News

According to KCCI.com News, Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson has reportedly suffered a non-life threatening stab wound to the back of his head after an altercation with his brother, Andrew Thomson.

The report says the altercation took place earlier this morning in Des Moines.

Frontman Corey Taylor recently tweeted, "In regards to the story about Mick, I'm doing the best I can to find out if he's alright. I'll get back to you later."

We will keep you updated as this story develops.

UPDATE: Taylor has tweeted, "From what I've heard he's okay. We're sending him all your thoughts. Thank you for that."

Suicide Silence's Mark Heylmun and Eddie Hermida recently did interview with B-Real of Cypress Hill on his show, 'The Smoke Box.' The band members discussed topics such as the difficulties of song writing, the craziest gifts they've ever received from fans, and their personal experiences with learning to smoke. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments.

The Ocean's guitarist Damian Murdoch's side project—instrumental heavy rock blues fusion Damian Murdoch Trio—will be reissuing their debut album, 'Electric Tentacles,' on April 21 via Prosthetic Records. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere their music video for "Jump Rope with Electric Wires." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!

To get 'Electric Tentacles,' visit Prosthetic's webstore. For more on the Damian Murdoch Trio, follow them on Facebook.

Yesterday, we showed you a video of 15-year-old guitarist Tina S. shredding through Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames." Now, watch as Tina rocks out to AC/DC's "Back in Black" in a video she made three years ago when she was just 12. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

You can also view Tina's cover of "Through the Fire and Flames" here.

'Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore' Revised and Expanded Edition by Decibel Editor in Chief Albert Mudrian, chronicles the history of death metal and grindcore through hundreds of interviews. This new and expanded edition has 100 new pages, 50 new interviews, three new chapters, and cover art from none other than Dan Seagrave.

Below is an exclusive excerpt that did not appear in the original book. Here, Carcass talks how they first started getting back together in 2006:

With Bill Steer and Jeff Walker moving forward on disparate musical paths, there was still one ex-member of the band who hoped to bring them back together under the viscera-caked Carcass banner.

"Mike Amott was always bugging me over the years, and I was having none of it," Walker says of the guitarist who contributed to the band's acclaimed Necroticism and Heartwork records. "But then he was also bugging Bill. I never really hassled Bill about it. I thought, 'Bill's pig-headed. He's stuck in his ways. It will never happen.'"

"I went out to dinner with Bill in Paris in 2002, and talked to him about it," recalls Amott. "I'd been touring a bit more with Arch Enemy—especially in America—and there were a lot of people coming up with 'Heartwork' and 'Necroticism' CDs for me to sign. I was seeing a revival with Carcass. I saw the potential firsthand.

I was thinking it would be a cool thing to put it back together and maybe do a few shows. I presented the idea to them, and Bill was really against it. Jeff always told me, 'If you can get Bill to do it, then I'm in.'"

"It took a few years for them to persuade me just how valued the band had become," Steer reveals. "Initially, I didn't buy that at all. But then how would I know? I wasn't really fraternizing with anyone from that scene. I wasn't reading the magazines or keeping up with the latest trends or anything. I intentionally escaped that world. When the band finished, it wasn't pleasant, and definitely—how to put this?—it felt like we'd failed.

"I definitely had a period there where I was really trying to reinvent myself," he continues. "And, well… I definitely learned some new things and made some different music, but ultimately it was the same person. You can't escape your past, nor should you want to, really."

Steer quickly discovered that in Halmstad, Sweden, where he spent a week with Amott and his then-bandmate Angela Gossow.
"Every waking hour, I just sat in their kitchen," says Steer of his late 2006 trip. "We were playing Carcass material, and it was just this lovely, relaxed vibe. There was absolutely no pressure involved. No schedule. Sometimes we'd play a lot.

Other days, we'd just be sitting there listening to music. You know, like, 'Remember this album?' or 'Check out this demo.' And it was very nice and encouraging."

"I could see on his face that he started to change his mind right there when it started to sound good," Amott recalls. "The energy in that kind of music is undeniable.

You don't really get that in classic rock. When you nail it, it's addictive."

"We reported back to Jeff," remembers Steer. "I said, 'Yeah, I think there's something good here. Let's book a band rehearsal.'"

After briefly considering ex-Cradle of Filth/Dimmu Borgir drummer Nicholas Barker, it was decided—with Ken Owen's blessing—that Arch Enemy's Daniel Erlandsson would handle the drums.

"Michael was very much in favor of having Daniel," recalls Steer. "I think convenience was definitely a factor, because he felt that any time off he had from Arch Enemy, he'd be back in Halmstad, and Daniel was just a short drive away. That's half the band ready to rehearse."

Steer, Walker, Amott and Erlandsson began practicing in secrecy in early 2007 with an eye towards performing shows later in the year. While the rehearsals were a significant step forward in the band's rebirth, having a pair of musicians from another high-profile metal band comprise 50 percent of Carcass's ranks soon presented a thorny issue. Arch Enemy's then-manager was eager to manage Carcass—a move Amott favored at the time—but Walker was extremely uncomfortable with the arrangement.

"I wouldn't play ball," he says. "I was having none of it. I tried to salvage the situation, again playing the fucking diplomat like I always do; trying to bring in a neutral party that we could work with, so there was no conflict of interest. The way I wanted it to be was that we don't need someone pulling the fucking strings, whispering in your ear that you were gonna make a million quid. You weren't gonna make a million quid. What fucking planet are you living on? I don't know what people's public perception of me is, but at least I've got some fucking integrity, and I was prepared to walk away from a shitload of money. I just washed my hands of it, like, 'Fine, fuck it—I'm not gonna work with that guy.'"
"We had almost sabotaged the whole reunion," says Steer. "And I was kind of caught in the middle, because I could kind of understand both perspectives. But ultimately Michael had to give in, and Jeff was proved right."

"I realized later on that it had to be the Jeff Walker Show, or there was not gonna be a show at all," says Amott. "It turned out to be absolutely the best way to do it."

"The joke is that, as a result, we confirmed the gigs a year later and the offers went up," Walker laughs. "You couldn't plan it more perfectly if you were being cynical and manipulative and deliberate."

To get 'Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore' Revised and Expanded Edition, visit Decibel's webstore.

When Avenged Sevenfold found out that they would be headlining the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods, they were stoked to arrange a couple once-in-a-lifetime onstage collaborations with two of their hard-rock and metal heroes: namely, GN'R's Duff McKagan for a cool cover of "It's So Easy," and Pantera's Vinnie Paul for a hellacious take on Vulgar Display of Power opener "Mouth for War."

The latter was something of a revelation with M. Shadows delivering a pitch perfect Anselmo vocal and Synyster Gates shredding in true Dime fashion while Pantera's own iconic drummer walloped the kit behind them. A7X had covered the Texas firebrands' "Walk" more than a few times at that point, but wanted to mix it up for the Gods — the result was truly a moment to remember, and especially poignant for Shadows and Paul, who at the after party, imagined their fallen bandmates, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Dimebag Darrell, jamming together in heaven just as they had that night.

Here is part 3 of Suicide Silence's weekly tour video updates for Revolver. Check out the video below, where drummer Alex Lopez talks "girl mosh pits," hot sauce and more backstage madness. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Suicide Silence is currently on the road with Emmure, Within the Ruins, and Fit for an Autopsy. Check out tour dates below.
 

Tour dates:
Mar 10- Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
Mar 11- Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
Mar 12- Long Island, NY @ Emporium
Mar 13- Reading, PA @ Reverb
Mar 14- Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
Mar 15- Norfolk, VA @ The NorVA
Mar 17- Wilmington, NC @ Ziggy's By The Sea
Mar 18- Winston Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
Mar 19- Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird
Mar 20- Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
Mar 21- Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre
Mar 23- Lubbock, TX @ Jakes
Mar 24- El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
Mar 25- Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
Mar 26- Tucson, AZ @ The Rock

Heavy Montreal 2015 will take place August 7 - 9 in Montreal, Canada. The festival has also announced the full lineup. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Slipknot
Faith No More
Korn
Alexisonfire
Lamb Of God
Iggy Pop
NOFX
Billy Talent
Mastodon
Bullet For My Valentine
Meshuggah
Within Temptation
Gojira
Testament
Arch Enemy
Lagwagon
Lita Ford
Marky Ramone and Andrew W.K. (covering the Ramones)
Warrant
Dokken
Rocket From The Crypt
Asking Alexandria
Periphery
Deafheaven
Coal Chamber
Nuclear Assault
Dying Fetus
Glassjaw
Ihsahn
Pentagram
Gorguts
B.A.R.F.
Motionless In White
Moneen
Lofofora
Small Brown Bike
Pig Destroyer
Anonymus
The Flatliners
The Agonist
Fozzy
Upon A Burning Body
Nothing More
Jasta
Battlecross
Insomnium
Slaves On Dope
Ominum Gatherum
Wilson
Dead Tired
Toyguitar
Intervals
Dig It Up

Prong will be releasing a covers album, 'Songs from the Black Hole,' on March 31 via eOne Music. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere their cover of Bad Brains' 'Banned in DC." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!

Vocalist-guitarist Tommy Victor said, "Prong is very excited about the upcoming release of our new record, 'Songs from the Black Hole,' and equally excited about the artwork and packaging! Since the record explores Prong's roots musically and geographically, this needed to be expressed visually and this was attained. With the help of our art director Mike Lopez, the theme of urban decay, desolation, insecurity and ultimate change that prevails in the music has been brought to the surface in images. Since much of Prong's origins come from a place of abandonment, we feel our new album artwork fully reflects this sentiment. I think one can get a grip of the hard hitting, dangerous sounds inside from a glimpse of the packaging of 'Songs from the Black Hole.' We certainly hope you enjoy this latest release, inside and out."

To get 'Songs from the Black Hole,' visit iTunes. For more on Prong, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

15 year-old guitarist Tina S. has released a cover of Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames." The original version of the song is from DragonForce's third album, 'Inhuman Rampage,' and features twin guitar solos by Herman Li and Sam Totman. In Tina's version, she plays both herself. Check out the video below and let us know what you think in the comments!