Cellador Guitarist Comment On Avian Appearance

CELLADOR guitarist Bill Hudson is scheduled to make a guest appearance on the new album from AVIAN, the melodic metal band featuring singer Lance King (BALANCE OF POWER, PYRAMAZE) and guitarist Yan Leviathan.

Commented Hudson: I'll be heading to Minneapolis, MN tomorrow (Monday, November 5) to play the guitar solos in the next AVIAN record, which will be called 'Ashes and Madness'. I'm really excited about it!"

"I was really honored when Yan e-mailed me and asked if I'd like to play in it, because not only do I think they're a great band, but I also have two VERY good friends in it: Jonah Weingarten (PYRAMAZE) and Lance King. On top of that, they had David Ellefson (former bass player in MEGADETH) on the first album." More...

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Electric Wizard Post New Song Online

A new ELECTRIC WIZARD song, entitled "The Chosen Few", has been posted on the group's MySpace page. The track comes off the British doom veterans' sixth full-length studio album, "Witchcult Today", which is scheduled for release in Europe on November 12 via Rise Above Records (November 20 in the U.S.). Recorded and produced by Liam Watson (WHITE STRIPES, DATSUNS) at London's legendary Toerag studios, initial CD copies will come in foil gatefold LP replica, with a double vinyl version foil sleeve also available (first 125 copies will come with exclusive free poster and patch and will be up for pre-order on the Rise Above web site). The track listing as follows:

01. Witchcult Today
02. Dunwich
03. Satanic Rites Of Drugula
04. Raptus
05. The Chosen Few
06. Torquemada 71
07. Black Magic Rituals & Perversions
08. Saturnine

The band will make its debut appearances in Japan with three shows in November. They are also confirmed to play next year's Roadburn Festival in Holland.

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The Ottoman Empire Post New Song Online

Wisconsin based female fronted metal band, The Ottoman Empire, have posted a new song on their Myspace page and issue the following message:

"As you may have noticed, we now have a new song online: Fountain of Youth! It was recorded this past summer at Track Six Studios in Cleveland during our demo sessions with Don DeBiase and Brandon Youngs. Have a listen and let us know what you think! Your feedback is always appreciated! :)"

"We'll be posting more songs from our summer session throughout the month, so stay tuned!"

"Cheers!
The Ottoman Empire"

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Darkthrone Complete Recording Two New Tracks

Nocturno Culto of the long-running Norwegian black metallers DARKTHRONE has issued the following update:

"OK, here we go again. DARKTHRONE's album 'F.O.A.D.' is now released (what a fucking masterpiece (?)) But do we rest now? Of course not. Last weekend we recorded two new songs for next album...that has a name, but I can't reveal just yet, sorry. I'm all exited AGAIN. As usual DARKTHRONE is going their own way, usually AGAINST the stream, we're getting praise/slaughtered for doing so, but in the end we are sure our albums will last longer than a decade....HAH. Right, and Dani Pedrosa did win in front of his home-crowd at Catalunya today, good for him, but where were Mr. Capirossi???"

DARKTHRONE's latest album, "F.O.A.D.", was released in September via Peaceville. An EP, "NWOBHM" (New Wave Of Black Heavy Metal), preceded the full-length CD on July 23.

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Testament Singer Speaks On Music Business And More

Dr. Abner Mality from the Wormwood Chronicles webzine recently conducted an interview with TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Wormwood Chronicles: You grew up in the Bay Area during the most exciting period ever in heavy metal.

Chuck Billy: Right.

Wormwood Chronicles: What was it like in those times? It seems like a legendary period in history?

Chuck Billy: Well, there were a lot of parties. Everybody was pretty tight with each other, there was a lot of camaraderie. Everybody was young, it was a new scene. METALLICA was up and coming with their sound and they sort of gave the Bay Area scene the flavor it had. They played a lot of New Year's parties and a lot of gigs at their house. It was a time when everybody was close and the same people were at the same shows and the same parties all the time.It was this whole community that was really cool. We came from Dublin, which is about an hour from the San Francisco/Berkeley area where everything was happening. The Stone, the Keystone Berkeley...

Wormwood Chronicles: Ruthie's Inn...

Chuck Billy: Ruthie's Inn, for sure. Everybody wanted to be a part of it, they wanted to be a part of something. It was a very comfortable scene. You'd say, I'm going out to Berkeley this Friday and I'm gonna see so-and-so and you knew you'd see your buddies and other bands there.

