White Noise: News on Machine Head, Zakk Wylde, Them Crooked Vultures, High on Fire, Behemoth and More

Smack talk. It is a subtle art form. Man, we love when bands talk smack. But have you ever noticed that usually these verbal, oft-online disputes almost never lead to anyone throwing down? It's pathetic. The one time a dude did talk smack and made it physical, this happened. Most of these Web-based battles never actually end up resolved, and none of these tough metal guys ever actually steps up to the plate, making it physical. It's because chances are these guys (save for Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, because we're sure that guy could rip anyone a new one) have never been in an actual fight. Some of the hardest dudes we've ever met were the silent type, not the kind of guys who would go on Twitter and try to intimidate with words. We bring this up only because today's White Noise is filled with lots of talk.

+ Machine Head almost didn't play the U.K.'s Sonisphere this past weekend, basically because they had to go on right before Limp Bizkit. Not that we're taking sides, but LB's an easy target. Anyways, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn took the interwebs ahead of this weekend's big event, and promised that his band would "crush" Limp. Not long after, Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal went on Facebook with this message: "Just finished playing at Sonisphere festival in London with Nine Inch Nails and Metallica ... As for (Machine Head), hahaha, the only thing crushed was your egos. lol ... Suck it!!!!" Lethal added he was actually a fan of Machine Head, and that "they just got pissy about some promoter stuff then got personal ... I even wore a MH shirt on stage ... They still played after crying about the whole thing. We would have gladly played before them; no big deal." OMG, WTF?

Of course, it didn't end there. Flynn has responded, again via the Internet, writing, "DJ Lethal from Limp Bizkit's response to my comment about how we were going to crush them was hilarious. Apparently, he forgot to mention the 'unprompted' three-minute-long 'F--k Limp Bizkit' chant today [during Machine Head's set] from all 45,000 people at Sonisphere. Tonight was one of the biggest ego boosts we've ever had! Not that we had s--t to do with it, but it was funny how the crowd chanted 'Machine Fucking Head' in between every song that Limp Bizkit played tonight, and they didn't say s--t about it onstage except 'Machine Head is hard, and their fans are hard.' Now that their they're away from our crowd and our stage, now [DJ Lethal's] an Internet tough guy. And this is coming from the guy wearing a Machine Head shirt onstage tonight ... hmmm ... NICE!"

+ More KISS products are coming, more KISS products are coming! This fall, a limited-edition run of KISS M&M's will hit the market, in tandem with KISS' forthcoming album, which is rumored to be a Wal-Mart exclusive titled 'Sonic Boom.'

+ A few years back, Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes from the Eagles of Death Metal let it slip in an interview that his best friend, Queens of the Stone Age mastermind Josh Homme, was going to be a father and have a child with Brody Dalle. Now, he's gone and opened his big mouth again, telling a radio station that Homme is working on a new project with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl called Them Crooked Vultures. We can't wait to hear what they've been working on.

+ Zakk Wylde is tired of waiting on Ozzy Osbourne. Zakk wants to know if he's still in Ozzy's band, which is what a lot of us would like to know. Zakk said during a recent interview that he has "no idea" whether he is or isn't, and challenged Osbourne, saying, "If you're gonna can my ass, say it to my face. Don't be doing this s--t behind my back; that ain't cool. You could play with anybody you want. Put it this way ... It's like my wife ... You can be with any guy you wanna be with. But you know what? If you're gonna be banging a guy in our bed, at least let me watch so I can enjoy it. Let me in on the skinny ... What's going on here?"

+ Atreyu have named their forthcoming LP 'Congregation of the Damned.' Look for the record to hit stores October 27.

+ Want to hear Behemoth's forthcoming ninth album, 'Evangelion,' before you buy it? Then head on over to the band's MySpace, where all nine songs from the effort are streaming this very second. The album will be in stores on August 11.

+ High on Fire will begin tracking their next record this month. The boys are in Los Angeles doing pre-production with Greg Fidelman, and an early 2010 release via E1 Music is expected.