STRATOVARIUS frontman Timo Kotipelto entered Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland in August to begin recording his third solo album, tentatively due in early 2007 via his own label, High and Loud Records. He has since issued the following update on the album's recording sessions:

"All the guitars, bass and drums are recorded. Some vocals and keyboards are still missing. I am very pleased [with] what Lauri [Porra, bass], Tuomas [Wainölä, guitar] and Mirka [Rantanen, drums] have done so far. Also I have heard some of the stuff that Janne [Wirman, keyboards] has played and I have only one word: awesome! Mikko Karmila has already mixed a song for one Finnish movie. The same song will be on the actual CD as well. I will also do a music video for that song."

After Markus B. parted ways with all his co-musicians at the end of last year in order to continue Autumnblaze as a studio project with Schwadorf, the working model they used for their albums "Bleak" and "Mute Boy Sad Girl", he now officially announces the end of Autumnblaze.

"In the months following the 'dismissal' of my co-musicians, I had enough time to contemplate the future of Autumnblaze," Markus discloses. "In the end, I have come to the conclusion that the name Autumnblaze doesn't mean anything to me anymore, and that in the last years it seemed to me more as a stranglehold threatening to suffocate me. Add to this some personal dramas, which I don't wish to elaborate on in public. A second reason for my decision is the songs I have written this year. Music-wise, they wouldn't fit into the Autumnblaze scheme at all."

Still, Markus is going to continue with music; he has recently founded a project called Sidewaytown that is going to represent "an interesting mixture of influences from Post Rock, Electronica, Progressive, and Shoegazer." Among others, Mathias Lodmalm (Cemetary, Sundown) will be assisting him in this endeavour.

"I'm very sorry for all those who are fond of Autumnblaze. There is no reason to grieve, however - my music is going to live on in Sidewaytown," Markus says.

FINNTROLL is currently putting the finishing touches to its fifth, as-yet-untitled album, at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki for a tentative March 2007 release via Spinefarm. This will be the group's first release with new vocalist Mathias Lillmåns (a.k.a. Vreth; TWILIGHT MOON) following the departure of Tapio Wilska (SETHIAN, ex-WIZZARD, former session vocalist for NIGHTWISH) this past spring. Lillmåns is reportedly 24 years old, and like FINNTROLL's original vocalist, Katla Mathias, is Fenno-Swedish, with Swedish as his mother tongue.

FINNTROLL parted ways with Wilska in January after "reach[ing] a situation in which we [found] it impossible to continue FINNTROLL" with their previous vocalist, according to a statement issued by the group a short time after the split.

FINNTROLL in January completed a short North American tour with SODOM. The band will support SODOM again in December on half a dozen dates in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.

Metal Mind Productions will re-release two CRIMSON GLORY albums taken from Roadrunner Records' archives: "Astronomica" and "Strange and Beautiful".

CRIMSON GLORY is one of the best and most influential prog-metal bands from the '80s and will appeal to fans of bands like QUEENSRŸCHE or FATES WARNING. The new "Astronomica" digipack edition includes a bonus CD featuring over 50 minutes of live and demo recordings. The "Strange and Beautiful" remastered edition of the most "controversial" CRIMSON GLORY album is a must-have for all progressive metal lovers! Both titles will be available on golden discs, digitally remastered using 24-bit technology and limited to 2,000 copies.

"Astronomica" reissue track listing (release date: November 6):

01. March To Glory
02. War Of The Worlds
03. New World Machine
04. Astronomica
05. Edge Of Forever
06. Touch The Sun
07. Luciffer's Hammer
08. The Other Side of Midnight
09. Cyber-Christ
10. Cydonia

Bonus CD:

01. War Of The Worlds - remake
02. Astronomica (demo)
03. Touch Of The Sun (demo)
04. Dragon Lady (live)
05. Eternal World (live)
06. Painted Skies (live)
07. Queen Of The Masquerade (live)
08. Lost Reflection (live)

"Strange and Beautiful" reissue track listing (release date: November 13):

