Swedish metallers WOLVERINE has issued the following update:

"It has been a long time since we last updated [the band's official web site]. We want to say we are sorry about this, and we are looking to better ourselves when it comes to regular updates.

"Time flies and there are numerous things to attend to in life: full-time jobs and full-time education; family life as well as social life in general — you all know how the story goes, right?

"As you might know, we have not been very productive the past few years, and after the summer of 2008 we pretty much decided to part ways and discontinue further activities in the name of WOLVERINE. The band was no longer to be. Even though we had already begun to work with new material for a future album release, we felt that it was a pointless struggle to continue. There was simply too much conflict and too little dedication regarding WOLVERINE. And considering the positive reception 'Still' had earned in several reviews and from our dedicated fans all over the world, we felt that at least we could put an end to the band’s misery and still (!) be satisfied with what we had accomplished.

"However, we decided upon a change of direction. During the rehearsals for the upcoming gigs at ProgPower Europe 2008, we had such a good time! It was such a blast to just play together, and it felt like such a waste just to throw everything away and terminate the band. As it turns out, we agreed upon trying to make things work and make an effort to put more energy into working with WOLVERINE. Being on stage during the ProgPower festival also served as great motivation to us — playing in Baarlo, once again, was a fantastic experience! For those of you who came to the show to see us perform: thank you for being there!

"Right now we are working on the upcoming album titled 'Communication Lost'. Some of the songs have been lying around for quite some time now, and we are eager to finalize the basic structures of the material and record it as soon as we possibly can.

"We promise to provide more information as we are progressing.

"Thank you for staying with us!"

New Jersey progressive metallers SUSPYRE have announced teh addition of drummer Gabe Marshall to the group's ranks.

Gabe is very excited to be collaborating and performing alongside these commanding musicians. It has always been a dream of his to play such high level music in a band of the likes of SUSPYRE. He said in a statement, "As well as being phenomenal musicians, they're a blast to hang out with. The vibe is great and the shows are going to be killer!"

SUSPYRE vocalist Clay Barton added, "It has been very difficult the past couple years for us to really give our fans the live shows they deserve because of not having a permanent drummer. Now with the addition of Gabe, his talent and enthusiasm will allow us to be the band we want to be and move us forward."

SUSPYRE released its third album, "When Time Fades…", on September 30, 2008 through Sensory Records. The band performed at the ProgPower Europe festival in October 2008.

Chicago, Illinois-based heavy rock band SOIL has issued the following update:

"The new album is coming along great. We are almost done recording! Next up we will be mixing this monster and preparing it for release. We are still shooting for a summer 2009 release. We are still playing around with the title for the new album, so stay tuned for that. Some of the new song titles include 'Like It Is', 'Temptation', 'Surrounded', and 'Picture Perfect'.

"We will be hitting the road starting in May with our bros in DOPE. Two dates have been [announced]. More to come in the coming weeks! We are also pleased to announce we will be part of this year's Chicago PowerFest with DEVILDRIVER. We will be doing a heavy set that night!!!"

SOIL last year inked a deal with Driven Music Group — the Phoenix, Arizona-based music label and entertainment company created by Brian "Head" Welch, a founding member, songwriter and guitarist from the multi-platinum rock band KORN — for the release of its next studio album.

Reactivated Christian hard rockers STRYPER will release their new album, "Murder By Pride", in late July via Big 3 Records.

STRYPER recently revealed the winner in the "Murder By Pride" artwork contest — Gilvan Rangel of Campina Grande, Brazil. The winning artwork, which will be used for the group's new CD, can be viewed here. The band says, "Hundreds of submissions were received and carefully reviewed. We were amazed and thrilled by all the accomplished artists in the STRYPER network of fans. Many of you are extremely talented and we extend our sincere gratitude to everyone that took time to submit art."

"Murder By Pride" track listing:

01. Eclipse Of The Son (4:04)
02. 4 Leaf Clover (3:42)
03. Peace Of Mind (3:58)
04. Alive (3:36)
05. The Plan (3:10)
06. Murder By Pride ((3:18)
07. I Believe (3:43)
08. Run In You (4:15)
09. Love Is Why (4:07)
10. Mercy Over Blame (4:07)
11. Everything (4:26)
12. My Love (3:14)

Commented singer Michael Sweet: "After years of speaking to fans and hearing comments like 'more guitars,' 'more solos' and 'more screams,' I decided to keep those comments in mind as I wrote each song. It was important to me to try to get back to that early sound of STRYPER yet at the same time, to remain relevant today. It's certainly not an easy thing to do but as I listen to 'Murder By Pride', I think that was accomplished.

"I got the idea of the title 'Murder By Pride' from seeing pride consume dreams, goals and many times, lives. We all deal with pride and it can be crippling, so I wanted to write a lyric and a theme that would be a constant reminder of that. This record has been in the works for a long, long time and I can only hope that it was worth the wait!"

Madison, Wisconsin-based, female-fronted quintet LUNA MORTIS (formerly known as THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE) has finished filming a video for the song "Forever More" with acclaimed director David Brodsky (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, BLEEDING THROUGH). Vocalist Mary Zimmer states, "We filmed the video right here in Wisconsin, in a small town not too far from Madison, called Monroe. They had a performance center called the Monroe Arts Center, which used to be a church, but now is used for concerts. They were kind enough to let us shoot there and the video is going to be absolutely epic. Lots of stained glass windows and a wide open space are going to make this video look very cool. It was a very unlikely place to shoot a metal video but it worked out great."

Check out photos from the video shoot at this location. A couple of the pictures can be viewed below.

According to the official blog of legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin, DEF LEPPARD's "Pyromania" (1983) and "Adrenalize" (1992) albums will be reissued as deluxe editions. Halfin writes in his February 22, 2009 blog entry, "Spoke to Joe Elliott [DEF LEPPARD singer] about work as there are deluxe editions of 'Pyromania' and 'Adrenalize' coming out and we needed to go through photos. Joe had no idea I'd shot several sessions with them as a four-piece. A couple of shoots in the studio in Los Angeles — out in the desert and the 'Let's Get Rocked' video, in the days when I used to shoot stills on videos (something I hated), plus with Vivian Campbell in Los Angeles and Australia. The record company lost all the colour when the PR threw it out by accident but I still have all the black-and-white."

"It's Up To You", the new video from Hungarian hardcore/thrash metallers EKTOMORF, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's
new album, "What Doesn't Kill Me…", which is scheduled for release on March 20 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded at Antfarm Studio in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL, THE HAUNTED). "You can expect a very strong and punchy new EKTOMORF album," guitarist/vocalist Zoltán Farkas previously said.

In addition to the standard CD, there will be a limited digipack which will include one bonus track. Furthermore, AFM Records will release a limited fan box containing the digipack version of the album, an EKTOMORF sticker and a necklace with the EKTOMORF band logo.

"What Doesn't Kill Me…" track listing:

01. Rat War
02. Nothing Left
03. What Doesn't Kill Me...
04. Revenge To All
05. Love And Live
06. Can See You
07. I Got It All
08. New Life
09. Sick Of It All
10. It's Up To You
11. Envy
12. Scream
13. Breed The Fire

Finnish metallers AMORAL have set "Show Your Colors" as the title of their new album, tentatively due in May. The CD was recorded at Sound Supreme Studios in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

"Show Your Colors" track listing:

01. Random Words
02. Release
03. A Shade of Gray
04. Year of the Suckerpunch
05. Perfection Design
06. Sex N' Satan
07. Song for the Stubborn
08. Vivid
09. Gave Up Easy
10. Last October
11. Exit

"A Shade of Gray" and "Year Of The Suckerpunch" are both available for streaming on teh band's MySpace page.

Australian Christian metallers MORTIFICATION have set "The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine" as the title of their new album, tentatively due late May via the band's own Rowe Productions.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine
02. A Sense Of Eternity
03. Elasticised Outrage
04. Pushing The Envelope Of The Red Sonrise
05. I'm Not Confused
06. The Master Of Reinvention
07. Pilots Hanging From Shoulder Dust
08. One Man With Courage Makes A Majority
09. Alexander The Metalworker
10. Resurrection Band (A Tribute To Rez)

The CD artwork can be viewed below.

Florida-based death metallers OBITUARY have completed work on their new album for a tentative May/June release via Candlelight Records. Vocalist John Tardy states, "It came out really sick and I cannot wait for you guys to hear it... it is heavy!!"

Check out the album artwork below. The band once again worked with artist Andreas Marschall, who previously created the art for "The End Complete", "Frozen in Time", and the group's last record, "Xecutioner's Return".

Guitarist Ralph Santolla previously said about the new material, "The new stuff is HEAVY, some of my favorite OBI riffs yet. Trevor's [Peres] guitar sounds huge and menacing. If you like OBITUARY, you're gonna love this record."

BLACK SUN AEON is the "dark death doom" project from Tuomas Saukkonen (BEFORE THE DAWN, THE FINAL HARVEST, DAWN OF SOLACE). The group's debut album, "Darkness Walks Besides Me", will be released in Europe on March 27 via Cyclone Empire Records.

BLACK SUN AEON recording lineup:

Tuomas Saukkonen - Lead/Rhythm/Acoustic Guitars, Drums & Percussion, Bass, Keyboards, Dark Vocals
Mikko Heikkilä - Clean vocals

Additional vocals:

Tomi Koivusaari (AMORPHIS)
Ville Sorvali (MOONSORROW)
Mynni Luukkainen (SOTAJUMALA)

Bassist Alex Webster of legendary Tampa, Florida-based death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE has issued the following update:

"Just wanted to check in and give you an update on how our European tour has been going.

"The tour is actually almost over (five shows left, including tonight), and it has been absolutely killer. For most of the tour we have been playing as direct support for CHILDREN OF BODOM, with DIABLO opening the shows, and this combination of bands has worked out really great.

"All three bands have their own style and this has made for large, diverse and enthusiastic audiences. One really cool thing we've seen at some of the gigs is a 'wall of death' in the pit [see video below], usually during 'Hammer Smashed Face'. I won't bother describing this 'wall'; you really need to see it in action to appreciate it... it's a brutal sight indeed!

"Tonight we are playing a headlining show in Kolding, Denmark along with DIABLO and a local band. We haven't played this part of Denmark in a long time so we are really looking forward to this show.

"The remaining four gigs will be the full tour package with CHILDREN OF BODOM, and they will surely be some of the biggest and best shows of the whole tour. We'll go from Oslo to Stockholm and then over to COB and DIABLO's homeland Finland for a couple of shows that are sure to be massive and climactic.

"So, that's the update for now. We want to thank all of the fans who have come to the shows and made this tour so amazing; you guys kick ass!"

Polish death metal veterans VADER have issued the following update:

"In the middle of March, VADER will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland to begin recording session of band's next studio album, entitled 'Necropolis'. All the tracks will be recorded at Hertz and engineered by Wieslawski Bros. Tue Madsen (who previously worked with such bands as MOONSPELL, CATARACT, HEAVEN SHALL BURN and many more) will mix the album at his famous Antfarm Studios in Denmark.

"'Necropolis' will be the first album recorded with VADER's new lineup:

Piotr 'Peter' Wiwczarek (guitar, vocals)
Reyash (bass)
Waclaw 'Vogg' Kieltyka (DECAPITATED) (guitar)
Pawel Jaroszewicz (SOUL SNATCHER) (drums)

"Famous Polish artist Jacek Wisniewski (who made cover art for such albums as 'Black To The Blind', 'Revelations', 'The Beast' and more) will take care of the album artwork and its whole layout.

One of the songs recorded during the latest pre-production session at Hertz Studio is available for download directly from our MP3 section.

A sample of another new AGATHODAIMON song entitled "Alone In The Dark (Death Angel's Shadow)" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace. The song comes off the limited digipack edition of the German black/death/gothic metallers' long-awaited new album, "Phoenix", which is scheduled for release on March 20 via Massacre Records. The follow-up to "Serpent's Embrace" will mark the debut of the band's new vocalist, Chris "Ashtrael" Bonner, who joined the group last fall. According to the label, "The regular CD will have a playing time of over 63 minutes, the limited edition even more than 72 minutes!"

"Phoenix"

01. Heliopolis
02. Devil's Deal
03. Decline
04. Ground Zero
05. Ghost Of A Soul
06. Winterchild
07. Time Is The Fire
08. To Our Ashes
09. Amongst The Vultures
10. Oncoming Storm
11. Throughout The Fields Of Unshaded Grace
12. Grey Whisper

The limited edition also features "Alone In The Dark" in two versions (a new version with Ashtrael and Sathonys on vocals) and the original soundtrack version (with vocals by Ruth "Ophelia" Knepel, who also sang "Solitude" on the band's last album, "Serpent's Embrace").

Norwegian doom metallers SYRACH have issued the following update:

"We have just finished our first rehearsal with our session guitarist. The rehearsal went great and he already know the songs from our new album. His name is Gjeddo (or Gjermund, if you like) and he is an absolute briliant guitarist. He has a masters degree in classical guitar, and he also plays in the black metal band ENCHANTING DARKNESS. Gjeddo has played a few shows with us back in the days, and is a friend of the band. So there are no need to worry about the upcoming shows, and we hope there will be more shows announced soon."

