Cult Italian black metal enigma HRIZG has announced the completion of Individualism, the band’s new album for Moribund Records. Individualism is Hrizg’s third album to date, and second for Moribund, who released the Anthems To Decrepitude in 2011.

As mainman Erun-Dagoth reveals, "All I can say is that Individualism is a kind of mixture between my two previous albums and the best effort I have done as a solo instrumentalist. As for lyrics, they are also more into the nihilist and misanthropic philosophy."
Projected released date by Moribund is in the vicinity of June/July 2014. Cover and tracklisting to be revealed imminently, but in the meantime, view a video of Erun-Dagoth recording drums for Individualism at Khazad-Dûm Studios:

HALESTORM drummer Arejay Hale tells Billboard.com that the band plans to "lock ourselves" in its current home base of Nashville, Tennesee "for the entire month of January and just write our asses off" to make a follow-up to 2012's "The Strange Case Of..."

"With all the touring we've been doing we really haven't had a chance to all sit down and write together as a band," Hale explains. "We've been writing constantly, kind of here and there on the road. It's kind of tough on the road because our days are pretty swamped and it's hard to get into that creative mentality. We're focused on performing and the shows and not quite as consumed with the writing process."

He adds: "Every once in awhile we'll write something and crudely record it on our phones real quick or something. It's more about writing and ideas rather than producing a song; I think we get a lot more done when we're all together. So we're gonna go in and have the mentality of 'It's crunch time. We've got to write an album.' The best thing we can do is what gets us excited at the time. We did that with ['The Strange Case Of…']. We weren't trying to top the (first) album or mimic it. We were trying to create something we were excited about. This album is going to be the same thing; we'll all sit down and if we get excited about something we're gonna chase it."

HALESTORM recently released "ReAniMate 2.0: The CoVerRs eP", a six-song EP features tracks originally written and recorded by JUDAS PRIEST, AC/DC, PAT BENATAR, FLEETWOOD MAC, MARILYN MANSON and DAFT PUNK.

"Mz. Hyde" is the latest single from "The Strange Case Of…", which has sold 300,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Singer Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio that the song was inspired by her own onstage persona. "When I was growing up, I was a very kind of shy, introverted kid, so I more or less had to invent something or pretend to be something or bring something else out of myself in order to be the rock star that I wanted to be onstage," she said. "So 'Mz. Hyde', you know, was definitely a fun way to look at that."

Guitarist Stefan Weinerhall of Swedish metallers FALCONER has issued the following update:

"The eighth [FALCONER] album, 'Black Moon Rising', is finally written.

"In January, we will once again enter Sonic Train studio [in Vargerg, Sweden] with [producer and KING DIAMOND guitarist] Andy La Rocque.

"Release date is set to June 2014.

"This time we have even made some preproductions of the material to test it out in advance.

Some titles are: 'There's A Crow On The Barrow', 'Age Of Runes', 'Scoundrel' and 'The Squire'.

"As said before, all songs are in English this time after the last album's one-off with only Swedish songs.

"It's for sure the most riff-based album in many years, and there are certainly some furious moments of brow raising on the album.

"If I would sum up the material with two words, they would be intensity and revitalization.

"We will keep it quite basic with no guest musicians and allmost no keyboards to keep it raw, natural and unpretentious.

"Can't wait to enter the studio and put the finishing touches on the songs!!

FALCONER's seventh album, "Armod", was released in June 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The CD featured 11 songs completely sung in Swedish and four bonus tracks that were said to be English versions of the bandmembers' favorite new songs.

"Armod" was once again recorded at KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque's Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden during December 2010 and January 2011.

SEVENTRAIN is the name of a new San Diego, California-based blues-influeced metal band which features former CAGE guitarist Eric Horton, drummer Joel Maitoza (24-7 SPYZ, SHOCKHEAD), guitarist Jef Poremba (6ONE9, COFFI BAKER), vocalist Jon Campos (DIVE BOMBER), and bassist Steve "Dino" Andino (TOURNIQUET).

SEVENTRAIN has been in the recording studio over the past several months with engineer Don Lithgow (BLINK 182, FINCH, NEW FOUND GLORY) and is getting ready to release its self-titled debut album in the U.S. and Europe in early 2014.

Drummer/producer Joel Maitoza, who is best known for his work with the New York-based heavy metal soul group 24-7 SPYZ, states: "It was a blast to just get back into the studio again with a bunch of old friends and bash out some tunes that replicates the music we all grew up on during the '80s and '90s. Just raw, stripped down, in-your-face, hard rock lovingly tracked in analog on 2-inch tape."

