Finnish heavy metal monsters Lordi have released the following statement:

"It is our unfortunate task to inform that drummer Kita is no longer a member of Lordi. Kita has made a decision to pursue his own career publicly as himself, without his alter ego Kita. This is in direct conflict with one of the cornerstones of Lordi's image. Therefore it is not possible for him to continue as a member of the band anymore.

Lordi will continue as always, masked and costumed, consisting of monster personas. Also, the upcoming tour will happen as planned. We thank Kita for the years he has been an important part of the band and our successes and wish him all the best in his future."

This hard decision came after the announcement earlier today that Finnish melodic rock band Stala & So. - which features in its ranks Kita (real name: Sampsa Astala) on vocals and ex-Lordi bassist Kalma (real name: Niko Hurme; also known by his current stage name Nick Gore) - will be competing to represent Finland in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

Kita as the frontman of Stala & So.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Lordi

Coming Alive the new live DVD/CD of Chimaira is now streaming online. Head over to the AOL listening party to check it out.

As reported in June, the package features a live DVD/CD featuring 17 tracks recorded at Chimaira's December 30th Christmas show (at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio). Bonus features on the DVD include a 45 minute Resurrection: "Making of" documentary and a 40 minute home-video footage documentary of never before seen moments.

Coming Alive was released on July 13 in Europe, and July 20 in the rest of the world.

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Source:	music.aol.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Official press release

Cleveland, Ohio's Chimaira are pleased to announce the July 20th, 2010 release of their highly-anticipated DVD/CD set, Coming Alive on Ferret Music. This unprecedented release includes a four-part documentary filmed over the course of a year and a half while the entire package includes over 7 hours of exclusive content. The DVD, filmed entirely in HD, showcases Chimaira in the studio while recording the Billboard-charting, The Infection, and chronicles their recent, worldwide touring season. In summary, Coming Alive is an in-depth look into Chimaira's life and music in the studio and on the road.

Not only does the DVD set include this amazing documentary piece, another section, Chimaira Xmas: Live Concert Film, celebrates the 10th annual Chimaira Christmas show in Cleveland, Ohio, which took place on December 30th, 2009. 13 HD cameras capture Chimaira releasing their fury for their hometown crowd on a dark and snowy night in December.

Bonus features on the DVD include a 45 minute Resurrection: 'Making of' documentary, a 40 minute home-video footage documentary of never before seen moments, and a live CD featuring 17 tracks recorded at Chimaira's December 30th Christmas show.

Coming Alive cover art] tracklist:

01. The Venom Inside
02. Resurrection
03. Power Trip
04. Empire
05. The Disappearing Sun
06. Severed
07. Destroy and Dominate
08. Six
09. The Dehumanizing Process
10. Dead Inside
11. Painting The White To Grey
12. Nothing Remains
13. Salvation
14. Secrets Of The Dead
15. The Flame
16. Pure Hatred
17. Implements Of Destruction (Included on DVD only)

Presale information coming soon.

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Source:	chimaira.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice, the forthcoming album from Finnish hard-rockers HIM, is available for streaming online in its entirety at the band's MySpace page.

Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice will be released on February 9 via Sire Records.

Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice cover art] tracklist:

01. In Venere Veritas
02. Scared To Death
03. Heartkiller
04. Dying Song
05. Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)
06. Love, The Hardest Way
07. Katherine Wheel
08. In The Arms Of Rain
09. Ode To Solitude
10. Shatter Me With Hope
11. Acoustic Funeral (For Love In Limbo)
12. Like St. Valentine
13. The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	HIM

"Like St. Valentine", the new video from Finnish metallers HIM, has been made available online.

"Like St. Valentine" comes off the band's forthcoming album, Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice, which will be released on February 9 via Sire Records.

Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice cover art] tracklist:

01. In Venere Veritas
02. Scared To Death
03. Heartkiller
04. Dying Song
05. Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)
06. Love, The Hardest Way
07. Katherine Wheel
08. In The Arms Of Rain
09. Ode To Solitude
10. Shatter Me With Hope
11. Acoustic Funeral (For Love In Limbo)
12. Like St. Valentine
13. The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness


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Source:	heartagram.com
Band profile:	HIM

And the award for epic fail of the week goes to...

