As you might remember, back in September, Finnish metallers Moonsorrow started recording their new full-length album. Now, on the 23rd studio day, guitarist Mitja Harvilahti has issued what might be the weirdest studio update in the history of studio updates, talking about a Moonsorrow side project called, uhm, Penectomy. Have a look at this:

"Last week we drove some 100km to the woods. In the woods there was a cabin. In the cabin we recorded Ville´s lead vocals. The landscape was truely beautiful with the trees turning to yellow, red, brown etc. I´m currently writing this at the Sonic Pump studios where we are preparing the tracks to be mixed.

Henri, Ville and Markus are discussing about things that people put in their asses. Jelly jars, potatos, and fists etc.

Now they are searching for a band called Penectomy. If it does not exist, they will put up a project like that right away.

No there is not one.

So, Moonsorrow has a new official side project called Penectomy. Demo (tape? CD? MP3?) to be released next year."

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Source:	moonsorrow2010.blogspot.com
Band profile:	Moonsorrow

Prophecy Productions press release

On November 29, ten years after the recordings of their debut album Saviour, Antimatter release Alternative Matter a retrospective of another kind. This is not a standard best of album, but a compilation of exclusively unreleased recordings and alternative versions from the archives of the band, compiled by Antimatter mastermind Mick Moss with care and passion. Alternative Matter features demo and acoustic versions of well-known Antimatter songs, live recordings, remixes, and also new recordings which have been conceived especially for this compilation. And in their entirety all these songs tell a yet unknown Antimatter story.

After months of intense work on his anniversary compilation, Mick Moss himself is very pleased with its outcome: "The amazing thing about this compilation is that these pieces were set to tape in many different places during a period of over ten years, yet collected together they form a coherent and united new listening experience, a fascinating alternate history that sounds unlike any prior Antimatter album. I would love to be able to hear this collection in its entirety with fresh ears for the first time, but that's now for the listener to do."

Alternative Matter will be released in two versions: as a digipack double CD with 22 unreleased recordings and a total playing time of more than 100 minutes and as a premium artbook with more than 100(!) pages, three audio CDs and one DVD. The artbook features a comprehensive introduction and in-depth liner notes by Mick Moss as well as a vast amount of photographs illustrating Antimatter's career from 2000 up to now. The DVD features a documentary about Antimatter's history and two video clips. Without a doubt, this retrospetive will draw an impressive line under Antimatter's first decade of existence!

Alternative Matter cover art] tracklist:

Disc I
01. Black Sun
02. The Art Of A Soft Landing
03. Far Away
04. Saviour
05. Landlocked
06. In Stone
07. Epitaph
08. Terminal
09. Mr White
10. Flowers
11. Expire

Disc II
01. God Is Coming
02. Everything You Know Is Wrong
03. A Portrait Of The Young Man
04. Flowers
05. Holocaust
06. The Art Of A Soft Landing
07. Expire
08. Over Your Shoulder
09. Dream
10. Lost Control
11. Epitaph

Disc III Forbidden Matter EP]
01. Fighting For A Lost Cause
02. Enjoy The Silence
03. Angelic
04. Over Your Shoulder
05. Holocaust
06. The Summer Effect
07. Angelic

Disc IV
- Antimatter "The Small Yesterdays" Documentary

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Source:	prophecyproductions.de
Band profile:	Antimatter

Swedish metallers Astral Doors will release their forthcoming "Best Of" compilation, entitled Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors, on November 19 via Metalville.

According to the band, in the booklet of Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors Mr.Erik Thompson of Sweden Rock magazine gives you a two page history-lesson about Astral Doors; a summary of the first decade with Astral Doors.

Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors cover art] tracklist:

01. Cloudbreaker
02. Time To Rock
03. Of The Son And The Father
04. Black Rain
05. Power And The Glory
06. Bride Of Christ
07. New Revelation
08. Slay The Dragon
09. London Caves
10. Evil Is Forever
11. Lionheart
12. Quisling
13. Testament Of Rock
14. Victory

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Astral Doors

Paracletus, the fifth full-length by French black metallers Deathspell Omega, will be out on November 9th. Paracletus is the last chapter of a trilogy which took nine years to complete, a musical and spiritual quest during which everything was put at risk. The record closes the circle to the hallucinated sound of dissonant violence and menacing splendour, exploring the depths of abjection and the corruption of the other worlds on high.

And the best thing is, you can now download a full song off Paracletus for free. Click here to check out the track "Devouring Famine".

Paracletus cover art] tracklist:

01. Epiklesis I
02. Wings Of Predation
03. Abscission
04. Dearth
05. Phosphene
06. Epiklesis II
07. Malconfort
08. Have You Beheld The Fevers?
09. Devouring Famine .mp3]
10. Apokatastasis Pantôn

Read more ››

Source:	season-of-mist.com
Band profile:	Deathspell Omega

Sodom has made a brand new track, "In War And Pieces", available for streaming online. The song is the title track off the band's upcoming new album, set for release on November 22nd in Europe and on January 11, 2001 in the USA. Listen to "In War And Pieces" at this location.

