Metallica Resuming Work On New Album

And on his latest reality-competition show, bands will compete to curry the favor of the KISS bassist. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Simmons will head to MIPCOM next month to launch Coliseum, where contestants form rock bands, who will be coached by the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer before performing in front of an audience. (MIPCOM, by the way, is annual conference in Cannes, France, focusing on cross-format entertainment content.)

Simmons, as the Rock Caesar, will ultimately decide with a thumb up or down who goes forward in the competition (perhaps influenced by Donald Trump's infamous "You're fired" tagline on Celebrity Apprentice, on which Simmons himself was a contestant).

Frontman M Shadows revealed the band's plans in June, explaining that each of them had been deeply involved in the development of their in-game roles.

He said: "With the blessing of his parents we put The Rev in the game. Once you unlock his character you can use him as your comrade to help you through the levels."

Last week, the company released the project free to more than a half a billion iTunes customers as part of their launch of the iPhone 6, but Apple and U2 have both faced a backlash from users who weren't pleased with the publicity stunt.

But now TUF frontwoman Danielle Schnebelen tells The Pitch: "We're putting the project to rest. When Kris left in January it put a lot of things into perspective. We didn't really feel like it was Trampled Under Foot any more.

The supergroup features vocalist Kyle Thomas of Trouble and Exhorder fame; guitarist Ralph Santolla (Deicide, Obituary, Death); guitarist Matt Brunson (Crowbar, Kingdom Of Sorrow); bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Testament, Sadus); and drummer Tony Laureano (Dimmu Borgir, Nile).

Thomas says their sound is influenced by Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains, Ozzy Osbourne and early Scorpions. He adds: "I met Ralph on tour and we hit it off perfectly. He played me some songs and asked if I'd be interested in working with him. I immediately said yes."

They blacked out their website and social media channels earlier this year before returning with a run of teaser clips over the summer. Lead track The Negative One was accompanied by a video featuring none of the band, then fans were alerted that the promo for lead single The Devil In I would reveal the members' new masks.

Taylor tells WAAF: "How this band built its foundation was street level, word of mouth, people talking about us, That's really just what the internet is. We've learned how to use these tools - we've been able to take an old-school approach with mystique, anticipation and excitement, which I think is a lost art.

Titles include 1986's "Peace Sells�But Who's Buying?", 1988's "So Far, So Good�So What!" and 1990's "Rust In Peace", as well as 1992's "Countdown To Extinction" and 1994's "Youthanasia", both making their debut on picture disc.

As reported by NME, Lynne gave the 50,000+ audience the thumbs up after a performance of set opener "All Over The World" (originally found on the 1980 Xanadu soundtrack), commenting, "Wow, fantastic. It's unbelievable this really. I haven't done anything like this for so long, I can't believe it."

Later, Lynne was more revealing as to how the experience was going for him, noting, "I'll do this again." Of course, we don't know if that means sooner or later (obviously Coachella would be champing at the bit to get ELO on their poster), but this indication of eventually further ELO appearance is enough to make audiences on both sides of the Atlantic pretty excited.

The announcement comes after the band experienced a number of false starts to the project, as their tour commitments expanded on the back of 2012 release The Industrialist.

Guitarist Dino Cazares tells SiriusXM: "We're doing pre-production right now and we'll be in the studio next month to track the album. We have a lot of songs written - we're almost done."

DRI singer Kurt Brecht tells Boulevard Brutal: "Album sales for the last couple of albums, we put everything that we had into them, and they just didn't do very well. So we just kind of said, 'Well, let's just keep on touring.'

"The problem is, for us, with putting out an album is that we stop touring and just focus on writing, because we don't wanna get sidetracked. We're in the middle of writing songs, and now we've gotta stop and practice the old songs and then go play some shows."

In a video posted from the Rifflandia Festival in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, singer Ben Gibbard introduces the band's last song and says, "Folks, this is our last song, and this is our last song with Mr. Chris Walla. Please give him a large round of applause. Thank you so much for the last 17 years, Chris."

In response, Walla holds his hands over his heart in deference, a signature move for the reserved musician. The band then launch into "Marching Bands of Manhattan," the first song on their 2005 major label debut album Plans. It's an unusual closer that is rare for a Death Cab set these days at all.

And Rossdale says they brought in Nick Raskulinecz to produce the album as they didn't want any "softness" on the album. He tells radio show Elliot In The Morning:

"I wanted Nick to produce it because he does a lot of metal stuff. I didn't want to get any softness anywhere, so it is heavier. We had so much fun doing all the live shows that we really wanted to be able to have songs that go into the set and really make it happen.

He continues: "I began with more weird, dark noises and effects - garage electronic is what I keep calling it. It's not a disco record, but it's got weird sounds on it and good loops. It's cool, it's a good mixture."

The Atlanta band gained attention for last year's self-titled EP, which led to tours with Wishbone Ash, the Winery Dogs, Adrian Belew and others, plus appearances at Mike Portnoy's Progressive Nation At Sea cruise.

