UK progressive metal band Threshold have announced details of their forthcoming album.

‘March of Progress’ – the band’s ninth studio album – will feature the following tracks:
Ashes
Return of the Thought Police
Colophon
Staring at the Sun
Liberty Complacency Dependency
Divinity
The Hours
Don’t Look Down
That’s Why We Came
The Rubicon
Coda

Handling vocals this time around is the band’s original vocalist Damian Wilson, who re-joined the band (for the third time) in 2007. The band plans to make a few live appearances to support the release of the album in April.

‘March of Progress’ will be released via Nuclear Blast Records.

The complete line-up for the 2012 New England Metal & Hardcore Festival has been announced.

The three day even takes place next April between April 20th-22nd and will be headlined by The Black Dahlia Murder, thrash metal legends Overkill and Killswitch Engage. Other slots will be filled by Protest The Hero, Skeletonwitch and Oceano.

The full line up for the three day event can be seen below:

Friday, April 20

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER
THE ACACIA STRAIN
OCEANO
ALL SHALL PERISH
NILE
SKELETONWITCH
LIONHEART
FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE
FIRST BLOOD
MOLOTOV SOLUTION
THE CONTORTIONIST
REIGN SUPREME
CONDUCTING FROM THE GRAVE
FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY
INCENDIARY
PALEHORSE
HOUR OF PENANCE
LEGION
RELENTLESS

Saturday, April 21

[Headliner to be announced January 2, 2012]
OVERKILL
IWRESTLEDABEARONCE
PROTEST THE HERO
PERIPHERY
BANE
SHIPWRECK
CRUEL HAND
ABORTED
BLACKGUARD
THE MONGOLOIDS
BELGARDOR
SYSTEM DIVIDE
NAYSAYER
THE GREENERY
DIAMOND PLATE
ROTTING OUT
EXPIRE
ELITIST
TRUMPET THE HARLOT
MANNERS
MALEFICE

Sunday, April 22

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
EVERY TIME I DIE
VANNA
FOR TODAY
CHELSEA GRIN
SLEEPING GIANT
STICK TO YOUR GUNS
ATTILA
ON BROKEN WINGS
MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE
FOR THE FALLEN DREAMS
TEXAS IN JULY
UPON A BURNING BODY
VOLUMES
LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES
HUNDREDTH
NO BRAGGING RIGHTS
COUNTERPARTS
GIDEON

As has been widely reported, as part of their ongoing 30th Anniversary celebrations, metal titans Metallica have debuted four new songs during their live sets.

The songs were left-overs from 2009’s “return to form” release ‘Death Magnetic’.

The songs are to be released as a digital EP, ‘Beyond Magnetic’, available from iTunes in the US at some time this week and from other digital retailers for the rest of the world. There is no confirmed plan to release these tracks in a physical format.

‘Beyond Magnetic EP’ tracklisting:
01. Hate Train
02. Just A Bullet Away
03. Hell And Back
04. Rebel Of Babylon

The Ep represents Metallica’s first released work since their controversial collaboration with Lou Reed. (Read a review of ‘Lulu’ here.)

At the end of their live set at the Meredith Festival in Victoria, Australia last night, Grinderman announced their disbandment.

Frontman Nick Cave announced to the audience, “That’s it, it’s over…See you in another ten years”.

Grinderman formed in 2006 as a side project for Cave and verious members of his band The Bad Seeds, exploring a more aggressive and improvisational direction. They released two albums ‘Grinderman’ in 2007 and ‘Grinderman II’ in late 2010, both to critical praise.

Although Cave has not made his future plans explicit, it is assumed he will resume work with The Bad Seeds, who last released an album in 2008, just prior to the formation of the Grinderman project.

Read a review of Grinderman 2 here.

Last week, DJ Mark Ronson confirmed he was to appear at the Future Music Festival in Australia.

It was announced via the Triple J website earlier today (Australian time) the Ronson will now not be appearing due to a scheduling conflict offering “an unmissable opportunity”.

The festival is to visit Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane between March 3rd-12th 2012. Other confirmed acts include Fatboy Slim and New Order.