Judas Priest
Photo: Ross Halfin

Concept albums seem to be all the rage these days, with bands as diverse as Mastodon and Coheed and Cambria churning out eccentric records that challenge listeners to actually pay attention and follow the story the music is trying to tell.

Releasing a concept LP has been something that venerated, leather-fancying heavy-metal outfit Judas Priest have wanted to check off their to-do list for some time now, but for years, the British band — fronted by Rob Halford — couldn't decide which topic, character or time period to tackle on tape.

"After the last album, [2005's] Angel of Retribution, we wanted to do something different," guitarist Glenn Tipton told MTV News. "We've never rested on our laurels and made the next album the same as the last but with different lyrics, which a lot of bands, I think, have fallen into the trap of doing, knowing they'll sell X amount of records per year. We really wanted to try doing a concept album, and we'd been talking about it for a while. Our manager, Bill Curbishley, suggested Nostradamus."

After researching the life of the 16th-century French apothecary, a reputed prophet, the members of Priest started digging their manager's suggestion and decided they'd tell Nostradamus' life story on their next record. The appropriately titled Nostradamus just hit record stores.

"He was a very mystical character and came up with all these predictions, but he suffered tragedy in his life too," Tipton said. "He lost his wife and daughters to the plague, and then the Church came after him and exiled him from France. Then he found a new life and a new beginning. He was just a mysterious and very intriguing character, and he inspired us to put this work together."

The LP — which features 24 tracks spread across two discs — chronicles Nostradamus' entire life, "both musically and lyrically," from his birth to his death, Tipton said. But Nostradamus is something of an unconventional offering from Priest, as it includes string arrangements, keyboard orchestration and Halford's multilingual vocals (in addition to English, he sings in French and Italian).

"We tried to put a lot of character into the album," Tipton explained. "But it was a challenge for us — it was such a big project. We wrote so much material, and in the end, to tell the story properly, we had to use all of it. The challenge wasn't so much in the composition as in putting it together, so it was fluid [and] told a story from start to end. It also had to make sense musically, to flow as one continuous piece. It's an event — it isn't just a CD — and that's the way we wanted to present it.

"We're asking people not to put one or two tracks on, but to step into the world of Nostradamus," he continued. "That's the way we wrote it, so that the listener could step out of this world and go on this journey with Nostradamus. The album's full of light and shade, blood and thunder, and it's got a lot of melody. A couple of the tracks are very different from what we've done before, but it's still Priest. With this album, we want people to see that there's more to heavy metal than burning babies."

This summer, Judas Priest will hit the road — joined by Testament, Motörhead and Heaven and Hell — for a trek that launches July 22 in Seattle and wraps September 1 in Las Vegas. Priest plan on playing at least three songs from the new album during the tour. Early next year, however, the band hopes to return to the States for a different kind of trek: Tipton said Priest want to perform the entire disc live, incorporating various stage elements into the set. He added that details for that run are still being worked out.

Though they still come out with fresh experiments like this one, Priest have been banging their heads for more than three decades. But the veterans have never been considered for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, despite being eligible since 1999. Tipton said it's an honor the band would welcome but one he doesn't expect anytime soon.

"We'd absolutely be honored by it, but we have no control over that," he said. "Besides, we haven't been noticed for 30 years. Maybe they'll notice us now that we've crossed that 30-year mark."

• Judas Priest

Judas Priest's <i>Screaming For Vengeance</i>
Photo: Sony

In what is said to be the first of a steady stream of announcements, MTV Games announced Friday (April 18) that Judas Priest's 1982 album, Screaming for Vengeance, will be the hit video game's first fully downloadable, playable album. The album will be available next week.

"That album was an important, seminal heavy-metal album in the early '80s," Alex Rigopulos, co-founder of MTV-owned development studio Harmonix, told MTV news during a Thursday phone interview. "It was on the short list of albums that had to be available on the platform."

Following Priest will be the Cars' The Cars in May and the Pixies' Doolittle in June.

While more than 100 tracks have been offered for download since "Rock Band" was released in November, albums — promised shortly after the game was announced — have yet to be offered.

Rigopulos said that it has taken time for record companies to find full masters for classic albums and for the material to then get encoded into songs that can be played via his game's guitars, drums and microphone.

The idea of offering a full album clicks with him, even if he recognizes that it's not the most modern of ideas. "In the last decade or so, we've gotten primarily used to listening to music as singles in our iPod," Rigopulos said. "But a lot of this music was composed and structured to be listened to as an album." Playing through the album can transform or enhance one's appreciation of a band, something that has already happened for him with the Judas Priest record. "I only knew about four of the songs on the album before this whole process started. It was by playing it in 'Rock Band' that I first experienced it as an album. It struck me how powerful it is to play through an album. ... Doing it as a play experience gets this music inside you."

If you've been a follower of the "Rock Band" hype, you might be confused why Judas Priest is getting the debut slot. The first album announced for the game was the Who's Who's Next?, which Rigopulos said is still caught up in the process of a record company delivering the master music assets to the game developer. And what of Nirvana's Nevermind? Rigopulos said that one is just a rumor.

(Regarding the Who, Rigopulos added that there has been so much interest from fans that there will be "another announcement of something" regarding that band and the game.)

The developer wouldn't tease any albums beyond the three announced, but when asked if more recent bands like Fall Out Boy could also get the "Rock Band" album treatment, he said, "I think we're going to be doing all of the above, [keeping] in line with the platform strategy that will include all decades of rock and all subgenres of rock."

Downloading an album for "Rock Band" won't be much different than downloading a song. The download will not include any special play-the-album mode or add-ons based on the band. It will strictly provide a new slate of songs. So don't expect to download Judas Priest avatars or anything. Rigopulos said Harmonix sees the character a "Rock Band" gamer plays as a projection of that player. "For us, the idea of injecting licensed characters doesn't make a lot of sense for 'Rock Band.' "

While singles are released weekly for "Rock Band," Rigopulos said his team could not yet promise a regularly scheduled offering of albums, not even at the monthly rate. And in the weeks that albums do come out, no other singles may be offered. In the longer term, however, the offering of music will ramp up.

Albums will be offered as $15 downloads on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The tracks can be bought individually for $1.99; Screaming for Vengeance has 10 songs. It will be downloadable on Tuesday on the Xbox 360 and on Thursday for the PS3.

And to owners of the PS2 version of "Rock Band" or the upcoming Wii version? Downloading the albums won't be an option, but those gamers aren't being forgotten. "Suffice it to say that all of this content we're amassing for next-gen consoles, we want to make it available to as broad an audience as possible as we can."

Also on Friday, MTV Games announced that more than 8 million songs have been purchased as paid downloads for "Rock Band" via the PS3 and Xbox 360, a significant increase from just three weeks ago, when the 6 million mark was achieved.

Check out the Multiplayer blog, updated daily, for even more gaming coverage.

• Judas Priest
• Nirvana
• The Cars
• The Pixies

Ozzy Osbourne
Photo: Sergio Dionisio/ Getty Images

Will there be an Ozzfest in 2008?

It's a question thousands of metalheads have been asking themselves the last two-and-a-half months — ever since Warped Tour mastermind Kevin Lyman revealed that he'd be putting on his own metal shows this summer, the Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival, which will feature Disturbed, Slipknot, Mastodon, DragonForce, Machine Head, Suicide Silence and others.

So far, there's been little in the way of actual information coming from the Ozzfest camp, which, in recent years, has revealed the traveling heavy-metal circus' lineup and routing well before tax time.

On Tuesday morning (April 15), the question of whether Ozzfest would be returning for a 13th installment didn't come any closer to being answered. If anything, Tuesday's announcement from Ozzy Osbourne himself — that he'd be headlining a single, all-day gig in Canada, under the Monsters of Rock banner — only confused matters more.

Nonetheless, Ozzy will be anchoring the July 26 event, slated for Calgary, Alberta's McMahon Stadium, along with Judas Priest, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Priestess, the Cavalera Conspiracy, Voivod, Testament, 3 Inches of Blood and Zimmers Hole. The lineup is largely made up of Canadian bands, and reports suggest that the Dillinger Escape Plan will also be added to the bill. Tickets for the Monsters of Rock concert go on sale Friday.

So what does all this mean for Ozzfest? While none of the sources MTV News contacted could say for sure, one rumor at press time suggested that instead of being a traveling festival, Ozzfest will be scaled back to a two-day event in Dallas sometime in July. One source said that an Ozzfest announcement is expected to be made next week.

While not confirmed, rumor has it that Metallica will be playing this summer's Ozzfest, along with Osbourne and his backing band. Several others have been rumored for the gig, including Korn (perhaps reunited with drummer David Silveria and guitarist Brian "Head" Welch), Alice in Chains, Filter, Tankian, Bullet for My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Dimmu Borgir and the Cavalera Conspiracy.

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Judas Priest
• Serj Tankian
• Shadows Fall

Cavalera Conspiracy
Photo: Roadrunner Records

Several Sepultura records have surfaced since Max Cavalera quit the band in 1996, and he's yet to listen to a single one. He hasn't heard one note from 1998's Against or one riff from 2001's Nation, and he has shunned both 2003's Roorback and 2006's Dante XXI. And, no, the man who helped form the band doesn't plan on giving them a spin anytime soon.

"I compare it to — although I've never been divorced — going out with your ex-wife and her new husband," Cavalera said during a chat with Metal File on Wednesday, the same day Inflikted, the debut LP from his new band, Cavalera Conspiracy, opened at #72 on the Billboard albums chart, selling more than 9,000 copies during its first week in stores. "I don't think anyone would want to do that. It's unpleasant, it's weird. I've stayed away from them. People have been blown away that I haven't heard those records. But I went my own way, and I don't even know what they sound like anymore."

But perhaps Cavalera will reconsider, since he's mended fences with his brother Igor, his former Sepultura/ current Cavalera Conspiracy bandmate, after a 12-year rift, during which the brothers spoke not a word to each other. Max's decision to leave Sepultura created unbelievable tension between the siblings until about a year ago, when they banded together once again for the Conspiracy, perhaps the closest thing fans will get to a Sepultura reunion.

"Maybe now that I'm more at peace, I'll give them a listen," Cavalera said. "But probably not."

For metalheads far and wide, it's nice knowing the Cavaleras are tight again and sounding perhaps better than ever on Inflikted. For Max, it's even more rewarding to know that he's resolved the issues he'd had with Igor.

"It's been really cool, man," he said of working with his brother again. "Just to play with Igor and talk to him again, that was my own personal victory, because those 12 years without talking to him were tough. Anybody who has a family crisis like that knows it's not a good situation at all. So to just be back with him was great, but on top of it, to make a record and now have so many people into it, it's very exciting, man."

What are the chances Sepultura might be revived? Cavalera makes no promises, but he said that if the band were to get back together, it would be for a good cause — and wouldn't necessarily feature the Roots lineup.

"I like to say that I'm waiting for the Armageddon, so we can be the band that plays right before the end of the world," Cavalera joked. "I would like to see [a reunion happen], more so for our fans, because my sons, they're 12, and they're getting into metal big-time. And they want to see a Sepultura with me and Igor. So I definitely would like to do that, but it has to be the right time. The time is not right now. I can say it won't be happening this year, but I think it would be cool.

"People always ask me about the Roots lineup, but I'd rather get back with the guys who were there in the beginning, like Jairo Guedes," he continued. "That was a very essential time for the band, so if a reunion ever comes, I would push to invite the older guys or maybe even just get a cool kind of jam session together with other musicians."

For Inflikted, Cavalera said the band (which also features Gojira's Joe Duplantier) just wanted the tracks to evolve in an organic manner, so they didn't hit the studio with any preconceived notions — just some riffs, a couple of songs and lyrics.

"I came into this project with doubt and had no idea what was going to happen, so I just let it happen," Cavalera said. "The only thing we did on purpose was we didn't allow interference from other [genres] to bleed into our sound. It was a return, for me, to when I was 14, wore black shirts and listened to metal and hardcore and nothing else. I had that kind of vibe on this record, and when Igor would start doing beats that were a bit tribal, I'd come in and say, 'Nah, man — not that sh--, not right now. You need to play angry, play mad and beat the sh-- out of those drums.' I was kind of motivating them to maybe do a more violent, brutal record. To me, to be back with Igor, I wanted to recapture that fire of what we had with Sepultura.

"I wanted to create a really chaotic, heavy album — it just felt right," he said. "It's 2008, and the world is going to sh--, and I felt this would be a good time to write a really heavy record."

But the new band isn't the only thing keeping Max busy. He also just finished recording the next Soulfly record, which he said could be out in August.

"In terms of the world-music sh--, I went to Egypt for a while and wanted to capture some really crazy Egyptian instruments," he said. "I recorded stuff down by the Nile River and used different instruments I'd found over there. And we have two collaborations on the album. One is the heaviest Soulfly song ever, with David Vincent from Morbid Angel — it's very intense and may even scare Soulfly fans. The other is with Dave [Peters] from Throwdown. We came up with this really old-school, hardcore, Pantera/Sepultura track called 'Unleash.' The album is pretty brutal — probably more brutal than anything else Soulfly has done."

For now, though, Cavalera's just amped to get back out on the road and tour with his brother Igor again. But much like Van Halen and Guns N' Roses tours of yore, he's not so sure it will all be smooth sailing.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of chaos coming our way on tour," he said. "Maybe we'll need to take out insurance."

The rest of the week's metal news:

We've heard virtually nothing — at least nothing official — about this year's Ozzfest, including whether there will even be one this year. But it seems Ozzfest's organizers are close to making an announcement, and within the next couple of weeks, all will be revealed. Metal File can tell you what rumors we've come across, besides the one that has Ozzfest morphing into a two-day fest in Dallas: We've heard this year's edition could feature Korn, Alice in Chains, Filter, System of a Down's Serj Tankian, Bullet for My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Dimmu Borgir and even the Cavalera Conspiracy (Max says he hasn't heard anything about Ozzfest). But we've heard all sorts of crazy rumors, so who knows? ...

