Psyopus have yet again (yes indeed, this is the second time they're announcing a new vocalist this year) found a new singer in Brian Woodruff. A statement from the band reads as follows:

"Psyopus is long overdue and happy to announce new vocalist Brian Woodruff into the band. If you've seen Psyopus at all since the beginning of our "Grinding Into Cataclysm" tour that began in August, you may have noticed the new face on the stage. Well, here is the explanation. After Harrison Christie's announced replacement, Matt Duckbirth, flaked out shortly after our press release of his joining the band, we replaced him with Brian. Brian was known as the vocalist from the Binghamton/Rochester, NY band As This Body, I Exist. We worked with him intensely, brought him into the studio and recorded the new album. This album was recorded with Brian. VERY shortly there after we jumped in the van and headed out for tour with War From A Harlots Mouth, Fuck The Facts and Left To Vanish.
Again, after the premature press release that Matt was joining our band, we wanted to make sure that Brian was indeed the kat for the band before we made it "official". We are now here to say that he is indeed the kat for the job. Be prepared for a notch up in the vocal brutality of Psyopus."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Psyopus

Amazon is streaming 30 second audio clips of all songs featured on Cradle Of Filth's new album entitled "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder".

"Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder" will be released on October 28 via Roadrunner Records.

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Source:	amazon.de
Band profile:	Cradle Of Filth

German power metallers Paragon will release their new album, "Screenslaves", on November 14th via Massacre Records. The album was produced by Uwe Lullis (ex-Grave Digger, Rebellion) at Black Solaris Studio in Frankfurt.

"Screenslaves" tracklisting:

01. Hellgore
02. Disconnected
03. Entombed
04. Screenslaves
05. Bloodfeast
06. The Blade In The Dark
07. Death Next Door
08. The Killing Hand
09. Waxworks
10. Larger Than Life Video]
11. L' Eredita
12. Screenslaves Video

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Source:	paragon-metal.com
Band profile:	Paragon

A few weeks ago, Thorns mastermind Snorre Ruch has posted the following update:

"We are in the process of recording our second album now. We are working in Oera Studio here in Trondheim with Jostein Ansnes and a couple of other good technicians. We started recording drums on September 1. and will start recording guitars and bass the coming week. Vocals will be recorded in a separate session later this fall, and we will use some time with additional instruments and recordings to accompany the basic instrumentation. We hope to deliver the master to Moonfog before Christmas and that the album will be out first quarter of 2009.

We are proud to say that we have 10 great songs written by myself and Jon Wesseltoft. Lyrics are mainly written by Aldrahn. The material on this album is mostly harder, darker and more energetic than on the 2001 album. Gratification guarantied!!"

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Thorns

Celesty have finished the recordings of their fourth studio album. The mixing of the album will begin in November/December after the renovation of the studio is finished. Meanwhile the band is furiously rehearsing the new material for their upcoming live shows.

"The recordings were completed without any major problems and we're happy to announce the new album will sound extremely massive and bombastic! The mixing process will be a serious challenge for Samu Oittinen of Fantom Studio since the songs have so many tracks - in fact, we're getting close to the Finnish record of amount of tracks on an album!", says Jere Luokkamäki, the drummer of Celesty.

The new album will feature eleven tracks and over sixty minutes of music.

Track listing:

01. Intro
02. Euphoric Dream
03. Greed
04. Like Warriors
05. Autumn Leaves
06. Feared By Dawn
07. Lord (Of This Kingdom)
08. New Sin
09. Dark Emotions
10. Fading Away
11. Legacy Of Hate Pt. 3
1 - Candlelight
2 - Shadow Land
3 - Chaos And Destruction (instrumental)
4 - Feelings

The longplayer will also feature guest musicians such as Stephan Lill (Vanden Plas) and Elias Viljanen (Sonata Arctica). Furthermore, one will encounter familiar backing vocalists plus Suvi-Tuuli Dietrich (Escape), the lady with a magical voice, is contributing female vocals.

The cover art is almost finished and the name of the album will be revealed later. The new website is currently under construction and it will be opened before the end of this year.

"This is without doubt our best album! We're eagerly waiting to get it released, and after the release we're touring Finland the whole spring.", explains Luokkamäki.

