Ozzy Osbourne
Photo: Sergio Dionisio/ Getty Images

Will there be an Ozzfest in 2008?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Flames' <i>Sense of Purpose</i>
Photo: Koch Records

The first thing you notice about In Flames' forthcoming album, A Sense of Purpose, has to do with aesthetics. It's vibrant and multihued, brimming with bright colors, which is to say, it's not very metal at all — at least not very death-metal.

But according to guitarist Björn Gelotte, In Flames wanted to buck the deep reds, depressing browns and dreary blacks that blanket most LPs churned out by bands of their ilk. "It's important for us to do something different when it comes to the artwork," he said.

The band commissioned Alex Pardee to handle the cover, which he based around a crude labyrinth game featuring a board punctured with 36 holes and a small metal ball. The object of the game is to avoid these holes. According to the band's rep, the game "represents life and the holes represent difficulties you may face during your lifetime." The cover depicts a small boy in an owl mask trying to get to the end of the labyrinth. Throughout his journey, he encounters various monsters and characters he tries to avoid.

"It's too easy to be categorized just because of your album artwork," Gelotte said. "I like that it has a lot of colors in it, because it just makes it easier for us to do cool artwork for the stage shows and for our merch. And the cover actually makes sense when you listen to the lyrics. But yes, people aren't used to aggressive metal bands having colors on their albums. It's supposed to be black-and-white with a corpse on there and blood, and that's death-metal, you know? But it doesn't always work like that. We've done that, and we've moved on."

It's doubtful that other death-metal bands will follow suit, but then again, In Flames have always been the kind of band that sets trends instead of following them. After all, the Swedish metallers are considered pioneers of what has become known as the Gothenburg sound, and they've influenced scores of other musicians since forming back in 1990.

"That makes me feel really old sometimes," Gelotte said with a chuckle. "Most of the bands that sort of sounded like a rough copy of In Flames on their first demos have evolved into something of their own, and that's all that matters. You always have to take what you're inspired by, mix your own juice with it and come up with something that hasn't been heard before. It's always been really cool, being an influence to someone else, and it's very flattering. You still want to see these bands evolve and have their own niche."

For In Flames, A Sense of Purpose, due in stores April 1, marks several firsts: It's the first LP they've recorded in their new studio ("A really cool place to hang out, with clean toilets," the guitarist said), which makes it the first album they've recorded without time constraints.

"It was comfortable for us," Gelotte said. "It was easy for us to get home after we'd finish tracking. And there was never another band knocking on the door, saying, 'Our turn.' It was really relaxed and there was very little friction. The whole process was extremely smooth, and we're super-psyched by the result."

The band is also on a new label, Koch Records, after putting out 2006's Come Clarity through Ferret. Perhaps it was the studio or their new working relationship, but Gelotte said this was also one of the first times that In Flames were perhaps a little too inspired.

"We recorded 16 songs this time, where usually we only track the songs we're going to put on the record," he said. "But we had a lot of inspiration this time around, which gives us a lot of bonus material for EPs."

The songs, too, aren't standard In Flames fare.

"We had a clear vision of how we wanted it to sound, so instead of having this really static drum sound, for instance, we wanted it to be really organic," he said. "The whole production should sound organic, like a live band playing. We also wanted to focus a bit more on the guitars, which is always fun for me. There are way more solos than we usually do. I'm excited about that, because we're not shredders — we do melodies and we do riffs."

It's going to be a busy year for In Flames, whose touring plans have already been booked through Christmas. They'll be heading out on this year's Gigantour come April 12 in Denver with Megadeth, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire. That tour wraps May 22 in Phoenix. After that, it's back to Europe for the summer festivals, then they'll head to Japan and Australia. Sometime in late fall, the band plans to return to the States for a coast-to-coast headliner.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Shadows Fall will embark on a headlining run this April, with Kataklysm, the Showdown, Arsis and Droid in the support slots. The trek commences April 13 in Buffalo, New York, and is set to conclude April 26 in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... Divine Heresy, Sworn Enemy, From a Second Story Window, With Blood Comes Cleansing and Dance Club Massacre will be joining forces — also in April — for a 10-date run that kicks off April 19 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and wraps April 30 in Rochester, New York. ...

On April 29, Roadrunner Records will be reissuing a classic. Life of Agony's 1993 LP River Runs Red will be repackaged with several bonus tracks and a DVD. The bonus tracks include "Here I Am, Here I Stay," "Depression," "3 Companions" and "Plexiglass Gate." ... So much for Brain Drill — the band seems to have thrown in the towel. According to a MySpace post from guitarist Dylan Ruskin, the split all comes down to weed. He claims he advised the rest of the band to leave their marijuana at home before their last tour, but that advice was ignored. He said the band was pulled over by police in Utah recently, and the boys — and their van — were searched. While they weren't charged, Ruskin said he later told the rest of the band to ditch the herb. They didn't, and when the band's van somehow ended up reaching the Canadian border, they were searched again — only this time, they submitted to body cavity searches. You can read the rest of this fantastic tale over at the band's MySpace page. ...

Nuclear Blast has signed extreme-metal masters Keep of Kalessin. The band's forthcoming album, Kolossus, will hit stores in June. ... The dudes in the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza were met with some misfortune last week, wrecking their van in Texas, but the band's tour is carrying on. In a statement, the band said, "We were involved in an accident with a minivan, and it left us without a tour van. We just got the van for this tour, and we are still making payments. We left the van in a graveyard in [Texas], and a great friend in Plano was so kind to tag along with us and let us tour in her van. So the wreck has not stopped us [from] delivering the chart-topping hits."

• In Flames
• Life of Agony
• Shadows Fall

Hate Eternal
Photo: Metal Blade

Two days before Florida death-metal band Hate Eternal were scheduled to embark on the 2006 Jägermeister tour with Chimaira, Arch Enemy, Nevermore and God Forbid, drummer Derek Roddy quit to join Today Is the Day, forcing frontman Erik Rutan (ex-Morbid Angel) to scramble for a way to salvage the situation.

Not only was Rutan determined not to disappoint Jägermeister, Hate Eternal also had a live DVD shoot that had been planned for ages scheduled in London following the tour.

So Rutan picked up the phone and called Kevin Talley (ex-Chimaira), who had just finished filling in on a Black Dahlia Murder tour, and asked him if he was interested in playing with Hate Eternal. "It was a shot in the dark," Rutan said. "I just said, 'Hey man, we're leaving in two days. Can you learn six songs fast?' And he said, 'Sure.' He's an incredible drummer, so it worked out great."

For the DVD shoot, Rutan recruited Reno Kiilerich (ex-Dimmu Borgir), who had to learn 14 songs while Hate Eternal were touring the U.S. with Talley. Then the band flew to Holland, practiced for two days and shot the London show without a hiccup.

For Rutan, overcoming such obstacles is commonplace. But the stressful incidents left their marks. And there would be more to come. Not long after returning home, bassist Randy Piro Jr. left the band as well. Now Rutan had two slots to fill before he was able to focus on the follow-up to Hate Eternal's 2005 album, I, Monarch. The yet-untitled LP is scheduled for release in February.

The drummer situation resolved itself first. When word got out that Roddy was no longer with the band, hundreds of players contacted Rutan, including Montreal native Jade Simonetto (ex-Camilla Rhodes).

"He sent me a video of him playing some of the songs, and he did everything perfectly," Rutan said. "He totally made himself available whenever we needed him — which was a week here and a week there, since I was producing albums by other bands [including Six Feet Under, Vital Remains and Demiricous] at the same time. Then, when I could focus on Hate Eternal full-time again, he came down, and we finished everything up. He's a great player, and he's really dedicated and wants to work for the future."

Finding a bassist proved more complicated. Rutan originally planned to work with Jared Anderson, who had played with Rutan in Morbid Angel and on the first two Hate Eternal records. But on October 14, Anderson died in his sleep of undetermined causes. Unable to find a suitable replacement, longtime friend and Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster stepped in to record.

The numerous hardships Rutan has experienced will be reflected on the new Hate Eternal record, which will be more diverse and emotionally expressive than the band's other two discs. "Jared was one of my best friends, and his passing away really affected me and influenced this record a lot," Rutan said. "It's a very dark and heavy record — not just heavy as in 'heavy metal,' but heavy-hearted as well."

Partially in reaction to the chaos and seeming randomness of events in his life, Rutan decided to throw caution to the wind and write in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, without concern for rules or traditions. "I just did whatever I wanted and didn't pay attention to whether one riff is faster than another or whether one section is better than the next," Rutan said. "It's the first album [on which] I wasn't concerned about outside influences or sources. It was more just coming from the soul and it created a lot of diversity in terms of dynamics."

But while certain elements of songs like "Hell and Venom" and "Parabellum" will explore new sonic themes, the trademark anger and intensity will be as present as ever. "Hate Eternal has always been based around rage and fury," he said. "For me, this band is all about expressing negative emotions and turning them into something positive. That will never change."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The new video from Shadows Fall, for their track "Another Hero Lost," is set to make its debut on "Headbangers Ball" this weekend, and for frontman Brian Fair, the clip is particularly special. The video is an extremely personal commentary on the toll of the Iraq war: One of Fair's cousins, a U.S. soldier, was killed last year while on duty there, and a brother of his is still fighting over there as well. The video is a tribute to the nation's fallen soldiers, according to the band. In a recent issue of Revolver, Fair explained that "the thought that [his cousin] was never [going to come] back — knowing that he probably knew before he passed away that he'd never see his 2-year-old son ever again — was so mind-blowing. I went to the cemetery with my grandmother, and standing in front of that stone had such a huge effect on me that I got home that night and the lyrics [for the song] just all came out." ... According to Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt, the band has finished recording the drum tracks for its forthcoming, yet-untitled new album. "We're recording a total of 11 songs — three of them are covers that we're doing, since we had some extra time, [and] the rest are originals out of which I think we'll leave one off the album," he said in a statement. We'll keep you updated as more information is revealed. ...

Ministry, Meshuggah, Hemlock, Ensiferum, Turisas, TYR and Eluveitie are the first bands to be named to the lineup for 2008's 10th annual New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which is set to take place April 25-27 at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. More bands will be announced in the coming months. ... J2, a new project featuring enigmatic performer Jarboe (ex-Swans) and Justin Broadrick (Jesu, ex-Godflesh), have signed a label deal with the End Records. The act's debut should surface this spring. ... Nebraska singer Criss Cain is in the process of forming what he hopes will be the ultimate Ozzy Osbourne cover band. Prince of Darkness will feature members of different groups on Metal Blade Records, and we'll bring you more information about the group as it comes to light. ...

Boston experimental-metallers Kayo Dot have wrapped the recording of their forthcoming LP, Blue Lambency Downward. The set will feature seven tracks, including "Right Hand Is the One I Want," "The Awkward Windwheel" and "Symmetrical Arizona." Produced by Randall Dunn (Boris, Sunno)))), the record includes guest spots by Behold ... the Arctopus' Charlie Zeleny. Look for it to drop in March. ... Bullet for My Valentine have set a January 29 release date for Scream Aim Fire, the forthcoming follow-up to 2006's The Poison. The band enlisted producer Colin Richardson (Machine Head, Funeral for a Friend) to helm the LP, which was recorded at Sonic Ranch near El Paso, Texas, earlier this year. It boasts 11 cuts, including "Hearts Burst Into Fire," "Deliver Us From Evil" and "Say Goodbye." ... Danish melodic death/thrash-metallers Hatesphere have added singer Jonathan Albrechtsen to their lineup. He replaces Jacob Bredahl, who left the group over the summer. ... Hellyeah will shoot a video for their track "Thank You" at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the band's drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott, says he's working hard on "Dimevision, Vol. 2," the second DVD tribute to his fallen brother, late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. A Dimebag photo book is also said to be in the works, and both that and the DVD will be in stores sometime next year. In related news, Dime is on the ballot for Guitar World's annual Readers Poll Awards, as a nominee for the mag's Hall of Fame award. Head on over to the magazine's Web site, where you can vote on all the nominees. ...

All Parallels have an EP called Solitude on the way. The five-song effort should hit stores soon and will include "See You in Hell," "Funeral Pyre Eyes" and "Newark International." They'll be promoting the outing with a series of live gigs, the first of which is set for Saturday in Long Branch, New Jersey. The band will also play New York (November 23); Allston, Massachusetts (November 30); Bennington, Vermont (December 1) and Danbury, Connecticut (December 15). ... Less than two weeks after the death of drummer Witold Kieltyka comes news that Polish death-metallers Decapitated have signed with Nuclear Blast Records. "We're looking forward to the upcoming mix of technical superiority, brutal riffs and blast-beats on album number five," the label said in a statement. "The joy over this awesome news is of course overshadowed by the tragic death of [Kieltyka]." The drummer died of severe head trauma following an accident in Russia that also involved frontman Adrian Kowanek, who was injured in the crash as well. Kowanek is currently at a hospital in Kraków, Poland, where doctors have listed him in stable condition. He's said to be showing signs of improvement every day. ... A slew of bands have DVD projects in the works. The Number Twelve Looks Like You will film their December 15 gig at the School of Rock in South Hackensack, New Jersey, for an upcoming DVD/EP release, due out in the spring. Meanwhile, H.I.M. filmed their Wednesday and Thursday shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles for an upcoming live DVD release, and Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta will film the upcoming Stillborn Fest shows — they begin December 20 in Springfield, Virginia, and end December 30 — for a future DVD release as well. ...

Children of Bodom's next opus has been named, and they're calling it Blooddrunk. Look for it to drop April 7 and include nine new songs along with four covers. ... Arson Anthem, the group featuring Down frontman Phil Anselmo on drums as well as guitarist Hank Williams III, bassist Colin Yeo and Eyehategod's Mike Williams on vocals, have lined up three gigs with Rigor Mortis. The band has been writing material on and off for the last few years, and according to reports, the band's debut could be in stores in February, although no official announcement has been made yet. Catch the Anthem December 13 in Nashville; December 14 in Little Rock, Arkansas; and December 15 in New Orleans. ... Swedish death-metallers Dismember are planning to release their self-titled new album in March. The LP features 11 tracks, including "Death Conquers All," "The Hills Have Eyes" and "No Honor in Death." ... After dumping their management firm, thrash titans Demiricous have been forced to drop off their tour with Dying Fetus and Skeletonwitch. In a statement, the band said it's "not happy to leave this tour, but [we] have to clean house and get our career and finances back under our control." ...

Long-dormant Brooklyn, New York, experimental metallers Candiria will soon release two new collections of material. The first will be a compilation of never-before-heard material, rare tracks and B-sides written and recorded during various recording sessions prior to 2001. There will also be a remix disc of material from the band's first three releases. No official release dates have been set in stone, but we'll keep you posted. ... French black-metallers Blut Aus Nord have hit the studio to record the companion to 2005's Thematic Emanations of Archetypal Multiplicity, EP. There's no word on when the new set, which has been titled Lighteater, will be available. Once those sessions wrap, the band will begin working on the second part of 1996's Memoria Vetusta I -- Fathers of the Icy Age, which will be titled Dialogue With the Stars. ... Hydra Head Records is close to reissuing material from the Huguenots, the Massachusetts band that was active during the 1990s and featured Converge's Kurt Ballou, Piebald's Aaron Stuart and the Explosion's Dan Colby. Look for it to hit stores this winter. ... Swedish black-metallers Mörker will release their second full-length album, Höstmakter, early next year. In the meantime, you can check out some of the new material over at the band's MySpace page.

• Hate Eternal
• Shadows Fall
• Ministry

King Diamond
Photo: Metal Blade Records

In King Diamond's 1986 single, "Halloween," the Danish-metal prince shrieked about ancient rituals, torture and all things demonic: "Like in horror dreams, I want/ I command you to scream." A full 22 years later, Diamond — who released his latest album, Give Me Your Soul ... Please, in late June — is still doing plenty of screaming. Only lately, they've been screams of pain. And this Halloween he won't be stealing any souls — or even trick-or-treat candy. He'll be bedridden with a herniated disc.

"I can't sit down, even on my couch, for more than a few minutes," he said from his Texas home. "About a month ago I tried, and after 15 minutes, it started feeling like my left leg was getting set on fire."

Just six weeks ago, Diamond had to stand on one leg to brush his teeth and was unable to bend over enough to spit toothpaste into the sink. Now, as long as he eats standing up and walks for 90 minutes between four-hour intervals in bed, he can get through the day without any major attacks of pain.

Of course, that makes touring impossible, and in late June, Diamond postponed his entire European trek. While he hopes to heal in time for the U.S. tour, which is scheduled to launch March 23 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and run through May 8 in Houston, he's not entirely sure he'll be able to play those shows either.

"It can take up to a year and a half for a severe herniated disc to heal properly, but it varies from person to person," he said. "So, we are crossing our fingers and praying that we won't have to cancel the U.S shows. Right now there's not much more we can do."

Diamond got a taste of what might happen if he hits the road too soon in September when director Bill Schacht from video company Aestheticom — which has also worked with Amon Amarth — shot a video for "Give Me Your Soul," the first King Diamond clip in 17 years. "They limited what I had to do, of course, so I only did one day of shooting for 90 minutes, but just standing there moving a little bit in the full outfit was very difficult," he said. "And afterwards, I got one of those sharp attacks of pain that I hadn't had in a month and a half. The only thing I can compare it to is a really super-bad toothache or earache. And afterwards, I was like, 'OK, I'm not ready [to tour] yet.' "

So, how did the pioneer of demonic metal injure his back, anyway — painting pentagrams in blood around the altar, strapping virgins into the torture rack in his basement? Nope, the 51-year-old rocker hurt himself working in his home studio on Give Me Your Soul ... Please.

"I think the real damage happened mixing the record, because I did that three weeks straight for a minimum of 12 hours a day," he said. "One of the last nights, when I was going to bed, I felt these pains in the sciatic nerves on each side, and I thought, 'Oh what is this?' The next morning I woke up and I couldn't walk or stand. It was like being paralyzed. I can't begin to say how painful it was. They say that's the worst pain you can experience as a human being. Had I not lived on the ground floor in a house, I would have jumped out the window."

