Following the departure of long-standing bassist Steve Scott in early January 2009, British melodic power metallers POWER QUEST have announced that the search for a replacement is now over. The group's new bassist is Oliver Holzwarth, who has been a touring member of the legendary German power metal band BLIND GUARDIAN since 1997. In addition to this, he has also worked with Tarja Turunen (formerly of NIGHTWISH), PARADOX, DEMONS & WIZARDS and his own band SIEGES EVEN.

POWER QUEST keyboardist and founder member Steve Williams commented: "We are absolutely thrilled to have recruited a musician of Oliver's caliber into the band. His combination of musicianship and experience will be a fantastic addition to POWER QUEST, as we head forward into 2009. Welcome aboard, mate!"

Oliver added: "When I got in contact with Steve for the first time, it instantly became quite clear that we share the same ideas and visions. Consequently, I joined POWER QUEST. Quite a musical challenge that I am looking forward to mastering with dedication and inspiration. Great to play with you guys!"

Catch the new POWER QUEST line-up at ProgPower USA on September 11, 2009 and at Metalfest UK on September 26, 2009.

POWER QUEST's latest album, "Master of Illusion", was released last spring via Napalm Records/Avalon Marquee (Japan). Guest musicians on the CD include keyboardist Richard West from the UK progressive metal band THRESHOLD, Jorn Viggo Lofstad from the Norwegian power metal act PAGAN'S MIND and FOURWAYKILL singer Chris Neighbour.

Due to a "manufacturing error," the North American release date of the "A Knot Of" DVD from Japan's DIR EN GREY has been pushed back to February 24 from the previously announced February 3 (via The End Records). The DVD follows the band through three long mettle-testing years on the road, giving fans a window into DIR EN GREY's unique world.

"A Knot Of" features:

01. Tour 2005: It Withers And Withers
02. Rock Am Ring 2005 / Rock Im Park 2005
03. Showcase Tour / Tour 06 It Withers And Withers
04. Rock Am Ring 2006 / Rock Im Park 2006
05. Tour 2005-2006 It Withers And Withers Final / Tour 2006
Inward Scream
06. The Family Values Tour
07. Tour 2007 Inward Scream
08. Deftones U.S. Tour 2007 Summer
09. Wacken Open Air / Ankkarock Festival
10. Tour 2007 The Marrow Of A Bone

According to News.bg, Ivan Nestorov, co-president of Sofia Music Enterprises, commented on the rumors that AC/DC are demanding a fee of 3 million levs (approximately $2 million) to perform in Bulgaria.

Said Nestorov: "AC/DC have no fee — this is nonsense! Stars of such a magnitude have no fees? The money the artists get is distributed on the principle of percents and on the basis of the tickets' price, capacity, expenses, etc. and usually no fees are determined.

"I can't give you any details on the tickets' price for a possible AC/DC concert, because nothing is certain yet. If we get a confirmation, we'll naturally give a press conference and announce all details necessary!"

"We have been negotiating with many artists throughout the seventeen years of hard work. Only musicians from Mars are not in our negotiation schemes," joked Nestorov.

Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers AFTER FOREVER have issued the following statement:

"After nearly 15 years and with heavy hearts, we have decided to call an end to a great and exciting time as AFTER FOREVER. We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished, and especially of the road we took to get here. AFTER FOREVER has never been a band that repeated itself; we always tried out new things, even though many of them were certainly done at a risk. We think that that has been one of the reasons we've always enjoyed enormous support from all our loyal fans.

"The break we took in 2008 made us appreciate all the more what we'd experienced. Now more than ever, we can look back on so many fantastic moments, something we never would have expected to be part of when we started the band all those years ago. However, that break also made us aware of the fact that we can only continue AFTER FOREVER with the energy, the full 110%, that we have always put into it and we've noticed lately that there is something missing. We have always been musicians who create music with lots of passion, and during the break we built up our own lives again and have been musically active and experimenting in several genres.

"Although AFTER FOREVER is very special to us, we feel that we have reached the point where we need to explore the world of music in each of our own different ways. Thus, we've decided to quit while we're ahead. We are sincerely proud of every CD; each album represents a unique period, and all comes together in our last album 'After Forever', which made all of our dreams possible. We hope AFTER FOREVER will continue to be a source of inspiration for new bands and musicians alike so that our music can live on.

