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2 апр 2007


Producer Says New BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE CD Is Full Of 'Pounding Old-School MetalBULLET FOR MY VALENTINE started recording its new album in January at Sonic Ranch studios in Tornillo, Texas with producer Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH). Richardson has issued the following update on the project:
"I've had a lot of messages from people asking for more details as to what the new BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE album is sounding like. Can't really give out much info just yet, such as song titles (up to the band to announce when they are ready), but just know that everyone is going to love this album. Some examples of vibe: one song is sort of old-school metal, like JUDAS PRIEST 'Painkiller' style, with a seriously catchy heavy vocal chorus. Another track is again pounding old-school metal with a lot of twists and turns and a great singing chorus. I could go on and on! It's going to be an awesome album and I am looking forward to getting back in the studio with guys after the break."
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck recently told Revolver magazine that he is writing meaner, less syrupy melodies for the group's upcoming CD. He is also avoiding lyrics about relationships.
"We want to be more metal all across the board," Tuck told Revolver. "On their second album, a lot of bands try to please their record company by doing something more commercial. We didn't want to fall into that trap."
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has written 14 songs for the as-yet-untitled CD, which they hope to have out by the fall. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Scream, Aim and Fire", which is about going to war, and "Waking the Demon", a cut that's definitely not suitable for KROQ or MTV. "It's about getting revenge on a bully at school by slicing pieces off him," Tuck told Revolver. "There's some really sick shit in there, so I'm happy."
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30 мар 2007


GAMMA RAY Mainman Offers New Album, DVD, Tour UpdateGAMMA RAY guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen has posted the following message on the groiup's official web site:
"Dear friends, it's been a while since you've had some news from the band and since there's been a lot of questions asked by many, we thought the time is right to give you an update from the GAMMA RAY camp.
"About the DVD [tentatively titled 'Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome (And The Finnish Keyboarder Who Didn't Want To Wear His Donald Duck Costume) Live in Montreal' and featuring a multi-camera recording of the band's May 6, 2006 show at Medley in Montreal, Quebec]: The current status is that everything is ready so far, except for the 'Home Video' part of the 'Bonus' section. We have made our way through quite a bit of tapes, CDs, DVDs etc filmed by ourselves, friends, fans, crew and so on, and there's a lot of material that had to be converted, cut and edited. Yesterday I spoke to the video company and they told me that it was laid on ice for two weeks because they had two other shootings to do, but we should get a viewing copy by the end of the week.... Let's see. This thing seems to be turning into a never-ending story... Sh*t, we just want to say 'done' now and announce a release date... which hopefully is going to be before summer.
"About the new album: Good stuff growing there! We already have composed many tracks by me, Henjo [Richter, guitar], Dan [Daniel Zimmermann, drums] and even Dirk [Schlächter, bass] came up with something. The current status is 14 [songs], from simple rockers to complex anthems, all with great melodies and heaviness. All songs have a very powerful positive energy without being too clean and polished. The good old Hamburg jaws are shining through all the way. There might be even more to come and maybe we're put into the situation where we have to make a choice of what's gonna be on the album. We are constantly rehearsing and working on the demos to get the songs to our (and your) total satisfaction. It might be a nice idea to organize a fan club meeting at that time, play you the demos and get some feedback... Hmmm, what do you think? When we think we're ready, we'll start the production. We have pulled Tommy Newton aboard the ship to record the drums, bass and rhythm guitars, dubs, solos etc. we'll do ourselves, vocals I normally prefer to do just on my own firstly and then go over it again with someone else to make adjustments or decide between alternatives. The mix will be done by Tommy. He did a great job on the mix for the DVD and we totally trust him. The good thing is that this allows us to be just musicians and not worry about engineering, haha! Anyhow, we plan to release the album in autumn, which leads us to…
"The next tour: Yes, there are negotiations about a tour with HELLOWEEN, but we can't give out too much now. It would start in November, take us through all countries, including Europe, Japan, USA, Canada and South America. We would play before HELLOWEEN with approximately 75 minutes (even in places where we had more people on the last tour than they had; switching is not practical), and there will be one or two support bands, in some places maybe even more, as a kind of festival thing. We all like the idea of united powers here, and, of course, the opportunity for some worldwide jams, but still this might as well not happen, as I said... we're negotiating.
"About [the project featuring former HELLOWEEN singer Michael] Kiske, Hansen [and ex-HELLOWEEN/current MASTERPLAN guitarist Roland] Grapow: Another 'yes' with a 'but.' We have met and want to do something together, so Roland and me will have to find time to write some good songs that are not too agressive for Michi (....you all know about his metal phobia). Musically it should be a bit out of the ordinary, which is good; I wouldn't want to write songs for this which I'd rather have for GAMMA RAY. The 'when' is still open and of course we can only get into detail when we have the first tracks and are sure it's gonna be a great thing, or some project that ends up in eternal discussions about musical direction.
"For now, there is only GAMMA RAY on my 'to do' list (okay, okay, except for a week of skiing I will allow myself... Of course, only to fill my lungs with fresh mountain air to sing even better).
"It's nine-thirty in the morning, a nice sunny day in Hamburg and I'm off to the studio now to work on the end of a long track called 'Insurrection' (who says musicians are lazy bastards that sleep until afternoon...)."
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30 мар 2007


CIVILIZATION ONE Signs With METAL HEAVEN RECORDSCIVILIZATION ONE, an international musical entity which features in its ranks vocalist Chity Somapala (ex-FIREWIND, AVALON), guitarist Aldo Lanobile (SECRET SPHERE), drummer Luca Cartasegna (ex-SECRET SPHERE), and bassist Pierre-Emmanuel Pélisson (MALADAPTIVE; ex-HEAVENLY), has signed a deal with Metal Heaven Records (RIOT, WINTERS BANE, BLOODBOUND, CLOUDSCAPE, CHRIS CAFFERY, ALTARIA, etc.). The group's debut album, "Revolution Rising", will be released in June.
CIVILIZATION ONE produced itself and recorded "Revolution Rising" at studios in France, Italy, and Germany, with mixing and mastering by Markus Teske (VANDEN PLAS, DOMINICI, SYMPHONY X) at Bazement Studios in Germany. The CD will feature 10 songs, including "Life of Agony", "Legends of the Past (Carry On)", and "Time Will Tell".
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30 мар 2007


SCORPIONS: 'Humanity - Hour 1' Audio Samples AvailableAudio samples of three songs from the forthcoming SCORPIONS album, "Humanity - Hour 1", are now available. Due at the end of May, the CD was produced by James Michael and co-produced by songwriter/producer Desmond Child, who has worked with such high-profile pop/rock artists as AEROSMITH, BON JOVI, ALICE COOPER, KISS, RICKY MARTIN, CHER, MICHAEL BOLTON and BONNIE TYLER. The "Humanity - Hour 1" artwork has been posted online at this location.
"Humanity - Hour 1" track listing:
01. Hour I
02. The Game Of Life
03. We Were Born To Fly
04. The Future Never Dies
05. You're Lovin' Me To Death
06. 321
07. Love Will Keep Us Alive
08. Your Last Song
09. Love Is War
10. Rise Again
11. The Cross
12. Humanity
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29 мар 2007


MORTIIS: 'The Grudge' Remix Video Edit Online NowA specially edited version of MORTIIS' "The Grudge" video has been uploaded at YouTube. The edit by Charlie Deaux is backed by a soundtrack of the David Wallace remix of "The Grudge", which will appear on the forthcoming remix album "Some Kind of Heroin", released on April 16.
Commenting on the video, Mortiis explained, "Actually that video came as a surprise, I think Charlie wanted to showcase his creative ideas with this version of the video, really go all the way with it, and it caught me totally by surprise but I love it, as a matter of fact I love the unchained intensity of it, the fact that it's really frantic and fast really works with the remix Dave did, which also caught me by surprise. Dave really made that song sound like an 'old-school' Nineties industrial song, which I have always used as a big inspiration for a lot of the music I write, at least in the last couple of years."
MORTIIS will undertake a European tour in support of DEATHSTARS beginning early April.
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29 мар 2007


ARCH ENEMY: Guitarist CHRISTOPHER AMOTT Rejoins The FoldSwedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY have announced that original guitarist Christopher Amott is rejoining the band with immediate effect. The group, having finished an intense 18-month touring cycle all over the world promoting the "Doomsday Machine" album and "Live Apocalypse" DVD, is currently busy working on songs for their new studio album.
Christopher surprised many by departing ARCH ENEMY at the end of the "Doomsday Machine" recording sessions in 2005, having been in the band for 10 years (starting with ARCH ENEMY at age 18). Christopher followed his urge to see the outside world and find what else is out there apart from music. Having done that, the time is right for him to return to the fold with a newly injected bite and focus and to resume his career.
Commenting on the re-grouping announcement he states: "This is very exciting for me, returning to ARCH ENEMY as a full-time member! Right now we are working on our forthcoming album and I'm very pleased about the way it's turning out. The new songs are fast and furious with lots of melody! To all the people who sent me kind messages while I was out of the band, thank you for your support, it helped me a lot. After this (much needed) two-year break, I'm looking forward to getting back on the road. I hope to see you all later this year!"
ARCH ENEMY mastermind Michael Amott complements his younger brother Christopher perfectly in style and chemistry and together they have become one of the most infamous and ripping guitar teams in extreme metal.
Comments Michael: "So, we are back with my brother Christopher on guitar — it's a huge rush to have him back playing in his signature style! He's jumped in at the end of the songwriting process for the new album and added some of his unique spice! I feel Christopher's playing has matured and is more precise and even faster than before! Guitar fans are going to freak on the stuff we are getting up to on the new album!"
The last two years have been the busiest and most successful touring campaign of ARCH ENEMY's entire career, so the many fans both old and especially new can now look forward to witnessing Christopher's return to the stages of the world.
In regards to Fredrik Åkesson, the Swedish guitar-wizard who has been touring with ARCH ENEMY for 18 months and who can be seen on the band's latest video clip for the song "My Apocalypse", Michael states: "I want to add that we are eternally grateful to Fredrik Åkesson, who did an outstanding job with ARCH ENEMY over the past 18 months while we dragged the 'Doomsday Machine' around the world a couple of times — YOU ARE FUCKING AWESOME!”
ARCH ENEMY has spent the last weeks locked in intense rehearsals at its homebase in Halmstad, Sweden, putting the final touches to the new material and integrating Christopher on the new songs for the forthcoming studio album. More news on this will follow in the next few days.
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29 мар 2007


PARADISE LOST: New Single Preview AvailableBritish gothic metal founding fathers PARADISE LOST have posted two songs from their upcoming single, "The Enemy" (due on April 13), at the band's MySpace. You can listen to a medley consisting of the single's title track, "The Enemy", as well as "Beneath Black Skies". Apart from these two tracks, PARADISE LOST's new single also contains the exclusive non-album track "Godless" plus a trailer for the band's upcoming documentary "Over The Madness", which was directed by Diran Noubar and is about to be premiered at the film festival in Cannes in May. The new single "The Enemy" will only be released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.
PARADISE LOST's much-anticipated Century Media Records debut "In Requiem", was produced by Rhys Fulber (who also produced the last two PARADISE LOST albums as well as releases by FEAR FACTORY, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, etc.) and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, AEROSMITH, METALLICA, etc.).
"In Requiem" will be released in Europe on May 21 (June 5 in North America).
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29 мар 2007


SCORPIONS To Perform New Song At European Union Anniversary ConcertVeteran German hard rockers SCORPIONS will perform one new song from their upcoming album "Humanity - Hour 1" and their classic "Still Loving You" at a special concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of signing the Roman treaty, which became the basis for foundation of the European Union.
The three-hour concert will take place on March 24 in Brussels, Belgium to the Northeast of the Heisel exhibition complex at the esplanade in front of the famous Atomium installation.
The site for the concert was carefully selected: the Brussels Atomium, a 102-meter high installation, weighing 2400 tons, shaped as the molecule of iron magnified 165 billion times, is the most well-known symbol of Belgium. It was erected in 1958, a year after the signing the Roman treaty, to coincide with the World Exhibition in Brussels.
The "Humanity - Hour 1" artwork has been posted online at this location. The CD, which is due at the end of May, was produced with songwriter/producer Desmond Child, who has worked with such high-profile pop/rock artists as AEROSMITH, BON JOVI, ALICE COOPER, KISS, RICKY MARTIN, CHER, MICHAEL BOLTON and BONNIE TYLER.
SCORPIONS' last album, "Unbreakable", was released in the U.S. in June 2004 through Sanctuary Records. The CD was recorded at Peppermint Park Studio in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at Wisseloord studios in Hilversum, Holland. 1
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28 мар 2007


METALLICA Guitarist HAMMETT Says New Material Has 'Middle Eastern' VibeMETALLICA started recording its ninth studio LP in Los Angeles this week. According to the band's site, this is the first time METALLICA has recorded outside of the Bay Area since they spent "an eternity" at One on One Studios recording their 1991 self-titled release, popularly known as The Black Album.
In the latest issue of the METALLICA Club (the group's official fan club) members-only magazine "So What!", guitarist Kirk Hammett was asked if there are any common musical themes running through the 14 songs the band is recording for its new effort. "There is a really unusual theme that's working its way into the music," he replied. "I'm not really sure how to react to it. Maybe it's someone else trying to tell us that we should react to it, but a lot of the music has an eastern harmonic flair to it, a harmonic minor flair to it, and when I say harmonic minor, that could be construed as like eastern sounding or Middle Eastern sounding or maybe Arabic? I don't know if it's just the zeitgeist, a sign of the times, or maybe because like, you know, Middle Eastern culture is so prevalent, or maybe the negative things about Middle Eastern culture. Maybe artists are conscious, just want to shine light on the positive aspects of Middle Eastern culture, i.e. the music. But there's passages that sound, that use harmonic minor and dominant, and those sounds are distinctly Arabic sounding or Middle Eastern sounding, and you hear them in all the songs. At the less likely times, all of a sudden they'll turn a corner and there we are, smack, right dab there in Syria or Iraq, as far as culture is concerned. We're playing notes that were played, have been played for thousands of years, that aren't born in western culture, and it's just a trip to see. And maybe I'm the first to really vocalize it, but it's just there."
Unlike the troubled, turbulent sessions for the band's last album, 2003's "St. Anger", drummer Lars Ulrich told Launch that pre-production for the new effort had a whole different vibe. "It's frighteningly tame (laughs)," he said. "The four of us show up and we hang out and we have a great time, and there are no psychiatrists in sweaters, there are no film crews, it's very much like it used to be. It's pretty mellow around here. All that 'St. Anger' stuff seems like a movie (laughs)."
The group plans to work in the studio until early June, take a break for its European tour, then finish recording in August. As for whether METALLICA will release the new album in 2007, Ulrich said, "I'd like to try and get it out this year, I hope we can get it out this year. If it doesn't come out this year, then it will be out at the very beginning of next year." 1
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26 мар 2007


EDGUY Frontman Announces Title Of New AVANTASIA AlbumEDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet has set "The Scarecrow" as the title of the third installment of his AVANTASIA solo project. The album is being produced by Sascha Paeth, who also played the rhythm guitar on the CD. The drums were laid down by KISS/ALICE COOPER drummer Eric Singer and the bass is being handled by Tobias himself.
Commented Sammet: "I am right now in the studio doing some vocal sessions. In about two weeks I am going to fly to England to work with a friend of mine on some vocals.
"Fans and record companies who are interested always ask me for the names of my guest musicians. I want you all to know that I am blessed to work with the best musicians, but I don't believe in making names more important than the music itself. I am working with some childhood heroes of mine and most important, with great personalities, true friends, and the greatest musicians you can think of.
"Producer Sascha and I just checked some new recordings and I have the feeling, that this is the strongest stuff we have ever worked on. It's hard to describe the material in a few words — it sounds very powerful, bombastic, very organic and alive. People who loved especially AVANTASIA Part 1 will love this one, although this time there is a lot more variation in style on there as well. Of course it's a metal album, but we even didn't stop at including some Celtic world music elements. But all that matters to me is that the music has to touch the soul and I swear to God: This material goes straight to your soul, because that's where it comes from. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I am giving you my everything with this record and you will hear that in late summer!"
Check out photos from the recording sessions at this location..
The new AVANTASIA album will be a concept album featuring different singers singing different characters in a story. But the concept itself won't be a sequel to the first two AVANTASIA albums.
AVANTASIA's last release was the two-part epic called "The Metal Opera" (issued in 2001 and 2002), which featured an impressive array of guest vocalists playing the various characters of the opera, including Michael Kiske (ex-HELLOWEEN), David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE), Sharon Den Adel (WITHIN TEMPTATION), Kai Hansen (GAMMA RAY), André Matos (ANGRA, SHAAMAN), Timo Tolkki (STRATOVARIUS), Rob Rock (WARRIOR), and others.
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25 мар 2007


OBTEST To Enter Studio In AprilLithuanian pagan metal band OBTEST will enter Hertz studio in Bialystok, Poland in April to record its new album, "Gyvybes Medis" ("The Tree of Life"), due in the fall via Ledo Takas Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Šviesa" ("Light"), "Apeigos" ("Ceremonial"), "Tai Ne Pabaiga" ("It's Not The End").
In other news, Ledo Takas has announced plans to reissue OBTEST's full-length debut, "Tukstantmetis", to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the album's original release. Retitled "Tukstantmetis + 10", the new slipcase edition will contain an improved and enhanced booklet, as well as liner notes written by the band, revealing "the true story behind album recordings," according to a press release. An April 23 release is expected.
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