December 13, 2010

Latvian old school, "sludge-laden" Death Metallers DISEIM have been signed by Abyss Records. The band was formed in 2007 by drummer Imants Vovers and guitarist Dmitrijs Bulavskis. In 2008 vocalist and main songwriter Sergey Stavro joined the band, adding his poignant lyrics and guttural growl to a sound already defined by breakneck percussion and grinding guitar riffs. In 2009 the line-up was rounded out by bassist Alex Makarovs. DISEIM frequently performs live and recently released their first five-song demo, "Sinner". The band is currently recording their full-length debut. More info at www.myspace.com/diseim

KING DIAMOND was rushed to hospital on November 29, where it was found that he’d had several heart attacks, and that the only way to unblock three clogged arteries was open heart surgery. Says his wife / bandmate Livia Zita of his current state of health: "King’s surgery took approximately seven hours. Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already two days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care. 10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain. In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice. He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he’s not thinking about them. Please understand that the Kind Diamond band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King’s health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume."

ASPHYX has issued the following announcement about working on new songs for an upcoming album titled "Deathhammer": "ASPHYX is currently working on songs for the upcoming "Deathhammer" album. In January ASPHYX will enter the Sonic Assault studio again to record the first 4 tracks together with their sound engineer Frank Klein Douwel."

ARES KINGDOM has returned to their Very Metal Sound studio and pre-production rehearsals for an upcoming release titled "Veneration", through NWN! Productions. Release formats will include mini LP and mini CD. The selected covers represent a cross-section of ARES KINGDOM’s influences, as well as a couple of songs from their previous bands, VULPECULA and NEPENTHE: SLAUGHTER LORD – ‘Die By Power’, SACRILEGE – ‘The Captive’, NEPENTHE – ‘Oblivion’, R.U. DEAD? – ‘When Your Heart Turns Black’, VULPECULA – ‘Celestial’ and DOKKEN – ‘Without Warning/Tooth And Nail’. 2010 was ARES KINGDOM’s busiest year yet. It started with two shows opening for the reunited ORDER FROM CHAOS on January 2nd in Kansas City and January 16th in Los Angeles. The L.A. show also marked the release of the band’s second full-length album, "Incendiary" through NWN! Productions. The album has entered its second pressing and is available on LP, CD and ‘die hard’ picture disc. The nine-song album, described by guitarist Chuck Keller as, "’Return To Dust’ magnified in every respect", was immediately embraced by ARES KINGDOM’s Chaosmongers, with many reviewers wondering aloud why the band remains so deeply underground. These early-year shows were followed by an appearance in St. Louis with Zuul and Terra Caput Mundi on March 26th, and then Chicago on March 27th with ORDER FROM CHAOS. The following weekend ARES KINGDOM appeared with ORDER FROM CHAOS at the Destroying Texas Fest in Houston. The band played Minneapolis in June and Baltimore’s Defenders of the Old Fest on October 16th with Bloodfeast, Tyrant, October 31st, Extermination Angel and Sentinel Beast. The year’s live appearances culminated on November 20th when ARES KINGDOM subdued Berlin along side NWN Fest allies Order From Chaos, Blasphemy, Mystifier, Xibalba, Black Witchery, Proclamation, Blasphemophager, Bone Awl and Faustcoven – among others. For all further info, check out www.areskingdom.com