» News Archive June 2008
U.S. Shockrock Metal band IMPALER are making their very first overseas appearances ever in Switzerland and Germany this summer. Vocalist Bill Lindsey commented this as follows: "We could not be more excited to expose you all to the insane mayhem that is an IMPALER live show as demonstrated on our new "Alive Beyond The Grave" CD and the home DVD "House Band At The Funeral Parlor" on MVD Entertainment. Rock City in Uster, Switzerland, is where we will kick things off on July 12th and then on to Leipzig and Annaberg-Buchholz Germany with Swedish rippers DEMONICAL on July 15th and 17th only to wrap things up in grand fashion Friday night July 25th at the Headbanger’s Open Air Festival! We hope to see, visit and rip it up with fans and friends old and new. See you there!!"
During their performance at this year’s "Hellfest" Florida’s MORBID ANGEL already performed a brandnew song of their upcoming as of yet untitled new album. The track is called ‘Nevermore’.
If you’ve checked out our tourdates section lately, you will probably have noticed already that Florida’s NOCTURNUS will come over here in October to play a couple of shows. The line-up will consist of members from AFTER DEATH, which is Mike Browning’s current band. When we told Mike that a reunion without most of the original NOCTURNUS members could possibly result in some negative feedback here and there, he commented it as follows: "Actually you are the first person to write doubting the idea. I have had a ton of people that really like the idea that they will be able to see some of these old songs redone. Afterall I started NOCTURNUS with just me and Richard Bateman bass and drums and worked very hard to get to the point of putting out "The Key" only to have all that work stolen from me and ruined. This is my chance to actually pick up where I left off when I was fired from Nocturnus and finally bridge the link to everything I have done in my career. People will get to see us doing the old versions of a couple Morbid Angel songs from "Abominations Of Desolation" and mostly everything from "The Key". And some After Death as well. Has anyone ever said it wasn’t a good idea for Ozzy to play Black Sabbath songs? We are working very hard on making sure that what the people will see will be as close to the original way things were meant to be played and that’s what I intend doing. Actually you should check out my guitar player Demian’s page because he has a bunch of videos of us live playing Nocturnus and Morbid Angel stuff. And keep in mind we are only doing stuff from "The Key" and "Abominations…", stuff that I sang, wrote the lyrics and the drum parts, as well as a lot of the actual arrangements, so they are being done exactly the way they were originally intended to be done. I do have to say that we are working pretty hard to make sure that what everyone will see they won’t be disappointed with, I know I am by far not the best drummer around but one thing people know is that what I do comes from my soul and is real, this is surely not a reunion about making money, it’s about giving everyone a chance to see something different, something unlike anything they are used to. I did in fact ask Mike Davis if he was interested in doing this tour but he said he was done with music and I really do think he is sincere about that, so being that people will never see a real reunion, I decided to put together a set of songs that spans my career that hopefully people will want to see live. It’s funny but when Nocturnus put out "Ethereal Tombs", there was not one original member in the band. And Trey is the only original member in Morbid Angel. And the guys I am playing with in After Death are really good musicians, I wouldn’t do this unless I thought we could do these songs justice."
The new FUNERAL PROCESSION mini-CD "The Red Vine Litanies" will be released on July 7, 2008 through Ván Records. This mini-CD includes one long opus dedicated to the spirit in wine and the beast in man it unleashes, and comes in a unique digipak. A trailer of about three minutes is available on the label’s homepage. It is possible to pre-order the new mini-CD directly from the band. Everyone who orders the album until July 6 will be able to purchase the mini-CD for only 10,- Euro incl. P+P (Germany) or 13,- Euro (airmail Europe). To order the album apply at orders@funeralprocession.net for further details. Pre-orders will only be handled if the money arrives within seven days after pre-ordering. It is possible to transfer the money into a bank account, to pay via paypal (adding fees!) or to send the money in a registered letter. Additionally a bundle of the new mini-CD including a bordeaux red t-shirt (with front and sleeveprint) will be available through Ván Records and Ván Records only. This shirt will neither be available seperately nor from the band. For further details everyone is advised to check out their homepage. The label also has some official logo patches and buttons in stock. A new black t-shirt will also be available in the coming weeks. Last but not least, no gigs are confirmed for the time being, therefore FUNERAL PROCESSION will not perform any gigs in 2008.