Wormwood Chronicles: Your two brothers are in DUBLIN DEATH PATROL. Were they diehard headbangers like you? Were you the family ringleader that got them into it?

Chuck Billy: In the end, I became that, but my little brother Andy, who's playing lead guitar and rhythm on the DDP album, he actually played in the band RAMPAGE before me. They were doing their own singing and they asked me to sing for them and that's how it got started. He was in RAMPAGE before me, he started the band. He's one of those guys who's a great guitar player and can play anything but he just never had a break in music and was never in the right place at the right time. So it's really cool that my brother is getting a chance to get his name out there and show people what he's got.

Wormwood Chronicles: One of the ironies of DUBLIN DEATH PATROL is that you're in the band with the guy you replaced in LEGACY (later TESTAMENT), Zetro Sousa. What's it like working with Zetro?

Chuck Billy: Well, me and Zet have a lot in common. Zet used to be one of the roadies for RAMPAGE and he was my brother Andy's best friend. That's how I know Zetro. When Zetro left LEGACY to join EXODUS, he called me up and said, "Hey, I got a band that sounds great, maybe you should give a call and audition for them." So I called up and got the gig with TESTAMENT because of Zetro.

Wormwood Chronicles: What's the chemistry working with Zetro now?

Chuck Billy: It's great! If you think about it, I probably couldn't sing with another singer out there and he probably couldn't sing with another singer than me. Because I sang all his lyrics on the first TESTAMENT record, I basically sang in his style on that record. He knows my style and I know his style. We're really good friends so there's no tricks. We actually found out that his and my voices blend really well together.

Wormwood Chronicles: From the little I heard, it sounded like a natural pairing.

Chuck Billy: Yeah, it is. So far it's been a lot of fun. The whole project's been fun because it's basically all our friends that we grew up with and it's not so much of a band. It's friendships and it's fun...

Wormwood Chronicles: It looks like thrash metal is getting really popular again. Do you think it will reach the heights it did in the '80s?

Chuck Billy: I think it's gonna go beyond that. In the '80s we didn't have the Internet like we do now and the potential to get exposed is much greater. It's a lot easier to get to people's homes now.

Wormwood Chronicles: You can expose yourself much easier now but can you make a business out of it? Nobody seems to sell any records any more.

Chuck Billy: Through the Internet, you're not going to make that much money. The only way a band makes money is by touring, play live concerts and sell merchandise. That's how bands survive now because there's a lot of downloading and bands don't get paid for their records. Record companies, they rip off a lot of bands. That's just the way it is.

Wormwood Chronicles: I recently heard a quote that for every one song that is legitimately downloaded and paid for, that same song gets downloaded for free at least 20 times.

Chuck Billy: Oh yeah. We found out that DUBLIN DEATH PATROL...there's some website out there that's offering the whole album for download for $2.22!

Wormwood Chronicles: That's not even really a marketplace anymore. Now you formed your own record company, Godfodder Records. Tell us a little more about that and what led you to start it up.

Chuck Billy: Of course, when you do your own music and sell it on your own website...we're selling the album on Dublindeathpatrol.com...you do things by yourself and eliminate the middle man. We decided to start our own label. That way, we own all the masters. If we wanna license it to Roadrunner or Nuclear Blast or some other label, at least Godfodder Records will still own the masters.

Wormwood Chronicles: Has there been interest from those labels?

Chuck Billy: We haven't really been out there searching. We're just selling ourselves, having fun and pushing ourselves right now.

Wormwood Chronicles: I would think that with all the high profile names involved in DDP, somebody would come sniffing around.

Chuck Billy: Oh there is, there is, they're coming around. It's coming slowly. I think people want to see what happens with this, how much exposure and press we get out of it.

Wormwood Chronicles: What's it like being on the other side of the record business? Somebody who produces and owns as opposed to just performing?

Chuck Billy: You know, as just a performer, it's wrong not to know the business end. Living through it myself and talking first hand, there's a lot of people you can't trust and nobody's gonna come give you money unless you come asking for it.

Wormwood Chronicles: Has it been a real education, running the label?

Chuck Billy: Oh, big time! I've had companies file bankruptcy one me...two of 'em...and you just kinda learn by living through it. We [TESTAMENT] put out two of our best records and the record companies folded up on us. We didn't see a penny from that stuff. You just learn that you can't trust anybody in the business.

Wormwood Chronicles: Were these legit bankruptcies or were they just trying to avoid paying what they owed?

