Its going to be a good week. We can just tell. For starters, George Takei is back. We're not sure if any of our readers are fellow Howard Stern fans, but the thespian known for his roles in 'Star Trek' and 'Heroes' is the show's occasional announcer and he's back in the studio this week, doing his thing. His presence on Stern makes the entire program that much better, and he makes our mornings compiling all the latest metal news all the more enjoyable. We here at White Noise had a phenomenal weekend, and we're ready for July's last week, so let's get started.

+ Slipknot will be reissuing their self-titled debut album on September 29, in honor of the band's 10th anniversary in the business. The CD/DVD set will boast all-new packaging and 25 songs, including the original album plus several previously unreleased cuts and demo tracks like 'Purity,' 'Me Inside,' 'Get This' and 'Despise.' The DVD portion of the release includes three music videos along with a short film called 'Of The Sic: A Decade Come And Gone,' which was helmed by percussionist M. Shawn Crahan.

+ If you don't know who Demi Lovato is, ask your little sister. Basically, she's a 16-year-old actress who appears in a number of Disney-backed productions, and just released a CD of poppy rock songs. Well, as MTV News told us almost a year ago, Demi is a closet metalhead. During a recent appearance on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,' she actually spoke about three of the band's she likes: Job For a Cowboy, Abigail Williams, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. Does that mean we can't listen to those bands anymore?

+ High on Fire have booked a handful of dates for next month with openers Early Man. The band performs on August 7 in Eureka, Calif.; August 8 in Sacramento; August 10 in Fresno, Calif.; August 11 in Modesto, Calif.; August 12 in Long Beach, Calif.; and on August 15 in San Diego.

+ This is an odd pairing. Apparently, William Shakespeare and heavy metal have been combined thanks to a band from Portland, Ore., called Metal Shakespeare Company.

+ The fifth annual Ride For Dime has been scheduled for August 16 in Dallas, Texas. The annual event will feature a barbecue as well as a performance from Kiss' Ace Frehley, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, Aaron Lewis of Staind, and members of Shinedown, Machine Head and Snot.

+ David Isberg, a founding member of Opeth who left the band in 1992, has formed a new death metal project called Braathum. The band is looking for a drummer, and plans to start recording this fall.

+ Sweden's Burst are done. The band met in June, and "decided that it is time to let Burst sleep." The band is set to perform in the states through October 9 in Mokena, Ill., with Gojira and Zoroaster. But after that, they're finished because "the energy and motivation it takes to be in a band that continues to grow and gets a lot of touring offers has slowly but continuously weakened over the last years."

+ Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares has to start somewhere, and his earliest band, the Douche Lords, has surfaced online. Bravewords has a link to some of the band's music.

+ Mnemic have begun working on their next album, following guitarist Rune Stigart's decision to undergo surgery for an old wrist injury. Doctors have advised him not to perform, so Mnemic have hired a bunch of fill-ins to take over for him for the band's live gigs.

+ Walls of Jericho singer Candace Kucsulain will be missing this week's shows in Europe following the death of a friend. Emery Keathley, who was a member of Detroit's Cold As Life, suffered a heart attack and passed over the weekend, at the age of 29. She leaves a young son. Taking over for Candace behind the mic will be the Red Chord's Guy Kozowyk and Kevin Rampelberg, as well as Walls of Jericho's Chris Rawson.

More From Noisecreep