3 INCHES OF BLOOD STORM THE GATES OF ROCKSTAR MAYHEM THIS SUMMER

The biggest defenders of traditional heavy metal, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, are set make their triumphant return to North America as part of this summer’s much anticipated Rockstar Mayhem Tour performing on the Mayhem Festival Stage alongside Atreyu, Norma Jean and In This Moment. This trek also marks the group’s first outdoor festival tour since Ozzfest 2007, so expect them to pull out all the stops for this event. Head over now to www.myspace.com/3iob to stream new tracks from their highly acclaimed album, Here Waits Thy Doom, and to view their complete touring itinerary.



Cam Pipes further comments: “I anticipate the Rockstar Mayhem tour to be quite an insane ordeal. The last time we did a festival tour in the U.S. was Ozzfest '07 and we all had a blast. We played to thousands of people everyday, made lots of new fans and made friends with lots of people in the other bands on the tour. We're expecting much of the same great times and since it is a different festival we're sure we'll have many new amazing experiences this time as well. You can also definitely count on many nights of heavy drinking, but what else would you expect. See you all soon.”



3 INCHES OF BLOOD also formed a killer partnership with the #1 source for all horror, Bloodydisgusting.com, to present the worldwide exclusive debut of the band’s much anticipated new video for “Battles and Brotherhood.” It was produced and directed by the acclaimed Rick Podd, who has worked on such movies as The Watcher & Hellraiser. The clip features the band set in the middle of a raging, medieval battle. Click on the link below to check it out now.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/music/223

BAD ASS MICROPHONE STAND TO TAKE CENTER STAGE AS FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH KICK OFF THEIR TOUR THIS JANUARY

BAD ASS MICROPHONE STAND TO TAKE CENTER STAGE
AS FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
KICK OFF THEIR TOUR THIS JANUARY

WEIGHING IN OVER 180 LBS THIS CRAFTED STEEL IS
STRAIGHT FROM SATAN’S WORKSHOP
AND IS THE LATEST CREATION FROM ALCHEMY STUDIOS

(Leicester, England) – All hell breaks loose this January thanks to Alchemy Studio’s latest and most adventurous sculpture. LA metal band Five Finger Death Punch has commissioned the UK gothic design house to create a microphone stand like none other in the world and it will be unveiled in Anaheim, CA on January 21st.



Stainless steel strength and Metal music are fused together forever on this tour. Singer Ivan Moody will attempt to harnesses the energy of this rock centerpiece as he roars at the 5FDP mob from his underworld pulpit.



The microphone stand weighs in over 180 pounds and is the latest creation from the Alchemy design team who has been creating merchandise, art and alternative jewelry since 1977. Their extensive gothic insight and sensibilities was a perfect match for the metal music scene. Five craftsmen working over 120 hours collaborated on the piece, and the final result is pure beauty.

This is a serious mic-stand that will dominate till the end of time.

It screams…STAND UP, FISTS UP…THIS IS METAL!

BACK SURGERY SCHEDULED FOR SLAYER'S TOM ARAYA, BAND'S TOUR PLANS POSTPONED THROUGH APRIL

BACK SURGERY SCHEDULED FOR SLAYER'S TOM ARAYA,

BAND'S TOUR PLANS POSTPONED THROUGH APRIL

Slayer Camp Working Hard to Reschedule Dates for Later This Year



Los Angeles, CA - Thursday, January 7, 2010 -- "Tom gave various medical treatments more than a fair shot," said Slayer's manager Rick Sales, "but they just haven't handled the problem, so he's biting the bullet and is scheduled for back surgery at the end of this month."

This difficult decision made by the band's bassist/vocalist Tom Araya means the cancellation of Slayer's immediate tour plans that include the American and Canadian Carnage Tour dates that were set to kick off on January 18, as well as the band's UK/European tour scheduled for March and April. Booking agents for both Slayer and Megadeth are already hard at work to see if these dates can be rescheduled, so those holding tickets are asked to sit tight as more info will be announced as progress is made.



The headbanging Araya, known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing, began experiencing back problems while on the band's Australian/New Zealand/Japanese tour last October. In spite of his rapidly increasing pain and discomfort, he carried on with the tour, but immediately upon returning home saw an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed a Cervical Radiculopathy. The rocker initially did not want to take the major surgery route, so the specialist recommended a series of minimally-invasive procedures. While those procedures have resulted in some improvement, Araya continues to deal with intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms. The surgical procedure that Araya will undergo, called an Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, is a relatively routine practice and the recovery rate is excellent.

