Prymary Recruits Former Bassist For Live Shows

California's Prymary has issued the following update about recruiting their former bassist James Sherwood to perform live duties:

"Hello Everyone, hope all is well. We are really gearing up for our upcoming show at 'The Glass House' and are looking forward to it. You can order tickets for will call pick-up on the day of the show by going to this location and ordering through Paypal for $10. Otherwise it is $15.00 at the door. We are extremely pleased to be able to offer you discount pricing at this time. The tickets will be available the night of the show.

"On another note, we have to announce that due to scheduling conflicts, Rob Young will not be able to play live with us. Rob's contributions to the live sound of the band will be greatly missed but the show must go on as they say. Therefore former Prymary bassist James Sherwood will be coming in to fill the position. We look forward to playing with James again and it will definitely be a fun night. Thank you everyone for your support."

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Allanon Issues Recording Update

Idaho metallers Allanon have issued the following update about recording their upcoming self-titled demo:

"A little update about the demo. We are going to be re-doing a few parts on 'Embrace The Flames' and we have more sick ass parts for that song just need to put them together plus were going to start working on the other two tracks on the demo. We have a few parts for both of the song there just not put in complete order and not recorded so keep an eye out for one of the new previews we may have a new preview in a week or two plus maybe a full song! P.S. we still need a drummer and a key player."

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Jane's Addiction Not on GNR S. American Tour Dates

Guns N' Roses has denied that Jane's Addiction will be playing with them on their South American leg of the Chinese Democracy World Tour. "Sometimes agents n' promoters get carried away w/things on their own" stated the band on their Twitter account. "R apologies 4 any confusion. Happy New Year!!"

In a more general update, Axl Recently posted the following new year's message:

"Happy New Year to Everyone!!

"For most '09 was a rough one n' unfortunately for many that's obviously a bit more than an understatement.

"Here's to a better go at things here in 2010, a light at the end of the tunnel, a bit of hope n' a better future for all!!

"Remember: Whatever your road in life is, how spot on or far off course you may be you damn well made it this far!!

"Congratu-fuckin'-lations!!

"Give yourself a big phat pat on the fucking back!!

"May you find whatever it is that you n' your's need most in your lives.

"Thanks again for your support!!

"God Bless n' Take Care!!

"All the best...

"(You bunch o' downloadin' motherfuckers!!),

"Peace!!"

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2 Sides 2 Die Previews New Song, "Fatal Flaw"

2 Sides 2 Die has uploaded a preview of their new song "Fatal Flaw" to MySpace video. Check it out below.

As previously reported, the band recently announced Chris Blaise as their new guitarist. The band has a few shows scheduled for 2010, with more to come. Here are the latest live dates:

Mar 11, 2010 6:00P - Hot Topic (Acoustic performance), Hagerstown, Maryland
Mar 13, 2010 12:00P - Skull City Station (Battle of Bands), Sheperdstown, West Virginia
Apr 2, 2010 5:00P - Rocket Music and Guitars, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Apr 3, 2010 5:00P - Skull City Station, Sheperdstown, West Virginia

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Testament To Perform "The Legacy" In Full

In a recent interview with KNAC.com, Chuck Billy, the lead vocalist of Bay Area based thrash metal legends Testament, revealed that the band will be performing their debut album, "The Legacy" from start to finish when they hit the road with Megadeth and Slayer as part of the American Carnage tour later this year. An excerpt from the interview reads as follows:

KNAC.com: What are you doing to gear up for the tour?

Billy: "We’ve been rehearsing, just getting a set down. I treat it like a boxing fight, like I’m going to have a fight in a month. I hit the gym, I’m running (laughs), and I’m doing the whole thing. I’m looking at it like I’m going into a fight. I’m mentally and physically getting prepared for it. We feel pretty good. Last night we just made a crucial decision, so you’re going to be the first exclusive to hear. We decide last night that instead of putting - because we only have a 40-minute set to pick - instead of playing a medley of songs, we decided we’re going to do the entire The Legacy record, start to finish, in its entirety for the show. We did it last year, over in Holland, and then we did a show in London. And that show we did The Legacy and The New Order back to back, just like on the records, song after song. It was awesome. It was such an awesome deal. It turned out way better than we thought. It was killer. So, we were rehearsing for this tour, and at one point we were like, 'Man, we’re not playing this and we’re not playing that. Ah, shit. We only got 40 minutes; you can only play eight songs, so it’s tough to pick eight songs. We’re leaving so many good ones out.' And we were like, 'You know what? Since we’ve already toured a year and a half with PRIEST, we did our own headline, we did so much stuff out there, why don’t we go out there and do something different? We’ll give ‘em a whole different stage look…let’s give ‘em The Legacy album, start to finish.' It’s a nostalgic kind of tour, so why not?"

Read the full article at KNAC.com.

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Depth To Begin Recording New Album Soon

Kuwait death metal band Depth has issued the following update:

"We're expecting to record the second Depth Album later this month, the band's style has somewhat changed since the Depth EP but there's a single featuring vocals from Nocturna's Sarj that'll definitely impress all you older Depth fans!"

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The Gathering Posts "No Bird Call" Music Video

The Gathering has posted a music video online for the track "No Bird Call," which can be viewed below. The band also issued the following statement:

"Dearest friends, we want to thank all you nice people that has supported and followed us through 2009; a very exciting year for us here in The Gathering.

"We are truly grateful and it means a lot to us that we had such a nice response on The West Pole and the new line up of The Gathering! We are very much looking forward to another eventful year with touring lots of countries and meeting many of you friends and fans playing and sharing our common interest: music. When all the snow came down here before Christmas we used the opportunity to enjoy it making a brand new little video for No Bird Call. You can see it below." More...

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Abalam Reveals New Album Artwork

U.K. black metallers Abalam have issued the following update about revealing the cover artwork for their new album:

"Abalam is most pleased to unveil the artwork for 'Thy Eternal Sin.' The artist is Rafael Garrido. who we believe has a very very exciting career and future to look forward to. Abalam is both proud and honoured to work with Rafael. Infernal Hails Rafael our Brother of Eternal Darkness."

"Thy Eternal Sin" is set for release on January 31st, 2010. Samples of Abalam's music can also be heard at their MySpace page.

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FullForce Parts Ways With Bassist

Sweden's FullForce has issued the following update about parting ways with their bassist:

"We're sad to announce that bass player Magnus Rosén have decided to leave FULLFORCE. The reason for this is that Magnus have come to a situation where he feels he have too much projects going on and he feels he don't have any time left to dedicate to FULLFORCE since FULLFORCE is a real band and no project. He wishes FULLFORCE all the best for the future and the band wishes Magnus all the best with his music, projects and everything else.

"Nonetheless we have a few bass players in mind that we're talking to right now in order to replace Magnus so, very soon we will be able to announce a new bass player who most likely will be a quite well known name. In other and more positive news we'd like to let you know that Anders Johansson have recorded the drums for around 7 songs when this blog is being written. He will be finished with his recordings within a few weeks. Have a great new year and keep yourself up to date here cause, more news will follow shortly... All the best: FULLFORCE"

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Fleurety Issues Recording Update

Norwegian metallers Fleurety have issued the following statement about recording a new song:

"Another year, another recording. New song recorded, the title is 'It's when you're cold.' Sounds kinda like a mixture of Fleurety anno 1993 with a healthy dose of Fleurety anno 1998 with a hint of Fleurety anno 2009. Line up: Alexander Nordgaren (guitars, bass) Wincent Wager (drums), Svein egil Hatlevik (vocals)."

Samples of Fleurety's music can also be found at the band's MySpace page.

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Hatchet Dawn Streaming New Sample Track

Hatchet Dawn have issued the following update about streaming a new sample track online:

"Celebrating an eventful 2009 an album sample track has been posted on the Hatchet Dawn MySpace containing various snippets of the bands newest material recorded during initial album pre-production sessions in July 2009. These are not finished or completed versions of the new material but are mealy a sneak preview of the intended direction and creative diversity the band is planning to show on the debut Hatchet Dawn album due out in 2010.

"Hatchet Dawn have begun in early 2010 working on additional new material to expand the list of potential new songs to be considered for release on the debut album, along with reworking ideas on the bands image & cosmetic concept to begin molding the next chapter in the Hatchet Dawn evolution."

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Heathen Posts Samples Of Entire New Album

San Francisco's Heathen have posted audio samples of all the tracks from their "The Evolution of Chaos" album. The samples can be heard here (website is in Japanese but song titles are in English). "The Evolution Of Chaos" was released in Japan on December 23, 2009 via King Records. The CD will be made available on January 25, 2010 in Europe and March 31, 2010 in the U.S. via Holland's Mascot Records.

The track listing for "The Evolution Of Chaos" is as follows:

1. Dying Season
2. Control By Chaos
3. No Stone Unturned
4. Arrows Of Agony
5. Fade Away
6. A Hero's Welcome
7. Undone
8. Bloodkult
9. Red Tears Of Disgrace
10. Silent Nothingness

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Neaera Cancels Turkey Tour Date

German metallers Neaera have issued the following update about working on new material and canceling their upcoming Turkey show:

"Hello folks, first of all we wanna wish all of you a Happy New Year! Hope everyone made it healthy and safely through the celebrations. We would also like to thank you deeply for your ongoing support in 2009!!! You guys are amazing. We are currently working on new material and on our show schedule for 2010, and we hope to see many familiar and new faces at all of the upcoming concerts and festivals.

"Unfortunately, we have to announce to the Neaera supporters in Turkey that the Istanbul show which was scheduled for Friday, January 8th, has been canceled. However, the concert is very likely to be rescheduled for a date sometime at the end of March of this year. instead of playing a single concert we will most likely play a series of Turkey shows, so please stay tuned for news. As soon as new dates are fixed, we will post them here on our website. Thank you all and have a bangin' 2010 everybody!!!"

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Syrach Posts Berlin Photos Online

Norwegian doom metallers Syrach have posted a series of photographs online from their live show in Berlin on October 30th. The Berlin stop of the tour saw Syrach performing alongside both Trouble and Pentagram. The pictures can be viewed at this location. Syrach is also currently streaming three sample tracks online. The songs "Curse the Souls," "The River's Rage," and "The Firm Grip of Death" can be heard at the Syrach MySpace page.

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Tristania Prepares To Record New Album

Gothic metallers Tristania have issued the following brief year-end update and announcement about recording a new album:

"Happy new year! As we move into the new year, we are closer than ever to the recording and the release of the next Tristania album! We want to thank every single one of you for your support, interest and patience. News on the recording process will follow in the coming weeks! Take care!"

Sample Tristania tracks are currently available for streaming via the band's MySpace page.

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Column

Sunday Old School: Cathedral

A few weeks ago, we took a look at British grindcore legends Napalm Death and saw that several bands related to them have become legends in their own right. This week we take a look at one of these bands, in the form of Lee Dorrian's legendary doom metal outfit Cathedral. Cathedral were formed in Coventry, in the Midlands area of England in 1989 but had already earned a degree of underground fame as the bands lead vocalist Lee Dorrian had been the singer of Napalm Death beforehand and guitarist Garry Jennings was previously a member of British thrash metal outfit Acid Reign, who had reached the number ten spot on the U.K. Indie album charts with their debut album, "The Fear." The band were much different from their associated acts and were more inspired from the slower metal bands such as The Obsessed and Black Sabbath than Motorhead and Kreator. After recruiting bass player Mark Griffiths (a Carcass roadie) and drummer Mike Smail, the band recorded their first album, "Forest Of Equilibrium" which is now regarded as a classic in the genre of doom metal. The album featured extremely slow and long songs, which took fans of the British underground scene by complete surprise at the time and left the band with a mixed reception when they performed shows with the likes of Entombed, Carcass and Confessor.

The band followed this impressive debut with "The Ethereal Mirror" (which had a number of working titles including "Decadence and Journey Into Jade) in 1993 and once again received critical acclaim, with some media refering to the band as "the next big thing in metal." The album also saw the band experiment more with their sound, fusing a stoner rock influence with their doom laden grind. The album also produced two music videos in the shape of "Ride" and "Midnight Mountain" which received some negative feedback from fans as they were quite light hearted in nature. The band took on two new members after this release, with bass player Leo Smee and drummer Brian Dixon and released yet another outstanding album on September 26th 1995 in the form of "The Carnival Bizzare." The album featured the song, "Hopkins (Witchfinder General)" which has become one of the bands best known songs and a staple of their live set. The song also received a music video that included clips from the Vincent Price movie "Witchfinder General" as well as the band performing in a tongue in cheek fasion. The album also boasted a guest guitar solo from Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi on the song, "Utopian Blaster."

Cathedral have continued to tour the world and record albums ever since and have cemented their place as true legends in the field of doom and stoner metal by releasing more well received albums such as "Caravan Beyond Redemption" and "The VIIth Coming." Fans of the band are expecting 2010 to be another great year for Cathedral when they release a new studio album entitled, "The Guessing Game" in March, which likely include a world tour to help promote the record. Doom on! More...

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In This Moment To Enter The Studio Next Month

In This Moment has announced that they will be entering the studio next month to record their third album. A message from the band reads as follows:

"First things first...

"Thank you to all our friends/fans/family that came out and supported us on our first headlining tour, we have been on a crazy roller coaster ride since 2006 and we owe it all to you, thank you! We are going into 2010 with a recharged spirit and a whole new attitude. At the moment we are still writing songs for our third album and we are really happy with what we have so far. The plan is to start recording in mid-February with Kevin Churko and have everything done by June in time for a summer release. We have some really exciting summer tour plans that we cant wait to tell you about really soon.

"As far as direction for the new album everyone in the band is feeling a heavier/ darker vibe. We want the lush production and melodic layers from the The Dream with the raw power and aggression from Beautiful Tragedy all mixed together. We are the kind of band that musically does what we want, from the heart, we do not follow trends or fads, the new ITM album will be no exception. We are writing from our heart and I can promise you what you hear from us next will be 100% THE REAL DEAL, no flavor of the week bullshit here. We are counting on you, our friends/fans/family to keep spreading the word, get people excited, get everyone fired up for round 3! We wouldn't be anything without our fans!

"Much love and luck for 2010, here's to all your dreams becoming reality!"

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Iron Maiden Completes Eight New Songs

According to American radio host Eddie Trunk, British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden has completed eight songs for their forthcoming fifteenth studio album. A message from Trunk reads as follows:

"Got a call from Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain last night (January 1st). Nicko just opened a new restaurant in Florida called Rock & Roll Ribs. Said it's gone well and he is planning an official grand opening soon. Nicko also told me Maiden are headed into the studio in a couple weeks to start work on a new CD. He said there was about eight songs written so far so the band would probably need to come up with a few more new songs while recording. Said the material was a little different than past albums and they were taking their time with the recording schedule. New CD probably won't come out until 2011 however a good chance of some Maiden live shows over the summer. I'll keep you posted as I learn more and can share. Nicko will be coming on the radio shows soon to update us on all fronts. Always fun to talk with him, real good guy."

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