News2

Reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST have been confirmed for next year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Floridato Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise.

The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

AMORPHIS
ATHEIST
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CORONER
DARK FUNERAL
ELUVEITIE
GOD DETHRONED
GRAVE DIGGER
HAMMERFALL
IN EXTREMO
MOONSORROW
MY DYING BRIDE
NIGHTWISH
OVERKILL
PENTAGRAM
PESTILENCE
RIOT
SAMAEL
STRATOVARIUS
SUFFOCATION
TANKARD
THERION
TRISTANIA
VIRGIN STEELE
WHIPLASH

Ticketprices start at $666 plus $289 taxes and fees per person and include all onboard entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24-hour room service.

For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.

LIFELOVER

On the night of September 9, Jonas Bergqvist (a.k.a. B) — the founding member, main composer, and guitarist of the Swedish "narcotic metal" band LIFELOVER— died unexpectedly. The cause of his death is still unclear and has yet to be established.

The remaining members of the group have since issued the following statement:

"On Friday morning, September 9th, B didn't wake up from his sleep. He didn't take his own life nor was he victim of any apparent action. The authorities in charge are still examining his body to find the exact cause of death.

"We, the remaining members of LIFELOVER, have decided to lay the band to rest. This would be the only right thing to do considering B was the main composer of LIFELOVER. Therefore, we won't be performing at our coming planned shows.

"We are very sorry and hope that all of the fans that had been looking forward to seeing LIFELOVER play live will understand.

"The concerts in Belgium and Holland were the last concerts of LIFELOVER.

"We want to thank everybody that was present and helped out, especially Rob 'Svograth' Polonof MONADSand the members of IXXI.

"These last days have been very hard for us and everybody that knew B.

"We want to thank all of our fans for being so respectful, dedicated and understanding and, most of all, for supporting LIFELOVERduring all these years."

VALLENFYRE

Century Media Recordshas revealed more details about its latest signing, the U.K. death metal band VALLENFYRE. The group is the brainchild of Gregor Mackintosh, songwriter and guitarist of PARADISE LOST, and features members of MY DYING BRIDE, AT THE GATES and DOOM.

VALLENFYRE just released the "Desecration / Iconoclast" seven-inch single (limited to 500 copies) on Imperium Productions. Samples of both tracks can be found on the band's official web site.

VALLENFYRE is:

* Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) - Vocals and Lead Guitar
* Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE) - Rhythm and Lead Guitars
* Mully - Rhythm Guitars
* Scoot (DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND) - Bass
* Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums

The sound of VALLENFYRE goes back to Gregor's youth.

"I was first introduced to more extreme music by my older brother in 1981." Gregor says. "Over the next few years in my early teens, I grew to love various early hardcore punk bands like DISCHARGE, ENGLISH DOGS, CONFLICT, etc. Around a similar time I was becoming aware of other more metal music like MOTÖRHEAD and BLACK SABBATH. In '84/85' I got into bands who were fusing these styles like HELLHAMMER, ANTISECT and AMEBIX. A couple of years later I started tape-trading with people all around the world, which enabled me to hear lots of really cool, interesting, extreme music. AUTOPSY, NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, REPULSION, NIHILISTare some of the more well-known names I started to get into, but there were many, many more which never gained the same notoriety. At the same time, I formed PARADISE LOST with my friends. Our early stuff was a bit of a mixture of all this stuff but we also had a lot of doom influence from the likes of CANDLEMASS, TROUBLE and ST. VITUS."

The events that led to the conception and formation of VALLENFYRE are not particularly happy or pretty ones.

"In the late summer of 2009, my father, John Mackintosh, was diagnosed with prostate cancer," Gregor explained. "Later in the autumn as his treatment progressed, PARADISE LOST embarked on their European tour to support the latest album ['Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us']. A week into this, I received a call from my mother telling me that the doctors had found cancer in his lungs and it was terminal. He only had weeks to live. I made the decision to leave the tour, leaving my very able guitar tech Milly [not be confused with VALLENFYRE's Mully] to take my place. I went and stayed with my parents for the next few weeks. After a very sad and painful time, he passed away on the 2nd December early in the morning. Over the next few weeks I experienced all the famous stages of grief. It started to become very self-destructive so I decided to channel it into creating something. To pay respects to the man that drove us to our very first gigs because none of us could drive. The only dad I knew that listened to BOLT THROWER's 'Peel Sessions' on the radio. The guy who gave me my first chord book. I decided that I was going to go right back to the beginning. To my roots in death, crust and doom. It all started very angst ridden. This wasn't originally meant for anyone else to hear. It was a release. After recording some material, I realized that I was actually enjoying doing this but I wanted friends involved so it could actually become real fun."

The tracks on the seven-inch single and the upcoming album were recorded between December 2010 and April 2011.

Added Gregor: "The album is called 'A Fragile King', which is a reference to my father's battle with cancer. The lyrics are predominantly about the same thing, but also include gripes with society, religion, politics and relationships as well. It's all pretty grim."

"A Fragile King" will be released on October 31 in Europe and on November 1 in North America.

VALLENFYRE is not a one-off project but will continue as a band that will also play live in 2012.

1349

The critically acclaimed album "Demonoir" by Norwegian black metallers 1349 will be reissued as a limited box set as part of the Indie Recordings Norwegian Collector's Edition Series. It contains seven bonus tracks, including an unreleased track that did not appear on the expanded edition or the limited edition, 12-page booklet, poster, guitar pick, a patch and autographed photo card. The box is handnumbered and limited to 1000 copies worldwide.

For U.S. fans, the box set will be available only on FYE on November 25.

"Demonoir", the fifth full-length album from 1349, was recorded at Studio Nyhagen, deep in the woods in Norway with Tom G. Warrior (HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST), who showed the greatest respect for the task and played a key role as motivator and catalyst. His technical role of the recording was that of a co-producer, but far more important was his presence and understanding of what a challenging project "Demonoir" was.

1349 is:

Ravn - Vocals
Archaon - Guitar
Seidemann - Bass
Frost - Drums

RIOT

Legendary U.S. metal band RIOT has inked a deal with Steamhammer/SPV Records for all territories excluding Japan. The band's new album, "Immortal Soul", will be released on October 28 in Germany, October 31 in the rest of Europe and early November in the U.S. and Canada.

With lineup changes knocking their momentum and the Eighties developing into a thrash-fest, a new-look RIOT bounced back in 1988 with the widely-acclaimed "Thundersteel". Although the faces might have looked unfamiliar, with only guitarist Mark Reale now left from the band's formative years, the aggression and musicianship remained unrivalled and unchallengeable. With Tony Moore's distinctive vocals, the muscle and might of bassist Don Van Stavern and drummer Bobby Jarzombek powering the songs along, and Reale's precision playing RIOT were reborn, and followed "Thundersteel" two years later with the jaw-dropping "The Privilege Of Power", an inspiring and at times truly epic album. However, by this time the music world was turning into a very different place, and RIOT found themselves struggling against a tide of apathy. Reale continued to guide the ship through the next two decades, delivering albums of consistent, quality metal, culminating in 2006's "Army Of One" — a true statement of intent, as if one were needed.

But the army of one is an army of five once more as RIOT's classic "Thundersteel" and "Privilege…" lineup has reunited, adding guitarist Mike Flyntz who played in the live band at that time.

RIOT has been confirmed as special guest on the first leg of HAMMERFALL's European tour this winter. The trek kicks off on October 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and ends on November 18 in Cologne, Germany. This will be the first time the legendary "Thundersteel" and "The Privilege Of Power" lineup of Tony Moore (vocals), Mark Reale (guitar), Mike Flyntz (guitar), Don Van Stavern (bass) and Bobby Jarzombek (drums) has played in Europe on a full tour, after the band's celebrated one-off show at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2009.

Commented Olly Hahn, A&R representative at Steamhammer: "Mark, Tony, Don, Bobby and Mike are really fired up once more, and 'Immortal Soul' will be a true successor to the legacy of 'Thundersteel' and 'Privilege…'. Classic metal will never die, and who did it better than RIOT?"

KISS

According to TMZ.com, the promoters of the Michael Jackson tribute concert have dropped KISS from the event's billing because of negative comments KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons made about Jackson in interviews the days and weeks after his death two years ago. Simmons spoke about his suspicions that Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation in 2005, was a pedophile.

The promoters tell TMZ.com, "We have listened to Michael's fans and are grateful to have been alerted to these unfortunate statements by Gene Simmons. Under the circumstances we fully agree that even though KISS is a band Michael admired we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert."

In a 2010 issue of U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Gene Simmons told journalist Geoff Barton he believed Jackson was a child molester despite the fact that the singer was acquitted of child-molestation charges.

"I knew Michael," Simmons was quoted as saying. "I ran into him a few times. I met him the first time before he became the superstar, when he was sort of teenagey, when he was still a JACKSON FIVE. This was in the Cher days, when Cher and I lived together.

"But as time moved on, and no matter what my fond memories and fond images of Michael were, with one allegation of pedophilia after another and another and another…Oh dear."

Simmons went on to say that he knew some of the musicians Jackson toured with, and cited one who quit after seeing "boys coming out of the hotel rooms...Well, you know, where there's smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt."

Simmons also said, "There's never been a single female of any age that I've ever known about who has ever made a claim that she has had a physical relationship with Michael, ever.

"The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually 10 to 14 years of age; never females, that age or older, and never grown men."

Norwegian black/death metallers FESTER have completed work on their first studio album in 17 years, "A Celebration Of Death", for a late 2011/early 2012 release via Abyss Records.

Original member Bjørn "Tiger" Mathisen has recruited Thomas Andresen (ALGOL) on vocals, Jon Bakker (KAMPFAR) on bass, and jazz musician Audun Kleive on session drums. Mortiis has made a hellish and dark remix of one of the songs and there are contributions from Mr. Kyrck and Guido of YSENGRIN. The art was created by the infamous Alex Brown of Bad News Brown.

On the selection of Kleive for session drumming, Mathisen had this to say: "He is famous for his ability to become one with the music he plays, and does so in such an unorthodox and dark way. He has never done metal. He listened to the tunes once before he agreed to session them and ended up doing most of the parts in one take. Using only a single bass drum he has helped us create the sinister and lonely mood that we wanted."