01. Strange And Beautiful
02. Promise Land
03. Love And Dreams
04. The Chant
05. Dance On Fire
06. Song For Angels
07. In The Mood
08. Starchamber
09. Deep Inside Your Heart
10. Make You Love Me
11. Far Away

Japanese melodic death metallers BLOOD STAIN CHILD have inked a deal with Dockyard 1. The group's third album, "Idolator", is scheduled for release on November 27. According to a press release, BLOOD STAIN CHILD's sound features "guitars flying like arrows, old-school solo parts and bone-crushing death metal vocals combined with sophisticated melodies. . . On 'Idolator' they celebrate melodic death metal the Scandinavian way, this fusion of classic metal with aggressive vocals and brilliant songwriting is leading to hooklines which won't leave your ears again."

BLOOD STAIN CHILD has already achieved cult status in Japan, where one of the leading professional wrestlers, Kensuke Sasaki, is using a track by BSC as his anthem. Watch the video for the song "Truth" on the Dockyard 1 YouTube channel.

Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON have posted the following message on their official web site:

"The opening show is in Lillestrøn, Norway today. The set list will change quite a lot from show to show as we have covered most of Norway already on this record. We're also playing old and new songs that we did not play during the festival season. People keep asking, and yes; we are carrying a new line of merchandise on this tour. There will be local support on several of the shows on this tour. We are also confirmed as one of the headliners at Sweden's House Of Metal festival in February.

"Russia was a fucking blast! St. Petersburg was almost sold out and it was truly a monumental city which gave you a feeling of what Russia must have been like during the Soviet Union. Moscow was the most sold out show we have experiensed in a while and the show was delayed almost two hours, just to get everyone inside. Great crowd and a special vibe! We'll be back."

FACE DOWN, the reunited Swedish outfit featuring former THE HAUNTED singer Marco Aro, has posted the following update on its official web site:

"We're still writing material for the next album like crazy, and it's going very well. We have booked studio time (at Offbeat Studio, where we did the 2004 demo) for a demo recording, starting on November 24th. We'll record 3-4 new songs of blazing thrashing mayhem in the usual FACE DOWN style. First time for Chris [drummer Christofer Barkensjö; KAAMOS, BLACKSHINE] in the studio with the band, so we're really looking forward to that. If all goes well (which we don't doubt it will) you will see some new music up here in about a month or so. We've also booked a new show the same weekend, just to make ourselves as busy as possible. We'll play at Club Undertaker in Södertälje with RAISE HELL on Saturday 25th of November. Still no idea of when we're able to record the new album, but we're hoping for some time next spring."

Barkensjö joined FACE DOWN in February 2006 as the replacement for Erik Thyselius, who will continue to be involved with CONSTRUCDEAD and TERROR 2000.

As previously reported, FACE DOWN entered the Swedish hard rock album chart at position No. 19 with their latest effort, "The Will to Power", back in November 2005. The CD was recorded at Fear and Loathing Studio with engineer/producer Jocke Skog and was mastered at the Cutting Room.

Finnish hard/glam rock band NEGATIVE will release its new single, "Sinners Night/Misty Morning", in Finland on November 29. The title cut comes off the band's third album, "Anorectic", which entered the Finnish chart at position No. 1. The group previously topped the Finnish chart with its last single, "Planet of the Sun", which came out in early September.

"Planet of the Sun" and "Sinners Night/Misty Morning" can be streamed at the group's MySpace page.

NEGATIVE's sophomore album, "Sweet & Deceitful", featured a guest appearance by SENTENCED/POISONBLACK frontman Ville Laihiala.

FAITH AND FIRE, the new band featuring RIOT guitarist Mike Flyntz and ex-RIOT frontman Tony Moore, has inked a deal with Metal haven for the European release of its long-awaited debut album, entitled "Accelerator".

In existence since the winter of 2002, FAITH AND FIRE has "assembled a collection of remarkable songs," according to the band's official bio. "The combined songwriting skills of Moore, Flyntz and [Danny] Miranda [bass] have yielded material that is technically impressive, emotionally evocative and intellectually provocative. They also rock like nobody's business."

GODDESS SHIVA (formerly SHIVA), the long-running German band featuring Armin Sabol (guitar/vocals; ex-RAGE) and Mat Sinner (bass/vocals; PRIMAL FEAR, SINNER) plus new drummer Martin Schmidt (ex-LEAVES' EYES, ATROCITY), will relase its debut album on February 16, 2007 via Metal Heaven Records. Originally formed in 1977, the group's upcoming CD is said to be "a high-class hard rock/metal album" which was partly inspired by classic hard rock acts THIN LIZZY and other bands from this era.

SHIVA opened for COLOSSEUM II (featuring Gary Moore) and WHITESNAKE during the late '70s.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's video for the track "My Curse" is now available for viewing at YouTube. The clip was shot last month with director Lex Halaby, who has previously worked with MUDVAYNE and IN FLAMES, among others.

As previously reported, a brand new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE track, entitled "For You", is available for free download at this location. Both songs come off the New England metallers' upcoming album, "As Daylight Dies", due on November 21 via Roadrunner Records. An e-card for the CD can be accessed at this location. The e-card includes graphics designed by bassist Mike D'Antonio, special offers for pre-ordering the album, a complete list of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's upcoming tour with ALL THAT REMAINS, HATEBREED, BURY YOUR DEAD and 2 CENTS, three different AIM icons, and two of the album's songs.

Sweden's LAKE OF TEARS will soon enter the studio to record its new album, "Moons and Mushrooms". Singer/guitar player Daniel Brennare states: "We have started the pre-production of the recording. Though we still have 2-3 more songs to get in order. And in a couple of weeks we will start the final recordings."

"Moons and Mushrooms" is scheduled for release in the spring of 2007.

LAKE OF TEARS' most recent album, "Black Brick Road", was released in August 2004 through Noise Records. The follow-up to 2002's "The Neonai" featured cover artwork by Kristian Wåhlin, who has painted all of the previous LAKE OF TEARS covers except "Forever Autumn" (1999).

A video clip of THE GATHERING performing the song "Waking Hours" at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Holland on September 19, 2006 has been posted online at google video. The complete live show is still available for streaming.

In other news, THE GATHERING drummer Hans Rutten and his girlfriend are the proud parents of a baby boy, Bastiaan (photo), who was born on October 20, 2006 at 11:40 a.m. Bastiaan was 49 cm long and weighed in at 3.07 kg. Mother, father and son are said to be doing fine.

THE GATHERING recently returned to the road in Europe after they had to cancel the first month of their European "Homelands" tour back in April due to vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen suffering an obstinate bronchial and sinus infection.

THE GATHERING released its latest album, "Home", in April on The End Records.

PESTILENCE's "Mind Reflections" is another classic album from Roadrunner Records' archives that will be reissued on November 13 via Metal Mind Records. A compilation of band's best tracks, both studio and live, it is a must-have for fans of complex music that combines various influences (from thrash, jazz and fusion) with classic death metal. The new digipack edition was digitally remastered using 24-bit technology and is limited to 2,000 hand-numbered copies and the video for "Mind Reflections".

"Mind Reflections" reissue track listing:

01. Out of the Body
02. Twisted Truth
03. The Process of Suffocation
04. Parricide
05. Mind Reflections
06. Dehydrated
07. Land of Tears
08. Hatred Within
09. The Secrecies of Horror
10. Subordinate to the Domination
11. Dehydrated (live)
12. Chemotherapy (live)
13. Presence of the Dead (live)
14. Testimony (live)
15. Chronic Infection (live)
16. Out of the Body (live)
Bonus track:
17. Mind Reflections (video)

Guitarist Jyri Vahvanen of the Finnish "fantasy metal" band BATTLELORE has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"BATTLELORE's fourth album, titled 'Evernight', is almost mixed and ready for mastering at Finnvox Studios. The new album 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. If everything goes well, we can expect the album in February/March 2007."

BATTLELORE's new album was recorded at MusicBros Studio. The follow-up to 2005's "Third Age of the Sun" was produced by Miitri Aaltonen, who has previously worked with the group on their first two CDs, "...Where The Shadows Lie" (2002) and "Sword's Song" (2003).

"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). Mastering duties were handled at Finnvox studios in Helsinki.

Austrian symphonic metal band EDENBRIDGE has signed a worldwide deal with Napalm Records.

Commented the group: "Napalm Records have been doing a brilliant job for their bands. Since last year they have been making a great effort to sign us and therefore we are extremely happy to work together with them for the next years to bring EDENBRIDGE to the next level together. It's nice to see again that a label has one hundred percent trust and therefore invests into a band. Thank you also to all the other labels who were making offers to the band and showed their big interest, and to Massacre Records for the cooperation in the past years."

Check out pictures of EDENBRIDGE signing its new contract with Napalm at this location.

EDENBRIDGE's first effort for Napalm will be released in the spring of 2008. Production on the CD is tentatively scheduled to begin next fall. Four songs have already been written and EDENBRIDGE will work with a renowned Czech orchestra for the first time in its career.

EDENBRIDGE's fifth album, "The Grand Design", will be released in the U.S. later on January 30, 2007 via Napalm Records. The follow-up to 2004's "Shine" was recorded at The Farpoint Station studio in Austria and the Thin Ice facility in England with THRESHOLD mastermind Karl Groom. Guest musicians on the album include Dennis Ward and Robby Valentine, both of whom were responsible for backing vocals and choirs on the new CD. A single, featuring the band's cover version of the James Bond classic "For Your Eyes Only" (originally sung by Sheena Easton), was issued in April.

Singer Ferdy Doernberg of the German epic/melodic metallers ROUGH SILK has posted the following message on the group's official web site:

"Detlef 'Dizzy' Kroll had to leave ROUGH SILK because he had to go to Norway job-wise. But thank God, we found a new drummer right away. His name is Alex Wenn and we are friends since we played together in Craig Robinson's band last year. I also produced the last CD of his band NOCARESS, who split up directly after the release. Alex also is a drum teacher. He's a great drummer and I'm happy that he joined ROUGH SILK. The chemistry between the four of us is very good and we'll play our first show on December 30 at the Metal Forever festival at Böblingen nearby Stuttgart (Germany). Directly after that Alex will start recording the drums for our new album. We thank Dizzy for all his enthusiasm and wish him all the best for the future."

SINNER — the German band featuring PRIMAL FEAR bassist Mat Sinner, his FEAR bandmate Tom Naumann (guitars), Frank Rössler (keyboards), and former PRIMAL FEAR drummer Klaus Sperling — has announced the addition of second guitarist Christof Leim of THE TRACEELORDS to the group's ranks.

Commented the band: "Welcome, Christof. We're proud to have you on board and let's have some metal and fun in the future!"

Leim performed with SINNER during the band's October 7 appearance in Reichenbach, Germany alongside PRIMAL FEAR, CHINCHILLA and TARGA.

SINNER is currently at Leon studio near Stuttgart with the engineering team of Achim Köhler and Samson Geiger mixing its new album, entitled "Mask of Sanity", for a January 19, 2007 release through MTM Music.

"Mask of Sanity" track listing:

01. The Other Side
02. Diary of Evil
03. Badlands
04. Black
05. Thunder Roar
06. The Sign
07. Revenge
08. Under the Gun
09. Can't Stand the Heat
10. No Return
11. Last Man Standing

SINNER will shortly film a video for the song "Diary Of Evil". "'Diary Of Evil' represents all SINNER traditional trademarks; even the song was penned by Mat and Roy Z. [HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON]!" the band writes on its web site.

DISINCARNATE's "Dreams of the Carrion Kind" album (1993) will be re-released on November 13 via Metal Mind Productions. The new digipack edition — digitally remastered using 24-bit technology and limited to hand numbered 2,000 copies — includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks and liner notes done by a mastermind of death metal guitar — DISINCARNATE mainman James Murphy.

