Sothis Named #1 Demo/Indie of 2005 By Brave Words

US symphonic black metallers, SOTHIS, have been named the “#1 Demo/Indie of 2005” in Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Magazine (Issue #93). This honor comes from the magazine’s “Brave Underground” segment which reviews unsigned artists each month. SOTHIS are currently shopping around for a label.

In addition to the top honors in Brave Words, SOTHIS has had an incredible year in 2005 garnering much attention in the metal world. The band was named “the next big black metal band” earlier in the year by Brave Words with a demo rating of 9.5 out of 10. They were also featured in REVOLVER Magazine’s esteemed monthly “Bootleg Series” alongside notable artists such as Nile, Soulfly, and Darkest Hour. The band had also received full page feature stories in PIT magazine and the UK’s Zero Tolerance. All of these are notable accomplishments for an unsigned band.

The bands’ 4-track demo is available as a limited edition digipak through the sothis.us. The demo is also available for complete download through the site, or through the band’s My Space page. To date, SOTHIS’ My Space site has received 29,000+ song downloads since January 2005.

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Interview

Draugstafur Interview

In our ongoing Hammerslag Festival coverage and in an effort to help raise awareness about the bands on the bill, we sent out some questions to Draugstafur, who are playing the December 17th leg of the festival. Vocalist Storm was cool enough to respond, and here's what he had to say: More...

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Raunchy Signs With Lifeforce Records

Lifeforce Records has announced the signing of a multi-album deal with "futuristic hybrid metal" band, Raunchy. The group has previously released two albums with Nuclear Blast Records. Raunchy's new album, "...Death Pop Romance," was recorded this past summer by Jacob Hanson (Fear My Thoughts) and mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted). The effort will be released on February 20th in Europe and March 21st in the United States. In the meantime, an MP3 can be downloaded here.

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Cellador Announce New Guitarist

Nebraska-based extreme melodic metallers Cellador have announced the addition of 22-year-old Brazilian guitarist Bill Hudson (ex-The Supremacy) to the group's ranks. "Bill's tremendous playing style combined with his outrageous ability to learn on the fly has secured our decision in choosing him for the band," stated guitarist Chris Petersen. "You don't know dedication until you see someone jump continents to be apart of a band. We are looking forward to the many wondrous power metal adventures we're bound to have together."

Bill will be joining Cellador at Mana Studios in Tampa, Florida in December for the recording of the band's debut via Metal Blade Records. The album, which will be produced by Erik Rutan is tentatively due late spring.

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Across Five Aprils Working On Second Full-Length

Across Five Aprils recently re-signed with Indianola Records and are currently working on their second full-length. The band will enter Earthsound Studios in February to record the as-of-yet untitled effort. Meanwhile, Indianola will re-issue the band's debut "A Tragedy In Progress" on March 14th. The re-issue will feature new artwork, additional live tracks, and several enhanced disc features. Finally, Across Five Aprils and Glory Of This will be touring together beginning late this month. Here are the tour dates:

12/30 Clearwater, FL @ 688 Skatepark
12/31 Panama CIty, FL @ Showcase Music Venue
1/2 Ft. Walton Beach, FL @ Boys and Girls Club
1/3 TBA
1/4 Jacksonville, FL @ Thee Imperial
1/5 Valdosta, GA @ Vitos
1/6 Savannah, GA @ Le Morte Rouge
1/7 Warner Robbins, GA @ El Zafero
1/8 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
1/9 Fredricksburg, VA @ KC Music Hall
1/10 Greensborough, NC @ Greenstreet
1/11 Virginia Beach, VA @ Sweet Caroline's
1/12 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery
1/13 Sterling, VA @ Sterling Center
1/14 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall

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Ex-All That Remains, Scar Culture Members Project

Ex-ALL THAT REMAINS and SCAR CULTURE members have formed a new band. The as-yet-unnamed group are currently seeking a drummer. All serious applicants should e-mail info@sparechangerecords.com. You must be willing to drive to the Springfield, MA area.

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Graveworm Added To Metal Crusaders Tour

Italian gothic black metal band GRAVEWORM have been added to the "Metal Crusaders" North American tour, set to take place in May/June next year. Also appearing on the bill will be KATAKLYSM, VADER, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, SPEED\KILL/HATE and THE ABSENCE. The first confirmed date is May 26, 2006 at le Medley in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. All Canadian dates will be headlined by KATAKLYSM.

GRAVEWORM's latest CD, "(N)utopia", was released earlier in the year via Nuclear Blast Records.

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Iron Maiden Biography In The Works

Paul Stenning (Author of Guns N' Roses 'The Band That Time Forgot' and AC/DC 'Two Sides To Every Glory') is currently writing a biography on Iron Maiden which should be out late summer 2006. If you or anyone you know has an interesting story, anecdote or most importantly any contacts for members past, present or old school friends, current mates, whatever, email them to czechzebra@yahoo.com. Any info gratefully received and you will be credited in the book.

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DTYK Debuts New EP Online

The Iowa hardcore band DTYK has put two tracks from their new “For the Proud” EP on their Myspace, pledging to release a new track each Monday so that visitors can preview the entire album before its release. The 7-track EP, which includes a short track “hidden” in the middle, was mastered by Eskil Lovstrom, who may be best known for his work on Refused’s “Shape of Punk to Come” and Poison the Well’s “You Come Before You.”

“For the Proud,” the title track of the EP, will remain permanently up for download. “Saturdays” is currently available to stream until next Monday, when a new song will take its place.

DTYK, formerly known as Death To Your King, is now searching for a label to call home. In the meantime, the band is pressing limited tour copies of “For the Proud” to take on the road as they spend two weeks in January with Amora Savant, With Dead Hands Rising, and Carnivale.

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Mushroomhead Sign With Megaforce Records

MUSHROOMHEAD have reportedly inked a brand-new deal with Megaforce Records. The group's follow-up to 2003's "XIII" (Republic/Universal) is tentatively expected in early 2006.

MUSHROOMHEAD are continuing to play headline shows with their new vocalist Waylon, replacing J-Mann, who left the band late last year. Remaining dates for 2005 are as follows:

Dec. 09 - Orono, ME - Ushuaia
Dec. 10 - Southbridge, MA - The Mill
Dec. 13 - Davenport, IA - Quad City Live
Dec. 14 - Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Club
Dec. 15 - Mokena, IL - The Pearl Room
Dec. 16 - Battle Creek, MI - Planet Rock
Dec. 17 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop

MUSHROOMHEAD released their first DVD, "Volume 1", in August via the band's The Filthy Hands Company label.

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MTV Interview With Vinnie Paul Abbott

MTV News reports: December 8 marks the one-year anniversary of one of the most grim and bizarre tragedies in music history — the onstage shooting death of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. In the past year, friends and fans have talked at length about Dime's influence and spirit, but the man who knew him best — his brother and bandmate Vinnie Paul — has been largely silent. Recently, however, Vinnie sat down with MTV News' Robert Mancini for his first on-camera interview since losing his brother. He recalled a different side of a true metal giant, and helped to remember the talent and the kindness that was Dime as fans mark the anniversary of his death. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

MTV: A lot of folks, the first image that they get of Dimebag is of this really open and good-natured guy who's always up for a party, but he really took music seriously too and was very much a student of his craft, right?

Paul: He was a perfectionist. I know because I was in the studio with him every record we made, I co-produced all the records with Terry Date. He was like, "Man, I've done a thousand bands and I've never seen anybody like your brother sit there and want to get the guitar as hot as it gets, take 20 leads and decide, 'You know what? All those suck. Let's start over and go again.' " He just was a perfectionist, and he was never afraid to experiment. That's something that always blew my mind. You know a lot of people learn certain places on the neck or certain things, and he was really great at accepting other people's ideas. He never said, "Naw, this is my way. This is the way I'm gonna do it." He'd say, "Aw, OK, let me try it, let me see if I could do it the way you're talking about." And a lot of magic came from that, you know, because he just was never afraid to try other things. He was never afraid of people making fun of him, and he wasn't afraid to fail. He would go for it, and if it didn't work, he was the first person that knew.

