During my review of Warp Riders, I mentioned that I was hoping there would be a vinyl release of the album. Well there is. There is also this killer package you can purchase for $50.00 that includes a huge Warp Riders poster, a cool, retro looking baseball jersey with a faux iron-on, the cd, a sticker and a limited run of single disc, gatefold purple vinyl. The first 500 will be autographed by the band. Can’t afford this package or not a collector of vinyl? You can also preorder this package that is only $25.00 and comes with a t-shirt, a sticker, the cd and an 11X17 folded poster. For all other The Sword Merch, visit The Sword’s Official Merch store

This book is a collection of work by Christophe Szpajdel, an artist whose fans in the underground black metal community worship him as the Lord of the Logos. It includes hundreds of powerful logos, each of which captures the force of this musical genre anew. Through his surprising use of aesthetic influences such as art deco and nature, Szpajdel has brought a new dynamic into the gothic visuality of heavy metal. This publication, which is done in the style of a black prayerbook, shows not only how he has succeeded in leaving his own visual mark on this music, but how he has also expanded the canon of forms it uses.

You can find it at Gestalten and Amazon.com

Thanks to Ivan of Metalgasm and Met.al for bringing this to my attention. On a side note, Ivan’s URL shortening project Met.al, for metal related URLs turns 4 months old tomorrow.  Met.al has been used 7000 times to shorten links and has seen 250,000 clicks in it’s short 4 months.

Less than 2 years after the release of Opeth The Roundhouse Tapes DVD, Roadrunner Records and Opeth will be releasing a DVD of Opeth Live at the Royal Albert Hall in London England in celebration of Opeth’s 20th anniversary. Not only will this have a DVD release but there will be other packages that will include vinyl and cd’s. It looks to be a pretty nifty little package. I enjoyed The Roundhouse Tapes very much and it’s alway fun hearing Mikael Akerfeldt talk on stage. The following was ripped straight from Opeth’s Myspace.

As part of the ongoing celebration of their 20th anniversary, Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will release live footage and audio from the band’s recent performance at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall. “In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall”, due on September 21 via Roadrunner Records, is a fierce testament to OPETH’s continued success in the progressive metal community.

Twenty years and nine records into their legendary career, OPETH’s “progressively creative spirit” (ARTISTdirect) remains unwavering, propelling the band through the “Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology” tour, which brought the Swedish titans to six of the world’s most unique venues, and now, with the release of “In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall”, into the homes of their fans.

The performance at the Royal Albert Hall (recorded on April 5, 2010) includes two sets, the first consisting of the band performing 2000′s now-classic, breakthrough epic “Blackwater Park” in its entirety, and the second, a chronologically arranged selection of material from the rest of OPETH’s extensive catalogue, totalling almost three hours of music. It is, like the rest of OPETH’s greatest work, “purposefully warped in all the right places” (Decibel). The front cover artwork concept pays tribute to DEEP PURPLE’s “Concerto for Group and Orchestra”, underlining the band’s longstanding love for their prog-rock roots.

Thinking back to the concert, frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt says “OPETH had a magical night playing the Royal Albert Hall. It was a dream come true, and now afterwards, it still feels like a dream. We got it all on film, and this, our third live recording and DVD, might be my personal favourite.

“One couldn’t help to think of all the fantastic artists that played there over the years. Looking back at this night of celebration brings me fond memories of our 20th anniversary — this package is the delayed birthday present.”

The release will be available as three very special configurations:

01. Limited-edition vinyl box set, which includes:

• Double-DVD set of OPETH’s performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety, including bonus features.
• A set of four 180-gram LPs of the concert’s live audio in its entirety. The vinyl is housed in black poly lined inner sleeves which are packaged as two double gatefold set with exclusive artwork. Vinyl only available in this box set.
• Exclusive, numbered lithograph with artwork designed by Mikael Åkerfeldt and long time OPETH designer Travis Smith.
• 20-page, LP sized booklet printed on coated paper stock that chronicles the night’s events in photos.
• Expanded, exclusive artwork and more.

02. Five-disc set that consists of two DVDs and three CDs. The set not only includes the legendary evening captured on video, but the concert’s live audio in its entirety as well.

03. Double-DVD set of OPETH’s performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety, including bonus features.

The concert feature will have 5.1 Dolby Surround, produced and mixed by Jens Bogren on all three configurations. The bonus features consist of a 45 minute ´fan questions´ interview and 45 minute documentary named ´On Tour with Opeth´.

Track listing is as follows:

Set 1

* The Leper Affinity
* Bleak
* Harvest
* The Drapery Falls
* Dirge For November
* The Funeral Portrait
* Patterns In The Ivy
* Blackwater Park

Set 2

* Forest Of October
* Advent
* April Ethereal
* The Moor
* Wreath
* Hope Leaves
* Harlequin Forest
* The Lotus Eater

I don’t know if that is the actual cover being used for the DVD but it’s what they had posted in their myspace blog. Might just be a joke, I don’t know.

Acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela and famed producer Jason Suecof are both guest performers on the new Death Angel album Relentless Retribution, due out on September 14th on Nuclear Blast Records. Rodrigo y Gabriela are featured in the song “Claws In Deep” and Jason Suecof does a guest solo in the song “Truce“. Relentless Retribution was recorded and produced by Suecof in Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida. Death Angel will be direct support on Soilwork’s upcoming Panic Over North America tour. Below is the tracklisting for Relentless Retribution.Relentless Retribution Track Listing:
1. Relentless Revolution
2. Claws In So Deep
3. Truce
4. Into The Arms of Righteous Anger
5. River Of Rapture
6. Absence Of Light
7. This Hate
8. Death Of The Meek
9. Opponents At Sides
10. I Chose The Sky
11. Volcanic
12. Where They Lay

It’s almost hard to believe that the punk movement happened over 30 years ago. I was still barely just born but it was happening. Hippies were seeing their era slowly dying as the Viet Nam war came to an end and the youth of that time were in revolt. This was a whole new revolution. It wasn’t a revolution of hugs, drugs and flower power. It was a revolution with aggression. Rock and roll would breed a heavier, angrier sub-genre. Punk was the new wave of controversial music and amongst a sea of half-ass bands was a “band with no name”.

Amebix started out as “The Band With No Name”. The British anarcho-punk band was among many that would see a short lived run before the punk era died out with many other fads of the mid 80′s. Not without a fight, England’s Amebix, with founders Rob “Barron” Miller and brother Chris “Stig” Miller would release 2 Lp’s, 3 Ep’s and 3 live albums before going on a 21 year hiatus in 1987.

Fast forward to 2010 and Amebix have remixed and released a 4 song Ep of past hits after reuniting in 2008. Redux was remixed by current drummer Roy Mayorga, better known for his drumming in Stone Sour and Soulfly. Redux features Amebix’s songs ‘Arise’, ‘Winter’, ‘Chain Reaction’ and a live version of “Progress?’.

Not being familiar with Amebix, I did some research on the band and I found the originals of each song streaming and decided to compare them to the remixed versions. The originals sound like obvious, low-budget early 80′s production. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. That is still something that most music fanatics love to hear. We enjoy that old, organic sound. The remixes resurrect the songs and bring them back to life with a modern sound and feel. Good, timeless music has the ability to still grab and move you, no matter how old or rough sounding as it may be. All four songs on the album are simple yet the bring an extremely large amount of energy and aggression “Arise” has that fist raising anthem-like message of stop being part of the problem and make yourself part of the solution. “Arise. Get off your knees. GET-OFF-YOUR-KNEES!“.