If, as his detractors claim, Diamond is damned to spend an eternity in hell, at least he'll have an idea of what it might be like. "In the beginning, these attacks were 15 minutes at a time, of unbearable pain. The first month after I had the accident, my left leg looked like I got out of a concentration camp. It was all thin and I lost all the muscle tone because I couldn't put any weight on it."

After undergoing an MRI, doctors determined that Diamond's herniated disc wouldn't require an operation but that he would have to undergo intensive physical therapy and plenty of rest if he was to properly heal. "Doing the exercises, at first, I would try to wiggle my left leg back and forth a little, but there was so much pain it was absolutely impossible. But gradually, I got to the point where I could move the leg pretty well and now I'm walking around and both legs are the same size again."

In addition to religiously following doctors' order, Diamond is now eating healthy and avoiding all medication — even Tylenol. "I take no painkillers whatsoever," he said. "That's the best way to heal fast, I think, because if my spine is in a slightly wrong position lying down, I feel the pain and I readjust the position of how I'm lying and then it slowly dies away. That way I know I'm not lying in a wrong position. If I feel the pain it's a signal that, 'Hey, you're doing something wrong.' "

But while he's being a good patient and focusing on his recovery, Diamond is itching to be able to get back onstage and perform songs from his new album, which he considers his greatest accomplishment yet as a solo artist.

"It's very frustrating to be stuck here and not be able to do what I do best," he explained. "I'd rather get shot in the leg because then I know I'd heal in a couple months and I'd be ready. I would love nothing more than to be able to play the U.S. shows, but of course, it's much better to postpone the tour and heal properly than to go out and play some stupid hero with your own health and then find out it didn't work. You got one week into the tour, and now you sit in a wheelchair and [your] career's over. So, this is the only way to do it. And afterwards we have many, many more good years ahead of us. I just have to get better first."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Norwegian black-metallers Zyklon are going on hiatus. According to guitarist Tomas "Samoth" Thormodsæter Haugen, the band's future plans are "up in the air at the moment," as all of its members live in different cities. "We're not always an easy band to manage," he said in a statement. "[We all] have multiple commitments on different fronts, thus it's often hard for all the [logistical] and practical things to work. This situation has especially come more into focus in the last year or so, where it has become harder and harder to get the band together when needed, with the spirit and excitement that one expects from a band like this. Basically, I don't feel that we as a band have the fire needed to start working on a new album right now. Therefore Zyklon are taking a break." Samoth, who is also known for his work with Emperor, also revealed that there are plans for an Emperor DVD with "a lot of cool material to be reviewed, mixed and edited." No word yet on when the effort will hit stores. ...

Turbonegro are down a member after the departure of rhythm guitarist Rune Rebellion, according to reports. But Rune isn't leaving the Turbonegro family — he'll continue running the band's label, Scandinavian Leather Recordings, and plans to manage the band's tour business. ... All That Remains, Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage are among the artists who have been nominated in the Outstanding Metal/Hardcore Band of the Year category at this year's Boston Music Awards. We'll find out who takes the honor home on December 1, when the awards invade the city's Orpheum Theatre. The Red Chord, Unearth, Isis and Converge are also in the running for the award. Meanwhile, the Shad and Killswitch have also been nominated in the Album of the Year (Major) and Act of the Year categories. ...

Things are not well in the land of Gorgoroth. Gaahl, frontman for the black-metal masters, and guitarist Infernus recently had an undisclosed argument over the band's future and, via MySpace, had announced their dissolution. But on Monday, the band's Web site insisted Infernus left the fold, leaving Gaahl and bassist King ov Hell to continue on as Gorgoroth. Not so fast — Infernus, a founding member of the band, plans to file suit against his former bandmates, for use of the Gorgoroth name. Gaahl issued a statement explaining the mess. "It's the disrespect he has shown our working partners — record labels, session musicians, promoters (by sending unserious demands in riders, etc.) and producers we have worked with over the years — which has lead to this decision," he wrote. "In addition, he has not been a creative force for the last eight years. He has shown no interest in the art defining Gorgoroth during that same period of time. He has not shown up for rehearsals and has broken agreements on several occasions. It's gotten to a point were King and I can't create a fire as long as someone is there pouring water over it." He said he intends to continue crafting sinister metal, with or without the Gorgoroth name. According to Infernus, he's been meeting with his legal team and said "there is now Gorgoroth, and another fraction with a Gorgoroth name on it." ...

Soon, we'll have another Arsis album to feast on. The band recently completed work on the effort, titled We Are the Nightmare, under the guidance of producer Zeuss (Agnostic Front, Hatebreed). The LP is slated for release early next year and boasts 10 tracks, including "Shattering the Spell," "Failing Winds of Hopeless Greed" and "A Feast for the Liar's Tongue." ... Filipino-American thrash-metallers Death Angel have titled their forthcoming LP Killing Season. The record is slated for release early next year and is being recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Shadows Fall, Velvet Revolver). ... Belgium grindcore specialists Leng Tch'e are in search of a new bassist, with usual player Nicolas Malfeyt having shifted to second guitar. The band had been looking for a second guitarist. Those interested in auditioning should contact the band via its MySpace page. ... Ever wanted to name a band? Well, here's your chance. Fear Factory guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers and drummer Raymond Herrera have teamed up with Threat Signal frontman Jon Howard to start a new project, but they haven't been able to come up with a name for it. Ideas can be submitted to Wolbers via his MySpace page. ...

Drummer Jeramie Kling has left Floridian metallers the Absence after five years with the band. According to a statement from the group, Kling said he felt he had "experienced 'repetitive, blatant dishonesty' from bandmembers that 'ultimately was taking away from the band's success and priorities.' At this point, Jeramie no longer wishes to be associated with the Absence due to their 'pretentiousness and disregard' on a personal level and to the fans who put them where they are." The band will honor all of its prior touring commitments, as soon as it tracks down a fill-in. ... Obituary and Merauder will join forces for a handful of gigs in December. Look for the bands to roll through Clifton Park, New York (December 7); Brooklyn, New York (December 8); and Sayreville, New Jersey (December 9). ... Experimental hardcore outfit Some Girls have thrown in the towel. There's no word yet on why the band split up. ... Remember Dub War, those Brits who forged reggae with metal and somehow pulled it off? Well, while the band has been inactive since 1999, two Dub War releases will be coupled together and reissued as an exclusive double-CD pack on Tuesday. The set will include 1995's Pain and 1996's Wrong Side of Beautiful.

• King Diamond
• Zyklon
• Turbonegro
• All That Remains
• Shadows Fall

Ministry's Al Jourgensen
Photo: Steffab Chirazi

"Obviously, my muse for the past six years has been George W.," Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen admitted recently, "and he's going to be riding off into the sunset soon, so I figured I'd just go out with him."

That's right — Ministry's September 18 disc, The Last Sucker, will indeed be their studio-album swan song.

"Everyone seems to think I make sh--ty records when there are Democrats in office," he laughed. "Since I'm really on the top of my game right now, it would be nice to end on a high note instead of keep releasing sh--ty albums well into my 60s," he added.

Of course, Jourgensen isn't about to fade away without blasting a final cache of industrial-metal ammunition at the White House. The Last Sucker is venomous and brutal, filled with caustic riffs, political sound bites and ranting, distorted vocals. The new LP incorporates elements of Ministry's finest albums, including the mechanized precision of 1988's The Land of Rape and Honey; the blowtorch fury of 1992's Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed & the Way to Suck Eggs; the hazy, lumbering fear and rage of 1996's Filth Pig; and the shovel-to-the-skull thrash and anti-Bush bile presented on 2004's Houses of the Molé and 2006's Rio Grande Blood. However, while Jourgensen admits The Last Sucker provides a comprehensive closing chapter to the story of the band he formed in Chicago in 1981, he insists he wasn't making a conscious effort to write the equivalent of an on-the-deathbed flashback.

"Me, [Prong guitarist] Tommy Victor and [Prong/ Killing Joke bassist Paul] Raven just went in and jammed, and the only idea that we had going in was that we didn't have any ideas," Jourgensen said. "This is definitely a fitting end to it all, but that's just the way it came out. There's a couple songs left on a shelf somewhere in case I die in a plane crash and they want to release outtakes, but for the most part, we picked out the ones that made the record flow in a way that, as it turned out, encapsulated the Ministry sound."

Jourgensen and his cohorts started writing The Last Sucker in February and finished tracking the album in June. In part, the rapid pace of production was necessary for Jourgensen to adhere to his tight schedule. As soon as he finished the album, he started putting songs together for an upcoming disc of Ministry covers — some new, some old — called Cover Up. The disc will feature numerous guests, including Static-X's Wayne Static (singing "I Want You [She's So Heavy]" by the Beatles); Cheap Trick's Robin Zander (singing Golden Earring's "Radar Love"); Fear Factory's Burton Bell (Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb"); and Victor and Mountain guitarist Leslie West (Mountain's "Mississippi Queen"). Cover Up will also include previously released covers of Black Sabbath's "Supernaut," Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay," the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" (which is on The Last Sucker) and Magazine's "The Light That Pours Out of Me."

