ex-Bolt Thrower Frontman On Departure, New Project

Denmark's Evilution Magazine recently conducted an interview with former BOLT THROWER/BENEDICTION and current DOWNLORD frontman Dave Ingram. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Evilution Magazine: Please give us your version of the split with BOLT THROWER as well as your career with the band. Do you agree with the official announcement from BOLT THROWER — and what lies behind the statement "due to long-standing health and personal problems?"

Dave Ingram: "Absolutely. Both myself and BOLT THROWER talked over what the press release should say, and we were all in agreement over it. To start, I'll say that I enjoyed every single moment of being a part of the BOLT THROWER war machine, and will carry those memories with pride through the rest of my life. My illness really began way back in 2000 when my sister committed suicide. I just never got over it. I suffered some severe depressions, and had to take medications and see psychiatrists because of it. It didn't get any better; in fact, it got a lot worse. I had a nervous and mental breakdown (it all got a bit 'Twelve Monkeys' for a time) at the beginning of 2004, and I needed to pick up the pieces of my life and start rebuilding. To do this would — and did — take time, and I told BOLT THROWER that I didn't want them to suffer unduly. It was a very hard decision to make, but my departure from the band was necessary for me to concentrate on regaining my mental health, and for BOLT THROWER not to have been put on hold. It just wouldn't have been fair to them had I remained. This is the first time I've spoken about my illness to people other than family/friends/doctors and this last couple of years, when I was experiencing all this turmoil, now seem somewhat removed and distant. Even though it wasn't quite so long ago."

Evilution Magazine: You are now back with DOWNLORD. Please start by introducing the band and give a few comments on how it all started — and perhaps a brief explanation of the idea behind the name DOWNLORD?

Dave Ingram: "There's me on vocals, Donovan Spenceley (guitar), Rene Falther (guitar), Thomas Fagerlind (bass) and Jesper Frost (drums). It originally started back in late 2004. Rene was working with our previous drummer and bass player, and he contacted me to see if I'd be interested in jamming with them and possibly joining. I took along my longtime buddy Donovan and we all felt that we could produce something concrete, so we agreed to work together. Originally, the band was called FULL SCALE HATRED but we just weren't too happy with that. Mainly because we're tired of the overt negativity prevailing through metal lyrics. Of course, that kind of thing perfectly suits death metal, but we just didn't feel 100% comfortable with that name, especially in the climate of the world today. We spent a long time figuring out a name, with a lot of different ideas. One evening we sat down and wrote out a huge list, while getting drunk, and discussed them all. A few days later (once we'd recovered) I looked back over the list, and the almost illegible handwriting due to the copious amounts of alcohol we'd consumed and saw 'DOWNLORD' on there. I think we'd tried to write DOWNLOAD but we were just SO wasted that night, so you can say the name was fueled by booze. But back to that 'negativity' thing... I'm not disrespecting death metal for that; it's just that in my experience through the last eight years of life, I've found that something positive can always come out of something negative."

Evilution Magazine: Do you expect to start negotiating with various labels soon, and when can we expect an official full-length release from DOWNLORD?

Dave Ingram: "We'd love to release! I mean, which band wouldn't? We've all had a large amount of studio experience in the past, so we know our time recording a full-length release will be enjoyable, painless and professionally productive. That's always a good start when you know something more of the processes involved. We believe that the website, once operational, will help get us around and known a lot more on the scene, too. When we've done the next demo disc, and we're satisfied with it, then we'll be using that to shop around. Another idea was to finance a recording ourselves, then have it available online — with downloadable CD art — so we do it all ourselves, for a lot less. Something else I learned from my recent past is that by cutting out the middle-man, a band can lose a lot of the trouble involved, and then give back to the scene that supports them."

On a side note, two tracks from DOWNLORD's demo, "Nailing You In" and "Groin Of God - Amen & Out," are available for download at the group's official web site.

Read the full article at EvilutionMagazine.com.

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Video Clip Of Tarja's Final Nightwish Performance

A 30-second video clip of NIGHTWISH's final performance with frontwoman Tarja Turunen, which took place on October 21 at the Hartwall arena in Helsinki, Finland, has been posted online. You can check it out in Real Media or Quicktime formats. The concert was filmed professionally for an upcoming DVD, "End of an Era", tentatively due in late 2006. The group's setlist for the show was as follows:

01. Dark Chest Of Wonders
02. Planet Hell
03. Ever Dream
04. The Kinslayer
05. Phantom Of The Opera
06. The Siren
07. Sleeping Sun
08. High Hopes
09. Bless The Child
10. Wishmaster
11. Slaying The Dreamer
12. Kuolema tekee taiteilijan
13. Nemo
14. Ghost Love Score
Encore:
15. Creek Mary's Blood
16. Over The Hills And Far Away
17. Wish I Had An Angel

NIGHTWISH fired Turunen via an "open letter," which was given to the singer immediately following the Helsinki show. The group are currently seeking a replacement vocalist before entering the studio in September 2006 to begin recording the follow-up to 2004's "Once", tentatively due in mid-2007.

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Weather Kept Korn From Colorado Springs Event

Inclement weather kept the members of Korn from making it to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on November 3, where the band was to meet and greet contest winners at radio station KILO 94.3 FM. Instead, Korn found themselves stranded in the small town of Walsenburg, about a two-hour drive south of the station. The group waited out the storm in a Mexican-American diner, and called in to the station with news, weather and traffic updates. Meanwhile, several fans made the pilgrimage to Walsenburg, and the station hired limos to shuttle the contest winners to the eatery. According to the station's programming director, Ross Ford, Korn were "hanging out at a small middle-of-nowhere restaurant where a hundred or so locals [had gathered]. The guys played to the crowd, spent several hours signing autographs, taking pictures, eating enchiladas and enjoying the offerings of small-town Colorado."

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Audioslave and Seether Live On MTV.com

You can catch Seether and Audioslave live on MTV's Nokia Unwired at Hard Rock Live tomorrow (11/9). The program airs at 8pm ET and will be replayed on MTV on Friday, Nov. 11 at 2:30am ET and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 11:00pm ET. You can TEXT to 74774 and your text messages will scroll across the bottom of the screen during the second part of the show (giving you fans and haters alike something to do).

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Infernum Sign WithSound Riot Records

Polish black metallers INFERNUM have signed a three-album deal with Sound Riot Records.

INFERNUM were one of the most promising and well-respected Polish black metal hordes from the 1990s, offering "truly obscure black metal with a profound mysterious atmosphere," according to a press release. Since guitarist/vocalist Anextiomarus' reported suicide in 2004, the group's second album, "The Curse", has remained unreleased — until now. The CD, which was completed before Anextiomarus' death, will surface in early 2006 via Sound Riot. A new album will follow later in the year.

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Grave Give Update On New Album

Legendary Swedish death metallers GRAVE have posted the following message on their official web site:

"GRAVE will perform at this year's Arnhem Metal Meeting [in Holland]. Sharing the stage with DISMEMBER, DESTRUCTION and CANDLEMASS will be a night to remember. Also added are the dates for the upcoming European 'The Domination Tour 2006'. Be sure to check out the dates for your chance to see CRYPTOPSY, GRAVE, DEW-SCENTED, ABORTED, VESANIA and HURTLOCKER. Probably one of the most brutal packages ever put together...

"We are currently writing new material for our upcoming album. Seven songs are finished and more are in progress. Two of the tracks have been recorded as a studio tryout and also to get an idea of what it will sound like as finished tracks."

A complete listing of upcoming GRAVE shows can be found at Grave.se.

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Setherial To Enter Studio Soon

Swedish black metalelrs SETHERIAL will be entering Abyss studio on November 21 to begin recording their fifth album. The new songs are said to be "more technical than their previous albums but the aggression still remains." The group's lineup has also changed with the addition of a new vocalist and bass player.

SETHERIAL's most recent album, "Endtime Divine", was issued in 2003 via Regain Records.

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ex-Malevolent Creation Vocalist Guests On Album

Vocalist Brett Hoffmann will rejoin long-running Floridian death metallers MALEVOLENT CREATION for two songs on the group's forthcoming tenth studio album, to be released sometime in the spring/summer of 2006. The rest of the lead vocals on the CD are expected to be handled by Jason Blachowicz (also in DIVINE EMPIRE), who recently rejoined the group as the replacement for Gordon Simms. The band's current lineup also includes returning member John Rubin (guitar), who came back to the group following the departure of guitarist Rob Barret.

MALEVOLENT CREATION's latest album, "Warkult", was released in July 2004 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Liquid Ghost Recording Studio in Boca Raton, Florida by Phil Plaskon and mixed at Studio Wild in Quebec by producer Jean-Francois Degenais (KATAKLYSM). Mastering duties were handled by Bernard Belley in Montreal. A live album, "Conquering South America", was issued last year via Arctic.

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Silent Civilian Signs To Mediaskare Records

Silent Civilian, featuring one-time Spineshank frontman Jonny Santos, has signed with Mediaskare Records and will release their debut album, tentatively titled "Rebirth Of The Temple," on February 21st through the label. The band has been in the studio with producer Logan Mader (Machine Head) since mid-October recording the album, and plan to be finished recording in mid-November. For now, three demo versions of the tracks "Lies In The House Of Shame," "Divided" and the title track "Rebirth Of The Temple" can be listened to here. While in the studio, the band will be posting updates on Mediaskare's "Making The Record" Myspace page.

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Nevermore Announce Headlining Tour Dates

Nevermore have announce the following headlining dates:

Nov. 14 Austin, TX - Backroom
Nov. 15 Dallas, TX - Trees
Nov. 17 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
Nov. 18 Salt Lake City, UT - Lo Fi Cafe
Nov. 19 Boise, ID - The Core
Nov. 20 Portland, OR - Sabalas's

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Kataklysm Announce Final Shows For 2005

Kataklysm have lined up the band's last shows for 2005 in Canada:

Dec. 15 Quebec City, QC - Kashmir Nightclub
Dec. 16 Toronto, ON - The Marquee
Dec. 17 Trois-Rivieres, QC - The Manchester

On January 1st, Kataklysm will be premiering a new song called "Like Angels Weeping (the dark)" from the band's highly anticipated new album "In the Arms of Devastation".

Kataklysm guitarist J-F Dagenais comments: "the new album is at the record label, gearing up for production as we speak. Tue Madsen did a phenomenal job on the mix, the album sounds very powerful and very well balanced. Everyone at Nuclear Blast in Europe and the States seem to think this is our strongest album to date (that makes you feel very confident Imust say!). They are very excited and so are we. For me, this album is just another piece to the Kataklysm puzzle, but a very important one indeed. We really found our niche and the determination of the band is felt all over this record. I think our fans will dig this one alot!!... Play it loud Feb. 20th!!"

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X-Mass Tour With Morbid Angel Cancelled

According to a post on the official Ensiferum website, the X-Mass Fest European Tour with Morbid Angel, Enthroned, Primordial and Ensiferum, has been cancelled because headliners Morbid Angel had decided to pull out from the tour. The preliminary schedule indicates that the next Ensiferum tour will begin in March of 2006.

Upcoming Ensiferum appearances:

Nov. 26 Arnhem Metal Meeting, Arnhem, Holland
Dec. 31 Nosturi, Helsinki (Ensiferum's 10th Anniversary celebration concert)

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Dark Tranquillity Announce Gothenburg Support Acts

Dark Tranquillity have announced that Burst, RAM and All Ends will support them in their hometown show at Trädgårn in Gothenburg, Sweden on December 29th.

More news on the Stockholm, Sweden show on the 28th will be announced soon.

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Black Steel CD Launch Show

Perth's metal sons Black Steel are releasing thier new album titled "Hellhammer" at The Lookout on November the 12th.

"Hellhammer" is being released internationally, a first for Black Steel and should be a ripper as it has been critically acclaimed by the metal press and also The Dick himself Bruce Dickinson from none other than Iron Maiden has given the album praise and added them on high rotation on his BBC6 rock show.

