As posted on http://www.myspace.com/onslaughtuk:

"Due to popular demand, Back on Black records have recently released 4 Onslaught albums on vinyl (coloured) complete with gatefold sleeves. The albums available are: "Killing Peace", "Power From Hell", "The Force" and one purely for the fans of the embryonic Onslaught, a collection of early hardcore punk demos from 1983 entitled "Shadow Of Death". Time to dig out the decks folks."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Onslaught

Aussie's Melbourne brutal grinders The Berzerker have posted a new song, pre-production for our feedback, as well as footage of Todd Hansen's manic drum rehearsal. The UK tour dates flyer is also included:

"Hello all, We have added a brand new song Spare Parts (unmastered) to our page. Let us know what you think. "Spare Parts" has been taken from our upcoming album "The Reawakening" Available 1st Sept - Pre Order now.

We hope you enjoy it, you'll be able to check it out live on the UK tour."

Todd Hansen's drum rehearsal is online here.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	The Berzerker

On 21 September 2007 Hirax had its first live show in Lörrach at Metal Forces Nights. This event was one of our best events taken place at Altes Wasserwerk ever.

Thank to "Selfmadegod Records" which will release this DVD and Bomber and the Crew from Vision4 who have filmed both shows - you have now the chance to see the KIT show (Keep It True IX on 03 November 2007 in Lauda) and the Metal Forces Nights show on DVD. "Thrash & Destroy" will be released on 30 June 08.
We are very much excited!

Purchase details can be found at this location.

The track listing is as follows:

01. (INTRO) - El Dia De Los Muertos
02. 100,000 Strong
03. Lucifer's Infierno
04. Blind Faith
05. The New Age Of Terror
06. Chaos And Brutality
07. Hate, Fear And Power
08. Hostile Territory
09. Destroy
10. Broken Neck
11. Bombs Of Death
12. El Diablo Negro
13. Barrage Of Noise
14. Walk With Death
15. The Plague
16. Mouth Sewn Shut
17. (ENCORE) Assassins of War
18. Unleash the Dogs of War

Bonus Tracks (live @ MF nights Lörrach)
01. The New Age Of Terror
02. Chaos And Brutality
03. Hate, Fear And Power
04. Hostile Territory
05. Destroy
06. Broken Neck
07. Demons Evil Forces
08. El Diablo Negro
09. Barrage Of Noise
10. Walk With Death
11. The Plague
12. Bombs Of Death

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Hirax

Cellador have posted the following update:

"So Summer has arrived, and as mentioned to our auditionees we set the start of the season as the deadline for announcing a new guitarist.

Before we announce it we want to thank the hundreds of you who messaged us about the spot, and even more to the several dozen of you who ACTUALLY MADE THE EFFORT to learn and record the demo songs we asked you to record for us. We had some phenomenal (and even decently well known) players come forth with serious shred skill. Thanks a bunch! We salute you all as new friends and brothers!

And with that we are happy to announce Yord into the band as Cellador's 2nd guitarist. We feel Yord is a perfect fit in Cellador because he quickly showed to have all the elements we needed in a band member. Not only does he have an energetic playing style, but also a strong work ethic, selfless attitude, and above all an honest nature. The guy takes guitar like its a full time job, 8-5 Monday thru Friday SHRED SHRED SHRED all day long. On top of that we found him to be local to us as well, which bottom line is always an advantage for someone auditioning. Despite only having about 12 days to learn our whole set, Yord learned all our songs and filled in for our last show back in May, which we set up as basically a test show for whomever we were most considering. Mission succeeded Yord.

We look forward to reaching that next level with Yord at our side! With his addition our new material is looking stronger than ever! Thanks again to those who auditioned or otherwise kept up with us through this epic monumental quest for a guitar player. SHRED ON!"

Source:	cellador.com
Band profile:	Cellador

Punishment 18 Records is proud to announce the deal with the Italian thrash death metal band Subliminal Crusher for the release and distribution of their forthcoming album entitled "Endvolution". The album release is scheduled for November 2008.

Starting from today, you can listen to the track "Just All I Want" (raw mix version) checking the band's MySpace page. The track, along with another new song called "The Visionaire" (also in raw mix version) are included in the tracklist of the FREE sampler that Punishment 18 Records will give away during the biggest European summer festivals such as Gods Of Metal, Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze and others.

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Source:	punishment18records.com
Band profile:	Subliminal Crusher

A while ago, Swallow The Sun have posted the following news about the band's upcoming album:

"So, we have finished recording the "Plague of Butterflies" and it's time to give you some details about this forthcoming release.

"Plague of Butterflies" is a story about an old hermit, deep woods, loneliness and the plague. It's one song in three parts and holds about 35 minutes of crushing gloom, beauty and despair. Music was originally ordered from us for a really interesting and big project, but the project was sadly abandoned. Because of this we are planning to use the music in different context - namely in a short movie - and we are in search for suitable partners to make this happen. We'll give more info on this later as things move on and wheels start to roll.

The track list of "Plague of Butterflies":

I. Losing the Sunsets
II. Plague of Butterflies
III. Evael 10:00

The album also includes the rare "Out of This Gloomy Light" demo that got us signed back in 2003. There was only three demos sent out, so this is really rare stuff and holds some of the darkest and coldest moments ever recorded by us.

"Out of This Gloomy Light" -demo:

01. Through Her Silvery Body
02. Out of This Gloomy Light
03. Under the Waves
04. Swallow (Horror pt.1)

"Plague of Butterflies" will be released at September 17th by Spinefarm Records.

Source:	swallowthesun.net
Band profile:	Swallow The Sun

The 69 Eyes have announced the following summer dates. Catch the Helsinki Vampires alive at the festivals in 2008:

(08.06.2008 Open Air Festival Chayka, Kiev, Ukraine)
(14.06.2008 Myötätuulirock, Vantaa, Finland)
(20.06.2008 Himos Festival, Jämsä, Finland)
(21.06.2008 RMJ2008, Pori, Finland)
28.06.2008 Peace & Love Festival, Borlänge, Sweden
05.07.2008 Ruisrock, Turku, Finland
06.07.2008 Simerock, Rovaniemi, Finland
12.07.2008 Hegyalja Festival, Budapest, Hungary
18.07.2008 Wanaja Festival, Hämeenlinna, Finland
19.07.2008 Rockperry, Vaasa, Finland
08.08.2008 Summer Darkness, Utrecht, NL
09.08.2008 Jyväskylä Rockfestival, Jyväskylä, Finland
23.08.2008 Finfest 2008, Bratislava, Slovakia

Source:	69eyes.com
Band profile:	The 69 Eyes

Nuclear Blast have signed the Tasmanian Technical Death Metal band devils Psycroptic. US A&R Gerardo Martinez about the signing: "We are beyond excited to be working with one of the BEST Technical Death Metal bands in the world right now. We feel the band will reach the status they deserve in a short period of time. Also the band is euphoric about the cooperation: "To say that all of us are excited to be working with Nuclear Blast is quite an understatement ? We're over the moon! Nuclear Blast has always been the pinnacle of labels within the Metal realm, and to be signed with them is a huge honour for us...and to be the first Tasmanian band to ever be on the label is a pretty cool bonus as well. The artist roster is nothing short of amazing, and for us to be added to it...well, we couldn't be happier!!"

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Psycroptic

You can stream the entire new The Rotted album at Terrorizer magazine's homepage from today (24/06) for one week only! If you wanna hear what ex-Gorerotted are releasing, click here."

"Get Dead Or Die Trying" will be released June 27th (Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy), June 30th (rest of Europe) and July 22nd in North America.

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	The Rotted

MTV2's Headbanger's Blog issued the following update:

"It's not hard to tell which Nostradamus Quatrain Judas Priest's new video "War" is about. As Jim Morrison sang so long ago: "This is the end/you're only friend/the end." "War" illustrates the apocalypse biblical-style with stunning computer animation that looks like an ass-kicking new video game.

The vid features witches practicing magic then being burned at the stake, a tyrannical ruler exerting fascist control, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse storming through the sky, fire spreading across the earth, winged beasts reigning destruction and lots more imagery that would have make Hieronymus Bosch giddy with delight. Priest are nowhere to be found in the clip ? neither in actual nor animated form ? but their operatic new music echoes through the video, creating a thunderous soundtrack for the devastation."

Click here to see it for yourself.

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Source:	headbangersblog.mtv.com
Band profile:	Judas Priest

Nils Norberg, guitarist of Swedish power metal formation Nocturnal Rites, has left the band. The following message was posted by him on the band's official site:

"Hi everyone!
I just wanna write and explain some stuff for you out there. I have decided to lay down the guitar as my interest for music kind of cooled down the last years. So I'm not a part of Nocturnal Rites any more. It's just because of myself. I decided to do this and it has absolutely not been a bad feeling in the band in any way. I don't know how or if I will go on with music, but I will take a break from the guitar that has been taking up all my waken time the last 20 years. The band will always be a 2nd family for me and I'm not closing the door to play with them again if it would be an opportunity and I would have the urge to play again.

