Avian Announced for Nightmare Metal Fest

AVIAN, the melodic metal band featuring singer Lance King and guitarist Yan Leviathan, has been confirmed for the Nightmare Metal Fest, a brand new festival set to take place March 21-22 at Bourbon Street in New Port Richey, Florida. Also scheduled to appear are WARMACHINE, CAGE, DISASTERPEACE (the new band featuring singer Wade Black [CRIMSON GLORY, SEVEN WITCHES, LEASH LAW, BLACK REIGN, LEATHERWOLF], former KING DIAMOND guitarist master Pete Blakk, renowned drummer Jesse Martillo [CRIMSON GLORY] and bassist Chris Baylor), X-THIRTIEN, ORDER OF NINE, SACRED DAWN, POWND, SIX MINUTE CENTURY and SHADES OF TWILIGHT.

AVIAN's new lineup is rounded out by guitarist Bill Hudson (CELLADOR, THE SUPREMACY), bassist Mika Horiuchi (CELLADOR) and drummer Jerry B.

The event is the brainchild of Lance King — owner of Nightmare Records and former frontman of BALANCE OF POWER and PYRAMAZE.

For more information, visit www.nightmaremetalfest.com.

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The Binary Code Book More Dates

New Jersey technical metallers, The Binary Code, line up the following shows:

1.23.08 w/ Oh Sleeper, Burden of a Day @ Mainstage Pompton Lakes, NJ
2.05.08 Chubby’s w/ bands TBA in Redbank, NJ
2.22.08 Bands TBA in Bath, PA
2.23.08 w/ Oh Sleeper, Life In Your Way @ Mainstage Pompton Lakes, NJ
2.29.08 w/ Bubbles & more @ Mainstage
3.03.08 w/ Beneath the Massacre, Tony Danza, Born of Osiris @ Mainstage
3.11.08 w/ White Chapel, Impending Doom @ Mainstage Pompton Lakes, NJ
3.14.08 w/ A Life Once Lost, Arsis, Skeletonwitch @ Mainstage Pompton Lakes, NJ
4.25.08 w/ Heaven Shall Burn & the Ghost Inside @ Mainstage Pompton Lakes, NJ

For more information check out their Myspace page

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Ansur Confirm New Album Details

Norwegian extreme metallers ANSUR have confirmed Warring Factions as the title of their new album. The band have just wrapped-up mixing of the new album. Guitarist Torstein commented: "Characteristics is a key word here. I can promise you that no one else will sound like this!"?
Warring Factions is tentatively due in the spring via Nocturnal Art Productions/ Candlelight Records.

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Only Portal Show For 2008 Announced

Portal will be playing their one and only show for 2008 alongside Gospel Of The Horns, Urgrund and Ignivomous. The show will take place on the 26th April, somewhere in Melbourne with the actual venue yet to be announced. This will also be Gospel Of The Horn's last show before they embark on a tour of Europe and the USA. Another show featuring Gospel Of The Horns, Ignivomous and Order Of Orias will take place at The Tote in Collingwood, Melbourne, on February 16th, with doors opening at 9pm.

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Amon Amarth To Begin Work On New Album

With the Australia and New-Zealand tour having recently come to its conclusion, Amon Amarth will now begin writing new material for their next album. On this topic, the band states: "Our touring is done for this time, and even though we do have a couple of shows coming up this spring, our main effort will be writing and recording a new album. The plan is to return to Fascination Street Studios in May to record the new album, once again working with Jens Bogren as engineer and producer." We'll have to wait a bit longer for the album cover, title and tracklist to be released.

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Coheed And Cambria Announce Australian Tour Dates

In an effort to appease Australian fans, Coheed and Cambria, after pulling out of the Soundwave Festival at the last moment to tour the US with Linkin Park, have announced a March/April tour of four venues across the continent. Tickets will be available from 9am on Feburary 1st, and the dates and locations of the shows are as follows:

Sunday, March 30th - The Tivoli, Brisbane (18+)
Tickets from Ticketek or 132 849, Rockinghorse and Kill The Music.

Monday, March 31st - UNSW Roundhouse (Licensed All Ages)
Tickets from Ticketek

Tuesday, April 1st - Billboard The Venue, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets from Ticketek or 132 849, Billboard and Missing Link.

Thursday, April 3rd - Metro City, Perth (18+)
Tickets from BOCS, 78 Records, Planet Beat Music, and Moshtix and all Moshtix outlets.

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Satan's Host To Tour U.S.

Long-running Colorado metal band SATAN'S HOST, whose classic 1986 debut, "Metal from Hell", featured lead vocals by JAG PANZER's Harry Conklin, will team up with DRAWN AND QUARTERED for a U.S. tour in May/June. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:

May 16 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
May 21 - Kansas City, KS - The Static Bar
May 28 - Norman, OK - Studio 360
May 29 - Austin, TX - Room 710
May 30 - Amarillo, TX - The War Room
May 31 - Albuquerque, NM - The Launchpad (Gathering Of The Sick Festival)

SATAN'S HOST entered Flatline Audio studio in October to begin recording its new album, "Great American Scapegoat", for an early 2008 release via Moribund Records.

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Saattue Debut Reveal Album Artwork

Finnish metallers SAATTUE will release their debut album, "Jäähyvästi", on January 23 via Spikefarm Records. The CD was recorded at D-Studios in Klaukkala, Finland and includes "seven tracks of gloomy and heavy 'saattometal,'" according to a press release. Mastering duties were handled by Minerva Pappi at Finnvox studios in Helsinki. The album artwork was created by Kalle Pyyhtinen of Utudesign.

"Jäähyvästi" track listing:

01. Ikiuneen
02. Vieraaseen multaan
03. Luutarhuri
04. Hyiseen veteen
05. Jäähyvästi
06. Kaaosmaa
07. Varjojen saattue

Check out a sample of the song "Ikiuneen" on the band's MySpace page. More...

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Unleashed Reveal New Album Title

Swedish death metal veterans UNLEASHED have set "Hammer Battalion" as the title of their ninth full-length album, due later in the year via SPV Records. According to the band, "The result of the pre-production of the new album is very satisfying. . . The new UNLEASHED album will continue in the same victorious spirit as our previous album 'Midvinterblot'."

UNLEASHED's eighth full-length album, "Midvinterblot", was released in the U.S. on October 10, 2006 via SPV Records.

UNLEASHED's current lineup:

Johnny Hedlund: Bass, Vocals
Tomas Måsgard: Guitar
Fredrik Folkare: Guitar
Anders Schultz: Drums

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Unexpect Check in From Trail of Tears Tour

Montreal's "classical/black metal" act UNEXPECT has issued the following update:

"We already finished our first week of touring in the U.S. and all is going well! ECHOES OF ETERNITY and TRAIL OF TEARS are great guys to tour with and we can assume that the coming month of non-stop touring with them shall be an enjoyable one. The show we were supposed to do yesterday in Hartford has unfortunately been cancelled but you can be sure we'll be back eventually to give you a dose of musical wickedness."

"The legendary Quebec TV show 'Les Francs Tireurs' decided to dedicate one of their show to the Quebec metal scene and will pass a day with us, filming our next show in Montreal at the Foufounes Electriques on next January 23!! For those in the Montreal area, come in great numbers and let's show them a good slice of madness!" More...

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Devildriver Frontman Talks Down, Lyrics And More

The Metal Report recently spoke to Devildriver mainman Dez Fafara about numerous topics. An excerpt of the chat can be viewed below:

"You've drawn lyrical inspiration from various books in the past. What are some of your favorite titles?

Right now, I'm doing audio books, because it's easier for me to just lie in my bunk and listen when I'm on tour. I'm listening to an audio book right now on Socrates. I'm getting through his whole life and his whole philosophy on things. He was a strange cat; let me tell you. He used to walk the streets barefoot, rambling on and on, but people thought he was a genius. If you did that today, they'd just put you in jail. He had some wise things to say though.

That Greek school of thought established a lot.

Exactly. As far as a favorite book of all time, I don't have one. Literature has just kind of come and gone with me, but I couldn't nail it down to a favorite. I'm reading a good book right now on the Spartans and their society. It's called The Spartans. It's unbelievable, so we'll see where that goes.

That's a cool thread about the Ancient cultures you pull together.

Yeah, I love history. I love ancient culture. It fascinates me. Ancient religion fascinates me. I love to go back to the beginning and find out where we came from: the Babylonians, Sumerians and Egyptians. You can see who stole what from whom. You come to find out that Christmas is a pagan holiday. The pagans stole it from the Babylonians and Sumerians. I like tracing things back.

You can see how cyclical everything is.

Of course—you saw the way that modern day religion stole everything for money. The Egyptians did the same thing. You used to buy what you thought was a mummified cat to put as an offering, and it only had one real leg in there. They were just making money off religion back then too. There you go! What goes around comes around [laughs].

There are always trinkets being sold in the name of some deity. You're a wine connoisseur too if I'm not mistaken?

I don't know about a connoisseur [laughs]. I definitely know my grapes, and I know my wines. That's for sure. I love it. It's healthy and good for you. I haven't had a drop of hard alcohol in almost five months. I work out most of the time during the day when I can. I just find it a healthier way of existing and still catching a little bit of a buzz [laughs].

I know you're a fan of Elvis. From the love of classic crooners and wine, it seems like you've become the "refined metal head."

[Laughs] Well that's good! I don't know if it's that or it's that I just don't want to go out like those dudes did [laughs]. You better get healthy. Elvis is my boy, and I'm a huge fan.

Knowing your relationship with Phil Anselmo [Down, Pantera Vocalist], I have to ask, what do you think of the new Down record [III: Over the Under]?

I think it's the best of Phil's career. He fucking looks great. He's sober. People have to understand, he's not just a friend, but he's a brother. When I had no home in Coal Chamber, literally for years to live, that dude gave me his house and said, "Go ahead." He literally said, "Take my bedroom, I'm sleeping downstairs anyways." So, when you've got that kind of a friend behind you, it means something huge. We've been friends a long time. I think that this Down record is unbelievable. I think it's the rock record of the year. It should have been nominated for a Grammy. The fact that it's not and some other bands are listed pisses me off really bad. Dude, this is the best rock band out today, hands-down, and for it not to be a Grammy-nominee—I don’t see what's happening. If you're not looking at art like that—look at every individual player in that band, not just Phillip. Take Phillip out of the equation and just look at every individual player. Before we went to our record release party a couple months ago, Down was rehearsing for their Australian tour in the Valley. We took the tour bus over, and we went and watched a couple songs of the rehearsals. I mean, dude, they're such amazing players. So yeah, there's my rant on Down [laughs]. "

Read the full article at The Metal Report.

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Orden Ogan Reveal New Album Details

German power/folk german metallers ORDEN OGAN will release their second album, entitled "Vale", on February 22 via Yonah Records. "Vale" is the follow-up to the band's self-financed debut, "Testimonium A.D.", which came out in 2004.

"Vale" track listing:

01. Graves Bay
02. To New Shores of Sadness
03. Winds of Vale
04. Farewell
05. Reality Lost
06. This Is
07. This Was
08. Something Pretending
09. Lord of the Flies
10. And If You Do Right
11. What I'm Recalling
12. A Friend of Mine
13. Candle Lights

A couple of the album tracks are available for steraming on the band's MySpace page.

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The Ugly Sign To Dental Records

Stockholm, Sweden-based black metallers THE UGLY have inked a deal with Dental Records.

Commented the label in a statement, "Since we started Dental Records, we have always searched worldwide to find the right black metal band to join our ever-growing rooster of diversed metal. Believe it or not, the band that we finally found was in our own backyward. We welcome THE UGLY to the Dental family.

"This young band has huge potential to be the next leading black metal band hailing from Sweden. Take a dose of NIFELHEIM and DARK FUNERAL and mixed with their own sound and you get the idea of what the band is all about.

"The debut album will be recorded in Necromorbus studio (WATAIN, MÖRK GRYNING) in April, [and the] release is set [for] September." More...

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Diamond Head Guitarist Reveals Spinal Tap Moments

Get Ready To Roll! recently conducted an interview with DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Get Ready To Roll!: 2007 turned out to be a phenomenal year for DIAMOND HEAD, and especially a very exciting time for the fans as the tours with TESLA and THIN LIZZY seemed to pop up out of nowhere. How did these tours come about, and what have been the highlights of the last twelve months for you?

Tatler: We were in the right place at the right time, and of course able to say yes. You have to be on the radar to get gigs like this and we have been working hard for a number of years now to get to this posistion. The highlight was the THIN LIZZY tour — it was a great opportunity for DIAMOND HEAD and we all enjoyed it. It has been Ab's [guitarist Andy Abberley's] ambition to play Hammersmith Apollo and we did that so that's one off the list!

Get Ready To Roll!: The reviews of "What's In Your Head" have been very encouraging. How did that album come together?

Tatler: Nick and I started writing songs back in March 2005 and continued until we went into the studio September 2006. We had about thirteen days when we could use Dave "Shirt" Nicholls as he was on tour with STONE SOUR, and then we had November and December to finish writing the last few songs before Shirt came back at the end of January to record and mix the rest of the album. It took about 19 days to record and five days to mix, not including Karl's drums. He recorded the drums himself in San Francisco and sent them over on DVDs.

Get Ready To Roll!: DIAMOND HEAD albums have always shown progression — "Canterbury" was a massive departure from "Borrowed Time", your 1993 album "Death & Progress" was contemporary with the time, as are "All Will Be Revealed" and "What's In Your Head" — they all retain characteristic DIAMOND HEAD trademarks without sounding dated. How far are you influenced by current bands when you write?

Tatler: I try not to be influenced by current bands but little bits do creep into the writing process, and sometimes you need a point of reference when you're trying a new song out. It's a bit like...so that others can get a handle on it. It's interesting that I can take a snippet of an idea from another band and once the song is finished no one can spot where the original idea came from.

Get Ready To Roll!: Tell us some of your funniest "Spinal Tap" moments.

Tatler: We have had a few where we cannot find the stage from the dressing room. I remember once we played a gig up north in some cinema type place and there were loads of plant pots round the front of the stage so one of us said "You will have to move these," to which the theatre manager replied, "It was good enough for Roy Castle".... And one time the intro tape came on while we were still getting ready and we all panicked and quickly pulled on our trousers and ran onstage and played an awful gig. We would sleep in the back of the van sometimes when we could not find a B+B, and after one cold night Duncan was stuck to the steel floor — his sweat had frozen him to the floor of the van!

Read the full article at Get Ready To Roll.

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Forbidden To Play At New York's TMT Metal Festival

Reunited San Francisco Bay Area metallers FORBIDDEN have been added to the TMT Metal Festival, set to take place July 18-20 at the Skyview Drag Strip in Tioga Center, upstate New York. The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

FORBIDDEN
FLOTSAM and JETSAM
RAVEN
HELSTAR
CHRIS CAFFERY
ATTACKER
DEATHRIDERS (feat. Neil Turbin)
HATRED
"METAL" MIKE CHLASCIAK

FORBIDDEN has already announced several West Coast dates and European festival appearances. Russ Anderson (vocals), Craig Locicero (guitar), Matt Camacho (bass) and Glen Alvelais (guitar), along with special guest drummer Gene Hoglan (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, TESTAMENT, DEATH, DARK ANGEL) will bring something that so many of their peers, old-school fans and especially the younger generation of fans that never got to see FORBIDDEN live have been asking for: a FORBIDDEN reunion!

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Overkill Confirmed For Bloodstock Open Air

In a posting on the official Bloodstock website, legendary thrashers Overkill have been confirmed to play the festival alongside other acts such as Opeth, Dimmu Borgir and more. The post on the site reads as follows:

"The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that New York thrash veterans OVERKILL have been added to the bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2008."

The band recently released their latest album "Immortalis" to a strong critical acclaim.

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Paint It Black, Strike Anywhere Tour Dates

Paint It Black will team up with Strike Anywhere and Riverboat Gamblers for hand full of East Coast shows in early-March. Here are the latest tour dates:

3/1 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
3/2 Providence, RI @ Living Room
3/3 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East
3/4 Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
3/5 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
3/6 Washington DC @ Black Cat
3/7 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peppermint Beach Club

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No Truce and Crucified Sign To Escapist Records

Escapist Records has announced the addition of two of California's most promising hardcore bands to its roster: No Truce and Crucified. The two bands will be teaming up for a split CD/Digital EP. No Truce hail from Salinas, CA and deliver a punishing blend of metal-tinged hardcore with influences ranging from Buried Alive, Madball, Integrity, and Sick of it All. Crucified call the North Bay of California home and draw influence from All Out War, Merauder, and Ringworm as they unleash blistering metallic hardcore.

The split CD was recorded, mixed, and mastered with Andy Kugler and Sam Pura at The Panda Studios (Heavy Heavy Low Low, These Days, Lose None). Artwork and layout for the release is currently being developed by Ryan Patterson of Auxiliary Design (Coliseum, Deathcycle, The Suicide File). Look for a release in the coming months and extensive touring in support throughout the year. In the meantime, you can preview a song from each artist from the upcoming split at the Escapist Records Myspace.

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Stick To Your Guns, Veil Of Maya Tour Dates

The previously announced Stick To Your Guns West Coast tour dates will include Veil Of Maya, and The Ghost Inside. The following dates have been confirmed so far:

2/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Cell Block
2/15 Westlake, CA @ Kung Foo Corner
2/16 Livermore, CA @ The Burros
2/17 Santa Cruz, CA @ The 418
2/18 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
2/19 Spokane, WA @ The Blvd
2/20 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
2/21 Boise, ID @ The Venue
2/23 Stockton, CA @ Empire Theatre

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Children Of Bodom Reveal New Album Artwork

CHILDREN OF BODOM fan site Scythes Of Bodom has unveiled the cover artwork for the group's forthcoming album, "Blooddrunk", due in Europe on April 7, 2008 via Spinefarm Records (two days later in Finland). Check it out at this location.

"Blooddrunk" was recorded and produced by Mikko Karmila at Petrax and Finnvox studios in Finland during October, November and December 2007, except vocals, which were recorded by Peter Tägtren, and keyboards, which were recorded by Janne Wirman at Petrax studios, Finland, during October, November and December 2007. The CD was mixed at Finnvox by Mikko Karmila in November 2007 and it was mastered at Finnvox by Mika Jussila in December 2007.

"Blooddrunk" track listing:

01. Hellhounds On My Trail
02. Blooddrunk
03. LoBodomy
04. One Day You Will Cry
05. Smile Pretty For The Devil
06. Tie My Rope
07. Done With Everything, Die For Nothing
08. Banned From Heaven
09. Roadkill Morning

CHILDREN OF BODOM will release a new single, "Blooddrunk", in Finland on February 27, 2008 (March 3 in the rest of Europe).

The band recently traveled to Germany to film two videos, both of which were produced by Katapult Filmproduktion.

Speaking to Revolver magazine, CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho stated about the songwriting process for "Blooddrunk", "This time we wanted to make things more difficult. So I've been including some progressive sounds. Not in an annoying way, though; if we do progressive music, we want people to actually listen to it. We won't become a DEPECHE MODE cover band. If we ever get tired of playing metal. That's the end of CHILDREN OF BODOM."

He added, "We rehearsed all day, then I'd come home and start fucking around with the guitar and a four-track until 6 a.m. Then I'd wake up and do it all again until I was completely wrecked. This time it was really laid back, and that allowed me to be more creative."

According to an article in the November 2007 issue of the Finnish magazine Soundi, CHILDREN OF BODOM laid down cover versions of the following songs during the recording sessions for "Blooddrunk":

"War Inside My Head" (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" (CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL)
"Just Dropped In" (KENNY ROGERS)
"Ghost Riders In The Sky" (STAN JONES)

CHILDREN OF BODOM will join MEGADETH, IN FLAMES, JOB FOR A COWBOY and HIGH ON FIRE for this year's Gigantour in North America.

Two songs from CHILDREN OF BODOM — "Angels Don't Kill" and "In Your Face" — are featured on the "Unholy Alliance Tour" DVD, which was released on October 30, 2007 via American Recordings. The set features the the "Unholy Alliance Tour: Preaching to the Perverted" lineup — SLAYER, LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, CHILDREN OF BODOM and THINE EYES BLEED. The DVD has an approximate running time of 90 minutes.

The "Unholy Alliance Tour" DVD was shot at Vancouver's General Motors Place on July 13, 2006, was directed by Adam Rothlein (Speedway Films), and boasts performance footage plus bonus material to include backstage, behind-the-scenes and one-on-one interviews, many of which were conducted by the Unholy Alliance artists themselves

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Dragonforce Guitarist Reveals Signature Guitar

DRAGONFORCE guitarist Herman Li has inveiled his new Ibanez E-Gen signature guitar. He has offered the following comments:

"The Ibanez E-Gen is THE electric guitar of the new generation. Fusing incredible diverse tones, playability and innovation into one single beautiful instrument. This is the slickest guitar I have ever played, now I can take my guitar skills to the next level. From crystal clear sounds to shredding ripping metal, the E-Gen does it all!"

Full Specifications:
Model -- EGEN18TVF
Neck -- 5pc Maple/Walnut 24-fret neck
Neck Type -- E-Gen Prestige
Body -- Mahogany body with flamed maple top
Frets -- Jumbo frets
Fingerboard -- Rosewood
Inlays -- Oval Abalone
Bridge -- Edge-Zero bridge - E-Gen Custom
Neck PU -- DiMarzio® HLM (H) neck pickup
Middle PU -- DiMarzio® HLM (S) mid pickup
Bridge PU -- DiMarzio® HLM (H) bridge pickup
Hardware Colour -- Gold
Colour -- TVF (Transparent Violet Flame)
Switching System -- Nine pickup configurations for versatile tone from super clean to extreme metal.

Go to this location for more details and images.

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Epicurean To Release Metal Blade Debut in March

Minneapolis, Minnesota's Epicurean is set to release their Metal Blade Records debut titled A Consequence of Design on March 4th 2008. The band will be touring up to and through the release of A Consequence of Design with dates already scheduled in the Midwest and Canada. Epicurean utilizes a feverish twin guitar attack, viciously heavy vocals mixed with clean melodic vocals, a brutal rhythm section, and keyboards to create their brand of unique symphonic, yet aggressive music.

Check out the track Lithograph off the bands upcoming release A Consequence of Design here. More...

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From Almost The End Begin Work on Debut Album

UK metallers, From Almost The End, issue the following update on their Myspace page:

"Hey Kids,"

"Due to a heavy year of gigging in 2007 F.A.T.E have decided to take the first few months of 2008 to write some new material and get to work on releasing their debut album."

"Updates on how the writing and recording process will be posted online in time."

"All you need to know at the moment kids is that F.A.T.E are not dead, despite being very quiet at the moment, we are simply working on some new shizzle to burn balls off with ;)"

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