Friday November 26th 2004

Thousand Foot Krutch is currently in the studio in Toronto, Canada, with producer Arnold Lanni. The band records the follow-up to Phenomenon. The new album is entitled The Art Of Breaking and is scheduled to hit stores on March 29th, 2005!

Aaron Guerra has rejoined Tourniquet as their guitarist. Guerra left Tourniquet three years ago. The band had problems finding a replacement since. With Aaron Guerra back Tourniquet will be able to play live again. The first gig is already planned. They will be playing the Sonshine Fest in July next year.

In 1984 Saint released their six song EP Warriors Of The Son on Rotten Records. Now, 20 years later, the band returned to the studio and re-recorded the entire album but added two new songs. The new tracks are The Killers And The Destroyers and The Reaper. According to bassist Richard Lynch these songs were originally written for the 1984 EP, but money limitations only allowed six songs to be released. The 20th Anniversary Edition of Warriors Of The Son is the way the EP was supposed to be.

Saint also released the Saint Basement Tapes on CDR. This is a collection of unreleased songs recorded from 1983-1989. Included are versions of The Reaper and Killers And The Destroyers. Only 100 copies were made of this disc.

Both Saint discs can be ordered from Girder Music.

Friday November 19th 2004

Blindside are producing a DVD called Ten Years Running Blind. Simon and Tomas are pouring over hours of footage right back to the bands first gig. Christian and his wife Elina are in South Africa right now with World Vision, working in villages affected by the AIDS pandemic.

Roxx Productions are about to release Return With A Vengeance from the band Once Dead. This group consists of Larry Farkas, Doug Thieme, Glen Mancaruso and Roger Dale Martin of Vengeance Rising. They are accompanied by Scott Waters (from Ultimatum). Return With A Vengeance is a live DVD capturing Once Dead's performance last August. Only a 1,000 copies of the DVD are made...

P.O.D. is working on a new record. According to the band, the new songs are coming out very, very heavy.

Stavesacre will release a four song EP called Bull Takes Fighter. The band thought it was high time to release some new music. This EP is only released in limited quantities and only available through the band's website.

Unfortunate news for the Stryper fans who bought tickets for the Revolution Metal Fest in Mexico City. Stryper will no be performing on the festival as originally scheduled. The cancellation comes by way of the promoter of the Revolution Metal Fest who failed to secure proper work visas and documents needed for the band to travel to and perform in Mexico.  Stryper deeply apologizes for this inconvenience, and would like to reiterate that the situation is completely out of their hands. The band had already come together and began their travel preparations when this cancellation came in early yesterday morning.

Far-Less released their debut EP for Tooth & Nail Records. The record is called Turn To The Bright.

Evanescence's Anywhere But Home 2-disc DVD/CD set will be in stores on November 23rd 2004.

The Chariot put another song from their album Everything is Alive, Everything is Breathing, Nothing is Dead, and Nothing is Bleeding on the internet. You can download the song Dialogue With A Question Mark from PureVolume.

The plans for the final Bob Fest are going on. The festival will take place from March 11th through 13th 2005 in Linköping, Sweden. The first bands that were announced, are: Veni Domine, Grace Will Fall, Renascent, Inevitable End and Virgin Forest.

Friday November 12th 2004

Comeback Kid appears to have signed a record deal with Victory Records. The band recorded their new album at The Blasting Room studio in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. The album will be called Wake The Dead and it will be out on February 22nd.

Also Rob Rock made a label move. He signed with AFM Records in Germany. He will also continue with JVC/Victor for the Asian market. The next album is tentatively scheduled for a March/April 2005 release.

The Dutch doom metal band Morphia released their new album Fading Beauty. According to record company Fear Dark, Fading Beauty is a must have for all gothic/doom metal fans. You can listen to two songs on the band's website.

The new album from Anberlin will be called Never Take Friendship Personal, and it is slated to be released on February 1st 2005.

And the band Gretchen released a new album, the follow up to Mouth Full Of Nails from 2001. The record is called In The Meantime and it is described as heavy, happy gothic (???) and chique rock. In The Meantime was produced by Travis Wyrick.

Winter Solstice is in the studio to record their first album for Metal Blade Records. The disc will be called The Fall Of Rome. Andreas Magnusson of Scarlet is producing the album. Guitarist Roger Turner has left the band. He is replaced by Caleb Goins, formerly of the band Everything Falls Together.

Two bands are looking for new members:

The death metal/thrash metal band Sabachthani from Texas, USA (Dallas/Fort Worth area) is looking for a serious and dedicated drummer. If you are interested, you can mail the band at:    Metalheadt73@cs.com 

And the Chicago, USA, based metal band Fatal Moment is looking for a singer. Both male as female front people are encouraged to apply to: fatalmoment@yahoo.com . For more information about this position, go to this place.

