Art of Dying play the kind of anthemic hard rock that makes radio programmers foam at the mouth. The Canadian band released their self-titled debut album in 2007 and have lived their lives out of suitcases ever since. Now signed to Intoxication, an label run by Disturbed members David Draiman and Dan Donegan and distributed by Warner Bros. Records, Art of Dying are set to release ‘Vices and Virtues,’ their sophomore record.

When someone at Intoxication told Noisecreep that vocalist Jonny Hetherington bottled his very own BBQ sauce, we were intrigued. After we were told us that he and his Art of Dying bandmates also organize backstage poker tournaments, we knew we had to investigate further.

Noisecreep: We hear you bottle your own BBQ sauce.

Jonny Hetherington: Oh yes. I’m a huge fan of [sauce] in general, so I’ve started messing with my own BBQ and hot sauce. I absolutely love the flavor of the Habanero pepper (or Scotch Bonnet). It’s one of my favorite flavors on the planet. And of course there’s the heat that comes along with it that is pretty incredible as well. Last year, I was on a mission to try and find an all-natural Habanero sauce without any crap in it, and well, I couldn’t find any. So, I decided to start making my own.

I’m proud to say my first batch was pretty killer and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve been mixing the heat and flavor of the pepper with locally grown fruits and spices, and I’ve been able to find a really nice balance between the two. I think the fig version is my favorite so far. I’m fortunate to have access to fresh fruit from British Columbia, Canada, where I live, so that is a big part of it. So far, each bottle contains 20 Habaneros, so I’m guessing it’s sitting at around 200,000 Scoville units. In other words — it’s damn spicy!

What kind of style is it? We know BBQ aficionados take this stuff very seriously.

The BBQ sauce I’ve been messing with is hot and smoky, with quite a bit of Jack Daniels spilled into it. C’mon, how good does that sound?

When we think of BBQ, Canada isn’t the first place that comes to mind. How popular is that kind of food up there?

If you’re talking traditional BBQ then yes, it’s pretty hard to find the real deal. Although in Vancouver, we have a few good ones. Memphis Blues and Slim’z are a couple you should check out. But as far as backyard BBQ goes, Canada has to be at the top of the list! I mean, we’re out there in the rain, snow, whatever — we love to grill.

You’re also getting a reputation for your infamous backstage poker tournaments on tour. Walk us through a typical night.

We play a hell of a lot of Texas hold ‘em. Cale [Gontier, bassist] is our poker star! He’s pretty damn good and plays a lot online as well as with us. We made the whole record in between poker hands. That’s the way we roll on the road as well. Usually we have a dry erase pen around and make a massive chart at the beginning of a tour or recording session and do the math at the end to see who owes whom what.

Our RV is pretty much a Final Table on wheels. It’s a great way to chill and listen to music together too. On our last writing session, Tavis [Stanley, guitar] and I put the entire Aerosmith catalog on ‘random’ and played poker for about 36 hours straight. It was pretty memorable heads up battle, with an unforgettable soundtrack. What’s better than that?

The band is signed to Disturbed’s new label, Intoxication. Please tell us you haven’t taken all their money at the poker table!

We have yet to have a band-to -and tourney. But it will happen soon, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Art of Dying will come out on top [laughter]. We stole John Moyer from Disturbed for a night on our RV last tour, and I’m pretty sure he rejoined the Disturbed camp with a lighter wallet [laughter].

It just thirteen months ago that Lita Ford loved ex-Nitro vocalist Jim “The Best A Man Can Get” Gillette so much that she was doing endless amounts of tweeting about how hot he was in the sack.

But while recently promoting her new album, She Don’t Look a Day Over Menopause, Ford revealed that she and Gillette are “going through a divorce right now, and it’s a really ugly divorce.” Say it ain’t so! If there’s no hope for the Lita and the guy she once said “literally fucks me right through the bed,” then it really is true what they say, and romance is dead.

I’m sad so sad, you guys. I might be too depressed to finish out the day. I think I have to go to my room and eat chocolates and watch Sex and the City. Anyone feel like making me an appletini?

John Shearer, WireImage

You can’t really argue with the Prince of Darkness naming his newest album, ‘Scream,’ as one of his favorite metal releases of the year. When Ozzy Osbourne released his yearly list (in no order), his album was the first he mentioned.

The first single from ‘Scream,’ aptly titled ‘Let Me Hear You Scream,’ was just nominated for a Grammy in the Best Hard Rock Performance category, so it’s safe to say the record will make quite a few 2010 best-of lists.

As a nod of solidarity his former guitarist, Zakk Wylde gets the thumbs up with Black Label Society‘s ‘Order of the Black’ album, as well as his newest lead axe man Gus G’s band Firewind for their epic album ‘Days of Defiance.’

For Osbourne, there are no rules in making a list. So naming an album that technically isn’t out yet, like Motörhead‘s ‘The World is Yours,’ is perfectly fine. It’s safe to say he snagged a copy of this long ago. Fellow old-school brethren Rob Halford and AC/DC also make the cut.

Rounding out Osbourne’s best-of-the-best are Korn, Pantera‘s ‘Cowboys from Hell’ reissue, Slash and Lamb of God‘s ‘Hourglass’ box set.

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AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has spoken out about his conviction in New Zealand for possession of marijuana. Rudd recently told Stuff.co.nz that authorities “have been trying to catch [him] on the road for a while, too.”

The police caught the rock legend after a search of his home, which was conducted with a warrant, turned up 27 grams of the substance. His lawyers expressed concert that this conviction would affect the skinsman’s ability to travel internationally with AC/DC. Rudd did say that he isn’t sure when AC/DC will tour again, so he has some time to sort this mess out.

Internets, you have failed me. But you have greatly pleased Sergeant D.

Of course, being the most popular band on MySpace is kind of like being the smartest kid on the short bus.

After the jump, the Top 10 bands on MySpace for 2010 based on fan votes, song plays, video plays and page views:

• 1 – Bring Me The Horizon
• 2 – The XX
• 3 – Ellie Goulding
• 4 – Mumford Sons
• 5 – Bullet For My Valentine
• 6 – Justin Bieber
• 7 – Foals
• 8 – Marina And The Diamonds
• 9 – Chase Status
• 10 – Two Door Cinema Club

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We’ve seen bassist Duff McKagan shake off the drama of old and take the stage with Axl Rose, but will the true Guns N’ Roses reunion of Slash and Rose ever happen? According to guitarist DJ Ashba in an interview with Australian radio station Becko, it’s best not to hold your breath.

“That’s completely false,” Ashba said, replying to a rumor that the estranged duo planned to play together. “I know Axl really, really well, and he basically said that it would be a cold day in hell [before they work together]. But, that being said, obviously I don’t know the inside insight, and I’m just happy to be in the shoes of an amazing, legendary guitar player. It’s really a treat for me to stand onstage next to somebody like Axl and [the rest of] this band. Everybody in this band is just top-notch musicians.”

Ashba joined Guns N’ Roses in 2009, replacing guitarist Robin Finck, who left to rejoin Nine Inch Nails. The legendary act has gone through a cavalcade of members since 1997. But even with a whole new lineup, the classic Guns N’ Roses lateness to the stage still continues to plague the band with legal problems.

The first night of the current Australian tour was marked with the band starting over an hour late and going over the mandated curfew of 75 minutes. “It isn’t even Axl that’s late,” Ashba joked on the issue, “it’s always our room service that’s late. We’re waiting to eat before we go on.”

Paul Archuleta, FilmMagic

Judas Priest are packing it in after 40 years of heavy metal power and glory. That’s right, the British metal legends announced that their 2011 world tour will be Priest’s final trek. But fret not, Priest fans. They’ll blanket the planet with one final victory lap dubbed ‘Epitaph.’ Clearly, Priest will be going out with a bang on one last major global trek, and we can’t blame them.