Never afraid to stir things up a little, Sludge metal act Weedeater are forced to postpone upcoming tour dates and album recordings, after Dave "Dixie" Collins having a little accident. Apparently the ex-Buzzov*en and Bongzilla vocalist/bassist shot himself in the foot while cleaning a (loaded) shotgun. Classic.

With a sense of humor, the rest of the band posted the following statement: "As most of you know, here in the Weedeater camp we pride ourselves on a long tradition of shooting our band in the proverbial foot right before we're supposed to do something important. Whether it's a big tour, a recording session, or whatever else we're supposed to do, invariably we will find some way to try and thwart our grandiose plans. Well, it's no different for this recording session, except that this time we really did shoot ourselves in the foot.

In fact we regret to inform all of you that this weekend, Dixie Dave shot his big toe off whilst cleaning his favorite shotgun. Yup, that's right. When reached for comment, Mr. Collins gave a quote that speaks for itself: "It wasn't my intention to shoot off my big toe. This really fucking sucks and the pain is unbearable." Mr. Collin's doctors have advised that he is to be bedridden for the next few weeks during his recovery. This will obviously affect the recording session (and the few surrounding shows in Jan/Feb), which will now have to be postponed until after the March/April "nine-toe" tour. Said tour is still 100% on, however, so check back soon for updates on venues and exact dates. It looks like the support bands will be awesome and the band is really stoked to play this new material after touring for so many years on the same basic set. Yeah... we knew that too, sorry but we're about to make good on it. And of course after all, we gotta keep workin', like workin' men do. Shooting your big toe off isn't free, for fuck's sake!

So to re-cap... Keko sacrificed his pinkie for Down/Melvins, Shep broke his hand for Today Is The Day, and now Dixie has generously offered up his big toe for Steve Albini to nibble on. Unless overtly fond of Limburger cheese and rotten flesh, Master Steve is advised to decline."

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Source:

myspace.com

Chimaira's 10th annual hometown Christmas show on December 27 at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio will be filmed for a forthcoming concert DVD.

Commented guitarist Rob Arnold: "It's hard for us to believe that the first time Chimaira played the Cleveland area over the holidays was ten years ago this Christmas. And the fact that the show became an annual event, drawing metal heads from not only the Cleveland area but from all over the globe, makes it all the more special.

I remember being excited years ago, when fans started showing up from places as far as Texas, and now seeing fans flying in from places like Europe and the U.K. is, to say the least... astonishing.

So here we are... our tenth annual Chimaira Christmas show, and we plan to make it special. The production will be the biggest and the best yet, and the set list will span our entire catalog."

Chimaira is currently on tour in the U.S. with Trivium.

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Source:	chimaira.com
Band profile:	Chimaira
Event:	Chimaira

Chimaira rhythm guitarist Matt DeVries is sitting out the remainder of the band's European tour so that he can be home in time for the birth of his son. Filling in for him for the rest of the European dates is Emil Werstler of Dååth.

DeVries will be back on stage with Chimaira for the band's U.S. tour with Trivium, which kicks off on October 29.

Commented Matt: "This is going to be one of the happiest moments of my life and I want to thank the fans for understanding my absence. Emil is one of the most talented guitarists I have ever jammed with and I am fully confident he will do a fantastic job filling in. I'll be back on stage riffing in a few weeks."

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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Chimaira

Cleveland groove metallers Chimaira have just announced a European tour alongside their old friends from Boston, Unearth, as well as California's straight-edge outfit Throwdown. After a highly successful US tour supporting the likes of Killswitch Engage and Disturbed, Chimaira are finally going to hit Europe and spread the infection!

Commented Chimaira singer Mark Hunter: "We're very excited to get back to Europe and headline. We'll be playing a bunch of new countries we've never been to, including Russia. We plan to play a great mixture of old and new songs, and we're bringing some of the best bands our genre has to offer with us."

