Amanda Somerville — the American singer-songwriter and vocal coach who has been tapped to replace EPICA vocalist Simone Simons on the band's North American tour with SYMPHONY X due to Simons' ongoing health issues — has posted more updates to her video tour diary.

Watch the footage below.

Simons was recently infected with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), also known as the hospital bacteria.

A Michigan native, Amanda has resided and worked mainly in Germany and the Netherlands since 1999. She has collaborated with several bands in the metal scene (EDGUY, AFTER FOREVER, EPICA, KAMELOT, etc.) along with producers Sascha Paeth and Miro, and co-wrote the rock opera "Aina". Her own music is of the pop-rock genre and she is currently focusing on her solo career.

Day 27:

The fourth annual Ironhorse Roundup, the May 4, 2008 motorcycle gathering in Grayslake, Illinois which was scheduled to include a performance by MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil, has been cancelled by local authorities due to "circumstances which threaten the health and public safety of those attending the event and the people of Grayslake."

For more information, go to this location.

Fan-filmed video footage of Vince Neil and his solo band — which includes Jeff Blando (guitar) and Dana Strum (bass) of SLAUGHTER along with drummer Zoltan Chaney — performing the CRÜE classic "Kickstart My Heart" on April 26, 2008 at Trocadero's in Minneapolis, Minnesota can be viewed below (courtesy of "Trustygumby").

Justin of Boston.tv conducted an interview with South Carolina's THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD on April 26, 2008 at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Watch the two-and-a-half-minute chat below.

THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD recently parted ways with Josh Kulick (drums) and Nate Johnson (vocals). Their temporary replacements are drummer Lech, formerly of AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK, and vocalist Lou Tanius, who has previously put time in with ON PATHS OF TORMENT and INVOCATION OF NEHEK.

Continuing to promote the band's recent release, "Malice", THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD has toured alongside ALL THAT REMAINS, HASTE THE DAY, THE RED CHORD, DESPISED ICON, ALL SHALL PERISH, SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY as well as headlined a U.S. run with AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK, BENEATH THE MASSACRE and ION DISSONANCE.

TROUBLE, SLOUGH FEG and BIBLE OF THE DEVIL are among the bands that are scheduled to perform at the Alehorn of Power III festival, set to take place August 9 at the Double Door in Chicago.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

TROUBLE
SLOUGH FEG
BIBLE OF THE DEVIL
ICARUS WITCH
PHAROAH

As previously reported, Kory Clarke of WARRIOR SOUL has joined legendary Illinois doomsters TROUBLE as the group's new frontman.

To catch an early glimpse of the new TROUBLE lineup, sign up for the TROUBLE live webcast, to be held on July 11, 2008 at www.deeprockdrive.com and see for yourself from the privacy of your own computer.

TO-MERA, the U.K.-based dark progressive metal band fronted by former WITHOUT FACE vocalist Julie Kiss, were IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests earlier tonight (Friday, May 2) during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to a replay of the program at BBC.co.uk.

TO-MERA recently parted ways with bassist Lee Barrett (ex-EXTREME NOISE TERROR, DISGUST, MUSSOLINI HEADKICK). Barrett's replacement in TO-MERA is Mark Harrington, also of DEMAGOGUE.

TO-MERA released its sophomore album, "Delusions", on February 18 via Candlelight Records.

Regarding the new CD's musical direction, Barrett previously said, "All the elements present on [last year's "Transcendental"] have been greatly expanded upon. The music will display a much greater range of moods, tempos and dynamics (ranging from fragile subtlety to epic bombast via everything in between), whilst being simultaneously more sophisticated, yet more melodic and coherent than before. Julie's vocals have become substantially more versatile and powerful. There will be loads more guitar and keyboard (even drum!) solos. But most importantly, we feel this music has a much deeper and more genuine emotional impact to it."

Check out audio samples on the group's MySpace page

Watch TO-MERA's "Blood" video (taken from 2006's "Transcendental"):

DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — performed the song "Nothing in Return" for the first time on April 27, 2008 at the closing show of the band's European tour in Lisbon, Portugal. Watch fan-filmed video footage of the performance below (courtesy of "NoleCore").

As previously reported, DOWN will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, May 9 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the program live via the Internet between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. U.K. time at BBC.co.uk.

DOWN will support METALLICA on the following dates:

Jul. 16 - Bergen, Norway - Koengen
Jul. 18 - St. Petersburg, Russia - SKK Hall
Jul. 20 - Riga, Latvia - Skonto Stadium
Jul. 22 - Bologna, Italy - Parco Nord
Jul. 25 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Vasil Levski Stadium

Metal Mark from Local Productions conducted an interview with Canadian extreme progressive metallers INTO ETERNITY on May 1 at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. The nine-minute clip, which contains footage of the band's concert at the venue, can be viewed below.

