"Any Means Necessary", the new video from Swedish melodic metallers HAMMERFALL, can be viewed below. The clip was shot in Belgrade, Serbia with director Ivan Colic of i-Code, who previously worked with the band on the "Natural High" clip. "This time we worked solely in front of a green screen, standing on a dirt covered floor which really gave our eyes some major problems every time the fan was turned on," singer Joacim Cans explained. "It is extremely boring working in front of... nothing and trying to act like there's a lot of shit happening around you. Especially since I had to pretend watching the re-building of a city. The general idea is that the band is standing in some sort of a ghost town and with a 'The morning after the great disaster' feeling. Meanwhile, we are performing the song, trying to look cool, things starts to run backwards and the city slowly builds up to what it was before the explosion... and... BOOOM!!!... and we're back to square one again. Get it? Well, I didn't!"

HAMMERFALL performed "Any Means Necessary" on January 17 during the "P3 Guld" live awards ceremony broadcast from the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. The event was aired live on both Swedish national TV and radio.

Footage of HAMMERFALL's performance can be viewed below.

"Any Means Necessary" is the first single off the band's eighth full-length album, "No Sacrifice, No Victory", due on February 20 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded in part at Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden and includes an instrumental written by the group's latest addition, guitarist Pontus Norgren (THE POODLES, TALISMAN, GREAT KING RAT), as well as a song entitled "One of a Kind", which was composed as a collaboration between HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak and IN FLAMES axeman Jesper Strömblad (who was a member of HAMMERFALL in the band's earliest incarnation). The cover artwork was created by Sam Didier, while Thomas Ewerhard was responsible for the CD layout.

"No Sacrifice, No Victory" track listing:

01. Any Means Necessary
02. Life Is Now
03. Punish And Enslave
04. Legion
05. Between Two Worlds
06. Hallowed Be My Name
07. Something For The Ages
08. No Sacrifice, No Victory
09. Bring The Hammer Down
10. One Of A Kind
11. My Sharona (THE KNACK cover)

Pontus Norgren joined HAMMERFALL as the replacement for Stefan Elmgren, who left the band in April 2008 to focus on his new career as a pilot.

Hungarian hardcore/thrash metallers EKTOMORF will release their new album, "What Doesn't Kill Me…" 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.

A short message from the band, including a clip of the new song "It's Up To You" (for which EKTOMORF recently shot a video), can be viewed here.

The band's last album, entitled "Outcast", was released in October 2006 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Antfarm Studios in Aarhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen and features a cover of the PRODIGY classic "Fuel My Fire".

Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD will release a digital-only single, "Set To Fail", in the U.K. on February 2. The cover artwork for the single can be viewed here.

A track-by-track "preview" of LAMB OF GOD's fifth album, "Wrath", is available on the Metal Hammer web site.

"Wrath" will be released in North America via Epic. The CD will be issued in other territories through Roadrunner Records.

"Wrath" was produced by Josh Wilbur and was recorded in studios in New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire.

Dimitris Kontogeorgakos of Metal-Temple.com recently conducted an interview with SIRENIA mastermind Morten Veland. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal-Temple.com: So, can you say that the [new SIRENIA] album ["The 13th Floor"] sounds the way it did when it was in your mind?

Morten Veland: You know, an album always turns to be different that it was when you had it in your mind. OK, you are working on a certain directions but things change during the working process. I had the luck to work again in the studio with people that want to get the same results from SIRENIA like I do. We learn each other through the entire process, and yes, I can say that it is close to what I had in my mind.

Metal-Temple.com: I am asking this because I have been wandering, when can an artist be certain that a new album is ready to be recorded? When can he say "OK, I am done"?

Morten Veland: It is true that you can never be sure that you are done; there will always be something more or new that you can do. Personally, I work very much on the pre-production and there comes a certain time point where everything sounds perfect to my mind. All the arrangements and music details are there. So when I get to this point I actually know that if I was to add more details and songs then the album would be too much and over-produced. So, yes I believe there is a certain limit where you feel that you don't want to cross before everything gets out of control.

