Dutch death metal band GOD DETHRONED has issued the following update:

"We're ready! We finished eight songs for our new album 'Passiondale'. Those of you who are fans of our 'Bloody Blasphemy' and 'The Lair Of The White Worm' albums can take a deep breath now and wait out the time until the album comes out. 'Cause this motherfucker brings back all the good things you liked so much. Bringing back Roel [Sanders, drums] to the band after all these years was a good idea. His drumming gave us the right vibe to come up with the stuff we needed for so long. We're really happy about the results and we can't wait to start tracking down those songs. We start recording on October 13th in the Soundlodge Studios in Germany.

"Passiondale" will be a concept album about World War I. Songtitles set to appear on the CD are as follows:

01. Under A Darkening Sky
02. Behind Enemy Lines
03. Drowning in Mud
04. No-Man's Land
05. Passiondale
06. Poison Fog
07. Fallen Empires
08. Artifacts of the Great War

"Passiondale" is to be expected for release in April/May 2009 via Metal Blade Records.

GOD DETHRONED's last album, "The Toxic Touch", was released in the U.S. in November 2006 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Soundlodge Studios in Germany with producer Joerg Uken. Mastering was handled at Wisseloord Studios in Holland.

Watch fan-filmed video footage of GOD DETHRONED performing at Terrorfest, which was held at Fenix, Ieper, Belgium on November 10, 2007:

"Integral Birth", a new track from the reunited progressive metallers CYNIC, is available for download at this location. The song comes off the group's new album, "Traced In Air" will be released on October 28 via Season of Mist Records (one day earlier internationally). The CD contains eight songs, and the band worked once again with renowned artist Robert Venosa (who created the unmistakeable cover and visuals for "Focus") on the art for the new album.

"Traced In Air" track listing:

01. Nunc Fluens
02. The Space For This
03. Evolutionary Sleeper
04. Integral Birth
05. The Unknown Guest
06. Adam's Murmur
07. King of those Who Know
08. Nunc Stans

Returning from the "Focus" era for the new eight-song, 35-minute effort are are founding members Masvidal and Reinert along with Sean Malone (bass), and joining the band in the studio is newcomer Tymon Kruidenier (guitars/growls). The band recorded the effort at a California studio with producer Warren Riker (DOWN, SANTANA).

Season of Mist is currently taking pre-orders for a special CYNIC package featuring the reunited progressive metallers' new album, "Traced In Air", in acrylic DVD case, t-shirt, USB stick, guitar pick and 10 exclusive stickers.
Video footage of CYNIC's press conference at this year's Wacken Open Air festival, which was held July 31 - August 2, 2008 in Wacken, Germany, can be viewed below (clip shot and uploaded by the Clairvoyant webzine).

CYNIC will be direct support slot on the OPETH European trek in November/December. The band has also been announced as the headliner for this year's ProgPower Europe festival, and will be playing a special extended set at the show. A U.S. tour will follow in early 2009.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/cyniconline.

Chamber Musik Records has just released "Saxophone Tribute To Evanescence Featuring G-Clef Trio" (cover). The 11-song effort features renditions of the following EVANESCENCE tracks:

01. Going Under
02. Everybody's Fool
03. My Immortal
04. Haunted
05. Tourniquet
06. Imaginary
07. Taking Over Me
08. Hello
09. My Last Breath
10. Whisper
11. Bring Me To Life

Check out audio samples at this location.

MEGADETH's "Anthology: Set The World Afire" (Capitol/EMI) career-spanning 2-CD and digital collection sold around 2,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Anthology: Set The World Afire" features MEGADETH's top hits and fan favorites, a previously unreleased demo and two rare concert recordings. It is loaded with 35 electrifying tracks, among them MEGADETH's top hits, including "Trust", "A Tout Le Monde", "Insomnia" and "Train of Consequences". Also included are rare 1992 concert recordings of "Peace Sells" and "Symphony of Destruction", previously available only in limited release, the latter having never been released in the U.S. "High Speed Dirt" is a demo version, previously unreleased.

