"Pure Fucking Mayhem" is the title of a MAYHEM DVD documentary by Stefan Rydehed, clearly focussing on the years 1984-1993 with their tales of unrelenting, brutal Black Metal and bloody crimes. Including exclusive interviews with, amongst others, Necro Butcher, Attila Csihar and Manheim, this documentary attains a maximum of authenticity and with rich, often unreleased footage, it brings MAYHEM's infamous story to gruesome life. As a bonus the release also features an audio CD with eight tracks of calm and eerie piano music inspired by MAYHEM and other Black Metal classics. The release is scheduled for November 2008. For more info check out www.index-verlag.org

PESTILENCE will enter Jacob Hansen Studios in mid October to record their new album "Resurrection Macabre", which is going to be released in 2009 by Mascot Records. The band will record 11 new songs and 3 bonus tracks for the limited edition. The bonustracks will be 3 re-recorded classic PESTILENCE songs and you can vote for your favourite song at the band's website www.pestilence.nl.

POSSESSED singer Jeff Becerra became very ill while touring in Europe. The group, now featuring Jeff Becerra on vocals and SADISTIC INTENT backing him up, was touring in preparation for the Hole In The Sky Festival. Jeff has been wheel chair bound for more than 18 years since he was shot and paralyzed in a street robbery. A pressure sore became infected on the tour, which was a very ambitious tour for a healthy person, let alone someone with a number of special needs, but Jeff felt compelled to follow the rigorous schedule. The infection spread to his bones, and soon he was unable to move, the band rushed him to a Helsinki hospital who had home flown to Paris for medical care, but Parisian doctors did not want to deal with such a sick American and they had him flown to LA where he spend nearly 20 days in a hospital on a strong course of antibiotics. Jeff is now resting in his family's care until he can beat the illness. While filming for a documentary, filmmakers Shane and Amy Bugbee joined forces with Jeff in a acoustical music project Re-Possessed, they have posted some behind the scenes footage as well as an interview and more info on Jeff and his illness at www.myspace.com/repossessed2112. Jeff and his family will be checking the site daily and any and all Jeff Becerra updates can be found there. The documentary film and book featuring Jeff Becerra, Gene Hoglan, Mike Williams and other Metal luminaries will be out this Thanksgiving. We at Voices HQ wish Jeff a quick recovery!

The new MANDATORY full length album "Adrift Beyond" (which is already completely recorded for some weeks now) is still waiting to be mixed. If one of the interested labels will finally get back to them, Dan Swanö might be hired for the job. Otherwise the band will either do the mix on their own or through Armin of PAVOR. For more info check out www.myspace.com/mandatory1989

DEMONICAL's second - yet untitled - full-length album will be recorded during November and December at Necromorbus Studios for a release in April 2009.

EVOCATION will release the second full length album "Dead Calm Chaos" which is recorded and mixed in EVOCATION Studios. The new album contains 11 brand new Death Metal tracks and an intro. Anders Björler from AT THE GATES / THE HAUNTED and Dan Swanö from BLOODBATH / EDGE OF SANITY are featured on 3 different tracks as guest artists. Artwork and layout is made by Travis Smith.

Jaime Moya Zuñiga, guitarist and founding member of Chile's cult Death Metal act ATOMIC AGGRESSOR, passed away on September 17 this year. For more info visit www.grindermagazine.cl. Rest in peace Jaime.

During the last months Germany's PROFANITY have bought some recording equipment and built their own studio. Drummer Armin has already recorded the drum tracks for two new songs. Both songs were recorded as "first take" and each of 'em is 8 minutes long. Bass, guitars and vocals will be recorded soon.
You can check out videos from the recording session here and here.

CELTIC FROST have posted the following on their official website www.celticfrost.com: "In the wake of the events transpiring earlier this year, we, who together formed Celtic Frost in 1984 and together reformed the group in 2001, have discussed the situation and agree that any continuation of Celtic Frost without either one of us would be irreconcilable with our original ideas and detrimental to the group's legacy. We have therefore jointly decided to lay Celtic Frost to rest for good and to treasure and honor what we have created together in the course of the history of this truly unique band. All that is left to do now is to bow our heads in sincere gratitude and pay respect to Celtic Frost's audiences and friends who have made this group's existence possible in the first place. Martin Eric Ain & Tom Gabriel Fischer, Zurich, Switzerland, September 9, 2008."  

Tom Warrior has posted the following info about his HELLHAMMER book a while ago in his own blog: "I just returned from Berlin, where I continued work on the design of "Only Death Is Real", the illustrated history of Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost, with the book's layouter, Hendrik Hellige. If all goes according to plan, the book will be in print in 2009 as a large-format and very detailed biography covering the years 1981 to 1985. It also features artwork, flyers, memorabilia, and hundreds of photos, most of which have never been published before. The material we have compiled during the past three and a half years is simply stunning. Even if one is only marginally interested in Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, the book will provide a truly unique glimpse at the early days of extreme Metal."

Recently founded Belgium based label Detest Records is proud to annouce its 2 first releases: SWALLOWED (FIN) - "Epitaph Of Nauseation" demo tape (mid-september 2008) and MIASMAL (SWE) first demo tape (mid October 2008). SWALLOWED plays raw and obscure Death Metal deeply inspired by RIPPIKOULU and GROTESQUE. This second demo features a cover of AUTOPSY. MIASMAL plays sharp and aggressive Death Metal in the vein of the early efforts of ENTOMBED / NIHILIST and UNLEASHED. Both tapes will be available for 5 euros including shipping worldwide. Info: detestrecords@gmail.com (soon to be online: www.detestrecords.com)

FURBOWL has been offered to re-record and release old unreleased songs. Max Thornell (drums) has been in touch with Niclas Stenemo (guitar) and he's totally into the idea. This means, the classic "Autumn Years" line-up will go to some studio and kick some old shit out of these tunes. Johan Liiva (aka. Axelsson) is looking forward to it - a brand new FURBOWL album.

Well-known through their earlier full lengths on Osmose Records and their impressive live rituals, CIRITH GORGOR found a new home with Displeased Records to work on new material with a renewed line-up. For more information check out www.cirithgorgor.nl

US Black Death occultists ACHERON will enter Mars Recording Compound (INCANTATION, EARTH CRISIS, RINGWORM) for the recordings of their seventh studio full length. For more info go to www.acheron666.com

The recordings for the yet untitled new full length of California Death Grinders SEPSISM have been completed. Currently Tony Koehl (INTERNAL SUFFERING, MALIGNANCY, GORATORY) is working on the layout. The album will be released in early 2009.

Even though bassplayer Tony passed away on August 1st, AGATHOCLES will continue on as a 2-piece and play the planned gigs, like Grind Over Rotterdam at the Baroeg on September 14th. Their upcoming full length is now finalized and will be issued on November 15th. www.agathocles.com

After a long search, NOCTURNAL finally found a new vocalist in Tyrannizer, who previously has been active in NECROSADISTIC GOAT TORTURE from the UK. NOCTURNAL have re-recorded 'Temples Of Sin' which can be checked out at NOCTURNAL's myspace profile www.myspace.com/nocturnalthrash

RESISTANCE from Strasbourg / France recently parted ways with their drummer Marc, who's going his own way right now. That's why the band is currently looking for a replacement. So, if you're from the Kehl / Offenburg area in Germany, if you like good old Thrash Metal and if you are able to play fast, but with the right feeling, you should get in touch with the guys, either through their myspace site www.myspace.com/resistance667 or via this email address: resistance667@hotmail.com. RESISTANCE is about to release a new song on a vinyl only compilation called "Long Live Metal!!! - Acte Premier" which is coming out in October on the French label Emanes Metal (Lord, Bottle doom lazy band, Thrustor, Rising Dust, ADX). Later this year or in early 2009 Emanes Metal (in co-operation with the Metal Forces Festival from Lörrach is also going to release a RESISTANCE split EP with HIRAX.

SODOM have posted the following news on their official myspace site earlier today: "Dear Sodomaniacs, today we received the message that Chris Witchhunter is dead. We are stunned and we don't know what exactly happened but Chris' mother told us that Chris died last night. We will give you more information next time..." Rest in peace Chris.

L.A.'s Death Metal masters INFAMY have brought original lead guitarist Eddie Gomez back into the band so that they have a solidified line-up again. Their long awaited second full length album will finally be recorded this fall. The band gave us the following update earlier today: "Our next release will be the work of the last 10 years... We just found the engineer (ex-Rise) and are gearing up to record this thing ourselves, owning the music vs. the traditional way of being held hostage to an engineer. We bought our own hard drive and are keeping every recording session. That way we own our own music and won't have to rely on a particular engineer... We did not release the "Gates Of Purgatory" EP because we got ripped off by the engineer. He took our money and went on a speed binge! We'll be murdering him very shortly... We've never stopped, just that bad engineers and bad musicians are every bands delay! We've decided to go the Morbid Angel route where the drums and main guitar are all it takes to track the music and then add the missing pieces once the recording is done."

I Hate Records have signed Germany's Thrashers MINOTAUR for the group's long awaited comeback album “God Will Show You Mercy…We Will Not”. Release date: January 2009. During 2009 I Hate will also do the first official re-release of the classic 1988 MINOTAUR debut album “Power Of Darkness”. For more info check out: www.minotaur-thrashers.de, www.myspace.com/minotaurthrashers

Grotesque Productions will release a deluxe double CD by IMPETUOUS RAGE from Brasil. It will include their first album "Inverted Redemption" as well as their two first demos "First Manifestation Of Heresy" and "Decayed In The Pecaminous Profoundness". Sound samples can be checked out at the band's myspace site http://www.myspace.com/impetuousrage666

Rogga Johansson of RIBSPREADER / PAGANIZER and Kam Lee of DENIAL FIEND / MASSACRE have joined forces in a new band called BONE GNAWER. The line-up gets completed by Ronnie Bjornstrom of TAEDEAT  / RIBSPREADER (guitar) and Morgan Lie of NAGLFAR (drums). They describe themselves like this: "The music is a simple assault of oldschool style 90s Swedish Death Metal with other pure classic Death Metal influences and influences of classic 80s style Death / Thrash, while the lyrics twisting on the bizarre, insane, and utter macabre world of modern cannibals and psychotic serial killers; as well as taking loose influences from horror movies with the same themes." BONE GNAWER is currently seeking a label that has the financial backing to put them into a studio, has world wide distro to cover Europe as well as the US and other places in the world, and has substantial advertisement and an A&R department to help push and support the band. Currently there's already enough material for their debut full length album "Feast Of Flesh", ready to be released in the summer of 2009, with a possible tour in support of the release. Songtitles include 'Hammer To The Skull', 'Cannibal Cook Out', 'Feast Of Flesh', 'Slice And Diced', 'Make You Die Slow', 'Defleshed And Skinned' and 'The Lucky Ones Die First'. An unfinished, unrefined, very rough (not mixed) version of the track 'Hammer To The Skull' can already be checked out at the band's myspace site www.myspace.com/bonegnawerband