Rob Harvilla over at the Village Voice reviews Metallica's latest offering Death Magnetic only after playing it on Guitar Hero III. The album was offered on the day of its release as a 11-track download for the game.

Riverfront Times' A to Z blog talks with Metallica's performance coach Peter Towle about the band's new album. Towle appeared on the band's documentary Some Kind of Monster in what some call "awkward therapy sessions."

Seattle Weekly has on going series of Metallica posts arguing the band and new album's greatness. Check out part 1, part 2 and part 3. And there is still more on the way.

-- Jose D. Duran

The Village Voice documents the last party at the infamous McCarren Pool with Yo La Tengo.

Houston Press' Rocks Off blogger Chris Gray loses his Guitar Hero cherry.

SF Weekly does its best to capture the odd fashion choices at Outside Lands. Warning: it ain't pretty. Check out the pictures here and here.

With the Democratic National Convention in Denver over, Westword's Backbeat blog relives the best performances during the week -- er, by musicians not politicians.

-- Jose D. Duran

LA Weekly's blog Play visits the wall where the late singer/songwriter Elliot Smith posed for his Figure 8 album. Since his death in 2003, it has become an informal memorial to Smith.

According to SF Weekly, Miami Beach resident Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, is scheduled to play This Land Is Your Land, a tribute concert to John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie.

The Democratic National Convention arrives at Denver next week, and Westword has your guide to all the musical happenings. Expect performances by Rage Against the Machine, Melissa Etheridge, N.E.R.D., Rufus Wainwright and more.

-- Jose D. Duran

Talk about creepy: Village Voice's Sound of the City posts up a promo picture for the movie Soul Men, which features the late Isaac Hayes and the late Bernie Mac. Quick, someone get Samuel L. Jackson to a panic room!

LA Weekly gives us a glimpse of the world where anime and music collide to form anime music videos or AMVs for short. Geek-tastic!

With the advent of Guitar Hero why even bother with the sport of air guitar anymore? Well, some people still prefer to kick it old school, as SF Weekly reports from the U.S. Air Guitar Finals.

-- Jose D. Duran

With so many good music stories being produce every week, we here at the New Times wanted to clue you in on stories and blog posts done by the other Village Voice Media publications. Check it out what is happening Around the Voice:

Village Voice's article "How Jamaica's Volatile Dancehall Scene Can Avoid a Biggie vs. Tupac Tragedy" tries to to break down the lessons that can be learned from dancehall's past mistakes in order to nix the escalating violence.

Over in Denver, Westword's music blog Backbeat sits down with former Eagles'guitarist Don Felder.