Swiss gothic metallers LACRIMOSA have posted a new song, "Die Sehnsucht In Mir", on their MySpace page. The track comes off the band's new album, "Sehnsucht", which is scheduled for release on May 8 via Hall Of Sermon.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Die Sehnsucht In Mir
02. Mandira Nabula
03. A.U.S.
04. Feuer
05. A Prayer For Your Heart
06. I Lost My Star In Krasnodar
07. Die Taube
08. Call Me With The Voice Of Love
09. Der Tote Winkel
10. Koma

Finnish web site Karjalainen.fi has uploaded two short video clips of NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon talking about the recent media frenzy surrounding her rumored "problems" with the band and what she did during NIGHTWISH's recent three-month break from touring.

Regarding the alleged issues she has with NIGHTWISH, Anette says, "At the moment, we don't have any problems. I think any group, working group, can have, after being together for a while, there will be this conflict state — every group has it; it's important for the evolvement of the group, and I think we need it. The problem wasn't that we had a problem, it was that we were so, so tired. All of us. There was no rest last year. [And now] we are all happy. We are very happy."

In an exclusive interview with Classic Rock's Dave Ling, NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen was asked if alarm bells rang when, echoing her predecessor, Olzon recently hired a personal manager (Swedish management company Hagenburg Management, which also represents EUROPE and THE CARDIGANS). "At the beginning I had a feeling of déjà vu," he replied. "But when we discussed it I understood that she needs somebody who speaks her own language [Swedish]. Her manager is a very, very reasonable guy."

When asked how Anette is handling the fame, Tuomas replied, "She has told me a couple of times that she might not be able to handle it, on top of her divorce. I've seen her close to collapse and it has scared me, so we are protecting her. There will be no more interviews."

In a recent interview with MeNaiset, the most popular women's magazine in Finland, Olzon stated about her decision to hire a personal manager, "It was a hard decision for me because I didn't want problems with the band. I said that I have different needs in these areas than the rest of the guys. I, for example, need clothing sponsors which doesn't interest the rest of the band. Now I have a person who will be able to take care of that kind of stuff."

The five members of the reactivated Brazilian melodic metal band ANGRA recently spoke to Roadie Crew magazine's Tony Monteiro about their new lineup, what happened during their two-year hiatus and their plans for the future. This is the first and only complete interview the band will give for the time being to announce its return.

ANGRA will be Roadie Crew magazine's exclusive cover story for the April 2009 issue.

The band's current lineup includes drummer Ricardo Confessori (SHAMAN), who returns to ANGRA following the departure of Aquiles Priester (HANGAR).

Commented guitarist Rafael Bittencout: "We had problems, and there were many things that were happening inside the ANGRA camp that we did not agree with. At the end the day, there was nothing more important than our love for music, the history of the band, the songs we wrote in the past and the songs we are going to compose in a near future, and we are back."

The band will embark on a Brazilian tour with SEPULTURA in May 2009. There are also plans for ANGRA to commence work on a new studio album.

ANGRA 2009 is:

Edu Falaschi - Vocals
Kiko Loureiro - Guitar
Felipe Andreoli - Bass
Rafael Bittencourt - Guitar
Ricardo Confessori - Drums

Dutch melodic death metal band GOD DETHRONED has posted a new song, "Under a Darkening Sky", on the group's MySpace page. The track comes off GOD DETHRONED's new album, "Passiondale", which will be released as a limited double digipack edition including a bonus CD. The double-digipack will feature stunning artwork and two discs: the regular album plus a live recording from 2005 featuring nine songs!

"Passiondale" track listing:

01. The Cross of Sacrifice
02. Under a Darkening Sky
03. No Man's Land
04. Poison Fog
05. Drowning in Mud
06. Passiondale
07. No Survivors
08. Behind Enemy Lines
09. Fallen Empires
10. Artifacts of the Great War

"Live in 2005" bonus CD track listing:

01. Nihilism
02. Boiling Blood
03. The Warcult
04. Soul Sweeper
05. The Art of Immolation
06. Villa Vampiria
07. The Last Zip of Spit
08. Sigma Enigma
09. The Serpent King

"Passiondale" will also be released on vinyl, limited to 666 copies.

