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Evergrey - Update
We just received these news items from the Evergrey camp and would like to pass them along to everyone.
As you all know, Fredrik Larsson was the temporary bass player after Michael left. Fredrik has now re-joined Hammerfall. The Evergrey crew wish him all the best in the future. He is still a good friend of the band.
New songs have been and are being recorded. Tom and Henrik are doing all the bass playing in the studio at this moment, so bass is not an issue at this time. Jonas and Rikard are also participating in writing lyrics and music for the new album. The recording session is scheduled to be done by the end of the summer.
The new album will be launched before Christmas. For all Fans out there, this album is HEAVY! In my ears probably the heaviest they have ever done.
After releasing the new album Evergrey will start touring. By that time a bass player should be selected for the band (hired or permanent, future will tell...).
There are also some new endorsement contracts being negotiated at this time. It's still too early to announce as of yet.
A new label is being sought after...more to come on that later.
Kind regards
Z.P.
Evergrey Business Cordinator
As you all know, Fredrik Larsson was the temporary bass player after Michael left. Fredrik has now re-joined Hammerfall. The Evergrey crew wish him all the best in the future. He is still a good friend of the band.
New songs have been and are being recorded. Tom and Henrik are doing all the bass playing in the studio at this moment, so bass is not an issue at this time. Jonas and Rikard are also participating in writing lyrics and music for the new album. The recording session is scheduled to be done by the end of the summer.
The new album will be launched before Christmas. For all Fans out there, this album is HEAVY! In my ears probably the heaviest they have ever done.
After releasing the new album Evergrey will start touring. By that time a bass player should be selected for the band (hired or permanent, future will tell...).
There are also some new endorsement contracts being negotiated at this time. It's still too early to announce as of yet.
A new label is being sought after...more to come on that later.
Kind regards
Z.P.
Evergrey Business Cordinator
| Source: | evergrey.net |
| Band profile: | Evergrey |
Aborted - New Lineup
A new year, a new beginning: On those notes we start off the new year, wishing everyone including all our fans the best of luck with their plans and projects for 2006.
Unfortunately we have some unpleasant news to bring as well at this point. Due to personal issues that could not be resolved, Aborted, Tace & Free had to part ways. A cummulation of smaller and bigger problems in the past so and so months has made it virtually impossible to keep cooperating together as a collective unit. Tace & Free are not vanishing, they will remain active in their other projects. People will see Free in his other band "Forced Hate" and Tace in a new band.
On a more positive note, we want to state that absolutely nobody out there should worry about shows getting canceled and so on. The February tour with Cryptopsy, Grave, Dew-Scented a.o., will go on as planned! Stepping in are Seb (Genital Grinder/Balrog) on guitar, Olivia (ex-No Return/Balrog) on bass and Matty (Emeth) on guitar as well since Steph could not commit him self to this tour due to his lady sitting at home pregnant, ready to give birth.
We have already rehearsed our setlist with the new line-up several times and things are working out perfectly. The motivation and "drive" is back in the band, something that was missing since a while ago, and it feels great to be jamming out the tunes with fresh blood incorporated. Throughout the years this band has been struggling with the line-up, having more than a couple of line-up changes. However, Aborted has proven that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and this time it should be no exception.
We also started working on the successor to "The Archaic Abattoir", which is set to be recorded later this year. Again we would like to thank all of those who have supported us, and we're glad you are still doing so. We will see many of you on tour in February!
Cheers,
Aborted
Unfortunately we have some unpleasant news to bring as well at this point. Due to personal issues that could not be resolved, Aborted, Tace & Free had to part ways. A cummulation of smaller and bigger problems in the past so and so months has made it virtually impossible to keep cooperating together as a collective unit. Tace & Free are not vanishing, they will remain active in their other projects. People will see Free in his other band "Forced Hate" and Tace in a new band.
On a more positive note, we want to state that absolutely nobody out there should worry about shows getting canceled and so on. The February tour with Cryptopsy, Grave, Dew-Scented a.o., will go on as planned! Stepping in are Seb (Genital Grinder/Balrog) on guitar, Olivia (ex-No Return/Balrog) on bass and Matty (Emeth) on guitar as well since Steph could not commit him self to this tour due to his lady sitting at home pregnant, ready to give birth.
We have already rehearsed our setlist with the new line-up several times and things are working out perfectly. The motivation and "drive" is back in the band, something that was missing since a while ago, and it feels great to be jamming out the tunes with fresh blood incorporated. Throughout the years this band has been struggling with the line-up, having more than a couple of line-up changes. However, Aborted has proven that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and this time it should be no exception.
We also started working on the successor to "The Archaic Abattoir", which is set to be recorded later this year. Again we would like to thank all of those who have supported us, and we're glad you are still doing so. We will see many of you on tour in February!
Cheers,
Aborted
| Source: | goremageddon.be |
| Band profile: | Aborted |
Blind Guardian - New Single Details Revealed
Blind Guardian frontman Hansi Kürsch has posted the following message at the band's web site right before Christmas:
"A sign of life message just to let you know that Christmas is getting closer and we are still not done with recordings, yet. But that is the good news for the album: we are still on schedule. The description 'on schedule' can be stretched (manipulated?) a little, while talking about a Blind Guardian album production, anyway. We haven't ? so far, but we could. There is only a small amount of guitars, which needs to be completed, some bass, a lot of vocals and even more mixing. We are targeting an early February deadline.
"I am very sorry we have not been able to involve you more so far, but we are so focused on the album, that we hardly find the time to eat. I turned a skinny beauty during these days. I promise to provide you with some studio shots as soon as the new year has started...
"Oh, about the single mentioned a few months earlier: We have accomplished it and I would like to provide you with some information about it, only the important ones and of course only true ones:
There will be three songs on the single:
01. Fly
02. Skalds and Shadows (acoustic version)
03. In A Gadda Da Vida
"'Fly' is a quite surprising title for a Blind Guardian song, one could think. But it lyrically fits very, very well. This song is about inspirations and how they can influence your art, your life and other people's li(v)(?)es(?). I, myself, was inspired by the movie 'Finding Neverland' when doing the lyrics. The music is mindblowing. It certainly describes how we look at music and how we see ourselves as musicians. We love to explore and assimilate. Though the song is different, it is pure Blind Guardian. I, personally, consider it to be amongst the best songs we have ever written. It is new!!! It is fresh!!! Whether you will like it or not, you will have to admit that you have never heard anything like that before. Not from Blind Guardian and neither from any other band on this planet.
"The acoustic version of 'Skalds and Shadows' completely stands in the tradition of songs like 'The Bard's Song' and 'A Past and Future Secret'. Charlie and Frederik came up with a very cool percussion arrangement and on top of it Frederik played some mindblowing flute melodies to it. We are very happy with the result and we work on a more orchestral version at the moment, which is supposed to become part of the album. This purer single version will only appear on the single. The word 'skald' is probably not very common, but is nothing else than the ancient nordic description for their bards. The nordic Edda poems have mostly been invented by Skalds and they also have kept these stories alive by traveling around and telling the stories to other people. I, as a fan of 'Die Nibelungen' and of Tolkien's work, was mostly thrilled by the 'Saga of Volsung', which the song lyrically partly scratches ? as well as the mission of the storyteller.
Read more ››
"A sign of life message just to let you know that Christmas is getting closer and we are still not done with recordings, yet. But that is the good news for the album: we are still on schedule. The description 'on schedule' can be stretched (manipulated?) a little, while talking about a Blind Guardian album production, anyway. We haven't ? so far, but we could. There is only a small amount of guitars, which needs to be completed, some bass, a lot of vocals and even more mixing. We are targeting an early February deadline.
"I am very sorry we have not been able to involve you more so far, but we are so focused on the album, that we hardly find the time to eat. I turned a skinny beauty during these days. I promise to provide you with some studio shots as soon as the new year has started...
