Original news, posted on 30.12.2009

Finntroll vocalist Mathias Lillmåns and guitarist Samuli Ponsimaa have formed Decomposter, a new death metal project. The band has launched itself with the following words:

"A new era for death metal has begun... no wait, we're old school. Anyway... We have begun to exist. The rotted four of us gave birth to a futile piece of music. It's very organic solution for your ear pussies."

The band recently recorded their first demo, entitled Futile cover art]. The song "The Composter" is streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Decomposter line-up:

Mathias Lillmåns (Finntroll) - vocals/bass
Samuli Ponsimaa (Finntroll) - guitar
Mika Aaltonen - guitar
Rainer Tuomikanto (ex-Causemos, live Dauntless) - drums

UPDATE

Decomposter's entire first demo, entitled Futile, is available for streaming online. Check it out at this location.

Futile cover art] tracklist:

01. The Composter
02. Final Outpost
03. Futile

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Finntroll

A couple of years of playing gigs, little line-up changes and other shit hitting the fan, and again it's time for a new Hateform album to emerge. The recordings for the upcoming album just started, and the release date is set for spring 2010.

The new guy behind the drums, Tuomo Latvala (Torture Killer, ex-Demigod, Torsofuck) already took charge and blasted in some amazing drum work. This far the album consists of such working titles as "Flight Attendants Biological Clock" and "RailCripple". The ten tracks will be laid down on an open schedule this time, as the extra stress set by a tight deadline doesn't seem to help in getting the best result. Altough the idea is to get the album done before the summer.

The papers have been written with 7:45 Records once again and the co-operation will continue from where we left off last time, which happened to be the New Comer of the Year 2008 Award at the Finnish Metal Expo last year.

Hateform's debut effort Dominance was released in 2008. More info about the band on http://www.myspace.com/hateform.

Hateform line-up:

Tomy Laisto (guitar) Mors Principium Est]
Petri Nyström (vocals)
Tom Gardiner (guitar) Mors Principium Est, Katra, Solution.45]
Tuomo Latvala (drums) Torture Killer, ex-Demigod, Torsofuck]
Joni Suodenjärvi (bass)

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Source:

myspace.com

Wendy Dio, the wife and manager of legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio (Dio, Heaven And Hell, Black Sabbath, Rainbow), has released the following statement:

"Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans.

Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio. Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up."

Ronnie James Dio, 67, has performed with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser "Hear 'n Aid". He is widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He is currently involved with Heaven And Hell, a project which also includes former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice. Their first studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009.

Dio cancelled its European tour last week after Ronnie was taken ill. The band's lineup for the trek was supposed to include Whitesnake/ex-Dio axeman Doug Aldrich due to the fact that the group's regular guitarist, Craig Goldy, had prior touring commitments with Budgie in Australia.

UPDATED on 11.12.2009

Here is an update from Wendy Dio on Ronnie's battle with stomach cancer:

"Well, it has been a very exhausting month - after all the neverending tests in Los Angeles, we flew to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and as soon as we arrived, we got a call from the MD Anderson Hospital that they had an appointment for us with the doctor we originally wanted, so we then flew to Houston to the clinic, and of course MORE tests, but Ronnie finished receiving his first chemo treatment on Wednesday, and all is going very well.

I would like to thank Tony Martell from the T.J. Martell Foundation, Dr. Stuart Aaronson from Mount Sinai, Lindsay Brown and Mike Carden from Eagle Records, and our very own Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, for all your help in getting us into MD Anderson, and also our friends Geezer and Gloria Butler, who flew to Houston to be with Ronnie while he had his chemo.

Ronnie and I are totally overwhelmed by the amount of well wishes that we have received from friends and fans - we are reading them all. Some make us laugh, some make us cry, but all of them are so filled with love that it gives us so much support and makes Ronnie even more determined to fight this battle and win. Thank you all for the positive energy and prayers."

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Source:	ronniejamesdio.com
Band profile:	Dio

Norwegian metallers Sarkom have issued the following update on their MySpace blog:

"One of the founding members, Renton, has decided to quit his job as drummer for the band. However, a couple of upcoming 7" releases will still include his work as both drummer and songwriter, as this already have been recorded.

To replace Renton's seat behind the drums, we have found our longtime friend J. Folkedal, which also handled the drums on our last tour. If he will join the band as a pemanent member is still undecided, but as for now, he will join the force at all our upcoming live performances!

We are very grateful for all the work and effort Renton has put into this band and wish him all the best for the future!"

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Source:

blogs.myspace.com

Official press release

It is our very pleasant duty to disclose information which has been conceived a few weeks ago. The new "dark" horse on Naga productions' roster are Slovak Hromovlad.