ASYLUM, the Illinois-based project featuring Markus Johansson (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Johnny Rox (bass guitar), has uploaded a new track called "Eternal" to its MySpace page. The track was mixed by Orlando Villasenor at Everlong Recording Company in San Antonio, Texas and is the first song with vocals to be released from the band.

Johansson and Rox are joined on the debut ASYLUM album by drummer Kevin Talley (DAATH, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER) and second lead guitarist Larry Tarnowski (ex-ICED EARTH). In addition, ZIMMERS HOLE vocalist The Heathen will record guest vocals on the bonus track, a cover of VAN HALEN's "Get Up". Also contributing to the CD are Gene Hoglan (DETHKLOK, ZIMMERS HOLE, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), David Shankle (MANOWAR, DSG), Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND), Michael Angelo Batio (NITRO, MAB), Roland Grapow (HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN), Bill Hudson (POWER QUEST, CELLADOR), and Brendon Small ("Metalacolypse"/DETHKLOK creator).

ASYLUM is currently unsigned and seeking a suitable label to release the CD.

U.K.-based experimental/progressive extreme metallers XERATH will release their debut album, "Xerath I", on May 25 via Candlelight Records. The CD was mixed in France by Brett Caldas-Lima (CYNIC).

A song from the album, "Reform Pt. 1", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Check out the "Xerath I" cover here below.

According to a press release, XERATH is "a new, cutting-edge band combining crushing MESHUGGAH-style riffs with epic orchestral composition. Their sound can be described as taking influence from STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, MESHUGGAH and DIMMU BORGIR to create a distinctive sound they call 'orchestral groove metal' (or chug-score!)."

The band was formed in 2007 by guitarist Andy Phillips, drummer Michael Pitman and bassist Owain Williams, and was later joined by Richard Thomson on vocals.

Originally started as an experiment to combine film-score scounds with syncopated guitar rhythms, XERATH evolved into a full-fledged gigging band with a clear direction.

Vocalist Mat Maurer of veteran Australian thrashers MORTAL SIN has issued the following update:

"After such a big year last year, MORTAL SIN have decided to begin writing a new album. We'll be looking at releasing something later this year. Don't ask me when, don't ask me how many songs, don't ask me if we have a title yet. The answer to all those questions will come with time! We look forward to making it one of the best albums we can possibly make and we look forward to getting back out on the road as soon as we can."

Fan-filmed video footage of MORTAL SIN performing at the Metalmania festival on March 8, 2008 at Spodek in Katowice, Poland can be viewed below (courtesy of "tomiwild").

MORTAL SIN's latest CD, "An Absence of Faith", was released in Europe in November 2007. According to a press release, the CD "is a rollercoaster ride, with enough twists and turns to jolt even the staunchest of heads. From the single 'Out of the Darkness' to the nine-minute epic 'Tears of Redemption - Lebanon Part II' — and lyrics covering everything from politics, religion, child abuse and relationships — MORTAL SIN have pulled a classic out of the hat for 2007."

Once hailed as the next METALLICA, MORTAL SIN have become legends in their home country Australia, having been inducted into the Kerrang! Heavy Metal Hall of Fame in 2005 and being the only Australian band to have played with the big five of thrash — METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, MEGADETH and TESTAMENT — on tours in Australia and overseas.

Guitarist Mårten Hagström of Swedish experimental extreme metallers MESHUGGAH has issued a statement correcting some of the quotes that were attributed to him in an interview conducted by MetalSucks.net in New York City on February 19.

He says: "All right… I never thought I'd do this, but the way things have turned out, I really feel I have to correct some things in the MetalSucks interview I gave a while ago. These things happen every now and then, but the effects of this makes it imperative for me to set the record straight.

"Some things in there are incorrect (for different reasons), and that in itself wouldn't be problem unless it didn't really mess things up for me and others, which it has. And even though I have no qualms speaking my mind, it should at least be correct.

"First and most importantly: The part where Markus Staiger and Nuclear Blast is mentioned is incorrect. I never said those things, and as you can imagine, it feels really weird to stab your label and Markus in the back without even doing it, so to speak.

[In the original article, Mårten was quoted as saying about Nuclear Blast labelmates NIGHTWISH, "NIGHTWISH, they're from Finland; to call that metal is a fucking insult. It's probably good music, but it's not fucking metal. No way. I told Markus, on our label Nuclear Blast (because they're on it), 'I know you're making a shitload of money, but you're making fools of yourself.' He's like, 'I know.' He's like that." — Ed.]

"Second: The whole 'melodic-metal' discussion really took place, but the things I was hating on was Schlager music (which was in there, but was spelled 'Slaughter' and the focus was turned to something entirely different) and talking about how that genre has seemingly crept over into some metal bands music in Europe (in my opinion) and that's it.

[In the original article, Mårten was quoted as saying about the melodic death metal movement from Sweden, "I hate it. I totally loathe it. Listen, I have nothing against the guys in the bands. I have nothing against the bands. I'm happy for them. If they're doing well and if that's what they want to do then fucking, 'Hey, good for you." If you're talking from my personal tastes, I prefer when bands play metal and not SLAUGHTER and pop music with fucking attributes of a metal band. You got two guys with distorted guitars and then you got two chicks singing and three keyboards and then they play 'lalalala.' It's not why I got into metal. It's not like I'm saying it can't be melodic. CYNIC is very melodic and still fucking awesome. There are a lot of bands that people appreciate a lot over here, like I said I'm happy for their success, but I do not care for their music at all. It's formula music. It's built the same way that pop music is. It's performed the same way pop music is with back tracks and everything. They're like, 'Oh, we're so fucking bad-ass and we look so hard.' Most bands from Sweden know what they're doing when they're playing. That's a great benefit. It might be music that I hate, but they can still pull it off, which is alright." — Ed.]

"The whole thing came out real weird and definitely skewed. The subject I was aiming for was left out and was replaced by something else, which is very unfortunate.

"And last, since I'm correcting errors, it says that I was praising a band called 'ADAGIO.' I don't know who they are. I was talking about the French band GOJIRA. That's that.

"I've talked to MetalSucks and they have been kind enough to correct these errors. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings there might be."

The soloist of Brazilian band ViPeR-Ricardo Bocci already has practically finished job over a debut single of the solo project which is called My Way.
The single surprises with virtuosity of game of the musicians, unusual style of a song and a magnificent high vocal.In the near future single My Way becomes accessible to all in internet.

Structure of musicians of the solo project:
Ricardo Bocci - vocal,acoustic guitar,keyboard
Yuichi Nagoshi - drums
Demian Tiguez - rhythm and solo guitar
Ian Bemolator - rhythm and solo guitar
Fernando Giovannetti - bass

The fragment of song My Way at the moment can be heard on personal page of Ricardo Bocci on MySpace. The single soon will appear in a network for free downloading.

Canadian ambient/shoegaze/drone act NADJA has recorded a cover version of the SLAYER classic "Dead Skin Mask" from the legendary 1990 album "Seasons In The Abyss". The track, which is available for free download at this location, will be included on NADJA's forthcoming covers CD, "When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV", which is due out April 28 via The End Records.

NADJA — a duo from Toronto, Ontario featuring Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff —creates what is often described as "ambient doom." The band's music combines elements of metal, shoegaze, ambient, post-rock , experimental, and neo-classical. Their new album, "When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV", features eights covers of some of Baker and Buckareff's favorite bands. "Consider this album an exploration of the roots of NADJA," says Baker. "Everyone compares us to MY BLOODY VALENTINE, so we had to cover them; CODEINE and SWANS were both bands exploring the heaviness of metal without actually being metal; THE CURE have that lovely, bittersweet gloominess; ELLIOTT SMITH's 'Needle in the Hay' is simultaneously so simple and so devastating; no one believed us when we said we covered a song from 'The Kids In The Hall' movie, a staple of our live set, so we had to get that one to tape; how could we resist the opportunity to cover A-HA's heaviest (but oh so catchy) tune? And SLAYER is just SLAYER. In an effort to illustrate our motivations behind this album, we asked our friend Mathew Smith to create a series of children's-storybook-like drawings to go with each song."

Regarding NADJA's "Dead Skin Mask" cover, Baker tells HeadbangersBlog.com, "'Seasons In The Abyss' was the first SLAYER album I picked up. I don't really remember why, actually, since I listened to more punk than metal — but SLAYER's always been a bit more punk-sounding than most metal bands. I've always been into 'Seasons' more than 'Reign In Blood', even if the latter is the more punk record, and 'Dead Skin Mask' was always a favorite. We had also thought about covering 'Necrophobic' from 'Reign'. We actually did record a version, but our take of 'Dead Skin Mask' sounded better — probably because it's a slower song and is a bit more about atmosphere than about speed, which is more fitting to the NADJA sound."

"When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV" track listing:

01. Only Shallow (MY BLOODY VALENTINE)
02. Pea (CODEINE)
03. No Cure For The Lonely (SWANS)
04. Dead Skin Mask (SLAYER)
05. The Sun Always Shines On TV (A-HA)
06. Needle In The Hay (ELLIOTT SMITH)
07. Long Dark Twenties (KIDS IN THE HALL)
08. Faith (The CURE)

Guitarist Mircea Gabriel Eftemie of the Danish modern metallers MNEMIC has issued the following update:

"Since we took a break from touring in 2008, apart from playing a few shows with METALLICA (yes, I still mention this cause I'm damn proud of it!), things have been quite productive. We have definitely not been lazy, that's for sure. As we did recharge our batteries, in this break, we also fell the hunger for creativity and started writing new material. Already by now I can confirm that we have 11 brand new songs written, and we are still a long way from finishing. The plan is, of course, to write as many songs as possible until we are 110% satisfied with all the material.

"For now the title of the album is set as 'Sons of the System'.

"Why is this taking so long, you may ask? Because we want to be 100% satisfied with this release and not put out an album we just worked on two months in advance prior to the recordings. On the other hand, as the release date has not yet been set, I assure you, this will definitely not be a 'Chinese Democracy' in the making.

"On a last note, we have quite a few surprises up our sleeve for this release….and as for touring, there will only be shows coinciding with the release of the new album, which means you'll have to wait a bit if you want to see us live. It's all part of a greater plan."

MNEMIC's latest album, "Passenger" (2007), was produced by FEAR FACTORY's Christian Olde Wolbers at Track Record Studios (KISS, MEGADETH, AEROSMITH) in Los Angeles. The CD features artwork by Asterik Studios (ANTHRAX, UNEARTH) plus guest vocal appearances by Jeff Walker (CARCASS, BRUJERIA) and Shane Embury (NAPALM DEATH, BRUJERIA). MNEMIC also completed a video for "Meaningless" (see below) with Revolver Film director Patric Ullaeus.

DEMONICAL, the Swedish death metal band featuring past and present members from CENTINEX, GRAVE, REGURGITATE, INTERMENT, AMARAN, WORLD BELOW and DELLAMORTE, has posted a new song, "Baptized in Fire", on the group's MySpace page. The track comes off DEMONICAL's second full-length album, "Hellsworn", which is scheduled for release on May 15. The follow-up to 2007's "Servants of the Unlight" was recorded at Necromorbus Studios (WATAIN, SETHERIAL) and was mastered at Black Lounge Studios in late January.

Commented the group: "Finally we are done with the recording, mixing and mastering of 'Hellsworn'. It sure took ages and caused some frustration but I assure you, it was worth it. We are utterly satisfied with the final result, this old-school death metal slab in nine acts turned out exactly the way we wanted."

"Hellsworn" track listing:

01. Baptized in Fire
02. World Serpent
03. Infernal Void
04. Bloodridden
05. Götter des Nordens
06. Children of Sin
07. Death Metal Darkness
08. Bow to the Monolith
09. Hellsworn

"Ravenous", the new album from the Swedish heavy metal band WOLF, is available for streaming in its entirety at MetalKult.

"Ravenous" will be released in North America on March 24 via Century Media Records. Out in Europe since late last month, the CD features a guest guitar solo by Hank Shermann (FORCE OF EVIL, MERCYFUL FATE) and guest vocals by Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ROYAL HUNT).

For the fierce and bloody artwork, the band once again decided to work with its longtime cover artist Thomas Holm (MERCYFUL FATE).

"He has the ability to 'paint our music' and that's something we're not gonna pass up on," WOLF explained.

Topped off by the phenomenal production by Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, JUDAS PRIEST), "Ravenous" promises a heavy metal delicacy par excellence!

"Voodoo", the new video from WOLF, can be viewed below. The clip was shot in Umeå, Sweden with director Owe Lingwall of Village Road Film, who previously worked with WOLF on the video for the track "I Will Kill Again".

Commented the band: "Both the song and the video has that dark imagery that WOLF fans know and love. Having these brilliant voodoo kids in the video along with the spiders and other creatures of the night, we think we really hit the spot with this one. Working with Owe Lingwall again was also a delight. We really love how it turned out and we can't wait to bring this song to our live set."

EX DEO, the new band led by KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono, has finalized the track listing for its debut album, "Romulus", due on May 22 (Europe) and June 16 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded with producer (and KATAKLYSM guitarist) Jean-Francois Dagenais (MISERY INDEX, DESPISED ICON, MALEVOLENT CREATION).

"Romulus" track listing:

01. Romulus
02. Storm the Gates of Alesia
03. Cry Havoc
04. Surrender the Sun
05. Invictus
06. The Final War (Battle of Actium)
07. Legio XIII
08. Blood, Courage and The God's That Walk The Earth
09. Cruor Nostri Abbas
10. In Her Dark Embrace
11. The Pantheon (Jupiter's Reign)

A video for the CD's title track was filmed earlier this month with renowned director Stanimir "Staca" Lukic (MOONSPELL, KAMELOT, DEATHSTARS, TYPE O NEGATIVE) in Belgrade, Serbia. Maurizio says, "The setup was extremely pro. Stanimir and Ivan did such an amazing job and paid attention to every single detail. To recreate Rome and the story of Romulus and Remus was a big challenge, but I think we nailed it and the ideas behind it are incredible. Expect an epic feel, like the movie '300' for the texture... A big thank you to all the film crew and the actors!"

A demo version of the EX DEO track "Cry Havoc" is available for streaming on the group's MySpace page.

Finnish melodic death metallers NOUMENA have issued the following update:

"We have been writing new material and already five songs have been rehearsed. Sounds promising! Because of this creative phase, we will play only few and selected gigs in near future. Festival gigs are welcome, so remember to push the promoters and festivals in Finland and abroad to book NOUMENA.

"NOUMENA will reach age of 10 this year (spring to be precise). We might figure out something special for you metalheads, so be alert!"

NOUMENA's third full-length album, "Anatomy of Life", was released in November 2006 via Spikefarm Records. The follow-up to 2005's "Absence" was recorded and mixed at Savonlinna's Sundi Coop studio by Tuomo Valtonen and was mastered at Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussila.

Legendary Norwegian black metallers MAYHEM have announced the addition of French guitarist Silmaeth (ex-VORKREIST) to the group's touring lineup.

MAYHEM's current live formation is as follows:

Attila Csihar: Vocals
Necrobutcher (a.k.a. Jørn Stubberud): Bass
Hellhammer (a.k.a. Jan Axel Blomberg): Drums
Morfeus (a.k.a. Krister Dreyer): Guitar
Silmaeth: Guitar

Vocalist Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill of the of the Irish dark metal masters PRIMORDIAL has issued the following update:

"[The] 'Imrama' [reissue] is out early next week finally and looks great, Paul from UNHINGED/SCALD has done the job once again and now we are working on 'Journey's End', 'Spirit' and 'Storm'. It feels good to be listening again to these old albums and have them finally under one flag, no longer at the mercy of inscrutable labels and middle men. 'Imrama' has a bonus DVD of a show from February 1994. Very rough, raw and old school. It would have been easier to tag on a new show filmed for nothing at a festival, but for 'Imrama' we felt we should include something from that time. If you have the originals, of course, we do not ask you buy them again. However, even a purist must admit it is important to have these albums out there and available once again. They are not only important chapters in our career but important milestones in the history of '90s metal.

"The American tour looms closer. We are looking forward to some new experiences, meeting old friends and making new ones. Not to mention sharing a bus with the MOONSORROW miscreants once again.

"We have confirmed a few festivals, most notably Bang Your Head!!! in Germany. It may seem a strange marriage but hopefully we can turn the heads of a few headbangers. There are plenty of offers on the table but much of the internal organization (if I can call it that) of the band has been complicated lately. Some announcements will be made soon on a couple of booking issues.

"The first edits of the DVD shoot from Dublin in January are starting to come back and it looks excellent. There are plans to make a documentary about the band. A release date for the whole project hasn't been set but we will spend some of the summer working it.

"So can I mention the 'R' word? Recession. It's biting Ireland hard. In little over a year we seem to be back in 1987. Closed shopfronts, business shutdown, massive dole queues and a huge economic shortfall in the budget. We were all teenagers in the 80s so this is nothing new to us but the difference is the Irish have nowhere to emigrate and people have racked up massive personal debts over the last 10 years. We foolishly modelled our economy on both the U.S. and U.K. Our government sold the countries future to property developers, bankers and unionized lobby groups. The last 30 years of political cronyism and devil may care 'jobs for the boys' attitude has finally come home to roost. We made no provisions for this rainy day, offering 100% mortgages, bankers treating institutions like casinos and relying so heavily on foreign investment to the detriment of our own infrastructure. No we are left with no skilled labour within the country and the multinationals flooding to Eastern Europe and Asia. We currently sit at 10.4% unemployment of the workforce and I can see it rising to 15% by the end of summer and possibly hitting near 20% in one year. Our governments foolish move of offering re-financing of the banking sector before the U.K. and rest of Europe had settled on a common strategy will now be our undoing as we haemorrhage money. No one has any faith in our banking sector. The government seems to have no plan whatsoever.

"This may indeed be the end of Ireland as an entire generation have known it. I know, I study with them and 70,000 students will graduate in May to nothing.

"There are, of course, other elements at play. The fact that we are in a worldwide recession beggars the question: how could a tiny island like Ireland survive anyway? Surely, we haven't had a choice. Possibly, but the fact is this country is rotten, a politically corrupt banana republic in all but name and and while we had the price of a pint, an overpriced SUV, inflated suburban dream or gram of coke in our pocket we didn't seem to give a fuck. We are about to get a massive dose of humility.

"While the Spanish parliament was having an emergency sitting to deal with the economic crises in January, what were ours doing? Going on their usual five-week break from office... Crisis? What crisis? Our Taoiseach (PM) is the highest paid in Europe, we have the most amount of ministers riding the pig's back, the highest paid consultants. Recession? 'Ah, sure, it'll be alright I'm going on holiday.' In that month, 37,000 people signed on the welfare. This is the equivalent of 1,115,000 people signing on in America in one month. Apparently the Spanish economy is showing signs of recovery...or at least should in 2010. Go figure...

"I can hear Merkel and Sarkozy wagging a finger and telling us, 'We told you so...' Economists all over Europe must be amused. Pride comes before a fall. This may sound like doom mongering but what do you expect. I play in PRIMORDIAL after all....o). You want cheer and escapism, then find a power metal MySpace page...

"How will this affect the band? As always, we will work around things. Do what we can when we feel we want to. It does however make all of our financial situations and futures very difficult to predict. Considering the pressurized nature of the modern metal scene where people require legal commitments 6 months to a year or more in advance, this places PRIMORDIAL in an even more difficult position. This is an excuse for nothing; we will do as we always did and cope with what is thrown at us, but we are all looking over our shoulders. These are uncertain times, my friends.

"Other than that, you might have noticed I have a regular column in Zero Tolerance magazine and will be contributing more in the future. Thanks for your comments, both positive and negative, so far. I contributed a spoken-word piece and some vocals to the new ELUVEITIE acoustic album which I was happy to do. Chrigel and the boys (and girls) know I might have felt a little more awkward about a metal album, as you could say our tastes differ, but they are an honest bunch and that, my friends, is to be supported.

"Vocals for both the VOID OF SILENCE and BLOOD REVOLT albums/demo are in the production stages right now. Yes, there are some basic ideas down, lyrics written, but it has take a tortuously long time to work this out. Time, my friends, is the enemy! Gratitude goes out to the people I'm working with for their patience."

Multi-national thrashers NIGHTRAGE have finished recording recording their fourth full-length album, "Wearing a Martyr's Crown", for a June release via Lifeforce Records. The CD was tracked at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström (DIMMU BORGIR, ARCH ENEMY, IN FLAMES). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Failure of All Human Emotions", "Among Wolves", "Opposite in Black", "Abandon", "Shed the Blood", "Wearing a Martyr's Crown" and "Mocking Modesty".

Guitarist Olof Mörck previously stated about the group's new material, "For NIGHTRAGE, the style of this record represents a journey back to the first couple of albums, but it's in no way a step back musically; there are some quite interesting arrangements on this album, the songs are straightforward and in-your-face, and it features both searing melodies and sheer brutality. All in all, it's a clear nod back to when the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound was at its peak, in '94-'98 (something we think a lot of people will agree with us on). "

Long-running Finnish doomsters SPIRITUS MORTIS will release a new single, featuring the tracks "When The Wind Howled With A Human Voice" and "Waiting For The Sun", on March 18.

SPIRITUS MORTIS in January announced the addition of singer Sami Hynninen (a.k.a. Albert Witchfinder; REVEREND BIZARRE, THE PURITAN) to the group's ranks.

SPIRITUS MORTIS is hard at work on its third album, tentatively due before the summer via Firebox Records.

A new song, "The Rotting Trophy", is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

SPIRITUS MORTIS is the oldest doom metal band from Finland. The band was formed in 1987 as RIGOR MORTIS, featuring founding members Teemu Maijala (bass, vocals), Jussi Maijala (guitars) and VP Rapo (drums).

The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2004 through Rage Of Achilles. A follow-up effort, "Fallen", came out in 2006 via Black Lotus Records.

Guitarist/vocalist of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently spoke to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about the songwriting process for the band's next album.

Tuck revealed that there are about four or five songs that are all but finished. "Usually we write and record 14 tracks that I then have to write vocal lines for, but this time I'm trying to write the vocals as I write the music," he said.

As for lyrical themes, he states, "There's one song that's about not being able to have what you want. Being in the band, it doesn't happen much. When it comes to girls, you can have the pick of the bunch, but you always want what you can't have, y'know… but it's this one chick, man… so it's a song about obsession."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE recently re-released "Scream Aim Fire" with four bonus tracks that were recorded and "canned" before the band decided to write more songs. In the podcast, Matt discusses why they were put aside and how they are, in fact, some of the best songs the band wrote at the time. "It's a shame they'll never shine like some other tracks, because they're just bonus tracks. It doesn't take a genius to spot the difference between my voice on the 'Poison' and 'Scream…'; something was up. So I re-recorded the songs after my voice got better." He added, "I know I could have sung that album much better."

Springfield, Massachusetts grindcore act AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED has posted another new song, "Moral Distortion", on the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the group's fourth full-length album, "Agorapocalypse", which is scheduled for an April 14 North American release (April 20 internationally) via Relapse Records. The CD was recorded by the band's own Scott Hull at his Visceral Sound studios and contains 13 tracks, including"Question Of Integrity", "Trauma Queen", "Agorapocalypse Now" and "Flamingo Snuff". The artwork was created by AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED visualist Florian Bertmer.

"Agorapocalypse" marks the full-length recording debut of new vocalist Kat (SALOME), who joined the band in 2007.

Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) has told LiveDaily that he will return to the studio in April to continue work on OZZY OSBOURNE's new album, tentatively due in early 2010.

"We started working on it already," Wylde said. "When we got off the road, everybody went home and decompressed a little bit — we did, like, 16 months or something like that on the road — and went home."

He added, "After we get done with the [current BLS tour], we're going to go in the studio with Ozz and knock out a couple more songs and the album should be done. Then Ozz has to sing on it."

In early 2010, Wylde said, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY will head out on an arena tour with Osbourne and another band to be named later.

"That's what we're talking about. We'll see if it happens," he said.

Brazilian drummer Ricardo Confessori (ANGRA, SHAMAN) has issued the following update:

"Along all my journey as a musician, I had the oportunity to play in several bands. I recorded my first album with a band from south of the country, called GARCIA & GARCIA, in the late '80s (we started in 1989, to be exact) and since then I've been in three famous brazilian bands: KORZUS, ANGRA and SHAMAN. Last year I was invited to return to one of those bands, ANGRA, the band that made me internationally famous as a professional and that gave me experience that I still use in my everyday work. It's not necessary to say that ANGRA had a huge importance in my life — being something constant in my life — when talking about the songs I still play in SHAMAN, or the ANGRA CDs that are asked to be autographed, almost everything.

"SHAMAN came back in 2007, after a total remodelation in its lineup, and with mine and my bandmates every efforts we made until here, with an outstanding CD, a DVD to be released soon and a tour with an orchestra in Europe in the summer of the current year. This achievement won't be thrown away, that's why I say that SHAMAN will stay with me and I will strive in double, as far as possible, to keep the magic going."

Singer Emma Gelotte (sister of IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte) has announced her departure from the Swedish hard rock band ALL ENDS. She said in a statement, "For the last six years, ALL ENDS and its members has been everything to me. All the joy, happiness and love I have felt through the years from everyone in ALL ENDS, from the fans and everyone who has ever worked with us, I will never forget! But now I feel that I have to leave my spot to someone who has the same love and engagement as the rest of the guys have for ALL ENDS. I feel that I need to put my focus on my family and friends now, and I am sorry to say that there is no room for ALL ENDS... Thanks, everyone for all the support that you have given me through the years! I will never, ever forget!!"

Gelotte's replacement in ALL ENDS is the Gothenburg-based 21-year-old power-pop singer Jonna Sailon. The band states, "The voice, look, attitude, chemistry and her personality, it just all fits in really, really well. She is a godsend angel that will rock you up! We welcome her to the family."

Commented Sailon: "For the first time in my life, I feel that I found myself, my home. ALL ENDS is more then music to me, it's already a big lovely family. I saw ALL ENDS live last year and I thought they were great. Two beautiful girls standing with incredible voices together with a great band.. They where great. I couldn't imagine that I would be one of the great girls. A dream that I never thought would come true did... I know it's going to be tough to live up to Emma's voice and charisma. But I'm going to do my best! I promise. I am so excited, but at the same time a bit scared. So I hope you will give me a chance to prove that I belong with ALL ENDS. I cant wait for the journey to begin."

Scottish folk/power metal band ALESTORM will release its new album, "Black Sails At Midnight", via Napalm Records on the following dates:

May 27 - Finland, Spain
May 29 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, France, Italy, Spain
Jun. 01 - Rest of Europe
Jun. 02 - USA, Canada

It will be available in normal jewelcase format, and also as a limited-edition digipack with different artwork and a bonus DVD featuring the band's gig from the Wacken Open Air festival in 2008.

"Black Sails At Midnight" track listing:

01. The Quest
02. Leviathan
03. That Famous Ol' Spiced
04. Keelhauled
05. To The End Of Our Days
06. Black Sails at Midnight
07. No Quarter
08. Pirate Song
09. Chronicles of Vengeance
10. Wolves of the Sea

The cover artwork was designed by Ingo Romling.

ALESTORM released its debut album, "Captain Morgan's Revenge", in January 2008 through Napalm.

According to a press release, the quartet "plays Scottish 'pirate metal,' by their own definition, and musically resembles the great battle metal bands such as KORPIKLAANI or TURISAS, albeit with a unique touch and Scottish instrumentation."