Taylor Swift's <i>Fearless</i>
Photo: Big Machine Records

Talk about insult to injury. First, the Jonas Brothers' "3D Concert Experience" had to settle for second place at the box office. Then, on next week's Billboard 200, the movie's soundtrack CD will have to make do with being #3.

Who will top the chart? Why, none other than Joe Jonas' ex, Taylor Swift, whose Fearless will notch its 11th (non-consecutive) week at #1 on sales of 73,200, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. With a nearly 20 percent increase in business, Swift proved unbeatable again. Richmond, Virginia, metallers Lamb of God thundered to an impressive #2 with their sixth studio album, Wrath, with sales of 67,600, for their best chart debut to date.

The JoBros are the only other debut in the top 10, well behind at #3 with 49,700. That's a far cry from the #1 debut of their previous studio album, A Little Bit Longer, which sold more than 525,000 copies when it hit the charts in August. The soundtrack to Oscar-winning underdog flick "Slumdog Millionaire" finally saw the huge post-awards-show bump everyone expected, with an 18-place leap to #4 on sales of 44,100. We're not sure if that 109 percent increase from the previous week was helped by the remix of Best Original Song winner "Jai Ho" featuring the Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger.

The rest of the top 10 was rounded out by the usual suspects: Nickelback's Dark Horse (#5, 40,800), Beyoncé's I Am ... Sasha Fierce (#6, 35,400), Lady Gaga's Fame (#7, 32,500), the Fray's self-titled second album (#8, 31,300), Jamie Foxx's Intuition (#9, 30,800) and Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak (#10, 25,500).

A couple of recent top 10 debuts have fallen hard, including Gap Band leader Charlie Wilson's Uncle Charlie (from #2 to #20), Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You (#16 to #27) and M. Ward's Hold Time, which dropped 28 spots to #59 in its second week, with sales of 10,000. Storming back up the charts for no discernible reason is the Christina Aguilera greatest-hits comp Keeps Gettin' Better, which rockets from #159 to #66 on 9,400 in sales, a nearly 150 percent increase from the week before.

Hyped Somali rapper K'Naan's second album, Troubadour, which features cameos from Damian Marley, Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Mos Def and Metallica's Kirk Hammett, debuts at #32 on sales of 15,300. Joe Budden's Padded Room bounces in at #42 with 13,600 in sales, and Project Pat lands at #70 with 8,700 units moved of Real Recognize Real. Way, way down the list is the solo album from Cypress Hill's B-Real, Smoke & Mirrors, which sneaks in at #148 with 3,800 in sales.

And for those keeping score, Guns N' Roses' disappointing comeback album, Chinese Democracy, sank to its lowest position to date, #137, with just 4,000 new sales, as the 13-plus-years-in-the-making CD appears to have stalled out just above the half-million-in-sales mark.

The charts should finally get a shake-up, and a possible takedown of Swift before the three-month mark, when U2's hyped No Line on the Horizon hits next week.

• Taylor Swift
• Jonas Brothers
• Lamb of God

Lamb of God
Photo: Epic Records

Of all of Lamb of God's albums, 2006's Sacrament was perhaps the least political.

Coming on the heels of 2004's anti-war opus Ashes of the Wake — a furious and relentless musical onslaught that was just as scathing in its lyrical attack on the Bush administration — Sacrament was a more personal offering, with frontman Randy Blythe deliberately steering clear of politically charged themes. But on the Virginia metallers' next one, Wrath, Lamb of God sort of return to form, setting their sights on the outgoing president, but using the experiences of others to make their point.

"It's not as soapbox-y, though, and not as rant-y about the government — it's more about personal experiences," guitarist Mark Morton told Metal File. "We've met a lot of people and fans who've served in these wars that are going on around the world, so it's a little more personal, tying the worldview into how it affects individuals. And then there's stuff that has nothing to do with CNN at all. There are songs on this record that talk about our experiences, and are aimed at certain people we've met along the way, who, through jealousy or whatever, found some reason to betray us or turn their back on us or try to stab us in the back. As you have success, people kind of turn against you sometimes, so there are a couple of songs directed at those people. Hopefully, they'll know who they are."

According to Morton, Lamb of God decided well before even writing a single note for Wrath — which has been set for a February 24 release — that they wanted to make a record that sounded nothing like Sacrament, and the guitarist feels they were able to do just that.

"We usually try to do something fresh every time," he said. "This one, I think, is deliberately a little more raw and more aggressive than Sacrament was. Sacrament was a really, really dynamic record on every level, and the songs were all over the place — it was also heavily produced. This one's really raw and real-sounding, from every angle, and we're celebrating imperfections on this record. We're choosing what takes stay on the record based more on their character and personality than how completely mechanically precise they are. It's more about vibe and attitude in the takes than it is about, 'Wow, that was perfect.' It's the perfect ones that get thrown away, because they're just too sterile."

For Wrath, LOG called upon longtime friend and associate Josh Wilbur to produce, opting not to rely on Machine (who'd produced Ashes and Sacrament) a third time. Morton admitted that Wilbur is something of a novice when it comes to major label productions, but feels it worked to the band's advantage.

"Josh is someone who has been in the camp for quite some time," Morton explained. "He worked heavily on Sacrament, engineering the drums and my guitars; he also mixed the live audio for [2008's] 'Walk With Me in Hell' DVD. He's not new to us — he's new to the producer's seat, and he's just done a great job. It was part of our strategy. Certainly, nothing was broke with Machine, who is a phenomenal producer and still a good friend — but this time around, from a purely artistic standpoint, to serve our purpose of trying to really do something a little different, I think it made the most sense to get another angle on the production aspect of it. Josh was the perfect fit, because he already knew us and was familiar with how we play and how we write music and how we record it."

Morton said the record will feature between 10 and 12 songs, and that the band plans on playing at least one new track this December, when it heads out with Metallica for a three-week run of West Coast and Canadian gigs. What should fans expect from the new material?

"The guitar tones are a little cleaner than normal," he said. "We're kind of getting into this mind-set that clean is heavy. Clarity is a lot heavier than oversaturated. It's just real raw and natural and organic-sounding, which, in itself, is kind of revolutionary these days, when kids are making pro audio-sounding recordings in their dorm rooms, on their laptops, and cutting and pasting verses and choruses. It's no longer cutting edge to make a completely space-aged, robotic-sounding record. I think it's almost fresh now to make one that sounds like an actual band played it. Don't get me wrong — it still sounds airtight and rehearsed, because it is all those things. But it's just real."

Morton said he's not sure how fans will respond to the stuff, because some of the band's fans aren't familiar with LOG's entire body of work.

"It's really going to depend on where they came in to the process," he said. "It seems like we gained a lot of fans on Sacrament, and I think those folks will maybe be taken aback a little bit by how aggressive this record is. The fans who came in a little earlier won't be as surprised by that, unless they're surprised that we've returned to that sort of approach. We're not denying Sacrament by any stretch of the imagination — it was just time for something different.

"There had been a lot of stuff we were trying to get out of our system on Ashes and Sacrament, and it took a couple of records to do that," Morton continued. "With that out of our system now, we seemed to just gravitate back towards the things that were the initial genesis of the band, which was really just that cathartic, sonic release. There's a lot of that going on on this record, for sure."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Earth Crisis has wrapped the recording of their Century Media Records debut. Guitarist Scott Crouse says the guys are "very excited for everyone to hear what we've come up with," and hints that, while it sounds cliché, "it truly could be the best Earth Crisis release to date! No really, I know every band says that when they finish something new, but ... really!" ...

Death-metal morticians Cannibal Corpse have dubbed their forthcoming LP Evisceration Plague. Set for a February 3 release, bassist Alex Webster claims that the band's goal "has always been to try and make each new album we record our heaviest," and he feels "we've been able to achieve this goal, and I think our fans will agree." Look for the set to include a dozen tracks, including "A Cauldron of Hate," "Carnivorous Swarm" and "Skewered From Ear to Eye." ...

United Nations have booked their first-ever live performance for January 20 at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C. The band will perform as part of the "Demand in DC: Applauding the Empowerment of People Thru Art/ Photo/ Film/ Music" event; Anti-Flag, the A.K.A.s, and Ruiner are also on the bill. ...

The Red Chord have decided to take a break from writing material for their next album to play a few shows with Overcast and Architects. You can catch them November 9 in Holyoke, Massachusetts; November 14 in Portland, Maine; and November 15 in Poughkeepsie, New York. ...

The Number Twelve Looks Like You christened their forthcoming LP Worse Than Alone; that record will be in stores February 10. They have also booked a bunch of shows with the Fall of Troy, Warship and Black Houses. That tour kicks off November 28 in Salt Lake City, and runs through December 14 in Tacoma, Washington.

• Lamb of God
• Cannibal Corpse
• Earth Crisis

Metallica's James Hetfield
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

It has been four years since Metallica last toured North America, but in that time, the band has rocked millions of fans overseas, spending three of the last four summers playing the European festival circuit. It's not that Metallica has been snubbing its U.S. and Canadian fans — the boys just didn't have an album to promote. But now they do: Death Magnetic hits stores September 12, which means the band will be hitting the road again — this time, taking the Sword, Lamb of God, Down and Machine Head along for a 32-date tour that kicks off in late October.

"It's our first full indoor tour in America," guitarist Kirk Hammett told MTV News during a recent interview. "For the last three or four summers, we've been going over to Europe and doing all the festivals, and it looks like we just totally ignored our fans in America, but that's not the case. As a consequence, the American fans miss us, and they want their Metallica, so this will be a good homecoming for them and us."

Good things will come to those who've waited on October 21 in Glendale, Arizona, where the first leg of the trek begins. While the Sword have been tapped for the duration of the entire tour, Down — featuring former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo — will be on the tour only through the November 23 gig in New Orleans, their hometown.

The Sword have fans in Metallica — drummer Lars Ulrich digs them. Two years ago, during a chance meeting, Ulrich told the band he'd like to have them open for Metallica. "[We were talking to Lars, and he goes], 'We're going to take you guys on tour.' And I'm just like, 'Sure. This is one hell of an ego inflator, but I'll believe it when I'm on it,' " recalled bassist Bryan Richie.

Despite earlier reports that Lamb of God had turned down an offer to open in order to focus on the recording of their next LP, the band will get in on the madness after all, starting December 1 in Seattle, when the tour's second leg kicks off. They'll be on the tour through December 20 in Oakland, California. Three weeks later, when the trek's third and final leg gets under way in Milwaukee, Machine Head will join the bill and continue on through the tour's finale, which is set for January 31 in Newark, New Jersey.

Metallica tour dates, according to their Web site:

» 10/21 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing Arena
» 10/23 - Albquerque, NM @ Tingley Coliseum
» 10/25 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
» 10/26 - Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena
» 11/1 - Portland, OR @ Rose Quarter
» 11/3 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Solutions Arena
» 11/4 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
» 11/6 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
» 11/8 - Moline, IL @ iWireless Center
» 11/9 - Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
» 11/17 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
» 11/18 - Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
» 11/20 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
» 11/22 - Little Rock, AR @ Alltel Arena
» 11/23 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena
» 12/1 - Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
» 12/2 - Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
» 12/4 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
» 12/7 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
» 12/12 - Ontario, CA @ Citizens Bank Arena
» 12/13 - Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
» 12/15 - San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
» 12/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
» 12/20 - Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
» 1/12 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bradley Center
» 1/13 - Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
» 1/15 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
» 1/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
» 1/18 - Boston, MA @ TD Banknorth Center
» 1/26 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
» 1/29 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
» 1/31 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center

• Metallica Find Harmony, But Aren't Stumping For Peace

• Raconteurs, Metallica More Are On Fire At The 2008 KROQ Weenie Roast In L.A.

• Metallica
• Machine Head
• Down
• Lamb of God

Trivium's Matt Heafy
Photo: Paul McConnell/ Getty Images

When Trivium released their third album, 2006's The Crusade, it was immediately condemned by the metal elite, as it marked a drastic change in style for the Floridian thrashers. Most of the band's critics took issue with frontman Matt Heafy's decision to ditch the high, raspy screams he'd become known for. The singer took a more melodic vocal approach, which the band's detractors disparaged as sounding too James Hetfield-like.

Of course, Heafy, a self-professed Metallica fanboy, absorbed that criticism, but claims he didn't take it into the writing and recording sessions for Trivium's next studio offering, Shogun, which hits stores September 30.

"I knew it was going to turn heads and that it was going to make a statement, and we really appreciate that," Heafy said of his decision to go clean on The Crusade. "We've always been a band that's had things about us and things that are going on that creates big, bold waves, and what's so weird about the perception of The Crusade is we wanted to show people that we're not just a band that's going to stick to the same formula every time. On that record, we accomplished our main goal, and that was to make it the exact opposite of [2005's] Ascendancy. We didn't want to do anything that happened on that record on the next one, but we still wanted to keep it us, because we feel we're a band that can broaden its sound and not just stick with one thing. It was still metal, and it was still Trivium, just different and diversified."

And while Heafy defends the decision to switch to clean vocals for The Crusade, he has reverted to his old ways. In fact, Heafy screams more on Shogun than he ever has — but he sings more on it, too.

"With this new record, it basically summarizes everything we feel we've done right as a band, that we feel are key ingredients of Trivium, all rolled into one, with a new direction on top of it," he explained. "So, it does have a little bit of everything we've done, and some more. It has as much singing on it as The Crusade, but it has just as much, if not more, screaming than Ascendancy. The songs are longer, and there are more vocal parts. So, I do everything from the lowest possible singing notes I can do to the highest [Rob] Halford-wannabe notes, and everything in between, and the same goes for all the screaming, because we felt the music called for that stuff.

"With The Crusade, we were done with screaming — done with bands that did it, done with doing it ourselves," he continued. "We just didn't want to do it anymore. But when we started jamming for Shogun, and we heard how brutal and heavy some of the stuff was — it's the heaviest sh-- we've ever done before — we tried singing over it, and it wasn't right. What was it missing? The screaming, and that's exactly what it needed."

For Shogun, Trivium decided against working with longtime producer Jason Suecof (All That Remains, God Forbid) and instead enlisted Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz, who, Heafy said, brought a new energy to the songs.

"We decided to take an old-school approach to the record, using new-school technology, purely for convenience, because tape takes so f---ing long to record with," he said. "Nick made us play this record. The way metal is done these days, you track it a couple of times, make sure its perfect, and then you go in and fix a couple of the pieces — retrigger the guitars and drums. That's just the way it is. But we wanted to go back to the old-school way — record everything right, with no triggers on our drums. We had to make sure the performance was there and the energy was there, and hearing the end result, the stuff Nick drew out of us is just unreal. In terms of heaviness and brutality, it's the best thing we've done. Before, we'd never really considered ourselves a contender for even the word 'heavy' or 'brutal,' but this time, things are different."

Heafy said the new disc incorporates elements of death, thrash and extreme metal — "just a big combination of everything we'd loved as kids" — and that it's evidence of the progression the band's taken with its sound.

"Everyone we've played it for, they're all really excited about it," he said. "I think we've found our sound. We've just discovered it, and with the next one, I think we'll define it. It takes a band a little while to find their sound. Some bands get it on the first record, and some bands it takes several. I think we're one of those bands that's going to develop and fully come into our sound someday. We don't know what record that will be, but this record is even closer to what it's going to be."

This fall, Trivium will be heading out with All That Remains, 36 Crazyfists and the Human Abstract, for a tour that's set to launch September 9 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After that, Heafy said, the band will hit the international circuit before returning to the States next year for Slayer's Unholy Alliance Tour. He said that as far as he knows, it's coming back and "we'll probably be on it."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Unearth have completed recording their new album, The March. It'll be in stores on October 14 and was produced by Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz. Look for the LP to feature 10 new cuts, including "Crow Killer," "We Are Not Anonymous" and "Truth or Consequence."

Overcast , the band Brian Fair was in before Shadows Fall, has posted a track called "Root Bound Apollo" over on their MySpace page. The song comes from the band's re-recorded collection of old material, Reborn to Kill Again, which hits stores August 19.

According to Metal Injection, Lamb of God plan to enter the studio next month to begin recording the follow-up to 2006's Sacrament.

The rumors were true: Black Dahlia Murder will, in fact, be added to Children of Bodom's upcoming headlining run with Between the Buried and Me. That tour commences September 11 in Baltimore.

For Today, Dr. Acula and With Dead Hands Rising will be touring together next month. The first date's been set for September 1 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the trek runs through September 24 in San Antonio, Texas.

Suicide Silence, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Beneath the Massacre and Emmure have lined up a tour that kicks off October 10 in New York. More dates will be revealed as they're confirmed.

Hatebreed, Soilent Green, Emmure, War of Ages and Catalepsy will be touring together next month too. That jaunt starts in Detroit on September 2, and dates are scheduled through September 14 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The lineup's been set for the sixth annual Robot Mosh Fest, which takes over Country Skate in West Bend, Wisconsin, this weekend. Taking the stage August 2 will be A Life Once Lost, the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza and With Dead Hands Rising, while Darkest Hour, Misery Signals, Winds of Plague, Arsis and Arsonists Get All the Girls play August 3.

• Trivium
• Lamb of God
• Unearth

Underoath
Photo: MTV News

On Tuesday, the pride of Tampa, Florida, Grammy-nominated Christian metalcore outfit Underoath, invited Metal File out to Elmwood Park, New Jersey, to producer David Bendeth's House of Loud studios — where Paramore's breakthrough album, Riot!, was tracked — and gave us a quick foretaste of their upcoming 42-minute-long LP, which they'd finished mixing just hours earlier. All told, the mix, which is due in stores this fall, had the boys in the Garden State for nearly two weeks.

When we arrived, we found the band relaxing in the studio's living-room-like lounge, playing "Wii Sports" and abusing the "Addams Family" pinball machine. After a quick photo shoot, Underoath played us six tracks from the disc, which they've given a title that they're keeping under wraps (although guitarist Timothy McTague did slip, saying the name of the record ends with "ation" and that "it will make all album titles up to 2008 disintegrate"). It was the first time the band played any of the new material for anyone outside its inner circle.

According to frontman Spencer Chamberlain, the 11 songs, which were tracked over six weeks in March and April with producer and Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz for the follow-up to 2006's Define the Great Line, were actually written over a two-year time span, and much of the lyrical content was inspired by the singer's struggles and triumphs during that period.

"We write really slow," he confessed, "because we're really anal about what we keep and what we don't. We're not like other bands. We don't go in with 20 songs and pick the best ones. We can barely get out of a room with the six of us agreeing, so, normally, to get 11 songs we all agree on takes two years.

"[This record's] about the last two years of my life," Chamberlain continued. "The rough times, the good times. You know, our band almost broke up, and I had some issues with substance abuse — all kinds of things. Just real life and how I dealt with things. It's definitely some of the darkest [stuff we've done], but that doesn't mean I'm always totally desperate. It's a pretty desperate record."

The six songs we heard — still carrying working titles like "Viper," "Elephant" and "Jam" — were, for the most part, furiously paced, with lots of layers and almost Nine Inch Nails-esque spooky electronic effects. Several of the songs were anthemic, feedback-filled numbers that build slowly to their thunderous, ear-splitting crescendos, and there were breakdowns aplenty. Chamberlain's vocals are intense, passionate and sounding better than ever over the shredding guitars. Aaron Gillespie's adroit drum-pummeling adds even more fury and force to the tracks, which are sprinkled with blistering, steely guitar solos. The songs — which, at times, stop and start on a dime effortlessly — sounded huge and unpredictable, never really heading in those directions you might expect. It's also clear that the band wanted to experiment this time around, injecting almost prog-like elements here and there.

