Melbourne, Australia-based progressive power metallers EYEFEAR have announced the addition of bassist Evan Harris (BLACK MAJESTY, ENDEL RIVERS' "Hardbite", TARAMIS) to the group's ranks. The band says in a statement: "We're really excited to have Evan in the band, and [it is] also a great honor, as he is one of Australia's premier bassists."

Commented Evan: "I have long been an admirer of EYEFEAR and of their class and commitment, and simply couldn't pass up the rare opportunity to join when it arose. Hopefully there are many years of great live shows and mindblowing albums ahead of us all."

EYEFEAR's fourth album, "The Unseen", was released this past November via Dockyard 1. The CD was mixed and mastered at Jailhouse Studios by Tommy Hansen.

Italian dark metal band GRAVEWORM has issued the following update:

"We are currently working on songs for our upcoming album. We will enter the studio at the beginning of February and the new new one will be released at the end of May. We will present the new stuff at three festivals in May — the Legacy festival in Germany, the Summer Nights festival in Austria and the Pratteln Z7 Metaldayz in Switzerland."

GRAVEWORM's latest album, "Collateral Defect", was released through Massacre Records. The CD was recorded at Stage One studios in Borgentreich, Germany with producer Andy Classen (DEW-SCENTED, CALLENISH CIRCLE, TANKARD, OCCULT). The follow-up to 2005's "(N)utopia" contains 10 songs and features guest appearances by Maurizio Iacono from KATAKLYSM and Matze from THE SORROW.

Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY), Tony Franklin (THE FIRM, WHITESNAKE), Brian Tichy (BILLY IDOL, OZZY OSBOURNE), Virgil Donati and Rusty Cooley (OUTWORLD) are among the guest musicians who appear on the new solo album keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), entitled "Molecular Heinosity".

The CD is scheduled for release on the following dates:

Japan: February 25
Taiwan: March 1
Germany, Austria, Switzerland: March 20
Europe: March 23
North America: March 24

Audio samples of five songs from "Molecular Heinosity" — "Antarctica", "Frozen By Fire", "Molecular Heinosity", "So Far Gone" and "Wings Of Insanity" — are available on Derek's MySpace page.

Swedish black metal horde LORD BELIAL has issued the following update:

"January 2009; LORD BELIAL has quit all their activities. All future gigs are cancelled. We would like to thank all fans, bands we have played with, labels, organizers and everyone involved in the band for the past 17 years!

"The main reason for this is the hearing problem (tinnitus) that has grown into a quite big problem for Micke [Backelin, drums] the last years… The other members in the band were not forced to put an end to the band but instead they mutually agreed that finding another drummer was not a solution for the future.

"Anyhow, if Micke's hearing will be at least a little bit recovered after a break from music and especially live appearances for some time, we really hope that we can continue where we ended.

"We will not comment or discuss this in emails etc."

LORD BELIAL released its latest album, "The Black Curse", in September 2008 via Regain Records. The CD was recorded at Deadline Studios with producer Valle Adzic.

LORD BELIAL's seventh full-length album, "Revelation", was recorded at Los Angered studio (owned by KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque) outside Gothenburg.

"This Time", the 1984 album from New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends JAGUAR, will be reissued on January 19 in Europe via Metal Mind Productions and March 10 in the USA through MVD. The new edition of the album includes four bonus tracks (demo, live and remix). The digipack title (limited to 2,000 copies) will be made available on golden disc, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.

"This Time" (cover) reissue track listing:

01. This Time
02. Last Flight
03. A Taste of Freedom
04. Another Lost Weekend
05. Stand Up (Tumple Down)
06. Sleepwalker
07. Tear the Shackles Down
08. Stranger
09. Driftwood
10. (Nights of) Long Shadows

Bonus tracks:

11. (Nights of) Long Shadows (demo)
12. Last Flight (demo)
13. Sleepwalker (live)
14. This Time (remix)

Italian thrash-death metallers SOTHIS have set "Egod" as the title of their sophomore album which they will begin recording on January 15. 13 songs were written for the CD and 10 of them will be tracked for the final product, which will be produced by Paolo Ojetti (INFERNAL POETRY) at Petemkin Studios.

SOTHIS recently announced the addition of singer Alessandro Falà from IGNITION CODE to the group's ranks. A photo of the new lineup can be viewed below.

SOTHIS's video for their song "Beyond the Bound", taken from the band's debut album, "Fusion", can be viewed here. The clip was directed by Philozei Prod..

"Fusion" was released in April 2006 via Italy's Temple Of Noise Records.

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has confirmed to Billboard.com that he is making plans to record his first solo album rather than go back to his other band, STONE SOUR, at the end of SLIPKNOT's current touring cycle.

"I know I have this album that I need to make," Taylor tells Billboard.com, "and I'm the kind of guy that if I can't get that done then it's going to hold me back from all this other stuff I want to do. I just know I've got to make it or I can't branch out."

He adds that there are "a lot of songs I've written that don't fit with either band, really" and describes the material as "kind of a cross between the FOO FIGHTERS and SOCIAL D, with some JOHNNY CASH mixed in. . . Obviously there's a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa," Taylor notes — but he also promises that "there's a lot of upbeat, just flat-out hard rock tunes."

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy writes: "Roadrunner asked me for my Top 10 album list back in November (with comments) for their artist/employee year-end wrap up. For whatever reason, they never posted anybody's lists this year — so I figured I'd share it here so it doesn't go to waste."

Portnoy's comments on his favorite albums of 2008 follow below.

1. METALLICA - "Death Magnetic"

Portnoy: "Is this too obvious a pick? Perhaps.....but it's absolutely deserving. No other album has kicked my ass this year as much as this one has... This is the new METALLICA album I've been waiting almost 20 years for! That they made an album this strong and inspired 25 years after their debut is absolutely incredible and completely unprecedented (I challenge you to name three other bands that you can say that about... I can't!)"

2. PROTEST THE HERO - "Fortress"

Portnoy: "This album is totally insane... awesome playing, crazy arrangements, breakneck tempo and time changes. This is what MR. BUNGLE would've sounded like if they grew up on equal portions of DREAM THEATER and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN!"

3. THE MARS VOLTA - "The Bedlam In Goliath"

Portnoy: "After being disappointed with their last one, this latest one is back on track with some very cool, more cohesive (by their standards) writing. And new drummer Thomas Pridgen is worth the price of admission alone for all you drummers out there."

4. BEARDFISH - "Sleeping In Traffic Part 2"

Portnoy: "These Swedish retro-proggers were on my 2007 top 10 list with their 'Traffic Part 1' and they have done it again with the equally as great 'Part 2'. If you dig early '70s prog stuff like ZAPPA, GENESIS and YES, you'll dig these guys… (If you're a closed-minded Blabbermouth-posting idiot, don't bother.....not that you would've anyways!)"

5. SLIPKNOT - "All Hope Is Gone"

Portnoy: "For any doubters, look beyond the masks... these guys have made an absolutely amazing metal album with some great playing and a bit of Corey Taylor's more melodic side making its way into the sound without losing any of their edge and power."

6. OPETH - "Watershed"

Portnoy: "My Progressive Nation tourmates never disappoint...I think every album they've released in this millennium had made my year-end list! They're one of my all-time favorite metal bands... 'Nuff said!"

7. BLOODBATH - "Unblessing The Purity" / "The Fathomless Mastery"

Portnoy: "For the OPETH fans that dont like their melodic and progressive side (shame on you!) there are these two absolutely brutal side project releases with Mikael Åkerfeldt's trademark death growls and Martin Axenrot's intense double-bass drumming and blast beats that are tighter than a nun's vag..."

8. TRIVIUM - "Shogun"

Portnoy: "My favorite release so far from these guys who have really fallen into their own. It's refreshing to see a young band who obviously take their playing and writing as serious as they do and keep the shredding alive in metal.

(And yes, this is the third Roadrunner release in my top 10... and it is not due to any kind of shameless self-plugging or ass-kissing...they just happen to have the best metal roster around and are the best label on Earth... which is why we made them DT's home!)"

9. STEVEN WILSON - "Insurgentes"

Portnoy: "The newset addition to my ipod in the past few weeks is this latest masterpiece from PORCUPINE TREE's leader and sonic genius. Some serious ear candy here."

10. CYNIC - "Traced In Air"

Portnoy: "The pioneers of progressive death fusion are back with a sophmore release that took 15 years to come to fruition!"

A new instrumental and orchestral version of the song "Rouse Your Dream" from Italian folk metallers ELVENKING has been recorded for the movie "Little Black Dress" (where the original version of the track also appears). According to the band, Australian director Fredric Noah needed more music to be featured in the film and asked for something based on the "Rouse Your Dream" melodies, so the new song version was tracked specially for this purpose.

ELVENKING released a new acoustic album, "Two Tragedy Poets (...And A Caravan Of Weird Figures)", in Europe on November 14 via AFM Records. The CD was issued in digipack and jewel case formats.

ELVENKING's latest album, "The Scythe", was released in Europe in September 2007 via AFM Records.

The band has released the video for its song "The Divided Heart". The clip was shot with director Mirco Andreis (ELDRITCH, MACBETH, DISARMONIA MUNDI) and can be viewed here.

"The Scythe" was mixed at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland. The mastering took place on April 10 at Finnvox Studios with Mika Jussila and Nino Laurenne.

Californian brutal death metallers VILE will enter the studio on January 25 to begin recording their fourth full-length album for a late 2009 release. Drums will be tracked by Tyson Jupin over an eight-day period at founding member/guitarist Colin Davis' Imperial Mastering studio.

Regarding the band's current label situation, Davis said, "We have had a very ambiguous relationship with labels and music business people for our entire career. There seems to be a general theme here though. And that is that VILE seems destined to ultimately reject the common way of doing business in this industry. We have been grass roots from the very beginning and although labels like Listenable and Unique Leader have helped to boost our popularity to a degree, the large majority of it has come from the plain fact that we make quality and original music and word of mouth has come back to help us. And now, as we enter 2009 and begin ramping up for the recording and release process for the new album, we find ourselves without a label for the first time in eight years, and rather turned off by the entire label situation as a whole."

He continued, "I always keep all windows of opportunity open and will continue to do so, but as we stand now, we are seriously considering a self-release for this new album. Music is now an online phenomenon to a very large degree and I feel that an online approach to promotion will get us as far as, or even further than, the old ways of doing business."


VILE's new album will be the follow-up to "The New Age of Chaos", which was released in North America in October 2005 via Unique Leader Records.

Commented Davis: "I'm really looking forward to giving birth to this baby… it's been gestating for over three years and its about time to drop this sucker! As I have said before, this album is going to be very fresh and also quite daring in many ways. There is a wide variety of stylistic modes on this one, and my goal was to make an album with different moods or vibes. Human life is not all about one mood or one way of being. And so why should our music be so one-dimensional? You want heavy? You're going to get it… but you are going to get it in a way that makes you think and feel a little more broadly than you did with past releases. Also, I hope to be able to deliver you some lyrical content that actually means

Ex-ALTARIA bassist Marko Pukkila has joined forces with former SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Jani Liimatainen and HUMAN TEMPLE vocalist Janne Hurme in a new band called DREAM ASYLUM. According to the group's official bio, "The foundation of DREAM ASYLUM was built by Marko Pukkila. He had material that wasn't suitable for the classic metal style of his main band, more melodic rock by nature. To sing these songs he needed a strong, emotional voice, and it didn't take him too long to invite Janne Hurme to the studio. Hurme, who has released several solo albums and a critically acclaimed hard rock album with his band HUMAN TEMPLE, was impressed by the quality of the songwriting and gladly accepted the invitation. Jani Liimatainen, the guitarist of SONATA ARCTICA, was also contacted, and he agreed to 'enter the ASYLUM'. As it happened, he also had a selection of songs that would fit neatly into the sound of the new project, and lo and behold — the band had an album's worth of songs with strong crossover potential!"

DREAM ASYLUM is:

Janne Hurme - Vocals
Jani Liimatainen – Guitar, Keyboards
Marko Pukkila - Bass
Jani Hurula - Drums

The cover artwork for "Ravenous", the new album from Swedish metallers WOLF, can be viewed below. 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!

WOLF recently filmed a video for the song "Voodoo" in Umeå, Sweden with director Owe Lingwall of Village Road Film. WOLF previously worked with Lingwall on the clip for the track "I Will Kill Again", which can be viewed below.

Danish metallers IRON FIRE have announced the addition of guitarist Marc Masters (FORCENTURY) to the group's ranks.

IRON FIRE's new album, "To The Grave", will be released in the U.S. on January 27 via Napalm Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. The Beast From The Blackness
02. Kill For Metal
03. The Demon Master
04. Cover The Sun
05. To The Grave
06. March Of The Immortals
07. The Kingdom
08. Frozen In Time
09. Hail To Odin
10. Doom Riders
11. Ghost Of Vengeance
12. The Battlefield
13. Blacksmith of Thunder (bonus track)

OPETH, DISMEMBER and BURST are among the nominated artists in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" category at the upcoming Manifest 2009 awards.

The Manifest awards are given out by SOM (Svenska Oberoende Musikproducenter) (Swedish Independent Musicproducers), an organization that consists of over 100 record labels. This year's awards ceremony will take place on February 6 at Nalen in Stockholm.

"Best Hard Rock/Metal" Manifest 2009 award nominees:

* BURST - "Lazarus Bird" (Relapse/Border)
* DISMEMBER - "Dismember" (Regain/Sound Pollution)
* GRAND MAGUS - "Iron Will" (Rise above/Border)
* OPETH - "Watershed" (Roadrunner/Bonnier Amigo)

"Best Punk/Hardcore" Manifest 2009 award nominees:

* DISCO VOLANTE - "We Are Forever" (Not enough)
* DISFEAR - "Live The Storm" (Relapse/Border)
* NITAD - "Ibland Kan Man Inte Hindra Sig Själv" (Kranium)
* MEANWHILE - "Reality Or Nothing" (Feral Ward)

Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED will release a new double-disc compilation that details the band's time with Earache Records, from 1998 to 2003.

Titled "Warning Shots", the set contains 28 of THE HAUNTED's most killer tracks, including a second disc with many rare and unreleased songs. The booklet contains an extensive interview with bass player Jonas Björler, conducted with respected U.K. rock critic Dominic Lawson, examining the early years of the band and reflecting on the material included on the compilation.

"Warning Shots" track listing:

Disc 1 (containing tracks from the three albums "The Haunted", "The Haunted Made Me Do It" and "One Kill Wonder"):

01. Hate Song
02. Trespass
03. Shadow World
04. D.O.A.
05. Undead
06. One Kill Wonder
07. Under the Surface
08. In Vein
09. Hollow Ground
10. Everlasting
11. Dark Intentions
12. Bury Your Dead
13. Shithead
14. Chasm
15. Revelation
16. Forensick

Disc 2 – "Off the Record" (containing rare and previously unreleased material):

01. Ritual ("One Kill Wonder" session track)
02. Creed ("One Kill Wonder" session track)
03. Well of Souls (CANDLEMASS cover)
04. Eclipse ("The Haunted Made Me Do It" session track)
05. Choke Hold (live)
06. Leech (live)
07. Three Times (live)
08. Undead (demo)*
09. Shattered (demo) (from "Statements Of Intent" compilation)
10. Undead (DEATH & 1/2 PROD. rehearsal)*
11. Now You Know (DEATH & 1/2 PROD. rehearsal)*
12. Blood Rust (DEATH & 1/2 PROD. rehearsal)*

* previously unreleased

Trivia fans will note that the final three tracks on Disc 2 were recorded in
pre-THE HAUNTED times, before the band had settled on a final name. The tracks come from a rehearsal tape made at a time when the group was considering using the moniker DEATH & 1/2 PROD.

"Warning Shots" will be released in Europe on March 9, with a U.S. release scheduled for April 7.

ENSLAVED, KEEP OF KALESSIN, and BENEA REACH have been nominated in the "Metal" category at the 37th annual Spellemann awards (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show will be held Saturday, January 24 at the Spektrum in Oslo, Norway and will be broadcast live on the Norwegian channel TV2.

The nominees in the "Metal" category are as follows:

BENEA REACH - "Alleviat" (Tabu Recordings)
ENSLAVED - "Vertebrae" (Indie Recordings)
KEEP OF KALESSIN - "Kolossus" (Indie Recordings)

ENSLAVED vocalist/bassist Grutle Kjellson commented: "This is great! Although this is our fifth nomination, I will never get used to receiving honors such as this! Some people claim these awards do not mean anything — and they may be right, of course. Then again, they are lying idiots if they claim they wouldn't appreciate a 'Best Metal Album' award. It simply states that you are doing something right even if your life doesn't depend on it. Congratulations to our buddies in KEEP OF KALESSIN for their nomination, too!"

Hard-hitting Danish four-piece THE BURNING will release its sophomore album, "Rewakening", on February 27 through Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2007's "Storm the Walls" was recorded and mixed at KohleKeller Studios with German producer Kristian Kohle Bonifer (BENIGHTED, CREMATORY, ABANDONED, AGATHODAIMON). The vocals was recorded by Jacob Bredahl (ex-HATESPHERE) at Smart N' Hard.

Commented the band: "It's been two years since we wrote and recorded the last album, and obviously we have been honing our skills in that time, but eventhough there are a few surprises and a little more melody on 'Rewakening', we kept true to our roots; heavy aggressive groove metal."

"Rewakening" features a guest appearance by Bo Summer (ILLDISPOSED).

The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. It Came From The North
02. Cloven Hoof
03. Carnivora
04. Eight Legged Omen
05. Repentance (Burned On The Stake)
06. Father They Call Me The Heretic
07. He Who Whispers In The Back Of Us All
08. Evangelical Cannibal
09. Unspeakable
10. Live The Goat (feat. Bo Summer)
11. Rewakening
12. My Apostacy

THE BURNING's video for the song "Snakes of Life" (taken off THE BURNING's debut album, "Storm the Walls") can be viewed below. The clip was shot by Division 666 (HATESPHERE, AS WE FIGHT, HORNED ALMIGHTY, THE PSYKE PROJECT).

MASTERPLAN guitarist Roland Grapow has commented on the band's split with vocalist Mike DiMeo (RIOT, THE LIZARDS).

DiMeo joined MASTERPLAN in 2006 for the recording of the "MK II" album and the subsequent tour.

Grapow, who was member of HELLOWEEN between 1989 and 2001, stated: "Mike is still our friend and we feel big respect to his huge singing talent. We are really thankful for Mike's great addition on 'MK II' and wishing him all the best and luck on his new projects! Meanwhile we continue to work on the new studio album. We'll put out more news about our new singer soon! So stay tuned and expect big things coming around... Right now we are not able to tell you more news, so be patient! The band is not searching for a new singer, drummer, keyboarder, bass or guitar player."

LAETHORA, the Swedish death/grind band featuring DARK TRANQUILLITY guitarist Niklas Sundin, will enter the studio on January 29 to begin recording its second album for a late spring/early summer release. "If all goes according to plan, we are looking at some 11-12 tracks that will be mixed by the great Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, MUSTASCH)," the group writes on its MySpace page. "So far we've had two pre-recording sessions, each consisting of five tracks, so the foundation is already laid."

