AJATTARA, the Finnish "black/dark metal" project featuring former AMORPHIS frontman Pasi Koskinen (a.k.a. Ruoja), will release a special two-song Christmas single in Finland on November 24. Three copies of the single — containing the tracks "Ilon Päivä" and "Hei Tonttu-Ukot Hyppikää" — will include a special voucher entiting the holder to the traditional Finnish Christmas ham courtesy of the band's record label, Spinefarm Records. Owners of three other specially marked copies of the single will receive AJATTARA's catalog autographed by the band.
AJATTARA recently issued their third album, "Tyhjyys" ("Emptiness") through through the Spinefarm Records subsidiary Spikefarm. Recordings for the CD took place at Savonlinna's Sundi Coop studio, where AJATTARA recorded their earlier releases, "Itse" (2001) and "Kuolema" (2003).
October 28, 2004... Accept reunion confirmed! Late yesterday morning I recieved two e-mails directing me to the rock hard site which mentions a one show Accept reunion? I held off on posting anything on this site because I was hoping for some more concrete confirmation. This is strange for a couple reasons. First of all, one of the terms that I agreed with Wolf on before I interviewed him was to not ask him reunion questions. He was tired of being asked. Second of all, an announcement as blockbuster as this, why has it just been announced in one place? I thought this might have all be a mistake. I e-mailed Wolf yesterday afternoon and got this reply early this morning!
No misprint here...
It's true : We are going to play some festival shows next summer in Europe. Original good ol' Accept.
BURZUM mastermind Varg Vikernes recently gave a rare and lengthy interview to the Russian BURZUM site Burzum.org about his escape from prison last year, his political views and the possibility of a BURZUM resurrection at some point in the future. You can read it ' .
Legendary Swedish guitarist YNGWIE MALMSTEEN has signed a record deal with Universal Japan. U.S. and Europe label details are to be announced soon. Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW) has just completed his vocal parts for Malmsteen's new album, and now Yngwie and Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA, VAN HALEN, AEROSMITH) are in the mixing stages, according to a posting on Yngwie's web site. No further details are currently available.
ENFORSAKEN's video for the track "Poison Me" has been posted online at the Autumn's End Entertainment web site. Check it out: ' '
As previously reported, the Arlington Heights, Illinois-based death metallers' latest album, "The Forever Endeavor", was released in Japan on September 29 through Soundholic Records. The Japanese pressing of the CD includes four additional "bonus" tracks — three previously unreleased numbers and a cover of CARCASS' "Incarnated Solvent Abuse".
"The Forever Endeavor" was released in March through Century Media/Olympic Records.
Italian traditional heavy metallers MESMERIZE have completed the recording process for their fourth album, tentatively due in February 2005 through Dragonheart Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Off the Beaten Path" is being recorded in part at drummer Andrea Garavaglia's Octopussy studio with engineer Giovanni Spinotti, who has previously worked with LABYRINTH. Songtitles set to appear on the as-yet-untitled album include "The Burn", "Princess of the Wolves", "Bitter Crop", "Hot Lead, Cold Steel", "Field of Heroes", "Bloody Mary", "Best Place for a Knife", "Windchaser", "Triumph of the Darksword", "Lure of the Temptress" and "Monkeys In Sunday Best".
WAYSTED, the reunited semi-obscure mid-'80s British heavy metal outfit led by former UFO bassist Pete Way (hence the spelling of the group's name), have a new CD available to order via their newly launched web site.
Entitled "Back from the Dead", the album contains the following track listing:
01. The Alternativa 02. Garden of Eden 03. Dreams Don't Work Out 04. Must B More 2 It Than This 05. Price of Love 06. Breakfast Show 07. I'm Gonna Love Ya 08. Lost in Cleveland Bonus tracks on Japanese release: 09. No Place to Run 10. The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent
Finnish metallers PAIN CONFESSOR have uploaded their video for the track ' . The "Lake of Regret" clip was directed by Vesa Vainio of Vasara Productions, who have previously worked with MOKOMA, "one of the best thrashy metal acts hailing from Finland," according to a posting on PAIN CONFESSOR's web site. "Lake of Regret" comes off PAIN CONFESSOR's debut album, "Turmoil", available now through Megamania Records. PAIN CONFESSOR, who feature former members of such groups as A.R.G., JANE DOE 69 and NONSLIPLEVEL, play "melodic metal with clean and death metal vocals mixing various metal sub-genre influences into their unique style," according to an official press release. "Lots of guitar and vocal harmonies intertwine with atmospheric keyboards and tight rhythms. This is thrashy metal but there are no limits to the band's musical expression and imagination."
World Entertainment News Network is reporting that the three remaining members of the rock group QUEEN have lost a court case because they couldn't prove their nationality.
Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor sued a German record label over an unsolicited release of a 1977 live recording of "We Will Rock You".
A Cologne court threw out their lawsuit because of inadequate proof of their British nationality. The QUEEN members should have been able to sue because European Union citizens have the same rights as German nationals.
The court deemed internet printouts listing their birth places as "unsuitable evidence" — deeming they did not prove their current nationalities.
IN FLAMES are at home in Gothenburg, Sweden enjoying a well-deserved break after all the tours and gigs during 2004 in support of the band's latest CD, "Soundtrack to your Escape". Guitarists Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad have already begun work on new material in the band's new studio.
A reporter from the Norwegian newspaper Bergensavisen recently accompanied extreme metallers ENSLAVED on a fishing trip in Norway.
Fishing is ENSLAVED's favorite leisure activity.
"My personal record is a 113-kilo (appr. 230 pounds) fish," stated drummer Cato Bekkevold. "It took me 20 minutes before I had it in the boat."
But that is a record to be beaten in January when Cato is scheduled to go fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. And the goal is to catch a 200-kilo tuna fish. Bekkevold is also a regular contributor to fishing magazines.
ENSLAVED guitarist Ivar Peersen is also a notorious fisherman.
"When ENSLAVED needed a new drummer and Cato's name came up I must admit that I knew that he was not only a good drummer, but also an excellent fisherman," Ivar said.
"We are not into the whole image thing anymore, so beeing portrayed as fishermen is really OK," said ENSLAVED frontman Grutle Kjellson.
Click here to view pictures of ENSLAVED on their fishing trip.
The following are notable heavy metal/hard rock U.S. sales debuts for the week ending October 26, 2004, as reported by Nielsen SoundScan (The Billboard 200 chart position included, where applicable):
THE HAUNTED – "rEVOLVEr": 2,890 ISIS – "Panopticon": 2,482 BURY YOUR DEAD – "Cover Your Tracks": 2,147 DIECAST – "Tearing Down Your Blue Skies": 1,588 3 INCHES OF BLOOD – "Advance And Vanquish": 1,035 MORTIIS – "The Grudge": 418 JAG PANZER – "Casting the Stones": 334 CULT OF LUNA – "Salvation": 204
SOUL SIRKUS, the new "supergroup" formed by singer Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TALISMAN, AXEL RUDI PELL, TAKARA, HUMAN CLAY), guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo (both of JOURNEY) and bassist Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY, WHITESNAKE, TED NUGENT), will release their debut album on December 7.
"World Play" track listing:
01. Highest Ground 02. New Position 03. Another World 04. Soul Goes On 05. Peephole 06. Periled Divide 07. Praise 08. My Sanctuary 09. Friends 2 Lovers 10. Coming Home 11. Close The Door
Finnish "acid thrash" metallers SCORNGRAIN have just released their debut album, "Cyberwarmachine", via Dynamic Arts Records.
"Cyberwarmachine" was recorded and mixed at MediaWorks Studios in Joensuu, Finland and was mastered at Finnvox Studios.
"Cyberwarmachine" track listing:
01. 24-7 Hell 02. Blank 03. Cyberwarmachine 04. Flesh Means Pain 05. Killing Breed 06. 4-D Religion 07. New Paradise (bukkake remix) 08. Dawn of Hypocrite God 09. No Funeral for the Last
SCORNGRAIN have begun shooting a video for the album's title cut at Mecca Studio in Joensuu, Finland with director Harri Mielonen.
Finnish metallers MY FATE will enter the studio on November 8 to begin recording their sophomore album, tentatively due in Finland sometime next spring. A worldwide release will follow a short time later. "Needless to say, the new songs are fucking great!" the band write on their web site. "The album will be massive-sounding, diverse, dark and heavy as hell."
MY FATE's debut album, "Happiness Is Fiction", was released in the U.S. in July via Crash Music Inc.
Swedish progressive goth/death metallers THE PROVENANCE will release their third full-length effort, "How Would You Like To Be Spat At", in January via Italy's Scarlet Records.
The 53-minute follow-up to 2003's "Still At Arms Length" was recorded at Gesperrt Studios over a two-month period and is said to contain ten "brutally honest and rigid songs."
"How Would You Like To Be Spat At" track listing:
01. WoH II Tsc 02. Heroine 03. Catching Scarlet in the Sun 04. How Would You Like To Be Spat At In The Face 05. Some Gossip on Stealing a Spouse 06. Going Down 07. Considering the Gawk, the Drool, the Bitch and the Fool 08. Kick You so Hard 09. About a Whore, About a Kill 10. Speeding to Get By
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has posted the following message on his web site:
"Today [Oct. 23], shooting begins on my six episodic television series 'Rock School'. This is a television series that will mostly take place in England. They're filming at my home today and then I'll fly over to the U.K. where I'll be teaching 12-year-olds in their schools how to form a rock band. We will show the auditions for the band, putting individuals into a group together, showing them how to rock and actually writing a song. So far, no info on whether this will be shown in the U.S."
BEHEMOTH's new CD, "Demigod", has entered the Polish album chart at position No. 15. The Polish black metallers' latest effort left behind such artists as R.E.M. and ROBBIE WILLIAMS, according to a posting on the group's web site.
"Demigod" — scheduled for release in the U.S. in early 2005 — was mixed by BEHEMOTH frontman Nergal and producer Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, IN FLAMES) at Dug-Out studios in Uppsala, Sweden. Mastering duties were handled at the Cutting Room studios in Stockholm. A guest appearance by NILE's Karl Sanders is included in the track "Xul".
BEHEMOTH kicked off a European tour KRISIUN, INCANTATION and RAGNAROK on Thursday (Oct. 21) in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Nergal commented: "I have to say, that I'm more than happy that we finally hit the road. It's been awhile since we toured Europe last time but what is happening at the shows goes far beyond our expectations. Great turnouts, new album is selling like hell, the band seems to be in its best shape. Tilburg was very good as for the first date of the tour, but Groningen (Holland) and Vosselaar (Belgium) were just AMAZING! I am speechless...never thought that there would be so many BEHEMOTH freaks in the crowd! Thanx for showing up!"
Former EMPEROR and current SCUM drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun has issued a statement refuting published reports that he has joined HELVETE, the new band formed by General K (DISIPLIN), Hellcommander Nattefrost (CARPATHIAN FOREST) and Nocturno Culto (DARKTHRONE). "I talked briefly with the guys about it, but before anything were settled down 100% it was already announced on the Internet," Faust said.
As previously reported, Faust's new project SCUM, in which he is joined by Samoth (ZYKLON, ex-EMPEROR), Happy Tom (TURBONEGRO), Casey Chaos (AMEN) and Cosmocrator (MINDGRINDER), has just finished recording its debut album at Crystal Canyon Studio (TURBONEGRO, WE, EUROBOY) in Norway. Although no label or album title has been finalized, provisional songtitles include "Gospels for the Sick", "The Truth Will Be Sold" and "Hate the Sane". The album also features Mortiis's participation with various lyrics.
Britain's ANATHEMA have pushed back the release date for their DVD, "Were You There", by a few weeks. "This is due to unforseen circumstances which we will explain as soon as the details can be finalized," the band write on their web site. "We will have an official release date for you as soon as we can."
"Were You There" will contain a full live show recorded on ANATHEMA's recent "A Natural Disaster" tour (believed to have been filmed at the Krzemionki TV studio in Kracow, Poland on January 31, 2004), an acoustic concert performed with a string quartet from the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, plus videos, live clips and other extra features.
"Were You There" projected track listing:
01. Intro: Childhood Dreams 02. Balance 03. Closer 04. Pressure 05. Release 06. Forgoten Hopes 07. Destiny Is Dead 08. Are You There? 09. One Last Goodbye 10. Pulled Under At 2000 Metres A Second 11. Parisienne Moonlight 12. A Natural Disaster 13. Judgement 14. Panic 15. Temporary Peace 16. Flying 17. One Last Goodbye (Acoustic, w/ Liverpool Phil String Quart) 18. Temporary Peace (Acoustic, w/ Liverpool Phil String Quart) 19. Flying (Acoustic, w/ Liverpool Phil String Quart) 20. Pressure (Promo Video Clip) 21. Release (Live In London, Nov 2002) 22. A Natural Disaster (Live In Hamburg)
Acclaimed Swedish prog-metal band ANDROMEDA will have their debut album, "Extension of the Wish" (2001), re-released in Europe on November 15 via New Hawen/Century Media. The new version will feature vocals by new singer David Fremberg, a new mix and two bonus tracks, previously only released in France by NTS. The title of the re-release is "Final Extension (Re-Release of 'Extension Of The Wish')".
As previously reported, ANDROMEDA recently entered the studio to record the remaing five songs for their forthcoming third album. The band, who were previously signed to Century Media Records, are currently negotiating with a few labels.
Dutch brutal death metal band THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT have issued a statement defending themselves against accusations that they are "known racists." Specificially, the band are speaking out in response to the following article posted at the Metalheads Against Racism web site by its webmaster, Mike Meier:
"The Dutch band THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT is using the [Metalheads Against Racism] banner on their website. Funnily enough, there's no link to us, they've just got the banner on there. THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT are known racists, I have talked to them on one of the Swiss metal message boards and made it abundantly clear what I think of them. I also know at least five people who have talked to them 'in real life' and heard them spout their racist shit. Putting the banner on their site is nothing but a hypocritical act of damage control because they're afraid nobody will book them for shows anymore now that most of the European [death metal] scene knows what a bunch of racists they are. I'm sure you'll notice they're conspicuously absent from our members list, and of course they've never contacted me about putting the banner on their site."
THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT have responded to Meier's comments by issuing the following statement:
"When you write lyrics about the slaughter and killing of Christians, no one feels offended, but when you write lyrics against the radical Islam they call you a racist. That is the tolerant view of Metalheads Against Racism.
"THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT is NOT a political band. We distinguish between race and religion. We know that most people are too retarded to take a good look at our lyrics, but we refuse to lyrically adapt and limit ourselves to suit the IQ of the contemporary metal fan.
"THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT treats historical happenings as they occured throughout the ages. Sometimes it happens that a topic is treated which certain people rather would not be reminded about because of the heinous deeds of their forefathers."
THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT will release their sophomore album, "The White Crematorium", on January 24, 2005 through Karmageddon Media.
Congratulations to Linea 77 who have been nominated in this years prestigious MTV Awards. They have been nominated for Best Italian band and will be rubbing shoulders with the likes of LAVIGNE, FRANZ FERDINAND and GREEN DAY when the awards are broadcast live on MTV Networks throughout Europe on November 18th. So let?s make sure they win ... You can help make this happen by following this link (' ) and voting for Linea 77!
Swedish noisecore stars Cult Of Luna blew away audiences in the UK with the new material from their critically acclaimed new album "Salvation". Their follow up to "The Beyond" finds the band in a slightly mellower mood, but they haven't lost any of that crushing intensity, that is seeing them leading the burgeoning noisecore scene at the moment.
UK's progressive epic thrash metallers BIOMECHANICAL have inked a four-album deal with Elitist/Earache Records. BIOMECHANICAL are presently working on their sophomore album entitled 'The Empires of The World' at singer Jon K's own studio. Work is likely to be completed at the end of 2004 for an early 2005 release. BIOMECHANICAL's debut album, "Eight Moons", was released last year through Revolver Records.
THE CHASM's debut album for Wicked World "The Spell Of Retribution" will be released in UK & Europe on 8th November 2004. The 66 minute long heavy metal epic takes a lot of it's influences from the band?s South American background incorporating spirtuality, ancient heritage, philosophy and a genuine reverance for their background. Through the band's 10 year career they have never lost sight of their love of the metal classics that inspired them (SLAYER, JUDAS PRIEST and BATHORY) but THE CHASM are unique, no-one else sounds like them.
Danish wrecking crew EXMORTEM have signed a multi-album worldwide recording deal with Wicked World. Brandishing a particularly savage brand of twisted Death Metal as their weapon of choice, EXMORTEM have released their two previous albums via Hammerheart and Osmose, and toured Europe last year with Necrophagia. The band will release their debut for Wicked World "Nihilistic Contentment" on 17th January 2005. Recorded at Antfarm Studios in Denmark by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, HATESPHERE. MNEMIC). "Nihilistic Contentment" contains 10 barbaric tunes, blending musical precision with lyrical depravity in equal measures. EXMORTEM's Sigtyr had this to say about the band's new union. "We are very proud to announce that we have signed with one of the world's leading labels in extreme music!! With a crew that have worked to be on the forefront of the scene for 15 years or more, we feel confident that we have found the best home for Exmortem. We will do our best to make this a success and the new album should be the first step in that direction!" Expect EXMORTEM tour dates to be announced shortly!
The new USURPER opus, "Cryptobeast", is a balls-out crushfest of some of the most devastatingly true, anthemic black/death/thrash metal of this millennium and is due for release on 17th January 2005 in the UK & Europe and on the 8th February in the US and Canada. Those of you lucky enough to live in USURPER's home town of Chicago will get a preview at an exclusive listening party in the city.
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BEHEMOTH's new CD, "Demigod", has entered the Polish album chart at position No. 15. The Polish black metallers' latest effort left behind such artists as R.E.M. and ROBBIE WILLIAMS, according to a posting on the group's web site.