Old News - April 2006


Old News - April 2006 - Old News - More April 2006 News
April 14th, 2006	Australian band VOYAGER announce new members! VOYAGER announce new members! The band has parted ways with Emanuel and Geoff and wishes them the best of luck for the future. This is what frontman Daniel has to say about the situation: "Our new guitarist Simone Dow is a fantastic musician and an awesome addition to the band. She's only 21 years old and brings a fresh new look and sound to VOYAGER. Musically she is one of the easiest people I have ever worked with. For the new album we have engaged Mark Boeijen on drums, whose technique and style add a whole new dimension to the music. It's an absolute pleasure having him on board!" The band will be flying to Sydney in Melbourne in March to do shows with LORD (ex-DUNGEON) and TRANSCENDING MORTALITY in Sydney and hopefully at CRIMSON FIRE's CD launch in Melbourne. VOYAGER will offer a taste of what's to come on the new album at these shows, the album will be released later this year. DAWN OF DEFIANCE The Obscure Awakening: now available for INSTANT download at $5.99 Big news. Dawn of Defiance's The Obscure Awakening album is now available for instant download at just $5.99 (USD) ! Click here to get it. You will be also getting album's front and back covers at 300 DPI resolution and album lyrics as a free bonus. The album includes 7 songs of pure thrash / death metal. Rythm, violence, melody, technique and devastating strength is all you may find in this almost 45' release. Please give the album a listen and if you like it please buy it. Thanks for your continued support. This is for all of you. Tourdates to be announced soon, stay tuned Here is the tracklist: 1. Social Slavery 2. Summoning Death 3. The Eyes Of A Killer 4. Love Denied 5. The Ungod Command 6. Haunted Dreams 7. Payback Time DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM FOR JUST $5.99 ! CLICK HERE Dawn Of Defiance http://www.dawnofdefiance.com DIABOLIC INTENT - Full track download from the upcoming new album Thats right, ...In God We Trust? is avaiable from our website and from the Dark Angel website. This is a rough mix of the first track from the new cd, "The Cold Path of Man". This is also our first video for this album, which will be premiering soon online as well. Check out the limited time download of the new track. Extreme metal taken to new highs... http://diabolicintent.com http://www.darkangelproject.com Direct Link to the MP3 CLICK HERE HAMMERFALL new album in october HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak has posted the following message on the group's official web site: "The Winter Olympics 2006 are over, and it ended on a high note for us: Sweden beat Finland 3-2 in the ice-hockey final, in a very exciting and nerve-racking game. Actually, the Finns were the most impressive team in this tournament, winning every match decisively until the final round and easily beating the second best playing team this year, Russia, in the semi-finals. But the Swedes played a beautiful game on the ice, cutting the Finns short on almost every occasion. I know our neighbors in the east (or west, for that matter…) won't agree with me, but it was a most fitting end to the XXth games, with Sweden winning their seventh (!) gold medal. Congratulations to everyone who made this the by far most succcessful Winter Olympics for our nation. And thanks for the great memories! I have only one question: what am I supposed to fill my days with now? :-) "Well, maybe writing a little music would be a good start. Actually, we have more or less completed half the songs for the album, scheduled to be released in the end of October this year. I have a very good feeling about this, the music so far is very varied and, I think, of high quality. My gut tells me we will be building on the foundation of 'Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken' and expanding the horizons of what is HAMMERFALL even further. You all will find out eventually. I will post more news on this as we go, with some song titles and such in the coming months. "The new issue of Sweden Rock magazine features an extensive eight-page tour diary I wrote on the STRATOVARIUS/HAMMERFALL tour last fall, and Anders [Johansson, drums] have written something as well which will be published in various Metal Hammers around Europe. Look them up if you want an insight in life on the road, I think you’ll find the reading both amusing and interesting." COMMUNIC "waves of visual decay" track listing Norwegian progressive/power metal nowcomers of 2005 COMMUNIC have completed work on their sophomore album, entitled "Waves of Visual Decay", at Hansen studios in Ribe, Denmark. Commented the band: "The album will be close to an hour long, so the songs are all from 6-10 minutes and contains a good mix of some heavy stuff and a few more mellow songs. There will be some edits of some of the songs since most of them are to long to be played on radio or make a video of, so that's the reason for the edits. No bonus songs this time, as we didn't have time to get it done." "Waves of Visual Decay" track listing: 01. Under a Luminous Sky 02. Frozen Asleep In the Park 03. Watching It All Disappear 04. Fooled by the Serpent 05. Waves of Visual Decay 06. My Bleeding Victim 07. At Dewy Prime Upcoming COMMUNIC shows: May 27 - The Rock - Copenhagen, DEN Jun. 17 - Queens Of Metal Festival - Kleinwenkheim, GER Aug. 17-19 - Ragnarock Open Air Festival - Oslo, NOR IN FLAMES Ready to tour Europe Back from their extremely successful North American tour, IN FLAMES bassist Peter Iwers checks in with the following message, posted at the band's official website: "Hey all, I'm at home right now taking a breather before we continue out in Europe with the second part of this tour. I'd like to thank ALL of you that made this US tour so great. We truly had a blast and believe it or not, even though we've been home for less than a day, I can't wait to come back. So, see you all soon I hope. Take care, Peter" VICIOUS ART new three song EP! WEED THE WILD EP FINALLY DONE!! 3 new songs to download for FREE!! The songs go collectively under the name of WEED THE WILD ep. These songs will not be re-recorded on a future release. http://www.viciousart.se/wtw/download/download.html BLACK ZODIAC - THE SOUTHERN FLORIDA BASED HEAVY METAL BAND PREPARES FOR UPCOMING "THE SINS OF THE ZODIAC TOUR" WITH LEGENDARY AUSTRALIAN ROCKER DAVE EVANS NEW YORK CITY – BLACK ZODIAC, the heavy metal band based near Tampa, Fla., welcomes two new musicians: Matthew "Double Barrel" Gersh (drums) and Scott "The Darkmaster" White (bass) as the band prepares for their upcoming tour - "The Sins Of The Zodiac Tour" - with legendary Australian rocker DAVE EVANS (founder and original vocalist of megaband AC/DC). "The Sins Of The Zodiac Tour" starring DAVE EVANS and BLACK ZODIAC will take these two talented acts throughout the United States during 2006. Details of the tour will be announced shortly. Please visit www.daveevans.au.com and www.blackzodiac.net for the latest information. BLACK ZODIAC was formed in 2002 by Cuban-born beauty Mayelin (vocalist) and accomplished musician Aaron Robinson (guitarist). To Mayelin, the name BLACK ZODIAC "represents all the different personalities of the zodiac with the darkness behind them." In May 2004, BLACK ZODIAC released their debut album "Psychotic Hatred". BLACK ZODIAC’s new album will be released in 2006 on Dark Anatomy Records. BLACK ZODIAC approaches their art differently than most of their contemporaries. They focus on the "whole picture," taking into consideration image, music, lyrical content, and performance, all arranged to fit together in perfect harmony. They look to be above the standards in metal today by keeping the lyrics clean and enlightening. They also extract musical influences from outside of the metal genre while still being true to the roots of the style. With Mayelin’s vocal power in combination with their unrestricted musical vision, there will be no end to BLACK ZODIAC. Matthew Gersh is a native of Saint Petersburg, Fla. He has been playing drums for the past 14 years, most recently with the bands Almost Opposite and A Broken Machine. Matthew states that he is "grateful to have the chance to work with Black Zodiac, and to be playing next to these talented musicians." Scott White has had a long and fruitful career playing in many regional bands from Florida to Massachusetts. Scott's musical tastes were often deemed too dark and to heaving for the mainstream rock world he worked in, earning him the nickname "The Darkmaster". While floundering in the "classic rock hell" of Florida, Scott longed for a band of kindred spirits to come along and embrace his dark, crushing style. Finally, in BLACK ZODIAC, Scott's dark Aries soul has found its home. As "The Darkmaster" of the bass adds his hellIsh bottom end to the BLACK ZODIAC sound, tremble as the world becomes just a little bit darker! Australian DAVE EVANS was a member of AC/DC from the band’s inception in 1973 until 1974. Following his departure from AC/DC, DAVE EVANS formed the wild