Illinois metallers Thyateira have issued the following update about recording new material and their upcoming tour dates:

“Hello boys, girls, both, and yonder.

“Anyways, to business…we thought we should throw your pretty faces a little update as to where we are now, what we have done these last couple months, and what we have coming up.
people like lists because they are simple, easy to read, and fun. so we’ll list everything for you

“WHAT HAS THYATEIRA BEEN UP TO LATELY? 1) we recently recorded a cover for the song “House That Pain Built” by industrial 80’s rock band Killing Joke. this song will be on a compilation CD included in a book that is being written by a former member of the band. so keep your eyes peeled on bookshelves near you!

“2) we have been aired on over 500 radio markets across the US and Canada, and am also being played on the Music Choice Metal channel (where many of you awesome friends have discovered us from). keep your ears open to a local metal station near you, and hey, call in and request us eh?

“3) Our music video was recently shot and released by director/producer CHUCK BRUECKMANN for our song THROUGH DARK EYES. if you haven’t peeped it yet, give it a looker on our profile!

“4) THYATEIRA STREET TEAM. self explainatory. these boys and girls help us out by spreading the love of Thyateira and getting out merch out to you all. we couldnt be more helpful for the love and support they have given us thus far. if you want to JOIN, click on the street team myspace on our top friends, and follow the instruction in the about me section!

“5) INTERVIEW! we recently had an interview with the nicest people at thedailyrock.com! it will make you laugh, cry, and many other emotions. on their site, click inside the search box on the right and type in our name

“6) if you haven’t noticed, its been a little over a month since we have played any shows. we took some time off to work more on promotion as well as tightening up and writing a few new tunes. come check it out at a show really soon, we assure you you wont be sorry

“WHAT IS NEXT WITH THYATEIRA? 1) TOURS! we have a tour being booked for us by booking company AC Booking. A. midwestern tour beginning June 12th for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. more details tba B. June 26th-28th weekend tour with local Wisconsin band FMK!. C. July 17th-22nd tour with local Michigan band And Hell Followed With. All of these tours are in the works now, so keep checking up on our upcoming shows or our random repetitive bulletins for updates.

“2) RECORDING! within the next few months, we plan on hitting up BOTA studio again to record a short 3-5 song EP to give you all some new jams to listen to if you want some new sounds.. BE READY!

“3) LIVE DVD. thats right. very very soon, we plan on releasing a Beholder/Live dvd package with random band footage, live shows, our music video, etc. no dates or prices confirmed, but the dvd will also be sold separately for those of you that have our full-length album BEHOLDER.

“So that’s about all we have going on at the moment. our main focus right now is to get to all of you and rock your faces and roundhouse kick people. this has been a busy month for us, and we’re excited to show you the new tunes and rock sack with all of you again.
lets keep it fresh, funky, tasty, and gnarly my friends!”

Thyateira’s upcoming tour dates are as follows:

10/21 October Tour W/ From All Within @The Skylight Coffeehouse Lafayette, Indiana
10/22 October Tour W/ From All Within @ Spirit of life Church Indianapolis, Indiana
10/23 October Tour W/ From All Within @ The AG Center Owingsville, Kentucky
10/24 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! Crossville, Tennessee
10/25 October Tour W/ From All Within @ THE COUP Clarksville, Tennessee
10/26 October Tour W/ From All Within @ THE POPLAR LOUNGE Memphis, Tennessee
10/27 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! Little Rock, Arkansas
10/28 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! Fayetteville, Arkansas
10/29 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! Joplin, Missouri
10/30 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! St. Louis, Missouri
10/31 October Tour W/ From All Within HELP BOOK!!! Central, Illinois

Five Finger Death Punch has issued the following statement about their guitarist Zoltan Bathory going missing:

“We have not been able to locate Zoltan from 5FDP since Friday night’s show in Las Vegas. He has not responded to calls, text messages, or emails, and he was last seen around 2:00am Friday night at Wasted Space in the Hard Rock Casino, taking tequila shots at the bar with a group of guys from a bachelor party who came to the show.

“If anybody has any information as to the whereabouts of Zoltan, please email ffdp@prospectpk.com immediately. This is not like him and the band needs to prepare for the upcoming tour. We have already notified the appropriate authorities, but any help Vegas fans might be able to provide is very much appreciated. Thank you.”

Ian Burrell of U.K.’s The Independent recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On finally passing his driving test:

“The first test was about 1974, then ‘75, ‘76, ‘77, ‘78. I’ve lost count how many times. I remember one time I was doing the three-point turn and I passed out because I’d been to the doctor’s earlier and got some Valium for my nerves. At the end they’d say ‘You’ve failed,’ and I’d be staggering around the car park. Some [examiners] would say, ‘I’m not even fooking getting in the car with you.’ Would you?”

On being sober and staying physically fit:

“I love the feeling of working out. I don’t drink anymore; I don’t smoke; I don’t do drugs. I quite enjoy this sobriety because at least I can kind of remember what I did yesterday.”

On the fact that he has driven illegally for years:

“I bought a brand new Mercedes AMG and took Sharon to Tramps. I drank a shitload of booze and then went down South Molton Street the wrong way. A 12-year-old cop said to me ‘Have you been drinking?’ I said, ‘Is the Pope a Catholic?’ We went to the nick in a black Mariah and I said to Sharon, ‘It’s not every day you go out in a brand new Mercedes and come home in a police van,’ which didn’t go down too well.”

On the fact that he is not the monster of rock that some believe:

“I was the kind of nutter people liked to be around — I’d do anything. Basically I was the clown, I always have been. I was never a bad guy. When I got successful it gave me a ticket to be a lunatic, but I didn’t do it with any malice, apart from whacking the wife round the ear now and again.”

On meeting Tony Blair at an event in the wake of the invasion of Iraq:

“Tony Blair was looking at me. I was quite astounded when he said to me ‘Do you know, I was in a rock ‘n’ roll band myself once?’ Then he goes, ‘We could never quite get the thing to [SABBATH's second single] ‘Iron Man’.’ I’m looking at this guy and thinking ‘He’s the fooking Prime Minister of Britain, and there’s kids out there getting blown up and fooking landmines and the rest of it, and he’s talking to me about ‘Iron Man’. There’s something wrong with this.’”

On whether he hankers to be an activist:

“I don’t understand too much about politics and I don’t want to. I could always phone Bono and see what he’s got to say — he’s a fooking political groupie now isn’t he? That’s one thing that pisses me off: when people in the entertainment game think it’s cool to be a politician. ”

On whether an Ozzy Osbourne could have emerged in the 21st century:

“I don’t know. It’s a completely different business now. They say, ‘You look good, you look good; we’ll call the band whatever.’ There are new kids on TV for a month and then they disappear; it’s manufactured now.

“If I was about to bite the head off a bat now, would people give a fuck? Remember [Sixties American singer] P J Proby when his nuts fell out on stage? They could walk on stage now with no gear on. When something’s been done, it’s been done.”

On the potential for further autobiographical work, as further recollections emerge from the fug of his memory:

“Ozzy Osbourne in 350 pages? That’s just the first chapter; my life has been anything but dull.”