"As band members, but also as friends, we've experienced so very much; highs and lows, good times and bad. We'll keep supporting each other in all of our various individual projects and continue inspiring one another in making music.

"Our MySpace page will be used for updates on all of these projects and, of course, AFTER FOREVER-related news, as well.

"You can be sure that this is not an easy decision for any of us. We'd like to thank all of our fans for their support, also during the break.

"We know that this will be a big disappointment to you, dear fans, and it makes it that much harder for us. You have always given us your all and it was our pledge, in turn, always to give at least as much back to you for as long as we exist. In this moment, that's unfortunately just not possible, so we'd rather leave you all the albums and gigs we achieved with maximum input. We'd also like to thank Nuclear Blast, TEG and MOJO for their patience and enthusiasm, the live crew, the fan club, the fan sites and everybody who's helped in every way possible.

"We'll miss you all."

"Tears of Autumn Rain", the new single from the Finnish melodic death metal band ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW, will be released in Finland on February 18 via KHY Suomen Musiikki Oy. The single's title cut, which features guest female vocals by by Miriam Renvåg (RAM-ZET) and Heidi Parviainen (AMBERIAN DAWN), is available for streaming on the group's MySpace page. The second track on the single is a reworked version of "Vilda Mánnu", which was the title cut of the band's second album, released in 1998. The cover artwork for single was created by Travis Smith and can be viewed below.

"Tears of Autumn Rain" was recorded at Tico-Tico, Note On and Finnvox studios in Finland and Space Valley studios in Norway. It was mixed at Finnvox studios in December 2008 by Mikko Karmila.

ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW's current lineup:

Altti Veteläinen (growling vocals, bass)
Jarmo Kylmänen (clean vocals)
Jarmo Puolakanaho (guitars)
Risto Ruuth (lead guitars)
Janne Tolsa (keyboards)
Juho Raappana (drums)

ETERNAL TEARS OF SORROW is currently recording its sixth album, which is tentatively expected in April 2009 via the Finnish label KHY Suomen Musiikki Oy. As was the case with the band's previous five LPs, the forthcoming effort is being recorded at Tico-Tico Studio in Kemi, Finland. The as-yet-untitled CD has already been licenced to Massacre Records (which will be release the album in Europe excluding Finland) and Marquee/Avalon (which will make the record available in Asia).

Bassist Alex Webster (CANNIBAL CORPSE, BLOTTED SCIENCE) has finished recording a guest appearance on the debut album from TIWANAKU, the central Florida-based metal band featuring Wade Black (CRIMSON GLORY) on vocals, Emo Mowery (ex-NOCTURNUS) on guitar/vocals and Mike Estes (BURNING INSIDE, ACHERON) on guitar.

Commenting on Webster's contribution to a track called "Today in Battle", Mowery stated, "Alex is one of the most professional and humble musicians we have had the pleasure to work with. When we called him to ask if he would like to record a song with us, there was no hesitation with him at all. Alex did a very proficient and awesome job!! We gave him full rein to pick whatever song of ours he wanted to do, let him do his thing with it, and the finished tracks came out phenomenal! We couldn't be happier with the results!"

TIWANAKU's full-length debut is being produced by Neil Kernon (NEVERMORE, QUEENSRŸCHE, DOKKEN) and is tentatively due before the end of the year via an as-yet-undetermined record label.

The band recently posted two new demo tracks on its official web site. Check out "Playing God" and "Ghost War" at this location.

The group stated in a press release: "For those familiar with the EP released by TIWANAKU several years ago, the essence of that genesis has been captured, intensified and is ready to be unleashed as a truly new breed of beast."

The "director's cut" version of the video for the unedited song "Throes Of Perdition" from Florida metallers TRIVIUM can be viewed below. The track comes off the band's latest album, "Shogun", which has sold 66,000 copies in the United States since its late September release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD follows up "The Crusade", which opened with 31,000 copies in October 2006 to land at No. 25.

"Shogun" was released in North America on September 30, 2008 via Roadrunner Records. The CD was mixed in London by Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, NAPALM DEATH), with Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford assisting on engineering duties.

The German edition of Metal Hammer magazine has compiled a list of the 111 greatest death metal songs of all time as selected by the visitors to the Metal-Hammer.de web site. More than 15,000 votes were cast, with the top spot going to CANNIBAL CORPSE's "Hammer Smashed Face".

Top 10 death metal songs of all time, as selected by Metal-Hammer.de visitors:

01. CANNIBAL CORPSE - "Hammer Smashed Face"
02. ARCH ENEMY - "We Will Rise"
03. DEATH - "Crystal Mountain"
04. AMON AMARTH - "Pursuit Of Vikings"
05. VADER - "Carnal"
06. SEPULTURA - "Arise"
07. CARCASS - "Heartwork"
08. IN FLAMES - "Only For The Weak"
09. KATAKLYSM - "In Shadows And Dust"
10. BEHEMOTH - "Christians To The Lions"

According to Ickmusic, a new controversy brewing on the interwebs is the similarity between BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN's new album opener "Outlaw Pete", and KISS' 1979 foray into disco, "I Was Made For Lovin' You". Similar, yes. But does it tread into COLDPLAY/JOE SATRIANI territory? Listen to the two tracks below and judge for yourself.

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" originally appeared on KISS' 1979 album "Dynasty". It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album. It was the band's second gold single, selling over 1 million copies. The single reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard singles chart. The song also became a Top 10 hit in Australia reaching No. 6 on the ARIA charts in 1979. The song fared the best in Western Europe (Where it became a Top 20 hit in Sweden, a Top 10 hit in Norway, made it to the No. 2 position in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and in Holland it became a No. 1 smash).

ANGRA/ALMAH vocalist Edu Falaschi will produce the debut album from the Brazilian metal band ARTEMIS. The follow-up to ARTEMIS' "Fields Of Ascension" EP, tentatively titled "Therefore Realm" (cover), will be released before the end of the year.

Commented ARTEMIS drummer Pedro Senna: "We are all great fans of the work of Edu Falaschi. For us, having him as a producer is a dream realized! The anxiety is enormous at the start working with him, and all our new ideas into practice."

ARTEMIS is:

Rafael Dias (Vocals)
Gabriel Soto (Guitars)
Nathan Grego (Guitars)
Victor Danilevicius (Bass)
Pedro Senna (Drums)

Croatian gothic/doom metal band ASHES YOU LEAVE will release its new album, "Songs Of The Lost", on March 23 through the Greek label Sleaszy Rider. "Songs Of The Lost" is the gorup's first album in seven years (and fifth overall).

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Apathy Overdose
02. The Feast
03. Stranded
04. The Song Of The Lost
05. Every You Every Me (PLACEBO cover)
06. Taints
07. Losing Fate
08. Where The Pain Is
09. Soul Of Ice

Swedish artist Andreas Söderlund is responsible for the complete artwork.

The first song from the album, "Stranded", is available for streaming at the band's MySpace page.

ASHES YOU LEAVE is:

Tamara Mulaosmanovic - Vocals and Keyboards
Berislav Poje - Lead guitar and Vocals
Marta Batinic - Violin
Matija Rempesic - Guitar
Luka Petrovic - Bass
Insanus - Drums

HeavyLaw.com has uploaded the cover artwork (see here) for "First War Of The World", the fourth album from the German black/Viking metal band BLACK MESSIAH, which is scheduled for release on March 20 via AFM Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Of Myths and Legends" includes "13 songs of high-class pagan metal."

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Prologue - The Discovery (2:53)
02. The Vanir Tribe (5:54)
03. Gullveig (8:08)
04. Von Rachsucht Und Luege (5:34)
05. March Of The Warriors (0:39)
06. Vor Den Toren Valhalls (6:23)
07. The Battle Of Asgaard (7:10)
08. The Chase (1:20)
09. Burn Vanaheim (5:36)
10. Das Unterpfand (5:51)
11. Peace At A High Price (0:54)
12. Andacht (9:41)
13. Soeldnerschwein (4:36)

The song "Burn Vanaheim" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

BLACK MESSIAH is:

Zagan - Vocals, Violin, Guitar
Garm - Bass
Zoran - Lead Guitar
Meldric - Guitar
Agnar - Keys, Synths
Bröh - Drums

New Jersey-based hardcore/metal act BURNT BY THE SUN has entered Trax East studios in New Jersey to begin recording its long-awaited third full-length album, "Heart Of Darkness". The follow-up to 2003's "The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good" is being produced by Eric Rachel, who has previously worked with HATEBREED, THE RED CHORD, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and A LIFE ONCE LOST, among others. A late spring/early summer release via Relapse Records is expected.

BURNT BY THE SUN recently posted a new demo track, "F-Unit", at this location. A visual preview of the track can be viewed here.

Dutch melodic death metal band GOD DETHRONED will release its new album, "Passiondale", as a limited double digipak edition including a bonus CD. The double-digipak will feature stunning artwork (soon to be revealed) 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.

The album will be issued on April 24 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy and April 27 in the rest of Europe via Metal Blade Records.

The CD was recorded at Soundlodge studios in Germany with producer Jörg Uken.

Welsh metallers ANTERIOR have announced the addition of drummer Andrew Cairns to the group's ranks. "Andrew did a great job on our recent U.K. jaunt with ALL THAT REMAINS and THE HAUNTED and has now become a full-time member of ANTERIOR," the band says in a statement. "We are very pleased to have him in the fold and we feel that he is a great addition to the band. We are now a complete five-piece again and cannot wait for the next appearance as a new band at Hellfire Festival in London soon!"

ANTERIOR is busy writing the follow-up to its 2007 Metal Blade debut, "The Age Of Silence". "We will be recording the album at Grindstone Studios with the mighty Scott Atkins (SYLOSIS, ROMEO MUST DIE, MADMAN IS ABSOLUTE) and are aiming to have the record out for late summer 2009 with some exciting and fast material to entice your ear drums," the band says. "We are really excited to once again be a complete band and will have a new album and touring schedule within the coming months."

Finnish aggressive melodic metal five-piece MY FATE is currently recording its third full-length album, "Room for Regret", for a May 6 release through My Fate Music, the band's own label. Distribution in Finland will be handled by Supersounds Music. The group is currently looking for ways to get the album released in other countries as well. A digital single, "Snap", will be made available on Friday, February 13.

Commented guitarist/songwriter Jaakko Järvensivu: "That song 'Snap' is rather on the aggressive side of the new album but it's also very catchy, definitely different from anything we've done before. 'Room for Regret' will be our most diverse album up to date, containing the slowest and heaviest MY FATE songs ever, yet also the fastest. It's going to be a challenging and a very intense record."

A studio diary is available on the band's web site.

Formed in 2000, MY FATE has released three four-song EPs and two full-length albums.

The band's lineup is as follows:

Jukka Ruostila - Vocals
Jaakko Järvensivu - Guitar
Mikko Lehtinen - Guitar
Roope Lehtinen - Bass
Vilho Rajala - Drums

"Archangels In Black", the new album from French neo-classical metallers ADAGIO, will be streamed in its entirety from Saturday, February 7 at 8.00 a.m GMT (3.00 p.m EST) until Monday, February 9 at 8.00 a.m GMT on the band's MySpace page.

"Fear Circus", the new video from ADAGIO, can be viewed below. The song comes off "Archangels In Black", which is scheduled for release on February 9 via Listenable Records. The cover artwork, which was created by Guilherme Sevens, is also available below.

According to a press release, "without being a concept album, 'Archangels In Black' evokes the band's convictions about a certain Nightside philosophy and a very personal approach of life and death." Guitarist Stéphan Forté says, "Darkness is a concept with many branches, often misunderstood from outside, but elemental for some kind."

The CD was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden with Björn Engelmann (RAMMSTEIN, MESHUGGAH). According to Stéphan Forté, "Björn did an amazing job. The result is heavy as fuck and makes the songs even more powerful!!! We're a 110% happy with the result."

"Archangels In Black" is the first CD to feature ADAGIO's latest addition, Finnish singer Christian Palin.

Palin is a member of the Swedish/Finnish combo ESSENCE OF SORROW and RANDOM EYES.

"Archangels In Black" track listing:

01. Vamphyri
02. The Astral Pathway
03. Fear Circus
04. Undead
05. Archangels In Black
06. The Fifth Ankh
07. Codex Oscura
08. Twilight At Dawn
09. Getsu Senshi

French metal/gothic band AD INFERNA, which features SETH mainman/vocalist Arkames, has issued the following update:

"The recording of the [new AD INFERNA] album is finally finished. The group will enter the Drudenhaus Studio in a few days to proceed to the mix with Xort [ANOREXIA NERVOSA]. The mastering will take place shortly thereafter. As soon as the album [is] in our hands, we [will] send [it] to interested labels so that it could be in stores this spring."

AD INFERNA's debut album, "L'Empire des Sens", was released in 2002 via Silverdust Records.

AD INFERNA is:

V.Orias.A – Guitar, Bass
As-Mody – Keyboards, Bass
N.Aboriim - Drums
Arkames - Vocals

Finnish folk-influenced melodic death metal act ENSIFERUM will have its first two albums made officially available in the U.K. for the very first time. The records in question — "Ensiferum" (2001) and "Iron" (2004) — will be released on March 30 via Spinefarm Records. Both albums will come with bonus material.

After entering the studio for the first time in the latter part of the '90s, ENSIFERUM has been constantly sharpening its sound, dispensing epic music heavy in both atmosphere and attack, with its most recent "Victory Songs" opus (reissued in the U.K. last year as a two-CD set with the "Dragonheads" EP) taking "folk/viking melodic metal" to a whole new level of grandeur.

The band will shortly be starting work on studio album No. 4, with September 9, 2009 already cast in steel as the day of release.

ENSIFERUM vocalist/guitarist Petri Lindroos was forced to miss the group's shows in Russia last November "due to serious illness," according to a posting on the band's web site. Former ENSIFERUM member Jukka-Pekka Miettinen played guitar on the Russian dates and vocals were "growled" by Sami Hinkka.

Guitarist Craig Locicero of reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrahers FORBIDDEN has issued the following update:

"Time for a quick news bit about what's upcoming. We're going to be laying down some tracks on a couple of new FORBIDDEN tunes next week with Tim Narducci [SYSTEMATIC] co-producing it with the band. We've been working on a gang of new material for a few months and we wanted to get the first taste out as soon as we could find the time. It's important for us to let our fans (who may be the most patient in the world!) in on what we've been at this whole time. We can tell you only this much....it's KILLER! Tim's going to do a great job of capturing our new energy and we're stoked as hell!

"It's been great working with the other guys this closely again. There is still so much more work to be done! The thing we all realize is, it's best to take our time and not rush the stuff. That would be a disservice to the ones who have been waiting. It's funny, so many opinions are thrown at us weekly about what the material 'should' sound like. The fact is — it's taking on a life of its own. We can never really go in the 'way back machine' and sound just like the kids that recorded 'Forbidden Evil'. As cool as that record was, we would be regressing a bit to do such a thing. This stuff is more in the vein as 'Twisted Into Form' with our experiences over the last 20 years wrapped into it. Heavy, melodic, thrashy, technical, FORBIDDEN!!! It's a blast.

"I can also tell you that Mark [new drummer Mark Hernandez; HEATHEN, DEFIANCE, RE:IGNITION, VIO-LENCE, TORQUE, TECHNOCRACY and SOCIAL UNREST] and Steve [new guitarist Steve Smyth; THE ESSENESS PROJECT, NEVERMORE, TESTAMENT, DRAGONLORD, VICIOUS RUMORS] are doing fantastic work. Most of the material was written like the old FORBIDDEN. Started with guitar and drums with skeleton arrangements. Mark has done nothing but impress me with his ideas and input. He's got a lot to offer and he knows that he needs to deliver. Those are still mighty big shoes to fill with Paul [Bostaph; original FORBIDDEN drummer, also formerly of SLAYER and EXODUS] and Steve [Jacobs; ex-FORBIDDEN drummer] playing on the previous albums.

"Steve Smyth has been great to work with as well! As a few of you may know, Steve lives in London but comes back to the Bay often. He was here last month. But I think FORBIDDEN can get a endorsement from Skype, because Steve and I have been working on it so much since he's gone home. You get a ton done for free with no gas money spent! We go through all the details and it's easy. Especially when there is a great chemistry within our communication. I think all of the guitar geeks (like us) are going to be blown the fuck away! We have some cool shit in store for you.

"Last thing here... Mark and I are recording with Hank Shermann's [MERCYFUL FATE] DEMONICA starting this week. That stuff is so f'n cool! Hank's been working hard on it for a while and now we're going to lay down the drums and solos here in Livermore. With Tim and Brad Barth from SPIRALARMS engineering it. Then we send it back to Hank and he'll put the finishing touches on it, then Dave Otero will mix it. Should be finished sometime in early May. Keep your eye out for the DEMONICA. It's some ripping old-school thrash written by Hank himself. We're all honored just to be asked to be a part of it. How cool is that?"

FORBIDDEN's last studio LP, "Green", was released in 1997 on the G.U.N. label.

2DVD + 2CD digipack, "Non Serviam - A 20 Year Apocryphal Story" (cover), in Europe on February 23 and in the U.S. on May 5 via Season of Mist. The set will feature the band's most popular and classic songs, including some rare treats, to celebrate their special 20th anniversary show in their hometown Athens in front of a fanatic audience in December 2007. Completing the package is a bonus DVD filled with extra footage from the "Sanctus Diavolos" and "Theogonia" tours, an interview with frontman Sakis Tolis telling the story of the band, bootlegs live videos, promotional clips and much more. Last but not least, these five hours of video are backed by two audio CDs taking up 25 tracks from the Athens show plus seven exclusive tracks recorded live in February 2007 at B-Live in Larisa, Greece.

Sakis previously stated about the DVD shoot: "It was something amazing! We had 1,500 fans who knew all the songs and were singing with us. I am really happy about the result of this concert."

According to Metalzone.gr, ROTTING CHRIST's setlist for the December 8, 2007 concert in Athens, Greece was as follows:

01. Intro
02. The Sign Of Prime Creation (Theogonia)
03. Keravnos Kivernitos (Theogonia)
04. Athanatoi Este (Sanctus Diavolos)
05. Enuma Elish (Theogonia)
06. King Of A Stellar War (Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers)
07. The Fifth Illusion (Non Serviam)
08. Archon (Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers)
09. The First Field Of The Battle (Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers)
10. Shadows Follow (Trirchy Of The Lost Lovers)
11. The Sign Of Evil Existence (Thy Mighty Contract)
12. Coronation Of The Serpent (Thy Mighty Contract)
13. The Old Coffin Spirit (Passage To Arcturo)
14. The Mystical Meeting (Apokathilosis EP)
15. Thou Art Blind (Khronos 666)
16. Morality Of A Dark Age (Non Serviam)
17. You My Cross (Sanctus Diavolos)
18. Saturn Unlock Avey's Son (Non Serviam)
19. Exiled Archangels (Thy Mighty Contract)
20. Sorrowfull Farewell (A Dead Poem)
21. Among Two Storms (A Dead Poem)
22. After Dark I Feel (Sleep Of The Angels)
23. In Domine Sathana (Genesis)
24. Nemecic (Theogonia)
25. Under The Name Of Legion (Genesis)

Encore:

26. Societas Satanas (THOU ART LORD cover)
27. Non Serviam (Non Serviam)

AVA INFERI, the Portugal-based band whose lineup includes guitarist Rune Eriksen (a.k.a. ex-MAYHEM guitarist/songwriter Blasphemer), entered the studio in November to begin recording its third album, "Blood Of Bacchus", for an April 2009 release.

The final track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Truce
02. Last Sign Of Summer
03. Colours Of The Dark
04. Black Wings
05. Appeler Les Loups
06. Be Damned
07. Tempestade
08. Blood Of Bacchus
09. Memoirs

The album features guest appearances by Kristoffer Rygg (ULVER), Live Kostöl (PANTHEON I), Fredrik Söderlind (PUISSENCE) and the "amazing piano talent" Arne Martinussen.

The band says, "Be prepared for approximately 54 minutes of pure and honest inspiration."

AVA INFERI is preparing to hit the road as part of the Hellhounds Fest 2009 tour, also featuring TIAMAT and THE 69 EYES, which is scheduled to kick off February 10 in Hamburg, Germany.

Commented Rune Eriksen: "Heavy rehearsals and thorough preparations is what is on the agenda these days. And since the current tour does not include SCREAM SILENCE nor NOVEMBRE [both of whom were forced to cancel their participation in the trek], the stage will be lit another 15-20 minutes for us, allowing the beauty and the sincere purity of our music to blossom night after night, in city after city over three whole weeks. We are very grateful for this opportunity. Mark these written words!

"Obviously this tour is also a great chance to showcase some tunes from our new and forthcoming album, 'Blood Of Bacchus' (which should hit the shelves sometime late april if everything goes according plan) and also to build some serious interest in our band. We will hopefully perform two brand new ones on this lenghty trek, allowing you all a glimpse into the current expression of this vehicle."

AVA INFERI in 2007 released the video for the opening track of the group's second full-length album, "The Silhouette". The "A Dança das Ondas" clip was masterminded and directed by Rui Veiga who has previously worked with Robert Trujillo (METALLICA), among others.

Lauren Harris — singer and daughter of legendary architect and bassist of IRON MAIDEN, Steve Harris — recently took part in a "revealing" photo session and interview with the U.K. edition of the FHM magazine. Check it out at FHM.com. Larger scans can be found at Female Cele.