"You've got to step it up every time," Chamberlain explained. "That was the key. This is the first record [we started working on] where we haven't completely hated what we did before. From [2002's] The Changing of Times to [2004's] They're Only Chasing Safety, we hated it. So we changed, and then, by the time Chasing came out, we hated that too. Then we wrote Define the Great Line, and I feel like this record's kind of similar to that. I was worried, at first, but I think we took it and stepped it up a lot. It's the same style — we didn't completely change who we are. But we had to push each other, raise the bar and experiment and explore things we haven't done before. This is our band, and this record — this is our sound."

Underoath, who are releasing their Survive, Kaleidoscope live CD/DVD May 27, are looking forward to previewing the new material for their fans this summer when they head out with Disturbed, Slipknot, Mastodon, DragonForce, Airborne, Five Finger Death Punch, 36 Crazyfists, Machine Head, Black Tide, Suicide Silence, the Red Chord and Walls of Jericho on the inaugural Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival.

"It's cool for us to do at least once," Chamberlain said. "We've done Warped Tour so many times, and we love Warped. I think the shows on Warped, for us, are incredible. But for this record, we wanted to expand musically and lyrically and push ourselves. So why not push ourselves into a market where some may not know about us? Why not play to Slipknot fans — fans that may not like us, and maybe, if they heard us, would? On Warped, we know what's going to happen: Our fans are going to be there. With this, there will be a lot of people who haven't heard us, so it's something totally new for us."

The rest of the week's metal news:

As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis has launched a new side project, the Arnold Schwarzenegger-inspired Austrian Death Machine. The band's debut disc, Total Brutal, will land July 22, and feature 17 songs, including "I Am a Cybernetic Organism, Living Tissue Over (Metal) Endoskeleton," "Who Is Your Daddy, and What Does He Do?" and "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It." According to Lambesis, Arnold "is the embodiment of everything brutal and stereotypically metal." ...

Barely legal metallers Black Tide played a free gig on May 15 at the Whisky a Go-Go in Hollywood during a release party for James Frey's book "Bright Shiny Morning." But things didn't go so well. According to the New York Post, there were a number of scuffles with security during the band's set, and "literary types were horrified as the brawl spilled out to the sidewalk, where it took 20 cops to quell the violence. Three men were arrested." ...

Pantera/ Hellyeah kitman Vinnie Paul has been tapped by Connecticut hardcore heroes Hatebreed to produce, document and record the band's May 27 gig in Dallas for a CD/DVD set. "We can't even begin to explain how excited we are to be recording our live album with Vinnie Paul," Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta commented. "It's a great honor and privilege to be working with him on this." ... Soulfly plan on releasing two editions of their forthcoming album Conquer on July 29. One will be the standard version, while the other will be a special edition with three bonus cuts: "My Path," a cover of Bad Brains' "Sailin' On" and a rendition of Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People." ...

The lineup for this year's Trash and Burn Tour has been revealed. The tour, which kicks off July 29 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will feature Darkest Hour, Misery Signals, Winds of Plague, Stick to Your Guns, Arsis, Light This City and Arsonists Get All the Girls. Dates are booked through September 3 in Seattle. ...

Lamb of God's upcoming two-DVD set, "Walk With Me in Hell," has been plotted for a July 1 release. The effort will contain footage captured during the band's recent appearances on Ozzfest, the Gigantour and the Unholy Alliance runs. ... Strapping Young Lad's upcoming CD/DVD best-of collection, titled 1994-2006 Chaos Years, will hit stores May 27. Band mastermind Devin Townsend remastered 17 of the band's tracks — including "Detox," "Love?" and "All Hail the New Flesh" — for the offering. ...

Danish death-metal act Compos Mentis have been working on material for their next LP, which they'll start tracking June 23 with Christian Bonde. Lyrically, the band said the disc will "be centered around the parish pump and different moments in Danish history, as well as various aspects of a 'typical' Danish mentality."

• Underoath
• Black Tide
• Lamb of God

Soilent Green
Photo: Metal Blade Records

It's been nearly three years since we've heard from Soilent Green, but on April 15, the Southern sludge stalwarts will make their return with Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction, the long-awaited follow-up to 2005's Confrontation. But don't just assume Soilent's members have been sitting around, twiddling their thumbs these last few years, because nothing could be further from the truth.

According to singer Ben Falgoust, he is often asked if the band has thrown in the proverbial towel, or if he ended up exiting the fold to focus full time on Goatwhore, the currently on-tour black-metal band he also fronts. But he claims the band has never once considered pulling the plug on Soilent — everyone's just been busy with other projects is all. Guitarist Brian Patton is also involved with Eyehategod, while guitarist Gregg Harney is a member of Spickle. Drummer Tommy Buckley is also a member of Crowbar, and bassist Scott Crochet plays in a band called Hostile Apostle.

"We all have other bands we need to devote time to," Falgoust explained. "While the rest of the guys are off doing other projects, I'll be home, writing. They'll write while I'm out with Goatwhore. We're not trying to put off one band in favor of another, but when a release hits, I'm obligated to go out with that band as much as possible. When April comes around, Goatwhore's tour with Exodus ends, and I'll be heading out with Soilent again."

That April tour, he said, will be a North American run featuring three other bands on the bill. Falgoust said he wasn't at liberty to discuss any details regarding the trek but that all would be revealed in the coming weeks. While fans have been made to wait three years for Inevitable Collapse — which was produced by Erik Rutan (Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains), who also helmed Conviction — Falgoust said he's sure they'll find it was well worth it.

"Soilent is what Soilent is, but with each record, I think different angles are approached in writing and execution," he explained, saying that the new LP contains elements of the band's previous albums. "The guys [in the band] are really hard on each other about stuff. They'll get to parts in a song where they feel like they're repeating something from a past record, and they'll get into an argument about it, which basically forces us to break away from that mold.

"This record has something new to it — a new edge, I'd say," Falgoust continued. "I don't want to be the guy who says this is our best record yet — all I can say is, when it comes out, you'll just have to check it out, and everyone will have to judge it for themselves. The sound on this record is f---ing amazing; it's just all-out. The guitars sound so sick. I thought Confrontation was awesome, but I think we blew that record out. [This album] sounds ridiculous."

The singer said that, with Inevitable Collapse, Soilent Green wanted to create a guitar lover's wet dream. While some bands focus more on making the drum or vocal parts more prominent on their albums, Soilent wanted the guitars to stand out more.

"The defining feature of a metal band is the guitars — it's what metal is," he explained. "How many records have come out in the last few years that are supposed to be metal, and the guitars are wimpy and low in the mix, and the vocals and drums are overpowering? On a metal record, the guitars are supposed to stand out — and they do on this record. Patton's tone is really good, and Rutan brought that sh-- out. Don't get me wrong — you can hear the drums, and the flow of the bass underneath, and the vocals. But the guitars are just lethal and have that low-end bite to them. It just sounds awesome."

Since Falgoust and the rest of Soilent really wanted the guitars to take center stage, the singer had to take a different approach with his vocal performance on the LP.

"I'm a professional introvert," he confessed. "I deal with people, but in a way, I really don't feel like dealing with people. I like to be by myself. I stay home a lot and watch movies. A lot of the lyrics deal with hatred — I sort of have this obsessive compulsive kind of hatred in me. But before we started working on this record, I'd sing over a good bit of stuff. This time, I sat back and said, 'I think that part needs to flow — no vocals — like a jam part people can get into and have fun with.' Soilent's pretty crazy, but when [a song] gets to that element, where it just rocks out, I thought those parts needed to breathe a little more, so I backed off from smothering them in my vocals. I had to learn the art of actually rocking out to it."

Strangely, Falgoust said an outside force bled into the creative process for him and, in many ways, became an integral part of the entire ordeal.

"I started watching 'Squidbillies,' " an animated series that runs on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. "I became totally addicted to it. Every day at the studio, I would watch one or two episodes, and it became part of the process for me. It was addictive."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe recently checked in with Metal File about the Virginia metallers' next studio effort, which he said they'll embark on this year. "We're going to be writing a new record," he confirmed of the yet-untitled LP, adding that he's going to jet to Japan in February to "kick it with the wife" before putting his nose to the grindstone. "[I'm going to] try and take a deep breath for a few months before we start writing a new record," he said. "I figure we'll start heading into the ... practice space in late March or something." Blythe also pulled back the curtain on a side project, revealing that he's been ganging up with Steve Zing, a founding member of Glenn Danzig's Samhain act. "I saw him and Danzig recently, and I'm going to do something kinda creepy with [Zing]," Blythe said. Adding to what looks to be a busy '08, he added, "I'm working on a lot of different writing projects with different magazines. I'm working on a comic book now as well." Lamb of God recently launched a contest with Sirius Satellite Radio and GarageBand for a contest that asks fans to remix a song from the band's 2006 album, Sacrament. Winners of the contest, which ends February 21, will win a trip to NYC to meet the band at the premiere of its forthcoming, yet-untitled spring DVD. Go here for more info. ...

The long-awaited studio-album reunion between ex-Sepultura and Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera and ex-Sepultura drummer Iggor Cavalera is scheduled for release on March 25. The Cavalera Conspiracy's Inflikted marks the first time the two brothers have recorded together in over 10 years. "Cavalera Conspiracy is about a sense of being released," Max said in a statement. "You bottle [up] a monster for 10 years and then let it out. It's explosive, and we waited a long time for this beast to be set free." The album was recorded in July at Undercity Recordings in North Hollywood, California, and produced by ex-Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader and Lucas Banker of the Dirty Icon production team. Special guests include Down and ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown, and Max's stepson Richie Cavalera (Incite). A tour is being planned for the spring. ... Testament singer Chuck Billy will perform at the Longest Walk Kickoff Concert on February 9 in Oakland, California. Billy will sing with his brother Andy and Grammy and Native American Music Award winner Star Nayea. The concert is a benefit for Longest Walk 2, a 4,400 mile trek across the U.S. that aims to draw attention to environmental issues. Testament's new album, The Formation of Damnation, comes out April 29. ...