If you’re a metal fan, especially of the earlier generation that appreciates the influence what punk had on metal and it’s early evolution, then you will surely enjoy Amebix and their Reduc Ep.  Redux was released on June 28th on Profane Existence and is available in as a digital download, CD and even a 12″ vinyl Ep. If you want to learn more about Amebix, visit their official site. You can listen to the tracks from Redux below and if you’re interested in purchasing the album or other Amebix merch, visit their Merch site.

2008 proved to be a great year for metal releases. As the norm, it also proved to be a great year for highly anticipated albums being disappointments. That’s expected though. Looking back at my Top Ten Albums Of 2008 when I wrote for Metal Martyr, it makes me wonder. Kataklysm? Number 1? I don’t know what I was thinking there. I mean I like Kataklysm and everything but Prevail as my top pick of 2009? Anyway, let me get to my point.

In 2008 I kept hearing great things about Enslaved‘s Vertabre and I don’t think it was until 2009 that I actually got around to listening to Vertabre. It would have made my top 10 if I had, but it seems every year I miss a few good albums that would have made my list. So with the new Enslaved album coming out later this year, I’m definitely going to be on top of this one. 2009 has had almost too much to offer as far as new album releases and there is still more to come. Axioma Ethica Odini will see a North America release on September 28th on Nuclear Blast Records. The cover was designed by Norway’s Truls Espedal, who has done every album cover since 2001′s Monumension.

Veteran Florida Death Metal band Malevolent Creation have uploaded a new song from their 11th studio album, Invidious Dominion. The new track called “Slaughterhouse” can be found on Malevolent Creation’s Myspace. Invidious Dominion will be released on August 24th via Nuclear Blast Records. Presser with tracklisting and tour dates follows:

Invidious Dominion was produced and recorded by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS, KRISIUN, GOATWHORE) at Mana Studios in Florida. The cover art was brought to life this time around by renowned artist Pär Olofsson (THE FACELESS, IMMORTAL, ABYSMAL DAWN).

Invidious Dominion Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. United Hate
3. Conflict Finalized
4. Slaughterhouse
5. Compulsive Face Breaker
6. Lead Spitter
7. Target Rich Environment
8. Antagonized
9. Born Again Hard
10. Corruptor
11. Invidious Dominion

MALEVOLENT CREATION will be direct support to EXODUS on the “March of Brutality” tour this August/September.

MALEVOLENT CREATION Tour Dates:

07/22/10 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA

07/23/10 The Muse – Nashville, TN

07/24/10 The Canopy Club – Urbana, IL (CENTRAL ILLINOIS METALFEST)

07/25/10 Fubar – St. Louis, MO (w/ ORIGIN, GIGAN)

07/26/10 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH (w/ GIGAN)

07/27/10 Broadway Joe’s – Buffalo, NY (w/ GIGAN)

07/28/10 Championships Bar & Grill – Trenton, NJ (w/ GIGAN)

07/29/10 Club Europa – Brooklyn, NY (w/ GIGAN)

07/30/10 Sonar – Baltimore, MD (SUMMER SLAUGHTER)

07/31/10 Ground Zero – Spartanburg, SC (w/ GIGAN)

08/01/10 Brass Mug – Tampa, FL (w/ GIGAN)

March Of Brutality Tour W/ EXODUS, MALEVOLENT CREATION, HOLY GRAIL, BONDED BY BLOOD

08/10/10 Woody’s Last Resort – Laredo, TX (NO EXODUS)

08/13/10 The Cheyenne Saloon – Las Vegas, NV (NO EXODUS)

08/14/10 Elbo Room – San Francisco, CA (MALEVOLENT SOLO SHOW)

