Of all the successful Orange County metalcore bands, only Bleeding Through continue to rip it up as though Hot Topic never existed. Sure, Avenged Sevenfold and Atreyu have been more financially successful, but both have become much more melodic and mainstream in the process. By contrast, Bleeding Through are still as harsh, vicious and uncompromising as ever, as they proved during their recent stint opening for Slayer and Marilyn Manson.

Just check out this video of a full set from the band's August 25 show in San Diego, California:

Judging from their new tour poster, which features Eddie cast once again in chains in ancient Egypt, it looks like Iron Maiden are planning to spend next year on the road re-exploring themes and hits from their past.

The decision to go back in time came after the band realized fans at their shows don't want to hear new Maiden songs, they want the classics. "On the last tour, we opened the show by playing our new album A Matter of Life and Death in its 80 minute entirety," says bassist Steve Harris. "We thought we needed the challenge and it proved the right thing to do. However, it can be hard on the fans playing so much new material. So now l guess it's payback time."

The Somewhere Back in Time World Tour 2008 will launch on February 4 in Perth, Australia, and over the next two months Maiden will play major concerts in 20 select cities in North America, Japan, India, and Central and South America. The second leg of the tour will feature a lengthier North American run in late May and June and a final leg of European summer festivals will take place in July and August. The band expects to travel well over 100,000 miles and play to over 1.5 million people. Read more...

Since we seem to be on a splatter/horror tangent at the moment, lets take a look at the brand new trailer for 'Saw IV,' which comes out in theaters October 26.

And here's the official promotional copy from Lionsgate Films:

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead.

Upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Agent Perez, arrive at the depleted police precinct and help veteran Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) sift through Jigsaw's latest grizzly game of victims and piece together the puzzle. However, when SWAT Commander Rigg, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is suddenly abducted and thrust into the madman's harrowing game, the officer has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of interconnected traps...or face the deadly consequences.

Rigg's citywide pursuit leaves a wake of dead bodies, and Detective Hoffman and the FBI uncover long hidden clues that lead them back to Jigsaw's ex-wife Jill (Betsy Russell). The genesis of Jigsaw's evil is unveiled, exposing the puppet master's true intentions and the sinister plan for his past, present and future victims.

We'd love to be able to reveal the artists who have contributed songs to the metal-packed soundtrack, but so far there's no news on that. Stay tuned...

Virginia thrashcore band Municipal Waste joined forces with low budget splatter/sci-fi film company Troma to shoot a video for "Headbanger Face Rip," which is featured on the band's latest CD, The Art of Partying.

The Troma team edited two versions of the clip, one for general audiences and an 18+ "gore version." Both feature legendary Troma characters Sgt. Kabukiman and The Toxic Avenger.

"I am f---ing stoked on the great job that Troma has done on 'Headbanger Face Rip,' says Municipal Waste bassist LandPhil. "I think that it has a little something for everyone out there that likes to party — gore, t--s and the f---ing waste!"

"It seems fitting that Municipal Waste would ask Troma to make a video for 'Headbanger Face Rip' as we've been ripping faces off on film for over 30 years," adds Troma president Lloyd Kaufman,

Municipal Waste are hardly newcomers to the splatter video market. Just last year they shot a blood-spewing carnagefest for the track "Unleash the Bastards," which was on the album Hazardous Mutation.

Check out this video: Unleash The Bastards (Gore Version)

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Thrash metal pioneers, Exodus, will shoot a video for their new song "Riot Act" later this month with "Metalocalypse" producer John Schnepp.

"Having the opportunity to work with Jon is going to be amazing," says guitarist Gary Holt. "Having just recently done our own guest appearance on 'Metalocalypse', we went out on a limb and asked Jon if he'd shoot our video. When he said yes, we were stoked to say the least. The ideas that he's come up with promise to make this our best video ever! I usually hate making videos, but this time I'm actually excited about it! It will be unique, and of course, it will be heavy!"

"Riot Act" will appear on Exodus' upcoming album The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A, which comes out October 23. The track can currently be heard streaming on the band's MySpace page.

The new album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with producer Andy Sneap (Machine Head, Arch Enemy). Exodus titled the disc ...Exhibit A because they're already planning ...Exhibit B.

We have four songs recorded and finished for the next album, which we will resume recording some time around the end of the year," Holt explained. "This is a two-part record. So yes, there will be another Exodus album finished, hopefully, soon after the release of this one. And when all is said and done, there will never have been anything as brutal and genre-defining done before in thrash metal. An epic monster this one is, and the next is going to take it even further."

Surely, such hyperbole is warranted. But nothing could be as epic or monstrous as Dethklok:

Is this the hottest chick to promote Wacken? She's just one of 15 finalists competing for the title Miss Wacken 2007. Admirers can vote for her or the 14 other candidates at the Sexy Girls of Wacken Web site. The URL also features photos of the girls who didn't make the cut, many of whom are certainly worthy of Wacken accolades as well.

According to a message sent to Blabbermouth.net, 68 girls consented to take part in the contest by having their pictures taken at the Wacken Open Air 2007 festival. The winner will receive a surprise gift. "Last year's winner received a large French luxury fragrance, and this year's special prize is going to be even better," organizers said.

Finalist voting began on September 1 and will run through September 30. We're guessing the 12 babes with the highest viewer ratings will be featured on a Wacken calendar, so vote carefully. And remember, wackers who vote more than once will be disqualified.

There's a fine line between artful simplicity and just plain running out of ideas. For Avenged Sevenfold's eponymous fourth album, which comes out October 30, the band members decided that the best way to represent themselves was with a plain white cover with their batskull logo placed in the middle.

Maybe they wanted to pay homage to the Beatles "White Album" or perhaps the intention was to draw the focus straight to the logo in the hopes of creating a commercial brand comparable to Iron Maiden's "Eddie" and capable of generating even more massive t-shirt sales.

On a slightly deeper level, it could be that the blank background is symbolic of emptiness, and the flying skull will arrive to offers the promise of sense and meaning for a hopeless world. Or maybe the band wants us to forget all that has come before -- essentially, erase the past -- so they can start with a fresh slate and prove that now is the only thing that matters.

If nothing else, the minimalist design at least draws the viewers' eyes to "parental advisory" warning sticker on the lower right of the disc and emphasize to them that they're about to deal with some really hazardous stuff. Of course, it could have just been that the band simply didn't make deadline to come up with some really cool cover art, so they ended up slapping this thing together. No matter, the music is what really matters.

Anyway, if you still can't get enough bats, check out A7X's video for "Bat Country":

Machine Head have hired Hostility bassist Brandon Sigmund to fill in for the injured Adam Duce during their North American tour, according to Blabbermouth.net.

In mid-August, Duce broke his leg while dirt biking in Redding California. At first, doctors thought the leg had just been badly sprained, but x-rays revealed that the injury was more severe. Duce underwent surgery, during which a steel plate and two screws were attached to the broken bone.

Machine Head's Black Tyranny Tour, which also features Arch Enemy, Throwdown and Sanctity, launches in Santa Cruz, California on September 5. Dates are scheduled through October 13 in Hollywood.

For now, here's the only place you'll see Duce healthy and rockin':

The Red Chord are best known for creating torrential tornadoes of noise that could strip the graffiti off a subway car. So, it may seem kinda strange that bassist Greg Weeks is choosing ultra-melodic thrash/metalcore band Still Remains for Bang of the Week. But there could be more going on here than meets the eye -- call it a nepotistic case of I'll-slash-your-back-you-slash-mine."

As our investigative research revealed, Still Remains chose The Red Chord's "Fixation on Plastics" to be Bang of the Week back on August 21, so perhaps the Chord are returning the favor. Still, Weeks articulately supports his decision to tout Still Remains' "Stay Captive."

"We toured with Still Remains last year and at first I didn't know how to take them," he begins. "They're style of music was not my cup of tea. After several shows it clicked, a band that has clean vocals that can actually pull them off live was a first for this genre. After that, I made it a point to catch them every night. Also, how can you go wrong when your drummer's name is Bone? Still Remains rules. Go buy their record or remain dumb."

We'll leave further arbitration up to the fans and just do what we do best. So, here's Still Remains with "Stay Captive."

There are plenty of rib-sticking riffs and even a few breakdowns in the new At All Cost record, Circle of Demons, but there are also lots of other less metallic elements that have invoked more than a few puzzled expressions from listeners. More than a few songs feature poppy electronic melodies, soaring vocal hooks and vocoder vocals.

"We kind of all revel in the fact that we're standing outside the box," guitarist Trey Ramirez told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "You either get 100 percent positive attention from people or 100 percent negative. And negative people are easily persuaded. Most naysayers that have come to see our shows have actually come up to us and told us, 'I was totally wrong about you guys.'" Read more...