22-year-old UK-based singer Carina Lirola will release her "Cinderella Alive" live EP on December 1 via iTunes. Recorded live in Manchester earlier this year, it features live versions of songs from Carina's forthcoming album, "Cinderella Is Dead", due out next year on DR2 Records in Europe and Favored Nations/Light Without Heat (Steve Vai's label) for USA and Japan.

"Cinderella Alive" EP track listing:

01. The Time Has Come
02. Broken
03. Cinderella Is Dead

Carina has been busy co-writing material with Bernie Torme (ex-GILLAN, OZZY OSBOURNE), who also plays guitar on two tracks on "Cinderella Is Dead". Other guest musicians include guitarist Reb Beach (WHITESNAKE, WINGER, DOKKEN; on the song "Cinderella Is Dead"), drummer Patrick Johannason (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), keyboardist Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), and drummer Ray Luzier (KORN, DAVID LEE ROTH).

Lirola is being represented in the USA by Coallier Entertainment (TWISTED SISTER, W.A.S.P.).

Nuclear Blast Records has set a December 5 European release date for "The Worms Of God", a complete anthology from the Swedish death metal pioneers COMECON. The two-CD set includes all three of the band's studio albums: "Megatrends In Brutality" (1992), "Converging Conspiracies" (1993) and "Fable Frolic" (1995).

COMECON's success and excellent reputation were not only based on the quality of their songs but also on the fact that the three albums featured three different well-known vocalists: "Megatrends In Brutality" was recorded with L.G. Petrov of ENTOMBED fame, "Converging Conspiracies" featured Martin van Drunen (ASPHYX, ex-PESTILENCE) on vocals, while Marc Grewe (MORGOTH) contributed the vocals to COMECON's third album, "Fable Frolic". If you consider yourself a death metal fan, these classic albums have to be part of your record collection.

"The Worms Of God" track listing:

CD 1:

01. The Dog Days
02. Wash Away The Filth
03. Slope
04. Teuton Tantrums
05. The Mule
06. Armed Solution
07. The Future Belongs To Us
08. Conductor Of Ashes
09. Good Boy Benito
10. Omnivorous Excess
11. Ulcer
12. Democrator
13. The Ethno-Surge
14. Community
15. Aerie
16. Bleed / Burn
17. Morticide
18. Worms

CD 2:

01. Pinhole View
02. The Whole World
03. God Told Me To
04. Dipstick
05. The House That Man Built
06. Soft, Creamy Lather
07. How I Won The War
08. Bovine Inspiration
09. Frogs
10. Ways Of Wisdom (Serves Two)
11. Propelling Scythes
12. The Family Album
13. Imploder
14. It Wears Me Down
15. Anaconda Charms Grass Snake
16. Icons Of Urine
17. Sunday Stroll
18. Canvas Of History
19. (hidden track)

Bassist Henkka Seppälä (a.k.a. Henkka T. Blacksmith) of the Finnish metal band CHILDREN OF BODOM has issued the following update from the band's current European tour with SLIPKNOT and MACHINE HEAD:

"We started this leg in Finland. And of course, the first shows on tours are always the most difficult. So it was a shame it happened to be our hometown. Techical problems (always happens with first shows) affected our sound and lights. But we tried our best to kick ass. Tampere was also bad for us 'cos most of the people were still outside when we started playing. But ever since, things have gotten better, and in Oslo things were already really good.

"We've played for big crowds. It is sometimes really challenging to get people excited, first band, early night, big cold hall and so on. Choosing seven songs for setlist is also very difficult thing. It is also very nice to be back touring in central Europe. Feels like it's been ages when were here last time.

"For me, the best shows have been so far maybe Paris and Oslo. And, of course, the intense sweaty headliner in Hamburg in between. That day a friend of mine took me to thw St. Pauli game. It was awesome. After the second show in Paris, we saw SOILWORK show next door! It's great to see Peter [Wichers, SOILWORK guitarist] back in business. They were tight!

"Big thing for us was to play the very first COB show in Denmark. That was exciting and crowd was treating us well there too!

"In Amsterdam I went to see a national game, Holland - Sweden, at the famous Ajax stadium. It was awesome to see that legendary place. Litmanen.

"We've had good times with the other bands. Everybody's treating us well.

"Tonight we have another headliner, in Saarbrucken, southwest Germany. It's been snowing here."