As if that's not enough, Jourgensen is currently producing and playing on the debut album by Ascension of the Watchers, Bell and Fear Factory keyboardist John Bechdel's new band. And Al is also getting ready to start working on the final Revolting Cocks record, which is due next year.

"In the '90s, I was releasing a new record every three years," Jourgensen said. "Now we do records in three to six months at most and just work our asses off. The old Ministry records took a long time partially because of drug-induced lethargy, but also because I was still learning my craft and experimenting with a lot of things. A lot of it wouldn't work and I'd scrap it and end up wasting, like, three weeks of time on a single thing. But now we're a bunch of old grumps and we know what we want, we know what we sound like, and we're pretty comfortable in our skins. So we can have a good time and still knock out a record really quickly that everyone's 100 percent happy with."

Ministry will support The Last Sucker with one final worldwide tour with a lineup including Jourgensen, Raven, Victor, guitarist Sin Quirin (Revolting Cocks), drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (ex-Megadeth) and keyboardist Bechdel. But while Jourgensen is looking forward to the tour, he also looks forward to putting the lid on the Ministry coffin.

"Man, I'm so looking forward to not being the front guy on a brand name," he said. "When I was growing up, I loved Led Zeppelin, and I always wanted to be Jimmy Page. But I ended up being Robert Plant by default. I was the singer and the frontman when I always wanted to be — like in 'Wizard of Oz,' the guy behind the curtain. I get so much more done when I'm on the sidelines, and it's more suited to my personality. I'm a studio rat. I always will be. And now I'll be able to do, like, six projects a year, so it's actually much better. You'll actually get more sick of Al Jourgensen faster than if I was to keep doing Ministry. So I view this as my second career, not a retirement."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Looks like Static-X will be touring the U.S. this fall with Shadows Fall, 3 Inches of Blood and Divine Heresy in tow. While confirmed, just one date has been announced for the trek: October 30 in Hollywood. More dates will be revealed in the coming weeks. ... They've been talking about it for months, and now, at long last, there's finally an official release date for the next Dillinger Escape Plan LP, Ire Works. Alas, we're all going to have to wait a little longer than originally expected: The record will hit stores November 13. ...

New Orleans sludge-metallers Eyehategod have lined up a handful of live dates, but if you want to catch them, you'll need to head South. The band plays September 14 in Metairie, Louisiana; September 27 in Lafayette, Louisiana; September 28 in Austin, Texas; September 29 in Fort Worth, Texas; and September 30 in Monroe, Louisiana. ... Cattle Decapitation will head out in October with Arsonists Get All the Girls, the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza and Veil of Maya for a brief U.S. run that will start October 13 in West Hollywood, California, and run through October 29 in Tucson, Arizona. A mere nine dates have been scheduled so far, but more will be announced as they're confirmed. In related news, an unmastered version of the Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza's newest track, "I Am the Ocean," has been posted on the band's MySpace page. It's from the group's upcoming album, Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo, which will be in stores October 16. ...

Between the Buried and Me will tour this fall in support of their forthcoming album Colors, which is slated for release September 18. The trek, which kicks off September 26 in Greensboro, North Carolina, will also feature Horse the Band, Animosity and the End. Dates are scheduled through November 2 in Worcester, Massachusetts. ... The American Black Lung and I Am the Ocean kick off their Your Vultures Need Swallowing Tour on Friday night (August 17) in Salt Lake City. The tour runs through September 15 in Tucson, Arizona. ... Animosity's upcoming Animals LP will be chock-full of awesome guest spots. The record, out October 2, will feature singing by Cattle Decapitation's Travis Ryan, the Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk and A Life Once Lost frontman Bob Meadows. ...

In October, All Out War will begin recording an EP set for release through Innerstrength Records sometime later this year. Purity Through Annihilation will include five new songs, along with two covers and several demos dating back more than 15 years. ... Exodus, Arsis, Goatwhore and Warbringer will join forces this winter for a U.S. tour that is expected to kick off in West Hollywood, California, January 21. The tour is due to wrap in San Francisco on February 24. ... A brown recluse spider sunk its fangs into the Acacia Strain's Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz, forcing the metalcore act to cancel several shows — including the final date on this summer's Sounds of the Underground Tour. The band's future tour plans are up in the air as the guitarist undergoes treatment for the bite. ...

Speaking of bites, another one bites the dust, as they say: Sacramento, California's With Passion have called it a day — but they intend to take the stage one last time, on September 22 in Roseville, California. "We have been struggling to keep afloat in the business side of music for at least two years now," the band said in a statement. "We had high hopes that our new album would pull us out of that struggle, but instead, our album was released with less-than-expected promotion and distribution, and we ended up unable to even get on the road to support it. It simply seems ridiculous for us to continue on under this name since, as many of you have noticed, the last original member, [bassist] Mike Nordeen, departed the lineup about three months ago to go on to bigger and better things in the Human Abstract." Rising from the ashes, however, are Conducting From the Grave, the former band featuring several With Passion members. The group has been revived and plans to record soon. ...

The date has been set for Pennsylvania's Metalfest II: September 9. Here's how the lineup is shaping up: Full Blown Chaos, A Well Thought Tragedy, At the Throne of Judgment, Dim the Lights, Upon a Shallow Grave, Regain the Heart Condemned and Seas of David, plus several others. The shindig will start at 1 p.m. inside the Masonic Temple in Milton, and admission will set you back $15. ... Saosin will headline a U.S. fall tour, with Norma Jean and Alexisonfire opening. The trek launches October 1 in Fresno, California, and, 17 gigs later, wraps October 21 in Atlanta. ... Maryland Deathfest VI has been set for May 23-May 25 in Baltimore and will feature the likes of Monstrosity, Impaled, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, Hellnation, Martyr, the Day Everything Became Nothing, Engorged, Behold ... the Arctopus and others.

• Ministry
• Static-X
• Shadows Fall
• Dillinger Escape Plan
• The Red Chord

Hilary Duff's <i>Dignity</i>
Photo: Hollywood Records

Duffing Up: You may have caught a little lady named Hilary Duff on "TRL" recently — that's because of her Dignity, which drops this week. The set is powered by the "TRL"-topping first single, "With Love" — if you took advantage of iTunes' preorder, you already got the video for it. Going the extra mile, the singer has loaded up the deluxe edition with a Duff-at-home retrospective video, featured on an accompanying DVD, as well as exclusive art.

She'll B Back: Beyoncé waited a spell before rolling out the deluxe edition to her latest studio effort, B'Day. Packaged with different cover art, the revised set also boasts a dozen extra tracks, including Spanish-language cuts, remixes and more. That includes the Shakira duet "Beautiful Liar" and three additional mixes of that song. Maybe fans should have held off celebrating her B'Day so soon last year.

Wall-to-Wall: Paul Wall has two tough acts to follow this week, but based on the platinum success of his The Peoples Champ two years ago, the Houston grill master is banking on his Get Money - Stay True follow-up all the same. It's a more diverse outing than you might think — partially recorded at a Texas studio frequented by Willie Nelson, the disc also features (+44) rocker Travis Barker — as Expensive Taste, along with cohort Skinhead Rob — plus Snoop, Jermaine Dupri, Rick Ross, Fergie and more. It's a custom fit.

Kings of the Times? Casual music fans might mistakenly think Kings of Leon's Because of the Times is the group's second disc, since 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak broke them out on the strength of three singles. But Because is actually their third opus, and it features 13 songs — including a seven-minute opening cut called "Knocked Up" that sounds like a fitting theme song for the soon-to-be-released Judd Apatow movie of the same name.

Timber!: Timbaland has spent so much time sitting behind the boards, it's a wonder his legs haven't atrophied to the point that he needs a wheelchair. Proving that he can indeed rock the mic, the producer steps up with a studio LP of his own this week. The results are what you might expect — Shock Value is nothing short of a historic payback affair, with everyone from Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado to Fall Out Boy and the Hives to Madonna and Elton John. As the saying goes, it's all about who you know ...

Twofer Tuesday:

The Academy Is ...' Santi and Corinne Bailey Rae's "Live in London & New York": The Academy will soon be touring with the aforementioned Paul Wall on this year's Honda Civic Tour, but before they do, they're eking out their second album, Santi. The Chicago band stretches out with bigger songs crafted to be performed at larger venues — including the first single, "Big Mess on Our Hands Tonight," "LAX to O'Hare" and "Sleeping With Giants (Lifetime)." Fellow 2006 Woodie Award nominee Rae is trying to keep her own hype going by issuing a video to accompany her self-titled album from last year. The U.K. singer/songwriter's "Live" item captures performance footage plus four promo clips, as well as a bonus CD encompassing her show at NYC's Webster Hall last fall.

Shadows Fall's Threads of Life and Poison the Well's Versions: Expect this devilish duo to duke it out for biggest metal debut of the week. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) and led by first single "Redemption," Shadows' set also features such inspirational titles as "Failure of the Devout," "Burning the Lives" and "Dread Uprising." While that band is on Atlantic, former roster act Poison the Well have since re-relocated to their indie sphere — Ferret, specifically — for their fourth studio album. Don't expect to hear typical metalcore on the release — the act employs everything from mandolin and slide guitar to horns and banjo.

