Connecticut metallers SACRED OATH will release their fourth studio album, "World On Fire", on October 26 as an iTunes exclusive. The deluxe bundle includes 11 songs and a PDF of the cover art, lyrics and liner notes. The CD was produced by singer/guitarist Rob Thorne at his studio in Connecticut during February and March this year. "I couldn’t be happier with how this recording turned out," says Thorne, who has produced all but one of SACRED OATH's albums. "It was important to me that 'World On Fire' have its own sonic character. That can be a challenge when making albums so close to each other, but this album stands on its own. I hope the fans will love it."

"World On Fire" contains 11 brand new tracks with a running time of 58 minutes:

01. Sweet Agony
02. Meet Your Maker
03. The King Must Die
04. Sandrider
05. Front Line
06. Face of Evil
07. Drums of War
08. Revolution
09. When the War is Over
10. On Death Row
11. World On Fire

AFTERMATH, the acclaimed 1980s Chicago thrash band which released "Killing the Future" and "Words that Echo Fear" — two of the seminal demos of the era — has inked a deal with Area Death Productions. The group will celebrate its 25th anniversary by issuing a four-disc box set, "When Will You Die", containing three CDs and a multimedia disc. All four of the band's demos will be featured, along with the "Eyes of Tomorrow" CD, a 24-page booklet with liner notes, bio, interview and photos. The multimedia disc will include hundreds of magazine and fanzine reviews and interviews. This complete retrospective of the band's career, which will include both audio and video live recordings, will be available in November via Area Death's web site and distribution network.

Reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT will record their October 8, 2010 concert in Cleveland, Ohio for a possible future live release. The show at the Agora will also include performances by KING'S X and Cleveland's own SHOK PARIS.

A poster for the concert was created exclusively for the band by German design artist Claudia von Bihl and can be viewed below.

"If there is any American city being essential in engraving our love for America, it has been Cleveland," says ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann. "That is where we had the first impression of being 'KINGS IN AMERICA!' I believe any rock band knows if you make it in Cleveland, you make it anywhere. And so we did. We can't wait to be back!"

"I sure believe that Cleveland will be a historic night," adds ACCEPT manager (and Wolf's wife) Gaby Hoffmann. "Thank you to all of our Cleveland fans who have supported the band over the years. We are looking forward to seeing you again."

German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA have issued the following update:

"This is just a short update to remind all of you of our last few shows in 2010: We'll play two more festivals in northern Germany before heading to Turkey for the first time in the band's history. We're prepared to show our Turkish friends how the Teutonic hammer will swing and are looking forward to the two shows in Istanbul and Izmir! Last show for this year will be in Belgium, rounding off a successful live season for SUIDAKRA! All dates here. Right after that we'll enter Gernhart recording studio to record the new (10th!) album, which will be called 'Book Of Dowth'. [Famous Belgian graphic artist] Kris Verwimp will once again be in charge of the cover artwork and lyrical concept."

SUIDAKRA's ninth album, "Crógacht", was releas

GOTTHARD's record label, Nuclear Blast Records, has released the following statement regarding the passing of the band's singer, Steve Lee:

"The world has lost one of its greatest rock singers: GOTTHARD frontman Steve Lee was killed accidentally during a motorcycle trip in the USA on Interstate 15 between Mesquite and Las Vegas and died at the scene.

"The GOTTHARD singer had flown to the U.S. with some biker friends just this weekend to fulfil a long-cherished dream for which he'd never had the time due to his heavy touring schedule for many years. It was to be two weeks through the States on a Harley-Davidson.

"The 21 Swiss bikers started their journey on Sunday on a total of 12 motorcycles. On Tuesday, October 5, about 50 miles from Las Vegas, the group had stopped at the roadside to put on their rain gear as it had started to rain. On the slippery road, the trailer of a passing truck began to skid. The driver attempted evasive action but his trailer clipped five of the motorcycles parked at the roadside; one of them hit Steve Lee. Rescue services attempted resuscitation but efforts were stopped after 20 minutes. At 16:13 local time, Steve Lee was pronounced dead.

"Among the passengers were GOTTHARD bassist Marc Lynn and Lee's girlfriend Brigitte Voss Balzarini.