I think the band will go on and will still make kick ass music both live and in the studio.

I just wanna say thanx to the band for the best times in my life and to all the nice people I met and partied, destroyed, laughed and kicked ass with along these 12 years in the band. Thanx so much!!!!!!

Take care and maybe we meet again somewhere!
/Nils"

The band has also posted the following:

"The remaining members would like to extend a huge thank you to Norberg for his time in the band and wish him all the best! We respect his decision but hope he finds his way back to music.

Applicants interested in replacing Norberg are of course more than welcome to email us their demos at guitarist@nocturnalrites.com

/Nocturnal Rites"

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Source:	nocturnalrites.com
Band profile:	Nocturnal Rites

Satyricon have posted the following update:

Hey everyone!
We've now completed the drums and the guitars for the new Satyricon album in Los Angeles! We have a new session beginning Monday, doing vocals, bass and and perhaps some brass too. Third week of July we're doing some keyboard/FX stuff before we go back to L.A to mix the record. These are exciting times as we feel this is a milestone in the making. It won't help keeping expectations down, but we can't help it, it feels so incredibly strong! Dates are being confirmed and offers are coming in constantly as we speak and it looks like we will start touring the world mid November. We'll post a video from the recording of the drums over the weekend and in the meantime we might see some of you at Nummirock and Hellfest. Take care.

Source:	satyricon.no
Band profile:	Satyricon

Opeth have issued the following update about their Iberian gigs:

"Burning Live Festival on the 25th of July is cancelled. Due to the fact that the Portuguese festival got cancelled, Opeth have to cancel Lorca rock as well due to finances. But Opeth will return to Spain in the near future so keep checking the tour dates for updates."

Source:	opeth.com
Band profile:	Opeth
Event:	Lagoa Burning Live Festival [CANCELLED]

Suspyre have issued the following update on their official MySpace:

"Suspyre is currently trying out musicians for two new positions, seeking a drummer and a keyboardist to fill the line-up of their band for live performances.

Applicants must possess the following:

1. A demonstrated ability to play with impeccable timing and accuracy. Knowledge of music theory is a plus.
3. Confidence in themselves but also a willingness to be a team player.
4. Proficiency in playing songs with odd time signatures.
5. Residency in the United States (NJ/PA/NY residency is preferred).
6. At least 18 years old.
7. A familiarity with the Suspyre catalog.
8. A flexible work schedule, since should you land the gig you will be asked to do extensive touring with the band and weekend recording sessions.

Drummer must be able to play double bass pedal at the speed of 170 to 180.

Applicants should contact Suspyre's Manager, Jill Hughes at jill@suspyre.com for more information about the audition process. Auditions will be held until positions are filled."

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Suspyre

The following update was posted on the official website of Obituary on June 16th :

"What a great weekend! We have been working really hard on this new EP and Saturday night we finished it. I am totally psyched about this and can't wait to get it to you. I am not sure about the release date yet, but I'll post it as soon as I know. Once again, Mark Prator and RedRoom Recorders really helped us out to get this done. Markie, you rule...thanks for everything!!! Most of you probably know that we built our own studio for the recording of the Xecutioner's Return CD. We tracked this new EP in our studio and are really happy with the sounds we are getting. Because of our limited, but growing, Pro-Tools HD experience, we lean heavily on Mark for his guidence and help. We then take all those tracks to RedRoom where we put it all together. This process of being able to record right here in our own studio whenever we want has been an unbelievable asset to our writing and recording abilities!

This EP will contain 4 songs: 2 new ones, that are heavy as balls. A new 2008 studio recording of Slowly We Rot. Slowly is one of the first songs we ever wrote and of all our songs it gets played every show! It is interesting to hear this song re-recorded almost 23 later. Unbelievable! You have to hear it. Dethroned Emperior is a song by Celtic Frost that we sometimes play live or just while jammming in the studio. Because we enjoy it so much we recorded it for this EP as well.

I feel like we just got home from the first leg of our European Festival Tour and now we leave again Wednesday to start the second leg: Austria, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and Italy...coming up! I hope you come out and see us!"

Source:	obituary.cc
Band profile:	Obituary