INTO ETERNITY has set "The Incurable Tragedy" as the title of its new album, due later in the year via Century Media Records. The band's first concept album, "The Incurable Tragedy" was inspired by the deaths of Roth's two best friends, brothers who succumbed to cancer within two months of one another. To make matters worse, when the band began demoing new material shortly after the completion of the "Scattering" tour — a star-making year of shows that saw the band perform alongside such internationally renowned acts as DREAM THEATER, LAMB OF GOD, MEGADETH, OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, THE HAUNTED and DARK TRANQUILLITY — Roth's father was diagnosed with cancer as well. Showing no mercy, the disease claimed his life last year, just 10 days before Christmas.

To tide fans over until the release of "The Incurable Tragedy", the band has posted on its MySpace an unmastered rough mix of a brand new song, "Diagnosis Terminal", which it will perform live at each of their spring concerts. The track is classic INTO ETERNITY, featuring a heavy groove, stop-on-a-dime time changes, reflective lyrics, a memorable chorus, a string-shredding solo, and vocals that range from guttural growls to soaring harmonies.

D.X. Ferris of the Cleveland Scene reports: TESTAMENT singer Chuck Billy's father had grown up on a Pomo tribe reservation, but he didn't want his kids to. As a child, Billy was vaguely aware of his heritage. In 2000, one of his friends told him she wanted him to meet another pal, a Native American medicine man named Charlie. Later, she said she had a dream in which Billy and the shaman were sitting around a campfire, putting on war paint and preparing for battle. Billy laughed it off.

Months later, he was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors found a tumor the size of a squash in his chest cavity. Billy battled the disease for the next two years and began taking steroids to offset a five-days-a-week chemotherapy regimen. His 6-foot-4 frame quickly ballooned from all the water weight. One day, Billy was reeling from the treatments when Charlie showed up at his door, offering to perform a healing ceremony.

The medicine man cleared Billy's living-room floor and told the singer to lie down and close his eyes. Charlie then took Billy on a healing journey, which the TESTAMENT frontman today refers to as a "mystical experience." Billy felt the healer dancing around him, chanting and playing a flute. Feeling like he was floating into space, he recalls hearing both howls and blowing wind, as Charlie invoked Mother Earth. The medicine man brushed an eagle feather across Billy's chest, and he felt something move inside. After finishing the ritual, Charlie told him, "The wind is going to be your spirit guide to get you through all this."

Read the entire article from the Cleveland Scene.

Veteran drummer Ray Luzier (KORN, ARMY OF ANYONE, DAVID LEE ROTH) will be the featured guest on Indie 103.1 FM's specialty metal program "Chaos with Full Metal Jackie" this Sunday (May 4) at 10:00 p.m. PST (1:00 a.m. EST Monday morning).

To listen to the show live via the Internet, go to this location. The program also airs on KNAC.COM Monday nights between 7 and 9 p.m. PST (and again on Sunday mornings between 7 and 9 a.m.).

Video footage of Ray Luzier's audition that landed him the job as the current touring drummer for KORN can be viewed below.

In a February 2008 interview with the French magazine RecMag, KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu stated about Luzier: "[He is] my favorite drummer I've ever played with."

Prior to Luzier joining KORN's touring lineup in November 2007, the band had been utilizing the services of drummer Joey Jordison from SLIPKNOT. Famed drummer Terry Bozzio worked on much of KORN's most recent, untitled record, but the group chose not to work with him on the road. KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "There were certain demands that he made. We weren't ready to meet those demands...He was a great guy and a phenomenal drummer. But the demands that he made were offensive. He wanted to be a member of the band, and that included ownership. We were like, 'What? You want to have 25 percent of everything?' We can't just sign away the rights to music on a whim."



(Thanks: Andrew / The Space Lord)

Director Michael Maxxis, who helmed P.O.D.'s video for the group's new single, "Addicted", has offered the following "inside look" into the clip's symbolism:

"The song's message is quite succinctly and directly defined in its name, and I wanted to actualize an array of interpretable images that would symbolically scream it. And, to augment the metaphoric vignettes, I felt it was critical to film a performance that was as visually ferocious as the track.

"Some of the imagery in the video is obvious and doesn't need much explanation, but there are definitely some sections that are quite cryptic, which I would like to decode for you. To start, the woman wearing the veil and holding the light orb is a sort of fortuneteller bookend. She holds the crystal ball that is granting us access to the unhinged and off center imagery.

"The first place she takes us is into the basement where a man is seducing and then devouring raw eggs. He is caressing and appreciating the unborn/unknown and once he gets a taste, he consumes everything that is placed in front of him — the yoke of one egg drips down his face while he reaches for another — he can't get enough and needs more before even finishing eating what's still in his mouth. This is symbolic in a very broad sense to many addictions. We tip toe on the fringes, kicking the tires of curiosity, but once we can't resist the temptation anymore, we take that step and more often than not we are eaten by quicksand.

