Italian metallers LABYRINTH have issued the following update:

"LABYRINTH are ready to enter the studios again, and this time it will be a special occasion to celebrate, as the original lineup is finally back together! After a long time, Olaf [Thorsen, guitar], Andrea [Cantarelli, guitar] and Roberto [Tiranti, vocals] are working again together to the new album, and will soon enter the studios to record the long-awaited 'Return to Heaven Denied Pt. 2', follower of the acclaimed album [released in 1998] which made their name be one of the most well-known ones into power metal scene. You wanted it, you asked for it, you waited for it. Now you will have it. We are ready to return to the heaven denied..."

LABYRINTH's sixth full-length album, "6 Days to Nowhere", was released in February 2007 via Scarlet Records. The mastering took place at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

LABYRINTH's fifth album, "Freeman", was released in 2005 through Arise Records. The Italian version of the album contained the exclusive bonus DVD with a Tokyo show (Banzai Tour 2004), "best of" London Cadmen Underworld (Nov. 13, 2004), the "L.Y.A.F.H." and "Freeman" videos, pictures and discography.

LABYRINTH's "Lost" video (taken from "6 Days to Nowhere") can be viewed below.

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley will perform with legendary rocker Alice Cooper on October 28 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. More information will be made available soon.

According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, Frehley's new solo album, "Anomaly", is on track to sell between 12,000 and 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

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

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

Frehley last year spent time on the road fronting a band that featured second guitarist Derrek Hawkins, drummer Scot Coogan (ex-BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION) and bassist Anthony Esposito (ex-LYNCH MOB).

Reunited Phoenix, Arizona-based hard rockers ICON have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Headbangers Open Air festival, set to take place July 29-31, 2010 in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

AMULANCE
ASKA
BATTLEAXE
BLOODFEAST
CULPRIT
DER KAISER
GREG LINDSTROM & FRIENDS
ICON
JAG PANZER
JAMESON RAID
OMEN
RAVEN
ROCK GODDESS
ROXXCALIBUR
TRENCH HELL
VIRGIN STEELE
WARBRINGER

For more information, visit www.headbangers-open-air.de.

ICON's current lineup consists of original members Dan Wexler (guitar), John Aquilino (guitar), Pat Dixon (drums) alongside new members Scott Hammons (lead vocals) and Dave Henzerling (bass).

Last year, ICON, in conjunction with Epicenter Multimedia, released "1984: Live Bootleg" for the first time on DVD. This enhanced multimedia disc features interviews with Dan Wexler and John Aquilino and contains live footage of one of the last concerts with the complete original ICON lineup of Stephen Clifford, Dan Wexler, John Aquilino, Tracy Wallach and Pat Dixon. The band performs in front of a sold-out crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1984. This is the only known footage of an entire concert by the original band.

Video footage of ICON performing at this year's Rocklahoma festival in July 2009 in Pryor, Oklahoma can be viewed below.

At the end of this month, ALICE IN CHAINS will perform three special shows in Los Angeles to celebrate the release of its new album, "Black Gives Way to Blue". The first is a very rare and exclusive 11:00 a.m. performance and interview for KROQ hosted by Kat Corbett at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood on September 29. The second is their "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" appearance that evening, and the third is their sold-out show at The Avalon on September 30.

According to a posting on ALICE IN CHAINS' MySpace page, the band "will be giving away a pair of tickets and VIP passes to each of these events, but you have to find them.

"Here's your first clue to find the KROQ event tickets: On Monday (September 21), a man in black holding a package will appear in front of the Whisky A Go Go at 6:00 p.m. He will give the tickets to the first person to find him and tell him the name of the fifth song the band played at the third stop of their current U.S. club tour. Do not arrive until exactly 6:00 p.m. though, because anyone he sees before exactly that time will be automatically ineligible to receive the tickets."

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

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

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

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

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

TMZ.com reports that STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland experienced a mild seizure during an American Airlines flight earlier today.

Sources close to Scott tell TMZ.com he suffered the seizure while flying from Los Angeles to Miami. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

UPDATE: A rep traveling with Weiland tells Rolling Stone that the airplane staff called for medical assistance over the loud speaker and had to administer oxygen to Weiland. Shortly after, Weiland had come to and was "in good spirits" as was taken off the plane for the hospital.

According to the report, Scott has a history of seizures and was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures.

Weiland is scheduled to promote the launch of his new men's clothing line, Weiland For English Laundry, on Saturday, September 19 at Miami Beach, Florida's Mansion with a live performance and fashion show.

Weiland for English Laundry, a collaboration with English Laundry designer Christopher Wicks, debuted at the MAGIC trade show August 31-September 2. The collection features rock-inspired wovens, vests, t-shirts, pants, hats, ties and scarves. Weiland for English Laundry blends the classic style and high quality of English Laundry with the design flare of the iconic, fashionable STP frontman.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS has spent the last few months working on a new studio album with producer Don Was. According to Weiland, the CD should be ready for release sometime in early 2010.

