Extreme sludge doom metal trio SALOME has completed work on its highly new album, "Terminal". Described as the band "most accomplished and epic work to date," the CD is said to be "an intense 70-plus-minute sonic jaunt of punishing sludge doom metal reverence."

Due on November 9 via Profound Lore Records, "Terminal" will feature the following track listing:

01. The Message
02. Terminal
03. Master Failure
04. Epidemic
05. An Accident Of History
06. The Witness
07. The Unbelievers

Atlanta-based quintet DAATH will release its third, self-titled full-length album on October 26 via Century Media Records. Drummer Kevin Talley (ex-CHIMAIRA, DYING FETUS) began laying down his tracks in Atlanta on June 7 with renowned producer Mark Lewis (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM, DEVILDRIVER) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitar) at the helm.

"Daath" track listing:

01. Genocidal Maniac
02. Destruction/Restoration
03. Indestructible Overdose
04. Double Tap Suicide
05. The Decider
06. Exit Plan
07. Oxygen Burn
08. Accelerant
09. Arch {Enemy} Misanthrope
10. Manufactured Insomnia
11. A Cold Devotion
12. N.A.T.G.O.D.
13. Terminal Now

7DAYS, the epic metal project led by DARKWATER/HARMONY guitarist and composer Markus Sigfridsson, will release its second album, "Into Forever", on October 15 via Liljegren Records.

The CD features contributions from the following musicians:

* Markus Sigfridsson (HARMONY, DARKWATER) - Guitar, Keyboards And Programming
* Daniel Flores (THE MURDER OF MY SWEET, MIND'S EYE) - Drums
* Andreas Passmark (ROYAL HUNT,NARNIA, DIVINEFIRE) - Bass
* Kaspar Dahlqvist (DIONYSOS) - Keyboards
* Thomas Vikström (THERION,CANDLEMASS) - Lead And Backing Vocals
* Caroline Sigfridsson - Lead Vocals
* Christian Liljegren (AUDIOVISION, DIVINEFIRE) - Lead Vocals
* Erik Tordsson - Lead And Backing Vocals

Singaporean black/death metallers IMPIETY have set "Worshippers of the Seventh Tyranny" as the title of their seventh full-length album. The follow-up to last year's critically acclaimed "Terroreign" is currently being recorded at Music City Studios in Treviso, Italy for an early 2011 release via Agonia Records. The CD will feature seven songs with a running time of close to 40 minutes.

IMPIETY's current lineup includes founder Shyaithan (bass, vomit) alongside guitarists Guh Lu and Eskathon and drummer Andrea Janko. The band rehearsed in early August in the city of Trieste, Italy and commenced recording at Music City on August 24. The recording, mixing and mastering will be completed in another 7-8 days, and the band is "looking forward to getting this heavy-as-fuck masterpiece unleashed," according to a press release.

DIRGE WITHIN, the metal band featuring ex-SOIL guitarist Shaun Glass, vocalist Jeremy "Jerms" Genske, guitarist Matt Szlachta, bassist James Pezanoski (ex-FROM ALL WITHIN), and drummer Frankie Harchut (ex-THE DOOMSDAY CATALYST), will release a new digital EP on September 14 via iTunes featuring the rare track "Eulogy" as well as a re-recorded version of an old demo song, "Ties That Bind".

In other news, DIRGE WITHIN is currently "knee-deep in writing new music, and the tunes are coming together nice," according to Glass.

DIRGE WITHIN's debut album, "Force Fed Lies", was released on September 1, 2009 via E1 Music (formerly Koch Records). The CD was mixed by Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford of Nott-In-Pill studios in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. Edsel Dope (DOPE) produced the effort alongside Chris Djuricic (Studio One). The album features guest appearances by Corey Beaulieu of TRIVUM and Michael Angelo Batio of NITRO fame. The cover artwork was created by Stephen Jensen from F3 studios.

