Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea in 1999
Photo: MTV News

• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• AC/DC
• Jane's Addiction
• Metallica
• Beastie Boys

Gwar in a 1989 interview with Kurt Loder
Photo: MTV News

Where do old interviews go to die? Since 1988 they've gone into the MTV News vault, but we've been exhuming them to bring you these classic natterings. Here's the latest in the series, which runs every Tuesday.

Quick, who's the world's greatest thrash-metal band?

Well, okay. But who's the world's greatest thrash-metal band with onstage gut-flinging, audience-hosing blood fountains, butt-baring man-thongs, alien space armor and a front-creature called Oderus Urungus? That's right: Gwar.

An art project, obviously, Gwar came together (or congealed, or whatever) in and around Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond, Virginia, in the mid-'80s. In 1988 the group released its first album, Hell-O, which contained such deliriously unhinged tracks as "World Ô Filth," "Slütmañ City" and the fearlessly stupid "Gwar Theme" ("We've got guitars!/ We'll eat your car!").

The guys were promoting Hell-O when we spoke to them — or among them, actually — backstage after a concert in the summer of 1989. I forget where it was, having lost my bearings after being pounded into submission by their loud, fast and ferociously scatological show. I do recall one of the guitarists informing me that his name was actually Dewey, not Flattus Maximus; everything else is a blur, though.

The Gwar lineup shifted a lot over the next two decades (not that anybody could tell, what with all the makeup and prosthetics), but the albums kept on coming with invincible regularity: Scumdogs of the Universe, This Toilet Earth, Carnival of Chaos. And they're still at it: the group's most recent masterpiece, Beyond Hell, was released in 2006, and next month Oderus Urungus himself will be hosting the annual Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards at the O2 Arena in London. Life goes on, and so — on a parallel track — does Gwar.

What else is there to say about this truly one-of-a-kind band? Not much, really. It's all about the visuals.

Enjoy digging through The Loder Files? You'll find more here, and there's much more to come from the vaults — check back every Tuesday!

• The Loder Files: A Trip Inside The MTV News Vaults

• GWAR

Lindsay Lohan
Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images

Lindsay Lohan is getting sued again — this time for assault and negligence by one of the passengers who was traveling in the car the actress allegedly chased last month while driving under the influence. Tracie Rice, the woman who filed the suit and was in the car driven by Michelle Peck — the mother of one of Lohan's former assistants — claims that Lohan "put me through one of the most frightening experiences of my life," according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press. "What Miss Lohan did that night was extremely dangerous and reprehensible. Someone could easily have been killed or seriously hurt because of her irresponsible decisions that evening." The suit also alleges that Lohan intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the woman, and it seeks unspecified damages as well as payment of medical and other emotional-distress-related expenses. ...

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's divorce lawyers were supposed to help resolve their clients' child-custody dispute at a Los Angeles Superior Court hearing on Tuesday (August 14), but instead the attorneys used the court date to try to protect the former spouses' privacy. According to a court clerk, legal representatives from Los Angeles TV news channel KNBC, "Access Hollywood" and People magazine jointly filed papers Tuesday morning to prevent court records in the former couple's child-custody battle from being permanently sealed. The move came after news outlets got wind that Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan was planning to bring to court a folder of documents "about an inch and a half thick," according to a source close to the matter. Federline's team has already subpoenaed Spears' cousin and former assistant, Alli Sims, and Spears' bodyguard Daimon Shippen; more subpoenas to give depositions about the care of the children are due to come for those close to Spears, the source said. Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon will hear the opposition to seal the records in a separate hearing on September 14, while the custody dispute will continue in court on September 17. ...

Wu-Tang Clan covering the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" ... with George Harrison's son Dhani ... and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante playing along? That's the news the RZA spilled to RollingStone.com late last week, saying the collabo for the ages will surface on the Clan's November 13 album, 8 Diagrams. The track will sample the original George Harrison-written song, with the group rapping over the track, Frusciante wailing on lead guitar and Dhani Harrison playing acoustic. ... Amy Winehouse's touring band, the Dap-Kings; Jamiroquai's Stu Zender and other to-be-announced singers will make guest appearances with Mark Ronson when he mans the decks at the VMAs on September 9. ...

Don Imus back on the airwaves? AP reports that the shock jock has reached a settlement with CBS Radio over his contract and is in negotiations with New York's WABC-AM radio — home to another inflammatory jock, Rush Limbaugh — to return to broadcasting. The settlement would preempt Imus' threatened $120 million breach-of-contract suit, a CBS spokesperson told AP, although the terms were not disclosed. ...

Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem must really be enjoying each other's company these days — the tour partners are planning to release a split 7-inch while on the road, RollingStone.com reports. The record will include the Fire's cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son" and LCD's take on Joy Division's "No Love Lost." ... Perry Farrell and his Satellite Party will descend on jam-band Moe.'s eighth annual Moe.Down fest, to be held August 31-September 2 in Turin, New York. The Party will be filling in for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, who had to bail from the fest for personal reasons. ...

The tentative track list for the soundtrack to the upcoming film "Resident Evil: Extinction" has been announced. The set will include cuts from Shadows Fall, Flyleaf, Bayside, the Bled, Chimaira, Poison the Well and It Dies Today. Look for it to hit stores September 18 and the film to hit theaters three days later. ... Gwar have been added to the Viva la Bands Tour, which will also feature Cradle of Filth, CKY and Vains of Jenna. The trek kicks off September 24 in Baltimore and runs through November 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... The lineup for the Radio Rebellion Tour has been released, and extreme-metallists Job for a Cowboy and Polish death-metal specialists Behemoth will be co-headlining. Gojira and Beneath the Massacre will be the opening acts on the trek, which will hit 28 North American cities, beginning October 18 in Baltimore and wrapping November 18 in New York. ...

Lana Clarkson's mother Donna took the stand Monday in the Phil Spector murder trial, testifying about shopping with the deceased actress shortly before she was shot on February 3, 2003, the Los Angeles Times reports. Refuting claims that Lana Clarkson was despondent over a failed acting career — the defense has argued that she was driven to suicide — the prosecution attempted to show instead that she was optimistic about the future. The defense asked Donna Clarkson to testify about apparently forged documents the actress used to try to get a loan, but prosecutor Alan Jackson said the documents would only provide "a look at what kind of person she is, not who pulled the trigger." Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler has allowed the letters to be admitted. ...

Sixteen solo albums by John Lennon debuted on iTunes on Tuesday, and for the next 30 days, exclusive video content will accompany six of them — including John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band and Milk and Honey. The albums are available in iTunes Plus, which offers DRM-free tracks, and each song costs $1.29. ...

