KAMELOT's previously announced dates in Monterrey and Guadalajara have been cancelled by their Mexican promoter, Ekosysmusik. No reason was given for the cancellation. The group's EpicaFest date in Mexico City will go ahead as planned on February 14, with five support bands also on the bill, including Californian metallers CAGE.

As previously reported, KAMELOT are currently writing material for the follow-up to last year's "Epica", tentatively due this summer through SPV Records. Among the songtitles set to appear on the CD are "March of Mephisto", "Nothing Ever Dies" and "Serenade".

Upcoming KAMELOT shows:

Feb. 14 - Mexico City, MEX @ TBA
Feb. 28 - Granada, SPA @ Piorno Rock Festival

Band profile:

Kamelot

Norwegian metallers AETERNUS will enter Grieghallen Studios in June to begin recording their new album, tentatively due in late 2004 through Nocturnal Art Productions. The follow-up to last year's "A Darker Monument" will once again be produced by Pytten, who has previously worked with ENSLAVED and MÖRK GRYNING, among others.

Says AETERNUS mainman Ares: "We got more or less 4 songs so far, though they are all not 100% done...working on them nearly every day. Like I've said in several interviews, it's interesting now to work on new material as we are putting weight on leaving the death metal elements behind now...though the brutality and extreme atmosphere remains. Only it's shape and face are changed to put it that way...we're experimenting quite a bit actually. Some paths we wander leads back to some elder roots too...

"A lot of the music on next album might also make you feel: 'Eh? Is this AETERNUS?'...as we are trying to explore a bit these days. Allowing us to give you more/different and interesting metal to listen to. Though we are still dedicated to darkened music/metal and don't think we'll be turning AETERNUS into some cheap crap or whatever as we SHALL and WILL always create darkened music for extreme minds! Make no mistake about that!"

Band profile:

Aeternus

ENSIFERUM's new Album, "Iron", has been delayed until April 5th, 2004. The album is in it's mastering stage now, while the band is not pleased with the postponing of the album.

In related news, FINNTROLL site admin/keyboardist TrollhorN has commented on the upcoming European tour dates with ENSIFERUM and THE WAKE:

"These are NOT CONFIRMED IN ANY WAY. I have no idea why the Hell Metalyse have announced half-official information on their website, but from Spinefarm´s side we´ve been asked to keep our mouths shut about these gigs yet. Propably within three months one quarter has been cancelled and there are more places announced, so NOTHING IS SURE YET. This is ONLY a hint what is supposed to be coming.

And about ENSIFERUM, nothing is certain yet. I know that they have held a band- meeting about the matter yesterday, so keep on following www.ensiferum.com (The official site) to get your updates.

Although I can tell you a couple of things, which will upset some and make some people cheer: I don´t think there will be a gig in Sweden within that tour (because it´s so hard to travel there by bus) , but at least we (the Finntrolls) have been trying to get a gig into Switzerland, because we had such a great audience there. But we´ll see. It´s only December, and the tour starts in April. ANYTHING can happen, boys and girls. Anything."

Band profile:

Ensiferum

Swedish metallers VOMITORY have updated with their second studio diary from drummer Tobias Gustafsson:

"The last week of recording went really smooth. We're not really used to take things so easy during a recording session, so this was definitely a new experience to us - and a nice one indeed!

All guitars, bass and vocals are now done and so far we, including Henrik the producer, are all very content with the result. The first thing that strikes me when I listen to the recording is that Erik's voice has become even stronger and more brutal than on our previous albums! Fuck yeah! This is without any doubts his best vocal work to date and he could never have ended his vocal duties in Vomitory in a better way!

"Primal Massacre" will contain ten songs and as usual, there are some songs that still are untitled, but here are some of the definite titles "Autopsy Extravaganza", "Stray Bullet Kill", "Demons Divine" and the titletrack - "Primal Massacre".

On Friday the 19th, Lord K Philipsson from The Project Hate paid us a visit in the studio to chat, drink beer, listen to the album and take some pictures. click here to see the pictures - posted and commented by Lord K. And while you're there, don't foget to join the official Vomitory forum!

We left the studio on Saturday, December 20th - a bit hungover from yesterday but we were happy to get to rest our ears during the holidays. We'll begin mixing the album in Berno Studio, Malmö/Sweden, on January 5th together with Henrik Larsson.

More news when we're done with the mixing!"

Band profile:

Vomitory

Greetings to all of Arch Enemy's friends out there!
2003 has been a fantastic and eventful year - we started it off in January with working on our "Anthems Of Rebellion" album in the studio (in the U.K with Andy Sneap) and when we'd completed the album we played live all over the place in support of it. We have tons of cool memories from the road, too many to mention really?but some obvious highlights include the Slayer/Hatebreed US tour and our headline slot at the Korean "International Busan Rock Festival" and also our last show of 2003, a headline show @ the "Mean Fiddler" in London - a packed house that was ready for the metal!

Check out the live clip of "We Will Rise" from the 21st of December 2003 @ the "Mean Fiddler", London !!!!

http://www.archenemy.tv/pictures/reports/ArchEnemy_WeWillRise_London.mpg

We are convinced that 2004 will rock even harder, and things are looking good for the band?first thing coming up touring wise is a bunch of dates in Canada, USA & Japan, opening up for the NWOBHM Gods - Iron Maiden!
It doesn't really get any better than that, at least not in our world! :-)

See you on the road...

Happy New Year!

Michael & Arch Enemy

Band profile:

Arch Enemy

UK black/death metallers BAL-SAGOTH have written the following message on their official website:

"The writing of the long awaited sixth BAL-SAGOTH album is continuing, and the new material is sounding truly phenomenal. Fans of everything BAL-SAGOTH have crafted, from the debut album to the most recent opus, will truly find the forthcoming sixth album a wondrous and enthralling voyage into the darksome realms of sinister avant-garde black/death metal! Barbaric, baroque, bombastic... BAL-SAGOTH! Recording is expected to begin during the depths of winter, with a release through Nuclear Blast during the second quarter of 2004."

Band profile:

Bal-Sagoth

Finland's finest, CHILDREN OF BODOM, are expected to release an EP with a brace of new tunes, and a number of cover songs to boot. The EP is expected to be recorded in March, but it's unclear as to when it will surface on store shelves.

Band profile:

Children Of Bodom

For those who don't know, there's a new great fansite online for LAMB OF GOD over at http://lamb-of-god.co.uk/. Includes hundreds upon hundreds of pictures, all of their promotional videos, live videos, reviews, interviews, tour dates, tabs, lyrics, and everything you'd want to see about the band. Check them out!

Chris Adler also posted the following short message on their official forums:

"Quick note to thank every one of you for helping 2003 turn out to be quite an inspiring year for LAMB OF GOD.

Together we've made history - in our art, our hearts and passion and our combined efforts to make tomorrows music a little bit heavier. We owe you our sincere thanks.
Raise 'em up, swig 'em back and get ready for 2004, the year of the LAMB .

Happy New Year" ,

Chris Adler

Band profile:

Lamb Of God

It is rumored that OPETH will play the rescheduled Jordan/Amman gig on March 12th, 2004. Confirmation will come soon. The band writes the following about drummer Martin Lopez:

"Martin Lopez is now in a much better state. As expected, the doctor's ordered a few weeks of relaxation due to overload of stress!"

OPETH will head out on a headlining US tour in late January with DEVILDRIVER and MOONSPELL as support.

Band profile:

Opeth

ENSIFERUM, DISILLUSION, HONIGDIEB, SLEEPINGODSLIE and BUSTA HOOSTA are the latest confirmations for the Summer Breeze Festival which takes place August 19-21st in Abstgmund, Germany. Other bands confirmed for the fest are:

SIX FEET UNDER, THE DUSKFALL, VOMITORY, SODOM, TANKARD, MNEMIC, LAKE OF TEARS, GOREROTTED, FLESHCRAWL, PRIMORDIAL, U.D.O., HATESPHERE, CRIMINAL, BRAINSTORM, PARAGON, SCHANDMAUL, PSYCHOPUNCH, GODDESS OF DESIRE, MENHIR, XANDRIA, DEAD SOUL TRIBE, SALTATIO MORTIS, FRAGMENTS OF UNBECOMING, DIE HAPPY

Band profile:

Ensiferum

Swedish viking/death metallers AMON AMARTH have written the following message on their official website:

"Again we are back home from touring and again we would like to thank all bands and crew featuring on the european x-mas festivals. The tour was really successful and that is all thanks to you fans that showed up on the shows to support the tour. We couldn't ask for a better way to end this year of versus the world touring. A big thanks as well goes out to all of you others that been supporting the band during this year! It has been a hectic year and also a very rewarding one. Now we are going to rest for a week or so and then start to work on our next album.We are scheduled to enter berno studio in mid may. Be well and don't forget that beer gives you immortality, poetry-knowlegde and wisdom."

Band profile:

Amon Amarth

According to some reports of people that attended tonight's (January 2nd) CHIMAIRA show in Rochester, NY, drummer Andols Herrick has announced that he will be leaving the band. No official word has been made, and confirmation/clarification will come soon.

