Dan Slaughter, drummer of the Swedish "raw, bestial death metallers" DEATHWITCH, has issued the following statement regarding the group's most recent CD, "Violence Blasphemy Sodomy":

"I have received a lot of negative reactions from journalists and press because of a line on our promo CD of our latest album 'Violence Blasphemy Sodomy' released by Earache Records/Wicked World. The line is 'Note to Journalists: DEATHWITCH don't give a FUCK what you think."

"This was written by some one working for Earache/Wicked World and was NOT approved by me or the band. I didn't know a FUCK about this line until I got reactions on it and finally got the promo my self. So that line do not comes from the band! We hate it and of course we care about journalists and especially the underground scene. I think it's a very stupid thing to write on a promo CD. Then why send promos???

"So FUCK this shit and hail the metal of morbid death!"

Swedish black metallers MARDUK and former IRON MAIDEN singer PAUL DI'ANNO are the latest bands confirmed for this year's Rock The Nations Open Air Festival, scheduled to be held July 3-4 in Istanbul, Turkey. Also set to appear are U.D.O., PAIN OF SALVATION, AMON AMARTH and ASAFATED SOLITUDE. More confirmations will be announced soon.

Band profile:

Marduk

Swedish grindcore merchants NASUM won the Manifest award in the "Best Hard Rock/Punk" category for their most recent album, "Helvete".

The band beat out such impressive competition as ARCH ENEMY ("Anthems of Rebellion"), KATATONIA ("Viva Emptiness"), CULT OF LUNA ("The Beyond") and BURST ("Prey On Life").

The award ceremony took place at Debaser in Stockholm Thursday night (January 29).

The Manifest Awards are held by SOM (Svenska Oberoende Musikproducenter) (Swedish Independent Musicproducers), an organization that consists of over 100 record labels.

Last Friday (January 23), NASUM won the "P3 Guld" award from radio station P3 in the "Best Rock/Metal Album Of The Year" category. That award ceremony took place in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Band profile:

Nasum

GRIP INC., the forward-thinking metal outfit featuring Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, FANTOMAS), will release "Incorporated", their fourth studio album, on March 16 in the U.S. through SPV Records. The GRIP INC. lineup is rounded out by guitarist/composer/in-demand producer Waldemar Sorychta (LACUNA COIL, MOONSPELL) and vocalist Gus Chambers.

The track listing for "Incorporated" is as follows:

01. Curse (Of the Cloth)
02. The Answer
03. Prophecy
04. Endowment of Apathy
05. Enemy Mind
06. Skin Trade
07. (Built to) Resist
08. The Gift
09. Privilege
10. Blood of Saints
11. Man With No Insides

Sweden's KATATONIA have been confirmed for Athens Open Air 2004 festival in Athens, Greece. The one-off concert will take place on July 6.

Upcoming KATATONIA tour dates:

Feb. 04 - Klubi - Tampere, FIN
Feb. 05 - Lutakko - Jyväskylä, FIN
Feb. 06 - Loop - Oulu, FIN
Feb. 07 - Tavastia - Helsinki, FIN
Feb. 19 - John Dee - Oslo, NOR
Feb. 20 - Byscenen - Trondheim, NOR
Jun. 04 - BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend - Cleveland, OH
Jul. 06 - Athens Open-Air 2004 - Athens, GRE
Aug. 20 - Summer Breeze Open Air - Abtsgmünd, GER

As previously reported, KATATONIA have set a February 23 release date through Avantgarde Records for their two-disc compilation of all of their previously out-of-print mini-CDs, plus sampler tracks from old full-length albums and one unreleased track.

Titled "Brave Yester Days", the double CD will feature artwork by Agni Kaster and will be released in a digipack format together with a 16-page booklet.

KATATONIA are currently editing their first DVD, due later in the year. A Polish Cracow gig from April 2003 will be the main attraction of the disc, but there will also be more exclusive bonus footage to go along with it. In addition, one or two of the unreleased tracks from the "Viva Emptiness" sessions will also show up on the DVD.

Band profile:

Katatonia

Former DEATH/TESTAMENT guitarist James Murphy has reportedly secured a deal with Holland's Mascot Records for his upcoming all-star tribute to album being put together in memory of DEATH mainman Chuck Schuldiner.

The CD, said to be titled "Within The Mind", is tentatively scheduled to include contributions from SLIPKNOT guitarist Mick Thomson and bassist Paul Gray, MALEVOLENT CREATION/ex-SUFFOCATION drummer Dave Culross, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION vocalist Brett Hoffmann and CKY guitarist Deron Miller. A late 2004 release is expected.

Band profile:

Death

Posted on the Official Homepage:

Hi all, our smoking new album "New World Messiah" is set for release on March 22nd!!!
Make a big mark in your calendars, people. Life will never be the same again after this glorious day, I tell you.
Our new site will be up in a week or two. We will announce its coming on this very site before this one gets closed down... On the new one you will get to hear NEW SONGS (or bits of them anyway) SEE NEW PHOTOS (we're still as ugly though. maybe even worse) AND SEE CLIPS OF RECORDING MADNESS, EVIL WORSHIP AND WHAT NOT!!!

Also - BIG NEWS -
We will be on tour with EDGUY and Brainstorm April through May. A complete listing of all dates will be found on our new site. This will be the tour of the century, folks. No doubts in my mind. See you soon, /NILS & The Boys

Band profile:

Nocturnal Rites

I know... it have been to much now, but news is news and here is some more:

Former Stratovarius vocalist Timo Kotipelto has broken his silence regarding his departure from the band.

The following is Kotipelto's official statement regarding his split with the group and his future plans:

"Dear Friends,

"There's been so many rumours out lately that I wanted to sort things out with a short comment from my side. First of all, I have given more than 10 years of my life to Stratovarius and loving 99% of what I have experienced through the years. I have been able to participate on amazing albums, I've had a chance to sing some unforgettable songs and most important: I've had the pleasure to tour around the world, sing for thousands of people and meet new friends everywhere. I sincerely thank all of you! You have fulfilled my dreams and even more.

"When I joined the band 1993 I was still studying vocals and I immediately felt that it was my destiny to sing in this band. There's been some smaller crisis (like in every rock band) but towards the end of the last year they have been piling up. I didn't like so much the musical direction of the latest albums. To me Stratovarius are best on 'Episode' and 'Visions' albums. The final thing for me was when I read from the Finnish yellow press Tolkki's interview where he said that he doesn't know who will play on the next album. I phoned him and after having a short meeting we decided that we should go separate ways.

"I have been very busy with my own album from the end of the last year until now. I can honestly tell you that the last months have been the most difficult of my life. And not talking only about the band situation, my private life has been a mess too. I've been stressed enough and busy with other things and thought that I should not join Tolkki's little blaming game. But I think he has really gone over the top lately. He had said a lot of childish things and bullshit about me. I just want to tell him 'get better!' We used to be friends but nowadays we have drifted so much apart. I do respect him as a musician, composer and a producer. I wish him and the rest of the band all the best.

"What comes to Jörg, I wish him and his family all the best and happiness. He and I have had same kind of situations in the past as well and in the end they have all worked out. I hope we will be friends someday.

"A lot of people (journalists/fans/friends) have been asking me a lot of questions 'Why?'

Read more ››

Band profile:

Stratovarius

MORIFADE

Title; Domi<]nation
Releasedate; 09/02/04
Format; CD / CD-digi
Territory; World excluding the Americas and Japan

OVERVIEW
The beginning of 2004 will get a highlight in the form of the third album by the Swedish Power Metal band MORIFADE. The previous album "Imaginarium" received excellent reviews, but "Domi<]nation" is an album that crosses all the boundaries needed for a killer Power Metal album A.D. 2003 !

Innovative, progressive, but not in a way that makes this a difficult listening, good songs prevail on this album !

If Power Metal is your cup of tea then MORIFADE is your thing to check out !

MARKETING AND PROMOTION
· Advertisement in all relevant Media.
· Huge service to relevant media, there will be massive media coverage.

SELLING POINTS
· The previous album "Imaginarium" did really well worldwide.
· Recorded at Los Angered Studio (o.a. Evergrey) by Andy La Rocque (a.o. King Diamond/Death).
· First 5.000 copies come in a limited edition digipack with five (!!!) bonussongs.
· The digi and the normal CD have a video-track added for "Lost Within a Shade".
· Design by C.A. Interactive (a.o. Skyfire, Forefather).

TRACKLISTING
Parallels
A Silent Revolution
The Second Coming
Words I Never Speak
Clarity (Fragments of a Dream)
Panopticon
The Rising
Erase
Memory's End
Cast a Spell*
As Time Decides*
Tomorrow Knows*
Dance with the Devil*
Judas (Helloween-cover)*
Lost Within a Shade (video-track)

* = bonus track for the digi-pack only !!!

MORE INFO CAN BE FOUND AT
www.karmageddonmedia.com
www.morifade.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

V/A

Title; Nordic Metal - A Tribute to Euronymous
Releasedate; 09/02/04
Cat. # KARMA011
Format; CD
Barcode; 8 24971 70112 0
Territory; Europe only !

OVERVIEW
This is the long-since deleted CLASSIC compilation, also sub-titled "A Tribute To Euronymous", which ofcourse is the legendary MAYHEM-guitarist who died in 1993?This album originates from the mid nineties and back then this compilation was seen as a very valuable possession for anyone being part of the expanding Black Metal scene (obviously a look at the track-list explains exactly why?).

We have decided to make it available again, first of all because we like it a lot and secondly because there is such a big demand !!! The design is spiced up and the sound was always killer on this compilation that actually should be declared "Best Black Metal Compilation" ever?

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Veteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS have set "Unbreakable" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in April. An as-yet-undisclosed single will precede the album in March. The band are also working on a DVD which should be released later in the year.

As previously reported, SCORPIONS - who recently announced the addition of Polish bassist Pawel Maciwoda (SECTION 31, URBANATOR) to the group's ranks - completed the recordings for "Unbreakable" at Peppermint Park Studio in Hannover. The album is expected to feature a return to the band's classic hard rock sound following a foray into a more dance-inspired direction on their last studio release, 1999's "Eye II Eye".

Everybody, please go vote at http://www.onlinemetalawards.com/ , the vote will be closed on January 31st, so do what you can to promote your favourite metal website We need your help, so go and vote metalstorm as best website for 2003...

Thank you all...

Former STRATOVARIUS vocalist Timo Kotipelto has finalized the track listing for his second solo album, "Coldness", due this spring through Century Media Records.

Joining Timo during the recording sessions for the follow-up to 2002's "Waiting For The Dawn" (which was issued under the KOTIPELTO banner) were the following world-class musicians:

Janne Wirman (CHILDREN OF BODOM - keyboards)
Jari Kainulainen (STRATOVARIUS - bass)
Mirka Rantanen (THUNDERSTONE, TUNNELVISION - drums)
Mike Romeo (SYMPHONY X - guitars)
Juhani Malmberg (TUNNELVISION - guitars)

"Coldness" track listing:

01. Seeds Of Sorrow
02. Reasons
03. Around
04. Can You Hear The Sound
05. Snowbound
06. Journey Back
07. Evening's Fall
08. Coldness Of My Mind
09. Take Me Away
10. Here We Are

The recording sessions for "Coldness" were completed this fall/winter under the production guidance of Kotipelto. Mikko Karmila mixed the effort at Finnvox studios in Helsinki. The album's first single/video, "Reasons", will precede the full-length CD sometime this spring.

Saying that he doesn't like the term "solo album" because "I'm not playing any fucking solos ? it's just album of heavy metal!" Kotipelto added: " 'Coldness' sounds more modern compared to my first album. Of course, you can hear my early influences (IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH, QUEENSR?CHE) here and there, but I still absolutely think it sounds like my album.

"Musically, it's again traditional heavy metal ? not power metal or something like that. I also sing slightly differently compared to the way I did on the STRATOVARIUS albums. On my new album, my voice doesn't reach falsetto ."

Regarding the lyrics on the CD, Kotipelto said, "It was always my dream to release a concept album... I couldn't do that with STRATOVARIUS, so I fulfilled that dream with my first album, 'Waiting For The Dawn'. As some of you might know, it was the album about the Egyptian culture and so on. But the new lyrics on 'Coldness' are very far away from the 'warmness' of Egypt. I would say that new album's feeling is absolutely 'freezing' and it reflects my not-so-warm feelings from the past months and weeks."

"Of course, the cover art of the 'Coldness' and the pages of the CD booklet are all connected to the album title. The cover is 'freezing' and there is snow and things like that. Not such a typical heavy metal album cover ? there are no swords, fire or things like that."

Spanish death metallers AVULSED have inked a deal with Metal Age Productions.

According to an official press release, "after summer 2003 the band was pretty disappointed with AvantGarde's work and decided to break their contractual obligations with them and started to search for a new label. Four options were seriously considered (Crash, Blackend, Code666 & Metal Age) and after meticulously thinking about it, AVULSED decided to sign a deal with Slovakian label Metal Age Productions for the release of the band's fourth album. This decision might surprise everybody, since this label is the smallest one of the four considered, but at the same time it's the most involved one in the underground and has a vast experience with over 50 titles released so far and a growing and very promising future in front!!

"Actually, the band feels stronger than ever and after the big success of their latest work 'Yearning For The Grotesque', AVULSED is now working on 11 new songs to be recorded in July 2004 for an scheduled September release through Metal Age Productions. The new stuff is sure the most brutal, fastest and intense material ever done by AVULSED!! Shorter and more direct songs, but with the killer melodies that always characterized the band's style."

Read more ››

Band profile:

Avulsed

The surviving members of the Norwegian black metal band WINDIR have issued a statement confirming reports that vocalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken was found dead on Saturday, January 17.

"Terje left his home Wednesday , when he did not return his family got worried and contacted the police. Saturday our greatest fear was confirmed. Terje was found dead at Reppastølen in the Sogndal valley. It seemed as if Terje was on his way to the family cabin at Fagereggi. Due to the cold weather and deep snow the trip became much harder than Terje expected. When he realized that he would not be able to reach the cabin, he tried to make his way back down. Unfortunately he did not make it. Terje was found just above Reppastølen. Forensic evidence says that Terje died of hypothermia. This tragic accident has made these times extremely difficult for his family, band members and friends.

"Terje was buried at Stedje church Tuesday .

"We hope you will respect his memory and let Terje's closest mourn in peace.

"A great man has passed away, but his music lives forever.

"Hváll, Steingrim, Sture, Strom & Righ."

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ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer recently spoke to Russia's Darkside e-Zine about the group's split with vocalist Matt Barlow during the recording sessions for their new album, "The Glorious Burden". Asked about Matt's official statement announcing his departure band ? in which he cited the tragic events of September 11, 2001 as a major factor in his decision ? Schaffer said, "I think that was really more of an excuse. There's no doubt that September 11 had a profound effect on all of us, but I think that was more of an excuse than anything. Things were going down for a few years with Matt, he was figuring out that he was not really comfortable with who he was pretending to be. Obviously that does not make for a strong partnership, which is the big difference between Tim and Matt. Tim is who he is, he is very comfortable with who he is, the life that he has chosen, he likes what he does, that's big difference. Matt was never like that, he was a pretty insecure person. Basically, I almost stopped after 9/11, I almost said, 'Fuck this!' The music business is a big fucking lie, it's a gigantic lie, that's what it is. It's an illusion, it's all bullshit, all this rock star fucking crap, the guitar hero crap, whatever, that's all it is. If you look at it from that standpoint, that is like, 'OK, yeah, that is just a big lie to meet the market that sells somebody's image or somebody's concept of the band or his own vision of the band, it's not very fulfilling.' To me, I decided that the whole reason that I do this is because I'm a songwriter, and my songs have had a profound impact on a lot of people's lives. I talk to the fans and they've told me about it. Let's put it this way: if I was just a guitar player, if I was just a performer, I would not do this, because there's nothing very gratifying about the music business. And as the songwriter, I get something out of it. I don't take the guitar very seriously, guitar is just a tool to write songs, ICED EARTH is a vehicle for my songs, that's all it's ever been from the beginning. So I decided, 'You know what? I'm gonna keep it going, because I have the songs.' Matt didn't have that, he wasn't a songwriter, he knew he wasn't a songwriter, he didn't have it in him. Matt didn't even come up with vocal melodies in the band, it was always me. So when you go out on stage and you're playing this rock star guy, it's a pretty shallow way of life. A lot of people may go, 'Oh, this is so great!' It's not so great, you know. You live out on the suitcase, you work hard, it's not easy and it's not always fun. If you're not getting anything out of it like that creative drive or creative outlet of being a songwriter, I wouldn't do that easier.

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Band profile:

Iced Earth