Monday, January 18, 2010

[HeavyMetalHeaven] Deep Purple, Uriah Heep Aerosmith, Slash, Metallica, Megadeth, Hail, WASP and tons more hard rock and heavy metal news

According to promoters Zed! and Venezia Spettacoli, the "Classic Rock Night" featuring the IAN PAICE & TOLO MARTON BAND on February 4 at Gran Teatro in Padova, Italy, will be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of DEEP PURPLE's "In Rock" album and will also mark 40 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix. It will showcase a project which Paice and Marton have been working on together. The setlist will include a DEEP PURPLE tribute, a few TOLO MARTON tracks, a few HENDRIX tracks and a rock medley inspired by movie soundtracks.

Tolo Marton (born 1951) is an Italian rock guitarist and composer, who in 1998 won the "Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Competition" in Seattle with a song called "Alpine Valley". His 30-year long career includes collaborations with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker from CREAM; Billy Cox and Buddy Miles from the BAND OF GYPSYS; Ian Paice and Don Airey from DEEP PURPLE. He opened several times for B.B. KING, MUDDY WATERS, THE BLUES BROTHERS and ROBBEN FORD.

Ian Paice has a few clinics and shows lined up for January and February 2010 in Italy and Spain. The details are as follows:

** Jan. 28 - Cinema Teatro Astra, Verona, Italy (SOLD OUT)

DEEP PURPLE tribute with Forever Deep

** Jan. 29 - Sala A, Vigo, Spain

DEEP PURPLE tribute with HUSH

** Jan. 30 - Playa Club, La Coruña, Spain

DEEP PURPLE tribute with HUSH

** Feb. 04 - Gran Teatro, Padova, Italy

"Classic Rock Night" with TOLO MARTON

** Feb. 05 - Muddy Waters Live Music Club - Calvari - Italy

"The Rock Night" with TOLO MARTON

Legendary progressive rock veterans URIAH HEEP will embark on their first North American tour since 2002 this summer. According to a posting on URIAH HEEP's official web site, "The band very much looks forward to meeting its USA fans again!"

Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

Jun. 18 - Chattanooga, TN - Riverbend Festival - Bud Light Stage
Jun. 22 - New York, NY - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
Jun. 24 - St. Charles, MO - Ameristar Casino St. Charles
Jun. 25 - Kansas City, MO - Ameristar Casino & Hotel Kansas City
Jul. 02 - Algona, IA - Freedom Park

URIAH HEEP celebrated its 40th anniversary by looking back to its past without melancholy or nostalgia and releasing a new album, "Celebration", last October.

HEEP history has been an extraordinary journey and it was time that their greatest classics were recorded in studio by the lineup playing them live to fans all over the world for more than 20 years.

The band re-recorded twelve of their most successful songs — classics like "Free Me", "Gypsy", "The Wizard", "Easy Livin'", and, of course, their all-time smash hit "Lady in Black".

In addition to that, they have composed and recorded two completely new songs as a special gift to their fans: "Only Human" and "Corridors of Madness", two of their best tracks in years.

URIAH HEEP released its first studio album in almost ten years, "Wake The Sleeper", in the U.S. on August 26, 2008 via Noise/Sanctuary Records.

Recorded in 2007, "Wake The Sleeper" was produced by Mike Paxman (STATUS QUO, JUDIE TZUKE).

URIAH HEEP's progressive heavy metal made the British band one of the most popular hard rock groups of the early '70s. Formed by guitarist Mick Box and vocalist David Byron in the late '60s, URIAH HEEP released their debut album "Very 'eavy... Very 'umble" in 1970. Since then the band has released 20 studio albums and played to millions of fans across the globe.

URIAH HEEP remains one of British rock's most consistent and long-standing acts, with album sales of over 30 million worldwide.

"Wake The Sleeper" was URIAH HEEP's 21st studio album.

Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail recently conducted an interview with AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Globe and Mail: You've got your solo album out and you're ready to hit the road, but, first, can you tell us the status of AEROSMITH?

Perry: Right now, we're talking about getting another singer to fill in for Steven [Tyler]. I don't know what's going on with him, but as far as AEROSMITH goes, we're going to find somebody to sing.

The Globe and Mail: Will you go the unknown, sound-alike-singer route, or look for a name guy?

Perry: I think it would make more sense, with a band like AEROSMITH, to get somebody who the fans might recognize. There's no sense going out there and being an AEROSMITH clone band. In order for both parties to get something out of this, to move things along musically, it's important to get somebody who's a legitimate headliner on their own.

The Globe and Mail: AEROSMITH's former A&R rep John Kalodner recently told Rolling Stone magazine that you guys aren't able to make an album like "Toys in the Attic" because you're not 23 years old any more. How do you respond to that?

Perry: I've been approached by hundreds of fans who've asked me "why don't you do a record like the old ones?" I've tried to figure out exactly what that they're talking about. Is it the sound? The way the songs were written? The lyrics? Is it the way the guitars play?

During VELVET REVOLVER /ex-GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash's appearance at the Marshall booth at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show on Saturday (January 16), it was announced that his debut solo album, "Slash", will be released in the U.S. on April 6. The CD will be made available in Europe via Roadrunner Records.

"Slash" will see Roadrunner Records enter into a unique and innovative association with a U.K. media partner — the special-interest media group Future. In a brand new concept in record distribution, the standard album release will be preceded by a "Fan Pack," in which the Roadrunner Records album will be bundled together with a highly collectable, 132-page special issue of Future Publishing's Classic Rock magazine dedicated to Slash's career. This will be the first format of the album available anywhere in the world.

The partnership is a first for music and media industries, marking the first-time a major new album has been released this way. The partnership ensures that Slash's new album is available through over 4,000 U.K. retailers that stock Classic Rock — sidestepping the issue of dwindling high street music outlets and top 20 only stocking in supermarkets. Classic Rock is one of the U.K.'s biggest rock music magazines and this year recorded its eighth consecutive circulation increase, the only paid-for music magazine to grow.

The Slash "Fan Pack" featuring his debut solo album from Roadrunner Records, along with a 132-page "Classic Rock Presents: Slash" special will have a cover price of £14.99.

Among the guests appearing on the album are BLACK EYED PEAS singer Fergie's (a.k.a. Stacy Ann Ferguson), Dave Grohl, Flea, Chris Cornell, Duff McKagan, WOLFMOTHER's Andrew Stockdale, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Nicole Scherzinger, Meat Loaf, MAROON 5's Adam Levine and Ozzy Osbourne, who contributes vocals to the first single.

According to LivingInPeru.com, dozens of METALLICA fans spent the night camping outside University of San Marcos Stadium in Lima, Peru in order to secure a place near the stage during the band's January 19 concert at the venue.

Despite the fact that the show is more than 24 hours away, a growing number of fans has gathered near the stadium Venezuela Avenue gates with their tents and sleeping bags.

Meanwhile, university authorities have announced that all activities for tomorrow have been suspended in order to make the concert run more smoothly.

Coqui Fernandes, the Peruvian businessman who is bringing METALLICA to Lima, said over the weekend that the stadium gates will be opened around noon tomorrow.

MEGADETH 's "Endgame" album took the No. 1 spot in WJCU's "Metal On Metal" annual listener Top 25 countdown show. SLAYER's "World Painted Blood" and HEAVEN & HELL's "The Devil You Know" were close runner-ups for the second and third positions, respectively.

This was the 26th year of the poll, which has become an annual tradition in Cleveland and one of "Metal On Metal"'s most listened to programs.

"I received an incredible response to this year's poll", says "Metal On Metal" host Bill Peters. "When all was said and done, 1,195 votes were registered.

"My listeners really look forward to this 'best-of' show each year and I enjoy doing it for them. It's their night to program the show.

"The list they have put together is very diverse with several surprises. There are some albums on the list I do not play on the program and several of my personal favorites did not make it, but that's okay.

"My listeners are very knowledgeable and passionate when it comes to their love for the music. I always rave to people around the world just how great they are and this is another reason to prove this fact true.

"This list holds up to and is better than most lists I have seen. I like it because it comes from the fans, not the so-called music industry insiders who are often out of touch with what the true metal fans like. The fans are the ones buying the music and supporting the bands. Their voices need and deserve to be heard!"

WJCU's "Metal On Metal" can be heard every Friday night from 6:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m. (EST) on 88.7 FM in the Cleveland, Ohio area or streamed worldwide at www.wjcu.org.

"Metal On Metal"'s top albums of 2009:

01. MEGADETH - "Endgame" (Roadrunner)
02. SLAYER - "World Painted Blood" (American)
03. HEAVEN & HELL - "The Devil You Know" (Rhino)
04. WOLF - "Ravenous" (Century Media)
05. KREATOR - "Hordes Of Chaos" (SPV)
06. WARBRINGER - "Walking Into Nightmares" (Century Media)
07. PRIMAL FEAR - "16.6 (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead)" (Frontiers)
08. SAXON - "Into The Labyrinth" (SPV)
09. SATYRICON - "The Age Of Nero" (Koch)
10. ANVIL - "This Is Thirteen" (VH1 Classic)
11. LICK THE BLADE - "Graveyard Of Empires" (Auburn)
12. FU MANCHU - "Signs Of Infinite Power" (Century Media)
13. TIM "RIPPER" OWENS - "Play My Game" (SPV)
14. AMORPHIS - "Skyforger" (Nuclear Blast)
15. IMMORTAL - "All Shall Fall" (Nuclear Blast)
16. DORO - "Fear No Evil" (AFM)
17. MASTODON - "Crack The Skye" (Reprise)
18. OUTLOUD - "We'll Rock You To Hell And Back Again" (Frontiers)
19. EPICA - "Design Your Universe" (Nuclear Blast)
20. ALICE IN CHAINS - "Black Gives Way To Blue" (Virgin)
21. IRON FIRE - "To The Grave" (SPV)
22. REDEMPTION - "Snowfall On Judgment Day" (Century Media)
23. KISS - "Sonic Boom" (Kiss)
24. BARONESS - "Blue Record" (Relapse)
25. SUEDE BROTHERS - "Ill Knew You" (Bad Breaker)

HAIL! members David Ellefson (bass; F5, ex-MEGADETH ), Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals; YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and newly appointed drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) took part in an all-star jam last night (Saturday, January 16) at The Slidebar in Fullerton, California to benefit DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng.

Commented the band: "The show last night at The Slidebar went amazing! The place was packed to the rafters and the line extended around the block 'till long after we played.

"It was an honor to be able to contribute to this benefit event.

"We wish you the best, Chi, and hope for your continued and full recovery.

"We originally planned a six-song set of 'Ace Of Spades', 'Breaking The Law', 'Grinder', 'Paranoid' and 'Run To The Hills ', but as we are prone to do, we threw in two more that even we didn't know we were going to play! We were having such a good time that we spontaneously broke into 'Cold Gin' and ended the night with 'The Trooper'.

"As Andreas [Kisser; SEPULTURA/HAIL! guitarist] was not with us (he was in Brazil), MACHINE HEAD guitarist Phil Demmel and THE LETTER BLACK guitarist Mark Anthony filled in and did an amazing job. These guys both killed it and we thank them profusely.

"Mike Portnoy played drums and was his usual ridiculously great.

"Due to the nature of the event, we weren't able to rehearse or even soundcheck, so when we stepped on stage, it was literally the first notes we ever played together.

"Most surreal memory of the evening was that there were no dressing rooms in the club, so we changed and hung out in the kitchen of the restaurant as the staff actively cooked all around us.

"LIT guitarist Jeremy Popoff, who owns the venue, along with the event promoter, Danny Hill, took good care of us and we thank them.

"It was a fun warm up for our shows in New York and Boston next week. We're looking forward to them and will see you all soon."

Chi has been in a semi-conscious state since being involved in a horrific accident in November 2008, and his family has accumulated an overwhelming amount of medical bills that insurance does not entirely cover.

Cheng is 39 years old and is a poet as well as a musician. He released a CD of his poetry called "The Bamboo Parachute" in 2000.

Cheng has been a member of DEFTONES since its formation in 1988. The band released its debut disc, "Adrenaline", in 1995 and scored a platinum record with 2000's "White Pony".

For more information, visit OneLoveForChi.com.

Metal Asylum recently conducted an interview with W.A.S.P. mainman Blackie Lawless. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Asylum: Are all the songs on "Babylon" about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Blackie: Well, only a couple; it was a nice starting point. I'm always looking for something that's gonna get people thinking. You try not to make fast food for the ears, you try and get people to think about their lives a bit. "Babylon's Burning" and "Thunder Red" are about the Horsemen, the original plan was to do a song about each horse but after I got through the first two you don't want to beat (haha) a dead horse, I just felt like I said everything I wanted to say in those two songs, you know. We were gonna do four different covers, with four different colors, and after I looked at it lyrically, I didn't think I could say anymore than what I said already. After that I just did what I thought was socially observant about things I know about. One of the things I talk about a couple times on this record, was what fame does to the performer and the audience.

Metal Asylum: You talked about fame too in "The Crimson Idol", right?

Blackie: Yeah… but I think really after all these years "Crimson Idol" was about a kid who was a musician and gets famous and all this stuff and he finds out fame really isn't what he is looking for, but really "Crimson Idol" is about love. It's a real simple story and at the time when I did it I thought it was more complex than it was. But looking back on it you can see what it really boils down to, and I'm not diminishing the value of the album because it is real powerful, part of the reason it worked is because its something everyone can relate to. Especially that whole idea of not getting what you want from your parents, or being loved in general, that's what struck a nerve in people. And at the time I was almost writing it as a footnote, but when I look back it was much bigger in the story than I gave it credit for.

Metal Asylum: Why include two cover songs on "Babylon"?

Blackie: We recorded about 15 songs, and "Promised Land" was a good song at the end of the album because we take you to a real dark place up till then. I honestly didn't think "Promised Land" was gonna make it to the record, and it was the first one we recorded. We hadn't been in the studio for a while when we recorded "Babylon" so we decided to put on some training wheels and ease ourselves back into recording, and "Promised Land", I think that's a great version. But more importantly, where does that song take the record? It wasn't like it was a great master plan to take you to this real dark place throughout the whole record, and take you to the promised land when it was done, but it was all an accident.

Metal Asylum: Is there an overall message to all these songs on "Babylon"?

Blackie: Oh, yeah! Pay attention to the world and what's goin on around you. What really got me going was it was the end of Bush in the office and we are listening to these guys about this global financial crisis, and I was listening to some guys in Brussels at the EU and they were talking about "maybe a one-world government and system." And then another guy said, "If we have a one-world system then we should have a one-world currency." A third guy said "we feel by the year 2017 we could have all micro chipped." And I'm thinking do these guys have any concept of what they are suggesting? I mean, we are talking 666 potentially here. And I went back and refreshed my memory of Revelation in the Bible, did some study on it and some other books in the Bible, and I was astonished to how accurate the predictions in the Bible were in comparison to what these guys were talking about. You know, what you should do... do what I did, take five minutes and look up
microchipping, and watch what comes up its far more advanced than you might think it is. There's a school in Oregon where kids have microchips in their hands for lunch and they wave their hands in front of a bar code counter to pay for their lunch. It's really scary stuff. When I saw all of this, it's really what got me going.

Metal Asylum: When you did the anniversary tour for the "Crimson Idol", did you record any shows from DVD?

Blackie: Yes, we did. None of the footage is finished and I'm not sure when I'm gonna have time to finish it. Don't know when the release would be proper for it. The [20th] anniversary will be in two years [2012], so I think would be the time to release it. It will include the short film originally shot for the album, plus the music videos, plus a 45-minute narrative interview in the studio (old Fort Apache) while we were making the record. I did it the day after we shot the back cover for the album, so what you have is me literally walking through the studio and how it was recorded. The footage is really cool; I re-watched recently.

ANGEL WITCH, HORISONT, F.K.Ü., KONGH, ASTEROID and BRUTUS have been confirmed for Muskelrock, a two-day festival set to take place June 4-5, 2010 in Tyrolen outside Växjö, Sweden.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

ANGEL WITCH
ASTEROID
BIRDFLESH
BRUTUS
BULLET
F.K.Ü.
HORISONT
KONGH
OVERDRIVE
SLINGBLADE
STEELWING
TALES OF HORROR
TORCH

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/tyrolen.

Dave Wedge of WeeklyDig.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow of Canadian metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excertps from the chat follow below.

WeeklyDig.com: Isn't there something ironic in the fact that it took a movie about you guys not making it for you guys to make it?

Lips: Success is doing what you love and getting away with it. And I've been doing it for 36 years. I've recorded 15 albums, the band has been around 30 years. I'd say that's a success. Have I made it from the movie? I guess that's yet to be seen. I'm certainly famous. But if people want to measure it by financial success, I'm still not. Because I'm not rich. But I wasn't before either.

WeeklyDig.com: Any regrets about not joining MOTÖRHEAD back when you were asked, in 1983?

Lips: What's the point in wondering about something you never did? I don't waste my time thinking about things like that. Do I regret not being in MOTÖRHEAD? No. I'm in ANVIL.

WeeklyDig.com: Do you have any resentment toward other '80s metal bands who made it while you guys struggled?

Lips: I never questioned it, never was bitter about it, didn't care. We never tailored our music to be that way. To me, that kind of success is asking for big kinds of trouble. It ends all your freedom to do what you want because everyone is riding your back to make money off of you. That's not fun. Watch the Lars [Ulrich; METALLICA drummer] interview [in the documentary] and he'll tell you all about it. He says I've probably had a better time than he has, and he's probably right. I've never had a head of a record label telling me to write a song for the radio. I've done what I've wanted, when I've wanted to and how I've wanted.

Read the entire interview at WeeklyDig.com.

REFORMED rock band Soundgarden are rumoured for this year's Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth House.

The Seattle grunge legends – contemporaries of Nirvana and Pearl Jam in the 90s – got back together on New Year's Day after a 12-year hiatus.

And this week's NME says Chris Cornell and Co are talking to Sonisphere organisers.

Soundgarden are also rumoured for the touring festival on website www.efestivals.co.uk, along with Megadeth.

Best known for Grammy Award-winning single Black Hole Sun, the American quartet went their separate ways in 1997.
Soundgarden at Sonisphere

Lead singer Cornell later formed Audioslave and then embarked on a solo career, with mixed results.

However, his solo effort You Know My Name was used in the James Bond film Casino Royale, Daniel Craig's first outing as 007.

Cornell announced on January 1 that he was getting back together with lead guitarist Kim Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd and there would be a Soundgarden reunion this year, although no firm details of where they will be playing have been revealed yet.

Cameron is also the permanent drummer for alternative rockers Pearl Jam, who are playing Hard Rock Calling in London's Hyde Park on June 25 and a string of dates across Europe in early July.

British heavy metal giants Iron Maiden and German band Rammstein have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day Sonisphere Festival taking place within Knebworth's grounds from July 30 to August 1.

Others on the bill include the legendary Alice Cooper, who will close the Saturn stage on the Friday night, British alt-rockers Placebo, thrash metal acts Slayer and Anthrax, Papa Roach, The Cult, Mötley Crüe and Iggy & The Stooges.

Last year's inaugural Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth saw the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Heaven & Hell and Alice in Chains play before a total weekend audience of 80,000.

Jon Oliva (JON OLIVA'S PAIN, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SAVATAGE) has joined the list of guest musicians who will appear on the forthcoming release from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project.

Commented Sammet: "Jon will appear on a theatrical song called 'Death Is Just A Feeling'.

"We just had a press listening last weekend in Mousse T's prestigious Peppermint Park studios in Hannover where we had recorded the duet with Klaus Meine a few months ago, for example.

"Many of the numerous journalists that had come from all over Europe said that they have the feeling this is going to be the most epic and simply the best AVANTASIA stuff with the widest variety so far, yet every song fits perfectly to the enchanting conceptual character.

"I am proud; I knew we were gonna do something momentous, but it feels great that it's been confirmed once more.

"Jon's song stood out as it is like a little movie itself, very eerie, and it could be a perfect chapter in a horror musical."

AVANTASIA will celebrate its comeback this spring with a new epic masterpiece, to be released on April 3, 2010 as two separate albums and in a limited deluxe edition (in one box set) entitled "The Wicked Symphony" and "Angel Of Babylon".

The cover artwork for the two CDs (see below) was created by Thomas Ewerhard, who also worked on EDGUY's "Hellfire Club" and AVANTASIA's "The Scarecrow" albums.

So far Tobias has confirmed the following musicians to be part of the forthcoming AVANTASIA opus:

* Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS)
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST , YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH)
* Eric Singer (KISS, ALICE COOPER )
* Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN)
* Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, ARK, MILLENIUM)
* Bob Catley (MAGNUM)
* Sascha Paeth
* Felix Bohnke (EDGUY)
* Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY, SIEGES EVEN)
* Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X)
* Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, DIO, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN)
* André Matos (ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIPER)
* Bruce Kulick (KISS, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD)
* Cloudy Yang
* Oliver Hartmann (AT VANCE, HARTMANN)
* Jon Oliva (JON OLIVA'S PAIN, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SAVATAGE)

Regarding his decision to release the next AVANTASIA chapter in two separate CDs, Tobias said, "I have always given my very best, but this new chapter in AVANTASIA's history is too much and too ambitious to be just a regular album. I have worked on it for years now, and it has become even more than two albums!

"I knew that story would be spread out over two albums back then when we started working on it in 2006, 'cause we had written a real rock opera of over 20 songs even back then. But since then, we kept composing, and out came even bigger and better material.

"Looking at the music industry today with all the CD burning and downloading, I guess in the near future many of us traditional rock and metal bands won't be able to spend such a production budget. I am afraid I won't be able to afford so many guests and such a big production with orchestration and a choir and all that. That's why this production takes so much time; it may be the last big epic I will be able to afford, and I want it to be the biggest piece I have worked on so far."

Kiske has appeared on every AVANTASIA album so far, including the first two full-length releases, "The Metal Opera" (2001) and "The Metal Opera Pt. II" (2002).

On the topic of the new AVANTASIA album's musical direction, Sammet recently stated, "We've got quite many songs, and it ranges from epic ballads to metal opera. From pop to hard rock to folk to speed metal. My best friend, who co-wrote the story of 'The Metal Opera' back then, just listened to some of the tracks and he said that it will blow people away and enchant AVANTASIA fans and it will surely piss people off . . . It's just enchanting music. And these days honest and good music is kind of offending to some, that's pretty sick, isn't it? But as long as I get goose bumps hearing majestic music, I do not really care if I am fashionable or not."

The most recent album from AVANTASIA, "The Scarecrow", was one of the 20 best-selling albums in whole Europe during the fourth week of January 2008, according to a press release.

"The Scarecrow" was released on January 25, 2008 as a standard CD as well as rare picture (double) vinyl. It features a long list of guest musicians, including Bob Catley, ex-MASTERPLAN frontman Jorn Lande, ex-HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske, Alice Cooper, KISS drummer Eric Singer, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker and GAMMA RAY's Kai Hansen. The album produced a Top 10 German hit single, "Lost In Space ", and entered the national charts in 15 countries, with the CD landing in the Top 10 in four countries.

Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have scheduled the following Mexican dates:

March 05 - Monterrey, Mexico - Esenica
March 07 - Mexico City, Mexico - National Auditorium
March 08 - Guadalajara, Mexico - Diana Theater

DREAM THEATER has contributed a brand new instrumental song , "Raw Dog", to the digital extended play (EP) soundtrack for the highly anticipated PlayStation3-exclusive videogame "God of War III". The EP, titled "God of War: Blood & Metal", will be released in March as a part of the "God of War III Ultimate Edition", and will feature five exclusive unreleased songs from Roadrunner artists, including KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM, OPETH and TAKING DAWN.

"This is the first time in 24 years that we've written and recorded a song for anything other than one of our own albums, so we're up for the challenge and excited to have been asked," said DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy about recording an exclusive instrumental track for the soundtrack.

Consumers who purchase the "God of War III Ultimate Edition" will receive a voucher code to download the tracks, as well as downloadable music in the form of the "God of War Trilogy" soundtrack. Fans will also receive a special code to download a director's cut of "God of War: Unearthing the Legend", a full-length movie documentary depicting the history of the "God of War" franchise, access to an exclusive "God of War Challenge Arena" environment with up to seven unique challenges, an exclusive Kratos skin, and a limited-edition art book.

The "God of War III Ultimate Edition" will retail for $99.99 (MSRP).

For more information about "God of War", visit www.GodofWar.com.

Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED are forced to miss the first three shows of "The Black Procession" tour with MACHINE HEAD and BLEEDING THROUGH. They will be replaced at those dates by Germany's CALIBAN.

Affected shows:

Jan. 23 - Stuttgart, GER @ Schleyerhalle
Jan. 25 - Wiesbaden, GER @ Schlachthof
Jan. 26 - Hamburg, GER @ Grosse Freiheit

"Say Hello To Tragedy", the seventh album from CALIBAN, sold around 550 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at No. 97 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Say Hello To Tragedy"entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 36. The LP also debuted at No. 71 on the official Download chart.

"Say Hello To Tragedy" was released in Europe on August 24, 2009 via Century Media Records (one day later in the U.S.). The follow-up to 2007's "The Awakening" was once again produced by Benny Richter, co-produced by guitarist Marc Goertz and was mixed by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. The artwork for the CD was created by Basti Basti of CALLEJON, who has previously worked with such bands as HEAVEN SHALL BURN and WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH.

Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED will miss the first three shows of "The Black Procession" tour with MACHINE HEAD and BLEEDING THROUGH due to the fact that the band's frontman, Jamey Jasta, has been taken ill. The affected shows (Stuttgart, Offenbach and Hamburg) will be made up around HATEBREED's April 23 headlining appearance at the Groezrock festival in in Meerhout, Belgium.

Commented Jasta: "I feel terrible to have to miss these first three shows but I need this time to heal up to make sure I will be 100%."

Affected dates:

Jan. 23 - Stuttgart, GER @ Schleyerhalle
Jan. 25 - Wiesbaden, GER @ Schlachthof
Jan. 26 - Hamburg, GER @ Grosse Freiheit

The new self-titled album from HATEBREED sold 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 37 on The Billboard 200 chart.

HATEBREED's last collection of new material, "Supremacy", opened with around 27,000 copies back in September 2006 to land at No. 31. This number was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Rise Of Brutality", which shifted more than 32,000 copies back in November 2003 to debut at No. 30.

HATEBREED's covers album, entitled "For The Lions", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in May 2009 to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Hatebreed" was released in North America on September 29 via E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records). The effort was made available on CD, digital download, vinyl and special edition with a bonus 65-minute DVD.

"Hatebreed" was issued on Roadrunner in all other territories.

Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED will miss the first three shows of "The Black Procession" tour with MACHINE HEAD and BLEEDING THROUGH due to the fact that the band's frontman, Jamey Jasta, has been taken ill. The affected shows (Stuttgart, Offenbach and Hamburg) will be made up around HATEBREED's April 23 headlining appearance at the Groezrock festival in in Meerhout, Belgium.

Commented Jasta: "I feel terrible to have to miss these first three shows but I need this time to heal up to make sure I will be 100%."

Affected dates:

Jan. 23 - Stuttgart, GER @ Schleyerhalle
Jan. 25 - Wiesbaden, GER @ Schlachthof
Jan. 26 - Hamburg, GER @ Grosse Freiheit

The new self-titled album from HATEBREED sold 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 37 on The Billboard 200 chart.

HATEBREED's last collection of new material, "Supremacy", opened with around 27,000 copies back in September 2006 to land at No. 31. This number was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Rise Of Brutality", which shifted more than 32,000 copies back in November 2003 to debut at No. 30.

HATEBREED's covers album, entitled "For The Lions", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in May 2009 to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Hatebreed" was released in North America on September 29 via E1 Music (formerly KOCH Records). The effort was made available on CD, digital download, vinyl and special edition with a bonus 65-minute DVD.

"Hatebreed" was issued on Roadrunner in all other territories.

White Noise Metal's "That BS Dude" Brian Shields recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy of Florida metallers TRIVIUM. Watch the chat below.

In a wide-ranging discussion about the lyrics on all four TRIVIUM studio albums, Heafy tells Shields he wants fans to know what he's thinking about the world. One example comes on the song "Detonation" off the album "The Crusade".

"I wanted to go into socio-politics, what people are going through," Heafy says. "I wanted to make it angry. Sometimes it is a little easier to make it a little more eloquent, a little more thought out and people respect it more. I wanted to make something that was pissed off. This country was supposed to be a place that was founded on living a different belief outside everyone else's. I wanted to show my views. Sometimes we might have fans that disagree with mine and might not like what I have to say, and maybe some people come from the school of thought that you don't discuss what your beliefs are but my thing is if we're not completely honest in this, then what's the point? So I wanted it to be very overtly what I'm for."

From the band's start with "Ember to Inferno", Heafy says TRIVIUM has been very clear about where it wants to go.

"Every record we've had, the album titles have been directly reflective of what we've had going on as a band at that time," Heafy says. "The idea was to go from that nothingness to something special. We didn't know when or how or if but we knew we wanted it. It was our goal. That's what the song was about. It was about creating that vision of ourselves and to really go for it."

On TRIVIUM's breakout album "Ascendancy", Heafy tackled the issue of domestic violence on the song "A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation", a track he hopes will make some people feel less alone.

"I've actually had a lot of people who said, 'Thanks to that song, I was able to read it and realize I'm not the only one and it helped me get through this,'" he reveals. "I've always preferred that people I cared about could put the burden off on me."

On "The Crusade", Heafy tells White Noise Metal he allowed his social viewpoints free rein with songs focusing on bigotry, homophobia, sexism, racism, and more, not your typical subjects for a heavy metal song.

"I never hear it so that's why I do it," Heafy tells Shields. "I did get criticized by some of the people, not in our band but in our team, the industry people, saying you don't need to come out this much about it but I said, 'Why not?' Everyone else gets to say how they're so against it whether it be religions or political groups or whatever it is. I wanted to tackle everything."

Heafy says true TRIVIUM fans appreciate that strong viewpoint.

"I think what that record did was weed out the people who were only into us because we were one of those trendy bands," he says. "It showed the people early that we're going to do anything, that we're not afraid to do the opposite of what we normally do. I think we definitely lost some people and I don't know if they ever came back. But if you're going to hate our band just because we try something musically, you were never really in to us in the first place. What people should want from their bands is a band that's always being true to themselves and that record was as true as it could get."

On the most recent release, "Shogun", TRIVIUM steps away from current politics and looks at history. Heafy says he gets inspiration from his personal life, what's going on in the band, what's going on in the world, or anything that speaks to him. He tells Shields you can often find him spending a lot of time on the road going to art museums.

"Lately I've been getting into modern and contemporary art," he tells White Noise Metal. "I got to go to the Tate Modern in London. It's this old factory converted into modern and contemporary art. I really like that because it's their interpretation of what art should be. They don't follow the rules they just do what they like and I really like that a lot. That's the way I like to do music. I don't have formal training. I don't know music theory. I can't read music on guitar. I've thought about teaching myself but then I thought I might be giving myself too many rules. So I would rather just make my own rules and go with it."

TRIVIUM has a new song coming out on the "Gods of War III" video game with 30 songs already written for the next studio album.

"It's really great, the lyrics, the song title, the brutality, and you can really see what we've learned from every single record going into the next one," he says.

"White Noise Metal" focuses on the music produced by some of metal's biggest names.

The podcast is available for download or viewing at www.whitenoisemetal.com.

MUSTASCH was honored with the "Best Hard Rock" award at the Swedish "Grammis" gala, which was held this past Friday night (January 15) at Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm.

The nominees in the "Best Hard Rock" category were as follows:

* CANDLEMASS - Death Magic Doom
* HAMMERFALL - No Sacrifice, No Victory
* HARDCORE SUPERSTAR - Beg For It
* MUSTASCH - Mustasch
* RAISED FIST - Veil Of Ignorance

The artists were all nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2009.

Last year's Grammis award in the "Best Hard Rock" category was won by IN FLAMES for the band's "A Sense Of Purpose" CD.

For more information (in Swedish), visit www.grammis.se.

MUSTASCH's "Mine" video can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's self-titled album, which was made available outside Scandianavia on January 8 via Nuclear Blast Records.

MUSTASCH was featured on the September 30, 2009 edition of the "Nyhetsmorgon" program on Sweden's TV4. The band performed two songs ("Mine" and "Damn It's Dark") and took part in an interview.

MUSTASCH's self-titled album was released on September 30, 2009 in Finland and Sweden and October 5, 2009 in Denmark and Norway via Regain Records. The follow-up to 2007's "Latest Version of the Truth" was recorded at Bohus Sound Studios in Sweden with producer Tobias Lindell.

MUSTASCH will support KISS on the following dates:

June 12 - Stockholm, SWE @ Stockholm Stadium
June 13 - Malmö, SWE @ Malmö Stadium

Drummer Mats "Dojan" Hansson left MUSTASCH last year "due to his chronic muscle ruptures." He has since been replaced by Danne McKenzie.

MUSTASCH released a "best-of" album, entitled "Lowlife Highlight", in February 2008 through Regain Records. The CD features 18 songs from the band's back catalogue originally issued by EMI.

Long-running Swedish metallers DESTINY have set "Global Warming" as the title of their much-delayed new album. According to the band, the music for the nine-song CD "is almost complete. . . As there are a lot of guitar harmonies on the new album DESTINY is considering to once again add a second guitarist to the lineup, to be able to reproduce the songs correctly live. Unfortunately, current guitarist Michael Åberg broke his leg on New Year's Eve, which in turn postponed his final recordings. The only guitar parts left to record is one guitar solo and some acoustic twelve-string guitars. There might be some keyboards added as well. However, the greatest task is still to find the right new singer. Auditions will commence as soon as the final recordings are completed."

Bassist Stefan Björnshög previously stated about DESTINY's singer search, "We will be very careful to choose a vocalist with a strong voice that suits the new music well. It will also be of great importance that he will have a good personality that works well with the rest of the band."

DESTINY is:

Stefan Björnshög - Bass
Birger Löfman - Drums
Micke Åberg - Guitar

DESTINY's most recent release was the "Beyond All Sense 2005" CD, a re-recorded version of DESTINY's debut album (originally issued in 1985).

FULLFORCE (now apparently written as one word), the new Swedish melodic metal project featuring Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE, SILENT MEMORIAL, PLANET ALLIANCE) on vocals, Stefan Elmgren (HAMMERFALL) on guitar , Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on drums, and Carl-Johan Grimmark (NARNIA) on guitar, has announced the addition of
bassist Tommy Larsson (HEED) to the group's ranks. FULLFORCE says in a statement, "[Tommy] will be a great addition to the band both personally, musically and his dedication to music ."

FULLFORCE recently parted ways with bassist Magnus Rosén (HAMMERFALL, X-WORLD/5, REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE). According to the band, "Magnus [came] to a situation where he [felt] he [had] too many projects going on and he [felt] he [didn't] have any time left to dedicate to FULLFORCE since FULLFORCE is a real band and no project."

A FULLFORCE demo track, "Walls Of Secrets", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

According to FULLFORCE's official bio, "Mike and Magnus met for the first time in 2006 during the recordings of the PLANET ALLIANCE album. They became very good friends right away both musically and personally so, since the recording of that album Mike and Magnus have often talked about working more together. Same thing goes with longtime friend Stefan Elmgren and Magnus after the departure of the well-known metal band called HAMMERFALL. They also talked often about starting up a new band together, so the course was more or less set in late 2008 when Magnus gave Mike a phone call asking him if he was interested in starting up a new band with him and Stefan."

All keyboards on the album will most likely be recorded by Mike, Stefan and Carl-Johan.

U.K. modern thrashers SYLOSIS will support FEAR FACTORY on the following dates:

Feb. 16 - Manchester, UK - Academy 2
Feb. 17 - Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun Hall
Feb. 18 - Glasgow, UK - Garage
Feb. 19 - London, UK - Electric Ballroom

Commented SYLOSIS guitarist Josh Middleton: "We're really excited to be going on tour with FEAR FACTORY. It'll be cool to see Dino [Cazares, guitar] back on stage with Burton [C. Bell, vocals]. Gene Hoglan [drms] is also one of our heroes, so it'll be awesome to share some beers."

SYLOSIS's "After Lifeless Years" video can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's 2008 debut, "Conclusion Of An Age", which was released via Nuclear Blast Records.

SYLOSIS entered the studio on November 13, 2009 to begin recording its second album for an early 2010 release via Nuclear Blast . The CD is being produced by Scott Atkins, who previously worked with the band on their debut.

Commented mainman Josh Middleton: ""The songs are a little longer this time around and a bit more complex and technical which is something that's just happened naturally."

"We contemplated using other producers but we all really enjoyed working with Scott and we were really happy with the production on the last album. He really pushes for tightness and understands where we're coming from musically.

"In terms of the production, this time we're going to aim for a much more organic, raw sound. Rob's really progressed as a drummer in the last year so I can't wait to hear him lay this stuff down in the studio. Once the drums are complete, we head off on tour with DRAGONFORCE so we wont end up recording the guitars, bass and vocals etc. until January."

The iTunes version of "Conclusion Of An Age" included the exclusive bonus track "The Fate Of Vultures".

An e-card for the for "Conclusion Of An Age" is available at this location.

SYLOSIS' musical style was described in a previous press release as "brutal, technical and deceptively melodic modern metal that favours invention over cliché and never shies away from nimble shifts in style, tempo or mood. The quintet manage to bring an epic, technical and melodic feel to the old-school thrash sound, combining incredible guitar solos and bloodlust vocals. The outcome, a sound that is both devastatingly feral and blisteringly precise."

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/sylosis.

FEJD, the Swedish folk rock/metal band featuring members of NOSTRADAMEUS and PATHOS, has issued the following update:

"We've been talking back and forth about the start of the recordings of our second full-length album, and we finally agreed on March 22 as a start date for the recordings. That means that from March 22 we will be [at RoastingHouse Studios] in in Malmö, Sweden to record our coming album.

"We've always been in a situation where we could write music and lyrics in a pace that seamed to fit us as a band, but now with a label behind us we have to work somewhat faster than what we've done in the past. That is something that is both encouraging and new for us but something that we feel very satisfied with, and that stimulates us to work hard to do our best.

"Our new material is very live-oriented, which means that it's easy to 'rock' to and we hope that we will be able to play one or two songs for you live this coming summer.

"Our aim is to get this album our for you to listen to as soon as possible, but that still means that it will take a couple of months after the recordings are finished, say somewhere like August/September 2010, to be completely honest. We are doing our best together with Napalm [Records] to release it as soon as we can."

FEJD released its full-length debut, "Storm", in March 2009 via Napalm Records.

FEJD formed in 2001 through a fusion of the folk music duo RIMMERFORS (featuring brothers Patrik Rimmerfors and Niklas Rimmerfors) and a couple of members from the metal band PATHOS. Rimmerfors played folk music with medieval undertones, performing on contemporary instruments, and together with their childhood friends of PATHOS, the transformed into a refined band with the best of both worlds — the weight of heavy metal in symbiosis with the typical melodic language and sadness of the Nordic folk music.

The brothers' interest in Swedish medieval folk music started back in 1995, commenced by music studying and the feeling of wanting to explore new musical ground and try something new. The brothers' musical background, as well as their bandmates, has its roots in heavy metal music. Inspiration is also drawn from like-minded bands such as GARMARNA and HEDNINGARNA.

Swedish metallers WOLF have scheduled a mini-tour of their home country in April. The band states, "We couldn't afford a seven dates of hell tour, so we'll settle for three."

The details are as follows:

April 01 - Harry B James - Stockholm, Sweden
April 02 - Club Monster - Gävle, Sweden
April 03 - Tranan - Bollnäs, Sweden

WOLF's latest album, "Ravenous", was released in North America on March 24, 2009 via Century Media Records. The CD features a guest guitar solo by Hank Shermann (FORCE OF EVIL, MERCYFUL FATE) and guest vocals by Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ROYAL HUNT). For the fierce and bloody artwork, the band once again decided to work with its longtime cover artist Thomas Holm (MERCYFUL FATE). Topped off by the phenomenal production by Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, JUDAS PRIEST), "Ravenous" promises "a heavy metal delicacy par excellence!"

BEHEMOTH, DEATHBOUND, WINTERWOLF and TORTURE PULSE are the first confirmed bands for the Jalometalli Winterfest, set to take place Saturday, March 6 at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland.

For more information, visit www.jalometalli.net.

ASPHYX has parted ways with bassist Wannes Gubbels due to "musical differences." The group states, "Since ASPHYX is a non-compromising band, we had no other choice than to find a suitable replacement. A replacement in the very person of Alwin Zuur [PULVERIZER, ESCUTCHEON], who, we think, was the missing link. We, however, wish Wannes all the best for the future, musically and personally, and thank him for the past three years.

"Besides the fact that Alwin is a very nice guy, he's also a 100% true old-school death metalhead who, just like us, only wants one thing and one thing only and that's playing death the brutal way without compromises.

"Alwin and ASPHYX already rehearsed and it was a great experience with him on board. The match was there. Alwin thinks and plays 100% ASPHYX and being already a long time fan he stated himself that 'a dream came true.'"

ASPHYX's new lineup will make its live debut at this year's edition of the Hammer Of Doom festival, set to take place February 6, 2010 for at Posthalle in Würzburg, Germany. ASPHYX will play a "special doom set" at the event.

ASPHYX 2010 is:

Martin van Drunen (vocals)
Alwin Zuur (bass)
Paul Baayens (guitar )
Bob Bagchus (drums)

ASPHYX's "Death...The Brutal Way" video can be viewed below. The clip was helmed by Oliver Barth of Visions In Fear.

"Death...The Brutal Way" is the title track of ASPHYX's comeback album, which was released in Europe on June 22, 2009 via Century Media Records (September 1 in the U.S. via Ibex Moon Records). The CD was recorded at the Sonic Assault studio and engineered by Frank Klein Douwel (who is also the band's live sound engineer). Mixing duties were handled Dan Swanö (NIGHTINGALE, EDGE OF SANITY and BLOODBATH fame) at Unisound in Sweden.

The limited-edition version of "Death...The Brutal Way" contains additional slipcase packaging as well as a bonus DVD featuring the band's entire, unforgettable reunion show from 2007's Party.San festival in Bad Berka, Germany.

Baltimore, Maryland's MISERY INDEX entered Wright Way Studios (DYING FETUS, SLIPKNOT , MOS DEF) on January 2 with engineer Steve Wright to begin recording its new album, tentatively titled "Heirs To Thievery", for a May release via Relapse Records.

Regarding the recording process, MISERY INDEX drummer Adam Jarvis told SickDrummerMagazine.com, "As always, we started with drums first. This time around recording at home allowed me to use some different drums and make to sure I had the best drums for the sound we were going for... HUGE!!! I had help from a good friend of mine; drum tech, Jon-John Michaud from the band SWARM OF THE LOTUS, and having him involved helped getting the process of finding the right drum sounds fly by, and I tracked threesongs the first day."

On the drums used on "Heirs To Thievery":

"The toms I used on the record are from another buddy of mine, Keith Larson at The Baltimore Drum Company. Sizes used 10",12" and 16" solid Maple shells, with clear Emperor Heads. I used my Ddrum Dominion maple kicks 20"x20" and a hand-hammered brass Worldmax snare 6.5"x14", which is the best-sounding snare I have ever used in the studio. We tried out a couple different snare drums and the Worldmax with an Emperor X head had the crack we were looking for! The cymbals I used on the recording were mostly Meinl cymbals, which I have an endorsement with.

"A lot of times when you get in the studio everything sounds totally different once you hear it recorded... Especially the cymbals. Since I'm a pretty heavy cymbal hitter, they are the most important part of the record (next to the snare, of course)."

Read more from SickDrummerMagazine.com.

"Heirs To Thievery" tentative track listing:

01. Embracing Extinction
02. Fed To The Wolves
03. The Carrion Call
04. Heirs To Thievery
05. Spectator
06. The Seventh Cavalry
07. Illuminaught
08. Plague Of Objects
09. You Lose
10. Sleeping Giants

The band will also record a bonus song for the Japanese edition of the album.

MISERY INDEX's Jason Netherton previously stated about the upcoming CD, "The thread that binds several songs lyrically surrounds ideas of hidden history, how we interpret our nation, and our idea of who we are culturally and collectively, as it is generally handed down to us in terms of icons, wars, struggles and triumph."

MISERY INDEX will embark on a tour of Australia and New Zealand this spring. The trek will kick off in early April and will also include DECAPITATED, PSYCROPTIC, and ORIGIN.

Greek extreme metal veterans ROTTING CHRIST will embark on a headlining tour of Poland in April. Support on the trek will come from LOST SOUL and GOSCIE.

Commented the band: "We are honored as a band that we are back in the land that has been supporting our horde since our first steps and we promise to our Polish metal brothers that we will spit our guts on the stage and you will attend the most ROTTING CHRIST show ever."

The dates are as follows:

April 15 - Gwint - Bialystok, Poland
April 16 - Graffity - Lublin, Poland
April 17 - Podpalmed - Rzeszow Poland
April 18 - Loch Ness - Krakow, Poland
April 19 - Mega Club - Katowice, Poland
April 20 - Madness - Wroclaw, Poland
April 21 - Dekompresja - Lodz, Poland
April 22 - Estrada - Bydgoszcz, Poland
April 23 - Slowianin - Szczecin, Poland
April 24 - Ucho - Gdynia, Poland
April 25 - Blue Note - Poznan, Poland

ROTTING CHRIST will release its new album, "Aealo", on February 15 in Europe and February 23 in the U.S. via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at Lunatach Studios in Katerini, Greece and will feature guest appearances by Greek-American vocalist Diamanda Galas and PRIMORDIAL frontman Alan A. Nemtheanga.

"Aealo" track listing:

01. Aealo
02. Eon Aenaos
03. Demonon Vrosis
04. Noctis Era
05. dub-sag-ta-ke
06. Fire Death and Fear
07. Nekron Iahes...
08. ...Pir Threontai
09. Thou Art Lord
10. Santa Muerte
11. Orders from the Dead


Vocalist Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill of Irish dark metal masters PRIMORDIAL has issued the following update:

"A new year begins. The older we get, the faster the years seem to click by. Edging us nearer to the grave with every second.

"This year I have really had a sense that every moment in your brief flicker happens but once. The sun only dawns on you a finite amount of times. I stood in awe of Tintoretto's paintings on the ceiling of the Scuola Grande in Venice only two months ago and thought are we so selfish as men to think we deserve another state of consciousness, a heaven.

"Although beautiful, they depict a world of faith I find it impossible to penetrate. I can understand it — we fear death so had to create some way to circumvent it yet his bones lay in the ground like any other. Pauper, prince, faithful or faithless. The promise of eternity somehow the reward for what we go through in life.

"The fear I understand, the faith I do not.....

"Not far from Thessaloniki is Mount Olympus. I can see it looming ahead of the highway from the backseat as the rain steadily beats down.

"I brought the Irish weather with me to Greece. This is the seat of the Greek Gods.

"How are the gods different only more human than the Christian god? I ask myself. Maybe more natural but represent perhaps no less an attempt to understand our fragile relationship to life and how we cling to it.

"In your 20s you are certain of your own immortality, yet as we creep towards middle, some of the atheists become agnostic. No doubt I am the last in line of millions of 'artists,' and I use that word sparingly, who have tried to put pen to paper and make sense of death.

"What has all this got to do with PRIMORDIAL? Well, my friends, it seems that every lyric for the new PRIMORDIAL album seems death obsessed, steeped in faithlessness, weary and wary of spirituality. Of course, this may change tack as the months go by and year zero for album number seven comes closer, but right now this might just be the most personal set of ramblings I've put to paper.

"Rambling… seems the right word for this blog. ....

"Band stuff? The final viewing of the [new PRIMORDIAL] DVD ['All Empires Fall'] is tomorrow as I write this. The release date is now March 10th.

"Most things that could go wrong or stand in our way as usual have. Not least our fragile grasp of time, much to the exasperation of our patient and penitent label.

"I've waxed and waned lyrical about the DVD before, so there really isn't much more to say other than you will see very soon for yourselves.....

"[The reissue of PRIMORDIAL's 2000 album] 'Spirit The Earth Aflame' should be out just after the DVD. The slightly remastered sound has given it the bottom end and oompphh it lacked the first time around.

"It is strange to listen to how fragile some of it sounds compared to how the songs sound when we play them now. It misses some filth.

"The bonus disc is a real odds-and-sods collection but also features some songs no one has heard before. Rehearsals and live stuff from '92 that should be of real interest to 'hardcore' fans. ....

"We have loosely set a timeframe of summer 2010 for the recording of the new album and a September release date. As usual, I have no song titles as of yet!

