by anyone in the CANDLEMASS camp.

Fan-filmed video footage of CANDLEMASS' August 28, 2009 performance at the Hole In The Sky festival in Bergen, Norway can be viewed below (courtesy of Demonia's Blogg).

"Death Magic Doom", the new album from CANDLEMASS, debuted at No. 79 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.

"Death Magic Doom" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 52. The group's previous CD, "King of the Grey Islands", debuted at No. 83 back in June 2007.

Commented bassist/main songwriter Leif Edling: "The songs [on the new album] are about immortality, depressions, demons, vampires, funerals and the almighty devil that we all know very well. I love the way we perform here. Rob's [Lowe] singing and Lasse's [Lars Johansson, guitar] soloing are nothing but amazing!! The production is also outstanding! The name 'Death Magic Doom' captures it perfectly! Great name! Love it! It is very suitable for an album of this magnitude AND it also describes what CANDLEMASS is about; Heavy, hard, epic, colossal metal!!! I would say that 'Death Magic Doom' is the best album we have done since 'Nightfall' [1987]!! In all, [the LP contains] nearly 50 minutes of bone-crushing and mind-blowing doom metal!!"

(Thanks: www.metalzone.gr)

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was interviewed on the September 3, 2009 edition of the internationally syndicated radio show "Nights With Alice Cooper". The chat is now available for streaming at this location.

As previously reported, Frehley will sign copies of his new solo CD, "Anomaly", at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, New Jersey on Saturday, September 26 at 1:00 p.m. You must pre-order the new CD or LP to gain access to this event. Ace will sign one record per customer (customer's choice), including KISS records.

Visit www.vvinyl.com for details.

30-second audio samples of all the tracks that will appear on "Anomaly" are available for streaming on Amazon.de.

In addition to the standard CD release, unique "Anomaly" packages will be 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.

Due on September 15 via Ace's own Bronx Born Records, with Rocket Science providing a full label service platform in the U.S., "Anomaly" was produced and recorded in Westchester County, New York between 2007 and 2009 and was mixed in Los Angeles.

Frehley will perform at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California on Saturday, September 12 during the Sunset Strip Music Festival.

Jian Ghomeshi of CBC's cultural affairs show "Q" conducted an interview with directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Banger Films Inc. — creators of "Iron Maiden: Flight 666", the feature-length documentary film which follows the IRON MAIDEN bandmembers on the first leg of their "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour" in February and March of 2008 — on April 14, 2009. The 15-minute chat can now be viewed below.

"Iron Maiden: Flight 666" was released on extended Blu-ray and DVD formats, alongside a double-CD soundtrack album and limited edition double-vinyl picture disc. It was made available Monday, May 25 on EMI Records in Europe, and June 9 on EMI Records Canada and UMe in the USA.

For "Iron Maiden: Flight 666", IRON MAIDEN was accompanied everywhere by McFadyen and Dunn, who have received international critical acclaim for their previous movies "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" and recently "Global Metal". Dunn and his team bring an intimate, behind-the-scenes view of this remarkable journey, with a close look at the logistics involved and following Team Maiden in the cockpit, on the plane and on and offstage, getting to the heart of this global adventure of a band that has very rarely even let cameras backstage before.

Shot in high definition and with superb 5.1 surround sound, mixed by the band's producer Kevin "Caveman" Shirley, "Flight 666" brings to the screen all the drama, excitement and hysteria that followed the band around the world every time Ed Force One (the band's plane) touched down in a new country. The film documents the intensity of the punishing show schedules, the struggle with the time zones, the pressures of ensuring that every performance matched the energy of the many thousands of ecstatic and expectant fans from many cultural backgrounds, unusual angles from the spectacular shows... and, of course, the fun had on the way!

