This year is quickly shaping up to be a year of thrash shows that are unbelievably stacked. We already went through Overkill and Nile, and we still have Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold this year, Slayer and Lamb of God, Megadeth and Meshuggah… There’s a lot coming out way and it’s only April. In midst of this, Testament and Sepultura have teamed up for a run across the states in support of Brotherhood of the Snake, an album that I enjoyed and, them being Testament, surely meant great things were in store, right? Especially with Sepultura opening, this hardly seemed like a show to pass up on.  

You read that right! We said X-MEN TRADING CARDS. As a team comprised of some of the most fan-favorite mutants ever assembled join forces in the pages of July’s ASTONISHING X-MEN #1, Marvel is bringing the fanfare and returning to one of the most iconic pieces of X-Men history by one of its most famed artists! To celebrate the launch of this must-read new series, Marvel’s Merry Mutants take your comic shop by storm throughout the month of July for a series of nearly thirty X-MEN TRADING CARD VARIANTS by legendary artist Jim Lee! Remastered and recolored from the original trading cards, relive this iconic era of the Children of the Atom with a series of eye-popping covers. Originally penciled by legendary X-Men... 

The fourth issue of the bestselling series GOD COUNTRY by Donny Cates (REDNECK) and Geoff Shaw is being rushed back to print in order to keep up with overwhelming customer demand.  

Harlem’s Hero for Hire is going solo once again this May, and the unbreakable hero is off to New Orleans to uncover a mystery stretching back to his very origins! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your first look inside LUKE CAGE #1 – the hard-hitting new series coming from critically-acclaimed writer David F. Walker (Power Man and Iron Fist, Occupy Avengers) and rising star artist Nelson Blake II (Romulus)!  

Marvel Comics is proud to present an all-new approach in introducing the world to Marvel Comics and the next great Marvel Super Hero series – MONSTERS UNLEASHED!  

Today, Marvel is excited to announce, an all-new way to interact directly with the Marvel Universe, with Marvel’s first chatbot. Timed with the release of Marvel Comics’ SECRET EMPIRE fans will have the ability to directly chat with some of their favorite Marvel Super Heroes and be a part of the Marvel Universe through Facebook Messenger and Twitter DM. Powered by Conversable, this new chatbot experience presents a bold and exciting new way for fans to interact with some of Marvel’s most popular heroes who are directly in the throes of Marvel Comics’ SECRET EMPIRE!  

ZAKK SABBATH, the Black Sabbath all-star cover band featuring guitarist/vocalist Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), bassist Blasko (Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie), and drummer Joey Castillo (Danzig, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bl’ast!) will release the limited edition Live In Detroit LP via Southern Lord Recordings on June 16th.  

VIZ Media expands it’s Legend Of Zelda library with the release of THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LEGENDARY EDITION – THE MINISH CAP / PHANTOM HOURGLASS on May 9th.  

Finnish Trad-Metal newcomers LEGIONNAIRE will release full-length debut album Dawn of Genesis May 26 on Gates of Hell Records (a Cruz Del Sur Music imprint). The album will be available on CD, vinyl, and digital formats.  

The fans have waited almost a full year since the announcement, and now two of Europe’s finest metal exports and Napalm Records recording artists the might HAMMERFALL and DELAIN are set to kick off their co-headlining North American tour tonight in Toronto, ON.  The tour crisscrosses North America including an appearance in Worcester, MA at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, and wraps up May 18th in Atlanta, GA.  A complete list of dates can be found below.  

Multi-platinum band 311 have formally announced the June 23 release date of their 12th studio album MOSAIC (BMG) alongside the reveal of its unique album cover–which is made up of nearly 10,000 photos submitted by fans. Even the image of the 5 band members on the cover is made up of tiny fan photos–to solidify the concept of band and fans as one. Fans can view a high-resolution pan & zoom mosaic of the cover image now at 311AlbumArt.com.  

Image Comics is pleased to announce that the full-length 43rd issue of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ multiple Eisner Award-winning series SAGA will be priced at $0.25 in celebration of Image’s 25th anniversary. In addition to this collectible $0.25 issue, limited quantities of a commemorative Image 25th anniversary print featuring exclusive and all-new SAGA artwork by co-creator Fiona Staples may also be available. Contact your local comic shop for more details.