"Initiate" the new video from Tasmanian tech-death masters Psycroptic, can be viewed by clicking here.

The clip was directed by James Harmsworth of Express Media Productions and it reaches almost eight minutes in length. The song comes off Psycroptic's fourth album, "Ob(Servant)", which entered the AIR chart (Australian Independent Recordings) at position No.7.

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Psycroptic

Swedish metallers Sonic Syndicate have confirmed a double-headlining tour across Europe together with labelmates Deathstars who will be releasing their new album "Night Electric Night" on January 30th.

Sonic Syndicate bassist Karin Axelsson commented: "Today we finally confirmed our first tour of 2009 and have decided to team up with with fellow Swedes Deathstars for a double-headline tour across Europe. We're looking forward to sharing the stage with them, having a great time and meeting all the great supporters of both bands throughout Europe. The Swedish mafia continues to cross borders in high gear across Europe. Beware!"

The band also have just finished filming two new videos featuring the second ballad "Contradiction" as well as the heavy track "Powershift"! Both songs come off their latest album "Love And Other Disasters" which landed on #15 of the Swedish and on #36 of the German album charts back in September this year. Both videos will be aired early 2009 so watch out! The first vid "Jack Of Diamonds" by now has gotten close to 1 million views on YouTube.

Tour dates are as follows:

11.02. D - Flensburg - Roxy
14.02. D - Berlin - K17
15.02. D - Leipzig - Hellraiser
17.02. D - Nürnberg - Hirsch
18.02. AT - Vienna - Szene
19.02. AT - Graz - Orpheum
20.02. SI - Maribor - Stuk
22.02. D - Ludwigsburg - Rockfabrik
23.02. CH - Pratteln - Z7
04.03. LU - Luxembourg - Rockhal
06.03. NL - Enschede - Atak
08.03. D - Bochum - Matrix
09.03. D - Köln - Underground
10.03. D - Frankfurt - Batschkapp
12.03. D - München - Backstage
13.03. D - Hamburg - Markthalle

More dates are expected to be confirmed soon.

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Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Sonic Syndicate
Event:	Sonic Syndicate + Deathstars

In the Danko Jones newsletter the following news regarding the band's current activeness has been announced:

"It's now official! Danko Jones will release a compilation entitled "B-Sides" in February of 2009. The collection will be over 70 minutes long, and feature 27 songs that span over the band's entire career. A lot of the material is previously unreleased, and a limited edition box of the record will also be released. "B-Sides" will come out in mainland Europe (minus the UK and France) the first week of February, and more territories will follow later in the year. For track listing and album cover, click here.

We have also uploaded two fresh videos for you. The first one is the new video for the single "King Of Magazines". The second one is "Danko Jones Presents: Top Ten Albums of 2008". A similar video to the one we posted last year where Danko himself takes you through the list of his favourite albums of 2008.

Click the links below to watch: King Of Magazines | Top 10 Albums of 2008

All the dates have now been added to the upcoming European Tour 2009, Including new UK dates. Check out the complete tour here."

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Source:

dankojones.com

German death metallers Obscura have posted another brand new track, "Incarnated", on their MySpace page. The song comes off the group's second full-length album, "Cosmogenesis", which will be released in the U.S. on February 17, 2009 via Relapse Records (March 2 internationally). The CD features guest appearances from Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Blotted Science) and Tymon Kruidenier (Cynic, Exivious). "The new album sounds very intense and brutal", the band says in a statement.

Obscura was founded in 2002 by guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer. After several lineup changes, Kummerer enlisted a new team of virtuoso musicians. Late last year, Obscura added drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex-Necrophagist) and fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (ex-Pestilence) as new permanent members. The group's latest addition, guitarist Christian Muenzner (ex-Necrophagist), came into the ranks earlier this year.

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Source:	blabbermouth.net
Band profile:	Obscura

Swedish metallers Sanctification have posted online a new song, entitled "Black Reign", on their MySpace page.

The track comes off the band's upcoming album, entitled "Black Reign", which will be released next year via Pulverised Records.
"Black Reign" was recorded at Abyss studio under the direction of producers Tommy and Peter Tägtgren. The CD was mixed by Peter Tägtgren and mastered by Dan Swanö.

"Black Reign" tracklisting:

01. Thirst For Blood
02. Black Reign Peter Tägtgren, Magus Caligula]
03. Raw
04. Eternal
05. Hear This
06. Dead Forever
07. Flesh, Bone And Skin
08. Trucido Christianese
09. Storm

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Sanctification

Candlelight Records confirms the completion of the final recordings from black metal legends Emperor. Titled "Live Inferno", the special live series features various releases recorded/filmed during the band's sold out 2005-2007 reunion performances. Several formats will be available including a 2CD/slip case with 16-page booklet, a limited edition box featuring 2 CD's & DVD with an enhanced 24 page booklet, a single DVD, and two limited edition double-vinyl gatefold sets. April 16 is set as the European release date for the series with April 21 set as the North American release date.

The audio aspect of the "Live Inferno" series features exclusive recordings from the band's headlining performances at Norway's Inferno Festival and Germany's Wacken Open Air Festival. Each recording will be pressed as individual double-vinyl sets; the first pressing limited to 1000 on black vinyl with any additional pressings in varied colours selected by the band. A special gold-vinyl seven-inch limited to 2000 titled "Thus Spake The Nightspirit" (featuring a live rendition of the band's famed song from the album "Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk" with a live recording of "Inno A Satana" from the album band's popular "In The Nightside Eclipse" album on the b-side) will be pressed and released via the label's official webstores beginning February 16.

The video portion, titled "Live At Wacken Open Air 2006 - A Night Of Emperial Wrath", has a running time of 70-minutes and includes footage professionally filmed at the Wacken Open Air Festival with additional on-stage and exclusive backstage footage filmed and compiled by the band. "It looks like these releases will be the final nail in the coffin for Emperor," says guitarist Samoth. "They are a testimony of the live reunion that took Emperor to even new heights; unique events like Wacken where Emperor headlined in front of 60 000 people. We had a great run of shows and feel lucky that we were able to come back even bigger and perform songs from our complete catalogue for a lot of dedicated fans old and new. There will be several cool formats and limited editions coming that should be a nice treat for the fans and a worthy representation of the Emperor legacy. Emperor is dead, long live the Emperor!"

Confirmed tracklistings include:

Disc I

01. Infinity Burning (medley)
02. Cosmic Keys To My Creations & Times

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Source:	candlelightrecords.co.uk
Band profile:	Emperor

SPV Records have posted audio samples of all the tracks for Sepultura's new album "A-Lex" over at this location (scroll down to "Tracklisting"). "A-Lex" will be released in January.

Here's the "A-Lex" tracklisting again:

01. A-Lex I
02. Moloko Mesto
03. Filthy Rot
04. We've Lost You
05. What I do!
06. A-Lex II
07. The Treatment
08. Metamorphosis
09. Sadistic Values
10. Forceful Behavior
11. Conform
12. A-Lex III
13. The Experiment
14. Strike
15. Enough Said
16. Ludwig Van
17. A-Lex IV
18. Paradox

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Source:	spv.de
Band profile:	Sepultura

Century Media press release

The wait is finally over as Canadian extreme progressive metal "icons" Into Eternity proudly present their new conceptual, visual masterpiece for "Time Immemorial". The track appears on the group's critically acclaimed concept album, "The Incurable Tragedy", which debuted at 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart upon its September release.

The video, which features vocalist Stu Block in a prominent role, was filmed in Montreal in August, just before the group embarked on the Summer Slaughter Canada tour. That trek was followed by a run alongside the legendary Iced Earth, which capped off a year that also saw the band tour with Symphony X, At The Gates and The Dillinger Escape Plan, among others.

Block (vocals) further comments: "It was really cool and, to be frank, kinda creepy doing some silent acting in the video. I've done some acting in high school and some extra work in Vancouver, so I was sorta familiar with what to do. So, hey Rob Zombie, I'm ready man; throw me in yer next slasher flick!

It was a long day for everyone - 14 hours, I think. I don't think we knew what to expect from the video because the focus was more on the acting sequences as opposed to band performance, which was kind of weird for us. Everyone involved with the video were really laid back and cool, and the other actors and actresses were really awesome and helped me out if I had any questions. (They are the pro's, after all!)

We filmed the video in Montreal at a haunted house that had been turned into a nightclub/restaurant, so it was a treat both for us to be filming a video in Canada and for me being a horror movie buff, as I was definitely in my element. I was hoping for a ghost sighting or for people to start disappearing periodically, but well, that never happened.

We were really pressed for time near the end of the shoot due to the fact we had to pick up our tour manager from the airport since we were going to start a new tour, but what a way to start a tour! I think all in all we are happy the video is finally finished, and we hope our fans enjoy it! Thanks to all our fans for picking up "The Incurable Tragedy", and we will see you all on the road in the future."

The video can be watched here.

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Source:	intoeternity.net
Band profile:	Into Eternity

Corpus Mortale have issued the following update:

"In October, guitarist Roar Christoffersen decided to call it quits after seven years in Corpus Mortale. The reason is that he wants to concentrate solely on his other band Bastards. What initially was just meant as a 'helping hand' for a limited time turned out to be seven great years with one of the best musicians in the scene. He had (and will hopefully continue to have) a major role in the shaping of the trademark Corpus sound as well as the songwriting of both full-length albums. We thank Roar for all the time, dedication and efforts he put into the band through the years.

As Roar is now history, we are proud to announce that Andreas Lynge (also member of The Cleansing) has now been recruited as a permanent replacement for Roar on the guitar. Just as the case was with Rasmus, several of the members have previously shared musical experience as well as longtime friendships. As far as musical skills we can guarantee that nobody will be disappointed about Roar's departure. Andreas simply kicks ass! First gig with the new line-up will be at the Copenhagen Death Fest 2008 held in Copenhagen at the 6th of December. With two fresh and extremely skilled replacements in the band we're ready to take the third generation of the band even further than we've ever been."

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Corpus Mortale

Firewind have posted the following announcement on their website:

"Due to the complete anarchy, disorder and chaos that goes on in Greece at the moment, we're in the unfortunate position to inform you that the upcoming shows in Greece and Bulgaria this weekend will not happen and are postponed. We feel that the situation is not safe for anyone right now and it's beyond our control to make these shows happen. We appreciate your understanding and support."

The shows are postponed for the following dates:

Firewind + Eldritch with special guest Tara Teresa

Friday Jan. 09 2009 - Sofia, BUL @ Blue Box Club
Saturday Jan. 10 2009 - Thessaloniki, GR @ Principal Club Theater
Sunday Jan. 11 2009 - Athens, GR @ Gagarin 205

To those who have already purchased tickets: the tickets are still valid for the shows!

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Source:	firewind.gr
Band profile:	Firewind
Event:	Firewind [POSTPONED]

Bassist Simon Andersson has left the Swedish progressive metal band Pain Of Salvation. He writes in a statement, "I've been a part of this band for almost two years and I'm honoured I was the chosen one. Getting to know these wonderful musicians is even more of an honour? but I've reached the point where I just have to stop and walk my own way. Exhaustion, yearning and frustration are the three main issues.

Exhaustion: having a 'normal day job,' being a rockstar and having a lot of other (heavy) personal stuff became too much. I wanted everything so bad I ended up being sick with no energy whatsoever.

Yearning: being on tour means waiting. Waiting and waiting? I asked myself one day: is the life back home, the people I love, worth risking just being somewhere in the world waiting? My answer is no.

Frustration: I wanna focus on my own music when i have the time for it. Don't wanna be a wheel in motion in someone else's machinery? I have way too much inspiration and there is no space for this in Pain Of Salvation. Lack of dedication? No. Lack of creative outbursts within the band? Yes.

I can't give Pain Of Salvation 100% at this point, and the guys deserve better? the best thing to do is to go separate ways. We made this decision together and we part as friends. I wish them the best of luck!"

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Pain Of Salvation

Crucified Barbara will release their second full-length album "Til Death Do Us Party", in Scandinavia on February 11 and in the rest of Europe on February 27. "Til Death Do Us Party" was produced by Mats Levén (vocalist for such acts as Therion, Yngwie Malmsteen, Krux, Treat, At Vance and Abstrakt Algebra).

"Til Death Do Us Party" cover art] tracklisting:

01. Killer On His Knees
02. Pain & Pleasure
03. Sex Action
04. Creatures
05. Jennyfer
06. Dark Side
07. Can't Handle Love
08. Blackened Bones
09. Danger Danger
10. Rats
11. Feels Like Death

Check out the album artwork

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Source:	crucifiedbarbara.com
Band profile:	Crucified Barbara

Czech metal band Ador Dorath have posted their newest video "Words" from the "Bestiari" album on YouTube. "Bestiari" was released in August.

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Source:	youtube.com
Band profile:	Ador Dorath

Bloodbath have posted the following message on their website already a few days ago:

"We have just learned that our latest shirt design Front, Back] has run into some controversy. Actually, It's been a bit of a rocky road from the start with this one. Back at the sketch board, some of our art direction ideas were met by hesitation and according to the designer would feel "uncomfortable to do". However, the design went through and obviously with such a fantastic piece of artwork and beautiful symbolism the t-shirt has hit home with Bloodbath's audience all over the world, but apparently a demon vomiting on Jesus on a cross, surrounded by snakes, vultures and skulls was over the line for some confused " death metal" fans. Perhaps they should ask themselves if it was really death metal they were searching for in the first place.

Here are examples of some Dr Phil approved quotes we recieved:

"Recently saw your t-shirt "Mock The Cross." It seems rather childish and immature not to mention very dangerous, to ridicule Christ. Why such disdainment for the incarnate God who died to save all mankind, even your sorry asses! If you have a problem with organized religion that's one thing. It has little to do with Christ and His life and teachings. Of course if you curse Him in apparent ignorance, then you wouldn't know the difference. Hell won't be a cool place to be. The power of the cross is foolishness to those perishing."

"I Don't care about all the satan woreshippers that are gonna flame me. But, BloodBath YOU JUST LOST A FAN. On that degrading shirt. I believe what I believe. I rather not have bands mock it. This band is done. Never again. See you on judgment day."

To top it off, we also just recieved the following message from Raw Talent, the printer of the merchandise: "I have just been informed by the owner of the company that unfortunately we will not be able to print the "mock the cross" design again for you guys. It is against the owner's moral and ethical standard for himself and also for the company. He wanted me to let you know and to send his apologies."

With that said, let's get the weak aside and the Bloodbath choir ready to mock the fucking cross again as we moved on to a new printer for our latest over the top "Iesous" shirt design. Original artwork by Alex Norman features a detailed drawing of a dead Jesus with a crown of thorns and blind eyes, bleeding crosses in the background on both sides, and his hair engulfing skulls and the Bloodbath logo. The back features a cross dripping in blood with the lyrics: "Eeso Yeshua Iesous Die By Our Rage". The design was also printed using a technique which results in the ink becoming one with the fabric, creating a soft vintage look and feel. Not a shirt to miss, grab one now!"

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Source:	bloodbath.biz
Band profile:	Bloodbath

Nuclear Blast Records is reporting the following:

Intent on decimating the boundaries of extreme music with their metric art, Sweden's Meshuggah will be returning to North America in February, 2009 on a 17-show headlining tour presented by MySpace Music. Direct support to Meshuggah will be provided by the legendary progressive metal band Cynic. Opening all shows will be technical progressive death metallers The Faceless from Los Angeles. As one of the most popular and highly trafficked music platforms in the world, MySpace Music has evolved into an offline experience by connecting bands and fans around the world through various concert series and live events.

Confirmed shows are as follows:

Feb. 01 - House of Blues - Anaheim, CA
Feb. 02 - House of Blues - San Diego, CA
Feb. 03 - House of Blues - Hollywood, CA
Feb. 04 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Feb. 06 - El Corazón - Seattle, WA
Feb. 07 - Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
Feb. 08 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Feb. 09 - Knitting Factory - Spokane, WA
Feb. 11 - Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO
Feb. 13 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
Feb. 15 - House Of Blues - Chicago, IL
Feb. 17 - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Toronto, ON
Feb. 18 - Club Soda - Montreal, QC
Feb. 19 - - New York, NY
Feb. 20 - Recher Theatre - Towson, MD

Two additional tour dates will be announced shortly.

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Source:	nuclearblastusa.com
Band profile:	Meshuggah
Event:	Meshuggah: N. American Tour