As a very special bonus for the fans, MAIDEN has included a second disc of the entire set from the 2008 segment of this tour with the DVD (and as a long-play Blu-ray). Sixteen songs from sixteen different cities in eleven countries around the world, for the first time ever encompassing such varied places and cultures in one concert. In addition to a standard double DVD, EMI released a special souvenir limited-edition deluxe DVD with 30-page booklet. The soundtrack audio version of the live show was made available on two CDs, as a limited-edition vinyl set with two picture discs, and a digital download especially for those fans who do not have DVD access or just want to enjoy the show as a great live album. All are lavishly packaged as an ultimate memento of a tour to remember!

To recognize the global phenomenon of MAIDEN, the Blu-ray/DVD are also subtitled in Hindi, Japanese, Dutch, German, Spanish, Brazilian, French, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish.

THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz has recorded a guest appearance on a new song from the reunited SLAVES ON DOPE.

The seventh and eighth webisodes documenting the making of SLAVES ON DOPE's new album — including an interview with White-Gluz — can be viewed below.

SLAVES ON DOPE vocalist Jason Rockman and guitarist Kevin Jardine recently reformed the group and are encouraging "old fans and possible new ones" to join them at their new Facebook page.

SLAVES ON DOPE's "Inches from the Mainline" album was released through Ozzy Osbourne's now-defunct Divine Recordings label. After Divine Recordings lost its distribution deal with EMI's Priority Records, the band was left without a label. After a long search, a deal was struck with Bieler Bros. Records. SLAVES ON DOPE's second major album, "Metafour", was released in 2003.

In March 2004, SLAVES ON DOPE announced it was going on hiatus due to Jason Rockman leaving the band.

More fan-filmed video footage of HAIL!'s September 1, 2009 concert at Blæst in Trondheim, Norway can be viewed below.

HAIL!'s current touring lineup includes guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, BEYOND FEAR, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH), bassist David Ellefson (F5, MEGADETH) and drummer Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY).

The group's setlist for the Trondheim show was as follows:

01. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD)
02. Territory (SEPULTURA)
03. Symphony Of Destruction (MEGADETH)
04. Grinder (JUDAS PRIEST)
05. Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
06. Walk (PANTERA)
07. Balls To The Wall (ACCEPT)
08. Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH)
09. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN)
10. Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN)
11. Black Metal (VENOM) (with Andreas on vocals)
12. Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
13. Burn In Hell (JUDAS PRIEST) / Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH)
14. South Of Heaven (SLAYER)
15. Peace Sells (MEGADETH)
16. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)

Encore:

17. Refuse/Resist (SEPULTURA)
18. Whiplash (METALLICA)

Commented Ellefson: "We rolled into the small town of Jevnaker, Norway today, about an hour north of Oslo. The HAIL! global community of good will, and all things metal, expanded out to our brother Silenoz from DIMMU BORGIR, who joined us on guitar for three JUDAS PRIEST songs during the show. He's a great dude and the songs sounded awesome with him playing on them. He and Andreas were great together and the crowd loved it! Ripper also killed it on 'The Trooper' and tonight was the second time this week we delved into a little punk rock with 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by the RAMONES, taking our cue from the audience who had a 'Hey, Ho, Let's Go' sign waving high in the air. Very old-school punk and being all things HAIL!, we had to tip our hat to the punk that influenced us as kids. Plus Roy rocks that stuff.

"Roy was in top form tonight as MAYHEM/DIMMU drummer Hellhammer is letting him use his own personal drum kit for the next few days, which is a righteous act of metal brotherhood on his part. Roy plays hard and has been leaving disheveled drum sets in his wake across the country for the past week. It seems Hellhammer's weapons of choice in drums can finally handle the abuse and it makes the trip just that much cooler.

"Thank you, Hellhammer; you are awesome indeed.

"We also threw in some some other little gems like KISS' 'Cold Gin', S.O.D.'s 'The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix' and ANTHRAX's 'Got The Time'…..which was a good live tune and a chance for a bass solo!"

Kisser recently stated about the band's Scandinavian tour, which kicked off in Trondheim, "We intentionally booked some shows in smaller cities because we realize that SEPULTURA and JUDAS PRIEST and MEGADETH could never play in some of these places, so we wanted to make the effort to give everybody a chance to come hang out with us and enjoy the show."

