Phew, what a week! But it's finally over, and now, we've got the entire weekend to unwind. And like most busy weeks, this one's also ending with a deluge of news, from album announcements to band splits. So, rather than drag ass, let's get right to the good stuff. It's White Noise... like that dorky friend you have, who's up on every band and listen to stuff you've never even heard of.

+ We don't know about you, but we love Howard Stern. And one of the funniest additions to his radio show in recent years has been Richard Christy. But you may know him better for his extreme drumming in bands like Iced Earth and Death. Well, Christy has been working on material for an album he plans to record this summer with producer Jason Suecof.

"I've been playing guitar a ton in the last several years and for about the past two years, I've been writing a lot of metal music which I'm really proud of and can't wait to get in the studio to record," Christy says of the disc, which will be released through Metal Blade. "I've been a metalhead since I was 8-years-old and I can't wait to get into the studio to pound on the drums and record some crushing new metal music."

Blabbermouth reports that Tim "Ripper" Owens and bassist Steve DiGiorgio, who both played with Christy in Iced Earth, will be making guest appearances on the album.

+ Well, we here at Noisecreep have been trying to track down more information regarding bands allegations made against Will Pruett, a Dayton, Ohio, man who's accused of bailing on the Thunder of Gods festival last weekend. According to a number of bands, Pruett jumped town two days into the four-day event, leaving several bands stranded at the airport and ticket holders wondering what happened. A number of Web sites that seem to be connected to a man by the same name, in Dayton, have lead to us to dead end after dead end, and Noisecreep reached out to authorities in Dayton and Hays County, Texas, who claim they've received not a single report about Pruett. While the police agreed that what Pruett is alleged to have done constitutes a criminal act, without complainants, they can't pursue the matter. In the words of Eric the Midget, all you bands who've been stiffed; "You know what to do."

+ Dude, YOB are back together, and that means there's a whole heaping helping of cosmic doom metal on the horizon. The band has wrapped the recording of 'The Great Cessation,' and the record has been slated for release July 14. The disc will feature five epic tracks, titled "Burning the Altar" (which can be heard here), "The Lie That is Sin," "Silence of Heaven," "Breathing from the Shallows," and the title track.

+ So, Iwrestledabearonce was in the office this week (yes, we've been talking way too much about this, and we'll stop), and they told us they'd be hitting the road this summer with August Burns Red. And what do you know, we've got those dates for you right now; Blessthefall, Enter Shikari, and All Shall Perish will also be on select dates. The tour gets underway in Baltimore on July 10, then hits Philly on July 11, Buffalo on July 12, Akron on July 13, Detroit on July 14, and on July 15, Chicago. The tour then hits Madison, Wisconsin (7/16); Willmar, Minnesota (7/17); Omaha (7/18); San Francisco (7/21); West Hollywood (7/22); San Diego (7/23); Pomona, California (7/24 and 7/25); Scottsdale, Arizona (7/26); Albuquerque (7/27); Austin (7/29) Corpus Christi, Texas (7/30); Houston (7/31); Dallas (8/1); Tulsa, Oklahoma (8/2); Sauget, Illinois (8/4); Louisville, Kentucky (8/5); Pittsburgh (8/6); and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (8/7 and 8/8).

+ Opeth fans everywhere are psyched by Thursday's announcement that new Porcupine Tree is on the way, or at least they should be. That's because PT frontman Steven Wilson has produced several of Opeth's previous LPs, including ""Deliverance" and its companion, "Damnation." The British prog rockers have inked a deal with Roadrunner, too, and will release a new album, containing "a 50-minute long continuous song cycle, along with three additional 'shorter' songs," on September 22 release.

+ Manowar has done the unnecessary, by taking one song from their upcoming album, and recording it in 16 languages. The song, "Father," is about Thor, it seems, was sung in English, German, Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Norwegian, Spanish, French, Greek, Turkish, Polish, Japanese, Croatian, Portuguese and Finnish. What, no Hindi? No word yet on when these 16 versions will be available, but we'll be sure to keep you posted.

+ Finnish metallers Swallow the Sun say in a statement that they've parted ways with drummer Pasi Pasanen. Calling it a mutual decision, it seems Pasi has "been having a lack of motivation towards this kind of music and touring. The guys have felt it too and there's no point for me to deny it. It just affects the chemistry in the band too much, so it is time for me to step aside."

+ This sounds like it's going to be a pretty decent tour. The 2009 run of the Thrash & Burn Tour, which runs from July 24 through August 30, will be headlined by Devildriver, with support from Emmure, Despised Icon, My Children My Bride, Veil of Maya, For The Fallen Dreams, Oceano, and Periphery.

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