Contraband Candy's René Ackermann conducted an interview with Trevor Peres and Ralph Santolla of Florida death metal legends OBITUARY at this year's edition of the Hole In The Sky festival (a.k.a. Bergen Metal Fest XI), which was held August 25-28 in Bergen, Norway. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about the absence of bassist Frank Watkins from OBITUARY's recent tours and whether the band's current touring bassist, Terry Butler (SIX FEET UNDER, ex-MASSACRE),is a permanent addition to the group's lineup, Peres said, "Nothing's permanent. We want [Terry] to be our bass player permanently. Obviously he plays in SIX FEET UNDER, and we're trying to make the schedules work like a puzzle so he can play in both bands. He doesn't really wanna jump ship from SIX FEET, 'cause he has a good situation there, but we want him to play with us, so it's all good. And the reason we don't have Frank Watkins anymore is... just because."

OBITUARY's new concert DVD, "Live Xecution - Party.San 2008", was filmed at 2008's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held in Bad Berka, Germany.

Michael Monroe, iconic rock and roll frontman and founding member of hugely influential Finnish outfit HANOI ROCKS, has entered into a recording agreement with Universal Music. The first fruits of this international deal will be a brand new live album, "Another Night In The Sun/Live In Helsinki", set for release on September 27. This 15-track outing will be made available through Universal subsidiary Spinefarm Records.

Says Jarkko Nordlund, Managing Director, Universal Music Finland: "Michael Monroe is a true international rock star, and Universal Music's international network is extremely proud to be working with him. Spinefarm Records is the best home for this rock and roll legend, as both label and artist share the same degree of professionalism and passion."

Mixed in Los Angeles by Niko Bolas (whose credits include NEIL YOUNG, FRANK SINATRA, KEITH RICHARDS, KISS, SPINAL TAP and more) and mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (the man behind TOM PETTY and DIXIE CHICKS), "Another Night…" — recorded on July 6 at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland — features key tracks from Monroe's solo career spiced up with selected HANOI classics, some well-chosen covers, plus two brand new, previously unreleased songs — "You're Next" and "Motorheaded For A Fall".

Says Monroe: "No excuses, it is what it is, and will probably end up sounding great with all its clunks and flaws, once it's mixed and finished. Obviously, we're not doing any overdubs, so you'll have a very raw '‘rough-and-ready-or-not' live recording of another rockin' night in the sun in the beautiful Finnish summer!"

In the wake of the album's release, Monroe (plus regular band: THE WILDHEARTS mainman Ginger on guitar, ex-HANOI member Sammy Yaffa on bass, Steve Conte of NEW YORK DOLLS and COMPANY OF WOLVES fame on guitar, and Karl "Rockfist" Rosqvist on drums, a Swedish/Finnish drummer who has played with both CHELSEA SMILES and DANZIG) will head out on tour in Finland and Sweden before heading over to the U.K. to support MOTÖRHEAD on their 35th-anniversary tour in November

Legendary progressive rock veterans URIAH HEEP have announced plans to release a new live album, "Official Bootleg Volume II – Live in Budapest, Hungary 2010". The band states, "This is an official bootleg recording from our concert in the Petofi Hall, Budapest Hungary, on the 4th May 2010.

"There are going to be many more recordings from around the world, as this will be an ongoing series, giving fans the chance to hear the band in many different countries.

"These recordings are true official bootlegs in every sense and they reflect that nights performance as it happened, totally untouched. You can almost feel that you are at the concert, so put the CD on, turn it up loud, close your eyes and enjoy a night in Budapest with URIAH HEEP."

The official release date for "Official Bootleg Volume II – Live in Budapest, Hungary 2010" has not yet been announced.

The revamped lineup of the Finnish death metal band DE LIRIUM'S ORDER will enter the studio in February 2011 to begin recording its third album for a tentative summer release.

DE LIRIUM'S ORDER's founding guitarist Juha Kupiainen has been composing new material during the past year, and at the same time, seeking new members to complete the group's current lineup. Joining Kupiainen in DE LIRIUM'S ORDER's latest incarnation are guitarist Mika Sundvall, drummer Perttu Kurttila (TRACEDAWN, LITHURIA) and vocalist Jukka Pihlajaniemi (THE UNDIVINE, GHOUL PATROL).

