As announced in the band's official site, the band ended up their contract with Skaldic Art in good terms. Rivendell have already signed a contract with the German label Perverted Taste that should release their upcoming album "Farewell - The Last Dawn" promptly.

Source:

listen.to

Multi-talented Swedish producer/musician Dan Swanö provides an update on his upcoming Second Sky project (released via The End):

"The work on my most precious project Second Sky is coming along just fine. The drums have been finished since quite some time, but I decided to cut one track and add two new ones to the record to add a bit more variety to the album, so Peter Damin had to step into the studio one more time to nail these new songs, and as usual, he nailed the songs in about 20 minutes each!"
"Most of the lyrics will have to be rewritten because of my divorce, but life goes on and I have already finished some of the new lyrics. The songs ready for the vocal work are "Hammer On My Heart," "Right The First Time," "The Sacred Room," "The Way" and "Always Tomorrow." All the rhythm guitars that I should play have been recorded, the stuff left for session guys is still to be nailed. I have also recorded all the grand piano and keyboard stuff. The production of the album is top notch and I am very proud of the basic sounds I have created this far. So the next few months will be spent recording the vocals and the bass. After that the album will undergo the most demanding mix of my career -- but it will be worth every second. Prepare to be blown away!"

In other Swanö news, he plans to re-open his legendary Unisound Recordings studio. Comments Swanö: "'THE LEGEND IS BACK!' I always wanted to write that! I have decided to re-open the gates to Unisound Recordings, where I recorded bands like Opeth, Katatonia, Marduk, Dissection, Millencolin, Edge Of Sanity and many, many more."
"This time things will be a little different though. I am not planning to build a big studio with tons of expensive gear. My primary goal will be to mix stuff: albums, songs, the sound for a DVD release etc. I will also do remixes and such."
"Over the last year or so I have mixed albums after work and the clients have been pleased with the results and I'm beginning to wonder if I should do this full-time again? So, before I quit my day job, I just wanted to see if anyone is still interested to work with me? Let me know at: dan@swano.com
"For reference, you can contact the guys from Novembers Doom, Edens Fall, This Haven or The Project Hate. I have also done remixes for Pain and, of course, my own stuff like the yet-to-be-officially-released 'Nightfall Overture' album with Nightingale and I am also working with my magnum opus Second Sky."

Read more ››

Band profile:

Edge Of Sanity

Message taken from the latest newsletter from Thy Majestie:

"You can now download a mp3 from the new Thy Majestie's album "Jeanne d'Arc" : Please go to http://www.thymajestie.com

The album release is scheduled for the end of October ; not for 3rd October as previously announced.

Source:	- Thy Majestie Newsletter -
Band profile:	Thy Majestie

The German band "signed a worldwide contract with German label Inside Out Music". Their New Album "The Art Of Navigating By The Stars" is scheduled to be released at 26 September. The tracklist of the album is as follow:

Intro: Navigating By The Stars
Sequence I: The Weight
Sequence II: The Lonely Views Of Condors
Sequence III: Unbreakable
Sequence IV: Stigmata
Sequence V: Blue Wide Open
Sequence VI: To The Ones Who Have Failed
Sequence VII: Lighthouse
Sequence VIII: Styx

The total play time of the album will be 63 minutes. You can check the cover art of the album on the band official website: http://www.siegeseven.com

Source:

- Sieges Even Newsletter -

The End Records announced the addition of Voivod to its roster. The record label launch the following message:

"The End Records, already known for its eclectic cutting-edge roster, has signed the legendary Voivod for the USA. Hailed as one of the most important groundbreakers in metal, Voivod's ever-evolving progressive mindset is a perfect fit for The End.

The band will enter the studio in the fall of 2005. Release date for the band's 11th studio album is not yet confirmed, but should appear sometime in early 2006.

Drummer Michel Langevin (aka Away) confirms that the band has completed the writing of the album, describing the material as "heavy" and "experimental".

Regarding the new partnership, Voivod states: "We are very proud to join The End Records in their quest to promote modern heavy music. A perfect home for a band like Voivod.""

Source:	label.theendrecords.com
Band profile:	Voivod

SOLEFALD have finished recording the first part of their new saga, which is based on Viking mythology and history, entitled "Red for Fire + Black for Death".

"Red for Fire : An Icelandic Odyssey part 1" will be released through Season of Mist, worldwide, before the end of 2005 and will quickly be followed by "Black for Death : An Icelandic Odyssey part 2" in early Spring 2006.

Part 1 features guest appearances by electronica singer Aggie Frost Peterson, on the songs "Sun I Call" and "White Frost Queen", and from Jörmundur Ingi, the ancient supreme Godi of Iceland (an Ásatrú priest), who reads the poem "Lokasenna" (an argument between gods) on the last track of the album. The previously announced guest appearance by Garm of Ulver will be featured on "Black for Death".

SOLEFALD's new effort, a 'true Viking metal album' according to its authors, is produced by Borge Finnstad (MAYHEM, ARCTURUS, etc.).

As SOLEFALD previously stated 'we were experimental when everybody was trying to be as basic as possible. Now that we feel we've said what we had to say in this field, and now that everybody is experimenting one way or another, this is our attempt at being true'. But considering the individuals involved, expect something very unique to say the least !!! And from what we've heard so far during a listening session with a few selected journalists, this album will be a milestone in Scandinavian Metal history!

http://www.season-of-mist.com

Band profile:

Solefald

Relapse Records has set release dates for the reissues of the three full-length albums (1989's Piece of Time, 1992's Unquestionable Presence, and 1993's Elements) by seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST.

Elements and Unquestionable Presence will be released officially on August 30 (North America) and September 5 (Europe). Piece of Time will follow with a September 13 release (North America) and September 19 (Europe).

Guitarist/vocalist Kelly Shaefer comments on the impending CD reissues; "We could not be more proud of the job done on these reissues by the folks at Relapse. When this ATHEIST re-issue project started unfolding, I wanted them to be treated with the same care as if they were new releases.

Shaefer continues, "Now that they are done I can say 110% that this is the quintessential ATHEIST collection! It includes all the original classics plus tons of bonus tracks, incredible liner notes, and photos even the band has never seen until now. The art is expanded and more vibrant than ever and the sound has been remastered to pristine metal standards! The attention to detail in these reissues is outstanding and even if you had owned the records in their original pressings, you MUST have this in your collection as they are the definitive versions of the ATHEIST records."

Additionally, Unquestionable Presence will be featured in the October issue of Decibel Magazine as part of its ongoing Hall of Fame feature. The Hall of Fame feature highlights influential and pivotal releases in metal history, and Unquestionable Presence will join of ranks of previously profiled classics such as SLAYER's Reign In Blood, SEPULTURA's Roots, and AT THE GATES Slaughter of the Soul among others.

- Relapse Newsletter -

Band profile:

Atheist

The german band Helloween announced the tittle of their new album scheduled to be released at October 31th, 2005, it will be called: "Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy".

The band explains the causes that lead them to choose this tittle:

"The new HELLOWEEN songs inherit elements that connect to the lyrical concept of the first two highly successful 'Keeper OF The Seven Keys' albums. The new HELLOWEEN compositions offer intricate arrangements, many speed changes, gifted drum breaks and epic sounds. A renewed team spirit prevailing during pre-production encouraged the band members to hold intense rehearsal room sessions with a fresh inspiration, resulting in the band choosing "Keeper of The Seven Keys - The Legacy"."

They also make an clarification about their new DVD "Hellish Videos":

"The statement from Sanctuary says that the DVD contains all of the band's videos up to the "Time Of The Oath". This is untrue as the DVD contains ALLof the band's videos from Rabbit Don't Come Easy and back."

Their first Single, "Mrs. God", will be released at July 4th, and will "will contain various bonus features such as an exclusive non album track, one album track and the video for "Mrs. God", which will be shot in Nueremberg / Germany beginning of May."

They also plan to make a tour called "'Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy' World Tour 2005/2006". "On November 18th, their world tour will kick off in the Czech Republic. Europe will be toured extensively until end of January; in February the band will be playing in Asia, followed by concerts in North and South America from March on."

You can check some tourdates that have been already announced on their Tour Section, and some photos of the band on their News Section, in their website.

Source:	helloween.org
Band profile:	Helloween

Mixing sessions of "Jeanne d'Arc" are finished. The master will be now sent to the Mastering Room in Sweden to be mastered by Goran Finnberg

Here is the complete tracklist:

1. Revelations
2. Maiden of Steel
3. The Chosen
4. Ride to Chinon
5. ...for Orleans
6. Up to the Battle!
7. March of the Brave
8. The Rise of a King
9. Siege of Paris
10. Time to Die
11. Inquisition
12. The Trial

The album release is scheduled for 3rd October 2005.

http://www.thymajestie.com

Band profile:

Thy Majestie

The guitarist of the band posted on the band's website the following message concerning the new album and also talking about some live perfomances the band had:

"Hello Everybody!

Well, after a long., long time we have the pleasure to announce you that our latest album "Teluric Manifesto" has been finally mastered. Now we just need to give the last touches to the layout and then send the finished stuff to Aftermath Music in Norway.

We also have to apologize for the big delay we had on finishing the album. Regrettably most of the delay was due to Raphael (sound engineer) having personal issues that made him not to be available for a long time to work with us, so we didn't have a lot to do regarding this uncomfortable situation. Anyway, our apologies go to all of you!

All we can say about the new album is that the music is quite challenging, as every song has a good amount of experimentation and complexity, but still retaining the essence of our style. On this same subject, now you have the chance to download "Dreamsectary", the song that opens the album from the multimedia/download section of this site. Soon we will probably be uploading another song, so you can get a more accurate picture of how the album sounds like. Enjoy!

We have also finished a series of four gigs on which we started testing some of the new songs on a live environment. First we played in Valparaiso, at the anniversary party of the Metalogia website. This time some technical problems made this gig a bit difficult to endure, but regardless of the technical issues, and the fact that we had to cut our set before we expected; it was a good and needed comeback to the stages.

After that we went to Concepción, and this time things went a lot better. Our gratitude goes to Daniel Pino (Orodruin Productions) for making everything work fine and for being such a cool guy. The crowd reaction was simply amazing (thanks to everyone who supported us that night), and the technical part of the gig was also O.K.

As weird as it sounds, the last time we had played in Santiago (our Hometown) was on August '04, so we really needed to play at home again. This finally happened at "La Batuta", a mid sized venue known for having a good sound. However, the expectations were uncertain, as this gig was going to take place on a cold Tuesday night, right after a long weekend, so we didn't know how the turnout was going to be. Fortunately, our die-hard audience showed it's loyalty and attended to this show. This, plus the great sound we had this time, made the Santiago show one of the highlights of this year for us.

Read more ››

Source:	poemaarcanus.cl
Band profile:	Poema Arcanus

In the latest End Records Newsletter the keyboardist Andy Winter talks about his projects:

"Greetings everyone! As we're getting closer to the half way mark of the year, I guess this is as good a time as any to write an update about what's been going on lately, and more importantly what's to come. On May 3rd I released a mini CD containing a solo performance with classical piano music. This release is my first solo release and it is called Shades of Light Through Black and White. It is available exclusively through The End Records, and the cover art is graced with some unique black and white photographs. The disc is a 1000 copy limited edition release.
As reported some time ago Winds has already completed the basic material for the fourth album, and the drums were recorded last year. At this time we are making the preparations to continue the recordings, meaning that Carl August Tidemann will find himself in and out of the studio for several months starting after his summer vacation. I have also completed the lyrical concept, and earlier this week I talked to the guys about the musical direction of the next record. There is still a lot to be determined about the sound and the details, and we are still in the midst of discussing all of this, but already the entire band agrees that what we are on the right track for something new, and that what we are about to embark on will pretty much blow everything we have done so far out of the water. Maybe that is an overused cliché that every band nowadays uses when they put out a new record, but I believe we have the merits to back up our claim, and in this case there is no doubt that this will be the most different record we have ever done. I can also say that this record won't see the light! of day until some time in 2006, so that we will have spent over 2 years making it from the recordings started until they finish should be an indication of how much effort we are putting into it. I know I previously stated that we would not take two years to make the next album, but what can I say, I will have to admit I was wrong and correct myself in this matter. I may also have to correct my previous statement about not involving any guests on the new record, but that part still remains to be seen, and I guess only time will tell.
On to Age of Silence news, we are currently in the studio working on the follow-up to Acceleration, and although we already have enough material to fill a full length album I can hereby make it official that we will be releasing a mini CD prior to the next full length. Jan Axel von Blomberg (Hellhammer) recorded the drums in March, and the guitars are currently being tracked right at this moment. It is the plan to finish everything by the end of the ! summer, and hopefully to release it on October 11th. The musical direction of the new Age of Silence midi CD will change into what some might call a darker, slower paced, more atmospheric and heavier/more extreme sound, while still retaining the progressive and intriguing elements Age of Silence is known for. The lyrical concept is already written by Lazare (Lars Nedland), and in my opinion it is the perfect continuation to where Acceleration left off. It is not a direct continuation of it in any means, but it deals with themes that are very familiar to the Age of Silence concept.

Read more ››

Source:	- The End Records Newsletter -
Band profile:	Winds

The band send the following message in the June newsletter:

"Hello again! Some latest news from KEKAL..

I. HEADLINE NEWS: Leo is BACK with KEKAL!!

We are glad to inform you that lead-guitarist Leo Setiawan has joined us again as an official band member!! He has returned back from Melbourne Australia recently (after spending more than 4 years there) to work and stay in Jakarta full-time.

Due to our own personal and family-related issues that needed to be set as the main priority, especially with Leo during his re-relocation, we decided to not to play any local show until the end of this year.

We would like to thank our additional live-guitarist Didi Priyadi for helping us doing some live gigs and contributed in our new album.

II. More updates on "Acidity"

"Acidity" album is going on very well, despite the apathy from some Indonesian media (you know who yo are...shame on you!) due to the fact that we play honest EXTREME METAL music and never compromise ourselves to become another pop junk!
However, we would like to thank all the Indonesian radiostations and magazines who still believe in KEKAL and give us a chance to promote our music even though they are not metal-related media. You're the best! We wish you all the good luck!"

Source:	- Kekal Newsletter -
Band profile:	Kekal

The following message was posted on the Aural Music website:

"Hailing from Belarus, DIVINA ENEMA was formed in 1996 and have been alwasy considered as one of the most talented and outstanding bands in the underground avantgarde metal scene. After years of struggle to find the appropriate Label, the deal with code666 will finally bring Divina Enema's huge talent to the world. the band is now preparing their code666-debut, an astonishing concept album divided in 4 parts, a release is expected during winter 05/06. official website: www.divinaenema.com "

Source:

auralmusic.com

The "state-of-the-art" label Eibon Records is now part of the Aural Music family, the label was " founded in 1998 by label-manager Mauro Berchi" and his catalogue includes "some of the most innovative, original and outstanding artists in the dark ambient and power-noise scene."

The label "joins code666, Amarath Recordings, Goregorecords and Dreamcell11 as a sublabel of the Aural Music Publishing Company."

Eibon Records' website: www.eibonrecords.com

Source:

auralmusic.com

The band posted the following update message on their website:

"We are calling off the break. We have been reduced to a trio as Kim has left the band. We are going to continue as a three piece but we will get someone to help fill in the blank spots live, as well as on record. Capacities seem to be abundant in this department and we are going for the most obvious solution to us.....

We are releasing REALITY CHECK in Australia through Ward69records. We are going to tour this coming fall down under to support the release, the first show we have confirmed is the OVERCRANKED FESTIVAL in British Colombia on the 19th of November.. This means that we will be ready for live shows from 1.nov till 12th, and from 26th to around Christmas. We have TBA shows already in ITALY and DENMARK in this period.So If you promote South America get in touch, we are fucking ready. We have had tours blown there since ´96 so lets get it done...and: it would be nice to have finally played on every continent besides the south pole.

NEW MATERIAL:

We have been writing a good part of an album. We are just not finished yet. We will have to go back and touch up on stuff as we decide who will play with us on the next record, which is something we will settle in the coming months. We want this next record to be the best one yet.

The next record has been given the working title "Doctrines of Death". And if you´re looking for keyboards or girly choruses you can go be modern someplace else. If we want texture of the sorts we will get 40 fat monks to go: HHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL..........

RECORD DEALS:
We are still currently unsigned and licensing REALITY CHECK ourselves. We have not decided how we will release the next album. (Maybe we can score with Fast Beat Records, who are setting up a promising shop in this country....) Or how about OLD SCHOOL METAL RECORDS. Well, we ust like the sound of the name....anyway:

This is what Ward69records had to say:
One of Europe's if not the world's leading Death Metal bands 'Konkhra' are releasing their latest LP 'Reality Check' in Australia through Ward69Records. Due for a national release in August."

Source:

konkhra.com