heavy lowdown

SLAYER WATCH: That pic above isn't from the worst remake of Porky's, it's more evidence that Slayer is back in the studio. That's producer Terry Date helming Slayer's potential 2015 return...

The above pic was posted on Slayer's Instagram earlier in the week. Does it herald, as many expect, a new Slayer album in 2015? Is it the genesis of their pivotal post-Hanneman/Lombardo/Rubin album...

Pig Destroyer at GWAR-B-Q, 2013 (More are going to play a show, the related Pig Destroyer are going to play two. The grinders now have dates on the horizon, December 19 in Boston and December 20 in Philadelphia, with the possibility of more on the way...

That pic above is from the Millington, TN stop of Mayhem Fest and was tweeted/deleted by Trivium's Paolo Gregoletto with the caption, "Brutal pit for the first band today...

Mastodon's Brent Hinds carved a giant penis out of wood. That part is fine, it's the fact every metal news site lead with the. . . hard hitting story this week...

Over the weekend, King Diamond turned into King Dynasty. First bassist Hal Patino quit over a pay dispute. Then, Kim Bendix Petersen responded with a seemingly well-reasoned letter of epic length (if you read it in a King Diamond falsetto, it makes the words fly by)...

The picture above is Riley Breckenridge's fractured jaw after the Puig Destroyer -- the baseball themed grindcore group -- drummer took a pitch to the head...

Kayo Dot at IO SXSW showcase, 2014 (More by Tim Griffin) Looks like a lot of bands spent the spring making sweet, sweet albums in the studio...

Anaal Nathrakh at Inferno Festival, 2012 (More by Fred Pessaro) If you're not busy loading your pig's blood supersoaker, let's take a walk on the newswire: I wish I could vomit contracts on you people: Ruthless black metallers Anaal Nathrakh are now on Metal Blade and will have a new album out later this year...

"Me and my uncle @philiphanselmo have a gang," Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman said on Twitter. "And these pants are our uniform." And now that's burned in your retinas, let's take a walk on the newswire: At the Gates have hinted subtly and not so subtly about a new album for 2014...