On September 11, Kevin "Taz" Conklin of "The Big Dumb Radio Show" (web site) — which airs on Kalamazoo, Michigan's 92.5 WZUU FM radio station — conducted an interview with MUDVAYNE drummer Matt McDonough. The chat is now available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.

MUDVAYNE frontman Chad Gray recently confirmed to Noisecreep that the band's next studio album is "completely done." He said, "There's still no title for it yet, and we have no idea when we are putting it out ... no idea what's going on with it. This will come out whenever it comes out. We just recorded it to do it. We had time, and there wasn't anything going on last summer, so we went in, and recorded it."

MUDVAYNE's forthcoming album was produced by Dave Fortman's (SLIPKNOT, EVANESCENCE) right-hand man, Jeremy Parker, and is "a little more retro for MUDVAYNE" from a songwriting point of view, according to Gray. "We've been kind of making this natural progression, and I think for this one, we just sort of naturally regressed," he told Noisecreep. "We took the smarter songwriting guys that we've become and mixed it with the not-smart songwriting guys that we were ... I mean, we used to just take 20 parts, cram it together, and call it a song. Over time, playing in a band, you kind of know what to expect. It doesn't really make it easier, but you kind of have this thing in your head that you kind of know where you're going. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel before entering the tunnel. It's faint, and dim, but it' s there."

MUDVAYNE's fourth studio album, "The New Game", has sold more than 200,000 copies in the United States since it came out in November 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD shifted 48,000 units in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Bridles Of Incitatus", the new video from South Carolina's GRAVES OF VALOR, can be viewed below. The clip was shot in South Carolina with videographer Garrett Williams.

"Bridles Of Incitatus" comes off GRAVES OF VALOR's latest album, "Salarian Gate", which is available for streaming in its entirety at this location. The CD was released on May 26 in North America (June 1 internationally) via Relapse Records. The effort was recorded in January at Mana Recording Studios (HATE ETERNAL, SOILENT GREEN, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD) with engineer Brian Elliott.

GRAVES OF VALOR will kick off a four-week U.S. tour today in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A new trailer for the upcoming documentary on British rock legends SAXON, "Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie", can be viewed below.

U.K.'s Coolhead Productions is putting the finishing touches on "Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie". The film, which is expected to be released in November, celebrates the group's 30th anniversary. Produced by the makers of the critically acclaimed "Ian Gillan: Highway Star" (Universal, 2007), it not only has contributions from members of SAXON, past and present, but also from the likes of Lars Ulrich (METALLICA); Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, Phil Campbell, Mikkey Dee (MOTÖRHEAD); Harvey Goldsmith, Danko Jones, Doro Pesch and many, many others. It will also feature plenty of rare archive material and previously unseen concert footage, from the classic 1980s lineup to the brilliant St. George's Day show in 2008 and Wacken Open Air in 2009. A special limited edition of "Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie" will contain a feature-length documentary, at least two never-before-seen concert films and plenty of revealing extra content.

If you pre-buy a plush special limited edition of "Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie" containing a feature-length documentary, at least TWO never-seen-before concert films and plenty of revealing extra content, you will get your name on the credits and become an associate producer, allowing you to influence the content of the film by sending your suggestions to the filmmakers. You will also have the chance of winning one of five pairs of VIP passes to next year's Wacken Open Air festival AND the chance to meet SAXON singer Biff Byford and the rest of the band on their next tour.

"We're relying on our fans here and I know you’ll do us proud," said Byford. "SAXON have a great story to tell and some bloody fantastic songs to celebrate. I think you'll agree it needs to be done properly, so get your orders in now. This will be one of the best rock docs you’ll ever see."

The special limited edition of "Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie" will cost £25 (GBP). It will be shipped out as soon as it's complete, before the end of November 2009.

For more information, go to this location.

Norway's ARTIFACT has parted ways with guitarist Björnar Landa (ex-SIRENIA) "due to a lack of the necessary motivation and drive on his part," according to a statement released by the band.

ARTIFACT is currently seeking a replacement second guitarist. Interested parties can contact the group via MySpace.

"New Messiah", the latest video from ARTIFACT, can be viewed below. The clip features a special guest appearance by TRISTANIA singer Mariangela Demurtas.

ARTIFACT released its debut album, "The Only Salvation", in June 2008 via Spiralchords. According to a press release, "The Only Salvation" is "a multifaceted adventure that blends dark rock, metal and industrial elements in a remarkably strong way. Juicy riffs, crunchy synths and huge choruses amalgamate with varied atmospheres which pend between aggressive volcanos ('Dead Eyes', 'New Messiah') and emotional, thoughtful beauty ('Scapegoated & Demonized')."

ARTIFACT is a band from the city of Stavanger on the west coast of Norway, formed in late 2002. The group consists of vocalist Tor Arne Fassotte of THIS NEGATIVE KARMA, guitarist Pål Evensen who programs and writes most of the music, and drummer Svein Harald Kleppe who has played in a number of bands, ranging from black metallers CARPATHIAN FOREST to prog rockers SEA OF DREAMS and MAYAH.

For more information, visit www.artifact.no.

German metallers MOB RULES will release a new EP, "Astral Hand", on October 9.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Astral Hand
02. Astral Hand (Radio Edit) *
03. Astral Hand (Instrumental) *
04. Man On The Run *#
05. Hold On 2009 (Unplugged Version) *

* exclusive bonus tracks which will not appear on the band's new album, "Radical Peace"
# unreleased track from the "Among The Gods" session.

MOB RULES will release its sixth album, "Radical Peace", on November 13 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at Bazement Studio with longtime engineer Markus Teske (VANDEN PLAS, SPOCK'S BEARD, OASIS). A single, "Astral Hand", will precede the full-length CD on October 9.

According to a press release, "Radical Peace" "presents a multitude of stylistic variations and effective surprises in a musical direction that is clearly and consciously not watered-down by pseudo-modern frippery. [MOB RULES'] tight interaction between deep melodic vocals, two powerful guitars, atmospheric keyboard passages and a driving basic rhythm is rare among European bands. Beyond that, MOB RULES have established an excellent reputation based on their five previous albums, which the band themselves consider to be outside the typical hard 'n' heavy pigeonhole: with critical lyrics about environmental pollution, the politics of the Catholic Church in medieval times and the alarming political situation in the Middle East on their early albums, MOB RULES shine again with fascinating and witty stories."

The press release continues: "Alongside the first single, Astral Hand, which was inspired by the well-known Michelangelo fresco 'The Creation of Adam' in the Vatican and already had its baptism of fire at the Wacken Rocks Seaside festival, the Bloodstock Open Air in Derby, England, and the Ginetarock festival in Spain, there are a number of tracks which deserve a mention. Musically as well as in terms of its content (the song is about death camp doctor Josef Mengele and his appalling experiments on concentration camp children), the opener 'Children Of The Flames' with its anthemic chorus and doom-laden guitar outro nonchalantly ventures into the realms of Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN). The two subsequent tracks, 'Trial By Fire' and 'Warchild' prove how intelligently MOB RULES connect their stories with epic musical structures and contemporary guitar riffs.

"The focal point of the album is the 18-minute epic 'The Oswald File'. This number is about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and raises the question whether the alleged killer Harvey Lee Oswald (who was later shot himself) really was responsible for Kennedy's death. With this song, MOB RULES continue their concept of memorable political moments in world history, which they started on 'Ethnolution A.D.' (2006)."

"We all know that Kennedy played an important role in the reconstruction of Germany," guitarist Matthias Mineur says of the track. Vocalist Klaus Dirks adds: "At the moment, this topic has gained new relevance through the new U.S. president Barack Obama, who is celebrated as Kennedy's quasi-heir. And as luck would have it, Obama will be coming to Berlin on a state visit four days before the release of 'Radical Peace'." This automatically brings to mind Kennedy's legendary speech featuring the unforgettable words "Ich bin ein Berliner," which were used as the intro to "The Oswald File".

Not only thematically but also musically, "Radical Peace" is MOB RULES' most uncompromising release to date. The direction of the new album is unmistakable, sounding much tougher compared to their previous offerings without compromising the essential features of the typical MOB RULES sound. "Even as we were writing the songs, it was clear that the new material would be more dynamic and haunting than our other releases, a fact that we allowed for during the studio production," says Dirks.

MOB RULES filmed a video for the song "Astral Hand" on April 18 at Jahnhalle in Nordenham, Germany. Directing the clip was Ronald Mattes from ROAX Film, who also worked with the band on the "Black Rain" and "Last Farewell" videos.

"Radical Peace" track listing:

01. Children Of The Flames
02. Trial By Fire
03. Warchild
04. Astral Hand
05. The Oswald File (Ethnolution II - A Matter Of Unnecessary Doubt)
06. Waiting For The Sun
07. The Glance Of Fame

Edmonton, Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY are about to shoot a video for their new single, "Soulcreek". According to the band, "There is a casting call behind held by J. Rastus casting company and they're looking for girls and guys from ages 18-25 in the Southern Kentucky/Northern Tennessee area. This is simply an 'extras' casting call. We'd love to have everyone there, but obviously, they can only accept the first few!"

More information can be found on the poster below.

"Folklore and Superstition", the sophomore album from BLACK STONE CHERRY, was reissued in the U.K. as a "special edition" on June 8. The two-disc set includes the entire "Folklore" album on the first disc and rare and/or previously unreleased BLACK STONE CHERRY tracks on the second disc.

"Things My Father Said", the last video from BLACK STONE CHERRY, can be viewed below.

"Folklore and Superstition" sold 13,600 in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 28 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Black Bird Studios, which is owned and operated by country music star Martina McBride. It was produced and mixed by veteran Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE, SALIVA).

The Pulse of Radio reports: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH will play a record-release party on Friday night (September 18) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, as the band prepares for next Tuesday's (September 22) arrival of its sophomore album, "War Is The Answer". The group has also revealed that the deluxe edition of the new disc will include a bonus DVD, a locker-sized poster, a decal, special digipak artwork, two bonus tracks, and a fan club membership.

