MIXHELL — the DJ/hip hop/electro project featuring former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA CONSPIRACY drummer Igor "Iggor" Cavalera and his wife Laima Leyton — was one of the support acts for THE PRODIGY on October 23, 2009 at Via Funchal in São Paulo, Brazil. Watch fan-filmed video footage of MIXHELL's performance below.

When asked in a May 2009 interview how his metal background has affected his work with MIXHELL, Igor replied, "For me, even when I was playing metal, I always tried new things, I was never stuck to one [thing]. It was always, like, very open-minded. Anybody who followed the SEPULTURA years knows that we tried new things; it was not about being stuck in time; it was about moving up, always. So, for me, MIXHELL is a continuation of my career."

Igor Cavalera left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." He has since been replaced by Jean Dolabella (ex-UDORA). Igor's departure from SEPULTURA came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from the group's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their new son (who was born in January 2006). Filling in on drums during the band's spring 2006 European tour with IN FLAMES was Roy Mayorga, who played with Igor's brother Max in SOULFLY for several years in the late '90s and again in 2001-2003.

Igor is the second Cavalera to leave SEPULTURA. In 1996, Max Cavalera exited the group after the rest of the band fired Max's wife Gloria as SEPULTURA's manager.

Igor and Max Cavalera are currently collaborating on a new project called CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. The group's debut album, "Inflikted", was released in March 2008 via Roadrunner Records.

PITpov.com has posted quality video footage (see below) of ALICE IN CHAINS' October 23, 2009 performance in Grand Prairie, Texas as part of 97.1 The Eagle's Freakers Ball 2009.

ALICE IN CHAINS will team up with "A Looking In View" director Stephen Schuster once again to shoot a video for the band's next single, "Your Decision". More information will be made available soon.

To coincide with the band's European tour, ALICE IN CHAINS will release the "Your Decision" single on November 16 in the U.K.

"Your Decision" is the second single to be lifted from band's first all-new album in 14 years, titled "Black Gives Way To Blue", which sold 126,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 5 on The Billboard 200 chart (behind latest albums from PARAMORE, MARIAH CAREY, BARBRA STREISAND and BREAKING BENJAMIN).

ALICE IN CHAINS will perform on the October 30 edition of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien".

ALICE IN CHAINS recruited pop legend Elton John to contribute piano to the CD's title track, which is written in tribute to Staley.

William DuVall had played with his own group, COMES WITH THE FALL, as well as in Jerry Cantrell's solo band, before joining up with ALICE IN CHAINS in 2006.

"Black Gives Way to Blue" was recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH) at the Northridge, California studio of FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl.

Guitarist Alex Skolnick of veteran San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT was recently interviewed by Mama's Fallen Angels. The chat can now be streamed in two parts below.

TESTAMENT performed on August 10, 2009 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 premiered on October 5 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.

Two classic albums by TESTAMENT — 1997's "Demonic" and 1999's "The Gathering" — were reissued on gatefold double vinyl by Prosthetic Records on February 3. Each features etched artwork on Side D and is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Additionally, 100 copies of "Demonic" feature red vinyl, while 100 copies of "The Gathering" feature gold vinyl.

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Austin Vida conducted an interview with Arizona's EYES SET TO KILL on September 5, 2009 in Austin, Texas. Watch the chat below.

"The World Outside", the sophomore album from EYES SET TO KILL, sold 2,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 9 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.

Written and recorded by the band in Los Angeles with producer Dave Aguilera (ex-OTEP, BLEED THE DREAM) and mixed by Thom Flowers (THE ATARIS), "The World Outside" showcases the band's evolution from their screamo beginnings into powerful songwriters that resonate raw emotion.

"There were things that I put into this record that I've never told anyone before, not even my sister or some of my best friends," said EYES SET TO KILL's Alexia Rodriguez. "Writing was like therapy to me, because there are times when I feel so alone that I don't know how to express myself other than through music. This is who I am and what I do."

"Heights", the new video from EYES SET TO KILL, was directed by Black Fawn Films' Chad Archibald (ARISE AND RUIN, FAREWELL TO FREEWAY) in Los Angeles.

Stardust conducted an interview with vocalist Oli Sykes of U.K. metallers BRING ME THE HORIZON when the band played Ybor City, Florida on September 27, 2009. Watch the chat below.

BRING ME THE HORIZON will release a remixed version of its latest album, "Suicide Season", on November 2 via Visible Noise. "Suicide Season - Cut Up" will also include the original version of "Suicide Season" as a bonus and will be packed with "additional treats and good stuff."

"It all started because I had a friend who is into making electro stuff and I asked him if he wanted to remix one of our songs," Sykes told Rock Sound. "We were stoked on the end result and I thought it would be awesome if we could get every song remixed! We told our label and managers about the idea and they thought it was a good one. From there, we came up with a list of people we would love to remix our songs and started mailing people."

Tek-One, Robot Sonic, Ben Weinman from THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, Outcry Collective, L'Amour La Morgue (Ian Watkins from LOSTPROPHETS), Utah Saints and Shawn "Clown" Crahan from SLIPKNOT are among the musicians and producers who remixed and reinterpreted BRING ME THE HORIZON's music to create "Suicide Season - Cut Up".

According to Sykes, the album will be a surprise to both fans and critics alike.

