2009 draws to a close for Australia's Dreadnaught with the release of the last of four promotional videos from the self-titled LP CD Dreadnaught. "10 Times the Pain" is viewable now on the band's YouTube and MySpace pages.

This year has seen the long-awaited release of a new LP CD and touring throughout Australia and Japan, and culminates with a show in Melbourne this December the 18th with Frankenbok, Switchblade (Syd), Teramaze, The Plague Black, and Internal Nightmare at The East Brunswick Club. Entry is $15, tickets are available at the door or through Moshtix.

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Source:

youtube.com

South Carolina's Through The Eyes Of The Dead have launched the lead track from their new album Skepsis, titled "The Manifest," on their newly redesigned MySpace page. The self-produced Skepsis hits the streets on February 2, 2010, and is the first TTEOTD release to feature new vocalist Danny Rodriguez, drummer Mike Ranne and guitarist Chris "Hank" Henckel. The album was recorded at Geller Cellar Studios in New York and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall), and like previous TTEOTD releases, it features cover art by Paul Romano (Mastodon, Trivium).

Guitarist Justin Longshore commented on the new release: "Our new record Skepsis finally captures the sound we've always envisioned. We really wanted to raise the bar with this one but also keep the consistency that Through The Eyes Of The Dead is known for. Overall, everyone has become better at their instruments and it really shows on the record. I have no doubt in my mind that new and old fans of the band will be pleased when they hear it!"

Skepsis cover art] tracklist:

01. Parasite Throne
02. Dementia
03. No Haven
04. Perpetual Defilement
05. Inherit Obscurity
06. The Manifest
07. Defaced Reality
08. Siphonaptera From Within
09. Insomnium
10. Skepsis

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Source:

myspace.com

Polish progressive metallers Animations are streaming their sophomore release Reset Your Soul on MySpace. The album is available for sale online since the beginning of December.

According to the band's MySpace site, Animations play music which combines classic progressive rock, metal, fusion along with jazz elements. Their music is spiced up a bit by adding the one magic ingredient - virtuosity.

Reset Your Soul cover art] tracklist:

01. Reset Your Soul
02. Demons of War
03. Inscrutable
04. The Manhattan Project
05. Request for Redemption
06. The Last Man
07. 1989
08. Toxicyber

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Source:

myspace.com

Death metallers Aborted have announced a new line-up, featuring Sven de Caluwé (also of System Divide, Whorecore and ex-Leng Tch'e) on vocals, Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork, Phaze I) on drums, Eran Segal (ex-They:Swarm/Whorecore) and Ken Sorceron (Abigail Williams) on guitar and Cole Martinez (System Divide) on bass.

This newly revamped line-up has been working on new material for the past months and recorded a brand-new 5-track EP entitled Coronary Reconstruction. The EP will be released by the end of the year, digitally by Century Media, and on a limited run of 1000 copies by the band themselves exclusively through Indiemerch.

Coronary Reconstruction will contain 4 brand-new tracks demonstrating the potential of the new line-up and showing once and for all the return of Aborted to its gory and intense roots along with a fierce cover from Entombed's Left Hand Path.

Coronary Reconstruction tracklisting:

01. Coronary Reconstruction
02. From a Tepid Whiff
03. Grime
04. A Cadaverous Dissertation
05. Left Hand Path (Entombed cover)

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Source:	centurymedia.com
Band profile:	Aborted

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

"Theocracy is proud to announce Jared Oldham as their new bass player!

Jared has been filling in and touring with the band for some time now, so making it official is a mere formality.

Jared brings years of musical experience and a great singing voice, and his personality fits the band like a glove.

Onward and upward!"

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Theocracy

Official press release

Swedish thrashers The Haunted have announced signing a new worldwide deal with Century Media Records after a successful partnership for the band's last three albums (rEVOLVEr, The Dead Eye, Versus).

The Haunted's Peter Dolving (vocals) comments: "So once again we've decided to sign with Century Media Records. It feels good to get continuation, and truly having worked hard on communication on both ends over these last years, has brought us together in ways that I believe a lot of bands/managements/labels only dream of. Long term goals, open agendas, and a Norse/German stubborn attitude seem to be something we find a mutual trust and strength in and we're really looking forward to a continued cooperation with our friends/partners at Century Media. It is a strange thing this, the business of music, but like everything else, it seems to come down to hard work, earnestness, straight talk and respect. So here's to many more years of churning out metal to the masses. Peace!"

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	The Haunted

Official press release

Dear friends, colleagues and metal-heads!

Roadrunner Records is very excited to announce the signing of this outstanding metal band from Stockholm/Sweden!

Grand Magus is a 3-piece band featuring: "JB" Christofferson - guitars & lead vocals, Fox Skinner - bass & backing vocals, Sebastian "SEB" Sippola - drums.

During their 10-year history, Grand Magus have released 2 demos, 1 split-EP and 4 full-length albums, and have received overwhelmingly positive reviews throughout. Their last opus, Iron Will was voted "Album of the Month" in the German Metal Hammer & Rock Hard magazines. Drawing hefty influences from the hand-on-heart grandeur of the NWOBHM and the inspirational mythology of their forbears, Grand Magus are steeped in pre-Christian tales of triumph, vengeance, betrayal, wisdom and death. But Grand Magus also stand for energetic live performances as seen at this year's European festivals such as Sweden Rock (SE), Hellfest (FR), Wacken (D), Summer Breeze (D) or on tour in Europe with bands like At The Gates, Cathedral, Candlemass, Tyrant, Serpentcult and Electric Wizard.

Roadrunner Records is proud to be releasing their upcoming album, Hammer of the North in spring/early summer of 2010 (tba). On this release, Grand Magus have perfected their own style of full-on metal assault with fantastic heavy riffing and stomping songs, strong hook-lines, epic vocals/lyrics and rousing solo guitars. Hammer of the North is not only the title of a new album in the band's catalogue, it's going to be a strong statement from Grand Magus: Hammer of the North - this is pure Heavy Metal!

Grand Magus: "We are thrilled with working with Roadrunner Records. We regard this as both a great sign of recognition, and most importantly a chance for us to really push ourselves and the music to the point of perfection. We are confident that the team of us and Roadrunner will be something really special."

Henk Hakker (MD Roadrunner Records/Germany): "It is very exciting for Roadrunner Records Germany to sign excellent European bands like Grand Magus, in order to prove that not only American metal can be successful worldwide. I am confident that we will be able to create the right infrastructure around Grand Magus in order to support the best records in their career and to get them on to the next level."

Chris Klimek (A&R Roadrunner Records): "I'm very happy and proud about the fact that this fantastic band has finally signed to Roadrunner, as we haven't been the only label grabbing at them. All members in Grand Magus are fantastic musicians: JB is a marvellous singer and guitarist. Seb and Fox are great instrumentalists and the steam-rolling backing in this band. The natural, organic and timeless sound of Grand Magus, plus their 100% eager, authentic and passionate heavy metal-attitude and coolness marks them out as absolutely special in the whole scene! I'm really looking forward to a mutually rewarding future with these great guys! Skol!"

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Grand Magus

Live Xecution - Party.San 2008, the new DVD from US metallers Obituary, will be released in January 2010 via Regain Records.

A DVD trailer from Live Xecution - Party.San 2008 can be viewed at this location.

Live Xecution - Party.San 2008 cover art] tracklist:

01. Find the Arise
02. On the Floor
03. Chopped in Half
04. Turned Inside Out
05. Forces Realign
06. Insane
07. Face Your God
08. Dethroned Emperor (Celtic Frost cover)
09. Evil Ways
10. Drop Dead
11. Contrast the Dead
12. Second Chance
13. Stand Alone
14. Slow Death
15. Slowly We Rot


Read more ››

Source:	youtube.com
Band profile:	Obituary

Arsis just posted a brand new song "Beyond Forlorn" from their upcoming album Starve for the Devil online. Click here for lyrics and song details.

Commented mainman James Malone: "I am of the belief that one can be most convincing when they write/create from personal experience. "Beyond Forlorn" is probably one of my favorite tracks from Starve for the Devil because it is so deeply personal for me. I really feel that I tried to put all of my being into this one track; enjoy."

Starve for the Devil cover art] tracklist:

01. Forced to Rock
02. A March for the Sick
03. From Soulless to Shattered (Art in Dying)
04. Beyond Forlorn Listen]
05. The Ten of Swords
06. Closer to Cold
07. Sick Perfection
08. Half Past Corpse O'Clock
09. Escape Artist
10. Sable Rising
11. A Pound of Flesh (For the Hell of It)

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Arsis

Bay Area thrashers Heathen have announced the new album, The Evolution of Chaos will be released in Japan on December 23 through King Records, and via Mascot Records on January 25, 2010 in Europe and on March 31 in the USA.

The Evolution of Chaos cover art] tracklist:

01. Dying Season
02. Control by Chaos
03. No Stone Unturned
04. Arrows of Agony
05. Fade Away
06. A Hero's Welcome
07. Undone
08. Bloodkult
09. Red Tears of Disgrace
10. Silent Nothingness

Demo versions of "Dying Season" and "Arrows of Agony" can be streamed on MySpace.

Heathen are also booking a tour in Europe for March 2010. The tentative dates are as follows:

12/3 - UK - Prestatyn, Hammerfest
13/3 - UK - London, Underworld
14/3 - NL - Rotterdam, Baroeg
15/3 - D - Siegen, Blue Box
16/3 - F - TBA
17/3 - D - Ingolstadt, Paradox
18/3 - CH - Aarau, Kiff
19/3 - IT - TBA
20/3 - IT - Gorizia, Pieffe Factory
21/3 - SLO - Maribor
22/3 - RO - Baia Mare, Tinertului Hall
23/3 - A - Vienna, Viper Room
24/3 - D - TBA
25/3 - D - TBA
26/3 - D - Essen, Turock
27/3 - NL - TBA
28/3 - NL - Tilburg, 013

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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Heathen
Event:	Heathen [POSTPONED]

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."

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

Polish extreme metallers Behemoth are planning on making their way back to Australian shores in 2010 for a five date tour. The tour will take place in April and will be with US bands Job For A Cowboy and Goatwhore. The tour is in support of Behemoth's new album Evangelion and tickets go on sale on 11th December.

Below are all the dates of the tour:

April 12 - Capitol, Perth
April 13 - Fowlers Live, Adelaide
April 14 - Billboard, Melbourne
April 16 - Metro, Sydney
April 17 - Hi-Fi, Brisbane

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Behemoth
Event:	Behemoth: Australian Tour 2010

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

Official press release

The Dimebag Darrell tribute CD with tracks from Machine Head, Five Finger Death Punch, Zakk Wylde and more will come packaged with issue 200 of Metal Hammer - on sale December 16th.

Metal Hammer are honoured to pay tribute to the one and only Dimebag Darrell on December 16th. We've rounded up some of the biggest and best names from the world of metal to unleash their interpretations of the hardest and heaviest tracks from the Pantera back-catalogue.

The full tracklisting runs:

01. Zakk Wylde - Suicide Note, Pt. 1
02. Machine Head - Fucking Hostile
03. Malefice - I'm Broken
04. Avenged Sevenfold - Walk
05. Evile - Cemetery Gates
06. Five Finger Death Punch - A New Level
07. Biohazard - Mouth for War
08. Sylosis - Strength beyond Strength
09. Chimaira - Slaughtered
10. Unearth - Sandblasted Skin
11. Throwdown - Becoming
12. Kiuas - This Love
13. This Is Hell - Rise

Metal Hammer spoke to Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn about their decision to cover the Vulgar Display of Power classic, "Fucking Hostile."

"It was either that or "Strength beyond Strength" from Far beyond Driven," said Flynn. "In the end, we decided that we wanted to do a classic. We chose "Fucking Hostile" because it's two and a half minutes of pure, raging metal. It's short, fast and brutal. There's some real intricate riffing parts in there. We'd jammed it before but we'd never sat down and analyzed it properly. I think we did a great job on it."

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Source:	metalhammer.co.uk
Band profile:	Pantera

Original news, posted on 20.11.2009

Varg has posted the following news item on burzum.org (excerpt):

"The coming album is called "Den Hvite Guden" (The White God) and is a musical and lyrical description of the the White God (alias Apollon, Baldr, Belenus, Belus, Bragi, Byelobog, Jarilo, et cetera) and the annual events of his life. I describe the stories of the myths like they could have been before they were myths, by presenting to You bits and pieces of the sorcery and religion of ancient Europe (more elaborately described in my unpublished book "Trolldom og Religion i Oldtidens Skandinavia" ). It is not intended for play the "low-brow metal" style, but instead I imagine a listener willing to sit down, ideally in solitude, and think for a minute, about the White God and our forebears, whether they were Picto-British, Finnish, Gallic, Greek, Roman, Scandinavian, Scytho-Slavic, Daco-Thrakian or whatever, and about their magnificent, intelligent, positive, beautiful, healthy and strong culture."

For the full news item, click here.

UPDATE

Varg Vikernes has issued the following update:

"When I used the name "The White God" for my next album I had no idea it would stir up so much fear and irrational emotions. To me this is just a nickname of Baldur, whom the album is all about. No ambiguity intended. The truth is I announced the release of The White God at this early point to ease the pressure on the burzum.org host. He was getting tired of having to tell individuals contacting him that he didn't know when the next album would be due, what its name was going to be or anything else. With the article this problem was solved.

With a title including the word "white" it apparently isn't possible to slip under the radar of the racist "Western" media. To take away their excuse to spread their anti-Varg/anti-Burzum hate-propaganda when (and before) the album is released I have decided to change the album title. These self-loathing fools have no interest in the music anyway, and because of that I don't want their attention - and I won't get it if I use a title that doesn't give them an excuse to attack me.

The new title of the album is, as you might have guessed from the title of this article, Belus, the so-called Indo-European name for Baldur/the White God. I could have used any European name for this deity, but I chose this one because it is the oldest known name and because it is pan-European.

Read more ››

Source:	burzum.org
Band profile:	Burzum