Gigantour is back.

Look for the tour - to launch in the Northeast and to work its way through 25 major markets before wrapping in mid-October, with Xbox's "Gears of War" sponsoring the trek. Megadeth will return as the festival headliner on a bill that includes fellow heavy-hitters Lamb Of God, plus Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity and The Smashup all confirmed for these mostly outdoor shows. Other second stage artists will be announced soon.

Mustaine personally hand-picks all the Gigantour bands, with a sharp eye on true musicianship. He says Gigantour is a great place for like-minded music fans to see a full day of music on two stages without breaking the bank, and he's glad the tour is back in '06. " This is the concert that I, as a heavy metal music fan, would want to see," says Mustaine. "It is going to be something to look forward to each year, to see what kind of tremendous talent we can assemble, for Gigantour festivals in the years to come."

Stay tuned for more details, or check out:
http://www.GIGANTOUR.com
http://www.megadeth.com
http://www.myspace.com/gigantour2006
http://www.myspace.com/megadeth

View the tour dates

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Source:	megadeth.com
Band profile:	Megadeth
Event:	Gigantour 2006

Slayer have released an alternate cover for their upcoming 'Christ Illusion' album. The original cover caused controversy as it showed Jesus with his limbs cut off, floating in a river of blood and dead people. So a less graphic cover has been released as an alternative.

You can view the alternative cover here.

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Source:	blabbermouth.net
Band profile:	Slayer

Sep. 16 - TBC - TBA (Brasil)
Sep. 17 - Santiago - Teatro La Cúpula (Chile)
Sep. 19 - Buenos Aires - El Teatro (Argentina)
Sep. 20 - Porto Alegre/RS - Bar Opinião (Brasil) *
Sep. 22 - Campinas/SP - TBA (Brasil) *
Sep. 23 - São Paulo/SP - Ledslay (Brasil) *
Sep. 24 - Curitiba/PR - Casa Show (Brasil) *
Sep. 26 - TBA - TBA (Colômbia) **
Sep. 27 - Puebla - La Ciricua Bar (Mexico)
Sep. 28 - Guadalajara - Hard Rock Café (Mexico)
Sep. 29 - Monterrey - Ibex Rock Bar (México)
Sep. 30 - San Luis Potosi - Huerta del STIC (México)
Oct. 01 - Mexico City - Circo Volador (México)

* with Incantation, Funeras

** to be confirmed

MORE DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON

Source:	come.to
Band profile:	Dark Funeral
Event:	Dark Funeral South American Tour

Finnish Folk/Black Metallers Ensiferum have announced that they will be releasing a new album next year. They will be entering the studio later this year, most likely in November, to start recording the new album. The band's label, Spinefarm Records, have said that the release date for the album will be 21st February, 2007. More information regarding the album will be released soon.

Source:	ensiferum.com
Band profile:	Ensiferum

In addition to touring Australia this year, Dark Tranquillity will also visit South Korea and Japan

Quoted from the Dark Tranquillity homepage:

"The rumours are true - we're indeed coming to Australia, but not only that; we're including Japan and Korea on the same trip.

Throughout the years, we've recieved tons of questions from fans down under wanting us to play there, so needless to say we're extremely pleased to finally have gotten the chance to deliver some metal mayhem in the land of Foster's and kangaroos.

Playing in Japan and Korea is always a fantastic experience, so it'll be a pleasure to come back for the first time in 2-3 years and play the first "Character" based shows in these territories."

07.09.2006 Osaka, Japan - club Quattro
08.09.2006 Nagoya, Japan - club Quattro
10+11.09.2006 Tokyo, Japan - Unit (two shows)
15.09.2006 Perth, Australia - Capitol
16.09.2006 Adelaide - Australia - Unibar
17.09.2006 Sydney - Australia - Manning Bar
18.09.2006 Brisbane, Australia - Basement
19.09.2006 Melbourne, Australia - Hi Fi
22.09.2006 Seoul, South Korea - tba club show
23.09.2006 Seoul, South Korea - Gwang Myeong Music Valley Festival

Source:	darktranquillity.com
Band profile:	Dark Tranquillity

Death Metallers Katatklysm have announced the bands that will be supporting them for their upcoming 'Road to Devastation' tour. The tour will take place in January next year, however no exact dates have been announced yet. The three bands that will be supporting Kataklysm are Fear My Thoughts (Germany, Extreme Power Metal), Neaera (Germany, Melodic Death Metal) and Quo Vadis (Canada, Melodic Death Metal). The Road To Devastation tour will be the start of Kataklysm's support shows for their recently released album "In The Arms Of Devastation."

Source:	kataklysm.net
Band profile:	Kataklysm

Norwegian Black Metallers Satyricon will be touring Europe in a few months. The tour will cover quite a few countries, and will start mid-September, finishing mid-October. Satyricon will be touring in support of their recently released 'Now, Diabolical' album. The tour will be the first time Satyricon has gone through Europe in three years, and they will be visiting some never-before-visited countries. Keep Of Kalessin and Insomnium have been announced as supports for Satyricon.

Here are all the tour dates:

Sep. 11 - GER - Hamburg - Knust
Sep. 12 - GER - Frankfurt - Batschkapp
Sep. 13 - GER - Bochum - Zeche
Sep. 15 - UK - Birmingham - Academy
Sep. 16 - UK - London - Islington
Sep. 17 - UK - Manchester - Academy
Sep. 18 - UK - Newcastle - Academy
Sep. 19 - UK - Glasgow - Cathouse
Sep. 20 - UK - Nottingham - Rock city
Sep. 21 - NL - Utrecht - De Helling
Sep. 22 - NL - Rotterdam - Baroeg
Sep. 23 - NL - Amsterdam - Melkweg
Sep. 24 - BEL - Antwerp - Hof ter Loo
Sep. 26 - FR - Paris - Locomotive
Sep. 27 - SP - Barcelona - KGB
Sep. 28 - SP - Madrid - Caracol
Sep. 29 - SP - Bilbao - Bilborock
Sep. 30 - FR - Lyon - CCO
Oct. 01 - CH - Fribourg - Frison
Oct. 03 - IT - Milan - Alcatraz
Oct. 04 - SLO - Ljubljana - VKP Mediapark
Oct. 05 - CRO - Zagreb - Boogaloo
Oct. 06 - HUN - Budapest - A38
Oct. 07 - AT - Wien - Planet Music
Oct. 08 - CZ - Prague - Abarton
Oct. 10 - PL - Wroclaw - WZ Club
Oct. 11 - PL - Warsaw - Proxima Club
Oct. 12 - GER - Berlin - Kato
Oct. 13 - GER - Saarbrucken - Garage
Oct. 14 - GER - Munchen - Kleiner Elserhalle
Oct. 15 - GER - Stuttgart - Röhre

Source:	satyricon.no
Band profile:	Satyricon

Doom Metallers Katatonia have announced that they will be doing a tour through Turkey. They will be returning to Turkey in September, for a four date tour. Katatonia have toured Istanbul before, but no other Turkish cities. The band is looking forward to visiting Turkey. Here is a small comment: "It has always been a pleasure coming to Istanbul, so this time it should be exciting to visit the remaining cities as well."

Here are the exact dates of the Turkish shows:

Sep. 14 - Yeni Melek, Istanbul
Sep. 15 - Dungeon Club, Izmir
Sep. 16 - Saklikent, Ankara
Sep. 17 - 222 Club, Eskisehir

Source:	katatonia.com
Band profile:	Katatonia
Event:	Katatonia Turkey Tour

Swedish Black/Death Metallers Dissection have been forced to cancel two shows in America. The band was set to play one show on September 1st at The House of Blues in Los Angeles and another one on September 6th at the BB King's in New York. The reason behind the cancellations is because Dissection vocallist/guitarist Jon Nödtveidt was denied access into the USA by the US Immigration Services. They had been causing delays, but in the end they've denied him access into the country. The reason behind Nödtveidt not being allowed into the country is because of his previous conviction for murder in 1998.

Here is a comment by Nödtveidt taken from Dissection's official website: "We knew from the beginning that there was a risk that I might be denied entry into the US because of my past but we (the band and the agencies involved) were prepared to take that risk. It's very unfortunate for everybody involved; the fans, the band and its representatives as well as the promoters. I have served my time and we were really looking forward to these final gigs. To our American fans: In spite of everything; see you in spirit! Fuck the Law! Chaos Forever!"

Source:	dissection.nu
Band profile:	Dissection

The Polish act "Moonlight" added a MySpace profile; people will now be able to easily get info on the band's progress, new albums, listen to their music and a lot of other great things.

check their profile HERE

Read more ››

Source:

myspace.com

South American version of "Ei Kahetse Midagi"

This is a happy occasion primarily for the South American comrades of Loits: the Mexican record label Witchcraft Records recently released a version of Loits' debut album "Ei Kahetse Midagi", targeted especially at the South American market. All parties interested, please hurry; the release is extremely limited - to only 500 copies. Witchcraft Records is officially manufactured and distributed in Mexico and worldwide by American Line Prods.

http://www.witchrecs.com
http://www.alprods.com

Loits and Nailboard Magazine

A new Estonian hard music mag Nailboard Magazine is published six times a year with more than 2000 copies printed. The mag can be bought in more than 300 locations all over Estonia. This piece of news has to do with Loits, too - namely, the magazine prints Loits's uncensored tour diary as a continuing series.

http://www.nailboard.org/magazine

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Source:	Loits Newsletter
Band profile:	Loits

METAL HEAVEN reveal the release date of PLANET ALLIANCE's debut work!

PLANET ALLIANCE, the new Swedish based top Hard Rock/ Metal project lead by producer Anders "Theo" Theander, singer Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE) and guitarist Magnus Karlsson (LAST TRIBE, STARBREAKER) will unleash their self-titled debut album on September 15th, 2006.

"Planet Alliance" is a high class performance and collection of songs written by Andersson, Karlsson with Bob Daisley & Janne Stark in order to please every whole-hearted Metal/Hard Rock fan that has sense for great melodies.

Here comes a compete list of musicians:
- Mike Andersson - vocals, keyboards
- Magnus Karlsson - guitars, keyboards
- Bob Daisley - bass
- Magnus Rosén - bass
- Anders Johansson - Drums
- Jaime Salazar - drums
- Mattias "IA" Eklundh - guitars solo
- Carl-Johan Grimmark - guitars
- Janne Stark - guitars

The tracklist of "Planet Alliance":

1. The Real You, 2. Remember Me, 3. Ain't No Pleasin' You, Calling My Name, 5. A Taste Of Paradise, 6. The Quickening, 7. Divided We Stay, 8. It's Your Cross To Bear, 9. The Great Unknown, 10. Where To Go, 11. Digging Your Own Grave

Source:

metalheaven.net

For the past nine years or, to be more precise, since the opening tones of their sensational debut album, Legendary Tales, Rhapsody have been one of the most unusual phenomena of the current metal scene. The huge range of their creativity, the number of legendary compositions that the Italian band, with their primary members guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboarder Alex Staropoli, have released so far reached now the climax with the new album "Triumph or Agony" .

A new tour is planned and a new album is on the way, Rhapsody Of Fire will continue to explore musical fantasy worlds with the precision musicianship and unique symphonic concepts that their fans have come to expect and adore. Fresh on the heels of the band's first live album release, Live In Canada 2005 - The Dark Secret, a new name and renewed vigor ensure that Rhapsody Of Fire still hold the passion and power that have always been associated with their music.

Tracklist :
01. Dar-Kunor
I. Echoes From The Elvish Woods
II.Fear Of The Dungeons
02. Triumph Or Agony
03. Heart Of The Darklands
04. Old Age Of Wonders
05. The Myth Of The Holy Sword
06. Il Canto Del Vento
07. Silent Dream
08. Bloody Red Dungeons
09. Son Of Pain
10 The Mystic Prophecy Of The Demonknight
I. A New Saga Begins
II. Through The Portals Of Agony
III. The Black Order
IV. Nekron's Bloody Rhymes
V. Escape From Horror
11. Dark Reign Of Fire
I. Winter Dawn's Theme

Produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli

RELEASE DATE EUROPE: September 25th

See the artwork here

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Source:	rhapsodyoffire.com
Band profile:	Rhapsody

Official press release (Earache Records) :

Deicide have decided to part ways with current booking agent Tammy Taylor, putting "The Stench of Redemption" fall tour on a temporary hiatus. However, the band are currently working on securing a stronger, more comprehensive US tour to coincide with "The Stench of Redemption" and are planning to hit the UK before the end of 2006. Deicide plan to re-schedule a full US tour for 2007 and are excited to hit the road with the power of "The Stench of Redemption" behind them. "The Stench of Redemption" is slated for release on August 22nd.

Source:	earache.com
Band profile:	Deicide

Swedish Metallers Arch Enemy have had to cancel their upcoming appearance at Metal Camp Festival. One of the band members is involved in a 'personal family crisis' and so the band has had to pull out. Arch Enemy were going to play on the 21st July at the Slovenian Metal festival.

Here is a statement by Arch Enemy taken from their official website: "We very much regret that due to a personal family crisis for one of the band members, Arch Enemy will not be able to play at the Metal Camp Festival in Slovenia as advertised on Friday June 21st. We apologise to all the fans hoping to see us there, and we are very disappointed not to be able to come and play in your country. We are planning to tour Europe again in November/December this year and will do everything possible to find a suitable show to play in Slovenia."

In other Arch Enemy news, the band have announced that they will be headlining the Kerrang! Day of Rock Festival on August 10th in London, UK.

Here is a comment by Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott: "'After the full on mayhem of playing to 40,000 metalheads at Download this year we weren't expecting to be back in the UK again so soon... So it's really cool that we will be headlining the Kerrang! Day Of Rock next month. It'll be insane getting together with a few fans in such a small place but we are really looking forward to it and will dishing out some pure fucking metal, Arch Enemy style! In fact we're gonna turn it into the Kerrang! Day Of METAL!!'"

Source:	archenemy.net
Band profile:	Arch Enemy