36 Crazyfists
Photo: Ferret Music

The one thing bands always tell you about life on the road is that it gets old fast. Getting through the first month is usually a breeze, but it doesn't take long for the luster to wear off. And when it comes to combating the inevitable boredom that comes with life on the road, the dudes in 36 Crazyfists have tried just about everything. After all, when the majority of your life has been spent in the frozen abyss that is Alaska, boredom tends to be a constant foe.

Of course, there's always drinking — with the rest of your band, the other acts on the bill — or hanging with groupies, who're more than willing to help kill the time. But a few years back, while on tour in Europe with Bullet for My Valentine, 36 Crazyfists were fresh out of ideas — so they drank. A lot. And the next morning, frontman Brock Lindow awoke with a killer hangover and a full beard.

"It was a hilarious tour, and we were partying our faces off every night," he recalled. "There was this one night where everybody was pretty drunk, and somehow, we ended up with a dozen topless dudes in the back lounge, and everyone started drawing beards on themselves with Sharpies. When we all woke up the next day, I had a full black beard drawn on my face. We all tried to take showers later on at the venue, and I couldn't get the marker off. I had this dirty-looking face for a full week, and it wasn't pretty."

Chances are 36CF won't be too, too bored in February, when they head out with DevilDriver, Napalm Death, Walls of Jericho and Invitro on the Bound by the Road tour, which begins February 27 in Modesto, California, and runs through April 18 in Tempe, Arizona.

"We're stoked," said Lindow, from a beach along Oregon's coastline, where the band was shooting press shots this week for its forthcoming Ferret Music debut, The Tide and Its Takers. "And we'll just keep on rolling from there — we're hoping to tour through much of the year. Hopefully, we'll be part of one of the summer festivals this summer."

Believe it or not, 36CF have never been approached for Ozzfest, nor have they ever landed a slot on the Sounds of the Underground trek. That could change this summer, considering Ferret is one of the sponsors behind Sounds.

"Every summer, we kind of cross our fingers, and it just kind of goes by — that's been our story for years, and we laugh about it every once in a while," the singer explained. "We do the festivals in Europe, and hopefully this year we'll have our fingers crossed again to get on a good American festival. If not, we'll keep on trucking along."

For now, the band is focused on finishing up The Tide, which is being recorded in Portland, Oregon, with the band's guitarist, Steve Holt, handling the production duties. Lindow began tracking his vocals this week, he told Metal File. So far, he said the album — 36CF's second LP since they were released from their Roadrunner Records contract — is shaping up to be the band's most punishing collection so far.

"We're reaching for the stars on this one," he explained. "Some of it is real heavy, and some of it is not so heavy. It's similar to what we've done in the past, but we stepped it up a notch in both of these areas. I am sure some people will be surprised by how heavy it is. I am just excited it's as heavy as it is. It does have the melodic side to it, too; I mean, we didn't want to take a right turn on anybody. And the lyrics deal with a lot of things — from the war overseas to global warming ... but not necessarily those topics in one song. I guess I was just trying to capture the mindset that everybody has these days, and I wanted to deal with those things that, on some level, we all deal with daily. I'm not trying to be Bob Dylan or anything, I just thought I'd touch upon things people go through in life."

But while the album is very much coming together, because of mixer Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Arch Enemy)'s busy schedule, The Tide won't be coming out as soon as originally planned — it's been pushed back to April 29. For the band, recording the album was a different kind of experience.

"I live in Alaska and the boys all live in Portland, so they would write their music, send it to me in an e-mail, and I would go to my buddy's studio to record vocals for the demos," Lindow said. "Then I'd send it back. It was actually so easy, but at first, we were worried about it, that it wouldn't go very smoothly. But this is the best music these guys have ever written, and it's exciting stuff. I'm glad we're at the stage we're at with this band."

Early next month, 36 Crazyfists will head back up to Alaska to shoot a video for the record's first single, although they've yet to determine which song that will be. Darren Doane (Every Time I Die, Deftones) has signed on to direct the clip, which Lindow said will involve many of the group's Alaskan friends. It will also feature "extreme-sports guys doing back-flips over bonfires" and a performance set at a party inside a comfy cabin.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor will provide guest vocals on Walls of Jericho's upcoming EP. Taylor produced the yet-untitled effort, which is expected to be packaged with a live DVD documenting the band's recent overseas tours. Look for it in stores in March. ... Former You Hear It First artists the Sword have chosen Gods of the Earth as the title for their forthcoming sophomore LP, which should land in stores in the spring. ... A benefit is being organized for Patrick Mason, the late bassist for California metallers Arsonists Get All the Girls. Mason died in late November at age 21 from unknown causes. The concert will take place December 28 at the 418 in Santa Cruz, California, and feature performances by the Arsonists, as well as Knights of the Abyss, Elysia and Animosity. ... Hair-metallers Twisted Sister are keeping the $25,000 deposit they were handed when they were booked to perform at a benefit concert for the U.S. troops in California, according to The Orange County Register. The band is demanding to be paid the rest of its agreed-upon fee of $50,000 for the gig, which was canceled due to lack of interest. ...

Anthrax have named Dan Nelson (ex-Devilsize) as their new singer following the band's inability to re-enlist two of their former belters, Joey Belladonna or John Bush. Nelson is currently working with the band on the follow-up to 2003's We've Come for You All. "There's no place else I'd rather be right now," Nelson said in a press release. "It's a great vibe. I feel great, and I'm ready to go. I'm getting to live the dream, and it feels amazing. I can't wait for all these people who think Anthrax is done to be proven wrong. The naysayers are gonna be shut down, and the true-blue fans are gonna be pleased." Guitarist Scott Ian shared Nelson's enthusiasm. "It feels great working with Dan," he said. "The first time we jammed, we ran through a bunch of old songs from the John Bush and Joey Belladonna eras. Right from the first second Dan started 'Room for One More' [from 1993's Sound of White Noise], we knew. We said, 'Now that we've got that, let's work his ass off.' " On Tuesday, Anthrax will reissue two Bush-fronted albums on iTunes — Sound of White Noise and 1995's Stomp 442. ... Thrash legends Testament have named their upcoming album The Formation of Damnation. The band is currently working on the disc at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with producer Andy Sneap. The album, tentatively due April 29, will be Testament's first record of new material since 1999's The Gathering and the first proper disc to feature lead guitarist Alex Skolnick since 1992's The Ritual. ...

Connecticut black-metal power trio Ipsissimus will hit the studio this weekend to begin tracking their Three Secrets of Fatima EP, which the band intends to self-release as a special limited-edition package. The band, which features ex-Capharnaum/Catalyst guitarist Ryan Adams, has lined up a February 6 gig with Rotting Christ, Immolation, Belphagor and Averse Sefira in Hartford, Connecticut. ... Floridian grindcore newbies Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky — which features former members of Bodies in the Gears of the Apparatus, Dehumanize, Diabolic and Leprosy — have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast. The band will hit the studio in a couple of months, and its debut is expected to drop late next year. ... While he's got some downtime from his IFC talk show, Henry Rollins will embark on the second leg of his Provoked spoken-word tour. Dates are scheduled from February 19 in Birmingham, Alabama, until March 21 in Raleigh, North Carolina. ... Canadian technical death-metal band Cryptopsy are getting ready to enter the studio to record their sixth full-length album. The disc will feature new singer Matt McGachy (3 Mile Scream) and keyboardist Maggie Durand (Howling Syn). Cryptopsy's on-again, off-again frontman, Lord Worm, left the band in April. The group has never had a full-time keyboard player. ...

