30-second audio samples of all 10 tracks from the forthcoming DIO album, "Master of the Moon", have been posted online at SPV web page.
http://www.spv.de/scripts/ktrack_e.asp?nummer=69912&label=
"Master of the Moon" is scheduled for release on August 30 in Europe through SPV Records and August 31 in the U.S. through Sanctuary. The follow-up to 2002's "Killing the Dragon" was recorded at a Los Angeles studio and features lyrics that are "cynical" and "political", with the music being a mixture of up-tempo and doomy tracks, according to frontman Ronnie James Dio.

Band profile:

Dio

News taken from the extol website:

"On Monday the 2nd of August we enter Toproom Studio to record our fourth full-length album, bearing the working-title GLORIANA. As many of you may know, this is the same studio we used for SYNERGY and so we´re once again looking forward to work with Herr Børge Finstad. The new material demands a different sound approach than the detailed SYNERGY concept. In order to create a heavier and more atmospheric Extol sound, we will bring the recorded material from Toproom to Antfarm Studio (the Haunted, Heaven Shall Burn, Hatesphere) in Aarhus, Denmark to mix it there. We will do our best to keep you updated on the recording-process the next couple of weeks, posting pictures and news on the Extol website.

We are aware that many of you have been dying to know who the new guitarists are...well...you have not been waiting in vain, but we ask you to have just a little more patience with us. Complete line-up and BRAND NEW band-pictures will be revealed shortly after the New York photo-shoot....we promise!!!

-peter, david and john-"

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Extol

From the Official Homepage!

"We're proud to welcome new bassist Rudy Sarzo to the Dio family. Rudy is known for his work in Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, and most recently toured with Yngwie Malmsteen. Rudy joins the band in time for Dio's European tour, which begins July 16th in Moscow.

The tour dates are as follows:

Fri 7/16 Moscow, Russia Luzhniki Hall
Sat 7/17 St. Petersburg, Russia Jubileny Arena
Sun 7/18 Helsinki, Finland Tuska Metalfest
Tue 7/20 Gothenburg, Sweden Tradgarden
Wed 7/21 KarlsKRONA, Sweden Kino
Fri 7/23 Madrid, Spain Macumba
Sat 7/24 Pamplona, Spain Sala Gares
Sun 7/25 Barcelona, Spain Razzmatazz
Tue 7/27 Valencia, Spain Sala Republicca
Wed 7/28 TBA
Thu 7/29 Zaragoza, Spain Sala Oasis
Sat 7/31 Vigo, Spain Venue tbc
Tue 8/2 Worgl, Austria Komma
Wed 8/4 Karlsruhe, Germany Substage
Thu 8/5 Nurnberg, Germany Hirsch
Fri 8/6 Hamburg, Germany Wacken Festival
Sat 8/7 Rijssen, Holland Lucky
Mon 8/9 Manchester, England Academy
Tue 8/10 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
Thu 8/12 Birmingham, England Academy
Fri 8/13 Folkstone, England Lees Cliff Hall
Sat 8/14 London, England Astoria
Sun 8/15 Nottingham, England Rock City

Thanks to Jeff Pilson for stepping in to handle bass duties on the new record, for which recording is now underway, with a July release date on Sanctuary Records in the United States and SPV in Europe."

Band profile:

Dio

DIO have pushed back the release date new studio album, "Master of the Moon", to September, according to ElectricBasement.com. The follow-up to 2002's "Killing the Dragon" was recorded at a Los Angeles studio and features lyrics that are are "cynical" and "political", with the music being a mixture of up-tempo and doomy tracks, according to frontman Ronnie James Dio. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Man Who Would Be King", "Living A Lie" and "The End of the World". "Master of the Moon" will be released Sanctuary Records in the U.S. and SPV in Europe.

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Dio

CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus has posted his eighth studio report at the band's official website, www.cradleoffilth.com:

Hail! With the studio back up and running and now in good flow, we are getting quite close to finishing the recording process of the new album.

This weekend saw our CoF Axe-men Paul Allender and James Mcnewboy finish all their guitar parts and that leaves just Dani and Martin in the studio with Producer Rob Caggiano and Engineer Dan Turner at the controls. Vocals and Keyboards is now the sole focus of these final days. I hear it's going great, as a visit from Roadrunner A&R master Mike Gitter would confirm: "Have you ever smelt the rising stench of a severed pig's head? Or touched its pink-y, human-feeling skin? The goddamn thing has eyelashes! That was the sight I was treated to on Friday afternoon mere moments after getting to Parkgate. A pig's head in producer Rob Caggiano's bed (smoking a cigarette, reading Metal Hammer!). Such good fun. Such a rancid stink. Clearly, the Cradle boys are in good spirits, up to some good ol' black-hearted deviltry...probably because Nymphetamine is turning into a masterpiece all of its own!

