Calgary, Canada-based WOODHAWK has a demo called Violent Nature out on November 1st. The band is playing several shows in Western Canada. The band’s sound is compared to THIN LIZZY and BLACK SABBATH.

Germany-based heavy metal band OLYMP has a self-titled demo.

While continuing work on a new album, Sweden-based MAD HATTER has a new song called The Hatter Will Arise.

KISS’ Salt Lake City concert was cancelled after gene Simmons was forced to fly to Los Angeles to undergo an operation. The band had earlier cancelled its Los Angles show.

CRASHDÏET has an album called Rust.

PRETTY MAIDS will release a new album, called Undress Your Madness, through Frontiers Music on November 8th.

QUIET RIOT singer James Durbin has quit the band. He is replaced with Jizzy Pearl who sang for the band until 2016.

TYGERS OF PAN TANG will release a new album called Ritual through Mighty Music on November 22nd.

Italy-based heavy metallers NIGHTGLOW has inked a deal with Logic Il Logic Records/Burning Minds Music Group again for the release of a third album called Rage Of A Bleedin’ Society. Marco Nicoli is on bass.

SAXON singer Biff Byford is to undergo heart surgery. The band has cancelled all shows for 2019.

Original MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Larry Wallis has died. He was 70.

IRON MAIDEN, KISS and a number of mallcore bands will headline the Download festival in 2020. The concert takes place in June.

Former TNT singer Tony Mills has died due to pancreatic cancer.

AEROSMITH cancelled its show in Las Vegas on September 26th after Steven Tyler lost his voice.

Former JUDAS PRIEST members K.K. Downing (guitar), Tim "Ripper" Owens (vocals) and Les Binks (drums) and will team up as MegaPriest fest to perform a set of JUDAS PRIEST tracks alongside MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom on November 3rd.

AVATARIUM will release The Fire I Long For album through Nuclear Blast in November.

SHADOW LIMB’s Burn Scar is out through Seeing Red Records on 11th of October. The band is compared to YOB.

AND OCEANS has lost singer Kim ’Kena’ Strömsholm “due to personal reasons.” A replacement has already been found in singer Mathias Lillmåns who is known from his work with FINNTROLL.

MACHINE HEAD has recruited guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT) for upcoming concerts.

Graham Bonnet has pulled out of the MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST's U.K. shows slated for April 2020 because he will be undergoing and recovering from spinal surgery.

[IN MUTE]’s new album is entitled Chaos Breeder and due out through Art Gates Records worldwide on November 15th.

Power Metal act DRAGONFLY reveals details from its next album entitled Zeitgeist. It is due out through Art Gates Records worldwide on October 25th.

2ND SIGHT’s Samsara album is slated for a December release. Samsara features guest contributions by Will Shaw (HEIR APPARENT and AYREON), David Klosinski (ULI JON ROTH) and Benno Hankers (NIGHT LASER).

IN FLAMES, RED and ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN will Tour Canada and the USA in November.

TORNADO BABIES shall release an 18-song demo album through FnA Records, which contains rare unheard tunes from 1988 to 1991 featuring six incarnations of the band.

ANVIL is touring the UK in March.

Lobster metal: heavy metal musicians who deny the global climate chaos.

SOPHIST - BETROTHAL TO THE STONE: CONCEPTION OF MEPHISTO
This Edmonton, Canada duo was "conjured" up as recently as June 2019. An EP is already here and claims to mash grindcore and black metal. An impressive achievement for Michael K Sparks and Davis R. Hay. On this three song debut the first man has taken on guitars and bass duties and the latter vocals and the dreaded programming. The EP, however, also features the same three songs again as instrumental versions. The title track starts sounding raw and speedy, like no frills black metal releases of old. The drumming blasts away while Hay screams. The guitars (and bass) are somewhat buried under the aforementioned and speed right along. May be the aforementioned mash up simply results in death metal? Choke On Your Bile provides a better showcase of the guitars but only just slightly, it includes a short solo too. The speedy metal does shine through, in a chaotic loud screams kind of way. A Captive Of Saturn's Scythe sounds more grinding to start and then blasts and destroys its way through nearly three minutes of raw metal. The instrumental versions come along and provide another look or listen at the musicianship. There is only so much that can be expected from a duo but all blasting or speedy metal are all music to a listener's ears. More esoteric and occult music is promised for the near future. Check for more at sophistmetal.bandcamp.com. – Anna Tergel

SCIMITAR - SHADOWS OF MAN
Nine years after their debut full-length, Black Waters, this Victoria, Canada quartet is back for another war themed album. Yielding Scimitars, a form of medieval curved swords, the band start with a three minute instrumental which forebodes folk sounds and so called pagan metal. Knights Collapse declares that the fleet have landed on Normandy's shore in a hundred year war. The song is dominated by the voice of Angus Lennox and the long war tale. Indeed Scimitar offer longer lyrics than most. Musically there is nothing ground-breaking here, it is mostly simple mid-paced instruments. Flayed On The Birch Rack is much the same with some added pace, the instruments do not add much heaviness to the song. Lennox is the most aggressive part of the band so far. Wandering At The Moon has a fireside folk song beginning. When the quartet decides to snap out it an improved song peaks through. To Cultivate With Spears features early heavy metal or hard rock type guitar work and mixes it with the continued storytelling. Shadows Of Man I: Imperium is next and is rather too simplistic. Part II of the aforementioned is Cataclysm. As its name might suggest it is heavier and faster. The start of the song can catch the listener somewhat off guard and even more so when it jumps into speedy black metal sounds in its second minute. A not so full sounding production serves to lessen the impact of the songs and Shadows Of Man in general. Where Ancient Spectres Lie is surprisingly catchy at times. The closer is called Mysterium, Tremendum Et Fascinans and is over eight minutes long. Once again the band seems to be attempting to do black metal. The song starts with a kind of doomy black metal mix that shifts into progressive metal too. It can be said that the album has a better second half and the listener may hope that these latter songs are newer and represent the future direction of the band. Ask for it at www.scimitar.ca. Anna Tergel