Jönköping, Sweden-based death/black metallers NETHERBIRD have issued the following update:

"We are proud to announce that Tobias Gustafsson has joined NETHERBIRD as bassist. We have spent 48 hours in studio Scarecrow recording bass for our next release and it was a grand ride and Tobias was quite evidently the right man for the job, both because of his skills as a musician and as a person. He blended right into this flock of stray souls and will add a lot to the future sound of the band with both his bass and voice.

"Tobias Gustafsson is no stranger to the metal scene and he is currently the vocalist in REVENGIA and has played in EUCHARIST, THE END (Sweden) and ARMAGEDDON (Sweden).

"This means that NETHERBIRD now has a full lineup ready to handle the gigs that will come in years ahead!"

NETHERBIRD's video for the song "The Blackest Breed" can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's full-length debut, "The Ghost Collector", which was released last year via Pulverised Records. The CD features an appearance by ex-CRADLE OF FILTH/current NEMHEIM drummer Adrian Erlandsson, who is said to be "a full member" of NETHERBIRD.

NETHERBIRD is:

Nephente - vocals
Bizmark - guitar, keyboards
Johan Nord - guitar, vocals
Tobias Gustafsson - bass, vocals
Adrian Erlandsson - drums

According to the band's official bio, "NETHERBIRD is about darkness, gloom and beauty. It is about art and music blending into a sweet black beast. It is about the violent storms that blow within the most quiet ones. It is about the comming fall, the last flowers on the last day of summer. It is about the frost that claims us all. NETHERBIRD is about the short flickering spark of life in between two eternities of darkness."

More video footage of former WARRANT singer Jani Lane's August 28, 2009 performance at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California can be viewed below (courtesy of AceCard). Backing Jani at the concert were Jimmy D'Anda (BULLETBOYS) on drums, Kevin Baldes (LIT) on bass and Brent Woods (VINCE NEIL, WILDSIDE) on guitar, among others.

Lane will spend two mandatory days in jail after pleading no contest last month to one count of misdemeanor DUI stemming from an incident where he hit a parked car back in June, according to TMZ.com.

As part of Jani's plea deal — in which authorities agreed to drop a hit-and-run charge — Lane will serve 36 months probation, complete three months in alcohol education classes and report for 30 days of Caltrans road work. He also has to pay more than $395 in fines.

If Jani chooses not to pay the fines, he will have to serve 13 additional days in jail instead.

The 45-year-old singer was busted on June 17 when he allegedly hit a parked car in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles. Lane refused to take a sobriety test.

When asked in a May 18, 2009 interview with "The Johnny Dare Morning Show" how he managed to "get straight," Jani replied, "It's just a matter of deciding you're done, in my opinion. I mean, that probably oversimplifies it, but really, really and truly you have to go, 'You know what? I'm done with this. I don't like feeling like this, I don't like living like this.' And it's also nice to get the creativity back, which is impossible to flow when you're unconscious."

Lane originally left WARRANT in 2002 to pursue a solo career. He released a solo album, "Back Down to One", in 2003, but shortly after was admitted to a rehab center for alcohol and drug-related exhaustion. He also appeared on VH1's reality series "Celebrity Fit Club".

WARRANT announced in September 2008 that it was splitting with Jani Lane six months after the band first reunited with the troubled vocalist. He has since been replaced by Robert Mason (LYNCH MOB, CRY OF LOVE, BIG COCK).

Braunschweig, Germany-based, female-fronted death metallers D.A.M.N. (DIARY ABOUT MY NIGHTMARES) have inked a deal with the Swedish record label Unexploded Records. The group's new album, "Forbidden Anger", will be released in October. The CD was recorded with Jakob Batten (ILLDISPOSED) and Ziggy (ILLDISPOSED, BEHEMOTH, MERCENARY, AS WE FIGHT).

"Forbidden Anger" track listing:

01. Urt La Bu Tal
02. Lost In Lines
03. Close to The Border
04. Deathinfection
05. Hate
06. Ewigkeit
07. First Class Suicide
08. Forbidden Anger
09. Across The Street
10. Hall Of Fame

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

"CMXIX", the debut album from SURVIVORS ZERO — the Finnish death metal band featuring current and former members of IMPALED NAZARENE, FINNTROLL, DEATHCHAIN and THE SCOURGER — is available for streaming in its entirety at Record Shop X. Due on September 9 via Cobra Records, the CD was mixed at Black Lounge Studio in Avesta, Sweden while the mastering was handled by Pelle Henricsson at Tonteknik Recording in Umeå, Sweden.

"CMXIX" track listing:

01. Embrace the Inferno
02. Armageddon Cult
03. Lucifer Effect
04. Scavengers Of Christ
05. Thorns Of Rapture
06. Fortress Of Lies
07. I Bury Them Deeper
08. I Am The Gun
09. Trail Of Fears
10. Reclaim My Heritage

SURVIVORS ZERO is:

Sami Jämsén (Studio Perkele) - Guitar
Tommi "Rotten" Virranta (ex-DEATHCHAIN) - Vocals
Tapio Wilska (ex-FINNTROLL) - Bass
Jani Luttinen (THE SCOURGER) - Guitar
Reima Kellokoski (IMPALED NAZARENE) - Drums

SURVIVORS ZERO's "Reclaim My Heritage" video can be viewed below.

The "Reclaim My Heritage" limited-edition CD-single, which also includes a cover version of the classic KREATOR song "People Of The Lie", was released on June 6. It was sold only in Finland but the digital version is available worldwide.

"Breakin' Free", the new video from TESLA, can be viewed below. The song comes off the California rockers' latest album, "Forever More", which sold more than 16,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 33 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on October 7, 2008 on Tesla Electric Company Recordings. The European version of the album, which was made available on November 7 via Frontiers Records, contains two bonus tracks not found on the American version.

For "Forever More", TESLA reunited with producer Terry Thomas, who was behind the boards for the band's 1994 gold-certified "Bust A Nut" album, and engineered by Michael Rosen who worked with TESLA on "Into The Now".

TESLA guitarist Frank Hannon recently told Noisecreep that the band is planning a pair of CDs to celebrate live performances throughout Europe last summer and the U.S. this fall. "We're doing two live albums," he said. "The first one is strictly for Europe; it may be available as an import [to America]. We are going to do a second one. It's going to be for America next year."

"Our record company's [Frontiers] in Italy," Hannon added. "They're really good to us, and we're going to give them the first crack at it. It'll eventually be available over here."

"We're working on mixing the live album," Hannon said. "We just got done touring in Europe for five weeks this summer. We recorded every show and we just got done sorting through it. Now we're mixing it to make a live album in Europe. We have to divide our time. I'm kind of learning that as I get older. You have to set aside time for certain things in order to stay focused. You go, 'OK, this time I'm only doing this.' 'This time I'm only doing that.' Right now, this one time, we're not writing songs as a group but we are mixing some live material.

