» News
The PENTACLE gig that was planned on March the 23rd in Flensburg got canceled. Somehow the place was double booked and the gig cannot take place anymore. But there’s also some good, PENTACLE related news. The band’s releases "The Fifth Moon", "Rides The Moonstorm" and "Ancient Death" will all be released on tape by Witchhammer Prod. from Thailand. It will be on sale this summer. The vinyl version of "Ancient Death" will also be available very soon. The official PENTACLE homepage address has been changed : www.metalprovider.com/pentacle
THRONEAEON are very sad to announce that the shows in Gothenburg and Stockholm this weekend have been cancelled. Their drummer is unfortunately sick with pneumonia.
VADER have just finished the recordings to their newest album "Revelations". During the session the band got help from LUX OCCULTA’s Ureck, who contributed the intro and several keyboard backdrops. During the 200-hour session the band laid to tape 14 tracks and a cover of MORBID ANGEL’s ‘Immortal Rites’. The tracklisting reads like this: ‘Son Of Fire’, ‘As The Fallen Raise’, ‘Lukewarm Race’, ‘Nomad’, ‘The Code’, ‘Revelation Of Black Moses’, ‘Torch Of War’, ‘Grand Traveller’, ‘Epitaph’, ‘Wolftribe’, ‘Whisper’, ‘When Darkness Calls’, ‘Devotion’ and ‘Angel Of Death’. The album was recorded at Red Studio, where "Litany" and "Reign Forever World" were created as well. The entire graphic side of the project – the cover artwork for all formats, posters, ads – was handled, as usual, by Jacek Wisniewski. "Revelations" will have several release dates. The earliest has been reserved for Japan, where fans will b able to listen to the album released by Avalon / Marquee Inc. on May 22nd. Five days later, on May 27th, Metal Mind will release the album in Poland. June 2nd will mark the world-wide release for Europe and the USA. To make each of these editions unique, the band decided to supplement each edition with a bonus track. The basic Polish, European and American versions of "Revelations" will feature 9 tracks: ‘Epitaph’, ‘Torch Of War’, ‘Nomad’, ‘Grand Traveller’, ‘The Code’, ‘Wolftribe’, ‘Devotion’, ‘Whisper’ and ‘Revelation Of Black Moses’. The Japanese version will have two bonuses: ‘Angel Of Death’ and ‘As The Fallen Rise’. Metal Blade are also planning to release a digi-pack edition with the ‘Lukewarm Race’ bonus while Metal Mind will supplement theirs with ‘Son Of Fire’. Metal Mind are also set to release the limited box containing the CD, a T-shirt, a sticker or a badge, and a poster. It is also possible that the American edition will feature, as extra bonus material, the "Reign Forever World" material, which has not been released in the States yet.
You can already download PROFANITY‘s coverversion of TERRORIZER’s ‘Fear Of Napalm’ (Mp3 – 2,5 MB!) from the band’s website www.profanity.de The track will appear on their upcoming 7" "Humade Me Flesh", which is supposed to be out on April 8, 2002.
MARDUK‘s "Heaven Shall Burn… When We Are Gathered" album is out in Japan through Pony Canyon. This version includes five bonus tracks: ‘Glorification Of The Black God’ (remix), ‘Total Disaster’, ‘Sex With Satan’, ‘Sodomize The Dead’ and ‘The Return Of Darkness & Evil’.
The Japanese edition of IN FLAMES‘ "Colony" album is now available in Europe through Megarock. It includes two bonus tracks, ‘Clad In Shadows ’99’ and ‘Man Made God’.
DISSECTION are reissuing their "Storm Of The Lights Bane" album through Nuclear Blast. It will now include the "Where Dead Angels Lie" EP as a bonus.
NECRONOMICON have re-released their ’99 debut, "Pharoah Of Gods", worldwide through Unique Leader Records.
TESTAMENT‘s "First Strike Still Deadly" album is out now in Japan with an exclusive feature, Thrash Of The Titans – Documentary Footage, only available in Japan.
The following classic VENOM albums will be reissued with bonus tracks: "Black Metal", "Welcome To Hell" and "At War With Satan".
