Dubbed the “Seal of Xatanitos,” five certificates will be placed randomly amidst the 5,000 copies of the collectible reissue.  The prize will only be disclosed to each of the five winners.

Guitarist Adam Jones recently discussed the release with Revolver in an interview you can read right here.

The 21^st anniversary edition is limited to 5,000 copies and features art direction by Jones, illustrations by legendary artist Adi Granov and design packaging by Mackie Osborne, who has collaborated with Tool on many albums including 10,000 Days, Lateralus and Salival, as well as posters and merchandise.

The 5,000 copies will be broken down into five variations (each 1,000 pieces) with each set featuring a slight alteration of the exterior graphics and included bonus items which include a new stereoscopic image for fans to use with their glasses from the 10,000 Days packaging.

The packages will only be available via Tool’s website (www.toolband.com) on Mar. 26 with the band setting aside a small number of packages (200 of each variation) for Toolarmy members.  Toolarmy members will be able to purchase on Mar. 22 via Toolarmy.com.

by J. Bennett

Adam Jones is not necessarily the easiest guy to get an interview with. “We’re very picky about who we talk to,” the Tool guitarist (pictured above, second from left) tells Revolver. “Most of the time we only talk to people who have been very supportive and cool to us, because sometimes you’ll talk to people who don’t know much about the band, or they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, you guys are great,’ but then the article will be about how they think what we’re putting out is stupid. But Revolver has been awesome to us.”

Not to pat ourselves on the back or anything, but that’s presumably why we made the cut when it came time for the band to discuss the forthcoming reissue of their 1992 debut EP, Opiate.  Tool will commemorate the 21^st anniversary of its release on March 26 with a limited-edition run of collectible CDs, complete with new packaging and stereoscopic artwork in the vein of their 2006 album, 10,000 Days.  As such, we asked Jones to take us on a walk down memory lane.

REVOLVER What do you remember about the writing process for the songs on Opiate?
ADAM JONES That’s a loaded question because we’d been playing live and we got multiple record offers. It got very strange because at that point we were doing this as a hobby. We all had day jobs. I was doing makeup effects and art. Maynard was doing set design. Dan

Someone at the label was like, “You guys gotta put out your heaviest stuff! That’s how you’re gonna get noticed!” It took us a long time to figure out how politics work at a record company. That’s the money side of the fence, so there’s a different perspective. But obviously one helps the other. So we said OK. We picked the heaviest songs and did this, like, teaser record. We thought it was a record, but the record company counted it as an EP. But that’s a different story.

What about the recording process? Opiate marked the first time you worked with producer Sylvia Massey.
Well, there were a lot of people besides Sylvia. There was a lot of outside influence. But we were kinda like a well-oiled machine. We had those songs down, so it didn’t take a long time to record them. I think we recorded it at Sound City, and it was our first time in a big professional studio like that. Then we rented a huge professional recording truck and parked in back of the Jello Loft to record those live tracks at the end the record. We thought maybe people hearing the energy of the band in a controlled environment and then the energy of the band in a live environment might be a good way of presenting ourselves.

What’s your favorite song on Opiate?
It’s a good question, but it’s like asking what my favorite kind of ice cream is. I don’t have a favorite because I like so many. So I don’t know. I like ’em all. “Jerk-Off” is really fun to play for me as a guitar player, but I don’t think I have a favorite.

What can you tell us about the hidden track, “The Gaping Lotus Experience”?
A lot of times when you’re in the studio trying to record as a band, you’re all in your own little rooms and you can’t see each other. Maybe you’re trying to capture the performance of the drums as a starting point, so you’re playing the same track over and over again because someone fucks up or it’s not feeling right. And then at some point, you just start jamming something else. Sometimes it’ll be a really bad cover song. In those days, Maynard would jump in and be funny or just start doing lyrics off the top of his head. And the tape is rolling, you know? So we looked back on that particular bit and we decided to include it as a hidden track. It’s a contrast in that we’re very serious as a band but we’re not very serious about ourselves. Which I think is a good thing to indicate.

What kind of expectations did the label have for Opiate at the time?
I don’t know. There were a lot of people I liked at our record label at the time, but I really liked the president. It was kind of a small label, which is why we went with them, and we learned very quickly that if we wanted something done we had to go directly to him. He just liked the energy of the band and thought we had a lot of potential. I remember he told us, “I discovered U2!” I don’t know if that’s true, but he gave us the artistic freedom we were looking for. We could’ve signed for a lot more money, but we took less money so we could have more control artistically. We really wanted to make sure the music was pushed rather than, “Which one’s cuter?” or “Which one jumps around onstage?” And they were very supportive of that.

But then there was the marketing side, which is where we started butting heads with the people that worked there. I could go on and on about how so many people there just didn’t get us. They were a very diverse label—they had rap, they had R&B, they had…never mind. I don’t even wanna talk about it. They just wanted something to hit. But we went with them because they had Green Jellö. Bill Manspeaker from Green Jellö told us they were very happy there because they were very supportive of how weird those guys were. But it really worked out great for us once we figured out we just had to call the president. Whatever it was, he’d be like, “Yeah—let’s do it! And let’s throw a little more money at it…” And you never hear that. Nowadays, if you want money from a record label, you gotta chew glass and bleed all over yourself.

Overall, how does Opiate hold up for you 21 years after its release?
It’s kinda like a time machine. It takes you back to that time and what you were thinking. Creatively speaking, there’s always room for improvement. Playing some of those songs live 21 years later, you’ve obviously evolved. And now Justin is in the band, which makes it that much different and better. So it’s fine. I mean, I’m sure you’ve written an article where you go back and look at it and wish you’d set it up differently. So you can always change stuff. But I’m very happy with it. It’s really fun to give it a birthday and celebrate it. It’s more of a special thank-you for the fans. I know that sounds weird because we’re selling it, but we just wanted to make sure we did something unique and special with it—which is why rather than just reissue the music, we’re going back and readdressing all the packaging and artwork. I felt like George Lucas going back and adding digital effects to Star Wars. I know a lot of people are against that, but I’m into it. It doesn’t change the story. I think it’s great. It’s stuff that you wanted to do back then but you couldn’t.

Is there anything specific you would change about it?
Maybe the way it’s mixed. But there’s a politic in that whole thing, too. You can’t just explain it to somebody, as far as capturing your music the way you want. As far as my guitar playing?  Yeah, maybe I’d redo a lead or use a different effect here and there, but overall I like it. It’s something I’m very proud of.

Why did you decide to do the reissue for the 21^st anniversary rather than the more traditional 20^th?   Is the idea that Opiate is legal now?
No, it’s because we’re dummies. We talked about it when the 20^th anniversary was coming up, but it never got done. A year later, it was like, “Oh, fuck—we missed our window.” But now it’s 21, so yeah—it can drink!

Are there bonus tracks on this thing?
There are no bonus tracks. It’s the original CD in new packaging. We’re writing right now, so there’s not really the time to readdress that stuff. That’s why we’re not making that many. If it was a bigger commercial thing, there might be an expanded version.

There’re five different versions of the artwork, right?
I’d call them variations. That defines it a little better. There’s hand-pressed printing, there’s old machine printing. Mackie Osborne is kind of celebrating the intimacy and originality of this thing. If we had the budget, we’d take everything as far as possible. I’ve always lived my life in terms of what I want out of something, and what I want is to go to the store and buy something and go, “Goddamn, I got more than my money’s worth.” I want something where you can tell a lot of time went into it. That’s what I love about painting. I appreciate stuff that people do in one day, but I appreciate seeing the layers of paint and the brushstrokes more—seeing that this person really ripped their guts out trying to capture something. But to answer the question, there will be five variations in color, and a thousand copies of each. So five thousand copies total.  And I know they’re putting extra stuff in it, like some stickers, and I did a 3-D separation of some of the artwork so you can view it through the stereoscopic goggles from the 10,000 Days album. I think there’s a golden ticket, too, that’s supposed to be in one of every thousand. I’m not sure what you get if you get the golden ticket—maybe tickets to one of our shows or something—I don’t think we’ve decided yet. We’re still putting it together. It’s actually being printed right now.

So what exactly is happening with the artwork?
When we did the original art for Opiate, I had a lot of people helping me and a lot of outside influence. I was doing makeup effects and sculpting in Hollywood. So for the art, we picked the song “Opiate” and tried to design artwork around it. For the reissue, it was really nice to readdress that, especially my priest, because I wanted to get something a little more mystical and three-dimensional going on. Obviously, sculpting is three-dimensional, but I’m talking about ideas and thinking. So I asked Adi Granov to come and work with us. He’s this amazing comic book illustrator, and he’s designed a lot of the Iron Man suits for the Iron Man movies. He hit me up on Facebook a while ago, and we became friends. So when it came time to do this Opiate packaging, I totally thought of him. I sent him some sketches and ideas, he sent some sketches back, and he just nailed it, man. So we turned it all over to Mackie—she’s worked on a lot of our stuff, and she’s Buzz Osborne’s wife—and she’s found this thick paper to print everything on that’s gonna make this thing really special and collectible.

Of course, everyone of my fucking friends is asking me for a free copy—the same people I never hear from until we play live in L.A. Maynard’s funny: Whenever we play L.A., he changes his outgoing message so whenever you call his phone it goes, “Buy a ticket.”

