Norwegian avant-garde metallers RAM-ZET have posted two new songs — "Infamia" and "I Am Dirt" — on their MySpace page. Both cuts will appear on the band's fourth album, "Neutralized" (cover), which is scheduled for release on October 12 via Ascendance Records.

"Neutralized" was recorded during 2008 and early 2009, and it "sees the band at the peak of its creativity," according to a press release. "RAM-ZET employed a lengthy, busy writing schedule with the album being mixed by Brett Caldas-Lima at Tower studio.

RAM-ZET's third album, "Intra", was released in July 2005 via Tabu Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Escape" (Spikefarm Records) was mixed in Sweden with producer Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES, SOILWORK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARKANE, MESHUGGAH).

Finnish melodic black metallers CATAMENIA have issued the following update:

"We're working on new songs for our next album at the moment and hopefully we're ready to go to record it around September/October this year. The album will be titled 'Cavalcade' and will be recorded in Mastervox Studios in Oulu, Finland."

CATAMENIA's latest CD, "VIII - The Time Unchained", came out last October via Massacre Records. The cover artwork was created by Anthony Clarkson.

CATAMENIA last year parted ways with singer Olli-Jukka Mustonen. The lead vocals in the band are now being handled by guitarist Ari Nissilä.

Virginia's melodic/technical death metal band ARSIS has set "Starve For The Devil" as the title of its fourth studio album, tentatively due in early 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD will be recorded this fall with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (MUNICIPAL WASTE, AGNOSTIC FRONT, HATEBREED) at Planet Z studios in Hadley, Massachusetts. Artist Mark Riddick will provide his trademarked meticulous and grotesque artwork.

"Starve For The Devil" will mark the return to ARSIS of founding member/drummer Michael Van Dyne. He states: "The new ARSIS record is coming along great. We have eleven new original songs nearly completed, as well as a cover song which will probably be used as a bonus track. Recording this album should be a blast, and the fact that we'll be working with one of the world's top metal producers will only make the experience that much cooler." Guitarist/singer Jim Malone adds: "For the past six months we have been writing songs for 'Starve For The Devil', and I must say that I am more than pleased with the way things are going. Mike Van Dyne and I rehearsed this past weekend; it was the first time we have played together in over two and a half years. The rehearsal went amazing; he has really done the songs justice."

ARSIS will embark on the Neckbreakers Ball European tour in October with BEHEMOTH and DEVILDRIVER.

ARSIS' latest album, "We Are the Nightmare", was released in April 2008 through Nuclear Blast Records. The package contains a bonus 45-minute DVD that includes the band's time in the studio, off-stage antics, and some general goofing around. The album was produced by Zeuss (AGNOSTIC FRONT, HATEBREED, MUNICIPAL WASTE) at Planet Z Studios in Massachusetts and was mastered by Alan Douches (KATAKLYSM, UNEARTH, SHADOWS FALL).

DORO's June 16, 2009 concert at Museumsmeile in Bonn, Germany was professionally filmed by WDR's (German public TV) series "Rockpalast" and was premiered earlier this month.

The entire concert can be viewed at this location.

Video footage of Doro Pesch performing an acoustic song backstage at the Bonn show can be viewed at Rockpalast.de.

Doro's setlist for the Bonn concert:

01. Earthshaker Rock
02. I Rule The Ruins
03. Burn It Up
04. You're My Family
05. Für immer
06. Breaking The Law
07. All We Are
08. Always Live To Win
09. Burning The Witches

Doro Pesch recently recorded the official "anthem" of the Wacken Open Air festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. According to a posting on the event's official web site, the song, which is entitled "We Are The Metalheads", is "about the community feeling of the metalheads, about the power and the energy which is given by this music — and, of course, it invites you to sing along and to party hard!"

"We Are The Metalheads" will make its debut on July 30 at this year's Wacken Open Air, where it will be performed by the German band SKYLINE (which once featured Wacken organizer Thomas Jensen in its ranks along with Wacken founder Gösy on drums) and Doro herself. The track will be available for purchase at the festival as well as via all popular digital music providers. All sales proceeds will go to charity organizations like Ein Herz Für Kinder ("A Heart For Children") and the Wacken Foundation, which supports young musicians and metal bands.

"Fear No Evil", the new album from Pesch, was made available in North America on June 2 via AFM/Dismanic/Ryko Distribution.

Released in Europe on January 30 via AFM Records, "Fear No Evil" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 11. This was the highest chart entry for Doro in her home country in almost 20 years.

Pesch celebrated her 25-year career as the reigning queen of German heavy metal by performing a three-hour set on December 13, 2008 at the 20,000-capacity ISS Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany. HOLY MOSES, LEAVES EYES' and ARCH ENEMY opened the show and were followed by full set by DORO herself, which included guest appearances by Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth (OVERKILL), Jean Beauvoir, GRAVE DIGGER's Chris Boltendahl and guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen, SCORPIONS' Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, as well as a host of other female vocalists, such as Liv Kristine (LEAVES' EYES), Floor Jansen (AFTER FOREVER), members of GIRLSCHOOL, Liv of SISTER SIN and Sabina Classen of HOLY MOSES.

Titta Tani from the Italian progressive metal band ASTRA will make an appearance on the forthcoming studio album from German progressive metallers DREAMSCAPE. Tani will be heard in the track "Led Astray", the demo version of which can currently be streamed on the DREAMSCAPE MySpace page.

DREAMSCAPE's new CD, "Everlight", is tentatively due later in the year via Silverwolf Productions. The album will mark the recording debut of the band's new singer, Erik "E.Z." Blomkvist, who was previously in PLATITUDE.

The band's last CD, "5th Season", was released in August 2007. It was the follow-up to "Revoiced" — a "best-of" album containing re-recorded material from the group's first two CDs, "Trans-Like State" (1997) and "Very" (1999).

Italian deathcore specialists STIGMA will head into the studio this November to record the follow-up to 2008's "When Midnight Strikes!" with former BLEEDING THROUGH and current BRING ME THE HORIZON guitarist Jona Weinhofen handling production duties.

Commented vocalist Vlad: "We'll be hitting the studio in November and we're beyond stoked to say that we'll work with the almighty Jona Weinhofen, to make sure we'll reduce 'When Midnight Strikes!' to dust and come out with a beast of an album!"

STIGMA will embark on a European tour with SHADOW LAW (August 23-27) and CRIMSON FALLS (August 28 - September 6). The trek will make stops at the legendary Ieperfest and the TEXTURES-headlined Chap'hell Festival.

Added Vlad: "We're happy to say that we'll finally hit Europe this summer, after successful trips to the UK, Austria, Belgium and Holland, we're really looking forward to play songs out of our debut 'When Midnight Strikes!' as well as a brand new song that will be featured in our second record."

"When Midnight Strikes!" was released in March 2008 through Florida's Pivotal Rockordings. The album was recorded at Db Studios with producer Ettore Rigotti (DISARMONIA MUNDI) and was mixed and mastered by Alessandro Vanara (DISARMONIA MUNDI, SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE) and features guest appearances from Tim Zlinsky (THE CLASSIC STRUGGLE), Alberto Zannier (SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE), Ivan Odorico (SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE), and Mike Lunacy (DARK LUNACY).

Long-running Swedish death metallers DISMEMBER will release a brand new DVD, entitled "Under Bloodred Skies", on July 27 via Regain Records. The two-disc set will include footage of two separate concerts (one in the Netherlands and the other at last year's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held in Bad Berka, Germany) plus tons of backstage material and bonus features.

The cover artwork for the DVD, which was created by Erik Danielsson (Trident Art), can be viewed below.

The track listing is as follows:

Disc 1:

01. Stillborn Ways
02. Death Conquers All
03. Skinfather
04. Dark Depths
05. Life - Another Shape Of Sorrow
06. Forged With Hate
07. Under A Blood Red Sky
08. Override Of The Overture
09. Soons To Be Dead
10. Bleed For Me
11. And So Is Life
12. Dismembered
13. Skin Her Alive
14. Sickening Art
15. In Death's Sleep

Disc 2:

"Death Metal And More Mental Illness" (documentary)

Commented the band: "We have been working hard as hell on this DVD for so long now and it feels great to finally have it released. We have been filming stuff on every tour (and almost every gig) since 2004, so we have had tons of material to choose from. To break that down to make it fit in a DVD format with interviews with all the band members has been a tough one indeed. But the final outcome will surely be worth all the effort and time we put down in this project. It will be a very honest look into the life of being in DISMEMBER, and it will include a lot of scenes that will make people laugh.

