A David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen have announced 25 concerts for this fall, though have many shows the tour will actually last before imploding is anyone's guess.

The tour will launch on September 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina and will run through December 11 in Calgary, Alberta. The touring group will feature original members -- Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen along with Eddie's 16-year-old son Wolfgang who will play bass, replacing Michael Anthony.

The newly revitalized Van Halen entered the spotlight for the press release in Los Angeles to the tune of one of their biggest hits, 1984's "Jump," reported MTVnews.com.

"This is not a reunion, this is a new band," said Roth at the press conference. "Usually, when a band comes back like us, it's rockers with walkers. You don't want to see the same old band, like U2 with the mullets. You want to see something exciting."

The members of Van Halen said they have already been rehearsing for four months and are getting along better than ever. They added the the reunion won't be one one-off thing like this year's tour by The Police. The shows will feature a 25-song set handpicked by Wolfgang. If the tour goes well, the band plans to write and record new record in the "not too distant future."

One of the premiere hard rock bands of the me generation, Van Halen formed in 1974 and released their classic self-titled debut four years later. The released five more albums before Roth was fired in 1985. Two years later, the band released 5150, its first new album with singer Sammy Hagar, who lasted through 1995's Balance four albums later. Ex-Extreme singer Gary Cherone joined up, but sang on just one record 1998's Van Halen 3 before being dismissed.

During his absence from Van Halen, Roth released seven solo albums, then looked outside the world of rock, working first as a paramedic and then as shock jock Howard Stern's short term replacement at New York's K-Rock.

While the upcoming tour will mark the first fledged reunion, it won't be the first attempt and getting back together. In 1996, Van Halen hooked up with Roth to record two tracks that later appeared on the band's 1996 Greatest Hits album. But the members were unable to get along well enough to do any more work together.

A decade later, Roth announced that a Van Halen reunion was "inevitable" and plans were put into motion for a full tour in the summer of 2007. But before the band could announce dates, Eddie Van Halen, suffering from personal and substance related problems, checked into rehab -- delaying the reunion.

Here are Van Halen's fall tour dates:

9/27 — Charlotte, NC @ Bobcats Arena
9/29 — Greensboro, NC @ Coliseum
10/1 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
10/7 — Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
10/10 — Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
10/14 — Indianapolis, IN @ Conseco Fieldhouse
10/16 — Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
10/18 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/22 — Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
10/24 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
10/26 — Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
10/28 — St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center
10/30 — Boston, MA @ TD Banknorth Garden
11/3 — East Rutherford, NJ @ Continental Airlines Arena
11/13 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
11/20 — Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
11/23 — Glendale, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena
11/25 — San Diego, CA @ Cox Arena
11/27 — Sacramento, CA @ Arco Arena
11/29 — San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
12/1 — Portland, OR @ Rose Garden
12/3 — Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
12/5 — Vancouver @ GM Place
12/9 — Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Palace
12/11 — Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome

Celebrate the magic with the video for "(Oh) Pretty Woman":

Keith Buckley from Every Time I Die is a stunning performer and charismatic frontman, but he might be an even better writer -- the kind that takes bizarre experiences and turns them into amusing rock n' roll parables for all to learn and laugh from. The following run-in with a heavy metal caricature illustrates his gift. Even if he made it all up, it's a damn good story. Heck, we're pleased enough with Buckley now to unreservedly plug his band's upcoming album, The Big Dirty, which comes out September 4. Now, here's Keith:

At the recent Sounds Of The Underground date in Irvine, California, Every Time I Die were finally allowed a glimpse into the life of a real Hollywood celebrity. In order to protect his identity and our own physical well-being, the identity of this Goliath will be altered from his well known movie character name (which was the only way he would refer to himself) to something not so incriminating -- we'll call him "Pleatherchest."

Pleatherchest has spent numerous hours sitting on a cooler in front of our bus, relentlessly pounding the libations he has acquired from other bands without asking when all of a sudden he apparently decides to befriend us, the group of guys whose bus he has used as a backdrop for his bottle breaking and shameless self-promotion. The door swings open and the shirtless beast storms up into the front room declaring, "CHIMAIRA!!! you guys f---in' rock, man!!!!"

Too afraid to correct his mistake, we laugh internally as Pleatherchest continued to tell us about how "Pleatherchest loves Chimaira." After swilling some beers, the girl he is with asks if he can "help her apply some lipstick in the bathroom." SPRRRROI-OI-OING!!!

