Swedish metallers SABATON are currently streaming their entire new album, "The Art of War", on their MySpace page. Due on May 30 via Black Lodge Records, the follow-up to 2006's "Attero Dominatus" was recorded at Abyss Studios with producer Peter Tägtgren and will be made available in three formats: normal CD, gatefold LP and a limited-editon CD that comes in a DVD package that also will include the exclusive book "The Art of War".

"The Art of War" track listing:

01. Sun Tzu Says
02. Ghost Division
03. The Art Of War
04. 40:1
05. Unbreakable
06. The nature of Warfare
07. Cliffs of Gallipoli
08. Talvisota
09. Panzerkampf
10. Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)
11. The Price of a Mile
12. Firestorm
13. A Secret

Check out the cover artwork by Jobert Mello at this location.

Hungarian webzine HitKit recently conducted an interview with drummer Roy Mayorga (STONE SOUR, AMEBIX, ex-SOULFLY, SEPULTURA, MEDICATION). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

HitKit: You played in a song with the Russian band ANJ…let us know something about that…

Mayorga: Hmm…that was an unexpected session…. A good friend of mine, John Travis (producer/engineer), was called in to do some work with them on arranging their songs. The members of ANJ involved was the singer and guitar player Anatoly and Oleg. They came to work with John Travis in search for a different kinda of approach and sound. So John gave them the idea of hiring me and one other guitar player named Levon Sultanian (ONESIDEZERO, ABLOOM). He's an incredible guitar player. Lev and I used to play together in ABLOOM. So we got together in the studio, We learned the gist of the song and added what we thought could enhance what they had written. Definitely a cool experience…. a melding of the musical cultures… Russian, Armenian and Latin.

HitKit: As for STONE SOUR…. What the status of the band now? Seems that SLIPKNOT is gettin active, it means you are on a small lay-off?

Mayorga: Yeah, STONE SOUR is on a break until end of 2009…until then I'll be doing drum clinics/sessions and touring with AMEBIX in December/January tentatively. Also BLACK PRESIDENTS on Warped Tour August 2008. I'll also have time to develop myself and work on new ideas with drumming/composing and what not. Very excited about that.

HitKit: Tell us something about your period in SOULFLY….whats the most important thing you learned this era and by working with Max Cavalera?

Mayorga: My period with SOULFLY? That was an amazing adventure. That was a very special time in my life I hold very dear to my heart though i wish it could have been longer. But, you know, things happen and people move on. One has to walk the path that is set before them. But doesn't mean we won't work together again in the future. I ran into Max a year ago whilst touring with STONE SOUR. We actually played a couple festival shows together…it was great to hang with with him again. It's been awhile since we've seen each other. We did talk about working together sometime down the road later on in life. Max and I always had good chemistry. I have a strong feeling that our business is not quite finished just yet.

HitKit: You also toured with SEPULTURA after Igor Cavalera split with the band. How you remember those times and how Igor influenced you as a musician back in the day?

Mayorga: Once again, another unexpected quest. That was awesome…..never in a million years did I think. This is how that happened… As you know, I was involved with the "Roadrunner United" recording and show…. Through that experience is what I guess gave the idea to Andreas [Kisser] to ask me to play for SEPULTURA. I already knew the songs from playing them with Max that whole time in SOULFLY so it was just a matter of me going down to Brazil to practice with the guys and get the songs down even tighter. SEPULTURA were great to me they took me in as a brother. All we did was laugh the whole time. Igor is definitely an inspiration but my influence for tribal drumming came long before I listened to Igor and SEPULTURA. All through the '80s I was very into bands and styles other than punk or metal like KILLING JOKE, EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, TEST DEPT. and a lot of Moroccan music (specifically MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA) as well as the rest of the drumming culture of Africa. Another favorite of mine to listen to for influence is "Passion Sources" — it's a record that PETER GABRIEL put together in circa '88-'89 i haven't stopped listening to it since. Also growing up in New York City, I always heard a lot of salsa, mambo…. where I lived there was a lot of Puerto Rican and Dominican influence in my neighborhood and in all the corner deli stores is where I would hear it just full volume as loud as it can go… It's pretty awesome…fun times."

Read the entire interview from HitKit.

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON have tapped Brendan O'Brien (AC/DC, PEARL JAM, VELVET REVOLVER) to produce their next album. The band is scheduled hit the studio this week to begin recording the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated 2006 release "Blood Mountain".

