Jacob Grant of Capital Chaos conducted an interview with Chrigel Glanzmann, frontman, bandleader, songwriter and lyricist for Swiss folk metallers ELUVEITIE, on November 30, 2012 at Oakland Metro in Oakland, California. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is performance footage of the Oakland concert.

ELUVEITIE performed its latest concept album, "Helvetios", in its entirety during the band's recent North American co-headlining tour with Finnish epic metallers WINTERSUN. The trek commemorated ELUVEITIE's 10th anniversary as well as served as WINTERSUN's introduction to North American shores. This momentous event also included the German pagan metal band VARG.

"Helvetios" sold 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 3 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"Helvetios" was released in Europe on February 10, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records

"Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe says that he prepared for his new role in the supernatural thriller "Horns" by listening to heavy metal music.

In "Horns", Radcliffe plays Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, a 26-year-old guy who wakes up to find horns sprouting from his head. And to help him unleash the demon within, Radcliffe turned to rock music.

"I'm listening to a lot of metal and allowing that slightly demonic rock 'n' roll spirit out. There's nothing else like it," the 23-year-old actor told The Sun.

Radcliffe previously described his new role as "deeply emotional and also incredibly outrageous in some ways."

He added: "To play somebody who, in the midst of a time in his life of great turmoil anyway, undergoes this horrific transformation into a devil character — it was very, very exciting."

Based on the novel by Joe Hill, "Horns" was directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Keith Bunin.

Prosthetic Records has announced the signing of neo-fusion instrumental power trio NIACIN. The supergroup, which consists of legendary bass guitarist Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, STEVE VAI, DAVID LEE ROTH), keyboardist John Novello (CHICK COREA, EDGAR WINTER) and world-renowned drummer Dennis Chambers (SANTANA, PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC), will release its sixth studio album, "Krush", this spring.

The moniker NIACIN — the common name of the vitamin B3 — refers to the integral musical role played by the Hammond B-3 organ in shaping the band's sound, described by All Music Guide as "part acid jazz, part progressive rock, and part jazz-rock fusion." Inspired by the likes of RETURN TO FOREVER and the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, the group released their debut album in 1996 on Stretch, the label of jazz legend Chick Corea (who later wrote and performed on a track on NIACIN's second album). With each member already firmly established in their respective genres, the band set out to form a new sound combining their jazz and rock roots, mixed with inspiration from B-3 legends such as BLIND FAITH, Keith Emerson, Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE), and Ken Hensley (URIAH HEEP). As the buzz spread, the group toured the world periodically over the following decade, during which they released four additional critically acclaimed albums featuring such notable guests as Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) and TOTO guitarist Steve Lukather.

For the last several years, the individual members of NIACIN have worked steadily on various other projects — Chambers, for example, continues to serve as the musical anchor for Carlos Santana's ongoing Las Vegas residency — but in 2012, the group reconvened for the first time since 2006 to write and record "Krush".

More details on the release — the group's first in eight years — will be announced shortly.

Singer Jack Russell of GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL (formerly JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE) was interviewed on the latest edition of "Rockin Metal Revival" with hosts Red and Jerry.

Asked if he could ever envision himself reconciling with his former GREAT WHITE bandmates, Jack said: "No way! Absolutely not. Not over my dead body. Too many things have been said, and too many lies, and just too much hurt, man. I've had the knife stuck in way too deep. I can forgive them, but I can't forget. It's like we were brothers, man, and we were there through thick and thin, and when it came down to it, no, we weren't. It was all a big façade for the public. It's sad; it really is. It was a just a really lousy finale for a once-great rock band."

The entire interview is available for streaming using the audio player below (Note: The Russell chat begins around the 24-minute mark).

Interview (audio):

Legendary rocker Ted Nugent, who is an avid supporter of gun rights and antagonist of President Barack Obama, has blasted TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider for "falling for the big lie" by accusing the guitarist of having dodged the draft.

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, Snider stated about Nugent's recent comments about Barack Obama and gun control: "Ted's always been a gun-toting conservative. But what gets me is that he was actually a draft dodger! I mean, to the point where he didn't bathe for a week, and vomited on himself to deliberately avoid the draft. I totally understand why he did that, but all of these Republicans who love Ted don't seem to know or remember that too well. It's crazy that he's become one of the voices of Conservative America even though he was a draft dodger. If you don't believe me, Google it."

After the Snider interview was published earlier today, Nugent took to his Twitter to respond: "Shame on @deesnider for falling for the big lie I challenge u to man up to the truth We xpected btr"

Nugent recently wrote an open letter to Vice President Joe Biden, offering his advice and suggestions on how to focus on the mental health care system to stop potentially violent citizens from acting out crimes.

Norwegian black 'n' roll legion VREID has release a new single, "The Way Of The Serpent", from their forthcoming new full-length, "Welcome Farewell". Cold and compelling, the follow-up to 2011's "V", which Decibel magazine called "VREID's finest hour," was recorded at bassist Hváll's own Studio 1184 and is set for North American release on March 5 via Indie Recordings.

Described by Metal Hammer as a "unique time-travel in metal," commending their merge of '70s rock, '80s classic metal and Norwegian black metal, with the eight-track "Welcome Farewell" VREID again add a new twist to their already difficult-to-pinpoint sound. Hváll says of the new material, "It's been a lot of work, but we are utterly pleased with the result. 'Dark,' 'heavy' and 'VREID' are the three keywords to describe it."