"The next vignette we are introduced to is the little boy smoking a cigarette next to a man's needle injected thigh that pumps the pedal of a stationary bike. This vignette is easier to interpret, and is basically calling out today's role models. Kids look up to both their parents and a myriad of other role models that are placed in front of them via the Internet, television, radio, etc., and unfortunately, many of those role models are poisonous — and you know the ones I'm talking about.

"The third vignette is the obese man lying on a large pile of fish. This sequence carries great biblical symbolism and was inspired by Luke 5:6: 'And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.' We are addressing one of the most abhorrent tendencies of human nature — greed. Fish were a staple of Galilee, and therefore it became a mechanism of power. Greed is perhaps the most dangerous and common addiction on Earth, and it is perhaps the most overlooked.

"The old dying lady on crutches is our only real taste of reality in the video, which is why I feel she is so important. She is on the end of a very hard, painful, and lonely journey that is a consequence of choice — poor choices that she made. This is a real end that is all too common for many of us.

"Next up is the young girl imprisoned behind a brick wall, dancing in bubbles blown onto her by a crazy old woman. We are saying with this vignette that our children must start life from behind a brick wall that we already built before they were born. When someone falls victim to addiction, the effects are far-reaching, and nothing is more unfair and sad than the consequences inflicted on the lives of their children. Then, all that child has is her dreams and the reality that exists when she closes her eyes.

"The symbolism of the evil barber is quite similar to the little girl dancing in bubbles. In this scene a masked barber cuts away at a young girl's hair with a large knife. The barber represents addiction itself, as it cuts away at the innocence of youth.

"Finally, we have the beautiful women in wheelchairs. Perhaps one of the most distasteful and damaging addictions is vanity, and the weight that is placed on women to be physically beautiful. The psychological effects that this pressure has on many women is immeasurable, and needs to be stopped. Where does our definition of beauty begin and where does it end? Unfortunately, it very rarely stops inside a person, and therefore many peoples' sense of self is diminished and marginalized by how they look in the mirror (from head to toe!). I wanted the viewer to be attracted to, and dazzled by the women when they were only shown shots of her face, and then I wanted the viewer to be conscious of how they felt about her when it was revealed that she is crippled. Does their attraction to her change? Where is the line on beauty drawn?

"In summation, I'd like to thank P.O.D. for giving me the opportunity to work with them to bring this video to life. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such inspired artists and genuine men. Not one interesting visual would have been possible had it not been for the sincerity that I was able to draw from the song."

P.O.D.'s "uncensored" version of the "Addicted" video can be viewed below.

P.O.D. sold 34,000 copies of its new album, "When Angels & Serpents Dance", in the United States in the LP's first week of release to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Testify", registered a first-week tally of just over 54,000 back in February 2006 to land at No. 9.

"When Angels & Serpents Dance" features guest appearances from the MARLEY SISTERS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES singer Mike Muir and HELMET guitarist Page Hamilton. The song "Kaliforn-Eye-A", which features vocals from Muir, allowed P.O.D. to collaborate with an "iconic punk rock figure that played an influence on us as a band," guitarist Marcos Curiel, who rejoined the band in 2006, told Billboard.com. "It's a more upbeat song about where we came from."

Curiel exited P.O.D. following 2001's "Satellite" (Atlantic), which has moved 3.2 million units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "We were at the height of our career and all of a sudden this big mess happened," the guitarist said, declining to give specifics about leaving the band. "It was just business."

Drummer Brian Vodinh of Knoxville, Tennessee's 10 YEARS was recently interviewed by Alternative Addiction about the group's forthcoming album, "Division", which hits stores on May 13 via Republic/Universal. Listen to the chat in streaming audio at this location.

10 YEARS recently filmed a video for "Beautiful" with director Paul Boyd (THE ROOTS, THE CULT). The clip takes a through-the-looking-glass swipe at the lengths the paparazzi and celebrities go through to notice each other in the current "Gotcha!" game of celebrity journalism. The video, which can be viewed below, revels in its satirical look at the co-dependent atmosphere spawned by the Lindsay-to-Britney-to-Paris media-merry-go-round that has swept up the paparazzi and American tabloid culture. The female lead in the new clip is none other than Rebecca Ginos, significant other of MAROON 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine.

