A brand new SUFFOCATION track, entitled "Misonceived", has been posted online at myspace.com/suffocation. The song comes off the group's new, self-titled album, due on September 19 in North America (September 25 internationally) via Relapse Records. The CD was recorded at Full Force Studios in Long Island, NY and will feature artwork from tattoo artist JonZig. Preview the artwork at this location.

Drummer Mike Smith commented on the new album: "We never feared our abilities what we fear is the ability of the industry to finally take the scene to the level it should be, in the forefront of all that is extreme. The kids are starving for music made from the heart."

"Suffocation" track listing:

01. Oblivion
02. Abomination Reborn
03. Redemption
04. Bind Torture Kill
05. Misonceived
06. Translucent Patterns of Delirium
07. Creed of the Infidel
08. Regret
09. Entrails of You
10. The End of Ends
11. Prelude to Repulsion*

* re-recording (original version appeared on 1992's "Breeding the Spawn")

SUFFOCATION will appear as part of the North American Strhess Tour August 1 through August 12, along with SHADOWS FALL, POISON THE WELL and more. Immediately following their Strhess Tour dates, the band will embark on an 11-city European tour that includes performances at Up From the Ground open air festival, Mountains of Death festival and Els Rock open air, among others.

Finnish folk-influenced melodic death metal band ENSIFERUM will enter the studio in November to begin recording their third album for a tentative February 21, 2007 release through Spinefarm Records.

ENSIFERUM recently entered the Music DVD chart in their home country at position No. 2 with their "10th Anniversary Live" (Spinefarm) effort. The disc was recorded at the band's 10th-anniversary celebration concert, which took place December 31, 2005 at Nosturi in Helsinki, Finland.

ENSIFERUM, who feature in their ranks NORTHER frontman Petri Lindroos, released an EP, entitled "Dragonheads", in February via Spinefarm. The mini-CD was recorded and mixed in November at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki by Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE) and was mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios. It contains one new track, new studio recordings of several old demo songs, and a couple of traditional Finnish folk covers.

KINGDOM COME has set "Ain't Crying for the Moon" as the title of their new album, due in Europe on October 13. The CD will be issued in Russia and the Baltic States on September 15.

In other news, former KINGDOM COME bassist Frank Binke, who played with the group in 2001, has rejoined the band.

KINGDOM COME's upcoming CD will be the follow-up to "Perpetual", which came out in 2004. The band cancelled their U.S. tour in early 2005 due to problems in obtaining correct work permits in time for the trek.

KINGDOM COME are tentatively sheduled to embark on a number of North American dates this October with HELLOWEEN. A Russian tour is planned in November.

Roadrunner Records has set an October 31 release date for the new SLIPKNOT DVD. The follow-up to 2002's "Disasterpieces" is "going to be different than our last one," guitarist Mick Thomson told Billboard.com last month. "Our last one mostly focused on the concert, and this one is going to have a lot more personal stuff on it. You get to see more stupid sh*t [laughs]. There'll be some music and stuff, but you're getting to see what our days our like. It should be a lot more fun."

Speaking about his favorite scene in the upcoming DVD, Thomson said, "A fan, I think in Austria, was drunk and out of line. He kept trying to come up on the bus, kept bothering people and then started to get a little bit loud and threatening. He had to be set down on his ass by someone close to us. Sometimes you've got to be put in your place, and he was put in his place."

SLIPKNOT is expected to begin writing material for its fourth studio effort later this year.

"We're going to start getting back together and working on stuff," Thomson told Billboard.com. "The core that writes the songs tend to get together — it's not as easy to work out stuff when you've got nine people standing in the same room. I would say we'll start working within the next few months. I've talked to [SLIPKNOT bassist] Paul [Gray] a few times. Very slowly, no pressure."

DREAM THEATER fan Cristiano Giusepetti has created a string-quartet version of the band's classic instrumental piece "Ytse Jam", which originally appeared on the band's debut album, "When Dream and Day Unite" (1989).

According to Giuseppetti's posting on DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie's official forum, Cristiano plays all the instruments on the recording because "in my region there aren't any violinists or cellists who like DREAM THEATER." Download the MP3 file at this location.

Swedish metal titans IN FLAMES have completed work on the second video from their current album, entitled "Come Clarity". The title track from the CD, "Come Clarity" was helmed by famed director Lex Halaby (ATMOSPHERE, MUDVAYNE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE), who also recently wrapped shooting on the video for "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" from the upcoming New Line Cinema high-concept action/horror film "Snakes on a Plane", starring Samuel L. Jackson. The eye-catching clip was filmed in the scorching desert of Ridgecrest, California during the second leg of IN FLAMES' recent North American headlining tour and features the band performing "Come Clarity" in the midst of a brilliant setting, while an evolving storyline that features frontman Anders Fridén progressively unfolds. An exclusive still image from the video is available here. The entire video can be viewed at this location. The video will make its world network premiere(s) via large-scale television outlets such as MTV2, Music Choice, Fuse and MuchMusic imminently. The unveiling of the "Come Clarity" video also ushers in the first U.S. commercial radio campaign in IN FLAMES' storied history. The single will go for impact at Active Rock stations across the country this August.

IN FLAMES is currently on tour as one of the featured acts of the massive Sounds of the Underground North American tour. The Sounds of the Underground trek represents the second consecutive North American summer festival tour for the band, following their main stage appearances as part of Ozzfest 2005, where they shared the stage with metal luminaries BLACK SABBATH and IRON MAIDEN.

British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH have begun mixing their new album, "Thornography", at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, England with producer Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, SKINLAB, NEVERMORE). And what would a CRADLE OF FILTHrecord be without a visit from one Doug Bradley — a.k.a. "Hellraiser"'s chief Cenobite, Pinhead? Having already put his narrative stamp on such older CRADLE OF FILTH classics as "Her Ghost in the Fog" and "Swansong for a Raven", Doug Bradley has been in the studio this week recording narraration for "Thornography". Check out a photo of Sneap, CRADLE OF FILTH members Dani Filth (vocals) and Paul Allender (guitar), Dani's daughter Luna, and Bradley at this location.

"Thornography" is scheduled for release on September 19 via Roadrunner Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Libertina Grim", "Tonight in Flames", "Cemetery and Sundown", "I Am the Thorn", "The Byronic Man" (featuring guest vocals from H.I.M.'s Ville Valo) and "Temptation".

The follow-up to 2004's "Nymphetamine", "Thornography" was recorded at Lincolnshire, England's Chapel studios with producer Rob Caggiano (BLEEDING THROUGH, ANTHRAX).

On the subject of the album's musicial direction, CRADLE OF FILTH guitarist Paul Allender recently told Terrorizer magazine, "There are quite a few guitar solos on this album. To be honest, I've never really classed myself as a lead player as such, but this is the first time I've sat down and seriously practiced lead work. I've been so involved in actually writing new material and coming up with song structures that I haven't had time to practice all the frilly things that go on top of it. Up 'till now, there hasn't really been much room for guitar solos as such. The riffs we write, they're not riffs that are meant to be soloed on top of. They're melodic within themselves. But I'm a great believer than less is definitely more. I love listening to all the shreddy, widdly stuff, but I have no interest in playing it. This new album is quite guitar-orientated. The last album was, but this is definitely more melodic. Dare I say it, there are quite a lot of typical MAIDEN-esque harmonies in there."

On the idea that the band now have almost nothing in common with traditional balck metal, Allender told Terrorizer, "Everyone's gonna hate me for saying this, but I didn't think we had in the first place. The only thing that catered to that was the make-up. That's it. People say, 'Blah blah, sellouts, not true black metal,' but we were never a black metal band in the first place. Even when 'The Principle of Evil Made Flesh' [1994] came out — you look at EMPEROR and BURZUM and all that stuff — we didn't sound nothing like that. The way that I see it is that we were, and still are now, an extreme heavy metal band."

