ANCIIENTS, GORGUTS, PROTEST THE HERO, KEN MODE and THE FLATLINERS have been nominated in the "Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" category at this year's Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards), set to be held in Winnipeg on March 30 after a week of musical celebrations across the city.

This category is an award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the Canadian recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position. Eligible albums include metal, metalcore, hardcore, heavy rock, thrash metal, death metal and their respective sub-genres including (but not limited to) nu-metal, power metal, grindcore, extreme metal, industrial metal, viking metal, folk metal, doom metal, gothic metal, speed metal, and sludge metal.

Artists who released albums between September 1, 2012, and November 13, 2013, were eligible for nominations.

"Metal/Hard Music Album Of The Year" nominees:

* ANCIIENTS - "Heart of Oak" (Season of Mist)* GORGUTS - "Colored Sands" (Season of Mist)* KEN MODE - "Entrench" (New Damage)* PROTEST THE HERO - "Volition" (Self-Released)* THE FLATLINERS - "Dead Language" (New Damage)

"Judgment Day", a brand new song from ADRENALINE MOB, can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below. The track is taken from the band's second full-length album, "Men Of Honor" (iTunes pre-order), which will be released February 18 in North America and February 24 internationally via Century Media Records.

ADRENALINE MOB's current lineup includes Russell Allen (vocals; also of SYMPHONY X), Mike Orlando (guitar), John Moyer (bass; also of DISTURBED), and the band's latest addition, drummer A.J. Pero (also of TWISTED SISTER).

"Men Of Honor" features 11 new original songs produced by Allen and Orlando. 01. Mob Is Back02. Come On Get Up03. Dearly Departed04. Behind These Eyes05. Let It Go06. Feel The Adrenaline07. Men Of Honor08. Crystal Clear09. House Of Lies10. Judgment Day11. Fallin' To Pieces

"Come On Get Up" can be purchased on iTunes at this location.

Drummer Mike Portnoy (FLYING COLORS, THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) quit ADRENALINE MOB in June 2013 due to "scheduling conflicts."

In an interview with Brazil's "Wikimetal", Allen stated about Portnoy's departure from ADRENALINE MOB: "He's been, obviously, real busy with THE WINERY DOGS. The truth of it is we wanna keep working, we wanna keep doing ADRENALINE MOB and we don't wanna wait around for Mike to have the time [to put into ADRENALINE MOB]. And he doesn't know when he will have the time again, so that's really what's going down. Mike Portnoy was asked to be in the band by myself. Me and Orlando had already written all the material, so [ADRENALINE MOB's debut album] 'Omertá' was completely finished before Mike joined the act. And it's a bummer, but he's got his sights on other things, and he's not gonna stick around. So we wish him the best of luck, but the MOB's gotta go on."

ADRENALINE MOB released "Covertá", an eight-track EP featuring cover versions of some of the group's favorite songs, on March 12, 2013.

"Antagonise", the sophomore album from MAYAN — the band featuring EPICA guitarist/songwriter Mark Jansen alongside Jack Driessen (ex-AFTER FOREVER) and Frank Schiphorst — was released on January 31 via Nuclear Blast Records. The 11-song CD, which was recorded at Sandlane studio with producer Joost Van Der Broek (REVAMP, STREAM OF PASSION), features guest appearances by Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH, REVAMP), Marcela Bovio (STREAM OF PASSION) and the Greek virtuozo violinist Dimitris Katsoulis.

The cover artwork for "Antagonise" was created by Stefan Heilemann, who previously worked on MAYAN's debut album, "Quarterpast". "Antagonise" track listing: 01. Bloodline Forfeit02. Burn Your Witches03. Redemption - The Democracy Illusion04. Paladins Of Deceit - National Security Extremism Part 105. Lone Wolf06. Devil In Disguise07. Insano08. Human Sacrifice09. Enemies Of Freedom10. Capital Punishment11. Faceless Spies - National Security Extremism Part 2

The official lyric video for the song "Human Sacrifice" can be seen below. Henning Basse (LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA) and Laura Macri recently joined MAYAN as permanent members. MAYAN is: Mark Jansen - grunts, screamsHenning Basse - vocalsLaura Macri - sopranoJack Driessen - keysFrank Schiphorst - guitarRob van der Loo - bassArien van Weesenbeek - drums Guitarist Isaac Delahaye (EPICA) left MAYAN because he "wanted to concentrate on other things."

MAYAN's debut album, "Quarterpast", was released in Europe on May 20, 2011 and in North America on July 12, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded and mixed by Sascha Paeth (EPICA, KAMELOT).

The new lineup of Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED made its live debut during the 2014 edition of "The World's Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise" — 70000 Tons Of Metal — which sailed January 27 to January 31 from Miami, Florida to Costa Maya, Mexico and back.