It may be the title of one of his songs, but Rob Zombie has nothing to do with the Scum of the Earth Tour. The jaunt will be headlined by Throwdown and will also feature Soilwork, Through the Eyes of the Dead and War of Ages. "We haven't headlined our own tour in a long time, which is exciting," Throwdown frontman Dave Peters said in a statement. "We're also very stoked to be touring with Soilwork, who are coming all the way over from Sweden. And with Through the Eyes of the Dead and War of Ages onboard, it's a very strong and diverse bill." Scum dates have been scheduled from March 3 in Dallas through March 29 in Portland, Oregon. ... Italian death-core band Stigma have finished recording their debut album, When Midnight Strikes!," which will come out in the spring. The disc was recorded with producer Ettore Rigotti (Disarmonia Mundi) at DB Studios in England. ... Funeral Pyre will debut songs from their upcoming, yet-untitled third album on a short tour with Book of Black Earth that launches January 11 in Seattle and runs through January 20 in Hollywood. "These songs will be different than [those on] The Nature of Betrayal, but yet the same," the Los Angeles band wrote on its Web site. "It's a big cycle we go through. You hear the same music, but it sounds different. How does that work? I'm not quite sure, but you will find out in 2008."

[This story was originally published at 8:00 am E.T. on 12.14.2007]

• 36 Crazyfists
• Anthrax
• Ipsissimus
• Throwdown
• Soilwork

Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Wienman, Greg Puciato and Liam Wilson
Photo: Relapse Records

Last month, when the Dillinger Escape Plan revealed that founding drummer Chris Pennie had left the highly technical mathcore outfit to join progressive rockers Coheed and Cambria, no one wanted to believe it. The surprise move baffled the band's allegiant fans almost as much as it confused the Dillinger dudes, who started to wonder if Pennie had been fostering some strange, secret obsession with unicorns and minotaurs.

"We found out about him playing with Coheed on the Internet," explained guitarist Ben Weinman. "[Frontman] Greg [Puciato] forwarded me a link to an announcement, and I'm like, 'What?!?' At that point, though, he was just going to record with them — it wasn't like he wasn't going to play with us, but we were questioning keeping him in the band every day because it was embarrassing. But obviously, we felt that his talent was so needed for the band that we tried to make it work, and we let him go through this little midlife crisis or whatever it was, because we never thought he'd join that band over this band. It doesn't make sense. They're not Linkin Park. If you're going to sell out, sell out, you know?

"It's unbelievable, and the funny thing is, before all of this started going down, he used to make fun of that band, left and right," Weinman continued. "He'd imitate [Coheed frontman Claudio Sanchez's] voice and would say, 'They f---ing suck' and all this sh--. It's funny, because everybody just looks at us like, 'Huh?' And we had the same reaction. The other day, we were hanging out with [(+44) kitman] Travis Barker, [and] the guy we have playing drums with us now [Stolen Babies' Gil Sharone] is good friends with him, and he's a big Dillinger fan, and he's like, 'What happened to your drummer?' We told him, 'He quit and joined Coheed,' and he just looked so confused."

But Weinman said there wasn't one specific reason behind Pennie's departure. It had nothing to do with internal strife or a difference of opinion within the band. It wasn't a matter of not liking the direction Dillinger's new material was going in. It just was.

According to Weinman, Pennie also came under fire from the band's label, Relapse Records, for working with other bands on their records without first clearing it with them — for instance, Pennie lent his talents to the forthcoming Idiot Pilot LP Wolves.

"We're contractually obligated to a record label, and when you are in a contract you can't just go playing with other bands without getting permission," he explained. "That's just how it is. You can't just go playing on people's records and not deal with the business side of it. Chris would do that all the time and didn't want to deal with the legal side of it and didn't understand why he had to. We were breaching our contract because of it. Really, at the end of the day, he ended up doing a session gig with Claudio for something he was working on for a soundtrack, and I guess [Coheed] were looking for a new drummer and they asked him to play. I guess they offered him a bunch of money."

Ultimately, though, Pennie didn't record a single note for Coheed's upcoming album, No World for Tomorrow. Instead, the band recruited Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins for the task, leaving Pennie "a fill-in drummer for Taylor Hawkins. He's basically the f---ing live player for that dude."

Now that Dillinger have found a replacement for Pennie in Sharone, Weinman said the band can once again focus on finishing Ire Works, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2004's Miss Machine, which is being produced out in California by Steve Evetts (Sepultura, He Is Legend) and is being earmarked for an October release.

"When Chris hears our record, he's going to feel like a real a--hole," Weinman said, with confidence. "He blew it. This guy Gil we have playing on this, his drumming is unbelievable on this record. Some of the best drumming we've ever had on any of our records. And now, Gil is going to be known as the guy for this kind of thing. This would have been the record that set Chris up as a drumming dude — as a session guy, a clinic guy — and now, Gil's already got all these companies doing ads based on him playing on this record."

Dillinger Escape Plan will tour in support of Ire Works this fall. First, they'll head over to Europe for a run of gigs with Meshuggah, and the guitarist said the plan, for now, is to bring the same package over to the States this winter. As for how the record sounds? Weinman said fans can expect it to be "just as diverse as" Miss Machine.

"On this record, it's just sort of like a combination of almost everything we've done in the past, but on overdrive," he said of the album, which will include the tracks "Black Bubblegum," "Death's Head Moth" and "Saigon Whore." "Everything is just right. We figured it out. And everything is pretty emotional, too. Everything's really super angry, even when the music isn't all that aggressive. With these songs it's like, 'Oh, you're about to get complacent with where you're at with this song,' and then, all of a sudden, it hits you in the ass again and jerks you around. It's like being on a f---ed-up roller coaster."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Belgian grindcore quintet Leng Tch'e have hired drummer Tony Van den Eynde to replace founding member Sven de Caluwé, who quit in June because he was no longer enjoying the gig. "Many people heeded the call when the word was out that we needed a new skinsman and it was a tough decision to make in the end," the band said in a statement. "But we believe Tony has all the skills to take us to the next level. His power and technique will baffle you all." The new Leng Tch'e lineup will debut later this month with two performances in Holland. ... Cleveland thrash band Skeletonwitch have finished recording their debut album, Beyond the Permafrost, which is scheduled for release September 18. The disc was recorded in June with producer Corey Smoot (GWAR, Municipal Waste). Skeletonwitch will tour with Withered from July 13 in Nashville through July 28 in Savannah, Georgia. This fall, the band will hit the West Coast with Nachtmystium. ...

Hardcore metal musclemen Throwdown have posted two new songs, "Holy Roller" and "S.C.U.M.," on their MySpace page. Both tracks come from the band's upcoming album Venom & Tears, which is scheduled for release August 7. "We kinda went back to our roots as far as what got us into playing music, rather than sticking to what got us into hardcore," said vocalist Dave Peters in a statement. Throwdown are currently headlining the Ernie Ball Stage on the Warped Tour, and will remain there until the tour ends August 25 in Los Angeles. ...