SEVENTRAIN is currently lining up print, radio and podcast interviews to promote the CD prior to hitting the road.

The first single, "Change", is available for streaming below.

Greg Rupp played bass on the SEVENTRAIN album before being replaced by Andino.

Fan-filmed video footage of the first two shows of this year's Christmas Metal Symphony European tour — which kicked off this past Friday night (December 13) in Trollhättan, Sweden and played again last night (Saturday, December 14) in Kristianstad, Sweden — can be seen below.

Magnum Opum Rockestra (under conductor Marcel Heijnen), a 32-strong orchestra accompanied by the METALFORCE 1 rock band and led by singers/vocalists which influenced the metal scene in recent years and decades, are taking part in the Christmas Metal Symphony European tour. Musical director of the production is Joost van den Broek. Singers taking part in the trek include Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT), Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN, UNISONIC) and Floor Jansen (REVAMP, NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER).

It is a well-known fact in the world of international metal fans that Tilburg in The Netherlands was host of this impressive metal show for two years. As a direct result of the succes of these shows, the requests for bringing it to the rest of Europe kept growing. Nowthe time is right to fulfill these wishes and bring this monster on the road. Christmas Metal Symphony comes with six fantastic international metal vocalists, a six-piece metal band with musicians from bands like EPICA, AFTER FOREVER and STREAM OF PASSION and an impressive 32-piece symphonic orchestra. The heavy backbone of the show is METALFORCE 1. These musicians were handpicked by Joost van den Broek and these Santa's Little Helpers contain some of the finest metal artists:

* Marcel Coenen (SUN CAGED) - Guitar* Johan Van Stratum (STREAM OF PASSION) - Bass* Abel Carnizales (LABIRINTHO) - Guitar* Jeffrey Revet (STREAM OF PASSION) - Keyboards* Koen Herfst (EPICA) - Drums* Joost Van Den Broek (AFTER FOREVER) - Keyboards Over the last 35 years of metalmusic, bands have written many concept albums and concept shows; great stories and fantastic songs. The team of Christmas Metal Symphony therefore decided that with the impressive heritage of all these great metal songs ever written, it would be a shame not to use them. So for this reason you can expect performances of your all time favorite metal songs, by some of the best international artists who are part of that great metal history themselves. All of this in a great Christmas and metal setting and brought to you as a full metal show; loud and extremely powerful… just like the doctor ordered! Kristianstad fan-filmed video footage:

Having mauled the planet for over 25 years through an enormous arsenal of releases and widespread touring, Northwestern Italy's unstoppable hardcore/grind masters CRIPPLE BASTARDS begin their next full-on sonic attack now, as Relapse Records prepares to dispatch the band's new album in early 2014. Two and a half decades after their conception, CRIPPLE BASTARDS reign as Italy's most hostile and aggressive musical unit in existence, and are ready to prove it all over again with their newly completed debut LP for Relapse, the monstrous "Nero In Metastasi". Packing some of their most dense and metallic destruction into eighteen new tracks harnessed under the thirty-seven-minute mark, the album was recorded at the infamous Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström (ARCH ENEMY, AT THE GATES, DARK TRANQUILLITY). While retaining the riotous old-school hatecore attributes they've carried forth since formation, yet elevating their delivery to put them on par with the most cutting-edge bands in the grindcore genre, "Nero In Metastasi" is the next major movement in CRIPPLE BASTARDS' steadfast campaign of extreme auditory revolution. A video teaser for "Nero In Metastasi" can be seen below.

"Nero In Metastasi" will be released on CD, LP and digital formats via Relapse in North America on February 18, preceded by a February 14 street date in Germany/Benelux, and February 17 in the UK. Precursory warning shots from the album will be firing into the population as a New Year of degradation ensues, among widespread CRIPPLE BASTARDS tour actions, including the band's return to the U.S. on a full tour surrounding their performance at Maryland Deathfest 2014 and more. Focusing on human annihilation and existential decay and taking the NAPALM DEATH/EXTREME NOISE TERROR foundation onward with brutalizing breakdowns, guttural vocal overthrows, blazing hardcore attacks and spastic dementia ascendant to that of PHOBIA, BIRDFLESH, MAGRUDERGRIND, ASSÜCK and many others, CRIPPLE BASTARDS continues to terrorize the planet with their grind/hardcore ferocity since their 1988 formation, with literally dozens of EPs, LP's, demos, split releases and compilation contributions under the banners of Deep Six, Deathvomit, Selfmadegod, Rhetoric, Feto, HG Fact, Obscene and countless others, among nonstop DIY/demo releases lying in their wake. CRIPPLE BASTARDS has proven equally as effective on the road, brutalizing countless countries on all of the generally habitable continents on the planet since 1992, the current lineup alone having played more than three hundred shows including three full-length tours. 2010 saw the band sign Relapse Records, who in 2012 released "Senza Impronte", a seven-inch EP bearing fifteen new tracks showcasing the band's constant sense of evolution in their sound. The 2008-2012 touring schedule featured insane performances at Neurotic Deathfest, Brutal Assault, Obscene Extreme, Maryland Deathfest and a full headlining Brazilian tour. "Nero In Metastasi" track listing:

01. Malato Terminale02. Fumo Passivo03. Strage Di Ostacoli04. Regime Artificiale05. Lapide Rimossa06. Promo-Parassita07. Soggetto Leucemico08. Passi Falsi09. Occhi Trapiantati10. Anima in Disgregazione11. Senza Impronte12. Nemico A Terra13. L'apice Estremo14. Sconfitto Di Ritorno15. Agonia Di Un Rientro Forzato16. Marcatori Positivi17. Splendore E Tenebra18. Morti Asintomatiche

French-Bulgarian progressive extreme metal duo WE ALL DIE (LAUGHING), will release their debut, Thoughtscanning, on January 14t via Kaotoxin Records. We All Die (Laughing) features vocalist-extraordinaire Arno Strobl (CARNIVAL IN COAL, 6:33) and multi-talented musician and composer Déhà (C.O.A.G., MALADIE).

We All Die (Laughing) appeared for the first time as guest musicians on EYE OF SOLITUDE's digital EP The Deceit. This appearance - which was just reissued as a bonus track on Eye Of Solitude's newest release Canto III - was merely a hint of the duo's combined genius. The meeting of these two boundary-pushing brains resulted in a one-track, 33-minute opus explores a multiverse of musical possibilities and offers a challenging, yet highly satisfying experience. The limited-edition first pressing of Thoughtscanning will feature a bonus cover of AMY WINEHOUSE's ‘Back To Black’.
Thoughtscanning was recorded at Déhà's HH Studio, with mixing and mastering duties handled by El Mobo at Conkrete studios (GOROD, OTARGOS). The artwork for the album was drawn by underground artist Maxime Taccardi (NECROPHAGIA, AGATHOCLES, C.O.A.G.).

Thoughtscanning will be available as a limited edition (1,000 copies) deluxe DigiSleeve CD, with the first press featuring an exclusive bonus track, a cover version of Amy Winehouse's ‘Back To Black. A full line of merchandising, including t-shirts, girlie t-shirts and hooded sweat-shirts will be available alone or as specially priced bundles. The artwork for the merchandise pays homage to (in)famous Mayhem De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas merch with a MAYHEM-inspired WAD(L) logo on front (designed by Poups/Undead Kreation (SAVAGE ANNIHILATION)) and the band's picture with KTXN on the back.
Trailer below:
Preorders for the album are being taken at this location.

While RED FANG wrap their way across the US on their autumn tour, the group are premiering the video for 'Blood Like Cream' - the first single off their new album Whales And Leeches (Relapse).

Actor/comedian Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Saturday Night Live) joins in the fun with the beer-loving Portland-based band. Watch the raucous clip, directed by Whitey McConnaughy, courtesy of Rolling Stone, below:
Red Fang will make their national, late-night television debut on The Late Show With David Letterman on Friday, January 10th (11:35/10:35 PM, CT) and perform 'Blood Like Cream'.

"I love Red Fang and I had the best time doing the video,” says Fred Armisen. “It was fun for me to do and Whitey was a total pleasure to work with, too."

“In keeping with a long tradition dating back to 2007, we have made another epic, hilarious video with Whitey McConnaughy, the content of which is completely unrelated to the lyrical content of the song,” explains the band’s bassist/vocalist Aaron Beam. “This song is about the stress of balancing a touring lifestyle with having a family back home, but who wants to see a video about that? BORING! Instead, we have a video featuring lots of blood, beer, and exercise - some of us did more running in this video that we’ve done the whole year to date. Also, Fred Armisen is in this one and he really steals the show. I thought I was a bad actor before, but after working with him, I see I cannot even qualify for such a high distinction as ‘bad.’ We hope everyone has as much fun watching it as we had making it!!”

More on Red Fang, including their live itinerary, at this location.

Fan-filmed video footage of former HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske performing a couple of the band's classic songs at the opening show of the Christmas Metal Symphony European tour — which kicked off last night (Friday, December 13) in Trollhättan, Sweden — can be seen below.

In a recent interview with Myglobalmind, Kiske stated about his time with HELLOWEEN: "There is just one thing I find very sad and that is I think that the HELLOWEEN of the 'Keeper Of The Seven Keys' years with [guitarist/vocalist] Kai Hansen, [drummer] Ingo [Schwichtenberg]… you know, the HELLOWEEN of the 'Keeper' time was very short-lived. I think we just started and then it was over. I think we should have done at least two more records. That's the thing I find really sad. Bands like IRON MAIDEN, they've gone full circle, you know. The have had their peak and they made their best records, they have told the story. They have said everything that they can say musically, in my opinion. HELLOWEEN… I mean, HELLOWEEN of the 'Keeper' time, because today's HELLOWEEN is a different band… I think the HELLOWEEN of that era, we never really said everything we had to say artistically, and that's very sad."

Magnum Opum Rockestra (under conductor Marcel Heijnen), a 32-strong orchestra accompanied by the METALFORCE 1 rock band and led by singers/vocalists which influenced the metal scene in recent years and decades, are taking part in the Christmas Metal Symphony European tour. Musical director of the production is Joost van den Broek. Other singers taking part in the trek include Joey Belladonna (ANTHRAX), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), Udo Dirkschneider (U.D.O., ex-ACCEPT) and Floor Jansen (REVAMP, NIGHTWISH, AFTER FOREVER).

Fan-filmed video footage of SCAR THE MARTYR's December 14 performance in Manchester, England can be seen below.

SCAR THE MARTYR is the new band led by former SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison. The group's self-titled debut album sold around 3,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 129 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was made available on October 1 via Roadrunner Records.

In addition to Jordison and lead vocalist Henry Derek Bonner (BLOOD PROMISE), SCAR THE MARTYR's current touring lineup features guitarists Jed Simon (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) and Kris Norris (DARKEST HOUR), keyboardist Joey Blush and bassist Kyle Konkiel (IN THIS MOMENT).

SLIPKNOT announced on Thursday (December 12) that it had parted ways with Jordison, one of the band's founding members and key songwriters. The group posted a statement at its web site which read, "It is with great pain but quiet respect that, for personal reasons, Joey Jordison and SLIPKNOT are parting ways. We all wish Joey the best in whatever his future holds. We understand that many of you will want to know how and why this has come to be, and we will do our best to respond to these questions in the near future." The statement added, "It is our love for all of you, as well as for the music we create, that spurs us to continue on and move forward with our plans for releasing new material in the next year. We hope that all of you will come to understand this, and we appreciate your continued support while we plan the next phase of the future of SLIPKNOT."

SLIPKNOT is slated to begin work on a new album in 2014, the band's first since the 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray.

On November 12, Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with guitarist Mick Box of progressive rockers URIAH HEEP before the band's concert in Hamburg, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.

Originally founded by Mick Box in 1969, URIAH HEEP is truly one of the pivotal classic acts that helped define the rock sound and an era. Part of the fabled "Big Four" alongside LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE, the HEEP story still has a long way to go. With classic songs like "Lady In Black", "Gypsy", "Easy Livin'" and "Stealin'" full of ambition, sophisticated writing, memorable tunes and, of course, the vocals — the five-part harmonies were a clear influence on the operatics of QUEEN.

URIAH HEEP was the first Western rock band to perform in Russia, they have headlined at stadiums worldwide: truly they've ensured their place at rock's top table. With Mick Box always at the helm, URIAH HEEP tours all over the world and is one of music's most exciting and reliable live acts.

In a more-than-40-year career, URIAH HEEP has released 23 studio albums and sold more than 40 million units; the most recent release was 2011's "Into The Wild".

Female fronted symphonic metallers DIVINO DISTURBO have released the official video for the single ‘Wolf Song’.

The video was directed by Fernando Ruíz Santiago and presents the darkest and smartest side of the band.

In words of Divino Disturbo: “The mix of minor tonalities represents the feeling aroused in the people by the wolf, the major ones, the feeling that awakens in us, as nature and particularly wolf lovers. We thank Carlos Sanz for his unselfishly assistance and we are pleased because he wanted to work with us regarding scenes approaching to the wolves.”

For more info visit Facebook.

New York City's MARTYRD has released their new single and video, 'Faceless'. Produced at Westfall Recording Company with engineers Anthony Lopardo and Raymond Marte, 'Faceless' is "a brutal whiplash of power and precision."
"'Faceless' is my new favorite," explains guitarist Michael Andreas. "We had so much fun writing, recording, and listening to it. We've been writing a ton of new material since we released The Mortal Coil, but 'Faceless' just sort of came together on its own, very quick. Its no-nonsense - it comes in pounding right off the bat, and then makes a statement with that heavy verse riff."

"There’s definitely a lot of heaviness, in fact, I think Aaron (Pollard, vocalist) in particular has never sounded so heavy. But there’s also harmony and melody - that chorus is just asking you to sing along. This song is what Martyrd’s all about; it’s heavy and pounding and aggressive, but also melodic and kind of catchy. It’s just really fun to play and listen to. We can’t wait to take it out on the road and really see our friends and fans get into it!”
"We were worried about shooting a video," adds Andreas. "It’s a chance for us to reach so many more people at once than we can live, but we knew it had to have the same intensity and excitement that our live show does. We wanted to make sure that there were not going to be any compromises in who we are and what we deliver. Anthony Lopardo (at Westfall Recording Company) has worked with us since The Mortal Coil, and actually did the tracking for 'Faceless' as well. When he showed us the video work that he had done, we knew that he was the right choice. And he definitely did not disappoint.”

"The shoot itself was a lot of work, but it was a blast also. We spent the whole day filming in this dark, grimy warehouse. Actually, the place had giant windows that we spent about two hours covering with tarps, to make sure the place stayed dark and grimy! And Anthony was amazing throughout the whole thing, I don’t think there is anyone else who could have helped us accomplish what we did, and still had so much fun doing it. And we’re completely stoked on the finished product - we want every single living human to see it, at least twice.”

Germany's THE INTERSPHERE will release their new album, Relations In The Unseen, on March 7th in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, March 10th in the UK/Europe and March 18th in North America.

Almost two years after the surprising German chart success of Hold On, Liberty!, The Intersphere return with a brand new studio album. And instead of relying on formulas or formats, the band has relied completely on their hands and hearts. That being said, The Intersphere are pushing the boundaries of rock music towards new horizons with a pace and precision seldom found in German bands in the last few years. Under the production acumen of singer/guitarist Christoph Hessler and co-producer/mixer Moritz Enders, this fourth release in The Intersphere discography was recorded together with Wolfgang Manns at Toolhouse Studios.

"Relations In The Unseen is not a concept album, but there is definitely a purveying train of thought overall. We all communicate, not only directly, but also indirectly through gestures, body language, thoughts and connections that are unconscious at first," says Christoph Hessler. "Lyrically, the album concentrates on these unconscious things that influence our feelings, thoughts and reactions. Every day we're offered countless examples of this - invisible, unknown - over distances, times and dimensions."



With the March 18th release of Relations In The Unseen, The Intersphere have succeeded at a return to self - and to the really important things in music. A peek into the new material via the title track 'Relations In The Unseen' is available via a free download of the track at this location.

More on the band, including their live itinerary, at Facebook.

Irish thrash outfit GAMA BOMB have released a horror movie-themed music video for their album track ‘Backwards Bible’. The video was shot on location in Northern Ireland at the 16th century Narrow Water Castle near the band’s town of origin, Newry. It was directed by Martin Busch, who has created viral videos for the likes of Guinness and Adidas.
The video takes inspiration from Hammer Horror movies of the 1960s, in particular the style and narrative of 1968 Christopher Lee classic The Devil Rides Out.
“It’s not often you get to spend an entire day running around a castle full of medieval weapons and tapestries and other cool stuff like that – and I think it’d easily pass as a haunted castle. There were whole wings of the place people felt a bit creeped out by during the shoot,” says Gama Bomb frontman Philly Byrne.

“I think this video throws down the gauntlet to other metal bands – it’s a challenge to them: we’re saying, step up and make something as good as this. We made a whole horror movie in three-and-a-half minutes –you’ve got no excuse to shoot a lazy video in an old warehouse. This is proof that if you take control of an idea and work really hard you can do amazing things on a limited budget. The 'Backwards Bible' video was a labour of love for us: we wrote and produced it ourselves, pulling in favours from some very talented people to make it look so amazing.”

Gama Bomb’s fourth album, The Terror Tapes, was released in spring by AFM Records. Their previous LP, 2009’s Tales from the Grave in Space, was the first full length album ever to be offered as a free download by a signed band.
Tour dates (with SSS, Divine Chaos, Visceral Attack):

January
28 - The Globe - Cardiff, Wales
29 - Fibbers - York, England
30 - Audio - Glasgow, Scotland
31 - The Kazimier - Liverpool, England

February
1 - The Underworld - London, England
2 - Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar - Brighton, England

Quality fan-filmed video footage of WATAIN's December 13 performance at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting at Effenaar in Eindhoven, The Netherlands can be seen below.

WATAIN's fifth full-length, "The Wild Hunt", which sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was released on August 19 in Europe and August 20 in USA via the band's own label His Master's Noise through Century Media Records.

Produced once again by Tore Stjerna at his Necromorbus studio in Alvik, Sweden, "The Wild Hunt" is a sonic and lyrical tour-de-force that explores WATAIN's roots, such as BATHORY and DISSECTION, while also remaining truly unique. Having lost none of their integrity, WATAIN continues to push the boundaries of the scene with their fifth full-length, refusing to compromise their sound and vision. Amid the tracks teeming with the band's classic sound, "The Wild Hunt" also features clean vocals (a first for the trio!) which, as Erik Danielsson puts it, "is just us being brutally personal and honest. It shows another important facet of the WATAIN world."

Executed in oil and mixed materials, the cover of "The Wild Hunt" was created by Zbigniew M Bielak, the very same artist who was responsible for the "Lawless Darkness" artwork. The piece depicts one of the inmost shrines of WATAIN's temple. As on every classic still life, each object has a significant meaning, while each song of the album is also connected to an object.

Massacre Records has announced the signing of Finland-based metal act THYRIEN.
Once upon a time, in 2005 to be precise, Thyrien was forged in the cold and harsh wastelands of Finland. In the beginning it was only a way to express music for Oskari and Jere, but later on a few other members appeared to strengthen the ranks of Thyrien. After a while they noticed that the new members weren't that into working as a band so few lineup changes were to be made.

The journey was a bit complicated in the beginning, but after a while they figured everything out and Valtteri and Sakari Martikainen as well as Oskar Ketola completed the lineup of Thyrien.

Now let us speak about the band's musical style, shall we? Are you a fan of folk metal, death metal and black metal? Thyrien got you covered and are offering you a fresh sip of mead without forgetting the traditions of folk metal. The guys focus on bringing you a melodic and brutal atmosphere with catchy drumming and grim vocals.

Their upcoming debut album, Hymns Of The Mortals - Songs From The North, is expected to be released on January 24th.
Thyrien lineup:

Oskari Koivisto - Guitar, Vocals
Valtteri Martikainen - Lead Guitar
Sakari Martikainen - Drums
Jere Sjögren - Bass, Backing Vocals
Oskar Ketola - Keyboards (Live)

More on Thyrien at Facebook.

VOLBEAT and guest KING DIAMOND are among the nominees for Best Metal Performance for the track 'Room 24' in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
The heavy metal icon King Diamond had this to say: "Thank you to everyone involved with voting. This is a great way to come back from the dead…literally."

Other nominees for the 56th annual Grammy Awards include METALLICA, LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, DREAM THEATER, ANTHRAX and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE.
The nominees in the Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category include:

ANTHRAX - 'T.N.T.'
BLACK SABBATH - 'God Is Dead?'
DREAM THEATER - 'The Enemy Inside'
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - 'In Due Time'
VOLBEAT feat. King Diamond - 'Room 24'

LED ZEPPELIN's ‘Kashmir (Live)’ also earned Best Rock Performance while Zep's Celebration Day and Black Sabbath's 13 earned Best Rock Album. Sabbath's ‘God Is Dead?' also gave Black Sabbath a nod in the Best Rock Song category. METALLICA's Through The Never received a nomination in the Best Recording Package and ALICE IN CHAINS' The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here was chosen for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The Grammy Awards will air live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on CBS on Sunday, January 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

SPV/Steamhammer will release the new BATTLEAXE album, Heavy Metal Sanctuary, on February 21st in Germany, February 24th in Europe and March 4th in North America as a digipak version and download.
Heavy Metal Sanctuary was recorded at Trinity Heights/Pillarbox/Sound Inc Studios in Newcastle upon Tyne, England and was mixed and mastered by Fred Purser (ex-TYGERS OF PAN TANG).
Tracklisting:

'Heavy Metal Sanctuary'
'Shock And Awe'
'Hail To The King'
'Rebel With A Cause'
'Give It More'
'Too Hot For Hell'
'Revolution'
'A Prelude To Battle'
'The Legions Unite'
'Spirits Of The Fallen'
'Devil Calls'
'Kingdom Come'
'Romeo'

Album teaser:
'Heavy Metal Sanctuary' video:
The current lineup consists of the original members Dave King (vocals) and Brian Smith (bass) as well as Mick Percy (guitar) and Paul AT Kinson (drums).
The band adds: "We can hardly believe that the task is finally over, the album that we never thought that we would complete is finally finished! It has been a long hard road against almost impossible odds and we hope that everyone out there are as pleased with the result as we are. If it were not for the devotion of all our fans old and new we probably wouldn't be here today. It is you guys who resurrected this band! The songs are total Battleaxe and the production is better than we could have hoped for with a limited budget.
Thanks to Fred Purser and the guys in the band we have got this thing sounding massive! Many thanks to Olly and SPV for making the release of this album possible and for making the 21st century version of Battleaxe become a reality!"

Greece's ELYSION will release their new album, Someplace Better, on January 24th via Massacre Records. The album will be available as jewel case CD, limited digipak with two exclusive bonus tracks as well as digital download.

Someplace Better was produced by Mark Adrian at ARTemis Studios in Athens, Greece, mixed by Dan Certa and mastered by David Collins (BLACK SABBATH, ALICE COOPER, MÖTLEY CRÜE).

Gustavo Sazes, who has worked with bands like ARCH ENEMY and MORBID ANGEL, is responsible for the cover artwork.
Tracklisting:

'Made Of Lies'
'Someplace Better'
'Fairytale'
'The Promise'
'Our Fate'
'Awake'
'What Lies Beneath'
'Transparent'
'Breakfree'
'In Despair'
'Changing'
'Made Of Lies' (Instrumental) (Digipak Bonus Track)
'Someplace Better' (Instrumental) (Digipak Bonus Track)

More on Elysion at Facebook.

On their Jamie King-produced debut album, Evil Tongues, South Carolina's EVERTHRONE take their progressive metal sound and underscore it with a synth-driven rhythmic thrust that was so prevalent during the golden age of darkwave in the '80s.
The marriage of forward-thinking heavy metal arrangements and synth-pop might sound a bit risky, but not only does Everthrone make the unlikely stylistic combination work, they also make it all feel seamless and natural. In an age of fly-by-night, Internet hype-driven metal acts, Everthrone march to the beat of their own drummer, giving hope to those who care more about songwriting mastery than the flavor of the week.

Evil Tongues was released as part of Divebomb Records Bootcamp Series, which provides an outlet for independent bands to get their previously “Do It Yourself” releases the attention they deserve. This is new blood for the new breed. The tracklisting is as follows:

'Silent'
'Remnants'
'The Snake And The Lamb'
'Cast Out'
'I Am Usurper'
'Hope Behind Our Eyes'
'Euphoria'
'Gilded Throat'
'Send Me An Angel'

Ireland’s STORMZONE performed at the Hard Rock Hell festival in Wales, UK last month and the band has now uploaded their full 40-minute set from the show.



This will give metal fans in the UK a taste of what to expect when Stormzone supports SAXON on their three re-scheduled shows in February.

February
10 – Northampton, UK – Roadmender
11 – Buckley, UK – Tivoli
15 – Preston, UK – 53 Degrees

For more info visit Facebook.

Serbian deathrashers INFEST have inked a deal with Xtreem Music for the release of their upcoming fourth album. During the ten years of existence of Infest, the band has been becoming one of the leading extreme metal acts in their own country by releasing two demos, one EP and three albums and playing countless shows not only in their homeland, but also abroad.
The music of Infest could be described as a violent, fast and intense blend of thrash and death metal with influences that might come from bands like MERCILESS, DARK ANGEL, SEPULTURA, MAGNUS, SLAYER… The fourth album of the band will be entitled Clod Blood War and will be recorded during January 2014 for its release in April, being followed by a European tour in May, where Infest will spread their merciless deathrash all over the continent.

Artwork, track list and an advance track of the new album will be posted in February.

Third album Everlasting Genocide full stream below:
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In the summer of 2013, DIRTWRENCH was created by five guys from different Danish bands — including MEMORIAL, INBREEDING REDNECKS and THE SKAVANGERS — with the wish to play old-school metal the way it sounded in the early '90s: no produced, fast kick-drum, death-metal B.S. here! Just metal, reeking of love for bands such as PANTERA, DOWN, ENTOMBED and THE BURNING.

DIRTWRENCH recorded its first demo, "An Old Fashion Shot To The Nutsack", in October 2013 with producer Jacob Bredahl (ex-HATESPHERE, LAST MILE, THE KANDIDATE) at his Dead Rat Studio in Aarhus, Denmark.

"An Old Fashion Shot To The Nutsack" track listing:

01. Hellbound Revolution Anthem 02. Ten Seconds03. Breaking The Walls04. Five Cents

You can stream the entire demo at this location.

DIRTWRENCH is:

Dennis Petersen - VocalsKurt Sørensen - GuitarMorten Jacobsen - GuitarRicky Christensen - DrumsRune Sinnbeck - Bass

"Distant Thing", the new video from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian's collaborative jazz-infused album "Jazz-iz Christ", can be seen below.

Released on July 23, "Jazz-iz Christ" is Serj's brainchild, but truly is a collaborative effort between many musicians that Tankian curated to be part of the group and self-titled album. Among others, there are considerable contributions from renowned pianist Tigran Hamasyan, flautist Valeri Tolstov, and trumpet player Tom Duprey. Additional performances from Stewart Copeland and actor/musician Davis Alpay and Vincent Pedulla make for a very unique collaboration. The 15 tracks that comprise "Jazz-iz Christ", a mostly instrumental effort except for four songs, are an amalgam of progressive jazz, electronic, ethnic and even rock elements, displaying a unique presentation of the genre itself.

"Jazz-iz Christ" was released through Serj's own Serjical Strike Records. Also available is "Orca", Tankian's first true symphony.

Upon completion of SYSTEM OF A DOWN's summer touring in August, Tankian stayed in Europe until the commencement of his own solo orchestral tour dates that began on September 19 in Kiev, Ukraine. The concert program included all four acts of "Orca", but also incorporated performances of many songs from "Elect The Dead Symphony", which achieved critical and commercial success upon its initial release and tour in 2010.

"Loner", the new video from Münster, Germany-based rockers EAT THE GUN, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's fourth studio album, "Stripped To The Bone", which was released on November 25 via Steamhammer/SPV.

"Stripped To The Bone" track listing:

01. At The End Of The Day02. Loner03. Wake Me Up04. Addiction05. Apocalyptic Blues06. Bad Memories07. Made Of Stone08. Won't Let You Down09. Hot Blood10. Small Dose Of Death

The album was released as a digipak with a fold-out poster, on white vinyl and as a digital download.

Formed in 2002, the trio, consisting of Hendrik Wippermann (vocals, guitar), Gereon Homann (drums) and new addition Peter Bergmüller (bass), has released the studio albums "Cross Your Fingers" (2006), "Super Pursuit Mode Aggressive Thrash Distortion" (2009) and "Runner" (2011) and made the top ten of the German DJ Metal/Rock chart for eight weeks in 2009 and the Top 20 of the American college radio chart in 2011. The band has played more than 650 concerts to date, inspiring fans at the Taubertal Festival, the Big Day Out and the Wacken Open Air and appearing alongside acts such as DIE TOTEN HOSEN, HIM, DANKO JONES, DUFF MCKAGAN's LOADED, DONOTS, MUSTASCH, BACKYARD BABIES and HARDCORE SUPERSTAR.

Fan-filmed video footage of singer Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, DIO DISCIPLES) performing on December 6 at Festival Siembra y Lucha in Costa Rica can be seen below.

In a recent interview with J. Thorn, Owens was asked what it is like playing in DIO DISCIPLES, which pays tribute to legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL) and is fully supported by Dio's widow/manager, Wendy. "It's an honor," Tim said. "It's emotional every night. I feel it every time I step on the stage. There's something special about playing with Ronnie's bandmates and I was his friend. Wendy is such a great person and Ronnie was a great person, so it feels even more special. It's really an honor to be able to do it."

"Play My Game", the first solo album from Owens, landed at position No. 66 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200. The CD was released via SPV/Steamhammer.

Belgium thrash metallers PREMATORY have finished working on Corrupting Influence, their first full-length album that will see the light in the middle 2014 by Italian label Punishment 18 Records. The band has now released two new songs, ‘Sentenced For Life’ and ‘Corrupting Influence’.

Corrupting Influence tracklisting:

‘Sledgehammer’
‘Insignificance’
‘Down The Drain’
‘Hold My Breath’
‘Toxic Experiment’
‘Lies Upon Lies’
‘Grave Raiser’
‘Sentenced For Life’
‘Peace?!’
‘Bad Blood’
‘Corrupting Influce’

The CD is currently being recorded. Meanwhile, on Saturday, November 23rd the band will support HAVOK, ANGELUS APATRIDA and SAVAGE MESSIAH at JH Nootuitgang in Edegem.

For more info visit Facebook.

Moribund Records has announced March 4th, 2014 as the release date for PROFEZIA’s Oracolo Suicida. The long-running Italian metallers’ first album for Moribund and third overall, Oracolo Suicida displays Profezia as masters of high drama and windswept mysticism, evincing the moonlit melancholy so inherent to classic Italian black metal (mainman Kvasir also doubles in Moribund cult ABHOR) yet here led by eerily beautiful violin.

Set to be released in a luxury digipack, the cover and tracklisting are as follows:
‘Oracolo Suicida’
‘Sacra Tempesta’
‘Senza Il Giorno’
‘Futuro Rivelato’
‘Il Gioco Del Parassita’
‘Nato Morto’

Video ‘Sacra Tempesta’: