Hey, what's up everybody? Iann Robinson here. Looks like the summer is starting to really kick in. We're starting to get that lovely steam-and-soup humidity vibe in NYC. It kind of sucks.

I spent most of this week listening to an advance of this live Ramones disc that King Biscuit is putting out. It's pretty amazing. It's live in 1978 in New York City, right after Rocket to Russia had come out. The tracks sound great and the song choices are killer. I could see this seriously becoming the live disc to beat for Ramones fans. I also saw the documentary "End of the Century," all about the Ramones' career from beginning to end. It's a great film, and it breaks your heart that while all these idiotic pop-punk bands are making millions, the Ramones are still working-class guys even though they basically started the art form. The film also has great interview footage with Dee Dee Ramone, a man all of us Ramones fans miss.

OK, that's it for me this week. Stay metal, and I'll see you at the shows.

Slipknot bassist Paul Gray has been tapped by Unida (the band featuring ex-Kyuss frontman John Garcia) to play on an upcoming tour, following the departure of bassist Scott Reeder (also ex-Kyuss). The dates Paul will be on kick off June 25 in Tempe, Arizona. ... Sick of It All will release their new album, Life on the Ropes, in the last week of September on Fat Wreck Chords. The band is also putting out a three-song CD and 7-inch on Bridge 9 Records on July 26. That release will include two songs not on the upcoming album as well as the single "Relentless." ...

Vocalist Joe Comeau has left Canadian trash outfit Annihilator due to what he calls a personal problem within the band. "Annihilator is and always will be Jeff Waters, " Comeau said in a statement. "It was his decision and his decision alone that he made to end our musical collaboration." ... Atreyu will kick off their Bitter, Broken, Bound & Gagged Tour on August 7. Supporting acts will be God Forbid, Darkest Hour and Underoath. ... Polish death metal band Vader are set to release a seven-track EP called Blood later this year. The EP will include two new songs, plus five rare recordings. ...

Cannibal Corpse frontman George 'Corpsegrinder' Fischer has teamed up with ex-Morbid Angel guitarist Richard Brunelle in a band called Paths of Possession. Their first release is a split album with Dark Faith, due to be released later in the month by Splattergod Records. ... 40 Grit recently parted ways with bassist Kevin Young. The band is currently looking for a 20-something bassist with "pro gear, pro attitude." Those interested in an audition should e-mail info@40grit.com. ... German metal titans Kreator will release their first live album and DVD on July 22. Live Kreation was recorded during the band's recent Violent Revolution tour and will spread 24 tracks over two discs. ...

Cerebral Seattle band Queensrÿche will release their new album, Tribe, on July 22. The disc features guitar work by original axeman Chris DeGarmo, who left the band in 1997. Track titles include "Open," "Losing Myself," "Desert Dance" and "Falling Behind." DeGarmo will not join Queensrÿche for their tour, which begins June 23 in Houston and runs through August 2 in their hometown. ... Sweden's the Crown are one step closer to completing their new album, which teams the band again with vocalist Johan Lindstrand. The band recently finished recording sessions for the album and will soon begin mixing at Gothenburg's Studio Fredman with hopes of a September/October release. ... Flotsam and Jetsam will film their show at the Bash on Ash in Tempe, Arizona, on July 18 for their upcoming DVD. The release should surface late this year or in early 2004. ... Sweden's Wolf will enter Abyss Studios with producer Peter Tagtgren (Hypocrisy, Pain) on June 18 to begin recording their third album. ...

— compiled by Iann Robinson, Jon Wiederhorn and Robert Mancini

• Slipknot
• Vader
• The Ramones
• Annihilator (Metal)
• Sick of It All

Hey fellow metalists, what's up? How's it been with you this week? Iann Robinson here with a big helping of metal news for you to feast on, all of it very cool.

The big thing for me this week was the Lamb of God record, As the Palaces Burn. This is a bad-ass record that may just crush everything in its wake. LOG take the best aspects of thrash and death metal and combine them into a sonic fury that hits its zenith by creating killer riffs that are also killer hooks — not an easy job.

I also got to check out the new Katatonia album, Viva Emptiness, which is amazing. Building on the new sounds of their last offerings, Katatonia manage to blend prog-rock, metal and goth music perfectly. It's definitely one of the more sonically dense and experimental records I've heard in the world of metal.

My final thing is a bit of a gripe with the band 16. Now we all know 16 are amazing, we all know their take on ultra-violence hardcore is second to nobody, but they have a new album out in Japan called Zoloft Smile, and I've heard some of it. It's really good work, but YOU CAN'T GET IT IN THE STATES. Please 16, if you love us at all, work on getting it out in the U.S. I tried to get it off their Web site, but it jumps you to a site for the Japanese record label releasing the record, and the whole thing is in Japanese making it impossible to order. I beg you 16, unleash the carnage here, for us! Well, that's it, read on, dig the metal news and remember, if you find yourself giving the devil horns to a fellow frat brother during a "kegger," this ain't the page for you!

You won't see the King when the Jailhouse Rock Part 2 Tour kicks off in June, but you can catch hardcore heavyweights Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Biohazard, Throwdown and relative newcomers Full Blown Chaos. The short East Coast trek will begin June 5th. ... Meanwhile, Hatebreed will hit the studio on April 26 to start recording their next album. ...

Sick of It All will be releasing a new album this summer titled Life on the Ropes. ... Entombed also return this summer. They will release Inferno on August 4. …

Make more room in the Ozzfest parking lot: The Datsuns have been added to the tour's main stage for five dates, while Revolution Smile and Marz have been added to the Ozzfest second stage. ...

The bands behind the Metal Gods 2003 Tour — Halford, Immortal, Primal Fear and Pain Museum — will hit the HMV Superstore in Toronto on Monday for an autograph session. ...

Day-glow greasepaint manufacturers rejoice: Twisted Sister are getting back together for a reunion tour of military bases. The band will hit one Air Force base and two Army bases in South Korea next month for the tour, presented by the USO. ...

When Candiria take the stage at New York's legendary CBGB's on May 5, it will mark the jazz-metal-hardcore band's first appearance since being sidelined by an auto accident nearly eight months ago. The newly reinvigorated band will be joined by Start The End, Locked in a Vacancy and Most Precious Blood. ... Chimaira also returned to the road this week after a minor bus accident that forced the band to cancel a show in Virginia. The band's bus hit a construction barricade outside of Pittsburgh on Monday, and no one was injured in the crash. The band's new album, The Impossibility of Reason, is due on May 13. …

After their stint opening for Motörhead and the Dwarves this month, High on Fire will gear up for a summer headlining tour. ... Speaking of the almighty Motörhead, the band has tapped New York's HavocHate to open its upcoming tour with Anthrax and Erase the Gray. The tour kicks off on May 7 in Norfolk, Virginia. … Elsewhere on the road, Kataklysm will join The Haunted and Shai Hulud on a full North American tour launching in May. …

Dysrhythmia are set to unveil their Relapse Records debut, Pretest, on May 13. The album was produced by noise master Steve Albini (Helmet, Nirvana, Killdozer, Pixies). ...

Poison the Well have decided to call their major-label debut You Come Before You. Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon, who handled the artwork for last year's Tear From the Red, will return to work on the forthcoming album, which is due in stores June 1. ... Meanwhile, Converge's "The Long Road Home" DVD will arrive in stores on May 20. ...

Stoner rock band Stonerwitch have broken up due to "irreconcilable differences". ... Madball return on June 20 when they team up with Most Precious Blood for a tour that runs through July 12. …

Black metal heroes Impaled Nazarene will start work on their eighth album, titled All That You Fear, on July 1. The album will mark the recording debut of new guitarist Tuomo Louhio. ...

Progressive metal masterminds King's X return to record stores on May 20 with Black Like Sunday. For the album, the band dug up 14 songs written in its earliest days (prior to adopting the name King's X) and recorded them recently for the first time. None of the songs have been recorded before.

—Compiled by Iann Robinson, Ryan Downey, Jon Wiederhorn and Robert Mancini

• The Datsuns
• Revolution Smile
• Sick of It All
• Lamb of God
• Halford

The Misfits, Sick Of It All, H2O, and 7 Seconds will be among the heavy hitters waving the hardcore banner at a two-day festival slated for later this month dubbed Alive And Well.

Murphy's Law, Madball, Orange 9MM, Earth Crisis, Fury Of Five, Better Than 1000, Fahrenheit 451, and Skarhead will also be among the 24 hardcore outfits descending on Asbury Park, New Jersey on August 29 and 30 for the festival.

The first day's show will be staged at the Asbury Park Convention Hall with the second day unfolding at the Stone Pony. Both days are all-ages shows with tickets for day one priced at $20 and day two $8 (tickets can be purchased for both days at $26.

Here's how the two-day line-up breaks down:

8/29 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Park Convention Hall

• Misfits
• Sick Of It All
• H2O
• Underdog
• Murphy's Law
• 7 Seconds
• Orange 9MM
• Earth Crisis
• Madball
• Fury Of Five
• Better Than 1000
• Fahrenheit 451
• Skarhead
• Enkindels
• DBX
• Indecision

8/30 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony

• Burn
• Vision
• Breakdown
• Ensign
• Floor Punch
• Battery
• OS101
• Back Drop Bomb

• H2O (Rock)
• The Misfits
• Sick of It All

Some of New York hardcore's finest, including Sick Of It All, Biohazard, Burn [Burn live, 480k QuickTime], Civ and a reunited Cro Mags [Cro Mags live, 700k QuickTime], gathered together on Sunday to stage a benefit for the city's homeless.

"These shows, you know, they come around every once in awhile, and it's really good to be here for it," Sick Of It All's Pete Koller told MTV News of the event.

"This is the stuff legends are made of," the band's Lou Koller added. "It's not like any of these bands sell a million records. This is more personal, spiritual. I guess you would say." [500k QuickTime]

The event, organized by John Joseph of the groups Both Worlds and the Cro Mags, managed to raise close to $12,000 to help feed New York's homeless.

"The hardcore scene has always pulled together to help each other," Joseph said of the drive behind the event. "Now we're even taking it to the next level by helping homeless people who we don't even necessarily know and who don't even listen to hardcore music. [480k QuickTime] So basically, we wanna' help everybody."

• Biohazard
• Civ
• The Cro-Mags
• Sick of It All

April 11 [10:00 EST] -- Over the past decade, the New York hardcore band Sick Of It All has watched the hardcore scene wax and wane, and through it all, the group has continued taking its music ["Chip Away" Live in NYC, '97, 500k QuickTime] to hardcore fans around the world.

The band (founded by brothers Lou and Pete Koller) has a serious work ethic, and all its years of work now appear to be paying off.

"That's actually how it was getting towards the late 80s for a little while," drummer Armand Magidi told MTV News. "It ruined the entire scene in New York, because there were too many kids who thought they had to be a tough guy in the scene as opposed to being a creative force."

When asked where all these late 80s scene crashers have gone, the band responded in unison, "jail."[1.3MB QuickTime]

True to its workaholic reputation, Sick Of It All is now playing dates around Europe, but the band will be back on the road here this summer as part of the Warped tour, which also features Social Distortion, Helmet, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Descendants, Pennywise, and the Royal Crown Revue among others.

For more from Sick Of It All, check out this week's edition of MTV's "Week In Rock" this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 6:30 p.m., or visit the "W.I.R." site right here at MTV News Online.

• Sick of It All

KURT: On a completely different musical note, hardcore music has had its ups and downs in recent years, but the New York band "Sick Of It All" has successfully weathered them for the better part of a decade now. The group, founded by two brothers from Queens, Lou and Pete Koller, has a major-league work ethic that's kept it touring the world year in and year out, and it's paying off. We talked to the band recently at a Manhattan meat district club called "Hell."

KURT LODER: You've noticed that we're in "Hell." There are a lot of people on the wall here (GESTURING TO PICTURES ON THE WALLS OF THE CLUB). Who would you expect to see there?

LOU KOLLER, Vocals: Well, O.J. definitely.

CRAIG SETARI, Bass: Starsky.

L. KOLLER: Starsky was a nice guy. What is Drew Barrymore doing in hell? She went through hell already...

LODER: Probably what she was doing on earth, I would imagine.

MTV: Sick Of It All's been through it, too: ten years of worldwide roadwork on the international hardcore circuit.

ARMAND MAJIDI, Drums: We see the hardcore scene going through cycles all the time in different parts of the world. It all depends on where we're playing. Sometimes the scene is huge in Europe and then falls off and it comes back in America.

LODER: What keeps hardcore going do you suppose? Is it just the intensity of the fans?

PETE KOLLER, Guitar: Loyal fans, yeah.

LODER: So what sort of person is attracted to hardcore? It's not just a guy with a gun roaming the streets...

MAJIDI: No, thank god. That's actually how it was getting towards the late 80s for a while. It ruined the entire scene in New York because there were too many kids that thought they had to be a tough guy in the scene as opposed to being a creative force.

LODER: What do you think these guys have moved on to?

ALL: Jail.

MTV: The band's new album, aptly titled "Built to Last", features clean, streamlined sound by producer Garth, who has previously twirled dials for Rage Against the Machine, L7, and Jesus Lizard.

LODER: How do you think your new album has evolved from the rest of your stuff?

MAJIDI: The sounds are more distinct. You can tell what the other instruments are doing.

MTV: Well, hardcore is probably easy when you're young and angry and full of things to say, but how does it hold up when you've been at it for the better part of a decade?

LODER: Have you guys gotten a little less wild over the course of your career? Do you feel yourselves sort of mellowing a little bit?

L. KOLLER: The first time we were on stage I didn't move a muscle I was so scared.

SETARI: Now, it's like we're very comfortable with moving and playing the songs. We play a lot tighter as a band.

LODER: You're doing a video tonight for "Us and Them"?

L. KOLLER: "Us vs. Them."

LODER: Who's "Them"?

L. KOLLER: Well, we're us, so this is good. And Them are bad [QuickTime, 1.9 MB].

LODER: Well, not everybody else is the enemy, it turns out...

MAJIDI: Companies sometimes give us free clothes up until a few years ago... These sort of things never happened before. You'd never get free shoes or free shirts. But now, all of a sudden, people give you free clothes and I'm like, "Hey, we don't have to do laundry!"

KURT: "Sick of It All" is now touring Europe again, not surprisingly, but the band will be back on the road here this summer as part of the "Warped" tour.

• Sick of It All

Feb. 27 [18:00 EST] -- Sick Of It All fans who can't get enough of the band's new album, titled "Built To Last," might want to check out an Internet-exclusive track that is available only on the Elektra Records website.

The new song, called "86," is not available on the band's latest release, which hit stores on February 11, and can only be found at elektra.com. The full song is featured in RealAudio, so make sure you have the appropriate plug in.

The New York hardcore outfit have carved out a solid punk following through relentless touring with the likes of the Beastie Boys, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Rancid, and Helmet.

• Sick of It All