MTV: That's what you hear so much about him — you hear a lot about that spirit and that energy. And it's so evident in the scope of the reaction to his death and the number of people who say he impacted them.

Paul: It was heartwarming to see all the people that really respected everything he did, all the people that he touched, in particular the bands that toured with us. So many of them learned to have a good time on the road from him and from our family and everything we did on the road, and he truly touched millions and millions and millions of people and he will continue to forever.

MTV: It's also remarkable how many fans he had direct interaction with, and how many people were connected to him that way. What was it like to see that on the road, to watch him with the fans?

Paul: He never turned a fan down. He knew the minute he came off that bus everybody expected the wild and crazy Dime that they saw in the videos, that they saw onstage, that they came to see, you know? I remember the night before this horrible stuff happened we played in Buffalo, New York, and me and Dime loved gambling. Anytime there was a casino, we wanted to go gamble. And we got on the bus after we did everything with the fans and everything and I said, "Hey, man, let's go to Niagara Falls. Let's go gambling." And he's like, "Man, I'm smoked. I've gotta go to bed. I just gotta rest up, we've got these last two shows. I'll catch you tomorrow." I'm like, "OK." So we take off, we go to the casino, we're having a blast and all that. About two hours later the bus comes to pick us up, and I hop on and there's Dime in the front lounging with seven or eight fans, and they're all doing shots. And I'm like, "I thought you were smoked, man, and going to bed." He goes, "I couldn't let these people down, man. They wanted to f---ing party, so I brought them on the bus." That's how he was, man, he never came first. He was exactly what people thought he was and then some.

MTV: This whole thing must be such a long and difficult process. What was the key thing that you needed to go through to make this a little easier to even just start talking about it?

Paul: Time. That's all it is ... time, man. And it still feels like it's a couple days before December 8 last year. I mean, I've never had a year in my life go by this fast where it just felt like it was null, empty, unproductive, no goals, no future and just unimaginable sadness, you know? I've just had a lot of amazing friends and the support from all the fans, and that's been a big help. That's been a big help, so somehow or another we'll make it through this. I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that Dime's legacy lives on as long as it can, and at some point I'll get on with doing my thing too.

MTV: Is there a thought that sticks with you more than anything else? Not necessarily a memory of him, but sometimes when you go through something like this, something will run over and over in your head.

Paul: Probably the truest phrase that anyone came up with was [Dean Guitars founder] Dean Zelinksy, whom he had an amazing relationship with — Dean did all his guitars. He said, "He came to rock, and he rocked like no other." And that's all there is to it, man. That puts a smile on my face every time I hear it because it's true. No truer words were ever spoken.

Read the full article at MTV.com.

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Norway's Hammerslag Festival Approaches

As previously reported, Metalunderground.com is sponsoring Norway's Hammerslag Vinterblot Festival, which takes place on December 16 and 17, a week from today. The festival is a two-day showcase of extreme black, death and grind metal bands. Bands on the bill include Tsjuder, Myrkskog, Svartahrid, Grand Alchemist, Framferd, Draugstafur, Mindgrinder, and She Said Destroy. You can find more infromation and buy t-shirts for the fest at hammerslagfestival.net

In the coming days, we'll be bringing you several interviews with the bands on that bill.

As none of our staff can actually attend this festival in person, if any of our readers out there are from Norway or surrounding regions and would like to attend the festival and report on it on behalf of metalunderground.com, please contact me immediately.

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Darkane's Road Misfortunes

DARKANE guitarist Christofer Malmström has posted the following tour reports on the band's official web site:

"Yes, tonight ( 12/04) we played the 32nd show of the U.S. tour here in Seattle, WA and tomorrow we'll end the tour in Vancouver where I will finally meet the drummer of my solo project NON-HUMAN LEVEL, Ryan van Poederooyen.

"OK, so we crashed into Seattle... sorry, ...no, we actually crashed in Seattle this morning. Everybody was sleeping when we suddenly woke up by the bus shaking and braking heavily. I thought it would flip over, but in the last second everything was still. All curtains of the bunks opened and a lot of surprised metalheads stuck out their heads. It turned out we had crashed into another car on the freeway right outside Seattle. It was kind of scary, but no one was seriously hurt, I think. After an hour or so, we could leave and head for downtown Seattle, which I think is a very nice city!

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Cathedral To Tour Europe After All

After calling off the previosuly announced fall/winter European tour, England's doom masters CATHEDRAL will return to the road in February! Joining them will be ELECTRIC WIZARD and GRAND MAGUS featuring SPIRITUAL BEGGARS lead singer JB.

Here's the list of confirmed dates:

06.02.2006 Germany, Berlin @ Knaack
13.02.2006 Germany, Hamburg @ Molotow
14.02.2006 Germany, München @ Backstage
20.02.2006 Germany, Köln @ Underground
21.02.2006 Germany, Bochum @ Matrix (tickets: 16,00 € advance/ 19,00 € door order tickets)

Ticket prices range from 13€ to 19€.

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Sinister To Enter Studio

Reunited Dutch death metallers SINISTER will enter Stage One studio in Germany on December 5 to begin recording their new album, "Afterburner", for an early 2006 release through Nuclear Blast Records. The recording sessions are expected to last two weeks.

SINISTER's current lineup consists of Aad Kloosterwaard, drummer and founder of the band, on vocals, Alex Paul on guitar, and Paul Beltman (ex-JUDGEMENT DAY) on drums. A session bass player will be added when the band hits the road again.

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.

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Lineup For Chicago Powerfest 2006 Announced

Chicago Powerfest 2006, the 4th annual metal fest featuring both veteran and up-and-coming bands from various sub-genres of metal, will take place on Friday, April 7th and Saturday, April 8th at Mr. Kelley's Music Box in
Chicago Heights, IL.

Due to the gaining momentum that the Chicago Powerfest has seen since it's beginning, the fest is moving to a brand new, much larger (600-700 capacity) venue in 2006, and will also be open to an 18+ audience, instead
of its previous 21+ restriction.

To date, confirmed bands include: More...

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Cannibal Corpse Reveal New Album Title

Legendary death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE have set "Kill" as the title of their tenth album, due on March 21 via Metal Blade Records. The CD is being recorded at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida with producer Erik Rutan (MORBID ANGEL, HATE ETERNAL).

With regards to the new album's musicial direction, the band had previously said, "We are doing everything we can to make sure it's the heaviest, most brutal one we've ever made."

Guitarist Rob Barrett has officially rejoined CANNIBAL CORPSE as a permanent replacement for guitarist Jack Owen, who left the band in 2004. Barrett, who played with the group from 1993 to 1997 and appeared on "The Bleeding" and "Vile" albums, has contributed a song to the band's upcoming tenth album, "Kill", due on March 21, 2006 via Metal Blade Records.

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New Opeth Album Tops Unrestrained's 2005 List

Canada’s UNRESTRAINED! Magazine has named Opeth’s "Ghost Reveries" as the #1 Album of 2005 in their year-end issue that will be on stands December15th, 2005.

The full Top 20 of 2005 (as chosen by the staff) is as follows:

UNRESTRAINED! TOP 20 OF 2005

1. Opeth - Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner)
2. Nevermore – This Godless Endeavour (Century Media)
3. Primordial – The Gathering Wilderness (Metal Blade)
4. Clutch - Robot Hive/Exodus (DRT)
5. Lurker Of Chalice – Lurker Of Chalice (Southern Lord/Total Holocaust)
6. Deathspell Omega – Kenose (N.E.D./Ajna Offensive)
7. Corrosion Of Conformity - In The Arms Of God (Sanctuary)
8. Hypocrisy – Virus (Nuclear Blast)
9. Strapping Young Lad – Alien (Century Media)
10. Between The Buried And Me – Alaska (Victory)
11. Dark Tranquillity - Character (Century Media)
12. Ulver – The Blood Inside (The End)
13. Napalm Death - The Code Is Red... Long Live The Code (Century Media)
14. Rammstein - Rosenrot (Universal)
15. Torche – Torche (Robotic Empire)
16. Green Carnation – The Quiet Offspring (The End Records)
17. Leaves’ Eyes – Vinland Saga (Napalm)
18. Jesu - Jesu (Hydra Head)
19. Slough Feg – Atavism (Cruz Del Sur)
20. Red Knife Lottery – So Much Drama (Uprising)

For more information, visit www.unrestrainedmag.com.

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Insomnium To Tour Finland In Early 2006

Insomnium will hit the road with Noumena and Enter My Silence in the beginning of the year 2006 before hitting the studio. Here are the dates and venues:

Feb. 22 Kuopio, FIN - Henry's Pub
Feb. 23 Jyväskylä, FIN - Ilokivi
Feb. 24 TBA
Feb. 25 Vaasa, FIN - Club 25

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Evergrey Return To The Studio

Evergrey recently returned to Division One Studios to record their as-yet-untitled fifth studio album. The producing and mixing will be handled by the experienced and extremely successful team Sanken Sandquist / Stefan Glauman (Rammstein, Britney Spears, Bon Jovi and Def Leppard).

The band's vocalist/guitarist/mastermind Tom S. Englund had this to say regarding the new collaboration: "We feel honoured to work with such amazing producers. We are sure that they will succeed in making us sound better than ever before."

Evergrey have renewed their deal with InsideOut Music for one more album. The release is planned for April 2006.

In other news, Evergrey will perform at Sweden Rock Festival's kick-off party at Annexet in Stockholm on December 3rd.

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As I Lay Dying Changes Salt Lake City Venue

Due to structural problems to the original venue, As I Lay Dying's December 14th gig at the Salt Lake City, UT show has been moved to Lo-Fi Cafe at 165 S West Temple.,

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Kamelot Guitarist Checks In From Brazil

Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood has checked in with the following report from Brazil:

"Greetings to all from Rio!

"We are coming off two amazing shows here in Brazil. The fans here deserve their reputation of being the loudest and craziest in the world. Over 3,000 fans at the Via Funchal in Sao Paulo sang along with us all night. It was a night to remember for all of us. Next night was also as amazing in Rio. We played an open air arena and once again the night was magical. Mark Janssen from Epica came on stage with us for March of Mephisto and jumped into the crowd at the end. He disappeared into the abyss for several minutes and lost most of his clothes ;) We have to say Obrigado Brazil and we will be back very soon on a longer tour of your great country.

"Sincerely,
Thomas and Kamelot."

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Megaherz Celebrate "Megaherz 5" Anniversary

A year ago, Megaherz released their latest album "Megaherz 5". To celebrate and to thank fans for their support, Megaherz is giving away two signed copies of the album, plus three signed copies of the American release of "Wer bist du", "I". To enter, fill out the form on Megaherz.com. Winners will be announced on December 24, 2005 in the forums.

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Emperor Vocalist To Release Solo Album

Emperor vocalist Ihsahn Ihsahn is to release a solo record next year. It's to be called 'The Adversary' and will be released by Ihsahn's own company, Mnemosyne Productions, in association with Candle light Records.

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SOAD, Mudvayne, Slipknot Among Grammy Nominees

SYSTEM OF A DOWN, AUDIOSLAVE, NINE INCH NAILS, MUDVAYNE, SHADOWS FALL and SLIPKNOT are among the nominees for the 48th annual Grammy Awards, set to be broadcast live on CBS from Los Angeles' Staples Center on February 8, 2006. The nominees in the "Hard Rock" and "Metal" categories are as follows:

Hard Rock Performance:

AUDIOSLAVE - "Doesn't Remind Me"
NINE INCH NAILS - "The Hand That Feeds"
ROBERT PLANT - "Tin Pan Valley"
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - "Little Sister"
SYSTEM OF A DOWN - "B.Y.O.B."

Metal Performance:

MINISTRY - "The Great Satan"
MUDVAYNE - "Determined"
RAMMSTEIN - "Mein Teil"
SHADOWS FALL - "What Drives the Weak"
SLIPKNOT - "Before I Forget"

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