In Summer 2005 DOPE STARS INC. stormed the world wide Gothic charts with their stunning "Neuromance" album - and in particular the track "Make A Star" which instantly became a hit and rightfully took its place in the hall of great commercial Gothic pop tracks. Consequentially Dope Stars Inc.'s long-awaited debut single "Make A Star" will be finally released this Summer ! This Extended 9 track mini-album features four EXCLUSIVE additional songs, one remix by SAMSAS TRAUM and one cover version by Goth Icons L'AME IMMORTELLE alongside two versions of the title track. The title track "Make A Star" is made of melancholy, dreamy melodies set against a solid wall of serious guitar work and rounded off with the intricate use of electronic sounds. Elsewhere a song like "Digital Freedom" shows the more aggressive side of the band - a track that is destined to cause havoc on dance floors all over the world fusing razor-edged industrial riffing with strong and darkly harmonic elements. The ultimate apocalyptic marriage of Gothic with Industrial for a gratifying final result ! The "Make A Star" EP comes presented in a beautifully designed digipak with artwork by Grace Khold.

Tracklisting
01. Make A Star ( Single Edit ) (click to listen) http://www.musicnonstop.org.uk/makeastar_track1.mp3
02. Digital Freedom (click to listen) http://www.musicnonstop.org.uk/makeastar_track2.mp3
03. Fast And Beautiful
04. Nuclear Decay
05. Chase The Light
06. Make A Star ( The Birthday Massacre Remix )
07. Make A Star ( Cover version by L'ame Immortelle vs. Friek )
08. Make A Star ( Extended Version )
09. Theta Titanium ( Samsas Traum Remix )

RHAPSODY OF FIRE, the Italian band formerly known as RHAPSODY, has announced the details of its new album, "Triumph or Agony", due on September 25 via Magic Circle Music.

For the past nine years or — to be more precise — since the opening tones of their sensational debut album, "Legendary Tales", RHAPSODY has been one of the most unusual phenomena of the current metal scene. With a new record company in Magic Circle Music, a new tour planned and a new album on the way, RHAPSODY OF FIRE will continue to explore musical fantasy worlds with the precision musicianship and unique symphonic concepts that their fans have come to expect and adore. Fresh on the heels of the band's first live album release, "Live In Canada 2005 - The Dark Secret", a new name and renewed vigor ensure that RHAPSODY OF FIRE still hold the passion and power that have always been associated with their music.

Regarding the fact that the band was forced to change its name due to copyright and trademark issues, guitarist/songwriter Luca Turilli had previously said, "The power of the dragonflame will burn brighter than ever before. Keyboardist/songwriter Alex Staropoli added, "The name RHAPSODY OF FIRE better represents the energy that has always been present in this band and its music."

Produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, "Triumph or Agony" will contain the following track listing:

01. Dar-Kunor
I. Echoes From The Elvish Woods
II. Fear Of The Dungeons
02. Triumph Or Agony
03. Heart Of The Darklands
04. Old Age Of Wonders
05. The Myth Of The Holy Sword
06. Il Canto Del Vento
07. Silent Dream
08. Bloody Red Dungeons
09. Son Of Pain
10 The Mystic Prophecy Of The Demonknight
I. A New Saga Begins
II. Through The Portals Of Agony
III. The Black Order
IV. Nekron`s Bloody Rhymes
V. Escape From Horror
11. Dark Reign Of Fire
I. Winter Dawn`s Theme

Check out the cover artwork at this location.

British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH have finalized the track listing for their new album, "Smear Campaign", due on September 19 via Century Media Records (one day earlier inernationally). The follow-up to last year's "The Code Is Red…Long Live the Code" was recorded at Foel Studios in Wales, England and features a guest appearance by THE GATHERING frontwoman Anneke van Giersbergen.

