Norwegian power metallers GAIA EPICUS have posted the following message on their official web site:

"After having reviewed six offers for a new record deal, there was only two that could have been interesting to proceed, but we didn't go with any of these offers. For some time Thomas [Christian Hansen; vocals/guitar] has been thinking about the idea to start his own label, and now was the right time to try and do just that. So the new album will be released on his new label which is called Epicus Records. Release date for the [third] GAIA album ['Victory'] will be in the end of January or early February 2007. One more song from the new album can be heard at Epicus Records' MySpace page (three songs total)."

The cover art for "Victory" can be viewed at this location. The painting for the CD was created by J.P. Fournier, who was also responsible for the band's first album cover, "Satrap", in 2003.

"Victory" was recorded at Top Room Studios in Lunner, Norway. The track listing is as follows:

01. New Life
02. Iron Curtain
03. The Sign
04. Revenge is Sweet
05. In Memory
06. Awaken the Monster
07. Rise of the Empire
08. When Darkness Falls
09. Fortress of Solitude
10. Through the Fire
11. Victory

Baltimore, Maryland's MISERY INDEX will release an exclusive seven-inch single, entitled "Hang 'Em High", on February 8 through the Dutch label Garden Of Exile Records. The single will feature the following:

Side A: Three "short and furious new songs"

Side B: A long acoustic new version of "Discordia" (the title track of the band's latest album on Relapse Records)

The artwork for "Hang 'Em High" was created by Greg Houston. The single is limited to 1,000 copies (in several colors).

Frontman Buddy Lackey (a.k.a. Devon Graves; ex-PSYCHOTIC WALTZ) of DEADSOUL TRIBE has issued the following update:

"I changed my mind about making a double [DEADSOUL TRIBE] album. To me, it was an ambitious thought but probably a senseless business move. With all of today's downloading, it is becoming increasingly difficult for independent bands to keep running, selling enough to keep the bands in some sort of recording deal. Therefore it seems a bit risky to put out an album that is even more expensive, like a double disc set would inevitably have to be. Instead, I have taken what I consider the very best of the best between the two discs, and just put out the strongest record possible.

"The album will be called 'A Lullaby for the Devil. It will sound quite a bit different than the previous DEADSOUL albums, in that the songs are generally much faster-paced, and quite a bit more, progressive, quite a bit more aggressive, and quite a bit more metal. There are also some songs which would have been on the 'calmer' disc, which have a smokey, more experimental ambience. There is also a particularly noteworthy instrumental composed for lead flute. The album will have about 60 minutes running time, and should be released around April 2007 on InsideOut."

DEADSOUL TRIBE released its fourth album, "The Dead Word", in November 2005 via InsideOut Music.

An audio sample of the new BATTLELORE track "House of Heroes" has been posted online at this location. The song comes off the Finnish "fantasy metal" band's fourth album, "Evernight", due in February 2007 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2005's "Third Age of the Sun" was recorded at MusicBros Studio and was produced by Miitri Aaltonen, who previously worked with the group on their first two CDs, "...Where The Shadows Lie" (2002) and "Sword's Song" (2003). The mastering duties were handled at Finnvox Studios.

"Evernight" (view cover here) track listing:

01. House of Heroes
02. Ocean's Elysium
03. Summon the Wolves
04. We Are the Legions
05. Into the New World
06. Longing Horizon
07. Mask of Flies
08. The Cloak and the Dagger
09. Beneath the Waves

According to guitarist Jyri Vahvanen, "Evernight" "includes ten tracks of pure Tolkien metal with more bombastic and epic songs than before. And, as usual, there's going to be a limited edition digipack CD with bonus material."

"Third Age of the Sun" entered the Finnish album chart at position No. 38 back in August 2005. The CD was recorded at SoundSuite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes (TRISTANIA, MORGUL, TURISAS).

Audio samples from NOSTRADAMEUS' fifth album, "Pathway", have been posted online at this location. Due on January 26, the CD will feature the following track listing (in no particular order):

01. Wall of Anger
02. No Trace of Madness
03. Not Only Women Bleed
04. MDCC Pt. 1
05. MDCC Pt. 2
06. The Untouchebles
07. Death by My Side
08. Until the End
09. Demon Voices
10. Welcome to Living
11. P.I.R

NOSTRADAMEUS' fourth album, "Hellbound", was released in May 2004 through Germany's AFM Records. The follow-up to 2003's "The Third Prophecy" was recorded at RoastingHouse studios in Malmö, Sweden.

NOSTRADAMEUS recently announced the addition of guitarist Lennart Specht to the group's ranks.

