Long-running U.K. extreme metallers BENEDICTION have sent the following update to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"BENEDICTION have had to put all rehearsing/recording/playing live on hold for a few months due to drummer Nick Barker [ex-CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR] breaking his ankle after an 'incident' in Estonia!!! It needed plates and screws to keep it all together and seeing as Nick is a bit of a big lad, the doctors have strongly recommended that he sits on his arse for at least six weeks before putting any pressure on it. In the meantime, the rest of the band will take full advantage of this quality time and go out and drink heavily until Nick is ready to rejoin the band back in their Birmingham studio."

BENEDICTION's new album, "Killing Music", will be released via Nuclear Blast Records, with whom the band recently re-signed. The CD will mark the recording debut with the group of Barker, who was most recently a member of BRUJERIA and who played with ex-FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares in the short-lived DRIVEN BY SUFFERING (working name).

ANGRA vocalist Eduardo Falaschi's official web site has been updated with the following details of his upcoming solo album:

"ANGRA's vocalist Edu Falaschi is recording his first solo album. The project is called 'Almah' and it relies not only on Edu's talents as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer but also on the likes of drummer Casey Grillo (KAMELOT), guitarist Emppu Vuorinen (NIGHTWISH) and bassist Lauri Porra (STRATOVARIUS). 'Almah' has participations of several guest musicians, such as Mike Stone (QUEENSRŸCHE's guitar player) and Edu Ardanuy (DR. SIN's guitar player), among many others, and was mixed in Brazil by producer Adriano Daga. Daga has worked with many artists during his winning career, including LENNY KRAVITZ and SILVERCHAIR. He's been awarded a Grammy in 2005. The release date of 'Almah' is set for mid-2006.

"Edu Falaschi appears not only as a singer. He wrote all the songs and lyrics of the album and recorded all keyboards and acoustic guitar parts by himself. Furthermore Edu came up with the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocal and orchestral arrangements. According to him, this was his main motivation when figuring the new project out: 'It's a completely new experience. I was able to fully explore my creative sides as a songwriter, lyricist, arranger and producer,' he said.

"Musically, Edu says that, even though the 'songs are pretty different from each other,' the album is not too far away from the heavy metal genre that's made him a successful artist worldwide. 'My main goal when doing this album was coming up with something that would not focus that much on the individual musicians, but rather in the music itself.' He believes the 'Almah' repertoire will work live pretty well too. 'After all, we're talking about songs with amazing choruses and exciting harmonies. I would say the melodies are really emotional and build an extremely positive atmosphere.'

"Furthermore, 'Almah' revolves around a very specific concept. 'It discusses our feelings basically,' says the singer. 'Almah is a so-called universe with a lot of different worlds, namely our feelings. Therefore, each person 'inhabits' and grows in his own world. To put it simply, some inhabit the world of greed, others the world of courage, hatred, love and so on. This is what defines the personalities of each one of us.'

"Each song from the album refers to a particular emotion. In order to illustrate that, Edu Falaschi approached different situations that were directly influential to the paths of history. 'I am not willing to resume a historical study of humanity. I'd rather focus on why these feelings occur and what leads human beings into the reactions to them.'

"Edu also explains the true meaning behind the word 'almah'. 'In Portuguese, the word is instantly linked to the Portuguese term for 'soul', which is 'alma'. The soul is the truest thing that emanates from one's inner self. And that's exactly the meaning of this project. As for the actual meaning of 'almah', some scholars say it means 'purity' or 'virginity' in Hebrew. Others sustain it actually stands for 'malice' or 'perversion', though. Anyway, this is the duality that inhabits everybody's actual existence, two sides that form the whole, ourselves. The soul.'"

Swedish Viking death metal heroes AMON AMARTH have entered Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden to begin recording their sixth full-length album. The band will record all through May until June 14 with producer Jens Bogren. There will be frequent updates with pictures from the recordings on their homepage, www.amonamarth.com. The as-yet-untitled CD is scheduled for release in September via Metal Blade Records.

As previously reported, Metal Blade Records were forced to postpone the release date of the AMON AMARTH DVD, "Wrath of the Norsemen", to May 15 (May 12 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland) from the previously announced April 24 due to "technical reasons." The three-disc set will be released in a deluxe 10-page digipack with special gold-laminated slipcase. The main body of the DVD is the Cologne show from last year — filmed with 11 cameras, this was the longest show AMON AMARTH have ever played (23 songs!). Bonus footage includes interviews, behind-the-scenes of the DVD recording and other stuff filmed around the Cologne show. Discs 2 and 3 feature professionally filmed shows from Summer Breeze 2005, the Metal Blade Rrroooaaarrr 2005 (a show with a really unusual setlist!), Wacken Open Air 2004 and the release show for "Fate of Norns" in Ludwigsburg (Germany) in 2004.

MINISTRY's new album "Rio Grande Blood" is featured on AOL's "First Listen" series where you can stream the entire album from May 1 to May 8. Check it out at this location.

Due on May 2 via 13th Planet Records/Megaforce in the U.S./Canada and 13th Planet Records/Soulfood Music Distrib GbmH in Europe, "Rio Grande Blood" was produced by MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen at 13th Planet Studios in El Paso, TX, mixed at The Saltmine in Mesa, AZ, and mastered at DNA Mastering in Studio City, CA. The album features guitarist Victor, Raven and drummer Mark Baker, with guest appearances by Jello Biafra (ex-DEAD KENNEDYS) and Sgt. Major.

Sweden's LAKE OF TEARS will embark on a mini-tour through Russia and Ukraine in early September, consisting of six dates, according to a posting on the band's web site. Upcoming LAKE OF TEARS shows now include:

Sep. 02 - L'vov, UKR @ TBA
Sep. 03 - Kiev, UKR @ TBA
Sep. 05 - Harkhov, UKR @ TBA
Sep. 07 - Rostov-Na-Donu, RUS @ TBA
Sep. 08 - Krasnodar, RUS @ TBA
Sep. 09 - Moscow, RUS @ DK "Gorbunova"
LAKE OF TEARS are tentatively scheduled to release their as-yet-untitled seventh full-length album on August 28 via Dockyard 1, the new company formed by Dirk Putzke, Christine Stephan (both ex-Sanctuary/Noise Records) and Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR).

LAKE OF TEARS' most recent album, "Black Brick Road", was released in August 2004 through Noise Records. The follow-up to 2002's "The Neonai" featured cover artwork by Kristian Wåhlin, who has painted all of the previous LAKE OF TEARS covers except "Forever Autumn" (1999).

ANGTORIA, the new Swedish/British orchestral/metal band formed by female singer Sarah Jezebel Deva (CRADLE OF FILTH, THERION, MORTIIS), composer Chris Rehn (ABYSSOS) and Tommy Rehn (MOAHNI MOAHNA), have announced the addition of CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus and MY OWN GRAVE drummer John Henriksson to the group's lineup. Both Pybus and Henriksson participated in the making of the band's recent video for the track "God Has A Plan For Us All" with up-and-coming, award-winning Swedish director Måns Berthas, while Pybus also made an appearance on the group's debut CD of the same name. A detailed video diary can be found at Angtoria.com.

"With the release of the new album "God Has A Plan For Us All, a brand new site design has been done to further enhance the release. The site will continue to grow over time as more information is gathered, but most of the
information on the old site has been transferred to the new site.

We are also happy to announce that Angtoria now have a complete line up! John Henriksson from the band My Own Grave, who did an excellent job behind the drums in the video despite getting only a couple of days notice to practice and learn the song, has been added to the band, as well as Dave Pybus who participated both on the album and in the video. In the "Diaries" section we´ve added a detailed videodiary done by Sarah + information and pictures from the making of the video for the title track of the album. There will also be a "behind the scenes" video clip from the making of the video available to download on the site shortly, we´ll keep you posted."

Norwegian symphonic metal band TRISTANIA have issued the following update:

"We are eager to announce that the new album is completely finished. We are all delighted with our latest creation, which has been named 'Illumination'. The planned release is in September. Some titles from the album are 'Sanguine Sky', 'Open Ground', 'Lotus', 'Down' and 'Mercyside', to mention a few. All titles will be revealed at a later date.

"True to tradition, we have made an album with a definite and unmistakably Tristanian sound, but which also brings a lot of new and fresh material. The album is another evolutionary step and lets us explore new areas while staying true to our roots.

"On every track, the moods and elements are plentiful; ranging from doom to industrial, from soothing synthesizer passages to technical metal riffs, from dark ballads to classic goth rock — it's all there. We've used a string quartet on several tracks, which attributed yet another dimension to those songs.
"'Illumination' sports some of the strongest vocal performances from both Vibeke and Østen. The extreme vocals are less frequent, but the parts appearing on the album are truly great. We wanted to get someone special to do these parts, and were lucky to get one of our personal favourites in the field to make a guest appearance on the album; namely Vorph from SAMAEL. His performance is truly of the highest standard.

"The music is written by Anders and Einar, with a couple of tracks co-written with producer Waldemar during the pre-production in Norway. Østen is the main lyricist, although Einar has written words for a few songs. Kjartan Hermansen has also once again shared with us his skills as a lyricist.

Italy's THY MAJESTIE have announced the addition of singer Matt Aub (TIMELORD) to the group's ranks. "Matt sent us a demo of 'Maiden of Steel' sung by him and... WOW, brilliant! Great 'heavy metal' voice," the band write on their web site. "So we decided to accept him, even if he lives thousand miles from us, in the U.S.A. More news later on!"

THY MAJESTIE recently parted ways with vocalist Giulio Di Gregorio (IRENCROS) due to "personal reasons." The band's latest album, "Jean D'Arc", was released last fall via Scarlet Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Hastings 1066" was mastered at The Mastering Room in Sweden by Goran Finnberg.

Tony Antunovich of MetalEater.com recently conducted an interview with ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

MetalEater.com: Can you tell me what we can expect from the next ARCH ENEMY album?

Amott: "Well, we're going to be touring a lot for this record still, so it's not that sort of imminent. But we're writing a lot of material; nothing with vocals so far and nothing with full arrangements like that. I think we've got four or five songs that are kind of put together that are like done that we're really happy with. Then there's hours of music that's just floating around; well, it's not floating around, it's actually on that kind of hard drive. We're recording on the road; we sit here and just record our ideas. Daniel (Erlandson), our drummer, is really into the engineering part of it now, so we're recording with ProTools onto his laptop and then basically he programs some drum machine and we can mess around with arrangements and all kinds of stuff. So, I can't really say what direction... I mean, it's just going all over the place right now (laughs). We've got stuff that's like that and like this and it's pretty crazy. I think it's going to be very musical, actually. We're going to try and cram in as much music as possible in one and just have everybody going off. Yeah, I think we're just going to try and be a bit more crazy. I don't know. We went a little bit more that way on 'Doomsday Machine'. I think there's a lot of cool instrumental stuff. We don't really care that much anymore. I think we've just become a bit sort of... we're not really that content with what people are going to think about it. I think we have a kind of a signature sound now in a way. We feel pretty secure. There's a lot of confidence in this band right now — musically. That's all I can come up with (laughs). I can't really tell you what it's going to be like."

MetalEater.com: You have a new DVD coming out as well.

Amott: "Yeah, we do. It's a killer DVD. We put a lot of work into it. I think it stands up against any major DVD that I've seen. I collect lots of DVDs — I have tons of music DVDs. This isn't your underground metal act putting out a DVD; this is top of the line, so… It's definitely got killer sound, it's got fantastic visuals, very high quality; the editing is perfect. It's something to be proud of. It's one of the best things we've ever done as a band, I think. It's going to be two discs. It's got some interviews on there, which is awesome so they get to know the band a little bit — some one-on-one interviews. There's also select stuff about our equipment — stuff for the gear freaks, and all our videos that we've done. We've concentrated on the sort of Angela-era, or whatever you want to call it. We've got other plans for maybe the old stuff. But that's what people know, so. We've got stuff from the 'Wages Of Sin' album on there; it's got all that. It's got stuff like 'home footage,' or whatever you want to call that stuff that we filmed. That's what people expect nowadays; I mean, that's what I expect. If you're getting a great concert DVD and there are no extras you can't... like the JUDAS PRIEST one ('Rising In The East'). I haven't seen it, but apparently it's extremely good; well-shot, sounds great, but then there are no extras on it so people give it not such a high grade. So people obviously want more so we're giving them more. So it's two discs with quite a lot of stuff on it. I think that will be pleasing to a lot of fans because it'll be our first-ever DVD, and ARCH ENEMY being quite a visual band in many ways, it will be interesting for the fans to see. It's a cool thing for the fans that have seen us live, but it's also VERY cool for the people that maybe never will see us live. We put a lot of work into our studio albums and we wanted the DVD to be at the same standard; that people can expect the highest quality sound production, just killer sound, and a good visual representation of the band. I think that's important. We put a lot of money into it. It's called 'Live Apocalypse' — very original (laughs)."

MetalEater.com: The concert portion was filmed in Britain.

Amott: "Yeah. There are two parts for the concert. The one is actually Chris' (Amott; ex-guitarist) last-ever show with the band, which gives it a bit of an historic value without us really knowing about it at the time though. It was his last performance with the band. That was a great show. That's the big one that was filmed at the Forum in London. I was a sold out show — over 2,000 plus. That's quite a long concert — lots of songs. There are three songs that we did more recently that's got Fredrik (Åkesson), our new guitar player, as well that we shot in Manchester actually. It's got three songs from the new album; it's got 'Nemesis', 'Skeleton Dance' and 'My Apocalypse'. So people will get to see some newer stuff as well — bring it up to date a bit. That turned out really cool."

INSEKT was founded in 1989 by Mario Vaerewijck and Eric Van Wonterghem, members of the legendary Belgian 80's EBM pioneers VOMITO NEGRO and THE KLINK. Powerful rhythms, poisonous synthesizers, crashing samples, harsh vocals and cold melodies are the sounds that have become INSEKT's calling cards. The band spent the mid-90s on unofficial hiatus, with Mario focusing on his major label effort LOWPASS while Eric founded MONOLITH and, together with Dirk Ivens, SONAR. At long last, the two have prepared a new studio album, to see release May 12th 2006 on Johan Van Roy's NOISE TERROR PRODUCTIONS label. The new album, entitled "Teenmachine", contains not only the cold EBM for which INSEKT are known, but also more uptempo pieces that recall the industrial rock of NINE INCH NAILS and the electro-punk of BABYLAND. But never fear - there are no guitars here - the boys have stayed true to their EBM roots. The music of INSEKT has simply matured - and the band sounds fresher and more energetic than ever before. The album features two bonus remixes from FUNKER VOGT and SPETSNAZ.

Swedish doomsters CANDLEMASS have posted a new message on their official web site regarding singer Messiah Marcolin's announcement that he was leaving the band.

As previously reported, Marcolin contacted BLABBERMOUTH.NET on Friday (April 28) to reveal that he has parted ways with the group and that it's 100 percent definite that he will not return. "We could not agree on how to do the new album," he said, but would not further elaborate on his sudden exit.

The latest message on CANDLEMASS' web site (dated April 30) reads as follows:

"Messiah's got a severe pre-recording psychosis at the moment, so folks, please calm down. The band is confident that he will sing on the album as planned. CANDLEMASS will enter the new Polar Studios [in Stockholm] in May to record the follow up to last year's successful 'Candlemass'. The new album will feature nine tracks but is yet untitled. The band produces themselves."

CANDLEMASS recorded four new songs with producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD) in late February at the new Polar studios in Stockholm, Sweden. At the time, the group's bassist/songwriter Leif Edling said of the material, "The songs are pretty much in the same vein as the stuff on the [self-titled 2005] reunion album, maybe a bit darker."

CANDLEMASS won a Swedish "Grammy" award in February in the "Best Hard Rock" category, beating out the likes of HAMMERFALL, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, MESHUGGAH and OPETH. The Swedish doom legends were honored for the "Candlemass" opus, which is available on Nuclear Blast Records. Five back-catalog items from the band — "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Ancient Dreams", "Doomed for Live", "Nightfall", and "Essential Doom" — were issued in the U.S. via Candlelight in February.

Due to "conflicting schedules," former MEGADETH/ICED EARTH bassist James MacDonough will **NOT** be joining SPEED\KILL/HATE on their upcoming Metal Crusaders North American tour with VADER, KATAKLYSM, DESTRUCTION, GRAVEWORM and THE ABSENCE after all. "We are currently seeking a bass player available to fill in for [regular SPEED\KILL/HATE bassist] Derek [Tailer] on our upcoming tour beginning in May," SPEED\KILL/HATE write on their web site. "Back-up vocals are a must. Interested parties send an email to bassist@speedkillhate.com with your contact info (phone, address, etc.)."

MacDonough will be filling in for NEVERMORE bassist and founding member Jim Sheppard while Sheppard takes a few weeks away from the band to undergo a medical procedure for Crohn's disease, which he has been battling for 15 years. MacDonough will step in for at least 10 shows, starting May 5 in Buffalo, New York. NEVERMORE's tour with IN FLAMES, THROWDOWN and EVERGREY runs through May 28 in Tallahassee, Florida.

Century Media Records has set a July 24 European release date for the new FIREWIND album, entitled "Allegiance". The album's first single, "Falling to Pieces", will be released June 19 in Greece. It will include an edited version of the title track, the non-album track "Demon Nights" and the BLACKFOOT cover "Teenage Idol" (previously unreleased). The band have just finished shooting a video for "Falling To Pieces" with acclaimed Swedish director Patric Ullaeus (LACUNA COIL, WITHIN TEMPTATION, IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR).

"Allegiance" marks FIREWIND's first release with new members Apollo Papathanasio (vocals; ex-MAJESTIC, TIME REQUIEM) and Mark Cross (drums; ex-HELLOWEEN, METALIUM).

Commented guitar wizard and band leader Gus G. (ex-DREAM EVIL, MYSTIC PROPHECY, NIGHTRAGE): "Excited? Hell, yeah!! I can't wait until people get to hear our new album. We put so much work into it and I think it paid off in the end. It's easily the best FIREWIND album so far and the most complete effort in my career. Also, we're looking forward to going out and playing the summer festivals. We're eager to present you some of our new stuff and see the reaction!"

"Allegiance" track listing:

01. Allegiance (4:41)
02. Insanity (4:29)
03. Falling To Pieces (4:03)
04. Ready To Strike (4:35)
05. Breaking The Silence [feat. Tara] (4:03)
06. Deliverance (6:07)
07. Till The End of Time (4:36)
08. Dreamchaser (4:07)
09. Before The Storm (3:42)
10. The Essence (4:19)
11. Where Do We Go From Here? (3:57)

Norwegian extreme metallers ENSLAVED will hold a joint celebration for the release of their new album, "Ruun", and their 15th anniversary, at a party to be held on Saturday, May 13 at Garage in their hometown of Bergen.

The band will perform material from "Ruun" as well as songs covering their entire history. According to a posting on ENSLAVED's web site, "To top it off, friends will go on stage and play some of ENSLAVED's classics in their very own versions as a way of paying tribute (or pulling legs, either way). These friends include bands like VREID, EL REGN, CAT CALL, EMMERHOFF and the MELANCHOLY BABIES, THE BRIMSTONE SOLAR RADIATION BAND, SAGH, OSBCURE (feat. ex-ENSLAVED member R. Kronheim) and possibly more. In addition to this, DJs Torgrim (H.I.T.S., Jern & Metall, Dagbladet), Asbjørn Slettemark (PYRO, Faro) and others will play tunes from ENSLAVED's favorites and sources of inspiration."

In other news, ENSLAVED will make an historical appearance at the Norwegian Short Film Festival (June 15-20), in Grimstad (in the very south of Norway). On Saturday, June 17, ENSLAVED will play live as a live soundtrack to the classic Norwegian silent movie "Terje Vigen" (Victor Sjöström), a silent film based on Henrik Ibsen's poem.

REDEMPTION's primary songwriter and guitarist/keyboardist Nicolas van Dyk has issued the following update on the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new album, entitled "The Origins of Ruin":

"We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we're just about finished tracking, with only a few vocal parts, a couple of guitar solos and a bit of orchestration remaining to be finished. We hope to be done in the next two weeks...and then we need to schedule mixing in Germany with Tommy [Newton; UFO, CONCEPTION, HELLOWEEN, ARK, ELEGY]. In the meantime, we'll be working again with Travis Smith on some artwork.

"We don't have a finished track listing, but the songs are as follows:

01. The Suffocating Silence
02. Bleed Me Dry
03. The Death of Faith & Reason
04. Memory
05. The Origins of Ruin
06. Man of Glass
07. Blinded
08. Used to Be
09. Fall on You

"In addition, we have two covers which will find their way as bonus tracks: UFO's 'Love to Love', and TORI AMOS' 'Precious Things', which features the outstanding vocalist Anna Kristina, a well-known performer from San Francisco with a broad list of session and live credits."

REDEMPTION is:

Ray Alder - Vocals
Nick van Dyk - Guitar and Keys
Bernie Versailles - Guitar
Sean Andrews - Bass
Chris Quirarte - Drums

It seems as if all the bands of the eighties British 'neo' prog scene have started recycling their drummers. After IQ announced the departure of their drummer, it is now PENDRAGON that announces a line-up change after Fudge Smith vacates the drum stool after some 20-odd years. The following statement comes from the PENDRAGON website:

"We regret to say that the rumours you may have heard are true and that Fudge is no longer in PENDARGON. Over the last few years it seems that our paths have been pushing toward different needs from our lives, we don't want to say a huge amount about this because it is going to end up being a great big finger pointing session and right now we are totally committed to getting on with the tour in a positive frame of mind.

We wish him well for everything in the future.

We are still really very excited about the tour, and we have drafted in whizz kid Joe Crabtree, who has recently worked with David Cross from KING CRIMSON. We look forward to working with Joe and our eyes are now set to a brand new future!

Nick, Peter and Clive."

VICIOUS RUMORS drummer Larry Howe has joined W.A.S.P. as the replacement for Stet Howland. "[Larry] auditioned a few weeks ago and Blackie [Lawless, W.A.S.P. mainman] called him back and told him he had the gig," VICIOUS RUMORS bassist Dave Starr said. "He flies to Los Angeles this weekend to start work with the band for the new tour dates that start soon.

"As far as Larry and VICIOUS RUMORS goes, we have a break now with no tour dates while Geoff [Thorpe, VICIOUS RUMORS mainman] finishes the new [VR] CD so the timing is good for everyone," continued Dave. "Larry says Blackie wants him to do the tour and then what happens next will be figured out down the line. Larry remains a member of VICIOUS RUMORS. I still want Larry to do the WILDESTARR CD with my wife and I, and I hope he can still do that at some point later this year.

"This is great news for Larry, and I gave him congrats on the phone. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved."

W.A.S.P.'s U.S. tour is scheduled to kick off May 19 in Sacramento, California. W.A.S.P. had utilized the services of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN drummer Patrick Johansson for the U.S. dates they played in February/March.

HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak has posted the following message on his official blog:

"We're looking at another weekend of rehearsals, and I am excited! I completed the eighth song for the album a few days ago, and am hard at work finishing one more before the rehearsal starts. I'll keep the remaining songtitles under wraps for now as they are a bit uncertain still, but here are some titles for you: 'Dark Wings, Dark Words', 'Carved In Stone', 'Titan', 'Shadow Empire', 'Threshold' and 'Rebel Inside'."

HAMMERFALL are expected to enter the studio this summer to begin recording their new album for an October 2006 release. The band's latest CD, "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken", was released in March 2005 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Crimson Thunder" was produced and mixed by Charlie Bauernfeind (BLIND GUARDIAN, HELLOWEEN).

Mario Schumacher, from German act Edge of Dawn, will join the ranks of such artists as Ronan Harris, Stephan Groth, Joakim Montelius, Sebastian Komor and Tom Shear as the newest member of the electronic supergroup Bruderschaft. Led by New York City DJ Rexx Arkana and featuring full-time members Seb (Icon of Coil/Moonitor/Zombie Girl) and Dracos (FGFC820), Bruderschaft is a collection of global artists collaborating as a charity-based project targeting cancer research and treatment. The band's debut "Forever" EP, dedicated to Arkana's deceased father, topped alternative and dance charts around the world. The entire stock of limited editions, available in North America through RazorBurn Records and via Alfa-Matrix in Europe, sold out within 24 hours of its release. Members of Bruderschaft are currently in the studio recording tracks for their follow up to "Forever", aptly titled "Return." The new EP features Assemblage 23's Tom Shear, System Syn's Clint Carney and at least two other well known vocalists yet to be announced, along with a star-studded cast of remixers. The anticipated release date for "Return" is Fall 2006. You can still purchase the full CD release of "Forever" below.

Metal Mind Productions will release a new Anathema DVD -"A Moment in Time."

The main part of DVD was recorded in Poland at the famous Metal Mania Festival 2006 (the biggest hard rock/metal festival in Eastern Europe). The set list included their best songs plus a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. The guest performance was done by a string quartet. Bonus material - live video footage, video clips, documentary. DVD will be available also in a limited edition with bonus audio CD.

The artwork to "A Moment In Time" DVD was done by Travis Smith famous for his artworks for Anathema, Skinlab, Nevermore, Devin Townsend, Riverside and others.

Anathema has a cult status on the world’s rock music scene. Coming out of underground metal scene they easily transformed in to the best alternative rock outfit. Every day brings them new followers around the world. Friday, 29th April is their last day of very succesful UK & Ireland tour supporting HIM. The best is yet to come for Anathema.

DVD+CD limited digipack edition Cat. Nr: MMP DVD 0076
DVD total running time: approx. 100 minutes
DVD+CD total running time: approx. 180 minutes

TRACK LIST:

Metalmania 2006 – Live:

1. Shroud of False
2. Fragile Dreams
3. Balance
4. Closer
5. Lost Control
6. Empty
7. Natural Disaster
8. Inner Silence
9. One Last Goodbye
10. Judgement
11. Panic
12. Flying
13. Angelica
14. Comfortably Numb

+ bonus features (tbc soon)

Finnish cello-rockers APOCALYPTICA have revealed the track listing for their upcoming releases: The single "Repressed", featuring Max Cavalera from SOULFLY and Matt Tuck from BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE (due on May 19); and the two-CD "best of" collection "Amplified - A Decade of Reinventing The Cello" and the accompanying double-DVD set, "The Life Burns Tour", which will follow on May 26. The details are as follows:

"Repressed" single:

01. Repressed (single version)
02. Path Vol. 2
03. Betrayal
04. Repressed (video)

"Amplified - A Decade of Reinventing The Cello":

CD 1:

01. Enter Sandman
02. Harmageddon
03. Nothing Else Matters
04. Refuse/Resist
05. Somewhere Around Nothing
06. Betrayal
07. Farewell
08. Master Of Puppets
09. Hall Of The Mountain King
10. One
11. Heat
12. Cohkka
13. Kaamos
14. Deathzone
15. Angel Of Death

CD 2:

01. Repressed, featuring Max Cavalera (Soulfly, ex-Sepultura) & Matt Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine)
02. Path Vol.2, featuring Sandra Nasic (Guano Apes)
03. Bittersweet, featuring Lauri Ylönen (The Rasmus) and Ville Vallo (HIM)
04. Hope Vol.2, featuring Matze Sayer (Farmer Boys)
05. Quutamo / french version, featuring Manu
06. Faraway Vol.2, featuring Linda Sundblad (Lambretta)
07. Life Burns, featuring Lauri Ylönen (The Rasmus)
08. Seemann, featuring Nina Hagen

"The Life Burns Tour":

DVD 1:

01. Intro – Apocalyptica
02. Path
03. Master Of Puppets
04. Somewhere Around Nothing
05. Fight Fire With Fire
06. Quutamo
07. Heat
08. Betrayal
09. Nothing Else Matters
10. Hope
11. Life Burns
12. Fisheye
13. Bittersweet
14. Seek & Destroy
15. Prologue
16. Creeping Death
17. Inquisition Symphony
18. Enter Sandman
19. Refuse/Resist
20. Hall Of The Mountain King

DVD 2:

01. US Tour Film (bonus material)
02. EPK - 'Repressed (bonus material)
03. Bittersweet (video)
04. Life Burns (video)
05. How Far (video)
06. Wie Weit (video)
07. Faraway Vol. 2
08. Somewhere Around Nothing
09. Seemann (video)
10. Repressed (video)

Former NIGHTWISH frontwoman Tarja Turunen has posted the following message on her official web site:

"I am glad to announce my plans for the rest of this year. Some new concerts have been added to the 'Concerts' section of this web page. Please check them there. By the way, we are also working on the design of a new web page that will be ready soon.

"Next info hopefully will make us all very happy: NIGHTWISH 'End of an Era' DVD and CD are ready to be released with our partners worldwide. Finally, my brother's Teo Turunen debut album is ready and we are expecting to make it available in Finland during this summer. We did one duet together and I arranged and recorded with some friends the backing vocals. It was a lot of fun!

"The Christmas project that started in 2004 with the single 'Yhden Enkelin Unelma' (One Angel's Dream) and continued in 2005 with the tour in Europe will come to an end next Christmas. The recordings for the full Christmas album will take place from the end of June until the end of August 2006. We will mix it next September. Esa Nieminen will produce it as he did with the single that already reached platinum sales in Finland!

"For the first time I will perform as a solo artist in so many cities in Finland. This makes me very excited! We will also visit Russia where I haven't been in many years! Last tour was entirely acoustic, but this time, I will be performing with a live band accompanied by strings and flute. As you can imagine, the program will be totally renewed.

"At last, but not least important, I am honoured to start a long cooperation with Universal Music domestic division Germany for my solo career. We are at the moment working with my first solo album. It's a big, ambitious project that will require a lot of dedication and energy. I am really looking forward to see what the future brings for me as an artist.

"I welcome you to the beginning of a new era…"

SHATTER MESSIAH, the new band featuring former NEVERMORE/ANNIHILATOR guitarist Curran Murphy and ANNIHILATOR drummer Robert Falzano, will release their debut album, "Never to Play the Servant", on August 28 via Germany's Dockyard 1 Records. Audio samples from the band's two EPs — "Your God's Demise" and "Never to Play the Servant" — are available for download in the multimedia section of the band's official web site.

SHATTER MESSIAH's sound was previously described as "a viciously intense mixture combining Curran's hardcore metal roots with classic thrash and power goth, resulting in compositions of over-the-top aggression and melodic skill (containing subtle hints of the bands Curran has been affiliated with in the past)."

Curran Murphy - Guitars
Greg Wagner – Vocals
Robert Falzano – Drums
Ron Boisvert - Bass

CANDLEMASS vocalist Messiah Marcolin contacted BLABBERMOUTH.NET on April 28 to reveal that he has left the Swedish doomsters and that it's 100 percent definite that he will not return. "We could not agree on how to do the new album," he said, but would not further elaborate on his sudden departure.

Marcolin spent the early months of 2006 recovering from an infection of the vocal cords and was ordered by his doctor to wait until this summer before resuming singing.

In short time, CANDLEMASS bassist/songwriter Leif Edling has released a statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET regarding singer Messiah Marcolin's announcement that he was leaving the band. It reads as follows:

"Messiah's got a severe pre-recording psychosis at the moment. I'm pretty sure he will record his vocals for the new album this summer as planned."

CANDLEMASS recorded four new songs with producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, MACHINE HEAD) in late February at the new Polar studios in Stockholm, Sweden. At the time, the group's bassist/songwriter Leif Edling said of the material, "The songs are pretty much in the same vein as the stuff on the [self-titled 2005] reunion album, maybe a bit darker."

German metallers METALIUM have revealed more information about their upcoming DVD, "Metalian Attack – Part 2", due on May 19. The four-hour disc includes footage from the band's Sept. 23, 2005 concert at the Jahnhalle in Nordenham, Germany plus material from the group's appearance at the Bloodstock festival in the U.K., where the group reportedly performed for more than 2,000 people. Also included are interviews, picture galleries, plus in-the-studio and behind-the-scenes footage.

"Metalian Attack – Part 2" (view artwork at this location) track listing:

01. Fight
02. Name Of Blood
03. Demons of Insanity
04. Endless Believers
05. Rasputin
06. Destiny
07. Power of Time
08. Eye of the Storm
09. Odin's Spell
10. Cyber Horizon
11. Metamorphosis
12. Metalium

METALIUM's fifth studio album, "Demons of Insanity - Chapter Five", was released last year via Armageddon Music (Crash Music, Inc. in the U.S.). The CD was recorded at Jumpower studios in Mallorca and Tornado studios in Hamburg with producer/bassist Lars Ratz. Guesting on the album, once again, was legendary keyboardist Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE).

Sweden's WOLVERINE have parted ways with keyboardist Andreas "Bagge" Baglien. The group's official statement on the matter reads as follows:

"It's with great sadness we have to announce that Bagge has left the band. Bagge has played with us since 1998 and he is like a brother to all of us so this is by far the toughest decision we've ever had to make within the band. However, it became clear after playing with Per Henriksson for the last few months (he stepped in to replace Bagge temporarily while Bagge was away for work for a few months) that we needed to bring him in full-time in order for the band to truly blossom again. I'm sure Bagge is the first to tell you that his contribution to the band during the last year or so hasn't been what it used to be. I won't go into any more detail on the matter since Bagge will post a message on our messageboard shortly announcing his departure and feelings regarding the whole thing.

"The entire band wishes Bagge all the best in the future. He is a truly talented musician and his ability to write great and interesting music is enormous. We also want to thank him for all 8 amazing years. We've been through a lot and it's been a blast! Thank you! At the same time, we would like to welcome Per Henriksson to the band. He's been playing with us for a few months now and everything has worked out amazingly well. We've done two gigs with him already and we had the best of times. He is a great player and and equally great guy. Info on him will be posted as soon as possible so you can dig into his past. Once again, welcome Per!"

As previously reported, Candlelight Records has set a June 26 release date for the new album WOLVERINE, entitled "Still".