"There is always talk to festivals and tours but right now we have to wait until January to confirm a few things. Kaltenbach Open Air in Austria and Rockmaraton in Hungary are confirmed and a few others on the precipice but we will have to wait a few weeks to confirm them.

"So I remember questioning the future of capitalism in a former blog and no doubt it seems like we did witness the end of the Reagan/Thatcher era of laissez-faire free marketism but looking at the markets it would seem that most of the world is bouncing back quicker than many economists predicted; either that or I'm just the victim of more spin. Of course, millions have lost their jobs but the worst-case scenarios seem to have been put on hold. I'm not really sure if this is a good thing as it simply has allowed the banks and governments, especially in the U.S. where the collapse was initiated (hedge funds etc.), to return in some respects to their previous codes of practise. Greater upheaval might have prompted bigger changes to society that the world needs to face. Our level of consumption and growth simply cannot be sustained at the current rate. The failure of the Copenhagen summit, for example, would seem to suggest that. The economists and
politicians are aware but the markets seem to have bounced back with some small element of glorious bad taste. The end of the American century doesn't seem to have happened and Obama 's Nobel peace prize will I'm sure seem like the Emperor's new clothes.....

"Ireland, of course, has fallen further than most. Our brief 'moment in the sun' came crashing down around us as the property bubble burst. Mainly due to mismanagement and endemic croney-ism from the inception of the state in 1922 until this very moment. The old institutions have come crashing down. Be they Fianna Fail the ruling party for the guts of a hundred years, the Church exposed as little more than a paedophile ring or the cohort of property developers and bankers now being bailed out with public money. All of this especially the political climate and revelations of clerical abuse have really made me question my concept of nationalism.

"The reasons our forefathers fought for freedom, every concept of nationalism and independence they held dear were systematically revealed as nothing but romance. 'Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, it's with O'Leary in the grave.' Our great thinkers, poets and intellectuals, purged in the formation of the state or executed before its birth would turn in their graves at the last century as we turned nearly half a million children over to the institutions of the state to be abused, worked to death or farmed out as slaves in all but name.

"To put it in simple terms, we had a chance and we blew it. Like many Irish people right now I don't know if I can look society square in the eye, or at least the instruments of the church and state without wanting to see them burned to the ground. You can almost taste the betrayal, and it is bitter sweet.....

"If the church had one neck I'd gladly wring it....

"If the state had one artery I'd gladly sever it....

"All of this has made me question how I relate to the concept of nationalism.

"To many, the concept of nationalism in the global free market without borders is somewhat of an anachronism. Yet for those of use who want to see our cultural and historical inheritance not crushed under the weight of capitalist incentivisation or even the current middle class trend of Marxist revisionism it leaves little room for idealistic manoeuvre when you feel so wholly betrayed by the institutions of the state.

"Spending your waking moments in opposition can be a tiring thing. It really is no wonder 'Pop Idol ' is so damn popular; doom and gloom is indeed exhausting. ....

"It made me question, what exactly does the Irish flag represent and why do we hang it from our amps onstage? Or is it simply the last vestiges of resistance open to us in the United States of Europe, which seeks to homogenise every aspect of our culture or merely a smokescreen to stop us confronting bigger questions.

"Confusing times, but nothing that gives me any solace. I'm sure we can expect some of the same questions in the next PRIMORDIAL.....

"What else? The recording of the BLOOD REVOLT album is finally happening. Jaws will definitely drop, believe me. Mostly the concept has been met with incredulous disbelief from underground people. More mainstream, and I use this term very loosely, you could read 'open-minded,' PRIMORDIAL fans have found the idea extremely interesting, it's been the 'not even born when the BLASPHEMY demo was out' underground brigade who seem to be unable to get their small minds around the idea that REVENGE/AXIS OF ADVANCE and PRIMORDIAL are not as far apart as they seem and a musical collaboration makes perfect sense. At least to us it does, anyway.

"Expect pure militancy and genuine extremity, not pastiche C. Moyen cartoon Satanism. Carpet bombing courtesy of Profound Lore in the States and Invictus Productions in Europe.

"All Empires Fall" is scheduled for release in Europe on March 1 via Metal Blade.

Disc 1 of the two-disc set is the centerpiece of the DVD and features a full PRIMORDIAL headline show recorded live on January 24, 2009 in the band's hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The concert was filmed with five cameras and has an exceptional vintage look due to the hard work in post-production. A truly impressive and powerful live gig, exciting from start to finish in front of die-hard PRIMORDIAL audience and a perfect soundtrack that is available in stereo and 5.1!

Disc 2 features live clips from the band's appearances at Ragnarök Festival (Germany), Hove Festival (Norway) and Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium) in 2008. The second disc also contains a band documentary with all the inside stories and loads of ancient footage from the early stages of the band. The documentary has a playing time of approximately 60 minutes. Interviews with all band members and rehearsal footage complete the second disc of the set/

The special deluxe version of "All Empires Fall" features expanded packaging and two additional audio CDs featuring the Dublin show.

"All Empires Fall" track listing:

Disc One - Dublin:

01. Empire Falls
02. Fuil Arsa
03. Gallows Hymn
04. Sons Of The Morrigan
05. Cast To The Pyre
06. The Golden Spiral
07. As Rome Burns
08. The Coffin Ships
09. Traitors Gate
10. Journey's End
11. No Nation On This Earth
12. Gods To The Godless
13. Heathen Tribes

Disc Two:

* Documentary (approx. 60 minutes)
* Interviews

Ragnarök Festival - Germany 2008:

01. Empire Falls
02. Gallows Hymn
03. Sons Of The Morrigan
04. As Rome Burns
05. The Coffin Ships
06. Heathen Tribes
07. Gods To The Godless

Hove Festival - Norway 2008:

08. The Coffin Ships
09. Gods To The Godless

Graspop Metal Meeting - Belgium 2008:

10. Gallows Hymn
11. As Rome Burns
12. Heathen Tribes


Dallas, Texas-based death metal band THE FAMINE has announced the addition of bassist Jon Richardson (SABOTEUR, THE MONARCH) to the group's ranks.

THE FAMINE lead signer and co-founder Chris "Kris" McCaddon left the group earlier in the month. The band said in a statement, "The tyranny of distance is, at times, an insurmountable obstacle to behold" before adding, "We love Chris as a brother and respectfully wish him the best in all of his future endeavors."

Nick Nowell, who has been handling bass duties for THE FAMINE since 2008, has taken over as the band's new vocalist. "We couldn't be any more excited to welcome his range and abilities into THE FAMINE in such an important capacity and at such an important time in our journey of pillage and conquest," the group said.

THE FAMINE is currently working on material for its second album. According to the band, "This record will be heavier than [THE FAMINE's 2008 full-length debut] 'The Raven And The Reaping ' in every way and will build on the intensity that 'The Raven And The Reaping' established. Lyrically, this record will almost be an anarchic indictment of what we have become as a world, country, and individuals and the path that got us here. We touched on this on the last record as well."

Released in May 2008 via Solid State Records, "The Raven and the Reaping" was recorded with Andreas Magnusson (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, AGONY SCENE) and is described as "an album of urgent metal with plenty of chunky riffs; the music is at once blustery yet totally memorable."


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