US Death metal band Ex Dementia recently added Matt Peterson as the new lead guitarist to their ranks. In a rather amusing statement the band comments:

"All of us in Ex Dementia are proud to announce and welcome a new asshole to EXD... Matt Peterson! Matt is a long-time friend, and an even better lover. Who is Matt? And what will be left of him? Well, he's our new lead guitarist. And what will be left of him? Fuck you, don't take it so literal. It's a movie reference, dick. So we would like you to give him a warm welcome the way every Ex Dementia fan has... By getting drunk at our shows and yelling "YOU SUCK!" from the back of the bar."

The band's latest effort, The Red Mass, was released last October. Get yourself familiar with Ex Dementia on MySpace.

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Source:

myspace.com

Czech black metal band Maniac Butcher are back after a 10 year hiatus with their 7th full length album Masakr. Ruthless and savage black metal that spits at the cross!

Masakr contains six new tracks of orthodox black metal. Raw and heavy guitars pound out riff after riff of furious evil energized by aggressive drumming and completed with a violent wave of harsh distorted dirty vocals that tell the epic tale of Maniac Butcher. The overall sound on Masakr is monstrous. This album is by far the most professionally produced Maniac Butcher album to date yet still captures the raw and underground feeling of previous albums.

The album will be released through Negative Existence. All info and samples are available at this location.

Masakr cover art] tracklist:

01. Ten Cruel Winters...
02. Riding Through The Darkest Woods...
03. Fatal Decision...
04. Unholy Confessional Blasphemy...
05. Bloody Massacre...
06. An Awful End...

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Source:

negative-existence.com

Danish death metal band By The Patient (who'll play on Wacken Open Air next week), have uploaded three tracks from the upcoming debut album Servants.

The three tracks are "Blood of Martyrs Shall Cover the Earth", "Constituted in Bloodshed" and "Engulfed in Prosthetic Prophecies". You can listen to the tracks on the band's MySpace.

The album was produced and mixed by Steffen Sørensen and mastered by Jacob Bredahl (The Kandidate, ex-Hatesphere) who also produced the vocals. The cover artwork was made by Toshihiro Egawa who has also done artwork for acts like Annotations Of An Autopsy, Trigger The Bloodshed and Ingested.

The album Servants will be out in September.

Servants cover art] tracklist:

01. Aberration of the Hopeless
02. Dehumanized
03. Blood of Martyrs Shall Cover the Earth
04. Manifesting the Cleansing
05. Constituted in Bloodshed
06. Deciphered
07. Altars of Infection
08. Engulfed in Prosthetic Prophecies
09. Luke 18: 15-17

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Source:

myspace.com

Costa Rica's Catholic church is calling for respect from the Swedish black metal band Marduk, who will be making an appearance in Costa Rica later this week on the Baphomet Fest.

Marduk has been strongly criticized by religious groups for its anti-Christian lyrics and even branding the band as "satanic."

Mario Segura, Catholic priest and spokesperson for the Curia Metropolitana, said "they should have more respect because they are sacred things", referring to the band's use of religious articles, like an inverted cross in its album cover art.

Segura said he considers that this type of music and message cannot encourage any good in Costa Rica's youth.

Marduk will be in Costa Rica on Thursday July 29 at the Pepper Disco Club (formerly The City). The band last made an appearance in Costa Rica in 2003.

EM3 Producciones, promoter of the event, said the Thursday show is for those 18 years of age and over and that the band will not be performing any type of ritual on stage, just perform its music.

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Source:	insidecostarica.com
Band profile:	Marduk
Event:	Baphomet Fest 4

Reunited Animosity line-up Corrosion Of Conformity have added three new October dates to their previously announced tour dates.

With the twenty-fifth anniversary of the classic Animosity album approaching, the original incarnation of Corrosion of Conformity (Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean and Reed Mullin) will play their first live shows in over twenty years with the tour kick-off this week in Asheville, NC. The band will be performing songs from Animosity, Technocracy and some new stuff.

The reunited trio announced earlier this month that they have recorded a new seven-inch single, Your Tomorrow (Parts 1 and 2), which will be available at all upcoming tour dates and via Southern Lord's website.

Righteous Fool, featuring Mike Dean and Reed Mullin, will open all dates with other openers including Zoroaster (Asheville), Eagle Twin (Aug. 8-10), Black Breath (Aug. 8-10), Black Tusk (Raleigh), U.S. Christmas (both N.C. dates), Iron Age (Austin) and very special guests for the October dates to be announced.

07/30/10 - Asheville, NC @ Stella Blue
07/31/10 - Raleigh NC @ The Pour House
08/08/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Power of the Riff Festival
08/10/10 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
08/12/10 - Seattle, WA @ Neumo's
08/13/10 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
08/14/10 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
10/07/10 - Sayerville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
10/08/10 - Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
10/10/10 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom

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Source:	coc.com
Band profile:	Corrosion Of Conformity

TheRaveLive.com presents a free live webcast from Soilwork tonight, Friday July 23th. The free live broadcast will begin at 8:00pm ET / 7:00pm CT / 5:00pm PT / 12:00am GMT, and is scheduled to also include sets from Death Angel, Augury, Swashbuckle, and The Crinn as part of the Panic Over North America Tour.

There will be a re-broadcast next Saturday on July 31 at 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT / 6:00pm GMT.

TheRaveLive.com is a service of TheRave.com, the official website of The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, WI USA. The Rave/Eagles Club is a 180,000 square foot entertainment complex with six concert halls in one building, four of which are wired for simultanteous live broadcasts with anywhere from three to eight camera angles. Over 2000 bands performed at The Rave/Eagles Club in 2009.

To access the free live stream:

Point your web browswer to this link
If you're not already a member, click on the "Free Signup" button at the upper right of the page
Choose the "Fan" option and fill out the information
Sign in on July 23th and click on the "Soilwork Live Webcast" icon, and you're all set

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Source:	theravelive.com
Band profile:	Soilwork
Event:	Soilwork + Death Angel

As review copies are being handed out to music journalists, the tracklist for Dimmu Borgir's upcoming effort Abrahadabra has leaked. Abrahadabra will be released in Germany on September 24, in the rest of Europe on September 27, and in North America on October 12 via Nuclear Blast Records. More info and comments about that album can be found here.

Abrahadabra cover art] tracklist:

01. Xibir
02. Born Treacherous
03. Gateways
04. Chess With The Abyss
05. Dimmu Borgir
06. Ritualist
07. The Demiurge Molecule
08. A Jewel Traced Through Coal
09. Renewal
10. Endings And Continuations

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Source:	espyrock.com
Band profile:	Dimmu Borgir

Therion bassist Nalle Påhlsson has announced he'll be sitting the upcoming South American and European headlining tours. In a message on the band's website he writes:

"I'm writing here to announce that I am not gonna be part of the tour that will start in October 2010, and the reasons are:

I´m alone with my two children and it´s not possible for me to be away for over two months.
I´m right now studying and I have to complete my education this autumn.
I have lately had a drinking-problem, and to be on tour is not the best thing for me right now.

I´m doing well at home, feeling good and everything is under control and that´s the way I´m gonna stay and keep it! If everything goes as planned I´m gonna stay member of Therion playing on the forthcoming albums and hopefully I will also be able to show up and play live in the future."

And about the upcoming album Sitra Ahra he says: "I´m also very glad, pleased and satisfied about my playing on the forthcoming album Sitra Ahra that will be released in September 2010! I really think this album will be well received by all of you fans! - It´s absolutely great!"

As you know, touring/session vocalist Snowy Shaw departed earlier this month.

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Source:	megatherion.com
Band profile:	Therion

Fap away gentlemen, Opeth have revealed that their new live album In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall will be released through Roadrunner on September 20th. When you're done, you can read the entire press release below.

As part of the ongoing celebration of their 20th anniversary, Sweden's Opeth is releasing live footage and audio from the band's recent performance at London's famed Royal Albert Hall. In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, due out 9/21/10, is a fierce testament to Opeth's continued success in the progressive metal community.

Twenty years and nine records into their legendary career, Opeth's "progressively creative spirit" (ARTISTdirect) remains unwavering, propelling the band through the "Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology" tour, which brought the Swedish titans to six of the world's most unique venues, and now, with the release of In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, into the homes of their fans.

The performance at the Royal Albert Hall (recorded on the 5th of April, 2010) includes two sets, the first consisting of the band performing 2000's now-classic, breakthrough epic, Blackwater Park in its entirety, and the second, a chronologically arranged selection of material from the rest of Opeth's extensive catalogue, totaling almost three hours of music. It is, like the rest of Opeth's greatest work, "purposefully warped in all the right places" (Decibel). The front cover artwork concept pays tribute to Deep Purple´s Concerto for Group and Orchestra, underlining the band's longstanding love for their prog-rock roots.

Thinking back to the concert, frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt says: "Opeth had a magical night playing the Royal Albert Hall. It was a dream come true, and now afterwards, it still feels like a dream. We got it all on film, and this, our third live recording and DVD might be my personal favorite. One couldn't help to think of all the fantastic artists that played there over the years. Looking back at this night of celebration brings me fond memories of our 20th anniversary?this package is the delayed birthday present. Enjoy!"

The release will be available as three very special configurations:

Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set, which includes:

Double-DVD set of Opeth's performance at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its entirety, including bonus features.
A set of four 180-gram LP's of the concert's live audio in its entirety. The vinyl is housed in black poly lined inner sleeves which are packaged as 2 double gatefold set with exclusive artwork. Vinyl only available in this box set.

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Source:	metalhammer.co.uk
Band profile:	Opeth

Swiss doom/sludge band Rorcal will release its second studio album Heliogabalus in September. The cover art will approximately look like this.

According to a press release: "Going right out of inferno, Heliogabalus is a 70 minutes song which illustrate the decadence of a roman emperor. This time Rorcal is going ways further than before, with crushing doom parts, including long hellish droning fields.

This album is scary, really aggressive, completely gloomy. Be sure, you never heard something like that, and you never will. Rorcal is doom at its best, it's like Hell on Earth. If you're looking for something really extreme, this is exactly what you need.

Released by Cal of Ror Records (Lilium Sova), in partnership with Division Records (Kehlvin, Unfold, Vancouver), this monolith will be presented in a A6 digifile, including 6 pages booklet, limited to 500 copies, hand numbered.

Expect something really slow, really doom and droning. In just a word: Hard. More than ever."

Two rough samples are already streaming at the band's MySpace.

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Source:

blogs.myspace.com

UVTV have uploaded a full Dark Tranquillity live concert that was filmed recently at Reggie's Rock Club in Chicago, IL. The audio for the show was professionally tracked and mixed. Check out the 73 minute concert at this location.

The setlist for the show was as follows:

01. At the Point of Ignition
02. The Fatalist
03. Focus Shift
04. The Wonders At Your Feet
05. Final Resistance
06. Misery's Crown
07. Punish My Heaven
08. Iridium
09. Shadow in Our Blood
10. The Lesser Faith
11. Dream Oblivion
12. Lethe
13. Lost To Apathy
14. ThereIn

Encore:
15. The Grandest Accusation
16. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)

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Source:	undergroundvideotelevision.com
Band profile:	Dark Tranquillity
Event:	Dark Tranquillity + Threat Signal

Coming Alive the new live DVD/CD of Chimaira is now streaming online. Head over to the AOL listening party to check it out.

As reported in June, the package features a live DVD/CD featuring 17 tracks recorded at Chimaira's December 30th Christmas show (at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio). Bonus features on the DVD include a 45 minute Resurrection: "Making of" documentary and a 40 minute home-video footage documentary of never before seen moments.

Coming Alive was released on July 13 in Europe, and July 20 in the rest of the world.

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Source:	music.aol.com
Band profile:	Chimaira

French metallers Dagoba have revealed the artwork for their upcoming fourth full-length, entitled Poseidon. The artwork was done by Cecil KIM. Watch a bigger picture here.

Poseidon was recorded at Hyperion Studio in Marseille, France with "Brew" Varea and mixed by Dave Chang at Philia Studio, UK. The album will be released on August 30 through XIII Bis Records.

A brand new track "Black Smokers (752° Farenheit)" is now streaming on the band's MySpace. More trailers will be made available on a special Poseidon blogspot.


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Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Dagoba

Cathedral have lined up for a string of headlining European live dates for November. Confirmed dates include:

Nov. 07 - Köln, Germany - Underground
Nov. 08 - Stuttgart, Germany - Die Röhre
Nov. 09 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
Nov. 11 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Nov. 12 - München, Germany - Backstage
Nov. 13 - Pinarella Di Cervia, Italy - Rock Planet
Nov. 14 - Rome, Italy - Init Club
Nov. 17 - Madrid, Spain - Heineken
Nov. 18 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz 2
Nov. 19 - Belfort, France - La Pouderie
Nov. 20 - Paris, France - La Nouveau Casino

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Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Cathedral
Event:	Cathedral

Midnattsol are back home from Studio E in Germany and have issued the following update:

"We´ve done it! Our third album is recorded, including mixing and mastering. And we are really proud of the result - we think it´s amazing. Our feeling is, that everyone of us has developed as well as the band together. Nevertheless we are still Midnattsol.

We had an awesome time in Studio E and want to thank Markus Stock for his great work - also as a producer for us. But there are still thousands of things to do, until the CD will be released. In the next time, we will work on the cover and artwork for the CD. Of course we will keep you informed about the process.

And to shorten the time you have to wait, here is a small video of Carmen´s recordings for you. And for more information - once again the link to our studio report."

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Source:	midnattsol.com
Band profile:	Midnattsol