“True Blood” star Alexander Skarsgard was physically restrained by police at the Coachella Music & Arts festival this past weekend after threatening to beat down an aggressive photographer who insisted on taking shots of him and girlfriend Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns).

Skarsgard, who plays vampire sheriff Eric Northman on the hit HBO series, lost his temper when the paparazzo ignored his requests to stop taking pictures, disrupting the couple’s concert-going experience. Police responded to the brouhaha and managed to calm the 23-year-old actor without further incident.

Two reasons why we still know who Kate Bosworth is.

If I had to stand through three days of mind-numbingly terrible music played by hundreds of Nirvana wannabe garage bands just to get some anal from Kate Bosworth, I’d be pretty short-fused too.

Heavy metal villains Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper are teaming up to terrorize concertgoers in what they’re calling “The Gruesome Twosome” North American tour, kicking off on April 26 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Cooper states on his website:

It’s sort of like Dracula vs. Frankenstein. We’re like this generation’s classic monsters. When we’re not onstage frightening audiences, we’ll be backstage trying to scare each other.

Zombie adds:

Me and The Coop have been talking about touring together for about 15 years and finally the moment is here. This will be without a doubt a rock ‘n’ roll spooktacular for all the cool ghouls.

Zombie is touring in support of his recently released CD Hellbilly Deluxe 2. He will also headline this year’s Rockstar’s Mayhem Festival. Cooper returns to his own “Theater of Death” tour in the summer.

The announced dates for “The Gruesome Twosome” shows are as follows:

4/26 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
4/27 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
4/28 – Edmonton, Alberta
4/29 – Calgary, Alberta
5/01 – Vancouver, British Columbia
5/02 – Kennewick, Washington
5/04 – Casper, Wyoming

Rob Zombie has been announced as the headlining act on this summer’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival, kicking off on July 10 in San Bernardino, California. Sharing the main stage with Zombie are Korn, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch. Second and third stages will host Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Three Inches of Blood, Atreyu, In This Moment, Norma Jean, Chimaira, and Winds of Plague.

Zombie will be promoting Hellbilly Deluxe 2, the followup to his 1998 triple-platinum beast Hellbilly Deluxe. The long-awaited disc (the first under new label Roadrunner Records) will be in stores on Feb. 2. To learn more about it and to see a song list, click here.

The Mayhem Festival will also include performances from motocross outfit Metal Mulisha, comedian “Big Jay” Oakerson, and raunch-and-roll variety act Beacher’s Madhouse. For ticket and tour date info, visit Rockstar’s MayhemFest site.

Rob Zombie ended the first leg of his “Hellbilly Deluxe 2″ tour last night at Club 9:30  in Washington D.C. The 43-year-old rocker will return to the road in February to promote the release of Hellbilly Deluxe 2, the followup to his 1998 triple-platinum beast Hellbilly Deluxe.

Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is Zombie’s first collection of original material since  2006’s Educated Horses and marks his debut for new label Roadrunner Records (he parted ways with long-time label Geffen in October). The disc won’t be in stores until Feb. 2, 2010, but concertgoers have been privy to two new tracks: “What?” and the soon-to-be stripper anthem “Sick Bubblegum.”

This is what happens when you fuck up the Halloween movies!

In an interview with MTV.com this week, Zombie said:

What I’m discovering is that the songs we have been playing from the new album are connecting in an amazing way, considering that most of the audience doesn’t know the songs. There are certain songs — ‘Sick Bubble-Gum’ in particular — that if you didn’t know anything about us and you just came to the show, from the crowd reaction you would assume that was an old favorite we were playing. Sometimes you play new songs and people think, ‘Maybe I’ll like it later,’ but people are digging it now, which is nice.

Zombie also told MTV that he has held back from performing any additional new tracks out of fear that the CD would get leaked on the internet.

One song that we’ve been doing at sound check is ‘Mars Needs Women.’ I’m really looking forward to playing it because it’s got such a great groove. We would already play it if everybody didn’t bootleg every little thing you do. The whole album would be online if we played any more.

Zombie kicked off the “Hellbilly Deluxe 2″ tour in October with a couple of Halloween shows in Phoenix and Los Angeles.  His band includes former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D., and drummer Tommy Clufetos.

The track listing for Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is as follows:

1. Jesus Frankenstein….

2. Sick Bubblegum….

3. What?….

4. Mars Needs Women….

5. Werewolf, Baby!….

6. Virgin Witch….

7. Death and Destiny Inside The Dream Factory ….

8. Burn ….

9. Cease to Exist ….

10. Werewolf Women of the SS ….

11. The Man Who Laughs….

It’s time to dust off your denim and strap on your studs. Metal gods Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament are embarking on a 26 date tour across the U.S. and Canada, kicking off on Jan. 18 in Seattle. The “American Carnage” bill marks the first time Slayer and Megadeth have shared a stage since 1991’s “Clash of the Titans” tour, which included thrashers Anthrax. Tickets for most shows go on sale this Friday. Check out the info:

If you’re wondering what’s so horrific about a concert, you obviously haven’t found yourself on the floor, gasping for breath, as eight 300 lbs guys fall on your head during Slayer’s “Angel of the Death.” Nor have you had your girlfriend ripped off your shoulders, stripped, and carried off like The Vanishing during Megadeth’s “Wake Up Dead.” That reminds me: Dude with the Corrosion of Conformity shirt, we left your girl by the Chevron on 3rd St. Hope all worked out!

"No Way, Dude, Dave Mustaine Was Totally Looking At Me, Not You!"

Seriously, this tour is gonna be some crazy, violent fun.

Welcome to the Spookshow

I was among the scum of the earth that gathered at the Hollywood Palladium on Halloween night to see Rob Zombie perform live in support of his upcoming disc, Hellbilly Deluxe 2. The show kicked off at 10 p.m. with the one-two, cranium-rattling punch of “What’s Lurks On Channel X” and “Superbeast,” both off Zombie’s 1998 triple-platinum Hellbilly Deluxe CD. Mosh pits erupted and I suddenly found myself being shoved around by the likes of Ronald McDonald and Tinky Winky the purple Teletubby. Back in the day, I would have mindlessly pushed back while pogoing, mouth agape and screaming, “Zombie!” But, in my old age, I find that I’ve developed an aversion to elbows in the teeth and shirtless, fat guy sweat. So instead, I found refuge among an island of floor rooted fist-pumping headbangers and watched Zombie howl through “Super-Charger Heaven” as fireballs exploded behind him.

Zombie’s pact with the devil has kept him youthful and plenty agile. The 43-year-old rocker ran miles on the Palladium stage, skipping from amp to amp and dancing like a possessed marionette around his band. In addition to the Halloween festivities at hand, the evening also marked a wedding anniversary for Zombie and his actress wife Sherri Moon. Zombie followed the announcement with the serenade “Sick Bubble-Gum,” an infectious new hip-shaker destined to be stripper anthem. Other new songs performed included “What?” and the inspired “Werewolf Women of the SS.”

Jumbo Tron screens provided an ongoing montage of titillating grind-house movie clips, Hentai images, and kitschy, eye-popping retro-erotica starring busty and topless babes of yore. I had forgotten how much production goes into a Zombie show. In between songs, Zombie egged the crowd on with stories (i.e. drawing their first sold out audience during an opening stint with Danzig after the release of 1992’s monster groove “Thunder Kiss ‘65″), good-natured taunts (”Shows used to be brutal back then. You guys are kind of tame!”), and cheerleading (serving up a severed head prop for the audience to throw around the venue). The concert ended near midnight with a booming rendition of “Dragula.”

Photo Courtesy of Bruja Corleone

Zombie’s band is made up of John 5 on guitar, Piggy D. on bass, and Tommy Clufetos on drums. The show’s set list also included: “American Witch,” “Living Dead Girl,” “Demon Speeding,” “House of a 1000 Corpses,” “Scum of the Earth,” and old White Zombie favs “More Human Than Human,” and “Thunder Kiss ‘65.”

Can You Show Me the Way to Zombieland?

Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is slated for early release in 2010 through Roadrunner Records. Rob Zombie parted ways with longtime label Geffen Records in October. For tour info, visit www.robzombie.com.