Here are the European tour dates featuring Chimaira, Unearth, Throwdown, and Dååth:

September 15th Biebob, BEL - Vosselaar
September 16th Hamburg, GER - Markthalle
September 17th Kopenhagen, DEN - Pumpenhuset
September 18th Oslo, NOR - Betong
September 19th Gothenburg, SWE - Brew House
September 20th Stockholm, SWE - Klubben
September 22nd Helsinki, FIN - Nostori
September 23rd Tallinn, EST - Rock Cafe
September 24th Riga, LTA - Melnā Piektdiena
September 25th Warsaw, POL - Progresia
September 26th Berlin, GER - Colulmbia Club
September 27th Vienna, AUT - Szene
September 29th Frankfurt, GER - Batschkapp
September 30th Osnabruck, GER - N8
October 01st Praha, CZE - Abaton
October 02nd Budapest, HUN - Diesel
October 03rd Munchen, GER - Backstage
October 04th Bologna, ITA - Estragon
October 06th Paris, FRA - Locomotive
October 07th Limonges, FRA - Espace de L'Ecluse
October 08th Pratteln, CH - Z7
October 09th Koln, GER - Essigfabrik
October 10th Metz, FRA - Tattoo Fest
October 11th Rotterdam, NET - Watt
October 12th London, UK - Electric Ballroom

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Source:	chimaira.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

"Destroy And Dominate", the new video from US metallers Chimaira, has been made available online. The video was directed and filmed by their longtime videographer Todd Bell.

"Destroy And Dominate" comes off the band's latest album, entitled "The Infection", which was released on April 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records.


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Source:	vids.myspace.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Original news, posted on 04.03.2009

Chimaira have posted a brand new song, "Secrets Of The Dead", online on the band's MySpace. The track comes from the band's new upcoming album "The Infection", scheduled to be released in North America on April 21 via Ferret Music and in Europe on April 24 through Nuclear Blast.

UPDATE (thanks to 37592)

Audio samples of all 10 tracks that are set to appear on the new Chimaira album "The Infection", are available for streaming on Amazon.co.uk.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Chimaira have announced more new details about their new upcoming album, entilted "The Infection". The album will be released in the spring on April 21 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork of the album can be viewed at this location.

Tracklist of the "The Infection":

01. The Venom Inside
02. Frozen In Time
03. Coming Alive
04. Secrets Of The Dead
05. The Disappearing Sun
06. Impending Doom
07. On Broken Glass
08. Destroy And Dominate
09. Try To Survive
10. The Heart Of It All

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Source:	chimaira.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Kristian 'Gaahl' Espedal, frontman of Norwegian Black Metallers Gorgoroth, has publicly stated his homosexuality, according to Blabbermouth sources.

33 year old Gaahl spoke openly in an interview with Götz Kühnemund of Rock Hard magazine about his sexual orientation, also adding "I feel how I feel and I've never made any secret about it", and "I've never really hidden anything to begin with. It's just that I was never in love before" ... "until last year".

Gaahl also mentions a stable line-up for his version of Gorgoroth, confirming that Frost (Satyricon, 1349) will perform on the next album.

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Gorgoroth

As posted on Chimaira's official website by bassist Jim LaMarca:

"Well here we go again with a new record. We're about to step in the studio again with Ben Schigel. Some of us have been working with Ben for over 13 years and I am really excited to be working on this record at home this time. We start pre-production this week and it will be fine tuning from here on out. I hope that everyone enjoy's the YouTube stuff and hopefully we will have some new footage up for you this week. The attached video Link] is a little homeage to The Great Hoya (Madball), I have to admit he is my favorite guy to tour with."

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Source:	chimaira.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

Nuclear Blast have issued the following update:

Jim LaMarca has been forced to miss a few shows on the current Sounds Of The Underground tour due to a death in his family. Filling in on bass for the affected dates are Beefcake (Gwar), Paul Romanko (Shadows Fall), Andy Williams (Every Time I Die) and Chimaira frontman Mark Hunter.
Professionally filmed video footage of Chimaira's performance at this year's Graspop Metal Meeting, which took place June 22-24 in Dessel, Belgium, has been posted at YouTube, here!

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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Chimaira