In a recent interview with UK's Rock Sound magazine, MASTODON drummer Brann Dailor stated about the songwriting process for the group's new album, "It's a long, arduous process. We've got a skeleton for the whole record and these huge chunks of music four of five different segments that don't have a beginning or end yet... We're just basically in the middle of the record, adding stuff, giving it a taste then adding a little more 'pepper' or 'salt.' Once all the ingredients are in there, you have to bake it — which is just playing it over and over again until it feels right. The main goal is to get the songs right so you don't have to think about the time changes — so you can relax with it and play it how it should be played. There's a level of difficulty to our stuff and if you're too wrapped up in trying to remember how many times something goes and the timing for the next riff, you can't examine the song for being a song. So it takes a while."

MASTODON will take part in the inaugural Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour, which is scheduled to start July 9 in Seattle and play 30 cities. MASTODON will also team up with SLAYER, TRIVIUM and an as-yet-undisclosed opening act will team up for "The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III" European tour in the fall. So far only one date has been revealed: November 10, 2008 at Eishalle Deutweg in Winterthur, Switzerland.

"Give Me A Reason", the new video from Finnish heavy metal singer Ari Koivunen, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Owe Lingvall (NOCTURNAL RITES drummer) of Village Road Film.

Ari Koivunen will release his second solo album, "Becoming", in Finland on June 11 via Sony BMG (June 9 via digital music outlets). Check out the cover artwork by Thomas Ewerhard at this location.

"Becoming" track listing:

01. Raging Machine
02. Under The Burning Sky
03. Give Me A Reason
04. Sign Of Our Times
05. Sweet Madness
06. Father
07. Keepers Of The Night
08. Tears Keep Falling
09. Hero's Gold
10. My Mistake
11. Unscarred Within

"Give Me A Reason", the first single from "Becoming", entered the Finnish chart at position No. 3. The song, which is currently available for streaming on Ari's MySpace page, was written by Nino Laurenne of THUNDERSTONE and Pasi Heikkilä, who were also in charge of producing Ari's sophomore album at Sonic Pump Studios.

"Fuel for the Fire" was certified double-platinum in Finland, where it has sold more than 75,000 copies to date.

A special edition of "Fuel for the Fire" was issued in Finland on November 21, featuring a live DVD and acoustic versions of two album songs ("Hear My Call" and "Angels Are Calling") as a bonus. The live DVD contains material from Ari's concerts in Helsinki last summer and as well as interview footage.

South German metallers DEADLOCK have issued the following update:

"We just finished the pre-production for our new album and can't wait to record the new shit! At the moment we're working hard on the last fine-tuning of the songs but be sure that the new babe will rock your city!"

DEADLOCK recently extended its contract with Lifeforce Records. The label previously said in a statement, "after their successful albums 'Earth.Revolt' (2005), 'Wolves' (2007) and the newest (yet-untitled) release to hit the stores in November 2008, there will be three more albums which will combine the typical DEADLOCK essences, a high standard mixture of extreme technical and melodic metal, the dual vocals by the band's singers Joe and Sabine and a good dose of gothic darkness."

Multinational recording artists EDEN'S CURSE will release a new EP, entitled "Seven Deadly Sins - The Acoustic Sessions", in June via Metal Mayhem Music.

Produced and mixed by Paul Logue and mastered by Dennis Ward (PINK CREAM 69, ANGRA, HOUSE OF LORDS), "Seven Deadly Sins" features seven renditions of tracks from the well-received debut album from EDEN'S CURSE.

The track listing is as follws:

01. Judgement Day
02. Eyes Of The World
03. Stronger Than The Flame
04. What Are You Waiting For
05. Don't Bring Me Down
06. Heaven Touch Me
07. The Bruce / Fallen Kin

Wrapped up in the usual killer artwork by Thomas Ewerhard (EDGUY, JORN, ASIA), the EP will be released by Metal Mayhem Music on June 10. A special autographed collector's edition will be available via select retail outlets.

EDEN'S CURSE is also currently in the recording studio working on the follow-up to its debut. Production duties will once again be handled by Dennis Ward as the band continues its worldwide assault via AFM Records (Europe), Metal Mayhem Music (North America) and Spiritual Beast (Japan).