"Oh, about the single mentioned a few months earlier: We have accomplished it and I would like to provide you with some information about it, only the important ones and of course only true ones:
There will be three songs on the single:
01. Fly
02. Skalds and Shadows (acoustic version)
03. In A Gadda Da Vida
"'Fly' is a quite surprising title for a Blind Guardian song, one could think. But it lyrically fits very, very well. This song is about inspirations and how they can influence your art, your life and other people's li(v)(?)es(?). I, myself, was inspired by the movie 'Finding Neverland' when doing the lyrics. The music is mindblowing. It certainly describes how we look at music and how we see ourselves as musicians. We love to explore and assimilate. Though the song is different, it is pure Blind Guardian. I, personally, consider it to be amongst the best songs we have ever written. It is new!!! It is fresh!!! Whether you will like it or not, you will have to admit that you have never heard anything like that before. Not from Blind Guardian and neither from any other band on this planet.
"The acoustic version of 'Skalds and Shadows' completely stands in the tradition of songs like 'The Bard's Song' and 'A Past and Future Secret'. Charlie and Frederik came up with a very cool percussion arrangement and on top of it Frederik played some mindblowing flute melodies to it. We are very happy with the result and we work on a more orchestral version at the moment, which is supposed to become part of the album. This purer single version will only appear on the single. The word 'skald' is probably not very common, but is nothing else than the ancient nordic description for their bards. The nordic Edda poems have mostly been invented by Skalds and they also have kept these stories alive by traveling around and telling the stories to other people. I, as a fan of 'Die Nibelungen' and of Tolkien's work, was mostly thrilled by the 'Saga of Volsung', which the song lyrically partly scratches ? as well as the mission of the storyteller.
Read more ››
| Source: | nuclearblast.de |
| Band profile: | Blind Guardian |
Winds - Vocals Completed For New Album
Winds' vocalist Lars Eric Si updates fans on the progress of the band's forthcoming album.
The still untitled new album, which will surface in 2006 via The End Records, is the follow-up to the well-received 2004 opus The Imaginary Direction Of Time.
"We're now done with most of the vocals and, in my opinion, they sound great. (Of course - I'm the singer...) There are some small 'details' left, but I can promise, here and now, hand on my heart, that the new album will be mind-blowingly different from the previous Winds' albums in its complexity both in vocal lines and vocal styles. A more detailed studio update will follow soon. Best regards and a happy New Year to you all! - Lars"
The still untitled new album, which will surface in 2006 via The End Records, is the follow-up to the well-received 2004 opus The Imaginary Direction Of Time.
"We're now done with most of the vocals and, in my opinion, they sound great. (Of course - I'm the singer...) There are some small 'details' left, but I can promise, here and now, hand on my heart, that the new album will be mind-blowingly different from the previous Winds' albums in its complexity both in vocal lines and vocal styles. A more detailed studio update will follow soon. Best regards and a happy New Year to you all! - Lars"
| Source: | theendrecords.com |
| Band profile: | Winds |
Blind Guardian - New Drummer, New Website!
Hi bards,
This time it fortunately is on me to deliver some good news. Very good news in fact!
The seemingly endless time of waiting for a new drummer and speculations who could possibly be the new one has finally come to an end. We have found what we have been searching for?
A few weeks ago an unknown guy who introduced himelf as Frederik Ehmke applied for the job as a drummer in a fairly firm manner. His vital, expressive and skillful performances of some B.G. classics ("Journey Through The Dark", "Time Stands Still" and "And Then There Was Silence") blew us away completely . Pretending not to be convinced we invited him to do a shoot out recording session under real production terms to check out if the creative chemistry would also work out fine. After finishing these recordings it was obvious to us: Frederik is going to be our new drummer!
It was essential for us to find a musician, who on one side would be able to integrate old Guardian trademarks in his play, but on the other side would also be confident enough to bring in his own vision of the Blind Guardian drums in a tasteful and, for the music, suitable way. Frederik is a calm and handsome fellow, who's aware of his abilities and who also knows what he wants. For us he is the lucky draw.
We are convinced you will be as impressed by his drum performance as we are. Now we are looking forward to starting the next album production. There is a good amount of work ahead of us but we are absolutely ready to go. You can expect a very interesting album with strong songs on it. We will keep you informed.
Later,
Hansi
Also, a new website is now up.
This time it fortunately is on me to deliver some good news. Very good news in fact!
The seemingly endless time of waiting for a new drummer and speculations who could possibly be the new one has finally come to an end. We have found what we have been searching for?
A few weeks ago an unknown guy who introduced himelf as Frederik Ehmke applied for the job as a drummer in a fairly firm manner. His vital, expressive and skillful performances of some B.G. classics ("Journey Through The Dark", "Time Stands Still" and "And Then There Was Silence") blew us away completely . Pretending not to be convinced we invited him to do a shoot out recording session under real production terms to check out if the creative chemistry would also work out fine. After finishing these recordings it was obvious to us: Frederik is going to be our new drummer!
It was essential for us to find a musician, who on one side would be able to integrate old Guardian trademarks in his play, but on the other side would also be confident enough to bring in his own vision of the Blind Guardian drums in a tasteful and, for the music, suitable way. Frederik is a calm and handsome fellow, who's aware of his abilities and who also knows what he wants. For us he is the lucky draw.
We are convinced you will be as impressed by his drum performance as we are. Now we are looking forward to starting the next album production. There is a good amount of work ahead of us but we are absolutely ready to go. You can expect a very interesting album with strong songs on it. We will keep you informed.
Later,
Hansi
Also, a new website is now up.
| Source: | blind-guardian.com |
| Band profile: | Blind Guardian |
Obituary - Mastering Over, Album Almost Out
We finished mastering the album yesterday so we are all done at our end with the new CD! Working with Tom Morrisound over at Morrisound was a pleasure and we are really happy with the way it turned out. We are still waiting for RoadRunner to give us a release date. Hopefully it will be the beginning of July at the latest!
Obituary
Obituary
| Band profile: | Obituary |
Kataklysm - Best Canadian Metal Group Award & Tour
We are happy to announce that Kataklysm has won an award for "Best Metal Group" at the Canadian Indie Music Awards!! The band wishes to thank all the fans who voted for them.
Kataklysm was not able to attend the opening night at the Phoenix Theater (Toronto) this week to receive its award, as the band is currently on tour with Danzig.
Also Kataklysm live dates announced for the summer in Europe, also some Canadian dates coming soon... These will be the only dates Kataklysm will be performing for the rest of 2005.
Kataklysm will be premiering a new song from the upcoming album "In the Arms of Devastation" at all summer shows... Be there and be prepared!!
Kataklysm was not able to attend the opening night at the Phoenix Theater (Toronto) this week to receive its award, as the band is currently on tour with Danzig.
Also Kataklysm live dates announced for the summer in Europe, also some Canadian dates coming soon... These will be the only dates Kataklysm will be performing for the rest of 2005.
Kataklysm will be premiering a new song from the upcoming album "In the Arms of Devastation" at all summer shows... Be there and be prepared!!
| Band profile: | Kataklysm |
Obituary - New CD Almost Ready
March 23, 2005
WE ARE DONE! We are all done with the mixing of the new CD and we are now going to sit on it for about a week and make sure we are totally happy before mastering, which should be sometime next week! It has been so awesome to be back in the studio and we are really pumped about the new songs. Can't wait to get out and play them live!
ALLENTOWN, PA get ready because we are coming! We will be playing at this year Louder-Harder-Faster Festival(http://www.louder-harder-faster.com/) on June 4th at the Crocodile Rock Cafe. We have not been in PA in sometime and it will be good to see all of you!
taken from http://www.obituary.cc/
WE ARE DONE! We are all done with the mixing of the new CD and we are now going to sit on it for about a week and make sure we are totally happy before mastering, which should be sometime next week! It has been so awesome to be back in the studio and we are really pumped about the new songs. Can't wait to get out and play them live!
ALLENTOWN, PA get ready because we are coming! We will be playing at this year Louder-Harder-Faster Festival(http://www.louder-harder-faster.com/) on June 4th at the Crocodile Rock Cafe. We have not been in PA in sometime and it will be good to see all of you!
taken from http://www.obituary.cc/
| Band profile: | Obituary |
Darkane - New Album Progress And Title
We're working our asses of right now with the final recordings.
So far six songs out of ten are done with vocals. A bit more than half of the guitar solos are also to be recorded. Just came back from a meeting about shooting a new video for a track called 'Secondary effect'. The video team will start working asap.
So far we've decided to call the new CD:
LAYERS OF LIES
Some song titles:
Secondary effect
Fading dimensions
Organic canvas
The creation insane
Layers of lies
Stay metal
Peter
So far six songs out of ten are done with vocals. A bit more than half of the guitar solos are also to be recorded. Just came back from a meeting about shooting a new video for a track called 'Secondary effect'. The video team will start working asap.
So far we've decided to call the new CD:
LAYERS OF LIES
Some song titles:
Secondary effect
Fading dimensions
Organic canvas
The creation insane
Layers of lies
Stay metal
Peter
| Band profile: | Darkane |
Old Man's Child - New Album In The Way
Finally things are happening with Old Man's Child again. A new album is supposedly on its way, but the record label don't want to make anything official just yet. As soon as anything about a forthcoming album is decided, you can read about it on their official website. Stay tuned for updates!
| Band profile: | Old Man's Child |
Primal Fear - Progress On Their New Album
We finished two tracks with basic ideas from the Leibing camp "Evil Spell" and "Rollercoaster" - "Evil Spell" is the No. 1 contender for the fastest PF track ever. "Rollercoaster" is pure classic Primal Fear double bassdrum & riff mayhem! For the rumour section: no more shows are confirmed aside of the two benefit shows in Germany. We will announce 2-4 summer festival appearances soon!
Some more new songs are ready for the pre-production Signs Of Our Time, Evil That Men Do, Higher Power and Sound Of Thunder. All of the guys participating in the songwriting and the new album is shaping up! Thanks to our fans & of course to our fanclub for showing up at the Metal Forever festival last weekend. Was great to be back on stage! Hope we can tell you more details about some very limited and special Open Air appearances 2005. For our german supporters - nicht vergessen, nächsten Freitag das ROW Festival mit vielen tollen Gästen in Esslingen und für einen guten Zweck (Mat und Ralf sind zusätzlich aktiv bei Shiva bzw Tyran Pace, dazu ein Wiedersehen mit Klaus Sperling) . Der letzte PF Gig für eine längere Zeit - wir zählen auf Euch!
Some more new songs are ready for the pre-production Signs Of Our Time, Evil That Men Do, Higher Power and Sound Of Thunder. All of the guys participating in the songwriting and the new album is shaping up! Thanks to our fans & of course to our fanclub for showing up at the Metal Forever festival last weekend. Was great to be back on stage! Hope we can tell you more details about some very limited and special Open Air appearances 2005. For our german supporters - nicht vergessen, nächsten Freitag das ROW Festival mit vielen tollen Gästen in Esslingen und für einen guten Zweck (Mat und Ralf sind zusätzlich aktiv bei Shiva bzw Tyran Pace, dazu ein Wiedersehen mit Klaus Sperling) . Der letzte PF Gig für eine längere Zeit - wir zählen auf Euch!
| Source: | Official website |
| Band profile: | Primal Fear |
Edguy - New EP Scheduled For September 05
Hi,
Just a short message: We've just come back from our trip to Granada, Spain Edguy.netto play the Atarfe-Vega-Rock festival. It was a lot of fun, although it's been pretty cold in the venue. That was not what we expected from Spain but however, you people who were there were really great. Some technical
problems on stage and we couldn't bring the whole show, but what the fuck - we gave our best and you gave your best, that's what counts. We all had a great evening!
After the show we had a kind of pre-birthday party for Eggi, together with the Primal Fear guys. Great guys, great fun. We will not mention any details, I am not gonna reveal that Jens woke up in his bath tub full of water and that I had to be carried out of the venue by two of our crew guys later that night. Well, you see: We had fun!!! Felix had a food war with himeself which is not very funny. There's a lot of people who starve while two Kiwis accidently slipped out of Felix' hand and exploded on the wall. To his excuse we should mention that he wouldn't have managed to throw them to Namibia anyway. So I want to stress we can't speak about waste of food in this case.
Meanwhile we are working full-steam on our new EP that is estimated to be released in September. A full length album is to follow early next year. I liked the concept of delivering a big value-for-money thing as the official single last time just like the King Of Fools EP. We got very good response to that and we are so creative at the moment that there will be a lot of material as it seems. We'll see, can't tell too much at this point. But we are working on that one. Anyway, the material sounds good, sound like Edguy, very fresh, very cheeky and of course epic at times. You'll hear it later. Have a great week and happy birthday Eggi,
Tobias!
Just a short message: We've just come back from our trip to Granada, Spain Edguy.netto play the Atarfe-Vega-Rock festival. It was a lot of fun, although it's been pretty cold in the venue. That was not what we expected from Spain but however, you people who were there were really great. Some technical
problems on stage and we couldn't bring the whole show, but what the fuck - we gave our best and you gave your best, that's what counts. We all had a great evening!
After the show we had a kind of pre-birthday party for Eggi, together with the Primal Fear guys. Great guys, great fun. We will not mention any details, I am not gonna reveal that Jens woke up in his bath tub full of water and that I had to be carried out of the venue by two of our crew guys later that night. Well, you see: We had fun!!! Felix had a food war with himeself which is not very funny. There's a lot of people who starve while two Kiwis accidently slipped out of Felix' hand and exploded on the wall. To his excuse we should mention that he wouldn't have managed to throw them to Namibia anyway. So I want to stress we can't speak about waste of food in this case.
Meanwhile we are working full-steam on our new EP that is estimated to be released in September. A full length album is to follow early next year. I liked the concept of delivering a big value-for-money thing as the official single last time just like the King Of Fools EP. We got very good response to that and we are so creative at the moment that there will be a lot of material as it seems. We'll see, can't tell too much at this point. But we are working on that one. Anyway, the material sounds good, sound like Edguy, very fresh, very cheeky and of course epic at times. You'll hear it later. Have a great week and happy birthday Eggi,
Tobias!
| Source: | Official website |
| Band profile: | Edguy |
Andromeda - Recordings For 3rd Album Are Over!
15th of February 2005
David says: "The recordings for the third album are now finished and the mixing is expected to be done by March.
David says: "The recordings for the third album are now finished and the mixing is expected to be done by March.
| Source: | Official website |
| Band profile: | Andromeda |
Skyclad - Main Act At The Dong Open Air, GER
Skyclad and Finntroll and Elvenking have been confirmed as the main acts for Germany's Dong Open Air, set to take place July 15-16 2005 in Neukirchen-Vluyn, near Krefeld, Germany. Skyclad will be headliner on Friday, and since the band is celebrating their 15th anniversary, they will play an additional acoustic show on Saturday. Saturday's headliner and co-headliner will be Finntroll and Elvenking respectively.
| Band profile: | Skyclad |
Naglfar - New album and lineup changes
Alot of things has been going on in the Naglfar camp for these past couple of months. We are hereby pleased to inform you that Naglfar has signed a deal with Century Media Records, and has entered the studio on January 2nd of 2005 to record our fourth fullenght album. The title of this release has been tentatively set to be "PARIAH", and some of the confirmed titles so far are:
A Swarm Of Plagues
Revelations Carved In Flesh
And The World Shall Be Your Grave
Suffering To The Conquered
Carnal Scorn & Spiritual Malice
The Perpetual Horrors
More information regarding this matter will follow shortly.
Furthermore there has been a lineupchange in the ranks. Jens Rydén has decided that he needs to focus on his studies these next couple of years, and will not be able to fulfill his duties in Naglfar. Therefore it has been mutually decided that he will step down for the moment. The vocals will from now on be handled by Kristoffer Olivius, and a session bassplayer by the name of Morgan Lie has been recruited to help out during all further live activites. We wish Jens all the best in the future. Thanks for 11 years of wreaking havoc, heavy drinking, and all in all for having a great fucking time!
Cheers brother!
A Swarm Of Plagues
Revelations Carved In Flesh
And The World Shall Be Your Grave
Suffering To The Conquered
Carnal Scorn & Spiritual Malice
The Perpetual Horrors
More information regarding this matter will follow shortly.
Furthermore there has been a lineupchange in the ranks. Jens Rydén has decided that he needs to focus on his studies these next couple of years, and will not be able to fulfill his duties in Naglfar. Therefore it has been mutually decided that he will step down for the moment. The vocals will from now on be handled by Kristoffer Olivius, and a session bassplayer by the name of Morgan Lie has been recruited to help out during all further live activites. We wish Jens all the best in the future. Thanks for 11 years of wreaking havoc, heavy drinking, and all in all for having a great fucking time!
Cheers brother!
| Band profile: | Naglfar |