You mentioned earlier that you guys are in writing mode. What’s the status of new Tool music?
I guess you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t ask. It’s unfortunate that we haven’t put anything out in a while, but you know, we’ve changed as a band. It’s just like a marriage—you grow older, people change, and you’ve gotta adapt or move on. We’ve become even more eclectic and distant, so getting things done and getting together is very hard. There are a lot of other interests. But what I really want people to know is that it’s not a bad thing. I’m serious. I think there’s a little more respect now, and when there’s compromise, it’s a little more open. I don’t know if that’s just a matter of getting older and going, “Ah, fuck it,” or what.

I’ve been with these guys a long time, and we’ve outlasted all of our peers. I mean, I try to think of the bands we came up with that haven’t broken up or broken up and gotten back together, and I can’t think of one band. OK, the Melvins. But that’s it. And we kind of set that up early by deciding that no matter who does what we’re gonna split everything four ways. Some decisions have to be unanimous. Others are put to a vote. We’re really involved in the business side. We write our own checks. But as far as the writing? It’s been a little more lax—as in relaxed. But it’s nice. We live kind of cushy lives now, so we get together when we want. It makes everything go slow, which is unfortunate—we all would have liked to have been done with a new record a long time ago—but when it’s done, it’s gonna be good. And that’s the point. We’re not gonna put out something that sucks just to put it out. We also had two really bad things happen, things that I’m not gonna get into, that set us back emotionally and mentally. But we’re past them now, everybody’s recovered, and that process has kind of actually added to us focusing on being creative. So maybe sometimes bad things happen for a reason.

The former Dream Theater drummer — and current skinsman for Adrenaline Mob — has always been drawn to covers. He’s such a fan, in fact, that Adrenaline Mob will be releasing Coverta, an EP packed with eight covers of songs ranging from Dio to The Doors.

“I’m a huge fan of covers,” Portnoy says. “Doing covers is a chance to pay tribute to a favorite band, bring new life to an obscure gem, or perhaps help make a new generation of listeners aware of your influences. In any case, whether you play it safe and remain faithful to the original or completely rework and reinterpret the song, it’s always fun!”

Revolver asked Portnoy to list his favorite covers:

1. Metallica, “Mercyful Fate Medley” “I was always a huge Mercyful Fate fan and Metallica did the ultimate tribute with this amazing medley of riffs from the classic Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath albums. Tackling King Diamond’s vocals could’ve been impossible, but James did some great reinterpretations.”

2. Iron Maiden, “Cross Eyed Mary” “In the early days of Maiden, they would always record covers and extra B-sides for their 12-inch singles. This Jethro Tull cover was the B-side to “The Trooper” and tipped off Steve Harris’ appreciation of classic prog.”

3. Tool, “No Quarter” “Not many bands can cover Led Zeppelin and equal the original’s greatness, but I think Tool came damn close with this amazing version of Zeppelin’s moody and haunting classic.”

4. Anthrax, “Bring the Noise” “Anthrax have always done so many great covers through the years, ranging from the expected (Kiss and Sabbath) to the not so expected (Radiohead, Journey and Boston). Here’s an example of taking a cover that completely crosses over genres. Anthrax took this Public Enemy classic, gave it some serious balls and energy and kickstarted a metal and rap revolution that would reverberate for years. Forget about Run DMC doing “Walk This Way” … this is where metal and rap really crossed over!”

5. Judas Priest, “Diamonds and Rust” and “The Green Manalishi” “Two great examples of covering songs and making them your own. How many of you out there didn’t even realize these weren’t written by Priest? That’s right, these Judas Priest classics are actually covers of Joan Baez and Fleetwood Mac!”

The anniversary edition is limited to 5,000 copies and features art direction by Adam Jones, illustrations by legendary artist Adi Granov and design packaging by Mackie Osborne, who has collaborated with Tool on many albums including 10,000 Days, Lateralus and Salival, as well as posters and merchandise.

The 5,000 copies will be broken down as 5 x 1,000 runs with each set featuring a variation of the exterior graphics and included bonus items which include a new stereoscopic image for fans to use with their glasses from  the 10,000 Days packaging.

The packages will only be available via Tool’s website (www.toolband.com) on Mar. 26 and there will be no pre-orders.  A limit of three packages from each of the 5 x 1,000 versions will be in place.  More details to be announced soon.

Puscifer’s video for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which stars Maynard James Keenan and Dina Martina, can be viewed below.

The six-minute clip, which was directed by Mike King, arrives as Puscifer’s seven-song EP, Donkey Punch The Night, is released–you can get it on iTunes here. The collection includes covers of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Accept’s “Balls To The Wall,” as well as two new songs: “Breathe” and “Dear Brother.”  The set is rounded out by remixes of three of the songs.

UPDATE: The poll is closed. For the result, click right here.

A Day to Remember
TITLE: Common Courtesy
RELEASE DATE: Spring
When A Day to Remember released their new song, “Violence (Enough Is Enough)” late last year, frontman Jeremy McKinnon granted Revolver the exclusive interview on the track and the band’s forthcoming album. While the song is one of the group’s heaviest ever and, according to McKinnon, the new record will have “more heavier songs than on the past two records together”–which is fine by us, of course–he also adds that the album represents ADTR’s ongoing mission to be “your favorite band. Period. We’re trying to play all of your favorite styles of music and not have to switch CDs because I want to hear a pop-punk song or a hardcore song or an acoustic rock ballad.” Which also sounds find by us.

Alice in Chains
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
With 2009′s Black Gives Way to Blue, Alice in Chains pretty much pulled off the impossible: Create a new album 14 years after their last release and seven years after the death of iconic lead singer Layne Staley. As such, Black Gives Way to Blue was named Album of the Year by the Revolver staff and was voted on by the fans to win the same honors at the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods. Singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell says of the new album, “It’s got all the elements of any record we’ve put out, but it’s unlike any record we’ve put out.” He added, “Basically, it’s the next chapter in the Alice in Chains book.” That chapter was introduced late last year with the release of a new song, “Hollow”–listen to it right here.

Philip Anselmo and the Illegals
TITLE: Walk Through Exits Only
RELEASE DATE: Spring/summer
Preceded by two sampler tracks featured on a split 10″ with Warbeast, titled War of the Gargantuas, which is due out on January 8, Phil Anselmo’s highly anticipated solo album will finally see the light of day this year. Backing him on the record is Houston-based guitarist Mazi Montazeri, of whom Anselmo says, “If Ozzy Osbourne had his Tony Iommi and then found his Randy Rhoads when he went to do his solo stuff, I have found my Randy Rhoads.” The singer promises a “fucking very aggressive record”; we’ve heard the unmastered tracks and they easily outdo the two songs on War of the Gargantuas, delivering a dense, intense mix of extreme music styles–think Deathspell Omega with a hardcore edge and some Pantera groove.

Asking Alexandria
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
It has been a few monster-sized years for Asking Alexandria: The band rocked the Revolver Golden Gods in 2011, relocated to LA, opened for Guns N’ Roses, headlined the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour 2012, and pretty much claimed their spot as one of the top young metal outfits on the planet. And it will continue in 2013 as the band will release its third studio album this spring after gracing the cover of Revolver‘s January issue. According to frontman Danny Worsnop, their next album will be “a musical baby of Mötley Crüe and Slipknot.”

Avenged Sevenfold
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring/summer
Even though they didn’t put out a new record last year, Avenged Sevenfold had a very busy 2012. They won the “Best Live Band” and “Most Dedicated Fans” awards at the Revolver Golden Gods, they played at Metallica’s Orion Music + More festival, and released the song “Carry On” on Call of Duty: Black Ops II and appeared as characters in the game–you check out their appearance and the song right here. In an exclusive interview in late 2012, vocalist M. Shadows told Revolver that the band has about six solid new songs written and they have a Black Sabbath-esque, classic metal feel to them. Consider us fucking stoked.

Bad Religion
TITLE: True North
RELEASE DATE: January 22
Having influenced everyone from AFI, The Offspring, and Parkway Drive, melodic punk-rock pioneers Bad Religion are set to release their, count ‘em, 16th album in late January. We’ve heard it and it’s their fastest, most aggressive record since the ’90s. If you miss the days of Recipe for Hate, True North is for you.

Behemoth
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Fall
Polish extremists Behemoth are hard at work on their 10th full-length, which will be their first since 2009′s Evangelion and the first since frontman Nergal successfully battled leukemia. As of December, Nergal said that his band already had 30-40 minutes worth of new material and was, at the time, demoing it in a rehearsal studio. “I’m really thinking about my record,” he told SkullsNBones.com. “I’m dreaming my record, I’m eating my record, I’m shitting my record… I mean, everything just comes to the same thing: this artistic release that’s gonna take place in the fall next year.”

Black Sabbath
TITLE: 13
RELEASE DATE: June
Over three decades since they released their last album, the original lineup of Black Sabbath—vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward—revealed in 2011 that they are working on an LP of new songs with producer Rick Rubin (Metallica, Slayer, Slipknot). Since then, Ward acrimoniously split with the band (his recording replacement? Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine), and it was revealed that Iommi is battling lymphoma but is forging ahead with the writing process nonetheless. Iron Men, indeed.

