Metal Storm received the following good news from bassist Rodrigo Gálvez of Chilean doom metallers Mar De Grises:

"Yes, this is official.

We have a new album and we have confirmed our second tour over Europe. After a long period of silence, we are glad to announce the release of our new album.

"Draining The Waterheart" cover] is the title, and in 8 tracks it contains more than 60 minutes of an intense and unique kind of music. We took quite a long time to compose and record it, but we are pleased with the result. As always, our musical limits at the time of composing it were still very few.
The songs have varied structures and musical arrangements; the guitars are very varied in terms of melody. We tried a lot of new things, and in general, this album seems to be a bit more aggressive and technical. About the title of the album and songs, they represent, in some way, an act of liberation of our most deep feelings. The endless contradictions of a thinking being yet emotional, illusions, disillusions, and our most bitter feelings conjugate, inspiring us in this new sonorous story.

The release date will be April the 14th, again from Finland to the world through Firebox Records, with exclusive distribution in more than 20 countries, including a special release for the USA and Southamerica, both soon to be confirmed. It consists in two editions: a quite simple one and a luxus limited edition, specially designed four our fans. Tuomo Lethonen (Swallow the Sun, Grave Flowers) has done a magnificent artwork; there will be a digipack-A5 format that will include a mini CD entitled "Unconscios Passenger" as bonus material. This is quite a singular soundscape and represents our first effort in expanding the boundaries of our music, with the same kind of inspiration and without letting go the usual aesthetic.

The tracklist is the following:

01. Sleep Just One Dawn Listen]
02. Kilómetros De Nada
03. Deep-Seeded Hope Avant-Garde Listen]
04. Fantasía
05. Wooden Woodpecker Conversion
06. One Possessed
07. Summon Me
08. Liturgia; Convite Y Prefiguración/Purgatorio/Diálogo Infierno Listen]

You can listen to an advance in our website and MySpace.

Now, all this will be supported by our second tour to Europe.

After several months of working with Lugga Music, everything is now marching on. From April 16 to May 12, we will take our music from the end of the World to Europe. We will have the honor going on a unique tour along with great bands such as masters of doom-death Saturnus, and the promissory avant-black band Thurisaz, including an exclusive mini tour through Finland that we will have with the doomers Ablaze In Hatred. There will be more than 20 concerts in more than 10 countries, with shows on exclusive festivals such as the SWR Fest in Barroselas, Portugal and the Firebox Metal Fest in Finland, sharing stage with great bands such as Dark Tranquillity, Impaled Nazarene, Enslaved, Brujeria, Ghost Brigade, Rotten Sound, Hirax, Carnal Forge, Urgehal, Dark The Suns, Throes Of Dawn, Colosseum and Funeral, among an endless list of outstanding bands.

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Source:	mardegrises.com
Band profile:	Mar De Grises
Event:	Mar De Grises + Ablaze In Hatred

Belgium's Leng Tch'e have psoted the following blog on their MySpace page:

"As you can see we've revamped our MySpace site. We thought this would be a good occasion to make a couple of announcements, so here goes:

We're currently recording 4 brand new songs for a split 7"/MCD release with our good friends in Fuck The Facts. The split album will be released by Power It Up Records in the summer. These songs will be the first recordings with our new drummer Tony and will be a taste of what's to come on our next full length, due in 2009.

We're also working on a tour of Canada in November. Yup that's right, we'll be invading the frostbitten tundra once again. We've become way too lean these past two years so it's time to replenish our bodies with poutine."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Leng Tch'e

Dying Fetus have posted the following update:

"Mike Kimball has resigned his position in Dying Fetus. Here is a statement from Mike: "This is easily the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my life. I have had moments where I felt that it might be time to part ways with Dying Fetus but didn't want to accept it, out of love for performing as a musician, and of course being less than thrilled with the prospect of disappointing my band mates or the fans. Being in Dying Fetus has been an amazing experience, and I'm eternally grateful to the guys in the band (past and present), as well as all of our crew members, all the bands we have toured with, and most of all the fans for their support. Thank you all so much!"

We are now holding auditions, live or video. Tablature is available on dyingfetus.com under media. Learn the songs; "Praise The Lord," "Pissing In The Mainstream," and "Justifiable Homicide." Contact us here, serious inquiries only. Must have NO criminal record and valid passport. Send all videos to: Dying Fetus -- 643 Widener Lane -- Smyrna, DE 19977″

Source:	returntothepit.com
Band profile:	Dying Fetus

For a limited time a teaser of one of Stream Of Passion's new demo songs is available for streaming at the band's MySpace profile! Go to http://www.myspace.com/streamofpassionband to check it out!

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Stream Of Passion

Blabbermouth.net is reporting that reactivated Swedish metallers At The Gates will team up with Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste for a North American tour in July. Confirmed dates are as follows:

July 10 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
July 11 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
July 12 - Montreal, QC - Le Medley
July 13 - Toronto, ON - Opera House
July 14 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
July 15 - Sauget, IL - Pop's
July 17 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
July 18 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
July 21 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
July 23 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
July 24 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
July 25 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
July 26 - Pomona, CA - Glasshouse
July 27 - Hollywood, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre

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Source:	roadrunnerrecords.com
Band profile:	At The Gates
Event:	At The Gates: N. American Tour

Irish Doomsters Mourning Beloveth have issued the following official statement regarding the cancellation of their upcoming tour:

"Sorry but Mourning Beloveth will not be able to do the tour for personal problems that have arisen within one of the members family. They had hoped that it wasn't as serious as previously thought but the worst news came through today and they cannot do the tour. The rest of the members have decided not to go ahead without the full band. Apologies to all the promoters/support bands and venues who have put a lot of work into the tour preparations. The tour is currently being rescheduled for October 2008."

Source:	mourningbeloveth.com
Band profile:	Mourning Beloveth

Still holding the flame, metal vets Queensrÿche stopped by MP3.com to play an acoustic set.

In a career that has spanned nearly three decades, Queensrÿche has released 20 albums and toured relentlessly. In doing so, it has been a long-time favorite of both headbangers and fans of more operatic music.

Some people might know this band only from its biggest chart hit "Silent Lucidity," but Queensrÿche was around long before that and shows no sign of slowing down. Frontman Geoff Tate and company recently announced that a new album is in the works.

In San Francisco on yet another tour, the band stopped by MP3.com to play a short set, including "The Killing Words" from the 1986 album "Rage For Order", "Eyes Of A Stranger" from its 1988 breakthrough "Operation: Mindcrime", and "The Hands" from "Operation: Mindcrime II".

The quintet also threw in a cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash's "Almost Cut My Hair" from their 2007 covers album, "Take Cover".

Check out the live set at this location.

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Source:	mp3.com
Band profile:	Queensrÿche

From the Neuraxis MySpace page:

"Canada's Neuraxis has issued the a video clip entitled "Neuraxis Studio episode 1 - Drums," featuring footage and interviews from the recording of the band's fifth studio record. The clip is online at the band's MySpace page here. The band's debut album for Prosthetic Records, "The Thin Line Between" will be the follow-up to "Trilateral Progression." Tapping Jef Fortin (of fellow Canadians Anonymus) for production duties, Neuraxis entered the studio Feb. 19 and the recording process should be completed later this month. Alan Douches (Mastodon, Converge, Shadows Fall) will master the effort while artist Dennis Sibejin of Damnengine Art (Job For A Cowboy, Chimaira) will showcase the record's visuals. "The Thin Line Between" is currently scheduled for a July release.

"The Thin Line Between" tracklisting:

01. Darkness Prevails
02. Wicked
03. Versus
04. Deviation Occurs
05. The Thin Line Between
06. Dreaming The End
07. Standing Despite...
08. Oracle
09. Phoenix
10. The All And The Nothing

The new album will be the first studio album featuring new vocalist Alex Leblanc and guitarist William Seghers, both having appeared on the recently released "Live Progression," via Galy Records. "Live Progression" is the live follow-up to Neuraxis' last studio album, 2005's "Trilateral Progression." More details, artwork for "The Thin Line Between," tour dates, and regular in-studio footage updates will be available shortly."

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Neuraxis

Sweden's Unleashed have issued the following update on their MySpace:

"Unleashed are currently hard at work in the studio to record their 9th studio album, "Hammer Battalion". Check in here for some photos from one of the recording sessions.

They also wanted to take this opportunity to reveal the song titles on "Hammer Battalion"

01. The Greatest Of All Lies
02. Long Before Winter's Call
03. Your Children Will Burn
04. Hammer Battalion
05. This Day Belongs To Me
06. Marching Off To War
07. Entering The Hall Of The Slain
08. Black Horizon
09. Carved In Stone
10. Warriors Of Midgard
11. Midsummer Solstice
12. Home Of The Brave
13. I Want You Dead

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Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Unleashed

Vocalist Andreas Babuschkin of German Speed/Power metallers Paragon has posted the following update:

"Once again we are in songwriting mood. Here are some titles of the new metal hymns: "The Blade In The Dark", "Screenslaves", "Bloodfeast", "Disconnected" and "King Of My Castle". There is no Album title so far. We will decide this after we've finished all compositions. Recording should start in April 2008. Release should be in summer/autumn 2008 followed by live activities."

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Paragon

Mnemosyne Productions are pleased to report that Opeth mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt has performed lead vocals for the song "Unhealer" from the upcoming Ihsahn album, "angL".

"We´ve been talking about doing something for a while and I´m really happy it finally came together. Needless to say, Mikael´s performance is nothing short of amazing!" says Ihsahn.

Asgeir Mickelson once again handles drums for the album. Ihsahn has also handed over bass duties to Asgeir's colleague from Spiral Architect, Lars Norberg. "Asgeir and Lars have delivered a rock-solid foundation for the whole album. Pounding blast-beats to slow fretless passages are all performed with great precision," Ihsahn continues.

Ihsahn previously described the musical direction of the new CD as "a natural progression from "The Adversary" , but with a somewhat heavier touch."

Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records has set a May 27 North American release date for the new solo album from former Emperor vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn.

Check out the "angL" cover artwork at this location

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Source:	mnemosyne.no
Band profile:	Ihsahn

According to the official Pestilence fansite, Pestilence are back. The message was already posted on 12 January and reads as follows:

"I have for you the best news you can even imagine... PESTILENCE IS BACK!!! There is new line up: founder Patrick Mameli (vocals, guitar) C-187], well known Tony Choy (bass) Atheist, Cynic, C-187] and drummer Peter Wildoer Darkane, Non-Human Level and others]. Patrick is working on new great songs which style he describes as modern fusion of "Testimony..." and "Spheres", but even more technical (!!!) and more brutal. New album will be recorded by Jacob Hansen and produced by Patrick himself. As you see we all have a reason to live!"

More about Pestilence on http://www.myspace.com/consumingimpulse.

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Source:	demogorgon6.republika.pl
Band profile:	Pestilence

An expanded version of Antimatter's rarity compilation "Unreleased 98-03" is set to be released through Prophecy later in 2008. Mick Moss is already keen on this project and looking forward to its realisation: "The tentative title for this is "Alternative Matter", and if all goes well should be making progress in summer this year. The DVD which is supposed to be included should be fun to compile, there are loads of bits lying around, the more I looked, the more I found."

Additionally the successor of last year's highly acclaimed album "Leaving Eden" is already in the works. Mick Moss: "I have another album burning holes in my head, and this year I'll be slowly sifting through that and refining the songs and motifs in there. The theme this time is the question of sanity in people's actions, and also the things that are likely to drive you to distraction in the modern political and social climate. Once again it's a shade different from the previous album. There's a nice piece of artwork lined up for the release, which I should start recording either the end of 2008 or the start of 2009."

Source:

prophecyproductions.de

Century Media Press Release:

"New Jersey's metal titans God Forbid entered the studio this week with longtime producer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, The Dillinger Escape Plan) to begin tracking their much anticipated new full-length album. This new effort is the follow up to the group's most successful offering yet, "IV: The Constitution Of Treason", and the depth and diversity on this disc is easily going to position the band as of one the most innovative bands within the genre. This is an entirely new God Forbid that have matured beyond their years and are now more focused than ever before.

Doc Coyle (guitars, vocals) states: "Here we are! We have begun recording the new God Forbid album at Trax East in South River, NJ with Eric Rachel. Everyone in the band is really focused on this record and super excited about the songs. We did a very in depth pre-production for the last 2 weeks, where a lot of kinks have been worked out. There is more preparation for this album and any previous one. We have to give serious thanks to Steve Lagudi, who brought an entire studio to John's house to record pre-pro, and busted his ass engineering and tracking for two weeks. The material is varied and challenging, and I definitely feel another shift in the trajectory of our sound. We will be doing a studio blog keeping everyone posted about the progress, and also video taping as much as possible. Stay tuned to our MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/godforbid for updates. Horns!"

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Source:	centurymedia.com
Band profile:	God Forbid

Belgian Heavy Metal band Gitaron have announced that frontman Gio Smet has decided to concentrate on his guitar parts only. The band found a new singer in Nico De Clerq. Nico has a lot of experience and a great voice for Gitaron. In the meantime, backgroundvocalist Femke Waterschoot decided to leave the band. She made this decicion together with the band, as she couldn't combine her work for the band and being a mom at the same time.

Current Gitaron Line up:

Nico De Clercq - vocals
Giovanni Smet - lead guitar/backing vocals
Aaron Onghena - lead guitar
Wilfried Vandenberghe - bass guitar
Tom Willems - drums

Source:

gitaron.be