Metal Mind Productions Press Release:

"Solitude Aeturnus - one of the most respected names in the doom metal field with a style that borrows from classic doom as well as progressive metal. Formed in the spring of 1987, Solitude Aeturnus are still pummeling souls into doom metal submission! Robert Lowe's haunting vocals, unbelievably heavy and slow riffs, strange melodies and sublime compositions - all this complemented by the band's desperate, insane, theatrical yet profoundly personal appeal.

This legendary doom metal band from US returns today with two albums re-released by Metal Mind Productions - "Through The Darkest Hour" and "Downfall".
"Through The Darkest Hour" - Solitude Aeternus' third full-length release from 1994. Recorded in March in England at Rhythm Studios, the album showed a simpler and heavier direction, proving to be the band's best achievement yet, mainly because of an excellent production and top notch composing. New digipak edition includes 2 bonus tracks recorded during band's show in Warsaw in February 2007.
"Downfall" - re-release of the fourth album on which Solitude Aeturnus is celebrating again their very own brand of epic, powerful and variable doom metal. With this album the band prove that they have an exceptional place in the doom metal! They have managed to stay true to their roots, but still go through an evolution. New digipak edition includes 1 bonus tracks recorded during band's show in Warsaw in February 2007.

The material taken from the Crash Music archives will be released in a new digipak edition, limited to numerated 2000 copies. Digitally remastered using 24-Bit process on golden disc. Both titles will be available on 3rd March 2008 in Europe."

Solitude Aeturnus -- "Through The Darkest Hour" (remastered + bonus tracks)

Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1144 DG
Barcode: 5907785031999
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: doom metal
Release date: 03.03.2008 Europe

Tracklist:

01. Falling
02. Haunting The Obscure
03. The 8th Day: The Mourning
04. The 9th Day: Awakening
05. Pain
06. Pawns Of Anger
07. Eternal (Dreams Part III)
08. Perfect Insanity
09. Shattered My Spirit

Bonus tracks: (Live at Stodola Club, Warsaw, Poland, 12th February 2007)
01. The 9th Day: Awakening
02. Pawns of Anger

Solitude Aeturnus -- "Downfall" (remastered + bonus track)

Label: Metal Mind Records

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Source:	metalmind.com.pl
Band profile:	Solitude Aeturnus

Some sound samples from the new Edenbridge album "MyEarthDream" have been put online at the band's MySpace. You can listen to them at this location.

Edenbridge sixth studio album will be out on April 25th, 2008 via Napalm Records.

"MyEarthDream" cover] will have the following tracklist:

01. The Force Within
02. Shadowplay
03. Remember Me
04. Adamantine
05. Paramount
06. Whale Rider
07. Undying Devotion
08. Fallen From Grace
09. Place Of Higher Power
10. MyEarthDream Suite (For Guitar And Orchestra)
11. MyEarthDream

Read more ››

Source:	edenbridge.org
Band profile:	Edenbridge

Nightwish were awarded an "ECHO" as band of the year in the category "rock/alternative (international)". The other nominees in that category were Foo Fighters, Kaiser Chiefs, Marilyn Manson and Within Temptation. The ECHO Music Awards were held Friday night (February 15) in Berlin, Germany. ECHO is a German music award granted every year by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie (an association of recording companies). Nightwish performed the song "Amaranth".

All info about the ECHO 2008 at http://www.echopop.de (website in German).

UPDATED on 9 March:

At the annual Emma Awards (Finnish Grammy), Nightwish won awards in four of the six nominated categories. The jury awarded Nightwish Emma awards in the following categories: "Album Of The Year", "Metal Album Of The Year", "Band Of The Year" and "Best Selling Album 2007".

Read more ››

Source:	nightwish.com
Band profile:	Nightwish

Saxon's Australian tour, which was originally to take place in October last year but got postponed due to visa problems, has finally been reannounced and will be taking place in May. The tour dates are as follows:

05.05.2008 Brisbane - The Arena
06.05.2008 Melbourne - Billboard
07.05.2008 Sydney - The Forum

As stated when the tour was first postponed, tickets that were purchased for the original dates will remain valid for the rescheduled dates.

In related news, Saxon will be touring Japan once more before heading to Australia. Those dates are as follows:

30.04.2008 Tokyo - O East
01.05.2008 Nagoya - Club Quattro
02.05.2008 Osaka - Club Quattro

Source:	saxon747.com
Band profile:	Saxon
Event:	Saxon: Australia And Japan Tour

Canada's Voivod have posted the following update on their website:

"There remain 13 songs that Denis D'Amour (Piggy) had written with the band that have yet to be recorded. Michel Langevin (Away) and Denis Belanger (Snake) will track the last songs this spring bringing all the past and present members together to participate in a homage to the guitar legend of Piggy and the legacy of 25 years of a brotherhood forged by exploring metal, rock and punk ethics with an other worldly premise. Jean-Yves Theriault (Blacky) and Eric Forrest (E Force) have eagerly agreed to contribute bass tracks along with Jason Newsted (Jasonic). The End records and Nuclear Blast will release this final record once completed. Voivod may play select shows after the release as a thank you to the fans and to bring closure to a great career."

Guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour lost the battle against colon cancer in August 2005.

Source:	voivod.net
Band profile:	Voivod

UK Metallers Venom have announced their album "Hell" is set for release in May 2008 through Universal.

Packed with 13 brand new malevolent tracks from the masters of Black Metal, Venom are now preparing to unleash this thunderous sequel to their 2006 "Metal Black" album. With song titles such as "Armageddon", "Straight To Hell", "Hand Of God", "USA For Satan", "The Power & The Glory", "Evil Perfection", "Kill The Music", and the title track "Hell".
The new album truly shows the power and intensity that is Venom, the trio of Cronos, Antton and Rage deliver the metal album of 2008.

Click here for more information.

Read more ››

Source:	venomslegions.com
Band profile:	Venom

The ProgPower UK team has posted the following announcement on the event's website:

This is the hardest decision we have ever had to make, but it is with great regret that we have had to cancel ProgPower UK III.

We have made no secret of the financial difficulties that have dogged our first two years, which is why we made a significant number of changes for year three. However, ticket sales have been extremely poor and, as a result, there is no way we can stage the festival without losing a substantial amount of money - again.

This decision has not been taken lightly and we are fully aware of both the disappointment and inconvenience it will cause. However, we simply cannot afford to keep pumping money into ProgPower UK and we can assure you that we are as disappointed about this as you no doubt are.

As a result of this, ProgPower UK LLP will cease trading with immediate effect.

Ticket holders who purchased tickets via cheque or Paypal through the ProgPowerUK website will be refunded by the method through which the tickets were purchased. This will be done within twenty-eight days.

If you purchased tickets at Bristol Ticket Shop, please contact them directly for a refund.

Please direct any enquiries to enquiries@progpoweruk.com All enquiries will be dealt with, but please be patient.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us over the past three years, and also thank Rene Janssen and his team giving us the opportunity to make ProgPower UK a reality.

The ProgPower UK Team

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Source:	progpoweruk.com
Event:	ProgPower UK [CANCELLED]

Stream Of Passion have posted the following blog on their MySpace:

"Rumours had been going on for a little while and finally we can say that they were true! We've been working on our new material for quite a while now and before releasing our new cd this year, we want to give you the chance to listen to a combination of old and new material and also to see our new members rock with SoP!

4 gigs are confirmed so far, more will follow soon!

12-04 headlining act at Tournai ProgFest, Tournai (BE)
13-04 Spirit of 66, Verviers (BE)
24-04 Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
25-04 Fenix, Sittard (NL)
also: Kasteel, Alphen a/d Rijn (NL) tba

As said, more dates will follow soon! Keep checking our site/MySpace for updates!"

Read more ››

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

A new song called "The Mirror's Truth" from the ditto named EP/single is now available for streaming at the In Flames MySpace page.

The single/EP is released on March 7th in Europe by Nuclear Blast (March 5th in Sweden). In North America it will be released as an ITunes release only on March 11th.

Along with "The Mirror's Truth" the single/EP will feature three other tracks that will not appear on "A Sense Of Purpose". More news about the single at this location.

The brand new video for the first single "The Mirror's Truth" will also air on their MySpace next Monday, February 18.

UPDATED on February 17 (thanks to WinterChild):

In Flames have posted the video for the song "The Mirror's Truth" at their MySpace site. Check it out here.
The video was produced by Popcorn Film.

Read more ››

Source:	profile.myspace.com
Band profile:	In Flames

The following blog has been posted at the official Pantheist MySpace page:

"As you may have not noticed, since the font is completely unreadable (one could argue that this is done deliberately as it would grant us a certain aura of kvltness, but I have to admit that it's probably the actual myspace skin that needs changing) there is a new gig date displayed on our profile: Friday 21st of March (bank holiday) we are playing at The Unicorn in Camden. That's right, after having been based in London for about 4 years now, it is about time -in true funeral doom terms- for our first ever London gig. We seek to perform mainly new tracks with a small dose of 'oldies' in between.

Furthermore, our promo has been sent to several labels, so we are awaiting for responses and feedback that will hopefully allow us to set up another perfect marriage between cynical business and idealistic naivete (without of course wanting to disclose at which side we currently are). Stay tuned as news will be announced here as soon as there is something worthwhile to mention.

Lastly, many many thanks to those who have listened to the previous promo track "The Loss Of Innocense" in the past few days. After 750 plays in ten days time or so we started to fear that people might actually become sick of the track before it's even properly recorded, so we decided to take it down again. However, your persistence and enthusiasm has moved us so we decided to give you a sneak preview of the second promo track as well for a few days."

In the meantime, a track called "Eternal Sorrow" has been posted on the band's MySpace page.

Read more ››

Source:	blog.myspace.com
Band profile:	Pantheïst

The label Armageddon Music will be renamed to Wacken Records and distributed within the SPV system. The press release is as follows:

A joint venture of a very special kind promises to bring a fresh breeze to the German metal scene: SPV, the record imprint from Hanover, and Wacken Records have announced their cooperation in the marketing, promotion and worldwide distribution sectors. At the same time, Wacken Records (formerly trading under the name of Armageddon Music) will be incorporated into the SPV system, while remaining an independent company which will benefit from the international contacts and longstanding experience of its new partner. With the support of Wacken Records, SPV will in turn gain access to a wider forum and increase its focus on discovering, supporting and promoting newcomer acts.

SPV is among the most important rock and metal labels worldwide, with top acts such as Whitesnake, Motörhead, Saxon, Iced Earth, Helloween and Type O Negative on its roster. Wacken Records will bring Rose Tattoo, Victory, Onkel Tom Angelripper and Holy Moses, among others, and the extremely promising newcomers Suidakra and Forever Slave into the cooperation. The label also runs the Metaltix merchandising company and the tour promoters, ICS, who are responsible not only for the Wacken Open Air festival, but also for the Wacken Road Show and the Metal Battle tour concept. In this light, Olly Hahn, International Product Manager at SPV in the metal/rock sector, expects a fruitful cooperation which many newcomer acts, alongside the established artists, will benefit from: "This cooperation contract is our reaction to the shifts that have taken place in the market, focussing the strengths of SPV and Wacken Records, in association with Metaltix and ICS. Our cooperation will produce new marketing structures for young bands to break into the world of heavy metal."

Wacken Records label boss, Thomas Jensen, is also looking forward to the cooperation: "The aim of the Wacken Open Air festival, alongside ICS with its Wacken Road Show and the Metal Battle concept, has always been to bring metal music to the world. This is why we are permanently looking for strong cooperation partners for our label. In SPV, we have found a company with a great wealth of experience and willingness to try unconventional paths, which complements Wacken Records perfectly. This joint venture will consolidate the continuation and emphasis of our strengths."

Upcoming release plan for Wacken Records:

Read more ››

Source:

Britta Kock @ ICS-WOA

Death Angel's new album, entitled "Killing Season", can now be streamed in its entirety at the group's MySpace page (here). The stream will last until February 22.

Due on February 26, 2008 via Nuclear Blast Records, "Killing Season" was recorded at Studio 606 in Northridge, California with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with Foo Fighters, Rush, Velvet Revolver, Shadows Fall and Stone Sour, among other acts.

Read more ››

Source:	myspace.com
Band profile:	Death Angel

Says in the band in their MySpace bullettin:

"Kamelot will reissue its classic "Ghost Opera" album on March 28 (Germany), March 31 (rest of Europe) and April 8 (USA/Canada) under the title of Ghost Opera - The Second Coming, enhanced with lots of interesting features. The album will be released as a double CD limited edition slipcase design. This sophisticated and comprehensive package includes the CD featuring all the songs from the regular album, plus ten additional live tracks recorded live in Belgrade, Serbia during the band's 2007 World Tour, plus the bonus tracks Season's End, The Pendulous Fall, Epilogue and the remix of Rule the World. Additionally the two videos for The Human Stain and Memento Mori (live) and on top of that, the package features new artwork and a comprehensive booklet."

Ghost Opera - The Second Coming track listing:

CD 1: Ghost Opera
01. Solitaire
02. Rule the World
03. Ghost Opera
04. The Human Stain
05. Blücher
06. Love You to Death
07. Up Through the Ashes
08. Mourning Star
09. Silence of the Darkness
10. Anthem
11. EdenEcho
12. Memento Mori (enhanced video: Live in Belgrade, Serbia)
13. The Human Stain (enhanced video)

CD 2: Live in Belgrade
01. Solitaire
02. Ghost Opera
03. The Human Stain
04. Mourning Star
05. When the Lights Are Down
06. Abandoned
07. The Haunting (with Simone Simons/EPICA)
08. Memento Mori
09. Epilogue
10. March of Mephisto
Studio cuts:
11. Season's End
12. The Pendulous Fall
13. Epilogue
14. Rule the World (remix)

Source:	bulletins.myspace.com
Band profile:	Kamelot

Finnish folk metallers Turisas have issued a statement explaining a sudden change of the band's lineup:

We hereby announce, that we have been forced to hire a step-in accordion player to replace Lisko on all announced upcoming tourdates. We have an important show this Friday at Finnish Metal Expo (FIN) and two lengthy tours in UK/Europe and USA just around the corner - but no accordion player.

The thing is, we played a cool show in Groningen, Netherlands on 11th January and everything was cool. Then the next day, before the flight, some of us decided to check out Amsterdam really quickly, by train. Lisko had behaved in a bit hazy way during the trip, but it was nothing that weird (considering he is Lisko); however, he never showed up back at the airport. We got an interesting phone call, where he told that due to "special" reasons he wouldn't fly in the same plane with us. This alone was pissing us off a bit, but we decided he could do it on his own expense. However, after returning to Finland, despite our attempts, there has been practically no communication with the guy, apart from a couple of interesting SMS's (so apparently he's alive): no rehearsals, nothing. We don't even know if he's back in Finland at the moment.

This puts us in a difficult situation: with a lot of pre-arrangements like flights and visas to be done, and with all our upcoming responsibilities we have no other option than to release Lisko from his duties for an undetermined time period, starting from today. Luckily for us, we already managed to get a replacement for him on such a short warning time: the step-in accordionist for Spring 2008 will be Netta Skog, who also helped us out with the latest European tour in October-November. No permanent accordion player will be added to the current line-up at this point. Turisas also wants to point out that NO shows will be affected by the small change in the line-up.

Source:	turisas.com
Band profile:	Turisas

Italian metallers Stormlord have posted the following update on their website:

"Hi guys,

We are proud to bring some good news to all the Stormlord legions out there. The recording sessions of our fourth chapters have begun! We entered The Outer Sound Studios (Novembre, Necrodeath, Klimt 1918 etc.) one month ago together with the producer Giuseppe Orlando, as usual. We'll keep on working for about twenty days more. We decided not to give you any news until now in order to fully understand how good this work is. This album is such a great bet for us, it'll see Stormlord going back to an epic sound near to our first album "Supreme Art Of War", that almost ten years ago was able to influence tons of bands still growing strong in the scene, even if the style of our recent albums will not be missing. You'll find some surprises like an acoustic song, folk instruments and even some sitar parts, everything mixed with an extreme-epic attitude like it was back in the days, but with the nowadays production and a well developed technical skill.

Now it"s time to go back to work again but in the next week we'll post some other news, still we've got some aces up our sleeves!"

Source:	stormlord.net
Band profile:	Stormlord