Due to previous touring commitments with ALICE COOPER, regular HAIL! drummer Jimmy DeGrasso was unable to make the Scandinavian trek.

Mayorga's ties to HAIL! run deep, having played with guitarist Andreas Kisser while filling in for the entire SEPULTURA 2006 European tour and also taking part in the Roadrunner Records 25th birthday bash in December 2005 with both Kisser and HAIL! frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens.

Commented Kisser: "I've known Roy for a long time and he's great, so when this situation came up to find a sub for Jimmy, we knew Roy would fit in perfectly."

Mayorga enthusiastically concurred: "When the guys asked me about playing these shows with them, I was thrilled! It is so cool what they are doing and to be able to help them out and fill in for Jimmy is truly an honor for me."

Remaining tour dates:

Sep. 06 - Feelgood, Halden, Norway
Sep. 07 - The Rock, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sep. 08 - Voxhall, Aarhus, Denmark
Sep. 10 - Dante's Highlight, Helsinki, Finland
Sep. 11 - Wasteland, Gavle, Sweden
Sep. 12 - Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden

The November 2009 issue of Guitar World magazine includes an extensive interview with SLAYER guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Guitar World: Were you rebellious as kids?

King: Not really, because I was always worried about ramifications from my dad. My dad is 40 years older than me, and both my parents are old-fashioned. I stayed in line or I'd get hit. My dad would make me go out and pick the tree branch that I wanted to get hit with. I'd be like, "How about that little one over there?" [laughs] Or he'd cut off a piece of the garden hose. That's true fear, man. Now if you hit your kids, it's, "Oh, that's wrong." Fuck you. I got hit and I'm fine. Or maybe that's exactly my problem. [laughs]

Hanneman: Wow. I've never heard that story. My dad was very into discipline, too. But I still rebelled. Me and my dad were so much alike that we would just butt heads. I pretty much hated him from the age of 16 to 24 for no real reason. My mentality was that I'd never let him win. I remember every once in a while he'd grab me by the throat and I would be like, [assuming a defiant stance] "Come on!" But after the age of 24, he became my hero. I loved the guy to death.

Guitar World: SLAYER is known for their taboo subject matter. Is there any topic that is off limits for you guys?

Hanneman: I think the only thing we wouldn't hit on is rape. I don't know if you've ever met anyone like this, but there's this certain type of man that just hates women. I've met a few of them and it's like, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you hate women?" We have wives, mothers and sisters, so rape is the one thing we haven't touched on. Except for necrophilia, which is the dead, so who cares. [laughs]

King: Huh. I don't think there are any areas I wouldn't explore. I mean, Jesus Christ, Jeff can write about the Holocaust but he can't write about rape? That's bizarre. I'm not saying it to one-up Jeff, but the topic of rape is not too taboo for me.

Guitar World: How do you feel about President Obama and the change in leadership?

King: I think it's a good thing, because the Republicans fucked up a lot of shit. For a long time I thought I was a Republican, but now I think there's things in both factions for me. If I had to tell somebody what I was, I'd say Independent. Once this election started to come around, I was telling people that our next president would be either a black man or a woman. I'm not the fairest dude on the planet, but it's good because it gives black kids an incentive to be president. I think that's what a president should do.

Guitar World: Can you talk about the difference between your styles and how that makes up the balance and tension in SLAYER?

Hanneman: I just think my style is a little darker. We both write stuff that's fast, but I think I write the darker, more evil stuff.

King: A buddy of mine has a wife who's a big SLAYER fan, and he played her "Psychopathy Red". And she said, "That's not Kerry's song." I was like, "How the fuck did she know that?" Because it really sounds like it should be my song. Like Jeff said, people tend to think my songs are more aggro and Jeff's are moodier. But that's not to say I won't write a moody song and he won't write a fast one like "Psychopathy Red". We are individuals whose styles are very different, but we can each do what the other guy is doing, too.

Guitar World: Guitar players often say that SLAYER's solos "don't make sense." What governs your approach to soloing?

Hanneman: Nothing. [laughs] Kerry took lessons; I learned from scratch. I just picked up a guitar and started to play. I don't know anything about scales or notes or stuff like that. When it comes to solos, I just go off. I don't know where the proper note should be, and I don't care. [laughs] But I think it works real well with our music. It's just so off the wall and crazy. It's like, "What the hell are they doing?" [laughs]

King: Around "Seasons In The Abyss" [1990], I went back to my original teacher and did some brush-up shit. So for "Seasons", I probably had 80 to 90 percent of my solos mapped out. Then I was talking to Dime [late PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott] one day and I said, "Dude, I got all these leads mapped out and they sound bad-ass!" And he's like, [in a gravelly southern accent] "King, don't forget to do what you do best: line them up and just make some noise!" And I've done that ever since. Now I make up 75 to 80 percent of them and I wing the rest of it.

Guitar World: Before you join up with MARILYN MANSON for this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, you're heading out on a short Canadian run with MEGADETH. [Note: The interview was conducted this past spring.] Kerry, I know in the past you've been pretty outspoken about your less-than-positive feelings toward Dave Mustaine. Have things cleared up between you two?

Kerry: I just don't have any respect for Dave. As far as playing goes, I can't take anything away from him. He's awesome. But I know things. That's not like, "Ooh, I know things." I just know he's a hypocrite, and I have no respect for that kind of person. But when I see him, I'll say, "What's up, Dave?" If he's not an asshole to me, I won't be one to him."

Hanneman: Oh, it's gonna be good. [laughs] I'm looking forward to it. If nothing happens between them, I'm probably gonna have to instigate a little bit. [laughs] I like Dave, and obviously Kerry, but I also like to watch a good fight.

Mickie Jones, original bassist and founding member of the '70s rock band ANGEL, passed away yesterday (Saturday, September 5) in San Dimas, California after a long battle with liver cancer. His family said he died "peacefully and beautifully."

Mickie performed on four ANGEL albums — "Angel" (1975), "Helluva Band" (1976), "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" (1977) and "An Anthology" (1992; compilation). He toured extensively with ANGEL in the United States for several years and took part in the band's infamous Japanese tour. Before ANGEL, he played in the rock group BUX, which included guitarist Punky Meadows (ANGEL) and singer Ralph Morman (JOE PERRY PROJECT, SAVOY BROWN). BUX released one album on Capitol Records, "We Come To Play", in 1976. Both Jones and Meadows were asked to join the NEW YORK DOLLS but declined. After leaving ANGEL, Jones formed the L.A. band EMPIRE (which also included L.A. GUNS drummer Steve Riley), in which he handled lead vocals. Over the years, Mickie became interested in film production and later worked in the film industry.

Condolences may be sent to mickiejonesrip@aol.com. Services have not been made at this time.

Mickie Jones (photo taken in 2007):

Mickie Jones (in the '70s):

Video footage of U.K.-based extreme metal veterans BOLT THROWER performing at the Rock Area festival in Loreley, Germany on August 22, 2009 can be viewed below (courtesy of "666maelstrom666").

BOLT THROWER indefinitely postponed plans to record a new studio album after the band realized that the new stuff it had written "just doesn't match up" to the group's last CD, "Those Once Loyal". "We have a lot of pride in our back catalogue, and we refuse to turn into one of the many bands (like the ones we grew up listening to) who end up releasing crap, and we're also not prepared to compromise by instead releasing an album of cover versions or a 'best-of' album," BOLT THROWER explained in a statement.

BOLT THROWER in 2006 completed a European tour in support of "Those Once Loyal", which entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 76 — the group's highest-charting release in Germany so far. The follow-up to 2001's "Honour, Valour, Pride" was recorded at Andy Faulkner's Sable Rose studios and was the band's first album since the return of original vocalist Karl Willetts as a full-time member.