The finnish band Lordi are to be honored with a cola named after themselves. The bands frontman Mr.Lordi has designed 5 different labels for the cola. There are one label featuring each member and one of the whole band.
"The Lordi phenomenon has brought togeheter the whole nation" says Ritva Sinisalo from the brewery Olvi Group.

Lordi Cola is due to go on sale next month in Finland.

Source:	metalcentral.net
Band profile:	Lordi

The following message has been posted on Helloween's official web site :

"Due to unforeseen logistical and organizational problems, the German melodic metal act Helloween unfortunately has to call off the planned USA shows and the BW & BN festival in Montreal. Despite good advance ticket sales (where pre sales already where available), North American organizers of the tour could not guarantee an economical and adequate routing of the tour. Therefore a consequent cancellation 2 months before tour start seemed the band management to be the fairest for fans and promoters at this point.

The band apologizes for this cancellation but under these circumstances they could not guarantee a proper show for their fans. Instead Helloween will include the North American market on their next 2007/2008 world tour to present their full show under best possible conditions."

Source:	helloween.org
Band profile:	Helloween

Due difficulties with some venues, the UK tour in September has to be postponed. The band is real sad about that decision and will work on new dates ASAP. Here is the statement of the britsh promoter Pan Satyrcos:

"Some of the venues (those run by the Academy Music Group) bought the financial terms of the shows into dispute at the last second. In order to protect the financial interest of the band and avoid a loss that would have been the logical consequence of these lowered fees, we felt it best to cancel this tour in September. A lot of work and planning had gone into this, and we are very sorry and apologise to all who bought their tickets in advance, and those coming down on the day."

Hopefully, these shows will be rescheduled for early 2007 at different locations.

Source:	destruction.de
Band profile:	Destruction

U.K. doom metallers My Dying Bride have set the tentative track listing for their new album. 'A Line of Deathless Kings' is the title of the forthcoming album. Recorded in Academy Studios and mixed at Chapel Studios, the album will feature nine tracks, with the following titles:

01. To Remain Tombless (6:06)
02. L'Amour Detruit (9:08)
03. I Cannot Be Loved (7:04)
04. And I Walk With Them (6:37)
05. Thy Raven Wings (5:22)
06. Love's Intolerable Pain (6:14)
07. One of Beauty's Daughters (5:40)
08. Deeper Down (6:28)
09. The Blood, The Wine, The Roses (8:21)

Source:	mydyingbride.org
Band profile:	My Dying Bride

A couple of new live shows have been announced by Heavy/Power Metal band Dream Evil. They will be playing a show at Scotland's Ragnarok Festival, and they'll also be playing a show in London.

Here are the dates:

Saturday 4th November 2006 - Ragnarok Festival, Scotland
Sunday 5th November 2006 - The Underworld, London, UK

In other Dream Evil news, the band has announced the release dates for it's upcoming album 'United'.

In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux it will be released on Friday, October 13, 2006. For UK, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and the rest of Europe, it will be Monday, October 16, 2006. Except Finland, Sweden and Hungary who will get it on Wednesday, October 18, 2006. Italy as well, will get it on October 20, 2006 (this is to be confirmed though). Anyone from the USA can hear it from Tuesday, October 31, 2006.

Source:	dreamevil.se
Band profile:	Dream Evil

Power Metal band Dragonforce have posted the video for their new song 'Operation Ground and Pound' online. The song is taken from their latest album 'Inhuman Rampage' and the song is also their second single from the album. The video can be seen at Youtube right here.

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Source:	dragonforce.com
Band profile:	DragonForce

Swedish heavy metal musician Jon Nödtveidt, 31, was found dead on Wednesday, August 16 at his apartment in Hässelby, a suburb of Stockholm. He shot himself in the head and was surrounded by lit candles, Expressen reports. Shortly before the ritual suicide, he had sent farewell letters to his father and his girlfriend and explained to a friend, "I'm going away for a long, long time. I'm going to Transylvania."

Sometime between Monday (Aug. 14) and Wednesday, Nödveidt, vocalist and guitarist in the popular Swedish black metal band Dissection, chose to take his own life.

At 7:21 p.m. CET on Wednesday, a police patrol reported to the police communication center in Stockholm that a man had been found dead, the apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to several of Expressen's sources, the singer had placed an open copy of "The Satanic Bible" in front of him before pulling the trigger.