The HATESPHERE song "Let Them Hate", off the Danish band's latest album, "Serpent Smiles And Killer Eyes", is featured in the new Danish motion picture "Lille Soldat", in theatres now. Trailers for the movie can be found at this location. The band says, "if anyone should decide to go see it they're gonna have to sit through the whole thing, as we're on during the end credits. It's supposedly a really good movie, so, needless to say, we are excited to be a part of it."

HATESPHERE recently finished recording ten new songs over a nine-day period Antfarm Studio in Aarhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST) for a new album, due in early 2009 via Napalm Records.

HATESPHERE was honored in the "Hard Rock" category at the annual Danish Music Awards (the Danish Grammy Awards equivalent). The 40th Danish Music Awards show was held on February 23 at Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark and was broadcast live on MySpace.

Footage from recording studio here.

Metro.co.uk reports that zookeepers looking after a trio of African elephants are playing them heavy metal music to improve their behavior.

Staff at West Midlands Safari Park in Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK say the troublesome teenage giants are instantly calmed down when they hear the twangs of rock legends such as BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, METALLICA and DEF LEPPARD.

But turn off the anthems during their morning eating and bathing ritual and stroppy adolescents Jack, Lataba and Five throw tantrums and start pacing.

'The elephants love it. It's just such a good distraction for them and a good way to keep them calm,' said keeper Bob Lawrence.

Video footage of DAATH drummer Kevin Talley — who has previously recorded and/or toured with DYING FETUS, CHIMAIRA, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, THE RED CHORD, HATE ETERNAL, M.O.D., MISERY INDEX and SUFFOCATION — laying down tracks for b>DAATH's new album, "The Concealers", can be viewed here.

"The Concealers" was recorded with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA) and Mark Lewis of Florida's AudioHammer studios and is scheduled for release this winter via Roadrunner Records.

Regarding the songwriting process, Talley wrote, "Many people often wonder about writing techniques and how artists go about creating songs. Well, there are many different ways but in my experience, the best way to go about the writing process is to find someone you click with and jam in a room with them. Sure, there can be some preliminary recordings with a drum machine but don't let the initial demo restrict your natural desire to change it. Get in the room and jam it out. Speed it up; slow it down; change the time signatures. The possibilities are endless but don't get caught up in the rules of writing — just do what feels and sounds good.

"Songs are like women… some can be banged out on the first night and others can take weeks to bang out (so I've heard). But anything over three weeks should be kicked to the curb. 'Sharpen The Blades' [audio stream available below] took a while and was created in several different writing sessions. Emil [Werstler, guitar] was messing around with the opening riff for a while and I suggested that we start the song with that riff and I would come in with a blast… No fill — just straight to the blast. The verse riff is a variation of the opening riff but notice the interesting kick drum pattern (turn the music off and sing the drums to yourself). Then we go back to the blast for the pre chorus chuga chuga riff. This pre chorus riff was in a different song that Emil wrote on drum machine and we stole it for this song. I think we were originally 'breaking it down' for the chorus but it was too typical so we kept it upbeat and worked on the chorus riff for a while making sure it was simple and effective. We then decided to do a solo and go half time after the solo. Again, I didn't want a 'breakdown' feel, so I stayed on the ride with a 2 and 4 groove on the bell. I pick up the drums for this next bridge/vocal section where Emil and I originally played a 'temp' riff. Later on, Eyal [Levi, guitar] wrote a different riff, which fit the song better. After hearing Eyal's newer riff, I placed some sextuplet bursts on the kick drums. At the end of this vocal bridge we could've gone back to the chorus (typical) but we felt it still needed more. In this case, I like to play the song from the beginning and then decide where the song should go when we get there. After doing this, we decided to pick up the tempo and do another solo. This very musical middle section is killer and, like the majority of this record, was mostly written jamming in the room together organically (yes — at Whole Foods). Some of the album was written with a drum machine but in my opinion, you should only write on a drum machine if it's your only option. Finally, we bring it back around to the pre-chorus and chorus which is pretty standard. Then we finish the song with the verse riff with half time groove on the drums. It was weird to go back to that riff with the different drumbeat but it sounded good so we kept it. Don't get caught up in the rules of writing — just do what sounds good to you. Alas, Sean Z added some punishing vocals and Jeremy [Creamer] wrote some actual bass parts (not just playing the guitar parts all the time) and it was time to move on to the next girl."

Swedish heavy metallers WOLF will film 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.

"Voodoo" comes off WOLF's fifth album, "Ravenous", which is scheduled for release on February 23, 2009 via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded at Studio Seven in Örebro, Sweden with producer Roy Z, who has previously worked with JUDAS PRIEST, SEBASTIAN BACH, HALFORD, HELLOWEEN and BRUCE DICKINSON, among others.

Commented guitarist Johannes "Axeman" Losbäck: "'Ravenous' will grab you by the throat and it will not let go until you succumb. Our time is NOW and we're taking each and everyone with us. We can't wait to tour for this album and unleash the new songs upon the metal community!"

German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR will enter the studio this week to begin recording their new album, "16.6", due in early 2009 via Frontiers Records.

Commented PRIMAL FEAR frontman Ralf Scheepers: "As we will start to record the drums for our new album this Friday, I will take the opportunity to tell you how excited we are to bring our ideas on the hard disk in the next few weeks. Mat [Sinner, bass], Henny [Wolter, guitar] and Magnus [Karlsson, guitar] have prepared such a great pre-production already, that I can proudly announce to have finished with my vocal recordings for two songs already in advance at my studio at home. As mentioned above, Randy [Black, drums] will start to hit the skins this Friday and we can't wait to hear his power drumming on the new tracks. The new material sounds amazing and it's gonna be hard to pick 12-13 songs out of the 20 we have composed so far."

PRIMAL FEAR earlier in the year parted ways with guitarist Stefan Leibing and replaced him with Magnus Karlsson (ALLEN/LANDE, STARBREAKER).

Finnish melodic heavy metal band MASTERSTROKE has entered the studio to begin recording its third full-length album for an early 2009 release. The group's singer-guitarist Niko Rauhala summarizes the spirit of the forthcoming LP: "The album will kick some serious ass, also live!"

MASTERSTROKE recently posted the fourth video clip in a six-part series documenting the band's spring 2008 European tour with JON OLIVA'S PAIN (led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva) and MANTICORA. Watch the footage below.

MASTERSTROKE's sophomore album, "Sleep", was released in Japan on March 19. The CD was issued in Europe via Dynamic Arts Records.

According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, first-week U.S. sales prognostications for GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy", are ranging anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 (including a reported 25,000 downloads at iTunes). Thanks to a recent controversial Nielsen SoundScan ruling about counting digital sales, "Chinese Democracy" will not debut on this week's The Billboard 200 chart, but the following week, December 3.

In other news, GUNS N' ROSES' free MySpace streaming premiere of "Chinese Democracy" attracted 8,429,387 plays in its first four days on the site, more than half a million ahead of the previous record-holder, BEYONCE, after being up half the time.

"Chinese Democracy" went on sale on Sunday exclusively at Best Buy for $11.99 on CD, and $19.99 for the two-record LP, which also includes a code to download the music for free.

Norwegian/Spanish female-fronted gothic metal band SIRENIA has posted a new song, "The Path To Decay", on its MySpace page.

SIRENIA will release the "The Path To Decay" download-only single on December 26.

The track listing for the single is as follows:

01. The Path To Decay (radio mix)
02. The Path To Decay (album version)
03. Winterborn 77 (instrumental)

The cover artwork can be viewed below.

"The 13th Floor", the new album from SIRENIA, will be released on January 23, 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was tracked at Sound Suite Studios in France and Stargoth Studios in Norway while the mixing and mastering sessions took place at the Antfarm Studios in Denmark with Tue Madsen. The group says, "Expect a melodic and powerful album in the typical SIRENIA vein. The album features guest appearances by Jan Kenneth Barkved (who also did some guest appearances on our debut, 'At Sixes and Sevens'), French violin player Stephanie Valentin adds to the sound along with the Sirenian choir that has been an important part of our sound since the very beginning."

"The 13th Floor" track listing:

01. The Path To Decay
02. Lost In Life
03. The Mind Maelstrom
04. The Seventh Summer
05. Beyond Life's Scenery
06. The Lucid Door
07. Led Astray
08. Winterborn 77
09. Sirens Of The Seven Seas

Drummer Mike Portnoy of the progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER has finished laying down his tracks for the band's new album, due in early 2009 via Roadrunner Records. He says, "Imagine a DREAM THEATER album with 'A Change Of Seasons', 'Octavarium', 'Learning To Live', 'Pull Me Under' and 'The Glass Prison'... all on one album... COULD YOU HANDLE IT?? Excited? I sure am!!!!"