Lauren Harris released her new single, "Your Turn", worldwide on January 1 at one second past midnight as the first "official" release of 2009.

This groundbreaking event, in conjunction with worldwide music distribution giants, The Orchard was the brainchild of Quite Great Communications' marketing team, Redlands, and was the first of its type.

"Your Turn" is taken from Lauren's critically acclaimed debut album "Calm Before The Storm", which features performances from her father on a number of tracks — the first time he has played on anything besides a MAIDEN track, ever!

An original rock chick, Lauren is no stranger to touring around the world. She has already performed in front of millions worldwide and will again be wowing audiences with her energetic stage presence on her upcoming world tour.

"Calm Before The Storm" is an eclectic mix of high-energy pop-rock tracks and has already received rave reviews in the alternative press. Lauren is now launching a full-on assault on the British public.

Her catchy power-pop songs draw comparisons to American acts such as the DONNAS and PARAMORE as well as more mainstream artists such as AVRIL LAVIGNE and PINK but with a distinctly British attitude and sound.

Jesper Strömblad, guitarist and founding member of the Swedish metal band IN FLAMES, has been forced to sit out the group's upcoming tour of South America, Australia and Japan. Jesper has checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic in order to receive treatment for his alcohol addiction. On this tour, Niclas Engelin from the Swedish band ENGEL will fill in on guitar. Niclas has helped IN FLAMES on a couple of occasions in the past and is no stranger to the band's songs or the touring life.

Commented the group in a statement: "Jesper has struggled for some time with alcoholic abuse, and decided to sit this [tour] out in order to seek help and focus on rehabilitation and all that comes with it. We all talked about it and together with Jesper, we chose to ask our longtime friend Niclas Engelin, who helped us before, to complete the tour. We are all sad that it needed to come to this, but health comes first. This is something Jesper needed to do for himself and we wish Jesper all the best with his recovery and hope to have him back on the road with us again very, very soon!"

IN FLAMES was honored in the "Best Swedish Band", "Best Swedish Album" and "Best Swedish Live Band" categories at the Bandit Rock Awards. The awards ceremony, which was organized and hosted by the Stockholm-based radio station Bandit Rock 106.3, was held this past Friday (January 30) at Tyrol in the Swedish capital.

IN FLAMES took home the "Best Hard Rock" award at the Swedish "Grammis" gala, which was held on January 7 at Hovet in Stockholm. The band also performed the song "Alias" during the ceremony, which was broadcast live on Swedish national channel TV4.

IN FLAMES was presented with the award by Joey Tempest, singer for the reactivated Swedish hard rock band EUROPE.

The artists were nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2008.

HeadbangersBlog.com is offering a free MP3 download of the song "Rapture of the Empty Spaces" from NILE mainman Karl Sanders's second solo album, "Saurian Exorcisms", which comes out April 14 on The End Records. The CD — which was recorded at Serpent Headed Studios, mixed by Bob Moore at the Soundlab in Columbia, South Carolina, and mastered by Juan Punchy Gonzalez at D.O.W. Studios in Tampa, Florida — contains nine carefully constructed dark cinematic songs that work in harmony to create a uniquely moving emotional experience.

"Saurian Exorcisms" track listing:

01. Preliminary Purification Before the Calling of Inanna
02. Rapture of the Empty Spaces
03. Contemplate this On the Tree of Woe
04. A Most Effective Excorcism against Azagthoth and his Emissaries
05. Slavery to Nitokris
06. Shira Gula Pazu
07. Kali Ma
08. Curse the Sun
09. Dying Embers of the Aga Mass SSSratu

Personnel:

* Karl Sanders - Baglama Saz, Glissentar, Acoustic Guitars, Guitar Synth, Keyboards, Drums, Percussion, Vocals
* Mike Breazeale - Vocals and Chants

Swedish metal band DREAMLAND has begun mixing its third album"Exit 49" at Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden for an April release via Dockyard 1 Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Warning", "Rescue Me", "Two Worlds", "Nordic Rage", "Touch of Evil" and "Song For You".

The follow-up to 2007's "Eye For An Eye", "Exit 49" will mark the debut of new drummer Alexx and guitarist Nils Olsson.

DREAMLAND's last CD, "Eye for an Eye", was recorded at Joacim Cans' (HAMMERFALL) Moonshine Studio and Andy La Rocque's old studio, Los Angered Recording, where the album was also mixed.