"Anthology: Set The World Afire" (cover) track listing:

Disc 1:

01. Mechanix
02. Rattlehead
03. Peace Sells
04. Wake Up Dead
05. Devils Island
06. Anarchy in the U.K.
07. Set The World Afire
08. Into The Lungs Of Hell
09. In My Darkest Hour
10. Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due
11. Tornado of Souls
12. Hangar 18
13. Take No Prisoners
14. Go To Hell
15. Sweating Bullets
16. Crown of Worms
17. High Speed Dirt [Demo]*

Disc 2:

01. Skin O' My Teeth
02. Ashes In Your Mouth
03. Breakpoint
04. Angry Again
05. Train of Consequences
06. Reckoning Day
07. A Tout Le Monde
08. The Killing Road
09. New World Order
10. Trust
11. She-Wolf
12. Insomnia
13. Prince of Darkness
14. Kill The King
15. Dread And The FugitiveMind
16. Foreclosure Of A Dream
17. Symphony of Destruction (live, Cow Palace, 1992) **
18. Peace Sells (live, Cow Palace, 1992)

* Previously unreleased
** Previously unreleased in the U.S.

Canadian progressive tech-death giants QUO VADIS have announced the addition of vocalist Trevor Birnie (DAMASCUS, ANNEX THEORY) for the band's upcoming dates in October and November.

"I've toured Canada twice and I am eager to get back on the road especially with Canadian metal titans QUO VADIS," Birnie said in a statement. "I've grown as a vocalist, lyricist and performer over the past 5-6 years in bands and I feel that my experience and growth would definitely evolve with an opportunity of such honor."

MARTYR drummer Patrice Hamelin, who has previously done session work with DESPISED ICON and SENATE, will join QUO VADIS on tour and in studio. The announcement was the first in a series of lineup changes for QUO VADIS after the band's September 6 show in Montreal with DESPISED ICON, NEURAXIS, BLINDED BY FAITH and THE PLASMARIFLE.

New QUO VADIS singer Trevor Birnie performing with DAMASCUS:

Bulgarian brutal death metallers ENTHRALLMENT have finalized the track listing for their new album, "Immerse Into Bloody Bliss", which is scheduled for a late 2008 release via Slovakia's Metal Age Productions. The CD was recorded at Basement studio with producer Emil Marinov and was mastered by Peter Number at Mega Wimp Sound studio (LIVIDITY, SODOM, PRIMORDIAL, SEPTIC FLESH, etc.) in Berlin, Germany.

"Immerse Into Bloody Bliss" track listing:

01. Seeds Of Insanity
02. Replace In The Grave
03. Distorted Brain Patterns
04. Bonegrinder
05. Female Hunting Preciede The Feast
06. Enthrallment
07. Cane The Messiah With The Crook
08. Immerse Into Bloody Bliss

"Cane The Messiah With The Crook", the new video from ENTHRALLMENT, can be viewed below.

ENTHRALLMENT has uploaded two songs from the upcoming CD — "Enthrallment" and "Replace In The Grave" — to its MySpace page.

ENTHRALLMENT's last album, "Smashed Brain Collection", was released in July 2006 via Grindethic Records (UK) and Grotesque Productions (Spain).

MASTODON guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds has told RollingStone.com that the origins of the group's forthcoming fourth album can be traced to the pavement in front of the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas. That's where Hinds was attacked and cracked his head open during a drunken altercation following the MTV VMAs in September 2007. Hinds suffered brain hemorrhaging, and then, as he recovered, he was plagued by vertigo.

"I was dizzy for eight months," he said. "During those months, I just sat with my acoustic and a little marijuana, and wrote all the music. I wanted a more melodic, easy-listening situation, and that definitely came from having head trauma."

