Norwegian death metallers Blood Red Throne are currently hard at work on their next, as-yet-untitled album.

Guitarist Død comments: "We're currently workin' on our fifth studio album, and so far we got 9 killer tracks. Expect some heavy shit, some fast and brutal shit and for those of you missing solos on previous albums, a lot of cool leads! We're waiting for a green signal and then we'll enter Studio Deadline in Sweden, makin' our best album ever!"

Blood Red Throne's follow-up to 2007's "Come Death" is tentatively due to be released in May 2009 through Earache Records.

Catch Blood Red Throne live at a couple of shows this Winter:

21 Nov 2008 - Notodden, Norway - Hellion Club
17 Jan 2008 - Bergen, Norway - Garage

Source:	earachenews.blogspot.com
Band profile:	Blood Red Throne

Dutch metaller Textures have posted the music video for "Awake" on their MySpace page, you can check it out here.

The band comment: "The video was shot at the beginning of October in the Belgian Ardennes under supervision of director Rob Hodselmans (GEM, Room 11) and producer David Leite from Hazazah. The video has been possible thanks to a generous grant from the Dutch TAX funds - an incentive from the Dutch Government to assist up-and-coming Dutch artists with audio/visual output."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Textures

Origin, Skinless, Obscura, Man Must Die and Antigama will join forces for the first-ever European edition of the legendary "Relapse Records Contamination Tour". The tour will bring extremity as only Relapse Records can provide to the UK and Europe in an extensive four week run.

Tour spearhead Origin recently issued their new full-length "Antithesis" to massive worldwide acclaim! Widely thought of as one of the most brutal and technical death metal bands in the world, Origin return to stake their claim as the leaders of metal's new wave of extremity. Faster, heavier, and decidedly more advanced than anyone could have ever envisioned the genre becoming, "Antithesis" is a modern day death metal classic which proves Origin stand head and shoulders above their peers. Infamous New York death metal destroyers Skinless will co-headline the bill and bring their patented brand of chaos back to Europe for the first time in years. Widely-regarded as one of the best live death metal bands in the world with their slamming death metal grooves and hell-bent commitment to fun, Skinless will be previewing new material from their forthcoming new album as well as delivering all the crushing hits from their previous four full-lengths.

The newest addition to the Relapse family, Germany's technical metal masters Obscura boast a lineup packed with ex-members of such legendary bands as Pestilence and Necrophagist. Obscura's forthcoming Relapse debut "Cosmogenesis" (coming March 2009), might very well be THE death metal record of 2009 and will more than justify the bands already impressive pedigree. Prepare to be amazed! Scotland's metal wrecking crew Man Must Die, the first-ever UK band signed to Relapse, will release their new full-length"No Tolerance For Imperfection" in April 2009. The band previously turned heads in '07 and '08 with their Relapse debut "The Human Condition" and tours alongside heavyweights such as Misery Index, Despised Icon, Hate Eternal, Kataklysm, Cephalic Carnage and more. Poland's progressive grindcore quartet Antigama will release their new full-length in March 2009. The follow-up to the bands critically-acclaimed debut "Resonance", the new album will undoubtedly see the band push their off-kilter grind attack to new sonic levels.

The "Relapse Records Contamination Tour" is an institution in North America and has been a vehicle used to expose some of its newest and most exciting bands over the course of the label's 17-year history. Previous "Contamination Tours" have included bands such as Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis, Nile, High On Fire, Cephalic Carnage, Coalesce, Origin, Misery Index, and many, many more.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Obscura

Shadow Gallery announced the following sad news today:

"It is with deep sadness and regret that we announce the passing of Shadow Gallery vocalist, Michael A. Baker. Mike suffered a heart attack, Wednesday afternoon, October 29th, 2008. He was 45 years old. Mike was a founding member of Shadow Gallery and for the past 16 years, helped shape the sound of the band with his magical voice. Additionally, he made many appearances on rock records around the world. Those who knew him best were moved by his gentle spirit, sincere kindness , fun nature and passion for both music and sports. He was a warrior in the studio, a true professional. Mike was our friend, our singer and our brother. We loved him and will miss him enormously, but he will always be remembered in our hearts and through his music."

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Shadow Gallery

Firewind are about to unleash their first ever live release as DVD/2CD/Deluxe DVD+2CD in November. Entitled "Live Premonition", it contains a stunning 22-song set filmed earlier this year in the band's hometown Thessaloniki.