hedonistic rock band Rabbit, Melbourne 80’s rock outfit Dave Evans and Thunder Down Under, and lastly Dave Evans and Hot Cockerel. DAVE EVANS has also toured as a solo act, and in 2004 released "Sinner" on Germany’s Cultural Minority record label. "Sinner," which has been available in Europe, has been re-issued in February 2006 by Heart Attack Records for the U.S. market. BLACK ZODIAC and DAVE EVANS are represented by DaSBro Enterprise, a full-service entertainment agency based in New York City. BLACK ZODIAC's website is located at www.blackzodiac.net. DAVE EVANS’ website is located at www.daveevans.au.com. FIVE FOOT THICK - announce breakup and thank their fans... Spokane metal act Five Foot Thick has released the following statement, citing their decision to break up and move on to other things... "So it is with sad hearts, that we the 5 members of FFT have to bid you all a very heartbroken farewell! It has been a very successful 9 years for us and we look back on all of our accomplishments and feel very proud to have had all of the opportunities that we did and also to have had all of you in our lives. We thank each and every fan that bled for us for all of these years. The fans who branded their bodies for life w/ FFT logos & tattoos and came out to every show with a hungry heart and poured out your souls with and for us, we will definitely miss you the most!! It has been a very rewarding 9 years and we thank you all, for all of the love and memories!" The band's catalog titles are still available in stores everywhere, as well as direct from Eclipse. Check out the band's single "Unfounded" right now! http://www.fivefootthick.com VICIOUS CIRCLE Signs with CRASH MUSIC Crash Music, Inc. has announced the signing of the New Jersey metal band VICIOUS CIRCLE. www.crashmusicinc.com "The Art of Agony" has found a home, after a very brief release in November of 2005 on the now defunct Neoblast Records, 'The Art of Agony' is no longer in obscurity!! Expect a worldwide release in the summer of 2006. "The Art of Agony" will be found in stores everywhere!! Vicious Circle would like to thank Crash Music for the new venture. Crash Music's roster contains Flotsam & Jetsam, Loudness, Jungle Rot, Disgourge, Divine Empire, and Mortician just to name a few. Vicious Circle is very proud and excited to be a part of the Crash family. Vicious Circle has also joined forces with a major booking agent who puts together some of the biggest tours in the metal genre. Stay tuned for more info as major show dates are revealed. Be sure to check out and pick up a copy of 'Secretary's Day' by Ramsteer Films @ www.ramsteerfilms.com 'Secretary's Day' features VC tunes as background music to some slicing and dicing!! www.crashmusicinc.com www.viciouscircle.tv LIQUOR AND POKER MUSIC INTRODUCES CRUCIFIED BARBARA Liquor and Poker Music has set a May 30 U.S. release date for "In Distortion We Trust," the debut full-length by Sweden's Crucified Barbara. The all-female quartet, who have been called a cross between Motorhead and The Runaways, will be touring Europe throughout the spring and the summer. Although none of its members are older than 25, half of Crucified Barbara – bassist Ida Evileye and guitarist Klara Force – has been playing together for more than a decade. After meeting drummer Nicki Wicked, the group was officially founded – and named – in 1998, when the band attended Denmark’s legendary Roskilde Festival and came across an unexpected sight in a nearby forest: a blow-up doll attached to a crucifix. (In Sweden, such dolls are called “barbaras.”) At first, the band’s sound was punk-based, but over time, it evolved into an edgy, heavy metal-influenced brand of fiery rock n’ roll. In 2001, Mia Coldheart joined the group as lead guitarist, but she would soon become the group’s lead singer as well. Over the next three years, the band gigged around Sweden extensively, eventually signing with GMR, an independent label based in their hometown. At the end of 2004, GMR released the group’s first single, “Losing The Game,” which hit #8 on the Swedish singles charts. Upon the European release of "In Distortion We Trust" soon afterwards, Crucified Barbara got their first taste of international acclaim as they began to tour outside their native country. The summer of 2005 was highlighted by a performance at the U.K.’s Download Festival alongside the likes of Black Sabbath, Velvet Revolver and System of a Down. Since then, the band has continued to tour Europe steadily, which they’ll continue to do throughout 2006. In fact, this summer’s festival season looks to be even brighter, as the quartet will play with the likes of Within Temptation in the Czech Republic, Dio in Germany, Doro in Belgium, and even Guns N’ Roses in Italy. On its overdue North American release, "In Distortion We Trust" features one bonus track – a blistering cover of Motorhead’s “Killed By Death” – as well as music videos for each of the group’s three singles released in their home country. And even though English isn’t their native tongue, it’s clear they’ve mastered the language on songs like “My Heart Is Black,” when vocalist Coldheart issues a warning-cum-mission statement: Life’s a bitch, and so am I, you see / I dedicate my love to a Flying V. In Crucified Barbara’s case, the maxim “don’t judge a book by its cover” is worth repeating, for though that cover is undeniably attractive, there’s a serious rock band behind it. In other words, while their looks might catch your eye, it’s their sound that’s the true knockout. If there’s any justice in the world, Crucified Barbara will soon displace bad memories of Sweden’s saccharin pop singers and their bikini team – well, at least the saccharin pop singers – and renew our faith in girl power. Upcoming Crucified Barbara tour dates: April 14 CCO - Villeurbanne, France April 15 Bolegason - Castres, France April 16 Centre Culturel Lennon - Limoges, France April 18 Sur Mer-Les Pipots - Boulogne, France April 19 La Luciole - Alcenon, Frnace April 20 Le Floride - Nantes, France April 21 Le Normandy - St. Lo, France April 22 24h - Le Mans, France w/ Killing Joke April 23 Le Forum - Vaureal, France April 26 De Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Holland w/ Jon Oliva's Pain April 28 JUZ Live Club - Andernach, Germany w/ Jon Oliva's Pain April 29 PESTPOP Festival - Wieze, Belgium April 30 Feedback CD Store - Aalst, Belgium w/ Jon Oliva's Pain (acoustic) May 11 De Boerderij - Zoetermeer, Holland w/ Doro, Sonata Arctica May 12 Vachwerk - Vacha, Germany w/ Doro, Sonata Arctica May 13 Noisegate Festival - Langen, Germany June 3 Gods of Metal Festival - Milan, Italy June 4 Rock Hard Festival - Gelsenkirchen, Germany July 7 Motorradfreunde - Nehren, Germany July 8 Rock Harz Festival - Osterade, Germany July 16 Masters Of Rock Festival - Zlin, Czech Republic July 29 Open Air Festival - Herxheim, Germany BLEEDING KANSAS -- 'Dead Under Decor' & Abacus Recordings Tour Hailing from Burbank, CA, Bleeding Kansas have been scorching eardrums all across the scene since their 2001 inception. Touring with Cursed, Converge and more and self-promoting their massive dirty hardcore sound into the faces of thousands via MySpace and PureVolume for years, the band now follow up their 1859 EP with their Dead Under Decor full-length. Two new tracks from the new monster Dead Under Decor are ripe for the moshing at: www.purevolume.com/bleedingkansas so quit screwing around and check it out as they get ready to conquer the US on the Abacus Recordings Tour starting in late April. ABACUS METAL TOUR Caliban, Sworn Enemy, Ion Dissonance, Embrace the End and Bleeding Kansas on select dates 4/28 Long Island, NY - Club Ritual 4/29 Worcester, MA - The Palladium - New England Metalfest 4/30 Baltimore, MD - Sonar - Maryland Metalfest 5/01 Virginia Beach, VA - Peppermint Beach Club 5/02 Raleigh, NC - The Brewery 5/03 Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade 5/04 Orlando, FL - Island Oasis 5/05 West Palm Beach, FL - Ray's Downtown Blues 5/06 Tampa, FL 5/07 Tallahassee, FL - The Beta Bar 5/08 Baton Rouge, LA - The Darkroom 5/09 Houston, TX - Java Jazz 5/10 San Antonio, TX - The White Rabbit 5/12 Phoenix, AZ 5/13 San Bernardino, CA - NOS Events Center - California Metalfest* 5/14 San Francisco, CA - The Pound* 5/15 Sacramento, CA - The Boardwalk* 5/16 Boise, ID - The Venue* 5/17 Ogden, UT - Club Boom Va* 5/18 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre* 5/19 Omaha, NE* 5/20 Freeport, IL - Freeport Convention Center* 5/21 Chicago, IL 5/22 Detroit, MI 5/23 Cleveland, OH - Screwy Louie's 5/24 New York, NY - B.B. King's 5/25 Philadelphia, PA 5/26 Danbury, CT - Empress Ballroom www.bleedingkansas.net IRON MAIDEN have commenced the recording sessions for their new album with producer Kevin Shirley. A posting on Shirley's official web site reads as follows: "My equipment rolled in Monday night, the MAIDEN truck rolled in Tuesday, and we set the studio up — it's abig job but by Tuesday night were almost ready to go. Wednesday, Nicko [McBrain] and Steve [Harris] came in about noon, the other lads about three, Bruce [Dickinson] about 4. I