Metal-Temple.com: Where does the new album stand musically? Can you say that it is closer to a specific SIRENIA album?

Morten Veland: I think that it is close to every SIRENIA album. Usually, I want to take a step further with every new album and musically develop. But with "The 13th Floor" although I did the same thing I wanted to take step towards the past. So, the fans can find elements from all the SIRENIA albums like "At Sixes And Sevens" or our second one, "An Elixir For Existence", among some new stuff that we added. I believe that it is a broad album that represents SIRENIA musically through the entire career; what we used to do and what we are doing now.

Metal-Temple.com: What about the new singer, Ailyn; how did you choose her?

Morten Veland: It was a long process to find a new singer and it actually took a half of a year.

Metal-Temple.com: (interrupting) Did you have any standards in your mind of how you wanted the new singer to be?

Morten Veland: You have always certain things that are very important to you and of course the band. The most important thing was the singing style that should fit the band and the music of course. Another thing that is also important is the personal side of everything; the chemistry between the members of the band. Because when you work in a band and go on tour for a long time these things really matter. And another thing that came up during the process was that we decided that the new singer should be from Europe because it would quite difficult to have big distances in between us. Last but not least is the image of the singer that is something you need in this kind of music.

Metal-Temple.com: What changes did Ailyn bring to the sound of SIRENIA?

Morten Veland: She has a wide vocal range; she gets both high and low pitches. So, for me as a composer it's very good because I have more 'free' hands. I can try things that I couldn't in the past. It is great to have this voice in the band.

Metal-Temple.com: Did you compose the music while Ailyn was in the band?

Morten Veland: The music was more or less ready before even we started looking for a singer. But this is the way I write music for SIRENIA; I find it kind of complicated to write music while working with another musician. It is necessary for me to get in a special state of mind and have peace around me. You can get really distracted when you have to interact with other people (laughs). I can write more personal stuff in this way.

"The Path To Decay", the new video from SIRENIA, will receive its online premiere on January 5, 2009 via MySpace. The clip was shot in Gothenburg, Sweden with director Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL) of Revolver Film Company.

Chicago's NOVEMBERS DOOM will enter Belle City Sound studio in Racine, Wisconsin tomorrow (Friday, January 16) to begin recording the band's seventh full-length CD, "Into Night's Requiem Infernal". The album will be recorded by Chris Djuricic (NOVEMBERS DOOM bassist) and mixed by Dan Swanö at Unisound in Örebro, Sweden.

Commented the band: "We're using the same recording/mixing formula we've used on 'The Pale Haunt Departure' and 'The Novella Reservoir'. In our opinion, the combination of Djuricic and Swanö creates the perfect sound for us, and we've received nothing but stellar reviews of sound quality from this combination in the past.

"Every band hypes their new material, and says it's the best they've done, and the hardest and the heaviest... You can judge that for yourself in time. What we can say is that this is the first time going into a recording the entire band feels confident and believes the material will please fans of the band, as well as turn many new heads in our direction. It's dark, aggressive, and melodic, and compliments the last three releases."

During the recording sessions, the band will keep a daily journal, including photos, videos, and comments.

"Into Night's Requiem Infernal" track listing:

01. Into Night's Requiem Infernal
02. Eulogy for the Living Lost
03. Empathy's Greed
04. The Fifth Day of March
05. Lazarus Regret
06. I Hurt Those I Adore
07. The Harlots Lie
08. When Desperation Fills the Void

Check out the cover artwork below.

NOVEMBERS DOOM is:

Paul Kuhr - Vocals
Larry Roberts - Guitar
Vito Marchese - Guitar
Chris Djuricic - Bass
Sasha Horn - Drums

Swedish doom legends CANDLEMASS will release their new album, "Death Magic Doom", on March 27 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented bassist/main songwriter Leif Edling: "I'm happy to announce that the new album is mixed, mastered…done! It contains eight killer tracks and the name of it is 'Death Magic Doom'! The songs are about immortality, depressions, demons, vampires, funerals and the almighty devil that we all know very well, hehe. I love the way we perform here. Rob's [Lowe] singing and Lasse's [Lars Johansson, guitar] soloing are nothing but amazing!! The production is also outstanding! The name 'Death Magic Doom' captures it perfectly! Great name! Love it! Of course, we have the moaning militia on the [official CANDLEMASS] forum, but besides that everybody seem to like the name. AND it is very suitable for an album of this magnitude AND it also describes what CANDLEMASS is about; Heavy, hard, epic, colossal metal!!! I would say that 'Death Magic Doom' is the best album we have done since 'Nightfall' [1987]!! In all, [the LP contains] nearly 50 minutes of bone-crushing and mind-blowing doom metal!!"

"Death Magic Doom" track listing:

01. If I Ever Die
02. Hammer Of Doom
03. The Bleeding Baroness
04. Demon Of The Deep
05. House Of 1000 Voices
06. Dead Angel
07. Clouds Of Dementia
08. My Funeral Dreams

GRAVISPHERE, the new project featuring Andreas Hedlund (VINTERSORG, BORKGNAGAR, FISSION, OTYG, HAVAYOTH) and Andreas Stenlund (TME), has issued the following update:

"We have pre-recorded several new songs and have put together a promo with three of them, called 'Teleporting the Universe', 'Solarity' and 'Patricle Ministary'. This will be presented to some labels and sent out to any labels interested in GRAVISPHERE!

"Both me [Stenlund] and Mr. V are really satisfied with the result so far! And, we are grateful for all the good response we have gotten to [previously released song] 'Teleporting the Universe'!

"2009 will be a great year for GRAVISPHERE!"

The GRAVISPHEREtrack "Teleporting the Universe" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

GRAVISPHERE's sound is described as "experimental, symphonic black/electro metal."

Finnish goth metallers THE 69 EYES have issued the following update:

"THE 69 EYES will start recording their next, ninth studio album with the Grammy-awarded producer Matt Hyde. He is mostly known from his works with SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET and FU MANCHU. The recording process will take place both in Helsinki and Los Angeles. The still-unnamed album will come in this September, a possible video and single cut early summer."

Commented THE 69 EYES drummer Jussi 69 (born Jussi Heikki Tapio Vuori): "We used SLAYER's 'God Hates Us All' for long to wake us up before the shows on tour back then, I guess that's where the name Matt Hyde came into our mind. It'll be very interesting to work with him. We have so good material at the moment!"

THE 69 EYES will take a break from studio work in February to embark on a European tour with Sweden's TIAMAT.

"20 More Miles", the new video from Swedish metallers SOILWORK, will make its online debut on Tuesday, January 27 exclusively via MySpace. The clip was shot during the band's European tour, including at the Electric Weekend festival in Madrid, where SOILWORK performed with METALLICA. It contains footage provided by the band as well as material that was filmed by Olle Carlsson.

Listenable Records has announced plans to re-release the classic first albums from SOILWORK. "Steelbath Suicide" (1998) and "The Chainheart Machine" (1999) will be reissued in deluxe super jewelcases with revamped artwork and contain various bonus tracks. Out of print for a while, these re-releases are a "must-have for any SOILWORK fan who missed the originals while the various bonus materials make it worth for die-hard fans to get these gems again," the label says in a press release.

Mike Tirelli has been an integral part of the music scene for over 20 years both as a singer and songwriter. His talent and perseverance brought him worldwide recognition performing with such bands as BURNING STARR, RIOT, MESSIAH'S KISS, HOLY MOTHER, LASTLIX and ZILLION, to name just a few.

In the fall of 2008, Mike was diagnosed with stomach cancer and has been undergoing treatment for this life-threatening illness. All the treatments thus far have been a huge success in eradicating this disease.

In March of this year, Tirelli will undergo one last treatment that includes a surgery of the stomach.

With these types of treatments in place, Tirelli has accrued substantial medical bills fighting this battle.

On Sunday, February 8, a benefit concert will be held at Mulcahy's in Centereach, New York. The following artists are scheduled to perform:

NINE DAYS
BIG SHOT (BILLY JOEL tribute)
2U (U2 tribute)
KID GLOVES
SNAKEBITE (WHITESNAKE tribute)
HALF CIRCLE DRIVE
SACRED HEART (DIO tribute)
VISION

Tickets are $20 and are available through Mulcahy's of Centereach, or by contacting one of the above-mentioned bands.

Mulcahy's is located at 1702 Middle Country Road, Centereach, NY 11720. (631) 696-1111

Please e-mail mtbenefit09@gmail.com with any questions or for more info.

Donations can be mailed to:

Mike Tirelli
C/O Franklin Wayne Music
1 Cedarfield Terrace
St. James, NY 11780

Please make all checks payable to Michael Tirelli.

Madison, Wisconsin-based, female-fronted quintet LUNA MORTIS (formerly known as THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE) will release its debut album, "The Absence", in North America on February 10 via Century Media Records. The CD was tracked at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM).

"The Absence" track listing:

01. Ash
02. Ruin
03. Reformation
04. This Departure
05. The Absence
06. Forever More
07. Never Give In
08. Phantoms
09. Last Defiance
10. Embrace The End

New York death metal legends SUFFOCATION will enter the studio on January 31 with Joe Cincotta (who worked on the band's last two releases) to begin recording their new album, "Blood Oath", for a tentative spring/summer release via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2006's self-titled record will be mixed by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH) and cover artwork will once again be brought to life by Jon Zig (DEEDS OF FLESH, DISGORGE, GORGASM). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Dismal Dream", "Undeserving", "Confines of Disillusion", "Blood Oath", "Come Hell Or High Priest" and "Provoking the Disturbed".

Swedish "Viking metal" act MÅNEGARM has inked a deal with Regain Records. The band's new album is tentatively due later in the year.

MÅNEGARM's latest CD, "Vargstenen" ("The Wolfstone"), entered the Swedish chart at position No. 59 back in May 2007. The LP was recorded at Studio Underground with producer Pelle Saether and was released through Black Lodge Records after a ten-year collaboration with Displeased Records.

MÅNEGARM previously stated about the CD, "We are really, really satisfied with the album recording. The songs that we have recorded feel great and Pelle Saether has, as always, done a fantastic job with the sound and with the mix. We all think that the production is the best ever and we are totally convinced, and we hope that we can convince the rest of you, that this is going to be the best MÅNEGARM album we have released so far."

Stockholm, Sweden-based death/black metallers NECROPHOBIC have set "Death To All…" as the title of their sixth full-length studio album, due later in the year via via Regain Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "For Those Who Stayed Satanic", "Triumph Of The Horned", "Wings Of Death", "The Tower" and "Revelation 666".

NECROPHOBIC released a limited "metal box" called "Satanic Blasphemies" in September 2008 via Regain Records. The set includes a CD, a poster, a patch and a extensive booklet. The CD features material from the band's first two demos (1990's "Slow Asphyxiation" and 1991's "Unholy Prophecies") plus "The Call" 7" EP from 1992. The material comes fully remastered.

Frontiers Records has set a February 20 release date for "luxury-package" reissues of the 2002 albums "Prism" and "Lost In The Translation" from legendary hard rock vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (TALISMAN, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN). "Prism" will include six bonus tracks, while "Lost In Translation" will include five bonus tracks.

"Prism" bonus tracks:

01. Good Love (original Japanese bonus track, previously unreleased in Europe)
02. 2012 (original Japanese bonus track of "Essential Ballads", previously unreleased in Europe)
03. Send Her My Love
04. Again 2 Be Found (live)
05. Stand Up (live)
06. 4 U (live)

"Lost In The Translation" bonus tracks:

01. Turned The Page (original Japanese bonus track, previously unreleased in Europe)
02. As I Do 2 U
03. This Ain't The Love
04. Lonely Shade Of Blue
05. Soul Divine (acoustic) (previously unreleased)

Legendary Florida-based death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE will shoot a video for the title track of their new album, "Evisceration Plague", on January 21 in Northern New Jersey. The clip will be helmed by veteran video director Dale "Rage" Resteghini, who has previously worked with MUDVAYNE, TRIVIUM and HATEBREED, among many others.

The "Evisceration Plague" title track is available for streaming at this location.

"Evisceration Plague" is scheduled for release on February 3, 2009 via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Kill" was produced by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL) at his Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Stockholm, Sweden-based melodic death metallers DEGRADEAD will release their sophomore album, "Out Of Body Experience", in February via Dockyard 1 Records. The follow-up to 2008's "Till Death Do Us Apart" was recorded primarily at Peter Tägtgren's (HYPOCRISY, PAIN) Abyss studio in Sweden with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY). Mixing and mastering will take place for Dugout Productions (IN FLAMES, MESHUGGAH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) in Uppsala, Sweden. Two songs from the CD — "Depth Of Darkness" and "Wake The Storm" — are available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Released in January 2008, "Till Death Do Us Apart" was recorded at IN FLAMES' IF Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden and was produced by a team calling itself H.O.R.D.E — with IN FLAMES' Björn Gelotte mixing and engineering the CD while Jesper Strömblad and Daniel Svensson co-engineered the effort.

DEGRADEAD is:

Mikael Sehlin - Vocals
Anders Nyström - Guitar
David Szücs - Guitar
Michel Bärzén - Bass Guitar
Kenneth Helgesson – Drums

"Beyond Tomorrow", the new video from ALMAH, the side project of ANGRA members Edu Falaschi (vocals) and Felipe Andreoli (bass), can be viewed below. The clip was shot in Brasília with well-known Brazilian director Rodrigo Giannetto, who works for MTV Brazil.

"Beyond Tomorrow" comes off ALMAH's sophomore album, "Fragile Equality", which was released last October via AFM Records.

ALMAH's recording lineup for "Fragile Equality" was as follows:

Edu Falaschi - Vocals
Felipe Andreoli - Bass
Marcelo Barbosa - Gutar
Paulo Schroeber - Guitar
Marcelo Moreira - Drums

French experimental black metal masters BLUT AUS NORD will release their new album, entitled "Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue With The Stars", on February 23 via Candlelight Records.

Commented the band's singer/guitarist Vindsval: "This album is extremely important for us, we have already composed two amazing songs in the majestuous vein of 'Fathers Of The Icy Ages'. This time you won't find any industrial sounds or disharmonies on the album.

According to Candlelight, "twelve years later, you can hope an ambitious and massive piece of epic, technical and progressive black metal."

The conceptual sequel to 1996's "Memoria Vetusta", "Memoria Vetusta II - Dialogue With The Stars" will feature the following track listing:

01. Disciple's Libration (Lost In The Nine Worlds)
02. Antithesis Of The Flesh (...And Then Arises A New Essence)
03. The Alcove Of Angels (Vipassana)
04. ...The Meditant (Dialogue With The Stars)
05. Acceptance (Aske)
06. Translucent Body Of Air (Sutta Anapanasati)
07. The Formless Sphere (Beyond The Reason)
08. The Cosmic Echoes Of Non-Matter (Immaterial Voices Of The Fathers)
09. Elevation (The Dawn Of The Gods)

BLUT AUS NORD's latest album, "Odinist", was released in October 2007 through Candlelight Records.

German metallers DOMAIN have set a March 13 release date for their ninth album, entitled "The Chronicles of Love, Hate and Sorrow". A trailer containing artwork, soundfiles, storyline and interviews can be viewed below.

Completed at Meadow Studios in Darmstadt, Germany with producer and guitarist Axel Ritt at the helm, "The Chronicles of Love, Hate and Sorrow" is a metal opera based on the novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" by the famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Released for the first time in 1774, the story "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" became a key work in German literature regarding the "Storm And Stress" period and describes an impossible love against all moral concepts, which provokes extreme emotional reactions up to the point of a spate of suicides among young readers of the novel.

To best capture on tape the five-octave range of DOMAIN vocalist Nicolaj Ruhnow, the band recently added some special outdoor recordings for the very first time in DOMAIN history.

DOMAIN released its 20th anniversary album, "Stardawn", on October 13, 2006 in Europe and November 7, 2006 in the United States via Limb Music Products.

"The Eve Arose", the new video from Italian metallers EMPYRIOS, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Salvatore "Xavy" Perrone, who has previously worked with PARKWAY DRIVE, BURY YOUR DEAD, BRING ME THE HORIZON and SUICIDE SILENCE.

"The Eve Arose" comes off EMPYRIOS' second album, "The Glorious Sickness", which was released last September via Scarlet Records.

EMPYRIOS is:

Silvio Mancini - Vocals
Simone Mularoni - Guitars
Simone Bertozzi - Bass
Dario Ciccioni - Drums

THE ANSWER, four lads hailing from Downpatrick in Northern Ireland who have been busy fulfilling their duties as the opening act for the North American leg of AC/DC's Black Ice world tour, have posted three tracks from their forthcoming second album, "Everyday Demons", on their MySpace page. Check out the songs "On and On", "Demon Eyes" and "Walkin' Mat", along with a live rendition of "Memphis Water", at this location.

"Everyday Demons" will be released in Europe on March 2, 2009 via the German record label Steamhammer/SPV. The CD was produced by John Travis (KID ROCK, STATIC-X, etc.) and mixed by Tim Palmer and Mike Fraser (who recently mixed AC/DC's "Black Ice").

"We've been on tour almost constantly for two years, have seen a lot of the world and made a lot of important experiences — a development that you can hear on 'Everyday Demons'," says guitarist Paul Mahon.

Former CELTIC FROST frontman Tom Gabriel Fischer has issued the following update on his current TRIPTYKON project:

"Just returned home from an initially somewhat hampered but ultimately very successful rehearsal session with TRIPTYKON. It was the first session in a while, not least due to a hand injury that had forced me to pause temporarily. And in a few hours, I will travel back to Norway for a few days yet again, to attend some of the mixing sessions for 1349's new album. Although, admittedly, my mind is very much with TRIPTYKON, and I am eager to return to Switzerland to continue work on songs, demos, and our first album."

TRIPTYKON's lineup also features Reed St. Mark (ex-CELTIC FROST), V. Santura (DARK FORTRESS) and Vanja Slay. The first audio sample, a track called "Crucifixus", can be heard on TRIPTYKON's official MySpace page.

Commented Fischer: "TRIPTYKON will sound as close to CELTIC FROST as is humanly possible, and the album I am working on will feature all the material I envisioned for the successor to [CELTIC FROST's] 'Monotheist'. I desire the album to be a darker, heavier, and slightly more experimental development of 'Monotheist'.

"'Crucifixus' is but one of many compositions to that end. TRIPTYKON is not defined by just this one song, however, just like CELTIC FROST was not defined by 'Totengott' alone."

Fischer announced his departure from CELTIC FROST in April 2008, citing "the irresolvable, severe erosion of the personal basis so urgently required to collaborate within a band so unique, volatile, and ambitious."

ccording to The Pulse of Radio, PAPA ROACH has set March 24 as the release date for the band's fifth major label album, "Metamorphosis". The disc was originally scheduled to come out last fall but got pushed back to the spring. The Pulse of Radio hears that this is the strongest PAPA ROACH outing yet, and singer Jacoby Shaddix explained why he thinks the group kicked themselves up another notch. "I think for us it's like we're treading on some new territory, and the confidence in our playing and the conviction in our playing and just the overall passion towards what we do is what makes that come across," he said. "Right now we're firing on all cylinders, I mean everybody in the band is really excited about what's going on."

"Metamorphosis" will follow up 2006's "The Paramour Sessions". The first single is called "Lifeline" (available for streaming below).

PAPA ROACH recently released a new single and video, "Hollywood Whore" (see clip below), at the group's official web site. Jacoby Shaddix told The Pulse of Radio that the song's subject matter just came to him one day after the band had finished working out the music. "I was writing and I wrote, 'Hollywood whore,' and I was all, 'Now that's a topic. I need to write about Hollywood whores, you know.' 'Cause everybody's tired of them. So I just laid it out how it is, you know, and it's a bad-ass song. It's fun, you know, and at the end I'm just spittin'off at the mouth, going crazy and it's a really fun song."

Austrian blackened death metal outfit BELPHEGOR are in the final stages of the writing process for their as-yet-untitled new album. The follow-up to 2008's "Bondage Goat Zombie" is tentatively scheduled for release in the fall via Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented vocalist/guitarist Helmuth: "Yes brothers and sisters, currently we're working on nine new sound collages. We started writing in April 2008 after the 'Bondage Goat Zombie' release to create the new compositions for the eighth werk! The songs are basically completely finished and words can't really describe how enthusiastic and motivated we are to get into the studio and record this monster! It feels great to be creative again. Nefastus will be responsible for the drums on the new album. He is an old friend to the BELPHEGOR family and has also blasted on our previous opus 'Pestapokalypse VI'. We rehearse day and night since December to make it as tight and monumental as possible. Stay tuned demons, hell awaits!!!"

Catch Austria's most dangerous band on the "Hordes of Chaos" tour in North America with KREATOR, EXODUS, WARBRINGER and EPICUREAN beginning in early April.

"Bondage Goat Zombie" entered the Austrian album chart at position No. 42 upon its release in early 2008. The CD also landed on the German chart at No. 81.

BELPHEGOR's video for the CD's title track can be viewed here. The clip was shot with acclaimed Austrian director Florian Werner.

"Bondage Goat Zombie" was recorded at Andy Classen's Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany.

Swedish death metal "supergroup" BLOODBATH has issued the following update:

"Together with director Owe Lingwall and Village Road Film we just shot the first official promo video in the band's history for 'Hades Rising' taken off [BLOODBATH's latest album] 'The Fathomless Mastery'. The footage of the band's performance was shot on location in Vallentuna outside Stockholm and can be summoned up as some serious headbanging with lots of blood, real messy and death metal dandy! The rest of the plot/storyline is currently filmed in Umeå where the footage will also be edited within the next four weeks. Stay tuned for a synopsis of this very devilish manuscript. It's gonna crush the souls of thousands!"

"The Fathomless Mastery", the new studio album from BLOODBATH, sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 45 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"The Fathomless Mastery" was previously described by the band as representing "nothing but hateful brutality." Promising its "most crushing production yet," the group's lineup on "The Fathomless Mastery" is the same as that on BLOODBATH's "Unblessing the Purity" mini-CD, which came out in March 2008:

Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH) - Vocals
Martin "Axe" Axenrot (OPETH) - Drums
Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (KATATONIA) - Guitar
Jonas Renkse (KATATONIA) - Bass
Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (ex-21 LUCIFERS, GENOCRUSH FEROX) – Guitar

BLOODBATH released a live CD/DVD digipack entitled "The Wacken Carnage" on June 2, 2008 in Europe and June 24 in the U.S. via Peaceville. The package contains footage of the band's appearance at the 2005 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival.

Italian folk-metallers ELVENKING have announced the addition of second guitarist Rafahel to the group's ranks. Fans who had an opportunity to see the band perform over the course of the last year will recognize Rafahel, since he played a lot of gigs with the band around Italy and Europe.

Commented the group in a statement: "We are happy and excited to have Rafahel on board with us. We have been playing with him for more than a year now, and we decided to make his role official inside ELVENKING. We’re sure that Rafahel's amazing guitar technique and masterdom will be a great weapon to take advantage of in the songwriting of the next EK album."

A new instrumental and orchestral version of the song "Rouse Your Dream" from ELVENKING was recently 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.