Friday November 5th 2004

Crimson Moonlight recorded a new album at the Big Barabom studio in Sweden. The new CD will be called Veil Of Remembrance and it will contain nine songs. They decided to leave out keyboards this time. Expect the album to be out in 2005.

Yesterday Global Warning released Enemy Within. You can listen to samples on their website.

Ashton Nyte (from The Awakening) released his second solo album Dirt Sense in a new format, calling it Dirt Sense Version 2. The album contains previously unreleased songs as well.

The Dutch rock band Collide will be working on pre production for the next CD.

The Finnish metalcore band Callisto will be on a European tour in December. They're still looking for some dates.

Audiovision, the new solo project from Christian Rivel (from Narnia) will be out on December 22nd in Japan via King Records. The album is entitled The Calling. It includes guest appareances from Jeff Scott Soto, Bruce Kulick, Tony Franklin, Mic Michaeli, Eric Clayton, Carl Johann Grimmark and many others. Expect heavy metal with strong melodies and lots of harmonic vocals. You can download samples of the following songs: The Calling, The King Is Alive and Show Me The Way.

He Is Legend put another MP3 on their Purevolume website. You can download the title track from I Am Hollywood.

Friday October 29th 2004

Here's some rather bad news for the fans of the Dutch black metal band Borgazûr. Jasper, Matt and Ialon have decided to quit the band. According to the band, there's too little zest for positive black metal in the scene. The members will now focus on school and some other musical projects like Peniël and Duister Maanlicht.

This following item is not a joke, but it's fun anyway: Tourniquet is selling Tourniquet coffee! Ted Kirkpatrick, the band's drummer, has put together six of his favorite whole bean coffees. You can buy the bags containing the whole beans at the Tourniquet internetstore.

Two weeks ago you could read about the reunited hardcore band No Innocent Victim. Facedown Records has signed the band. No Innocent Victim hopes to release a new album in summer 2005. They will play their return show in The Glasshouse in Pomona, California, USA, on November 19th.

The Australian band Fearscape have released their debut album through Rowe Productions. The title for the album is Sleeping In Light. You can find MP3's on their website.

Silent Planet Promotions has opened a webpage for the next release from Rivera/Bomma. The album is called I Am God. On the webpage you can find 1-2 minute samples of each song. According to Silent Planet Promotions Rivera/Bomma plays technical/epic metal like Narnia, Symphony X and Ronnie James Dio.

Friday October 22nd 2004

At the Nordic Fest, Antestor will release their new album. This record is called The Forsaken.

The Nordic Fest will be held in Oslo, Norway, this weekend. And two other CD's will be released. First the titleless record from Absurd. This band features members from Extol, Silver and Vardøger. Also a titleless CD from Vaakevandring will be brought out. This is a record featuring a remastered version of Demo 98/99 and a bonus track from the demo days.

The Christmas Rock Night in Germany is celebrating its 25th anniversary! Many American bands performed their first show in Europe at the Christmas Rock Night, including POD, The O.C. Supertones, Pillar, and Pax 217. The 25th anniversary is scheduled for December 3rd & 4th. The festival will be headlined by The O.C. Supertones (Friday) and Pillar (Saturday). Among the thirty bands that will perform, is the UK rock band Split Level, who have one-time reunited for the CRN. A live streaming of the mainstage bands is to be broadcast by internet radio Crosschannel. You can find the complete line-up on the website of the Christmas Rock Night.

A fourth band is booked for the Fear Dark Festivals in March 2005. Previously booked bands are Slechtvalk, Thy Majestie and Eluveitie. Now the Swedish band Pantokrator will join them for three festivals in Germany and The Netherlands.

The Dutch band Melisend have made recordings for a demo. They still have to record the vocals and the solos. Expect a release date early next year.

Another Dutch band, Fort Knox Amsterdam, will start recording an album this weekend.

The Brazilian death metal band Sabbatariam is going to release a split CD with Demoniciduth from Switzerland. The band also recorded some covers that you've read about in this column. Besides To Hell With The Devil (Stryper) and Heroes (Bride), Sabbatariam has recorded I'll Be With U from Impelliteri. You can also download the songs The Gift Of Compassion and Triumphy To The New World.

And Kekal from Indonesia released the first single of their album Acidity that'll be out in 2005. The single is called A Dream For A Moment, and you can download it from Audiostreet.net.

Last week, the latest album from Pillar was scanned to have sold over 100,000 units in 16 weeks. The previous album Fireproof took 31 weeks to reach that sales benchmark and it sold over 300,000 copies in the end...

Friday October 15th 2004

The guys in Sacred Life have decided to quit the band. After five years being a band, Willem, Helmert and Lucas have decided to go their separate ways. Lucas: 'We started the band when we were 13, 15 & 16 and since that moment much has changed.' One of those changes is that drummer Helmert plays piano nowadays... Sacred Life will play two final shows.

Wind-Up Recordss announced the release of a two disc DVD/CD from Evanescence. This release will be out on November 23rd. Besides a live registration, you will get an hour of behind-the-scenes footage and the four music videos the band did. An additional bonus is the studio recording of Missing, a previously unreleased track. Evanscence Wind-up debut Fallen has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. The live DVD was directed by Hamish Hamilton (U2, Peter Gabriel). 

Neshamah will release their new album this month in South Africa by Witchdoctor Records. The album is called Communicating In Heartbeats. Neshamah will also be filming a new video for the track Dying Thoughts Of A Martyr.

The German death metal band Sacrificium hopes to release a new CD in March 2005. It will be called Escaping The Stupor. According to insiders the songs are much harder and aggressive than on Cold Black Piece Of Flesh.

Another German band is working on new material. Brain:FAQ expects their next album to be a big step forward.

The guys in Save The Radio have finished up some demo's with producer Skidd Mills. They recorded in the 747 Studio's in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The first track Safety Net is already on a local radio station in the USA.

Solid State Records will release the debut album from The Chariot on November 16th. The album is entitled Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead, And Nothing Is Bleeding. The Chariot features former Norma Jean vocalist Josh Scogin. You can download the song The Company, The Comfort, The Grave from Purevolume.

Rob Rock is focusing on his third album. He hopes to have the album out in Spring 2005. The third disc may very well be a cross between Rage Of Creation and Eyes Of Eternity...

The members of Oil are continuing in the band Torn Apart since the departure of vocalist Ron Rhinehart. Torn Apart is currently seeking a new vocalist (of course!) and a second guitarist. The band rehearses in Long Beach, California, USA.

Calibretto is doing their last show on October 30th. Then they will release their final recording, a split CD with Mercury Radio Theater. This split album is called All Of These Things Do Not Belong and it will contain nine or ten songs.

Unfortunately the band Ganglion decided to quit. Some of the members joined Extol , who have recorded a new album.

Anberlin recorded a new album called Never Take Friendship Personal.

Alove For Enemies will record their debut album for Facedown Records in December. They will do so in the Trax East Studios. The album is titled The Harvest. Expect it to be out in March 2005.

No Innocent Victim has arisen from its ashes! The band is in the process of writing a new album.

The British hard rock band Stairway has just finished demos for the new songs. In the next few weeks they hope to record the album properly. They tend to release it by mid 2005.

Also Jimmy Brown from Fearful Symmetry has been active again. Next year he will release a new album called Ping The Universe. The new direction is industrial. First, Fearful Symmetry will release two singles.

Friday October 8th 2004

Perhaps you remember the band Seventh Angel from the United Kingdom. They released two highly acclaimed albums in the early nineties: The Torment and Lament For The Weary. These albums are collectors items nowadays as they are harder and harder to get. However, Bombworks  Records will re-release those albums and release an extra CD. This extra CD will contain the Heed The Warning demo and possibly some unreleased live recordings.

Former Seventh Angel singer and guitarist Ian Arkley is back with his band Ashen Mortality. Last week you could read in this column that his band is looking for a new drummer again. Ashen Mortality will re-release their first two albums as well (Sleepless Remorse & Your Caress) as a double CD release. The tracks on Sleepless Remorse will be re-mastered. Ashen Mortality currently has a lot of new material to be recorded. They are still waiting for someone to invest in the recording.

Rowan London and Samantha Escarbe are finalizing the material for the next Virgin Black album. They will begin recording very soon and hope to have the album out before mid 2005.

The Juliana Theory are busy making preparations for the next album. They will be working on the next record for the rest of the year in a studio in Los Angeles with John Travis (Social Distortion, Nada Surf, Monster Magnet).

A great deal of the material for Altera Enigma's debut album has been recorded. The band featuring Jeff from Kekal and former Paramæcium guitarist Jason DeRon, is well on the way to complete the album. The material is varied, which is fitting for an experimental album, and covers a wide range of styles. Both Jason and Jeff have focused on experimenting and being creative. They have come up with a unique and eclectic sound, ranging from heavy progressive metal to techno and trance. MP3 samples are available on the Altera Enigma website.

Former Kekal guitarist Leo will be contributing to the Altera Enigma album.

The Norwegian band Silence The Foe has been busy this year, playing festivals and shows and doing two music videos for their new EP Sweet Sweet Suicide. The video for Playing With The Old Me will be available on the internet as soon as the TV stations pick it up.

Strike First Records signed two bands. First of all Brutal Fight from Vancouver, USA. Also the band Once For All got signed. Both bands will release albums in the near future. On the MP3 section of the Strike First website, you can download a couple of pre-production tracks from both of these bands.

Darker Than Silence, the new album from The Awakening, will be officially released in Europe on October 25th. Sonorium is the label responsible for bringing it out. The album will be distributed through SX Distribution. Plans are under way to tour Europe in the near future in support of the release.

Stairway is recording demos for their next album.

HM magazine re-launches Heaven's Metal magazine as a fanzine. Ten years ago the title Heaven's Metal disappeared as it morphed into HM Magazine. Now, Heaven's Metal is re-appearing as a black & white xerox fanzine. 'It's kind of an outlet for fun', says founding editor Doug van Pelt. Single copy prices will be $2.95 and one-year subscriptions will be $6.

Here's some old news that was overlooked before. Dee Harrington has rejoined the band Saint! The band is in the process of re-recording Warriors Of The Son, their 1984 debut.

The band Pantokrator is working on a new album. They have written a couple of new songs. The band will be faster, harder and heavier, so they say...

Friday October 1st 2004

King's X will release a double live CD in November. This album will be called Live All Over The Place. It will be in stores on November 2nd 2004.

Craig's Brother is hard at work on a new full length album, the follow up to the Epidemic EP they released through Takeover Records in June. You can listen to Craig's Brother on Purevolume.com.

Look At Death Now is the solo debut from Ez Gomér. He's the founder of hard rock band Jet Circus. The album will contain guest appearance from people as Mikkey Dee (Motörhead), Stefan Elmgren (Hammerfall), Tommy Denander (Radioactive, Toto, Richard Marx), Terry Haw (Jet Circus), Michael Ulvsgaard (Jet Circus) and others. Some of the songs on the album are: Skull Of The Poet, Shooting Star, Greed Money and Fears Of Tomorrow. Look At Death Now will be released on November 15th.

A song from Ez Gomér will also appear on The American All Star album. This track called Kings Of Hollywood, was written exclusively for this compilation album that will also feature artists as Michael Sweet and Lou Gramm. The American All Star album will be released in 2005.

The Lionheart Brothers back with their new EP Colour Contrast Context.

Also The Spirit That Guides Us have a new disc out. It's the album North & South.

Ashen Mortality is looking for a new drummer again. They're still getting through more drummers than changes of underpants. Yet the band is rehearsing again and have lots of new material.

Veni Domine will perform at the 80th anniversary of their home church (Pingstkyrkan in Sollentuna) in late October. The band will also contribute a new song on a CD made for this anniversary.

Leviticus will release a live DVD. This disc will be called Live At Bobfest 2003 DVD as it is the recording of the band's show on the Bobfest in 2003... Expect this DVD out on November 15th. Ecclesiaste III "The Quest" is a new strategy board game that will be released in November. Leviticus guitarist Björn Stigsson has been nominated to participate in this game as Commander Björn Stiggson, commanding the star ship Leviticus.

The Agony Scene appears to be recording demos for their next album. It will be released through Roadrunner/Island/Def Jam.

No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical, the album from Showbread, will be out on October 19th. This record was produced by Silvia Massy. From Purevolume you can download the songs Mouth Like A Magazine and Dead By Dawn.

On November 2nd I Am Hollywood from He Is Legend will be out. Download the first single from the record, The Seduction from Purevolume.

Demon Hunter will host the Headbanger's Ball on MTV USA on October 9th. Their video for Not Ready To Die is now spinning on the show.

This Is Solid State, Volume 5 will be in stores on October 19th. Volume 5 contains fifteen tracks, including new tracks from Norma Jean, The Chariot, He Is Legend and Showbread. It also features old favorites from Underoath, Dead Poetic, Demon Hunter, Haste The Day, Beloved, and more.

Norma Jean will head back to the studio in November to record a new album. Tentative title is O God, The Aftermath.

As I Lay Dying will be touring Europe. The band is already huge in the USA. They sold about 100.000 units there so far. As I Lay Dying will be playing three headlining shows in Holland and Germany and a tour as a support act for Lamb Of God in the United Kingdom. Word has it, that the band is also working on new material that they will record late this year or early next year.

Project 86 shoot a video for The Spy Hunter, the first track on Songs To Burn Your Bridges By.

The Dutch rock band Collide is on the website Demo Match now. Through this site you can vote for upcoming bands. You can also vote for Collide on Ongekend Talent.nl, where you can listen to the songs from their demo.

The NordicFest announced the last three bands on the roster: Ashen Mortality, Benea Reach and Diamondog. Other bands playing the NordicFest are: Antestor, Bleedience, Equilibrium, Harmony, Inevitable End, Megiddon, Mental Destruction, Narnia, Renascent, Rob Rock and Soapbox. Tickets are 350 Norwegian Kronen for the entire festival.