Last week, we posted an item on Swedish black metal buzz band Watain, who have been known to cover themselves with animal blood and throw what's left from the vats into the writhing crowd.

Sadly, when they played B.B. Kings in New York on May 14, they seemed to have left the buckets of blood at their hotel. Even so, they delivered a truly evil, floor-shaking set, which was captured by MetalKult.com.

So, forget the shaky, handheld bootleg footage we posted last week and check out this new clip of Watain playing the title track from their new album "Sworn to the Dark."

Given the content of Kittie's melodic thrashy metal, and the grueling nature of touring, it's not surprising that drummer Mercedes Lander has spent a fair amount of time watching horror films in the bus. But we never would have guessed that Lander is practically a splatter flick scholar. Not only is she knowledgeable about the styles and impact of movies from the '80s, '90s and present day, she's also well read about the subtle differences between various subgenres, and the types of special effects used through the eras. Not only did she provide us with an essay about her lifelong interest in horror, she also offered pointers to those who with to dive more deeply into the genre. Sure beats the hell out of the average guest blog about kicking ass on tour, partying on the road and writing songs for the best, heaviest and most melodic album ever...

Ever since I was a young girl I have been fascinated with '70s and '80s horror films. I remember begging my mother to rent "The Corpse Grinders" by Ted V. Mikles when I was around five years old. It took about six months to wear her down, but I finally got to see it. The thought of people being turned into cat food and deranged human hungry cats "in blood-curdling color" really caught my interest. This began my love for the macabre and all things gore.

Before I go into a comparison of old vs. new, here's a little background on horror movies. First there's the classic "staple" horror movies like the "Friday the 13th" series, the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, the "Halloween" series (with the exception of number three which was a complete waste of film), and the "Evil Dead" trilogy. Most people have seen these movies at least once. But digging a little deeper reveals the Italian zombie and horror movies by Lucio Fulci, Andrea Bianchi, and Dario Argento. Finally, we have the quintessential "B" and "C" horror movies, which are my favorite, like "Dead Heat," "Don't go into the Woods," "Night of the Creeps," "The Undertaker and his Pals," the "Return of the Living Dead trilogy" (sorry guys, I don't count anything after 3 as being a real movie), and "Slumber Party Massacre," just to name a few good ones. Mind you, there are lots more movies and sub genres in the horror section but I would be here all day listing them.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do like a few newer horror movies, but for the most part I think that over the last 15 years horror movies have been ruined by technology. It's so hard to find a movie that doesn't use CGI now. What happened to the days of gallons of fake blood, dummies, prosthetics, makeup, and more fake blood? It's mostly been replaced with crappy computer graphics like all the really bad looking blood in "Ichi the Killer". At least when Kevin bacon gets stabbed through the neck in Friday the 13th it looks real, not computerized and unrealistically squirting on every wall. I wish more film makers in the horror genre were creative and organic with their death scenes and gore instead of slapping on some CGI blood and gore. Now, I'm not saying that all fake blood is realistic looking, but when it's done in a campy sense, like in the "Evil Dead" movies, it's amazing and quite hysterical. I always wondered how they got all that blood to geyser out of the wall.

I've also found in the last five years or so that lots of directors have been remaking horror classics into dumbed down versions or retellings. With the exception of the new "Dawn of the Dead" movie and maybe a few others, these generally suck. I definitely hated "House of Wax" and the only good thing about the new "Amityville Horror" was Ryan Reynolds walking around half naked in all his sexy glory. Although, the one type of movie I am okay with are prequels and
sequels, but only because the actual classic movie hasn't been touched and the title usually has a 2, 5 or 10 beside it or the name is different.

Sometimes you actually get a good prequel or sequel if the director does his or her homework or has great ideas, which are hard to come by these days, if you ask me. In general, new horror movies have had a lackluster feel to them in the past 15 years. Either the film makers are not thinking outside the box or are trying to go for that PG13 rating. There seems to be a huge stigma with rated "R" movies these days and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe its because large distributors know that if a movie is PG13, a younger demographic will get to see the movie instead of the restricted 18 and up crowd, which, in the end, makes more money at the box office. In order to avoid an "R" rating, it seems like many current movies leave out or cut away from the really gory scenes. For instance, I went to see "Saw" when it first came out because I
had heard it was really awesome. Now, the premise of the movie seemed like it would work but the delivery really disappointed me. There wasn't a whole lot going on until the end aside from conversation and the odd torture scene. I also had a hard time taking the movie seriously. All I could think about was how the lead actor, Cary Elwes, was in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," and I couldn't keep a straight face. That in itself would have ruined the movie for me if it wasn't so bad in the first place.

