Iced Earth Guitarist Leaves For Sebastian Bach

Guitarist Ralph Santolla has officially left ICED EARTH and joined SEBASTIAN BACH's solo band. "There are several reasons for this decision, and for the moment I will keep them to myself," Santolla writes in a statement. "The other guys [in ICED EARTH] know my reasons, and hopefully this won't turn into a public pissing match. On the other hand, if it does, at least execution by musketry has gone out of style. I made some great friends, played some great, albeit difficult (!) metal tunes, and learned a lot from the experience. Whatever anyone else says about [ICED EARTH mainman] Jon [Schaffer], he IS a phenomenal rhythm guitarist.

"On a different note, I am the new lead guitarist for Sebastian Bach. We start playing July 22nd, and I can't wait. We'll do a new album later this year, so look for that, and I hope to see some of the cool people I met on tour with [ICED EARTH] at some of these gigs. I am also in talks with Steve DiGiorgio [TESTAMENT, SADUS, ex-DEATH, CONTROL DENIED], Gene Hoglan [STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARK ANGEL, ex-DEATH], and Tom Englund from EVERGREY about making an epic, orchestral metal album called 'ex Cathedra'. More on this later."

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Arcturus Schedule Live Date

Norwegian legends ARCTURUS will perform on September 1st in Budapest, Hungary at A38 Ship (an old ship in the River Danube). The date will be only the band’s fourth gig since 1990.

The show will be presented by Saturnus Productions and PlanetNoir Industries, and will also feature performances from SIN OF KAIN, VORTEX and BORNHOLM.

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Marduk Cancel Turkey Appearance, New Album Details

Swedish black metallers MARDUK have posted the following update at their website:

"Marduk will not be playing the Rock the Nations festival in Istanbul, Turkey (this weekend) due to incompetence of the organizer. The band was stranded on the airport in Sweden trying to pick up tickets that the organizer hadn't booked. Some song titles for the upcoming album has been announced. They are still working titles and might be changed. More news on the upcoming album and so on will be posted soon."

Working titles revealed include: 'The Invincible/Death Triumphant', 'Steel Inferno', 'Warschau', 'Throne Of Rats', 'The Hangman Of Prague', 'Destroying Angel Of The Apocalypse', 'Jeanne Dárc, Everything Bleeds', 'Blutrache', 'Lucifer Rising', 'Seven Angels,Seven Trumpets', 'Deathmarch', 'Three Black Nails In Broken Christ'.

As previously reported, the new album will be recorded at the local Endarker Studio (in Norrköping, Sweden) and is due out in November via Regain Records/The End Records. The band promise a massive world tour.

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Download Megadeth's 'Ashes In Your Mouth'

A remixed and remastered version of the MEGADETH track "Ashes In Your Mouth" has been posted online in MP3 format (ZIP file).

"Ashes In Your Mouth" comes off the upcoming "Countdown To Extinction" reissue, due on July 27 through Capitol Records. A total of seven albums from the group's back catalogue as well as the MD45 record re-sung by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine have been remixed and remastered and will feature added bonus tracks, artwork and detailed liner notes.

"Some of the songs just didn't turn out the way that I wanted them to when they were first made, due to money restrictions, technology limitations and so on," said Mustaine. "I believe now that there is nothing standing in the way of what I felt when I wrote these songs and how you will be able to hear them."

The complete list of albums being re-released on July 27 is as follows:

01. "Peace Sells ...But Who's Buying" (1986)
02. "So Far, So Good, So What" (1988)
03. "Rust In Peace" (1990)
04. "Countdown To Extinction" (1992)
05. "Youthanasia" (1994)
06. "Cryptic Writings" (1997)
07. "Risk" (1999)
08. "MD45 - The Craving" (1996)

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Requiem Aeternam Finish Recording 'Philosopher'

The Uruguayan melodic black/death metal outfit, REQUIEM AETERNAM, relocated to New York City has completed the recording of the band's sophomore effort entitled "Philosopher". The band features José Romero (Inner Sanctum) on guitars and vocals, Maciej Kupiszewski on bass, and Alex Hernández (Immolation) behind the drums. The album was recorded and mixed at the reputable Big Blue Meenie studios in Jersey City (NJ, USA) by Joe Pedulla and Arun Venkatesh, and mastered at Bionic Mastering in New York City by Tom Hutten.

A song from the album has been posted on the band's website in the "download" section.

At the current time, Requiem Aeternam is also looking for help in designing of a new logo. Interested parties can contact the band through the website.

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New Album To Sound Like "Traditional Priest"

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing has spoken to Canada's Chart Attack about the group's upcoming studio album — the first to feature vocalist Rob Halford since 1990's classic "Painkiller".

"It happened very quickly," says Downing. "We haven't beaten around the bush. And immediately, obviously with Rob's voice, it sounded pretty much like traditional PRIEST. So, without having to look to any other influences, I think we were able to look to ourselves and what we do best. I think pretty much you'll hear songs on there that could be on the 'Painkiller' album, could be on 'British Steel' maybe. Who knows, there could be a song on there that could've been on the 'Turbo' album. It's for everybody to decide when they get the goods."

With regards to whether he has noticed any difference in Halford's personality, given the passage of time, Downing said, "No, no, really, Rob… by and large, he's a gentleman. People might think that he's a very sort of dark, sinister, aggressive character; maybe, I don't know. But he's a mature gentleman, very professional in his approach to everything he does. He's very much got a grip on what is right for us and what isn't. He's pretty cool, really, amicable, pretty democratic in the studio. And Rob really does have a good sense of humor, because we all come from the same neighborhood. He's a very funny guy, you know. A lot of people don't know this, but he's a very good impressionist. He's always been able to do these impressions. He doesn't make that well known. He can take virtually anybody off. So he amuses us endlessly."

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Velvet Revolver To Play On The Tonight Show

VELVET REVOLVER will be the featured musical guests on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Friday, July 16 at 11:35 p.m. EST.

VELVET REVOLVER are currently filming a video for the second single off their chart-topping debut, "Contraband". The "Fall to Pieces" clip is reportedly being shot in Los Angeles.

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Unholy Ghost Parts With Drummer

Drummer Lee "Aantar" Coates (ex-DIABOLIC) was ousted from UNHOLY GHOST following the band's appearance at the Gathering of the Bestial Legion festival last weekend. A replacement drummer has yet to be announced.

Although no official reason for Lee's termination has been given, it appears that his exit was due to internal strife as well as Aantar's chronic degeneration of both elbows, which has caused difficulties concerning touring/live performances.

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Dani Filth Talks About New Album, 'Nymphetamine'

CRADLE OF FILTH singer Dani Filth (a.k.a. Dani Davey) has commented on the band's upcoming CD, "Nymphetamine", the group's first for new label Roadrunner Records.

The follow-up to last year's "Damnation and a Day", "Nymphetamine" (roughly translated as the druggish beast-like addiction to beautiful, classical women) was produced by ANTHRAX guitarist Rob Caggiano, who has previously worked with the group during the mixing stage for "Damnation…". Mixing duties were handled by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH).

"We weren't under any pressure to make this record and that's been the catalyst for us to create something really incredible," Dani said. "The only way to top the last album was to go a completely different way, so it's a real mixture of styles this time. We haven't anchored ourselves to a concept. It was a real pleasure to write on a variety of different themes and the music is really diverse and sonically precise. The whole thing sounds perfect and very fucking heavy."

"Nymphetamine" is due this fall through Roadrunner.

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STP Unreleased Studio Outtakes Posted Online

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS fan site Below Empty has uploaded five unreleased STONE TEMPLE PILOTS songs — two tracks from the "Shangri-LA DEE DA" sessions (2001) and three from the "No. 4" sessions (1999). Download them at the links below:

From the "Shangri-LA DEE DA" sessions (2001):

• Samba Nova


• About A Fool

From the "No.4" sessions (1999):

• Learning To Drive


• You Can't Drive Me Away


• Heed The Water Whisperer

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Shadows Fall's Art Of Balance Surpasses 100,000

SHADOWS FALL have achieved another great milestone in their already illustrious career, as their latest album, "The Art of Balance", has officially surpassed the 100,000 mark, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This is a huge accomplishment not only for the band, but also for Century Media, who have both grown considerably over the past few years. The critically acclaimed "The Art of Balance" was released in September of 2002 and is currently the highest-selling Century Family release, outselling such prominent artists as DIMMU BORGIR, ICED EARTH, IN FLAMES, LACUNA COIL and MESHUGGAH.

After extensive touring with the likes of HATEBREED, KITTIE, MISFITS, OPETH and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, the band were invited to take part in Ozzfest 2003. They were heralded as the breakout band of the year and constantly sold more records every week than other side-stage bands. Taking part in the fourth annual Take Action Tour 2003 alongside AVENGED SEVENFOLD and POISON THE WELL and then co-headlining the first annual MTV2 "Headbanger's Ball Tour" with KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and LAMB OF GOD, SHADOWS FALL solidified their fan base and were certifiably the new leaders of the genre. Videos for the tracks "Thoughts Without Word", "Destroyer of Sense", and "The Idiot Box" were greatly embraced and supported by "Headbanger's Ball" and "Uranium", two shows where the band appeared as guests several times. All this exposure has enabled SHADOWS FALL watch both their fan base, and record sales, explode.

The group are currently touring Europe and will release their highly anticipated new album, "The War Within", on September 21.

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