Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow and Michael Amott
Photo: Century Media

Last fall, Michael Amott, guitarist for Swedish melodic death-metallers Arch Enemy, confirmed in an interview with Metal File that Carcass, the legendary British grindcore band he played in during the early '90s, would be re-forming for a spate of live gigs. But while the band has booked a ton of festival appearances overseas, Carcass have yet to announce a single U.S. date.

The File spoke to Arch Enemy frontwoman Angela Gossow (and Ammott's fiancee) last week, just before the band played the final date on the sold-out Tyranny and Bloodshred Tour, with support acts Dark Tranquillity, Divine Heresy and Firewind. Gossow told us that while nothing has been made official, "there is something in the works for the States."

According to Gossow, Carcass have been approached about a possible U.S. headlining run, but the right offer hasn't come to the table yet. "There's obviously huge interest in a Carcass tour," she said. "I'm sure you guys will get it, but nothing has been confirmed or anything."

Gossow and Amott have been engaged "forever," but she says they haven't "found the time to get married yet." If the tour does come to fruition, Gossow said her fiance's life is going to get more hectic than it already is. The guitarist will be pulling double duty with both Arch Enemy and Carcass, because, at the moment, both bands have impossibly full plates.

Arch Enemy, who continue to tour in support of last year's Rise of the Tyrant, have already started working on material for the follow-up, Gossow said. And just six months ago, they hit the studio to re-record some of the band's earliest material.

"We started re-recording the old stuff because, for most people, Arch Enemy started to exist with [2001's] Wages of Sin, because the band got big after I joined," she explained. "Obviously, the band released three albums before that (1996's Black Earth, 1998's Stigmata and 1999's Burning Bridges), and we've been trying on and off to play old songs live. Most of the time, we just get this stare from the crowd, and people think it's a new song or a demo. A lot of young kids haven't heard these tracks, so we just figured we'd re-record them, give them new exposure, and it's going to give us the chance to play them live.

"These songs are 10 years old at this point, and it's going to sound killer," she continued. "Razor-sharp sound — and we'll up the production. The songs will have a little bit of a twist to them; they're going to sound new, even though they're old."

Arch Enemy plan to issue the re-recorded cuts in early 2009, after the release of their forthcoming live DVD, which was shot in Japan in March at a sold-out gig before an audience of 2,500. The footage was captured with 10 cameras, and the DVD will feature tons of backstage footage and interviews, Gossow said.

"We had the Fuji [Pacific] crew doing this, because the boss of Fuji is a huge fan," she said, with a laugh. "Basically, they did it for free, and brought in a crane. You'd never know this guy would like our band, but there are a lot of metal fans out there, and you would never know it, because they look so official, and they're wearing suits. But we're like a metal factory, at the moment. It's so great, because we actually have the motivation and we're just really hungry right now."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The growing beef between Disturbed and the Dillinger Escape Plan got even more interesting this week. It all started when DEP guitarist Ben Weinman claimed in an interview that he'd watched Disturbed practice all their onstage moves during a sound check. Guitarist Dan Donegan fired back, claiming DEP had no idea what it takes to put on as massive a show as Disturbed put on, dismissing the remarks as jealousy. Dillinger fired back on June 2 in a post on their MySpace page, saying Donegan has "little-peen complex" and slamming the band for "sucking." Disturbed frontman David Draiman later said in a radio interview that he respects Dillinger, but that he doesn't "understand what the hell they think they saw with us. ...This is what the big boys do who play stadium shows — they want to worry about how the lights look that they spend so much money on." ...

DragonForce have dubbed their forthcoming LP, which hits stores August 26, Ultra Beatdown. The disc will feature eight tracks, including "The Fire Still Burns," "Heartbreak Armageddon" and "The Warrior Inside." ...

What has drummer David Silveria been up to since taking a "hiatus" from Korn? Starting a new band, that's what. A MySpace page for Satellite Syndrome popped up earlier this week — and has since been pulled down — which stated the band should be releasing its debut album early next year. The group is currently in the studio, recording material for that effort. ...

French progressive-extreme metallers Gojira will issue The Way of All Flesh on October 14. The LP is in the process of being tracked in Los Angeles with producer and ex-Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader. ...

Eerik Purdon has parted ways with Omnium Gatherum. It isn't the first time the bassist has split, and the band still isn't sure why he bolted. "We ain't got a clue really what the hell happened here," the band said in a statement. Omnium are currently on the hunt for a replacement. The band's forthcoming album, The Redshift, will feature 11 tracks, including "Chameleon Skin," "Shapes and Shades," and "Song for December." ...

Walls of Jericho have set The American Dream as the title of their new album, which lands in stores this summer. In other album news, Motörhead will release their next record, Motörize, before the end of the year. ...

Arsis have parted ways with drummer Darren Cesca, and they've already replaced him with Alex Tomlin. Cesca's departure, the band claimed, was due to "differences in personalities and an overall difference in direction."

• Arch Enemy
• Carcass
• Disturbed
• Gojira

Sigh
Photo: The End Records

Mirai Kawashima, the frontman for Japanese experimental black-metal band Sigh, is pissed. He's not mad that the band's U.S. dates with Mayhem were canceled when Mayhem drummer Hellhammer broke his hand, or that Sigh's U.S. headlining shows were nixed because they were improperly booked. And he's not even upset that Sigh's seventh studio album, Hangman's Hymn — one of the most innovative, unusual and brilliantly assembled extreme-metal discs this year — will be dwarfed in sales by some upcoming release by the next metalcore flavor of the month. No, Kawashima's rage has more to do with his generalized disgust for the values and beliefs of modern man.

"I hate 99 percent of the people on this earth," he said in a soft voice. "I hate weak people who have to cling to fairy tales like religion, and I hate greedy people that have nothing more than making money in their head. I just want all of them to die."

Well, that accounts for the rage on Hangman's Hymn, but not the artistry. Since their first album, 1993's Scorn Defeat, Sigh have incorporated jazz twists, psychedelic interludes and orchestral flourishes into their songs. Hangman's Hymn, which was largely influenced by Wagner, Weber and Mozart, is less jarring, but it's even more creative. The tempos of songs like "Inked in Blood" and "Death With Dishonor" are still fast enough to trip up a NASCAR champion, but the way they're constructed — by incorporating violins, cellos, horns, bells, keyboard and choirs — is more akin to classical opera than high-rise demolition.

"Good opera is so emotional and powerful," Kawashima said. "And that's what I was inspired by. A lot of black-metal bands use keyboards and strings for embellishments. But the keyboard parts and orchestration on Hangman's Hymn are not embellishments. They are as important to the songs as the guitars, bass and drums. So even though it's very metal, you can say it's pretty much classical music as well."

Like many operas, Hangman's Hymn is divided into three acts. There's no distinct story line, but each act represents a different set of ideas as presented through symbolic references to heaven, hell, earth and death.

"Act one and two is about the greed of humanity on this planet," Kawashima said. "And act three is about destruction and images of burning like an inferno. Then, at the end of act three, there's an image of heaven in the song 'In Paradisum' and lots of Latin chanting to create the image of the funeral. I didn't want to have a plot because it's more powerful to create strong images."

As multifaceted as Hangman's Hymn is, Kawashima said it was the easiest Sigh album to write so far. On past releases, he has painstakingly written, arranged, recorded, re-written, re-recorded and rearranged for months on end. This time, however, the songs practically created themselves and there was no shortage of ideas. Three months after he started writing, he was done.

"I was just driven over a very short amount of time and I came up with many ideas in that time," he said. "I think it happened so fast because I had such a clear vision of the concept from the very beginning."

Kawashima, who works on video game and TV music when he's not writing for Sigh, created 70 percent of the music for Hangman's Hymn before inviting his bandmates Shinichi Ishikawa (guitar), Satoshi Fujinami (bass) and Junichi Harashima (drums) to add their input. After that, the entire album was recorded quickly, scheduled for release and came out June 12.

As talented and prolific as Kawashima is, he is unable to support himself strictly with his music. So, in the morning, he heads downtown to work at a Japanese telecommunications company, then works on his sinister songs at night.

"I actually think it's good to have a day job because I don't have to live on music, and that lets me do anything I want musically," he concluded. "Of course, it would be great if I could live just on my music, doing something I like, but it's very hard. If you live in Japan, it's not easy to tour the U.S. or Europe. So having a day job and a band is the best thing."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Metal File has confirmed that Arch Enemy's forthcoming LP will be called Rise of the Tyrant and is slated to land in stores September 25. The disc will boast 11 tracks, including "Blood on Your Hands," "I Will Live Again" and "The Great Darkness." In addition, the band will make a major fall tour announcement in the coming weeks — the trek will begin in early September. ... It's official: The Black Dahlia Murder's forthcoming album Nocturnal will hit stores September 18 and include "Virally Yours." You can read more about the disc here. ...

While most of us would love to one day see a full-on Sepultura reunion go down, two of the band's founding members — brothers Max and Igor Cavalera — are said to be working together on new material for what will be the closest thing to a Sepultura reunion we're likely ever to get. The brothers Cavalera expect to hit a Los Angeles recording studio next week to begin recording songs for the still-unnamed band's debut LP, which could be in stores as early as December. Metal File will have more news on this story as it develops. ...

Floridian death-metallers Obituary have signed on to the Indianapolis Metal Fest, which is scheduled for September 22 at a yet-to-be-determined venue. Others secured for the bill include Full Blown Chaos, Daath and Alabama Thunderpussy. ... The forthcoming set from Soilwork — which the Swedish metal act has been working on for the last several months — is in the bag and ready for release later this year. According to a statement from the band, "It sounds excellent ... great sound, great playing and a good mix of songs." The yet-untitled follow-up to 2005's Stabbing the Drama will include "Your Beloved Scapegoat," "Light Discovering Darkness" and "The Pittsburgh Syndrome." ...

Today Is the Day — which, for one album, featured Mastodon's Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher — will return September 18 with Axis of Eden. A subsequent tour begins September 13 in Boston and is booked through October 7 in Nashville. ... Let's hope this rumor ends up being true: There's loads of online speculation these days that has Rotting Christ and Immolation teaming up for a North American tour that would kick off in February. More information regarding the trek is expected to surface in the next few months. ...

Death Angel frontman Mark Osegueda nearly lost an eye during a recent recording session with his new side project, All Time Highs. According to a statement from the band, Osegueda was tracking vocals Sunday at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, when he passed out and fell forward, into a microphone stand. "The pole went into his eye [and] he was rushed to the hospital shortly after. The doctors did tests and the beautiful eye is going to make it. No serious injuries occurred. Just a torn eyeball." Yeah, just a torn eyeball. No big deal. "Everyone pray for our beloved singer and metal icon — and please don't forget to pray for his lovely eyeball as well," the band said in the statement. ...

Chicago's Nachtmystium have inked a deal with Century Media, which will re-release the black-metallers' debut disc, 2005's Eulogy IV, in the fall. A new full-length will follow early next year. ... Agoraphobic Nosebleed will issue a limited-edition split release with Apartment 213, Domestic Powerviolence, July 10. It'll hold fans over while the Nosebleed continue writing stuff for their next full-length LP. There's still no word on when that offering might surface, but we'll keep you in the loop. ...

Ozzfest 2006 vets Full Blown Chaos return August 21 with Heavy Lies the Crown, which was produced by the band along with Biohazard's Billy Graziadei. According to a statement from frontman Ray Mazzola, "This is the sound of us getting ready for war. Our last album was very encouraging, with many positive overtones. I'm still a positive person but we've gone through so many challenges and battles with friends, family, significant others and people we know since we've become a full-time band that all of those negative experiences ended up fueling our music further. Like I always tell those closest to us, 'If you f--- with someone in this band, you're gonna end up with a song about you.' " ...

On July 17, Malevolent Creation's new one, Doomsday X, will hit stores. The Floridian extremists' latest features 11 tracks, including "Deliver My Enemy," "Strength in Numbers" and "Buried in a Nameless Grave." ... Hostility have split with drummer Andrew Holzbaur. According to a statement from the Bay Area metallers, who're fresh from a recent road stint with Skinlab, Ankla and Pain Principle, the shakeup is owed to "musical differences." More specifically, Holzbaur "was going in a different direction then the rest of us. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors." A man down, Hostility will begin auditioning potential replacements ASAP; those interested in giving it a shot can contact the band through its MySpace page.

• Sigh
• Arch Enemy
• Nachtmystium

Aborted
Photo: Gregory Lamache/ Century Media

To characterize Sven de Caluwé as a "busy dude" would be like calling Satan a "bad egg."

The frontman for Belgian death-grinders Aborted also moonlights as the drummer for grindcore group Leng Tch'e, which also features members of Permanent Death and Dark Ages. Both Aborted and Leng Tch'e released fresh material within the last month, so at the moment de Caluwé is a bit overwhelmed trying to get the word out about both offerings while maintaining some semblance of sanity.

"Both bands have toured together in the past, but only for a week and a half, and then I was about ready to go to a hospital," he joked. "If we decided to go out for month or more, I would need to rest a lot. But right now, this whole system kind of collapsed on me."

The "system," he explained, worked brilliantly for many years: Aborted would issue an album, then tour for several months, and the following year, the world would be gifted with some fresh Leng Tch'e to devour. Then that band would tour the world — that is, until it was time for de Caluwé to head back into the studio with Aborted. But it didn't work out that way this time around, and it's starting to take its toll on de Caluwé. Still, he admits, "I'd rather be busy than bored."

A band accustomed to chronic lineup shifts, Aborted's fifth album, Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture, is a punishing, bona-fide face-peeler, de Caluwé said. The LP, which hit stores in late February, also signals a rebirth of sorts for the band, he said.

"The new lineup and the making of this record brought a lot of fun back to this band," he explained. "We wanted to have a more metal, more extreme-sounding record, and I think on many levels, we improved on what we had. It's not our most brutal record, but we definitely did want to make it a lot heavier-sounding than [2005's The Archaic Abattoir]. There were several things I wasn't really happy about with the last one, and we wanted this one to be more metal, more complicated. There's a lot more solos on this one, and we worked really hard to create a more diverse and aggressive record."

While the LP's drum tracks were recorded by Psycroptic's David Haley, Aborted have — after several months of auditions — recruited some new blood to take over behind the kit.

"Honestly, [drummer] Dan Wilding was the only one who was really able to play these songs at the level that we wanted them, and even more," de Caluwé said. "Musically, his brain is beyond impressive. We were pretty much floored by his abilities, especially when you consider he's only 18 years old."

Slaughter & Apparatus: A Methodical Overture was produced by Tue Madsen (Himsa, the Haunted) and features guest appearances by Hatesphere's Jacob Bredahl and former Carcass frontman Jeff Walker on "A Methodical Overture." De Caluwé said he e-mailed Walker, asked him to be on the album, and "a day later, he responded, 'If you want me to ruin your album, I'll do it.' And we were all screaming like little girls."

Leng Tch'e's latest full-length, Marasmus, was released Tuesday. It's an album that, to de Caluwé, "sounds completely different from anything we've done.

"With the previous album [2005's The Process of Elimination], we were kind of making a bridge of where we wanted to go with the music," he continued. "It's been very much evolving since then, and Marasmus is the first album where we've achieved what we wanted to with this band. There's a lot more variation — the songs are longer, there's a little rock and roll, there's death metal, hardcore, grind ... it's a good mixture of everything."

At the moment, Aborted don't have any U.S. tour plans, but the band's video for "The Chondrin Enigma" is attracting a considerable amount of attention. In the video, which was shot in Paris over two days by director Michaël Bernadat, a man is led away to a government-owned warehouse, where he's compressed into liquid sustenance.

"It pretty much sums up the lyrics of the song — we're turning some guy into jello," the singer said. "Chondrin is a substance you get from boiling or crushing bones, and the whole idea is that in a future situation, you've got way too many people on this planet, and governments decide that the best way to take care of it is to create these facilities to process the undesirable elements, and turn these people into food for the others."

Truly a disturbing thought, but as de Caluwé points out, Aborted aren't the types of guys "that would write about flowers." Touché.

The rest of the week's metal news:

3 Inches of Blood and Daath have been added to the second stage of this summer's Ozzfest. They will join previously announced acts Lamb of God, Lordi, Hatebreed, Ankla, the Showdown, Nile, Mondo Generator, Circus Diablo and, of course, Ozzy Osbourne. The 24-city trek launches July 12 in Seattle and runs through August 30 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ...

Two of metal's most recognizable siblings have reunited: Arch Enemy have announced the return of original guitarist Christopher Amott. The younger brother of guitarist Michael Amott (ex-Carcass, Carnage), Chris left the band back in 2005, taking some personal time away from music to see the world. "This is very exciting for me, returning as a full-time member," Chris Amott said in a press release about his rejoining Arch Enemy. "Right now we are working on our forthcoming album, and I'm very pleased about the way it's turning out. The new songs are fast and furious with lots of melody. After this (much needed) two-year break, I'm looking forward to getting back on the road." ... Detroit's the Black Dahlia Murder have ended a nearly five-month-long drummer search by hiring ex-All That Remains member Shannon Lucas. "He is an extremely sick player, and we can't wait to do the next album together," the band said in a statement. "We also would like to thank everyone that tried out for the band. We had the chance to jam with some amazing dudes throughout the process." The Black Dahlia Murder's first show with Lucas will be at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which takes place April 27-28. The band is currently writing songs for the follow-up to its 2005 album Miasma. The new effort should be out this fall. ...

Horse the Band, Light this City, the Number 12 Looks Like You and So Many Dynamos will tour together starting March 30 in South Hackensack, New Jersey. Dates run through April 26 in San Francisco. Horse the Band's new album, A Natural Death, is scheduled for release June 26. "It's about the futility and arrogance of creation and destruction, the overwhelming scale of space and time, and the brutal majesty of nature, the horror of birth and the beauty of death," keyboardist Erik Engstrom said. "Everyone who will ever live will die a natural death and will soon after be forgotten for eternity. Hopefully, this album will serve as a warning to the human race to stop taking itself so seriously, as we have seen the dire consequences of its actions." Errr, yeah. ... Swedish black-metal veterans Marduk will release their new album, Rom: 5:12, May 22. The disc was recorded at Endarker studio and includes "The Levelling Dust," "Imago Mortis" and "Through the Belly of Damnation." The album features the last appearance of ex-drummer Emil Dragutinovic performing with the band. Dragutinovic, who quit in November, has been replaced by Lars B — no relation to Metallica's Lars U. ... Austin, Texas' At All Cost, which combine thrash, melodic metal and hard rock, have signed with Century Media. The group is currently working on its sophomore album, which should be released later this year. At All Cost's debut, It's Time to Decide, came out in 2005. ...

London metalcore press darlings Fightstar will drop their album Grand Unification April 17. Tracks include "To Sleep," "Waste a Moment" and "Open Your Eyes." ... Ion Dissonance have finished their third album, Minus the Herd, which is scheduled for release June 5. The Montreal band recorded the disc with producer Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Agnostic Front). "This is by far some of the best stuff we have ever written," singer Kevin McCaughey said in a statement. "There are some changes in direction with this new release, but I definitely think the die-hard Ion followers will still be into the new stuff. I guess the only word to describe this new album would have to be 'brutal.' Just plain heaviness." ... Swedish black-death-metal band Lord Belial's seventh album, Revelation, has been bumped from April 30 to May 8. Look for the disc to include "Unspoken Veneration" and "Vile Intervention." ... Apparently, death metal is so popular in Scandinavia that everyone wants a piece of the action. On May 8, Swedish singer/songwriter Tony Naima and his band the Bitters will release an album of Dismember covers simply called Dismember. The bizarre idea came together in February 2006 when, at a Dismember record-release party, Naima was asked to take the stage to perform interpretations of two of the band's songs. The gag went over so well that Naima, with full consent of the band, decided to record an entire record of covers. Selections from the disc can be heard at Tony Naima's MySpace page.

• Aborted
• Arch Enemy
• Marduk
• The Black Dahlia Murder
• Horse The Band

Chimaira
Photo: Roadrunner Records

What many consider to be one of the best metal albums of 2005, Chimaira's self-titled third offering sounded fist-tight, innovative and hungry.

Made after the 2004 departure of drummer Andols Herrick, who had grown tired of touring and wanted to return to school, the album was recorded in an atmosphere of discord, animosity and depression. And while Herrick's replacement, ex-Dying Fetus member Kevin Talley, was musically proficient, he and frontman Mark Hunter didn't get along on tour.

"Something didn't feel right, and we always wished Andols never left," explained Hunter. "It was like having a girlfriend leave you. There were a couple guys, including myself, who wanted to leave the band because we felt like we were out there killing ourselves for nothing, and it didn't look like anything was going to change."

Then came the Roadrunner United concert in New York at the end of 2005, an event that not only brought together past and present artists from Roadrunner Records, but also reunited Chimaira with Herrick. The drummer took the stage for two songs, and by the end of the night any thoughts of ditching the band for his degree had vanished in the din. "When he was up there, his face lit up like a kid at a birthday party," Hunter said. "Right after that, he said to me, 'This is what I need to be doing in my life.' He rejoined the band soon after."

With Herrick back in the fold, Chimaira negotiated their way off Roadrunner, because they weren't seeing eye-to-eye with the label. Then the musicians sat down for a heart-to-heart to air their grievances and hatch a plan for the future. Realizing they all still shared the same vision and goals, Chimaira returned with renewed enthusiasm and a new level of determination, and started writing their fourth album Resurrection, which comes out March 6 on their new label, Ferret Music.

"We named the album Resurrection because that's exactly what it was," Hunter said. "When we talked, we got everything off our chests and out of our systems, and now we're friends again. And we're writing and playing better than ever."

While Chimaira was mostly written by guitarist Rob Arnold, this time Hunter and guitarist Matt DeVries shared the songwriting duties, resulting in a far more eclectic album that ranges from simple and driving to complex and meandering. "It's a bit all over the place in a good way," Hunter said. "I think it's a good combination of [2003's] The Impossibility of Reason and the self-titled record. But I think that there's so much more energy behind it because everyone was so excited to be back together."

In addition to being more diverse, many of the songs are also longer. Hunter said the average track length is six minutes, and one number clocks in at 10 minutes. At the same time, he insisted that the progressive arrangements don't detract from the hookiness of the album.

"It's super-catchy without being Fall Out Boy or something," Hunter said. "There are really fantastic hooks that people are gonna latch onto right away as opposed to the last album where it might take you a few listens to get what we were doing. And it's not one of those records where you get it right away, and then three days later you're done with it. This is something you're gonna want to listen to over and over again. I say that because I don't listen to our records, but this record is still in my CD player."

Chimaira recorded Resurrection in October and November with producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, God Forbid) and Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Arch Enemy). Even though they didn't have a record contact when they started, for the first time ever they felt no pressure.

"It seemed like these songs took minutes to write," Hunter said. "We'd come in with a riff and the song would be done that day. We weren't over-analytical about anything. We just went for it and it was lots of fun. Me and Andols were making jokes because we were really into lifting weights, so, if a riff wasn't heavy enough, we would start pretending we were doing yoga. And once the riff got heavy, we would start doing some skull-crushers. We just had to get rid of what we called the estrogen riffs, and keep the stuff that really wrecked."

The band's jocularity continued outside of the studio. At one point, Hunter even pushed the wheelchair-bound Suecof into a swimming pool — not that he didn't ask for it.

"He's so talented and he has a great ear and a gift for getting sh-- out of you that you didn't know you had, but he has really bad ADD," Hunter explained. "The dude would say, 'OK, we're gonna start at 1,' then he'd roll in at 4 o'clock and go, 'Oh, I didn't even know we were recording today. OK, we'll I'm just gonna go make some food, smoke a cigarette and sit on MySpace for a while.' And we'd be like, 'Are you f---ing kidding me? Get to work, a--hole.' So, we had to wheel him into the studio more than we'd wanted to, but it was all worth it for what he brought out of us."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Arch Enemy have begun writing material for the follow-up to 2005's Doomsday Machine. At this stage, the band has written about eight tracks, and guitarist Michael Amott claims the songs are "life-changing and ridiculously huge metal hymns. This is all my own not-so-humble opinion, of course. You'll see." The group will start tracking the LP in March, and the album could be out this coming summer. ...Animosity have entered writing mode and titled their forthcoming album Animal. The band will begin recording the effort in April; its last album, Empires, was released in 2005. ...Next month, New York hardcore legends Madball will begin drafting material for their next full-length. "We've already got some basic ideas down, and this promises to be our hardest record to date," claimed the band in a statement. The outing is expected to hit stores this spring through Ferret Music. ...

The Acacia Strain are one member shy following the recent departure of guitarist Daniel Daponde. The split was described as amicable, and due to unspecified "health problems." The band has yet to launch a search for Daponde's replacement. According to a statement issued by frontman Vincent Bennett, "We miss [Daponde] a whole bunch, and we are sure you all do as well. Wish him luck in his future endeavors." ...Machine Head's forthcoming album, The Blackening, has been given a tentative release date of March 27. Look for the disc to feature the tracks "Halo," "Aesthetics of Hate," "The Beautiful Mourning" and "Now I Lay Thee Down." ...Sludge-metal specialists Neurosis began tracking their next album on Wednesday with Steve Albini (Nirvana, Zao). ...

Post-hardcore outfit Silent Drive have been writing songs for what will be their next album, and plan to enter the studio this spring to put them down on tape. In the meantime, you can catch them next month with FC Five and Crime in Stereo from Tuesday in Albany, New York, through January 7 in Pittsburgh. ...Threshold have wrapped the recording of Dead Reckoning, which is slated for a March 23 release. The album will boast nine tracks, including "This Is Your Life," "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" and "Fighting for Breath." ...Project 86 have recruited Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Taproot) to produce the band's forthcoming LP, which it will begin tracking in Los Angeles next week. Expect the yet-untitled set to drop in late spring. Frontman Andrew Schwab said, "We want people to feel a little unsettled when they put on this record. This album will both fulfill and destroy previous expectations. We want to balance our staple sound, memorable songwriting and patented energy with a lot of experimentation. I think old fans will still have enough to grab a hold of, but those who think they know what a Project 86 record is supposed to sound like will be surprised." ...

The Red Chord plan to spend the next four months hammering away on the follow-up to 2005's Clients, which will be produced by Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) and will be titled Birdbath. ...

Danish thrash titans Hatesphere will hit the studio next week to start recording the still-untitled follow-up to 2005's The Sickness Within. An April 30 release has been set for the band's forthcoming opus. ...Caught in a Trap have settled on Rats Get Fat as the title of their forthcoming debut full-length, which is expected to surface in April. The disc was produced by Don Fury (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits), and features 14 cuts, including "Nothing's Free," "Summer's Eve" and "All Out of Tomorrows." The band plans to launch a full U.S. trek within the next few months. ...Floridian death-metal masterminds Monstrosity have set Spiritual Apocalypse as the title of their next album, which should be out early next year and feature 10 to 11 tracks.

• Chimaira
• Arch Enemy
• Madball
• Project 86
• The Red Chord

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine
Photo: Sanctuary

The Gigantour is back for more.

A second helping of Dave Mustaine-endorsed metal is ready to hit the road as the Megadeth frontman's answer to Ozzfest returns on September 7, seeking to replicate the success of last year's inaugural run. Gigantour is scheduled to shred across 25 cities, launching in San Diego and wrapping up October 8 in Sunrise, Florida.

As with last year's festival, 2006's Gigantour will be anchored by headliners Megadeth, who have an LP titled United Abominations in the bag and due this fall (see "Megadeth Heading Back To The Old School With United Abominations").

The festival's bill — handpicked by Mustaine — is rounded out by Virginia post-thrash five-piece Lamb of God, Swedish death metal act Opeth and their aggressive countrymen Arch Enemy, New York thrash quartet Overkill, Canadian death metallers Into Eternity, North Carolina thrashers Sanctity and New York post-hardcore outfit the Smashup. Additional second-stage artists will be announced in the coming weeks. The first Gigantour featured Dream Theater, Fear Factory, Anthrax, Nevermore, Life of Agony, Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, Dry Kill Logic and Bobaflex.

"This is the concert that I, as a heavy metal music fan, would want to see," Mustaine said in a press release. "It is going to be something to look forward to each year, to see what kind of tremendous talent we can assemble for Gigantour festivals in the years to come."

Gigantour will be rolling through several major U.S. and Canadian cities, including Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and Orlando. Details on at least five of the stops at have yet to be revealed.

Lamb of God — who are out on the road through July 26 with Slayer's Unholy Alliance tour, featuring Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed (see "Dates Unveiled For Slayer's Unholy Alliance With Mastodon, Lamb Of God") — will be using the Gigantour to promote their forthcoming album, Sacrament, due August 22 (see "Lamb Of God Ease Up On Bush But Get Deep Musically On Sacrament,").

Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton said he's looking forward to sharing the stage with Megadeth.

"Megadeth is one of the main reasons I started playing metal guitar in the first place," Morton said in a statement. "To finally tour with them is really exciting and it's a great way to start off our world tour supporting Sacrament. We've been dying to get the new material up and running on the live stage. We've worked so hard on the new record — it's really a great sense of accomplishment to see the new tunes come to life in a live setting. We're really looking forward to this one."

Gigantour tour dates, according to the festival's publicist:

• 9/7 - San Diego, CA @ TBA
• 9/8 - Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
• 9/9 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Pozo Saloon
• 9/10 - Devore, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen
• 9/12 - Las Vegas, NV @ TBA
• 9/13 - Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theater
• 9/15 - West Valley City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
• 9/16 - Englewood, CO @ Coors Amphitheatre
• 9/17 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
• 9/19 - TBD
• 9/21 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave/ Eagles Club
• 9/22 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
• 9/23 - Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
• 9/24 - Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
• 9/25 - Toronto, ON @ Park Place
• 9/27 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
• 9/28 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
• 9/29 - TBD
• 9/30 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
• 10/1 - TBD
• 10/3 - TBD
• 10/5 - TBD
• 10/6 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
• 10/7 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
• 10/8 - Sunrise, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center

• Megadeth
• Lamb of God
• Opeth
• Arch Enemy
• Overkill

Arch Enemy
Photo: Century Media

Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott has heard a number of bands grumble about Ozzfest, complaining that being on the annual heavy-metal festival's bill did little, if anything, to augment their careers. But Amott says the Swedish metallers have experienced the opposite — sales of Arch Enemy's 2005 album, Doomsday Machine, bloomed during and after the band's second-stage stint, and being on Ozzfest opened up several touring opportunities for them, as well.

That includes this year's Jägermeister trek, which Arch Enemy will be on until Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Chimaira, Nevermore, God Forbid and Hate Eternal are also on the bill). And then there's this fall's Gigantour 2, on which, Amott said, Arch Enemy will definitely be featured.

"We know we're on ... the main stage, and I know it runs from late August to October," he said, adding that the only other band he knows will be on the bill is Megadeth — sort of a given, since Dave Mustaine organizes the festival. "We're excited about coming back to the U.S. once again. We're happy we can get work, you know? It's going to be a good tour for us. We did Ozzfest last year and we made a lot of new fans and sold a lot of records. It's great to come out on another big package tour, and I think there's probably a more traditional metal audience out there who could pick up on what we do as well through Gigantour."

Arch Enemy recently shot a video for "My Apocalypse" in Sweden with director Roger Johansson (In Flames), and it will debut on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" this month. It's a performance video "with wind blowing, and we have great hair, and you can kind of see through our bodies, so you can see our skeletons — in red," Amott explained. "When [Johansson] told me, I said, 'That sounds pretty metal.' "

Before Arch Enemy do Gigantour, they'll issue a DVD called "Live Apocalypse" on August 8. The package will feature the band's final live set with Amott's brother, Christopher, which was shot in London in late 2004, before the second guitarist and founding member left. Fans can also expect band interviews, a segment in which Arch Enemy discuss and exhibit the equipment they use when they perform live, and the usual bloopers-on-a-tour-bus clips. "I'm super proud of it," he said of the two-disc set.

"We didn't want to focus too heavy on [behind-the-scenes footage]," he added. "Those things are kind of boring. I mean, how many times can you watch a drunk musician? But the interviews with the band are very good. A lot of people may never really get to know us. They only know us by picture, and they don't get to see you talk or know what kind of person you are — that you have a sense of humor, that you're not only just an iconic metal god."

He also said Arch Enemy have been working on material while on the road, which they've never done before. He says they'd like to start recording the follow-up to Doomsday Machine early next year.

"It's very different for us this time, because we never write on the road at all," he said. "This year, we've been writing a lot on the road. We're just making these little demos, really. But they're not proper songs — just riffs sort of thrown together. We've never been this far ahead of the game before, as far as material [goes], because usually we're scrambling for songs once we hit the studio. This time, we'll be very well prepared."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The ink has finally dried on Hatebreed's deal with Roadrunner Records. An official announcement was made this week that the band had joined the label's roster. Look for its forthcoming disc, Supremacy, to hit stores August 29. ... Animosity have lost bassist Dan Kenny and replaced him with Evan Brewer, formerly of Reflux. "Danny ... has been playing with us for over a year now, [and] we plan to continue to support him in his future musical ventures, as we are sure that he will soon be pumping out some serious, brutal death metal," the band said in a statement. Animosity will head out with From a Second Story Window, Cattle Decapitation, Misery Index and Job for a Cowboy for a tour that kicks off June 11 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... Despite signing on for Animosity's June bill, From a Second Story Window have been forced to cancel their May tour after being busted for driving without proper inspection tags. The Pennsylvania bashers had been driving a salvaged van illegally, since the state supposedly hadn't sent them the official stickers they needed after getting it inspected. "We got caught the other night and the cop let us go, but also he informed us of what would happen if we were pulled over and someone wasn't so forgiving, so we came home," the band said in a statement. "This was not easy for us to have to do. All we want to do right now is be on tour." The group's new disc comes out July 11. ...

In a post on his Web site, producer Kevin Shirley (H.I.M., Judas Priest) said Iron Maiden will finish recording their yet-untitled, forthcoming album this week. "The last song for the record is on the console — we still have some keyboard washes to add, and then I'll finish up the mix," he wrote. "Yesterday we recorded umpteen guitar tweedles, ably executed by [guitarist] Janick [Gers], in four-part harmony, which led me to believe that if there is a hell, [Queen] guitarist Brian May will be the gatekeeper." ... We'll be glad when June 6 (6/6/06) passes and metal fans get back to their lives of blasphemy and misanthropy without everything revolving around the number of the beast. The latest gesture to Beelzebub's mark comes from the End Records, which, on said date, will release the black-metal compilation The Dark Psyche: An Aural Exhibition of Black Metal From Top Scholars in the Genre. It will cost -- what else -- $6.66. Dissection, Enslaved, Arcturus, Satyricon, Immortal, Darkthrone and Impaled Nazarene are among the 666 bands contributing tracks (just kidding, there are only 15). ...

Los Angeles experimental-metal band Crisis have gone on "indefinite hiatus," according to a statement issued by their label. "The bandmembers will be focusing on their personal lives, as well as pursuing other artistic interests," the statement read. "We are sorry that our fans will not be hearing any new music from [them] in the near future." The band's last album, Like Sheep Led to Slaughter, came out in 2004. ... Javier Carpio (a.k.a. Sob), ex-guitarist for New York hardcore-metal band Merauder, died of unknown circumstances last weekend at age 33. Carpio played on the band's three records: 1996's Master Killer, 1999's Five Deadly Venoms and 2003's Bluetality. Funeral services were held on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York. ... Veteran British extreme-metal band Benediction suffered a setback last week when drummer Nick Barker (ex-Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth) broke his ankle in Estonia. The injury required plates and screws and will sideline the band for at least six weeks. Benediction's upcoming record, Killing Music, is tentatively scheduled for release in late summer or early fall. ...

Hour Cast will release their full-length debut, State of Disgrace, June 6. The Boston band recorded the disc in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, early this year, and Michael "Elvis" Baskette (Iggy Pop, Chevelle) mixed it. Ex-Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna and ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Twiggy Ramirez remixed tracks for the band last year. ... Moody metal group Tapping the Vein are almost done with their new album. The drum, bass and guitar tracks are all finished, and singer Heather Thompson plans to wrap up her vocal tracks this week. "It's sounding much heavier and dark, à la Katatonia," said drummer Eric Fisher of the record. "Less programming, much more band." The yet-untitled disc — the follow-up to 2002's The Damage — should be out by the end of the year. ... Hamilton, Ontario, shredders Threat Signal will release their North American debut, Under Reprisal, August 22. The disc was produced by Fear Factory guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers in Los Angeles last fall. Threat Signals recently shot a video for "Rational Eyes" in New York with director David Brodsky (the Red Chord, God Forbid). ...

Frontman Antti Filppu has left Finnish death-metallists Omnium Gatherum. "This is very unfortunate, but everyone considers this as the only way ... Omnium Gatherum is going to continue as a band," reads a post on the group's Web site. "We hope that Antti will continue to do his 'thing,' and [we] wish him the best possible luck. The name of the new vocalist will be announced later." Omnium are writing new material for an album they'll record later this year. It won't be for Nuclear Blast, though: The band and label have broken off their working relationship. ... Panzerchrist's forthcoming album, tentatively titled Battalion Beast, should land in stores in July — and when it does, expect the LP to feature nine tracks, including "The Gods They Do Not Give Us Long," "Infants' Graves" and "Lumps of Rotting Clay."

• Arch Enemy
• Crisis
• Darkthrone
• Iron Maiden
• Hatebreed

Silent Civilian
Photo: Mediaskare Entertainment

It's been two years since Jonny Santos left Spineshank, and the singer says he has no regrets about the move. He's starting from scratch with his newest project, Silent Civilian. The band is on the road through the end of the month with Nothingface, and on April 18 its debut offering, Rebirth of the Temple, will hit the streets. Santos says he couldn't be doing better these days.

"I think I made the best record I've made in my entire life, to be honest with you," he said from the back of Silent Civilian's RV. "This was the first time I didn't have anyone telling me, 'Oh, we need a single. Oh, we need this. Oh, we need that. We have to keep the songs under three minutes and 30 seconds.' It's a very dynamic record — it's brutal and passionate. I'm in the band now that I've always wanted to be in."

Spineshank had run their course for Santos. "I wasn't having fun anymore," he said. "I didn't feel like I was making the music I wanted to make, and I wasn't happy with the way our relationships were going as individuals. Spineshank did what it was going to do, and I don't regret one day of being in that band. It was just done. We were nominated for a Grammy, and I wanted to go out on a high note."

While he left the remaining members of Spineshank behind to pick up the pieces — they've since recruited Brandon Espinoza to replace Santos and will soon rename the group — Silent Civilian are in fifth gear. The band recently shot a video for the album's title track with director Scott Culver (Yellowcard, Mikoto) at Santos' childhood home — the singer hosted a barbecue in the backyard and invited all of his friends down to throw 'em back. Static-X's Wayne Static, former Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader and Soulfly's Roy Mayorga all make cameos in the clip.

Santos says there are big things in the works for the summer. Nothing is set in stone yet, but he'd like to see Silent Civilian added to this summer's Sounds of the Underground run, which will feature As I Lay Dying, Trivium, Behemoth, Black Dahlia Murder and Cannibal Corpse, among others.

As for Silent Civilian's debut, the band recorded 15 tracks, 13 of which will make the final list. One of the leftovers, he says, was a cover of Slayer's "War Ensemble," which will appear on a forthcoming, yet-untitled tribute to the band due in stores June 6. Other songs include "Funeral," "Lies in the House of Shame," "Live Again," "Force Fed" and "Falling Down," which was inspired by the Michael Douglas flick and, Santos said, "is like the most brutal thrash song ever, dude — it just f---ing kicks your ass for four minutes straight."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Lacuna Coil, Arch Enemy, Bullet for My Valentine, the Black Dahlia Murder, Chimaira, Exodus, DragonForce, God Forbid (the guests for this weekend's "Headbangers Ball"), Hate Eternal, Horse the Band, If Hope Dies, Still Remains, Suffocation and Sworn Enemy are among the bands confirmed for the 8th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, which will take over the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, on April 28, 29 and 30. More acts will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks. ... Just about a year after the release of their video compilation "Video Hits" and the CD/DVD collection Megadeth's Greatest Hits: Back to the Start, Megadeth will issue the double DVD "Arsenal of Megadeth." The package, which comes out March 21, will feature 20 of the group's videos, concert footage from last year's Gigantour, band audition clips, backstage footage and more. Total running time is almost three hours. ... Impaled Nazarene will release their ninth album, Pro Patria Finlandia, April 18. Tracks include "Goat Sodomy," "Weapons to Tame a Land" and "One Nation Under a Dead God." The album is the follow-up to 2003's All That You Fear. ... Goatwhore have tapped producer Erik Rutan (the Absence, Soilent Green) for the band's forthcoming Metal Blade debut. The Louisiana black-metal outfit has been recording the effort in Tampa, Florida's Mana Recording Studios; a summer release is planned for the LP. ...

Esbeohdes, the much-delayed debut disc from New Jersey speed-grind act the Post Office Gals, hit record stores earlier this week. The band has a bunch of shows booked for March — two in the Garden State; one in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and a March 16 appearance at this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. When asked to describe the band's sound, guitarist Daniel Schlett said, "We just like to play really fast and make weird noises — we like to be as loud as possible and make really whacked-out sounds." The band is planning an extensive summer tour. ... The Black Dahlia Murder were forced to cancel two gigs this week — Minneapolis on February 22 and Chicago on February 23 — because of some immigration issues. New drummer Pierre Langlois was denied entry to the U.S. from his native Canada on Monday. In the interim, Chimaira's Kevin Talley has agreed to fill in. The band will resume the trek in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday (February 24). ... Portugal's experimental mood-metal masters Moonspell have finished their seventh album, which is scheduled for release April 25. The disc includes "Luna" and "Finiesterra." ... Zombi have wrapped up recording their forthcoming full-length, Surface to Air. The album will hit stores on May 2 and be preceded by 20 live dates with Isis, These Arms Are Snakes and Dälek. That trek begins March 28 in San Francisco and winds down May 6 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

Torche, the Sword, Tarantula A.D. and ASG will hit the road together for a three-week run that kicks off in Tampa, Florida, on March 29, with dates scheduled through April 20 in Austin, Texas. In related news, the Sword and Torche are among the 18 bands who'll be featured on Kemado Records' upcoming Invaders compilation, which will be released April 25. Danava, Big Business, High on Fire, Pelican, Dungen, the F---ing Champs and Wolfmother are also contributing cuts to the disc. ... Stavesacre's forthcoming Abacus debut, How to Live With a Curse, has been scheduled for an April 18 release. ... Kalas — the band formerly known as Scum Angel that features High on Fire's Matt Pike on vocals — have signed a deal with Tee Pee Records, which will release the band's self-titled full-length debut April 9. Look for the disc to include "Monuments to Ruins," "Godpills" and "Pleasurable Prison." The band has gigs lined up through March, the first in Hollywood on March 10 and the last in Los Angeles on March 21. ... Norwegian metallers Zyklon entered Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden, earlier this week to finish mixing the band's forthcoming album, Disintegrate. The disc will surface May 16 and feature "Cold Grave," "Skinned and Endangered" and "Vile Ritual." On March 14 the band will release its first-ever live DVD, "Storm Detonation Live." ...