All In War And Pieces album details are available here.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Sodom

Rob Zombie is set for a return to the UK stage after a 12-year hiatus. Rob and his band - featuring guitarist John 5 (ex-Marilyn Manson, John 5), bassist Piggy D (ex-Wednesday 13) and drummer Joey Jordison (Slipknot) - will play a string of six dates this coming February, finally bringing their visually-arresting, high-octane, pyro-laden, monster stage show to U.K. shores. Support comes from Skindred and Rob Zombie's Roadrunner U.K. labelmates Revoker.

Rob is looking forward to the visit, saying: "I am thrilled to be finally heading back to the UK. I have been away far too long, but trust me it will be worth the wait. The band is in top form and completely ready to destroy."

Support on the tour comes from Skindred and Rob Zombie's Roadrunner U.K. labelmates Revoker. Tickets, priced £26.50 regionally and £29.50 in London (subject to booking fee), go on sale 9 a.m. this Friday, October 15.

Tour dates are as follows:

Feb. 16 - London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
Feb. 17 - Manchester, UK @ Academy
Feb. 18 - Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
Feb. 20 - Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
Feb. 21 - Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
Feb. 22 - Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy

Read more ››

Source:	robzombie.com
Band profile:	Rob Zombie
Event:	Rob Zombie

Official Press Release

For Tom Angelripper, his thrash metal band Sodom is a perfect vehicle to bluntly take a stand. Like few other musicians on this scene, he personifies - along with down-to-earthiness and honesty - a healthily critical position on political authorities and decision-makers from finance and industry. On their latest album, In War And Pieces, Sodom focus on the worst excesses of power: arrogance, greed, spotlight-seeking, fanaticism, corruption, cowardice and oppression.

Tom states: "I've always written about what's going on in the world, about the injustice and mistakes that happen everywhere. I know that you can't change anything politically that way, but I would like to at least comment on the situation and generate an awareness of this deplorable state of affairs. Being a singer in a metal band allows me to voice my anger to a large audience."

This uncompromising attitude marks the eleven songs on Sodom's latest album which could hardly sound more dynamic and violent. In War And Pieces owes its bloodcurdling energy largely to producer Waldemar Sorychta (Grip Inc., Enemy Of The Sun), whose great skill and commitment were instrumental in creating the album's - as Tom calls it - "phat, brutal and open" sound. With Sorychta's support, Angelripper (vocals, bass), Bernemann (guitar) and Bobby Schottkowski (drums) succeeded in adding new impulses to their music without watering down the band's long tradition. "Waldemar is a great musician himself and has done some brilliant work, especially on the guitar sound," Tom explains. "He knows how to get the absolute maximum out of a speaker."

As brutal as the production is the diverse songwriting on In War And Pieces, a kind of tour de force through the whole history of thrash metal, featuring harsh arrangements, melodic solos and raging vocal attacks. "I feel that we sound more contemporary and structured than we did on our recent releases," Tom analyses. "At the same time, there are also references to recordings such as Persecution Mania and Agent Orange. After Venom, Sodom were the world's first angry band, and nothing has changed that." Tom lists as examples the impressive title track, as well as "The Art Of Killing Poetry" with its ultra-deep guitar atmospheres and the German-language song, "Knarrenheinz", which holds up the tradition of classics such as "Bombenhagel" and "Ausgebombt". "Knarrenheinz is the mascot on the album cover, that's why I felt he deserved his own lyrics," Tom grins. Talking of album covers: the artwork was designed by Eliran Kantor, who enjoys an excellent reputation on the scene thanks to his work for renowned acts such as Testament, Gwar and Mekong Delta.

Read more ››

Source:	sodomized.info
Band profile:	Sodom

Last week already, British death metallers Ignominious Incarceration have announced they will be changing names to The Soulless. Here's the official statement:

"The band started in the pits of hell that was Sam's basement. We were just playing heavy music and having fun. When we decided on the name Ignominious Incarceration, we never anticipated the level we would get to. Had we known, I'm sure we would have chosen a simpler name. The band started to get gigs and we started to take the band way more seriously as we discovered how much fun we could have. We did our first tour with Trigger The Bloodshed and this was when we were first approached by Earache Records. This was a real turning point for the band and we realised we could make something of it. We debated changing the name whilst recording Of Winter Born, but chose to stick with it. We don't regret doing this as it is what represented the band at the time.

Over the last couple of years since Of Winter Born, we have matured as people as well as a band. When we came to write the second album, we decided we wanted to do something different from the last one. Not a huge alteration in style, but more a progression of what we enjoy most and feel we can write the best. This then led to the discussion of our name. Obviously the name is very long and hard to pronounce. As a band, you're trying to promote yourselves and get your music to the people. We wanted a new name which was easy to remember and say, and to get ourselves out there. With the change in music, we thought it was a perfect opportunity to change our name as well. This almost 're-launching' of the band has given us new life and we are so motivated towards the new project.

As for the name-choosing itself, this was no easy task! As we were changing the name, we had to be 100% happy with it this time. We found it really hard to find a name bang-on-the-money. In the end, we wrote down thousands of names and set ourselves a deadline to pick the best one. We all liked The Soulless, which was in fact a working title for a new song. We feel the name has a dark, edgy feel to it, but is not instantly recognisable as metal and it's easy to say! We feel this represents us a lot better, as well as our new music.

We have a lot of plans for The Soulless; the new album is written and we will be going into the studio very soon. Everything we do in the next few months will be filmed so we can keep you updated. We did a pre-production demo track, which we are going to put online soon to show you a glimpse of the new material we have been talking about. When we finish in the studio, we will be recording our first official video. We are really excited to get back on the road again as the newly evolved band, The Soulless."

Read more ››

Source:	earachenews.blogspot.com
Band profile:	The Soulless

Just in case you missed this, you can still download the brand new Annihilator compilation album, Total Annihilation, for free.

All you need to do is surf to the Earache Records website and at the price of one e-mail address you can get a free download package of the album in case you haven't already (.mp3 - 320kbps).

Total Annihilation cover art] tracklist:

01. The Trend
02. Ambush
03. Battered
04. Carnival Diablos
05. Back To The Palace
06. Nothing Left
07. Ultra-Motion
08. Ritual
09. King Of The Kill
10. Second To None
11. Ultraparanoia
12. Refresh The Demon
13. Tricks And Traps
14. Never Forget

Read more ››

Source:	earache.com
Band profile:	Annihilator

Just in case you missed this, Swedish death metallers Vomitory have recently uploaded their cover version of the Napalm Death song "Mass Appeal Madness". You can check it out at this location.

Commented Vomitory: "Since spring 2005 we have had this little piece of brutality laying in our digital drawer, and we admit it's a shame it hasn't seen the light of day until now!"

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Vomitory

Rob Zombie has premiered the track "Everything Is Boring" on ARTISTdirect.com. The track features Joey Jordison of Slipknot bashing behind the kit, John 5 ripping on the axe and Piggy D holding the bass groove. It's one of Zombie's most explosive and engaging salvos ever. The track is available on the special edition of Hellbilly Deluxe 2 hitting shelves on September 28 via Roadrunner Records. The special edition offers two other songs with Jordison on drums "Michael" and "Devil's Hole Girls and the big Revolution" as well as a documentary entitled Transylvania Transmissions. Of course, there's also "Everything is Boring"

Rob checks in:"It's such a funny phrase, but I often end up saying, 'Jesus Christ, everything is so fucking boring," laughs Zombie. "When I'm flipping TV channels or doing anything, I find myself saying that a lot. I thought, 'Alright, I'll make a song out of it.'"

Read more ››

Source:	artistdirect.com
Band profile:	Rob Zombie

Nervecell, the UAE death metal veterans have announced the India tour dates in the first appearance of a middle-eastern band in India, Headlining three shows at the following dates;

Sep 25 - BANGALORE @ Kyra Theatre
Sep 26 - HYDERABAD @ Excess (Novotel)
Oct 3 - MUMBAI @ Blue Frog

Nervecell is also scheduled to play shows towards the end of the year. In their final support run of the Preaching Venom album cycle, stay tuned for more dates.

Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Nervecell

Here's some news from Mushroomhead:

New York NY - Mushroomhead have finished its new video for the first single "Come On." It was directed by "House" of Precinct 13 and features fight scenes, bloody combat with stylish cinematography. House directed the band's MTV Headbanger's Ball Video Of The Year 2007 called "1200."

"Conceptually, it's about having the opportunity to vent your rage," says Mushroomhead's Skinny. "The song 'Come On' is a sucker punch and it's a metaphor for everything that's gone wrong. It's a modern day anthem for everyone who are fed up with everything, just like us."

PREVIEW LINK OF VIDEO:

Mushroomhead's new album Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children is out on September 28, 2010. The visionary masked band combines theatrics with a mixture of rock, metal and atmospheric elements. Mushroomhead's prior album, Savior Sorrow, entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at # 50.

The band recently debuted new songs at the 2010 Rock on the Range Festival, where SPIN declared Mushroomhead as "One of the 10 Best Moments" of the festival saying "Mushroomhead's industrial-tinted metal prowled and roared, degenerating from slow-burn angst into full-on spazz-outs."

Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children is a diverse effort, as keyboardist and band comedian Shmotz says, "Mushroomhead never draws a line without blurring it first."

Known for their stunning visuals, the band will debut new masks and a stage set-up that has been building up over the last few years of touring. The band's ground-breaking video "1200" was voted MTV's Headbangers Ball 2007 Video Of The Year.


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Source:	band's manager
Band profile:	Mushroomhead

Germany power metallers Freedom Call has posted a new music video for the song "Thunder God", which is off the band's latest album "Legend of the Shadowking". The clip is streamed online through MySpace channel of SPV Music.

The video can be viewed at this location.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Freedom Call

Short statement from news section of Norma Evangelium Diaboli website:
"Paracletus, the last record of the trilogy, will be released November 8th in Europe."

Furthermore there is an image displayed on the website which seems to be an album cover.

Read more ››

Source:	noevdia.com
Band profile:	Deathspell Omega