Portuguese dark/goth metallers, HEAVENWOOD have announced that RAM-ZET's Miriam Renvag (known as SfinX) will be a very special guest on the band's new album, Abyss Masterpiece, to be released in 2011. SfinX will appear on a track titled 'Leonor'.

Heavenwood members commented: 'We felt SfinX vocals on 'Leonor' as if she was just side by side composing this melodramatic vocal lines for this song with us. She did a really fantastic work… A piece from her heart and soul is absolutely hand-delivered to you by SfinX enigmatic and very emotional voice on " Leonor ". '

Legendary Swedish doomsters CANDLEMASS will celebrate their 25-year anniversary by performing an extra-long set at Debaser Medis in Stockholm on December 18. The band's classic debut album, "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus", will be played in its entirety for the first time with the original singer Johan Längqvist.

Commented the band: "CANDLEMASS will play for nearly 2.5 hours! A set that definitely will leave you gobsmacked!! The band have also been in the studio recording a couple of cover songs especially for a limited vinyl maxi that will be sold on the evening of the show. If the gods of doom are with us, the five-CD 'Doomology' box will also be available at Debaser Medis, together with extra-cool shirts and posters!! Don’t miss this historical event!"

The official unveiling of the monument dedicated to legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio in the Bulgarian Black-sea coastal town of Kavarna took place yesterday (Saturday, October 23). Dio's road manager Steve Mignardi and DIO drummer Simon Wright (who also previously played with AC/DC) attended the event. Sculptors Alexander Petrov and Krasimir Krastev - Lomsky spent two months working on the project, which is more than two meters in height (approximately six-and-a-half feet) and is combined with large stones taken from the sea. The statue, which was funded entirely through donations, was placed in the city's central park, as part of the soon-to-be built "Alley Of Rock," a project approved by the City Council four years ago.

German black/doom metallers BETHLEHEM are back with their new Stoenkfitzchen mini CD, featuring 31-plus minutes featuring "a traditional blend of dark metal which has an industrial metal feel with modern moments and sullen atmospheres," according to a press release.

Stoenkfitzchen features Swedish multi-instrumentalist Niklas Kvarforth on main vocals and will be released via Red Stream, Inc. by Halloween 2010!

A seven-inch single of Alice Cooper's song "Keepin' Halloween Alive!" has been released on special glow-in-the-dark vinyl in a limited edition of 2,300 copies. Of those 2,300, only 1,450 are available for sale, in the U.S. ONLY! The remaining copies will be used for promotional materials and pre-orders in the U.K and the U.S. to promote the release of Alice's new DVD, "Theatre Of Death".

The limited-edition vinyl is available direct from AliceCooper.com for U.S. fans. The item can only be shipped to the U.S. No international orders will be accepted from AliceCooper.com.

Side A: "Keepin' Halloween Alive"
Side C: "I Love The Dead" (Live) (from "Theatre Of Death" DVD/CD)

A short video clip featuring footage of the manufacturing process for the "Keepin' Halloween Alive!" glow-in-the-dark vinyl single can be viewed below.

Alice delivers the song with the garage-punk snarl he is best known for, ensuring that it will soon be a Halloween classic.

"At home my family all gathers around an old spooky tree decorated with skulls and bones in the living room, and we exchange gifts," says Cooper. "It's our holiday. We even all have matching black-and-orange Halloween sweaters! I wanted a theme song for people like me, and for us Halloween never ends. In the chorus I say, 'I'm keepin' Halloween alive, baby, 3–6–5'... and I mean it!"

"Keepin' Halloween Alive" was co-written and co-produced by Cooper with Piggy D. (a member of ROB ZOMBIE's band), who played rhythm guitar/backup vocals. Dave Pino (POWERMAN 5000) is featured on lead guitar, and David Spreng (BOB DYLAN, THE BRAVERY) on drums.

Of the recording, Cooper says, "We played it live as a band to capture the vibe. It was the easiest work I think any of us have ever done, not to mention a blast!"

Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL will embark on the "Sombra" (English translation: Shadow) tour of Portugal in October-December. The band will perform acoustic and semi-acoustic versions of its best-known songs while backed by the Crystal Mountain Singers female choir and the Opus Diabolicum quintet composed of four cellists and a percussionist.

The dates are as follows:

Oct. 30 - Lisbon - Cinema São Jorge
Oct. 31 - Lisbon - Cinema São Jorge
Nov. 13 - Arcos De Valdevez - Casa Das Artes
Nov. 19 - Guimarães - Cae S. Mamede
Nov. 23 - Porto - Casa Da Música
Nov. 30 - Alcochete - Forum Cultural
Dec. 02 - Leiria - Teatro José Lúcio Silva
Dec. 03 - Ilhavo - Centro Cultural
Dec. 04 - Caldas Da Rainha - CCC
Dec. 07 - Guarda - Teatro Municipal
Dec. 09 - Portalegre - Caep

Following the release of the video teaser for Dualitet & Ulver (Duality and Wolves), Norwegian Viking Metallers HELHEIM are streaming the whole track on their MySpace page. The song, which includes guest vocals from TAAKE frontman Hoest, tells the story of Hati and Skoll, two wolves of Nordic legend, is taken from the Åsgards Fall mini-CD, which is due to be released in Norway on October 25th and worldwide on November 1st on Dark Essence Records.