Frontman Michael Eden comments: "From the greasy spirit that is EDEN'S CURSE, the truly loud and proud will surely stand with us on the frontlines screaming for more as they have in the past. The utter clueless will scratch their collective heads in disbelief as always. The CURSE has set out to deliver a no holds barred sonic assault, giving the fans what they expect from us and nothing less. And yes kids... more freaking guitars!!!!"

Tracks being recorded are as follows (in alphabetical order):

01. Angels & Demons
02. Games People Play
03. Just Like Judas
04. Lost In Wonderland
05. Lost Soul
06. Man Against The World
07. Masquerade Ball
08. Prisoner Of The Past
09. Raven's Revenge
10. Ride The Storm
11. Sail On
12. Signs Of Your Life
13. West Wind Blows

The record is scheduled for a late October release.

Danish death metallers COMPOS MENTIS have issued the following update:

"Yeah, guess it's been a while since you have heard from us, but in the meantime we have been busy composing material for our forthcoming, as-yet untitled album, which will be recorded by Christian Bonde in his CB Studios in Holsted, Denmark from the 23rd of June. Ken [Holst, guitar] and Andreas [Posselt, drums] already worked with Christian when they recorded CROCELL's debut album last year so we have no doubt as to whether he is the right guy for the job!

"This, our third baby, is the first album that we have written with the three new members Ken, Rune [Klausen, keyboards], and Claus [Tørnes, bass] in the lineup and it will definitely show some new elements in our music, which at this point seems to be more straightforward and quite a lot faster than our previous material (well, most of it anyway) as the songs appear to be very diverse this time, judging from the rough recordings we have been doing in the rehearsal pit lately. Without revealing too much about the lyrical content of the album, we can say that most of the words will be centred around the parish pump, and different moments in the Danish history as well as various aspects of a 'typical' Danish mentality, inasmuch as you can talk about such a phenomenon, will be taken in hand.

"For the time being no concerts are planned but we are working on some dates in the fall so remember to keep an eye out for your opportunity to hear the new stuff live.

"In other news we have decided not to release our forthcoming album through Mighty Music so interested parties are hereby invited to get in touch!"

COMPOS MENTIS' second album, "Gehennesis", was released in March 2007 via Mighty Music.

Reunited seminal grindcore/extreme metal outfit BRUTAL TRUTH recorded four new songs late last year for the upcoming Relapse Records compilation "This Comp Kills Fascists".

A new BRUTAL TRUTH song, "Turmoil", is now available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

"This Comp Kills Fascists" features new and exclusive material from such bands as INSECT WARFARE, MAGRUDERGRIND, KILL THE CLIENT, WEEKEND NACHOS, A.S.R.A, and more. It also includes the first new material in almost ten years from legendary grinders BRUTAL TRUTH and AGENTS OF SATAN.

BRUTAL TRUTH has announced a string of European dates this summer.

Commented bassist Danny Lilker, "BRUTAL TRUTH is totally psyched to play for the grindfreaks in Eastern Europe! We'll be hitting Serbia (at Castle festival) and Slovakia for the very first time so we'll be sure to fire up and give these people the most intense show of their lives! We also can't wait to play the With Full Force festival over in Germany, where we'll be going onstage extremely late, so don't drink too fast, stay awake for the nocturnal grind attack!"

Added drummer Rich Hoak, "We'll be including many new songs in the set for our shows this summer. The new songs will freak people out: louder, faster, heavier and mosh pit tested!"

The dates are as follows:

June 27 - Augsburg, Germany - Kantine
June 29 - Prague, Czech Republic - Exit Chemelnice
June 30 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Randal
July 01 - Wien, Austria - Escape Metalcorner
July 02 - Smederevo, Serbia - Castle Fest
July 04 - Roitzschjora, Germany - With Full Force
July 06 - Hengelo, Netherlands - Metropool
July 19 - Urbana, IL - Central Illinois Metalfest 2008
Aug. 29 - Bergen, Norway - Hole In The Sky Festival

BRUTAL TRUTH live in Rotterdam, Holland (2008):

Guitar player/main composer Øystein G. Brun of Norway's BORKNAGAR has issued the following statement:

"Due to the latest years evolving differences in musical ideas and visions, Asgeir Mickelson [drums] has decided to quit BORKNAGAR. The split happens in friendly manner and with mutual respect for the decision that he has made. He will remain a good friend of the band.

"We wish to thank him for a great collaboration over the years and the best of luck with future endeavours!

"The spilt will have little or no effect on the forthcoming album. We are currently working on pre-productions and we are heading for an early next year release.
As stated before, the new album will regain the musical forces that dominated the four first albums. So beware!"

BORKNAGAR recently announced that Jens Ryland (guitar) and Erik Tiwaz (a.k.a. Tyr; bass) has returned as permanent members of the band.

Jens Ryland was a longtime member of BORKNAGAR and contributed to "The Archaic Course", "Quintessence" and "Empiricism" albums before he quit in 2003 due to other priorities in life.

Erik Tiwaz joined the band in 2000 and participated on "Empiricism" as a regular member. In 2004 he quit the band due to personal reasons but contributed as a session musician to "Origin" in 2006.

According to The Pulse of Radio, RUSH bassist/singer Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson issued a statement over the weekend about the death of original drummer John Rutsey, who passed away last week in Toronto from diabetes at the age of 55. Lifeson and Lee wrote, "Our memories of the early years of RUSH when John was in the band are very fond to us. Those years spent in our teens dreaming of one day doing what we continue to do decades later are special. Although our paths diverged many years ago, we smile today, thinking back on those exciting times and remembering John's wonderful sense of humor and impeccable timing. He will be deeply missed by all he touched."

Rutsey's family has requested that donations be made in Rutsey's memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, located in Ontario.

Fans around the world have posted condolences online over Rutsey's death, with one writing, "Although you may not have known it, you were loved and respected by all RUSH fans."

Rutsey and Lifeson formed RUSH in 1968, with Lee joining a short time later. Rutsey played on the band's self-titled 1974 debut album, but left the group due to health concerns. His replacement, Neil Peart, joined the group on its second effort, "Fly By Night".

Long-running UK extreme metallers BENEDICTION have finalized the track listing for their new album, "Killing Music", tentatively due in September via Nuclear Blast Records. It is as follows:

01. The Grey Man
02. Burying The Hatchet
03. Immaculate Facade
04. Killing Music
05. They Must Die Screaming
06. Dripping With Disgust
07. As Her Skin Weeps
08. Cold, Deathless, Unrepentant
09. Wrath And Regret
10. Conrolopolis (Rats In The Mask)
11. Beg, You Dogs
12. Largactyl (AMEBIX cover)
13. Seeing Through My Eyes (BROKEN BONES cover)
14. I Am The Betrayer
15. Dissembler
16. They Bleed

* Featuring Karl Willetts (BOLT THROWER), Kelly Shaefer (ATHEIST) and Billy Gould (ex-FAITH NO MORE)
** With Jock from G.B.H. on guitar. Also featuring Markus Staiger, the owner of Nuclear Blast Records, and Thorsten from Metal Hammer Germany on backing vocals

Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.

Commented the group: "As you can hear from the album samples we have put up on the [MySpace page], this album is a quite brutal little affair and Dave Hunt, our vocalist, was not in a good mood when he laid these songs to rest! We make no apologies for the time it has taken since the last album because ever since all-day opening hours in the bars/pubs of the UK was introduced, we thought our time would be better spent drinking ourselves stupid for a few years! Once we found out that the opening law was permanent, we thought we'd better do this album!"

DEAD TO THIS WORLD — the speed/thrash/black metal project led by former IMMORTAL bassist Iscariah — has announced that its "permanent lineup" will now consist of the following members:

Iscariah - Supreme Necromancer of the Apocalypse
Kvitrafn - Drums of War
Divra Xul – 6-Stringed Genocide of Infernal Slaughter
Thurzur - Black God of Infamous Circle

The band will enter studio shortly to record three songs for upcoming split releases. Work has also commenced on the group's second full-length album which is expected by the fall of this year.

"First Strike for Spiritual Renewance", the debut album from DEAD TO THIS WORLD is available for streaming in its entirety at MP3.com. The CD, which was released in Europe on November 19, 2007 via Dark Essence Records, was produced by Bjørnar E Nielsen at Nielsen's Conclave Media Studios in Bergen.

DEAD TO THIS WORLD was originally founded by Iscariah (NECROPHAGIA, ex-IMMORTAL) as a solo project, but was expanded to a full lineup, releasing a three-track demo in 2005.

"I Don't Care", the new video from the Finnish cello quartet APOCALYPTICA, can be viewed below. The song features vocals by THREE DAYS GRACE frontman Adam Gontier, who also appears in the clip.

APOCALYPTICA enlisted FUEL frontman Toryn Green to handle lead vocals on the quartet's recent North American tour, which began on April 11 and concluded on Monday (May 19). The group initially enlisted vocalist Johnny Andrews, who co-wrote the band's current single, "I'm Not Jesus", to sing on the trek, but Andrews was replaced after just a handful of shows. In addition to "I'm Not Jesus", Andrews also co-wrote another track called "S.O.S. (Anything But Love)". Both tunes are from APOCALYPTICA's new album, "Worlds Collide", which arrived in stores in the U.S. on April 15.

Other guests on "Worlds Collide" include SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor, LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia, drummer Dave Lombardo from SLAYER and vocalist Till Lindemann of RAMMSTEIN.

Cristina Scabbia has confirmed that she will perform with APOCALYPTICA at this year's Download festival on Sunday, June 15 at Donington Park, Leicestershire, UK.

Cristina will sing the epic ballad "S.O.S. (Anything But Love)", which was featured on "Worlds Collide", and was released as a single earlier this year, accompanied by a suitably dark and lavish video. "S.O.S. (Anything But Love)" was also featured in the new motion picture "Stone's War" — a science-fiction war movie based on a story of Finnish soldiers during World War 2.

Long-running Irish folk metal act WAYLANDER has posted two songs from its upcoming album, "Honour Amongst Chaos", on MySpace. Check out the tracks "As The Deities Clash" and "Walk With Honour" at this location.

"Honour Amongst Chaos" is due later in the uear via Listenable Records.

Since the release of its last album, "The Light, The Dark And The Endless Knot", WAYLANDER has spent years bringing mosh pits to festivals across Europe such as Bloodstock, Pagan Nights and Ultimo Ratio. They have also spent this time finding and securing a powerful lineup with a passion to match their musical talents.

WAYLANDER's upcoming third album, "Honour Amongst Chaos", is "more powerful and beautiful than ever, using a vast array of Irish folk instruments and armed with their passion for metal in its truest form," according to a press release. "Blending epic atmospheres and relentless brutality, 'Honour Amongst Chaos' reflects the heart and soul of pagan warriors worldwide."

WAYLANDER recently parted ways with guitarist Gazz Murdock and replaced him with Ade Mulgrew of DARKEST ERA.

Norwegian black metal band ISKALD will enter a studio in Berlin, Germany on June 16 with producers Stamos Koiousis and Vangelis Labrakis from Greece to begin recording its second full-length album.

According to a press release, "It has been almost two years since the debut album, 'Shades of Misery', was recorded, resulting in a huge uplift for the band. Now they're back and a month with pre-production has just ended. The new material sounds amazing, a new edge and speed has found its way into the band. ISKALD sounds blacker than ever before!"

ISKALD's new CD will be released September 29 via Indie Recordings.

For more information, visit www.iskald.com.

Finnish melodic death metal act MYGRAIN has parted ways with longtime guitarist Matthew. According to the band, "There's no drama or anything and we sincerely wish all the best to Matthew in the future. You will always be our brother!"

The group continues, "This unfortunate incident won't affect the band's actions in the future — we're still working on the new songs and we won't cancel any of the gigs. Our friend Teemu Ylämäki from the band MISERY INC. will fill the gap of another guitar on the upcoming live shows, a BIG thank you for him! We will inform you more about our future plans as soon as it's possible."

MYGRAIN's second album, "Signs of Existence", in February entered the Finnish national chart at position No. 32. The CD was released on February 13 via Spinefarm Records.

MYGRAIN's debut album, "Orbit Dance", came out in 2006. The CD was recorded and mixed in November 2005 and January 2006 at Sound Supreme studio by Janne Saksa. It was mastered in February 2006 at Finnvox studios by Mika Jussila.

For more information, visit www.mygrain1.com.

Canadian grind/metal quartet FUCK THE FACTS has uploaded a pre-production version of a new song entitled "Vangorge" to the band's MySpace page. According to guitarist Topon Das, "This track was created during our 14-day road trip to write our new album 'Disgorge Mexico' using pre-production recordings we made at various stops along the way. Everything was recorded using a hand held tape recorder with a Tascam 4-track and mixed onto our modified van stereo 1-track recorder. Though this is not a song that will appear on the new album, 'Vangorge' still gives you a listen into the writing process of the new album as well as a distorted preview of some of the music that will be on 'Disgorge Mexico'."

FUCK THE FACTS recently posted a 12-minute video clip entitled "High Street" which "basically documents our two-week road trip to write our new album, 'Disgorge Mexico', and includes film and audio from the trip, as well as some early stages recordings from the upcoming album," according to the band. "'High Street' was created by Dave Hall (the guy that did our 'The Sound Of Your Smashed Head' video), using all we gave him as well some of his own sights and sounds."

Watch the clip below.

"Disgorge Mexico" is tentatively due this summer via Relapse Records. The LP was recorded last August at Liverpool Court Studios in Ottawa with producer Craig Boychuk and will feature the following track listing:

01. Borders
02. No Return
03. Absence And Despite
04. Kelowna
05. As Empires Expand And Collapse
06. Dead End
07. Driving Through Fallen Cities
08. La Culture Du Faux
09. State of Panic
10. No Place For Failure
11. The Storm
12. Apathy Is A Karma Killer
13. Golden Age
14. The Pile of Flesh You Carry
15. Sleepless

Swedih metallers WOLF have announced Richard "Raptor" Holmgren as their new official drummer. According to a press release, "Richard is a well-known musician [who has] previously played in several bands such as APOSTASY and HATERUSH."

WOLF is hard at work on the material for its new album, which the band expects to record later in the year. Guitarist Johannes "Axeman" Losbäck comments: "We've successfully progressed in the writing process as we got about 7-8 songs finished and more to work with. We feel that this next WOLF album will knock your teeth out by the sheer sight of it. We will have some very exciting news about the recording coming your way soon."

WOLF current lineup:

Niklas "Viper" Stålvind - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Johannes "Axeman" Losbäck - Guitar & Backing Vocals
Anders "Tornado" Modd - Bass
Richard "Raptor" Holmgren - Drums

DECADENCE, the Swedish melodic thrash metal quintet fronted by Kitty Saric (a.k.a. Metallic Kitty), has inked a deal with Massacre Records. The group's third album, "3rd Stage of Decay", which was originally released in 2006 through HTI Records, will be reissued on August 28 via Massacre.

Commented the band: "Our music has evolved into what we call melodic thrash metal and we work hard on this genre which is new and unique. The experiment with extreme female vocals, using both growl techniques for the extreme audience, as well as thrash metal-influenced screams for the outside crowd, make our sound even more specific.

"DECADENCE is often called a live band and love playing live as much as possible and this is when our music literally comes alive.

"The genre we play, that we call melodic thrash metal, can be described as ordinary thrash metal with the heaviness of melodic death metal with no keyboards. The vocals are extreme, aggressive female vocals combined with growl techniques as well as thrash metal screams. The original combination of these effects gives a specific sound which has evoked significant international enthusiasm."

DECADENCE will enter the studio next week to begin recording its fourth album. More information will be made available soon.

DECADENCE is:

Metallic Kitty - Vocals
Kenneth Lantz - Guitar
Simon Galle - Guitar
Joakim Antman - Bass
Erik Röjas - Drums

For more information, visit www.decadence.se.

Bulgarian brutal death metallers ENTHRALLMENT have inked a deal with Metal Age Productions. The band will enter the Basement studio soon to record its new full-length album.

ENTHRALLMENT has uploaded two songs from its 2007 promo — "Cane the Messiah with the Crook" and "Distorted Brain Patterns" — to its MySpace page.

ENTHRALLMENT's video for the song "Total Zombie Domination" can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's latest CD, "Smashed Brain Collection", which was released in July 2006 via Grindethic Records (UK) and Grotesque Productions (Spain).

Finnish metallers AMORAL have announced the addition of bassist Pekka Johansson to the group's ranks. "Pekka has been helping us out with our recent live duties, and the vibe’s been great both on and off stage," the band writes in a statement. "The dude's a great bassist, has a killer stage presence and is good company, so we quickly realized we’d need to look no further."

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

"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 last June 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 last May.

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

Napalm Records is offering an exclusive preview of the new albums by Faroe Islands pagan metal band TÝR and Austrian symphonic black metallers HOLLENTHON at this location (free MySpace registration may be required to view).

TÝR's new album, "Land", will be released on May 30 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy), June 2 (rest of Europe) and June 10 (North America). According to the band, the follow-up to 2006's "Ragnarok" "contains mostly Faeroese, but also Icelandic and Norwegian traditionals, re-arranged into heavy metal. The second most prevalent language is English." The CD was recorded at Jacob Hansen's (RAUNCHY, ROB ROCK, HATESPHERE, MERCENARY) studio in Ribe, Denmark.

HOLLENTHON's new LP, "Opus Magnum", will be issued on May 30 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy), June 2 (rest of Europe) and June 10 (North America). The CD will feature eight songs and a cover version, plus a video.

HOLLENTHON has scheduled a CD-release party in Vienna on Saturday, May 31 at Escape Metalcorner. A special release show has also been confirmed for Sunday, June 1 at Planet Music (formerly known as Rockhaus and Fritz), also in Vienna.

Norwegian metallers ENSLAVED have parted ways with Tabu Recordings. According to the band's management, "the break-up is a friendly one; both parties felt the time was right to regroup and rebuild." "ENSLAVED would like to thank Tabu Recordings for many years of co-operation and sincerely wish them the very best of luck with the future of the label," the group writes in a statement. "A particular thank you goes to Christer Hansen at Tabu for being a friend and keeping the focal point where it belongs; the music and the people."

According to a press release issued by ENSLAVED, the band's split with Tabu marks the end of a turbulent period that has forced ENSLAVED to keep a tight lid on the new album recordings, which are tentatively due to see the light of day in the fall of 2008. One or more press releases with all details will be issued in the near future. "Strange, dark and great things are about to happen!" the group says.

ENSLAVED was honored with the Spellemann award (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Award) in the "Metal" category for its "Ruun" album, which came out in May 2006 via Tabu Recordings (Candlelight in the U.S.). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show was held on January 27, 2007 at the Thalia Theater, Chateau Neuf in Oslo, Norway and was broadcast live on the Norwegian channel TV2.

In addition to the standard edition of SOULFLY's forthcoming album "Conquer" — which will be available on July 29 via Roadrunner Records — a special edition of the LP will be released featuring three bonus tracks and a bonus DVD containing a full 65-minute live concert.

The track listing for the special edition of "Conquer" is as follows:

01. Blood Fire War Hate
02. Unleash
03. Paranoia
04. Warmageddon
05. War Ghost
06. Rough
07. Fall Of Sycophants
08. Doom
09. Rot
10. Touching The Void
11. Soulfly VI
12. My Path
13. Sailing On
14. The Beautiful People

Live in Warsaw, Poland - July 13, 2005 (live sound was mixed by Jeff Rose and Martin "Ginge" Ford from the UK):

01. Prophecy
02. Downstroy
03. Seek 'N' Strike
04. No Hope = No Fear
05. Jumpadfuckup/Bring It
06. Living Sacrifice
07. Mars
08. Brasil
09. No
10. L.O.T.M.
11. Porrada
12. Drums
13. Moses
14. Frontlines
15. Back To The Primitive
16. Eye For An Eye

Music video:

01. Innerspirit

"My Path" and SOULFLY's cover of BAD BRAINS' "Sailin' On" were both tracked at Porch Studio in Orlando during the "Conquer" recording sessions. The cover of MARILYN MANSON's "The Beautiful People" was originally released in June 2007 by Kerrang! magazine in issue 1164 as part of its "Higher Voltage" compilation, and it was recorded in the spring of 2007 at Undercity Studios in Hollywood with Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, DIVINE HERESY).

Frontiers Records has set a July 4 European release date for "Live In Sao Paulo", Richie Kotzen's (ex-POISON, MR. BIG) first-ever live album. With much prompting from fans, Kotzen chose for the purpose a stellar performance from his South American tour in 2007.
According to a press release, "Live In Sao Paulo" is an absorbing collective blend of Kotzen's songs throughout the years. His live performance reflects the guitar style's that has defined his career as a virtuoso. Kotzen reveals to fans live his true diversity with the rhythmic labors of "A Love Divine" to the poignant ballad "Remember". The performance continually travels between moments of classic-rock song "Shapes Of Things" to the uplifting original "Stand".

Kotzen is influenced from such bands as BAD COMPANY, FREE, early VAN HALEN and CREAM. They are the inspiration for his songs, but having deep Philly roots Kotzen tends to combine rock with the Motown influences he heard as a kid.

"Much influence for my songs comes from the likes of the SPINNERS, O-JAYS, and CURTIS MAYFIELD," explains Kotzen. "Growing up outside Philadelphia and listening to those old soul stations I ended up with that sound being a heavy influence in my writing even though the core of what I do is rock".

Kotzen burst onto the heavy metal scene as a teenager with a lightning-fast guitar techniques. With his talents, Kotzen has played with some of the best musicians; securing such major collaboration with the band MR. BIG and renowned jazz great Stanley Clarke as well as his own solo projects.

"I have been lucky, in the sense, that I have been able to play with guys who I could learn from. The biggest musical lesson for me was playing in a band with Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Obviously these guys are jazz musicians and I am not, but I learned so much from the time we recorded and toured together. My favourite rock bassist is Billy Sheehan and we were in MR. BIG together for three years which was awesome."

"Live In Sao Paulo" track listing:

01. A Love Divine
02. Fooled Again
03. Faith
04. So Cold
05. Socialite
06. High
07. Remember
08. Shapes of Things
09. Doin' What the Devil Says To Do
10. I'm Losing You
11. Mother Head's Family Reunion
12. Stand

Check out audio samples at this location.

Metal Hammer writer Joel McIver reports that the new guitarist in Florida death metal legends MORBID ANGEL is none other than ZYKLON's longtime axemeister Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren).

Frontman David Vincent told Metal Hammer in a recent interview, "The hunt for another guitarist to play alongside Trey (Azagthoth, the band's primary songwriter) was long and difficult. Man, I tell you, we had tapes sent to us from all over the world from guys who wanted to play in our band, and many of them were extremely talented — but Thor was the right choice for us. He's a fantastic guitarist and fits right in with the band. Also, ZYKLON have supported MORBID ANGEL in the past, so the guys knew each other already."

MORBID ANGEL is currently in the studio working on material for its first studio album since 2003's "Heretic". The upcoming CD will mark the group's first release to feature frontman David Vincent since 1995's "Domination".

MORBID ANGEL is presently unsigned, having parted ways with Earache Records following "Heretic"'s release.

Although MORBID ANGEL's upcoming album does not currently have a name, its title will likely begin with the letter "I", in keeping with the band's tradition of titling their albums in alphabetical order beginning with 1989's "Altars of Madness", and continuing through "Heretic".

MORBID ANGEL's current lineup is rounded out by drummer Pete Sandoval.

One of Korea's pioneering metal bands MOONSHINE has posted a new track entitled "Moonshine Madness" from its upcoming third album, "Eternal", at the group's MySpace page.

According to a press release, "Eternal" sees MOONSHINE finding its own "unique voice." The band's black/death metal past "has taken the backseat to give way to the best weapon in their arsenal, melody, and to their new found relationship with gothic. The end result of it all are ten tracks (14 if you include the four Korea bonus tracks) of unique infectious blending of dark/gothic/melodic metal with a little hint of their symphonic black metal past. They even added a female voice to some of the tracks to give the album more dimensions. One listen and the melodies will be stuck in your head forever and the songwriting will prove that they are already seasoned veterans within and outside their league."

The album artwork was created by Niklas Sundin (Cabin Fever Media), who has previously worked with such bands as IN FLAMES, ARCH ENEMY and SENTENCED.

Due on June 3 via Dope Entertainment Korea, "Eternal" will feature the following tracks:

01. Moonshine Madness
02. (We) Die Cold
03. True Heart
04. Isolated
05. Dark Reception
06. Chaos Lover
07. Dying In Beauty
08. Breathless
09. No Name
10. Regret (Instrumental)

Bonus Tracks

11. Chaos Lover (Korean Lyrics)
12. (We) Die Cold (Korean Lyrics)
13. True Heart (Korean Lyrics)
14. Dark Reception (Korean Lyrics)

Legendary Norwegian black metallers EMPEROR have posted an exclusive track on their official MySpace page. "I Am The Black Wizards (Emperor Inhale Blacksmoke)" was remixed (with additional production) by The Blacksmoke Organisation, which is described as "an occasional art collective and musical group dedicated to the propagation of audio visual noise."

The Blacksmoke Organisation was founded by THE KLF co-founder Jimmy Cauty and James Fogarty, a 24-year-old heavy metal musician.

In related news, EMPEROR/ZYKLON guitarist Samoth has launched an official MySpace page.

As previously reported, Samoth (real name: Tomas Haugen) and his Canadian wife Erin welcomed their first child on April 23.

Samoth and Erin were married on February 15, 2005 in a small ceremony in Norway.