Read more from RollingStone.com.

Cleveland, Ohio's CHIMAIRA is preparing to record its new album with producer Ben Schigel, who has previously worked with the band on the "This Present Darkness" (producer, engineer, mixer); "The Impossibility Of Reason" (producer, engineer); self-titled (producer, engineer); and "Resurrection" (drum tracking) CDs.

Commented vocalist Mark Hunter: "Well, friends, after four months of writing, we are finally done! We have 13 songs locked down and we will spend the rest of the month learning them, fine-tuning everything and practicing our asses off.

"We start pre-production with Ben Schigel on the 17th.

"For those of you that don't know much about the pre-production process, it's where 'Mr. Producer' comes in and listens to the songs, throws in some ideas here and there and says this part sucks or that part rules. Then we ingest it all, try it, etc… After that we set the templates for the recording session. This process sucks because it's a bunch of sitting around and listening to people count measures, bars, beats per minute and really awesome things like that. I really love sitting there for six hours listening to Andols [Herrick, drums] say things like, 'The next part is 175bpm with a sixteenth note triplet feel for 8 measures.'

"Exciting!!

"It may be 'boring' but this process is really important because it's like Ben's GPS device. Since he is unfamiliar with the songs he can say, 'OK, let's check out this verse' instead of 'that riff…'

"I listened to all of the songs on my way home tonight and love what we're onto so far. As much as I'd like to describe what it sounds like, I simply can't yet. It's like when you take a jigsaw puzzle out of your closet and dump the pieces onto the table. You know what the final image is going to look like but it's just going to take a while to get there."

Ferret Music has reportedly set an April 28, 2009 North American release date for the CHIMAIRA album. Mixing duties will be handled by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.

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).

Swedish melodic death metallers SCAR SYMMETRY have issued the following update:

"When things went from bad to worse and we realized that it wasn't going to work out with Christian [Älvestam, former SCAR SYMMETRY vocalist], we were faced with two options; either calling it quits, or seizing the opportunity to take the next logical step in the evolution of our sound. We chose the latter.

"We've used both growls and clean vocals in our music since day one, and with each album we've pushed the envelope of what you can do vocally in a metal band to the point where a lot of the songs on 'Holographic Universe' [SCAR SYMMETRY's latest album] would be hard if not impossible to sing live. So the question is: Is it really possible to push the vocals even further and manage to perform everything live?

"The answer is YES! Instead of hiring a new singer, we decided — some of you might already have figured it out by now — to recruit TWO singers! The idea of having two vocalists in the band is something that's been in the back of our minds for a long time, and after auditioning and rehearsing with two of Sweden's best vocalists we're thrilled, excited, stoked-beyond-belief!!!

"So let us introduce you to...

"Roberth Karlsson - lead growl vocals and backing clean vocals:

"Roberth was our first choice for the growling position. Jonas once called him 'Sweden's finest growler,' which is no overstatement. Roberth has been involved in many band throughout the years, among others EDGE OF SANITY and FACEBREAKER.

"Lars Palmqvist - lead clean vocals and backing growl vocals:

"Roberth introduced us to his longtime friend Lars, who blew us away with his powerful-yet-beautiful voice. You can imagine our excitement when we learned that he's a fantastic growler as well! Despite his amazing talents he's virtually unknown to the metal public, which just might change as of today!

"We are very fortunate to have found these guys. They bring to the band not only their incredible skills but also a positive vibe we haven't had for some time.

"We've posted a videoclip from when we auditioned Roberth and Lars, as a little teaser... Yes it might come across as we were drunk the entire time, which probably is very close to the truth. Enjoy!"

"Morphogenesis", the new video from SCAR SYMMETRY, can be viewed here. The song comes off the group's latest album, "Holographic Universe", which registered the following first-week chart positions in Europe:

Finland: #37
UK: #39 (Indie chart)
Austria: #65
Germany: #68

In the U.S., the CD debuted at No. 33 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.