"All other fellow riders were unharmed.

"Steve Lee was 48 years old.

"With Steve Lee, we not only lose one of the world's best rock voices but also an extraordinary personality.

"Despite his enormous success, the Ticino singer had retained a very subtle eye for detail and often impressed the people around him with his sensitive observation. Due to his personality, he had a serious outlook, without losing his sense of humour and lust for life.

"Steve Lee met his environment with respect but always had, in his gentle way, a very simple, personal touch. He understood like no one else how to enjoy without going too far — to him, alcohol and parties were things he met with level-headedness.

"The singer sold several million albums throughout his career with GOTTHARD, several of them reaching platinum, double or triple platinum status. And yet all this bears no relation to the human greatness of Steve Lee on a daily basis."

Finnish extreme metallers IMPALED NAZARENE will release their eleventh full-length album, "Road To The Octagon", on November 20. The CD was recorded at Hellhole studio in Helsinki with the band's soundman Tero Kostermaa and was mastered by Mika Jussila. The artwork for the album was created by Darkgrove Design and can be viewed below.

"Road To The Octagon" track listing:

01. Enlightenment Process (2:19)
02. The Day Of Reckoning (2:26)
03. Corpses (2:46)
04. Under Attack (2:45)
05. Tentacles Of The Octagon (1:33)
06. Reflect On This (2:17)
07. Convulsing Uncontrollably (2:14)
08. Cult Of The Goat (3:10)
09. Gag Reflex (3:01)
10. The Plan (2:00)
11. Silent And Violent Type (2:18)
12. Execute Tapeworm Extermination (2:11)
13. Rhetoric Infernal (4:24)

Total running time: 33:30

Back for the seventh installment of the "Saw" horror series this Halloween moviegoers will once again cringe in their seats as blood, guts and body parts are up for grabs in "Saw 3D". As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gather to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror. What started out as a "little" indie horror movie back in 2004 has turned into a juggernaut go-for-the-throat franchise and fittingly enough, the movie soundtracks have always been amicable counterparts assaulting the senses in a manner that would make Jigsaw proud. "Saw 3D - Music Inspired By The Motion Picture" to street on October 26. Artists' Addiction Soundtracks' Jonathan Platt says of "Saw 3D", "The artist lineup and music for the 'Saw 3D' soundtrack is mind-blowing and after producing six 'Saw' soundtracks this is the one that clearly defines the mood and passion of the unbelievable 'Saw' franchise."

"Saw 3D - Music Inspired By The Motion Picture" track listing:

01. SAVING ABEL - "Never" (exclusive)
02. DEAD BY SUNRISE (Chester Bennington) - "Condemned"
03. HINDER - "Waking Up The Devil"
04. KARNIVOOL - "Goliath"
05. NITZER EBB - "Promises"
06. KOPEK - "Love Is Dead"
07. SALIVA - "Badass" (exclusive)
08. MY DARKEST DAY - "The World Belongs To Me"
09. DEFAULT - "Turn It On"
10. I-EXIST - "Firefly"
11. BOOM BOOM SATELLITES - "What Goes Around Comes Around"
12. ADELITAS WAY - "Scream"
13. KROKUS - "Hoodoo Woman"
14. LORDI - "This Is Heavy Metal"
15. WAGDUG FUTURISTIC UNITY - "Ram The Crush"
16. DIR EN GREY - "Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami" (exclusive)

ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET, the Swedish band featuring former THE CROWN vocalist Johan Lindstrand, has entered Black Lounge studios in Avesta, Sweden with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, CARNAL FORGE) to begin recording its fourth full-length album, "The Dark Epic", for an early 2011 release. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Sandman Apocalypse", "Stitch", "The Pleasures Of Slavery", "How I Love To Kill You" and "The Zombie Syndrome (Of Acid And Man)". The cover artwork is being created by Björn Goosses of Killustrations.

Commented Johan: "I'm really stoked about entering the studio with my bandmates again. And to once again work with Jonas Kjellgren feels fantastic. He did an awesome job on 'Grim Tales' and I truly believe that his work will be even better this time. Our new songs are very suited for his extremely heavy productions. Nine dark, heavy and brutal death metal songs will soon be delivered at your doorstep. Embrace it and join us."

The new lineup of the reactivated NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) band BLACK ROSE is currently rehearsing for upcoming shows, which will start in early 2011. The group's set will consist of songs from BLACK ROSE's very first demo, first single, first album ("Boys will Be Boys"), second album ("Walk It How You Talk It"), various singles and EPs from the 1980s and select tracks from the latest, third album ("Cure For Your Disease").

According to a press release, "These dates will be the first time the band has played live for over 20 years, but make no mistake they have every intention of delivering the goods just like they did back in the 1980s."

BLACK ROSE's current lineup consists of original vocalist Steve Bardsley, original guitarist Kenny Nicholson, second drummer Barry Youll, and the band's latest additions, Kiko Rivers on bass and Andy Reeve on guitar.

BLACK ROSE was formed back in the early 1980s in the North East of England. The band released quite a few records, including various singles, EPs and two albums — "Boys Will Be Boys" (Bullet Records, 1984) and "Walk It How You Talk It" (Neat Records, 1987). After splitting up in 1989, two original members of the band — Steve Bardsley (lead vocals, guitar) and Chris Watson (lead guitar) — decided to get back together and write some brand new material. They were joined by Kiko Rivers (bass) and Mal "Malla" Smith (drums).

A 15-track BLACK ROSE compilation CD featuring some of the band's '80s material, entitled "Bright Lights Burnin'", was released through Majestic Rock Records.

BLACK ROSE's latest album, "Cure For Your Disease", was made available earlier this year as a digital-only release.

"Cure For Your Disease" track listing:

01. Cure For Your Disease
02. Sign Of The Times
03. Twice Shy Once Bitten
04. Fight For Your Life
05. Doghouse
06. Baby Believe Me
07. Love Addiction
08. Killing Yourself To Live
09. Got Me Where You Want Me
10. Rock Renegades
11. Take It Easy
12. So Predictable

"The Flood", a brand new song from Boston, Massachusetts-based experimental death metallers THE SUMMONED, is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the group's forthcoming debut album, "If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures", tentatively due in December/January via First To Figth Records.

Commented the band: "We're very proud of our work on the album and we hope that people will see the work that went into it with the songs we've released."


"If Only Minds Could Paint Pictures" track listing:

01. Quasars
02. Dreaming In 2D
03. Anatomy Of A Bar Fight
04. The Flood
05. Space Was
06. Space Is
07. Planets
08. Voids
09. Teachers Of A Modern Age

Finnish metal band CYPHOSIS reelased its sophomore album, "To North And Under", on September 29 via Violent Journey Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Prologue
02. Filth Within
03. Time Is An Enemy
04. Passage Of Evil
05. Across Black Water
06. Nine Seas
07. Servitude
08. To North And Under
09. Forged

According to the Swiss daily newspaper Blick, vocalist Steve Lee of Swiss hard rock veterans GOTTHARD was killed in a motorcycle accident in California. He was 47 years old. An official statement on the matter from the band's management and record company is expected later today.

Lee was on a Töfftour with 30 colleagues when they pulled over to put on their rain gear on Interstate 15 between Mesquite and Las Vegas, NV. A trucked seized and hit five parked motorbikes including Lee's who died on the scene.

Lee's girlfriend Brigitte Voss Balzarini and Gotthard bassist Marc Lynn (45) were also injured in the accident.

Bassist Chris Von Rohr of fellow Swiss hard rock veterans KROKUS told Blick: "I'm speechless, can even think of what to say. My deepest condolences."

Gotthard Manager Jan Bayati said "It is a tragedy. Even the American media will report on the tragic accident."

Joe Fackrell, spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol confirmed the death. Whether the driver will be charged is not yet known.

According to The Pulse of Radio, LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington told MTV News on Monday (October 4) that the days of the band selling 10 million copies of an album, like its 2000 debut "Hybrid Theory", are long gone. The latest LINKIN PARK record, "A Thousand Suns", debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with sales of 240,000 copies in its first week, lower than the band's previous efforts.

Bennington explained, "Trying to compare anything to 'Hybrid Theory' in terms of sales is an exercise in futility: It's not gonna happen. That's the reality of the situation. (Second album 'Meteora') did huge numbers the first week, it was like 800,000. 'Minutes To Midnight' was in the 600,000 mark, and this one's at the 240,000 mark; that's a sign of the times . . . people get their music in different ways now."

"Meteora" sold 810,000 copies in its first week of release, while 2007's "Minutes To Midnight" moved 623,000.

Thanks to downloading and file sharing, Bennington said, "There's probably 10 million people out there who have the record that we don't know about."

Some of those 10 million people will get a chance to see LINKIN PARK this fall as the band tours South America, Europe, Israel and Australia, with a North American run likely to start at the end of January.

After six years together, Christian hardcore rockers CONFIDE have announced they’ll officially part ways as a band upon their return from Japan.

"I want to let our fans know that the break-up is a positive thing and that everyone in the band is still friends without any hard feelings," explains lead singer Ross Kenyon. "We decided that CONFIDE would come to an end after our Japan tour in early October."

Adds the group in a statement: "We do plan on playing some 'farewell' shows on the West Coast and we'll announce those final dates and details once we return from Japan. We want to thank fans with these shows and let them know we truly appreciate their support over the years.

"It's hard to see CONFIDE end, but we know that God has a new chapter for our lives right now. Every member of the band remains friends and the band breaking up was not due to any one person — it was a group decision."

IN FLAMES, who announced earlier this year that they had parted ways with founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, have issued the following update:

"Next week we will start pre-production for our next album.

The plan is to enter IF Studios next week and spend the remaining part of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 creating and recording the follow up to ASOP (A Sense Of Purpose).

Updates to follow as we go along so make sure you check in often."

Before the Jägermeister Music Tour's opening night in Dallas, SLAYER's Kerry King, MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine, and ANTHRAX's Scott Ian chatted backstage with SPIN.com about what's changed over the past two decades, an upcoming U.S. "Big Four" tour with METALLICA, and their "timeless" sounds. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

SPIN.com: So who puts on the best show [on the tour]?

Mustaine: The best live show that I've ever seen is SLAYER. Their energy is just over the top. We try to play our best. But, as far as the energy and stuff, I've never seen anybody do what Kerry and SLAYER can do.

King: We're all totally different animals. I call MEGADETH nerd metal — not detrimentally, but they're guitar geeks. They blow away the guitar geeks. They're very good at what they do. And then you have guitar geeks come look at us, and they're like, "Yeah, it's kind of heavy." But the intricacies of the leads and stuff? C'mon, that's MEGADETH's specialty. We're just angry and throwing and spitting aggression. All four band (including METALLICA) started from one place and evolved into a four-headed monster. There's four very different things happening.

Mustaine: Same body; four different heads. That's a great way to put it.

SPIN.com: Who's the best guitarist on this tour?

King: It's got to be either Dave or [MEGADETH guitarist Chris] Broderick.

Ian: Yeah, I'd say either Dave or Rob [Caggiano] from our band. From a pure technical standpoint as players, they're insane. It's just like they're using a whole other language that I could never even learn.

Mustaine: Everyone's such a talent. Kerry's right hand is just so fast and articulate. And Scott has all these melodies. Everybody has their own niche. Chris Broderick is a better guitar player than I am because he's learned — I don't know the names of the scales or any of that shit. I'm self-taught, and to a degree that's what makes all us as raw as we are. I remember when Kerry and I played together — Kerry was in MEGADETH for a while when we couldn't secure another guitar player — and just the two of us playing together, it was just so cool. We were from two different worlds, but we were converging on this new style. And I knew that something was going to happen. When Kerry came over and helped us out — those concerts are legendary. Watch them on YouTube. The filming is shit. But the concerts were legendary.

Ian: You've got all these guys with just amazing right hands on this tour. The rhythm capabilities of everyone is second-to-none.

Finnish death metallers TORTURE KILLER have issued the following update:

"The tours and shows to support our third album, 'Sewers', are now complete. Doing a full list of dates here back home, European tour with DEMONICAL, a Russian tour, homeland festivals and the Baltic dates with CANNIBAL CORPSE behind us, we will now look into the future. We have a bunch of songs at demo phase [and] will start working on them in the coming weeks.