fiddled with the sound, and it's really coming up really good. Everyone has come to a similar place about where we're going, and it's been hard work, and a lot of fun. There is a lot of laughing, and a little bit of frustration when things get difficult. We've cut three basic tracks, and got a fourth ready to go tomorrow [Monday, March 6]." Check out pictures from the recording studio at http://www.cavemanproductions.com/cavediary.htm IRON MAIDEN's follow-up to 2003's "Dance of Death" is tentatively scheduled for release in October. SLAYER have posted an in-studio slideshow from the recording sessions for the band's new album, the follow-up to 2001's "God Hates Us All", at Slayer.net. On Tuesday (Feb. 28) SLAYER entered a Los Angeles studio, where they started recording the 11 songs that'll comprise their yet-untitled CD, according to MTV.com. Rick Rubin (SLIPKNOT, SYSTEM OF A DOWN) will executive-produce the disc, while Josh Abraham (VELVET REVOLVER, STAIND) will turn the knobs. One of the songs has an official title ("Cult"), but all of them, King promised, will be devastatingly grim. "There are definitely things you can't write about in SLAYER, and there are definitely things people expect you to write about," he said. "Everybody expects war, Satanism or anti-religious stuff — and this record's chock-full of that." Most of the 11 songs SLAYER will record were written more than two years ago, the guitarist said. "We're hoping to do it old-school and record everything in like four weeks," he added. "We're ready. This is probably the most ready we've been since 'Seasons'. We've been spinning our wheels in rehearsals, just waiting for the green light on this thing. Now that we've got it, we're ready to go. "It's definitely going to be a riff-fest," King continued. "There's riffs all over the place. As much time as we've had to work on it, there better be riffs on it. I think anybody who likes SLAYER, musically, is going to love it." SLAYER will be teaming up with LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, CHILDREN OF BODOM and THINE EYES BLEED for a two-month U.S. tour beginning on June 6. Dubbed the Unholy Alliance Tour, the trek will make stops in most major cities, although the actual routing of the run is still being fleshed out. New LEAVES' EYES EP LEGEND LAND New EP "Legend Land"! The Saga continues! The saga continues! Continuing the successful journey of "Vinland Saga", Leaves' Eyes have recorded a mini album presenting five brand-new exclusive tracks! The EP, called "Legend Land", will be released for the price of a single at the end of April/beginning of May 2006 in connection with the up-coming tours. The tracks are: "Legend Land", "Skraelings", "Viking's Word", "The Crossing", "Lyset". Alex Krull explains: "At first we'd planned to release a single from the "Vinland Saga" album, however, we decided to record a complete EP with brand new and exclusive songs. This is our way of saying thankyou to our fans and their great support. The past tours were amazing! As we will tour a lot this year it will take a while until we have finished our next full-length album. These five powerful and atmospheric tracks developed out of a couple of new brilliant ideas. Liv Kristine adds: "The new songs sound fantastic. They are very strong. We had a wonderful time continuing our work with the Viking concept and making further discoveries." This can only mean one thing: the adventurous journey continues! www.leaveseyes.com LACUNA COIL "Our Truth" single on musicload.de! LACUNA COIL´s first single “Our Truth” from the highly anticipated new album “Karmacode” is available for legal digital download @ www.musicload.de! Here´s the tracklist of the digital „Our Truth“ version: 01. Our Truth (radio edit) 02. Without A Reason (exklusive bonus song) 03. Swamped (eadio edit) 04. Our Truth (Jack Dangers mix) You can buy the whole bundle of songs for 2,99 Euro or each song for 1,29 Euro, just click on the musicload banner below to buy the single: http://www.musicload.de/item?albumid=935222 http://www.thekarmacode.com/ www.lacunacoil.it MORTIIS ANNOUNCES APRIL UK TOUR NOTODDEN, Norway – To coincide with the deluxe re-mastered reissues of the early works 'Født til A Herske,’ 'Crypt of the Wizard' and 'The Stargate,' Norway's eccentric Mortiis is taking time out from the pre-production of their latest album for a string of UK dates in April. “The UK has always been good to us,” said vocalist/ mainman Mortiis. “Even though we are starting work on the next record, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to tour the UK.” This will be the first UK tour to feature guitarist Åge Troite, who replaced Åsmund Sveinunggard for live duties just before the band’s American tour last fall. Gothminister and Deadfilmstar will join Mortiis for the entire tour. Dates are as follow: Wed 19th NOTTINGHAM - Rock City Thurs 20th BRISTOL - Bierkeller Fri 21st GLASGOW - Cathouse Sat 22nd BRADFORD - Rios Sun 23rd CAMBERLY - Agincourt Rock Venue Tues 25th LIVERPOOL - Barfly Thurs 27th NORWICH - Waterfront Fri 28th SHEFFIELD - Corporation Sat 29th LONDON - The Underworld Sun 30th MANCHESTER - Satins Hollow For instant songs and remixes, visit www.mortiis.com/downloads. www.mortiis.com www.myspace.com/mortiis1

April 9th, 2006	Full Demo Track from new cd available - DIABOLIC INTENT Thats right, Dark Angel Project has released a rough demo of "...In God We Trust?" from the new Diabolic Intent album, The Cold Path of Man. The new album is due out 7/2006. Listen to the new track at http://diabolicintent.com or http://www.darkangelproject.com. "diabolic intent have managed to cross the realms of death metal and extreme metal into one nice full package." See you in the pit! Ant and Diabolic Intent http://diabolicintent.com UPCOMING RITES You already know that Season of Mist will release the new album by Belgian metallers ANCIENT RITES. Here's more about it: the opus is entitled "Rvbicon" and will be available on May 15th. The album was recorded at the Spacelab Studio in Germany under the watchful eye of veteran ANCIENT RITES producers Oliver Phillips and Christian Moos. Here is the track listing: • 01. Crusade • 02. Templar • 03. Mithras • 04. Thermopylae • 05. Rubicon • 06. Invictus • 07. Ypres • 08. Galilean • 09. Cheruscan • 10. Brabantia Following the release, ANCIENT RITES will once again play live to spread their new music. Concerts all over Europe and the U.K. are currently being negotiated and arranged, so expect the band to be out there in full blast later in the year! Two songs off the upcoming TWELFTH GATE "Threshold of Revelation" album, to be released on March 20th via our label, have been posted online. Check them out on the band's MySpace page - http://www.myspace.com/twelfthgate - as well as on the "Music" page on TWELFTH GATE's official website - http://www.twelfthgate.net/music.html. The songs are "Critical Elements" and "Inner Core". Also available at both locations are two short clips of "Loyal" and "Come Alive", which will also appear on the new album. CHICAGO POWERFEST PREVIEW & LISTENING PARTY: Bassist Rob Such will be guest DJ with Chris Lotesto (Ion Vein) at the EXIT in Chicago on Sunday, March 26th, previewing some of the music that the bands will be performing two weeks later (April 7-8) at CHICAGO POWERFEST 2006. Also, in addition to the Powerfest preview, TWELFTH GATE will be playing the new album "Threshold of Revelation" in its entirety starting at 9pm. SERPENT RISE recording new album after eight years Serpent Rise, one of the oldest active doom metal bands in South America is recording their new album during this last week of February, after eight years of the release of Gathered By..., their debut. The recordings are being made at Hurricane Studio with the production of Sebastian mais antiga banda brasileira de doom metal em atividade, está gravando durante esta última semana de Fevereiro o seu novo álbum, após quase dez anos do lançamento do debut Gathered By.... As gravações estão sendo feitas no Hurricane Studio, em Porto Alegre, com o produtor Sebastian Carsin (Enthroned). The new full length will have six songs and an artwork made by Jefferson Britto (My Threnody). As soon as the recordings are finished the band will put a full track for download in their website - www.serpentrise.com HELMET Signs to WARCON New Album Set for Release this Summer and Headline Spot Confirmed For This Year's Warped Tour As one of the leading post-hardcore/punk labels in the industry today, WARCON Enterprises has announced that it has signed the forefathers of the genre themselves Helmet. Under the deal, Helmet will release a new album which is slated for early summer 2006 and has confirmed that they will headline this year's Warped Tour. According to Page Hamilton, founder, songwriter and guitarist for Helmet, several of the album's songs have already been written and Wharton Tiers has been confirmed as the project's co-producer. Tiers recorded the band's first two releases 'Strap It On' and 'Meantime', which sold over a million copies and defined the brusque element of American's underground rock scene. "Wharton was my only choice to co-produce this project with me," said Hamilton. "I want to get back to my roots with this release and what's really cool is that we are actually using the same tape machine that we recorded our first two albums with. The whole thing is also going to be done in all analog to give it that classic Helmet sound. We're very excited about it." "I really like what Warcon stands for," he said. "In today's music climate, it's more intriguing to be involved in every aspect of the project. The structure of this deal makes me more of a partner rather than the traditionally signed artist / record deal approach, which for me personally has little value anymore." Helmet fans should be thrilled to have the band back in full force. Taking a six-year hiatus after releasing their fourth album 'Aftertaste', the band returned in 2004 to release 'Size Matters' and a "best of" CD but it's not until now that Hamilton has decided to go back to the organic sound that they are known for. The sound that actually sparked a new brand of metal that crossed all traditional music boundaries and paved the way for such bands as Chevelle, The Deftones, Silverchair and Norma Jean. "The first song I ever learned to play on the guitar was a helmet song. I pretty much just tried to figure the songs out and that's how I learned to play basically. Helmet is a band that I have listened to for years and will always enjoy them because they have the sweetest riffs I have ever heard. I love to air drum to them in the car also! I wouldn't be the same without Helmet in my life," said Chris Day, guitarist for Norma Jean Chi Cheng, bass player for the Deftones, says that he was also influenced by Helmet. "Every band should wish to aspire to the originality and genius of Helmet. An inspitation to fans and musicians-alike." Helmet's first appearance under the Warcon label will be at this year's SXSW festival where they will perform with fellow label mates Opiate for the Masses, My American Heart, Street Drum Corps and Dir en Grey at the PETA documentary party and the WARCON showcase. LACUNA COIL “Our Truth” Single, don’t miss it! “Our Truth”, LACUNA COIL’s first single taken off the highly anticipated “Karmacode” album, is about to hit stores throughout Europe, so don’t miss your chance to get it soon! The long-awaited new opus was again recorded by long-time collaborator Waldemar Sorychta and LACUNA COIL in Germany and Italy while the album was mixed at Belgian Galaxy Studios by Ronald Prent (Rammstein, H.I.M., Iron Maiden). The mastering process was handled by Darcy Proper (Steely Dan, Porcupine Tree, R.E.M.) and the visual design of the album was carried out by the Grammy-nominated company Asterik Studio (Trapt, Funeral For A Friend, The Used). “Karmacode” will finally hit the stores late March / early April! As the release of the highly anticipated new LACUNA COIL album, “Karmacode”, draws closer we are proud to announce the launch of http://www.thekarmacode.com. The site is a one-stop, ever-growing site that features background info about “Karmacode” (an exclusive photo gallery, exclusive downloads, a press gallery, news, tour dates, videos and more). Available now on the site are the audio and video for the album's first single, “Our Truth”, with more material being posted as it comes in. “Our Truth” will be available in Europe on the following release dates: GERMANY / AUSTRIA / SWITZERLAND / BENELUX: Friday, March 3, 2006. FINLAND: Wednesday, March 8, 2006. SPAIN / NORWAY / REST OF EUROPE: Monday, March 6, 2006. ITALY: Friday, March 10, 2006. UK: Monday, March 20, 2006. The video for “Our Truth” was shot in Los Angeles by Fort Awesome, a brand-new directorial duo whose individual credits include Queens of the Stone Age, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Chevelle and more. LACUNA COIL will embark on a massive six-week U.S. tour this March direct support to Rob Zombie. This trek, which kicks off in mid-March and runs through early May, will be the group's first stateside run since Ozzfest 2004. Official band website: http://www.lacunacoil.it DARSOMBRA’s “Ecdysis” will be released March 28th. Look for Darsombra to hit the road this April. There are still a few dates free on this tour. 04/14 Cleveland, OH @ Moe's Bar & Grill 04/15 Akron, OH @ Daily Double 04/16 Columbus, OH @ Skylab 04/17 Detroit, MI @ Corktown Tavern 04/18 Chicago, IL @ TBA 04/19 Milwaukee, WI @ TBA 04/20 Madison, WI @ TBA 04/21 Iowa City, IA @ TBA 04/22 Omaha, NE @ TBA 04/23 Kansas City, MO/Lawrence, KS @ TBA 04/24 St. Louis, MO @ Way Out Club 04/25 Little Rock, AR @ Downtown Music 04/26 Memphis, TN @ The Buccaneer 04/27 -Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's Bar 04/28 Savannah, GA @ The Jinx 04/29 Virginia Beach, VA @ Phil's Grill http://www.darsombra.com/ BLACK COBRA’s “Bestial” will be released in North America on April 25th. Our friends at Delboy Records will be releasing it in Europe on day earlier... Look for Black Cobra to start touring in early April! http://www.blackcobra.net/ GOLGOTHA "New Life" The new songs follows the style that has always characterized the band, this is, a heavy and melancholic mid-tempo Doom, with catchy riffs, although this time there was an intention of returning to the origins of this style (somewhat forgotten with so many Gothic influences) with a deep guttural voice, dark and heavy rhythms full of feelings and melancholy. With Dave Rotten (Avulsed) on vocals!!! www.metalage.sk info@metalage.sk Brooklyn-based CANDIRIA have posted the following update on the recording sessions for their new album: "We started out writing new material in Jupiter 4 Studios during the first few weeks of January. Jupiter 4 is the studio owned and run by Ken Schalk and his brother Steve Schalk. We used the time there to write as much music as we could come up with. We then tracked drums there to about 16 different songs/peices of music. We also used this time after the drums were tracked to work out vocal ideas and let Carley do scratch tracks. "From there we took the recorded drums and went to see our old friend Mike Barile over at Purple Light Studios. We have always loved working with Mike and we knew that we were going to get the sounds we wanted if we recorded with him. The combination of his gear and the gear we own is just phenomenal for what we are trying to accomplish. "We spent the next few weeks recording all of the bass and guitar tracks. Then allowed Carley some more time to work on more vocal ideas and lay down some more scratch tracks to see where we was at with all of the songs. "And that, friends, is where we are at today. We move on to the real vocal sessions in a week or so. And from there we are in the home stretch. I think there is a great chance of this record seeing an early summer release." Back in April 2005, CANDIRIA won a $29 million verdict for injuries they suffered when a truck hit their tour van. CANDIRIA were hurt as they traveled to a gig in Cleveland on Sept. 9, 2002, when a tractor trailer owned by Paige Transportation Inc. hit them near Buffalo. The crash sent their van rolling over five to seven times, and all the members received injuries. The band still performs, but two injured members left. The aftermath of the crash is documented on the cover of the band's latest album, "What Doesn't Kill You…", with photos of the band's demolished van. "What Doesn't Kill You..." was released in July 2004 through Type A Records. After headlining the Sounds of the Underground festival in June-August 2005, LAMB OF GOD bunkered down in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia to begin the writing process on the follow-up to the band's 2004's release "Ashes of the Wake". "We've taken this process very seriously," notes drummer Chris Adler. "We have been spending 5 or 6 days a week and 6-8 hours a day writing. It's a very intense and productive process that has paid off in a very big way." Following several months of writing, the band took a break in December 2005 to headline a successful European run. "Initially we didn't want to do it because we thought it would interrupt the writing process and leave us, yet again, with less time than we wanted to write the album," says Adler. "In fact, this was the best thing we could have done. Not only were the shows bigger than we anticipated and extremely refreshing after being locked up in our smoky rehearsal hole — but it gave us an opportunity to step away from the material, let it sink in a bit, and return to attack it with a renewed vision and inspiration. This is something we've never had the luxury of doing and it has made a very positive difference.” The band has tapped friend and producer of "Ashes of the Wake", Machine, to handle the production duties for the upcoming effort. Pre-production is scheduled to begin in Richmond on March 13. "Everyone wants to know what the new material is like or have us compare it to something. It's tough to do because when your proud of something you want to say it's better than something else or that it's more of this or that. I don't want to do that — every LAMB OF GOD CD has been a snapshot in time, a puzzle that spelled out who we are as individual musicians and as a band. They each represent a certain amount of experience and ability – and without saying more, we have more of both of those than ever heading into this. We have continued to raise the bar for ourselves in every aspect of what we do, and we are expecting more of ourselves than ever heading into this. We're looking forward to tracking and releasing this intense and very heavy release." The as-yet-untitled release is tentatively expected to be released though Epic Records in late August 2006. The band has also confirmed touring plans both before and after the release. These will be announced shortly. SENTENCED - Win 3 Finnish Metal Awards! Postmortem dearly missed SENTENCED and their swansong “The Funeral Album” were honoured with three Finnish Metal Awards during the Finnish Metal Expo February 17th: - the album of the year - the band of the year - the cover art of the year As “The Cold White Light” SENTENCED’s last masterpiece “The Funeral Album” was certified gold status in their native Finland. Official band website: www.sentenced.org Century Media welcomes SICK OF IT ALL, BACKYARD BABIES, IGNITE& SWORN ENEMY Century Media Records Europe proudly announces the release of four brand-new killer releases licensed from Abacus Recordings. On April 18th the mighty hardcore champions SICK OF IT ALL from NYC will celebrate their 20th anniversary with the new studio album “Death To Tyrants” to be followed by festival and touring activities all over the year. Sweden’s most exciting Rock’n’Roll sensation, BACKYARD BABIES, are presenting the epic titled “People Like People Like People Like Us”, on streets April 24th. The album is produced by their old friend Nicke Andersson from the Hellacopters. Back to New York, SWORN ENEMY is the next in line whose metal mayhem “The Beginning Of The End” was already presented live in Europe on tour with Madball in November 2005. Those who saw the band, know that songs like “Scared Of The Unknown” kick ass like hell. The album was produced by Tim Lambesis (frontman for As I Lay Dying) and they are still as real as it gets. Last but not least we can welcome another hardcore legend, IGNITE. The band was in the studio with Cameron Webb (Social Distortion, Silverstein, Motorhead) to produce the first full-length album since "A Place Called Home" (2000). The melodic hardcore masterpiece “Our Darkest Days” will enlighten European fans on May 16th. All bands will tour shortly after album release and play several summer festivals all over Europe. So watch out for updates on www.centurymedia.com April 18th: Sick Of It All - Death To Tyrants (77563-2) April 24th: Backyard Babies - People Like People Like People Like Us (77562-2) excl. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) May 2nd: Sworn Enemy - The Beginning Of The End (77539-2) May 15th: Ignite - Our Darkest Days (77564-2) Tourdates: SICK OF IT ALL 19.04.2006 Slovenia Ljubljana Gala Hala 20.04.2006 Croatia Zagreb Mochvara 21.04.2006 Serbia Belgrad Dom Omladine 22.04.2006 Romania Bucarest Studentclub Sala Preoteasa 23.04.2006 Bulgaria Sofia Black Box 24.04.2006 Macedonia Skopje MKC 29.04.2006 Belgium Meerhout Groezrock Festival 03.06.2006 Germany Mainz Open Ohr Festival 04.06.2006 Germany Passau Pfingst Open Air 05.06.2006 Germany Werden Pfingst Open Air 04.08.2006 France Selestat Zone51 Festival 05.08.2006 Netherlands Lierop Tuinfest 10.08.2006 Hungary Budapest Sziget Festival 11.08.2006 Czech Republic Svojsice u Prelouce Brutal Assault Festival More dates tbc IGNITE on tour w/ With Honor 16.06.2006 Austria Lustenau Metalliga Open Air 17.06.2006 Germany Trier Summer Blast Festival 19.06.2006 Spain Durnago/ Basque Country Plateruena Kafe Antzoki 22.06.2006 Spain Barcelona Sala Mephisto 23.06.2006 France Le Mans Hell Fest 24.06.2006 Germany Herne Pressure Fest 29.06.2006 Germany Schweinfurt Alter Stadtbahnhof 30.06.2006 Germany Roitzschjora With Full Force Festival 01.07.2006 Netherlands Tilburg Power Festival 09.07.2006 Austria Unterpuch bei Hartberg Burning Season Festival 10.07.2006 Germany Münster Tryptichon 11.07.2006 Germany Bremen Tower 12.07.2006 Germany Marburg KFZ 13.07.2006 Germany Hannover Musikzentrum Nord 14.07.2006 Belgium Dour Dour Festival 15.07.2006 United Kingdom Sheffield City Invasion 16.07.2006 United Kingdom London City Invasion 18.07.2006 United Kingdom Glasgow Barfly 20.07.2006 United Kingdom Bristol Casablanca NEVERMORE Tour with Disturbed postponed! The highly anticipated tour with NEVERMORE supporting Disturbed has unfortunately been postponed. The following official statement was published by Disturbed’s management: "Disturbed have been forced to postpone their upcoming international tour dates as vocalist David Draiman has suffered a recurrence of the severe inflammation of the vocal chords that he originally suffered last year. Having returned to the live arena too soon after his last vocal problems, recent dates of Disturbed's North American tour have taken their toll on Draiman's voice and he has been advised by his doctor to take an extended break to ensure a complete recovery. As a result, all European dates have been rescheduled for September." Disturbed are slated to stay on the road in the U.S. through February 24th in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Support on the rescheduled European tour will still come from Seattle's NEVERMORE, so all fans will need to be a little patient until this awesome package hits Europe. Official NEVERMORE Homepage: www.nevermore.tv FEAR MY THOUGHTS Sign to Century Media Records! Century Media Records is proud to announce the signing of German melodic death/metalcore outfit FEAR MY THOUGHTS, one of the most promising young acts inside this ever-seething genre! "We´re absolutely happy to announce that we have signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. This label has always hosted bands we love, from one of the very first CM releases of our local buddies in Poltergeist, or be it their current roster with great and influential bands like Nevermore, Napalm Death, Celtic Frost or The Haunted. We´re excited for the things to come, and grateful for having one of THE labels in the world as our partners in crime. Thanks for believing in us and thanks to all the people who brought us where we are today. BIG shout-outs to our wives and girlfriends, to our families, to our friends, to our former labels, and finally to all the people out there who like to crash the dancefloors (or their living rooms) while listening to FEAR MY THOUGHTS! Without you...you know the deal!" / FEAR MY THOUGHTS With a recording history of already four full-length albums and tour slots on last year’s X-Mass Festivals, where FEAR MY THOUGHTS shared stage with legendary Hypocrisy, thrash titans Exodus and label mates Naglfar as well as touring with Caliban on the Spirit tour, this band has experience, energy and passion en masse to offer! FEAR MY THOUGHTS will present their debut for Century Media Records later this year. More details will follow soon. To witness FEAR MY THOUGHTS delivering their fury live on stage mark down the following dates! 16/04/2006 DE Muenster, Sputnikhalle w/ Neaera and more 19/05/2006 CH Burgdorf, Kulturkeller 09-10/06/2006 DE Neuenburg am Rhein 15/07/2006 DE Quierschied, Hell´s Kitchen Festival w/Neaera and more 22/07/2006 DE Loerrach, In Blut Festival, Gruettpark 17/06/2006 DE Trier, Ex Haus, Summer Blast Festival 17-19/08/2006 DE Abtsgmuend, Summerbreeze Festival w/ Kreator, Moonspell, Finntroll,Neaera, Heaven Shall Burn, Necrophagist etc. www.fearmythoughts.com MAROON launch 'Wake Up In Hell'! Get a taste from MAROON’s third album “When Worlds Collide” that will be unleashed upon Europe March 27th by listening to “Wake Up In Hell”. After successfully touring Europe with Obituary and Samael in January MAROON are gearing up for the release of their Century Media Records debut-album which should delight fans of band such as Hatebreed, In Flames and As I Lay Dying. Paul A. Romano (Mastodon, Trivium) was taking care of the record's visual aspects to assure it has the right impact. No matter how much they gravitated towards some of the heaviest material of their still-young career, MAROON still kept their political awareness and involvement in an outspoken lifestyle - “This is the fight for the voiceless minority…” (24 HourHate). Welcome Annihilation… “… deadly riffs... nastiest shouts…highest musicality…” Rock Hard (D) “Rage can be something beautiful.” Metal Hammer (D) Official website: www.maroonhate.com CRONIAN launch 'Diode Earth'! Upon realizing a common creative ground and like-minded artistic approach back in 2000, Borknagar’s main songwriter Øystein G. Brun and Swedish multi-instrumentalist Mr. V (a.k.a. Vintersorg, prior to even joining Borknagar) decided to get together one day to create a band-project with musical output that slightly differs from the style of their main bands. “Terra” (out in Europe March 27th, 2006), their atmospheric and progressive debut album is drawing elements from '70s art-rock straight through the current Nordic black metal scene. The album was mastered by Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Unicorn, Bloodbath, etc.) at his Unisound studio and should cater the needs of fans of Bathory and Samael. Dare a challenging personal journey of the soul and check out "Diode Earth" from this soundtrack for our current arctic times. Official band website: www.cronian.com JUDAS PRIEST TO RELEASE VINTAGE CONCERT DVD 'LIVE VENGEANCE '82' ON APRIL 4, 2006 THROUGH COLUMBIA/LEGACY PREVIOUSLY ONLY AVAILABLE ON DVD AS LIMITED-EDITION BONUS WITH 'METALOGY' BOX SET Judas Priest had steadily been building a worldwide audience for eight long years when the 1982 album 'Screaming For Vengeance' exploded and became a smash commercial and critical hit. The mainstream had finally caught on and realized what die-hard fans had known all along: Nobody rocked harder or better than the British heavy metal quintet. The single ‘You've Got Another Thing Comin' was embraced by radio and the music video earned heavy rotation on MTV. Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings will release the DVD 'Live Vengeance '82' on April 4, 2006. It was previously only available on DVD as a limited-edition bonus disc with the first pressings of Judas Priest's career-spanning box set 'Metalogy' in 2004. This performance, filmed during the arena-packing 'Screaming For Vengeance' world tour on December 12, 1982, at Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, was first released on home video in 1983 as 'Judas Priest - Live'. It had been out of print for many years before its brief inclusion as part of 'Metalogy'. Vocalist Rob Halford, lead guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing and bass guitarist Ian Hill lead Judas Priest through a fiery set comprised of classics from previous albums such as 'Sad Wings Of Destiny', 'Sin After Sin', 'Hell Bent For Leather', 'British Steel' and 'Point Of Entry' as well as the cream of 'Screaming For Vengeance'. The 17 tracks on 'Live Vengeance '82' include: 'The Hellion/Electric Eye', 'Riding On The Wind', 'Heading Out To The Highway', 'Metal Gods', 'Bloodstone', 'Breaking The Law', 'Sinner', 'Desert Plains', 'The Ripper', 'Diamonds And Rust', 'Devil's Child', 'Screaming For Vengeance', 'You've Got Another Thing Comin',' 'Victim Of Changes', 'Living After Midnight', 'The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)' and 'Hell Bent For Leather'. The 'Live Vengeance '82' audio is mastered in both stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound mixes. www.judaspriest.com

April 2nd, 2006	DEICIDE South American Politics Satanic Death metal legends Deicide have run into a bit of controversy on their South American tour. Problems began several weeks ago when Aldo Cornejo, the mayor of Valparaíso (Chile) ordered to have promotional posters removed from the city and the walls of the El Huevo club. These posters, promoting the bands upcoming appearance, featuring a photo of Jesus' face with a gunshot through the forehead. Controversy over the posters caused the show to be moved from the El Huevo club to another nearby club in Quilpué. Eventually Deicide were forced to cancel their performance on the 21st of February all together after they continued to receive additional difficulties in Quilpué as well. Apparently this isnt the first time a metal act has had difficulty performing in the area, back in 1992 Iron Maiden couldn't play in Santiago due to a censorship issue. The band are now scheduled to perform this evening at Teatro Novedades in Santiago, Chile. Glen Benton was contacted today for his comments on this series of events and he said: "The mayor of Valparaíso is just scared, and he owes me money." When asked about the promotional posters depicting Christ, Benton stated "That wasn't my idea, I didn't have anything to do with that." Additionally, he stated that the riot police had already arrived for the evening's gig and he expected it to be a "classic one." Benton also planned on holding up a sign before the gig saying "U2....you suck...Bono is an asshole." U2 are currently scheduled to arrive in Santiago tomorrow morning. Controversy at it's best. Glen Benton - controversial, wild, one of a kind, a true American classic. DECAPITATED Bassist Martin Returns As rumors on the internet have suggested, Poland's Decapitated have confirmed that longstanding bass player Martin has rejoined the band after his departure in December 2005. The band had hinted that this was a possibility in many interviews conducted in support of their acclaimed latest album 'Organic Hallucinosis' and have always made it clear that Martin only left due to being enlisted for national service in the Polish army and that it was his, and their, hope that he would return to the fold. Having resolved his situation with the military Martin is able to continue as a full member of the band he helped to form ten years ago in his early teens. Decapitated have just returned from a successful US tour with Nile and would like to thank American bassist Richard Gulczynski for his sterling job on playing with them on the road. Now, with Martin back in the saddle, the band have set their sights on the UK & mainland Europe. Tour dates will be announced shortly. CHROME DIVISION Welcome aboard NUCLEAR BLAST is proud to announce the signing of CHROME DIVISION, centered around the backbone of DIMMU BORGIR mainman Shagrath. CHROME DIVISION is like a force, spawning stripped down groovy rock'n roll, with a primitive attitude. To put it short, the label they have put on themselves is Doomsday Rock'n Roll. These five Norwegian road bandits have the ability to grasp the finer elements of their influences and mould them into their own diverse sound. The songs for the debut album are well on the way and have locally been embraced by people in both the Metal and the Rock genre. The release is scheduled for the late summer 2006! "Booze, broads + belzebub"! DIMMU BORGIR Silenoz talks about the new album DIMMU BORGIR are in "full writing mode" and working hard on completing what will surely be the most highly anticipated album of the band's career. "We've gotta get a few songs about 90 percent finished," guitarist Silenoz reveals, "and then we'll take it to the rehearsal space and start jamming on them. The main character of the lyrics is about someone living in the dark medieval times and feels the necessity to find god, and the more he explores and searches for answers and proof that god exists, the more he finds himself finding the opposite to be true. Then people start to believe that he is in league with the devil and perhaps he's even the devil himself. So far there are at least two complete songs and we have tons and tons of ideas. Hopefully by the fall we will be in the studio with [producer] Peter Tägtgren so we can at least have it out in early 2007"! (Source: BW&BK) BENEDICTION to release 'Killing Music' British extreme metallers BENEDICTION have set "Killing Music" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in June/July. "Killing Music" will mark the recording debut with the group of new drummer Nick Barker (DIMMU BORGIR) as well as the return to NUCLEAR BLAST! Following the album's release, the band will be appearing at festivals worldwide over the summer, followed by a full-blown world tour starting in September. With regards to the musical style on "Killing music", the band said, "The new album has a few new styles on it, along with the punk/death riffs that we like so much. You´ll love it" Welcome back! INTRONAUT studio-bound in April to record full-length debut Los Angeles metal quartet INTRONAUT has confirmed the details on the recording of their upcoming debut full length album. The band will commence recording the new album, title TBA, in early April at Shiva Industries in Santa Ana, CA with John Haddad (Phobia, Eyes Of Fire) producing. The band is aiming to have the album completed by month's end. In early May, the album will be mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side. "The studio time is booked, now all we have to do is finish writing the record," jokes INTRONAUT guitarist Sacha Dunable. "No, seriously, the record is 3/4 written, and so far the quality of these songs is surpassing anything we did on the EP. We can't wait to spend all this time in the studio with John and make the best record we possibly can." "I can't reveal the album's title right now because it's a secret (to us even, we haven't decided on one yet...), but some song titles so far are "Rise To The Midden," "Nostalgic Echo" and "A Monolithic Vulgarity." In the meantime, the band's debut CDEP Null sees its international release via Goodfellow Records on February 28th. It is also for sale now via mailorder, bundled with an INTRONAUT t-shirt, at http://www.goodfellowrecords.com/shop/ . INTRONAUT will be doing a few select dates in Southern California to celebrate Null’s release before heading into the studio to work on the full length. "People can check us out on February 19 at LA Murderfest with the hundred other sweet bands," says Dunable, "as well as the free Null CD release show/party we're having at The Mountain in L.A. on February 24. We will also be playing with Kalas (members of High On Fire, El Dopa) at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood on March 10. These will be our last shows until after we finish recording." THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH awakens via Goodfellow on April 25th On Tuesday, April 25th, THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH will awake. That date has been confirmed as the North American release date for the self-titled, nine song debut by Sacramento, California metal outfit THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH. Featuring members of Will Haven and Oddman, the band plays a haunting, punishing concoction of sludge/doom metal with maniacal, over-the-top vocals that will appeal to fans of groups such as IRON MONKEY, EYEHATEGOD, INTRONAUT, etc. Two songs from their debut album can be listened to online now via the band's myspace account, located online at http://www.myspace.com/theironsloth and more information on the band can be found online at http://www.ironsloth.com. A small gif of the album cover has been attached to this email and the album biography is listed below. A chilling tale…. At the dawn of the last Ice Age, a powerful Megatherium was lumbering across South America in search of a meal when he suddenly heard a great rumbling sound and turned just long enough to see the oncoming avalanche which would inevitably become his frozen grave. The great sloth was devoured by the icy onslaught and despite his best efforts, was unable to escape it's clutches. But the sloth did not die. There he remained in a perfectly preserved frozen state for the next ten thousand years until one day, in the age of man, the frozen sloth was found by native people high in the mountains and was falsely believed to be a god who was sent to protect the people from their enemies. So the sloth was thawed, and slowly awoke to find himself in a new world surrounded by hairless creatures which stood upright on two legs. He was too weak to fight, but the people took care of him, kept him warm, and well fed on plants he had never seen in his day. They crafted him a set of armour fit for their greatest warrior and waited for the day that the beast would rise and strike down their foes. And one day the sloth did rise, and slaughtered all those who had meant him no ill will. The beast acquired a taste for human blood and devastated any village he could find. He was the new deity of the land. Arrows and spears were unable to penetrate his armour and thick hide and one by one all the greatest warriors fell at the hands of the mighty mammal. To this day it is unknown what may have happened to the behemoth, or if the soulless devourer of human flesh is still alive, but ask any descendants of those survived and they will tell you about the horror that is THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH! What you have in your hands – is the musical inspiration of this tale, brought to you courtesy of five men from Sacramento, CA. USA. www.ironsloth.com INFLICTION: Björn leaving and shows confirmed. Björn Goosses is no longer the singer of INFLICTION. the decision to leave the band was taken in very good terms. As you can read in his last greeting to the fans of Infliction, he simply had no time to carry on all his projects, which besides NIGHT IN GALES also included his collaborations with two other bands, THE VERY END and THE RULES. Not counting his design studio KILLUSTRATIONS... We as a label would like to thank Björn for being always supportive with us when it was time! Good luck with all your projects, Björn! “Hey everybody...! It´s Bjoern Goosses writing. This is just a short note to let all of you know that I have left my Italian brothers of Infliction. Of course this happened without spilling any drop of bad blood. From the first day Night In Gales and Infliction played a show together and Infliction asked me to do some guest vocals on their debut album to the shows I played with Infliction and the work in the recording studio, I have always enjoyed hanging with these guys and appreciated their music as well as the love and energy they spent creating it...! But as some of you may know, besides Infliction I am not involved only in Night In Gales, but in two other great bands as well: The Very End and The Rules. And apart from my participation in the above mentioned bands I am running my design studio Killustrations, which is growing considerably and takes the lion´s share of my time. I guess you can imagine that I simply do not have enough time to continue Infliction on the level the guys would deserve it. I love Infliction´s latest album ”The Silencer” and hope that this album will gain them the attention they deserve! Porco Dio! I am sure there is much more killer music to come from this crazy, warm-hearted and passionate bunch of Italians! I definitely wish you all the best, Gianluca, Jan, Ricky, Chris & Claudio... vaffanculo! The guys are already rehearsing with a new singer, so keep your ears open for some new Infliction stuff in 2006! And if you haven´t done that yet, pick up your copy of ”The Silencer”...! Buona fortuna & Cheerzzz” – Björn Goosses MORTIIS: Decadent and Desperate Norwegian single features brand new track MORTIIS is set for a debut homeland single release when a special version of “DECADENT AND DESPERATE” is released. Taken from the seminal ‘THE GRUDGE’ album, “DECADENT AND DESPERATE” is released in Norway on Earache on March 6, 2006 “DECADENT AND DESPERATE” comes in three formats, all including exclusive non-album tracks. Both 7” versions feature artwork including two poster sleeves and the CD contains one post-Grudge song “UNDERDOG” Mortiis is the subject of the March 1st broadcast of ‘Lydverket’ on Norwegian national station NRK 1 at 23:10pm (With a repeat showing on March 5th). Lydverket has 150.000 viewers weekly for its half hour broadcast. The subject of this edition is the use of masks in music – Mortiis is filmed on the road in the UK and talks candidly about his theatrical stage look alongside appearances from Slipknot, Alice Cooper and Kiss. DECADENT AND DESPERATE track listing 7" MOSH 306 01. Decadent and Desperate (Album version) 02. Parasite God (live in London)* 7" MOSH 306S 01. Decadent and Desperate (Album version) 02. Way Too Wicked (Absinthium Mix)* CD: 01. Decadent and Desperate (Album version) 02. Underdog* 03. Gibber (Gibbering Idiot Mix)* * denotes non-album track www.mortiis.com BELPHEGOR Summer Festivals 2006 28./29.04.06 DPassauWalpurgis-Metal-Days VI 09./10.06.06 ANo/St. LeonhardDevil Days Festival III 21./22.07.06 DUrbachZabbaduschder Open Air V No Mercy Festivals April 2006 16.04.06BLAntwerpenHof Ter Loo 18.04.06NLTilburg013 Belphegor/Hate Eternal/Psycroptic/Prejudice European Tour 2006 18.04.06DLudwigsburgRockfabrik 19.04.06day off 20.04.06DKKopenhagenThe Rock 21.04.06NOROsloGarage 22.04.06SWEStockholmKlubben 23.04.06DKAlborgtbc 24.04.06tba 25.04.06HUBudapestA 38 26.04.06CZPragueBlack Pez (w/Nile) 27.04.06DBerlinK17 28.04.06DPassauWalpurgis-Metal-Days VI 29.04.06CHMartignyLes Caves du Manoir 30.04.06ITMilanoTransilvania Live 01.05.06 day off 02.05.06CHLa Chaux du Fondstbc 03.05.06FLuynesLe Korigan 04.05.06SPBilbaoAntzokia Durnango 05.05.06SPMadridSala Carasol 06.05.06SPAlicanteMisicalia 07.05.06SPBarcelonatba 08.05.06FToulouseVents du Sud 09.05.06FParisLa Locomotive. 10.05.06UK www.belphegor.at Metal Maniacs First wave of DARKTHRONE albums reissued in North America by THE END RECORDS Today February 21st, 2006, THE END RECORDS (in cooperation with MOONFOG) release three of DARKTHRONES's most classic and grimmest offerings to the metal masses in North America: Panzerfaust (1995), Total Death (1996) and Goatlord (1996). When DARKTHRONE formed in the late '80s Norway's metal scene was nothing but a small flicker of flame. That flame eventually changed to a fiery torch as the band transformed their early death metal sound into a raw, inhuman swirl of mayhem and chaos aided by satanic imagery, corpse paint and dark shadows. Heavily influenced by the work of cult act Celtic Frost years earlier, Darkthrone's black metal charge allowed them to storm the 90s with black their metal peers (Mayhem, Satyricon, Enslaved) following close behind. Along the way they gathered legions of fans worldwide and left a path of destruction still felt today. Their influential work cannot be ignored. www.darkthrone.no Metal Maniacs MORE NECROPHAGIST TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED NECROPHAGIST with: ION DISSONANCE - ARSIS - ALARUM CANADA TOUR QUEBEC - ONTARIO From June 1st to 10th, 2006 DATECITY & PROVINCEVENUE June 1TBA, Quebec (QC) June 2 Montreal, Quebec (QC)CLUB SODA June 3 Quebec City, Quebec (QC)CAMPUS CHARLESBOURG June 4Jonquiere, Quebec (QC)COTE COUR June 5Dolbeau, Quebec (QC)CHEVALIERS COLOMB June 6Ottawa, Ontario (ON)MAVERICKS June 7TBA, Ontario (ON) June 8TBA, Ontario (ON) June 9Sudbury, Ontario (ON) SERBIAN HALL June 10Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec (QC)pETIT tHEATRE Metal Maniacs SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND 2006 NEWS The organizers for this year's Sounds of the Underground Tour; Paul Conroy and Carl Severson of Ferret Music, Tim Borror, Larry Mazer of Entertainment Services, with National Promoter House of Blues along with partners Metal Blade, Trustkill and Prosthetic Records, The Syndicate, Music Choice, and tour sponsors Hot Topic, Revolver Magazine, Eulogy Records are Proud to announce the official lineup of the sophomore national tour engagement: The Sounds Of The Underground 2006 with As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Trivium, Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Terror, The Black Dahlia Murder, Behemoth, The Chariot and Through The Eyes Of The Dead. For seven weeks last summer, the underground rose up and the people flocked in droves as 23 independent Metal, hardcore, black metal, death metal, thrash, and metalcore bands united to spread their piercing individual sounds across the land. In 2005, the premiere Sounds of the Underground tour was so successful, in fact, that by the end of the journey there was little doubt that the show would become an annual event. The only question was who would be on the bill. Now, at long last, the secret can be revealed. Once again, the tour will feature a wide array of bands from a variety of genre, SOTU proudly announces this year's headliner Southern California based As I Lay Dying, Florida death metal legends Cannibal Corpse, Swedish melodic death metal veterans In Flames and Florida neo-thrash metal champions Trivium will be among those featured on the tour. Also on the bill will be Detroit modern death metal marauders Black Dahlia Murder, Polish black metal virtuosos Behemoth and (former Norma Jean Vocalist latest band) The Chariot and South Carolina death metal revivalists Through The Eyes Of The Dead. Returning from last year to spread their sickness once again is Antarctica's alien metal band GWAR, also returning for the entire run of SOTU 2006 is Southern California hardcore hooligans Terror. Additional artists may join in the upcoming weeks. One of the organizers and Ferret Music Partner Paul Conroy states, "We are very excited for this year's Sounds of the Underground," says Paul Conroy, "Artists such as As I Lay Dying, In Flames, Cannibal Corpse and Terror all show the diversity within the heavy music scene that we are proud to have represent our tour. From top to bottom this bill will have something for everyone." In order to keep concertgoers charged and focused and grant them more exposure to the bands on the bill, Sounds of the Underground has reduced the size of its lineup and increased the length of the set times. As a result, each performance will be more like a mini-concert instead of a variety show appearance. Cities confirmed thus far for Sounds of the Underground include Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Sayreville, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and venues in Texas, New England and Western Canada. Tickets are expected to go on sale in late March. Metal Maniacs GOTTHARD Certified platinum in Switzerland Veteran Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD have been certified platinum for their latest effort "Lipservice" by the Recording Industry of Switzerland for shipments in excess of 40.000 copies just in their home country. (official certification date: January 29, 2006). The Ceremony took place in Zürich during the 'PISA Finals". Right now, "Lipservice" is pretty close to receive double-platinum, as the sales have reached about 75.000 units now! Congratulations! MNEMIC Enter studio Danish modern metallers MNEMIC will enter ex-STONE TEMPLE PILOTS drummer Eric Kretz's Bomb Shelter studios in Los Angeles, California in May with producers Shaun Tingvolt (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, LAMB OF GOD) and Christian Olde Wolbers (FEAR FACTORY) to begin recording their third album for a late 2006 release. Mixing duties will be handled by Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) at his Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, U.K.. The group's upcoming CD will be their first with singer Tony Jelencovich (formerly of TRANSPORT LEAGUE and B-THONG), who replaced Michael Bøgballe in September! VOIVOD Mastering "Katorz" Canada's pioneering metal band VOIVOD have set "Katorz" as the title of their forthcoming album! VOIVOD, who just finished mixing the album with producer Glen Robinson at Multisons studio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, are now mastering the album in New York. The follow-up to 2003's "Voivod" is the first album in the band's 20-plus-year career that did not feature founding guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (died August 26, 2005 ) working alongside his bandmembers in the studio. Artwork and a full track-listing for the album will be released soon. Stay tuned … (Source: BW&BK) GOREFEST Tourdates announced GOREFEST have been confirmed as the `very special guest' on BOLT THROWER's upcoming European tour beginning on April 6th in Edinburgh, Scotland. Check out the complete list of currently confirmed tour dates: 06.04. EDINBURGH - The Bongo Club (SCO) 07.04. BRADFORD - Rios (UK) 09.04. DUBLIN - Voodoo Lounge (IE) 10.04. SOUTHAMPTON - Nexus (UK) 11.04. LONDON - The Underworld (UK) 12.04. HENGELO - Metropool (NL) 13.04. COPENHAGEN - The Rock (DK) 14.04. GOTHENBURG - Sticky Fingers (SE) 16.04. STOCKHOLM - Klubben (SE) 18.04. HELSINKI - Nosturi (FI) 19.04. OULU - Teatria (FI) / 20.04. UMEå - Midnight (SE) 21.04. ÖREBRO - Satin (SE) 22.04. LUND - Mejeriet (SE) 23.04. BREMEN - Wehrschloss (DE) 25.04. LYON - Marché Gare (FR) 26.04. PERPIGNAN - Le Crockmore (FR) 27.04. BARCELONA - Centro Civico Les Basses (ES) 28.04. DURANGO - Plateruena (ES) 29.04. MADRID - Ritmo & Compas (ES) 30.04. BARROSELAS - SWR Barroselas Metalfest IX (PT) DIO and BEYOND FEAR (the new band featuring former JUDAS PRIEST and current ICED EARTH frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens) have been confirmed for this year's edition of the Rock Hard Festival, set to take place June 2-4 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order): BEYOND FEAR BOLT THROWER BRAINSTORM CALIBAN CELTIC FROST CRUCIFIED BARBARA DIO EVERGREY FATES WARNING FINNTROLL LEGION OF THE DAMNED PRIMORDIAL SOILWORK VOLBEAT For more information, visit www.rockhardfestival.de. EIGHTEEN VISIONS TO TOUR WITH AVENGED SEVENFOLD and COHEED & CAMBRIA BAND TO AMPLIFY THIS YEAR'S WARPED TOUR ORANGE COUNTY QUINTET CURRENTLY MIXING HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM SELF-TITLED RECORD IN STORES JUNE 27 Epic recording artists EIGHTEEN VISIONS will be hitting the road with Avenged Sevenfold and Coheed & Cambria for a hot ticket tour that begins April 28th at the ipayOne Center in San Diego, CA. The tour will see the Orange County quintet (vocalist James Hart, guitarists Keith Barney and Ken Floyd, bassist Mick Morris and drummer Trevor Friedrich) previewing material from their highly anticipated self-titled album, which arrives in stores on June 27. EIGHTEEN VISIONS is currently mixing the disc with producer Machine (Lamb of God) and has posted a "making of the album" video on their site, www.eighteenvisions.com. The clip is the latest in a series of mini-documentary segments in which fans can hear snippets of new music and watch exclusive studio footage. In a recent interview with MTV, Hart described the record thusly: "It's heavy, but more song-oriented. With bands like Avenged Sevenfold opening the door for heavier rock, it's a great time for us to step up to the plate and try to hit a home run with this thing. There's nothing like this out there right now." EIGHTEEN VISIONS is also confirmed to play this summer's Warped Tour beginning June 30th and running until August 13th. It'll be the band's second straight Warped Tour appearance. After forming in ‘95, EIGHTEEN VISIONS rose up through Orange County's fertile hard music scene with sound and style all their own. Though rooted in metal, the band refused to be limited by the genre's narrow confines and went on to develop a diehard international following on the strength of three explosive albums (Until The Ink Runs Out, Lifeless, Vanity) and a frenetic live show. Over the course of the past few years, the band has garnered airplay on both MTV2 and Fuse while touring with the likes of Lamb of God, HIM, Lostprophets, Norma Jean and many others. Don't miss your chance to see the band Revolver magazine praised as "The Future of American Metal." Tour dates are as follows: Date City Venue 4/28 San Diego, CA ipayOne Center 5/1 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Convention Ctr 5/2 Mesa, AZ Mesa Amphitheatre 5/3 Albuquerque, NM Albuquerque Convention Ctr 5/5 Kansas City, MO City Market 5/8 St. Paul, MN Myth 5/9 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom 5/10 Chicago, IL Aragon 5/12 Detroit, MI Cobo Arena 5/13 Cleveland, OH Tower City Amphitheatre 5/14 Pittsburgh, PA Chevrolet Amphitheatre 5/15 Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier @ Penn's Landing 5/19 New York, NY Hammerstein Ballroom