My first reaction when I saw the lineup for this year's Cypress Hill Smokeout was "where's my bowl?" followed by "What was I doing again, maaan??" After about 20 minutes, and a power nap I woke up and remembered Oh yea, Smokeout!! What a killer lineup. Besides having the mighty SLIPKNOT headline, CYPRESS HILL of course, DEFTONES, BAD BRAINS, PENNYWISE and a ton of great hip hop acts like METHON MAN and REDMAN, the legendary afrika bambaataa, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE, DEVIN THE DUDE and others. The festivities are hosted by the legendary stoner duo, Cheech and Chong. Oh, and I'm pretty sure there is going to be a shit load of blunts rolled. All this goes down October 23rd and 24th in San Bernardino, CA with the first pre-sale this Friday at 10AM. Click here for the offical site.

A few weeks back we posted that SLIPKNOT was heading out on a short run with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER . Word has already spread that the first two dates have been cancelled, and we can confirm that the full tour has been scraped due to unannounced Joey Jordinson health issues. Even BLACK DAHLIA doesn't know whats up. Their tour manager, Karim Peter posted the following on his Facebook page:

Well we woke up at 6am and flew 9 hours to the middle of nowhere Kennewick, WA. Got our passes, loaded in, set the gear up and sat down for lunch. Then the asst TM [assistant tour manager] came in and told me "today's show is canceled, tour is canceled, pack up your stuff." No explanation given

Very weird, especially for a band like SLIPKNOT who pretty much never cancel shows. Above you can see a video of Corey Taylor vehemently apologizing to the Seattle crowd for missing the first show. Hopefully, whatever happened, Joey can get better and the band can return to kicking ass in front of their maggots.

From Blabbermouth:

"As announced last week, thrash legends ANTHRAX regretfully cancelled the first three dates on the second leg of their European tour due to new vocalist DAN NELSON's unexpected illness. An additional seven European dates are also cancelled, those scheduled from July 22 to July 30.

"Anthrax is thrilled to announce that they will play the August 1 Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, England, with their good friend JOHN BUSH [Anthrax's singer from 1992 to 2005] joining them for a very special one-off performance.

"The members of Anthrax have confirmed the departure of vocalist DAN NELSON. In light of this development, Anthrax's slot on the U.S. SLIPKNOT dates set for August and September, has also been cancelled. Anthrax is already actively considering lead singer candidates, and looks forward to hitting the road before the end of the year."

This must be pretty serious if it gets them to forfeit an opening spot for Slipknot. Personally, I think John Bush's full-time return would be amazing–he's a much better singer than Joey Belladonna and We've Come For You All was as strong an ass-kicking as any of their classic albums. After the way he was dumped by the band to make way for the Joey reunion, I wouldn't blame Bush for staying away, but having him back would probably be the best move for Anthrax right now.

-Ben

SLIPKNOT are going out for a short 2-week run and they are taking thrash legends ANTHRAX and new-school thrashers THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER with them. For east-coasters such as myself, we are out luck as this seems like a West Coast/mid-west type of tour but oh well. Where can you get tickets? Members of OutsideThe9.com, the band’s official fan club, will be offered tickets first with a presales starting on June 24. A limited number of tickets will be available for general presale on Slipknot1.com on June 25th, with the majority of tickets going onsale to the general public starting June 26 and 27. Here is the full lineup of dates:

8/22 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheater
8/23 Kennewick, WA Toyota Center
8/25 Great Falls, MT Four Seasons Arena
8/26 Billings, MT Metra Park Arena
8/28 Boise, ID Quest Arena
8/29 Salt Lake City, UT The E Center
8/31 Colorado Springs, CO Colorado Springs World Arena
9/01 Casper, WY Casper Events Center
9/03 Fargo, ND Fargodome
9/04 Rochester, MN Mayo Civic Center
9/05 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom

Thrash is back. And its cooler than ever because the masters have returned. Testament will be touring soon and Anthrax members are making all kids of special appearances. After watching Lars answer some expensive questions, you can read an interview with crust king Rob Miller of Amebix [not thrash, but still has a hefty amount of ownage].

RETURN OF THE THRASH

Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante did not invent the blast beat. duh.

Metallica has another single coming out.

Everyone's starting to get Testament fever

NEWS

Lamb of God latest debuted at #2 and Chris Cornell's solo album debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200. Meanwhile Chinese Democracy is finally falling out of the top 200. Which reminds me: When the fuck is that train wreck Axl going to grace stadiums all over the country in Betsey Johnson tights again. Not to mention Slash and Izzy's brainwaves synchronise on stage.

Free NIN and Janes Addiction songs –>> http://www.ninja2009.com/

Guess what Van Halen fans have been waiting to see for the last 28 years: NOT HAGAR.

Obituary DVD to be released in June

Celtic Frost front man gets PWNED by "America's Rock Band"

Rick Ta Life makes a cameo in a great blog post

INTERVIEWS + REVIEWS

"I have made Swords for the past 18 Years here on Skye, training myself in the Art of the Medieval sword smith." ^^ The reason why you need to read ALL of this Amebix interview^^

Cattle Decap don't want to push an agenda on you, but that's because they are NOT this guy.

Rotting Christ and Septic Flesh on Governor's Ball. Note: there is more radio than interview in that link.

Reasons why Wolves in the Throne Room don't reveal song lyrics listed here

Guardian reviews Brit Metal press, but forgets the one that matters most: Terrorizer; when/if the NY Times does a similar review, we all know who the winner will be: Decibel, they fucking own.

Four years later and Into The Moat is still awesome

Metal Bastard blows Mastodon, but forgets to include a picture. At least there is a cool interview to watch

TOURS//SHOWS

6 out of 8 "no cares"

Slipknot has a #1 "Active Rock" radio hit

Black Tide teens realize touring means leaving your family and friends for months at a time.

I got your 4th of July plans right here.

Missing out on SXSW? Read Metal Suck's Metal/harcore report or follow Black Bubblegum of Brooklyn Vegan

FLASHBACK OF THE DAY

Before there was Fred Durst and Eminem, America's favorite angry white boy would go crazy when he heard a cymbal. His era was at a time when MTV allowed musicians to ruin TV sets.

Looks like SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor is not content being in two bands (STONE SOUR being the other of course). Taylor said in a recent interview that he has over 40 songs ready and plans to take a break soon to focus on recording and releasing a solo album saying:

"It's something that I'd like to do purely for myself. It's something that I need to release before I can think about moving on to anything else… In both SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR I'm slightly limited to how I can write and indeed what I can write about. The beauty of doing a solo album is that I can write whatever type of song I want."

Don't expect the album too soon, as Corey will be on the road for the next three months with the 'knot, TRIVIUM and COHEED AND CAMBRIA.

Of all the worthless award shows, the Grammys have to be the kings of worthlessness. Every year, who wins is not even about who actually put out the best album, but who the geriatric Grammy committee has actually even heard of in passing. That's why winning a Grammy doesn't mean you're a good artist, it just means your music has been marketed well. With that, here are the nominees for Best Metal Performance:

Heroes Of Our Time: DragonForce
Nostradamus: Judas Priest
My Apocalypse: Metallica
Under My Thumb: Ministry
Psychosocial: Slipknot

I'm calling it right now, it's METALLICA without a doubt. The only band that probably 99% of the Grammy staff has heard of. And really, Grammys? Nominating Ministry for a cover? Were there not enough original metal songs for you to choose from? The other metal-related nominees after the jump… (more…)

Slipknot have just announced a massive arena headlining tour with Coheed and Cambria & Trivium. Slipknot and Coheed? Huh?? Is there really a cross-over audience? Or is it something like: "Hey, we both want to tour arenas, but probably can't sell it out ourselves, so how about we tour together, and bring together two completely different audiences." That makes more sense to me. Anyway, here are the dates:

Jan. 23 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
Jan. 24 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Jan. 25 – Mid America Center – Council Bluffs, IA
Jan. 27 – Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum – Madison, WI
Jan. 28 – Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, IA
Jan. 30 – Allstate Arena – Rosemont, IL
Jan. 31 – The Palace of Auburn Hills – Auburn Hills, MI
Feb. 02 – Peoria Civic Center – Peoria, IL
Feb. 03 – Pepsi Coliseum – Indianapolis, IN
Feb. 05 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Feb. 06 – Tsongas Arena – Lowell, MA
Feb. 07 – Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
Feb. 09 – Greensboro Coliseum Complex – Greensboro, NC
Feb. 10 – Cricket Arena – Charlotte, NC
Feb. 11 – Bi-Lo Center – Greenville, SC
Feb. 13 – 1st Mariner Arena – Baltimore, MD
Feb. 14 – Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
Feb. 15 – Sommet Center – Nashville, TN
Feb. 17 – Gwinnett Center – Duluth, GA
Feb. 18 – UCF Arena – Orlando, FL
Feb. 19 – Pensacola Civic Center – Pensacola, FL
Feb. 21 – Concrete Street Amphitheater – Corpus Christi, TX
Feb. 22 – Nokia Theatre – Grand Prairie, TX
Feb. 23 – BOK Center – Tulsa, OK
Feb. 26 – Verizon Wireless Theater – Houston, TX
Feb. 28 – El Paso County Coliseum – El Paso, TX
Mar. 01 – Freeman Coliseum – San Antonio, TX
Mar. 03 – Denver Coliseum – Denver, CO
Mar. 04 – Tingley Coliseum – Albuquerque, NM
Mar. 05 – Jobing.com Arena – Glendale, AZ
Mar. 07 – The Forum – Inglewood, CA
Mar. 08 – Cox Arena – San Diego, CA
Mar. 10 – Citizens Business Bank Arena – Ontario, CA
Mar. 11 – ARCO Arena – Sacramento, CA