"To be honest, there's not a song on there that really sounds like the original," he told Rock Sound. "What's great though is the diversity of each song. There's dub-step to hip-hop, electro to drum and bass. It's great!"

"The Sadness Will Never End", the new video from BRING ME THE HORIZON, was filmed in August and September 2009 in Slough, U.K. by Adam Powell and RSA. It features additional vocals by Sam Carter from ARCHITECTS and is the first BRING ME THE HORIZON video to involve a narrative.

Legendary German heavy metal vocalist Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT) was a featured guest on this past Saturday's (October 24) edition of "The Classic Metal Show". The chat is now available for streaming in two parts below.

"The Classic Metal Show" can be heard every Saturday night between 9:00 p.m. EST and 3:00 a.m. EST at www.cmsradio.net.

U.D.O.'s new album, "Dominator", entered the official chart in Germany at position No. 27. This marks the highest German chart entry in U.D.O.'s history.

Released on August 21 via AFM Records, "Dominator" features the following track listing:

01. The Bogeyman
02. Dominator
03. Black And White
04. Infected
05. Heavy Metal Heaven
06. Doom Ride
07. Stillness Of Time
08. Devil's Rendezvous
09. Bleeding Heart (Japanese bonus)
10. Pleasure In The Darkroom (digipack bonus)
11. Speed Demon
12. Whispers In The Dark

A limited-edition single, "Infected", preceded the full-length CD on June 26. The single was released as a limited edition of 2,222 pieces worldwide and included the title track, two non-album cuts, a remix and a live song. On the same day U.D.O. played at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany as a co-headliner.

U.D.O.'s previous studio album, "Mastercutor", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 39.

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Guitarist Tara McLeod of the Canadian all-girl metal band KITTIE recently answered fan-submitted questions for Fret 12. The entire question-and-answer session can be viewed in eight parts below

"In The Black", the new album from KITTIE, sold around 3,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 132 on The Billboard 200 chart.

KITTIE's previous CD, "Funeral for Yesterday", opened with 9,000 units back in February 2007 to land at No. 101.

"In The Black" was made available in Europe on October 23 via Germany's Massacre Records.

"Cut Throat", the new video from KITTIE, was directed by David Brodsky (SUICIDE SILENCE, GWAR, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) in an old, abandoned department store in Brooklyn, New York and it "perfectly captures what this band is all about," said guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander. "The make-up artist didn't really appreciate the fact that our make-up was sliding down our faces from the first note, but this isn't pretty or nice or dainty. This is metal and the 'Cut Throat' video perfectly embodies that."

Spain's Rafabasa.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Joey Tempest of Swedish hard rockers EUROPE. Watch the chat below.

"Last Look At Eden", the new album from EUROPE, has been certified gold in the band's home country for sales in excess of 20,000 copies.

Note: The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Sweden has revised the sales requirements for albums to reach gold status in the country twice in the last seven years — from the pre-2002 level of 40,000 to the current 20,000.

"Last Look At Eden" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 31. It also topped the Swedish chart in its first week of release.

"Last Look At Eden" was released in Germany on September 18 via earMUSIC/Edel Germany GmbH. The CD was issued in the U.K. on September 14.

"Last Look At Eden" track listing:

01. Prelude
02. Last Look at Eden
03. Gonna Get Ready
04. Catch that Plane
05. New Love in Town
06. The Beast
07. Mojito Girl
08. No Stone Unturned
09. Only Young Twice
10. U Devil U
11. Run With the Angels
12. In My Time

From the epic title track to the melodic ballad "New Love in Town", this album is on another level, less extreme than previous offering, 2006's "Secret Society", and with matured sound, "Last Look at Eden" is a mix of all the elements that have made EUROPE famous the world over.

Commented Tempest: "This time we're taking a new direction with our songs, and we're exploring different styles. There is a definite classic rock vibe on several tracks on this album — a tip of the hat to groovin', funkin' '70s rock songs, with a modern twist."

He added: "We've got a couple of great ballads, plus some thundering rock tracks that will put you flat on your ass! We've taken the best bits from our recent albums and taken it to a new level 'Last Look at Eden' is more of a EUROPE album than 'Secret Society' or 'Start From The Dark'. We had to make those albums in order to do this."

Belgian death metallers CRIMSON FALLS have issued the following update:

"CRIMSON FALLS decided to part ways with guitar player Ringo Van Dingenen. A hard decision to take, as Ringo was with us from the start of the band 7.5 years ago and on a personal level Ringo and the rest of the band still got along well. However, Ringo's personal life made it impossible for him to invest the necessary time and effort in the band for quite some time already, which made this decision inevitable if we wanted to keep the band running on the same pace.

"We thank Ringo for everything he did for CRIMSON FALLS over the years and won't forget all the good times we shared.

"Meanwhile, we welcome Jeroen Foré as our new guitar player. Jeroen already played in several bands such as CATAFALQUE and WRETCHED VIXEN and he is currently starting up a new project band called STRICH.NINE together with members of SPOIL ENGINE, MORDA, CYPHER and POLLUTED INHERITANCE. Jeroen was the obvious choice for us as he already rehearsed with us regularly over the past 1.5 years and he already replaced Ringo on six shows in that period. As he is a very talented guitar player, we are looking forward to start working on new material together with him. Jeroen already played with us [on October 16] at 't Zaaltje in Morkhoven. (See video below.)

"We are currently working on new shows and new (weekend) tours so watch out for that."

CRIMSON FALLS' second full-length album, "Fragments Of Awareness", was released in April via Genet Records. The CD was recorded at CCR Studios (THE SETUP, ABORTED, MORDA) by Kris Belaen and features artwork by Sven de Caluwé of ABORTED.

For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.

Professionally filmed video footage of MEDEIA's entire performance at the Lost In Music event, which was held October 22-24, 2009 in Tampere, Finland can be viewed at this location.

MEDEIA's second full-length album, "Cult", was released in September 2008 through Fullsteam Records. The CD, consisting of eleven "gloomy, hard-hitting yet still melodic attacks of alternative death metal," was made available in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg and Canada. Lyrically the band picks up from where the last record left off, depicting the aftermath of nuclear destruction and prying deep into the minds of the few wretched survivors. Manipulated by their sinister leader, these remnants of the human race form a suicidal cult, the sole intention of which is to make sure that no caricature of intelligence can destroy the planet again.

"Cult" entered the official chart in the band's country at position No. 28.

MEDEIA was founded in 2002 with a clear mission from the very beginning: to concentrate solely on creating a brutal sound uncompromising in nature and rich in content. Their self-financed, self-produced and now sold-out debut album "Quantum Holocaust: World Domination" was released in the summer of 2006 and has since received solely positive reviews. The band's current lineup got its form when Keijo Niinimaa (ROTTEN SOUND) joined the ranks of MEDEIA in 2007, adding his experience and talent to the bunch.

MEDEIA is:

Keijo Niinimaa: Lead Vocals
Samuli Peltola: Guitar and Vocals
Laura Dziadulewicz: Piano, Synth and Vocals
Samuli Kuusinen: Bass and Vocals
Janne Putkisaari: Drums and Vocals

MEDEIA's "Descension" video can be viewed below. The clip is said to be "a twisted homage to MICHAEL JACKSON's classic 'Thriller' video, but with a more terrifying and disturbing end."

For more information, visit www.medeiaband.com.

Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Mirroring Identities", the new album from the Italian melodic heavy metal band BROKEN MELODY, can be viewed below. The CD is scheduled for release this month via Copro Records.

"Mirroring Identities" was recorded at Real Sound Studios in Parma and contains 10 tracks. The artwork for the CD (see below) was created by Image Cult Agency, based in Italy. It follows two self-released efforts — the "If You Want to Fly" EP and the "Face the World" full-length.

According to BROKEN MELODY, the new album is "revolutionary and extremely heavy and melodic."

"Mirroring Identities" track listing:

01. The Beast Within
02. The Lover Of Innocence
03. I Live Again
04. A Question To Your Heart
05. Breaking The Chains
06. Dreaming Of A New World
07. Return Denied
08. Dark & Light
09. The Life Of A Night
10. Until The End

Two songs from the CD are available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

For more information, visit www.broken-melody.com.

"Unleash", the debut album from Swedish death metallers MY OWN GRAVE, will be re-released through Pulverised Records. The extended version of "Unleash" will be bundled with the "Progression Through Deterioration" 2004 demo and two extra cover songs (KRABATHOR's "Orthodox" and SLAYER's "War Ensemble"). The remastering duties were handled by acclaimed Swedish multi-instrumentalist/producer Dan Swanö (DISSECTION, MARDUK, OPETH, BLOODBATH). In addition, the artwork and layout have been altered and revamped.

"Unleash" reissue track listing:

01. Unleash
02. From The Ashes
03. Into Pieces
04. Spread The Plague
05. Where Carnage Reigns
06. Backdraft (Drowning In Fire)
07. Sheltered By Inferno
08. Soulstorm
09. Heathen Divinity
10. The Beyond
11. Theme For The Dead
12. Strangled By Life

Bonus Tracks:

13. Orthodox (KRABATHOR cover)
14. War Ensemble (SLAYER cover)

"Progression Through Deterioration" (2004 demo):

15. From The Ashes
16. Sheltered By Inferno
17. The Beyond
18. Theme For The Dead
19. Alcoholocaust

The second in a series of video clips featuring footage from the recording sessions for BORKNAGAR's new album, "Universal", can be viewed below. Due on February 22, 2010 through Indie Recordings, the effort will be made available in four different formats: regular jewelcase CD, limited digipack (including bonus disc), CD box with extras and gatefold LP with double vinyl.

"Universal" was recorded and mixed at Toproom Studio in Lunner, Norway, with the bandmembers themselves handling the production duties.

Commented BORKNAGAR mainman Øystein G. Brun: "We are extremely satisfied with the result! The album turned out even better than we dared to hope for when starting this journey. There is an attitude, energy and nerve to this record that will appeal to the most primal side of man, yet there is complexity and atmosphere that will challenge the most sophisticated parts of mind. The album contains all the elements that made BORKNAGAR the band we are and we firmly believe that this album will be a huge piece of candy for those who have followed the band through the years. This is by far the most complete album we have done to date — musically and production-wise — and we are right now just immensely eager to get the album out there!"

Regarding the album title, Brun said, "'Universal' is the title that shines through and mirrors the essence of the album. 'Universal' is a title that is broad enough and huge enough to project the giant character of this album, both musically and lyrically."

ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano was interviewed on last night's (Saturday, October 24) edition of the "Maximum Threshold" show. The entire program can now be streamed using the audio player below. (Note: The Caggiano interview begins around the one-hour, 28-minute mark.)

Regarding ANTHRAX's current status, Caggiano said, "We just got back from Japan. We played the Loud Park festival in Tokyo. That was pretty killer.

"We're just kind of taking it easy right now, getting ready to finish the new ANTHRAX record — getting things rolling with that. . . I'm producing and engineering the whole thing.

"I'm sure you guys know the whole story, but the record's pretty much... I mean, it was done... [laughs] and now, it's not confirmed or anything yet — it's unofficial — but it looks like John Bush's [ANTHRAX's singer from 1992 to 2005] gonna do the vocals on it. So we're all kind of keeping our fingers crossed and hopefully it's gonna go great. The record rules; we're all really, really excited about it."

On ANTHRAX's split with singer Dan Nelson, who laid down the vocals on the band's new CD before parting ways with the group in July:

"I really don't wanna go too much into that whole thing, because it's just gonna get weird. But Dan's a good guy, and he's a great, great singer — he sounds amazing. It just didn't work out. It's really as simple as that. We all tried this thing, this direction, and it just wasn't working. But none of that stuff really matters. I mean, we're all kind of looking to the future at this point. And it feels really good. I mean, the last few shows we did were awesome; we're all really, really excited."

On ANTHRAX's forthcoming album:

"I think the fans are really gonna dig this new record, when it's finally done. [laughs] It's kind of a... definitely a progression from the last album. There's definitely a few nods to the old-school stuff as well. It's just all around a really, really, really strong record."

ANTHRAX (featuring John Bush) is confirmed for the 2010 edition of Australia's Soundwave Festival, which will kick off on February 20 in Brisbane.

The dates are as follows:

Feb. 20 - Brisbane, AUS - RNA Showgrounds
Feb. 21 - Sydney, AUS - Eastern Creek Raceway
Feb. 26 - Melbourne, AUS - Melbourne Showgrounds
Feb. 27 - Adelaide, AUS - Bonython Park
Mar. 01 - Perth, AUS - Bassendean Oval

As a result of ANTHRAX's split with Nelson, the band canceled 10 European shows and pulled out of a U.S. tour with SLIPKNOT which was scheduled to take place in August and September.

Photo below courtesy of Loud Park festival.

Rob Caggiano interviewed on "Maximum Threshold" (Note: The Caggiano interview begins around the one-hour, 28-minute mark.)

Video footage of '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford performing her Top 10 Billboard hit (originally recorded with Ozzy Osbourne) "Close My Eyes Forever" while backed by members of QUEENSRŸCHE on October 24, 2009 at Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey can be viewed below. Also available is footage of QUEENSRŸCHE playing the song "The Best I Can" at the same concert.

QUEENSRŸCHE and Ford have teamed up for over two dozen dates beginning October 15. Lita is hitting the stage during the QUEENSRŸCHE set to perform three songs, including "Close My Eyes Forever", which she is singing with QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate. For all songs, Lita is being backed by QUEENSRŸCHE — Geoff Tate on vocals, Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren on guitars, Eddie Jackson on bass and Scott Rockenfield on drums.

"Wicked Wonderland", the first album in 15 years from Lita Ford, sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 31 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart.

"Wicked Wonderland" was released in Europe on October 2 via earMUSIC/Edel. The set was issued in the U.S. on October 6 through Lita's own JLRG Entertainment label as a regular CD and limited-edition vinyl with different artwork.

QUEENSRŸCHE has scheduled two "cabaret shows" at the Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, Washington on February 4-5, 2010

Queensrÿche Cabaret is described as Geoff Tate, Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Parker Lundgren performing a show-of-shows with a bunch of their friends who have a tendency to only come out late at night.

The Queensrÿche Cabaret will be art, lust, dancing and naughty fun with the band performing their hits and never-heard-before selections accompanied by go-go dancers, burlesque dancers, drag queens, a juggler, ballet dancer, aerial artist, contortionist and much more.

There will be fan-club-only parties and events Thursday Friday and Saturday nights, including a Super Bowl party on Sunday for those staying the weekend. Fan-club seats and passes to many, many events will be up in the next week.

DC4 — the Los Angeles-based hard rock band featuring Rowan Robertson (ex-DIO) alongside brothers Jeff Duncan (ARMORED SAINT, ODIN) on lead vocals and guitar, Shawn Duncan (ODIN) on drums and Matt Duncan on bass — will enter the studio in December/January to begin recording its new album for a tentative late spring release. The follow-up to 2007's "Explode" will be produced by Bill Metoyer, who has previously worked with SLAYER, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and FATES WARNING, among many others.

Commented the group: "We are about seven songs [into the songwriting process] so far! The songs are rockin and we are heavy on the guitars in this one! Honestly, we can't wait for everyone to hear it!"

DC4 will debut some of its new material on November 7 at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California.

The group last year spent time at Skull Seven studio with producers Metoyer and Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING) recording additional tracks for the re-release of "Explode". The new tracks, titled "People" and "25 To Life", were added to the CD along with a video and new artwork for an "enhanced" package.

Jeff Duncan and Shawn Duncan — of ODIN fame and notable for their appearances in "The Decline Of Western Civilization - The Metal Years" — formed DC4 with brother Matt Duncan in 1995 and released their debut EP, "Mood Swings", produced by Joe Floyd (BRUCE DICKINSON, WARRIOR).