"Welcome Farewell" track listing:

01. The Ramble
02. The Way Of The Serpent
03. The Devil's Hand
04. Welcome Farewell
05. The Reap
06. Sights of Old
07. Black Waves
08. At The Brook

VREID formed in 2004 following the demise of ''Sognametal" legends WINDIR. Some described their music as a fusion of WINDIR's ambiance, the rawness of Norwegian black metal and the molten groove of SEPULTURA, METALLICA and MOTÖRHEAD blended with historically inspired lyrics. Their third and fourth offerings, "I Krig" and "Milorg", were both concept albums based around the liberation work in Norway during World War II. Liberation was also the keyword on "V", but put in a broader historical/philosophic perspective. The lyrics on "Welcome Farewell" describe a lifecycle through a series of short stories, seen from an existential point of view and, inspired by Hváll's own local community with its nature, architecture and historical artists such as Arne Garborg and Otto Valstad, are more personal than ever before.

VREID is:

Hváll - Bass
Sture - Vocals/Guitar
Strom - Guitar
Steingrim - Drums

Drummer Lyle Cooper has confirmed his departure from Los Angeles-based progressive death metal titans THE FACELESS.

Said Cooper in a statement: "After almost five years with the band, I've decided to part ways.

"Over the last couple of years it seemed that the interests, goals and musical approach of the band was not that of my own. Also, managerial issues became too frequent with no resolution. These issues, I felt, made it hard for me as an individual to produce as a creative and enthusiastic member.

"I'm sure that proceeding my departure, the band will have no trouble finding someone with the right mindset and talents to step in and keep the band moving forward.

"Thank you to the fans and everyone who supported THE FACELESS throughout the years. I wish the band and its members nothing but continued success and make sure you catch them on their upcoming tours. I will still be pursuing my other musical projects so look out for new ABSVRDIST and ABHORRENT this year."

THE FACELESS's third full-length album, "Autotheism", was issued on August 14, 2012 via Sumerian Records. The band's first release in over three years saw the group's leader, Michael Keene, enlist a new vocalist, bassist and additional guitarist to help him see his musical vision come to fruition and these new members have delivered tenfold.

According to a press release, "Autotheism" is "a semi-conceptual record following a man's journey of self-discovery and transformation into the all-powerful God of his reality. It starts with his realization of the power he possesses and moves through every step of an ever-evolving reality that the future may have in store. Musically, 'Autotheism' is expansive in all directions. It is a thought-provoking roller coaster with the occasional sledge hammer to the skull and contains more dynamics and diversity than any offering presented by THE FACELESS to date."

DEF LEPPARD will play its 1987 album, "Hysteria", in its entirety as part of the Las Vegas residency, which is scheduled to kick off at the end of March.

DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott tells Billboard.com that the nine-date Viva Hysteria! will give the bandmembers a chance to work on ideas for the follow-up to 2008's "Songs From the Sparkle Lounge", which was named after the backstage writing room the group employed on tour. "This will be the first time in at least 10 years where we're all actually in one room banging out songs from scratch," Elliott explains. "We don't all live on the same continent, so it's increasingly more difficult for us to just do what people expect a band to do — wander into a dusty old rehearsal room and go, 'What you got?' Getting together to write an album is an event. So the whole point of this Vegas thing when we're not on stage is to attack pieces of work we have that aren't finished songs — 'I've got this riff.' 'Great, let's play around with it.' I'm sure everybody's got some individual ideas, and we'll go from there."

Viva Hysteria! follows Hard Rock residencies from MÖTLEY CRÜE and GUNS N' ROSES.

Tickets are on sale now and start at $49.50, with floor seats going for $125.

Speaking to Vegas.com, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen stated about the band's decision to do the Vegas residency: "A lot of other bands do this stuff, but I think it's a little bit more special because 'Hysteria' was one of the diamond albums, especially in this day and age there are not that many albums that achieve that kind of status. That's why it's so important to us; it's such a big-selling album. It's a challenge as well. We've never actually done that before. We've always said yeah we could do 'High 'n' Dry'. 'Hysteria', that's a lot more challenging. A lot of the songs on there are hard to sing and play at the same time."

Regarding what he thinks it was about that album that continues to attract fans today, Collen said: "Mutt Lange is a genius. He said we can do an ultimate rock album or we can do a rock version of 'Thriller', where we have seven hit singles. But to do that, you have to put the extra effort in. The attitude when the album came out, a lot of people didn't like it. They thought, oh this is too pop or they didn't understand the crossover because it's a perfect hybrid between rock and pop. If you look at Mutt Lange's track record, his biggest successes are, for example, Shania Twain. He definitely brought country to the masses. He successfully fused rock, pop music with country, and I never thought I'd see the day. I remember being in Japan and hearing Shana Twain when I was going up and down in an elevator. That, for us, like I said, it was the perfect hybrid of pop and rock that was actually acceptable. A lot of rock fans didn't like it at first, but by the end of that year, everyone had the record. You couldn't really escape the whole thing. It was pop music, but done rock. We kicked our ass on it. It was very different from anything that had come before it, actually."

Chilean thrash metallers WARCHEST have announced the departure of original drummer, Pato Javier Peláez. He will be replaced by by Christiansen Oros as a permanent member of the band.

The new 2013 lineup is as follows:

Christian Peláez: Guitars/Vocals
José Tomás García: Guitars
Raimundo Correa: Bass
Christiansen Oros: Drums
Christian Peláez commented: "I'm very sad to see my brother leaving the band because first of all he is my brother and second he has been the only drummer I have always played with from the first days, but I do understand that he has today different priorities for his life nowadays. I wish him all the success and we (the band) thank him all his contributions and talent that he put in the band.

On the other hand, we are very happy to announce that Chris (Oros) is the new drummer. The audition process took over 2 months and
we think that he has the right approach to the style of the band. The band objective for this present year is to record the second full album and start playing live with this new lineup, which will be possible this coming February 23rd, more information on our social network
websites."

More on Warchest at this location.

French black metallers SETH have re-signed with Season Of Mist. The band's fifth album, "The Howling Spirit", will be released on June 7 in Europe and June 11 in North America.

SETH's debut CD, "Les Blessures De L'Ame" (1998) was one of Season Of Mist's very first releases. The album was re-released last year in a remastered edition, including two bonus tracks and brand new artwork. It is available in Season of Mist’s e-shop as CD and hand-numbered, double gatefold LP limited to 500 copies.

Commented SETH leader Heimoth: “This is some exceptional moment for us as we are now officially back on the very same label that released our first album in '98 and I guess this truly makes our recent comeback even more worthwhile. Both parties have taken different directions for more than 10 years but we are thrilled to unveil 'The Howling Spirit' together. I personally feel this is a significant step forward born from the special relationship the band and Season Of Mist have had through the years."

"Baphometic Chaosium", the first-ever music video from Los Angeles underground black metallers LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH, can be seen below. The clip was directed by co-founder and lead vocalist Autarch (a.k.a. the metal illustrator Farron Loathing). The project, which also marks Autarch's directorial debut, is the result of a partnership between Farron Loathing and Mortichrome Films. It is described by its creator as "a psycho-dramatic interpretation of the Mass of Chaos and the invocation of Baphomet as performed by a collective of ritual performance artists."

"Baphometic Chaosium" is the title track of LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH's third full-length album, which was released on January 22 via Metal Blade Records. The band has appropriately become a five-piece (completing the pentacle) with the recruitment of lead guitarist "Inverted" Chris Velez, before it began developing what is described as "devotional work", dedicated to their patron god — a mind-altering experience compelled by the embodiment of chaos, death and ecstasy. To record the psychedelic devilry, they returned to Trench Studios, with John Haddad again seeing to the engineering, with Roskva producing, no doubt to the delight of the tributed horned deity.

"Baphometic Chaosium" track listing:

01. Baphometic Chaosium
02. Acid Gate
03. Psychic Waters
04. Cloven Shields
05. Chained To Decay
06. R'Lyeh Wuurm
07. Epicyclarium
08. Oaken Chrysalis

Polish southern metallers J.D. OVERDRIVE are currently working on the material for their sophomore studio album. The as-yet-untitled album is scheduled for release in late May via Metal Mind Productions.

The band commented: "Work on the new album is well underway - drum parts are already recorded, we are giving the finishing touches to the guitar and bass parts. Vocals will be recoded in early February. This time around we invited a few guests to be a part of the new album. The material will be heavier, more metal than on our first release."

A video update from the studio can be seen below:
Lineup:

Wojtek "Suse?" Ka?u?a - vocal
Micha? "Stempel" Stemplowski - guitar
?ukasz "Joorek" Jurewicz - drums
?ukasz "Peo" Pomiet?o - bass

OUTRE's debut EP, titled Tranquility, is scheduled for release this month. The core of the band; Damian Igielski (SERPENTIA) and Andrzej Nowak (FLESHWORLD) had created four compositions in the style of modern black metal with elements of thrash, death and even prog and post metal. The visuals were created by Marcin Gadomski from Upgrade Design Studio. Tranquility will be released as a limited digi-pack and as a digital release. You can buy this EP directly from the band here.
The band also released a teaser of the forthcoming EP, you can watch it here:

Candlelight Records has set ab April 23 North American release date for "Withdrawal", the third album from black metallers WOE. Produced by vocalist/guitarist Chris Grigg and mastered by Colin Marston, the CD features seven new songs with a running time of 43 minutes. It is the first new material by the band since 2010's widely regarded "Quietly, Undramatically". "Withdrawal" reunites the band with artist and longtime friend Justin Miller.

"I spent a ton of time focusing on the production," says Grigg in discussing the album's creation. "We examined what WOE created since its inception in 2007 and broke it down to its core elements. The result is something that is a synthesis of the strongest elements: the unstoppable black metal ferocity of 'A Spell For The Death Of Man' mixed with the bold dynamics and smarter, more direct and personal songwriting of 'Quietly, Undramatically'. It is our most intense, our most cohesive, our most personal."

Recorded at studios in New York and New Jersey during the latter months of 2012, "Withdrawal" is a robust and penetrating album. It benefits from 18 months of live performances; something unavailable to WOE in the early years.

"This is music that was made to be performed live," Grigg notes. "Working with other people keeps WOE fresh. They bring new ideas and perspectives, fill in the gaps of my own abilities, and keep things moving when I slow down. This is the first WOE album to include not just riffs written by others but entire songs. Ruston (Grosse, drums) wrote 'Ceaseless Jaws'. Ben (Brand, guitar) wrote the initial draft of 'Exhausted' and then we reworked it. It's also the first album to include vocals other than mine: Grzesiek (Czapla, bass/vocals) doesn't just do backups; he has entire verses in a number of songs and is more 'second vocalist' than anything else."

A/V Club calls WOE "one of the best of a strong wave of young American black metal bands willing to play around with the boundaries of the genre." Metal Sucks says, "sincere and relentlessly creative, WOE put a new spin on an old method. The band crafts something that gives you a good sense of the possibilities that still exist in the genre. This is the sound of black metal to come." Popdose adds, "WOE burns the black metal rule book to create something wholly unique and desirable."

Originally launched as a one-man project, WOE released their debut, "A Spell For The Death Of Man", before teaming with England's Candlelight Records in 2009. Their label debut, "Quietly, Undramatically", was released late October 2010 and immediately found praise. Decibel called the album "an intriguing, revolutionary blend of black metal and shoegaze-tinged post-rock sophistication." Terrorizer found it to be, "a raging slab of barely contained aggression, immeasurable parthos, and damn fine songwriting." Shortly after release, WOE was invited to perform at the March 2011 Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, California. The band would follow that up with a number of regional dates before heading out with MAYHEM for their American tour later that year.

"Withdrawal" track listing:

01. This Is The End Of The Story
02. Carried By Waves To Remorseless Shores Of The Truth
03. All Bridges Burned
04. Ceaseless Jaws
05. Song Of My Undoing
06. Exhausted
07. Withdrawal

According to The Pulse Of Radio, KORN made a sick fan's dream come true when the members of the band met with him last October, and now the fan has posted a video journal of that experience online (see below). KORN agreed to meet with a fan named Tyler Sims after receiving a request from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sims suffers from lupus, an auto-immune disease that leads to excruciating arthritic pain and other physical ailments.

Sims, who says he's always wanted to meet the group, traveled to Phoenix with his family to connect with them at a concert there. In his video, he describes being picked up in a limo and driven to the venue, where he got to watch from the side of the stage as the band went through their soundcheck. Sims then meets each band member, finally sitting down with singer Jonathan Davis to share stories about themselves.

Davis told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that ever since the group's earliest days, KORN's first and foremost priority has always been its fans. "We've always been a band about our fans, even when we first started out, when we playing clubs," he said. "I miss it so much. We'd play a gig, and we'd go out there and we'd hang out with the fans. We used to go to their houses, have barbecues, have parties, do all that stuff. Once the band got bigger, we weren't able to do that, so we're just continually trying to have that relationship with the fans."

Sims says in his video that Davis "really connected with me kind of deep. It felt good that they actually cared." He adds, "I've been a KORN fan since I was 10 years old. As I got older, I really connected with all the lyrics and I mean every song means something to me. It says something to me and it really gets me through a lot of the rough times I go through."

KORN spent much of 2012 on tour behind its 10th studio album, "The Path Of Totality", but plans to begin work on a new set of material early this year.

The group will reunite with founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch for several festival shows next summer, with Welch playing full shows with the band for the first time since 2004.

THE MOANING’s only album, Blood From Stone, is one of those “I read about it, but never listened to it” albums. Why? Because the band comes from Luleå, which back in the days was quite isolated from any kind of metal scene. Because the band never toured outside of its home town. Because the cover artwork got delayed for quite some time although the album was already announced. Because all band members were still so young.

All those reasons might serve as an explanation why Blood From Stone never made it big. Still the album has managed to stand the test of time and nowadays is hailed as a classic piece of dark Swedish death metal with an evil melodic touch. Blood From Stone offers everything one can ask for: harsh vocals, somber riffs, eerie yet beautiful melodies, a grim production, a fantastic uncanny cover artwork.

Being out of print for many years now, Blood From Stone has become pretty sought-after nowadays. With the re-release of the album you now once more get the chance of listening to one rare, unjustly overlooked and excellent piece of Swedish death metal history. Kristian Wåhlin has supplied us with an excellent new scan of the outstandingly great cover artwork which now unfolds its pure beauty, especially on the LP cover and the 60x60 cm poster that comes with the vinyl. The entire layout has been reworked and includes lyrics and liner notes.

Blood From Stone will be released on January 28th as a standard CD jewelcase (initial print comes with a black bottom side CD) for midprice and on limited LP (180gr vinyl, printed innersleeve, 60x60cm poster, first time on vinyl). Be quick if you want to get a copy of the vinyl. Only 500 copies are available, of which 100 copies come on solid blue vinyl that can exclusively be purchased here.
Blood From Stone CD tracklisting:

'Blood From Stone'
'Stillborn'
'Of Darkness I Breed'
'Dying Internal Embers'
'A Dark Decade's Rising'
'Dreams In Black'
'Mirror Of The Soul'
'Dark Reflections'
'Blood From Stone' (demo 1995)
'A Battle To Win' (demo 1994)
'Blackened By Death' (demo 1994)
'Twilight Of Eternal Winter' (demo 1994)

Track 9 is previously unreleased. Tracks 10 - 12 are taken from the Promo 1994 demo, previously unreleased on CD and LP.
Blood From Stone LP tracklisting:

Side 1
'Blood From Stone'
'Stillborn'
'Of Darkness I Breed'
'Dying Internal Embers'

Side 2
'A Dark Decade's Rising'
'Dreams In Black'
'Mirror Of The Soul'
'Dark Reflections'

Hells Headbangers has announced April 16th as the release date for CEREKLOTH's In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death. A hottly tipped name in the death metal underground, In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death is the Danish quintet's debut album, which will see release on both CD and vinyl LP formats through Hells Headbangers, who've previously released the band's Halo Of Syringes and Pandemonium Prayers 7" EPs.
Defying the trends of time, Cerekloth are a band trying to capture their own timeless death metal sound on their long-brewing debut album, In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death. With emphasis on strong compositions and song structures, along with eerie, disharmonic moods and melodies to remember, Cerekloth tell the twisted tales of true death from the most bitter and darkest perspective, some even inspired by first-hand real-life experiences.

Formed in 2008 in Denmark, Cerekloth have two short releases behind them - 2008's Pandemonium Prayers and 2011's Halo Of Syringes, both released on 7" vinyl by Hells Headbangers - and after some changes in the lineup, the band now stand stronger than ever, consisting of five experienced musicians who lit the Cerekloth fire, preparing more material and forging plans for new releases as we await the release of In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death, which can currently be streamed below.

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death tracklisting:

'Praeludium'
'Born Of The Void'
'Within The Hollow Crown'
'Halo Of Syringes'
'Nest Of Disease'
'Mesmerizing Holy Death'
'When Outcast Become Kings'
'The Reapers Instant Is Our Eternity'

In The Midst of Life We Are In Death by CEREKLOTH

More on Cerekloth at this location.

"Living Flesh", the first ever live performance from NADER SADEK's critically acclaimed "In The Flesh" project will be released independently on February 27. Capturing the inimitable stage presence of a unique collaboration of death metal and black metal giants, "Living Flesh" offers the heavy, haunting soundtrack of a society ever more soaked in the reanimated, decomposed bio-matter we know as petroleum. The November 20, 2011 show featured the original lineup of musicians from the "In The Flesh" record, as well as two new performers. The original lineup consisted of Flo Mounier (CRYPTOPSY); Rune Eriksen (AURA NOIR, AVA INFERI, ex-MAYHEM); Novy (ex-BEHEMOTH and ex-VADER); and Steve Tucker (ex-MORBID ANGEL) in his first and last live appearance for this project. Those greats are joined by Sean Frey as guest live guitarist and Carmen Simoes on backing vocals. "Living Flesh" also brings you photos of that evening, demonstrating why Nader Sadek has been a favorite set designer for the likes of SUNN O))) and MAYHEM. Nodding to the petroleum theme, the Egyptian artist brought the drums to the front of the stage as a metaphorical engine driving the music, while the disembodied voices of the singers emerge from the rear of the stage, behind the guitars and bass. Sadek himself takes the stage to baptize small, gut-like objects in a black tar-like liquid and throw them into the crowd. The songs themselves differ from the original studio album arrangements. Not only are they played at a much higher speed, but have been extended to allow the audience to sink into and absorb the relentless riffs. Carmen Simoes' operatic voice enhances the melodies and darkens the atmosphere. The live show also features one track that does not appear on the studio album: Flo Mounier's extraordinary drum solo that shifts from brutal mechanical noise to rhythmic musical patterns, paralleling the overlap of man and machine charted by Sadek's petroleum-based project. "Living Flesh" will also be released in a single, unique vinyl edition. Consisting of a very special packaging and extra content, this piece is limited to one exclusive copy worldwide. Details to be announced.

"Living Flesh" track listing:

01. Re:awakening (live)
02. Nigredo in Necromance (live)
03. Sulffer (live)
04. Mechanic Idolatry (live)
05. Soulless (live)
06. Rusted Skin / Drum Solo ( live)
07. Of this Flesh (live)
08. Re: exhaust (live)
09. Petrophilia (live)

"Living Flesh" recording lineup:

* Rune Eriksen (AURA NOIR, MAYHEM) - rhythm guitar
* Flo Mounier (CRYPTOPSY) - drums
* Novy Nowak (VADER, BEHEMOTH) - bass
* Sean Frey - lead guitar
* Steve Tucker (MORBID ANGEL) - main vocals
* Carmen Simoes (AVA INFERI) - female vocals
* Nader Sadek - vocals and samples

Legendary Canadian thrashers SOOTHSAYER will release "Troops Of Hate", the first album since their 2007 comeback, on February 12 via Galy Records. The effort was recorded with all the original founding members — Stephan Whitton on vocals, Martin Cyr on guitar, Simon Genest on bass and Daniel Clavet on drums — and it contains 10 songs, including reworked versions of two old tracks (released for the first time on an album). The CD and the "die-hard edition" (including a bonus DVD, limited to 100 numbered copies) are available now for pre-order at the Galy Records webstore.

"Troops Of Hate" track listing:

01. Govern Me
02. Over Myself
03. Narrow Minded (revisited)
04. Back To Evil
05. Where Are We
06. Dark Star
07. Grötte
08. Chicken Pie
09. Enough
10. Anatomy Is Dead Sickness (revisited)

SOOTHSAYER in 2007 released a CD containing the group's classic 1986 demo "To Be A Real Terrorist" along with a 1987 live concert recorded at Le Spectrum in Montreal, Canada — all remastered. Available on Galy Records, the CD came with a six-page, full-color booklet with rare pictures, flyers and liner notes from Rob Urbinati (SACRIFICE), Brian Lehfeldt (WEHRMACHT), James Plotkin and more.

Occasional BLABBERMOUTH.NET CD reviewer Don "Fang" Kaye once wrote in Kerrang! magazine that SOOTHSAYER has "obviously been to the SLAYER school of music, with side courses in VOIVOD and SACRIFICE."

SOOTHSAYER reunited for the first time in 17 years for an exclusive appearance at "1982 - 2007: 25 ans de Métal Québécois", a three-day festival celebrating 25 years of Quebec metal, which took place from August 31 to September 2, 2007 at Club Soda in Montreal. A total of 12 bands performed at the event, with eight among them reuniting specifically for the festival.

Australian melodic metallers LORD have set a February 22 Australian release date of their new album, "Digital Lies". Dates for New Zealand and Japan will follow, along with announcements for distribution partners for the rest of the world.

Stated LORD mainman Lord Tim: "Finally! It seems like a lifetime since we started this album until this point, but we're finally here.

"For this release, we thought long and hard about other options regarding labels and, frankly, it's a mess out there. The larger labels are doing everything they can to protect their revenue and are being very cautious about who they deal with, and the smaller labels are at the mercy of a very volatile and changing market, and you can never be sure they'll be still in business once the time to pay up comes around. We've unfortunately had to wear the consequences of that in the past.

"We've chosen once again to distribute this release via Riot! Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand and Rubicon Music for Japan since we had such a great experience with them for our previous album, 'Set In Stone'. For the rest of the world, however, we've chosen this time to keep as much control over our product as we can by planning to export to stores around the globe and sell directly from our own web store.

"As I mentioned before, the market is so fickle now, trusting a label to even be there let alone pay up is a risk we just can't afford to take if we want to keep touring and releasing albums — simple as that.

"Pre-sales from our online store begin from Monday, January 28 and the album will be available both as a physical product in Australia from February 22 as well as a digital download which will be available worldwide.

"So what does it sound like?

"If you know what LORD sounds like… well, that. We're not reinventing ourselves or the genre at all. We haven't tried to go off in any new and weird direction. There's definitely an underlying dark technology vibe throughout the album as a theme, but other than that, it's the same diverse sound that we've had since we were out there as DUNGEON.

"But don't take my word for it, make up your own mind! Here's samples from the entire album. We hope you like it!"

"Digital Lies" track listing:

01. Incipio
02. Betrayal Blind
03. Digital Lies
04. Point Of View
05. Walk Away
06. 2D Person In A 3D World
07. Final Seconds
08. The Last Encore
09. Because We Can
10. The Chalkboard Prophet
11. Battle Of Venarium

The cover art was once again created by Felipe Machado (BLIND GUARDIAN, IRON SAVIOR, ICED EARTH, GAMMA RAY).

LORD is essentially a continuation of DUNGEON, one of Australia's longest running and highest-profile heavy metal bands that disbanded in 2005. LORD has released three full-length albums, two EPs and a digital-only release live album, and continues to play the DUNGEON back catalog live. The band has shared the stage with the likes of GAMMA RAY, NIGHTWISH, QUEENSRŸCHE and most recently ICED EARTH and continues to tour internationally. Their last critically acclaimed album, 2009's "Set In Stone", featured guest appearances by Craig Goldy (ex-DIO), Pete Lesperance (HAREM SCAREM), Glen Drover (ex-MEGADETH), Felipe Andreoi (ANGRA), Olof Mörck (AMARANTHE) alongside a host of other well-known musicians.

"Digital Lies" audio samples:

Radio Metal recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier of French progressive metallers GOJIRA. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Radio Metal: How do you feel about the last six months, after the release of "L'Enfant Sauvage"?

Joseph: Things have been mostly positive, I would say. Several aspects have to be taken into account: how do we feel about the songs, and how the public, the journalists and the labels react to them. The album is well received, the reviews are good too, it's a good sign. [laughs] There is some kind of argument about the record, but overall, and especially in foreign countries, it's very well received.

Radio Metal: What are these arguments you're talking about?

Joseph: It's about the fact that the band is now signed on Roadrunner, which means for some people the band has changed: "The first record will always be the best one," that kind of thing. But that's okay, that's normal, I don't really care, especially since what we live from the inside is totally different. Regarding Roadrunner, we're finally on a label that fits our position as an international band, and that we actually get something from, for instance in terms of promoting the record and so on. It's always a bit complicated to work with a big label — Roadrunner is now part of Warner — but our heads are still screwed on and we know the music business enough not to get eaten or let people get in our way. We're vigilant. We studied our contract for almost six months before signing it. We know what we're getting into. Now, what's important to us is to see if the songs work live: our focus is artistic above all, it's not about seeming honest or selling records. We make so much compromises in our everyday life to make this music, we can't get away with songs that disappoint us. It works: the tracks rock live and what's happening is amazing.

Radio Metal: "L'Enfant Sauvage" was released four years after "The Way Of All Flesh". After so long, the reactions of the public tend to be more extreme, whether it be positive or negative. Is this something you noticed?

Joseph: Yes. It's pretty much the same for every record: we wrote them with a lot of attention, and every record is a chapter in the band's story. Because of this, the whole thing's importance is very different than it would be if we'd have a record out every year or if we'd throw away new tracks all the time on the Internet. For us, each record is a big deal, then afterwards we usually spend a lot of time on the road. Between the release of "The Way Of All Flesh" and "L'Enfant Sauvage", there's been a lot of things changing around the band, our management or our signing on Roadrunner, for instance. All of this cost us time and energy to rebuild a team. All of these things took us about one year. We could have released "L'Enfant Sauvage" before if we didn't had to sign a new contract, to take care of the new management and so on. "The Way Of All Flesh" was the end of a cycle: with "L'Enfant Sauvage", a new one is starting. The next album won't take so long.

Radio Metal: Not long after you signed on Roadrunner, members of their staff and bands left the label too: what did you feel about that?

Joseph: I can say it on the radio: it pissed me off. [laughs] We were just back from a big, 10-day-long promotion tour all over Europe and guys from the New York office, Monte Conner [one of Roadrunner's former vice president of A&R], for instance, who signed SEPULTURA, FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD at the time, who came to the studio while we were recording the record, left. I've met wonderful people at Roadrunner, I've even been surprised to find out how much they loved music and how much they were involved with their bands. It really boosted me, I was like: "Awesome, we took the right decision!" and then there's been a change of direction. Long story short, the owner of Roadrunner sold his company to Warner. It was time for him to move on. Of course, it unsettled me a little bit because every time something change, you don't know what's going on and where you're going. Some people have been fired, too, and among them were some of the oldest art directors. Even now, nobody understand what happened and why all these changes happened. I was really shaken when I heard about that; these people had a strong character and were what made Roadrunner special. On the other hand, all the people who were working on specific tasks, for instance the Internet, the design, the promoting of the bands and so on, the second teams if you wish, stayed. Roadrunner's entity remains thanks to these people who've been working for the label for twenty or thirty years. We deal with them on a daily basis, like Karine and Manon in France, for instance, who've been working with these bands for years and years. There's a family spirit at Roadrunner, even if it belongs to Warner. I think that all these changes in the labels are the consequence of the situation of the music business all over the world: everything is changing and transforming. No money comes from the record sales anymore: everybody's freaking out a little bit. We tend to demonize the labels, especially when they're successful, but we have to remember that the people who are working to get the records out in stores, who are working with metal bands and who are having the current situation of music business blowing up in their face are music fans too. I don't want to dig down further to know why these people have been fired, it's not my job. I concentrate on the music. New people have come, it takes time to meet everybody. We'll see.

Read the entire interview from Radio Metal.

According to Denver Westword Blogs, vocalist Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES last month visited the Denver brewery Great Divide Brewing, which has been distributing its beers to Sweden for years via Great Brands — a craft-beer-focused Swedish distributor that carries a handful of American brews, including those from Avery, Left Hand, Oskar Blues and Ska. Anders, who says he is "a huge fan of good beer," got in touch with Great Divide's owner, Brian Dunn, through a friend who works for Great Brands.

The band and brewers became fast friends, and when brewer Chris Kirk learned that IN FLAMES was going to be in town, he invited Anders to the brewery to help put together a final pilot batch of HeyDay — a Belgian-style White ale that will be released this spring.

"Music and beer are so fucking similar," noted Fridén. "We put our heart and soul into what we do, and so do these guys. We're ambassadors. It's all about spreading the love...life's too short to drink shit."

Anders previously collaborated with several Swedish breweries under a brand he started with a friend called FrEQuency.

Skol Records has set an April 19 release date for "Strong As Steel - A Tribute To Anvil", the first-ever ANVIL tribute compilation. The effort will be limited to only 666 CD units, and will include ANVIL cover versions performed by such bands as MAVERICK (Japan), SINISTER REALM (USA), STORMZONE (Ireland), SATANICA (Japan), IRON KOBRA (Germany), DEXTER WARD (Greece), CONVIXION (Greece), SAVAGE BLADE (Canada), SKELATOR (USA), CAYM (Canadian band featuring ANVIL drummer Robb Reiner's son Tyler on drums), CRYSTAL VIPER (Poland) and others. The album is being produced by Bart Gabriel (pictured below with ANVIL frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow), who — in addition to helming albums by such bands as JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR, CRYSTAL VIPER, LONEWOLF and SACRED STEEL — has produced the "A Tribute To Cirith Ungol", "A Tribute To Metalucifer" And "A Tribute To Sabbat" compilations, as well as several other cover songs which later landed on tribute albums to such acts as W.A.S.P., ANGEL WITCH, MANILLA ROAD, WARLOCK and RUNNING WILD.

Commented Gabriel: "This will be a real tribute, a really high-quality release, because ANVIL deserve to have one. I realize it won't be a bestseller, but all those who have seen 'Anvil! The Story Of Anvil' movie will understand what's the driving force behind this project."

He added, "I'm one of those guys who got inspired by ANVIL to continue, to follow my dreams, to never give up. And I know there are many, many bands around who feel like the movie is about them as well. It's all about positive energy, and I'm truly honored that the project was approved and blessed by ANVIL members, [which is what] makes it even more special!"

"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" was named one of 2009's best documentaries by a slew of film critics associations across the continent, including critics in Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, and Las Vegas, as well as the International Documentary Association, the Online Film Critics Society, and the National Society of Film Critics. It also made the year-end Top 10 lists in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and Village Voice.

Indie Recordings has announce the signing of BLOOD TSUNAMI, the Oslo, Norway-based thrash metal band featuring drummer Bård G. Eithun (a.k.a. Faust; SCUM, ABORYM, EMPEROR). The band's new album, "For Faen", will be releasedMarch 8 in Norway, March 15 in Germany and Austria and March 11 in the rest of Europe.

The first single from the CD, "Metal Fang", can be streamed below.

According to a press release, "For Faen" "shows a band that has stripped their metal to the bone. Harder, meaner, dirtier and way more aggressive! This album is a relentless sonic beating. The songs are thrown at you, one by one, with an infernal speed that threathens to rip off chunks of flesh from your whole upper body. Rampant dogs is jumping out of your loudspeakers, daggers and bullets comes at you like a wall of horizontal rain. This is metal the way it was meant to be. Totally vicious and utterly dangerous! 'For Faen' is a monster of an album that will break your legs off by the knee and use them to beat the skull straight off your spine. You are in for some sickening tales from the dark side of humanity. Grotesque stories about some of the worlds worst serial killers, detailed information about horrendous ancient torture methods, war crimes, mass murder and chemicals, addiction and rotten human skin."

BLOOD TSUNAMI is:

Bård "Faust" Eithun - Drums
Kristoffer "Dor" Sørensen - Lead Guitar
Peter "Pete" Michael Kolstad Vegem - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals
Carl "Calle" Janfalk - Bass, Backing Vocals

CROWN has inked a deal with Candlelight Records.

Hailing from France, CROWN are two men and a machine who tune their neutron guitars to the Richter scale, and deliver the sound of a molten universe collapsing. Touching on early ISIS, GODFLESH, FLOOR and even KILLING JOKE, CROWN explore the depths of slow tempos on their début album, "The One", and their split EP with ST VALLEY through sheer exuberant heaviness.

The duo's depth-charging guitars and buried melodic tendencies snake around hissing electronics, a tribal / military percussive thwack, and the splashing cymbals of a minimal-yet-completely-effective drum-machine. Their sound is further emboldened by a massive bestial roar, heavy and oppressive, leading to an abyss of nothingness…. Welcome to the dark, spiralling, and obscure experiments of CROWN.

Fan-filmed video footage of Dutch/Norwegian rockers THE GATHERING performing on January 19 at Groene Engel in Oss, The Netherlands can be seen below.

THE GATHERING is working on the CD version of "Afterlights", a collection of reworked versions of tracks from the band's latest album, "Disclosure", which came out last September. The group states: "The songs are inspired by 'Disclosure' songs but totally rebuilt/remade. It's like listening to a new album. People who have the 'Afterlights' 10" vinyl [which came out last year] know what [we] mean."

"Disclosure" was released on September 12, 2012 via the band's own Psychonaut Records. The CD cover artwork was created by the Chilean artist Carlos Vergara Rivera.

THE GATHERING's previous album, "The West Pole", was released in North America on June 2, 2009 via Season of Mist. The CD was issued in most of Europe on May 4, 2009 via the group's own label, Psychonaut Records.

"The West Pole" marked the recording debut of new THE GATHERING singer Silje Wergeland, who was previously in the Norwegian band OCTAVIA SPERATI.

In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, Wergeland stated that "Disclosure" is "fresher, braver, more confident, honest, deeper [and] newer" than "The West Pole".

Regarding THE GATHERING's decision to release the "Heroes For Ghosts" single so far ahead of the full-length album, Silje said, "We decided to not do it for any other reason than release it because we wanted to! The song is way too long for a 'normal' single, but that didn't matter. We never released it to try to get it on radio or on TV. We know their limits of about three minutes to get airplay, and knew we'll never get there anyways. It was only marketed through our Facebook, Twitter and webpage, so very low key. THE GATHERING has its own label [Psychonaut], but we are not very business-focused. It is still all about the music and art. We were just so happy with it and wanted to share it with the world."

"Smells Like A Freakshow", the new video from Swedish metallers AVATAR, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fourth full-length album, "Black Waltz", which was released on February 14, 2012 via eOne Music. The CD was produced by Tobias Lindell (EUROPE, MUSTASCH, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR) and includes songs from a limited-edition EP that was released in Sweden at the end of October 2011.

Commented AVATAR frontman Johannes Eckerström: "The video illustrates inner conflict in an explicit manner, using abuse of unjust power in different contexts. The lyrical themes of downfall, embracing of decadence and failed attempts to escape are pointed out by the fact that ultimately the bad guys win."

AVATAR will support SEVENDUST and LACUNA COIL this winter. This is the very first time the band will play the U.S., with dates stretching up and down the East Coast.

Stated AVATAR drummer John Alfredsson: "It feels truly amazing to get the opportunity to make our first strike in the U.S. with SEVENDUST and LACUNA COIL. 2013 will be the year of AVATAR in the states and we are excited to bring the madness to you!"

"Black Waltz" track listing:

01. Let Us Die
02. Torn Apart
03. Ready For The Ride
04. In Napalm
05. Black Waltz
06. Blod
07. Let It Burn
08. One Touch
09. Paint Me Red
10. Smells Like A Freakshow
11. Use Your Tongue

AVATAR is:

Johannes Eckerström - Vocals
John Alfredsson - Drums
Jonas Jarlsby - Guitars
Simon Andersson - Guitars
Henrik Sandelin - Bass