HOT TOPIC PRESENTS UNEARTH'S "SANCTITY OF BROTHERS" FALL HEADLINE TOUR!!!

UNEARTH raised the bar all summer long performing as non rotating main support on Ozzfest's infamous Second Stage. UNEARTH just released their highly anticipated follow up to 2004's The Oncoming Storm titled "III In The Eyes Of Fire" (Metal Blade 8/8/06)

"A stunning accomplishment,one that repeatedly pushes the boundaries of heaviness; yet contains enough sonic and lyrical layers to give the songs depth and staying power. If this is Unearth at their angriest and darkest lets hope they don't cheer up anytime soon."

- Revolver Magazine September 2006

Now, UNEARTH add as main support, Bleeding Through; one of the hottest performing bands who shared the same stage with them on Ozzfest are now on UNEARTH's upcoming "Sanctity of Brothers" tour for the continuation of the back to back one two punch.

Also on the bill are this years "Sounds Of The Underground Tour" heavy hitters Terror and Through the Eyes of the Dead. Also throwing down on the "S O B" tour are the undergrounds newest metal on the rise Animosity as opener.

Band Drummer Mike Justian claims, "the upcoming 'Sanctity Of Brothers' tour is like a seven layer burrito its got all the right ingredients and when you put them together it makes for a very delectable treat."

In addition to Hot Topic, Unearth would also like to thank the following sponsors for their support on this tour: Music Choice, Pure Volume, Ibanez Guitars, Tama Drums, Hails and Horns Magazine and Pitchfork Clothing.

Tour dates are as follows:

9/07 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
9/09 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
9/10 - Minneapolis, MN - The Quest
9/11 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club
9/12 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
9/13 - Magna, UT - The Avalon
9/15 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
9/16 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
9/17 - San Diego, CA - Soma
9/18 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre
9/19 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
9/21 - San Antonio, TX - Graham Central Station
9/22 - Houston, TX - Club V
9/23 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
9/25 - Atlanta, GA - Dekalb Atlanta Center
9/26 - Norfolk, VA - The Norva
9/27 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
9/28 - New York, NY - Nokia
9/29 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
9/30 - Worcester, MA - Palladium

+ AUDIO STREAMS:

"This Glorious Nightmare" MP3:

http://www.metalblade.com/mp3/unearth-this_glorious_nightmare.mp3

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Source:

specialopsmedia.com

Iced Earth has officially launched the search for a new bassist. All interested parties are encouraged to send their bio packs to Iced Earth mainman Jon Schaffer's store at the following address:

Jon Schaffer
Spirit of 76 Collectibles, Inc.
1728 17th St
Columbus, IN 47448

Iced Earth recently announced the addition of Elkton, MD guitarist Ernie Carletti to the group's ranks.

Mastering his craft beyond 19 years and teaching guitar lessons to 100 students weekly in excess of 16 years, Carletti is equally versed in styles such as classical and jazz but his first love is heavy metal "shredding."

The central figure of Iced Earth is guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer, who originally formed the band as Purgatory in 1984. Though the band has undergone numerous lineup changes since its inception, Schaffer has remained steadfast in his passion to thrash. Schaffer officially announced the addition of Carletti on the band's message board on Friday, June 30.

Schaffer is currently working on a concept album based on the "Something Wicked This Way Comes" story that first appeared on Iced Earth's 1998 album of the same name. A 2007 release is expected.

Iced Earth's last release was the "Gettysburg (1863)" DVD, which came out in June 2005. The main program, a CGI-rendered video presentation of the epic "Gettysburg" trilogy from 2004's acclaimed album "The Glorious Burden", drew praise from fans and media alike. The DVD was also reportedly being used as a teaching tool in several high schools across the country.

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Iced Earth

As posted on the official site by Jon Schaffer on 2006-06-30:

"Greetings!!!

I just wanted to make a quick but significant announcement. After auditioning some very good guitar players I've made a decision. The man who will be handling the majority of the guitar solos on the next record as well as touring with us on "The Wicked World Tour" is an awesome player named Ernie Carletti. As has been the case in the past we may have a few guests do a solo or two on the epic that this way comes, but the majority will be handled by Ernie. He is a world class player and truly one of the best guitarists I've had the pleasure of meeting and hanging with. We're going to make a good team, I'm sure. We were introduced through Bernie at Bernie Rico, Jr. Guitars who is the son of the BC Rich founder/legend Bernie Rico. If you want to see some amazing top quality hand built guitars go to www.ricojrguitars.com and see what this master builder has been up to the last few years.

I'll be auditioning bass players as well very soon so there will be announcements made in the not too distant future for that position.

The writing is moving along well and I'll have a few details for you on the next post, but for now I've gotta run.......so much to do, so little time.

Take care all!"

Source:	icedearth.com
Band profile:	Iced Earth

Blind Guardian will be guests at this year's Earthshaker Fest. Due to release their new album "A Twist In The Myth" in the fall (on September 1, 2006), some of the band's new songs will be premiered over the PA for everyone in attendance to hear. The band will also be holding an autograph session on Friday night; more details will be announced soon.

In any case, it is confirmed that there will be a massive giveaway for the fans in attendance:

1st Prize - a Meet & Greet session for 10 people with Blind Guardian at the Earthshaker Fest 2006. The winner will receive a big fan package containing a CD, DVD, shirt and a commemorative photo with the band.

2nd Prize - 20 people will have the chance to participate in soccer goal target practice against Blind Guardian. Each person who wins against Blind Guardian will receive a special Earthshaker package that includes a t-shirt, poster and CD sampler.

To win, visit the Earthshaker Festival website (http://www.earthshaker-fest.de/) and go to the 'Giveaways' section.

NOTE: Blind Guardian will not actually be performing at the Earthshaker Festival, this is simply a promotion. To see Blind Guardian's tour dates, visit their official website (http://www.blind-guardian.com/).

Source:	blind-guardian.com
Band profile:	Blind Guardian

Veteran Power Metallers Blind Guardian have been invited, and have accepted to be this year's special guest appearance at Earthshaker Fest 2006. Earthershaker will be on 21st and 22nd of July this year. It will be held at Kreuth, Rieden in Germany. They will be playing some new songs from their upcoming album 'A Twist In The Myth' and will be holding a one hour autograph session on the first day of the festival. For more information about the actual festival, visit the Earthshaker link below.

Source:	earthshaker-fest.com
Band profile:	Blind Guardian

Iced Earth's guitarist and leader posted the following message on the band's website:

"Hello Everyone!

I know I've been really lame with the updates and I'm sorry about that. We've let things get pretty lax here at Iced Earth.com and we're going to be making some changes in this in the not too distant future. As some of you are aware, I'm not really the internet type of guy and only use it for my email, and even that I avoid often (which does annoy my business associates at times; but hey, that's what phones are for!), so I spend as little time as possible on a computer; unless it's my studio computer and I'm spending a LOT of time on that one. Tim enjoys surfing and all of that stuff so he's going to be involved in the IE site a lot more in the future. You'll be seeing some big changes in the site with the release of the next IE CD.

Which actually brings me to the next bit of news... I'm completely consumed in the writing process of what will be by far the most ambitious album(s) IE has ever done. Some of you probably know that the next 2 releases will comprise the full concept album of the Something Wicked story line, Part 1 & Part 2. I know it's taken quite some time to get this beast on its way to fruition, but it IS finally happening, and I really feel the time is right. The goal is to make this our most epic, dynamic, most melodic and heaviest CD ever. Because of the depth and detail of the story it would be impossible to do it on one CD, there simply is not enough time, so I'm writing both parts at one time so that the continuity is there. If I were to wait a year or two to start writing part 2 I would be in a completely different frame of mind and it wouldn't work nearly as well, so the best thing is to do all the writing at once. We'll get Part 1 recorded, mixed and released and then finish part 2 which will come out about 6 months later. That's at least the preliminary plan. We are still pretty early in the process but things are starting to move along nicely.

I know it's been some time since the release of "The Glorious Burden" and I ask you to please be patient because what's coming next is going to blow you away. This is the album that IE fans have been waiting for.

I want to apologize to the European fans for not making it over there for a headline tour on the last album. My back problems got too intense to be on the road and that really screwed things up for everyone, myself, the rest of the guys in the band, our crew, the promoters etc.. We would have toured a lot more than we did had I not had these problems. The great thing is that the last surgical procedure I had in October of 2004 seems to have worked to make the pain much more tolerable. I did very extensive therapy for many months and am committed to being in the best shape of my life by the time we tour again. It's good to be enjoying life for the first time in a very long time.

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Source:	icedearth.com
Band profile:	Iced Earth

Relapse Records announced on their latest newsletter that the band Unearthly Trance started the recording of their third album and the debut with Relapse. The band entered at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago with engineer Sanford Parker.

The title of the album will be "The Trident", and there are already some song titles: "Decrepitude", "You Get What You Want", "The Air Exits, The Sea Accepts", "Permanent Ice", "Firebrand", "Scarlet" and "Where The Unbelievable Is Ordinary". The album is expected to be released during the spring of 2006.

Ryan Lipynsky commented: "The production is over the top as far as heaviness. The tone is still as oppressive but the songs develop at a more quickly and Darrens drumming takes a lead role more than ever. Some songs have more vocal melody than before and other songs sound like His Hero Is Gone doing Darkthrone covers!! We also drew upon our catalog of unrecorded songs and have revamped some excellent old tunes."

Source:

- Relapse Records Newsletter -

US Doom metal band Unearthly Trance have inked a deal with Relapse Records. Unearthly Trance, consisting of Ryan Lipynsky - guitar / vocals /noise, Jay Newman - bass /noise and Darren Verni - drums, "are currently completing the writing process for what will become their third album and Relapse debut."

Source:

unearthlytrance.com

Former Iced Earth frontman Matt Barlow ? who is currently employed a police officer in the Georgetown Police Dept. in Georgetown, Delaware ? has resurfaced as the lead singer of the First State Force Band.

According to a posting at FirstStateForce.org, First State Force Band "was comprised of law enforcement members from different departments throughout the State of Delaware. These law enforcement members through their dedication, performed concerts several times a month to the children of Delaware using music to stress the importance of staying drug free and to stay away from violence. The band was on a serious mission. The first three years the band had performed for every school district in Delaware."

Check out a recent photo of Matt Barlow at this location. Pictures of the entire band can be found here.

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Source:	blabbermouth.net
Band profile:	Iced Earth

Funny record collector jabs from Aquarius Records website. We recently offered to let them license it on embroidered handkerchief edition.
SUNN 0))) / BORIS / EARTH Reserve Not Yet Met (Southern Lord / Inoxia / Sub Pop) cd single 99.00
In an attempt to record an album that will induce coronaries in record collectors worldwide, the current monsters of sludge: Sunn 0))), Earth and Japan's mighty Boris, got together and recorded a single track, 11 minutes long, one chord, an E to be exact, with each band handling one of the notes in the chord. Sunn 0))) deftly tackle the G, as if it were a blackened, dying sunn. Earth spews forth the B, with as much vitriol as they can muster. And of course Boris offer up a soul crushing E to complete what is quite possibly the heaviest chord ever recorded. EVER! Unfortunately this is super limited, in fact we didn't get any copies at all. We're currently bidding on the only copy in existence on Ebay right now. The Buy It Now was $25,000, so the fact that the bidding is now at $18,301 and the reserve has still not been met is not very encouraging. But c'mon, three bands, three notes, one chord, eleven minutes, one copy. You just can't put a price on that!
And while we all want to own the first edition of this already out of print triple threat sludge match cd, rumours on several message boards suggest there will be a repress, another single copy, but this will be the timeshare version. For a small fee, you will be able to own, listen to, and gaze adoringly at the cd for a brief period of time each year (determined by the number of buyers, limited to 365, so at the very leat you can own the disc one day a year), before a courier shows up to deliver it to the next owner. We'll of course keep you posted.

http://www.ideologic.org

MANOWAR is proud to announce the upcoming release of their newest video, Hell On Earth IV, which contains 2 video discs and 1 audio disc for a total of 4 1/2 hours of total viewing time.

More details on the availability to be confirmed soon on their official website.

MAIN DISC:

- Highlights of the entire 2002 "Warriors Of The World" tour
- 1 hour and 30 minutes of main program
- 6 bonus songs equaling 30 minutes of additional material
- 11 full live songs
- Subtitles in 12 languages (Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish)
- 5.1 surround sound mix
- Private behind the scenes footage
- A true visual tribute to the fans
- Highlighting concerts in 35 cities throughout Europe
- Shot with 70 camera angles
- Commentary track with all band members
- Director Neil Johnson's commentary track
- Personal commentary track by Joey DeMaio
- New artwork by fantasy art legend Ken Kelly

BONUS DISC:

- 1 hour of behind the scenes footage
- 1 hour of complete TV shows featuring MANOWAR (incl. TV-total, Olli Pocher, VIVA Comet and Popkomm Gala)
- Special commentary track featuring director Neil Johnson and Joey DeMaio
- Subtitles in 12 languages (Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish)
- 30 minute hidden easter egg with special commentary track by editor and director

AUDIO DISC:

- Contains brand new audio track by MANOWAR (taken from their forthcoming album)

Source:	manowar.com
Band profile:	Manowar

The band will be entering the studio between the following dates: March 10-]17, April 8-]12 and April 17-]23. They had also release a live album entitled "Living In The Gleam Of An Unsheathed Sword" at 08/02/2005.

