GWAR is one of my favorite bands. My wife does not share that love, and has, on occasion, scolded me for wearing blood-soaked GWAR t-shirts in front of small children. My response? I'm THE ROCK FATHER, and GWAR has been providing me with fine metal grooves since I first heard SCUMDOGS OF THE UNIVERSE over two decades ago. Now, the mighty GWAR have announced their 13th studio album, BATTLE MAXIMUS (pre-order NOW on iTunes). Available on September 17th via Metal Blade Records, the album is a tribute to fallen guitarist Flattus Maximus, and the debut of new GWAR-tarist, Pustulus Maximus. Check out some words from the band, along with the new single, "Madness at the Core of Time" below...

GWAR has announced the initial lineup for their 4th Annual GWAR-B-Q, set to take place on August 17th at Hadad's Lake Water Park in Richmond, Virginia. The lineup includes MUNICIPAL WASTE, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, PIG DESTROYER, and more. Check out some comments from Oderus below, along with this year's official flyer...

Metal Blade Records hit The Rock Father with some exciting news today for fans of KING DIAMOND and VOLBEAT. Fresh from the new VOLBEAT album OUTLAW GENTLEMEN AND SHADY LADIES (Out April 9 - pre-order on iTunes) comes the track entitled, "Room 24". Featuring a rare guest appearance by KING DIAMOND, the song is being offered as a FREE DOWNLOAD right now. The Jacob Hansen mastered version of the song can be downloaded (as a WAV) from this location.

It's fitting that KING DIAMOND has some news for us this December. After all, it was December 25, 1985 when he first released his now-classic single, "No Presents for Christmas" (get it on iTunes). 27 years later, and the King has a present for Christmas... a new, three-album deal with Metal Blade Records. 

Musicbot 6000 here with an updated from Metal Blade Records. They're offering a FREE Sampler covering 30 years of the label, plus they've hit Google Play...

Metal Blade Records is proud to announce that the label's entire digital catalog is now available on Google Play! Everything from As I Lay Dying and Armored Saint, to Whitechapel and Vomitory are all now available. In all, nearly 600 titles from over 200 different artists has been added to the vast amount of music, books, movies, apps, and games that can be purchased and synched across multiple Android and web-enabled devices. Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again.

Keeping busy on Baby Watch 2012, I've been behind on the music news. Since the publicists and artists have been looking for coverage, I'm always happy to help when I can, so that means it's time for another list of rapid-fire updates on over 40 bands and artists from around the music spectrum. This is also when the not-neccessarily family-friendly content gets a spot on The Rock Father homepage, so be warned.