Finnish doom metallers SWALLOW THE SUN have issued the following update:

"First of all, we want to thank everyone for making year 2007 such an amazing year for SWALLOW THE SUN. We played almost 100 gigs supporting the album Hope, including two European tours, our first North American tour and a mini-tour in Spain and Portugal. We had an honour to play huge festivals outside Finland, such as Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, With Full Force and Metal Heart Festival. We also shot two videos, for 'Don't Fall Asleep' and 'Doomed To Walk The Earth'.

"'Hope' got some good positions in yearly readers' and critics' polls, including the third position in Best Metal Album series in Soundi magazine critics' poll. We were voted also in many other music magazine's readers' polls for the best band and album of 2007, with the charts consisting mainly of mainstream artists in Finland. We won the 'Mättöfemma' category in Femmagaala awards in Finland.

"So, big thanks to all you who made it worth it by coming to see us on tour, buying the album and making it enter the national Finnish charts on position #3 and being so nice to us where ever we went.

"Alright, about the dark future: We are now rehearsing new music and enter studio this spring to record the next SWALLOW THE SUN release called 'Plague Of Butterflies' that will be released later this year. We will give you more news about this new opus soon and what it will be...

"The plague is coming, people, the plague is coming."

Back in December 2007, Juha Raivio and Matti Honkonen of SWALLOW THE SUN recently took part in sounds2move.de's 2007 Christmas special. They spoke about their most memorable moments of 2007 and discussed their plans for the future.

British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN will release a very special album on May 12 via EMI Records to chart the first decade of the band's extraordinary career. The CD celebrates the essence of the current tour by featuring most of the essential tracks from the band's first seven studio albums and one live album, recorded between 1980 and 1989, and is aptly entitled "Somewhere Back In Time".

In an unprecedented move to let younger fans hear, understand and appreciate the quality of these recordings EMI launch the unique Somewhere Best In Sound whereby the curious/adventurous can download the entire album without charge from www.ironmaiden.com as a high-quality audio file (WMA) which is a typically powerful 320 kbps. Fans will then be able to listen to the entire album at their leisure three times before the download expires. The listener is then given a simple option to upgrade and purchase the album as a full traditional DRM-free download (so they can then copy or do as they like with the album).

Manager Rod Smallwood explains the thinking behind this innovative move: "MAIDEN have a huge catalogue that is highly treasured by fans and media alike. However we recognise that our ever-increasing fan base is very young and can't be expected to know all the earlier albums, which is why we have put this collection together for them. Many of our fans weren't even born when the original albums were first released, although amazingly they seem to know all the lyrics when they sing along with the band at our concerts! We also recognise that 'albums' as such have become unfashionable to many over recent years with TV-generated pop artists stringing a couple of 'hit' singles together with filler tracks and releasing them as a quick fill album which disappoints and quickly becomes dated. So this is both an introduction to the band's recording history and a chance for young fans to try a full-length MAIDEN album and realise they're getting the real deal!

"We wanted to give the kids of today a fair chance of hearing the music as we would have first heard and experienced it in our day when checking it out in a record shop — top-quality sound, in their own time and in an environment of their own choosing so they are able to absorb the depth and worth of the music and lyrics that make IRON MAIDEN the phenomenon they are. What better way to use modern means and a very high quality download! Sadly the WMA (Windows Media Audio) isn't compatible with Macs or iPods but we are confident that our young fans are adept and fluent with modern technology and we will post simple instructions on our website for any that need guidance."

"Somewhere Back In Time" track listing:

01. Churchill Speech (0.49)
02. Aces High (4.36)
03. 2 Minutes To Midnight (6.00)
04. The Trooper (4.11)
05. Wasted Years (5.06)
06. Children Of The Damned (4.35)
07. The Number of The Beast (4.53)
08. Run To The Hills (3.53)
09. Phantom Of The Opera -- Live (7.21)
10. The Evil That Men Do (4.34)
11. Wrathchild -- Live (3.07)
12. Can I Play With Madness (3.31)
13. Powerslave (6.47)
14. Hallowed Be Thy Name (7.12)
15. Iron Maiden -- Live (4.50)

UK vocalist Blaze Bayley's (ex-IRON MAIDEN, WOLSFBANE) official web site has been updated with the following message:

"Blaze Bayley — a new album, the first due for release on his own independent label in late May with additional licensing to various countries. The album is being engineered by James Dunkley, produced by Blaze Bayley and is entitled 'The Man Who Would Not Die'. It promises to take Blaze in new songwriting directions, ushering in a new phase of an already renowned career. It is also the first recorded showcase for the line-up that comprises Nico Bermudez and Jay Walsh on guitars, David Bermudez on bass and Lawrence Paterson on drums."

Lawrence Paterson, the drummer for BLAZE BAYLEY, recently started a blog on the progress of the songwriting/recording sessions for the group's new album. The follow-up to 2004's "Blood & Belief" is tentatively due late summer/early fall.

Blaze Bayley has released a "best-of" collection through his own label. The CD, which can be ordered via the Planetblaze.com webshop, features the following track listing:

01. Born As A Stranger
02. Ghost In The Machine
03. Stare At The Sun (Live)
04. Silicon Messiah
05. The Launch (Live)
06. Kill And Destroy
07. Land Of The Blind
08. Living Someone Else's Life
09. Tenth Dimension (Live)
10. Leap Of Faith
11. Blood And Belief
12. Ten Seconds
13. Hollow Head
14. Soundtrack Of My LIfe
15. Alive (Live)

Metal Mind Productions recently released Blaze Bayley's DVD, entitled "Alive in Poland" (view cover artwork at this location). The disc was recorded at the 21st edition of the Metalmania Festival, which took place on March 24 in Katowice, Poland. Blaze Bayley and his band put on a 90-minute show consisting of the best tracks from BLAZE's discography as well as select cuts from IRON MAIDEN ("Man on the Edge", "Futureal"). The DVD also includes many great bonus features, such as an interview with Blaze Bayley, an interview with all members of Blaze's band (featuring footage filmed during their visit to Poland) and more. A limited-edition "Alive in Poland" release includes a two-CD set with songs recorded at the concert.

"Blood & Belief" (which came out under the BLAZE banner), was issued in Europe in April 2004. The follow-up to 2002's "Tenth Dimension" was recorded at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, England with producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY).

Faroe Islands metallers TÝR have issued the following update:

"Due to injury, Kári Streymoy will not be able to man the drum kit during the coming Paganfest tour in Europe, Canada and the U.S. We are sad at not having him with us, but we have found a worthy replacement in 20-year-old Amon Djurhuus, also from the Faroe Islands.

"Amon was first introduced to drumming by Kári himself and has studied with him for a number of years. We've rehearsed with Amon wielding the drumsticks and are confident in his ability to fill Kári's shoes."

TÝR has set "Land" as the title of its fourth full-length album, due on May 8 via Napalm Records. According to the band, the follow-up to 2006's "Ragnarok" "contains mostly Faeroese, but also Icelandic and Norwegian traditionals, re-arranged into heavy metal. The second most prevalent language is English." The CD was recorded at Jacob Hansen's (RAUNCHY, ROB ROCK, HATESPHERE, MERCENARY) studio in Ribe, Denmark.

TÝR will team up with ENSIFERUM, TURISAS and ELUVEITIE for the Paganfest North American tour, which will take place in April and May, with SUIDAKRA joining the tour for six West Coast dates.

OPETH mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has posted the following message on his MySpace blog:

"What you don't know won't hurt you... Well, I'm going to tell ya!

"I just got back from the Melloboat, basically the floors are still moving underneath me and I'm beyond exhausted, but it's all worth it. Myself, my wife and my youngest daughter, Mirjam, all checked into the semi-posh Commodore suites of the Silja Symphony boat, and I knew right then this trip was going to be a memory for life.

"I wasn't really nervous for our own gig, even though we hadn't played since last summer and even though our setlist consisted of a few songs we hadn't played for a long time plus one new song, 'Heir Apparent'. I asked my wife to cut me some slack as I my brain was literally working overtime, overheating.

"I'd talked Stefan into fixing a slot for us at 10 pm which is basically regular gig time, since we don't like the play in the middle of the night. Easily arranged and a one hour gig was scheduled for the big stage (well…kinda) of the boat. I didn't have time to see any bands prior to us, so I missed ANEKDOTEN, but I know they're great, they always are.

"Our main objective for the gig was to have a good time. It's seen as a warm up for our coming UK and USA tours and I think it's done us good. Basically I had a blast, we all did! None of us we're playing flawlessly or anything like that, and the sound was a bit iffy, but we fucking had a blast straight through. The crowd was great, singing along, seemed like many people were really happy to see us again, and also maybe slightly relieved that we're sounding like OPETH after all the line-up changes. I knew that. In fact, in the rehearsal room the day before the show we all agreed on that we have never ever sounded this good ever before. I even enjoyed rehearsing 'The Drapery Falls'. That's pretty weird since I can't remember having rehearsed it with any kind of emotion since 2001 or something. Love the song, but we've played it to death I the past. Now it felt so fresh and basically it was one of my favourite songs that night. We did a slower version of 'Harvest' which I really liked. The new one came out fine, even though it had the most mistakes…mainly technical mistakes. It was fun to play it and the crowd seemed the really dig it. Everyone that came up to me afterwards said it was their favourite song of the night, which is not a bad thing, I guess."

Read Mikael's entire message at this location.

OPETH's setlist was as follows:

01. Intro
02. Masters Apprentices
03. The Drapery Falls
04. Serenity Painted Death
05. Harvest
06. The Baying Of The Hounds
07. Heir Apparent
08. Demon Of The Fall

ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian has told Kerrang.com that the band has already written eight songs for the follow-up to 2003's "We've Come For You All".

"We're really happy with the eight songs or so that we've finished," he said. "And we hope to write five or six more killers!

"It's fuckin' pummelling!" he added. "It sounds like ANTHRAX from 1987 through a 2008 sound system, if that makes any sense!"

Scott Ian will take part in a meet-and-greet following PEARL's performance at the Barfly in Camden, UK on March 21.

PEARL is the band fronted by Pearl Aday, Scott Ian's fiancée and daughter of legendary crooner Meat Loaf. The group's current lineup is completed by Eric Bradley (THE YOUNG ROYALS, JERRY CANTRELL) on lead guitar, Eric Andrews (ROYAL FEVER, 286) on drums, and Dominique Davalos (THE GO-GO'S, THE BLUEBELLES) on bass.

"I love playing guitar in PEARL," Ian told Kerrang.com. "It's much more akin to the stuff I grew up on like AC/DC, THIN LIZZY, AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN etc. It's a much less disciplined style of guitar playing than what I am used to in ANTHRAX and so much fun to be able to just be the rhythm player like Malcolm Young!!

"Besides," Ian added, "Pearl doesn't need any help up front. She's got it in her blood! Huge voice and presence and the band fucking rocks!"

Italian gothic metal band THEATRES DES VAMPIRES will release its new album, "Anima Noir", on May 2 via Aural Music/SPV. The CD was recorded at the Temple of Noise studio in Rome with engineer Christian Ice. According to a press release, "Anima Noir" features "romantic lyrics, lyrical voices, strong orchestration, powerfull guitars and powerful drumming. All the elements that you loved in THEATRES DES VAMPIRES are back in this new production. A new modern sound and a super modern production that took six months of work in the studio for recording and mixing it, offering you the best experience of vampirism as always, with the enchanting vocals of the mistress of your nightmare: Countess Sonya Scarlet, this time with her best performance ever."

Check out audio samples at Myspace page.

On March 19, 2007, THEATRES DES VAMPIRES released its latest album, "Desire of Damnation" — a double CD featuring live recordings from "The Addiction" tour in 2006 and several new studio songs and remixes.

The name THEATRES DES VAMPIRES was inspired by a fictional location created by gothic fantasy writer Anne Rice of the same name. Rice's Theatres des Vampires is a Parisian theatre in which vampires pretend to be mortal actors, their performances consisting of the feeding on mortals disguised as part of a play and staged in front of human audiences. The location is mentioned in several of Rice's books, including "Interview with the Vampire" and "The Vampire Lestat".
THEATRES DES VAMPIRES is:

Sonya Scarlet: Vocals
Fabian Varesi: Keyboards
Zimon Liyoi: Bass
Gabriel Valerio: Drums
Stephan Benfante: Guitars

Former BLIND GUARDIAN/SAVAGE CIRCUS drummer Thomen Stauch has issued the following update:

"Over months I've been planning and checking musicians for a new band I wanted to create! The time of searching has almost come to an end!!! The guitarist is already fixed and the vocalist is almost fixed. I'm still checking more details with him. I'm still searching the right bassist, but that shouldn't be too hard to find!

"All I can say is that the guitarist is a German, really hard-working man and a virtuoso guitar player who loves his job 100%!!! The singer, if it will be this one at the end, comes from the United States and is surely well known by all of you! I admire his work and love especially his early works with his band from my early metal years! One thing for sure!!! Both musicians are very professional ones and so far the coolest, nicest guys I've ever talked to and met!

"We've just started to write the first parts of the first songs for that band!

"I can promise you another thing: We'll bring straight power/speed metal to your ears!!! It won't sound like BLIND GUARDIAN, as I did with SAVAGE CIRCUS! That wouldn't make any sense! But surely you'll hear enough great melodies and double-bass on the album!"

French metal act THE OLD DEAD TREE has issued the following update:

"The search is over, and a new drummer has now joined the band. The level of competition and skills among the few drummers who remained at the top of the crop was extremely high, but this guy logically outplayed everyone in the end. Indeed, we are very happy to announce that after having worked with us as a session musician for about six months now, Raphaël [Antheaume] has decided to join THE OLD DEAD TREE as a full-time member! For those who aren't familiar with him yet, Raphaël is the drummer of the French symphonic metal band PENUMBRA. As a professional musician, he is also involved in others projects and various music styles. If you want to find out more about Raphaël, you can check his MySpace."

A new THE OLD DEAD TREE track, entitled "Dive", has been posted online at this location. The song comes off the Parisian goth metallers' new album, "The Water Fields", which was released in September 2007 via Season of Mist. The CD was recorded at Stage One Studio in Germany with producer Andy Classen.

Speaking about the new CD, vocalist/guitarist Manuel stated, "The band went further again, reaching a new stage in terms of songwriting and maturity. This album is much heavier and darker, but also more diverse and full of sheer emotion! Even the production of Andy Classen outdoes the job on our previous material."

Veteran hard rockers UFO have issued the following update:

"The U.S. embassy in London has turned down Pete's [Way, bass] application for a working visa — even though the respective authorities in the U.S. homeland had already approved it. The U.S. embassy did not say why they turned down the application. We will now start to make arrangements for a bass player to stand in for Pete on the USA tour dates, and will let you know shortly who this will be."

"Inis Mona", the new video from the Swiss folk metal band ELUVEITIE, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's new album, "Slania", which was released on February 15 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2006's "Spirit" is "the perfection of the first album, but still there is enough room to give some new influences a chance," according to a press release. 'Expect nothing less than a masterpiece of hellish heavy folk metal with an 'x' factor!"

German melodic black/death metallers SUIDAKRA will release their new DVD and "best-of" CD package, "13 Years of Celtic Wartunes", on the following dates:

Germany: April 25
Europe: April 28
USA: June 10

"13 Years of Celtic Wartunes" will be released as a six-page digipack on the new Wacken Records label, with worldwide distribution by SPV. The set will include the band's Wacken Open Air 2007 performance, an acoustic concert, and a best-of CD with remastered and newly recorded songs spanning the group's 13-year history.

The digipack, from front to back cover, and the booklet are designed to look like a book dating back to another time, and include comments from the band plus personal background information about the Wacken show, acoustic concert and the "Best Of" compilation. You'll also find personal, unreleased pictures spanning the history of the band.

"13 Years of Celtic Wartunes" track listing:

DVD (cover artwork):

Live at Wacken:

01. Darkane Times
02. Gates Of Nevermore
03. Forth-Clyde
04. Pendragon's Fall
05. The One Piece Puzzle
06. Dead Man's Reel
07. The IXth Legion
08. Wartunes

Acoustic Concert:

01. The One Piece Puzzle
02. When Eternity Echoes
03. Rise Of Taliesin
04. Whiskey In The Jar
05. Medley: Dinas Emrys - Peregrin - Serenade To A Dream - Fall Of Tara
06. Wish You Were Here
07. The Ember Deid (Part II)
08. A Vision's Demise
09. A Runic Rhyme
10. An Dùdlachd
11. Johnny B.

Bonus Material:

01. Interviews at Wacken with friends and fans
02. "The IXth Legion" videoclip
03. "Forth-Clyde" videoclip

"Best Of" CD:

01. Heresy *
02. Sheltering Dreams *
03. A Menhirs Clay *
04. An Dùdlachd *
05. Morrigan
06. Lays From Afar
07. The Arcane Spell
08. Wartunes
09. Rise of Taliesin
10. Intro
11. Darkane Times
12. Still The Pipes Are Calling
13. Signs For The Fallen
14. A Vision's Demise
15. Reap The Storm
16. Dead Man's Reel
17. Highland Hills

All tracks re-mastered except * re-recorded at Gernhart Studio August 5-12, 2007.

Watch a trailer for the upcoming DVD below.

SUIDAKRA will make its U.S. debut at the Chicago Powerfest 2008, set to take place May 1-3 at The Pearl Room in Mokena, Illinois. The band will then join Paganfest USA (featuring ENSIFERUM, TURISAS, TYR and ELUVEITIE) as special guests on the six West Coast dates.

SUIDAKRA's latest CD, "Caledonia", was released in Europe in November 2006 via Armageddon Music. The follow-up to 2005's "Command to Charge" was recorded by Martin Buchwalter at Gernhart Records studio in Siegburg, Germany and features artwork by Kris Verwimp. The album photography was handled by Axel Jusseit, who previously worked with the group on 2003's "Signs for the Fallen". The mastering was done by Michael Schwabe at Monoposto Mastering (SUBWAY TO SALLY, DIE TOTEN HOSEN) in Düsseldorf, Germany.

According to the band, "'Caledonia' adopts the lyrical concept of ancient Scottish history, which explains songtitles such as 'Highland Hills', 'Forth-Clyde' and 'The IXth Legion'."

STREAM OF PASSION has posted a demo teaser of one of its new songs on the band's MySpace page.

As previously reported, STREAM OF PASSION has scheduled the following dates:

April 11 - Kasteel, - Alphen a/d Rijn, Holland
April 12 - Tournai ProgFest - Tournai, Belgium
April 13 - Spirit of 66 - Verviers, Belgium
April 18 - De Kade - Zaandaam, Holland
April 24 - Effenaar - Eindhoven, Holland
April 25 - Fenix - Sittard, Holland

STREAM OF PASSION members Johan van Stratum (bass), Davy Mickers (drums) and Marcela Bovio (vocals, lyrics, violin) last year announced the addition of Stephan Schultz (guitar), Jeffrey Revet (keyboards) and Eric Hazebroek (guitar) to the group's ranks.

STREAM OF PASSION parted ways with founding members Arjen Lucassen (guitar), Lori Linstruth (guitar) and Alejandro Millán (piano), back in March 2007.

STREAM OF PASSION's debut album, "Embrace the Storm", was released in Holland in October 2005 via Sony/BMG Benelux. The CD was issued in the rest of Europe and the U.S./Canada via InsideOut Music.

A brand new TESTAMENT track, entitled "More Than Meets The Eye", has been posted on the group's MySpace page. The song comes off the veteran San Francisco Bay Area metallers' forthcoming album, "The Formation of Damnation", due in North America on April 29 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The band recorded the effort in part with producer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.

"The Formation of Damnation" track listing:

01. For The Glory Of
02. More Than Meets The Eye
03. The Evil Has Landed
04. Formation Of Damnation
05. Dangers of The Faithless
06. The Persecuted Won't Forget
07. Henchman
08. Killing Season
09. Afterlife
10. F.E.A.R.
11. Leave Me Forever

The final track listing has been revealed for "Master of Illusion", the new album from UK melodic power metallers POWER QUEST. The CD will be issued on the following dates:

March 26 - Japan/Southeast Asia (via Marquee/Avalon)
April 25 - Europe (via Napalm)
May 13 - USA (via Napalm)

The album, which was mastered on February 13, features guest appearances by keyboardist Richard West from the UK progressive metal band THRESHOLD and Jorn Viggo Lofstad from the Norwegian power metal act PAGAN'S MIND.

"Master of Illusion" track listing:

01. Cemetery Gates
02. Human Machine
03. Civilised?
04. Kings of Eternity
05. Master of Illusion
06. The Vigil
07. Save the World
08. Hearts and Voices
09. I Don't Believe in Friends Forever
10. Never Again
11. Reckoning Day

Check out an audio sample of the song "Human Machine" at this location.

The cover artwork for "Master of Illusion", the new album from UK melodic power metallers POWER QUEST, can be viewed at this location.

"A Day Tomorrow", the new video from ASSAILANT, the Umeå, Sweden-based band featuring guitarist Oscar Norberg ("little brother" of Emil of PERSUADER/SAVAGE CIRCUS fame and Nils Norberg of NOCTURNAL RITES), can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Owe Lingvall of Village Road Film.

"A Day Tomorrow" comes off the group's sophomore album, "Wicked Dream", which is due on March 24 via Dockyard 1. According to a press release, the CD "is not only more mature than its predecessor but it shows a band that has clearly found its own path in metal, very melodic yet really hard, sprinkled with influences of rock, death metal and thrash. Crown of the album is the ballad 'Eternal'."

Check out the cover artwork at this location

Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records has set a May 27 North American release date for the new solo album from former EMPEROR vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn, entitled "angL".

OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt has recorded a guest appearance on the track "Unhealer" while Asgeir Mickelson and Lars Norberg (both of SPIRAL ARCHITECT) were responsible for laying down the drum and bass tracks on the CD, respectively.

Commented Ihsahn: "[Mikael and I] been talking about doing something for a while and I'm really happy it finally came together. Needless to say, Mikael's performance is nothing short of amazing!

"Asgeir and Lars have delivered a rock-solid foundation for the whole album. Pounding blast-beats to slow fretless passages are all performed with great precision."

Ihsahn previously described the musical direction of the new CD as "a natural progression from 'The Adversary' [2006], but with a somewhat heavier touch."

Check out the "angL" cover artwork at this location.

"The Adversary" entered the Norwegian album chart at position No. 33 upon its release in 2006. The CD was written and recorded over a one-year period at Symphonique Studios in Norway and features a guest appearance by Garm from ULVER on one song. All music and lyrics for "The Adversary" were written and performed by Ihsahn with exception of drums, which were played by Asgeir Mickelson (BORKNAGAR, SPIRAL ARCHITECT). A video for "Invocation", the opening track from "The Adversary", can be viewed below. The clip was shot and produced in Notodden, Norway by a local production company. "I think the video reflects both the direct and solitary expression of the album," Ihsahn said. "It was my intention to keep everything as pure and intense as possible, yet staying true to metal tradition."

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"While we're finishing up the new album, we told the dudes at the record company we thought it might be cool to dust off the old tapes and get all retro with some vinyl re-releases... First up are the first two albums (duh!?), 'Kill 'Em All' and 'Ride the Lightning', coming out on April 15 in North America and pretty fucking close to that in the rest of the world.

"There will be two versions...one like the original on a single disc spinning at 33 1/3, the other a two disc, 180-gram vinyl, 45 rpm package all in a double gatefold. The music was half speed mastered from the original analog tapes at Mobile Fidelity to bring you audiophile quality. Both versions will be available in the online store here and over at MetClub.

"Oh, and in case you were wondering, 'Master' and 'Justice' will obviously be next and should be coming out on vinyl in June."

The End Records has set a May 13 release date for the reissue of the 2002 debut album "Get Heavy" from Finnish monster rock 'n' roll band LORDI.

The reissue comes with the exclusive bonus track, "Don’t Let My Mother Know".

The full track listing is as follows:

01. Scarctic Circle Gathering
02. Get Heavy
03. Devil Is A Loser
04. Rock The Hell Outta You
05. Would You Love A Monsterman?
06. Icon Of Dominance
07. Not The Nicest Guy
08. Hellbender Turbulence
09. Biomechanic Man
10. Last Kiss Goodbye
11. Dynamite Tonite
12. Monster Monster
13. 13
14. Don't Let My Mother Know (bonus track)

"We are busy writing new material right now for an upcoming album. We've also been confirmed for a few summer festivals in Europe, so keep checking our tour page to find out where you can see us."

Finnish "love metallers" HIM have revealed the track listing for their new CD/DVD, "Digital Versatile Doom: Live at the Orpheum Theatre", due on April 1 through Warner. The live portion of the DVD was recorded/filmed at the band's November 14-15, 2007 concerts at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. According to the HIM newsletter, "you'll go on stage and behind the scenes with Ville [Valo, HIM frontman] and the band as they give one of their most heartfelt shows to date. Also featured on the DVD, watch the journey of HIM's biggest fans as they go to Seattle to meet the band, see the heartagram photo gallery and watch as Ville recounts the journey that was 'Venus Doom'." "Digital Versatile Doom" also features a second disc, with the full live performance from The Orpheum Theater and a 16-page booklet of original art and images.

"Digital Versatile Doom: Live at the Orpheum Theatre" track listing:

01. Passion's Killing Floor
02. (Rip Out) the Wings of a Butterfly
03. Buried Alive By Love
04. Wicked Game
05. The Kiss of Dawn
06. Vampire Heart
07. Poison Girl
08. Dead Lovers' Lane
09. Join Me in Death
10. It's All Tears
11. Sleepwalking Past Hope
12. Killing Loneliness
13. Soul On Fire
14. Your Sweet Six Six Six
15. Bleed Well
16. The Funeral of Hearts

An exclusive sneak peek at "Digital Versatile Doom: Live at the Orpheum Theatre" is available here.

"Tulimyrsky" (Firestorm), the new EP from the Finnish folk/pagan metal band MOONSORROW, has had its release date (through Spinefarm Records) pushed back to April 30 from the previously announced March 26.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. Tulimyrsky (new song)
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls (METALLICA cover)
03. Taistelu Pohjolasta (from the "Tämä Ikuinen Talvi" demo)
04. Hvergelmir (from the "Metsä" demo)
05. Back To North (MERCILESS cover)

MOONSORROW has been confirmed for the Bloodstock Open Air festival, set to take place August 15-17, 2008 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire England. This will be the band's only UK festival appearance of 2008.

MOONSORROW released its latest album, "Viides Luku – Hävitetty", in North America in April 2007 via Unruly Sounds/The End Records. The CD — 56 minutes of music comprised from two songs — continues to place the group as one of the forerunners of the folk/viking metal scene due in part to their extensive use of folklore and pagan elements in their music and imagery.

Released in Europe in January 2007, "Viides Luku - Hävitetty" entered the German national chart at position No. 72. The CD was recorded between May and August 2006 at Tico Tico and The Stable studios and was mixed by Ahti Kortelainen and Henri Sorvali. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila.

MEMORY GARDEN, the Sweden-based band featuring former ABSKTRAKT ALGEBRA guitarist Simon Johansson, has announced the addition of NECRODHALIA bassist Johan Fredrikson to the group's ranks. "Johan did a hell of a job at the Swordbrothers Festival in Germany [on December 22, 2007] and we have continued rehearsing with him after that," says the band.

MEMORY GARDEN filmed a video for the title track of their upcoming album, "Carnage Carnival", in March 2007 with director Owe Lingwall of Village Road Film.

MEMORY GARDEN filmed a couple of live shows in Sweden in May 2007 for a possible bonus DVD for "Carnage Carnival".

Simon previously stated about the upcoming album: "We are for the first time working with the Hungarian artist Hjules and he [is] just awesome. The artwork for this one will for sure be something out of the ordinary. Hjules has worked with artists like ANNIHILATOR, DESTRUCTION, GRAVE DIGGER, NIGHTINGALE etc. in the past."

"Carnage Carnival" track listing:

01. Carnage Carnival
02. The Bitter End
03. Nameless
04. The Beast Within
05. Beggars Anthem
06. A Dark Embrace
07. Dominion
08. Endless Fear
09. Another Night
10. The Downfall

MEMORY GARDEN in 2006 inked a deal with Vic Records for the release of "Carnage Carnival", and the re-release of the band's previous out-of-print albums, "Forever" and "Tides". "The re-releases will be upgraded with some extra material such as demo songs, rehearsal recordings, new recordings of never-before-released material and so on," the group wrote on its web site. "[It] will be something for the collection."

MEMORY GARDEN split with Metal Blade Records in early 2002. The group's last full-length CD was "Mirage", which came out in 2000.

THE PROJECT HATE — the Swedish band featuring vocalist Jörgen Sandström (ex-ENTOMBED, GRAVE), guitarist Lord K. Philipson (GOD AMONG INSECTS, ex-LEUKEMIA), bassist Michael Håkansson (ENGEL, ex-EVERGREY), guitarist Petter S. Freed (2 TON PREDATOR), singer Jo Enckell (IGNORANCE BLISS) and drummer Daniel "Mojjo" Moilanen (RELEVANT FEW, DRACENA, RUNEMAGICK, LORD BELIAL, ENGEL) — has issued the following update:

"All the seven songs [for the new THE PROJECT HATE album] are now finished. Seven songs of the music you love when it comes to the HATE. It's time to complete the lyrics now, something that will definitely take some time. During the coming months (or more thruthfully; until we actually record the album) we will enhance the material as we go along, making everything even better, more infernal and all-around even more utterly dominating. We dig to work like that, you know.

"All vocal parts have been decided and both Jo and J are hard at work with what they will deliver next time. We have even contacted some of the planned guest musicians that we want on the next masterpiece. Some of them being childhood heroes actually. Maybe..."

THE PROJECT HATE's last album, "In Hora Mortis Nostræ", was released in September 2007 via Stormvox Records, the label owned by Swedish actor Peter Stormare.

German power metallers PARAGON will enter the studio in April to begin recording their new album for a fall release. Songtitles set to appear on the as-yet-untitled CD include "The Blade In The Dark", "Screenslaves", "Bloodfeast", "Disconnected" and "King of my Castle".

PARAGON's latest album, "Forgotten Prophecies", was released last June via Remedy Records.

After the recording of "Forgotten Prophecies" in early 2007, the band's longtime bass player Jan Bünning quit the band because of "musical differences." Shortly after, the group found a replacement in Dirk Seifert.

In late 2007 the band changed labels and is now signed to Massacre Records.

TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick has answered several fan questions via his web site.

Q: How does this album compare with past TESTAMENT albums?

Alex: I honestly think this is the best one. Not to put down the past albums, but I think this one is strongest in terms of production, songs and playing. I feel I'm playing much better and so is everyone else. It's got the best qualities of both the more recent albums and the earlier albums. It doesn't feel like a reunion anymore, it now feels like a new, current project.

Q: Was it hard to get back into that style of playing after being away from it for so long? Is it difficult to go back and forth from your jazz improv to rock/metal playing?

Alex: I've got used to it. To me, jazz is a delicate process which requires a heightened awareness and sensitivity. Metal is about intensity, energy and aggression, kind of the opposite of delicate sensitivity! But, I see no reason not to do both. Sure, I needed to step away and be purely involved in jazz for many years to develop those skills. But the metal playing came back very quickly and feels better than it ever has. It's very much yin and yang. I have elements of both in my personality and see no reason not to do both musically.

Q: How involved were you in the writing process?

Alex: There are a couple songs in which I'm the main writer/contributor. One is "Dangers Of The Faithless", based on these parts I had in 5/4 time. I wasn't sure it would fit the band, but it sounded good and really different. Chuck [Billy, vocals] came up with a cool vocal part over it, which wasn't easy. The other song is called "F.E.A.R." (False Evidence Appearing Real) which I brought in as a finished song. It examines fear from a psychological perspective and I've heard people say the riffs are very "classic TESTAMENT." But for the most part, I just let Chuck and Eric [Peterson] do their thing with the writing. I'd been gone a long time and they've really developed their own process since then. The last album, "The Gathering", has great writing. I respect that and didn't want to get in the way too much. But I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Q: What was it like working with Paul Bostaph and how does he compare to the other drummers of TESTAMENT?

Alex: We've had some great drummers in the last couple years since I've been back (I can count five!) and it's been great working with them all. But now that Paul's worked in, it really feels like he's the guy. He's such a pleasure to work with. He's got a great sound, solid grooves and great technique. I think the fans will be happy. I know we are."