White Noise: News on Malevolent Creation, God Forbid, Metallica, Belphegor and More

There was this one time when I made up a story about a fight I had been in. It was back when I was in grade school, and this kid who was two or three years older than me, and used to pick on my all the time (we lived in the same neighborhood) got his proverbial a-- handed to him by a bunch of high school kids. The next day, when this kid shows up to school, all bruised and battered, everyone took notice. I told a good friend at the time that the beating was my doing, that I had had enough of this kid screwing with me, so I fought back, and creamed the dude. That friend told one kid, who told another, and another. Eventually, it got around the entire school, which led said bully to come find me, and, in front of everyone, ask for clarification. "Have you been going around, telling people you beat me up?," he asked, with the whole school watching. I denied it, and got socked in the mouth. The moral of this story is, you shouldn't tell lies. At least not lies that can be verified through public records. That's the lesson learned by Phil Fasciana this week.

+ Why? Why would you make something like this up? That's the question Noisecreep had yesterday for someone at Nuclear Blast Records, which released Malevolent Creation's last disc. "We don't know anything about this," the label rep told us. "Its not like he's hyping a new record or anything, because they have no plans to record." But did MC guitarist Phil Fasciana really lie about his heroic involvement in a shootout in Fort Lauderdale, that ended with him firing a couple of bullets into a crackhead's brain? According to police in Florida, he did.

Fasciana wrote to Blabbermouth earlier this week, saying he walked in on a convenience store hold-up, was shot at four times, and just like Jules and Vincent from "Pulp Fiction," none of the bullets hit him. He further claims he tackled the robber, wrestled his gun from him, and then ended the guy's life, after noticing he was reaching for another gun. But Detective Mark Shotwell of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department says he can't find any evidence that any such event ever took place. "This did not happen," he said. "Our last murder was on June 22 and Fasciana was not involved. I'm certain of this. Even if the death was a result of self-defense, it would still be classed as a homicide and investigated as such. All witnesses, reportees, victims and suspects are entered into a database, but the most recent entry for Fasciana is on April 1, involving him and a female in a domestic dispute."

He added that a homeless crackhead would more than likely trade in a gun, to get money, for crack. "The scenario as described would have made headlines, even in Miami." But Fasciana is sticking to his story. "The store where it took place isn't considered Fort Lauderdale. What happened is true."

+ Every metal site's been obsessed with lists lately, but here's a cool one we didn't expect. Over at MetalInsider.net, they've nailed down their "Must-Own Metal 5.1 Surround Sound Albums." The list includes LPs from Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Mastodon, Refused, and Pig Destroyer.

+ God Forbid have tapped former Himsa guitarist Matt Wicklund to take over on second guitar for this summer's RockStar Energy Mayhem Tour, and he'll replace former axeman Dallas Coyle, who quit back in March following an argument with his brother, Doc.

+ Metallica have added Gojira and Volbeat as openers on their upcoming fall North America tour. The bands join a bill that already featured Lamb of God.

+ Belphegor have wrapped the recording of their eighth full-length studio album, 'Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn,' which will be in stores later this year. Frontman Helmuth says the band "continue to piss on the damn mainstream" with this new one, and that "it's Belphegor to the highest; the hymns are extremely varied, more intense and epic than ever, [and] there are new elements and structures added. Also, we used some haunting samples here and there, to give the album a cold and ritualistic feel."

+ Istapp have inked a deal with Metal Blade, who will release its album 'Blekinge' in 2010.

+ Metalsucks is streaming Arsonists Gets All the Girls' new album, 'Portals,' in its entirety. Its killer.

+ And the award for our favorite album cover of the week goes to Ravage. Called 'The End of Tomorrow,' the LP is scheduled for an August 18 release.