FULLFORCE (now apparently written as one word), 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, and Carl-Johan Grimmark (NARNIA) on guitar, has parted ways with bassist Magnus Rosén (HAMMERFALL, X-WORLD/5, REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE). According to the band, "Magnus has come to a situation where he feels he has too many projects going on and he feels he doesn't have any time left to dedicate to FULLFORCE since FULLFORCE is a real band and no project. He wishes FULLFORCE all the best for the future and the band wishes Magnus all the best with his music, projects and everything else. Nonetheless, we have a few bass players in mind that we're talking to right now in order to replace Magnus, so very soon we will be able to announce a new bass player who most likely will be a quite well-known name."

In other news, Johansson has recorded the drums for around seven FULLFORCE songs and is expected to complete his tracks for the band's debut album within a few weeks.

A FULLFORCE demo track, "Walls Of Secrets", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Swedish modern metallers SONIC SYNDICATE will enter the studio next week with producer Toby Wright (KORN, SLAYER, MÖTLEY CRÜE, KISS, FEAR FACTORY, IN FLAMES, STONE SOUR, OZZY OSBOURNE) to begin recording their new album for a tentative May release via Nuclear Blast Records.

SONIC SYNDICATE's "Burn This City" video can be viewed below. The clip was shot with director Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL) of Revolver Film Company.

"Burn This City" marked the recording debut of SONIC SYNDICATE's latest addition, 23-year-old British singer Nathan James Biggs (formerly of THE HOLLOW EARTH THEORY). The song is one of two tracks that were recently recorded at Abyss studios in Pärlby, outside Ludvika, Sweden. Both cuts appeared on a new EP, "The Rebellion Pack", which was released on November 9 as part of an all-in-one-package with the group's latest album, "Love And Other Disasters".

The cover artwork for "The Rebellion Pack" was created by Gustavo Savez of Abstrata Art.

SONIC SYNDICATE, whose sound had previously revolved around the dual vocals of Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson, announced in March 2008 that Roland (who was responsible for the "clean"/melodic singing in the group) had decided to leave the band "due to personal reasons beyond our control."

Singer Chris Cornell's (SOUNDGARDEN, AUDIOSLAVE) official web site has been updated with the following message:

"The 12-year break is over and school is back in session. Sign up now. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!"

To sign up, go to www.soundgardenworld.com.

Cornell told RollingStone.com in a July 2009 interview that while he and other former members of SOUNDGARDEN have been talking, they have not been discussing a much-rumored reunion. Instead, Cornell explained, "The only thing that we have talked about is trying to put together an album of B-sides and maybe a box set with some unreleased tracks we have. This is something we first talked about 10 years ago. We all feel it's time to do that, and we have a lot of fans out there, and we have a lot of new fans discovering our music, and I think the catalog and the legacy of the band has been ignored by the record label and previous management, so we decided to get together, and start working towards putting something like that out."

Cornell told The Pulse of Radio a while back that he hoped to see a collection of SOUNDGARDEN rarities come out, but that he was not directly involved. "I've sort of left that in Kim (Thayil, guitarist)'s world, because Kim had always talked about wanting to be in charge of doing, like, a box set or a B-sides album," he said. "That was something that he had mentioned years ago, and I'm sure at some point he will want to do it, and that's I guess when it'll get done. I don't know how much actual unreleased stuff is out there, but there's definitely some SOUNDGARDEN rarities stuff that the average fan has not heard and it would be nice to put out."

Reunited Norwegian "Viking metal" pioneers EINHERJER have issued the following update:

"2009 has been a good year for EINHERJER. We did some great festivals, with Wacken Open Air as the definitive highlight. We got great response and we had a great time. We also spent most of 2009 to write new material and now it's time to bring to the production to the next phase.

"EINHERJER will enter Studio Borealis in January to start recording the new, yet-untitled album. This will be our first album in seven years.

"The last EINHERJER album was 'Blot', released by Tabu Recordings in 2003."

