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Early Graves have just announced their participation in the upcoming tour of the U.S with black metallers The Funeral Pyre. more -

Metallica Family Reunion

Megadeth's David Ellefson comments on the Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax) sharing the stage together and how it was a bit of a family reunion: "I've always got along well with them. I was never in Metallica so I like them. I think they're great. I've always liked them as guys, I thought they were cool, their band rocks, their records are great. They're just a ferocious live band," he tells Sonisphere.

"As far as the obvious with our whole band and all the bands, honestly, it's great. Metallica have risen to such huge success, it's very cool of them that they would move themselves off of their perch of iconic celebrity to just come back down to this scene of metal, which we've all created together. They've been able to move far away from this scene many years ago through the records they made and the songs that they wrote, which I always admired because most bands can't.

"All four of us have a very different sound even though we all came out of the same gene pool musically and to some degree we all kind of end up as a branch off the Metallica family tree. I mean Dave was in Metallica, I played with Dave, Kerry King played with Megadeth. We're all part of the Metallica fist in some shape or form. It's cool. It's sort of like a family reunion, which is very healthy and a lot of fun." - Read more at Rock Radio

Anthrax's Belladonna Talks New Songs

Metal Sucks caught up with Joey Belladonna who recently reunited with Anthrax. In the interview Belladonna spoke about what it's been like to replace ex-singer John Bush and the band's plans for "Worship Music," the shelved album they recorded with ex-singer Dan Nelson. An excerpt follows:

It's been reported that some material from the Worship Music album will feature new vocals from you, and other songs will be totally new. Is that accurate? Yeah, there's going to be some new songs for sure. I'm banking on all that happening. And some tweaking, re-doing, and re-structuring – anything that needs to be done. There are some songs that really are quite well done. I'll do one [in concert on this tour]. I did my part on it. It had the outer boundaries intact, so it was just a matter of getting in there, refreshing it, and putting the stamp on it. But there are a bunch of songs like that – four, five, six – that's alright too.

One point that gets lost in the discussion is that the changes in Anthrax aren't limited to singers; there's also a move back to pre-Bush Anthrax sound. Right now, I haven't heard a whole lot of the songs. I've had some stuff in the past that I've checked out. I wasn't certain about what style was coming down, but yeah the approach is little older school, but definitely with some of the newer twists. You know, all of the above. I don't know if one's more than the other. I haven't heard enough of it yet. We haven't gone into too much pre-production for me to verify that. - read the full interview here

New Owl City Music Coming

Adam Young/Owl City fans take note, you have some new music coming your way: While he's just finished "re-polishing" his old songs — the one's he'll release next month as Sky Sailing — Adam Young also has a whole batch of new songs in the hopper too that he'll be releasing as Owl City, much to the delight of his rather fervent fanbase.

"At the moment, I'm working on new Owl City stuff, and between now and the beginning of August, the plan is to write and record the new album," Young told MTV News last week. "It's early, but the vision for this record is already sort of taking shape. ... Basically, I want to take the best bits and moments that worked from the last record and make them more polished."

That dude loves polishing, doesn't he? Young said he also has "a flash drive full" of possible song and album titles, but right now, he's less interested in specifics and more focused on cultivating the overall feeling of the record, which he says will be a bit of a departure from his breakout Ocean Eyes disc. - more on this story

Queens Of The Stone Age Deluxe

Queens Of The Stone Age will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Rated R album with the expanded, two-CD Rated R - Deluxe Edition (Interscope/UMe), due to hit stores August 3, 2010.

Added to the original album is a second disc with six B-sides and the band's memorable summer 2000 Reading Festival concert--featuring nine previously unreleased songs, including live versions of Rated R's "Feel Good Hit Of The Summer," "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret," "Better Living Through Chemistry" and "Quick And To The Pointless."

The B-sides are "Ode To Clarissa"; "You're So Vague," a spoof of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain"; covers of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" and the Kinks' "Who'll Be The Next In Line"; a live version of the album's "Monsters In The Parasol"; and a re-recording of "Born To Hula," an early QOTSA song. The other Reading Festival tracks are concert takes on "Ode To Clarissa," three songs from the band's debut album ("Regular John," "Avon" and "You Can't Quit Me, Baby"), and "Millionaire," a song originally from Josh Homme side project Desert Sessions. - more on this story

Joe Bonamassa Joins Allman Brothers Band, BB King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck for Crossroads Festival

Joe Bonamassa is honored to be among the artists who will be playing at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010, a day-long musical celebration featuring legendary guitarists and artistic collaborations by Clapton and his friends including Allman Brothers Band, BB King, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Steve Winwood, Vince Gill, ZZ Top, and more.

The Festival will take place on Saturday, June 26 at Toyota Park in Chicago. Bonamassa is performing on the main stage and is also one of the featured conductors of the Master Guitar Clinics on the Ernie Ball Stage in the Guitar Center Village and will conduct his clinic at 3:30pm.

"I am very honored to participate in such a legendary event and support such a worthy cause," said Bonamassa. "Thank you Eric for inviting me and for keeping the blues alive." - more on this story

The World's Greatest Punk Band To Infect Middle America

This just in: White Flag, Southern California's stalwart seminal hardcore pop punk rock and roller coaster, will be celebrating the release of their 24th full length album, "Benefit For Cats" with a string of dates in July, 2010, including their first ever shows in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, before embarking on a full Eastern and Western European tour in August.

Original White Flag vocalist, Al Bum, who makes his first return to the band's recorded output since his departure due to a surfing injury in 1985, is the lead vocalist on one side of the vinyl only album. Due to his being wheelchair bound and unable to travel due to other medical issues, Al Bum will not be performing live with the band, a daunting feat which he has only been able to achieve once since his original retirement in 1985. Al Bum's spirit will be on tour with White Flag, and he is available for any press or radio activities.

Adolescents lead vocalist, Tony Reflex, makes a guest appearance on the new album, and is currently working on a full "White Flag and Tony Reflex" studio lp, as a continuance of their previous releases together on the now defunct Sympathy For The Record Industry label. - more on this story

Toto/Yes Supergroup Yoso Announce Album and Tour Dates

Yoso featuring Toto vocalist Bobby Kimball and former YES members Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood will release their debut album "Elements" on July 2nd in Europe and July 23rd in the USA on Frontiers Records.

"YOSO was started when I suggested to Bobby Kimball we should write some new music and form a band," recalls Sherwood. "We had been working together on various tribute projects that I was producing and one thing lead to another. Before too long we had 5 songs in the can and were well on our way to making a record. That is when we started thinking seriously about taking it to the next level. Once there was a few songs underway the concept grew into the band we now have, " YOSO ".

YOSO line-up was later rounded out with two amazingly gifted musicians: Johnny Bruhns as the guitarist and background vocalist and Scott Conner on drums, percussion and background vocals. - more on this story

Singled Out: Adelitas Way's Last Stand

Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Adelitas Way frontman Rick DeJesus tells us about "Last Stand" from their self titled album. We now turn it over to Rick for the story:

Our new single "Last Stand" is about a wall that I had up for years with relationships I always would take a step back if someone started to show me how they felt. I was best friends at the time with Janine, and I started to get strong feelings about her as more than just a friend.

Instead of embracing this I freaked out and put a huge wall up and almost lost her completely from my life. I realized what I was doing and told her how I felt and that if he gave me a chance I could show her I can be there for her, she is now my beautiful wife :)

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album (plus learn how to get a free download of the song) - right here!

Serj Tankian's Imperfect Harmonies

Serj Tankian's new solo album, Imperfect Harmonies, will be released by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records on September 7th, 2010.

The album is the second solo release from the System Of A Down frontman, following up his 2007 solo debut Elect the Dead. As with Elect the Dead, Tankian produced Imperfect Harmonies himself at his home studio in Los Angeles.

"Where Elect the Dead was essentially a rock record with progressive melodic elements," Tankian says, "Imperfect Harmonies could be classified as rock because it is punchy with many peaks throughout, but the instrumentation is somewhat different. Though there are live drums, bass, and some guitars, the driving aspects are electronic and orchestral. It's quite unique in its sound palette. This is, in essence, music that has sat in the vat and matured to a ripe sensation and is now ready to serve." - more on this story

Gary Numan Pleasure Principle 30th Anniversary Tour

Gary Numan will tour North America this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary reissue of his classic album The Pleasure Principle.

On The Pleasure Principle 2010 Tour, he will perform in its entirety the album that climbed into the Top 20 on the U.S. charts 30 years ago propelled by his unforgettable Top 10 single "Cars."

The shows will feature material spanning across NUMAN's career, including tracks from his forthcoming album Splinter which he's currently working on in the U.K. - more on this story

This Is The Blues: Volumes 3 & 4

Eagle Rock's This Is The Blues: Volumes 3 & 4 recreates some of the greatest blues songs ever written on this set of CDs, each 15 tracks deep, and 70-minutes rich, will be released July 20.

This Is The Blues is an arrangement of choice tracks from the Pete Brown-produced tribute albums Clarksdale to Heaven: Remembering John Lee Hooker, Knights of the Blues Table, and Rattlesnake Guitar: Music of Peter Green. The result is a complete set of blues music exaltation.

On Volumes 3 & 4, masterpieces from the likes of Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Peter Green, and Willie Dixon are paid tribute by artists such as Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck, Gary Brooker, Jack Bruce, Snowy White, as well as many others. - more on this story

Jimmy Gnecco's Deluxe Heart Announced

Ours frontman, Jimmy Gnecco will release his self-produced first solo album, 'The Heart' on July 20 through Bright Antenna / ILG. The first single, "Bring You Home," went to radio this week.

'The Heart' is graceful, personal, and at times hymnal. Songs such as "Mystery" and "Take A Chance" channel Gnecco's undeniable talent as a singer, songwriter, and musician. Gnecco performs every instrument heard on the album – guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums among others – but it's his exceptional and soulful voice that takes center stage. His perfectly controlled falsetto on "Rest Your Soul" establishes a potent sense of intimacy that he sustains for the record's duration.

Starting today, fans will be able to purchase 'The Heart' directly from Gnecco's new online store, www.jimmygnecco.hasawebstore.com. There will be five different pre-order options to satisfy every fan, all of which include "Bring You Home" as an instant gratification track. - more on this story

The Andrew W.K. Party House

Andrew W.K. has announced that his headlining gig on this summer's Warped tour will also include The Andrew W.K. Party House – a 20' x 40' circus tent – at every Warped Tour date this summer.

The Andrew W.K. Party House is an 800 sq. ft. air conditioned circus tent. It's an unprecedented addition to this year's Warped Tour, and a place for pure celebration and fun.

Beneath the tent, fans will be able to Meet and Party with Andrew in a cool and comfortable air-conditioned room, and browse never before seen A.W.K. Party Supplies, including new limited edition t-shirts and exclusive party merchandise. Fans will also have the chance to enter a raffle to win an ESP guitar on every Warped Tour date! Each day, winners will be chosen in a random drawing conducted by Andrew himself. - more on this story

The Sword Set Album Release, Ozzy Gig

The Sword will release their third full-length album, Warp Riders, on August 24th via Kemado Records.

The guys will also have the honor of being the sole opener for Ozzy Osbourne at the iTunes Roundhouse Festival in London on July 3rd. Their set will be recorded and available on iTunes in early July.

With a narrative arc that the band describes as "a psychedelic space opera that explores the temporal themes of death and rebirth," it's only fitting that the record's cover art is equally mind melting. Paying homage to authors that inspired the album's lyrics, artist Dan McPharlin created an image in the tradition of classic science fiction book covers. The Sword will also release a limited edition hexagon-shaped picture disc 12 inch single for "(The Night Sky Cried) Tears of Fire." - more on this story

AFI and Motion City Soundtrack Frontmen Star in New Animated Film

Motion City Soundtrack frontman Justin Pierre has made the leap to acting with his starring voice role in the dark animated film Godkiller by award-winning filmmaker Matt Pizzolo (Threat).

Pierre voices the protagonist, a teenage boy on a quest to save his dying sister, alongside an ensemble cast featuring fellow rocker Davey Havok (singer AFI), sci-fi legend Lance Henriksen (Aliens), genre-stars Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, 5, I, II), Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects), Nicki Clyne (Battlestar Galactica), Tiffany Shepis (Night of the Demons), and punk icon Lydia Lunch. Godkiller is currently on a nationwide theatrical tour, available via cable On Demand in 75 million homes, and comes to DVD/Blu-ray July 20th.

"Justin is a phenomenal actor, his performance blew away my greatest expectations," said Pizzolo. "I contacted him out of the blue for the project, it just popped into my head that he could play this role. He warned me from the get-go that he has no acting training but he loves anime. I think his performance stunned both of us, and you'll definitely see him acting more in the future." - more on this story

John Legend & The Roots Look Back On New Album

John Legend & The Roots have announced the release of Wake Up!, their new album which will be released by Sony Music on September 21, 2010 and will feature soulful music from the 60's and 70's

The album features eleven songs infused with sounds of gospel, rock and reggae inflections with hip-hop influences. The album is highlighted by familiar tracks like "Wholly Holy" by Marvin Gaye and "Little Ghetto Boy" by Donny Hathaway mixed with the more obscure selections of Baby Huey and the Babysitters' "Hard Times," and "Hang on in There" by Mike James Kirkland.

"These songs sound so relevant now," Legend says. "On most of them, you wouldn't change a lyric. 'Wake Up Everybody' (the album's first single, featuring contributions from Melanie Fiona and Common) has four verses — the first one is a general statement, the second is about education, third is about health care, and the fourth is about making a better environment. No editing needed." - more on this story

Little Steven Kicks Off Summer

Today Little Steven celebrates the first official weekend of summer with a hot batch of tunes on his Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show.

The show kicks off with Joey Dee's 1962 hit "Hot Pastrami" and will also feature scorching classics by the Jeff Beck Group, the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and The Rascals.

Van Zandt honors Genya Ravan's "Snake In the Grass" as this week's "Coolest Song in the World" and will spin new music by The Gaslight Anthem, Alejandro Escovedo, Tab The Band, and more. 60's beach-movie starlet/singer Donna Loren, known by many as "the Dr. Pepper Girl," will join Little Steven for an interview. - more info here

Julie Christmas Eyes Solo Album, Song in Major Motion Picture

Made Out of Babies' Julie Christmas plans to release her first solo record, The Bad Wife, this fall.

More details about the album are forthcoming, but "July 31st", a song from the pending release, is featured on the soundtrack for Paramount film, Wrong Turn at Tahoe, starring Harvey Keitel and Cuba Gooding Jr. A video to promote the album is in production.

"I use sounds to express feelings and ideas that I am too clumsy to get across with words alone," explains Christmas. "Working with amazing visual artists - people who speak in images - gets me one step closer to really communicating with anyone nuts enough to listen." - more on this story

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Plans New Studio Album and First Live Album

Kenny Wayne Shepherd has inked a worldwide, multi-album deal with Loud & Proud Records. He is currently working on his first projects for the label, which include his first live album and a new studio album.

"Kenny Wayne is a special artist" stated Loud & Proud President Tom Lipsky. "He is passionate about his songwriting, his musicianship and he values the relationship that he has with his fans."

Shepherd himself said, "I am both excited and proud to be a part of the Roadrunner/Loud & Proud family. We have some very exciting music coming for our fans, and I couldn't think of a better home for my music. I've been playing it 'loud and proud' for years." - more on this story

Atom Smash Giving Away Song To Celebrate Tour Dates With 12 Stones, RED, Filter, Cavo

Atom Smash are hitting the road with 12 Stones, RED, Filter, Cavo, Shaman's Harvest, and Black Sunshine this summer.

In celebration of the tour dates, Atom Smash are giving away an MP3 of their first single "Do Her Wrong," off their debut album Love Is In The Missile (August 31). Get the MP3 right here (requires newsletter signup).

"Do Her Wrong" stands out for us," exclaims Sergio. "The story is pretty simple; it's an anthem for every guy out there. No matter how perfect of a girl you have and how amazing the situation could be, you could still do it wrong. She could have everything, and it still wouldn't work. It's an anthem for how foolish we can be as men."

- more on this story

Hey Monday Going Soph in August, Warped All Summer

Hey Monday's sophomore album, Beneath It All, will hit stores August 17th through Decaydance/Columbia Records.

Fans can get a first taste now with an audio stream of "Wish You Were Here" at www.heymondaymusic.com. There will also be a deluxe pre-order package available, which includes the full length CD, a limited edition 7" of "Wish You Were Here" and "Mr. Pushover," a vinyl covered photo album made from the Hey Monday 7", an exclusive poster, an instant download of "Wish You Were Here" and an MP3 download of the full album on the day of release.

The band will spend the months leading up to the album's release out on the road with the Warped Tour. The West Palm Beach, Florida natives are no strangers to the road. They have toured the U.S. six times with bands such as Fall Out Boy, Cobra Starship and Metro Station. - more on this story

Godflesh Going Supersonic

Godflesh have been confirmed as a headliner for the 2010 Supersonic Festival, which is held in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England and will be thier first UK show in over ten years.

Godflesh founding member JUSTIN BROADRICK comments: "We cannot even recall specifically the first Birmingham Godflesh show. Oddly, we think it was supporting Suicide in 1988, just after the release of our first Mini LP on Swordfish, the record label of Birmingham's best record shop. So it's only natural that the first Godflesh UK show in its original form in over 10 years, comes home to its birthplace, and for whom better than Supersonic, the organisation responsible for keeping Birmingham on the map with underground music, be it metal or otherwise. It is with great pleasure that Godflesh returns to its roots."