"2011 will not see a new full-length but we are doing something for sure, a mini-CD or a seven inch. More on that as things move forward.

"Thank you to all of you who came to witness our shows."

"Sewers" came out in 2009 via Dynamic Arts Records.

Finnish "battle metal" warriors TURISAS have released their cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Supernaut" a a digital single.

Since the feedback to TURISAS' version of "Supernaut" on Metal Hammer U.K.'s BLACK SABBATH tribute covermount CD was so positive, the band and Century Media Records decided to release an extended version of the track, featuring an additional one minute that wasn't available on the previously released version of the song.

TURISAS' "Supernaut" is available now on all digital European and North American platforms. An Australian release will follow on October 8.

The music video from Sweden's SONIC SYNDICATE for the latest single 'Turn It Up!' from the album We Rule the Night has now been leaked onto YouTube and other video resources. Due to the offensive content of the clip it has been taken offline as quickly as it is being uploaded in most places.

After posting the video on their Facebook profile, the social networking group has deleted the band’s account, stating:

Facebook: You posted content that violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (this includes any obscene, pornographic, or sexually explicit photos, as well as any photos that depict graphic violence. We also remove content, photo or written, that threatens, intimidates, harasses, or brings unwanted attention or embarrassment to an individual or group of people)

Swedish national newspaper Expressen picked up on the story, posting the following article here.

Frontman Nathan J Boggs comments:

“Our new video entitled 'Turn It Up' seems to have been prematurely released all over the world wide web. Within just a few short hours the video spread to a countless number of websites and was banned on 90 % of all websites which include a permanent deletion of our official Facebook page.

When we filmed this video we of course we wanted to make a video that would shock the world and what better way to do it then with sex, drugs, blood and rock and roll!

But, along with the video comes some very strong lyrical content that takes us way deeper then what you're acutely visualizing in the new video.

We hope that everyone can take one step back and remember that along with a new video comes a new song which indeed has lyrics and meaning,

Sonic Syndicate in no way supports alcohol abuse or drug usage. Turn it Up is no doubt a party song and designed to be the soundtrack to a great night out. However, the lyrics hold a deeper meaning and are based on a true story of a girl who has gone into a downward spiral of addiction and self destruction hurting herself and those around her. We purposely made a video to be entertaining but we also want to highlight these negativities with hopes of making people think before they go to far."

Finnish melodic death metallers NORTHER and the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine have teamed up to give you the chance to create the artwork for the upcoming NORTHER album, "Circle Regenerated", which is set for an early 2011 release.

Commented the band: "The NORTHER crew is about to enter Astia Studios in October to record our sixth full-length album with master producer Anssi Kippo (CHILDREN OF BODOM). This time we wanted to do something different with our upcoming album artwork. We wanted to involve our fans in a creative way! Therefore we've decided to team up with Metal Hammer Germany to announce an open competition — to design our next album cover art!

"If you have a steady hand and can draw or paint like Da Vinci, take part and submit your work to our label Century Media until October 15th. We and the Century Media guys will select the top 10 candidates, who will enter the next stage of the contest which will be a public voting on Century Media's home page. There you'll be able to vote for the best cover artwork until October 31st. The artwork which gets the most votes will be selected as our next album cover.

"In addition to the first prize, Metal Hammer offers some great prizes for the four runner-ups which will include, [in addition] to an exclusive meet-and-greet, tons of other goodies. You can check out the full list at this location.

"Here's also some more info on our upcoming album: It will be named 'Circle Regenerated', so the cover should somehow reflect that theme. To give you some more clues about our band, NORTHER is an old English word and is a 'strong wind blowing from the north.' We've also heard that listening to our music helps getting in the right mood;)

"We are super-excited and expect to see some killer stuff! Let the battle begin!!!"

Please make sure to read the following instructions carefully in order to ensure that your submission will be considered:

* Submit your cover-artwork with your name, address and phone number to: competition@centurymedia.de (subject line: NORTHER contest) before October 15. The cover artwork must be delivered with the right specifications, which are spelled out at this location.