Pleatherchest obliges and ducks his head to squeeze himself into the bathroom with his conquest. What happens next defies explanation. Pleatherchest closes the door behind him, then opens it up partially, sticks his head out and says, "I know Chimaira are a bunch of rock stars, but let me show you how 'Pleatherchest' does it." Then, he closes the door. What "it" means is unclear, but, but if it's sexual intercourse, Pleatherchest does it quickly then leaves as he came (pun fully intended). And with him he takes our hearts.

Farewell Pleatherchest, and Godspeed.

If you enjoyed that, check out the video for "Kill the Music":

There's an obvious parallel between the dramatic and violent expressions of extreme metal band Cradle of Filth and the sweeping visuals and jarring storylines of the best horror films. So it's hardly shocking that Cradle frontman Dani Filth would have slaughtered all the sexually active teens in his neighborhood for the opportunity to work with horror movie legend Dario Argento. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Argento reached out to Filth first, inviting him to contribute vocals to the theme song for his upcoming film "Mother of Tears: The Third Mother."

The song was composed by Claudio Simonetti, a member of '80s Italian prog-psychedelic band Goblin, who scored some of Argento's best films, including "Suspiria," "Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)" and "Zombi (Dawn of the Dead)."

“'It was a real honor to be asked to work alongside Claudio Simonetti from Goblin, especially as it’s the last of a trilogy for a Dario Argento movie," said Filth in a statement. "The whole project has been very exciting to say the least. I received word that my services were being demanded of and I was especially delighted to have been given free reign with the vocals, both musically and lyrically, preserving the lush choir that forms the backbone of the chorus. The result is a four-minute homage to the last and most dangerous in a trio of powerful witches whose aim is to enslave the world. Having finished the song (which is intended for the film’s credits), I am now tense with anticipation for seeing how the two work together... the film apparently rocks!”

"Mother of Tears: The Third Mother concludes Argento’s cult trilogy that began with 1977's "Suspiria" and 1980's "Inferno" and revolves around the resurrection of demonic witches in Rome. The film stars Asia Argento ("Land of the Dead"), Udo Kier ("Grindhouse," Rob Zombie’s "Halloween"), and Cristian Solimeno ("Footballers’ Wives") and is slated for release in late fall.

Argento, 67, has been making horror films for nearly 40 years. Cradle of Filth, too, are no strangers to the genre. The band has contributed tracks to "Underworld: Evolution," "Alone in the Dark," "Resident Evil: Apocalypse, "Ginger Snaps" and "Faust." In addition, the bandmembers starred in "Cradle of Fear" and tapped Doug Bradley -- who plays Pinhead in the "Hellraiser" films -- to to a spoken word performance on their last album, 2006's Thornography.

Cradle of Filth will headline Bam Margera's Viva La Bands 2007 North American Tour, which launches this fall and also features CKY and Vains of Jenna. "The Viva La Bands tour promises to be a great musical outing for Cradle, mixing it up with a very eclectic bunch of bands. Bam is a good friend of ours, and when we heard that he was putting together a tour that would hit all the major markets in America, we just jumped at the chance to be a part of his lunatic vision. As headliners, Cradle of Filth will give the American audience the proverbial kick in the bollocks they so rightly deserve. Fall will never be the same again! Viva the damned!"

Now, give in to "Temptation" or die:

And if you're still with us, here's your reward -- a gruesome preview of "Cradle of Fear":
Cradle of Fear
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There's a famous quote from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" that goes, "Vini, vici, vidi," which means "I came, I saw, I conquered." In the case of this band, perhaps the saying should be Vini, Avichi, Vidi." Yup, the answer to yesterday's crazy logo is: a) Avichi.

Formed in Dekalb, Illinois, Avichi is the creative outlet for a dude that calls himself Aamonael, who does everything except play drums; that honor goes to Xaphar. The band just released its blasphemous debut, The Divine Tragedy, a ferocious feast of old-school black metal that includes the songs "Purification within the Eighth Sphere," "Messianic Deliverance" and "Phallic Insinuation."

"This is a strikingly cryptic album dealing with profound metaphysical subjects, subjects that reflect the extremities of the left-hand path," reads the band's bio.

