Italian power/folk metal band Elvenking has released the following updates: "Hey everybody! We just got back from Rhapsody Of Fire tour where we had a blast with the guys, their crew and especially with the great fans we met on the road! But now it's time to move on, and we have tons of new things for you coming up! So... let's go!"

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Source:	elvenking.net
Band profile:	Elvenking

Holy fuck balls! We know Slayer's Jeff Hanneman went through some serious shit when a spider bit him last year and he had to battle through the Slayer song-title sounding Necrotizing Fasciitis. Seems it was far worse than the band let on.

From Slayer.net:

Slayer fans everywhere - it's time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman.

As you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated, and we didn't know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really bad shape. It's been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he's had several painful skin grafts, he's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of all, he's been playing guitar. We were all excited when he joined us onstage for the encore a year ago at The Big Four show at Coachella. Since then, we've given him all the time and support he's needed to continue his rehab so he can come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we all want him to. While Jeff's been doing some writing and has been coming to rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more time to continue his rehab. While we want him back onstage with the band, all of us support his decision. So, we're very grateful that Gary Holt will continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.' We also wanted you to know that we've been doing some writing and recording for the next Slayer album - we've tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we're off the road later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the UK in May and June, and then we'll all see you on this Summer's Mayhem Festival.

Thanks to Gary "Exodus" Holt for filling in, and best of luck to Jeff with his continued recovery. Take your time and get strong.

\m/

p.s. - Fuck spiders. And bugs in general.

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Source:	slayer.net
Band profile:	Slayer

"L'Enfant Sauvage", the brand new single from French metallers Gojira is currently streaming online at Pitchfork.com. The song comes off the band's upcoming new album L'Enfant Sauvage, which will be released on June 25th in Europe and one day later in North America via Roadrunner Records. More album details were previously reported here and here.

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Source:	gojira-music.com
Band profile:	Gojira

German heavy metal band U.D.O. is set to release their upcoming rare tracks album, Celebrator - Rare Tracks, on May 4th via AFM Records to celebrate the 25th band anniversary. The album presented by Metal Hammer is a collection of unreleased and rare tracks which will be released as a 2-CD digipak with 25 tracks. Check out snippets of the album at this location.

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	U.D.O.

Peter Östlund, the guitarist of Swedish death metal outfit Vomitory, will sit out three shows in the month of May, June and July. The band reports: "Due to family commitments, lead guitarist Peter Östlund will sit out on some of the upcoming shows. So therefore, we have recruited our dear friends Danny Tunker (ex-God Dethroned, ex-Prostitute Disfigurement) and Anders Bertilsson (Coldworker) to step in for Peter. All other confirmed shows will be done with the ordinary Vomitory line-up."

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Vomitory

Danish hard-rock/heavy metal band Volbeat will embark on a summer North American tour, dubbed Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, in June/July with support from Iced Earth and Hellyeah.

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Source:	volbeat.dk
Band profile:	Volbeat

French metallers Gojira have unveiled the cover art for their upcoming new album L'Enfant Sauvage and you can see it below. The band posted the following message on their Facebook page: "Today we are glad to present you the cover! Some exciting news and more coming soon! So stay tuned!"

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Gojira

German power metallers Savage Circus have announced the return of drummer Thomen Stauch and that they are currently writing new material, which they plan to release at the end of the year. The band posted the following on their Facebook page: "Allright guys! After quite a while of silence from SC we're again ready to drop some news your way. Some of you might have thought 2009's Of Doom And Death was the last thing you'd hear from this band but this is simply not the case."

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Savage Circus

Century Media Records press release:

Century Media Records are proud to announce the release of the complete demo recordings of Swedish death metal sovereigns Evocation. Evoked From Demonic Depths - The Early Years is an outright documentation of the band's demo days.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Evocation

Indian black/death metallers Demonic Resurrection have posted online the song "The Creatures Of Ancient Blood" from a previous compilation release at their Soundcloud page.

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Source:	soundcloud.com
Band profile:	Demonic Resurrection

Massacre Records has issued the following statement about German old school thrashers Necronomicon parting ways with guitarist Andy Gern: "Sadly Andy Gern who played alongside Freddy as second guitarist could no longer withstand the pressure of the new longplayer Invictus. That's why Necronomicon had to take the painful but inevitable step of parting ways with Andy."

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Necronomicon

Plains Of Oblivion, the brand new solo album from American guitarist Jeff Loomis is currently streaming online in its entirety at this location. The album was released on April 10th in North America and April 9th in Europe through Century Media Records. More album details were previously reported here.

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Jeff Loomis

German symphonic metallers Xandria have issued the following announcement about the band's bass player having to miss their upcoming European tour: "Bad luck for our bass guitar player Nils. Whilst we were playing the most recent shows w/ Epica, Nils severely hurt his right forefinger on stage which eventually led to a serious blood poisoning after the last show."

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Source:	facebook.com
Band profile:	Xandria

German heavy/power metallers Axxis have revealed the final tracklist for their upcoming cover album ReDISCOver(ed), to be released on May 18th. The band issued the following update: "The mastering of the new Axxis cover song album ReDISCOver(ed) is done. Bernhard's great mix was finished by mastermind Juergen Lusky (HOFA studios). After some fans and music specialists took a listen to the whole production they're all loving the mix, the interpretation and the selection of songs enthusiastically! By the way: we want to say thanks to all voters. Axxis have been considered 95% of your votes. And apparently your choice was perfect."

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Source:	axxis.de
Band profile:	Axxis

Updates from the Nominon camp:

"The band will enter a studio in Växjö, Sweden, next week to start the recording of the fifth full-length album, which is yet untitled. It will be released on LP/CD through Deathgasm Records this summer. The plan at the moment is to include nine songs on the CD version and then add one song as bonus on the LP version. Sheer brutality awaits!

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Source:	nominon.com
Band profile:	Nominon