"Smear Campaign" track listing:

01. Weltschmerz (1:28)
02. Sink Fast, Let Go (3:23)
03. Fatalist (2:51)
04. Puritanical Punishment Beating (3:26)
05. Well All Is Said and Done (3:01)
06. Freedom Is the Wage of Sin (3:09)
07. In Deference (3:14)
08. Short Lived (3:06)
09. Identity Crisis (2:44)
10. Shattered Existence (3:11)
11. Eyes Right Out (3:12)
12. Warped Beyond Logic (2:00)
13. Rabid Wolves (For Christ) (1:24)
14. Deaf and Dumbstruck (2:46)
15. Persona Nongrata (2:47)
16. Smear Campaign (3:20)

Vocalist Barney Greenway had previously stated about the new album, "It was very cool that Anneke from THE GATHERING offered to sing on the album. It's really funny, because we never would have thought about having guest vocals before the 'The Code...' but every vocalist worked well with the song they contributed to. Anneke's style is clearly very different to that of, for example, Jello Biafra but what she does totally enhances the experience. It sounds pretty spooky.

"Lyrics: I guess people know about the album title now but to give a brief explanation the general thread is actually a question asking why exactly we need religion to give us a basis on how to run our lives. Can we not be trusted as human beings to make our own decisions? This applies in my eyes to everything from Christianity to Paganism to Satanism. Surely the world would be more peaceful without religious restrictions and all this false morality!"

NAPALM DEATH will be teaming up with HATEBREED, EXODUS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DESPISED ICON and FIRST BLOOD for a North American tour beginning in early September.

Swedish epic/power metallers FALCONER have finished recording their fifth studio album, entitled "Northwind" — their first since the departure of singer Kristoffer Göbel and return of Mathias Blad.

Commented guitarist Stefan Weinerhall: "'Northwind', the fifth album of FALCONER, is a return to the folkish style after some experiment on the last one. Very melodic and catchy, and with Mathias back on vocals he gives the album that extra epic touch that none other can do. The album is not a concept album although the title sums up the atmosphere of both the music and the lyrics. From catchy metal to sweet ballads to medieval minstrels gone electrified, there´s something for all tastes."

"Northwind" will be released as a limited first edition featuring a bonus CD containing four Swedish folk songs and a video documentary of the album recordings.

"Northwind" track listing:

01. Northwind
02. Waltz with the Dead
03. Spirit of the Hawk
04. Legend and the Lore
05. Catch the Shadows
06. Tower of the Queen
07. Long Gone By
08. Perjury and Sanctity
09. Fairyland Fanfare
10. Himmel Så Trind
11. Blinded
12. Delusion
13. Home of the Knave
14. Black Tarn (instr)
15. Child of the Wild 2006 (Japan bonus)

Bonus CD:

01. Kristallen Den Fina
02. Ridom Ridom
03. Liten Vätte
04. Vårvindar Friska
+ video documentary of the recording

"Northwind" will be released on September 22 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and September 25 (the rest of Europe) via Metal Blade Records.

German black metal band ZARATHUSTRA has completed work on its third album, "In Hora Mortis", at Sweden's Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, FUNERAL MIST). The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Capitis Damnare
02. Souls Ejaculation
03. Embrace your Insanity
04. Salvation from Being
05. Crown of Creation
06. Odem
07. Towards Perdition

Audio samples of three tracks are available at this location.

"In Hora Mortis" is scheduled for a September release via Agonia Records.

On July 27, Night of the Vinyl Dead will release VOIVOD's "Katorz" on vinyl. It will be a very limited edition of 500 hand-numbered copies only, featuring black vinyl and a gatefold color insert. The track listing is as follows:

Side A

01. The Get Away
02. Dognation
03. Mr. Clean
04. Afterall
05. Odds & Frauds
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Side B:

01. Red My Mind
02. Silly Clones
03. No Angel
04. The X-Stream
05. Polaroids

For more information and artwork, visit www.nightofthevinyldead.com.

As previously reported, VOIVOD have launched an exclusive e-card to promote their much-anticipated new album "Katorz", set for release in North America on July 25 via The End Records. The e-card features a biography on the album, the track "The X-Stream" and a link to the five-minute trailer of an upcoming documentary by Canadian filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen ("Metal: A Headbanger's Journey") about the life of VOIVOD guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour. Fans can access the VOIVOD e-card here.

MTV.com recently reported that VOIVOD are already making preliminary plans for the follow-up to "Katorz". The disc will be the last to feature the band's late guitarist, Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, and will contain the final 13 songs he recorded guitar parts for before dying of colon cancer in August. Singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jason Newsted will likely rent a studio when Newsted is done with the next season of the reality show "Rock Star". "It'll happen in the next year when I have time to get away from it where we can really set it up real nice," Newsted said. "We'll put some money up for a studio and go in and make it rock."

Candlelight Records has premiered "Shadow Fear" from VADER's forthcoming album, "Impressions in Blood", at the label's official MySpace page. The CD was recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland and will feature artwork by Greek artist Seth (ROTTING CHRIST, PARADISE LOST).

Due in Europe on September 4 via Regain Records, "Impressions in Blood" will contain the following track listing:

01. Between Day and Night
02. ShadowsFear
03. As Heavens Collide...
04. Helleluyah!!! (God is Dead)
05. Field of Heads
06. Predator
07. Warlords
08. Red Code
09. Amongst the Ruins
10. They Live!!!
11. The Book

Download an MP3 of the song "Warlords" at this location.

VADER will play no less than five new songs during their upcoming Blitzkrieg 4 tour, which is scheduled to kick off September 17 in Waraw, Poland.

As previously reported, DREAM THEATER vocalist James LaBrie recently recorded vocals for an opera-oriented project called TRUE SYMPHONIC ROCKESTRA. The project's official website is now up and running at www.tsr-project.com. The mastermind and producer of the project, Dirk Ulrich, has now issued the following introduction to the site and TSR:

"Welcome to the website of the TSR Project. As you will find out when looking through our pages there are some years of work behind this idea, a lot of very talented people involved, and an international team of artists and producers from Germany, Canada, Ucraine and Russia!

"When we started to develop the TSR concept back in 2000 the basic idea behind it was to get 3 world-class singers to perform the "Best Of" repertoire of the original 3 Tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, José Carreras) … in ROCK versions! Although mixing classical and rock music has already been done before in the past we do believe that the TSR Project is a new and unique combination of these two forces… probably the first time ever to feature two world-class classical tenors and one of the most respected voices in rock on one entire album!

"Well, it´s 2006 by now, and after a lot of (personal and professional) ups and downs we are getting very close to bringing this exciting project to you, the music lovers. There have been a lot of rumours and questions in forums throughout the net, so let me make it official: we are targeting at a release date for the first TSR album ('The 3 Rock Tenors') somewhere around early 2007.

"Vladimir Grishko is in personal and direct contact with Luciano Pavarotti and Madame Caballe, who are supporting the TSR idea a lot! We are very honoured by this fact and take this as a big motivation to release some high-class and very 'musical' album!

"The music is finished now, but there is still a lot of work to do behind the scenes. We will have to talk to a lot of publishing companies for approvals, set up distribution, promotion, etc. Please be patient for a while, you will be the first to read about any progress on this site, for sure!"

A TSR picture gallery is now available at the site here.

According to MelodicRock.com, TALISMAN bassist/mainman Marcel Jacob (ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOHN NORUM, EUROPE) has issued the following update on the recording sessions for the band's new album, due later in the year via Frontiers Records:

"TALISMAN was supposed to do a tour in September/October, hitting Germany, Greece, Belgium, Italy, and Spain. But some half-decent American outfit -) [JOURNEY] needed Jeff Scott Soto [TALISMAN vocalist] to step in and help them out for a while, which means we had to cancel (for now — we'll give it another go if there's a slot open sometime).

