Good morning, me metal mateys (sorry, Facebook's pirate application had us talking like Jolly Roger all weekend), and welcome to another edition of White Noise. It was a busy weekend for metal, with breaking album and tour news, as well as some band splits and what may actually be the first of many, many Heaven and Hell U.S. dates. So let's get it started... here's what's new in our world.

+ Calling all maggots. It's time to send some positive vibes to our brother Clown. According to Blabbermouth, Slipknot's percussionist was forced to leave the band, amid its Canadian tour, to address what singer Corey Taylor characterized as "a very terrible, terrible predicament going on in [Shawn Crahan's] family."

While it remains unknown just what it was, exactly, that drew Clown away from the tour, the tour did carry on May 1 in Toronto, and May 2 in London, Ontario. The band also played last night in Michigan, and are scheduled to perform in Illinois Tuesday. It is also unclear when Clown will be able to return to his massive kit. In the past, Crahan has missed tour dates because of his wife's illness; she has been diagnosed as having Crohn's disease. As soon as we know more, we here at Noisecreep will let you know. In the meantime, be righteous, and keep Clown and his relatives in your thoughts.

+ If you don't own any Darkthrone, smack yourself across the face. Twice. Lucky for you (and us), redemption is right around the corner, as Fenriz, who plays drums for the Norwegian black metal duo, says new music is coming soon. "W recorded six songs; we have to do like three more, I think," Fenriz tells Terrorizer. "We basically have three-fourths of the album done and we started writing for that, at least I did, in June last year so it overlaps. People look at it like we have several releases but for us it's just one big tune and we cut it off as we go along."

+ If you're a fan of Tera Wray, then you probably don't like Static-X frontman Wayne Static all that much. He's the reason why she's "former porn star Tera Wray," and not "porn star Tera Wray." And apparently, she never leaves dude's side since the two hooked up on 2007's Ozzfest. "My wife travels with me. She travels with me everywhere we go. We're inseparable," Static told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Being married has not affected my career at all other than just making me happier to be on the road. She's kind of become part of the show. She brings us our shots onstage. I'm putting her in all our videos; she's in the album artwork. She's here to stay, and definitely going to be a part of Static-X from now on." Dude, two words: Yoko Ono.

+ Is there a new Danzig album in the works? You betcha. Glenn Danzig is in the studio, working on an album he hopes to have out before year's end. Blabbermouth has more on the effort, as well as a list of the players who'll be appearing on the as-yet-untitled LP.

+ Warbeast, which boasts Texas thrash outfit Rigor Mortis frontman vocalist Bruce Corbitt, have been working on their debut album in New Orleans, which will be released later this year's through Phil Anselmo's Housecore Records. And the former Pantera throat has apparently been helping Corbitt perfect his vocals. "When [Anselmo] suggested I just come...by and spend a week with him recording my vocals...I was thrilled at the idea of taking my time on each song," he says. "Not only that, Philip is going to sort of coach me and give me tips in the studio."

+ In related news, Mike Scaccia, who plays guitar for Rigor Mortis, went under the knife this morning and is undergoing emergency neck surgery. The band issued a statement, saying that Scaccia "went in to see his chiropractor, who noticed something seriously wrong in [his] neck. So he sent him for an immediate MRI. The results showed that Scaccia has a cervical herniated disc in his lower neck and they told him that he could easily become paralyzed without immediate surgery." Keep Mike in your thoughts, too.

+ There's been a ton of talk about a Heaven and Hell U.S. trek, and now, it appears that tour's been confirmed. According to a newsletter that was sent out by the PNC Pavilion in Cincinnati, Ohio, the band has been booked to rock and rattle the venue on August 18, with Coheed and Cambria set to open. We'll bring you more on those dates when they surface.

+ Blood & Ink act Saints Never Surrender have thrown in the towel, with some of the band's members teaming up for a new band, ironically called Continuance. "In the last few years, the band known as Saints Never Surrender had undergone several member changes, to the point that all of us in the band felt we were no longer the same band," the boys said in a statement. "This, along with some other issues compelled us to start fresh."

+ The mighty Skeletonwitch are set to hit the recording studio June 14, to begin work on their next album. Jack Endino has signed on to produce. "The new material is coming along great," the band says. "We can't wait to see it come to fruition!"

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