Due to "contractual obligations, promotional deadlines and manufacturing delays," the release date of ENSIFERUM's third album, "Victory Songs", has been pushed back to April 20. "This is very unfortunate, and we're very sorry about the delay, but there's not much that we or our record companies can do to make this album hit the stores any earlier," the band writes on its web site. "If we could, we certainly would, because we know that all of you are eager to get a listen to the new songs! Despite this time-taking trouble, it's going to be one killer of an album and we hope that you will have the patience to wait just a little longer!"

Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR are preparing for the long-awaited release of their new CD, "In Sorte Diaboli", on April 27 via Nuclear Blast Records. The first concept album in the band's history, "In Sorte Diaboli"'s story is set in medieval Europe. "There's this dude that works as a priest's assistant, and after a while he just discovers that he has nothing to do with Christianity," guitarist Silenoz explains what the concept album is about. "He just sort of has this awakening and realizes that he has different abilities and different powers and is leaning more to the dark side…"

To make the story clearer, not only will the lyrics for the songs will be printed in the booklet, but you will also get a short synopsis introducing the listener to the plot.

"In Sorte Diaboli" was mixed in Studio Fredman in Göteborg, Sweden by producers Fredrik Nordström and Patrik J. Sten.

European fans will receive the following editions of "In Sorte Diaboli":

Limited-edition European high-quality digipak including a bonus DVD, 32-page booklet (mirrored lyrics) and mirror:

Digipak track listing:

01. The Serpentine Offering
02. The Chosen Legacy
03. The Conspiracy Unfolds
04. The Ancestral Fever (European bonus track)
05. The Sacrilegious Scorn
06. The Fallen Arises
07. The Sinister Awakening
08. The Fundamental Alienation
09. The Invaluable Darkness
10. The Foreshadowing Furnace

Bonus DVD content:

* Video Clip "The Serpentine Offering" (04:42)
* Making of the album with DIMMU BORGIR (studio report) (17:25)
* Making of "The Serpentine Offering" video with DIMMU BORGIR (21:52)
* Photo gallery
* Media player

Standard Version (Europe) - Jewelcase including 32 page-booklet:

CD track listing:

01. The Serpentine Offering
02. The Chosen Legacy
03. The Conspiracy Unfolds
04. The Sacrilegious Scorn
05. The Fallen Arises
06. The Sinister Awakening
07. The Fundamental Alienation
08. The Invaluable Darkness
09. The Foreshadowing Furnace
+ Media Player (incl. video clip "The Serpentine Offering")

There will be also an ultra-limited exclusive Nuclear Blast mailorder edition, a high-quality leather book including a bonus DVD (content printed on special paper including mirrored lyrics and mirror)! Stay tuned for more details!!!

Last but not least, vinyl fans will be also satisfied with the gatefold LP including a bonus 7".

"In Sorte Diaboli" will be available in North America on April 24 in two different formats: a jewel-case CD and a limited-edition digipak (including a bonus DVD; same content as the European DVD version). The North American bonus track will be on both versions. The complete track listing is as follows:

01. The Serpentine Offering
02. The Chosen Legacy
03. The Conspiracy Unfolds
04. The Sacrilegious Scorn
05. The Fallen Rises
06. The Heretic Hammer (exclusive North American bonus track)
07. The Sinister Awakening
08. The Fundamental Alienation
09. The Invaluable Darkness
10. The Foreshadowing Furnace

Legendary Swedish doomsters CANDLEMASS have posted the following message on their official web site:

"One of Sweden's heaviest and most popular metal bands of all time celebrate 20 years with a huge party at Stockholm's Kolingsborg. CANDLEMASS perform with three (!) different vocalists, a bunch of famous metal guests + VIP DJ Lee Dorrian from CATHEDRAL!! Opening act is GRAND MAGUS!! You can also win tickets to Sweden Rock Festival and cool vinyl. Don’t throw away your tickets!!

"For the very first time is the singer from 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' — Johan Langquist — fronting CANDLEMASS!!! This fact will make doom fanatics around the globe book plane seats with sweaty palms!! Tomas Vikström, who sang on 'Chapter VI' is also on stage this evening. Count on some songs from that album too... Another highlight of the show is the presentation of Robert Lowe, CANDLEMASS' new singer (well known from SOLITUDE AETURNUS) who makes his debut with the doom legends, who were awarded a Swedish Grammy for best hard rock/metal 2005. Robert puts his voice on CANDLEMASS' new album, 'King of the Grey Islands', in February. Preliminary release date June 22 (Nuclear Blast). It’s not totally impossible that a new song (or two) is performed live at Kolingsborg Saturday, March 31!!!

"CANDLEMASS are joined on stage by some really cool metal elite guests. No names mentioned but don't blame us if you miss this year's most wicked evening. VIP DJ Lee Dorrian (CATHEDRAL) teams up with Magnus from WITCHCRAFT and CANDLEMASS' Mappe + Leif spin personal and inspirational favorites on the main floor!!!!!!!!!! Doom-Ola from I Hate Records reigns in the basement. It will be HEAVY!!!

"Yes, there's MORE!! The great metal trio GRAND MAGUS are on the bill too!!! Don't miss damn it!!!! A new album will be recorded soon...

ENSLAVED was honored with the Spellemann award (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Award) in the "Metal" category for the band's "Ruun" album, which came out in May 2006 via Tabu Recordings (Candlelight in the U.S.). The largest and oldest Norwegian music awards show was held earlier tonight (Saturday, January 27) at the Thalia Theater, Chateau Neuf in Oslo, Norway and was broadcast live on the Norwegian channel TV2.

The nominees in the "Metal" category were as follows:

BENEA REACH - "Monument Bineothan" (Tabu Recordings)
ENSLAVED – "Ruun" (Tabu Recordings)
GORGOROTH - "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam" (Regain Records)
KEEP OF KALESSIN – "Armada" (Tabu Recordings)

Finnish melodic metallers ALTARIA have issued the following update:

"ALTARIA has been busy both [rehearsing] for the upcoming live shows and composing new material for the follow-up of 'The Fallen Empire', to be released tentatively in the autumn. ALTARIA will play few shows during the spring plus multiple festivals during the summer. The year 2007 will be extremely busy for ALTARIA.

"In other news, since the first two albums are sold out, Metal Heaven is releasing a compilation album entitled 'Divine Invitation' including songs from the first two studio albums. The compilation will also include two new tracks with the new lineup, including Marco [Luponero] on vocals. There'll be also more bonus material."

Massachusetts-based metallers HELL WITHIN have completed work on their new album, "Shadows of Vanity", due in North America on May 15 via Lifeforce Records. The CD was tracked with longtime producer John Ellis and mixed by Mark Lewis of AudioHammer Studios (TRIVIUM, BURY YOUR DEAD, GOD FORBID). Mastering duties will be handled by Tom Morris at Morrisound. The artwork will be created by acclaimed graphic designer and artist Paul Romano (MASTODON, TRIVIUM, THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD).

Commented guitarist Tony Zimmerman: "The new HELL WITHIN album, 'Shadows of Vanity', is done being recorded and mixed. We can't wait for everyone to hear it. The album sounds amazing and we are very proud of it. Now all that's left is for it to be mastered. The other thing we have going on is a tour with our good friends THE AUTUMN OFFERING and our soon-to-be-friends AUTUMN BLACK. The Tour will start March 1 and take us until the end of the month. It will cover the East Coast and go over to Texas then up the middle of the country."

HELL WITHIN's debut album, "Asylum of the Human Predator", was released in April 2005 via Lifeforce Records.

Welsh metalcore act BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE has completed the drum tracks for its new album at a Texas studio with producer Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH). "Padge [guitarist Michael Paget] is currently in the studio getting guitar tones for the album with Colin," the band writes on its web site. "Matt [Tuck, guitar/vocals] is away in Los Angeles in meetings for a couple days. When he gets back he will be recording all his rhythm guitar tracks."

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's "The Poison - Live At Brixton" DVD was released in the U.S. on December 19 via Trustkill. The disc, which was issued in Europe on Oct. 30, captures the band's sold-out show in front of over 4,000 people at London's legendary Brixton Academy on January 28, 2006 (filmed with over 15 cameras), along with over an hour of bonus material, including the band's videos so far, EPKs and documentaries edited to songs from both "The Poison" and the "Hand Of Blood" EP, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the band performing at the Download Festival and the Metal Hammer Awards in the U.K. last summer.