10 YEARS previously made waves and turned heads with its past video offerings, garnering two MTV Award nominations for their captivating video for the multi-platform hit "Wasteland", merging the song’s aching themes with the fate of real-life refugees all over the world. The group teamed up with international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) to weave several real-life personal survival histories into the clip. "Wasteland" was hailed by the video world and the radio and digital arenas as well, setting career highs for the band as it reigned for more than a year on U.S. rock charts, notching the #4 year-end spot on the Active rock chart, and eventually pulling off a hat-trick of #1 citations at Active rock, Alternative rock and Billboard’s Modern rock chart.

10 YEARS will perform on the smaller Revolution Stage of the 2008 Projekt Revolution tour, set to begin July 16 at the Tweeter Center outside Boston. LINKIN PARK, CHRIS CORNELL, THE BRAVERY and ASHES DIVIDE (featuring A PERFECT CIRCLE's Billy Howerdel) will appear on the main stage of the fifth installation of the LINKIN PARK-reared trek, which is scheduled to visit 24 U.S. cities this summer and wrap August 24 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston. ATREYU, HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, ARMOR FOR SLEEP and the STREET DRUM CORPS will also perform on the Revolution Stage.

Brian Vodinh told The Pulse of Radio it's a great feeling to be able to play new songs on the road. "The bottom line is the new stuff is just fun to play," he said. "It's upbeat and, you know, every band goes through the whole same thing: when you tour behind an album for however long, even if it's just a year, it's just refreshing to bring out new stuff and, you know, have a different vibe onstage. We're really confident in the new material and I'll tell you, we'd better be after the nightmare it was to get this album done."

SCARS ON BROADWAY, the new rock band featuring SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan, will release its self-titled debut album on July 29.

As opposed to SOAD, SCARS ON BROADWAY is "driven more by rock than it is by metal, even though there might be some metal overtones there," Malakian told Billboard.com earlier this week. "I see it more as a rock band."

While drawing influence from early punk bands, along with heroes like DAVID BOWIE and THE BEATLES, Malakian made a conscious attempt to maintain his songwriting style without delving too much into the SOAD back catalog.

"I was trying to keep my identity but not copy past work," he said. "I'm proud of everything that I've done with SYSTEM, but right now I'm focusing on moving forward with SCARS."

Malakian recently told Revolver magazine that SCARS ON BROADWAY is his first priority right now and he doesn't see a return to SYSTEM any time soon. Malakian explained, "SYSTEM is not my band right now. I'll go back and do that someday. I'd expect a second SCARS album before I'd expect another SYSTEM album." That could mean a long wait for SYSTEM fans, since SCARS ON BROADWAY has yet to finish recording its debut album or set a release date. The last SYSTEM CD, "Hypnotize", came out in late 2005.

SYSTEM drummer John Dolmayan, who also plays in SCARS ON BROADWAY, told The Pulse of Radio he understands fans being concerned over SYSTEM's future. "The SYSTEM issue is gonna come up forever," he said. "It's unavoidable because people really like the band and they want to see the band working, making albums and touring. The only thing I would ask of our fans is just be a little bit patient. We are in a phase of our lives where we need to do something different so that we can come back to SYSTEM renewed and refreshed. That's not gonna take 15 years. We don't know exactly how many years it'll take. When we're ready, we'll get back into it."

SYSTEM vocalist Serj Tankian released his debut solo effort, "Elect the Dead", last October through Reprise Records.

METALLICA's recently announced web site — MissionMetallica.com — where the band says it will offer fans a chance to "experience the [group's] new album before it's done," is scheduled to go "live" on May 12.

As previously reported, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told RollingStone.com that the band intends to explore "everything" in terms of selling its music once its current recording contract expires. But although the group's upcoming ninth studio album is its last with Warner Bros. Music, Ulrich said they would be hesitant to follow in the footsteps of U2 and MADONNA and sign a comprehensive "360 deal" with Live Nation. Ulrich explained, "We've never sold ourselves that way. No disrespect. We want to be as free a player as possible. We've been observing RADIOHEAD and Trent Reznor and in 27 years or however long it takes for the next record, we'll be looking forward to everything in terms of possibilities with the Internet."

Ulrich told The Pulse of Radio something similar when asked what the band will do once its contract is finished. "There's a bunch of possibilities out there," he said. "It's great to be able to have the choices, and it's great when you don't need the record company to sign the checks, you know what I mean? Then it sort of becomes a whole different thing. The landscape continues to change, you know, so we'll see."

Ulrich talked with RollingStone.com on April 19, as the band did an autograph session at an independent record store in northern California to celebrate Record Store Day. Ulrich called the group's participation a "no-brainer," adding, "The record store has been such a huge part of our lives. When I was 12, 14 years old in Denmark, the record store was the Holy Grail and the guy who worked there was my hero."

The new METALLICA album is tentatively due out in September, with U.S. tour dates possibly in the works for around the same time.

The band has scheduled a slew of European festival dates for May, June, July and August in addition to two U.S. shows, on May 16 at a radio festival in Tucson, Arizona and mid-June at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee.