Chevelle's Vena Sera and Static-X's Cannibal: Both hard-rocking squads were chart-topping contenders in their heyday, but are either still formidable? Chevelle will try to top the #8 Billboard albums chart debut their This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) made two and a half years ago with Vena Sera, which features "Antisaint," "Brainiac" and "Straight Jacket Fashion." Static-X's Start a War opened at #29 in 2005, and the industrial-metal cretins hope for more success with Cannibal, which Wayne Static produced on his own.

Various artists' "Hip Hop Life" and "Urban Spotlight": Don't overlook either of these street DVDs, hip-hop fans. Exclusive performances, battles and rare chats with Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, MC Lyte and Fat Joe bulk up "Hip Hop Life," a documentary about the underground freestyle. In the other corner, Snoop Dogg, Mobb Deep, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too Short climb onto the "Urban Spotlight" disc, which is the premiere issue of the video-interview "magazine."

Anthony Hamilton's Southern Comfort and David Gray's Shine: The Best of the Early Years: Soul singer Hamilton earned his repute largely due to his 2003 debut, Comin' From Where I'm From, but the set he's dropping this week actually culls material from before that release. Recorded with three producers — Fanatic, Doug Coleman and Ced Solo — the 11-track set includes "Don't Say What You Won't Do," "Magnolia's Room" and "Never Give Up." Gray is also unearthing some early material in the form of Shine, which corrals "Birds Without Wings," "Faster, Sooner, Now" and "A Century Ends."

Song Titles of the Week: The track list to the Chariot's The Fiancee: "Back to Back," "Faced Each Other," "They Drew Their Swords," "And Shot Each Other," "Deaf Policeman," "Heard This Noise," "Then Came to Kill," "Two Dead Boys," "Forgive Me Nashville" and "Trumpet."

Other Notables:

Various artists' "Radio On": Co-produced by iconic filmmaker Wim Wenders ("Paris, Texas," "Buena Vista Social Club"), this flick is coming back from the grave nearly 30 years after it was made. The movie features an early Sting, and the accompanying soundtrack features David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Devo and others.

The Jai-Alai Savant's Flight of the Bass Delegate: DJ Ralh Darden has some friends in the Mars Volta, and they're trying to get the punk-and-reggae-loving Chicago artist some extra attention with this disc issued through Gold Standard Laboratories, co-helmed by Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Songs include "Scarlett Johansson Why Don't You Love Me," "White on White Crime" and "Data Massaganna."

Everybody Else's Everybody Else: Named after a Kinks B-side, the trio came about after two other acts — Boston's the Push Kings and Richmond, Virginia's Waking Hours — moved to L.A. and disbanded. Their debut was recorded with Rick Parker (Sugarcult, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and features 12 punk-rock slices, including "Button for Punishment," "Meat Market" and "I Gotta Run."

New Releases:

· A Hero From a Thousand Places - Mistakes (Novus Ordo)
· John Abercrombie - The Third Quartet (ECM)
· The Academy Is ... - Santi (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
Read: "The Academy Is ... Say New Album Sounds Nothing Like Fall Out Boy"
· The Almost - Southern Weather (Tooth & Nail/ Virgin)
· American Head Charge - Can't Stop the Machine (with DVD; Nitrus)
· Andiamo - Love, From Italy (Denon)
· Bang Gang - Something Wrong (From Nowhere)
· Vicky Beeching - Painting the Invisible (Sparrow)
· Blood Tsunami - Thrash Metal (Candelight)
· Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls (Columbia) [Buy Now]
· Jonatha Brooke - Careful What You Wish For (Bad Dog)
· Brandi Carlile - The Story (Columbia)
· Rodney Carrington - King of the Mountains (Capitol) [Buy Now]
· Kendel Carson - Rearview Mirror Tears (digipak; Train Wreck)
· CéU - CéU (Six Degrees)
· The Chariot - The Fiancee (Solid State)
· Chevelle - Vena Sera (Epic) [Buy Now]
· Jarvis Cocker - Jarvis (enhanced; Rough Trade)
· Cruachan - The Morrigan's Call (Candelight)
· Bethany Dillon - Waking Up (Sparrow)
· Hilary Duff - Dignity (special edition with bonus disc also available; Hollywood) [Buy Now]
· Matt Dusk - Back in Town (Decca)
· Elk City - New Believers (Friendly Fire)
· Kurt Elling - Nightmoves (Concord)
· Everybody Else - Everybody Else (The Militia Group)
· Ferocious Eagle - The Sea Anemone Inside of Me Is Mighty (54° 40' or Fight!)
· Flickerstick - Live From Atlanta: Two Nights at Tree Sound Studios (Flickerstick)
· Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather (Virgin) [Buy Now]
· MC Frontalot - Secrets From the Future (Level Up)
· Funeral - From These Wounds (Candlelight)
· Further Seems Forever - The Final Curtain (DualDisc; 567) [Buy Now]
· Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager (Atlantic)
· Matthew Herbert - Score (!K7)
· Tim Hughes - Holding Nothing Back (Sparrow)
· Idlewild - Make Another World (Sanctuary) [Buy Now]
· Alan Jackson, George Strait and Jimmy Buffett - Live at Texas Stadium (MCA Nashville)
· The Jai-Alai Savant - Flight of the Bass Delegate (GSL)
· Rose Kemp - A Hand Full of Hurricanes (One Little Indian)
· Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (RCA) [Buy Now]
Read: "Kings Of Leon Growing Up, But New LP Still Goes 'Below The Waist' "
· Let's Go Sailing - The Chaos in Order (Yardley Pop/ GR2)
· Jeff Lorber - He Had a Hat (Blue Note)
· Los Straitjackets - Rock en Español, Vol. 1 (Yep Roc)
· Maxïmo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures (Warp) [Buy Now]
· Martina McBride - Waking Up Laughing (RCA)
· Mêlée - Devils & Angels (Warner Bros.)
· Monstrance - Monstrance (two CDs; Ape House)
· Mother Hips - Kiss the Crystal Flake (Camera)
· Paul Motian/ Bill Frisell/ Joe Lovano - Time and Time Again (ECM)
· Nicole C. Mullen - Sharecropper's Seed (Word)
· My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - The Filthiest Show in Town (Rykodisc)
· Omnium Gatherum - Stuck Here on Snakes Way (Candlelight)
· The Orangeburg Massacre - Moorea (Pluto/ East West)
· Ozomatli - Don't Mess With the Dragon (Concord) [Buy Now]
· John Platania - Blues, Waltzes and Badland Borders (Train Wreck)
· Poison the Well - Versions (Ferret) [Buy Now]
· Dino Saluzzi and Anja Lechner - Ojos Negros (ECM)
· Saxon - The Inner Sanctum (two CDs; SPV)
· See You Next Tuesday - Parasite (Ferret)
· Martin Sexton - Seeds (Kitchen Table)
· Shadows Fall - Threads of Life (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
Read: "Dave Grohl's Party Calls Can't Distract Shadows Fall From Recording LP"
· Sh--ake Monkey - Street Beef (Outlook)
· David Shultz and the Skyline - Sinner's Gold (Triple Stamp)
· Sia - Lady Croissant (live; Astralwerks)
· Sick Puppies - Dressed Up as Life (Virgin)
· Emilie Simon - March of the Empress (Milan)
· Spellbound - Incoming Destiny (Locomotive)
· Leeroy Stagger - Depression River (Boompa)
· Stars of the Lid - And the Refinement of Their Decline (two CDs; Kranky)
· Static-X - Cannibal (Warner Bros.) [Buy Now]
· Koko Taylor - Old School (Alligator)
· T-Squad - T-Squad (Disney)
· This Beautiful Republic - Even Heroes Need a Parachute (Forefront)
· Throbbing Gristle - Part Two - The Endless Not (limited edition; Mute)
· Throne of Katarsis - An Eternal Dark Horizon (Candlelight)
· Timbaland - Shock Value (Interscope) [Buy Now]
Read: "Timbaland Still In Shock Over Jay-Z, Madonna, Elton Collaborations"
· Lao Tizer - Diversify (Yse)
· Tyler Read - Only Rock & Roll Can Save Us (Immortal)
· Umphrey's McGee - The Bottom Half (Sci Fidelity)
· Gina Villalobos - Miles Away (Face West)
· Paul Wall - Get Money - Stay True (Atlantic) [Buy Now]
Read: " 'Mature' Paul Wall Still Raps About Girls, Grills With Mariah, T.I."
· Welcome - Sirs (Fat Cat)
· James Zabiela + Nic Fanciulli - One + One (Ministry of Sound)
· Various artists - FabricLive 32: Tayo (FabricLive)
· Various artists - One Tree Hill: The Road Mix - Volume 3 (Maverick)
· Various artists - "Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof" soundtrack (Maverick)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Beyoncé - B-Day - Deluxe Edition (with bonus CD; Columbia)
Read: "Beyonce Turns Heads With Sports Illustrated Cover, Shakira Duet"
· Black Sabbath - The Dio Years (Rhino)
· Colin Blunstone - One Year (Water)
· Laura Branigan - Greatest Hits: The Best of Branigan (Rhino)
· Anne Briggs - The Time Has Come (Water)
· Ruth Brown - The Definitive Soul Collection (two CDs; Rhino)
· Crusaders - Gold (Hip-O/UMe)
· Disrupt - Unrest/ The Rest (Relapse)
· Marvin Gaye - Number Ones (Motown/UMe)
· J. Geils Band - Greatest Hits: Best of the J. Geils Band (Rhino)
· Gilberto Gil - Gilberto Gil (Water)
· David Gray - Shine: The Best Of The Early Years (Astralwerks)
· Anthony Hamilton - Southern Comfort (Merovingian)
· The Honey Drippers - Volume One (Rhino)
· John Lee Hooker - The Best of Friends (Shout! Factory) and Gold (Hip-O/UMe)
· Killing Joke - Inside Extremities, Mixes, Rehearsals and Live (two CDs; Candelight)
· Chris Knight - The Trailer Tapes (Drifter's Church)
· Alison Krauss - A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection (Rounder)
· Mario Lanza - The Essential Mario Lanza (two CDs; RCA)
· Chris LeDoux - Cowboys Ain't Easy to Love/ Paint Me Back Home in Wyoming; Songbook of the American West/ Sing Me a Song Mr. Rodeo Man; Songs of Rodeo & Country by Chris LeDoux/ Life as a Rodeo Man; Used to Want to Be a Cowboy/ Thirty Dollar Cowboy; Western Tunesmith / He Rides the Wild Horses; and Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy/ Under This Old Hat (Capitol Nashville/ EMI)
· Huey Lewis & the News - Time Flies ... The Best of Huey Lewis & the News (Rhino)
· Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Greatest Hits (Rhino)
· My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - The Resurrection of Luna (Rykodisc)
· Ono - Open Your Box (remixes; Astralwerks)
· Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors; Jolene; and My Tennessee Mountain Home (Rhino)
· Pentagle - The Time Has Come: 1967-1973 (Castle)
· Robert Plant - Dreamland; Now and Zen; and The Principle of Moments (Rhino)
· David Lee Roth - A Little Ain't Enough and Sonrisa Salvaje (Friday Music)
· Run-DMC - Live at Montreux 2001 (Eagle)
· Skid Row - Greatest Hits: 40 Seasons - The Best of Skid Row (two CDs; Rhino)
· Todd Snider - Peace, Love and Anarchy (Oh Boy)
· Stanley Brothers - The Definitive Collection - 1947-1966 (three-CD box set; Time Life)
· Steel Pulse - Greatest Hits (Rhino)
· The Temptations - Number Ones (Motown/UMe)
· Big Joe Turner - The Definitive Blues Collection (two CDs; Reprise)
· UB40 - Under the Influence: A Collection of Musical Influences & Inspirations (Under the Influence)
· Karyn White - Superwoman: The Best of Karyn White (Shout! Factory)
· Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang - Dislocation Blues (Rounder)
· Yes - Greatest Hits - Highlights From the Very Best of (Rhino)
· Zombies - Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London (two CDs; Rhino)
· Various artists - '80s British Gold (Hip-O/UMe)
· Various artists - Joe Meek's Freak Beat: You're Holding Me Down - 30 Freak Beats, Mod & R&B Nuggets (Castle)
· Various artists - Motown Number Ones, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Motown/UMe)
· Various artists - Mullets Rock! Too!: Mullets in Love (two CDs; Sony Legacy)
· Various artists - Old School Jams: Gold (Hip-O/UMe)
· Various artists - Soft Rock Gold (Hip-O/UMe)

