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| 24.11.2005 | › | Rebellion - Lineup Change On Guitars |
| 19.11.2005 | › | Falconer Rejoined By Singer Mathias Blad |
| 18.11.2005 | › | Norther - New Album Title And Track List Revealed |
| 17.11.2005 | › | Firewind - New Vocalist And Drummer |
| 16.11.2005 | › | Celesty - Line-Up Change On The Guitars |
| 13.11.2005 | › | Turisas - Update On Georg Laakso's Condition |
| 11.11.2005 | › | Eidolon - No New Records For Quite Some Time |
| 29.09.2005 | › | Arch Enemy - New Guitarist |
| › | Dream Evil - Niklas And Peter Rejoin The Band | |
| 28.09.2005 | › | Amaran - Massive Line-Up Changes |
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Rebellion - Lineup Change On Guitars
REBELLION, the German band that features in its ranks former GRAVE DIGGER members Uwe Lulis (guitar) and Tomi Göttlich (bass), have parted ways with guitarist Björn Eilen. "Unfortunately, Björn to quit the band health problems, and Simone has taken his place," the group write on their web site. A photo of the band's new lineup can be found at http://www.rebellion.st/images/Bandphoto_new1.jpg .
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| Source: | blabbermouth.net |
Falconer Rejoined By Singer Mathias Blad
Swedish epic/power metallers FALCONER have confirmed the departure of singer Kristoffer Göbel. In a posting on their official web site, the band write, "Well, once again the line up of FALCONER is changing. 'Now again!!' you might say. It does sound a bit unstable to do this every once in a while, I know.
"After realizing that changing vocalist was not that applauded by people nor was the musical change on the last album (isn't it great when people are open minded....) we thought: 'OK, sailing towards the wind is getting boring' (personally I would say a sense of cynicism started to grow), 'Why not sail with it instead in good mood?'
"After changing the new music into more folkish style (and loving the sound of it) Karsten and I thought, 'Why not go the whole way, it would really fit the music.
"So hereby we present you the return of Mathias Blad.
"So we thank Kristoffer for the years in the band. It's been a great time we allways will cherish and we assure you all that this has nothing to do with personal matters. We wish all the best for Kriss in the future.
"This kind of thing is about the worst things you can do to a bandmate if you're all friends but in the end, this is not a sand box, it's a band."
FALCONER's fourth studio album, "Grime Vs. Grandeur", was released in May via Metal Blade Records. The CD features guest performances by Snowy Shaw (MERCYFUL FATE, KING DIAMOND, DREAM EVIL) on drums and Andy LaRocque (KING DIAMOND) on additional lead vocals.
"After realizing that changing vocalist was not that applauded by people nor was the musical change on the last album (isn't it great when people are open minded....) we thought: 'OK, sailing towards the wind is getting boring' (personally I would say a sense of cynicism started to grow), 'Why not sail with it instead in good mood?'
"After changing the new music into more folkish style (and loving the sound of it) Karsten and I thought, 'Why not go the whole way, it would really fit the music.
"So hereby we present you the return of Mathias Blad.
"So we thank Kristoffer for the years in the band. It's been a great time we allways will cherish and we assure you all that this has nothing to do with personal matters. We wish all the best for Kriss in the future.
"This kind of thing is about the worst things you can do to a bandmate if you're all friends but in the end, this is not a sand box, it's a band."
FALCONER's fourth studio album, "Grime Vs. Grandeur", was released in May via Metal Blade Records. The CD features guest performances by Snowy Shaw (MERCYFUL FATE, KING DIAMOND, DREAM EVIL) on drums and Andy LaRocque (KING DIAMOND) on additional lead vocals.
| Source: | blabbermouth.net |
| Band profile: | Falconer |
Norther - New Album Title And Track List Revealed
Finnish metallers NORTHER have set "Till Death Unites Us" as the title of their new album, due on January 25, 2006 via Spinefarm. According to the label a single, entitled "Scream", will be released two weeks prior to the album.
"Till Death Unites Us" track listing (in no particular order):
01. Scream
02. Throwing My Life Away
03. The End of Our Lives
04. Evil Ladies
05. Drowning
06. Die
07. Everything
08. Alone In the End
09. Norther
10. Omen
11. Fuck You
12. Wasted Years
NORTHER's last release was an EP, entitled "Solution 7". The band's third full-length album, "Death Unlimited", was issued last year through Spinefarm Records.
"Till Death Unites Us" track listing (in no particular order):
01. Scream
02. Throwing My Life Away
03. The End of Our Lives
04. Evil Ladies
05. Drowning
06. Die
07. Everything
08. Alone In the End
09. Norther
10. Omen
11. Fuck You
12. Wasted Years
NORTHER's last release was an EP, entitled "Solution 7". The band's third full-length album, "Death Unlimited", was issued last year through Spinefarm Records.
| Source: | blabbermouth.net & spinefarm.fi |
| Band profile: | Norther |
Firewind - New Vocalist And Drummer
Greek Power Metal act Firewind has finally completed its lineup again. Apollo Papathanasio (Time Requiem, Gardenian, ex-Majestic) replaces former vocalist Chity Somapala who left the band about three weeks ago.
Apollo commented on the band's website:
"Hallo everybody this is Apollo. Since I met Gus in Gothenburg 4 years ago we became good friends and back then we always talked about working together in the future. Now here we are together, taking the Firewind music to a new level. I love Gus' guitar style and it's a pleasure to listen to their music. The guys in Firewind are real magicians and I'm happy that you're letting me be a part of this machinery. STAY METAL!!!!!!!!!!!! CHEERS!!!!"
Regarding the drummer situation, the band posted the following statement:
"Also, for purely logistical reasons we've decided to get a drummer that lives in Greece. We'd like to thank Stian Kristoffersen for his amazing drumming and the great times we had together the past 3 years. So, out goes Stian and in comes the monster drummer Mark Cross (x-Helloween, x-Metalium)!! Although Mark is 50% German and 50% British, he's been living in Greece for many years. This obviously makes rehearsals and preparations happen much easier."
Mark commented:
"Hello boyz and girlz!
Life's a spinning wheel and here I am aside to one of the few remaining great young guitar heros?. The Gus G. Firewindo metal fuckin' machine!
Looking forward to their next album, a tour and Firewind heading your way!
Cheers and greets,
Mark Cross"
The band is currently in pre-production mode with 8 new songs completed. The new album is expected to be recorded in early 2006 and Firewind plan to make their live debut with the new line-up @ Prog Power UK festival on March 25th.
Apollo commented on the band's website:
"Hallo everybody this is Apollo. Since I met Gus in Gothenburg 4 years ago we became good friends and back then we always talked about working together in the future. Now here we are together, taking the Firewind music to a new level. I love Gus' guitar style and it's a pleasure to listen to their music. The guys in Firewind are real magicians and I'm happy that you're letting me be a part of this machinery. STAY METAL!!!!!!!!!!!! CHEERS!!!!"
Regarding the drummer situation, the band posted the following statement:
"Also, for purely logistical reasons we've decided to get a drummer that lives in Greece. We'd like to thank Stian Kristoffersen for his amazing drumming and the great times we had together the past 3 years. So, out goes Stian and in comes the monster drummer Mark Cross (x-Helloween, x-Metalium)!! Although Mark is 50% German and 50% British, he's been living in Greece for many years. This obviously makes rehearsals and preparations happen much easier."
Mark commented:
"Hello boyz and girlz!
Life's a spinning wheel and here I am aside to one of the few remaining great young guitar heros?. The Gus G. Firewindo metal fuckin' machine!
Looking forward to their next album, a tour and Firewind heading your way!
Cheers and greets,
Mark Cross"
The band is currently in pre-production mode with 8 new songs completed. The new album is expected to be recorded in early 2006 and Firewind plan to make their live debut with the new line-up @ Prog Power UK festival on March 25th.
| Source: | firewind.gr |
| Band profile: | Firewind |
Celesty - Line-Up Change On The Guitars
Celesty's guitarist J-P Alanen has left the band and was replaced by Teemu Koskela.
The band posted the following on the official website:
"We are sad to announce that our future with our long time partner J-P Alanen has ended.
The main reason is that J-P's musical interests have been elsewhere for a long time and Celesty needs more participation and hard work from all the members.
"Celesty thanks Juha-Pekka for all these years and the fun we have had together. We all wish the best of luck to J-P in his musical career.
"Our new lead guitar player is Teemu Koskela. He is a long time friend of the band and was natural choice for us. We have already started hard work together in rehearsals and Teemu is participating to the composing work as well. We believe that Teemu will bring lot's of new ideas to the songs and sounds in our future albums."
On the website of his second band Altaria J-P Alanen commented:
"There were difficulties between Celesty and the situation of my personal life. I'm concentrating more to my music studies, and also my musical taste, influences and attitudes have changed during the years. It was only a question of time. This decision won't affect to my playing in Altaria."
Sources: http://www.celesty.net and http://www.altariamusic.com
The band posted the following on the official website:
"We are sad to announce that our future with our long time partner J-P Alanen has ended.
The main reason is that J-P's musical interests have been elsewhere for a long time and Celesty needs more participation and hard work from all the members.
"Celesty thanks Juha-Pekka for all these years and the fun we have had together. We all wish the best of luck to J-P in his musical career.
"Our new lead guitar player is Teemu Koskela. He is a long time friend of the band and was natural choice for us. We have already started hard work together in rehearsals and Teemu is participating to the composing work as well. We believe that Teemu will bring lot's of new ideas to the songs and sounds in our future albums."
On the website of his second band Altaria J-P Alanen commented:
"There were difficulties between Celesty and the situation of my personal life. I'm concentrating more to my music studies, and also my musical taste, influences and attitudes have changed during the years. It was only a question of time. This decision won't affect to my playing in Altaria."
Sources: http://www.celesty.net and http://www.altariamusic.com
| Band profile: | Celesty |
Turisas - Update On Georg Laakso's Condition
The band posted the following update about guitarist Georg Laakso's condition and details about his accident on the official website:
"Dear friends,
The last two weeks have been an extremely hard time for us and we hope that you understand how difficult it has been for us to come out with an update on Georg's condition. There have been days when the situation has appeared to be very dark, as well as days bringing good news and glimpses of hope. Georg's condition is now somewhat stable, but still extremely severe and the risk of different complications is still evident. The following part will give you more information on what actually happened and how things have moved on since then.
The accident took place two weeks ago, on the night between Thursday and Friday (27.-28.10.) when, for a reason still unknown, Georg's car swerved off the highway, crashing through an elk-fence before coming to a halt 60 meters farther ahead. The first reports on the accident did not come in before early Friday morning and the first police patrol was at the scene around 8 am. They, however, did not notice the unconscious Georg who was lying on the ground approximately 5 meters from the vehicle. Neither did the following patrol which came to the scene later in the afternoon to add some more police tape in the fence as a signal to the motorists passing by that the police had already been there. Georg was reported missing on Friday afternoon. It was not before 6 pm Georg's brother found him at the scene of the accident and called the emergency number. When Georg was lifted up from the ground his heart stopped beating. At that point he had been lying unconscious on the icy ground for some 12 hours minimum, and his body temperature had gone down to 20.1 °C. No other persons were involved in the accident.
Georg was rushed to Hämeenlinna Central Hospital and later in the night transferred to the intensive care unit at Meilahti Hospital in Helsinki. During this time the nursing staff kept his heart beating by hand for well over four hours. At Meilahti Hospital he was connected to a heart-lung machine and heart operation was started immediately.