(Thanks: SkrapMetal83)

Former SEPULTURA and current CAVALERA CONSPIRACY drummer Igor Cavalera was interviewed this past week by Andrew Haug of Triple J's "Full Metal Racket" (based in Australia). Listen to the interview in streaming audio at the Triple J web site: Windows Media, Real Media (NOTE: The Igor Cavalera interview begins around the one-hour, 38-minute mark). Check out the show's entire playlist at this location.

An excerpt from the chat follows:

Q: Have the [current] members of SEPULTURA commented on the [CAVALERA CONSPIRACY debut] record ["Inflikted"] at all?

Igor: "I haven't heard or read anything about it. I probably will see sometime what they think about the album, but I don't think that'll be a problem. Whatever they think, it's their opinion, and it's good with me. I'm not gonna be the one judging — the same way that I'm not gonna be the one judging whatever they're gonna do with SEPULTURA. It's like, I have so much more stuff going on in my life to worry about that this, for me, is something that is definitely not a problem."

Q: So you don't really feel too much now with the band [SEPULTURA] continuing to use the name when it no longer contains the original members — being Max [Cavalera] and yourself?

Igor: "I don't know, man. It's a crazy situation. At the same time, I don't really feel it makes sense for the band to continue, but also I feel that I'm not the one that's gonna stop the whole thing. It's a tough situation. For me, I just want to focus on positive things."

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY will team up with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, THROWDOWN, BURY YOUR DEAD and INCITE for a North American tour in July.

According to a posting on CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's MySpace page, "the select shows for this tour may be [the band's] only performances in the U.S. in support of 'Inflikted' [CC's debut album]."

"Inflikted" sold 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 72 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Fan-filmed video footage of the reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN performing a couple of new songs on April 5, 2008 at the Keep It True X festival in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany can be viewed below (courtesy of "stoneagelightning").

HEATHEN last fall announced the addition of guitarist Kragen Lum (PROTOTYPE) and drummer Mark Hernandez (VIO-LENCE, RE-IGNITION, SOCIAL UNREST) to the group's ranks.

The band is currently working on material for a new studio album, to be released during the coming months (years?) via Holland's Mascot Records.

HEATHEN's entire 2005 demo is available for free download at this location. The tracks featured on the demo are "Empty Nothingness", "Dying Season" and "Arrows of Agony".

HEATHEN released its latest CD, "Recovered", independently in the spring of 2004. The effort featured covers of songs from QUEEN, THIN LIZZY, TYGERS OF PAN TANG and SWEET SAVAGE, as well as an original track, "In Memory of…" (written and dedicated to former band member Randy Laird and singer David White's brother Jeffrey).

"Arrows of Agony":



"Dying Season":

Veteran heavy metal drummer Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, ex-SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) was interviewed this past week by Andrew Haug of Triple J's "Full Metal Racket" (based in Australia). Listen to the interview in streaming audio at the Triple J web site: Windows Media, Real Media (NOTE: The Paul Bostpah interview begins around the 49-minute mark). Check out the show's entire playlist at this location.

TESTAMENT will take part in an in-store signing at Vintage Vinyl, an independent record store located in Fords, New Jersey, on Friday, August 1 at 6:00 p.m. You need a wristband to get in, which you can obtain by purchasing the band's new CD, "The Formation of Damnation", at the store.

For more information, visit the Vintage Vinyl web site.

An e-card for "The Formation of Damnation" can be accessed at this location.

The band recorded "The Formation of Damnation" in part with producer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.

J.J. Hrubovcak (VILE, DIVINE RAPTURE, RANDALL FLAGG) will fill in on bass for HATE ETERNAL on the band's upcoming European tour, which is scheduled to kick off on May 9 in Würzburg. The tour package also includes SKELETONWITCH and CEPHALIC CARNAGE.

For a list of shows, visit www.myspace.com/haeteternal.

HATE ETERNAL mainman Erik Rutan was interviewed a few weeks ago by Andrew Haug of Triple J's "Full Metal Racket" (based in Australia). Download the 16-minute audio file in MP3 format at this location (6 MB).

HATE ETERNAL's new album, "Fury & Flames" sold 2,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The follow-up to 2005's "I, Monarch" is said to be the band's most diverse and emotionally fuelled record to date, due mainly in part to the passing of bassist and good friend Jared Anderson.

HATE ETERNAL's video for the song "Bringer of Storms" can be viewed below.

NWOBHM legends TYGERS OF PAN TANG have been confirmed for the Metal Rock Fest, a brand new two-day event set to take place August 15-16 in Lillehammer, Norway.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

Friday, August 15

CRIMES OF PASSION
WHITE LION
THE WILDHEARTS
HANOI ROCKS
TWISTED SISTER
TYGERS OF PAN TANG
ADAM BOMB
FATE
WARRIOR
ASTRAL DOORS
ALESTORM
TROUBLE
BULLET
RICHIE KOTZEN

Saturday, August 16

MANIFEST
BENENA REACH
MIDNATTSOL
TŸR
PARADOX
FREAK KITCHEN
THE RODS
MY DYING BRIDE
OPETH
MYRATH
DRACONIAN
SEVENTH WONDER
EVERGREY
CIRCUS MAXIMUS
SUSPERIA
RAMMSUND

For more information, visit www.metalrockfest.com.

MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover has told The Flint Journal that giving younger bands the opportunity to open for his act is one of Gigantour's goals. The event, founded by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine, features bands hand-chosen by the metal legends.

"It's cool, too, because my ear is really low to the ground in terms of metal bands, young bands, new bands, older bands, whatever," Drover said in an interview with The Flint Journal. "A lot of the time, he'll ask me, 'What do you think of this band?' 'What do you think of that band?' Of course, he'd asked me a little while ago about IN FLAMES and CHILDREN OF BODOM. To me, those bands were no brainers. They're a great addition to the festival, I thought."

Now in its third year, Gigantour has established itself as one of the premier heavy metal tour packages. As a testament to that, Drover said, many of the shows are sold out.

"When we did Gigantour 1, not everybody knew what it was because it wasn't called MEGADETH," Drover said. "Not everybody was familiar with it at first. Now I think just about everybody knows what this festival is. With the band selection and it getting more popular, the results are speaking for themselves."

Read more from The Flint Journal.

DEICIDE drummer Steve Asheim has joined forces with guitarist/vocalist Kevin Quirion (COUNCIL OF THE FALLEN) and bassist Scott Patrick (RESURRECTION) in a brand new band called ORDER OF ENNEAD.

Commented the group: "We have been writing songs and rehearsing since September 2007 and have recorded a nine-song demo. Plans are to record our debut full-length album later this year and to tour as much as possible. You can go to our MySpace page and hear a song from this demo with newcomer John Li on lead guitar."

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

Brazilian keyboardist Jesper Stotz (ex-CIVILIZATION ONE) has updated his MySpace page with three tracks that will appear on his first solo album, tentatively due late 2008. "These [recordings] are from pre-production, but despite the rough mix, you can [get] a good idea [of] what is about to come," says Jesper. "The music wanders mostly throughout the heavy metal field, but people will find diverse influences within the songs with the greatest of ease."

Jesper is in talks with several European labels about releasing the CD. "Nothing has been officially set so far, but I believe there are gonna be some nice surprises in the near future," he says.

Stotz previously stated about his upcoming CD, "The album has basically a heavy/power metal approach, but one can find some experimental/darkwave stuff in it as well. It's gonna be an instrumental album, but it's definitely NOT only for musicians to enjoy. The songs are somehow accessible."

Jesper Stotz performing in 2006:

SCAR FOR LIFE, the new Portuguese project from Alex S (VYRUZ, REDSTAINS), is currently in pre-production for its debut album. The group — which is rounded out by bassist Miguel (DIGAMMA), drummer Guilherme (RAWMACHINE) and vocalist Rez (NSPERFECT) — will enter Dalma Productions in July to begin recording the material for a tentative late 2008/early 2009 release.

According to the band's official bio, SCAR FOR LIFE's music covers a wide range of styles — "from the most aggressive sounds to acoustics" and it "embrace[s] all the influences that makes it emotional and powerful.'

For more information, including samples iof group's demo recordings, visit www.myspace.com/scarforlifeband.

Joe Floyd (WARRIOR) and Billy Childs (BRITNY FOX) will guest on "Maximum Threshold" tomorrow night (Saturday, May 3) between 8:00 p.m. EST and 11:00 p.m. EST.

For more information and to listen to the program live via the Internet, visit www.maximumthreshold.net.

The Los Angeles, California-based '80s classic heavy metal band WARRIOR recently announced its reunion with original vocalist Parramore McCarty and guitarist Joe Floyd.

The complete 2008 reunion WARRIOR lineup is as follows:

Parramore McCarty (Vocals)
Joe Floyd (Guitars)
AC Alexander (Guitars)
Rob Farr (Bass)
Dave DuCey (Drums)

WARRIOR is currently recording its fifth album at Silvercloud Studios with Joe Floyd behind the controls.

WARRIOR has released four CDs: "Fighting For The Earth" (1985); "Ancient Future" (1998); "The Code Of Life" (2001) and "The Wars Of Gods And Men" (2004).

Germany's NL Distribution has just re-released the legendary WARRIOR debut CD, "Fighting For The Earth".

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

WARRIOR performing "Fighting for the Earth" live on TV in 1985:

Wes Orshoski of Billboard.com reports that a cast of rock heavyweights crammed the Roxy stage in Hollywood Thursday night (May 1) for a jam session that found the likes of JANE'S ADDICTION's Dave Navarro, SUGAR RAY's Mark McGrath and Matt Sorum (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) on stage with the likes of Lemmy Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD, Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the SEX PISTOLS and ALICE IN CHAINS' Jerry Cantrell.

All came together for the first of five Thursday-night gigs in May featuring Navarro and Sorum's occasional side project, CAMP FREDDY, which also features guitarist/vocalist Billy Morrison, bassist Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION, ALANIS MORISSETTE) and singers McGrath and Donovan Leitch, son of folk singer Donovan.

Read more from Billboard.com.

In the tradition of the legendary "Cry Now, Cry Later" compilations of the '90s, PIG DESTROYER/AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED's Scott Hull has brought together some of the very best of today's underground grindcore, hardcore, and power violence bands for volume one of "This Comp Kills Fascists".

"This Comp Kills Fascists" features new and exclusive material from such bands as INSECT WARFARE, MAGRUDERGRIND, KILL THE CLIENT, WEEKEND NACHOS, A.S.R.A, and more. It also includes the first new material in almost ten years from legendary grinders BRUTAL TRUTH and AGENTS OF SATAN.

Hull says of the compilation: "There are a lot of killer young bands out there with the same kind of vibe that was around back when Chris Dodge was doing Slap-a-Ham and Fiesta Grande was the all-important mecca to which every underground hardcore listener would make a pilgrimage every year. It was a lot different back then. There was no MySpace. No eBay. You actually had tapes and seven-inches that you found out about in photocopied fanzines. You had to hunt this shit down. It was about discovery. You'd seek out some obscure split or tape, and when you got them, a million small flyers for other releases fell out of the package. If you were a band, you didn't have photoshop. Kinko's was vital to your band's existence and you learned how to tear out logos, steal artwork, cut, paste, cut, paste..."

"I don't pretend to be any kind of grand poobah for power violence, but it absolutely had its own sound, attitude, values...it was its own scene. And it seems there are both a lot of bands from the day that are coming back (DESPISE YOU, APARTMENT 213, CROM), that never left (LACK OF INTEREST, HELLNATION), and a LOT of younger bands that are re-invigorating that scene altogether. This comp is generally about a theme, but somewhat spread across PV, grind, and other hardcore elements. It's supposed to be a tribute to the way the underground hardcore scene should always be. Fast, loose, ferociously independent, unpretentious, and fun."

"This Comp Kills Fascists" will be released in North America on July 8 and internationally on July 14 via Relapse.

German melodic metallers MOB RULES have been confirmed for the Ginetarock festival, set to take place June 7 in La Gineta (Albacete), Spain.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

BRAINSTORM
AXXIS
MOB RULES
ANGELUS APATRIDA
SPHINX
NOCTURNIA

For more information, visit www.ginetarockfestival.es.

NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) legends DIAMOND HEAD have issued the following update:

"Unfortunately, the show in Nuneaton (England) on Saturday, May 3rd has been cancelled.

"The promoter has cancelled this show after trying to renegotiate the terms intially agreed at such a late stage and this was totally unworkable for the band.

"We apologise to any fans in the area looking to attend for this inconvenience."

DIAMOND HEAD's next performance will now take place on Sunday, May 4 at The Junction in York, England.

Geffen has set a May 7 Japanese release date for a two-album DIAMOND HEAD cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring the following LPs:

* "Borrowed Time" (1982)
* "Canterbury" (1983)

Each cardboard sleeve reissue features a high-quality SHM-CD disc (playable on standard CD players).

"Skin on Skin", the new video from DIAMOND HEAD, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's new album, "What's In Your Head?", which was released on July 30 2007. The CD was previously described by the band as "a powerful but varied collection of songs." The album includes the song "Reign Supreme", which is said to be "the heaviest track DIAMOND HEAD have recorded since 'Am I Evil?'"

DIAMOND HEAD recently supported THIN LIZZY on 14 dates of their UK tour.

The latest episode of "Talking Metal" contains an interview John Ostronomy conducted with WHITESNAKE guitarist Doug Aldrich. Topics include the band's new album, "Good to Be Bad", David Coverdale, LION, Kal Swan, Tiffany, Gene Simmons, and Aldrich's 1982 audition with KISS. The podcast also contains an interview Mark Strigl and Ostronomy conducted with Ron Scalzo of RETURN TO EARTH.

Photos as well as the 60-minute podcast can be downloaded at this location. iTunes users can also subscribe to "Talking Metal" for free at this location.

