Kamelot will embark on their first North American tour in two years lates this year. Support will come from Leaves' Eyes and Blackguard.

First announced dates are as follows:

Sep. 08 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
Sep. 10 - Atlanta, GA @ ProgPower USA XI (Kamelot only)
Sep. 11 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Sep. 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
Sep. 15 - New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
Sep. 17 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
Sep. 18 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Sep. 19 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Sep. 21 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Sep. 22 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Sep. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
Sep. 25 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
Sep. 27 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
Sep. 29 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's
Oct. 01 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
Oct. 02 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues

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Source:	kamelot.com
Band profile:	Kamelot

TheRaveLive.com - the social media service from The Rave Club - will be streaming a free concert from Devildriver on Tuesday, January 19th, from The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA.

Devildriver is currently on tour promoting their latest release "Pray For Villains" and was just named in AOL Radio's Best Metal Songs of 2009.

The worldwide broadcast will begin at 8pm CDT on Tuesday, January 19th, and is also scheduled to include sets from Suffocation, Goatwhore, and Thy Will Be Done, who are the opening acts on the Bound By The Road Tour.

The stream is FREE for fans around the world to view right from the comfort of their home computers. Visit http://webcast.therave.com to register in advance for this exclusive event.

The Rave/Eagles Club is a 180,000 square foot entertainment complex with six concert halls in one building, four of which are already wired for simultaneous live broadcasts, with anywhere from three to eight cameras. Over 2000 bands performed at the building in 2009.

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Source:	live.therave.com
Band profile:	Suffocation
Event:	Bound By The Road Tour

The Eternal have posted the last official promo video for the song "Means For An Ending" online. The video is the second video from The Eternal's third album Kartika. The video for "Means For An Ending" was put together from footage the bands collections of tours in the USA, Canada & Mexico last year.

The Eternal also announced they'll be releasing a DVD soon. The DVD will contain a feature length "Kartika World Tour" documentary and "The Making of Kartika" documentary as well at two promo videos and plenty of photos. More information and a DVD trailer to follow shortly.


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Source:	the-eternal.com
Band profile:	The Eternal

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

Finntroll have revealed their brand-new video for the song "Solsagan". Head over to this location to check out the new video which has been produced by Vasara Films (Dark Tranquillity, Turisas).

In addition to the new video you can also watch the making of "Solsagan" at this location.

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Finntroll

Russian melodic modern metal band Factor Straha (The Factor Of Fear) have uploaded the title track of their upcoming fourth studio album Mertvye Sny (Dead Dreams). The song from the album of the same name is available through the page of Russian metal record label CD-Maximum here.

According to a press release, Factor Straha is a renowned Russian modern metal band in the vein of Soilwork and In Flames founded by the former Trizna's musicians and highly acclaimed by metal audience: this is one of the most touring and the best live bands in Russia.

The album Mertvye Sny cover art] will be available outside Russia in digital form through iTunes, Napster and many other digital stores worldwide as well as the previous albums of the band.

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Source:

myspace.com

Retrospect Records has announced a licensing agreement to release 80's US metal band Alias debut album.

Alias' self-titled debut album, released on August 14 1987, has been digitally re-mastered and is available for the first time ever on CD. The Sarasota, Florida based band was formed in the early 1980's, released 2 albums and featured vocalist Len Jarrell (Unleashed Power, Surgeon), guitarist Mark Severns (Tyger Tyger, Jeff Austin Project), bassist Dirk Van Tilborg (Attakk, Crimson Glory, Kamelot) and drummer Phil Arnt. The band continued until 1990 when the members went their separate ways to pursue other musical interests.

Alias cover art] tracklist:

01. (You Can't) Take My Youth Away
02. Authority
03. Prisoner Of Dreams
04. Take The Light
05. Knight Of The Realm
06. The System
07. King Of The New Order
08. Listen To The Rain
09. So You're A Star
10. Emerald Eyes

More about Alias at http://www.myspace.com/aliasheavymetal.

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Source:

retrospectrecords.com

Inner Wound Recordings are proud to announce the signing of the Brazilian heavy metal band Painside. Their debut album Dark World Burden will be released in Europe April 2nd.

Inspired by the traditional sound of pioneering bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, while adding modern influences from bands such as Nevermore and Disturbed, the band's sound is an elaborate and diverse emotional rollercoaster backed by sharp riffs, in your face vocals and a crunching sound to color the sonic landscape.

Dark World Burden cover art] tracklist:

01. Ignite The Fire
02. Where Darkness Rules
03. Collapse The Lies
04. The Deviant
05. This Dark World
06. Sand Messiah
07. Forsaken
08. Serpent's Tongue
09. The Edge
10. Martyr
11. Redeemers In Blood

The CD was mixed by Alex Macedo (Syren, Atlântida) and Renato Tribuzy (Tribuzy), who also produced the record, at Full Sound Studios in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. Appearing as guests are Gus Monsanto (Revolution Renaissance, Takara, ex-Adagio), Chris Boltendahl (Grave Digger) and Renato himself, helping intertwine the group's musical vision, uniting the past and the present of heavy music.

More info about the band on http://www.myspace.com/painsideofficial.

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Source:

innerwound.com

Original news, posted on 29.07.2009

Finnish black metallers Catamenia have issued the short following udpate: "We're working on new songs for our next album at the moment and hopefully we're ready to go to record it around September/October this year. The album will be titled Cavalcade and will be recorded in Mastervox Studios in Oulu, Finland."

UPDATE

Catamenia have announced more details regarding their upcoming new effort, Cavalcade. Recorded in Mastervox Studios, Finland, Cavalcade will hit the shelves on February 26th, through 2010 Massacre Records. The album will be released both on regular CD as limited digipack.

Ex-Sentenced/Poisonblack vocalist Ville Laihiala makes a guest appearance on the song "Blood Trails".

Cavalcade cover art] tracklist:

01. Blood Trails
02. Cavalcade
03. The Path That Lies Behind Me
04. Silence
05. Quantity Of Sadness
06. Post Mortem
07. The Vulture's Feast
08. A Callous Mind
09. Reincarnation
10. Angry Again Megadeth cover]
11. Farewell Sentenced cover]

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Source:	catamenia.net
Band profile:	Catamenia

After being censored for the pseudo mini-porn video that was "Pussy" and the controversies surrounding the single "Ich Tu Dir Weh" (I Hurt You) and a picture inside the album booklet displaying guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe spanking a chubby woman wearing only a mask, it seems that also two Rammstein live shows will be censored now.

In November the album Liebe Ist Für Alle Da got "indexed" by the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, making it illegal in Germany for minors to purchase the album, or display it where it can be seen by people underage, effectively banning it from stores. At the time, keyboardist Christian Lorenz expressed surprise at the advisory board's "parochial sense of art" and regretted their apparent inability to detect irony.

Now, the German Family Ministry authorities will not allow the band to perform any songs that have been indexed on both their Dortmund shows. Furthermore, the ministry demands each band member to sign a "written explanation before the concerts, that the indexed songs will indeed not be played." In case of violation, the band faces a fine of ?10,000, per person. Public Order director Ortwin Schafer also stated that the Youth Protection Act will be put into force in conjunction with the police and "fans under 18 must be accompanied by parent or guardian of a person to attend the concert. Fans without a parent or guardian in attendance will be sent home."

Both concerts, each with over 10,000 attendees, are both sold out. Though the organizers tried to downplay the situation: "We have received no request of the public order of Dortmund", says Silvia Pape of "Concert Team NRW". However, there were already telephone contacts. Pape: "Once we have something on paper, we will forward it on to the management and the band. The final decision lies with the guys. "

The full article (in German) here.

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Source:	ruhrnachrichten.de
Band profile:	Rammstein

As indecisive as a five-year-old in a toy store, Kekal - the so-called clinically dead metal band from Indonesia - have confirmed a new album is planned for 2010. When avantgarde becomes beyond the grave.

"Good News! Kekal is NOT dead, and it is proven that new songs are currently in the production.

After speculations about the current status of Kekal following the departures of all band members last year, it is confirmed that a new Kekal studio album is planned for 2010.

The new album will be some sort of "collective effort". It means that all 3 former key members (Jeff, Azhar Levi and Leo) have contributed in making "the whole art-form in one package", while not limited only on the music side. Levi is currently making the entire artwork for the album and Jeff is producing the music. Two songs will also have Leo's guitar works.

About the album direction, Jeff told that each song displays its unique character as a balance between electronic and organic elements, rhythm and melody, aggression and atmosphere, simplicity and complexity, beauty and the beast. Confirmed instruments being used on recording are: electric & guitars, drums, samples from field-recordings, theremin, analog synths, vocals, vocoder, and TR-808.

The album will redefine the term "experimental" in its true sense, but yet listeners will find it accessible and digestible.

Kekal is currently looking for a potential record label to release the album on CD and digital later this year. More details including tracklisting and album title will be announced in the coming months.

However, there is no plan for Jeff, Levi and Leo to rejoin Kekal. Kekal will stay memberless."

So what now? Kekal is not dead, but not active either, but somehow you're still active? And the band stays memberless but still the key musicians are working back together on new material under the Kekal moniker? And if you're memberless, who's going to sign the contract of the record deal, huh? What is this? A smart marketing trick for a Zombie Jesus concept album? You're either disbanded or you're not. Make up your mind already. Metal is not a shoe outlet.

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Source:	kekal.org
Band profile:	Kekal

Finnish metallers Barren Earth will release their debut full-length album, entitled Curse Of The Red River, on March 29 in Europe (April 6 in North America) via Peaceville Records.

The cover artwork of the album was created by Travis Smith (Opeth, Katatonia, Bloodbath).

Curse Of The Red River cover art] tracklist:

01. The Curse Of The Red River
02. Our Twilight
03. Forlorn Waves
04. Flicker
05. The Leer
06. The Ritual Of Dawn
07. Ere All Perish
08. Cold Earth Chamber
09. Deserted Morrows

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Barren Earth

Norwegian metallers Ragnarok have posted online two new songs, "Collectors Of The King" and "In Honour Of Satan", on their MySpace page.

The two new songs come off the band's forthcoming album, Collectors Of The King, which is scheduled for release on March 22 via Regain Records.

Collectors Of The King cover art] tracklist:

01. Introduction
02. Stabbed By The Horns
03. Burning The Earth
04. In Honour Of Satan
05. Collectors Of The King
06. Eternal Damnation
07. The Ancient Crown Of Glory
08. May Madness Hunt You Down
09. Wisdom Of Perfection
10. Maze Of The Abyss

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Ragnarok

Set Sail To Mystery, the fourth album from The Vision Bleak, is going to contain the following tracks:

01. A Curse Of The Grandest Kind
02. Descend Into Maelstrom
03. I Dined With The Swans
04. A Romance With The Grave
05. The Outsider
06. Mother Nothingness (The Triumph Of Ubbo Sathla)
07. The Foul Within
08. He Who Paints The Black Of Night

The Vision Bleak will also record an alternative version of "I Dined With The Swans" entirely sung by Kvarforth (Shining), which fathoms the morbid atmosphere of the track even further.

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Source:	prophecyproductions.de
Band profile:	The Vision Bleak

Guitarist Paolo Puppo from underground Italian Gothic metallers Will 'O' Wisp has announced they will enter Nadir Recording Studios in Genova any time soon. Will 'O' Wisp will be recording their third album after eight years of silence, following the release of Enchiridion (1997) and Unseen (2002). The album will be entitled Kosmo and will feature Filippo Oinos on drums (ex-Sadist, Thy-Nature). The record will also be produced by Sadist keyboard/guitar player Tommy Talamanca.

The underground band (no use for a MySpace page) is said to have had a large consensus all around Europe at the end of the 90's among goth-death metallers with their releases.

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Source:

nadirmusic.net