Stratovarius keyboard player Jens Johansson has posted the following update on the official Stratovarius forum:

"Four Chinese shows in the end of May 2010 have been confirmed, please check here for live gig details as usual.

Also we have a bit tentatively started work on a new studio album. We all recently got together in Sotkamo for a while to throw around some new ideas. Lauri made a little video and you can watch it here."

Bassist Lauri Porra adds: "The little piece of music in the end is from a demo of one of the songs we are working on at the moment, made by guitarist Matias Kupiainen. We have a lot of great material and I think the next album will kick all kinds of asses. I love Polaris, but now we are taking it to the next level."

Read more ››

Source:	forum.stratovarius.com
Band profile:	Stratovarius

Finnish power metallers Olympos Mons have decided to chuck it in and broke up after nearly eight years of existence. The band released the following last words on their MySpace:

"The road has come to an end! Olympos Mons will play their last gig on 30.1.2010 in Ekenäs, a nearby town to their hometown Hanko. The reason for the split up is part personal problems and part due to some band members lack of interest in committing themselves enough to the band.

Still, some of us like myself will continue in other projects so watch out for us you have not seen the last of us yet.

To the fans: thanks for supporting us all these years, we're forever greatful for that!"

Read more ››

Source:	blogs.myspace.com
Band profile:	Olympos Mons

Excalion have added the opening song for their upcoming album titled High Time to their MySpace player. The third Excalion album High Time will be released 29th of January 2010. High Time was recorded at Studio Watercastle in Jyväskylä, between August and October 2009. More details and tracklist here.

Read more ››

Source:	excalion.com
Band profile:	Excalion

The third Excalion album High Time will be released 29th of January 2010. High Time was recorded at Studio Watercastle in Jyväskylä, between August and October 2009. Sound engineering & mixing was done by Arttu Sarvanne, while the cover artwork was done by Fernando R. Garcia.

Starting from today (December 18), each song will be described in the official Excalion blog additional background information of the creation process. New entries will appear every other day.

High Time cover art] tracklist:

01. Enter A Life
02. From Somewhere To Anywhere
03. Sun Stones
04. The Flags In Line
05. Bring On The Storm
06. The Shroud
07. Firewood
08. Lifetime
09. Quicksilver
10. A Walk On A Broken Road
11. Foreversong

(Also thanks to 1013)

Read more ››

Source:	excalion.com
Band profile:	Excalion