*UPDATE*: Here's a posting made by Mark of CHIMAIRA on their official forum:

"tis true stuff
we have known for a while, it was a long hard desicion for him.
as sad as it is, and as much as it sucks for all of you, think how we feel. bottom line, the dude just wasn't happy anymore and there is no sense in torture. andols is going to give me a statement for all the fans and press in the next day or 2. all i can tell you now is that he is going to go to college and his days of drumming are over from what he has told us.

we have found a replacement. we are not stupid people, the sandals are quite hard to fill but we feel we have filled them quite nicely. ricky from SOILWORK is the new dude, he was the guy that temporarily replaced henry on the past tours we did with them. ricky is an AMAZING drummer and will only ADD to the chimaira sound. once again, when it comes to this band we are not stupid people. we would not make the wrong choice with something as critical as this. as far as i know nothing is happening to SOILWORK and we are still as good as friends with them as we were before this choice was made.

this is just another obstacle for all of us to overcome, and as the old cliche goes...that which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.

at any rate, excuse the poor grammar and spelling, i haven't slept in 40 hours....
be sad, but be excited...nothing is changing for the worse.
that has been our mentality for the past month.
good night friends and happy birthday to rob arnold 24 today 01.03.04

mark"

Band profile:

Chimaira

John Henderson of Naples Daily News is reporting that RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson faces criminal charges after a scuffle with Collier County sheriff's deputies at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida on New Year's Eve.

Lifeson, a.k.a. Alex Zivojinovich, a founding member of RUSH, was arrested after what deputies describe as a drunken, violent outbreak at the posh hotel.

Zivojinovich, 50, faces six charges that include aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and disorderly intoxication. Also arrested in the brouhaha were his 33-year-old son Justin Zivojinovich and Justin's wife, Michelle, 30.

Deputies say they had to use a stun gun on Alex Zivojinovich and his son during the fracas. And in their reports they accuse Alex Zivojinovich of pushing a female deputy down a hotel stairwell during the struggle, and of spitting blood on a deputy's face.

But his son Justin, who was visiting his father on vacation from Canada, gave a very different account of what happened during an interview Thursday night.

He said his father, who was still in the Collier County jail as of late Thursday, had his nose broken by deputies, and as he was spitting out the blood from the injuries, deputies assaulted him again. He also said his father did not push the female deputy down the stairs as stated in arrest reports.

Instead, Justin Zivojinovich said, the deputy tumbled down the stairs as she pushed him down the stairwell.

He said the trouble began after he got up on the stage where the house band was performing at the hotel.

"I was singing Happy New Year's, that's all I was doing, singing to the whole crowd. That's all I said, 'Happy New Year,'" Justin Zivojinovich said. "Everyone was enjoying themselves. That's when someone apparently started yelling for one of the security guards. There was no violence on our part.

"I was ready to leave. I was asked to leave, and I said, 'OK, I'm going to go. I'll grab my wife and be out of there.' They didn't want that. They didn't want me to leave on a high note. They felt they would lose. They decided to aggravate me. They stunned me, as well as my father, with a stun gun."

Band profile:

Rush

German power metallars Primal Fear have been confirmed for this year's installment of the Bloodstock Festival, set to take place September 3-4, 2000 at The Assembly Rooms in Derby, England. Also scheduled to appear are Edenbridge, Cruachan, Balance Of Power and Fourwaykill. More confirmations will be announced soon.

Primal Fear's new album, "Devil's Ground", is due kn February 23 through Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Black Sun" was produced by bassist Mat Sikner and co-produced by Primal Fear and Achim Köhler at the House of Music in Wijterbache Germany. All songs were written by Sinner, guitarist Stefan Leibing, guitarist Tom Naumann, and vocalist Ralf Scheepers, except "Sacred Illusion", which was written by Primal Fear and Vinder. A cover version of Black Sabbaths "Die Young" will appear on the limited European digipak version and the Japanese version. The limited European digipak version will also include two 5.1 mixes of "Metal Is Forever" and "The Healer".

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Band profile:

Primal Fear

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has revealed that he was asked to participate in MEGADETH mastermind Dave Mustaine's upcoming solo project but declined the offer, citing the possibility of a future MEGADETH reunion as the reason for his decision.

In a brand-new interview posted at MartyFriedman.com, Marty was asked to clear up the MEGADETH reunion rumors which have been brewing ever since Mustaine announced his plans to record an album of new solo material. "What reunion?" he responded. "I'm sure I answered this somewhere , but I don't know anything about any plans for that. I am on good terms with both of them and I hope only the best in whatever they want to do. I was flattered to be asked by Mustaine to participate in a solo project that he's working on, but as much as I'd like to, I decided not to mainly because I wouldn't want to take away any thunder from a full-fledged possible MEGADETH reunion, if that were to ever come to pass in the future. I hear through the grapevine that his new music is gonna be killer." Read the rest of the interview here: http://www.martyfriedman.com/archivedetail.php?id=90

Band profile:

Megadeth