ANA Metal For Charity Project will be released via Into The LimeLight Records on May 5th.

This charity project has been founded by Marius Danielsen and Anniken Rasmussen. With an impressive all star lineup we will raise money for cancer research. After a long period of writing, recording by all artists and putting everything together the album will be ready in 2017 to be released. The full 100% of the incoming money will go to this project.

Anniken and Marius stated: "We have seen this horrible disease up close. It seems to affect everyone in some case. For quite a while we have had a wish to contribute to the fight against cancer. Now just felt like the time. Ana was originally written in remembrance of someone who died of cancer. We wanted to use it for an even greater cause. However, we wanted to make a fight song, so we had to rewrite some of the lyrics. We are grateful for all the contributing parts and hope that we can make a difference".

There will be two songs by the all-stars:

1. “Ana” written by Marius and Anniken
2. Dio cover, “Holy Diver”

Also some songs will be included on the CD donated by participating bands.

The album will be made available as a digipack, to buy from the shop and online as well as download and through all major streaming sites.

The ANA All-Star lineup:

Amanda Somerville (Avantasia, Kiske/Somerville)
Roland Grapow (ex-Helloween, Masterplan)
Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear)
Matt Barlow (ex-Iced Earth, Ashes Of Ares)
Matias Kupiainen (Stratovarius)
Rafael Bittencourt (Angra)
Doogie White (ex-Rainbow, Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock)
Jake E (Amaranthe, Dreamland)
Rick Altzi (Masterplan)
Al Atkins (ex-Judas Priest)
Mark Sweeney (Wolfpakk, ex-Crystal Ball)
Ramy Ali (Freedom Call, Iron Mask)
David Readman (Pink Cream 69, Almanac)
Daniel Heiman (ex-Lost Horizon)
Tony Mills (ex-TNT, ex-Shy)
Mike LePond (Symphony X)
Thomas Winkler (Gloryhammer)
Frank Beck (Gamma Ray)
Christian Eriksson (Twilight Force)
Alessio Garavello (ex-Power Quest, A New Tomorrow)
PelleK (soloartist, ex-Damnation Angels)
Snowy Shaw (ex-King Diamond, ex-Therion)
Mats Levén (Candlemass)
Yama-B (ex-Galneryus, Gunbridge)
Bernt Fjellestad (Guardians Of Time, Susperia)
Ida Haukland (Triosphere)
Martin Steene (Iron Fire)
Jo Amore (ex-Nightmare, Now Or Never)
Patrik Johansson (Bloodbound, Shadowquest)
Carsten "Lizard" Schulz (ex-Domain, CLS Syndicate)
Sean Peck (Cage, Death Dealer)
John Jaycee Cuijpers (Praying Mantis)
Siegfried Samer (Dragony, Visions Of Atlantis)
Magnus Winterwild (Axenstar)
Leo Figaro (Minstrelix)
David Åkesson (Qantice)
Henning Stranden (solo artist)
Tore André Helgemo (Stargazer)
William Ernstsen (Stargazer)
Anniken Rasmussen (Darkest Sins)
Marius Danielsen (Darkest Sins, Eunomia)
Peter Danielsen (Darkest Sins, Tindrum, Eunomia)

Mixed by Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Pink Cream 69), artwork by Stan W Decker.

Holy Diver bonus all-star lineup:
Rick Altzi (Masterplan)
Neil Turbin (ex-Anthrax, DeathRiders)
Marius Danielsen (Darkest Sins, The Legend Of Valley Doom)
David Readman (Pink Cream 69, Almanac)
Urban Breed (Serious Black, ex-Tad Morose)
Elias Holmlid (Dragonland)
Jake E (Dreamland, Amaranthe)
Anniken Rasmussen (Darkest Sins)
Ramy Ali (Freedom Call, Iron Mask)
Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Pink Cream 69)
Jo Amore (ex-Nightmare, Now Or Never)
Jimmy Hedlund (Falconer)

Marius Danielsen's Metal Opera - Lost In A Dream:
Vocals - Marius Danielsen (Darkest Sins)
Vocals - Elisa Martin (ex-Dark Moor, ex-Fairyland)
Rhythm Guitar - Marius Danielsen
Solo Guitar - Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar)
Solo Guitar - Olivier Lapauze (Heavenly)
Bass - Anniken Rasmussen (Darkest Sins)
Keyboard - Peter Danielsen (Darkest Sins)
Drums - Alex Holzwarth (Rhapsody of Fire)

“Monster” by Martyr - bonus track with special guests:
Nick Holleman (Vicious Rumors)
Gert Nijboer (Highway Chile/Deathriders)

Darkest Sins - “Domineer”:
Marius Danielsen – Vocals, guitar
Anniken Rasmussen – Vocals, bass
Sigurd Kårstad – Guitar
Peter Danielsen – Keyboard and orchestration
Ludvig Pedersen - Drums

Other tracks will be:
Marius Danielsen - “Lost In A Dream”
Al Atkins - “A Void To Avoid (Part 1)”
Carsten Lizard Schulz Syndicate - “Brand New Fire”
Gunbridge - “Rebellion”
Gloryhammer - “Angus McFire”

New Zealand death metal innovators, Ulcerate, have released a new live drum playthrough video via Sick Drummer. Watch Jamie Saint Merat perform "Extinguished Light" off the recently released Shrines Of Paralysis full-length below.

The live drum playthrough was filmed at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, NY on the last date of the Shrines Of Paralysis North American tour. Video by Frank Huang (Pit Full of Shit).

A live drum video for “Everything Is Fire”, the title track of the band’s second full-length album, released back in 2009, can be seen below:

Ulcerate’s fifth full-length album and follow-up to 2013's Vermis, entitled Shrines Of Paralysis, is out now via Relapse. Order the new album here. A full audio stream can be found below.

Shrines Of Paralysis tracklisting:

“Abrogation”
“Yield To Naught”
“There Are No Saviours”
“Shrines Of Paralysis”
“Bow To Spite”
“Chasm Of Fire”
“Extinguished Light”
“End The Hope”

Album stream:

BUTCHER BABIES frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey were interviewed by Louder Noise at the Revolver Music Awards, which was held on December 13 at Webster Hall in New York City. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On supporting MEGADETH on the fall 2016 leg of the "Dystopia" tour:

Heidi: "It was so cool. It was one of the best tours we've ever done. Dave Mustaine treated us like gold the entire time. He welcomed us to the tour, brought us a bunch of wine and vodka, which, obviously, we consumed immediately. [Laughs] But it was really, really great. A nice way to round out 2016 for us as well."

On whether they picked up any rock and roll tricks from touring with MEGADETH:

Carla: "We've been touring for five years straight with many, many legends, so along the way we have picked up a lot of rock and roll tricks."

Heidi: "I think one thing that I definitely picked up from Dave Mustaine is the respect. He shows respect to all the bands that he's out with. And we've never had anyone come in and welcome us the way that he did. So I definitely picked that up and I hope to pass that on, along with other bands we tour with."

On what fans can expect from BUTCHER BABIES in 2017:

Carla: "We've got a new album coming out. We hit the studio in February. We're in the middle of pre-production right now. We're really excited because we're trying all kinds of new things. It's our third album, our third baby, so we're stoked."

BUTCHER BABIES' third album is tentatively due in late 2017 via Century Media.

The band's second LP, 2015's "Take It Like A Man", was produced by Logan Mader, who has previously worked with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, DEVILDRIVER, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY and GOJIRA.

Czech Republic-based band, Root, have released a video for “Black Iris”, the track from their new album, Kärgeräs - Return From Oblivion, out now via Agonia Records. Watch the new video below.

In contrast to Bathory and Venom, Root took the black metal genre in a more refined direction, featuring Big Boss' chartacteristic clean vocals, dark sound and an epic approach altogether. Nowadays, Root is often recognized as an epic heavy/black metal act, or as the band simply puts it - a dark metal band.

The new album, Kärgeräs - Return From Oblivion, is different from their 2011's offering, Heritage Of Satan, says the band: "As always in our history as a band, we aim to deliver a unique album, something that will stand out and shine its own light in our discography. Expect dark metal at its best, along with some surprising elements. We've recorded one fully acoustic song and one entirely instrumental. Overall, the album will include ten new tracks that will differ from our previous records.”

Kärgeräs - Return From Oblivion is Root's tenth full-length album. Lyrically, it’s a concept album, and looked at from that perspective, it continues the story begun by their 1996 release under a similar yet shorter title, Kärgeräs, that presents a tale of a proud nation.

The album artwork was hand-painted by Thomas Bruno. The painting started off as a portrait at first, but after the band's decision to use it as cover, the mystical tree, ravens and other elemnts where added. Recording, mixing and mastering took place at Shaark Studio in South Moravia. Big Boss produced the album.

Tracklisting:

“Life Of Demons”
“Osculum Infame”
“Moment Of Fright”
“The Book Of Death”
“Black Iris”
“Moment Of Hope”
“The Key To The Empty Room”
“New Empire”
“Up To The Down”
“Do You Think Is It The End?”

“Black Iris” video:

Available formats:

- Digipack CD with 28 pages booklet
- Black LP
- Red LP with A2 poster*
- Transparent red/black splatter LP with A2 poster and patch**
- T-shirt (2 versions)

* handnumbered and limited to 222 copies
** handnumbered and limited to 100 copies

Since 1987, Root is led by founder and vocalist Big Boss - a controversial, yet valued musician, producer, writer and lyricist. He's one of the oldest and most characteristic black metal singers; one of the very few, who possesses an operatic range of vocals. Over the years, Root has maintained a strong underground following, while Big Boss rose up to become a cult figure in the black metal genre, guesting on albums by leading metal artists, most notably Moonspell and Behemoth. Root has performed hundreds of shows worldwide, sharing the stage with bands such as Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Cradle Of Filth, Apocalyptica, Moonspell, Behemoth, Impaled Nazarene, Nifelheim, Anathema, Sodom, Desaster, Pungent Stench, Master, Destroyer 666, Master´s Hammer, Enslaved, Testament, Marduk, Napalm Death, Krabathor, Hypnos and many other.

Lifeforce Records has announced the signing of modern metal act All But One to the label roster.

With members of Alestorm, Heaven Shall Burn and Lifeforce Records' very own When Our Time Comes, All But One have a brand new message to deliver. Their powerhouse debut album tastefully fuses the worlds of pop and metal music, combining accomplished melody with masterful guitar and fearsome breakdowns.

All But One was born as a passion project of Alestorm guitarist Máté Bodor. After catching the attention of an elite group of likeminded musicians, what began as a side project evolved into what will undoubtably become a formidable force in the rock music industry.

All But One are a product of professionalism, uncompromising passion and an unstoppable hunger to succeed.

The band’s debut album is set to be released in late April. Updates to follow.

Steamhammer/SPV have signed one of Germany‘s hottest new rock acts, Berlin‘s quartet Travelin Jack, for the world excuding Japan. The group surrounding vocalist Alia Spaceface blends its classic brand of hard rock with strong influences that date back to 1970s glam rock and bands/artists such as Thin Lizzy, Rush, David Bowie, the Scorpions and Deep Purple. Among the visual highlights of their explosive live show are, among others, made-up faces, platform shoes and glitter outfits.

Travelin Jack was founded in summer 2013 by Alia Spaceface, guitarist Flo ‘The Fly’ Kraemer, bassist Steve Burner and drummer Montgomery Shell. Only one year later, their first single, “Madness”, arrived at the stores, followed by the debut album New World in 2015. The band has already completed two successful tours and played important festivals in Germany, Sweden and Sardinia. Currently the four musicians are busy working on the preproduction of their second, as yet untitled album which is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

Flo ‘The Fly’ is delighted to sign with Steamhammer/SPV: “We look forward to working with such a renowned and committed record company. Steamhammer/SPV allows us full artistic freedom – a privilege that we value highly.”

Olly Hahn, A&R and International Product Manager at Steamhammer/SPV, is thrilled with his latest signing: “You absolutely have to hear and see this fantastic act with its sensational vocalist! We’re proud and happy to welcome Travelin Jack to our big Steamhammer family.”

Pictured above from left to right: Frank Uhle (Managing Director SPV), Montgomery Shell (Travelin Jack), Alia Spaceface (Travelin Jack), Olly Hahn (A&R Steamhammer), Flo"The Fly" Kraemer (Travelin Jack), Steve Burner (Travelin Jack)

Swedish heavy metal quintet, Lancer, have released a video for “Follow Azrael”, a track from their new album, Mastery, out now via Nuclear Blast. The new clip can be found below.

The cover artwork for Mastery was created by Dimitar Nikolov (Ross The Boss, Majesty). The final layout was done by Marcelo Vasco (Slayer, Machine Head).

Tracklisting:
    
“Dead Raising Towers”
“Future Millennia”
“Mastery”
“Victims Of The Nile”
“Iscariot”
“Follow Azrael”
“Freedom Eaters”
“World Unknown”
“Widowmaker”
“Envy Of The Gods”
“The Wolf And The Kraken”

“Follow Azrael” video:

“Mastery” video:

“Iscariot” lyric video:

Track-By-Track #1:

Track-By-Track #2:

The Murder Of My Sweet's fourth studio album, Echoes Of The Aftermath, will be released on January 27th. The album track “Loud As A Whisper” is available for streaming below.

The new album musically follows on the heels of the previous record, Beth Out Of Hell, with a more straight ahead songwriting approach, but still offering the symphonic and cinematic elements the band is now well known for. Echoes Of The Aftermath showcases a Nordic sound that the members of the band grew up listening to and lyrically takes on issues in tune with our modern day life.

Drummer/producer Daniel Flores says: “During the process of writing Beth Out Of Hell with Angelica, I came up with lots of riffs, melodies and music that didn't necessarily fit the concept of the album. The inspiration and creative buzz from those songwriting sessions stayed with us and helped us come up with a new album very quickly. And of course the warm reception from fans and media had a helping hand too. I'm personally also really proud of the sonic impact of this record, I've learnt so much during these past years working with Frontiers and I'm so glad I can showcase this in full force on this album. The guys in the band are feeling very creative these days and thanks to the fans we are able to give you our Echoes Of The Aftermath!”

Singer Angelica Rylin adds: "For me, the writing process for this album became a way to reconnect with my Nordic roots. I’ve always been a fan of John Bauer (Swedish painter and illustrator) and his portraits of Swedish folklore and fairy tales was a big inspiration for me. And it was a nice break from "Beth", who had become such a big part of my life for a very long time."

Tracklisting:

“Sleeping Giant”
“Personal Hell”
“Racing Heart”
“Cry Wolf”
“Echoes Of The Aftermath”
“Flatline”
“Loud As A Whisper”
“Shining After Dark”
“Ode To Everyone”
“Go On”
“In Risk Of Rain”
“Inside Outside”

“Loud As A Whisper”:

“Shining After Dark”:

“Personal Hell” video:

“Racing Heart”:

Band lineup:

Angelica Rylin - Vocals
Christopher Vetter - Guitar
Patrik Janson - Bass
Daniel Flores - Drums and Keyboards

AUDIOSLAVE will reunite for its first performance in over a decade on Friday, January 20 at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles for the Anti-Inaugural Ball, protesting President Donald Trump's inauguration. Also scheduled to appear at the event are PROPHETS OF RAGE, Vic Mensa, Jackson Browne, Jack Black and The Los Angeles Freedom Choir.

AUDIOSLAVE featured SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell alongside RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk.

Morello discussed the possibility of an AUDIOSLAVE comeback during a recent interview with Music Radar.

"I love Chris and I love what we did together," he said. "That door has certainly never closed in any way, but right now, it's looking like we're pretty busy. We're in the middle of a North American tour [with PROPHETS OF RAGE], I'm also working on a record of my own and the other guys have things going on, too. But whatever happens in the future, Chris is one of the greatest singers of all time, and there's no way I couldn't be proud of the shows and music we played together."

Cornell told U.K.'s Total Guitar magazine in 2015 that he would also be open to an AUDIOSLAVE reunion. He said, "I think it would be great. We did a lot of songs, and with the benefit of not having done anything with those guys for so long, I can't imagine what it would be. It would be a really amazing experience just to get back and work with the same guys again."

Cornell continued, "We were certainly a prolific group of people; we wrote three whole albums in around five years, maybe less. And these were albums that were raw, and we had extra material, and we just never seemed to have trouble ever trying to agree on what would come out of the songs."

He added, "They were great guys, and I really enjoyed the experience that I had with them, so yeah, I would always be open to doing something."

AUDIOSLAVE came together in 2001 when Cornell teamed with the instrumental members of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE.

After the break-up of SOUNDGARDEN in 1997, Cornell attempted a solo career which didn't catch fire at the time.

AUDIOSLAVE made three albums, a self-titled 2002 debut, 2005's "Out Of Exile" and 2006's "Revelations", before Cornell left the group in 2007.

He eventually reunited with SOUNDGARDEN in 2010, while RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE intermittently performed live between 2007 and 2011.

Morello told The Pulse Of Radio not long after AUDIOSLAVE's demise that he had no hard feelings against Cornell for quitting. "You know, Chris I consider a good friend and I love that guy, you know, and we went through a lot together, both musically and personally," he said. "And it was, you know, my belief that the band's friendship and roots were deep."

Cornell made a guest appearance in September 2014 during a performance by Morello at the El Corazon in Seattle.

.@ProphetsofRage announce 1st Audioslave performance in over a decade at Anti Inaugural Ball. Tix on sale. Team CC https://t.co/kzNhc0P8Uu pic.twitter.com/DxY3Th5Pya

— Chris Cornell (@chriscornell) January 18, 2017

Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of German/American metallers ACCEPT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Assault: This interview is about ACCEPT's "Restless And Live" album which came out on January 13th. From what I've read, this is not something you really planned, and it's not like you went into that show in 2015 with the aim of recording this video. So, how did it come about? Was it a mere coincidence?

Wolf: "Well, it wasn't totally by surprise, but at the same time, we didn't go on stage thinking this has to be a DVD. Absolutely not, because that sometimes can add pressure to everybody. We really wanted to perform a regular show and just film it, and then see how it turns out. That's what we did. We had played there before and we knew that they do a good job at filming the shows, and we knew the editor, and chances were that it would turn into something great. So, we took some extra steps, got some more cameras and really made sure it looks the part if it turns out well. Then after we show the footage, we thought it turned out great! This might be the perfect time to release a live DVD because a) fans have been asking for a long, long time, and b) 'Blind Rage' [ACCEPT's last sutiod album] is already two years old and it's going to be yet another year before the next album comes out, so this would be a good tie-over for the fans, you know."

Metal Assault: I think there was a time in the past where bands would release something between studio albums, whether it be a live album or a new EP, and not just a reissue of an old album. You're doing that with "Restless And Live", and that's great because as you just said, it will hold fans over until the next studio album.

Wolf: "Correct, correct. And it gave us a chance to really do it properly because we spent a good amount of time to go through the footage, making sure it's good, and also a good chunk of time went into listening to all these live performances for the audio CDs. We had recorded dozens of shows throughout our following tour across Europe, and we knew that for the audio CDs we wanted to use different performances and different songs altogether from the DVD. A lot of times what gets done is you just use the audio material from the live DVD, which to me in essence is like putting on the DVD and turning off the picture. It's the same exact performance. But we said, since we've got the opportunity to offer live CDs with the DVD as a package deal to the fans, we might as well go through the trouble of finding other performances that are also quite good, just to show a different side of what ACCEPT sounds like in a different city, on a different night, and different songs. We put 27 songs on these audio CDs, I believe."

Metal Assault: This recording probably captures the real ACCEPT live experience because as you said there was no additional pressure of playing a concert for a DVD.

Wolf: "Yeah, I guess everybody is afraid that you have a tour, everything is going great, and then it comes to the DVD night, everyone is super nervous and it turns out to be a so-so show. Bands are usually afraid of that, so the more low-key something like that can happen, the better it is, normally. But in our case, it wasn't so low-key because it was the very first show of the tour with new members in the band, so it was a little bit nerve-racking for everybody, I think. It was the first show in Europe with new guys, new setlist, and we were going to film it. But it turned out to be great and I wasn't really all that nervous, to be honest, but I'm sure some of the guys were."

Read the entire interview at Metal Assault.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman and sole founding member Billy Corgan told Chicago radio station WLUP that a reunion of the band's original lineup seems more and more likely. Corgan revealed: "I just talked to guitarist James Iha the other day, things look good for us getting together to play. We're talking about it, we'll see."

But Corgan added: "The reunion thing is always a bit weird, because then people come in with their expectations. So my whole thing is if we're going to do it, I think we do it to make people happy, and not go against the tide of what people would want to hear and that type of stuff, but my interest in it is sort of limited. I'm not going to do it for 14 years of my life."

Corgan has been touring under the SMASHING PUMPKINS name for several years with a newer lineup of musicians, although original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin rejoined the band last year.

More significantly, Corgan confirmed last summer that he had repaired his friendship with original bassist D'Arcy Wretzky, after not speaking for nearly two decades. With Chamberlin back in the band already and Iha joining them onstage at two gigs last spring, a reunion of the group's original lineup seemed imminent.

As for that possibility, Corgan said: "We're not rushing to something. We have to repair some things between us and see what's out there for us, if those opportunities are even there."

An "industry source" told Consequence Of Sound last August that Corgan had begun shopping an reunion of the original quartet for headlining shows and festival slots next summer.

With his first solo album in eight years just released and a UK tour to look forward to, Glenn Hughes caught up with Metal Express Radio's Mick Burgess to talk about his album, the tour, the renewed activity with Black Country Communion, and his thoughts on Ritchie Blackmore’s return to rock. An excerpt is available below.

Q: A few months back your old band mate in Deep Purple Ritchie Blackmore returned to his Rock roots with Rainbow for the first time in over 20 years.  What did you make of it?

Hughes: "I wasn`t really sure. I`m glad he came back for his own sake and obviously he wanted to make some electric rock music again after so long away, it`s been 20 something years.  It was his choice and his choice who he had playing with him. I wished him all the best and have nothing but total respect for him and he knows that. I hope he continues along the road he`s on as his fans want more electric shows from him. All I want for Ritchie is happiness. Although I don`t see him very often I still have good memories of him and it`s all good between us."

Q: You were big friends with Ronnie James Dio and he`s sadly not with us now. Have you heard any of the footage with (new Rainbow singer) Ronnie Romero?

Hughes: "I did. Singing Ronnie`s songs needs a special kind of singer and I think the young chap did a reasonably good job and I think Ritchie may well have found the guy for him. He was certainly a good fit for Rainbow."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Hughes tour schedule is as follows:

January
20 - The Riverside - Newcastle, UK
21 - Islington Assembly Hall - London, UK
23 - The Robin 2 - Bilston, UK
24 - The Garage - Glasgow, UK
26 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, UK
27 - O2 Academy 2 - Manchester, UK
29 - Sub 89 - Reading, UK
30 - The Junction - Cambridge, UK

February
1 - The Church - Leeds, UK
2 - The Fleece - Bristol, UK

Hughes new album, Resonate, was released on November 4th. Details below.

Tracklisting:

“Heavy”
“My Town”
“Flow”
“Let It Shine”
“Steady”
“God Of Money”
“How Long”
“When I Fall”
“Landmines”
“Stumble & Go”
“Long Time Gone”

“Long Time Gone” video:

“Let It Shine”:

“My Town”:

“Heavy” video:

EPK:

(Photo: © Stuart Westwood)

A PERFECT CIRCLE recently confirmed that it will trek across North America this spring in the outfit's first tour since 2011, with the month-long outing kicking off in Las Vegas on April 7 and April 8. The schedule will include previously announced appearances at the Welcome To Rockville, Fort Rock and Carolina Rebellion festivals in late April and early May, along with a closing night stop at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 7.

The tour news arrives as the band begins work on its first new album since 2004's "eMOTIVe". Guitarist Billy Howerdel tells Billboard: "We're not promising anything, but I have every intention of doing my best to have us playing some new tracks during this run — with the idea that new music is coming very soon after. It felt similar to me to the very first thing we ever did. When Maynard [James Keenan, vocals] and I first started talking about working together in 1999, we collaborated on two songs, and the idea hatched to, 'Let's do a live show,' and let that fire under our ass be what's going to propel us to finish this music… And we approached it the same way this year. I said, 'We're gonna do shows,' and with those shows there's the hope of having some new music to go along with the shows. So let's let that be the thing that puts us in a panic mode."

Howerdel told The Pulse Of Radio a while back why he likes being on the road even more sometimes than the studio. "In a lot of ways it's a lot easier, just because of scheduling," he said. "You just know what you have to do when you have to do it. Whereas, you know, in the studio, at least for me, I'm making my own hours, and I just sleep like five hours a night and work the rest. And out here, playing the show is probably what you look forward to the whole day. It's kind of all laid out, so in a way, it's a lot easier for you."

A PERFECT CIRCLE has been largely inactive on the recording front for more than a decade, with only a new song titled "By And Down" surfacing on a hits collection in 2013.

In an interview that year, Howerdel said about the possibility of a new studio album: "I've got 75 percent of the foundation of [the next] A PERFECT CIRCLE record ready to go. I think that all will change once Maynard gets involved and he has more time to focus on it."

THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM, the new solo project from CANDLEMASS bassist and songwriter Leif Edling, will release its self-titled debut album on March 31 via Nuclear Blast. The disc will contain eight epic doom tracks with a pinch of NWOBHM and haunting catchy melodies. Joining Edling on the effort are WOLF singer Niklas Stålvind, guitarist Marcus Jidell (AVATARIUM, SOEN, ex-EVERGREY), drummer Andreas "Habo" Johansson (NARNIA), as well as several guest artists.

The first trailer for "The Doomsday Kingdom", in which Edling discusses the classic bands that influenced his new project, is available below. He also hints at his current involvement in CANDLEMASS, but clearly explains what his focus for 2017 will be.

"I'm extremely happy that THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM album is finally finished and ready to be released!", states Leif. "It's been a long windy road, to say the least, and many things and circumstances have been leading up to it. It is an album that I'm extremely proud of, from the cover artwork to the songs and sound. One of the best things I've done in my life!"

THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM will make its live debut at the Roadburn festival in April.

"The Doomsday Kingdom" track listing:

01. Silent Kingdom02. Never Machine03. A Spoonful Of Darkness04. See You Tomorrow05. The Sceptre06. Hand Of Hell07. The Silence08. The God Particle

The lyric video for the demo version of "The Sceptre" can be seen below. Edling stated about the song: "On the album version, 'The Sceptre' is a bit re-arranged. There's a couple of more harmony guitars added on it as well. We also have some people guesting: In the mid 'classical' solo part, we included a mellotron that is played by one of this country's best mello-players, whose name I will disclose later on... Same thing with the long end solo. One of my all-time heroes and musical influences was kind enough to put his guitar and stamp on here to make this song very special! Lovely solo, lovely bloke!"

Regarding the track "Never Machine", Edling said: "'Never Machine' is the very first song that I wrote for THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM. It starts with a riff à la BLACK SABBATH and takes off into doomier territories with the haunting chorus and the extra-heavy outro."

THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM's debut EP, "Never Machine", was released on November 25 via Nuclear Blast.

Edling stated about THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM: "THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM was created two years ago. I was in pretty bad shape. I couldn't go out, I couldn't work, I wasn't allowed to read, I couldn't watch telly and I wasn't allowed to work in front of the computer, so all I had was the music. And I created THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM, metal from the catacombs."

THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM is:

Niklas Stålvind - vocalsMarcus Jidell - guitarsLeif Edling - bassAndreas (Habo) Johansson - drums

"Forever Militant", the new video from Detroit, Michigan's WALLS OF JERICHO, can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "No One Can Save You From Yourself", which was released in March 2016 via Napalm Records.

WALLS OF JERICHO commented on the new clip: "We shot this over the summer of 2016 at With Full Force festival as a headliner of the main stage.

"The band really wanted to show the world what our live shows are live no matter what stage we play big or small.

"Getting ready to support SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in 2017 brings us back to Europe in a large club setting and we can't be more excited to see everyone up close and more personal.

"'Forever Militant' is a standout track on our new album, so be ready to see us play this song every night on the 'Persistence Tour'."

WALLS OF JERICHO frontwoman Candace Kucsulain recently told Toxic Online about "No One Can Save You From Yourself": "It's been a long time since we've put out a record, but not that much has changed. We are still pissed, it's still heavy as shit, maybe a bit more than before, and it still rips! We have a unique energy on stage, something we've worked hard on for the past 17 years, and with all the time between records, it helped us realize what was important to us for our live shows. So through that, we focused on a record with our live show in mind and made a record that represents us and the energy we create. Lyrically, a lot of shit has gone down in my life, and this record you can feel the pain, darkness and chaos. It's a soundtrack to all of it."

Regarding the "No One Can Save You From Yourself" album title, Candace said: "We have been doing this for a long time, and you never stop finding a reason to fight. We feel that real change can't happen until you look inside yourself and own up to your part. We are our own worst enemy, and that can apply to life limitlessly. It's about progress not perfect, but once you know the difference, there's nothing left to do but take action."

"No One Can Save You From Yourself" track listing:

01. Intro02. Illusion Of Safety03. No One Can Save You From Yourself04. Forever Militant05. Fight The Good Fight06. Cutbird07. Relentless08. Damage Done09. Reign Supreme10. Wrapped In Violence11. Anthem12. Beyond All Praise13. Probably Will

WALLS OF JERICHO released a demo version of the song "Relentless" in 2014.

The official video for the song "Call Of Destiny" from German/Dutch symphonic metallers XANDRIA can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's new album, "Theater Of Dimensions", which will be released on January 27 via Napalm Records.

Commented the band: "After the release of 'Sacrificium', we embarked on our longest tour so far. Over 150 shows that took us around the globe. Through so many different countries and diverse cultures. Through so many different, yet inspiring dimensions. We brought back plenty of memories, sometimes just bits and pieces, but those stuck to our heads. And it made us see who we are and where we wanted to take our music. Made us fearless. Made us push our boundaries once more. Made us cross some so-called genre defining borders. Made us bundle all our trademarks and take them to the next level. All this makes the most colorful XANDRIA album so far. It contains our most heavy and most emotional moments. Again, producer Joost Van Den Broek did a phenomenal job capturing the atmosphere down to every detail. 'A Theater of musical Dimensions.' Can't wait to share the songs with you..."

"Theater Of Dimensions" is described in a press release as "a hyper-emotional affair — and a very heavy one too, naturally. High-class guest vocals can be heard by mighty Henning Basse (FIREWIND), Zaher Zorgati (MYRATH), Björn Strid (SOILWORK) and Ross Thompson (VAN CANTO). There is a soundtrack-like, orchestral finesse inherent to the compositions, echoed by pounding groove and sophisticated shredding. Folklore and ballad chime in ('Forsaken Love'), heavy thrash rears its ugly head ('We Are Murderers (We All)'), and overall there is no doubt: XANDRIA are not only fearless, they are at their most entertaining and thrilling!"

"Theater Of Dimensions" track listing:

01. Where The Heart Is Home02. Death To The Holy03. Forsaken Love04. Call Of Destiny05. We Are Murderers (We All)06. Dark Night Of The Soul07. When The Walls Came Down (Heartache Was Born)08. Ship Of Doom09. Ceilí10. Song For Sorrow And Woe11. Burn Me12. Queen Of Hearts Reborn13. A Theater Of Dimensions XANDRIA in 2013 parted ways with their singer of three years, Manuela Kraller, and replaced her with Dutch vocalist Dianne Van Giersbergen, who also fronts the progressive metal outfit EX LIBRIS.

Dianne Van Giersbergen made her live debut with XANDRIA at the end of November 2013 on a Spanish tour.

Speaking about XANDRIA's songwriting approach, Dianne Van Giersbergen told Metalheads Forever: "I think diversity is a good thing though it should never be used when only based on a commercial purpose. It is most important to create what you yourself would love and what is pure to your heart, close to who you are. If you lose that then the music detached from both band and musician and will cause the fans to not believe the music and performance anymore."

XANDRIA is:

Vocals: Dianne van GiersbergenGuitar: Marco HeubaumGuitar: Philip RestemeierBass: Steven WussowDrums: Gerit Lamm

VALLENFYRE, the U.K. death metal band featuring Gregor Mackintosh, songwriter and guitarist of PARADISE LOST, alongside Hamish Glencross of MY DYING BRIDE, has returned to GodCity studio in Salem, Massachusetts to record the follow-up to their second album, "Splinters" (2014). The new disc, titled "Fear Those Who Fear Him", sees the band recording as a three-piece for the first time.

Joining Mackintosh (vocals and guitar) and Glencross (guitar and bass) on the new record is Waltteri Väyrynen (drums), with production duties once again being helmed by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, NAILS).

Mackintosh comments: "12 songs. No samples. No triggers. No bullshit. Instead you get crucifyingly loud amps, ferocious drumming, and vicious vocals spitting out hate and venom. Raw honest brutality. No conformity. No compromise. A murderous nightmare vomiting poisonous bile onto a twisted world. Yeah, that's the bits I like..."

"Fear Those Who Fear Him" track listing:

01. Born To Decay02. Messiah03. Degeneration04. An Apathetic Grave05. Nihilist06. Amongst The Filth07. The Merciless Tide08. Dead World Breathes09. Soldier Of Christ10. Cursed From The Womb11. Kill All Your Masters12. Temple Of Rats

Acclaimed shows to audiences across Europe and America in support of "Splinters" honed the band into a bludgeoning live beast, and their ferocity in cohesion fuels this new album, which pushes their extremities of sound to wildly intense new levels.

"Fear Those Who Fear Him" will be released via Century Media Records this summer.

Regarding how VALLENFYRE was formed, Mackintosh told Metal Underground: "My dad died at the end of 2009 and my brothers and myself went to grief counseling. They told us to write things down about our feelings and whatever. I started to write things down and they turned into lyrics. At the same time, I was trying out old demos and just decided to turn them into songs, like old-school songs because I didn't feel that anyone was doing it the right way. I needed an old-school band, so I just kind of wanted to blend it together and gradually it became a band. I did a demo and got the attention of a friend of mine who works for Century Media in Germany and he said I should put out a record."

ARCH ENEMY will release a new live DVD, "As The Stages Burn!", on March 31 via Century Media. The set contains video footage of the band's largest stage production to date from their performance last summer at the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. This performance marks the pinnacle of a highly successful album campaign in support of "War Eternal". It all began in March of 2014 when the band announced new vocalist Alissa White-Gluz as well as the video for the album title track, "War Eternal". This debut track went on to become the bands most successful video in their career, surpassing 20 million views on YouTube. The release of the "War Eternal" album also saw ARCH ENEMY reaching their highest U.S. and German chart positions to date while going on to play over 200 shows in over 40 countries around the world. In late 2014, Jeff Loomis (ex-NEVERMORE) joined ARCH ENEMY during the world tour with KREATOR and in 2015 they played arenas as direct support for NIGHTWISH.

The official trailer for "As The Stages Burn!" is available below.

ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott told Spark TV about "As The Stages Burn!": "I think this is the perfect album cycle to document. It's a fresh new ARCH ENEMY, and we just spent two years on the road or more, and, yeah, we just wanna put it out there kind of as a document of this time. And the show at Wacken was really special as well. We put a lot of effort into the production and had our biggest show to date. And that'll be the main part of the DVD, I guess, but there's gonna be a lot of other stuff as well, and it'll be like a live album, DVD, Blu-ray and all that stuff. We have a lot of other cool shows filmed as well, and parts of those might very well be a part of the DVD. But, you know, Wacken was just a great opportunity; it's the biggest heavy metal festival in the world."

ARCH ENEMY will celebrate the release of "As The Stages Burn!" with a number of European shows with special support from LACUNA COIL and THE HAUNTED.

Regarding the progress of the songwriting sessions for ARCH ENEMY's follow-up to "War Eternal", Michael said: "There's plenty of ideas floating around, and there's even some simple demos and stuff like that, but we haven't really seriously gotten into the songwriting process yet. But there's a lot of ideas. But we've been spending so much time on the road, and we're not really the kind of band that writes music on the road. I mean, we might come up with a little riff idea or a melody, or something like that, or a lyrical idea, but it's easier to put it together at home when you take some specific, dedicated time to write and put together music. It's a different kind of focus that you need, I think. You wake up in a different city every day, and it's a different life, and it's a little bit hard to focus on things like that."

Added Loomis: "I think the writing process is gonna be awesome between us. It's just like Mike said — we really haven't had a lot of time to sit down together yet, but I think that time is gonna be coming soon."

Regarding the expectations for ARCH ENEMY's next album, Alissa said: "I think that for all of us, with any new album, or even just with any show, it's always a challenge to do better than the last time. And I think that we all love 'War Eternal' and it's always gonna be super special to us, but we still wanna do better this time. It's just a matter of always keeping very, very high standards and being critical on yourself but in a constructive way, so that you can always produce good music and good performances. I don't think any of us are complacent when it comes to the quality of music that we've put out. I don't think we have any specific ideas in mind for things that we have to achieve within the album, but we have a really strong lineup here that's capable of putting together a really solid album. So we're all pretty excited about it… Let's not forget also that we have Jeff here for the writing process of this album, which we didn't have with 'War Eternal', so right there we have a whole new world to explore. So that's pretty exciting too."

North Carolina-based doom trio, Temptation’s Wings, will release concept album, Skulthor Ebonblade, on March 10th. The new song, "Lair Of The Gorgon Queen, is available for streaming below.

Following the release of 2012 EP Legends Of The Tusk, the new full-length release is the culmination of a decade spent continually improving and refining its thrashy doom metal style. The results speak for themselves, as Skulthor Ebonblade is the complete package: mighty riffs, propulsive rhythms, and emotionally penetrating vocals that hit the heavy metal sweet spot and leave the listener with songs that remain etched in the memory for days on end.

Lyrically, the story of the album concerns legendary warrior Skulthor who returns to find his village burning in black flames, and catches a glimpse of a witch as she disappears behind the smoke. He sets off on a quest to obtain a sword of great power, so he can avenge his clan but loses his humanity along the way only to have to rediscover it to ultimately obtain revenge he sought all along.

Skulthor Ebonblade will be released on CD and digital formats. The CD version will include an acoustic bonus track called "Solitude”. The album was mixed, mastered, and recorded by Andy Bishop at Giraffe Studios, Hendersonville NC. Artwork By David Paul Seymour.

Tracklisting:

“Burning Of Hjalmar”
“I Destroyer”
“Into The Maelstrom”
“To Forge A Legend (Ulfbehrt)”
“Lair Of The Gorgon Queen”
“Solitude” *
“Treachery Of The Blind Raven”
“Witches Of Dredmoor”
“My Name Was Skulthor”

* CD Bonus Track

“Lair Of The Gorgon Queen”:

Australian metal destroyers, Aversions Crown, will release their sophomore album, Xenocide, on January 20th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Today, the band has released their fourth video trailer for the record, in which they discuss the Australian metal scene and how it has influenced them. Find all trailers below.

Xenocide was tracked by Adam Merker at Studio Anders Debeerz in Brisbane and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, Devildriver) from Audio Hammer.

Fans can now preorder the album with or without the limited Erebus / Parasites 7" from the Nuclear Blast web shop. Xenocide can also be preordered digitally from iTunes, Amazon (widgets below) and Google Play. Pre-order the album digitally via iTunes or Amazon and receive the songs "Ophiophagy" and "Erebus" instantly.

Xenocide tracklisting:

“Void”
“Prismatic Abyss”
“The Soulless Acolyte”
“Hybridization”
“Erebus”
“Ophiophagy”
“The Oracles Of Existence”
“Cynical Entity”
“Stillborn Existence”
“Cycles Of Haruspex”
“Misery”
“Odium”

Trailers:

"Prismatic Abyss" video:

“The Soulless Acolyte” drum playthrough:

“The Soulless Acolyte” track video:

“Ophiophagy” lyric video:

“Erebus”:

 

 

 

 

(Photo - Harley Folbigg)

Scottish avant-garde blackened metal band, Ashenspire, have released a lyric video for "Restless Giants". The video features images of Glasgow while the harrowing track plays in the background. The track is taken from their new album, Speak Not Of The Laudanum Quandary, which will be released on January 20th.

The band commented: "Drawing particularly relevant parallels to scenes of today, Restless Giants is an observation focusing on the displaced, or refugees. Scottish history is no stranger to this concept (the Highland Clearances come to mind) but the uprooting and vilification of common peoples has long been a tool used by oppressors and imperialists the world over to justify subjugation and indifference. We leave the listener to draw their own conclusions on the associated images."

Tracklisting:

“Restless Giants”
“The Wretched Mills”
“Mariners At Perdition's Lighthouse”
“Grievous Bodily Harmonies”
“A Beggar's Belief”
“Fever Sheds”
“Speak Not Of The Laudanum Quandary”

"Restless Giants" lyric video:

Pre-order the album here.

US power/thrash metal act Wretch will release their new album, The Hunt, on February 24th via Pure Steel Records. The pre-order phase will start on February 10th.

Wretch are pioneers of their local Cleveland metal scene and have since forged ahead to become an internationally recognized force of powerful melodic metal with festival performances in Germany and Greece. Prepare for the bands latest release The Hunt - a shredding masterpiece that will appeal to fans of Primal Fear, Iced Earth, Helloween and Iron Maiden.

The first album to feature new singer Juan Ricardo, who has a voice reminiscent of the mighty Bruce Dickinson, the new album is 40 minutes of exceptional power/thrash that marks the bands long journey since its 2006 debut, Reborn.

Released through Pure Steel Records, who also released the band’s previous album Warriors, the new album will be released in February before the bands upcoming European tour in March alongside Split Heaven.

Tracklisting:

“Sturmbringer”
“The Hunt”
“Throne Of Poseidon”
“Twilight´s End”
“The Final Stand”
“Fortune’s Fool”
“The King In Red”
“Straight To Hell”
“Pierce The Veil”
“Once In A Lifetime”
“She Waits”

Lineup:

Juan Ricardo - vocals
Nick Giannakos - lead- and rhythm guitar
Michael “Mjölnir” Stephenson - lead- and rhythm guitar
Tim Frederick - bass
Jeff Curenton - drums

German alcohol-soaked thrash metal act TANKARD has set "One Foot In The Grave" as the title of its new album, tentatively due late spring/early summer via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2014's "R.I.B. (Rest In Beer)" is being recorded at Gernhart Studios in Troisdorf with producer Martin Buchwalter (DESTRUCTION, ACCUSER, PERZONAL WAR, SUIDAKRA). Guitars, bass and drums are already done, and TANKARD frontman Andreas "Gerre" Geremia is currently laying down his vocals on the soundtrack to the band's 35th anniversary.

He said: "At the moment I have seven songs ready!

"It's a great pleasure to work with Martin for the very first time! He really kicks my ass, so I have a lot of work! So I really look forward to a great result to celebrate our 35th birthday in a reasonable way!

"Senile with style!"

The cover artwork for "One Foot In The Grave" will be created by Patrick Strogulski, who is a student of Sebastian Krüger, the recent artwork designer of TANKARD.

UKEM Records have announced that the new Solitary album will be unleashed on Friday, March 3rd. The album is entitled The Diseased Heart Of Society and features sleeve art from Andy Pilkington of Very Metal Art (Flotsam And Jetsam, etc.), who also created the hard hitting lyric video for the single “Unidentified” (see below).

Renowned producer Simon Efemey (Amorphis, Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, etc.) worked with the band on The Diseased Heart Of Society to ensure that it delivers nothing less than total thrash destruction.

Tracklisting:

“Blackened Skies”
“Wait”
“Trigger Point Atrocity”
“Anthem Of Regret”
“Architects Of Shame”
“The Diseased Heart Of Society”
“Unidentified”
“The Words Define”
“The Edge Of Violence”
“Humanity's Decline”

“Unidentified” lyric video:

Pre-orders for the album are open now - with both the band and label offering some exclusive package deals. For some truly incredible bundles, featuring signed copies of The Diseased Heart Of Society and the following exclusive items head to solitary.org.uk/shop.

- I Promise To Thrash Forever: The Solitary Story - a brand new book written by Solitary front man Rich Sherrington, recounting the history of one of the UK’s most enduring thrash outfits
- The Solitary Media Card - featuring a digital copy of the new album along with a mass of video material and demos unavailable anywhere else
- Limited edition t-shirts, patches, stickers, key rings, metal artwork plaques - all only available from the Solitary shop

Meanwhile UKEM are offering digi-pack CDs combined with fantastic album artwork t-shirts at ukemrecords.co.uk.Or simply pick up a digi-pack copy of the album here.

Solitary will be heading up to Scotland and over to mainland Europe for a series of live dates to support the album release (full details to follow shortly) as well as playing at the already sold out Hammerfest, March 23rd - 26th and joining forces with Acid Reign and Shrapnel for a thrash spectacular in London, at the Camden Underworld on April 8th.

Due for release via AFM Records on January 27th, World Of Silence MMXVII is an entirely re-recorded and remixed version of the debut album by Canadian progressive power metal band, Borealis.

Originally released in 2008, this 2016 remix now sees these songs officially made available through a label for the very first time. The diehard fanbase surely will be amazed by the massive improvement on sound and performance over the original recordings. World Of Silence MMXVII is a must have for all prog power metal lovers. A re-recorded version of "Midnight City" is available for streaming below.

“We were in talks with AFM about re-releasing World Of Silence when we suddenly thought “why not re-record the entire album for this occasion?”, Borealis singer/guitarist Matt Marinelli says. “It was originally self-released in 2008. A lot has happened since then. The band has evolved a lot and two more albums were released in 2011’s Fall From Grace and 2015’s Purgatory. So making this reissue of World Of Silence a representation of what Borealis is about in 2017 made sense for us. We are in the fortunate position that our drummer Sean Dowell runs his own studio, so recording, mixing/mastering didn’t cause any problems for us in this case.”

After finishing work on World Of Silence MMXVII, Borealis has two more exciting projects for 2017: in April, the band will re-release their 2011 album Fall From Grace via AFM and has already continued songwriting for their upcoming studio album with all new material, which will drop in fall 2017.

World Of Silence MMXVII tracklisting:

“Lost Voices”
“Midnight City”
“From The Fading Screams”
“Forget The Past”
“Eyes Of A Dream”
“World Of Silence”
“The Afterlife”
“Divine Answer”
“The Dawning Light”
“Black Rose”

“Midnight City”:

Pride & Joy Music has announced the signing of Frode Hovd’s Aldaria for the release of their metal opera concept album, Land Of Light. The release of this record is scheduled for March 24th.

Land Of Light contains 11 epic tracks in the vein of old Helloween and Avantasia, with fast-paced hymns to beautiful ballads. The band is masterminded by guitarist Frode Hovd from the Norwegian metal group Memorized Dreams, who was joined by a host of world known guests from the metal community (listed below)

Produced and fully written by Hovd himself, this conceptional album was mixed by Roland Grapow (Masterplan) at Grapow Studios and mastered by Jacob Hansen (Primal Fear, Volbeat, Doro etc) at Hansen Studios. Artwork by Stan W. Decker (Jorn, Serious Black).

Performers:

Singers
Fabio Lione (Rhapsody of Fire)
Rick Altzi (Masterplan)
Todd Michael Hall (Riot V)
Yannis Papadopoulos (Wardrum)
Tommy ReinXeed (ReinXeed)
Mathias Blad (Falconer)
Jonas Heidgert (Dragonland)
Kristoffer Göbel (ex Falconer)
David Åkesson (Qantice)
PelleK (PelleK)
Marit Børresen
Bernt Fjellestad (Guardians Of Time)
Vasilis Georgiou (Sunburst)
Sigfried Samer (Dragony)
Mayo Petranin (Signum Regis)
Konstantin Naumenko (Sunrise)
Mina Giannopoulou

Musicians:
Uli Kusch, Roland Grapow, Frode Hovd, Mike LePond, Christer Harøy, Jimmy Hedlund, Peter Danielsen, Andreas Nergård, Peter Crowley, Ronnie König, Kenneth Skarsvåg, Rayner Harøy, Filip Andel, Paolo Campitelli, Linus Abrahamson, Robert Myrhaug, Filip Kolus, Mistheria and Gabriels.

Progressive black metallers, Code, are streaming the song "Affliction”, featured on the band's upcoming Lost Signal EP,  to be released on January 27th via Agonia Records, on vinyl and digital formats. Listen to the song below.

In the summer of 2015, Code spent some time in a studio in England to experiment with tracks from their back catalogue of four albums. The idea was to re-visit past works from a different angle and Lost Signal is the result.

The EP features three songs from their most recent album Mut (2015), performed with a strong metallic approach. It also features three further songs, one from each of the first three albums performed in a more subtle and introspective style similar to that seen on the Mut album. The result is a release that alternatively emphasizes the subtlety and heaviness of the band's sound and provides a chance to hear these songs in a completely new way.

The songs featured on the EP are:

"On Blinding Larks" (from Mut)
"Cocoon" (from Mut)
"Affliction" (from Mut)
"The Rattle of Black Teeth" (from Resplendent Grotesque)
"The Lazarus Cord" (from Augur Nox)
"Brass Dogs" (from Nouveau Gloaming)

“Affliction”:

“Brass Dogs”:

Trailer:

Produced and mixed by the band themselves, this is the sound of Code exploring the dichotomy within their music and producing a release of rich power, melody and dynamics.

Available formats:

- Transparent 12" LP limited to 389 copies
- Transparent 12" LP with black splatter limited to 111 copies
- Digital

Pre-orders: vinyl / digital

Code lineup:

Aort - Guitars
Andras - Guitars
LORDt - Drums
Syhr - Bass
Wacian - Vocals

Abreaction, the new studio album from Svart Crown, will be released on March 3rd in Europe, and March 17th in North America via Century Media. The album track, “Transsubstantiation”, is available for streaming below.

Abreaction will be available as a limited deluxe digipak that folds out to a cross (EU version), limited digipak (US version), limited gatefold LP+CD with a 12-page LP-booklet and as digital download/stream.

The cover artwork for Abreaction was created by Stefan Thanneur and perfectly captures the vibe of Abreaction with its voodoo-like atmosphere and eldritch inscrutability.

Abreaction tracklisting:

“Golden Sacrament”
“Carcosa”
“The Pact: To The Devil His Due”
“Upon This Intimate Madness”
“Khimba Rites”
“Tentacion”
“Orgasmic Spiritual Ecstasy”
“Transsubstantiation”
“Emphatic Illusion”
“Lwas”
“Nganda”

“Transsubstantiation”:

As a warm up to the release of Abreaction, Svart Crown have just been confirmed for the US tour of Marduk and Incantation.

Tour dates:

February (with Marduk and Incantation)
7 - Tampa, FL - The Orpheum
8 - Atlanta, GA - Heaven @ Masquerade
9 - Dayton, OH - Oddbody's
10 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's
11 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
12 - Fort Worth, TX - Rail Club
13 - Austin, TX - Grizzly Hall
14 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
15 - Phoenix, AZ - Joe's Grotto
16 - Las Vegas, NV - TBC
17 - Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theater
18 - Oakland, CA - Metro Opera House
19 - Portland, OR - Bossanova Ballroom
20 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven

More tour dates:

February
21 - Le Ferraileur - Nantes, France
22 - Le Temps Machine - Tours, France
23 - Le Petit Bain - Paris, France
25 - Le 106 - Rouen, France

March
3 - Le Metronum - Toulouse, France

More dates to be announced soon.

Svart Crown lineup:

JB Le Bail - vocals, guitars
Ludovic Veyssière - bass
Kévin Paradis - drums
Kevin Verlay - guitars