SIX FEET UNDER is currently "in the final stages of mixing" its new studio CD, and "it's turning out killer," according to a posting on the group's web site. An early spring release via Metal Blade Records is expected.

SIX FEET UNDER last year released a box set, entitled "A Decade in the Grave". The package containing four CDs and one DVD was released in a DVD-sized hardbox, including a 32-page DVD-sized booklet, photocards, a sticker, and a poster.

BEAUTIFUL SIN, the new project featuring ex-HELLOWEEN/MASTERPLAN drummer Uli Kusch, has announced the addition of guitarist Carljohan Grimmark (ROB ROCK, NARNIA) to the group's ranks. The band is currently writing material for its second album, which they plan on recording in June 2007.

BEAUTIFUL SIN's debut album, "The Unexpected", was released in May via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Kusch in 2005 in Belgium and Norway and was mixed by Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark.

BEAUTIFUL SIN — whose lineup is rounded out by guitarist Jørn Voggo Lofstad and bass player Steinar Krokmo (both from PAGAN'S MIND), a relatively unknown Belgian female singer by the name of Magali Luyten, and keyboardist Axel Mackenrott from MASTERPLAN — previously described "The Unexpected" as "a journey through twelve various metal songs with a dramatic touch and two unexpected instrumentals." The CD also includes a remake of "The Departed Sun Is Going Down" from HELLOWEEN's "The Dark Ride" album in its original form and a cover of the song "Die Diktatur der Angepassten" from the German band BLUMFELD.

An audio sample of a new MASTERPLAN song, entitled "Lost and Gone", has been posted online at this location (audio player in upper right-hand corner). The track is the title cut of the German/American band's new EP, due on January 26 via AFM Records. The CD is the group's first release to feature its new lineup of Mike DiMeo (vocals; RIOT), Roland Grapow (guitar; ex-HELLOWEEN), Mike Terrana (drums; ex-RAGE), Jan S. Eckert (bass) and Axel Mackenrott (keyboards).

MASTERPLAN's third album is tentatively due in February. A European tour in support of SAXON will follow in February-May.

MASTERPLAN's original singer, Jorn Lande, left the band in May, citing "musical differences" between the vocalist and the rest of the band. During the songwriting process for the group's third album, it became increasingly apparent that the other members of the band had different visions and plans for the group's musical direction. While Jorn wanted MASTERPLAN to follow a more melodic path, the rest of the band wanted to return to the metallic roots of their debut album.

Finnish metallers NORTHER will release a new five-song EP, entitled "No Way Back", in February 2007. According to a posting on the group's web site, "this album is made in co-operation with Suomen Musiikki and Mr. Kari Hynninen."

NORTHER is one of the acts featured on the soundtrack to the new Finnish film "V2: Jäätynyt Enkeli", due in Finland on January 5 via King Foo Entertainment.

NORTHER's latest album, "Till Death Unites Us", was issued in Finland in late January and the rest of Europe in March. The CD entered the official Finnish chart at position No. 6. The group's "Scream" single debuted on the Finnish single chart at position No. 3.

AFM Records has set a January 26, 2007 European release date for the fourth album from French metallers HEAVENLY, entitled "Virus". The CD, which was issued in France on November 13 via XIII BIS Records, will come in a limited-edition digipack that will include the video for the song "Spill Blood on Fire". Check out the clip online at this location.

HEAVENLY's third album, "Dust to Dust", was released in January 2004 through Sanctuary/Noise Records. The follow-up to 2001's "Sign of the Winner" was mixed by Sascha Paeth and was described by the group as "more heavy metal and more symphonic" than the band's previous efforts.

Swedish death metal act INSISION has inked a deal with Dental Records. The group's third album, entitled "Ikon", is tentatively scheduled for release in March/April. The CD was recorded at Black Lounge studios (SCAR SYMMETRY, CENTINEX) in Avesta, Sweden. Mick Usher, who also worked on INSISION's last album, "Revealed & Worshipped", has designed the cover.

"Ikon" track listing:

01. A Ravenous Discharge
02. Unbind My Hands
03. By Habit
04. Depleting The Non-Being
05. Into The Cold
06. Breathing The Black Dust
07. Doubt Denied
08. Entangled In Thorns *
09. The Magnet Soul

* A remake of the song from the "Promo 2000" demo

INSISION recently parted ways with Earache/Wicked World Records. "Just like ENTOMBED and MORBID ANGEL before us, it [is] now time for INSISION to leave Earache in order to go ahead," the band said at the time of the split.