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's debut album, "The Poison", has sold 194,000 copies in the U.S. since its February 2006 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

World Entertainment News Network reports that Canadian metal legends VOIVOD have shelved plans to begin work on a new album to allow bassist Jason Newsted to recover after hurting his arm in a freak accident.

Newsted reportedly tore his bicep and rotator cuff trying to catch a bass head that had fallen off an amplifier last October, forcing him to pull out of a tour with supergroup ROCK STAR SUPERNOVA.

But he is on the mend and will record his bass lines separately to VOIVOD.

Drummer Michel "Away" Langevin says, "He needs time to recover from the surgery he had."

German metallers WARHEAD, whose original lineup included former REBELLION/current SILVER MAIDEN guitarist Björn Eilen, parted ways with singer Michael "Mitch" Mueller shortly after the completion of the band's fourth album due to "personal/business matters."

WARHEAD has yet to secure a record deal for "Captured", which is expected to be released later this year. It is rumored that the group's former singer Björn Eilen (SILVER MAIDEN, ex-REBELLION) may return to front the band, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

The follow-up to 2000's "Beyond Recall", "Captured" will feature the following tracks:

01. Thanx Killing
02. Lies!
03. Captured
04. Battle Royale
05. Deatheater
06. Alive
07. Zombie Ride
08. Phantoms
09. Purple People
10. City Of God

To check out the song "Lies!" from "Captured", visit WARHEAD's MySpace.

WARHEAD's third album, "Beyond Recall", was produced by former GRAVE DIGGER/current REBELLION guitarist Uwe Lulis

Roadrunner Records has announced the signing of progressive metal pioneers DREAM THEATER. A new studio album, "Systematic Chaos", is due in June. DREAM THEATER will hit the road in support of the album for a world tour, including major festival appearances in Europe.

Since their first studio release in 1989, this U.S.-based five-piece has notched up record and DVD sales in excess of six million and headlined to audiences of 20,000. Having undertaken seven world tours across 42 different countries, DREAM THEATER has established a live reputation that has swept them to arena-status around the globe. They have appeared alongside acts such as DEEP PURPLE, IRON MAIDEN and YES.

Recognized by peers and public alike for their advanced musical expertise, the band (Mike Portnoy, drums; John Petrucci, guitar; John Myung, bass; James LaBrie, vocals; Jordan Rudess, keyboards) has long held the ability to combine complex arrangements with unadulterated songwriting skills, the material often underpinned by riffs as heavy as anything in the METALLICA repertoire.

"This album's got all of the elements we've become known for," reveals Portnoy. "The focus on musicianship, the skull-crushing riffs, the big progressive epics and the heart-wrenching melodies. We've got one of the strongest and most devoted fan bases in the world, and they should certainly be happy with the new material. By working closely with the label we hope to turn a great many new heads too."

"DREAM THEATER and Roadrunner Records have led parallel careers on the cutting edge of metal for many years," say A&R men, Derek Oliver and Dante Bonutto, "We're thrilled to be working with a genuine market-leader, and when you add everything the guys bring to the table to the independent spirit and work ethic of the label, the results can only be exciting in the extreme!"

Prior to teaming up with Roadrunner, DREAM THEATER was signed to a seven-album deal with Warner Music Group worldwide. The deal commenced with the critically acclaimed and commercially successful "Images And Words" (1992), a gold-certified U.S. release, and concluded, in equal style, with "Octavarium" (2005), a Top 40 Billboard outing. In August of last year the band issued "Score", a live album/DVD (recorded at Radio City Music Hall in New York), which went straight to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard DVD charts, knocking PINK FLOYD from the top!

By the following month, the five were holed up at Avatar Studios in New York, working on the new album with veteran engineer/ mixer Paul Northfield (RUSH, QUEENSRŸCHE, PORCUPINE TREE). As usual, Portnoy and Petrucci chose to co-produce the project, which features seven compositions (one a 25-minute epic), and word on the grapevine is that the DREAM THEATER/Roadrunner alliance looks all set to kick off with a classic.

"Systematic Chaos", DREAM THEATER's ninth studio release, arrives at a time when the band is casting a longer-than-ever shadow across the rock and metal landscape. Their influence is being acknowledged by an increasing number of contemporary, cutting-edge acts such as STONE SOUR, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, OPETH as their fan base continues to grow.

A little more than a year has passed since Scream Silence have cast their spell on both reviewers and the growing fan community.

Just 15 months after “Saviourine” the hard working Germans release their sixth work so far. Scream Silence never looked back to their own created horizons. More and more months of creative work they invested at their label-own Plainsong Studio to build their own musical microcosm and to extend the borders with every of the following four records as well.

“Aphelia”, a word from Greek mythology for the farthest point from the sun, ignites a firework of excellent songs, which are discharging in inexhaustible passion straight into the listener.

At first sight "Aphelia" seems to be rawer than its predecessors. The songs from the new material not only have the band-typical catchy melodies but also much more alternative- or progressive elements.

Club-fitting uptempo singles like “Kerosene” or “The Vitriol”, gloomy gothic rock songs as “Harvest” and “In Every Sin” or dark rock hymns like “Nothingness” and “Unspoken” and even the dearly beloved epic ballads “My Eyes” and finally the 10-minute title track “Aphelia” melt into a harmonic concept album of eternal beauty.

The extensive designed artwork of the multiple folding DigiPak cover explains the meaning of the lyrical work.

“Aphelia”, a small girl, here the symbol for the fragility of the human soul, strolls between unreal worlds she never belongs to and finally finds her only home world in the darkest of all places – herself.

The limited first edition of the album comes with additional Bonus-Live-Tracks, long awaited by every fan, recorded in December 2006 at the biggest dark music hall in Berlin, the K17.

All infos, pics + mp3 teaser under http://www.plainsong-records.de/pressarea.htm
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Swedish "Viking metal" act MÅNEGARM will release its new album, "Vargstenen" (The Wolfstone), on May 4 via Black Lodge Records. The CD was recorded at Studio Underground with producer Pelle Saether.

"Vargstenen" projected track listing:

01. Uppvaknande-Ur själslig död
02. Minnen-En fallen fader
03. Den gamle talar (acoustic)
04. Genom världar nio
05. Visioner på isen
06. Vargbrodern talar (acoustic)
07. I underjorden
08. Nio dagar, nio nätter
09. Vargstenen
10. Vedergällningens tid
11. TBA (acoustic)

German-Romanian dark power metal band POWERWOLF has finished mixing its second album at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with Fredrik Nordström and Patrik J. Sten. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2005's "Return in Bloodred" was recorded at Woodhouse studios in Hagen, Germany and is tentatively scheduled for release in Europe this spring via Metal Blade Records.

Commented the band: "Good god, it's done!!!! We finished mixing the last two songs today and transferred all the mixes to the mastering studio in Stockholm, where Peter in de Betou will lay final touches to the masters. A strange feeling right now to finally having finished that project after six intense weeks of production, editing and mixing. But now, sitting here in the recreation room of Studio Fredman listening to the finished unmastered mixes, it really feels goddamn great. We're proud as hell and I'm sure you all will love the album as much as we do. We'll relax now, celebrating we're done and then fly back home to Germany tomorrow."

METALLICA has issued the following update:

"Greetings from not-so-sunny Northern California. We know that things have been pretty quiet here in web-land, so we thought we'd throw some shit your way... here goes...

"We are finishing up the last couple weeks of pre-production on the album and... really... seriously...(drum roll)... we're going to start recording on March 12th. We're pretty fuckin' psyched about it and pretty fuckin' psyched to be sharing this experience with Rick [Rubin, producer].

"But wait... there's more. We kinda sorta figured that by the time June rolled around, we would be ready for a break from recording (escape??) and since we had so much fun in Europe last summer, we thought, 'Why not go back for some more fun and games?' We're planning to share the summer love with our friends in some different countries we didn't get to last year... Okay, fuck it, maybe one or two repeats. We haven't quite worked out all the details yet, but we thought that for once we really would be the first site to break a piece of METALLICA news.

"So keep your eyes open for more details in the next few.. the plan right now is to head out in late June and hang out for a couple/three weeks. We might even do a certain festival that we've played 19 times in July that starts with a 'W,' maybe hit a certain band member's home turf... blah, blah, blah.

"It's a start . . . ."

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

"The Royal Artist Club has invited MANOWAR to join them on www.royalartistclub.com. Armed with four cool, new Nokia phones, the band members will now constantly be taking pictures and uploading them directly (without the use of a computer) to their own official MANOWAR blog. The first reactions from fans have been overwhelming and MANOWAR would like to thank Nokia for this great opportunity to bring them closer to the fans! Log on and join us and please make suggestions as to what kind of pictures you would like us to add."

IN FLAMES was honored with the Swedish "Grammis" award in the "Best Hard Rock" category during a ceremony that was held Tuesday night (January 30) at Hovet in Stockholm. A total of five bands were nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2006. The nominees were as follows:

BACKYARD BABIES – "People Like People Like People Like Us" (RCA)
EUROPE – "Secret Society" (T&T/Sanctuary)
HAMMERFALL – "Threshold" (Nuclear Blast)
IN FLAMES – "Come Clarity" (Nuclear Blast)
THE HAUNTED – "The Dead Eye" (Century Media)

In accepting the award, IN FLAMES frontman Anders Fridén asked the audience to get up on their feet.

"This is the third time IN FLAMES have won a [Swedish] Grammy and it feels extremely good," he said and joked: "Thanks a lot to the Swedish people, [distributor] Sound Pollution and all you people sitting down!"

THE POODLES, who recently signed a deal with the German label AFM Records, were nominated in the "Best Cell Phone Ringtone" category for their song "Night of Passion".

A video clip of IN FLAMES performing the song "Come Clarity" on the Swedish music awards show "Rockbjörnen" on January 11 in Stockholm, Sweden has been posted online at YouTube.com. The band's lineup for the performance included guitarists Björn Gelotte and Jesper Strömblad, who were both absent from the group's most recent U.S. tour.

IN FLAMES was nominated in three categories at the "Rockbjörnen" awards: "Best Swedish Band", "Best Song" and "Best Album".

ANTIMATTER, the project whose recording/touring lineup has included current and former members of ANATHEMA, has completed work on its fourth studio album, "Leaving Eden".

After Duncan Patterson left the band in 2005, Mick Moss gathered a number of guest musicians around him — among others Danny Cavanagh (ANATHEMA) — to record the most depressive and heaviest album of ANTIMATTER's discography. This is attested by the dynamics of "Leaving Eden", the increased use of electric guitars and forceful drumming.

"Leaving Eden" will be released as a limited, first-edition digipak on April 16, 2007. the track listing is as follows:

01. Redemption
02. Another Face In A Window
03. Ghosts
04. The Freak Show
05. Landlocked
06. Conspire
07. Leaving Eden
08. The Immaculate Misconception
09. Fighting For A Lost Cause

U.K. progressive metallers THRESHOLD will travel to Leipzig, Germany next week to shoot a video for the song "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams", taken from their forthcoming album "Dead Reckoning". The song has been edited by producers/bandmembers Karl Groom and Richard West at Thin Ice Studios down from a length of 9:44 to just under 4 minutes for the video version.

The video will be produced by Film-M, whose previous credits include DISILLUSION, AMON AMARTH, DEW-SCENTED and DEADSOUL TRIBE. The band was meant to shoot the video this week, but snow at London's airports made it impossible to travel. "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" will also be released as a download single on March 5. The track listing for the single will be as follows:

01. Pilot in the Sky of Dreams (radio version) (3:53)
02. Pilot in the Sky of Dreams (album version) (9:44)
03. Elusive (radio version) (3:53)

Under new chart rules, the single should qualify for the official U.K. singles chart on downloads alone.

THRESHOLD's forthcoming album, "Dead Reckoning", will be released on March 23 (March 20 in the U.S., March 26 in the U.K.) through Nuclear Blast Records.

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

"The promo video for [the new song] 'Focus Shift' [streaming audio] was shot last week. Once again, we're working with director Roger Johansson, who did a great job on the 'Lost to Apathy' and 'The New Build' videos from 'Character' [2005]. As previously mentioned, the 'Focus Shift' video will be featured on the limited edition version of [the upcoming DARK TRANQUILLITY album 'Fiction'."