"Good To Be Bad" was released through SPV/Steamhammer in Germany on April 18, the rest of Europe on April 21 and it came out in North America on April 22. In addition to the regular jewel-case version, a limited-edition two-disc set contains an extra CD in a cardboard sleeve, as well as a poster, photocard and sticker.

Magna Carta Records will release LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT's self-titled debut album on double LP gatefold 180-gram vinyl on June 10. There will only be 1,000 copies of this album released worldwide.

The details are as follows:

* Limited edition of 1,000
* Double vinyl pressing (first disc on green vinyl; second disc on purple vinyl)
* 180 gram colored vinyl
* Gatefold package with never-before-seen artwork and photos

LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT is the instrumental progressive rock/metal project featuring DREAM THEATER members Mike Portnoy (drums), John Petrucci (guitar) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards) alongside progressive rock icon Tony Levin (bass) of KING CRIMSON and PETER GABRIEL fame.

LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT recently added a second show in New York City as part of its upcoming "10th Anniversary Reunion Tour" in June. The concert will take place on June 23 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City beginning at 11:30 p.m.

LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT "10th Anniversary Reunion Tour" dates:

June 21 - Bethlehem, PA - NEARfest X
June 23 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (8:00 p.m.)
June 23 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (11:30 p.m.)
June 25 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theater
June 27 - Downey, CA - Downey Theater
June 28 - San Francisco, CA - Bay Area Rock Fest

In 1998 and 1999, LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT released two instrumental albums that set the prog world on fire.

After the success of the two albums and the project's undeniable chemistry, Rudess was asked to join DREAM THEATER full-time and the project was put on the shelf for an indefinite hiatis.... until now!

Back together for a select number of U.S. dates, the quartet is reuniting to revisit the magical music they created 10 years ago and tap back into their chemistry for a whole new musical experiment!

Magna Carta last October released a new album from LIQUID TRIO EXPERIMENT (sic). Entitled "Spontaneous Combustion" (cover), the CD features previously unreleased "jams" recorded during the sessions for LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT's second full-length album, "Liquid Tension Experiment 2", in October 1998 at Millbrook Studios in upstate New York.

A description of the CD reads as follows: "In October 1998, LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT reunited at Millbrook Studios in upstate New York to record their 2nd album. A few days into the sessions, John Petrucci's pregnant wife went into premature labor, leaving Mike Portnoy, Jordan Rudess and Tony Levin stranded in an already set-up and booked recording studio. So like any creative and productive musicians would do, they decided to stay and JAM... and JAM they did!

"For some bizarre and still unexplained reason, the master tapes of these jams were misplaced during the mixing process. But, luckily, Portnoy records almost everything he ever does and as a result his live two-track stereo DAT mixes are the only remaining traces of this historic jam. So what you have here is as live and raw as it gets. No overdubs, no editing, no mixing. Just three guys, their instruments and their spontaneous imaginations feeding off of each other."

LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT performing live:

"March of the Mutes", UNEARTH's latest music video, can be viewed below (courtesy of Headbanger's Blog) (Note: Video stream may not be available to some non-U.S. residents.) The performance footage for the clip was shot October 9, 2007 at The Glass House in Pomona, California.

UNEARTH vocalist Trevor Phipps recently spoke to UK's Metal Hammer about the group's forthcoming studio album which will be produced by Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, THE ACACIA STRAIN, AS I LAY DYING, EVERY TIME I DIE).

Adam produced most of UNEARTH's early albums (including their breakthrough, "The Oncoming Storm"), but UNEARTH's latest CD, "III: In the Eyes of Fire", was done with Terry Date (PANTERA, DEFTONES).

"We are excited about going back in with Adam D. because he has always had the right chemistry with all of us," enthuses Phipps. "He is a great overall musician so we are open to any musical ideas he might have for parts that he has suggestions for. Working with Terry Date was a great experience, but moving forward with Adam is the right move for us."

He continued, "The writing for this record has been a lot of fun. We allowed ourselves more time for writing than we did for the last album, so there is less pressure on us and more time to let ideas grow. Working with Derek Kerswill as our drummer has also made things more fun as he has more of a similar mindset for how songs should play out. He is more focused on bettering the songs and making sure the heavy parts crush as much as they should and pays less attention to showing off his personal skills (even though he is one of the best drummers I have ever seen play)."

"We have about seven tunes done and have a handful of rough ideas floating around right now, so we will be ready to punch out a full album in the month of June and have a disc out for the people to hear in October."

UNEARTH's first-ever DVD, "Alive from the Apocalypse", debuted at No. 13 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart with first-week sales of 1,800 copies. It also landed at No. 15 on the Top Video/DVD chart in Canada, where it was certified gold just one week after its release.

Canada is the first territory to commemorate certified gold status of "Alive from the Apocalypse".