Spinefarm Records will release three Nightwish box-sets in November. The reason is the existence of illegal boxsets called "Nightwish Memory Boxes" in central Europe. Those boxes are spreading quickly and something has to be done so that fans can support the band and not the pirates.

The legal boxes will also contain photos of the bandmembers as a special goodie. Please visit this page for a full description of the three boxsets.

Source:	nightwish.com
Band profile:	Nightwish

On Monday, 17th November 2003, WITHIN TEMPTATION will release their new double DVD featuring breathtaking live material, captivating backstage reports and many other specials.
It will be released in a stylish double DVD box.

Band profile:

Within Temptation

Norther's third studio albums will be named: Death Unlimited.

The album was recorded in Astia Studio in Lappeenranta.
10 songs and one cover song was recorded.

Mixing of this album is taken place at Finnvox studios now in November.

Band profile:

Norther

The former Angel Dust bassist Frank Banx contacted BW&BK with the following message:

"I would like to let you know, that I officially left the band on Friday, October 24th. this year. Because of unbridgeable personal differences with singer Dirk Thurisch, I've seen no other choice but to leave the band. Also, many so called "fans" in Germany are attacking me because of this decision in a very unkind verbal way in our guest book, what just underlines what I already posted in our guest book in July last year. I will play no more shows in Germany, until... (???) What so ever.

I will soon found my own record company, Frank Banx Enterprises, and I'm looking for a distributing partner for Canada and the USA to re-release Into The Dark Past from 1986 including unreleased bonus tracks from our 1985 demo Marching For Revenge, plus lyrics and more pictures, etc., and my future outputs and a.s.a.p. '88s To Dust You Will Decay with unreleased live video tracks from 1988 - 2002.

Also, if I get my visa, what I badly hope, I will found both, the company and my new band in America. So, I'm also looking for highly ambitioned musicians from wherever they like to come to Indianapolis then.

All right people, that's what I wanted to say. I hope to meet all you people very soon on the road (again...).

Sincerely yours, Frank Banx, musician."

Band profile:

Angel Dust

Guitarist Thomas Youngblood have reported in the following message to the official homepage:

"I just got back from a whirlwind 3 weeks in Norway and Germany. We have written 5 new songs for the next Kamelot follow-up to EPICA. Here are some working titles that may change on the album - March of Mephisto, Nothing Ever Dies and Serenade. The new songs range from HEAVY to Fast and we worked on a new ballad."

The Album, that will be the second part of the Epica story is expected early 2004, their first through SPV/Streamhammer.

Band profile:

Kamelot

"Lost Horizon have now decided that a session guitarist is needed for upcoming livegigs. Hans Boström has joined the band and played his first gig at Militärpalatset in Borås. He will also be with us at Chalmers!"

So it stands on their website. And they have officially confirmed that they will play on next years Sweden Rock Festival, June 10-12 2004, Sölvesborg, Sweden.

Lost Horizon have said, after the departure with Wojtek Lisicki, that they have no immediate plans to seek a permanent replacement. And will carry on as a five-piece.

Band profile:

Lost Horizon

Hello all, now we are done with the recording of the upcoming album, due out next spring. It took almost seven weeks in total to record and the way we choose to do it was the most challenging, interesting way we´ve ever recorded an album.

As you might know, we did this in Denmark, where we had found a house suitable for our purposes earlier this year. It was located just outside Fredrikshamn, so even though we were camped in the middle of nowhere, we had just a few minutes to reality.

We took all our gear and hired our two great friends and producers Örjan Örnkloo and Daniel Bergstrand to produce the album. They brought their equipment along and the first week was spent mostly by building the two control-rooms, that were located in the two wings of the building.

We also had two other good friends, Magnus & Magnus who took care of the cooking, driving, tuning, restringing and basically everything else that we had no time to do, as we were focusing on the recording. Without them we wouldn´t be alive...

Then, as the drums were recorded earlier in Dug-Out studios, we started with the guitars, and setting the sound that we needed for them. After another week it was time for bass guitar, alongside the recording of the remaining guitar parts.

When the bass was finished after six days, Anders started on his vocals, and it all sounded great. It was the first time we could hear the energy that we had created in a more finished form.

We are really thrilled, as we built this studio from scratch, and the sound that we achieved on this album can never be recreated 100%, this will be totally original, in a good way.

Anyways, hope you all will enjoy it, take care. Anders, Peter, Daniel, Björn & Jesper.

Band profile:

In Flames

German melodic metallers EDGUY have announced the details of their upcoming EP, "King Of Fools", due on February 2, 2004 through Nuclear Blast Records.

The complete track listing for "King Of Fools" is as follows:

01. King Of Fools (3:30)
02. New Age Messiah (5:58)
03. The Savage Union (4:14)
04. Holy Water (4:13)
05. Life and Times Of A Bonus Track (3:23)

Total Running Time: 21:32

According to vocalist Tobias Sammet, "There will even be two orchestra songs on the EP...it's gonna be first-class stuff and some of the material is gonna be played live as well, so there is no B-side shit at all!" Only one of the songs from the EP will appear on EDGUY's forthcoming full length album, "Hellfire Club", and according to Tobi, will be different than the version on the EP. "Hellfire Club" is due for release on March 15, 2004.

The follow-up to 2001's "Mandrake", which includes a collaboration with the German film orchestra Babelsberg (THE SCORPIONS), was produced by EDGUY and Norman Meiritz, with additional assistance from Sascha Paeth (RHAPSODY, ANGRA), who was responsible for the drum sound on the album. The final mix took place at the famous Finnvox Studios (NIGHTWISH, STRATOVARIUS) in Helsinki, Finland.

Band profile:

Edguy

ORPHAHED LAND's new album ?Mabool" is almost done and recorded in both Zaza and Bardo Studios in Israel. Here's a short message from singer Kobi Farhi:
?Hello everyone, we are in the end of mixing of our long awaited album ?Mabool", it is the most hard and painful creation we did in our lives, the album is more then 70 minutes long and contains 12 concept songs telling the Mabool (story of the Flood) and the story of the heroes - the three sons of Seven.

Here is the final song titles, each of them reflects a different part of the whole tale:

1. Birth Of The Three (The Unification)
2. Ocean Land (The Revelation)
3. The Kiss Of Babylon (The Sins)
4. A'salk
5. Halo Dies (The Wrath Of God)
6. A Call To Awake (The Quest)
7. Building The Ark
8. Norra El Norra (Entering The Ark)
9. The Calm Before The Flood
10. Mabool (The Flood)
11. The Storm Still Rages
12. Rainbow (The Resurrection)"

?Mabool" is tentatively scheduled for an early 2004 release.

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Band profile:

Orphaned Land

Canadian technical death metallers CRYPTOPSY have officially parted ways with vocalist Martin Lacroix (ex-SPASME). No reason was given was given for Lacroix's departure. The group are currently seeking a replacement frontman while continuing to write material for their fifth studio album, tentatively due in early 2004 through Century Media Records.

The as-yet-untitled effort will be recorded at Wild Studio in St-Zenon, Quebec, Canada with producer Pierre Rémillard (KATAKLYSM, GORGUTS, KRISIUN). No further information is available at this time.

Band profile:

Cryptopsy

For all Cannibal Corpse's fans:

Jack will be at the Black Dog, Paris on Sunday November 2th for a special autograph session to celebrate their new album 'The Wretched Spawn'. There will also be a listening of the CD.

This is a free event and it will be open to all fans! (there will also be lots of other surprises!)

Don't miss it!

Band profile:

Cannibal Corpse

VIRGIN STEELE are back in the Studio completing the final recordings and mixes on David DeFeis' "Barbaric-Romantic Movie Of The Mind" ..... the "LILITH" soundtrack.

All is going quite well, and apparently there is enough music recorded for at least two CD's. No word yet as to if this Work will be released as a single, or a double CD set.

In addition to the recordings for LILITH, the group is also working on another collection of songs based on ... "the end of the world".

In still yet another project, David & Edward are working on an album of acoustic songs. I attended one of their "Acoustic" rehearsals ... it was one of the loudest performances I've heard in quite some time!

Meanwhile the "LILITH OPERA" starts up again for another round of performances on NEW YEARS EVE. All dates to be posted shortly.

As regards the video/DVD project it is still in the works for the coming year, along with a live album. What will be released first ... I have no idea!!! But stay tuned ... I will find out! Contrary to any rumours the band is still all in one piece, with the same lineup. David DeFeis, Edward Pursino, Frank Gilchriest and Josh Block are preparing for the up coming GREEK Concerts as well as several other dates.

Source:	virgin-steele.com
Band profile:	Virgin Steele

From arena tours to the biggest festivals in the world, MANOWAR slaughter their way through another world tour delivering what heavy metal fans crave! Pure Power!

Hell On Earth III features more than 90 minutes of ear-numbing performances private behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and pre post show rituals.

This package also features the program 'Live In Germany The Ringfest', the legendary one-hour show that dominated the city of Cologne during the PopKomm. 2002 filmed and recorded in front of 27,000 people. This performance has been completely re-edited from at least a dozen cameras and remixed in 5.1 digital surround sound.

But that's not all! For the first time ever the bands entire video collection is included.

Beginning with "Gloves Of Metal" to the latest "I Believe" plus several never before seen documentaries about the making of these videos.

Featuring more than 60 camera angles from performances in 17 countries and 35 cities, live footage from across the world, and the wildest, craziest and heaviest metal fans in the universe.

With the release of this double DVD MANOWAR have set the standard in heavy-metal video.

Get ready you're about to go to HELL for the third time in your life!

Source:	manowar.com
Band profile:	Manowar

DISSECTION guitarist/vocalist Jon Nödtvedt and drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun (ex-EMPEROR) have spent the past few weeks looking through the audition videos that have been sent to them from all over the world. In the beginning of next year, real auditions will be held for some of the musicians needed to complete the group's lineup. It is, however, not too late for interested musicians to send in their tapes.

All material should be sent to:

"audition"
DISSECTION
Mail Box 209
111 73 Stockholm
Sweden

In other news, plans exist for a DISSECTION documentary to be filmed over the course of the next year. Starting in the prison, it will follow the group through bandmember auditions, Jon's release from prison, the recording of the next album, and will include footage from their comeback tour in December 2004.

The tour will reportedly be "something out of the ordinary," with shows around two hours long and containing only old material ? more or less every song from the first two albums, "The Somberlain" and "Storm Of The Light's Bane".

Band profile:

Dissection

A bad try for Varg Vikernes....here the detailed cronology of the facts:

-Oct 26th-
The Norwegian media is reporting that BURZUM mastermind Varg "Greven" Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnack) failed to return after a short leave from his prison in Vestfold, Norway, where the black metal musician is serving a 21-year sentence for the August 1993 murder of MAYHEM guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous), the burning of three churches, and the resulting death of a fireman. Varg, 30, was supposed to return to the prison by midnight Saturday (October 25) after being granted a couple of days off, but failed to come back in time. The police have no information on his whereabouts.

-Oct 26th-
Varg Vikernes defense lawyer John Christian Elden has spoken to Norway's NRK about his client's failure to return to prison as scheduled after a short leave.

Refusing to comment on whether or not he's been in contact with Vikernes during the 24-hour period the inmate has been on the run, Elden offered this explanation for Vikernes' actions: "I believe it stems from frustrations that have been built up . has been serving his sentence in an exemplary fashion, he's put the sins of his youth behind him, and he's held hopes of re-entering society in a relatively normal manner. Then a couple of weeks ago, he saw a newspaper article in the local press where the media once again focused on the fact that a 'dangerous' person was being held and ."

-Oct 26th-
Varg Vikernes threatened a family with a pistol and hijacked their car in a failed bid to elude the Norwegian police during his 24 hours on the run, it was reported Monday.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday (October 26), a family of three driving through the valley known as Numedal in Buskerud County reported being flagged down by a pedestrian. When they stopped to assist him, the pedestrian believed to be Vikernes allegedly threatened them with a handgun and forced them to surrender their car.

"They explained that they were held at gunpoint and were forced to leave the vehicle, and that the man took off in it," police spokesperson Knut Svalheim told wire service NTB.

-Oct 27th-
A day after he failed to return to prison as scheduled following a short leave, Varg Vikernes was captured by the Norwegian police on a highway outside the country's capital.

Vikernes was taken into custody at 12:45 a.m. Monday morning (October 27) after police in Oslo received information from police in Romerike that the fugitive was traveling in a car on the E6 road to Oslo.

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Band profile:

Burzum