Meanwhile the video for the album's first single, "Hard To See", has surfaced online (see below). Founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory and new axeman Jason Hook told The Pulse of Radio that they picked the video concept just to make life hard for singer Ivan Moody. "When we shot the video for this particular song, you know, we were getting the treatments from all kind of directors, right?" Bathory said. "So we were reading all the treatments and one of the treatments started with, like, 'The lead singer gets hit with a shovel and falls in a grave,' and we were pretty much..." Hook, added, "Sold, sold, we'll go with this one." Bathory continued, "'This is the one!' (laughs) To tell you the truth, I don't really know what that video is about, I still don't really understand, but he did get hit with a shovel, so..." Hook said, "So we're like, 'Good.'"

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's 2007 debut, "The Way Of The Fist", has sold over 350,000 copies.

The band will begin "The Shock And Roar Tour" next Tuesday in San Francisco, finishing up sometime in early November. Joining them on the bill will be SHADOWS FALL, OTEP and 2 CENTS.

SHADOW GALLERY, widely considered a major and innovative force within the realms of progressive rock and metal, have returned with their sixth studio effort, "Digital Ghosts". Following up 2005's "Room V" as well as the "Prime Cuts" compilation release of material from previous albums in 2007, "Digital Ghosts" will be released on October 26 in Europe and November 3 in North America via InsideOut Music.

After the tragic passing of lead singer Mike Baker in October 2008, SHADOW GALLERY's new CD introduces new vocalist Brian Ashland and not only sees the entire band once again sharing additional vocal duties but also features guest vocal appearances by Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR) and Clay Barton (SUSPYRE) to complement the release. With "Digital Ghosts", SHADOW GALLERY's members Brendt Allman, Carl Cadden-James, Gary Wehrkamp, Ashland and returning drummer Joe Nevolo (who appears on two songs of the record) have focused their powerful energies on creating a seamless blend of progressive, metal, and symphonic rock as a transcendent work of musical art that advances the boundaries of these genres into new directions.

Commented Wehrkamp: "As a band, we are thrilled to have new music to share with everyone. This album is a dedication to our wonderful fans, and also to the memory of our singer and friend Mike Baker.

"We had to deal with a few tragic events during the course of this recording, but pressing on we approached the production the way we always do: Trying to provide our very best. We had a terrific time making this record and hope all the emotion and love we put into it endures, transcends and touches everyone who is ready for it.

"You can expect some shades of a new direction on this record. We had long been trying to incorporate more prog elements and the time was right to stretch out a little bit, while remaining true to the heavy and powerful rock based songs that have been a staple of SHADOW GALLERY since the earliest days."

"Digital Ghosts" track listing:

01. With Honor
02. Venom
03. Pain
04. Gold Dust
05. Strong
06. Digital Ghost
07. Haunted

Karagiannidis Panagiotis of Metalpaths recently conducted an interview with W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Metalpaths: So let's start with the new [W.A.S.P.] album ["Babylon"], of course. What we have here is once more a concept album, right? Would you like to share with us a few things about the album?

Blackie: Well, it's not a concept album. It all started with "Babylon's Burning", the first song I wrote for the record, and that's really why I called it "Babylon", but, it really started when I was watching TV about a year ago and I saw some of the leaders from the European Union and from the other countries around the world talking about this global financial crisis we're going through, and they were talking about maybe it was time for a one world government and a one-world system, maybe a one-world currency, and I thought to myself, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I thought, "Do these guys understand what they're talking about here?" It's like they've been reading the Bible, because they're talking about Bible prophecy here. So I went back and I started reading Revelation and the Bible and other places in the Bible are talking about the prophecy and I was amazed to how accurate the prediction, the prophecy and the Bible was, talking about a one-world system and a one-world government. I heard just recently one of the leaders in Brussels say that they believe that by the year 2018 they could have everyone in the European Union microchipped. Now, you understand what that means, right? It's very, very scary, and I thought to myself, "These guys are talking about having people microchipped", and I'm thinking "Do they understand what they're saying?" I mean, what they're talking about, this is potentially 666! So really that's where the idea of Babylon came from.

Metalpaths: So the album is not based in Apocalypse, as I thought?

Blackie: No, it's not a concept, but the whole idea of a potential one-world government, but that's only one song in the album. There's other songs like "Crazy", which when you listen to "Crazy", it sounds like a man talking to a woman, but in reality, what I'm saying is it's more of a performer talking to the audience, the performer saying, hey, it's OK to admire what I'm doing but if it gets to be too much and it becomes idol worship, this is what happened to Elvis Presley, this is what happened to Michael Jackson, it's what happened to Kurt Cobain, you end up, the audience ends up, you end up killing these people! Because they all commit suicide, because when they get so big, life has no meaning anymore. And that's what fame does, because fame can be a very destructive thing. I've known a lot of people in this business, and they got very big and it destroyed a lot of them, so it's very, very dangerous when the audience starts putting the performers on a level that is too high.