Celtic Frost are putting together an album tentatively titled Monotheist Companion that will feature unreleased songs from 2006's Monotheist sessions and rearrangements of tracks from the album. The disc is scheduled for a summer release. In addition, Demon Entrails, a CD of raw, early-'80s demos by Hellhammer — the band fronted by Celtic singer and guitarist Thomas G. Warrior — comes out February 18. ... Japanese conceptual psychedelic doomsters Boris will release their new full-length album, Smile, April 29. The group will precede the release with a one-off show in New York on March 4. ... New York electro-metal renegades Mindless Self Indulgence will release their new album, If, on April 29. The first single, "Mastermind," will be issued digitally February 12. ...

God Forbid recently reached out to their fans to come up with a good title for the group's upcoming DVD, which is pegged for a May 27 release. After combing through the pile of submissions, the band chose "Beneath the Scars of Glory and Progression," which was submitted by David Cazares of Chino, California. "He made out jobs a lot easier," guitarist Doc Coyle said in a statement. "Maybe we'll have our fans name everything from now on." It's not clear if Cazares will receive some sort of reward for his effort aside from this extra praise from Coyle: "[The name] captured, in a statement, what this DVD really says about God Forbid. The concert and documentary featured on the DVD are positive forces in our band's movement from turbulence to continuous kinetic growth. It deserved a title that illustrated that, with all the bad things that have happened to us, even more good things happened, and we look forward to an even brighter future." God Forbid will enter New Jersey's Trax East Recording Studio later this month with producer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, In This Moment) to work on their sixth studio album. ...

Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris played lead guitar on the debut album by Fierce Allegiance, The Meaning of Sacrifice, which was produced by Ken Olden (Damnation AD). The melodic thrash/death-metal band from Washington, D.C., is currently in talks with several labels about releasing the disc. In the meantime, the tracks "No Way Out," "Crime and Passion," "Viking" and "Lost G'neration" can be downloaded on the band's MySpace page. ... Psychedelic stoner band Danava will release their second disc, UnonoU, February 19. The Portland, Oregon, group will support the disc with a North American tour with Acid Mothers Temple that starts March 13 in Los Angeles and runs through April 8 in San Francisco. ... Misery Signals have entered the studio with producer Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Soilwork) to record the follow-up to their 2006 sophomore disc, Mirrors. "I'm psyched about the new record," singer Karl Shubach said in a statement. "It's got a lot of elements that weren't in last one, a lot of parts that are just heavier with a lot of off-time polyrhythm, like Meshuggah." "This is going to be a record that brings the band to a new level," Townsend said. "The rock will continue to roll in a fastidious way." ...

It's rare for indie-rock icons to have any affinity for heavy metal, but David Pajo is an unusual breed. The former guitarist of Slint and ex-member of Tortoise, Stereolab and Zwan has created the full-on metal band Dead Child with Michael McMahan (the brother of Pajo's ex-Slint bandmate Brian). The group's full-length debut, Attack — which combines elements of doom, thrash and NWOBHM on songs like "Twitch of the Death Nerve," "Battlesnake Chalice" and "Eye to the Brain" — is scheduled for release April 8. ... Our condolences to the family and friends of Gruntruck and Skin Yard singer Ben McMillan, who recently died from diabetes in his Seattle hometown. He was 46. McMillan suffered with the condition for eight years and succumbed to his illness after experiencing complications from a related blood-clotting disease. Skin Yard predated the grunge scene and featured producer Jack Endino on guitar. After the band broke up, McMillan formed Gruntruck with ex-Skin Yard drummer Norman Scott. The group released two albums, 1991's Inside Yours and 1992's Push, before calling it a day.

• Soilent Green
• Lamb of God
• Celtic Frost
• Testament
• God Forbid

Lamb of God
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

Long before the bill for last summer's free Ozzfest was revealed, Metal File spoke with Lamb of God guitarist Chris Adler to gauge his opinion on the long-running fest going gratis. His response wasn't surprising, until a month or so later, when the metallers were named as one of the festival's mainstage acts. That's because the idea, at first, rubbed him the wrong way.

"As a fan, I'm excited. But as an insider, I realize something is funky about it, and I don't know how they're pulling it off," he said at the time. "At the end of the day, someone is getting paid, and to expect the performers to walk up there and do it for free while someone is benefiting from it other than them, that doesn't seem right to me. I love the idea that people can come and see bands they love and not lose their butt on the ticket's price, but for it to be free? You can't tell me the organizers are not making money at the end of the day. To expect the performers to perform for free, it devalues the performer and the living we're trying to make. If you can do it for free now, what was the point of ripping everyone off before?

"It's dangerous, because the young, innovative bands helping metal evolve will get shut out of this whole thing," he continued. "If people expect every show and every piece of music to be free, we will lose the ability to continue to evolve. There will just be the same established acts that can somehow figure out ways to make money."

Last week, Adler — who is in promotion mode for the band's upcoming co-headlining run with Killswitch Engage — defended his earlier statements and said that, in practice, the free tour actually worked out well for Lamb of God and several other bands on the lineup.

"We didn't want to be put into some kind of support slot with restrictions," Adler said. "If you want us to be part of the tour, and you're not going to pay us our market value, and we're going to give 110 percent to every fan that shows up, we have to have our say in how it's done. And they were extremely accommodating to what we wanted to do. The options at the time were to do a headlining tour, which we'd just done with Machine Head and Trivium; [or] to go out with Korn, who had offered us a slot [on the Family Values Tour,] but it [wasn't the offer they had hoped for] or to take this Ozzfest on, to see what happened, and to play in front of an audience who's maybe never seen or heard of us before.

"As a musician, of course I want to make a living and come home and keep the lights on," he added. "But really, the spirit of what I do is share the music we create with people who might be interested in hearing it. So to get in front of an audience that maybe hasn't heard of you before, it would have been irresponsible for us not to do it. In the end, was it undervalued? Were people not paid? Were people struggling to get through the whole tour, including us? Absolutely. Did the fans get their money's worth? Yes. And did we make some new fans out of it? I think so."

Adler said he doesn't think Ozzfest should be free going forward but reiterated that he's glad Lamb of God signed on for the trek last summer.

"How do you turn down main support to Ozzy Osbourne on Ozzfest, playing in L.A. to 55,000 people?" he asked. "That's an experience I'll never forget. For us, I know next year we're not doing anything because we want to write a record, but we thought this year's [Ozzfest] was massively successful and exposed the ... normal Ozzfest fan to something a little deeper in metal than what's out there."

With 2007's Ozzfest behind them, Lamb of God are preparing for the last tour in the cycle for last year's Sacrament. After that, they'll head into hibernation mode and begin work on their next LP, Adler said. The band's upcoming run is a revival of sorts, of the 2003 Headbangers Ball Tour — that trek featured Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage, the latter of whom are co-headlining the new LOG trek, which kicks off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and runs through December 17 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will serve as main support for the tour.

"It's the exclamation [point] to the album cycle," Adler explained. "We're going to go away and hibernate for a while after this tour, so we wanted to make it something special — and get back with our friends in Killswitch, especially. On this tour, we want to dig a bit deeper on all of our records, so we're not bored with it. It's important for us to step it up a notch and give people a reason to come out and see us."

Adler said LOG plan to inject into their new set several songs from the self-titled album they released under their previous name, Burn the Priest, in 1999. After the tour, they'll spend some time away from the band, "so we can remember what our wives look like." Then, they'll get serious about writing new material: "It's time for us to put out an unpolished, nasty metal record," the guitarist said.

"Actually, in our talks of this hibernation next year, we've really, all of us, have gone back and revisited the Burn the Priest album and what it meant at the time, and what we can learn from it in going forward to the next record," he continued. "I think it's definitely something we're going to be considering in the writing process. We have some ideas floating around, but nothing cemented or named yet. One of the things we've all done is [gone] backwards in our history and pulled out [2000's] New American Gospel, and the Burn the Priest record, and we want to take the experience we have now as writers and players, and revisit those records — to get back into that headspace again but bring the experience we have now to that process. We want to get a little dirtier, because we don't want to be this homogenized metal band."

Adler said the bandmembers are considering producing the LP themselves but may also consider assembling a team of producers — some they've worked with in the past, some they've never worked with before — to help guide them through the process.

In the meantime, LOG have two releases on the way to hold fans over until the next record, which Adler said could be ready in time for a late 2008 release. This spring, the band will release another DVD, which the guitarist said is the companion disc to the DVD that came with deluxe editions of Sacrament. It will feature tons of tour footage and include "more of the drinking aspect of the band."

Adler also said Sacrament will be reissued on November 27, but in a unique form.

"The label came to us several months ago, right before Ozzfest, and said they wanted to repackage the record with some kind of bonus track and sell it again," he said. "We didn't want to do it. Being fans of music and people who buy music, it always sucked to go buy a record and then two months later, there's another version of it with a live track that you love, and you have to spend your money again. We came back to them and said, 'No, we don't want to do it. Please don't do it. We will be very unhappy if that happens.' They brought us to the table and asked if there was any way we'd feel good about re-releasing Sacrament."

So Adler came up with a rather genius idea. "It will come with a disc of every music file, every instrument, separated, for every song on the record," he said. "The solos, the effects, everything, so that anybody can reassemble them, can cut them up, lay down their own vocals, cut out the drums, do it themselves, produce it better than we did. This is the studio experience of the record, and with any recording program, you'll be able to import these files and do whatever you want with them."

The rest of the week's metal news:

As Killswitch Engage prepare for their tour with Lamb of God, frontman Howard Jones revealed to Metal File his desire to work once again with Blood Has Been Shed, the band he led before replacing Jesse Leach in KSE back in 2002. "We'll probably do something else again," he said. "It's still just [drummer] Justin [Foley] and I, [guitarist] Corey [Unger] and [bassist] John [Lynch], and we'll probably record something again. We might drum up something here, because the band's been around for quite a bit of time, and we need to celebrate our anniversary and put out something — maybe do a few new songs. We'll reconnect at some point, because it's something we've tossed around. It's just a matter of everyone connecting." Meanwhile, Killswitch guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz is continuing to work on his side project, Burn Your Wishes, with Unearth's Ken Susi, Seemless' Dave Pino and Derek Kerswill, and former Poison the Well bassist Iano Dovi. ...

Iron Maiden have pulled back the curtain on the double-DVD release of their classic concert video "Live After Death," which was originally issued in 1985. The new package will come out February 5 and coincide with the beginning of the band's Somewhere Back in Time world tour, which launches February 1 in Mumbai, India. The first DVD captures a 90-minute concert performance at California's Long Beach Arena during 1984's Powerslave tour while the other one contains the second part of the documentary "The History of Iron Maiden" (part one is available on the DVD "The Early Days"). There's a glut of bonus footage too, including an hourlong documentary, interviews and 50 minutes' worth of footage from the band's Queen-supporting set at Rock in Rio in 1985. The total running time of the package is over three hours. "It was one of the first full concerts to be filmed after the advent of video, and of course the live album [of the same name], recorded on a different night to the video, has long been considered to be one of the seminal metal live albums and has sold millions since," the band's longtime manager, Rod Smallwood, said in a statement. "Fans have been begging us to do this DVD for some time now, but we wanted to wait until we were able to re-create that whole tour to go with it." ...

Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist and masked maniac Buckethead will release a pair of DVDs on December 11. The first, "Young Buckethead," features a complete concert by his old experimental band, Deli Creeps, that was filmed in 1990 at the Cactus Club in San Jose, California. The disc also contains footage under the headers "Buckethead in the Basement" (with the guitarist on synth) and "Buckethead's Backyard Solo" (a 14-minute jam of virtuosic weirdness). For those who can't get enough, the second DVD, "Young Buckethead 2," contains a Deli Creeps show from 1991 at the Kennel Club in San Francisco; the band's debut, at San Francisco's I-Beam in September 1990; and a comedic backstage-monologue feature called "Buckethead in the Park." ... Between the Buried and Me, August Burns Red and Behold ... the Arctopus will launch a three-week tour on November 29 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dates run through December 16 in Asheville, North Carolina. ...

The Hard Rock/ Metal nominees for the seventh annual Independent Music Awards are: New Jersey's Ashes Are Nutritious ("Genocide"); Sweden's Electric Earth ("Words Unspoken"); Canada's Unexpect ("Another Dissonant Chord"); the U.K.'s Weapons ("Terrorist Youth"); and Canada's State of Shock ("Life, Love & Lies"). The winner will be announced in December. Past winners include God Forbid and Lacuna Coil. ... Goth-rockers the Gathering will release a double-DVD and CD called "A Noise Severe" on February 5. The recordings were made in Santiago, Chile, during the band's South American "Homelands" tour and will be the group's last releases to feature singer Anneke van Giersbergen, who left in June to focus on her new project, Agua de Annique. She has not yet been replaced. "There was an incredible noise the whole concert," drummer Hans Rutten said in a release. "The audience was superb. I think it's a very elegant way to end an era — with Anneke, that is — and it gives strength to us and what the future will bring. I think the recordings speak for themselves. It's unique. It's a statement. It's something to be proud of." ...

Veteran thrashers Testament will re-release two albums, 1997's Demonic and 1999's The Gathering, January 8. The discs were originally released on Spitfire but have since gone out of print. Recorded during the period when guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist Greg Christian and drummer Louie Clemente were out of the band, Demonic features guitarist Glen Alvelais (Forbidden), bassist Derrek Ramirez (Dragonlord), and drummer Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Death), while The Gathering features guitarist James Murphy (Death, Obituary), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Iced Earth and Sadus) and drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer). Testament are currently working on their first album of original studio material since The Gathering. ...

Western Massachusetts band the Acacia Strain have added a second guitar player Jonathan Dennison (Unholy, Another Victim) in time for their upcoming tour with Despised Icon, Full Blown Chaos and the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. "I couldn't be happier with our decision," singer Vincent Bennett said in a statement. "Everyone is really excited to have him onboard, and we can't wait to see what he has to offer this band. We're wicked excited for this tour." The upcoming trek kicks off November 24 in Chicago and runs through December 22 in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta has signed Florida sextet Catalepsy to his Stillborn label. The band recently finished recording its debut full-length CD, Iniquity, with producer Brian Elliot at Miami's Mana Recording Studios. The disc is scheduled for release on February 12. "It's great adding yet another young and hungry band to our new and improved roster," Jasta said in a statement. "Catalepsy crushes, and I'm glad to have them onboard. Plus they are from Florida — that state f---ing rules and has produced so many great extreme bands." ... In related news, Hatebreed will headline this year's Stillborn Fest, a 10-day tour that kicks off December 20 in Springfield, Virginia, and ends December 30 in Rochester, New York. At All Cost, God Forbid, Agnostic Front, Necro and new Stillborn signees Thy Will Be Done are also onboard, and additional to-be-announced bands will play select dates. ...

Stoner/psychedelic metalists Danava will release their second album, UnonoU, February 17. The disc will be the follow-up to the group's self-titled 2006 album. ... Progressive Canadian death-metal band Into Eternity will launch a North American tour with prog veterans Symphony X and Epica on April 4 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dates run through May 3 in West Springfield, Virginia. "The whole band is blown away to be touring with Symphony X," Into Eternity guitarist/singer Tim Roth said. "What a way to kick off the new album cycle. I look forward to seeing Epica as well. This is going to be a heavy tour with lots of high singing and shredding, and an amazing package for the fans to see." Into Eternity are currently working on their first concept album, which will be the follow-up to 2006's The Scattering of Ashes. ...

French electro death-metal band the CNK, will release its second album L'Hymne à la Joie, November 20. The album, which was produced by Stefan Bayle (Anorexia Nervosa), has been described by the band as "Rammstein and Alec Empire, sitting together on a heap of human corpses, rambling on the death of our modern world." What could be finer? ... French dark-metallers the Old Dead Tree have parted ways with Foued Moukid, who has stepped down from his drum-wielding duties after three years with the band. Moukid has decided to devote himself full-time to his other band, Arkan. "We have been working together for almost three years and we shared some unforgettable experiences together," the band said in a statement. "We will obviously remain friends and this 'breakup' has been on very good terms from both sides." The Old Dead Tree are now on the lookout for a new drummer, and those interested in trying out should e-mail the band at Info@TheOldDeadTree.com.

• Lamb of God
• Killswitch Engage
• The Acacia Strain

Soilwork
Photo: Nuclear Blast Records

Back in 2002, Soilwork released the well-received Natural Born Chaos, a tight, ultra-intense LP that irrevocably altered the band's sound — and for the better. It's still regarded as a tremendous breakthrough for the Swedish melodic-death-metal merchants, thanks in large part to producer Devin Townsend's influence.

Unfortunately for Soilwork, the Strapping Young Lad frontman — who has also worked with the likes of Lamb of God and Gwar — was too busy with his own projects to assist the band on its subsequent releases (2003's Figure Number Five and 2005's Stabbing the Drama), much to Soilwork frontman Björn "Speed" Strid's chagrin.

"He's meant so much to Soilwork's music," the giant singer explained. "I don't think we'd sound the way we do without him. He's been such a huge inspiration through the years, and he creates music in such a unique way ... I could definitely see him doing the next record for us."

By "next record," Strid's referring to the one that will inevitably follow Sworn to a Great Divide, the band's latest studio outing, which hits stores October 23. While Townsend didn't produce Sworn in its entirety, he did free up some time to work with Strid on his vocals, which the producer was "really psyched to do," Strid explained.

Sworn was tracked in Soilwork's hometown of Helsingborg, at Not Quite Studios — which is owned by the band's friends in Darkane. The album, like Soilwork's other efforts, expands on the sound they've been developing since the release of 1998's Steelbath Suicide, and Strid believes it's the band's most diverse offering to date.

"We can't make the same album twice," he explained. "Our music, it comes out in a natural way. We want to top ourselves every time, and we learn from the previous recording and try to take it to the next level. I definitely think we have developed our own sound, which is kind of hard nowadays. We were one of the originators of this balance between melodies and intensity, and we've developed that through the years. In the beginning, it was mostly the guitars that took care of the melodies. Now, it's in a different shade — it's more like the vocals take care of some of that stuff."

Soilwork, who were one of the main attractions on Ozzfest's second stage back in 2005, plan to spend the next year or so on the road to promote Sworn, Strid said. They'll get started next month when they take part in one of the year's biggest metal tours: the Lamb of God/ Killswitch Engage co-headlining run, which is set to launch November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and go through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

It will be the band's first arena trek — a welcome change, Strid said, from Ozzfest's outdoor amphitheaters. After that tour wraps, Soilwork plan to return to Europe for some gigs and then head back to the States sometime in early 2008. Strid said there are no solidified plans yet for any '08 tours but confessed that several things are "in the works."

The band shot a video back in July for the album's lead single, "Exile," which Strid said has an unusual plotline.

"This director [Daniel Larsson] contacted us, and he had a tricky concept for the video," the singer explained. "His idea was that the whole band would be locked inside these speakers and amps, and this girl's walking her dog and she finds the speakers and amps in the bushes. She gets addicted to the music that comes out, and she wants to present it to the world — but we're working against her, tumbling around in the speakers. It's actually quite cool."

Soilwork's music will be featured in the upcoming video game "Overclocked," a thriller about an Army psychiatrist who's called to evaluate five young patients who've lost their memories. The band wrote an exclusive song, also called "Overclocked," for the game. Strid said they also hope to issue a DVD next year, as it will mark the 10th anniversary of Steelbath Suicide's release.

"It will be a live DVD," he said. "We wanted to do something special for our fans, and we've got lots of material already. We want to film some more shows soon — maybe even tape one show from each continent we hit on our tour."

Unfortunately, the yet-untitled disc will not feature footage from one of Strid's most memorable shows, which happened several years ago when the band was on tour with Brazilian death-metallers Krisiun.