As for what to expect musically on "A Celebration of Death", Mathisen is unequivocal about staying the course. "FESTER has kept their old-school feel, and maybe even taking it back to the Stone Age," he said. "No effect boxes are used on the guitars; just the basic and sick sounds of old guitars, amps and racks from the late '60s and early '70s, produced in the most dark and wicked way you can imagine. The influence of old-school metal acts like CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, etc., can be heard on this release, too. FESTER has kept its identity from the past. This is surely an atypical metal sound, but cold as ice and mean as hell!"

Pioneers in the seamless blending of black and death metal in the early '90s and well known for their obscure, melancholic and dark way of making music, FESTER are now back with their darkest, harshest and most mournful album to date. Having laid the groundwork with Abyss reissues of 1992's "Winter Of Sin" and 1993's "Silence", FESTER is now poised to commence this new era of darkness.

since 2001

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SELECTED NEWS by info@gryphonmetal.ch

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2011
DRAGONLAND Swedish power metallers DRAGONLAND have set "Under The Grey Banner" as the title of their new album. The third part of the "Dragonland Chronicles" trilogy will be released on November 18 via AFM Records. Musical actor Fred Johanson will play the role of the antagonist, with all three singers from AMARANTHE — Elize Ryd, Jake E and Andy Solveström — also set to make appearances. The visual artist from million-selling PC game "The Witcher", Damian Bajowski, will provide artwork for the album; not only will he be responsible for the cover, but will also make illustrations for the various locations in the saga. Commented guitarist Olof Mörck: "To say I am excited about this album is a grave understatement! "We were more than thrilled when both Damian Bajwoski and Fred Johanson accepted to contribute to this album. To have the album fully illustrated with majestic scenes and vistas from the story, and to have such a powerful and convincing voice in the role of the antagonist will lend a lot of credibility and depth to the final project! Our singer friends from AMARANTHE also appear in minor roles, further developing the universe the story is set in. "We really feel that our ambition to give our fantasy story a touch of depth, credibility and maturity paid off well! Lending influences from classical mythology, the best fantasy movies, video games and books, we feel that fans of the style who normally finds fantasy power metal to be too over the top and ridiculous could wholeheartedly enjoy this. We also have some further surprises for you before the actual album release, to keep your eyes open and your senses wary!" DRAGONLAND recently parted ways with guitarist Nicklas Magnusson and bassist Christer Pedersen. Taking over bass duties is Anders Hammer (NIGHTRAGE) and sitting behind the drums is Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION, AMARANTHE). Previous drummer Jesse Lindskog will handle second-guitar duties in the future. DRAGONLAND 2011 is: Vocals: Jonas Hedigert Guitars: Olof Mörck Keyboards: Elias Holmlid Guitars: Jesse Lindskog Bass: Anders Hammer Drums: Morten Lowe Sorensen
RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER Candlelight Records has announced the worldwide signing of thrashers RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER. The Philadelphia-based band is already working on its new album, titled "Ghostmaker", expected for release early spring 2012. The four-piece tested some of their new material via a string of regional shows this past weekend and expect to tour in support of the album once released. Comments guitarist Ryan Moll: "We are psyched to be on Candlelight. "Right now we are in the studio working on our third and most intense release to date. This album promises to be the fastest, darkest, most relentless and insane album yet. It will contain some of the most bone-crushing, graveyard stomping, Frankenstein Dracula/Wolfman hate-fuck riffage written thus far." Adds guitarist Matt Moore: "Our wretched new masterpiece will be finished soon enough. Each song has its own distinct and strange aura of speed, darkness, brute strength, violence, cunning, and power. Like any respectable band, we have raised the bar and taken on musical and lyrical concepts that would drive commoners insane. Faster. Louder. Darker. Crazier." Formed in 2002, RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER dropped several underground releases, including a split seven-inch single and a live album, before signing with Relapse for its studio debut, "Buried In The Front Yard", released October 2005. The band would keep busy with additional split recordings, "Speed N Spikes Vol. II" (2008) and "Urine Trouble" / "Nothing Defeats the Skull" (2008) before getting back in to the studio for their second full-length, "Living For Death"; "Destroying The Rest" also released by Relapse January 2009. The band supported ABSU for a 22-date U.S./Canadian tour in April 2009, a tour with DECEASED in 2010, and has been performing regionally since. RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER currently features guitarist/vocalist Matt Moore, bassist/vocalist Shawn Riley, drummer Pat Battaglia, and guitarist Ryan Moll.
ATHEIST Reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST have been confirmed for next year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, which will set sail from Miami, Floridato Cayman Islands on January 23, 2012 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will perform on the cruise. The festival billing is shaping up as follows: AMORPHIS ATHEIST CANNIBAL CORPSE CORONER DARK FUNERAL ELUVEITIE GOD DETHRONED GRAVE DIGGER HAMMERFALL IN EXTREMO MOONSORROW MY DYING BRIDE NIGHTWISH OVERKILL PENTAGRAM PESTILENCE RIOT SAMAEL STRATOVARIUS SUFFOCATION TANKARD THERION TRISTANIA VIRGIN STEELE WHIPLASH Ticketprices start at $666 plus $289 taxes and fees per person and include all onboard entertainment, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages, all meals at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and even 24-hour room service. For more information, visit www.70000tons.com.
LIFELOVER On the night of September 9, Jonas Bergqvist (a.k.a. B) — the founding member, main composer, and guitarist of the Swedish "narcotic metal" band LIFELOVER— died unexpectedly. The cause of his death is still unclear and has yet to be established. The remaining members of the group have since issued the following statement: "On Friday morning, September 9th, B didn't wake up from his sleep. He didn't take his own life nor was he victim of any apparent action. The authorities in charge are still examining his body to find the exact cause of death. "We, the remaining members of LIFELOVER, have decided to lay the band to rest. This would be the only right thing to do considering B was the main composer of LIFELOVER. Therefore, we won't be performing at our coming planned shows. "We are very sorry and hope that all of the fans that had been looking forward to seeing LIFELOVER play live will understand. "The concerts in Belgium and Holland were the last concerts of LIFELOVER. "We want to thank everybody that was present and helped out, especially Rob 'Svograth' Polonof MONADSand the members of IXXI. "These last days have been very hard for us and everybody that knew B. "We want to thank all of our fans for being so respectful, dedicated and understanding and, most of all, for supporting LIFELOVERduring all these years."
VALLENFYRE Century Media Recordshas revealed more details about its latest signing, the U.K. death metal band VALLENFYRE. The group is the brainchild of Gregor Mackintosh, songwriter and guitarist of PARADISE LOST, and features members of MY DYING BRIDE, AT THE GATES and DOOM. VALLENFYRE just released the "Desecration / Iconoclast" seven-inch single (limited to 500 copies) on Imperium Productions. Samples of both tracks can be found on the band's official web site. VALLENFYRE is: * Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) - Vocals and Lead Guitar * Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE) - Rhythm and Lead Guitars * Mully - Rhythm Guitars * Scoot (DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND) - Bass * Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums The sound of VALLENFYRE goes back to Gregor's youth. "I was first introduced to more extreme music by my older brother in 1981." Gregor says. "Over the next few years in my early teens, I grew to love various early hardcore punk bands like DISCHARGE, ENGLISH DOGS, CONFLICT, etc. Around a similar time I was becoming aware of other more metal music like MOTÖRHEAD and BLACK SABBATH. In '84/85' I got into bands who were fusing these styles like HELLHAMMER, ANTISECT and AMEBIX. A couple of years later I started tape-trading with people all around the world, which enabled me to hear lots of really cool, interesting, extreme music. AUTOPSY, NAPALM DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, REPULSION, NIHILISTare some of the more well-known names I started to get into, but there were many, many more which never gained the same notoriety. At the same time, I formed PARADISE LOST with my friends. Our early stuff was a bit of a mixture of all this stuff but we also had a lot of doom influence from the likes of CANDLEMASS, TROUBLE and ST. VITUS." The events that led to the conception and formation of VALLENFYRE are not particularly happy or pretty ones. "In the late summer of 2009, my father, John Mackintosh, was diagnosed with prostate cancer," Gregor explained. "Later in the autumn as his treatment progressed, PARADISE LOST embarked on their European tour to support the latest album ['Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us']. A week into this, I received a call from my mother telling me that the doctors had found cancer in his lungs and it was terminal. He only had weeks to live. I made the decision to leave the tour, leaving my very able guitar tech Milly [not be confused with VALLENFYRE's Mully] to take my place. I went and stayed with my parents for the next few weeks. After a very sad and painful time, he passed away on the 2nd December early in the morning. Over the next few weeks I experienced all the famous stages of grief. It started to become very self-destructive so I decided to channel it into creating something. To pay respects to the man that drove us to our very first gigs because none of us could drive. The only dad I knew that listened to BOLT THROWER's 'Peel Sessions' on the radio. The guy who gave me my first chord book. I decided that I was going to go right back to the beginning. To my roots in death, crust and doom. It all started very angst ridden. This wasn't originally meant for anyone else to hear. It was a release. After recording some material, I realized that I was actually enjoying doing this but I wanted friends involved so it could actually become real fun." The tracks on the seven-inch single and the upcoming album were recorded between December 2010 and April 2011. Added Gregor: "The album is called 'A Fragile King', which is a reference to my father's battle with cancer. The lyrics are predominantly about the same thing, but also include gripes with society, religion, politics and relationships as well. It's all pretty grim." "A Fragile King" will be released on October 31 in Europe and on November 1 in North America. VALLENFYRE is not a one-off project but will continue as a band that will also play live in 2012.
SAWTHIS SAWTHIS: the video for "Act Of Sorrow" censored by Google Sawthis have published on BlankTv exlusive the "Act Of Sorrow" official video, song from the album Egod. Google, owner of the Youtube platform, has ordered BlankTv staff to not publish first and then to limit the access to the video due to his violence.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE are preparing to enter the studio to begin working on the follow-up to their 2009 self-titled album. Guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz writes on the band's Facebook page, "YO! It's Adam D! We're about to begin writing our new record. Thanks to all of our fans for waiting so friggin' patiently … now let's turn on the 'riff faucet' and RAGE." Dutkiewicz and KILLSWITCH guitarist Joel Stroeltzel spent the last few months touring with TIMES OF GRACE, Adam's collaborative project with former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE vocalist Jesse Leach. That band's debut album, "Hymn Of A Broken Man", came out in January via Roadrunner Records. Dutkiewicz recently revealed that he may also be involved in another group, which he described in an interview as "a death metal side project with the drummer from THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and the singer from CANNIBAL CORPSE." KILLSWITCH ENGAGE bassist Mike D'Antonio has been busy with his DEATH RAY VISION, his new project with SHADOWS FALL frontman Brian Fair and former OVERCAST/SEEMLESS guitarist Pete Cortese.
1349 The critically acclaimed album "Demonoir" by Norwegian black metallers 1349 will be reissued as a limited box set as part of the Indie Recordings Norwegian Collector's Edition Series. It contains seven bonus tracks, including an unreleased track that did not appear on the expanded edition or the limited edition, 12-page booklet, poster, guitar pick, a patch and autographed photo card. The box is handnumbered and limited to 1000 copies worldwide. For U.S. fans, the box set will be available only on FYE on November 25. "Demonoir", the fifth full-length album from 1349, was recorded at Studio Nyhagen, deep in the woods in Norway with Tom G. Warrior (HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST), who showed the greatest respect for the task and played a key role as motivator and catalyst. His technical role of the recording was that of a co-producer, but far more important was his presence and understanding of what a challenging project "Demonoir" was. 1349 is: Ravn - Vocals Archaon - Guitar Seidemann - Bass Frost - Drums
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS Austrian symphonic metallers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will release a new EP called "Maria Magdelena" on October 21. The track listing for the effort is as follows: 01. Maria Magdalena 02. Melancholia 03. Change Of Tides 04. Last Shut Of Your Eyes 05. Distant Shores 06. Beyond Horizon- The Poem Pt. II Check out the cover artwork below. VISIONS OF ATLANTIS recently announced the addition of guitarist Cris Tian to the group's ranks. VISIONS OF ATLANTIS's fourth album, "Delta", was released in North America on March 15 via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded Dreamscape Studios in Munich, Germany and marks the debut of the band's new singer, Maxi Nil, who joined the group in 2009.
RIOT Legendary U.S. metal band RIOT has inked a deal with Steamhammer/SPV Records for all territories excluding Japan. The band's new album, "Immortal Soul", will be released on October 28 in Germany, October 31 in the rest of Europe and early November in the U.S. and Canada. With lineup changes knocking their momentum and the Eighties developing into a thrash-fest, a new-look RIOT bounced back in 1988 with the widely-acclaimed "Thundersteel". Although the faces might have looked unfamiliar, with only guitarist Mark Reale now left from the band's formative years, the aggression and musicianship remained unrivalled and unchallengeable. With Tony Moore's distinctive vocals, the muscle and might of bassist Don Van Stavern and drummer Bobby Jarzombek powering the songs along, and Reale's precision playing RIOT were reborn, and followed "Thundersteel" two years later with the jaw-dropping "The Privilege Of Power", an inspiring and at times truly epic album. However, by this time the music world was turning into a very different place, and RIOT found themselves struggling against a tide of apathy. Reale continued to guide the ship through the next two decades, delivering albums of consistent, quality metal, culminating in 2006's "Army Of One" — a true statement of intent, as if one were needed. But the army of one is an army of five once more as RIOT's classic "Thundersteel" and "Privilege…" lineup has reunited, adding guitarist Mike Flyntz who played in the live band at that time. RIOT has been confirmed as special guest on the first leg of HAMMERFALL's European tour this winter. The trek kicks off on October 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and ends on November 18 in Cologne, Germany. This will be the first time the legendary "Thundersteel" and "The Privilege Of Power" lineup of Tony Moore (vocals), Mark Reale (guitar), Mike Flyntz (guitar), Don Van Stavern (bass) and Bobby Jarzombek (drums) has played in Europe on a full tour, after the band's celebrated one-off show at the Sweden Rock Festival in 2009. Commented Olly Hahn, A&R representative at Steamhammer: "Mark, Tony, Don, Bobby and Mike are really fired up once more, and 'Immortal Soul' will be a true successor to the legacy of 'Thundersteel' and 'Privilege…'. Classic metal will never die, and who did it better than RIOT?"
HATESPHERE The CD "The Great Bludgeoning" will be released via Napalm Records on the following dates: * Spain, Finland, Sweden: September 21 * Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: September 23 * Rest Of Europe: September 26 * USA, Canada: September 27 "The Great Bludgeoning" was produced, mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY) at the Antfarm Studios in Aarhus, Denmark. The cover artwork as created by Mircea Gabriel Eftemie, who has previously worked with SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and MNEMIC (for which he also plays the guitar). "The Great Bludgeoning" track listing: 01. The Killer 02. Venom 03. Smell Of Death 04. Decayer 05. The Wail Of My Threnode 06. Resurrect With A Vengeance 07. The Great Bludgeoning 08. Need To Kill 09. Devil In Your Own Hell Commented the band: "We have aimed the new album in a more old-school direction than its predecessor. "With people this experienced joining the band, it has been a very relaxed and enjoyable process to write the songs, and we have all agreed on the concept. More metal and everything that follows. The cover, the title and the lyrics speaks for themselves. "We are an angry-sounding metal band, and we have no intention of denying that. That's why the cover is more back-to-the-roots and the lyrics are again about aggressions, drinking and hate. The things that HATESPHERE has always been about. "Expect brutality, melody and groove in just the right dose. "We have had one hell of a time writing and recording it, and we can't wait to present the album to all of you before long! Within a month or so, we will have the first song snippet and video ready for you — so keep your eyes and ears open." HATESPHERE recently announced the addition of bassist Jimmy Nedergaard (GOB SQUAD) to the group's ranks. Nedergaard was described by his new bandmates as "a metalhead [with] a punk rock background [who] knows what he is going into, he shares our visions with the band, he has tried something different than metal but still has it deep in his heart, and last but not least he's a great guy." The group added, "Fitting in personally means a lot to us, so Jimmy's age and experience has made him the perfect choice." Vocalist Esben "Esse" Hansen joined HATESPHERE as the band's new singer in June 2010.
ASTRAL DOORS "Jerusalem", the new album from Swedish melodic metallers ASTRAL DOORS, will be released in October. The CD, which will be made available as a jewelcase, digipack and on vinyl, was mixed by Daniel Bergstrand, who has previously worked with BEHEMOTH, MESHUGGAH, DIMMU BORGIR, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and SOILWORK, among others. The cover art was designed by Mattias Eriksson and can be seen below. Commented the band: "Daniel Bergstrand and Rickard Sporrong made an incredible mix and we just can't wait to share this album with the world." "Jerusalem" track listing: 01. Seventh Crusade 02. With A Stranger's Eye 03. Child Of Rock 'N' roll 04. Pearl Harbor 05. LostCrucifix 06. Babylon Rise 07. Suicide Rime 08. The Battle Of Jacob's Ford 09. Operation Freedom 10. The Day After Yesterday 11. Jerusalem ASTRAL DOORS previously stated that the upcoming album will "be something special. This time around we deal with religion, and all the shit it has brought to the world, once and for all." ASTRAL DOORS' "Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors" collection was released on November 19, 2010 via Metalville, the band and label pool launched by the Cologne, Germany-based company Flying Dolphin Entertainment Group UG. The compilation contained 14 classics picked by ASTRAL DOORS. Guitarist Martin Haglund left ASTRAL DOORS in April 2010 in order to focus on his family life. The band has opted to remain a five-piece, with founding member Joachim Nordlund handling all guitars himself. ASTRAL DOORS released its fifth album, "Requiem Of Time" in Europe on January 29, 2010 and in North America on February 16, 2010 through Metalville.
THE METALSUCKFEST MetalSucks, in conjunction with Live Nation, has announced The Metal Suckfest. The festival will take place at New York City's Gramercy Theater and will feature 20 bands over the course of two days, November 4 and November 5. MUNICIPAL WASTE will headline the first night, while CYNIC will close the festival the following evening. The remaining acts will be revealed soon. MUNICIPAL WASTE will enter the studio later this summer to begin recording its fifth full-length album for a 2012 release via Nuclear Blast Records. CYNIC last year parted ways with bassist Robin Zielhorst and guitarist Tymon Kruidenier due to the "logistical challenges of maintaining a band that is half based in The Netherlands and the other half in the United States" (drummer Sean Reinert and guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal live in California).
KISS According to TMZ.com, the promoters of the Michael Jackson tribute concert have dropped KISS from the event's billing because of negative comments KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons made about Jackson in interviews the days and weeks after his death two years ago. Simmons spoke about his suspicions that Jackson, who was acquitted of child molestation in 2005, was a pedophile. The promoters tell TMZ.com, "We have listened to Michael's fans and are grateful to have been alerted to these unfortunate statements by Gene Simmons. Under the circumstances we fully agree that even though KISS is a band Michael admired we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert." In a 2010 issue of U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine, Gene Simmons told journalist Geoff Barton he believed Jackson was a child molester despite the fact that the singer was acquitted of child-molestation charges. "I knew Michael," Simmons was quoted as saying. "I ran into him a few times. I met him the first time before he became the superstar, when he was sort of teenagey, when he was still a JACKSON FIVE. This was in the Cher days, when Cher and I lived together. "But as time moved on, and no matter what my fond memories and fond images of Michael were, with one allegation of pedophilia after another and another and another…Oh dear." Simmons went on to say that he knew some of the musicians Jackson toured with, and cited one who quit after seeing "boys coming out of the hotel rooms...Well, you know, where there's smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt." Simmons also said, "There's never been a single female of any age that I've ever known about who has ever made a claim that she has had a physical relationship with Michael, ever. "The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually 10 to 14 years of age; never females, that age or older, and never grown men."
FESTER Norwegian black/death metallers FESTER have completed work on their first studio album in 17 years, "A Celebration Of Death", for a late 2011/early 2012 release via Abyss Records. Original member Bjørn "Tiger" Mathisen has recruited Thomas Andresen (ALGOL) on vocals, Jon Bakker (KAMPFAR) on bass, and jazz musician Audun Kleive on session drums. Mortiis has made a hellish and dark remix of one of the songs and there are contributions from Mr. Kyrck and Guido of YSENGRIN. The art was created by the infamous Alex Brown of Bad News Brown. On the selection of Kleive for session drumming, Mathisen had this to say: "He is famous for his ability to become one with the music he plays, and does so in such an unorthodox and dark way. He has never done metal. He listened to the tunes once before he agreed to session them and ended up doing most of the parts in one take. Using only a single bass drum he has helped us create the sinister and lonely mood that we wanted." As for what to expect musically on "A Celebration of Death", Mathisen is unequivocal about staying the course. "FESTER has kept their old-school feel, and maybe even taking it back to the Stone Age," he said. "No effect boxes are used on the guitars; just the basic and sick sounds of old guitars, amps and racks from the late '60s and early '70s, produced in the most dark and wicked way you can imagine. The influence of old-school metal acts like CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, etc., can be heard on this release, too. FESTER has kept its identity from the past. This is surely an atypical metal sound, but cold as ice and mean as hell!" Pioneers in the seamless blending of black and death metal in the early '90s and well known for their obscure, melancholic and dark way of making music, FESTER are now back with their darkest, harshest and most mournful album to date. Having laid the groundwork with Abyss reissues of 1992's "Winter Of Sin" and 1993's "Silence", FESTER is now poised to commence this new era of darkness.
MY RUIN "Long Dark Night", the new video from MY RUIN — the Los Angeles-based band featuring the husband-and-wife rock duo of vocalist Tairrie B. Murphy and multi-instrumentalist Mick Murphy — has been released. The clip was directed by MY RUIN's "good friend and longtime fan", Tor Burrows of Notorious Design. Commented Tairrie: "This latest offering is video number 5 for MY RUIN that Tor has directed for us, but this time, unlike her usual live-performance-only-style videos, she has created a beautiful world encompassing the band which I have had a hand in bringing to life with her based on the inspiration behind the lyrics of 'Long Dark Night' from our current album, 'Ghosts And Good Stories'. "Our new video contains high-quality HD live footage shot by Tor during MY RUIN's Hammerfest III appearance in the U.K. earlier this year mixed with footage from our April show at L.A.'s infamous Whisky a Go Go, shot by our friend and former drummer Marcelo Palomino. It also includes some very raw footage I shot of myself in my house with our Sony camcorder along with various pieces of vintage art and film we collected in public domain stock footage. All of which combined help to define the video within its delicate shadings, hidden nuances and harsh realities. "One of the most special things about the making of 'Long Dark Night' is the beautiful footage given to us by filmmaker/photographer Asatuurs Keim of a place called The Hill Of Crosses. For many years now, I have been intrigued and visually obsessed with this magical place located in northern Lithuania. Over the centuries, not only crosses but giant crucifixes, carvings of saints, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought to this place by Catholic pilgrims. The exact number of crosses is unknown but estimates put it over 100,000 back in 2006. For some it is seen as a place of peace and power, for others a devotion and memorial. For me, however, it is simply a scene of beauty whose landscape speaks to me on an otherworldly level when I view its images in photographs. It wasn't until Tor came across the footage shot by Asatuurs that this place began to speak to me subconsciously, inviting me to have my own personal connection to it within this song, breathing a new scenery into my language. This is when I decided to reach out to the filmmaker, introduce myself and let him know about our idea hoping he, as an artist himself, would understand my need to include his footage in our video based solely on my words written to him in a letter. I had no idea if he would even respond to me but when he did and so positively, I knew it was meant to be and Tor agreed. "I have said that 'Long Dark Night' was written while in an insomnia fueled struggle to find the muse lost in sleepless evenings of losing faith, awake with the inability to create. It is a heavy metal torch song if ever there was one, paying homage to those little slices of death and life after midnight. The title of the song was based on a book given to me many years ago by someone I once knew in another life. The book is called 'Dark Night of The Soul', based on the poem written by St. John of The Cross and is a metaphor used to describe a phase in a person's spiritual life marked as a sense of loneliness and desolation."
SOUNDWAVE REVOLUTION FESTIVAL Australia's Soundwave Revolution traveling festival has officially been canceled after the second-biggest headliner pulled out of the event. Speaking to Australia's Nova 969 radio station, festival promoter AJ Maddah said, "The festival as we know it has been canceled. The situation is that we were scheduled to make a second announcement on the first of August, which had our festival co-headliner on that announcement. Their circumstances changed at the last minute and they had to pull out. And unfortunately we don't have enough time to replace them. And we didn't really want to go ahead with an incomplete lineup. "We were supposed to make the public announcement this evening anyway. But what we wanted to do — because a lot of those bands are still coming and we are creating packages and what have you, for them to do in clubs and other venues — we wanted to be able to make the full announcement at 1 p.m. [today]. So that we could say the festival in its format is no longer happening [and] that these shows are taking its place. Unfortunately, one of those artists [drummer Stix Zadinia of STEEL PANTHER — Ed.] jumped the gun [and leaked the news of the festival cancelation via Twitter]. "The people that have already bought their tickets — I think it's nice enough that people that have already purchased their tickets by credit card, in which case those tickets are automatically refunded. And the small percentage that might have bought it from outlets, they'll be able to get a refund, I expect. "Had we had been able to have our second headliner and make our second announcement, I think we wouldn't have had any issues with [the festival]. And it wasn't for the fact of not being able to attract the artists, I guess we were victims of certain artists' circumstances or what have you. I think the Australian festival market is still very strong. "Obviously we love our fan base and we try to do what's best for them. And we could have taken the option of limping through with the lineup as we have [it] now. It still would have obviously been a much better financial outcome for us than to go through the road we have — but we just didn’t want to put an inferior product on the market. "Revolution was a one-off, but yes, Soundwave 2012 will be back in February and the lineup is massive." For more information, visit the festival's official web site.
CHILDREN OF BODOM Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM will embark on a headlining tour of Australia in November. Support on the trek will come from the Perth, Australia-based metallers VOYAGER. The dates are as follows: Nov. 06 - Capitol - Perth Nov. 07 - HQ - Adelaide Nov. 10 - The Palace - Melbourne Nov. 12 - The Big Top - Sydney Nov. 13 - The Arena- Brisbane Tickets go on sale on August 11. CHILDREN OF BODOM's new album, "Relentless Reckless Forever", sold nearly 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, 2008's "Blooddrunk", opened with 19,000 units to land at No. 22. This number was roughly four times the opening tally of "Blooddrunk"'s predecessor, "Are You Dead Yet?", which premiered with 5,000 units back in October 2005 to enter the chart at No. 195. "Relentless Reckless Forever" was certified gold in the band's home country for first-day sales of over 10,000 copies. The CD was recorded in Finland's Petrax Studios with famed rock producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET).
DREAM THEATER New DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Mangini has issued the following update from the band's current European tour: "I'm stunned at the crowds on this tour. I really am having so much fun that I can't wait to get back on stage. One more show: Budapest. As the rest of shows were [great], too, the Athens crowd just rocked the Earth all the way to Africa tonight. EVERY crowd has simply gotten the band's message loud and clear and I'm so happy to be a part of all this joy." "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", the much-anticipated new album from DREAM THEATER, which marks Mangini's recorded debut, will be released on September 13 via Roadrunner Records.
WACKEN OPEN AIR FESTIVAL 2012 The reactivated MINISTRY, SCORPIONS, HAMMERFALL, AMON AMARTH and GAMMA RAY are the newly confirmed bands for next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 2-4, 2012 in Wacken, Germany. Also scheduled to appear are U.D.O. and CRADLE OF FILTH. MINISTRY's "farewell" tour, the "C-U-LaTour", started its North American leg on March 26, 2008 and concluded in Chicago on May 12, 2008. The final date on the trek took place on July 18, 2008 at the Tripod in Dublin, Ireland. During the performance, MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen repeatedly reaffirmed that it would indeed be the last-ever MINISTRY show. Due to a large demand for tickets, an extra gig was added at the Tripod on July 19, 2008. "Adios... Puta Madres", a live album featuring material culled from MINISTRY's "final" tour, was released in 2009 on CD and DVD.
GWAR GWAR on tour with EVERY TIME I DIE, GHOUL and WARBEAST: Oct. 18 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos' Southend Oct. 19 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa Oct. 20 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Oct. 21 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium Oct. 22 - Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights Oct. 23 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza Oct. 24 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Oct. 25 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Oct. 26 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection Oct. 28 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Oct. 29 - Detroit, MI @ Harpo's Oct. 30 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue Oct. 31 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Nov. 01 - Sauget, IL @ Pop's Nov. 02 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Nov. 04 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Event Centre Nov. 05 - Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom Nov. 07 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom Nov. 08 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo Nov. 09 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre Nov. 11 - San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom Nov. 12 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues Nov. 13 - Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse Nov. 14 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre Nov. 15 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater Nov. 16 - Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall Nov. 18 - Austin, TX @ East Side Drive In Nov. 19 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Nov. 20 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues Nov. 21 - New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar Nov. 22 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade Nov. 23 - Tampa, FL @ Green Iguana Stadium Nov. 25 - Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre Nov. 26 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory Nov. 27 - New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place Bassist Casey Orr (a.k.a. Beefcake The Mighty) recently announced his departure from GWAR. He explained in a statement that he could "simply . . . no longer devote the time and effort required to maintain my position within the group. I have so many projects going on now in Texas, including a new RIGOR MORTIS record in the works, that it just wouldn't be fair to everyone involved for me to stay and not be able to give 100%."
GOD FORBID New Brunswick, New Jersey's melodic, thrash-metal warriors GOD FORBID have inked a merchandising, publishing and recording deal with Victory Records. Commented GOD FORBID drummer Corey Pierce: "We are so excited to be a part of the Victory family. We are very proud to bring our music too all the maniacs out there who are fans of the band as well as this label. We look forward to starting a powerful partnership which will bring a new energy to the metal world." GOD FORBID guitarist Doc Coyle previously stated about the material for the band's forthcoming CD, "It's always difficult to tell how a new album will sound this early in the process, but I can say that our new guitar player Matt Wicklund [ex-HIMSA] is contributing tons of material. His stuff is very hook-oriented with a Scandinavian twinge. "The stuff I've been writing has been varied from evil MORBID ANGEL, black metal shit to mid-tempo/power groove MACHINE HEAD-type stuff, and signature GOD FORBID material that is a logical progression from our previous albums." GOD FORBID's last album, "Earthsblood", sold around 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to land at position No. 110 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD debuted at No. 2 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. GOD FORBID's previous album, "IV: Constitution of Treason", entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 119 in September 2005 after shifting 8,300 units.

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