It's Wednesday, folks, which means we're halfway through another work week. For some of us here at Noisecreep, it also means we're just two days away from Opeth's gig at New Jersey's Starland Ballroom. Nice! But until then, we're still working day and night to keep you up to speed on all the latest headbangin' happenings. So, without further adieu, here's what's happening in the world of heavy metal and hardcore.

+ There's a new Megadeth record on the way. According to frontman Dave Mustaine, the band started working on the follow-up to 2007's 'United Abominations' back in early January, and they're hoping to have the set ready in time for release in September. "We are nearing the completion of the new record, [and] I will tell you, it is fast, it is heavy, there is singing, yelling, speaking, and guest voices, the soloing is insane, and I am just starting my parts and so far, I have been playing like mad! Both of the two solos I have gotten down are as fast as anything I have played on."

The album will contain the tracks "Nothing Left To Lose," which Mustaine says is "about having been wiped out, like so many Americans, from the recession and potential depression years of 2000," "Bite The Hand That Feeds," "How The Story Ends," and "This Day We Fight." "I also have some bizarre songs like 'Headcrusher,' which is about the medieval torture device, and 'Endgame,' which is about a bill that ex-President George W. Bush signed into law that gave him the power to put American citizens in concentration camps."

+ Ava Inferi, which features ex-Mayhem guitarist Rune Eriksen, have set July 14 as the release date for their third album, "Blood Of Bacchus." Follow this link to download a free track from the effort, called "Colours of the Dark."

+ Billboard.com reports that prog-metallers Mastodon's latest LP, "Crack the Skye," may be coming to a movie theatre near you soon. According to kitman Brann Dailor, the band sat down with a film director recently, and "wrote out a screenplay that reads from song to song. We didn't storyboard it, but we wrote a screenplay." He says three different directors have expressed interest in taking on the project. Dailor says the one roadblock standing in the way of the film? Funding.

+ Ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum says if Axl Rose ever gets the original band together for a reunion tour, that he and Steven Adler should both take part. "If it's me on drums or Steven or whatever, if it happened, it'd be great, you know," Sorum said in a recent interview. "I would actually say to them, 'Hey, bring both of us back,' you know. Let me play the other stuff. We'll have two drum kits. I don't care. If 'Appetite' sounds better with Steven playing it, have both guys up there. They can afford it."

+ British heavy metal icons Iron Maiden have filed a lawsuit against the firm behind the comic book "Iron and the Maiden," claiming that the title is "confusingly similar," and part of a ploy used to profit off the band's heavily trademarked name. The band wants the company to stop using the name, and is seeking damages as part of the suit.

+ In related news, Terminal Press and Nuclear Blast Records have teamed up to release a Dimmu Borgir-themed comic book. "Dimmu Borgir: Dark Fortress" will be the first in a series of books influenced by the lyrical, artistic, and musical concepts from Nuclear Blast's spate of roster bands.

+ Maryland rockers Clutch are wrapping production on their forthcoming ninth studio album, which they've titled "Strange Cousins From the West." The disc will be in stores on July 7. The disc boasts a cover of the Poppo's Blues Band's "Algo Ha Cambiado," which gruff frontman Neil Fallon belts out entirely in Spanish.

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