Swedish metallers DREAMLAND have set "Eye for an Eye" (cover) as the title of their second album, due on January 26, 2007 via Dockyard 1. The CD was recorded at Joacim Cans' (HAMMERFALL) Moonshine Studio and Andy LaRocque's (KING DIAMOND) Los Angered Recording, where the album was also mixed. The group is promising that the effort will follow the melodic-yet-heavy style of their first release, "Future's Calling" (2005) "but will maybe also surprise the listener here 'n' there." Working titles set to appear on the CD include "Forever and Ever", "Into The Fire", "Shadows of the Night", "Carousel of Pain" and "Chosen Ones".

Italian female-fronted gothic metallers MACBETH are currently writing their new album. The songs are 90% done and the band will enter the studio soon in order to start recording.

The group's as-yet-untitled fourth album is scheduled for release in late spring 2007.

MACBETH's latest CD, "Malae Artes", was released in March 2005 via Dragonheart Records. The follow-up to 2000's "Vanitas" features 10 tracks "in the vein of LACUNA COIL, NIGHTWISH and TRISTANIA," according to a press release.

The cover artwork for LAETHORA's debut album for The End Records, titled "March of the Parasite" (due out February 20, 2007), has been posted online at this location. The album cover and the artwork for the entire album was created by LAETHORA guitarist Niklas Sundin (DARK TRANQUILLITY).

The Swedish band, which also features THE PROVENANCE members Joakim Rosen (guitar), Jonnie Tall (bass) and Joel Lindell (drums), have also revealed the tracklisting for the CD. It is as follows:

01. Parasite
02. Clothing for the Dead
03. Revolution at Hand
04. Imposters
05. Black Void Remembrance
06. Repulsive
07. The Scum of Us All
08. Y.M.B.
09. Warbitrary
10. Facing Earth

The sound of LAETHORA is firmly rooted in the death/grind tradition, yet challenging and innovative. In a recent interview with MTV.com about the debut, Sundin described the album as "extreme and in-your-face, but organic rather than clinical-sounding."

Originally released in 1989, "Fragments of Insanity" is NECRODEATH's second full-length album, one of those records that every true fan of heavy music should worship, a real masterpiece that contributed to set the standards for Europe's death/thrash scene. The long-awaited reissue on CD will be finally available via Scarlet Records on December 11 (January 26 in Germany). The track listing is as follows:

01. Choose Your Death
02. Thanatoid
03. State Of Progressive Annihilation
04. Metempsychosis
05. Fragments Of Insanity
06. Entermy Subconscious
07. Stillbirth
08. Eucharistical Sacrifice

Canadian progressive death outfit INTO ETERNITY have had a phenomenal year that saw the release of a new album — "The Scattering of Ashes", which continues to be hailed by critics and fans alike as a metal masterpiece — and a high-profile run on Gigantour alongside such genre titans as MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD, OPETH and ARCH ENEMY. They emerged as one of the fest's most talked-about acts and quickly developed new die-hard legions of fans along the way.

The group's stunning new video for the track "Severe Emotional Distress" was shot by up-and-coming director Kevin Wildt ("Set Your Goals", "The Warriors"). Click here to check it out.

Tim Roth (guitars, vocals) checks in with the following report: "It's a full-blown blizzard here in our hometown, so we have been chilling out indoors. We plan on hitting the road on Jan. 13th for a Western Canadian tour, which will lead to an appearance at the Seattle Metal Fest on Jan. 20th. Hopefully, we'll see everyone out on the road soon!

"The band is ecstatic about our new video, 'Severe Emotional Distress', which is our first true promotional video. I think it turned out really well. Kevin did a great job producing the video. The storyline goes perfect with the aggressiveness of the song and the meaning behind the lyrics. Hopefully the video will open up new people to our band. Enjoy, and look for us on the road in the U.S. this spring. See you soon."

Drawing from all aspects of heavy music, "The Scattering of Ashes" is the perfect blend of technicality, memorable songwriting, traditional heavy metal and the sheer savagery of metal's extreme genres. INTO ETERNITY have shown that they aren't afraid to bridge the gap between DREAM THEATER and DEATH, as well as appease all fans of guitar-oriented music. With "The Scattering of Ashes", they prove that they are here to ride the new wave of technically proficient metal and create a tsunami all their own.

