Bassist Marc Lynn from the Swiss hard rock band GOTTHARD will be forced to sit out the group's upcoming tour dates as a result of an injury sustained in a motorbike accident. An Italian bassist will replace Marc until he is able to play again.

Lynn was hospitalized in Switzerland this past weekend after breaking several bones in the accident. Nevertheless, Marc has kept his humor: "The broken leg is not that bad — but the broken thumb is not such a nice thing for a bass player," he said.

Jason Macneil of TorontoSun.com recently conducted an interview with IN FLAMES vocalist Anders Fridén. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On the song "The Chosen Pessimist", a winding eight-minute tune different than anything IN FLAMES had done before:

"We had many ideas and just brought eight or nine different instrumental pieces (together). I told the guys to just give me an hour where I put them in order to get a nice flow. That song was just a constant process from the whole studio sessions.

"We had done slow songs, we had done ballad type of songs but we never done something like that. We usually have a formula that we write from, a kind of normal pop formula where it's verse-chorus-verse-solo. But this was something else."

On the recording process for the new IN FLAMES album, "A Sense Of Purpose":

"We recorded it altogether in a way, we have our own studio now and it was just a great creative process. The last three albums we've kind of divided into different studios and not all being there at the same time. This one was so much better. We would go through every song and try out sh-t with different microphones and amps to get a nice warm analog feeling to the whole thing.”

On the fact that the band doesn't play a lot of its early material live:

"When you play live, you really see the strength of a song. We don't play so much of the older material anymore because we were super naïve when we got into this with the recording process. We put layers and layers of guitar on the earlier albums and we were like, 'Oh sh-t, we have to produce this live. F—k we're only five people and we have two guitar players.'"

On people trying to pigeonhole the band's sound, occasionally dubbed "melodic death metal":

"People try to say that IN FLAMES is this or IN FLAMES is that but we never claimed to own any genre or anything. We just wanted to create a good heavy metal album and just go with it."

Roadrunner Records has reportedly set a November 3 European release date for the as-yet-untitled seventh album from the Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON.

A previously unreleased SATYRICON song, "My Skin Is Cold", is included on the band's new EP of the same name, which will be issued on June 2 in most of Europe. The track was omitted from the final running order of the group's 2002 album "Volcano" and has remained unreleased up until this point. Joining those two tracks will be live versions of "Repined Bastard Nation" and "Mother North" that were recorded in Gjallarhorn and include members of the Oslo Philarmonic Orchestra and the Norwegian Broadcast Orchestra as well as "Live Through Me" and "Existential Fear-Questions", two tracks that were only released as bonus songs on the LP edition of "Volcano".

"My Skin Is Cold" will be released on June 2 as a seven-inch gatefold vinyl single including a five-track CD. This will be the only physical version of the EP and the packaging is said to be "truly one of a kind!"

SATYRICON is currently streaming a sample of the title track of the "My Skin Is Cold" EP on the splash page of the band's official web site.

The EP will be relased via Roadrunner Records worldwide, except in Norway, where it will come out through SATYRICON's new partner, Indie Recordings.

Two rare 1983 SCORPIONS rehearsal/demo recordings for the "Love at First Sting" album have surfaced and can be found on YouTube (see below).

* "Heartbreaker" was the original title of the song "Bad Boys Running Wild"
* The demo version of "Big City Nights" features a guitar solo by Matthias Jabs while the final album version contains a solo by Rudolf Schenker

The lineup for this recording was as follows:

Klaus Meine - Vocals
Rudolf Schenker - Rhythm Guitar
Matthias Jabs - Lead Guitar
Jimmy Bain - Bass
Bobby Rondinelli - Drums

MOONSPELL's video for the track "Scorpion Flower" will be premiered exclusively on the band's MySpace page on May 5. The clip is one of two (along with "Night Eternal") off the group's new album, "Night Eternal", which were shot by Ivan Colic (TYPE O NEGATIVE, SYMPHONY X, HAMMERFALL) in Belgrade, Serbia. Colic previously worked with the group on the "Memorial" video for "Finisterra".