MARDUK have parted ways with longtime drummer Fredrik Andersson and have replaced him with Emil Dragutinovic. The band will soon start working on their 8th album.
DARK FUNERAL will soon announce a string of North American tour dates.
EWIGHEIM, the new band featuring Yantit (EISREGEN) and Allen B.Konstanz (THE VISION BLEAK), will release their debut album, "Mord Nicht Ohne Grunde", in this month. Download the MP3 song ‘Ein böser Scherz’ now at www.prophecy.cd.
HATE FOREST‘s "The Most Ancient Ones" album will be released on March 25th through Supernal Music. The album is a reworking of the demo / live rehearsal, "The Curse", previously released on cassette through Kolovrat / Nawia Productions. Rerecorded in 2001 with the new line-up, this explosive studio version is twice as fast as the original. The tracklisting: ‘To The Thickets And Swamps’, ‘The Most Ancient Ones’, ‘Inmost Winter’, ‘Black Forest’, ‘The Elders’, ‘Darkness’, ‘The Night Of Winter Solstice’ and ‘The Curse’.
Finland’s BLACK DAWN (consisting of members of AND OCEANS and ROTTEN SOUND) have been forced to alter their name due to a cease and desist order from a rap group of the same name. In the US, the band will now be known as THE TRUE BLACK DAWN.
MOTÖRHEAD, VOIVOD (with original singer Snake) and RAZOR will be performing at the Docks in Toronto on April 27th.
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER have signed a multi-album deal with Nuclear Blast.
Plans are in the works to bring HYPOCRISY over for their first North American tour.
LOCK UP have added Barry Savage (ex-CANCER) as a second guitarist for live performances. According to bassist Shane Embury, "This is just for live purposes to make our sound heavier." Lock Up will play the Inferno festival in Oslo, Norway on the 30th of March and the Hutsfeld festival in Sweden in June followed shortly thereafter with a trip to Japan. The band will return to Europe to play Wacken and With Full Force.
BLOOD RED THRONE have put together a MCD, "Affiliated With The Suffering", due out in late April or early May. The release will feature three songs from the unreleased "Deathmix 2000" promo, one track from "Monument", one unreleased track from the "Nordic Metal II" compilation and a cover version of MASSACRE’s ‘Cryptic Realms’. The band are currently writing material for their second album and will begin recording in May. Also, BRT have a new drummer, Espen "Beist" Antonsen. For more info go to: www.get.to/bloodredthrone.
Displeased Records‘ homepage is up now at www.displeasedrecords.nl. Partial MP3’s of 16 songs are available for download now. Bands include: INTERNAL SUFFERING, PHOBIA and NINNGHIZHIDDA.
On March 12th, Season Of Mist release AGRESSOR‘s "The Spirit Of Evil" MCD. The disc is strictly limited to 1,000 copies.
CANNIBAL CORPSE‘s "Gore Obsessed" album is out now in Japan with the bonus track ‘Compelled To Lacerate’ (live).
The first annual GOTHENBURG DEATH FEST takes place on June 1st at Gamlestadens Medborgarhus in Gothenburg, Sweden. Acts on the bill include: CENTURIAN, INIQUITY, CONVENT, IMPURE, DEEPRED, HOUR OF PENANCE, INSISION, SPAWN OF POSSESSION, IMMERSED IN BLOOD, KAAMOS, VISCERAL BLEEDING and OBSCURA. For more info on the festival go to: www.come.to/brutalgbg. For ticket info go to: www.bengans.se.
BOLT THROWER have been confirmed for this year’s With Full Force festival, scheduled to take place between July 5th and July 7th near the town of Leipzig, Germany.
MALEVOLENT CREATION‘s tour begins on March 13th at Trillians in Newcastle, England. The dates wrap on April 8th at Hyde Park in Osnabrück, Germany. Support on the tour comes from KATAKLYSM and CATASTROPHIC.
The US pressing of AETURNUS‘ "Ascension Of Terror" album will be available in March. The band have opted not to renew with Hammerheart and are seeking a new label.
DEMIGOD drummer Seppo Taatila has left the band due to work and family commitments.
SINISTER have canceled plans for their US tour in April. Other dates in Greece, Poland, Portugal and The Netherlands are still a go.
