The final USA cover art for Thornography can be viewed here . Roadrunner Records rejected the first version as being to vulgar.

"This title represents mankind's obsession with sin and self. The thorn combines images of that which troubled Christ, the crown of thorns, thus intimating man's seeming desire to hurt God and also, of the protecting thorn and the need to enclose a secret place or the soul from attack. An addiction to self punishment or something equally poisonous. A mania. Twisted desires. Barbed dreams. A fetish. An obsession with cruelty. Savage nature. Paganism over Christianity. The title can also represent a sexual attraction to religious iconography as in the case of the 'possessed' Lourdon nuns. I like the title because to me it invokes images of a darker, sexier pre-Raphaelite scene wherein Sleeping Beauty's castle is won and she is awoken by a poisonous kiss. A darker adult fairy tale."

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Source:	thegauntlet.com
Band profile:	Cradle Of Filth

A brand new Entombed track, entitled "When in Sodom", was premiered Tuesday night (May 23) on the "Mike Davies Rock Show" on BBC Radio 1. Listen to a replay of the program at this location (the Entombed track appears at around the 19:43:30 mark).

"When in Sodom" is the title cut off the band's new EP, due on June 6 via Threeman Recordings. A full-length album, "Serpent Saints", will follow on September 18.

Entombed's new album was recorded at Soundland studio in Upplands Väsby, Sweden. The CD will be the group's first without the contributions of guitarist Uffe Cederlund, who left the band in September 2005.

"When in Sodom" (view artwork at this location, http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y160/BlabberPhotos/Entombed/?action=view¤t=entombed_ep.jpg) track listing:

01. When in Sodom
02. Carnage
03. Thou Shalt Kill
04. Heresy
05. Amen

Drummer Peter Stjärnvind has left Entombed in order to concentrate on his membership in the Swedish cult act Nifelheim. Nifelheim guitarist Sebastian Ramstedt (a.k.a. Vengeance from Beyond; also in Necrophobic) said, "No bad breakup or anything personal between him/us and the guys in Entombed, but heavy touring didn't fit his situation right now". Entombed are currently utilizing the services of session drummer Olle Dahlstedt (Alpha Safari, Ex-Misery Loves Co.) for all of their upcoming European gigs. Stjärnvind and his wife recently welcomed their first child, a daughter.

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Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Entombed

According to SonomaNews.com, Sonoma Valley High School seniors Andrew Presler and Kenny Walter are raffling off a guitar signed by all the members of Metallica at a concert they're holding this weekend to help a friend's family pay medical bills. The concert will take place in Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 27.

All proceeds will go to the Haskell family to help out with medical costs. The pair became good friends with Nefera Haskell at Sonoma Valley High School. She has been flying back east where her mother Kimberly was having surgery for a brain tumor.

Even if people can't attend the show, they can support the cause by buying raffle tickets (people do not have to be present to win) or by donating money into an account the pair has opened in the name of the Haskell family at the Sonoma Valley Bank.

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	Metallica

Veteran Death Metallers Morbid Angel have posted the following tour dates for their upcomming Europe summer tours on their official website:

05/08 - Wacken Open Air - Wacken, GER
07/08 - Monsters Of Rock Festival - Kavarna, BUL
12/08 - Brutal Assault Festival - Svojsice, CZR
14/08 - Planet Music - Vienna, AUT
15/08 - Sziget Festival - Budapest, HUN
16/08 - SKC - Belgrade, SER
18/08 - Summer Breeze Festival - Dinkelsbuehl-Sinbronn, GER
20/08 - 013 - Tilburg, NETH
22/08 - Mean Fiddler - London, UK
24/08 - Hole In The Sky Festival - Bergen, NOR
26/08 - Up From The Ground Open Air - Gemunden Am Main, GER

Source:	morbidangel.com
Band profile:	Morbid Angel

Katatonia are set to play the MAMF festival in Hungary on August 4th.

Source:	katatonia.com
Band profile:	Katatonia

Killswitch Engage - Full Version of New Track 'This Fire Burns'

You can now check out the full version of the new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE track 'This Fire Burns', a cut recorded to support the "WWE: Wreckless Intent" disc.

The song will be on the upcoming WWE Wreckless Intent compilation....

The track can be found here:

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Source:	smnnews.com
Band profile:	Killswitch Engage

On June 27, The End Records will be releasing ultimate reissues of Dissection's "The Somberlain" and "Storm Of The Light's Bane", both of which will include multiple bonus tracks, previously unreleased material, new layouts and remastering.

However, also, all three Dissection albums will be released on gatefold vinyl this summer as well. They will be available in Europe at the Midsummer Massacre '06 show on June 24 and in North America on June 27.

Source:	metaleater.com
Band profile:	Dissection

Danzig will be performing some live gigs in Australia for the first time since 1993.

Here are the band's upcoming live dates:

June 6 - Hollywood, CA - Henry Ford Theatre (w/ Hank III)
Sept. 8 - Melbourne, Australia - The Palace *
Sept. 9 - Brisbane, Australia - The Arena *
Sept. 10 - Sydney, Australia - Luna Park *

Source:	metaleater.com
Band profile:	Danzig

Swedish thrashers Carnal Forge have posted this brief message on their official website:

"We will play the Hejbabberiba festival in Sala, Sweden on the 3rd of June."

Here are the band's upcoming live dates:

May 27 - Köping, Sweden - Dead Generation Fest 2006
June 3 - Sala, Sweden - Hejbabberiba Festivalen
Aug. 17 - Dinkelsbuehl , Germany - Summer Breeze Open Air
Sept 23 - Erstfeld, Switzerland - Metalfest Uri

The band has also revealed the names of two more new songs: "Testify For My Victims" and "Biological Waste Matter". Other new song titles are "Questions Pertaining" "The Ownership Of My Mind", "Subhuman", "Forever Guilt", "Burning Eden" and "The Dead".

Source:	metaleater.com
Band profile:	Carnal Forge

This message has been posted on Vomitory's official website:

"Vomitory will headline the Stonehenge festival in the Netherlands on July 29. This will probably be the bands only live performance this summer.

The band is currently busy writing new material for the follow-up to 'Primal Massacre' (2004) and has about one third/half of the songs finished. Newcomer Peter Östlund (guitar) has so far contributed with two songs, one is in the typical Vomitory-vein and the other a bit heavier than the usual Vomitory song. Tobias Gustafsson (drums) has written three songs so far but has like four more in the works at the moment. Erik Rundqvist (bass and vocals) is solely focusing on writing the lyrics."

Source:	metaleater.com
Band profile:	Vomitory

Slayer have sparked controversy with a new track about 9/11 from the terrorists' viewpoint. The California foursome were fed up with other bands' American perspective of the attacks on New York and Washington DC in 2001, so they wrote their own unique version. Guitarist/songwriter Jeff Hanneman has angered September 11th victims' families with the extremist angled track 'Jihad', which will be featured on their new album.

Guitarist Kerry King says, "In America every band under the sun has written their 9/11 song. And that's why I didn't want to have any part of it, but this is really cool. It kind of has an 'Angel Of Death' feel because it doesn't condemn anyone or say that anyone's right or wrong."

Source:	metaleater.com
Band profile:	Slayer

Swedish melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity have posted the following update:

No updates for a while, but rest assured that we haven't been resting on our laurels. We're insanely busy with the songwriting for the next album, and it's now decided that the recordings will start in October. More details about studios (yes, that's in plural), working partners and so forth will follow as soon as everything is 100% confirmed.

As for the music itself, the material we're working on covers the whole gamut from laid back acoustic sections to furious blastbeats, so you can all look forward to a diverse and challenging offering. Most songs are still in the embryonic stages, so it'll be interesting to see how things develop.

Some media goodness to make the wait for the next magnum opus easier: A 15-minute video clip of our gig at the Fury Fest in France (June 25, 2005) has been uploaded to our MySpace page. As usual with these homemade recordings, the quality itsn't stellar, but it gives a good enough representation of the show.

Also, we found an old version of "Away, Delight, Away" from an 8-track promo recording we did in our rehearsal studio back in the spring of 1994. This is an early incarnation of the song that differs slightly from the version that ended up on the "Of Chaos And Eternal Night" MCD. The promo itself also contained "Punish My Heaven" and "The Gallery", and was sent out to a select few record labels and tape trading contacts.

Check the stuff out: www.myspace.com/dtofficial.

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Source:	darktranquillity.com
Band profile:	Dark Tranquillity

SHY vocalist Tony Mills has issued the following statement: "Having been in discussions with the members of TNT in Norway over the last few weeks, I have decided to take the band up on an offer to front them throughout their forthcoming work in Europe. This may well include co-writing a new album for the band and touring in both Norway and the UK later in the year. Obviously, it's all new to everyone and we have to see how we work together, but the initial meeting in Berlin was very amiable and I think you could safely say that we 'hit it off' real well. I have to master The Andersson Mills Project and finish up some writing with Eric Ragno / Michael Riesenbeck and the China Blue project before I depart for Norway mid June. Shy are supporting TNT at the Polar Festival on June 30 in Storsteinnes, Norway. This in itself is an unbelievable coincidence, but my priority was to sing this concert with Shy as I was already contracted to do so before any conversations took place with TNT.
This concert for TNT will be fronted by the ex-vocalist Tony Harnell as a farewell show for him."

Diesel Dahl: TNT are still alive and kickin' - and are proud to introduce the new man behind the mic; Singer Tony Mills from Birmingham, England. Tony is one of Europe's most respected hard rock singers, mostly known for his work with UK Melodic Rock act Shy and his solo artiste releases of recent years. Tony has worked along side such names as Cinderella, Dokken, Cozy Powell, Meatloaf, The Sweet and many more and will add a new and exciting dimension to TNT as the band enter a new era.

The band have confirmed their appearance at Z Rock 06 on September 24, JB's Dudley, England.

Source:

uncover-promotion.info

Nuclear Blast have announced the signing of Nile.

Mainman Karl Sanders comments on the deal: "Nile is pleased to announce the recent signing of its new record deal with Nuclear Blast. We are excited about the possibilities and potential of this new partnership with the wonderful people at Nuclear Blast. We are most certainly eagerly looking forward to working on the next Nile album and to fearlessly continue bringing Nile's unique brand of Ithyphallic Brutal Death Metal to our fans.

We also would like to thank Matt and Gordon and all the team at Relapse for many years of happiness working with them, we count them as our friends and comrades still and wish them all the best."

A new album from Nile is expected in 2007.

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Nile

Some exclusive downloadable material is now available from MySpace. Firstly, a full song from the forthcoming Porcupine Tree live DVD "Arriving Somewhere..." can be viewed at the band's MySpace page. Blackest Eyes was filmed along with the rest of the DVD in Chicago last October. The DVD, edited by Lasse Hoile and with the sound mixed into both stereo and 5.1 surround sound, is due for release in late Summer. There will be a short promotional tour of Europe and the USA, dates to be announced shortly.

Also available is new music from the forthcoming second Blackfield album, which can be found on the Blackfield MySpace page. A full song "Once" and an album preview are both available to download and share.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/porcupinetree, http://www.myspace.com/blackfieldband

Source:	porcupinetree.com
Band profile:	Porcupine Tree