"It was our first tour in Europe, and we were driving around in a house van that kept on breaking down," he explained. "We were playing in France at this restaurant, but the staff there thought they had booked a Brazilian samba band. You can image the looks on their faces when we all walked through the door. But actually, it was an unbelievable show. We still played, and the people there were really nice — they fed us and gave us red wine. It turned out pretty cool at the end."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Swedish band Sonic Syndicate will make their North American debut on an upcoming tour featuring Amon Amarth, Himsa and Decapitated. The tour launches November 19 in San Diego and runs through December 19 in Los Angeles. "We are excited and really looking forward to finally getting over there to see the American fans," guitarist Richard Sjunnesson said in a statement. "I have personally followed [Amon Amarth] since the early '90s, and touring with them makes me happier than words can express. It will of course also be an honor to share the stage with the brilliant metal acts Himsa and Decapitated. See you all soon!" ... West Virginia's Byzantine will drop their third album, Oblivion Beckons, at the end of January. The album was produced by Aaron Fisher and is the follow-up to 2005's ... And They Shall Take Up Serpents. "This is the first Byzantine album in which all four members have contributed songs," singer/ rhythm guitarist Chris "OJ" Ojeda said in a statement. "To my ears, it makes for a much more varied and interesting album from start to finish." Tracks include "Absolute Horizon," "Nadir" and "Expansion and Collapse." ...

Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe's side project, Emigrate, will bring their self-titled debut to the U.S. on January 28. The band's first single, "My World," was featured in the film "Resident Evil: Extinction." A video for the second single, "New York City," was recently shot in New York and can be seen on the Emigrate Web page. Emigrate — featuring Kruspe (vocals, guitar), Olsen Involtini (guitar), Arnaud Giroux (bass), Henka Johansson (drums) and Sascha Moser (programming) — recorded their album with longtime Rammstein cohorts Jacob Hellner and Stefan Glaumann. "At one point, I was asking myself, 'Does the world really need my record?' " Kruspe said in a statement. "[But I decided] I had to do it, simple as that." Kruspe is currently in Berlin with Rammstein recording the band's next album. ... Burnt by the Sun, From Autumn to Ashes and Schoolyard Heroes have been added to the lineup for this year's Saints and Sinners Festival, set for November 3 and November 4 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Also slated to take the stage are Against Me!, Saves the Day, Horse the Band, the Number 12 Looks Like You, Glassjaw, Between the Buried and Me, From First to Last, Norma Jean and others. ...

Pig Destroyer frontman Blake Harrison and Misery Index bassist/singer Jason Netherton are now the hosts of a new two-hour show on XM Satellite Radio station Liquid Metal. Named "The Ultraviolence" after a 1987 Death Angel album, the program will debut Friday night (October 12) at 7 p.m. on Liquid Metal, XM channel 42. "We will play everything you may have missed, you have never heard of and/or you should know and [be] raising your illegitimate children to (preferably starting in the womb)," wrote Netherton in a release. "We will also be having guests and friends on regularly. The war starts now." ... Polish death-metal veterans Vader will release the live DVD "And Blood Was Shed in Warsaw" on November 20. The disc was shot at the Stodola Club in February on the last stop of the band's tour to promote its 2006 album, Impressions in Blood. The show features guest appearances by members of Behemoth and Vesania as well as the videos for "Helleluyah (God Is Dead)" and "Sword of the Witcher." ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma, metalcore band the Agony Scene will release their third album, Get Damned, October 23. The disc will be the band's first to feature drummer Ryan Folden, who replaced Brent Masters late last year. The band will launch a tour with A Life Once Lost, Suicide Silence and Walls of Jericho on October 30 in Rochester, New York. Dates run through November 14 in Lewisville, Texas. ... Psychedelic cult-metal band Bigelf will release their debut album, Hex, in North America on October 30. The disc was recorded in 2003 and released shortly after in Europe, but never came out Stateside. ... Long Island, New York, hardcore bludgeoners This Is Hell are in Full Force Studios with producer Joe Cincotta (Obituary, Suffocation) tracking the follow-up to their 2006 full-length debut, Sundowning. Drums for the yet-untitled new disc were recorded at Killingsworth Recording Company in Long Island with Tomas Costanza (Diffuser, Bedlight for Blue Eyes). The album is tentatively scheduled for release on February 19.

• Soilwork
• Lamb of God
• Killswitch Engage
• Sonic Syndicate
• Amon Amarth

Mariah Carey
Photo: Mariah Carey/Getty Images

Mariah Carey got a win in court last week when a federal judge decided that a copyright-infringement case against her had no merit. Singer Rachele Chafir had sued Carey in April 2006, claiming that Carey's hit "It's Like That" was copied from her song "Sexy" and lifted key pieces, including the music, for the chorus. Chafir, who copyrighted the song in 2004, claimed Carey had access to "Sexy" since it was available on a Web site, but U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood decided that wasn't proof Carey or her collaborators had gone to the Web site or lifted the material, which wasn't "strikingly similar" enough to be considered infringement. With "no genuine issues of material fact," Wood closed the case. "It was the right decision," Carey's lawyer Ilene Farkas told MTV News. "The record was clear in this case." Meanwhile, Carey is moving on with her yet-untitled follow-up to The Emancipation of Mimi, which her record label confirmed is now due December 4. ...

Going, going ... to Cooperstown. And with an asterisk on it. Baseball star Barry Bonds' record-breaking home-run ball, which was purchased two weeks ago in an online auction by hip-hop fashion mogul Marc Ecko, will be heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum after all. Ecko bought the ball and launched a Web site giving fans the chance to vote on the ball's final destination: outer space or to Cooperstown, with or without an asterisk signifying Bonds' alleged steroid use in helping him become the all-time home-run king. The announcement was made Wednesday morning (September 26) on the "Today" show after a week of voting. According to Vote756.com, over 10 million votes were cast, of which 47 percent chose to send the tagged ball to the famed baseball museum. ...

The twisted saga of the investigation into the unsolved 1997 murder of the Notorious B.I.G. took another turn this week when Waymond Anderson, an inmate serving life for murder, recanted testimony in which he had implicated the Los Angeles Police Department in the rapper's murder. The Los Angeles Times reports that Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement as part of a "scam" cooked up with two other convicts to get a big monetary settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most shockingly, Anderson accused the rapper's family — which has filed a wrongful-death suit seeking damages from the city — and its lawyer of taking part in the scheme and offering to pay him a percentage of the settlement for false testimony against the LAPD. In the August 20 testimony, Anderson said he had never met the officers he implicated, despite earlier statements in which he described conversations with the two disgraced ex-LAPD cops. A lawyer for Biggie's family, Perry Sanders, called Anderson's allegations "100 percent, demonstrably false," adding yet another twist to the already-knotted-up story by saying that Anderson appeared to be changing his story at the behest of Chuck Philips, a Times reporter who has written extensively about the murder investigation and has questioned the theory of LAPD involvement. Phillips and the Times dismissed the allegations. ...

In other Biggie news, the recently released documentary "The Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life" follows the rapper's life from his early days to his death with interviews from many of the behind-the-scenes music-industry figures and friends who watched the rapper rise from a street-corner hustler to one of the biggest rap stars in the world. The film also features several minutes of previously unreleased footage shot by a bystander of the scene on the night Biggie was gunned down. The fan's video — which director Peter Spirer ("Beef," "Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel") said has been reviewed by authorities — doesn't capture the moment Biggie's car was shot at, but it does have audio of the shots and shaky footage of the chaotic aftermath. ...

Embattled football player Michael Vick is facing stricter release conditions after testing positive for marijuana earlier this month, The Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson imposed the new conditions, which include restricting Vick to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring and making him submit to random drug tests. He was ordered to continue participating in substance-abuse and mental-health counseling. Vick was put under pretrial release supervision in July, and the restrictions included refraining from the use of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who pleaded guilty in August to federal dogfighting charges, is awaiting sentencing December 10 — and Vick's violation of the conditions of his release could be taken into consideration by the judge. He faces up to five years in prison for the federal charges, and has been indicted on additional state charges in Virginia as well. ...

A second woman has filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne over a melee that broke out during one of his shows at Morgan State University in Baltimore in October. According to an AP story, Carlisa Dixon said she was impaled on a metal pole after the crowd surged to snatch up money that was being tossed from the stage. Dixon is seeking $1 million from Wayne's record label and touring companies, and another $1 million from the university, claiming she underwent surgery for a puncture wound as a result of the crowd surge. A lawsuit was filed in August by another woman who claimed she was trampled in the same money-throwing incident. A spokesperson for Wayne could not be reached for comment at press time. ...

A man died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday night in what police think may have been a crowd-surfing or moshing accident. The Canadian Press reports that Vancouver police say the man was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd at the Pacific National Exhibition Forum during the show and worked on by first-aid personnel on site before being transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have ruled out foul play. ... The Voodoo Music Experience is shifting locations, but just slightly. The fest, to take place October 26-28, has a new site in New Orleans City Park to accommodate ongoing restoration and improvement of the park. The shift brings the fest closer to Tad Gormley Stadium, where Voodoo was first held in 1999. ...

Do you march to Nelly's beat? The rapper is cobbling together a marching band for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. Auditions will be held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis, and Nelly is looking for girls who can play drums, tri-toms, bass drum, tuba or trumpet. Prospective players need to know how to perform his song "Grillz" and move to the beat of the song while playing their instruments. Final auditions will be held October 8 in Atlanta, and those who can't make the auditions in person can post a one-minute video clip on Nelly's drum-line-audition site. ... If you've been doubting Swizz Beatz's fashion sense, think again — Gap has tapped the hugely popular producer for its spring ad campaign. ...

VH1 Rock Docs picked up its first Emmy win on Monday as "DMC: My Adoption Journey" earned the award for News & Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Arts & Culture Programming. The program, which revolves around the Run-DMC member's search for his birth mother, premiered in February 2006 and will re-air on VH1 on Saturday at 10 p.m. ... Have you already imported Babyface's Playlist into your own playlist? Then mark you calendar — the singer is putting together a tour in support of his recently released LP. Babyface will play a gig in the Philippines on October 13, followed by a stretch in Japan; after that he'll hit Oakland, California, on November 23, and Sparks, Nevada, the following day. ...

During a recent visit to "The Howard Stern Show," Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx spoke out about drummer Tommy Lee and his apparent departure from the band. He told Stern that Lee quit, and Sixx blamed the current legal problems the band is having with one of its former managers for the turmoil. Sixx said that, since Lee isn't the Crüe's frontman or chief songwriter, the band should be fine without him. He added that he harbors no ill will toward Lee. ... Snow Patrol keyboardist Tom Simpson was expected to appear in court in Glasgow, Scotland, on Tuesday to answer to drug-possession charges filed against him this summer. While the charges weren't dropped, the prosecution doesn't intend on taking "further action," meaning the charges will either have to be re-raised again or dropped altogether. ...

Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's side project Brad are getting back together for a one-night-only show on October 17 at New York's Webster Hall. The benefit event will also feature Billy Bragg and be hosted by Tim Robbins. It is being held to support Woody and Marjorie Guthrie, and the 40th anniversary of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, which was founded by Marjorie. ... Puddle of Mudd aren't ones for Southern hospitality, apparently. Frontman Wesley Scantlin has been banned from Memphis' Graceland after hopping in the pool in Elvis Presley's mansion during a tour on Monday. ...

The Eagles will perform on an awards show for the first time when they take the stage at the Country Music Awards, which will air November 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Carrie Underwood is also slated to perform. ... The Rolling Stones' recent tour didn't just carry the band to the top of Forbes' list of biggest-earning music acts — it landed them in the Guinness World Records, according to Reuters. The classic-rockers' A Bigger Bang tour took $437 million dollars to give them a new record, for the world's most successful music tour. ...

Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God will be teaming up for a late-fall co-headlining tour, which is set to kick off November 28 in Lowell, Massachusetts, with dates booked through December 17 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. DevilDriver and Soilwork will open on all dates. ... Chris Cornell has added another round of dates to his North American tour, which began in the spring. He has booked another 28 gigs, meaning the trek will continue through November 23, when he's expected to perform at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. ...

A photo from Elton John's collection has been pulled from a British gallery where it was to be displayed over concerns by police that it might be child pornography. The photo — which was taken by award-winning American photographer Nan Goldin — shows two young girls, one with her legs spread apart, and was to be displayed at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in northern England before it was seized by police, according to London's Times Online. John released a statement, explaining, "The photograph entitled 'Klara and Edda belly-dancing' (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the 'Thanksgiving' installation by renowned U.S. photographer Nan Goldin ... The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world [and] has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid [Spain], New York, Portugal, Warsaw [Poland] and Zürich [Switzerland] without any objections of which we are aware."

09.25.07

While her fellow Black Eyed Pea Will.I.Am is hyping his new project, Songs About Girls, Fergie isn't slowing down with her own solo affair, last year's The Dutchess. The singer just shot a clip for the song "Clumsy" with directors Marc Webb (Diddy, the Pussycat Dolls) and Rich Lee (Chamillionaire, Dashboard Confessional). The surreal, humorous clip features Fergie falling head over heels — get it? — for love in various scenarios. ...

A House panel cast a congressional light on hip-hop lyrics on Tuesday (September 25), with David Banner and Master P giving sharply different views. The Associated Press reports that the latter rapper (real name: Percy Miller) told the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that he is determined to create clean lyrics. "I want to apologize to all the women out there. I was honestly wrong," he said of his prior material. Banner (real name: Levell Crump), on the other hand, defended his profane lyrics, saying, "Change the situation in my neighborhood, and maybe I'll get better." But while P and Banner didn't see eye to eye in terms of who is responsible for derogatory language in hip-hop, they agreed that the government shouldn't censor lyrics. "If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities. Drugs, violence, sexism and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed," Banner said. According to AP, the hearing was similar to the 1985 event in which late rocker Frank Zappa made a feisty appearance also railing against censorship. ...

Like the sound of the "Rocawear Arena" instead of the "Continental Airlines Arena"? Yeah, so does Jay-Z. The ambitious hip-hop mogul is bidding for the arena's naming rights, according to New Jersey's Star-Ledger. Although he is the co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and his Rocawar is a sponsor of the NBA team — which currently plays at Continental — sportswear maker Southpole has made the highest bid so far, $2 million. But there's a catch: The reason the name is up for grabs is because Continental is backing out of its deal with the arena, and both the Nets and hockey team the New Jersey Devils are planning to move to other venues. ...

Life isn't getting any easier for Britney Spears. Kim Robard-Rifkin, the reported woman whose car the singer hit in August — for which she was charged with two misdemeanors on Friday — has spoken out to CelebTV.com. "I was not surprised with the criminal charges — this is what happens when somebody hits your car and runs — especially when it is all caught on video," she said in a statement. Spears' former bodyguard Tony Barretto also spoke out on Monday, telling "Today" show host Matt Lauer that he had witnessed her using drugs on two occasions. While Barretto did not specify which drugs he supposedly saw her taking, he said both incidents occurred at a nightclub in Los Angeles, one at the table she was sitting at and the other in a private restroom. When Lauer asked him about a third incident in which he alleges to have seen her strung out in a Los Angeles hotel room, Barretto replied, "I did." ...

Sarah Silverman was surprised by the reaction that met her controversial VMA monologue, in which she flung derogatory insults at Britney Spears, among others, she told Us Weekly. Regarding one of her saltiest remarks — that Spears' kids "are the most adorable mistakes you will ever see" — Silverman replied, "The joke that everyone was upset about ... was the most innocuous joke. It never occurred to me that [it] would be deemed hurtful or over the line." She also told the magazine for its new issue, which streets Friday, "I don't want to get into feuds with girls half my age. I'm in it to be funny and not for the drama. It's embarrassing." ...

Look, up in the sky, it's a new Gnarls Barkley album! And as Cee-Lo recently told MTV News of the follow-up to St. Elsewhere, "It sounds otherwordly. ... It sounds like an original, if I do say so myself. The theme is progression and how there's a first time for everything. You just have to go for it." Beyond that, though, Cee-Lo didn't want to give up too much. Asked about collaborators, he demurred: "Danger Mouse is my special guest. He's my counterpart in the enigma of Gnarls Barkley." No duh — we meant, anyone else? "Let me continue to surprise you," Cee-Lo smiled. For those who caught Cee-Lo's take on Prince's "Darling Nikki" with the Foo Fighters at the VMAs, he wants fans to know that his performance at the show was supposed to be a surprise appearance with Amy Winehouse, "believe it or not." But since she had to bail from the show, he's saving that collaboration for a future appearance. ...

The Sex Pistols — who just tacked two more gigs onto their upcoming November reunion in London, according to BBC News — have another trick up their collective sleeve: A newly recorded rendition of their punk staple, "Anarchy in the U.K." The band entered the studio for the first time in 30 years to record the track, which will surface on "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." ... As I Lay Dying clearly have more than a few gasps left — the metal band edged out Switchfoot, Jason Mraz and others to win the San Diego Music Award for Artist of the Year. AILD nabbed the same honor in 2005. ... Canadian singer/songwriter Patrick Watson and his band have pulled off an arguably more impressive feat: The Montreal quartet have nudged by Arcade Fire and Feist to land the Polaris Music Prize for Best Album. ...

Despite the recent head injuries sustained by guitarist Brent Hinds, Mastodon have booked a gig, opening for the Queens of the Stone Age on October 29 in Los Angeles. The band is also scheduled to appear at the Vegoose festival on October 27 in Las Vegas, where Hinds was jumped following Mastodon's performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. Police claim Hinds was attacked outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on September 10 during an encounter with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian and his friend William Hudson. According to police, Hudson assaulted Hinds, and Odadjian witnessed the incident. ... While at the VMAs, Mastodon told MTV News that they wrote their best song ever — even though it's not quite finished yet — while on the way to the big show. "It's pretty much the best record we've yet to write," guitarist Bill Kelliher said before singing a couple of the riffs with Hinds. "That's how it goes — du-duh-du-duh na-nah-nah. We wrote it in the car on the way over here, at least the intro of it. Part one. We're at the really beginning stages. It's going to be awesome, though. Everything we do is amazing." ...

The Game entered his expected not-guilty plea on Tuesday to three felony counts stemming from a pickup basketball game in Los Angeles in February. The rapper (real name: Jayceon Taylor) is free on $50,000 bail and has a pretrial hearing set for October 30. ... Jack Bauer might not be such a hero after all: Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Tuesday morning for drunken driving in Hollywood, Reuters reports. The actor was pulled over after making an illegal U-turn and blew more than the .08 legal limit upon taking a breathalyzer test. He posted $25,000 bail at a Hollywood police station and is due in court on October 16. ...

The Phil Spector murder trial is in the hands of the jury now, but that hasn't stopped more bizarre developments from emerging in the case. According to AP, over the weekend, a threatening post appeared on a MySpace page possibly belonging to the music producer's wife, Rachelle. "I love Phil Spector!!! The Evil Judge Should Die!!!! Xoxo Chelle," read the post, a police spokesperson told the news outlet. The page, which features an image of Rachelle wearing a "Team Spector" tee, was referred to a sheriff's department unit that investigates such threats. The post has since been removed. ...

Amazon's new digital-music store is up and running, with songs going for 89 to 99 cents and albums selling for around $6-$10. The songs, which don't have copyright protections, can be burned onto CDs and copied to multiple computers. Record-label giants Universal and EMI, in addition to a flood of indie labels, are selling their songs through the site. ... A former trustee in James Brown's estate might have misappropriated up to $7 million of the late music legend's money, special administrators told a South Carolina judge on Monday. State Circuit Judge Jack Early told David Cannon, the former co-executor of Brown's will, to pay $400,000 and produce additional documents. Early also said Brown's family could pursue the claims. ...