"You'll get to see how we work in the studio and how it is being on tour with its ups and downs. There will be some cool backstage footage and live material from the Masters Of Death tour we did with our good friends ENTOMBED, GRAVE and UNLEASHED, plus tons of other interesting stuff from all around the world. We also filmed last year's gig at the Party.San festival. We did a special set at that night; it was divided into two parts, where the first one contains lots of new material as well as some older classics. In the second part of the set we played the the whole first album from 1991, 'Like An Ever Flowing Stream', for the first time in the history of the band, everything very nicely accompanied by fiery pyrotechnics."

DISMEMBER played a 20th-anniversary show on November 22, 2008 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm, Sweden. The concert featured all the past and present members of DISMEMBER on stage performing songs from all of the band's albums in chronological order, starting off as a trio formation and moving on through DISMEMBER history until the present lineup.

Acclaimed British producer and SABBAT guitarist Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) has issued the following update:

"Well, I'm pleased— no, actually, absolutely thrilled — to announce I'll be flying to Nashville next month to meet up with Wolf Hoffmann [guitar] to discuss production, songs etc. for the upcoming ACCEPT album. Anyone who knows me will know what a fan of ACCEPT I am, even after [SABBAT ended up] getting kicked off U.D.O.'s first European tour after two dates (for being too heavy, I'd like to add). I still think they were/are such a killer band and although there's no Udo [Dirkschneider, vocals] or Stefan Kaufmann [drums], I personally think it's great that Wolf, Peter [Baltes, bass] and Hermann [Frank, guitar] are still playing together along with Stefan [Schwarzmann, drums] and Mark [Tornillo, vocals].

"This actually came together through a mutual friend, Ed Aborn, who runs the FOZZY website and also does some work for Wolf. When I first met Ed back in 2001, we got onto the subject of ACCEPT and basically we've never stopped talking about it. So this has come about through a bit of nudging and me going 'over here with that album' and it turns out they are as excited about the idea as I am. I'm also looking forward to doing some classic metal as opposed to out-and-out thrash and I think this could be a really heavy record if that's the direction the band want to go in. This, of course, is yet to be discussed and the whole reason why I'm clocking up yet more air miles next month."

ACCEPT recently reformed with new lead singer Mark Tornillo (ex-TT QUICK) and is planning to hit the road later this year.

"It all happened in minutes," lead guitarist Wolf Hoffmann said. "Peter [Baltes, bass] and I were working on some tunes in a studio in New Jersey. Somebody suggested we give this guy Mark a call to see if he would join us on vocals. So when he arrived we started jamming on some old ACCEPT tunes — just for fun. As soon as Mark started singing we looked at each other and realized the impossible just happened: we found a new voice for ACCEPT! The timing could not have been better! Now or never... We are re-energized and excited..."

"I want to point out," manager Gaby Hoffmann said, "that Udo Dirkschneider [original ACCEPT singer] has always been our first choice and was asked again to join us for touring and recording. However, after a career of more than 20 years with his own band U.D.O., we understand and respect his decision to focus on his own project and hope that all his fans continue to support U.D.O. as they have until today! More music is better for the fans; there is room for ACCEPT as well as U.D.O. We wish Udo all the best and thank him for his continued inspiration NOT to give up ACCEPT and for reviving out 'metal hearts!' Mark Tornillo knows he has big shoes to fill but he has proven to us at first sight that he can expand with ease the level of ACCEPT's well-known songwriter talent. Wolf Hoffmann, Peter Baltes, Herman Frank [guitar] and Stefan Schwarzmann [drums] have been ACCEPT for a long time and are looking forward to jump back into action and produce great music."

"We can't wait to go out and play again," said Baltes. "Just because Udo isn't available doesn't mean we'll have to sit idle any longer. We feel Mark is the perfect fit. Mark is an experienced veteran singer who is aware of the ACCEPT legacy and his voice fits the sound of ACCEPT perfectly. We can't wait to hear him on new material. Wolf and I have already begun the process of writing songs for a new studio album. He and I have always been a great songwriting team — most of the classic ACCEPT tunes were written that way; together with Deaffy, a.k.a. Gaby Hoffmann, as a lyricist."

SPIRALARMS, the San Francisco Bay Area-based band featuring Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN, ex-MANMADEGOD) on guitar, Tim Narducci (ex-SYSTEMATIC) on vocals, Chris "Cornbread" Lombardo on bass, and Brad Barth on keyboards, entered Sonic Room/Audio Voyage studios in late June/early July to begin recording a new album, tentatively titled "Highest Society".

Commented Narducci, "I can't begin to tell everyone of how impressed I am with [SPIRALARMS drummer] Ron's [Redeen, who has previously played with THE ESSENESS PROJECT, the band featuring former NEVERMORE/TESTAMENT and current FORBIDDEN guitarist Steve Smyth] studio work. What a MUTHERFUKKER! Solid as any top studio cat I've worked with, including Josh Freese... No bullshit, period. Thank you, Ron, for your hard work!!!

"The rhythm guitar tone is so raw and crunchy and exactly what I've been wanting for so long with this band; we've finally achieved it. It sounds so massive already I'm afraid to do anything to them in post-production. Next, Cornbread will be stepping up to the plate to tie the basic tracks all together most likely over the next couple of days.

"We have decided to put 12 songs on the record instead of 11, all which complement each other and make a very focused heavy rock 'n' roll album. Two songs which Craig and I wrote together when first started jamming in 2004 called 'Dirty Bomb' and 'Got it All Wrong'. It's so cool how they fit with all of the newest songs written even weeks ago.

"This band has come full circle and has never sounded so good..."

"Highest Society" will be released through Luxury Buzz, the new label started by Narducci and Barth. Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Blood And Wine", "Later On", "Live Another Day", "Scorpio", "Sleep Of The Just", "Silver Sky", and "All That You Seek".

Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY will release a new album, "The Root Of All Evil", on September 28 in Europe and October 6 in North America via Century Media Records. This special collection features re-recorded versions of songs from the band's first three LPs — "Black Earth" (1996), "Stigmata" (1998) and "Burning Bridges" (1999). Acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, EXODUS) mixed and mastered the CD, which was recorded at a few different locations in Sweden and produced by ARCH ENEMY with Daniel Erlandsson and Rickard Bengtsson handling the engineering.

Check out the cover artwork here (by Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes).

Commented guitarist Michael Amott: "This one took some time to get done, despite the fact that the actual songs were already written a good few years ago! The album was recorded at a few different locations locally here in Sweden — produced by ARCH ENEMY, with Daniel Erlandsson (drums) handling a lot of the engineering. It was then sent to Andy Sneap in England for the mixing/mastering and I simply can't stop listening to this since I got the final mixes!"

Amott continued: "We basically headed down to our rehearsal studio, got reacquainted with the tunes, picked out our favorites and proceeded to give a breath of new life to those early songs, with the idea to have the possibility to re-add them to the live set and follow up with some touring activity!

"I'm loving hearing these songs with a fresh new sound and performance. Everyone in the band did a killer job on it — especially Angela's [Gossow] vocal performance is astoundingly intense and brutal and it was also cool to hear Sharlee [D'Angelo] lay down some great bass tracks on the early songs! The production and mix is crushing and heavy as hell — it really makes these old songs shine. It sounds like a brand new thing!"

Guitarist/keyboardist Lanvall of the Austrian female-fronted symphonic metal band EDENBRIDGE has completed the songwriting process for the group's seventh album and will enter the studio in September to begin recording the CD for a tentative May/June 2010 release.

Regarding the new material's direction, EDENBRIDGE states, "Of course, we have followed the symphonic way of our last album, 'MyEarthDream' [2008]. Nevertheless, there are more atmospheric and melancholic vibes on the new one."

The band adds, "We have two absolutely smashing hit songs, both perfect for a video clip."

Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Brothers On Diamir", "Skyline's End", "Bon Voyage Vagabond", "Further Afield" and "Come Undone".

EDENBRIDGE will team up with SERENITY for a tour in September.

Acclaimed metal drummer Richard Christy has issued the following update on his new project, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED:

"I just got back from Audiohammer Studios in [Sanford] Florida where for the last two weeks we recorded all of the drums, guitar, and bass. I must say that I'm totally blown away by how everything is sounding! Jason Suecof is playing guitar and producing and he did such an incredible job on the album. He's not only an awesome guitar player but he's an amazing producer, and I'm so psyched with how everything turned out. The drum sound that Jason and engineer Mark Lewis got for me is astounding! The bass god Steve DiGiorgio [SADUS, TESTAMENT, DEATH, SEBASTIAN BACH] also flew down to Florida to lay down some monster bass tracks that people will be blown away by when they hear! We'll be finishing up with vocals from the amazing Tim 'Ripper' Owens [JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR] and also mixing the album very soon and Metal Blade is planning on releasing the album in early November."

In the spring of 2009, Christy, former drummer for DEATH and ICED EARTH, finished writing the music for a new project. The music for album began to take shape roughly two years ago, after several years of Richard being on a musical hiatus. And though Richard is mostly known for his drumming prowess, he has also actively played guitar since 1992. The project would come to be named CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED.

Upon completing the music for the album in 2009, Richard began to put together his dream band of musicians whom he considers to be some of the best in the world. Included in this musical collective is famed producer, Jason Suecof. Suecof has produced and/or mixed some of the most prominent albums from metal's leading bands, including TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, BURY YOUR DEAD, AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DAATH, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER, GOD FORBID and many, many more. Richard and Jason have been friends for over ten years and wrote music together for years while Richard resided in Florida. On vocals for CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is none other than legendary metal vocalist, Tim "Ripper" Owens. Richard and Tim played together in ICED EARTH from 2003 to 2004. Tim "Ripper" Owens' first and most well-known gig was with metal legends JUDAS PRIEST. He currently performs with BEYOND FEAR and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN'S RISING FORCE. On bass guitar for CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is one of metal's most heralded bassists, Steve Digiorgio. Richard and Steve played together in the bands CONTROL DENIED and ICED EARTH. DiGiorgio has also performed with DEATH, AUTOPSY, CONTROL DENIED, TESTAMENT, VINTERSORG, ICED EARTH, and is a founding member of technical thrash pioneers SADUS. He is widely renowned for his technical skills, and is one of the very few bass players in the metal scene who plays fretless bass.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is:

Richard Christy - Drums
Jason Suecof - Guitar, Producer
Tim "Ripper" Owens - Vocals
Steve Digiorgio - Bass

The cover artwork for MEGADETH's new album, "Endgame", can be viewed here. Due on September 15 via Roadrunner Records, the CD was recorded at the band's brand new, self-built studio in San Marcos, California — Vic's Garage — which was named after the legendary and iconic Vic Rattlehead character.

"Endgame" track listing:

01. Dialectic Chaos
02. This Day We Fight!
03. 44 Minutes
04. 1,320'
05. Bite The Hand That Feeds
06. Bodies Left Behind
07. Endgame
08. The Hardest Part Of Letting Go... Sealed With A Kiss
09. Headcrusher
10. How the Story Ends
11. The Right To Go Insane

"Endgame" was helmed by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (EXODUS, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD). Sneap also manned the boards for 2007's "United Abominations".

According to a press release, "Endgame" "boasts the technicality, ferocity and snarl that's synonymous with MEGADETH and Mustaine. It's a violent masterwork that represents Mustaine's best work in nearly two decades. In a musical world dominated by bands that make generic, blanket statements, 'Endgame' finds Mustaine, once again, making informed and substantial lyrical declarations about the state of the world we live in."

Commented Mustaine: "Thematically, I've never been known to be a silent bystander in a world that needs our participation. As more is revealed about our former President's legacy, a little-known yet staggeringly frightening document which was signed into law, named 'Endgame', has been uncovered. The album 'Endgame' is the most energetic music offering I have penned in over a decade and is far more believable than knowing someone signed 'Endgame' — the document — into law. The album is also the perfect 'ass-kicking' music to listen to once you are done reading the aforementioned document!"

He added, "This new album is my proudest moment since the famous (or infamous) 'Rust in Peace' album. With this album, I am also very excited to be introducing my new lead guitarist, Chris Broderick, to the world. I have always felt lucky to have had top shredders in that position, but after touring with Chris in support of my last album, I couldn't wait to get into the studio and see what he could do."

A new WINDS OF PLAGUE track entitled "Forged In Fire" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The song, which features a guest appearance by TERROR guitarist Martin Stewart, comes off WINDS OF PLAGUE's new album, "The Great Stone War", which is scheduled for release on August 11 in the U.S. and August 24 in Europe via Century Media Records.

"The Great Stone War" (cover) is going to be available in a number of special editions, which are all detailed below.

* The standard CD edition
* Hot Topic edition that features an exclusive bonus DVD featuring the making-of-the-album and tour footage taken from this year's Atticus metal tour.
* iTunes digital download album with the exclusive bonus track "Halloween" originally done by the MISFITS.

Commented vocalist Johnny Plague: "Anyone that knows me is well aware of my unhealthy obsession with the holiday and the events that surround Halloween. When it came for a cover song selection it was immediately decided that we would go with the song 'Halloween' by the MISFITS. Not only is it a timeless classic, but it was a way for us to pay tribute to our friend Glenn Danzig who has been so good to us. Since there are no keyboards in the song we put our keyboardist's (Kristen Randall) voice to use combined with our own WINDS OF PLAGUE twist on the song. We hope you enjoy it and look forward to seeing you all on tour this summer."

"49 Theurgy Chains", the new video from Taiwanese metallers CHTHONIC, can be viewed here. The song comes off the band's new album, "Mirror of Retribution", which will be released in the U.S. on September 1 via Spinefarm Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Autoscopy
02. Blooming Blades
03. Hearts Condemned
04. Venom in my Veins
05. The Aroused
06. Sing Linng Temple
07. 1947
08. Forty Nine Theurgy Chains
09. Rise of the Shadows
10. Bloody Waves of Sorrow
11. Spell of Setting Sun
12. Unlimited Taiwan

The song "Rise of the Shadows" is available for streaming at the band's MySpace page.

CHTHONIC (pronounced "Thonic") is:

Freddy Lim - vocals
Doris Yeh - bass
Jesse Liu - guitar
Dani Wang - drums
CJ - piano/synthesizer

A brand new PARADISE LOST track, entitled "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The song is the title cut of the British gothic metal act's new album, which will be released via Century Media Records on September 28, 2009 in Europe and October 6, 2009 in the U.S.

Commented vocalist Nick Holmes: "This song had a massive overhaul in the last few weeks before recording, and thankfully it worked out well. Unlike many bands, we try to know exactly what we are doing once we are in the studio. So re-writes near recording time are as scary as they can be can be rewarding. This song is swathed in melancholy and the closest thing on the album to a 'ballad' perhaps. Lyrically the title says it all. I find faith an oddity in that some people may have such devout belief that the only common ground with another human is death itself."

The album's artwork (see here), which is based upon a "Danse Macabre" woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger (first published in 1538), was created by Stefan Wibbeke at Medialogistics (LACUNA COIL, POISONBLACK).

"Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2007's "In Requiem" features around 10 tracks, including "First Light", "Frailty" and "My Last Regret".

Holmes recently stated about the album's title, "The thoughts behind the title 'Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us' are very much self-explanatory. There is so much division in the world caused by obstructing religious belief. We are all made of the same flesh and bone. What makes one religion better than the other, and would any true god allow his creation to destroy itself? The vast number of different so-called faiths around the globe just helps to strengthen my complete denial of any god and force the belief that religion is nothing more than a man-made, cash-induced fabrication to exploit a human being's natural fear of death."

Regarding the band's decision to work with Bogren this time around, Holmes said, "We are very happy with [producer] Rhys Fulber's work on the last album ['In Requiem'], but after working on three albums together, we decided it was time to go for a different approach. After hearing the work he did with our 'Anatomy Of Melancholy' live DVD, we decided that Jens Bogren was the man for the job."

He continued, "Our approach this time has leaned even more towards the heavier side of things, even more so than the last. It is vital not to lose touch with our musical trip over the last 20 years. Our music may have had different facelifts, but it has always been 'dark' and the new album will be no exception. Musically and lyrically.

"Writing a new album is always exciting; we never get bored of writing music, and for me, it is the best part of being in a band. Each album is like a challenge to better ourselves, or at the very least, do something that's different to everyone else. We strive to make the ultimate modern gothic metal album, and for me that has nothing to do with the common trend of 'romance' and 'roses.' It should be music to be murdered by."

Finnish goth metallers THE 69 EYES will release their new album, "Back In Blood", in Europe (excluding Finland) on August 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (September 15 in the U.S. through The End Records). The CD, which was tracked with the Grammy-winning producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET, FU MANCHU), features a guest appearance by MONSTER MAGNET's Ed Mundell. The recording process took place both in Helsinki and Los Angeles.

A fourth promotional video for the album can be viewed here.

The first single from the album, "Dead Girls Are Easy", is described in a press release as "a nasty power anthem for sleazy pin-ups complete with a sing-a-long chorus aimed at those online chicks with the looks that kill!" The video for the song, which can also be viewed below, was directed by MTV superstar and close friend Bam Margera and the artwork was designed by Estevan Oriol, whose work has graced countless covers from such artists as CYPRESS HILL, THE TRANSPLANTS and SNOOP DOGG.

"Back In Blood" track listing:

01. Back In Blood
02. We Own The Night
03. Dead N' Gone
04. The Good, The Bad & The Undead
05. Kiss Me Undead
06. Lips Of Blood
07. Dead Girls Are Easy
08. Night Watch
09. Some Kind Of Magick
10. Hunger
11. Suspiria Snow White
12. Eternal

Last October, one of SLAYER's brand new songs, "Psychopathy Red", leaked online, and since then the song has been streamed more than a half-million times. Nine months is a long stretch to go without a new SLAYER track, so the band is making available another morsel from their upcoming album, "World Painted Blood", due out later this year. The limited-edition single, a Kerry King composition, is titled "Hate Worldwide", and will be available exclusively as a CD-single at Hot Topic stores beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28.

You can preview the track NOW at Shockhound.com.

"It's a really cool track, and Tom's [Araya] voice sounds incredible on it," said King. "The last line in the song's chorus is '..spread a little hate worldwide,' and that's what we've been doing for 25 years."

As "World Painted Blood" is a SLAYER album, it deals with topics such as death and destruction, war, serial killers, and the Apocalypse. The album was recorded in Los Angeles over two time periods, during October 2008 and then between late January and March 2009. "World Painted Blood" was produced by Greg Fidelman, who's spent time in the studio with METALLICA, THE GOSSIP, THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY, SLIPKNOT and others, and executive-produced by longtime SLAYER colleague Rick Rubin, who suggested Fidelman for the project.

SLAYER — bassist/vocalist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and drummer Dave Lombardo — is currently co-headlining the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival with MARILYN MANSON, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, among others.

SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo recently spoke to Keith Carman of Hellbound about the band's forthcoming album, "World Painted Blood". He said, "I can't get enough of the new SLAYER record. I'm really excited about this one. I could try to pinpoint [why] but I can't. It's just very cool."

He continued, "['World Painted Blood' has] elements of 'Seasons', 'South of Heaven', 'Reign in Blood'. It's inspired. The vocals, the leads, the rhythms — it's pure, classic SLAYER…. I'm not trying to push a record. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I'd keep quiet. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't say much, but this one is really exciting for me. It was exhausting at times, but it was worth it because the outcome is so solid."

On what has inspired SLAYER to make an album that harkens back to the band's legendary catalog almost 30 years into the group's career:

"I could easily say that maybe musical growth or maturity comes into it; unintentionally putting the best ideas and a big variety of ideas together to make it interesting. Maybe it's unconsciously happening. I don't know. Maybe it's willful — nah, I don't think that.”

"[At the onset of 'Christ Illusion'], we were a couple of months shy of my 10-year anniversary of departing from the band. Getting back together, we felt comfortable performing the old stuff and I felt comfortable performing Paul's [Bostaph, Lombardo's replacement] stuff, but maybe we didn't establish our method of operation, our songwriting operation or collective efforts to the extent that this album has them."

On whether "World Painted Blood" could be the last new SLAYER material thrust into the world:

"I don't know. I hear that rumor, too, and I can only speak for myself. I have enough fire and energy to last I don't know how long. I can imagine myself at 75 looking like Charlie Watts playing speed metal. I'm OK with that. I don't know about the other guys. I'll keep playing, though, and as long as SLAYER needs me, I'll be here. Whatever they wanna do. I haven't heard anything internally about, 'Oh, this is it.'"

Vocalist Tommy Rogers of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based progressive metalcore quintet BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME recently spoke to Noisecreep about the band's new album, "The Great Misdirect", due on October 27 via Victory Records.

"A lot of the record deals with the human brain," he explained. "There's definitely a lot to do with alien abductions, and one song is about a group of people who write music in the desert, because music is outlawed across the entire Earth. I get borderline obsessed with certain topics, and that bleeds into my lyrics. During the writing of this record, I got really obsessed with the human brain, magic and code, and wrote a song about all of that. I got obsessed with freaking alien abduction and stuff like that. It's basically what's in my head. I want to create stories and lyrics that go well with our music, because it is so dynamic. I want the lyrics to follow that."

On pushing the limits of musical expression:

"When we started this band, the big goal was not having limits as far as what we wanted to do musically, and as musicians, there's a lot of freedom in this band. We're not opposed to trying anything. And I love having that freedom, to know that the limits are endless, and that we won't be afraid to try anything. It's awesome. I hope we keep evolving as musicians, and writing better and better music."

"When you try to push the envelope, that's when things can go wrong. When you're, like, 'We gotta write something that's different, that stands out,' that's when you're forcing yourself to be weird or technical, just for the sake of doing it. The reason why our music is so unique is because all five of us write and in a lot of bands, it's not like that. We all write stuff on our own, and put it all together, and it's such a collaboration of ideas. It comes out sounding unique without really trying."

"We never go in and say, 'We need this kind of part' or 'We need this kind of part.' We just write, and see what happens. It's always a fun building process, because you feed off of each other, and you feed off of other peoples' ideas. The day we start forcing things out is the day we need to stop making music. Right now, it's fun to write because it's very organic, and we're really expressing what we're feeling."

"Black And White", the new video from U.D.O. — the German metal band fronted by former ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider — can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's follow-up to 2007's "Mastercutor", titled "Dominator", which is scheduled for release on August 21 via AFM Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. The Bogeyman
02. Dominator
03. Black And White
04. Infected
05. Heavy Metal Heaven
06. Doom Ride
07. Stillness Of Time
08. Devil's Rendezvous
09. Bleeding Heart (Japanese bonus)
10. Pleasure In The Darkroom (digipack bonus)
11. Speed Demon
12. Whispers In The Dark

BRAATHUM is the name of a new death metal band featuring David Isberg (founding member of OPETH) and Adam Skogvards (ex-MYNJUN) along with young bass player Daniel Ädel (best known for playing defense for Iceland's national ice hockey team!). The group is currently seeking a permanent drummer and preparing for its first recording session, which is expected to take place in the fall.

Isberg (pictured below) formed OPETH in 1990 with some friends from Täby, Sweden. Longtime friend Mikael Åkerfeldt was in a band called ERUPTION but was considering a departure from this group. One day David invited him to play bass for OPETH and Åkerfeldt accepted the offer. When he came to the rehearsal, however, none of the other members of the band knew Mikael was coming and they didn't want to kick out the bass player they already had. The ensuing argument played out with all the members of OPETH (apart from David) leaving. They renamed themselves CROWLEY and released a demo tape called "The Gate" in 1991. David remained with OPETH until 1992, when he left, citing creative differences. The lead vocal duties in OPETH were subsequently taken over by Åkerfeldt.

A brand new CALIBAN track entitled "Caliban's Revenge" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The song comes off the German metalcore band's seventh album, "Say Hello To Tragedy", which is scheduled for release in Europe on August 24 via Century Media Records (one day later in the U.S.). The follow-up to 2007's "The Awakening" was once again produced by Benny Richter, co-produced by guitarist Marc Goertz and was mixed by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.

"Say Hello To Tragedy" will be available in the following formats:

* CD jewelcase
* Limited digipack with alternative dyecut cover plus two bonus tracks ("Forsaken Horizon" and "Between The Worlds", recorded live at Germany's With Full Force festival in 2008) and CD enhancement ("24 Years" live clip, interview, photo gallery)
- LP + CD (the entire limited-edition CD)
- Digital download