Some of the shows have already been confirmed and the complete set of tourdates will follow on Celesty's website in the near future

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Source:	celesty.net
Band profile:	Celesty

German Gothic metallers Coronatus have announced their new CD "Porta Obscura" is finished. Coronatus are back from Helsinki, where in the Finvox Studios Mika Jussila finally mastered the new album. A small image of how the cover art will look like can be found here. "Porta Obscura" will be released on 14th november 2008 through Massacre Records. The record release party is going to take place in the Schwimmbadclub, Heidelberg (Germany) on the same day, together with Midnattsol.

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Source:	coronatus.net
Band profile:	Coronatus

Antigama have entered the studio this weekend to record their as-yet-untitled fifth full length, and second album for Relapse Records.

"Resonance" follow-up is being recorded in their hometown Warsaw at Progresja Sound, again with outstanding producer Szymon Czech (Third Degree, Nyia, Vesania, Unsun). The session will take about two weeks and mixing will follow shortly after. The record will see an early 2009 international release date.

After crucial line-up changes that the band went through couple months ago Antigama's guitarist Sebastian Rokicki promises their new album will be the best and landmark release in whole band's career.

Source:	antigama.net
Band profile:	Antigama

Tankard have issued the following statement:

"We just recorded our new album "Thirst" coming out on December 19th via AFM-Records! The new album was produced again by Andy Classen at his Stage One Studio! More details about "Thirst" you will find the next days in this section!"

In other news the band had to cancel two French live dates in October. Tankard commented: "We are very very sorry to inform you that we have to cancel both our shows in Paris and Marseille/France on october 3rd and 4th. Reason: The premature twins of our guitarist Andi are very sick. His little son Jannis will even have another dangerous surgery in Hannover 350 km from Frankfurt away next week so there's no way that we can play those concerts. We hope to play shows next year instead. If we have more news about this we'll inform you here. Sorry but this is a serious emergency."

Source:	tankard.info
Band profile:	Tankard

Guitarist Phil Fasciana of the long-running Florida extreme metallers Malevolent Creation has issued the following update:

"I know it has been some time since we have said much or updated things lately, but finally there are European tour dates posted on our MySpace page and there are more coming!!!!!

Also, after much consideration and long talks between the three original bandmembers of Malevolent Creation (Brett Hoffmann - vokills; Jason Blachowicz - bass; Phil Fasciana - lead guitar) we have to decided to stop fucking around!!!!

Just like all bands, we to have had our share of personal problems that have delayed things a bit. But we have to decided to continue touring around the world and after we return from our headlining tour of Europe with support from the mighty Vital Remains and our friends from Florida Wykked Wytch in December, we will start the pre-production for a shitload of new Malevolent Creation songs for our 11th full-length studio release.

We are also going to re-record some songs from our third CD, "Stillborn", and also record some very cool cover songs from some of our favorite bands when we were little metalheads. Of course, there will be no suprises or weak material involved with these recording sessions and we are seriously talking about writing the fastest album we have ever written. I know all our CDs have a lot of fast songs, but this time i think we really need to let loose and just kick some serious ass.

Not many bands have had the opportunity to have been around as long as we have, and everything could end at anytime. So before we decide to throw in the towel, we are gonna throw down the hardest Malevolent Creation album possible!!!!! The songs we have already started writing are so fast and brutal that we don't want to mess with energy we have already created."

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Source:	nuclearblastusa.com
Band profile:	Malevolent Creation

Noah Martin has issued the following statement in regards to stepping down from his bass-playing duties in Arsis:

"Well, I don't know where to start. When you're in a band, you're nothing but at the will of the group you're in. At some point, after lots of nights laying awake in a bunk after a show in the middle of the country, you really start to wonder where your life is headed. I know there's a big difference between what's smart and what you really want to do. I really need to do the smart thing and finish college, though I'd also like to do what I love, and continue playing with Arsis. Unfortunately, I can't do them both. Thus, I've decided to leave the band.

I've had such a phenomenal time with Jim , Ryan , and Shawn , as we'll always be friends. I'll miss working with Gerardo, Loana, and bugging Mike at Nuclear Blast, who've made working with them the most enjoyable experience. Thanks to anyone and everyone we've ever worked with, including the bands with which we've toured.

