Metallian Heavy

GRAVE will release a new album, called Out Of Respect For The Dead, on October 16th through Century Media. Costin Chioreanu conceived the album’s artwork. It follows the band’s 2012 album Endless Procession Of Souls.

South Florida deathgrind quartet MARUTA has announced an upcoming series of Eastern US shows in the form of a two-week September tour alongside YAUTJA followed by another tour with IRON REAGAN.

Inspired by KEEL? Commemorating its 30th anniversary, Chicago’s AFTERMATH is reissuing Eyes Of Tomorrow through Shadow Kingdom Records. This version was remastered by Paul Logus (PANTERA, etc.) and comes with an expanded insert. The band also played the Headbangers Open Air.

VII: Sturm Und Drang, the new full-length album from LAMB OF GOD, has hit position number one in the charts in Canada.

ANNIHILATOR will release a studio album, called Suicide Society, on September 18th through UDR Music. Jeff Waters played both bass and guitars.

NONEXIST has signed to Mighty Music. The band’s new album, Throne Of Scars, will be released on October 9th.

Finnish funeral doom duo TYRANNY, featuring within its ranks current and former members of CORPSESSED and WORMPHLEGM among others, will release its first new studio offering in a decade this autumn through Dark Descent Records. Titled Aeons In Tectonic Interment, the record offers up five tracks.

Vancouver-based Test Your Metal Records has signed Canada’s GOMORRAH. The death metal band will be releasing its yet-to-be-titled second full-length on the label in 2016 to follow up the independently released 2013 debut Perception.

Lithuania’s PHRENETIX has issued the State Of Ruin cassette on Inferno Records.

Phoenix, Arizona-based death metal quintet VEHEMENCE is preparing to return this year with new tour dates coming together for their first new album in over a decade, Forward Without Motion, confirmed for release through Battleground Records in October.

French band GOROD will release its new full-length this autumn in North America through Unique Leader Records.

Obscene Extreme America has connected its charity efforts in support of Doctors Without Borders with IMMOLATION and will offer festival attendees a chance to purchase one of 66 limited festival T-shirts designed by the band at a cost of $20 CAD.

CANNIBAL CORPSE, which spent the summer touring Europe with stops at Hellfest, Wacken, Bloodstock, Brutal Assault, Party.San, Copenhell, Graspop, and numerous club shows, is part of a US tour this autumn with CATTLE DECAPITATION and SOREPTION beginning October 8th, and running through November 7th. The Anthropocene Extinction, the new album from San Diego’s CATTLE DECAPITATION, was released through Metal Blade Records on August 7th and doubled first week sales over the previous release, The Monolith Of Inhumanity. The new album landed on the #41 position on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart in the USA.

US band BOUND BY FATE’s Steadfast demo is now out.

This October Unique Leader Records will reissue The Anomalies Of Artificial Origin, the second full-length from Moscow, Russia death metal band and recent label signees ABOMINABLE PUTRIDITY. The out-of-print album was initially released in 2012 through Brutal Bands Records.

Dutch old school death metal band BODYFARM will release its third album, Battle Breed, on November 6th through Cyclone Empire Records. The follow-up to 2013’s The Coming Scourge was mixed and produced by Ronnie Björnström.

MEGADETH has announced an October tour of Australia with guests CHILDREN OF BODOM for this October.

GORGUTS has completed the song writing for the follow-up to 2013’s Colored (sic) Sands and hopes to release it next year. The album will comprise of one track.

Olaf Zissel, drummer for TANKARD, was admitted to the hospital last month following a suspected stroke. He is said to be improving. Nonetheless, the drummer won’t be able to accompany the band to the Summer Breeze and Motocultor Fest festivals in Germany and France. Filling in for him will be Gerd Lücking (HOLY MOSES) who has previously worked for TANKARD as a roadie.

Nicholas Barker is in yet another band. MONSTRANCE, the band of former CARCASS guitarist Carlo Regadas and former DEVOID singer Tony Glover, has replaced drummer Ian Treacy (formerly of BENEDICTION, MEATHOOK SEED, etc.) and replaced him with Nicholas Barker who has been in tens of bands in recent years.

AUTOPSY is back. The band is releasing a special package called After The Cutting on November 13th. It contains a booklet full of photographs and a biography written by Dennis Dread next to four discs of rare or new material. The album Skull Grinder is next featuring seven new tunes. It will be available on vinyl this year and CD next year. The album is also included in After The Cutting.


Metallian Hard

Toronto, Canada’s CAULDRON has signed with The End Records and will release its fourth album, In Ruin. The band is returning to Lincoln County Social Club studio in Toronto.

Swedish band STEELWING will release a new album, called Reset, Reboot, Redeem, on November 20th through NoiseArt Records. The cover for the album was designed by Swedish artist Sandra Österberg Brolin.

WITH THE DEAD, the new U.K.-based band featuring members of CATHEDRAL and ELECTRIC WIZARD, will release its six-track, self-titled debut on October 16 via Rise Above Records. The band features ELECTRIC WIZARD: guitarist/bassist Tim Bagshaw and drummer Mark Greening and singer Lee Dorrian of CATHEDRAL and owner of Rise Above.

Canada’s ANVIL will enter the studio in Cologne, Germany next month with producer Martin "Mattes" Pfeiffer (UDO) to begin recording a new album, which is tentatively titled Anvil Is Anvil, for an early 2016 release. In the meantime, the band has jumped on the trend and issued its own beverages through Rock Coffee. Two flavours of coffee are available.

British heavy rock band URIAH HEEP will reunite with its early members Ken Hensley and Lee Kerslake at the Moscow Crocus to play the band's early music in a two-hour set on October 15th.

Zak Stevens and his band CIRCLE II CIRCLE will release a new album, Reign Of Darkness, on October 16th through earMUSIC.

UGLY KID JOE will release a new full-length album titled Uglier Than They Used Ta Be on October 16th through Metalville/UKJ Records. The album was recorded at JT and Balance Studios in Louisiana with band guitarist Dave Fortman.

According to media reports Los Angeles Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at the house of KISS’ Gene Simmons, but no one in the Simmons family is being investigated. Apparently, a crime may have been committed on the premises by someone else.

Speaking to Aftonbladet television in Sweden Slash affirmed that he has reconciled with GUNS N’ ROSES’ singer Axl Rose. Axl, who has the rights to the band’s monicker, had previously called Slash a cancer and refuted any possibility of a band reunion with its early line-up. Reunion rumours are abounding.

Spanish hard rockers MAVERICK has a release called Break It Up on Inferno Records this month being co-released on Sade Records (Mexico) and The Fish Factory Records (Spain).

Norwegian power metal band GUARDIANS OF TIME is undertaking a Balkan Tour using the Rage And Fire monicker. The first date is set for September the 25th at Bomber (Zapresic, Croatia). During the show the band will perform songs taken from Rage And Fire.

HEXENIZER (formerly IRON WITCH) has signed with Inferno Records and will issue The Fucking Horny Witch Of Hell on CD and cassette.

London, England’s NIGHT SCREAMER has issued a demo called Vigilante.

JOE SATRIANI's Shockwave Supernova album has become the guitarist’s highest U.S.A chart position of his career. The album debuted on Billboard's Top 200 Chart at No. 19.

RED DRAGON CARTEL, featuring guitarist Jake E. Lee, has been rejoined by singer Darren James Smith. The singer had left the band after performances, which were deemed as sub par and embarrassing. The band is heading to Japan.

Q5 has signed a deal with Frontiers Music. The band played at Sweden Rock Festival last year indicating it was a one-off.

CRIMSON SUN’s Towards The Light was issued on August 3rd, 2015. Mastered by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, AMARANTHE, EPICA, PRIMAL FEAR, etc.) in Denmark the album is out on Maple Metal Records.

RIOT V, featuring members of RIOT, played their song Warrior with LOUDNESS members Akira Takasaki and Masayoshi Yamashita on June 25th at the Rock Fest Barcelona festival in Spain.

Minotauro Records has signed SUNRUNNER and ANCIENT SPELL. SUNRUNNER is described as a mixture of classic heavy metal and progressive rock and will issue an album called Heliodromus.‏ Los Angeles’ ANCIENT SPELL will issue Forever In Hell this month.

HUNTRESS has pulled out of a U.S. tour with AVATAR, GEMINI SYNDROME and FIRST DECREE. HUNTRESS singer Jill Janus is suffering from post-surgery weakness and pain following her cancer surgery two months earlier.

KING DIAMOND will be back on tour soon performing the 1987 album Abigail in the USA in its entirety. The tour will begin on October 29th and run through December 5th with EXODUS as the opening act.

KISS singer and guitarist Paul Stanley participated in a SOUL STATION concert at The Roxy in West Hollywood, USA on September 11th. SOUL STATION is a ten-piece project featuring musicians covering soul music.

MOTÖRHEAD was forced to cancel its show in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA on August 27th after playing only three complete songs due to frontman Lemmy Kilmister not feeling well. The band was honoured a day earlier by the Los Angeles City Council in celebration of the band's 40th anniversary and the release of the group's new album, Bad Magic. The band subsequently cancelled more shows in September.

LED ZEPPELIN's final album, 1979's In Through The Out Door, hit the US Top 10 at position No. 9. The album is the latest and final deluxe reissue the band has been releasing. In Through The Out Door was originally released on August 15, 1979 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Sony Music has purchased Century Media for $20 million (US). The company has annual revenue of $12 million (US). Owner Robert Kampf will work for Sony.

Tony MacAlpine has postponed his previously scheduled tour of Asia and Australia. Following blood tests and an MRI it is suspected that he has cancer.

BULLETBOYS singer Marq Torien was arrested on Saturday, August 29th following the band's concert in Tampa, Florida, USA and charged with "failure to pay child support." He was arrested and released for the same reason in 2009.

Heavy metal band SAVAGE will release a new album called 7 on October 9th through Minus 2 Zebra Records. It is a double-disc including a live album entitled Live 'N Lethal.

L-G Persson from the Swedish heavy metal band THE STORYTELLER has joined JAGUAR replacing previous vocalist Jamie Manton who left the act a year ago. JAGUAR’s founder Garry Pepperd has moved to Sweden himself and was seeking a Swedish frontman.

November 6th marks the release day for the 50th Anniversary Deluxe Editions of SCORPIONS’ albums featuring demo versions of tracks or unreleased songs. Five re-releases also include DVDs featuring live visuals, makings of and interviews.

The final final tour?? The trio that is BLACK SABBATH has announced a tour using the monicker The End for January 2016. The band is promising that this tour of Canada, Australia and USA is its last.