Second chances in the music business are as rare as size 20 pop stars. But with Bloodsimple, former Vision of Disorder members Tim Williams and guitarist Mike Kennedy are getting just that.

The demise of V.O.D. came too early, at least for the band's fans. Sick of major-label ass-dragging and the industry in general, the pride of Lawn Guyland's hardcore scene called it quits in 2002 -- just as harder music started to gain commercial momentum. Right now, the timing couldn't be more perfect for a band like Bloodsimple, the first signing to Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray's Bullygoat imprint. Williams described the band's brutally melodic debut, Cruel World, as his greatest work.

"We went through a more rigorous recording process," he explained. "If the song wasn't good enough, we threw it out or did what we had to do to make it better. And in the long run, it made these songs better."

Comparisons to V.O.D. are to be expected, but drummer Chris Hamilton, a former member of Downset and Medication, thinks that "musically, it's pretty far off from a lot of stuff that we've done. It's more well-rounded than anything anybody's really done before. One of the things that I'm the most excited about with this band is I don't think we sound like anybody that's out right now."

Bloodsimple -- which also includes guitarist Nick Rowe and bassist Kyle Sanders -- will release Cruel World on March 29, the same day the band hits the road with Mudvayne, Life of Agony and American Head Charge.

The rest of the week's metal news:

Rob Zombie has recruited ex-Marilyn Manson guitarist John5 to join him on this summer's Ozzfest. Zombie met John5 while the two were playing with Los Angeles supergroup Camp Freddy, and after the gig the guitarist offered his services. ... According to Hatebreed's Web site, the Connecticut hardcore heroes will be hitting the studio in May to record their fifth album, which has no title yet. ... Reunited death-metal icons Obituary have finished a new as-yet-untitled record, according to the band's Web site. The album, the first collection of fresh songs since 1997's Back From the Dead, will be released this summer through Roadrunner Records. ...

God Forbid will hit the road with Caliban, It Dies Today and Full Blown Chaos for a 25-city North American trek on April 1 in Montreal, Quebec. The tour will make a stop at New York's CBGB on April 26 before winding down April 29 in Philadelphia. The New Jersey metallers recently began pre-production on IV: Constitution of Treason with producer Jason Suecof and will begin tracking the new effort in May. Look for that album in October. ... The release date for Life of Agony's new album, Broken Valley, has been pushed back to June 14, thanks to what was described as "production issues." ... Ozzfest 2005's Killswitch Engage will perform the title track from The End of Heartache on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" April 20. ...

Atlanta punk-metal band Fight Paris will release their debut album in June. The band is currently wrapping up recording with producer Lee March (Minus Driver), after which it will tour with Dead to Fall and Twelve Tribes. ... After building a substantial underground buzz, New Jersey metalcore band Bedlight for BlueEyes will release their still-untitled debut on August 9. The album is being produced with John Naclerio (My Chemical Romance, Senses Fail). The band will play select dates on the Warped Tour this summer. ... Gothic Italian metal band Lacuna Coil are currently in pre-production for their new album, which will be produced by Waldemar Sorychta. The band hopes to have the album out before the end of the year. ...

Original Foghat member Rod Price died Tuesday in Wilton, New Hampshire, after suffering fatal head wounds from a fall down a flight of steps. He was 57. ... Swedish Christian metal band Blindside are in a Stockholm studio working on their new album with producer Lasse "Lars" Marten. The album is due this summer. In addition, the band will re-release its first two albums, Blindside and A Thought Crushed My Mind, and the DVD "Ten Years Running Blind" in May on their new label, DRT Entertainment. ... Unforeseen "union-enforced time constraints with venues" have forced DevilDriver and Trivium to drop off of Slipknot's Subliminal Verses Tour, according to Roadrunner Records. That tour's other headliners, Shadows Fall and Lamb of God, will stay on the bill. Meanwhile, DevilDriver's The Fury of Our Maker's Hand is due June 21. The disc, produced by Colin Richardson, will include the tracks "End of the Line," "Driving Down the Darkness" and "Ripped Apart." ...

Canada's premiere all-female metal group, Kittie, is short two members. Frontwoman Morgan Lander confirmed on the band's message board that guitarist Lisa Marx and bassist Jennifer Arroyo have left the band. "For the past few years, Artemis Records has denied us critical things ... that help a band to keep making money and pay the people that needed to be paid, like Jen and Lisa," Lander wrote. Marx and Arroyo were brought in to replace original members Fallon Bowman and Talena Atfield. ... Former Cradle of Filth bassist Dave Pybus has launched Sixsixsix Records, an independent metal label, with Paul Beavis and former Christian Death manager Tim Fraser, according to the fledgling label's Web site. The first two Sixsixsix records will drop May 23: symphonic black metallers Draconian Order's debut, In Absence of Light, and Italian goth specialists Bloody Mary's Blood 'N' Roll. ...

Doom-metal force YOB recently started tracking their next album, The Unreal Never Lived. The record will feature five songs including "Quantum Mystic" and "The Mental Tyrant," and will clock in at 67 minutes. ... Melodic death metallers Callenish Circle will start recording their next album in May. The disc will feature a bonus DVD with "a lot of cool video footage," according to the band's Web site. ... Metal Blade recently signed Tampa, Florida, band the Absence. The band will hit the studio April 10 with Erik Rutan (Soilent Green, Hate Eternal). ... Dutch metal mavens Gorefest, reunited after a long hiatus, have signed a deal that brings them back to the Nuclear Blast roster. The band recorded a number of albums for the label during the 1990s but made the switch to SPV for the group's last album, 1998's Chapter 13. ...