New York metalcore bruisers It Dies Today will begin selling raffle tickets today to help fight leukemia. The tickets can be purchased at the band's merch table on the Warped Tour. Prizes include Fernandez guitars, Burton snowboarding gear, It Dies Today limited edition T-shirts and other merch. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and a specific child in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who is battling the disease. Frontman Jason Wood is from Grand Rapids and chose the charities because of a recent experience with the disease. "My best friend, Chad Harjar, passed away from leukemia last year, and it really affected me because of how close we were and how similar our life aspirations were. We were in bands together and we were really ready to go some place. I joined It Dies Today a few months after his death, and he was the person who I wanted to share the experience with the most." The It Dies Today raffle will continue through August 10 in Buffalo, New York. ...

Alter Bridge, the band featuring three former members of Creed, have signed to Universal Republic Records and will release their new album in the fall. And, they swear, it won't sound anything like their former band. "The material we've been working on is really aggressive and I think it's the best work we've ever done," said guitarist Mark Tremonti in a statement. "We're very excited about beginning this chapter in our lives and career." Alter Bridge's debut One Day Remains came out in 2004. ... Heaven and Hell have added several shows to their fall tour, which they claim will be their last dates together before the members part ways. The fall tour launches September 5 in Binghamton, New York, and runs through October 6 in Irvine, California. As previously mentioned, Queensrÿche and Alice Cooper will open. After the tour, singer Ronnie James Dio is expected to work on a new album with his band Dio, and guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler are expected to begin work with Ozzy Osbourne on a new Black Sabbath record. ...

To coincide with the Heaven and Hell Tour, on August 28 Queensrÿche will release Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche. The package will be available in single and double disc sets. Both feature 17 career-spanning tracks and the 2-CD set features 15 rare and previously unreleased recordings including the newly written "Justified," recorded with original guitarist Chris DeGarmo, who left the band in 1997. ... 36 Crazyfists have signed with Ferret Music and plan to release a new album in 2008. ... Montalvo, California's The F---ing Wrath have completed their debut album, Season of Evil, which is scheduled for release in August. An extensive tour will follow. ...

Members of Exodus, Death Angel and Forbidden are planning to attend the July 14 premiere of the film "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" in San Francisco. "I am totally stoked," said Exodus guitarist Gary Holt. "After all, San Francisco was the birthplace of this monster called thrash metal, and it is only fitting that it receives a proper showing right where it all started. After seeing the movie, all I could say was it's about time; and it couldn't have been done any better." ... Slipknot guitarist Mick Thompson plays a guest solo on the tenth album by Malevolent Creation, Doomsday X, which comes out July 17. A video of the studio recording sessions can be seen at SlickDrummer.com, where the new record can be streamed in its entirety.

• Dillinger Escape Plan
• Throwdown
• It Dies Today
• Coheed and Cambria
• Alter Bridge

Drop Dead, Gorgeous
Photo: Rise Records

The lads in Denver metalcore outfit Drop Dead, Gorgeous don't pick up hitchhikers anymore. They used to. All the time, in fact. They'd be driving down some forsaken highway in the middle of nowhere, spot a stranded motorist trucking his way to the nearest gas station and stop — giving some hapless soul a lift was the least they could do.

And then there was the one night when they collected that dude who was packing heat, unbeknownst to them.

"Last May, we picked up this hitchhiker in New Mexico on our way to Arizona," frontman Aaron Rothe explained. "He was stranded, without gas. We drove him about 20 miles to a gas station, and he was going to have a cop drive him back to the rest stop he'd left his car at. And the cop starts patting him down, and he found a gun on the guy."

Rothe doesn't believe the man posed much of a threat. But the experience was enlightening. What if the guy had robbed Drop Dead — or worse yet, decided to pop a cap in one of the bandmembers? Needless to say, if you're not a member of the band, chances are you won't be seeing the inside of their van anytime soon.

While Drop Dead — who released their first studio LP, In Vogue, back in May — haven't been together for long, they've certainly accomplished plenty. Last month, the metallers signed with Suretone Records, an Interscope imprint launched by former Geffen Records President Jordan Schur. (The label is also home to the Cure, Angels & Airwaves, Weezer, New Found Glory and Audioslave's Chris Cornell.) And Drop Dead — who list Norma Jean, the Bled and Underoath as influences — count producer Ross Robinson (Norma Jean, the Cure) as one of their biggest fans. Robinson plans on helming their forthcoming sophomore album — which Rothe said is slated for release in the summer — and the guys are planning to move to California in January to be closer to the producer as they begin work on the effort.

"He sort of discovered us through MySpace, and Ross took us to [Schur] and was like, 'You have to hear this band — I can do a lot with these guys,' " Rothe said. Not long after, Drop Dead were in Los Angeles, putting pen to paper. "We're nervous about working with Ross, because we're huge fans of everything he's done and we never thought we'd have a chance to work with someone like him. He's just really pumped on our band. It doesn't seem right to me, but I'm not going to complain about that.

"One thing we've learned about Ross is he won't change the band," the singer continued. "People think they can tell you that you've got to look like this, play this type of music. But with Suretone, it hasn't been like that at all. It's about us and the music we want to write, and they're not going to go in and change it up."

Drop Dead — whose eldest member is just 20 years old — have been writing material for their yet-untitled record in between tours. The band, which has opened for the likes of Bullet for My Valentine and Eighteen Visions, is currently on the road with Greeley Estates and will head out with Senses Fail, Saosin and Alexisonfire for a brief run that launches January 29 in Lubbock, Texas. The band hopes to earn a spot on one of this summer's festival bills — specifically the Warped Tour.

The songs Drop Dead are working on at the moment, Rothe said, won't upset fans of In Vogue. "But our sound is much more developed and a little more unique," he added. "We're more comfortable playing live, and we know what we're doing more now."

Drop Dead are hardly a bunch of experienced road dogs. They've only been touring full-time since June.

"Our guitarist [Kyle Browning] is only 17, so we had to wait for him to get out of school before we could head out," Rothe explained. "He's actually dropped out of school and is doing online classes now, just so we can tour. But it did put a damper on things for a while. Now there's no more restrictions."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows says the band plans to take its time writing the follow-up to 2005's City of Evil. While the boys have been working on new material for a few weeks now, Shadows doesn't see the band hitting the studio until at least May. And when Avenged do, the singer said they'll track the disc without the benefit of a seasoned producer. "We're 90 percent sure we're going to produce it ourselves," said Shadows, who recently helped produce the Confession's new LP. "We want to do it ourselves because we know what we want." He said fans can expect the album's tracks to be bigger and longer, and added that he hopes to have the disc out by the fall. ... Cradle of Filth will storm North American shores starting January 23 in Sayreville, New Jersey. The 14-date tour to support the band's new album Thornography runs through February 9 in Calgary, Alberta. In addition to regular tickets, fans can purchase VIP packages for an extra $30, for which they'll receive early entry to the show, a limited-edition T-shirt, signed photo and an invite to a meet-and-greet with the band. ...