"Dreams of the Carrion Kind" reissue track listing:

01. De Profundis (Intro)
02. Stench of Paradise Burning
03. Beyond the Flesh
04. In Sufferance
05. Monarch of the Sleeping
06. Soul Erosion
07. Entranced
08. Confine of Shadows
09. Deadspawn
10. Sea of Tears
11. Immemorial Dream (Outro)
Bonus tracks:
12. Stench Of Paradise Burning (demo)
13. Soul Erosion (demo)
14. Confine Of Shadows (demo)

Norway's TRAIL OF TEARS will release its fifth album, "Existentia", in the U.S. on January 30 via Napalm Records (one day earlier internationally). The CD was recorded at Soundsuite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes and includes contributions from French female singer Emmanuelle Zoldan and Norwegian keyboard master Bernt Moen. Check out the cover artwork at this location (created by Jan Yrlund).

"Existentia" track listing:

01. Deceptive Mirrors
02. My Comfort
03. Venom Inside My Veins
04. Decadence Becomes Me
05. She Weaves Shadows
06. The Closing Walls
07. Empty Room
08. Poisonous Tongues
09. As It Penetrates
10. Shades Of Yesterday

TRAIL OF TEARS' last CD, "Free Fall into Fear", came out in 2005 on Napalm Records. The follow-up to "A New Dimension of Might" was recorded at Dub Studio with producer Endre Kirkesola (GREEN CARNATION, BLOOD RED THRONE).

On November 13, Metal Mind Productions will re-release three albums from classic U.K. thrashers XENTRIX from the '90s. "Shattered Existence" (1989), "For Whose Advantage?" (1990) and "Kin" (1993) will be reissued in new digipack editions on golden discs, digitally remastered using the 24-bit process and including bonus tracks, biography, liner notes from the band and more. Each title is limited to 2,000 copies. The track listings are as follows:

"Shattered Existence":

01. No Compromise
02. Balance Of Power
03. Crimes
04. Back In The Real World
05. Dark Enemy
06. Bad Blood
07. Reasons For Destruction
08. Position Of Security
09. Heaven Cent
Bonus tracks (from the cult "Ghostbusters" single):
10. Ghostbusters
11. Nobody's Perfect
12. Interrogate

"For Whose Advantage?":

01. Questions
02. For Whose Advantage?
03. The Human Condition
04. False Ideals
05. The Bitter End
06. New Beginnings
07. Desperate Remedies
08. Kept In The Dark
09. Black Embrace
10. Running White Faced City Boy
Bonus tracks (from "Dilute to Taste" EP):
11. Pure Thought
12. Shadows Of Doubt
13. Balance Of Power
14. Kept In The Dark
15. Crimes
16. Ghostbusters

"Kin":

01. The Order Of Chaos
02. A Friend To You
03. All Bleed Red
04. No More Time
05. Waiting
06. Come Tomorrow
07. Release
08. See Through You
09. Another Day
Bonus tracks (3 demo tracks and a track from "Order of Chaos" single):
10. Reward
11. Never Be
12. The Hand That Feeds Itself
13. Silence

Swedish metallers DREAMLAND have finished tracking their second album for a January 2007 release via Dockyard 1. The as-yet-untitled effort was recorded at Joacim Cans' (HAMMERFALL) Moonshine Studio and Andy LaRocque's (KING DIAMOND) Los Angered Recording, where the CD is currently being mixed.

Commented the band: "After just a few adjustements from Andy's magical fingers, the sound just floored us."

The group is promising that the album will follow the melodic-yet-heavy style of their first release, "Future's Calling" "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".

"Future's Calling" was released last year through Dockyard 1.

DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz recently spoke to Revolver magazine (web site) about the group's long-anticipated follow-up to 2003's "Death Cult Armageddon", tentatively due in early 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records. "All I can say," said Silenoz, "is it's gonna be a fuckin' monster."

The songwriting and recording process for the group's new album involves none of the intensive pre-production of their last two discs, no demos, and no gallinvanting around with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. "It's definitely going to sound way more epic and bigger than we thought, because Mustis [keyboards] has also contributed with his keyboard ideas," said Silenoz. "I have to admit that some of the keyboard things on 'Death Cult Armageddon' sound better on the demo version than [their symphony versions] on the album. I probably shouldn't say that, but it's true."

This will be DIMMU's first "concept album," a story set in always-epic Medieval Europe that also serves as a treatise on the modern-day political and social abuses of organized religion. "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," said Silenoz of the storyline, which he conceived in full before even a note of music was composed. "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."

Swedish art-noise collective CULT OF LUNA has released its video for "Back to Chapel Town". Filmed in Umeå near where the band are from, the clip took five days to make and is produced and directed by the band. Johannes Persson and Erik Olofsson came up with the concept and directed the video themselves. "It's about a dude," said Johannes, explaining the video's concept. "A man waking up in a world he doesn't know, he knows nothing of his past or where he is, people treat him like air or are very suspicious of him." When asked how he felt about filming his own video, Johannes said, "It took fucking ages to arrange. We shot for five days and I've never felt so out of my element, but it was fun, and definitely something I would like to do more in the future." The video mimicks the dark graphic feel of the album, and was even shot in the same kind of colour as the artwork on "Somewhere along the Highway".

To view the "Back to Chapel Town" video, click here.

As the title suggests, "A Retrospective ..." is a look back on the work of Empyrium. Aside from re-mastered songs from all four studio albums, the CD contains two unreleased new tracks, "Der Weiher" and "Am Wolkenstieg", as well as a newly arranged and recorded version of "The Franconian Woods In Winter's Silence" (originally off "A Wintersunset...").

The CD will be released as a lavishly designed, gold-embossed Digibook. Many fans will be particularly interested in the in-depth band biography contained in the sixty-pages booklet of "A Retrospective ...". This text takes a closer look at the history of the band and all its influences music- and content-wise, and it will make transparent the whole artistic aspect of Empyrium and its changes in the course of years. Thus, it will contribute to a substantially deeper understanding of Empyrium.

In tandem with the regular release of "A Retrospective...", there will be a six-CD box encompassing the complete works of Empyrium, including the demo "...der wie ein Blitz vom Himmel fiel..." and "A Retrospective...", in an elegant and identical Digibook design. Strictly limited to 500 copies. In addition to this, there will be re-issues of all previous albums in Digibook form, also limited to 500 copies each.

A video clip of LORDI performing last night (Oct. 31) in London, England has been posted online at YouTube.com.

As previously reported, LORDI will release its new DVD, "Market Square Massacre", in Germany on November 3. The disc will contain the group's music videos plus the "welcome-home" concert from Helsinki last May when a record audience of 90,000 Finns welcomed their heroes back from the Eurovision Song Contest victory in Athens. It will also contain some extra material from Athens as seen on Finnish TV in May. The band also recorded a new version of their 2003 hit "Would You Love a Monsterman?", and a new music video was shot with a Halloween theme (also included on the DVD).

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's "The Poison - Live At Brixton" DVD will be released in the U.S. on December 19 via Trustkill. The disc, which was issued in Europe this past Monday (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. this summer. There are also eight mini episodes, which form part of Bullet TV and were edited from footage shot by the band themselves over the last 12 months on the road. As well as all that, there are lyrics to all tracks performed at Brixton Academy, and a photo gallery from the show. The audio was mixed by the legendary Colin Richardson (producer of "The Poison") and mastered in both stereo and 5.1 by Ted Jensen (METALLICA)

Norwegian death metallers Blood Red Throne have been working in Jailhouse studio for the last 2 days on a pre production for the new album due out on Earache early 2007.

70% of the material is written and the band started pre production to test both the studio and the two new members, Anders Haave (drums) and Vald (vocals).
4 songs have been recorded so far and the band is extremely pleased with both the material and the sound.
"This time, we aim for a more classic Death Metal sound, ala Gorguts "Considered Dead" / Suffocation "Despise the Sun" kind of sound. We have grown tired with the over-produced and fully triggered drum kits that so many bands use today, besides we have taken a slightly new direction with our music and the analog and dynamic sound fits the music better. We have also chosen a different approach to the recording process of the instruments. We are very pleased with the outcome of the 4 songs and cant wait till the actual album recording starts, hopefully sometime in December".

Some working titles of the forthcoming songs: "Rebirth in Blood", "Come Death" and "No New beginning".

Century Media Records has posted a trailer for the ICED EARTH "Alive in Athens" DVD (cover) at this location.

ICED EARTH's first and only live album, "Alive in Athens", was recorded at two sold-out shows on the nights of January 23 and January 24, 1999, at the Rodon Club in Athens, Greece. Originally released as a triple-CD and five-picture-vinyl set in summer 1999, "Alive in Athens" entered the German charts at No. 55 and stayed at No. 1 in Greece for two weeks, where it was quickly certified gold.

According to a Century Media press release, "Seven years after the release of 'Alive In Athens', a discovery was made when raw footage of the live show itself was discovered in a discontinued archive, and out of curiosity alone the footage was immediately converted to a modern tape format and examined. Although only three cameras were present at the show, the energy and atmosphere of the material was overwhelming, and only three of the 31 live songs ('Slave to the Dark', 'A Question of Heaven' and 'Iced Earth') were absent or unusable due to videotape changes of the camera team. Not having known that camera footage existed from such a legendary concert, the decision was made to share the material with the world in the form of 'Alive In Athens – The DVD'. The audio files have been re-mastered for 5.1 DTS surround sound to offer the best quality live feeling. While not as slick as the modern 16-camera, quick-cut DVD releases found today, the fact that fans can now share the visual experience of being at the show is one that will surely be rejoiced. Some backstage footage and a Jon Schaffer interview with the German music channel VIVA TV were also unearthed and added as part of this historical performance, leaving it without the standard bells and whistles but nonetheless delivering more than 2-½ hours of the best metal ever recorded live."

"Alive in Athens" DVD track listing:

01. Intro (01:53)
02. Burning Times (03:32)
03. Vengeance is Mine (04:07)
04. Dark Saga (03:30)
05. Last Laugh (04:15)
06. Cast in Stone (05:53)
07. Last December (03:28)
08. Pure Evil (06:16)
09. Desert Rain (06:29)
10. Dante's Inferno (16:20)
11. The Hunter (03:58)
12. Melancholy (Holy Martyr) (05:04)
13. Angels Holocaust (04:38)
14. Stormrider (04:45)
15. The Path I Choose (05:39)
16. Watching Over Me (05:12)
17. Diary (05:57)
18. Blessed Are You (05:08)
19. When the Night Falls (07:21)
20. My Own Savior (03:47)
21. Travel in Stygian (09:17)
22. Violate (04:38)
23. Stand Alone (03:23)
24. Brainwashed (05:43)
25. Disciples of the Lie (04:10)
26. I Died For You (05:01)
27. Prophecy (06:10)
28. Birth of the Wicked (05:44)
29. The Coming Curse (08:08)
30. Epilog (02:36)

Bonus:

31. Iced Earth Backstage (04:21)
32. Jon Schaffer in Athens (03:26)

Total running time: approx. 171 min

Candlelight Records has set a January 23 North American release date for CROWBAR's "Live: With Full Force" DVD. Filmed at the popular German open air festival of the same name, "Live: With Full Force" was captured on CROWBAR's world tour supporting their 2005 release "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden". The live performance DVD also includes candid backstage footage plus the band's second (and previously unavailable) promotional video for "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden" album track "Slave No More".

"Live: With Full Force" track listing:

01. Self-Inflicted
02. I Am Forever
03. The Lasting Dose
04. Burn Your World
05. New Dawn
06. High Rate Extinction
07. Planets Collide
08. All I Had (I Gave)
09. Slave No More (video)

CROWBAR is planning a series of dates in 2007 while continuing work on new material for their next album (expected early 2008).