METAL!!!

Score one for KROQ. Metallica will co-headline the SoCal radio station's 16th annual Weenie Roast festival, according to the band's Web site. Find out more.

A lot can change in 17 years. That's how long Kurt Ballou has been playing guitar for Massachusetts hardcore act Converge. How has Kurt changed?

What does it take to reclaim past glory? Testament are trying to answer that question with The Formation of Damnation. Do the thrashers achieve their goal?

Murderfest was like a master's program in underground music. Bands from several subgenres of the extreme-music world invaded the Knitting Factory from Friday through Sunday, bringing their own fans who have their own codes of dress and conduct at shows. Read more...

As anticipation builds for Metallica's upcoming album, the band is going to be throwing fans some bones with a new Web site launched to let them "experience the album... before it's done." What will be on it?

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? The grandfathers of metal, Judas Priest, are about to release an album unlike any they've made before. Get the 411...

Sometimes a change in sound is a good thing for a band. Whether or not it will be good for Cryptopsy is yet to be determined...

The fallout from the firing of vocalist Scott Weiland from Velvet Revolver is beginning to resemble that of a nuclear explosion. [Cut = The latest venom was spewed by Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses fame...] Both parties - Weiland and the remaining members of VR - have been sending a steady stream of potshots in the direction of one another since the split. The latest venom was spewed by Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses fame.


Slash

According to Slash, the animosity between Scott and the rest of the band had been building for quite some time prior to the firing. "He [Scott] didn't know that we were already planning on extraditing him. When we started touring the second record, it just felt like we were losing Scott as far as our connection went. During the tour with Alice in Chains [in August 2007] he was just out to lunch," Slash told Kerrang! magazine.

The final blow came when Weiland allegedly lied to the band about plans to attend rehab, forcing Velvet Revolver to postpone an Australian tour for ultimately no reason. Still, the band had to troop on and fulfill its obligations. "We had a lot of commitments, like the tour in the UK, which we didn't want to go back on, so we wanted to finish those before telling him," explained Slash.

The way Slash describes it, the aforementioned UK tour was akin to a divorced couple taking a vacation together. In other words, extremely awkward. "We basically didn't speak a word that whole time. We gave him the cold shoulder in the UK like nobody's business. There were a couple of arguments around the stage, but other than that, nobody spoke to him. I imagine he was quite uncomfortable," said Slash.

Finally, Slash compared Weiland to infamous GN'R frontman Axl Rose: "What became really irritating was that I had the same problem with Scott as I had when I toured with Axl. I just couldn't get the guy onstage on time. That I can't accept. I will not do it again. I will not be in a situation where a guy is making the audience wait half an hour or an hour or more. It's criminal. I don't know who someone thinks he is when he tries to get away with that sort of thing."


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Despite the band's notorious breakup in 2003, street signs bearing Pantera's famous moniker have been disappearing as fast as the city of Mesa, Arizona can put them up. What the heck is going on?

Max Cavalera might be the busiest man in metal. In addition to touring with his wildly popular new band, Cavalera Conspiracy, Max will release a brand-new album from his other band, Soulfly, this summer. Find out all the details...

A release date has finally been set for Mötley Crüe's first studio album in almost eight years. The band announced at a press conference in Los Angeles today that Saints of Los Angeles will be on store shelves starting June 17. The news didn't stop there, however...

Emo fans have been threatened with violence in Mexico in recent weeks, but apparently Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance has taken up the cause. Find out what Gerard said...

Amid rampant rumors of Ozzfest becoming a one-stop, two-day festival in Dallas this summer, metal icon Ozzy Osbourne has announced on his site that he will be headlining another major festival in July. Which festival will it be...

For the first time in a looong time Iron Maiden will be supported by a band that has a somewhat comparable legacy. Find out when the action starts...

Metalheads curious as to what they will be hearing when Gigantour 2008 comes to their area now have some of their questions answered. The tour kicked off Saturday at The Fillmore in Denver, and set lists for Megadeth and Children of Bodom were as follows Read more...

Fans holding tickets for the remaining dates of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour and hoping to catch Bullet for My Valentine are out of luck. Why are they leaving?

Is your life always on a down? If you answered yes then My Dying Bride are the band for you! Get the details on their upcoming CD/DVD release...

How does a fake band tour? Colleges across the country found out last fall when Dethklok, the animated death metal band from Adult Swim's "Metalocalypse", opened for ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead. Find out about the new tour...

Megadeth fans who have been wondering what the band will be up to following headlining appearances on the Gigantour this summer have had their questions answered. Find out what the band's plans are...

If you've ever been curious about how Western music translates to other cultures, this is the moment you've been waiting for. The trailer for the highly anticipated metal documentary, "Global Metal," has been released and it looks fantastic. Come in and see the trailer...