Hosting Issues

As you may have noticed, we've experienced serious problems with our former host in the past few months. Despite our numerous complaints about the site's performance, they wouldn't do diddly squat and blamed us for having too much traffic and content for their puny "servers", so it became apparent that we had to move on.

Unfortunately, the douchebags made it as hard as possible for us to switch smoothly, and we are still recovering. Thankfully, we have a full backup, and everything should be back to normal shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

BRAND NEW METAL FEST

HEADLINED BY FORMER IRON MAIDEN VOCALIST BLAZE BAYLEY

Just when it seemed time to sheath the long sword and nurse your tender livers back to health, JB's in Dudley are set to host the inagural Dudley Metalfest.

Running from September 25th - 27th, the indoor event is to be headlined by such prestigious acts as former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley (Solo), German power metal overlords Primal Fear and Swedish progresters Evergrey.

The complete festival line up is - Touchstone, Eastern Front, Hellfighter, Warpath, Brainstorm, Marshall Law, Circus Maximus, Power Quest, Xandria, Swallow The Sun, Primordial, E-Force, Northland, Kalmah, Dragonland, Elvenking, Omnium Gathering, Vision Divine, Holy Moses, Fairyland, Hanging Doll and Metalfest competition winners Ascension.

Tickets are on sale now, with Friday tickets are priced at £10, Saturday and Sunday tickets are £30 each and weekend tickets cost only £50. Tickets can be purchased from , the venue directly or their website jbsdudley.co.uk.

Doors open at 6pm Friday and 12pm Saturday and Sunday. JB's can be found at 15 Castle Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4QF  For directions, check the website or contact the venue.

"After five years of countless cold calls, innumerable bounced emails and literally hundreds of hours spent transcribing interview tapes, we bring you this definitive collection of untold stories from these genre-defining landmarks. Now go get your dork on.from the Introduction

Precious Metal

Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
Edited by Albert Mudrian

July 28, 2009 (Da Capo Press) - Edited by Albert MudrianEditor-in-Chief of Decibel magazinePrecious Metal takes you inside the recording studios where the most intense heavy metal albums of all time were created, providing background on the savage guitar sounds and bloodcurdling screams that have defined a musical genre.

To compile this book, Mudrian pored through Decibelrenowned for its metal Hall of Fame interview seriesand expanded its interviews to bring you face-to-face with each and every band member who contributed to twenty-five immortal albums. Revealing the operatic scope of each bands vision and their uphill battles to lay down tracks that would endure, the pieces offer a fly-on-the-wall look at three decades of rocking out. Highlights include:

• Ozzy Osbournes devastating departure from Black Sabbathand their reinvention with Heaven and Hell, which captured a new generation of metal fans.
• The quick rise and fall of Diamond Head, whose proto-thrash classic Lightning to the Nations (a one-week recording demo) catapulted them into the pantheon.
• Sleeps 52-minute one-track release, Jerusalem, and the 1.316-second song You Suffer that earned Napalm Death a world record.
• A double arrest for Emperorthe guitarist for arson, the drummer for murderthat threatened the completion of In the Nightside Eclipse.
• The grotesque, taboo-shattering lyrics of Cannibal Corpseand the shocking Tomb of the Mutilated cover art that decimated the limits of zombie pornography.

Delving deep into the bands diverse influencesranging from the usual suspects like Led Zeppelin to Wagnerian opera (Kyuss) and reggae (Napalm Death)Precious Metal celebrates the legacy of their landmark albums and amplifies the risks taken along the way.

To celebrate the books release, on Friday, July 31st at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Decibel is holding a special book release show. Grindcore legends Repulsion will kick off our with a once-in-a-lifetime performance of their Hall of Fame-inducted classic Horrified in its entirety! Pig Destroyer and Brutal Truth will be there to tear the venue a new one, too. A few tickets are still available and can be purchased here.

Albert Mudrian is the Editor-in-Chief of Decibel magazine and the author of the cult classic Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

August 1, 2009 $18.95 Paperback Original 368 Pages Music ISBN: 978-0-306-81806-6

The Most Hardcore Metal Musicians, in Their Own Words&

I guess I was never a real Satanistit was just a pose.
Nicke Andersson
Entombed, Left Hand Path

It felt so good to play liveit felt like you were killing somebody.
Josh Homme
Kyuss, Welcome to Sky Valley

The blood, the guts and the gorethats what its all about.
Bob Rusay
Cannibal Corpse, Tomb of the Mutilated

Everythings an experiment, you know? Thats the beauty of art.
David Vincent
Morbid Angel, Altars of Madness

Eyehategod was started as a way to piss people off. All the heavy music around here was fast, thrashy stuff, so Eyehategod slowed it down as much as possible&And it worked, man. People fuckin hated em.
Brian Patton
Eyehategod, Take as Needed for Pain

"[There were songs about] making dog food out of humans&I just thought it was turning things upside down.
Michael Amott
Carcass, Necroticism

We rehearsed in the dark, so we could play the songs without looking, which is fucking stupid.
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Opeth, Orchid

Every stereo Ive seen has a volume knob, but for some reason, people seem to demand that their records be obscenely loud.
Kurt Ballou
Converge, Jane Doe

You can be as pretentious as you want if youre growling lyrics&You could be the death metal Poet Laureate if you wanted to.
Nick Holmes
Paradise Lost, Gothic

When I eventually got sobered up, which was three years later, I listened to Heaven and Hell, and, to this day, I cannot remember doing some of the songs. I cant remember what studio it was. I cant remember playing it at all. I have no memory.
Bill Ward
Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell

The Harm.us Editors' Choice Awards 2008

Wayfaerer's Top 20 of 2008
Blasphemer's Top 10 of 2008
The Top 10 from Down Under 2008
Cuchulainn's Top 25 of 2008

Swedish progressive metallers OPETH have released a very special digital EP called "Burden" featuring two rare B-sides, including a much-sought-after cover of ALICE IN CHAINS' "Would?" and a track previously available for a limited time only, "Mellotron Heart".

OPETH's latest video for "Burden" received its online premiere on November 4. While Danish director Lasse Hoile (DREAM THEATER, PORCUPINE TREE, STEVEN WILSON) shot and directed the storyline in Denmark, OPETH filmed the band performance at the Vogue theater in Vancouver, Canada.

"The Roundhouse Tapes", the long-awaited new DVD from OPETH, was released in Europe on Peaceville Records on October 27 (UK - November 10, USA - November 11).

"The Roundhouse Tapes" contains a critically acclaimed OPETH performance recorded at The Roundhouse, London in 2006. Described by Rock Sound as "a show of spectacular greatness in this legendary venue & an amazing performance by one of Europe's premier epic metal bands," the DVD perfectly captures the band in scintillating form playing a selection of classics from throughout their career.

Metallica have just premiered the video for their single "The Day That Never Comes" on their MySpace page. The epic clip was directed by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg and filmed this past July in southern California. On working with the acclaimed filmmaker, [guitarist] James Hetfield explained to MTV.com, "That's the beauty, I think, of writing vague but powerful lyrics that someone like a movie director can interpret it in his own way and obviously, someone creative is able to take the metaphors and apply them to whatever he needs in his own life."

Harm.us Infographic Series: Intro Guides to Metal
In this day and age, it pays to be informed. That's why the Harm.us editors have taken the time to craft introductory guides to heavy metal; for the novice, curious about this wonderful genre, and for the seasoned veteran who wishes to expand his or her horizons. Enjoy! (More to be added!)

Black Metal: A type of metal music
Power Metal: The most powerful of all the metals

Harm Editor Blasphemer invites you to check out his solo project at this location. Six lengthy songs are available for streaming or download.

"It doesn't get any more underground than this!" -Blasphemer

Since it's just almost April, it's definitely time to post the consensus Top 3 albums of 2007. This is a poll of all Harm writers in correlation with each Top Ten lists:

1. Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
2. Therion - Gothic Kabbalah
3. The Absence - Riders of the Plague

Welcome to Aussie Music Month at 666metal.com!
During February, we've declared it to be a celebration of Australian Heavy Metal, showcasing Aussie metal talent through interviews, reviews and month-long feature articles. Join in the fun and discover the roar from Down Under!

Elemental Burn Exclusive Interview
Elemental Burn @ The Hi-Fi Bar with Cafe Medula and Template
Review of Berserkerfox - Puppets to the Powers