Music DVDs:

· Abba - "The Visitors: The Essential Albums of All Time" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Linkin Park - "Breaking the Rabbit" (Locomotive)
· Duncan McTier - "Live in Vienna" (MVD Visual)
· Mentors - "El Duce Vita" (MVD Visual)
· Metallica - "Master of Puppets: The Essential Albums of All Time" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Nirvana - "Behind the Music: The Ultimate Critical Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Corinne Bailey Rae - "Live in London & New York" (with CD; Capitol)
· Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Behind the Music: The Ultimate Critical Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Run-DMC - "Live at Montreux 2001" (Eagle Eye)
· Bobby Rush - "Live at Ground Zero Blues Club" (MVD Visual)
· The Shirelles - "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (MVD Visual)
· Siouxsie - "Dreamshow: Live at the Royal Festival Hall With the Millennia Ensemble" (Rhino)
· T. Rex - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
· Johnny Tillotson - "Rock 'N Roll Legends" (MVD Visual)
· Dionne Warwick - "Live in Concert" (Image)
· Yes - "Close to the Edge: The Essential Albums of All Time" (Classic Rock Legends)
· The Zombies - "Live at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London" (Rhino)
· Various artists - "Hip Hop Life" (Universal)
· Various artists - "Radio On" (Plexifilm)
· Various artists - "Rock 'N Rolls Greatest Teen Idols" (MVD Visual)
· Various artists - "Urban Spotlight" (MVD Visual)

Coming Attractions:

April 10:

· Bright Eyes - Cassadaga (Saddle Creek) [Preorder]
Read: "Bright Eyes Slim Down With Single LP, Fatten Up With Loads Of Collabos"
· Hellyeah - Hellyeah (Epic) [Preorder]
Read: "Vinnie Paul Returns To Make 'Hellacious' Magic With Hellyeah"
· Various artists - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack (William Street)

April 17:

· Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing (deluxe limited edition with DVD due same day; RCA) [Preorder]
Read: "Don't Know How To Spell 'Avril Lavigne'? Prepare To Be Scolded"
· Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (Nothing) [Preorder]
Read: "Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero Preview: Beginning To Solve The Mystery"
· Patti Smith - Twelve (Columbia) [Preorder]

April 24:

· Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino)
· The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution (Epic)
Read: "Nightwatchman, Rage Reunion Have Morello Fired Up For Political Fights"
· Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (Atlantic)
Read: "Porcupine Tree's Wilson Talks Complex New LP, Project With Opeth's Akerfeldt"

• MTV News RAW: Hilary Duff
• MTV News RAW: Beyonce
• MTV News RAW: Timbaland
• Studio Essentials: Academy Is ...

• Hilary Duff
• Beyoncé
• Paul Wall
• Kings Of Leon
• Timbaland

Watain
Photo: Season of Mist

Anyone who has ever walked away from one of Gwar's gigs understands that, in all likelihood, by evening's end, they'll end up completely soaked in fake blood, urine, pus and vomit. It's become the extraterrestrial metallers' trademark, and they incorporate it into their performances to heighten the overall experience and inject a dose of flippancy into the proceedings.

Conversely, Erik Danielsson, the malevolent singer/bassist who fronts Satan-loving Swedish black-metal magicians Watain, doesn't have a flip bone in his body. To see Watain perform live is nothing if not a pestilent experience, which is just the way Danielsson wants it. Instead of fake blood, Watain drench the crowd with what the frontman maintains is real blood, collected "from the Watain cellars, of course." The band actually douses itself in the same blood during sets, which, when coupled with sweat, creates a pong on their bus a label spokesperson described as "that of an open grave."

From the stage, Danielsson has "seen people both crying and vomiting at the same time." He's even watched fans "taking the blood that we've thrown at them and licking it up off the floor, and giving this genuine impression of being psychopaths all of a sudden."

He said he often wonders "what those people thought when they woke up that morning, in their clean little beds at home. Did they think that they would stand and lick blood from the floor at the concert halls? We aim to present a different reality to them, because this reality exists far away from the nice little houses with clean beds. That is what happens at a Watain gig, and we look forward to bringing this to the U.S., because it's fertile soil for such experiments. It's all about wild, raw fire and getting loose. Some people can take it. Some can't."

In May, Watain's loyal American allegiance will get its first chance to lap up lots of "rotten" blood, when the band crosses the pond for a string of East Coast gigs. The tour will be in support of the group's April 17 release, Sworn to the Dark, which follows up its second album, 2003's Casus Luciferi. While Danielsson wouldn't discuss which bands will be touring with, he did promise "an extremely strong package" boasting "bands that know how to play black metal for real."

Sworn to the Dark, which Watain started working on three years ago during what was an "extremely intense period in the history of Watain," will feature 11 tracks, including "Satan's Hunger," "Dead but Dreaming" and "Storm of the Antichrist." The lyrics for two of the songs on the album were actually provided by some of the band's underground associates: Dissection guitarist Set Teitan penned the cut "Legions of the Black Light," and Ofermod's Belfagor — "who gave us one of his old lyrics because he went into prison and could not finish the album that he had planned," Danielsson said — wrote the song "Darkness and Death."

"We're trying to take away the superfluous parts, in favor of a more easily approachable feeling of the whole album," the frontman said of Sworn to the Dark. "We want to take away the parts that are just confusing and leave the primal, raw energy in there that everyone can understand. This whole album is more traditional. Each melody, each song, is much more powerful. We thought much more about it, and we felt much stronger when we wrote this record than anything we did previously. But it's a pretty natural evolution — to scale away the superfluous parts and leave room for the things that really mean something."

Danielsson claims he tried to "simplify things a bit" with his lyrics on this LP, because "before, I was using a lot of very obscure metaphors, while now, I try to take it to a level where even a kid, at parts, could understand what we're about. The lyrics on this album are, in a way, a lot more banal. It's a strange word to use, but you don't need a master's degree in philosophy to figure out what we're about."

