Sublife Productions has uploaded a full track from the latest GREEN CARNATION DVD, "A Night Under the Dam". The song "Maybe?" (with a playing time of 6:28) can be viewed in its entirety online at YouTube.

"A Night Under the Dam" DVD is available through Plastic Head and The End Records.

GREEN CARNATION will be using the first half of 2007 to write new material for what bass player Stein Roger Sordal is confident will be the best album from the Norwegian outfit ever. The band, in which all of the members are songwriters, will be using a different strategy then previously when it comes to the writing proccess.

"The way we have worked in the past have worked out well for us, with the different members and songwriters doing their work at home before presenting finished songs for the rest of the guys," says Sordal. "This time around we want to take the time to work on things together at the rehearsal room. We feel that this could be a way to get the maximum out of each and every member of the band, and I'm confident it's going to be an exiting time ahead."

As a result of the writing process, GREEN CARNATION will not be playing live gigs until the end of June at the earliest.

Also on the GREEN CARNATION-related front, the band's bass maestro Stein Roger Sordal has finished recording his very first solo album, "In Fort Knox With a Penny". He is delighted with the outcome: "My plan is to release a solo album sometime in 2007," he writes on his MySpace page. "I'm currently recording the album and have a lot of great friends and musicians with me on this one. I've been recording albums the last ten years with different bands and projects, so I guess it was about time to do a solo album."

Polish black/death metal band DARZAMAT will release its first-ever live DVD, entitled "Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics)" (cover), in Europe on June 25 via Metal Mind Productions. The disc was recorded at the 21st edition of the Metalmania Festival, which took place on March 24 in Katowice, Poland, and will contain material comprised mostly of songs from the band's latest album, "Transkarpatia". Also included will be the group's surprise performance of the song "Diabelski Dom" by the cult Polish metal band KAT, featuring a guest appearance by KAT leader Roman Kostrzewski. The DVD will also includes additional footage from the Winternachtstraum Festival, which took place in February 2007 in Arnsberg, Germany, two unreleased tracks, video clips, and an interview with Flauros and Nera.

"Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics)" will be released in the U.S. on July 31.

DEATHCHAIN's new video for the song "Pit of the Possessed" has been posted at Youtube. The track comes off the Finnish death/thrash metallers' third album, "Cult of Death", due on May 28 via Dynamic Arts Records (May 23 in Finland and June 1 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The track listing is as follows:

01. Deathammer
02. Hour of the Exorcist
03. Pit of the Possessed
04. Serpent of the Deep
05. In the Crypt of Vengeance
06. Witchstorm
07. Necrophiliac Lust
08. Cult of Death

DEATHCHAIN recently parted ways with singer Rotten and replaced him with K.J. Khaos.

Dynamic Arts Records released DEATHCHAIN's previous albums "Deadmeat Disciples" (2003) and "Deathrash Assault" (2005). During November and December 2005, DEATHCHAIN travelled through 13 countries and did 25 shows alongside DESTRUCTION and CANDLEMASS.

DEATHCHAIN's last CD, "Deathrash Assault", entered the official Finnish chart at position No. 18.

THERION mainman Christofer Johnsson has posted the following message on the band's web site:

"It's not completely finished with all details yet, but as one of the promoters seems to have published the info already, we can reveal that in December we will celebrate 20 years of THERION by making a tour where we will:

* Perform the entire 'Theli' album
* Perform 'Adulruna Rediviva' and 'Wisdom of the Cage' from 'Gothic Kabbalah'
* Make a fan-chosen 'best-of' set 'Vovin' – 'Lemuria/Sirius B' for the rest of the evening
* Invite several special guests
* Make a stage show that will blow everyone away!
* 16 shows are planned.

"SIRENIA is confirmed to go with us (yes, we know what you guys want!). A second band you will also appreciate will be confirmed very soon. Reprinted 'Theli' merchandise is also gonna be available for the shows.

"There's more to it, but it's too early to reveal now. Stay tuned."

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

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

German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR have issued the following update:

"Hard work during the last days in a rotten place near Stuttgart, Germany, where we produced two new video clips with director Katja Piolka. 'Fighting the Darkness' and 'Sign of Fear' — another combination of a nice and a brutal song, we've chosen for the clips for the forthcoming album 'New Religion' this time."

Check out a photo from the video shoot at this location.

PRIMAL FEAR's new CD, "New Religion", is due on August 31 via Frontiers Records. The complete track listing for the CD is as as follows (in no particular order):

01. New Religion
02. Drenched In Blood
03. The Curse Of Sharon
04. The Darkness
a. Fighting The Darkness
b. Darkness II
c. Reprise
05. Face The Emptiness
06. Too Much Time
07. Everytime It Rains
08. Burning Bridges
09. Psycho
10. World On Fire
11. The Man (I Don't Know)

Guest musicians on the album include Magnus Karlsson (STARBREAKER, ALLEN/LANDE), Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY, ex-HELLOWEEN) and Simone Simons (EPICA)

PRIMAL FEAR recently extended its ten-year partnership with Warner/Chappell Publishing for a minimum of three more albums and five years.

PRIMAL FEAR released a "best of" collection, entitled "Metal is Forever - The Very Best of Primal Fear", in Europe on September 29 via the band's previous label, Nuclear Blast Records (with whom they parted ways earlier in the year). The album's artwork was created by Stephan Lohrmann, who was also responsible for the cover of PRIMAL FEAR's "Black Sun" album. The 16-track compilation also includes a special bonus CD of "classic metal tracks." The CD was issued in North America on April 2.

Guitarist Mikael Dahl of the Swedish/Danish metallers CRYSTAL EYES has written writing seven new songs and has about eight more in the works for inclusion on the group's next album, which is tentatively scheduled to be recorded before the end of the year. "The band will spend the summer rehearsing and completing the new material," reads a posting on the group's web site.

CRYSTAL EYES's fifth album, "Dead City Dreaming", was released last November. The CD was recorded at Crystal Sounds studio with producer Fredrik Nordström.

CRYSTAL EYES last year parted ways with guitarist Jonathan Nyberg and replaced him with Niclas Karlsson (FIERCE CONVICTION, ZONATA, FRETERNIA, RISING FAITH).

DIMENSION F3H, the Norwegian death metal band led by Morfeus (LIMBONIC ART), will release its second album, entitled 'Does the Pain Excite You?', on June 18 via Dark Essence Records.

DIMENSION F3H has been confirmed for the Hammerslag Festival, set to take place July 20 at Støperiet in Tønsberg, Norway. Also scheduled to appear are GORGOROTH and CREEP COLONY, among others.

DIMENSION F3H's debut album, "Reaping the World Winds", was released in 2003 through Hammerheart Records. The CD was produced by Morfeus and mixed at Sweden's renowned Studio Fredman (IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILITY, DIMMU BORGIR).

Reactivated Dutch metallers GOREFEST will release their new album, "Rise to Ruin", in the U.S. on August 28 via Nuclear Blast Records (August 3 in Europe). The CD was mixed by Danish producer Tue Madsen at his Antfarm studios in Århus, Denmark. "He managed to make everything sound even heavier than we'd imagined," guitarist Frank Harthoorn previously said. Cover artwork will be designed by British artist Rob "Mid" Middleton.

"Rise to Ruin" track listing:

01. Revolt
02. Rise To Ruin
03. The War On Stupidity
04. A Question Of Terror
05. Babylon's Whores
06. Speak When Spoken To
07. A Grim Charade
08. Murder Brigade
09. The End Of It All

GOREFEST's last CD, "La Muerte", was released in October 2005 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Italian folk/power metal band ELVENKING recently finished mixing its new album at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland. The mastering took place on April 10 at Finnvox Studios with Mika Jussila and Nino Laurenne.

Commented guitarist Aydan: "Everything looks calm and relaxed but it is not exactely this way. The album is completed and now a phase where a lot of work 'behind-the-scenes' is to be done begins. For some months it will still look like nothing is moving while behind the curtain a lot of people are working for the release of the new album. Somebody may think that you record an album and a month later it is ready to be released in the shops, but it's not working exactly this way.

"The album has arrived in the hands of the 'important ones'` (record labels, management, etc) and everybody seems to greeeeatly appreciate it. This is a very good sign, also considering that it will be different from our previous releases (as usual). Let's see how things will move on that side.

"In the meantime we are working on other details, like cover artwork, booklet layout, photo session, video shooting (more about this in the near future...), etc. So we will have a busy summer.

Due this fall via AFM Records, the CD will feature a guest appearance on two tracks by Swedish guitarist Mike Wead (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, FIREGOD, ABSTRAKT ALGEBRA, CANDLEMASS).

ELVENKING released its third album, "The Winter Wake", in Europe in January 2006 via AFM Records. The CD was issued in the U.S. in March. The follow-up to 2004's "Wyrd" was recorded at Sherpa Studios (Italy), mixed at Sonic Pump Studios by Nino Laurenne and was mastered at Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussilla.

In acknowledgement of the 25th anniversary of the release of their seminal album "The Number of the Beast" and the tremendous international success of their recent album "A Matter of Life and Death", IRON MAIDEN's forthcoming June dates in Europe will go under the banner of "A Matter Of The Beast Summer Tour 07". The band will be playing five songs from each of these albums plus other fan favorites and will be taking out a full-on stage production which will include the final appearances of Eddie's notorious tank!

Says vocalist Bruce Dickinson: "It's always a lot of fun for us to play outdoors in the summer. It tends to be a different vibe to playing indoors, much more of a party atmosphere so it's good to put together a set list that matches this. There has been a lot of interest in the 25th anniversary of the release of 'Number of the Beast' so we thought it would be great to give the fans a bit of extra Beast this summer to acknowledge this."

SHAMAN (formerly SHAAMAN), the revamped Brazilian band featuring drummer Ricardo Confessori alongside guitarist Leo Mancini, vocalist Thiago Bianchi and bassist Fernando Quesada, has set "Immortal" as the title of its new album, due later in the year. A song from the upcoming CD, entitled "One Life", can be streamed at this location.

SHAAMAN (as the band was known prior to its split) released its sophomore album, "Reason", in May 2005 via AFM Records. The 10-song follow-up to 2002's "Ritual" was mixed and mastered at Heaven's Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany with producer Sascha Paeth, who previously worked with such acts as KAMELOT, EDGUY, RHAPSODY and FREEDOM CALL. A DVD, entitled "RituAlive", came out in 2003.

Former SHAAMAN frontman André Matos (also ex-ANGRA) will release his debut solo album later in the year.

A brand new KING DIAMOND song, entitled "Never Ending Hill", is available for free download at this location. The track comes off the group's long-awaited new album, "Give Me Your Soul ... Please", which will be released in North America on June 26 via Metal Blade Records. Massacre Records will issue the album in Germany on June 29. The cover artwork has been posted online at this location.

Revolver magazine recently reported that KING DIAMOND's new CD was inspired by a painting called "My Mother's Eyes" which the band's distributor in Denmark stumbled across while surfing the Net (and which Diamond has since bought for the new CD cover). The more Diamond looked at the image of a battered blond girl with blood covering her white dress, holding out palms affixed with protruding eyeballs, the more it captivated and inspired him. "I can feel the energy of the front cover in all the songs we wrote, and it will definitely affect my lyrics," he promised.

KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque recently returned home to Sweden after "a very heavy and intense mixing session" in Dallas, Texas with King Diamond on "Give Me Your Soul ... Please". "It's definitely the best songs and production we've had in years!" Andy told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "A rollercoaster of atmospheres and horror is a good way of describing" the new CD.

"Give Me Your Soul ... Please" track listing (songwriting credits included):

01. The Dead (King)
02. Never Ending Hill (Andy)
03. Is Anybody Here? (King)
04. Black of Night (Andy)
05. Mirror, Mirror (King)
06. The Cellar (Andy)
07. Pictures in Red (Andy)
08. Gimme Your Soul (King)
09. The Floating Head (Andy)
10. Cold as Ice (King)
11. Shapes of Black (King)
12. The Girl in The Bloody Dress (King)
13. Moving On (King)

Diamond wrote the music for the new album from December 2005 through February 2006, then recorded the basic tracks in his basement.

"It classes over anything I've ever done," Diamond beamed. "The arrangements are more intricate, the production is better, and for the parts where there are violins, it sounds like we hired the Royal Philharmonic."

KING DIAMOND current lineup:

King Diamond - Vocals
Andy La Rocque - Guitar
Mike Wead - Guitar
Hal Patino - Bass
Matt Thompson - Drums

Austrian old-school black metallers HELLBOUND are currently writing new material for a tentative winter release. Peter Kubik of ABIGOR will play the bass on the new CD, but it is not presently clear if he will permanently rejoin the group.

HELLBOUND's last release was a split seven-inch single with ENSAMHET, entitled "Bullet 666". It was recorded and produced at Hellbound Studios during August-September 2005 and it featured the following recording lineup:

Patrick Duch - Drums
Peter Kubik - Guitars, Bass & FX
Sethnacht - Vocals

ccording to The Highway Star, DEEP PURPLE's "They All Came Down To Montreux - Live At Montreux 2006" DVD will be released on June 2 in the U.K. on Eagle Vision, June 8 in Germany on Edel and (according to Amazon) June 12 in North America. Despite previous reports that it will contain complete performance at the 40th Montreux Jazz Festival, "Perfect Strangers" is conspicuously missing from the DVD track listing that came from Edel.

DVD 1 (40th Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, July 2006):

01. Pictures Of Home
02. Things I Never Said
03. Strange Kind Of Woman
04. Rapture Of The Deep
05. Wrong Man
06. The Well-Dressed Guitar
07. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
08. When A Blind Man Cries
09. Lazy
10. Keyboard Solo
11. Space Truckin'
12. Highway Star
13. Smoke On The Water
14. Hush
15. Too Much Fun
16. Black Night

DVD 2 (Rapture Of The Deep release party, Hard Rock Cafe, London, October 2005):

01. Fireball
02. I Got Your Number
03. Strange Kind Of Woman
04. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
05. Rapture Of The Deep
06. Wrong Man
07. Lazy
08. Perfect Strangers
09. Highway Star
10. Smoke On The Water

German power metallers PARAGON have announced the addition of bassist Dirk Seifert to the group's ranks. According to a press release, Dirk is "a longtime acquaintance of the band; [he] was in a band with Martin [Christian, guitar] back in the early '90s and has worked on the pre-production of 'Law of the Blade', 'Dark Legacy' and 'Revenge'. He is familiar with the material and knows the band for a long time. We are sure he will be an reinforcement as he is a multitasker who can play bass, drums and guitar. We are busy rehearsing for the July concerts and are looking forward to presenting a new lineup and new material from the forthcoming CD 'Forgotten Prophecies'."

PARAGON recently revealed the track listing and artwork for their new album, "Forgotten Prophecies", due in June. The cover artwork was created by Dirk Illing, who also worked on the band's "The Law of the Blade" and "The Dark Legacy" CDs.

"Forgotten Prophecies" track listing:

01. Hammer of the Gods
02. Arise
03. Face of Death
04. Halls of Doom
05. Revelations (instrumental)
06. Forgotten Prophecies
07. Agony
08. Souleaters
09. Gangland
10. Wargods
11. Deny the Cross (OVERKILL cover)

A limited edition (cover artwork) will be released as well, featuring a bonus DVD with live footage recorded at the Metal Bash Open Air 2005 and Metal Bash Road Kill Tour in Hamburg (Markthalle) in 2005. The track listing for the bonus DVD is as follows:

Metal Bash Open Air 2005:

01. Legacy
02. Traitor
03. Impaler
04. Revenge
05. Across the Wastelands
06. Palace of Sin
07. Armies of the Tyrant
08. Thunderstorm

Hamburg (2005):

09. Deathsquad
10. Beyond the Veil

PARAGON parted ways with bassist Jan Bünning due to "musical differences."

PARAGON's last album, "Revenge", was released in the U.S. in April 2005 via Magick Records. The CD was the follow-up to "The Dark Legacy", which was released in 2003 by Remedy.

OZZY OSBOURNE's video for his new single, "I Don't Wanna Stop", has been posted online. The track comes off Ozzy's new album, "Black Rain", which is available for streaming in its entirety at Sympatico.MSN.ca. The clip will also be shown on this weekend's edition of MTV2's "Headbanger's Ball".

Regarding the song, Ozzy recently told WWE.com: "I'm 59 this year. People keep saying to me, 'You'll be quitting soon, retiring.' I don't wanna stop! You'll know when I want to stop because I won't be doing it anymore. I've tried not doing it, but it's not like I've got a job. I'd miss the fans. I'd miss the buzz, seeing the crowd going crazy."

Swedish metallers THERION have issued the following update:

"From Wacken Open Air [in early August] and onwards, Mats Levén (KRUX) will no longer be singing with the band. It was a decision taken by the whole band in discussion with Mats. This change of lineup is on friendly terms and the remaining shows before Wacken will be performed with the same energy and passion as if nothing had happened. There are no bad feelings. THERION will continue to develop even further into the direction we set on the last tour and Mats will focus on his new projects.

"Every time there was a change in the THERION lineup, it caused a lot of discussions. Some will always prefer the previous line-up because for some reason or another. Those who was with us back then probably remember the discussions after Martina, Anders 'the bald guy' Engberg etc. Some fans fell in love with the high-energy vitamin injection that Mats gave to the band, while others thought he was too much rock 'n' roll for THERION (which by the way was totally our intention when engaging him for the 'Lemuria'/'Sirius B' tour). Without a doubt though, it is clear that a majority will think back of the period with Mats on stage with a huge smile. Each stage in THERION's development has had its own unique charm and strengths and it is therefore a good thing when people are missed, but the good part is that it does not mean one has to be disappointed with the next step.

"And the part you all have been waiting for... The new guy will be Thomas Vikström, a singer who has been singing both opera, operettas and musicals as well as rock, metal and loads of other stuff. He is probably most known in the metal world for singing on a CANDLEMASS album ('Chapter VI' — which is actually far from his best effort). Here in Sweden he is also know for the melodic hard rock band TALK OF THE TOWN. His great vocal abilities will for sure be more known at least among the THERION fans after the tour."

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

Continuing the multi-platinum success of their sophomore album, "The Open Door", EVANESCENCE welcomes drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn — both from DARK NEW DAY — to the band this week. "I am a big fan of DARK NEW DAY and can't wait for the fans to see what the guys bring to our live show," says frontwoman Amy Lee.

EVANESCENCE will debut their new formation on Saturday, May 19 at Columbus' sold out Rock On the Range festival, along with ZZ TOP, HINDER, VELVET REVOLVER and BUCKCHERRY. Following this performance, EVANESCENCE will perform at WMMR (Philadelphia) on Sunday, May 20 at Camden's Tweeter Center, along with VELVET REVOLVER, BUCKCHERRY and CHEVELLE. The group will then embark on a one-month European tour making stops in Belgium, France and Russia at select festivals and headline dates. Beginning July 20 in St. Louis, Missouri, EVANESCENCE will co-headline the U.S. leg of The Family Values Tour with KORN.

EVANESCENCE is Amy Lee (vocals, piano), Terry Balsamo (guitar), Tim McCord (bass), Troy McLawhorn (guitar), and Will Hunt (drums). "Fallen", their major-label debut, was released in April 2003 to critical and commercial success and has sold more than fifteen million copies. Their second major label debut, "The Open Door", debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and reached platinum status in just over a month.

Swedish power metallers MORGANA LEFAY have posted their video for the song "Delusions" at YouTube. The track comes off the group's latest album, "Aberrations of the Mind", which came out in March via Black Mark. The clip was directed by the band's drummer, Owe Lingvall of Village Road Films.

According to a press release, "Aberrations of the Mind" contains "a new level of aggression while still maintaining the traditional MORGANA LEFAY sound." The album also features the debut of the band's new skinbasher, Pelle Åkerlind (BLOODBOUND, LEDNOTE).

MORGANA LEFAY's last CD, 2005's "Grand Materia", was a concept CD about Nicholas Flamel, a 14th-century alchemist who supposedly lived on forever.

Australian melodic power metal band BLACK MAJESTY has posted a new song, entitled "Forever Damned", on its MySpace page. The track comes off the group's third album, "Tomorrowland", due on June 1 in Europe through Limb Music Products. Check out the cover artwork at this location. The track listing is as follows:

01. Forever Damned
02. Into the Black
03. Evil in Your Eyes
04. Tomorrowland
05. Soldier of Fortune (DEEP PURPLE cover)
06. Bleeding World
07. Faces of War
08. Wings to Fly
09. Another Dawn
10. Scars
11. Memories (digipack bonus track)
12. Kingdoms (digipack bonus track)