"He shot himself in the head and lay dead in a ring of lit candles," says a police source.

At 5:44 p.m. on Wednesday, the police received a 911 call from Jon Nödtveidt's family who hadn't been able to establish contact with him for a couple of days.

"They were very concerned," says his legal representative and manager, Per Nordqvist. "His girlfriend and his family called after their fears that something terrible had happened had been bolstered."

The reason for their concern was a farewell letter that Jon Nödveidt had sent to his girlfriend in Germany. His father, Anders Nödtveidt, had also received a postcard asking him to contact a number of people and thank them for everything.

"What it said is personal. I want to keep it to myself," Jon's father says of the postcard's contents.

"I met him in Stockholm just a week and a half ago. Everything seemed great then. I've always had good contact with Jon during his upbringing and throughout his adult life. I don't understand what has happened to make things turn out this way. This weighs even more heavily on us considering everything that has happened. This is very difficult for the entire family."

Jon Nödveidt's father likes the photo in which his son wears a black leather jacket and has asked for that picture to be published.

"It's a good photo. Jon thought so as well," says Anders Nödtveidt.

The suicide is believed to have been planned for a long time.

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Source:	blabbermouth.net
Band profile:	Dissection

Swedish death metal legends Unleashed will release their eighth studio album, "Midvinterblot", via SPV on October 10th. The tracklisting is as follows:

01. Blood Of Lies
02. This Is Our World Now
03. We Must Join With Him
04. Midvinterblot
05. In Victory Or Defeat
06. Triumph Of Genocide
07. The Avenger
08. Salvation For Mankind
09. Psycho Killer
10. The Witch
11. I Have Sworn Allegiance
12. Age Of The Warrior
13. New Dawn Rising
14. Loyalty And Pride
15. Valhalla Awaits

About the record, leader Johnny Hedlund commented recently: "I am very confident that this will be the best Unleashed album ever. Our mission is to create one of the most memorable records in the history of death metal!"

Source:	metal-rules.com
Band profile:	Unleashed

Disillusion (a German progressive metal band with a unique combination of black, death, progressive and thrash metal) has just finished recording their new album. It is titled "Gloria" and includes the following tracks:

01. The Black Sea
02. Dread It
03. Don´t Go Any Further
04. Avalanche
05. Gloria
06. Aerophobic
07. The Hole We Are In
08. Save The Past
09. Lava
10. To Many Broken Cease Fires
11. Untiefen

"Gloria" album cover here
The Album is due to be released on October 23rd, 2006, via Metal Blade Records and will be the band's second studio album after their "Back To The Times Of Splendor" release in 2004.

Disillusion Current Line-up
* Vurtox (Andy Schmidt) - vocals, Guitar, Bass guitar and Keyboards
* Rajk Barthel - guitar
* Jens Maluschka - drums

Official Disillusion Web Site : http://www.disillusion.de

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Source:	metalblade.com
Band profile:	Disillusion

The 11 tracks that make up Into Eternity's October 3rd release, "The Scattering Of Ashes", have been revealed:

1. Novus Inceptum (intro)
2. Severe Emotional Distress
3. Nothing
4. Timeless Winter
5. Out
6. A Past Beyond Memory
7. Surrounded By Night
8. Eternal
9. Pain Through Breathing
10. Suspension Of Disbelief
11. Paralyzed

"Not since Into Eternity's 2004 release, "Buried In Oblivion", has a collection of songs so undeniably bridged the gap between Dream Theater and Death. Individual performance herein never overwhelm the compositional whole, reaffirming Into Eternity's perfect blend of technicality, memorable songwriting, traditional heavy metal and sheer savagery. Mixed and mastered by Andy Sneap (Killswitch Engage, Arch Enemy), the album is a sonic Molotov cocktail that's already been hailed as 'a landmark triumph' (BW&BK)."

Kicking off their 2006 North American assault on Megadeth's Gigantour 2006, information here, the hard working band is soon destined for your town. Keep checking http://www.intoeternity.net, the Century Media website, and the band's MySpace page for up-to-the-minute information, tour dates, MP3s and more.