Spanish gothic metal band OLVIDO will release its full-length debut, "Neurosis de Destino", on January 26 via DFX Records. The CD was recorded at Musiclan studios in Figueres between September and November 2009 and was mastered by Henke Udd and Fredrik Nördstrom at Studio Fredman in Sweden.

According to a press release, OLVIDO was formed by "a fair crew of musicians with plenty of experience on both the spanish national and international scenes — Nèstor Morales (formerly of DOGMA) on vocals , Terry Ryan (formerly of GOTHIC SEX) on guitar , Dani Ruiz on keyboards and synths, Ernest Parro on bass and the incredible Alfred Berengena (BAALPHEGOR, PROFUNDIS TENEBRARUM, NEBULAH) on drums."

WONROWE VISION, the solo rock project of bassist/vocalist Steve Rowe of Australian Christian metallers MORTIFICATION, has finished recording its debut album for a tentative May release.

The track listing for the CD is as follows (song order subject to change):

01. The Spirit Of The Rock
02. Mission Invincible
03. Resident Spider
04. Vaporizer
05. Run In Circles
06. The White Rock
07. Smile Your Way Through Life
08. I'm Not Afraid Of The Dark
09. Wreath The Passion Of My Fire
10. Radical Parrot

Denmark-based hard rockers ROYAL HUNT have revealed the cover artwork and track listing for their 10th studio album, "X" , due later this year.

ROYAL HUNT decided to revisit its roots and incorporate some of the musical values of the '70s into its songwriting as well as — in order to reinforce that particular atmosphere — employing mostly "retro" means of production (recording in analog format exclusively being one of them) for its tenth studio album. The music has been described as "an interesting mix of what's been tagged as classic rock nowadays (established by KANSAS, GENESIS, ELP's earlier works and DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP's classics from the same era) and ROYAL HUNT's trademark composition/delivery."

"X" track listing:

01. Episode X (Arrival)
02. End of the Line
03. King for a Day
04. The Well
05. Army of Slaves
06. Shadowman
07. Back to Square One
08. Blood Red Stars
09. The Last Leaf
10. Falling Down
11. Episode X (Departure)

Belgian black metallers ENTHRONED will release their eighth album, "Pentagrammaton", in March via Regain Records.

"Pentagrammaton" track listing (in no particular order):

* In Missi Solemnibvs
* Ornament Of Grace
* Rion Riorrim
* The Vitalized Shell
* Magnvs Princeps Leopardi
* Nehas't
* The Essential Chaos
* Ad Te Clamamvs Exsvles Morvua Liberi
* Pentagrammaton
* Unconscious Minds
* Behemiron

The album will be available for the first time at the "Pentagrammaton Release Celebration" on March 5, 2010 at Le Nouveau Magasin 4 in Brussels.

Commented the band: "We are very satisfied of how'Pentagrammaton' turned out; the final result of the album is exactly what we wanted to achieve: an album which can be best situated between our last offering 'Tetra Karcist' and ENTHRONED cult album 'Towards The Skullthrone Of Satan', yet adding some new elements as usual.

"The whole concept of 'Pentagrammaton' deals with direct approach: the sound is warmer than 'Tetra Karcist', natural drums, heavy guitars for a lyrical concept based on lived experiences and facts, somehow something very personal, let's say!"

Greek female heavy metal trio ASTARTE has commenced work on material for the follow-up to 2007's "Demonized". According to vocalist/bassist Tristessa, the songwriting sessions are progressing slowly due to "some personal issues."

ASTARTE's video for the song "Everlast" can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's fifth album, "Demonized", which was released in 2007 via Avantgarde Music. The CD was mixed at Tico Tico studios in Finland and features guest appearances on vocals by MAYHEM's Attila Csihar, GOD DETHRONED's Henri Sattler, ARCH ENEMY's Angela Gossow and LLOTH's Nicolas Sic Maiis.

Greek death metal band DAYLIGHT MISERY has completed work on its debut album, "Depressive Icons".

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Intro
02. Meadows Of Desire
03. Depressive Icons
04. Miserablia
05. Infinity
06. Endless Fairytale
07. Stealing Flowers From A Grave
08. Soul Embraced
09. Mind Games

The drums for "Depressive Icons" were recorded at Woodshed Studios in Germany by Seraph (DARK FORTRESS, NONEUCHILD) and producer Victor Bullock (DARK FORTRESS, CELTIC FROST). All artwork for the effort was handled by Travis Smith, who has previously worked with NEVERMORE, KATATONIA, OPETH and AMORPHIS, among others.

"Depressive Icons" includes guest appearances by Efthimis Karadimas (NIGHTFALL) and Jakob Batten (ILLDISPOSED). The keyboard duties were handled by Q_Snc (UNHOLY RITUAL, SAVAOTH, OBSCECRATION) while the bass was recorded by Stergios Kanaropoulos (MORTAL TORMENT, THE ALMIGHTY FISHERMAN, LYTROSIS).

On Friday, January 1, IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain told Eddie Trunk — co-host of the VH1 Classic television program "That Metal Show" who has a long-running radio show, "Friday Night Rocks", on New York's Q104.3 FM — that the band will enter the studio in a couple weeks to start work on a new CD. According to Trunk, Nicko "said there was about eight songs written so far so the band would probably need to come up with a few more new songs while recording. [He added that] the material was a little different than past albums and they were taking their time with the recording schedule." McBrain also stated that the "new CD probably won't come out until 2011," according to Trunk.

Southern California's female-fronted rock act IN THIS MOMENT will enter the studio mid-February with producer Kevin Churko (who worked with the band on 2008's "The Dream") to begin recording its third album for a tentative June release via Century Media Records. The group states, "At the moment, we are still writing songs for our [new LP] and we are really happy with what we have so far.

"As far as direction for the new album, everyone in the band is feeling a heavier/darker vibe. We want the lush production and melodic layers from the 'The Dream' with the raw power and aggression from [2007's] 'Beautiful Tragedy' all mixed together.

"We are the kind of band that musically does what we want, from the heart, we do not follow trends or fads, the new IN THIS MOMENT album will be no exception. We are writing from our heart and I can promise you what you hear from us next will be 100% THE REAL DEAL — no flavor-of-the-week bullshit here."

Regarding the band's decision to once again work with Churko on the forthcoming album, guitarist Chris Howorth recently said, "[Kevin] is such an amazing talent and knowing he will be involved just makes us even more confident in our ability to make the next record better than anything prior."

Shrapnel Records has set a January 26, 2010 release date for "Instrumental Intensity", a new compilation from Michael Schenker (MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, UFO, SCORPIONS).

"Instrumental Intensity" contains some of Michael Schenker's greatest instrumental recordings, culled from his many Shrapnel releases.

The instrumental arena is where Schenker's soaring melodies and riveting solos really shine. A brilliant composer with a master's technique, Schenker's performances are a celebration of rock guitar in its purest form.

"Instrumental Intensity" track listing:

01. Achtung Fertig, Los!
02. Old Man With Sheep On Mars
03. Three Fish Dancing
04. A
05. N
06. D
07. Bijou Pleasurette/Positive Forward
08. Captain Nemo
09. Essence
10. I Am Gratetful
11. The Creator
12. [Bonus Track]

"Last Walk In The Light", the new video from SEVENTH VOID — the new band featuring TYPE O NEGATIVE guitarist Kenny Hickey and drummer Johnny Kelly — can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's debut album, "Heaven Is Gone", which sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 21 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.

"Heaven Is Gone" was released on April 21, 2009 via Vinnie Paul's (PANTERA, HELLYEAH) Big Vin Records.

"We sent [Vinnie] one song," Hickey told DallasObserver.com, "and he really liked it. So we never really took it anywhere else. We wanted someone who believed in it. And Vinnie does."

"From the moment I first heard them, I full-on loved it," Vinnie said. "It's a new band, but when other people hear it, they'll know too. It's just an old-school sound with a new attitude. Something different than all the LINKIN PARKs and HOLLYWOOD UNDEADs out there right now."

Rounded out by bassist Hank Hell (INHUMAN) and guitarist Matt Brown (ex-SUPERMASSIV), SEVENTH VOID continues TYPE O's tradition of slow, heavy riffs and existential lyrics, but with a slightly sludgier, "stonier" flavor.

U.K. death metallers ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY have posted a brand new song, "Cryogenica", on their MySpace page. The track comes off the band's new album, "The Reign Of Darkness", which will be released on January 22 via Nuclear Blast (excluding the U.K. where it will be made available through Siege Of Amida Records).

"The Reign Of Darkness" track listing:

01. And So It Begins...
02. In Snakes I Bathe
03. Born Dead
04. Bone Crown (feat. Erik Rutan)
05. Emptiness
06. Catastrophic Hybridization
07. VII: The Horror, The Destruction...
08. Impale The Sun
09. Portrait Of Souls
10. Cryogenica
11. Into The Black Slumber

Audio samples of all the tracks that appear on "The Evolution Of Chaos", the long-awaited new album from reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN, are available at this location.

"The Evolution Of Chaos" was released in Japan on December 23, 2009 via King Records. The CD will be made available on January 25, 2010 in Europe and March 31, 2010 in the U.S. via Holland's Mascot Records.

"The Evolution Of Chaos" cover artwork can be viewed here. Photos from the recording sessions are available in the "Pics" section of the band's MySpace page (free registration required to view pictures).

The band's current lineup includes Lee Altus (guitar; EXODUS), Kragen Lum (guitar; PROTOTYPE), Dave White (vocals), Jon Torres (bass; ANGELWITCH) and returning drummer Darren Minter.

"The Evolution Of Chaos" track listing:

01. Dying Season
02. Control By Chaos
03. No Stone Unturned
04. Arrows Of Agony
05. Fade Away
06. A Heroe's Welcome
07. Undone
08. Bloodkult
09. Red Tears Of Disgrace
10. Silent Nothingness

ASSAILANT, the Umeå, Sweden-based band featuring guitarist Oscar Norberg ("little brother" of Emil of PERSUADER/SAVAGE CIRCUS fame and Nils Norberg of NOCTURNAL RITES), has posted three songs from the group's forthcoming third album — "My Hate Remains", "Shades Of Grey" and "The End" — on the official ASSAILANT MySpace page.

ASSAILANT recently split with Dockyard 1, the label that issued the group's first two albums — "Wicked Dream" (2008) and "Nemesis Within" (2006).

Commented the band: "We, ASSAILANT, have decided to leave Dockyard 1 just because we feel that we would benefit from either looking for a new label or starting anew. Right now we will continue working on our third album and see what the future holds."

Legt die Uniformen an: Die NACHTMAHR-Armee ist wieder bereit zum Ausrücken! Nur wenige Monate nach Alle Lust will Ewigkeit schiebt Thomas Rainer die EP Mädchen in Uniform nach – und schlägt andere Wege ein. Hinter dem Titeltrack verbirgt sich eine waschechte Old School-EBM-Nummer; knochentrockene Beats, zackige Sequenzen und Vocals im Kommandostil zeigen, dass NACHTMAHR mehr können, als die Hölle auf Erden zu entfachen.

Neben jeder Menge Remixe und neuer Stücke gibt es außerdem eine Cover-Version von FALCOs (!) Hit Titanic. Eine spannende Zwischenmahlzeit, die am 29.01.2010 veröffentlicht wird. Für Die Hard-Fans erscheint überdies ein streng limitiertes Set, welches neben der Digi-EP auch ein T-Shirt oder Girlie bietet und nur bei Vorbestellung erhältlich ist!

Fast 20 Jahre lang haben sie mit ihren expliziten Lyrics und Shows die Szene bereichert, doch jetzt soll tatsächlich Schluss sein: Umbra Et Imago nehmen derzeit ihr Abschiedsalbum auf. Das für Mai 2010 geplante letzte Kapitel soll den Namen „Opus Magnus“ tragen und ein noch heißeres Thema als die provokanten Sex- und SM-Inszenierungen, für die Dichter und Denker Mozart weltweit bekannt ist, anpacken: Die nackte, ungeschminkte Wahrheit. Die Realität, mit der wir alle im Moment konfrontiert sind. Das Leben, wie es die Musiker in den letzten vier Jahren erfahren mussten. Mozart selbst kämpfte durch viele widrige Umstände um seine Existenz, auch der Rest der Band war damit beschäftigt, wirtschaftlich zu überleben. "Die Musikindustrie leidet, aber das ist kein Vergleich mit dem Leiden, das Bands erfahren, die an der Peripherie der Gesellschaft existieren", so der Sänger. "Bands, die sich treu bleiben wollen und den hoffnungslosen Kampf gegen überholte Konzepte der Musikindustrie nur verlieren können. Wir werden daher mit Umbra Et Imago neue Wege beschreiben, auf andere Tonträger setzen oder visuelle Datenträger nutzen. Damit schafft man sich Freiraum", resümiert der Meister. In welche Richtung das neue Material geht, wird sich bereits Anfang 2010 mit einer Vorabsingle zeigen.

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy has released the following comment regarding the passing of AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan:

"Absolutely shocking... What a sad loss...

"The Rev and I exchanged many emails/texts through the years. He always mentioned me in interviews and cited me as a favorite and an influence and I was always flattered by that.

"I thought he was a great drummer and I've been an AVENGED SEVENFOLD fan for a few years now.

"What a tragedy and my heart and prayers go out to his band and family."

Sullivan was found dead at his Southern California home on Monday (December 28). He was 28 years old.

Sullivan appears to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo told The Orange County Register. Police were notified by firefighters who had responded to Sullivan's home about 1 p.m., according to the report.

Reuters reports that AC/DC and METALLICA were among the most popular draws on the North American concert circuit this year, according to data issued on Wednesday.

Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni said the overall concert business bucked the recession, mirroring a similar phenomenon at movie theaters. He said most people go to only one or two shows a year, and are willing to pay a premium for good seats.

AC/DC was at No. 5 with $77.9 million and METALLICA at No. 10 with $53.4 million.

01. U2: $123 million
02. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND: $94.5 million
03. ELTON JOHN and BILLY JOEL: $88 million
04. BRITNEY SPEARS: $82.5 million
05. AC/DC: $77.9 million
06. KENNY CHESNEY: $71.1 million
07. JONAS BROTHERS: $69.8 million
08. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: $56.9 million
09. FLEETWOOD MAC: $54.5 million
10. METALLICA: $53.4 million

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP (DSG), the band led by former MANOWAR guitarist David Shankle, has parted ways with vocalist Kyle Michaels (MASI, RAVAGE, GEEZER BUTLER) and has replaced him with Warren Halvarson.

According to a press release, Warren is "one the foremost singers in the Chicago metal scene and has worked with and played with many prominent national and local recording artists, including Johnny Monaco (ENUFF Z'NUFF), Jason Ward (FLOTSAM AND JETSAM), Michael Posch (RADAKKA, PAMELA MOORE) and Mike Garrett (ZOETROPE, SUPERMERCADO). Warren is thoroughly delighted to be working in DSG and promises to deliver a sonic assault that will be second to none and guaranteed to please the most discerning metal fans!"

The new DAVID SHANKLE GROUP lineup is working on material for its third album for a 2010 release.

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP is:

David Shankle (MANOWAR) - Guitar
Warren Halvarson - Vocals
Brent Sullivan (WINTER KILL, MINDWARP CHAMBER, NDX) - Bass
Gabriel Anthony (PAMELA MOORE, BLUDGEON, RADAKKA) - Drums

According to a press release, "Both Brent and Gabriel have known David and DSG since the beginning of DSG and now anticipate with enthusiasm excitement and world-class talent their time as the core and thunder of the unit."

DAVID SHANKLE GROUP last year rejoined forces with Kyle Michaels following a brief collaboration with Chitral "Chity" Somapala (AVALON, FIREWIND, FARO, MOONLIGHT AGONY, RED CIRCUIT).