It could be said that Porcupine Tree owe a large chunk of their fanbase to Opeth, and vice versa. Steven Wilson, frontman and production bon vivant behind the grandiose British progressive rockers, has produced Opeth's last three records -- 2001's Blackwater Park, 2002's Deliverance and 2003's Damnation. But associations aside, "People either like the music or they don't -- so they must be liking it," Wilson said.

"I think we've both kind of benefited from [the connection], although that was never the intention," he continued. "We just worked together because we had great admiration for each other's bands. I have to say, it's been great seeing a lot more young metal kids at the shows, digging what we're doing."

Alas, extensive touring and his commitment to Porcupine Tree have prevented Wilson from helming the new Opeth LP, which the band started working on last month. Porcupine Tree -- whose new disc, Deadwing, drops May 3 -- will hit the road May 13 in Washington, D.C., for an all-encompassing U.S. tour. In a nod to the band's roots, the two former guitarists from long-running prog-rock titans King Crimson will be splitting the opening slot: Adrian Belew will open the East Coast gigs, while Robert Fripp will cover the West.

Deadwing will be released in three formats: a generic stereo mix, a DVD-Audio disc with a surround mix, and a special edition combining the two with a 72-page hardback book. The album is based on a script Wilson wrote several years ago. "I like hanging an album on one particular subject," he said. "It's important that every record have some sort of thematic unity." The story focuses on a man who "arrives at a point in his life fate never intended" and involves the "unraveling of the situation, to get him back to where he should have been." It's a surreal "ghost story," said Wilson, and "the idea's ultimately that this album will form a kind of companion with [the] feature film."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is putting together a list of second-stage acts for his upcoming Gigantour. In a post on his Web site, Mustaine said he is seriously considering Dry Kill Logic, Diecast, Otep, Overkill, Pain of Salvation, Taproot and Symphony X and plans to review other acts as well. Gigantour launches next month and features Megadeth, Dream Theater, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore on the main stage. ...

Florida extremists Hate Eternal will release I, Monarch on June 28. Recorded and mixed by frontman Erik Rutan in his Tampa studio, Mana, the album's tracks include "Two Demons," "The Victorious Reign" and "To Know Our Enemies." The band launches a tour with Krisiun, Incantation, Into Eternity and All Shall Perish June 16 in West Springfield, Virginia; the tour wraps July 23 in Tampa. ...

A gang of concertgoers rushed the stage and attacked metal-core act From a Second Story Window during the band's set at Milwaukee's Chaos Fest on Monday night. Apparently upset by frontman Will Jackson (who, in an unrelated incident, accidentally kicked a ceiling tile loose during a crowd-surfing incident in Chicago the night before), the aggressive gaggle injured one of the band's guitarists and broke some instruments before heading outside and smashing the windshield of the band's van. ...

Unearth will shoot a video for the track "Endless" on Saturday at the Showcase in Corona, California, with director Jerry Clubb. ... Gotham City hardcore act Most Precious Blood will hit Atomic Studios in Brooklyn, New York, in the next few weeks to start work on Merciless with producer Dean Baltulonis (the Promise, No Warning.) ...

Progressive Finnish metal band Amorphis are in the studio working on the follow-up to 2004's Far From the Sun. The record will feature new vocalist Tomi Joutsen, who replaced Pasi Koskinen, who left last year because of the usual personal and professional differences. Koskinen had been with Amorphis since 1996. ...

Upstate New York metalcore upstarts It Dies Today had their van and equipment stolen last week in California. The group was in the middle of a tour with God Forbid, Caliban and Full Blown Chaos and was staying with friends from the band Cold War when the ride was broken into. The van was later recovered -- empty, its fuel lines cut -- forcing the band to cancel shows in San Francisco and Denver. Full Blown Chaos and Caliban will lend It Dies Today their equipment for the remainder of the tour. Those with information about the theft should contact Steve Koenig at scott@kingartistmanagement.com. ...

Kansas heavy music powerhouses the Esoteric will hit the road with Lovehatehero, Still Life Projector and Secret Lives for a 15-date tour that kicks off in Houston on May 10. ... On August 23, thrash-core specialists Municipal Waste -- a band featuring ex-Burnt by the Sun drummer Dave Witte -- will release Hazardous Mutation through Earache. ... Melodic Connecticut metallers In Pieces will release Lions Write History on May 10; tracks include "Age of Oceans," "Night of the Long Knives" and "No Letter, No Note." ...

Canada's Devin Townsend Band will be spending August and September recording a new LP titled Sychestra. ... Horse the Band have enlisted producer Matt Bayles for their second offering, Super Horse the Band, which they'll start recording May 13. Tracks include "Octopus on Fire," "Taken by Vultures" and "A Million Exploding Suns." ... Dry Kill Logic have parted ways with bassist Danny Horboychuk, replacing him with Casey Mahoney. ...

Sludge slingers Eyehategod will release a 10-song collection of rare and live tracks on May 10, in the form of Preaching End-Time Message. ... The sixth album by German power metal band Primal Fear is due in October. The still-untitled disc is being produced by Charlie Bauerfeind. ...

Classical-leaning Finnish veterans Stratovarius will release their self-titled 12th studio offering in late August or early September. The band's agreed to change the title of the track "Hitler" to "Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power)." And while the song still includes a snippet of a speech by Germany's nefarious former dictator, guitarist Timo Tolkki said in a statement that the track is "as strongly against Hitler as a song can be." Other cuts include "Manic Dance," "The Land of Ice and Snow" and "Back to Madness." Stratovarius will tour North American with Into Eternity in September. ...

British goth metal legends My Dying Bride will unleash a box set, Anti-Diluvian Chronicles, on May 23. The three-disc package will feature tracks from each of the band's 10 albums, as well as new remixes of "The Wreckage of My Flesh," "My Wine in Silence" and "The Raven and the Rose." ...

Thrashy metalcore band Martyr A.D. broke up days before a scheduled tour with Agnostic Front. "[There's] not much to say right now, but hopefully there will be a last show in Minneapolis," wrote the group on its Web site.