I would like to personally thank all ours friends and fans, since you've always been one in the same in my eyes. Leaving something you love is the most difficult thing to do, though leaving it doesn't mean you'll never come back to it. I most likely will - after I finish school. If I wind up pursuing something else in the meantime, I'll probably do so, but that's another story.

My last two shows with Arsis will be September 26th in Indianapolis, Indiana and September 27th in Covington, Kentucky."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Arsis

Edguy have just revealed the track list of their new album "Tinnitus Sanctus" which will be released on November 14th.
The song titles read as follows:

01. Ministry Of Saints
02. Sex Fire Religion
03. The Pride Of Creation
04. Nine Lives
05. Wake Up Dreaming Black
06. Dragonfly
07. Thorn Without A Rose
08. 9-2-9
09. Speedhoven
10. Dead Or Rock
11. Aren't You A Little Pervert, Too?

Check out an e-card for "Tinnitus Sanctus" at this location.

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Source:	edguy.net
Band profile:	Edguy

British metal legends Saxon have posted the following update on their official site:

''All Saxon fans have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months: to start off with, the British metal legend will release their new download single 'Live To Rock', followed by the arrival at the stores of their current studio album Into The Labyrinth, as well as major tours to support both releases. So a hot autumn is about to start in a few days' time!

Saxon's new single 'Live To Rock' (artwork: click) will be available as an internet download from 17 October 2008, and Saxon will present their new track live for the first time during the tour which will take Biff Byford & Co., alongside Motörhead and Danko Jones, through England and Germany in November/December 2008. Their new studio album, ''Into The Labyrinth'', will be out on 12 January 2009 (Germany: 9 January 2009, US: 13 January 2009). February 2009 will see the band embark on another major world tour, only one month after the album release.

''Into The Labyrinth'' was recorded at the Twilight Hall in Krefeld, Germany, under the direction of Charlie Bauerfeind. Saxon recorded 13 new songs at Blind Guardian's studio, starting with their monumental opener, 'Battalions Of Steel', through 'Demon Sweeny Todd' and 'Valley Of The Kings', which both cover historic events, to the final slide guitar blues track, 'Coming Home' (fans are already familiar with the electric version of this track from Saxon's Killing Ground album). Saxon are currently still working on an additional 14th track, which will be available exclusively as a download on iTunes from the release date. "The new material was written in England and at my house in France," Byford explains. "Stylistically, I would describe the album as an even balance between Lionheart and The Inner Sanctum, a mix of powerful, in-your-face rock songs and pure heavy metal tracks. We're very happy with the production and proud of Into The Labyrinth."

"Into The Labyrinth" track listing:
01. Battalions Of Steel
02. Live To Rock
03. Demon Sweeney Todd
04. The Letter
05. Valley Of The Kings
06. Slow Lane Blues
07. Crime Of Passion
08. Premonition in D Minor
09. Voice
10. Protect Yourselves
11. Hellcat
12. Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)
13. Coming Home (Bottleneck Version)

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Source:	saxon747.com
Band profile:	Saxon

The Canadian duo Nadja consisting of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff will be hitting the road again at the end of September for dates around North America, followed by a tour of Europe. Tour dates are as follows:

Nadja's North American Tour, Fall 2008:

09/28/08 Sun @ El Mocambo - Toronto, ON (w/ Sons of Otis)
10/03/08 Fri @ TBA - Portland, OR (w/ Troum, Tecumseh)
10/05/08 Sun @ i.am.indust2008 Festival - Oakland, CA (Aidan Baker + Nadja sets)
10/06/08 Mon @ Stork Club - Oakland, CA (w/ Tecumseh, Maleficia)
10/07/08 Tue @ Hemlock - San Francisco, CA (w/ Kris Force, Tecumseh)
10/08/08 Wed @ Relax Bar - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Tecumseh)
10/24/08 Fri @ Tone Deaf Festival - Kingston, ON (TBC)
10/25/08 Sat @ The Music Gallery - Toronto, ON (Aidan Baker show)
10/31/08 Fri @ Fontana's - New York, NY (UNSOUND w/ Black Sun, Steve Moore, Menace Ruine)
11/01/08 Sat @ Il Motore - Montreal, QC (w/ Menace Ruine)

Nadja's Europe Tour, Fall 2008 (some dates to be confirmed):

11/08/08 Sat @ TBA - Metz, France (w/ Picastro)
11/09/08 Sun @ Sonic - Lyon, France (w/ Picastro)
11/11/08 Tue @ Le Romandie - Lausanne, Switzerland (w/ Picastro)
11/14/08 Fri @ Lab30 Festival - Augsburg, Germany
11/15/08 Sat @ K4 - Nuremburg, Germany (w/ Picastro)
11/18/08 Tue @ Hafenklang - Hamburg, Germany (w/ Picastro)
11/19/08 Wed @ West Germany - Berlin, Germany (w/ Picastro)
11/21/08 Fri @ Henry's Cellar Bar - Edinburgh, Scotland (w/ Atavist)
11/22/08 Sat @ TBA - Birmingham, England (w/ Atavist)
11/23/08 Sun @ Croft w/ Atavist - Bristol, England (w/ Atavist & Satori)
11/24/08 Mon @ Taylor Johns House - Coventry, England (w/ Atavist)
11/25/08 Tue @ Underworld - London, England (w/ Atavist & Satori)

Nadja's fourteen-minute-long song "Sandskin," from "Skin Turns To Glass," released earlier this year by The End Records (originally released as a limited CD-R run by Belgium's Nothingness Records), is available for download for free from Amazon.com .

The free download of "Sandskin" comes courtesy of Amazon and The End Records, who've teamed up to bring fans of the label a fifteen-track Free sampler of some of The End's current releases. This eclectic sampler, showcasing The End Records' diverse and varied roster, can be downloaded here .

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Source:	theendrecords.com
Band profile:	Nadja

The following news was posted at the Skyforger official website:

"We are pleased to announce that after a longer hiatus, Skyforger is finally back in studio to record follow-up to the last full length "Thunderforge", which came out back in 2003. This is the first time band has decided to abandon "Phoenix" studio where all previous albums were shaped and now will try out different surroundings. A recording takes place in calm environments of personal studio "Lauska" of band's own member Kaspars Barbals who's supervising all the processes. As usually Skyforger will be producing the album themselves; there are planned ten brand-new compositions in total, but no album name or song titles are known by this stage. Two weeks ago drummer Mazais nailed down all drum parts and in next week bass player Zirgs will complete his bass lines."

Band members say: "This is five years since the last album and definitely there blows some fresh wind in terms of creation of the new song structures & coming up with new ideas. In few words the new album could be described as a good mix of heavy metal and thrash metal, spicing it all up with a certain dose of Latvian folk music. But not to worry, fans will still recognize the usual quality and sound of the songs they have come to know and expect from Skyforger."

Regarding the lineup changes the band posted the following:

"At this point we also would like to refer to the changes that have occurred in Skyforger. A few weeks ago band parted ways with guitarist Rihards and this time seems that is forever. Sadly enough during these two years after his return, we could not come to similar views on some important matters for the band. But nothing has changed, the rest of band members are busy at studio and in meanwhile looks for suitable replacement."

Source:	skyforger.lv
Band profile:	Skyforger

Nuclear Blast Records has posted the following message online:

"It is an honor to announce that Nuclear Blast and Suffocation are finally joining forces! Nuclear Blast is proud to welcome one of the most popular and important bands in death metal history, and without a doubt the heaviest fuck ing metal band ever come out of New York! This is a dream come true for the staff as well, as we are all huge longtime Suffocation fans. There's no doubt that the band is one of the most influential bands ever, as we hear their sound even in most of today's 'scene' bands! We cannot express how happy we are as we've known the guys for some time now. We would like to thank them and their management for helping making this happen. The future looks bright! Stay tuned because 2009 will bring you 'Blood Oath.' You've been warned!"

Suffocation themselves has posted the following statement aswell:

"After 20 years of discovering the right and wrong relationships in our career, we are proud to announce that Nuclear Blast will be our new record label for 2009 and home to Suffocation. Joining the Nuclear Blast family is an honor and it's wonderful having so many great label mates. After all these years of playing in the death metal world, Nuclear Blast has remained at the top of the metal food chain bringing great and powerful bands to all who love the hard and heavy. We've had great success with the relationships acquired since our return and we feel Nuclear Blast will only add to that success. We, as a band, are looking forward to being offered bigger and better opportunities, while helping the extreme metal scene grow and gain the recognition it deserves. Look for our Nuclear Blast debut, 'Blood Oath,' in early 2009!"

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Suffocation