They say the news is always happening, but this weekend, the metal news took something of a respite. Seriously. It was a rather slow two days, probably because everyone was outside and far from their computers. Here in New York City, at least, we had two solid straight days of sunshine. Probably the first time that's happened since mid-April. Here we go, kids... i'ts White Noise, the news source for metalheads.

+ Are Kiss going to follow in the footsteps of AC/DC, the Eagles, and Bruce Springsteen? According to reports, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley stopped by a Wal-Mart shareholders meeting on Friday (June 5), and that's fueling speculation that the band's forthcoming album may be sold in Wal-Mart and nowhere else when it's released this fall.

+ If you like noise, then you'll love Sunn 0))). Next month, the band plans to tour the Midwest, making it the first time ever we've wished we resided in the Midwest. Eagle Twin will open on all dates. The first is set for July 2 in Chicago, Ill. and six gigs are booked through July 12 in Newport, Ky.

+ On August 11, Winds of Plague will release 'The Great Stone War,' their latest LP. The boys will be playing a ton of the new stuff this summer, on the Summer Slaughter trek, which also features Suffocation, Necrophagist, and Dying Fetus. Following that run, the band will team up with Hatebreed and Chimaira for a full-on North American run.

+ Fresh from their opening slot on Metallica's tour (the band were handpicked by drummer Lars Ulrich as the opening act), one of our favorite bands, The Sword, will be taking a break from writing for their next album to play a pair of shows. They'll be in Houston, Texas on August 8, and Austi, on August 28. It is expected the band will be previewing some of the new stuff at this two gigs.

+ The name Ola Hudson should mean something to you, especially if you've read Slash's autobiography. Ola was the mother of former Guns N' Roses and current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, and she died on Friday (June 5) following a long battle with lung cancer. Our thoughts are with Slash during this difficult time.

+ Guitarist Tony Iommi has written some of the greatest riffs in rock and roll. But is the dude paranormally-prone? According to the Sunday Mercury newspaper, the Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell guitarist admits he's seen a specter. Back in the early 70s, when Sabbath were in Clearwell Castle writing for 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,' Iommi says, "we definitely saw [a ghost]. We were setting up the gear in the dungeons and were the only people there. It was myself and Geezer, or myself and Ozzy, and we were walking down the hallway and we saw a cloaked figure coming towards us. We thought, 'Who is that?' It walked into a room, and we followed it to see who it was and there was nobody there. The room was an armory with all the weapons on the wall, and there was nothing else in there. We told the people about it who owned the castle; we thought they'd think we were mad, but they just said, 'Oh yes, that's the castle ghost.'"

+ New York metalheads know Black Anvil, but for those of you who don't, they rule. And now, they've inked a deal with Relapse. The band's debut album, 'Time Insults The Mind,' will be reissued this fall, with a second full-length of new material slated for early next year.

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