The five-piece consists of frontman Vladdy Iskhakov, bassist Mark Golden, drummer Josh Baker, guitarist Paul Sorah and guitarist Cameron Allen. They cite Rush, Muse and King's X among their influences, along with personal experience of work as touring musicians for a string of big-name acts.

"It looks like it will happen," Michaels tells Cleveland Scene. "It's been a few years - we just want to put together the right package and show to celebrate with everyone."

Poison last toured in 2012 with Def Leppard as part of the Rock Of Ages trek. Asked if he has a preference to touring solo or with the band, Michaels says, "The truth of the matter is I just love to play live. With Poison, you have come to expect exactly what you see - big pyro and this huge arena show, With the solo band, it's a little more raw but just as big and it gives me the chance to explore more of my personal side and share certain elements that maybe don't come across in Poison. But I love them both."

In 2005, the two women filmed themselves lip-synching the Pixies' song "Hey" as a birthday present for Frimmerman's boyfriend and put it on YouTube. The clip ended up going viral at a time when people didn't even know what "going viral" actually meant. It's since racked up nearly 34 million views. "It's the most hits we have on video," guitarist Joey Santiago tells Radio.com.

That's why when the band finally got a chance to meet the two women this past June at a show in Israel, Santiago felt it was only right that they offer the two film students a shot at making an official video for them.

In the charming clip for "Ring the Bell," Mizel and Frimmerman get nostalgic and dumpster dive for buried treasures - boomboxes, VHS tapes, roller skates, bubble blowers and Care Bears - that remind them of their childhoods. These finds later end up as decor at the dance party they throw for all their Gen Y friends deep in the woods, away from the hustle and bustle of their everyday tech-driven lives.

Drummer David Lovering is a collector himself, telling Radio.com that he's been metal detecting since he was 12 years old and at 52 has amassed quite the collection of old coins, gold rings and musket balls from Revolutionary times. But while he enjoys these artifacts - his prized possession being a British coin, a 1724 Farthing, that he found in the woods where he grew up - when it comes to his band, he chooses to live in the now instead of the past.

White performed at the annual Farm Aid show in Raleigh, North Carolina over the weekend as part of his current series of US shows, which wrap up in Columbia, South Carolina on September 24th.

Bayley tells Songfacts: "One of the sadnesses of my life, a twinge of sadness, is I was working on lyrics and melodies for a third Iron Maiden album when they fired me. A lot of ideas I'd already got on my dictaphone, or got lyrics sketched out. Then I didn't get the chance to work with the guys."

But he says he's a more confident writer after working with mainman Steve Harris. "I've learned about how to get that idea from your mind into the recording and into the arrangement. Before it would be very hit and miss. Working with Steve and seeing the way he puts things together really helped."

he Swedish band's 2010 self-titled debut was named Classic Rock Magazine's best AOR record of 2010. Earlier this month they released Relaunch II, containing four original tracks and six covers. It followed 2011's covers album Relaunch.

And guitarist Emppu Vuorinen says their egos are taking a back seat as they try to make the most of the new material. He says: "I don't know if it has something to do with age, but the need to show off has diminished even more. It's more like you want to do justice to the song and not strut your stuff."

The band are working on their eighth album, their first with vocalist Floor Jansen and now full-time member Troy Donockley. The follow-up to 2011's Imaginaerum is set for release next year.

Premiering Friday, October 17 at 11 p.m., the project will see the Foo Fighters visit, and record music at, some of the world's most iconic recording studios in 8 US cities - Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle and Washington, DC.

Frontman Dave Grohl will also conduct interviews for the series, speaking with prominent artists in each city and some who have recorded at each facility.

The Kiss star recently claimed music had been "murdered" by those who refused to invest in the next generation of artists, and said illegal downloading had devalued recorded work to near-zero.

That led to responses from Robert Plant, Poison's Rikki Rockett and Twisted Sister's Dee Snider. Now Rossdale tells Howard Stern (via Blabbermouth): "I don't think it's dead. Nothing is ever dead in music - it just takes the right record."

"Making millions of records is fantastic but you want to make the right record," explained Idol in a behind-the-scenes clip. "So we really waited quite a long time for this sensual feeling, this cinematic, theatrical, 1080 pixels, high def wide screen cinema-scope version of this music, which that's the way it feels to me. It feels like a sound track."

"The majority of the songs on the album were written by Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison and myself," continued Idol. "The music usually dictates when you put out an album, you feel you've got something worth while or you've got something that makes sense to you or something that seems fresh or progressing, moving your music along. That's what we look for."

The song came about after Drover, who'd been lined up to join Geoff Tate's Queensryche while two lineups of the band existed, changed his plans and later guested on stage with La Torre's outfit.

It's one of several collaborations Drover is working on - and the vocalist says it's not a clue as to how his second album with Queensryche might sound.

La Torre tells Bravewords: "I write what the music calls for. The Queensryche material doesn't call for those vocal stylings. If there's a sliver that does, fine - but don't count on it."

The new album is their first studio outing since 1990's Into The Mirror Black, and it will be released via Century Media. It's the second track to be taken from the album, following the release of Arise And Purify last month.

Kristine says of their collaborative track Stronghold Of Angels: "This metal hymn is special to me - and Doro's unique voice takes it to an exceptional emotional level. Thank you, Doro, for staying with us, and for the late-night talks."