Metalpaths: And what about the cover of the album? I thought that it's referring to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Blackie: That's part of the idea of "Babylon's Burning". You know, I wrote about this twenty years ago, when I did "Headless Children". There is a line in "Headless Children" that says, "Four horsemen sit high up in the saddle and waiting and ride the bloody trail of no return." So, really, I'm revisiting the idea of what that was, because when I heard these European Union leaders talking about a year ago, it made me think about that and I thought, "Are we closer to that Apocalypse now than we were twenty years ago?" And from the things they're saying it seems that we may be, because what they were saying was really frightening! When governments get too big, they have too much power over people, and I understand the European Union and all that, but I think Greece was doing fine on its own; I don't think Greece needed the EU, I don't think Germany needed the EU. It's kind of like America, it's the United States of America. Well, when you look at our constitution, the only thing that the federal government was ever supposed to do was to create army and print money; that's what all the government was ever supposed to do. But the problem is when the federal government gets bigger and bigger and bigger, you lose freedom every day! So that's, really, a lot of what I'm trying to say here.

Read the entire interview from Metalpaths.

W.A.S.P.'s new song "Crazy" (click on player below to launch audio):

KISS members Paul Stanley (guitar, vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) were interviewed earlier today (Friday, September 18) on "The Dennis Miller Show". The chat can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below.

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

"Sonic Boom", produced by guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley in Los Angeles, is the centerpiece of a three-disc set that also features a completely re-recorded greatest hits CD (previously available in Japan) as well as a live DVD shot in Argentina during the band's recent, record-breaking KISS Alive 35 South American tour. The CD set will retail for $12, with pre-orders starting in September on Walmart.com.

Wal-Mart, one of America's largest music retailers, is finalizing its exciting plans now for its in-store and online destinations for KISS fans surrounding the launch of the new album and tour, and will host various KISS products in addition to their music in its stores this fall. More details on Wal-Mart KISS activity, announcements regarding album pre-sales, sweepstakes and KISS appearances will be shared shortly.

The "Sonic Boom" cover art was created by Michael Doret, who also designed the band's classic "Rock And Roll Over" album cover.

TheHawkEye.com reports that former MÖTLEY CRÜE lead singer John Corabi will headline a benefit concert October 2 for a Burlington, Iowa girl with cerebral palsy.

Organizers hope to raise $8,100 for an overhead track system in the Mark and Kim Edwards home.

The track will relieve the burden of having to physically lift the Edwards' 14-year-old daughter, Brooke, to place her in a wheelchair, so she can move her about the house.

Read the entire article from TheHawkEye.com.

Fearless Fred of Toronto, Ontario, Canada's 102.1 The Edge radio station conducted an interview with ALICE IN CHAINS members Jerry Cantrell (guitar, vocals) and William DuVall (vocals) prior to the band's September 15, 2009 concert at The Opera House. Watch the six-minute chat below.

ALICE IN CHAINS' much-anticipated new album, "Black Gives Way To Blue", is scheduled for release on September 29. The CD was recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS) at Studio 606 in Northridge, California and Henson Studios in Hollywood.

The track listing for the album is as follows:

01. All Secrets Known
02. Check My Brain
03. Last Of My Kind
04. Your Decision
05. A Looking In View
06. When The Sun Rose Again
07. Acid Bubble
08. Lessons Learned
09. Take Her Out
10. Private Hell
11. Black Gives Way To Blue

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

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

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

"Densetsu", a brand new track from SKITLIV — the brainchild of former MAYHEM singer Maniac — is available for free download at this location. It can also be streamed using the audio player below.

"Densetsu" comes off SKITLIV's long-awaited debut album, "Skandinavisk Misantropi", which will be released on October 19 in Europe and November 17 in the U.S. via the Season of Mist label. The eight-track CD features guest vocal appearances by David Tibet (CURRENT 93), Attila Csihar (MAYHEM, SUNN0)))) and Gaahl (GOD SEED, GORGOROTH, TRELLDOM, GAAHLSKAGG, WARDRUNA).

"Skandinavisk Misantropi" track listing:

01. Luciferon (intro)
02. Slow Pain Coming
03. Hollow Devotion
04. Skandinavisk Misantropi
05. Towards the Shores of Loss
06. A Valley Below
07. Densetsu
08. ScumDrug

Commented Maniac: "'Skandinavisk Misantropi' has been a long time in coming, but that's the way I work. I had no intention of letting it appear until the result satisfied me personally." Regarding his signing with Season of Mist, he said, "I had never lost touch with the guys at Season of Mist after I left MAYHEM, and when they said they were interested in releasing my new album, it seemed very natural to continue working with them."

"Skandinavisk Misantropi" is the first studio album from SKITLIV following the release of the "Amfetamin" live CD, which was a one-off collaboration with the Cold Spring label.