CALLENISH CIRCLE‘s singer, Patrick, has issued the following, "Last Friday we had the CD release party for our new album, "Flesh-Power-Dominion", in the Fenix Club in Sittard, Holland. It was a very big success, between 300 and 350 people visited the show. At the moment we are planning a lot more warm-up shows before the European Tour (with Amon Amarth / Vomitory) that starts at the end of April." For more info and latest news check: www.callenish-circle.com
THRONEAEON will appear on the upcoming Morbid Angel tribute with the track ‘The Lion’s Den’ – out soon through Hellspawn Records. Some new mp3 tracks can be found at www.mp3.com/throneaeon
California’s INSANITY have finally finished the recordings for the follow-up to their legendary "Death After Death" release and are currently working on the mixes. The band is looking for a new drummer, so if you’re interested to join, don’t hesitate to get in touch with them at: insanity@blacklungproductions.com
On their way home from a New York show with DESTROYER 666, SADISTIC INTENT and NUN SLAUGHTER last Sunday night, BLOOD STORM‘s Deyaxulgaat, Axarcuth and 3 of the band’s road crew members got into a car wreck. Even though they had to stay at the hospital over night everyone is now back home and recovering fine. Our best wishes go out to all of them.
DEATH‘s "Scream Bloody Gore", "Leprosy", "Spiritual Healing", "Human" and "Individual Thought Patterns" have been reissued on vinyl in Germany by Century Media.
Supernal will reissue the following titles this year: BEHEMOTH‘s "From The Pagan Vastlands", DEINONYCHUS‘ "Ark Of Thought" and MAYHEM‘s "Out From The Dark" picture disc.
BEHEMOTH‘s Nergal has revealed that the band’s upcoming sixth album will be called "Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond)". Recording is scheduled for June at Hendrix Studios in Lublin, Poland with a release planned for fall through Avantgarde. Tracks to appear on the release include: ‘Conjuration Of Sleep Daemons’, ‘No Sympathy For Fools’, ‘Agape’ and ‘The Essence Of Eye’.
LIMBONIC ART‘s new album will be called "The Ultimate Death Worship". Songs to appear include: ‘Funeral Of Death’ and ‘Towards The Oblivion Of Dreams’. The band will finish recording over the next few weeks before moving on to post-production.
On his upcoming tour, MORTIIS will play on April 12th at The Clink in England. The venue was the oldest prison in England which is now a museum, but is opening its doors to stage this very special event.
HATE FOREST‘s forthcoming album, "The Most Ancient Ones", will be released on March 25th through Supernal Music. The band will release another album, "The Gates", later this year through Miriquidi Records. Also, their "Scythia" album will be released by Red Stream in digi-pak format with bonus tracks in April or May. Hate Forest have also made available 7" versions of ‘Blood And Fire’ and ‘Ritual’ in extremely limited editions through Sombre Records and Miriquidi Productions respectively. More info on the band and downloadable MP3’s are available at: www.supernalmusic.com/labels/supernal/hate_forest.htm
THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL will release a split 10" picture disc with MAYHEM later this year. You can download an MP3 from the band at: www.supernalmusic.com/labels/supernal/meads_asphodel.htm
DAWNFALL‘s second album (recorded seven years ago), "Drei Raume", will be out soon through Supernal Music.
According to TotalRock, VENOM frontman Cronos has been badly injured in a climbing accident. He will be out of action for several months with injuries to his neck, muscles and tendons.
DIVINE RAPTURE will soon cover ‘World Of Shit (The Promised Land)’, to be featured on a MORBID ANGEL tribute album, "Tyrants From The Abyss", alongside tracks from ZYKLON, VADER, KRISIUN and other bands. The album will be released by Sweden’s Hellspawn Records this spring. Due to Morbid Angel’s plans and Erik Rutan’s extremely packed schedule, Divine Rapture will enter the studio end of May / early June instead of in March as originally reported.
TotalNews reports that MALEVOLENT CREATION have canceled their show at London’s Garage on March 10th due to unforeseen circumstances.
MYRKSKOG will hit the studio on March 15th to record the follow up to "Death Machine". Frontman Destructhor says the album will be "faster and more brutal".