Now, I ain't one for A&R-guy gladhanding, but this might just be the DEFINITIVE Cradle Of Filth record! Songs are razor-sharp: 'Guilded Cunt' kicks with a HATEBREED-ish hellborn fury; same with 'Medusa & Hemlock'. 'Absinthe WIth Faust' revels in beautiful atmospherics; a couple of new ones -- both still awaiting vocals and simply titled 'Maidenstyle' & 'Manowar' (working titles, natch) take a few steps out of the COF coffin but rock with a riffy METAL fervor and energy that kicks everything around 'em in the face... and keeps spitting to the bitter end. And, you've never heard such clarity on a Cradle record! You can hear every profane utterance out of Dani's mouth. All I say, now safely typing this on Monday morning is that COF have given (after) birth to an 'It's Alive'-styled monster of a record. A metal classic for sure."

As for completeing his guitar parts, I spoke with James to find out: 'Finishing the guitars on my first outing as Cradle guitarist is kind of weird, a mixed feeling of pride and relief in a way, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter, as the whole thing sounds massive and very fucking metal, innit". James was later found aimlessly walking the streets of Battle and has since been committed to the local asylum situated next door to the studio... Innit.

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Band profile:

Cradle Of Filth

The Madders have entered Space Valley Studios (just outside of Hamar) to record the upcoming as yet untitled album. It will include 12 songs and some songtitles:
"My Name Is Silence", "Evasions" , "Plague", "M for Malice", "Changeling", "Hypnos" , "Hangman"

According to the band: "In some ways it's even meaner , maybe not that depressive, but obviously pretty creepy and dark. While Deadlands had a really homogenic feel to it, this one's going differ more to the various extremes and have a more restless and frustrated vibe. More experimental and crazy ideas, heavier and more various forms of playing in all instruments and vocals. There's quite a few suprises waiting for everyone."

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Band profile:

Madder Mortem

Polish death metallers Vader, are now back in their studio Radio Gdansk to start the recording of their next full lenght album entitled "The Beast" . The recording of this album is expected to take 1 month. And also, the limited edition of "The Beast" will feature bonus DVD with special studio report, two brand new videoclips, an interview with Peter,and other bonus stuff.

Band profile:

Vader

PANTHEON I, the Norwegian extreme metal band featuring vocalist/guitarist Andrè Kvebek (1349), guitarist John Espen Sagstad (ABIOTIC) and drummer Eirik Renton (SARKOM), will enter the studio in early May to begin recording their debut full-length album, tentatively due before the end of the year. The as-yet-untitled effort is expected to contain 10 brand-new songs.

PANTHEON I recently completed work on a new EP. A release date for the effort has yet to be announced. The group, who released a four-song demo, titled "MMIII", in April 2003, were once again assisted by RAM-ZET's Sareeta (violin) during the most recent recording sessions. Shortly after completing work on the EP, PANTHEON I added two new members in the shape of Gunhild Mathea Olaussen on violin and Live Julianne Kostøl on cello. The Oslo-based band have also recruited a session bassist, 1349's Tor Risdal Stavenes (a.k.a. Seidemann).

CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus has posted the sixth installment of his regular online studio report at the group's official web site.

As previously reported, CRADLE OF FILTH are currently recording their Roadrunner Records debut, tentatively titled "Nymphetamine". The follow-up to last year's "Damnation and a Day" is being produced by ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano, who has previously worked with the group during the mixing stage for "Damnation?".

Band profile:

Cradle Of Filth

CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus has posted the following studio update on the band's official web site:

"It's official... CRADLE OF FILTH are possessed!!! We have now been transformed into zombified pork scratching eating fiends! On my return from a short weekend break, I was instructed NOT to come back unless I brought with me a whole sack of pork scratchings (to those who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's small bags of rock hard fatty pig skin!). The guys were rabid and scoffed the lot like greedy blood-crazed shits! Zombie partrol Vs. Ghoul tools Vs. Tag team tossers! They did taste good though.

"On a more serious note: Maybe some of you are wondering how the new record is shaping up. Well. Adrian has completed all his drums. I should be done with bass this week too. Dani has started vocals on like 6 or 7 tracks. Paul has nearly completed all his guitars and James has a few songs left to play. Martin... likes boys. I mean he's well into his keyboards. Everyone is very excited when we get to hear the tracks building up and there is way more variation with the songs. Fast, slow, moody, ultra fast, evil! You know the general theme... HEAVY METAL!!! True and simple. Only CRADLE OF FILTH styleee! We also have the album cover design 99% there and just done a few new t-shirt designs. Visited at the studio by our endorser rep and general superhero Dom Fairbanks!

"We are also getting dates through and are pleased to announce that we will be playing this years Download festival at Donnington Park, Saturday, 5th June. It's gonna be great to get back on the stage!!! I also visited this weekend our clothes design company SINWEAR for a future Metal Hammer feature. Saw some of the new designs for this years touring blitz! Check out their website for an insight into this great up-and-coming clothing company. Also check out what's getting sold via eBay these days."

Band profile:

Cradle Of Filth

THE HAUNTED bassist Jonas Björler has posted the following studio report on the band's official web site:

" Dolving is almost done with the vocals for the album. He has screamed his way through 12 songs already this past week, and now there are only 3 songs to go. We'll go through the material on Friday to check for possible dubs etc, but everything sounds fine.

"This time around we only recorded 2 guitar tracks ? that way we get a very distinctive guitar sound with a little less distortion ? not like 'Stained Class' with JUDAS , but you get my drift.

"For the bass tracks I used my new ESP amp and a Warwick bass. It's the best sound I have ever had. Heavy as hell!

"We can also reveal some new titles to add to the ones you already know: 'Abysmal', 'Liquid Burns', 'Drowning' & 'My Shadow'....

"Here you'll find a link to video clip teaser recorded in the studio a couple of days ago: http://lagavulin.gotdns.com/mov/flik.html
Note that you'll need Flash Player 6 to watch the clip."

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Band profile:

The Haunted

CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus has posted the following studio update on the band's official web site:

"Recording of the last few songs has gone amazing. Playing very tight, as a band in the studio should, making the stand out track on the album well worth the battle to arrange at the end. Regardless of three amps blown up, we can now see light at the end of the tunnel. People here have mentioned more than once the words 'Ghosts', 'Jinx' and... 'Bollocks'. Sounds changing for no reason. Tuning problems. More amp problems. Takes hours sometimes to get things back to where they were before. Keyboards are now starting to go onto the tracks late at night. Martin refuses to play before midnight as he demands a very grim atmosphere in the studio. Reminds him of being 'down the pit'. Simple... but effective. Paul and James have added extra guitars over this weekend. Mapped out parts for the choir which we will record soon (probably in the studio 'cos there's no way they'll let the band in the local church) when Martin completes the scoring, which is quite a big job in itself. Gives the songs such a different direction than just drums, bass and guitars. It's nowhere near equalized on the desk but sounds huge. We always get very excited when Rob turns it up on the big speakers for us to listen back to. Catsfield massive innit!

"This week we got drums to do on like 3 songs and that's it for Adrian. I got bass tracks done on 9 songs already. The guitars I've been using is my Maverick 5 string, Ibanez and Fender Precision (4 string USA model). All Black of course! We've been visited over the last few days by Anny of Line 6 who interviewed Paul for their website. Check that out later this week. Vocals for Dani will also start at the end of this week. Sarah is now back in the U.K. and will be recording her parts soon as well.

"Other crazy shit going on at the studio? Well, since the BB guns have been banned from this session we have devised studio challenges consisting of me eating the hottest curry available to humanity. Adrian attempting to eat 10 big Macs. Studio engineer Dan was turned into an old man by having his head shaved like a monk. James wasn't allowed to shave his beard for the first 4 weeks. Dani's challenge will see him attempt to eat 100 bags of Space Raiders (if we can find them?). Rob's challenge is to finish the album on time hehe! More being devised as we speak. It's all tame stuff really as we are just too busy this time to fuck about too much. You'll get to see all the best stuff on the DVD we are filming for at the moment which will be a future release. The competition will hopefully be ready for next week."

Band profile:

Cradle Of Filth

The guys are in the middle of the recording and has so far recorded all the drums, bass and most of the rythm guitars. The basic vocals on five tracks is also finished, as well as the keyboards on some of the tracks. Host of the recording this time is Studio Mega, Sweden (the Crown, Sator, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Beseech etc). The mastering is set to April 30!

Band profile:

Lake Of Tears

Finland's NIGHTWISH have posted more photos from the recording sessions for their new album, "Once", at their official web site. Check out the slide-show at this location: http://www.nightwish.com/pics/diary/25022004/phpslideshow.php

As previously reported, "Once" is tentatively due in June through Spinefarm/Universal Records in Finland and Nuclear Blast in continental Europe. A release date for the U.S. has yet to be confirmed. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Nemo" (first single/video), "I Wish I Had An Angel" (projected second single/video), "The Siren", "Higher Than Hope" and "Dark Chest Of Wonders".

NIGHTWISH recently shot a video for "Nemo" with renowned director Antti Jokinen, who has previously directed music videos for such international artists as CELINE DION, EMINEM and SHANIA TWAIN.

Band profile:

Nightwish

According to INSISION's official website (www.insision.com) the swedish brutal death metal band will enter Soundlab Studios in Orebro, Sweden on March 4th to record their new album, Revealed And Worshipped. The album will be produced by Mieszko Talarczyk (NASUM).