Supporting the local legends will be Victoria's Contrive featuring triple j's metal segment presenter Andrew Haug plus Psychonaut and Chaos Divine. Check out blacksteel.com.au for more details.

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Caliban Mixing New Album

German metalcore band CALIBAN recently entered Principal Studios near Münster, Germany to record their fifth full-length album, entitled "The Undying Darkness". The follow-up to 2004's "The Opposite from Within" was once again produced by Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES frontman), with Andy Sneap (MACHINE HEAD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ARCH ENEMY) handling the mixing duties.

"Everything is recorded. The harddrives are already in the U.K. and Mr. Sneap started mixing," the band write in a press statement. "Marc [Görtz, guitar] will fly over to the U.K. for the final mixing in about a week. We've got a rough mix from a couple of songs and we are really exited about how everything is turning out! We cant wait till the record will be released and everyone of you guys can hear it!!! Publishing date will be the 24th February 2006!!!!! But we will upload 1 or 2 songs before that..."

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Former Nightwish Singer To Discuss Future w/ Press

Former NIGHTWISH frontwoman Tarja Turunen will take part in a press day in Berlin, Germany on Monday, November 14 to discuss her split from the group and her future plans.

As previously reported, Tarja's final performance with NIGHTWISH — which took place on October 21 at the Hartwall arena in Helsinki, Finland — was filmed professionally for an upcoming DVD, "End of an Era", tentatively due in late 2006.

NIGHTWISH fired Turunen via an "open letter," which was given to the singer immediately following the Helsinki show. The group are currently seeking a replacement vocalist before entering the studio in September 2006 to begin recording the follow-up to 2004's "Once", tentatively due in mid-2007.

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Ozzy Osbourne To Perform For Queen Elizabeth II

Ozzy Osbourne has been forced to pull out of his upcoming appearance at the Spike TV "Video Game Awards" later this month due to a personal request from Buckingham Palace to perform for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Family's annual "Royal Variety Performance". Regrettably, the rehearsal and performance schedules for both shows overlapped. "Last year I was invited to perform at 'Royal Variety Performance' and I was unable to due to other commitments," said Osbourne. "I cannot turn down this incredible honor twice."

As previously reported, Ozzy — alogn with the rest of BLACK SABBATH — will be inducted into the U.K. Music Hall of Fame later this month. SABBATH will be honoured alongside BOB DYLAN, PINK FLOYD, JIMI HENDRIX, NEW ORDER, THE WHO and THE KINKS. The late DJ John Peel will become an honorary member.

The ceremony will take place at London's Alexandra Palace on November 16.

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The Distance Sign To Abacus Recordings

Hailing from Connecticut, The Distance is a four-piece whose tireless hard work and dedication, with their do-it-yourself ethic, has been making waves in all facets of the hardcore underground scene. This can be seen in their prolific nature featuring an EP with Bridge 9 Records, a three-way split with Outbreak and Some Kind Of Hate, a split CD with With Honor, and most recently a discography of all their vinyl works, including two new songs, for Think Fast! Records. Round everything out by having the band play high profile festivals and national tours with acts like Comeback Kid and With Honor and you have a band whose demand for a full-length couldn’t be greater.

Distinguishing themselves from typical hardcore acts by bringing in newer elements from all across the spectrum, including melodic runs, punk angst and catchy rock hooks, The Distance keep their hardcore love close at hand while indulging their creative side for high energy music.

Come this January, the band with enter the studio to record their debut full-length with Shep Goodman (Head Automatica, Bayside, Mandy Moore) entitled, The Rise, the Fall, and Everything in Between. "This year has been really hard for certain members, and the title is based on being at a total high in your life and everything that leads to the downfall," says bassist John Dobyns. "We chose to work with Shep Goodman because he really understands what we want to do with this record and can help us attain it."

The record is tentatively slated to be released late spring/early summer on Abacus with much touring to come. "It is wonderful to be working with a label that is as excited about us as we are of them,” says bassist John Dobyns. "Abacus shares our vision for upcoming endeavors and it is an honor to be associated with a label that has such an impressive roster."

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