According to HardDrive Radio, DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng is still in a coma in a San Jose, California, hospital following a car crash in nearby Santa Clara on Monday (November 3). The auto accident occurred as he and his sister (who was driving) were leaving their older brother's memorial service. Further details were not immediately available, but DEFTONES singer Chino Moreno said in a statement, "Chi is one of the strongest people I know and I'm praying that his strength will get him through this."

Cheng is 38 years old and is a poet as well as a musician. He released a CD of his poetry called "The Bamboo Parachute" in 2000.

Cheng has been a member of DEFTONES since its formation in 1988. The band released its debut disc, "Adrenaline", in 1995 and scored a platinum record with 2000's "White Pony".

The group has been recording its sixth album, "Eros", with a spring 2009 arrival in the works.

The original cover artwork for METALLICA's classic 1986 album "Master of Puppets", painted by artist Don Brautigam, will be auctioned at Christie's auction house at Rockefeller Plaza, New York City on November 24.

The framed, 17x17-inch piece is signed on the lower right of the painting DB.

The estimate sale price is set between $20,000 and $30,000.

The auction is part of the punk/rock sale, which includes memorabilia from such artists as the RAMONES, SEX PISTOLS, THE CLASH, BLACK FLAG, LED ZEPPELIN and JIMI HENDRIX.

Cleveland's CHIMAIRA has entered the studio in the band's hometown with producer Ben Schigel to begin recording its new album for an April 28, 2009 North American release via Ferret Music. CHIMAIRA is looking for label to release the new albim in territories outside North America (the band is no longer signed to Nuclear Blast, which released "Resurrection" in Europe).

Commented CHIMAIRA drummer Andols Herrick: "I finished tracking drums for the new record last night, and am quite relieved to be done. It was done in three days, with the first day was being half set-up and getting drum tones, and then hammering out four tracks that night. The last two days I did five songs per day.

"I always try to up the ante on each record, and I think there is definitely some cool new ear candy on this one. I can't say that it's as dramatic as the difference between 'The Impossibility of Reason' and 'Resurrection', where its the first time I attempted some blast beats on a record. The differences here are a bit more subtle.

"I look forward to the feedback on what everyone thinks."

CHIMAIRA will play its ninth annual Christmas show on December 30 at the House of Blues in the band's hometown. Tickets will be $9.99.

Commented vocalist Mark Hunter: "We're doing something cool this year where we'll be picking the other local Cleveland bands ourselves in kind of a 'sneaky' way. In the past bands have contacted us, but this year we'll be contacting the bands. We're looking to find some bands that have never played with us before. It'll be great: CC9, 9 bands for $9.99. Awesome."

CHIMAIRA has teamed up with Yahoo! Live to give fans unprecedented access to the band's recording process. Fans can visit the group's official web site, and if the "Live Cam" button is lit up in red, fans can watch and listen to the band in the studio and even chat with the band members!

Commented Hunter: "We stumbled across the Yahoo! chat thing and realized we could incorporate that with our band. It has audio, video and the ability to chat, which I've never seen another band use in the studio before. We can also do multi-cam. There will be glitches here and there, but that's life and that's the Internet."

MACHINE HEAD's video for the band's cover of IRON MAIDEN's "Hallowed Be Thy Name" can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Mike Sloat and is included on the special edition of "The Blackening", MACHINE HEAD's Grammy-nominated masterwork, which is due on October 28, 2008 via Roadrunner Records. A short video trailer for the package can also be viewed here.

Hailed unanimously as the best metal album of 2007 by journalists, metal radio stations and fans alike, "The Blackening" earned a Grammy nomination for the fan-favorite track, "Aesthetics of Hate" and all the while MACHINE HEAD continue to earn "the hardest working band" title with over 19 months on the road in support of "The Blackening" (with five U.S. tours alone) and no signs of stopping soon.

