1. MADBALL have set their sights on releasing their new album this fall, either in September or October. For the first time, they will be recording with producer Eric Rutan, who is more known in the metal scene, after working with bands like MISERY INDEX, CANNIBAL CORPSE, and GOATWHORE. I expect it to sound massive. The record, titled Empire, will be their first for Good Fight Music, which was founded earlier this year by Carl Severson, formerly of Ferret Music.

2. I love when on the same day I get a press releases from a band named AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH, followed by AS HELL RETREATS, and then HELL WITHIN. I suddenly have the urge to listen to some THIS IS HELL…

3. Earlier this week, Fat Wreck announced a new NOFX compendium titled The Longest EP, which will feature 30 songs culled from the band’s various EPs, as well as some rarities and unreleased material. I’m hoping the next NOFX compendium release will simply be titled More Songs.

4. Australian metalcore kings PARKWAY DRIVE are streaming their new full-length Deep Blue on their MySpace page. I’ve admired the brawn of their past couple of releases, but this one is definitely the band’s most developed effort, and it just feels more evolved riff wise and concept wise. That said, to bolster their metal status, and to attract interest from driving commuters everywhere, they should really should have changed their name to PARKWAY DRIVE FROM HELLLLLLLLL!!

5. Not music related, but this xkcd comic is so, soooo backed.

6. Hypebot has a brief story about Google getting involved in the music download store arena, and maybe also music subscription streaming services. I’m wondering how successful this will be, unless it involves the acquisition of an already existing store/service. Can Google bring passion about music into this area? One of the reasons why I’m such an ardent eMusic supporter is because the people that run the site truly are music geeks. That have great editorial material, and the general online experience goes far beyond transaction generation and processing. When I use AmazonMP3, it’s because the music they are offering is downright cheap. The user experience is less interesting, and more results driven (and iTunes sort of falls in the middle of this). Hmm…