Formed in 1998, DE LIRIUM'S ORDER "embodies unmerciful brutality and insanity put to music," according to a press release. "The band combines grinding blast beats, technical riffs, catchy thrash-lines, obscure melodies and manic guitar leads to create death metal onslaught. In 2003 the band signed a recording contract with Woodcut Records and during the following year the debut album, 'Victim No. 52', featuring Corpse (now DEATHCHAIN) in vocals, was released. This cold-blooded assault received praising response from the critics and death metal fiends worldwide.

"In the beginning of 2007, the band signed with Shadow World Records and the album 'Diagnosis' was released in August, reaching the Finnish charts position #30. This time the vocals were manhandled by Mynni from the leading Finnish death metal act SOTAJUMALA."

EVIL AMIDST, the South Florida-based "all-star" death metal band featuring members of MALEVOLENT CREATION, HATE PLOW and KULT OV AZAZEL, has uploaded the song "The Evil Amidst" to the group's MySpace page. The track comes off EVIL AMIDST's upcoming debut album, "Lords Of The Nine", which will be released digitally via iTunes on September 29. The album was produced by Brian Elliott (CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS) at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.

EVIL AMIDST is:

* Gus Rios (MALEVOLENT CREATION) - Drums
* Gio Geraca (MALEVOLENT CREATION) - Guitar
* Lenny Warmbrandt (HATEPLOW) - Vocals
* Xaphan (KULT OF AZAZEL) - Guitar
* Sean Young - Bass

German power metal veterans HELLOWEEN will release their 13th studio album, "7 Sinners", in North America on November 9 via The End Records.

If there is a golden thread throughout the more than 25 years of HELLOWEEN's history, 13 studio albums, countless headliner tours around the globe and more than 5 million records sold, then it is their special kind of attitude: don't take yourself too seriously and simply live statements like "just have fun with the shit you're doing." Maybe it is exactly this easiness that allows HELLOWEEN to be one of the most constant bands of the genre while simultaneously being the one band who dares to experiment more than their musical peers.

While some copycats would rather stick with the same old patterns, Andi Deris, Michael Weikath, Sascha Gerstner, Markus Großkopf and Dani Löble aren't afraid of taking risks — and are rightfully rewarded with success.

"7 Sinners" is definitively one of the fastest and hardest albums in the HELLOWEEN's history and it bursts with vitality. That might partly be due to the versatility of the various songwriters within the band, who over time have become so homogenous, that the 13 songs formed a unity on their own in the studio , but it may also be due to the fact that the album was recorded completely without a click track, which, considering the extreme speed of the songs is an impressive feat. Especially drummer Löble, who proves that his technique is at a world-class-level. Following his excellent inner clock, bass and drums drive tracks like "Are You Metal?", "Long Live The King" and "Who Is Mr. Madman?" to dizzying tempos. "7 Sinners", with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a true metal album whose range reaches astonishing dimensions.

It has become a cliche for metal band's to tout their newest opus as their "fastest" or "heaviest" album ever made, but in HELLOWEEN's case, "7 Sinners" is truly a return to form and is indeed their fastest and heaviest release in years. HELLOWEEN bass player Markus Grosskopf stated about the band's new material: "For all those out there who found our special best-of [CD] 'Unarmed' to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: The new album will hit you right in the face! It's gonna be very heavy and contain all [the classic] HELLOWEEN trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani ever played, and this means a lot!"

"7 Sinners" track listing:

01. Where The Sinners Go
02. Are You Metal?
03. Who is Mr. Madman?
04. Raise The Noise
05. World Of Fantasy
06. Long Live The King
07. The Smile Of The Sun
08. You Stupid Mankind
09. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future

According to The Calgary Sun, AEROSMITH and its western Canadian tour promoter have settled their legal differences in advance of the band's Calgary concert Friday night.

AEROSMITH was sued by Keystone Entertainment Inc. of Canada for $6 million over its canceled tour of the country's western provinces in August 2009.

The band was forced to scrap five shows there after singer Steven Tyler was injured in a fall during a concert in South Dakota.

Keystone's suit claimed that AEROSMITH breached its contract with the concert promoter by failing to reschedule the 2009 dates, further alleging that the company is out expenses incurred for promoting and producing the canceled gigs.

According to The Calgary Sun, a "discontinuance of action" filed last week in connection with a $6-million lawsuit launched by Keystone said the case has been settled.

"The plaintiff hereby discontinues its claim against the defendants pursuant to a settlement agreement between the parties without costs," said the document.

FULLFORCE — the new Swedish melodic metal project featuring Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE, SILENT MEMORIAL, PLANET ALLIANCE) on vocals, Stefan Elmgren (HAMMERFALL) on guitar, Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on drums, Carl-Johan Grimmark (NARNIA) on guitar, and Tommy Larsson (HEED) on bass — is putting the finishing touches on its debut album, tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented the band: "FULLFORCE [has] been a bit delayed but, the band [is now] entering the end phase of the recording. CJ Grimmark [has] already started to do basic mixes of the songs to be completed by producer Pontus Lindmark. [In addition] Mike is currently in the studio recording the last few songs for the album.

"So, good news is that the album will be completely finished within two months if not earlier.

"Next week FULLFORCE will deliver music to their promoter in Germany, so more news regarding labels and technical details will be announced very soon.

"The band is very, very happy with the outcome of the album and they think it will stand out because of the width musically on the album. There's a strong red thread but, nonetheless, it jumps from straight-forward, catchy heavy metal to more melodic and ethnic updated metal."

Three of the remaining DREAM THEATER members — singer James LaBrie, guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess — have issued separate statements commenting further on the departure of drummer Mike Portnoy, the band's co-founder and leader for 25 years.

James LaBrie: "Thought I would give you time to digest the news of Mike's departure.

"Mike stated that he was burnt out with the DREAM THEATER world and needed a break.

"We have to respect where he is at and where this will lead him at this particular point in time. With that being said, we are more than pumped to continue the legacy of DREAM THEATER and jump full on into the next chapter. Rest assured, it will be great. You can count on it."

John Petrucci: "Obviously you've all heard the news of Mike's departure from DREAM THEATER by now. I felt it important to open up a line of communication in an effort to kill any rumors and to promote clarity.

"I love Mike and really hope he's happy and successful in whatever he does.

"I realize that Mike was always the one to actively stay in touch with our fans, and I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to try to be at least a bit more present on both mine and DREAM THEATER's websites and to let you all know that I am here.

"To me, DREAM THEATER's story is one of defying the odds, standing for true integrity in music and creating our own success through perseverance and hard work, so although Mike's leaving is heartbreaking, I still look forward to an amazing musical journey that continues on with some of the most talented and respected musicians and composers on the planet!"

Jordan Rudess: "Everyone is asking me to comment on my thoughts about Mike Portnoy leaving DREAM THEATER and this huge change that has happened in all of our lives. I have always been able to express my feelings and do my best 'talking' through music, so I decided to voice my statement in this improvisation [see video below]. Hope you 'understand.'"

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor says he doesn't want to make any rash statements about the band's future following the recent passing of bassist Paul Gray and is focusing, for the time being, on promoting "Audio Secrecy", the new album from his other band, STONE SOUR.

"It's kind of a gray area right now," Taylor tells in FMQB Productions' radio special, "Inside Stone Sour: Audio Secrecy". "Everybody is still feeling it. It's too soon to tell.

"I'm very conflicted about whether or not I want to do anything with SLIPKNOT, because to me, Paul was such an integral part of the band. He was the whole reason that the band was the way it was... Paul was the glue and the orchestrator behind some of the best music we ever wrote. He was the soul of the band.

"I don't want to make any statements that I'll look like a fool in retrospect, but to me, right now, it just doesn't make sense," Taylor says. "Until it does, that's the way it stays for me. That's why I've been saying it's too soon to tell... you never know."

Legendary Chicago doom metallers TROUBLE have issued the following update:

"TROUBLE is getting ready for the studio now. [We] have been making preliminary recordings and working out things in order to bring the best possible TROUBLE release.

"[We are] extremely happy with the direction of the songs. Heavy and melodic are the words that describe this work.

"In other news, be on the lookout for 'TROUBLE blog.' The band has signed on with Ironroad to bring subscribers a weekly blog reporting on everything TROUBLE. Fans can sign up to receive video blogs soon."

New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION performed at The Studio at Webster Hall in New York City on July 28, 2010 as part of The Blackened Music Series. You can now stream the entire show using the audio player below (courtesy of WNYC radio).

