FREYA, the Syracuse, New York-based band featuring EARTH CRISIS frontman Karl Buechner, has entered More Sound Studios with producer Jason "Jocko" Randall (THE RED DEATH, IF HOPE DIES) to begin recording its new album, "Paragon of The Crucible", for an early 2012 release. The follow-up to 2010's "All Hail The End" will feature lyrics "about how after the cataclysm, people will create new mythologies to explain the post-apocalyptic landscape, dealing a lot with mans ability to live in harmony with the Earth and each other," according to a press release. The CD cover arwork will be handled by the group's guitarist Brendon Flynn.

A pre-production/demo version of the new FREYA song "The Adversary" can be streamed on the band's Facebook page.

Members of BLACK SABBATH, DISTURBED, ALICE IN CHAINS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and MACHINE HEAD took part in a massive gathering last night (Wednesday, December 14) at the Key Club in Hollywood, California to help celebrate the life and music of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) as part of this year's Dimebash.

Fan-filmed video footage of some of the performances can be seen below.

The Key Club in Hollywood was scheduled to play host to all-star jams featuring the following musicians:

* Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, DIO DISCIPLES)
* Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL)
* Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
* David Draiman (DISTURBED)
* Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES)
* Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN)
* Mike Muir (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)
* Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW)
* John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
* Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD)
* Warren DeMartini (RATT)
* Ben Harper
* Chris Howorth (IN THIS MOMENT)
* Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)
* Doug Pinnick (KING'S X)
* James Lomenzo (WHITE LION, MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)
* Ginger Fish (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE)
* Gene Hoglan (FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING)

The whole shebang was emceed by "That Metal Show"'s Eddie Trunk and his co-horts, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. In addition, kicking off the event was KILL DEVIL HILL, the band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals. Also on deck was DIO DISCIPLES — the new project featuring former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar), Scott Warren (keyboards) and Rudy Sarzo alongside singers Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and Toby Jepson (LITTLE ANGELS, GUN) — with a special appearance by Glenn Hughes (BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION).

100% of proceeds from the event will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund. Additionally, attendees will be able to land some limited-edition merchandise and purchase Monster Energy cocktail drink specials with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the cause as well.

When asked about the success of last year's Dimebash, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney said in a 2010 interview, "It was amazing — I mean, overwhelmingly amazing. It sold out in ten days. When we put the tickets up [for sale], we didn't even have a lineup, so it was kind of scary putting it together. But just knowing that everybody would come together in [Dimebag's] honor was enough... I think people want it, people wanna remember . . . I mean, it was a day and a half, or two days before [this year's Dimebash] that [some of the musicians taking part in the event] didn't even know what songs [they would be] playing yet. We were scrambling to get everything together. I was just amazed that within the first two days how many people committed and said, 'Yeah, I'm in.' It was amazing."

On November 5, 2010, Haney presented a donation of over ten thousand dollars raised from Dimebash 2010 to Wendy Dio in Studio City, California for the Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, a charity in memory of Ronnie James Dio to help find a cure for stomach cancer, which took his life in May of 2010.

SHINING (Norway; not to be confused with the Swedish extreme metal act), TAAKE, VREID and INSENSE have been nominated in the "Metal" category at the 40th annual Spellemann awards (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show will be held Saturday, January 14 at Folketeateret in Oslo, Norway and will be broadcast live on the Norwegian channel NRK1.

The nominees in the "Metal" category are as follows:

* INSENSE - "Burn In Beautiful Fire"
* SHINING - "Live Blackjazz"
* TAAKE - "Noregs Vaapen"
* VREID - "V"
* ÅRABROT - "Solar Anus"

Last year's Spellemann award in the "Metal" category went to ENSLAVED for the band's "Axioma Ethica Odini" album.

Virginia crossover thrash metal band MUNICIPAL WASTE has completed work on its fifth studio album, "The Fatal Feast", for a spring 2012 release via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented MUNICIPAL WASTE lead singer Tony Foresta: "[This] record is going to feature some guest spots from John Connelly [guitarist and vocalist for NUCLEAR ASSAULT], Steve Moore [who plays bass and synthesizers for ZOMBI], and [vocalist] Tim Barry [ex-AVAIL]."