"The Blackening Special Edition" (cover) is two-disc CD/DVD set that will feature an assortment of extras, including rare bonus tracks such as covers of IRON MAIDEN's "Hallowed Be Thy Name", over an hour of live performance footage from With Full Force, Download and Rock in Rio festivals, three uncensored music videos for "Aesthetics of Hate", "Now I Lay Thee Down" and "Halo", a "making-of" featurette on each video, "The Making of The Blackening" and expanded artwork. There's also what many hardcore fans have been rabidly waiting for: four never-before-seen performances of MACHINE HEAD celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album, "Burn My Eyes", captured in Philadelphia in 2004. This special edition is a must have for any fan of this Bay Area band that is steadily carving out "legendary status" for itself within the metal scene.

MACHINE HEAD spent the summer headlining the second stage of the first annual Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival and the band will cap off two extremely successful years as direct support on METALLICA's U.S. headline tour in December 2008 and January 2009. METALLICA frontman James Hetfield was quoted in Revolver as saying, "'The Blackening' [is] unbelievable. Unbelievable sound and power. It sounds like a band on fire. They have really turned it on again for me."

"The Blackening" U.S. Special Edition 2-Disc CD/DVD

CD - The Blackening + Bonus Tracks

01. Clenching The Fists of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics Of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell To Arms
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name [IRON MAIDEN cover] *
10. Battery [METALLICA cover] *

* Bonus Track

DVD - Live Performances & Videos

Live performances:

* Clenching The Fists Of Dissent (With Full Force 2008)
* Now I Lay Thee Down (With Full Force 2008)
* Halo (With Full Force 2008)
* Aesthetics Of Hate (Rock In Rio 2008)
* Davidian (Rock In Rio 2008)
* Imperium (Download 2007)
* Old (Download 2007)
* A Thousand Lies (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* The Rage To Overcome (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* Death Church (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* Blood For Blood (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)

Uncensored & Unedited Music Videos:

* Halo
* Now I Lay Thee Down
* Aesthetics Of Hate
* The Making of Halo
* The Making of Now I Lay Thee Down
* The Making of Aesthetics Of Hate
* The Making of The Blackening

(Details of the European version of the special edition of "The Blackening", which will be available on October 27, can be found here.)

Finnish metallers ADASTRA will release their sophomore album, "Death Or Domination", on December 10 in Finland and January 19 in the UK via Violent Journey Records. The CD was mastered on October 9 at Chartmakers in Helsinki, Finland by Svante Forsbäck.

"Death Or Domination" (cover) final track listing:

01. Locked On To You
02. One Chance
03. Death Or Domination
04. Who Threw The First Stone
05. Man Mk. II
06. Lost
07. Helsinki 1939
08. Wasted Life
09. Devil Knows You're Dead
10. The Longing

Audio samples are available at this location.

According to the band's official bio, ADASTRA is "a modern heavy metal band that derives its influences from a wide range of class acts. IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, IN FLAMES, BLACK SABBATH, DIO, MEGADETH, among others, have had their fair share of influences in ADASTRA's work. Old-school-style clean-vocals of Ville Siikamäki, combined with the rapid leads and heavy riffs of Olli Anttila and Jari Hartman and the steady pulse of Santeri Vauramo's bass, controlled by the precise drumming of Jussi Ruokolainen, create the music of ADASTRA."

ADASTRA's debut album, "The Last Sunset", was released in June 2007 via Violent Journey Records.

Long-running Birmingham, UK-based extreme metallers BENEDICTION have issued the following update:

"First off, a big thank you to everybody that turned up to the shows on the [recently completed European] tour [with HOLY MOSES and NOMINON]. Also apologies to the few shows that got cancelled; this was beyond our control due to tour bus issues, fire, breaking down etc. etc.

"A special mention has to go out to HOLY MOSES and NOMINON, who we are privileged to know and stuck together when all manner of shit was happening to us all on tour. In particular, we would like to thank HOLY MOSES guitarist Michael who managed to fix just about everything that we broke on the tour!!! We love you. matey.

"Now then, our plans for 2009. BENEDICTION will be going into the studio again in January/February to record the follow-up to 'Killing Music'. It is now written and it's down to the fine-tuning and choosing what tracks to be on the final recording. To promote this release, the band will only be doing festivals and one-off shows worldwide except for a Balkans tour which was missed out on the No Reunion Required tour. It will be our 20th anniversary as a band in 2009 and we intend to make some sort of event for ourselves for it.

"The reason for just festivals? Being on a tour bus limits where you can get to country-wise. A plane flight can get you anywhere in the world much quicker, which means reaching more people to distribute the metal to! After this, there are no plans. Let's see how much mayhem we can create on our 20th anniversary festival tour and see who comes out of it alive before any new plans are hatched."

A new song from SIX FEET UNDER entitled Involuntary Movement Of Dead Flesh is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the group's new album, "Death Rituals", which is scheduled for release on November 11 via Metal Blade Records. According to a press release, the CD "features 12 tracks of pure American death metal delivering a bludgeoning slab of metal that will leave fans hungering for more. Legendary death metal vocalist Chris Barnes, along with guitarist Steve Swanson, bass legend Terry Butler, and drummer Greg Gall, continue to follow the dark and demented path that merges what Outburn magazine calls 'tried-and-true death groove' with stomach-turning lyrics and themes. 'Death Rituals' saw the band returning to Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida with Chris Carroll at the helm with mixing duties being handled by Toby Wright and the return of SIX FEET UNDER's old friend Bill Metoyer, who recorded the band's CD 'Warpath', helping out with recording of the drums."

"Death Rituals" track listing:

01. Death By Machete
02. Involuntary Movement Of Dead Flesh
03. None Will Escape
04. Eulogy For The Undead
05. Seed Of Filth
06. Bastard
07. Into The Crematorium
08. Shot In The Head
09. Killed In Your Sleep
10. Crossroads To Armageddon
11. Ten Deadly Plagues
12. Crossing The River Styx (guitar outro)
13. Murder Addiction

UK extreme black metallers ABGOTT have issued the following update:

"We have announced a lineup change in ABGOTT. We parted ways with our drummer Antichrist and have already replaced him with a new skinbeater named Megiddo. We are happy with him and he has proven to be in a really strong position to be successor to Antichrist. We also thank heartily Antichrist for his years of hard work with us and his commitment, his dedication to the cause of metal! We understand his needs and we wish him well! He will always be a brother in the ABGOTT clan! Stay in tune and get ready for the new devastating chapter of ABGOTT!!!"

ABGOTT in March 2008 parted ways with bassist Azael and replaced him with Robin "Graves" Eaglestone (ex-CRADLE OF FILTH, CRIMINAL).

"Refuse The Sickness", the new video from the Western Australia metal band CHAOS DIVINE, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's new album, "Avalon", which was released on September 12 nationally around Australia through Firestarter Music. The CD was recorded at Melbourne's Sing Sing studios with producer Jarrad Hearman and contains "ten tracks of progressive, technical and melodic metal," according to a press release.

"Avalon" track listing:

01. Contortion
02. Our Delusion
03. Refuse The Sickness
04. Avalon
05. Cages
06. Brand New Eyes
07. The Carnal Thirst
08. Rapture
09. Narcosis
10. Alone in the Sky

"Pray", the new video from KING'S X, can be viewed at this location. The song comes off the group's latest album, "XV", which sold 4,450 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 145 on the Billboard 200 chart. This marked the first time in over a decade that the band had cracked the Top 200 in the first week of release.

In other news, Molken Music has set a November 22 release date for the KING'S X DVD "Gretchen Goes To London: Live At The Astoria 5.6.90". The DVD documents the historic show at the Astoria Theatre in 1990 and includes never-before-seen footage.

"Gretchen Goes To London: Live At The Astoria 5.6.90" track listing:

01. King
02. What Is This?
03. Out Of The Silent Planet
04. Sometimes
05. Summerland
06. Fall On Me
07. Goldilox
08. Everybody Knows A Little Bit Of Something
09. Over My Head
10. Mission
11. In The New Age
12. The Burning Down

The DVD was produced by Wally Farkas and has a running time of 64 minutes.

THE 11TH HOUR, the doom metal collaboration between Ed Warby (drums, guitar, bass, vocals, programming; GOREFEST, DEMIURG, HAIL OF BULLETS) and Rogga Johansson (vocals, additional guitar; RIBSPREADER, PAGANIZER, DEMIURG), has uploaded two tracks from its promotional recording, "The Origins Of Mourning", to MySpace. Check out the songs "One Last Smoke" and "Weep For Me" at this location. According to Warby, "This promo is meant to find a record label to release a full-length album."

According to the band's official bio, THE 11TH HOUR is "the wretched spawn of two kindred spirits' love for good old fashioned doom metal. In 2007 Ed and Rogga met on the Global Domination forums and made plans to do a doom project together. These plans were sidetracked when Ed joined Rogga's DEMIURG instead, but the seed was planted and every once in a while a nasty doomriff would find its way to Ed's fingers during one of his nocturnal writing and recording sessions. Slowly but surely these riffs were sculpted into six slabs of unbearable heaviness, as bleak and terrifying as the night that inspired them yet suffused with sadness and melancholy beauty. If all goes as planned these six entities will surface in the shape of a full-length album before the year is through."

PRIMAL FEAR/STARBREAKER/ALLEN/LANDE guitarist Magnus Karlsson has issued the following update:

"We have two more shows with PRIMAL FEAR next weekend before we start the recording of our new album, Monsters of Mora in Sweden and at Sounddock 14 in Switzerland. The tour with PRIMAL FEAR has been a blast! I can't imagine a better and more fun band to be in. I really enjoyed meeting all great bands and also that I got the chance to meet some of you guys to have a chat and a drink or two. We are almost done with the songwriting for the PRIMAL FEAR album and I will go to Germany to record my stuff in December. The songs came out fantastic and I'm very excited to be a part of this album. Expect a release in May 2009. I will also start writing on ALLEN/LANDE III and hopefully I will have it done in time for a release next year."

PRIMAL FEAR earlier in the year parted ways with guitarist Stefan Leibing and replaced him with Magnus Karlsson.

John 5 has played with MARILYN MANSON, K.D. LANG, Rob Halford's TWO, DAVID LEE ROTH and currently ROB ZOMBIE. His virtuoso talents span many styles, from bluegrass to metal.

In his IMV "Behind the Player" DVD, John 5 gives an intimate behind-the scenes look at his life as a professional musician including rare photos and video footage. John 5 then gives in-depth lessons for how to play "Let it All Bleed Out" and "Lords of Salem" by ROB ZOMBIE on guitar and jams the tracks with ROB ZOMBIE drummer Tommy Clufetos.

"Video Tab" shows exactly how John 5 plays the two tracks. The video-game-style animated tablature is similar to Guitar Hero, but shows how to play the tracks for real.

Trendhunter.com reports: To simultaneously honor the gods of heavy metal and commemorate the 100th anniversary of Converse shoes, the iconic shoe company will release three pairs of BLACK SABBATH-inspired shoes in time for the holiday season.

The first pair of Converse Chuck Taylors is inspired by the cover of BLACK SABBATH's 1972 album "Vol. 4". The second pair of Chuck Taylors features a distressed print to emulate an old, worn tour tee shirt, and is inspired by the design on an actual BLACK SABBATH 1978 World Tour shirt. The final pair is a leathery tribute to heavy metal, with purple accents on a black leather pair of Jack Purcells.

