Lamb of God's Randy Blythe performs at Ozzfest 2007
Photo: Philip Allen

DEVORE, California — Cool: Parents who still dig heavy metal. Not cool: Parents who still dig heavy metal encouraging their kids to stoke an illegal fire by tossing in cardboard hot-dog cartons and loose socks.

Cool: A horde of Finnish zombies encircled by sparks and flames shredding their way through songs like "Who's Your Daddy?" and "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock" — all while the sun sets in a gorgeous Inland Empire valley. Not cool: Styrofoam bonfires creating a toxic cloud of smoke that sweeps over the audience, causing everyone to cough as if the Great Outbreak just hit.

Cool: People who camp out all day to see a fun show. Not cool: A dude who wakes up on the ground after passing out and, as he comes to, coughs into the face of a security guard, who darts away hacking.

Cool: Lamb of God. Not cool: Static-X.

(See fiery images of the toxic blazes, Lamb of God and Lordi's smoldering sets, the unruly crowd and more in these snaps.)

That's your basic summary of Saturday's Ozzfest installment in Southern California — though you'd probably want to include terms like "sweltering," "poorly organized" and "maybe-this-'Freefest'-concept-isn't-such-a-great-idea" for good measure.

It seems like the perfect hook: Ozzfest brings 15 bands, and bigger crowds turn up because they don't have to pay a dime. Except, while the audience seemed large enough Saturday, the crowds generally haven't been showing up — maybe because preferred seating costs money, parking costs money (and a pretty penny at that: upward of $30 at the Devore show), and the bill could use another heavyweight or two.

On the flipside, many of the bands involved this year are exciting, frothy-mouthed up-and-comers giving it all they've got. Daath and 3 Inches of Blood brought the heat, bludgeoning the crowd with their respective armaments: a six-piece death-metal assault screaming its way out of Atlanta (better not mess with them), and a Canadian neo-NWOBHM entourage that dreams about "impaling the soldiers of God" and humankind being consumed by a flesh-eating forest. (3IOB lacked their howling death-metal singer Jamie Hooper, but guitarist Justin Hagberg held his own filling in during the five-song set.)

Also on the second stage, Chthonic and Behemoth repped the black-metal set (or, rather, sect), while Queens of the Stone Age alum Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator injected a dose of hard-rock humor into the fest and Hatebreed placated old-school vets with an hour-long blitzkrieg. By the time the second stage wrapped and the action shifted to the main one, the lines outside the gates were atrocious — evidence that the early bands were just too anonymous on the whole and not able to drive in the masses.

But by that point, the bands were only half the entertainment: Ozzfest proved once again that, if nothing else, it succeeds in coaxing some really slimy specimens out from hiding. Scattered fights with the fuzz, tired shouts of "Show me your t--s!" and passed-out sunburned people (shout out to Bonnaroo!) were all part of the deal. Adding even more variety to the mix, one dad-for-a-weekend carried his kid on his shoulders despite the chaos — in the mosh pit.

Lordi truly let the sparks fly with what was essentially a George Romero tribute done to metal music, with monster-in-charge Mr. Lordi drenching the crowd with fake, bloody body parts (sound familiar?) and chainsaws spouting fireworks. But as much as the show needed a theatrical element, Lordi haven't translated too well Stateside, at least not yet.

The fires really started going once Static-X hit the stage — but they had nothing to do with the band's performance. While Static-X reminded everyone that their skuzzy brand of industrial metal lost its "nu-ness" around the time Coal Chamber petered out, restless thugs started lighting noxious bonfires that suffocated the crowd.

Attention turned back to the main stage when Lamb of God took over. The band responsible for last year's best-selling new metal release, Sacrament, found themselves essentially opening for Ozzy, and they served their duty. The thunderous, menacing death-metal masters — who were playing second-stage fiddle three short years ago — slayed with a skin-peeling one-hour set that hemorrhaged everything from "Black Label" and "Ruin" to "Blackened the Cursed Sun" and "Pathetic." Frontman Randy Blythe's remarks about the greatness of "Freefest" drew a few jeers, but by and large, the metal masses were sold.

Bringing the unholy mass to a close was the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne (were you expecting someone else?), and he haunted the stage with immortal hits like "Mr. Crowley" and "Crazy Train" and obligatory new selections "Not Going Away" and "Here for You." He was definitely creaky — after all, he only delivered brief sets on the second stage last year and is anchoring this time — but by the end of it, most of the people in the tattered (and heavily tatted) crowd seemed to be thinking one thing: "Hey, at least we got to see Ozzy for free." Oh, and, "Amen."

• Lamb Of God, Lordi, More At Ozzfest In Devore, California, 7.21.07

• Ozzy Osbourne
• Lamb of God
• Three Inches Of Blood
• Lordi

Lamb of God's Randy Blythe
Photo: Dave Etheridge-Barnes/ Getty Images

By now, any metalhead worth his salt knows that tickets to this year's 12th annual Ozzfest will be free to fans, and that the longest-running heavy-metal festival will mostly subsist on corporate sponsorships.

But since Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's historic announcement back in February (see "Osbournes Hype 'Groundbreaking' Ozzfest: 'Why Not Go To A Show For Free?' "), during which the festival's namesake spray-painted the word "free" across the "Ozz" of an Ozzfest banner, fans have been wondering who'd be taking the stage this summer. After all, Sharon previously stated that none of the bands will be paid, outside of merchandise sales, but will be encouraged to play shows on off-nights.

On Wednesday (March 21), the Ozzfest camp revealed that brutal Virginian metallers Lamb of God and cutting-edge Finnish act Lordi would be among the acts to rock the masses from the fest's main stage, along with Ozzy himself, who is expected to preview tracks from his forthcoming studio album — his first collection of new material since 2001 — for fans.

Connecticut hardcore heroes Hatebreed, returning for a second straight year, will headline the tour's dingier second stage, along with Mondo Generator, Ankla, Circus Diablo, Nile and the Showdown.

More artists are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. While it will be Lordi's first Ozzfest appearance, Hatebreed played the festival in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Lamb of God were on the lineup for the 2004 installment.

Ozzfest will make 24 stops across the country, starting July 12 in Seattle, and running through August 30 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

To gain entry into this year's Ozzfest, metal lovers will need to visit the tour's Web site, as well as sponsor Live Nation's Internet home, to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured.

"Ozzfest! Ozzfest! When we left Ozzfest three years ago, that was a mantra that burned itself into our collective subconscious, one that we repeat to this day in an almost autistic manner," said Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe in a statement to the press. "To know once the power, the glory, the sheer brutality of the parking-lot circus stupidity that is Ozzfest is to be destined to repeat it. The fangs are out — our souls (and livers) needed three years to recover from the last run, but we are back and couldn't be more excited. This time, we have age and wis(dumb) on our side — be warned. It will be over this summer."

Hatebreed mainman Jamey Jasta said his band is "absolutely honored and beyond excited to be the sole headliner of the Ozzfest 2007 second stage," and that they'd "had a great time on the main stage" in 2006. "[But] it was obvious that our fans wanted to see us in the setting that they know and love. Having co-headlined the second stage twice in the past, once with Down in 2002 and again with Slipknot in 2004, it's a great achievement for us to now be able to close the show on the second stage and truly make Ozzfest history with our fifth appearance on the world's best tour. We can't wait to demolish the U.S. once again, spending another crazy summer with Ozzy and his traveling circus of metal mayhem."

Ozzfest dates, according to the festival's publicist:

· 7/12 - Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
· 7/14 - George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheater
· 7/17 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
· 7/19 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
· 7/21 - Devore, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion
· 7/24 - Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
· 7/26 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion
· 7/28 - Denver, CO @ Coors Amphitheatre
· 7/30 - Kansas City, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
· 8/2 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre
· 8/4 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
· 8/6 - St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
· 8/8 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
· 8/10 - Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
· 8/12 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
· 8/14 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Theatre
· 8/16 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
· 8/18 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Theatre
· 8/20 - Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center
· 8/22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tweeter Center
· 8/24 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion
· 8/26 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
· 8/28 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
· 8/30 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre

For more on Ozzfest, check out the feature "Backstage at Ozzfest."

• Ozzfest: A Look Back

• Lamb of God
• Hatebreed
• Lordi

Lordi
Photo: The End Records

Life is good for Lordi.

The empire is strong and the franchise is booming. With his stomach full from a multi-course meal at Lordi's Rocktaurant in Rovaniemi, Finland, frontman Tomi Petteri Putaansuu — a.k.a. "Mr. Lordi" — picked up the phone to spread the gospel of his band to North America.

"It's a cool thing to have your own restaurant," he said as he prepared for dessert. "You can taste a little of everything on the menu and not worry about missing anything."

If he had wanted to, Putaansuu could have washed down his meal with a bottle or two of Lordi Cola, but he ordered Pepsi because the restaurant doesn't have the Lordi drink on tap — yet. And, if he had to pay for the sumptuous meal, he could have used a Lordi credit card. Fortunately he owns the restaurant. Even more fortunately, he doesn't have an active credit card.

"That would actually ruin me to bankruptcy," he said. "It would lead me to order Kiss artifacts from the 'Net. I'm a big collector of these things, and to this day I'm the president of the Kiss Army in Finland."

It goes without saying that without Kiss, Lordi — Putaansuu, guitarist Jussi Sydänmaa ("Amen"), bassist Samer el Nahhal ("Ox"), keyboardist Leena Peisa ("Awa") and drummer Sampsa Astala ("Kita") — wouldn't exist. Like Putaansuu's heroes, Lordi wear makeup and costumes, play anthemic melodic metal and believe strongly in branding. And like Kiss, Lordi are huge. Sure, they're still relatively unknown in North America, but their 2006 album, The Arockalypse — which comes out on these shores March 20 — is triple-platinum in Finland and nearly as huge across the rest of Europe.

But there's a major difference between Lordi and Kiss. While Kiss' image stems from cartoons and comic books, Lordi's comes straight from horror movies, which has drawn them comparisons to Gwar. "I am not offended, but I didn't know [about] Gwar until people in Germany asked me about them in interviews," Putaansuu said. "They are so obscure in Europe that it's easy to miss them. I was much more influenced by people like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface and Pinhead and the Cenobites from 'Hellraiser.' I have always been fascinated with monsters and learned to do prosthetic makeup when I was 10 years old."

Putaansuu started Lordi in 1992 as a one-man project and released the band's first demo. Three years later, he recruited friends from the Kiss Army and wrote songs that blended the simplicity of Kiss, the edge of W.A.S.P. and the drive of Accept. Numerous label auditions fell on deaf ears before Lordi were signed in 2002 and released their debut, Get Heavy. They followed two years later with The Monsterican Dream, but Lordi remained an underground phenomenon until last year, when they were contacted by staffers at the pop-music Eurovision Song Contest to represent Finland.

"It's a really kitschy competition, and there was no way in hell any band in Europe would join if they wanted to take themselves seriously," Putaansuu said of the event that launched his band's mainstream career. "But at the time, we had nothing to lose because we were kind of marginal. Metal people thought we were too melodic and mainstream audiences thought we would come and burn their churches."

Lordi played the stomping "Hard Rock Hallelujah" on the televised program and swept the semifinals with 42 percent of the total vote for 12 different contestants, many of whom played Finnish folk music or pop. Then, in January 2006, Lordi competed at the finals. "We felt so out of place there," Putaansuu said. "It was like if Bob Dylan went to a black-metal festival. But all the hard-rock people and metal people came out of the woodwork and voted for us and we won with the highest-ever points in Eurovision history."

The victory propelled Lordi to stardom and piqued the interest of former Kiss manager Bill Aucoin, who linked up with the band. Lordi will make their U.S. debut May 5-6 at the Bamboozle festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A full U.S. tour is also being planned.

"I don't know if we'll have the same success in the States, but we'd like to," Putaansuu said. "All of our influences come from the States — metal and movie culture. So it would be a great way of saying we have arrived."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The dates have been revealed for the upcoming Jägermeister Music Tour featuring Stone Sour, Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall. The tour kicks off March 23 in Maplewood, Minnesota, and is scheduled to hit Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta before wrapping up May 4 in West Des Moines, Iowa. ... Sevendust and Killswitch Engage have been tapped to headline the Red, Black and Blue Festival, which will take place February 22 at the Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York. Joining them on the bill will be DragonForce, Chimaira and Diecast. ... Caliban are entering the studio this week to begin working on their forthcoming LP From Sorrow to Serenity with producer Benny Richter. The disc is slated for release this summer. ...