In 2001, DC4 released "Volume One", which was produced by Joey Vera.

Robertson, who is best known for his dynamic guitar wizardry on DIO's "Lock Up The Wolves" album, joined the ranks in 2006.

U.K. thrashers EVILE have launched a tribute web site for the band's bassist Mike Alexander, who tragically passed away on October 5, 2009 while on tour in Sweden.

Commented the group: "We wanted a definite place which people could visit to commemorate, remember and celebrate Mike.

"Thank you so much from all of EVILE and Mike's family for all the support. It really means alot.

"We'll be posting news regarding any benefit shows for Mike on the site, and also thanks to UKthrash.co.uk, people can donate direct to Mike's family, as well as send tributes, flowers etc. to the family via our management.

"We're hoping to arrange two very special memorial nights for Mike, so please keep an eye out (not literally out of its socket).

"Please leave your messages for Mike's family and friends in the condolences section, and send any Mike pictures you have to the address on the site.

"Thank you to Hayley, Kathy Waters, Chris Wordsworth, Talita Jenman and Julie Weir for all the help getting this site going."

BrooklynRocks conducted an interview with EVILE guitarist Ol Drake and Mike Alexander on August 20, 2009 at the Earache Records offices in New York City. Watch the chat below.

EVILE's sophomore album, "Infected Nations", was released on September 21 in Europe and September 22 in the U.S. via Earache Records.

AskMen.com recently conducted an interview with Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED, GUNS N' ROSES). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

AskMen.com: [DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED's new album] "Sick" sounds amazing and I think reflective of some of your earlier influences, but it's a departure from your days with GUNS and VELVET REVOLVER. What would you say to fans of your more well-known work who are interested in picking this album up?

Duff: I think LOADED is its own standalone band and I think a really good band, from my experience, is the greatest sum of all of its parts. Every guy brought something to the table and we took the best of those parts and made it a whole. Same thing with VELVET REVOLVER; you still had Slash and I, you had those elements, but you got Scott Weiland in there and Matt [Sorum] as a songwriter and even Dave Kushner — you take the best parts of them. With LOADED, we've always been sort of left of center; we're not a straight-up commercial rock band. People are saying it's ["Sick"] more punk rock, but punk rock to me was something that I experienced and I played in a lot of punk rock bands, but that was a long, long time ago. I'm certainly not going back; I'm not harkening back to those times.

AskMen.com: "Sick" sounds very cathartic and retrospective; can you tell us what you were going through during the writing of the album?

Duff: You know, lyrics I wrote for GUNS or VELVET or stuff even before that, were always just right on the nose, something that happened to me or an observation of mine. On this record, there are definitely a lot of observations, like "Mother's Day", I took three stories of three friends of mine who passed away because of drug overdose and I made it about a woman. So I try to get at least twice removed or once removed from the actual story and not have it be so "on the nose." But there are songs like "Wasted Heart" and "IOU" that are kind of direct odes to my wife. And there are songs that are playful, like "Flatline", it's the single, it's a classic breakup "f*ck you." It's nothing that happened to me directly, but we've all felt that way about a chick or if you're a chick you've felt that way about a guy. But I'm trying to get away from such autobiographical songs. I write a lot now for Playboy and Seattle Weekly, so I'm learning how to write and separate myself from the story. I'm writing every week for the Weekly and I don't want people knowing everything about me. So how do you get into that? How do I tell people about something I did but not give too much about myself? So I try to do that with my songs, but there are songs that influenced my life, drug use, sadness, and the good stuff.

AskMen.com: What do you think of [GUNS N' ROSES' album] "Chinese Democracy"?

Duff: It's funny; so many people have asked me that question and I gotta figure out why people think my opinion matters . . . I think Axl [Rose] did a great job on that record and other than that, the songs and the band are a completely different thing, so for me to really comment on the band, I might as well be commenting on the new SLIPKNOT record. It's that far removed from me. We [GUNS] made our last record in '92 or '93 or something — that was 16 years ago. That was a lifetime ago for me. I was still using and stuff back then. So, that's how long ago it was for me. It's great ["Chinese Democracy"]. There are songs on it that I like and there are songs on it that I don't like, just like any other record.

Read the entire interview from AskMen.com.

Video footage of powerhouse American vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) performing the JUDAS PRIEST classics "Breaking The Law" and "Living After Midnight" on October 23, 2009 at Hangar Bar in Curitiba, Brazil can be viewed below.

The musicians in the video are as follows:

Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals)
BJ (guitar)
Leo Mancini (guitar)
Paulo Soza (bass)
Gabriel Triani (drums)

Owens this past summer completed a short European tour as the support act for HEAVEN & HELL.

Owens' backing band for the trek consisted of the following musicians:

Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORHCESTRA) - Guitar
John Comprix (BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM) - Guitar
David Ellefson (MEGADETH, F5) - Bass
Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO) - Drums

"Play My Game", the first solo album from Tim "Ripper" Owens, landed at position No. 66 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.

"Play My Game" was released via SPV/Steamhammer. The offering consists of around a dozen brand-new tracks that Owens composed himself or together with renowned friends, such as Bob Kulick, Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA), Mike Callahan (ex-EARSHOT) and John Comprix (BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM).

METALLICA has joined the efforts to help locate Morgan Harrington — who disappeared during the band's concert in Charlottesville one week ago — by adding $50,000 to the $100,000 reward being offered for information leading to her whereabouts. Also joining the search is the FBI, who will be able to investigate tips from around the country in the case of the 20-year-old Virginia Tech student missing since she became separated from her friends at the October 17 show.

According to CBSNews.com, Harrington's father, Dan Harrington, told CBS-TV's "Early Show Saturday Edition" co-anchor Erica Hill investigators were to meet with him and his wife, Gil Harrington, on Saturday to bring them up-to-date on the search for their daughter.

"We're hopeful that they would have some morsel of news for us," Gil Harrington said to Hill.

Dan Harrington told Hill his "co-workers have raised $100,000 for a reward, and actually, just [on Friday], I received a call from METALLICA and they're working on increasing that to $150,000."

According to Rockville Magazine, Fox News' Laura Ingle reported yesterday that METALLICA frontman James Hetfield "made a phone call to the father of Morgan Harrington [on Friday to] offer the band's support and they are putting up all the information of Morgan Herrington's disappearance on their web site. [The band] is also offering up $50,000 to go into the reward to help find Morgan Harrington."

Police are asking anyone with information to call the Morgan Harrington Tip Hotline at (434) 352-3467. There is also more information at a web site, FindMorgan.com.

Iliana Iordanova of Metal Hangar 18 conducted an interview with vocalist Zak Tell of the Swedish rap/metal combo CLAWFINGER for Dreamline magazine on August 16, 2009 at the Spirit of Burgas festival in Bulgaria. Watch the chat below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Out to Get Me
02. Zeros & Heroes
03. Prisoners
04. None the Wiser
05. Are You Man Enough
06. Nothing Going On
07. Rosegrove
08. Ni**er
09. Two Sides
10. Recipe for Hate
11. Biggest & The Best

Encore:

12. The Price We Pay
13. Do What I Say

In an August 2009 interview with Bulgaria's Tangra Mega Rock, Tell stated about CLAWFINGER's current status, "We're just trying to survive like all the other bands out there. The business is very different from what it was 15 years ago. You can't survive only by being in a band these days, so we're working and doing what we have to do to pay the rent and trying to find time for CLAWFINGER. The only plan we have for a release at the moment is a remake of 'Deaf Dumb Blind' for the 20th anniversary . The plan is to re-record all the songs from that album and bring in guests. We've been talking to some of the guys from RAMMSTEIN and Peter Tägtgren from PAIN and HYPOCRISY. We've made some friends through the years and hopefully we can get them to add their own flavorings and colorings to those old tracks."

Regarding the upcoming re-release of "Deaf Dumb Blind", Tell said, "Because next year is the 20th anniversary since we started the band, so… it's a sort of celebration. I mean, we celebrate every time we're out playing anyway. It's also like a special treat for the fans who've stuck with us. It remains to be seen how it turns out, but if we can actually gather with these musician friends, then it can hopefully be something more than just a cheap remake that sounds more or less like the original. The plan is to make something a bit different."

Tangra Mega Rock: I was just about to ask you about RAMMSTEIN. Seeing as your drummer Henka plays in Richard Kruspe's side project EMIGRATE. are you friendly with those guys?

CLAWFINGER's latest album, "Life Will Kill You", was released in the U.S. in July 2008 via Locomotive Records. The CD, which entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 89 upon its European release in 2007, was recorded and self-produced at Sweden's Fear And Loathing Studios, a facility that CLAWFINGER runs along with the members of MESHUGGAH.

German metal queen Doro Pesch joined former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen on stage at the Metal Female Voices Fest on October 19, 2009 in Wieze, Belgium to perform the song "The Seer". Watch video footage of Doro's appearance below.

Tarja's version of "The Seer", featuring a duet with Pesch, was included on the "extended special edition" double-CD re-release of Tarja's "My Winter Storm" album, which came out in January. This set was packed with 32 tracks, including the CD "My Winter Storm" with the addition of the song "The Seer" in its original version. The bonus disc presented several new tracks, remixes and live recordings, among them the brand new song "Enough" and "The Seer", featuring Pesch. Both tracks were mixed at Resonate Recording Studios by Toby Wright (SLAYER, KORN, KISS, ALICE IN CHAINS). Also included was the previously unreleased track "Wisdom Of Wind", composed by Jeff Rona and Lisa Gerrard and featuring the Beijing Philharmonic with Qingdao Symphony Orchestra recorded in China. The two-CD set was made available as a digipack deluxe edition including an exclusive poster, new album cover and enhanced booklet containing new photos.

Video footage of KISS performing the classic songs "Shock Me" (with guitarist Tommy Thayer on vocals) and "Lick It Up" on October 24, 2009 in Birmingham, Alabama can be viewed below.

A review of the Birmingham concert can be found on The Birmingham News.

KISS' new album, "Sonic Boom", sold 108,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard 200 chart. This marks the band's highest-charting LP ever.

KISS has notched eight Top 10 albums, according to Billboard.com. Its previous highest-charting set was 1998's "Psycho Circus", which debuted and peaked at No. 3 with 110,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group's other high-charting sets include 1975's "Alive!" (No. 9), 1977's "Love Gun" (No. 4) and 1992's "Revenge" (No. 6).