A limited edition German version of CANNIBAL CORPE‘s "Gore Obsessed" album comes in a special DVD sized digipak. It’s available through Metal Blade’s webshop at http://shop.metalblade.de or by sending $15 US (world) / 16 Euro (Europe) in cash (this includes postage and packaging) to this address: Metal Blade Records, DVD-Size, P.O.Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen, Germany
DARKANE are set to begin recording their third album at Sweden’s Dug-Out Studio with producer Daniel Bergstrand. The drums will be recorded there and then the guitars and bass will be recorded in the Darkane studio in Helsingborg. The vocals and mixing will take place in early April at Dug-Out. The band hope to release the album in August.
EXODUS, featuring vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, are confirmed for this year’s Wacken Open Air festival, scheduled to take place August 2nd – 3rd in Wacken, Germany.
The official DIABOLICAL website is back online, updated and with a new layout. It is still under heavy construction, but most of the stuff is already there. Go to: come.to/diabolical
SLAYER are confirmed for the Bang Your Head festival, which takes place in Balingen, Germany on June 28th and 29th.
According to TotalNews, NAPALM DEATH are to play a one-off show at London’s ULU on April 12th. The show is to be filmed for a DVD.
HATE ETERNAL have confirmed that they will enter Dimensional Sound Studio in Tampa, Florida on March 1st to record their new album, "King Of All Kings", as a three piece, led by founder member Erik Rutan, with Jared Anderson on bass and vocals and Derek Roddy on drums. Despite Rutan’s and Anderson’s commitments with MORBID ANGEL, Hate Eternal have promised full scale touring on both sides of the Atlantic once the album is released.
CATASTROPHIC will be in Europe from March 13th to April 8th with IMMORTAL, HYPOCRISY, VADER, DISBELIEF, DESTROYER 666, OBSCENITY and KATAKLYSM on the No Mercy Festival. Catastrophic will be playing songs from last years "The Cleansing" along with some new songs, which are "all fast" according to Trevor Peres. This is different from his previous material, where as he has never written music that require blast beats. Some new songs include ‘The Day The Earth Died’, ‘Infinities Children’, ‘Dismal’, ‘Apathy’s Warm Embrace’ and ‘Malice Belief’. A live version of ‘Infinities Children’, recorded at their show in Hollywood, is available at www.metalblade.com.
Earache artists CADAVER INC., RABIES CASTE and HATE ETERNAL are all scheduled to perform at this year’s New Jersey Metal Meltdown festival. For more info go to: www.metalfest.com
Polish Death Metal veterans VADER have changed the title of their forthcoming album from "Epitaph" to "Revelations". The band’s first CD with ex-HUNTER four-stringer Simon (who replaced Shambo last year), "Revelations" is currently being recorded at Red Studio (the same studio where the group’s "Litany" and "Reign Forever World" CDs were recorded) with producer with Piotr Lukaszewski, and it will include 12 tracks, among them the following: ‘Torch Öf War’, ‘The Wolftribe’, ‘From The Ashes Thy Create’, ‘Devotion’, ‘Begotten Son of Fire’, ‘When The Fallen Rise Again’, ‘Epitaph’, ‘The Absolut’ and ‘I Am Who I Am’. In addition, two cover versions will be recorded, including a rendition of MORBID ANGEL’s ‘Immortal Rites’ for an upcoming MORBID ANGEL tribute album on Hellspawn Records (which will also include contributions from KRISIUN, EMPEROR, ANGEL CORPSE, and BEHEMOTH, among others). Although presently unconfirmed, ‘Immortal Rites’ may also appear as a bonus track on the Japanese or Polish edition of "Revelations". The follow-up to 2001’s "Reign Forever World" is scheduled for a June 3rd release through Metal Blade Records.
DIMENSION ZERO, featuring IN FLAMES guitarist Jesper Strömblad are dismissing thoughts that they are just a "studio" group, and will be playing three Japanese dates in late May, and then the group plan on touring Europe.
