April 15, 2001

SIX FEET UNDER are currently Criteria Studios in Miami wrapping up the long-awaited follow-up to Maximum Violence. Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel will once again assume production duties with mixing chores handled by Dave Schiffman, who’s recent credits include work with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and POWERMAN 5000. The album will include a guest appearance from BODYCOUNT mainman Ice-T. The new album will be released on August 8th. Frontman Chris Barnes describes the album as "fucking brutal death metal with old-school vocals."

KRISIUN are at home in Brazil working on new material for their next full-length, Ageless Venomous. They have been confirmed to perform at this year’s Dynamo Open Air festival in Holland and the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. Century Media have announced that they have licensed the band’s previous two albums, Black Force Domain and Apocalyptic Revelation, as they have never been available in North America. The reissues, which will include bonus tracks, will be out in the fall.

The following is an up-to-date confirmed list of the acts appearing over four stages at this year’s Wacken Open Air Festival: ARTCH, BEHEMOTH, BLACKSHINE, BRAINSTORM, CAGE, CARNAL FORGE, CHINCHILLA, CRYPTOPSY, CULPRIT, DARK TRANQUILLITY, DECEASED, DESASTER, DIMMU BORGIR, EXCITER, EXHUMED, EXUMER, GRAVE DIGGER, HAMMERFALL, HOLY MOSES, IN FLAMES, KRISIUN, LACUNA COIL, METALIUM, MORTICIAN, MOTORHEAD, MAGO DE OZ, NAGLFAR, NAPALM DEATH, NASUM, NEVERMORE, NIGHTWISH, NOSTRADAMEUS, OPETH, OVERKILL, PAUL DIANNO & KILLERS, PRIMAL FEAR, RAGE, SAXON, SINS OF THY BELOVED, SODOM, SOILWORK, SONATA ARCTICA, SUBWAY TO SALLY, TAD MOROSE, TANKARD, THE DESTROYER 666, THE HAUNTED, THERION, TOURNIQUET, VINTERSORG and VOIVOD. Motorhead have confirmed that they will blow the dust off the vintage Bomber stage set and Saxon will do the same with their legendary Eagle Has Landed set.

OPETH are finishing up a ten day tour with Amorphis and then jumping on the Nevermore tour, logging roughly 40 shows in 50 days. Opeth main man Mikael Akerfeldt gave us this update: "We’re going to be so tired. Of each other (laughs). No, other than that I’ve just been doing loads of interviews. There’s been so much hype. We’ve also been finishing up editing a video that we filmed during the recording. We also played a gig with Porcupine Tree in Sweden and that was filmed and will be included on that video as well." "On tour we’re going to play the safe cards, the songs we know best," notes Mikael. "Mainly because we don’t rehearse that often. This is our first tour for us in five years. But we’re excited. Koch has been doing a good job for us. People are telling me the album is easy to find, that it’s all over the place."

Bassist Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, SADUS, ICED EARTH, CONTROL DENIED) has posted the following update on his official web site: "The Iced Earth album, Horror Show, is done and awaiting a mid June release on Century Media. I am no longer working on WATCHTOWER guitarist Ron Jarzombek’s SPASTIC INK project… Don’t ask. Control Denied’s newest recording is still in limbo because of some weird scheduling problems. But some of it is done, and we’ll be finishing it up in the coming months. We’re right in the middle of the recording of DRAGONLORD. Drums and most of the guitars are done. I’ll be starting bass this week sharing time with Lyle’s keyboards. Testament hasn’t officially pulled out of the shows coming up at the end of May / early June in Europe. We’re waiting on Chuck’s word and condition. For those of you who don’t know about what’s befallen Chuck, you can read all about it on www.testamentlegions.com. Writing is still going on between me and Darren for the new Sadus album. Slowly, but slowly."

EMPEROR‘s new album will be called Prometheus – The Discipline Of Fire & Demise. Tracks set to appear on the release include: ‘The Eruption’, ‘Depraved’, ‘The Tongue Of Fire’, ‘The Prophet’ and ‘Thorns On My Grave’. The drum tracks are finished and the band is currently working on the layers at the Symphonique Studio. The album will most likely be mixed in May at Akkerhaugen Lydstudio, aiming for a fall release. Ihsahn has quoted the album to be "More of everything! It is very hard to make any specific description really."

According to postings on the WITCHERY website, www.witchery.org, drummer and founding member, Mique, has left the band. He had recently become a father and also experienced a very promising career move, which made him come to the conclusion that he had had enough. A permanent replacement has been found in Martin Axe (NIFELHEIM, SATANIC SLAUGHTER). He will be drumming on the upcoming third album, due to be released this summer. The band entered Berno Studio on January 29th and finished recording on February 10th. Tracks set to appear include: ‘Wicked’, ‘Omens’, ‘None Buried Deeper’, ‘Inquisition’, ‘Called For By Death’, ‘Bonemill’, ‘The Storm’, ‘Shallow Grave’, ‘Unholy Wars’ and ‘Hearse Of The Pharaohs’, which includes a guest appearance by MERCYFUL FATE’s Hank Sherman. In other Witchery news, the band are booked to perform at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, Norway on April 13th.

SIGH have finished recording their new album, Imaginary Sonicscape. The tracklisting: ‘Corpsecry – Angelfall’, ‘Scarlet Dream’, ‘Nietzschean Conspiracy’, ‘A Sunset Song’, ‘Impromptu (Allegro Maestoso)’, ‘Dreamsphere (Return to the Chaos)’, ‘Voices’, ‘Ecstatic Transformation’, ‘Slaughtergarden Suite: I. At Dawn, II. The Dead Are Born, III. Destiny Divided, IV. Slaughtergarden, V. Aftermath’, ‘Bring Back The Dead’, ‘Requiem – Nostalgia’.

NECROPHAGIA has inked a deal with Season Of Mist / Renegade Records. Killjoy is joined by Dustin Havnen on bass, Wayne Fabra on drums and Phil Anselmo (formerly Anton Crowley) on guitars. The band will soon be releasing the Cannibal Holocaust EP / Video / DVD. Killjoy says that "Our upcoming album Harvest Ritual will be our heaviest and darkest release ever! We are going to take everything to a completely new level of horrific-gore drenched metal sickness and depravity."

DARK FUNERAL‘s new album, Diabolis Interium, was recently mastered at The Cutting Room. The album will have the following tracklisting: ‘The Arrival Of Satan’s Empire’, ‘Hail Murder’, ‘Goddess Of Sodomy’, ‘Diabolis Interium’, ‘An Apprentice Of Satan’, ‘Thus I Have Spoken’, ‘Armageddon Finally Comes’ and ‘Heart Of Ice’.

LOBOTOMY‘s Lars Jelleryd is no longer a member of the band. A replacement is already working with the band, and Lobotomy will tell you who it is in the near future. Meanwhile their fourth album, Dislocated, has been delayed due to personal and line up reasons. The recording should now begin sometime this summer, with hopes of a release before the end of the year. Lobotomy are also planning some dates for the summer.

BORKNAGAR were recently nominated for Best Norwegian Metal Album of 2000, but lost out to IMMORTAL. The band will start recording for their new album in May and will do the mixing in July. Borge Finnstad will co-produce. Some early song titles include ‘The Genuine Pulse’, ‘The Stellar Dome’, ‘Gods Of My World’, ‘Liberated’ and ‘Soul Sphere’.

HOLLENTHON‘s new album, With Vilest Of Worms To Dwell, is due to be released through Napalm on June 11th. The Australian band features former PUNGENT STENCH guitarist / vocalist Martin Schirenc.

IMPALED NAZARENE‘s Jani Lehtosaari and Alexi Laiho are out of the band and have been replaced by Teemu Raimoranta on lead guitar and Mikael Arnkil on bass. The band has resigned to Osmose Productions for two more albums and are currently rehearsing and writing new material for their next album Absence Of War Does Not Mean Peace.

Seasons Of Mist will be reissuing the ATHEIST catalogue soon with bonus tracks and liner notes.

KARABOUDJAN is the post Dan Swano project following Pan-Thy-Monium after said project was laid to rest. Taken from the Swano vaults (1996/1997), Karaboudjan’s debut entitled Sbrodj is supposed to make Pan-Thy-Monium seem normal and conservative in comparison.

SLAYER are currently in the studio mastering 13 songs set for their upcoming album. Sources say that the recently revealed title, Soundtracks Of The Apocalypse, looks unlikely to be used. With studio time a month more than expected (partially due to work on Tom Araya’s vocals), the album is due for release through Sony / Columbia Records on July 3rd.

TWIN OBSCENITY have finished putting the final touches on their new album, Bloodstone. The band recorded the ten-song album at their home studio. Expect to hear 39 minutes of melodic Viking / death / black metal with some more mellow and atmospheric elements than before.

VADER have canceled their Scandinavian tour "due to certain errors". It is not yet known if the dates will be rescheduled for later in the year.

CANNIBAL CORPSE have completed nine new songs for their forthcoming studio album, which is tentatively scheduled to be recorded during May and June.

According to Totalrock.com, VENOM frontman Cronos has recorded no less than three songs for PROBOT, the upcoming metal project from the FOO FIGHTERS’ Dave Grohl, but only one will apparently be used on the album, although the Venom bassist / vocalist currently has no idea which one Grohl will choose. The music for all three songs was composed by Grohl, with the lyrics written by Cronos.

DERANGED are releasing their new album simply entitled Deranged and are gearing up for a European tour with IMMOLATION in May. The album will be available in limited edition with slipcase.

According to Digital Metal, HATE PLOW is writing the follow-up to last year’s The Only Law Is Survival. According to a statement on the band’s website, the newer material is ‘faster and leaning towards a more grindcore sound.’ Hate Plow has replaced bassist Doug Humlack with Julian Hollowell (KULT OV AZAZEL). Apparently, the band has not heard from Humlack for some time. Hollowell performed the bass duties on their most recent European tour, and is now confirmed to be a full-time member. Expect Hate Plow’s newest album sometime before 2002.