Chuck Billy: One guy did the bankruptcy to avoid paying. He's still in business and did a "Best of Testament" record, which we never saw a penny from. The other company in Europe folded legitimately, they're done and there's no more label.

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Iced Earth Vocalist Talks Illegal Downloading

Sweden's Metalshrine conducted an interview with ICED EARTH/ex-JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens on October 25, 2007 in Stockholm. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metalshrine: Do you see any fear of not being able to make a living out of releasing records and playing live, since people are just downloading these days and artists don't sell as many records as they used to?

Owens: Definitely, yeah! It's definitely something that hurts. I don't think people realize what they're doing to the industry. It gets silly, really, that people even think that it's right to download stuff for free. But I think it's starting... now they have so many sites where you pay to download, so I think that people more and more have done that. You have iTunes and the sites where you pay to download. It hurts. I mean, it definitely takes more away. It scales down touring budgets and they don't realize how much it scales down everything. It's a shame. You just release them and see what you can do.

Metalshrine: Do you see it like totally getting away from the record companies and releasing stuff by yourself, through a website or whatever?

Owens: I don't know. Maybe there will end up being more specialized companies that sell records. Maybe labels are gonna try to be more "online labels." I think they are trying to do both now. Labels obviously have to focus on the Internet and making albums. I don't know. It's hard to say. I think there will always be CDs for quite a while. People still want some CDs, they want the artwork, so people will still buy them. It's hard. I buy a lot of my stuff, the majority of it, from iTunes, but I'm still buying it, though, that's the difference.

Metalshrine: Do you have any other projects going on? Have you ever thought of releasing a solo album?

Owens: I have been kind of contemplating it. Maybe trying to make some type of album and get a bunch of different musicians to do it with me. My idea would be kind of neat to just try and get 5 or 6 different guitar players, or just different people who each of them write a song for the album and then I write the lyrics and the melodies. Just try to release an album like that, would be kind of cool. Try to get Scott Ian [ANTHRAX] on a song.

Metalshrine: Yeah, I read about that. Scott Ian and Jon Oliva [SAVATAGE].

Owens: Yeah, Jon Oliva. Have him do some songs with me and maybe get Michael Wilton from QUEENSRŸCHE to do a song and maybe even Jeff Waters from ANNIHILATOR to do a song. Get Chris Caffery [SAVATAGE] to do a song. I think it would be kind of neat. I'd also like to make an album with Jon Oliva. I think that would be fun. But I've got the BEYOND FEAR thing now and I have some other things in the works. I have some people who have sent me some music and I've worked on some songs with them, so we'll see what happens with that.

Metalshrine: You've got an awesome voice, did you ever take lessons or are you totally self taught?

Owens: I started singing when I was a kid and I was in choirs and had some good teachers. Something I was born with, you know. I think I would've rather been born to be a brain surgeon, then my wife would've been a little happier (laughs). It's something I was born with and had the natural ability to do it, but then I've taken care of it and worked on it. It's not I just took for granted. OK, I've got this gift, but I'm not gonna run it into the ground, which I've seen a lot of people do. A lot of practice have gone into it.

Metalshrine: Just a few things about your JUDAS PRIEST days. Do you know if there's anything recorded with you that hasn't been released?

Owens: No, I think everything's been released. There's nothing. No extra tracks or no extra things that hasn't been released. I'm certain that nothing's left.

Metalshrine: If you got the chance, would you open up for JUDAS PRIEST?

Owens: Ah, man, we would open for them any day. I mean, I think it's a great combination and I think the fans would love it. I think ICED EARTH supporting JUDAS PRIEST on a tour would be a good thing and I know Jon says the same thing. There are bands that you want to open for. JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, HEAVEN AND HELL. Anybody that's big. You know, METALLICA, that would be the opportunity of a lifetime to open up for anyone of them.

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Bands Announced For Central Illinois Metalfest

Next year’s Central Illinois Metalfest has been announced and will take place from July 18th to 20th at the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL. Confirmed acts include: ATROCIOUS ABNORMALITY, BRODEQUIN, DEVOURMENT, CONDEMENED, EVISCERATED, GHOUL, GOREALITY, GORTUARY, HUMAN ARTIFACTS, IMPALED, MORTAL DECAY, ORIGIN, PYREXIA, SEVERED SAVIOR, UNCREATION, WAKING THE CADAVER.

Organizers say that there will be 39 bands total. Headliners will be announced in December/January.

