METALLICA has posted another new song from the upcoming Death Magnetic album at the band’s official website. Titled “My Apocalypse,” the track closes the CD and is a fast thrash-type metal anthem in the style of vintage MEATALLICA stuff like “Battery,” and “Damage Inc” etc. The tune is the second one to be accessible from the disc, following the release last week of the first single, “The Day That Never Comes.” Death Magnetic arrives worldwide on Friday September 12^th.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE SINGER GERARD WAY has posted an update at the band’s MySpace page about their current activities, including the writing of the group’s next album. Way says, “we have all been writing new material in our own separate worlds...I started a week after I got home, buying a good rig, an old Jag, and a bunch of pedals—just searching for the next sound.”

BLUE OCTOBER has entered the studio to begin recording its fifth studio album. Thee band has tentatively titled the disc Approaching Normal, but that could change between now and the finished product’s arrival. No release date has been set, but it seems likely it will surface sometime in early 2009.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD was forced to cancel its Sunday appearance at England’s Reading Festival and scrap the rest of its UK dates because of singer M Shadow’s strained throat. A statement by the band says, “doctors in the United Kingdom and Los Angeles have both advised him that he must rest his voice and cannot perform. Thankfully there are no long-term problems, and with proper rest M. will return to the road shortly and should have no problem whatsoever playing X-FEST 13 in Dayton on Sunday September 14^th…” (wow, that’s very specific to our concerns, thank you!)

SLIPKNOT releases its fourth major label album, All Hope is Gone,today. The CD is the band’s first new studio offering in more than 4 years, following 2004’s Vol 3; (The Subliminal Verses). Lead vocalist Corey Taylor has injected a lot of religious, biblical, and numerological references into his lyrics this time, and says he’s wanted to tackle these issues for nearly 2 years.

ROCK REVOLUTION, a third entry in the hugely successful music-based video game field will arrive October 14^th for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game will feature songs from METALLICA, FOO FIGHTERS, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, KORN, LINKIN PARK, THREE DAYS GRACE and over 30 more for a total of 41 songs.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s self-titled fourth record walked away with the prize for Album of the Year at the 2008 Kerrang! Awards, handed out by the British hard rock magazine last night in London. Singer M. Shadows said to the group’s fans, “Receiving such an honor in the United Kingdom means so much to us because England has become like a second home...(next to Dayton, where we’ll be closing X-FEST 13, go get tix!) ...We’re so proud of how much love our fans in the U.S. have always shown us, and now it means the world to us to know how many of you around the globe have been touched by our music…”

Other winners at the event included BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, BLACK TIDE and 30 SECONDS TO MARS.

PARAMORE has been added to the line-up of performers at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards, set for September 7^th in Los Angeles. PARAMORE will perform “Misery Business,” the first single that was released from the band’s now platinum Riot! record. British comedian Russell Brand will serve as host for this year’s awards.

Gwen Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale welcomed their second child yesterday afternoon. Zuma Nesta Rock was born in Los Angeles. This report doesn’t say, but I think it’s a boy, because naming a baby girl “Zuma Nesta Rock” would just be stupid. Best of luck to Zuma not getting the crap kicked out of him (or her) for years to come, from all of us here at 103-9 THE X.