According to DesMoinesRegister.com, a Des Moines physician has been charged with eight counts of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly prescribing large amounts of narcotic painkillers to patients who later died of overdoses, including Slipknot bassist Paul Gray.

Daniel Baldi, who helped run an Iowa Health System pain clinic, is accused of unintentionally causing the death of Paul Gray by writing "high-dose prescription narcotics to a known drug addict" starting on December 27, 2005, according to charging documents released at the doctor's court hearing today.

The doctor's lawyer, Guy Cook, told DesMoinesRegister.com his client plans to vigorously fight the cha ...

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The MetalReviews staff would like to take this opportunity to wish our readership a Merry Christmas.

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Metal Reviews now has a functional MySpace page again! You can access it here. Feel free to drop by, 'friend' us and comment!

We also have a Facebook group, so be sure to drop by if you have an account there.

Spread the fire!

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The official Roadrunner Records web site has been updated with top-album picks for 2008 from a number of artists that are signed to the label, including members of MACHINE HEAD, MEGADETH, DEVILDRIVER, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

The metal community has lost one of its strongest advocates with the passing of Adrian "The Energizer" Bromley. He was just 37 years old. Adrian was the editor and one of the founders of the heavy metal magazine Unrestrained! He had been a metal journalist for many years, and was also a founder of one of the first metal webzines, Chronicle Of Chaos. Until recently Adrian worked in promotion for The End Records and his latest ventures were his promotion company Ixmati Media and record label Absurdist Records.

I've known Adrian for the past few years. I can't believe he is gone, being a year younger than me. It is a shock. I have never met him personally, but always enjoyed a brief ...

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Richmond, Virginia-based metallers LAMB OF GOD have issued the following update:

"Be the FIRST to hear new LAMB OF GOD!!! Want to know how? Call 804-381-6758 and Chris [Adler, drums] will tell you how you can be one of the lucky 20 people to receive a LAMB OF GOD USB with brand new music on it!! For all of you outside of the U.S., YES, this is for you too! Some of the winners will have the USBs mailed to them. To call the U.S., first dial '00' then '1' then the number."

LAMB OF GOD has set "Wrath" as the title of its fifth studio album. The record will be issued in North America by Epic on February 24, 2009 and will be ...

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D.X. Ferris of the Cleveland Free Times recently spoke to vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) about Tim's forthcoming solo debut, which he has been recording in Los Angeles. Tentatively due in early 2009, the album will include guest appearances by Billy Sheehan (ex-MR. BIG,

Radio Metal has posted a new interview with Aaron Rossi in which the MINISTRY drummer discusses the incident that took place on June 24, 2008 at the band's concert at Havana Café in Toulouse, France. According to the official explanation offered by the group and the venue, MINISTRY's show had to be stopped after a fan allegedly jumped up on stage and attempted to attack the band with tear gas. However, some fans that attended the concert allege that it was in fact the security personnel's attitude that led to the incident by using tear gas on the audience. An excerpt from the interview follows.

Radio Met ...

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New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Crimson Management and The Syndicate have announced the first-ever Metal Summit on April 25. The Metal Summit is an interactive and educational conference where fans and the metal music industry can engage, share ideas and help further the scene. The Metal Summit will give labels, managers, agents, endorsers, publishers, media promoters, bands and more the chance to interact with the people who buy albums, tickets and merchandise. This is also an opportunity for fans to ask key members in the industry how they got started and gain advice on starting their own careers. After all, everyone in the music industry ...

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"The Mirror's Truth", the new single from Swedish metallers IN FLAMES, is available for streaming on the group's MySpace page. A video for the song was filmed last month at an abandoned factory site in Skellefteå, Sweden with the Swedish company Popcore (NORMA JEAN, UNDEROATH, KHOMA, CULT OF LUNA).

IN FLAMES will release the "The Mirror’s Truth" single on March 7 via Nuclear Blast Records. The European-only release will contain the following tracks:

01. The Mirror's Truth
02. Eraser *
03. Tilt *
04 Abnegation ...

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