LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 –- Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) returns to the road this spring, bringing his latest incarnation, the shape-shifting Puscifer, to cities throughout Eastern North America for an all encompassing evening of entertainment that Spin Magazine described as an “X-rated episode of Hee-Haw,” the Las Vegas Review Journal dubbed as “a performance art spectacle” and the Salt Lake Tribune said the event “…challenged our preconceptions of what to expect from a rock show.”  

British thrashers EVILE have revealed the identity of their new bassist, who joins the band following the tragic and untimely death of their late bassist, Mike Alexander. Mike Alexander passed away on October 5th, 2009 while the band was on tour in Sweden. EVILE members Matt Drake, Ol Drake and Ben Carter have released the following statement:  

Santa Claus has read your list, and this year will make your biggest wish come true – British crossover thrashers SSS have released a free Christmas song! The Liverpool thrashers have taken a moment out of getting knee-deep in mince pies to think of others at this festive time of year and to give you all a special treat with their brand new, free Christmas song, “Merry ChristmaSSS”.  

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, kicks off 2010 with the release on January 19th of Natsume Ono’s manga, not simple. The story, contained in a single volume, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, will be published by the VIZ Signature imprint and carries an MSRP of $14.99 U.S. / $19.99 CAN.  

Dirty Sexy Money star William Baldwin slides easily into the famed cowl as the voice of Batman in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an all-new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.  

The world wide web has been abound with speculation on a possible ‘BIG FOUR’ tour for several months. Now, the UK/European SONISPHERE can exclusively reveal that METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX will play together for the first time in history, in a move that will have metalheads across the globe frenzied with excitement.  

Marc Rizzo once again has stepped out from his six-string tour of duty with SOULFLY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY to deliver his new solo project, LEGIONAIRE on Phlamencore Records. This new albums reveals a phenomenal command of the guitar that Rizzo has become known for.  

Los Angeles’ traditional metal act WHITE WIZZARD are shooting a brand new video for “Over the Top”, the title-track from the band’s upcoming debut full-length album. WHITE WIZZARD will be trading their axes for guns as the five band members turn into rugged outlaws and bring true heavy metal to the wild west. Far from the typical “guys grimacing in a warehouse” metal videos that have become the norm, “Over the Top” will be a lighthearted video which promises to entertain with a fun story line.  

Miami’s KNOCK ‘EM DEAD are set to release their long awaited debut album “Endless Struggle” on February 2nd through Eulogy Recordings. The album was produced by Will Putney at the Machine Shop. They recently shot a music video for the song “Killing Hope” off the new album by Brad Gregory which is currently in the editing process. The first installment of 3 video studio blogs has just been posted on their newly revised Myspace page.  

When you’re dealing with a story so huge that it spans multiple Earths, it’s sometimes a good idea to arm yourself with multiple directors – as did the production team behind Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an all-new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.  

Anime director Hiroshi Yamazaki provides fans with a distinctly different artistic vision of the Halo universe with his painterly approach to animation in “The Duel,” one of the seven stories within Halo Legends.  

The Devil Wears Prada, whose blistering signature sound combined with a Biblical brutality has made them “the next big thing,” according to Absolute Punk, will join Killswitch Engage on their Winter U.S. tour as direct support beginning Thursday, February 4, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. Sweden’s Dark Tranquility will open on all dates, and the tour will keep the threesome on the road over a six-week-plus period.