Chad Bowar of About Heavy Metal recently conducted an interview with WITHIN TEMPTATION vocalist Sharon den Adel. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

About Heavy Metal: What has the response been in the United States to “The Heart of Everything”?

Sharon den Adel: “We toured in the U.S. a few months ago and we didn't know what to expect when we went over there. We were a support act for LACUNA COIL. A lot of people came to see us even though we only played for 45 minutes. People came from Atlanta to Louisville, which is a really long drive. I was really amazed that so many people came to see us and already knew the music. It was really cool. A lot of them got to know us through MySpace. I think in Europe we underestimate MySpace. It's a lot bigger in the U.S. than here. That's how a lot of people got in contact with us. We were very surprised.”

About Heavy Metal: Every WITHIN TEMPTATION album has a different vibe and theme. How would you describe “The Heart of Everything”?

Sharon den Adel: “We have been inspired by movies and books and, of course, our personal lives. It's about what an individual finds important in life. You have to make choices. It's about the journey toward those choices. If you were to ask me what's important in my life, I would say family, my health, that type of thing. But this is not to tell people what is good in my life, but to ask questions and search for what is good in life. That's why Lady Justice is on the album cover, weighing choices and hopefully making the right choices.”

About Heavy Metal: You signed with Roadrunner Records. Was the fact that your albums will now be released in the United States part of that decision?

Sharon den Adel: “We have been around for some time and have been doing quite well in Europe. That is why America started noticing us, and that's why we got the deal with Roadrunner. They noticed us and thought we might be a good band for them to release in America. That's the way it happened. It was nice coming to America. It's such a different culture. It's another exciting journey.”

About Heavy Metal: You're coming back to the U.S. for a tour later this fall.

Sharon den Adel: “We wanted to come back to America to play a headline show. We had so many good reactions after we played there and were approached by the promoter to come back.”

About Heavy Metal: Have you had any formal vocal training?

Sharon den Adel: “No. But I think I did it the way people do when they are trained. I practiced every day. I was singing three or four hours every day. I grew up with parents who loved music and there was always music in our house. When I heard a song I liked I would rehearse until I could sing it the same way it was supposed to be. It was a challenge for me to be able to sing the songs I really liked. I trained myself that way.”

Read the entire interview at this location.

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Dustin Schoof of The Express-Times recently conducted an interview with STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On touring:

“I went through all of Europe seven times, got to go to Japan twice. For the next tour, we'll probably go to South America. It's pretty amazing to have it be your job and get paid to do it. I think a lot of people in the industry take it for granted.”

On the success of the band's latest effort, “Come What(ever) May”:

“It's surpassed the (first album). We've grown as a band that it has made our fan base bigger is even cooler. We've worked our butts off and it's kind of like being rewarded for staying true to what we do.”

On STONE SOUR's breakthrough in 2002 when frontman Corey Taylor's acoustic ballad “Bother” appeared on the “Spider-Man” soundtrack and became an overnight hit:

“The band at the time was still putting (the first album) together and Corey got approached by (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist) Tom Morello's wife, who was putting the soundtrack together. Corey's a huge Spider-Man fan, and she called him up to see if he wanted to submit a track. He only had three days to do it, so he ran and did it by himself. We loved it and carried it over for our first album.”

On whether the band was worried about alienating SLIPKNOT fans when it came to crafting STONE SOUR's more melodic hard-rock sound:

“Honestly, going into it, Corey thought there was going to be super backlash listen, whether it's hard rock, country, rap – at the end of the day, everybody likes certain things. Something about certain songs pulls them in. For us, that's what it was about. For him, it was a different way of expressing himself, something he couldn't do in SLIPKNOT. The three of us (Rand, Taylor and guitarist Jim Root) were friends before we could play anything. We've always written stuff and that's how it all came together. The band became an outlet for him and became way more than anybody thought it would.”

SHADOWS FALL and CHIMAIRA are among the bands contributing to the upcoming “Resident Evil: Extinction” soundstrack, due on September 18 via Lakeshore Records. The film itself will hit theaters on September 21.

“Resident Evil: Extinction” tentative track listing:

SHADOWS FALL – “Stupid Crazy”
FLYLEAF – “I'm So Sick” (exclusive remix)
EMIGRATE – “My World”
BAYSIDE – “Duality” (string version)
FIGHTSTAR – Deathcar
AIDEN vs. THE LEGION OF DOOM – “One Love” (extinction remix)
THROWDOWN – “I, Suicide”
THE BLED – “Asleep on the Front Lines” (exclusive remix)
CHIMAIRA – “Paralyzed”
COLLIDE – “White Rabbit” (SPC eco mix)
CITY SLEEPS – “Catch Me”
SEARCHLIGHT – “Contagious”
EMANUEL – “Sceneotaph” (exclusive remix)
POISON THE WELL – “Wrecking Itself, Taking You With Me”
IT DIES TODAY – “Sixth of June”
Plus original music by Charlie Clouser

Source: Blabbermouth

Andreas Feuerstein of MusigReview.com spoke to SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera on

THE CULT's new single, “Dirty Little Rock Star”, is available for streaming in its entirety at this location. The track comes off the reunited band's new album, “Born Into This”, due on October 2 in North America via Roadrunner Records (October 1

MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine and Capitol/EMI have collaborated to create and deploy the ultimate MEGADETH box set: “Warchest”. The 4-CD+DVD collection features more than six hours of digitally remastered content, hand-selected by Mustaine, including 30 audio and video tracks making their global release debuts, and an additional three tracks that have never before been released in the U.S. “Warchest”'s October 2 release caps Mustaine and Capitol/EMI's in-depth MEGADETH catalog remastering and restoration campaign, which has encompassed the band's Capitol studio albums, while also adding new audio and video collections to the band's arsenal.

Armed with digitally remastered career-defining album cuts, soundtrack and compilation sides, unreleased live and studio performances and interview clips spanning more than 20 years, “Warchest” is the ultimate MEGADETH compendium. Included in the trove are a full 75-minute live set from a night on the 1990 “Clash of the Titans” tour and a DVD of highlights from a 1992 stop supporting “Countdown To Extinction” – two historical shows, both making their release debuts on “Warchest”. The set's custom “vac-u-form” packaging showcases a 3-D ammo belt on its front and a 36-page booklet with an essay by Ian Christe and a comprehensive discography, complemented by an array of photos and images.

Dave Mustaine says, “This is, by far, the best and most comprehensive look at all-things-MEGA if you had to get a crash-course in metal! With some of the most famous, and infamous, shows and any of the fluid, or flammable, line-ups, listening to this box set when it was all done was an adrenalin surge. I have got to hand it to my past band mates, they played great for how turbulent times could get in the blink of an eye, and I absolutely love every moment of this collection.”

Source: Blabbermouth

Corey asks triviumworld.com fan club members “What riff from any Trivium song would you like to be taught how to play?”

From the given answers they're going to record a video of him explaining and showing how to play that specific riff and post it up for fan club members!

Triviumworld.com members can vote

Triviumworld.com has updated the virtual ticket with some candid videos, behind the scenes videos, backstage videos and live photos. Probably one of the biggest updates so far.

We've also added the chat transcript from the first scheduled live chat, which was with Ninju. An hour long chat full of questions from fanclub members.

Click here to visit triviumworld.com.

Triviumworld.com has updated the virtual ticket with some candid videos, behind the scenes videos, backstage videos and live photos. Probably one of the biggest updates so far.

We've also added the chat transcript from the first scheduled live chat, which was with Ninju. An hour long chat full of questions from fanclub members.

Click here to visit triviumworld.com.