CDC Frontman Departs

Kaelin McIntyre, vocalist for Pennsylvania hardcore outfit CDC has left the group. According to an official statement, "the rest of the band felt that there was just too much Kaelin couldnt do that we needed to be done." Bassist Kevin Thomas will take over vocal duties for the time being and potentially for any future tours while original vocalist Brooke Swartz will be recording the vocals for the band's forthcoming EP, "Defy The Odds."

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Bloodlined Calligraphy Loses Singer and Drummer

Michigan hardcore/metal band Bloodlined Calligraphy has lost the services of both singer Ally French and drummer Matt Carter. The remaining members of the group have issued the following statement:

"During our last tour Carter decided touring life at this level is not for him. He has a lot on his plate at home that needs to be taken care of. And we all understand that. He decided this with 4 shows left to play. He really helped us out by playing all 4 of the shows and even offering to show the new drummer the parts. After 10 years of being in musical project together he will be missed, but this is best for everyone involved.

VS. The day before we left for this current tour, I recieved a TEXT MESSAGE from Ally saying that she wasnt going on tour with us. The day before we leave. She has decided to move to Oklahoma with her husband. Which is fine. But to let us know the day before we leave when we were home for 2 weeks, which would have given us plenty of time to get a fill in all ready to go and clear their schedule to leave town for 6 weeks, is just whack. There's no other way around it. Oh well, Best of luck to her.

So with that said, we will still be going out on this tour. We have friends who were willing to come out and help us get through this trying time. What we need from you guys is all the support we can get in this situation. We need you guys to come out and support the people that have basically saved Ryan, Shawn and Myselfs lives. It will be different for this tour but i gurantee you that we will come out 100 times stronger with these changes. Trust me, as a memeber of this band they are both for the better. We are all excited and looking forward to starting this new chapter in BLC. Know this though. THIS IS NOT OVER!!!!. We have come too far in this band to let this stop us. So as long as you guys are here for us, we will be there for you, and like i said, the next chapter of BLC is gonna be brutal. So stick with us. You won't be dissapointed."

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The Showdown Confirms New Drummer, Tour Dates

The Showdown have announced the permanent addition of A.J. Barrette, former drummer of Still Remains, to their lineup. Here's the the official word:

"It might come as a suprise to some, but anyone that has seen us since July at Purple Door knows that A.J. Barrette Has taken over the duties of Power Drums. For several years, many of you might have seen him playing with Still Remains, however now he is slammin' with us! He is tribal metal to the BONE and we are Proud to have him Jammin' in the showdown bit crew. As for andrew...Andrew Hall is back in school (stay in school kidz) and pursing his life out side of the band, and we support him 777% You will be able to catch him next year on WWE, and no doubt the showdown will be his theme music!"

In other news, The Showdown will be hitting the road with Pillar and Day Of Fire later this month. Here are those tour dates: More...

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Report

All That Remains Play Oklahoma City

I got set to interview All That Remains at around 6:30 (video and transcript comming soon). Phil wasnt feeling well so I interviewed Oli. He was awesome and gave a good 10-minute interview.

I got on the front row literally 4-5 feet from the band and stage, which is an awesome way to see a concert. Horse the Band came on-stage first. They are a 5 piece (keyboardist being the odd part) and were all fairly young guys. I've heard of Horse before but had never found the time to listen to them. Unfortunatly they had mic problems and you could barely hear the singer, even with how close I was to the band. The music was good, but the keyboards were mediocre and made you wish they would just play music. In many songs they left space for a keyboard-solo, which was kind of boring. The crowd was pretty into them, especially during "Anti-pizza." They played a 6 song set, but during their last 2 songs the bass player's equipment broke, and caused a lot more problems. I felt bad for them, as they were quite decent despite the problems and keyboardist.

After a long pause to fix equipment and finally All That Remains got on stage. The crowd was totally into them, and it seemed like they should have been the headliners. They started off with "For Salvation" and Phil was really on fire. He was flying around the stage and playing to the crowd really well. He displayed a lot of charisma, which ignited the crowd. They promised a half-and-half 8 song set and really delivered. They played Death In My Arms, Air That I Breathe, It Dwells In Me, Weak Willed, Tattered on My Sleeve, This Darkened Heart and This Calling. The set was amazing and they left a 5 minute slot for Oli to show off his guitar prowess.

Unfortunatly I had work the next day and had to leave before Dragonforce got to play any songs. Thankfully I went for All That Remains and was not disapointed.

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Kittie Issues Studio Update

KITTIE drummer Mercedes Lander has issued the following update:

"As you all may have guessed we are back from [the recording studio in] New Jerssey and our new album is all finished. I must say that it sounds absolutely amazing and I think you all will be as pleased as we are with the finished album. I can't wait for you all to hear it, but that won't happen until at least March of 2007. Also be on the lookout for new updated on the track listing and album title in the near future. We will be putting up some full songs on our MySpace page hopefully soon so you guys can have a taste of whats to come with the new album. On top of that, Morgan [Lander, guitar/vocals] and I have been working with a very talented artist and are in the process of putting the finishing touches on some killer album artwork, so be on the look out for a preview of that as well.

"Thank you guys so much for all the amazing feedback we have been getting from the demo clips we put up a while back. Those songs will be on the new album, so dont fret."

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At The Gates To Release Limited Edition LP

The all-time classic ‘Slaughter Of The Soul’ from Swedish death-metallers At The Gates is being released as a Limited Picture LP throughout the UK and Europe on October 16th. This exclusive vinyl release (1500 copies) contains timelessly brutal tracks taken from the original 1995 record plus six added tracks, as yet unreleased on vinyl.

This limited edition picture LP serves as a memorial to the band’s legendary power-fuelled, raw sound, which became the blueprint for Swedish Death Metal. With original artwork designed by Kristian Wahlin this release is a definite collectors item.

The full tracklisting for the LP is as follows:

01. Blinded by Fear
02. Slaughter of the Soul
03. Cold
04. Under A Serpent Sun
05. Into the Dead Sky
06. Suicide Nation
07. World of Lies
08. Unto Others
09. Nausea
10. Need
11. The Flames of the End
12. Legion (Slaughterlord cover)
13. The Dying (unreleased track)
14. Captor of Sin (Slayer cover)
15. Unto Others ('95 Demo)
16. Suicide Nation ('95 Demo)
17. Bister Verklighet (No Security cover)

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The Darkness Frontman Call It Quits

The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins quit the British rockers yesterday, after successfully undergoing rehab for alcohol and drug problems. The "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" star has been clean of cocaine and alcohol for nine weeks, and feels he just can't live the rock 'n' roll lifestyle any more.

Hawkins' former bandmates - including his guitarist brother Dan - plan to continue without him, despite poor sales of second album One Way Ticket To Hell And Back. He says, "I feel bad for the others, but I can't do it any more."

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Angela Gossow Comments On The End of Gigantour

Although the Gigantour isn't over yet (we will be meeting up with Megadeth, Lamb Of God and Opeth in Japan and Australia again), I got the end of tour blues. I had to say good-bye to a lot of wonderful people already. I am sitting in a stupid hotel room at Orlando airport. I feel lonely, I miss the tourbus and always having somebody around. No laughter and music pouring through the aircon whilst I am trying to fall asleep. This room isn't moving. And it is way too big for me. I cant relax here.

I want to be in Japan NOW. And I don't really want to go back to Sweden. I don't miss home anymore. I don't need 4 rooms, stuffed wardrobes, cupboards and a big TV. I never owned a car anyway. All I need to be well fits into one bag. No drama, no worries, just the road, the bus, the venue, cool people.

The last couple of days were intense. We had the guitar contest winner R. Kelly (yes, this is REALLY his name! Ryan Kelly!) on stage with us in Tampa, Florida. He is 17 year old, from Seattle. And nailed that "Ravenous" solo without throwing up or fainting on stage. I would have done both simultaneously. This young man has nerves of steel! (Read the full story here.)

The Gigantour crew finally shot the live footage for the upcoming DVD in Sunrise, Florida. We gave it all, so it should turn out killer!

Orlando was the last Gigantour show in the US. We have almost a week off now until Loud Park festival, Tokyo. I thought I'd give it all and scream my voice to pieces that night. I really went for it, but didn't succeed. My voice doesn't even have a scratch. I have been absolutely careless with my voice on this tour. Drinking wine and sitting up talking nonsense to 5 in the morning. No voice rest. Fuck all this. My voice is doing better than ever. I hope Melissa isn't reading this..

To everybody I met at the shows/signings, shared dressing rooms, thoughts and drinks with: Thank you for being so nice and patient with me! I have had a wonderful time in the U.S. .. again! I love your friendliness, passion and your wholefoods markets! I will miss you A LOT!

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Ex-Snot/Soulfly Guitarist To Launch Record Label

Ex-Snot/Soulfly guitarist Mikey Doling is proud to announce the formation of his new label GridIron Records. The label is a joint venture between Doling, Kyle Turley, (Offensive tackle for Kansas City Chiefs), Max Harris and former Snot manager Nic Adler.

“I was on tour with Pantera and had just got off stage in New Orleans. I’m on the bus drinking beers and Kyle Turley, who at the time was an offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, comes on the bus and says ‘Who's the guy from Snot?”, remembers ex-Snot/Soulfly guitarist Mikey Doling. “So I raised my hand like a school boy thinking he was gonna kick my ass for something Lynn or I did in the past, but he freaked because he was a huge Snot fan. From there on we’ve been really good friends.”

“There's so many great bands out there that are amazing but if you’re not the trend of the week you don’t have a chance of getting a record deal,” continues Doling. “I was getting frustrated seeing all these great bands without a record deal and I asked Kyle to start up a label with me and here we are. We’re going full force and we're signing good bands with serious talent, devoid of trends.”

The first two records released from the label will be psychedelic rockers The Hairbrain Scheme and Doling’s own Invitro, a new project he put together with ex-members of Los Angeles based The Wizards. Both artists will release their debut album through the label in early 2007.

The label is also in negotiations with a number of other artists including LA thrash metal outfit Instinct of Aggression and Asesino, the new death metal project featuring Dino Cazares (ex- Fear Factory) and Tony Campos (Static X). Asesino’s debut album, “Cristo Satanico”, is also slated to feature guest appearances by Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) and Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed).

GridIron Records recently launched a MySpace site at and has uploaded tracks from Invitro and The Hairbrain Scheme on their MySpace page.

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Vote For Bullet For My Valentine

Bullet For My Valentine is currently up for "Whose Next", the yahoo award for breaking new bands in the U.S. You can vote for them here : http://music.yahoo.com/promos/whosnext/

Also, if you havent already checked out their videos for 'Tears Dont Fall' and 'All These Things I Hate' you can do so while voting.

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The Minor Times Post Update

Here's the latest update from Pennslyvania's hardcore stalwarts, THE MINOR TIMES: "So here’s the latest on the new record… it’s going to be pushed back again. We’re very sorry. Due to several circumstances, we will not enter the studio until mid or late November. The good news is that we think the record is going to rock! We’re very happy with all of the songs we have and we’re still writing new songs since it’s going so well. We made a demo of 11 songs last Sunday. We still need to put vocals over them (Brendan hasn’t been feeling well). But we promised we would put something up on http://www.mypsace.com/theminortimes, so we’re going to keep that promise. Speaking of which, that is still currently our main website for current news. We’re still having a little trouble with http://www.theminortimes.com, hence, no updates."

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Another Cradle of Filth Video Is Posted Online

Cradle Of Filth's new video for the track Temptation has been posted online here.

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Upcoming Family Values CD and DVD Releases

The upcoming separately released live CD and live DVD outings that capture this years run of "The Family Values Tour" will see a December 26th release date through Firm Music. According to the press release, "the CD and DVD will feature live tracks from Korn and the Deftones, as well as select cuts from all the bands on the bill: Stone Sour, Flyleaf, Dir en grey, 10 Years, Deadsy, Bury Your Dead, Bullets and Octane and Walls of Jericho. Highlights include: one-of-a-kind duets, acoustic tracks and cover songs including a special appearance from Richard Patrick (Army of Anyone, Filter)."

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Napalm Death Add More Dates On Current Tour

More stops have been released for Napalm Death's upcoming "Death By Decibels" run with A Life Once Lost, Dead To Fall and Animosity, here's the latest to be added:

November 24th Levittown, NY - Club Ritual
November 27th Mokena, IL - The Pearl Room
November 30th Salt Lake City, UT - The Ritz Club
December 02nd Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
December 03rd Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
December 05th San Francisco, CA - The Pound
December 06th Orangevale, CA - The Boardwalk
December 07th Santa Ana, CA - The Galaxy Theatre
December 08th Los Angeles, CA - The Whisky a GoGo
December 09th Mexicali, Mexico - El Patio Ole Caribe
December 10th Phoenix, AZ - Clubhouse
December 12th San Antonio, TX - The White Rabbit
December 13th Houston, TX - Meridian

Impaled will be on the bill form November 29th through to December 09th, while Arsis appear from December 12th through December 21st.

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All That Remains Book Some Headlining Dates

All That Remains have booked a number of headlining/festival dates for the near future, here's the schedule:
October 12th El Paso, TX - Chic's Bar & Billiards)
October 13th Lubbock, TX - Winchester Pavilion)
October 14th Fort Worth, TX - Ridglea Theater ("Ridglea Metalfest")
October 15th San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit)
October 29th Asbury Park, NJ - Convention Hall Complex ("Saints And Sinners Festival")
November 10th Batavia, NY - Genessee Community College (Feat. New Skin, A Thousand Shades Of Cold)
The band will follow it up by heading to the UK for their previously announced run with Dragonforce.

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New Interview With Nothingface Online

Pivotal Rage Discusses The Future Of Nothingface :

Pivotal Rage: So how was it getting out there and playing as NOTHINGFACE again in front of all your fans?

Maxwell: The tour was kickass and it felt amazing to get back up in front of the fans again. I wish we could have stayed out longer but we didn't want to bite off more than we could chew. Trust me, there will be plenty more tours down the road.

Did the crowd seem to react the same to your newer tracks, "Let It Burn" and "Walking On Bodies", as they did to NOTHINGFACE's older favorites?

For the most part the new songs went over well, but they're new. So the response wasn't going to be as massive as the older songs in the set. It's only when the fans have the songs embedded in their minds and hearts that they truly react without thinking about it. It's going to be great to see how the fans react when the new record comes out and they've lived with it for a while before seeing us live.

What made you guys decide to get back together?

The love and craving that we share for the music is what brought us back. I formed Nothingface over 10 years ago with original drummer Chris Houck. It's my baby, it's my passion, my heart and my pain all at once. Who was I kidding when I thought I could move onto something else after we went into hiatus back in late 2003. As much as something can sometimes break you in half and trample your emotions in a dozen different ways, it's who I am and what we are. And I fucking love it!! And besides, there has to be balance. The good/bad, black/white, love/hate. It's all a part of the chaos and makeup of life.

Are there any fears that whatever differences caused the band to break up in the first place might resurface again?

You can't live your life in fear of anything. Life happens. People are just as weak as they are strong and the music business as well as ones personal life can railroad you in an instant. Just stay focused and be willing to go to war with whatever is in front of you. Fuckin' bring it!

When Nothingface broke up, did you know, or did you even think there would be a chance of a reunion?

Not at first. We were so dysfunctional and unfocused that being in the same room with each other was a painful and bitter thought. Almost two years went by before myself and Matt even had a phone conversation. But time does heal and we have the scars to prove it.
More...

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Manson's Nightmare Before X-Mas Cover Online

You can check out MARILYN MANSON, FIONA APPLE, FALL OUT BOY, and SHE WANTS REVENGE covering songs from Tim Burton's classic movie The Nightmare Before Christmas online here.

MARILYN MANSON is set to perform his cover of "This Is Halloween" on October 31st on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

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Megadeth Recruits Andy Sneap To Mix New Album

MEGADETH has recruited top British producer Andy Sneap (Nevermore, Machine Head, Arch Enemy, Cradle Of Filth) to mix their Roadrunner Records debut "United Abominations," tentatively due out in March 2007:

"I did a test mix for 'Gears of War' just before I went out to Cleveland a couple of weeks ago. Had a good chat with Dave the other day. He seems very cool, matter of fact, and we begin in L.A. November 6th, so should be great. I'm really looking forward to it."

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Radio Rebellion 2006 Tour Off To A Flying Start

The first-ever Radio Rebellion Tour 2006 presented by Hurley, Smartpunk.com, Nike 6.0, Fuel TV, and Hot Topic is off with a bang as three of the first four shows (Nashville, Detroit and Toronto) have sold out, with a third (Chicago) nearly selling out.

"We are four shows deep into the Radio Rebellion Tour and we are really stoked about how it's going so far," explains Cory Brandan lead singer of NORMA JEAN. "The shows have been amazing, way beyond our expectations. All the bands have tons of energy and it is definitely bleeding into the crowd. It seems like everyone is having fun and we can't ask for more than that...it's why we do what we do. Seeing the whole tour production come together is really satisfying as well. This is definitely blown way out, over the top. We are doing more on stage than ever--we figure if people are gonna pay to see us play our songs on stage, then we might as well make it fun for them."

The 45-city Radio Rebellion Tour just launched October 6th in Nashville, TN and will wrap-up December 2nd in Atlanta, GA. Headlined by NORMA JEAN, this year's trek also includes BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES, MISERY SIGNALS and revolving openers THE FULLY DOWN (October 6-November 2) and BLESS THE FALL (November 2-December 2).

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Deftones Release New Track Online

The Deftones have post a new track off of their lastest album onto their myspace page. The track "Beware" off of Saturday Night Wrist can be heard here.

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Instil Loses Guitarist and Drummer

Dutch metalcore band Instil have parted ways amicably with their guitarist and drummer. The band had this to say about the split:

"We're sad to announce the departure of our guitarist and drummer and dear friends Jaap Vissering (drums) and Joop Suelmann (guitar).

Almost 9 years we played together in bands and Instil took us the last years everywhere through Europe from Iceland to Czech Republic and from Sweden to Spain. We had a great time on the road, in the practice room, during the making of videoclips, TV-documentary and in the studio.

We wish Jaap and Joop all the best for their final year(s) of their study and future plans with music and/or career. We will miss you guys!"

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Ramallah Prepares To Record New EP

Ramallah will be recording a new EP in the coming weeks. The effort is expected to surface in early-2007. Frontman Rob Lind has issued the following statement:

"I hope to begin recording [the EP] within the next few weeks. I have been talking to the legendary Zeuss (he's recorded Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Madball, Terror, AF, etc.) about engineering and co-producing it with me. I really hope that works out but either way the EP should be out sometime around Christmas (maybe a little later). This new Ramallah will be very heavy, very brutal and very focused. The lyrics are so dark that I can't even begin to describe them. On Kill A Celebrity, there was some melodic, almost pop-ish stuff. NOT on this EP, baby. Put your helmet on for the new Ramallah. It's gonna crack your fucking skull."

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Extreme Metal Racing PS2 Game Trailer Online

You can now catch a glimpse of the final trailer for Earache Records’ forthcoming videogame online. ‘Earache Extreme Metal Racing’ is due to be released in the UK and Europe on November 3rd on PlayStation 2, PSP and PC and is set to take the videogaming world by storm.

The game features ten evil Earache racing teams battling it out on a torturous track that takes the wicked racers into the depths of hell and beyond. The teams you can drive around the 4 satanically-inspired levels include Mortiis, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Akercocke, Decapitated, Biomechanical, Municipal Waste, The Berzerker, Linea77 and Society 1.

For the first time this game introduces the world of video gaming to the genre of extreme metal head on, as fans will simultaneously be able to race their favourite artists whilst doing battle to over 3 hours of Earache’s most annihilating releases. The soundtrack to this brutal game not only features music and videos from the racing teams, but also includes tracks from classic Earache bands such as Napalm Death, At The Gates, Cathedral plus bonus unreleased material and videos.

You can watch the trailer on YouTube. You can see the game cover here. More...

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Metal Blade Planning 25th Anniversary Reissues

Metal Blade Records is gearing up to celebrate its 25th year as a record label next year and is planning to commemorate this monumental occasion by releasing special editions of some of their classic albums. These will include re-mastered recordings, digipak packaging with a bonus DVD that will contain material recorded at the time of the original release, and updated liner notes. The first of these releases will be Lizzy Borden’s Master of Disguise which will be out in early 2007. More information on upcoming 25 th Year Anniversary releases will be made throughout the next few months. Metal Blade will also be releasing a special edition of Flotsam and Jetsam’s Doomsday for the Deceiver (2 CD/DVD) to honor the bands 20th anniversary and will be out on October 31st, which also happens to be the same date as Jason Newsted’s last show with the band. Here are the details on that release: More...

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Terror and Set Your Goals Tour Dates

Terror and Set Your Goals will be hooking up for a handful of November tour dates. Here are the latest tour dates:

11/4 Saginaw, MI @ Olde Jamestowne Hall
11/5 Burns Harbor, IN @ Westport Community Center
11/6 Des Moines, IA @ House Of Bricks
11/7 Menomonee, WI @ Orchard Inn
11/8 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
11/9 Fargo, ND @ Fargo VFW
11/10 Rapid City, SD @ Venue 8
11/14 Portland, OR @ Satyricon
11/15 Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
11/16 Ventura, CA @ Alpine

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Officium Triste Update

Dutch atmospheric doomsters OFFICIUM TRISTE have posted the following message on their official website:

"It's been a while since we've updated our website as we've been very busy writing new material for the upcoming fourth album. We've made quite some progress and we can tell we've got four songs finished and we're working on two more songs. Hopefully we can start recording before the end of this year. The finished songs are entitled 'My Charcoal Heart', 'Signals', 'Your Eyes' and 'Master Of Your Own Demise'."

OFFICIUM TRISTE's third full-length album, "Reason", was released in 2004 via Displeased Records. The CD was recorded at the band's own El Pato studio.

Upcoming OFFICIUM TRISTE shows: More...

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Rammstein To Release New DVD In November

German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN will release a new DVD, entitled "Völkerball" on November 17. According to RAMMSTEIN's manager Emanuel Fialik, the disc will be packed with footage, including "almost three hours of live recordings filmed in France, Japan, England and Russia. Also there is an audio CD featuring 75 minutes of concert footage. In a special edition the band will release a second DVD with two documentaries [with a running time of] 90 minutes. That makes three discs in a special edition: two DVDs and one audio CD."

"Völkerball" will be released in the following formats: More...

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