He added, "The WASTE is really looking forward to providing you with the soundtrack to the end of the world in 2012. See you there!"


"Massive Aggressive", the latest album from MUNICIPAL WASTE, landed at No. 10 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.

"Massive Aggressive" was released on August 25, 2009 via Earache Records.

WARRANT drummer Steven Sweet has released a holiday album, "Steven Sweet's Family Christmas", through Downboys Records via iTunes. The collection "was [initially] intended [just] for family and friends, but it [came out] very funny, with Steven's multiple character voices and his sweet daughter and wife singing."

"Steven Sweet's Family Christmas" track listing:

01. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)' (featuring Steven Sweet)
02. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (featuring Beth Whitney Chamberlin)
03. Let It Snow (featuring Steven Sweet)
04. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (featuring Steven Sweet, Katelyn C.)
05. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (featuring Beth Whitney Chamberlin)
06. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer (featuring Steven Sweet, Beth Whitney Chamberlin, Katelyn C.)
07. Silent Night (featuring Steven Sweet, Beth Whitney Chamberlin, Katelyn C.)

WARRANT's latest album, "Rockaholic", was released in North America on May 17 via Frontiers Records. At the helm of the CD was mega-producer Keith Olsen (OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE, SCORPIONS), with the mixing duties having been handled by Pat Regan (KISS, DEEP PURPLE, TED NUGENT).

Candlelight Records has set a February 28, 2012 North American release date for the self-titled new album from CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. Recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, the CD was produced by the band in cooperation with longtime collaborator John Custer. It was mixed by John Lousteau (FOO FIGHTERS) and features artwork by Seldon Hunt (MELVINS, HIGH ON FIRE).

"Corrosion Of Conformity" will be available on standard CD, deluxe digipak, and two exclusive vinyl formats.

Featuring the esteemed "Animosity" lineup of vocalist/bassist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's album closes a six-year recording gap and completes over a year of concentrated writing and recording for the band.

Reflecting on the past year and the album's recording process, Dean notes, "We tracked the songs at Studio 606, then headed for Europe, toured the U.S., and returned to Europe. We then did some vocals at home in North Carolina. but not where we originally planned; the studio was flattened by a system of spring tornadoes. We made our way back to 606 about seven months later and mixed twelve songs in ten days. The whole time we were out there, we were living in the onion fields of Ventura County and had to drive over the Santa Susana Pass to the San Fernando Valley every day. That was some fuel intensive time to reflect."

He added, "As a whole, the album was an inspired and efficient collaboration.

"John Custer told me he thought we were all working together as one organism; which is an apt description."

"Corrosion Of Conformity" features eleven new songs, with the deluxe digipak and vinyl formats set to include two additional tracks. Vinyl collectors will want to seek out both formats of the record; the European configuration is confirmed as a double 180-gram clear vinyl, and the American version will feature a single 180-gram black-and-white splatter vinyl with a limited seven-inch single which will include the album's bonus songs. Both versions will feature a gatefold sleeve.

Comments Dean: "We like the idea of pressing this music on vinyl because so much of our inspiration comes from music that precedes the digital era. It's also cool to have that large format for the artwork and the lyrics and the credits. It's such a tangible physical product you can hold in your hands. In Europe, the vinyl will include a CD so you can get the files into your digital realm. In the U.S., a download card is included."

"Corrosion Of Conformity" track listing:

01. Psychic Vampire
02. River Of Stone
03. Leeches
04. El Lamento De Las Cabras
05. Your Tomorrow
06. The Doom
07. The Moneychangers
08. Come Not Here
09. What We Become
10. Rat City
11. Time Of Trials
12. Canyon Man (deluxe/vinyl only)
13. The Same Way (deluxe/vinyl only)

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will close out 2011 with performances alongside CLUTCH between December 27 and 31.

The band will kick off 2012 with a recently announced show in North Carolina with friends HAIL!HORNET.

Mullin co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside Weatherman and Dean before leaving the band in 2001 amidst health concerns.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY's latest album, "In the Arms of God", came out in 2005 on Sanctuary Records. The group's first collection of new material since 2000's "America's Volume Dealer" was produced by C.O.C.'s longtime collaborator John Custer.

