Coming in hot out of the weekend, here's what we've got:

• Artistsdirect.com has named Five Finger Death Punch as having one of the most anticipated albums of 2013, alongside other major acts like Metallica, Bullet for My Valentine, and more.  The group's fourth studio offering will be dropping sometime this summer.
   
• But they're not the only ones working on new stuff...Pop Evil is slated to get back into the studio sometime this month to work on their next album with legendary producer Johnny K.
   
• Leatherface slashed his way through the competition this past weekend at the box office, as Texas Chainsaw 3D ripped into the #1 spot with a $23 million take in its opening weekend.  Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained held even at #2, while The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey slipped down to #3 to make room for the newcomer.
   
• Director of the Evil Dead remake Fede Alvarez says the film has literally no CGI in it, nor does it utilize any computer-generated graphics at all.  Alvarez says the team worked with stage magicians and illusionists to work out how to accomplish some of the most effect-laden scenes, but in keeping with the tone of the original, no computers were used.  Good call.
   
• Rumors are cropping up once again that Sony is looking to patent technology that would make it possible for the Playstation 4 to block users from playing pre-owned games, even if they're not connected to the internet.  Last March, Sony's Jack Tretton said of these rumors that they were completely false, but if Sony does indeed file a patent for something similar, he may find himself backpedaling on that statement soon.  (Honestly, it's Nintendo that stands to gain the most from something like this, seeing as they produce the most in-house titles, but in any case, it would be a game-changer no matter what.)
   
• Metacritic's year-end summary found that 2012 was one of the worst-scoring years for games in history, with only 14 console games achieving an average rank of 90 or above, which makes them considered to be "great" games.  By comparison, 2011 had around 23.  Some of last year's top titles were Mass Effect 3, Dishonored, and Borderlands 2, while major releases like Assassin's Creed 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II didn't make the cut.
   

'Til Tuesday, ladies and gents...ROCK!
--HH

(News credit to 411mania.com)