Old News - August 2009


Old News - August 2009 - Old News - More August 2009 News
August 17th, 2009	BICLOPS Post New Track Online; Fall Tour In The Works Biclops (ex-Postman Syndrome/current East Of The Wall) have posted a preview track from their forthcoming record, to be released through a to-be-determined label in early 2010. The still-untitled record was recorded with producer Will Putney at The Machine Shop (Clutch, Lamb Of God, King Crimson). The planned routing is: 10/18/2009 Harrisburg, PA or Auburn/Watertown/Syracuse, NY 10/19/2009 Akron/Cleveland, OH 10/20/2009 Detroit/etc, MI 10/21/2009 Chicago, IL 10/22/2009 Indianapolis/Fort Wayne/etc, IN 10/23/2009 Columbus/Cincinnati, OH 10/24/2009 Pittsburgh, PA or anywhere, WV 10/25/2009 Baltimore, MD or Richmond, VA 10/26/2009 Philadelphia, PA http://www.biclops.net http://www.myspace.com/BiclopsIsABand HIRAX – NEW STUDIO RELEASE “EL ROSTRO DE LA MUERTE (“The Face of Death”) DIGITAL DOWNLOADS NOW AVAILABLE; 2009 TOUR DATES LONG BEACH- HIRAX will release their highly-anticipated new studio album - El Rostro de la Muerte (“The Face of Death”) - in mid August 2009. It is the veteran thrash band’s first full-length since 2004’s The New Age Of Terror. El Rostro de la Muerte (“The Face of Death”) is a dual-studio effort, combining the skills of two HIRAX producers which the band has worked with on their past 3 releases. The ten new tracks were recorded and engineered by John Haddad at Trench Studio in Corona, California, and mixed by Michael Rozen at Speed Semen Clove Factory in North Hollywood. The new CD will also contain 1 bonus track from the Chaos and Brutality EP, which was previously unavailable in The US. “The combination of Haddad and Rozen’s recording and production are perfect for the vision that we had for the sound of this album,” said HIRAX vocalist Katon W. De Pena. “We worked with Haddad on the last 2 HIRAX EPs, Assassins of War and “Chaos and Brutality. He has a great understanding of the power and speed of HIRAX, and he knows how to bring the best of our talents to the surface. We have a lot of respect for him. HIRAX first worked with Michael Rozen back in 2004 on The New Age of Terror album and it’s great to be working with him again. His experience in mixing and production are what we need to complete the mega-epic sound that we are striving for. It’s the first time HIRAX has ever brought two of our producers together, but it seemed like the logical thing to do since they both have an ear for detail and a certain work ethic which brings out the best in the band. Musically, it combines everything that HIRAX is known for and much, much more! TRUE THRASH METAL!!” El Rostro de la Muerte (“The Face of Death”) will be released on Black Devil Records and Deep Six Records and will be distributed through CM Distro.com. It will be pressed in CD and vinyl formats as well as a limited edition picture disc. The HIRAX title Not Dead Yet (the band’s two classic thrash metal albums Raging Violence and Hate Fear And Power together) is now available digitally through iTunes, along with Thrash and Destroy, Assassins of War, The New Age of Terror, and Barrage of Noise. The band plans to release make more of their extensive back catalog digitally by the end of the year. A new line of HIRAX shirts can be purchased through Razamataz.com Ltd. (heavymetalonline.co.uk/acatalog/HIRAX.html). HIRAX’s El Rostro de la Muerte (“The Face of Death”) tour will begin in Modesto, California on August 1. They have 4 dates in the metal stronghold of Texas, a return date in Chile, and a debut appearance in Puerto Rico. More dates, including an East Coast tour, are in the works. TOUR DATES 8.01.09 Modesto Virtual – Modesto, CA 8.02.09 DNA Lounge - San Francisco, CA 8.22.09 Salon Royal – Los Angeles, CA 8.27.09 Smokin’ Aces Mission, TX 8.28.09 Walter’s on Washington - Houston, TX 8.29.09 Red 7 - Austin, TX 8.30.09 The Compound - Corpus Christi, TX 9.04.09 El Teatro Caupolican - Santiago de Chile 11.07.09 La Respuesta - San Juan, Puerto Rico 11.21.09 Modified Arts - Phoenix, AZ HIRAX.org BlackDevilRecords.com THE COMPANY BAND EP To See Special Vinyl Pressing This Fall Restricted Release proudly presents a special 10-inch vinyl pressing of THE COMPANY BAND's mini-album Sign Here, Here, And Here. Set for release September 15, the pressing features format-exclusive artwork and is limited to 1000 hand-numbered units worldwide. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Andrew Alekel (Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion), Sign Here, Here, and Here was originally released as a digital-only recording early in 2008 (followed later by its physical digipak partner). It brings together five highly-regarded musicians with nothing but the love of jamming on their minds. Two live performances to date have highlighted their still short sonic union (early fans of the band surely hoping to see more; member schedules permitting). Founded by Jess Margera (CKY) with James Rota (Fireball Ministry) and Dave Bone in 2006, THE COMPANY BAND originally got together and recorded some instrumental tracks. Jason Diamond was approached to contribute bass tracks while friend Neil Fallon (Clutch) agreed to appear as a guest on one of the songs but quickly changed status to that of a full fledge member. Brad Davis (Fu Manchu) replaced Diamond earlier this year when the band laid down tracks for their full-length debut which is planned for release later this fall. www.myspace.com/restrictedrelease www.myspace.com/thecoband Cannibal Corpse digital box set is up on iTunes now! Cannibal Corpse has released their ENTIRE discography in one digital package on iTunes. We know a lot of you probably have either worn out your copies of The Bleeding or you just might need to fill out your collection. Plus, Cannibal Corpse has always been a band that plays songs from their entire catalogue while on tour so here's your chance to learn the rest of the songs you might not know! Head over to iTunes to grab this digital bundle for an incredibly low price. In total, you'll receive 16 albums and 196 songs. Albums Include: Eaten Back To Life (12 Tracks) Butchered At Birth (10 Tracks) Tomb Of The Mutilated (10 Tracks) Hammer Smashed Face (3 Tracks) The Bleeding (11 Tracks) Vile (11 Tracks) Gallery Of Suicide (14 Tracks) Bloodthirst (11 Tracks) Live Cannibalism (18 Tracks) Gore Obsessed (11 Tracks) Worm Infested (6 Tracks) The Wretched Spawn (13 Tracks) Kill (13 Tracks) Evisceration Plague (12 Tracks) Bonus Demo Tracks (18 Tracks) Bonus Live Tracks (23 Tracks) Purchase on iTunes HERE. http://www.cannibalcorpse.net http://www.myspace.com/cannibalcorpse METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE Stareblind Has Something Left Unexplained - Release Debut Album - July 21st, 2009 From once a humble side project to now one of the most innovative groups to break out of Montreal's alternative metal hotbed, Stareblind releases their debut album Something Left Unexplained. Featuring aggressive, yet lyrical vocal textures coupled with a crushing rhythm section. Stareblind's 11 track album presents a distinctive and identifiable sound that reflects the proficiency, cohesion and like-mindedness of the group and its individual band members. “We’ve spent the last year in studio working on this album; we refined a sound that we felt was Stareblind.” says vocalist Manu. “It’s amazing how we came together as just a side project at first and from the reception in Montreal and other parts of Quebec, have evolved to become a more serious fixture on the metal scene.” Progressively gaining the respect from both peers and audiences in the Quebec metal scene, StareBlind are preparing to display their ground breaking compositions to the rest of Canada later this fall when tour dates will be announced. Website: www.Stareblind.net Myspace: www.myspace.com/StareblindOnline Behemoth unleash preview of “Evangelion” DVD bonus footage Behemoth's Evangelion will be released in North America as a digi-pak containing the record as well as a bonus DVD that follows Behemoth throughout the recording process. The footage was shot while the band forged Evangelion between January and May of 2009. Fans can view a sneak preview of this footage right now on TheGauntlet.com! Evangelion was recorded in the band's hometown at Radio Gdansk studio with longtime sound engineer Malta, the Wieslawscy Brothers, and Daniel Bergstrand (drum engineering) in the producers' chairs. Evangelion was mixed in Miloco Studios by Colin Richardson (Machine Head, Slipknot, Carcass, Napalm Death) and will be unleashed in the US on August 11th via Metal Blade Records and in Europe on August 9th via Nuclear blast. http://www.myspace.com/behemoth http://www.behemoth.pl CONTRIVE Album to be mixed by DEVIN TOWNSEND... CONTRIVE has just completed recording their 2nd soon-to-be titled album @ Toyland Studios, again with Producer Adam Calaitzis (www.toyland.com.au) The band can now confirm the mixing duties will be handled by none other than Mr. Devin Townsend. Drummer Andrew Haug comments: “ Unless you live in a cave you should be aware of the great work Devin Townsend has delivered over the years, not only with his own bands but many other albums he has worked on. We’re beyond stoked to be working with him on the long awaited 2nd CONTRIVE record. I personally will be heading to Vancouver in the coming weeks to nut out our l'il masterpiece with Dev @ Studio D for what will be a killer timeand some awesome results! More news soon, all Hail ”. The yet to be signed band will then shop the album around for any label interest. CONTRIVE formed in 1999 by twin brothers Paul & Andrew Haug and bassist Tim Stahlmann, releasing 2 EPs and a debut album in 2005 titled The Meaning Unseen (Mixed by Fredrik Nordstrom - Studi o Fredman, Sweden) The band has shared the staged with the likes of MACHINE HEAD, STONE SOUR, SEPULTURA, SOILWORK, DESTRUCTION, MAYHEM and more CONTRIVE ON MYSPACE www.myspace.com/contriveaustralia CONTRIVE ON FACEBOOK – Become a fan! http://www.facebook.com/pages/CONTRIVE/16792407242?ref=ts CONTRIVE ON TWITTER http://twitter.com/CONTRIVEAus Write CONTRIVE PO Box 134 East Keilor 3033 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia GOJIRA Announce Headline Dates On Metallica Off-days France's GOJIRA have announced a series of headline dates on off days from the Metallica/Lamb of God tour which goes from September 14th thru October 18. Support on these shows will come from Zoroaster and Burst. The dates are as follows: 9/21/09 Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY 9/22/09 Ottobar, Baltimore MD 9/24/09 The Masquerade, Atlanta GA 9/25/09 The Hangar, New Orleans, LA 9/27/09 Warehouse Live, Houston TX 10/2/09 The Social, Orlando FL 10/5/09 Valarium, Knoxville TN 10/6/09 Pop's Nite Club, St. Louis (w/ Goatwhore, The Berzerker, Warbringer) 10/7/09 The Rave Bar, Milwaukee WI 10/9/09 The Pearl Room, Mokena IL More dates TBA Gojira are supporting their 2008 Prosthetic Records' release, "The Way of All Flesh." prostheticrecords.com GIVE PRAISE RECORDS Team Up With Catharsis PR, Release NO MAN'S SLAVE/I RESIGN 7" Introducing the raddest thing to come out of Cape Cod since clam chowdah - GIVE PRAISE RECORDS. Focusing on powerviolence, grind, fastcore, crossover, punk rock, hardcore...hell, focusing on anything fast, loud, angry, and honest, founder and sole voice of reason Paul Praise has been slugging it out in the underground for years, running an extensive distro, releasing records from killer artists like I Hate This, In Defence, Humingbird of Death, and Nervous Breakdown (Ger) and putting together sweet compilations featuring everyone from Insect Warfare to xBrainiax, Iron Lung, and the Endless Blockade. Give Praise is gearing up for a bumper crop of releases this summer, starting out with a split 7" from Oklahoma hardcore spastics No Man's Slave and I Resign. MP3s will be available soon; for now, check out the bands on Myspace, and watch this space! No Man's Slave hail from Oklahoma City and play vicious, jagged superfast powerviolence with a hardcore bent, while citymates I Resign offer up four tracks of chaotic, punky, painted-black hardcore in the vein of early Black Flag, Kid Dynamite, Negative Approach, and D.R.I. This one's for punks, hardcore dudes, and crusties with a secret love for NOFX - get ready to SHRED! NO MAN'S SLAVE/I RESIGN 7" TRACKLISTING: NO MAN'S SLAVE My Life As A Square Peg Tooth Decay Empty Skulls Boys Fun Culture Erased www.myspace.com/nomansslave I RESIGN All Lasting Monuments Syntax Reformation Upbeat Existence www.myspace.com/iresign WHIPLASH: New Song Posted Online Reactivated Garden State thrashers WHIPLASH have posted another new song -- "Fight Or Flight" -- on their official MySpace Page. Visit: http://www.myspace.com/whiplashusa to check it out. The track comes off the band's new album, Unborn Again, which is scheduled for Aug 5th release via Pulverised Records. The CD was recorded at Studio with world-renowned engineer/producer Harris Johns (SODOM, KREATOR , HELLOWEEN, SEPULTURA). The band mixed and mastered the CD at Spiderhouse Studio. The cover artwork was created by Ed Repka (DEATH, ATHEIST, MEGADETH NUCLEAR ASSAULT, POSSESSED, etc) and can be viewed here. The record will be made available in digipack CD + DVD format later in the year which documents the making of Unborn Again. WHIPLASH is a three-piece power trio hailing from New Jersey. The band was assembled back in 1984 when Tony Portaro (guitar, vocals) and Tony Scaglione (drums) joined forces, recruited Tony Bono on bass and released their first CD, Power and Pain, in 1985 on Roadrunner Records. The debut CD was followed up by their first live performance at Ruthie's in Berkley, California with POSSESSED and DEATH ANGEL. WHIPLASH's current lineup: Tony Portaro - Guitar/Vocals Joe Cangelosi (ex-KREATOR) - Drums Rich Day Bass (ex-PRIMAL SCREAM) - Bass http://www.myspace.com/whiplashusa http://www.pulverised.net/ DAMNATION FESTIVAL - LOCK UP to headline Terrorizer stage! GRINDCORE supergroup LOCK UP will headline this year's Terrorizer Stage in what will be their only show of 2009 and likely the band's last ever live appearance. The almost mythical extreme metal behemoth - which will feature At The Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg, Anton Resisenegger of Pentagram and Criminal on guitar, Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury and ex-Dimmu Borgir and Testament drummer Nick Barker - will perform live in the UK for the first time in almost ten years. And Shane Embury revealed the one-off show is set to be the last time they ever take the stage together. He said: "LOCK UP has not played the UK since the summer of 2000 when we did a small tour with Poland's Decapitated - in fact the band has only ever done around 15 shows since we formed ten years ago. "We have had so many requests over the years from fans to play again that we thought 'let's get off our arses and do this one last time'. "So our appearance at this years Damnation Festival will be a total "7 Churches on vinyl or fuck off!" exclusive show. "This may well be the last show the band plays, ever, so don't miss out on what I hope will be a night to be remembered!" Nick Barker added: "Damnation will also mark the live debut of new guitarist Anton Resenegger from the Chilean underground death metal legends Pentagram and Anglo/Chilean death/thrash band Criminal. "Resisenegger replaces the late Jesse Pintado who sadly passed away in August 2006." Damnation Festival will take place at Leeds University Union, on Saturday, October 24, 2009. The line-up so far is: Lock Up, Therapy?, Destruction, Electric Wizard, Jesu, Rotting Christ, This Will Destroy You, Akercocke, A Storm of Light, Mistress, Negura Bunget, Minsk, Extreme Noise Terror, Manatees, Gates of Slumber, And So I Watch You From Afar, Charger, Stand-Up Guy and Rinoa with more bands to be announced. Tickets are on sale now priced at £29.50 from http://www.leedstickets.com/ , http://www.ticketline.co.uk/ and http://www.seetickets.co.uk/ Tickets are also on sale in Leeds at stores including Crash and Jumbo. For more information visit: http://www.damnationfestival.co.uk or http://www.myspace.com/damnationfestival ANAAL NATHRAKH: New Record In Stores July 28th! New ANAAL NATHRAKH long player, In The Constellation Of The Black Widow, hits North American record shelves on July 28th! The record is being released via Candlelight Records. In The Constellation Of The Black Widow track listing: 1. "In The Constellation Of The Black Widow" 2. "I Am The Wrath Of Gods And The Desolation Of The Earth Music" 3. "More Of Fire Than Blood" 4. "The Unbearable Filth Of The Soul" 5. "Terror In The Mind Of God" 6. "So Be It" 7. "The Lucifer Effect" 8. "Oil Upon The Sores Of Lepers" 9. "Satanarchrist" 10. "Blood Eagles Carved On The Backs Of Innocents" Commented ANAAL NATHRAKH vocalist V.I.T.R.I.O.L. on the new material: "Constellation is faster, more insidious, more ominous, more musically dextrous and wilder than ever before. The album features a curve ball guest appearance from Zeitgeist Memento of Mexican extremists REPUBLIKA." Formed in 1998, ANAAL NATHRAKH have recorded five full-length albums. Based in Birmingham, the band fuses traditional black metal with elements of industrial, grindcore and early-day death metal resulting in a one-of-a-kind soundscape that has earned it high acclaim from media and fans around the globe. What press folks are saying: "In The Constellation Of The Black Widow is another crushing example of why this two-man band accomplishes much more than most fully equipped metal stalwarts. ANAAL NATHRAKH are more like great weavers of music and ideas than just a band in that they bring together some really inventive views on structure and dynamics but then hide them underneath this aural assault that can only be likened to being run over by a 16 wheeler with spikes on its treads, on fire, while acid leaks from the bottom." -- Crave. "Their sound is a weapon... music of mass destruction. Hell, if these Brits get any heavier the music will cross over into pure white noise, the kind that would tear at the very fabric of reality as we know it." -- The Metal Observer "ANAAL NATHRAKH's latest is a return to bestial form, full of impossibly fast blast beats, black/death-grind hybrid riffs, and ridiculously tortured vocals. Though not the band’s best, In the Constellation of the Black Widow is a stern reminder of why ANAAL NATHRAKH are often mentioned in the same breath as today’s most notable black metallers." -- Metal Sucks http://www.myspace.com/anaalnathrakh http://www.anaal-nathrakh.tk/ http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/ http://www.myspace.com/candlelightrecordsusa

August 14th, 2009	Goreaphobia Reveal Track List and Artwork For Forthcoming Album The wait is finally over. Philly's underground legends, Goreaphobia are back with a vengeance. A vengeance entitled Mortal Repulsion. This long-awaited full-length debut from one of death metal's pioneers is a bludgeoning, yet calculated, masterclass in old-school death metal. In an era where trends, tricks and toddlers have pockmarked our beloved and bloody metal scene with a slew of half-assed efforts, Goreaphobia has taken it upon themselves to reteach a long forgotten lesson in brutality. On August 18th, Goreaphobia and Ibex Moon Records will unleash the beast that is Mortal Repulsion and not a single soul will be spared. The track listing and artwork for Mortal Repulsion are listed below: Ordeal Of The Abyss Amulet Of Damnation Negative Screams (Passage Intro) Grave Plagued Planet Primal Nothingness Faded Into Ends (Part I) Despised And Ruined Black Ash Eyes A Grievous Curse Ascending Into Vices The Inevitable Punishment/Faded Into Ends (Part II) Mortal Repulsion www.ibexmoonrecords.com www.goreaphobia.com EAGLE TWIN Debut Album Out Via Southern Lord This Week; Interviews Available Behold the debut album from EAGLE TWIN! Although the band itself is a new entity, its helmsman, Gentry Densley, is no stranger to innovative, heavy music. Densley was the musical visionary and leader of the legendary Jazz, Prog, Rock, Metal, Hardcore group Iceburn from 1991-2001. In order to disseminate his majestic and mountainous riffs in the present day he enlisted massively behemoth skinsman Tyler Smith. The drums are not only a driving force that efficiently steam rolls over you they conjure a repetitious mantra that is eerily infectious. The riffs and music definitely have familiar reference points, including Caspar Brotzmann Massaker, Earth, sunn O))), Melvins, and more, but are crafted in a unique approach that stands miles beyond the others. EAGLE TWIN's debut full-length The Unkindness of Crows was recorded to tape in Seattle by Randall Dunn (Earth, sunn O))), Kinski, Ascend), and will come beautifully packaged in a digipak with original artwork from Densley, Sri Whipple and others, and designed by Stephen O’Malley. The album is to be officially released this Tuesday, July 21. EAGLE TWIN played two killer outdoor sets at this year's SXSW Festival, and has recently completed a Midwest tour with sunn O))). Catch them on tour on the West Coast in early August again with sunn O))), and also with new labelmates The Accüsed. 8/06/2009 Neumo's - Seattle, WA w/ Earth, Pelican, sunn O))) 8/08/2009 Independent - San Francisco, CA w/ The Accüsed, sunn O))) 8/09/2009 Historic Brookdale Lodge - Brookdale, CA w/ The Accüsed, sunn O))) 8/11/2009 Center for Arts, Eagle Rock - Los Angeles, CA w/ The Accüsed, sunn O))) 8/13/2009 Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO w/ The Accüsed, sunn O))) 8/14/2009 Avalon Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT w/ The Accüsed, sunn O))) More tour aktions are to be announced in mere days. Stay tuned for further propaganda. http://www.myspace.com/eagletwin http://www.southernlord.com http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings http://blog.southernlord.com Incantation announces shows with long time drummer Kyle Severn Incantation is preparing to play their dominating and blasphemous brand of death metal for a series of upcoming dates in the fall of 2009 and the spring 2010, which will include longtime drummer Kyle Severn (from such records as Diabolical Conquest, Blasphemy, Decimate Christendom, and Primordial Domination). The initial dates will take place over Labor Day weekend in the Midwest and then see the band traveling to Central America in late October/ early November 2009. Kyle comments: "Yes I’m excited to play some blasphemous death metal again with my Incantation family. Do you want some fuckin' metal? Well you had better be ready!! We have been practicing material from all of our records, expanding the band’s almost 20-year career. I’ve been in this band for many years and have traveled to a lot of places, but this will be the first time we travel to Honduras and Costa Rica. What an honor it’s going to be to play for the sick metal heads there." Also, we would like to announce that we are confirmed to play main stage at Maryland Death Fest in 2010.. If you thought the 2009 lineup was spectacular, wait until you see 2010 lineup. This is going to be one of the best shows ever!!!! See you in hell! The touring lineup for the Midwest dates will be with: John McEntee - Guitar / Vocals (Funerus) Kyle Severn – Drums (Acheron) Alex Bouks – Guitar (Goreaphobia) Chuck Sherwood – Bass (Bloodstorm) Tour dates: September 4th - Liquor Sweets - Milwaukee, WI September 5th - DM3 fest 6 - Goodells, MI Death Metal Domination Central American Tour 2009. October 30th - TBA - Guatemala City, Guatemala October 31st - Museo de Antropologia e Historia - Pedro Sula, Honduras For the Central America dates long time session bassist Roberto Lizarraga (Infinitum Obscure) will once again be filling in. Look out for Incantation at the Maryland Deathfest, set to take place May 28-30, 2010. Incantation's seventh album, Primordial Domination, was released in fall 2006 on Ibex Moon Records www.ibexmoonrecords.com www.incantation.com The Absence and Ultimate-Guitar.com announce guest guitar shred-off contest! The Absence is gearing up to record their third full length album and follow up to 2005's From Your Grave and 2007's Riders Of The Plague. The band is known for their catchy guitar melodies and soaring solos, as well as involving their fans in their music as much as possible. They're taking things a step further this time around and want to know: do you think you have what it takes to play a guitar solo on The Absence's new album? They're giving one lucky fan/guitar shredder an opportunity to play a solo on a new track! Our friends at Ultimate-Guitar.com are presenting this guitar melee - click HERE to check out all of the official rules, how to enter and the deadline for submissions! http://www.ultimate-guitar.com http://www.myspace.com/theabsence METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE BELPHEGOR NEW ALBUM DETAILS REVEALED Austrian blackened death metal outfit BELPHEGOR has completed work on its eighth full-length studio album, Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn, on October 9 in Europe and October 20 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded at Andy Classen's (LEGION OF THE DAMNED, DEW-SCENTED, NEAERA, ASPHYX) Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany. Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn track listing: 01. Walpurgis Rites 02. Veneratio Diaboli - I Am Sin 03. Hail The New Flesh 04. Reichswehr In Blood 05. The Crosses Made Of Bone 06. Der Geistertreiber 07. Destroyer Hekate 08. Enthralled Toxic Sabbath 09. Hexenwahn - Totenkult A digipack version of the album will include the video for the track "Der Geistertreiber" as well as 'Making of' material. Commented frontman Helmuth: "With these nine compositions/arrangements, we continue to piss on the damn mainstream. It's BELPHEGOR to the highest; the hymns are extremely varied, more intense and epic than ever, [and] there are new elements and structures added. Also, we used some haunting samples here and there, to give the album a cold and ritualistic feel." He continued, "On Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn, you will hear my most fucked up vocals to date; also the lyrical content is offensive and insane. The witch/devil concept is amazing to work with and we used alot of original chants/ incantations from archaic scripts." BELPHEGOR has tapped Brazilian artist Marcelo Hvc to handle the graphics for the new album. Added Serpenth: The idea is to capture the okkultic orgiastic processions from the Broken Mountain, the Walpurgis night in the images." Belphegor MySpace Page Belphegor Facebook Page EPICA: NEW ALBUM UPDATE + HEADLINING NORTH AMERICAN TOUR Mark Jansen, guitarist & songwriter for Holland’s symphonic metal band EPICA, checks in with a new album update plus a headlining North American 2010 tour announcement: “It’s been a great time at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg [Germany] recording Design Your Universe. We worked with the same team [producer Sascha Paeth] and we worked for the first time together with our new guitar player Isaac Delahaye [formerly of God Dethroned]. This made a difference and made things very refreshing because we could add some new elements because of him. We have worked harder than ever on the details. We preferred to spend some extra money on great additions which brings our songs to a higher level instead of leaving things like they are. The result is that we worked so hard on this album that we hardly can listen to the album anymore. Now it's time to let it go and release it to humanity. We were already very happy with The Divine Conspiracy but I'm sure this new album tops that one. “The album title, Design Your Universe, deals with new breakthroughs in quantum physics. It proves that we are all connected to each other on subatomic level. Also, it shows that we can create or at least influence matter with our thoughts… a very interesting fact. Because it changes everything for us, our whole worldview collapses once you accept these facts and integrate them in your lives. So this had to become the new album title. “We’ll be headlining a North American tour in 2010 featuring Daath and Blackguard. I can't wait for this tour as it's a strong package!” About the band’s new material, EPICA singer Simone Simons has previously stated, "It is so exciting! I love the new songs and can't wait to play them live." Confirmed tour dates are as follows: 01/26/2010 - Jaxx Nightclub - West Springfield, VA 01/27/2010 - Trocadero Theater - Philadelphia, PA 01/29/2010 - The Blender Theatre at Gramercy - New York, NY 01/30/2010 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA 01/31/2010 - Club Soda - Montreal, QUEBEC - CANADA 02/01/2010 - MOD Club - Toronto, ONTARIO - CANADA 02/03/2010 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH 02/04/2010 - The Pearl Room - Mokena IL 02/05/2010 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI 02/06/2010 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN 02/08/2010 - Royal Albert Arms - Winnipeg, MANITOBA - CANADA 02/10/2010 - Starlite Room - Edmonton, ALBERTA - CANADA 02/11/2010 - Warehouse - Calgary, ALBERTA - CANADA 02/13/2010 - Sugar Nightclub - Victoria, B.C. - CANADA 02/14/2010 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA 02/15/2010 - Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR 02/17/2010 - Key Club - West Hollywood, CA 02/19/2010 - U.B.'s Bar - Mesa, AZ 02/20/2010 - The Rock - Tucson - Tucson, AZ 02/22/2010 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO 02/23/2010 - Marquee - Tulsa, OK 02/24/2010 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX 02/25/2010 - Scout Bar - San Antonio - San Antonio, TX 02/27/2010 - Volume 11 - Raleigh, NC 02/28/2010 - The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA Exclusive pre-sale tickets for the tour are available online beginning July 20th at www.EnterTheVault.com through August 19th. On August 20th, tickets go on sale through all normal ticketing outlets. Twenty high-quality live performance photos of EPICA at Italy’s Gods Of Metal Festival on June 27th are available at Musica Metal. View footage of new EPICA guitarist Isaac Delahaye at the band’s Royal Artist Club page. Visit EPICA online at www.EPICA.nl & www.myspace.com/EPICA THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD Enter Studio Prosthetic Records' Through the Eyes of the Dead have entered Geller Cellar Studios in New York, to begin work on their third, as of yet untitled, full length album. The band will be self producing the effort with Eliot Geller engineering. The South Carolina based band will then travel to Mana Studios in Florida in late August to mix the album with Erik Rutan (Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under, Goatwhore). They will be documenting the recording process with several webisodes on their YouTube page. The band has also set up some shows after the recording. The dates are: August 11, Rockos, Manchester NH August 12, Webster Underground, Hartford CT August 13, Hangar 84, Vineland, NJ August 14, Elks Lodge, Peeksville, NY The album is slated for an early 2010 release. The band released "Malice" in 2007 and "Bloodlust" in 2005, both on Prosthetic Records. www.prostheticrecords.com STATIC-X Invading Your Town PEDAL TO THE METAL TOUR with MUDVAYNE and BLACK LABLE SOCIETY THIS SUMMER HOLLYWOOD, CA – Static-X announces additional headlining tour dates along with the Pedal To The Metal tour coming your way this summer 2009. THE PEDAL TO THE METAL TOUR 2009 will kick off July 24 in Portland, ME, and conclude September 9, in Oklahoma City, OK (see complete itinerary below). Pre-sale tickets are available to all of the bands’ fan club members beginning Wednesday, June 10, at 12pm local time at www.pedaltothemetaltour.com, general public went on sale Friday, June 12, at 10am local time. Static-X front-man Wayne Static says of the tour: “I’m very picky about who we tour with. I think Static-X slaughter most bands live, and I pride myself in our show – I refuse to open for a band that I don’t think is worthy, so that says a lot about Mudvayne, Zakk Wylde, and this entire package.” TOUR DATES: July 24 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center 25 Lowell, MA Tsongas Arena 27 New York, NY Irving Plaza 28 Reading, PA Sovereign Center 29 Youngstown, OH Covelli Center 31 Big Flats, NY Tag’s Summer Stage August 1 Altamont, NY Altamount Fairgrounds 3 Dayton, OH Mc Guffy’s House of Rock * 4 Ft. Wayne , IN War Memorial Coliseum 5 Battle Creek, MI Kellogg Arena 6 Flint, MI Machine Shop * 7 Moline, IL iWireless Coliseum 8 Rockford, IL Metro Center 9 Madison, WI Willow Island 11 Topeka, KS Landon Arena 12 Mankato,MN Alltel Center 13 Sioux Falls, SD Ramkota Exhibit Hall * 14 Council Bluffs, IA West Fair Amphitheater 15 Little Rock, AR Stone Hill Ranch 16 Wichita, KS KS Coliseum Lot 18 Boise, ID Napa Idaho Amphitheatre 19 Missoula, MT Ryan Creek Meadows 21 Spokane, WA Spokane Arena 22 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheater 23 Hillsboro, OR Washington County Fairgrounds 25 Eugene, OR Cubhert Amphitheatre 26 Reno, NV Events Center 28 San Jose, CA San Jose Civic Center 29 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Arena 31 Anaheim, CA HOB* September 1 San Diego, CA Sports Arena 2 Mesa, AZ Mesa Amphitheatre 4 Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street Amphitheater 5 San Antonio, TX Sunken Gardens 6 Lubbock, TX Lonestar Amphitheatre 8 Grand Prairie, TX Nokia Theater 9 Oklahoma City, Ok Zoo Amphitheatre 10 Memphis, TN Minglewood Hall 11 Louisville, KY Coyotes 12 Toledo, OH Headliners * 14 Columbia, MO Blue Note * 15 Kansas City, MO The Beaumont 16 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep 17 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater * 18 Farmington, NM Gators * 19 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theater * * Static X Headline Shows For More information go to www.myspace.com/staticx or www.static-x.com

August 13th, 2009	DARK AGE Signs With AFM AFM recently inked a deal with Hamburg, Germany-based melodic death metallers DARK AGE. Commented the band on their official MySpace page: "We are really looking forward to working hand in hand with this renowned label!" The as yet untitled full-length is slated for a Fall 2009 release. DARK AGE entered Eikey Studio, owned by vocalist/guitarist Eike Freese, in May. "You can expect the typical DARK AGE melodies and some surprises in our sound as well, mainly because every band member was involved in the songwriting [more so] than ever before." For fans of In Flames, Soilwork, Machine Head and Metallica. More info TBA.... http://www.dark-age.de/ http://www.myspace.com/darkage404 http://www.afm-records.info THE NEW BLACK News Recently signed to AFM, THE NEW BLACK released their self-titled debut in June. Featuring former members of Sinner, Runamok, Abandoned and Paradox, THE NEW BLACK play rock. Real rock; real heavy with all the requisite hooks, leads and riffs galore. Singer Fludid has been compared to “Zakk Wylde, James Hetfield and Phil Anselmo” (Rock Hard) and “sometimes even Mike Patton in a 'sane' state of mind” (Metal Hammer). The screams, the roaring, the harmonies, they’re all there, but most importantly, the guy can actually sing. Add to this shredding guitars, a well-developed sense of melody and a professional work ethic, and you get a solid piece of metallic rock. Fans of Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society, beware. Said Canada’s BW&BK magazine : “[This is] The Real Thing as opposed to the often disposable Next Big Thing. THE NEW BLACK makes it on sheer over-the-top delivery and very obvious love for the simple rock-driven life.” Germany’s Guitar took note of the “assured sense of style and passion,” while Metal Hammer simply stated: “Whoever said that bands can’t form their own sound anymore these days, should listen to this – and then shut up!” In Related News: Various US and European radio stations picked up on THE NEW BLACK, and the band -- unsigned at the time -- was asked to write the title track for an American road movie called Ballad Of Broken Angels. Check out the video of the same name here: http://www.lastfm.de/music/The+New+Black/+videos/24929355 The band is currently working on a clip for "More Than A Man." Explained the band, "it's a little tune about temptation and that funny feeling you get when... well, you know what we mean. And we like what we're seeing so far. Given the subject matter, the video has to have some serious 'hotness' in it. And it will. The band needs to be in there, too, at some point. Even in the same scenes as the 'hotness.' So someone had to do it, and Fludid, er, stood up for the team and did." Check out some of the screen shots here. The model's name is "Lucky Charm" from Rockstar Sessions [http://www.myspace.com/rockstarsessions_group - a rock & roll model agency) and according to the band, "she rules." The band is confirmed for several upcoming festivals in Germany this year including Summer Breeze! If you happen to be traveling overseas, don't miss them! THE NEW BLACK Festival Dates 8/14/2009 Summer Breeze Open Air - D-Dinkelsbühl 8/15/2009 Rock Im Wald-Festival - D-Neuensee bei Lichtenfels 8/22/2009 Rockmania Festival - D-Dettelbach/Würzburg 8/29/2009 Wacken Rocks South - D-Rieden/Kreuth 10/16/2009 Börsencrash-Festival - D-Wuppertal 10/23/2009 Sundown-Festival - D-Gaildorf 12/12/2009 L.A. Eventhalle - D-Cham http://www.thenewblackofficial.de http://www.myspace.com/thenewblackofficial http://www.afm-records.info TANKARD "Thirst" Hits Stateside Beer-soaked German thrash legends TANKARD recently released Thirst stateside to riotous applause. The album was produced again by band friend Andy Classen at his Stage One Studio. A video clip for "Stay Thirsty" appears on the limited edition of the record. Formed in 1982 in the boiler room of the Matthäus Church, Frankfurt/Main, TANKARD first took the stage in 1983. In 1984 they released the first demo and two years later cult record Zombie Attack (Noise). The self-proclaimed "most ugly band in Germany" would move on to a worldwide musical crusade to implement the German Purity Law of 1516. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are said to have commented on the band following a bar-hopping mission through Manhattan (and before deciding on an official name): "Hey, you guys sound like a mix of Tank and Discharge." Later, German language magazine Stern, in an article about the subculture of heavy metal wrote, "their music sounds like a train laden with beer tankards.... derailed!“ Whatever the case, and from whomever the quote, there's little doubt that TANKARD are indeed the founders of "Alcoholic Metal" and for that they are proud. Said Decibel magazine in a recent review of Thirst: "These Krauts love beer and fart jokes and zombies and they beat Municipal Waste to he whole 'part thrash' thing by a good 20 years AND they do it well..." "[More Than] 25 Years In Beer" http://www.tankard.info http://www.myspace.com/tankardfrankfurt http://www.afm-records.info SONATA ARCTICA NEW ALBUM DETAILS REVEALED Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA will release their new album, The Days Of Grays, on September 18, 2009 in Europe and September 22, 2009 in North America through Nuclear Blast Records. The track listing for the new album can be viewed by clicking here. SONATA ARCTICA keyboardist Henrik "Lance" Klingenberg previously described the band's new material as "a bit darker and maybe not so complex as [2007's] Unia. Nevertheless, it's definitely not a back-to-the-roots album with fast power metal. All the trademark SONATA ARCTICA stuff is on there, solos, lots of singing some slower songs." SONATA ARCTICA will play a handful of headlining dates prior to and at the end of their North American Tour with DRAGONFORCE. To view complete list of tour dates please visit the bands MySpace Page. Sonata Arctica MySpace Page Sonata Arctica Facebook Page MARDUK Cover Art Unveiled The cover art for Wormwood, the upcoming full-length from Swedish black metallers MARDUK has been unveiled! Visit EarsplitPR's MySpace page (or website) to view. More news and song titles TBA. Check some photos from the recording at the Endarker Studio here: http://www.marduk.nu/gallery.html In related news, MARDUK will land on US soil later this summer for three very special dates with Withered and Black Anvil. Said guitarist Morgan Håkansson, “We are excited to finally be over in the states and do these shows after all the problems with the visas. The three shows in August are just the start. We are preparing for a full tour in the winter that will cover all the areas we missed on Blackenedfest. Please join us as we raise the Banner Of The Wolf!” MARDUK Confirmed Dates: 8/12/2009 Sonar - Baltimore, MD 8/13/2009 Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA 8/15/2009 Gramercy Threatre - New York, NY also w/Tombs http://www.marduk.nu http://www.myspace.com/truemarduk http://www.regainrecords.com EPICENTER '09: “SO CAL'S ROCK EXPLOSION” NEW ANNUAL ROCK FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY RIGHT ARM ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS SATURDAY, AUGUST 22 AT FAIRPLEX IN POMONA WITH TOOL, LINKIN PARK AND 10 ADDITIONAL ACTS Southern California rock fans now have another festival to add to their calendar. EPICENTER '09: “So Cal's Rock Explosion” will debut Saturday, August 22 at Fairplex in Pomona with Tool, Linkin Park, Alice In Chains, Wolfmother, Atmosphere, Hollywood Undead, Atreyu, Street Sweeper Social Club, Aesop Rock, Sonny and others TBA. The annual music festival is presented by Right Arm Entertainment (creators of Ohio’s successful Rock on the Range annual festival) and will feature 12 acts throughout the day on multiple stages, with music set to kick off at 12 Noon. “Talk about a killer lineup,” says Linkin Park co-frontman Chester Bennington. “Tool, Alice In Chains, Wolfmother--if we weren't performing, we'd come just to see all the bands. This is gonna be our only North American gig all year and we promise to make it a show to remember.” “To introduce a new rock festival in Southern California, you have to dream big,” says Right Arm Entertainment’s Gary Spivack, co-executive producer of the festival. “Having Tool is an event in and of itself—and when you add Linkin Park's only 2009 North American concert, Alice In Chains, Wolfmother, Atmosphere and all these acts, it’s more than we could have envisioned for the first Epicenter. We’re dedicated to making this the best rock festival of the summer.” Tickets are $79.50 for general admission/$125 for VIP and go on sale Saturday, June 27 at 10:00 AM at www.TicketMaster.com. Look for more information about EPICENTER to be released in the coming weeks. For up-to-the-minute updates, go to www.epicenterfestival.com. AMBASSADOR GUN Brutalize The Masses With New Full-Length AMBASSADOR GUN began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the summer of 2002. Within the music, there is ingrained a unique ability to master catchy and truly memorable elements. Using rhythmic and aggressive vocal patterns, dissonant down-tuned chords and progressions along with drive saturated low-end. They envelop music expressing comical, political and social disdain; put home lyrically, and fired through a blistering soundtrack of metal, punk, grooves and grind. Previously known as A SECOND FROM THE SURFACE, the band have shared the stage regionally with national acts including Today Is The Day, Weedeater, Sourvein, Dead To Fall, Battlefields, Red Sparrowes and countless more over recent years, and further live/tour plans are in the works for the coming year. To be released August 11th on the bands' own imprint Pangea Recordings, the band's 4th full-length When In Hell is a thunderous, angst-ridden, cross-genre stampede of energy, combining elements of Slayer, Nasum, Cattle Decapitation, Mastodon and more. AMBASSADOR GUN live: 8/15/2009 Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN (When In Hell CD Release Show) 8/28/2009 Filth Moon Fest - St. Paul, MN More news and updates will follow shortly. http://www.myspace.com/ambassadorgun Legendary Guitarist STEVE VAI Set To Release Live Concert WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE DVD, Blu-ray and Live CD ON FAVORED NATIONS SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2009 HOLLYWOOD, CA – Guitar legend Steve Vai will release his concert film and live CD Where The Wild Things Are September 29th, 2009 on Favored Nations Records. The show was recorded and filmed at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, MN before a sold-out audience as part of Vai’s successful Sound Theories world tour. Visit http://favorednations.com/wtwta-preview to view the concert trailer. Where The Wild Things Are is Vai’s 21st solo project contributing to his 20,000,000 unit worldwide sales that have accumulated over his 30 year career. Vai chose the State Theatre to film because of its large, lush acoustics and the historical theatre’s gorgeous interior. Vai is widely known for both his unprecedented guitar playing techniques and the unique design of his signature series Ibanez Jem guitar. But his fans have become inextricably drawn to his melodic depth, and dynamic stage performance. The continued evolution of his craft is made apparent in the astonishing musicianship presented in Where The Wild Things Are. The 2 hour and 40 minute set contains several new tracks and re-orchestrated pieces culled from his rich catalog. His guitar-wielding extravaganza in “The Murder” is an artistic performance piece that must be seen to be believed. The addition of virtuoso violinists Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun add a dazzling dimension to Vai’s compositions and stage show, delivering fans the unexpected edge they always expect. Other world-class musicians chosen for Vai’s band are: Bryan Beller (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar) and Zack Wiesinger (lap steel). “When I put a band and a show together I try to create an entertainment experience that I would like to have if I was sitting in the audience,” explains Vai. “I like to witness great musicianship but nothing too cerebral or overindulgent, I like to be stimulated by a large dynamic range of emotional intensities and melodic richness, I enjoy when people love their instrument and it shows by their oneness with it, I like to feel as though I'm part of a family with the audience and the band, and I like to walk away feeling uplifted and not beat up by somebody's ego or the things they hate about themselves and the world. And of course I want a cool t-shirt.” Performance Track Listing: 1. Paint Me Your Face 2. Now We Run 3. Oooo 4. Building The Church 5. Tender Surrender 6. Band Intros 7. Firewall 8. The Crying Machine 9. Shove The Sun Aside 10. I’m Becoming 11. Die To Live 12. Freak Show Excess 13. Apples In Paradise 14. All About Eve 15. Gary 7 16. Beastly Rap 17. Treasure Island 18. Angel Food 19. Earthquake Sky 20. The Audience Is Listening 21. The Murder 22. Juice 23. Whispering A Prayer 24. Taurus Bulba 25. Liberty 26. Answers 27. For The Love Of God Where The Wild Things Are is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and audio CD. For the artist web site go to: http://www.vai.com Favored Nations site: http://www.favorednations.com Steve Vai MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/stevevai ELECTRIC WIZARD, GATES OF SLUMBER added to DAMNATION FESTIVAL DORSET doom heavyweights ELECTRIC WIZARD will level the Jagermeister Stage at this year's Damnation Festival. And the UK standard-bearers of crushing, down-tempo metal will be joined by the Conan-inspired slabs of doom delivered by Indianapolis' GATES OF SLUMBER. The skull-scrapingly heavy combo are added to a bill which already includes Therapy?, Destruction, Jesu, Rotting Christ and Akercocke across three stages which will take place at Leeds University Union on Saturday, October 24. Festival director Gavin McInally said: "From the very first Damnation Festival, Electric Wizard have been continually requested by the fans and after five years of borderline harassment, we're delighted that they'll finally play what promises to be a bowel shuddering set. "It's also a pleasure to host the return to UK soil of Gates Of Slumber who'll bring their old-school crushing doom offerings to the Terrorizer Stage." Damnation Festival will take place at Leeds University Union, on Saturday, October 24, 2009. The line-up so far is: Therapy?, Destruction, Electric Wizard, Jesu, Rotting Christ, This Will Destroy You, Akercocke, A Storm of Light, Mistress, Negura Bunget, Minsk, Extreme Noise Terror, Manatees, Gates of Slumber, And So I Watch You From Afar, Charger, Stand-Up Guy and Rinoa with more bands to be announced. Tickets are on sale now priced at £29.50 from http://www.leedstickets.com/ , http://www.ticketline.co.uk/ and http://www.seetickets.co.uk/ Tickets are also on sale in Leeds at stores including Crash and Jumbo. For more information visit: http://www.damnationfestival.co.uk or http://www.myspace.com/damnationfestival

August 12th, 2009	THE ACCUSED Album + Tour Update! THE ACCUSED's long awaited new full-length, The Curse of Martha Splatterhead, is scheduled for release August 18, 2009 via Southern Lord Records. The band teamed up with Billy Anderson at Seattle's Soundhouse Recording studio to create the epic beast of a long player. With Anderson at the controls, THE ACCUSED have indeed splattered the carnage far and wide. The Curse of Martha Splatterhead -- their first full-length in four years -- features 14 tracks of brutal splatter rock mayhem chock full of the band's trademark buzzsaw-guitar riffs and manic, glass-shard-swallowing vocals. Commented founding guitarist Tommy Niemeyer on the new record, "...old fans of the band will not be disappointed in the feel and intensity on this record... and those who've never really heard THE ACCUSED are in for something like they've never heard before!" Song titles include "The Splatterbeast," "Bodies Are Rising" and "Martha's Disciples." The band will kick off a string of live dates starting at the Supersonic Festival in Birmingham on July 25th with Thorr's Hammer, Corrupted, Skullflower and more. The official record release celebration for The Curse Of Martha Splatterhead is scheduled for August 5th at Neumo's in Seattle where THE ACCUSED will be joined by headliners Sunn O))) as well as Black Breath and Trap Them. THE ACCUSED Tour Dates 7/25/2009 Supersonic Festival - Birmingham, UK w/ Corrupted, Thorrs' Hammer etc. 7/26/2009 Scala - London, UK w/ Corrupted, Thorrs' Hammer 8/05/2009 Neumo’s - Seattle, WA The Curse Of Martha Splatterhead Release Show!!! w/Sunn O))), Black Breath, Trap Them 8/08/2009 Independent - San Francisco, CA w/Sunn O))), Eagle Twin 8/09/2009 Historic Brookdale Lodge - Brookdale, CA w/Sunn O))), Eagle Twin 8/11/2009 Center for Arts, Eagle Rock - Los Angeles, CA w/Sunn O))), Eagle Twin 8/13/2009 Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO w/Sunn O))), Eagle Twin 8/14/2009 Avalon Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT w/Sunn O))), Eagle Twin http://www.myspace.com/kingsofsplatter http://www.splatterrock.com http://www.southernlord.com LION'S SHARE – "behind-the-scenes" video footage Swedish melodic metal masters LION'S SHARE have posted "behind-the-scenes" video footage from the making of their critically acclaimed "Dark Hours" album on their YouTube channel www.youtube.com/darkhours2009 "Dark Hours" grabbed the #3 "Most Added" slot on the CMJ Loud Rock chart and #5 on FMQB's Metal Detector chart, where it also debuted on the metal airplay chart at #50 with a bullet! The video for "Judas Must Die" has been accepted by "Headbanger's Ball" (air date to be announced) and is currently being played on over 100 stations in USA. "Dark Hours", which features a guest appearance by Michael Romeo of SYMPHONY X, was voted "album of the month" in Sweden Rock magazine and made the Top10 in most of the other major European metal publications. "Dark Hours" is out now on BLISTERING RECORDS (Europe & North America) and KING RECORDS (Japan). BAND LINKS: www.lionsshare.org www.myspace.com/lionsshare BLISTERING RECORDS www.blisteringrecords.se http://shop.blisteringrecords.se www.myspace.com/blisteringrecords 3 INCHES OF BLOOD Post New Track Online; Prepare For Massive North American Tour This Fall The world is eagerly awaiting the triumphant return of one of the biggest defenders of traditional heavy metal, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, and the anticipation continues to build to epic proportions. The band's stunning new album, Here Waits Thy Doom, will set the new standard for new heavy metal, so be sure to mark your calendars as this monumental offering is set for a Sept. 8th release. For a small taste of what awaits, head over now to www.myspace.com/3iob to stream the new track, "Call of The Hammer," and look for the band touring throughout North America this fall with In Flames, Between The Buried and Me and The Faceless. Head over to the band's MySpace page to view their complete touring itinerary. Here Waits Thy Doom was tracked in Seattle's Sound House Recordings with renowned producer Jack Endino (High On Fire) and is soon to be hailed as the gospel of all things heavy. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD kick off their lengthy, worldwide touring schedule supporting Here Waits Thy Doom with a few, special headlining Canadian shows kicking off on July 16th. The tour also includes a stop at Comic-Con's Brutal Legend "Metal Meltdown" show; sponsored by Electronic Arts and presented by Vice Magazine, the concert will be held at this year's San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23rd. The show also features headliners GWAR, Unholy Pink and a DJ set from Keith Morris. This is a private event and fans can register online at www.viceland.com/brutallegend and will be admitted based on capacity. Shane Clark (guitars) states: "We've put up a new song on our MySpace page called "Call of the Hammer", this along with the release of the album art will give our fans a little taste of what's to come, we look forward to the album's release in September when we'll be doing our own headlining shows along dates with In Flames - all in all we'll be super fuckin' stoked to be back on the road playing for our fans and getting the metal to the people. Hail." Born out of a love for pure metal, weaned on a diet of fantasy and mythology, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD have been slaying the infidel for nearly a decade. In that time, they've released three albums and splattered the ground with crimson streaks while on tour with such acclaimed acts as Satyricon, Black Dahlia Murder, Motorhead and Cradle of Filth, just to name a few. These are mighty accomplishments for dedicated warriors from Vancouver, British Columbia. With their last album, Fire Up the Blades, the band surpassed even their own manly exploits, crafting a number of undeniable anthems that crash, rip and roar like a Medieval skirmish. In 2009, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD raises the chalice another notch leaving their definitive mark on the metal genre. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD Confirmed Canadian Tour Dates: July 16 - Prince George, BC @ Roll A Dome July 17 - Kamloops, BC @ The Max July 25 - Tofino, BC @ The Tofino Legion July 26 - Courtenay, BC @ The Mex Pub August 8 - Whitehorse, YK @ Coasters Bar and Grill August 22 - Whistler, BC @ Merlin's September 11 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom September 12 - Victoria, BC @ Sugar September 13 - Nanaimo, BC @ Cavallotti Lodge September 16 - Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse www.myspace.com/3iob WHIPLASH - Thrash Metal Hot Sauce Line Available Reactivated New Jersey thrash metallers WHIPLASH have joined forces with From Mild To Wild Hot Sauce Shop to produce and release the first-ever thrash metal hot sauce line. The band says: "This moderate hot sauce should appeal to anyone with taste buds. It's been a favorite of ours for a long time and we're thrilled to be providing it under this label." The "three-sauce gift pack" featuring Power And Pain, Last Nail In The Coffin and Swallow The Slaughter is now available for a limited time only - "Get 'em while they're hot!" For more information visit: http://www.frommildtowild.com/xcart/home.php?cat=24 The band's long-awaited new full-length Unborn Again was scheduled to be release on July 15th via Pulverised Records; the release date has since been pushed back until the end of July. Unborn Again tracklisting: "Swallow The Slaughter" "Snuff" "Firewater" "Float Face Down" "Fight Or Flight" "Pitbulls In The Playground" "Parade Of Two Legs" "Hook In Mouth" "I've Got The Fire" "Feeding Frenzy" The cover artwork was created by Ed Repka (DEATH, ATHEIST, MEGADETH, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, POSSESSED). The LP will be made available in digipack CD/DVD format, which documents the making of Unborn Again. http://www.myspace.com/whiplashusa http://www.myspace.com/pulverisedrecords OF THE ARCHAENGEL reveals track list and details of "The Extraphysicallia" - OF THE ARCHAENGEL is finishing the final touches of their first album, entitled "The Extraphysicallia", which was recently mastered in The Cutting Room (Amon Amarth, Opeth, Gorgoroth, Pain, Paradise Lost, Chrome Division, etc) studios in Sweden. The album will feature the following track list: 01. Black Raven 02. Water Flows Through The Slimy Walls 03. Ascending Coils To Lead 04. Platino 05. Sun Shaped Archangel 06. With the Dragon´s Hand 07. The Silence of the Dead Things 08. Consent to the Devilish Fantasies 09. Leaving the Inebriant Well. The band says "The Extraphysicallia" -- which is a conceptual album -- "sounds like a movie soundtrack, where you can the story evolution in each track, and new details are in each hearing." Besides of these nine tracks, Of The Archaenegl also recorded a cover version for Judas Priest's "Beyond the Realms of Death", which shall be released in a forthcoming edition of this album. The new release date of "The Extraphysicallia" was not announced yet. More information about the band and its forthcoming album are available at www.ofthearchaengel.com and www.myspace.com/ofthearchaengel www.ofthearchaengel.com www.myspace.com/ofthearchaengel Martyr supports Flotsam & Jetsam After a very successful tour with Lizyy Borden last year, and performances at festivals such as "Keep it true" in Germany, Dutch metal cult band Martyr will be supporting Flotsam & Jetsam at their upcoming European tour. News about Martyr will be updated often at the official Martyr website or at the Martyr section of the Rusty Cage Records website. Stay heavy, The Rusty Cage Records Team Rusty Cage Records website REVCO ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN LUBRICATOUR FOR FALL 2009 For the first time in over 20 years, RevCo (p/k/a Revolting Ccks) will embark on a North American headline tour. The LuBriCaTouR in support of the band’s early 2009 release, Sex-O Olympic-O, and the forthcoming remix record, MiXXX-O Olympic-O (more details coming soon). Long known as the eclectic and tongue-in-cheek side project of Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, the seven-week tour kicks off in Jourgensen’s hometown of El Paso, TX with a Sept. 10 performance at Club 101. RevCo’s touring line-up for this trek includes: Josh Bradford (Stayte, Simple Shelter), Sin Quirin (Ministry), Clayton Worbeck (Stayte, Simple Shelter), Aaron Rossi (Ministry, Prong, John5) and Stevie Banch (Spyderbaby). Jourgensen is set to appear at a handful of outings as noted below. Orchestrating the madness is a legendary master of the unceremonious who will be unveiled in mid-August. Appropriately enough, RevCo has invited Blownload as their special guest, as well as Canadian cyberpunks, Left Spine Down, to kick off the evening. Let the LuBriCaTouR begin! PRESALE TICKETS: http://tickets.allaccesstoday.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=557 TOUR DATES ( = with Al Jourgensen) September 10 El Paso, TX Club 101 * 12 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater 13 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre 14 Ft. Collins, CO Aggie Theatre 15 Salt Lake City, UT Club Vegas 17 Couer D'Alene, ID The Grail 18 Seattle, WA Studio Seven 19 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre 20 Portland, OR Dante's 23 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore 25 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick 26 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse 27 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues * October 1 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit 2 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom 3 Kansas City, MO The Beaumont 4 St. Louis, MO The Firebird 6 Chicago, IL House of Blues * 7 Detroit, MI Blondie's 8 Cleveland, OH Peabody's 9 St. Thomas, ON Venue TBA 10 Ottawa, ON Babylon 11 Montreal, QC Venue TBA 12 Toronto, ON Venue TBA 14 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater 16 Worcester, MA The Palladium 17 New York, NY Irving Plaza * 18 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live 20 Jacksonville, FL Jackrabbit's 21 Orlando, FL Firestone 22 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution 23 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre 24 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall 25 New Orleans, LA The Parish Room @ House of Blues 30 Austin, TX Emo's HYPOCRISY: Album Title and Artwork Revealed! HYPOCRISY, the Swedish extreme metal band led by guitarist/vocalist Peter Tägtgren (also of PAIN), has set "A Taste Of Extreme Divinity" as the title of its new album, due on October 23 in Europe and November 3 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. Peter states, "I'm at the end of the recording and mixing; a few songs left to sing on. The rest are done mixing-wise. It's just been too busy with touring and recording bands, and I didn't wanna burn myself out totally." He adds, "We're happy [with] the result so far; it got everything a HYPO album should have in our own point of view." Check out the CD cover artwork by cult artist Necrolord (DISSECTION, EMPEROR, AT THE GATES) here. HYPOCRISY reissued its 2002 album "Catch 22" under the title "Catch 22 V2.0.08" in May 2008. Peter Tägtgren re-recorded the guitar parts, his vocals and remixed and remastered the LP for the new version of the album, which featured bonus material. The band previously stated about its decision to re-release the CD, "We still think it is a great fucking album but it got slammed and misunderstood because of the vocal style and the drum sound and so on." HYPOCRISY's latest album, "Virus", came out in September 2005 via Nuclear Blast Records. Hirax Thrash Metal Shirts HIRAX "THRASH METAL T - SHIRTS" AVAILABLE NOW AT Razamataz.Com Ltd. (WEBSITE LINK). http://www.heavymetalonline.co.uk/acatalog/HIRAX.html PANTHEON I - Worlds I Create The newest display of symphonic savagery from Norwegian metal craftsmen PANTHEON I is upon us! Worlds I Create is the third full-length from these brilliant barbarians, out this month on Candlelight Records. The band, featuring current and ex-members of 1349, Trollfest, Den Saakaldte and more, have dropped jaws on their previous outings, including their previous Candlelight release, 2007's The Wanderer And His Shadow, and the latest opus shall surely carry with it that same reaction. Fueled by blinding whirlwinds of blackened riff and rhythm wizardry, cello-soaked melancholic madness and a an overall riotous, empowering vibe, Pantheon I take their black metal influences to otherworldly levels of intoxication on Worlds I Create, to be released by Candlelight records July 28th. Interviews with the band are available to North American journalists now via Earsplit. Please get in touch with all promo and interview requests. http://www.pantheon-i.com http://www.myspace.com/pantheoni http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com http://www.myspace.com/candlelightrecordsusa Secrets Of The Moon: "Privilegivm" album cover and release date revealed The fourth studio album of Secrets Of The Moon, "Privilegivm", will be released on September 11 in Germany and Austria and on September 14 worldwide. More information about the album soon. The "Privilegivm" track listing: 1. Privilegivm 2. Sulphur 3. Black Halo 4. I Maldoror 5. Harvest Part I: I Forgive Myself Part II: The Tree Of Life Part III: Exsultet 6. For They Know Not 7. Queen Among Rats 8. Descent 9. Shepherd www.prophecyproductions.de Dornenreich: "Nachtreisen" DVD to be released in autumn After a long production period, Dornenreich's first DVD "Nachtreisen" ("Nocturnal Journeys") will finally be available in autumn 2009 (the exact date will be announced soon). The DVD's main content is made up of two concert recordings that represent both sides of Dornenreich: live at Summer Breeze 2007 (metal gig) and live at Wave Gotik Treffen 2007 (acoustic performance). The two additional clips "Dornenreich live 2000 - 2002" and "Recording ‘Her von welken Nächten'" as well as photo galleries with many unreleased pictures will give you exciting glimpses into Dornenreich's history. The DVD has a total length of ca. 115 minutes. In parallel to the "Nachtreisen" DVD, a homonymous double CD with audio versions of both live performances will be released. The WGT recording will also feature a yet unreleased Dornenreich song that's not included on the DVD. Collectors may look forward to a limited deluxe edition of "Nachtreisen" in decorative special packing including both the DVD and the double CD. www.prophecyproductions.de Alcest: recordings of second album to start soon From July 27th, Alcest will be in Markus Stock's Klangschmiede Studio E for three weeks to record the follow-up to their debut album, "Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde". Mix and mastering will be done in September at French Drudenhaus Studio. The new, as-yet-untitled record will consist of six tracks - including new versions of both songs from the deleted EP "Le Secret" - and clock in at around 55 minutes. www.prophecyproductions.de NILE ANNOUNCE “THOSE WHOM THE GODS DETEST” U.S. TOUR Masters of extreme technical death metal NILE are partnering up with long-time friends Immolation and Krisiun as well as Abigail Williams and Dreaming Dead for the first round of American tour dates in support of their new album, scheduled for worldwide release this Fall on Nuclear Blast Records. The 32-date tour commences on January 15th, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. Pre-sale tickets for the “Those Whom The Gods Detest” tour go on sale exclusively at www.EnterTheVault.com today through August 13th. On August 14th, tickets go on sale through all normal ticketing outlets. Guitarist / musical mastermind Karl Sanders spoke with Revolver Magazine earlier this year and said NILE’s sixth full-length album will likely be their most eclectic offering to date: "We're going to some very unexpected places. I've been listening to some oud [Middle Eastern lute] music, Iranian music, and some Hindu stuff, and that stuff's definitely rubbing off on the new songs." Visit NILE online at www.NILE-CATACOMBS.net & www.myspace.com/NILECATACOMBS. ECHOES OF ETERNITY ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM & TRACK LISTING Guitarist / songwriter Brandon S. Patton checks in from Los Angeles about ECHOES OF ETERNITY’s sophomore album: “Working with Logan Mader on As Shadows Burn was amazing. We had a lot of respect for him from the start, given his experience as a professional guitarist with Machine Head in the ‘90s and the great work he's done as a mixer and producer in recent years, the most recent Gojira album being a prime example. The difference between our debut album and this second album is night and day! On the first album, the mix was really uneven and the vocals had WAY too much effects on them. On As Shadows Burn, we captured a much more natural feel as a band. It doesn't sound so fucking processed and stiff. The guitars and drumming are way more aggressive and the band is smokin', with the whole album being slam-packed with killer riffs. The production and mix is a million times better. And Francine [Boucher] delivers an AMAZING vocal performance that is going to make people wake the fuck up. Even if you've made up your mind that you hate female-fronted metal, you are probably going to dig this record because first and foremost, its a KILLER metal record. The title of the album actually came from a line in the chorus of the song ‘Veiled Horizon.’ It was short and evoked strong imagery in our mind. We thought that title would lead to a really cool album cover if we worked with the right artist. And it did. [Brazilian artist] Gustavo Sazes (Old Man’s Child, Firewind, God Forbid) really nailed it! We would love to take this bad boy on the road in 2010. It would be a damned shame if we didn't because we designed this record to fucking kick ass live! We missed a great chance to do a tour at the beginning of next year, so we are hanging tight for the right tour offer so we can get out on the road.” North American release date for As Shadows Burn is September 22nd. The track listing is as follows: 01. Ten Of Swords 02. A Veiled Horizon 03. Memories Of Blood And Gold 04. The Scarlet Embrace 05. Descent Of A Blackened Soul 06. Twilight Fires 07. Buried Beneath A Thousand Dreams 08. Letalis Deus 09. Funeral In The Sky Visit ECHOES OF ETERNITY online at www.myspace.com/ECHOESOFETERNITY GOREAPHOBIA ALBUM The wait is finally over. Philly's underground legends, Goreaphobia are back with a vengeance. A vengeance entitled Mortal Repulsion. This long-awaited full-length debut from one death metal's pioneers is a bludgeoning, yet calculated, masterclass in old-school death metal. In an era where trends, tricks and toddlers have pockmarked our beloved and bloody metal scene with a slew of half-assed efforts, Goreaphobia has taken it upon themselves to reteach a long forgotten lesson in brutality. On August 18th, Goreaphobia and Ibex Moon Records will unleash the beast that is Mortal Repulsion and not a single soul will be spared. www.ibexmoonrecords.com www.goreaphobia.com ARKAEA Unleashes Debut Album Worldwide YEARS IN THE DARKNESS Out TODAY on E1 Music HOLLYWOOD, CA - ARKAEA, featuring members Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers of Fear Factory and Threat Signal, have just finished their debut album YEARS IN THE DARKNESS. The album is out today, July 14, 2009 on E1 Music, formerly KOCH Records. YEARS IN THE DARKNESS was produced by Christian Olde Wolbers and ARKAEA and mixed by legendary Producer Terry Date, best known for his work with the Deftones, Slipknot, White Zombie, Soundgarden and Pantera. The CD was mastered by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound, who also mastered Fear Factory1s gold album, Obsolete. “We are truly proud of this record,” states Olde Wolbers. “Ironically half of the ARKAEA album consists of songs that were intended to be the next Fear Factory record.” Track listing for YEARS IN THE DARKNESS is as follows: Locust Beneath the Shades of Grey Years in the Darkness Gone Tomorrow Awakening Black Ocean Break the Silence Lucid Dreams My Redemption War Within The World As One Rise Today Away From the Sun First song on the album, LOCUST Is available streaming on the band’s Myspace www.myspace.com/arkaeamusic