Adds Aamonael: "It began as a much needed outlet for my own hateful suffering. Avichi originates in the Sanscrit laguange and refers to a nirvana of wavelessness, isolation, and evil realizations. It is the most extreme end of hell and very real. The expression of consciousness creates it, and the most diabolical of minds experience it.

"It was also adopted in Theosophy where it was used to refer to a hell for those who are spiritually evil, for those who develop their own metaphysical attributes for purely selfish ends. Avichi is a hell that my soul has had to cross, and I almost did not make it. Indeed, at one point, I wished to drown my very being in its darkness forever. Avichi is an outlet for truth through which I can be completely honest with myself, my music, and my existence."

There you have it. Stay tuned next week for something a bit more uplifting --- naahhh.

Full Blown Chaos might have well called their forthcoming album Get in the Ring instead of Heavy Lies the Crown; the New York hardcore band doesn't mince words when it comes to people that have crossed it.

"You f--- with someone in this band, and you're going to end up with a song about you," singer Ray Mazzola told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "There will be people who'll read these lyrics, and they'll know the song's about them — they'll read it and go, 'Ouch.' Some of the actual lyrics are from letters I'd written to people, and e-mails, just basically confirming or cutting off friendships. I have no qualms with putting that into my music, because that's who I am. I can't deny myself. If you deny yourself, then who are you? I'm a person, an individual, and I have very strong emotions towards things. It's time people see what's been going on this last year."

Lots of changes have taken place since the band's gigs at last year's Ozzfest. First, Full Blown cut ties with Hatebreed ringleader Jamey Jasta's Stillborn. The band was subsequently signed by Ferret, which will release Heavy Lies the Crown August 21. The set — produced by Biohazard's Billy Graziadei — features a dozen tracks, including "The Hard Goodbye," "Fail Like a Champ" and "Raise Hell."

If nothing else, Mazzola's loose mouth and strong opinions have taught him who his real friends area and how soul-draining the machinations of the music business can be.

"There have been a lot of people who were supposed to be in our corner fighting for us that just totally neglected the situation," he told Metal File. "We were throwing punches, and they should have been holding our back the whole time. They weren't. The album's title refers to a friend who we came up [with] ... going to shows, doing our thing, pushing our bands. One person went one way and one person went the other way. You can go the one way and remember where you came from, or you can go the other way and manipulate situations for your own greedy endeavors. And that's what's happened."

For the full unflinching interview with Mazzola, and more metal news than will fit in James Gandolfini's belly, check out this week's installment of Metal File.

There's a great line in "Blade Runner," which was later sampled by Northern Ireland's industrial metal ne'er do wells, Therapy?: "Wake up, time to die." Seeing that it's early in the morning (in metal terms, at least) and we've already given you the new As I Lay Dying video for "Nothing Left," we figure you're curled up in the corner gasping for air. So, while you're all in the mood for dying (Like Metallica said in "Disposable Heroes," "I was born for dying!"), we figured we'd let As I Lay Dying guitarist Nick Hipa strike the fatal blow with a guest blog about... stuff.

Instead of typing a lengthy, wordy blog about what the band and myself have been doing on this years Warped Tour, I’ve decided to take the “Highlight Reel” approach. This spares everyone, both reader and writer, the pain of dealing with filler. So here is the short and skinny of our month of August:

We have no idea what time we play… ever. The way Warped works, everyone -- band and crew included -- finds out their set time the day of the show. It’s kind of miserable if you stay up all night chilling, only to be woken up and finding that you’re playing at noon.

Phil [Sgrosso], our other guitarist, has been fervently pursuing his passion for magic. Not the card game, but the real thing. "The Great Sgrozini" has been blowing people's minds with his ferocious slight of hand.

We have an awesome collection of Arnold Schwarzenegger movies on our bus. My personal favorites are "Running Man" and "Total Recall." I’m proud to call that dude my Governor.

Being a summer tour and all, there are tons of gross sweaty dudes walking around with their shirts off... I am one of those dudes.

I am personally journaling my circle pit observations from our sets every day. At the conclusion of our tour, if one city stands way out in my mind, that is where we will film our live DVD.

The standard rider for all bands on the tour is one case of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and one case of Monster Energy Drink’s Official Warped Tour 2007 Canned Water. That’s right, canned water. While it may sound uncanny, its actually delicious and refreshing.

I found out that the drummer for New Found Glory lives a block away from Tim, our singer.

Every day the catering company, TA-DA! Catering, picks some of the first kids in the warped tour line to work in catering for a few hours a day. This is awesome for everyone because catering gets free labor and the lucky few get to serve their favorite and not-so-favorite bands. In addition, they end up getting backstage when the band of their choice is playing. The reason I share this information with you all is because I strongly encourage any fan of our band to come early to get in line and be picked.

Selfishly, I would appreciate it because I am confident any loyal fan or our band will serve us generous portions regardless of the “keep it stingy” mentality that the catering personnel impose. There were some girls serving us today who were "Cute is What We Aim For" and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus fans. They literally gave me four shells of macaroni and cheese! I was bummed.

There’s a band on the tour called The Fabulous Rudies who throw the tour BBQ every night. For fans of sweet drummers who absolutely own it, I urge you to check out their set at the Ernie Ball Stage.

Well that is my Warped Summer so far! Hope to see everyone at a show soon!

They say a watched kettle never boils. Well, this here kettle boils, cooks and spews its contents all over the room. We knew you've been thirsting for this one (that's the last tea metaphor, we promise), so here it is: The new As I Lay Dying video for "Nothing Left."

It's that time again. So take out your magnifying glasses and try to figure out this week's zany heavy metal logo.

We just picked up a dozen roses for someone close to us (hey, mind your own business!) and it made us think of this thorny band logo. Apparently, these guys are so evil that all the roses just dropped off the bush, leaving only gnarled stems and dangerously pointy barbs.

But there's a band name in there somewhere.  Go get those garden shovels and start digging. Here are the choices.

a) Avichi b) Evirgi c) Gwar d) Elegi e) Avitar

A batch of extreme metal DVDs are coming our way courtesy of Regain Records, one the labels that signs bands with the most indecipherable logos imaginable.

First off, Marduk’s “Blood Puke Salvation” DVD, which came out in Sweden in August 2006 will receive its North American release as a double DVD on August 14. The first disc was shot in December 2004 and features over 90 minutes of concert footage from Tillberg, Holland and Antwerpen, Belgium. Disc two includes: 21 hand-filmed live songs shot in 2004 and 2005 during the Deathmarch tour; videos for “Throne of Rats,” “Steel Inferno” and “The Hangman of Prague”; behind-the-scenes material and interviews with the band members.

Another long awaited black metal DVD, Dark Funeral’s “Attera Orbis Terrarum – Part 1” is scheduled for release on September 11. The disc features three full professionally filmed shows (March 5, 2006 in Tillberg, Holland, March 17 from Paris, France and March 12 in Katowice, Poland) as well as amateur fan footage shot throughout Europe that spans the band’s career from their first show in Oslo, Norway in 1994 through the present day.

Finally, Regain will issue its second extreme metal compilations, “La Loco X-Treme Metal Live Volume 1: 2003 – 2005” on October 9. The DVD features two videos each from: Dark Tranquility, Marduk, Samael, Krisiun, Immolation, Death Angel, Dew Scented and Loudblast. Regain’s first video comp, “Regain Records Compilation #1: Music with Impact,” came out June 12 and featured 23 videos from across the underground spectrum. Bands included recognizable names like Arch Enemy, Samael, Behemoth, Vader, Dimension Zero, Marduk, Dismember and Dark Funeral, as well as more obscure fare like Sargatanas Reign, Mustasch, Ragnarok and Totalt Javla Morker.

Here's a snippet from Marduk's "Blood Pain Salvation" DVD -- "Azrael" live from Tillberg, Holland:

Gary Cherone coudn't cut it. Sammy Hagar wore out his welcome, and for the longest time, David Lee Roth and the Van Halen brothers couldn't even be civil to one another, let alone get on stage together. Then in March, when it looked like they were ready to give it an honest shot with Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen pulled out of the project and checked into rehab. But now the time has finally come -- for real.

Earlier today, Van Halen issued a press release that begins, "Come witness rock history as Van Halen makes an announcement of monumental perportions."

The press conference, which will feature Roth, Eddie, drummer Alex Van Halen and Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen (who replaces bassist Michael Anthony), will take place August 13 at 11 a.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.

According to an article in Billboard, The Van Halen tour will launch in early October and will feature 50 arena performances. The band's last tour was in 2004, with Hagar on vocals.

While Sammy Hagar chills in Cabo Wabo, here's "Panama":