"Now, as you know a new TALISMAN album has been in the making for the past nine months (an insane amount of time for us all other albums could have been made twice!). It's not going to be called 'Bar' [as was previously announced] that was a desperate solution for a title at a time when JSS and I were only joking about titles. It does not have anything to do with drinking however it was 'BittterAngryResentful', referring to our outlook on certain then-current life events. No, we're calling it '7' — it's our seventh studio album, and the artwork (supposedly) will reflect a bit of humor about a change of luck, winning the jackpot, so to speak. Perversely enough the word 'Bar' does appear in the artwork!

Regarding the band's lineup, Jacob said, "It's the same old people — JSS, Freddie [guitarist Fredrik Åkesson also in ARCH ENEMY], Jamie [Borger, drums], and I. This time I've been handling all guitars except leads, as well as doing an amazing amount (for me) of keyboards. The album was mixed by Pontus Norgren he is also guesting as guitar player on one track. There will be 10 or 11 tracks, with one or two bonus tracks on the Japanese release. There are some changes for this album — for instance, including some ballad material, and it's not as 'heavy' as 'Cats and Dogs' — throwing in a few surprises… and as usual, we will include one of Jamie's songs, which always have a style of their own. We're very curious to hear reactions to this one."

TALISMAN's last CD, "Cats and Dogs", was released in 2003 via Frontiers Records.

Vocalist Ciaran O'Hagan of the long-running Irish folk metal act WAYLANDER has issued the following update on the group's activities:

"Firstly, we have returned safely from our first sojourn to Germany, where we were honoured to perform at the Pagan Nights festival in Bavaria. The people we met were as hospitable as one could only dream of, despite their insane notion of providing us with free beer at all times. Needless to say, this Irish band fulfilled all the criteria of our national stereotype. The setting for the festival was stunning, adjacent to a reconstructed Celtic village in the heartland of the Bavarian forest.

"We hadn't played live for a year or so and the rustiness was plain to us in our live performance, but with the vast majority of our slip-ups coming in our new songs, our sloppiness wasn't evident to the attentive and appreciative audience. Playing outdoors in a festival environment was never going to be an ideal way of getting the sound we required, yet we somehow managed to pull it off, despite the onstage monitors becoming more and more redundant as the set progressed. We can and will play much better in the future.

"We have finally booked a studio. Yes, it is actually true!! We will record in Dublin at Alderwood studios during the months of September and October. Unfortunately it will be mostly weekends due to work commitments etc but from a positive perspective, at least we can travel there easily from our own homes.

"We will make an announcement on the record label we have chosen within the coming months but I can safely say this, the label will be no household name as we think trust and total commitment are the most important aspects of a working/business arrangement."

The cover artwork for INTO ETERNITY's upcoming CD, "The Scattering of Ashes", created by acclaimed artist Mattias Noren (STRATOVARIUS, EVERGREY), has been posted online at this location.

Vocalist Stu Block commented: "Mattias designed the first three INTO ETERNITY album covers ('Into Eternity', 'Dead or Dreaming' and 'Buried in Oblivion'). They have all been amazing but yet different in their own way. There was no doubt in our minds that 'The Scattering of Ashes' cover would live up to those expectations.

"Mattias is a really talented guy and all we had to do was tell him the album title and that we wanted it to have a dark feeling to it, so he ran with it and nailed it pretty much right away.

"We are all really happy with the end result of the artwork, layout and sound of the album. We have been listening to the mixed and mastered version of the album from Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE) and it sounds absolutely killer!! This album is definitely one of the most aggressive INTO ETERNITY albums ever, and now with Andy's touch on it it's over-the-top metal madness!!!"

Regarding the direction of the new material, guitarist/vocalist Tim Roth had previously stated, "So far, I think it is a mix between 'Dead or Dreaming' and 'Buried in Oblivion'. For this album we kept some things a bit more stripped down. Now we won't have five vocal harmonies going at once. The band decided that we want to sound more like we do live, so we stuck to two-part vocal harmonies. It still sounds killer though and I'm sure people will dig the new melodies. Stu [Block] did a great job singing on this album. He has five different voices that he can change back and forth from. Wait to you hear some of the notes he hits!"

"The Scattering of Ashes" is scheduled for release in Europe on September 25 via Century Media Records.

ELIS, the Liechtenstein-based gothic metal band whose singer, Sabine Dünser, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on July 7 during rehearsal and passed away the following day in hospital, has posted the following message on its official web site:

"We want to thank the families, friends, fans and bands for the big sympathies we received! We appreciate very much how many people support Sabine's family and us during this hard time! Also the farewell to Sabine on [July 13] in Schaan (FL) was a very touching moment.

"In the next days, we will consider carefully how we will continue with ELIS and what happens with the new album, 'Griefshire', and the MCD, 'Show Me The Way'.

"Thanks again for your support. We all will keep Sabine forever in our memories!"

Dünser was born June 27, 1977 and joined ELIS, then still known as ERBEN DER SCHOPFUNG, in 2001. ELIS recently completed work on the follow-up to 2004's "Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky" at Mastersound Studios in Stuttgart with producer Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES).

Candlelight Records will be reissuing CROWBAR's "Broken Glass" album on August 7.

Originally released in October 1996 via Pavement Records, "Broken Glass" has been long out of print. It features backing vocals by then-PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo, who is also CROWBAR frontman Kirk Windstein's bandmate in DOWN.

CROWBAR's latest album, "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden", was released last year via Candlelight Records. The band filmed the second video to support the album, "Slave No More" in Miami, Florida in June 2005. The clip was once again be directed by John-Martin Vogel, who helmed the album's first video for the song "Dead Sun".

MORDICHRIST, the Swedish black metal band featuring DARK FUNERAL guitarist Chaq Mol, has released more information about their upcoming seven-inch single release. The limited-edition vinyl will contain two songs, both of which will be issued on CD at a later date, accompanied by a bonus video for the song "The Fallen". The track listing for the single is as follows:

Side A: The Fallen

Side B: Villainy

A sample of "The Fallen" will be made available soon at www.myspace.com/mordichrist.

MORDICHRIST had previously issued a limited-edition (500 copies) 10-inch mini-LP via Danza Ipnotica.

As previously reported, MORDICHRIST singer Nenia is going lend her diabolical voice to the German black metallers CAEDES on their new CD. No further information is currently available.

"Sacrament", the second Epic Records studio release from the critically acclaimed band LAMB OF GOD, will be issued on August 22 individually and as a CD and DVD deluxe edition, which will include over 90 minutes of special behind-the-scenes footage of the making of "Sacrament".

This special deluxe edition of "Sacrament" chronicles the making of the album from the early stages of writing and rehearsing to the actual studio recording. Filmed during the spring of 2006, the footage captures the intensely personal aspects of the album making process as well as taking a sneak peek inside the band's private lives. The DVD contains interviews from each band member as well as director's cut versions of two videos from the upcoming release, including the first single "Redneck".

Produced by Machine (CLUTCH, KING CRIMSON, EIGHTEEN VISIONS, EVERY TIME I DIE), "Sacrament" will contain the following track listing:

01. Walk With Me In Hell
02. Again We Rise
03. Redneck
04. Pathetic
05. Foot To The Throat
06. Descending
07. Blacken The Cursed Sun
08. Forgotten (Lost Angels)
09. Requiem
10. More Time To Kill
11. Beating On Death's Door

Currently on the Unholy Alliance tour with SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD will hit the road again late summer in support of "Sacrament". More confirmed dates will be announced soon.

San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have posted a four-minute video "sneak peek" at their new material as the band prepares to join the Sounds of the Underground tour for select dates before hitting the studio to record the new album. Watch it at MachineHead1.com: Windows Media Low, Windows Media High.

MACHINE HEAD will enter Sharkbite studios in Oakland, California the second week of August to begin recording their long-awaited follow-up to 2003's "Through the Ashes of Empires", tentatively due in early 2007 via Roadrunner Records. Production duties will once again be handled by the band's frontman Robert Flynn with assistance from Mark Keaton. Mixing sessions will be taken care of by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Aesthetics of Hate", "Halo", "The Beautiful Mourning" and "Now I Lay Thee Down".

Bassist Michael LePond of the progressive metal band SYMPHONY X — which was recently forced to cancel a couple of European festival appearances after LePond was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease (an inflammatory bowel disorder) — has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"First of all, I want to let you that I am now fully recovered. I have gained all of my weight back and feel as strong as ever. My bass chops are back up to speed, just in time for the recording of the new CD. Secondly, I want to give my deepest thanks to all of you for your sympathy and support during my illness. I read every single e-mail that was sent to me. It was better than any medicine I could have taken. I will never forget the kindness you guys have shown me. I love all of you."

SYMPHONY X is scheduled to enter the studio this month to begin recording the follow-up to 2002's "The Odyssey", tentatively due this fall. The band expects to return to the road shortly after the release of the new CD.

A new 3 INCHES OF BLOOD demo track, entitled "Goatrider's Horde", recorded this past spring during a session in Seattle, WA with producer Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT drummer), has been made available for streaming at this location. The song is expected to appear on the Vancouver, British Columbia-based metallers' upcoming CD, which they plan to record in November with Jordison producing. An early 2007 release through Roadrunner Records is expected.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD's latest CD, "Advance and Vanquish", was released in October 2004 via Roadrunner. Recorded at a Chicago studio with producer Neil Kernon (NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEICIDE), the album was mixed by Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, NAPALM DEATH).

Dutch death metallers SINISTER have set "Prophecies Denied" as the title of their upcoming live DVD, which they plan on filming at their August 24, 2006 performance in Warsaw, Poland. The DVD will be released at a later date via Metal Mind Production. Also appearing on the bill will be OBITUARY, GRAVE and CATAMENIA, all of whom will be filming separate DVD releases of their own at the concert.

SINISTER's latest CD, "Afterburner", was released earlier this year through Nuclear Blast Records.

SINISTER's current lineup consists of Aad Kloosterwaard, drummer and founder of the band, on vocals, Alex Paul on guitar, Paul Beltman (ex-JUDGEMENT DAY) on drums, and Bas van den Bogaard on bass.

The band, who re-signed with Nuclear Blast back in 2002 after a one-album stint with the now-defunct Hammerheart Records, have already announced the working title of their next album: "No Mercyful God".

Finland's NIGHTWISH has completed work on a pre-production recording of the tracks that are set to appear on the band's upcoming sixth album, tentatively due mid-2007. According to the latest entry on the group's official video-blog page that gives the fans a behind-the-scenes look at its songwriting sessions, NIGHTWISH will reconvene in September to make final changes to the songs before commencing the recording process for the new album.

NIGHTWISH is currently seeking a replacement for departed singer Tarja Turunen before entering the studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2004's "Once".

STRATOVARIUS frontman Timo Kotipelto will enter 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.

KOTIPELTO's sophomore solo album, "Coldness", was released in Europe in April 2004 through Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2002's "Waiting for the Dawn" was recorded by CHILDREN OF BODOM keyboardist Janne Wirman at his Beyond Abilities Studios as well as by Tero Kostermaa at High and Loud's ELK Studios and Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, where the mixing (Mikko Karmila) and the mastering (Mika Jussila) also took place. Matthias Norén, who has previously worked with bands like INTO ETERNITY, LOST HORIZON and EVERGREY, designed the album's artwork.