Supersonic Festival takes place from the 22nd to the 24th October, 2010 at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. - more on this story

Chimaira Coming Alive

Chimaira have post an trailer for their new Coming Alive DVD on their website. Chimaira will release Coming Alive on Ferret Music on July 20th, 2010.

This release includes a four-part documentary filmed over the course of a year and a half while the entire package includes over 7 hours of exclusive content. The DVD, filmed entirely in HD, showcases Chimaira in the studio while recording the Billboard-charting, The Infection, and chronicles their recent, worldwide touring season. In summary, Coming Alive is an in-depth look into Chimaira's life and music in the studio and on the road.

Not only does the DVD set include this documentary piece, another section, CHIMAIRA XMAS: Live Concert Film, celebrates the 10th annual CHIMAIRA Christmas show in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on December 30th, 2009. 13 HD cameras capture CHIMAIRA releasing their fury for their hometown crowd on a dark and snowy night in December. - more on this story

Controlled Bleeding's Penetration Remastered

Metal Mind Productions will rerelease Controlled Bleeding's "Penetration" on 2nd August in Europe and 5th October in USA, as a new digipak edition digitally remastered using 24-Bit process, released on a golden disc and limited to 2000 copies.

Name any given musical style and there's a 99% chance that Controlled Bleeding had already explored it. Some still call them an industrial group, which is nothing short from inappropriate. Sure, their music is strongly based on electronics and most of their works is pure cybernetic noise but this formation goes beyond industrial and beyond music itself in that matter.

In 1992 the band surprised their fans, releasing "Penetration" for metal label Roadrunner Records. "Penetration" was not completely out of place in that matter, as the sound of distorted guitars could be heard all throughout the album. Especially "Auto-Grind" and "In-Penetration" showed strong metal influences, the latter being nothing more than a mechanized thrash number. - more on this story

Remix Slightly Stoopid Fruits

Slightly Stoopid are inviting fans and fellow musicians to remix their song "The Fruits." The group is looking to Indaba Music's community for a new spin on the groove from their latest album, Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid.

The winner and a friend will be flown out to Tampa, Florida for the August 21st Cauzin Vapors... Legalize It show, where they will receive tickets to see Slightly Stoopid, Cypress Hill and reggae artist Collie Buddz, have a meet-and-greet with Slightly Stoopid all filmed by Skullcandy TV, and receive additional prizes.

Entries will be accepted June 23, 2010 through July 23, 2010. One First Place winner will be selected by Slightly Stoopid, Skullcandy and Indaba Music's co-founder Mantis Evar to receive the concert trip with a meet & greet, as well as a year long supply of Skullcandy headphones (6 total), a 7" "No Cocaine" vinyl single that includes a B-Side dub version of the song by legendary reggae producer The Scientist, and a yearlong Platinum Membership to Indaba Music. Two Runners-Up (selected by the judges from all submissions) will each receive three pairs of Skullcandy's Slightly Stoopid headphones, 7" vinyl and a free yearlong Pro Membership to Indaba Music. Finally, ten Honorable Mentions (selected by the judges from the 25 most popular mixes) will each receive a pair of Skullcandy Slightly Stoopid headphones and a free 3-month Pro Membership to Indaba Music. - Enter here

Andrew W.K. Throbblehead

Aggronautix is releasing a new limited edition Andrew W.K. Throbblehead, (limited to 1000).

Andrew W.K., the king of party music, needed some sweet merch for the Warped Tour, so Aggronautix created a sweet ass Throbblehead for him.

This figure ($19.95 SRP) captures Andrew raging on stage and is limited to 1000 numbered units, stands at 7 inches tall, and is made of super strong polyresin. Displayed in a windowed box, he's accurately sculpted right down to the bloody face, arm tats, watch, and dirty whites. - more on this story

Colossus To Get Drunk on Blood On The Road

Colossus is hitting the road on July 8th in support of their new EP, Drunk on Blood, and will stay on the road through July 24th. Not exactly a colossal trek, but they'll be hitting a lot of markets in the Eastern U.S.

Here some background their PR sent over: Colossus sound as if they were actually taking part in the original NWOBHM scene alongside Saxon, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden and Angel Witch in 1982, but cosmically slipped through a wormhole, winding up in 2010.

Their new Tribunal Records EP, Drunk on Blood, spiritedly follows on the heels of their debut album, And the Rift of the Pan-Dimensional Under-Gods, and only further expands on their love of classic heavy metal, fantasy, folklore, zombies, science fiction and ultimately laying waste to any and all who catch their enthusiastic and sweat-filled live shows. - more on this story