Vervain follows 2012 album Libertine, while Leaves' Eyes recently completed a European tour and play a 10th anniversary show in Belgium on October 18. Kristine joins Anneke van Giersbergen and Kari Rueslatten for a tour entitled The Sirens, including four European dates next month and four more in December.

The first show, on March 31, 1974, saw Queen perform tracks from their newly-released album, "Queen II." The set features over a dozen tracks never previously released on any official Queen live album.

Recorded by Roy Thomas Baker, the recordings were originally scheduled to Queen's third album (and debut live album), presented as a career-defining release like James Brown's "Live At The Apollo" or The Who's "Live At Leeds." But Queen's creative momentum produced a stack of new songs begging to be recorded and instead of releasing the live album, the band went into the studio to record what was to become 1974's breakthrough album, "Sheer Heart Attack."

The album was funded via a successful Kickstarter campaign, which the Marillion guitarist admitted exceeded all his expectations. Last month he made opening track Morpheus, featuring Hackett, available as a free download.

The Ghosts Of Pripyat is released on September 22. It's available for pre-order in deluxe and standard editions, while a live album, recorded during the Steve Rothery Band's second-ever show, is also available.

The album was the group's first effort to feature new vocalist Chris Baretto, and was described by Prog as "an expressive work of art." The band are just about to launch their first-ever headline US tour, and remain on the road until March next year.

Due out on October 24 via Nuclear Blast, it's a complete rework of the band's 1999 record. The idea came about when they realised only singer Tonny Kakko and drummer Tommy Portomi remained from the lineup of that time.

Keyboard Henrik Klingenberg recently said: "We're definitely not trying to rewrite history. The new version is more of a tribute and an update on how the songs sound when played by our current lineup."

Most music aficionados will cite Bob Dylan as one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century (if not the greatest). But Dylan didn't always write songs, he started out as a song interpreter.

"I just wanted a song to sing," he says of his early days, performing traditional folk and blues. At a certain point, he explains, "I had to write what I wanted to sing, because what I wanted to sing, nobody else was writing. I couldn't find that song someplace. If I could, I probably would have never started writing."

Happily, he didn't find "that song," and he did start writing, and he wrote rather prolifically. He released nine studio albums in the '60s (eight of which were mostly or all original material), and there were many songs from that era that didn't make it onto any of Dylan's albums.

But Dylan's self-titled debut album from 1962 featured mostly covers. There were, however, two originals: "Talkin' New York" and "Song to Woody." The latter was a tribute to legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie. Guthrie, as it turned out, was the first artist Dylan was aware of who wrote his own songs, which he also discusses in this interview clip.

I remember sitting outside a venue somewhere in Italy a bunch of years back, my trusty Caparison Apple Horn Orange guitar in lap, waiting for everything getting ready for soundcheck. This somewhat annoying riff popped up from out of nowhere and I couldn't stop playing it. It had a cool, energetic drive. (I am deeply fascinated by the creative process; where is the stuff actually coming from?) This was the embryo to Freak of the Week, one of the tunes from Cooking with Pagans, the new Freak Kitchen record and the soundtrack to an astounding, animated 2D video in the works.

When writing songs I never ever think about keys, tonality, time, e t c, I just go for my gut feeling. What sounds good is good. Later on I realized the Freak of the Week riff was in the time signature of 11/4, was partly based on the somewhat harsh Indian raga Pantuvarali (also named Kamavardani), had loads of counterpoint non commonly used in metal music as well as quite nasty chord changes. Still, the trick is to fuse all these elements and make it accessible to everyone. We do not want to be smart ass musicians that are complicated for the sake of it. We want to have fun and rock out like any other band. And we do. But with a twist.

One day I had an e-mail from the stunning Juanjo Guarnido, author of the Blacksad books and top notch, former Disney animator. As an ignorant bastard I didn't have a clue who he was but was utterly flabbergasted by his work. I called Chris, our mighty fine bass player, who completely freaked out and enlightened my limited intellect about Juanjo. I asked maestro Guarnido if he would like to do the artwork for Cooking with Pagans and he was delighted to (actually, I think this was the purpose of his e-mail since he was a long time Freak Kitchen fan!) What he did could easily be described as, by far, our best cover to date. We are happy to the bone about it!

Juanjo didn't stop there however. He was always quite frustrated how his sophisticated animations would end up in a poor way on the big screen. Once in a lifetime he wanted to get it right and proposed to do an animated video to a tune from record. I proposed Freak of the Week which now had manifested into an actual song. He loved it.

Said and done. A Kickstarter took off and raised no less than a 152,000$ (animation is insanely expensive, drawing frame by frame in old school, wonderful 2D), much thanks to Guarnido spanking his comic book world buddies to cough up original art to donate to the project. The footage is quite insane and we are just thrilled and honoured to be part of the ride. The video will premiere at Comic Con in New York in October. A book is being written about this painstaking project as well, containing storyboards and art from the video and more.

� and it all started with myself noodling on the guitar while waiting for soundcheck somewhere in Italy. Life is weird and wonderful.