February 27, 2001

"It came out very, very dark, darker than before," OPETH leader Mikael Akerfeldt explains their newly released Blackwater Park album."I think My Arms (Your Hearse) came across as a more brutal and heavier recording because the music is a bit more aggressive and faster than Still Life. I think it’s a cross between those two albums. It’s a pretty raw sound. Actually I thought this album would be the most brutal stuff that we’ve ever done, until I listened to the finished mastered CD. It starts off very aggressive and then in the middle it gets mellow and then it comes back to super heavy. It might be because of the way we put the tracks on the album. I always thought that this would be a fast and heavy album, but it has everything; from very dark fast heavy stuff to real mellow. Some stuff is like sing-along stuff."

GOD DETHRONED‘s new album, Ravenous, is slated for North American release on April 24th. Despite the band’s name and the provocative, anti-Christian message, the band are having more fun with a bent form of sacriledge than many of their peers. "The power of the church is gone already," Sattler says, "So why we should be that serious about it? The funny part is though that people who don’t know the band, or people who are into religion, are really frightened by the way we expose ourselves. And that’s good." Due to other obligations, the band’s drummer, Roel, will be leaving shortly, and Sattler’s immediate task will be to audition a new drummer.

Pavement Music has just released these new titles in their Classic series. All CDs are remixed, remastered and enhanced for your computer with lyrics, bio, pictures and more. They are: MALEVOLENT CREATION – Eternal, INTERNAL BLEEDING – Voracious Contempt, SOLITUDE AETURNUS – Through The Darkest Hour, FORBIDDEN – Green and JUNGLE ROT – Slaughter Of The Week.

VADER have been confirmed to play this year’s Dynamo Open Air Festival on May 26th – 27th. The band’s current album, Reign Forever World, recently landed at #8 on the Polish album charts, making Vader the first metal band in the history of the Polish music industry to reach such high positions. Another of their albums, Litany, has been nominated for the Fryderyki 2000 Award for Best Heavy Metal Album, to be awarded on March 18th. In related news Poland’s National TV Channel 2 are about to make a documentary about Vader. In July, the band will embark on their own North American headlining tour with DECAPITATED and two American acts, which will comprise 30 dates in the U.S. and Canada. They are still working out details for a European tour.

DECAPITATED will be on tour with IMMOLATION from May 1st to May 20th. Other support bands on various dates include: DERANGED, DESTROYER 666 and SOUL DEMISE. The band will record their second album, Nihility, at Red Studio in August. It will be out through Wicked World/Earache in October. Decapitated are still working on a U.S. tour. The tentative date has been set for July 2001. Digger International and Earache America confirm that the band will open for VADER and two other bands, so everything depends now on the Immigration Office and the American Embassy in Poland.

THORIUM are set to record their second album, Unleashing The Demons, at the Exponent Studio in Slovakia this Summer. Frontman Michael H. Andersen has this to say about the new material: "It’s faster, more brutal and much more insane, but still with a twist of melody. So far we have around seven new songs ready, which will not dissapoint the fans of our debut, Ocean Of Blasphemy!" The album will include a cover of CANCER’s ‘Blood Bath’.

WITCHERY are finishing up their third full length for Necropolis. Some songs on the yet to be titled album are: ‘Wicked’, ‘None Buried Deeper’ and ‘Hearse Of The Pharaohs’.

DREAMS OF DAMNATION hope to enter the studio in June to record a new album.

ABYSSOS have signed with Necropolis and will release a new album this year.

ARKHON INFAUSTUS are a new signing to Osmose. The band previously released a 7" EP on Spikekult and will release their Osmose debut, Hell Injection, shortly. For more on the band check out their website at: www.evilness.com/arkhon666

Mesopotamian metal band MELECHESH have signed with Osmose. They’ll soon release their debut for the label, DJINN

Mexico’s DOMAIN have inked a deal with Osmose. The band are set to enter a Mexican studio with producer Punchy, to record their next album.

DIVINE DECAY and IMPIETY have also inked deals with Osmose.

According to the ARCH ENEMY website, www.archenemy.net, the Japanese release date of the band’s new album is April 25th. European and U.S. dates will be announced soon. As well, on February 27th, the site will post sound samples, the album’s cover art will be shown and the title of the album will be revealed.

KATAKLYSM vocalist Maurizio Iacono’s solo project, L.O.S.T., will release an album, Living On Sympathy & Trust, this Fall

According to www.digitalmetal.com, CEPHALIC CARNAGE are preparing to enter the studio to record a myriad of tracks for various labels. The first release comes in the form of a 3" CD on Willowtip Records. Next up is to record enough material for a split with ANAL BLAST to be released by Nightfall Records. While the band is hitting the studio for the aforementioned tracks, they are writing material for the follow-up to their Relapse debut, Exploiting Dysfunction. Early reports from the band indicate that their new output will be even crazier than before. Expect a 7" split with LAUGHING DOG on Relapse sometime this Summer.

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