Guitarist Reichborn (a.k.a. Noralf Venås) left SYRACH earlier in the month "due to lack of motivation."

SYRACH entered the studio on January 16 with producer Bjørnar Nilsen to begin recording its sophomore album, due later in the year via Napalm Records. The CD's artwork will be designed by Martin Kvamme, who has previously worked with FANTOMAS, Mike Patton, DARKTHRONE and lots of other artists.

According to Black-Sabbath.com, the track listing for "The Devil You Know", the forthcoming debut album from HEAVEN AND HELL — the band featuring BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums) — will be as follows:

01. Atom & Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double the Pain
05. Rock & Roll Angel
06. The Turn of the Screw
07. Eating the Cannibals
08. Follow the Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking into Heaven

"The Devil You Know" is scheduled for release on April 28 via Rhino. The LP was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, U.K. where the 1992 SABBATH album "Dehumanizer" was also tracked.

"Everyone had so much fun playing together that we didn't want it to end," says the group. "We started writing together and the songs started flowing like we never stopped. We wound up writing and recording an album that stands up to anything we've ever done. We're really proud of the music and excited for people to hear it."

Swedish rockers THE POODLES have made their new single, "One Out Of Ten", available for streaming at this location. The powerful ballad was written by singer Jakob Samuel (THE RING, TALISMAN, JEKYLL & HYDE) and Nicolo Fragile and was mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, METALLICA).

"One Out Of Ten", is the first single off THE POODLES' third album, "Clash Of The Elements", which is scheduled for release in the spring. The group, which recently parted ways with its record label Lionheart International after a three-year partnership, is once again working with producer Mats Valentin. Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Caroline", "Like There's No Tomorrow" and "7 Days & 7 Nights".

THE POODLES last year recruited guitarist Henrik Bergqvist (SOUTHFORK, TIAMAT) to replace Pontus Norgren, who left the group to join HAMMERFALL. The new axeman made his live debut with THE POODLES in June 2008 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden.

KORN frontman Jonathan Davis revealed to The Pulse of Radio this week that guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer, bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and drummer Ray Luzier are in the studio writing music for the next KORN album. The band's ninth effort will be produced by Ross Robinson, who also worked on their first two albums. Davis told The Pulse of Radio that the group intends to get back to the sound of those early CDs. "It's gonna be very raw, it's gonna be old school like the first KORN records," he said. "Basically, it's gonna be recorded as a four-piece band, with just Munky on guitars and Fieldy and Ray and me. We really want to go back to that old-school vibe. It was just really intense and emotional and, you know, I have a lot of built-up aggression toward certain things that I need to get out for this record."

Davis said that many of the lyrics on the upcoming album will deal with the topic of organized religion.

Ex-KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch left the band after becoming a born-again Christian, and Arvizu discusses his conversion to Christianity in a memoir that's being published in March.

KORN will play Ohio's Rock On The Range festival in May and several European festivals this summer before recording the new album later this year.

The band will also be looking for a home for the yet-to-be-titled disc since completing its two-album deal with Virgin Records in 2007.

British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH have finished filming the video for the title track of their new album, "Time Waits For No Slave".

Commented vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway: "We have shot a new video for 'Time Waits For No Slave' this week and it encompass all the features of a dour, sterile, product-driven world and the sheer joy of freeing up your mind and appreciating the simplicity of the world evolving around you rather than flogging yourself to death all the time to get ahead. It's being done in Norwich (Eastern U.K.) with Tom Blyth, who you might not have heard of. But he was in a really old U.K. hardcore band called GOOBER PATROL. We saw his work and he really seems to understand the art of protest without the cheesiness or cliché."

"Time Waits For No Slave", the new album from NAPALM DEATH, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 95. The CD, which was released in the U.S. on February 10 via Century Media Records, was recorded with producer Russ Russell. Drums were tracked at Parlour Studios in Kettering and guitars, bass and vocals were done at Foel Studios in Wales. The band then returned to Parlour for the mixing sessions.

Mark "Barney" Greenway recently told Rock Sound magazine about "Time Waits For No Slave", "Each album appears to have got progressively better and better. There was no great master plan, really. We're just a very organic band, very spontaneous, and we just try to write the best songs possible. If there is anything in the back of our minds, then I think it's that we always try to make each album differ without losing the thread of what should be there and I think we've done that with this album."

IMPELLITTERI's music video for the song "Wicked Maiden" can be viewed here. The clip was shot on February 4 with director John Logsdon, who has previously worked with DEF LEPPARD, ANTHRAX, RISE AGAINST, AUDIOSLAVE, SEETHER and DEFTONES, among many others.

"Wicked Maiden" is the title track of IMPELLITTERI's long-awaited new album, which will be released in Europe on April 24 via Metal Heaven Records. The song is available for streaming on the band's official MySpace page.

Official Metallica.com video footage of METALLICA performing the song "The Judas Kiss" for the first time last night (Wednesday, February 25) at the kick-off show of the band's current European tour at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England can be viewed here.

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. The Four Horsemen
04. Leper Messiah
05. One
06. Broken, Beat And Scarred
07. The Judas Kiss
08. Sad But True
09. No Leaf Clover
10. All Nightmare Long
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Fight Fire With Fire
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
------------------------------------
16. Breadfan
17. Helpless
18. Seek And Destroy

"Evisceration Plague", the new video from Tampa, Florida-based death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE, can be viewed below. The clip was shot on January 21 in northern New Jersey with veteran video director Dale "Rage" Resteghini, who has previously worked with MUDVAYNE, TRIVIUM and HATEBREED, among many others.

"Evisceration Plague" is the title track of the band's new album, which has registered the following first-week chart positions:

Austria: #41
Canada: #38
Germany: #42
Holland: #105
USA: #66

Evisceration Plague" sold 9,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. (Note: Nielsen SoundScan initially reported a first-week total of 7,500 for "Evisceration Plague", but that number has since been "adjusted," according to the band's record label, Metal Blade Records.) This is more than 50 percent higher than the opening tally of the band's previous CD, "Kill" (2006), which landed at No. 170 after shifting more than 6,000 copies. In 1996, CANIBAL CORPSE's "Vile" premiered at No. 151, with more than 6,100 copies sold.

Video footage of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Howard Jones laying down guest vocals on the new BELIEVER track "The Brave" can be viewed below.

"The Brave" comes off the reactivated late '80s/early '90s technical-thrash metallers' highly anticipated fourth album, "Gabriel", which will be released on the following dates:

March 17 - U.S., Canada
April 9 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain
April 14 - U.K., France, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Czech Rep., Hungary, Portugal, Greece
April 15 - Sweden, Finland

The LP will be issued through Howard Jones' new imprint label Cesspool Records via Metal Blade. The CD will feature additional guest appearances by Joe Rico (SACRIFICE), CKY/WORLD UNDER BLOOD guitarist/vocalist Deron Miller and Rocky Gray (EVANESCENCE, SOUL EMBRACED, LIVING SACRIFICE).

"Gabriel" track listing:

01. Medwton
02. A Moment In Prime
03. Stoned
04. Redshift
05. History Of Decline
06. The Need For Conflict
07. Focused Lethality
08. Shut Out The Sun
09. The Brave
10. Nonsense Mediated Decay

San Diego-based, Grammy-nominated metallers AS I LAY DYING have appeared on Taste Of Chaos, Ozzfest, headlined the 2006 Sounds Of The Underground Tour, Cornerstone, Bamboozle 2006 and just about every significant hard music festival around the globe. With "This Is Who We Are" (cover), AS I LAY DYING steps into new territory by releasing its first-ever DVD consisting of three discs produced and directed by Denise Korycki (CANNIBAL CORPSE's "Centuries of Torment" DVD) that provide viewers with live performances and a complete AS I LAY DYING audio/visual history.

"It's hard to believe that we've been a band for as long as we have yet have never released an official DVD documenting our first seven years," says AS I LAY DYING vocalist Tim Lambesis. "As a result, we've included so much content that you hardly have to like our music to be entertained. With that said, it feels good knowing how many diehard fans over the years have supported our band and their simple enjoyment of our music has given us the chance to see the world!"

"This Is Who We Are" will be available everywhere April 14.

Disc 1 - Main Documentary (approx. two hours):

This complete band history includes in depth artist interviews and commentary, interviews with friends and family, as well as observations and road stories from colleagues and bands that have worked with and befriended AS I LAY DYING since the band's inception.

Disc #2 - LIVE performances (with the current lineup):

Over an hour and a half of live performances captured at AS I LAY DYING's Southern California shows in November 2008 including the Jumping Turtle, The Grove, and Seacoast Community Church, international festivals, including Wacken Open Air and With Full Force, and U.S. festival Cornerstone.

Disc #3 - music videos and bonus features including more touring stories, profiles on personalities & more

AS I LAY DYING is:

Tim Lambesis - Vocals
Jordan Mancino - Drums
Nick Hipa - Guitar
Phillip Sgrosso - Guitar
Josh Gilbert - Bass