Bullet for My Valentine
TITLE: Temper Temper
RELEASE DATE: February 12
Vocalist Matt Tuck spent a portion of 2012 making a record and touring with his side project AxeWound (which also features Liam Cormier of the Cancer Bats). However, in the fall, things seemed to shift in the Bullet for My Valentine direction when the band released a new single, “Temper Temper”–listen to it right here. The group announced that would also be the name of its fourth record, due out early next year.

Carcass
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
After months of rumors, it’s officially official: English grind masters Carcass are recording their first new album in 17 years. Original members Jeff Walker (vocals, bass) and Bill Steer (guitar, vocals) are being joined in the studio by Trigger The Bloodshed drummer Dan Wilding and metal super-producer Colin Richardson, who helmed Carcass’ last four albums. The band is financing the recording themselves and then shopping it to labels. “Fans can expect to be shocked,” Walker tells Revolver. “If it wasn’t good, me and Bill wouldn’t have bothered and we certainly wouldn’t be wasting our time or all the money we’ve put into this. I think we have enough good ideas to justify releasing a new album—we’re certainly not doing it because some label has offered us a huge wad of cash!”

Children of Bodom
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Children of Bodom are a band that’s not afraid to have fun–like when they did an entire album of covers by pretty much every artist you could  imagine, metal, punk, pop, and otherwise; more impressively, they did it well. Having renewed a partnership with label Nuclear Blast Records, who worked with the band early on, the next thing on the Finnish group’s to-do list is a follow-up to 2011′s Relentless Reckless Forever.

Device
TITLE: Device
RELEASE DATE: April
This new industrial-rock project is led by Disturbed vocalist David Draiman, who, while on hiatus from his main band, has joined forces with former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The group, which is, according to Draiman, in the vein of Ministry or KMFDM, plans to release a single, “Villify,” in February, followed by a full-length in April. Oh yeah, and did we mention that Geezer Butler, Serj Tankian, Tom Morello, M. Shadows, Glenn Hughs, and Lzzy Hale will all be making guest appearances? This one is gonna be huge.

Dillinger Escape Plan
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
These spazz-metal maniacs’ last album, 2010′s Option Paralysis, was their first on their own label, Party Smasher Inc., and it earned them the “Best Underground Band” award at the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods. Since then, they’ve toured with Deftones and Mastodon and, later in 2012, the band started seriously working on studio album No. 5. Vocalist Greg Puciato says that the new record represents the band’s “biggest jump since Calculating Infinity to Miss Machine in terms of really getting far, far out into Crazyville.”

Dream Theater
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci said that writing for the prog-metal leaders’ 12th studio album would start following the end of the A Dramatic Turn of Events tour. The band reportedly tested out some new song ideas during soundchecks on that trek, and they plan to reconvene for more serious songwriting work early this year.

Eyes Set to Kill
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
Eyes Set to Kill toured in 2012 behind their record from the year prior, White Lotus, which they self-released. The band from Tempe, Arizona, is led by sisters Alexia and Anissa Rodriguez, featured in Revolver‘s Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue. The band’s untitled fifth full-length is expected to be released around spring and will be its first on new label Century Media.

Five Finger Death Punch
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
As of last fall, Five Finger Death Punch had six to eight new songs in various stages of preparation, according to guitarist Jason Hook. The band was working on material using a new portable studio setup that the group put together in 2011. “The idea behind that is just to keep the creative muscle worked out,” Hook says. “It’s kind of like going to the gym–if you stop for a year, you lose all your strength, and we just want to keep that muscle tight. We’re in the business of making music. Touring is great, but we should always be prepared and always be exercising the creative muscle.”

Ghost
TITLE: Infestissumam
RELEASE DATE: April 9
James Hetfield, Phil Anselmo, and Duff McKagan are all fans of these Swedish cult metal favorites, so get with the program. Ghost recently debuted a new song, “Secular Haze” off their highly anticipated sophomore album–listen to it right here–which adds a new carnivalesque, Danny Elfmanish flair to their already patented Mercyful Fate-meets-Blue Öyster Cult sound. We can’t wait to hear the other nine tracks.

Godflesh
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
When British industrial-metal groundbreakers Godflesh reunited to play shows in 2010, it was great news—more than a few extreme-music fans, including a couple editors at Revolver, were crushed when the band canceled its 2001 U.S. tour and then broke up the following year. (Godflesh played their first American gig in forever at Maryland Death Fest 2012.) But news that main man Justin Broadrick & Co. are working on a new album, 10 years after the release of their swansong, Hymns, well, that’s a whole other level of mind-blowing.