In other news, MOONSPELL singer Fernando Ribiero has issued a new blog update on "Night Eternal" via the widget below.

The "Night Eternal" widget features the entire album stream, a "Making Of the Scorpion Flower" video (featuring former THE GATHERING singer Anneke van Giersbergen) and a blog from Fernando Ribiero.

The widget will be constantly updated directly via RSS feed, so embed it in your MySpace etc. pages, pass it on to friends, and definitely keep checking it!

"Night Eternal" is scheduled for release in Europe on May 19 and in the U.S. on June 10 via SPV/Steamhammer. The follow-up to 2006's "Memorial" was recorded at Antfarm studios in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, HALFORD).

There will be, at first, two editions of the record: A limited double digipack with different artwork, one bonus track ("Age of Mothers"), a different version of the song "Scorpion Flower", the full album as well as a bonus DVD containing all video clips from "Memorial" plus "Finisterra" "making-of" footage and three live clips from last year's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany; plus the jewel case edition, to which the band hopes to add at least another bonus song.

"Night Eternal" track listing:

01. At Tragic Heights
02. Night Eternal
03. Shadow Sun
04. Scorpion Flower
05. Moon In Mercury
06. Hers Is The Twilight
07. Dreamless (Lucifer And Lilith)
08. Spring Of Rage
09. First Light

Former THE GATHERING and current AGUA DE ANNIQUE vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen makes a guest appearance in the song "Scorpion Flower", singing a duet with MOONSPELL frontman Fernando Ribeiro. All other female choirs were performed by the Crystal Mountain Singers, composed of Carmen Simões (AVA INFERI), Sophia Vieira (CINEMUERTE) and Patrícia Andrade (ex-VOLSTAD, now in THE VANITY CHAIR). Niclas Etelävuori of AMORPHIS played bass on the album, which features artwork by Seth Siro Anton (PARADISE LOST, SEPTIC FLESH). Band photography was handled by Edgar Keats.

BLABBERMOUTH.NET can exclusively unveil the first photo (see below) of INSIDIOUS (formerly INSIDIOUS DISEASE), the international metal project featuring members of DIMMU BORGIR, NAPALM DEATH, OLD MAN'S CHILD and MORGOTH. The currently unsigned band recently spent time at a studio in Norway recording 12 songs with Terje Andersen (a.k.a. Cyrus) of SUSPERIA in the producer's chair.

Speaking exclusively to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, the group's vocalist Marc Grewe (ex-MORGOTH) described INSIDIOUS' musical direction as "very, very old-school," adding that "it is the best stuff I have recorded since [MORGOTH's 1991 album] 'Cursed'."

INSIDIOUS is:

Marc "Groo" Grewe (ex-MORGOTH) - Vocals
Sven Atle Kopperud (a.k.a. Silenoz) (DIMMU BORGIR) - Guitar
Shane Embury (NAPALM DEATH) - Bass
Tony Laureano (DIMMU BORGIR, ex-NILE, ANGELCORPSE) - Drums
Jon Øyvind Andersen (a.k.a. Jardar) (OLD MAN'S CHILD) - Guitar

INSIDIOUS' debut album is tentatively due before the end of the year.

Louisiana-based experimental project PSYCHOMETRY has tapped SUFFOCATION drummer Mike Smith to perform and record on its upcoming album, entitled "The Four Points".

According to a press release, PSYCHOMETRY is an atmospheric, melodic metal band made up of professional musicians experienced in several different styles of music. The project's sound ranges from symphonic, classical and electronic to extreme underground metal.

PSYCHOMETRY blends a wide variety of the world's music and is formed as a collection of composers so as not to be placed into a specific genre of music.

Mike Smith states: "The change in musical direction form the norm of death metal is a welcome one. It gives me the opportunity to retrain myself to play with the goal of appealing to listeners of multiple genres."

TERROR SYNDROME, the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based band featuring THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen, has posted two audio samples from its newly completed self-titled debut album on the group's MySpace page. The effort was mixed by Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) and was mastered by Greg Reely (DEVILDRIVER, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, MISERY SIGNALS, FEAR FACTORY).