During the last two weeks Georg has gone through several operations on his heart, abdomen, feet etc. His body temperature has been raised slowly up towards normal, which has brought up some problems with his right leg not heating up properly due to bad frostbites. He has shown marks of consciousness throughout last week, and has been awake for short periods during the last days, but is still kept under anaesthesia and heavy narcosis most of the time. His heart is now somewhat working on its own, but his breathing is still controlled by a respirator, and there are also problems with his kidneys. Apart from a few broken ribs and a minor fracture in his jaw, the crash did not cause notable external damage. Recent scans have not shown any signs of brain damage either, but at this stage that is still far too early to speculate on.
Read more ››
"Dear friends,
The last two weeks have been an extremely hard time for us and we hope that you understand how difficult it has been for us to come out with an update on Georg's condition. There have been days when the situation has appeared to be very dark, as well as days bringing good news and glimpses of hope. Georg's condition is now somewhat stable, but still extremely severe and the risk of different complications is still evident. The following part will give you more information on what actually happened and how things have moved on since then.
The accident took place two weeks ago, on the night between Thursday and Friday (27.-28.10.) when, for a reason still unknown, Georg's car swerved off the highway, crashing through an elk-fence before coming to a halt 60 meters farther ahead. The first reports on the accident did not come in before early Friday morning and the first police patrol was at the scene around 8 am. They, however, did not notice the unconscious Georg who was lying on the ground approximately 5 meters from the vehicle. Neither did the following patrol which came to the scene later in the afternoon to add some more police tape in the fence as a signal to the motorists passing by that the police had already been there. Georg was reported missing on Friday afternoon. It was not before 6 pm Georg's brother found him at the scene of the accident and called the emergency number. When Georg was lifted up from the ground his heart stopped beating. At that point he had been lying unconscious on the icy ground for some 12 hours minimum, and his body temperature had gone down to 20.1 °C. No other persons were involved in the accident.
Georg was rushed to Hämeenlinna Central Hospital and later in the night transferred to the intensive care unit at Meilahti Hospital in Helsinki. During this time the nursing staff kept his heart beating by hand for well over four hours. At Meilahti Hospital he was connected to a heart-lung machine and heart operation was started immediately.
During the last two weeks Georg has gone through several operations on his heart, abdomen, feet etc. His body temperature has been raised slowly up towards normal, which has brought up some problems with his right leg not heating up properly due to bad frostbites. He has shown marks of consciousness throughout last week, and has been awake for short periods during the last days, but is still kept under anaesthesia and heavy narcosis most of the time. His heart is now somewhat working on its own, but his breathing is still controlled by a respirator, and there are also problems with his kidneys. Apart from a few broken ribs and a minor fracture in his jaw, the crash did not cause notable external damage. Recent scans have not shown any signs of brain damage either, but at this stage that is still far too early to speculate on.
Read more ››
| Source: | turisas.com |
| Band profile: | Turisas |
Eidolon - No New Records For Quite Some Time
After the release of Eidolon's upcoming album "The Parallel Otherworld", Glen and Shawn Drover will take a break from Eidolon to concentrate on Megadeth.
Shawn Drover posted the following on the official website:
"At this time, we are in the process of getting the remaining tracks recorded for the Eidolon record - Nils has just finished the vocal tracks 100% today, so we should be receiving them at the studio in Toronto in a few weeks, after editing is done in Norway. Adrian has 2 bass tracks yet to complete, which I believe will happen within 1 week - Glen has all of his guitar solos to record, which is normal procedure for us, as he likes to do his solos last. With this said, we are looking at mixing/mastering this record starting January 1st-9th. Once the record is finished, we ship it off to Escapi - I cannot reveal the release date, as I have no idea when it will be released. Sometime in 2006 is a safe bet, I assume.
Since this will be the last Eidolon record for some time ( our priority is with MEGADETH ) we really wanted to have some musicians that we admire to play on certain tracks - As I write this, we have Hank Sherman/Michael Denner ( Mercyful Fate/Force of evil ) playing on "The Oath " which, by the way, sounds amazing!!!! Glen sent me a file of the song, via Whale Mail and it just put a big smile on my face. Glen handled the keyboard intro to the song ( we originally thought of using somebody else to record it, but nixed the idea ) it all sounds great - enough said on that.
As well, we have Michael Romeo ( Symphony X ) doing a trade off solo with Glen on another track, and we just confirmed Kim Mitchell ( Max Webster, Kim Mitchell band ) for a trade off solo with Glen as well. I cannot express how happy I am to have Kim perform on our record, as we have been huge fans of his playing, as well as Michael Romeo - we became good friends with him during Gigantour, so this was a no-brainer, really.
The 1 thing I will always be proud of with Eidolon, after 10 years now, is that we always did what we wanted to do, 100%, and never catered to whatever trend was happening at the time. We always made music to make US happy 1st - the fact that others like us is just icing on the cake!!! We never sold 1,000,000 record or anything like that, but we never cared about that anyways. Music was, is and will always be the #1 priority with Glen and myself."
Shawn Drover posted the following on the official website:
"At this time, we are in the process of getting the remaining tracks recorded for the Eidolon record - Nils has just finished the vocal tracks 100% today, so we should be receiving them at the studio in Toronto in a few weeks, after editing is done in Norway. Adrian has 2 bass tracks yet to complete, which I believe will happen within 1 week - Glen has all of his guitar solos to record, which is normal procedure for us, as he likes to do his solos last. With this said, we are looking at mixing/mastering this record starting January 1st-9th. Once the record is finished, we ship it off to Escapi - I cannot reveal the release date, as I have no idea when it will be released. Sometime in 2006 is a safe bet, I assume.
Since this will be the last Eidolon record for some time ( our priority is with MEGADETH ) we really wanted to have some musicians that we admire to play on certain tracks - As I write this, we have Hank Sherman/Michael Denner ( Mercyful Fate/Force of evil ) playing on "The Oath " which, by the way, sounds amazing!!!! Glen sent me a file of the song, via Whale Mail and it just put a big smile on my face. Glen handled the keyboard intro to the song ( we originally thought of using somebody else to record it, but nixed the idea ) it all sounds great - enough said on that.
As well, we have Michael Romeo ( Symphony X ) doing a trade off solo with Glen on another track, and we just confirmed Kim Mitchell ( Max Webster, Kim Mitchell band ) for a trade off solo with Glen as well. I cannot express how happy I am to have Kim perform on our record, as we have been huge fans of his playing, as well as Michael Romeo - we became good friends with him during Gigantour, so this was a no-brainer, really.
The 1 thing I will always be proud of with Eidolon, after 10 years now, is that we always did what we wanted to do, 100%, and never catered to whatever trend was happening at the time. We always made music to make US happy 1st - the fact that others like us is just icing on the cake!!! We never sold 1,000,000 record or anything like that, but we never cared about that anyways. Music was, is and will always be the #1 priority with Glen and myself."
| Source: | eidolon-nightmareworld.com |
| Band profile: | Eidolon |
Arch Enemy - New Guitarist
Arch Enemy have now settled on Fredrik Akesson as a replacement for Chris Amott (guitar) for the continued "Doomsday Machine" touring campaign...
Michael Amott comments:
"This guy, he just simply kills on the axe!
Rhythms and Leads - he's really got a shredding and musical style. He was down here rehearsing with us last week and we had a great time playing music and hanging out. We are eagerly looking forward to hitting the road again, this time with Fredrik on board the good ship Arch Enemy."
Fredrik Akesson, born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden first picked up the guitar at the age of 12, discovered Michael Schenker at the age of 14 and has been hooked on the "shred" ever since! Other early influences include Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen and George Lynch.
Over the years Fredrik has lent his awesome guitar talent to such varied artists such as Talisman, John Norum, Krux, Tiamat and his own (now defunct) group, Southpaw.
Fredrik Akesson comments on joining forces with Arch Enemy:
"Hi all ARCH ENEMY fans!
I was really thrilled when Michael Amott called me up and gave me the opportunity to play with Arch Enemy. I am excited about going on tour with them, and to meet you all.
C-Ya out there - it's time to burn! /Fredrik"
Michael Amott comments:
"This guy, he just simply kills on the axe!
Rhythms and Leads - he's really got a shredding and musical style. He was down here rehearsing with us last week and we had a great time playing music and hanging out. We are eagerly looking forward to hitting the road again, this time with Fredrik on board the good ship Arch Enemy."
Fredrik Akesson, born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden first picked up the guitar at the age of 12, discovered Michael Schenker at the age of 14 and has been hooked on the "shred" ever since! Other early influences include Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen and George Lynch.
Over the years Fredrik has lent his awesome guitar talent to such varied artists such as Talisman, John Norum, Krux, Tiamat and his own (now defunct) group, Southpaw.
Fredrik Akesson comments on joining forces with Arch Enemy:
"Hi all ARCH ENEMY fans!
I was really thrilled when Michael Amott called me up and gave me the opportunity to play with Arch Enemy. I am excited about going on tour with them, and to meet you all.
C-Ya out there - it's time to burn! /Fredrik"
| Source: | archenemy.net |
| Band profile: | Arch Enemy |
Dream Evil - Niklas And Peter Rejoin The Band
After leaving Dream Evil in August, vocalist Niklas Isfeldt and bassist Peter Stålfors are back in the band again. Currently no further information is given though.
| Source: | dreamevil.se |
| Band profile: | Dream Evil |
Amaran - Massive Line-Up Changes
Good news first: The vacant spot on bass guitar was filled by no one less than Niklas Sandin from Siebenburgen. Gunnar Hammar replaces the band's former guitarist Kari Kainulainen who left last year.
Now the bad news: Johanna DePierre, the band's voice, decided to leave the band.
The band members posted the following statements on the official website:
Hi everybody. Unfortunately I have some bad news for you, I have decided to leave the band. The reason for this is that I have lost the commitment and ambition that it takes to drive a band forwards and me staying would only result in keeping the other guys back. I will definitely not give up singing, so you can still count on seeing me around in other contexts. I've had a great time with Amaran, many wonderful memories, in particular all you people out there who have supported us, sent us e-mails, been there at our gigs. I'd like to say a big thank you to you guys
.. and also to the other members of Amaran, I'm sure they'll make something good out of this situation as well.
Love
Johanna DePierre
We understand and respect Johannas decision and wish her good luck in the future.
This will of course effect Amarans future and at the moment we cannot tell what the outcome will be. One thing is certain though; Robin, Ronnie, Gunnar and Niklas will continue to play together and work on our new material. We cannot say how the vocals will be like or if we can continue under the name Amaran. Future will tell and we will keep you updated.
Robin and Ronnie
Now the bad news: Johanna DePierre, the band's voice, decided to leave the band.
The band members posted the following statements on the official website:
Hi everybody. Unfortunately I have some bad news for you, I have decided to leave the band. The reason for this is that I have lost the commitment and ambition that it takes to drive a band forwards and me staying would only result in keeping the other guys back. I will definitely not give up singing, so you can still count on seeing me around in other contexts. I've had a great time with Amaran, many wonderful memories, in particular all you people out there who have supported us, sent us e-mails, been there at our gigs. I'd like to say a big thank you to you guys
.. and also to the other members of Amaran, I'm sure they'll make something good out of this situation as well.Love
Johanna DePierre
We understand and respect Johannas decision and wish her good luck in the future.
This will of course effect Amarans future and at the moment we cannot tell what the outcome will be. One thing is certain though; Robin, Ronnie, Gunnar and Niklas will continue to play together and work on our new material. We cannot say how the vocals will be like or if we can continue under the name Amaran. Future will tell and we will keep you updated.
Robin and Ronnie
| Source: | amaran.net |
| Band profile: | Amaran |