January 22, 2010

Blabbermouth.net have posted the following news: Joe Ptacek, former vocalist of the long-defunct 1990s Illinois Death Metal band BROKEN HOPE, died last night (Wednesday, January 20) of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 37 years old.

Two musicians from the band AFTER DEATH from the UK died yesterday afternoon (Thursday, January 21) drowned in a beach in Aracaju, Sergipe, near 4 and a half hours by bus from Salvador. They are: Leon Villalba and Timothy Kennelly. They are the supporting act for the MASTER tour in Brazil along with Brazilian Predator. The Brazilian site infonet.com.br says: "A tragedy killed two young foreigners from the British band After Death. They were in the Sergipe capital Aracaju for a show with the American band MASTER that would take place on Friday, 22 at a street parking in Santo Amaro, center of the city. According to the soldier Rodrigo, from the Fire Department, the two young men were bathing in the Atalaia beach, around 14:30, near the Aquarium when they drowned. According to the soldier, teams from the Fire Department were deployed, but when they arrived on the scene, they found only the body of guitarist Leon Villalba, 21. Bassist Timothy Kennelly, 18, remains missing. The soldier said that when the drowning happened, the beach did not show any current. "We do not know what happened, because the site did not contain any ditch or stream and also the floor of the tide was dry," laments the soldier, pointing out that the foreigners may have been victims of lack of experience on entering the water. Another site said that one of the guys was drowning and the other tried to save him, but ended up drowning too. The label Death Toll Records, responsible for the tour, has posted the following official statement: "Despite the death of members Leon Villalba and Timothy Kennelly (body not found yet) of the London based band AFTER DEATH drowning in Aracaju, the "Masters of Hate Tour 2010" will continue, mainly, in awe to the public. In talks with members of AFTER DEATH they said "we are all still grieving and shocked by what has happened, but we have assurances that they would like the shows were made. Do this in tribute to them!".

INCANTATION bassist Chuck Sherwood has issued the following update from the band’s well received "Vengeful Scapegoat" Tour through Europe with DIVINE EVE, HATE, NOCTUM, and NERVE. "INCANTATION returns to Europe once again! With all of the previous experiences John [McEntee] and Kyle [Severn] have had they were prepared for another hellish assault on the "old world." As for Alex [Bouks] and I, our journey into the unknown began on our arrival to London’s Heathrow Airport. With the sights and sounds of our first show Nottingham delivered at The Central! The fans and support there were great. Playing a mixture of older and newer material and utilizing a return of the dual guitar attack we plunged into battle with a more diversified set. The journey continued to Leeds where we were faced with a cancellation when we heard that the club’s roof had caved-in, although that was never confirmed because locals seemed just as surprised as we were to hear it. Off to a good start only to restart and build momentum yet again. Regardless of the setback, we made good of the situation. We visited local metal purveyors the Hellraiser shop in Leeds. Highly recommended! Then it was off to the pub to drown in the microbrews of England. After a fresh start again the following day the fires had spread to Edinburgh. The Scots were nothing short of killer. Amongst four-story stone buildings and rolling cobblestone streets we found ourselves at the Bannerman’s. And in the bowels of that club in a dank and dark room the fans crushed and thrashed their support. The owners and staff were equally considerate and helpful in many ways. Fuckin’ amazing first experience, personally speaking! Our trip back to the origins of the tour led us south to London where were we played The Electrowerkz. The promotion team there was even helping set up and break down the stage in between bands. We’d be hard pressed to find that kind of local support in the States. Here in Europe it’s almost expected. London’s fans filled the Electrowerkz and made for an energetic and awesome show; powerful reactions in the form of fists and horns held high over the course of one of our alternating sets. We reintroduced some songs that hadn’t crept from the darkness in years. After no sleep – maybe 45 minutes in the past three days – and a short ferry ride from the UK into Belgium we played the Las Cenobites and saw some familiar faces for all of us. John and Alex reunited with Laurent from Listenable after a 19-year gap and were laughing over old photos. Sabathan, an old comrade, of John’s, and I showed up where he and I talked after nine years of lost contact. The show was awesome with the likes of our personal friends shoulder to shoulder amongst the other warriors who came out that night and unleashed hell on earth. The other bands whom we’ve had the pleasure of sharing a stage with – DIVINE EVE, HATE, NOCTUM, and NERVE – have all been great and I know it will result in long lasting comradeship and future endeavors. Suffice to say, my experience in Europe thus far and to be within the ranks of such a legendary project as INCANTATION has been nothing short of killer. In Holland we were amongst our comrades in ASPHYX and PENTACLE and a packed room of hellions that came out (on a Monday night, mind you) to the Little Devil in Tilburg and made the night immortal. The show and all who were participating made our stay memorable. It was everything from the sound to handling the tucked away stage and endless help in the form of plastic bags for merch and drink tickets for Holland’s own Grolsch, which I think everyone agreed is far better over here on tap. We followed up that night with an 18th century cottage at which we slept. Everything was brilliant. A final hails again to everyone involved! Upon crossing over to the desolate village of Luynes, France, near Marseille, last night it was nothing like its appearance when the smoke filled room of the Le Korigan exploded with chaos once the bands hit the stage. The reaction of these French psychos was something to behold! An amazing time was had by all, despite the shadow looming over some of us. It’s very easy to get sick on the road and with that not stopping or holding us back, onward we charged into battle. With France left destroyed in our wake, it’s off to Spain!"

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