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Dir En Grey To Release Two Greatest Hits Albums

Japan's DIR EN GREY will release two "greatest hits" sets on December 19. The first one is a two-CD set, entitled "Decade 1998 – 2002", which focuses on the band's early years, starting with their debut release, "Akuro no Oka", the Joi TV series outro theme "Yokan", the "Jealous – Reverse" album of piano-arranged songs from their demo era, and more. All 21 tracks have been digitally remastered. The second collection, "Decade 2003 – 2007", focuses on the period of time when DIR EN GREY first started making its name known in the international music scene. The compilation includes such classics as "The Final", "Dead Tree" and "Saku". All 18 tracks have been digitally remastered.

"Decade 1998 – 2002" track listing:

CD1:

01. Akuro No Oka
02. Cage
03. Schwein No Isu
04. Yokan
05. 304 Goshitsu, Hakushi No Sakura
06. Deity
07. Rasetsukoku
08. Audrey
09. Myaku
10. Riyu
11. Jealous – Reverse

CD2:

01. Ain't Afraid To Die
02. Filth
03. Bottom Of The Death Valley
04. Gyakujo Tannou Keloid Milk
05. Kigan
06. Embryo (single version)
07. Mushi
08. Mr. Newsman
09. Umbrella
10. Child Prey

"Decade 2003 – 2007" track listing:

01. Obscure
02. Kasumi
03. The Iiid Empire
04. Drain Away
05. Sajo No Uta
06. Audience Killer Loop
07. Saku
08. Dead Tree
09. Merciless Cult
10. Kodo
11. C
12. The Final
13. Clever Sleazoid
14. Grief
15. Agitated Screams Of Maggots
16. Ryojoku No Ame
17. Repetition Of Hatred
18. Conceived Sorrow

Commented DIR EN GREY's Kaoru: "Mid-tour, during a sound check in Copenhagen, we took some time to play this new song on stage repeatedly, making minor changes as we went. This continued throughout the rest of the tour. The whole process actually benefited us a lot. I feel that the band’s unique mood and temperature is actually captured in between the sounds."

Shinya: "Thanks to all the time we spent working on that song, we were able to completely understand the character of this song. We now perform this song at every show on the current tour, but I still remember that I was able to get into the song smoothly even when we played it the first night."

Die: "I have to say that the song has gone through a drastic change from the original demo, in fact it sounds so different now I can barely remember what it used to sound like! As a result I believe that this song actually breathed a new sense into the band. In fact, this is the next and first step towards our new album."

Toshiya: "I agree with that. I am incredibly thrilled with the end result. The song has both depth and width to it. It took us a long time to come to this point, but this single is the result of working relentlessly without giving up."

"Dozing Green" was released in the UK on October 29, and will be supported by the following performances in the UK:

Nov. 12 - Oxford Academy
Nov. 14 - Sheffield Corporation

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Megadeth Bassist DJs In Japanese Club

While in Tokyo, members of MEGADETH and crew spent some of their off time at a local rock bar called Rock Inn Current. Shown on left is a photo of James LoMenzo being DJ at the rock bar. Assistant Tour Manager, Tracey Wiedeman commented that the current tour has been so very nice to them and that they had made some new friends! Megadeth plays the last of a run of four shows in Tokyo tonight (November 4th) at the Sun Plaza Hotel.

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Behemoth Frontman Comments On Decapitated Drummer

BEHEMOTH mainman Adam "Nergal" Darski issued the following statement regarding the untimely death of DECAPITATED drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka who passed away on November 2nd in a Russian hospital from injuries sustained in a recent road collision:

"It's still so abstract to me…I don't know what to say, don't know what to do. This morning's news brought a lot of pain in our lives and some reflections at the same time. We're not only missing a dear friend but also a great talent. It was so awesome to watch Decapitated growing bigger and bigger with every step they made. We just went off the stage in Denver, Colorado. Tonight we didn't play for ourselves; we didn't play for these people either. All we could do was to put up the best METAL show we could afford in honor of our friend. See you in the afterlife Vitek!"

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Evile Confirmed For Bloodstock Open AIr 2008

British thrashers EVILE are the latest act confirmed for Bloodstock Open Air 2008 which is scheduled for August 15th - 17th at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England. Acts on the bill now include: DIMMU BORGIR, AT THE GATES, PRIMAL FEAR, MOONSORROW, SWALLOW THE SUN, COMMUNIC, EVILE.

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Octavia Sperati To Utilize Session Bassist

Norwegian metal band OCTAVIA SPERATI has issued the following update:

"We will be using a session bass player and a session drummer during our upcoming UK tour. Don't worry, there are no problems in the Octavian camp. It so happens that both Trine and Ivar's partner are pregnant. Due to this joyful situation it's impossible for them to tour at the moment.

"The great session musicians we are taking with us are bass player Tom-Erik Svendsen and drummer Jan-Åge Svendsen. They are both experienced musicians from Bergen-based bands TEMPLE SLEEP and THE SOUL EXPRESS ORCHESTRA. We have been rehearsing with them for a while and things are going very well. They are both really looking forward to the tour, and so are the rest of us. More...

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Pain Update Russian Tour Schedule

PAIN, featuring HYPOCRISY frontman Peter Tägtgren, have updated their Russian tour schedule with shuffled dates and venue changes. The band's new schedule is as follows:

November
14 - Tavastia - Helsinki, Finland
15 - Lutakko - Jyväskylä, Finland
24 - Shadow Club - Moscow, Russia
25 - DK Molodezhi - Perm, Russia
27 - Fakel - Tomsk, Russia
28 - Koliseum - Barnaul, Russia
29 - Rock City - Novosibirsk, Russia
30 - EC Contnent - Kemrovo, Russia

December
2 - Gavana - Krasnoyarsk, Russia
4 - SC Trud - Irkutsk, Russia

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Paradox Post New 'Electrify' Track Online

Longtime German thrashers PARADOX have made available another new song - 'Monument' - at their newly designed MySpace page. The track is featured on the band's forthcoming album, Electrify, available January 10th via AFM.

Other tracks to appear on Electrify include: 'Second Over Third By Force', 'Monument', 'Portrait In Grey', 'Hyperspeeed Hallucinations', Bridge To Silence', 'Infected', 'Disconnected', 'Cyberspace Romance', 'Electrify' and 'Good Morning' (BLACKFOOT cover).

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Tyr Confirm January Live Dates

Faroe Islands based metallers TÝR check in with the following update:

"There will be two Týr concerts and a festival at the end of January. SVARTSOT, who have recently signed to Napalm Records, will support Týr on this short tour."

Dates include:

January
24 - Odense, DEnmark - Badstuen
25 - Lübeck, Germany - Treibsand
26 - Osnabrück, Germany - N8 (Winternoise Festival)

As previously reported, Týr will go into Jacob Hansen's (ROB ROCK, HATESPHERE, MERCENARY) Studio in December to record their fourth full-length album, due to be released by Napalm Records in April or May 2008.

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Lair Of The Minotaur Complete Work On New Album

Chicago-based doomsters LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR have completed work on their new album, entitled "War Metal Battle Master". The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Horde Of Undead Vengeance
02. War Metal Battle Master
03. When The Ice Giants Slayed All
04. Terror Tyrannus
05. Slaughter The Bestial Legion
06. Black Viper Barbarian Clan
07. Assassins Of The Cursed Mist
08. Doomtrooper
09. Hades Unleashed

The band also recorded its October 22, 2007 performance at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. Some of the live tracks will end up on a limited-edition version of the new album, which is due in April 2008 on Southern Lord Records.

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Balfor Announce New Drummer

Vortigern (SLAUGHTER BRUTE, ex-NOCTICULA) has joined the lineup of Ukrainian black metallers BALFOR as the replacement for Erland.

Commented BALFOR frontman Thorgeir: "Unfortunately, Erland had to move and the considerable distance meant that it was very difficult for him to come to rehearsals, and indeed, we had to cancel a couple of gigs because of it. We had been playing together for a long time, and he will be much missed, both as a drummer and as a friend. However, we are delighted to have been able to recruit Vortigern. We have admired his drumming for some time; he is very expressive in his playing and is adding a new dimension to the band's music. His drumming can shake the earth! He has fitted in perfectly with the band on a personal level, which is very important, and we have already played live with him in the lineup, and the response from the fans has been fantastic." More...

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Dark Suns Part Ways With Keyboardist

German progressive dark metallers DARK SUNS have parted ways with keyboardist Thomas Bremer due to personal differences. A replacement keyboardist has not yet been announced.

DARK SUNS' third album, "Existence", was released in 2005 via Prophecy Productions. The group is currently putting the finishing touches on the follow-up effort, tentatively due in early 2008

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