German Death Metallers OBSCURA are currently recording their new album with producer V. Santura (DARK FORTRESS) at The Crypt Studios in Germany. OBSCURA bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (ex-PESTILENCE) comments: "I just got back from Landshut, Germany, where we’ve finished most of the recordings for the new album. I’m very excited about the new OBSCURA material; it sounds extremely brutal and technical compared with PESTILENCE’s "Spheres" (1993). We are looking forward to play most of the new songs during the upcoming shows." For more information, visit www.obscura-metal.com or www.jeroenthesseling.com
Imperium Productions (in collaboration with Joe Black Records) have just released a 180 g vinyl edition of the KAAMOS "Scales Of Leviathan" MLP with a heavy matte cardboard sleeve, printed inner sleeve on thick paper, big size etching on side b (on every vinyl version) and a big square size poster. It is strictly limited to 507 copies (302 on black vinyl, 105 on red vinyl, 100 on red-black haze vinyl). For ordering info contact imperiumproductions@t-online.de or check out www.imperium-productions.com
Florida’s MONSTROSITY will embark on a short run of dates this July. The "Apocalyptic Devastation 2008" dates will be based around the band’s appearance at the Central Illinois Metalfest. Support acts will be announced shortly. This will be a headline run for the band where they will showcase songs from their latest critically acclaimed release "Spiritual Apocalypse". MONSTROSITY bassist Mike Poggione will not be appearing at these shows. In his place, the band will welcome back former member and one time DEATH bassist Kelly Conlon. Kelly is no stranger to the band having played bass on several MONSTROSITY albums ("Millennium" – 1996 and "In Dark Purity" – 1999) as well as numerous tours of the US and Europe. Says Drummer Lee Harrison: "It will be great to be able to be able to get back on the road and play longer sets. This time we will be able to play more songs from the older albums we didn’t have time for on the last run. We’re perfecting our show as we go and just trying to make it better. I recently got my new Sonor drumkit from Germany and the other guys just got brand new gear so the band is sounding the best it ever has. We’re using in ear monitors now as well, so we have the same mix every night and that helps us perform better. This run is a little shorter due to some of the guys work schedules so we hope to do another run in the fall hitting some of the places we missed. Come out to the shows and support the real underground!!" The band released "Spiritual Apocalypse" in 2007 on Metal Blade Records in Europe and is available now through the bands website at (www.monstrosity.us) in the United States.
Spain’s CRYFEMAL have finished the recordings of their fifth full length album. It is entitled "Increibles Tormentos" and contains 8 tracks. As a bonus a new video is also supposed to be included along with a bunch of photos. A record label is still unknown, so interested companies should get in touch with the band at www.myspace.com/cryfemal for all further details and sound samples.
HALLOWS EVE have released a third track from their upcoming album "The Neverending Sleep" which features original vocalist Stacy Anderson, who is back in the band again. The song is entitled ‘Army Of One’ and can be heard on the band’s myspace site www.myspace.com/hallowsevemusic
OBEISANCE has a new 7" EP "Satanik Shocktroops Auf Dooom" out now on Iron Bonehead Records. It includes the titletrack, ‘Satanika Pandemonia’, ‘S.T.D.Satanikally Transmitted Disease’ and ‘Satanik Metal City’. Drummer D. Krazy has left the band and they’ve already acquired the services of drummer M. Crazy to replace him for upcoming full CD, split CD and compilation recordings.
The last additions for this year’s sold out WACKEN OPEN AIR (near Hamburg, Germany – July 31 – August 02, 2008) are NWOBHM legends GIRLSCHOOL and SWEET SAVAGE. Therefore, the running order is online (www.wacken.com). Tickets for Wacken Rocks Seaside (in Aurich, Germany – July 05, 2008), however, are still available. Expect MOTÖRHEAD, MACHINE HEAD, SAXON, TORFROCK and others!
BOLT THROWER have issued the following update: "For those of you living in Holland, Germany and Belgium, you will get the chance to see BOLT THROWER live soon, as there are a few select shows lined up. The confirmed shows are: August 7th – Atak in Enschede, Netherlands. This is our second home, and we’ve played at Atak on every tour for the last 18 years. Sadly, the club will be closing down this month and they will be moving to a new building in the autumn. So we were chuffed when they contacted us and offered to re-open for one night, so we can say farewell to this cult club and be the last band to ever play there. We decided that the tickets will be free and we will be informing you soon on the lineup and how to get tickets. August 8th – Party.San Festival in Bad Berka, Germany. As headliner we will play a longer set than usual, so expect to hear a lot of songs we haven’t played for a while. August 9th – Hof ter Lo in Antwerp, Belgium. For this show we will be joined by the best and upcoming bands from the Benelux. The confirmed support bands are: GOD DETHRONED, BORN FROM PAIN, THE SETUP and ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK. Tickets are 11 Euros."
CANNIBAL CORPSE has been busy working on the follow-up to 2006’s "Kill" album. The new record isn’t expected until the fall or winter of 08/09 so until then fans will be able to get their CANNIBAL fix with the bands first-ever career retrospective 3-disc DVD, "Centuries Of Torment: The First 20 Years". CANNIBAL CORPSE themselves have posted a teaser for the DVD – you can check it out here. "Centuries Of Torment: The First 20 Years" contains live and rare footage, interviews with members past and present and loads of bonus material. It was directed and produced by Denise Korycki, has a running time of 7 hours and 20 minutes (!!) and it will be released on July 11, 2008 (GER / A / SWI / I), July 15, 2008 (rest of Europe). www.cannibalcorpse.net
Let Them Come Productions proudly presents its new release which is CRAWLING DEATH "New Murder Art". You can listen to the samples on www.myspace.com/crawlingdeath. The cost of the CD is 4 Euro + shipping. More on www.ltc.musicinside.pl. Zines, magazines, webzines, radio broadcasts and distributors are welcome. You will find the contact on the label’s site.
California’s Grinding Death Metal act SEPSISM have been signed by Displeased Records. With producer DeeDee (recorded with SLAYER, currently helping Rick Rubin with recording the new METALLICA album) the band will enter the studio within the next couple of weeks. Expect the new full length in late 2008. www.myspace.com/sepsism1
Remember the book "Swedish Death Metal"? Another book dealing with the Swedish Death Metal scene around 1990 called ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SVENSK DÖDSMETALL is currently being printed and about to be released in the next couple of weeks, quoting the words from Nicola Costantini (author). He began to work on this book in the end of 2005 and it deals with the most known and probably most unknown Swedísh Death Metal acts between 1988-1992 exclusively and will talk about the demo-period of their career. Plenty of interviews with all important names of the scene telling stories of this era added with articles about most likely all existing Swedish Death Metal bands back then. The book is professionally printed on 218 black and white A4 pages and captures the true old school fanzine-spirit with cut & paste layout and will sell for 40 €. Watch out for this next gem of underground memorability! More information on www.myspace.com/nicolacostantini.
Argentina’s Disembodied Records are going to release a limited slipcase CD edition of the latest RESURRECTED album "Endless Sea Of Loss" in South America. Next to the regular album songs there will be some remastered bonus-tracks of the band’s demo days and some live video footage. The band is furthermore currently working on the as of yet untitled follow up to "Endless Sea Of Loss". Recordings will start in October this year with a release scheduled for spring 2009. RESURRECTED are also confirmed for this year’s NRW Deathfest which takes place at the AZ Bahndamm in Wermelskirchen / Germany on Friday, September 19th (the band will hit the stage at 6:30 P.M.). For all further info check out www.resurrected.net
UK extreme Metal pioneers BOLT THROWER have issued the following update: "We’ve spent the last year trying to write songs for a new album, planning to go into the studio this summer. Unfortunately, after a lot of thought, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the recording indefinitely. We know everybody says that their new album is better than their last, but with us we really believed that. From day one we made it clear that we’d stop recording when we felt we’d written the ultimate BOLT THROWER album; we just never knew when that would be. We kind of took for granted that each release would get better and better. But we have realized now that our last release, "Those Once Loyal", turned out to be that album, and basically the new stuff we have written just doesn’t match up to it. We have a lot of pride in our back catalogue, and we refuse to turn into one of the many bands (like the ones we grew up listening to) who end up releasing crap, and we’re also not prepared to compromise by instead releasing an album of cover versions or a ‘best-of’ album. Sorry to disappoint those of you looking forward to hearing new BOLT THROWER songs, but we always said that we would never release anything we weren’t happy with or that, in our view, didn’t at least match up to our previous work."
Swedish BOMBS OF HADES, featuring ex-members of such cultbands as GOD MACABRE / MACABRE END, ABHOTH and TRIBULATION, finished the recordings of their first EP called "Carnivores". The plan is to release this EP in early fall this year and will feature the songs ‘Necronomicus Kanth (Hounds Of Hell)’, ‘Twisted Decay’, ‘Slaughter The Dead’, ‘Disrespect Their Bones’ and ‘Coffin’. The guys are currently negotiating with some labels. Check out www.myspace.com/bombsofhadesmusic to find the most up-to-date news and some songs in rough mix versions.
Alex Okendo of Colombia’s MASACRE has started up a solo project entitled MORBID MACABRE. According to Alex "it sounds like the oldscool South American Death Metal, a lot like old sarcofago or old old sepultura." For more info, you can contact him at alexokendo@hotmail.com.
Bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling of OBSCURA and PESTILENCE fame has signed an endorsement deal with Warwick in Germany. Known for his fretless six-string bass playing in the death metal scene, Thesseling will be using the instruments as German death metallers OBSCURA wrap up recordings for their second album which will be produced by Victor Bullok (Dark Fortress, ex-Celtic Frost). For further information visit www.jeroenthesseling.com or www.warwick.de.
The new SHINING album will be entitled "VI / Klagopsalmer" and feature the following tracks: ‘Vilseledda Barnasjälars Hemvist’, ‘Plågoande O’Helga Plågoande’, ‘Krossade Drömmar Och Brutna Löften’, ‘Fullständigt Jävla Död Inuti’, ‘Ohm – Skoj Att Leva’ and ‘Total Utfrysning’. To be released by Osmose Productions in a not too distanced future.
Some of you will probably have noticed by now, that we made complete fools of ourselves by launching a VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE myspace site as well after all now… Well, our opinion hasn’t changed: we still think that myspace sucks, but as a lot of bands / labels prefer that to promote themselves we decided to join the hype: www.myspace.com/voicesfromthedarkside. By the way: we are still in need of reliable and motivated contributors, so get in touch!!!
Spanish Temple Of Darkness Records are currently preparing CD releases of MORDICUS "Dances From Left" (re-issue) and PSYCHOPATHIC TERROR‘s "230204", as well as the LIE IN RUINS "Architecture Of The Dead" MCD. After that releases of SUMMONING, SHINING and OLD FUNERAL as well as some other deals are in the works. Look out for great things to come at www.templeofdarknessrecords.com or www.myspace.com/temple_of_darkness.
Just in time for their West Coast USA shows ANGELCORPSE have added Kelly McLauchlin (of PESSIMIST / UNHOLY GHOST / DIABOLIC) as the 2nd guitar player to their line-up. The dates are: June 13 – San Marcos, CA, June 14 – Los Angeles, CA, June 15 – San Francisco, CA, June 17 – Portland, OR and June 18 – Seattle, WA. All shows are part of the "Blood Of The Damned" tour which also includes GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, CEMETARY URN and ARES KINGDOM, among other extreme bands.
Displeased Records have finally received the master tapes for the official reissues of the first two DEATHROW albums. The material is currently getting remastered. "Satans Gift" (also known as "Riders Of Doom") will have the SAMHAIN (pre-DEATHROW) 1985 debut demo as a bonus, while "Raging Steel" will have SAMHAIN’s 1986 second demo as a bonus. Release: Fall 2008
Here’s an official statement from INCRIMINATED: "INCRIMINATED R.I.P. (1997-2008). Yes, eleven years is a long enough time for a band as ugly and fucked-up as INCRIMINATED. With releases like "The Promise Of Worse To Come" or forthcoming Northern Heritage release "Death Noise", we have reached the all time low as even the filthiest sewers have a bottom. There is no more to do or say with this concept, so Death is the only option. We would like to say cheers to all our previous members, those individuals who believed in us all the way and of course those who never understood why anyone would voluntarily do such demented noise as we did."
AGATHOCLES are finishing up the recordings for their new full length to be issued through Displeased Records. The album is entitled "Grind Is Protest" and supposed to be even more brutal and in your face than its predecessor, "Mincer".