Sales added, "As unfortunate as this is for so many people - the Megadeth and Testament camps, the concerts' promoters, and, of course, the fans - Tom's health is the number one priority, and this has to happen."

Annotations of an Autopsy Want to Eradicate Everything You Know

For Annotations of an Autopsy guitarist Jamie Sweeney, Jan. 22 marks "the start of a new era" for the British death metal act, for it is on that day that AOAA releases its sophomore LP, 'The Reign of Darkness.' The album, Sweeney says, is the one he'd always envisioned AOAA writing. "It's the sound we've been looking for," he explained. "With all our new members, we've collaborated together and created an album that is Annotations of an Autopsy."

The album was mixed by Hate Eternal's Erik Rutan, who has helmed efforts from Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel, among others. And of course, 'Reign' is a deviant overdose of brutal complexity that's as tight as it is devastating. The disc is easily one of 2010's early frontrunners for best of the year. Thankfully, Rutan didn't just mix the record, but also contributed his guitars to the track 'Bone Crown.

According to Sweeney, 'The Reign of Darkness' is a concept album insomuch as the lyrical content tends to revolve around one idea: "That everything you've known about existence come falling down. Law, religions, space...It's all been a lie, if you will, and you just found out about it, and its so much to take in." Basically, like a more extreme version of a kid discovering Santa doesn't exist. Rutan seemed the perfect man for the mix.

"We were on tour with Job for a Cowboy last year and Hate Eternal, and we just clicked with Erik," he recalls. "It wasn't until the end of the recording that we thought, 'Hey, let's get Rutan to mix the album,' and he was up for it. We just went from there. We got in with him really well, and now, he's a great friend of ours."

The band has a full European tour coming up in March and hopes to be in the States this summer. We're looking at you, Kevin Lyman. Of course, it would be awesome to see a band like Annotations on Mayhem, seeing as they weren't allowed to enter the country for that recent run with the Faceless and Dying Fetus.

"Our visas took so long, but we're working on getting back to the States as soon as we can," says Sweeney. "We're just waiting for the right tour. But I'm confident we will be over in America in the next few months."

Eluveitie Prefer the Term 'Folk Metal' Over 'Pagan Metal'

Pagan metal is pretty much an official metal subgenre nowadays, but Swiss metal band Eluveitie, who meld Celtic folk with their death metal stylings, prefer the term 'folk metal' over 'pagan metal,' since the latter often carries a negative connotation. Vocalist Chrigel Glanzmann, "Pagan metal is commonly also called folk metal, and that is what we prefer, actually."

Glanzmann broke the hallmarks of the interesting and not-so-easy-to-describe genre down, saying, "Basically it's just mostly extreme metal, such as hard metal music, in the vein of death metal, black metal or epic metal, that is musically also influenced by traditional folk music, or at least includes epic, folkloristic-sounding melodies from certain areas, usually from the area or the country a the band playing that music is originating from."

If the essence of the music is still hard to picture, Glanzman also shines light on how it plays out practically in a band's music. "Sometimes such bands also use folkloristic and mostly acoustic instruments additionally. Lyrically and conceptually, pagan or folk metal bands commonly deal with ancient, pre-Christian cultures and themes that are commonly also from the area, country or culture the band playing that music is originating from." The singer also points out that pagan metal focused more on concepts and lyrics, while folk metal is more musical.

Eluveitie's 'Everything Remains as it Never Was' is out March 9.

High on Fire Release Artwork for 'Snakes for the Divine'

Heavy metal titans High on Fire have just released the stunning cover art for their forthcoming full-length, 'Snakes for the Divine.' The cover image was conjured by longtime High on Fire cover artist Arik Roper in his signature painterly style, and it really brings the album's title to life.

Founded by ex-Sleep guitarist Matt Pike in 1998, High on Fire have released four full-length records since their inception. Each High on Fire record has topped its predecessor in quality and intensity, and we're sure 'Snakes for the Divine' will be no exception. Besides Pike, the trio currently consists of founding drummer Des Kensel and bassist Jeff Matz (ex-Zeke).

Recorded at The Pass Studios in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman (Slayer, Metallica), 'Snakes for the Divine' drops Feb. 23 via E1 Music.