For over three months, Killswitch Engage have been without guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who exacerbated an old back injury in Europe and had to undergo surgery. While he recuperated at home the band persevered on the road, first with ex-Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers, then with ex-Damageplan singer and Halford guitarist Pat Lachman. But now, the greatest heavy metal clown who's not in Slipknot has announced his return.

"It's become apparent that it will be time for me to rejoin the Killswitch family this summer for the Warped Tour," he wrote on the band's MySpace page. "Yes, I am looking forward to several months filled with dirty fairgrounds, deli meat, beer farts, and endless six-packs underneath the summer sun."

Dutkiewicz thanked Lachman for capably filling his shoes and expressed gratitude with fans that took part in the band's bizarre 'Jerky Across the World' campaign.

"What started as a cruel joke to flood our A&R representative's office with jerky turned out to be a sweet outpouring of love from the fans," he said. "You are all too kind, and my sincere thanks goes out to all of you (especially Japan...gotta love that octopus and squid jerky). Long live dried meat products."

Killswitch Engage will play all dates on this summer's Warped Tour, which launches June 29 in Pomona, California and runs through August 25 in Los Angeles. Other loud bands on the bill include, As I Lay Dying, Throwdown, Underoath, Haste the Day, The Used, Poison the Well, A Static Lullaby, Bleed the Dream, Chiodos, Coheed and Cambria and Funeral For a Friend.

According to Blabbermouth.net, Killswitch Engage recently shot a video in Los Angeles for the single "The Arms of Sorrow," which "revolves around a man falling from a high-rise building in slow motion and people reacting to it."

If that's doesn't send you into a tailspin, this might: "A Bid Farewell"

More sharp angles and swervy lines from another band whose logo is about as easy to understand as its lyrics. What's different about this one is there doesn't seem to be any sort of pentagram or upside-down cross in there, or maybe we're just missing it. Also, there's some mean looking letterwork, but there's also some wavy curves that make us think maybe there's a hot chick in the band. Alas, there's not -- just a bunch of scary looking face-painted Swedes with sharp nails attatched to their armbands. Anyway, here are your choices:

a) Letherind b) Setherial c) Iron Maiden d) Getherias e) Detheaial

Surprise, surprise. Guns N' Roses are gonna miss a bunch of tour dates. Only, this time it's not Axl's fault.

The blame falls squarely on the damaged hand of bassist Tommy Stinson. "I feel so bad right now. I accidentally fell down a flight of stairs," he said in a statement, as if some people intentionally tumble down stairwells. "I put my hand down to break my fall and heard a loud 'pop.' The next morning my hand looked like a balloon. I went to see my doctor and while the good news is that it's not broken, the bad is news is it's severely sprained and I may have done some ligament damage."

The GNR world tour, which was scheduled to start April 14 in Japan will now launch on April 27 at the MyCoke festival in Johannesburg, South Africa. In total, five Japanese shows have been canceled.

"I'd like to apologize to our Japanese fans that were looking forward to seeing us and know that we will we see you all soon. Again, we'd like to sincerely thank our fans worldwide for their patience and support."

Guns N' Roses are currently mixing their long-awaited album, Chinese Democracy, which is scheduled to come out before the end of the year -- or when Hell freezes over -- whichever comes first.

This one's for Osaka: "It's So Easy"

Following the breakthrough success of "Halloween" in 1978 and "Friday the 13th" in 1980, dozens of slasher flicks soon flooded the market. At first, some were of fairly high quality, but by the end of the decade they were being produced en mass on minimal budgets, with little concern for plot, acting or special effects. Many went straight to video.

Inspired by these less-than professional efforts, some DIY filmmakers started shooting their own slasher flicks on video cameras, casting their friends and neighbors and using local businesses for sets. Most of these efforts were horrible. A few were so bad they were good and some, like Gary Cohen's "Video Violence" (Camp Motion Pictures) and its sequel "Video Violence 2," were clever, shocking and downright entertaining, despite their many flaws.

Without getting too analytical, "Video Violence" is kinda like a lowbrow cross between "The Stepford Wives," "8MM" and "Blood Feast." A former New York theater manager moves to a small town and sets up a video rental store. One day, a film is returned that isn't his, so he and his employee watch it and discover that it's a home video of their former mailman being hacked to death by some local yokels.

The store owner goes to the police, who are of little help, then returns to his shop to find the tape and his employee missing. It's not long before the kid turns up as the victim of a second video left at the store. Thus begins the merchant's murder investigation, and the more he finds out about his ass-backwards village and its violence-loving inhabitants, the more he's convinced he's in the middle of a grisly conspiracy.

The sequel to "Video Violence" is less inventive, even more poorly acted and bathed in schlocky gore effects. One scene of an exploding head ends with chunks of foam clearly visible under the puddle of fake blood. But that's just part of the film's twisted charm. The plot follows quirky murderers Howard and Eli (from the first film) and their pirate cable TV show, which turns the nation on to real life carnage as entertainment.