Fan-filmed video footage of THE HAUNTED's performances aboard the cruise can be seen below.

THE HAUNTED released a new three-song single, "Eye Of The Storm", on January 20 in Europe and January 21 in North America via Century Media Records.

"Eye Of The Storm" was made available as limited-edition seven-inch EP (1,000 copies split as follows: 500 on black vinyl, 300 on red vinyl and 200 on white vinyl) and as digital single, featuring the new songs "Eye Of The Storm", "Infiltrator" and "My Enemy".

"Eye Of The Storm" track listing:

01. Eye Of The Storm02. Infiltrator03. My Enemy

The single marks the recording debut of THE HAUNTED's new lineup, which was announced last summer, featuring founding members Patrik Jensen (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass), returning members Marco Aro (vocals) and Adrian Erlandsson (drums), as well as new guitarist Ola Englund.

Commented THE HAUNTED's founding member and guitarist Patrik Jensen: "There aren't superlatives enough to describe how much the band has longed for these three songs to be released.

"We are sure fans have been anxious to know what the band sounds like today after all the turmoil and old members leaving and new members joining.

"We feel that these three songs represent the band perfectly.

"We are currently working on the new album, an album that will be filled to the brim with what we know to be THE HAUNTED.

"We'll start doing gigs this spring and we'll do festivals all over the place this summer.

"Get in touch with the festivals you visit (and behave like an animal at) and tell them to get us on the bill!

"THE HAUNTED is back.

"Play it loud. No. Louder."

THE HAUNTED's 2014 lineup:

* Patrik Jensen - Guitar * Ola Englund (SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED) - Guitar * Marco Aro (THE RESISTANCE, FACE DOWN) - Vocals * Jonas Björler - Bass * Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST) - Drums

THE HAUNTED's founding member and guitarist Patrik Jensen stated about the band's new lineup: "THE HAUNTED went through some difficult times last year. Losing three band members is a pretty huge blow to any band. Jonas and I agreed immediately that we wanted to continue with the band, but we wanted to take our time and not rush into anything.

"Some of you might recognize a few faces, some of you might not. Adrian Erlandsson is back on drums and Marco Aro is back on vocals. Adrian you might know from playing on our first album and Marco sang on 'The Haunted Made Me Do It', 'Live Rounds In Tokyo' and 'One Kill Wonder'. On guitar we also have Ola Englund bringing some pretty heavy chops to the band.

"We're all VERY excited about having THE HAUNTED back in working shape again and we can't wait to get back out on the road to play for our very patient and faithful fans again. A new album is also already in the works and if you are familiar with the individual band members of this new lineup, you can be assured that the new material will grab you by the throat from the get-go!"

Vocalist Marco Aro (ex-FACE DOWN, also in THE RESISTANCE) was previously involved with THE HAUNTED for three acclaimed releases between 1999 and 2003 as well as for several worldwide touring campaigns. Drummer Adrian Erlandsson (also in AT THE GATES and PARADISE LOST) belonged to the original lineup of THE HAUNTED together the Björler twins after the demise of their previous legendary group, AT THE GATES. Together with Jensen, they launched THE HAUNTED's self-titled debut in 1998, an album which has been widely considered as the kick-start for a new era in the thrash metal movement and which, despite its initial underground status, climbed to be a massively inspirational record for a whole new generation of musicians and bands in the following decade. Guitarist Ola Englund is a highly talented young player from Sweden, who has recently been active as touring and recording member of U.S. death metal institution SIX FEET UNDER.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, CHEVELLE will release its seventh studio album, titled "La Gargola", on April 1. The disc was recorded in Pasadena, California instead of the band's usual spot in their hometown of Chicago, and follows up 2011's "Hats Off To The Bull". The first single, "Take Out The Gunman", addresses the issues of guns and mass shootings, but drummer Sam Loeffler says it's also about more than that. "It is hitting a little close to home," he says. "However, certainly it's about that but the real point is about how the media sensationalizes it and how it perpetuates it, because we talk about it so much and concentrate on it so much, which is — when you put something on television, it just becomes bigger than life and then, you know, the age-old question is, if you don't put it on TV and nobody knows about it, will it happen less? I don't know."

CHEVELLE has posted a behind-the-scenes look from the studio online as the band nears completion of the record.

The trio will head out on the road for a headlining tour with MIDDLE CLASS RUT and OH BROTHER, beginning on April 4. The dates and venues are yet to be announced.

The group is also scheduled to make appearances at the Rock On The Range and Welcome To Rockville festivals in April and May.

Fan-filmed video footage of DEATH TO ALL's performance aboard this year's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise can be seen below.

DEATH TO ALL features former members of DEATH celebrating the life and music of Chuck Schuldiner.

The band's current touring lineup includes the three surviving members of DEATH's "Human" lineup (guitarist Paul Masvidal, bassist Steve DiGiorgio and drummer Sean Reinert), along with with special guest vocalist/guitarist Max Phelps of CYNIC/EXIST, performing material from the group's first four albums.

In an interview with Metal-Rules.com, Masvidal stated about DEATH TO ALL's current lineup: "[Because] it's just the 'Human' lineup, it's a tighter show. We're focusing on the best of leading to 'Human' and then a bunch of 'Human' material. So it's more the early DEATH catalog, and it just feels really good, 'cause Sean and I have a lot of chemistry from playing together a long time from CYNIC and everything. And Steve, who is just kind of one of us too, so it feels like really cohesive, it feels tight and we've been able to make it the kind of show that feels like a band show versus the last one. Which I think was a little bit more fragmented 'cause there was a lot of different musicians and it was kind of all over the place. So this feels tighter."

He added: "This [lineup] is as close as you'll get [to reproducing the 'Human' era] and Max bears a slight resemblance [to Chuck] if you squint your eyes. It's kind of interesting. And he sounds like him, too. It's pretty crazy but yeah, it works, it works well."

Chuck died on December 13, 2001 after a battle with pontine glioma, a rare type of brain tumor.

Montreal, Canada-based extreme metallers DESPISED ICON, who announced in 2010 that they would be disbanding, will play several reunion shows this spring. While no album or full tour is planned, the members of the group are just happy to be back on stage performing together.

Comments DESPISED ICON vocalist Alex Erian: "It's been over three years already since we played our last shows, and long story short, we genuinely miss it. After a few talks and a couple of beers, we decided to get back together temporarily to play a handful of shows.

"We're excited to announce that we'll be returning to Europe in April on the Impericon Festivals in Vienna, Manchester and Cologne.

"To our friends in Canada and the U.S., we'll have some good news for you as well in a few weeks.

"Thanks for sticking around with us after all these years. Can't wait to see you all and crush the stage, one more time. Keep it brutal."

Confirmed dates:

April 25 - Vienna, Austria - Impericon Festival April 27 - Manchester, England - Impericon Festival April 30 - Cologne, Germany - Impericon Festival

Having created quite a buzz with its debut album, 2002's "Consumed By Your Poison", DESPISED ICON's brand of technical death-infused hardcore matured and developed over the years, arguably reaching its peak with 2007's "The Ills Of Modern Man".

DESPISED ICON has sold over 150,000 albums worldwide and has influenced countless other bands in the metal and hardcore scene today.

Portugal's WE ARE THE DAMNED has inked a deal with Lifeforce Records. The band's third album, "Doomvirate", will be released at the end of May.

Coming from an unlikely source like Portugal, WE ARE THE DAMNED has been building its path since 2007 by the hand of singer Correia and drummer Lafaia. Both musicians have been around since the early '90s and their sheer artistic convictions still prevail on a solid DIY philosophy. The band continues to deliever its unique blend of straightforward punk and metal.

After releasing the "Metal Classics" EP in 2009 and the debut album, "Resurrection Plague", in 2010, both on Ragingplanet, the band made an impact with the second full-length, "Holy Beast", a concept album based on religious corruption and false dogmas, released in 2011 on Ragingplanet and Bastardized Recordings and produced by Ulf Blomberg (END OF ALL, INEVITABLE END, EXHALE). A few lineup changes took place in 2012 after the "Holy Beast" cycle was completed, and core members Correia and Lafaia were back in the studio to complete the "Metal Classics Vol. 2" EP sessions, released later that year again on Ragingplanet. In the meantime the band kept performing live constantly and regularly until 2013.

2013 started with the third album already in the making, once again with Correia and Lafaia being the core members alongside new guitarist Miguel Correia they gave birth to "Doomvirate", another concept album this time based upon human and social rights and political corruption, produced by Fernando Matias (MOONSPELL, SINISTRO) and the bandmembers themselves.

According to a post on MINISTRY's Facebook page, the band's mainman, Al Jourgensen, has "successfully" checked into a rehabilitation facility to receive treatment for alcohol dependency.

Jourgensen wrote on his Facebook page last month: "My sobriety will not, and I repeat, not knock off my sarcasm. If anything, it will intensify."

He added: "I appreciate the support from my brother and family.

"[I] kicked dope and crack by myself, but I need help on this one, so all your thoughts and prayers are more than welcome."

In a September 2013 interview with the Washington Times, Jourgenen was asked when the last time was that he used a drug other than alcohol. "Eleven years as of September 6 [2013]," he replied, before adding. "I don't do pharmaceuticals. I don't do street drugs. I don't do anything. I'm just basically slowly killing myself with liquor as opposed to the fast departation of this mortal core with street drugs or pharmaceuticals. So, I've chosen that path."

Jourgensen reportedly suffered a near-death experience in 2010 as the result of a ruptured ulcer. He told Revolver magazine back in January 2012, "After [MINISTRY's] 'The Last Sucker' [album was released in 2007], I was puking up blood every day. I didn't know why. That's been going on for the last four or five tours, though, and I didn't see a doctor because I just thought that was part of what happens when you're my age on a rock tour. I didn't know there was a condition attached to it. I would puke blood and get off tour and it would go away. But this time I got off tour and it was worse. Blood was coming out my nose, my dick, my mouth. I'd stand up and fall over. I lost so much blood, I couldn't even walk. Instead of calling the doctor, I put on this medieval helmet that I had made in the Czech Republic, and I would quit hitting my head on the tiles, if I put on the helmet. I wore the helmet around for a couple days. I was a tired, run-down, bloated drunk — just a mess. And then I exploded on March 27, 2010, and they had to take me to the emergency room."

Asked if he could still drink, Jourgensen replied: "I have a male nurse who weighs 350 pounds named Hector. I call him 'Hector, the third bottle rejecter.' I'm only allowed two bottles of wine a day now. And it doesn't even get to that. It's about a bottle and a half, and that seems to be good along with the medicine I have to take every day for the rest of my life. I just went and saw my doctor and she said, 'Yeah, you're actually doing pretty good for being a fucking degenerate.'"

Al Jourgensen's book, "Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen" — penned by Jourgensen with Jon Wiederhorn — came out last year on Da Capo Press. It is described in a press release as "the high-octane, no-holds barred memoir by the legendary godfather of industrial music. The book is fascinating, both ugly and captivating, revealing a character that has lived a hard life his way, without compromise."

Dallas Toler-Wade, guitarist/vocalist of the death metal band NILE, has launched a new project called NARCOTIC WASTELAND.

NARCOTIC WASTELAND's debut album will be released digitally on Wednesday, January 15 and will be made available via the band's web site as well as iTunes, Spotify and Amazon. Physical copies of the CD will also be available the following week on the group's web site.

The official video for the song "Keeping Up With The Jones" can be seen below.

NARCOTIC WASTELAND started as a side project Dallas had been working on for the past few years when he was not touring or in the writing/studio mode with NILE. "The more songs I completed for NARCOTIC WASTELAND, the more I wanted to put a full band lineup together," he explained.

Dallas asked longtime friend Edwin Rhone (lead guitar, vocals) if he was interested in joining the new group. They both had played in metal bands together in the early-to-mid 1990s. Edwin later recommended Chris Dupre for bass and vocals.

Dallas stated: "Chris came in and not only knew his parts, but owned them with lots of attitude. So the only thing left was finding a drummer. After trying out several drummers from all over the States over two years, my bandmate in NILE, George Kollias, recommended Erik Schultek. Erik did not only nail the material, but fit very well to the style and sound of the music."

NARCOTIC WASTELAND is:

Dallas Toler-Wade - Guitar/VocalsEdwin Rhone - Guitar/VocalsChris Dupre - Bass/VocalsErik Schultek - Drums

Swedish experimental extreme metallers MESHUGGAH have issued the following update:

"You try to wrap your head around it but comprehension fails — it's been twenty-five years since the first official MESHUGGAH release!!! The self-titled (though often referred to as 'Psykisk Testbild') EP came out on the small local Umeå label Garageland Records in 1989, making 2014 the big TWO-FIVE for the band!! Hoooly s**t!!

"Who would have thought, huh!? That our small group of young guys would get to — not only write and record our own quirky, deviant style of metal — but that we would still be doing it a quarter century later, making our living off of what we love to do!! Now in our forties, we can't but look back at it jaw-dropped and baffled at the fact!!

"We always set out to do something new, something different from the music we heard around us — something that would be a challenge to ourselves to write, learn and perform. Something truly unique. Looking back at our career, we feel that we have actually been successful in doing just that!!

"We have for so many years been blessed with a super loyal fan base and a still-growing one at that, allowing us to continue to create freely and without boundaries! For this we sincerely thank all of our fans that have stood by us all this time!!!

"To commemorate this great anniversary, we have a few different cool things coming out in 2014! Those will include, among other things, a few official releases, but as to not completely kill the suspense immediately, we will come back with more info on that during the winter and spring. So keep your eyes and ears peeled for more news on this in the next few months, on our official site.

"One thing we can announce at this time though is that we will be doing a few select '25th-anniversary' festival dates both European and North American, out of which one will be us closing the Marquee stage at Graspop [Metal Meeting in Belgium] with a special 25th-anniversary set on Sunday 29th of June! More info on additional dates will soon follow! "I'll stop blathering now. Just want to say, from all of us in the band to all people whose support keeps us going strong still: THANK YOU!!! And here's to another 25!!"

