Blabbermouth.net – U.K.’s Diss Express reports: A teenager’s dreams have come true after he met global rock giants METALLICA.

Attleborough High School pupil Andrew Ladell benefitted from children’s charity Dreams Come True, which organized the meeting at the band’s London O2 arena concert.

He said: “It was a dream — they are my favorite band and I met every one of them.”

Andrew suffers from Crohn’s Disease, a condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract.

A year ago Andrew was so ill he had to try an experimental new drug, Infliximab, to stop him wasting away.

Read more from Diss Express.

Blabbermouth.net – Vocalist Brian Fair of Massachusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL recently spoke to Noisecreep about the band’s decision to form their own label in conjunction with Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group and Ferret Music.

“We had an amazing run with Century Media that opened up many doors and taught us even more,” he said. “This led to our decision to sign with a major label like Atlantic Records to see what that world was all about. We realized quickly that the entire music industry was in a state of flux and panic as sales figures and profits were dropping by huge percentages each year. It was time to change up the business model in a way that would help break the cycle of large unrecouped budgets and put the power and profits back in the hands of the band.”

Fair continued, “In a traditional record deal, the band is fronted large amounts of money by the label and they control the spending for promotion and video that then must be paid back through album sales, leaving the band as the last ones to get paid as the money trickles in. In our current deal, we have the power of a major label distributor combined with the everyday input of an independent label that understands our music and scene.”

Fair told Revolver magazine that the band’s new songs are similar to those on 2007’s “Threads of Life”, though darker and almost ballad-free. “There’s more like two half-ballads,” he said. “There are some acoustic moments and some melodies that let the songs breathe, but there’s old-school thrash as well. We’ve written a lot of fast stuff which is definitely going to be fun to play live.”

“Threads of Life” was made available through Atlantic in the U.S. and Roadrunner Records in Europe. The CD shifted around 100,000 copies in the United States since its April 2007 release — a fraction of the 300,000-plus sales total achieved by its predecessor, 2004’s “The War Within”, which was issued by Century Media.

Blabbermouth – VELVET REVOLVER/ex-GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Slash has commented on his “mentor” appearance next week during “Rock Week” on “American Idol”, the annual reality show and singing competition. Slash wrote on his MySpace page, “As you may or may not know, the producers for ‘American Idol’ have asked me to be the mentor for ‘Rock Week’ next week. I was reluctant at first, but they offered me the freedom to do it however I wanted. More importantly, there are a few singers this year who are really impressive. It’s the first time any ‘American Idol’ lineup has really caught my attention.”

Slash added, “The approach I’m taking is different than usual on the show and I’m going to make this as rock and roll an ‘American Idol’ as possible. Wish me luck!”

Previous stars who have mentored hopefuls on the show include Mariah Carey and Neil Diamond, while Jon Bon Jovi has mentored “Rock Week.”

Slash has also posted a new update on his solo album, which he is in the process of recording with various guest vocalists appearing on different tracks. He wrote, “Things are going great in the studio. We are officially past the halfway point, with some really cool collaborations coming up in the days and weeks ahead.”

Ozzy Osbourne and AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows are two of the vocalists confirmed to appear on Slash’s record.

The guitarist said there are eight songs still to record, and also posted some working song titles, including “We’re All Gonna Die”, “These Last Words”, “Crucify The Dead” and “Beautiful, Dangerous”.

Slash has recruited ex-NINE INCH NAILS drummer Josh Freese and former JANE’S ADDICTION bassist Chris Chaney to play on the record.

Blabbermouth – MetalUniverse.net has uploaded a six-minute video clip containing footage from LAMB OF GOD’s April 17, 2009 signing session at the HMV Megastore in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Watch it below.

LAMB OF GOD’s new album, “Wrath”, has sold 139,000 copies in the United States since its February 24 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“Wrath” was produced by Josh Wilbur and was recorded in studios in New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

The “Wrath” album was released in four configurations: an LP, a CD, a deluxe-edition CD with bonus disc – which contains isolated recording parts – as well as a super-deluxe version featuring a limited-edition box containing an LP, deluxe-edition CD and USB drive containing two exclusive bonus tracks.

Well, it’s finally been released and has hit the number one album on the NZ charts this week.

What are your thoughts on the album?

Chris Schulz’s Death Magnetic review for stuff.co.nz was clearly not favourable and it raised nearly 300 comments for it!

Is it a return to form for one of metal’s pioneering bands or is it a try hard effort to recapture what they once had?

Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

Here is Metallica’s new song ‘The Day That Never Comes’ from the upcoming Death Magnetic album:

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Metal Veterans Testament have announced One New Zealand Show on the 9th of November at the AMI Stadium in Christchurch according to their site www.testamentlegions.com

Here is an exert (sp?) from that site

September 2008:
09/20/08 Club Citta – Kawasaki, Japan
09/21/08 Club Citta – Kawasaki, Japan
09/25/08 The Arena – Brisbane, Australia
09/26/08 Billboard Club – Melbourne Australia
09/27/08 The Metro – Sydney, Australia

November 2008:
11/09/08 AMI Stadium – Christchurch, New Zealand

Keep it locked on rockzillatv.com for ticket and other information regarding this massive announcement.

Soulfly are releasing their 6th studio album “Conquer” through RoadRunner Records on July 29th!

Here is the official Music Video for the first single track “Unleash”  which features Dave Peters from Throwdown on guest vocals

Here is the track listing

1. “Blood Fire War Hate”
2. “Unleash” – 5:10
3. “Paranoia”
4. “Warmageddon”
5. “Enemy Ghost”
6. “Rough”
7. “Fall of the Sycophants”
8. “Doom”
9. “For Those About To Rot”
10. “Touching the Void”
11. “Soulfly VI”

Anyone attending Children of Bodom on Thursday will get a Daysend flyer which, upon retention and presentation, will get them into the Daysend Auckland show for half price.

The same flyer also grants free entry to the Children of Bodom afterparty.

Street Address: 68 Hobson St, Auckland

Slipknot have released the title track from their upcoming album “All Hope Is Gone” due to be released through Roadrunner Records on August 26th.

Enjoy!