Metallian Heavy

Guitarist Jon Levasseur has re-joined CRYPTOPSY again. This is not his first return to the band; however, it follows the dismal performance of the group’s latest record, The Unspoken King. Youri Raymond, who had been playing guitar, is now on bass following Levassour’s return while previous bassist Eric Langois’ has departure from the band.

NACHTMYSTIUM has announced its recently recruited full-time bassist, Reid Raley of RWAKE/DEADBIRD, as a permanent fixture.

BETHLEHEM has recruited vocalist Malte Langenbrinck (CHAOS INVOCATION). Langenbrinck will appear at the Under The Black Sun festival in July in Germany.

Inspired by KEEL? HERETIC has reformed and writing music for a new album due in 2012. The band’s line-up features original members Julian Mendez on vocals, Brian Korban on guitar and Dennis O’Hara on bass. The new members are ex-HIRAX guitarist Glenn Rogers and Federico Dupay on drums.

More changes in SINISTER! Guitarist Alex Paul, bassist Joost Van Der Graaf and drummer Edwin van den Eeden have left SINISTER. Vocalist Aad Kloosterwaard is once again the only man left standing. Van Der Graaf is focusing on I CHAOS.

Returning after last year’s debut album Ritual Ascension Beyond Flesh, ENCOFFINATION has issued O’ Hell, Shine In Thy Whited Sepulchres through Selfmadegod. The band plays doom metal.

ARCHGOAT will record five new songs in July. The mini-album should be released in October of this year. The band’s full-lengths, Whore Of Bethlehem and The Light-Devouring Darkness, are being reworked by Finnish artist Helgorth from Babalon Graphics for an upcoming picture 12″ vinyl re-issue through Debemur Morti Productions. Last but not least, the band is set to headline the Deathkult Open Air festival in Gera, Thüringen in Germany this coming June.

Bassist Novy (BEHEMOTH, VADER, ROAD’S END and every other band in Poland) is teaming up with Chicago-based AGAINST THE PLAGUES in support of the band’s second full-length release. The band decided to part ways with previous guitarist Wojtek Lisicki.

LEGION OF THE DAMNED has lost guitarist Richard Ebisch and replaced him with Twan van Geel.

ACEPHALIX has signed with Southern Lord for the release of its next two albums. The band has just issued its Interminable Night album and is touring the USA.

Candlelight Records USA has the following releases: XERATH’S II which is produced by Jacob Hansen (DESTRUCTION, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, etc.), ANAAL NATHRAKH’s Passion, SOURVEIN’s Black Fang and WOLVERINE’s Communication Lost.

MAAX has been booked for the Central Illinois Metalfest taking place this July.

Inferno Records has issued AXECUTER’s Bangers Prevail cassette-single.

SPEED\KILL/HATE has released its second album, Out For Blood, through Hammerfist Records. The album was recorded and mixed by Dave Linsk at SKH Studio and was mastered by Roger Lian at Masterdisk in New York.

Metal Blade Records has signed France’s GLORIOR BELLI. The band’s next album, The Great Southern Darkness, will be released in the autumn.

DECAPITATED has picked Carnival Is Forever as the title for its next studio album, which is due in July through Nuclear Blast Records.

ISIS, which disbanded in May of last year, is releasing five live albums. The digital releases begin with Live I 9.23.03.

ABOMINATION, featuring MASTER’s Paul Speckmann, will reform for a 17-show European tour in November 2011. Speckmann had previously cited the death of guitarist Dean Chioles as the reason ABOMINATION will never reform. This follows the dissolution of MASTER following the departure of all the members thus leaving Speckmann without a group.

DYING FETUS will release an EP this summer entitled History Repeats…, to commemorate the band’s 20th anniversary. The EP features cover versions of NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER, CANNIBAL CORPSE and PESTILENCE, as well as a new DYING FETUS track.

ANTHRAX has postponed its Japanese tour. The band, which is named after a cow disease, had cancelled its Canadian shows last decade in response to the SARS outbreak.

EVILE has picked Five Serpents’ Teeth as the title for its next album, out on August 29th through Earache Records. The album was recorded at Parlour Studio.

Bassist Jon Bakker has been forced to sit out KAMPFAR’s current European tour due to customary “family issues.” The band says, “Initially we were reluctant to perform without his presence, but we are lucky to have a solid replacement lined up. Endre Moe, known from TRAIL OF TEARS…”

VENOM has announced Fallen Angels as the title for its next album, which is due in September through Universal Music. The album was mixed by producer Tom Belton.

PRIMEVIL, featuring former VENOM guitarist Jeff “Mantas” Dunn), drummer Antony “Antton” Lant (brother of VENOM frontman Cronos) and bassist Tony “The Demolition Man” Dolan, has signed a deal with Scarlet Records. The group’s EP, The Creatures Of The Black, will be released in August. The album will feature cover versions of four songs that influenced the members, namely Exciter by JUDAS PRIEST, God Of Thunder by KISS, Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be by AC/DC and Motörhead by MOTÖRHEAD, plus two original tracks, The Creatures Of The Black and Reptile. A full-length is expected in the autumn.

Relapse Records will issue a disc featuring early MORTA SKULD demos on July 5th. Entitled Through The Eyes Of Death: The Early Demos, it features the band’s two 1990 demos, Gory Departure and Prolong The Agony. Both demos were remastered.

ENTHRONED has signed a new deal with Regain Records. The band is writing music for its new album.

Brian Petrowsky, one-time singer and guitarist of Danish death metal band INIQUITY died last month at the age of 37. No reason was provided.

Guitarist Shaun Cothron (who is in HEAVY LIES THE CROWN with ACHERON’s other guitarist Max Otworth) has joined the reformed ACHERON.

FORBIDDEN will go on a European headlining tour in August. Support will come from COMMUNIC.

Don Dokken has announced that a full line-up of the classic DOKKEN will not be getting together owing to Jeff Pilson being busy with FOREIGNER. Dokken had apparently been interested in a full reunion including George Lynch. In an interview Lynch calls Dokken “lazy” and “a piece of shit.”

MY BLACK OMEN is a new death metal project featuring Kam Lee (DEATH and MASSACRE) on vocals, Ross Feratu (THE SPOOK, GORTHAUR’S WRATH and RAMONSTARS) on guitar, Dave Pybus (CRADLE OF FILTH) on bass and Brian Forman (UNBURIED) on drums.

ARCH ENEMY played in Casablanca, Morocco on May 15th.


Metallian Hard

CATHEDRAL will play its last show ever on December 3rd at the London Kentish Town Forum. The band is releasing a final album in 2012 before calling it a day. It will be called The Last Spire.

A DIO compilation, entitled Mightier Than The Sword: The Ronnie James Dio Story, will be released in the U.K. on June 6th through Sanctuary. The two-disc collection will feature tracks from ELF, RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL.

Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent was arrested on May 22nd on charges of aggravated assault. Vincent was arrested by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department in Tennessee and held on a $10,000 bond.

L.A. GUNS singer Phil Lewis has joined the reformed HEAVY METAL KIDS and will appear live with the group.

TONY MACALPINE's new self- titled album will be released June 21st through Favored Nations.

AVANTASIA’s The Flying Opera: Around The World In 20 Days live is now out.

HAMMERFALL’s Infected album is out now.

Inspired by KEEL? The reformed HURRICANE will play its comeback show on Saturday, July 2nd at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California with ALCATRAZZ.

ACCEPT played as a four-piece at its concert in Houston, Texas on May 7th after the band's guitarist, Herman Frank, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung after falling off the stage in San Antonio.

Christian rock duo MEGADETH’s Dave Mustaine and ANTHRAX’s guitarist Dan Spitz have a new project called RED LAMB. The band's debut release will feature music written for the defunct project DEUXMONKEY.

EDGUY has picked Age Of The Joker as the title for its next album, which is out in August through Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Peppermint Park studio. The band is touring Europe in September.

WHERE ANGELS SUFFER (W.A.S.), featuring former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes, has parted ways with guitarist Randy Piper (ANIMAL and W.A.S.P.) and has replaced him with Ira Black (METAL CHURCH, LIZZY BORDEN and HEATHEN).

Progressive metal band CREATION'S END has announced its inclusion in the Uniting The Powers Of Metal 2011 East Coast Tour, with SEVEN KINGDOMS and WIDOW, as well as a special New York City performance with SUSPYRE.

SG Records has announced that Fabrizio Fulco's (BEN JACKSON GROUP bass player) LOST REFLECTION has signed a deal with SG Records to publish Florida, the first album by the band from Rome.

Drummer Jeffrey McCormack has left FIFTH ANGEL.

Italy's “brutal/symphonic horde”, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, has signed a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Records! The band is part of the Summer Slaughter Tour in July with POWERGLOVE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DARKEST HOUR, SIX FEET UNDER, DYING FETUS, etc. and will have a release in that timeframe.

ENSLAVED has a new EP, The Sleeping Gods, which will be released for free through Scion A/V in the near future.

After 12 years in the band Drummer Zender has left ELVENKING for "personal reasons” and has been replaced by Symohn.

BITCH appeared at the Keep It True XIV festival, which was held April 29-30 in Germany, with the band ANGER AS ART backing singer Betsy. Robby Settles died due to cancer last year.

More line-up changes in CATAMENIA: the band has recruited a new keyboardist called Jussi Sauvola from SILENT THRENODY and DECROWNED.

SATAN reunited with its original Court In The Act line-up for a one-off show at the Keep It True XIV festival, which was held April 29th and 30th in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany.

To support Glory Of Chaos HELSTAR is playing six US shows in June. Go to http://www.helstarmetal.com for details.

Goomba Music has entered into a two album record deal with Syracuse, New York hard rock band BRAND NEW SIN. The band will enter the recording studio in late May with an autumn of 2011 release being planned.

Glenn Hughes has released an autobiography, Deep Purple And Beyond: Scenes From The Life Of A Rock Star, through Foruli Publications. The book was co-written with Joel McIver and features an introduction by METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich.

THE GATE, featuring early RUNNING WILD guitarist Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke, will release its debut album Earth Cathedral this summer through Rock It Up Records. The album was recorded at Big Easy Studio.

PHARAOH has confirmed the release of a new EP this on June 7th through Cruz Del Sur. Entitled Ten Years, the upcoming release contains two unreleased songs from the Be Gone recording sessions, two tracks previously released only as a bonus 7'', and two covers; NEW MODEL ARMY's White Light and SLAYER's Tormentor. The band is also working on a full-length.

FIREWIND has announced its first North American headlining tour, named the Frets Of Fury, for October featuring support from ARSIS, WHITE WIZZARD and NIGHTRAGE.

Sign of a has-been band? Two members of IN FLAMES, guitarist Björn Gelotte and bassist Peter Iwers, are co-owners in a new restaurant in Gothenburg. Named 2112 after RUSH's 2112 album, the restaurant and pub opened its doors on April 21st.

AMORPHIS, STRATOVARIUS, GRAVE DIGGER, CORONER and others have been confirmed for next year's edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise ship, which will set sail from Miami, Florida to Cayman Islands on January 23rd, 2012 and return four days later. A total of 40 acts will perform on this cruise.


Metallian Demos

MEKANISM – CICATRIZED
The demo intrigued me for its name, a new word to me that means ‘to heal by forming a scar.’ An intriguing concept, which unfortunately supersedes the band’s music in that regard. The Finnish five, three of whom are relatives, divulge a penchant for modern rock riffs and clean vocals and it all comes true within the three songs on the demo disc. Indeed, the band’s music is hard and loud, greatly abetted by the near-perfect production, but material like this is dime a dozen in modern rock circles and can even be viewed on MuchMusic on the nu/alternative/rock programs. It has Kerrang written all over it. The band again being accurate there are semblances of metal and aggressiveness interspersed among the tracks. Death Is The Bottom Line is also partial to progressive techno metal, but like the other two tracks will never be mistaken for heavy metal or its children. Still, very good for its style. It is almost a major label release. Find the band at www.mekanism.fi or e-mail the singer through criss.valley@gmail.com. – Anna Tergel