The band is well-known by natural and very successful concerts and its potential is still growing. Fans also very familiar with the previous two records, and very quickly Hromovlad's folk / black metal popular.

We believe that together we produce the best Hromovlad's album and look forward to what the year ahead in this respect will.

The issue you can enjoy the autumn / winter 2010.

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Source:

naga-productions.com

British independent label Unbelievable Music UK - an emerging label, and current home to shredmeister Andy James and classic rockers Boned - are seeking tracks for a new metal compilation. This is primarily aimed at unsigned metal artists. The compilation will initially be released worldwide online in early 2010. The deal will be non-exclusive, but all tracks submitted must be previously unreleased/unpublished. This represents a great way to gain more exposure for the artists and also generate some revenue. Bands can submit material initially via email (info unbelievablemusic co uk) or web link.

More info at http://www.unbelievablemusic.co.uk.

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Source:

unbelievablemusic.co.uk

Readers of the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet - one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries - have chosen In Flames' 2006 album Come Clarity as the best Swedish album of the past decade. In Flames got about a quarter of all votes, ending up as the only metal related band in the top 10. Four albums of Swedish rock band Kent appeared in the top 10 too. Top 10 results "Best Swedish Album Of The Decade" here.

Bruce Springsteen's 15th studio album Magic, released in 2007, was voted best album by a foreign (non-Swedish) artist, before Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park. See the top 10 here.

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Source:	aftonbladet.se
Band profile:	In Flames

2010 marks 10 years in the making for Warmen - the brainchild of Children Of Bodom keyboardist Janne Wirman. The band celebrates this, as well as their latest album Japanese Hospitality, with a belated release party show on the Helsinki Metal Meeting weekend on February 18th 2010 at Dante's Highlight, Helsinki Finland. As if Warmen's third live performance ever wouldn't be enough to make this a very special event, the band vows to make the show truly a night to remember by bringing a wide variety of guests on the stage.

In other news, Spinefarm Records will release a Warmen compilation album entitled The Evil That Warmen Do in early 2010.

The Evil That Warmen Do cover art] tracklist:

01. Beyond Abilities
02. Spark (Timo Kotipelto)
03. Singer's Chance (feat. Timo Kotipelto)
04. The Evil That Warmen Do
05. Lying Delilah (feat. Marko Vaara)
06. Hidden (feat. Kimberly Goss)
07. Dawn (feat. Pasi Nykänen)
08. Alone (feat. Kimberly Goss; Heart cover)
09. Invisible Power (feat. Timo Kotipelto)
10. Devil's Mistress (feat. Kimberly Goss)
11. They All Blame Me (feat. Jonna Kosonen)
12. Somebody's Watching Me (feat. Alexi Laiho; Rockwell cover)
13. Separate Ways (feat. Pasi Rantanen; Journey cover)

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Source:	warmen.org
Band profile:	Warmen

Shear is the new female-fronted Helsinki-based six piece metal act. The members of Shear have played in many familiar metal bands such as Amoral, Omnium Gatherum, Imperanon, Elenium and Crystal Blaze, who won the Finnish Wacken Metal Battle in 2007.

The first release of Shear is entitled In Solitude. The four track EP was recorded in Autumn of 2009 and mastered at Chartmakers studios. The title track "In Solitude" and a sample collection of all four songs can be listened to on the band's MySpace profile.

The complete line-up of Shear is as follows:

Alexa Leroux - vocals
Mikael Grönroos (Crystal Blaze) - guitar
Lauri Koskenniemi (Elenium, ex-Imperanon) - guitar
Eerik Purdon (Crystal Blaze, ex-Omnium Gatherum, live Amoral) - bass
Lari Sorvo (Iconofear, Crystal Blaze) - keyboards
Juhana Karlsson (Amoral, Crystal Blaze, live Elenium) - drums

Read more ››

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Shear

Adagio are very pleased to announce they will support Kamelot on the upcoming European tour from March 25th to April 9th.

Frontman Stéphan Forté: "We've had the chance to do a couple of shows as special guests for Kamelot on their previous album tour, and it has been a truly awesome experience. Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood and the whole band are some of the nicest persons we've had the chance to work with, and their show and music are absolutely incredible, we are very much looking forward to sharing the stage with them once again!"

Mar 25, 2010 Charleroi - BE - Le Coliseum
Mar 26, 2010 Tilburg - NL - O13
Mar 27, 2010 Amsterdam - NL - Paradiso
Mar 28, 2010 London - UK - Koko
Mar 31, 2010 Paris - FR - Elysée Montmartr
Apr 01, 2010 Pratteln - CH - Z7 Konzertfabrik
Apr 02, 2010 Montpellier - FR - Rockstore
Apr 03, 2010 Barcelona - ES - Salamandra 1
Apr 04, 2010 Madrid - ES - La Riviera
Apr 07, 2010 Dortmund - DE - FZW
Apr 08, 2010 Köln - DE - Live Music Hall
Apr 09, 2010 Hamburg - DE - Markthalle

Also Leaves' Eyes will support Kamelot. The band states: "We are pleased to announce German/Norwegian symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes as special guests to the Kamelot European Tour 2010. Hot off their latest release Njord Leaves' Eyes will finalize this amazing package.