ANTHRAX will release a double live CD, entitled "Caught in a Mosh - BBC Live in Concert" (view cover here), on January 22 via Universal Music. Disc 1 of the set features the band's performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on February 15, 1987, while Disc 2 contains a recording of the band's Monsters Of Rock Festival set at Donington on August 22, 1987. The complete track listing is as follows:

Disc 1: Hammersmith Odeon in London – February 15, 1987:

01. A.I.R.
02. Metal Thrashing Mad
03. Panic
04. The Enemy
05. I Am The Law
06. Madhouse
07. Howling Furies
08. Medusa
09. Armed And Dangerous
10. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
11. God Save The Queen
12. Gung-Ho

Disc 2: Monsters of Rock (Castle Donington) Festival, England - August 22, 1987:

01. Among The Living
02. Caught In A Mosh
03. Madhouse
04. I Am The Law
05. Medusa
06. Indians
07. God Save The Queen
08. A.I.R.
09. I'm The Man

SILENT FORCE — which features in its ranks ex-ROYAL HUNT singer D.C. Cooper — will release its fourth album, "Walk the Earth", in Europe on February 16, 2007 via AFM Records. The CD will be issued in Japan on December 21. Check out the cover artwork at this location. The guitars, bass and keyboards for the new CD were laid down at Guitars from Hell studio in Krefeld, Germany. "The song material is in the same direction like the last album, 'Worlds Apart'," according to a posting on the group's web site. A European tour will coincide with the album release.

"Worlds Apart" was released in the U.S. in October 2004 via Noise Records.

Finnish dark/atmospheric metal band YEARNING has signed a one-album deal with France's Holy Records for the release of its fifth CD. The group will enter the studio in March 2007 to begin recording its fourth album, "Merging into Landscapes", for a summer/fall release. According to the band, the upcoming CD will "offer a combination of power, melancholy, catchy songs and orchestral elements mixed with a powerful metal base." The lyrics to the new tracks "have been influenced by Andrei Breton, Palsa, Baudelaire, Sartre etc. and they are poetic expressions from hopeless existential perspective towards the forms of viewing oneself and world through alienated human." Songtitles set to appear on the album include:

01. Prologue: Nascentes Morimur
02. Kaleidoscopic Inscape
03. Sphere of Disgust
04. Return
05. Datura Stramonium
06. October Rain
07. Lethean Waters
08. Merging into Landscapes
09. Dead
10. The Dying Morn
11. Epilogue: Nemo Ante Mortem Beatus

As previously reported, YEARNING drummer Kristonic sat behind the kit for the last two farewell gigs of the Finnish black metal band THYRANE — on May 20-21 in Tampere and Helsinki, respectively.

Swedish death metallers VOMITORY will enter Leon Music Studios outside Karlstad, Sweden on Sunday, December 3 to begin recording their sixth album, "Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize", for a late April 2007 release through Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2004's "Primal Massacre" will be produced by Rikard Löfgren, who is the founder/owner of Leon Music. "Ten songs will be recorded during two weeks, then we'll take a break over the holidays, and during the beginning of January we'll finish everything with the mixing and mastering," the band writes in a press release. "The artwork is being made by Chaos Media and we can assure you that the title and the artwork will go hand in hand..."

There will be regular updates and pictures from the studio in VOMITORY's online studio diary, which can be found on the official VOMITORY forum.

As previously reported, the first two VOMITORY albums, "Raped in their own Blood" (1996) and "Redemption" (1999) will soon finally be available on vinyl. Animate Records will release them both as strictly limited vinyl versions of 666 copies each. An exact release date will be announced soon.

"Primal Massacre" was released in April 2004 through Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Blood Rapture" was recorded at Studio Kuling in Örebro, Sweden and was mixed at Berno Studio.

FEAR FACTORY frontman frontman Burton C. Bell has confirmed to Jenny Feniak of the Edmonton Sun that the band has parted ways with Liquid 8 Records, the label that issued the group's last two albums — 2004's "Archetype" and 2005's "Transgression".

"Right now we're a completely independent band. We're free of labels and free of all sorts of things, so it's all about the music right now," says Bell, who is also a creative writer.

Unlike most bands, which have little reason behind their names, branding themselves as FEAR FACTORY back in 1990 meant something real to its members.

"We wanted something that was timeless and something that was provocative and created images within ours heads," says Bell. "We just came up with a philosophy and discussed what FEAR FACTORY was and what it could be, and it seemed to be perfect.

"We didn't want to fall into any real type. We wanted heavy music, but we wanted to experiment with all sorts of ideas and concepts and move forward with it."

FEAR FACTORY recorded its debut in 1991 with "Concrete", but the band didn't have much impact on the world until "Soul of a New Machine" came out the following year.

"It was more like the baby was born and was kicking in all kinds of ideas and just experimenting with all different types of things," says Bell. "But it was still searching for itself."

MORTIIS has been busy writing and recording new material for a new album, to be released 2007 through an as-yet-undetermined label (the band is no longer signed to Earache Records).

"The music so far is pretty varied," said frontman and band namesake Mortiis. "There's a bunch of really heavy stuff in there, probably the hardest stuff we've done so far, really guitar-driven shit. Then there's some really ambient sounding stuff, very drone-y and atmospheric, as well as some more electronic sounding songs too."

Mortiis notes that the songs are still in various stages of completion, leaving them open to many shifts and changes before the follow-up to "The Grudge" is recorded.

"It sounds really interesting right now," Mortiis said. "Some old vibes came back to us on some of the songs, some 'Smell of Rain' vibes and some 'Grudge' vibes and some new vibes. It's all totally dysfunctional and fucked up in one way or another. Diseased or hurt minds never really heal up, I guess, and because of that, all in all it's going to be a really hard, attacking kind of album with the moody stuff in between."

Some of the working titles are: "Zeitgeist", "Great Deceiver", "The Ugly Truth", "Looking Glass", "Doppelganger", "Sins of Mine", "Scolding the Burnt", "Live Forever" and "Road to Ruin".

Mortiis also recently completed remixes for ZOMBIE GIRL and DOPE STARS INC.'s upcoming releases.

Former HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske will rearrange and re-record all of the songs that he wrote with his former band for an upcoming CD, to be released next year through Frontiers Records. The projected track listing for the album is as follows:

01. We Got the Right
02. A Little Time
03. Kids Of the Century
04. Goin' Home
05. You Always Walk Alone
06. When the Sinner
07. I Believe
08. Longing
09. In the Night
10. Your Turn
+ as-yet-undisclosed new song

Madrid, Spain-based power metallers DARK MOOR will film a video for the first single off their new album, "Tarot", at the end of December with producer Dividi2. The clip will be available in January/February 2007.

DARK MOOR recently signed a deal with Italy's Scarlet Records. The group's new album, "Tarot", is said to be "an intriguing" conceptual effort about the major arcanes of the tarot, covering in depth the meaning of each arcane and the esoteric halo that surrounds it. Production duties were once again handled by renowed producer Luigi Stefanini (RHAPSODY, LABIRYNTH, VISION DIVINE). The impressive artwork was created by Derek Gores (EDGUY, KAMELOT).

"Tarot" track listing:

01. The Magician
02. The Chariot
03. The Star
04. Wheel Of Fortune
05. The Emperor
06. Devil In The Tower
07. Death
08. Lovers
09. The Hanged Man
10. The Moon

"Tarot" is scheduled for release in late February/early March 2007.

DARK MOOR recently parted ways with drummer Andy C. due to "scheduling conflicts" with his other musical projects. His replacement, Roberto Cappa, is "an experienced live and studio performer" who previously played in the Spanish metal band ANIMA SOLA.

Italian "epic power metal" band DOMINE will release its fifth album, "Ancient Spirit Rising", on January 24. The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. The Messenger
02. Tempest Calling
03. The Lady of Shalott
04. I Stand Alone
05. Ancient Spirit Rising
06. On the Wings of the Firebird
07. Another Time, Another Place, Another Space
08. Sky Rider
09. How the Mighty Have Fallen
10. Too Scared to Run (bonus track)

Check out the cover artwork here.

DOMINE's fourth full-length album, "Emperor of the Black Runes", came out in 2003. The follow-up to 2001's "Stormbringer Ruler" was recorded at New Sin Audio Design studios in Loria.

Italian metallers LABYRINTH have finalized the track listing for their sixth full-length album, "6 Days to Nowhere", due in February via Scarlet Records. The mastering took place at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

"6 Days to Nowhere" (view cover at тут ) track listing:

01. Crossroads
02. There Is A Way
03. Lost
04. Mother Earth
05. Waiting Tomorrow
06. Come Together (THE BEATLES cover)
07. Just One Day
08. What!!!
09. Coldness
10. Rusty Nail
11. Out Of Control
12. Wolves 'N' Lambs
13. Smoke And Dreams
14. Piece Of Time

LABYRINTH's last album, "Freeman", was released in 2005 through Arise Records. The Italian version of the album contained the exclusive bonus DVD with a Tokyo show (Banzai Tour 2004), "best of" London Cadmen Underworld (Nov. 13, 2004), the "L.Y.A.F.H." and "Freeman" videos, pictures and discography.