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Ronnie James Dio, whose soaring vocals, poetic lyrics and mythic tales of a never-ending struggle between good and evil broke new ground in heavy metal, died Sunday, according to a statement from his wife and manager. He was 67.

Bret Michaels was rushed to the hospital late Thursday night after suffering a massive hemorrhage near his brain stem, this according to People.com. Michaels is reportedly in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital. According to the report, Michaels was suffering from excruciating headaches earlier in the day. According to the report, Michaels underwent several tests -- including CAT Scans and MRIs. The report claims it was determined Michaels suffered from a "subarachnoid hemorrhage" -- bleeding at the base of his brain stem. Earlier this month, Michaels was rushed to the hospital after experiencing stomach pains -- he ended up having...

The China Containerized Freight Index has bee-lined upward in 2010. The index tracks shipping prices for goods sailing from China to 11 different regions around the world. Between January 15 and February 26, the index rose 17%. During the same period, the Baltic Dry Index (which tracks average shipping prices globally) fell 18%. As I mentioned, these numbers suggest a big increase in goods being shipping from China relative to the rest of the world. With anecdotal evidence that at least some of the exports were metals. The fear being that Chinese metals stockpiles are being drawn down and re-exported....

THEIR reputation for raping and pillaging may not have set them out as the ideal role-models for an environmentally-friendly way of life. But it seems that lessons could perhaps be learnt from the Vikings after the intriguing discovery in Yorkshire of what is believed to be a metal recycling centre dating back to the 11th century. Historians and metal detector enthusiasts have made the find which is being heralded as evidence of how the Norse invaders recycled their fearsome array of weapons. Hundreds of pieces of metal including arrowheads, shards of swords and axe heads have been unearthed as part...

Gold Reaches New Record Above $1,100 By Nick Godt MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures barreled to a new record high above $1,100 an ounce on Friday, as news that the U.S. unemployment rate topped 10.2% in October boosted expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero well into next year, pressuring the dollar. Gold for December delivery, the most active futures contract, rose as high as $1,100.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained up to $1,101.90 an ounce in electronic trade. It recently gained $6.40, or 0.6%, to $1,095.80. The U.S. economy...

Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger dead at 39 By Alex Young on August 14th, 2009 Allen Shellenberger, founding member and drummer of the band Lit, lost his battle with brain cancer yesterday. He was 39-years-old. In May of 2008, the California native was diagnosed with a malignant glioma brain tumor and immediately underwent clinical trials, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute. Shellenberger had been a member of Lit for nearly two decades and had been performing with the band until last fall. He is survived by his daughter Giovanna Mackey, his mother Connie James, and his...

The US has been Brazil’s principal trading partner for nearly 80 years, but a sudden surge in Chinese demand for Brazilian iron ore in the first quarter of this year dislodged the Americans. The news is the latest sign of China’s increasing challenge to US hegemony in Latin America. China has been steadily increasing its sphere of influence and has become particularly close to the four “Red” South American countries: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.

If you’re looking for “Spinal Tap” jokes, you won’t find them here. Sure, that “mock-umentary” did a great job nailing the vacuous hilarity at the heart of bloated ’80s heavy metal, and it made just about every rock documentary that followed in its wake seem like at least a bit of a joke. Iron Maiden, however, has never fit the accepted mold, nor followed the rules. And with its brilliant new “road movie” “Flight 666,” the band shows no sign of doing so — now or ever.

The Federal Aviation Administration says a piece of hot metal that crashed through the roof of a Jersey City business did not come from an airplane.FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac says investigators examined the metal and determined it is made of cast iron, which is not used in airplanes. She says it's up to local authorities to determine where the object came from.Owner Al Smith was fork-lifting a sofa onto a wooden storage platform around 10 a.m. at his moving company when he heard a sound he thought was a bomb.A piece of warm metal the size of a brick came...

NEW YORK - One of Iraq's first heavy metal bands has been reunited in the United States after fleeing their homeland as refugees. Members of Acrassicauda faced death threats in Iraq for playing Western rock music and went into hiding before spending two years exiled in Syria and Turkey. Named after a type of scorpion, Acrassicauda began writing and playing heavy metal in 2001 after being inspired by bands including Metallica and Slayer.

Saw this and got really really excited about it.

AugustReview.com [Editor's note: members of the Trilateral Commission and companies with Commission representation appear in bold type.] Since 1973, this writer has made inquiry as to the location and ownership of the vast stores of monetary gold (400 oz., .999 pure bars) in the world. There has not been a formal audit on Fort Knox, for instance, since the Eisenhower administration. Official statistics on gold holdings are often contradictory. Getting plain answers from any Central Bank in the world, including the Fed, is virtually impossible. This paper points out a pattern of manipulation that has been clearly observed by many...

At first glance, Cesare Bonizzi looks like the archetypal Capuchin monk - round-faced, stout, with twinkling eyes and a long flowing white beard. But beneath his robes beats a heart of metal. Brother Cesare is the lead singer in a heavy metal band which has just released its second album. A former missionary in the Ivory Coast, he lives in a small friary in the Milan hinterland. The 62-year-old monk's love affair with heavy metal began when he attended a Metallica concert some 15 years ago. "I was overwhelmed and amazed by the sheer energy of it" he says. Brother...

Per popular demand, after the very successful "Who Is Your Favorite Drummer?" thread, here we have a new posting to determine who is your favorite guitarist of all time.

My Favorite: BUN E. CARLOS OF CHEAP TRICK! I LOVE YA, BUN!!!

And The Winners Are....

Musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Stevie Nicks, Ted Nugent, Steve Winwood, Robert Plant, Kenny Loggins, Glenn Frey, Alice Cooper, Tony Iommi, Chris Squire, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne, Olivia Newton-John, Donna Summer, John Bonham (R.I.P.) & Rick James (R.I.P.)

Saw that they finally have this up on the band's website, so I figure I'll post it to give people an opportunity to learn that not all of us metal fans are dirty, dark people who take one shower a week. Hope you guys enjoy it.

A'Keiba Burrell - daughter of rapper MC Hammer. Landon Brown - eldest son of R&B singer Bobby Brown. Lara Johnston -daughter of Doobie Brothers' singer Tom Johnston. Chloe Lattanzi - daughter of Olivia Newton-John. Crosby Loggins - son of singer Kenny Loggins. Jesse Money -daughter of singer Eddie Money. Jesse Blaze Snider - son of Dee Snider. Albert J. Brown IV - son of R&B singer Al B. Sure. Lucy Walsh - daughter of legendary guitarist Joe Walsh.