LAETHORA last year posted demo versions of two new tracks — "Uproar" and "New Day" — on the band's MySpace page.

A video clip of the new song "Uproar" performed live can be viewed here.

LAETHORA's debut album, "March of the Parasite", was released in February 2007 via The End Records.

According to a press release, the band — which also features THE PROVENANCE members Joakim Rosen (guitar), Jonnie Tall (bass) and Joel Lindell (drums) — plays "aggressive music firmly rooted in the death/grind tradition, yet challenging and innovative." In an interview with MTV.com, Sundin described the "March of the Parasite" CD as "extreme and in-your-face, but organic rather than clinical-sounding."

"All The Tears", the new animated video from French progressive metallers GOJIRA, can be viewed here. The clip was directed by Spanish artist Jossie Malis and is "really something that fits what we want to create artistically as a band," according to guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier. Drummer Mario Duplantier explains: "We first came accross Jossie's work with his astounding animated films, 'Bend It To Machine' and we really liked the way he told stories in a very mysterious and unusual manner. His enigmatic animations deal with serious issues and are yet always permeated with a sense of poetry. We, as music writers, are trying to mix very different emotional atmospheres. We are happy to present a visual/audio work that gathers the sort of brutality of our music with the sensibility of his drawings."

When asked what the song is about, Joseph Duplantier replied, "It's all about all the tears that we cry through life. Because life is so hard, the simple fact of being alive is [there is always a constant] struggle. And it's about that — how hard it is."

GOJIRA sold around 4,200 copies of the band's new album, "The Way of All Flesh", in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 138 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD's cover artwork was created by Joseph Duplantier, who was also responsible for the artwork for GOJIRA's previous album, 2005's "From Mars to Sirius".

GOJIRA last year shot a video for the song "Vacuity" with French producers Julien Mokrani and Samuel Bodin of Six Pieds Sous Terre Productions. The location of the shoot was in the Basque country where GOJIRA resides. Joseph Duplantier told the UK's Rock Sound magazine about the clip, ''It is a fantastic, mind-blowing video. The song is about the Buddhist meaning of the word which is emptiness not nothingness, the ultimate presence. It was very hard to picture that concept in a video so we told the story of a girl carrying her own casket as the whole album is about facing your death and your pain. It seemed fitting."

After five years of silence, WITCHMASTER is back with a new studio album. The CD, entitled "Trucizna" (which stands for poison) contains "nine tracks of fucked-up, old-school black thrashing rock n' roll madness," according to a press release. The album will be made available worldwide on CD as well as LP by Agonia Records, and in the U.S. by Ibex Moon Records under exclusive licence from Agonia. An April 10 release is expected.

In other news, WITCHMASTER has amicably parted ways with drummer Inferno due to his "growing commitments to his mother band, BEHEMOTH." His replacement is Bastek, who is also a member of SPINAL CORD and has played with HELL-BORN and DEVILYN. Furthermore, Reyash, the original WITCHMASTER bassist, has joined American death metal veterans INCANTATION and Polish legends VADER.

After last year's successful gigs in Poland, Germany and U.K., WITCHMASTER is planning on hitting the road again in 2009.

"On The Hill Of Dreams", the new video from Madrid, Spain-based power metallers DARK MOOR, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Autumnal", which will be released soon. The follow-up to 2007's "Tarot", was recorded in part at New Sin Studios in Italy and features a guest appearance by soprano Itea Benedicto (NIOBETH).

"Autumnal" track listing:

01. Swan Lake
02. On The Hill Of Dreams
03. Phantom Queen
04. An End So Cold
05. Faustus
06. Don't Look Back
07. When The Sun Is Gone
08. For Her
09. The Enchanted Forest
10. The Sphinx
11. Fallen Leaves Waltz

Swedish metallers CONSTRUCDEAD will release their long-awaited fourth album, "Endless Echo", in April via Black Lodge Records.

The band previously stated about the new material, "[We] think that there will be something for everyone on this album. Most of the material though, is very fast, heavy and hard. But we managed to squeeze in a few melodies here and there as well. [We] can guarantee some serious blasting!!!"

"Endless Echo" track listing:

01. Sedated Morning
02. My Haven
03. Endless Echoes
04. A Godess Breaches Through Me
05. Disfigured Beauty
06. Mephisto
07. No Exit
08. Transfixed
09. Tragic Kingdom
10. Spriritual Shift
11. The One Beside Me
12. Cataclysm
13. A Dark Wave

A new CONSTRUCDEAD song entitled "Mephisto" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

CONSTRUCDEAD parted ways with drummer Nicke Karlsson shortly after the recording of the new album. According to the band, "We just felt that he wasn't the drummer for CONSTRUCDEAD and on some levels we didn't go along either. We've asked Chris [Barkensjö] from FACE DOWN to fill in on the drums, and it's working out really good.'

The band's third album, "The Grand Machinery", was released in September 2005 via Black Lodge Records.

Greek old-school thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS have issued the following update:

"After the departure of our former bass player, we had a problem that needed to be fixed. To be more specific, there's a European tour coming up (more news on this soon!) and suddenly the bass player position became vacant. So we called a good friend, Angelos, a skilled bass player that could definitely help us out with the tour, and asked him if he would care to do some session work for us. The thing is, we'd like him to be a full member in the first place, but he was a bit preoccupied with other bands and we didn't know if he could do it. However, he gave it some thought, decided to go for it and hence we are in the pleasant position to welcome him as the new SUICIDAL ANGELS bass player.

"Our Greek friends will be the first ones to see him on stage, as our next concert will be supporting DEW-SCENTED in Athens (on February 27). We hope for a warm welcome!"

Norwegian melodic metal band PICTURES OF PAIN has posted a new song, "Far Beyond", on the group's MySpace page. The track is expected to appear on PICTURES OF PAIN's forthcoming debut album, which was recorded at Black Dimension studio by Stein R. Sund. The band says, "It's the same studio we used for the two demos we recorded earlier. As always, [Stein] has done a great job — thanks, mate! We will quite soon start the research of actual record companies, which hopefully will result in a record deal. Time will show!"

PICTURES OF PAIN is:

Rune Fredriksen (guitar)
Arne Marton Tangjerd (guitar)
Hans Helge Iversen (vocals)
Frode Gundersen (drums)
Roy Ostrem (bass)

Vocalist Mike DiMeo (RIOT, THE LIZARDS) has confirmed that he has parted ways with MASTERPLAN, the melodic metal band led by former HELLOWEEN guitarist Roland Grapow. Mike writes on his MySpace page, "I have nothing but profound respect for them and continue to wish them nothing but success in the future."

Although MASTERPLAN has yet to announce a replacement for DiMeo, Grapow wrote in a November 5, 2008 online posting that the band had commenced the recording sessions for a new studio album, which is tentatively expected in May/June via AFM Records. He said, "Axel [Mackenrott, keyboards] and Jan [S. Eckert, bass] are working on more new song material in Hamburg in Axel's new studio. Meanwhile i'm writing/recording guitars and arranging songs in my studio in [Slovakia]. We have 10 songs written so far and we'll still write more material parallel to the recordings. We are very happy with the new song material so far and we are sure it will be a killer album!!!" Roland also added that there will "hopefully [be] a big surprise" coming soon.

DiMeo, regarded as one of the finest vocalists in the heavy rock scene, first came to prominence after joining the legendary New York City band RIOT prior to the recording of 1994's "Nightbreaker". He went on to record six studio albums and one live album with the group before departing to join MASTERPLAN for the recording of "MK II" in 2006.

DiMeo in August 2008 announced the formation of a new project called TENPOINT alongside Steve Seigerman (guitar), Chris Kozikowski (bass) and Doug Bohn (drums).

MASTERPLAN's "Lost And Gone" video (from 2007's "MK II") can be viewed here.