Spot a political subtext in there? Well, forget it because "Video Violence 2" exists purely for its splattery killings, gory dismemberments and sick, sick humor that will likely appeal to the Cannibal Corpse fan -- or budding cult filmmaker -- within.

Other new DVDs to check out:

Slaughter Night (SL8NR) (Tartan) Part supernatural thriller, part splatter flick, "Slaughter Night" is about a girl and some friends who takes a trip to a Dutch mine to pick up the manuscript for a book her late father wrote about a serial killer named Andries Martiens. In the 1800s, Martiens was sentenced to death in the mine and, of course, the teens manage to resurrect his evil spirit, which wants revenge. During a night of death and, well, more death, the survivors scramble to steer clear of Martiens and find their way out of the locked mine. Throughout, directors Frank van Geloven and Edwin Visser combine visceral elements of traditional slashers with those of zombie flicks, so that whenever a character is injured or slain, it becomes a killer as well, upping the pace of the film and increasing the body count.

Black Christmas (Genius) In 1974, Four years before the release of "Halloween," Bob Clark directed the original "Dark Christmas," a film about sorority sisters who are murdered on Christmas eve, supposedly by a escaped killer who grew up in the house. A Hollywood remake of such a cult film seems odd considering all the horror movies that have earned far more attention in its bloody wake. But Glen Morgan's "Black Christmas" is less a remake that an inspired reinvention. The basic plot is the same, but Morgan adds lots of gore (the original had very little), a second murderer and flashbacks about the background of the main psychopath, whose identity reamined a mystery for most of the 1974 movie. The new "Black Christmas" features enough jack-in-the-box thrills and graphic killings to satisfy both fans of the cult classic and newcomers out for a bloody treat.

Prayer Beads (Dark Sky) This two-disc Japanese horror anthology makes "Tales From the Crypt" look like "Dora the Explorer." The nine stories here are disturbing and original, and each is enhanced by macabre special effects by CGI wizard Masahiro Okano. Ghosts, monsters, thugs and rivers of blood abound in hallucinatory worlds as visually intense and unsettling as those as a Tool video compilation. And, at 30 minutes a tale, the plots can't get as maddeningly convoluted as most J-horror.

This weekend, Headbangers Ball will persevere in its quest to expose audiences to the newest and loudest bands by premiering the debut video by Inhale Exhale, "Redemption."

The track comes from the Canton, Ohio Christian metalcore band's album, The Lost. The Sick. The Sacred., which came out in November.

Like Zao and Demon Hunter, Inhale Exhale play ferocious funace blasts of metal tempered with slivers of celestial melody. The band features singer Ryland Raus (ex-Widdlesworth), guitarist John LaRussa (ex-Reliant K), bassist Brian Pittman and drummer Bobby Poole II (ex-Buck Enterprises).

According to Pittman, their album title, The Lost. The Sick. The Sacred, is a reference to the emptiness in the lives of the nonbelievers. "We're trying to show them there's an alternative to the way they're feeling," he told Revolver.

Clearly, it wasn't intentional, but Orange County metalcore band Bleeding Through has effectively struck the fatal blow to ailing Australia metal outfit, I Killed the Prom Queen.
The move came after Bleeding Through unanimously parted ways with original member, guitarist Scott Danough.

"We felt that we had grown apart and it was time for both parties to move on," the band wrote in a statement. Bleeding Through immediately replaced Danough with I Killed the Prom Queen guitarist Jona Weinhofen. The move came as a surprise to the rest of the band, who viewed it as a sign that it was time for the Prom Queen to rest in peace.

"The final nail in the coffin came [with Jona]," said the band in a statement. "This, coupled with our inability to find a replacement vocalist, aided the decision to end the band."

I Killed the Prom Queen lost singer Edward Butcher in February. He was temporarily replaced by ex-Heaven's End frontman Colin Jeffs.

Bleeding Through are working on new material and will launch a Canadian tour in the coming weeks.

In loving memory of I Killed the Prom Queen, "Say Goodbye":

Not quite satisfied with Slipknot's double-DVD "Voliminal: Inside the Nine," and itching to know if and when the bandmembers will get back together?

According to singer, Corey Taylor, Slipknot will be a single force again before the end of the year, and have at least one more record left in 'em before they spiral down below for all eternity.

Taylor made the announcement during an interview with WSOU Seton Hall's Pirate Radio on April 4.

More details as we get them. Until then, enjoy "My Plague:

Hellyeah -- Hellyeah (Epic) It's great to see ex-Damageplan and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul stepping back behind the kit with a new band. Hellyeah is a supergroup or sorts, featuring two members of Mudvayne, two members of Nothingface and Paul, but it isn't a fly by night venture. The band will tour with Family Values and plans to record more in the future. Their self-titled debut album is a slammin' blend of thrash, hard rock and southern rock that should appeal equally to fans of Pantera and Stone Sour.

Bleed the Dream - Killer Inside (Warcon) They combine elements of metal, emo and alternative to form pained, melodic songs that rock with conviction and commercial appeal. There's a fair amount of screaming, but there's even more self-cosciousness whining through the carefully crafted choruses and not-so-subtle arrangememts.

From Autumn To Ashes - Holding A Wolf By The Ears (Vagrant) Furious, tumbling, and harsh as an unfiltered cigarette, the band's new album is an exercise in primal scream therapy. Even though there are plenty of catchy choruses here, rage is the overpowering emotion, and when the band latch into a cool, metallic groove, be prepared to get pummeled.

Karnivool - Themata (Bieler Bros.) These Aussies seem to be fans of Tool, Disturbed and, perhaps, System of a Down, and their songs are mystical and thunderous enough to remain interesting, even when mired in the thickest, most syrupy melody.

Liferuiner - No Saints (Tribunal) This Canadians outfit plays punishing hardcore metal that's sometimes redolent of Pantera. Liferuiner's slow, serrated rhythms are merciless and hostile, and when they ramp up the tempo they're a bulldozer heading for your sleeping skull.

For the last couple months there has been a lot of back and forth about whether or not this year's free Ozzfest is really going to be worth the price of admission. At first, fans griped that the lineup would suck since no one's getting paid. Then Ozzfest put together a pretty stellar list of bands that would probably have drawn well as a pay ticket: Ozzy Osbourne, Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Lordi, Behemoth, Mondo Generator, Nile, Ankla, Circus Diablo, The Showdown, 3 Inches of Blood, Daath, Chthonic and In This Moment.

The other prevailing question was would Ozzfest really be free, and would the hassle of securing a seat to the show outweigh the appeal of getting in without dropping a dollar? Well, this morning Ozzfest released a statement that explains a bit more about how fans can gain admission.

Starting May 12, ticket codes will be distributed through sponsor websites. In Depth details about these programs are available at Ozzfest.com, LiveNation.com, MonsterEnergy.com, JagerMusic.com and FYE.com. In the meantime, various sponsors will have offline initiatives, details of which will also be available via their respective websites.

These codes can be redeemed for tickets, starting June 12. Fans will return to the site where they registered or www.livenation.com/ozzfest, enter their code and download two tickets to the show of their choice. To ensure that everyone gets the chance for free tickets, there is a limit of two tickets per customer.

A recent article in New York Newsday pondered the disadvantages of a free Ozzfest and determined, "'Free' extends to the bands, too, meaning they won't be paid. That explains why marquee names such as Korn or Judas Priest haven't exactly rushed to sign on. Smaller bands are willing to tour under the famous Ozzfest ‘brand' without receiving a dime because they're still looking to build an audience. Their record labels, who likely share the same goal, may support the bands financially as well. And every artist will be
hoping to sell as many T-shirts, posters and CDs.'"

And, Hellyeah drummer Vinnie Paul, whose band will be playing Family Values this year, says he'd love to have been there at the meeting where Ozzfest organizers discovered how they could make money without charging for tickets.

Somebody's come up with some genius way to make some money, because if you went to McDonald's and got a free hamburger every day, how much longer is McDonald's gonna stay in business?" Paul told one reporter. "It doesn't work out economically, you know. So for them to be able to do this, somebody has really thought it through really well and just found a way to make it the most exciting and biggest tour in the world. So I can tell you this: every show on the Ozzfest tour this summer will be sold out!"

The cover of Judas Priest's 1980 album, British Steel, is pretty frickin' metal, depicting a hand holding a large, old-fashioned razor blade (It wouldn't have been anywhere near as cool if the hand was grasping, say, a Gillette Sensor replacement blade). The sharp object is cutting into the hand's fingers without drawing blood. The band's logo is stenciled diagonally across the blade and the barely visible wrist is wearing — not, not Casio — a studded bracelet.

But the album cover isn't quite as awesome as the art for the band's 1978 album Hell Bent For Leather (aka Killing Machine). Set with the same jet black background as British Steel, it's really sort of a companion piece. Like British Steel, the image was created by Columbia Records' then-in-house art dude, Roslav Szaybo; it depicts a pale dude in dark sunglasses with shattered, bloody lenses. His lips and nose are airbrushed, making him look like an android and on his head he wears -- not a propeller beanie -- a studded leather headband.

Szaybo also did the art for Priest's 1977 album Sin After Sin, 1978's Stained Class and the UK release of 1981's Point of Entry, but the band hired John Berg for the cover of the U.S. edition of that release. Berg also designed the divebombing military metal bird on the cover of the Priest's breakthrough album, 1982's Screaming For Vengeance. So maybe it was that blasted Szaybo who was holding the band back from worldwide domination all those years.

For anyone else Hell Bent for Priest, here's: