Metal news

The next Rotten Sound full-length, "Cycles", is ready for releasing. The album was recorded and mixed with Janne Saksa in Kantola studios and Sound Supreme studios. Mastering was done by Pelle Henricsson at Tonteknik Studios.

Tracklist:

01. The Effects [liste]
02. Prai$? the £ord
03. Blind
04. Units
05. Corponation
06. Colonies
07. Poor
08. Days to Kill
09. Deceit
10. Caste System
11. Alternews
12. Simplicity
13. Enigma
14. Decimate
15. Victims
16. Sold Out
17. Feet First
18. Trust

Release date is January 9th 2008 and the album will be released by Spinefarm Records. For a picture of the cover art click here.

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Rotten Sound

Long-running British Death Metal legends Benediction have posted the following statement on their MySpace-page:

"OK, they've talked and talked about it for long enough. The boys will be going into the studio on November 21 (booked and confirmed!) to actually record the fucking album ("Killing Music") at long last. It will be released at the end of March 2008 and a full tour will commence in April 2008 for God knows how long followed by as many festivals that will allow them to play!!! There will be at least 12 tracks on the final mix, maybe more, if the studio can keep them out of the bar for long enough. Let's hope they manage to stay alive long enough to get in the studio considering the mayhem they cause by just popping out for a few drinks together!!! Get the ambulances ready, it's gonna get messy."

The line up of Benediction in 2007 consists of:

Dave Hunt - Vocals
Darren Brookes - Guitar
Peter Rew - Guitars
Frank Healy - Bass
Nicholas Barker - Drums

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Benediction

Agalloch have updated their MySpace with the following blog:

"Agalloch will finally release "The White EP" through Vendlus Records in early 2008. It is the follow-up to 2004's "The Grey EP" and completes a dichotomy of releases for the label. "The White EP" contains seven dark folk and ambient works written and recorded over the past 3 years.

"The White EP" tracklisting:

01. The Isle Of Summer
02. Birch Black
03. Hollow Stone
04. Pantheist
05. Birch White
06. Sowilo Rune
07. Summerisle Reprise

Also, the band has two European gigs confirmed for next year. We will be playing the 5th edition of the annual Ragnarök Festival in Germany alongside Negura Bunget, Skyforger, Menhir, Haggard, Sear Bliss, Unleashed, and several others. This will be followed by a headlining gig in Belgium with Mourning Beloveth (UK) and In Age And Sadness (Hol). Of course, a couple gigs in our native Pacific Northwest will be played before we head off to Europe. More info regarding that will be forthcoming.

2008 live dates:
March - TBA - Portland, OR - TBA
March - TBA - Seattle, WA - TBA
March 28th - Lichtenfels, Germany - Stadthalle
March 29th - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob

Finally, we have parted ways with Chris Greene as our live drummer. His replacement is Aesop Dekkar from Ludicra."

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Agalloch

Arsis has completed work on their upcoming album, "We Are The Nightmare." Produced by Zeuss (Agnostic Front, Hatebreed) at Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts and mastered by Alan Douches (Kataklysm, Unearth), the tracklisting for the album, due out in North America in early-2008 through Nuclear Blast Records, is as follows:

01. We Are The Nightmare
02. Shattering The Spell
03. Sightless Wisdom
04. Servants To The Night
05. Failing Winds Of Hopeless Greed
06. Overthrown
07. Progressive Entrapment
08. A Feast For The Liar's Tongue
09. My Oath To Madness
10. Failure's Conquest

Guitarist and vocalist Jim Malone comments:

"I can honestly say that this was the best recording experience that I have had in my years with Arsis. Not only was Zeuss great to work with, but Ryan [Knight, guitarist], Darren [Cesca, drummer], and Noah [Martin, bassist] all did an outstanding job. We all worked together to create what I feel is the most accomplished Arsis album to date. It's been a few weeks since we finished recording and I can still listen to the songs; that's a good sign."

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Arsis

The following was posted on Catamenia's official forum (but it's not an official statement) either:

"It is the hardest time after a long work and long discussions. And I am really sad to inform that we have recently had to cancel our USA tour after we spent months on it. The band and I, myself, are really disappointed now, since it is more than a dream to come true for both of us.

What we have been trying is to make the best for Catamenia fans. The tour was totally not financial one and what we wanted to make a long tour and visit every single town for the fans. But as I said I have failed to make it happen.
We had started working on time and found a promoter, it went all well and we got the confirmation about the dates. then it started to go worse, we have changed the line-up and promoter and dates for a few times. We thought it was best to post the tour in 2008. But some problems occured and we aren't left any choice except cancelling.

As I said before it was totally my failure. And I want to say sorry firstly Cata-guys, promoters, the bands we have involved for tour, club owners and last you, the fans...

Currently we are looking forward to see what our next step would be... You will be informed as always...

By the way I would like clear the things about "Rock The Nation". They are a great company in Europe, and we have decided to transfer European bookings to them. So Catamenia European booking will be held by Rock The Nation. You can still send me your questions about the tours and gigs.

And last, I would like to thank again Catamenia for still believing in me...

All The Best, Tunci / [email protected]"

The band supporting Catamenia on the tour have issued the following statement:

"The Secrets She Kept US tour with Catamenia has been postponed until Jan./Feb. of 2008. However, now that the tour has been moved (unintelligently), it is not decided if SSK will be able to take part. More info on this later. Also, due to the cancellation, SSK will be booking a few shows to make up. If your in the area come out!! Keep checking back for dates. Lastly, the SSK Myspace page still has the cancelled tour dates up. We cant seem to get rid of them, so just know that that tour is NOT happening"

Source:	catamenia.net
Band profile:	Catamenia
Event:	Catamenia: North America Tour [POSTPONED]

The following message was posted on Darkane's official website:

"Darkane would like to welcome Jens Broman as the new vocalist in Darkane.

Jens will take over the vocal duties after Andreas Sydow left the band in August, and Jens has recently been seen on the vocal spot in Constucdead and The Defaced (he will continue to sing in both bands). Jens grew up in Glumslöv south of Helsingborg (as a good friend of Björn Strid from Soilwork), but now lives in Stockholm. His live debut with Darkane will take place in three weeks at the Progpower Scandinavia festival in Copenhagen, Denmark (November 10th). Darkane has been rehearsing hard lately and are very excited to work together with Jens. He has a huge vocal diversity and we are pretty sure that fans of Darkane won´t be disapointed.

We would like to thank all the people that showed their interest in joining Darkane as a vocalist. We whish you all the success in the future. However, we had our interest set on Jens at a very early stage.

As you might know our studio "Not quite studio" was flooded a month back. We are working hard on finding another location to build our new studio in and start recording the new album. We are very positive that this will happen in the near future.

The other guys in Darkane would also like to congratulate Peter and Erika for getting engaged a few weeks back."

Source:	darkane.com
Band profile:	Darkane

The following update was posted on Within Temptation's official website:

"We can announce some new special tour dates! In January we'll be visiting a lot of countries we have never been before. For example: Slovenia, Croatia and Poland. We hope to see you soon!"

Dates announced so far are as follows:

Jan. 10 - Bologna, Italy @ Estragon
Jan. 11 - Milan, Italy @ Live Club
Jan. 12 - Karlsruhe, Germany @ Europahalle
Jan. 13 - Graz, Austria @ Orpheum
Jan. 14 - Zagreb, Croatia @ Tvornica Kulture
Jan. 16 - Warsaw, Poland @ Stodola
Jan. 17 - Praha, Czech Republic @ Roxy
Jan. 18 - Budapest, Hungary @ Petofi Csarnok
Jan. 19 - Ljubljana, Slovenia @ VPK
Feb. 07 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy

In other news, Within Temptation "are very proud to announce the online premiere of our new video, 'All I Need'. We are curious to hear how you feel about it, please let us know on our forum. You can view the video by going to our Myspace and/or Youtube page."

The "All I Need" single (cover here) will be released in Europe on November 5. The tracklisting for the different formats is as follows:

Five-track digipack:
01. All I Need (single version)
02. All I Need (album version)
03. The Last Time (demo version) (new song)
04. Frozen (demo version)
05. Our Solemn Hour (demo version)

Two-track single:
01. All I Need (single version)
02. All I Need (album version)

More details and pre-order here.

Source:	within-temptation.com
Band profile:	Within Temptation
Event:	Within Temptation: European Tour

Helloween's video for the new single 'As Long As I Fall' was posted on SPVAmerica's YouTube Channel at this location (Or by clicking here for a direct link to the video).

The clip was shot at Munich's AVA studios (who previously worked with the group on the 'Light The Universe' clip).

"As Long As I Fall" comes off the German group's new studio album, "Gambling With The Devil", which is scheduled for release on October 23, 2007 (USA), October 26, 2007 (Germany) and October 29, 2007 (rest of Europe) via SPV.

Source:	youtube.com
Band profile:	Helloween

Posted by Amon Amarth on their official site:

"We have exciting news for our fans Down Under. There has been rumours in the past few days about a possible Amon Amarth tour in Australia. Well, the rumours are true. We are thrilled about this tour in Australia. This will be the first time that the band sets foot on the continent. The tour will be in early January. Tour dates and locations can be found in the tour dates section. We are looking forward to performing for and meeting our Australian fans for the first time. See you at the shows!"

Australia and New Zealand tour dates 2008 are as follows:

01.04 - Adelaide - Fowler's Live (All Ages)
01.05 - Perth - Amplifier Bar
01.06 - Sydney - The Enmore Theatre (All Ages)
01.08 - Melbourne - Billboard The Venue
01.09 - Melbourne - Wednesday (Under 18s)
01.11 - Auckland - The King's Arms
01.12 - Brisbane - The Arena

Source:	amonamarth.com
Band profile:	Amon Amarth
Event:	Amon Amarth - The Wrath Of The Norsemen Tour

Last night Infernus, guitarist of Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth gave reason to believe the band may be splitting up with the following update on the band's official MySpace site:

"I am writing to inform you about the fact that there has been taken a decision to split up the band, Infernus on one side, Gaahl and King on the other. We can not continue working together any longer. What is still not agreed upon is who rightfully get to keep the band's name, as it is both parts will to continue. Since this will be a question of legal affairs, I am afraid this might take time to get sorted out. I am sorry for that."

But we now know that whatever happens, the band's European tour will continue as planned, with an update to the band's official website this morning:

"Gaahl, King and Infernus have decided to part ways.
Gorgoroth have existed as a three-piece for the past several years but have ceased from this moment on in this incarnation.

Vocalist Gaahl (lyrics) and King (bassist/composer) will continue the scheduled European tour in November under the name Gorgoroth with a replacement for Infernus.
King and Gaahl will continue to work together musically, performing their art live and recording in the future. This decision was reached by Gaahl and King as they have been the driving force behind Gorgoroth's music for the past 8 years.

Infernus has stated he will take King and Gaahl to court over future use of the name Gorgoroth."

Source:	gorgoroth.org
Band profile:	Gorgoroth

As posted on the official website:

Foued Moukid has stepped down from his drums wielding duties after 3 years in The Old Dead Tree. Foued has decided to devote himself to his other band Arkan in "full-time" mode, and also to others personal private projects.
"We had been working in this band together for almost 3 years and we shared some unforgettable experiences together all over Europe. We will obviously remain friends and this "break up" has been on very good terms from both sides. We would like to thank our friend and wish him the best of luck with his future ventures!"
Please note that all gigs scheduled - except Portugal - are still confirmed! A session drummer - Raphaël Antheaume- will replace Foued until his successor has been found.

Due to Foued Moukid's decision to leave the band, The Old Dead Tree is now looking for a new drummer.
If you are interested, please write to [email protected] with details about yourself, like your musical influences, bands you are/were involved in, live and studio experiences, etc, and of course the reason why you would like to join the band.
All information about the auditions will be given in due time once The Old Dead Tree has received your e-mail and details.

Source:	theolddeadtree.com
Band profile:	The Old Dead Tree

Influential bassist Paul Raven passed away on the 20th of October. A message posted on the MySpace page of his latest project Mob Research states:

"Mob Research founder and bassist Paul Raven passed away today Saturday 20th October, apparently from a heart attack. The cause of the attack is currently unknown. He had just arrived in Europe to commence recording with his friends Treponem Pal.

Raven was the charismatic bass player for Killing Joke for many years, also Prong and most recently Ministry and Mob Research. He was a great friend to many and a legendary bass player. We shall all miss Paul incredibly. When we have more information on his untimely passing and cause of death we will let you know. We are still in a state of shock. We understand the funeral services will be held in England. Any messages of condolence are welcomed.

We love and miss you man... "

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Killing Joke

Information regarding Ministry's Al Jourgensen suing his ex-bandmate Paul Barker has recently been circulating the Internet. According to the official Los Angeles Superior Court website, case number SC094122, a case for tortious interference regarding contractual agreement has been filed by Al Jourgensen against Paul Barker and Spurburn music. Although documented in legal archives, this case has not yet been publicly confirmed by either side.

Paul Barker left Ministry in 2003, following the release of the album Animositisomina, citing musical differences and personal problems as the reason for this decision. The split seemed amiable and only now is evidence pointing to the contrary beginning to emerge. Since leaving Ministry, Barker has recorded an album as Pink Anvil and joined the band USSA.

More information about the case can be found under the address:
https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/onlineservices/LAECourtOnlineIndex.htm

Source:	lasuperiorcourt.org
Band profile:	Ministry

October 19, 2007

Tristania is proud to present their new female singer, Mariangela "Mary" Demurtas. Possessing a voice and talent that will not only complement the bands music, but give it an entirely new dimension. She is sure to usher in a new age of Tristania.

Mariangela Demurtas, aged 25, from the island of Sardinia, Italy, is the singer Tristania was looking, but did not dare hope, for. The band was focusing on voice and talent when they went out looking for a new singer half a year ago. After a thorough search and many audtions, little did they know they would get all that, and more, in the form of Mary.

She's all about music - and metal to the bone. She has performed with several Italian bands, before finally joining up with Tristania. She lists her musical influences to include Janis Joplin, Diamanda Galas, Lisa DalBello, Lauryn Hill, Skin, Chris Cornell and Jeff Buckley. An educated linguist, she has already moved to Norway and settled in Tristania's home town of Stavanger. Although this is not her first time living abroad (she studied for a year in the Dominican Republic at the age of 16), it's living proof of the dedication she brings to Tristania.

Mary brings a whole new dimension to the old as well as the new Tristania material. She is also a creative force, and the band will certainly find itself with yet another bright head when they work on new material. She brings temperament and aggressiveness to the stage, sure to complement Østen nicely. She has experience from the theatre, in addition to having been in sports since she was but a child, both aspects which will surely add character to her stage persona.

Mary has arrived - and she can not wait to meet the fans on tour.

A video introduction of Mary can be found on youtube HERE

Source:	tristania.com
Band profile:	Tristania

"Yes, it's true... At The Gates will reunite for some shows next summer."
So says the message left on the band's official website. Guitarist Anders has also commented regarding the reunion:

"Well, it felt like the timing was right for once. We have been talking about a possible reunion for years now, but this was the first time everything fell into place. For me personally, it feels like getting closure. The break-up over ten years ago was abrupt and left a bad vibe between us that took years to get over. We have a better relationship today and a more relaxed approach to who we are and what we do. The time is right to get together and play some shows. Try to catch us live in the summer 2008. It could be your last chance."

The following festivals are confirmed so far:

04-06 July - Ruis Rock, Finland
31 July-02 Aug - Wacken Open Air, Germany
15-17 Aug - Bloodstock Open Air, Derby, England

Source:	atthegates.se
Band profile:	At The Gates