White Noise: News on Metallica, As I Lay Dying, Them Crooked Vultures and More

I've always maintained that animals like metal. I remember years ago, when Opeth's 'Blackwater Park' first came out, my cat Dante would always fall asleep when I'd put it on, regardless of how loud the volume was -- Iced Earth, Strapping Young Lad, Theory in Practice and Dillinger Escape Plan also worked. According to a new study conducted in the U.K., the sounds of Metallica songs apparently calm monkeys. Scientists played 30-second intervals of various metal songs for 14 cotton-top tamarins, and Metallica's 'Of Wolf and Man' seemed to calm the simians, while songs like Tool's 'The Grudge' and Nine Inch Nails' 'The Fragile' had zero affect on the animals. Strange. Do your pets dig metal? Let us know in the comments section below. Now, it's time for the White Noise.

+ Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde is a classy dude. He's still undergoing treatment for blood clots, which forced him to pull his band off the Pedal to the Metal Tour, and issued a statement via Twitter this week on how he's doing. "I spent three days in a hospital in Eugene, Oregon, where they gave me a 24-hour drip of Heparin," a drug that diminishes blood's clotting ability, "where they could monitor me. The next two days I received shots of Heparin into my stomach. Each shot lasted 24 hours. I was given a CT scan where they found three clots. I was then told each one of the clots passed through my heart. I just received an ultrasound. My left leg has a clot above the side and behind my knee, my calf and running into my heel. My right leg has a clot in between my calf and ankle." Then, Zakk got classy, and yet, made no sense at all at the same time. "On the brighter side, they shaved off four inches from my love cannon, so [my wife] Barbaranne won't be in such excruciating pain as I hammer and plow my love into her Thor-style! Aside of that, all is peachy keen!"

+ Former Dimmu Borgir bassist ICS Vortex has broken his silence on his and keyboardist Mustis recent departure from the band. In it, Vortex reaffirms Mustis' previous statements, calling him "the true creative force in Dimmu for the last 10 years."

+ San Diego's As I Lay Dying are working on new stuff for 2010. "A lot of people have been wondering what we're up to since we normally tour constantly and we haven't been playing many shows lately. Well, we've been home hard at work writing new songs for an album that will be out in early 2010. We'll start to record before the end of the year though."

+ In This Moment will headline a U.S. tour this fall. Called A Winter to Remember, the North American trek will also features In Fear and Faith, Agraceful and Motionless in White. The trek kicks off on Nov. 2 in Anaheim, Calif. and runs through Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.

+ Them Crooked Vultures will finally tour in the U.S. next month. On October 1, the band will be in Austin, Texas, and then they'll hit Detroit, Toronto, Boston, and Philadelphia before winding down in Washington, D.C. on October 14. According to a publicist for the band, they will not be doing any interviews with the media.

+ Russian Circles and Young Widows will be touring next month. The trek kicks off in Cincinnati on Oct. 28, and runs through San Diego, Calif. until Nov. 12.

+ This is awesome ... Opeth for Nintendo geeks.

+ Trivium, Chimaira, Whitechapel and Dirge Within will be touring together starting Oct. 29 in Atlanta. That tour ends in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 12.