Prejudice Give Studio Update

Belgian technical death metallers PREJUDICE have issued the following studio update:

"Chris and Erik recorded all vocal lines and vocals this week. This weekend Dirk Indesteage will record the bass to put more dynamic and low-end into the overall sound - wondering how that will sound! The mixing duties will probably be done by Chris (vocals). More about this issue soon. In case people begin asking us if Erik quit because they saw us playing with two vocalists, NO, he's not quiting. We have two vocalists now because that's what we always wanted. Chris put a lot of drive into the vocals, just like how we thought it would sound!"

As previously reported, PREJUDICE's fourth, yet-to-be-titled album, will be issued via Greek label Sleaszy Rider Records. Artwork will be created by Pär Olofsson (PSYCROPTIC, DEEDS OF FLESH, SPAWN OF POSSESSION).

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Fucked Up Featured On VBS.TV

FUCKED UP have just wrapped up their first full North American tour in support of "Hidden World" and they've throngs of old and new fans craving more. The band comments, "We'll surely have more dates to announce in the near future, but in the meantime we have some new video of the band to check out on the VBS.tv program 'Practice Space'." The show can be viewed on the vbs.tv site or in the embedded player below. More...

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As Cities Burn, Alesana Tour Dates

As Cities Burn and Alesana will hit the road together later this summer. Here are the tour dates:

dates w/ The Junior Varsity
8/14 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
8/15 Little Rock, AR @ Vinos
8/16 Nashville, TN @ Rocketown

dates w/ Mayday Parade
8/18 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
8/19 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Loft
8/20 Rockville Center, NY @ Vibe Lounge
8/21 South Hackensack, NJ @ School of Rock
8/23 Dayton, OH @ The Attic Club
8/24 Milwaukee, WI @ The Eagles Club
8/26 DeKalb, IL @ The House Café
8/27 Sauget, IL @ Pop's
8/28 Fayetteville, AR @ The Music Hall

dates w/ Poison The Well
8/29 Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory w/ Still Remains
8/30 Wichita, KS @ Eagles Lodge w/ Still Remains
8/31 Columbia, MO @ Blue Note w/ Silverstein
9/1 Joplin, MO @ Foundryfest w/ Silverstein

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These Arms Are Snakes Return To Europe

THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES have landed in Europe once again to bring "Easter" to some of the remaining cities that the band wasn't able to reach earlier this year. The tour dates are listed below:

07/24/2007 Stockholm Sweden @ Debaser
07/26/2007 Oslo Norway @ Garage
07/27/2007 Gothenburg Sweden @ Slippery People @ Pusterviksbaren
07/28/2007 Stockholm Sweden @ Fritz's Corner
07/29/2007 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Lades
07/30/2007 Braunschweig Germany @ Nexus
07/31/2007 Prague Czech Republic @ Klub 007
08/03/2007 Bolzano Italy @ Open Air Fest

In other news, VBS.tv recently featured the video for 'Horse Girl'. You can check it out on the VBS.tv site.

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The Reckoning Recording New Album

Belgian death/black metal band THE RECKONING is working at the Hertz Studio in Poland on their new album which will be expected to be released somewhere in the beginning of 2008.

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New Parkway Drive Album and Tour On The Horizon

Australia's masters of metalcore, Parkway Drive will release their new album, "Horizons," on October 9th and map out an international tour this fall. "Horizons" is produced by Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz (Underoath, Autumn to Ashes, Every Time I Die) and recorded at Zing Studios in Boston.

"Horizons marks two years of refinement since our last release. The songs, the sounds, the speed, the heaviness and the production has all been stepped up," says vocalist Winston McCall. "Working with Adam again made our job super easy as well as highly enjoyable. I think the end result is by far the best record we've made so far, but I guess that's always for others to judge."

Currently touring the U.S. on the Van's Warped Tour, Parkway Drive will christen their new album this fall with an Australian tour. Following their tour of OZ, the group will head to Europe in November with Comeback Kid, Cancer Bats, The Warriors and This is Hell.

Here is the complete "Horizons" tracklisting: More...

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A7X Planned To Use "Sung" Vocals All Along

According To Headbanger's Blog, there’s a scene in Avenged Sevenfold’s “All Excess” DVD where producer Mudrock talks about reports that frontman M. Shadows decided to sing on the group’s last album City of Evil because years of screaming had injured his vocal chords, rendering him unable to howl. While the origins of the tale came from Shadows himself, Mudrock claims it’s just not true.

Before Avenged entered the studio with him to record their second album, 2003’s Waking the Fallen, Shadows told Mudrock he was tired of screaming, but that he wanted the Waking record to be half screamed, half sung. Then, for the follow-up, he wanted only to sing. So, claims Mudrock, Shadows knew what direction he wanted to take Avenged two years before the band started working on 2005’s City of Evil.

Read the full article at Headbanger's Blog.

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Rage Announce New Album Title

German power metallers RAGE have set "Carved in Stone" as the title of their new album, tentatively due before the end of the year via Nuclear Blast Records. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Carved in Stone" (described by the band as "a super hymn, which could open the live shows in future), "Open My Grave" ("very heavy and dark"), "One Step Ahead" and "Long Hard Road" and "Without You". Check out a studio report at the band's official web site.

RAGE's new DVD, entitled "Full Moon in St. Petersburg", was released on February 23 via Nuclear Blast. The double DVD set was filmed in St. Petersburg, Russia last year in front of 15,000 fans. "Full Moon in St. Petersburg" contains the complete concert in St. Petersburg, Russia, plus a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and material from personal archives. A three-and-a-half-minute trailer for the DVD has been posted online at this location (Windows Media, 7.44 MB). More...

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Nile Cancel Tonight's Ozzfest Date In Arizona

NILE vocalist/guitarist Karl Sanders has issued the following update regarding the band's cancellation of tonight's Ozzfest date in Phoenix, Arizona:

"Nile will not be playing the Phoenix Ozzfest. Our bus is broken down in Barstow California, and will not be repaired in time to allow us to participate in Tuesdays Ozzfest. We will, however, rejoin the Ozzfest tour in Albequerque. We regret any inconvenience this causes anyone."

Remaining Ozzfest dates are as follows:

July
26 - Journal Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
28 - Coors Amphitheatre - Denver, CO
30 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Kansas City, Montana

August
2 - Smirnoff Music Center - Dallas, TX
4 - Wireless Amphitheatre - San Antonio, TX
6 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St. Louis, MO
8 - Germain Amphitheatre - Columbus, OH
10 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Tinley Park, IL
12 - Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, WI
14 - Verizon Wireless Musice Theatre - Indianapolis, IN
16 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
18 - New England Dodge Music Theatre - Hartford, CT
20 - Tweeter Center - Boston, MA
22 - Tweeter Center - Philadelphia, PA
24 - Post Gazette Pavilion - Pittsburgh, PA
26 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Detroit, MI
28 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre - Charlotte, NC
30 - Sound Advice Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, FL

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Macbeth Reveal New Album Title

Italian gothic metallers MACBETH have set "Superangelic Hate Bringers" as the title of their new album. The CD was recorded in two different studios, including a private studio in Reykjavik, Iceland and New Sins studios in Italy, where the band also mixed and mastered the CD. The band's fourth studio album will feature 10 brand new tracks and will be released this autumn via Dragonheart Records. The digipack version of "Superangelic Hate Bringers" will also include the video clip for the song "Without You" (shot with Italian director Mirco Andreis).

Fan-filmed video footage of MACBETH's May 20, 2007 performance at the Darkfest in Bologna, Italy has been posted at YouTube.

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A Perfect Murder Members Form New Band

Now that A Perfect Murder has disbanded, the original members of the group have formed a new band called Modern Crimes. The line-up features Carl Bouchard on guitar, Yan Chausse on drums, Luc Verville on bass, Frank Pellerin on vocals and Kevin Lemire on guitar. Modern Crimes is currently writing material for a new release, and shows should begin to take place in September. The obligatory Myspace page now exists here.

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Forwardhead Offer Tour Update

Forwardhead frontman Ron Turner sent in the following road report from their "Taking Back The Suffering" tour:

"Hey guys! This is Forwardhead checking in from our Taking Back The Suffering Tour! We are currently en route to Rochester, but wanted to let you know that the tour has been fantastic so far! The response from the crowds has been fantastic, and people are really into the music! We expect nothing less from the remaining dates on the tour, so there will be another update once our Totonto show is over tomorrow night.

Rocking from the road,
Forwardhead"

The remaining "Taking Back The Suffering" tour dates are as follows:

Jul 24 2007 8:00P The Penny Arcade, Rochester, New York w/ Rachel's Dead, Ace Merrill, The Shattering Moon, Kaged
Jul 25 2007 7:00P The Reverb, Toronto, Ontario w/ Sonica, Da Bears
Jul 27 2007 8:00P Broadway Joes, Buffalo, New York w/ Cadence
Jul 28 2007 6:00P The Mojo Room, Ringgold, Virginia (unplugged performance)

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Zombi's Steve Moore To Release Solo Album

Relapse Records will issue "The Henge," the debut full-length solo album from Zombi's Steve Moore, in late-October. "The Henge" was self-recorded by Moore and advance track titles include: "Infinite Resignation", "Dead Tide", and "Cepheid."

Moore describes The Henge and his approach; "This album represents a turning point in my writing - a subtle shift in direction that is only apparent when considering the album as a whole. While no track is too far removed from the harmonic language I create through my work with Zombi, this album gives me a chance to expand my tonal palette by experimenting with different instrumentations."

"The album is meant to be viewed as a small step in a new direction, exploring some of the more ambient, drone-oriented ideas I've written over the last couple years." Moore continues; "Although I always enjoy collaborative writing, the challenge of single-handedly developing an idea from conception to completion can sometimes be an even more rewarding experience."

In addition to his works with Zombi, Moore has also recorded material with Microwaves and Panthers, as well as been involved in a number of scores for independent horror movies including 'The Redsin Tower' (collaboration with Scott Hull), 'Horror Business', 'Murder-Set-Pieces' (as Zombi), 'Home Sick' (as Zombi) and more.

Audio samples of Moore's solo work can be heard on his MySpace page.

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Def Leppard Bassist Talks New Album

U.K.-based music journalist Dave Ling recently spoke to DEF LEPPARD bassist Rick Savage about the band's forthcoming album, tentatively titled "Sparkle Lounge" (named after a backstage social room the group used each night on its last tour). The CD is an eighty percent state of completion, and as has been widely reported, the band has sent off some half-finished material to former producer Robert "Mutt" Lange to work his magic on. However, according to Ling, Savage was uncertain as to whether or not Lange will be able to complete his side of the deal in time for their deadline. "Depending on how fast he gets them back to us, they'll end up being used on this album, or the next one," explained Rick, who said of the record's direction, "Sonics-wise, it's like 'High 'N' Dry', because it has lots of rock energy, though the songs are more sophisticated; 'Hysteria' would be the closest comparison."

DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott previously told Billboard.com about the upcoming album's direction, "I'm not gonna say it's radically different to anything we've ever done. There's classic DEF LEPPARD. There's stuff that sounds like it's going back to the middle, late-'70s AC/DC and new wave-type sounding stuff. There's definitely some moments on it where anybody that's familiar with our music will go, 'Whoa! I wasn't expecting that!' We've just been very adventurous, musically, on certain numbers."

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Gene Simmons Dismmises "I'm A Celebrity..." Rumour

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has shot down reports that he has signed up for the next installment of the British jungle survival series "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!".

The Daily Star reported over the weekend that producers expected Simmons to spice up the jungle with his outrageous opinions and bad-boy antics.

It was rumored that Gene would be joined in Australia by former supermodel Janice Dickinson and TV psychic Sally Morgan when the show returns later this year.

However, in a posting on his official web site, Gene stated about the reports that he will take part in the "I'm A Celebrity" series: "Don't believe what you read. None of this is true."

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King Diamond Talks Satanism, Setlist and Dimebag

King Diamond recently spoke to MetalAsylum.net about his new record, "Give Me Your Soul…Please", as well as his views on Satanism, songs he would like to include for the upcoming tour, and Dimebag Darrell's contribution to the "Voodoo" album. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

MetalAsylum.net: How about Satanism. There are so many views and opinions on the "religion" so what are your thoughts, or beliefs in the subject? Maybe what it means to you to be a Satanist?

King: Yeah, I mean, there have been a lot of those as of lately. I mean, there are about as many views on Satanism as there are different types of Christianity (laughs). For me, I was living my life that way before I read that book, you know, "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey, and I think that book was mistitled because once you hear the word Bible people automatically think of religion and it's really not — it's more of a philosophy, really. You are not worshipping anything when you are a Satanist. I mean, there are other types of Satanists who actually worship some kind of horned creature, which is a God that is Christian if you really look at it, because Satan is a God within Christianity and just one they (Christians) don't want you to worship. I mean, I wouldn't want to worship that fellow either. I mean, I dont see anything positive in the Christian Satan either. If someone comes up to me and asks if I am a Satanist, I ask them first "What does that mean to you?" and then if they can explain to me intelligently what a Satanist is, then I can say yes or no, depending. But if they say, "Oh, you slaughter animals and pray to the devil," well, then you are way off there. That is not in my way of life. But Satanism is not a religion and I don't have a religion myself. I don't believe in one God and I would be the last person to say there is one because there is no real proof there is a God and there has been no one person to prove to the world there is a God. Maybe some people be convinced they have proof for themselves there is one, but it has never happened that one person could prove that to the rest of the world. And the sad thing is that people can't accept that not everyone believes in the same thing and can't give people that respect without thinking of them as a lower type of species or something because they don't share a same belief. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. And if people had that type of respect for each other then we would have way less wars because many wars happen because of religious differences.

MetalAsylum.net: When you toured for "Abigail II" and "The Puppet Master", the setlist did not include any songs from "The Spider's Lullaby", "The Graveyard", "Voodoo", or "House of God". Will you include some songs off those records for the current tour?

King: Well, I don't want fans to think I was rejecting those records because I wasn't. In my opinion, some really excellent work is on those records and those records are as important as other KING DIAMOND albums. But like with the last live album "Deadly Lullabyes", it wasn't supposed to be a greatest-hits type thing. That's just the setlist we performed at the time. I would love to play some songs off those records for the next tour yes, and then again there are even some older songs we have never played before that I would love to get in there for this tour. Plus the new record "Give me Your Soul" has plenty of great songs I want to include. The last time for "The Puppet Master" tour we played "Burn" off "The Eye" and that totally worked live. This time I would love to do "Behind These Walls", "At The Graves" off "Conspiracy" has not been played live since that tour so I want to bring that one back. That one is like KING DIAMOND's "Satan's Fall" (MERCYFUL FATE) really and that’s a fun one to play, very challenging musically.

MetalAsylum.net: Well, I think "Voodoo" is one of your best albums and a couple from that would be great to hear live again. When I saw you for that tour in 1998 I recall hearing the title track "Louisiana Darkness", "The Exorcist" and "One Down Two to Go".
King: Yeah I am very satisfied with that record too. You know, Dimebag Darrell from PANTERA played a great solo on that record. It was a nice experience. You know, we saw each other from time to time and he was such a great player. I'm glad he was part of that record.

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Video Of New Testament Song Posted Online

Fan-filmed video footage of San Francisco Bay Area metal veterans TESTAMENT performing a new song, entitled "The Afterlife", on Friday, July 20 at the Earthshaker Fest in Kreuth, Germany has been posted on YouTube.

TESTAMENT recently inked a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The group will enter the studio late summer/early fall to record its long-awaited new album for a March 2008 release.

TESTAMENT parted ways with Spitfire Records earlier in the year (the Spitfire Records catalog was acquired last summer by Redux Records, the company formerly known as Sheridan Square Entertainment).

Spitfire released a TESTAMENT compilation, "The Spitfire Collection", in February. Consisting of tracks from such Spitfire titles as "The Gathering", "Demonic", "Live at the Fillmore", "First Strike Still Deadly" and "Live in London", the 14-track set chronicles an era that ultimately saw the original TESTAMENT reunite for a successful 2005 tour.
More...

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Saxon Postpone European Shows

SAXON frontman Biff Byford's wife will undergo a "serious operation" in September. As a result, the band's previously announced shows for September have been postponed until December. The group's schedule is now as follows:

Jul. 31 - GER Elmshorn / Horst Elbmarschenhalle
Aug. 02 - GER Wacken Wacken Open Air
Aug. 11 - GER Balve Rock am Schloß
Oct. 18 - RUS Moscow Apelsin Club
Oct. 21 - JPN Tokyo Loudpark Festival
Oct. 22 - JPN Osaka Loudpark Festival
Nov. 09 - UK Minehead Hard Rock Hell Festival
Dec. 09 - AUT Hohenems Eventcenter
Dec. 10 - AUT Salzburg Rockhouse
Dec. 12 - SWI Pratteln Z7
Dec. 14 - F Strasbourg La Laiterie
Dec. 15 - GER Düsseldorf Phillipshalle
Dec. 16 - GER Nürnberg Löwensaal
Dec. 17 - CZ Prag Retro Music Hall

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Devin Townsend Claims To Be Uninspired By Metal

Mike Exley from Planet-Loud.com recently conducted an interview with Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND). Here are some extracts from the conversation:

Devin Townsend: "Am I saying goodbye to Metal? I love Metal man!! I really do, but right now I'm so uninspired by the whole thing, by everything I hear out there that I pretty much am checking out. I'm gonna produce some stuff, ZIMMERS HOLE and such like but the whole side of the industry catering with the image; I'm really not into that."

Planet-Loud.com: You're well known of course, for producing music with an introverted influence rather than stuff influenced from without. There's been a very powerful and emotional stimulus to this record of course, the birth of your first child, but can you put down the live side of a band say like STRAPPING or OCEAN MACHINE that easily?

Devin Townsend: "Yes, I think so. I love people, don't get me wrong. Individually I love that interaction between people and I'm not an ogre or something; but huge crowds of people, huge groups of people who seemingly have endless access to you. As I get older, I'm not really into that. When you're young and say, you're in the road and someone says to you, 'Out the way, fuck you!' or whatever, you can handle that, right? But now I'm like, 'OK, fuck me, you're right. If you can get that angry over that! You know? I can't explain it, but I find the energy of a lot of people really taxing. I never made a conscious decision to be on this rollercoaster - touring and being in front of a lot of people day and night. So, when last year, I took a step back and actually thought about it a bit deeper than I had in my youth, I realized I really didn't need it that much. I know that I'm often perceived as this odd guy, 'who's a bit out there' and I've probably, once in a while, reinforced that image, but I'm really not that person and in a way, I want even less so to be seen like that'. I may have made a mistake of saying some pretty weird things in interviews after a joint and stuff but I really like quiet - there's people out there who are way, way more 'unhinged' than I am. I'm very creative; making music, making puppets, that's my thing but 'mainstream success' and the demands that brings; no, not really for me. Sorry!"

Planet-Loud.com: Could you really, seriously do anything quietly though? Your personality on stage certainly has always been subversive and loud at the same time?

Devin Townsend: "Well, you can still be subversive, man! Right now we're planning on going right out into the mountains, I'll probably put stuff out on the Internet and hopefully people can just look me up and get into what I'm doing!! I'll still produce stuff. I've got some great ideas - but as for producing music itself; writing, song writing - that's got to be a pure process. Music is so important to me that that's got to be the only way I can do it. In the purest possible way. As soon as you have to sell yourself, tour it or put it on Ozzfest or Download, then it's just not got the vitality I need it to have."

Planet-Loud.com: Will you miss the 'live presentation' side of the art form though? Any 'artist' seems to in some way to demand someone else sees it, don't they?

Devin Townsend: "And with the Internet you can!! That's the whole point. You can keep it pure. Through MySpace or YouTube you can present the art as you feel it should be and you don't have to worry as to whether ten thousand, a thousand or just ten buy it. I think you have to remember that music should be done for the fun of it, not for the expectation of it, and that's really what I'm talking about now. That's what you lose when you prostitute yourself to this whole industry sometimes and you really don't have to. If I tell you that I haven't really been into the whole touring scenario for years and I went along for the sake of the entity (and my friends), you might not believe that. You've seen STRAPPING many times and we have had some awesome moments but it's the having to do it that's the problem. You can't just make a record and say, 'that's a great record but I want to move on now.' Take this Ziltoid thing. There was no record one minute and four months later, there was a record. You could argue, what am I doing here doing this promo tour with the puppet show and the whole thing - that's really 'cause of Peter (at Inside Out) because he's been very conscientious, but I don't know even if this is a mistake? I've really got nothing to say apart from here's the metaphor, the puppet! And he's the showman, not me, man! I just hope people can accept that!"

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Frankenbok Signs To Prime Cuts Music

After releasing Greetings & Salutations (2000 Faultline/Shock), Loopholes & Great Excuses (2001 Dark Carnival), Blood Oath (2003 RoadRunner) and extensive Australian and New Zealand tours, including top support slots with Slayer, Machine Head, Soilwork, Skinlab, 8 Foot Sativa, Fear Factory and System of a Down, Frankenbok have embarked on their finest work to date.

MURDER OF SONGS is 10 tracks of speed, thrash & bent-out-of-shape melancholy metal with little foot notes from hell about lies, persecution and what it’s really like being Down to the Wire or to Worship before the Dead. Produced and recorded by the Bok & Reggie Bowman at their home studios – Bat Cave, Fight Club & Scream Louder - Murder of Songs, is the last Bok recording with Mr.B.Metal. A follow up release is being locked and loaded featuring Danbok (vocals) & Yetibok (guitar) joining the ranks.

‘Murder Of Songs’ is due out on August 6th through MGM distribution. Pre-orders can be taken now by emailing pcuts@bigpond.com or info@frankenbok.com. The first 50 pre-orders receive a FREE brand new Frankenbok tshirt.

Stay tuned for the spring 2007 Frankenbok / Murder of Songs tour.

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