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. World Agony
02. Father, You're Not a Father
03. Interlude
04. A Thunderous Consequence
05. Dawn of Possession
06. Power and Shame
07. Harnessing Ruin

"Rockmos!" is the name of the first and onlly QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS photobook containing 342 pages with hundreds of great pictures and interesting stories of 22 shows from 2005 to 2008 in Europe and North America.

The foreword was written by guitarist Brian May, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Roger Taylor.

The price for the standard edition is 34.90 euros plus+ shipping.

Creator Thilo Rahn is donating 2 euros from each sold book to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

"Rockmos!" is also available in a special limited edition of 111 numbered copies.

The official release date is October 1.

Paul Kuhr from NOVEMBERS DOOM and Thomas A. G. Jensen from SATURNUS have contributed guest vocals to "The Cimmerian Years", the third album from from Belgium-based metallers THURISAZ, which is tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

Commented THURISAZ: "We know both Paul and Thomas from tours in Europe and the States we did in the past. It's a real honor to have them both on our new record. Paul has one of the best and powerful grunts of the metal scene and Thomas has a voice with a lot of emotion and depth in his spoken word and grunt. Paul will appear on the song called 'Last Goodbye'. Thomas will appear on the song 'A Glance of Misperception'."

Former COAL CHAMBER members Miguel "Meegs" Rascon (guitar) and Mikey Cox (drums) have rejoined forces in a brand new Los Angeles, California-based "post-punk" project called WE ARE THE RIOT. The group's current lineup is rounded out by Andy Cole, Jonny Sculls Flanagan and Cheyne Fritts. No further details are presently available.

COAL CHAMBER rose to prominence with a gold-certified debut album in 1997 that established the group as one of the most promising bands on the then-emerging, so-called "nu metal" scene.

Nadja Peulen replaced COAL CHAMBER bassist Rayna Foss Rose in 1999 during Rose's pregnancy for almost 12 months while the band was on the road supporting its second album, "Chamber Music". Rayna came back to the band after her pregnancy leave and recorded COAL CHAMBER's third album, "Dark Days". Shortly after recording "Dark Days", Rayna quit the band and Nadja was recruited for the touring cycle that followed the CD's release. The band broke up during the "Dark Days" tour in 2002.

Former COAL CHAMBER singer Dez Fafara is currently fronting DEVILDRIVER, which will issue its fifth album in early 2011 via Roadrunner Records.

Davide Tiso of Italian avant-garde metallers EPHEL DUATH is back with a new musical project dubbed MANUSCRIPTS DON'T BURN. The project's debut mini-CD will be released in October on Aural Music.

Commented Tiso: "I thought about a one-man band since my black metal days back in the '90s.

"The idea of taking care of every aspect of the creative process has always been something I've been into (see EPHEL DUATH), but with MANUSCRIPTS DON'T BURN I take this to a new limit: not involving anyone in the performing and recording process, too.

"A year ago I started to compose for the Karyn Crisis solo album. I wrote a lot of songs, probably too many and with too much going on: there was no space for vocals. The songs were ready and done, without her voice. I restarted to compose for her from scratch. In the meantime, I remained with enough material to start the solo adventure of above.

"I'm totally absorbed by this new direction; there's something magic about these songs, an extremely positive vibe surrounds them. They have been composed without any kind of effort, like they were already existing and ready to be caught on tape.

"There's something that needs to be spread through these songs: genuine compassionate feelings towards whomever wants to deal with this music.

"This is what I'm proudly doing now, hoping that this new palette will become an important part of my career and last the test of fire (you people) like those manuscripts Bulgakov was talking about."

Jim Kjell, former vocalist/guitarist for the Swedish melodic death metal band GARDENIAN, has launched a brand new project called HERA. Kjell is currently seeking a vocalist, lead guitarist and bass player to complete the group's lineup lineup.

According to the project's official bio, "HERA was started a couple of years ago and was heading towards a record deal with the complete package. Jim turned it down since he had to take care of himself and three years later HERA is very much alive and the ideas of the music is starting to shape up. Right now the focus is put on whether it should be more brutal or more laid back than before. New songs are written and are of a variety of styles. But yet he stays true to his roots and brutality is mixed with nice melodies and choruses."