"We're gonna do the same thing in October. We're going to record the Michigan show [at Clarkston's DTE Energy Music Theatre on Sept. 5]. We're pretty much going to record every show on the tour. We have a recorder set up in our mixing console."

Read the entire article from Noisecreep.

HAIL! — the new all-star project featuring guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, BEYOND FEAR, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH), bassist David Ellefson (F5, MEGADETH) and drummer Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, SOULFLY) — kicked off its Scandinavian tour on September 1, 2009 at Blæst in Trondheim, Norway.

Ellefson has posted the following tour diary entry on his MySpace page:

"We had a slammin' show in Copenhagen, Denmark tonight [Monday, September 7] and had special guest Hank Shermann of MERCYFUL FATE join us for 'Grinder' [JUDAS PRIEST], 'Walk' [PANTERA] and 'Symphony of Destruction' [MEGADETH]. It rocked!

"I met Hank on Ripper's solo tour when we played at Sweden Rock Festival this past summer, as they were friends from years back on JUDAS PRIEST tours. Hank is the ultimate riff master and gave us all great inspiration throughout the years with his work in MERCYFUL FATE. So, the honor was ours to have him onstage with us tonight.

"The front of the stage was full of photographers, videographers and an enthusiastic crowd of metalheads. Also some curiosity-seekers anxious to see what the heck we are up to as HAIL! It seemed they were pleasantly surprised, happy to hear the tunes and hang with the band while we threw down a full-on metal party in Copenhagen tonight. For us, that means mission is complete for the day!"

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

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

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

Encore:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Remaining tour dates:

Sep. 08 - Voxhall, Aarhus, Denmark
Sep. 10 - Dante's Highlight, Helsinki, Finland
Sep. 11 - Wasteland, Gavle, Sweden
Sep. 12 - Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was recently interviewed for "Shatner's Raw Nerve", the new "edgy and off-beat celebrity interview series" hosted by actor and Emmy award winner William Shatner. Gene says, "[I] must admit I was taken aback and surprised by Shatner's incisive questions and genuine nature. We both had a good time."

A short video clip that was shot during Simmons' visit to Shatner's studio can be viewed below.

Simmons stated in a recent online post, "It's a bit disarming to sit with Captain Kirk [Shatner's character on the late 1960s science fiction television series 'Star Trek'] himself and not be aware of the remarkable iconic brand imagery that is 'Star Trek'. It was a part of my childhood I will never forget. In some ways, the originals, though not as lavishly produced as later re-incarnations, still had what later versions did not, [and that is] Shatner and Nimoy. Quality actors and quality scripts. So much so that to this day I watch reruns and love them still."

For more information on "Shatner's Raw Nerve", go to this location.

Dennis Rowehl of Germany's Autona magazine recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. Watch the seven-minute chat below.

A couple of excerpts from the interview were transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET and can be found below.

Autona: Dave, congratulations, the new [MEGADETH] album, "Endgame", is pretty amazing. I really like it. It's gonna be released in Germany on 9/11, so it's a very symbolic date. If you think about everything what's going on [in the world right now] — all this destruction of the environment, terrorists and stuff like this — what do you think? Are we all screwed? Or is there any reason to be optimistic?

Mustaine: I think there's plenty of reason to be optimistic, 'cause we're still here. And I think that some people in government, one of the things that they do is they try and tell people how to live instead of living their life and making it attractive to people, you know what I mean?! So for me, like if I was telling people, "You've gotta like heavy metal," instead of me liking it and them hearing it and saying, "Hey, you know what, I like that." People tend to say, "You know what?! I don't want you telling me what to do." So, for me, as far as traveling internationally, I go to a lot of different countries and I see a lot of injustice. I see a lot of stuff that's terrible. Some of the countries and some of the poorer countries that we play in, it's terrible, and my heart hurts because I live in a country where there's freedom and liberty, a lot like here [in Germany, where the interview was conducted]; Germany's a democracy, although our countries are a little different. You know, my mom's full-blooded German, so even though I'm an American and even though I don't have any German attributes, I like being here, and it's just because it reminds me of my mom. So, the fans that are here are great, the people from the label are great, um, you know, the music scene over here is different. It changes, but one thing's for sure, it's the heavy metal fan base, they're loyal. If they don't like you, they'll let you know it. But the other thing, too, is that I think they're really forgiving; if you are a metal band and you make a mistake, and you say something, you know, "Hey, we made a mistake," I think that that's something that people can respect. And I know myself that I've experienced a lot of forgiveness from my fans, from cancelling shows, sometimes not playing songs they want to hear. I can't play all 120-plus songs that I have in my catalogue in one night. I mean, you know what?! You would get bored after the 30th song, trust me. You know. Somebody would have to go pee.

Autona: Yesterday, I just listened to the "Rust In Peace" album again and the song "Hangar 18", so I've got a very personal question. Have you ever met an alien or have you ever seen an UFO or something like that?

Mustaine: I'm not the one that was in the band that believed in Martians; that was [former MEGADETH drummer] Nick Menza. I wrote that song... It used to be called "N2RHQ" — it was like the numbers on the side of a plane. 'Cause I'd seen a plane before and it said "N2R," and then I went, "Hmmm..." And that's how I came up with the songtitle — it was a plane, and it was the number on the side of a plane. All planes have numbers on the side, just like cars do. And I thought, "Wow, 'N2RHQ.'" And it was a future-tech thing; it was kind of sci-fi where I would go some place in the future into space — not that I saw an alien. So Menza... he's the guy that believes in UFOs. If you look at his web site, or if you listen to any of his solo music, it kind of shows you where he's at in his life, what he believes. And Nick... he said something that I found really juvenile and offensive; he told me that Jesus was an alien and that's why he could levitate. And that was the end of me taking Nick serious after that, 'cause I mean, I believed in God ever since I was a kid. The first line of "Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?!" says, "What do you mean I don't believe in God? I talk to him every day." So people that heard I became a Christian, they were like, "Oh, my God, he's gonna suck." Well, me being a Christian really ruined the [new MEGADETH] record, didn't it? I don't think so.

Autona: If you were on an uninhabited island — just you, James Hetfield [METALLICA guitarist/vocalist] and possibly [actress/model] Carmen Electra... What would happen if you had to stay there for 30 days?

Mustaine: I don't know.... I think we would probably... [Interviewer suggests, "Play cards."] Not play cards. I guess James would probably watch me and Carmen swim away and leave him on the island. I don't know... That's a weird question; I don't know why you ask that. You could have used a hundred people but James. I don't have a problem with James; James doesn't bother me. He doesn't intimidate me. I know a different James Hetfield than you do, but that's because I know who he really is. Everybody else is, "James, the big guitar player, the tattooed guy with the big arms," and stuff like that. We were kids when we met; I know who he is. Being around Carmen Electra? I would have to say she's a very, very beautiful girl — short — but, you know, she was [married to] Dave Navarro and Dennis Rodman. Why would I wanna touch her after that? [Makes puking noise]"

A brand new FOZZY song entitled "Martyr No More" is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below. The track, which features a special guest guitar solo by ANNIHILATOR's Jeff Waters, will appear on FOZZY's forthcoming album, "Chasing the Grail", due on January 19, 2010 via Australia's Riot! Entertainment.

FOZZY guitarist Rich Ward (who is also a member of STUCK MOJO) recently spoke to Metal As Fuck about "Chasing the Grail". A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the CD's title:

"It's about the search for something we all ultimately want in life — which is purpose. The grander answers; not stuff like, how am I gonna make it this month? How am I gonna pay my rent? How am I going to get my kids to soccer practice on time? It's a look at the grander scheme of things. It's asking, what am I supposed to do?

"A lot of people go to prayer or meditation or whatever their comfort zones are when they look for those sorts of things. But then there are people that do not. They go through their whole life not caring about those sorts of things. They never have those moments of introspection asking, 'Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? What talents and skills and gifts do I have and how do I focus those to be the best that I can be?' That's what the song is about, the quest for that. We thought it was a great constant theme for the album."

On the new album's musical direction:

"It's not easy to write songs like [the new track 'New Day's Dawn', which is said to feature orchestral strings and gothic vocal touches]. It's easy to write the big riffs, you know, the faster, huge grooves and stuff. That's what I'm good at. Chris [Jericho, vocals] is great at the aggressive, 'yeah yeah yeah!' kind of vocals. You really try to write a little bit outside of your comfort zone because it's nice to mix it up a bit. I mean, you don't want to do a whole album like that because as a fan, it's always nice to have your comfort stuff; something familiar — like mac 'n' cheese. But once in a while, as a side item, you want to try something new and interesting. I mean, if you put out the same album as before, fans have a tendency to say, 'This isn't anything new,' while if you do something completely different, fans are upset about that too. There's a fine line you have to walk between deviating from the course and staying on it."

"There's plenty of heavy stuff. The album is much heavier. It's a much more aggressive album.

"You can't second-guess things. You write songs. We don't have meetings. We don't ask ourselves, 'Should this song go on the album?' We just write the album. It is what it is. It's like an extension of ourselves. There's never a meeting with management or the record company or whatever; these are the songs. And like anyone, you hope that your fan base and the press love it because it's always nice to get confirmation that you're doing things that people gave you the thumbs up on."

Read the entire interview at Metal As Fuck.

"Chasing The Grail" track listing:

01. Under Blackened Skies
02. Martyr No More
03. Watch Me Shine
04. Broken Soul
05. Let The Madness Begin
06. Paraskavedekatriaphobia (Friday The 13th)
07. God Pounds His Nails
08. Pray For Blood
09. Grail
10. Revival
11. New Day's Dawn
12. Wormwood

Matthew Reinhart of the Examiner.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Mark Hunter of Cleveland, Ohio metallers CHIMAIRA. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Examiner.com: You have a new album out called "The Infection", what was the reason you chose this title?

Mark: I used the word infection to sum up the whole album. Basically, I felt like a couple years after releasing the "Resurrection" album that I was infected with negativity, so the whole album is like depicting a story line of everything I was going through and a cleansing of it all. It's just a giant metaphor for all of that.

Examiner.com: In your career you have had the chance to tour with some really great bands, is there any one particular band that you haven't toured with that you would really like too?

Mark: Without a doubt, METALLICA. They are definitely the band that we are influenced by the most. We have modeled a good portion of our career after them. Growing up and watching their videos and listening to their music, watching the DVDs they have put out, they are a very influential band. We had the opportunity to play with them once, at least you can mark that off of the bucket list, but to tour with them would be amazing. I'm not sure we are even on their radar but they would be the band definitely, they are the only one left.

Examiner.com: What do you prefer to play, the smaller clubs or the big festivals?

Mark: We like to mix it up; we do a little bit of everything. I don't really have a preference. I think that there is something fluid about doing a big arena show or festival, everything is just perfect. You walk out and you have all the room that you need, as many fans as you could want, they're as far as the eye can see, and it is just a seamless performance. The energy from a small club show, and the intimacy, and the danger of not knowing what is coming around the corner at any minute is just as exciting and exhilarating. Like I said, I don't really have a preference. There is a great quote, I'm probably going to mess this up but it goes something like, "Anytime, anywhere, anyplace, for anybody, for any amount of money." That's what it is like.

Examiner.com: How is the current tour with HATEBREED going so far?

Mark: It has been a great time. We have wanted to tour with HATEBREED now for about 8 or 9 years and we have now finally gotten the opportunity to go out this time around. We have known them forever; we both started coming up around the same time. They actually had a few years head start on us, but they are an inspiring band. I think that I came into this tour like, "Well, we are a great band, they are a great band, and the shows are going to be good." I don't think I grasped how great of a band they truly are until watching them every night. Seeing how they just got something special and that we have a few years until we are at that status is something to look forward to. It was really humbling as well.

Examiner.com: I consider you one of the bands that really saved my love of metal, right before you came out it seemed as though each new popular metal band that came out they put another nail in the coffin, then you and HATEBREED and the new wave of American heavy metal seemed to save the genre and made me and many like me want to go back out there and get into the pit again.

Mark: That is fuel for the fire for the music that we wrote. Unfortunately, I am not really all that stoked on new stuff. The anger of that just keeps fueling inspiration to write better music and smoke all of these new bands. I like writing music more than anything and like I said someone needs to just come out doing something brand new and completely different. A lot of bands are just trying to copy what's going on right now. So you will have a band like WINDS OF PLAGUE, who we are on tour with, and there is a new band forming right now that is trying to sound just like WINDS OF PLAGUE. WINDS OF PLAGUE are a newer band and they may not be my favorite band but I certainly do not hate what they are doing. I respect what they are doing, I just stopped liking metal halfway anyway; unless it came out in 2005 or before I just don't care anymore. What I'm trying to say is that a new band will try to sound like WINDS OF PLAGUE, or try to sound like us, or try to sound like any of the bands on this tour instead of trying to sound like something different. When we came out, we weren't trying to sound like one popular band. Someone will hand me a demo and I will be like, "Is this the band we are touring with? I don't know?" That is a problem and that doesn't do anything for the genre; it hurts it, in my opinion. They need to get out of the box and not worry about what's cool right now. We find inspiration from some newer music. There is a new band WHITECHAPEL and I love the production on their album and that's what led us to work with Zeuss. Musically I didn't hear anything that I was influenced by but I am coming from different places. I love to listen to LED ZEPPELIN, or even crazy shit like KANYE WEST. People are like, "What? How do you get KANYE WEST out of your music?" and I'm like, "Here, I'll show you." It doesn't just have to be a popular metal band right now, you can find inspiration from anything, and you just got to try to. We didn't reinvent the wheel by any means but we definitely have our own sound, and that is not being egotistical, it's being realistic. You can hear where our roots are from, but not nearly as prominent how they wear it on their sleeve in this day and age. It's all the same. Who can write the best breakdown? Who can write the best song? None of you, and that's the problem.

Examiner.com: What I think makes a great band carry on, and one of the reasons I will follow a band like you is that every time you release an album, you can tell its CHIMAIRA, but you just approach it in a different way. If you put all your albums in a CD player and hit random not only will you be able to say 'That's CHIMAIRA." but you can say it's from this album from the style of the song.

Mark: That's one of my problems. Someone will hand me twelve new bands and its like 'Who is who?"

Examiner.com: There aren't a lot of other bands you can say that about, NINE INCH NAILS comes to mind.

Mark: NAILS is a huge influence on us. I also hate coming across like I'm dissing the new blood. Maybe I'm just getting frustrated, or maybe I'm just getting old, and I am certainly willing to accept that. But I do follow a lot of hip hop and that genre in constantly changing, and evolving in my opinion. I have not seen metal evolve. SLIPKNOT was an evolution. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, LAMB OF GOD, they are all different bands that are a part of the evolution of metal. I lump us into that tear. All our bands came out at around the same time but we all sound discernibly different. SHADOWS FALL, us, whoever, but then the new breed is this deathcore thing. Which okay, they sound a little different from each other but now in 2008 and 2009 all these bands coming out, it's like "Who the fuck is this shit?"

Read the entire interview from Examiner.com.

Kerrang! Radio recently conducted an interview with Ozzy Osbourne's son, Jack. The chat is now available for streaming using the audio player below.



Kerrang! Radio: You're obviously an Osbourne and you grew up in a very famous family, what's it like having a very famous father?

Jack: It was strange. I did always know that my dad was famous, but I didn't understand what I think it meant at the time. I just thought that's what dads did, and then when I started going to school, around 4 or 5, you start realizing that not all kid's dads do that. It definitely set me aside from the other kids at school, which I did have a hard time with initially, because kids would come up and say stuff. But I always thought it was fun. I got to go to a lot of cool places and my mum was a big fan of keeping the family together as much as possible, so there would be extended periods when I wasn't actually at school and on the road with my dad, hanging out with Whitfield Crane!

Kerrang! Radio: When you went round to friends houses, did you think "they've not got the same rules that we've got"?

Jack: Going to friends' houses was always interesting. I definitely did notice a big difference between my family and my friends' families. I didn't really dwell on it that much at such a young age. Obviously when I got older I realized, massively, how different things actually were. All my friends' parents had nine to five jobs and dinner was on the table by seven kind-of-thing, and my house was just absolute chaos all the time. But since, I think my parents are some of the only parents that are still together, from all of the kids that I went to school with, so my parents are obviously doing something right.

Kerrang! Radio: When you were really young, your dad went through his worst period.

Jack: I do remember going to school after the whole strangling incident with my dad and mum. That whole thing happened and I remember kids saying stuff to me at school about it, but I think that you think when you're a kid that's normal because you don't know anything else. I did get picked on quite a bit though, people would come and say. It wasn't like my dad was Chesney Hawkes and everyone loved him — my dad was Ozzy Osbourne and people loved to hate him!

Kerrang! Radio: Do you have any memories of your dad being sent away?

Jack: I remember the police turning up and I remember obviously some drama and commotion and yelling and all that, but I don't really remember too much after all that. I just remember sitting on the balcony of the landing looking down at the police cars and the flashing lights and my mum and all that, and the nanny was there. It was a bit full on I think, overload for a kid; you don't really know what it's all about.

Kerrang! Radio: Did things change after that at home?

Jack: I think home life was really a lot of peaks and valleys. There were really good times when it was all mellow and then all of a sudden things would kick off and, I mean it still is that way really, it goes in cycles.

Kerrang! Radio: What sort of people did you have coming to your house when you were younger?

Jack: My dad's not really a massively social person, he doesn't really hang out with too many musicians and stuff, because I think he has a hard time relating to them in the sense of, he doesn't walk around holding himself as this artiste and he's got that very sort of working class mentality when it comes down to music. So when I was young, there wasn't really anyone crazy coming over. Occasionally it was Bon Jovi and Lita Ford. It was basically these big people that my mum used to work with and manage. The reason why they'd be around wasn't really so much for my dad. But in my teenage years, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie and all those guys, we used to hang out with a lot. That's probably what I remember the most, hanging out with Phil from PANTERA, talking about horror movies. As a kid, that was always fun.

Kerrang! Radio: "The Osbournes" TV show came into your life. Do you remember when that first started, and what your reactions were?

Jack: The idea to do something with MTV popped up in early 2001. Originally, MTV just wanted to meet with me and Kelly, to do VJ stuff. Then we all sat down and it evolved. Back then, you didn't really have reality as to what it is now, it was "let's do a 'Real World' with the Osbournes," and originally that's what it was going to be called, it was going to be called "The Real World: Osbournes". A lot of talks came up and it disappeared and then it would come up again, and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing from my mum one week and then me and Kelly and dad, and Aimee never wanted anything to do with it.

So one minute it was happening, one minute it wasn't until finally — it must have been late August, early September 2001, because I remember it was right around 9/11 — that we were told that it's definitely going to happen. Because our house was being built at the time and we were living in a rental house, they were allowed permission to go in and start wiring the house up while it hadn't been finished. So they wired it all up for cameras as the house was being built.

Originally it was only supposed to be a pilot, we were supposed to film for three weeks for one pilot episode and then see what happened, and it went from there. But we really didn't know what we were getting into. Things are always peaks and valleys with the family, and I think at that time, it wasn't a good time. I think things were getting pretty crazy again with my dad and I think Kelly and I were becoming a little more aware of how our family might be perceived. It was a bit like, "What are we getting ourselves into?"

Kerrang! Radio: How was that? Even before you get to it being broadcast, how was it just having camera crews around? How did that change your life?

Jack: I remember the first day we started filming at the house; it was the day we moved in actually. The first night we spent there was when the cameras turned were on and it was really quite surreal. Kelly and I just sat there and we were just being filmed. I remember her bedroom had this crazy lip-shaped couch — it was something you could easily see Kelly having — and we just sat there with a friend of ours, just talking. We'd look up and there'd be two camera guys and two sound guys literally on the other side of the room filming with these big lights. We were looking at them and they were looking at us!

Then, after a while, you got to know the production team a little bit better, and the camera guys and sound guys. After a couple of weeks, you barely noticed. It was interesting at school though, because at this time I was in high school, I didn't really tell them about it, but then when they see you getting dropped off at school with a full camera crew behind you waving you off to school they're like, "What is that all about?" And you're like, "Don't ask!"

Kerrang! Radio: Do you remember seeing it when it was first broadcast? Were you surprised at how they edited you?

Jack: I just never thought that what was being filmed would be on TV. For some reason it just never computed that people are going to see this. I just thought nothing of it. I didn't think it was going to go anywhere. I was a huge Tenacious D fan at the time and I kept telling MTV, "We have to get Tenacious D to do the trailers!" And they managed to get Tenacious D to do three trailers where Jack Black and Kyle Gass were dressed up as my dad and Randy Rhoads or Zakk [Wylde]. They did these crazy songs, and it was at that point that I realized, wait a second, this show might have some weight behind it, because we just got Tenacious D to do our trailers! I remember the night the show aired and how I was normal, high school kid one day and then the next it was different.

Kerrang! Radio: How did you feel seeing yourself on TV?

Jack: Sometimes I felt that what they were showing was like me, and other times, I just thought "that's so not what happened!" The thing is, everyone always thought that "The Osbournes" was scripted, and it's not like we were ever scripted, but the edit was. You can do amazing things with editing anything; you can make the tone of something completely different or make things appear to be completely what they're not.

In the first episode, I have three different hair-dos, and I can't believe no-one ever really picked up on that! How can this one story be followed through three different hair-dos? And they were completely out of order, it's not like one minute I had long hair, then short, then even shorter, it was short, long, half cut, weird. So when they would do stuff like that, it would really frustrate me; when they would embellish things that weren't as big of a deal as they were, but sometimes it was more or less as it was.

Kerrang! Radio: What were the positive benefits of it at the time for you?

Jack: At the time, I thought the positive benefits were that I got loads of women, I could get into any bar I wanted, and I was getting paid! That was actually, honestly, the only reason at the time I was doing it. I was 15, you don't actually think about things like getting paid to be filmed at home, it doesn't pop into your head, and it wasn't until we'd been filming for three weeks that it actually clocked into my head that, wait a second, this is going to be on TV and I went up to my mum and I was like, "Why are we doing this?" and she's like, "Well…", and I was like, "am I getting paid?" and she's like, "yes." And she told me at the point before we'd signed anything and I thought it was an astonishingly high figure, I was like, "Oh my god, that's amazing!" It was something like forty thousand dollars or something, for a 15 year old that's epic, and I was like, "oh my god!" So I was like, "Amazing! Great! I'm in! Fantastic! I'm going to go and buy a car or something with it!" Although it sounds slightly hollow, sorry, I only did it for the money!

Kerrang! Radio: How have your relationships with your family changed over the years? Have you ever been embarrassed by anything your family has done?

Jack: Yeah. It's very tough having a family that you have and then there's a public perception of your family. So there is this strange balance of things and I sometimes forget that my parents' actions don't just disappear. With my dad, I've grown up with that, but when things started happening with myself, and sister and mum, things get difficult.

There's definitely a lot of embarrassing stuff. I always found "X-Factor" with my mum hard to deal with, just because who she is perceived as on television is not necessarily who she is to me. Just like when my dad's on stage. At home, my dad is dad, he's not Ozzy Osbourne. So I had a hard time getting used to the fact that my mum now had a public persona she'd created for herself, but also she was my mum. And with my sister as well, and I'm sure them with me. Things definitely were hard at times. "Why did you say that?" You know, "What's this all about? Why didn't you speak to me about this?" So it can be tough at times, especially when my mum or sister come out with something in the press. I don't really worry that much about my dad, he's been doing it so long he's got his routine down pretty well when it comes down to talking about things, but my mum and sister are a bit of a loose cannon every now and then — they'll just blurt stuff out and it can have quite an effective backlash.

Kerrang! Radio: There can't be many other families who read about what each other have been doing in the papers.

Jack: It's always interesting! The thing that probably ticked me off the most was reading in the newspaper how my mum and dad had agreed upon euthanizing in Switzerland if one of them got terminally ill. I was like, "when were you going to talk to us about that?" and mum's like, "well, it's your father and I's decision," this and that, and I'm like, "Well, yeah, so you'll talk to a seedy reporter about it, but not your own kids?" Things like that get frustrating, but like I said, I think essentially what we do is entertainment and I think my mum and sister are very conscious of that whereas me, I'm sometimes like, "Well, okay then," just jump off something, that's my job! I think they're a little more savvy in the entertainment aspect of things and about making things entertaining, whereas it's just not really my thing, I now get that, that some things are done for entertainment's sake.

Read more of the interview at Kerrang! Radio.

Video footage of MALEVOLENT CREATION's September 6, 2009 performance at Baroeg in Rotterdam, Holland can be viewed at this location (courtesy of "letthedeathmetalflow"). A couple of the clips are available below.

Crash Music released a limited-edition digipack from MALEVOLENT CREATION entitled "Essentials" in February. The package features 38 tracks on three discs, with over 110 minutes of "pure brutality."

MALEVOLENT CREATION's "Lost Commandments" DVD was released in August 2008 in Europe via Massacre Records. The one-hour, 45-minute disc features two complete shows from the band — Party.San Open Air festival (August 9-11, 2007 in Bad Berka, Germany) and Paris, France (2004).

MALEVOLENT CREATION's latest album, "Doomsday X", was released in the U.S. in July 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records and in Europe in August 2007 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded and engineered at Mercury Recording Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida by longtime friend and producer (and sometimes session member) Gus Rios, and is said to be the most diverse MALEVOLENT CREATION album recorded to date and "without a doubt their fastest!!" Mick Thomson, guitarist for SLIPKNOT, contributed a "ripping" guitar solo to the song "Deliver My Enemy".

Reunited Oakland, California thrashers DEFIANCE will release their new album, "The Prophecy", on October 19 via Candlelight Records. The first collection of new music from DEFIANCE in over 15 years was recorded at Trident Studios and Greendot Studios in East Bay, California.

The track listing for the album is as follows:

01. Prion
02. The Prophecy
03. Bastard Son
04. The War Inside
05. Fuel The Fire
06. Eschaton
07. Sloth
08. Desert Sands
09. Dissolving Around You
10. Asthmaphere
11. Eyes Of The Front

The cover artwork by Travis Smith (OPETH, NEVERMORE) of Seempieces can be viewed below (courtesy of HeavyLaw.com).

Along with the new album, DEFIANCE is also working on putting together a DVD, tentatively titled "Decade(s) of Defiance", that will chronicle the band's entire career from 1985 to the present.

Part of the so-called "second wave" of Bay Area thrash (which also included the likes of FORBIDDEN, VIO-LENCE, DEATH ANGEL, and TESTAMENT), DEFIANCE officially disbanded in 1993 after the departure of vocalist Steev Esquivel (who would go on to form SKINLAB, and later RE:IGNITION), while the remaining members, with the addition of vocalist Dave Godfrey White (HEATHEN), formed INNER THRESHOLD, which would also eventually disband.

In 2005, rumors of a reformed DEFIANCE sent waves of interest through the burgeoning thrash metal community until it was finally confirmed that the band had in fact reunited and were at work on their first new material in over a decade.

Metal Mind Productions released "Insomnia", a three-CD digipack containing remastered versions of the following DEFIANCE albums: 1989's "Product of Society", 1990's "Void Terra Firma", and 1992's "Beyond Recognition". This special collector's edition includes classic material from Roadrunner Records' archives, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology and released on golden discs. The three-CD digipack edition is limited to a hand-numbered 2,000 copies and contains a 28-page booklet with lyrics to all songs, full story of the band, and over 20 bonus tracks taken from the band's archives.

Artwork courtesy of HeavyLaw.com

Influential '80s progressive NWOSFHM (New Wave of San Francisco Heavy Metal) band ANVIL CHORUS performed at the resurrection of Terminator, once San Francisco's "rockingest" weekly dance club, on July 17, 2009.

Video footage of the performance and interview clips with several musicians who attended the event — including current and former members of EXODUS and MACHINE HEAD — can be viewed below (courtesy of Reality Check TV).

From 1990 to 1994, Terminator packed up to 1,000 people every Friday night and often had headlining acts like MOTÖRHEAD, TESTAMENT, JETBOY, and others performing. Eventually, the club closed, mainly due to losing the unique space (three levels of fun, with lots of private rooms). After a few revivals in the 1990s, the club faded out. However, the memories (though bleary) of the sheer scale of fun and debauchery remained emblazoned on the collective consciousness of San Francisco. So, after more than a decade since the last Terminator, it's BACK!

For more information on this event, clich here.

ANVIL CHORUS' new album, "The Killing Sun", will be released on September 29 via Rockadrome Records.

Nearly three decades after the group's formation and a couple years after their recent reformation, this legendary underground band unleashes its full-length debut. Consisting solely of newly recorded material from ANVIL CHORUS' early '80s heyday, it's destined to be the classic album everyone has long expected from this magical group. Led by guitarist Thaen Rasmussen and vocalist/bassist Aaron Zimpel, the group's integrity is fully maintained and should please anyone who has followed the band through the years or owned any of their heavily circulated demo tapes. A 16-page color booklet with liner notes written by San Francisco metal legend Ron Quintana (KUSF radio, Metal Mania fanzine) and cover art by Mark Devito (MOTÖRHEAD), packed with lyrics, photos and memories, complete this magnificent and much-anticipated release.

"The Killing Sun" track listing:

01. Deadly Weapons
02. Red Skies
03. Phase to Phase
04. Man Made Machines
05. After Time
06. Death of a Dream
07. Blue Flames
08. Tales
09. The Blade
10. European
11. Such is Life
12. Once Again

Musicians featured on the recording include:

Aaron Zimpel - Vocals, Bass, Synthesizer
Thaen Ramussen - Guitar, Vocals
Joe Bennett - Drums
Phil Bennett - Keyboards, Piano, Hammond B3
Doug Piercy - Guitar ("Deadly Weapons", "Red Skies", "Man Made Machines", "Death of a Dream", "Tales", "Blade", "Once Again", "Such is Life")

Additional musicians:

Carlos Hernandez - Guitar (Death of a Dream)
Mark Bradley - Piano (Once Again)
Jon Simon - Keyboards (Once Again)

ANVIL CHORUS' 2009 touring lineup is:

Aaron Zimpel
Thaen Rasmussen
Carlos Hernandez
Steve Kilgore

Part 1:



Part 2:

The ANVIL song "Thumb Hang" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The newly recorded, never-before-released bonus track is featured on the re-release of the group's latest album, "This is Thirteen", which will finally be given proper national distribution on CD and vinyl on September 15 via VH1 Classic Records. The collectible double vinyl LP boasts newly re-recorded versions of ANVIL classics "Metal on Metal" and "666". The album, originally recorded in 2007 and produced by Chris Tsangarides (JUDAS PRIEST, THIN LIZZY), was primarily available directly from the band via their web site and at their concerts.

ANVIL will take part in an in-store performance and signing session at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, New Jersey on September 27, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. A free screening of the band's acclaimed documentary, "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil", will take place at Vintage Vinyl on September 25, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

ANVIL, considered a major influence for a generation of hard rockers including METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, and GUNS N' ROSES, was the subject of a critically acclaimed, must-see rock-doc, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil", directed by Sacha Gervasi. And in the process, the film has made the group (led by Kudlow and Reiner — both founding members) a household name. But the group's story will certainly not end with the film.

According to RollingStone.com, ANVIL is currently re-recording several other classics with producer Chris Tsangarides, which will be included on a forthcoming "Anvil!" soundtrack. "What happened was the label that owns the old material wanted so much money to license the songs, that it became ridiculous," explained Lips. "In fact, it was far cheaper to go in and re-record in the same studio [Phase One], with the same producer, and re-do the songs. The new version of 'Forged in Fire' is amazing — I think the original version was played too fast. Remarkably, we're getting a second chance to record the songs."

Other freshly re-recorded tunes are "Winged Assassins", "March Of The Crabs", and "School Love". "It's going to be a true 'Best of Anvil', in a way," added Reiner.

On August 1, ANVIL played yet another "Anvil Experience" show at New York City's Village East Cinemas (which was followed by a taped interview segment for the show "Nightline"). RockStarPix.com was on hand to capture both events and has posted two separate galleries at this location.

Video footage of ANVIL's August 1 performance at New York City's Village East Cinemas can be viewed below.



(Thanks: NJthrasher)

Video footage of Dutch progressive metallers TEXTURES performing at the Dynamo Outdoor festival in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on August 29, 2009 can be viewed at this location. One of the clips is available 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".

On September 2, 2009, Irish rockers THE ANSWER performed acoustically on Santa Rosa, California's 101.7 The Fox radio station inside the "Less Is More Lounge." Watch video footage of their appearance below.

"Everyday Demons", the new album from THE ANSWER, was released digitally on March 10 exclusively at iTunes. The digital copy includes two bonus studio tracks — the Celtic thumper "Lost" and "Revolutions", along with a live version of "Under The Sky" and a digital CD booklet featuring an alternate cover. The album was released in physical retail outlets March 31 on The End Records, distributed through RED. The CD was produced by John Travis (KID ROCK, STATIC-X, etc.) and mixed by Tim Palmer and Mike Fraser (who recently mixed AC/DC's "Black Ice").

Versatile Promotions recently conducted an interview with the New Fairfield, Connecticut-based deathcore act EMMURE. Watch the chat below.

EMMURE's third full-length album, "Felony", sold 7,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 68 on The Billboard 200 chart.

In a recent interview with The Aquarian Weekly, EMMURE singer Frankie Palmeri was asked what keeps him performing after doing this for so long. "I don't pat myself on the back," he replied. "I don't tell myself that I've become successful or 'made it.' Alls I can see is what I can do ahead of me. Once the work is done, alls I can do is more work. I'm not jaded; I appreciate everyone that comes out to our shows to watch our band and as long as they know we appreciate it. We became mainstream, not that we want to be carbon copies, we just became more mainstream. We just love what we do."

When asked what he wants to say to EMMURE's haters, Palmeri said, "We love them and they keep us going. Without our haters, we wouldn't have the slightest hint of this popularity. If they weren't talking about us, who would be? All of our fans back us and know what's up and the haters know what's up, too, so just keep hating."

Finnish goth metallers THE 69 EYES will embark on a European headlining tour in January/February. Support on the trek will come from CHRISTIAN DEATH and MANDRAGORA SCREAM.

The dates are as follows:

Jan. 13 - Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
Jan. 15 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers
Jan. 16 - Copenhagen, Denmark - The Rock
Jan. 17 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Jan. 19 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
Jan. 20 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
Jan. 21 - Wroclaw, Poland - Firlej
Jan. 23 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Randal
Jan. 24 - Zagreb, Croatia - Boogaloo
Jan. 27 - Rome, Italy - Init Club
Jan. 28 - Bologna, Italy - Sottotetto
Jan. 29 - Roncade, Italy - New Age
Jan. 30 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Feb. 01 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
Feb. 02 - Stuttgart, Germany - Longhorn
Feb. 03 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
Feb. 05 - Dresden, Germany - Strasse E
Feb. 06 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
Feb. 07 - Bochum, Germany - Zeche
Feb. 08 - Hannover, Germany - Musikzentrum

THE 69 EYES released its new album, "Back In Blood", in Europe (excluding Finland) on August 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (September 15 in the U.S. through The End Records). The CD, which was tracked with the Grammy-winning producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET, FU MANCHU), features a guest appearance by MONSTER MAGNET's Ed Mundell. The recording process took place both in Helsinki and Los Angeles.

The first single from the album, "Dead Girls Are Easy", is described in a press release as "a nasty power anthem for sleazy pin-ups complete with a sing-a-long chorus aimed at those online chicks with the looks that kill!" The video for the song, which can also be viewed below, was directed by MTV superstar and close friend Bam Margera and the artwork was designed by Estevan Oriol, whose work has graced countless covers from such artists as CYPRESS HILL, THE TRANSPLANTS and SNOOP DOGG.

"Back In Blood" track listing:

01. Back In Blood
02. We Own The Night
03. Dead N' Gone
04. The Good, The Bad & The Undead
05. Kiss Me Undead
06. Lips Of Blood
07. Dead Girls Are Easy
08. Night Watch
09. Some Kind Of Magick
10. Hunger
11. Suspiria Snow White
12. Eternal

TRAIL OF TEARS will join forces with fellow Norwegian bands GOTHMINISTER and MAGENTA for the "Darkness, Bloodstains And Accidents" European tour in November/December.

The first confirmed dates are as follows:

Nov. 22 - Gargarin205 - Athens, Greece
Nov. 23 - The Underworld - London, UK
Nov. 25 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
Nov. 28 - Live Club - Stuttgart, Germany
Nov. 29 - Columbia Club - Berlin, Germany
Dec. 01 - The Rock - Copenhagen, Denmark
Dec. 11 - Glassheim - Jevnaker, Norway
Dec. 12 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway

More dates will be announced soon.

TRAIL OF TEARS's sixth album, "Bloodstained Endurance", was recorded and mixed over a six-week period at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Finland. The cover artwork for the album, which was designed by acclaimed artist Travis Smith (AMORPHIS, OPETH, NEVERMORE), can be viewed below.

In 2007, TRAIL OF TEARS was rejoined by vocalist Cathrine Paulsen, who sang on the group's 2002 album, "A New Dimension of Might".

"Njord", the new full-length album from LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has registered the following first-week chart positions:

Germany (Media Control): #30
Germany (Media Markt and Saturn): #24 *
U.K. (Top Independent Label Albums): #40
U.K. (Top Rock Albums): #19

* Media Markt and Saturn are Germany's leading chains for consumer electronics

"My Destiny", the new video from LEAVES' EYES, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL) of Revolver Film Company in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Photos from the video shoot, as well as a German-language report from guitarist Thorsten "Tosso" Bauer, can be found on the Sounds2Move.de web site.

"My Destiny" will be released in the U.S. on September 22 via Napalm Records. "Njord" will follow one week later.

"Njord" track listing:

01. Njord
02. My Destiny
03. Emerald Island
04. Take The Devil In Me
05. Scarborough Fair (Acoustic Version)
06. Through Our Veins
07. Irish Rain
08. Northbound
09. Ragnarok
10. Morgenland
11. The Holy Bond
12. Forya's Theme
13. Landscape Of The Dead (limited-edition bonus track)
14. Les Champs De Lavande (limited-edition bonus track)

Swedish melancholic metallers IN MOURNING have entered Black Lounge Studio (SCAR SYMMETRY, CARNAL FORGE, STEEL ATTACK, etc.) with producer/engineer Jonas Kjellgren to begin recording their second album for an early 2010 release via Pulverised Records.

Check out a few photos from the studio at this location.

IN MOURNING's 2008 debut album, "Shrouded Divine", gained a massive amount of attention and also very positive responses worldwide with the band's brand of heart-wrenching melodic passages entwined with progressive elements but yet still retaining all the brutality of death metal aggression.

IN MOURNING is:

Tobias Netzell - Vocals, Guitar
Pierre Stam - Bass
Björn Pettersson - Guitar
Tim Nedergård - Guitar
Christian Netzell - Drums

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

Modern Disciple magazine recently sat down with guitarist Oz Fox and vocalist Michael Sweet of Christian hard rockers STRYPER to talk about their 25 years as a band. Watch the second (out of three parts) part of the chat below.

As previously reported, STRYPER bassist Timothy Gaines will be posting regular updates from the band's 25th-anniversary tour exclusively at StryperForum.com. You can check out the blog at this location.

Bassist Tracy Ferrie will not be performing on the U.S. leg of the STRYPER tour, which kicks off in early September. Instead, original bassist Gaines will be the sole bass player. What was originally planned to be a two-set performance has now turned into one full 90-minute concert consisting of all the greatest hits and new STRYPER material. The band will be wearing new yellow-and-black outfits designed by the original outfit designer. All original members — Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox, and Tim Gaines — will be performing on the 25th anniversary U.S. tour.

"Murder By Pride", the new album from STRYPER, sold 5,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Murder By Pride" was released in Europe on August 28 via Frontiers Records. The CD was made available in the U.S. on July 21 through Big 3 Records.

25 years ago (1984), STRYPER broke onto the scene with its debut EP, "Yellow And Black Attack", and has since gone on to sell 8 million records worldwide and tour the world spreading an inspirational message through their branded sound of rock songs, heavy guitars, and pristine harmony vocals.

BORKNAGAR has completed work on its new album, "Universal", for an early 2010 release via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded and mixed at Toproom Studio in Lunner, Norway, with the bandmembers themselves handling the production duties.

The first in a series of webisodes covering the recording process for "Universal" can be viewed below.

Commented BORKNAGAR mainman Øystein G. Brun: "'Making of Universal' was recorded, edited and produced by the band in order to satisfy you — the fans! This will grant you with a glimpse into the process of making our new album 'Universal' and even a small taste of what is about to come. Four episodes will be launched during this autumn, towards the actual release in early 2010. Hope you enjoy this ride throughout the making of this grandiose album; we certainly did!"

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

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

Prior to the release of "Universal", BORKNAGAR will team up with CODE, SOLSTAFIR and SECRETS OF THE MOON for three very exclusive shows in Europe:

Sep. 24. - GER - Hamburg - Markthalle
Sep. 25 - NL - Leeuwarden - Romein
Sep. 26 - GER - Oberhausen - Turbinenhalle

Fan-filmed video footage of BORKNAGAR's performance at this year's Wacken Open Air festival — which was held July 30 - August 1, 2009 in Wacken, Germany — can be viewed below.

German metal queen Doro Pesch has been forced to postpone her previously announced shows in Arizona because they conflict with an "emergency meeting in New York which could not be changed due to its nature," according to a statement on her MySpace page.

The affected dates are as follows:

Sep. 18 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock
Sep. 19 - Mesa, AZ - U.B.'s

Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.

According to the statement, Doro "will make these shows up at a later date and hopefully include additional shows in some of the cities [she was] unable to reach on this leg."

DORO's June 16, 2009 concert at Museumsmeile in Bonn, Germany was professionally filmed by WDR's (German public TV) series "Rockpalast" and was premiered earlier this month.

The entire concert can be viewed at this location. One of the clips is available below.

Video footage of Doro Pesch performing an acoustic song backstage at the Bonn show can be viewed at Rockpalast.de.

"Fear No Evil", the new album from Pesch, was made available in North America on June 2 via AFM/Dismanic/Ryko Distribution.

Released in Europe on January 30 via AFM Records, "Fear No Evil" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 11. This was the highest chart entry for Doro in her home country in almost 20 years.

The cover artwork for "Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere", the new album from POWERMAN 5000, can be viewed below. Due on October 6, the CD will feature such tracks as "Time Bomb", "Make Us Insane", "Show Me What You Got", "Super Villain", "V Is For Vampire", "Horror Show" and "Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere".

In a recent interview, POWERMAN 5000 vocalist Spider stated, "We made this record with a clear vision and a purpose. We wanted to reclaim a sound we created and represent certain influences as only a band like POWERMAN 5000 can. While writing we would watch Godzilla or Ultraman films to ensure the sonics were on point. We knew that this record needed to sound like the footsteps of a giant robot!"

"Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere" will be available on iTunes and all digital outlets as well as in CD format with a 12-page booklet. The band will also be shooting a music video for the track "Super Villain" in September followed by a national headlining tour in October.

POWERMAN 5000's current lineup:

Spider One (Michael Cummings) - lead vocals
Velkro (Dave Pino) - lead guitar
Evan 9 (Evan Rodaniche) - rhythm guitar
X51 (Gustavo Aued) - bass
GFlash (Gordon Heckaman) - drums

POWERMAN 5000 released a new digital single, "V Is For Vampire", on April 16 via iTunes, Amazon and other digital music outlets.

The band's last album, "Destroy What You Enjoy", was produced by Mudrock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, GODSMACK), who also co-produced POWERMAN 5000's major label debut, "Mega!! Kung Fu Radio". The CD was recorded at the Hobby Shop in Eagle Rock, California and was mixed by Dave Schiffman (AUDIOSLAVE, JOHNNY CASH, SYSTEM OF A DOWN).

A new Japanese TV interview with JUDAS PRIEST members Rob Halford, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton can be viewed in two parts below.

JUDAS PRIEST's Japanese tour dates:

Oct. 14 - Kobe Kokusai Kaikan (Kobe International House) - Kobe, Japan
Oct. 15 - Aichi Geijyutsu Gekijyo (Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater) - Nagoya, Japan
Oct. 17-18 - Loud Park 09 at Makuhari Messe - Chiba Prefecture (near Tokyo), Japan

JUDAS PRIEST's August 17, 2009 performance at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida was filmed for a DVD that will be included in a forthcoming expanded 30th-anniversary edition of their 1980 classic, "British Steel".

As they have done at all of their U.S. summer dates this year, PRIEST performed the "British Steel" album in its entirety at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena.

JUDAS PRIEST kicked off its "British Steel" 30th-anniversary tour on June 29 at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana. Halford recently told Noisecreep, "It's like suddenly, thirty years have come upon us and we're about to celebrate. The album's technical anniversary is April of next year, but want to start the party early."

Halford added, "In today's economy, all artists have to think of something to do differently. We decided that this would be a great opportunity to do something that PRIEST has never done before, which is to play an album in its entirety. The band and the name 'JUDAS PRIEST' have both been around since 1969, so it is our fortieth anniversary, too. We seem to be in a constant celebration mode!"

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Part 2:

A new video blog from Germany's DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER focusing on the band's recent appearances at the Metalcamp (Slovenia) and Bloodstock Open Air (United Kingdom) festivals can be viewed below.

DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER will have its latest album, "Licht", released in the U.S. on November 10 via The End Records. The U.S. version of the LP will come with six bonus tracks (two studio, four live) and "stunning" new album art, including an alternate cover.

Released in Europe on August 29, 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records, "Licht" was the group's first and only album to feature guitarist Lady Cat-Man, who replaced Pitrone in February 2008.

"Licht" registered the following first-week chart positions:

Germany: #29
Austria: #49
Switzerland: #88

DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER parted ways with Lady Cat-Man earlier in the year and replaced her with Ady.

DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER's live CD, "Adrenalin", is being given away for free with the September 2009 issue of Metal Hammer magazine (street date: August 19). The full-length album was recorded during the band's fall 2008 Reiterfestspiele tour in Germany and Russia and comes with a complete booklet, rare pictures, and liner notes.

DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER fans who do not reside in Germany can order the magazine directly at www.metal-hammer.de.

Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH and Metal Blade Records Inc. have entered into a long-term, exclusive distribution deal.

With immediate effect, Sony Music will take over the physical distribution of all new releases from Metal Blade Records in Germany and Austria. The back catalog will gradually be taken over as well. This deal ensures Metal Blade Records a bright future in an ever-changing market.

"Metal Blade is a leading force in the global metal scene and will strengthen its position with the help of this new distribution deal with Sony," stated Simon Füllemann, Head of Marketing & Distribution for Metal Blade in Europe.

HardTimes.ca conducted an interview with MOTÖRHEAD mainman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister on September 3, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Watch the 25-minute chat below.

As previously reported, MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee will make an appearance on "Kändisdjungeln", the Swedish version of the popular U.K. and U.S. reality-TV show "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!".

Dee, 45, will sit out most of MOTÖRHEAD's current North American tour in order to take part in "Kändisdjungeln", which is being filmed in the jungles of Malaysia. Filling in for him on the dates that he will miss will be former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum.

A total of 10 celebrities will appear in the inaugural season of "Kändisdjungeln", including Mikkey, Swedish wine expert Bengt Frithiofsson and actress Inger "Pippi Långstrump" Nilsson.

Consisting of 16 episodes, "Kändisdjungeln" is expected to be one of biggest shows of the fall for TV4, which is Sweden's largest television network. The program's format allows viewers to vote, by phone, text message or TV interactive service for the celebrity to complete a physical task usually involving snakes, spiders or other animals and for the celebrity they would like to see win. The last celebrity, after all the others have been evicted, is the winner and is named king or queen of the jungle.