Frontman Nick Brooks has skipped out on It Dies Today and been replaced by Jason Wood of the Orphan. "The last six years have been incredible and I've seen and done more things than I ever thought were possible with this band," Brooks said in a statement. "I also met so many amazing people along the way and I want to thank all of the fans for being so supportive. ... I've decided to leave the band because that is what is best for everyone at the moment. I will miss everyone, but be sure that you will be hearing from me again. I have a new band called Queen City Station and we should be recording sometime this spring." ... According to drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, the forthcoming self-titled album from his new band Hellyeah — which features current members of Mudvayne and erstwhile members of Nothingface — "is the best record I've collaborated on since [Pantera's 1992 LP] Vulgar Display of Power. The vibe is 'positive with a kick-your-ass-attitude.' The incredible music we've created [has] brought me back to what I love." The disc is slated for release April 10. ...

Through the Eyes of the Dead have decided on Malice as the title for their upcoming sophomore LP, the follow-up to 2005's Bloodlust. The album is being produced by Hate Eternal's Erik Rutan (Goatwhore, the Absence) and recording will get under way February 16. The band plans to have the effort in the bag by March 15. ... Metal extremists Vital Remains have finished recording their forthcoming album with said producer Rutan. It is the group's second LP with Deicide's Glen Benton on vocals and will be in stores April 3. ... Swedish metallers Carnal Forge have signed with Candlelight Records, and new material from the band is expected to land in stores later this year. Carnal Forge had previously released several albums through Century Media Records, including their most recent, 2004's Aren't You Dead Yet? ...

Drummer Eric Schnee has left Nebraska metal outfit Paria and returned to his native New Jersey to revive his former band the Binding. "After a year or so of being away from the band, we have decided that it is time to resurrect this beast again and continue with what we started," Schnee explained in a statement. "We will be touring this coming summer, promoting our now critically acclaimed self-titled EP starting in late June and going until July. I can't even begin to express how excited we are." ... Naglfar's next album Harvest will see release March 13. The effort will contain nine tracks in all, including "Into the Black," "The Mirrors of My Soul" and "Feeding Moloch." ...

Swiss mathcore conjurers Knut are down a guitarist following the departure of Jeremy (just Jeremy), who has split to focus his energies on Mumakil, a grind side project. "This marks the end of an eight-plus-year partnership and a big letdown considering the atmosphere that prevailed within the band and the amount of enthusiasm towards our latest performances," the band expressed in a statement. "We can't help thinking that the best Knut lineup is history. What the future holds for Knut after 12 years of incredibly fulfilling activity, and what might be one too many changes in its shape and form, remains to be determined." ... Obituary, Atheist and Repulsion have been confirmed for the Los Angeles Murderfest Version 3.0, which is set for March 24-25 at the Knitting Factory Hollywood. Also on the festival's bill are Kylesa, Genghis Tron, Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer and Cretin. ...

Machinemade God have lost guitarist Holger Kiparski but didn't' waste any time finding his replacement, as they've added Marc Niedersberg to the fold. "With this new and strong lineup, we're hitting the road in February for a short headlining tour together with our friends in Deadsoil and Koroded," read a statement from the band. Machinemade God plan to hit the studio in March to begin tracking their second album. ... Thrash titans Byzantine will issue Oblivion Beckons in July. The LP will boast a dozen tracks, as well as note-for-note guitar transcriptions with standard musical notations and guitar tablatures. Byzantine will head out on the Chains of Humanity tour with God Forbid, Goatwhore, Mnemic and Arsis starting January 31 in Houston. In related news, Arsis have parted company with drummer Mike Van Dyne, replacing him with Darren Cesca of Burn in Silence and Goratory note. ...

Suicide City, which features former Biohazard lynchpin Billy Graziadei and former Kittie bassist Jennifer Arroyo, began tracking their forthcoming full-length earlier this month. The effort should be out this spring. "The new material is taking Suicide City to the next level, and we can't wait to share it all with you," the band said in a statement. ... Norwegian black-metal legends Emperor will return to the U.S. for three shows this spring. The band played four Stateside gigs last summer, all before sell-out crowds. "The shows last summer were very successful and we had an amazing turnout and support from all the fans," the band said in a statement. "We feel a few more shows are due and this time, all visas are in order and the band will appear in its full command." Emperor will storm Chicago on May 30, hit New York on June 1 and plays West Hollywood, California, on June 3.

• Lordi
• Emperor
• Knut
• Vital Remains
• Stone Sour

DevilDriver
Photo: Roadrunner Records

Ask any member of any metal band what fans can expect from whatever it is they're working on at the moment, and they'll usually come back at you with one of three possible responses: The material is either the most "brutal," "extreme" or "hardest" they — or anyone else, for that matter — have ever churned out. But DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara took things a bit further in describing his band's next opus.

"When you hear this record, you're gonna sh--," he promised. Tempting as that already sounds, he didn't stop there. "In a time when art of this sort is in total despair and everybody sounds the same, and everybody's trying to sound like Metallica, Pantera or Iron Maiden, we're making a definite move towards our own individuality, and it's definitely gonna show on this record. We're onto something here, and it's an exciting and inspiring time for me, man. Seriously."

Well then, the next question is obviously when this yet-untitled aural laxative is going to be out. Fafara assures this spring, but no definite release date has been etched in stone yet. One thing's for sure: DevilDriver didn't waste any time tracking the LP at Sonic Ranch studio, located just outside El Paso, Texas. Fafara said that initially, the band wanted to take two months in the studio to get the album just right. But thanks to producer Jason Suecof (God Forbid, Bury Your Dead) and engineer Mark Lewis (Trivium, Seemless), the album should be in the bag before the weekend.

"It's unbelievable, man," said Fafara, who fronted Coal Chamber before doing time with the Driver. "We tracked what we thought would be two months' [worth of work] in 22 days, and we have two or three more days of vocals. So it looks like we're gonna be tracking the whole record in 31 days. ... In all the records I've done with many different producers over the years, these guys manage to capture some intense vibes.

"It feels like a train moving forward, the way they capture it," he continued. "Rather than just laying down the songs, there's this feeling to 'em, man. They have managed to capture DevilDriver in such an intense, raw form that ... I mean, this feels like the album we should have always made. Everybody likes to say that, but this surely does feel that way."

DevilDriver wrote 13 tracks for the follow-up to 2005's The Fury of Our Maker's Hand but plan to release an album with just 11 cuts, Fafara said. That will include "Cattle Call," "Damning the Heavens," "The Last Kind Words," "Monsters of the Deep" and the likely first single from the LP, "Bound by the Moon." Fafara says he's a fan of every single tune they've written: "I mean, we can't find a B-side, which is the most killer thing about this record. Usually it's obvious. You play 'em back and you go, 'Eh, that's a good song, but it doesn't fit with the rest.' Right now, we can't find [one]."

While Fafara said DevilDriver's self-titled 2003 debut sounded — at least to him — like a band trying to find itself, and The Fury of Our Maker's Hand was just the next step in the band's evolution, this next one's a rager. "My bass player [Jon] Miller walked in the other night and said, 'This record is sincerely pissed — pissed like I've never heard you,' " Fafara explained. "And the music these guys brought in was really thought-out, with lots and lots of guitar work, lots of solos, lots of melody that can be carried off without clean vocals and still sound killer to the ear. We didn't want to carry anything off in a wimpy way. We wanted it to be brutal all the way through. The musicianship has definitely stepped up, and if I ever had to go do soul-searching for lyrics, I did for this record. I just opened up the floodgates, because it was time. People are just gonna go, 'Holy sh--, what a brave move,' when they hear this record."

The rest of the week's metal news:

A belated congratulations is in order for Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio, who married his longtime girlfriend, Kerri, in Hawaii in late October. Killswitch's latest, As Daylight Dies, is in stores now. ... Sevendust, Diecast and Bloodsimple will team up for a North American tour that's set to begin February 8 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sevendust's forthcoming album, Alpha, will be in stores March 6. Dates for the run are booked through February 24 in Providence, Rhode Island. ... The first leg of dates for Terror's upcoming All for Revenge tour have been revealed, and the Warriors, All Shall Perish, War of Ages and Stick to Your Guns have been tapped as support acts. The trek launches January 22 in Detroit, and dates are scheduled through February 3 in Atlanta. ... It Dies Today will head out with Papa Roach next month for a string of 13 North American shows — the first is in Eugene, Oregon, on January 23, and the last is set for February 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... The Jonbenét, the American Black Lung and Blues will hit the road together starting January 1 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Thirty dates have been scheduled for their trip, which concludes February 3 in Austin, Texas. ...

Polish black-metallers Behemoth have begun tracking their forthcoming LP. According to frontman Nergal, the band has "11 songs plus intro ready to go" for The Apostasy. "It all sounds huge and our sound has never been this intense, while being very epic and catchy at the same time," he added. "It has all the Behemoth trademarks, enriched with some fresh ideas. I guarantee some people are going to be surprised." Songs slated for the album's final track list include "Prometherion," "Pazuzu (The Desert Storms Bringing)," "Slaying the Prophets Ov Isa," "Arcana Hereticae" and "At the Left Hand Ov God." The record is expected to drop early next year, but no official release date has been set. ... The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza has signed with Black Market Activities and will begin work soon on their next studio offering. No word yet on when the LP will be in stores, but we'll keep you posted. ...

Norwegian black-metal specialists 1349 will join forces with Goatwhore, Nachtmystium and Averse Sefira for a North American road excursion that'll kick off March 28 in Nashville. Dates run through April 14 in Corona, California, with more expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks. ... Atmospheric Ukrainian black-metal force Drudkh will release their forthcoming album River of Tears sometime next year. No official date has been set just yet for that one either. ...

Power-metal sextet 3 Inches of Blood continue recording their next offering, with Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison in the producer's chair. The record should surface sometime this spring and include "Night Marauders," "Goatrider's Horde," "Assassins of the Light" and "Black Spire." ...

Canadian technical death-metal band Beneath the Massacre will release their full-length debut, Mechanics of Dysfunction, February 20. The album was recorded and produced by Yannick St-Amand (Despised Icon, Neuraxis), mixed by Pierre Rémillard (Cryptopsy, Krisiun) and mastered by Alan Douches (Dillinger Escape Plan, Shadows Fall). Tracks include "The Stench of Misery," "Society's Disposable Son" and "Modern Age Slavery. The band's debut EP, Evidence of Inequity, came out in 2005. ... Ambient psych-metal band Isis will launch a new tour February 22 in San Diego, with dates running through April 8 in Los Angeles. The band's In the Absence of Truth LP came out on Halloween, and its "Clearing the Eye" DVD dropped in late September. Opening for Isis will be Jesu, the latest project from ex-Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick. The band put out its second EP, Silver, in April and will release its first full-length, Conqueror, February 20. "Old Year," "Transfigure" and "Horizontal" are just a few of the songs to be featured on the latter. ...

Anyone bummed that there were only three Megadeth tracks on the "Gigantour" DVD will be pleased to know that the band will release a new DVD, "That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires," March 3. The disc features an October 9 show from Obras Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and includes songs spanning the band's career from 1986 to 2004. Highlights include "Wake Up Dead," "Hangar 18/ Return to Hangar," "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due." ... Theatrical Finnish warlords Lordi have seen their album The Arockalypse already go triple platinum in their homeland this year, and they'll release the LP in North America on March 20 with extra tracks and a bonus DVD. Lordi rocketed to fame after winning the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, and in Finland the band has since been graced with its own credit card as well as branded cola, candy, kebab and comic book endorsements. Related stamps, coins and restaurants are on the way. Is it any wonder that the band's manager is none other than original Kiss manager Bill Aucoin? Lordi will make their North American live debut at the Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on May 5 and 6, and will launch a full invasion of the continent this spring. ...

Onetime Kayo Dot contributor Forbes Graham appears on the debut album by Irepress, Samus Octology, which is due out in early 2007. Tracks include "Samus," "FridOhm" and "June Ipper." ... Canadian death-metal veterans Kataklysm will release the CD and DVD package Live in Deutschland in late January. That same month, the band's U.S. label will also reissue the group's 2006 album, In the Arms of Devastation. That CD will come with the bonus DVD "The End of Serenity: Live in Strasbourg," which was filmed in France during its tour for 2004's Serenity in Fire. The releases will coincide with Kataklysm's participation in the Trendkiller Tour with Sworn Enemy, Suicide Silence, As Blood Runs Black and Too Pure to Die. Dates start February 1 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and run through March 11 in New York. ... Operatic and classical-metal Swedes Therion will release their 12th studio album, Gothic Kabbalah, January 12. Tracks include "Mitternacht Lowe," "Tuna 1613" and "The Wand of Abaris." The album was mixed in Stockholm by Stefan Glaumann (Rammstein, Apocalyptica).

• DevilDriver
• Lordi
• Killswitch Engage
• Behemoth