Sam Dunn, co-director of "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey," isn't just a heavy-metal academic — he's also a performer with a specialty in old-school thrash. His band Burn to Black recently released their debut, Mach 666, a disc influenced by some of the members' favorite bands, including Sadus, Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Forbidden and the Crown. "As musicians, we feel that thrash has lost a lot of its rawness over the years and has become too slick and polished," said Dunn, who plays bass in the group. Singer Rob Ouellette, guitarists Mike Krestel and Paul Harrington and drummer Evan Johnston round out the band. While Burn to Black will play select shows in their hometown of Toronto, they won't tour extensively, since Dunn is too busy jet-setting for his next movie, "Global Metal." That film will trace the growth of heavy metal across the world. ...

Throwdown will enter an L.A. studio in December with producer Mudrock (Eighteen Visions, Avenged Sevenfold) to record their next full-length, Venom and Tears. The album is scheduled for release in the summer. "We've got around 26 songs that are in various forms and stages from 'All done' to 'Well, I've got this one riff that's pretty sweet,' " the band said in a post on its MySpace page. Throwdown's last album, Vendetta, came out in 2005. ... This winter Voivod will begin pre-production on the follow-up to their 2006 album, Katorz. But that doesn't mean the bandmembers have been kicking back at Club Med. Recently they created a video for the Katorz track "The Getaway" by editing together footage from the album's recording session and the band's 2003 U.S. tour. Currently, the band is working on a clip for "Polaroids" and will follow with a video for "The X-Stream." Voivod are also finalizing plans to re-release their early back catalog in 2007 on the End Records. Drummer Michel "Away" Langevin said the band will start with 1986's Rrröööaaarrr, the following year's Killing Technology and '88's Dimension Hatröss. He said each LP will be remastered and upped with a bonus DVD. ...

When he hasn't been screaming with Godhead, frontman Jason C. Miller has been doing cartoon voiceovers for Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender." He voices five characters on the show, including Scary Prisoner, whose shaven head and tattooed body was modeled after Miller — he also works as an actor and stuntman. Godhead's latest album, The Shadow Line, came out in August and was produced by ex-Evanescence guitarist and songwriter Ben Moody. ... Greek band Rotting Christ have been forced to postpone their U.S. winter tour until May "due to bureaucratic problems with obtaining visas," the members announced in a press release. Rotting Christ's 10th album, Theogonia, comes out January 23 and includes "The Sign of Prime Creation," "Enuma Elish," "Gaia Tellus" and "Phobos' Synogogue." ... Swiss noise-metal band Kruger are recording their new album Redemption Through Looseness in Lausanne, Switzerland. The album is scheduled for an April release. Kruger's last effort, Cattle Truck, came out earlier this year. ...

Swedish melodic death-metal band Dark Tranquillity have finished recording their eighth studio album, which is being mixed in Denmark by Tue Madsen. On their Web site, singer Mikael Stanne described the sessions as "smooth and focused," adding, "The overall feeling that we are creating something amazing has really driven us through this." The only remaining hard part for Stanne is titling the eclectic album. "How can I sum up in a title something that is everything and nothing, grounded and out there, introverted and extra-terrestrial all at the same time?" he asked. We're sure he'll find a way before the album's release in the spring. ... Suffocation have posted the video for "Abomination Reborn," the first from their self-titled comeback album. (Check it out right here.) The clip was shot in Brooklyn, New York, with director Frankie Nasso (All That Remains, Hatebreed) and producers Dale Resteghini and Melissa Manousos of Raging Nations Films. Another new video from Nasso and Resteghini, Misery Index's "Conquistadores," can also be viewed on YouTube. (See it right here.) That video was shot in Brooklyn too. Misery Index issued their second album, Discordia, in May. ...

San Francisco power-metal band Hammers of Misfortune have seriously revamped their lineup. Singer and guitarist Mike Scalzi and singer/bassist Jamie Myers have left and been replaced by singer/guitarist Patrick Goodwin and singer Jesse Quattro. The group will debut its new lineup at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March. ... Death-metal veterans Immolation are working on material for their next album at drummer Steve Shalaty's house in Ohio. "The songs are shorter, but pack more of a punch," guitarist Robert Vigna said. "They kick you hard right from the start and leave you pummeled by the end. It's definitely a darker, meaner album." Paul Orofino, who produced Immolation's last four discs, will work on the album at Millbrook Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York. ... Chicago comedy grind band 7000 Dying Rats will release their third album, Season in Hell, January 9. The 28-track recording is the band's first since 2001's The Sound of No Hands Clapping.

• The Great Metal Debate

• Drop Dead Gorgeous
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Throwdown

Overcast
Photo: overcast.cc

Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio remembers the exact moment when Overcast — his influential, erstwhile Massachusetts metal band that counted among its members Shadows Fall frontman Brian Fair — ended. It was a week or so after the band's first U.S. tour (with Disembodied and Shai Hulud) had concluded, and the guys in the band returned from a six-week road trip with about $500 to their names.

"We were all just kind of beaten to death," D'Antonio recalled. "We had worked so incredibly hard to get the band to where it was, with little or nothing to show for it besides just fans coming out and seeing us and being really into the band. We just needed to cut our losses and go home, and unfortunately, that was the way most of the people felt in the band. We had gotten done with a practice, and everyone told me how they were feeling. [That band] was my baby — something I cared about more than almost anything else in the world at that point. So when people were telling me they didn't want to do it, I didn't want to face reality. It really bothered me."

He said the bandmembers sold off the remaining Overcast merchandise, split the proceeds and that was that. D'Antonio, in time, assembled Killswitch, while Fair was asked to join Shadows Fall — two bands that've amassed more than 1 million in combined album sales in the U.S. alone. Years later, in 2003, both bands would hit the road together (along with Lamb of God) for the Headbangers Ball Tour.

"I started talking to John Dudeck," who released Overcast's LPs on his Edison Recordings label, "and we were talking about doing a box set," D'Antonio explained. "During that tour, it just seemed to make sense to put something out of Overcast, knowing that it would actually be a little bit more in the public eye."

Then last summer, when Killswitch and the Shad played the 10th installment of Sharon Osbourne's Ozzfest, D'Antonio and Fair discussed re-releasing Overcast's material. "We didn't really want those recordings re-released, though," he said. "They're not the greatest recordings in the world. They're not tight. They were done with no budget at all."

In fact, 1994's Expectational Dilution was recorded and mixed in just four days, and Fair had just three hours to nail all his vocals for the disc. "Needless to say, not the best we could have done," D'Antonio said. "So we thought it would be cool to get back into the studio and throw everything down again and get it right the right way, with no pressure. So we started calling around to all the other guys" — current Seemless guitarist Pete Cortese, guitarist Scott McCooe and drummer Jay "Hurricane Jake" Fitzgerald — "and they were really excited to do it."

Before year's end, D'Antonio said he hopes to release Reborn to Kill Again, an album featuring more than 10 classic, revisited Overcast tunes and two previously unreleased cuts the band wrote before disbanding but never recorded. Neither song has a title, D'Antonio said, and for one of them, Fair "actually took the lyrics and used them for a Shadows Fall song" called "Root Bound Apollo," from the 2000 album Of One Blood; Killswitch guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (Unearth, Underoath) will helm the new Overcast project. The band's recorded all the drum tracks so far and will start working on the guitar parts next week. The plan's to finish the LP by the end of May. D'Antonio said several labels are vying for the disc, but not Killswitch's label, Roadrunner — they've passed on it.

"We're so stoked that Adam could do it because I hold that guy in high regard as far as being able to produce things and take turds and shine them up real nice and make diamonds out of them," D'Antonio said. "In his hands we can make this Overcast record something bigger and better. It's awesome to be able to mend the different things that happened throughout the years and have fun. We knew we could go into the studio and pull it off, and everyone's head is in the right spot. We're just having a blast."

Overcast will perform this weekend in Worcester, Massachusetts, during the New England Hardcore and Metal Festival. The band's also booked a gig at Club Hipnotic in New London, Connecticut, for June 3 and is in talks to take the stage inside New York's CBGB next month.

In addition, Killswitch Engage will begin writing fresh material in July for the follow-up to 2004's The End of Heartache — an album Roadrunner hopes to be able to release in November, D'Antonio said. He added that the band's also just recorded a cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" for a forthcoming Kerrang! magazine-commissioned compilation. That disc is going to feature some of today's heaviest metal acts tackling a number of genre classics.

"[Frontman] Howard [Jones] sang in falsetto," he said. "It came out super good. Everyone's really excited about it. The guitar riffs are definitely modified to sound way, way heavier."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Black Dahlia Murder have started practicing new material with their recently revamped lineup. The band's new bassist is Bart Williams, who worked with the band on its first album, 2003's Unhallowed. Williams replaces David Lock, who was fired in November because he "couldn't actually play our material," frontman Trevor Strnad said at the time. In addition, Canadian drummer Pierre Langlois has sorted out his immigration paperwork and is now a full-time member of the band. He replaces Zach Gibson, who was also let go in November because of "playing issues." "Pierre's unbelievable," Strnad said. "Zach was more into groove stuff, so we had chunkier guitar parts that would go along with that. Pierre's more about sheer speed, so we'll probably be doing stuff that's a little bit more black metal." The band is filming the creation of its next album and plans to use the footage on a behind-the-scenes DVD that will come out at the same time as the release. "It'll be mostly us hanging out rather than show footage," Strnad said. "There's a lot to this band that people don't really know that we'd like them to see. We're kind of like a brotherhood and we have a blast on the road." ... Nevermore bassist and founding member Jim Sheppard is taking a few weeks away from the band to undergo a medical procedure for Crohn's disease, which he has been battling for 15 years. Ex-Megadeth/ Iced Earth bassist James MacDonough will fill in for 10 shows, starting May 5 in Buffalo, New York, and running through May 18 in Spokane, Washington. Nevermore's tour with In Flames, Throwdown and Evergrey runs through May 28 in Tallahassee, Florida. ... Shatter Messiah, which features former Nevermore guitarist Curran Murphy and Annihilator drummer Robert Falzano, will issue their debut album, Never to Play the Servant, in late August. Look for the disc to include "Your God's Demise." ...

Going forward, Shai Hulud will be known as ... um, Shai Halud. The revived hardcore band had been toying with the idea of adopting the new moniker the Warmth of Red Blood, what with the departure of singer Geert Van der Velde a few years back. But they've abandoned the name and added new singer Eric Dellon, who's done time with both Zombie Apocalypse and Shallow Water Grave. Look for the band to hit the road next month with the Red Chord. ... Thrash legends D.R.I. have been forced to cancel their upcoming U.S. tour with Subzero, as guitarist Spike Cassidy's been diagnosed with colon cancer and was operated on three weeks ago, according to a statement from the band's manager. "Sadly, the concern is that [the cancer] spread and the medical treatment is [required immediately] and it prohibits any touring for the remainder of the year at least." The trek was expected to launch in Seattle May 22. ... The Esoteric are back in work mode. The innovative metallers have begun writing their next release, Subverter, and plan to hit Black Lodge Recording in Eudora, Kansas, on May 8 with producer and engineer Paul Malinowski (The Life and Times, Open Hand). The record's set for a tentative fall release and will include "Science Is Sexy," "Clone Culture and the Cut-Up Method" and "We Will Not Be Convinced That Now Is Not Our Time." ...

You smell that? It's some delicious metal beef — being served up by Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt. The singer has clarified statements he made during an interview with an Australian magazine — but hasn't gone out of his way to patch up the wounds. When asked about the current state of metal, he told the magazine that he didn't care for most of today's bands, and that "when I grew up it was like heresy to compare [labelmates] Killswitch Engage and whatever you got going with [Iron] Maiden and [Judas] Priest. The bands feel manufactured, almost like boy bands with guitars. I don't want my bands to be f---ing pretty." On Opeth's official forum, Åkerfeldt said the article was "a bit misleading," and that while he doesn't "particularly like Killswitch," he has nothing "against them really. All I was saying [is] that I don't see the same quality in them as I do in Priest or Maiden. [Killswitch] to me sounds like a rehashed version of what's been going on in Sweden for 16 years or more. The boy-band comment ... was not addressed to [Killswitch] but an observation of the overall 'nu' or whatever metalcore scene [there is] in the U.S. All of you gotta understand that out of the zillion interviews I do, some will take the so-called 'good stuff' and put it forward and make me seem like a pr---." ...

Springfield, Massachusetts, metalcore band Ligeia have shot a video for "Household Stereotypes" from their new album Your Ghost Is a Gift. The clip was helmed by "Law & Order" director Frank Nasso in New York. "We are playing in an empty apartment with light bulbs swinging all around us," the band said in a press statement. Ligeia will headline a North American tour with Flee the Scene, Across Five Aprils and A Perfect Kill starting May 9 in Miami and ending May 28 in Nashville. ... Hugh Mingay, the bassist for Norwegian black-metal band Arcturus, was in a motorcycle accident last week and damaged his vertebrae. He is expected to recover fully but will have to rest for three weeks before picking up his instrument again. ... Chicago power-metal band Twelfth Gate have announced Brent "Red" Erickson as their new singer. He replaces Scott Huffman, who quit the band due to musical differences and will continue with his new group, Mindwarp Chamber. ... Grindcore band Agathocles will release Mincer, their first CD in almost five years, May 2. The album was recorded at Soundshape Studios in Arendonk, Belgium, and includes "Yuppie Career Freak," "Diary of White Trash," "Carved Face Fashion" and "Forced to Masturbate." ... Terror and Death Before Dishonor will tour together in June. Just 11 dates have been firmed up so far, but more should be announced in the coming weeks. The run kicks off June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and, at this point, runs through July 5 in Buffalo, New York. ... Swedish death-metal outfit Godhate have lost founding member and drummer Roger Sundquist. "Roger has left the band for good," reads the band's official statement on his departure. "It's not an easy thing to find a good drummer who can replace such a good musician as Roger. And as he was the one who formed the band, it's even harder to just say goodbye like that. He has meant a lot to the band and each member, even though we have had different opinions on how to run the band."

• Overcast
• The Black Dahlia Murder
• Nevermore
• D.R.I.
• Killswitch Engage

Atreyu's Alex Varkatzas
Photo: Victory Records

The video for "Her Portrait in Black," Atreyu's contribution to the "Underworld: Evolution" soundtrack, will have the requisite action-packed, Kate Beckinsale-in-tight-leather film snippets. But according to frontman Alex Varkatzas, the clip could also have performance footage of the Orange County, California, metalcore five-piece that was captured "in this weird, huge, dark, scary warehouse they shoot a lot of dark movie scenes in." There might also be eerie images of a young girl gently plucking petals from a wilting daisy — but again, Varkatzas isn't positive. What will make the video and what won't is beyond his control.

"There's this one weird scene we shot of me and [guitarist] Travis [Miguel] in business suits, shaking hands," he explained of the clip, which was directed by Rob Schroeder (the Postal Service, Breaking Benjamin). "And then they did these weird scenes, like with me covered in black paint up to my elbows. I have no idea what the final thing's going to look like. I'm just trying to work my magic to get tickets to the [film's] premiere."

"Her Portrait in Black" was one of the first tracks Atreyu wrote for their forthcoming third LP, the follow-up to 2004's The Curse. But now the tune will be appearing exclusively on the "Underworld" soundtrack, which also features Cradle of Filth, Slipknot, Trivium and My Chemical Romance. That makes A Deathgrip on Yesterday — produced by Josh Abraham (Staind, Coal Chamber) — a mere nine songs long. The track list will include "Our Sick Story (Thus Far)," "Your Private War" and "My Fork in the Road (Your Knife in my Back)."

"Every song is different and stands alone," Varkatzas said of the disc, which will be released on Victory Records. "It's its own little thing. Maybe there's not a whole bunch of singles on there, but it's nine entertaining songs that we worked as hard as we could on. We've redone and rethought and rewrote, lyrically and musically, [the album] several times. We're pretty hard on ourselves. So I hope people can appreciate the end product. We're just trying to be honest with our music. We can only do what comes naturally to us."

The singer said several of the lyrics were inspired by relationships — such as on the song "Ex's and Oh's." "That song's more about ex-girlfriends and sex than it is hugs and kisses," Varkatzas said. "I listen to a lot of [the Deathgrip songs] now, and it hurts to listen to them because they're about such a personal time in my life and about all this pain I went through. And for me, to listen to it, I get the urge to cry a little. It's so weird — the songs hit me like that."

The singer said Atreyu will mull over the invite they've received for the 2006 edition of Ozzfest between now and March 28, when Deathgrip hits stores. They're also looking forward to the Taste of Chaos trek, which kicks off February 16 in San Diego and features Thrice, Deftones, As I Lay Dying, Pelican, Dredg and others. He said the band is prepared for whatever response the new material gets.

"Bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, those bands enjoying more success just helps bands like Atreyu," he said. "It's like trickle-down success for us. The more popular and acceptable those bands become, to a much smaller extent, bands like us become."

The rest of the week's metal news:

The first six dates for Opeth's forthcoming U.S. headlining tour have been revealed, with more dates expected to be announced in the coming weeks. No word yet on who the band will tap as openers. The run launches in Raleigh, North Carolina, on February 15, and will hit Norfolk, Virginia (February 16); Towson, Maryland (February 17); Millvale, Pennsylvania (February 18); Cincinnati (February 19); and Columbus, Ohio (February 21). ... The debut LP from Silent Civilian, which features former Spineshank frontman Jonny Santos, will hit stores March 21. Rebirth of the Temple will feature 13 cuts, including "The Song Remains Un-Named," "Lies in the House of Shame" and "Dead to Me." The band will shoot a video for the album's title track January 15 in Los Angeles with director Scott Culver (Over It, A Wilhelm Scream). ... Iowa's own Modern Life Is War have lined up seven East Coast gigs, the first of which is set to go down in Wallingford, Connecticut, January 9. Dates run through January 15 in Revere, Massachusetts. ...

Minneapolis death-metallers With Dead Hands Rising have booked a boatload of gigs, keeping themselves busy for the next month and a half. The band plays in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, on December 30 and hits five other small cities before stopping in Hudson, Massachusetts, on January 7. An eight-date tour with Death to Your King and Amora Savant will follow starting January 8 in Lake Station, Indiana, with dates running through January 15 in Milwaukee. And four shows with Dead to Fall and Ion Dissonance are planned for the first week of February. ... The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower and Akimbo will be hitting the road together in 2006. The 14-date tour's set to begin in Chicago on March 3, with shows scheduled through March 16 in Denton, Texas. ... Portland, Oregon, noisecore threats Blowupnihilist will hit producer Matt Bayles' (Isis, Mastodon) Seattle studio, Red Room, next month. Playing Enemy drummer Andrew Gormley is tapped to produce Blowupnihilist's full-length debut, which should be in stores this spring. ...

Throwdown, the Red Chord, Still Remains and A Dozen Furies will tour play 13 consecutive gigs together pretty soon. The jaunt kicks off February 4 in Flagstaff, Arizona, and ends February 21 in Des Moines. Throwdown and the Red Chord will then spend some time with the Black Dahlia Murder and the Agony Scene for a trek that begins in Tampa, Florida, on March 8 and runs through March 21 in Seattle. ... Several bands have been confirmed for the first Virginia Metal & Hardcore Festival, set for January 28 at KC's Music Alley in Fredericksburg. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $18 at the door. On Broken Wings, Despised Icon, From a Second Story Window, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Ed Gein, the Burning Season, All Else Failed and Time of Cholera are also on the lineup. ... Nebraskan power-metal troupe Cellador have been added to the Deep Freeze V Festival, scheduled for January 21 in Westminster, Colorado. The event will also feature Agents of Man, Silencer, Dethroned, Skapegoat and the Casket Crew, among others. ... Belgian grindcore specialists Leng Tch'e will start working on the follow-up to 2005's The Process of Elimination in July. The band's recruited Fredrik Nordström (At the Gates, the Haunted) to produce the effort, which is tentatively titled Marasmus. ... Re:Ignition — featuring Skinlab guitarist Steev Esquivel — are recording 14 songs for Empty Heart, Loaded Gun. Producer/engineer Kent Matcke (Stabbing Westward, Primus) will helm the debut.

• Throwdown

Bryan Ottoson (file)
Photo: Scott Harrison

Less than 24 hours after his former bandmate Bryan Ottoson's funeral, American Head Charge bassist Chad Hanks — known to fans by his stage name, Mr. H.C. Banks III — spoke to Metal File about the events that led to the guitarist's death last week, and the anguish the group has been feeling.

In his first interview since Ottoson's death, Hanks tried to dispel Internet gossip that the guitarist was a heavy drug user. Ottoson — whose body was found April 19 on the band's tour bus in North Charleston, South Carolina, where American Head Charge were to perform that evening — was determined by investigators to have died of a prescription-drug overdose.

"Brian had actually been on penicillin," Hanks explained. "He had strep throat. He actually had strep two or three times in like four, five months. He just had a real propensity for getting it. And every time he got it, it got worse. This time, his tonsils were literally black."

A doctor Ottoson saw in Philadelphia prescribed him painkillers "because every time he swallowed, tears would come to his eyes," Hanks continued. "But he wasn't swallowing handfuls of pills and not knowing what they were. This was a guy who maybe liked to drink a little bit, and that was it. He was not some crazy drug addict — that's probably the rest of the band. Everybody knows pretty much all of us have been to rehab. As far as my life has gone since I've been 17, and all the stupid sh-- I've done, and some of the stupid sh-- I know other people in the band have done — for this to happen to the most innocent guy in the band, it's just bizarre to me. It was the last thing you'd expect from Bryan."

Benji Hellberg of the Minneapolis band Black Flood Diesel has been tapped to fill in for Ottoson on the remaining dates of the tour, Hanks said.

MTVNews.com will have more from the interview with Hanks next week.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's third solo offering, Fused, has been bumped back to July 12. It was produced by Bob Marlette, and ex-Deep Purple/'80s-era Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes provided all the vocals. "I definitely knew I wasn't going to use a lot of special guests again," Iommi said. "I wanted to use just one singer, and I wanted it to be more like a band this time." Tracks include "Dopamine," "Wasted Again" and "Grace." Iommi, Hughes and ex-John Mellencamp drummer Kenny Aronoff will tour North America after this summer's Ozzfest. "In addition to playing material from this album, we'll probably do a couple of tracks from The DEP Sessions: 1996 [released last year] and a few Sabbath songs, too," Iommi said. ...

When Iron Maiden cross North America on this summer's Ozzfest, singer Bruce Dickinson will likely take at least a moment or two to plug his new album, Tyranny of Souls, which comes out May 24. The disc, his first solo venture since 1998's The Chemical Wedding, was written by Dickinson and producer and guitarist Roy Z after the last Iron Maiden tour. "We both worked quickly together, which I like, and the recording is very organic, so it came together quite easily," Dickinson said in a statement. Track titles include "Soul Intruders," "Kill Devil Hill" and "River of No Return." ...

Metallic hardcore band Between the Buried and Me will enter a studio in their native North Carolina in May with producer Jamie King to record their third album. ... In Flames have been promoted to a main-stage band for this summer's Ozzfest. ... Crisis have started working on new songs with drummer Justin Arman (ex-Society 1), who has previously played with the band as a substitute. The group's last drummer, Ryan Ball, was fired in February and arrested in Pennsylvania on armed-robbery charges shortly thereafter. The new disc should be finished by early next year. In the meantime, Crisis will launch a tour with M.O.D. and Beyond the Embrace on June 8 in Texas. ...

Subterranean Masquerade, an experimental supergroup featuring members of Novembers Doom and Agalloch, will release their new disc, Suspended Animation Dreams, on June 21. The album blends elements of extreme metal, urban jazz, folk, classical, world and progressive music and includes the tracks "Wolf Among Sheep" and "Kind of a Blur." ... Scathing Orange County metalcore act Bleeding Through have entered Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles to begin work on their new disc, The Truth, the follow-up to 2003's critically acclaimed This Is Love, This Is Murderous. The album is being produced by Rob Caggiano (Cradle of Filth, The Agony Scene) and is scheduled for a fall release. ...

Passionate hardcore progenitors the Warriors will soon record several new songs that'll be tacked on to the upcoming reissue of their latest effort, War Is Hell. Eulogy will release the revised disc later this year. ... Throwdown's forthcoming new disc, Vendetta, will hit stores on June 28 and features guest appearances from Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed muscleman Howard Jones and Hatebreed axeman Sean Martin. ...

Heavy-hitting thrash-metal machine A Perfect Murder are close to wrapping up their second record, Strength Through Vengeance. The album's slated for a July 26 release; it was recorded at Quebec's Wild Studio with Pierre Remillard (Cryptopsy, The End, Voivod). ... Ozzfest 2005's Arch Enemy have re-signed with Century Media. The label will release the band's nearly completed forthcoming LP, Doomsday Machine, on July 26. ... Deutschland death metallers Defleshed have shot a video for "Grind and Rewind," a track off of their latest album, Reclaim the Beat. The album's worth owning, if only for the seventh cut, a cover of Mötley Crüe's "Red Hot." ...

A limited, first-edition run of As I Lay Dying's forthcoming Shadows Are Security will include a bonus DVD featuring 25 minutes of live footage. The disc drops June 14. ... The sophomore offering from Philadelphia metalcore grinders A Life Once Lost, Hunter, will be released on June 28. The album was produced by Rob Caggiano in February at Millbrook Studios in upstate New York. ... Acrobatic thrashers Byzantine will release their second disc, ... And They Shall Take Up Serpents, on July 12. The album's the follow-up to the West Virginians' 2004 debut, The Fundamental Component, and was produced by the band with Charles A. Fisher. ...

The debut by thrash/death quasi-supergroup Thine Eyes Bleed, In the Wake of Separation, was bumped to June 21. The band features ex-Kittie touring guitarist Jeff Phillips and bassist John Araya, whose brother is Slayer's Tom Araya. ... Swedish black metal band Naglfar will release their fourth album, Pariah, on July 12. The album features lead vocals by bassist Kristoffer Olivius, who took over for Jens Ryden after he quit the band last year for "job-related" reasons. ... Ministry drummer Mark Baker will join industrial-metal band Hanzel Und Gretyl on their fall tour. The outing will include a headline slot at Gothicfest 2005, which takes place September 17 in Villa Park, Illinois. Other dates will be announced shortly.

• American Head Charge
• Tony Iommi
• Black Sabbath
• Throwdown

Atreyu frontman Alex Varkatzas (file)
Photo: Victory Records

Alex Varkatzas is totally pissed off.

That's nothing new for the high-strung singer of Atreyu, who routinely lashes out in song about complacency, mortality and head games. But this time he's got a different reason to fume.

His band has just arrived at the Las Vegas club it's supposed to headline — and the marquee lists Atreyu as the opening act, below From Autumn to Ashes. The fliers hanging inside feature Atreyu's name in tiny letters on the bottom of the page, and a local radio station recently announced that the show starred "From Autumn to Ashes plus guest."

"Everyone thinks we're some piddly-ass opening band," Varkatzas grumbles. "And our tour manager called in advance to tell them we were headlining and make sure this kind of sh-- wouldn't happen. And it didn't do a f---ing bit of good."

Such exasperation helps keep Atreyu's fire burning — but circumstantial misfortune pales in comparison to the soul-rending stories of betrayal and breakup that have helped turn Atreyu into a major new force in heavy metal. Along with a host of other heartbroken, hate-filled noisemongers like Bleeding Through, From Autumn to Ashes, Every Time I Die, Unearth, Avenged Sevenfold, Poison the Well and Funeral for a Friend, they're turning headbangers on to music that's more cerebral, unpredictable, volatile and lyrically articulate than much of the nü-metal that has permeated airwaves for the past five years.

Dubbed "screamo" or "extreme" by those who invent categories for such things, the groups write scathing, turbulent songs rooted equally in hardcore, metal and emo. Typically they play aggressive, chaotic passages flush with larynx-shredding vocals, then balance them with swooping melodies and vocal harmonies. But while there's certainly a formula at play, it's not as predictable as the soft verse/ loud chorus formula followed by most neo-grunge acts.

"This is extreme music for extreme times," said Maria Fererro, an independent publicist who has worked with metal and screamo bands for well over a decade. "Metal isn't what it used to be, but 20 years later it's still about the same things. These kids are dressed differently, but they're still rebelling."

Over the past year, screamo has surfaced in a major way: just check out your local Hot Topic, turn on "Headbangers Ball" or leaf through the major metal mags. And Ozzfest has caught on like a shark following the scent of blood. The festival, whose second stage has proven to be the litmus test of all things loud — it booked System of a Down in '98, Slipknot in '99, and the Used in '02 — is making its boldest strides to date by enlisting screamers Atreyu, Every Time I Die, Unearth, Hatebreed and Throwdown for this year's festival.

"Before we left for a European tour with Chimaira, our manager told us he was putting in a shot-in-the-dark bid for Ozzfest," recalls Every Time I Die singer Keith Buckley. "No one had their hopes up or anything, so we just focused on the tour. Then, when we were on the road, we got a call saying it was looking real good, and by the time we got home it had already gone through. We were pretty blown away."

As thrilled as he is to go from playing small clubs to festival crowds, Buckley is shocked to be embraced by today's metal fans. Like many of his screamo peers, who enjoy elements of metal but align themselves more closely with the ethics and aesthetics of hardcore, he has little respect for stereotypical heavy metal.

"When I was younger, my older second cousin used to listen to metal, and it was all about big work boots, hair down to your ass and tapered jeans," Buckley said. "You'd enter your car at the crash-up derby at the county fair and listen to Guns N' Roses and Slayer. Compared to that, there's no way we're metal — but today metal kids are [different]. ... Maybe the aggression and the energy we have in our music is something those people can relate to."

Screamo's progression to Ozzfest didn't happen in a weekend, and it required the right climate and circumstances to prosper. In the late '90s, while punk rockers were getting turned on by Slayer, Pantera and melodic Scandinavian metal, some rivetheads were discovering the social and political messages of '80s D.C. punk bands like Minor Threat, Fugazi and Rites of Spring. What followed was a rash of metallic but lyrically poignant hardcore outfits including Earth Crisis, Hatebreed, Neurosis and Cave In, which inspired a legion of other musicians to push the boundaries of both punk and metal styles.

On one side of the fence were more punk-oriented bands like Converge, Dead Guy, Coalesce and Botch. And on the other were metallic groups such as Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Lamb of God and All That Remains. Different though they were, all were united in their efforts to experiment with the parameters of extreme sound. Then, as heart-on-sleeve screamo outfits including Thrice, Thursday and the Used poked their heads into the mainstream, the floodgates opened for the new breed to feed. Almost immediately, an audience tired of formulaic nü-metal began lapping it up.

"Some of that old metal sounded cool, but lyrically, none of those bands were speaking to us," said Bleeding Through guitarist Scott Danough. "So many of the new bands are singing about real relationship issues and personal sh-- that means so much more than the 'I'm harder than you' wall that a lot of the metal bands put up."

To Varkatzas, the growing popularity of screamo has more to do with kids getting tired of being spoon-fed trends, stereotypes and capitalistic values. "People want to be able to make up their own minds about things, and they want to feel like the music they listen to is written for them," he said. "These bands are doing better now because they have real sincerity and passion. Kids know the sh--'s for real. I'm not singing about cocaine and fast cars and bling and bitches and hoes. I'm singing about my everyday sh-- that everyone goes through. I can't relate to pimping it. ... I don't even know how to pimp it — and there are lots of kids out there who can't pimp it, either."

• Atreyu
• From Autumn To Ashes
• Every Time I Die
• Unearth
• Hatebreed

Christmas came a bit early around these parts, with the recent arrival of AC/DC's "Live At Donington" DVD. Recorded live during the band's August 1991 set at the legendary English venue, the DVD captures a ton of the band's classic anthems (no "Sin City," but we're not going to get greedy) and adds audio commentary from Angus and Malcolm Young. Hopefully the holiday season will deliver plenty of gems like this. Until then, we have a fistful of metal news to stuff in your stocking:

On Saturday (December 7), four contest winners were blindfolded and whisked to the Houdini Mansion outside Los Angeles where Slipknot are wrapping up work on their new album. The fans got to sample a handful of new tracks; the rest of the world will have to wait until the spring. ... After several years away from the band, original Cryptopsy singer Lord Worm has returned. The band is hard at work writing material for its fifth album, which will be recorded in March. ... Haste the Day's Burning Bridges, the Indianapolis Metalcore band's first release on Solid State, hits stores March 23. ...

The new full-length studio album from black metal architects Mayhem, Chimera, is due in March. ... Mastodon have completed a video for the track "March of the Fire Ants" and plan to begin recording the follow-up to last year's Remission in January with producer Matt Bayles (Botch, Burnt by the Sun). ... Crisis are finishing up their new album, Like Sheeps Led to the Slaughter, with producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis). The disc is due in the spring on The End Records. ... Viking-obsessed black metal band Enslaved's Below the Lights has been nominated in the Norwegian Music Awards' Best Album category. ...

Three members of Orange County's Throwdown have formed side projects: the Lost, a band in the vein of HIM and Mötley Crüe, features bassist Dom Macaluso and guitarist Tommy Love, while the a Perfect Circle-inspired Medic includes singer Dave Peters on guitar. Following an appearance at a Syracuse, New York, Hardcore Festival on New Year's Day, Throwdown will embark on tours of Japan and the U.K. ... Texas' Embodyment have called it a day. The group leaves behind three albums on Tooth & Nail/Solid State and last year's Songs for the Living, released on XSRecords. ...

Solid State Records is releasing a best-of collection from Zao, who split from the label for Ferret Records this year. Due December 23, Legendary will contain 14 songs from six of the band's seven releases on Solid State as well as a three-song demo recorded when singer Corey Darst was fronting the band. ... Meanwhile, in the wake of their singer's split to join Zao, the remaining members of Society's Finest have formed the Kinetic Sense and are looking for a singer in the Dallas area. ...

Grotesque Swedish death metal band Deathwitch will release their latest slaughterfest, Violence, Blasphemy, Sodomy, on February 24. Track titles include "Blood Sucking F---," "Abhorrent Sadistic Tormentor" and "Coffin Fornicator." ... Disfear, another group of Swedish metal merchants, have hired Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund as the band's second guitarist. Cederlund will perform double duty on the Entombed, Disfear and Raised Fist European tour, which began December 3. ... Bleeding Through frontman Brandan Schieppati and guitarist Brian Leppke have formed a new project with members of the defunct Sante Sangre called Unholy. The band will record a demo in January following Bleeding Through's current round of touring commitments. ...

Ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore recently recorded the soundtrack for a Turkish horror spoof called "Okul" ("The School"). After finding out that Moore was on hiatus in Istanbul, Turkey, the film's director and producers tracked him down, and Moore delayed the recording of his third Chroma Key album to work on the project. "Okul" will be released in Turkey on January 9, but there are no plans for a U.S. showing. ...

— compiled by Ryan J. Downey, Robert Mancini and Jon Wiederhorn

• Slipknot
• AC/DC
• Mayhem
• Mastodon
• Enslaved