Wow. In 2005, Frank and I went to the Nokia Theater in Times Square for probably the grandest Christmas party of all Christmas parties. It was the Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary show and the label rented out the venue 4 hours before for an industry-wide open bar. Needless to say, by the time the show started Frank and I were barely able to stand. But I do recall yelling at the top of my lungs and just being in awe of the whole night and what a moment it was. It upset me when I spoke to somebody at Roadrunner the day after and they told me that they probably wouldn't do anything with the footage. I guess they had a change of heart, because now Blabbermouth reports they will release a double-disc DVD featuring all the performances and a documentary about it on December 9, 2008. We captured the entire night in photographs. Roadrunner has posted the following two teaser clips to get you pumped:

The complete setlist including performers after the jump… (more…)

AC/DC's new single, "Rock 'N Roll Train" has been posted on the band's official website. This new direction for AC/DC can be described as rather psychadelic…not really, IT'S FRIGGEN AC/DC. You already know what the song sounds like before even hearing it, and that's just fine!

SLIPKNOT's entire new CD All Hope Is Gone is currently streaming at AOL Music

There is a new new e-card online for THE HAUNTED's new record Versus and it's pretty fucking awesome. Crank up your speaker and jam out to their single Moronic Colossus right here

WHITECHAPEL has posted the track "Eternal Refuge" on their MySpace page.

Download an MP3 of SIGH covering VENOM's "Black Metal" on BrooklynVegan.

Supergroup shmoopergroup! There is a band named UNITED NATIONS which (officially) features the dude from Thursday and the dude from Glassjaw and probably a dude from CONVERGE. They are calling it powerviolence, its pretty awesome. Check out their entire album on their MySpace page.

Watch a live version of HATEBREED's "I Will Be Heard" at Headbanger's Blog.

Check out an awesome clip that Earache posted of MUNICIPAL WASTE going record shopping with our very own Grim Kim by clicking here.

The Nuclear Blast shop has posted samples of each song from SLIPKNOT's forthcoming release, All Hope Is Gone, due August 26th on Roadrunner.

You can also check out a few teaser photos we've posted of SLIPKNOT's live show in our Photo Gallery as well as the first look at their new masks.

If you have any doubt of SLIPKNOT's ability to "bring it" live, check out the above clip of the band performing their new single, Psychosocial. Simply awesome! I cannot wait to check these dudes out when the tour rolls around to the New York stop. Make sure to check out more SLIPKNOT videos in our Mayhem Fest channel.

You've been waiting for it and here it is. SLIPKNOT are back in full force with their new video for their first single, Psychosocial off their upcoming release All Hope Is Gone. The video is a pure performance piece and a fine one at that. Pretty sweet vid. All Hope Is Gone is in stores August 26th, 2008.

SLIPKNOT is certainly doing a great job of keeping in the news. Whether its releasing two singles, creating a big hoopla about their new masks or headlining a tour that we are giving away free tickets to (cheap plug)…they know how to keep their name out there.

Today, two new pieces of maggot-friendly news came out. First, is the official cover art for their new CD, All Hope Is Gone which is posted above, and second is the offical track listing for the CD, which you can check out after the jump… (more…)

Headbanger's Blog has posted a new audio podcast with SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor. Corey discusses the band's upcoming release, All Hope Is Gone, studio tensions and his hatred for the American system. Its a pretty interesting listen. Check it out here.

Don't forget to check out the gallery of the new SLIPKNOT masks for 2008.

We have posted a photo gallery featuring photos of all the new SLIPKNOT masks. My personal favorite is the Clown mask. Which is yours?

SLIPKNOT's Mick Thomson, affectionately known to "maggots" worldwide as Seven has posted the band's new single, "Psychosocial" on his Myspace page. The song is definitely a bit more accessible to mainstream tastes than the first new 'knot track to hit the intertubes, but its still a good tune. We would post the song here, but the last time we tried that, their management wasn't too happy. So head over to Mick's Myspace before his own management sends him a cease and desist! Oh and if you still haven't heard "All Hope Is Gone", he is streaming that on his page as well. What a sweet guy!

> A 30 second preview of SLIPKNOT's radio single "Psychosocial" has made its way online in the Nuclear Blast Online store.

> Who doesn't love PANTERA. How about some old school PANTERA…really, really, (almost) embarrassingly old school. Check out this clip of the band destroying "Over and Out" back in their spandex era.

> MISERY INDEX recently posted some recording diaries. The band is recording with Kurt Ballou of CONVERGE. The video features guest vocalists Guy Kozowyk (THE RED CHORD) and Tomas Lindberg (DISFEAR, AT THE GATES) laying down tracks.