Congrats to Linkin Park! Their new album, The Hunting Party, debuted at # 3 on the Billboard Top 200. They were bested by pop stars Sam Smith & Lana Del Rey. It’s the first time they haven’t debuted at # 1 since the release of Hybrid Theory, which came on the charts at # 2 when it was released in 1999. But hey, times have changed. The record biz ain’t the same, but album sales are what they are and they should be extremely proud to still be as popular after nearly 15 years of consistently releasing popular music with fans and audiences who buy tickets to their sold-out shows. Meanwhile, Linkin Park turntablist and programmer Joseph Hahn‘s debut as a feature film director, Mall, will be released this fall via Paragon Pictures. The film, a thriller starring Vincent D’Onofrio, Gina Gershon, Cameron Monaghan and Peter Stormare, follows a group of suburbanites as they find themselves at a shopping mall in the wake of a random shooting. It’s based on a book written by actor Eric Bogosian, and the screen play was done by D’Onofrio. Hahn has directed 30 of Linkin Park’s music videos, including “New Divide” and the clip for “Until It’s Gone,” the latest single from The Hunting Party. Mall will be released this fall, following Linkin Park’s tour later this summer with 30 Seconds To Mars and AFI ….Theory Of A Deadman are choosing two fans to help them build a house in Southern California as part of their efforts on behalf of Habitat For Humanity on Jul 11th. Meanwhile, Theory Of A Deadman has just released a lyric video for the song “Savages” which features a guest appearance from legendary rocker Alice Cooper. Frontman Tyler Connolly told us how the band got Alice involved in the song: “We just asked him. Our producer was managed by his manager, got him the song, and Alice actually loved the track, so I actually flew to his house in Phoenix, and we recorded it there. And, you know, he’s a pro. Super nice guy. Sang it, you know, in like three takes, done.”….Some people say “Age Ain’t Nuthin’ But a Numba” (thank you, Mary J Blige) but Kerrang! asked Metallica how long they think the band can continue on. I mean, with bands like The Rolling Stones, performing effortlessly in their 70’s and Aerosmith in their 60’s, it can be done. But “It’s the physical aspect. Tendonitis, tinnitus, ligament atrophy, accidents, repetitive stress injury, tennis elbow… those things creep into the mix,” guitarist Kirk Hammett stated about the prospect of one day calling it quits. “It’s like, ‘F*@ing hell, man, I want to play guitar, but my shoulder and elbow are screaming ‘no!’ Your head wants to do one thing and your body wants to do another thing. That’s a big obstacle that we’ll have to confront in our individual way.” Drummer Lars Ulrich concurred, telling the magazine: “The main thing that I truly don’t feel that I can really help shape is the physical side of what we do. It’s getting tougher and tougher. I don’t know how long it can last in terms of the physicality of it — can we do this when we’re 60 at this level? At 70?” James Hetfield was asked if he can ever imagine a scenario where the band would play a final show. “I don’t think that’s fair to anyone,” he replied. “Kiss‘ farewell tour for the 10th time? Scorpions were done and then they tour? You can’t say that and then not do it. I don’t know what’s in store for us; I don’t want to go on the history of how other bands have done it. We’re unique in our own path and unique in how our path ends.” Lars told The Pulse Of Radio awhile ago he was optimistic about the band continuing to play for a long time to come. “It’s still fun and there’s still a lot of people that get off on it, and, you know, you’re playing to 50,000 people in Norway and most of them weren’t born, not when ‘Kill ‘Em All’ came out, but, like, when the ‘black album’ came out!” he said “You know what I mean, it’s like a whole new thing. The question mark is, I just don’t know physically. The physical element is just the unknown. If we can find a way to deal with that, then I think we could stick around for a while.” (Thanks Blabbermouth)….Mick Jones of The Clash & Big Audio Dynamite is 59 today! And “The Captain” Derek Jeter is 40. GO U S A !!!!!