In a recent interview with Australia's Loud magazine, MESHUGGAH guitarist Mårten Hagström was asked what the next step forward for MESHUGGAH is, creatively. "I have no idea, and I never do," he said. "And I think that's a good thing, 'cause people sometimes say that we're pretty unpredictable, but I don't really think we are, because we have a sound that's been with us since at least like the 'None' EP (from 1994), that's very us. [laughs] It doesn't really change all that much, but it's still a progression, and what I mean by taking a step forward is that we're still, we've been around now. We're veterans in this game [laughs], and we're still having fun with what we do, with experimenting with the music that we want to create. So as long as it feels like we're making it better, and as long as it feels like we're doing something that we can at least stand for and be proud of, that's all that we ask."

MESHUGGAH last year completed touring North America with ANIMALS AS LEADERS as direct support and INTRONAUT opening each evening. A previously unreleased MESHUGGAH track, "Pitch Black", is available for free download as a two-track EP from Scion Audio/Visual, (a.k.a. Scion A/V), the in-house record label and lifestyle marketing division of the Scion marque produced by Toyota Motor Corporation for the North American market. In addition to the "Pitch Black" title cut, the EP includes a live recording of the "obZen" song "Dancers To A Discordant System".

Barcelona, Spain's MORBID FLESH will release their Embedded In The Ossuary EP on March 31st via Germany's Unholy Prophecies.
The material was recorded, mixed and mastered at the Moontower Studios of Javi Bastard (GRAVEYARD, AVULSED, NOMINON, TEITANBLOOD, etc.). The cover art was created by Javi Castaño.
Embedded In The Ossuary EP tracklisting:

'Entrance To The Ossuary' (Intro)
'Charnel House'
'Under Ragged Hoods'
'Rising Of Shadows'
'From Beyond The Bounds'
'Summoning The Sorcery Of Death'

'Charnel House':

Embedded In The Ossuary by MORBID FLESH

Montreal, QC melodic rock metal outfit KOLONY has premiered their new music video ‘Echoes’. The video is in promotion of Kolony’s new single, which will be on the band’s upcoming release, Sledge, slated to be released later this year.
"We are very proud to share this music video with you for our first single 'Echoes', which will be on our upcoming album Sledge. The song refers to the ideal of living in perfect unity with the earth, respecting both our human nature and the world we live in. Hope you like it and that you'll spread the word about Kolony. Thanks for your support." comments vocalist/guitarist, Reno Benoit.
To purchase the single visit Bandcamp.

Spanish melodic death metal band FREQUENCY will release their second album, The Flow, this month via Izkar Producciones. The 15-track album describes the course of a person's life, from birth until death.

The recording of this album took place this summer in Madrid at Sadman Studios. The album was mastered at Finnvox Finland by Mika Jussila and the artwork was created by Phlegeton Art Studio.
Tracklisting:

'Breathe'
'Conjunction Of Senses'
'Other Beigns'
'Fast Forward'
'Rebellion'
'Blizzard'
'Through The Glass'
'The Day After'
'Of A Thousand Suns'
'Spoil'
'Salvation'
'Sickness'
'Winter'
'Monument'
'Expire'

'Conjunction Of Senses':
Teaser:
More on Frequency at Facebook.

PAGAN have released the first track in their twelve volume Mix Of The Month series. The track is a dramatic overhaul of 2012's 'Burning'. The song was originally released as a stand alone single backed by remixes and a cover of the Scottish folk song 'Mary Mack'. This new version, dubbed Organ Grinder Mix, strips away the industrial crunch and death metal growl replacing them with a fresh Dub Step influenced arrangement.
"Musically this is what this series is all about", explained Pagan founder Michael Bilinski. "The best remixes take an element of an existing song and build an entirely new song around it."

Fans can expect tracks that bear little resemblance to the originals. "We may take an slow instrumental and add double bass drumming and guttural vocals. The exciting part is that these are remixes are being produced each month specifically for this. Even I don't know what we are going to do next."

You can expect new iterations of well known tracks like 'Bitter', which featured GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus, as well as lesser known songs from the bands early EP's.

Burning (Organ Grinder Mix) by Pagan

LOWBURN out of Finland, featuring past and present members of BATTLELORE are still working on a new full length album. BraveWords scribe Carl Begai recently spoke with frontman Tomi Mykkänen about the new record:
"The music's done, 13 songs recorded," says Mykkänen. "We'll release split-7" with CHURCH OF VOID this spring. The album material should be ready quite soon-ish so we'll start shopping around for possible label to work with. We're interested in an LP release and then maybe additional EP or longer CD with all the rest 12 songs."

Lowburn features present Battlelore members Henkka Vahvanen (drums) and Tomi Mykkänen (guitar/vocals), and former B'lore members Miika Kokkola (bass) and Tommi Havo (guitar).

Mykkänen comments: "I personally haven't been this enthusiastic about any bands in years. We started jamming with a few KYUSS songs and I can say that this is the path we will go further (stylistically, not playing Kyss' songs). The first song is a lot doomier but the second one is a lot more stoner rock. So, we'll see how it turns out. This is dead serious though; lots, lots of fun!"

Check out the tracks from the band's Soaring High EP debut below. For information on Lowburn go to this location.

All Life Long (digi-single) by Lowburn

Soaring High EP by Lowburn

Moribund Records has set April 15th as the release date for PACT’s second album, The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating The Threshold Of Night.

A press release describes the album: “The follow-up to 2012's breakthrough debut The Dragon Lineage Of Satan, Pact's The Infernal Hierarchies up-ratchets everything in the power-trio's already-loaded arsenal - militant songwriting, commanding execution, vortextural violence - once again proving that pure black metal is still a wellspring of diabolism and hatred if treated with respect and the right values. And just like its title, the nine-song The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating The Threshold Of Night offers the listener myriad sinister paths to glory. Fittingly, Pact's The Infernal Hierarchies, Penetrating The Threshold Of Night is also Moribund's monumental 200th release.”

Cover and tracklisting as follows:
‘The Hell Of Supernal’s
‘Baal-Zebub Lord Of The Flies’
‘The Great Serpent Of Tehom’
‘Firelord Andramelch’
‘Pactmaker Lucifuge’
‘Under The Eclipse Of Tiphareth’
‘The Witchmother Of Shade’s’
‘Asmodeus Beast Of Judgement’
‘The Howling Of Gamchicoth’

"The Infernal Hierarchies was recorded at our own studio, Nuclear Funeral," reveals the band of their new Moribund album. "It was mixed and mastered at Anthropicide Studios for a much better production than The Dragon Lineage release. It features written works by black magick practitioner and author E.A. Koetting. Our approach to writing extends far beyond the process of merely composing songs and reaches into worlds of occultism and dark spirituality. Our band plays the music that we want to hear. We present a work of true sonic black magick that will unleash the spirits of the infernal hierarchies from the depths of the subconscious."
In other Pact news, the band will be playing the Wrath Of The Goat III fest in Pittston, PA at The Rattler, set to take place September 19th-20th. Pact will be playing alongside fellow Moribund cults SUMMON and WORMREICH and other noteworthy bands such as KULT OV AZAZEL, MANTICORE, and MARTYRVORE.

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions has signed Illinois' extreme metallers HELMSPLITTER and will release their album Enraptured By Suffering on February 18th on CD and Digital formats.

A press release describes the band: “Hailing from Illinois, Helmsplitter are a molotov cocktail of black metal, sludge, death metal, crust punk, thrash, doom metal and hateful blues. This is extreme metal that takes you on a musical roller coaster through a world of misanthropy, pain, frustration and despair. Unpredictable, relentless and absurdly heavy, Helmsplitter manage to blend various styles together in a seamless, naturally flowing and unforced manner that is uncanny.”
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Scott Creekmore (BROKEN HOPE, NUM SKULL, LUPARA) and features Blakk (ANGELKILL, MORTUARY OATH, MASKIM) on vocals.

Enraptured By Suffering tracklisting:

‘Tyrants For Blood’
‘Panzram’
‘Aura Of Suicide’
‘Burden Of Our Existence’
‘Dance Of The Heretic’
‘World So Wicked’
‘Portrait Of Scars’
‘The Ground Bleeds Sorrow’
‘Forged In Fire’
‘Days Of Loathing’
‘Summon The Leeches’

‘Aura Of Suicide’:
To preorder on CD visit HorrorPainGoreDeath.com and for the digital preorder visit Bandcamp.

Italian gothic doom metal outfit RAVING SEASON have released a lyric video for their track 'My Last Murderer', lifted from their debut album, Amnio, out via My Kingdom Music.

The album, produced at Lemonhead studio by Federico Truzzi and mastered by Greg Chandler (ESOTERIC) at Priory Recording studio (UK), presents an intense, melodic, elegant, dark and atmospheric sound enriched with two front-women that reflect the soul of Amnio: the enchanted but firm Judith’s voice and the strong and intense Federica’s growl. They want to carry the listener through a journey that alternates between melancholy and anger for all fans of Draconian, early Anathema, My Dying Bride, Isis ... and they'll succeed in doing it.
Tracklisting:

'Turandot'
'Dusk Dance'
'My Last Murderer'
'Silent Lake'
'Restless Rain (il rumore della pioggia)'
'My Darkest Season (Pt. 2)'
'Testament'
'Suspanded In A Spiral'
'Amnio'

'My Last Murderer' lyric video:
'My Darkest Season (Pt. 2)':
Album preview:
More on Raving Season at Facebook.

London-based five-piece ZOAX, the project from Joe Copcutt (bassist for supergroup AXEWOUND and original bassist for RISE TO REMAIN) will release their debut EP, XIII, on February 17th via Siege Of Amida Records.
The EP was recorded and produced by Derya “Dez” Nagle of Black Bear Productions, and mastered at Spectre Mastering Studios.
XIII EP tracklisting:

'Bitter.Angry.Fake'
'Burn It To The Ground'
'High'
'Jekyll Meets Hyde'
'Mind Game'

'Burn It To The Ground' video:
'Bitter.Angry.Fake' video:

Xtreem Music has announced the addition to their ranks of one of Spain's pioneer death metal bands, APOSENTO. Formed back in 1990, they gained a good reputation with their demos in '91 and '93, followed in '97 by their first mini-CD, after which they entered a 15-year hiatus until 2012 when they reformed and released another mini-CD.
2013 was a busy year for the band, in which they concentrated on writing new songs for their long awaited debut full length album. And here it is!

24 years after their inception, Aposento has just finished the recordings for their self-titled album that shows a truly classic style of death metal clearly rooted in sounds of 90s US death metal like CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEICIDE, DEATH, MASSACRE.

With a heavy production and cover artwork by Igor Mugerza, Aposento is destined to become one of the most outstanding works in the Spanish extreme metal scene for 2014.

Aposento is scheduled for an April release and in the meantime you can listen to an exclusive advance of the track 'Hijos del Caos' (Sons of Chaos):

On March 18th, Ohio rocker ERIC MOORE and his band of GODZ are releasing a new box set titled Godzology on Gard Dog Records. The boxset will contain the first two releases of The Godz, and Nothing Is Sacred, in all new remastered forms and also will have support shows included. Live from Laredo Texas 1978 and The Agora in Cleveland Ohio from 1979. Also included in the set is a bonus DVD that is a bit of a mystery to this point, except for Eric to say it has a strong reunion nature about it. Pre-orders can be placed now at this location. Be sure to get one of the first 500 that will have some special stuff to it.

Swiss melodic metallers KIRK will release their sophomore studio album, Masquerade, procduced by Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69, UNISONIC, EDEN'S CURSE), on March 7 via Mausoleum Records. The cover artwork for the effort can be seen below.

Tracklisting:

'Devil’s Claw'
'Supersonic Speed'
'Masquerade'
'Eternity'
'Fight Or Die Music'
'Nothing Else But Lies'
'Time'
'Tragedy'
'Face In The Crowd'
'The End Of The Universe'
'Fallen Angel'

In 2010, Kirk got together again, with drummer Philipp Eichenberger from LEGENDA AUREA, to replace Vito Cecere. Drawing from a decade of honed skills and experience garnered as members of various internationally successful recording and touring outfits, Kirk rapidly morphed into a powerful melodic hard rocking monster. The writing came easy also, melodies flowed, riffs crunched and about a year later Kirk were ready, willing and able to enter the studio to record a brand-new album. They solicited the expert guidance of Dennis Ward, also the producer of Kirk‘s debut album The Final Dance, over a decade ago. The resulting album, Masquerade, will be released worldwide on the legendary heavy metal label Mausoleum Records.

Kirk are:

Thomi Rauch - Vocals (Decent Disaster)
Sammy Lasagni - Guitars (Godiva, Granit)
Daniel Pfister - Bass
Bruno Berger - Keyboards (In Your Face)
Philipp Eichenberger - Drums (Legenda Aurea)
Kirk to tour this March with THE POODLES:

March
14 - Milano, Italy - Blue Rose Bresso
15 - Torino, Italy - Audiodrome
16 - Nürnberg, Germany - Rockfabrik
17 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
18 - Augsburg, Germany - Spektrum
20 - Ludwigsburg, Germany - Rockfabrik
21 - Obermarchtal, Germany - Kreuz
22 - Oberhausen, Germany - Helvete
23 - München, Germany - Garage

Portland sludge slingers and recent Neurot family additions STONEBURNER are readying to unleash their forthcoming new full-length, Life Drawing. The follow-up to their 2012 debut, Sickness Will Pass, features nine rumbling odes of bottom-heavy hostility and emotional decay.

Recorded, mixed and produced by Fester at Haywire Studios, mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering - both in Portland - and swathed in the visually abrasive cover art of J.J. Shirey, Life Drawing promises to hurl Stoneburner's habitually chest-caving sludge mantras to entirely new realms of earth-deteriorating heaviness.

Comments the band in a collective statement: "Lyrically we've always focused on personal matters, and one theme that particularly seems to keep coming up on this record is the struggle to be a decent person in a world that keeps doing its best to cause you not to be. J.J. Shirey, who paints our album covers, is part of the Stoneburner brotherhood and we have absolute faith in him. We have him sit in on rehearsals, read our lyrics, and then we send him off to come up with whatever he thinks best suits the material. We feel that this piece absolutely captures the mood of trying to grow and heal, but constantly finding yourself falling back into the darkness caused by emotional and physical addictions. The world isn't always a happy, beautiful place, and neither is our music. Thanks to J.J. you're going to sense that before you even hear the album."
Life Drawing tracklisting:

'Some Can'
'Caged Bird'
'Drift'
'An Apology To A Friend In Need'
'Pale New Eyes'
'Giver Of Birth'
'Done'
'You Are The Worst'
'The Phoenix'

Stoneburner features a persuasive musical ancestry that winds through BURIED AT SEA, BURIED BLOOD, HEATHEN SHRINE and others. Named after a subterranean weapon from the novel Dune, Stoneburner deliver a wholly organic orchestration of captivating, crustified doom metal, their torrid hymns bathed in internal agony, anguish and despair.
To define Stoneburner, one need only look to the list of bands with whom they've shared the stage: YOB, SLEEP, EYEHATEGOD, NEUROSIS, BUZZOV-EN, WEEDEATER, SAINT VITUS, WATAIN, TRAGEDY, NOOTHGRUSH, GRAVES AT SEA, LORD DYING, DROP DEAD, WHITEHORSE, WIND HAND, BASTARD NOISE.

Life Drawing will be unleashed via Neurot Recordings later this spring. Stay tuned for further info.

Canadian metal legend, the mighty THOR, returns with Thunderstryke II, which will be released on February 1st via Rock Saviour Records (Part I was released by Rock Saviour Records in 2012).
The new album that includes both new and old but unreleased re-arranged tracks from the '70s and early '80s. Songs like 'Megaton Man Returns', 'We Live To Rock Again', 'Back For Blood' or 'When The Hammer Falls' surely will be well received by all fans of the classic and unique Thor style.

Rock Saviour Records recently released a limited 7" single titled 'Energy' - the title track (taken from the Thunderstryke II album) is coupled with two non-album tracks: 'Kings Of Muscle Rock' and 'Storm Warning'. The EP is limited to 555 copies.

West Midlands, UK-based old school thrashers REIGN OF FURY have started the search for a new bassist to replace Matt Earl, who resigned from the band in late 2013 due to family commitments.

The band, one of the brightest new talents amongst the UK’s emerging metal scene, played Bloodstock in 2012 following the release of their highly acclaimed debut LP World Detonation, and more recently hosted 2013’s Headbangers Balls tour with the likes of HATEBREED and XENTRIX,

With 2014 looking very exciting for the band with no less than eight festivals already booked, they also play host to the second Headbangers Balls event towards the end of the year. They are currently writing and recording material for their second studio album.

Andy Pilkington, Manager: “It’s been a big transition for us all since Matt left the group, and you can’t replace family, so we’re putting a lot of careful consideration into who we bring on board to fill his role. Reign Of Fury exists because of our passion for what we do, and the closeness of the people involved. We’re very excited to see what the auditions may bring”.

The band have requested video submissions for the first stage, with applicants asked to film themselves playing up to three Reign Of Fury songs. Closing date is March 1st.

All applications and queries: manager@reignoffury.co.uk

BATTLELORE frontman Tomi Mykkänen has checked in with the following update:

"Guess what guys and gals?! No, we are not returning just yet. But something I've promised to you a long time ago. If you have no idea about the past of the band go and check yourself. I just uploaded Battlelore's first demo, Warrior's Tale, from 1999. It's quite a different band; it's rough but still it's true Battlelore. Enjoy!"
The tracklist is as follows:

'The Ring Of Power'
'Black Legions'
'Raise Your Swords'
'Gift Of The Woods'

Musicians:
Jyri Vahvanen - guitars
Miika Kokkola - bass
Gorthaur - drums
Tommi Havo - raging vocals
Patrik Mennander - clean vocals

Guests:
Hanna Partanen - female vocals
Arto Mäkikuusela - keyboard

Battlelore went on hiatus in late 20111. They issued the following statement:

"Battlelore played their – for the time being – last show abroad in Belgium, at Metal Female Voices Festival IX, on Friday October 21st 2011. After that the band is going on an indefinite break from touring and making music. This is not the end, however, just a time-out to focus on other aspects of life and build up more creative energy for the future. The plan is to play one more show in Finland before the break to thank the Finnish fans for their support over the years. The details of the last show are not confirmed yet but will be announced as soon as the information comes.

There’s no drama behind the decision to go on break, just a need to take a step back and have a breather. We want to thank all of our associates and supporters for the help and work over the past nearly 12 years, we’ve been lucky to have met and worked with such wonderful people! The biggest thanks definitely go to our amazing fans, without whom none of this would’ve been possible. We are honoured to have met you all and are humbled by your generosity and support! You all have a place in our hearts and we will always cherish the amazing moments we’ve shared with you on and off stage.

Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo. (A star shines on the hour of our meeting.)"