Read more ››

Source:	intoeternity.net
Band profile:	Into Eternity

As Blabbermouth.net exclusively reported earlier today, the surviving members of Dissection have now officially confirmed the death of the band's mainman, Jon Nödtveidt. The group's statement on the matter reads as follows:

"As rumours have started to spread we feel obliged to confirm Jon Nödtveidt's death.

Jon Nödtveidt was a man who lived his life according to his convictions and True Will. A couple of days ago he chose to end his life by his own hands. As a true Satanist he led his life in the way he wanted and ended it when he felt that he had fulfilled his self-created destiny. Not everyone will have understanding or acceptance for his personal path in this life and beyond, but all must respect his choice.

Those of us who have met him in his last days can assure that he was more focussed, happier and stronger than ever. It is our full conviction that he left this world of lies with a scornful laughter, knowing that he had fulfilled everything that he had set up for himself to accomplish. The empty space that he leaves behind will be filled with the dark essence that he manifested through his life and black-magical work. His legacy and Luciferian Fire will live on through those few who truly knew him and appreciated his work for what it really was and still is. As our brother's goal in life and death never was to 'Rest in Peace', we will instead wish him victories in all battles to come, until the Acosmic Destiny has been fulfilled.

For the glory of the Dark Gods and the Wrathful Chaos! 218"

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Dissection

Dissection frontman Jon Nödtveidt has committed suicide. Nödtveidt's death was confirmed by the Swedish distributor Sound Pollution, whose staff has worked with Dissection throughout the band's career. A posting on the Sound Pollution web site, www.soundpollution.se, reads: "RIP Jon Nödtveidt 1975-2006. Condolences from Sound Pollution & Black Lodge."

Nödtveidt formed Dissection in 1989 and released two full-length albums with the group ? "The Somberlain" (1993) and "Storm of the Light's Bane" (1995) ? before he was convicted in Sweden of felony murder of 37-year-old homosexual Algerian Josef Ben Maddour in 1997. He was released from prison in 2004, at which point he restarted Dissection.

Dissection announced in May that it would split up imediately following its final performances in support of its recently released CD, "Reinkaos". The band was subsequently forced to cancel its two previously announced appearances in North America (Sept. 1 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, CA and Sept. 6 at B.B. King Blues Club in New York City) after Nödtveidt was denied legal entry into the United States as a result of his conviction.

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Dissection

A track from the album, "Lead to Desolation," is posted on the band and label's official and MySpace sites. The song is from the long-standing death metal outfit's upcoming album, "Primordial Domination", due on September 5 via Ibex Moon Records.

The record - the band's seventh - sticks to Incantation's tried and true recipe for brutal death metal, complemented with more leads and a crushing production.

"We feel very strong about the new material," said guitar/vocalist/founding member John McEntee. "We never seem to run out of unholy dark metal movements."

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Source:	incantation.com
Band profile:	Incantation

Sepultura's video for "Convicted in Life" has been nominated in four categories at MTV's Video Music Awards Brazil 2006: "Best Editing", "Best Direction", "Best Photography" and "Best Art Direction". The awards show takes place in São Paulo on September 28.

The "Convicted in Life" clip was shot over a two-day period in February in São Paulo, Brazil. The video can be viewed at YouTube.com .

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Source:	blabbermouth.net
Band profile:	Sepultura

Next week (August 21st) Thrashers Machine Head will be entering Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California to record a new album. The album will be entitled 'The Blackening' and will be produced by Machine Head frontman/vocallist/guitarist Robert Flynn. Mark Keaton will be handling the engineering. Also Colin Richardson will be helping to produce with Flynn. Artist Paul Brown will be doing the artwork for the album cover.

Here are some track titles so far: 'Clenching The Fists Of Dissent', 'Aesthetics Of Hate', 'Halo', 'The Beautiful Mourning', 'Now I Lay Thee Down', 'Slanderous Love', 'Wolves' and 'A Farewell To Arms'.

The Blackening is set for an early 2007 release.

Here is a comment by Machine Head drummer Dave McClain: "Words can't really describe how excited we are to get into the studio and record this record. The shows that we just played on the Sounds of the Underground tour were as amazing as we'd hoped they'd be, the raw energy and excitement level of our fans right now is just incredible, we're fired up!"

And a comment by guitarist Phil Demmel: "We're still smoothing out some rough edges but what we have, we're extremely proud of!".

Source:	machinehead1.com
Band profile:	Machine Head