While it will be painful to imagine a world without Judas Priest on tour, we acknowledge that Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Ian Hill are already in or approaching their 60s and they’ve been touring since they were young men.

They’ve colored our world with heavy metal for 40 years, and it’s not a crime to retire from live performing.

Priest promise that they will hit all their major markets and that they will develop a set list of the songs that made them a metal institution and household name since their inception.

Priest will launch the tour in Europe, with the following festivals already confirmed. The band will announce more dates imminently.

Judas Priest farewell tour dates
6/9 — Sweden Rock Festival, — Sweden
6/11 — Sauna Festival — Finland
6/17 — Copenhell Festival — Copenhagen, Denmark
6/19 — Hellfest — Nantes, France
6/22 — Gods of Metal Festival — Milan, Italy
6/25 — Graspop Festival — Belgium
7/23 — HIgh Voltage Festival — London, UK
8/5 — Wacken Festival — Germany

Well here’s some surprising news to start your morning: Metal Underground is reporting that Judas Priest will do one last tour, and then retire as a band.

I kind of don’t believe it, because we hear artists announce their retirement all the time, and then it doesn’t stick, either ’cause they get bored or greedy or whatever (see: Ozzy). And yet, some part of me hopes it’s true. Even if their last couple of albums have been a little lackluster, Priest live shows are still all kinds of awesome, and the band has never done anything to embarrass themselves. It would be nice to see a revered act like JP quit while they’re ahead for a change.

Shelby Cobras of Illogical Contraption must be trying to stir up shit, or as we so fondly call it in Interhole jargon, trolling. Because some of his choices on his “Top 20 Shittiest Metal Releases of 2010” list are just downright infuriating: Tryptikon is shittier than Korn? Nachtmystium is shittier than both? REALLY?

Of course we take these things in stride here at the MS Mansion because we’re professional trollers ourselves. But some of you will most certainly take things quite seriously which always makes for interesting comment fodder. It’s like pulling puppet strings, I tells you.

Wait until you see what his #1 Shittiest Metal Album of 2010 is. Go read the list, then come back here and tell us  What’s your #1 shittiest metal record of 2010???

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There are two poignant Pantera anniversaries this calendar year. The band’s essential ‘Cowboys From Hell’ album celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reissue earlier this year. Today also marks the sixth anniversary of the tragic, unexpected shooting death of guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. His death still hurts for the majority of metal fans, his former bandmates and his brother even though over half a decade has passed since the incident.

While most of the music world is reminiscing today about the 30th anniversary of John Lennon‘s also-senseless murder, the metal community is mourning the loss of one of the greatest guitarists to ever pick up an axe.

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Noisecreep spoke to both Phil Anselmo and Vinnie Paul earlier this year about various topics, both Pantera-related and otherwise. Of course the pair separately spoke about how Dimebag’s loss still impacts them, especially when curating the reissue of ‘Cowboys From Hell’ without him.

In our exclusive chat, Anselmo mused about Dime, wistfully admitting, “I will say that with each passing year, it gets harder and harder and harder. This year was really rough … When I look around today and see what an impact that we made, and where heavy metal is at today, and I think of what could have been? What should have been? It’s very hard. It’s hard to come to grips with it. However, with that said, I am a man who likes to live in the now. All I can do is — like everyone else, like you, like any other fans, and anyone walking the streets that has love in their heart for what Pantera has done — is sit back finally and listen to it as a fan.”

Paul also spoke about how it’s doubly hard for him, having lost his longtime bandmate and his brother, saying, “Of course it’s bittersweet for me. The band was the biggest part of my life for the longest part. We had 14 amazing years, six incredible records and it was great till 1996, when things went sideways with certain people and it got real difficult. The beautiful thing was Dime loved the music he made and he will always live on through the music. It was his heart and soul, from the CFH logo to T-shirts that were his design.”

Mick Hutson, Redferns

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