An e-card for the CD is available at this location.

Guitarist J-V Hintikka of the Finnish melodic metallers MACHINE MEN has issued the following update:

"It's been a long time since the last happening from us. Now it's time for few updates.

"As some of you might have noticed, we haven't been really busy this year, or so it may seem. Of course, a few shows here and there but nothing else. But behind the scenes something is going on all the time.

"Early this year we decided to take a little pause which was actually six months long. During this time some of us took their time and wrote new material. After the break, we did few shows and festivals here and there. Too quiet, if you ask me, but the new material takes time and we're taking it now.

"At the moment there are many raw versions, allmost for a whole album. So far we have rehearsed four new songs. They sound really amazing! Yep, I know it's a cliché to say, but no can do if you really believe so! The songs are more melodic but still energic metal, they're more diverse than on previous albums. But more on that later.

"We are starting a new diary. We'll try to write what happens behind the scenes, at the rehearsing room, what the new songs will be like and maybe something else if it feels so. Read the diary here."

MACHINE MEN's latest album, "Circus of Fools", last year entered the Finnish chart at position No. 8. The group's "No Talk without the Giant" single debuted on the Finnish chart at position No. 2. The video for the single's title cut can be viewed below.

According to a posting on the band's web site, acclaimed British record producer/engineer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY) arrived last night to meet up with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine and the crew at the band's new studio near San Diego, California. The studio is being custom-built to record the next MEGADETH album and more. Over the next few days Andy will be tweaking and mixing the new MEGADETH live DVD which was recorded in San Diego during the last tour, and will soon be seen on HDNet TV.

Sneap produced MEGADETH's last album, "United Abominations", which came out in May 2007 via Roadrunner Records. Mustaine previously stated about working with Andy, "We'd been working with Jeff Balding, who does a great job. But we knew we needed something else to give the material that extra push, so we brought in Andy. It was cool because he isn't like some big rock-star producer. He was just another Joe to me. So we were trading jokes and laughing and it was fun. My sense of humour is pretty close to a British one, so we worked well together. Also, Andy told me I was the reason that he got into playing metal in the first place, which was really flattering."

MEGADETH's forthcoming album will be the group's first with guitarist Chris Broderick (NEVERMORE, JAG PANZER), who replaced Glen Drover (Shawn's brother) at the end of last year.

Danish death metallers EXMORTEM have posted a new song, "Funeral Phantom", on their MySpace page. the track comes off the group's fifth album, "Funeral Phantoms", due on October 27 via Mighty Music. The CD was self-produced by the band, while the mixing was handled by Jacob Bredahl (HATESPHERE, LAST MILE). According to a press release, fans should "expect a crushing, sludgy, energetic death machine."

"Funeral Phantoms" (cover) track listing:

01. Black Opium
02. Souls of Tyrants
03. Fixed in Slime
04. Funeral Phantom
05. The Vultures Gather
06. Anger Trumpet Blow
07. Salvation
08. For the Grave of History
09. Slow Death Regimes
10. View to a Death in the Morning

Martin Thim (guitar) was responsible for the design and layout for the album, which introduces a range of "phantoms" created specially for EXMORTEM. "The family will grow from now on and new creations will come in the future," he exlained. "These will be part of our live shows, graphics and etc."

The band previously described the new material as "nothing short of unique in its own dark and morbid way. The material will include almost CELTIC FROST/ENTOMBED-like slow songs, more mid-paced 'Blessed Are The Sick'-sounding [MORBID ANGEL] tracks, and not to forget a bunch of fast and extreme tunes to spice up the symphony."

EXMORTEM 2008 lineup:

Martin Thim: Guitar
Simon Petersen: Vocals
Andreas Schubert: Guitar
Kim Nielsen: Bass
Morten Siersbæk: Drums

Norwegian folk/viking metal band ÁSMEGIN will release its long-awaited new album, "Arv" (Heritage) at the end of November via Napalm Records. Acording to a press release, "Arv" "offers an extraordinary mix of sweeping metal riffs and melancholic folk melodies. Fragile violin arrangements collide with raw metal, thundering double bass with hammond organ parts, and powerful clean vocals with brutal grunts that are time and again haunted by a finishing touch of bewitching female vocals. To ensure that each detail of this multi-faceted work comes into its own, the band turned to Lasse Lammert (ALESTORM), whose mastering expertise allows each track to roar out of the speakers. 'Arv' offers an authentic piece of Norway that fans of Nordic music should definitely not ignore."

"Arv" (cover) track listing:

01. Fandens Mælkebøtte (The Devil's Milk Pail)
02. Hiertebrand (Heartburning)
03. Generalen Og Troldharen (The General And The Trollhare)
04. Arv (Heritage)
05. Yndifall (Bereavement)
06. Gengangeren (The Apparition)
07. Prunkende, Stolt I Jokumsol (Pompously, Proudly In The Sun Of Jokum)
08. En Myrmylne (A Boggy Mylne)

ÁSMEGIN's name comes from Old Norse and means "by the might of the gods." The group's yrics are written in Norwegian as well as some in Old Norse and older Norwegian.

Some of the tracks on the band's debut, "Hin vordende Sod og Sø" (2003), were modeled after the Norwegian play "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen.

Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON are premiering their new single, "Black Crow On A Tombstone" (which will be released digitally on October 20) at this location. The single is the first track to be released from the band's upcoming album "The Age Of Nero" (cover), which hits stores in Europe on November 3 via Roadrunner Records.

Largely written in a remote cabin deep in the Norwegian woods by frontman Satyr in collaboration with his old friend Snorre Ruch (of THORNS; himself a legendary figure in the history of Norwegian extreme metal), "The Age Of Nero" features eight of the heaviest songs in SATYRICON's history.

The album will be available as a digital download, standard CD and as a special-edition two-CD set. Track listing will be as follows:

CD 1: (reflects the standard edition)

01. Commando
02. The Wolfpack
03. Black Crow on a Tombstone
04. Die By My Hand
05. My Skin is Cold
06. The Sign of the Trident
07. Last Man Standing
08. Den Siste

CD 2: (Bonus CD for Special Edition)

01. My Skin is Cold (EP Version)
02. Live Through Me (Re-mastered, original version only released as bonus song on the LP edition of "Volcano")
03. Existential Fear-Questions (Re-mastered, original version only released as bonus song on the LP edition of "Volcano")
04. Repined Bastard Nation (Live and turbocharged from the Gjallarhorn show at Sentrum Scene, Oslo, November 2006)
05. Mother North (Live from the Gjallarhorn show at Sentrum Scene, Oslo, November 2006)
06. The Pentagram Burns (Radio Edit)
07. Last Man Standing (Guitar wall mix)
08. De Siste (Analog mix)

Plus this disc is also digitally enhanced with the videos for:

01. K.I.N.G.
02. The Pentagram Burns

When asked about the involvement of producer Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE) in SATYRICON's new CD, Satyr recently told Norway's VG newspaper, "Joe has been a technician on practically the whole project. There might have been some misunderstandings in the Norwegian media about his role — it is me who is the producer; Joe's role is to know which buttons to push to create the sound that I want."

Speaking about the first time he played the new album for Roadrunner, Satyr said, "I had nothing to say to them. I just played the album loud, and thought that if they they don't like it, it's their problem. I am so sure about what we have done this time that I don't think about changing a single thing. The door is closed, and we are so much on the right path, that we are not turning eother left or right on this. But they thought it was really good."

A European headlining tour will kick off on November 12 in Stavanger, Norway and ending in Hamburg, Germany on December 20. Opening all shows will be up-and-coming UK thrashers EVILE.

SATYRICON will support CRADLE OF FILTH on a North American tour in January/February.

As previously reported, SATYRICON has recruited two new members for its live shows. The rhythm guitar is now handled by French axeman Gildas Le Pape, who has been playing black and thrash metal, as well as jazz, for quite a few years. The band's new touring bassist is Victor Brandt (Sweden) from the death metal band DOMINION and TOTALT JÄVLA MÖRKER. Victor Brandt can also be heard on the new SATYRICON EP "My Skin Is Cold".

Long-running Finnish doomsters SPIRITUS MORTIS recently entered the studio to record three new tracks. According to the band, "we think that one song goes to Firebox [Records] sampler and other two are released as 7" single."

SPIRITUS MORTIS recently inked a deal with with Firebox. The band's long-awaited third album will be released in early 2009. There are also plans for gigs and tours after album release.

Norwegian "ompa-party-trollish" metallers TROLLFEST, featuring members of PANTHEON I and SARKOM, has revealed the artwork and track listing for its group's upcoming third album, "Villanden", due before the end of the year via Omvina.

"Villanden" (cover) track listing:

01. Wo bin ich jetz aufgewacht?
02. Der JegerMeister
03. Uraltes elemente
04. Villanden
05. Per, Pål og Brakebeins Abenteuer
06. Der Uhr ist skandaløst schändlich
07. God fart
08. Festival
09. En ny erfaring
10. Trinkenvisen
11. Die Kirche undt der Mache

TROLLFEST recently uploaded a new song, "Trinkenvisen", on its MySpace page.

TROLLFEST's second album, "Brakebein", was released in 2006.

DOWNHELL, the Korean band featuring drummer Mike Terrana (MASTERPLAN, TARJA TURUNEN, RAGE), has revealed the cover artwork for its upcoming EP "Karma", which is scheduled for release in middle of October via Dope Entertainment. The CD was recorded at MOL Studio in Seoul, Korea with engineer Cho Sang Hyun (VASSLINE, CRASH) and features cover artwork by Gustavo Sazes (FIREWIND, SERENITY, KRISIUN). The logo was designed by Travis Smith, who will also create the art for the band's forthcoming album, "A Relative Coexistence".

"Karma" track listing:

01. Karma (English Version)
02. Karma (Korean Version)
03. Electric Soul 2
04. Into The Pit (FIGHT cover)
05. Hwadu (English Version)

Finnish folk metal masters TURISAS recently gave UK's Kerrang! magazine step-by-step instructions on how they get their unique marauding Viking look. Watch the nine-minute clip here.

TURISAS recently embarked on a UK tour which will take them through September/October, to be followed by a tour of U.S. and Canada in November/December until the final leg of the trek hits mainland Europe in early 2009.

TURISAS' first-ever DVD release "A Finnish Summer With Turisas" (cover), which will be released on the following dates:

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: Friday, October 31
Spain, Portugal: Tuesday, November 4
Sweden, Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, November 5
UK, France, Greece, Denmark, Norway, rest of Europe: Monday, November 3.
North America: Tuesday, November 25

German axe hero AXEL RUDI PELL will release his new his eighteenth offering, "Tales Of The Crown", via SPV Records on the following dates:

October 24: Germany
October 27: Rest of Europe
October 28: U.S./Canada

An audio sample of the cut "Emotional Echoes" is available for download at this location.

Commented Axel, "'Emotional Echoes' is a totally untypical Axel Rudi Pell instrumental and has nothing to do with my other more classical-influenced songs. We never worked with such rhythms before... it's a 'Santana meets Joe Satriani meets Michael Schenker'-influenced kinda thing, of course very recognizable as ARP due to my lead guitar. After I played the rhythm guitars I was so excited about the groove that I picked up the bass and played it on this track. Volker liked my bass playing too and he forgave me for doing his job on that track... haha!"

According to a press release, "Tales Of The Crown" is a "haunting" studio album featuring ten brand-new compositions. "Our fans will get just the kind of songs they have come to know and expect from me and my band," says Pell, adding, "plus a few little innovations." Axel Rudi Pell is referring to the contemporary touch which some of his latest tracks feature, mainly in terms of rhythm. "But don't worry, these modern approaches are only gradual and don't affect the typical flair of my songs."

"Tales Of The Crown" was recorded at Gelsenkirchen's Redhouse Studios by the tried-and-tested lineup consisting of Axel Rudi Pell, American vocalist Johnny Gioeli, keyboardist Ferdy Doernberg, bassist Volker Krawczak and drummer Mike Terrana. The album was produced by Axel Rudi Pell and sound engineer Charlie Bauerfeind, who also mixed the CD. Like its highly successful predecessor, the new LP's cover artwork was created by Colombian artist Felipe Machado Franco.

"Tales Of The Crown" track listing:

01. Higher
02. Ain't Gonna Win
03. Angel Eyes
04. Crossfire
05. Touching My Soul
06. Emotional Echoes
07. Riding On An Arrow
08. Tales Of The Crown
09. Buried Alive
10. Northern Lights

Fomer STRATOVARIUS and current REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE mastermind Timo Tolkki has issued the following update:

"I took some time off after working with VISION DIVINE for something like six weeks. I went to Thailand for two weeks. When I returned, I noticed some weird things in the RR forum. I have no energy in this moment to moderate that place, so whoever is visiting there, please try to keep it civilized. Above all, please try not to divide the STRATOVARIUS fans into two groups as some people seem to be doing using the opportunity for their pervert needs. Please let us all continue our paths as we are doing and respect the legacy of the STRATOVARIUS has created. It will always live in the music of all of us who played in that band. From my side, I wish Timo, Jens, Jörg, Lauri and Matias the best of luck with their music and with their future. I hope it will be happy and prosperous. No matter what has happened, no matter what has been written, no matter what rumors are circulating, set aside those. We made magic together and I am thankful for all the years with the guys and I am thankful for all the years of wonderful support all the STRATOVARIUS fans all over the world gave us. If there was a message in the music and lyrics of STRATOVARIUS, then it was to unite rather than divide. So please try to remember that."

Remaining STRATOVARIUS members Timo Kotipelto (vocals), Jens Johansson (keyboards), Lauri Porra (bass) and Jörg Michael (drums) have officially recruited Finnish guitarist Matias Kupiainen to replace Timo Tolkki. The news of Kupiainen's addition to the band was broken exclusively by Petri Silas of Finland's Soundi magazine, who spoke to both Kotipelto and Kupiainen for the publication's August 2008 issue.

Specially for Russian fans and on the threshold of the European and Russian releasing of the second studio album "Fragile Equality", ALMAH launches an Official Website in Russian: http://almah.metalcommunity.ru. The concept, design and contents are done by The Russian Power Of Metal Community editorial and supported by ALMAH, AFM Records & CD-Maximum. Establishing the Russian ALMAH's website is a real evidence of the popularity of the band worldwide which is permanently increasing from day to day.

"I AM VERY HAPPY TO HAVE AN ALMAH'S WEBSITE IN RUSSIAN! I PLAYED IN RUSSIA IN 2007 WITH ANGRA AND I MET A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THERE AMONG FANS AND OTHERS. FOR US THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT OUR MUSIC IS VERY WELCOMED IN SUCH A GREAT COUNTRY WHICH IS SO FAR FROM BRAZIL BUT SO CLOSE TO MY HEART. MY RUSSIAN FRIENDS, NOW YOU CAN FIND OFFICIAL AND COMPLETE INFORMATION ABOUT US IN RUSSIAN! PLEASE, WAIT A RELEASE OF OUR NEW CD FRAGILE EQUALITY, HOPEFULLY YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! SEE YA SOON THERE! LOVE AND PEACE!"

- Edu Falaschi –

Ferret Music has reportedly set an April 28, 2009 North American release date for the new album from Cleveland, Ohio's CHIMAIRA. The follow-up to 2007's "Resurrection" will be recorded with producer Ben Schigel, who has previously worked with the band on the "This Present Darkness" (producer, engineer, mixer); "The Impossibility Of Reason" (producer, engineer); self-titled (producer, engineer); and "Resurrection" (drum tracking) albums. The group will enter Ante Up Audio in Cleveland on October 21 to begin laying down drums for the new CD. CHIMAIRA says, "This is the third time we will be using this studio for our drums. We first came here in 2005 when we tracked the self-titled record. We loved it so much that we made sure we came back at the end of 2006 for 'Resurrection'. We are anxious to return." Mixing duties will be handled by Chris "Zeuss" Harris.

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: "One of the cool things about being in a band is that you get the opportunity to work with people you admire and respect for many reasons, including the records they have helped shape. We had the chance to work with Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap on our other records. Now we are going to let our longtime friend Zeuss handle the mixing duties.

"Working with Zeuss on this album will bring a completely different vibe and we feel it will wind up being the heaviest-sounding CHIMAIRA record to date. We are not being cliché and saying, 'This is our heaviest album ever!!!!' but in terms of tones and power, we feel this guy is going to make the new record sound like an axe just hit you in the mouth.

"Zeuss has worked with a lot of our friends and is responsible for some of the most brutal-sounding records out there. We are pumped."

"Beast Within", the new video from KATRA — the Finnish gothic metal band named after its charismatric frontwoman Katra Solopuro — can be viewed below. The song is the title track of the group's English-language debut album, which was released on August 29, 2008 via Napalm Records. The CD contains compositions that were originally issued in Finland in the spring of 2007 as KATRA's Finnish-language self-titled debut. The vocals were re-recorded in English with Risto Asikainen (STRATOVARIUS) as producer at Jean Records studio. According to a press release, "Beast Within" "reveals a broad spectrum of gothic metal with folk influences that ranges from catchy hits to sensual ballads accentuated by a very powerful production. KATRA stands for longing, love, and passion set to music, offering a worthy journey to embark."

KATRA made headlines in Finland in January 2007 when the group's song "Tietäjä" — which qualified for the Finnish final in the Eurovision Song Contest — was dismissed by some as a "copy" of WITHIN TEMPTATION's "Jillian".

Melbourne, Australia-based progressive power metallers EYEFEAR have set "The Unseen" as the title of their fourth album, due on November 7 via Dockyard 1. The CD was mixed and mastered at Jailhouse Studios by Tommy Hansen.

The track listing is as follows:

01. Hypnosis (intro)
02. Illusions
03. Bridge To The Past
04. The Unseen
05. Always Reasons
06. Wasting Away (Alone)
07. From Darkness Till Dawn
08. Confessions
09. A Clouded Mind

Check out the cover artwork here.

EYEFEAR's last album, "A World Full of Grey", was released in June 2007 via Dockyard 1. The CD was recorded at keyboardist Sammy Giaccotto's studio Peak Time Productions in Melbourne, Australia and was mixed by Andy La Rocque at Los Angered Studios in Sweden.

Swedish metal band DREAMLAND will enter Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden this fall to begin recording their new album for a March 2009 release via Dockyard 1.

DREAMLAND last year saw both of its full-length albums released in the U.S. via Ryko Distribution / Locomotive / Dockyard 1.

The band's latest CD, "Eye for an Eye", was recorded at Joacim Cans' (HAMMERFALL) Moonshine Studio and Andy La Rocque's old studio, Los Angered Recording, where the album was also mixed. According to the group, the effort follows the melodic-yet-heavy style of their first release, "Future's Calling" (2005) "but [may] also surprise the listener here 'n' there."