After five years with the band, bassist Todd Evans (a.k.a. Beefcake the Mighty) this week announced his departure from Gwar. Evans plans to focus full-time on his new band, Mobile Deathcamp, who rumor has it will be touring this summer with the reunited Green Jelly. ... Unfortunately, we won't be seeing Nevermore at this year's New England Metal and Hardcore Fest. According to guitarist Jeff Loomis, the boys weren't able to replace Chris Broderick, who recently left to join Megadeth; the band claims it can't play as a four-piece. "We have tried ... but were unable to reach the real Nevermore sound, especially in a live setting, which is what our fans could expect from us," Loomis said in a statement. "We really feel sorry about this, as we know that our fans were waiting to see us at the New England Metal Fest. We hope to see you all soon." ...

It looks like some dates for that rumored Heaven and Hell/ Judas Priest North American run have leaked. Pollstar listed the dates on its Web site and subsequently pulled them down. The tour would also feature Motörhead and Testament, but so far there's been no official confirmation that the tour is happening. If those Pollstar dates are to be believed, the trek will get underway August 7 in Bristow, Virginia, and hit Holmdel, New Jersey; Long Island, New York; Toronto; Uncasville, Connecticut; Burgettstown, Pennsylvania; and Clarkston, Michigan. The final date listed was August 19 in Tinley Park, Illinois. ...

Ozzfest '06 veterans Norma Jean have revealed that they plan to enter the studio this week to begin recording their LP, which they've titled The Anti Mother. Producer Ross Robinson will once again helm the effort, which could be in stores late this summer. ... For Swedish progressive metal outfit Burst, 2007 was spent writing material for a new record. Now, in 2008, it's time to put those tunes to tape. Burst entered the studio last week, and according to the band, the effort will most likely be released early next year. ...

Another week, another supergroup. Looks like Fear Factory members Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera have teamed up with Threat Signal's Jon Howard to form a new band, the hard-to-pronounce Arkaea. The band will hit the studio soon to begin tracking, and Olde Wolbers said in a statement that the material they've been working on was "designed like the Fear Factory songs that Raymond and I always wrote. However, we've been able to push the boundaries and go out of that context, while remaining heavy." The band's debut is being eyed for a fall release.

• Cavalera Conspiracy
• Max Cavalera
• Sepultura
• Judas Priest

• Black Sabbath
• Metallica
• AC/DC
• Pantera
• Slayer

Judas Priest's Rob Halford with guitarist K.K. Downing
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Some people believe he had foreseen the rise of Hitler, the Kennedy assassinations and the terror strikes of 9/11, but it's safe to say that 16th-century French prophet Nostradamus never saw this one coming: Nearly 450 years after his death, heavy-metal icons Judas Priest are writing a concept album about the legendary soothsayer.

The bandmembers, who have been working on their ambitious undertaking for more than three months, have already written 90-plus minutes of music. After they massage the tracks into final form, add solos and write lyrics, the band will choose a co-producer and begin recording. Priest hope to finish the project by the end of the year in time to release it in the first quarter of 2007.

Like a Puccini opera, the piece will flow seamlessly, with no breaks between tracks, but frontman Rob Halford said clearly identifiable songs will address approximately 20 key moments in the life of the man born Michel de Nostredame. Touch-points will likely include the writing of his famous 1,000 quatrains, the death of his first wife and children from plague, his second marriage, his brief imprisonment and his death.

"Nostradamus is all about metal, isn't he?" Halford said. "He was an alchemist as well as a seer — a person of extraordinary talent. He had an amazing life that was full of trial and tribulation and joy and sorrow. He's a very human character and a world-famous individual. You can take his name and translate it into any language and everybody knows about him, and that's important because we're dealing with a worldwide audience."

In addition to digging new lyrical ground for Judas Priest, the album will contain musical elements that might surprise their fans. "It's going to have a lot of depth," the singer explained. "There'll be a lot of symphonic elements. We might orchestrate it, without it being overblown. There may be a massive choir at parts and keyboards will be featured more prominently, whereas they've always been in the background before."

At the same time, Halford insisted the group won't abandon its heavy roots. For every atmospheric keyboard or choral arrangement, there'll be a headbanging passage to rattle the roof. "Essentially, Priest will always present ourselves as a metal band, so it will still be the band you know and love," Halford said. "There are some monster metal riffs that could span the Grand Canyon, and we still always find it a kick to come up with something that just burns out your speakers."

Halford discovered Nostradamus as a teenager and immediately became interested in his vague predictions and the way his followers interpreted them to pinpoint specific historical events. But it was the band's manager, Bill Curbishley, who predicted a concept record about Nostradamus could be a magical move.

Curbishley, who had previously worked with the Who on their rock opera Tommy, brought his idea to Priest in Estonia at the end of their 2005 tour. He viewed the extravaganza as a way to follow up the tremendous buzz of their comeback album Angel of Retribution, the first Priest record in 14 years to feature Halford (see "Judas Priest Reborn With Retribution, Revisit Classic Sound").

"He was sitting there going, 'Well, what do the guys do next?' and this is what he came up with," said Halford. "The challenge of going into the studio to do a follow-up on a great studio album is immense anyway, and Priest are constantly trying to achieve and go one step further, so when Bill brought this up, we were all like, 'Let's go. Let's do it.' "

The yet-untitled LP will be Judas Priest's first concept effort and the first release they'll perform in its entirety on tour. Halford is convinced the material and narrative are sufficiently compelling to keep fans from missing the cavalcade of hits they've grown used to.

"The songs are going to be great," he said. "If you know anything about Priest, you know that we've made the characters come to life in songs like 'Painkiller,' 'The Sentinel' and 'The Sinner,' and now we're just taking that storytelling side of Priest that people love and cherish and putting all into a single project so it all comes to life in one dimension."

While they haven't yet worked out the details, Judas Priest plan to deliver their Nostradamus saga in a theatrical environment complete with intricate stage sets, special effects and possibly live actors. "We'll use the great things you see in Vegas and that are going in theater and put that into Priest along with pyro and everything else," Halford said.

"It will be like a heavy-metal 'Phantom of the Opera' — a nonstop flow of great music, and I'll be doing more costume changes than Cher."

• Judas Priest

Drowningman's Simon Brody
Photo: Thorpe Records

Simon Brody's a self-proclaimed MySpace devotee. The frontman for Vermont mathcore masters Drowningman's not ashamed of that — but he has made his fair share of MySpace-related mistakes. Brody's learned from these mishaps, he said, and turned those lemons into lemonade in the form of "Major Disappointment Reporting for Duty," a track from his band's forthcoming LP Don't Push Us When We're Hot.

"Anyone who's ever met a potential romantic interest over the Internet will understand what that song title means," Brody said. "Someone's either been Major Disappointment or has met Major Disappointment. If they've ever delved into the world of MySpace and met any of those freaky people, they'll relate."

Not that the song itself is about the perils of online encounters — just the title really. Yes Brody's tempted fate by meeting several of his Internet pursuers in the flesh. But it's a practice he's given up for good.

"I've basically come to the conclusion that when any girl who seeks me out on the Internet, there's going to be problems," he elaborated. "I have met some girls on the Internet in person, and they've all been mentally unstable." One woman bought him a plane ticket and he went to visit her in Minneapolis. Another girl, this one from Virginia, drove 16 hours to visit him in Vermont. Brody's convinced it's because the photo that appears on his MySpace page shows him bareback.

But enough about Internet love unrealized. Brody's band has an album set to hit stores October 11, and like past Drowningman releases, it features some very unusual song titles ("Luck, Love, Life Time Guarantees and Other Things A--holes Believe In," "John Cougar Mellencamp Is the White Devil"). Some of them are even as unruly as the tunes themselves.

"There's always an effort made to write the most elaborate, f---ed-up song titles possible," Brody said. "This was the first time anyone else in the band tried to make suggestions for song titles but [bassist Jamie Durivage] had one that was like 'Don't Count Your Squirrels Until You Boil Them in the Good Syrup.' And I was like, 'I don't know if that's going to work.' "

Last weekend, Drowningman shot a video for the album's first single, "White People Are Stupid." That clip, too, matches the chaos of the band's sound.

"We're playing on a rotating stage, and there are these fire-breathers, people walking on tightropes, magicians doing weird sh--, and interspersed through that, there's going to be like '40s-style, black-and-white movie serial stuff, like 'Crimson Ghost' and 'Flash Gordon,' " he said. "[Director] Joseph Pattisall was trying to capture the feel of the music."

Drowningman had originally wanted to use the "Mellencamp" track, but instead, opted to avoid a lawsuit. "Although I think the Coug would've been down," Brody said. "He knows what he is."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Judas Priest have rolled out 23 dates for the second leg of their North American tour, which will feature Anthrax in a support role. Those dates start with a September 23 show in Pleasant, Michigan, and run through October 28 in Kelseyville, California. ... Disturbed have revealed dates for this fall's incarnation of the Jägermeister Music Tour; Corrosion of Conformity have been tapped to open. The 32-date run kicks off November 4 in Minneapolis and is set to promote booze in cities like Detroit, Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., before calling it a day on December 22 in Baltimore. ... Prolific punk-metal act Converge have lined up several dates for their upcoming tour with the Red Chord, Darkest Hour and, appearing on select dates, Ringworm and Municipal Waste. The run commences November 4 in Latham, New York, and runs through November 20 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Additional dates are expected to be revealed shortly. ... Manic Music and Distribution is planning a Philadelphia benefit concert at the Trocadero Theatre and other relief efforts for members of New Orleans bands Crowbar, Eyehategod, Soilent Green and Goatwhore, all of whom suffered considerable losses in Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The date for the concert will be announced shortly. Bands interested in performing should call Paula Hogan at (610) 828-8339. Anyone who can donate gear to help replace destroyed music equipment is also encouraged to call. ... Fresh off this summer's Ozzfest, and still adamantly denying their involvement in the notorious Iron Maiden egging incident, Massachusetts hardcore kings Bury Your Dead will head back out on the road this fall, with Terror, Scars of Tomorrow and August Burns Red tagging along for the chaos. The trek begins October 20 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and hits Atlanta, Nashville, West Hollywood and even West Dundee, Illinois, before closing on November 19 in Portland, Maine. ...

The latest butt-kicking stoner-metal band comes not from an experienced headbanger, but from a guy more embedded in the experimental- and indie-rock worlds. Heavy Vegetable and Pinback's Rob Crow has assembled the dense, sludgy Goblin Co--, whose debut, Bagged and Boarded, comes out October 25. While the band's look and aesthetic is tongue-in-cheek to say the least — track titles include "Kegrah the Dragon Killer" and "The Revenge of Snufalufagus" — its music is heavier than a river of molten steel. ... Revamped Swedish death metallers Dissection are close to finishing their forthcoming, yet-to-be-titled third LP, which they've been working on since February at Stockholm's Black Syndicate Studios with band frontman Jon Nödtveidt's brother Emil. A posting on Dissection's Web site characterized the material as "a work of sonic black magic." ... Italian metal act White Skull is eyeing an early 2006 release for their next disc. They've been holed up in Remaster Studio in Vicenza working on the effort, which is said to be a concept album centering on Celtic lore and culture. ... Swedish black-metal band Månegarm will release their fourth album, Vredens, September 27. The disc was produced at Studio Underground and includes "Vid Hargen," "Sigrblot" and "Skymningsresa." Your guess is as good as ours, but you bet it's pretty evil. ... Dutch death-metal band Infinite Hate will release their second record, Heaven Termination, September 27. The album features session drum work by Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork, Aborted). Sinisterly named tracks include "Citadel of Carnage," "Demoniacal Sepulture" and "Horned Priest." ...

The album VH1 Classic Metal Mania Stripped Volume 2: The Anthems will surface October 18. The disc features newly recorded acoustic tracks performed by Kip Winger ("Madelaine") Great White ("Rock Me"), Ratt's Stephen Pearcy ("Round and Round"), Night Ranger ("Don't Tell Me You Love Me") and more. The VH1 Classic Metal Mania: Stripped Across America tour, an acoustic show featuring Pearcy, Don Dokken, Firehouse and Warrant singer Jani Lane, will launch October 18 in conjunction with the release. Dates will be announced soon. ... Although Maryland noisemasters Dying Fetus still haven't found a drummer to replace Erik Sayenga, who left in April, they've already written six new songs for their next album, which they plan to start recording by this winter. New song titles include "Parasites of Catastrophe," "Raping the System" and "Unadulterated Hatred." Drummers who wish to apply for the gig should check out the band's Web site for a list of requirements — one being a spotless criminal record. ... Finnish blackened death-metal band Incriminated will release Promise of Worse to Come September 27. Tracks include "Born to Rule," "Melting the Core" and "Morbid Utopia." ... Oakland, California, sonic destroyers Watch Them Die's Bastard Son hit stores this week. The band will shoot a video for the title track September 14 with director Kevin Leonard (Diecast, Walls of Jericho). The dudes will tour this fall in support of Exodus and 3 Inches of Blood — a trek that starts October 4 in Tempe, Arizona, and runs through November 5 in Santa Clara, California.

• Drowningman
• Judas Priest
• Disturbed
• Manegarm

Clutch's Neil Fallon (file)
Photo: Pro-Rock/Steve Truglio

Clutch have logged enough highway miles for 10 bands, but surprisingly they've never done a festival tour — not one. That'll change this summer when the Maryland hardcore veterans headline the Sounds of the Underground Tour.

"To be honest, [festivals] always struck us as enormous wastes of time and money and didn't look like a whole lot of fun," said Neil Fallon, Clutch's roaring, pint-sized foreman. "[Sounds of the Underground] looks to be something fresh and new. It's not going to be us playing at some ungodly hour in the afternoon, and the people who'll actually go there are hungry for something like this, which works out to everyone's benefit."

Clutch are currently mixing their new disc, Robot Hive/Exodus, for release on June 21. Fallon promises a couple of straight blues tunes plus songs with "very efficient and very traditional arrangements." The band's also working on a DVD that started out as a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of Robot but has been expanded to include "life on the road" footage.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Mastodon, who've been wined and dined by countless majors since Leviathan was released in August, have become the latest metal act to board the corporate ship. According to a Warner Bros. source, the Atlanta quartet has left its longtime home at Relapse. The source said the deal was finalized two weeks ago. ... Judas Priest's U.S. tour in support of Angel of Retribution will begin June 1 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dates are scheduled through July 10 in Phoenix, although more will follow. Queensrÿche, who are currently wrapping up Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel to their 1988 epic, Operation: Mindcrime, will open all shows. ...

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is assembling what he's calling the Gigantour, which will launch in late July and feature some of the most musically proficient metal bands on the scene. The six-week campaign will boast Megadeth, Dream Theater, Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore on the main stage; second stage acts have yet to be announced. Megadeth's lineup for the shows will be Mustaine (vocals, guitar), Glen Drover (guitar), James MacDonough (bass) and Shawn Drover (drums). ... B. Dez Fafara's post-Coal Chamber project, DevilDriver, will release The Fury of Our Maker's Hand this summer through Roadrunner. The disc will include "End of the Line," "Hold Back" and "Fury." ...

Acrobatic quintet Manntis will release their debut album, Sleep in Your Grave, on June 28. The album was produced by Cameron Webb, who has also worked with MotÖrhead and Social Distortion. Manntis are on the road with the Battle for Ozzfest Tour, which runs through April 23 in Richmond, Virginia. A Dozen Furies and Curse Your Name are also on the bill. ... Ronnie James Dio will contribute vocals to a track on the still-untitled solo album by Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda. Quiet Riot bassist Rudy Sarzo plays on two other songs. ... Suicidal Tendencies were forced to cancel their European tour due to "serious health problems of singer Mike Muir," the band's booking agent said in a statement. Muir underwent back surgery last year but had hoped to bounce back in time to tour and finish a new record. ...

Syracuse, New York, riff rockers Brand New Sin will release their second full-length album, Recipe for Disaster, May 31. The disc will include "Black and Blue," for which the band recently shot a video with director Dale Resteghini (Hatebreed, Dillinger Escape Plan). The release will end a period of dormancy during which the band signed to a major label and was dropped before issuing a record. ... Christian death-metal band Extol will release their fourth full-length, The Blueprint Dives, May 3. The album is touted as the band's "heaviest and most diverse" to date. ... Colombian death-metal band Goretrade are getting ready to enter the studio to record their new album, Perception of Hate, which will be released on Displeased Records. ...

"Rise and Oppose," a track from hardcore heavyweights Diecast, is featured in a new Volkswagen commercial. The band has shot a video for the song with Kevin Leonard (Himsa, Terror) that should make its MTV2 debut later this month. ... Death/doom-metal veterans Cianide will contribute an unannounced track to an Antiseen tribute album. They're also planning a split 7-inch with Spanish splatter-metal band Machetazo. ... Metalcore brutes Bleeding Through will headline the second Strhess Tour, which will also feature Zao, Darkest Hour, Martyr AD and Fight Paris. The tour is sponsored by artist Derek Hess and named after his Strhess clothing line. ...

Jazzy hardcore provocateurs The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower caused a stir in Europe recently — and not just in Paris. Various overseas venues were disturbed by the band's name and stage costumes, which include red armbands sewn onto black shirts. The title of their most recent album, Love in the Fascist Brothel, didn't exactly ease anyone's concerns. The band's European booking agent issued a statement that said the musicians "are not Nazis. We personally think that it is, due to the Jewish ethnicity and homosexual orientation of some of the members of the band, unbelievably ignorant to think something like this." The band will open shows in North America for the equally subversive Blood Brothers starting May 10 in Chicago and running through June 17 in Los Angeles. ... Spastic hardcore specialists Drowningman are close to finishing up their next disc, Don't Push Us When We're Hot, for Thorp Records. ...

The first 500 copies of the sophomore album by Orange County's atmospheric Eyes of Fire will come with a bonus CD featuring one 25-minute track. The still-untitled record was produced by the band and Matt Bayles of Mastodon and Isis note. ... Grindcore generators Strong Intention have signed with Goodfellow Records and will begin working on a new album next month. The band then plans to head out with Internal Bleeding, Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus and Kill the Client. ... Following successful surgery to remove his gall bladder, Solitude Aeturnus singer Robert Lowe has returned to the studio to work on the group's new record. Alone will be the doom warriors' first release in seven years. ...

Barry Stern, who drummed for doom-metal legends Trouble and '80s thrashers Zoetrope, died April 1 in his hometown of Chicago shortly after undergoing hip-replacement surgery. A chapel service was held Tuesday. Stern sang and played drums on Zoetrope's 1985 debut, Amnesty, and 1987's A Life of Crime. He left to join Trouble for that band's 1990 self-titled record and also performed on 1992's Manic Frustration. ... Progressive death-metal band Into Eternity were forced to cancel several recent shows because guitarist Rob Doherty was hospitalized with pneumonia in Atlanta. Singer Stu Block and guitarist Tim Roth were also treated for pneumonia. After recovering, the band launched a Canadian tour that runs through April 22. ... Death-metal group Ominous have signed a deal with Chicago's Rotting Corpse Records. The band's first full-length for that label is expected this summer. ...

• Clutch
• Clutch
• Mastodon
• Judas Priest
• Megadeth

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

Judas Priest (file)
Photo: Ross Halfin

When Judas Priest released their second album, Sad Wings of Destiny, they had everything to prove and even more to gain. The year was 1976, and the young musicians from Birmingham, England, were living in the dark shadow of their musically mediocre and commercially irrelevant debut, Rocka Rolla. In addition to dwelling in relative anonymity, they were in danger of being dropped by their nearly bankrupt label. All of that was soon to change.

Sad Wings of Destiny, an epic and cutting-edge disc, featured the classic songs "Victim of Changes" and "The Ripper" and helped set the tone not only for the group's future offerings, but for the future of metal as well.

Nearly 30 years later, Judas Priest find themselves in a similar position to the one they were in just before Sad Wings hit shelves. The group's last two albums, 1997's Jugulator and 2001's Demolition — both of which featured singer Tim "Ripper" Owens — suffered from disappointing sales, and the band seemed in danger of being relegated to the where-are-they-now file. Then, longtime frontman Rob Halford returned after a 12-year absence (see "Back In Black Studded Leather: Halford Rejoins Priest"), and Priest headed into the studio to record their glorious comeback album (see "Judas Priest Have No Problem 'Letting The Metal Roar Out' On New LP").

It makes sense then that the artwork for Angel of Retribution depicts the angel from the cover of Sad Wings of Destiny transformed into a gleaming metallic beast rising up to convert the masses with the thunderous cry of metal. In addition to marking Priest's rebirth, the album revisits past glories with various sonic footnotes. The muscular "Deal With the Devil" is reminiscent of "The Sentinel" from 1984's Defenders of the Faith, "Demonizer" is a blazing riff and double-bass drum workout that brings to mind 1990's "Painkiller," and the power anthem "Worth Fighting For" could have fit on 1979's Hell Bent for Leather alongside "Take on the World."

"It's got a little bit of everything," Halford said. "It's like some of the greatest moments of our career have suddenly come together on these songs. But that wasn't out of any attempt, it's just that the essence of the speed and thrust of these tracks are part of the stamp and tradition and heritage of Priest."

Which is, perhaps, a long-winded way of saying, Angel of Retribution — out March 1 — is kind of like a greatest-hits package of entirely new songs. Halford performs with a sense of purpose and belonging that he lacked in his bands Fight and Two, and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing play with a hunger and energy they've been missing for over a decade, as if the return of their leader has instilled in them confidence and conviction they couldn't summon in his absence.

"We've got a writing formula with Rob that works, and we're very lucky we've got that," Tipton said. "We get riffs and musical ideas and structures and we all meet up with Rob, who has lyrical ideas and we kick the ideas around until the room lights up. Then we start again with another idea."

In addition to being aurally redolent of classic Judas Priest, Angel of Retribution includes numerous lyrics that remind listeners again and again where the band has come from and just how important it is. "Revolution," which shamelessly cops a Jane's Addiction riff, is about being at the forefront of the mid-'80s metal scene, "Eulogy" name-drops the band's seminal album Stained Class, and in just a few hair-raising minutes, "Deal With the Devil" recounts the entire history of the group's meteoric rise from poverty to stardom.

"So, how did we do it?" Halford asked rhetorically. "We say we made a deal with the devil. See, I love that, and I think it's hilarious. We're serious musicians, but we can still be Spinal Tap. You have to be, otherwise you lose your mind like other people have in rock and roll, whether it's Kurt Cobain or whoever."

While "Revolution" is the official first single from Angel of Retribution, the more commercial "Worth Fighting For" seems likely to fare better at radio. As premeditated as it sounds, Halford insisted the track surfaced pretty much by accident.

"We were just sitting there, and Glenn started playing this rolling riff, kind of like [Derek and the Dominos'] 'Layla.' So, I came up with this title 'Worth Fighting For,' and I thought, 'Well, what's worth fighting for?' And then I thought, 'Well, let me talk about relationships again.' And one thing led to another. That's pretty much how everything comes together for us."

• Judas Priest

Artists Who've Never Been #1: Ozzy, Kiss, The Cure, More

• David Bowie
• Lemmy Kilmister
• The Smiths
• Morrissey
• The Who

Ozzfest at the CTNOW.com Meadows Music Centre in Hartford, CT 07.10.2004

• Slipknot
• Slayer
• Otep
• Lacuna Coil
• Lamb of God