Welcome back to the long overdue “The Fortress” podcast on Metalmachine.net. We took a long vacation, well, not really a vacation as much as a revamping…to settle the dust here and prepare the new and improved version of The Fortress. Podcast: Play in new window | Download  

Do super heroes roam the streets of New York City? That’s the question everyone’s asking on an all-new episode of the hit series Castle, airing 10:01-11:00 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network  

CHICKENFOOT – the supergroup featuring guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Kenny Aronoff, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and frontman Sammy Hagar – have announced “The 2011 Road Test Tour,” the first live performance dates in support of the band’s forthcoming “CHICKENFOOT III” due September 27th from from eOne Music in North America and around the world by earMUSIC/Edel.  

Deathly and doomed without a doubt, but The System of Nature from Sweden’s THE GARDNERZ is an album of varying colors and shapes. That deft combination makes the metallic journey as interesting as it is heavy. In the band’s own words: “Blending slow and heavy riffs with melodies distorted and clean, we try to create our own slice of metal.  

Dark Descent Records is proud to announce partnering with the mighty DEPRAVITY to unleash their discography on one tremendous CD compilation! Brutal and melodic Finnish death metal with chugging, heavy riffs, pummeling percussion, eerie atmospheres and dark, guttural vocals that easily stands up against their Swedish brothers.  

Multi-platinum hard rock band Disturbed will release its first ever B-sides collection, entitled The Lost Children, on November 8th on Reprise Records.  

During its short lifespan, Xenomorph inflicted their listeners with scars that refused to heal; assaulting the senses with a combination of twisted, technical music and diabolical imagery.  

This December, the pop culture phenomenon known as Voltron is returning to a comic book store near you! Under a series of amazing covers by master painter Alex Ross, and written by Dynamite’s own up and coming writer Brandon Thomas, the series is destined to be a sure fire hit!  

Marvel is proud to announce that, superstar artist Daniel Acuña will be the new ongoing artist of Avengers! Beginning with Avengers #18, Acuña joins Marvel Architect Brian Michael Bendis and pits the world’s premiere super hero team against their biggest threat yet! Following the events of Fear Itself, the Avengers must regroup, and rebuild – including looking for new members as Norman Osborn pulls together a fresh batch of Dark Avengers.  

  Brooklyn hardcore/metal assassins VISE MASSACRE have finished their upcoming debut full-length album, Expendable Humans, showcasing the unit’s revamped lineup boasting their most cohesive and corrosive psychotic rage to date. The brutalizing new platter will see release in the coming months on a label yet to be determined.  

Chicago grinders HARPOON entered Bricktop Recording in June of this year to record their sophomore record Deception Among Birds.  Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Millions, Black September), who recorded the band’s first first full-length Double Gnarly /Triple Suicide (Released on Interloper), was brought back to handle engineering duties. Deception Among Birds  

Debuting in the Top 10 for the second consecutive time, The Devil Wears Prada sees Dead Throne (Ferret), the band’s first full-length album since 2009, claiming the #10 spot on next week’s Billboard Top 200 Albums chart with more than 32,400 copies sold, an impressive jump from the 25,000 copies their last release brought to its first chart appearance.