German melodic black/death metallers SUIDAKRA will enter the Gernhart Records studio in Siegburg, Germany in July to begin recording their new album, "Caledonia", for an October release. Kris Verwimp will, once again, be in charge of the cover artwork, as the band are certain that he is the best person to visualise the lyrical concept of "Caledonia". The album photography will be hanlded by Axel Jusseit, who had previously worked with the group on 2003's "Signs for the Fallen".

The follow-up to last year's "Command to Charge", "Caledonia" will contain 10 songs and will be a concept album dealing with Scotland's ancient history.

In other news, SUIDAKRA have been forced to postpone their previously announced French tour until after the release of "Caledonia". A new show in Bulgaria has been confirmed: SUIDAKRA will play at the Monsters of Rock festival in early August alongside such bands as MOTÖRHEAD, KREATOR, FEAR FACTORY and OVERKILL.

Swedish black metallers MARDUK have posted the following message on their official web site:

"MARDUK are now putting the final touches on the layout for the upcoming DVD and are also finished the mixing of it. The title has been set for 'Blood Puke Salvation'. The DVD will contain over one and a half hour of live material filmed in Tilburg, Holland and Antwerpen, Belgium during December 2004. What so far also have been confirmed is that the promo videos for 'Throne Of Rats', 'Steel Inferno' and 'The Hangman Of Prague' will also be included as well as a tremendous photo gallery, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and a section entitled 'Deathmarch' with exclusive hand-filmed live material from over 20 cities from the 'Deathmarch' tour. Release date is still to be set, but it will most likely be out by the end of May. Apart from that we can also mention that Morgan [Håkansson, guitar] and Mortuus [vocals] are currently demoing new material for the next full-length album."

MARDUK recently issued a live album, entitled "Warschau". Limited to 10,000 copies on CD worldwide, the album was also scheduled to be released as a limited-edition double LP and double picture disc (each limited to 500 copies).

Israeli metal band ORPHANED LAND have announced that Steven Wilson of PORCUPINE TREE will produce their next album, entitled "The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR".

Commented ORPHANED LAND vocalist Kobi Farhi: "We are a big fans of Steven's works, we are very much exited that we will work together and we are sure we will make an unforgettable album!"

Added Wilson: "I'm very happy to have the opportunity to work with ORPHANED LAND, one of the most unique and ambitious metal bands on the scene. I know we are going to make an extraordinary album together."

ORPHANED LAND is a band which combines progressive heavy/death-metal rock with ethnic Middle Eastern/Arabic/Israeli elements, a unique hybrid of styles that contributed to Steven's decision to work with them. The group have recorded three albums to date, the most recent of which, "Mabool", was their Century Media debut.

Existing completely outside of the mainstream, ORPHANED LAND have managed to create a large worldwide following, and their recent appearances in Europe and the USA at the ProgPower festivals have brought them to the attention of a whole new audience. Wilson is, of course, known from his main project PORCUPINE TREE as well as the producer of three of OPETH's albums.

With regards to the next album's concept, Farhi had previously stated, "The next ORPHANED LAND album will deal with the war of light and darkness. We've dealt with this topic in the past, yet this time the emphasis will be on the hero of this war — The Warrior of Light (Lohem Ha'or in Hebrew).

ORPHANED LAND have yet to set a date to begin recording the new album, as they are still working the new material for the new effort. More details will be made available during the coming months.

Despite the fact that their latest CD, "Afterburner", has only just been released through Nuclear Blast Records, reunited Dutch death metallers SINISTER have already commenced the songwriting process for their next album, tentatively titled "No Mercyful God".

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, issued their last studio album, "Savage or Grace", in 2003.

STREAM OF PASSION, the new band featuring AYREON mastermind Arjen Lucassen, will be releasing a live DVD and live CD this summer as two separate products. The live recordings were made on February 17, 2006 at the Lucky & Co. venue in Rijssen, Holland during the band's "Embrace the Storm" tour. More information will be made available soon.

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

STREAM OF PASSION is:

Johan van Stratum - Bass guitar
Davy Mickers - Drums
Marcela Bovio - Vocals, Lyrics, Violin
Arjen Lucassen - Guitars, Music
Lori Linstruth - Lead Guitar
Alejandro Millán - Piano

The Front Line Assembly boys are back in town! Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber, and Chris Peterson have joined ranks once again to create the, according to the label, best Front Line Assembly release that the electronic industrial community has seen in over a decade. The trio, with new member Jeremy Inkel, began work on Artificial Soldier in early 2005, and it was time well spent. The newly re-formed line-up managed to create a release that no only lives up to the expectations of Front Line Assembly fans, but surpasses them. Heavy pounding beats, atmospheric strings, percolating melodies, dynamic synths and Bill Leeb’s trademark vocals couldn’t be fused together any tighter if you tried to do it at an atomic level. As if all of those factors weren’t enough, two guest vocalists appear on Artificial Soldier – Eskil Simonsson from Covenant (on “The Storm”) and Jean-Luc De Meyer from Front 242 (on “Future Fail”)! Artificial Soldier is one album not to be missed for 2006 or any year for that matter. Releasedate is 6 june 2006.

Tracklist:
01. Unleased
02. Low Life
03. Beneath The Rubble
04. Low Rider
05. Buried Alive
06. Dopamine
07. Social Enemy
08. Future Fail
09. The Storm
10. Descention

On related news, Isabel Bayrakdarian is confirmed on the new Delerium Album due out late 2006. Most of you may recognize her voice from the Grammy Award winning soundtrack of The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.
The vocalist line-up for Delerium is quite stellar: Kristy Thirsk, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Jael, Mediaeval Baebes and Isabel Bayrakdarian.

Also, A brand new project from Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber has been set to motion featuring Leigh Nash on vocals. Fauxliage will hit stores 2007. More on this to come.

Gae Bolg: the brand name for the bombastic, martial, and uniquely mediaeval sounds from the forge of French musician Eric Roger ( former trumpet player with Sol Invictus )

After his musical statement of "Aucassin Et Nicolette" ( Auerbach 2005 ), a classic work of French literature dating back to 1225, Eric Roger’s new album "Requiem" is a purely personal work. As the title suggests, it is a mass for the dead in the traditional meaning of the word. It is dedicated to those of Eric’s friends and relatives who passed away in the last three years, thus presenting a subject matter that couldn’t be of a more intimate nature. In accordance with this conceptional framework, "Requiem“ comes across as a very sacral piece of work, finding a middle ground between serene devotion and desperate beseeching, but without ever regressing to kitsch or meaningless pathos.
Tracklisting
01. Introit
02. Dies Irae
03. Lacrymosa
04. Improvisa Letivis Rapuit, Rapietque Gentes
05. Choral I
06. March Au Tombeau
07. Choral II
08. Hymne
09. Choral III
10. La Flamme S’Eteint, Une Vie Renait
11. Di Me Tuentur, Dis Musa Cordi Est
12. Totentanz
13. Agnus Die
14. Pandemonium

Germany's MAJESTY have parted ways with guitarist Rolf Munkes (EMPIRE, RAZORBACK, ex-VANIZE). "The band and me agreed in stopping to work together from now on," Rolf writes on his web site. "I wish them the best of luck in the future and want to say thanks for the great time we had. And a big thanks goes out to all the fans that we made over these three years I played with MAJESTY. You made it happen!! Thank you."

MAJESTY's third album, "Hellforces", recently entered the official German album chart at position No. 100. The follow-up to 2003's "Reign in Glory" was once again produced by Stefan Kaufmann (former ACCEPT drummer, current U.D.O. guitarist) at Roxx studios in Pulheim, Germany.

Munkes' EMPIRE project will release their third album, "Raven Ride", on May 12 via AOR Heaven Records. The follow-up to 2003's "Trading Souls" (Lion Music) features guest appearances by singer Tony Martin (ex-BLACK SABBATH), drummer Andre Hilgers (AXXIS, SILENT FORCE, RAZORBACK) and bassist Neil Murray (WHITESNAKE, BLACK SABBATH, M3).

Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio has flown to the U.K. to write a couple of tracks with BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi for a forthcoming box set, tentatively titled "Black Sabbath – The Dio Years". The box set will reportedly contain all the BLACK SABBATH albums with Ronnie in fully remastered form with these couple of tracks added as a special bonus. No further information is currently available.

Dio recorded a total of three studio albums with BLACK SABBATH — 1980's "Heaven and Hell", 1981's "Mob Rules" and 1992's "Dehumanizer" — in addition to appearing on the classic live album "Live Evil" in 1983.

Boston radio station WAAF has announced that original EXTREME members Gary Cherone (vocals, ex-VAN HALEN), Nuno Bettencourt (guitar), Paul Geary (drums), and Pat Badger (bass) will be reuniting for a show at the Bank of America Pavilion (formerly Fleet Pavilion) in Boston on Friday, June 30. Tickets will go on sale on Saturday, April 15 through Ticketmaster.com. Rumors online now include shows at Foxwoods in Connecticut (July 2, Sunday), and Casino Ballroom (Hampton Beach New Hampshire).

The Boston Globe reported in its March 25, 2006 edition that the original EXTREME lineup would likely be reuniting for a few New England dates this summer. It's been 16 years since the band scored a huge hit with ''More Than Words", and the boys have since scattered. Singer Gary Cherone now fronts a WHO tribute band, Bettencourt plays with former JANE'S ADDICTION frontman Perry Farrell's new band SATELLITE PARTY, drummer Paul Geary runs a high-powered management company in Los Angeles (with GODSMACK as one of its clients), and bassist Pat Badger, believe it or not, raises alpacas on a farm outside Boston.

Veteran Polish death metallers VADER have posted the following message on their official web site:

"We would like to invite you to participate in a special competition! If you have an idea how VADER's new logo symbol should look like and want to design it, feel free to send your projects to info@vader.pl under a title 'New VADER's logo'. The competition is open to all non-professional artists/ fans and lasts through April 25th. The entries should be designed in Photoshop, Corel or any other graphical editor and saved in 'jpg' file [format]. The most interesting projects will be published on www.vader.pl website. The best idea will be featured on the new album artwork."

As previously reported, VADER will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland on April 22 with producers Slawek and Wojtek Wieslawscy to begin recording their new album, "Impressions in Red", for a September 4 release via Regain Records.

Angtoria will soon start filming their first music video as a part of the worldwide promotion for their album due to be released on Listenable Records April 27th. The video will be filmed during 3 days at two different locations, and director of the video is an upcoming and very talented swedish director who has previously won awards for his work, Måns Berthas. On April 19th Sarah, Dave Pybus (CoF) and Toni Davey (Dani's wife and album cover model), will fly to Sweden to join Chris and Tommy and a yet to be revealed drummer to shoot the video for the title track "God Has A Plan For Us All".

"The song is based around child abuse by a religious person, which in turn leads the girl to madness because of years of mental torture through the offender getting away with what he has done to her. Putting images to lyrics like these is quite difficult without getting banned by every tv station, but we will sure try to portray the lyrics in images as much as possible. Chris´s young daughter Saga will play the child and Toni will obviously play the girl as older. This is to show the deterioration from start to finish of the girls life. Wish us luck!"

Finnish gothic rockers ENTWINE have entered the studio to begin recording their as-yet-untitled fifth album for an August 23, 2006 release.

"The plan is to record 13 songs, 12 of them being new as there will be a re-make of 'Break Me'," the band write on their web site. "However, the forthcoming album will probably include 11 songs. New ENTWINE hymns were put together at record speed, during only just few weekends, due to busy schedules of members. Gladly, this doesn't affect the quality at all, in fact the boys and a girl agree that the songs sound very promising indeed. Well, we'll hear about that in few months. Certain is that the team hassling around the record know what they're doing.

"The album is being recorded at Petrax and Groveland studios by ENTWINE's very own drummer boy Aksu Hanttu who is nowadays very much employed in the field. Producer guy Janne Joutsenniemi is known to many from the ranks of legendary STONE and latterly SUBURBAN TRIBE. The tracks will be mixed in the subtle care of Finnvox's Mikko Karmila who is highly appreciated for his work with NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, and many others. Mastering is probably going to take place at Stockholm's Cutting Room.

"Recordings have been going really well so far and knowing these guys, with couple of relaxing evening beers of course. Mika is currenty working on his vocal parts."

Check put studio pictures at this location.

Swedish metallers ENTOMBED have finalized the track listing and artwork for their upcoming EP, "When in Sodom", due on June 6 via Threeman Recordings. A full-length album, "Serpent Saints", will follow on September 18.

ENTOMBED's new album was recorded at Soundland studio in Upplands Väsby, Sweden. The CD will be the group's first without the contributions of guitarist Uffe Cederlund, who left the band in September 2005.

"When in Sodom" (view artwork at this location) track listing:

01. When in Sodom
02. Carnage
03. Thou Shalt Kill
04. Heresy
05. Amen

VINTERSORG, the Swedish band led by BORKNAGAR frontman Andreas Hedlund (a.k.a. Vintersorg), have set "Solens Rötter" (Swedish for "The Sun's Roots") as the title of their new album, tentatively due before the end of the year via Napalm Records.

The follow-up to 2004's "The Focusing Blur" will not feature contributions from Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, SEBASTIAN BACH, TESTAMENT, DEATH) and drummer Asgeir Mickelson (SPIRAL ARCHITECT, BORKNAGAR), both of whom performed on the band's last two releases.

Vintersorg's collaboration with BORKNAGAR's Oystein G. Brun (guitars and programming), dubbed CRONIAN, will release their debut album, "Terra", in the U.S. on April 18 via Century Media Records. The CD, which was issued in Europe on March 27, was mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound.

Spanish Electro revelation Dioxyde returns for Johan Van Roy's ( Suicide Commando ) Noise Terror Productions label : Garnering a big underground following Marco Calvo ( Dioxyde ) follows two earlier albums ( "Torschlusspanik" and "Dying Culture" ) with another searing tour-de-force of club-compatible EBM anthems and searing Electro attacks. "Social Phobia" delivers 10 tracks of accessible and varied arrangements, mutilated samples and aggressive vocals. As a Bonus there are 3 Extra Remix tracks from scene heavyweights Feindflug, Agonoize and Tactical Sekt plus guest vocals from Johan van Roy himself rounding out an essential album for Electro-heads everywhere !
Tracklisting
01. Helpless (Intro Mission)
02. Words of Judas
03. Morphine (Chemo mix)
04. Vida Rota (click to listen)
05. Cae la Presion
06. Aftermath
07. Invasive Therapy
08. II M
09. Money Trail (click to listen)
10. Geist (click to listen)
11. Cae la presion (Tactical Sekt)
12. Invasive Therapy (Agonoize)
13. Vida Rota (Feindflug)

Release Date 28th April 2006

Reformed classic British thrash outfit ONSLAUGHT will enter the studio the first week of July to begin recording their new album, "Killing Peace", tentatively due in September via an as-yet-undetermined label. The band's current lineup includes Sy Keeler (vocals), Nige Rockett (guitars), Steve Grice (drums), James Hinder (bass) and the group's latest addition, guitarist Alan Jordan (ex-MIRROR MIRROR, FRANKENSTEIN).

ONSLAUGHT recorded three albums in the late 1980s — including the underrated "In Search of Sanity" (1989, Polydor), featuring ex-GRIM REAPER frontman Steve Grimmett — before calling it a day.

As previously reported, ONSLAUGHT have been confirmed for the Brutal Assault festival, set to take place August 10­12 at Svojsice U Prelouce (100 km east of Prague) in the Czech Republic. Also scheduled to appear are AMORPHIS, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, DIMMU BORGIR, GOREFEST, MAYHEM and SICK OF IT ALL, among others.

German power metallers LANFEAR have parted ways with frontman Tobias Althammer. Replacing him in the vocal department is Nuno Miguel de Barros Fernandes, who has previously fronted the now-defunct German band ANGUISH.

"Nuno was our number one candidate from the beginning and we're absolutely sure that he's going to convince you all as well as he has convinced us," the group write in a statement. "Be excited!"

LANFEAR are currently working on material for their fifth album, which they promise will contain a few surprises. The band's fourth CD, "Another Golden Rage" (2005), was recorded at Dreamscape studios in Munich, Germany and featured a lyrical theme that was a continuation of the story which began on the title track of 2003's "The Art Effect".

German guitarist Axel Rudi Pell's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"Due to singer Johnny Gioeli's sickness (he had a really bad flu), we ran out of time and were unable to deliver the master tape of [the new AXEL RUDI PELL album] 'Mystica' to our record company, SPV, in time for the scheduled June release. Unfortunately, the release date had to be pushed back to August 25th in Germany and August 28th in Europe. The North American release date will be confirmed very soon. We're very sorry for the delay but we hope that you understand it. Be ready for a real masterpiece! At the moment we're working on the final tour and festival schedule. See all the dates here very soon."

PERSUADER, the Swedish winners of the 2003 "Young Metal Gods" award, will release their third full-length effort, entitled "When Eden Burns", on May 15 via Dockyard 1, the new company formed by Dirk Putzke, Christine Stephan (both ex-Sanctuary/Noise Records) and Sielck. The follow-up to 2004's "Evolution Purgatory" (Sanctuary/Noise) was recorded at Powerhouse studio in Hamburg, Germany with producer (and SAVAGE CIRCUS bandmate) Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR).

"When Eden Burns" (view cover artwork at this location) track listing:

01. Twisted Eyes
02. Slaves Of Labour
03. Sending You Back
04. R.S Knights
05. The Return
06. When Eden Burns
07. Judas Immortal
08. Doomsday News
09. Zion
10. Enter Reality
11. Alight The Heavens (Japanese bonus)

PERSUADER members Jens Karlsson (vocals, guitar) and Emil Norberg (lead guitar) have teamed up with Sielck and former BLIND GUARDIAN drummer Thomen Stauch in a new band called SAVAGE CIRCUS. The group's debut album, "Dreamland Manor", was released last August via Dockyard 1.

Former HELLOWEEN and current MASTERPLAN drummer Uli Kusch has teamed up with Ronny Milianowicz (DIONYSUS) and Joacim Cans (HAMMERFALL) to write a song for the upcoming soccer world championship. Entitled "Glorious", the song will feature Swedish singer Mikeyla as the main vocalist, with special guest appearances by Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), Tobias Sammet (EDGUY), Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN) and Oscar Dronjak (HAMMERFALL). The production is taking place in Sweden April 24-25.

According to Kusch, "'Glorious' is meant to be a song about setting aside your political views, religious beliefs for only one day and stop[ping] the world from turning in something stronger than anything else: football! No matter if you play heavy metal music, pop or rock, we will find a way to unite through this song."

NOVEMBERS DOOM are scheduled to begin recording the follow-up to 2005's "The Pale Haunt Departure" on June 16. Once again, the production team will consist of Chris Djuricic for tracking and Dan Swanö to mix the final recording. Mastering will again be handled by James Murphy.

In a statement about the upcoming studio work, the band says, "Consistency and quality are very important to us, to insure that anyone who was a fan of the previous CD, will once again be able to comfortably expect nothing less then a stellar production. Chris Djuricic, Dan Swanö and James Murphy were the perfect choice for 'The Pale Haunt Departure' and the perfect compliment to NOVEMBERS DOOM. We're honored to be working with them once again.

"Working hard on the new material, we've reached the final stage of pre-production, creating well rounded, and a natural progression of songs, which continue where 'The Pale Haunt Departure' ends. Always adding new elements to our sound, there will be a few surprises mixed in, but remaining true to the band you expect."

Swedish all-female outfit CRUCIFIED BARBARA have updated their 2006 tour schedule with several new summer festival dates and three shows in Russia. It is now as follows:

May

19 - Club Port in St. Petersburg, Russia
20 - DKG in Moscow, Russia
22 - Ogni Ufi EKB in UFA, Russia
As previously reported, Liquor And Poker Music has set a May 30th U.S. release date for Crucified Barbara's debut album, In Distortion We Trust. It has been out in Europe since last year.

Swedish gore death masters DERANGED have parted ways with vocalist/bassist Calle Fäldt due to "personal and musical differences." The band have already acquired a new singer in the shape of Martin Schönherr. A new bassist is currently being sought.

Despite previous reports to the contrary, DERANGED will NOT be taking part in the upcoming X-Mass Festivals tour. Instead, they will be supporting INCANTATION all over Europe in November.

DERANGED were previously scheduled to enter Berno Studios in Malmö, Sweden to begin recording ther new album, "Obscenities in B Flat". The album will contain the following tracks, among others: "Alive...Swarming with Flies", "Body Fluids from Unknown Source" and "Long Live the New Flesh".

Veteran Polish death metallers VADER will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland on April 22 with producers Slawek and Wojtek Wieslawscy to begin recording their new album, "Impressions in Red", for a September 4 release via Regain Records.

The recording sessions for the new CD — which, in contrast to the futuristic content of "The Art Of War" MCD, will be entirely focused on dark and mystical vision of hell on earth, inspired by works of medieval visionaries like Hieronymous Bosh — will run through May 25 and the album will feature cover artwork and layout by Greek artist Seth (PARADISE LOST, ROTTING CHRIST, SEPTIC FLESH). The album will be supported with a massive promotional campaign beginning on September 17, when the band will kick off a 90-date tour of Europe. In 2007 VADER will appear on tours in North and South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and some other countries.

VADER will headline the Metal Crusaders North American tour starting May 26 in Montreal. KATAKLYSM, DESTRUCTION, SPEED\KILL/HATE, GRAVEWORM and THE ABSCENCE are also featured on the tour package.