Old News - July 2009


Old News - July 2009 - Old News - More July 2009 News
July 30th, 2009	GOATWHORE Hits Billboard Top 200 Chart with New Album ‘Carving Out the Eyes of God'! Los Angeles, CA – July 2, 2009 – New Orleans, LA's sons of American no-frills black metal meets death and roll, GOATWHORE, have just broke the Billboard Top 200 chart with their latest release Carving Out the Eyes of God, coming in at #190! In addition to hitting the Top 200 Chart, Carving Out the Eyes of God also debuted on the Billboard Hard Music chart at #33, the Billboard Top New Artist (Heatseekers) Albums chart at #16, and the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart at #34. GOATWHORE also carved out a spot for themselves on Canada's charts coming in at #48 on Independent chart and #79 on Hard chart. BILLBOARD TOP 200 Debut @ #190 Billboard Hard Music Debut @ #33 Billboard Top New Artist (Heatseekers) Albums Debut @ #16 Billboard Top Independent Albums Debut @ #34 About the band: Emerging from the swamplands of New Orleans, Louisiana — a city rich with urban legends of voodoo curses, ghosts and murder — Goatwhore was formed in 1997 by guitarist Sammy Duet (Acid Bath, Crowbar, Ritual Killer etc.). Their history is a winding one marked by lineup shifts, temporary paralysis, haunted studios, and the survival of one of the five most destructive hurricanes in US history. Influenced by the raw savagery of bands like Venom and Celtic Frost, their unrefined, fuck-all approach to black metal first revealed on the Serenades To The Tides Of Blood demo and expanded upon on the now legendary Eclipse Of Ages Into Black debut nearly a decade ago earned the band instant underground credibility. Fresh off a successful US tour as direct support to pagan-loving label-mates Amon Amarth, Goatwhore has now teamed up with Abigail Williams for the Conquer & Curse Tour 2009, which will cover over 60 dates throughout North America. Joining the tour will be Daath, Abysmal Dawn and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky. From there, the band will embark on another US jaunt with Obituary through the fall. In an oversaturated metal landscape where sub-genres spawn sub-sub-genres and the very definition of “metal” seems blurred by cross-pollinating madness, sacred are the bands who stay true to their roots. Goatwhore spew the sort of sinister, fist-clenching, speaker-searing sound that made metal so forbiddingly enticing in the first place. The year of the ‘Whore is truly upon us! Carving out the Eyes of God was released June 23rd, 2009. “Their most varied record to date. Songs sear with an old-school, punk propelled urgency that comes from years of Motorhead, Venom, and Hellhammer worship.” 4/5 Revolver Magazine “the band's tightest, most guitar-driven offering to date. An unholy smorgasbord of rigid tempo shifts, gargantuan hooks, blasting black mass anthems and Falgoust's soot and venom snarl…” Decibel Magazine “The 10 track could make even the most stubborn Nordic black metal fans squirm, as the stabbing and slashing guitars and Ben Falgoust's dark sermon growling never have sounded better.” The Daily News McKeesport “GOATWHORE have gone above expectations this time around…destined to be their version of The Blackening by MACHINE HEAD for their genre as they have perfected their art and this album will turn up in many ‘Best Of' lists for 2009!” perfect 10/10, SMNnews.com “…one of 2009's purest metal albums, one that could very well end up to be considered the quartet's watershed release…nefariously black and sadistically thrashing in a way that is uniquely GOATWHORE.” Blabbermouth.net GOATWHORE is: Ben Falgoust - vocals Sammy Duet - guitar Nathan Bergeron - bass Zack Simmons – drums http://www.myspace.com/goatwhore http://www.goatwhore.net/ METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE The Wacken Open Air in its anniversary year – Sold out and still rocking on! The Wacken Open Air is going to be broadcast live on the Web via live stream again in 2009 – A joint project between ICS Festivalservice, CTS EVENTIM AG, Tempodome.com and rockalarm.de Wacken/Hamburg, – The 20th Wacken Open Air metal festival has been sold out for months already. But fans who couldn't get a ticket shouldn't despair, because the Wacken summer begins in May in Berlin at the "Wacken Rocks Berlin" festival, reaches its climax at the end of July with the legendary Open Air in Wacken and its live stream broadcast from the rock fan's Mecca, and doesn't finish until late in August with the twin festival "Wacken Rocks Seaside" and "Wacken Rocks South" in Aurich and Rieden/Kreuth respectively. So the good news is that there are still tickets available for all three "Wacken Rocks" festivals! The warm-up for the legendary Wacken metal festival kicks off on 30 May in Berlin's Spandau Citadel with the first of three "Wacken Rocks" festivals. "Wacken Rocks Berlin" offers fans acts and artists like Der W, Volbeat, Heaven Shall Burn and D.A.D. Then, at the end of July, the metal world divides up into two camps: the more than 70,000 lucky ones who will rock the earth on site at the 20th Wacken Open Air in Wacken, and the global metal community who will be attending remote via the biggest online metal live stream ever. Because the second piece of good news is that just as in 2008, the music portal rockalarm.de will be broadcasting the festival exclusively on the Internet in collaboration with Tempodome. The transmission begins in the morning and goes on until the early morning. Gigs happening simultaneously on two separate stages will be filmed and broadcast one after the other. In addition to experiencing the concerts in top sound and picture quality, online fans will also be able to chat, vote and headbang in their own four walls. And the virtual road to the festival is well paved too: Tickets for the big weekend are on sale for various prices at www.eventim.de/wacken_en. The three- day pass guarantees at least 40 hours of live programme and costs EUR 6.90 until 15 May ("Early Metalheadz" ticket), EUR 10.90 from 15 May to 15 July ("Wacken Rulez" ticket) and EUR 15.90 from then on ("Headbangers Heaven" ticket). Fans who still have the energy to rock on will then be served the ultimate heavy metal deal at the end of August: The double festival "Wacken Rocks Seaside" and "Wacken Rocks South" will be on almost simultaneously and with identical line-ups in Aurich (28-30 August) and in Rieden-Kreuth (27-29 August). Here, metal fans who couldn't get a ticket for Wacken, or who simply can't get enough, can finish off the festival year with acts like In Extremo, Der W, Edguy, Doro, Heaven Shall Burn, U.D.O, Stratovarius and many many more. The organisers of the Wacken Open Air have joined forces again as they did last year to offer the live stream of the festival together: CTS Eventim AG, Europe's ticketing market leader, is handling the live stream tickets; the interactive live stream specialist Tempodome.com is responsible for the Internet broadcast; and Rockalarm.com, the portal for all fans of hard rock, will be presenting the stream exclusively on its website. "We are very happy that the organisers of the Wacken Open Air have entrusted us with the live Internet broadcast of the festival together with Tempodome and Rockalarm. We invite all metal fans around the world to jump into the biggest virtual mosh pit the world has ever seen!" says Malte Blumenthal, New Media vice president at CTS Eventim AG and CEO of Tempodome.com. "In 2009 we'll be everywhere and online with the entire world," adds Holger Hübner, partner in the Wacken organiser ICS Festival Service. "The Wacken Rocks festivals and the Wacken Online live stream will be rocking the Web again this year!" The programme of the Wacken Online live stream will be published in the weeks to come (updates at www.eventim.de/wacken_en and www.rockalarm.com)

July 26th, 2009	The Vision Bleak in the studio Since the beginning of June, The Vision Bleak are back in Klangschmiede Studio E to record their fourth, as-yet-untitled studio album. "On our new album, we are going to unite the strengths of our three previous records," the band says about the new material. "There will be everything from the straight-on dark rock of our debut album via the atmospheric soundscapes typical of 'Carpathia' to the furious thrash riffs we celebrated on 'The Wolves Go Hunt Their Prey'. And yet, this album is going to contain a few surprises as well!" Further news about the recording process can be found under www.studioe.de and www.the-vision-bleak.de. www.prophecyproductions.de Din Brad: debut album details Negura Bunget drummer Negru is proud to announce "Dor" as the title of the debut album of his folk project Din Brad. "Dor" is a unique Romanian word/concept describing a fundamental characteristic of the local spirit. "Dor" is your heart longing for something you had and then lost, longing for something you wished for yet never had, longing for a person, a place, a time ... "Dor" reflects a Romanian mythical time, in the same way as "Plai" reflects a Romanian mythical space. As a first step in the exploration of local traditional soundscapes, the album "Dor" is composed out of two distinct elements. On one side there are authentic Romanian traditional songs, sung by local performers and recorded in their original environment. On the other side there are some personal visions and reinterpretations of Romanian traditional music, performed and recorded in the studio, some featuring some prestigious guests. Both are mended by the same feeling powering them – "dorul". While the first part is the result of years of investigations into what is still alive today from the Romanian musical and spiritual ancestral traditions, the second part is a personal expression influenced by Din Brad's understanding and living of the lands that gave them birth. The album's release is tentatively scheduled for later this year on Auerbach Tonträger. www.myspace.com/dinbrad www.prophecyproductions.de Secrets Of The Moon: Live "Privilegivm" 2009 Following the release of their fourth studio album "Privilegivm" in September, Secrets Of The Moon will be on an extended tour of Europe and North America. On September 19th, the band sets off on a three-week tour of Europe together with Solstafir and Code, before they head over to the US to join Moonspell and Samael on the "Night Eternal Above America" tour from October 14th to November 11th. Please find the exact dates at the end of this newsletter. www.myspace.com/secretsofthemoon www.prophecyproductions.de IMMOLATION SIGNS WORLDWIDE DEAL WITH NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION have signed a worldwide, multi-album contract with Nuclear Blast Records, who will release the band’s upcoming eighth studio album in early 2010. Commented the band: "We are looking forward to working with Nuclear Blast, a classic label that has become one of the largest driving forces in metal today. We intend to have a new album out for early next year. Expect the new one to have some of the most dark and intense music we've ever put together!" Jaap Wagemaker of the A & R Department at Nuclear Blast’s headquarters in Germany, states: “Nuclear Blast is very proud to announce the signing of IMMOLATION! Few other bands have the ability to embody torment and suffering into their music in the way that IMMOLATION does. By fabricating the essence of agony within their sound, IMMOLATION immerses you into the depths of eternal damnation where you can actually hear them burning within the unquenchable flames. They are the type of band that really put the death back into death metal. We are so stoked to welcome IMMOLATION to the Nuclear family and look forward raising the fires of hell for you once again.” Gerardo Martinez, Label Manager and A & R representative for Nuclear Blast’s USA office, shares the following: “Without sounding nostalgic, 1991’s Dawn Of Possession was definitely the soundtrack of my high school years. Very few bands from that era still make great records and are relevant, and that’s why IMMOLATION fit right in with our roster. We are very proud to have them on board!” The upcoming album will be the third consecutive release featuring the following line-up: Ross Dolan - Bass & Vocals; Robert Vigna – Guitars; Bill Taylor – Guitars; Steve Shalaty – Drums. Visit IMMOLATION online at www.myspace.com/IMMOLATIONNY & www.EVERLASTINGFIRE.com. VADER'S PETER W: "WAR SHOWS WHAT IS THE WORST AND THE BEST IN US" An avid World War II enthusiast, VADER guitarist/vocalist Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek shares his thoughts on “The War” by Kevin Burns and war memorials: “I heard about this documentary and definitely will possess it soon. I like to watch war movies BUT this is way more interesting… to know more about the real war and the men of war. It is so popular today to judge soldiers and whichever side they represent, but unless we see the death of our comrades or fight the enemy in close combat, we can say nothing about war and we should NEVER judge the soldiers. War shows what is the worst and the best in us, indeed. I’ve seen many graves and have visited many war memorials in Europe; just two World Wars left enough of them around. I'm sure there are graves in the U.S., too, 'cause you have a short but bloody enough history. I’ve visited the [U.S. Army Ordnance] Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum [one of the world's best tank museums, located in Maryland] twice and General Patton Memorial in California. I wished we had enough time to see everything more than just venues in the cities we play in.” VADER fans can see photos of Peter W. dressed in his WWII re-enactment regalia here. Information on the North American WWII Historical Re-Enactment Society, Inc. can be viewed here. Poland’s VADER will be headlining the North American “Decibel Presents: Monsters Of Death Tour” with Decrepit Birth, Warbringer, The Amenta, S.W.W.A.A.T.S., and Augury beginning November 4th in Baltimore, Maryland. Pre-sale tickets are available online at www.EnterTheVault.com through July 17th. On July 18th, tickets go on sale through all normal ticketing outlets. Tour dates are available online at the following official VADER websites: www.VADER.pl and www.myspace.com/VADER. VADER’s new album, Necropolis, will be released in the U.S. & Canada on September 22nd as an 11-track jewel case and as a limited edition digi-pak with two bonus tracks + a bonus DVD. Recorded at Hertz Studios in Bialystok, Poland with the Wieslawski Bros., Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Aborted) mixed the album at Antfarm Studios in Denmark. Cover artwork is by Jacek Wisniewski. STORMENTAL presents heavy metal with contemporary music on new video clip - Brazilian metallers STORMENTAL launched a video clip for "In Front of You", the first single of their forthcoming CD/DVD, which shall be released between September and October. The album is a soundtrack made for "Perception of the Other" show, created in a partnership with Siedler Cia. de Dança de Florianópolis (Siedler dance company), mixing heavy metal and contemporary music, which won FUNARTE's Klaus Vianna award. According to the band, "'Perception of the Other' is based in human perceptions and 'In Front of You' is about searching distance places, which, sometimes, are just in front of you." The vide clip, directed by Antonio Rossa, can be watched at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e8OxcjPm1Q Stormental www.stormental.com.br www.myspace.com/stormental INFERNAL ANGELS joins My Kingdom Music With great honour MY KINGDOM MUSIC welcomes its new top act: INFERNAL ANGELS. The only true pretenders to the throne of the Italian Black Metal have signed a deal for the release of their new album "Midwinter Blood" that will see the pale light of the cruel world on Sept. 28, 2009. Expect an album that will be a masterpiece of epic violence, rotten vocals and obscure melodies with a very personal sound and a great production. It's a must for all fans of Taake, Dissection, Gorgoroth, Naglfar and old Aeternus, an Epic masterpiece of pure incontaminated Italic Infernal Black Metal You must have it! - Tracklist 1. Prologus Odii - 2. Melody Of Pain - 3. Midwinter Blood - 4. Coronation Of Dark Victory - 5. Conquering The Throne Of Sin - 6. A New Era Is Coming - 7. Tutto Quel Che Rimane - 8. Sangue - 9. Inesorabile - 10. Epilogus Humanitatis sample on www.myspace.com/infernalangels Metal Blade Records signs We Are The End! Los Angeles, California's We Are The End has inked a deal with Metal Blade Records! A relatively new addition to the SoCal scene, the band came together in June of 2008 with the timely meeting of Brandyn Love and Shaun-Matthew Paramore, and the eventual addition of vocalist, Spencer Aragon, guitarist Mychal Wright, and drummer David Crough. The band has been locked away in their practice space since April writing their debut full length, which will see an early 2010 release. We Are The End comments: "We are proud to join and contribute to the industry standard for extreme music that is Metal Blade Records. Their reputation for developing and caring for their artists has preceded them. After some time of searching we have finally found our home." "We Are The End are the ultimate extreme in Metal! Young, aggressive and uncompromising. Over 1.3 MILLION people have already experienced their audio assault on myspace. Metal Blade Records is pleased to have this band on our label and expect to see their new album in early 2010." Metal Blade We Are The End is: Spencer Aragon - vocals Brandyn Love - guitars Mychal Wright - guitars Shaun-Matthew Paramore - bass David Joseph Crough - drums The band will be recording their debut at Eck Studios, with producer Christopher Eck. The band is currently booking tours for later this year. Updates coming soon! http://www.myspace.com/wearetheendx http://www.wearetheendmerch.bigcartel.com http://www.youtube.com/user/wearetheendTV METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE ABSU Forced To Cancel Dallas/Ft. Worth Appearance - June 29, 2009 ABSU’s scheduled Ft. Worth, TX performance tonight has been canceled due to their tour bus breaking down earlier today outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The show, the final on the band’s current tour, was to feature Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and a “special guest.” The band has already confirmed with the promoter for tonight’s show that the performance will be rescheduled later this summer and anyone who purchased tickets will have them successfully redeemed for the rescheduled performance. The band will perform at this weekend’s Hostile City Festival in Philadelphia. Tickets are available http://www.etix.com. For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/hostilecitydeathfest or http://www.hostilecitydeathfest.com. http://www.myspace.com/absu http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Sathanas News You can check out clips from Sathanas on their European tour at www.myspace.com/paganrecords "Dark Circus" due out July 21st Rotting Corpse Records recording artists, TEMPLAR, are ecstatic to announce their latest, Dark Circus. It is now out for pressing and will be available Tuesday, July 21st, 2009. This is the Australian Darkwave Metal band's follow-up album from 2008's licensed release, Preaching to the Perverted. Their single, "Welcome to the Show" can be viewed via the link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFxBjB77Wa4 TEMPLAR is: DAN YOHAN - Vocals,Guitars RAFAEL - Bass, Synthesizers TOAD - Vocals, Screams SY MON - Drums MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/paradoxxmuzic "Scribings of a Forgotten Soul" to be Released July 21st American gothic/doom metallers URN have completed work on their third album, titled "Scribings of a Forgotten Soul", for a July 21st, 2009 release via Rotting Corpse Records, the band’s second release with the label. The cover and all artwork were created by Corvis Nocturnum also who runs The Ninth Gate magazine and the layout was done by Connie Bergmann of DarkWind Studios. "Scribings of a Forgotten Soul" was mixed and mastered by Dan Precision at Bombshelter Studios (Rise Against, Naked Raygun) in Chicago, IL whom they also collaborated with on their successful and critically-acclaimed 2006 release “Dancing with the Demigods”. Rev. Thomas Thorn of The Electric Hellfire Club also appears as guest vocal for the upcoming album on the song "Hero Worship". URN frontman Dominic St. Charles had played guitar and did backing vocals with the Electric Hellfire Club back in late 1999 to 2000 around the "Witness of the Millennium" album and its subsequent touring and the two have remained very close over the years. Jape Peratalo, formerly of Finland’s melancholy rock outfit, To/Die/For was also scheduled to do a guest vocal appearance, but with To/Die/For’s recent disbanding, schedules didn’t coincide and both sides have mutually agreed to re-schedule for him to appear on a future URN release. The track listing for the CD is as follows: 1. Absolution 2. Voices of Reason 3. Ambivalence 4. Hero Worship 5. Reckoning Hour 6. In My Mind’s Eye 7. Dancing on the Day of the Dead 8. Confessional 9. No Man’s Land 10. Repentance 11. Final Kiss Goodnight 12. Solemn in a Prostrate Pose St. Charles gave insight on the band’s new album which will be a concept album based on a true story of several individuals that were in his life that were directly involved in a prison riot at state correctional facility in a nearby town from where he attended high school. “Think of it as a “Law & Order” approach to the story we are telling here. Of course, all of the characters are completely fictitious and do not represent any person living or dead. It was a major event that shook my community at the time and my best friend’s father was the night shift supervisor. So a couple of months before it happened he took a group of me and my friends on tour of the prison at 2:30 a.m. (we thought it would be interesting to do). The experience of seeing all that was going on from the inside from many perspectives, the prisoners, the guards, etc., ended up being highly enlightening for me. So when the riot broke out it was hitting very close to home and I had been doing a good bit of writing at the time and decided to chronicle these events. So in essence, that is what this album is about a fictional depiction of this event. We are very excited for the release this album as it has been a work in progress for many years now and we thank Rotting Corpse Records for their continued dedication behind us." URN recently returned from being a direct support act for Tarja (Turunen formerly of Nightwish) along with their good friends The Eternal from Australia for her North America leg of her “Storm Returns to America” tour. Defiance By Jack Starr's Burning Starr Now Available On MP3! Defiance by Jack Starr's Burning Starr is now available for sale online in high-quality, DRM-free, MP3 format only at The Kingdom Of Steel Online Store. The downloadable version of the EP will contain the same content as the original CD. Keep posted to http://www.magiccirclemusic.com/ for more information and look for Jack Starr's Burning Starr at Magic Circle Festival III at the Loreley on the Rhine River on July 18, 2009. For tickets and details visit http://www.magiccirclefestival.com/. Links: Magic Circle Festival Website The Essential Shred Guitar Collection By Joe Stump Now Available On MP3! The Essential Shred Guitar Collection by Joe Stump is now available for sale online in high-quality, DRM-free, MP3 format only at The Kingdom Of Steel Online Store. The downloadable version of the EP will contain the same content as the original CD. Keep posted to http://www.magiccirclemusic.com/ for more information and look for Joe Stump on tour with HOLYHELL and MANOWAR on the Death To Infidels Tour 2009. For tour dates and details visit http://www.magiccirclefestival.com/. Links: Magic Circle Festival Website The World Reacts To "Father" The response to "Father" has been phenomenal! The first song released on MANOWAR's new EP "Thunder in the Sky" was recorded in 16 languages and included as a Bonus CD. As soon as the fans heard their respective languages, the mail started pouring in! "Hi, my name is Ayten Karasakal from TURKEY. I am 15 years old. I love your BABA/FATHER song. I love MANOWAR so much. You are the greatest. You'll always carry heavy metal's flag. We want to see you in Turkey! Please, please, please, please, please come to Turkey. Thanks for your Turkish song." "There is no such words, that can express my feelings when I listen to this song in my national language. It was a great idea to record it in so many languages. I think that you gave a feeling of being special to all fans, if not, you gave it to me. Congratulations to Eric for singing in Polish, because it's quite difficult for foreigners to even speak in it. You did very well, Eric! My woman said that she would like to sing this song to her parents on the day of our wedding. I'm sure I'll do it with her cause I sing in band and it would be great to sing it in two voices! hehe... Manowar song on my wedding party. Just thinking about it is making me crazy! HAIL TO YOU ALL!!!" Merin "I want to thank you for amazing show you did Finland at Provinssi rock. I watched a documentation about the song Father on Finnish fan page of Manowar and you talked about the song and how it touches many with its message. The lyrics truly are touching and compelling, I don't know whether you write your songs from your own experiences or not, but the song is really profound. To me this song is important because I'm not that close to my father and the lyrics don't really reflect the relationship between me and my father, but Eric's voice and the sound of this track makes me feel content that I even have a father. I want to say you that your songs touch me deeply and help me carry on." "Hail from Romania! My name is Mihai Popescu , I am 16 years old. You are the truly kings of metal. This song, Father [TATA], WOW it's... like I don't know how to say, but my grandfather has listened to it and he loves this song, and he doesn't listen to metal. He lost his father in WW2. Anyway... you are the first band doing this...and this is absolutely awsome." "Father" is available at all festivals on the "Death to Infidels Tour 2009" recorded in German, Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Norwegian, Spanish, French, Greek, Turkish, Polish, Japanese, Croatian, Portuguese and Finnish. Along with "Thunder in the Sky" the new EP. It is also available for sale online in high-quality, DMR-free, MP3 format only at The Kingdom Of Steel Online Store. The downloadable version of the EP contains the exact same content as the version on sale during the tour: Thunder In The Sky, God Or Man, Let The Gods Decide, Father, Die With Honor, The Crown And The Ring (2008) and 16 versions of "Father." Watch the "Father" video here. Be sure to share it with yours! Hail and Kill! Links: Official MANOWAR Website Odium Release ‘At The Bottom’ Video Walkerton, Ontario based Odium have posted their video for the track “At The Bottom” at the following location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KimK01YmjPY . The video was directed by Chad Archibald of Black Fawn Films at and old abandoned farm house in Guelph, Ontario. “The video looks phenomenal. Chad Archibald did an amazing job executing the vision he had for the song and that’s why he is one of the best video directors in the scene right now,” says Odium’s Dale Burrows. “The abandoned house looked like it was straight out of The Blair Witch Project with all kinds of graffiti on walls and all the windows had been smashed out. Everything for the video turned out incredible and we’re excited for people to finally see it.” Odium’s debut album was produced by Greg Dawson (The End, Moneen) and was released through Year of the Sun Records. The group’s brand of melodic metal has drawn comparisons to Killswitch Engage, All That Remains and In Flames. Fans can sample tracks from “At The Bottom” online at www.MySpace.com/OdiumMusic Odium will embark on an East Coast tour with Aquila starting July 3rd and will play select dates with Misguided Aggression in August. ODIUM TOUR DATES: JULY 03 - Hamilton, ON @ Doors Pub w/ AQUILA 05 - Thetford, QC @ Bar Ti-Noir w/ AQUILA 07 - Fredericton, NB @ Capital Winter Club w/ AQUILA 11 - Sussex, NB @ Jubilee Hall w/ AQUILA 12 - Trois Riviere, QC @ Le Rock Cafe w/ AQUILA 13 - Rimouski, QC @ Petit Pavillion w/ AQUILA 14 - Sherbrooke, QC @ Le Tremplin w/ AQUILA 15 - Whitby, ON @ Johnny B's w/ AQUILA 17 - Toronto, ON @ Duffy's Tavern w/ AQUILA 18 - Hamilton, ON @ Club Absinthe w/ AQUILA 19 - Windsor, ON @ Chubby Pickle w/ AQUILA 22 - Toronto, ON @ Kathedral 24 - Hamilton, ON @ Club Absinthe 25 - Grand Bend, ON @ Grand Bend Legion AUGUST 01 - Ingresoll, ON @ CAW Hall 14 - Toronto, ON @ The Reverb 15 - Woodstock, ON @ Woodshack w/ MISGUIDED AGGRESSION 16 - Toronto, ON @ The Reverb www.YearOfTheSun.com www.myspace.com/OdiumMusic DELAIN Album Released Today In North America; Interviews Available The much anticipated second album from Delain is finally here! Originally conceived by ex-Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt as an all-star studio project, the success of the debut album Lucidity tipped his hand and Delain evolved into a full blown active band. With Charlotte Wessels on vocals, Ronald Landa on guitar and grunt vocals, Sun Caged bassist Rob Vander Loo, and Sander Zoer on drums, Delain took Europe by storm. The band initially opened for many acts including sister band Within Temptation, and performed at numerous festivals. Ultimately they became a headliner in their own right. With that behind them they went into the studio to create their sophomore opus, April Rain. Martijn Westholt is clearly at the helm - the epic symphonic sounds that he brought to Within Temptation and Delain’s debut are obvious. There are differences though...engineer Jacob Hansen's mix slams with immediacy and crunch. With all the band members now contributing, a clear style has been defined. April Rain also benefits from the guest performances of Nightwish bassist Marco Hietala who sings male vocals on two tracks, as well as world renowned cellist Maria Ahn. The comparisons to Within Temptation and Nightwish will continue but it's evident that Delain has come up with a sound that stands on its own. April Rain is THE symphonic gothic metal album of 2009. The album debuted on the Dutch Top 100 album charts at #14, and at #1 on the Dutch Alternative Charts. The band just completed a tour as direct support for Kamelot, which was immediately followed by their European headlining tour. Licensed from Roadrunner Records, who released the album in Europe and Japan, we are able to offer a digipak edition, with the exclusive bonus track "Come Closer". http://www.delain.nl http://www.myspace.com/delainmusic http://www.lasersedgegroup.com I'm Better Than Everyone To Release EYEHATEGOD Vinyl New Orleans' EYEHATEGOD have spent the last two decades at odds with a corrupt music industry, using their music as a proverbial middle finger aimed at everything from government officials to sanctimonious shitheads hiding behind organized religion. They have defied all odds and continue to exist and persist despite personal and professional setbacks, from drug addiction to natural disasters. In the midst of all this turmoil EYEHATEGOD have become the high water mark when it comes to "sludge metal," having birthed rock's unholy bastard feasting on the teat that Black Sabbath and Black Flag built. They became the cornerstone for countless of sonic acolytes following in their fetid footsteps and continue to inspire bands around the world. Confederacy of Ruined Lives is their fourth and latest studio album, released in late 2000. I'm Better Than Everyone Records is extremely proud and honored to collaborate with EYEHATEGOD and finally give this a vinyl release, the way it was intended to be heard, without compromises nor excuses: A beautiful fuck you to all the non-believers. Confederacy of Ruined Lives is slated for an August release. Stay tuned for further details. http://www.myspace.com/eyehategod http://www.imbetterthaneveryonerecords.com http://www.myspace.com/imbetterthaneveryonerec MELECHESH - OFFER UPDATE ON NEW ALBUM Ashmedi and Moloch are locked up in Sulphonic recording studio in Rotterdam working on demos for the follow up to Emissaries, the 5th MELECHESH album and first for Nuclear Blast Records. The band are aiming to keep the album Multi dimensional when it comes to the atmosphere of the songs, one of the new elements will be a couple of songs written and recorded entirely with 12 strings electric guitars. Ashmedi will then head to Istanbul where he will meet prominent musicians there so as to explore the eastern musical traditions of the city. Commented Ashmedi: "Istanbul is a place where Eastern and Western Music have been perfectly interwoven for decades, and it is a great place to absorb musically and spiritually as Istanbul also has a very fascinating occult side to it as well!" Tools of the Trade productions also followed Ashmedi with the camera to Hellfest and documented some moments for the upcoming documentary "Ashmedi: A Metal Disporant" as well. Photos: Onstage, signing session, interview can be viewed here. (thanks Jorzine, photos by Will of death and Tools of the Trade) Melechesh MySpace Page Melechesh Facebook Page FENDER and HEAVENWOOD Fantastic Contest. WIN A JAZZ BASS NOW!!!! Fantastic news to all HEAVENWOOD fans and friends around the world !!! FENDER Musical Instruments and HEAVENWOOD started a musical contest regarding HEAVENWOOD music. To Win it’s simple, very simple !!! HEAVENWOOD and FENDER Ibérica have a FENDER Squier Vintage Modified Jazzbass 75 Natural to offer to the Best HEAVENWOOD musical instrument interpretation. First of all you have to choose your favorite HEAVENWOOD song and play it with the instrument you like most ( example: Drums, vocals, Guitar, Piano, Violin, etc ) then you must record it with a cam with good sound quality and upload it to YOUTUBE and send us the Video LINK to heavenwood.band@gmail.com or to our mail at HEAVENWOOD’s Official Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/heavenwood). Very Important !!! Don’t forget to send us your first and last name, country, city, phone number and mail for contact !!! The address will be asked only for the winner ! Male or Female, Young or Old the only demand for this contest is to enjoy music and HEAVENWOOD !!! The contest it’s already running and will finish at the 29th August when HEAVENWOOD will play in the amazing ILHA do Ermal Fest with Obituary, Firewind, Blind Guardian, Angra and many more !!! Tune your instrument and tune yourself !!! Good Luck and Check this Hot Prize at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvW-fn8m2WA Mile Marker Zero Releases Debut Album Today Self-titled Album Pushes The Progressive Rock Envelope New York, NY – – The members of the Central Connecticut-based band MILE MARKER ZERO are charged up about the release of their self-titled full-length debut, out today. The ten song opus was recorded in upstate New York at Applehead Studios (Coheed & Cambria, Straylight Run) and boasts a compilation of the bands best work to date together with some newly created epic tracks. Recently awarded four stars by Prog-Rock website SeaofTranquility.org for their “superlative musicianship, and lyrical ability,” MILE MARKER ZERO’s songs are epic and ambitious, filled with unconventional arrangements and challenging rhythms, yet they also flow with powerful melodies and memorable choruses. Unique too are the bands with which MMZ has shared the stage – from Queensryche’s Geoff Tate and Porcupine Tree to Spock’s Beard and The Disco Biscuits. “This album signifies a lot of hard work and effort that comes out of your speakers calculated and finely tuned not just for the satisfaction of the artist but for the ears of the fans as well.” A+ -Shakefire.com Upon speaking about the band’s debut release, keyboardist Mark Focarile had this to say, “We're really excited for the release of this album. For years the band has been working towards this release with constant dedication, looking to better both our songwriting and live performance. Today is not only the release date of our first album, but the starting point of what we hope is a long, prolific career.” In support of the album the band recently wrapped up their first-ever television appearance for the nationally syndicated Fox TV music show- Fearless Music TV. With an air date to be announced shortly the band is truly excited for the national on-air exposure. More immediately, fans are encouraged to check out an exclusive acoustic performance and interview on Real Magic TV with magician/host Jon Krackehl which will broadcast LIVE this Wednesday, July 1st at 9pm EST www.RealMagicTV.com For more information on how to purchase MILE MARKER ZERO please visit www.myspace.com/mmz or www.milemarkerzero.com FOREFATHER T-shirt and news The FOREFATHER "Steadfast" T-shirt* is now available again at the Seven Kingdoms webshop. - Visit www.seven-kingdoms.com and click on "shop". All T-shirt purchases come with a free FOREFATHER logo patch while stocks last In other news: * The "Deep Into Time" and "The Fighting Man" albums are now available for download via www.metalhit.com ("Steadfast" still available). Availability through other online retailers will follow in the coming weeks. * FOREFATHER have recorded a new song which is now in the final stages of mastering. This song will be made available via download soon, so watch out for news www.seven-kingdoms.com kingdoms449@aol.com WEEDEATER Confirmed To Support North American DOWN Tour That is right, sound the alarms: North Carolina's sludge pillagers WEEDEATER have been confirmed as support for a full-on North American DOWN tour! The lineup changes throughout the routing; The Canadian dates feature secondary support from VOIVOD, while the bulk of the American dates feature THE MELVINS. Other opening support for the tour will be DANAVA for the first half and EVIL ARMY for the latter half of the dates. WEEDEATER will play several shows in North Carolina and Tennessee on the way to the opening and after the closing of the tour, and will headline sporadically in chunks throughout the main tour. And of course they will do what they do best: sonically reduce every venue they enter to a resin-coated heap of rubble. WEEDEATER's latest album God Luck And Good Speed was released in 2007 on Southern Lord Recordings; a deluxe double LP version just released in 2009. They have ruled the stage with their filth-mongering approach within the doom, stoner and metal circuits for over a decade now, and it appears things are about to get a whole lot filthier for us all. WEEDEATER live: 7/28/2009 Drips' - Hickory, NC 7/29/2009 Rocket Club - Asheville NC 7/30/2009 The Muse - Nashville TN w/Zoroaster 7/31/2009 Hi Tone Cafe - Memphis TN w/Rwake, The Lewd, Royal Thunder 8/01/2009 Diamond Ballroom - Oklahoma City OK w/Down, Danava 8/03/2009 Beaumont Club - Kansas City MO w/Down, Danava 8/04/2009 The Venue at Playmaker's - Fargo ND w/Down, Danava 8/05/2009 Burton Cummings Theatre - Winnipeg MB w/Down, Voivod, Danava 8/07/2009 Edmonton Events Centre - Edmonton MB w/Down, Voivod, Danava 8/08/2009 MacEwan Hall - Calgary AB w/Down, Voivod, Danava 8/10/2009 Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver BC w/Down, Voivod, Danava 8/11/2009 Showbox SoDo - Seattle WA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/12/2009 Roseland Theater - Portland OR w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/14/2009 Grand Ballroom - San Francisco CA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/15/2009 The Wiltern - Los Angeles CA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/16/2009 House of Blues - San Diego CA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/18/2009 House of Blues - Anaheim CA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/19/2009 House of Blues - Las Vegas CA w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/21/2009 In The Venue - Salt Lake City UT w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/22/2009 Gothic Theatre - Denver CO w/Down, Melvins, Danava 8/24/2009 Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO 8/28/2009 Red 7 - Austin, TX w/Dixie Witch 8/29/2009 Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar - San Antonio, TX w/Dixie Witch 8/30/2009 Walters On Washington - Houston, TX w/Dixie Witch 9/01/2009 CW Center Stage - Atlanta GA w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/02/2009 House of Blues - Lake Bueno Vista FL w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/03/2009 Brass Mug -Tampa, FL 9/06/2009 Volume 11 Tavern - Raleigh, NC 9/07/2009 The Half Shell - Virginia Beach, VA 9/08/2009 Sonar - Baltimore MD w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/09/2009 Northern Lights - Clifton Park NY w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/11/2009 Nokia Theatre Times Square - New York NY w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/12/2009 Electric Factory - Philadelphia PA w/Down, Evil Army 9/13/2009 House of Blues - Boston MA w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/14/2009 AS220 - Providence, RI 9/15/2009 Webster Theater - Hartford CT w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/16/2009 Main Street Armory - Rochester NY w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/18/2009 Koolhaus - Toronto ON w/Down, Voivod, Evil Army 9/19/2009 Emerald Theatre - Detroit MI w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/21/2009 The Vogue Theatre - Indianapolis IN w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/22/2009 House of Blues - Cleveland OH w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/24/2009 Sokol Auditorium - Omaha NE w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/25/2009 Pop's - Sauget IL w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/26/2009 The Pearl Room - Mokena IL w/Down, Melvins, Evil Army 9/28/2009 Jackpot - Lawrence, KS 9/29/2009 The Gypsy - Fayetteville, AR 10/02/2009 The Jinx - Savannah, GA 10/03/2009 Soapbox - Wilmington, NC w/ASG http://www.myspace.com/weedeater http://www.southernlord.com http://blog.southernlord.com http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings http://www.tonedeaftouring.com Mercyful Fate to release new versions of “Evil” and “Curse Of The Pharaohs” on iTunes! As many of you already know, Mercyful Fate's Evil is featured as a playable track on Guitar Hero: Metallica. Mercyful Fate re-recorded these two tracks specifically for the game because the original masters no longer exist. Now, the band is making both available to fans to purchase on iTunes! These versions were recorded at Earplug Studio in Copenhagen and Nomad Recording Studio in Dallas, Texas. They were both mastered by Andy LaRocque at his Sonic Train Studio in Sweden. King Diamond comments: “It was a lot of fun to get a chance to re-record "Evil" and "Curse of the Pharaohs" from our 1983 "Melissa" album. It was cool to go into the studio and try to figure out all the various harmony vocals and see if I could still do them. The other guys had a lot of fun with this project too, and the whole thing turned out much better than we could have hoped for. Everyone nailed their performances and Hank's solos were even slightly improved. Everything is right where it should be and with a much better sound! The “feel” was there and all of the guys - Hank, Denner, Timi and Bjarne are all naturals. The versions that will be up on iTunes were mastered by Andy LaRocque and even with a 2009 sound, there's no doubt that these songs were recorded by Mercyful Fate!” If you have yet to check out Guitar Hero: Metallica - make sure you do! King Diamond himself is a playable character in the game once you unlock the Evil track! Plus, a video of King Diamond's on-stage performance with Metallica at Ozzfest 2008 in Dallas is included as a bonus feature in the game. Evil and Curse Of The Pharaohs will be available for fans to purchase digitally on July 14th. A special edition picture disc vinyl single will be available on September 1st! http://www.myspace.com/kingdiamond http://www.covenworldwide.org METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE Ironclad Recordings Signs ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE: Set To Release Debut Album ‘Defeat' in the US & Canada! Los Angeles, CA – Ironclad Recordings, founded by Unearth vocalist Trevor Phipps, is pleased to announce the signing of Chico California's ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE; a band featuring the talents of former members of Will Haven, The Abominable Iron Sloth, and Ghostride. Ironclad Recordings is set to release ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE's debut full-length studio album Defeat in the US and Canada on September 15th, 2009 with SOAR releasing this behemoth of an album in Europe. Defeat was recorded during two different sessions in late 2008 at the Pus Cavern in Sacramento, CA and Heirloom Studios in Chico, CA, with Matt Pedri engineering. Mixing and mastering for Defeat was handled by Eric Stenman (Saves The Day, Will Haven, Senses Fail, Far, Forever The Sickest Kids, Dashboard Confessional, Thrice) with cover art being tackled by renowned artist Matt Loomis, who has done cover art for Abominable Iron Sloth and the Makai in addition to merch designs for Mastodon and The Red Chord. Trevor Phipps of Ironclad Recordings comments; "these guys are just ridiculously heavy with one of the darkest and meanest sounds in metal today. Get ready to be crushed." "We couldn't be more excited as a band to sign with Ironclad Recording. They have been loyal and honest with us from the very beginning, which is all too rare in this business. They are the only label that told us to keep getting heavier! What more can you ask for as a metal band?!" comments ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE Derek Kerswill, drummer of Unearth, who recently played dates with ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE after his band finished their US tour with Testament, had this to say about the band; "ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE gave me this dirty, unsettling feeling…that was so emotionally dark that my insides were crawling out of me. I guess they stirred some genuine emotion in me because I FELT IT." The musical talents of ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE, featuring former members of Will Haven, The Abominable Iron Sloth, and Ghostride, can best be described as a racket akin to the gates of hell opening; mixing the sludgy, down-tuned heavy riffs of Crowbar and Eyehategod with the white noise assault of Cursed, and the death metal groove of Entombed. Guitarist/vocalist Cayle Hunter explains; “we don't want to be faster or tougher than anybody else. We just want to make heavy music that is UNDENIABLE when you hear it." ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE's, or A4A, monstrous new album Defeat will be released September 15th, 2009 followed by a full touring schedule so be sure to keep up with the band on MySpace and Twitter for dates and other announcements. To get a taste of what A4A's album Defeat will sound like, check out the new song 'We Fell from the Bottom,' which is currently up on the band's MySpace page HERE Current tour dates: 07/01 Seattle, WA The Rendezvous/Jewelbox Theater w/ Heiress 07/02 Portland, OR Tony V's Garage 07/03 Eugene, OR Epic Space w/ Necryptic Jean Grey 07/25 Chico, CA The Senator 10 for $10 Tour w/ Poison the Well, Terror, Bane, and more 08/07 Chico, CA La Salles 08/22 Eugene, OR Epic Space w/ The Funeral Pyre And so ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE could stay in constant communication with their fans, the band started up a Twitter account so make sure to follow the guys at www.twitter.com/AforA ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE is: Kirk Williams - vocals/guitar Cayle Hunter - guitar/vocals Corey Vaspra - bass/vocals Nick Harris - drums http://www.myspace.com/armedforapocalypsesludge METAL BLADE WEBSITE \| METAL BLADE MYSPACE SHOCKING CHOCOLATE CONCERT The HELL ON EARTH Chocolate Syrup Wrestling show and live videos are on YouTube now. CLICK HERE to see which HELL ON EARTH HOTTIE gets pinned and who will win the Title Belt. Their new single “Right As Rain" will be released on 09/09/09. For up to the minute updates go to www.hellonearth.net