Winterhorde, the Israeli melodic extreme metal band, has posted two brand new songs "Tenth Wave" and "The Martyr and Deliverance", on the group's MySpace page. The tracks come off Winterhorde's somophore full-length album Underwatermoon, which will be released later in the year through yet-not-determined label.

Underwatermoon, a conceptual album based on the story written by Winterhorde's bass player and co-founder Celestial, was recorded partly with German producer V.Santura (Dark Fortress, Tryptikon, Obscura) and Morgenrrot, Winterhorde's keyboards player. Mixed and mastered by V.Santura at Woodshed Studio, LA,Germany.

Artwork of Underwatermoon was created by Gustavo Sazes of Abstrata Studio (Arch Enemy, Old Man's Child, Krusium).

Commented Celestial:" Underwatermoon represents more-then-hour epic extreme metal art, blended with progrock nostalgia and death-cold touch of North-Atlantic Ocean. A must have for every open-minded metalhead who needs hunting journey through emotions in his metal."

Winterhorde's debut album Nebula was released in 2006 by Greek Burning Star records, which ceased to exist, leaving Winterhorde without a record deal.

Underwatermoon cover art] tracklist:

01. The Shell
02. Wreckages Ghost
03. Underwatermoon
04. Hunting the Human
05. Execution
06. And Flames Wept to Heaven
07. The Curse of Gypsy
08. Delirium
09. Tenth Wave
10. Smoke Figures
11. The Martyr and Deliverance
12. Farewell

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Source:

myspace.com

Original news, posted on 16.01.2010

More details are surfacing regarding the upcoming Avantasia double album The Wicked Symphony / Angel Of Babylon. The album will see a April 3, 2010 release date, and will be released as two separate albums, as well as in one box set as limited deluxe edition. Cover artwork for both albums was created by Thomas Ewerhard - known from his work for Edguy's Hellfire Club and Avantasia's The Scarecrow.

A list of confirmed guest musicians is shaping up as follows:

Klaus Meine (Scorpions)
Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Yngwie Malmsteen, Iced Earth)
Eric Singer (Kiss, Alice Cooper)
Michael Kiske (Helloween)
Jorn Lande (Masterplan, Ark, Millenium)
Bob Catley (Magnum)
Sascha Paeth
Felix Bohnke (Edguy)
Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody Of Fire, Sieges Even)
Russell Allen (Symphony X)
Jens Johansson (Stratovarius, Dio, Yngwie Malmsteen)
André Matos (Angra, Shaaman, Viper)
Bruce Kulick (Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad)
Cloudy Yang
Oliver Hartmann (At Vance, Hartmann)

UPDATE (thanks to Kallis Helmi)

On April 3, Avantasia will return with a new epic in two chapters, The Wicked Symphony and Angel Of Babylon. The tracklistings for each album are as follows:

The Wicked Symphony cover art] tracklist:

01. The Wicked Symphony
02. Wastelands
03. Scales Of Justice
04. Dying For An Angel
05. Blizzard On a Broken Mirror
06. Runaway Train
07. Crestfallen
08. Forever Is A Long Time
09. Black Wings
10. States Of Matter
11. The Edge

Angel Of Babylon cover art] tracklist:

01. Angel Of Babylon
02. Stargazers
03. Your Love Is Evil
04. Death Is Just A Feeling
05. Rat Race
06. Down In The Dark
07. Blowing Out The Flame
08. Symphony Of Life
09. Alone I Remember
10. Promised Land (Part 2)
11. Journey To Arcadia

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Source:	tobiassammet.com
Band profile:	Avantasia

Season of Mist is proud to announce the label just inked a deal with Dutch death metal brutes Severe Torture.

Bassist Patrick comments: "We are very excited about signing to Season of Mist! They have an amazing bandroster and we can't wait to release our new album on the same label as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Cynic, Morbid Angel, Watain and many others. We already had our share of label experience in the past, some good, some bad, and we have the feeling that working with Season of Mist is going to be a big step up for us! Merci beaucoup, motherfuckers!"

Severe Torture is currently in Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam with producer Jochem Jacobs, hard at work on their upcoming fifth album. You can find some videos of the recording sessions on the band's YouTube channel.

Read more ››

Source:	season-of-mist.com
Band profile:	Severe Torture

Norwegian black metal squad Immortal have announced their latest album All Shall Fall was nominated for this year's "Spellemannsprisen" in Norway. The Spellemann Awards are the Norwegian equivalent of the US Grammy Awards.

The band didn't want to be part of that and rejected the nomination.

Rumor on the streets of the grim and frostbitten kingdom has it, the band stated their "thanks, but no thanks" because the Spellemann Awards are chosen by a jury and not by the fans... So technically their participation for the upcoming Metal Storm Awards is not at stake here (that is, if they are nominated of course ). Spicy detail: it was the band's label that entered the band for the Spellemann.

Other nominees for "best metal album" are Code (Resplendent Grotesque), The Cumshots (A Life Less Necessary) and Årabrot (The Brother Seed). The awards are presented on March 6th 2010.

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Source:	immortalofficial.com
Band profile:	Immortal

Finnish cult thrashers Altars Of Destruction are in the studio putting the finishing touches on their new album, Gallery Of Pain cover art], due later in the year. Several new tracks are currently streaming on the band's MySpace page, including "Children Of Misfortune", "Cross The Line Of No Return", "Suicide Are You Insane?", "Aggression" and "Day Of Judgement".

Formed in 1986 by the brothers Kimmo and Pasi Osmo, along with Jukka Sandberg, Altars Of Destruction went through several lineup changes before releasing an EP, Painful Awakening, in 1989. Due to personal issues, the band split up a short time later. In 2005, Altars Of Destruction regrouped and started writing new songs and reworking old material. Their intention was to "make a couple of new songs and pick out our favourites from the past and make a record that cuts through two decades of metal the way we lived and loved it." Jussi Samppala from Tyrant Disciple also stepped in as the band's new drummer.

Read more ››

Source:

myspace.com

"Faceless Dream", the new video from Costa Rica-based melodic extreme metal band Sight Of Emptiness, can be viewed in the following link.

The clip was directed by Sergio Gutierrez and produced by Fernando Fonseca. The song comes off the band's second studio album, Absolution of Humanity, which is expected to be released late February/early March via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented the band: "Very excited for this new step in our short career, it shows how determined we are as a band when it comes to do things our way and self-financed. 2010 looks and feels like the right time for the band to conquer new territories and big things to come our way".

Absolution of Humanity was mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Soilwork, Bloodbath, Katatonia, Symphony X) at Örebro, Sweden's Fascination Street Studios.

Commented the group: "Having Jens Bogren working on our new album is unreal. He is responsible for numerous masterpieces: Opeth's Watershed, Amon Amarth's Twilight of the Thunder God and Katatonia's The Great Cold Distance. Having him on board makes us a lot more excited about our new creation; you can't go wrong with a guy like this. We gave him the green light and he is doing an awesome job; we love this guy already. He is a perfectionist and an honest and humble lad."

Absolution of Humanity cover art] tracklisting:

01. Predictable Tragedy
02. Infected
03. Faceless Dream
04. Witness of your Murder
05. Funeral March
06. The Art of Suffering
07. Judge me today...Die Tomorrow
08. Absolution of Humanity
09. Burning Silence

Three songs ? "Burning Silence", "Infected" and "Predictable Tragedy" ? have been posted on the group's official MySpace.

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Source:

myspace.com

Autumn Hour (featuring members of Hades, Watchtower, Seven Witches, and Painmuseum) have just uploaded a track entitled "Rebirth" at this location. "Rebirth" is one of three bonus tracks included in the European release of the bands debut CD entitled Dethroned which was released January 22, 2010 through Cyclone Empire Records. Released May 5, 2009 in the US, Dethroned has been remastered and will be released as a digi-pak version with 3 brand new tracks.

Singer Alan Tecchio is currently laying down vocals on the upcoming Watchtower release Mathematics and is also recording vocals for a progressive metal project called Minds Mirrors which also features vocals from Autumn hour drummer Dave Lescinsky.

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Source:

myspace.com

Official press release

Unbelievable Music UK artist and metal guitar maestro, Andy James, has not been idle of late. In fact, 2010 is shaping up to be a very busy year for the shredmeister. He's begun work on a new album and become a full endorsee of ESP guitars and, as such, will hopefully be performing clinics all around the UK. In addition to his work with tuition giants Lick Library, Andy is also in talks with publishers regarding a deal for a series of books he's currently writing. If you can't wait until the new album comes out later this year, you can download his EP Kaos7 and album Machine from all good online stores to see what all the fuss is about.

More info at http://www.myspace.com/andyjamesf1.

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Source:

myspace.com

German hard rock legends Scorpions are calling it a day. The band's last album Sting In The Tail will be out on March 19th 2010, with a world tour following the release. The official word from the band reads as follows:

"It was always our pleasure, our purpose in life, our passion and we were fortunate enough to make music for you - whether it was live on stage or in the studio, creating new songs.

While we were working on our album these past few months, we could literally feel how powerful and creative our work was - and how much fun we were still having, in the process. But there was also something else: we want to end the Scorpions extraordinary career on a high note. We are extremely grateful for the fact that we still have the same passion for music we've always had since the beginning. This is why, especially now, we agree we have reached the end of the road. We finish our career with an album we consider to be one of the best we have ever recorded and with a tour that will start in our home country Germany and take us to five different continents over the next few years.

We want you, our fans, to be the first to know about this. Thank you for your never-ending support throughout the years! We uploaded the very first snippets from our new album for you, available here. And now... let's get the party started and get ready for a Sting in the Tail. See you on the world tour."

Get your Sting and Blackout World 2010 tour dates can be found here.

Read more ››

Source:	the-scorpions.com
Band profile:	Scorpions
Event:	Scorpions: Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour

Joe Ptacek, former vocalist of the long-defunct 1990's Illinois death metal band Broken Hope, died last Wednesday night (January 20) of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 37 years old.

Former Broken Hope guitarist Jeremy Wagner has released the following statement regarding Ptacek's passing: "It's with profound sadness and shock that my friend and former bandmate ? Joe Ptacek ? has died.

Joe was my high-school friend who formed a death-metal band with me called Broken Hope. We always dreamed of putting out albums and touring the world. After graduating, we achieved a lot of those dreams and released five albums, performed worldwide, appeared in countless international magazines and did a video for MTV. We were on Metal Blade Records and met all of our heroes and performed everywhere... Not bad for two teenagers out of Wildwood, Illinois.

After 2000, Joe and I lost touch until just a few years ago. In recent months, we reconnected, hung out and became friends again. I just chatted with him after the New Year as he and I had found a drummer and a rehearsal spot where we were to begin working to bring back a new, resurrected form of Broken Hope.

As of late, Joe was positive, healthy and had a mature and humble attitude that made me happy to see.

I'm thankful to have known him in my lifetime and to have traveled many a mile and share many a stage with such an original character. Moreover, I'm thankful to have hugged him and to have made him smile the last time we were together. Why he chose to take his life, I'll never even begin to fathom, but I pray he's in a better place.

So, to all of you extreme metal heads out there, I ask you to raise a toast in memory of Joe Ptacek, the absolute, hands down MOST BRUTAL DEATH-METAL VOCALIST EVER! Joe, I love you and I will miss you, brother... Your friend (who you affectionately called, Peck): Jeremy Wagner"

Added former Broken Hope bassist Shaun Glass (current guitarist in Dirge Within): "Today the loss of my friend and former bandmate Joe Ptacek comes way too soon. Joe was one of the most honest and unique guys I ever had the chance to be in a band with. Joe was, to me, the epitome of a death metal singer. I always said Joe was the "real deal". So please, remember Joe on this day and know that we all lost a great guy. Love you, bro."

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Source:

myspace.com

Kult Ov Azazel have issued the following band update:

"It's our misfortune to announce that after 10 years with Kult ov Azazel Xul has taken an indefinite hiatus from the band and therefore will not be doing any touring or recording during 2010. We respect his decision but we must continue to forge on. From this point forward all vocal duties will be taken over by Xaphan and session guitarist Armanen (Tenebrous) has been added as a permanent member of the band. Former/session member VJS is back as touring bassist. However, due to prior commitments VJS will not be able to do the March Metal Massacre V Fest in Allentown, PA on March 27th so Gio Geraca (Evil Amidst/Malevolent Creation) will be handling bass duties.

Touring begins with the Nihilistic Terror Across Texas campaign in March. We'll be storming the West Texas Death Fest II in Amarillo, TX on Friday March 12th. The other two days will be spent with Teratism, Witchaven and Hatchet destroying San Antonio, TX on the 13th and Houston, TX on the 14th with 2 deadly nights of devastating black/thrash metal. In July we will headline the main stage of the 20th anniversary of the Michigan Deathfest on the 17th then embark on a 16 day tour with Wolven Ancestry. More 2010 dates are forthcoming and will be posted as confirmed.

Preparation for the yet untitled DVD release is underway. We have combined the sound board audio with a 3 camera mix of our show as direct support for Deicide filmed September 2004. We should have video from the Puerto Rico show very soon. Once in our hands we'll begin editing the video footage while we wait for the sound board recordings to arrive. The DVD will be released later in the year through Arctic Music and will also include a CD of covers and unreleased material ranging from 1999 to the present.

We are also pleased to announce we have joined forces with Frank Watkins (Gorgoroth/Back From The Dead Productions) as direct management for the band and that the Venom cover is mixed and has been sent to Noise Farm Studio in Texas for mastering. Once mastered it is just a matter of the label setting a release date. "In League With Satan" will be a tribute to Venom limited to 666 copies. This is a split effort with Teratism to be released through Negativity Records."

Read more ››

Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Kult Ov Azazel

Original news, posted on 30.12.2009

Finntroll vocalist Mathias Lillmåns and guitarist Samuli Ponsimaa have formed Decomposter, a new death metal project. The band has launched itself with the following words:

"A new era for death metal has begun... no wait, we're old school. Anyway... We have begun to exist. The rotted four of us gave birth to a futile piece of music. It's very organic solution for your ear pussies."

The band recently recorded their first demo, entitled Futile cover art]. The song "The Composter" is streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Decomposter line-up:

Mathias Lillmåns (Finntroll) - vocals/bass
Samuli Ponsimaa (Finntroll) - guitar
Mika Aaltonen - guitar
Rainer Tuomikanto (ex-Causemos, live Dauntless) - drums

UPDATE

Decomposter's entire first demo, entitled Futile, is available for streaming online. Check it out at this location.

Futile cover art] tracklist:

01. The Composter
02. Final Outpost
03. Futile

Read more ››

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Finntroll

American dark metal act Cold Colours have inked a deal with Sleaszy Rider Records. Recording of the third full-length cd will begin in the spring with a release date in late 2010.

Hailing from Minneapolis, Cold Colours were formed under the name of Wolfthorn in 1995 with sole member Brian J Huebner. After releasing a few demos, Wolfthorn changed their name to Cold Colours in 1999 while recording the debut full length CD Somnium XIII. A second CD entitled The Burden of Hope was released in 2005.

While a show was played at the 1999 Milwaukee Metalfest; Cold Colours didn't become an actual working live band until 2001. Cold Colours has performed all over the US for the past 7 years. Also headlining all the major venues in the Minneapolis Area including First Avenue, Station 4, The Rock and many others, earning a strong following in the Twin Cities Area.

After many different line-ups, Cold Colours solidified their lineup in 2009 with Brian J Huebner on Vocals and Guitar, Ryan Felgen on Guitar, Sam Van Moer (Gracepoint) on bass, Jamie Strobach (ex-Seventh Calling) on Drums and Dave Hart on Guitar.

More info about the band on http://www.myspace.com/coldcolours.

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Source:

sleaszyrider.com

Two members of the UK metalcore outfit After Death drowned yesterday (Thursday January 21) while swimming at the Atalaia beach in Aracaju, in the northeastern part of Brazil. 21-year-old guitarist Leon Villalba and 18-year-old bassist Timothy Kennelly, along with their bandmates, were in the middle of an extensive tour of Brazil as the support act for Master when the incident occurred.

Villalba and Kennelly were reportedly swimming at the beach around 2:30 pm when another beachgoer noticed a floating body and alerted the local lifeguard rescue team. An attempt was made to resuscitate Villalba using CPR, but he didn't respond. Kennedy's body is still missing. The search for Timothy's remains will continue on Friday with air support, since the area to be covered is very wide.

Atalaia is considered to be the fourth most dangerous beach in Brazil, even though it's one of the most popular in Aracaju, the capital of Sergipe, which is the smallest Brazilian state by area.

Drummer Barry O'Connor told the BBC News all two other bands on the tour would continue to play but he and his other two bandmembers would be heading home to Britain. He also revealed more details concerning the incident. Read all about it here.

After Death is a five-piece metalcore band from London. According to their MySpace, their music influences are combinations of bands such as Killswitch Engage, In Flames, As I Lay Dying as well as UK bands such as Architects and Bring Me The Horizon.

Read more ››

Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Event:	Masters Of Hate Tour

After being forced to cancel their slot on Ensiferum's Tour From Afar, Hypocrisy's visa issues are solved now and the band is cleared to enter the country.

The following tour dates for May have been announced. Support on the trek will come from Hate, Blackguard and Swashbuckle.

May 11 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
May 12 - Mesa, AZ @ UB's
May 13 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
May 14 - Santa Ana, CA @ Galaxy Theatre
May 15 - Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
May 16 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
May 17 - Portland, OR @ Peter's Room
May 18 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
May 19 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
May 22 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie's
May 23 - St Paul, MN @ Station 4
May 24 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
May 25 - Louisville, KY @ Uncle Pleasants
May 26 - Detroit, MI @ Blondie's
May 27 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
May 28 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
May 29 - Toronto, ON @ Wreck Room
May 30 - Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques
May 31 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial
Jun. 01 - Farmingdale, NY @ Crazy Donkey

Tickets go on sale today exclusively at EnterTheVault.com until February 13, at which point they will be made available through all normal ticketing systems.

Read more ››

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Hypocrisy
Event:	Hypocrisy: N. American Tour