Century Media are releasing NONEXIST, the new band featuring former ARCH ENEMY frontman Johan Liiva and ANDROMEDA guitarist Johan Reinholdz. Recorded at Studio Abyss (Hypocrisy, Destruction, Dimmu Borgir), the album "Deus Deceptor" is likened to the glorious ARCH ENEMY debut, "Black Earth" as Liiva confirms: "Black Earth" felt like an explosion of pent-up energy. I really want "Deus Deceptor" to have the same kind of feeling. You know, a bit like ‘do or die’".
The South American Thrash Of The Titans festival scheduled to take place on April 20th in Sao Paulo, Brazil will feature SEPULTURA, MACHINE HEAD, TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, DEATH ANGEL, SADUS, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (with Eric A.K.) and HEATHEN.
INTERNAL SUFFERING have finished recording and mastering their new album, "Chaotic Matrix", for Displeased. It’s due out on May 25th. The band are currently preparing for the North American Extermination Tour II 2002, which will take in over 20 US dates.
Belgium’s DEFORMITY have finished recording their second full-length, "Superior", at Excess Studios in Rotterdam. Mastering will take place at Electric Studios in Brussels. The album is due out on May 25th through Displeased.
DEW SCENTED will be playing with DESTRUCTION, KREATOR and SODOM in Holland and Belgium, as well as one date in Leipzig, as part of the Hell Comes To Your Town Tour 2002 in April. A show has also been added for Ludwigsburg with IMMORTAL, HYPOCRISY and AGATHODAIMON. In other Dew Scented tour news, the shows in Bochum and Flensburg have recently been canceled by the promoters.
LUCIFERION are hard at work on their upcoming release for Listenable. The new album is scheduled for a September release.
CENTURIAN will be playing Poland in mid-February and will embark on a nine date UK tour with VADER in March.
DERANGED are working on their forthcoming album, "Plainfield Cemetary".
ABHORRENCE is currently recording the MOTÖRHEAD cover, ‘Mean Machine’, for a tribute album to be released in Brazil. They’re also writing new songs for their second full-length album, to be recorded during the summer and released in early 2003.
GRIEF OF EMERALD’s Robert Bengtsson recently commented on the band’s forthcoming album, "Well what can I say, we’re fucking back! This CD contains 10 new tracks, bombastic guitar work, less melodic keyboards, blastbeats and a big dooze Death Metal. We still have our mid / fast tempos but this is more straight in your face. Some titles are: ‘Christian Termination’, ‘Raped By The Servant Of God’, ‘Scum’ and ‘Alas Spiriti Sancti’. We’re working a tour in late May. Robert is also engineering and mixing the album in his own studio".
SCARVE will release their new Daniel Bergstrand produced album on March 7th. The band will tour France in April with NO RETURN, DEW-SCENTED and RAIN. Scarve is currently mixing a live recording for possible release later in the year and will shortly begin working on a video for the track ‘Emulate The Soul’
FLESHCRAWL are sad to announce that due to powers beyond their control, they will not be coming to America for their first American show. The band feels bad, and is looking forward to the next chance they have to come over.
NIGHT IN GALES release their new album, "Necrodynamic", this spring. The release will include bonus tracks taken from "Sylphlike".
NECRONOMICON will hit the stage again very soon with the new line-up: Rob "the Witch" (guitars / lead vocals), Dominik (bass / melodic voices) and Rick (drums & percussions). On February 27th, the band will share the stage with DIMMU BORGIR at the Medley concert hall in Montreal, with special guests KRISIUN and ONTOS ON. In related news, the band’s "Pharaoh Of Gods" has now been reissued by Unique Leader Records and is available through its worldwide distribution. Originally released via Hypnotic Records in 1999, the band’s debut full-length album will see a new promotional campaign behind it.
MORTIIS will embark on his first ever European tour, in Spring 2002, in support of his album "The Smell Of Rain". The tour kicks off on April 9th at Marx in Hamburg, Germany and wraps up on the 28th at a yet-to-be confirmed venue in Sweden.
Japan’s TYRANT are finishing up their new album, "Legend". The release is set for April.
NINNGHIZHIDDA have finished recording mixing and mastering their new album, "Demigod", for Displeased. A release is set for April 25th.
