By the end of next week, Alaska-bred metallers 36 Crazyfists will have vacated Big Blue Meenie Studios in Jersey City, New Jersey, where they've been recording their third LP, Rest Inside the Flame. Then they're off to England, where they'll mix the final product.

Rest Inside the Flame -- the follow-up to 2004's A Snow Capped Romance -- should be in stores in late April or the first week of May. After that the 'Fists will pile onto the old bus for tons of touring -- including a possible U.S. trek this spring with Atreyu, according to frontman Brock Lindow.

While the tour with Atreyu is still tentative, 36 Crazyfists are confirmed to spend July and a large chunk of August on the Sounds of the Underground tour. They'll take a quick break on August 5, however, when Lindow ties the knot with his longtime girlfriend in Kenai, Alaska.

Lindow says he's "stoked" to play the new Rest Inside the Flame material -- which will feature 10 tracks, including "Midnight Swim," "I'll Go Until My Heart Stops," "Between the Anchor and the Air," "Aurora" and the first single, "On Any Given Night."

"As far as this album's lyrics, they're still on a more hopeful and positive side," he explained. "This record's definitely heavier than the last two and has an older-school feel to it -- like an old-school rawness. We wrote the record thinking of the live show. We didn't want to have any laid-back moments on it. We're wanted to keep things moving and going, so it's a speedy record -- it's a little heavier, a little faster."

The album will feature three guest spots: former Only Living Witness and Miltown singer Jonah Jenkins, ex-Killswitch Engage drummer Tom Gomes and current Killswitch frontman Howard Jones, the latter who sings on "Elysium."

"It's probably the heaviest track on the record, and I'm really stoked about it," Lindow said. "I can't wait for people to hear it. Fans of our band and [Killswitch] are going to be stoked to see that we did this collaboration together. It was pretty cool for us to have [Jones] in there. And I actually filmed the entire process of him doing his vocals."

Lindow said that footage could appear on 36 Crazyfists' forthcoming DVD, which the band said it'd like to release later this year. Some of the Jones clips may also make it onto the enhanced Rest Inside the Flame, which will feature a making-of documentary.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Metallica have started working on the follow-up to 2003's St. Anger. In a video post on their official Web site, drummer Lars Ulrich says the bandmembers have already spent a "couple of weeks getting back together, getting all creative" and that they're "looking forward to throwing a lot of sh-- at you guys [later this year]." He added that bassist Robert Trujillo is contributing to the songwriting. The band's last bassist, Jason Newsted, quit largely because he wasn't involved in the creative process. ... Swedish death/thrash band One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, which features ex-Crown singer Johan Lindstrand, will release their debut album, 21st Killing Machine, January 13. Tracks include "Public Enemy No. 1," "No Apparent Motive" and "Devil on the Red Carpet." ... Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel to Queensrÿche's classic 1988 concept album, will be released March 14. The Seattle band recorded the album last summer and is currently in the mastering stage. The 15 songs on the conceptual disc will take over where the original story left off and reveal who killed Mary, the teenage prostitute-turned-nun who co-starred in the first chapter. As if that's not enough to draw the old-school crowd, Ronnie James Dio will voice the part of the protagonist's nemesis, Dr. X. ... California hardcore act Ignite have been working on new material with producer Cameron Webb (Silverstein, Manntis). The band hit the studio in November and will issue its first album since 2000's A Place Called Home sometime this spring. A U.S. tour with Comeback Kid will kick off in March. ... Do-gooders Underoath, Mewithoutyou, the Chariot and As Cities Burn raised more than $80,000 for five charities during the inaugural Come & Live benefit tour. Much of the proceeds went to the Birmingham, Alabama, chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which constructs houses for low-income families; Invisible Children, which funds shelters and schools and raises international awareness about children in war-torn Uganda; and Teen Challenge, a live-in drug rehab center. ...

Reunited grindcore kings Terrorizer have signed a deal with Century Media, which guitarist Jesse Pintado called "a big step" for the band. Terrorizer's current incarnation consists of original members Pintado and drummer Pete Sandoval, as well as two newcomers: guitarist Tony Norman (formerly of Morbid Angel) and onetime Resistant Culture singer Tony Militia. The band's set to start recording new material later this month, with a late spring release planned for the effort. ... Screamy alt-metal band Adair will release their debut, The Destruction of Everything Is the Beginning of Something New, February 21. The disc was produced by Allan Hessler and includes "Diamond Ring" and "Seatbelts Off." Adair's cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Age of Innocence" was featured on the 2005 tribute A Shot Full of Diamonds, not to be confused with the recently released The Killer in You: A Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins. Adair will perform alongside Deftones, Thrice, As I Lay Dying and others on the Taste of Chaos tour, which launches February 16 in San Diego. ... Norwegian progressive-metal band Winds have finished recording most of the vocals for their upcoming album, the follow-up to 2004's epic The Imaginary Direction of Time. The still-untitled disc is scheduled to come out this year. ... Canadian death-metal vets Kataklysm will release their 10th album, In the Arms of Devastation, February 24. The disc will include a bonus live DVD called "The End of Serenity: Live in Strasbourg, which was shot in France during the band's tour for 2004's Serenity in Fire. ... The Red Death have lost longtime bassist Dominic Mastronunzio, who has since been replaced by Jack Portwood of Highland Drive. The band has been writing in recent weeks and plans to hit the studio in late March to record the follow-up to 2005's External Frames of Reference. ... Ramallah, Death Before Dishonor, Remembering Never and Suffocate Faster will hit the road together starting February 7 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 11-date trek concludes in Orlando, Florida, February 24. ...

Finnish experimental metallists Amorphis will release their new album, Eclipse, on February 17. The album was produced by the band and Marco Hietala and includes "Two Moons" and "House of Sleep." The disc is the follow-up to Far From the Sun, which came out in 2004. ... Singer Jesse Zaraska has left Misery Signals. The group plans to hold auditions soon for a new frontman. Interested? Head on over to the hardcore act's MySpace page, download the track "In Summary of What I Am," add vocals to it and e-mail the song to the band. Zaraska's formed himself a new act called Sleeping Girl with members of his pre-Misery Signals band Compromise. ... Kayo Dot will launch a 10-date run starting January 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and ending January 29 in Easthampton. ... The Central Wisconsin Hardcore Fest will go down February 17 and 18 at the Mission in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The lineup includes Skies Torn Asunder, A Distant Yesterday, Morality Crisis, This Growing Tyranny, Rise or Rust and With Dead Hands Rising. ... Alt-metal outfit the Postman Syndrome have changed their name to Day Without Dawn. Their self-titled, four-track EP is available for download via the band's MySpace page. ... Who says ballet is for wimps? A heavy-metal ballet company called Ballet Deviare will bring an earsplitting, high-energy version of the art form to the 59E59 Theater in New York from January 6-8. The troupe will leap, wiggle and roll to the music of Opeth, My Dying Bride, Arsis and others. Inspired by Entombed's collaboration with the Swedish Royal Ballet in 2002, Ballet Deviare formed soon after under the artistic direction of Laura Kowalewski, who previously performed with the Rochester City Ballet. ... Bloodshoteye's forthcoming sophomore album An Unrelenting Assault -- which is being produced by Kataklysm guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais, with vocal production by Lamb of God's D. Randall Blythe -- will hit stores this spring and include "The Last Laugh" and "Lock and Load." ... Place of Skulls' third LP, The Black Is Never Far, should surface in late March. Look for the album to include "Sense of Divinity," "Masters of Jest" and "Relentless."