BASTARD singer and bassist Kalle (Carl) Rothert died on January, 9th, 2008……Michigan’s OVERLOADED has lost its rhythm guitarist and drummer and looking for replacements……The Indevent agency in Europe has shut down its Crash Music Europe operation following the predictable falling out and the label’s loss of distribution……CONTROL DENIED’s The Fragile Art Of Existence album is being reissued by Metal Mind as a limited edition digipak in April……REVEREND/BYFIST bassist Brendon Kyle has enlisted in the United States Air Force and left the band. Stupid……GUS G.’s FIREWIND will issue a new album called The Premonition on March 25th……WHITESNAKE’s new album, Good To Be Bad will be out in April through SPV. The band is touring Europe with DEF LEPPARD in the summer......DEF LEPPARD has announced March 18th as the release date for its new album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. Country star country star Tim McGraw guests on the album and the band is touring with STYX and REO SPEEDWAGON in North America in the spring......METALIUM has picked Incubus as the title for its new album, due in August through Massacre Records......DIO guitarist Craig Goldy has joined BUDGIE on the road for shows in Australia and Europe......Mascot Records will issue DON AIREY’s A Light In The Sky album on the 22nd of February......American heavy metal band PHARAOH has completed the mixing of its third album, Be Gone. Like its predecessor, The Longest Night, the new album was recorded with Matt Crooks at MCR Studios in Manassas......GWAR’s Phallus In Wonderland DVD is now out......Swedish “progressive death metallers” SKYFIRE have signed with Pivotal Rockordings. The band has entered Powernest Studios to begin recording its, as-yet untitled follow-up to 2004’s Spectral. The band is now fronted by ELOHIM vocalist Joakim Karlsson......DOMAIN’s ninth studio album, which will be entitled The Chronicles Of Love, Hate And Sorrow, will be a concept album like the group’s Last Days Of Utopia album, although the coming release will be arranged as a rock opera in twelve chapters, based on the German literary work, Die Leiden Des Jungen Werther......WHITE LION’s drummer Troy Patrick Farrell has left HOOKERS N BLOW, which is a cover band he shares with GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist Dizzy Reed. Farrell will concentrate on WHITE LION which has reunited......Kvohst the singer for DØDHEIMSGARD or DHG has left the band for personal reasons......Guitarist Johan Jacob has left IRON FIRE ostensibly after falling out of love with metal......BLOODGOOD bassist Michael Bloodgood has completed work on a new solo CD called The Cross Changes Everything which is due as early as this month......EVEMASTER is working on an album called III: Newtopia which is the third installment of a trilogy. The album is a concept “revolving around a dystopian dream or a fall of this one pitiful man.”......The reunited HEADHUNTER will issue a new album, which is called Parasite Of Society in April through AFM Records......IN FLAMES has picked A Sense Of Purpose as the title for its new album, due in Europe on April 4th through Nuclear Blast Records. Koch Records has obtained the American rights......Singer Joe Altier has left BRAND NEW SIN in order to pursue other interests. The Syracuse-based band is searching for a replacement......MOONSPELL’s next album is called Night Eternal and is being produced now. Expect it in August......After ten years of absence Sweden’s GUILLOTINE has reformed and is working on a new album......Finland’s KALMAH will embark on a Canadian For The Revolution tour in April......Guitarist Glen Drover has left MEGADETH and his brother Shawn who is in the band. Replacing him is JAG PANZER’s Chris Broderick. That band has returned guitarist Chris Lasegue to his old position......Frontiers Records will issue HOUSE OF LORDS’ Come To My Kingdom album in March......KATAGORY V has parted ways with lead vocalist Lynn Allers and guitarist Marc Hanson......After being dropped by Metal Blade ANGEL BLAKE has signed with Dynamic Arts Records. The group has announced the addition of singer Tobias Jansson following the departure of frontman Tony Jelencovich......Drum nomad Nick Barker has joined ATROCITY and LEAVES' EYES......Indie Recordings has signed BORKNAGAR to a three-album deal......EMPEROR drummer Trym will record with ABIGAIL WILLIAMS this month as a replacement for the departed Zach Gibson. The band is recording a full-length......CHILDREN OF BODOM’s new album Blooddrunk will be out through Spinefarm Records in April. The album was partly recorded by Peter Tägtgren......CUSTARD is recording a new album called Forces Remain......Former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley will be interviewed by IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson on the latter singer’s weekly BBC 6 Music radio show on February 15th......More turmoil in the CELLADOR camp has resulted in the departure of Brazilian guitarist Bill Hudson. He will start a new band in California......Nightmare Records has signed Chicago’s SACRED DAWN……Cleveland’s BONE SHAKER has signed with HM Management.

SOUL DESCENDERS – DESTRUCTION FOR TOMORROW
This St. Louis quartet tout themselves as “one of the youngest bands” around. There is probably some truth in that as the boys, as they are also referred to in their bio, are 16 and 17 year olds. The song titles, Below The 9Th Level for example, do give away their age but don’t do much to inspire confidence in what is to be heard. Having been formed in 2004 and being at their aforementioned young age however make their style a surprising one. It is difficult to imagine how these four gentlemen have been influenced by a genre that was in its climax before they were born. The 10 songs here make forays into ‘80’s US thrash while sometimes poking into more modern and mallcore-ish realms. The vocals of Alex Skyles are the weaker point here and needs to be rougher if Soul Descenders’ music is to be considered solid. Musically there is nothing original here but it would have been hailed as promising if it were done 20 years ago. Contact josh@souldescenders.com – Anna Tergel

ARMORY – THE DAWN OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Armory is a young-ish band from New England in the US of A mixing progressive rock with tales of true steel. The demo has the same title as the band’s CD of 2004 and almost the same line-up of songs. The rerecorded music is upbeat and rapid and with the keyboards going off in every direction leans on progressive rock heavily. The singer has a melodic voice that hits Agent Steel notes at times while staying in the Bruce Dickinson level at others. The lyrics smack of Manowar with titles like Faith In Steel, Forever triumphant, Warrior Forlorn and Riding The Cosmic Winds. The presentation, sound and delivery are completely professional. Speaking of that, the disc features twelve tracks and more than an hour of music. That is value for money. The band has a cover of Dr. Wily and Flight Of Icarus here for whatever reason. The instrumental Forged In Dragon Flames has Megadeth written all over it, but boy do those Marty Friedman-like solos rip. Fans of Hammerfall, Megadeth, Gamma Ray or Pagan’s mind should check these Americans out. Although the keyboards need to be yanked out of the ensemble. Contact armory@faithinsteel.com - Anna Tergel