All things aside, I do enjoy some newer horror movies. But for the most part I find many of the newer movies in the horror genre to be desultory. This is not to say that there weren't absolutely horrendous movies made 20, 30 or even 40 years ago, but I think I appreciate them a little better. My golden rule: Just because it's new doesn't mean it's
good.

New horror movies to check out:
High Tension
Dawn of the Dead remake
28 Weeks Later

Old Classics
Burial Ground
Dawn of the Dead
Demons
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)
Dead Alive
Zombie Holocaust

Cool Horror Movie Related Books
Eaten Alive: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies by Jay Slater
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
The Evil Dead Companion by Bill Warren
World War Z by Max Brooks

It's easy to understand why Glenn Danzig chose to include covers of T. Rexx's "Buick McKane" and " the Germs' "Caught in My Eye" on his new double-disc of b-sides and previously unreleased songs, "The Lost Tracks of Danzig." But it's not so simple to figure out what David Bowie's "Cat People (Putting Out Fire) is doing on there.

"I love that song. It's a great song," he told MTVnews.com's Metal File, making it perfectly clear that no further explanation was necessary. "I made it a little more rocker heavy and it was fun to do."

In addition to the three covers, there's a treasure trove of originals that date back to the
Danzig's final days in Samhain, the band he was in before forming Danzig in 1984. "Pain is Like and Animal" and "Death Had No Nam" were both written from that period. "I included two versions of 'When Death Has No Name' because I wanted to show how it developed," he said. "The first recording was really broad and very produced and the other one is more raw. I think we recorded that song at every Danzig session up until [1992's] Danzig III: How the Gods Kill."

Other highlights include the trudging, buzzing "Lady Lucifera," which was recorded for Circle of Snakes, but never used; the haunting, shimmering "Warlok," penned for 1996's Blackacidevil; and the slithering blues workout "Crawl Across the Killing Floor," which was written for 1999's 6:66 Satan's Child.

"I already shot a video for that one," Danzig said. "It would have been great if it could have been on the original album, but it wasn't done in time. You start working on a record and you get involved with some songs more intensely and the earlier stuff just gets left behind."

Also included on The Lost Tracks of Danzig is "White Devil Rise," a track that surely would have provoked significant controversy had it been released in Danzig's commercial heyday.The track was penned over a decade ago about Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. "He said some inflammatory things at the time and Rick [Rubin] and I started talking and he said I should write a song about a race war. Farrakhan calls us 'The White Devil.' Well, I, personally, don't have a problem being called that. But no one wants to see a race war. It would be terrible, so the song's saying, 'Be careful what you wish for.'"

For the rest of the interview with Glenn Danzig and the rest of this week's metal news, check out MTVnews.com's Metal File.

And now check out the video for Danzig's "Dirty Black Summer":

Ghost Rider (Sony Pictures) Based on the Marvel comic book series of the same name, "Ghost Rider" is an action-packed tale of revenge, betrayal and love with some special effects that's make you forgive director Mark Steven Johnson for the romantic bits.

The film stars Nicholas Cage as motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to the Devil (Peter Fonda) in order to save the life of his father, who is dying of cancer. Sadly, the dark lord tricks Blaze -- as Beelzebub often does -- so Blaze abandons his friends and his girlfriend, Roxanne (Eva Mendes), and becomes a famous motorcyclist. But at the behest of Satan, he must moonlight as skull-headed, fire-engulged Ghost Rider, hunting down evil souls on earth and delivering them straight to Hell (and we're not talking overnight delivery here).

For the most part, The Ghost Rider accepts his violent fate until he meets up again with Roxanne and realizes there might be way for him to trick the Devil and win back his soul by waging war against the Evil One's wayward sun Blackheart (Wes Bentley).

Sure the plot's absurd and full of holes, and the characters are one-dimensional, but Johnson does an admirable job in translating all the fire, fury and, yes, ridiculousness of the comic book to the screen. "Ghost Rider" is not a movie for those seeking intellectual stimulation, but if videogames, cartoons and other forms of mindless entertainment are your thing, it's a hell of a ride.

Primeval (Hollywood Pictures) For some reason, the creators of "Primeval" advertised this as a movie about "the world's most prolific serial killer," leaving many viewers expecting a gory slasher flick. So naturally lots of crybabies shouted foul when the discovered the "serial killer" was a 25-foot-long crocodile.

But "Primeval" delivers as much entertainment value as most of the serial killer flicks coming out of Hollywood these days. Sure, it's predictable and filled with clichés and stereotypes, but it's also packed with suspense and explodes with spattery croc kills.

In the movie, an American TV news crew travels to the African jungle to document their search for the man eating beast, Gustave, who, as it turns out, is smarter and more deadly than they ever imagined. In some ways, the film is comparable to "Lake Placid" or "Anaconda," but it's delivered straight-faced without the smirks of those flicks and, as a result, is grittier and more intense. "Silence of the Lambs" it ain't, but if you're in the mood for a killer croc movie, you'll be glad to took the bait.

Meatball Machine (TLA) Here's a mindbending, splattery sci-fi yarn as wondrously confusing as "Tetsuo: the Iron Man." Like that film or David Cronenberg's "Shivers," "Meatball Machine" depicts what can happen when the body turns against the mind and becomes a vehicle for unspeakable evil. The plot involves space aliens who discover how to transform human flesh into biomechanical weaponry, so they invade the earth and infect its inhabitants with parasites that turn their hosts into oozing bloodthirsty killers. And somehow, within this weird offering by co-directors Junichi Yamamoto and Yudai Yamaguchi (Battlefield Baseball), there's also a love story subplot. And in this case, love stinks.

Graveyard Alive (BFS) Far from your standard zombie fare, Graveyard Alive" is a quirky film about a dowdy nurse who gets bitten by a zombie and turns into a sultry vamp with a taste for human flesh. But she's got too much class to consume her prey alive, so she assists in the deaths of hospital patients and then excises parts of their corpses for future snacking. Along the way, she must do battle with her decomposing flesh, her violent urges and other nurses as she tries to win back her ex-boyfriend, Dr. Dox, who has become engaged to her chief rival, Goodie Tueschuze. While Graveyard Alive isn't gory and there's no nudity, its clever, fun and creatively shot in black and white. If you're a gorehound, you'll be left hungering for more, but if you're just seeking something offbeat, this one should satisfy your appetite.

Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers (Zeitgeist) Even if you've never heard of these stop-motion animators, if you're a Tool fan you're already familiar with their iconic style of filmmaking. Tool guitarist and artistic coordinator Adam Jones is a huge fan of the work of identical twins Stephen and Timothy Quay, and used techniques they pioneered to create the Tool videos "Sober" and "Prison Sex." "Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers" is a double-DVD set that brings the viewer deeper than ever into the surreal, unsettling and fantastic world of the Quays. The first disc features 13 of the animators' classics, including "The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer" (1984), "This Unnameable Little Broom (Epic of Gilgamesh)" (1985) and "The Comb" (1990). The second DVD includes audio commentaries, interviews, alternative versions and unrealized pilot projects. If the strange and wonderful characters in these stop-motion masterpieces leaves you wanting more, check out their recently released full-length feature The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes."

Everyone's talking about Megadeth, Velvet Revolver, Machine Head and Iron Maiden, but one the less touted highlights from the Download 2007 festival was Chimaira.

The band's seven-song set spanned their career, from their 2001 full-length debut Pass Out of Existence to their new disc Resurrection and featured: "Nothing Remains," "Resurrection," "Power Trip," "Needle," "Severed," "The Dehumanizing Process" and "Pure Hatred."

Chimaira will remain in Europe through the With Full Force Festival on July 1 in Löbnitz, Germany. Five days later they'll head out on the Sounds of the Underground Tour, sharing the co-headline slot with Shadows Fall and Every Time I Day. The festival runs through August 11 in Louisville, Kentucky and will be headlined by GWAR.

Here's Chimaira's video for "Resurrection":

For parents who want their kids to start learning about metal at an early age, and for headbangers who need a little help with basic language skills, here's something that's sure to suit your needs -- or at least make you smile.

It's a family-friendly video for "The Alphabet Song" set to a soundtrack of crushing hardcore metal.

What's next, Gorgoroth performing "If You're Happy and you Know It" or High on Fire's rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"

Recently, the "Guinness Book of World Records" hasn't harbored much love for metal. First, the distinction false-metal slayers, Manowar, earned in 1994 by delivering the "loudest recorded performance" (129.5 decibels) seems to have been stricken from the books. A glimpse at the 2007 edition reveals no entry anymore for such a distinction, reportedly because they don't want to encourage any other bands to damage their fans' hearing by trying to beat the record.

And now, the Guinness people are turning their noses up at DevilDriver's effort at the Download Festival to create the world's largest moshpit, according to the band's label Roadrunner Records.

When the label approached Guinness with proof of the DevilDriver world record, the arbiter of all things recordworthy delivered the following stuffy response, which was printed by Blabbermouth.net:

"Thank you for sending us the details of your recent record proposal for 'Largest Circle Pit'. We are afraid to say that we are unable to accept this as a Guinness World Record."Unfortunately, as there is no way you can physically define where any circle/mosh pit starts and ends, we cannot accept this as a category. We receive over 60,000 inquiries a year from which only a small proportion are approved by our experienced researchers to establish new categories. These are not 'made up' to suit an individual proposal, but rather 'evolve' as a result of international competition in a field, which naturally accommodates superlatives of the sort that we are interested in. We think you will appreciate that we are bound to favor those that reflect the greatest interest.

"We realize that this will be disappointing to you. However, we have considered your proposal fully; in the context of the specific subject area and that of records as a whole, and our decision is final in this matter."

As the English say, "Wankers." We're drinking Grolsch from now on.

Now check out the pits in DevilDriver's video for "End of the Line":

The Beatles, Pink Floyd and The Who have done it so why not Tool?

The epic psychedelic prog-metal band have been discussing a feature length motion picture for years, but now they might be taking the idea a little more seriously.

All the band needs to get the gears turning is the right financial backer, the guitarist told Billboard. "If I had my way, it would be a narrative story in a surreal fashion with as much money and special effects as we could throw at it. I think some of the other guys would like to do pockets of all of that or something that's live or we're playing."

While the possibilities seem endless at the moment, one thing Tool won't consider is a concert film or a run of the mill documentary. "Everyone has to be very happy and it has to be done in a way where people would see integrity and hard work and not just something thrown together or home movies."

If it looked anything like the band's "Sober" video, we could be in for quite a treat:

Look for the debut of the new Goatwhore video for "Forever Consumed Oblivion" on this week's Headbangers Ball.

The video was directed by David Brodsky (God Forbid, Strapping Young Lad) and shot on February 18 at New Jersey's Starland Ballroom while Goatwhore was on the road for the Chains of Humanity tour, which also featured God Forbid, Mnemic, Arsis and The Human Abstract.

Eight cameras were used for the video, which is largely black and white with splashes of color.
Goatwhore will be one of the bands participating in this year's Sounds of the Underground Tour, which launches July 6 in Dallas and runs through August 8 in Denver.

"The Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult," the other video for Goatwhore's latest album, A Haunting Curse, was also directed by Brodsky:

Between 1985 and 1997 Brazilian brothers Max (vocals, guitar) and Igor (drums) Cavalera were united in a quest to become the biggest metal band in South America, and, it didn't take longer until their dream was a reality. But the original Sepultura went a step further. For years the band had brought thrash metal to their homeland, but by their sixth release, 1993's Chaos A.D., Sepultura began to bring elements of their homeland -- tribal percussion, chants and instrumentation -- to thrash metal.

However, in December 1996, following the tragic death of Max's stepson, his bandmates -- including his brother -- tried to fire his wife and grieving manager Gloria Cavalera because they weren't happy with the way she was handling the band's business. Max viewed the move as an act of betrayal, quit the band and cut off contact with Igor until last year. Then on August 17 at the D-Low Memorial Festival in Tempe, Arizona, an event to honor the memory of Max's late stepson, he guitarist and his brother took the stage to play two Sepultura songs, "Roots Bloody Roots" and "Attitude."

And now, according to Sirius Satellite Radio, the two are writing together again. According to Sirius, the new songs may include guest appearances by members of Napalm Death and Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo.

Igor Cavalera has been a free agent since he left Sepultura in June 2006 to work on personal issues. He was replaced by ex-Udora drummer Jean Dolabella.

We can't wait to hear what those two come up with, but until then, here's a classic Sepultura tune recently performed by the band's current lineup -- "Refuse/Resist"