Phil Rizzuto, the New York Yankees shortstop who later became a longtime announcer for the team and was best-known for catchphrases like "Holy cow!" and "Unbelievable!," died Tuesday. He was 89. Rizzuto, whose nickname was "Scooter," will also be remembered as the voice providing the play-by-play commentary in Meat Loaf's infamous 1977 song, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

08.13.07

Britney Spears' assistant was served with court papers Sunday morning to give a deposition in a legal matter between the singer and Kevin Federline. Mark Vincent Kaplan, Federline's attorney, told The Associated Press that Alli Sims will be asked to offer a statement "in connection with the Britney Spears/ Kevin Federline issue," although he didn't elaborate. He added that Sims is "believed to have relevant information" but didn't go into specifics about that either. On Wednesday, Kaplan filed documents in Los Angeles Superior Court for primary physical custody of Federline's two sons with Spears. ...

Diddy will executive produce the upcoming biopic of the Notorious B.I.G., Variety reports. "Soul Food" director George Tillman will be behind the lens for "Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.," for which an open casting call was launched nationally on Sunday. ...

Jennifer Lopez has pegged October 9 as the release date for her English-language album Brave, her second LP of the year and sixth studio disc overall. The set is highlighted by the just-released single, "Do It Well," and will be produced by J.R. Rotem (50 Cent, Christina Aguilera), among others. J. Lo's other album this year, Como Ama Una Mujer, is the best-selling Spanish-language debut LP ever. ... Amy Winehouse, who was hospitalized last week for severe exhaustion, has scrapped two planned shows in Germany opening for the Rolling Stones, RollingStone.com reports. The singer told Britain's News of the World, "I don't know how to explain what happened. ... I can't remember what I looked like. I couldn't recognize myself. It was terrifying." ...

Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Kid Rock and Velvet Revolver will anchor Los Angeles radio station KROQ's Inland Invasion fest — which has been renamed the L.A. Invasion, since its relocation from a venue in Devore, California, to one in Carson. Against Me!, Chris Cornell, Hot Hot Heat, Satellite Party, Paramore and Cypress Hill round out the bill for the show, which will take place September 15. ...

The French publisher of the "Harry Potter" series will not seek damages against a 16-year-old who allegedly posted online an unauthorized French translation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," publishing house Gallimard Jeunesse said Monday (August 13), The Associated Press reports. The case is still being investigated by French authorities, who will decide whether to bring it to trial. ... Robert Smith of the Cure, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Frank Black and Tom Waits will judge this year's International Songwriting Competition, RollingStone.com reports. ...

Bloc Party, Múm, Of Montreal and more have been confirmed for the ninth annual Iceland Airwaves festival, set for October 17-21 in downtown Reykjavík. ... The Shins have beefed up their fall tour schedule with a smattering of new U.S. dates. After playing Seattle's Bumbershoot festival on September 1 and Chicago's Download Festival the following day, the band will take a month off, then hit the road again beginning October 5 in Berkeley, California. From there, the Shins will play more West Coast and Southwest dates before dipping down South and winding their way up the East Coast for a two-day stand at New York's Terminal Five on October 23-24. They'll cap the tour with a pair of gigs at Las Vegas' Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel on October 27-28. ...

Wilco are bumping a pair of concerts because guitarist Nels Cline has come down with the chicken pox, according to the band's site. The Tuesday night show in Duluth, Minnesota, will now be staged September 4, and a concert scheduled for Winnipeg, Manitoba, will be postponed or scrapped entirely. ... "You Hear It First" vets the Shout Out Louds will tour for a month after they drop their new album, Our Ill Wills, on September 11. The indie-pop quintet will embark at the LA Weekly Detour festival in Los Angeles on October 6 and stay on the road through a November 3 show in Dallas. ...

According to Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio, the band will head out for a co-headlining run with Lamb of God this winter. Suicidal Tendencies and Every Time I Die are in talks to open the gigs. ... Alice in Chains have been working on its first new material in more than a decade, according to frontman William DuVall. He said working with the band has "been deeply rewarding" and the new material sounds "insane." No word yet on when the reunited grunge rockers will release their next LP. ...

"Big Lebowski" fans who incessantly re-enact scenes and dialogue from the cult flick are about to be able to make their interpretations even lifelike: action figures are on the way. Seven-inch scale figures devoted to the Dude and Walter will be available in October and can be preordered here. ... Barenaked Ladies will host another cruise in 2008 called Ships & Dip III and leaving Miami on January 27. Tickets go on sale March 22. Meanwhile, Lynyrd Skynyrd (with guests the Marshall Tucker Band) are also hosting another cruise, while Sister Hazel and Toad the Wet Sprocket are signed on for Rock Boat VIII. ...

According to the Asbury Park Press, police charged 33 people with underage drinking last week at the Family Values Tour's Wednesday stop at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. Thirteen others were arrested on various other charges, including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and assaulting a trooper. In all, 46 people, ranging in age from 16-47, were taken into custody during the gig, which was headlined by tour founders Korn. ... A James Brown trustee accused of misappropriating $350,000 of the late singer's money has resigned, the Chicago Tribune reports. David Cannon turned over a check for the sum at a hearing on Friday. A follow-up hearing has been slated for September 24 as wrangling continues over Brown's estate.

• Lindsay Lohan
• Britney Spears
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Mark Ronson
• Amy Winehouse

Diecast
Photo: Century Media

When a woman rips a guy's heart out of his chest, tosses it into a blender and presses "frappe," he either falls in love with his depression or does something practical with the pain — just ask any emo fan. So when Diecast singer Paul Stoddard sat back and witnessed the recent collapse of his own relationship, one that had lasted more than four years, he took his pain and channeled it into his lyrics. The result, he said, is the Boston metalcore band's fourth LP, Internal Revolution, which is set to drop Tuesday.

"Any time you can take any emotion — whether it's anger, sadness, even happiness — if you can take that emotion and squeeze it for all its lifeblood, you're going to get amazing songs," Stoddard explained. "Initially I was toying with the idea of maybe doing a theme record this time around. But when it came time to start writing these songs, I had so much stuff inside that I wanted to get out and write about, I just said, 'Forget it — I'm going with this.' "

Not that the inspiration behind his words will be blatantly obvious to the casual listener. But while Diecast's frontman uses some symbolism on the record, he didn't exploit it to make his point.

"I try not to hide things too much," he explained. "I think people can pretty much get the point of where I'm going with a lot of the songs. I don't want it to be too clear and come off cheesy: 'I loved her. She's gone. Boohoo.' I think you have to have some fun with it and be artistic with [music]. People will always identify with it in their own way."

Heartbreak aside, the road to Internal Revolution was riddled with numerous obstacles, Stoddard said. Within the last year, Diecast have lost — and replaced — two of their members, sidelining them for a spell from touring and recording the follow-up to 2004's Tearing Down Your Blue Skies. Drummer Jason Costa left in November, following a heated argument concerning Brendan Fraser's acting prowess, and in May, the band announced that bassist Jeremy Wooden, the band's only remaining original member, had split. Dennis Pavia and Brad Horion were later named as their respective replacements.

