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06/07/2005: "Metal News week 23"
~ MARDUK: 'Dark Endless' Album Reissued With Bonus Tracks ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
Swedish black metallers MARDUK have posted the following message on their official web site:
"It has been known to us that Black Lodge/Sound Pollution or whatever they like to call themselves are going to re issue the classic MARDUK 'Dark Endless' album without owning the copyright or anything whatsoever regarding that album. Therfore Blooddawn [MARDUK's own label] have decided to re issue it by themselves to avoid having a bootleg version being released by Black Lodge. The official Blooddawn release is a remastered version with bonus material containing a live performance from 1991. The album will be offically released on the 13th of June. The first 100 orders will recive free stickers and poster. The limited-edition 'Blackcrowned' DVD is out as well."
MARDUK are scheduled to return to the road at the end of August. According to the group's management, Europe will be hit first, followed by South America. Exact cities and dates will be announced soon.
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~ CELTIC FROST Frontman Slams Germany's METAL HAMMER Magazine ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
CELTIC FROST frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer has posted the following message on his official blog:
"So, Metal Hammer, one of Germany's most important magazines for heavy music, published a prominent news item on CELTIC FROST in their most recent issue. No, we have not yet distributed an official press release, nor has anyone from Metal Hammer bothered to contact either one of the band members or CELTIC FROST's management. Instead, they read this blog. Come to think of it, 'read' might not be the appropriate term to use here. For to read something, you need to be able to actually understand the language it is written in. Unless, of course, you are content with not understanding even one single line, and, yet, still have a big mouth and announce to the world what you haven't understood. Empty pages need to filled, after all.
"Under the title of 'CELTIC FROST at a Dead End', the article makes reference to the information posted in this blog and states that the band is experiencing severe difficulties, that we have suffered disagreements with the producer of our album and have thus let him go, that work on the album has been interrupted until further notice and that the album's release is in jeopardy.
"Reading this piece of 'journalistic' smut several times, we cannot see how this possibly relates at all to the information in my blog. Particularly so as this blog is often very detailed and candid. The waste written in Metal Hammer's news item almost amounts to willful defamation.
"Not only are we working on the album more intensely than at any time since we began this project, but it is also coming together exactly as we had hoped it would, and we are getting very close to the final recording and mixing sessions. Not a single break or interruption is on the agenda until the album is finished in late summer. The songs sound precisely as we wanted them to sound. Moreover, our recent efforts to involve a co-producer for these sessions and the mixing are an entirely optional route. What's more, these efforts have apparently been successful. And I only write 'apparently' because nothing has been signed yet. We all know the music industry.
"We don't intend to relinquish control over the making of this album. We know exactly what we want our sound to be like. There cannot possibly be anybody in the world who understands heritage and rituals of this group better than we do. As I wrote on the H2CF board, the reason we have been talking to potential co-producers is that we are of course far from being faultless (and very obviously so) and that we have been perhaps too closely involved with the music for this album for too long. Involving a fresh and creative mind constitutes a necessary injection of objectivity. We believe that it is essential to be open to outside ideas, provided they suit our project and provided that we retain final decision power. And that we will.
"Note that we have not yet even worked with a co-producer on this album. Let alone having suffered problems with one during the recording process. Almost everything we have recorded so far was done by the band themselves and engineered by Erol.
"The so-called 'difficulties with our producer', as published in Metal Hammer, are therefore presumably the results of a ludicrously hamfisted attempt by the magazine to translate to German what I once wrote in my blog about a hapless applicant for the co-production job, whom I had called Sparrow-Hawk. Sparrow-Hawk, however, was just as impaired in his approach as Metal Hammer is now, which is why we never progressed to actually working together. And that's exactly what I wrote in my blog. For the literate, that is.
"One thing is certain, however: once the new album is out, there will be plenty of such published negligence. To state it nicely. Klaus Kinski, for example, put it slightly differently.
"In the meantime, in the real world, we have added female operatic vocals to 'Os Abysmi vel Daath', and the effect is eerie and radical. Cornelia, the singer who recorded with us, has a strong background in modern classical music, which is something we have never before attempted to combine with our music. The results are accordingly unorthodox, but I like the outcome a lot. We will hone these vocal lines a bit still and then have her also add some more harmonies. And for two weeks now we have worked on a completely new version of Martin's 'A Dying God coming into Human Flesh'. This is an unusual song, and Martin has also just recorded the lead vocals for it. I have been asked to also record a version of the lead vocals, and we will later decide as a band which take to pick. But I feel Martin's version contains emotions I will never be able to emulate."
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~ OPETH Announce New Album Title ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
Sweden's OPETH have set "Ghost Reveries" as the title of their new album, tentatively due late summer via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to 2003's acoustic masterpiece, "Damnation", and OPETH's first disc in years without producer Steve Wilson, the album will include the following tracks, among others: "Ghost of Perdition", "The Baying of the Hounds" and "Isolation Years".
Following a spate of international touring that includes the much-anticipated "Sounds of the Underground" run in the U.S., OPETH has never been busier or more excited about the prospect of things. "The combination of a strong label and our best album so far is quite lethal!" states OPETH singer and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt.
Since the merger of OPETH's former label Music For Nations into BMG, OPETH have been one of the most sought-after unsigned bands in the world. OPETH and its manager, Andy Farrow of The Northern Music Company, finally struck a deal with Roadrunner Records.
"OPETH is the sort of band that humbles you with every note," states Roadrunner A&R man Mike Gitter, who adds OPETH to a personal roster of artists, which also includes the Grammy-nominated KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. "We're excited and proud to be working with them."
"I think all of us subconsciously had our minds set from the very beginning about signing to Roadrunner," says Åkerfeldt. "For us it's probably our biggest career move since we started. Roadrunner is/was the home of many of our favorite metal artists of all time." He adds, "As I’m writing this I am in the studio and we're recording the new album I know that this album is going to really KILL! It's sounding incredible already, and we're nowhere near finished."
OPETH will be embarking on the "Sounds of the Underground" tour in the U.S. beginning in late June. A European headlining tour will follow in September. A complete list of currently confirmed tour dates can be found at www.Opeth.com .
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~ THE BLACK LEAGUE Begin Recording New Album ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
THE BLACK LEAGUE, the Finnish band fronted by former SENTENCED vocalist Taneli Jarva, have entered Seawolf Studios in Suomenlinna (just outside Helsinki) to begin recording their fourth full-length album, tentatively entitled "A Place Called Bad". The band have undergone several major lineup changes in the last few months, resulting in the departure of both drummer "Sir" Kimmo Luttinen and basist Mikko "Florida" Laurila. Relocated in Helsinki, Jarva and guitarist Maike Valanne have enlisted Heavy Hiltunen (guitar), Rale (drums) and I.T. (bass), while also bringing in original guitar player Alexi Ranta to play guest lead guitar on one song.
In addition to revamping the group's lineup, THE BLACK LEAGUE have terminated their working relationship with their former record label Spinefarm and have signed a contract with indie visionaries WolfGang Records/MajorLeidén Productions, whose current roster includes HANOI ROCKS, WIGWAM, BLAKE and THE GRAMMERS.
The follow-up to 2004's "Man's Ruin Revisited", "A Place Called Bad" is scheduled for release in the fall.
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~ TRISTANIA Announce New Guitarist ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
Norwegian metal band TRISTANIA have announced the addition of guitarist Svein Terje Solvang to the group's ranks. Solvang, who has played with the band as a session live guitarist on all TRISTANIA tours this year, is "welcomed as a permanent band member," according to a posting on the group's web site.
TRISTANIA had previously announced plans to shoot a video for the song "Libre", the opening track on their new album, "Ashes", in Stockholm, Sweden. Mats Lundberg, who previously directed the group's video for "Heretique" as a "pet project," was slated to helm the new clip.
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~ SODOM: New DVD To Be Released In Two Parts ~
-[ source: blabbermouth.net ]-
Frontman Thomas "Angelripper" Such of veteran German thrashers SODOM has posted the following message on the group's official web site:
"Hallo Sodomaniacs! Here's the latest news about our DVD.
"After consultation with our label SPV we came to the conclusion to distribute the DVD in two different publications. Part 1 (two DVDs) will appear in September (Germany) and contain the SODOM history from 1982 to 1995 and the concerts from Sofia, With Full Force, Wacken, Bang Your Head and Rock Hard festivals. Total play time of the double DVD will be at least five hours, and it is already produced extremely complex. That's why it is now shifted for the third time. Nothing that could be interesting for you SODOM fans should be withheld. Highlight of the entire DVD are interviews with all, still living ex musicians. It was a real challenge for me to organize that all! I'm sure, there's nothing comparable in this sector. Thus, waiting will be worthwhile itself!
"DVD part two will be published at the beginning of 2006 and contain the history from 1996 to 2005 when there was no more line up change, as you know. But the material, which has been collected over these years is almost inexhaustibly and is now being sighted and evaluated. You can barely imagine what you'll get to see and hear, because in this period a camera was always at hand. This double DVD will also have a play time of more than five hours. More details later.
"The new album will be published in January, according to SPV. Drum and guitar tracks are complete, I will do my parts in June/July. To us it will be the most important, and as I believe also the best SODOM album of all times. Furthermore many live activities are planned.
"Hope to meet some of you there for some beer.... once again, thank you for your understanding and your patience."
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~ SOULDEVOURER: Ex-DISMEMBER, GRAVE, NECROPHOBIC Members Join Forces In New Project ~
After eight years away from the death metal scene, guitarist Robert Sennebäck (one of the founding members of DISMEMBER and UNLEASHED) felt a strong urge to start creating music again. A lot of previously written material was uncovered and was dusted off — too valuable to be unheard — giving Sennebäck the inspiration to build up a new band from scratch.
Dubbed SOULDEVOURER, Sennebäck's new project is said to follown an "old-school" direction — "the way the music sounded from the beginning, back in the late '80s." In order to create such music, SOULDEVOURER consists of well-known musicians that have the right experience from the early death metal scene and its development from the old days and have the right attitude and strong passion for the filthy early sound.
There will be no demos or pre-productions released officially, so interested record companies are welcome to contact the band through mail@souldevourer.se to discuss a possible agreement. Magazines and fanzines are also welcome to send interview requests to the same address.
SOULDEVOURER is:
Robert Sennebäck (ex-DISMEMBER, UNLEASHED) - Guitar & Vocals
Ola Lindgren (GRAVE) - Guitar & Backing vocals
Joakim Sterner (NECROPHOBIC) - Drums
For more information, visit www.souldevourer.se.
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~ CRADLE OF FILTH Part Ways With Longtime Keyboardist, Seek Replacement ~
British extreme blackened metallers CRADLE OF FILTH have parted ways with longtime keyboardist Martin Foul (Powell). Martin's official statement detailing the reasons for his decision reads as follows:
"Due to pressing personal reasons I have found myself unable to commit my best efforts and time to CRADLE OF FILTH. Despite five great years, [during] which I have achieved along with my colleagues (past and present) a myriad of goals and dreams, I have decided to bow out from CRADLE. Having played and written music with three greats of English metal (CRADLE OF FILTH, MY DYING BRIDE and ANATHEMA) I am certainly not giving up music in any respect but just need time away from the rigors of being part of a such a time consuming entity as CRADLE OF FILTH is. I shall endeavour to pursue and perhaps release my own music whenever I am blessed with the time and inclination to do so. I should like to thank CRADLE fans and friends the world over for making my time with CRADLE OF FILTH incredibly enjoyable and memorable. I look forward to people hearing from me in the not-too-distant future."
The rest of the band have issued the following statement regarding the recent and upcoming events in the group's camp:
"The feeling in the CRADLE camp of course is one of profound loss, though a resounding and heartfelt 'all the best for the future' accompanies this recent and unexpected personal turn of events. Obviously this leaves an opening for a replacement CRADLE keyboardist, so if there is anyone out there who bares an iota of interest in joining the ranks of the 'FILTH, then please feel free to send musical material and accompanying photographic/background information to the management email address as printed on the inside of the recent 'Nymphetamine' release. Anybody of any colour, creed or stature is welcome though 'Phantom of the Opera'-esque mannerisms and creepy facial mask will definitely count in your favour. Note: This will not affect the recently announced U.K. tour dates in December!
"On the positive side however, is the very welcome news that former bassist Dave 'Herr Pubis' Pybus has now taken on the somewhat daunting task of webmaster for the CRADLE OF FILTH official website, a challenge that sits perfectly alongside Dave's current preoccupation with the recently formed Sixsixsix Records label. So, from everybody involved with the band, a warm and very grateful welcome back.
"In a similar vein, Dave is also accompanying the band to undertake the forthcoming 'Viva La Bam' MTV2 television performance in the U.S sometime in June, when the band will feature in a full-length episode culminating in a live performance of 'Nemesis' atop a multi-story parking lot somewhere in Philadelphia. This however does not exclude new bass player Charles Hedger, who has been helping write toward the new album in the recent rehearsal room sessions at Springvale. So far tentative titles for the new material are as follows; 'The Flora of Nightfall, The Fauna of War', 'Devil to the Metal' and 'Cemetery and Sundown'. The band are expecting to be back in the studio in the autumn with a wistful release date of February 2006, though as mentioned elsewhere, the 'Gospel Of Filth' printed foray in to the darkside will be out in shops around Halloween as too will the forthcoming band DVD, recently shot over two nights in Paris and as yet untitled."
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~ THORNS OF THE CARRION Reunite, Begin Work On New Album ~
After disbanding in 2002, U.S. funeral doom metal band THORNS OF THE CARRION (formerly on now-defunct Wild Rags Records, 1993) have returned with a new lineup featuring founding member/guitarist Allen Scott, original vocalist Matt Chapman, Chris Dalcin on drums (ELUSIVE TRAVEL, FLEDGLING DEATH, ...AND HERE I LIE), Rinaldo Yulfo III on keyboards, and Adam Holliday on bass. The band are currently recording pre-production demos for a one-song, one-hour-long album entitled "The Waking Dirge", and gearing up for the Templars of Doom festival on July8-9 in Indianapolis, IN.
For more information, click http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=5470
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~ NAGLFAR Guitarist Talks About New Album, Vocalist Change ~
Denmark's Antenna webzine recently conducted an interview with NAGLFAR guitarist and founding member Andreas Nilsson. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:
Antenna: Founding member and vocalist Jens Rydén decided to leave the band earlier this year. Did this come as a surprise to you?
Andreas Nilsson: "To be honest; not really because he had told us quite some time before that he was applying to this school that was located in Stockholm, which was pretty far away from us and that he wouldn't be able to focus on the band, if he got into that, so it was no surprise at all. We knew what was going on. When he got in, we knew he would leave the band."
Antenna: What made you decide upon Kristoffer as new vocalist?
Andreas Nilsson: "Basically we just wanted to keep it simple and keep it in the family. We knew that Kris had done a really good job before. He's done a lot of backing vocals in NAGLFAR on previous releases and he's been the vocalist for a really good black metal band called SETHERIAL. So we really knew he could do it and I think the new album proves that as well."
Antenna: Has Kristoffer taken over the vocals on a permanent basis or will Jens perhaps return when he's finished with his studies?
Andreas Nilsson: "Personally I feel we are stronger than ever and that Kris is really suitable for the job as a vocalist, so I have a really hard time seeing Jens being back in the band. I mean you should of course never say never, but at this point we don't think he'll be back."
Antenna: I'm a little confused, is Kristoffer handling both the vocals and bass or have you found a replacement to take over the bass?
Andreas Nilsson: "Kris is doing the bass and the vocals on the album, but we're having a session bassplayer when we play live to keep it a five-man unit on stage. That session member is called Peter Morgan. He's been a good friend of ours for many years and he's a really good musician, so it's going to work out fine I think."
Antenna: So it's only for live purposes?
Andreas Nilsson: "At this point it's only for live purposes, but you never know in the future. I mean if Morgan feels he has the time to focus on the band, and if everything feels right later on, we might consider letting him join, but that's really far away. It's really hard to come into this brotherhood, if you could call it that. Because we have known each other for so long and we know how to interact with each other when we write music and when we're just being around each other, so it would be really difficult to have a new member in the band. It would feel kind of strange I think, but Morgan is, as I said, a really good friend and he's very similar to us so you never know.
Antenna: You recently signed with Century Media after being on various small labels. How did that come about?
Andreas Nilsson: "'Sheol' was distributed by Century Media actually. It was licensed to them from our old label, so they were really helpful with that album. Booking us on a lot of festivals, shows and stuff, so when the contract expired with the old label they contacted us and offered us a good deal and we know a lot of people in their office is very into NAGLFAR and believe strongly in the band, so we thought it would be a wise choice to sign with them."
Antenna: Do any of you currently have any side-projects going?
Andreas Nilsson: "Personally I have one project that I call SCITHE and it's basically somewhere I can put all my riffs that I think are good, but not NAGLFAR material, so I don't know what I'm going to do with it. If I'm going to release it on the internet or something in the future, but time will tell, I guess. The other guys of course have bands, but I wouldn't call them projects because they are fully functional bands. Kris and Marcus have BEWITCHED and Marcus also has two other bands called ANCIENT WISDOM and HAVAYOTH and all these bands have albums out or are about to release albums."
Read Andreas Nilsson's entire interview with Antenna at:
http://www.antenna.nu/naglfar/interview1.php
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~ KEEP OF KALESSIN Added To IMMORTAL Tribute Album ~
Norwegian black metallers KEEP OF KALESSIN, featuring Obsidian C. (a.k.a. Arnt Grønbech, also a touring guitarist for SATYRICON) on guitars/bass/synth, have reportedly been confirmed for the upcoming IMMORTAL tribute album, "Epimythion - Tribute to Immortal", tentatively due this fall via Greece's Townsend Avalanche Music. KEEP OF KALESSIN have yet to announce which IMMORTAL track they will be covering for the collection, which will be mastered at Strype Audio in Oslo, Norway by Tom Kvalsvoll.
"Epimythion - Tribute to Immortal" will feature the following track listing:
KEEP OF KALESSIN - TBA
SUNN O))) – "Cursed Realms Of The Winterdemons"
BEYOND DAWN - "Storming Through Red Clouds And Holocaust Winds"
VREID - "As The Eternity Opens"
OCD+BRAINCONTROLLER - "Pure Holocaust"
ENDWARFMENT - "Unsilent Storms In The North Abyss"
TRAGEDY BEGINS - "The Sun No Longer Rises"
ZWEIZZ - "Blacker Than Darkness"
ENTHRONED - "Eternal Years on the Path to the Cemetary Gates"
AURA NOIR - t.b.c.
SETH - "Battles in the North"
FUNERAL PROCESSION - "A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland"
KEEP OF KALESSIN recently entered the studio to begin recording their new album, "Armada", tentatively due in September via the Norwegian label Tabu Recordings, a division of Tuba Records. Vyl will be playing the drums on the album and a new bass player, Wizziac, will be introduced. MAYHEM singer Attila Chisar will be doing some additional vocals, but he will not be the frontman anymore. The band will try out different vocalists in the studio to find the one who matches the music best. The group's complete lineup will be revealed when the recording sessions are completed.
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~ DARK FUNERAL Guitarist: New Material Is Filled With 'Pure Suffering' ~
DARK FUNERAL guitarist Lord Ahriman has posted the following message on the band's official message forum:
"I just got back home after being a second week at Dug-Out Studios working on the new album. We will return to duty on Thusday morning.
"The songwriting is going better than killer. This week we have completed another two songs. So right now we have five new songs ready for the new album. Three more to write and our new Satanic Symphony is completed!
"Not relly sure how to explain these two new songs other than that they are AMAZING!!! One of them is a 'slow' song (no blast beats, only down tempo). And it's filled with so much pain and suffering it'll make you wanna...'beep...beep'...yourself up! It's not anything like 'Goddess Of Sodomy'. This is pure suffering!!!
"It's really hard to put exact words on what the hell we're creating here. But I can promise you one thing. You've never been closer to hell then this!. Be prepared for a HUGE fucking surprise!!!"
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~ GLENN TIPTON: Reuniting With ROB HALFORD Made Us Realize How Special JUDAS PRIEST Is ~
JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton recently spoke to the Pioneer Press about the group's world tour in support of their latest CD, "Angel of Retribution". A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:
On inspiring much of the heavy-metal parody film "This Is Spinal Tap":
"We've always been a larger-than-life band, and we've been in those 'Spinal Tap' moments. I thought it was a good movie, funny movie. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we've always taken the music seriously, and I hope people know that."
On the group's decision to book a U.S. arena tour for the first time since the early '90s:
"There are two keys, really — one is we genuinely love JUDAS PRIEST music. We're not just out there for the bucks. The other, which seems strange to say, is parting company with [singer] Rob [Halford] and him coming back has made us realize how special PRIEST is."
On the band's "reunion" album, "Angel of Retribution":
"We hadn't worked together for so long, and it just opened the floodgates, and we were very prolific. I don't suppose we've ever dealt with the bigger issues. We were separated over 10 years, and the music brought us back together, so my comment (to other bands) would be to get it all on the table. It's like a marriage — you need to communicate.
"On a positive note, we get to travel around the world and play music we love, and I firmly believe it's helping us to stay young, rather than give up the ghost and grow fat. As long as there's a demand for PRIEST and we can cut it up there, we'll be there."
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~ TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS Teams Up With NEIL TURBIN On ANTHRAX Classic ~
The following update has been posted on singer Neil Turbin's (ex-ANTHRAX) official web site:
"Neil Turbin's DEATHRIDERS were joined onstage Friday, May 27th, 2005 at Monterrey Metal Fest II 2005 official pre-party event held at Cafe Iguana, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico by noneother than Tim 'Ripper' Owens [ICED EARTH, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST]. Tim and Neil were both trading high notes for a rousing rendition of Neil's anthem 'Metal Thrashing Mad'. Tim 'Ripper' Owens and his band BEYOND FEAR headlined the sold-out concert.
"On a side note the departure flight from LAX to Monterrey was nothing short of a near death experience, the airplane actually lost control for a period of time where there was heavy rattling, wings were stressed to their limit and bolts were missing or loosened. Tommy and I stood up and were watching out the window as the wings bent up above the plane and were flapping up and down like a bird. On the flight were Lemmy Kilmister, Glenn Danzig, Johnny Kelly, Tommy Victor, Jerry Montano, Neil Turbin, Kurt James, Beau Simpson, Mike Giordano, Mikey Niel and a couple of screaming flight attendants, crying infants and a few people wet their seats. When the plane landed everyone applauded and as we were walking towards customs Lemmy said to us, 'I thought we were going to hit the ground a bit sooner than expected.'
"Monterrey shows kicked major ass, the city is clean and beautiful, the people were friendly and excited for all of us to be there, all the bands sounded great and were extremely cool people to hang with (METAL CHURCH, BEYOND FEAR, W.A.S.P., DANZIG, MOTÖRHEAD, AZRAEL'S BANE, IGNITOR, INTO ETERNITY, JAG PANZER, SHADOWKEEP, ANTON) and Lemmy fucking rules!"
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~ MOONSPELL Resume Work On New Album, Continue Label Negotiations ~
MOONSPELL frontman Fernando Ribeiro has posted the following message on the group's official web site:
"I reckon May was left out in blank yet nothing really exciting happened anyway besides a few gigs and assorted practises so nobody missed much, really. In any case as I just finished MOONSPELL's new calendar, filling all days up to the end of September (!), I felt it was high time to drop some words to our lunar Infernet community which has been restless these days with mostly petty stuff, unfortunately, that has not go unnoticed by anyone, to the despair of all.
"The good news are, though, that we have resumed working on the new album and more and more songs keep springing up which is only good because it means this time around we will be able to choose between a wider variety of songs and moods. We will book the studio for September and this time around we are travelling to Germany again to work at the Woodhouse studios under the hawk eye of a longtime acquaintance: Waldemar Sorychta who has previously worked with us in 'Wolfheart', 'Irreligious' and 'Sin/Pecado'.
"The music and lyrics are finally gaining the texture and the structure of album worthy material. We had eight songs on a first demo but now we are looking at four, five other songs including one that will be a strong candidate to be the first advance of the record. A lot of people approach us to know the way it will sound and I have been trying my best to describe it on recent interviews but let me tell you how hard it is to state something at this stage of things. I can only come close to the truth by saying that the new songs enthusiasm me and also that they intrigue me taking me in many thoughts ad travels of self discovery which are truly fascinating. To say the music is deeply atmospheric still more powerful and epic than ever is redundant. MOONSPELL was, is and will be always describable by those words so I can only say for you to wait patiently and to let us reward you in the end. Btw the name of the album has been found already.
"There is still no other news about who is going to release it or when as the negotiations for the new deal are not concluded yet. Some labels have turned it down, some others are excited to have it, but we will make the best decision possible regarding our present and our future as a band. About the date of release we will be looking most likely at the end of the year or early 2006.
"The DVD is now on full production. Contents are being finalized and material is being chosen. As you know by now the main feature will be the Live at Katowice, Poland captured in 2004, but we will throw in a lot of bonus material which will include previously unreleased stuff like With Full Force Festival, Rock in Rio and Dortmund's Soundgarden 1996's performances. Besides the full collection of videos we will add up the making of from 'Everything Invaded' and I will see you in my dreams clips. We have also came up with a special section which will allow you to have exclusive info and photos from the band. Finally our piece de resistance will be a short feature documentary filmed on location in Portugal, written by myself (nobody else took the job) and narrated by a friend of us from the music scene whom, unfortunately, we can only confirm later. This movie will allow you to understand where MOONSPELL comes from (and goes back to), with appointments from our upbringing which might help one to know us even deeper. The DVD is scheduled to be released worldwide via Century Media not later than the end of September, early October and will be produced by Century together with Tribal DDB Portugal (artwork, documentary, etc.) and MMP (menus, authoring, etc.) in Poland.
"Moonspell.com, the new site, is also in full progress now. It will be designed by Adriano Esteves and his new company Burokratik (www.burokratik.com). We took new pictures already for the site and explored further our ideas to make an altogether more attractive, practical and 'mystical' site with a better working spirit, prompter updates, and more interactivity by the means of photography and video. One of the sections will be a diary or a blog maintained by me in which everything can happen from advance printing of new lyrics and themes to short tales or poems (by the way I am translating my second poetry book to English myself) and on the other side you will be able to buy new and exclusive MOONSPELL merchandise directly from our site for the first time ever.
"In the live field we are not playing as much festivals this year as we would like to but we look forward to a more optimistic season next year with the new album. In the meanwhile you can check the additional dates elsewhere on the site announcing our return to Finland, Suomi for the great Nummirock, the festival in Elvas to promote the Portuguese metal scene in an initiative from A.Freitas, the most prominent metal journo from Portugal and our premier at the now rebuilt Ponta Delgada's (Azores) Coliseum which will be a landmark in our career. We are still and already working on further shows which will be announced as they are confirmed by the promoters.
"I have not forgot the thematic show of the ten years for 'Wolfheart' when we would play all the songs of that record on anunique night. The band was very open to this idea and we might find time to do it in a near future though not before the end of the summer but for a fact before the year runs out. Lisbon will welcome this project when due. Then we will see.
"Individually I have finished work for my new literary project which has not still a release date confirmed (we are building a pattern here!). This time around I wrote a horror fiction tale which will bridge and connect nine other tales by the writer H.P.Lovecraft, translated into Portuguese by several persons connected with literature in Portugal. The book is called 'Os melhores contos de Lovecraft' (The best tales of H.P.Lovecraft) and will be out through Saida de Emergência editions (www.saidadeemergencia.com). Also I will be having some DJ sessions throughout the summer starting at the Dark Fashion clothing release party, the 11th/6 at a nightclub in Lisbon.
"Pedro/MOONSPELL has remixed a song by the Portuguese band F.E.V.E.R. which is out on their new remixes LP. The song is 'This is Disease'. You can order and find more about this CD at the following sites: www.fever.web.pt or www.thisco.net."
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~ MOTÖRHEAD's LEMMY: Bondage Tales ~
Ireland's Ballyhoo Examiner newspaper has issued the following "correction" to a previously published article: "Lawyers for wild man rock star Lemmy have complained about a story in Saturday's Ballyhoo Examiner entitled 'MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy In Bondage Romp', which told how the 55-year-old MOTÖRHEAD rocker handcuffed his lover to the bed for a three-day sex and bondage session. Mr. Lemmy's solicitors said: 'It was not three days and she was not handcuffed to the bed. It was seven days and she was hung from the ceiling.' We apologise unreservedly to Mr. Lemmy for any damage caused to his reputation."
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~ EXODUS Guitarist: Drums On New Album Sound 'Fuckin' Huge' ~
EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt has posted the following message on the group's official web site:
"Just getting up and getting ready to head back to the studio but I thought I'd give everyone an update first. Yesterday was day one and it could not have gone any better. Paul's [Bostaph, ex-SLAYER, FORBIDDEN] drum sound is fuckin' HUGE! I think, and I don't think Paul would argue this point, that it's the biggest sound he's ever had. Everybody is stoked! We actually laid down a few songs last night before calling it quits for the evening so we could listen back today and see if anything can be improved before we start laying the drums down for good, and I have got to tell you, Paul is fucking amazing. We have given him the green light to just go wild and it's pummeling!"
EXODUS' as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2004's "Tempo of the Damned" is being recorded at Trident studios in Pacheco, California and will mark the band's first release with new singer Rob Dukes. Mixing duties will be handled by Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, KREATOR). Among the tracks set to appear on the CD is "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (working title), which Holt has described as "one of the fastest EXODUS songs of all time."
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~ HEATHEN Announce New Guitarist ~
Reunited San Francisco Bay Area metallers HEATHEN have recruited guitar virtuoso Terry Lauderdale to tour with the group this summer. "After auditions, Terry Lauderdale stepped up to the plate and hit a home run," the band write on their web site. "HEATHEN is very excited about having Terry on board. You may remember Terry, when by the age of 18, caught the attention of hard rockers SABOTAGE who recruited the young guitarist for the lead guitar position and was soon burning up the stage. Terry then moved on to join forces with Carl Socco (HEATHEN, MURDER), Bob Clic (THE LEWD, MURDER) and Dane Petersen (BLOODBATH) to form the thrash metal band DIE SIEGER. Terry Lauderdale continues to awe and inspire audiences wherever he performs. Besides his reputation as a professional musician, he is also known as a dynamic performer, who gives nothing less than 110 percent at every performance. He has also received countless praise from his peers, professional relationships and dedicated fans. Now he plans to rip up the stage with HEATHEN."
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~ DECEASED: New Live Shows In The Works ~
Long-running metallers DECEASED have posted the following message on their official web site:
"Some upcoming shows that haven't been confirmed but are being worked on are, Sept. 17th in Chicago with SABBAT, THE CHASM and USURPER. Also, a late August show in Southern California with DR. KNOW and a show in Mexico. Finally, a show in NJ on July 9th and a late summer show at the Warehouse Next Door in Washington, DC."
DECEASED's latest album, "As The Weird Travel On", was released in April on Thrash Corner Records.
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