Hatebreed
TITLE: The Divinity of Purpose
RELEASE DATE: January 29
Despite CNN mistakenly labeling them a racist band in the aftermath a white supremacist musician shooting up a Wisconsin Sikh temple, it was otherwise a good year for Hatebreed. The hardcore band spent the year finishing its sixth record, which is titled The Divinity of Purpose. In late fall, the group debuted a new single called “Put It to the Torch.”–listen to it right here.

HIM
TITLE: Tears on Tape
RELEASE DATE: Spring
Last year Finnish band HIM released a compilation, XX: Two Decades of Love Metal, while drummer Gas Lipstick recovered from a repetitive-strain injury. Vocalist Ville Valo told Revolver the band is ready to get back on the road with new material and said, “It’s exciting in a good way, like, the butterflies in my stomach are the size of fucking giant bats! So that’s a good sign. It means we really care about what we’re doing.”

Judas Priest
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
The Metal Gods may have announced their departure from the stage, which they commemorated with 2011′s triumphant Epitaph Tour, but the members of Judas Priest swear we haven’t heard the last of them. With the addition of new guitarist Richie Faulkner, who replaced K.K. Downing when he retired and made his debut with the band supporting James Durbin on American Idol, the band is currently working on a reported 12 to 14 new songs that they hope to release in 2013.

Killswitch Engage
TITLE: Disarm the Descent
RELEASE DATE: April 9
Early last year, the metalcore pioneers announced that vocalist Howard Jones had left the band citing personal reasons as the cause. Original lead singer Jesse Leach was shortly thereafter re-enlisted as his replacement. KSE then hit the road on their Alive or Just Breathing 10th Anniversary Tour and start playing a new song, titled “No End in Sight,” live last summer.

Korn
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
It may have seemed like the band members’ side projects were ringing in the end of Korn, with vocalist Jonathan Davis spending a lot of time on his electronic work and guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer focusing on Fear and the Nervous System. However, when Revolver spoke with Munky last year, he said Korn had 15 new songs already and was looking for a producer, adding, “We have a big 2013 planned for our fans, for ourselves, and our families.”

Mastodon
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
In December, singer-guitarist Brent Hinds revealed that he was writing new Mastodon music. He said, “I’m playing a lot of slide guitar and just getting really Jimmy Page-y on the place and getting really eerie and Radioheadish and very spooky sounding.” The band hopes to record its sixth studio full-length early this year–it will be follow-up to 2011′s Hunter.

Megadeth
TITLE: Super Collider
RELEASE DATE: June
Regardless of what you think of frontman Dave Mustaine’s politics, there is no question that, musically, he and his bandmates in thrash titans Megadeth have been on a roll lately. The group are neck-deep into album No. 14 and the follow-up to 2011′s acclaimed TH1RT3EN. Dubbed Super Collider, it will be the first Megadeth record to be released through Dave Mustaine’s own label, Tradecraft, which is distributed by Universal.

Motörhead
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Summer
The loudest band in the world plans on continuing to be just that. The group spent last year touring heavily–including on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival–and releasing two volumes of The Wörld Is Ours—Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else that included live tracks and live footage. Vocalist-bassist Lemmy Kilmister said the band would enter the studio shortly and plans on a release in the summer.

Nine Inch Nails
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Industrial kingpins Nine Inch Nails may have played their “farewell” tour in 2009, but there appears to be new life in Camp NIN. This past year frontman Trent Reznor has stayed busy by scoring movies (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network), writing music for video games (Call off Duty: Black Ops II), and recording with How to Destroy Angels, but when Rolling Stone asked Reznor if new Nine Inch Nails material was a possibility, he said, “All signs point to yes. There are some things in the works.”

Opeth
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Last August, vocalist-guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt announced that he had begun writing new material for the forthcoming 11th Opeth album. It will be the follow-up to 2011′s Heritage, which debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart. Over the past year, the band hit the road with Mastodon and Ghost, and Åkerfeldt said, “I’m gonna start writing more for real once we finish the tour.”

Palms
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: June 25
The recently formed LA supergroup features three former member of late, great post-metal outfit Isis–Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide–along with Deftones’ Chino Moreno on vocals. Harris told Guitar World, “Chino joined shortly after [futureusgallerythe three of us started the band] and our sound took shape from there. We’ve worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It’s nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this lineup.”

Queens of the Stone Age
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
The latest offering from Queens of the Stone Age is going to be an all-star affair. For it, the band welcomes back Dave Grohl on drums–Grohl previously played on the group’s Songs for the Deaf–as well as former bassist, and frontman Josh Homme’s bandmate in Kyuss, Nick Oliveri. Oh yeah, and then there’s a guy named Trent Reznor, who will be making an appearance on the album. “The record sound like running in a dream inside a codeine cabaret,” the group recently told MOJO. “I hope you understand what that means, cause we don’t. Sounds like a load of pretentious shit! What? Gotta go, the therapist says our time is up…”

Scars on Broadway
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: Spring
Vocalist Daron Malakian (also of System of a Down fame) went from a full band to just his lonesome with this side project and recorded this forthcoming new album singing and playing all the instruments himself. Malakian told Revolver, “I was ready to do another Scars on Broadway record. I’ve just been going with the flow, and the flow’s taken me here.” Expect a more System of a Down-esque sound than on Scars’ debut, courtesy of songs like “Fuck N Kill.”

Shai Hulud
TITLE: Reach Beyond the Sun
RELEASE DATE: February 19
The metalcore stalwarts have changed their vocalists many times over the years, but Shai Hulud have decided to stick with vocalist Chad Gilbert (also from New Found Glory fame) this time out. Recently, the band has been participating in large festivals but also plans to play smaller venues as well. Amid all that, the fourth studio album, Reach Beyond the Sun, will release in February.

Soilwork
TITLE: The Living Infinite
RELEASE DATE: March 5
“The inspiration is flowing!” vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid said while working on this latest album. And indeed it has been, considering that the Swedish melodic death-metal vets have emerged with not one but two discs of new music. Soilwork began recording last August with producer Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth), After guitarist Peter Wichers left the band for the second time. Strid added, “People can expect a continuation of the intensity and presence of The Panic Broadcast, only taken to a higher level.”

Slayer
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Thrash metal’s Angels of Death had a triumphant 2011 in spite of a few setbacks. After guitarist Jeff Hanneman was sidelined due to contracting a flesh-eating bacteria from a spider bite, the group toured throughout most of the year with Exodus axman Gary Holt and Cannibal Corpse fret-burner Pat O’Brien filling in for shows with their peers in the Big Four—Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Kerry King revealed two song titles for the upcoming album, “Chasing Death” and “Implode,” with a full-length due out this year.

Stone Sour
TITLE: House of Gold & Bones Part 2
RELEASE DATE: April
Vocalist Corey Taylor set his goals high with House of Gold & Bones, devising it as a double concept album about the journey of life and the choices you make. Part 1 was released in the fall to critical acclaim, which only sets the bar even higher for part 2. Aside from the albums, the project is also being turned into a comic book.

Suffocation
TITLE: The Pinnacle of Bedlam
RELEASE DATE: February 15
These Long Island, New York, death-metal fixtures are set to release their seventh studio album. While vocalist Frank Mullen said he will sit out a few future tour dates–for which the band will be joined by a replacement vocalist–he hasn’t left the group, and Suffocation will drop the follow-up to 2009′s Blood Oath, which will also feature a bonus DVD.

Tomahawk
TITLE: Oddfellows
RELEASE DATE: January 29
When Anonymous was released in 2007, the makers of the album were a little less than anonymous. After all, those who follow heralded Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton know all of his projects and follow them closely. The 2013 release on Patton’s Ipecac Records will feature new members bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer John Stanier joining the singer and Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison. Until Oddfellows hits on January 29, Tomahawk have lead single “Stone Letter” to tide you over–listen to it right here.

Tool
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
The rumor mill had Tool’s fifth album coming out last year. Clearly that did not come to pass. And while frontman Maynard James Keenan has been seemingly preoccupied putting out Puscifer records, reuniting with A Perfect Circle, and squashing grapes, recent posts by Tool’s webmaster suggest that significant songwriting progress is being made. So we’re holding out hope that they will finally put out a new album this year—and until they do, we’re prepared to be teased, tortured, and titillated by more rumors and misinformation, much of it doubtlessly spread by Tool themselves.

Toxic Holocaust
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: TBA
In 2012, Portland thrashers Toxic Holocaust managed to release a split with Municipal Waste and get a song featured in the television show Sons of Anarchy. Their last album, Conjure and Command, was the first record to feature a full band rather than mastermind Joel Grind doing everything.

Volbeat
TITLE: Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies
RELEASE DATE: April 9
It’s been a monster few years for Danish “Elvis metal” outfit Volbeat: They went from virtual unknowns in the U.S. to opening for Metallica, playing the Revolver Golden Gods (in 2011), and scoring No. 1 rock radio hits in the states. The group is promising to top it all off with a new album this year, the follow-up to 2010′s Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, which is being produced by former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, alongside longtime Volbeat collaborator Jacob Hansen.

Watain
TITLE: TBA
RELEASE DATE: August
These Swedish black metallers are pretty fucking extreme, just see their live shows–all flaming tridents and dead animal parts–as evidence. Now Watain are set on taking their lawless darkness to the next level, have recently signed a deal with Century Media Records for their fifth album.

Rob Zombie
TITLE: Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor
RELEASE DATE: April 23
Rob Zombie is a man with many endeavors. In 2012 he finished his new horror film, Lords of Salem,  which is due in theaters this Spring, and released a remix album, Mondo Sex Head. Last fall he toured with Marilyn Manson on the Twins of Evil tour, graced the cover of Revolver‘s special issue Rock! Shock! and Horror!, and he started recording his fifth solo album earlier in June. Zombie says the album will be “dark, heavy, and weird.” We would expect nothing less.

“While continuing our tradition of releasing a few new songs at a time,” explained Keenan, “I also had an itch that needed scratching, and that itch was ‘Balls To The Wall.’ Which was followed by an even harder to reach itch known as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ And scratch them we did.”

The collection features two new songs written by Keenan and Puscifer cohorts Mat Mitchell, Carina Round and Josh Eustis: “Breathe” and “Dear Brother,” as well as two covers: Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Accept’s “Balls To The Wall.” Donkey Punch The Night was recorded in Jerome, Arizoza, in Keenan’s Caduceus Cellars (www.caduceus.org) with the same roster from 2011′s Conditions of My Parole (Keenan, Mitchell, Round, Eustis, Matt McJunkins and  Jeff Friedl) and guests Zac Rae (piano), Juliette Commagere (vocals), Josh Morreau (bass) and Claire Acey (vocals).

Remixes of the four songs round-out the release with contributions from Los Angeles techno wizard Drumcell, Big Black Delta (aka Jonathan Bates, formerly of Mellowdrone and touring guitarist for M83), Sonoio (Italian multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Cortini of Modwheelmood and touring keyboard player for Muse and NIN) and Central American DJ, Silent Servant, who is well known for his mash-up of post-punk and techno.

Donkey Punch The Night track list:

1.  Bohemian Rhapsody “O.G. Mix”
2.  Breathe
3.  Dear Brother
4.  Balls To The Wall “PIllow Fight Mix”
5.  Breathe “Drumcell rework”
6.  Dear Brother “Denton rework” (Big Black Delta)
7.  Balls To The Wall “Silent Servant El Guapo Mix”
8.  Bohemian Rhapsody “Sonoio rework”

Puscifer recently announced their first tour dates outside of North America with the band performing three shows in Australia as well as performances at Lollapalooza Brazil and Lollapalooza Chile.

February 22     Brisbane, Australia     The Tivoli
February 26     Sydney, Australia     Enmore Theatre
February 28     Melbourne, Australia     The Palais Theatre
March 31     Sao Paulo, Brazil     Lollapalooza Brazil
April 6 & 7     Santiago, Chile     Lollapalooza Chile *

*Puscifer performance date TBA

“After 13 years, I’ve decided to leave [futureusgalleryA Perfect Cirlce] with no plans of returning,” Freese wrote. “Apologies to those inquiring about the upcoming shows.”

A Perfect Circle reunited for a run of shows last year, but have not released an album of original material since 2003′s Thirteenth Step. With Maynard James Keenan presumably busy with a new Tool album, not to mention his solo project Puscifer, it seems unlikely APC will be hitting the studio anytime soon.

“We’ve been kicking around some stuff. Nothing’s ready,” Keenan told Loudwire last fall. “Until it’s really solid it doesn’t make any sense to present it, and right now he’s [futureusgalleryHowerdel] busy with Ashes Divide and I’m doing Puscifer.”

A Perfect Circle currently have one scheduled date for the remainder of 2012, a December 29 gig at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. The band were also recently announced as part of the 2013 lineup for Lollapalooza Chile.

1. Bad Company “Great songwriting with Paul Rogers voice makes for an awesome combination. Still to this day, Rodgers has one of the best voices in rock. Timeless music.”

2. Temple of the Dog “A great one off from a few of the pioneers of the Seattle scene. Great compilation of music written as a tribute to Andrew Wood.”

3. Foo Fighters “Come on! Anything Dave Grohl touches turns to gold. One of the best songwriters in music today hands down. Always keeping it real. The modern-day Tom Petty really.”

4. A Perfect Circle “In some ways, this band is what I wished Tool might have morphed into. More simple arrangements and simpler songwriting than Tool, which is ironically what put Tool on the map with “Sober.” Awesome songwriting and hooks.”

5. Black Country Communion “Time to go to school! Joe Bonamassa is one of the best guitar players in the game and his side band ain’t too shabby either. Glenn Hughes voice on top of it all makes for some of the coolest music most folks don’t know about.”