San Francisco thrashers Sadus will release their fifth album, Out for Blood, May 2. The disc was recorded in April with producer Borge Finstad (Mayhem, Borknagar) and will feature "Smackdown," "Out for Blood" and "Lost It All." ... Martin, the original bassist for Polish death-metal band Decapitated, has rejoined the group after leaving in December to serve mandatory time in the Polish army. He was temporarily replaced by Richard Gulczynski, who played the band's last U.S. tour, which ended February 12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Decapitated's new album, Organic Hallucinosis, was released February 7. ... Yyrkoon will release their fourth album, Unhealthy Opera, May 2. The album was produced by Jacob Hansen (Raunchy, Hatesphere) in Denmark. Tracks include "From the Depths," "The Book" and "Screaming Shores." ... Protest the Hero will release their U.S. debut, Kezia, April 4. The conceptual disc tells the story of a young woman's execution from the points of view of three characters. The band will launch a six-week tour with the Bled, As Cities Burn and Since by Man starting February 24 in Seattle, Washington, and running through April 9 in Tucson, Arizona. ... The fourth album by Witchery — the Swedish band featuring the Haunted guitarist Patrik Jensen and Arch Enemy bassist Sharlee D'Angelo — will be released on March 21. Don't Fear the Reaper was produced by the band at Berno Studios in 2004 and will include "Disturbing the Beast," "Draw Blood" and "The Ritual."

• Arch Enemy
• Moonspell

Arch Enemy (file)
Photo: Century Media

Angela Gossow's having trouble adjusting to this American heat. Each morning, when she rushes Ozzfest's second stage with Arch Enemy to pummel the audience of moshing miscreants, dancing like stun-gunned cavemen over scorching, sun-baked asphalt, she's not only astounded by the crowd's vim and vigor, but her own. She's from Sweden, after all — it never really reaches a sweltering 100 degrees there.

On Sunday, when Ozzfest hit Bristow, Virginia, Gossow's band hit the stage at the profane hour of 9 a.m. "I was amazed that the pit can start that early," she said. "A mosh pit at 9 in the morning — that's not right. How do these kids make it through the day? F---ing hell. That's too early for rock and roll."

But those animals were throwing elbows at an hour when no one should be all because of Arch Enemy's thunderous songs. Many of the tracks from the band's set list appear on its new disc, Doomsday Machine, which hit stores this week. According to guitarist Michael Amott, Arch Enemy wanted to take what they'd done on previous efforts and build on that foundation.

"We wanted more of everything on this record," he said. "More melodies, more intricate guitar work. But we also wanted to make it catchy. So there's always that combination. That's what Arch Enemy's about: combining aggressive, extreme modern brutality with a classic-metal edge, as far as guitar work goes and the arrangement. We're just trying to write good songs within this style of music."

The blond, full-lipped, doe-eyed Gossow, whose guttural growls put other male metallers' to shame, is one of this year's only female forces (the other being Jada Pinkett Smith and her newbie band, Wicked Wisdom; see "Ozzfest Gets Jiggy? Jada Pinkett Smith's Band Added To Lineup"). She said so far the craziest thing about Ozzfest, for her, has been the number of marriage proposals she's fielded.

"I've stopped counting," she said, adding that the proposals are coming from both men and women. "People, when they come to the [FYE table] signings every night, they tend to go, 'Yeah, you rock. Finally, a chick that rocks.' It's very male-dominated this year, which I think is good for Arch Enemy, because we stand out for that [reason]. But they'll say, 'You're the coolest chick I've ever met — will you marry me?' I just tell them the band says no."

The rest of the week's metal news:

According to a Roadrunner spokesperson, Opeth drummer Martin Lopez has not been fired, but rather, went back to Sweden for treatment of a rare blood disorder he's had for most of his life. Until he returns, the band — currently on the Sounds of the Underground tour — has enlisted Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan to fill in for him. ... Black Dahlia Murder guitarist Brian Eschbach was detained by police during Ozzfest's Pittsburgh stop and ticketed for obscenity. As the bearded axeman explained, "I was helping out someone else with a camera and a microphone and I got my towel taken [from me], which was the only thing I had on at the time, and I was apprehended." But he wasn't the only person busted by the authorities that afternoon. Bury Your Dead guitarist Slim B. was also arrested for crashing one of the Ozzfest golf carts. "I was too fast, too furious," he explained. "I shouldn't have been driving at all, and I made a boo boo. I took a hard right which happened to be a hard left and ended up eating sh--." Slim B. sustained facial and arm scrapes in the accident. ...

In related Bury Your Dead news, the band was joined onstage during Sunday's Ozzfest in Virginia by actor Will Smith and his wife, Wicked Wisdom frontwoman Jada Pinkett Smith. The Hollywood duo emerged for the Dead's set-ending chant, screaming "Bury your f---ing dead!" ... Shadows Fall had a shadow over the weekend at both the Pittsburgh and Virginia Ozzfest dates: a dude with a video camera, who was capturing footage for the band's forthcoming video for "Enlightened by the Cold." Frontman Brian Fair said the video will have a day-in-the-life feel and include some live footage of the band, shot over those same two days. ... Mudvayne recently shot a video for the "Forget to Remember" with director Frankie Nasso, who traveled to Mansfield, Massachusetts, to shoot the band's live set. ... Ambient doom-metal mystics Sunn 0))) will release their sixth album, Black One, on October 17. The droning disc is the follow-up to White 1 and White 2 and features more black-metal influences. Black One is self-produced and includes "Sin Nanna," "It Took the Night to Believe" and "Orthodox Caveman." ... San Francisco thrash-metal legends Exodus will tour the U.S. starting October 4 in Tempe, Arizona, and running through November 4 in San Marcos, California. The band will be supporting its new album, Shovel Headed Kill Machine, which comes out October 5. The band's last album, Tempo of the Damned, was released in 2004. 3 Inches of Blood, Crisis and Watch Them Die will join Exodus on all dates. ...

Dallas occult-metal extremists Absu will release Mythological Occult Metal: 1991-2001, a two-disc anthology of rare and previously unreleased material, on October 11. The package includes the band's first EP, The Temples of Offal; covers of "Swing of the Axe" by Possessed and "Bestial Invasion" by Destruction; and live recordings. The band is currently on hiatus and has no plans to record or tour before 2006. ... The second full album by Dutch melodic death-metal band Detonation, Portals to Uphobia, will be released on October 11. Tracks include "Chaos Banished," "End of Sight, End of Fears" and "The Loss of Motion Control." Detonation's debut, An Epic Defiance, came out in 2003. ... German power-metal veterans Helloween will release the career-spanning DVD, "Hellish Videos: The Complete Video Collection," on August 16. The 13 tracks include "Halloween," "Kids of the Century" and "Mr. Ego." The disc will also include a live version of "Hey Lord!," photo gallery and backstage footage. ... New Orleans extreme-metal band Soilent Green have shot a video for "Leaves of Three" from their new album Confrontation, which came out July 19. The clip was filmed in Atlanta and directed by Chad Rullman (Mastodon, the Agony Scene). The band is currently touring with A Perfect Murder, Into the Moat and Watch Them Die; dates run through September 8 in West Columbia, South Carolina. ...

Dale Resteghini (Trivium, Seemless) was tapped to direct two videos in New York for Ill Niño. The upcoming clip for "What You Don't Know" will consist primarily of a narrative, in which an aspiring Spanish Harlem hustler is beset by bad luck. There's no information yet on what the second video, for the track "This Is War," will look like. ... Socially aware '80s thrash band Nuclear Assault will release their first studio album in more than 12 years on August 30. Third World Genocide was co-produced by drummer Glenn Evans and Timothy Koukos, and includes the tracks "Defiled Innocence," "Whine and Cheese," "Price of Freedom" and "Long Haired A-Hole;" the band plans to shoot videos for the latter two songs. Nuclear Assault also announced a series of U.S. dates, starting August 27 in Poughkeepsie, New York, and running through September 25 in Spokane, Washington. ... Talk about type-casting: in August, Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele joins the cast of "Tao of M," a forthcoming vampire flick. According to the film's Web site, Pete will play Viktor Baine, "a vampire who sires Midael, another vampire who terrorizes New Orleans." Several members of Twisted Sister and a group of "false priests" who rub Midael the wrong way are also set to appear in the film.

• Arch Enemy
• Opeth
• Helloween
• Nuclear Assault
• Mudvayne

Trivium's Matt Heafy (file)
Photo: Roadrunner Records

"Ever since the beginning of Trivium, it's been our goal to be the biggest metal band in the world," frontman and guitarist Matt Heafy said about his band of heavy-metal upstarts from the Sunshine State. "The next Metallica. We've had that focus, unfaltering, since day one. A lot of bands say, you know, 'We don't do this for the money' or 'We do this for fun' or 'We don't want to be that big.' Blah, blah, blah. We want to rule the world with our music. We're not stopping until it happens."

Trivium — rounded out by guitarist Corey Beaulieu, drummer Travis Smith and bassist Paolo Gregoletto — are off to a good start in reaching their lofty aspirations. They'll be part of this summer's Ozzfest tour and plan to play off-dates with In Flames and Arch Enemy. "I am beyond stoked, because those are two of my favorite bands ever," Heafy said.

Soon, the band will shoot a video — the third for its Roadrunner Records debut, Ascendancy — for "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation." Heafy said Trivium might head out with labelmates Ill Niño for a U.S. tour this fall, though that hasn't been firmed up yet.

Does Heafy, who said he's already written two songs for the band's next album, think his goal of reaching Metallica-like adoration is just dreaming the impossible dream? "We're working on it, man. We're working on it."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The five members of Brooklyn's progressive jazz-thrashers Candiria were awarded $29 million in damages from injuries they sustained in a near-fatal road accident in 2002. Candiria were on their way to a show in Cleveland when a tractor-trailer barreled into their van, which rolled over at least five times. The destroyed ride's depicted on the group's latest record, What Doesn't Kill You ..., which came out in July. ... Lamb of God's new DVD, "Killadelphia," comes out May 25. The package includes live footage filmed in Philadelphia at two October 2004 shows, as well as hours of behind-the-scenes clips shot during the Ashes of the Wake tour. ...

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi will reunite with singer Glenn Hughes — who sang on Sabbath's 1986 disc, Seventh Star — for a still-untitled collaborative album scheduled for June 28. The 13-song disc was produced by Bob Marlette and will feature drumming by Kenny Aronoff. ... Sonic terrorists Daughters will hit the road with Melt Banana, the Locust, Torche, Mare and An Albatross this month for a slew of dates. Daughters also announced the return of founding guitarist Nick the Dick, whom they've been writing new material with since late December. ...

Swedish death-metal merchants Arch Enemy are in the studio with producer Rickard Bengtsson working on the follow-up to 2003's Anthems of Rebellion. "Maybe the fact that we're all jumping around the studio, headbanging, playing air guitar [and] drums is a good sign?" wrote guitarist Michael Amott (ex-Carcass) on the band's Web site. The still-untitled album's due late this year. ... Grindcore champs Pageninetynine have remixed the entire Document #8 session at Boston's Godcity Studio. Robotic Empire will re-release the seminal disc with expanded artwork this summer. The band's even working on a DVD, which has no release date yet. ... In related news, Malady, which consists of former members of Pageninetynine and City of Caterpillar, have inked a deal with Robotic Empire. They'll be recording songs next month for an EP. ...

The third disc from English grindcore band Gorerotted, A New Dawn for the Dead, will be released June 13. The album, produced by Markus Roedl, is the follow-up to 2004's Only Tools and Corpses. Bassist/vocalist the Wilson tackled all vocals and imbued the songs with a less jokey but equally demented vibe. "You'll find the new material to be darker and more complex both lyrically and musically," the Wilson said. "[It's] still very Gorerotted, [it] just doesn't sound like it got written by Beavis and Butt-head this time around." ... Flotsam and Jetsam, the band that once featured ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, will release their new album, Dreams of Death, July 26. Tracks include "Parasychic, Paranoid," "Requiescat in Pace" and "Bleed." ...

Leather-lovin' Manowar's upcoming "Hell on Earth IV" features two DVDs and a CD with a song from the band's next album for a total of more than four hours of muscular metal. The package includes 11 live songs filmed during the 2002 Warriors of the World tour. ... If you've got an ear for metal and an eye for art, you might want to take a stab at designing the next album cover for Canadian death-metal vets Kataklysm. Artwork should be centered around the album title, In the Arms of Devastation, and submissions can be sent via e-mail to smdesign@videotron.ca. The deadline for submissions is August 1. The winner will be chosen by the bandmembers and their label and will have his or her art featured prominently on the album cover as well as on merchandise for the record. ...

Indianapolis death metallers Demiricous will start recording their new album in June with producer Zeuss at Planet Z Studios. ... Polish death-metal band Devilyn fired bassist Cyprian because of creative and personal differences. "He did not bring in no ideas in creating new numbers," said frontman Bony in a broken-English press statement. "He was not on them you belong prepared." Bassist Cyprian has been replaced by Cyklon. ... Oakland, California, technical metalcore outfit All Shall Perish will release their debut album, Hate, Malice, Revenge, April 19. ...

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• Lamb of God
• Candiria
• Arch Enemy
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