Cornville, Ariz., Nov. 18 – Arizona Stronghold Vineyard vintners Maynard James Keenan (Caduceus Cellars/Merkin Vineyards owner and front man for Tool and Puscifer) and Eric Glomski (Page Springs Cellars) will host, in conjunction with Whole Foods Market, three bottle signings in the Southwestern U.S. kicking off with a Dec. 6 date at Whole Foods in Tucson.  

SIGH To Release SCENES FROM HELL on January 19, 2010 New Song “L’art de Mourir” Now Streaming On MySpace New York, NY – Japanese quintet, Sigh, are excited to announce the release of their eighth studio album, Scenes From Hell, out January 19, 2010 in the U.S, available on CD and LP. International release dates will be announced shortly. “L’art de Mourir” is now available on the band’s MySpace page for fans and critics alike to check out.  

YES, THE RUMORS ARE TRUE: SLAYER, MEGADETH TEAM UP FOR “AMERICAN CARNAGE” Co-Headliners to Tour the U.S. Together For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades Testament to be Special Guest Recession-Proof $10.00 Tickets Available in All U.S. Markets  

Every week, The Fortress will bring you news, opinion and commentary about the biggest events, independent books and featured guests. This week, hosts Andrew Sanford and Mikael Page talk Blackest Night, Justice League Animated and more Podcast: Play in new window | Download  

SLAYER SHARES THE UPPER ECHELON OF THE BILLBOARD CHART WITH UNDERWOOD, JACKSON, SWIFT AND “GLEE” “World Painted Blood” Debuts at #12, #1 at Indie Retail Los Angeles, CA – November 11, 2009 — Satan, the Apocalypse, serial killers, and war are alive and well and thriving on the upper deck of the Billboard Top 200 Albums charts, thanks to Slayer’s 10th studio album, World Painted Blood, which debuts at #12 next week.  

TRENTON, N.J. – All fans interested in hearing the whole new Lynch Mob record, “Smoke & Mirrors” can stop by and have a listen by participating in the listening party that will go on for the entire week of November 9-16 on the band’s MySpace site (myspace.com/lynchmobrocks). All of the album’s tracks will be in the player.  

This just in from Acheron vocalist/bassist Vincent Crowley: “Acheron has just returned from a long weekend with three shows in the Midwest. This was the first time Acheron has ever played Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee (with the exception of Milwaukee Metal Fest).  

We were just informed of the following news about Hod bassist Derrick Rivers leaving the band to focus his efforts on battling cancer. Vocalist Beer Reebs shares the following information about Rivers, as well as other Hod happenings.  

Image Comics and Shadowline, LLC have announced their critically acclaimed graphic novel, PARADE (WITH FIREWORKS) by Michael Cavallaro, has been nominated for the prestigious Young Adult Library Services Association Great Graphic Novels for Teens Booklist!  

Leave it to Neal Adams to leave his mark…again. The legendary artist who redefined the look of Batman (and comics overall) has put his distinct stamp on the fledging medium of Motion Comics, with Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men: Gifted. Gifted is Marvel’s first foray into turning a regular comic book into a Motion Comic and considering the praise this storyline received, thanks to creators Joss Whedon and John Cassidy, expectations were high, so Marvel turned to someone they knew would not only respect the work but make it groundbreaking, and who better than Neal Adams and Continuity Studios.  

CAPCOM’s DARKSTALKERS RETURN TO COMICS UDON Launches New Darkstalkers™: The Night Warriors Comic Series Toronto, ON – Nov 11, 2009 – After the hugely positive response to the Darkstalkers™ Tribute art book, fan outcry for more Darkstalkers™ stories became clear. Now, the ghoulish monsters and sexy seductresses of Darkstalkers are coming back to comics! This January, UDON bring fans more tales featuring creatures of the night with an all-new 3 issue miniseries titled ‘Darkstalkers™: The Night Warriors’.  

Jose “Aladdin” Barrales, frontman of Pomona, CA thrashers, BONDED BY BLOOD, wrote an expansive blog on the band’s MySpace page that looks back at an eventful 2009 and presents a rough sketch for their plans in 2010. Read on for more on the release of the followup album to 2008’s FEED THE BEAST and how you can play a part in their touring plans next year.