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Candlemass - Confirmed For ProgPower Scandinavia

Posted on the festival website:

"It's with great pleasure we can now announce the next two bands for PROGPOWER SCANDINAVIA 2009:

Headliner for the first night of our main-event will be Swedish doom metal kings Candlemass (www.candlemass.se). 10 full length albums, a live album, a couple of live DVDs and a bunch of EPs, into their career and they are sounding better than ever, a statement to which the new album "Death Magic Doom" (their second with American vocalist Robert Lowe) serves as bullet-proof evidence. Although Candlemass isn't exactly power or progressive metal, we feel that their heavy-as-hell blend of classic metal infused riffs and doom-stomping beats makes them the prime example of how genre-descriptions doesn't really matter - it's all about the quality! We're sure that any open minded music fan will be able to embrace this fantastic band and enjoy witnessing them headline the first night of PP Scan 2009.

As second band on Saturday 26th of September Swedish/Norwegian melodic power metallers Saint Deamon (www.saintdeamon.se) will be performing. Built on the ashes of power metal band Dionysus, Saint Deamon continues with a highly melodic blend of heavy metal, hard rock and powerful metal, musically somewhere between Hammerfall, Europe, Dream Evil and Royal Hunt. A total feast for all fans of big melodies and sing along choruses."

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Source: progpowerscandinavia.com
Band profile: Candlemass
Event: ProgPower Scandinavia 2009 [CANCELLED]
Posted: 11.04.2009 by GT | Comments (2)


Deadlock - Part Ways With Bassist, Replacement Announced

Original news, posted on 12.12.2008

German metallers Deadlock posted the following statement on their myspace page:

"We're not happy to announce, that we parted ways with Tom after more than 7 common years. Due to some musical and personal differences we agreed with him that it's better to make a cut.
There's no shittalking whatsoever, no bad mood or angry feelings. We just decided that Deadlock should go on with a new bass player.

We thank Tom for all the amazing years, the great time, his friendship and all our happy experiences together!
All future shows will be played with session musicians until we find a new member for that part. More news on our search for the new DEADLOCK family member will be posted soon!"

UPDATE (thanks to 37592)

Deadlock have announced the following:

"We just got overwhelmed with inquiries for the Deadlock bass job and we want to thank everyone who was interested in becoming this part of our machine! You guys and girls are great!

We're very pleased to announce an old friend, a talented musician, an eager beaver and one of the sexiest people around John Gahlert (ex-Fall Of Serenity) for the Deadlock bass position! In the end we let our hearts speak and we chose John for his patience, his energy, his visions and his grace! We could not have done it better and we're sure to reinvent and advance our musical creation to the next level.

From now on we are back with full effect and we are looking forward to see you girls and boys at one of our next shows around this planet! Please welcome John with high passion!"

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Source: myspace.com
Band profile: Deadlock
Posted: 11.04.2009 by Deadsoulman | Comments (7)


Manowar - To Be Joined On Tour By Original Drummer

Manowar have issued the following statement:

"Donnie Hamzik, the original drummer for Manowar, will be on tour with the band in 2009! Manowar and special guests HolyHell will be headlining some of Europe's major metal festivals, including their very own Magic Circle Festival III at the Loreley on the Rhine River in Germany on Saturday, July 18, 2009."

Look for official news and tour dates as they develop on Manowar appearances and events via http://www.manowar.com/tour.html.

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Source: manowar.com
Band profile: Manowar
Posted: 11.04.2009 by Azrael | Comments (9)


Anathema - Concert In Tunisia Cancelled, Band Accused Of Satanism

As reported by Liverpool Echo, Liverpool-based Anathema who were about to play to more than 1,000 fans in Tunisia had the plug pulled on their concert when authorities believed rumours they were Satanists.

Anfield group Anathema were ready to perform a sold out gig in the capital Tunis when they were told they could not go ahead. They hoped to reschedule for a couple of nights later but the gig was cancelled a second time.

Guitar technician Darryl Anthony wrote in his blog: "Our promoter told us that somebody has informed the Tunisian interior ministry that Anathema are Satan worshippers who eat black cats and drink their blood. The ministry have requested song lyrics to peruse over the weekend in order to put their minds at rest."

Anathema formed in 1990 and have released a number of critically acclaimed albums, and although their roots are in dark doom-death metal, their sound has evolved over the years to a more melodic rock sound. Their lyrics, often focusing on love and loss, have never been a matter of controversy and they often play special gigs with accompaniment from friends in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

After the Tunisian show - due to take place in a deconsecrated cathedral - was cancelled last weekend, the band tried to make amends by playing a stripped-down acoustic set for 50 fans at their hotel.

Anthony added to his blog: "It's such a shame for all the Tunisian fans. We don't really know why this happened and who really was to blame - there's been a lot of talk and a lot of silence surrounding the whole affair."

The band plan to reschedule the gig in future.

Danny Cavanagh said: "If you read any of our lyrics, you'll see nothing could be further from the truth than what's been said. We don't even swear in our songs, a lot of lyrics are about healing, and light and are very positive. We're just normal lads - the last band you could accuse of Satanism. I think all it was a rival promoter using any means he could to get the show cancelled and using the magic words 'heavy metal' worked. But there's been a lot of misinformation. It could have been our promoter at that end didn't have the papers in order. This has been big news in Tunisia and a lot of people have been disappointed and we're hoping to go back in June to repay everbody's good faith."

Fans said that the Tunisian authorities should be "ashamed". Aziz Hmaidi said: "We really hope that Anathema will come back to Tunisia. This was a real shame for us, for our country's image, especially because it was the first visit of the band here."

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Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
Band profile: Anathema
Posted: 11.04.2009 by Azrael | Comments (46)


Royal Hunt - Working On New Album

Royal Hunt are entering the very final stages of preproduction for their new - tenth since their debut in 1991 - studio album (the actual recordings will start by the end of this month). This time the band decided to revisit their roots and incorporate some of the musical values of the 70´s into their songwriting as well as - in order to reinforce that particular atmosphere - employing mostly "retro" means of production (recording in analogue format exclusively being one of them). Music has been described as "an interesting mix of what's been tagged as Classic Rock nowadays (established by Kansas, Genesis, ELP´s earlier works and Deep Purple, Uriah Heep´s classics from the same era) and Royal Hunt´s trademark composition/delivery".

The album is expected to be mixed/mastered sometime during the summer.

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Source: royalhunt.com
Band profile: Royal Hunt
Posted: 10.04.2009 by Thryce | Comments (5)


Crescent Shield - New Song Online

US metallers Crescent Shield have posted online a new song, "Tides Of Fire", on their MySpace page.

Another new song, entitled "Lifespan", was already posted on the same page one month ago.

The two songs come off the band's forthcoming album, entitled "The Stars Of Never Seen", which will be released via Cruz Del Sur Music on the following dates:

May 8: Germany
May 11: Rest of Europe
June 2: US/Canada

"The Stars Of Never Seen" cover art] tracklisting:

01. Under Cover Of Shadows
02. The Grand Horizon
03. Tides Of Fire
04. 10,000 Midnights Ago
05. Temple Of The Empty
06. My Anger
07. The Bellman
08. The Endurance
09. Lifespan

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Source: myspace.com
Band profile: Crescent Shield
Posted: 10.04.2009 by White Winter Sun | Comments (0)


Old Man's Child - New Album Details

The following update was issued on Century Media's website:

"Norwegian melodic black metal masters Old Man's Child, led by guitarist/vocalist Galder (Dimmu Borgir), are about to return to the spotlight with the release of their new album "Slaves Of The World".

The album was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with acclaimed producer Fredrik Nordström (Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy, In Flames, etc.), who had previously worked successfully with the band on their "In Defiance Of Existence" (2003) and "Vermin" (2005) albums. For drum duties and sticking to the tradition of bringing in a new exceptional player for each new album, Old Man's Child mastermind Galder decided to enlist Peter Wildoer (Darkane, ex-Arch Enemy, Pestilence, etc.) this time around, guaranteeing a mercilessly blasting, yet technically high skilled musical punch from start to finish! This extreme, yet bombastically melodic Black Metal masterpiece is rounded off by devilish artwork by Gustavo Sazes (Firewind, God Forbid, Krisiun, etc.)."

"Slaves Of The World" cover art] tracklisting:

01. Slaves Of The World
02. Saviours Of Doom
03. The Crimson Meadows
04. Unholy Foreign Crusade
05. Path Of Destruction
06. The Spawn Of Lost Creation
07. On The Devil's Throne
08. Ferden Mot Fienden's Land
09. Servants Of Satan's Monastery

"Slaves Of The World" will be released in Europe on May 18th, 2009 (on May 19th in North America) via Century Media Records.

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Source: www2.centurymedia.com
Band profile: Old Man's Child
Posted: 10.04.2009 by White Winter Sun | Comments (21)


The Ocean - Part Ways With Vocalist

The Ocean guitarist Robin Staps has issued the following statement regarding the departure of vocalist Mike Pilat:

"Being in a band is the constant struggle to reach the one, the final, the ultimate line-up. The right people, the right musicians. The line-up that clicks, where the music that is created on stage is somehow greater than the sum of each individual's output. Once a band has reached that line-up, it is flirting with divinity, it has the chance to be larger than life, to touch majesty.

Any lineup is usually a very fragile constellation, and essentially a ticking time-bomb. 5 passionate people's egos, their respective ideas, preferences, defects, habits, characters, the insecurities of their lives, all these are dangerous threats to the existence and future of a band. Struggle is an integral part of any band's existence. As my friend Mitch pointed out recently, Van Halen were only a decent band with David Lee Roth in the band, but everybody hated him. There are countless examples.

It felt like we were close to that ultimate line-up. Very close. The people I have been playing with over the past year and a half are not only amazing musicians, but also amazing people. The Ocean has consolidated into a band over the past 2 years. I am no longer alone.. and still, to some degree, The Ocean will always remain a collective, I guess.

Mike is no longer with us. He's got his reasons, and we understand and respect them. The Ocean has played the ridiculous amount of 141 shows in the past 12 months, and travelled an insane 75704 (!!!) of road kilometers between Kiew, Ukraine and Los Angeles, California.
The life we lead isn't made for everyone. Only some of my closest friends understand what life is like when you spend half of the year on the road. There is not much time for girlfriends, friends, family, career or any so-called private life. And yet the upsides make up for it: the chance to see places we would never get to see otherwise, the chance to constantly meet new people, all the countless moments of intensity, passion and craziness. Our tour diaries tell the story, there's a new one coming up here from the previous tour soon. It is the life we have chosen, for now, the life we embrace, the life we love, most of the time..."

Here is what Mike has to say: "So folks after almost 2 years and an obscene amount of drinking, debauchery and awesome shows I have parted ways with The Ocean.
There are many reasons and it was a hard decision to reach but what it boils down to is my poor financial situation and I need to continue working with my other band Collusion and with constant touring this is not possible for me any more.

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Source: blogs.myspace.com
Band profile: The Ocean
Posted: 10.04.2009 by Abattoir | Comments (4)


Vomitory - New Song Online

Swedish Death Metal monsters Vomitory have posted the first new song of their upcoming album "Carnage Euphoria", to be released on 8 May via Metal Blade Records. Click here to download (mp3) or here to stream "Serpents".

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Source: myspace.com
Band profile: Vomitory
Posted: 10.04.2009 by Abattoir | Comments (2)


Amorphis - Finland Only Single Streaming Online

Original news, posted on 16.03.2009

The first single from the forthcoming album "Skyforger" will be titled "Silver Bride" and is set for release on April 22 (Finland only). As announced earlier, the street date for the new Amorphis album is May 27 in Finland and May 29 in the remaining European countries. In addition to the basic version, "Skyforger" will be available as a special digipak edition featuring the bonus track "Godlike Machine".

UPDATE (thanks to 13767)

Amorphis have made "Silver Bride" available for streaming online at this location.

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Source: amorphis.net
Band profile: Amorphis
Posted: 09.04.2009 by MetalManic | Comments (8)


Neaera - New Song Availble Online

German extreme metal outfit Neaera have posted the first new song off their upcoming album "Omnicide - Creation Unleashed". Click here for the mp3 download or visit this link to check out the album opener "I Loathe".

"Omnicide - Creation Unleashed" will be released on May 22 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and on 25 May in the rest of Europe via Metal Blade Records.

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Source: metalblade.de
Band profile: Neaera
Posted: 09.04.2009 by Abattoir | Comments (0)


Vader - Sign With Nuclear Blast

Posted on the official Vader website today:

"We would like to proudly announce that Polish death metallers Vader have inked a deal with German giant- Nuclear Blast Records! We are very glad that after so many years Vader finally joined one of the biggest metal labels in the world. We really believe in their potential, experience and famous German reliability. We are pretty confident that the cooperation will be successful both for the band and the record label. Now Vader is ready to explode! We have been waiting for such a solid record deal for sooo long so it's safe to say that the new era in Vader's career has just begun!". The upcoming album "Necropolis", currently being recorded and produced at Hertz and Antfarm Studios, will be released by Nuclear Blast at the end of August. Vader will start to promote the album a bit earlier, appearing on a pre-summer tour and some summer festivals, such as Hellfest, With Full Force, Summer Breeze, Metalcamp and others. Regular Polish and European tours are planned for autumn. Furthermore Vader is going to appear on extensive tours in the US, Canada, South America, Japan and Asia, Australia and Russia. More info concerning band's future plans will follow soon. The last but not least, we would like to thank Regain Records for all these years of our cooperation- all the best to you!"

"This is absolutely amazing, that Vader is now a part of Nuclear Blast Family!!! Can't find words how proud we are !!! Only great things may happen when traditions meet together... I so much believe, that Vader will give one more Blast to this Nuclear history of Metal!!! Let start the Fire - TOGETHER!!!" Peter / Vader

"Nuclear Blast is very proud to announce the signing of the legendary death metal kings from Poland - Vader!!! Vader have a history of almost 25 years of releasing death metal highlights and have built up a reputation of being one of the hardest touring bands in the scene! After many attempts both parties have finally come together and Vader have found a new home at Nuclear Blast! This Summer Vader will release their new album Necropolis, which will not only be their debut for Nuclear Blast, but also another chapter in the history of the band with a totally renewed line up! Watch out for the new Vader as they will only return stronger than ever! Vader is still improving after all these years, so it is safe to say that the best of these death metal kings is still to come, so we, at Nuclear Blast are looking forward to start the propaganda machine!" Jaap Wagemaker / A&R Nuclear Blast

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Source: vader.pl
Band profile: Vader
Posted: 09.04.2009 by Baz Anderson | Comments (18)


Fall Of Empyrean - Sign With Grau Records

US Death/Doom metal outfit Fall Of Empyrean have announced they have signed with Germany's Grau Records, home of Longing For Dawn, Mourning Beloveth, Mael Mórdha, and others. Their first album for Grau will be their oft-delayed third full-length, "A Life Spent Dying." There is no official release date yet, but they hope to announce that in the near future.

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Source: fallofempyrean.com
Band profile: Fall Of Empyrean
Posted: 09.04.2009 by Account deleted | Comments (1)


As I Lay Dying - DVD Preview Clips

In honor of As I Lay Dying's upcoming triple DVD release "This Is Who We Are", Metal Blade has created a handful of exclusive clips and given them to different sites to offer fans a sneak peak of the upcoming DVD. Check out the latest clip viewable exclusively at HMMagazine.com.
Other preview clips are available here and here.

"This Is Who We Are" will be released April, 9th / 14th in Europe!

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Source: blogs.myspace.com
Band profile: As I Lay Dying
Posted: 09.04.2009 by Shadowcross | Comments (0)


Blood Red Throne - New Song Posted Online

Blood Red Throne have made a new song "The Light, The Hate" available online. Check it out at this location.

The song is featured on the band's fifth studio release "Souls Of Damnation", which is scheduled for release on June 1 in Europe and June 30 in the USA through Earache Records.

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Source: myspace.com
Band profile: Blood Red Throne
Posted: 09.04.2009 by Azrael | Comments (0)