On the whole, the guys in Shadows Fall aren't the most sober-minded individuals you'll ever meet. You'll never see them doing an interview without drinking beer -- or at least talking about beer. Their rehearsal space in Springfield, Massachusetts is right downstairs from a strip club, for God sakes, and while the visuals are nice, they find the dirt-cheap pitchers just as appealing.

The band's party hearty vibe carries through in their music. Sure, it's loud and aggressive, combining elements of technical thrash, metalcore and classic metal, but it's more about having a good time and escaping your troubles than it is about wallowing in your private pain.

Still, there's at least one song on the band's upcoming album, Threads of Life (out April 3), that comes from a place of sorrow, both musically and lyrically. "Another Hero Lost," the closest Shadows Fall will ever come to a teary ballad, was written about singer Brian Fair's cousin, a soldier who was killed last year.

"He was a 25 year old marine who left behind a two year old kid," Fair told Revolver magazine a week after the incident. "The reason he went into the service was our other cousin, his close friend, was killed in the Twin Towers, which inspired him to go in, and now these two families are dealing with another loss. But he really believed in fighting for his country. And I support everyone who's over there so much because the situation they're in, whether they politically agree with it or not, it's their reality and these are the people who are on the wall for you."

Fair's cousin wasn't killed in combat, he lost his life in a humanitarian effort, which, in some ways, was even more painful for the singer. "He didn't even think what he was doing was life threatening," Fair said. "There was a tremendous flash flood and the Marines were trying to evacuate civilians. Then all hell broke loose. So, at least it wasn't some bizarre friendly fire. It was a crazy accident. But any loss is just as sad. At least it wasn't something that could have been avoided."

Fair came up with the album title in another one of his more lucid moments. The name is a reference to his somewhat spiritual idea that everyone on the planet is connected, and that energy creates a vibrant tapestry that's constantly in jeopardy of being torn apart.

"I just think of each individual life as a thread that weaves together with all others to create the fabric of mankind, the whole world and how interrelated everyone is," he said in an audio interview for the band's Eureopean record label, which can be heard here.

"Unfortunately it seems to be harder and harder to recoginize these days because there are more and more barriers put up between people trying to separate themselves between arbitrary ideas, and people trying to identify themselves with particular groups," he continued. "And with the state of the world right now, if we don't all come together and do something about it, it may not be around for much longer."

The first single from Threads of Life will be "Redemption." A video for the song was recently shot by director Zach Merck, who has also worked with Atreyu and Converge.

In the audio interview, guitarist Jonathan Donais explained why the song was chosen as the leadoff album track and first single. "It has a little bit of everything that Shadows Fall is about, as far as group breakdowns, thrash riffs and melodic choruses," he said. "It basically encompasses the whole 45 minutes of the entire album in four minutes right at the beginning and right off the bat. [And] you can really shake your ass to it."

Now, here's a blast from the past: "What Drives the Weak"

Having a rough day? Well, here's something that might cheer you up. It's a new song by Mastodon, and it's a trip. Click here to link to "Cut You up With a Linoleum Knife."

While Mastodon aren't exactly known for parody, this thrashy escapade is just as funny -- and waaaay less dirty -- than anything by producer Jason Suecof's metal yukster band Crotchduster.

"Cut You Up With a Linoleum Knife" features some killer riffs and a propulsive beat, but what really brightens our day are the ridiculous King Diamond-style falsetto vocal embellishments, and lyrics like:

If I see you videotaping this movie
Satan will rain down your throat with hot acid
And saw your testicles
And turn your guts into snakes

There's a reason why "Cut You up With a Linoleum Knife" is more out there than your average Mastodon adventure (and that's saying a lot). The song was recorded for the upcoming movie "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters," which features the band members playing animated snack food items from the 1953 theater commercial "Let's All Go to the Lobby." (check out that classic slice of pop culture here).

On a more serious note, here's Mastodon's video for "Colony of Birchmen."

Ex-Blag Flag frontman, lauded poet and sometimes actor, Henry Rollins, will kick off the second season of his IFC TV program, "The Henry Rollins Show," on April 13. Before the broadcast, the channel will air the 90-minute special Rollins: Uncut From Israel, which was taped during his recent trip to the Holy Land, where he played two spoken-word concerts in Tel Aviv.

The show will feature both performance and documentary footage, including trips to The Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the West Bank Security Wall.

The lineup for the first new episode of "The Henry Rollins Show," has not yet been announced but celebrity interviews this season will include Marilyn Manson, William Shatner, Ben Stiller and John Waters. Once again, each episode will feature one celebrity guest and one musical act. Musicians booked so far include Mars Volta and The Stooges. Each artist will perform two songs at Rollins' Bombshelter Studio in Los Angeles. One will be features on the show and the second will be posted on IFC.com a week before the program in which the act appears.

Last year's musicians included Slayer, The New York Dolls, Dinosaur Jr and The Rollins Band. All performances by Slayer and The New York Dolls can be seen by clicking here and then by clicking "watch clip" on the "Rollins Show" page.

Now, here's The Rollins Band with "Liar."

With all the hullabaloo about Megadeth's new album, everyone seems to be forgetting Marty Friedman. The band's ex-guitarist, who played on everything from 1990's Rust in Peace through 1999's Cryptic Writings, has just released his sixth solo album, Loudspeaker, a shrederrific disc that includes the tracks "Viper," "Static Rain," "Elixer" and "Street Demons." Here's a sample.

Friedman says it's his heaviest solo work yet and recruited guest musicians Steve Vai, Dream Theater guitar slinger John Petrucci, and ex-David Lee Roth bassist Billy Sheehan to add to the brutality.

"For me it was a big experiment," Friedman says. "I knew they were amazing, but I wanted to get these guys to play the most aggressive way they could because, as a fan, I really wanted to hear them like I never heard them before — in a full metal context."

On a much less metal note — or, in shredder-speak, blinding series of notes — Friedman recently penned the new single by Japanese pop star Kotoko, "Kirei na Senritsu," which entered the nation's pop chart this week at number 18.

And now, to celebrate the magic number 18, he're Marty with Megadeth on "Hangar 18."