According to AeroNewsDaily, AEROSMITH guitarist Brad Whitford has confirmed a report published Saturday in England's Daily Mail that revealed AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler's recent jam session with LED ZEPPELIN members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham.

"First of all, they did it for fun," Whitford said during an appearance on the syndicated show "Todd n Tyler Radio Empire".

Whitford brought up AEROSMITH's history of playing with Page and his own particular admiration of Jimmy as a guitarist. He then speculated as to the message Page and the others may have been trying to relate to Robert Plant by way of the media.

"I actually think Jimmy wanted Steven to come over and play a little bit because, I think, he was trying to light a fire under Robert," Whitford said. "Come on! Come on, Robert, let's go!"

Swedish metallers PAIN were the featured musical guests Thursday morning (October 30) on the "Nyhetsmorgon" program on Sweden's TV4. The band performed two songs — including its new single, "Follow Me", featuring a special guest appearance by NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon — and took part in an interview. Watch footage of their appearance below.

"Follow Me" is the first single off PAIN's new album, "Cynic Paradise", which was released in Germany today (October 31) via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to "Psalms of Extinction" (which was released in 2007 via Roadrunner) features "eleven gems offering a vast variety of styles and influences which are even new for PAIN," according to a press release. Anette Olzon makes a guest appearance on two tracks — "Follow Me" and "Feed Us". The artwork was created by renowned artist Travis Smith (AMORPHIS, OPETH, NEVERMORE).

A 30-second TV commercial for GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy" can be viewed below.

"Chinese Democracy" will be released in the U.S. exclusively through Best Buy. The 14-song set will be available on CD, vinyl, and as a download. While singer Axl Rose has remained silent, co-managers Irving Azoff and Andy Gould said in a statement, "The release of 'Chinese Democracy' marks a historic moment in rock n'roll. We're launching with a monumental campaign...that matches the groundbreaking sound of the album itself. GUNS N' ROSES fans have every reason to celebrate, for this is only the beginning."

One new song, "Shackler's Revenge", debuted on September 14 through the Rock Band 2 video game, while another, called "If The World", can be heard in the new film "Body of Lies".

"Chinese Democracy" is the first album of new material from GUNS N' ROSES since 1991's "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II"

Peter Dolving, the outspoken frontman for Swedish thrash-metal titans THE HAUNTED, might not be able to vote in next week's election, but that doesn't mean he can't have an opinion on this year's presidential hopefuls.

"If I had citizenship, I couldn't vote for any of the two candidates, because it's a mockery on democracy," Dolving told MTV.com's "Metal File". "You have a two-party system, and it's just ridiculous. It's not even remotely politics, and it's in complete disregard of anything that has to do with the constitution. There is a truly great political tradition in the U.S., of democracy and speaking out, but it's been subverted so harshly by business-market interests over the last 150 years that it's just sad. The potential for something truly great, something so radical that no other country's tried it, something that's truly libertarian ... it's been stabbed in the back by people who have no interest whatsoever in that kind of thought tradition and that kind of society, because it doesn't promote their personal goals and gains. It's really sad."

Norwegian death metallers BLOOD RED THRONE are currently hard at work on their next, as-yet-untitled album.

Guitarist Død comments: "We're currently workin' on our fifth studio album, and so far we got nine killer tracks. Expect some heavy shit, some fast and brutal shit and for those of you missing solos on previous albums, a lot of cool leads! We're waiting for a green signal and then we'll enter Studio Deadline in Sweden, makin' our best album ever!"

According to the Italian news blog Musica Metal, Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY were joined by THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Nell Sigland last night (Friday, October 31) during DT's headlining concert in Milan, Italy for a performance of the song "The Mundane And The Magic" (a track that had never before been played live). The entire show was filmed for an upcoming DVD, tentatively due in early 2009.

DARK TRANQUILLITY's setlist was as follows:

01. The Treason Wall
02. The New Build
03. Focus Shift
04. The Lesser Faith
05. Wonders At Your Feet
06. Lost To Apathy
07. Freecard
08. Inside The Particle Storm
09. Nothing To No One
10. Edenspring
11. Insanity's Crescendo
12. Lethe
13. Dreamlore Degenerate
14. Misery's Crown
15. Therein
16. My Negation
17. Yesterworld
18. Punish My Heaven
----------
19. The Mundane And The Magic
20. Final Resistance
21. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)

German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER will release their new album, "Ballads Of A Hangman", on January 9, 2009 via Austria's Napalm Records. The "Pray" single will precede the album on November 28. The group's frontman Chris Boltendahl states, "We are very happy with the result. I think it is one of the hardest records we ever did."

"Ballads Of A Hangman" track listing:

01. The Gallows Pole
02. Ballad Of A Hangman
03. Hell Of Disillusion
04. Sorrow Of The Dead
05. Grave Of The Addicted
06. Lonely The Innocence Dies
07. Into The War
08. The Shadow Of Your Soul
09. Funeral For A Fallen Angel
10. Stormrider
11. Pray
12. Jailbreak (bonus track digi pack)

Check out the cover artwork below.

A one-and-a-half-minute video teaser for "Celebrate (The Night Of The Warlock)", the new single from German metal queen Doro Pesch, can be viewed below.

"Celebrate (The Night Of The Warlock)" was released in Germany yesterday (October 31) and will be issued in most of the rest of Europe on November 3 via AFM Records. The EP contains three versions of the single's title cut "Celebrate" — including one that features guest appearances by Liv Kristine (LEAVES' EYES), Veronica Freeman (BENEDICTUM), GIRLSCHOOL, Floor Jansen (AFTER FOREVER) and Angela Gossow (ARCH ENEMY), and another that was recorded with the help of Biff Byford (SAXON).

"Celebrate (The Night Of The Warlock)" track listing:

01. Celebrate (feat: Doro + fans)
02. Celebrate (feat: Doro + Biff [SAXON])
03. Celebrate (feat: Doro + Angela [ARCH ENEMY), Sabina [HOLY MOSES), Veronica [BENEDICTUM), Liv Kristine [LEAVES' EYES), GIRLSCHOOL and Floor [AFTER FOREVER])
04. Rescue Me (non-album version)
05. Night Of the Warlock (single version)

Pesch will celebrate her 25th anniversary as a performer with a special concert in her hometown of Düsseldorf, Germany on December 13 at the ISS Dome. Also scheduled to appear are ARCH ENEMY and LEAVES' EYES, among other acts.

According to Billboard.biz, AC/DC has soared triumphantly on European Top 100 Albums, racing 67-1 with "Black Ice" (Columbia/Sony Music). The album claims 29 No.1 spots worldwide, according to Columbia, from an initial global shipment of five million copies. In Europe, they include winning starts in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland. The album also holds at No. 1 in Finland.

"Black Ice" sold 110,00 copies out of the box in the United Kingdom, a dramatic 777% increase on the initial 14,000 units of its 2000 predecessor "Stiff Upper Lip".

According to VG Nett, the former boyfriend of GORGOROTH frontman Gaahl (real name: Kristian Espedal), 20-year-old Norwegian modeling agent Dan DeVero, claims to have received death threats from the black metal community after Gaahl publicly acknowledged that he was gay.

In an interview that was published in the latest issue of Germany's Rock Hard magazine, Gaahl, 33, spoke for the first time about his sexual orientation, stating, "It doesn't feel to me as if I've outed myself because up until now the whole thing was a non-issue for me. All this evolved very naturally. I feel how I feel and I've never made any secret about it."

However, not everyone reacted positively to the news, and DeVero, who first met Gaahl in early 2007, says that he has received threats by phone and e-mail. "I'm going insane, but that's the price you pay when you come out in the media," he told VG Nett.

According to DeVero, he and Gaahl are still good friends. They have also have also since become partners in an unlikely venture — a wholly Norwegian clothing collection for women dubbed Wynjo, which, according to Gaahl, is an ancient Norse word meaning "the search for happiness."

STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand has issued the following update:

"Our tentative plan is to start rehearsals for the new album in the fall of 2009, hit the studio at the beginning of 2010, and release around summer time. I have to say that all of us are really thrilled about having Roy [Mayorga, drums] in the writing process this time around. I've heard song ideas from everyone, and I have a feeling this could be the most diverse STONE SOUR album yet!"

In related news, Josh has been working on a new project called MOONSHOT. "It's a female-fronted rock band, and I'm pretty excited about it!" he said. Three songs from the group — "Blood Red", "Fedback" and "Riptide" — are available for streaming on the MOONSHOT MySpace page.

STONE SOUR's gold-certified sophomore CD, "Come What(ever) May", is available in a special edition featuring six bonus tracks, four music videos, and a complete concert filmed in Moscow.

Vocalist Michael A. Baker of progressive power metallers SHADOW GALLERY died on Wednesday afternoon, October 29, 2008 after suffering a heart attack. He was 45 years old.

Mike was a founding member of SHADOW GALLERY and for the past 16 years, helped shape the band's sound with his magical voice. Additionally, he made many appearances on rock records around the world.

According to a statement from SHADOW GALLERY, "Those who knew Mike best were moved by his gentle spirit, sincere kindness, fun nature and passion for both music and sports. He was a warrior in the studio, a true professional. Mike was our friend, our singer and our brother. We loved him and will miss him enormously, but he will always be remembered in our hearts and through his music."

Magna Carta Records last year issued a "best-of" collection from SHADOW GALLERY, entitled "Prime Cuts". The CD featured 12 tracks chosen by the band, including a previously unreleased demo from the "Carved In Stone" sessions ("Rule The World") and edits of two tracks from the "Legacy" LP ("The Crusher" and "Colors").

SHADOW GALLERY began in the early 1980s under the name SORCERER, changing their name just in time to sign with Magna Carta Records in 1991. It was a young band joining forces with a young label. Both were doing something brave and fraught with risk: They were making music that is complex enough to merit careful attention, built around a compelling but oddly non-commercial blend of virtuosity and emotion, and saying that maybe there's a place in the world for something other than three-minute songs. SHADOW GALLERY uses its chops to tell stories — big stories, sometimes so big they have to span across multiple albums.

SHADOW GALLERY's fifth album, "Room V", was released in May 2005 via InsideOut Music.

Atlanta's DAATH has posted a video tutorial (see below) for its new song entitled "Sharpen The Blades" which was made available for streaming earlier in the month. More information can be found on the band's MySpace blog.

"Sharpen The Blades" comes off DAATH's forthcoming album, "The Concealers", which was recorded with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA) and Mark Lewis of Florida's AudioHammer studios. A winter release via Roadrunner Records is expected.

"Sharpen The Blades" stream:

02. Exile
03. Silence
04. Dead Reflection
05. Hide Me
06. Fabrication
07. Saviour
08. Monsters
09. Cold
10. Last Song

The cover artwork can be viewed below. Also available is a seven-minute video "teaser."

BEFORE THE DAWN's most recent album, "Deadlight", was released in April 2007.

BEFORE THE DAWN's "Faithless" single, which climbed to position No. 2 on the Finnish single chart in July 2007, featured the title cut along with a cover of PANTERA's "Mouth of War" (including a guest appearance by Jone Nikula) and a live version of the song "The Black".

BEFORE THE DAWN's current lineup:

Tuomas Saukkonen (DAWN OF SOLACE, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY VIOLENT GENTLEMEN) - Vocals, Guitar
Lars Eikind (WINDS, DAWN OF SOLACE, AGE OF SILENCE) - Vocals, Bass
Juho Räihä (GLORIA MORTI, RIVERSIDE SYNDICATE) - Guitar
Matti Auerkallio - Drums