Swedish death metallers SKINEATER have revealed the cover artwork for their debut album, "Dermal Harvest". The CD is scheduled for an early 2012 release via Pulverised Records. The band states, "There are some guitars and bass left to record. Some vocals, too. No big deal! This will be a really brutal release!!"

SKINEATER earlier in the year announced the addition of drummer Matte Modin (DARK FUNERAL, RAISED FIST, DEFLESHED, SPORTLOV) to the group's ranks.

Formed in late 2008, SKINEATER features scene veterans Håkan Stuvemark (ex-WOMBBATH, ex-IN THY DREAMS), Stefan Westerberg (ex-CARNAL FORGE, ex-IN THY DREAMS) and Jörgen Ström (THE MARY MAJOR).
Regarding the band's deal with Pulverised, Stuvemark said, "All we've heard about [Pulverised] — and through our own experience during negotiating with the label — has been good! We are ready to cause some damage, so keep yer eyes and ears open!"

Added Pulverised Records A&R manager Calvin Chiang: "After we heard about SKINEATER, it was obviously a no-brainer that their brand of crushing death metal fitted the Pulverised roster perfectly. With their downright devastating and ruthless vibe combined with a slight tinge of melodic elements; we knew there was something remarkable about SKINEATER!"

SKINEATER is:

Jörgen Ström - Vocals
Håkan Stuvemark - Guitars
Stefan Westerberg - Bass
Matte Modin - Drums

Current and former members of DOKKEN — George Lynch (guitar), Jeff Pilson (bass), and Mick Brown (drums) — have joined forces in a new project called TOOTH AND NAIL. The band is currently in the studio recording on album featuring new original material as well as reworked versions of DOKKEN classics. The CD, which is tentatively due in early 2012, will feature a guest appearance by former SKID ROW frontman Sebastian Bach on a cover of DOKKEN's "Alone Again".

After laying down his tracks earlier today (Thursday, December 15) at Pilson's studio, Bach tweeted, "[I] had a blast! I forgot how great the song is." He added, "Get ready for another ballad, because every bad boy has a soft side! Hahaha."

Fans have been clamoring for a reunion of DOKKEN's most popular lineup for over a decade, and rumors of such a project flourished in 2009 when vocalist Don Dokken and George Lynch appeared together on VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show". Lynch has since shot down the possibility of a renewed collaboration with the singer, telling the Appleton Post Crescent in a November 2011 interview, "The same motivation that caused [Don] to break up the band originally was the same reason the reunion didn’t happen. At the end of the day, he made it sound as if he was willing to go along and be fair and split everything up as a band and when it came down to the eleventh hour, he wanted it all. He figured he'd set the ball in motion and get everybody's hopes up and do all the press and have all these meetings and do all this legwork and put the managers and band members through all this pain. You get invested in the idea and then this is his whole car salesman bait-and-switch." He added, "He's a piece of work. Whatever. And I don't mind talking about this. People say you shouldn't talk about all this stuff. No one wants to hear about that. Actually, I think that it's important. I think people are interested in how the business works. Behind-the-scenes stuff, what really occurs when the rubber hits the road."

Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE will release their new album, "Helvetios", on February 10, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at New Sound Studio in Pfäffikon, a municipality in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, with producer Tommy Vetterli (a.k.a. Tommy T. Baron; CORONER/ex-KREATOR guitarist). According to the band, Vetterli "record[ed] drums, guitars and vocals and also produc[ed] and mix[ed] the record. Most folk instruments and also vocals [were] recorded by Anna Murphy and Marco Jencarelli at the Soundfarm studios in Lucerne."

"Helvetios" track listing:

01. Prologue
02. Helvetios
03. Luxtos
04. Home
05. Santonian Shores
06. Scorched Earth
07. Meet The Enemy
08. Neverland
09. A Rose For Epona
10. Havoc
11. The Uprising
12. Hope
13. The Siege
14. Alesia
15. Tullianum
16. Uxellodunon
17. Epilogue

A trailer for the album can be seen below.

ELUVEITIE will hold the first edition of its own festival, "Eluveitie & Friends", on December 30, 2011 at the Volkshaus in Zurich. Other bands scheduled to participate in the event include CORONER and KORPIKLAANI.

ELUVEITIE's last album, "Everything Remains (As It Never Was)", sold around 1,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 23 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.

ELUVEITIE will join CHILDREN OF BODOM on the Finnish metallers' North American headlining tour in celebration of the band's 15th anniversary. The trek will kick off on January 30, 2012 in Rochester, New York and run through March 4, hitting 26 cities over the course of the five-week jaunt. Boston-based extreme metal band REVOCATION and Canada's THREAT SIGNAL are also on the bill.

Versailles Records has set a May 8, 2012 release date for "No More Tears: A Millennium Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne". A collection of hits and fan favorites covering every era of Ozzy's solo and BLACK SABBATH catalog, this album will — according to the label — feature the following musicians, among others:

* Vince Neil (MÖTLEY CRÜE)
* George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB)
* Keri Kelli (ALICE COOPER, RATT, L.A. GUNS)
* Mark Slaughter (SLAUGHTER)
* Chris Poland (MEGADETH)
* Stu Hamm (JOE SATRIANI, STEVE VAI)
* Eric Singer (KISS, BLACK SABBATH, BADLANDS, THE CULT)
* Derrick LeFevre (LILLIAN AXE)

Along with the aforementioned name artists, the label is keeping in its tradition of featuring a number of adding a limited number of cover song slots with original millennium metal bands influenced by Ozzy. Featured millennium bands will include TAKARA, LEAVING EDEN and DIRTY ROSE.

"Jekyll & Hyde", the first video from SIX HOUR SUNDOWN, the U.K.-based rock band fronted by Lauren Harris — daughter of legendary IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris — can be seen below. The track was recently released as a single and is available on iTunes.

Formed in late 2009, SIX HOUR SUNDOWN was born from a desire of like-minded friends (and experienced musicians) to get back to the heart of why they wanted to make music in the first place.

According to a press release, SIX HOUR SUNDOWN "blurs the boundaries of musical genres with edgy modern rock riffs, driven by a solid rhythm section and topped off by a contemporary melody lines, delivered by a vocalist who puts her heart on the line with every performance."

SIX HOUR SUNDOWN creates music that takes influences from bands as diverse as FOO FIGHTERS, 30 SECONDS TO MARS and VELVET REVOLVER but at all times keeping its unique vision intact.

SIX HOUR SUNDOWN is:

Lauren Harris - Vocals
Tom Gentry - Guitar
James Bennett - Guitar
Mitch Witham - Bass
Olly Smith - Drums

When asked why she decided to launch a band after touring and releasing an album under her own name, Lauren told Planetmosh, "It kind of turned into a band when I was out as a solo artist anyway, because all of us became so close and we started writing songs together and stuff, and then we decided to drop the name completely and perform properly as a band. . . I'm not the only one in the band . . . so we just wanted to make it a bit more equal, and yeah, that's it, really."

Regarding the origins of the name SIX HOUR SUNDOWN, Lauren said, "We were talking amongst friends and just laughing and having a drink and stuff, and you know, when somebody says, 'Oh, I fancy a drink,' and it’s like one o'clock in the afternoon or something, and you're like, 'Really, you’re going to start drinking now?' Then someone said, 'It's five o'clock somewhere in the world.' . . . We went for six, because six is a cooler number, and six is my birthday, and it kind of led on from there — six hour sundown.

On the topic of the biggest difference between SIX HOUR SUNDOWN and the LAUREN HARRIS band, the singer said, "[SIX HOUR SUNDOWN is] much more current — the songs are more current. What we were doing before was almost a different genre, really. I think now it's a lot more rocky, more melodic rock, whereas before it was much more pop-orientated rock, so I think that's really the main difference, and of course, now there's a band feel to it, which I think gives it a completely different feel anyway."

Legendary grindcore act TERRORIZER will release its new album, "Hordes Of Zombies" in North America on February 28, 2012 via the French label Season Of Mist.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Intro
02. Hordes Of Zombies
03. Ignorance And Apathy
04. Subterfuge
05. Evolving Era
06. Radiation Syndrome
07. Flesh To Dust
08. Generation Chaos
09. Broken Mirrors
10. Prospect Of Oblivion
11. Malevolent Ghosts
12. Forward To Annihilation
13. State Of Mind
14. A Dying Breed

A bonus track, "Wretched", will appear on the vinyl and digital versions of the album, while the limited-edition digipak will also contain a demo version of the title cut.

On Thursday, December 15, ENGEL — the Gothenburg, Sweden-based quintet featuring guitarists Marcus Sunesson (THE CROWN) and Niclas Engelin (PASSENGER, ex-GARDENIAN, IN FLAMES), vocalist Mangan Klavborn, drummer Jimmy Olausson (ex-MARIONETTE) and bassist Steve Drennan (LOCUS) — performed two songs acoustically on "Musikhjälpen" ("Music Aid"), a fundraising program which was broadcast on Swedish TV and radio. You can now watch video footage of the group's appearance below.

ENGEL last month entered Antfarm studios in Aabyhøj, Denmark to begin recording its third album, "Blood Of Saints", for a spring 2012 release. According to the group, the new CD "is going to be a good mixture between both [previous ENGEL efforts] 'Threnody' [2010] and 'Absolute Design' [2007], but with some new angles as well! If you liked 'Threnody', you will LOVE 'Blood Of Saints'!"

ENGEL played two shows with
The band recently recorded two songs with Hellmans Drengar. One of the tracks, "In Darkness", was released as a single.

"Threnody" was released in Europe on November 8, 2010 and in the U.S. on January 11, 2011 via Season Of Mist. The CD was issued in Japan on April 20, 2010 via Avex.

ENGEL recorded "Threnody" at PUK studio in Gjerlev, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, HIMSA, SICK OF IT ALL).

The band was previously signed to SPV Records which issued ENGEL's debut album, "Absolute Design", in 2007.

Terry Butler (DEATH, MASSACRE, SIX FEET UNDER, DENIAL FIEND, OBITUARY) and Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo (MANTAS, DEATH, MASSACRE, M INC.) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of MASSACRE's classic "From Beyond" album by embarking on a European tour in January/February 2012. Dubbed "Army Of Darkness", the trek will feature additional performances from MACABRE and MASTER.

Prior to heading over to Europe, MASSACRE will play a one-off U.S. show on Saturday, January 14 at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida.

MASSACRE's touring lineup:

* Mike Mazzonetto (M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) - Drums
* Ed Webb (DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN) - Vocals
* Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo – Guitar
* Terry Butler - Bass

Video footage of the new MASSACRE lineup rehearsing for the upcoming tour at CGM Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida can be seen below (courtesy of BrutalBroadcast.com). Also available is a ReverbNation TuneWidget player containing three rehearsal recordings featuring the band's new lineup.

Commented Rozz: "It is a great pleasure to jam with such sessioned players, and very cool people, this is a great honor in many ways.

"Special thanks to Tim Vazquez at CGM Studios for the kick-ass audio on the fly, and to Joe (Brutal) Tolley and Death Metal Dave Allison at BrutalBroadcast.com and Metal Messiah Radio, for the video/interview. You all rock."

Added Butler: "We wanted to give the fans a little taste of what Ed Webb and Mike Mazzonetto sound like and what the band is doing at the moment.

"Ed and Mike are doing an amazing job!! They are seasoned veterans and professionals.

"MASSACRE are back and we are ready to hit the road.

"We are moving forward after the tour.

"There have been offers for us to put out a new album and play some festivals as well."

The dates are as follows:

Jan. 25 - Osnabrück, Germany @ Bastard Club
Jan. 26 - Munich, Germany @ Backstage
Jan. 28 - Zürich, Switzerland @ Industrie 45
Jan. 29 - Lyon, France @ Le Kao
Jan. 30 - Paris, France @ Divan Du Monde
Feb. 03 - Valencia, Spain @ Durango Club
Feb. 04 - Badalona/Barcelona, Spain @ Estraperlo Club
Feb. 05 - Montpellier, France @ Secret Place
Feb. 07 - Maribor, Slovenia @ Mc Pekarna
Feb. 08 - Zagreb, Croatia @ Tvornica Kulture
Feb. 11 - Winterthur, Switzerland @ Gaswerk
Feb. 13 - Dresden, Germany @ Chemiefabrik
Feb. 14 - Berlin, Germany @ K-17
Feb. 15 - Bochum, Germany @ Matrix
Feb. 16 - Leer, Germany @ Zollhaus
Feb. 17 - Eindhoven, Holland @ Dynamo
Feb. 18 - Rotterdam, Holland @ Baroeg
Feb. 19 - Drachten, Holland @ Iduna

MASSACRE's tentative setlist for the tour:

01. Chamber Of Ages
02. Succubus
03. Defeat Remains
04. From Beyond
05. Cryptic Realms
06. Provoked Accurser
07. Dawn Of Eternity
08. Bio-Hazard
09. Warhead
10. Corpse Grinder

A revamped version of MASSACRE — consisting of DENIAL FIEND members Sam Williams (guitar), Curt Beeson (drums; NASTY SAVAGE), along with ex-MASSACRE/DENIAL FIEND members Terry Butler (bass), Steve Swanson (guitar) and Kam Lee (vocals) — completed a European tour in late 2007.

THE INIQUITY DESCENT, the extreme-metal project featuring vocalist Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns of Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL, has inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band has entered the studio to begin recording its debut album for a 2012 release.

THE INIQUITY DESCENT released its debut EP, "Trust The Serpent", in November 2010. The CD was mastered at Nordic Audio Labs by Sami "Hannu" Koivisto and contains four songs (out of 11 that were tracked).

THE INIQUITY DESCENT is:

Mathias Lillmåns - Vocals
Mikael Mannström - Guitars
Philip Kerbs - Guitars
Jonas Frilund - Bass
Kenna Nygård - Drums

Canadian thrashers THINE EYES BLEED — who feature in their ranks former KITTIE guitarist/technician Jeff Phillips and bassist Johnny Araya (brother of SLAYER's Tom Araya) — have just released their third album, "The Embers Rise", independently via iTunes. The CD was recorded with producer Siegfried Meier at his Beach Road Studios in Ontario, Canada and features a guest appearance by Tom Araya in the song "Eyes To The Sky".

"The Embers Rise" track listing:

01. Ashes We Called Skin
02. Creeper
03. Eyes To The Sky
04. A Dying Man
05. Comorbid
06. Beards Of Prey
07. The Last Dead
08. End With The Night

Maryland extreme metallers DYING FETUS have set "Reign Supreme" as the title of their new album, due mid-2012 via Relapse Records. The CD is being recorded at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX). The effort will feature nine tracks and is "a 'return to roots,' with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works," according to a press release. "Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know."

Commented DYING FETUS guitarist/vocalist John Gallagher: "The last album had some groove in it, but [it] was basically a lot of tech; this one is a return to form of older DYING FETUS albums, so to speak — more modern production, though, of course. Everything's tight, the sound is crushing, the drums are amazing."

"Deathhammer", the title track of the new studio album from Dutch doom death metal legends ASPHYX, can be streamed using the audio player below.

Commented the band: "To us, this song is 100 percent real death metal! It's heavy, aggressive and it simply can't get more in your face than this.

"This song is composed by just a few shredding riffs, which stick in your brain like a buzzsaw, vocals so angry that it could be a declaration of war, relentlessly pounding drums and a bass that roars like a tank.

"We are very proud of this song since it shows our view on real death metal: how we've always seen it, how we feel it and how we want it to be!

"Martin [Van Drunen, vocals] already roared a clear statement in the very beginning of this song: THIS IS TRUE DEATH METAL, YOU BASTARDS! And so it is!"

SLAYER founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman — who in January contracted necrotizing fasciitis, likely caused by a spider bite, and has been undergoing surgeries, skin grafts and intense rehab since — spoke to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine about his recovery which has seen him sit out an entire year's worth of touring with the band.

Hanneman was kicking back in a hot tub with a couple of beers when noticed a spider bite him on the arm.

"Didn't even feel it," he says now. "But an hour later, I knew that I was ill." On his way to the hospital, "I could see the flesh corrupting," he recalls. "The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was. By chance, although it's pretty rare, she had seen a case a little while before. At that point, I was an hour away from death."

