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01/12/2006: "Metal News (Thurs. Jan. 12th, 2006) week 02"
~ NECROPHOBIC Sign With REGAIN RECORDS, Announce New Album Title ~
Swedish death metallers NECROPHOBIC have inked a deal with Regain Records for the release of their fifth album, entitled "Hrimthursum". The follow-up to 2002's "Bloodhymns" is being recorded at the Dark Voodoo Studio with engineers Anders Bentell and Fredrik Folkare (guitarist and producer of UNLEASHED) and is tentatively due later in the year.
"Hrimthursum" (a word taken from the old Norse mythology which means "The Frost Giants") will feature the following track listing (in no particular order):
01. Slaughter of Baby Jesus
02. Branded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness
03. Eternal Winter
04. The Crossing
05. I Strike with Wrath
06. Vril
07. Sitra Ahra
08. Bitter Cold Blizzard
09. Serpents (Beneath the Forest of the Dead)
10. Age of Chaos
11. Death Immaculate
12. Black Hate
NECROPHOBIC had previously performed the track "Branded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness" at the Party.San Open Air festival in Germany.
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~ VREID Announce New Album Title, Track Listing ~
VREID, the new Norwegian band formed by former WINDIR members Hváll (bass), Steingrim (drums) and Sture (vocals, guitar), have posted the following message on their official web site:
"We have been working in our dungeon (studio 1184) with our second album since September. The recordings were finished by late November, and we have now been mixing the album for a couple of weeks. The mixing of the album was done at Subsonic Society studio together with Lars Klokkerhaug. Working with Lars was a pleasure as always. We feel that we have really found the formula and the right sound for this album; raw, powerful and grooving as hell. The last step of the process is the mastering of the album. On the 20th of January we will go to Tailor Maid studio in Stockholm and put the last make up on this beast. Release is set [for] March 27, 2006 through Tabu Records and worldwide distribution by Candlelight Records."
Entitled "Pitch Black Brigade", the album will contain the following eight songs:
01. Då Draumen Rakna
02. Pitch Black
03. Left To Hate
04. The Red Smell
05. Hengebjørki
06. Our Battle
07. Hang ‘Em All
08. Eit Kapitell For Seg Sjølv
Commented Hváll: "I am very satisfied with the album. I sincerely think this is the best album I have ever been working on. It is a continuance of 'Kraft', but yet rawer, far more rocking and more epic than ever before. Lyrically, the album is inspired by a lot of the brutal and grim historical events from the last centuary. Science-fiction seems bleak compared to the ugly history of our ancestors.
"We will also be making a video for the song 'Pitch Black'. The recording for this video will take place in January, and the video should be available at the same time as the release of the album.
"We hope to play as much live as possible after the release of 'Pitch Black Brigade', and we have already started the process of booking concerts. If you want to watch VREID live this year, make sure that you tell your local concert/festival management so. Spread the word and we’ll be coming to a scene near you soon. All booking related questions can be send to vreid@vreid.no ."
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~ ENSLAVED Announce New Album Title ~
Norwegian extreme metallers ENSLAVED have set "Ruun" as the title of their new album, tentatively due on May 8 via Tabu. The recordings for the follow-up to the band's Norwegian Grammy- and Alarm award-winning album "Isa" (2004) began a week ago at Amper Studio in Oslo, Norway and the band "already feel confident that this will be a monumental album!" according to a posting on the group's web site. "The drums are finished, and the guitars are being recorded at this very moment."
Commented guitarist and composer Ivar Bjørnson: "The songs are stronger than ever. We've found the ultimate studios and the guys in the band are in very high spirits. Now it's just a matter of working as hard as body and mind permits."
"Ruun" will be mixed at Propeller Studios in Oslo by Mike Hartung and mastered at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Sweden. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Path of Vanir" and "Essence", both of which the band are planning on shooting videos for.
ENSLAVED will take some time off in early February to head up to the city of the northern lights, Tromsø, to headline By:Larm, Norway's answer to SXSW (South by Southwest). They will be playing two gigs, and audience and press can catch them on February 9 and February 10. They will also play a gig in their hometown of Bergen on March 24 at Club Bizarre.
ENSLAVED will be teming up with KHOLD and VREID for a European tour in the fall. More information will be made available soon.
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~ VOIVOD Frontman Begins Laying Down Vocals For New CD ~
VOIVOD frontman Denis "Snake" Belanger has started laying down tracks for the group's much-anticipated new album with producer Glen Robinson (VOIVOD's "Nothingface", TEA PARTY, GWAR) at Multisons studio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The singer has posted his first entry on the band's blog about the studio work that includes studio updates, tidbits and photos:
"I finally broke the ice. I sang two songs today. At studio Multisons, the speakers are really good, and at full blast, they really make your body shaking. Everything sounds massive."
This is the first album in the band's 20+ year career that will not feature founding guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour working alongside his bandmembers in the studio. D'Amour died August 26, 2005 in a Montreal hospital from complications of advanced colon cancer.
In order to record the album drummer Michel "Away" Langevin — along with Belanger and bassist Jason "Jasonic" Newsted — are utilizing all of the guitar parts that Piggy had recorded for the record on his laptop with ProTools before his death.
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~ ATTACKER Re-Sign With SENTINEL STEEL RECORDS ~
After much deliberation, reunited New Jersey metallers ATTACKER have re-signed with Sentinel Steel Records. The band's new album "The Unknown" will see its official worldwide release on Tuesday, April 11 on CD and classic vinyl.
ATTACKER and Sentinel Steel have announced that copies of their newest album will be on sale at the very site where the band solidified their comeback, at the Keep It True Festival in Germany on Saturday, April 8 — three days before the album's worldwide release on April 11.
ATTACKER will be on tour in Europe starting on Saturday September 16 with a headlining appearance at the Swordbrothers Festival in Andernach, Germany. Stops will also include Italy, Greece and Belgium. The European trek will be sponsored by Eat Metal Records.
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~ ENSLAVED Guitarist: 'I Never Trust Classifications, Only My Ears' ~
Germany's Metal-Inside.de webzine recently conducted an interview with ENSLAVED guitarist Ivar Bjørnson. A couple of excerpts from the question-and-answer session follow:
Metal-Inside.de: The last ENSLAVED product was a DVD? Are you happy with the result? What [do you think] about the DVD format in general?
Ivar: "Oh yes, we are very very satisfied with the new DVD, 'Return to Yggdrasill – Live in Bergen'! Both the sound and picture turned out very much how we wanted it to do! Personally I have only a few DVDs in my collection. I think the sound and the picture, along with, of course, the playing has to have a very high quality before it becomes interesting. Sadly, a lot of the extreme metal productions look and sound like shit. I suspect it's only products to make easy money, but hopefully it will develop towards a higher demand for quality. To sum it up; I guess I like it as a new dimension of art."
Metal-Inside.de: ENSLAVED has been a symbol of Norwegian black metal, [but] now the music sounds more like the so-called avantgarde/extreme metal. What do you think: Is black metal only a (life-)-style for younger guys? And what do you think in general about the classifications [of] "raw/true/war black metal," "symphonic black metal," "avantgarde black metal" and perhaps other [sub-genres]?
Ivar: "I think black metal is a lifestyle that is true and honorable for those who work hard to make good music and develop solid concepts around their bands. Of course, there is a lot of shit, but you will find that in all kinds of music. I think some people have used and are using black metal and its image to hide [the fact] that they have no talent and no substance in their life's work. But luckily there are many great black metal bands to prove the opposite: TAAKE, DARKTHRONE, TSJUDER, 1349, SULPHUR, and many more, I am sure! About classifications, I personally find it very uninteresting. For example: symphonic black metal is normally utter shit, but again there are good bands like EMPEROR, ANOREXIA NERVOSA (so some stuff, at least, is good). Norwegian black metal is normally good, but also here you find crappy bands all the time. So I never trust classifications, only my ears."
Metal-Inside.de: Tell me something about your private life? What about the members‘ jobs, hobbies. I read, you are owner of a software-company.
Ivar: "We try to keep private life private — our music shouldn’t be too obscured by petty details, like what we do during the day. But most people already know that Grutle [Kjellson; vocals, bass] and Cato [Bekkevold; drums] are heavily into fishing. Now music is full-time for me, I only do some small software production as a hobby. Herbrand [Larsen; keyboards, vocals] also works as a studio producer for other bands as well as being a music teacher. Finally Arve [Isdal] plays the guitar in many different projects besides ENSLAVED and does some part-time teaching."
Read the entire interview at Metal-Inside.de.
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~ VENOM Announce Rare U.K. Performance ~
According to BaconMusic.com, British black metal pioneers VENOM will play their first U.K. gig of the new millennium on Sunday, March 26 at the Manchester Academy.
As previously reported, VENOM have finished mixing their new album, "Metal Black", at the Townhouse Studios in London. The album contains 14 new songs, including "Antechrist", the demo for which can be heard at this location. A March release via Castle Records/Sanctuary Group is expected.
According to an official press release, "Metal Black" "sees original founder band member Cronos creating a new masterpiece of metal together with [drummer] Antton and [guitarist] Mykvs. With 14 brand new roaring and vital tracks, VENOM are again taking the goat by the horns and reinventing their own original style . . . 'Metal Black' [is] an album that harkens back to the writing style of the '80s VENOM with a powerful production to incinerate any sound system, truly demonic in every sense and with the delivery of a charging beast."
Commented Mykvs: "The album has a very raw feel. The intensity of the songs is awesome. We recorded the album as a live band, three demons bleeding for the heaviest metal we could create, and our new album will show that VENOM keeps getting stronger and heavier. Lay down your souls, muthafuckers, we have returned." *(News source: blabbermouth )
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~ Long-Running Thrashers LETHAL AGGRESSION Working On New EP ~
Long-running New Jersey thrashers LETHAL AGGRESSION are currently working on an EP, tentatively due later in the year.
According to the band's official bio, "LETHAL AGGRESSION has been thrashing for 20 years now with various lineup changes. They have played with some of the undergrounds finest bands such as: AGNOSTIC FRONT, CRUMBSUCKERS, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, VERBAL ABUSE, HIRAX, ANTHRAX, OVERKILL and more. Currently they are trying to gain an all-new fanbase with the younger generation while retaining their core fans."
For more information — including audio samples — visit www.myspace.com/lethalaggression
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~ Woman Claims GORGOROTH Guitarist And His Friend Repeatedly Raped Her ~
The woman who was allegedly raped by GORGOROTH guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) and his friend took the stand earlier today (Jan. 4) in a Norwegian court to give her version of what happened that fateful night two years ago.
Tiegs, 33, and his 32-year-old friend (whose identity has not been revealed by the Norwegian media) are appealing the three-year prison sentence they received last year in connection with the incident, which took place on April 27, 2004.
According to Bergens Tidende, the 29-year-old woman is claiming that she was trapped at the GORGOROTH guitarist's apartment and raped during an afterparty after meeting the two defendants at a nightclub called Garage in Bergen. The woman fled wearing nothing but a towel around her waist.
Both of the defendants claimed yesterday that the sex was consensual, but today the woman told a completely different version in the Gulating court of appeals.
"I was sure that they were going to run after me when I fled," she said.
"[Tiegs' friend] started massaging my legs and then I blacked out until I was standing there crying, telling them I didn't want to be part of this anymore," she said.
"I wanted to go home and go to the hallway to put my shoes on, but [Tiegs' friend] was holding on to me again. I tried to resist and cried out loud," said the woman before breaking down in tears.
The friend of the GORGOROTH guitarist then supposedly held her arms behind her back, punched her twice in the face and raped her.
"I asked [Tiegs] if he wanted to help me. He shook his head and said no, even though he was standing next to us."
Furthermore, she stated that she was led into the bedroom and then repeatedly raped by the two men for a couple of hours, until 6:30 a.m.
"Their faces were evil. I could not see anything good in them anymore," she told the court.
In between the rapes, Tiegs supposedly went out to talk to another man, who turned out to be his roommate.
The fact that this roommate hadn't heard the woman's cries for help will be a crucial point for the defense. No one in the house heard the woman's cry for help.
"I didn't know that [the roommate] was in the apartment at all," the woman said.
Both of the defendants and the plaintiff had consumed a fair amount deal of alcohol before the events took place. Today the accuser also admitted that she had been smoking hash earlier that night as well.
"I only took a couple of drags," she said.
Defense lawyer Jørgen Riple has for a long time claimed that the defendants are innocent and that the plaintiff's claims of gang rape are totally illogical. Among the discrepancies in the woman's version of events is the fact that she was able to call a girlfriend from the apartment while she was held captured, around 5:50 a.m. The rapes were supposedly happening at this time and the woman fled out into the street a short time later.
The defense attorney pointed out in court today that the woman has changed her story several times as to where in the apartment the rapes began.
In addition to the three-year prison sentence (handed down on May 5, 2005), Tiegs and his friend were each ordered to pay 100,000 NOK (approximately $15,000) in court costs and an additional 55,000 NOK (approximately $8,300) in punitive damages.
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~ GORGOROTH Guitarist's Rape Conviction Upheld, Verdict Makes Norwegian Court History ~
GORGOROTH guitarist Infernus' rape conviction was upheld by a Norwegian court earlier today (Jan. 10).
Bergens Tidende reports that a four to five hour-long drama in the jury room resulted in court history being made in Norway. The verdict in the Gulating court of appeals in Bergen has created confusion.
Tiegs (real name: Roger Tiegs) and a friend (whose identity has not been revealed by the Norwegian media) were found guilty of raping a 29-year-old woman last year. They were both sentenced to three years in prison. Today, the court of appeal upheld Tiegs' rape conviction, but found no evidence to support the rape charge against his friend.
"Everyone involved in these proceedings would benefit from finding out what [the jury] has based its decision on," said the puzzled prosecutor Gert Johan Kjelby.
Dag Idar Tryggestad at Bergens Tidende speculates that the jury must have found that one of the men (Tiegs) used force against the woman and that the other man was unaware of this when he later had sex with her. This despite the fact that the three of them were all in the same, small apartment at the time.
"A jury finding that [the co-defendants] played such totally different roles is not something we've seen in court practice before," said Kjelby.
Following the acquittal of Tiegs' friend, the prosecutor asked the jury: "Is [the friend] guilty of aggravated sexual assault?"
Half an hour later the jury returned with the answer: "Yes."
"We can only speculate as to what the jury based its answer on," said the prosecutor.
The basis of the prosecutor's question is: Because of the circumstances, the friend should have known that Tiegs had forced himself on the woman and that she therefore couldn't resist when the friend had sex with her.
According to her attorney Grethe Gullhag, the woman is relieved that both were convicted, albeit only one was found guilty of rape.
Defense attorney Egil Horstad, who represents the friend, is pleased that his client was cleared of the more serious charge. "But it's difficult to understand the jury's thought process when they find my client guilty of aggravated sexual assault,' said Horstad. "First they state that my client wasn't involved in the rape of the woman, or that he even knew that a rape had occurred. Then he's punished because he should have realized what had happened."
Defense attorney Jørgen Riple, who represents Roger Tiegs, is upset.
"We are very disappointed, no matter how you look at the matter," he said.
The defendants will be back in court tomorrow (Jan. 11) for sentencing.
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