MACHINE HEAD Announces U.S. Headline Tour with Support from SUICIDE SILENCE, DARKEST HOUR and RISE TO REMAIN‏

Oakland, CA's MACHINE HEAD are pleased to announce their upcoming U.S. headline tour with support acts Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour, and Rise To Remain. The tour kicks off on January 15th in Denver, CO and will tour through the U.S. for the remainder of the month, coming to a close on February 18th in the band’s hometown area of San Francisco, CA. Stay tuned for more updates on the tour and see below for all current tour dates. In celebration of the upcoming headline tour, MACHINE HEAD and CraveOnline.com are giving away one Epiphone Robb Flynn Love/Death Baritone Flying-V to a lucky winner!
2/11, Houston, TX @ House of Blues
2/12, San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
2/13, Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
2/15, Farmington, NM @ Top Deck
2/16, Tuscon, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
2/17, Hollywood, CA @ Avalon

2/18, San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield

GWAR Guitarist Found Dead

GWAR frontman Dave Brockie (a.k.a. Oderus Urungus) has released the following statement to MetalSucks:



"It is with a sense of profound loss and tragedy that the members of GWAR must announce the passing of their longtime guitarist and beloved friend Cory Smoot, also known to thousands of metal fans worldwide as Flattus Maximus. Cory was found deceased this morning as the band prepared for a border crossing. There is no word as to the cause of death and the members of GWAR are completely shocked and devastated that this has occurred.

"At this point, there is no word on arrangements and the disposition of the remainder of GWAR's current North American tour, nor are there any details regarding long-term plans.

"At this point, we are just dealing with the loss of our dear friend and brother, one of the most talented guitar players in metal today.

"We ask that our fans and the media be respectful of our request for privacy for those that have suffered this terrible loss. A full statement will be coming in the next day or so. In the meantime, please give your thoughts and your prayers to Cory, his family, and all the people that love him."

FBI classifies Juggalos as a gang

The FBI considers the fans of shticky rap group Insane Clown Posse to represent a threat on par with the Crips, Bloods, and Aryan Brotherhood, according to its annual report on gang activity.

You might think Insane Clown Posse’s people — known as the Juggalos — are just a group of face-painting teenagers who wonder how magnets work. Not so, says the FBI’s 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. To the feds, Juggalos are a “loosely-organized hybrid gang” that are “forming more organized subsets and engaging in more gang-like criminal activity.”

Consult page 22 of the FBI’s brand-new annual report on gang activity nationwide. (.PDF) Listed in the same breath as street gangs with ties to murderous Mexican drug cartels is the Juggalo threat.


“Although recognized as a gang in only four states,” reports the FBI’s National Gang Intelligence Center,” many Juggalos subsets exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity and violence.” It takes a footnote to disclose the connection to the Insane Clown Posse. Which would make rappers Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope the Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff or Tookie Williams of their nefarious Juggalo army.

Other gangs cited in the report, like the Haitian Boys Posse or the Custer Street Gang, are linked to homicides, gun running, and drug trafficking. Juggalo gang activity cited by the FBI cites is a notably lower caliber: thefts, hand-to-hand drug sales and felony assaults. The FBI has recently had difficulty distinguishing ordinary American Muslims from terrorists; now it appears it has a similar problem distinguishing teenage fads from criminal conspiracies.

“Social networking websites are a popular conveyance for Juggalo sub-culture to communicate and expand,” the FBI warns.

Read more....

MEGADETH, MOTÖRHEAD, VOLBEAT, LACUNA COIL: 'Gigantour' 2012 Dates Announced

Gigantour — the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by esteemed hard rockers MEGADETH — will make its highly anticipated return for the first time since 2008. The multi-artist bill — with metal heavyweights MOTÖRHEAD, VOLBEAT and LACUNA COIL all personally picked by MEGADETH frontman Dave Mustaine — will kick off January 26 in Camden, NJ. Before wrapping February 28 in Denver, Colorado, the tour will make stops all across the U.S. and Canada including a January 28 show in New York and February 24 in Los Angeles. Tickets are on sale beginning November 4. MEGADETH has also teamed up with VIPNation.com to provide fans with Ultimate VIP packages including premium tickets, meet-and-greets, exclusive gifts and more.

Jan. 26 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
Jan. 27 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Jan. 28 - New York, NY - Theater at Madison Square Garden
Jan. 29 - Lowell, MA - Tsongas Arena
Feb. 01 - Glens Falls, NY - Glens Falls Civic Center
Feb. 02 - Quebec City, QC - Colisee Pepsi Arena
Feb. 03 - Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
Feb. 05 - Kingston, ON - K-Rock Centre
Feb. 07 - Oshawa, ON - General Motors Centre
Feb. 08 - Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
Feb. 09 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
Feb. 10 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
Feb. 12 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
Feb. 14 - St. Paul, MN - Myth
Feb. 16 - Saskatoon, SK - Prairieland
Feb. 17 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre
Feb. 18 - Calgary, AB - Big 4 Building
Feb. 20 - Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford Ent & Sports Centre
Feb. 21 - Kent, WA - Showare Center
Feb. 23 - San Jose, CA - Events Center
Feb. 24 - Universal City, CA - Gibson Amphitheatre
Feb. 25 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
Feb. 26 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
Feb. 28 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore Auditorium

Dance Gavin Dance Singer Jonny Craig Arrested for Drug Possession

After a long and turbulent history with his band Dance Gavin Dance, lead singer Jonny Craig has again departed his constantly shapeshifting musical outfit. The frontman has been arrested after having been found to be in possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

According to the Solano County Police's booking log, Craig is being held for $15,000. Craig has taken several other leaves of absence from Dance Gavin Dance many of them stemming from drug and alcohol related issues. His arrest has led to the cancellation of the band's tour.

Several months ago Craig admitted to swindling people out of thousands of dollars with fake laptop sales in addition to having just completed some time in rehab. Now Dance Gavin Dance will be going on indefinite hiatus so he can continue to get his life back on track.

Guitarist and co-vocalist Will Swan reportedly posted "Dance Gavin Dance is on hiatus until Jonny can get his life together. Tour is not the environment for that. That is all" after the band announced the news that the tour would be cancelled.

Mastodon Performs On The Late Show

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON performed the song “Curl Of The Burl” on CBS-TV‘s “Late Show With David Letterman”.

THROWDOWN JOINED BY DEMON HUNTER, BLEEDING THROUGH MEMBERS FOR TOUR

(NEW YORK, NY) - THROWDOWN have revealed a slew of new details surrounding their upcoming "Brawloween" tour happening later this month. The band has confirmed a touring lineup which is comprised of both familiar faces as well as some guests.

DAVE PETERS (vocals) (Throwdown 2000 - present)
MARK MITCHELL (bass) (Throwdown 2007 - present)
DAVE NASSIE (guitar) (Bleeding Through / ex-No Use For A Name)
TIM "YOGI" WATTS (drums) (Demon Hunter, ex-The Showdown)

"I can't say I love having a chronically fragmented lineup for Throwdown, but it does leave the door open for cool opportunities like this. I'm VERY happy to be playing these shows with Yogi and Nassie as 'special guests' or whatever you want to call them under the circumstances. They're great guys and equally great musicians. It will be a cool thing for fans of the three bands too, as it's hard to say if or when we'd share a stage in the future. The only drawback is running the risk of them setting the sound bar too high for the next time we play in our backyard," says front man Dave Peters.

THROWDOWN will headline the first annual "BRAWLOWEEN," a brand new tour event which will stretch across the West Coast with support from CARNIFEX, FIRST BLOOD and SUFFOKATE. The band has also made a limited number of prints of the tour poster artwork by illustrator Dave Quiggle shown above. These exclusive prints will only be available at the Chain Reaction show on 10/23, get there early!

The band will mark their first live appearances in nearly two years by presenting a fan-favorite filled set list consisting of material from classic albums like Haymaker (2003) and Vendetta (2005) alongside select tracks from Venom & Tears (2007) and their eOne music debut, Deathless (2009). The album was produced by Mudrock (Avenged Sevenfold) and mixed by Zeuss (Hatebreed) and includes the XM / Sirius smash, "This Continuum."

The band is an internationally recognized heavy metal band with roots in the hardcore / punk scene. They have toured the world with acts like Killswitch Engage, In Flames, As I Lay Dying, Hatebreed, Chimaira, Korn, Machine Head, Arch Enemy and as part of Vans Warped Tour, Ozzfest and Sounds of the Underground.

THROWDOWN's "Deathless I" tour took place in November, 2009 and was followed by a spring, 2010 appearance at MusInk with Danzig. Dave Peters hosted MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball" which premiered two of the twelve music videos from Deathless which comprise a short film based on the album by Cale Glendening (Demon Hunter).