"Live Premonition" DVD track listing:

I. Main Live Show (approx. 100 min)

01. Allegiance
02. Insanity
03. Into The Fire
04. Head Up High
05. Mercenary Man
06. Angels Forgive Me
07. My Loneliness
08. Circle Of Life
09. The Silent Code
10. Life Foreclosed
11. Destination Forever
12. Keyboard Solo
13. Guitar Solo
14. The Fire And The Fury
15. Drum Solo / Dreamchaser
16. Till The End Of Time
17. Deliverance
18. Brother's Keeper
19. Between Heaven And Hell
20. I Am The Anger
21. Falling To Pieces
22. Tyranny

II. Extras:

a) Documentary / Tales Of The Greek Road Warriors (19:49)
b) Promotional Videos:

Mercenary Man (3:27)
Head Up High (3:46)
Falling To Pieces (3:19)
Breaking The Silence (4:01)

c) Unplugged - MAD TV Sessions:

My Loneliness (4:05)
Where Do We Go From Here? (3:22)

d) Live In Montreal 2008:

Head Up High (4:41)
The Fire And The Fury (4:43)
Till The End Of Time (5:36)

The two-CD version of "Live Premonition" consists of the audio part of the main Thessaloniki show on two separate CDs, available for the price of one. The deluxe edition of "Live Premonition" contains both the DVD as well as the two-CD set in special additional dicgipack artwork and an O-card.

"Live Premonition" release dates in Europe:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: Friday, November 7
Spain, Portugal: Tuesday, November 11
Sweden, Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, November 12
UK, France, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Rest Of Europe: Monday, November 10

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Source:	www2.centurymedia.com
Band profile:	Firewind

US extreme metallers Cattle Decapitation have issued the following details about their new album:

"We're finnaly done with all the finishing touches of our new album and we feel we've finally done it! Sonically, the band has managed to finally capture and accentuate its live intensity that we've become known for and has created one hell of an album from start to epic finish! Conceptually, its misanthropy shall go unmatched. This is it, humans... ferocity at its finest.

The album is called "The Harvest Floor", a title Travis has been kicking around in his head and working towards for the last 2 albums and will arrive as an enhanced CD and there will also be a picture disc LP version that comes with a giant poster! The actual title refers to the area of a slaughterhouse where the animal (of course in our case it always means the human) begins the agonizing process of death, usually done with a bolt to the forehead or a slice to the throat. "The Harvest Floor" is a fitting title for an album laden in gore and the anti-human metaphors and sentiments Cattle Decapitation fans have grown to know and love.

Artwork by Wes Benscoter shows the outside of a large slaughterhouse/factory of doom and gloom with the general public being herded inside to meet their demise. The inside of the album layout reveals what's really inside that slaughterhouse: our misanthropic heroes of GORE (not core) at another hard day of work! Combined with the amazing artwork and conceptually brutal layout, the CD version of The Harvest Floor also contains an enhanced portion which sports an I-pod ready documentary titled "Pandemic: The Damnation Epic - The Making of "The Harvest Floor" which, simply put, makes "The Harvest Floor" an apocalyptic multimedia epic!

Track Listing:

01. The Gardeners of Eden
02. A Body Farm
03. We are Horrible People
04. Tooth Enamel & Concrete
05. The Ripe Beneath the Rind
06. The Product Alive
07. In Axetasy
08. Into the Public Bath
09. The Harvest Floor
10. Regret & the Grave

No strangers to guest appearances, Cattle Decapitation have enlisted some old friends for guest vocals including Ross Sewage (Impaled/Ludicra) and Dino Sommese (Dystopia/Asunder). The band is also very pleased to announce there is a special appearance by Jarboe (Swans), lending her beautifully haunting voice to the epic death dirge "The Harvest Floor". Jackie Perez Gratz (Grayceon/Amber Asylum) graces a couple tracks with her electric cello and Los Angeles noisician John Wiese also lends his electronic/atmospheric expertise to the album further separating the band from the typical "cookie-cutter" approach applied all too often by today's extreme acts.

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Source:	cattledecapitation.com
Band profile:	Cattle Decapitation

Romanian female-fronted symphonic metal band Magica has posted two new songs - "They Stole The Sun" and "Hold on Tight" - on the group's MySpace page. Both songs come off the group's fourth album, "Wolves and Witches", which will be released on November 28th via AFM Records.

''Wolves and Witches'' tracklisting:

01. They Stole The sun
02. Don't Wanna' Kill
03. Just For Two Coins
04. Hold On Tight
05. Hurry Up Ravens
06. Maiastra
07. Chitaroptera
08. Dark Secret
09. In The Depths Of The Lake
10. Mistress Of The Wind
11. Until The Light Is Gone

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Magica

Bornholm has finished working on their upcoming album "March For Glory And Revenge". A new song, called "The Call Of The Heathen Horns", is available for streaming on the band's official MySpace page.

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Source:	bornholm.hu
Band profile:	Bornholm

Swedish hard rockers Mustasch will release a concert DVD, including bonus material, entitled "In The Night", on November 28. The disc will feature the following:

* Live show from Trädgårn, Gothenburg
* "Double Nature" video
* "Parasite" video
* Backstage material
* Behind the scenes "Double Nature"

In the meantime, the band has announced their new guitarist: David Johannesson. David was the stand-in guitar-player during late summer shows and is now with Mustasch full-time.

"The time between Hannes quitting and David coming in has been chaotic. Finally it feels like we are a band again. David is the right guy and we believe we have done an excellent choice. He also shares our passion for intoxicating liquids." - comments Ralf Gyllenhammar, Mustasch

"When Mustasch asked me to join the band I became very happy, but at the same time I was in the studio with my band Sparzanza to record our next album. In the end the decision was obvious. I quit my day-job the very same day I made my decision. Metal in the night". - comments David Johannesson.

Now a month-long full-scale tour around Europe awaits with Die Apokalyptischen Reiter.

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Source:	mustasch.net
Band profile:	Mustasch

Original news, posted on 05.09.2008

According to the AFM Records, the brandnew EP of Doro will be released on October, 31, 2008. The name of the EP will be "Celebrate (The Night Of The Warlock)". It will include 3 versions of the Song "Celebrate" with different guest singers as well as 2 additional non-album tracks.
Here is the tracklist:

01. Celebrate
02. Celebrate Saxon)]
03. Celebrate Arch Enemy); Sabina Classen (Holy Moses); Veronica Freeman (Benedictum); Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull (Leaves' Eyes); Girlschool; Floor Jansen (After Forever)]
04. Resuce Me
05. Night Of The Warlock

In other Doro news, "every Doro fan should mark the 13th of December in his schedule! On this date, the ultimate Metal Party will take place in the ISS-Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany. Doro celebrates her 25th stage anniversary and invites you all to come and party with her in Düsseldorf.

The party starts at 2 p.m. with a metal market that all guests can visit for free. Signing sessions with the bands will also be taking place there. At around 4 p.m. the doors open and about one hour later the party finally starts!!

Just like 5 years ago, various bands will rock before the Metal Queen enters the stage and guest musicians will come to join Doro on stage to perform songs with her during her headliner show."

More info about this event can be found here.

UPDATE (thanks to ArtiA)

The song "Celebreate", coming off this new Doro EP, is now added to the player on the official Doro MySpace for your listening pleasure.

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Source:	afm-records.de
Band profile:	Doro

Original news, posted on 08.10.2008

Quo Vadis have announced the addition of vocalist Trevor Birnie (Damascus, Annex Theory) for the band's upcoming dates in October and November.

"I've toured Canada twice and I am eager to get back on the road especially with Canadian metal titans Quo Vadis," Birnie said in a statement. "I've grown as a vocalist, lyricist and performer over the past 5-6 years in bands and I feel that my experience and growth would definitely evolve with an opportunity of such honor."

Martyr drummer Patrice Hamelin, who has previously done session work with Despised Icon and Senate, will join Quo Vadis on tour and in studio. The announcement was the first in a series of lineup changes for Quo Vadis after the band's September 6 show in Montreal with Despised Icon, Neuraxis, Blinded By Faith and The Plasmarifle.

Upcoming Quo Vadis shows:

Oct. 23 - St-Hyacinthe, QC - Le Thrash
Oct. 24 - Rimouski, QC - La Coudée
Oct. 25 - Jonquière, QC - Place Nikitoutagan
Oct. 26 - Québec, QC - l'Anti
Oct. 27 - Ottawa, ON - Rainbow
Oct. 28 - Toronto, ON - The Kathedral
Oct. 29 - Hamilton, ON - The Casbah
Oct. 30 - Oshawa, ON - E.P. Taylor's
Oct. 31 - London, ON - TBA
Nov. 02 - Drummondville, QC - La Piaule

UPDATE (thanks to ArtiA)

Quo Vadis have also announced the addition of bassist Roxanne Constantin (Negativa, Rostrum, Aven Aura) to the group's ranks.

Roxanne has a B.A. in piano performance from the Montreal Conservatory of Music. Prior to taking the bassist position, she contributed keyboards and vocals to the band as well as help with choirs and different live shows. In the months leading up to the shows, Roxanne underwent a strenuous practice regimen of up to 10 hours a day dedicated to music.

"She is one of the best musicians Quo Vadis has ever had the opportunity to work with. Roxanne has also been strongly involved supporting the band since 2002 so it was a natural fit," says Quo Vadis guitarist Bart Frydryhowicz.

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Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Quo Vadis
Event:	Quo Vadis: Canadian Tour

Slayer spent some weeks in the recording studio in late September/early October to record three new songs for their new album which will be released spring/summer 2009. One of the songs is called "Psychopathy Red," a Jeff Hanneman track which gives you a look into the mind of Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. A non-CD-quality version of "Psychopathy Red" has surfaced on YouTube and can be streamed here.

Fans who attend any of the upcoming European "Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter III" dates, will receive the new Slayer song via an exclusive download card that will also include special material from the entire tour's line-up - Slayer, Mastodon, Trivium and Amon Amarth. The download card, along with a limited edition "Unholy Alliance Tour" clothing patch, will be given away free only to ticket holders when they arrive at their local venue the night of the show.

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Source:	metalunderground.com
Band profile:	Slayer

Queensrÿche is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their 12th studio album, "American Soldier". The concept album, due this spring from Rhino/Atco, finds the band once again tackling some heavy subject matter, this time focusing on telling the story of war from a firsthand perspective. Singer and chief songwriter Geoff Tate has spent the last few years conducting extensive interviews with veterans and has crafted their thoughts into this epic tale. "American Soldier" examines American wars from World War II through Iraq from the viewpoint of those in the trenches and on the frontlines. Following the album's release, Queensrÿche plan to present tracks from the album live on an extensive spring tour of the U.S., with international dates to follow later in 2009. The first date of the tour will be a hometown gig at Seattle's Snoqualmie Casino on April 16.

"Queensrÿche has always had incredible support from members of the Armed Services," says vocalist Geoff Tate. "It seems like after every show, I'd end up speaking with a fan that was or had been involved with the military. The more and more I began to hear their accounts and feelings, the more I really felt a conviction to tell their story. Over the last two years, I've conducted dozens of one-on-one interviews with veterans of many different American wars. I listened to their amazing and moving recounts and did my best to examine war through their eyes."

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Queensrÿche

Kristian 'Gaahl' Espedal, frontman of Norwegian Black Metallers Gorgoroth, has publicly stated his homosexuality, according to Blabbermouth sources.

33 year old Gaahl spoke openly in an interview with Götz Kühnemund of Rock Hard magazine about his sexual orientation, also adding "I feel how I feel and I've never made any secret about it", and "I've never really hidden anything to begin with. It's just that I was never in love before" ... "until last year".

Gaahl also mentions a stable line-up for his version of Gorgoroth, confirming that Frost (Satyricon, 1349) will perform on the next album.

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Gorgoroth

Architect announced that Yuval Kramer, axeman of the Israeli holy prog-rock band Amaseffer, will take the lead guitar player role in the band. The band posted the following on their MySpace page about Kramer's recruitment:

"Hello friends, it is a pleasure to notice you that, Yuval Kramer, Guitarist from Amaseffer, will be the new lead guitar of Architect. This will be a new and Magic horizon for Architect. Welcome Yuval!"

The band is now comprised of:

Mauricio Bustamante - Drums (Mexcio]
Kyle Honea - Bass (USA]
Jonas Hörnqvist (Treasure Land) - Guitars (Sweden)
Gus Monsanto (ex-Adagio) - Vocals (Brazil)

The band has already featured guest appearances by Joost Van Den Broek (keyboards) from After Forever and Ayreon, Julie Kiss (vocals) from To-Mera and Tom MacLean (guitars) from To-Mera.

Architect is said to be nearly finished writing their first album, wrapping up the final songs and preparing to record the news songs.

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Source:

myspace.com