Power Metallers Dragonland have updated their MySpace page to include their new song, 'Contact'. Check it out at this location.

'Contact' is featured on Dragonland's upcoming Century Media release "Astronomy", the follow up to 2004's "Starfall" album, due out on November 13th.

More info about the album can be found here.

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Dragonland

Swedish brutal death metallers, Vomitory will enter Leon Music Studios outside Karlstad, Sweden on December 3 to begin recording their sixth album. The band's statement goes as follows:

"This time we'll work with producer Rikard Löfgren, who is the founder/owner of Leon Music," the band said in a statement. "Rikard Löfgren is still a pretty unfamiliar name within the death metal scene. He mostly works with more commercial music but he is a great producer and has his roots in metal. We know the guy since ages and we have great confidence in him."
It's going to feel strange to do a new Vomitory album not working with our sidekick Henrik Larsson, but we feel it's time to try something new. Since Vomitory isn't exactly an experimental band, we feel that working in a new studio with a new producer is a good way of renewing the band. We have two weeks for the recording and one week of mix and mastering."

The as-yet-untitled CD is scheduled for release at the end of April 2007 through Metal Blade Records.

Source:	vomitory.net
Band profile:	Vomitory

According to Therion's official website, (and directly quoting it) the band will play at the Palace Hall/Bucharest/Romania, on December 9th with nearly 70 musicians of the Academic Radio Choir, 100 instrumentists of the Romanian Radio Orchestra and guest classical singers from Vienna, awarded as best opera-voices world-wide.

The repertoire includes famous classical pieces in Therion's version, as well as Therion songs with symphonic orchestra, some of them never played live before.

Tickets are on sale starting October 25, on 3 price ranges

I - Eur 70 (rows A:11-33; B,C: 11-33; D, E)
II - Eur 55 (rows F&G: 1-27)
III - Eur 25 (rows J, K, L, M)

For further information check their website.

UPDATE:
Therion have issued the following update:

"And it is my great pleasure to present the title and the cover artwork of the new Therion album that is expected next year. The title is "Gothic Kabbalah" and this is the cover artwork."

The band's new album is now mixed. A January release is hinted, but an official release date is expected to be revealed soon.

UPDATE:
Therion has revealed more details about their forthcoming Classical Show (with a full symphonic orchestra, choir and international opera stars) which will take place on December 9, 2006 at the Palace Hall in Bucharest, Romania. According to their site, the show will consist of the following three parts:

1. Pure orchestral versions of Therion songs. For example an opera version of Clavicula Nox.
2. Therion + orchestra and choir perform various famous works by Wagner, Mozart, Saens-Saen, Dvorak and Verdi.
3. Therion play own songs together with orchestra and choir. Of course classics that everyone would expect will be played, but also songs that have never been played before, such as 'Via Nocturna', 'Eternal Return' etc. Also a version of 'Siren Of The Woods' scored for real orchestra and with opera singers.

The tickets are available in three price classes. The tickets for Class III are now sold out. There are however very attractive tickets left in class I and II. Tickets available internationally at The Therion Store.
Fans living in Romania can get it at ticket retailers or over at the Aquarius Foundation's web page.

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Source:	megatherion.com
Band profile:	Therion
Event:	Therion Goes Classic

This is an official statement from Beseech (as can be read on the official website):

All of us in the band have come to the sad conclusion to put Beseech to rest for good. The decision has not been easy because this has been a really big part of our personal lives for many years. We have met so many great people through the music and really loved what we have done. We are proud of the work that we have achieved.

However we cannot hide from the fact that we have grown apart from each other as persons and we have different views of how we want Beseech to work as a band. This has taken away all the inspiration to continue and we see this as the only solution in the end. This way we can all part as friends and wish each other good luck with new endeavors that will follow.

We would like to thank all of our fans, fan clubs and other people that has helped and supported Beseech in their own way. Without you, we would never have lasted this long.

We feel that our fans and everybody else that has supported us deserve to get a last chance to see Beseech live and meet up with us in person. Therefore we´re planning to make one or a few farewell gigs in a near future for you all!

So stay tuned for further information!

Best regards from
Lotta, Erik, Robert, Manne, Jonas, Mikael and Daniel
of Beseech

If you have any questions you can mail to questions@beseech.net or discuss it on our forum http://www.beseech.net/forum

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Source:	beseech.net
Band profile:	Beseech

Official press release:

Earache Records is happy to announce the signing of fast-rising young UK thrashers Evile, fresh from their triumphant performance at last weekend's Damnation Festival, where they slayed the crowd on the Jagermeister stage, as openers for The Haunted, Skindred & Biomechanical.

Evile formed 2 years ago in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK by brothers Matt Drake (vocals/guitar) and Ol Drake (lead guitar), along with Ben Carter (drums) and Mike Alexander (bass) and have since rapidly picked up a rabid following, eager to enjoy a night of heads-down, no-nonsense Thrash.

Though unsigned, Evile were hand-picked to play 2 prestigious UK festivals in the summer of 2006 - Bloodstock Open Air and most recently, Damnation Festival - both to great acclaim from fans. Now the band will spend the rest of the year gigging far and wide, and expect to record and release their debut album on Earache early in 2007.

Meanwhile, check out Evile's demo and pics at their myspace page here.

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Source:	earache.com
Band profile:	Evile

Melodic death metal act Nightrage have finally found a new permanent drummer. Alex Svenningson will fill the spot, which has been vacant since July. Olof Mörck of Dragonland will also pull double duty as both bands' guitarist on their upcoming tour with Vader

Here's a video of Svenningson practicing for the tour.

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Source:	nightrage.com
Band profile:	Nightrage

Folk/Black Metallers Ensiferum have made a posting on their official website about the rumour of their performing at next year's 'No Mercy Fest 2007'. The band have confirmed that this is merely a rumour and that the promotional advertising going around at the moment is false, they won't in fact be playing at the festival.

In other Ensiferum news, the release date of a single from the band's upcoming album has been announced. The album will be released in early 2007, and on the 7th February an as yet unamed single will be released.

Source:	ensiferum.com
Band profile:	Ensiferum
Event:	No Mercy Festival

Gothic Metal band Leaves' Eyes have announced that they will be releasing their first ever DVD next year. After the band tours with Blind Guardian, the production for the DVD will start. This will be around the end of December. The DVD will include a complete movie with some background information. Leaves' Eyes are also planning an indoor and an outdoor show with a special stage soon, and show will be recorded exclusively for the DVD. More information about the DVD will be announced soon.

Source:	leaveseyes.de
Band profile:	Leaves' Eyes

Swedish Black Metallers Dark Funeral have posted the follwing on their official site: "There's now over a week since all of our gear (guitars, bass, wireless systems, cymbals etc) was confiscated by the police in Peru. And we still have not received any news if or when it will be returned to us. At this point of time one can only speculate, but things doesn't look good though.

There's not easy for us to say this, believe me, but due to the current situation we are unfortunately forced to 'postpone' our up-coming shows in Latvia and Lithuania. We can, as anyone might understand, not afford to buy a whole new backline just like that, and/or in time for these 2 shows, which are scheduled this coming weekend already.

We understand this will leave a lot of you people disappointed, including the local promoters, but we sure hope to have this literally fucked up situation sorted out real soon, and new dates scheduled and announced to you shortly".

Dark Funeral's official statement, regarding the incident in Peru, can be read here .

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Source:	darkfuneral.se
Band profile:	Dark Funeral

Official press release:

Underground grind/metal band The County Medical Examiners has completed work on their Relapse Records debut, "Olidous Operettas." "Olidous Operettas," the band's first recorded discharge in three years, was recorded and mixed at Tillinghast Workshop and is scheduled for a January 2007 release.
The complete track listing is as follows:
01. Casper's Dictum
02. Morgagnic Anatomics
03. Necrotic Apologues
04. Blunt Force Flight
05. The Virchow Postmortem Procedure
06. Expeditious Evisceratory Mishap
07. Maturating Decompositional Gas
08. Kaleidoscopic Malacia

A sample of the "Olidous Operettas" artwork can be previewed here and a three minute audio teaser can be heard via the band's official MySpace page here.

The County Medical Examiners (TCME) are a collection of real-life pathologists with an unhealthy adoration of and fixation on Carcass. Formed by Dr. Morton Fairbanks M.D. (guitar) and Dr. Jack Putnam M.D. (drums), the band--rounded out by 63-year-old Dr. Guy Radcliffe--have always felt that the label "Carcass Clone" should be a badge of honor and distinction, and pursue that emulation with an almost religious zeal.
TCME have previously released one full-length and a split album (with Sweden's General Surgery) via Razorback Records.

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Source:

relapse.com

Rammstein are gearing up for the release of a new live DVD, entitled "Völkerball". The release date has now been confirmed for November 17th. The following update on the release, which will be issued as a regular and limited edition, appears at the band's official website:

"Völkerball as a high quality photo book with 190 pages in format 27cm x 31 cm will additionally - to the standard and special edition - include an audio CD with further live recordings, which contains the entire concert. The pictures were taken by the French photographer Frederic Batier and address for a big part those areas, which one seldom gets to see. The band, highly concentrated during the last minutes before the concert, the band on stage but also during off-days. A big share of the book portraits the audience and presents wonderful images of the emotional world of the fans. Expectations, enthusiasm, delight, exhaustion. A booklet of this quality is a must for the Rammstein fan! Since it is only available as a limited edition in this form, you should keep your eyes open for that."

Völkerball will be issued in the following formats:
* Standard Edition: 2 Disc Set (1 DVD, 140 minutes live video + 1 CD, 75 minutes live audio).

* Special Edition: 3 Disc Set (1 DVD, 140 minutes live video + 1 DVD, 90 minute Documentary, includes Anaconda In The Net + Reise, Reise: The Making Of The Album + 1 CD, 75 minutes live audio).

* Limited Edition: 190 Page tour photobook, inluding all 3 Disc contents of the Special Edition + the entire live audio recordings of the concerts (140 minutes) on an additional 4th disc.

UPDATE: The complete track lists for all three formats can be found here.

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Source:	rammstein.com
Band profile:	Rammstein

Because some of the members of the band and the crew caught cold and became ill, Lordi had to cancel the Spanish leg of the "Bringing Back The Balls To Europe" Tour. The tour will continue at Antwerp, Belgium, October 22nd.

"We are really sorry and disappointed of the fact that we had to cancel dates", says Mr.Lordi. "but there has been a furious flu going around the band and the crew for few weeks, that has´nt left almost anyone unaffected. Our support band, The Dogma, already had to cancel one date as a result of the same flu, and now, unfortunately, we had to do the same... Kita was really sick but is already getting better, Amen is just now coming down with it, Ox even had the ear infection, and now, Awa and myself became seriously sick. I went to the hospital once already almost two weeks ago during our German dates and we were able to continue, but now the disease stroke back even stronger. We deeply apologise to our fans in Spain, and we´ll definately try and make it up to them!"

Source:	lordi.fi
Band profile:	Lordi
Event:	Lordi: Bringing Back The Balls To Europe Tour

Folk Metallers Turisas will be entering Sound Supreme Studios in Hämeenlinna, Finland to record their second album. The band will be doing their UK 'Bringing Back The Balls To Europe' tour with Lordi first, then in November they will start the recording sessions. The band will be taking a break from touring after the tour with Lordi, to mainly focus on making the album.

Source:	turisas.com
Band profile:	Turisas

According to Cincinnati.com, Jared Anderson, the former bassist/vocalist of Hate Eternal and Morbid Angel, passed away on Saturday, October 14 at the age of 30. The cause of his death has not yet been released. Visitation will take place Thursday, October 19 at the E. C. Nurre Funeral Home, St. Rt. 125 Amelia, Ohio from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. followed by Funeral Services Thursday, 11 a.m. at the Funeral Home. Interment Pierce Township Cemetery.

Jared Anderson was most recently working on a project which was known by its alias As One... Jared described the band's musical direction on his MySpace page as "a revision of my Internecine writings, or shall I say 'written in the vein of.' The Internecine record itself was all 'old' material from the early to mid-'90s that I was given the offer to record, so obviously I opted to do so. Highly technical, obscure death metal was purely the intent of Internecine. Although most of the material was written many years prior to recording it, there were a couple of songs that were more recent. The two songs were 'The Elder Gods' and 'The Calling Of The Hordes'. This is where As One... comes in, kind of continuing where I left off so to speak, with a much more matured sound."

Back in February 2006, former Morbid Angel bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker confirmed to Blabbermouth.net that he was putting together a new project with Jared Anderson. "It is definitely death metal," Tucker said at the time. "It is very early on, but we are both extremely excited about it. No name yet, a few songs written, varying in tempo etc."

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Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Morbid Angel

A brand new Belphegor track, entitled 'Belphegor - Hell's Ambassador', has been posted online here. The song comes off the group's new album, "Pestapokalypse VI", due on October 31 via Nuclear Blast Records.

In other news, Belphegor have announced the addition of bassist Serpenth to the group's ranks.
The touring line-up currently is as follows:
Helmuth - Heretic Grunts, Chainsaw / Sigurd - Six String Flagellation
Serpenth - Bass Distortion / Nefastus - Drums (session)

Also, Belphegor have scheduled the following Pestapokalypse VI release parties in Hamburg and Salzburg:
Oct. 27 - Headbangers Ballroom - Hamburg, GER
Oct. 28 - Arge Nonntal - Salzburg, AUT

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Source:	belphegor.at
Band profile:	Belphegor