“I am in my new home town of Alameda, California, and I’m driving around doing domestic stuff, like getting new curtains for my kitchen and stuff. Totally metal!” begins a very relaxed sounding Dave McClain, drummer extraordinaire for Bay Area metallers Machine Head.

Sure, shopping for curtains might not be very metal, but you gotta give the guy some slack. Just consider the band’s rise from the brink of demise some eight or so years ago to where they are today and it’s the stuff that dreams are made of for any band.

Chugg Entertainment and Sun Touring Company announced today that legendary rock act, THE CULT, will be heading to Australia as part of their "Love" Live Tour, with confirmed dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in  May, 2010.

This will be the first time THE CULT has toured Australia in 15 years, last performing as part of the Big Day Out in 1995.

The LOVE album is viewed by fans and world-wide media as The Cult's pre-eminent release. From the immediately recognizable opening notes of She Sells Sanctuary, through Billy Duffy's psychedelic guitar strains on Phoenix, to the resolve of Ian Astbury's haunting baritone on Brother Wolf, Sister Moon, The Cult created an album that manoeuvres as a tour de force.

The Cult "LOVE" Live Tour will showcase the band's alternative roots as musicians and performers, and is sure to electrify new fans and devotees.

Since commencing the tour in mid 2009, the band have performed in diverse venues from the grand scale excitement of London's Royal Albert Hall, to the intimate setting of Paris' Le Bataclan, this tour will see the band fulfil the ultimate dream of Cult lovers across the globe, performing the unimaginable; a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness one of alternative rock's most important records, LOVE, performed in its entirety, live onstage.

"The band is redefining the live album experience with the "LOVE" Live Tour; nothing is comparable to witnessing The Cult, fully engaged in the live creation of arguably their seminal album. For fans this will be the greatest tour yet, and for those just discovering The Cult, this staging will envelop them in a pure performance experience," stated Cult manager, Tom Vitorino.

The band will take fans through a "best of" finale which will include their greatest hits spanning their storied career. The Cult will deliver spectacular production, along with the intense performances that fans have come to expect and have been working closely with their art/design team to create an arresting set, with dramatic effects, using state-of-the art technology.

Continuing their historic creative partnership, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy began writing together again in 2001 and have since recorded several songs at The Sunset Marquis Villa Recording Studios, in Los Angeles. Their highly anticipated new tracks will be the follow up to The Cult's 2007 release, the critically acclaimed, Born Into This.

Tickets for all shows go on sale on Friday, 19 March, 2010.  Stay tuned for support act announcements.

Ask and ye shall receive – after so many requests, Finnish battle metal masters TURISAS are finally touring Australia for the first time in the band’s history. Fresh from the studio, the band will be coming over for three gigs at the end of May. Warlord Nygård comments:

"Fucking hell! It's finally happening. We've been asked to take the trip to the complete opposite side of the globe for a long time, but for a reason or another it's never been possible. I don't need to tell you how excited we are about finally making it. We've heard rumours about a strong following down there, so now it's time to show us what all that is about! We're taking a break from the studio and the recording of our forthcoming third album to spend less time in your country than it takes us to travel there, so the expectations are high. We for our part will most definitely be bringing you a show with all the extra energy piled up from a year off the road. We're hungry, we're determined, and we're ready. We sure hope you are too!"

Don your war paint, grab your battle axe and prepare for a proper Scandinavian party - join the quest to Oz and beyond in May 2010.

Words by Robyn Morrison

There’s a fine line between being a covers band and paying tribute to someone else’s music.  So to help put us in the picture of what the Desert Sessions will entail, The Metal Forge speaks to Martin Carr and Dave Peck about the inspiration behind the night of Stoner Rock.

CONTRIVE reunite again with the eclectic musical genius Devin Townsend for a National tour in March 2010.

Devin handled the mixing duties on CONTRIVE's forthcoming 2nd album"The Internal Dialogue" in August 2009 with drummer Andrew Haug  sitting in on the process @ Studio D in Vancouver, Canada.

Some words from Devin Townsend:

"I've known the Haug brothers for some time, and I have to say that this record is leagues ahead of their previous material, which was already great. They've got a cool message and a sense of dynamics on this album which I think will give people the cause to take notice. Organic and honest, I'm happy to have been involved with some really great music. Hail Contrive folks!"

The band is close to securing a deal with news of its official release very soon.

This tour will feature a brand live set comprising of new songs off the album, so be early.