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DEFTONES Frontman’s CROSSES Project: ‘Bitches Brew’ Video Released

"Bitches Brew", the new video from ††† (CROSSES) — DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno's project with FAR guitarist Shaun Lopez — can be seen below. The song comes off ††† (CROSSES)'s self-titled full-length debut, which will be released on February 11, 2014 via Sumerian Records. The CD will include the songs from ††† (CROSSES)'s two previously released EPs — 2011's "†" and 2012's "††", along with five new tracks.

PRO-PAIN: ‘Deathwish’ Video Premiere

"Deathwish", the new Kirk Farrington-directed video from American hardcore metallers PRO-PAIN, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's new studio album, "The Final Revolution", which will be released on November 25 in Europe and December 3 in North America via SPV/Steamhammer.

AMON AMARTH: Official ‘As Loke Falls’ Lyric Video

The official lyric video for the song "As Loke Falls" from Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH can be seen below. The track comes off the band's ninth studio album, "Deceiver Of The Gods", sold around 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on June 25 via Metal Blade Records. In Germany, "Deceiver Of The Gods" entered the Top 100 chart at No. 3, the official Media Market/Saturn chart at #3 and the German Media Control Weekend Trend chart at No. 2. "Deceiver Of The Gods" came in at No. 9 on Canada's Top 200 chart, No. 2 on the Hard Music chart and No. 21 on the Digital Music chart. Additionally, the record came in at No. 2 on the iTunes Metal chart, No. 2 on the iTunes Rock chart and No. 7 on the iTunes Top 200. In the U.K., the record entered the official album chart at No. 67, the Rock/Metal chart at No. 4 and the Independent chart at No. 14, marking the highest U.K. chart placements for the band yet. Elsewhere, "Deceiver Of The Gods" came in at No. 9 on the Top 100 album chart in Switzerland, No. 7 on the Austrian Top 100, No. 9 in Sweden, No. 27 in Denmark, No. 51 in France, No. 34 in Czech Republic and No. 51 in Hungary. Recorded at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, and produced, mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap (OPETH, MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), "Deceiver Of The Gods" delivers ten fiery battle hymns made of buzzsaw riffs and epic harmonies all driven by vocalist Johan Hegg's commanding Viking roar and absorbing accounts of Norse crusades and treachery. "Deceiver Of The Gods" comes adorned with another outstanding Tom Thiel-created cover portraying a mythical battle between the Norse Gods Loki and Thor. As an added bonus,Messiah Marcolin (CANDLEMASS) makes an appearance as guest vocalist on eighth track,"Hel". AMON AMARTH will embark on a U.S. headlining tour in January. Very special guest on the dates will be ENSLAVED, with additional support from SKELETONWITCH.

New Study Paints Psychological Portrait Of Heavy Metal Fans

A newly published study has found that fans of heavy metal music tend to have higher openness to experience, more negative attitudes toward authority, lower self-esteem, greater need for uniqueness and lower religiosity than those individuals with a preference for other musical genres. 219 women and 195 men ranging in age from 18 to 57 years participated in the study, which examined associations between individual differences and preferences for a specific subgenre of music, namely, contemporary heavy metal. A research team led by psychologist Viren Swami at University Of Westminster in London, England presented the 414 individuals from Britain with clips of 10 tracks of contemporary heavy metal and asked them to rate each for liking (from "extreme dislike" to "extreme like"). Participants also completed measures of the Big Five personality traits, attitudes toward authority, self-esteem, need for uniqueness, and religiosity. The researchers write: "Our results confirm previous reports that openness is associated with a preference for rock and heavy metal, including nonmainstream subgenres. In explanation, it has been suggested that individuals who score highly on openness show a preference for the intensity, variety, complexity, and unconventionality of heavy metal. [It has also been suggested] that individuals who are open-minded and who seek novel experiences may become disinterested in mainstream or conventional musical forms as they grow older. This, in turn, may lead them to seek out musical genres that are unconventional by the standards of mainstream cultures, such as contemporary heavy metal." They add: "Our results also showed that individuals with more negative attitudes toward institutional authority were more likely to show a preference for the heavy metal tracks. In general, this is consistent with [the] description of heavy metal fans as inhabiting a subculture of alienation, which translates into an opposition to authority and mainstream society… It is possible, for example, that heavy metal may conjure referent images that are inherently antiauthority or that signal a revolt against mainstream culture. In this sense, individuals who hold more negative attitudes toward authority may show a preference for heavy metal precisely because it expresses their dissatisfaction with authority. "Respondents who showed a stronger preference for the metal tracks in the present study were also more likely to have lower self-esteem and higher need for uniqueness. In the first instance, it is possible that individuals with relatively low self-esteem are drawn to heavy metal because the style of music allows for a purge of negative feelings. The catharsis afforded by heavy metal may, in turn, help boost self-worth and promote positive self-evaluations among those with otherwise low self-esteem." The entire research paper can be found at the web site of the American Psychological Association.

MACHINE HEAD: Previously Unreleased ‘Pins And Needles’ Song Posted Online

Guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD has posted the following message on the band's Facebook page: "For those of you just tuning in today, in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of our fifth album, 'Through The Ashes Of Empires', I've written a multi-part story in my General Journals, today is Part 3 of the story. I've decided to do a Part 4 and 5 to 'Through The Ashes Turns 10', because I realize there is more of the story that needs to be told, so most likely on Tuesday and Thursday of next week, I'll throw them up. "Part 3 goes into the feud that happened between Kerry King [SLAYER] and I back in 2002. 'For the record: I'm not re-telling this to start and/or dig up old shit. I love Kerry, he fuckin' rules! We hung out two nights ago when SLAYER played in San Jose, we had a blast, got HAMMERED! But 10/11 years ago? Things were different, and in order to paint an accurate picture of where our heads were at for the writing of 'Through The Ashes Of Empires', this part of the story has to be told. It played a role. Consciously or unconsciously it definitely played a role. "In 2002, Kerry King of SLAYER and I got into a public war words over disrespectful comments he'd made about MACHINE HEAD. For over a year, I had bit my tongue in hopes that he would lay off, and just give it a rest, but he didn't, and after a particularly brutal stab at us and me in particular, I went for the jugular. I fucking roasted him. Things got ugly in a hurry in public and behind the scenes it was even worse. The feud would last for 5 years until 2007, when at theMetal Hammer Awards in London it was squashed. "I hated every minute of it. "To have someone who had shaped your musical life so much, who took MACHINE HEAD on their second and third tours ever, who was a former friend and mentor to me, just ripping on you… it was tough. But after a while, you have to say 'fuck this.' It doesn't matter who it is, you have to stick up for yourself. I couldn't let the things being said go unanswered. It might've gotten truly ugly, but I think we both earned each other's respect a little more in the long run. I respected him for calling us out publicly, when so many people in the music business just talk shit and plot behind people's backs, he gave his opinion and what can I say? It stung. However, once squashed, I like to think he respected me for standing my ground and protecting what was mine. Maybe it was tough love from Kerry King? Maybe, but one thing's for sure, in some ways it fueled a lot of anger in me. Maybe it worked. "In and around this same timeframe, Kerrang! magazine had shredded us in a slew of articles and show reviews. The U.K. magazine was famous for building bands up just to tear them down. At this stage in MACHINE HEAD's career, believe me, they were in full-on tear down mode. "I had mentioned in an earlier journal about the U.S. press and how they essentially had blacklisted us. Coverage in any magazine was just about nil, nada, zilch. To this day, we've only had one major cover story and that was back in '99 for the now-defunct Metal Maniacs. American journalists were asking me during interviews to 'apologize to our fans for'Supercharger'.' "Tours still did well and despite what the press has repeated over and over again, our fans stood by us. Sure, there was complaints from Head Cases [MACHINE HEAD fans], often times they said them respectfully to my face, or on the Internet, but they stood by MACHINE HEAD, and the ticket sales for those tours (thankfully) proved it. "But regardless of all that, we had hit a wall in the music business. Sure, we had just re-signed with Roadrunner in Europe but our future in the U.S. was terribly uncertain. Silently getting turned down by 35 U.S. labels... man... it was a lot of rejection. It weighed on me. I began to doubt myself. "Other bands were talking shit; ex-band members were talking shit (and still do). "We'd gotten a little merchandise advance, but we were living month to month and about to be broke again at any day. "It felt like the world wanted us to stop. "The vultures were circling.

STEEL PANTHER: NSFW Version Of ‘Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World’ Video Released

The not-safe-for-work version of "Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World", the brand new video from Los Angeles glam-metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER, can be seen below. (Warning: The video includes partial female nudity.) The clip includes celebrity cameos by "Jackass" star Steve-O, porn icon Ron Jeremy, "Breaking Bad" actor RJ Mitte and MMA fighter Chuck Liddell.

Project Featuring MAX CAVALERA, GREG PUCIATO, TROY SANDERS Gets Name

The project featuring Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA), THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN frontman Greg Puciato, Dave Elitch (ex-THE MARS VOLTA) and Troy Sanders (MASTODON) has finally decided on a name: KILLER BE KILLED. The group recently inked a deal with Nuclear Blast for the release of its debut album, tentatively due in mid-2014. The CD is being recorded at Fortress Studio in Los Angeles, California with producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA). Talking to U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine, Max said about the new project: "Greg approached me kinda like how Alex [Newport; FUDGE TUNNEL] approached me to do NAILBOMB in that he was really, really trying to get me to do this project. I told him already I was pretty busy doing SOULFLY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY [and] I was not really looking for an extra thing, but he was pretty insistent and then I just gave up and was, like, 'Let's fucking do this!' "It started with just me and Greg and then we got Dave Elitch — he's an amazing drummer — and then Greg knew Troy and we asked him to be the bassist so it kind of became a supergroup all of a sudden. We jammed a couple of times and the last jam we did it sounded killer; the songs are really powerful real heavy. It's hard to describe but I think the coolest thing about this project is that all three of us are going to sing on every song." Earlier this year, Puciato told Noisecreep about how the project started: "We were at a DEFTONES show in L.A. at the Palladium and we were talking backstage about old thrash metal, punk and hardcore and we found ourselves referencing many of the same things and we were like, 'Fuck, man, we should make a record together and do it as a one-off like NAILBOMB.' A month later, I talked to Max again and he said we should actually do that. "No one in metal makes collaborative records like people in jazz and hip-hop do. It doesn't have to be like a band that you're launching from the ground that you go on tour with. There is something to be said for collaboration and throwing yourself out there and learning something new from working with different people. Dave was a buddy of mine already and he's a phenomenal drummer. He was the first person I thought of to play drums. "We [DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN] spent a lot of time touring with MASTODON and Troy seemed like a really obvious fit. We had a really easy time writing. We can't release it right behind the DILLINGER record and we also have to figure out when the MASTODON record is coming out and the same for whatever Max is doing next. It's going to come out. It's just going to be a matter of logistics as to when."

VOLBEAT: ‘The Nameless One’ Video Released

The video for the song "The Nameless One" from Danish/American metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT can be seen below. The performance clip comes from the DVD portion of the "tour edition" of the band's "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" album, which will be released on November 4 in Europe and November 5 in North America. Red eyes are a current issue with the VOLBEAT camp. One reason could well be that VOLBEAT have been constantly on the road since 2010 when their "Beyond Hell, Above Heaven" album was released, while the second reason for the redness probably has to do with the band members rubbing their eyes in disbelief since the release of their fifth album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", in April. The album was a huge success from the get-go and has added several chapters to "the tale of VOLBEAT." "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" hit the No. 1 spot in more than five countries around the world, including their home country Denmark and in Germany where the album in its first week sold over 50,000 copies, and in America where it landed at No. 9 on the Billboard chart.