» News
INCANTATION Press Release, Wednesday March 28, 2001: Mike was re-admitted to the hospital yesterday. It is undetermined if it’s related to the stabbing or not. He woke up to terrible pain in his stomach and upper abdomen, so he was rushed to the emergency room, where they found that his pancreas count was 9 times what it should be and he had to be admitted for at least 3 days. They done multiplies of tests to figure out why his pancreas is inflamed. No word as of yet, but we are told these things take time. We continue to keep vigilance for a complete recovery. At this point we would like to release this statement by Mike Saez regarding Friday March 23: "I would really like to say thank you to all of the people that have shown support and sent emails to me, and to my friend Chris Shaw about the situation that occurred at The Voodoo Lounge this past Friday night, March 23rd 2001, in Queens NY. Your support is extremely appreciated more than you would ever know. After being in the hospital this weekend I was released and am doing better. The great doctors at North Shore University Hospital were able to reattach my muscle, my tissue, and sew my arm up. I am now resting at home with many stitches. I can’t play guitar or work out, but I am looking forward to getting better so that we may play shows for all the people that wanted to see us on this "World Of Darkness" tour, that due to these circumstances, we could not continue to play. My best friend Chris Shaw, whom I played with in my previous band (DEATHRUNE), was released from the hospital today. He has some scars, but luckily is also expected to recover 100 percent. He also wishes to thank everyone that has shown concern for his well being. Our other friend Peter Schultz is still in the hospital. He was stabbed deep in the forearm and at the moment has no movement in his hand and arm. There is no word when he will be released from the hospital. I have heard from friends that there are a million different versions on the Internet of what actually happened at the club. All that happened was I saw my friend Chris in a fight, the club had no security whatsoever, and I ran over to break it up, I was then stabbed in my arm. In my eyes I saw a person that paid to come in and watch us play and another person who is a close friend of mine and figured I would try to defuse the situation. Nothing else aside from that happened. I would like to thank my fellow INCANTATION members for all there concern, and especially for my metal brother Kyle Severn for running down the street practically almost butt naked and catching the person responsible for all this. I would also like to thank Rob Yench’s sister Jennifer, and her boyfriend John for stepping in and basically saving my life, and the VooDoo Lounge’s bartender. Also thanks goes out to anyone who was there that may have tried to help the situation in any way." – Mike Saez. With the halt of the "World of Darkness" North American tour with IMMOLATION and GOATWHORE the band is awaiting the news concerning Mike’s current situation and how long it will take before Mike can play guitar again? We like to thank everyone who has expressed his or her support for Mike, Chris, Peter and INCANTATION. The group at this point is keeping on schedule the tour dates for the "Blasphemy In Brazil" tour with REBAELLION in Brazil beginning in May. Though the band has previous performed in Chile, Argentina and Columbia this is the first time we will be in Brazil. Our European dates are also still on schedule for August. The group has been asked to perform at this years "Party.San" Open Air festival in Bad Berka, near Weimar / Germany August 9-12. INCANTATION will perform on Friday the 10th. This event will be the first time INCANTATION has returned to Europe since 1997! Additional dates in Germany have been announced and another festival in the Czech Republic is also being planned for Saturday the 11th as well. For more info check out www.incantation.com.
Janna Saarenpää of THE CROWN will play the upcoming No Mercy Festivals as the drummer of GOD DETHRONED. Of course Janne is still in THE CROWN and he is not the new drummer of GOD DETHRONED. He just helps them out at these shows!
EVIL INCARNATE‘s Deathgasm Records debut CD "Blackest Hymns Of Gods Disgrace" is being licensed by Morbid Records for Europe. Because of that the band’s European tour is being re-scheduled until the European release in September. The US tour in the fall is set to be with BLOODSTORM and ABHORRENCE (Brazil). EVIL INCARNATE will furthermore appear on upcoming tributes to TWISTED SISTER and DESTRUCTION on Dwell Records. Witchhammer Productions will re-release a cassette version of "Blood Of The Saints" (the CD version is still available from Deathgasm). T-shirts for the debut CD will also be available in a few weeks from Deathgasm, EVIL INCARNATE and Relapse Records. The band will be auditioning potential drummers soon for the upcoming tours and the creation / recording of their next CD. If you’re interested call: (847)-731-2056
OPETH are gearing up for their debut North American tour in support of their new album, "Blackwater Park". The band will be be touring there for two months and will headline two festivals, Metal Meltdown III and the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival during that time. The tour kicks off on April 6th with a slot at Metal Meltdown III in Asbury Park, NJ, followed by a series of dates with AMORPHIS and SHADOW’S FALL from April 7th in Toronto through April 14th in Worcester, MA at the New England Metalfest. On April 20th, Opeth team up with NEVERMORE, ANGEL DUST and GOD FORBID in Vancouver, BC. The trek with these bands runs through May 20th when the tour wraps up in San Jose, CA. For more tour details go to: www.opeth.com.
IMMORTAL have canceled their appearance at the With Full Force Festival and have now been added to the line-up of bands performing at the Metal Dayz Festival in Switzerland on August 3rd – 5th.
LIMBONIC ART’s Volume 1-4, a four CD set, is out through Hammerheart on March 25th. The set is limited to 5000 copies and includes six vinyl bonus tracks.
Norway’s Voices Of Wonder have released a limited edition version of ULVER‘s new album, "Perdition City", on March 25th. This set comes with a 40 page booklet.
NECROPHOBIC guitarist David Parland has been replaced by Johan Bergebäck (MORPHEUS).
SPV Records and Osmose Productions have inked a deal to bring the entire Osmose catalog to the U.S., effective immediately. Osmose has recently signed five new acts: HOUWITSER, IMPIETY, DIVINE DECAY, ARKHOM INFAUSTUS and DOMAIN. SPV Records will have exclusive rights to the releases. "We are looking forward to bringing Osmose to the USA," said Manfred Schütz, Managing Director of SPV. "Hervé has worked hard to build Osmose into one of the best Black Metal labels in the world and we are excited about working with such a dedicated individual".
Iscariah from IMMORTAL has a new side project that goes by the name WURDULAK. The band also features Maniac (MAYHEM) and Killjoy (NECROPHAGIA). The project’s debut CD will be recorded in Trondheim, Norway in March.
MÖRK GRYNING have returned. The band members have kept a low profile due to other obligations with different bands. With their new album, "Maelstrom Chaos", they have decided to give Mörk Gryning full priority and turn the project into a band. Tracks to appear on the album include: ‘Templars’, ‘The Darkness Within’, ‘Dodens Skald (The Scald Of Death)’ and ‘The Menace’. They also have a new guitarist, Avatar. The new album will be released in August through No Fashion.
Bassist Kelly Conlon (DEATH, MONSTROSITY) has joined VITAL REMAINS.
SOILWORK keyboardist Carlos Del Olmo has left the group. According to Carlos, "I’ve had many thoughts about the touring life, and I found out that I’m not the touring kind of guy."
After years of silence, Sweden’s DIMENSION ZERO, featuring IN FLAMES guitarist Jesper Strömblad and ex-In Flames axeman Glenn Ljungstrom, have decided to make their first full-length album. The CD is tentatively scheduled to be recorded in August 2001 and issued in early 2002.
Guitarist JAMES MURPHY has relocated to Florida after a several-year stint in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is apparently talking about reforming DISINCARNATE with original vocalist Bryan Cegon, who sang on the group’s sole CD, 1993’s "Dreams Of The Carrion Kind".
MISTELTEIN are currently in the Berno Studio recording their second full-length album, "Completion".
According to the CHILDREN OF BODOM website, www.childrenofbodom.net, the band will not tour the U.S. in April since Jaska and Henkka are busy with school. The band are negotiating a new tour for America.
DESTRUCTION recently canceled a gig in Venezuela. On their website, www.destruction.de, the band apologized to their fans in Brasil and anticipated a return to the country by the end of the year.
The following is a statement from ABATTOIR‘s Steve Gaines, "I am quite sure that some of you may have heard that we were playing at Salon Riviera on Friday March 30th. Unfortunately, we have to cancel this appearance. Here’s the story: We are right in the middle of our next album, and every energy we have is being focused on the recording. To change focus would put us about three weeks behind, not to mention the recording time is already paid for and non-refundable, by the way, the recording is going extremely well. It kind of sucks, as we were looking forward to it. Above all, we apologize for the inconvenience this causes to everyone at Quadrivium who sponsor these events, and everyone at Salon Riviera in Huntington Park, and we hope to reschedule our show in late May, if they will have us. This is the ONLY venue in Los Angeles to feature and promote thrash, death, grindcore… you know, all of that good stuff that we who know better crave. Check out their website www.quadriviumlabel.com. We hope to have a more thorough update on the recording in the coming weeks, and a reminder about the Classic Metal Fest in Michigan. Again, our apologies to everyone. Just know that the cancellation is for a good reason and we owe you one. Until next time… stay Metal."
Andy Sneap (www.andysneap.co.uk) has posted the following update on Backstage Studios. "ARCH ENEMY is now finished their "Wages Of Sin" album and pretty killer it is too. Anyone who is already familiar with the band is in for a big surprise once the album is out. Now they have a new vocalist, it kind of reminds me of CARCASS at times – definitely worth checking out. I’m currently just starting work with KREATOR, we are tracking the drums and bass near Hanover at Area 51 Recording Studios. This is run by Tommy Newton who did a lot of work on the early HELLOWEEN stuff, he also played guitar in the band VICTORY which I find quite an odd name for anything coming out of Germany. (Good job Germans are renowned for their great sense of humor!). Tommy is a great guy to work with and we always end up stealing ideas from each other. His studio is very geared towards the metal side of things so it makes my life very easy. We are then doing the rest of the album at Backstage throughout February and into March. Other things coming up: Metal Blade want me to mix the new SIX FEET UNDER album in Florida, early April. TESTAMENT are re-recording the classic tracks from their first few albums with their current line-up plus Alex Skolnick doing his solos. We will be mixing that in early May at Backstage. Mid May through until the end of June sees Mr. BLAZE BAYLEY and band once again working at Backstage on a new album to be released September 2001. And then we have an all new TESTAMENT album throughout July. We are also looking at an ideal new location for the studio, which will make it fully residential and pretty damn awesome to say the least. We are just waiting on planning consent, so fingers crossed, there will be some news on that within the next update."
According to ENTOMBED‘s website, www.entombed.net, the band have agreed to do a set for a performance at the Royal Opera Hall in Stockholm, in a show called Unreal Estate. Their set, that includes the band, 30 ballet dancers and a 10 year old kid, will be the third and final set of the overall show. It will be a live 45 minute performance, featuring new and specially written full-on Entombed material, whilst two choreographers called Bogdan Szyber and Carina Reich will get the ballet performing around the band. Seven or eight of these shows will take place in February 2002. Meanwhile, the band are once again at Polar Studios in Stockholm, working with Producers Nico Elgstrand and Stefan Boman. 12 songs are being recorded, and the current working title for the album is "Morning Star". Also, Entombed have had to cancel their U.S. tour plans for March. They plan to schedule dates as soon as they can.
DIMMU BORGIR‘s new album, "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia", entered the German Album charts at #16, making it the highest-charting Black Metal album of all time. The album entered the Austrian charts at #23, the Dutch charts at #84, and the Finnish charts at number #11. The album is out in Japan on April 25th. This edition includes the bonus track ‘Burn In Hell’ and a 28 page color booklet. The first pressing will also include a sticker and a second enhanced CD.
INCANTATION Press Release, Sunday March 25 2001: INCANTATION would like to issue the following statement concerning the incident at the Voodoo Lounge in Queens NY on Friday March 24. This was the 2nd night of the "World Of Darkness" tour with IMMOLATION and GOATWHORE and was to be a 4-week run across the U.S. from March through April. However, INCANTATION was forced to end the tour due to the series of events that occurred that night. First off, during the show the tour van was broken into and most of the bands personal belongings were stolen along with most of the tour shirts that the band had with them at the time. This was a setback, but the band put it behind them and prepared for the performance of the evening. After the INCANTATION set, vocalist / guitarist Mike Saez was injured while trying to separate a friend and another individual from fighting. Mike was stabbed in the arm, slicing the biceps, skin and tendon and was rushed to the hospital. Mike’s injury has put the band’s tour schedule on hold until it is determined the severity of his injury. Already we are told this injury without complications will take several weeks to heal. Without Mike able to play guitar at the moment, this prevents INCANTATION from touring at this time Chris Shaw of NY Death Metal band DEATHRUNE, Mike’s friend and former band mate was stabbed seven times in the back and received a massive slash to the face that ran from the ear to chin long. At this moment Chris lies in critical condition at North Shore Hospital in New York. Another show attendee also was cut in the attack and has lost the feeling in his hand due to the deep slash into the forearm. There was an overwhelming amount of police response and the show was abruptly ended without IMMOLATION playing. The suspect attempted to flee but was apprehended by Kyle Severn who chased the individual and held him till police arrived. Incantation sends its deepest condolences to the Shaw family and hope for a speedy recovery. Incantation would also like to express our sympathy to the other injured individual as well. Finally, we would like to offer our apologies to our tour mates IMMOLATION and GOATWHORE, the club promoters, our booking agent and the all the supporters of INCANTATION for disappointment we all share in this senseless act of pathetic stupidity. INCANTATION
CENTURIAN have finished all nine songs for their upcoming new CD, which will be called: "Liber ZarZax". Some song titles are: ‘Colosseum Of Blood’, ‘Heading For Holocaust’ and ‘Speech Of The Serpent’. In April, May and June the band will enter one of the best Dutch studios to record the album, which will be released through Listenable Records in September. On May 12 Centurian will start playing live again. The new line-up is supposed to be very well prepared, and the band motivated more than ever before. Check out our tourdates section for already confirmed dates or visit their updated website www.CenturianChaos.com for the latest details.
WORLD WAR III RECORDS have announced their first releases. Here’s the first bunch that will see the light of day soon: HATE – "Holy Dead Trinity" (for more info on HATE go to: www.hatesatanic.org), BELFEGOR (POL) – "The Kingdom Of Glacial Palaces", FOG (US) – "Through The Eyes Of Night…" (for more info on FOG go to: www.geocities.com/darkhorizon666), CENTINEX – "Hellbrigade" (licensed for the US market – further info at: www.centinex.com) and AVULSED – "Stabwound Orgasm" (US release with bonus tracks – further info at: www.avulsed.com)
MALEVOLENT CREATION‘s U.S. Tour has been postponed till late July through August. Upon returning from their European tour on March 1st, vocalist Brett Hoffmann was arrested at U.S. Customs at Miami’s airport for a warrant for his arrest dating back to 1995 for a violation of probation charge. This will see Hoffmann serving 60 days in a Florida jail. Without Hoffmann the band obviously cannot tour. The band will reschedule this tour for the summer, and promise it will be crushing!! For the first time they will play material from all of their 7 releases, and will be recording most of the shows for an up coming Live Album. Promoters and bands wanting to be involved with this upcoming U.S. Tour should contact John Finberg at FirstRowTalent@aol.com or (818) 694-3131.
KULT OV AZAZEL‘s debut release for Arctic Music, "Triumph Of Fire" is finally ready to be released on March 27th. The 11-song assault of cold, grim, fast and deadly Black Metal was recorded at Studio 13 with producer / engineer Jeremy Staska (Malevolent Creation, HatePlow, Divine Empire etc.), so you can expect a top-notch production.
After returning from their European Tour, HATEPLOW is currently writing music for their follow up to last year’s "The Only Law Is Survival" and the material is said to be even faster and leaning towards a more grindcore sound. Also, a new bassist has been brought into the band after the departure of bassist Doug Humlack (who apparently disappeared before the bands European Tour in February). Taking over bass duties will be Julian Hollowell (AKA – Xaphan-guitarist for black metal band Kult Ov Azazel). Julian did a great job filling in on bass for the European tour and will now become a permanent member.
ARCTIC MUSIC is in negotiations with France’s Listenable Records to release new music from the bands DERANGED, ABORTED and CENTURIAN. It also looks like the label will be releasing the debut CD from Greece’s HOMO IRATUS entitled "Human Consumes Human." As soon as more news come in, and everything is worked out, mp3’s will be available on their website www.arcticmusicgroup.com. ARCTIC MUSIC is still looking for new brutal talent, so all worthy bands should submit their promotional material to: Arctic Music Group, PO Box 23519, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33307, USA
SLAYER are currently working on their forthcoming album at Warehouse Studios in Vancouver with producer Matt Hyde. One of the working titles for the record is "Soundtracks Of The Apocalypse". 17 songs have been written and the band are currently working on 14 to be included on the record. The remainder will be used as bonus tracks or for use with a future EP. Tracks include: ‘Threshold’, ‘Disciple’, ‘Addict’, ‘Exile’, ‘Payback’, ‘Seven Faces’, ‘Godsend Death’, ‘New Faith’, ‘Deviance’, ‘Scarstruck’, ‘Here Comes The Pain’ (a reworked version of the WCW tune), ‘Gore Point’ and Warzone’. Frontman Tom Araya is presently laying down his vocal tracks. Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman and drummer Paul Bostaph have finished their parts. Watch for the album to drop in the spring, most likely May. In June Slayer co-headline a North American tour with PANTERA and STATIC X opening. As for the Slayer box set – DON’T hold your breath. Both box sets are currently on hold and maybe released next year at the earliest.
According to IN FLAMES official website, www.inflames.com, the band are currently in the studio, mixing the upcoming live album that was recorded during their Japanese tour in 2000. The album has the working title "The Tokyo Showdown" and should be released at the beginning of this Summer. At the same time they are working hard on new material for the next album. More details about "The Tokyo Showdown" and the next full-length album will be posted at the website soon.
THE BERZERKER will join forces with DYING FETUS, GORGUTS and SKINLESS a North American tour that kicks off on March 16th at Obsessions in Randolph, NJ. The dates wrap up with an appearance at the New England Metal And Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA on April 14th.
SYMBYOSIS have a new website. For info on the band’s touring schedule, exclusive tracks and much more, go to: www.symbyosis.net
CRYPTOPSY were recently awarded the Best Metal Act award by the Montreal International Music Initiative (MIMI). The band’s tour with CANDIRIA, POISON THE WELL and
ORIGIN will be taking them across the U.S., then back up through Canada.
KATAKLYSM have a new website address: www.kataklysm.net. The new site will include exclusive audio tracks, photos, news, tour dates, bios and more.
Sweden’s KATATONIA release their new album, "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", on May 8th through Peaceville. The album was produced by the band.
NILE will tour the East Coast beginning on April 5th in Atlanta, GA. The two-week tour wraps on April 15th in Arlington, VA.
KILLJOY has been busy as of late, and according to him, it is now official that, "Philip Anselmo has been given a release to use his real name for our upcoming bands including EIBON, VIKING CROWN, ENOCH, AMICUSS and, of course, NECROPHAGIA. This means there is no more Anton Crowley, not that is was much of a secret before anyway. Speaking of EIBON we recently recorded a few more songs and hope to finish recording our debut before year’s end." Regarding RAVENOUS, Killjoy has this to say, "RAVENOUS and Hammerheart have both agreed on not doing a second release together, we parted ways on an extremely good basis. A new deal for RAVENOUS will be announced very shortly and we plan to record our new release to be titled "Blood Delirium" in May through June. There is also the possibilty of doing some European shows early this summer opening for AMEN."
Anders Nystrom (aka Blackheim) is set to release the latest DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE album, "Death’s Design". Originally it was supposed to be a score for a film, but the film’s plans have fallen through. Here is a direct statement from Blackheim himself… "In coincidence with Diabolical Masquerade’s brand new album "Death’s Design", here’s a brief statement to clear some smoke. The whole happening is of pretty complex and confusing nature, so I’ll just cut things short and straight for now. Unfortunately I must bring you all some bad news as things did not turn out the way we hoped, or anyone else involved in this production for that matter. The new album was going to be nothing but a score to a horror movie and to be a real surprise to all fans of Diabolical Masquerade. For the worse, plans and ideas went down the gutter one after another and in the end the whole movie project eventually landed on ice. However, mine and Dan’s three monthly amount of hard work was finished before the decline of the project, but ended up without value and "lost" with its copyrights in the hands of the production company. After several months of negotiation, Avantgarde Music was granted to license the soundtrack as an independent release and a commercial follow-up to "Nightwork". We’re now proud to see our part of this project DID make it in the end, however, in a let’s say "daring" direction that it was initially planned to be. Just think about it, we’re probably the first in the world having released a soundtrack to a film that can’t be seen, so who can blame us for not taking "originality" to new heights?!? On mine and Dan’s behalf, it’s important to stress though, that no matter how much this album will be promoted as the follow-up to "Nightwork", it’s still released in the true, raw and un-edited motion picture soundtrack it was made to be. 61 tracks on the album pretty much speaks for itself and needless to say, this is aimed at a "mature" audience and advised as restricted to non-adults." Blackheim, March 2001. For full song samples on "Death’s Design" go to: www.mp3.com/diabolicalmasquerade.
BEHEMOTH will no longer join the MARDUK tour which is set to start on March 21st. Nevertheless, the band has been confirmed for the Wacken festival in Germany and will most likely take part in more summer festivals.
NECROPHAGIA have officially signed the contract with Moonfog to release their next album, Harvest Ritual.
DIMMU BORGIR‘s "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" is out in Japan on April 25th. This edition includes the bonus track ‘Burn In Hell’ and a 28 page color booklet. The first pressing will also include a sticker and a second enhanced CD.
EMPYRIUM have finished the recordings for their new album, "Weiland". The album combines a folklore theme with Classical music and elements of Prog-Rock. The album, likely to be a limited edition 3 CD set, will be released in mid to late 2001 through Ember Music.
TENHI will release a new MCD, airut:ciwi, in a special limited handmade cardboard package.
PARAGON OF BEAUTY recently recorded their new album, Comfort Me – Infinity, at Markus Stock’s Klangschmiede Studio E.
OF THE WAND AND THE MOON have licensed their new album, "Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness", for Germany, Austria and Switzerland through Voices Of Wonder.
BETHLEHEM just started the recordings for their new album, "Schatten aus der Alexander Welt".
KHOLD is the name of a new Moonfog signing. They are a new Norwegian band who play grim Black Metal – early nineties Norwegian sound, real heavy and catchy. The band is Oslo based and are all musicians with long experience from other projects. They have just recorded their debut for Moonfog, "MasterPiss of Pain".
Itlay’s MONUMENTUM are working on their new album, "Ad Nauseam".
The Philippines’ I.P.N Productions will unleash a compilation CD this coming April. 18 bands gathered for this release including: ANCIENT CEREMONY, BLOOD STAINED DUSK, COVEN CURSE, HORDES OF NEBLAH, KRUGER, LEGACY, MANIAC BUTCHER, MEINARDUS, MITHRAS, NOCTUM, NOCTURN , REX INFERNUS, SATHANAS, TIDES OF DARKNESS, UNEARTHLY, VINTERSEMESTRE and VORPHALACK. The disc runs for 77 minutes and includes a 20 page booklet with killer artwork done by Erick Neyra of GOAT SEMEN. This CD will be pressed on a limited hand numbered 666 copies. For more on this release check out http://ipnproduction.cjb.net
PHOBIA have inkes a deal with Necropolis / Deathvomit Recording. The band plan on recording an album for a late Summer / Fall release. "We’re all excited to be working with Necropolis / Death Vomit. It’s nice to see a label that hasn’t lost sight of what’s important." remarked bassist Bruce Reeves.
CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN are preparing to release their new album, "The Genocide Machine".
ALASTIS release a new album, Unity, through Century Media on March 19th.
Maquiavel Music Entertainment has signed LUX OCCULTA. Their forthcoming album is called "The Mother And The Enemy" and the band is set to enter Studio 333 in Poland with producer Bartek Kuzniak in late March after two Lux Occulta members will be back from supporting to VADER’s Polish National Tour with their project DECAPITATED.
Tokyo’s DEFILED will perform at the New Jersey Metal Meltdown on the weekend of April 6th and 7th.
ROTTING CHRIST‘s second album, "Non Serviam", is being re-released with a different cover. You can order the album from Sleaszy Rider at sleaszyrider@yahoo.com or by calling +30944-904163.
VENOM‘s "Archive" album is out on March 26th. The CD includes a mix of live and studio material from the band’s career. The tracklisting: ‘Speedkilling’, ‘Flatline’, ‘Bloodlust’, ‘Into The Fire’, ‘Kissing The Beast’, ‘Shadow King’, ‘Insane’, ‘Cicilised’, ‘Parasite’, ‘Trinity MCMXLC 0530’, ‘The Ark’, ‘Crucified’, ‘Need To Kill’, ‘Tribes’, ‘Skool Daze’, ‘Countess Bathory’, ‘Harder Than Ever’ and ‘Wolverine’.
AKERCOCKE have been signed by Peaceville Records. The bands second full-length studio album entitled "Goat Of Mendes", recorded at their own ‘Goat Of Mendes’ Studio, will be out in May, and the release will be supported by some live appearances in the UK and Europe. Plans are already underway for the next leg of the Peacefest shows of which Akercocke will feature high on the bill.
Chief Spires, bassist of NILE, has parted ways with the critically-acclaimed band upon return from their European headlining tour. Spires cites creative differences as the reason for the split and wishes to thank all the NILE fans worldwide for the years of support. NILE will soon announce a replacement and upcoming summer tour plans. NILE wishes Spires the best in any of his future musical endeavors.
THE DEAD PIT is the title of a compilation CD that was released in co-operation by Dead Again Records and Prick Productions. It features tracks by BRAINCHOKE, GOREROTTED, BRUTAL INSANITY, BEEF CONSPIRACY, REGORGE, INHUMATE, AGATHOCLES, DROGHEDA and many more. You can purchase copies for £5 each, either from INFECTED DISARRAY, 7 Symmons Close, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM7 5TL, UK or you go to the Dead Again website for this and many more brutal releases. www.deadagain.fsnet.co.uk, e-mail: kolobos@deadagain.fsnet.co.uk
ATHEIST‘s back catalogue will be re-issued through France’s Seasons Of Mist Records early this summer, starting with "Piece Of Time", followed by 1992’s "Unquestionable Presence", and then finally "Elements" with a live album slated for a early 2001 release, and hopefully later in 2001 a brand new ATHEIST record. There will also be a new official website going up soon, so watch the current website www.homestead.com/atheist for more details on that! Check out singer Kelly Shaefer’s new band nEURoTiCa, you can download for free here http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/45/neurotica.html
INFACTED DISARRAY will enter Orchard Studios in Northampton on March 31st to record a 3 track promo as a prelude to their first full-length CD for release in October 2001. MP3’s have been added to their website, along with lyrics and tabulature. Go to: http://infected.fsnet.co.uk
THE CROWN are proud to announce that the new vocalist in The Crown is noone less than Tomas Lindberg (ex-At The Gates). Here’s what guitarist Marko Tervonen has to say: "I hope that this are good news for you, cause it sure as hell are good news for us… The BEST possible singer next to Johan. We’ll record one hell of an album later this year (most likely during fall). And it will crush EVERYTHING!!! It’s time to dominate the WORLD!!!"
AETERNUS is currently mixing their new album "Ascention Of Terror" in Grieghallen with their producer Pytten.
ALAS have finished all the pieces for their debut-album "Absolute Purity Vol.I". The last remaining part will be the cover-artwork that needs to be 200% fitting, since this album is supposed to set new standards in the fields of Metal with female vocals.
ANCIENT RITES have finished their new album "Dim Carcosa". It’s supposed to feature an ultimate combination of Black, Death and Heavy Metal with keyboard-orchestration.
CRUACHAN‘s new album was co-produced by Shane MacGowan (of The Pogues). The single ‘Ride-on’ even features Shane on a few vocal lines. The full album "Folk-lore" can be expected in August.
DIABOLIC have finished their second album "Subterraineal Magnitude". Fans of high quality Tampa Death Metal will certainly not be disappointed.
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER guitarist Eumel has an injury on his hand (similar to Demonaz of Immortal).
DISMEMBER will hit the studio in the summer-time to record their first album for Hammerheart Records.
EXMORTEM will release their new album "Berzerker Legions" in May.
MACABRE will re-release their legendary "Gloom" album (re-mastered and with exclusive bonus songs) during this Summer. Check them out at Dynamo.
MONSTROSITY will release a double-CD called "Enslaving The Masses" in August. It will feature a live-CD and a CD with obscure tracks from demos, 7"’s etc.
PRIMORDIAL will re-releases "Imrama" and "A Journey’s End" with the original design and re-mastered. A new album will follow in Autumn 2001.
REBAELLIUN have recorded their new album "Annihilation" in Stage One Studio with producer Andy Classen (Krisiun, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter).
SATARIEL is ready to record and have chosen Daniel Bergstrand as producer in Studio Underground (this combination brought us Darkane’s "Rusted Angel").
In April SEVERE TORTURE will tour in the US.
SINISTER will record "Creative Killings" right after they return from their April tour.
THRONEAEON have finished their album "Neither Of Gods". Swedish Death Metal with a touch of US Death Metal, very well executed and recorded in Studio Underground.
CRADLE OF FILTH have announced that the first release to come out of their new imprint label AbraCadaver, will be their own new studio project, "Bitter Suites To Succubi". This will be the band’s first release since 2000’s "Midian", which has taken Cradle Of Filth’s total world-wide sales over 1 Million units, and charted in the UK, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland and debuted at number 30 in Germany. The project will feature four completely new songs, plus a cover of the SISTERS OF MERCY classic, ‘No Time To Cry’ as well as three complete re-workings of ‘The Black Goddess Rises’, ‘Summer Dying Fast’ and ‘The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh’ from the band’s legendary albums "Vempire – Dark Faerytales in Phallustein" and "The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh". The complete tracklisting will be announced shortly. The album, produced by Cradle Of Filth and mixed by John Fryer also features the acclaimed string quartet APOCALYPTICA, famed for their classical renditions of METALLICA compositions. The cover art for the studio project comes from the amazing JK Potter, who not only designed cover art for Clive Barker, JG Ballard and Isaac Asimov, but also the stunning images for Cradle Of Filth’s ‘Midian’ album. The artwork will also include individual portraits coming from John Coulthart – better known for his illustrations of HP Lovecraft stories. To celebrate the launch of AbraCadaver, Snapper Music will film Cradle Of Filth’s appearance at the legendary Nottingham Rock City on Easter Saturday, the 14th of April, for a worldwide netcast and later release on DVD and Video. Their only other visual release "PanDaemonAeon" maintained 7 weeks in the Billboard Video Chart. The netcast will be broadcast from April 15th (times to be confirmed) in association with rock and metal portal Rocktribe.com. The netcast will be viewer’s first chance to see and hear the brand new songs before their release on "Bitter Suites To Succubi". "Bitter Suites To Succubi" will be released on May 29th 2001.