DREAM THEATER's "Chaos In Motion 2007/2008" double DVD set sold just under 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 2 on the Top Music Videos chart.

"Chaos In Motion 2007/2008" documents DREAM THEATER's "Chaos In Motion" world tour, which kicked off June 3, 2007 at the Monsters of Rock festival in Milan, Italy and concluded almost a year to the day later on June 4, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It's essentially a travelogue of their most recent touring experience. "Chaos In Motion 2007/2008" was made available in two configurations: as a double DVD set and as five-disc collector's set which includes two DVDs and three CDs, containing 14 live tracks featured in the DVD set and expanded artwork.

DREAM THEATER's first-ever best-of collection, "Greatest Hit (…& 21 Other Pretty Songs)", was released through Rhino on April 1.

Liechtenstein-based gothic metallers ELIS have set "Catharsis" as the title of their new album, due in early 2009 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Griefshire" was recorded at Mastersound Studio in Germany with producer Alex Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES) and marks the band's first full-length recording with new singer Sandra Schleret, who joined ELIS in December 2006.

Commented Sandra: "Sometime ago, shortly before I joined ELIS, I had to go through a very hard time, physical-wise the hardest experience in my life. I was fighting against a severe disease, and while my body was struggling, I felt my soul started to go its own way. I came to new insights, and started to develop a very intense strength like I never would have imagined I would be able to, but which was really essential for me at that time. I was taken out of the 'real life' for about half a year and felt like an onlooker, not participating in the real world. With the stories I tell on 'Catharsis', I am kind of digesting this period in my life, sharing my feelings, fears and also the things I saw as an 'outcast' watching the world. The word 'catharsis' has some different meanings, but for me it represents 'the healing of the soul by going through tragedy.' As I see it now, to see how magic life can be I also had to experience its dark side..."

ELIS released a single, "Show Me the Way", on November 2, 2007 in Europe and November 6, 2007 in North America via Napalm Records. The single's title cut, which originally appeared on 2006's "Griefshire" album, features lead vocals by Schleret. Also included on the single are several previously unreleased songs from the "Griefshire" recording sessions.

ELIS' previous vocalist, Sabine Dünser, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on July 7, 2006 during rehearsal and passed away the following day in hospital.

"Griefshire" was released in Europe on November 24, 2006 via Napalm Records (the U.S. received the album on January 16). The recordings for the CD were completed prior to the death of Dünser, who came up with the original concept for the album.

The follow-up to 2004's "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky", "Griefshire" was completed at Mastersound Studios in Stuttgart with producer Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES).

The Pulse of Radio reports that a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party has blasted the new GUNS N' ROSES album, "Chinese Democracy", calling it an attack on the Chinese nation. According to The Associated Press, Chinese paper The Global Times ran a story headlined "American band releases album venomously attacking China," in which unidentified Chinese Internet users described the album as part of a plot by Westerners to "grasp and control the world using democracy as a pawn." The article did not refer to any specific songs or lyrics, just the CD's name, although the title track itself takes a poke at China's authoritarian government.

Spokespersons for China's Foreign Ministry, Culture Ministry, and State Administration of Radio, Film and Television either had no response or could not be reached for comment.

"Chinese Democracy" is unlikely to see a legal commercial release in China, and it is not known whether the country's Internet censors will block access to the songs online. Music, film, books and literature are all closely monitored in the Asian nation for material deemed offensive by the government.

As for how "Democracy" is faring at home, where it was released exclusively through Best Buy on Sunday (November 23), full sales numbers will not available until the week of December 1, since Best Buy closes its weekly CD sales reports on Saturday. Industry insiders are estimating that first-week sales for the 17-years-in-the-making album will fall somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 copies.

UK-based experimental/progressive extreme metallers XERATH have inked a deal with Candlelight Records. The band's debut CD, "Xerath I", is currently being mixed in France by Brett Caldas-Lima (CYNIC) and is due in the spring.

Commented the group: "We are thrilled to announce signing with UK-based Candlelight Records! We look forward to working with such a reputable label and following in the footsteps of some of our favorite bands!"

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

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

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

Cleopatra Records has set a December 9 release date for the deluxe edition of LYNCH MOB's "REvolution Live!". This monstrous audio-video spectacular features legendary axeman George Lynch and his band performing killer, supercharged renditions of classic DOKKEN/LYNCH MOB tracks, professionally filmed and recorded live in March 2003 during the blockbuster REvolution Tour and mixed in awesome 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD features 15 tracks and the CD contains 14 tracks, including a bonus track.

"REvolution Live!" track listing:

CD:

01. Intro
02. Paris Is Burning
03. Dance of the Dogs
04. Tangled in the Web
05. All I Want
06. Kiss of Death
07. She's Evil, But She's Mine
08. Cold Is the Heart
09. When Darkness Calls
10. River of Love
11. Rain
12. Hell Child
13. Breaking the Chains
14. Wicked Sensation
15. Tooth and Nail

DVD:

01. Paris Is Burning
02. Dance of the Dogs
03. Tangled in the Web
04. All I Want
05. Kiss of Death
06. She's Evil, But She's Mine
07. Cold Is the Heart
08. When Darkness Calls
09. River of Love
10. Hell Child
11. Breaking the Chains
12. Wicked Sensation
13. Tooth and Nail
14. Rain

LYNCH MOB recording lineup:

Robert Mason (vocals)
George Lynch (guitar)
Anthony Esposito (bass)
Chaz Stumbo (drums)

Florida-based extreme metallers WYKKED WYTCH are currently writing material for their fifth album, which they will begin demoing next month. The CD recording will take place early next year with a late spring/early summer release planned. More details to follow.

The uncensored video inspired by WYKKED WYTCH's cover version of the EVANESCENCE smash hit "Bring Me To Life" can be viewed below. The track was recorded by Matt LaPlant (NONPOINT, SIKTH) and Gus Rios (MALEVOLENT CREATION) at Bieler Bros. Studios in Pompano Beach, Florida. Mixing and mastering was handled by Eric Rachel (ATREYU, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) at Trax East Studios in New Jersey.

WYKKED WYTCH's fourth album, "Memories of a Dying Whore", was released through the band's own label Perish Music.

According to a press release, "Memories of a Dying Whore" was remixed by Eric Rachel (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ATREYU, GOD FORBID) at Trax East Studios and was mastered by Alan Douches (UNEARTH, MASTODON, SHADOWS FALL) at West West Side Music in New York.

Swedish metallers SOILWORK have issued the following update:

"So far this European tour with ONE-WAY MIRROR and ANANTA has been a total blast, filled to the brim with sweat, beers and heavy-ass riffage. Here's a big HAIL to all of you who came out to see us so far! You rock!!!

"Alas, we also have some bad news. For reasons beyond our control, we're forced to cancel the last of our three French shows, initially in Lyon and recently moved to Luynes (Aix-En-Provence). We sincerely apologize to our French fans for this unfortunate situation, and we promise to come back for a full-fledged French tour as soon as we can.

"On another note, since ANANTA have to leave us after the Swiss show next Saturday, we've added on some different opening bands wherever possible. For the four shows in Germany, the opener will be DEADLOCK and for the three shows in Sweden it will be SCARPOINT."

RAGE's "25 Years In Rage" anniversary concert on March 7, 2009 at Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany will include a 30-minute acoustic set, followed by a 90-minute special 25th-anniversary "best-of" show. MIND ODYSSEY will open the concert, followed by 75-minute BRAINSTORM performance. Doors open 18.30, show starts 19.30.

RAGE recently revealed the details of te hband's new EP, "Gib Dich nie auf", which will contain German version of the songs "Never Give Up" and "Full Moon" as well as two bonus tracks, one brand new song and a video clip.

"Gib Dich nie auf" track listing:

01. Gib Dich nie auf (German version of "Never Give Up")
02. Vollmond (German version of "Full Moon")
03. Never Give Up
04. Terrified (taken from the album "Nuclear Blast Allstars - Into The Light")
05. Lord Of The Flies (orchestral version)
06. Home (new song)

+ enhanced video clip "Refuge" (recorded live at Wacken Open Air 2007)

Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD have advanced to the finals of Switzerland's popular TV music show "Die Größten Schweizer Hits" ("The Greatest Swiss Hits") after their ballad "Heaven" received 27% of the audience votes.

The final will take place on November 30 and will be broadcast on the Swiss TV channel SF 1.

GOTTHARD's song "Lift U Up" — which was written about motivating each other and working together as a team to achieve goals together — was selected to be the official song of Switzerland's national soccer team for this past summer's European championship. The track was chosen as the winning title in a survey held by Switzerland's biggest newspaper Blick.

"Under Siege", the new video from German "noble power metal" hopefuls CRYSTALLION, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's second album, "Hattin", which was released in the U.S. on August 12 via Dockyard 1/Locomotive. The CD was issued in Europe on May 16.

CRYSTALLION recently announced the departure of guitarist Florian Ramsauer due to "personal reasons." A replacement guitarist has not yet been announced.

CRYSTALLION's first CD, "A Dark Enchanted Crystal Night", came out in 2006 and was well received by fans and media. Germany's Rock Hard magazine gave it 8/10 points and stated: "From songs to production to the cover, everything fits here. A very well-done debut for a young and promising band!"

Vocalist Kelly Shaefer of the reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST has issued the following update:

"It's late Saturday night and I am reflecting on a very productive week for ATHEIST and me personally. It has been many years since me and my lifelong friend Steve Flynn [ATHEIST drummer] have made music together. All I have to say is it was well worth the wait. The stuff that we wrote this week confirms in my head that this ATHEIST album is going to be a contemporary continuation of where we left off with 'Unquestionable Presence'.

"My carpal tunnel is killing my hand, but we wrote a ton of great riffs this week.We wrote two complete skeletons of new ATHEIST songs, and they are full of interesting broadminded metal lashings.

"Talk is cheap so I will not go on and on about it, but I know in my heart that I fucking dare someone to doubt this record. I know there will be many that will have some shit to say, but those who truly know and understand this band will be as excited as we are to hear these crazy, insane time sigs and brutality combined.

"Me and Steve have been friends for 25 plus years, and when you are that close to someone for that long, you can hardly go wrong when creating art together. It's still a daunting mountain that we are in the early stages of climbing...but already it's clear as a bell that this will be very authentic, and honest."

In January 2006, Kelly Shaefer reassembled much of what was widely considered ATHEIST's classic recording lineup (Shaefer, bassist Tony Choy, and drummer Steven Flynn) to perform a select number of one-off shows to celebrate the re-issue of their wildly-influential catalog (1988's "Piece of Time", 1993's "Elements", and the 1991's legendary "Unquestionable Presence"). Among those shows were performances at such legendary festivals such as Germany's Wacken Open Air, Norway's Hole In The Sky, Italy's Evolution, England's Bloodstock Open Air, and the Los Angeles' Murderfest.

Professionally filmed video footage of ATHEIST performing the song "And the Psychic Saw" at the Wacken Open Air 2006 festival in Wacken, Germany can be viewed here.

EDGUY's official web site has been updated with the following interview with the group's frontman, Tobias Sammet:

Q: The new album, "Tinnitus Sanctus", is out now. What are your expectations towards the sales?

Tobias: "Well, the sales seem to be quite strong so far, even though I don't expect the album to have a great chart entry this time, 'cause there are many releases of really big bands that we have to deal with during the Christmas sales. But we've known that in advance, it's only that the album was finished and we wanted it to be heard as soon as possible as we are very proud of it."

Q: And how were the first reactions of the people?

Tobias: "As always. Most people seem to really like it a lot, a few think it's crap, of course. And that's alright with me! And extreme album gets extreme reactions. I think it is our bast album by far and I am optimistic many people will think the same in a year, when the dust has settled a bit."

Q: Most fans seem to love the album as far as we can tell — so are you worried about single fans complaining at all anymore, especially when their criticism becomes a little rude?

Tobias: "No! I'd like to quote Kinsky: They love me or they can kiss my ass, I am fine with any of it, haha."

Q: But in the past you vindicated yourself a couple of times, as there were some negative opinions about "The Scarecrow" of AVANTASIA, "Rocket Ride"...

Tobias: "... 'Hellfire Club', 'The Metal Opera', 'Mandrake' and so on. There's always a negative opinion about anything. The more danger the more honor. You can't be everybody's darling. I hope I can encourage a lot of people out there to do their own thing without giving a shit about other people's expectations. Look, some so-called experts criticized the production of our latest AVANTASIA album. On the other hand, our producer Sascha [Paeth] has just received an award by the German sound engineer association for the best album production of the year; for the production, arrangement and atmosphere of the 'The Scarecrow'. He later held a workshop in front of numerous professional producers where he went into details of the 'Tinnitus Sanctus' production. Now tell me: Why should I give a fuck about some smart-ass, just because his taste doesn't match with what I do?

Q: So will you work with Sascha in the future as well?

Tobias: "I remember meeting Chris Tsangarides at one of our shows last year and he came to me and told me how much he liked the show, the songs and the way we played our asses off and that he hadn't had seen a show like that in quite a while. Tsangarides produced albums like JUDAS PRIEST's 'Painkiller' and he is an icon, so, of course, I felt very honored. But Sascha is even more of an icon to me. I am sure he can and will become one of the biggest producers in Europe. Behind the scenes, we have slowly started working on the forthcoming AVANTASIA record and I will do everything to have the biggest production, I've ever had. I am negotiating with an orchestra right at the moment and I just wanna have a bombastic, monumental movie for the ears. And for such an undertaking there is no one who is better than Sascha, he is like a brother to me."

Q: But before you start working on a new album, you will start another EDGUY world tour early January. What can we expect and will you play a lot of new material?

Tobias: "I can't wait to go out and do this arena tour. Next year we won't play festivals as it seems, because on your own tour you can bring the whole stage setting, which I prefer. We'll play some new stuff and a lot of old material. We'll try to play some songs that we usually don't play. Our support acts rule, there is this young Swedish hard rock act H.E.A.T. that I personally love, as their debut is absolutely killer. Not to forget about my friend André Matos and the other Swedish band ALL ENDS. We'll have a lot of fun, believe me."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has told RollingStone.com that the band is contemplating the possibility of an Internet release for its next album. "We're free of our record contract," he said. "We have that element of complete freedom with the next record, so we can do whatever we want. We could do an Internet thing or even put it on Andy Greene's record label." He added, "I wouldn't hold my breath for another METALLICA record. I'm still decompressing and coming down from the whole experience of the last one, but if we spit one out every four or five years that's not so bad."

METALLICA's new album, "Death Magnetic", was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) just six weeks after its release on September 12 by Warner Bros. Records.

"AMORAL is a five-piece again! Since the announcement of Niko [Kalliojärvi, vocals] leaving, we've received tons of applications from singers all over the world. As we mentioned earlier, we wanted to find a guy who was not only able to handle the growling of the old songs, but who also had a strong melodic voice. Well, little did we know that we'd end up with one of the most talented vocalists around! Ari's [Koivunen] merits as a singer are well known (at least here in Finland), but it might surprise a lot of people that the dude can also growl with the best of them! And the fact remains that he truly was the strongest candidate from all those who applied for the job.

"Being the sneaky bastards that we are, we have been writing and practising hard for a long while now while keeping low profile, and we're happy to announce that the material for the fourth AMORAL album is just about ready! The recording will start next month and will go on through January. The album should be out before the summer. Of course, we'll keep you guys posted on updates.

"Now, before some of you old-school AMORAL maniacs condemn us to hell: No, we're not going power metal on your asses. The trademark riffs are still there. The little quirkiness. The 'fuck-everybody' attitude. And most importantly, the songs are just as strong as you've come to expect from us. Stronger, actually. You could clearly see on 'Reptile Ride' already that we were eager to push our music to a more melodic direction, and the next natural step was to go all the way with the vocals. This is a new beginning for us, and we truly believe our best work is still ahead of us."

Ari Koivunen, 24, is best known as the winner of last year's Finnish national TV talent competition "Idols". He has released two solo albums thus far — 2007's "Fuel For The Fire" and 2008's "Becoming".

Vocalist Niko Kalliojärvi left AMORAL in order to focus on other projects. He made his final appearance with the band at the Thrashia Läpi Yön festival at Tammela, Finland on August 23.

AMORAL last year entered the album chart in Finland at position No. 5 with the band's latest effort, "Reptile Ride".

An e-card for "Reptile Ride", featuring clips of all the songs on the CD, can be accessed at this location.

"Reptile Ride" (view cover artwork by Aki Siltala at this location) was produced, recorded and mixed by Janne Saksa at Sound Supreme Studios in Hämeenlinna, Finland.

Spikefarm Records in June 2007 released the Internet-only "Leave Your Dead Behind". The bonus track for this release was a cover of Swedish pop star PANDORA's song "The Naked Sun". AMORAL's back catalogue has also gone digital: "Wound Creations" (2004) and "Decrowning" (2005) were released to digital music distributors in May 2007.

AMORAL's video for the song "Leave Your Dead Behind" can be viewed here.