A scheduling conflict delayed the effort even further. The band had recruited producer Zeuss (Shadows Fall, Hatebreed) to helm Internal, but he had to pull out at the last minute. Instead, Diecast turned to Tearing Down's producer, Paul Trust.

"Jason was an absolutely incredible drummer," Stoddard said. "He was something Diecast had become known for, and so you tended to write songs that really showcased his abilities. And then you'd write good songs around that. But this time around, we started without a drummer, and we just wanted to write the best songs possible. We tried to eliminate all of the walls. We just wanted to make the best record we could, and get the best songs possible. We didn't want to set any boundaries, which is what the scene tends to do. If it makes sense, it will be there. If it doesn't make sense, we're going to replace it with something that does.

"I feel like my vocals have come a long way too," he continued. "We went the extra mile on this record, and I'm so excited about it. I'm ready to start writing and recording the next one, because we're in such a good zone and we're just connecting so well that I don't want to stop."

The album's theme comes through in several of Internal Revolution's tracks, but none more so than the first single, "Fade Away." Diecast recently shot a video for the tune in a vacant building in Brooklyn, New York, with director David Brodsky (God Forbid, the Red Chord).

"It has to deal with breakups, and everybody in the band was involved in different relationship scenarios," Stoddard explained. "I got to smash some windows and break through a wall like the Kool-Aid man. For my part, there's this woman on the other side of the glass, and I break through it to get to her. It's symbolic."

Diecast will spend much of next year on the road but have no concrete touring plans just yet. The band will play a semi-acoustic record-release gig at Newbury Comics in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, and a headlining show in Bedford, New Hampshire, the following evening.

Really, what Stoddard wants is what most metal and hardcore bands want: an Ozzfest slot.

"I've been to every single Ozzfest, except for 2005's," he said. "For the last 10 years, I would go to that festival, and my dream has been to make it onto one of those stages. I'll feel like I've made it if that happens. We were up for it last year, but it didn't work out. But it would be great to do Ozzfest. That would be a dream come true, and we hope the stars align, and this time, it will be our turn."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Despite reports that they'd be touring this fall as one of the support acts on Avenged Sevenfold's upcoming North American tour, set to kick off in November, Killswitch Engage will not be on the bill. ... Technical death-metal stalwarts Suffocation shot a performance video last weekend for "Abomination Reborn," from their self-titled album, dropping Tuesday. The video was filmed in Brooklyn with director Frankie Nasso (Mudvayne, Hatebreed) and producers Dale Resteghini and Melissa Manousos of Raging Nations Films and will be sent to video outlets at the end of the month. ... An October 24 release date has been set for the soundtrack to the forthcoming film "Saw III." The disc will include tracks from several heavy hitters, including Slayer, Mastodon, Lamb of God, All That Remains, DragonForce, As I Lay Dying, Every Time I Die and more. ... Cartoonish metal legend King Diamond will play a role in an upcoming episode of Cartoon Network's "Deathklok Metalocalypse." Diamond recorded his part for the program on August 21, joining a short legacy that includes Metallica guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett, Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott and three members of Nevermore. ...

Several major metal bands have been nominated for this year's San Diego Music Awards, the winners of which will be announced September 18. As I Lay Dying are vying for the top award, Artist of the Year, and are up against Jason Mraz, Louis XIV, Pinback, Slightly Stoopid and Switchfoot. "I love awards like this because they're not political, and it's about the fans being there for us," As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis said in a statement. In other categories, Cattle Decapitation, Divided by Zero, Mower, Underminded and Media Lab are up for Best Hard Rock, and ex-P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel's new band the Accident Experiment are nominated for Best Hard Rock Album along with Goblin Co--, Divided by Zero, Mower, Earthless and Nihilist. ... Melodic death-metal band If Hope Dies have officially hired guitarist Naren Ananda, who started working with the band after the departure of Thad Jackson this spring. "We're all really excited to have him with us and are looking forward to getting back on the road very soon," the band said in a statement. The band will hit the road in October as part of the Radiotakeover Tour, which starts October 7 in Albany, New York. Dates are currently scheduled through November 11 in Akron, Ohio, with additional shows to be announced soon. ...

Full Blown Chaos, Remembering Never and War of Ages will head out together in late October for a U.S. run that'll conclude on November 7 in Oklahoma City. The trek launches October 20 in Cleveland. ... Bleed the Sky is down a guitarist. Kyle Moorman left the Orange County, California, metallers to "pursue other elements of the music business," according to frontman Noah Robinson. "He has plans to be involved in studio production and engineering and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. We are in the midst of looking for a new lead guitarist and are accepting open submissions." Those interested in trying out should e-mail the band at bleedtheskytryouts@yahoo.com. ... More dates have been added to the upcoming Gwar tour, which will include dates with the Red Chord and Municipal Waste. The tour now launches October 13 in Philadelphia, and dates are scheduled through December 1 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Gwar's latest album, the Devin Townsend-produced Beyond Hell, came out August 29. ... The first SoCal Deathfest has been set for October 14 in Riverside, California. Look for the bill to boast Cattle Decapitation, Condemend, Cryptic Gallbladder Splatter, Horseman of the Apocalypse and Super.Ninja.Robot.Fighter. ...

Want to ring in '07 with Clutch? You can on December 31 (duh!) at Rams Head Live in Baltimore; the Sword and William Elliott Whitmore are also on the bill. Clutch will begin recording the follow-up to 2005's Robot Hive/Exodus next month, with a tentative spring release in the works. ... Entombed, Dismember, Grave and the Absence will hit the road together for a U.S. run that kicks off in Hollywood on December 1. Gigs are booked through December 16 in San Marcos, California, with more to be announced in the coming weeks. ... Generations will be spanned when Facedownins--- release their cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," which they recorded with drummer Don Bolles, a member of the legendary '80s L.A. punk band the Germs. Facedowninsh-- tracked the tune on Wednesday in Los Angeles and have been playing it live on the Relapse Records Contamination Tour, which runs through September 28 in Baltimore and also features Unearthly Trance, Jucifer, F--- the Facts and Hex Machine. ... Looking for something sicker and heavier than black and death metal? Check out Skullflower, whose latest album, Tribulation, has just been released on Crucial Blast. The band's sonic architect, Matthew Bower, has been crushing skulls since 1992 with deafening washes of feedback, grinding sound effects, crashing percussion and harrowing howls. Test your mettle — if you dare.

• Diecast
• Killswitch Engage
• King Diamond
• GWAR
• Avenged Sevenfold

Light This City
Photo: Prosthetic Records

Light This City's Laura Nichol wants to clear something up, once and for all.

Two tracks on the Bay Area death-metallers' 2005 LP, Remains of the Gods — "Letter to My Abuser" and "Your Devoted Victim" — are not about any skeletons Nichol has in her proverbial closet, although fans ask her all the time if she'd ever been abused.

"I have a great family, and I've never had that sort of experience," she explained. "Those songs are more about religion and my struggle earlier on with finding faith and losing it. They're about people I know who are just complete hypocrites, who use religion as a justification and rationalization — an excuse. Those songs are about what I think about that, but really, they're more metaphorical songs and people will have their own interpretations."

Oh, and those constant comparisons to Arch Enemy's Angela Gossow and Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia? Yeah, she doesn't quite get that.

"I really respect them and I love to see women in music, but it is kind of frustrating when you take influence and inspiration from your idols — like [At the Gates'] Tomas Lindberg, [Carcass'] Jeff Walker and [the Black Dahlia Murder's] Trevor Strnad," Nichol said. "And then people will go ahead and compare you to someone who has the same anatomy as you. And if you want to do that, it's fine. I think Angela and Cristina are awesome."

But to be fair, Nichol's voice is more menacing, more intense and more passionate at times, which she said, "is what I'm going for." And fans of the band can expect to be injected with a healthy dose of Nichol's thunderous vocal stylings on Facing the Thousand, which hits stores September 19. She said the album's material came to the members of Light This City without much effort. Well, almost all the members.

"Our plan was to wait and tour on Remains for a while, but we just started pumping out songs — like, no joke," she said. "I couldn't even keep up with my lyrics. I was just like, 'Dudes, you need to slow down.' It just kind of happened. They would all sit around, and we wrote this record in no time at all. We're really proud of it, and I was able to learn so much from the recording of our first album, and I used a lot of that to completely improve my style. We also practiced the songs a lot more; when we recorded Remains, we didn't have a lot of time to practice the songs. We wrote 'em and went right into the studio. So this time around we were able to get the whole band together, practice the songs and perfect certain things."

Nichol's lyrics were inspired by Richard Adams' classic novel "Watership Down," which follows a group of Berkshire rabbits as they flee from the destruction of their warren by land developers and search for safe haven, skirting danger at every turn.

"The new record is a lot about nature, and how f---ed-up it can be," she said. "I drew inspiration from 'Watershed Down' and applied it to my own life. And on the album, I talk about certain types of leaders. On our song 'Cradle for a King,' it's about this plantation owner and how he treats all the people who work for him. I compare him to better, more noble types of leaders in other songs, and some of the tracks relate to each other while others relate back to songs on Remains."

Light This City are on tour with Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Too Pure to Die and Nights Like These through September 8 in Las Vegas and will head out with Caliban, the Acacia Strain and Stick to Your Guns September 25 in Roseville, California. On September 10 and 11 in Los Angeles, they'll shoot a video for "The Unwelcome Savior," the first single from Facing the Thousand. Metal video director du jour Darren Doane (Deftones, Every Time I Die) will be helming the clip.

Nichol said Doane would like to take the emphasis off the frontwoman for the video. "You can definitely expect to see intensity, and really, he wants to downplay the fact that I'm a girl," she said. "You won't see our faces for a while — just a bunch of hair — and in the middle of the video, you start to realize, 'Holy sh--! That's a chick and she's kicking my ass right now.' "

As for Light This City's future, Nichol said the band is hoping to land a slot on 2007's Ozzfest. "That's definitely one of our goals in our career," she said. "When the Black Dahlia was on Ozzfest, I went to go see them and hang out, and it was just so cool to experience that backstage lifestyle. It's huge, and it would be a great opportunity. We'd love to do it."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, Full Blown Chaos and Every Time I Die are among the acts confirmed for this year's Saints and Sinners Festival, which will happen October 28 and 29 at the Asbury Park Convention Hall Complex in New Jersey. Others expected to take the stage for the two-day festival include the Devil Wears Prada, From First to Last, the Warriors, the Number 12 Looks Like You, A Life Once Lost, Job for a Cowboy and Suicide City. ... "Anti Pizza," a track from mathcore specialists Horse the Band's forthcoming Pizza EP, has been posted on the band's MySpace page. Look for Pizza to hit stores on September 5. ... The Red Chord, Gwar and Municipal Waste will hit the road this fall for a North American tour, for which only 11 dates have been confirmed. More dates will be revealed over the coming weeks. The trek kicks off October 13 in Philadelphia, and dates are scheduled through November 4 in Salt Lake City. ... It Dies Today will team up with the very un-metal bands Silverstein and Aiden for a U.S. run this fall. The jaunt kicks off October 13 in Milwaukee, with dates scheduled through November 25 in Albany, New York. It Dies Today's forthcoming album Sirens will drop on October 3. ...

Dissection frontman Jon Nödtveidt, 31, was discovered in his Stockholm, Sweden, apartment on August 16, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Swedish newspapers reported that Nödtveidt was surrounded by candles and that shortly before the suicide, he sent farewell letters to his father and girlfriend. In the early '90s, Dissection were one of the founders of the Scandinavian melodic death-metal sound, along with At the Gates. However, after two albums — 1993's The Somberlain and 1995's Storm of the Light's Bane — Nödtveidt was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of 37-year-old Algerian homosexual Josef Ben Maddour. Nödtveidt remained in prison until 2004, then restarted a less-impacting version of Dissection with new bandmembers. The group released the two-track "Maha Kali" single in February 2005, then returned with the full album Reinkaos in May of this year. Nödtveidt had hoped to play shows in the U.S. to support the release, but because of his criminal past, he was denied a visa to enter the country. Shortly after the release of the band's new album, Nödtveidt announced that he would break up Dissection and stop writing songs because he had achieved all his musical goals. ...

Deicide will embark on a North American excursion this October with Desolation. The first date's all set for October 14 in Huntington, West Virginia, and will conclude on November 19 in Mexico City. Deicide's The Stench of Redemption landed in stores this week. ... Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Necrophagist and Unmerciful will spread evil across North America this fall, with a 24-date tour that's set to begin on November 10 in Springfield, Virginia, and end December 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ... After touring from September 30 through October 14 with Vital Remains, Grave and Demiricous, Swedish death-metal veterans Dismember will return to North America with Entombed and Grave. The new dates kick off December 1 in Hollywood and are scheduled through December 16 in San Marcos, California, but the bands will likely remain on the road through year's end. Dismember's new album God That Never Was came out March 7. Entombed will release their new EP When in Sodom on November 14. The band's next full-length, Serpent Saints, is expected early next year. ...

Members of Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Vile, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder, Total F---ing Destruction, Divine Rapture and Prosthetic C--- have made guest appearances on the new album by Philadelphia extreme grind band XXX Maniak, Harvesting the C--- Nectar. The album was mastered by Pig Destroyer producer Scott Hull and includes the bloody morsels "Gorestar," "Lost Inside Yourself" and "Skeleton Toucher." ... Johnstown, Pennsylvania, death-metal band Incantation will release their next full-length, Primordial Domination, September 5. The disc was recorded at Mars Recording Compound in Sharlersville, Ohio, last spring and engineered by Bill Korecky. "We feel very strong about the new material," said guitarist and singer John McEntee. "We never seem to run out of unholy dark-metal movements." After its release, on Halloween, the band's former label Nuclear Blast will reissue Incantation's 1991 full-length debut , Onward to Golgotha. The disc will include a bonus DVD featuring three live sets. ... Experimental Boston metal band Kayo Dot will launch a new tour Wednesday in Nashua, New Hampshire. Dates run through November 10 in Boston. The band's most recent brain-teaser, Kowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue, came out in January.

Giant Squid have lost a few tentacles. At the end of a recent tour, drummer Mike Conroy and keyboard/ trumpet player Tim Conroy left the eclectic Austin, Texas, doom band. Fortunately, as with the case of the actual mighty sea creature Architeuthis, the tentacles have grown back. The band has hired keyboardist Kimberly Freeman and drummer Scott Sutton, both from bubblegum glam-rock band Ghetto Princess. "Her obvious musical ability has carried over perfectly to the keyboards, and Sutton's amazing dynamics and ability will remind longtime Squid fans of the monster drummers of the band's old days," the group said in a statement. ... New York punk trio Spoiler NYC, which features Life of Agony bassist Alan Robert on vocals and bass, have finished their debut album, Grease Fire in Hell's Kitchen. The disc, which will be released by year's end, was produced in New York by Robert. Four tracks from the album, including the title track, "Dead to Me," "Hung My Head" and "Every Person Is Corrupt," can be heard on the band's MySpace page. ... The fourth album by Swedish traditional-metal band Wolf, The Black Flame, will be released on October 3.

• Light This City
• GWAR
• Dissection
• Killswitch Engage
• Every Time I Die

Walls of Jericho
Photo: Trustkill Records

Candace Kucsulain isn't a morning person — not in the slightest. So this summer's Ozzfest should be interesting for the tattoo-veneered singer who fronts Detroit metalcore collective Walls of Jericho.

It's bad enough Kucsulain's going to have to get up at the crack of dawn — she'll also be expected to scream at the top of her lungs for hundreds if not thousands of rabid metalheads trying to pound enough brewskis to get them through the morning. But it's not as though she's complaining — she's more than willing to adjust her snoozing schedule for the greater good. It is Ozzfest, after all. "You've gotta do what you've gotta do," she said, with a hesitant laugh.

"It's such a huge step for us," she added. "We have to get up there and give it our all. We have to prove ourselves [to the crowd] because there are so many great bands on Ozzfest this year. You know whoever's playing after you will show you up, so you have to make sure you hold your own out there" — even if you're taking the second stage at the profane hour of 9 a.m.

But a huge step it is. Walls of Jericho, she said, are used to rattling the walls of nasty dives in front of 300 kids (tops). They're used to hitting the road crammed in rundown vans (this summer they'll share a bus with All That Remains) and crashing on strangers' couches. They're all still working full-time jobs to pay the bills.

"It's nice to think you might be able to go out, play to more kids and do this on a regular basis without worrying about those bills," Kucsulain said. "We never even thought we'd get on Ozzfest. We've been together eight years, and all we want to do is make music and have people like it. Ozzfest is perfect for us, and it's a great time to be doing it, with our record coming out — a record that we know is one of our most important, and what we've been putting everything we have into."

That album, With Devils Amongst Us All, will be in stores June 27 — two days before Ozzfest kicks off in Auburn, Washington. Produced by Ben Schigel (Chimaira, Zao), it will feature about a dozen tracks, none of which have official titles yet. The band started recording the disc March 6 and wrapped things up April 4.

Before Ozzfest, the band will do a run of shows with Bullet for My Valentine and Roses Are Red as part of the Trustkill Takeover Tour. It kicks off May 12 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and winds down May 28 in Sayreville, New Jersey.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Alien splatter metal band Gwar will release their new album, Go to Hell, August 6. The band is currently in the studio with producer Devin Townsend (he of Strapping Young Lad fame) and claim the disc will be their "sickest effort yet." For those who crave more bloodletting, Gwar will release the DVD "Blood-Bath and Beyond" June 20. The DVD will chronicle the band's 20-year career and include previously unseen footage of frontman Oderus Urungus attempting to direct the adult film "Filthy Chunks." "Blood-Bath and Beyond" will be a spectacle that, according to a press statement, "will have even the most pimply Gwar fan saying, 'Huh?' " ... Speaking of SYL, the Canadian extreme-metallists have begun mixing their forthcoming release, The New Black, which will hit stores this July. Townsend promises it will be the group's definitive release. ...Shadows Fall will headline the 2006 Strhess Tour, which should kick off in July — the scheduling is still being finalized. Poison the Well, It Dies Today, Still Remains, Darkest Hour, Bury Your Dead, Himsa and Suffocation are also on the bill. ... The reunited Overcast — which features Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio and dreaded Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair — have commenced recording their forthcoming Reborn to Kill Again, which is being produced by Killswitch guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The band's lined up a gig in Chicopee, Massachusetts, April 23 — that should act as a fine primer to this year's New England Metal and Hardcore Festival April 29. ...

Chimaira and longtime label home Roadrunner Records have parted ways. The band has described the divorce as amicable. "We asked to be let out of the contract and [Roadrunner] graciously agreed to our request," the band said in a statement. "We (the band and the label) had not been seeing eye to eye on some key issues and came to a mutual agreement to end our relationship." ... Polish death-metal masters Vader need help coming up with a new logo, and they want fans to help. More information on the contest can be found at the band's Web site. Entrees must be submitted by April 25, and the winner's art will be featured on the group's next LP, Impressions in Red, which is due in stores in September. ... Norwegian black-metal kingpins Satyricon were in London last week to film the video for their new single, "K.I.N.G." "The cast was a gathering of some of the most bizarre people from London's underground club scene that were to inflict pain upon each other, themselves and the band," frontman Satyr said. "The video has all the ingredients of a good rock and roll video and sets a new metal video standard for good photography and clever editing." Satyricon's new album, Now Diabolical, has been scheduled for release June 13, and the band's upcoming North American tour will be announced soon. ...

One of the forefathers of the hardcore-metal movement, Starkweather, will release their new album, Croatoan, May 2. The disc will be the band's first offering in 10 years and their third studio album overall. ... Serjical Strike Records, the label owned by System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, has signed Dallas quintet Fair to Midland to a record deal. "They are one of the best live unsigned bands I have ever seen," Tankian said in a statement. "Their songs are moody and dynamic, not dependent on one catchy beat or emotion to present their art." ... The release date for the fourth Cult of Luna record, Somewhere Along the Highway, has been bumped two weeks to July 11. Tracks include "Marching to the Heartbeats," "Finland" and "Dim." ... More than two years since the release of the scathing That Within Blood Ill-Tempered, math-metal provocateurs Shai Hulud are rehearsing for select dates with the Red Chord, which will be announced shortly. Bandmember Double L said of the gigs: "Don't call it a comeback. We haven't gone anywhere, just been here in Poughkeepsie [New York] with our slide rules, protractor and complete works of Shakespeare working on new material, inaugurating singers, craving curries and what have you." ... Hipster Montreal metal band Priestess will release their first album, Hello Master, June 13. The group recently toured with the Sword and Early Man and is currently planning upcoming dates with Dinosaur Jr. and Dead Meadow. ...

The eighth album by Norway's the Carpathian Forest, lovingly titled F--- You All, comes out May 22. Tracks include "The Frostbitten Woodlands of Norway," "Submit to Satan" and "Start Up the Incinerator (Here Comes Another Useless Fool)." ... Prog-metallers Halcyon Way have signed a deal with Bombworks Records, which will release the band's debut album, Manifesto for Domination, later this summer. ... Kamelot and Epica will team up for a North American tour this fall. So far they've lined up 18 gigs in all — the first being in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, September 15. Dates run through October 11 in Los Angeles. ... Macabre's "Live in Holland - True Tales of Slaughter and Slaying" DVD will be in stores June 2. The outing includes footage captured during the band's Murder Metal gigs last summer. ... Norwegian industrial-tinged metallists Theatre of Tragedy will release their new album, Storm, in North America June 27. The disc came out in Europe on March 24 and is the band's first not to feature singer Liv Kristine. She was fired in 2004 due to musical differences and replaced by ex-Crest singer Nell Sigland. ...

French underground blasphemers Blut Aus Nord are in the studio working on their new album, M.o.R.T. (Metamorphosis of Realistic Theories), tentatively scheduled for release this fall. Working titles include "Ruins of the Genesis (Antiparticles)," "Dis-Harmonization of All Visual Echoes" and "Samsaric Ocean." In related news, Blut Aus Nord's Appease Me Records will release The Near Death Experience, the second album by industrial black-metal duo Spektr, June 13. ... The Minor Times are hard at work on the follow-up to 2004's Making Enemies and expect to enter the studio in July. The upcoming disc will be the Pennsylvania band's first to feature guitarist Lou Millinghausen, who replaced Chris Masciotti. ... U.K. stoner-metal vets Orange Goblin will return to North America for a brief tour that starts May 16 in Boston and runs through May 26 in Youngstown, Ohio, at the Emissions From the Monolith festival. The four-day festival will also feature Scissorfight, Stinking Lizaveta, Kylesa, Facedowninsh--, Atomic Bitchwax, Boris, SunnO))), Rwake and many others.

• Walls Of Jericho
• Shadows Fall
• Chimaira
• Starkweather
• GWAR

As I Lay Dying
Photo: MTV News

The second installment of the Sounds of the Underground Tour — which rivaled Ozzfest in its successful first year of existence — is set to launch July 8 in Cleveland and wrap on August 27 in Los Angeles. The organizers behind the traveling metal-and-hardcore circus have enlisted special guests to help bolster the lineup during three of the tour's 27 stops.

As I Lay Dying top the bill, which also features In Flames, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Terror, the Black Dahlia Murder, Behemoth, the Chariot and Through the Eyes of the Dead (see "As I Lay Dying, In Flames Confirmed For Sounds Of The Underground").

The special guests include New England metal stalwarts Killswitch Engage (who'll perform only at the July 14 show in Mansfield, Massachusetts); Shadows Fall, It Dies Today and Still Remains (who will augment the bills in Mesa, Arizona, on July 26 and San Diego two days later); and hardcore champions Evergreen Terrace will hop on the Sounds express on July 19 and remain on board for the rest of the tour.

This summer's trek hits the road one week after this year's Ozzfest kicks off in San Francisco (see "System Of A Down, Disturbed To Headline Ozzfest").

The festival organizers are taking a different approach to this year's festival by having fewer bands on the bill and extending the set times for each group. Last year, most bands got no more than 30 minutes to play.

Presale tickets will be available starting April 11 but will officially go on sale April 15; more information on where concertgoers can score tickets is available at the Sounds of the Underground Web site.

The 2006 Sounds of the Underground tour dates, according to the festival's publicist:

• 7/8 - Cleveland, OH @ Plain Dealer Pavilion
• 7/9 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre parking lot
• 7/11 - Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
• 7/12 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
• 7/13 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Mid-Hudson Civic Center
• 7/14 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center parking lot
• 7/15 - Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
• 7/16 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 7/17 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 7/19 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
• 7/21 - Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
• 7/22 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Amphitheatre
• 7/23 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre parking lot
• 7/26 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
• 7/27 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
• 7/28 - San Diego, CA @ TBA
• 7/29 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre Parking Lot
• 7/31 - Denver, CO @ City Lights Pavilion
• 8/2 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's Nightclub
• 8/3 - Sterling Heights, MI @ Freedom Hill Amphitheater
• 8/4 - Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
• 8/5 - St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
• 8/6 - Winnipeg, MB @ Convention Centre
• 8/7 - Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Center
• 8/8 - Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Agricom
• 8/10 - Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
• 8/12 - Universal City, CA @ Gibson Universal Amphitheatre

• As I Lay Dying
• Cannibal Corpse
• GWAR
• Terror
• The Black Dahlia Murder

SikTh
Photo: Bieler Bros. Records

There's a good chance you've haven't heard SikTh's brand of highly technical, forward-thinking noisecore — even though the British six-piece has released a pair of EPs, Let the Transmitting Begin ... and How May I Help You, as well as a proper full-length, 2003's The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild. That's because while SikTh's been around for more than four years, they've yet to release an album Stateside. Of course that's all about to change.

SikTh will release Death of a Dead Day in either January or February through Bieler Bros. Records; the band signed with the label, home to Nonpoint and Skindred, earlier this year. The album's in the mixing phase at this point, according to guitarist and pianist Dan Weller.

"Within the next fortnight, we should be done," he said. "It's been a long process. We stayed away from putting an album out in the States until we knew we'd have someone in the States who was worth working with and could support us."

SikTh — Weller, dual vocalists Mikee W. Goodman and Justin Hill, bassist James Leach, guitarist Pin and drummer Dan "Loord" Foord — sound like the Dillinger Escape Plan on fire. Or at least their earlier stuff sounded that way. It was almost comically chaotic.

"For me, Trees was quite gimmicky and had a jokey feel and a bit of a humorous edge," Weller explained. "I think that left a lot of people feeling, you know, 'Are they taking a piss? Are they winding us up? What are they trying to do here?' That's not the impression we wanted to put across. So we wanted to take a more mature, deadly serious approach this time. We're not playing around."

The end result is Death, which Weller says still has its melodic moments, but also houses huge, memorable riffs and complicated structures. "It grooves, too," he said. "Our goal is to make an album that can be put up there with the best metal albums made in the past 20 years. That's all we're doing this for. We're not writing our music to be second best. We want people to aspire to be as good as this and, although that sounds arrogant, we're totally approaching it from the angle that there isn't enough innovation going on in our genre. We're determined to show that there's still things that can be done, rhythmically and with melody, without sounding like someone else."

Weller said the band hasn't agreed on which of the album's 11 tracks will serve as the first single, but considers "Bland Street Bloom," "Flogging the Horses" and "Another Sinking Ship" to be strong contenders.

SikTh are looking forward to making a fresh start with Death more than anything else, Weller said. "When we first came out in the U.K., there was a hype, a buzz and a kind of excitement around the band. And a shock factor. So when you play for a while in a country, people become familiar with you, and you lose that, leaving you to just create music that's hopefully great. What's exciting about starting in the States is we're relatively unknown, so we have that potential to start fresh and shock people and blow people away.

"We see this record as a turning point for this style that we're playing. And maybe I'm far too confident and deluded, but we want this to be something where people go, 'Sh--, what's that? That is great,' " he continued. "I do believe there's a huge sort of metal fraternity out there who're satisfied by a lot of bands but are still not getting what they want. I don't want to be the arrogant pr--- who says we're going to give everybody what they really want, because we're probably not, I just think we're encapsulating so many things that so many bands don't risk encapsulating and I hope we get noticed for that. And if we don't, tough sh-- — we tried."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Cannibal Corpse will enter Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 7 to start recording their 10th LP; Erik Rutan (the Absence, Soilent Green) will produce. "We are doing everything we can to make sure it's the heaviest, most brutal one we've ever made," reads a post on the band's Web site. "We have 11 songs completed and if possible we'd like to write one or two more before entering the studio." ... Anthrax bassist Frankie Bello hosts MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" this Saturday. Throwdown will be this week's in-studio guests. ... Gwar have tapped DevilDriver, A Dozen Furies and Mensrea as the openers for their North American tour. The trek kicks off October 7 in Sayreville, New Jersey, and runs through November 11 in Seattle. ... New York hardcore metal band Cipher are looking for a new bassist to replace Mark Dollar, who had been in the band a little over a year but recently quit to pursue other ventures. Interested candidates should be at least 18 years old and be able to practice regularly in Western Long Island near Queens. Contact cipher@cipheronline.com for more information. ... Brazilian-American metal kingpins Soulfly and Orange County hardcore outfit Throwdown will tour together starting in October 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. Dates run through November 9 in Denver. ... That city's sardonic metalcore band Grace Gale will release their debut album, Few Easy Steps to Secure Heli-Camel Safety, on September 27. Tracks include "There's Nothing Honorable About This Discharge," "James Caan Make Yourself at Home" and "I Don't Know How to Put This ... But I'm Kind of a Big Deal." A video for the latter is available for viewing on BlackoutRecords.com. ...

The first of four teasers for Machine Head's "Elegies" DVD, which hits stores October 11, is available on the band's Web site. ... More than a few indie-rock acts on Matador Records have mocked heavy metal in the past, so it's kind of odd that one of the most rippin' new duos, Early Man, are now on the label. And they're no joke. Singer/guitarist Mike Conte and drummer Adam Bennati's first album, Closing In, comes out October 11 and sounds like a fierce hybrid of Blizzard of Ozz-era Ozzy and Master of Puppets-era Metallica. ... Dutch death dispatchers Severe Torture will release Fall of the Despised November 7 through Earache. Tracks include "Endless Strain of Cadavers," "Unconditional Annihilation," "Impulsive Mutilation" and "Dead From the Waist Up." ... French metal outfit Wormfood will release their next disc, called, um, France, through Code666 Records November 18. Carnival in Coal frontman Axel Wursthorn produced the effort, which the label describes as "a bizarre and grotesque view of modern French society, a melting pot of doom, thrash, death, gothic, punk, pop, classic, baroque, jazz and black humor." ... Los Angeles '80s death-rock/punk-metal band .45 Grave have pulled out of all dates on the Misfits tour, which runs through November 19 in Springfield, Virginia. They blamed the cancellations on "circumstances beyond their control." Madball used the same excuse for two shows they recently canceled, September 19 in Portland, Oregon, and September 20 in San Francisco, however they resumed the tour September 21 in Los Angeles. Madball dates are scheduled through October 1 in Buffalo, New York. ...

Mediaskare Records needs help naming its upcoming Slayer tribute record, which should surface early next year. The disc is set to include contributions from On Broken Wings, Scars of Tomorrow, Contra, the Esoteric, New Dead Radio, the Burning Room, Death by Stereo and others. More info can be found at www.myspace.com/atributetoslayer . ... The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza will hit the road for a 16-date run starting October 1 in Birmingham, Alabama. The trek wraps October 16 in London, Kentucky. ... Lamb of God frontman D. Randall Blythe's Halo of Locusts side project, Byzantine and the Dream Is Dead will embark on the Under the Underground Tour, a three-week jaunt across the country that's set to kick off October 13. A complete list of dates will be released soon. ... Detroit band Still Remains will tour with Atlanta metalcore outfit Norma Jean starting October 8 in Memphis, Tennessee. Dates run through October 30 in Nashville, then the band will return to the road in November with U.K. scream kings Bullet for My Valentine; Buffalo, New York's It Dies Today; and Riverside, California's Sinai Beach. ... German thrash band Dew-Scented have been added to the Polish invasion tour that features Decapitated and Vader. Dates run from November 7 in New York through November 30 in Utica, New York. Decapitated will return to the road with Greenville, South Carolina Egyptologist death-metal band Nile, New Orleans hardcore doomsayers Soilent Green and Sacramento, California, melodic death metallists With Passion. Dates run from January 13 in Houston through February 12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ...

Virginia's Arsis will release a three-song EP, A Diamond for Disease, October 25. The disc will feature "Roses on White Lace," "The Promise of Never" and the 13-minute title track. ... Members of Kiss, AC/DC, Motörhead, Anthrax, Dio, Judas Priest, Testament, Extreme, Whitesnake, Slaughter, Helmet, Dokken and others are banding together in tribute to Iron Maiden, literally comprising new bands for each of the 11 songs on Numbers From the Beast: An All-Star Salute to Iron Maiden, due October 11. For instance, "Wasted Years" features Dee Snider on vocals and Jason Bonham on drums, while "The Trooper" features Lemmy Kilmister on vocals, Suicidal Tendencies' Rocky George on guitar and AC/DC's Chris Slade on drums. Another pairing has Chris Jericho on vocals and Alice in Chains' Mike Inez on bass for "The Evil That Men Do." ...

• Sikth
• Cannibal Corpse
• Terror
• GWAR

Norma Jean's Daniel, Scottie and Cory (file)
Photo: Solid State Records

When Solid State Records released the third album from Atlantan metalcore act Norma Jean on March 1, no one — not the band's management, its label, and certainly not the bandmembers themselves — expected the disc would sell more than 19,000 copies in a week. But O God, The Aftermath did sell just that in its first week in stores, roaring into the Billboard albums chart at #64.

"We would never have thought that would happen," said drummer Daniel Davidson. "It just totally blew us away. The music is so brutal and heavy and chaotic."

Don't think Norma Jean's going to let sales figures get to their heads, though: There's too much work coming up for them even to pat each other on the back. Norma Jean's one of the main attractions for this summer's Sounds of the Underground Tour; they'll be spending April and May in Japan, the U.K. and Australia with Atreyu and Unearth; and they'll be shooting a video for "Liarsenic" at some point in between those road trips.

But singer Cory Putnam did say the bandmembers are glad the Ozzfest folks snubbed 'em. "If you play Ozzfest, that's just like instant credit for your band, but it just costs too much money to be on it," he explained. "You end up playing at 10 in the morning. I think [the Sounds of the Underground] is a tour that really cares about the bands that are on it, and cares about the music. And that's what we care about."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The Deftones are said to be working on their next album, which is due out this summer. In the meantime, the long-delayed self-titled debut from frontman Chino Moreno's experimental trip-hop side project, Team Sleep, will finally see the light of day on May 10 and feature the tracks "Your Skull Is Red," "Our Ride to the Rectory," and "Paris Arm." ... Canadian extremists Strapping Young Lad's video for the track "Love?," which was shot by director Joe Lynch and pays homage to the cult film classic "The Evil Dead," will debut on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" Saturday night. ...

Taking a cue perhaps from Rob Zombie, former Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig has penned a screenplay for "Gerouge," a voodoo/horror tale that's said to unfold in New Orleans during the 1900s. Danzig will also direct the film. ... Can't make it to Ozzfest this summer? Well, there's always Judas Priest. Rob Halford and the gang will join forces with Queensrÿche for a North American tour that'll kick off on June 1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. A third band is being considered as the official opener, and a complete list of all of the dates for the eight-week run still needs to be ironed out. ... Gore-metallers Cattle Decapitation have plans to release a split 7-inch single with Caninus. They'll start working on the material for that effort next month. ...

Losa will be hitting the road with Sinaibeach and Death by Stereo on April 14, playing just six shows on that trek before meeting up with Dead to Fall, 12 Tribes, and Fight Paris for a 26-date stint. ... Goop-spewing gimmick rockers Gwar will release a live album on May 31 called Live From Mt. Fuji. The enhanced CD will contain 12 live cuts, including "Bring Back the Bomb," "Horror of Yg," "Krosstika," "Sick of You," "Womb With a View" and "Immortal Corruptor." ...

Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo and electronic artist DJ Spooky have teamed up for Drums of Death, a disc of rumbling, experimental songs that comes out April 26. Public Enemy's Chuck D. and Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid guest on the disc, which was co-produced by Spooky and Meat Beat Manifesto. Track titles include "Quantum Cyborg Drum Machine" and "Metatron." ... Industrial supergroup Pigface will embark on their Free for All tour starting April 14 in Palatine, Illinois. Dates run through May 21 in Columbus, Ohio. The ever-mutating lineup will be filled this year by frontman Martin Atkins and members of KMFDM, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Atari Teenage Riot, Nocturne, Hate Dept. and Bile. Nocturne and Sheep on Drugs will open all shows. ...

Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus will be hitting the road in June with Internal Bleeding and Strong Intention for a full U.S. tour. ... Recently unearthed death-metal pioneers Obituary will replace Lamb of God for a concert April 9 in Inglewood, California. Lamb of God were banned from playing the venue because venue owners took offense to the group's former name, Burn the Priest. While the group hasn't used that moniker since 1998, its self-titled debut was re-released last week. Obituary recently completed its comeback album, which is tentatively scheduled for release this summer. ... SikTh have written all of the material that'll comprise the English math-metal band's second album — which will serve as its Stateside debut. The band will hit the studio to record the album, which hasn't been named yet, in April. Look for it to drop later this year through Bieler Bros. Records. ...

Every Time I Die will be touring Europe with Lamb of God and Unearth in June. The band's latest offering, Gutter Phenomenon, will be released through Ferret this summer. ... The Number Twelve Looks Like You will release their next full-length offering, Nuclear, Sad, Nuclear, on June 7, through the chaotic metal-core band's label, Eyeball. ... Darkest Hour's Devin Townsend-produced effort Undoing Ruin is in the final stages of being mixed; the album drops June 28. ... Deutschland thrashers Dew-Scented will release Issue VI in Germany on June 20 through Nuclear Blast. However, American fans will have to wait: its U.S. release has not yet been set. ...

New Orleans demolition duo Blackfire Revelation are working on their debut album, which will be the follow-up to their recently released EP, Gold & Guns on 51. The disc is due by the end of the summer. The band will open for New York noisemasters Unsane starting May 11 in Columbus, Ohio. Dates run through May 28 in Philadelphia. ... Danish band Fear My Thoughts will release their fifth album, Hell, Sweet Hell, on July 27. The disc was recorded last year with Jacob Hansen, who has previously worked with Mercenary. ... Progressive British band Porcupine Tree will release their most metallic offering to date, Deadwing, on May 3, the savage sounds of which were probably influenced by frontman Steven Wilson's production work with Opeth. Porcupine's last major-label album, In Absentia, was released in 2002. ... Atlanta band Lilitu have hired 20-year-old bassist Noah Martin to fill the slot recently vacated by Shane Bell.

• Norma Jean (Metal)
• Deftones
• Judas Priest
• GWAR
• Danzig

Fans of fake blood and latex phalli rejoice... Gwar has lined up another round of touring.

The cartoonish metal creations have tapped Amen and Lamb Of God for a tour that kicks off on October 20 in Old Bridge, New Jersey. So far, the bands have lined up shows through early November.

"We fart loudly at the approach of our warty comrades and can't wait to get out there and kill you," Gwar leader Oderus Urungus said in statement announcing the tour. "I have no idea where we are going, but I'm sure it will be smelly."

The tour gives Amen the chance to roll out new material from its upcoming album, the first release from producer Ross Robinson's I AM record label since its move under the Virgin Records umbrella (see "Korn Studio Whiz Lands Label Deal").

The trek will also give many metalheads their first taste of Lamb Of God, a group that earned the honor of most downloaded metal band on MP3.com while toiling under the name Burn The Priest. The freshly renamed outfit recently released its debut album, "New American Gospel," on Metal Blade Records.

Here's how the Gwar/Amen/Lamb Of God triple bill shapes up:

• 10/20 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Birch Hill
• 10/21 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium (w/The Misfits)
• 10/22 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
• 10/24 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
• 10/25 - Huntington, WV @ Empire Club
• 10/26 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
• 10/27 - Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom
• 10/28 - Detroit, MI @ Harpo's
• 10/29 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater
• 10/31 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 11/2 - Towson, MD @ Recher Theater
• 11/3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 11/4 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance

• Amen (hardcore)
• GWAR