Although the spider bite itself was not serious, it had caused bacterial infection in the deeper layers of the skin and tissues of the arm.

"Unbelivably, the doctor was a SLAYER fan," says Hanneman, "First thing he said to me was: 'First I am going to save your life. Then I am going to save your arm. Then I am going to save your career.'"

Hanneman underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead and dying tissue. The doctor was able to save the muscles and the tendons, but the guitarist had a large open wound on his arm. He spent the next two months in hospital, having extensive skin grafts and heavy doses of antibiotics to suppress the infection.

"I had to learn to walk again," Hanneman says: "I hadn't stood up for a month, apart from anything else. The skin grafts were very painful and all the muscles and tendons in the arm where very weak. That was ok though. I count myself lucky that the nurse and doctor knew right away what had happened to me, because things could have been a whole lot worse."

While Hanneman's SLAYER bandmates fufilled their touring commitments with stand-in guitarist Gary Holt (EXODUS), Jeff spent most of 2011 rehabilitating. With the worst of it behind him, Hanneman can see the humour in the situation, too.

"It's the kind of thing I might have written a song about," he acknowledges. "Everything that could go wrong this year did, but you know, it turned out okay. Satan had my back."

Graham "Gruhamed" Hartmann of Loudwire recently conducted an interview with vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Loudwire: Tell us about CRADLE OF FILTH's new EP, "Evermore Darkly".

Dani: It's kind of a fan-edition thing. It's two discs and it's split between a DVD, which contains a lost video, a documentary about our travels around Russia and Europe earlier in the year and a live show when we headlined Graspop [Metal Meeting in Belgium] this year. On the other side of things, there's an audio CD with a new track. We reworked demos that were for "Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa" record, a remix and a couple other things on there, including a foretaste of our forthcoming classical album, which is full of tracks from my first four albums, but re-imagined, big orchestral cinematic pieces.

Loudwire: That's going to be called "Midnight In The Labyrinth", right?

Dani: That's right. That's looking at about an April release, which is the time we're due to go in to start working on our new album, which we've been tentatively writing over the last few months. We're about three or four songs into it. It's going really well. It's a bit hard to describe in so many words. Its very good, very CRADLE OF FILTH and it's moving on from where we left off on the previous record. "Evermore Darkly" is more like an interim release. It's something for our fans at Halloween.

Loudwire: You've said that your next album is going to bring back the female vocal parts that CRADLE OF FILTH is so well know for.

Dani: I think it's going to have elements of some of our earlier stuff, but it's not really going back to it — more just incorporating ingredients that made CRADLE OF FILTH what we were. I think we'll be taking elements from parts of those records, but trying to push the boundaries even further with what we do.

Loudwire: Is CRADLE OF FILTH planning on touring in 2012?

Dani: Yeah. Obviously, it would be with the release of our album, which should be out around Halloween, strangely enough. We'll be going straight out on the road. We just wanted to get back into the studio really at this point in our careers. This one does follow quite swiftly on the heels of our previous album, "Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa". We're obviously utilizing "Evermore Darkly" as a sort of final nail in that album's coffin and as a springboard to future material. But yeah, definitely, once we're out of the studio, we're straight back out on the road.

Spanish thrash metallers ANGELUS APATRIDA have entered Ultrasound Studios in Moita, Portugal with producer Daniel Cardoso (ANATHEMA, ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN) and sound engineer Hugo Andrade to begin recording their new album for an early 2012 release via Century Media Records. 10 new tracks and two bonus tracks are being recorded for the as-yet-untitled CD, including "It's Rising!", "You Are Next", "Blood On The Snow", "Violent Dawn" and "Still Corrupt". The artwork for the album will one again be created by Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes (ARCH ENEMY, FIREWIND, THE CROWN).

Commented ANGELUS APATRIDA guitarist/vocalist Guillermo Izquierdo: "We are working on an album that’s gonna be, without any shade of doubt, our most mature material. This time we have been able to do a pre-production of the whole record with Daniel Cardoso and it turned out to add a fresher taste in both the music and vocal melodies."

ANGELUS APATRIDA's last album, "Clockwork", landed at position No. 44 on the official Spanish chart.