Protest The Hero
Photo: KC Armstrong

Some bands write music to score chicks, others for the hope of stardom and a few even do it because they love to play. But Whitby, Ontario, quintet Protest the Hero have an altogether different reason for rocking out.

"We all just get bored really easily, so we're always trying to do something that will keep our interest," singer Rody Walker said. "When we write a record, we want something that will still keep our attention a couple years down the line, but it never works."

Protest the Hero's new album, Tuesday's Fortress, should retain the interest of Walker and his bandmates — guitarists Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin, bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi and drummer Moe Carlson — for quite a while. The songs are rhythmically complex, technically proficient, fiercely metallic and strikingly melodic, sounding a bit like a hybrid of Coheed and Cambria, Slayer and the Dillinger Escape Plan. Songs like "Bloodmeat," "Limb From Limb" and "Bone Marrow" swerve through a barbed-wire obstacle course of epileptic beats, serrated riffs and constantly changing rhythms that make the challenging compositions on their 2006 full-length debut, Kezia, sound like Kiss songs. Of course, that was exactly the point.

"Right now, I don't ever want to play those songs on Kezia again," Walker said. "I'm so sick of them, and I know we're going to have to [play them] when we tour. We hate being labeled, but if we have to be called something, I think 'ADD metal' applies."

The band started writing Fortress in January 2007 at its rehearsal space, and although the material was far from simplistic, the process was productive. First, the group assembled a wide array of jigsaw-puzzle beats and riffs into coherent structures, and after that, Walker decided where to scream in the songs and where to sing.

"In the beginning, it was a rather daunting task to sit down at my computer and have to write vocals over this progressive gobbledygook," the singer said. "But once I got on a roll, it was pretty easy. If you have a grasp of melody, and you understand how chords will fit together and how vocals will sound overtop, it's not so hard. I just listened to each song a million times on a CD, and I figured out what to do over it."

Protest the Hero entered the studio with producer Julius "Juice" Butty, who worked with the band on Kezia, in mid-June and spent about a month layering dozens of tracks. Then Butty worked closely with Walker to get the best performances out of him.

While Walker sang his melodies in the studio, he created them with Mirabdolbaghi's lyrics, just as he did with Kezia. Back in 1999, when Protest the Hero formed, Walker used to write his own songs, but when the bassist brought some ideas to an early jam session, everyone was blown away.

"Arif is just so talented," Walker explained. "He's a literature master. When he was 17, he went to a [Fyodor] Dostoevsky symposium in Switzerland and was the youngest person to ever be invited to one of those. It's kind of funny. This time, Luke and I were like, 'Hey, man, can you write a party song about how we want to drink beers and f--- b----es?' And he came up with this really complex lyric for 'The Dissentience' ... that was all metaphorical. That was his idea of a party lyric."

It goes without saying, the songs on Fortress aren't about getting drunk or laid. The album is a loose concept record divided into two parts: "On Conquest and Capture" and "Isosceles." And while there isn't a narrative arc to the whole thing, the album explores various lofty themes.

"It's really a look at past, present and future, through the battles that have been fought and are being fought and supposedly will be fought," Walker said. "It goes through Genghis Khan and Flidais, which is from Irish mythology. A lot of the themes are centered around goddess worship because these days people seem to only want to be worshipping Allah and Jesus Christ and all these strange male figures. And in the past we used to very much worship female figures. So it's very much about bringing back the femininity to God."

Of course, as with Coheed and Cambria, if you're not feeling too geeky and you just wanna rock out, you can ignore all the profundity and simply bang your head — providing you can keep up with the beat.

"Some of the stuff can be deep, but I really think we're a party band," Walker insisted.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Children of Bodom have wrapped the recording of their forthcoming album, Blooddrunk, which is slated for an April 15 release. The disc will feature nine songs, including "Hellhounds on My Trail," "Smile Pretty for the Devil" and "Banned From Heaven." ... The rumors are flying about this summer's Rockstar Mayhem Tour, Warped Tour mastermind Kevin Lyman's answer to Ozzfest. While Disturbed and Slipknot will anchor the bill, Metal File is hearing that Sevendust, Mastodon and DragonForce could be added to the lineup soon, along with previously rumored performers Five Finger Death Punch, Suicide Silence and Walls of Jericho. None of this has been confirmed yet, but we'll keep you posted. ... The Dillinger Escape Plan went unplugged recently, performing an acoustic version of "Horse Hunter," complete with its cameo from Mastodon's Brent Hinds. According to a post on the band's MySpace apge, "[We] don't know what's better about it, the fact that it's the first time we've played that song in any capacity, or the fact that half of his face is covered in tattoos at this point." ...

Nate Johnson has left South Carolina death-metallers Through the Eyes of the Dead, freeing him up to join the ranks of Since the Flood. According to a statement from the singer, he quit because "it just wasn't my thing. Yes, I am a big fan of death metal, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to be in [the band]." He added that he just lost interest. Through the Eyes of the Dead are now looking for a new frontman. ... ->

Through the Eyes of the Dead have a new frontman and drummer after the respective departures of Nate Johnson and Josh Kulick. "We are excited to announce that Lech, formerly of As Blood Runs Black, will be handling drums for us on the upcoming tour," the South Carolina death-metallers said in a statement. "He's a monster behind the kit and has proven to us to be the right fit for our style. And stepping into the vocal spot is Lou Tanius, who has previously put time in with On Paths of Torment and Invocation of Nehek." Now that he's freed up, Johnson has joined the ranks of Since the Flood. According to a statement from the singer, he quit TTEOTD because "it just wasn't my thing. Yes, I am a big fan of death metal, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to be in [the band]." He added that he just lost interest. The Scum of the Earth Tour featuring TTEOTD, Throwdown, Soilwork and War of Ages starts February 29 in Pomona, California, and ends April 3 in Las Vegas. ...

Finnish metallers Kalmah have been hammering away on their next record since October, and the yet-untitled album will surface in stores in early April. ... Meanwhile, fellow countrymen Dead Shape Figure have signed with Season of Mist, which will release the thrash act's debut album, The Grand Karoshi, in the spring. ... Canadian metallers Into Eternity continue to write material for their next record. According to a statement from guitarist Tim Roth, "the new songs are sounding really good and really heavy." The band hopes to start tracking the songs next month, and the record could be finished in time for a late 2008 release. ...

First Blood are hard at work on their next LP, which they've christened Silence Is Betrayal. The record should see the light of day in the summer. Frontman Carl Schwartz said the band has had more than two years to get roundly peeved, and that's reflected in the songs. "This upcoming album will be nothing short of brutal — and quite possibly the most critical, condemning, and controversial material we will ever release," he said in a statement. ... How's this for a lineup? The Devil Wears Prada, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Gwen Stacy and Whitechapel will hit the road together in the spring for a string of U.S. dates. The trek gets under way April 25 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is scheduled to run through May 13 in Dayton, Ohio. ...

Zimmers Hole, which features Strapping Young Lad guitarist Jed Simon, bassist Byron Stroud and drummer Gene Hoglan, will release their forthcoming album, When You Were Shouting at the Devil ... We Were in League With Satan, March 11. The disc will boast 11 cuts, including "We Rule the F---ing Land," "Anonymous Esophagus" and "Hair Doesn't Grow on Steel." ... German death-metal outfit Fragments of Unbecoming will release their next record, which carries the working title Everhaunting Past Chapter IV - A Splendid Retrospection, before year's end. Expect the effort to feature eight tracks, including "It's Me, the Grotesque," "A Voice Says: 'Destroy!' " and "Shipwrecked in the Yesteryears."

[This story was originally published at 8:00 am E.T. on 01.25.2008]

• Protest The Hero
• Children Of Bodom
• Mastodon

S.O.D.
Photo: Fontana Island

It's pretty hard to surprise Anthrax guitarist/mouthpiece Scott Ian. The man has seen it all: ugly record-label disputes, money-draining management conflicts, debilitating label contracts. In the past year alone, Anthrax lost two singers and were denied guest vocals from a third, Slipknot's Corey Taylor. Adding to the misery is the fact that the band is currently without a U.S. label (Anthrax are signed to Nuclear Blast overseas).

So, while he wasn't exactly shocked, Ian was a bit bemused when he found out about the late-August release of Rise of the Infidels, a raw, partially live short album by his old metal-spoof side project, S.O.D. "I only knew about it when I saw it online — I had no idea this was coming out, and I actually had to e-mail the record company and ask, 'What is Rise of the Infidels?' " Ian said. "Apparently, I had been a part of a conversation months ago where it was discussed — which is quite possible — but I had completely forgotten about it."

The disc was recorded in 1999, when S.O.D. (Ian, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, singer Billy Milano and Nuclear Assault bassist Dan Lilker) launched a tour in Seattle between Anthrax albums. Most of the songs are from S.O.D.'s classic 1985 crossover disc, Speak English or Die, and there are four previously unreleased studio tracks. Despite the imperfect sound quality, Ian is pleased with the results.

"I'm happy with anything concerning S.O.D. ... There is stuff sitting around that was never released that we obviously felt good enough about at the time to record and deem worthy of S.O.D.," he said. "I love it because it's probably something we're never going to do again, as far as a studio record goes. So, for the real fans out there who have to have everything, I think it's great."

Of far more concern to Ian at the moment is the future of his main baby, Anthrax. He, Benante and bassist Frank Bello have spent the last eight months writing and fine-tuning a batch of new songs, which Ian said are along the lines of the band's unsung 2003 album, We've Come for You All. At the moment, however, Anthrax are still without a singer, making it difficult to move forward. It's a strange situation, since, toward the end of the band's 2005-'06 reunion tour with '80s singer Joey Belladonna, Anthrax seemed all set to record a new studio album with Belladonna.

"We tried," Ian insisted. "Halfway through the tour, everything had totally gelled, and we started talking about doing a new record. [Guitarist] Danny [Spitz] was gung-ho about it and Joey seemed to be as well. I thought that nothing would have made him happier. But when the tour ended, we started having conversations about making a record and moving forward, and we spent three or four months where we just couldn't get an answer from Joey to the simple question, 'Do you want to make a record, yes or no?' Not that he wouldn't call back, but he wouldn't answer the question. Our question was always answered with a million other questions. For some reason, Joey thought things were weird on the reunion tour financially. He had his own guy look at the books. Everything was good. But after three or four months of asking this guy and feeling like we were starting to become a doormat, we gave him an ultimatum, and we still didn't get an answer. So we concluded we're not making a record. It's impossible because there's no communication."

With Belladonna out of the picture, Anthrax decided to work with the We've Come for You All lineup, which featured Rob Caggiano on lead guitar (which meant bidding farewell again to Spitz). Problem was, singer John Bush wouldn't commit either.

"That was obviously broached, and it's just not able to happen in this time and place," Ian said. "But if John would have been able to commit to this right now, he would be back in less than a second. From the discussions that we've had, he's just not ready to step back into it and be able to commit to it, and we all completely respect that. We went away and did the reunion thing for 18 months, and his life completely changed in that time. His priorities are in a completely different place right now."

After the band did some contemplating, Slipknot and Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor came forward and said he'd like to sing for them. At first, Anthrax were skeptical, since Taylor was already overextending himself with Slipknot and Stone Sour. But Taylor was determined. "He said, 'No, dude, you have no idea what this means to me and what an honor it would be, so let me figure this out.' "

At the time, it looked like there would be a large enough window between the end of the Stone Sour cycle and the beginning of Slipknot's sessions for Taylor to record the album and launch at least one full tour with Anthrax.

"We were all stoked and sent him all the music we had, and he had already started writing to it," Ian recalled. "Then, the powers that be made an executive decision and basically just didn't let it happen. It physically couldn't happen because our window kept getting smaller and smaller. They moved the Slipknot thing up and pushed the Stone Sour thing this way, and they just made it impossible for all of us. We might have still been able to make a record, but then we wouldn't have been able to tour, and what would have been the sense of that? We just would have been shooting ourselves in the foot."

At this point, Anthrax have a pile of songs, and they're just waiting for the right guy to fill the frontman position so they can proceed. While they've got a short list of singers with whom they're in discussions, there's no word regarding who will fill Bush, Belladonna and Taylor's shoes.

"It's getting to be a little bit of a problem with the material we're writing," Ian admitted. "Because the singer we use will obviously have some bearing on what kind of songs we write. But we know that we want to make a proper follow-up to We've Come for You All, which we all loved. But we want it to be even better: heavier, faster, hookier. As songwriters, you try to improve on your craft. And fortunately, we've got the time to make that happen. We have no deadline at all because we've got no label deal, so my attitude is, 'Let's make the most metal record we've ever made in our lives,' and I would have to say that's coming to fruition."

If all goes as scheduled, Anthrax hope to secure a new singer any day now and to finish writing early next year, so they can have the new album out by late spring or early summer.

"We would like nothing more than to have something out in time to play the European festivals next year," Ian said. "But in the meantime, we don't have a deadline, so we can take our time writing these songs and making them the best stuff that we possibly can."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Suicidal Tendencies will hit the road next month for a string of West Coast gigs. So far just six dates have been booked, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. You'll be able to catch the thrash-metallers starting November 17 in Tucson, Arizona. Shows are scheduled through November 24 in Ventura, California. Suicidal are wrapping up the recording of their forthcoming, yet-untitled studio LP, which they've been working on with producer Paul Northfield (Rush, Dream Theater). ... On December 11, Sevendust will issue Retrospective 2, a DualDisc pack featuring six live tracks and three new studio cuts. The DVD portion of the set will boast nearly two hours of video footage, including the videos for "Ugly" and "Driven." In order to get the word out on the LP, the band will embark on its Ladies Get Out of Jail Free Tour, starting October 19 in Minneapolis, with openers 10 Years, Black Light Burns and Neverset in tow. ...

Ex-At the Gates/ the Crown frontman Tomas Lindberg will be performing with Israeli "melodeath" outfit Nail Within during that band's upcoming reunion show, set for November 23 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Lindberg appeared on the band's 2003 self-titled debut. ... According to Children of Bodom bassist Henkka Blacksmith, the Finnish metallers are making some serious progress on their next studio offering. He claims the disc should be tracked within the next six weeks and that it will feature a guest appearance from Hypocrisy's Peter Tägtgren. ... The Sword plan to begin recording their yet-untitled sophomore effort soon and hope to be finished with the LP by December, when they'll head out on a 17-city U.S. headlining run with Valient Thorr and Black Cobra. The tour kicks off December 6 in New York and runs through December 8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ...

Every Time I Die will stop by "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Halloween for a scare or two as the show's musical guests. No word on what track they'll be playing, but it will most likely come from the band's latest CD, The Big Dirty, which came out last month. ... There are fans, and then there are super-fans. One of Unearth's followers brought new meaning to the latter term recently when he got guitarist Ken Susi's face tattooed on his rump. The agonizing footage can be found online over at Boston.tv. In the meantime, Unearth plan to shoot their Tuesday gig at the Glass House in Pomona, California, for an upcoming DVD release. The band is on tour at the moment with Darkest Hour, August Burns Red and Suicide Silence. ...

All Shall Perish, From a Second Story Window, Emmure and Nodes of Ranvier will join forces for a 16-date trek that's scheduled to launch on Halloween in Ferndale, Michigan. Dates run through November 18 in Tempe, Arizona. ... Belgian death-metal machine Aborted have begun writing material for their next record, which they're planning to track early next year. A summer 2008 release is being eyed for the disc, and while it hasn't been titled yet, the band promises to reveal that news soon. ... Don Dokken will open three upcoming Queensrÿche shows scheduled for early next year, according to Pollstar.com. He'll take the stage February 2 in Chicago, February 8 in New York and February 16 in Dallas. ...

The incomparable Glenn Danzig will be back on the road later this month for a handful of East and West Coast gigs. He'll be bringing Samhain bassist Steve Zing and Danzig guitarist Todd Youth along for the ride, as well as former Misfits guitarist Doyle Von Frankenstein and his new band, Gorgeous Frankenstein. Danzig worked with Doyle on his project's first effort, Gorgeous Frankenstein, which will be in stores October 16. The tour kicks off October 23 in Baltimore and runs through November 8 in Lawrence, Kansas. In related news, a variety of Danzig's older releases will be reissued by Columbia on November 13: Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990), Danzig III: How the Gods Kill (1992), the Thrall: DemonSweatLive EP (1993) and Danzig 4 (1994). ... Through the Eyes of the Dead have parted ways with guitarist Chris Anderson and in his place have enlisted a temporary fill-in — original bandmember Richard Turbeville. He'll be on hand for the metallers' upcoming trek with As I Lay Dying, All That Remains and Haste the Day. No explanation for Anderson's departure has been offered.

• Anthrax
• Danzig
• Children Of Bodom

Jesu
Photo: Tina Korhonen/ Hydrahead Records

With just hours before taking an April 2002 flight from London to Los Angeles, where his band Godflesh were to begin a North American tour, singer and guitarist Justin Broadrick suffered a nervous breakdown.

He was broke, his girlfriend of 13 years had just left him and he was tired of playing in his pioneering industrial-metal band — but unsure how to cut the cord. "It was a real Brian Wilson moment," Broadrick recalled of the incident that paved the way for the emergence of his new band, Jesu. "I felt paralyzed by the stress, which had been building for several months, and I literally couldn't get out of bed. I was numb and couldn't move, so when the car came to pick me up to take me to the airport, I ran and hid at another friend's house in Birmingham [England]."

The incident had substantial consequences. Ex-Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven had been brought on for the two-month tour, as had ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons. Bus companies had been hired, High on Fire and Halo had been booked to support. And everyone who lost money came after Broadrick.

"I was getting death threats from the bus company in L.A.," Broadrick said. "I lost close to $35,000, which I did not have at all. I was broke and had to sell my house and pay off all my debt on credit cards. I pretty much did nothing for four months besides drink heavily."

When he finally felt motivated to begin writing again, Broadrick cast his creative energies in an entirely new direction and expanded upon a batch of dense, billowing and intensely emotional songs he had been toying with over the previous couple of years. Rooted equally in post-rock, pop and metal, the music branched far beyond the self-imposed constraints of Godflesh and featured sedated vocals that sometimes barely registered above the droning rhythms.

"After the first two Godflesh albums, we became far too self-conscious about what we should and shouldn't be," Broadrick said. "So, for me, Jesu is all about losing that self-consciousness, letting melody come to the forefront and drop all the screaming and shouting. Physically and mentally, I didn't feel the need to do that anymore, and I didn't want to turn into the Rolling Stones or that sort of music."

Broadrick worked on the new songs in the studio with Parsons and bassist Diarmuid Dalton. In 2004, the band released the EP Heartache, and followed with their bleakly beautiful self-titled debut in 2005.

"After everything that had happened, doing Jesu was very cathartic," Broadrick said. "I didn't escape into making that album, I immersed myself in it. It was about as indulgent as you could be, and I reveled in the depression of it. I had to go that low to see the sun again. I had to take myself as far down as possible to actually feel I was alive again."

The band's new album, Conqueror — which follows their 2006 EP, Silver — is melancholy, but not as depressing as Jesu. Songs like "Old Year," "Transfigure" and "Medicine" are slow, textural and enveloping, sounding something like a far heavier version of Slowdive or Sigur Rós.

"I think the weight of the songs is probably even heavier than most of the Godflesh records, it's just in a different context," Broadrick said. "The bleakness is inherent, and I don't think it's something that can ever be removed from my music. No matter how much I explore melody, that's something I'll never shake off."

Neither, apparently, will Broadrick shake off bad luck. Jesu were scheduled to fly to the U.S. to begin a tour with Isis Thursday in San Diego, but because their work permits have not yet been cleared by U.S. Customs, the band will miss at least the first week of the tour. The news came just weeks after Jesu learned that Dalton wouldn't be allowed in the country because he was busted 20 years ago for drug possession. Dave Cochrane, who played with Broadrick previously in Ice, God and Head of David, will replace him for the tour. Also, Parsons is sitting out the tour to spend more time with his family, and Intronaut drummer Danny Walker will fill in. Until Jesu's paperwork is sorted out, Intronaut will replace them on the Isis tour.

The rest of the week's metal news:

So, that rumor about Lamb of God being on the bill for this summer's Family Values Tour? Not true, the band claims. A purported lineup hit the Internet this week, with Korn listed as the trek's headliners, along with Evanescence, Aiden and, oh yes, Lamb of God. But the band has not "committed to any summer tour." That settles that. ... Dates for Animosity's upcoming headlining run with As Blood Runs Black, the Faceless and Beneath the Massacre, have been revealed. The outing, called "Brutalitour," launches April 28 in Worcester, Massachusetts (at this year's New England Metal & Hardcore Festival), with gigs booked through May 26 in Berkeley, California. ...

Mastodon, Priestess and Mouth of the Architect have rolled out a bunch of live dates, including stops in San Antonio (March 19); Oklahoma City (March 20); Columbia, Missouri (March 21); Colorado Springs, Colorado (March 23); Salt Lake City (March 24); Seattle (March 26); Spokane, Washington (March 27); and Portland, Oregon (March 28). ... Arsis, Ion Dissonance and Beneath the Massacre will hit the road together in March and April. The first gig is set for March 21 in Buffalo, New York, with dates scheduled through April 14 in Lake Station, Indiana. ...

Obituary will return to the studio in March to begin recording their next studio effort. According to frontman John Tardy, the band is "still working on the new CD and are getting really excited about these new songs. This is some pretty sick sh--. I still do not know what we are going to do about a record label. We are still talking with a few labels and trying to work something out. Hopefully something gets done soon, so we can move forward and concentrate on future events." In the meantime, you can catch the band's live set starting March 24 in Hollywood at the Los Angeles Murderfest. ...

Circle of Dead Children have introduced Matt Francis as their newest drummer; he replaces Mike Bartek, who left the band in June. "At a point when we had all but thrown dirt over our own casket, life has once more been injected with the vacancy of the drum position being finally filled," frontman Joe Horvath said in a statement. "We plan to soon begin work on a yet-to-be-titled sixth release due out [this] summer. Matt's addition drives the band to its most caustic and explosive level to date." ... He Is Legend have added to the fold guitarist Mitchell Marlow, who was briefly a member of Glassjaw and did some time with Classic Case as well. The band is touring with Killswitch Engage, Chimaira and Dragonforce through April 8 in Chicago. ...

Inked in Blood guitarist Matt McDonnell had a recent brush with death but is recovering and doing fine. According to the band, McDonnell was found on the floor of his home February 11, "cold, sweating and barely able to breathe." He was taken to a nearby hospital, where, after being put into a drug-induced coma, he was diagnosed with acute pneumonia, pleurisy and a severe staph infection in his lungs. He was released Tuesday with strict orders to rest and recover for the next month and a half. McDonnell said the incident has given him "a new lease on life. I feel extremely lucky to have been given a second chance." The band will release its sophomore full-length LP this summer, and, once the guitarist is better, plan to tour in support of the outing. ... Children of Bodom mainman Alexi Laiho revealed at the Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki last weekend that the band will begin working on material for its next album this week, with plans to begin recording the effort this fall. The LP could be out early next year, he said.

• Jesu
• Obituary
• Animosity
• Lamb of God
• Mastodon

Eminem
Photo: Anthony Mandler/ Interscope

Eminem and Kim Mathers finalized their second divorce Tuesday (December 20), The Associated Press reports. The two parties will divide their property under terms of a private settlement and will share custody of Hailie Jade Scott, who is 10 years old. Eminem did not comment after the brief hearing, but Circuit Judge Antonio P. Viviano said the couple "conducted themselves with dignity and respect. All in all, they are a very fine couple to deal with." ...

If you've wanted to share the screen with Lindsay Lohan but are a bit lower down on the star ladder, this could be your chance. A Lohan thriller tentatively titled "I Know Who Killed Me" is seeking extras (18 and over, with ID) available to film key scenes in San Luis Obispo, California. The open call will be held Tuesday from 5-10 p.m. at Maggie's Diner in San Luis Obispo. ...

What's good for Drew Lachey is apparently good for Joey Fatone. The 'NSYNC member told Orlando, Florida, radio station WTKS-FM on Friday that he'd like to appear on the hit TV show "Dancing With the Stars," AP reports. Fatone said producers of the show had asked him three times to appear, but that he'd turned it down. Now that the show has become a hit, he's reconsidered. "I like doing it because it's challenging," Fatone said of dancing. "Can you imagine me wearing those stupid tuxes?" ...

A February 13 release date has been set for the Unholy Alliance collection, a CD/DVD set chronicling the Slayer-anchored tour's July 13 stop in Vancouver, British Columbia. The discs will include performances from all of the bands on the trek's bill: Slayer, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. The DVD also includes backstage footage and band interviews. ... The Warner Music Group is about to get a bit more hardcore. The home of soft-rocker James Blunt has agreed to pay $73.5 million to acquire a majority stake in heavy-metal label Roadrunner Music Group, home to Slipknot, Megadeth and Nickelback. Roadrunner, based out of Amsterdam, will be a freestanding label within the Atlantic Records Group, already home to hard acts Metallica and Staind. ...

As he is wont to do, Bright Eyes — a.k.a. indie wunderkind Conor Oberst and whoever he feels like playing with — will release not one but two recordings (at least) next year. On March 6, they'll drop Four Winds, a six-song EP featuring six new tracks, including "Reinvent the Wheel," "Smoke Without Fire" and "Cartoon Blues." Then, on April 10, they'll release the full-length Cassadaga, featuring guest appearances by M. Ward, Gillian Welch and former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss. The album — which was recorded in New York; Los Angeles; and Lincoln, Nebraska — is actually named after a Florida town that is commonly known as "The psychic center of the world." ...

You Hear It First alums and Woodie Award winners Plain White T's have set aside a chunk of 2007 for touring. The gang will head out for a March 4 gig in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and follow through until a May 2 concert in Chicago. ... Another band of up-and-comers, Mewithoutyou, will hit the road for a co-headlining jaunt with Sparta on February 22 in Omaha, Nebraska. That 22-date trek ends March 19 in St. Louis. ... In more tour news, Badly Drawn Boy has sketched out a North American run that will see him hitting Philadelphia March 3 and wind down in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 27. ... And finally, the reunited Lemonheads will check in again with another leg come early '07. Evan Dando and company will hit Carrboro, North Carolina, on January 25 and conclude the tour in Hoboken, New Jersey, on February 24. ...

It was cool while it lasted. On Monday, members of the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Doors and Santana sued the owner of Wolfgang's Vault, which has been offering streams of hundreds of rare concert recordings from major rock stars on its Web site. According to Reuters, the bands are claiming the site was illegally offering the recordings by artists ranging from A Flock of Seagulls to Bob Marley, the Clash, the Who and Bob Dylan — some of the thousands it acquired from the vault of late concert promoter Bill Graham — in order to stimulate sales of its concert T-shirts, photos and vintage posters. The suit was filed against Vault owner William Sagan, who bought Graham's assets for $5 million three years ago. ... In related news, the Dead and Doors will receive lifetime-achievement Grammys prior to the awards show on February 11, AP reports. Folk icon Joan Baez, jazz great Ornette Coleman, opera singer Maria Callas, soul stalwarts Booker T. and the MG's and departed country hero Bob Willis will also receive the honor. ...

Stacie Orrico has finished the video for her new single, "I'm Not Missing You." The song is featured on Beautiful Awakenings, an album she co-wrote many songs to that is due January 16. Orrico's self-titled album, which earned her a Grammy nomination, came out in 2003. ... Doing a sitcom for VH1 in which she played herself apparently wasn't enough reliving for Tori Spelling.The former "Beverly Hills 90210" starlet is writing a memoir as well, in which she'll discuss her childhood privileges, tabloid misperceptions, success and regrets in a humorous and self-deprecating way. The yet-untitled book is due for publication in spring 2008 by Simon Spotlight. ...

Legendary soul label Stax is relaunching in 2007 to mark the golden anniversary of its 1957 formation. The recording home of such R&B luminaries as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave and Isaac Hayes plans to release 20 CDs and DVDs in the new year, including new music from Hayes and Angie Stone. ... A warrant was issued by immigration officials Monday for Yoko Ono's driver, Koral Karsan — who was arrested last week and charged with attempted grand larceny after he allegedly threatened to kill Ono and her son Sean Lennon and release personal audio recordings unless he was paid $2 million. According to AP, immigration officials issued the warrant to determine if the native of Turkey is in the U.S. legally. ... Joseph Barbera, an animator who co-created dozens of cartoon series — including "The Flintstones," "Tom and Jerry," "Yogi Bear" and "Scooby Doo" — with creative partner William Hanna, died Monday in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 95.

12.18.2006

Justin Timberlake will perform with an unsigned artist at the Grammy Awards via a new contest put on by Yahoo! Music and the Recording Academy. My Grammy Moment will allow fans to vote for their favorite unsigned act at Yahoo! Music, and the three finalists will also be able to participate in a variety of music-education initiatives put on by the Recording Academy. ...

Even without a new album out, Britney Spears is #1. But the chart the singer is topping is probably not one she was hoping for. ViralVideoChart.com has released a list of the top viral videos of the year, and Spears has locked up the top two spots. A clip of her burping and babbling about time travel was seen more than 3 million times, followed by the infamous footage of soon-to-be ex-husband Kevin Federline apparently getting the news of his impending divorce via text message, which clocked 2 million hits. The Spears and Federline clips were followed by comedian Michael Richards' racist stage rant and footage of Lindsay Lohan dissing Paris Hilton. To make matters worse, Spears also earned the mantle as 2006's worst celebrity dog owner, according to a poll of dog-magazine readers. "She once had three Chihuahuas ... and never left home without at least one of them on her arm," Hilary O'Hagan, editor of The New York Dog and The Hollywood Dog said in a statement The Associated Press. "As soon as she met K-Fed and had kids, [the dogs] disappeared." ...

Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin joined the band for five songs during its Sunday gig in Los Angeles, Reuters reports. Stradlin — who left the fold 15 years ago but has made sporadic appearances at GN'R reunion shows — played and sang harmonies to "Paradise City," "Patience," "Nightrain," "Used to Love Her" and "Think About You." ... Pay no mind to the speculation that Korn's days may be numbered. Nothing could be further from the truth, frontman Jonathan Davis wrote in a blog post. Since the announcement last week that drummer David Silveria was "taking a break" from Korn, fans have been wondering if they should be worried about the band's future. "He really needed to take a break," Davis wrote. "He was very burnt out. He will not be on this record [we're working on at the moment] or tour, but will be back for the next one, if ready. Until then, we will have a fill-in drummer. We are NOT breaking up, this is not the last album. Everything is fine, this is only temporary." ...

By now, Michael Jackson fans should know to always make backup plans. After promising to appear at an expensive Christmas party for fans on Tuesday in Tokyo, Jackson has postponed the event until next year so he can add another date to the meet-and-greet, according to a Reuters report. The party for 1,600 fans that was to include dancers, a band and gospel singers will now take place on March 8 and offer more tickets at the top prices. Platinum ticket holders were promised a chance to meet Jackson and take a photo with him for a mere $3,428 each. Buyer beware — Jackson will not perform at the show but will watch it from a VIP box and make brief remarks. The second-day event will give fans a chance to see a show featuring dancers performing Jackson's hits as he looks on from the VIP area. ...

J Dilla's Ruff Draft album is being re-released as a two-CD set in March. Bonus vocal tracks, interludes and instrumentals will be included. ... The singers behind the Kidz Bop albums are going on tour in the spring in conjunction with volume 11, due February 20. The group recently debuted on QVC. ... Whitney Houston, her mother, Cissy Houston, and cousin Dionne Warwick have recorded a song together for the first time. Aptly titled "Family First," the song will be featured on the soundtrack to "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls," due January 9. The CD will also feature songs from Beyoncé, R. Kelly and a collaboration between Anthony Hamilton, Jaheim and Musiq. The movie opens February 14. ...

The Arctic Monkeys have announced a huge show to celebrate the release of their second album in the spring. The 50,000-capacity gig — which they've promised will feature their longest set to date — will take place July 28 at the Lancashire County Cricket Ground in Manchester, England. The show will include yet-unannounced support bands chosen from among the group's favorite acts, according to an announcement on its Web site. ... The Kaiser Chiefs are launching a North American tour April 13 in New York. The tour, sponsored by the New Musical Express, currently includes stops in Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco, with more to be announced in January. ...

Pete Townshend will be the keynote speaker at next year's South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. The Who guitarist will give his keynote address on March 14 and perform with artist Rachel Fuller and other special guests the following day. ... The first U.S. performance by Yusuf — a.k.a. Yusuf Islam, a.k.a. Cat Stevens — will be broadcast Thursday. Recorded in New York on November 19 to an invite-only crowd, the intimate gig will air at 11:15 a.m. PT on Santa Monica, California's NPR affiliate, KCRW. ...

The reunited Glassjaw are offering fans a chance to become the band's next ex-member. The winner will be made an official member of the band, get kicked out, then will be listed as an ex-member on the band's Web site and even receive a phone call from an actual former member of Glassjaw. More information on the contest can be found at the band's MySpace page. ... Pastor Troy was arrested Friday morning in Atlanta for an alleged parole violation following an interview on the city's Hot 107.9 radio station, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The rapper, who was on probation for driving offenses, was arrested after a tipster called the authorities to report that he was at the studio. Officers took Troy into custody after confirming a warrant for unspecified probation violations.

• Lindsay Lohan
• *NSYNC
• Mastodon
• Slayer
• Lamb of God

Brand New Sin
Photo: Robert John

It's a good thing Syracuse, New York, sludge-rockers Brand New Sin aren't huge cupcake fans.

Following the band's run last fall with Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society, frontman Joe Altier and the rest of Brand New Sin crawled into their practice space to start thinking about their next LP — the inevitable follow-up to 2005's Recipe for Disaster.

"It just seemed like everyone was bringing a bottle of tequila in every night, so we started seeing what would happen with us pouring tequila down our throats and writing songs," Altier explained. "And, lo and behold, this album came out of us."

The crushing LP, which they've admirably called Tequila, hit stores on Tuesday — a week after the band headed out with Mushroomhead, Soil and the Autumn Offering for a Jägermeister-sponsored tour that runs through December 2 in Utica, New York. And yes, the tour's organizers did give Brand New Sin hell for the booze-fueled outing's title.

"We actually told them ahead of time that we were calling the record Tequila," the singer said. "And they kind of busted our balls a little bit, but they all know that we support the Jägermeister pretty damn well."

But the bottle wasn't the sole source of inspiration behind Tequila. Lyrically, Altier said he tried to exorcise several personal demons that he'd developed between the release of Recipe and the writing and recording of the band's third opus.

"This record deals with a lot of what's happened in the last two years of my life," he explained, adding that he went through a period of heavy drug and alcohol use that took a serious toll on various relationships. "My world went from being one way to the complete opposite. When we did Recipe, I was still married. Now, two years later, a divorce has happened. I moved. I had gone through a rebound relationship that f---ed me up in a lot of senses. I spent a lot of time soul-purging and soul-searching, as to where my life was going. The only thing I knew was right in my life was my music. So these lyrics were a way for me to heal and put those demons I have been battling to rest. Bad things in a musician's life aren't that bad, because we get to write great songs about it."

Brand New Sin recorded the LP with producer and Life of Agony guitarist Joey Z. Altier says he feels the album's not as formulaic as the band's previous two outings.

"We've always been known as a live band, so I guess for this record, we were really going after something different," he said. The band recorded every Tequila track live, in one room and in one take. "We wanted to have the element of bleed going on — guitars bleeding into the snare-drum mic, the bass bleeding into the kick-drum mic. That's how bands did it in the '70s, and so there's a very raw, dry feeling on the album. And since we had to nail these songs in one take, it was very challenging for us. We had to be real prepared when we got into the studio, and we had to be real focused."

The Sin shot a video last month for Tequila's first single, "Motormeth." The performance-based clip was shot in the band's hometown during a free benefit concert that drew a crowd of more than 3,000. Look for it to begin airing on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" this month.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Want to catch a sneak preview of "Living Dead Beat," the first single from Children of Bodom's forthcoming Chaos Ridden Years: Stockholm Knockout Live? Starting Tuesday, fans will have two weeks to download the track exclusively through MTV's Urge, the sole online digital music store that houses a metal genre page. The Chaos album and DVD will hit stores October 24. ... New York hardcore heathens Kill Your Idols are calling it quits. According to a statement from the band, "there is no bad blood, no drama, no in-fighting, no record-label problems or legal battles, no sickness or death or anything of the usual breakup sort. It's time to move on. Most of us will still be involved in music — hardcore, most likely. Some of us will not. Maybe we will be involved in some way or another." ... So, what does one do when they've dropped trou in front of a live audience and the cops are about to toss them in the old Paddy Wagon? If you're Daughters frontman Alexis Stephen Francis Marshall, you hightail it out of there. The singer cut his band's opening set for Pelican short last week at Hollywood's Knitting Factory and bolted after being informed the police were coming to handcuff him for indecent exposure. He jumped offstage and hid at the nearest local bar until the dust settled, upon which time the band headed north to perform in San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle. ...

Chimaira have signed with Ferret Music following the band's departure from the Roadrunner Records roster. A spring release is planned for its forthcoming album, Resurrection. ... Arizona metallers Job for a Cowboy are down a drummer. Elliott Sellers is out, and according to the band, "It was a mutual agreement that ended on a good note." The band's now searching for Sellers' replacement. Interested parties must be willing to tour incessantly. More information on how one can audition for the group is available at Job for a Cowboy's MySpace page. ... Through the Eyes of the Dead, the Acacia Strain, From a Second Story Window and If Hope Dies will team up next month for a monthlong trek that kicks off in Richmond, Virginia, November 16. Dates are booked through December 9 in Houston. ... TTEOTD are also gearing up for this year's Saints and Sinners Festival, for which Unearth and Bleeding Through have also recently been tapped. More than 40 bands will take the stage at the Asbury Park Convention Hall Complex in Asbury, New Jersey, on October 28-29. The roster includes Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, Nora, A Life Once Lost, All That Remains and God Forbid. ... Panzerchrist's Roomservice (2003) and Soul Collector (2000) will be reissued with tons of previously unreleased material in December. There are also plans to release the band's 1995 demo on vinyl. ...

Disincarnate's classic 1993 debut Dreams of the Carrion Kind will be re-released on January 21. The reissue will boast three recordings from the band's 1992 demo, Soul Erosion: "Stench of Paradise Burning," "Soul Erosion" and "Confine of Shadows." ... Deathcore demons All Shall Perish will hit the road with Arsis and the Faceless come October 27 in Atlanta. Dates run through November 26 in Hollywood. ... Trivium have posted the video for "Anthem (We Are the Fire)" on RoadrunnerRecords.com/Video. The clip depicts the band and its fans gate-crashing a highbrow yuppie party and getting crazy with a swimming pool and pyro. The video was shot in Agoura Hills, California, on August 11 at the house of an established TV and movie producer who wished to remain anonymous. Director Nathan Cox — who has previously worked with Korn, H.I.M., Marilyn Manson and others — supervised the proceedings. The day before, Trivium shot the video for "Entrance of the Conflagration" in Los Angeles with director Dale Resteghini (Hatebreed, If Hope Dies). ... Following several months of pre-production, black-metal veterans Dimmu Borgir are about to start recording their new disc at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden, with producer Fredrik Nordström. "It will be a story-based album with lyrics written accordingly," the band said in a statement. ...

German thrash kings Destruction will release their re-recorded greatest-hits album January 23. The disc will feature songs from the '80s — including "Mad Butcher" and "Thrash Attack" — and songs from Cracked Brain, which featured short-lived singer Andre Grieder. Destruction will tour with Sadus and Municipal Waste from January 20 in Seattle through February 15 in San Antonio. ... Mnemic have named their new album Passenger after a 1908 work by Franz Kafka. The disc, which is scheduled for release February 6, is lyrically rooted in existential ideas and includes "Psykorgasm," "Humanaut" and "Shape of the Formless." "There are several philosophical positions," guitarist Mircea Gabriel Eftemie said in a statement, "one of them being the value and meaning of the world around the individual. ... The other is that existentialism is often associated with anxiety, dread, awareness of death and freedom." The band's U.S. tour with Soilwork, Threat Signal and Darkest Hour started Thursday and will run through November 11 in Detroit. Check your PHDs at the door. ... Eighties thrash-metal band Hirax will return to the road in November for a tour that lasts from November 10 in Philadelphia to December 16 in Hollywood. The band's most recent album, The New Age of Terror, came out in 2005.

• Brand New Sin
• Children Of Bodom
• Hirax
• Chimaira

Slayer's Kerry King
Photo: Jo Hale/Getty Images

For Slayer guitarist Kerry King, June 6 holds considerably more weight this year, a year that marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's trailblazing speed-metal album, Reign in Blood. With his penchant for satanic lyrical imagery, King pinpointed June 6 — 6/6/06 — as the ideal release date for Slayer's forthcoming album, the follow-up to 2001's God Hates Us All. But months of record label holdups have placed King's lofty goal in peril.

Of course, Slayer are not about to let June 6 come and go without some sort of acknowledgement on their end. Oh no — instead of releasing a record, they plan to launch a two-month U.S. tour in San Diego with Mastodon, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed.

Dubbed the Unholy Alliance Tour, the 17-date trek will kick off in San Diego on June 6, and wind down July 22 in Long Beach, California. King recently explained how anxious he is to hit the road again.

"It's been 18 months since we've toured in the States," he explained. "People are going to be chomping at the bit to see us again. Our initial thought [with Unholy Alliance] was to go up against Ozzfest, because I think that tour's getting a little bit tired and I think people are tired of going out and getting sunburned for hours every summer. Every place we play is going to be indoors, with a good-sized lineup. We're certainly not going to try to make Ozzfest go away. We're just trying to offer an alternative."

According to Rick Sales, Slayer's manager of 18 years, the idea's to make the Unholy Alliance Tour an annual event "with the best bands out there." During the fall of 2004, Slayer, Slipknot, Mastodon and Hatebreed toured Europe under the Unholy Alliance tag. Sales also wants to take the tour global and said following its U.S. run, the Alliance will return to Europe, followed by stints in Japan and Australia — although, he noted the lineups would be different on each leg.

"I think we're in a different spot than Ozzfest," Sales continued. "This is more extreme and it's not involving any sort of 'radio bands.' It's a no-compromise lineup, the best of the breed. We think this is a great live event and that the tour will become bigger than the lineup. I think Ozzfest has proven that."

Slayer, who Sales said declined an Ozzfest 2006 invite, will deliver an hour-plus set to close out each night of the Unholy Alliance; Thine Eyes Bleed will open on all dates, followed by Bodom and Mastodon (who'll be rotating slots) and then Lamb of God. King said Slayer will debut some new material from the stage.

On Tuesday Slayer entered Rick Rubin's studio, where they started recording the 11 songs that'll comprise their yet-untitled album. Rubin (Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers) will executive-produce the disc, while Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, Staind) will turn the knobs. One of the songs has an official title ("Cult"), but all of them, King promised, will be devastatingly grim.

"There are definitely things you can't write about in Slayer, and there are definitely things people expect you to write about," he said. "Everybody expects war, Satanism or anti-religious stuff — and this record's chock-full of that."

The LP, which the band hopes to finish in time for a late June release, will be the first to feature original drummer Dave Lombardo in more than 15 years. Their last outing together was 1990's Seasons in the Abyss.

"[Drummer] Paul [Bostaph], who we did God Hates Us All with, kind of had an elbow problem, and now he's with Exodus," King said. "When Paul left us ... it was brought to our attention that Dave was available. And we figured if anybody should be doing this, it should be him."

Most of the 11 songs Slayer will record were written more than two years ago, the guitarist said. "We're hoping to do it old-school and record everything in like four weeks," he added. "We're ready. This is probably the most ready we've been since Seasons. We've been spinning our wheels in rehearsals, just waiting for the green light on this thing. Now that we've got it, we're ready to go.

"It's definitely going to be a riff-fest," King continued. "There's riffs all over the place. As much time as we've had to work on it, there better be riffs on it. I think anybody who likes Slayer, musically, is going to love it."

While Sales said Slayer's studio LP probably won't be in stores by June 6, he says the band will release a digital download, EP or something else to coincide with the tour launch.

On Saturday, MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" will feature an exclusive interview with bassist Tom Araya regarding the forthcoming album and the Unholy Alliance run.

Unholy Alliance Tour dates, according to Slayer's publicist:

• 6/6 - San Diego, CA @ The Sports Arena
• 6/7 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Orleans Hotel and Casino
• 6/12 - St. Louis, MO @ Pop's Blue Moon
• 6/13 - Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
• 6/15 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 6/16 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Continental Airlines Arena
• 6/17 - Lowell, MA @ Paul E. Tsongas Arena
• 6/23 - San Antonio, TX @ Freeman Coliseum
• 6/25 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Arena
• 6/29 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheater
• 7/6 - Detroit, MI @ Cobo Arena
• 7/7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Auditorium
• 7/14 - Seattle, WA @ Qwest Field Event Center
• 7/16 - Salem, OR @ Salem Armory
• 7/19 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
• 7/21 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
• 7/22 - Long Beach, CA @ Long Beach Arena

[This story was originally published on 03.03.2006 at 3:05 p.m. ET.]

• Slayer
• Lamb of God
• Mastodon
• Children Of Bodom

Children of Bodom
Photo: Spinefarm Records

Finnish black-metal outfit Children of Bodom will launch a North American headlining trek on November 9 in Quebec, one that'll grind to a halt in New York on December 14. Bodom have recruited Trivium, fresh from this summer's Ozzfest, and Amon Amarth to open the tour's 27 dates. According to frontman and guitarist Alexi Laiho, Bodom had no involvement in setting things up. In fact he can't even recall what either band sounds like.

"To be honest I've heard [Trivium and Amon Amarth's] albums one time all the way through, and I was pretty drunk at the time," he confided, saying Bodom's management handled the tour's orchestration. "So I don't remember the music. I do remember it sounding cool. I'll wait to see what I think of them when I first see them live. Apparently Trivium's a lot bigger than we are in the States. So it feels a little weird that we're the headliners."

Bodom's fifth studio LP, Are You Dead Yet?, landed in stores this week; the album's been available in Europe and Japan for more than a month. It features 10 tracks, including a cover of the Ramones' "Somebody Put Something in My Drink."

"I've always been a big fan, and this track was recorded three years ago or something like that," Laiho said. "Back then it was like kind of shocking for people that we would cover something like the Ramones, because it's so different from Children of Bodom. But we thought the message of the song fits the band pretty well."

The record also features the first single, "In Your Face," a video for which debuted last week on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball." The video was shot in East Berlin "in some abandoned industrial settlement that looked like some f---ed up sh-- happened there 40 years ago," Laiho said. Bodom plan to release the video as a DVD single on November 23 with two bonus clips.

Laiho said Bodom will shoot a second clip at some point after the North American tour, but he's not quite sure for what track — that's a decision the band still needs to make.

Once Bodom have been up, down and across North America, Laiho said they'll head to Europe, Japan and then back to the U.S. for a second headlining tour, which should take them through the spring. Then there's the summer, Laiho said, which he hopes the band will be spending as part of Ozzfest 2006.

"We've been talking about it, but I don't know if it's going to happen," he said. "It would be a really good thing to do, because it does a lot of good things to a lot of metal bands. I don't know if we'll get on it. It's really a question of money. The promotional value's really good. It seems like a lot of bands — Lamb of God, Shadows Fall — really broke through after the Ozzfest. I think it would be good for us."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The third album from speedy death metallers Bleeding Through, The Truth, will hit stores January 10. Look for the disc to include a dozen tracks, including "For Love and Failing," "Kill to Believe" and "Dearly Demented." The band's West Coast tour with Day of Contempt kicks off November 11 in Petaluma, California, with dates running through December 4 in Flagstaff, Arizona. ... NYHC legends Sick of It All will release Death to Tyrants, the band's ninth studio LP, early next year through new label home Abacus. Dean Baltulonis (Madball, Most Precious Blood) has signed on to produce the effort. ... Floridian hardcore band Remembering Never's next album, God Save Us, should surface in February. The band's holed up in Planet Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts, with producer Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) working on the new material. ... New England hardcore act the Acacia Strain will start working on the follow-up to 2004's 3750 this December; the boys have reunited with producer — and Killswitch Engage guitarist — Adam Dutkiewicz (Cannae, All That Remains) for Victims, which will hit stores this spring. ... Unearthly Trance were added to the Relapse Records roster this week. The band's forthcoming disc, The Trident, will see the light of day this spring. ... Swedish metallers Khoma have signed with Roadrunner Records. Look for new stuff from them in April. ...

The dudes in Trivium dig director Dale Resteghini's work — which is why they've asked him to direct the third video from the band's disc Ascendancy. The clip for "Dying in Your Arms" will feature frontman Matt Heafy in a perverse re-enactment of "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera." ... Two ex-members of defunct industrial-techno/alternative-metal troupe Crossbreed — bassist Bishop Dolarhyde and touring drummer Chris Morris — have teamed up in a new project, Cry Havoc. The band's booked its first live gig at Boomerz Boiler Room in Seminole, Florida, November 19. ... My Son My Executioner, HeavyHeavyLowLow and Texas Is on Fire will hit the road together starting November 3 in Bakersfield, California. Nineteen days later, they'll wrap things up with a November 23 gig in Wheeling, Illinois. ... Ohio's Symphony in Peril are through. The band, which released two discs over its four-year existence, issued a statement calling the split "a completely mutual decision." No specific details on what provoked the disbanding were offered. ... Nevermore, Behemoth, Watch Them Die and Manntis will headline Century Media's second-annual Christmas BallS, scheduled for December 7 at Hollywood's Key Club. ...

Norwegian thrashers She Said Destroy are putting the finishing touches on their debut disc, Time Like Vines. The outing's slated for release in early 2006. ... Reunited Brit metal legends Cloven Hoof will release Eye of the Sun, their first LP in more than 15 years, next week. The disc will boast 10 tracks, including "Whore of Babylon," "Angels in Hell" and "Golgotha." ... Late-'80s thrash band Annihilator will release their 11th album, Schizo Deluxe, November 8. The disc, produced and engineered by frontman Jeff Waters, will include "Maximum Satan," "Like Father, Like Gun" and "Something Witchy." ... Swedish death-metal band Vomitory is looking for a new guitarist after the departure of Ulf Dalegren earlier this month. Ex-God Among Insects axeman Lord K. Philipson will fill in until a replacement can be found. Dalegren left the band after 15 years for "personal reasons." ... Ex-Dokken guitarist George Lynch will release the career-spanning double-disc retrospective The Lost Anthology November 29. In addition to tracks with Dokken, Xciter and Lynch Mob, the album will include covers with Mötley Crüe vocalists Vince Neil (Black Sabbath's "Paranoid") and John Corabi (Scorpions' "He's a Woman, She's a Man"), Ratt singer Stephen Pearcy (Ratt's "Round and Round") and Icarus Witch (Ozzy Osbourne's "S.A.T.O."). ...

Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen will release "Concerto Suite for Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor With the New Japan Philharmonic" November 1. The DVD captures 17 songs performed in 2001 with the Tokyo orchestra. Tracks include "Trilogy Suite Op. 5," "Icarus Dream Fanfare" and "Prelude to April." ... English industrial-rock pioneers Killing Joke will release the DVD "XXV Gathering: The Band That Preys Together Stays Together" November 1. The video captures the band's February 24 25th anniversary show at London's Shepherds Bush Empire. The concert united original members (singer Jaz Coleman, guitarist Geordie Walker and bassist Paul Raven) with new recruits (drummer Ben Calvert and keyboardist Nick Walker). ... Geneva corrosive metal band Knut will release their third album, Terraformer, November 8. Tracks include "Kyoto," "Seattle" and "Bollingen." ... San Francisco grindcore band Vulgar Pigeons will release the three-inch clear EP Burning Episode November 8. The disc will feature seven untitled songs, all of which were recorded earlier this year at House of Faith Studios in Oakland, California. ... Zach Nelson, the original drummer of Richmond, Virginia, hardcore band Ten 33, has returned following the departure of James O'Neil. In addition, ex-the Success Story guitarist Joey Russo has replaced Billy Mutter, who also recently left the group. Ten 33 plan to return to the road after Christmas to continue supporting their album Nightmare on Grace Street.

• Children Of Bodom
• Bleeding Through
• Trivium
• Amon Amarth
• Day of Contempt

Horse the Band
Photo: Combat Records

Guitarist David Isen says his group, Horse the Band, are in agreement about at least one thing when it comes to the video for "Birdo," the first single from their latest disc: "All we have agreed on is that it won't be us rocking out in a graveyard or a warehouse," he joked. "Aside from that, we're not too sure."

One of the first signings to Koch imprint Combat Records, Horse the Band, who've been hailed as champions of an experimental, demented metal sound some have dubbed "Nintendocore," isn't the sort of group you can take seriously — at least not when it's listing "gay porn and fried chicken" as musical influences and telling you its sound's reminiscent of "having sex with a dead body."

"We don't take ourselves very seriously at all," Isen said. "It used to be a problem because we also sucked. So, between us sucking and also not taking ourselves seriously, people thought we were a joke. But now that we're really awesome at playing music, it's a good balance of humor and talent there."

The Mechanical Hand, which will be in stores September 20, contains 13 tracks, including "A Million Exploding Suns," "Octopus on Fire" and "Lord Gold Throneroom." They enlisted none other than Matt Bayles (Isis, Botch, Mastodon) to produce the effort, which was written between January and April of this year. This summer, the five-piece released "Effing 69 2004 World Tour," a DVD featuring live footage and behind-the-scenes action.

"For some reason, everything I film involves someone putting something in someone else's [behind]," Isen said. "Every five minutes, that happens on the DVD."

Horse the Band are planning to head back out on the road this fall for a headlining tour that should launch in October — which is bad news for the nation's hotel chains.

"When we were recording the album, we stayed in a Motel 6 in Seattle for a month in a room we destroyed," he explained. "We were fined thousands of dollars for it. [Keyboardist] Erik [Engstrom]'s girlfriend came to town, and it was her birthday, so we threw a party for her. We hung a piñata from the fire sprinkler, and we were swinging at it, blindfolded, with a toilet plunger, and eventually I swung and took off the whole pipe — it snapped in half. It was like there was a fire hydrant in the ceiling. And then it was total pandemonium."

Thirty minutes later, "we had four inches of water throughout the room, and it soaked through the floor and started coming out of the light fixtures in the room below us. We basically flooded like three rooms. We ran away, and when we came back the next morning, we were charged a few thousand dollars."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Swedish metal act Opeth will embark on a North American headlining tour, with two different bands providing support on two separate legs of the 25-date run. The trek launches October 9 in Tempe, Arizona, and runs through October 22 in San Antonio with Pelican opening things up; and then resumes in Lawrence, Kansas, October 24 with Nevermore onboard. Opeth will make stops in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York, among other cities, before winding down on November 11 in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ... As I Lay Dying won the Artist of the Year prize at this year's San Diego Music Awards, held September 12. The band beat out Unwritten Law, Louis XIV, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Switchfoot and Nickel Creek to claim the honor. The award for Best Hard Rock Album went to the Locust for Safety Second, Body Last. ... As first reported by Metal File two months ago, Children of Bodom and Trivium will embark on a North American tour starting November 9 in Quebec City; Amon Amarth are also on the bill. Dates run through December 14 in New York. Children of Bodom's Are You Dead Yet? is released domestically October 25. ... Unearth will hit the road with Slipknot and Dillinger Escape Plan starting October 14 in Cincinnati (As I Lay Dying play in Dillinger's stead in Chicago on October 19). After the tour, Unearth will start work on the follow up to 2004's The Oncoming Storm, slated for release around August 2006. ... Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad, Darkane and It Dies Today kick off their tour October 18 in Lawrence, Kansas, with IDT playing on the first nine dates only. Soilwork join the tour November 8 in New York and remain on the bill until December 1, when things wind down in San Francisco. ...

Rochester, New York, tech-metal outfit Psyopus have replaced drummer Lee Fisher with ex-Paria member Corey Barnes. The band will start writing songs for its second album immediately, with three weeks' worth of studio time booked for January at Watchman Studios in Buffalo. ... Phoenix black/death-metal band Vehemence have hired ex-Glass Casket singer Adam Cody to replace Sean Vandegrift, who is now pursuing other ventures. Cody's working on new lyrics and vocal parts for the band's next record. Vehemence are also in the process of remixing and remastering their 2000 outing, The Thoughts From Which I Hide, which they'll sell at shows and on their Web site. ... Grind surgeons Impaled and Disgorge will be joined by noisecore stars Blessing the Hogs for a tour that starts September 23 in Hollywood. Dates run through October 5 in Salt Lake City, with more to come. ... Italian goth-metal band Lacuna Coil will enter the studio September 3 to begin tracking their new album, Karmacode. It will be co-produced by the band and Waldemar Sorychta and mastered in Belgium. The album, scheduled for early 2006, follows 2002's Comalies, which broke the band in North America. ... Avenged Sevenfold and Death by Stereo will tour together starting October 6 in San Diego. Dates run through December 2 in Las Vegas. ... West Virginia doom-metal band Hyatari will release their debut, The Light Carriers, October 4. The band features ex-members of Chum and Karma to Burn. Tracks include "Sheet of Flames," "Fourth Realm" and "14,000,000,000 Years Ago." ...

Swiss hardcore-metal band Unfold will release their second album, Aeon-Aony, in North America October 18. The disc was issued in Europe in 2002 and includes "Baron Rouge," "Superman Diabolico" and "Enter Sinus." ... Director Chandler Owen will helm the video for "Breathe From Coma," the next single from Hopesfall's latest, A Types. The band is also mapping out a North American tour with Funeral for a Friend and A Static Lullaby that is expected to start in December, followed by the Trustkill Global Takeover Tour, a package run with Open Hand and Roses Are Red that'll bring the band to Japan and Australia early in the new year. ... British doom-metal act Esoteric are in need of a new drummer following Andy Semmens' recent decision to hit the bricks. Applicants interested in joining the band and working on its forthcoming fifth album should e-mail greg@bereft.co.uk or esoteric@bereft.co.uk. ... Domination Black's debut, Fearbringer, will drop this fall through Poison Arrow Records and feature "Nightmare Asylum," "Haunted Hellhouse" and "Frozen Tears." ... San Antonio's Power of Omens have thrown in the towel. In an official statement on the split, axeman David Gallegos said, "over the last several months, the progress of this band continued to deteriorate in regards to our original plan to release the new CD by the summer. The lack of dedication and heart soon became extremely evident, not only in myself, but with everyone else. I personally kept looking back to a time when this band was fun and enjoyable to play in."

• Horse The Band
• Opeth
• Lacuna Coil
• Children Of Bodom
• As I Lay Dying

Judas Priest singer Rob Halford

Hey fellow metallers, what's up? Iann Robinson here. This week was just about the greatest week of my life. First up, Rob Halford is back in Judas Priest. Does it get any better? Besides that, I visited the set of the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and they made me into a zombie for the film. I looked like death warmed over, like an Immortal video or something, all in black and my face ripped open. I got to charge and attack people, cover myself in blood — it was amazing. Between being a zombie and the return of Rob Halford, does it get any better than that? Well, that's it for me. Check out the Metal File action, and I'll have new stuff to tell you next week.

Shadows Fall will be playing 19 shows on their days off from Ozzfest. Cradle of Filth, Killswitch Engage, Sworn Enemy, Hotwire and Grade 8 will join on various dates. The first show is July 18 in Kansas City, and gigs run every few days through August 21 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. ... King's X will kick off a tour on September 28 in Louisville, Kentucky. Dates run through November 18 in Beaumont, Texas. ...

Fireball Ministry's Nuclear Blast label debut, The Second Great Awakening, hits stores October 7. ... 40 Grit have replaced bassist Kevin Young. Ryan Healy, formerly of Tongues, has joined the group and will make his debut with the band on August 8 in Palo Alto, California, sharing the bill with Death Angel. ...

Amon Amarth have joined the bill for Austria's two-day Skeleton Bash festival. My Dying Bride, Ancient and Darkseed are also on the bill for the July 26 show. ... Tourniquet drummer Ted Kirkpatrick will release a DVD of drum solos on September 1. ...

Vader have lined up a stretch of fall tour dates with Nile, Kreator, Amon Amarth and Goatwhore. The tour kicks off October 10 in Houston. ... That same month, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Callenish Circle, Agent Steel, Mortician, Carnal Forge and Occult will join forces for the Bonded by Metal tour, which kicks off October 9 in London and will roll through Europe. ...

Sweden's Burst have signed with Relapse Records, which will deliver the band's Prey on Life on September 23. The band will tour North America and Europe in support of the release beginning in October. ... Finnish melodic thrash band Children of Bodom will release their fourth album, Hate Crew Deathroll, on September 23. The disc, recorded by Anssi Kippo, will be the band's last to feature guitarist Alexander Kuoppala, who quit after last weekend's Tuska festival in Helsinki. The band will announce a replacement before their August 16 gig in Moscow. ...

Canadian technical death metal merchants Cryptopsy are hard at work on their fifth album. The band's first LP with vocalist Martin Lacroix is due early next year. ... Extol, a Norwegian band that balances extreme aggression and melody, will release their third record, Synergy, on August 12. The band just finished a U.S. tour with Demon Hunter and the Agony Scene and will return to these shores to promote their upcoming disc. ...

—compiled by Iann Robinson, Robert Mancini, Jon Wiederhorn and Joe D'Angelo

• Judas Priest
• Vader
• Fireball Ministry
• Children Of Bodom
• Cryptopsy