08/16/10 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR

08/17/10 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC – CANADA

08/18/10 Studio Seven – Seattle, WA

08/19/10 Neurolox – Boise, ID

08/20/10 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT

08/21/10 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO

08/23/10 Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL

08/24/10 The Mod Club – Toronto, ON – CANADA

08/25/10 Les Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC – CANADA

08/27/10 The Palladium – Worcester, MA

08/28/10 The Gramercy Theater – New York, NY

08/29/10 Club Polaris – Philadelphia, PA

08/31/10 Jaxx – W. Springfield, VA

09/01/10 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH

09/02/10 Phoenix Hill Tavern – Louisville, KY

09/03/10 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA

09/04/10 The Social – Orlando, FL

09/05/10 Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

09/07/10 The Door – Dallas, TX

09/08/10 Emo’s – Austin, TX

09/09/10 Club 101 – El Paso, TX ç NO EXODUS

09/10/10 The Rock – Tucson, AZ

09/11/10 The Galaxy Theatre – Santa Ana, CA

09/12/10 The Avalon – Santa Clara, CA

09/13/10 New Oasis – Sparks, NV

09/14/10 Club Khaos – Amarillo, TX (NO EXODUS)

09/15/10 The Marquee – Tulsa, OK (NO EXODUS)

09/17/10 Big Daddy’s – Tallahassee, FL (NO EXODUS)

MALEVOLENT CREATION’s latest album, “Doomsday X”, was released in the U.S. in July 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records and in Europe in August 2007 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded and engineered at Mercury Recording Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida by longtime friend and producer (and sometimes session member) Gus Rios, and is said to be the most diverse MALEVOLENT CREATION album recorded to date and “without a doubt their fastest!!” Mick Thomson, guitarist for SLIPKNOT, contributed a “ripping” guitar solo to the song “Deliver My Enemy”.

Malevolent Creation in the studio

The Crinn are touring in support of their release Dreaming Saturn, which came out on April 9th, 2010. It’s a very complex album. The Crinn Bassist Chad White was recently interviewed by Infernal Masquerade.

Soilwork recently released The Panic Broadcast and are embarking on the “Panic Over North America Tour 2010“, dragging along Death Angel (Who will be releasing a new album soon), Swashbuckle, Mutiny Within and Augury. Swashbuckle will also be featured in the long line up of the 70,000 tons of Metal Cruise. Better watch those guys. They might try to take over the ship and pillage for booty.  After the fold, you’ll find tour dates.

Jul 16 2010 The Gramercy Theatre New York, New York , US
Jul 17 2010 The Palladium Worcester, MA
Jul 18 2010 Foufounes Electriques Montreal, QC, CANADA
Jul 19 2010 Opera House Toronto, ON, CANADA
Jul 20 2010 Peabody’s Cleveland, Ohio, US
Jul 21 2010 Blondie’s Detroit, MI, US
Jul 22 2010 Reggies Rock Club Chicago, Illinois , US
Jul 23 2010 The Rave Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Jul 24 2010 The Rock Maplewood, Maine , US
Jul 27 2010 El Corazon Seattle, Washington, US
Jul 28 2010 Rickshaw Theater Vancouver, BC, CANADA
Jul 29 2010 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, Oregon, US
Jul 30 2010 Slim’s San Francisco, California, US
Jul 31 2010 The Galaxy Theatre Santa Ana, California, US
Aug 1 2010 Ramona Mainstage Ramona, California, US
Aug 2 2010 The Clubhouse Tempe, Arizona, US
Aug 3 2010 The Rock Tucson, Arizona, US
Aug 5 2010 Emo’s Austin, Texas, US
Aug 6 2010 Ridglea Theater Ft. Worth, Texas , US
Aug 7 2010 Warsaw Houston, Texas
Aug 9 2010 The Club @ Firestone Orlando, FL, US
Aug 10 2010 Volume 11 Raleigh, North Dako, US
Aug 11 2010 Headliner’s Music Hall Louisville, Kentucky, US
Aug 12 2010 Canal Club Richmond, VA
Aug 13 2010 Sonar Baltimore, Maryland, US
Aug 14 2010 Diesel Nightclub Pittsburgh, PA, US
Aug 15 2010 Webster Theater Hartford, CT, US
Aug 16 2010 The Dagobert Quebec City, QC, CANADA
Aug 17 2010 Music Hall London, ON, CANADA
Aug 18 2010 Emerson Theater Indianapolis, IN, US

Although they didn’t win the No Need For A Label contest, they were definitely my pick. At least they didn’t lose to a shitty band. Arizona’s Hemoptysis have been on a fast-track to fame with their debut Ep, Who Needs A Shepard and now are tracking the drums for their first full length studio album with famed producer Ryan Greene. Greene has worked with the likes of legendary metal bands/artists such as Alice Cooper, Megadeth and Mr. Big. Here is the presser.

Hollywood, CA – July 12, 2010 – Hemoptysis, two time L.A./Phoenix Music
Awards ‘Metal Band of the Year’, have entered Validus Recording Studio
in Hollywood, California to begin work on their full length debut album.
This as of yet untitled CD is the follow up to the band’s 2008 EP, ‘Who
Needs A Shepherd?’. The release date for the album is TBA.

The new CD will be produced and engineered by veteran producer, Ryan
Greene, who has worked with Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Mr Big, and many
others. Slated to feature 10 new songs, it will also include a newly
recorded version of “Shadow of Death.” This song originally appeared on
the EP, but was re-recorded/produced by Ryan Greene, mastered by George
Marino (Sterling Sound), and released as a single. “Shadow of Death” was
also chosen for the band’s debut full production music video.

CD cover art for the new album will be provided courtesy of Evil Dave, a
tattoo artist from Incision Tattoo in Glendale, Arizona who has done
work for former Metal Blade artists, Vehemence, as well as others. Evil
Dave was the artist who created the Hemoptysis mascot, Vetis, the
creature featured on the cover of ‘Who Needs A Shepherd?’. The band held
a ‘Name The Beast’ contest and Vetis (Tempter of the Holy or Demon of
Corruption) was chosen.

Hemoptysis will be filming the recording sessions to keep fans up to
date on the album’s progress. Videos will be posted on the band’s
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/hemoptysis), Myspace
(http://www.myspace.com/hemoptysismetal), and Youtube
(http://www.youtube.com/hemoptysismetal). Visit the official Hemoptysis
website at http://hemoptysismetal.com for more information.

It has been rumored for a couple of weeks now, even though we heard it straight from Mustaine’s mouth if you watched the video interview from 24ur.com. Dave Mustaine mentioned that Anthrax would be joining them on their American Carnage tour. A lot of people got excited to find out that they were going to see Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax and Testament all on the same stage. Unfortunately all the information wasn’t really put out there and people just assumed.

The whole story is this; Anthrax will be joining Slayer and Megadeth for the SECOND leg of the American Carnage tour. Testament will only be along on the first leg of the tour from July 23rd to September 4th. Blabbermouth.net “exclusively” reported the second set of confirmed dates for leg 2 of American Carnage. confirmed tour dates for both legs after the fold.

American Carnage Leg 1: Megadeth, Slayer and Testament

Jul. 23 - Pavillon de la Jeunesse Quebec City, QC, CA
Jul. 24 - Heavy MTL – Parc Jean-Drapeau Montreal, QC, CA
Jul. 26 - Metro Centre Halifax, NS, CA
Jul. 27 - Moncton Coliseum Moncton, NB, CA
Jul. 29 - Molson Amphitheatre Toronto, ONT, CA
Jul. 30 - John Labatt Centre Center London, ONT, CA
Aug. 11 – Glens Falls Civic Center Glens Falls, New York, US Find Tickets
Aug. 12 - Izod Center East Rutherford, New Jersey, US
Aug. 14 - Tsongas Arena Boston, Massachuse, US
Aug. 15 - Susquehanna Bank Center Camden, New Jersey, US
Aug. 16 - Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, Connecticu, US
Aug. 18 - Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre Cleveland, Ohio, US
Aug. 19 - Cobo Arena Detroit, Michigan, US
Aug. 20 - UIC Pavillon Chicago, Illinois, US
Aug. 21 - Roy Wilkins Auditorium Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Aug. 23 - Cap Fed Park @ Sandstone Arena KS, Kansas, US
Aug. 25 - Magness Arena Denver, Colorado, US
Aug. 26 - Tingley Coliseum Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Aug. 27 - Dodge Theatre Phoenix, Arizona, US
Aug. 29 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre San Diego, California, US
Aug. 30 - Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California, US
Aug. 31 - Cow Palace San Francisco, California, US
Sep. 1 - Arco Arena Sacramento, California, US
Sep. 3 - Wamu Theatre Seattle, Washington, US
Sep. 4 - Washington County Fairgrounds Portland, Oregon, US Find Tickets
America Carnage Leg 2: Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax
Sep. 24 – Verizon Wireless Theatre, Dallas, TX
Sep. 25 – AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Sep. 26 – Verizon Wireless Theatre, Houston, TX
Sep. 28 – Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA
Sep. 30 – Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
Oct. 01 – The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Atlanta, GA
Oct. 02 – Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL
Oct. 03 – Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, Miami, FL
Oct. 05 – Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Oct. 06 – 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD
Oct. 08 – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, Long Island, NY
Oct. 09 – Toyota Pavilion @ Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA
Oct. 10 – LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH
Oct. 12 – Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY
Oct. 14 – War Memorial Coliseum, Ft.Wayne, IN
Oct. 15 – DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 16 – Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 19 – E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Oct. 20 – The Pearl, Las Vegas, NV
Oct. 21 – Gibson Amphitheatre, Hollywood, CA

The Sword have released a new single called “Tres Brujas” from their upcoming album, WArp Riders (Release date of Aug. 24th). You can preview the track below (low quality) in the Youtube player. To purchase the single from iTunes Click Here.

Seriously? A&E apparently does pretty well with Gene Simmon’s Family Jewels. I try to watch every now and then but I can never get through a full episode because it all seems to be so poorly scripted. What? No, it’s a reality show, right? They would lead you to believe, but I think most anyone will tell you that that shit is scripted in places where A&E deems it too boring for television.

Up next on the dignity chopping block will be a long time favorite of mine since the early 80′s. Dee Snider and Twisted Sister had my attention as a very young kid. My brother got Stay Hungry one year for Christmas. Unfortunately, metal was just a phase for him. Fortunately, it wasn’t for me. Stay Hungry is still a timeless classic in my opinion. Anyway, on to my point.

Dee Snider and A& E are going to start a new reality show on July 27th. It’s called Growing Up Twisted and it will star Dee Snider, of course, and his 4 children and wife of 34 years. Dee has always been a pretty classy guy that took care of himself and for the most part, made good decisions over the years. Mtv used the Osbournes and exposed the family as dysfunctional. A&E doesn’t shoot for that and it’s obvious with Gene Simmons Family Jewels. They don’t shoot for the shock factor and Growing Up Twisted will be no different. In fact it will probably be pretty boring, but I’ll check it out. Here is how Noisecreep described the upcoming show.

‘Growing Up Twisted,’ will debut on July 27. But don’t expect to see rock star tantrums and exercises in indulgence, because Snider’s clan is a relatively ambitious and well-behaved batch.

His oldest son, Jesse is an aspiring vocalist who also wants to write comics, do voice-over work and play semi-pro football. The next oldest brother is Shane, a comic actor and aspiring comedy writer. Then there’s Cody, a writer/director and filmmaker. And last comes Cheyenne, a precocious 13-year-old who is interested in music and fashion. ‘Growing Up Twisted’ also features Snider’s wife Suzette, who has been married to the rocker for 34 years and is an FIT graduate, clothing designer, professional hair and makeup artist. “She’s been working with my band Twisted Sister since day one.

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine will be releasing his autobiography, “Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir” on August 3rd by ‘It Books’ publishers. The 368 page, hard-cover book documents the life and times of the founder of Megadeth. Dave Mustaine’s career has been tainted with drug and alcohol abuse that got him fired from Metallica and left behind more enemies than friends throughout the years. The outspoken and often brash metal frontman gets to tell his side of the stories that the press has taken out of context time and time again. Although much of it may be contradicted by former members, such as Jeff Young, The book is supposedly a tell-all about years of touring through heroin addiction, recovery, hiring and firing band members and being “saved”. I can’t wait to read it.

Dave Mustaine will be signing copies of the book at Unity Temple On The Plaza, Sanctuary at 707 W 47th Street in Kansas City, Missouri from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm. The book must be purchased from Rainy Day Books. To inquire about admission packages, call 913-384-3126. I’m not sure how this is going to work, but I think you purchase the admission package which comes with a ticket that states that you have paid for the book and he has copies of the book there that are given to you when you redeem your ticket. Your best bet is to call the number (913-384-3126) for inquiries.

If you can’t make the signing for the obvious reason that you don;t live anywhere near Kansas City, you can Purchase the book at Amazon.com.

The other day The Sword revealed the Atari flashback triggering artwork for their third album, Warp Riders. Today they have revealed the track-listing for the album as well. Warp Riders is due out on August 24th on Kemodo Records. Members have stated that this is going to be different from their previous two albums and has more of a hard rock sound than a heavy metal appeal. Either way, I’m game. I certainly hope and expect that this will have a vinyl release as it would make a great looking record. Track-listing after the fold.

1. Acheron/Unearthing the Orb
2. Tres Brujas
3. Arrows in the Dark
4. The Chronomancer I: Hubris
5. Lawless Lands
6. Astraea’s Dream
7. The Warp Riders
8. Night City
9. The Chronomancer II: Nemesis
10. (The Night the Sky Cried) Tears of Fire

Decrepit Birth‘s new release, Polarity, will be upon us soon. Your chance to preorder the album is here. You can buy the album in the “Digi” version for $11.05 or a CD/T-shirt combo for $23.00. Nuclear Blast intends to begin shipping the preorders by July 20th in order for it to get to you by the release date of July 27th. Preorder Here.

Also, Decrepit Birth in association with Decibel Magazine is giving away a Jackson Guitar, autographed by the band. Jackson is the choice of Decrepit Birth guitarist Matt Sotelo. The guitar they are giving away looks to be a Jackson JS32T King V. To enter all you have to do is email them at decrepitbirth@decibelmagazine.com. Okay, it appears that the email link is not valid right now. I’ll update it when they fix it.

Catch Decrepit Birth on the Summer Slaughter Tour 2010 and listen to a new track from Polarity at Decrepit Birth’s Myspace.

Summer Slaughter Tour Dates

July 17th San Diego, CA – Soma
July 18th Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues
July 20th El Paso, TX – Club 101
July 21st San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
July 22nd Austin, TX – Emo’s
July 23rd Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX – Ridglea Theatre
July 24th Houston, TX – Warsaw Ballroom
July 26th Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
July 27th Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
July 28th Raleigh, NC – Volume 11
July 29th Philadelphia, PA – TLA
July 30th Baltimore, MD – Sonar
July 31st Worcester, MA – The Palladium
August 01st New York, NY – Irving Plaza
August 02nd Quebec City, QC – Imperial
August 03rd Montreal, QC – Club Soda
August 04th Toronto, ON – Opera House
August 05th Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
August 06th Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
August 07th Detroit, MI – Harpos
August 08th Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
August 09th Chicago, IL – House of Blues
August 10th Minneapolis, MN – First Ave
August 11th Indianapolis, IN – Emerson Theatre
August 13th Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
August 14th Salt Lake City, UT – Club Sound
August 16th Calgary, AB – Republik
August 17th Edmonton, AB – The Starlite Room
August 19th Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
August 20th Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
August 21st Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
August 23rd San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore