Last Saturday night saw CRADLE OF FILTH play a blistering headline set at Bloodstock Festival. That set, however, was cut short by a heckler down at the front who decided to hurtle objects at the stage- one of which hit and injured guitarist Paul Allender and meant the band had to shave 15 mins off their set.

In his latest blog, Metal Hammer journalist Dom Lawson hits out at the “joyless little prick with shrivelled genitals…” for ruining the evenings festivites for those who had been looking forward to seeing the band play…

“…No lap of honour on the shoulders of your cheering acolytes for you, Mr. Throwing Stuff. And I’ll tell you why.

When I was growing up and beginning to discover the wonderful and frightening world of heavy metal, listening to my favourite bands was a largely solitary experience, primarily because none of my friends particularly shared my musical taste at that time. They all fell into line eventually, obviously, but for a good few years metal was something that I enjoyed alone. A bit like wanking, only marginally louder. But even within that little bubble of isolated riff-worship, it was always plain to me that I was joining a worldwide community of like-minded people, because metal – and any good music, for that matter – is all about the communal experience, and that’s something that becomes more and more apparent when you start going to gigs and witness the unbeatable thrill of being part of a crowd of metal-loving folk first hand. There really is nothing quite like being at a metal show and turning round, as you bellow the lyrics to the chorus of your favourite song, and you meet the eyes of someone you’ve never met before and they’re doing EXACTLY THE SAME FUCKING THING! It’s brilliant. It’s still brilliant when you get to my age and stop wanting to make friends with people anymore. You might not necessarily want to socialise with everyone you meet at a gig or a festival, but common bonds are worth cherishing. There are enough things dividing us as human beings without acting like a total cock at a metal gig.

You can (and should) read the full post HERE.

MADINA LAKE are being nice and busy with their Kyte phone! They have loaded another update from the Warped tour- check out this update which features a live performace of Let’s Get Outta Here, shot from deep in the crowd (we are guessing merch guy Trout was the one braving the pit for this one. Kudos!)

Don’t forget you will be able to see the guys in October on tour with Papa Roach and get into a Madina Lake pit of your very own!! Dates are as follows:

Tue 6th Oct – Wolverhampton Civic
Wed 7th Oct – Nottingham Rock City
Fri 9th Oct – Glasgow Academy
Sat 10th Oct – London Brixton Academy
Sun 11th Oct – Manchester Academy
Tue 13th Oct – Newcastle Academy
Wed 14th Oct – Sheffield O2 Academy

You can get tickets online HERE.

Lasse Hoile, the director of the new video from PORCUPINE TREE, ‘Time Flies’ agreed to answer some questions from us about the video and the work he has done with Porcupine Tree over the years.

Sunset Strip legends RATT are set for a short UK visit this winter. As new signings to the Roadrunner imprint label, Loud & Proud, the band’s new album is penciled for a 25th JANUARY 2010 release. The band will be playing the following shows this December to set up the new record. Tickets went on sale today from box offices and at the buy online links below.

Tue 1st Dec – London Islington O2 Academy
Thu 3rd Dec – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Fri 4th Dec – Prestatyn Hard Rock Hell III

Ticket buy links can be found HERE

Ratt’s brand of hook-driven melodic rock helped shape the legendary LA metal scene. The band boasts a deep catalogue of hits including “Round and Round,” “Lay It Down,” “You’re In Love” and “Lack of Communication” and have sold millions of albums worldwide. With 1984’s mega-platinum debut, ‘Out of the Cellar’ celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the guys are looking forward to starting a brand new chapter with brand new music to complement the impressive legacy they have established over the last two-plus decades.

“This deal is a great opportunity for us to get our new music to Ratt fans worldwide,” says frontman Stephen Pearcy. “We are super excited about the new material!”

Keep an eye on Roadrunner UK for more news on Ratt as the dates and the album draw closer.

On September 28th, against all odds, LYNYRD SKYNYRD will release their new album GOD & GUNS. The first video from the release, for the track ‘Still Unbroken’ (which will be released as a digital single on the 21st September) is premiering exclusivley in the UK over at PLANET ROCK.

Just click on the SKYNYRD tab at the top of the homepage and check it out!!!

Metal-Hardcore juggernauts HATEBREED are set to release its new album, the ferocious, self-titled HATEBREED, on October 5th 2009.

The album will be available on CD, digital download and special edition with a bonus 65-minute DVD.

The tracklisting for the album has now been confirmed as follows:

1. Become The Fuse
2. Not My Master
3. Between Hell And A Heartbeat
4. In Ashes They Shall Reap
5. Hands Of A Dying Man
6. Everyone Bleeds Now
7. No Halos For The Heartless
8. Through The Thorns
9. Every Lasting Scar
10. As Damaged As Me
11. Words Became Untruth
12. Undiminished
13. Merciless Tide
14. Pollution Of The Soul

“This is our fifth studio album and it’s a monster!” Jamey (Jasta, vocals) comments, “We’ve survived some pretty rough times and the music shows it. There was no reason to change the recipe that our fans know and love but we added a few brutal new ingredients and we’re more than amped on the results. Violence is a given!”

He contimues, “I feel this new album is a true crossover record in the sense that our metal and hardcore roots are evenly represented throughout it. There’s still the fast East Coast tuned down Hardcore that people know and love, yet there are metal influences that shine through on almost every song. The speed is there, which we even kicked up a few notches on some of the songs, but the groove and slower tempos are represented. On Hatebreed, there is a violent mix of straight forward anthem headbangers, fast thrashers and brutal breakdown after breakdown. There’s something for everyone.”

The new album was once again produced by Zeuss and will feature the return of original guitar player Wayne Lozinak (who recently replaced departed guitarist Sean Martin) alongside core members Chris Beattie (bass), Matt Byrne (drums), Frank Novinec (guitar) and singer Jamey Jasta.

So we just mailed off a selection of the questions you guys sent in for Mike D of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE! THanks to everyone who mailed in! Check back in a couple of weeks to see if yours is one of the questions Mike answers!!

Whilst we wait for the answers from Mike, let’s see if any of you would like to pose a question to MACHINE HEAD’S Robb Flynn! Send an email in to rrguest@roadrunnerrecords.co.uk, title it ASK THE ARTIST ROBB FLYNN and then let us know what you would like to ask him.

We have also just posted up the answers from DRAGONFORCE’S Herman Li. Read those HERE. And if you missed the first Aks The Artist, that was with none other than DEVILDRIVER’S Dez Fafara, and you can check out his Q&A session HERE…

DEVILDRIVER are continuing their updates from the road on the Thrash and Burm tour of the USA and have posted episode two on their OFFICIAL MYSPACE. You can check it out in the player below.

The guys hit the UK this coming October for a headline tour. You can find the dates and venues and buy online at our TOURS PAGE. But check out the vid first and see if you got what it takes for a full throttle DevilDriver show…

Thrash And Burn Episode #2

Each Wednesday until mid September, DRAGONFORCE will be updating their DragonForce TV channel, and this week is no exception- check out the player below and you will see Herman and Vadim and some pretty awesome Keyboard solo-ing, including a guest solo from Netta Skog of battle metallers Turisas.

And for those of you who missed episode 2, you can check that out HERE– some killer live footage there!

If you check out the player below, you will see MADINA LAKE drummer Dan Torelli answering 5 questions posed by the bands fans on their Kyte player. Vegetarianism, the ‘rat incidents’, fave live bands… it’s all in there!

The time next week the band will be in the UK recovering from their flight and preparing to open the main stage at Reading (FRiday 28th) and Leeds (Sunday 30th) so if you are heading there, be sure to check them out!

The guys are touring in support of their new album ATTICS TO EDEN which you can pick up online HERE.