The Cult will headline the fall installment of the Jägermeister Music Tour, which is set to launch October 17 in Pala, California, and run through mid-December, with the full list of dates coming soon. Rounding out the bill will be Vietnam, the Cliks and Action Action. ... Former L7 leader Donita Sparks is going out on her own with her debut solo effort, Transmiticate, due January 22. The effort, which will feature her new backing band, the Stellar Moments, shifts away from the grunge and metal sounds that defined L7 and tinkers with more pop and dance elements. ...

Fans of Los Angeles ska act Hepcat are mourning the passing of bassist Dave Fuentes, 36. While details are scarce, the band did issue a statement, saying, "We are sad to announce that our brother, beloved bandmate and amazing friend, David Fuentes, is no longer with us. He will be missed by everyone but especially everyone in the Hepcat family." He leaves a wife, Yohanna, and two sons, Andrew, 7, and Darren, 3. A memorial fund has been established to help his family. ... A special-effects technician working on the set of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" was killed when a truck carrying a camera platform rammed into a tree on Monday in London, AP reports. Filming was not taking place at the time of the accident, which is under investigation.

• Mariah Carey
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Lil Wayne
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Killswitch Engage

Atreyu
Photo: Hollywood Records

Atreyu singer Alex Varkatzas used to deal with severe anxiety by taking antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication including Lexapro and Klonopin, which helped him work and tour without suffering from panic attacks. However, for the writing and recording of Atreyu's new album Lead Sails Paper Anchor, Varkatzas went cold turkey and let his emotional upheaval inform the band's songs even more directly. Of course, as any psychiatric worker will tell you, being off your meds can have its drawbacks as well.

"I lose my mind a couple times a day now," Varkatzas admitted. "But I try to deal with my emotions instead of hiding behind them, and that's something that's new for me. In the past, I always used to drink or take a pill. Now I'm learning to cope with reality."

One of Varkatzas' main coping methods these days is writing lyrics, which is partially why new tracks like "Honor," "Can't Happen Here" and first single "Becoming the Bull" are so fraught with tension and aggression. But while Varkatzas is raging as hard as ever, he's no longer ranting about getting dumped or betrayed. Instead, he's addressing larger issues such as war, self-empowerment and the importance of family.

"I'm dealing with grown-up stuff now lyrically because that's what's going on in my life," he said. "I'm 25 now. I bought a condo, so I'm dealing with the responsibilities of being a homeowner. I just had my grandpa pass away when I was on tour, and it was horrible that he was dying and I couldn't go home. There was nothing I could do about it, and I had to learn to accept that."

In addition to maturing as a lyricist, Varkatzas has branched out as a singer. With the help of vocal coach Ron Anderson and an awful lot of persistence, Varkatzas is no longer leaving all the melodic parts up to drummer Brandon Saller. Sure, Saller's honey-sweet voice washes through many of the choruses, but Varkatzas has learned to carry a tune as well, and now offers a variety of voices including a more powerful roar ("Can't Happen Here"), pained croon ("Lead Sails [And a Paper Anchor]") and Vince Neil-style yowl ("Blow").

"This is the most nervous I think I've ever been for a record," Varkatzas admitted. "I wanted to do something different and to live up to my potential, so I worked really hard to be able to handle the singing parts. I'm still not a natural singer, but when I set my mind to something, I refuse to take no for an answer."

Various stylistic nuances also contribute to the album's fresh feel. "Falling Down" is a shuffling romp that sounds like a metallic Green Day with horns; "Becoming the Bull" is embellished with industrial effects; and "Slow Burn" features pedal-steel guitar.

"This album isn't just about guitars, bass, drums and vocals," Saller said. "There are strings, opera vocals, hand claps, mandolins, Turkish saz — anything we could think of that seemed cool at the time."

Contributing to the diversity of the album was producer John Feldmann (Goldfinger, the Used), who encouraged Atreyu to push their boundaries and take chances. "He really helped us with our structuring, and figuring out what works and what didn't, and bringing a different set of ideas to our band than we would normally have," Varkatzas said. "But we put in a lot of really long and hard days. He'd make me come up with lyrics on the spot and push me so hard. I would work my ass off and try as hard as I could, and then John would go, 'You know, that's good, but you can do better.' But that pushing helped us all get to new levels on this record."

In the end, Atreyu created their most diverse and ambitious album — a disc that should shatter the metalcore box they've been forced into and help earn them a new following that appreciates good, challenging music. At the same time, many of the elements on Lead Sails Paper Anchor are poppier than past excursions — occasionally bordering on Linkin Park territory.

"This is definitely a metal record, but there's more to it as well," Saller said. "There are rock and roll, punk and even almost dance aspects. But in essence, it's a true Atreyu record. This is where we come from. This is what we are."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Machine Head's upcoming U.S. tour will be light one member. Bassist Adam Duce will miss the fall run after breaking his leg while dirt-bike riding in Redding, California. At first, doctors thought Duce had merely sprained the limb, but X-rays later confirmed the break. The injury required surgery that involved attaching a steel plate and two screws to the broken bone. Machine Head — who are in the final stages of selecting Duce's temporary replacement — will kick off their tour September 7 in Anaheim, California, and bring it to a close October 12 in Hollywood. ... Lamb of God throat specialist Randy Blythe makes a guest appearance on Overkill's next one, Immortalis, which is slated for an October 9 release. According to a statement from the band, Blythe "stepped in to give the track 'Skull and Bones' the ultimate hellish vocal-duet vibe." ... Exodus will release The Atrocity Exhibition ... Exhibit A in late October. The disc boasts nine cuts, including "Riot Act," "Children of a Worthless God" and "The Garden of Bleeding." ...

First they were calling themselves Inflikted. But now the new band — featuring Sepultura founders Max and Igor Cavalera, along with Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier on bass and Soulfly's Marc Rizzo on guitar — will go by the moniker the Cavalera Conspiracy. The band is in the process of tracking its debut LP in Los Angeles and hopes to have it ready in time for an early 2008 release through Roadrunner. ... Nebula, Les Breastfeeders and Bonk will team up for a North American tour set to kick off September 28 in Whistler, British Columbia. The trek, called "Rock de National," runs through November 10 in Los Angeles. ... On October 22, Swedish-metal minstrels Opeth will release The Roundhouse Tapes, a two-disc live set captured during the band's November 9 performance at the Roundhouse in Camden, London. The collection will include live versions of Opeth classics like "Under the Weeping Moon," "Bleak" and "Demon of the Fall." ...

Droid are no longer opening the main stage on the Family Values Tour — they're now closing the fest's second stage. ... Colorado's Planes Mistaken for Stars are throwing in the proverbial towel but plan on going out in style with a spate of to-be-announced farewell shows. In a statement, the band blamed the split on "financial strain" and "family obligations," before adding that "we just felt it was time. Our love for each other and our music has not diminished. It will always be there." ... Fear Before the March of Flames will hit the road this fall with Circa Survive and Ours for a series of 34 live gigs. The first is scheduled for October 10 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the last for November 25 in Cleveland. ...

Dutch death-metal act Prostitute Disfigurement have finished work on their next studio outing, the aptly titled Descendants of Depravity. The set will feature nine fresh songs, including "The Sadist King and the Generalissimo of Pain," "Killing for Company" and "Fatal Fornication." ... German black-metallers Dark Fortress have found themselves a new frontman in Morean, best known for his work with Noneuclid. "Our decision is based on his immense musical and vocal abilities ... and dedication to extreme and dark music," the band said in a statement. "He will be responsible for the lyrical concept of the forthcoming album, which will be completely finished by the end of October. Expect a worldwide release via Century Media Records in early 2008, followed by increased live activities." The band's previous singer, Azathoth, left back in May, citing personal reasons. ... Norwegian death-metal outfit Chain Collector — which features Carpathian Forest guitarist Gøran Boman — will release their sophomore LP, Unrestrained, on October 22 in Europe. There's no word yet on when — or if — the disc will see an American release yet, but expect it to feature "Your Halo of Thorns," "Bringer of Sins" and "As the Play Unfolds." ...

Sometimes band breakups can be confusing or overly dramatic. In the case of Austrian extremists Pungent Stench, it's both. According to drummer Alex Wank, the band's split was "very sudden and sad," and he blames the internal strife on singer Martin Schirenc. Wank claimed in a statement that Schirenc is "jealous about my work for the Stench." Tension between the two now puts the future of the Stench's upcoming LP in doubt, as Schirenc has vowed to stop playing live gigs and working on the record. "I think the band has come to an end and there won't be any future live activities, which is sad," the drummer said. "This was always the most important thing with Pungent Stench, at least for me, and I think our supporters honored that in coming to our shows and let us feel good. I am very sorry that this unique project has come to an end." ... French black-metal act Blut Aus Nord have posted a new track, "The Sounds of the Universe," on their MySpace page. The cut is from the group's Odinist, which hits stores October 22. ... Rwake and Total F---ing Destruction will head out in October for a brief 10-date run of shows. The first takes place in Atlanta on October 5 and the last date is scheduled for October 14 in Chicago. ...

Reunited grindcore trailblazers Brutal Truth have started writing material for their forthcoming LP, which will be released through Relapse. So far, the boys have finished six new songs, which bassist Danny Lilker said in a statement "are shaping up to be some of the most intense sh-- we've ever written. After eight years, it feels damn good to write some really psychotic grind, and we've jumped right into the deep end of the pool." ... Bury Your Dead have lined up a headlining fall tour with support acts Bring Me the Horizon, Ion Dissonance and Nights Like These. The trek launches September 21 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and runs through October 20 in Tampa, Florida. ... Dates are still being confirmed for a fall tour that will see Jesu and Torche teaming up. Things will get started in Washington, D.C., on October 18, and so far, gigs are booked through October 30 in Lawrence, Kansas. More dates will be announced in the coming weeks. ... As Cities Burn have been tapped as the support act for Dredg's upcoming tour, which begins September 20 in Reno, Nevada, and runs through October 7 in Los Angeles.

• Atreyu
• Dark Fortress
• Brutal Truth
• Machine Head
• Lamb of God

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

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

MTV Headbangers Ball Tour live at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA

• Lamb of God
• Shadows Fall
• Killswitch Engage