TERROR SYNDROME is:

Mike Young (THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND) - Bass
Dave Young (THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND) - Guitar
Denton Bramley (ex-GOD AWAKENS PETRIFIED, THE MISERABLES) - Vocals
Ryan Van Poederooyen (THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND) - Drums

Guest musicians on TERROR SYNDROME's upcoming debut CD include Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT), Trevor Dunn (MR. BUNGLE, FANTOMAS), Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND), Byron Stroud (FEAR FACTORY, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) and Christofer Malmström (DARKANE).

TERROR SYNDROME debut CD final track listing:

01. Stupidity for All
02. Thrill Pill
03. When God Was Sober
04. For Your Amusement
05. Riot of Red (feat. Christofer Malmström)
06. Motionless
07. Revolving Horror
08. Rusty Trombone (feat. Alex Skolnick and Trevor Dunn)
09. My Next Victim
10. One Crime Closer to Hell
11. Disposable Empire (feat. Byron Stroud)
12. Spinning Backwards (feat. Devin Townsend and Michael Manring)

The Pulse of Radio reports that DISTURBED has set June 3 as the release date for its fourth studio album, "Indestructible", and has also revealed the dates and venues for a short U.S. tour that will offer fans a preview of the upcoming disc. The first single from the record, called "Inside The Fire", will be sent to radio stations across the country on March 24. The band has been hinting in interviews that this is its heaviest CD yet, and singer David Draiman told The Pulse of Radio that he hasn't changed his opinion. "This record is definitely a very ferocious record," he said. "It has a lot of textures to it. It is certainly the darkest one that we've seen in quite some time. It's the darkest and heaviest since (debut album) 'The Sickness', there's no question about it. And it takes it past 'The Sickness' on a number of different levels."

Another new song from the album, called "Perfect Insanity", is now available at the band's official web site, Disturbed1.com.

DISTURBED and FILTER will perform as part of Operation MySpace, a concert event for U.S. troops scheduled to take place on Monday (March 10) in Kuwait. The three-hour-plus show will begin at 2 p.m. ET and will be streamed in its entirety at the official Operation MySpace page. A condensed one-hour version will air on the FX cable network on April 12.

Following its spring solo run, DISTURBED will also co-headline the Rockstar Mayhem Energy Tour this summer with SLIPKNOT. The multi-act, multi-stage trek will kick off on July 9 in Seattle and hit 30 cities in North America.

Swedish death metal veterans UNLEASHED will release their ninth full-length album, "Hammer Battalion", via SPV Records on the following dates:

June 6: Germany
June 9: Rest of Europe
June 10: USA/Canada

According to the band, "The new UNLEASHED CD will continue in the same victorious spirit as our previous album 'Midvinterblot'."

Vocalist/bassist Johnny Hedlund and company have not only worn their Viking heritage on their sleeve for years, they've also proven to be one of history's most important flag-bearers for metalheads around the globe. At its heart, "Hammer Battalion" serves as a testament to these legions of proud fanatics, and delivers a commanding message loud and clear.

"Rebellion is rising," notes Hedlund when discussing the album's title track. "We will form a number of battalions all over the world with warriors who are not afraid to fight. We are tired of being sitting ducks for bullshit authorities who know nothing better than to oppress us for reasons they won't explain. We will take command of our own lives and get to work. Either like the chameleon — smoothly changing colors to benefit our survival, or by the furious rage of a Viking warrior — whichever suits us best. To the common man, his various pathetic and hollow forms of music is a hobby. Our music is a way of life. Join your local Hammer Battalion or start one yourself!"

Recorded in Sweden and produced by the band's guitarist Fredrik Folkare, "Hammer Battalion" takes a battle-hardened axe to the misguided concepts of self-subjugation, transparent corruption and unneeded suffering in the name of religious figureheads and provides a perfect link between the ancient struggles of their Nordic forefathers and the ills of our modern society. The blistering "The Greatest Of All Lies" and "Long Before Winter's Call" take on old religious myths re-cast as pure fact, while "Your Children Will Burn" serves as a warning of the consequences of blind faith. "Whatever is done in the name of different religions is often done against Mother Nature," notes Hedlund. "And she has the means of striking back."

Check out photos from the recording sessions at this location.

"Hammer Battalion" (cover artwork) track listing (not final order)

01. The Greatest Of All Lies
02. Long Before Winter's Call
03. Your Children Will Burn
04. Hammer Battalion
05. This Day Belongs To Me
06. Marching Off To War
07. Entering The Hall Of The Slain
08. Black Horizon
09. Carved In Stone
10. Warriors Of Midgard
11. Midsummer Solstice
12. Home Of The Brave
13. I Want You Dead

Check out audio samples at this location.

UNLEASHED's eighth full-length album, "Midvinterblot", was released in the U.S. on October 10, 2006 via SPV Records.

UNLEASHED's current lineup:

Johnny Hedlund: Bass, Vocals
Tomas Måsgard: Guitar
Fredrik Folkare: Guitar
Anders Schultz: Drums

WHITESNAKE mainman David Coverdale was recently interviewed on "Live at Five with Ken Dashow" on New York's Q104.3 FM. Coverdale spoke about a number of topics, including the band's new album, "Good To Be Bad", and the LED ZEPPELIN reunion.

Listen to the interview in streaming audio at this location.

WHITESNAKE's new album, "Good To Be Bad", entered the UK album chart at position No. 7. The CD was released through SPV/Steamhammer in Germany on April 18, the rest of Europe on April 21 and it came out in North America on April 22. In addition to the regular jewel-case version, a limited-edition two-disc set contains an extra CD in a cardboard sleeve, as well as a poster, photocard and sticker.

A commercial for "Good To Be Bad" can be viewed below.

WHITESNAKE's David Coverdale (vocals) and Doug Aldrich (guitar) performed a special acoustic set on April 10 in front of an invite-only crowd at The Cutting Room in New York City to celebrate the release of the band's new album, "Good To Be Bad". Photos and a review can be found at PiercingMetal.

Holland's FaceCulture recently conducted an interview with DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower and bassist Rex Brown.

Watch the first part of the interview below. The other seven parts can be found at this location.

DOWN will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, May 9 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the program live via the Internet between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. U.K. time at BBC.co.uk.

DOWN will support METALLICA on the following dates:

Jul. 16 - Bergen, Norway - Koengen
Jul. 18 - St. Petersburg, Russia - SKK Hall
Jul. 20 - Riga, Latvia - Skonto Stadium
Jul. 22 - Bologna, Italy - Parco Nord
Jul. 25 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Vasil Levski Stadium

Justin of Boston.tv conducted an interview with DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz prior to the Norwegian black metal band's April 26, 2006 concert at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Watch the three-minute clip below.

DIMMU BORGIR's North American "The Invaluable Darkness Tour Part 2 – Legions Of The Chosen Few", officially kicked off in Toronto on April 2 and is scheduled to conclude on May 4 in Chicago.

DIMMU BORGIR's November 6, 2007 concert at Sentrum Scene in Oslo was filmed for an upcoming DVD release.

As previously reported, DIMMU BORGIR's latest album, "In Sorte Diaboli", has been certified gold in the band's home country of Norway for sales in excess of 15,000 copes. DIMMU BORGIR is said to be the first metal band in Norway to shift than 15,000 units of a single release.

A complete track from VENOM's new album, "Hell", has been made available for streaming on the pioneering British black metal band's official web site. Check out the song "Straight To Hell" at this location. Streaming audio samples of eight songs from "Hell" are available here.

The cover artwork for "Hell" can be found at this location. Due in Europe on May 26 via Sanctuary/Universal (May 27 in the U.S.), the CD is "packed with 13 brand new malevolent tracks from the masters of black metal," according to a posting on the band's web site.

"Hell" track listing:

01. Straight To Hell
02. The Power And The Glory
03. Hand Of God
04. Fall From Grace
05. Hell
06. Evil Perfection
07. Stab U In The Back
08. Armageddon
09. Kill The Music
10. Evilution Devilution
11. Blood Sky
12. USA For Satan
13. Dirge / The Awakening

In other news, Universal has announced their plans to release "Hell" on vinyl. The vinyl version of the LP will be released two weeks after the CD. The CD will be released with a 'limited-edition jewel case', and the vinyl will also be available as a "limited-edition picture disc."

VENOM will perform at the Hellfest (June 20-22) in Clisson, France. More shows will be announced soon.

A brand new VENOM band photo can be viewed at this location.

VENOM last year parted ways with guitarist Mykvs (a.k.a. Mike Hickey; ex-CARCASS, CATHEDRAL). "Personal unavoidable commitments in the U.S. have forced Mykvs to announce that he cannot commit 100% to VENOM's schedule," the band previously wrote in a statement. A new guitarist by the name of Rage has been drafted in to replace Mykvs.

Amazon.com has revealed the tentative track listing of the new MÖTLEY CRÜE album, "Saints of Los Angeles", which is now apparently due in North America on June 24 through Mötley Records. It is as follows:

01. Mother Fucker Of the Year
02. Down At The Whiskey
03. Saints of Los Angeles
04. Face Down In The Dirt
05. What's It Gonna Take
06. Chicks = Trouble
07. White Trash Circus
08. The Animal In Me
09. Welcome To The Machine
10. This Ain't A Love Song
11. Just Another Psycho

"Saints of Los Angeles", the new single from MÖTLEY CRÜE, includes backing vocals by Josh Todd (BUCKCHERRY), Jacoby Shaddix (PAPA ROACH), James Michael (SIXX: A.M.) and Chris Brown (TRAPT).

In support of the album, MÖTLEY CRÜE will embark on a 40-plus-city North American amphitheater tour, beginning July 1 at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla., and wrapping August 31 at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Pittsburgh.

Produced by Los Angeles-based Live Nation, Crüe Fest '08 will also feature rock acts BUCKCHERRY, PAPA ROACH, TRAPT and CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx's side band SIXX: A.M.

To celebrate its 100th issue, Sweden's longest-running music magazine Close-Up has published a list of the top 100 albums in metal, hard rock, hardcore, punk and extreme rock released during the past 17 years (1991-2008). Compiled from 23 individual writers' selections, Close-Up's extensive list sees AT THE GATES classic cult album "Slaughter Of The Soul" claiming the top spot just ahead of METALLICA's self-titled album.

Close-Up's Top 20 albums 1991-2008:

01. AT THE GATES - "Slaughter Of The Soul"
02. METALLICA - "Metallica"
03. PANTERA - "Vulgar Display Of Power"
04. ENTOMBED - "Wolverine Blues"
05. ALICE IN CHAINS - "Dirt"
06. NINE INCH NAILS - "The Downward Spiral"
07. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - "Rage Against The Machine"
08. NEUROSIS - "Through Silver In Blood"
09. MINISTRY - "Psalm 69: The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs"
10. MAYHEM - "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas"
11. MACHINE HEAD - "Burn My Eyes"
12. FAITH NO MORE - "Angeldust"
13. TOOL - "Ænima"
14. W.A.S.P. - "The Crimson Idol"
15. ENTOMBED - "Clandestine"
16. NIRVANA - "Nevermind"
17. OPETH - "Blackwater Park"
18. SEPULTURA - "Arise"
19. SOCIAL DISTORTION - "White Light, White Heat, White Trash"
20. MASTODON - "Leviathan"

Members of SOUNDGARDEN, ENTOMBED, PARADISE LOST, W.A.S.P., MORBID ANGEL, BAD RELIGION, MAYHEM, NEVERMORE, BRUTAL TRUTH, THE CROWN and CARCASS were interviewed about their respective albums for the issue, which is available at all newsstands in Sweden.

To view the writers' individual lists, click here.

David Priest of OnTrackMagazine.com recently conducted an interview with bassist Jarkko Aaltonen of the Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI. The discussion included the band's stance on the purist point of view, the appeal of traditional fans of booth folk and metal, the limitations involved with only singing in Finnish and when we might expect a U.S. tour.

Listen to the interview at this location.

"Keep On Galloping", the new video from KORPIKLAANI, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's latest album, "Korven Kuningas", which entered the album chart in the band's home country at position No. 16.

"Korven Kuningas" was released as a limited first edition with bonus tracks and on white colored vinyl. There is also a strictly limited digipak version (limited and numbered to 500 copies) which includes a drinking horn on a wall holder.

The official web site of the German thrash veterans KREATOR has been updated with the following message:

"For some reason, we are still getting a LOT of emails, comments, messages, etc. about KREATOR and the cancelled KING DIAMOND tour. KING DIAMOND had to cancel the whole tour because of health issues. Regardless of what any club website may say, KREATOR are NOT doing ANY SHOWS in the USA as of right now! No off-dates, no one-off shows, no tours.... nothing. Instead, they are concentrating on writing the new album and will only be making a few festival appearances in Europe at the moment. Once they are done with the new album, then they will make their way back to the USA. Until that time, all of us here in the USA will just have to be patient. I hope this makes everything absolutely, positively clear because I would hate for a fan (or more) to show up at a club expecting KREATOR to play and then get really disappointed. And you can be assured that the guys are working very hard on the new album and make your wait worth while!"

KREATOR guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza recently stated about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the group's new album, "We have a five-track demo and two more songs writen. The writing [is going] really smooth, the new songs are made for a live situation and they all kill! No compromise but sheer thrash metal brutality! So be prepared — January 2009 will see the release of the next album, followed by an extensive world tour!"

German female-fronted gothic metallers FLOWING TEARS have issued the following update:

"We can announce a major update on the upcoming studio album: after some very creative months, we're almost done with the songwriting. There are 12 songs so far, not sure if all of them will find their way to the album or if some new ones might come up at last minute, but we're close to the end of the writing mode. Studios are already booked and the production will start in May. A release is scheduled for autumn.

"We don't want to reveal too much about the material yet, but I can tell you it sounds much more atmospheric than we used to sound on our last few albums. Some of the songs have that certain mood that reminds me of what we did on albums like 'Jade' or 'Joy Parade' while still having the power of the stuff from the 'Razorbliss' era. Way less synths this time and way more guitars. There's heavy stuff, there's trippy stuff — and there's some serious doomy stuff. Terribly pessimistic lyrics, by the way.

"There's no working title yet, but some of the songs that are finished so far are entitled 'Pain Has Taken Over', 'Words Before You Leave', 'Until The End' and 'For My Enemies'."

FLOWING TEARS released a live album, "Invanity - Live in Berlin", last October via Ascendance Records, a new label funded by Lee Barrett (founder of Candlelight Records; former member of EXTREME NOISE TERROR, currently in TO-MERA) and A&R'd by Sam Grant (writer, promoter, broadcaster, interviewer for Sonic Cathedral online).

FLOWING TEARS' latest studio album, "Razorbliss", was issued in Europe in March 2004 through Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Serpentine" was recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (THE GATHERING, LACUNA COIL, SENTENCED, MOONSPELL) and was the band's first to feature vocalist Helen Vogt, who replaced Stefanie Duchêne in 2003.

Long anticipated and now officially confirmed: KROKUS is back in its classic formation. Marc Storace (vocals, 56), Fernando Von Arb (guitar, 53), Chris Von Rohr (bass, 56) and Freddy Steady (drums, 55) have reunited and are performing together again.

On August 2, KROKUS will play its only concert planned for 2008 in the band's native Switzerland at Stade De Suisse stadium in Bern. Afterwards, the group will begin work on its comeback album, tentatively due mid-2009.

The classic KROKUS lineup reunited for an appearance on November 18, 2007 on a TV show honoring the greatest Swiss songs of all time. The "Die grössten Schweizer Hits" program featured KROKUS performing a medley of the tracks "Tokyo Nights", "Bedside Radio" and "Heatstrokes".

Photographer Peter Beste has issued the following update:

"In the last two decades a bizarre and violent musical subculture called black metal has emerged in Norway. Its roots stem from a heady blend of horror films, extreme heavy metal music, Satanism, pagan mythology, and adolescent angst. In the early-mid 1990s, members of this extremist underground committed murder, burned down medieval wooden churches, and desecrated graveyards. What started as a juvenile frenzy came to symbolize the start of a war against Christianity, a return to the worship of the ancient Norse gods, and the complete rejection of mainstream society.

"I have spent the last seven years photographing in this insulated and secretive community.

"'True Norwegian Black Metal', a 208-page hardcover photography book, will be released via Vice Books in May 2008."

Swedish metallers SCAR SYMMETRY have posted behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions for their third CD, "Holographic Universe", due on June 20 via Nuclear Blast Records. Watch the six-minute clip below.

"Holographic Universe" track listing:

01. Morphogenesis (3:54)
02. Timewave Zero (5:13)
03. Quantumleaper (4:09)
04. Artificial Sun Projection (4:00)
05. The Missing Coordinates (4:37)
06. Ghost Prototype I (Measurement of Thought) (4:35)
07. Fear Catalyst (5:03)
08. Trapezoid (4:17)
09. Prism and Gate (3:46)
10. Holographic Universe (9:05)
11. The Three-Dimensional Shadow (3:57)
12. Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina) (6:03)

Check out the cover artwork at this location.

Metal Mind Productions will release a new live DVD by FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, entitled "Once in a Deathtime", in Europe on June 16. The disc will contain footage of the band's March 8, 2008 performance at Metalmania Festival in Katowice, Poland, including live renditions of such classic songs as "Doomsday for the Deceiver", "No Place for Disgrace", or "I Live You Die". The DVD will also feature an interview with Craig Neilsen (drums) and Ed Carlson (guitar), biography, discography, photo gallery, desktop images and weblinks.

A limited-edition version of the DVD will include will include an audio CD containing songs recorded at the Metalmania Festival.

More information will be made available soon.

Metal Mind Productions released a digipack edition of FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's "Dreams Of Death" album in Europe on April 7. The CD was engineered by Tom Giatron and produced by FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and Tom Giatron at Genesis Studios in Phoenix. Travis Smith did the cover art. Metal Mind Productions also re-released FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's albums "When The Storm Comes Down" (1990), "Cuatro" (1992) and "Drift" (1995) on March 17 in Europe (to be issued in the U.S. on June 10 via MVD). Each remastered limited-edition digipack title (limited to 2,000 copies) was made available on golden disc, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's classic debut, "Doomsday for the Deceiver", was reissued as a "Special Edition" by Metal Blade Records on October 31, 2006. The original album was produced by Metal Blade CEO Brian Slagel and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM and is the group's sole release to feature Newsted before he joined METALLICA as the replacement for Cliff Burton. More information is available at this location.

Poland's Metal Mind Productions will re-release the classic debut album from the legendary Dutch death/thrash metal act PESTILENCE, "Malleus Malficarum" (1988), on May 19 in Europe (July 8 in the USA via MVD). The limited-edition digipack title (limited to 2,000 copies) will be made available on golden disc, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology.

Guitarist/vocalist Patrick Mameli has set "Resurrection Macabre" as the title of the new album from the reactivated PESTILENCE, tentatively due in early 2009 via Holland's Mascot Records. Joining Mameli in the group's new recording lineup are Tony Choy (ATHEIST, CYNIC) on bass and Peter Wildoer (DARKANE, NON-HUMAN LEVEL) on drums. Patrick is currently working on new material which he has described as a modern fusion of "Testimony of the Ancients" (1991) and "Spheres" (1993), but even more technical and brutal. The group's new album will tentatively be recorded this fall by Danish producer Jacob Hansen (RAUNCHY, INVOCATOR) and produced by Patrick himself.

The complete After Forever catalogue will be re-issued on Transmission Records, both in sound (CD, digital downloads) as image (DVD), with a lot of previously unreleased material.

Starting with their debut album Prison of Desire: The Album - The Sessions. For more information on ordering visit website: www.centertainment.nl.

The first album to be re-released is Prison of Desire which will feature no less than 20 bonus tracks, including a track never that never appeared on album before, previously unreleased demo’s, rarities and alternative takes, with a total playing time of 2½ hours. The release comes with a 28 pages booklet, in which former guitarist Mark Jansen, who is currently doing really well with Epica, reminisces the early days of After Forever and the recordings of Prison of Desire.

Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY have issued the following update:

"Finland/Russia/Ukraine rocks...

"Another successful tour has come to an end. Thanks to everyone that attended the gigs to show their support and make this such a memorable trip for us.

"Finland was amazing, with a devoted and dedicated audience that didn't disappoint one bit. The highlight was the nearly-sold-out Tavastia show, which marked our first headline gig in Helsinki since 1996, when we played in the now legendary Lepakko club, supported by a young HIM. (!)

"Russia and Ukraine was everything we expected and more, and it's no exaggeration to state that the performance in Moscow deserves a spot in the Top 5 list of the best shows ever. We've been waiting for so many years to get over there, and other bands have spoken highly of the great reception they've gotten, but our sky-high expectations were surpassed.

"Finally, a huge thanks to everyone involved in the promotion/organization of these shows for their great professionalism and hospitality."

The MetalList webzine has posted video footage of DARK TRANQUILLITY performing the song "The Lesser Faith" live on April 24, 2008 at Tochka in Moscow, Russia. Watch the clip below. Photos from the concert can be found at this location.

DARK TRANQUILLITY will make its much-anticipated return to North America in May with what could well be hailed as one of the best guitar-shredder packages of the year. This tour, presented by ESP Guitars, Randall Amps, Guitar World and Revolver magazine, dubbed "Tyranny and Bloodshred 2008", kicks off on May 9 and features headliners ARCH ENEMY and the awesome, yet diverse talents of DIVINE HERESY and FIREWIND.

Upon completing this tour the band will continue on headlining a slew of additional dates with DIVINE HERESY and FIREWIND supporting. This tour completes their worldwide touring cycle for "Fiction", an album that revitalized the genre they helped create and further cemented their status as one of the genre's most influential bands.

Niklas Sundin (guitars) states: "We're very pleased to let our growing hordes of U.S. fans know that we'll once again return to your shores to serve you in metal. Starting in the beginning of May, we'll head out as main support for our long-time buddies in ARCH ENEMY. It'll be a powerful and diverse package that will satisfy everyone."

Visit www.myspace.com/dtofficial to view the complete tour itinerary.

Amazon.com is currently listing an October 28, 2008 release date for the new METALLICA album. It should be noted, however, that this information has not yet been corroborated by the band or the group's record label, Warner Bros. Music.

METALLICA has set up a web site at MissionMetallica.com that says it will offer fans a chance to "experience the new album before it's done."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told RollingStone.com that the band intends to explore "everything" in terms of selling its music once its current recording contract expires. But although the group's upcoming ninth studio album is its last with Warner Bros., Ulrich said they would be hesitant to follow in the footsteps of U2 and MADONNA and sign a comprehensive "360 deal" with Live Nation. Ulrich explained, "We've never sold ourselves that way. No disrespect. We want to be as free a player as possible. We've been observing RADIOHEAD and Trent Reznor and in 27 years or however long it takes for the next record, we'll be looking forward to everything in terms of possibilities with the Internet."

Ulrich told The Pulse of Radio something similar when asked what the band will do once its contract is finished. "There's a bunch of possibilities out there," he said. "It's great to be able to have the choices, and it's great when you don't need the record company to sign the checks, you know what I mean? Then it sort of becomes a whole different thing. The landscape continues to change, you know, so we'll see."

Ulrich talked with Rolling Stone on April 19, as the band did an autograph session at an independent record store in northern California to celebrate Record Store Day. Ulrich called the group's participation a "no-brainer," adding, "The record store has been such a huge part of our lives. When I was 12, 14 years old in Denmark, the record store was the Holy Grail and the guy who worked there was my hero."

The band has scheduled a slew of European festival dates for May, June, July and August in addition to two U.S. shows, on May 16 at a radio festival in Tucson, Arizona and mid-June at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee.