Swedish metallers BLINDED COLONY have issued the following update:

"We would like to introduce and welcome a new member to of BLINDED COLONY. His name is Martin Bergman (ex-EVILDOER) and he will be the new guitar player next to Tobias [Olsson]. Of course this doesn't mean that Johan Blomström has quit the band; he will instead handle the bass from now on. You will get a proper introduction from Martin himself later on and some other really cool news."

BLINDED COLONY's sophomore CD, "Bedtime Prayers", came out in January 2007 through Pivotal Rockordings. The band followed up the release with a 38-day tour with EKTOMORF and KAYSER.

SINNER, the veteran German metal oufit led by Mat Sinner (PRIMAL FEAR), has entered the House Of Music Studios to begin recording its new album, "Crash & Burn", for a September 19 release via AFM Records. The CD is being produced by Sinner and guitarist/vocalist Henny Wolter and is being engineered by Dennis Ward, It will be mixed by engineer Achim Köhler at his Indiscreet Audio studio.

Commented Mat Sinner: "We have a great time in the studio so far. Klaus Sperling finished drumming his tracks — we've planned to record 11 tracks and ended with 13. Thanks to AFM's Markus and Klaus for giving me a hard time in persuading me about a very old track. Working with Dennis Ward for the first time is great! Good mood and very productive. Henny and Christof [Leim, guitar] are starting with their guitar tracks."

FALCONER guitarist Stefan Weinerhall has issued the following update:

"The new album ('Among Beggars and Thieves') will be mixed in the end of May in Sonic Train Studios. The release date is set to the end of August. A music video will be shot for the song 'Carnival of Disgust'. Apart from the new album, 2008 will be a year off for the band. The activity will start in 2009 again, when we'll try to do a bunch of live shows again."

Weinerhall previously stated about the upcoming CD. "The lyrics will all be about Swedish medieval life and episodes. Not a concept album really but still something in that direction. What I decided early on what that it wouldn't become 'Northwind Pt. 2'. 'Northwind' is as good as it can be, therefore we'll make things a tad different this time."

FALCONER last year extended its deal with Metal Blade for another four albums.

The group's fifth studio CD, "Northwind" — the band's first since the departure of singer Kristoffer Göbel and return of Mathias Blad — was released in September 2006 via Metal Blade Records.

Swedish metallers THERION have issued the following update:

"Today we have an announcement that will come as a shock to all of you. The four permanent members of the band have had some discussions and it is clear that we have different goals and visions for the future. Therefore it is best for the band, ourselves as individuals and for the fans that we go separate ways now when there is still plenty of time before the next THERION album and world tour. This means that Christofer [Johnsson, THERION mainman] will continue with THERION and the others will perform their music in other projects and bands.

"We're all still friends, no one is disappointed and there's still some work we have left to do together in terms of editing of materials we have recorded for future DVD's.

"Best regards to all of you and thank you so much for the wonderful support you have given the band during the time we have played together."


"It may seem hard for many to grasp how this could happen. As for my self, if you would have asked me a year ago, I'd say we had the ultimate line-up and that this would be the one for a long, long time to come, maybe for ever. But life change and so does people, including my self. And for this case most importantly, so does Therion. Something you fans seldomly or never have reason to reflect on is HOW we do things and not only how the final result appears on stage or sounds to your ears. Many bands may have internal discussions on how the sound is gonna be, but I think one of the biggest issues for Therion is HOW we do things when we record and tour. How the next album will sound musically is not necessarily the biggest issue when our visions took different directions, even though I think I can say at least one person didn't feel entierly comfortable also with the musical direction the way I interpreted his signals.



To make one thing clear before there's a lot of speculations. Absolutely no one was fired. I noticed a lack of enthusiasm and it became obvious that we had different views on how to do certain things. The worst thing that can happen to Therion is to loose the dynamic and become just a "job" for the people involved, so I asked them straight out to consider their future with Therion anno 2009 and onwards. They had a meeting and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't feel honest towards me, them selves or the fans to make another round with yet and album and World Tour. It's not a small project to be involved with. I estimate one year of recording and one year of touring. So it's not something small one signs up to and I want to have peple that are 100% motivated and not just do it for the sake of making a buck and do it in lack of something they would rather do musically. The spark and the hunger is definatly gone for this line-up. Hats off to the guys for being so true to the art and not pretending and fooling them selves and others just for the sake of "fame and money" (not that you get disgustingly rich from playing in Therion, but at least it's decent money and you get to see the world and shouting fans).



As for the future of Therion, there is absolutely nothing to be alarmed of. Therion has always been more of a musical organism rather than a regular band. How many bands do you know of that don't have a permanent singer in the band for a start? The majority of our fan base that was born with the release of Theli in 1996

is still the base of today. They have been able to follow a musical journey incomparable to any other band and with a variety of members being the performers. Be sure of that it will sound different on the next album, but at the same time, be also assured of that if there would have been an internet forum like this back in 1996-97, then you would have had an equal shock; "What, no Piotr? Dan Swanö is not gonna sing on the next album?? So sad that Jonas won't continue! ´" etc. You are all hooking up to the musical current of Therion at different stages and therefore you will always have nostalgia to different records, tours line-ups etc. It's natural.



My philosophy regarding members has always been that "everybody is very important, but no one is irreplacable". It is not something easy to replace three so increadibly talanted musicians at the same time as is the case now, but at least for the festival in September, it's no problem at all, so no need to feel alarmed of that. Finding gifted instrumentalists has never been a problem for a successful band. The true challenge lies within finding equally (or better) musicians with a musical personality and original style, as most of those are already engaged in successful bands already. But on the other hand, none of the Niemanns nor Petter had ever recorded an album, played a show outside Sweden or had any considerable musical success at all (with the exception of Johan, who had a moderate success in the proggressive undergound with the cool band Minds Eye). Yet they were all extremely talanted and strong personality musicians, excellent song writers and very dedicated to the art. It may appear as a mystery that they were not already world famous before they joined Therion. But that's how the world is. And it also shows that there's probably plenty of other diamonds hiding, waiting to be digged out and allowed to shine upon the world. There's also many excellent musicians that used to be successful with other bands in the passed, but didn't manage to continue a career, even though they are very talanted. Forgotten jewels that could shine even brighter than in he old days if given the opportunity.



For sure I will miss all three of them a lot in the future on tour. It will especially be strange to play without the Niemanns that has been in the band for 8 years, longer than any other members. But I'm glad we parted before the flame was totally burned out. I hope their time with Therion have given them (and of course Petter) the experience, contacts and platform they need to successfully continue their careers and create cool music. I'm very curious of what they will be putting out. They are all very interesting song writers and for sure the next Demonoid album will kick some serius ass. Johan also have something interesting of his own that I'm very curious to hear! And Petter will for sure have his hands full with probably more than one project with cool progressive stuff. I'm really looking forward to hear all of it. I also hope I will get the chance to see Demonoid live, that would be cool. =)



/ Christofer







PS



I've seen some reaction like "now I'm never gonna see them live" refering to these guys not gonna play with Therion next time around. Well, that's the thing with Therion, you can NEVER take anything for granted. If you want to be sure to see what we have to offer at the moment and if you live in a country we play in - go to the show or loose the chance (or in best case watch the DVD some year later if there is one). We're not like Motorhead and that kind of bands that will be back doing more or less the same thing every year. Therion live is an art form comparable to a flower. You can only watch it and smell it in real life. A DVD will give you a clue of the beauty of it, but you'll never be able to smell it.

So Therion is a band that needs to be rediscovered for each tour, just like each new album is a challange to the perceptio of what is Therion and what is not (refering to the discussion that always massively occour with each new release)."

THERION's latest studio album, the dual-disc "Gothic Kaballah", was released in North America on February 6, 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.

THERION last year announced the departure of vocalist Mats Levén (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, KRUX, TREAT, AT VANCE), which took effect prior to the band's appearance at the Wacken Open Air 2007 festival in early August. His replacement in the group was Thomas Vikström, who is best known to metal fans as the voice behind CANDLEMASS' "Chapter VI" album (1992).

Greg Prato of Billboard.com reports that JUDAS PRIEST will finally unveil its 16th studio album, "Nostradamus", June 17 via Epic in North America and a day earlier internationally.

A double-disc set that tells the story of the 16th century prophet, Michel de Nostredame (whose name is often "Latinized" as Nostradamus), the release is PRIEST's first-ever concept album, and was recorded throughout 2006 and 2007 at Old Smithy Studio in the U.K.

"Making 'Nostradamus' was a new experience for us in JUDAS PRIEST, insomuch as this was going to be a conceptual writing and recording event," PRIEST singer Rob Halford tells Billboard.com. "His life is well-documented, so for us it was all about taking the significant episodes he went through, and then with the right emotion, create music and lyrics that would convey them."

Read more at Billboard.com.

"Nostradamus" track listing:

01. Dawn of Creation *
02. Prophecy
03. Awakening *
04. Revelations
05. The Four Horsemen *
06. War
07. Sands of Time *
08. Pestilence And Plague
09. Death
10. Peace *
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution
14. Solitude *
15. Exiled
16. Alone
17. Shadows In the Flame *
18. Visions
19. Hope *
20. New Beginnings
21. Calm Before the Storm *
22. Nostradamus
23. Future Of Mankind

* Intro pieces of music going into the main track

Relapse Records has set an April 29 release date (May 5 internationally) for the reissue of the first three albums from Australia's BLOOD DUSTER: mini-CD "Yeest" packaged with "Fisting The Dead", the band’s first full-length "Str8outtanorthcote", and the always controversial "Cunt". "Str8outtanorthcote" and "Fisting The Dead" / "Yeest" both include bonus material and all three of the reissues have been re-mastered and feature new artwork.

In other news, BLOOD DUSTER has announced its first-ever U.S. live performance. BLOOD DUSTER will appear alongside REPULSION, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, GRAVE, DYING FETUS, DISFEAR, and many more at this year's Maryland Deathfest, set to take place May 23-25 at the Sonar in Baltimore.

SOULFLY will release its new album, "Conquer", on July 29 via Roadrunner Records.

SOULFLY members Max Cavalera (guitar/vocals), Joe Nunez (drums), Marc Rizzo (guitar), and Bobby Burns (bass) entered Porch Studio in Florida on September 12, 2007 to begin recording the band's sixth studio LP.

SOULFLY's upcoming CD will feature guest appearances by MORBID ANGEL frontman David Vincent and THROWDOWN singer Dave Peters.

"Conquer" track listing:

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

"The Islander", the new video from Finnish/Swedish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH, can be viewed below. The clip was was shot last autumn in Rovaniemi, Finland and was directed by Stobe Harju. The video premiered yesterday (Monday, April 14) on MTV Finland's show "Spanking New".

"The Islander" single will be released on May 21 and will include the following tracks:

01. The Islander
02. Escapist (instrumental version)
03. Meadows Of Heaven (orchestral version)

Additionally, it will include the videos for "The Islander" and "Bye Bye Beautiful".

Check out the "The Islander" single artwork at this location.

Vocalist John Tardy of the long-running Florida death metallers OBITUARY has issued the following update:

"We leave today for South America for a couple of weeks. This is always a great time with insane fans!!! This trip will take us to places we have been and places we have not been too yet, so we are really getting excited! We have four shows in Brazil and 1 in Chile, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador!

"We have so much going on when we get back it is just crazy.

"We started to write new music for an EP that we plan on releasing in a few months and we need to get that recorded, so Redneck Studios will be getting fired back up for that!

"We have to get our new setlist ready for a really busy Europen summer festival tour and we finally have a show set up in Tampa!!!! We will be playing at The Crowbar in Tampa, FL (Ybor City) on Friday, May 23."

Brazilian death metallers KRISIUN have issued the following update:

"KRISIUN is currently in Germany at Stage One Studios with producer Andy Classen [TANKARD, ROTTING CHRIST, DEW-SCENTED] finishing the production of their upcoming record which is scheduled to be released around late July or early August 2008. The new album does not have a definitive title yet but soon will be announced. Meanwhile, before the release of the new record, the band will do some shows in Brazil and at some summer fests in Europe introducing people for some new tunes. So be aware the storm is coming."

KRISIUN's new CD will be released through Century Media Records.

Long-running Seattle metallers METAL CHURCH have issued the following update:

"After much consideration and many qualified applicants, we have come to a decision on a new guitar player. We have chosen Rick Van Zandt.

"Rick is a very gifted player who spent many years in the Seattle metal scene in bands like THE END, ROTTWEILLER and THE RONNY MUNROE BAND. Some of Rick's influences are Steve Vai, Ritchie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen.

"Rick brings a whole new level of playing to METAL CHURCH and we are all glad to have him and we are sure you, the fans will be as well. Get ready for some shredding! The new album really kicks some metal ass; every band says that, but we mean it!!"

"Love Communion", the new video from legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH), can be viewed below. The clip features Hughes on bass and vocals, Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums, and Luis Carlos Maldonado on guitar. The song comes off Glenn's new solo album, "First Underground Nuclear Kitchen (F.U.N.K.)", which is scheduled for release on May 11 via Frontiers Records.

Produced by Glenn in Los Angeles, after countless hours spent writing in his home studio, "F.U.N.K." is another magnificent statement from the "Voice of Rock." "It is a roots album, it is a true account of my musical heritage but also fearless and multi-dimensional," said Hughes.

Once again all drums on the record were played by none other than the great Chad Smith of the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, while Luis Maldonado took care of the majority of the guitars (JJ Marsh and George Nastos only appear on two songs each) and Anders Olinder is on keyboards (with Ed Roth guesting on three songs).

"F.U.N.K." track listing:

01. Crave
02. First Underground Nuclear Kitchen
03. Satellite
04. Love Communion
05. We Shall Be Free, Imperfection
06. Never Say Never
07. We Go To War
08. Oil And Water
09. Too Late to Save the World
10. Where There's A Will

Check out more audio samples at this location

A 23-minute audio interview with SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY frontman Max Cavalera conducted earlier this week by Vassil Varbanov of Bulgaria's Tangra Mega Rock is available for download at this location (MP3, 5.4 MB). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Tangra Mega Rock: You're [playing] with [your brother] Igor again. Is there anything that hasn't been said about that reunion?

Max: It's been a lot of excitement, the album came out yesterday... I don't know what hasn't been said... maybe some personal things... One of the reasons we got back together is that Igor became more family-oriented. He's got a new son who's only a year old — his name is Antonio, which is my middle name and my grandfather's name — so I credit some of the reasons for the reunion to the birth of his son, because he wanted me to see his son. He felt that he couldn't bring a new son to the world and not have him know me, because I'm the uncle. He loves sharks, so I nicknamed him Tubarão, which means "shark" in Portuguese, he-he!

Tangra Mega Rock: Is CAVALERA CONSPIRACY just a project or it's a real band?

Max: We're not sure yet, because what we make is very different from everything. I believe it's more than a project, but less than a band. I you could think of a medium term... NAILBOMB was a project, as we never toured and stuff, and with CONSPIRACY I wanna tour. I want people to see me and Igor on stage again, as it's a magic thing, really powerful. So we're gonna tour a lot and make more records, however done in a different way — we're not let it turn into a real band, because we have separate lives, and I also love SOULFLY, which is my main thing.

Tangra Mega Rock: CAVALERA CONSPIRACY features also Marc Rizzo of SOULFLY, and also a French guy, Joe Duplantier of GOJIRA. Please tell us more about him.

Max: The idea was to bring something new and unexpected to the table. When I got hold of the GOJIRA CD, it felt very, very different, like "This will work for us." It was kind of an adventure for us, as we didn't know Joe before. I just knew he was a huge SEPULTURA fan who plays in a good band. It was sort of dangerous and exciting to bring a guy you don't know into the camp, but it worked out, as he's a cool guy and a great musician.

Tangra Mega Rock: Joe co-wrote the song "Ultra-Violent" with you, and he plays the bass on the whole record except for this very track where you've got Rex Brown (DOWN, ex-PANTERA). It's a bit confusing...

Max: Joe is originally a guitar player in GOJIRA, so... It was a bit like NAILBOMB, where I and Alex Newport played bass. Most guitar players can't play bass. That's not the case with Joe, but on this specific song he wanted to play the guitar. I agreed and we invited Rex to do the bass. CAVALERA CONSPIRACY is more of a punk mentality project where you do what you want, not what you're told to.

Tangra Mega Rock: To what extent does the so-called Latin metal differ from the Anglo-Saxon one?

Max: I think metal is feeling the same in the whole world in general. I've always said that metal is the best son of rock'n'roll, like the black sheep in the family of rock music. As for the Latin roots, they do exist in the form of a little bit more percussion oriented things and stuff, but on this record, for example, I think there's very little Latin influence — just straightforward metal. When people do too much Latin it's not good, you know, so sometimes I back away from that. Maybe later we'll do some more Brazilian-style things, but at the moment I and Igor wanted to do a pure, raw metal record.

Tangra Mega Rock: In this connection, I'm sure a big part of the world is thinking of a SEPULTURA reunion with you and Igor. Would this be possible?

Max: It's possible, but I don't know neither when nor how. A couple of years ago, if somebody told me I'd be talking with Igor again, I wouldn't have believed him, and you see we're together again now, so yes, it's definitely possible. I make jokes about this SEPULTURA reunion saying that I'm waiting for the end of the world, so we can be the opening band for Armageddon, ha-ha!

Read the entire interview at Tangra Mega Rock.

Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH have issued the following update:

"Thanks to everyone who made our recent Alive from the Apocalypse tour such a good time. Every show was a rager, all the fans brought the ruckus and every band were great dudes and fun to party with. Thanks to the fans, BURY YOUR DEAD, AS BLOOD RUNS BLACK, MY CHILDREN MY BRIDE, THE DESTRO, all the crew for their help and hard work and thanks to everyone involved in this tour for making it happen.

"This short time away from writing the next album gave us the platform to go out and have fun playing on tour again, support our new DVD and give a little taste of some new material to the fans. We are fired up as all hell and looking forward to finishing up writing this next album and getting it out there for all to hear by October.

"Without going into too much detail about the new tunes, it is harder-hitting with more groove than any previous UNEARTH material.

"If you were in the crowd at one of our shows on this last tour, you got a glimpse of what to expect. Working with Derek Kerswill as our drummer for this album has given us the chance to let the songs grow as they should, the parts build up how they should and have the tunes hit as hard as they should. We are beyond amped about the new stuff and we look forward to giving everyone some new tunes to thrash to real fucking soon."

UNEARTH's first-ever DVD, "Alive from the Apocalypse", debuted at No. 13 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart with first-week sales of 1,800 copies. It also landed at No. 15 on the Top Video/DVD chart in Canada, where it was certified gold just one week after its release.

Canada is the first territory to commemorate certified gold status of "Alive from the Apocalypse".

Long-running Spanish death metallers AVULSED have issued the following update:

"Yesterday night, our drummer Ricky suffered a loss of consciousness and once in the hospital he remained in the Intensive Care Unit. It seems like he suffered a small brain stroke or something like that. This is, one of the veins was broken and some blood was spilled, so he need some surgery to take that blood out.

"At this point we don't know much about it, since he liked 200 km away, and this is the information provided to us by his girlfriend, but what it's sure is that we'll have to cancel the AVULSED performance at the Delirium Festival that's taking place near Paris, France next Saturday, April 19. Also, right now we're not sure if we'll be able to perform at the Underground Metal Fest in Lyon (France) next Saturday, April 26 as well. We still have to see how Ricky develops from this and then we'll see, although this really doesn't depend on us.

"We're very sorry for not being able to perform at the Delirium Festival on which AVULSED was the headliner sharing the bill with quite some cool bands like HACRIDE, NO RETURN, DEGRADEAD, EMBRYONIC CELLS, HYSTHERESY, E-VICE. We hope our fans and the organizers will understand us in this critical situation and we really hope to play at next year's edition of the festival."

AVULSED recently released its very first official DVD, "Reanimating Russia 2007", featuring a multi-camera shoot of the band's 19-song May 2007 performance in Moscow, Russia. It is available through the band's web site, www.avulsed.com.

Watch fan-filmed video footage of AVULSED performing the song "Sick Sick Sex" on May 26, 2007 in Moscow, Russia:

One of the extreme metal genre's most talked about new bands, SUICIDE SILENCE just completed a very successful North American trek as direct support to NILE, which leads them directly into a European tour with PARKWAY DRIVE and BURY YOUR DEAD next week. SUICIDE SILENCE will make their triumphant return to the U.S. in July as part of the summer’s most anticipated tour, Rockstar Energy Mayhem, alongside SLIPKNOT, DISTURBED and MACHINE HEAD, among a slew of others.

Commented guitarist Chris Garza: "We are happy to be home and take it easy after a straight month of brutality with NILE. Every night was fucking killer. A huge thank you to all that went ape shit at the shows. PARKWAY DRIVE and BURY YOUR DEAD starts next week! We look forward to the 12 hour plane ride and getting trashed.

"Just to fill everyone in, we will take the month of June to begin writing for our next album. Lots of crazy ideas are flying around. Then get ready to get your face bashed in after a full day of metal at the Mayhem tour with SLIPKNOT! They have been one of my favorite bands since I was in junior high so it's gonna be a good time. Come out to hang and drink some beers with us. See you all in July."

The young drumming phenom Alex Lopez continues to turn heads as he annihilates the kit with sheer aggression, speed and precision. He just completed a series of instructional videos for YouTube and in the first episode he breaks down how to differentiate blast beats while explaining certain parts of the track "No Pity For A Coward". Click below to check it out.

Finnish folk/pagan metal band MOONSORROW and Faroe Islands metallers TÝR, who are currently touring European together under the Paganfest Europe banner (alongside ENSIFERUM, KORPIKLAANI, and ELUVEITIE) have released a joint videotaped statement rejecting rumors that they are Nazi sympathizers in the wake of reports that their April 17 concert in Berlin may be cancelled (as a result of pressure from a local anti-fascist organization).

Watch the two-minute statement below (English with German subtitles).

MOONSORROW will release its new EP, "Tulimyrsky" (Firestorm), on April 30 via Spikefarm Records. The CD will contain over 60 minutes of music, including a cover version of METALLICA's "For Whom The Bell Tolls".

"Tulimyrsky" (cover artwork) track listing:

01. Tulimyrsky (new song)
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls (METALLICA cover)
03. Taistelu Pohjolasta (from the "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" demo)
04. Hvergelmir (from the "Metsä" demo)
05. Back To North (MERCILESS cover)

TÝR will release its fourth full-length album, "Land", on May 30 in Europe and June 10 in the U.S. via Napalm Records. 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.

"Land" track listing:

01. Gandksvaedi Tróndar
02. Skinlars Visa
03. Gátu Rima
04. Brennivin
05. Ocean
06. Fipan Fagra
07. Valkyrjan
08. Lokka Tattur
09. Land
10. Hail To The Hammer

Atlanta, Georgia's BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE will enter the studio in July with producer Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, LAMB OF GOD, DARKEST HOUR) to begin recordings its third album. Tentatively titled "Dichotomy", the CD will be released later this year on Solid State Records. More information will be made available soon.

BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE's video for the track "Endure" — directed by Endeavor Media — can be viewed below. The son, comes off the group's second album, "The Physics of Fire", which was released in Europe in June 2007 via Century Media Records. The U.S. release was handled by Solid State Records. The CD was produced by Rob Caggiano (BLEEDING THROUGH, CRADLE OF FILTH, ANTHRAX).

For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.

Swedish death metallers VISCERAL BLEEDING have issued the following update:

"After the tour last year with DEICIDE, we all felt that we needed a break from the band and because of that we only did a couple of shows during the rest of 2007. But now after a well-needed rest we have regained our strength and we've now started writing material for a fourth album. As of now, we only have a few riffs here and there but we have a well-formed plan for the next album and we're all very excited to start working on this. So that's that.

VISCERAL BLEEDING's third full-length album, "Absorbing the Disarray", was released last year via Neurotic Records.

CIVILIZATION ONE, the group featuring vocalist Chitral "Chity" Somapala (highly regarded for his work with AVALON, FIREWIND, FARO, MOONLIGHT AGONY and RED CIRCUIT), guitarist Christian Münzner (ex-NECROPHAGIST, MAJESTY) and bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson (MALADAPTIVE, ex-HEAVENLY), has set "Calling the Gods" as the title of its sophomore album, tentatively due late 2008/ early 2009.

"We are in the perfect mood with our songwriting and things are coming smooth as silk!" the group writes in a press release. "The album will be produced again by none other than Markus Teske at the Bazement studio in Germany in August 2008. The artwork will be handled by Niall Parkinson from Ireland."

Commented Chity: "This is not going to be a concept album at all! It has enough balls to please the metal/hard rock fans! We are not following any trends, we try our best on this one to get more recognition among today's competition! We keep our feet on the ground!"

CIVILIZATION ONE's current lineup includes newly added second guitarist Björn Daigger (MAJESTY, R:I:P) and drummer Holger Rodammer.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has posted the following message on his web site:

"The famous Japanese Manga comic book DMC is being made into a movie by Toho/Sony. Toho Productions are the fine people who brought you 'Godzilla' and 'The Mysterians'...as well as countless other Japanese movies.

"I was thrilled to be asked to play the Demon God of rock and roll — what else? Shooting was from dawn 'till late at night. The shoot took place right after the New Zealand KISS show. I got to sleep at 2:00 am and got up 4:30 am to catch the 7:00 am flight to Tokyo.

"Hectic.

"Once there, I not only had to shoot the Japanese movie (which is being released in August — only in Japan), our 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' TV crew were also there to record some of the fun and games.

"Here is yours truly in a real Geisha House. And, here is what I look like in one of my get ups in the movie. You'll see the results in a future 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' episode."