Rounding SKITLIV's lineup of Maniac on guitars and vocals, SHINING's Niklas "Kvarforth" Olsson on guitar and backing vocals, and Ingvar on guitar, for the recording of "Skandinavisk Misantrpi" are Tore Moren (JORN, CARNIVORA, ex-ARCTURUS) on bass, and Dag Otto (HAUST) on drums. Moren also produced the album along with Maniac.

"Densetsu" stream (click on player below to launch audio):

The U.K. branch of Roadrunner Records has uploaded video footage of MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine taking the viewers through the band's new album, "Endgame", track by track. Watch the footage in two parts:

Part#1
Part#2

The clips can also be seen below.

According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, "Endgame" is on track to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

MEGADETH's previous album, "United Abominations", opened with around 54,000 copies to land at position No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was more than the 46,000 first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "The System Has Failed" (which debuted at No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart), and was a bit less than the 61,000 opening number of 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" (No. 16).

"Endgame" was recorded at MEGADETH's brand new, self-built studio in San Marcos, California — Vic's Garage — which was named after the legendary and iconic Vic Rattlehead character. The CD was helmed by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and British producer Andy Sneap (EXODUS, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD).

MEGADETH and SLAYER will team up for the Canadian Carnage East five-date tour in November. The trek kicks off on November 8 in Moncton, NB and wraps up in Toronto on November 13. The tour will feature MACHINE HEAD and SUICIDE SILENCE, and will see MEGADETH and SLAYER alternating the closing spot.

MEGADETH and SLAYER laid waste to four Canadian cities earlier in June when they joined up for the first Canadian Carnage, marking the first time the bands had shared a stage anywhere in 18 years.

Louisiana-based rockers LILLIAN AXE will support ALICE COOPER on the following shows:

Oct. 02 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
Oct. 03 - Pompano Beach, FL - Amphitheatre
Oct. 04 - Fort Meyers, FL - Mann Performing Arts Center
Oct. 11 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theatre
Oct. 12 - Dallas, TX - Palladium

LILLIAN AXE last supported ALICE COOPER during the "Waters Rising" tour in 2007 and shared the stage with the legendary rocker in at the Rock The Bayou festival in Houston, Texas.

LILLIAN AXE's new album, "Sad Day On Planet Earth", was released on June 30 via the Swedish label Blistering Records. The CD is described in a press release as "by far [the band's] strongest album, musically speaking. There are so many different-sounding songs that all forms of radio: Active Rock, Mainstream Rock and Metal radio will embrace this album."

"Sad Day On Planet Earth" contains 14 songs written by Steve Blaze. All the album artwork was created by Peter Tsakiris, who is a major force in the industry, having designed album art for DIO, TWISTED SISTER, DEEP PURPLE, TED NUGENT, OVERKILL, JACKYL and WARRIOR SOUL, to name a few.

LILLIAN AXE is:

Derrick Lefevre - Vocals
Steve Blaze - Guitar/Vocals
Sam Poitevent - Guitar/Vocals
Eric Morris - Bass
Ken Koudelka - Drums

Dutch progressive tech metallers TEXTURES have uploaded their latest video podcast, "Russian Roulette", featuring footage from their recent visit to Russia and Estonia. Watch the 10-minute clip below.

TEXTURES recently signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band's first album for the label is expected to arrive sometime next year.

Commented Nuclear Blast A&R representative Jaap Wagemaker: "Diversity and complexity are important elements of the unique TEXTURES sound, building bridges between epic, polyrhythmic grooves and contrasting melodies. TEXTURES create their own style and establish their own interpretation of progressive, heavy modern metal!"

Added the band in a statement: "We have been expressing our musical concepts for three albums now, played a truckload of cool shows and created a solid fanbase. Now it's time for us to take it to a higher level and expand our territory. Nuclear Blast gives us that opportunity. We are very excited about it!"

The vinyl version of "Silhouettes", the latest album from TEXTURES, was released last November through Garden of Exile Records. The LP was limited to 500 copies and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. The artwork was printed on extra-thick cardboard gatefold jacket with golden foil print.

"Silhouettes" was released in North America on September 30, 2008 via Listenable/Koch.

The album entered the Dutch chart at position No. 100. This was the band's first chart showing ever.

"Silhouettes" was recorded at Split Second Sound with Jochem Jacobs in the producer's chair. Jacobs previously oversaw the recording process for TEXTURES' last CD, "Drawing Circles".

HADES/NON-FICTION guitarist Dan Lorenzo has launched a weekly Internet radio show, "F-Bombs For Everyone", on Bionic Strigl Radio. You can hear it every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EST at this location. According to Lorenzo, the program is "sort of like '24-7', my weekly column in Steppin' Out magazine — opinionated and obnoxious. My buddy Mike Cristi (who is also the drummer for NON-FICTION and THE CURSED) joins me each week as I play music... and goof on people. Occasionally I even goof on Mike... well, actually EVERY show I goof on Mike. I'd stop, but he keeps laughing."

"F-Bombs For Everyone" will soon be available via iTunes as well.

For the first time since 1986, HADES' classic "Resisting Success" lineup will reunite for two shows in April 2010. These dates will mark drummer Tom Coombs' first appearances with HADES since the "Exist To Resist" CD was released in 1994. Guitarist Scott LePage (who actually played bass on "Saviorself" and "The Downside" in 1999 and 2000) will handle lead guitar duties for HADES for the first time since recording "Resisting Success".

Greek old-school thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS and Swedish metallers STEELWING (formerly SCAVENGER) have been awarded record deals with Boomer Entertainment and Nuclear Blast Records as part of a band contest launched by the Austrian management and booking company Rock The Nation.

This unique competition was presented and promoted by all leading European metal magazines, including the German, Italian, Spanish and Greek editions of Metal Hammer; Terrorizer (U.K.); Metallian (France); Scream (Norway); Rock Tribune (Belgium); Spark (Czech Republic); and the Dutch webzine LordsOfMetal.nl.

"The high interest [exceeded] all our expectations," says Rock The Nation boss Stefan Hattinger. More than 1,200 bands from all over the world participated in the contest, and hundreds of thousands of votes were counted. "It made the RTN Award a tremendous success and proves that this is what the bands have been waiting for," he adds.

The 100 bands with the most votes were judged by an "inner circle" composed of staff members from Rock The Nation, Boomer Entertainment and Nuclear Blast. In the end, there wasn't only one, but two winners!

"We are more than happy to win this contest," says SUICIDAL ANGELS vocalist and guitar player Nick. "We will do our best to reciprocate all the trust we received.

"We would like to thank Stefan and Rock The Nations, all the guys from Boomer Entertainment and Nuclear Blast for giving us this unique opportunity.

"Prepare to be thrashed, thrash till death!"

STEELWING guitarist Robby Rockbag states: "For us, it was a nice surprise and I can still hardly believe it.

"We were just about to finish recordings of our first demo, [and] all of a sudden we had a deal with the label that [is home to] so many of our favorite acts, like TESTAMENT, CANDLEMASS and HAMMERFALL. For us, it is like a dream come true and we promise a killer debut album to all you metalheads!"

SUICIDAL ANGELS (MySpage page):

STEELWING (MySpace page):

Full Metal Rock recently conducted an interview with MUSHROOMHEAD vocalist Waylon Reavis. Watch the chat below.

In a new interview with Noisecreep, MUSHROOMHEAD's St1tch (real name: Rick Thomas) stated about the band's longevity, "With us, it's always been about the fans. Without them, we wouldn't be sitting here right now. Most bands trickle out because they put out a record, they get a lot of hype, a label puts a bunch of money into 'em, they have a hit song, then the label moves on to the next band. And then, that band never really did a lot of touring and a lot of underground building of their fan base. They just got a bunch of quick radio fans, and that trickles off because it's flavor of the week, and then it's the next thing in line.

"But we were touring before a major label ... we're touring after a major label. We still have a good core underground following. We still are fortunate enough to have kept a good enough fan base to still stay current with bands that are hot right now, like KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and MARILYN MANSON, and all the bands that are still heavily touring. Our name has kept its quality, which is great and it's because we stayed true to ourselves. We never sold out and played the major label game. We do what we do."

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman will perform live at Toyota's annual "Dream Drive Dream Live" event on September 22 in Odaiba, Tokyo Bay, Japan. He will play music from his latest solo album, "Tokyo Jukebox", "as well as other surprises," according to a posting on his web site.

Japanese racing and Friedman's music have gone together since Marty's "Street Demon" was featured on Avex's "D1 Grand Prix Official Sound Collection". Since then he has performed at both the 2008 and 2009 D1 Grand Prix races and has appeared on racing-related TV programs.

Friedman will perform with Aikawa Nanase at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, Japan on September 27. Also appearing will be HIMURO, UVERWORLD and Friedman's Avex labelmates Visual Kei band D.

As previously reported, Friedman will be featured on the smash hit TV Tokyo show "Pirameki-no" on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:30 p.m. local time. Friedman will appear several times on this daily program. He will also be featured on the long-running TV Asahi program "Tamori Club" on October 2. This will be his fifth appearance on the show.

Friedman's ninth album, "Tokyo Jukebox", was released in Japan on May 20 via AVEX, "Tokyo Jukebox" was produced and arranged by Marty and it reflects the chaotic lifestyle of Tokyo, its unique music and Marty's futuristic interpretation of it.

Check out "Tokyo Jukebox" audio samples at this location.

NOISE WITHIN, the project featuring singer/guitarist Boris Bouma (EPIDEMIC), bassist John "Tumor" Fahnestock (SNOT, AMEN) and drummer Pedro Vasquez, has parted ways with guitarist Aaron Slipp (PRONG, TAD). The band will carry on as a three-piece.

Comments Bouma: "It wasn't anything personal; Aaron is a big talent and a hilarious guy, but freeing up time from the old day job to not get paid making music is not something everyone is willing to do forever." He adds, "The other reason is that I used to be happy just writing/tracking stuff, then showing it to Aaron, so I could dump the guitar and sing. If I'm honest, it became less and less gratifying to do that."

"Lately I've been having more and more fun playing guitar, and since I recorded 90% of the album guitars myself anyway, along with playing the songs five million fucking times auditioning drummers, why not do it live? John always wanted to do a three piece, and this way I have one less phone call to make when planning things. Who knows?! I may not like actually carrying an instrument and gear to a gig, or not being able to mop the stage with myself. We'll see."

NOISE WITHIN will make its live debut as a three-piece on October 4 at the Viper Room in West Hollywood. There is an unlimited FREE guest list for the event on a first-come-first-served basis. Contact: noisewithinband(at)gmail.com.

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

Video footage of BUCKCHERRY performing acoustic versions of the songs "Crazy Bitch" and "Talk To Me" can be viewed below (courtesy of AOL's Noisecreep).

BUCKCHERRY is gearing up for a big fall with the release of a live album and the band's opening slot on the upcoming KISS tour. The Los Angeles group's concert package, called "Live & Loud", is due out on September 29, while the massive KISS Alive 35 trek begins with a two-night stand on September 25 and September 26 in Detroit, where KISS recorded its legendary 1975 album "Alive!"

"Live & Loud" track listing:

01. Tired of You
02. Next 2 You
03. Broken Glass
04. Check Your Head
05. Lit Up
06. Talk To Me
07. Rescue Me
08. Rose
09. For the Movies
10. Ridin'
11. Lawless and Lulu
12. Everything
13. Sorry
14. Crazy Bitch
15. Cream

The album will be released on Eleven Seven Music with distribution through RED.

When asked on a conference call with reporters why BUCKCHERRY wanted to open for KISS, singer Josh Todd said: "The reason we're touring with KISS is 'cause we wanna be involved in events, and this is a huge event. They've been 35 years out there and that's impressive for anybody to do. You know, they broke a lot of rules and we love that, you know, and they stuck to what they love to do and, you know, that's important to us. Plus we're huge KISS fans and they put on, like, an incredible show and we wanna be a part of that."

BUCKCHERRY reissued its fourth studio album, 2008's "Black Butterfly", in an enhanced edition on September 8. The new version swaps out the song "Too Drunk..." for the band's cover of DEEP PURPLE's "Highway Star", which the group recorded for NASCAR coverage on TNT.

Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson also told Billboard.com this week that there will be new BUCKCHERRY music next year, with Todd adding that the band is "working on a project we're kind of keeping secretive right now. It's definitely going to be a departure from what we do. It's definitely coming out great."

Quality fan-filmed video footage of CHICKENFOOT performing the song "Down The Drain" on Wednesday, September 16 in Houston, Texas can be viewed below (courtesy of "eduvh").

As previously reported, CHICKENFOOT's September 23, 2009 concert at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona will be filmed for possible use on a future DVD release. The band's August 30, 2009 show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia was also recorded for the same purpose.

CHICKENFOOT's self-titled debut album was certified gold by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) on September 10, 2009 for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies in the United States. The LP — which has actually shifted 311,000 units so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan — is packaged in heat-sensitive artwork, which means when you put your hand on the CD inlay, photos of the band members are revealed behind the CHICKENFOOT band logo.

CHICKENFOOT was formed last year by ex-VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar, who enlisted former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith to complete the lineup, which has toured the U.S. and Europe since the release of the CD.

BEHEMOTH, ENSIFERUM, LEAVES' EYES and THE EXPLOITED have been confirmed for next year's installment of the Metalcamp festival, set to take place July 5-11, 2010 in Tomin, Slovenia.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

BEHEMOTH
ENSIFERUM
EQUILIBRIUM
DORNENREICH
IMMORTAL
LEAVES' EYES
METSATÖLL
THE EXPLOITED

IMMORTAL's appearance at next year's Metalcamp will mark their exclusive performance for Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.

For more information, visit www.metalcamp.com.

(Thanks: Metal-Experience.com)

Guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM will take part in a fan meet-and-greet on September 23 at 4:30 p.m. at Steve's Music Store, located at 51 Saint-Antoine West (Metro Place d'Armes) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. No photos or filming will be allowed. Fans must come early if they want to meet Alexi.

For additional information on this event, please contact Gilles Dicaire at (514) 878-2216.

CHILDREN OF BODOM's new album, titled "Skeletons In The Closet", is scheduled for release on September 23 through Spinefarm. The follow-up to last year's "Blooddrunk" is a selection of cover versions, some of them existing recordings, others specially laid down for this release.

CHILDREN OF BODOM has been recording covers since the early days of its career, some predictably heavy ("Silent Scream" by SLAYER, for example), others reflecting an altogether broader taste ("Talk Dirty To Me" by POISON).

CHILDREN OF BODOM will return to North America this fall to headline a massive, month-long tour. The 20-city trek will launch on Friday, September 18 at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island and will run through October 14 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Support will come from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and SKELETONWITCH.