|
|
|
|
| News item |
Date
|
2008-10-03 | |
2008-10-03 | |
2008-10-02 | |
2008-10-02 | |
2008-10-02 | |
2008-10-02 | |
2008-10-02 | |
2008-10-01 | |
2008-10-01 | |
2008-10-01 | |
2008-09-30 | |
2008-09-29 | |
2008-09-29 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-27 | |
2008-09-26 |
| Sonic Syndicate in the charts |
2008-10-03
|
|
Swedish metallers SONIC SYNDICATE entered the German album charts on # 36 this week. This is the band's second highest entry ever (right after the entry in their homecountry Sweden last week) as well as the highest in Germany so far. Congratulations to our highly successful Modern Metal sextet!
All chart entries so far: Sweden: # 15 | Germany: # 36 | Austria: # 43 | Switzerland: # 65 | |
| Wintersun confirmed for Bloodstock |
2008-10-03
|
|
Bloodstock is pleased to confirm that Finnish Metallers WINTERSUN have been confirmed as a UK Exclusive for next years Bloodstock Open Air 2009. This will coincide with the bands long awaited new album tentatively entitled Time which will also be out in August 2009 .
The amazing artwork from the self-titled debut album "Wintersun", courtesy of Necrolord already gives you a hint where this act might come from, exactly, Finland! Hailing from the land of the thousand lakes where the winters are long and cold, WINTERSUN is the new project of singer and multi instrumentalist Jari Maenpaa, who recently left his former band ENSIFERUM. Powerful and majestic with a lot of energy, the music of WINTERSUN mainly flows with great melodies influenced by folk and Scandinavian traditional music. If you enjoy bands like AMORPHIS (in their early days), CHILDREN OF BODOM, FINNTROLL or ENSIFERUM, "Wintersun" is the right choice for you! Lyrically the album deals with mastermind Jari's life, feelings, emotions, hallucinations and dreams, facts that make the record a very personal piece of work. Beside Jari, drummer Kai Hahto from the Finish Grindcore/Death Metal band ROTTEN SOUND plays on "Wintersun" and provided the album with a hellish pummelling in all or more of the right parts. The rest vocals, guitars, bass and programming was done completely by the perfectionist Maenpaa. They both managed to create a diversified song spectrum from speed metal tracks over heavy guitar tracks to bombastic mid tempo opuses. While fast songs like opener 'Beyond The Dark Sun' and 'Winter Madness' stress out the high technical abilities of WINTERSUN, epic songs with big choruses like 'Sleeping Stars' and 'Death And The Healing' show the unique feeling of Jari for emotional and melancholic melodies. The vocals always fit perfectly to the present mood Jari masters everything, no matter if you take melodic clean vocals, brutal screams or Viking-like chants. The band is delighted to be performing at next years Bloodstock Open Air Festival this will be a long overdue UK appearance for Wintersun and will be their ONLY UK show for 2009! Bloodstock takes place on Friday 14th, Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th August at Catton Hall, Walton on Trent in Derbyshire. | |
| Shining confirmed for Firebox Metal Fest |
2008-10-02
|
|
The first bands to be added to Firebox Metal Fest's line-up are Shining
from Sweden and Forgotten Tomb from Italy! For Shining this would be the first appearance in Finland. The festival will be held for the second time at Rytmikorjaamo, Seinäjoki on 17th and 18th of may 2009. Come band announcements coming in November. | |
| Criminal sign with Massacre Records |
2008-10-02
|
|
Anglo-Chilean thrash masters CRIMINAL are proud to announce their signing of
a new recording deal with Germany's Massacre Records. The band will enter the studio in September to record its sixth studio album for an early 2009 release. The follow-up to 2005's “Sicario” will be released in a limited edition package including a bonus DVD. Vocalist/guitarist Anton Reisenegger states: “It's great to be on a label like Massacre, that has carved its niche in today's overcrowded market through hard work and dedication. We are looking forward to a long and productive collaboration. “I have nothing but good things to say about the staff at Metal Blade Europe,” the frontman comments on the band's former label, “but the company's priorities were clearly somewhere else, so it made no sense for us to continue working together. I honestly wish them all the best for the future.” Formed in the early 90s in Santiago de Chile by ex-Pentagram mastermind Reisenegger and guitar virtuoso Rodrigo Contreras, CRIMINAL were combining elements of thrash, hardcore and death metal long before the term “metalcore” was even thought of. The band enjoyed a meteoric rise to the forefront of the South American metal scene, including five-digit album sales, shows with the likes of Kreator, Sepultura and Slayer and a nomination for Best Rock Video at the MTV Latino Video Music Awards, but was faced with severe personal and business problems around the turn of the decade. Reisenegger and Contreras then decided to relocate to the UK, regrouping in a half-Chilean, half-British line-up. Since then, the band has played on major European festivals such as Wacken and Summer Breeze, as well as support shows with bands such as Chimaira, Six Feet Under, Brujeria and Lamb of God. CRIMINAL's latest studio offering, “Sicario”, was hailed by the press as one of the finest thrash metal releases of 2005 and was voted into the Top Ten Albums of the Year by the readers of Terrorizer magazine. At the same time, the band's status in their home country remains unbroken, as evidenced by a four-page feature in the Chilean edition of Rolling Stone magazine and a recent show supporting Megadeth in front of over 14,000 metalheads. CRIMINAL is: Anton Reisenegger – vocals, guitar Rodrigo Contreras – lead guitar Zac O'Neil – drums Dan Biggin – bass | |
| Dimmu Borgir announce touring musicians |
2008-10-02
|
|
Due to a recent addition to his family, DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Galder will not be able to join the upcoming North American trek on Danzig’s Blackest Of The Black tour.
States DIMMU guitarist Silenoz: "We have some new, temporary personnel on this tour. We needed an experienced live guitarist and found him in an old friend of mine and Galder: Cyrus of Susperia. We’re happy he can step in and don’t plan on giving him a hard time on the road." Drumming duties on the Blackest Of The Black tour will be handled by Daray (ex-Vader). According to Silenoz, "fans can perhaps expect a few surprises when it comes to the set list." | |
| Autumn enter studio |
2008-10-02
|
|
Female fronted Dutch Rockers AUTUMN have started recording the follow-up for 2007s ‘My New Time’! “Last weekend we recorded the drums for our upcoming fourth studio album. Production of the new album will be, like with the 'My New Time' album, supervised by Arno Krabman, Jochem Jacobs and Bouke Visser of the Graveland Studio and the SplitSecondSound studio, respectively.
We are already very excited about the drum recordings and can't wait to record the (bass-)guitars, synths and vocals. More news about the recordings, the contents of the new album and the release of the album will follow soon!” | |
| Amon Amarth chart success |
2008-10-02
|
|
The new AMON AMARTH album has received an overwhelming Welcome from Metalheads all over Europe! ‘Twilight Of The Thunder God’ landed on position 6 on the official German longplay Charts which marks the highest Chartentry in the history of the band as well as Metal Blade Europe!
“Germans know great beer, high quality cars, good bratwurst and they have a good taste for music. Germany has become a home away from home for us, all thanks to our amazing fans that have shown us fantastic support and loyalty from the very start of our career. You are truly metal and true Vikings!” ‘Twilight Of The Thunder God’ entered the Charts in several other countries as well. All the entries are higher than the ones the band got for the predecessor of ‘Twilight Of The Thunder God’, ‘With Oden On Our Side’! Im some countries it´s the first chartentry ever for AMON AMARTH. “We would like to thank all our fans for all the fantastic support. Without you this would never have been possible! You are the f***ing best!” Overview European Chartentries ‘Twilight Of The Thunder God’: Germany - # 6 – Official Album Charts Finland # 10 – Official Album Charts Sweden - # 11 – Official Album Charts Austria # 14 – Official Album Charts Switzerland - # 21 – Official Album Charts Norway - # 50 - Official Album Charts Belgium - # 71 - Official Album Charts Denmark - # 82 – Official Album Charts Netherlands - # 87 – Official Album Charts United Kingdom - #126 - Official Album Charts / #8 - Top 40 Rock & Metal Chart / #11 - Top 50 Independent Album Chart AMON AMARTH kicked off their North American headlining tour last night in Anaheim, CA. The band will be playing the Unholy Alliance, Chapter III tour in Europe starting late October. ’Twilight Of The Thunder God’ is in stores Worldwide now! The limited first edition comes as a Deluxe 3-disc package with bonus-cd and bonus-dvd (Live at Summer Breeze 2007). | |
| Myrath cancel ProgPower Europe appearance |
2008-10-01
|
|
The organizers behind the ProgPower Europe festival has sent the following update:
This will be the latest mailing for this year's edition of ProgPower Europe. We did not plan to send one more, but because we got a very unexpected cancellation from MYRATH we just would like you to inform that Dutch band THE AURORA PROJECT fills in the empty spot. This band was one of the surprises of ProgPower a few years ago so we are very glad they invited our invitation at such a late minute. Check out the website for all details. | |
| Eisregen in the German charts |
2008-10-01
|
|
They did it again...German extreme metal originals EISREGEN ignored the big
names and entered the official German album charts again on position 40! A
huge success for the heaviest album in the current charts!!! | |
| Koch Records sign with Rising Force / Yngwie |
2008-09-30
|
|
Port Washington, NY September 29, 2008 KOCH Entertainment Distribution announced today that it has signed an exclusive physical and digital distribution deal with Rising Force Records and its flagship artist neo-classical metal guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen.
Rising Force Records was launched in 2008 with the primary function to release and market new and back catalogue material from the world renowned guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen as well as signing new talent. The first title slated for release is "Perpetual Flame," a brand new recording from Malmsteen featuring ex-Judas Priest/Iced Earth singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens to be released via KOCH on October 14th. Additional titles and release dates will be announced by the label at a later date. "I am truly excited that Rising Force records will be distributed via KOCH, and with our brand new release "Perpetual Flame" as well as future releases of back catalogue materials, this is a very important and exciting relationship," comments Yngwie Malmsteen. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to shred with Yngwie on the launch of Rising Force Records," added Michael Rosenberg, President of KOCH Entertainment Distribution. 2008 is turning out to be one of the busiest years of Yngwie's career. In addition to the release of his forthcoming new album, he will be inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk on October 13th, a new Fender/Yngwie Malmsteen custom shop guitar will be unveiled later in the year (with a limited run of 100 instruments) and there will be a slew of CD reissues of Yngwie classics. All the while, the accolades continue to pour in: 'Roadie Crew Magazine' organized a poll in which 330 respected rock guitarists were asked to vote for their favorite guitarist of all-time. Yngwie checked in at a lofty number 3 behind fellow legends Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. About KOCH Entertainment KOCH Entertainment, founded in 1987, is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in the U.S. KOCH's operations encompass record and video labels as well as distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independent labels and distributors in both the U.S. and Canada and its record label KOCH Records had the largest number of Billboard charting albums among independents for six years in a row (2001 2007). KOCH Entertainment is owned by Entertainment One Ltd. which is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market (ticker symbol "ETO"). | |
| Mystic Prophecy announce new guitarist |
2008-09-29
|
|
Constantine/ DESCENDING joined MYSTIC PROPHECY and this is what he wants to
tell his fans: "Hello Mystic fans! I'm very proud and happy to announce you that from now on I am a permanent member of the legendary German Power Metal Band Mystic Prophecy! I feel very excited about it and it would be amazing to be in the band again with these super cool guys! I've played with them for one show last June in Essen and I realised how good chemistry we have together as musicians both behind and on the stage and personalities as well. For those that haven't heard anything about me yet, I can probably tell you that I'm also the main lead & rhythm guitarist behind the modern death/thrash metal band DESCENDING from my homecountry, Greece and also ex-NIGHTRAGE member. At the moment we are preparing as hell the new album with the guys, so it would be 100% ready when we enter the studio in early December of 2008 to record it.I can tell you this one right now,It would be the most Heavy,Melodic and Aggressive Mystic Prophecy album ever! Stay tuned for more! So,that's probably all for now crazy metalheads! See you soon on the road and take care". Constantine | |
| Malevolent Creation news |
2008-09-29
|
|
Guitarist Phil Fasciana of the long-running Florida extreme metallers
MALEVOLENT CREATION has issued the following update: "I know it has been some time since we have said much or updated things lately, but finally there are European tour dates posted on our MySpace page and there are more coming!!!!! Also, after much consideration and long talks between the three original bandmembers of MALEVOLENT CREATION (Brett Hoffmann - vokills; Jason Blachowicz - bass; Phil Fasciana - lead guitar) we have decided to stop fucking around!!!! Just like all bands, we too have had our share of personal problems that have delayed things a bit. But we have to decided to continue touring around the world and after we return from our headlining tour of Europe with support from the mighty VITAL REMAINS and our friends from Florida WYKKED WYTCH in December, we will start the pre-production for a shitload of new MALEVOLENT CREATION songs for our 11th full-length studio release. We are also going to re record some songs from our third CD, 'Stillborn', and also record some very cool cover songs from some of our favorite bands when we were little metalheads. Of course, there will be no suprises or weak material involved with these recording sessions and we are seriously talking about writing the fastest album we have ever written. I know all our CDs have a lot of fast songs, but this time i think we really need to let loose and just kick some serious ass. "Not many bands have had the opportunity to have been around as long as we have, and everything could end at anytime. So before we decide to throw in the towel, we are gonna throw down the hardest MALEVOLENT CREATION album possible!!!!! The songs we have already started writing are so fast and brutal that we don't want to mess with energy we have already created. "Look for us on tour starting on Halloween, October 31st in Holland and throughout Europe in all of November. "Also, we have two new releases that are in stores and online now for sale. We have the double DVD titled 'The Lost Commandments', which features two ripping live shows from us headlining the killer Party.San Open Air Festival 2007 in Bad Berka, Germany and also a gig we played with the legendary kings of Bay Area thrash EXODUS from Paris, France in 2004. The second release is a bit of a rarity which is titled MALEVOLENT CREATON 'Live At The Whisky A Go Go', recorded in 1999 on 'The Fine Art Of Murder' U.S. tour shortly before we were arrested in Little Rock, Arkansas as we were passing through on our bus. It was four days of hell that none of us will ever forget!!!! So look for more action from MALEVOLENT CREATION soon and in the future!!" MALEVOLENT CREATION, VITAL REMAINS and WYKKED WYTCH will team up for the "Death Before Dishonor" European tour in November. Confirmed dates are as follows: Nov. 02 - NL Uden - Nieuwe Pul Nov. 03 - D Berlin - K-17 Nov. 05 - D Crailsheim - Eiche Nov. 06 - D Osnabruck - Bastard Club Nov. 07 - D Engelsdorf - Hellraiser Nov. 08 - Ch Erstfeld - Transilavania - Metalfest Uri (w/ DARKANE, DESASTER, EMINENCE) Nov. 09 - A Wien - Szene Nov. 12 - SP Barcelona - Mephisto Nov. 13 - SP Durango - Plateruena Nov. 14 - POR Benavente - Side B Nov. 15 - POR Porto - Cinema Batalha Nov. 16 - SP Madrid - [to be announced] Nov. 17 - SP Irun - Sala Tunk Nov. 18 - D Munchen - [to be announced] Nov. 19 - IT Milano - Marmaja Nov. 20 - IT Rome - Circolo Degli Artisti Nov. 21 - IT Bari - Target Nov. 22 - IT Pascara - Rockhouse Club Nov. 23 - IT Gracciano - Sonar Live MALEVOLENT CREATION's latest album, "Doomsday X", was released in the U.S. in July 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records and in Europe in August 2007 via Massacre Records. The CD was recorded and engineered at Mercury Recording Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida by longtime friend and producer (and sometimes session member) Gus Rios, and is said to be the most diverse MALEVOLENT CREATION album recorded to date and "without a doubt their fastest!!" Mick Thomson, guitarist for SLIPKNOT, contributed a "ripping" guitar solo to the song "Deliver My Enemy". | |
| Gemini Five part with guitarist |
2008-09-27
|
|
Lead guitarist Dee Dee has very rapidly decided to leave the band due to private and personal reasons. His decision is understandable and accepted by the other bandmembers. - This is however something we could not predict and therefore some "last- minute-actions" need to be considered. The show tonight Sept 27th in Sundsvall [SWE] is forced to be postponed 'til later and the in-store acoustic appearance at Heron City in Stockholm is unfortunally cancelled!!!
The Stockholm show at Tantogrden on Wednesday Oct 1st is still on thanks to Martin Sweet of CrashDet whom is filling in temporarily on lead guitar. Stay tuned for more news and updates regarding the situation. We're very sorry for all the inconvenience. | |
| Deathstars finishing new album |
2008-09-27
|
|
DEATHSTARS have finished their recordings and entered ToyTown Studios to start the mixing together with producer Stefan Glaumann. The first songtitles that have been revealed so far: Night Electric Night | Chertograd | Blood Stains Blondes | Opium | Venus In Arms
Here is a short update from ToyTown Studios, Stockholm: "Hola! We are now in the mixing-process of the new album. We are all very excited about the material and feel really proud over what we have achieved. We will keep you updated on whats going on and we hope you have a little patience until our new stunning album will be released by the end of January. An exact release date will be posted later on." Stay Deathstarstrucked! Yours, Whiplasher | |
| Suffocation sign with Nuclear Blast |
2008-09-27
|
|
Few bands can be credited with creating a legacy. The legendary New York city based extreme metal outfit, SUFFOCATION, however are one such band. Thats why Nuclear Blast Records is proud to announce SUFFOCATIONs world wide signing and induction into the NB family! For 18 years now SUFFOCATION has been creating music that has become the very standard by which we judge all things extreme. Their fusion of technicality, groove and sheer unrelenting brutality has been imitated but never quite duplicated. Milestone records such as "Effigy of the Forgotten", "Pierced from Within", "Despise the Sun" and soon to be classic self-titled record, have influenced a wealth of todays best musical talents and continues to this day. That is why its that it is with great anticipation and excitement that we await, as do many extreme metal fans, the release of SUFFOCATIONs Nuclear Blast debut, "Blood Oath". SUFFOCATION has released the following collective statement:"After 20 years of discovering the right and wrong relationships in our career, we are proud to announce that Nuclear Blast will be our new record label for 2009 and home to SUFFOCATION. Joining the Nuclear Blast family is an honor and it's wonderful having so many great label mates. After all these years of playing in the death metal world, Nuclear Blast has remained at the top of the metal food chain bringing great and powerful bands to all who love the hard and heavy. We've had great success with the relationships acquired since our return and we feel Nuclear Blast will only add to that success. We as a band are looking forward to being offered bigger and better opportunities, while helping the extreme metal scene grow and gain the recognition it deserves. Look for our Nuclear Blast debut, "Blood Oath", in early 2009! | |
| Amon Amarth in the Swedish charts |
2008-09-27
|
|
AMON AMARTHs seventh full-length album Twilight Of The Thunder God has landed at #11 on the official Swedish charts!
This is 10 positions better than the previous album With Oden on our Side which debuted on #21. Positions on the charts are based on the number of CDs sold between Wednesday the 17th and Tuesday the 23rd. The list will be available at THIS location from September 26th at 9am CET (klick to VECKANS ALBUMLISTA). "Twilight of the Thunder God was released September 19 in Sweden. "We would like to take the opportunity to thank our fellow countrymen and loyal fans for the great support and for putting us this high up on the chart! AMON AMARTH More AMON AMARTH chart positions will be revealed shortly! In other news the band has received a couple more cover stories in major European magazines. Thanks to all supporting magazines, great job fellas! | |
| AC/DC shows sell out in record time |
2008-09-26
|
|
Fans responded enthusiastically to the first AC/DC world tour in eight years with 18 Black Ice World Tour concerts selling out in record time. Unprecedented fan response forced additional shows in Chicago , Los Angeles , and Oakland .
Black Ice World Tour ticket sales highlights include: - Chicago s Allstate Arena concert sold out in minutes forcing the second show to go on sale, which also sold out over the weekend. -Both Madison Square Garden concerts sold out in minutes. - Vancouver s General Motors Place concert sold out in 4 minutes, a record for that venue. - San Antonio fans purchased more tickets in one day for AC/DC than for any other artist in that markets history. -Tickets for Toronto s Rogers Centre sold faster than any stadium concert in the venues history. The tremendous fan response to AC/DC is evidenced by record breaking ticket sales this weekend, said Columbia Records co-Chairman Steve Barnett. Along with the worldwide success of the No Bull DVD re-release, its obvious that fans are anxiously awaiting the October 20th release of the new album, Black Ice. AC/DCs fans came out in force this weekend to get tickets to the bands upcoming Black Ice tour, said David Marcus, Ticketmasters senior vice president, Music. A live AC/DC event promises to be a legendary rock show. Were glad Paperless Ticket helped fan club members and fans get tickets at face value for designated seats. The Black Ice World Tour opens on October 28th at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre , PA. The worldwide tour - the band's first since 2001 - promotes Black Ice, AC/DC's latest studio album. Black Ice will be released on October 20th and sold in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and www.acdc.com. The album is currently available for pre-order at www.walmart.com and www.acdc.com. Tickets to AC/DCs Black Ice World Tour are available through Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone, Ticketmaster retail outlets, or at ACDC.com. Specific market on sale dates and times are listed at Ticketmaster.com's AC/DC page. Fans ordering tickets through Ticketmaster.com will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order AC/DCs Black Ice album in connection with their ticket purchase. Additional appearances throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia , will be announced shortly. No Bull: The Directors Cut - a newly edited, comprehensive HD DVD of AC/DC's famed July 1996 Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas concert in Madrid, Spain was released on September 9th and reached the top of the music DVD sales charts in 10 countries. The DVD debuts at #1 on the DVD sales charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Its #3 in Belgium and #4 in Austria and the United Kingdom . The first single from Black Ice, "Rock 'N' Roll Train" was released to radio on August 28 and immediately went to #1 at Rock Radio. The video for Rock N Roll Train premiered September 19th on www.acdc.com and www.vh1.com. | |