Rob Flynn, Frontman for Bay Area Metal Titans Machine Head, has issued the following update via the band's Official website:

"Been hanging out in Dubai for the last 24 hours; man, what a crazy, modern, cool, surprisingly American-ized city. Something like 1/5 of the worlds high-rise cranes are currently in Dubai building high rises. I'm tellin' ya, in 15 years this city will look like Blade Runner! We're getting ready to play the Dubai Desert Rock Festival again, which is gonna be awesome!!! We're the first band in the festival's history to play the festival twice, so as Anchorman Ron Burgundy would say, "it's kind of a big deal!!" Once again, they've treated us like fucking royalty, and it's damn cool I must say. I'm looking forward to seeing all the bands on the bill, as we know pretty much all of them, so it should be fun. AND they sell Grey Goose Vodka now, so it's fuckin' ON!!! Next stop, CRUNKVILLE!!!

It's funny though, Dubai being a Middle Eastern country and all, they've sent us a long, LONG list of things we can't do onstage, including, but not limited to: Drink alcohol onstage *cough*, swear onstage *cough, cough, cough*, take our shirts off onstage (not that anyone needs to see my "hate"-handles), take our pants off onstage (they actually could stand to see my well-chiseled buttocks), flirt with local women (uh...), not to mention the fact that a JOINT will get you 20 years!!! But they rock the fuck out like few countries we've been to, so it's a killer time. We of course plan on obeying every rule! These fuckers have even blocked all my favorite porn sites, as the government-controlled internet doesn't allow people to view porn, MySpace, Facebook, etc.!!! Don't they know that the internet is for porn??!! Thankfully, I got some insider info on how to get around the web-block from some local kids here, and was able to finally get to my glorious porn sites. As Dave joked, "dude, you got some tech support for whacking off!!!" Yeah... take THAT, government-controlled internet!!!

I'm gonna give a wrap up of HellYeah soon, and we will post some video of that tour soon as well. Gonna try and get some cool footage from these crazy places too, I was even thinking about interviewing some local kids to talk about their metal scene, and maybe ask them some questions about being a metalhead in the Middle East, where it really is almost dangerous, and the Government can come down and squash you... for real. I don't know if it'll happen, but just something I've been thinking about."

This summer, Machine Head will headline the second stage, as part of the first annual Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. The tour, which is being headlined by Slipknot, also features Disturbed, Mastodon, Dragonforce, 36 Crazyfists, Walls Of Jericho, Suicide Silence, and more. For more information, head on over to www.Mayhemfest.com.

Modern Nu Metallers Disturbed are giving fans an early taste from their new album 'Indestructible' which hits the streets June 3, 2008. Head on over to the band's Official Website to hear their new track, “Perfect Insanity�. The track is actually a rare old track that was originally featured on their 'M.O.L' DVD, and has since been re-recorded for the new album. Check out the video for the original version below.

Also, This Monday the 10th at 11am PST / 2pm EST Disturbed will be playing a live show from Kuwait that is being streamed free via MySpace. Head on over to http://www.myspace.com/operationmyspace for more info.

In what’s sure to be the hottest concert ticket of the summer, multi-platinum rock acts Slipknot and Disturbed will lead the first-ever Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, a riotous road show packed with some of hard music’s most influential artists and a plethora of the genre’s most exciting young voices. The tour is set to kick off July 9th at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle and will hit 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada between early July and late August (a full itinerary will be announced in the coming weeks).

Joining Slipknot and Disturbed on the main stage will be Dragonforce and Mastodon. In addition, the tour will have two second stages: one sponsored by Jagermeister and featuring Sevendust, Airbourne, Five Finger Death Punch, 36 Crazy Fists and the Jagermeister Battle of The Bands Winner. An additional second stage will feature Machine Head, Black Tide, Suicide Silence, The Red Chord and Walls Of Jericho.

“This summer we are truly bringing Mayhem,� says Corey Taylor from Slipknot, who will close each show. “Slipknot is excited to be a part of it, and to be able to bring the new chapter of our history to the masses. We are already working, building and designing a new show. We cannot wait. We cannot lose. Get ready for Mayhem!�

“We’re really looking forward to being on the first Mayhem tour,� adds Disturbed vocalist David Draiman. “It’s a great lineup, which should set a new standard for rock tours and we’re excited to be a part of it!�

Adds Clown from Slipknot, “The question is, are you ready for things to be real again?�

In addition to catching their favorite bands live, fans can take part in a number of festival activities, including playing the newest video games, perusing vendors, attending autograph signing sessions and a slew of other interactive activities that will add to the festival experience.

Specific dates, cities and the tour’s Internet pre-sale will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans can go to www.mayhemfest.com to keep up with details as they are released.

The hype surrounding the imminent release of the new Sworn Enemy album, 'Maniacal', is quite astounding after the band recently annihilated Europe with Hatebreed, Agnostic Front and Ignite. 'Maniacal', set for a Feb. 12th release, is unquestionably their most impressive and destructive release yet. Featuring a newly reinvigorated lineup and new home at Century Media, this 10-track offering takes the group’s sound to new heights, which sees them embracing a thrashier edge. Check out a new video below, featuring in-depth interview with each member amongst a slew of live footage from the recent European tour.

A special pre-order package is now available, which features a signed CD, exclusive t-shirt and guitar pick for only $18, so head over to the bands Offical Myspace to get in on this great deal. Everyone who pre-orders the album will also automatically be entered to win a Dean Vendetta XM guitar. Also, if you place your order by Dec. 31 you'll double your chances to win. The winner will be announced on the album's release date of Feb. 12th. A massive U.S. package tour is currently in the works for early next year with more info to be announced soon.

Lorenzo Antonucci (guitars) further comments on the success of the recent European tour: “We just got back from our biggest European tour ever. It was amazing to meet back up with all of our friends in Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Ignite, Evergreen Terrace, Death Before Dishonor and Ringworm. We had a blast playing to massive amounts of kids every night, and this tour will definitely be remembered. We got to be part of the biggest metal/hardcore show ever in Dresden, Germany with 3,900 people in attendance, at the same venue where Slipknot and Slayer played together and did 100 people less. As the promoter and agent told us, that’s a pretty big fucking deal! Thanks again to all the people who showed up every night. Your support means the world to us, and we're glad you like the new tunes. We hope to see all of you U.S. maniacs early next year.”

'Maniacal was' co-produced by As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis and Life of Agony guitarist Joey Z, with Daniel Castleman (Destroy The Runner, Winds Of Plague) handling all mixing duties. Jordan Mancino (As I Lay Dying) also laid down all of the album’s drum tracks.

Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan gave a brand new interview to "The Big Rock Show" about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the group's new album and the band's future plans. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On what Disturbed has been up to in the last few months:

"We've just been writing. We've been real busy. Our personal lives have been busy as well. Mike [Wengren], our drummer, just got married a couple of weeks ago, and I just had a baby boy a little over a month ago. We're all just kind of balancing family life and trying to get back in writing mode, which we've been kind of hitting it pretty hard. Before Mike's wedding and before the baby came, we wanted to get the majority of the material [for the next Disturbed album] written, which we we seemed to be pretty successful at, so we're just kind of fine-tuning a lot of stuff right now."

On how the new Disturbed material compares to previous albums:

"Definitely, as far as musically, it's a lot ballsier than we've written. There's gonna be those signature things that are us, just 'cause stylistically that's the way we perform, and David [Draiman], vocally, is always gonna sound like him, so… he's got some big melodic moments, but there's some still aggressive stuff — just a lot ballsier, I think. [We're] trying to get a good blend of the elements of the past three CDs to try to evolve into something fresh and new for us as well."

On the group's plans for the rest of the year and the possibility of live dates:

"Right now the gameplan is to hit the studio this fall. That's where our heads are at, that's where we feel… that we're ready for it, so as long as we get the green light from the record label to give us our budget and let us go in and make this record, then that's our main goal right now — just bang this out and get it ready. More than likely, we probably won't hit the road until after the first of the year, but I don't wanna rule that out — anything is possible in this business; things pop up all the time and opportunities pop up, but the main priority is, once we get into the stuio, it's highly unlikely that we're gonna leave until we're finished with the CD. Once we get in that mode of recording, we like to just see it through and finish it."

Disturbed's latest album, 'Ten Thousand Fists', has sold 1.45 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.