ALICE IN CHAINS has released the first two episodes of “Black Antenna”, a dark sci-fi thriller set against the backdrop of the band’s Grammy-nominated album “Rainier Fog” (BMG). Further episodes will be released throughout the coming months, with episode three, “Red Giant”, being revealed shortly.

The dramatic films come ahead of the band’s highly anticipated European tour in May and June, which starts with arena shows in London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

“Black Antenna” tells the story of Alpha (played by “Green Book” actor Paul Sloan) and his 21-year-old daughter, Beta (Viktoriya Dov), who drive their beat-up truck across California in silence, speaking only telepathically. Together they rob and steal from the men the girl seduces, taking phones, laptops and whatever they can find.

Alpha is trying to build something — an antenna — desperately trying to find a way to get a message to their people back home. Meanwhile there are unspeakably dark forces who have discovered their existence and are now hell-bent on tracking them down and eradicating them before more of their kind can come and join them.

“Black Antenna” was directed by Adam Mason, written by Paul Sloan and Adam Masonand produced by Elizabeth Mason and Nick Vallelonga, who recently won two Oscars (“Best Original Screenplay” and “Best Picture”) for “Green Book”.

“This movie came out of nowhere for me,” says Mason. “As soon as I heard the album, the music and lyrics spoke to me on a profoundly personal level and the film and subject matter was born directly out of that. I’ve always been a huge fan of ALICE IN CHAINS, and this has been a dream come true for me. ‘Black Antenna’ is a perfect synergy of the band’s lyrics, and‘Black Antenna’ paints a dark and beautiful canvas of the deeply conflicted world we live in today.”

The release comes ahead of ALICE IN CHAINS‘ European tour this summer, which sees them play numerous dates and festivals including three arena shows in the U.K., starting at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena on May 23 before a show at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on May 24, and ending with a date at London’s Wembley Arena on May 25. The shows will be the biggest headline shows the band have played to date in the U.K.

ALICE IN CHAINS is touring in support of its latest album, “Rainier Fog”, which became the group’s first Top 10 U.K. album, hit No.1 across Billboard‘s Rock, Alternative and Hard Music charts and the iTunes Rock Album chart, and earned the band a ninth Grammy nod for “Best Rock Album.”

Photo credit: Pamela Littky

METALLICA‘s next studio album will arrive “a lot sooner than the previous two did,” according to Robert Trujillo.

Fans had to wait five years for 2008’s “Death Magnetic” and eight years for 2016’s“Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, but the bassist says the next disc will not take as long to complete.

Appearing on this week’s “The Music” podcast ahead of METALLICA‘s forthcoming Australian stadium tour in October, Trujillo said the group has already begun “jamming” on new material while on the road as part of its “WorldWired” trek.

Speaking to host Neil Griffiths, Trujillo said: “We have a zone we call ‘The Tuning Room’ which is a space where we can jam and warm up before the show. We’re always in there coming up with ideas and you may get a few seconds of an idea but everything is recorded, always. And then of course at home, everyone has got ideas.

“‘Death Magnetic’ was, for the most part, a collaborative effort. ‘Hardwired’ was more central to James‘s [Hetfield, guitar/vocals] specific ideas and was also taking the spirit of what we had done on the previous record.

“I’m excited about the next record because I believe it will also be a culmination of the two records and another journey. There’s no shortage of original ideas, that’s the beauty of being in this band.”

As for a possible release date for METALLICA‘s next effort, Trujillo said: “It will come a lot sooner than the previous two did… this time around I think we’ll be able to jump on it a lot quicker and jump in the studio and start working.

“We’ve all vowed to get this one going sooner than later. Now, how soon? I don’t know. We’ve been touring non-stop. It’s been over two years now. At some point, sure, we’ll need to take a little bit of a break. It’s sort of the right thing for us to do because we’ve been going so hard.”

According to Billboard, “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” was METALLICA‘s 12th album to sell at least a million copies since Nielsen Music began tracking sales in 1991.

In total, the group has sold 58 million albums in the U.S. in the Nielsen Music era, and owns the overall top-selling album of that span of time: its self-titled 1991 release, with nearly 17 million sold.