Source:	thronesanddominions.com
Band profile:	Earth

"The new year will begin for Iced Earth with the delivery of the long-awaited Gettysburg DVD. This unique release will feature the epic work "Gettysburg (1863)" from 2004's The Glorious Burden stepping out of its stereo confines and expanding into a powerful 5.1-channel surround-sound mix. In fact, there will be two different surround-sound mixes (one "metal" and one "theatrical"), set to moving images. Additionally, the DVD will feature a historical commentary from the Gettysburg battlefield, and an in-depth interview with Jon Schaffer. More details will follow.

A brief trailer for the DVD can be seen at the Downloads page".

http://www.icedearth.com/

Band profile:

Iced Earth

Iced Earth bassist James MacDonough has officially left the band to join Megadeth as their touring bassist. MacDonough's statement on the matter (as posted at Iced-Realm.de) is as follows:

"A while back I had heard that Megadeth might need a bassist, so I contacted them via email and much later got a response, to my suprise. Before I knew it, I was on a conference call with Dave . I sent in some video of me playing a couple Megadeth songs and I got a call a couple of days later. Everything with Iced Earth has been up in the air as far as touring, so I told Jon Schaffer about this when I got the first email back, and being my older bro, he told me to go for it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play with Iced Earth in the future because this will be a very lengthy tour, but we'll see what happens down the road. I am keeping in touch with Jon and maybe something in the future will happen.

"MEGADETH has always been one of my favorite bands and I have a lot of respect for Dave and what he's done for music. I feel honored to have been picked for this endeavor."

MEGADETH's lineup for the upcoming tour will be as follows:

Dave Mustaine - Guitar/Vocals
Glen Drover (Eidolon, ex-King Diamond) - Guitar
Nick Menza - Drums
James MacDonough (ex-ced Earth) - Bass

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Band profile:

Iced Earth

ICED EARTH bassist James MacDonough has posted a message on the ICED EARTH fan message board Iced-Realm.de regarding the recent departures of drummer Richard Christy and guitarist Ralph Santolla:

"Ok, just so you can stop freaking out and saying all kinds of outlandish things this statement should be sufficient for the situation.

"All of us were worried because this situation was dumped in our laps, in the middle of a tour. Richard got in touch with Bobby as soon as everything was transpiring and within days were talking to him personally at the shows. Bobby practiced his ass off for the gig and when we rehearsed he jumped in the pocket like he had been there all along. There's a true sense of chemistry with this line up and I'm happier more than I've ever been with the rhythm section. So yes, he's in for the duration. It's kind of hard to describe, you play with awesome musicians and you think 'well that's the peak' then another 'fated' face comes into the fold and you're like' DAMN, that's what it's supposed to be like, well that's the feeling I get when I'm grooving with Bobby, enough said. Richard is an awesome drummer and one of the best I've ever played with and a damn good true friend at that. I'm overjoyed he got his position with the Stern show and it's because of Richard that we have Bobby, he didn't want to leave us high and dry. I've had some of the best times of my life playing with Richard and he is on his way to achieving all of his dreams. Kudos to Richie, he's my bro and I'll miss him always. However, people are destined for their roles, and like I said, Bobby is the man and every time I look back at him on stage it's telepathy, perfect symmetry.

"Ok, on to Ralph. Ralph is the best guitarist I've worked with on this level and there are always things to be considered. There are personal goals to consider on both ends, the way you interact, what you get out of your performance, the whole nine yards. Chemistry. Some things are destined to be and others aren't. I love Ralph's solos and his style, it was exactly what Jon wanted for this album. There was no 'out or in' for Ralph. It was as you saw it. Jon writes the songs, and the solos are the ear-candy, and I love that ear-candy by the way, but other issues come into play and Ralph was destined to do other things instead. Ralph has become a good friend of mine and will definitely do things in the future with him. He's a character and we talk all the time, his plate is pretty full and I'm glad for him. There are no hard feelings between the ICED EARTH camp and Ralph and that's the bottom line, sometimes things fit and sometimes they don't. There is no reason to look further than that. We are in talks with a few people for that role and all will be 'very well' before the next leg. Jon and I talked the other day, and we were wanting to find that person where before they even played a note you could tell that your souls were connected, exactly what Jon felt with Tim the first time they met. In closing, I hope this answers some questions and when we find that last link to the puzzle you'll be the first to know. We're looking for that soulmate that belongs in the band and when we meet 'like Jon and Tim met' then we'll have the stable lineup we've always wanted."

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Band profile:

Iced Earth