German heavy metal veterans Accept have revealed a short Russian/Belarus tour, scheduled for March this year.

Tour dates as follows:

March 7th 2011 - Belarus, Minsk - Palace of Sports
March 9th 2011 - Russia, Moscow - Milk
March 11th 2011 - Russia, Vladivostok - Golden Fish
March 12th 2011 - Russia, Ussuriysk - Extrim
March 13th 2011 - Russia, Nachodka - Diamond Concert Hall

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Source:	acceptworldwide.com
Band profile:	Accept
Event:	Accept: European Tour

English band Pythia has inked deal with Japanese "Spinning" Label in a 2 album deal.

The band announced: "We are delighted to announce that Pythia have signed with the Japanese "Spinning" label in a 2 album deal. Our debut album Beneath the Veiled Embrace will be released in Japan on 23rd February. As well as the original full UK release there will be 3 extra tracks, "Sarah" (Acoustic), "Tristan" (Acoustic) and the band's highly acclaimed cover of the Gary Moore song "Thunder Rising". These tracks were previously only available on our first two single releases, "Sarah" and "Army of the Damned". The album will also be packaged in brand new artwork.

The 2nd release will be Pythia's as yet untitled 2nd album which is currently being recorded with release planned for the later part of 2011. As a taster see a live version of new song "Just a Lie" filmed in London towards the end of 2010!"


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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Pythia

Norwegian/Spanish gothic metal band Sirenia just updated their homepage in support of the band's brand new album The Enigma Of Life.

Furthermore, Sirenia announced the first festivals for 2011, Wacken Open Air (GER) and Masters Of Rock (CZ). More to be confirmed soon!

Quoted mastermind Morten Veland: "We are very excited these days as the release date for The Enigma Of Life is coming up. We are very eager to share the new album with all our fans. We just launched our new and updated website. Here we will keep all of you up to date on all future activities. Wacken Open Air and Masters Of Rock are already confirmed and more festivals will be announced soon. stay tuned! Cheers!"

The Enigma Of Life will be released on Friday, January 21, 2011.

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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Sirenia

Swedish band Katatonia have revealed the following update:

20 years of Katatonia going strong calls for a celebration and we'll be doing just that by throwing five very special anniversary gigs in Europe this coming May presented as the 'Last Fair Day Gone Night - An Evening With Katatonia' tour 2011.

We've decided to play the entire 'Last Fair Deal Gone Down' album front to back as that's the one album that got us true worldwide recognition for the first time, but 2011 is also the album's 10th anniversary so re-visiting this album seems more fitting than any other record we've done. A second set will follow that will see us play a mix of tracks from the rest of our catalogue. We'll be doing some fan favourites classics but also look into a couple of obscure B-sides and such that we've never or hardly played live before. Together you should get over two hours of live music on this last fair day gone night.

Besides the standard tickets, which will go on sale this Wednesday Jan 19th, we've decided to reserve 70 tickets per show for VIP's who will be up for some real nice treats.

If you're one of those VIP's you will receive a Katatonia tour messenger bag upon arrival filled with exclusive items such as a t-shirt exclusive to that particular show, an exclusive VIP laminate, a + 20 page tour programme (that we're all busy writing as I'm typing this), a ltd edition vinyl of our latest album 'Night is The New Day' and a bunch more cool Katatonia merch items.

But that's not all; all VIP's will have a dedicated meet 'n greet with the whole band so we can shake hands, have your picture taken and hang out for a chat! After that you can watch us sound check for about an hour where you'll hear some songs from the set list and watch us prepare the show. Then it's dinner time so you can go out and grab a bite while you'll be confident to learn that your VIP laminate will allow you back inside the venue a bit earlier than anyone else, so you'll have a smooth and free picking to where you like to position yourself.

Last but not least; right now we're very busy talking to all our equipment endorsers for them to make some goods available that we'll combine into one 'grand prize'! All VIP's will automatically enter into a draw for one lucky guy or girl to win this ultimate prize, which we'll reveal the details about in the next coming weeks. See it as a nice extra bonus already and you can't get disappointed?.

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Source:	katatonia.com
Band profile:	Katatonia
Event:	Last Fair Day Gone Night - An Evening With Katatonia

Legendary Brazilian/American thrashers Sepultura have posted the first of several video updates regarding their new album and plans for 2011. View the clip below!


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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Sepultura

The French Brutal Death band Benighted have set the release date for their upcoming album entitled Asylum Cave.

The album will be out on March 21 (29 in US) through Season Of Mist

The tracklist :

Asylum Cave
Let the Blood Spill between my Broken Teeth
Prey
Hostile
Fritzl
Unborn Infected Children
The Cold Remains
A Quiet Day
Shadows Descend
Swallow
Lethal Merycism
Drowning

The artwork is available here : Link

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Source:	season-of-mist.com
Band profile:	Benighted

A press release from the people at Within Temptation:

"Faster and Faster and Faster", the lyrics of Within Temptation's new single set the pace for the exciting weeks to come.

The energy and adrenalin boasting song will receive its Worldwide Premiere on Guardian Media Group's 'Rock Radio' network in the United Kingdom on Friday January 21st at 9am GMT / 10am CET. Fans worldwide can tune in online to hear the single at Rock Radio (Those in Manchester can tune in at 106.1 FM and Scotland 96.3FM).

Robert comments: "Faster" is a song which surprised ourselves. It's a very fresh new sound wrapped around the 80'ties heart and soul of the track. "Faster" reflects one of the many musical roots we have. Combined with the modern influences on our new album, it's like the past and future created the present."

The next milestone in our journey leading to The Unforgiving album release will be the world premiere of one of the movies featured in The Unforgiving film trailer. Mark the 31st of January in your calendar, this is the day the door to The Unforgiving will open!


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Source:	within-temptation.com
Band profile:	Within Temptation

So according to the website of Poland's pride and joy, Behemoth, front man Adam "Nergal" Darski has apparently kicked Leukemia in the crotch. He left the hospital and will be spending the next several months chilling in his cave somewhere in the area of Gdansk, continuing his recuperation process, playing guitar, and doing 5,000 piece puzzles with his main squeeze, Doda. From the band's website:

NERGAL RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL!
posted 2011-01-19 by Manticore
(Nergal's quotes in italics)

We are happy and relieved to inform you, that Nergal left the hematology division of Uniwersyteckie Centrum Kliniczne (UCK) in Gdansk on Monday, January 17th, four weeks after he underwent a bone marrow transplant procedure. Below you can find his comment:

"Hey! What's up! At last - one could say. After almost half of year of treatment in various hospitals, several cycles of chemotherapy, irradiation and bone marrow transplant I have been finally released home in a pretty fuckin' good condition. I'm feeling ok, taking the intensity of treatment under consideration. That was not an easy period of my life, but, as I envisaged, I left the hospital victorious. I never considered any other options, but anyway, there were rough moments too? At this point I must express my thanks to the people, who made all of these downs fairly bearable. My parents - thank you. You deserve a monument for all your love and patience. Dorotka, thank you for your heroic attitude, love and support. I can't forget Doda's fans, who made a gigantic effort for me and other ill people. You rule! Absolutely fantastic Behemoth fans from all over the world were organizing various events to make people aware of what leukemia is. To all of you out there- my deepest respect! Thank you - the real heroes - Prof. Hellmann, Dr Piekarska, Dr Knopinska, Doc. Giebel, Prof. Ho³owiecki and all the nurses of the hematology division of the Medical Academy in Gdansk and the Oncology Clinic in Gliwice for all the professionalism and great hearts. My band mates for all the friendship and never-ending support. All my friends for sticking to me throughout the whole period of my illness. The list is too long to mention you all, but remember, you have special place in my heart."

Nergal will now go through a recovery which will last for several months. During this time he will stay in his flat in one of the Gdansk's districts.

"Although the whole treatment went really good, as well as the bone marrow transplant and the post-transplant period, the next several months is the time when I must really take care of myself. Of course I will have plenty of time to recover, think about the strategy and my return to the stage - which approaches imminently (laughs). First of all however I must rebuild my physical condition... apart from that, I hunger for playing, I haven't been playing the guitar for a half of year now! Really much to catch up, but also a huge motivation and a desire to work again at the same time. This year will be a really important one for me and the band!"

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Source:	behemoth.pl
Band profile:	Behemoth

US metallers Krallice will release their forthcoming album, Diotima, on April 26 via Profound Lore Records.

Also "The Clearing", a brand new song from Diotima, is available for streaming at this location.

Diotima almost completed image of the album cover art] tracklist:

01. -
02. Inhume
03. The Clearing
04. Diotima
05. Litany Of Regrets
06. Telluric Rings
07. Dust And Light

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Source:	profoundlorerecords.com
Band profile:	Krallice

Official press release

Protest The Hero will release their third studio album, Scurrilous, on March 22 on Vagrant Records in the US and Universal Music Canada. Scurrilous is the follow up to the 5-piece band's, critically acclaimed 2008 sophomore release, Fortress, and reunites the band with producer Julius "Juice" Butty. Scurrilous will be available for pre-order in the first week of February at www.protestthehero.com.

Protest The Hero will begin their world tour with dates in Europe and the UK from January 26th through February 12th supporting Darkest Hour. Following an appearance at Australia's 2011 Soundwave Festival, the band will begin an extensive Canadian and US tour March 23 with support acts Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster and Tesseract. The Canadian leg of the tour will be sponsored by D-Tox Clothing.

Click here for a full list of dates. Pre-sale of tickets for the headline tour are available on Wednesday, January 19 over here and over here for the US shows.

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Source:	protestthehero.com
Band profile:	Protest The Hero
Event:	Protest The Hero: The Scurrilous Tour

US metallers Mastodon have issued the following short update on their MySpace blog:

"We are currently in the writing process for the next album. Lots of riffs have been collected!"

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Mastodon

Original news, posted on 15.12.2010

Belphegor have decided to give you a first glimpse of what's to come with Blood Magick Necromance on January 14th. You can now check out the track "Impaled Upon The Tongue Of Sathan" exclusively at MySpace.

More Blood Magick Necromance album details can be found here.

UPDATE BudDa]

"Blood Magick Necromance", a brand new song from Austrian metallers Belphegor, is available for streaming at this location.

"Blood Magick Necromance" is the title track off the band's forthcoming album, Blood Magick Necromance, which was released on January 14th, 2011 in Europe (February 8th, 2011 in North America) via Nuclear Blast Records.

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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Belphegor

Lifeforce Records press release

Dubai based death-thrashers Nervecell have set Psychogenocide as the title of their long-awaited new album, due for release late March 2011 in Europe through Lifeforce Records and Spellbind Records for the Middle East. The artwork has been a concept, which the band have been working on for quite a while they are extremely proud of how it has turned out, perfectly matching the aggression and musical direction of the new album. The artwork was designed by Killustrations (Aborted, Severe Torture, Zyklon) and can be viewed below.

Psychogenocide is scheduled to be mixed and mastered at Hertz Studios (Behemoth, Decapitated, Vader) in Warsaw, Poland by the Wieslawscy Bros. This will mark the follow-up to Nervecell's first full-length Preaching Venom which was released on October 26th 2009 via Lifeforce Records. The new songs are sounding aggressive, fast and dark! The fans can expect a heavy dosage of old-school death metal, modern thrash metal, intertwined with a touch of Eastern melodies and brutality.

Stay tuned for the album track list and more details to be announced very soon.


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Source:	lifeforcerecords.com
Band profile:	Nervecell

Australian metallers Pegazus will release their brand new album, In Metal We Trust, on April 15, 2011 through Black Leather Records. The distribution is in hands of the German company Twilight Vertrieb.

The album contains 11 brand new classic Heavy Metal songs with original singer Justin Fleming back on vocals! As a tribute to the great guitarists of the 80's, Pegazus has invited Ross The Boss (Founding member Manowar, Ross The Boss, The Dictators), Jeff Watson (ex-Night Ranger/Mothers Army) and David Shankle (formerly of Manowar, David Shankle Group) to contribute a solo for the song "Old Skool Metal Dayz".

In addition, the band has put up today a brand new MySpace design based on the new CD cover artwork. The first sample (for the song "Metal Messiah") from the new album can be found there as well.

In Metal We Trust cover art] tracklist:

01. Metal Messiah
02. Road Warrior
03. Old Skool Metal Dayz
04. We Live To Rock
05. Haunting Me
06. Eye For An Eye
07. Ghost Rider
08. Metal Gods
09. End Of The World
10. Death Or Glory
11. Old Skool Metal Dayz

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Pegazus

Danish metallers Mercenary will release their sixth album, Metamorphosis, on February 25 via NoiseArt Records. The CD was produced by Jacob Hansen (Raunchy, Volbeat, Nightrage, Hatesphere, Pyramaze).

Regarding the CD's cover artwork (see below), the band states: "There's, of course, a lot of obvious (and indeed slightly cheesy) self-referential symbolism regarding the rebirth of the band in the cover artwork. But apart from that we felt that the motive of a phoenix was a really fitting expression of many of René's lyrical themes on the album, as they deal with personal and existential crisis, overcoming personal obstacles and how we can sometimes redefine ourselves in the process of taking responsibility for altering the conditions of our very lives. This idea of personal freedom can be a very frightening thought for some, but it's actually a message of hope and optimism ? we can always take control of our lives and free ourselves of inner or outer constraints, or at least take pride in the struggle to do so. (Okay, dropping all the intellectual pretense, we just liked the artwork because it was freaking bird on fire ? how cool is that!?

On a serious note, though, we also felt that a simple, raw and iconic visual theme would support the musical direction of the new album. We feel that the songs are our strongest ever, they're no-bullshit, focused and straight to the point, and our good friend Don G really nailed these concepts with his artwork.

Finally, we have also been searching for a new logo for many years (also before the recent changes in line-up) but we never felt that we found a good enough alternative until now. With the direction of the new line-up and the new album, we not only felt that we had as good an occasion as any, but we also really liked the idea of a less polished, more raw logo which could reflect the changes in musical expression."

Metamorphosis tracklist:

01. Through The Eyes Of The Devil
02. The Follower
03. In A River Of Madness
04. Memoria
05. Velvet Lies
06. In Bloodred Shades
07. Shades Of Grey
08. On The Edge Of Sanity
09. The Black Brigade

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Mercenary