UNLORD will disappear into obscurity forever after the release of their album, "Lord Of Beneath", due out in April through Displeased.
NAGLFAR have finished recording and are preparing to mix their new album, "Sheol", due out this summer.
From Beyond Productions is set to release the "Early Years" album from SATHANAS and BATHYM. With overlapping line-ups, both bands stood at the birth of the American Black Metal scene in the late 80s / early 90s. The CD will cover the demos and 7" releases of both bands, as well as tons of unreleased, live and rehearsal material. The release is due in late April.
Osmose have released HOUWITSER‘s "Rage Inside The Womb" album on LP in Europe.
NECRO SCHIZMA have reissued their late 80s demo, complete with a live gig as a bonus, though From Beyond.
Nuclear Blast Germany has reissued DESTRUCTION‘s "The Antichrist" and "All Hell Breaks Loose" as a double-CD package
On April 22nd Metal Blade will reissue two BROKEN HOPE double CD’s, each available for the price of a single CD. The titles are "Bowels Of Repugnance" / "Swamped In Gore" and "Repulsive Conception" / "Loathing". Both double CD’s will have fat booklets including liner notes and loads of previously unpublished photos of the band
DIVINE RAPTURE will soon be featured on a Morbid Angel tribute album entitled "Tyrants From The Abyss" alongside Zyklon, Vader, Krisiun and other bands. The album will be released by Hellspawn Records of Sweden. DIVINE RAPTURE will be covering ‘World Of Shit (The Promised Land)’ off of "Covenant" and have added their own flavor in the form of a few surprises in vocal patterns and arranging. The tentative release date is in Spring 2002. Due to Morbid Angel’s plans and Erik Rutan’s extremely packed schedule, DIVINE RAPTURE will enter the studio end of May / early June instead of in March as originally reported. They will still be traveling to Dimensional Sound Studios in Tampa, FL to record with Erik, but due to this development and an additional development, the sponsorship deadline has been moved to April 11th. Just to recap, the sponsorship program was put in place to allow any magazine, label, record store or other establishment to gain additional worldwide advertising through placement of their logo inside the forth-coming DIVINE RAPTURE full-length cd sleeve and on new DIVINE RAPTURE t-shirts, both of which will be distributed internationally in great quantities. Sponsors will also be advertised through a variety of other media available to DIVINE RAPTURE as true Death Metal supporters! A $50 donation secures a logo space on the back of the DIVINE RAPTURE shirt and an $85 donation secures a logo space inside the forth-coming cd sleeve as well. Any donation is welcome though and there are accomodations for friends of the band also. ALL proceeds from donations will go directly toward recording the new album!! Be sure to check out www.divinerapture.net or write info@divinerapture.net for other details. For snail mail correspondence: Divine Rapture, P.O. Box 159, Chester Heights, PA 19017 USA.
Its been a long time coming but HATE ETERNAL have confirmed that they will enter the studio to record the highly anticipated follow up to "Conquering The Throne". The band will record as a three piece, led by founder member Erik Rutan, complimented by Jared Anderson on bass and vocals and Derek Roddy on drums. The album will be titled "King Of All Kings" and will be recorded at Dimensional Sound Studio in Tampa, Florida, with sessions commencing March 1. Hate Eternal, despite Rutan’s amd Anderson’s committments with Morbid Angel, have promised full scale touring on both sides of the Atlantic once the album is released. In the meantime US fans can catch the fiercesome threesome at both the New England and New Jersey MetalFests in the coming weeks.
Australia’s Carcass-worshipping death-grind mutants THE BERZERKER have entered the studio, somehwere beneath the barren deserts of the Australian outback, to record the as-yet-untitled follow-up to their self-titled 2000 debut. For those of you who missed the band on their first US tour in Spring ’01 (with Dying Fetus, Gorguts, and Skinless), The Berzerker will be returning to America this summer for their second US tour.
Sweden’s ultra brutal masters SPAWN OF POSSESSION have just signed a deal with Unique Leader for their first full-length release which will be recording in June.
California’s DECREPIT BIRTH will feature former members of Deprecated and will be recorded by Tim Yeung on drums. DISGORGE is in the studio in Chicago recording "Consume The Forsaken" now.