"Sonic Boom" was released in Europe on October 5 via Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records. The CD was made available in the U.S. and Canada on October 6 exclusively via Wal-Mart, Walmart.com and Sam's Club retail locations.

KISS filmed footage for the "Modern Day Delilah" video during the band's private warm-up show at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan on September 24. Over 1,500 lucky fans attended the event, where the group also previewed its new stage and taped two songs for an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Capital Chaos has uploaded video footage (see below) of CANNABIS CORPSE performing the song "Staring Through My Eyes That Are Red" on October 23, 2009 at the Javalounge in Sacramento, California. Also on the bill were RAMMING SPEED and DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR.

CANNABIS CORPSE is the Richmond, Virginia-based old-school death metal band featuring Philip "Landphil" Hall (bass) from MUNICIPAL WASTE and his brother Josh "HallHammer" Hall (drums). The group will release "The Weeding" EP in November on 12", CD, digital and "die-hard pro-stoner" edition from Tankcrimes Records.

Recorded in CANNABIS CORPSE's hometown at H.M.C. Studios and mastered at Mammoth Sound (GHOUL, IMPALED), "The Weeding" is "the next step in complete pot lobotomy," according to a press release. "Featuring insane cover art [see below] by one of the sickest artists in the metal underground, Andrei Bouzikov (MUNICIPAL WASTE, SKELETONWITCH), the package is complete."

The track listing is as follows:

01. Shit of Pot Seeds
02. Vaporized
03. Skull Full of Bong Hits
04. Sickening Photosynthesis

Check out audio samples at www.myspace.com/cannabiscorpseva.

Finnish heavy metal monsters LORDI are preparing to enter the studio to begin recording their new album for an early 2010 release. 25 songs have already been recorded in demo form for the follow-up to 2008's "Deadache" and the band is currently holding meetings with the upcoming CD's producer (whose identity has not yet been revealed, but who is said to be "a name I'd guess some of [the fans] are or could be somewhat familiar with," according to singer Mr. Lordi) to determine which tracks will make the final cut. "So far it is safe to say that the material is kinda 'Get Heavy' [the band's 2002 debut] LORDI-like, with a strong '80s metal feel, more melodic, and a lot less sinister and 'serious' than on 'Deadache'," says Mr. Lordi. "One thing is for sure, there's not gonna be cover songs on the next one either. In my mind, [a] cover's place is not on an actual album; it could serve as a bonus for a special printing or something. Like with 'The House Without A Name' [LORDI's cover of the DINGO track], for example." He adds, "I might also tell you that the ideas of the new look are starting to come together. There'll be a bit more colorful bunch of monsters next year.

"Deadache" debuted at No. 13 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.

LORDI's previous studio album, "The Arockalypse", has sold more than 30,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD was released in over 30 countries, including Japan, and the album was certified over triple platinum in the band's home country of Finland, gold in Germany (100,000 units), and gold in Sweden (40,000 units). The single "Hard Rock Hallelujah" achieved gold status in Germany (150,000 units).



(Thanks: Rob Swain)

Greek extreme metallers SICKENING HORROR have issued the following update:

"We are proud to announce that the band has a new member. Our new guitarist is Andreas Karayiannis.

"It has been so long since we last utilized double guitar attack, so now we're back on track! We have already done a show together and the guitar sound was massive on stage and this can surely be held for our future recordings as well. So, on our upcoming tour in Russia, we'll be spreading the sickness on the road as a four-piece!"

A photo of the band's new lineup can be viewed below.

SICKENING HORROR's latest album, "The Dead End Experiment", was released in August via SFC Records. The CD's artwork was created by Marko Saarelainen.

"The Dead End Experiment" was recorded at Portal (guitars, bass and vocals) and Baseline (drums) studios and features a guest appearance by Ross Dolan of IMMOLATION on the song "The Universe Within".

Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.

Danish modern "melodeath thrashers" PITCHBLACK have entered guitarist Thomas "Pede" Pedersen's Earplug Studio in Copenhagen to begin recording their second album, "The Devilty", for an early 2010 release via an as-yet-undetermined record label. Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MNEMIC, HEAVEN SHALL BURN) will mix the CD, while the mastering duties will be handled by Niels Peter "Ziggy" Siegfredsen (ILLDISPOSED, HATESPHERE).

"The Devilty" track listing:

01. Replacing God
02. Defriended
03. You're Fucking Below Me
04. Don't Make Me Mad
05. The Siren Song
06. I Return
07. One Day We'll Break Them
08. Bandido
09. Revenge (…Injustice For All)
10. Slow The Hate

Check out PITCHBLACK's studio diary at this location.

Demo versions of three new tracks — "You're Fucking Below Me", "Don't Make Me Mad" and "Revenge (…Injustice For All)" — are available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

PITCHBLACK's debut album, "Designed to Dislike", was released in Denmark on August 13, 2007 via Target Distribution. The CD was produced by Steen Mogensen (CORNERSTONE, ex-ROYAL HUNT).

Formed in late 2002, PITCHBLACK released two demo tapes prior to recording its debut album: 2003's "No Sympathy Left" and 2004's "PitchBlack Promo 2004".

Boston, Massachusetts metallers RAVAGE have been forced to cancel the five remaining dates of their U.S. tour. Singer Al Ravage states, "We planned a self-financed, self-planned, three-month full USA tour a few months ago that we knew would be extremely difficult, and possibly suicidal, but we wanted to do all we could to try to garner some attention for our new album, for traditional heavy metal in general and to finally get a chance to play to all those people across the USA who have asked to see us over the years.

"In some respects, the tour was a success — we got to meet many cool new people, people who had picked up the album and had heard of us before; we got to visit some cool new places; and we got to meet some cool bands and experience life on the road for the better part of three months.

"In many respects, however, the tour was a major failure. We dealt with poorly promoted events, many unsupportive local acts (acts that even didn't stay to see us play or dropped off the bill entirely with little notice), poor fan turnouts, shows canceled by the club at the last minute, and the worst part — numerous van breakdowns and incompetent repair jobs — which forced us to cancel far too many shows. As a result of this, we lost a ton of money and our van was eventually destroyed.

"Despite this, we looked into renting a vehicle to get to the remaining five shows — but we were unable to get it to make financial sense.

"We hope to get back to the areas we were forced to cancel in as soon as we are able to regroup and get going again. Hopefully sometime next year.

"Thanks to everyone who helped us out with a place to stay, a place to play, allowed us some good bands to play with, and the brave few true metal maniacs who came out to the shows and offered their support. You know who you are. Those who screwed us over... bands who dropped off gigs at the last second and didn't bother to even call the clubs... local 'support' bands who didn't even bother to stick around past their own set... those who didn't properly repair our vehicle so it broke down for the same problem numerous times... you also know who you are. We won't forget either.

"We will return to play for everyone who wanted to see us in the areas we missed."

RAVAGE recently parted ways with drummer George "GTB" Bellofatto and replaced him with Pete Webber.

The band released its new album, "The End of Tomorrow", on August 18 via Metal Blade Records. The CD features cover art by Ed Repka (MEGADETH, DEATH, AUSTRIAN DEATH MACHINE).

According to a press release, RAVAGE's new album "seamlessly intertwines the sounds of New Wave of British Heavy Metal, late '80s American thrash metal and late '90s European power metal to showcase the band's signature style. 'The End of Tomorrow' is sure to be enjoyed by metal maniacs young and old as it blends the soaring vocal and guitar melodies of IRON MAIDEN and HELLOWEEN with the raw power of thrashers like TESTAMENT and KREATOR, presented in a crisply modern production style."

BrooklynRocks conducted an interview with Al Ravage on August 21, 2009 when RAVAGE performed at Dingbatz in Clifton, New Jersey. Watch the chat below.

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

Boston, Massachusetts-based up-and-coming "shred" guitarist Todd Seitz has issued the following update on the debut album from his STYGIA project, entitled "Divine Allegiance":

"Everything is recorded except for the guitar tracks. I've finally improved my studio equipment, so I'm taking the time to make sure the guitar tone will be just right.

"I plan on finishing all guitars by the end of next month, then will send everything to my mixing engineer. I cannot guarantee a date on anything, because the mixing and mastering process may take a long time. Then there will be more negotiations for the album distribution, promotion, etc.

"As you can imagine, it gets quite hectic handling all these things on your own.

"In other news, [vocalist] Mike Vescera [LOUDNESS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, OBSESSION] will be part of the STYGIA live lineup. There is also a chance [bassist] Michael LePond [SYMPHONY X] may be in on some shows. No guarantees on that, but I brought the idea up to him, so we will see! I've had conversations with a few other insane musicians, but haven't been able to confirm anything. It's most likely I'll know the full live lineup after the album release."

"Divine Allegiance" track listing:

01. Colossus
02. The Hunter
03. Journey Through The Sea
04. Spirit Bomb
05. Moonlight
06. Oblivion Overcome
07. Egg of the King
08. A Circle Undone
09. Divine Allegiance

Recording lineup for the debut STYGIA album:

Todd Seitz (STYGIA) - Guitar
Michael Vescera (ex-LOUDNESS, ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Vocals
John Macaluso (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ex-ARK, ex-TNT) - Drums
Michael LePond (SYMPHONY X) - Bass
Kevin Codfert (ADAGIO) - Keyboards
Hank Shermann (MERCYFUL FATE, FORCE OF EVIL, DEMONICA) - Guest Guitar Solo
Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS) - Guest Keyboard Solo

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

According to a posting on ARCH ENEMY's Twitter profile, the band's October 25, 2009 concert in Seoul, South Korea will be professionally filmed.

ARCH ENEMY's "The Root Of All Evil" album registered the following first-week chart positions:

Germany: #84
Sweden: #69
Japan: #7 (international artist chart)
Japan: #21 (combined chart)

"The Root Of All Evil" sold around 1,500 copies in the United Staes in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It features re-recorded versions of songs from the band's first three LPs — "Black Earth" (1996), "Stigmata" (1998) and "Burning Bridges" (1999). Acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, EXODUS) mixed and mastered the CD, which was recorded at a few different locations in Sweden and produced by ARCH ENEMY with Daniel Erlandsson and Rickard Bengtsson handling the engineering.

The Japanese edition of "The Root Of All Evil", which was made available on September 30, features five bonus tracks, including cover versions of "Wings Of Tomorrow" (EUROPE) and "Walk In The Shadows" (QUEENSRŸCHE).

ARCH ENEMY will embark on a European headlining run in December with support from DESTRUCTION, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS and TRIOSPHERE.