Metallian Heavy

CONSCIOUS ROT’s Congenital Passivity (1993) and The Soil (1994) demos are being issued by Ledo Takas Records as The Years In Disgust CD.‏

Featuring guitarist Gary Mader of EYEHATEGOD, New Orleans-based hardcore band CLASSHOLE will release a self-titled debut full-length this month.

Century Media Records will issue MOONSORROW’s Jumalten Aika (’ The Age Of Gods’) on April 1st.

French drummer Kevin Foley (aka Creature) has left ABBATH for “personal reasons.” He is drumming in BENIGHTED.

THE RESISTANCE, a Swedish band featuring former and current members of IN FLAMES and THE HAUNTED, will release its new full-length album Coup De Grâce this month through earMUSIC.

Spanish death/thrash Metal quintet PHOBOS PREACHER will release its new LP Asfixia through Art Gates Records this month.

Spain’s THYBREATH has issued its second demo, Where The Gods Fall. The CD was recorded during the summer of 2015 in Madrid at Traste Cero Studio.

Hardcore band POISON IDEA is touring the North American west coast with an East Coast run now confirmed for February. POISON IDEA returned full-time in 2015 with the release of a new studio full-length, Confuse & Conquer, which was released by Southern Lord in April.

IZEGRIM will release a new album, called The Ferryman’s End, in June through Listenable. It was recorded at Soundlodge Studio in Germany.

Montreal, Canada-based PRONOSTIC has issued its debut full-length, An Atomic Decision, independently last month.

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED has returned with the first in a series of four EPs entitled Arc. The band’s vocalist is Kat Katz. The EP is out this month.

Selfmadegod Records has signed Poland’s NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST for the release of its debut album next year. While NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST is writing its debut full-length, which will be recorded in early 2016, to tentatively be released during the summer months, the Mutant Inferno demo will soon be released as a split cassette through Massacre Distro, a split CD through Defense Records/Mythrone Promotion and split 12” on Devil’s Nun Records.

With new vocalist Adam ‘Greasy’ Benito of Calgary’s TRAIN BIGGER MONKEYS recently being appointed as EVILHEART‘s new vocalist, the Mexican blackened death metallers have announced they will be holding auditions for a new bassist and second guitarist to join them for touring and the creative process and the follow-up release to Quinquaginta, which was re-released this past September on Vancouver-based Test Your Metal Records.

Essence is the second mini-album by progressive and melodic thrash metal band KADAR from Kazakhstan. It is out now through Metal Scrap Records.

Test Your Metal Records is releasing an album by Kelowna, Canada’s GOMORRAH. The album is titled The Haruspex and features ten tracks. Its release date is January 15, 2016.

Art Gates Records is issuing MARTYRIUM‘s album Destiny Wore A Bondage Mask in March.

Creator-Destructor Records is ultra-stoked to announce the impending release of Critical Hits, the debut LP by California-based quartet, GYGAX.

CANNIBAL CORPSE will kick off 2016 with a month-long tour of North America in February with openers OBITUARY, as direct support, followed by Canada’s CRYPTOPSY, and Los Angeles’ ABYSMAL DAWN.

FROZEN OCEAN’s The Prowess Of Dormition album is being issued by Apocalyptic Witchcraft on February 26th.

The purported First Annual Florida Metal Fest organized by OBITUARY’s John And Donald Tardy will take place on January 30th. The concert will feature CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, TROUBLE, ATHEIST, DEICIDE and more.

The German thrash metal band EXUMER has picked The Raging Tides as the title for its fourth full-length album, which is out on January 29 through Metal Blade Records. It was recorded with producer Waldemar Soychta at Waldstreet Sound.

Agonia Records has signed Canadian power thrash metal band THREAT SIGNAL to a worldwide deal. The band has finished recording its new studio album, called Disconnect, for an early 2016 release.

Poland’s BEHEMOTH will perform its The Satanist album in its entirety on the band’s upcoming European tour. The band will also bring an exhibition concept called The Congregation on tour.

Unholy Prophecies has issued ARCHAIC THORN’s In Desolate Magnificence MCD. The death metal band hails from Germany.

Yukon, Canada’s SANKTUARY will issue a demo called Winter’s Doom. The band plays thrash metal.

Seattle death grinders THEORIES will kick off the New Year with a cross USA tour with DECAPITATED and BLACK BREATH. The tour begins January 27th.

Poland’s black and doom metal band BATUSHKA has an album called Litourgiya through Witching Hour Production.

VADER’s Future Of The Past II – Hell In The East covers album is now out through Witching Hour productions.

David Ingram (BENEDICTION and formerly of BOLT THROWER) will front Dutch death metal band HAIL OF BULLETS at the Maryland Deathfest on May 28th in Baltimore, USA.

Ashmedi, singer for MELECHESH, was recently arrested for assault in a bar fight in his home city of Jerusalem. The man is claiming self defense. The band will nonetheless play a show in Jerusalem despite the BDS movement, which is the global movement for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS ) against Israel until it complies with international laws.

Frank “Blackfire” formerly of SODOM and KREATOR has a new act called FRANK BLACKFIRE and issued a solo album called Back On Fire through Nihilistic Empire Records.

Unique Leader has issued OMNIHILITY’s third record, Dominion Of Misery.

VENOM INC., featuring two members of the original VENOM, will kick off its postponed North American tour this month. Initially scheduled to take place this past autumn, but postponed, the rescheduled tour will run from January 5th through January 28th.

The “anti-human” black metal band HOMSELVAREG will release a new album called Catastrofe in February through Sliptrick Records.

DESTRÖYER 666 has a forthcoming full-length Wildfire, which will be released on the 26th of February through Season Of Mist.

In time for its fifteenth anniversary Sweden’s DEGRADEAD will release a self-titled album on February 5th through Metalville Records.

Dutch band TRAGACANTH and Loud Rage Music have agreed to release the CD version of the band’s Anthology Of The East album. It is scheduled for the 4th of March.


Metallian Hard

SKID ROW has lost singer Tony Harnell. The man fronted the Americans for eight months. The band claimed the man did not inform them directly of his resignation and their last interaction was when the singer was hospitalized for bronchitis in December. The singer claimed he was ignored and disrespected.

US magazine Billboard is reporting that it has confirmation that GUNS N' ROSES will headline this year’s Coachella Music And Arts Festival, set for April 15-17 and April 22-24 in Indio, California, USA. The band is apparently also booking a North American tour. The band’s website is displaying the band’s early logo and nothing else. The line-up, should the report be correct, is unavailable at press time. GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose will appear on US talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! to address the situation.

ANNIHILATOR has re-signed with UDR Music for two more albums. The band is also planning to record a live DVD this spring and possibly release an acoustic album.

CRIMINAL has re-signed with Metal Blade and will have a new album in March.

Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, the 70-year-old founding singer and bassist for MOTÖRHEAD, has died. After suffering from various ailments and either cancelling or cutting short concerts in 2015 the man was eventually diagnosed with cancer and died two days after the news on December 28th. He was given two to six months to live. The group has obviously disbanded.

CRADLE OF FILTH will return to North America this month on the Inquisitional Torture Tour 2016. The trek will run from January 26th through March 8th. Support will be provided by BUTCHER BABIES and NE OBLIVISCARIS.

The German label Metalloscope-music is releasing a 7” single for the US metal band PHANTOM, which had issued three albums in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Both songs are previously unreleased.

SINBREED, the German band featuring BLIND GUARDIAN drummer Frederik Ehmke, will release its new album Master Creator on February 26th through AFM Records.

BLIND GUARDIAN will release a live album this year. Moreover, an orchestral album is due to arrive in 2017.

Yet another project: MASTERS OF CLASSIC ROCK is a new project featuring heavy metal musicians who are now calling themselves “classic rock.” Touring Russia are singer Doogie White, guitarist Craig Goldy, bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Vinny Appice. They also have a keyboardist in tow. At the same time, Goldy and his former GIUFFRIA band-mate David Glen Eisely have a band called EISLEY/GOLDY and have signed with Frontiers.

Frontiers Music will release Havoc, the new album from the Norwegian progressive metal band CIRCUS MAXIMUS, on March 18th.

DESTRUCTION singer and bassist Schmier is producing the demo of a Swiss all-girl heavy metal outfit called BURNING WITCHES.

The American heavy metal band CHRONOLOGICAL INJUSTICE will issue a demo called A Collection Of Atrocities on February 26th, 2016.

Danish hard rockers SECTION A, featuring guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (ACACIA AVENUE, FATE and FATAL FORCE) will release a new album, called Wall Of Silence, in Europe and Asia on February 26th through Mausoleum Records.

MOTH’S CIRCLE FLIGHT has signed a deal with logic(il)logic Records for the release of the full-length album My Entropy. which is scheduled for release in February. MOTH’S CIRCLE FLIGHT is, according to the label, a six-piece groove metal band with extensive metalcore elements.

Black Voodoo Records has released YIDHRA's Cult Of Bathory on limited 10-inch vinyl in three color variants. The band is described as stoner/doom.

Italian progressive heavy rock band HERETIC’S DREAM has signed with Alpha Omega Management. The band’s Floating State Of Mind album is scheduled for February through Sliptrick Records. The band will be releasing a video this month.

DREAM THEATER will perform the entire The Astonishing album On its North American tour, which will kick off in Quebec City, Canada in April.

KILMARA has parted ways with singer Christian Wolfgang Kohl and replaced him with US singer Daniel Ponce.

Ambient metal band ROTTING CHRIST will release a new album, called Rituals, on February 12th through Season Of Mist.

The TWISTED SISTER movie We Are Twisted F*cking Sister! is a documentary film by Andrew Horn due to be released on January 29th through Monoduo Films. The film’s length is 137 minutes and has over 2 hours of bonus material.

Universal Music Catalogue has announced January as the release month for DEEP PURPLE’s The Vinyl Collection. This 7-LP collection features the groups’ albums spanning the period 1972-1987.

Creator-Destructor is issuing Critical Hits, the debut LP by California-based quartet, GYGAX. The band is compared to DEEP PURPLE and THIN LIZZY.

DEEP PURPLE will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame of USA on April 8th at a ceremony at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Centre.

JOE SATRIANI will host the third annual G4 Experience in 2016. This year’s event will be held from August 8th to 12th at Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, New York. Alex Skolnick, Steve Vai and others will appear.

Los Angeles-based heavy metal band HOLY GRAIL will release an album, called Times Of Pride And Peril, on February 12th through Prosthetic Records. It is the follow-up to 2013's Ride The Void.

VOIVOD will release a five-song EP called Post Society in February through Century Media and a new full-length album later this year.

KING DIAMOND shows in the USA were cancelled as the band’s vocalist King Diamond was “suffering from a severe case of acute laryngitis."

Lion Music has signed two acts. STRUCTURAL DISORDER is a new Swedish progressive metal act, which will release the album Distance in early 2016. DOCKER'S GUILD will release an album The Heisenberg Diaries - Book A: Sounds of Future Past in late January.

KIX guitarist Brian Forsythe has noted in an interview that the band’s Ronnie Younkins was in rehab last year to receive treatment for alcohol addiction.

Divebomb Records has issued the debut album from FINAL SIGN, Hold High The Flame. It's a “blend of US power metal, thrash and old school heavy metal,” according to the label.

The singer for Taiwanese folk rock band CHTHONIC is running for a seat in his country’s parliament for the New Power Party in the capital city of Taipei. A Formosa Defenders outdoor concert will be held as a campaign rally on December 26th. Lim has served two terms as chair of Amnesty International Taiwan.

POISON drummer Rikki Rockett recently announced that he has completed nine rounds of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation after being diagnosed with oral cancer last summer.

Does Wal-mart sell soap strong enough to wash off the grime one picks up after being in one of their stores?


Metallian Demos

ADRENECHROME - TALES FROM ADRENECHROME
Adrenechrome is a quartet from Orillia, north of Toronto, Canada. Tales From ... is the band's debut full length after 2012's Hideous Appetites EP. The seven songs and 31 minutes open with a three-minute long intro/instrumental called A Familiar Face. The first full song Lockstep has a bit of several sounds, it is almost hardcore-ish, but also comes with slower bluesy hard rock and even sounds Slayer-ish for a few seconds too. Mastodon is mentioned as one comparable band and there is some of that band too. Black Brubeck includes a few seconds of banjos but then immediately moves into the sludgy and doomy before some catchy and faster parts. These guys are sure to confuse the listener more than once. God Sized Shadow is heavy and doomy to start and manages to have an impact. The Heart And The Feather is more conventional sounding and can be termed straight up hard rock. Hideous Appetites ups the tempo to start and keeps it aggressive for the most part but to add to the confusion breaks into something more bluesy to end. The closing The Lead Elephant is fairly effective in-your-face type song and one that has an impact and manages to provide a good dose of heaviness. The band name is inspired by Adrenochrome, an alleged psychedelic drug referenced in books and movies such as Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. Watch for the classic comic book like art work. Take a trip to www.facebook.com/adrenechrome. – Anna Tergel

TALES OF THE TOMB - VOLUME ONE: MORPRAS
This Edmonton, Canada quintet's debut three-song EP is billed as for those who like Massacre, Macabre, Bloodbath and Cannibal Corpse! The first of the three songs is called Snowtown. At first glance this is an odd one for a death metal song, the lyrics of the song however reveal more about the band than the aforementioned sound-alikes. Tales Of The Tomb is a 'horror metal' band more than a death metal one. The lyrics of Snowtown talk about a town where a killer mows down his victims. Musically the presence of three vocalists, one of which is a clean one and appears briefly on the opener is foreboding and it takes away from the death metal. The second song, The Pig Farmer, and the third, Dr. Death, have slower or more melodic sections and while solid bare little resemblance to the bands mentioned earlier. Tales Of The Tomb is more reminiscent of the American Gothenburg sound than crushing death metal of a Cannibal Corpse or Bloodbath. Lyrically the killer or serial killer theme continues on all three songs. These guys have benefited from Dan Swano mastering Volume One: Morpras as the guitar sound in particular is sharp and provides the quintet a good ten minutes to start life as a band. Into the tomb at www.facebook.com/talesofthetomb. – Anna Tergel