What, ultimately, does Watain hope to accomplish with Sworn to the Dark? "World War III," Danielsson said, matter-of-factly. And while he doesn't advocate church burnings, murders or desecrations, he does see a correlation between black metal and actual physical violence.

"Many people say that they have all these dreams, and they want to do this and they want to do that, and one day they claim they will — but in the end, they end up in their caskets rotting," he explained. "Every thought, every word and every feeling doesn't really hold any relevance until it manifests on a physical plain. That is when it becomes alive. Black metal is not just a funny thing we do in our spare time. It's what we live and breathe. I think [violence is] a very natural component to the black-metal scene ... because black metal is growing grounds for extreme thought, extreme speeches and extreme feelings. At one point or another, these things always manifest. If you call upon death, death will come."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The Dillinger Escape Plan will begin recording their forthcoming LP with producer Steve Evetts (He Is Legend, Sepultura) within the next few weeks. The band hopes to have the disc — which will include "Saigon Whore," "Doll Keeper" and "Party Smasher" — out in September. ... Shadows Fall's Atlantic Records debut, Threads of Life, has been slated for an April 3 release. The album, produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver), will include "Redemption," "Burning the Lives," "Another Hero Lost" and "Venomous." ... Job for a Cowboy and Despised Icon will join forces for a two-week road trip across North America. The trek launches February 28 in Springfield, Missouri, and wraps up March 15 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. ... Bassist Valentin Rakhmanov has left Nebraska metal collective Cellador. A statement from the band claims "all parties involved in the decision agreed that it would work out best for everyone," and "the issues involved in reaching this conclusion were not personal-related, but rather simply musical differences and contrasting professional agendas." Cellador will audition potential replacements soon, and those interested should contact the band via its MySpace page. ...

Poison the Well, the End and This Is Hell will tour together next month. Just seven dates have been confirmed, and they run from February 22 in Tallahassee, Florida, through March 1 in Jacksonville, Florida. ... Hate Eternal have signed with Metal Blade and are working on fresh material for their forthcoming full-length, which they'll record in June. ... Immolation have wrapped the recording of Shadows in the Light, which is slated for release in April. Look for the set to feature 10 tracks, including "Hate's Plague," "The Weight of Devotion" and "Whispering Death." ... The Haunted and Dark Tranquillity will hit the road in March, with Into Eternity supporting. The tour commences March 19 in Orlando, Florida, and dates are booked through April 13 in Anaheim, California. ... Zao have announced that guitarist Russ Cogdell has rejoined the band following a brief hiatus during which he recovered from knee surgery. Meanwhile, the band has lost drummer Jeff Gretz due to a "difference in attitude and goals." Josh Walters, formerly of the Juliana Theory, has been enlisted as Gretz's replacement. ...

Southern Lord has signed San Francisco's Om, a duo formed by the rhythm section of the disbanded stoner-metal band Sleep. The recording of Om's forthcoming LP will begin this summer at Electrical Audio Studios with Steve Albini (Nirvana, High on Fire). No release date for the yet-untitled LP has been offered. ... From a Second Story Window, Heavy Heavy Low Low and the Cancer Bats will head out on a U.S. run next month. The trek kicks off February 8 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and wraps February 21 in Bakersfield, California. ... With Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and Far's Shaun Lopez behind the boards, Will Haven recently tracked three new songs that will appear on the band's forthcoming summer studio offering. ... Deicide drummer Steve Asheim was recently detained by police in Innsbruck, Austria, and questioned on suspicion of bank robbery. While the drummer was inside a bank, depositing money from merch sales, staffers allegedly grew suspicious of Asheim's appearance. They were further alarmed by the fact that most of money was marked with red dye. The police were summoned, and the drummer was transported downtown, where he was interrogated about a recent bank robbery in the area. Several hours later, after having explained to police that the money was earned by his band and that a leaky pen caused the discoloration, he was released. ...

All-male Seattle stoner-experimental band Lesbian will release their four-song full-length album, Power Hör, March 27. The disc was recorded with producer Randall Dunn (Earth, Asva) at Avast! and Aleph Studios, and the music veers back and forth between ominous atmospheric sound waves and scalding, mid-paced death metal. ... The third album by Norwegian black-metal band Furze may not be heaviest thing you've ever heard, but surely you've never seen a disc with a longer name. UTD: Beneath the Odd-Edge Sounds to the Twilight Contract of the Black Fascist/ The Wealth of the Penetration in the Abstract Paradigmas of Satan will be released February 20 and include two songs featuring Satyricon and 1349 drummer Frost: "A Life Above My Sabbath" and "Beneath the Wings of the Black Vomit Above." ... Sicko Philly thrashers Rumpelstiltskin Grinder have returned to life following the departure of singer Eli Shaika in August. Guitarist Matt Moore and bassist Shawn Riley will now share singing duties. The band's first show in this form will be March 10 in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania. Rumpelstiltskin Grinder are currently writing songs for the follow-up to 2005's Buried in the Front Yard. ...

Alabama Thunderpussy recently shot a video for "Words of the Dying Man," which will be featured on the band's March 6 album, Open Fire. The video was shot in their hometown — Richmond, Virginia — in a house party setting with film team Day by Day (Lamb of God, Municipal Waste). "It'll be nothing too fancy or cerebral because, well, that's not what we do," drummer Bryan Cox said. "The goal for this thing is have something entertaining and fun to watch." Open Fire was recorded at the Etching Tin Studios in Richmond with engineer Ian Whalen (Lamb of God, Rah Bras) and will be the group's first recording to feature singer Kyle Thomas. ... Swedish black-metal veterans Naglfar will release their sixth album, Harvest, March 6. The disc includes "Into the Black," "Odium Generis Humani," "Feeding Moloch" and "Plutonium. In the days ahead, the band will shoot a video for "The Darkest Road" with director Roger Johansson (Arch Enemy, In Flames). Naglfar's last album, Pariah, came out in 2005. ...

British '80s thrash-metal band Onslaught will release Killing Peace, their first album in more than 15 years, March 6. The band started working on the new material after re-forming in 2005 to play festivals. Killing Peace will include "Tested to Destruction," "Shock 'N' Awe" and "Planting Seeds of Hate," which features sound bites of President Bush. ... Got $2? You can either get a slice of pizza or see the $2 Brawler Tour, which features Burn in Silence, Ligeia, Apiary and the Handshake Murders. Dates start February 9 in Dover, New Hampshire and run through March 2 in Saratoga Springs, New York. ... Australian goth-metal band Virgin Black will release their new album Requiem - Mezzo Forte on April 3. The disc will be the first release of a three-part series to be rolled out this year. The other discs will be Requiem - Pianissimo and Requiem - Fortissimo.

• Shadows Fall
• The Furze
• The Haunted
• Dillinger Escape Plan
• Immolation

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

Black Dahlia Murder
Photo: Mark Coatsworth/ Metal Blade Records

"I think this third one's going to be a beast," Trevor Strnad, frontman for Detroit death-metallers the Black Dahlia Murder, recently proclaimed of the band's fresh material.

There was genuine excitement in Strnad's voice as he spoke about the yet-untitled album they'll record in March. Could it be that these tracks are just that good? Or could it be that he was actually excited about something else: making significant progress in the 1987 Nintendo game "Friday the 13th," based on the masked-murderer horror flicks? He's been playing the game for years but has yet to beat it. "Today I killed Jason's mom's flying severed head," he boasted.

But there's much more going on in Strnad's life these days than tracking down a hockey-masked psycho and sauntering around a virtual Crystal Lake. The first item of business for the Black Dahlia Murder — who fired former drummer Zach Gibson early last year — is finding a replacement to help them finish the LP they're nearly done writing.

"Writing and looking for a drummer simultaneously has been a pain in the ass," he said. "We're trying to keep things on schedule. We have the album written, largely. We just need to get the drummer in and work everything out with him."

Strnad said Black Dahlia have auditioned several hopefuls, like Nick Pierce of technical-metal outfit the Faceless, and that he wants the band to make a decision before the end of the month. But finding a new drummer has been tough "because we have a bad reputation now. When we lost Zach, he slandered us pretty bad" on his MySpace page, according to Strnad. Gibson wrote that the band was "nothing without me," "were nothing until I joined" and that some bandmembers didn't care "about anything accept making money."

"It's still hanging over us, kind of," Strnad said. "[The posts] went public, and it was all over the place. ... There are still people who talk about that, and we're trying to dispel those rumors."

So far the Black Dahlia have written eight cuts for the follow-up to 2005's Miasma and have been using computer programs to craft drum tracks for the songs. "It's going to be an impressive record," Strnad promised. "[Guitarist Brian Eschbach] is the songwriter usually, and we all help with arrangements, but that kid never ceases to amaze me. The longer we're together, the more that we play, and the more experience we have on the road, it all makes you into a better player. So, whenever it comes time to start writing, he's just full of surprises. He's really been blowing me away with the new sh--. It's definitely in the same vein as our older stuff. Nothing drastically changed. It's just more tasteful, and some of this new stuff will be faster than the last record."

When the band does enter the studio in March, it'll do so without the benefit of a producer. Instead, the Black Dahlia will record with Eric Rachel, who mixed Miasma. "There's going to be a lot more soloing than we've done previously," he explained. "This record's a bit more European-sounding, I think. More so than we already were, if you can imagine that. The solo stuff has a black metal-ish flavor to it. We messed around with that a little bit previously, but some of the songs have a major Dissection kind of feel to them."

Lyrically, Strnad said the record — due in the fall — will be "more horror-oriented" than Miasma. "As far as gore and death and stuff like that goes, I mean, that's all been done — into the ground," he said. "I am just trying to do something like that, but with my own flavor to it. There are still ways to repulse people out there — I just need to figure it all out."

The Black Dahlia Murder will preview several new tracks when they head out on a U.S. tour in April. Strnad can't say who they'll be touring with just yet, but he did confirm that his band will appear at this year's annual New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which has been set for April 27-28 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He said the Black Dahlia are also working on their first DVD release, which he hopes will include footage documenting the making of their next record.

The rest of the week's metal news:

The debut album from Hellyeah — the new band featuring Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, Mudvayne's Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett, and Tom Maxwell and Jerry Montano of Nothingface — will hit stores April 10. In the meantime, check out some song samples over at the band's MySpace page. ... Stone Sour, Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall will tour together under the Jägermeister Music Tour banner. The routing has yet to be revealed, but the tour is expected to launch March 23 and hit St. Paul, Minnesota; Milwaukee; Chicago; Detroit; New York; Boston; and Atlanta. ... A compilation of post-'80s songs by Bay Area thrash-metal legends Testament will come out February 13. The Spitfire Collection will include newer tracks like "Careful What You Wish For" and "The Burning Times," as well as live versions of classics such as "Practice What You Preach" and "Souls of Black." ... Kittie will launch a North American tour February 9 in Hartford, Connecticut, with dates running through March 24 in Warren, Michigan. Support will come from Walls of Jericho, 36 Crazyfists and Dead to Fall. Kittie's new album, Funeral for Yesterday, comes out February 20 on their own X of Infamy label. ...

Job for a Cowboy have added drummer Jon "The Charn" Rice to the fold. "For me, it's a dream come true," he said via press release. "It's one of those things where you take a chance and send a demo over and then your life is changed. I'm really looking forward to living on the road." The band recently wrapped the recording of its Metal Blade Records debut, which is slated for release this spring. ... Metal-influenced prog band Porcupine Tree are wrapping up their new album, Fear of a Blank Planet, at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. The album is scheduled for release April 24. On March 6, a collaboration between Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson and Israeli songwriter Aviv Geffen, Blackfield II, will also be released. ... Nora are expected to enter the recording studio this month to begin recording their next LP, Save Yourself. Frontman Carl Severson said there are 10 songs written and ready to be put to tape, and that the tracks "are definitely heavier, and we have our fastest songs on here and our most plodding and slow, sludgy material as well." ...

Obsessed Pantera fans A Perfect Murder will enter the studio January 29 to record their third album, War of Aggression. The disc will be produced by Pierre Rémillard (Cryptopsy, Gorguts) at Wild Studio in Quebec and is scheduled for a June 12 release. According to guitarist and songwriter Carl Bouchard, the disc will be "more structured and well-balanced. Having more experience as a performer has impacted my songwriting, but just growing up as a person has helped create a more mature sound in the band." The Canadians' new disc will mark the debuts of guitarist Kyrill Ducharme and bassist Francois-Michel Labrie. ... Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe will assist A Life Once Lost with the recording of their forthcoming album, Iron Gag, which they'll start putting to tape February 8. Blythe will brainstorm with singer Bob Meadows on the album's vocal direction. ... Cory White, guitarist for the Esoteric, has left the band for personal reasons. His replacement will be announced shortly. In addition, drummer Marshall Kilpatric has been ousted and replaced by the group's old drummer, Adam Mitchell, who played on the Esoteric's early material but left after the release of their 2002 EP, A Reason to Breathe. "This band is a living, breathing entity, and in the life of a band that makes music for music's sake, change is an undeniable part of evolution," read a group statement. ...

Watain have posted some fresh darkness on their Web site, in the form of a track called "Sworn to the Dark." The song will be the title cut to the Swedish black metallers' forthcoming third LP, which lands in stores April 17. ... From a Second Story Window, Nights Like These and See You Next Tuesday will team up in February for a spate of gigs. The trek commences February 24 in Memphis and runs through March 4 in Columbus, Ohio. ... Hardcore metal/ screamo howlers Poison the Well will release their new album, Versions, in April. The disc is being produced in Umea, Sweden, by Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lovstrom, who recorded 2003's You Come Before You. "It's going to be a really different sounding album in hardcore," frontman Ryan Primack said of the effort, which will feature slide guitar, horns and banjo. ... Finnish death-metallers Omnium Gatherum have put the finishing touches on their new one, Stuck Here on Snakes Way, which will be in stores April 3. The set will feature a dozen tracks, including "Dysnomia," "Undertaker" and "In Sane World." ...

Finnish heavy-metal cellists Apocalyptica will release the double-DVD "The Life Burns Tour" February 6. The package will include covers of Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire" and "Master of Puppets," as well as Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist." Many of the songs feature guest vocalists too: Soulfly's Max Cavalera and Bullet for My Valentine's Matt Tuck perform on "Repressed"; H.I.M.'s Ville Valo and the Rasmus' Lauri Ylönen contribute to "Bittersweet"; and "Seeman" features Nina Hagen. Apocalyptica are currently working on a new album for release later this year. ... Angtoria singer Sarah Jezebel Deva and bassist Dave Pybus will perform on Cradle of Filth's upcoming U.S. tour. Dates run from January 23 in Sayreville, New Jersey, through March 4 in New York. Angtoria's critically acclaimed symphonic-metal album God Has a Plan for Us All came out in October. ... Frontman Ian Campbell has left Neuraxis and has been replaced in short order by Atheretic's Alex Leblanc.

• The Black Dahlia Murder
• Stone Sour
• Lacuna Coil
• Shadows Fall
• Testament

Shadows Fall
Photo: Century Media

Brian Fair just can't get used to it — even after six weeks.

The dreadlocked frontman for Massachusetts metal act Shadows Fall said he'll be bouncing ideas off his bandmates, when all of a sudden, a rock-and-roll powerhouse strolls in with a bottle of Icelandic schnapps, looking to party.

"It still blows my mind when, randomly, Dave Grohl pops in with a bottle and he's like, 'Hey dudes — we're partying,' " Fair, a huge fan of Grohl's pre-Nirvana band, Scream, explained. "It's cool just sitting around, talking old D.C. hardcore. And he's just stoked to have a metal band recording in his studio. He comes by and hangs out, and rocks out to what we're doing."

Shadows Fall have been working with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Stone Sour) at Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, recording the 13 tracks that'll comprise their forthcoming major-label debut, Threads of Life — the follow-up to 2006's Fallout From the War.

But Fair said he hasn't approached Grohl for any creative pointers or tips. Instead, Shadows Fall is concentrating on sticking to what they know, and making punishing sounds the way they always have.

"We didn't write a safe record," he explained. "It's such a natural step that we're heading in, and it's going to push our sound into new places that I think our fans are going to be stoked about. We're just trying to write great metal songs and make sure that the five of us are all super stoked on what we're doing — that we're all on the same page. And [Atlantic Records] has given us a lot of freedom to write a good metal record.

"It's been a great experience out here, and it's the first time we've been immersed, totally, in an album," Fair continued. "We're all living in the same area, and focusing on the record 100 percent. There are none of the distractions from back home, and we're far enough from Hollywood that those distractions are gone too. It's really been a perfect situation."

Fair said the band overwrote for this effort, but wound up bringing 13 songs into the studio with them, though he's not sure all the tracks will make the final cut. "It's the first time we've had more than just enough for the record," he said. "This time, we've been able to demo a lot of ideas, and go back and really find the ones that we're feeling the strongest."

And Shadows Fall haven't softened their sound for the sake of album sales. Fair's voice is still as menacing as it's always been, and several new tracks truly test his pipes. "There are songs on this album that are just all screaming," he said. "There are some acoustic interludes, some clean singing and vocal harmonies. But the screaming — that's just part of our sound, and it has been from the beginning. To eliminate that and go clean with my vocals would really be taking away from what we do."

Fair is also fully aware of the recent success other metal bands have experienced, like Lamb of God — whose latest, Sacrament, debuted at #8 on the Billboard albums chart in late August (see "Alcoholism, In-Fighting Couldn't Derail Lamb Of God's Top 10 Album"). But that band's huge opening week didn't create added stress for Shadows Fall.

"To see the success bands like Lamb of God and Mastodon are having putting out incredibly creative and heavy albums on a major without having to compromise in any way was really inspiring," he said. "You're like, 'See, it can be
done.' "

• Shadows Fall
• Dave Grohl

Roadrunner United 12.15.2005

• Slipknot
• Stone Sour
• Hatebreed
• Murderdolls
• Deicide

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

• Lamb of God
• Shadows Fall
• Killswitch Engage