Danish modern "melodeath thrashers" PITCHBLACK have posted 30-second audio samples (see YouTube clip below) of all the songs that will appear on their second album, "The Devilty", tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label. The CD was recorded at guitarist Thomas "Pede" Pedersen's Earplug Studio in Copenhagen and was mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, SICK OF IT ALL, MNEMIC, HEAVEN SHALL BURN).

Commented the band: "In the video you can also read, what the songs are about in the comments which appears as well as you can check out the bloody photo artwork, which has been made by professional crime photographer Johnny Frederiksen who spent 17 years on the Danish most controversial tabloid Ekstra Bladet."

"The Devilty" track listing:

01. Replacing God
02. Defriended
03. You're Fucking Below Me
04. Don't Make Me Mad
05. The Siren Song
06. I Return
07. One Day We'll Break Them
08. Bandido
09. Revenge (…Injustice For All)
10. Slow The Hate

THE INIQUITY DESCENT, the new extreme-metal project featuring vocalist Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns of Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL, has returned to the studio to begin four songs which will make up the group's debut release. The band states, "The basic sound has been found and the first two songs of the EP are very near their final state, only some minor changes to do tomorrow. The overall sound is really great and powerful! The mixing session will continue throughout the weekend and next Tuesday is scheduled for mastering. The mastering will take place at Nordic Audio Labs by Sami 'Hannu' Koivisto and us."

Rough-mix audio samples of three of the tracks can be found on the band's MySpace page.

"Nifelvind", the latest album from FINNTROLL, was released in North America in March via Century Media Records.

Finnish melodic death metallers MYGRAIN will release their third, self-titled album on January 12, 2011 via Spinefarm Records. The CD was recorded atSeawolf Studios in Helsinki with producer Janne Joutsenniemi (SUBURBAN TRIBE, STONE) and was mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE) at Unisound studios in Örebro, Sweden.

A medley of four new MYGRAIN songs can be heard in the YouTube clip below (clip shot by Toni Salminen of Metalscope).

Commented the band: "These versions ARE NOT final and they have been recorded at once but we're sure you'll have something out of them. Hopefully this will ease the long wait for the upcoming album."

MYGRAIN is:

Tommy (CYNTAX TERROR) - Vocals
Resistor (CYNTAX TERRO) - Rhythm Guitar
Mr. Downhill - Lead Guitar
Eve - Synths
Jonas - Bass
DJ Locomotive - Drums

Metal Hammer, the U.K.'s best-selling heavy metal magazine, has teamed up with black metal's most revered band, DIMMU BORGIR, for a very special collectors’ issue, complete with sound.

Known as the "demon box," the November issue continues Future PLC's run of innovative, attention-grabbing "event issues" for Metal Hammer — which have included a blood-soaked cover to celebrate the 20th anniversary of SLAYER's influential "Reign in Blood" album and the world's only magazine cover struck from metal plate for the return of METALLICA with their "Death Magnetic" album, and a high-definition 3D cover to herald the release of Brit-award winners IRON MAIDEN's "The Final Frontier" album.

Thanks to unrivalled access, Metal Hammer spent exclusive time with Norway's biggest metal export and reveals DIMMU BORGIR's insane new look and their latest opus — "Abrahadabra" — a heavy metal masterpiece recorded with a complete symphony. Emerging from a musical genre most associated with church burnings, the award-winning, Billboard-charting metallers have grown to world-beating status and are now ready to go for the big time.

The issue includes an official DIMMU BORGIR beanie hat and pin page. When it''s opened, the packaging plays a special message from their enigmatic frontman and founder Shagrath — recorded exclusively for Metal Hammer.

Elsewhere inside the December issue, the team catches up with fast-rising Australian brutalists PARKWAY DRIVE, heads to Brighton for a dose of homegrown brutality with LOWER THAN ATLANTIS and TRC, and celebrates the 20th anniversary of PANTERA's "Cowboys From Hell".

Alexander Milas, editor of Metal Hammer, said: "DIMMU BORGIR are an enigma — one of those bands who've risen from an underground scene in Norway to become a household name for metalheads. Their latest album is as breathtaking as it is ambitious, so what better way to toast their return than with something fittingly demonic?"

The November issue of Metal Hammer, complete with official DIMMU BORGIR merchandise and sound chip, is on sale now, with a cover price of £4.99.

Photos of GOTTHARD singer Steve Lee's final resting place have posted at Blick.ch. The urn containing Lee's ashes was placed in a cemetery in his hometown of Porza, Ticino on October 21. The funeral was an intimate gathering, with only close friends and family in attendence, including Steve's parents (who flew in from Spain), his sister Karin Nicholls and family, Steve's girlfriend Brigitte Voss-Balzarini, the surviving members of GOTTHARD and a handful of friends and neighbors.

French symphonic gothic ensemble WHYZDOM has acquired a brand new singer following the recent departure of Telya Melane. The band states, "We decided to welcome in the WHYZDOM family a young outstanding French vocalist whose thrilling and powerful voice fits perfectly the music of the album that we've been preparing for some time. As you can guess, we are eager to present her officially, but, of course, you'll understand that we need some material before doing so that we'll gather in the next following weeks."

TMZ.com reports that GUNS N' ROSES singer Axl Rose is being sued for allegedly causing damage to a 2006 Bentley Flying Spur car. According to a lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court, Axl still owes $73,976.42 in payments and fees on the vehicle, which he leased through Bentley Financial Services back in 2005.

Bentley claims when Axl returned the car (several months past the actual due date), it had some serious damage, including a cracked windshield, two damaged tires, broken glass on the left rear tail light, two dented doors and a gouged bumper. In addition, Axl allegedly turned in a "mismatched spare key" and a "broken remote key," and he was 42,397 miles over his contracted limit.

Cover artwork voting online; post new studio webisodes on YouTube!

As previously reported, NORTHER and Metal Hammer (Ger) have teamed up to give you the chance to vote for the artwork for the new NORTHER album “Circle Regenerated” which is set for an early 2011 release!


More than 100 cover artworks have been submitted by artists & fans all over the world and the band is now pleased to announce their personal top 10 and hereby ask you – the fans – to vote for your personal favourite! You can access the public voting here: http://www.centurymedia.com/vote. Please be aware of the fact that you need a valid e-mail adress & that you can only vote once a day. The voting will end on November 5th, 2010.

Kristian Ranta (guitars) comments on the competition & work in the studio:

"Hi all!!!

We have now reached the voting state with our cover art competition. Please give your vote for the best cover to be selected as the official album cover for our upcoming new album “Circle Regenerated”. Huge thanks to everyone for participating!

As you may know, we have been in the studio lately recording our 6th full length album – “Circle Regenerated”. Things have gone pretty well despite some minor schedule problems.

We are now finalizing our recordings and after that the mixing will start. The album will be out through Century Media early 2011. The material is a bit different, and a lot better from what we have done before!!

Our new guys, Aleksi and Daniel have contributed tremendously and the team is working better than ever. We are absolutely thrilled to get this stuff out to you guys!! :)

Meanwhile you can check out some of our studio videos here:
Part 2,
Part 3

Let the metal flow! Kristian / Norther”

PLAGUE WARHEAD, the new Swedish "old-school thrash metal" band featuring former members of EDGE OF SANITY, PAN-THY-MONIUM, OPHTHALAMIA, DARKIFIED, SCYPOZOA and ASHES, will release a four-song mini-CD via Godeater Records. The four tracks — "Blood Messiah", "Forces Of Evil", "Stench Of Decay" and "Dominate" — are available for streaming on the group's MySpace page.

PLAGUE WARHEAD, which is currently seeking a label home for its forthcoming debut album, consists of the following musicians:

* Andreas Sjöberg (ASHES, THE DEADBEATS) - Guitar
* Tomas Lindgren (SCYPOZOA, NO FUCKING WAY, NO FUCKING GOD, WITCH BLACK) - Lead Guitar
* Martin Gustavsson (ALLEGIANCE, DARKIFIED ,GRIMORIUM, AMENOPHIS) - Vocals
* Benny "Bempa" Larsson (EDGE OF SANITY, GODSEND, OPHTHALAMIA, TOTAL TERROR, PAN-THY-MONIUM) - Drums
* Mattias Eronn (WITCH BLACK, SORGFAAGEL) - Bass

Fan-filmed video footage of HALFORD's October 20, 2010 concert at Centro de Convenciones Scencias in Lima, Peru can be viewed below.

The band's setlist was as follows:

01. Resurrection
02. Made In Hell
03. Locked And Loaded
04. Drop Out
05. Made of Metal
06. Undisputed
07. Nailed To The Gun (FIGHT)
08. Golgotha
09. Fire And Ice
10. Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
11. Diamonds And Rust (JUDAS PRIEST)
12. Jawbreaker (JUDAS PRIEST)
13. Cyberworld
14. Like There's No Tomorrow
15. Thunder And Lighting

Encore:

16. Heart Of A Lion (JUDAS PRIEST)
17. Saviour