Liv Kristine (Leaves' Eyes): "I am really looking forward to tour with Kamelot again! The last tours with Kamelot were very successful for both bands and the friendship between the bands is great! Being on the road with other Norwegians is of course always an honour and pleasure for me! Roy is both an excellent singer and a fine person".

Thomas Youngblood (Kamelot): "I just heard Leaves' Eyes will be the Special Guest on the upcoming European tour, great news! Some of you may know we have teamed up in the past for some seriously epic nights, we are all getting ready for our best and biggest tour ever!".

Alexander Krull (Leaves' Eyes): "It's great that we go on tour with our friends Kamelot again! This upcoming European tour will be truly a highlight for every fan of dark, symphonic Metal music! We can't wait until March when we'll start to conquer the stages across Europe again with this strong tour package! We will perform new material of the album Njord as well as songs from the previous records!".

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Adagio
Event:	Kamelot

Norwegian black metal band Keep Of Kalessin are among the artists competing to represent Norway in next year's Eurovision Song Contest.

Last Tuesday (December 1), Keep of Kalessin guitarist and songwriter Obsidian C (real name: Arnt Grønbech) told the Norwegian TV show "Lydverket" that he's looking forward to performing the song "The Dragon Tower" alongside Norwegian pop artists and mainstream songwriters.

"I read an interview with Per Sundnes (host of the Norwegian Eurovision finals) where he said they wanted darker and harder songs for the Norwegian Eurovision finals," he said. "At the same time, we had made a song with a catchy chorus, so I just sent it to them."

On being called sellout:

Obsidian: "I think we are gonna get some reactions from the black metal scene, and lose some credibility. Some people, at least, will call us sellouts, but people saying those things are usually people who have an underground band themselves but make a living from selling hot dogs at a gas station. I think it's less of a sellout to play in the Eurovision than to sell hot dogs."

Finnish rock band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". Obsidian C doesn't believe Keep of Kalessin will achieve the same type of success in the competition, but he's looking forward to getting more mainstream attention for the band.

"The song might be a little too extreme for us to win, but hard rock has performed well in the Eurovision earlier, so we'll just have to wait and see," he said. "The song will at least give us a little more attention with a broad audience back here in Norway."

Leif Åge Reme, executive producer of the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest finals, says that the TV show did not ask Keep of Kalessin to take part in the competiton for publicity. "Eurovision is a songwriting contest that reflects the type of songs that are being written around the country, even if that means it is not pop. We are seeking a broad selection of songwriters, and not the publicity."

Read more ››

Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Keep Of Kalessin

Yesterday, nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards were announced by The Recording Academy. Here are the nominees for Best Metal Performance:

Judas Priest - "Dissident Aggressor" (from A Touch of Evil ? Live)
Lamb Of God - "Set to Fail" (from Wrath)
Megadeth - "Head Crusher" (from Endgame)
Ministry - "Señor Peligro" (from Adios...)
Slayer - "Hate Worldwide" (from World Painted Blood)

Except for Slayer, who already won 2 Grammys, none of the bands have won before. Megadeth were already nominated 8 times without a win (together with Metallica, the band who has been nominated the most in this category since its introduction in 1989), Ministry were already nominated 6 times and Judas Priest already had 4 nominations without a win. Lamb of God were previously nominated once, in 2007.

Metallica's "Unforgiven III" is nominated in the Best Hard Rock Performance, together with AC/DC's "War Machine", Alice In Chains' "Check My Brain", Linkin Park's "What I've Done" and Nickelback's "Burn It to the Ground". AC/DC is also nominated for Best Rock Album, while Steve Vai is up for a Best Rock Instrumental Performance award.

Awards will be handed out on January 31, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will air on CBS television. A full list of all nominees can be found here.

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Source:

grammy.com

Bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling promotes Hellborg amplification line

Dutch bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (Obscura, Pestilence) will promote the Hellborg amplification line by Germany 's bass manufacturer Warwick. Thesseling, known for his signature six-string fretless playing in extreme metal, has played Warwick Thumb basses exclusively since 1993. Thesseling will be using a Hellborg stack during the upcoming Obscura and Pestilence tours in addition to Hellborg preamps for recordings of both band's upcoming studio albums. More information on Thesseling's Warwick gear can be found here http://www.warwick.de/modules/endorser/endorser.php?endorserID=719

Thesseling joined the German progressive death metal band Obscura in late 2007 and played on the group's second full-length album Cosmogenesis. This past October, Thesseling rejoined Pestilence after a 15-year break.

Thesseling and Obscura have recently announced that they will join The Black Dahlia Murder, 3 Inches Of Blood and more for the 2010 Bonecrusher Fest. This month-long European tour will kick-off on January 8th in Wiesbaden , Germany . A listing of confirmed tour dates and cities can be found below. Thesseling will also join Pestilence during their 2010 tours.

Obscura Tour Dates:

January 8 Wiesbaden , Germany Schlachthof
January 9 Oberhausen , Germany Turbinenhalle
January 10 Hamburg , Germany Markthalle
January 11 Malmo , Sweden KB
January 12 Aarhus , Denmark Voxhall
January 13 Berlin , Germany Columbia Club
January 14 Prague , Czech Rep. Abaton
January 15 Nurnburg , Germany Hirsch
January 16 Dresden , Germany Reithalle
January 17 Wien , Austria Arena
January 18 Budapest , Hungary Diesel
January 19 Ljubljana , Slovenia Kino Siska
January 20 Munchen , Germany Backstage Werk
January 21 Bologna , Italy Estragon
January 22 Milan , Italy Musicdrome
January 23 Erstfeld , Switzerland Transilvania Live Club
January 24 Esch-Alzette , Luxembourg Kulturfabrik
January 26 Barcelona , Spain Salamandra 1
January 27 Madrid , Spain Joy Eslava
January 28 Porto , Portugal Cine Teatro Julio Diniz
January 29 Durango , Spain Plateruena
January 30 Paris , France Trabendo
January 31 Antwerp , Belgium Muziekodroom
February 1 Bristol , UK Academy
February 2 Leeds , UK Rios
February 3 Glasgow , UK Garage
February 4 Birmingham , UK Academy
February 5 London , UK ULU
February 6 Utrecht , Holland Tivoli

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Source:	relapse.com
Band profile:	Obscura

Swedish Black Metallers Valkyrja have finished recordings for their second album Contamination. Again recorded at Necromorbus Studios (Deströyer 666, Watain) with Tore Stjerna at the helm, Contamination is the logical successor to the bands debut album The Invocation Of Demise (re-issued by Metal Blade Records in July 2009). Valkyrja act even more relentless than on their first effort and they have also refined their sense for compelling melodies close to perfection.

The band comments on Contamination as follows: "The two years which have passed since the The Invocation of Demise session has been a hectic period of composing, crafting and some line-up changes. During this last summer Valkyrja manifested the second album. There were no doubts that we would return to Necromorbus Studio, again with Tore Stjerna as producer, and the outcome of this session formed an abominable weapon. January 2010 Metal Blade Records will unleash this dweller of the underworld - by far the strongest material thus far - namely Contamination, a mark of violent and dark Metal for the predator and beast of opposition within man."

Every Black Metal fan in general and followers of Dissection and Naglfar in particular will love the hymnic riffing and the vicious atmosphere Valkyrja unleash on their new album.

Crowned by a top-notch, freezing cold and brutal production, Contamination is indeed the first Black Metal highlight of the new year and makes Valkyrja THE Black Metal band to watch out for in 2010. Contamination will be released all over Europe the 15th/18th of January 2010.

Contamination cover art] tracklist:

01. Advent...
02. Oceans To Dust
03. Catharsis (Contaminate The Earth)
04. Solstice In Withdrawal
05. Laments Of The Destroyed
06. Ambience Of The Dead
07. The Womb Of Disease
08. Welcoming Worms
09. A Cursed Seed In The World
10. The Adversarial Incentive Within All

Read more ››

Source:	metalblade.com
Band profile:	Valkyrja

Cesare "Fratello Metallo" Bonizzi (born 1946), a monk from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin who has been performing in recent years as a heavy metal singer, has decided to retire. Fratello Metallo ("Brother Metal"), which is also the name of his band, felt that being in a heavy metal band has made him a celebrity and taken him down the Devil's path. The Devil, he says, has turned him away from his fellow monks and managers, so he had "to kill him." However, Bonizzi asserts that he will maintain his interest in heavy metal.

Since 1990 he has released numerous albums in various styles from new age to rock. After seeing Metallica in concert, however, his passion turned to heavy metal. "Metal is the most energetic, vital, deep and true musical language that I know," says Fratello Metallo. In 2008 he released a heavy metal album under the title Misteri. He cites Megadeth and Metallica as major inspirations on his transformation to metal. His band was the opening act at 2008's Gods of Metal, Italy's largest heavy metal festival.

Watch the BBC video report at this location.

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Source:

news.bbc.co.uk