This Tuesday, Voivod‘s new album, Target Earth, will be released in North America on CD and MP3. But, from now until the release date, the full album is streaming online for free at Loudwire, courtesy of Century Media Records. Take a listen to the album here below.

Target Earth is the 13th studio album from the Canadian progressive thrash metal band and is the first with new guitarist Daniel Mongrain aka Chewy (replacing the late Denis D’Amour aka Piggy, who passed away in 2005) and marks the return of original bassist Jean-Yves Theriault (Blacky), who hasn’t been on a Voivod album since 1991’s Angel Rat.

Last week, we posted a preview of the music video for “Soldierhead,” the first single from Newsted, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted‘s new band.

Now, the full video, directed by Leon Melas, was released today, via Noisecreep, and you can watch it here below!

The band’s debut EP, Metal, is out now on iTunes; pre-order for the CD version is open now at the Newsted web store and will be released on January 22, 2013. The store has pre-orders for the Metal CD signed by Jason Newsted, along with shirts and other accessories.

Be sure to also check out Geeks of Doom’s recent interview with Jason Newsted.

With a metal “Geeks of Doom”, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is ready to talk. After 15 years with the world’s biggest metal band – and spells with Voivod, Ozzy Osbourne, Echobrain, and Flotsam and Jetsam – the extremely talented Newsted is clearly a member of rock royalty.

Back with a new band that he fronts, Newsted, and a new four-song EP entitled simply Metal, out on iTunes today, he is hungry to get back out there and play the music he loves and we need to hear.

“Kicking the ass” of a holiday bug, I caught up with Newsted on the eve of the release of Metal to discuss his new EP, getting back out on tour, and why James Hetfield is “untouchable.”

Geeks of Doom: Tomorrow is the day. Do you always feel the same way on the eve of an EP or an album release, or does this feel different, does this feel special?

Jason Newsted: It’s always exciting. I mean like the nervous excitement and that kind of thing. Putting yourself out there like that always kind of gives the nervous excitement. But it is different this time, it has been a long time since I had this feeling [laughs] and it’s magnified a bit because it’s my name, I wrote all the songs, all the parts myself, and created pretty much all [the music] and then put it together with my boys [guitarist Jessie Farsnworth and drummer Jesus Mendez Jr.]. So it is the first time I’ve done that. I mean, I wrote stuff in Flotsam [Flotsam & Jetsam] back in the day on bass and then we kind of made compositions out of it, but I constructed all these songs on guitar and I composed all the pieces.

Jason Newsted, former bassist for Metallica, has formed a new band called Newsted, which is readying to release their new EP Metal online on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

On the 4-song EP, Newsted handles both bass and vocal duties, with Jesus Mendez Jr. on drums and Jessie Farnsworth on guitar and backing vocals.

Check out a clip from the band’s upcoming video for “Soldierhead,” one of the tracks off the EP. Metal will be released exclusively through iTunes and is available for pre-order right now. If you buy all four songs, you’ll also receive a digital copy of the lyrics handwritten by Jason Newsted.

Metallica
Metallica – The Black Album
U.S.: CD | MP3
UK: CD | MP3
Recorded October 1990 – June 1991
Released August 13, 1991

At the end of the 1980s, an epic battle was about to take place. Grunge was wafting its sweaty cardigan in the direction of the drainpipe-trousered metallers hoping to lay claim to their throne. One band was not about to concede the new decade to any pretenders and set about writing not only one of the defining albums of the decade, but one of the greatest metal albums of all time. The almighty Black Album arrived, and nobody was going to remove Metallica‘s crown.

Officially titled Metallica, it became known as the Black Album thanks to the cover art. It’s black. Released August 13, 1991, it demonstrated a marked change for Metallica. The band’s thrash-heavy, white-hot relentless riffs were replaced by a slower, heavier sound that was less like a machine-gun attack and more like a steady series of hammer blows. On previous albums like “¦And Justice or All and Master Of Puppets, Metallica showcased their songwriting abilities through epic, challenging musical pieces. This time, however, they went in the opposite direction and kept everything much more simple. The riffs were shorter and catchier and in “Nothing Else Matters” they even have a love song that is actually my favourite track on the album. The galloping riffs of “Through The Never,” “The Struggle Within,” and “Holier Than Thou” prove that Metallica is still the same band. Much of this praise — or blame — was laid at the feet of producer-of-the-moment Bob Rock.