AGUA DE ANNIQUE/ex-THE GATHERING vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen has issued the following update

"It's been one hell of a week.

"As you may know, I was in Canada, writing and recording with [Canadian multi-instrumentalist/producer] Devin Townsend [STRAPPING YOUNG LAD]. Forgive me if I speak too much about it, but that was absolutely a great experience. He's one of the best musicians I have ever met and a very nice and genuine person as well.

"We recorded lots of vocals for his new album, 'Addicted', and together we wrote four songs for my upcoming album. Let me tell you in all modesty: It's gonna be marvy!!!

"Another memorable experience for me was our show in Amsterdam at the Night of Tibet. We played a show with AGUA and I performed the Tibet song 'Als Je Ooit Nog Eens Terug Kan' together with Holland's finest musicians in front H.H. the Dalai Lama, who was there to speak. I am still in awe of his peaceful message. After we shook hands, I was able to feel his energy and warmth for hours.

"I can safely say this has been one of the most inspiring weeks yet. All this good energy will be put into good use, because it's almost time to record our new album. The songs are written, the studio is almost finished and our spirits are high. We have 16 songs to choose from and I guess about 12 will make the album. I will keep you all posted.

"Please note that coming Saturday the 13th of June we will play our last AGUA show at De Groene Engel in Oss, the Netherlands, before we lock ourselves up in our studio. We are looking forward to see everybody again and we'll have a good party indeed. To us this night will be kinda special, since we played all most non-stop since the release of 'Air' and 'Pure Air'. We'll be back on stage in the fall, but I hope you all come to join this festive show so we can say goodbye and wish you a good summer. Indie band WOOST will also be joining us on stage. They are one of my fave bands in Holland. Doors open at 8.30 p.m."

Finnish "love metallers" HIM have set "Screamworks: Love In Theory And Practice" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in February 2010 via Warner Bros. Records worldwide. The CD will be recorded in August at a Los Angeles studio with producer Matt Squire, who has previously worked with TAKING BACK SUNDAY, THE USED, PANIC AT THE DISCO, BOYS LIKE GIRLS and THRICE, among others.

HIM's last studio album, "Venus Doom", sold 38,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. Its predecessor, "Dark Light", has shifted 580,000 units in the U.S. to date.

HIM's CD/DVD set, "Digital Versatile Doom: Live at the Orpheum Theatre", was released in April 2008. The live portion of the DVD was recorded/filmed at the band's November 14-15, 2007 concerts at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. "Digital Versatile Doom" also features a second disc, with the full live performance from The Orpheum Theater and a 16-page booklet of original art and images.

Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen's band for her Summer Storm 2009 Tour will consist of the following musicians:

* Tarja Turunen - Vocals
* Mike Terrana (MASTERPLAN, SAVAGE CIRCUS, ex-RAGE, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) - Drums
* Maria Ilmoniemi - Keyboards
* Doug Wimbish (LIVING COLOUR, MADONNA, JEFF BECK, THE ROLLING STONES) - Bass
* Kiko Loureiro (ANGRA) - Guitar
* Max Lilja (HEVEIN, ex-APOCALYPTICA) - Cello

According to a posting on Tarja's web site, "all the shows on Summer Storm 2009 Tour were declared 'camera-friendly,' which means that you are welcome to bring your photo camera and take as many pictures as you wish. This is with the exception of gigs in festivals, where you will have to ask to the organization of the festival about their camera policy for we can not exceed the regulations established by them."

Gothic Metal icon Morten Veland (Tristania, Sirenia) has inked a deal with Napalm Records for his new band Mortemia. Morten promises his fans a sweeping listening experience, which will follow the path of Tristania’s masterpiece “Beyond the Veil”. The first songs stay true to his promise and offer beautiful melodies and bombastic choir passages, thus creating the perfect blend of traditional Gothic Metal and modern elements.

"I am happy to have signed to Napalm Records for my new project Mortemia. I am looking forward to the cooperation with the label and to bring out more music to all the metal fans out there."

German metalcore band CALIBAN has inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. The group's seventh album, "Say Hello To Tradegy", is scheduled for release on August 24. 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.

Commented Goertz: "We are more then happy to announce that we have signed a new record deal at Century Media Records! We are really looking forward to working with them! We just visited their office and met everyone who works there and have to say that it already feels like home."

Austrian blackened death metal outfit BELPHEGOR have set "Walpurgis Rites - Hexenwahn" as the title of their eighth full-length studio album, due out in October via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2008's "Bondage Goat Zombie" was recorded at Andy Classen's (LEGION OF THE DAMNED, DEW-SCENTED, NEAERA, ASPHYX) Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany.

Commented frontman Helmuth: "The title fits perfect to the whole concept, the lyrical themes. It's typical BELPHEGOR, involving symbology and double meanings. I have always been fascinated by the idea and atmosphere surrounding witches, their magic, the insane sabbath/ ceremonies — and all the obscurity that goes with it. With the nine sound collages, the verses, artwork we continue our descent into the depths of musical hell."

Check out photos from the recording sessions at this location.

U.K. doom legends MY DYING BRIDE have issued the following update:

"Katie [Stone, violin/keyboards] is no longer taking part in MY DYING BRIDE. After confirming to play all of the shows we presently have booked, she decided she did not want to do them, stating the reason being as 'I want to concentrate on my career.' She is presently a parttime psychology student. So make of that what you will.

"The kind chap who came in to replace her is called Shaun Macgowan. He has been rehearsing with us for no time at all and has shown great commitment already. He will not be being classed as a full-time member until he has passed his probationary period with us, which is now 30 years.

"If you would like to welcome Shaun in the only way MDB fans can, that would be a great test of his character. And by 'the only way,' I mean to complain that he is not Martin. Forever.
"The band overall are saddened by the lineup change, we think more for you than us. But as anyone who saw the show at the Wave Gotik in Leipzig will confirm, we have lost nothing."

OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has checked in with the following update:

"A few days ago, I was standing by the swings in the park with my two daughters. They're in the swings, crying with laughter and I'm pushing them higher and higher. Apart from the noise they're making, it's dead quiet. No one's here but us; there's virtually no cars and the wind is just a still breeze. Two days before I'd played a wild show in Germany, I'd had a few beers (Coronas, of course) afterwards, some drags on a Marlboro light, and we'd terrorized the support act and the local crew with a $20 fart machine that Fred [Fredrik Åkesson, guitar] and [Martin] Mendez [bass] had bought in a sketchy store somewhere in the U.S. I was the centre of attention and now I'm by the swings with my kids and no one gives a fuck about me. Lovely!

"It's a weird yet a lovely feeling to be able to live a 'double life' like this. On the road I'm just a lazy, irresponsible bum who drinks beer and wine every night and our crew arrange everything for us. We show up (sometimes) for soundcheck, we do a few interviews, play the show and then have a few beers. Every day's the same. Me and Axe [Martin Axenrot, drums] have started to go for long walks, checking if there's any second-hand record stores around (bought around 150 pieces of vinyl), or just scanning the city. I've started to appreciate it more and more lately. I need to break the habit of having the same shit going round in circles on tour.

"Back home, I'm just a dad and a husband. My wife basically drags me straight into the role of everything I'm not while on tour. I'm cooking (love it, made mussels steamed in white wine, chilli, onions, garlic and coriander + spices), cleaning, vacuuming, doing the dishes, moving the lawn, playing with the kids (obviously this is top priority) and just doing 'normal' stuff. That's how I get some equilibrium with this crazy life I lead.

"The North American tour went great! The shows were really well attended and we played good every night. My voice got a bit sore for some reason while in Pittsburgh. The next day (Chicago) I had a doctor come and inject me with steroids...in my ass. I also got some steroids in pill form as well as some antibiotics as the steroids were bound to fuck up my immune system. What I do for ROCK!? And all this in the middle of the swine-fly scare. I got better real fast and two-thirds of the tour went by without any problems whatsoever. My voice got stronger than ever, if I may say so.

"It's a little bit of a blur, but my favourite shows....hmmm....liked Tucson, AZ since we played well and we got a laugh attack on stage which always makes it something special. We sucked in L.A. (Axe fucked up), sucked in NYC (I fucked up), sucked in Pittsburgh (me again)...the rest were all right, and we had quite a few high-octane shows cooking as well. OPETH right now is a machine, our standards for shows are over the top! I mean, playing-wise...the 'show' is still the same as it always was...some lights and five silhouettes rocking out, that's it!

"In Memphis we went to visit Graceland, which was pretty big for me. Real cool house and not as big as I'd imagined. His grave was there. I didn't know about it and I was a bit stunned as I laid my eyes on it. I felt him there, I talked to the other guys and they felt the same. Grutle (of support band ENSLAVED) started crying he said, for no apparent reason. It was emotionally MASSIVE! We also played Knoxville which was great. Me and Axe went to a real fancy top restaurant afterwards since the owner was a fan. He'd set us up with some VIP tables and the food was TOP NOTCH. Best sushi I'd had in a long time! Oh, and HEART were playing down the street from us, and I almost got the chance to meet them. It didn't happen, but they signed a DVD for me which was cool! Love them!

"In Washington, D.C. me and Fred got picked up to go to the PRS [Paul Reed Smith Guitars] factory. It was great to see them again, and Paul himself was real happy. We had a very interesting meeting there but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say anything about it yet, but it's a pretty big thing. I also got to play one of their acoustic guitars, the Angelus. It was hands down the best guitar I have ever played in my life! I need one, crave one! Fred got a nice PRS SC 245 which looked awesome. He loved it too, short scale, never played one myself.

"Overall it was a real nice tour, possibly the last for this run, although we got an offer from a big band to support them. We've said yes but it's not been confirmed...we'll see. The Germany shows were cool as well. The Wave Gotik Treffen [festival] in Leipzig is semi-legendary. Most punters are dressed up like something out of the Dracula films. Top hats, cains, gloves, frilly shirts and dyed black hair...wait, that's the general black metal look now maybe...I don't know.

"Oh, and ENSLAVED are our new best pals. What a great band and great bunch of guys. Totally genuine, down-to-earth nice guys. I mean, I knew them a little from before but now I know them as buddies. I've invited Grutle to my house this summer for some BBQ. Love those guys!!

"Next up are the summer festivals here in Europe. Those are always fun but so much fucking flying, it's insane. Still we'll have a good time.

"Right now I'm sat writing this as [daughter] Mirjam is sleeping. She's a bit ill so I'm watching over her. Thing is I'm still jet-lagged outta my fucking head so I might pass out myself. I guess I could...no harm done. Anna [wife] is working and [other daughter] Melinda is at kindergarten...in fact, I'll take a fucking old man's nap right away."

Finnish hard rockers ANCARA will release their third album, "Chasing Shadows", on August 26 through Timo Kotipelto's (STRATOVARIUS) High & Loud Records. The CD's first single, "We Paint December", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Commented frontman Sammy Salminen: "I wanted to write a song like 'Black Snow' from our first album. I still like the lyrics in that one. 'We Paint December' is not a preaching song, but more of a story about 'fear' images of the future. I think the humanity is painting our last colors in to our works right on the very planet, if nothing will change. The song is one of the heaviest songs on the album and it was one of the last songs that we finished in the sessions. Because planning the Christmas starts earlier each year, so how about we put to our wish lists: Dear Santa, could we get a new brain to our society?"

ANCARA's new album was recorded with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, APOCALYPTICA, AMORPHIS, LORDI, THE 69 EYES, SENTENCED).

Kotipelto previously stated about ANCARA: "After seeing a couple of gigs by the band and listening to their new material I was convinced: this band has to be signed!"

He added, "ANCARA plays honest hard rock and are not running after any trends. Sammy has a very strong voice backed up by excellent backing vocals by the other guys. The songs are catchy and the band rocks the house when playing live!"

British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (ex-IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) has just released "The Night That Will Not Die", a double live CD containing his entire December 13, 2008 concert at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland. It features two hours of live perfomance material, including songs from the new album, "The Man Who Would Not Die". A concert DVD, "The Night That Will Not Die", was released in April via Blaze Bayley Recordings.

The track listing for the "The Night That Will Not Die" two-CD set is as follows:

Disc 1:

01. The Man Who Would Not Die
02. Blackmailer
03. Smile Back At Death
04. Alive
05. Identity
06. Kill And Destroy
07. Ghost In The Machine
08. Ten Seconds
09. Futureal
10. The Launch
11. Lord Of The Flies
12. Leap Of Faith

Disc 2:

01. Edge Of Darkness
02. Crack In The System
03. Voices From The Past
04. Stare At The Sun
05. Born As A Stranger
06. Man On The Edge
07. While You Were Gone
08. Samurai
09. Robot

Tempe, Arizona-based "melodic and emotional doom/death metal" band FALL OF EMPYREAN has issued the following update:

"We are working hard at writing new material. We already have two new songs down that we are practicing, and have a few others that are being written. The two new songs are called 'No Absolution' and 'The Heart Corrodes', and these are, by far, the most emotional songs we have ever written. And, that trend will continue for the rest of the songs we write for the next album, it will definitely be the most diverse and emotional album yet."

FALL OF EMPYREAN recently inked a four-album deal with Germany's Grau Records. The group's first release for Grau will be the band's long-delayed third full-length CD, "A Life Spent Dying", which was completed in 2007 with Ryan Butler of Arcane Digital Recording studios in Chandler, Arizona. An official release date for the effort has yet to be announced.

FALL OF EMPYREAN was established in the year 2000, to this day depressing the world with its effective brand of emotional doom/death metal. Throughout the years, the band has gained a strong following throughout not only the United States, but also mainland Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the Baltic states, Japan, South Korea, South America, Mexico, Australia, and a number of other countries.

FALL OF EMPYREAN is:

Justin Burning - Guitar
Ron Clark - Guitar
Kevin Leeds - Keyboard
Daniel Sobeck - Bass
Andy York - Drums
Richard Medina - Vocals

Swedish metallers AVATAR will enter the studio tomorrow (Monday, June 8 to begin recording their third album for a late 2009 release. In a May 14 online posting, the band stated about the songwriting process for the new CD, "We do now have a total of 13 songs written, polished, perfected, demo-recorded.. Two of the songs are using the same verse so one of them has to go away, which makes it 12.. and then one or two will probably fall out after recording, which often happens of several reasons; It might be hard to find a good spot for it on the album or some part of it turns out to not be as good as it was intended to be. But since we have written the best album in the world, I don't think this might be a risk.

AVATAR's latest album, entitled "Schlacht", was released on October 24, 2007 via Gain Records. The group started recording the follow-up to 2006's "Thoughts of No Tomorrow" in May 2007.

LIZZY BORDEN has announced the addition of guitarist Dario Lorina (pictured below) to the group's ranks.

Lorina is a 19-year-old guitarist who has been making waves in the music industry. At age 16, he was recognized for his passion and what some may call exceptional talent, and began touring with multi-platinum songwriter and WARRANT frontman Jani Lane. During that time Dario strongly created a reputation and name for himself as a player and gained the respect of many, thus giving him the opportunity to play with various notable artists. Dario has been touring consistently throughout the USA and Europe since 2006.

Commented LIZZY BORDEN singer and namesake: "Dario has played three shows with us so far — Germany, Holland and Hollywood, California — and was magnificent at them all. He fits in so perfectly with us; I just know all the LIZZY BORDEN fans around the world are going to be blown away when they see him play."

Guitarist Ira Black announced his departure from LIZZY BORDEN in February. The axeman, who previously played with METAL CHURCH, VICIOUS RUMORS and HEATHEN, recently joined PROPHESY, the new U.S./German group featuring vocalist Brian O'Connor (ex-VICIOUS RUMORS) and guitarist Fabian Schwarz (PARADOX, RUNAMOK, THE NEW BLACK).

Former LIZZY BORDEN guitarist Corey Daum (a.k.a. Corey James) was killed in a car crash on January 24, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 39 years old. According to The Tennessean, a Kentucky man was charged with vehicular homicide after police said he drove into a concrete wall, killing Daum.

Daum was a member of LIZZY BORDEN from 1989 to 1996, although he didn't appear on any of the band's studio albums.

AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford will be sitting out part of the band's upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Presents Aerosmith tour dates with special guests ZZ TOP as he recuperates from recent surgery. Bobby Schneck (who has played with GREEN DAY, WEEZER and SLASH) will be filling in for the guitarist. AEROSMITH regrets any inconvenience to its fans and thanks everyone for their support.

Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer of AEROSMITH confirmed during a June 2 appearance on the WZLX radio station in Boston, Massachusetts that they will play the whole ""Toys In The Attic" album on their trek with ZZ TOP.

"Toys In The Attic", AEROSMITH's third album, was released in 1975 and is one of their most successful efforts. It includes the classic singles "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion", as well as "Adam's Apple", "Big Ten-Inch Record", "Round And Round", "Uncle Salty" and the title track.

"Prevail">, the new video from the Swedish melodic metal band HARMONY, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's new album, "Chapter II: Aftermath", which was released in North America last November via Nightmare Records. The CD was issued in Europe on October 31, 2008.

"Chapter II: Aftermath" track listing:

01. Prevail
02. Aftermath
03. Rain
04. Don't Turn Away
05. Kingdom
06. Silently We Fade
07. Inner Peace
08. Weak
09. I Run
10. Hollow Faces
11. End Of My Road

The album was mixed by Pelle Saether (A.C.T, DARKWATER) at Studio Underground and was mastered by Göran Finnberg (IN FLAMES, THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY) at The Mastering Room. Daniel Heiman (ex-LOST HORIZON, HEED) contributes guest vocals to the track "Inner Peace" and Kristoffer Gildenlöw (DIAL, ex-PAIN OF SALVATION) played bass on the entire album.

Mikael Stanne of DARK TRANQUILLITY will write all the lyrics for the forthcoming debut album from the Swedish/Finnish progressive metal "supergroup" SOLUTION.45, which features in its ranks former SCAR SYMMETRY vocalist Christian Älvestam, Mikko Härkin (ex-SONATA ARCTICA, KOTIPELTO) and Jani Stefanovic (MISERATION, ESSENCE OF SORROW).

Commented Älvestam: "[Mikael] recently wrote some additional guest lyrics for another band of mine, called THE FEW AGAINST MANY (in which Jani [Stefanovic, guitar] can also be found) and since he did such a great job on that one (and also being a great lyricist in general), we thought we'd ask him if he'd be up to making a lyrical contribution to the SOLUTION.45 album as well.

"After some discussion between us, he agreed to the proposal of not only writing some parts, but to write all lyrics for the album. We couldn't be happier, man! I've personally been a huge fan of his earlier work and writing skills, for quite some time now, so it's a great honor and privilege to have him aboard. However, I will still compose the vocal arrangements and melodies for the album, so do not fear in that regard.

"Why don't I write the lyrics myself, you may wonder? Well... for starters, I do intend to write some for the album, but mainly just bits and pieces, here and there. The thing is, over the years I've kind of lost the spark, or the driving force (or whatever you'd like to call it), needed in order to write lyrics good enough to satisfy my inner critic. However, on an impulse, I can still write some decent stuff every now and then, but unfortunately, these occasions have grown further and further apart over the last couple of years. Therefore I rather delegate this duty to more suitable people nowadays, who I know can deliver the goods, so to speak."

SOLUTION.45 will enter Panic Room studios in September with producer Tomas "Plec" Johansson to begin recording the band's debut album for an early 2010 release via AFM Records.

Älvestam previously stated about SOLUTION.45: "For all of you who like my multi-vocal stuff in SCAR SYMMETRY, I'd like to introduce a somewhat new band I've got going since the late fall of 2007 called SOLUTION.45. Since I'm responsible for introducing the multi-vocal style in SCAR SYMMETRY, as well as writing like 75% of all the vocal-melodies and 90% of all the growled parts, you will most likely recognize the style and hooks in SOLUTION.45. I've been writing and doing these multi-vocals since the early '90s in several bands (such as UNMOORED, SOLAR DAWN and SCAR SYMMETRY, to name a few) and since this style very much reflects who I am, musically, I have no plans abandoning it any time soon! All the aforementioned bands have vocally been a lengthening of my urge to write and experiment with these different vocal-styles and hooks and SOLUTION.45 feels very much like the next natural step, in this 15-year long journey, starting back in 1993 with the birth of UNMOORED! It's been a while since it felt this inspiring and rewarding though!"

SOLUTION.45 is:

Christian Älvestam (SCAR SYMMETRY) - Vocals
Mikko Härkin (SONATA ARCTICA, KOTIPELTO) - Keyboards
Jani Stefanovic (MISERATION, ESSENCE OF SORROW) - Guitar
Tom Gardiner (HATEFORM) - Guitar
Anders Edlund (ANGEL BLAKE) - Bass
Rolf Pilve (MISERATION, ESSENCE OF SORROW) - Drums

FULL FORCE, the new Swedish melodic metal project featuring Mike Andersson (CLOUDSCAPE, SILENT MEMORIAL, PLANET ALLIANCE) on vocals, Stefan Elmgren (HAMMERFALL) on guitar, Magnus Rosén (HAMMERFALL, X-WORLD/5) on bass and Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on drums, has issued the folowing update:

"We can now reveal the fifth and last member to be recruited in FULL FORCE. It is the Swedish guitar maestro Carl-Johan Grimmark. As some of you may know, Carl-Johan is also guitarist in the band NARNIA, and just like Mike and Anders, FULL FORCE will not affect their other bands (CLOUDSCAPE, HAMMERFALL and NARNIA). Nonetheless, FULL FORCE is a real band and not a 'project,' so the ambition is to tour as soon as the album is recorded and released sometime in 2010. All keyboards on the album will most likely be recorded by Mike, Stefan and Carl-Johan."

FULL FORCE recently uploaded its first demo sample, "Heart & Soul", to the band's MySpace page.

According to FULL FORCE's official bio, "Mike and Magnus met for the first time in 2006 during the recordings of the PLANET ALLIANCE album. They became very good friends right away both musically and personally so, since the recording of that album Mike and Magnus have often talked about working more together. Same thing goes with long time friend Stefan Elmgren and Magnus after the departure of the well-known metal band called HAMMERFALL. They also talked often about starting up a new band together, so the course was more or less set in late 2008 when Magnus gave Mike a phone call asking him if he was interested in starting up a new band with him and Stefan. Right now the main focus is writing songs for the album and they have come a long way already. There are already labels interested in signing FULL FORCE but all these details will be announced in appropriate time."

Vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid of Sweden-based metallers SOILWORK has issued the following update:

"Songwriting mania has just begun for both SOILWORK and another act I would like to introduce you to. I have just launched my solo project that so far remains nameless. I have somewhat of a clear picture in my head of how the music will sound like. This might come as a shock to some of you but think 'Welcome to my Nightmare' by ALICE COOPER, 'Destroyer' with KISS, early AEROSMITH, a dose of 'Born to Run' with BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, a rocked-out ELVIS, some Motown, first BOSTON album and some early STEELY DAN etc...

"How about it, folks? The sound is gonna be dirty, retro, classic rock with horns, strings and some spaced-out percussion.

"I always wanted to do a real atmospheric rock album which has a pretentious, yet dirty, dirty feel to it. It's gonna be one hell of a project to make this all happen, but I will give it the pace it deserves; just wanted to introduce you to it.

"The lineup so far features Sharlee D’ Angelo (ARCH ENEMY, ex-MERCYFUL FATE) on bass and David Andersson (session guitar SOILWORK) and will be completed within a near future.

"In today's scene, I guess it will be hard to find the right label for this; not really metal label material, I suppose.

"Interested labels can shoot an email to the following address: stridsolo@gmail.com

"In other personal news, I'm still doing vocal coaching in my hometown of Helsingborg in Sweden and will also be able to do vocal coaching when I head for Phoenix, Arizona in the end of July. I'm also able to produce vocals in studio.

"If you want me to produce your vocals on your recording, don't hesitate to get in touch!

"Interested people can reach me at speedvocalcoaching@gmail.com. Please, only serious offers!"

Brazilian death metal veterans KRISIUN have posted a previously unreleased bonus track from their "Southern Storm" album on their MySpace page. Check out "Infested Waters" at this location.

Christopher Porter of Washington Post's Express Night Out recently conducted an interview with Alex Camargo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the band's longevity:

"Motivation is the key. We started this thing and we wanna finish it. We still have a passion for what we do. It's been a challenge, especially when you're playing extreme music, but as long you're motivated, we're good to go. Whenever we start feeling tired and miserable, we'll know it's time to go home, time to quit. But up to now, we still feel motivated, and the passion for what we do is the reason we press on."

On KRISIUN being a family project:

"With bands, I know how hard it is to keep the lineup, keep the ideas flowing together. But whenever we have problems, we clear it out right away. We're not turning our backs to each other and walking away. We have issues like any other band, but we solve the problems right away. The music is our passion,and we pretty much have the same ideas and tastes."

"Sometimes you just get tired of seeing those guys, but it's no big deal. The touring thing, you have to be ready. You have to understand people's qualities and faults, and we 're all a bunch of human beings, so it's about understanding each other. Sometimes we get on each other's nerves, but we go for it no matter what."

On the success of fellow Brazilian extreme-metal gods SEPULTURA and KRISIUN's decision to cover SEPULTURA's "Refuse/Resist" on the "Southern Storm" album (hear audio below):

"We're proud of those boys. We're not friends or anything, but we respect those guys. They opened the doors. We felt like it was time to pay tribute to the band. Most people would expect us to play an early song from SEPULTURA — more like a fast track — but we wanted to bring that atmosphere when they were pretty big — just as big as METALLICA or SLAYER in '96, '97. We feel a bit sad with what's going on [with SEPULTURA] these days. I don't think they're playing as good of music as they used to."

Guitarist Lord Ahriman of the Swedish black metallers DARK FUNERAL has issued the following update:

"Finally. We have a date set for our much delayed studio session!

"On July 10 (yezz, the day after we play the Rockweekend Festival in Kilafors, Sweden) we will enter Abyss Studio together with Peter Tägtgren to begin the recording of our new, yet-untitled full-length album.

"At this point of time we have demoed seven new and totally amazing (of course) songs and we got an eighth almost done. Besides that, we have quite a lot of additional material written that we hopefully will be able to turn into a killer track or two before our studio time runs out.

"As I previously mentioned, the new album will definitely be our most varied album thus far, perhaps a little bit toned down compared to its precursor, but still carry on with the same spirit and strength as always.

"This time we will offer more than one non-blast beat (means heavy song) too. And some of the material will probably come as a surprise, as it's not all typical DARK FUNERAL style, which I personally find very inspiring. And I can't wait to nail this new album once and for all."

DARK FUNERAL recently obtained the rights to its back catalogue (including the publishing rights) — "The Secrets Of The Black Arts" (1996), "Vobiscum Satanas" (1998), "Teach Children To Worship Satan" (2000) and "Diabolis Interium" (2001) — following a lengthy legal battle with the band's previous record label, MNW/No Fashion Records.

DARK FUNERAL released "Attera Orbis Terrarum - Part II", the second DVD recorded during the band's world tour in support of the "Attera Totus Sanctus" album, on October 20, 2008. A trailer for the set can be viewed below.

Released in 2005, DARK FUNERAL's latest album, "Attera Totus Sanctus", was recorded and mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, IN FLAMES, BEHEMOTH) and Örjan Örnkloo at Dug-Out studios in Uppsala, Sweden. Mastering duties were handled by Tomas Eberger at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Sweden. The album features a guest appearance by former MESHUGGAH bassist Gustaf Hielm.

Norway's NRK reports that a Satanism expert believes that Friday's (May 29) arson attack on a church in Våler, about 150 km northeast of Oslo, could mean the beginning of a new wave of attacks on churches in Norway.

According to About.com's guide to Scandinavia travel, Norwegian police were called to the historic wooden church, which was built in 1805, on Friday morning, where fire was quickly engulfing the beautiful church within just a few hours. They later confirmed that the fire had been intentionally set, reminding of the number of arson fires taking place in the '90s in Norwegian places of worship.

The local police have now asked for assistance from the National Bureau of Crime Investigation (KRIPOS), and for information from the public, to help solve the crime, reports The Norway Post.

The firemen managed to bring out an altarpiece from 1697 and the Communion silver, but many irreplaceable pieces of church art were destroyed in the raging fire.

A semingly unrelated incident occurred in early May which involved graveyard vandalism in Oslo and Sandefjord. Journalist Jonathan Tisdall reported on his blog that just under 30 headstones were toppled in Sandefjord, according to newspaper Tønsbergs Blad, while Nordstrand Church in Oslo had 30-40 gravestones overturned and "Satanistic" messages as part of damages to the church itself.

Aftenposten's web site reported that windows were smashed and unpleasant messages scribbled on the church windows. Photos in the article show both the damage to the graveyard and the church door defaced with such messages as "Satan lives" and "666."

Members and fans of the early '90s Norwegian black metal scene claimed responsibility for inspiring (and perpetrating) over 50 arsons directed at Christian churches between 1992 and 1996. Many of the buildings were hundreds of years old, and widely regarded as important historical landmarks. One of the first and most notable was Norway's Fantoft stave church, which the police believed was destroyed by BURZUM mastermind Varg Vikernes. He was found guilty for the arsons of Holmenkollen Chapel, Skjold Church and Åsane Church.

Photos can be viewed here and here.

Long-running Swedish death metallers DISMEMBER will release a brand new DVD, entitled "Under Bloodred Skies", later this month 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 here.

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.

A new trailer for "Roaming In The Land: Ten Years Later", the forthcoming DVD from Italian power metallers KALEDON, can be viewed here. The footage was shot at the band's 10th-anniversary concert on October 30, 2008 at Stazione Birra in Morena, Italy. The band was joined at the event by its original singer Anthony Drago, who sang four songs with the group.

KALEDON's cover version of the QUEEN classic "We Will Rock You" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The song comes off the Japanese edition of the Italian power metallers' new album, "Legend Of The Forgotten Reign Chapter 5: A New Era Begins".

The complete track listing for the Japanese version of "Legend Of The Forgotten Reign Chapter 5: A New Era Begins" is as follows:

01. A New Man
02. A Wounded Friend
03. Mozul
04. Undeads Again
05. The End Of The Green Power
06. A Flash In The Sky
07. Great Mighty Light (instrumental)
08. The Greatest Heart
09. The God Beyond The Man
10. Return To Kaledon

Bonus tracks:

11. Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH cover)
12. We Will Rock You (QUEEN cover) (speed version)

Bonus DVD:

* "The God Beyond The Man" video clip
* Chapter 5 Making Of: Documentary
* Picture Gallery
* "Clash Of The Titans" live bootleg with Marco Palazzi
* "A Wounded Friend" and "Return To Kaledon" video karaoke version

Los Angeles-based metallers WINDS OF PLAGUE will release their new album, "The Great Stone War", on August 11 via Century Media Records.

The sextet kicks off a massive worldwide touring campaign for "The Great Stone War" this week by taking part in the star-studded Summer Slaughter touring package, also featuring SUFFOCATION, NECROPHAGIST and DYING FETUS, among a slew of others. They will follow this up with a lengthy North American run with HATEBREED and CHIMAIRA.

Commented vocalist Johnny Plague: "We just completed the recording process for our new album, 'The Great Stone War', and it turned out far better then we had imagined. We are very excited for it to hit the public. I feel, as a follow-up to 'Decimate The Weak', this record shows growth both as a band and as musicians. We kept the same brutal attitude but upped the epic and creative elements we have shown in the past. Now with the recording behind us, we can step out onto the Summer Slaughter stage armed with new songs, a renewed energy alongside an amazing lineup ensuring metal heads and hardcore kids one hell of a night."