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Metallian Heavy Cryptopsy is searching for a new singer following the departure of American vocalist Mike DiSalvo. DiSalvo's last show will be at Wacken on August 4, 2001...Summon has a new album entitled No Thoughts From The Sky described as the band's most brutal. Blackened Moon is also releasing the band's previous cassette and demo with new art work and on CD...Forensick Music presents the second album of Sanatorium entitled Internal Womb Cannibalism. Featuring 12 tracks and a cover done by Zig (Disgorge, Dying Fetus, etc.), the revamped line up will support the album with a series of European shows...The next Obscenity album is due at Easter 2002 and will be entitled Cold-Blooded Murder...Plague Wielder is the title of the forthcoming (September) Darkthrone album...Abominator, which is on Osmose now, has lost the services of bassist Damon Bloodstorm right after completing the Subversives For Lucifer album. The band is already working on the follow up which will be called Cascading Carnage...Morgue Sweet Home is the title of the up coming Haemorrhage album...Blasphemy has reformed again and writing new material. The West Coast is expected to see several shows this year...Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom) has been replaced in Impaled Nazarene by Finntroll's Teemu Reimaranta. Mika Arnkil, formerly drummer for Antidote, is the band's new bassist. The band has a new official web site at www.impnaz.com...Thorium are in studio recording Unleashing The Demons. The Danish band hope to have the album out this fall including a Cancer cover...The next Eternal Tears Of Sorrow album A Virgin And A Whore is ready and should be out this month...Order Of The Illuminati is the latest moniker of Agent Steel.The band had changed its name to Masters Of Metal following protestations from original vocalist Cyriis...Described as 'Euro-goregrind', Ghoul is the newest member of the Razorback Records family. Expect an album in the winter of 2002...Chris Holmes has left W.A.S.P. and is replaced by former tour guitarist Doug Blair...Ancient Ceremony has now signed to Germany's Trisol Records and expects to have its next album The Third Testament out in January 2002. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the band is touring Europe with Mysterium in November...Howling Syn has ended the recording of their first album Forbearers of Dusk. Due in November, the album features a guest appearance by Decayed Remains' Eric Massicotte on the Emperors of Tomorrow track...The reformed Invocator has almost finished recording the album whose production began last April...Demigod is back and on Spikefarm Records...America's Makahru has released the LP of Weltmacht (translated World Power) entitled The Call To Battle. Featuring Akhenaten (of Judas Iscariot) on bass, guitar and keyboards, Krieg singer Imperial and drummer Cryptic Winter, the album features 11 songs...Lux Occulta is recording its fourth album The Mother And The Enemy at Studio 333 in Poland with producer Bartek Kuzniak (Dies Irae, Vader, etc.). Maquiavel Music will release the album in October. Also on the label Devileech is writing new songs for a new album with the titles Deviant and 7teen confirmed...Following several festival appearances this summer and some writing, Darkane is entering Dug Out Studio in Sweden next January to record a new album for release in the summer of 2002...New Jersey's Chaos Theory has a new bassist. Greg Gaissert made his live debut in July...After seven years in the band Dirk Preylowski has left Drown Inc to concentrate on another project...Unauthorized has lost singer Coen who is moving to the USA. The Dutch band is looking for a new man in the vein of The Haunted and Diabolical. Contact 31-528-278712...Dutch thrashers Tombe have released a mini CD. Vindictive is available as mp3 on the mp3.com as well...Replacing drummer Aad in Thanatos is Yuri Rinkel of Liar Of Golgotha. Aad has been busy with Sinister and Houwitser...Death's swan song Live In L.A (Death & Raw) is now due in October and will also see a video release...Destruction's The Antichrist is due in September and will be released by Nuclear Blast...Metal Fortress Entertainment (formerly Near Dark Production) has issued its first release. The album is Rising Moon's MCD European Aliens...Tankard (album is expected next spring to coincide with the band's twentieth anniversary) and At Vance's Only Human (out next winter) have signed to AFM Records...Grave Digger are recording this summer's Wacken appearance for a live CD release...Ex-Stormwitch members Peter Langer (drums) and Damir Uzunovic (guitars), ex-Mon Amour and Agent Orange bassist Matthias Mailander and former Ritual Spirit singer Dirk Schaefner have formed a band called The Armada. The band's MCD The Scent OF Darkness is now out and follows the sound established by Angra and Symphony X...Sweden's Morifade is working on the follow up to Possession Of Power at Los Angered Studio with Andy La Rocque producing. With over 60 minutes in playing time Imaginarium is expected early 2002...The new reincarnation of The Mentors is touring Florida, USA in August with Kill Allen Wrench...The next Earache USA release is only due in October and is Israel's Rabies Caste's Let The Soul Out And Cut The Vein album. This is described as in the vein of Neurosis and Eyehategod...Ex-Crisis/Machine Head drummer Tony Costanza has joined Crowbar...Seventh Gate has ditched both their keyboardist and their label Headless Records. The band has recruited a second guitarist and is heading into studio to record a three-track CD for promotion purposes and to find a label that has distribution and promotion...Entombed's forthcoming album is entitled Morning Star and due in September through MFN...Angel Dust will begin recording Human Bondage with producer Siggi Bemm on August 21 in Germany's Woodhouse Studio. Founder drummer Dirk Assmuth is now back in the band...Watch for Meshuggah's Rare Trax a sampler that beside the rare and vintage also features the band's limited 1989 EP Psykisk Testbild. Simultaneously Gustaf Hielm has left the band...The Almighty's new album is called Psycho-Narco and is out now...Borknagar has finished work on Empiricism and expect to release the 45 minute album in January...Love History has written five new songs for an up coming album and will begin recording before the end of the year...Johan Magnusson is out of Carnal Forge and Lars linden (Rosicrucian) is in. Please...Die the band's new album is expected early next year...Scholomance is putting the finishing touches on an album that will be the first part of a multi-chapter story. The Immortality Murder is due this autumn and will feature a second CD...Green Carnation, featuring members of In The Woods, Emperor, Satyricon, etc., has signed to The End Records for the Americas (Prophecy for Europe) and will release its second album this autumn. Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness will feature a 30-member choir. Eclectic rock band Ninth Level from California is also signed to the label. The label is also releasing the album of Australia's Virgin Black (melancholic rock) in North America...Cage has signed to World War III for North America...The release of Centinex's split picture EP with Nunslaughter has been postponed to this autumn. The band has also canceled an appearance at Germany's Party San Festival to appear at The Milwaukee Metal Festival.
Contrary to rumours Jason Becker is alive and still battling ALS which has crippled him for the majority of the nineties. There are several fund raising activities planned for him...Neurotica, the band of former Atheist singer Kelly Shaefer, is in the studio recording an album for Smackdown Records which is due out in September. The album is mixed by Kevin Shirley who has worked with Aerosmith and Iron Maiden...Underground Symphony is releasing a Sleepy Hollow package featuring all of the band's works with new art work. The label claims this to be the last ever release of Sleepy Hollow material...The short-lived Penny Black featuring Russ Dwarf has collapsed...After an absence of five years Trouble is back and composing new material...Glen Tipton is writing music for his second solo album. Work will commence in 18 months as tipton fulfills his touring plans with Judas Priest...Brazilian Power metal act Dragon Heart is almost finished with forthcoming CD Throne Of The Alliance. The band is mastering the album in Finland and has commissioned Andrea Marshall to do the cover art work...Wyvern has a new line up. Luciano Toscani (also Listeria) is the band's new guitarist. He replaces departed guitarist/keyboardist Simone Ferrari as the band has decided against employing a keyboard player in the future...UK hard rockers Friction featuring Steve Grimmett (Grim Reaper, Lionheart), Nick Burr (Lionsheart), Gavin Cooper (Killers) have completed a debut album due in December...Reb Beach has left the guitarist position in Dokken. John Norum is expected to fill the position...New Eden's new bassist is Melanie Sisneros...Chicago's Supermint has been demoing material for a second album. Main man Randi Scott has also been speaking with Ken Mary (House Of Lords, Fifth Angel, etc.) regarding putting together a second Soul Shock Remedy album...Speaking of House Of Lords, the band's original line up is putting together an album that might go under the The Power And The Myth name. Earlier the band was organizing a petition to solicit major label interest...As early as October the fans can expect a new Hurricane album called Liquifury. The line up seems to be vocalist Kelly Hansen, guitarist Sean Manning, bassist Larry Antonino and Jay Schellen on drums...Holy Dragons is working on album called Judgment Day. The album will include eight songs and run for 37 minutes...The third release by Jerry Fielden is entitled The Mime and is now out...Despite having a July release date, the much-hyped Cradle Of Filth flick Cradle Of Fear is still in production. A realistic release date seems to be 2002...Logar's Diary is recording at least one song for the band-sanctioned Running Wild tribute album. The heavy metallers are still auditioning drummers though...Ann Boleyn (former Hellion singer/New Renaissance proprietor) is putting together a touring band for her solo album. The album is already in the can...On the heels of his first tour of England in 20 years, former Rainbow/Alcatrazz singer Graham Bonnet is back at work laying vocal tracks for the forthcoming Impellitteri album. The line up is expected to tour Europe next year...Lorraine Lewis, the former front lady for Femme Fatale, is back in LA after spending most of the last decade in Seattle and is considering putting the band's original line up together. She currently has a solo album on Jack Factor Records...Frontiers Records has signed Horakane which features Praying Mantis' singer Tony O'Hara. Praying Mantis is still expected to release an album in 2002...10th Dimension is the tentative title for the second Blaze album and is due next spring...Running Wild's The Brotherhood is now due next spring and will feature songs like the title track and Welcome To Hell...Aerosmith has signed a multi-year deal to promote Dodge Chrysler...Joey Tafolla has joined a reformed Hardline (Gioeli brothers and new drummer Bob Rock of Vinnie Vincent Invasion) for the recoding of an album entitled Hyperspace...Following months of reports, the reformed King Kobra has finished an album called Hollywood Trash...Belgium's Double Diamond is playing a series of dates at home with Steel Warrior this summer...Kivel Records has a new live Funny Money album...The next Pegazus album will be called The Headless Horsemen...Rumour has it that the former metal label Roadrunner is on the verge of selling 50% of its ownership to BMG. Another rumour has the band speaking to Island. This after the label allegedly became unable to support its debt - among others 17 million USD to Edel Music...Sepultura has abandoned the Roadrunner ship...In an interview with Classic Rock, guitarist Zakk Wylde who plays on all of the forthcoming Ozzy Osbourne album, states his dissatisfaction with the album implying its lack of heaviness is due to the extraordinary number of outside writers who are not into metal...At a recent show in Paris, AC/DC followed up their standard For Those About To Rock encore with a special rendition of Ride On clad in the uniform of France's national soccer team. Additionally singer Brian Johnson might be reforming Geordie for some pub shows...In a new twist to rock merchandising, Kiss has launched its own 'Kiss Kaskets' in order for the fans to 'rock forever' with Kiss. The item will cost approximately $5000. Canada's Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (#51-$6 to 368 Yonge St., Toronto M5B 1S5) has sent in a new issue and while the coverage is rather predictable (Iced Earth on the cover, Halford, Six Feet Under and a retard called Phil Anselmo or something inside), beggars can't be choosers and BW&BK is still the best metal source (well almost - witness coverage of Skrape, Monster Magnet, Fear Factory, Rammstein, etc.) in the known universe. There is no better place to look for news and reviews, and it is the wealth of information that makes one forgive the pretentious self-references, pompous word salads and the aforementioned concessions to hype Much Music type puke, bounce rock and pop music. If you haven't ordered a copy, I would not hesitate any longer for BW&BK is unfortunately as good as it gets out there...Issue #22 of Beyond ($1 to Nicolas Arnaud, 22 Rue Reniers, 1090 Jette Belgium) has arrived. This is a monthly fanzine, now featuring colour with a very honest and dedicated attitude. The content is becoming more hefty and the print is clear. My only concern is that similar to many other zines occasionally the object of the interview is unnamed. Still, I have no qualms recommending this consistent Belgian fanzine to you out there. Look at the price, how can you go wrong?...Sappho Musique (11, rue du Quartier Neuf, 88230 Fraize France) has a free and new catalogue for you. The distributor is good for those looking for real underground and obscure European metal. Select Top 5 Releases Ali "The Metallian" - Editor 1- Pyaemia - Cerebral Cereal - Unique Leader 2- Behemoth - Thelema.6 - Avantgarde/Olympic 3- Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights - Diehard 4- Avantasia - The Metal Opera - AFM/Century Media 5- Total War - We Are...Total War - Necropolis Max Kolesne - Drummer for Krisiun 1- Manowar - The Triumph of Steel - Atlantic 2- Slayer - Hell Awaits - Metal Blade 3- Dark Angel - Darkness Descends - Combat 4- Morbid Angel - Covenant - Giant 5- Angelcorpse - The Inexorable - Osmose Harald - Bassist for Bloodthorn 1- Abhorrence - Evoking the Abomination - Evil Venegance/Listenable 2- Diabolic - Subterraneal Magnitude - Conquest/Hammerheart 3- Mortem - Decomposed by Possession - Merciless 4- Cadaver Inc. - Discipline - Earache 5- Belphegor - Necrodaemon Terrorsathan - Last Episode Robbe V. - Drummer for Pyaemia 1- Suffocation - Despise the Sun - Vulture 2- Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition - Relapse 3- Severe Torture - Feasting on Blood - The Plague 4- Bloodcum - Arsestabbers - Independent 5- Aborted - Engineering the Dead - Listenable Moyses Kolesne - Guitarist for Krisiun 1- Slayer - Hell Awaits - Century Media 2- Venom - Black Metal - Neat 3- Yngwie Malmsteen - Rising Force - Polydor 4- John Mclaughlin's Shakti - 'all' - Verve 5- Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness - Earache Metallian Demos The guy behind Shadeworks is a dedicated musician and a true gentleman. After beating the last submitted demo from this band to a pulp, Arnaud has sent this CD in for a review with a kind note attached asking for further feedback - a nice change of pace from most supposed underground acts and companies out there - even if their shrieks and howls never change a thing around here. Still, Shadeworks is a K&F band and I don't like it. It's not metal and that's all the walls echo here at Metallian Towers. Having said that, Shadeworks' guitar riffs and rhythms are incredibly melodic and catchy. To the point of being haunting, one has to wonder why the man is not engaged and active with a bigger melodic metal name. Those compositions are truly Shadeworks' trump card. The female moaner, new age-oriented passages and the silly drum machine rattling in the background make it a wasted effort though. Who knows, if the band leader gets the metal itch, the next package might ditch the trendy K&F and other nonsense and get a good review here?? Send $5 to Nicolas Arnaud at 22 Rue Reniers, 1090 Jette, Belgium. OLGERD - DAGOR-NUIN-GILLIATH/GOVERNMENT OF PANSIES - PRAVO NA SMUTEK Here is something quite different for you readers. One of these two (Olgerd) would not be reviewed were it not for the fact that both demos came in recorded on one tape as a promotional means. Right, let's get Olgerd out of the way. Based out of Slovakia, this ensemble kneels at the altar of the likes of Tolkien and this tape is little more than a flight of fantasy down Middle Earth alley. There is an Enya cover in the form of Ela Thingol & Melian, but otherwise titles like Orcs & Goblins, Angband and Ered Gorgoroth are fronts for medireview battle music fraught with tension and samples of battle fought aeons ago. Very good sound and proficient compositions are countered by their irrelevancy to heavy metal. The other side sees the demo of Czech Republic's Government Of Pansies. This is a band that was formed from the ashes of a thrash band called Claka some five years ago. Not so well produced, this nonetheless is a keyboard-ridden affair which kicks off with ample military drumming and growling to attract some attention. It's rather bizarre with some off beat instances, psychedelic moments, tense choirs and many tempo changes. It's metal riddled with many other elements and will appeal to underground dwellers looking for something very different. | |||||
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