BlackSabbath

Guitar, bass and drums are the conventional instrumentation for nearly all heavy metal. Some bands have also used organs or synthesizers, and throughout the history of the genre, a select few have utilized the Mellotron, a magnetic-tape keyboard originally invented as the Chamberlin organ in a California garage in the late 1940s...

Heavy Metal Karaoke, which will establish a two-month residency in Hollywood and Las Vegas beginning in January, is meant to be fun, with Ozzy Osbourne bassist Blasko and his buddies (like Prong's Tommy Victor) performing as the house band while aspiring vocalists can come sing their asses off to a live band, as opposed to a vocal track...

HIM lead singer Ville Valo is admittedly miserable yet hopeful. 'Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice,' which will be released by Sire Records on Feb. 9, is nearly wrapped up and he's gearing up for the buzz kill. "We're still working on bits and bobs in the cover artwork," Valo told Noisecreep...

It isn't that 'Big Four Tour' we've all been hearing rumors about, but it's close enough. And its not going down in the states, but at least its happening on the same planet. For the first time in history, thrash's Big Four, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, will share the same stage...

You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that yesterday, Dec. 8, 2009 marked the fifth anniversary of the death of guitar hero Dimebag Darrell. One of the greatest tragedies in metal history, the late Pantera guitarist was shot and killed on stage while his band Damageplan was performing in Columbus, Ohio...

In late November, Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer shortly after Dio fell ill and was hospitalized. The band had canceled their European tour dates, and Ronnie's manager and wife Wendy Dio came forward and announced her husband's condition...

Now that he's had some time to let it sink in, Black Label Society mastermind Zakk Wylde says the fact that he won't be Ozzy Osbourne's main guitar man anymore is "no big deal." It's been a few months, and Wylde has been recovering from blood clots and the news that he'd been traded in for a younger, sleeker, and faster model: Firewind's Gus G...

The last decade was kind to heavy metal. Not only did veteran acts release some of their most exciting work, a flurry of new bands also came out of nowhere to demand their place among the greats. Noisecreep recently compiled lists of the best songs and albums of the past decade and it's been nothing short of controversial...

On Nov. 26, heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio revealed through his wife and his Web site that "Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages" of stomach canceer, and that he is "starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans...

Right before Dio was set to start its European tour, frontman Ronnie James Dio was hospitalized. Now nearly two weeks later, Wendy Dio -- who also manages the band -- followed up with Blabbermouth about her husband's hospitalization, stating that he's been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer...