Metal News for December 6, 2006
Last updated on October 6, 2025 at 2:37 AM ET
We post metal news every day, throughout the day, covering thousands of metal bands including underground and unsigned bands. You are currently browsing the news archive, but you can also find news by band.
Hot Topics
- Kreator To Release New Album In January
- Enthroned To Release New Album In December
- Carcosa (AngelMaker) Premiere New Single & Video
- Agnostic Front Premiere New Single & Lyric Video
- Potato Premiere New Single & Music Video "YUGE PP"
- Omnium Gatherum Drops "Walking Ghost Phase" Video
- Messa Shares New Music Video "Reveal"
- Spite Premiere New Single & Music Video
- Stellar Circuits Premiere New Single & Music Video
- Tailgunner Signs With Napalm Records
22 news articles posted on this day.
Robert Plant Tops Best "Metal" Singer Poll
Who are the best singers in heavy metal history? According to Hit Parader magazine, Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin and Rob Halford from Judas Priest are the two best men for the job. The magazine has published their list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists," and the editors said, "Assembling our list certainly presented a daunting task, considering the breadth and scope of the metal empire during its 35-year reign as rock's most powerful and enduring force. We tried our best not to turn this into some sort of popularity contest where only the most famous (or infamous) frontmen in metal lore were recognized."
Most names included in the list are neither metal singers nor performers in a metal band. They are Queen's Freddie Mercury, the Who's Roger Daltrey, Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, Ann Wilson from Heart, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Davies from the Kinks, Joan Jett, Steve Marriott from the Small Faces and Humble Pie, and Steve Perry from Journey.
The Hit Parader Top 10 Singers:
1) Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin
2) Rob Halford from Judas Priest
3) Steven Tyler from Aerosmith
4) Chris Cornell from Audioslave and Soundgarden
5) Bon Scott from AC/DC
6) Freddie Mercury from Queen
7) Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden
8) Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath
9) Paul Rodgers from Free, Bad Company, and the Firm
10) Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow and Black Sabbath
Deicide Wrapping Up Production On DVD
DEICIDE are wrapping up production on their forthcoming live DVD! Off the heels of an extensive North American tour, spanning the US and Mexico, DEICIDE will be heading to Australia and New Zealand for a headlining tour in full support of critically acclaimed, “The Stench of Redemption.” DEICIDE are also gearing up to release their second live DVD, “Doomsday in LA” featuring the current lineup shift, including Ralph Santolla (ex Death/Iced Earth) and Jack Owen (ex Cannibal Corpse). “Doomsday in LA” was filmed at the famed Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, California and captures the live essence of both new and old DEICIDE compositions! DEICIDE are also slated to hit the UK and Europe in early January of 2007, vowing to bring brutality with finesse to a worldwide audience. Expect “Doomsday in LA” in February 2007, bringing forward some of DEICIDE’S most substantial work to date.
Incubus Earn First No. 1 Album
Incubus tops the Billboard Top 200 Chart this week moving 165,000 copies of their latest, 'Light Grenades'. It's the the bands first No. 1, but not their best selling. Their 2004 release, 'A Crow Left of the Murder', debuted at No. 2 scanning 332,000 units.
Sales were down 13.3% from last week and down 5.1% from the same week last year. Overall sales for 2006 are down 5% compared to 2005 at 500.5 million units.
From Autumn to Ashes Frontman Departs
From Autumn to Ashes frontman Ben Perri has left the band, and not without a little drama. Perri's former bandmate and co-vocalist Francis Mark posted the announcement explaining:
"There has obviously been a monumental change in From Autumn to Ashes and I am sorry for not explaining it sooner. I want to give you an accurate account of what happened but it is important that I do so without saying negative things about Ben or mentioning anything about his personal life. Even though he left this band in a most inconsiderate manner I will show him the courtesy that a "friend" of seven years deserves."
"It all started with an appropriately titled album, "Abandon Your Friends". As you know the members of FATA went up to a house in the Catskill mountains to write that record. We were up there for a total of three weeks and had been writing almost a song per day. By the end of the second week we had the music for ten songs finished but had not heard any vocals by Ben. It had appeared that he was writing a lot and he spent most of the nights alone in his bedroom. By the end of the third week we had the music done for fourteen songs and still no lyrics or vocals on any of them. When we asked Ben about this he assured us that there was nothing to worry about. He maintained that he was ready to go and he was just organizing the vocal parts in his head. On faith that lyrics were finished, we flew to Vancouver and entered the studio to begin tracking the music for the album. We finished the drum tracks, finished the bass tracks and were half way through the guitar tracks and still no lyrics had been presented to us. Ben kept telling us not to worry, that he was ready to go. Instead of admitting that he needed help he lied up until the moment that it was time to start tracking vocals and he had nothing useful written. At this point producer GGGarth Richardson handed me a pad and a pencil and said, "You had better start writing some lyrics or else we don't have an album here". It was one of the most stressful situations I have ever been in. Now you understand why there is not much vocal interplay between Ben and I on that record. We were barely speaking due to this incident. I sang half the songs myself and then gave him lyrics to sing on the other half of the songs and I went home frustrated. All things considered I think "Abandon Your Friends" turned out to be an interesting record but it was difficult to go on tour and support it. Even more difficult was trying to say something positive about it in interviews because the recording process was so tough and we didn't want Ben's failure to be public knowledge. This was a big contributing factor in the band taking a five month hiatus." More...
Year of Desolation Reveal Artwork, New Tracks
Indiana thrashers YEAR OF DESOLATION have revealed artwork and two tracks from the band’s forthcoming self-titled Prosthetic Records debut. Boasting in-depth artwork from Paul Romano (Mastodon, The Acacia Strain), and production from Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, Through The Eyes of the Dead), 'Year of Desolation' will see a January 23 release, with the band having already spent much of 2006 on the road alongside the likes of Incantation, headlining the Cultivating The Masses tour, and a two-month tour with labelmates Burn In Silence.
The band has posted two tracks, “The Economy of Excess” and “Erasing Your Existence,” on the official YEAR OF DESOLATION MySpace page, while artwork can be found at Prosthetic Records.com (front, back). The official Prosthetic Records MySpace page is also housing a streaming copy of “The Economy of Excess.”
YEAR OF DESOLATION is currently mapping out plans to continue touring in early 2007, details on that will be available shortly.
Blind Guardian To Play Bloodstock Open Air 2007
Blind Guardian will return to the UK in 2007 to do an EXCLUSIVE UK show performing at Bloodstock Open Air on Saturday 7th July. This will be Blind Guardian’s first ever outdoor show in the UK and a welcome return following their last and first appearance at Bloodstock in 2002. For more info go to the Bloodstock band line-up page here.
Headline News
Transgressor Are Reunited And Recording
Legendary American experimental thrash band Transgressor has reunited and is currently recording their first album since 1990.
Formed in 1987 from the ashes of seminal New Jersey metal band Chaos, Transgressor was made up of guitarist A. Cid, bassist Jonby, guitarist Vor, and drummer Vis. Transgressor recorded their first demo, "Rupita Oing" in 1988 and quickly rose to prominence, opening shows for the likes of Planet Dread, American Angel, and Trouble. The following year, Transgressor released their self-titled debut ep through the HOTWAX America label. The band’s reputation grew quickly, as did the comparisons to VoiVod, thanks to their experimental sound and unpredictable live shows. The band was one of the first thrash bands to incorporate a true multi-media experience into their live shows, which impressed audiences everywhere they played. Transgressor was prepared to tour Europe in 1991 with Whiplash, but the tour never materialized as the band split, due to creative differences.
After spending 16 years apart, band members A.Cid and Vis recently reunited in October at a NYC Celtic Frost show and decided to pick up where the band left off. Lead guitarist Vor will be laying down lead guitar parts and original bassist Jonby is also slated to take part in this highly anticipated spring 2007 release. For impatient fans who can not wait any longer, the band plans on releasing scratch tracks for the album on www.transgressor.us.
Underoath, Armor For Sleep Tour Dates
Underoath have announced plans to tour with Taking Back Sunday and Armor for Sleep in February '07. Confirmed tour dates are as follows:
February 22nd in State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center
February 25th in Birmingham, AL @ Boutwell Auditorium
February 27th in San Antonio, TX @ Sunset Station
March 1st in Oklahoma City, OK @ Lloyd Noble Center
March 2nd in St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
March 3rd in Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
March 4th in St. Paul, MN @ Myth
March 6th in Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom
March 7th in Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
March 8th in Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
March 9th in Salt Lake City, UT @ Salt Air
March 10th in Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues
March 11th in San Bernardino, CA @ Orange Pavilion
March 13th in Irvine, CA @ UCI Bren Events Center
March 14th in San Francisco, CA @ The Concourse
March 15th in San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO University Rec Center
March 16th in Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra
March 17th in Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
March 20th in Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Agricom Arena
March 21st in Calgary, AB @ Stampede Corral
March 22nd in Saskatoon, SK @ Prairieland Park
March 23rd in Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theater
March 25th in Thunder Bay, ON @ Community Auditorium
March 27th in Ottawa, ON @ Congress Centre
March 28th in London, ON @ Centennial Hall
March 29th in Toronto, ON @ Arrow Hall
March 30th in Montreal, QC @ Theatre Olympia
April 1st in Albany, NY @ Armory
PyroMusic Post Tons of Live Satyricon Photos
PyroMusic.net has uploaded over 100 photos from last night's near-sold out Satyricon show in Sydney with Tasmania's Ruins supporting (feat Dave Haley and Joe Haly of Psycroptic, The Amenta). The crowd of around 1000 were treated to TWO encores from Satyricon who put on a great show. Photos of both bands can be found online here.
Necrophagist, Skinless, Ion Dissonance Tour Dates
Tour dates have been finalized for December's Necrophagist, Skinless, Ion Dissonance, and The Faceless tour. Here are teh dates:
12/8 Jacksonville, FL @ Thee Imperial
12/9 Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
12/10 Virginia Beach, VA @ Peppermint Beach Club
12/11 Levittown, NY @ Club Ritual
12/12 Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
12/13 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
12/14 Nashville, TN @ The Muse
12/15 Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
12/16 Louisville, KY @ Uncle Pleasant's
12/17 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
Sevendust Sign With Asylum Records
Sevendust and their wholly owned record label, 7Bros. Records, today announced a partnership with Asylum Records, part of Warner Music Group's (WMG) Independent Label Group. Asylum Records is distributed by WEA Corp., WMG's U.S. sales and marketing company.
The first project together will be Sevendust's sixth full-length album, Alpha, due in stores, March 6, 2007. To coincide with the release the lead track "Deathstar," has been made available via stream on the band's website.
Sevendust will also embark on a 57-date headlining run beginning February 8, 2007 though April 28, 2007. Holiday tour dates previously announced are as follows:
Wed 12/27 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
Thu 12/28 Myrtle Beach, NC @ The House Of Blues
Fri 12/29 Orlando, FL @ The House Of Blues
Sat 12/30 Ft. Lauderdale @ Revolution Live
Sun 12/31 Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
Interview
Interview with Lofat
Norfolk, Virginia's emperors of thrash metal LOFAT have had quite the year here in 2006 and continue to draw a strong worldwide following mainly due in part to their heavy promotional attack via the web and networking sites like MySpace. They have a growing legion of fans or 'fatheads' I supposed you could call them who continue to champion this group of true underground metal heroes. They are refreshingly one of those rare bands today that are totally uncompromising in their own approach to heavy music. The band is getting ready to unleash its debut record on us here very soon and so I am very happy to be able to get some Q&A in with their guitarist and bassist, Simon and DZL. More...
Excalion Post New Song Online
A brand new EXCALION, entitled "Losing Time", has been posted online at the band's MySpace page. The track comes off the Finnish symphonic power metallers' new album, "Waterlines" (view artwork at this location), due in February 2007 via Limb Music. The follow-up to 2005's "Primal Exhale" was recorded and mixed at Watercastle studio by Arttu Sarvanne and will feature the following track listing:
01. Wingman
02. Life on Fire
03. Losing Time
04. Ivory Tower
05. I Failed You
06. Arriving as the Dark
07. Streams of Madness
08. Delta Sunrise
09. Between the Lines
10. Soaking Ground
11. Yövartio* (European bonus track)
12. Access Denied (Japanese bonus track)
* = Finnish version of the track "Arriving as the Dark" More...
Vanishing Point Part Ways With Drummer
Australian progressive metal band VANISHING POINT has issued the following update:
"Dear friends and fans... we regret to announce our brother Jack [Lukic] retiring from his role as our drummer. We are so proud of Jack and his newfound priorities in life and we can't wish him any more luck than we have already. This Saturday night 9th December will be Jack's last gig with VANISHING POINT and GAMMA RAY in Melbourne, Australia at the HI FI Ballroom.
"Thanks, Jack, for everything you have done, mate. All of us will miss you very much but we will be glad to see the end of all the little rippers you so kindly let us smell..but most of all we will miss your amazing sense of humour which has cracked us up many times, your kind heart, and your endless support that you have given us throught the years. You have been our foundation from where the band has been built on. Thank you for being there time after time you will be difficult to replace not just as a drummer but as someone who we consider to be all our best friend." More...
Rage Part Ways With Drummer
German power metallers RAGE have parted ways with drummer Mike Terrana.
Commented vocalist/bassist Peter "Peavy" Wagner and guitarist Victor Smolski: "From now on, we won't continue our collaboration with Mike because of personal and musical differences that have been existing for a while now and became unbearable. This cut is definitely not easy for us — but to avoid damage to RAGE we have no other choice. Unfortunately, there's not much left from our former unity. A while ago comunication between Mike and us broke down completely, so we have to pull the emergency brake. We decided to work with a new drummer in the future because we don't want to ruin it all to a point where there's no future at all. We want to keep our power and joy in music, so there's no other way. We are aware how much this lineup meant to you (and us) but that's life. A band, especially a three-piece, is like a relationship. Over the years we just drifted apart. We wish Mike all the best for his further career. Nevertheless, there's a bright perspective in front of us: We definitely won't cancel a single show and are working intensely at the moment to present you a suitable new drummer soon. We have lots of plans for the next year, among others we'll play some exclusive orchestra shows for you. We hope you all keep the faith in the future and promise to keep up our quality level to 100%."
Psyopus Post New Song Online
A new track from Psyopus’ upcoming album “Our Puzzling Encounters Considered” scheduled for a Feb 20th release is available for download on their Myspace page.
Headline News
Dog Fashion Disco Call It Quits
After much thought and consideration Dog Fashion Disco has decided to call it quits. Their last and final show will be 1-13-07 at Club Sonar located on 407 E Saratoga St. in Baltimore, MD. T
They want to thank you all of their dedicated fans for enabling them to make a life and career out of the music of Dog Fashion Disco. This is something that not many people get to enjoy and do. It was a hard decision but after 10 years on CONSTANT dedication and touring it is time to pursue other interests.
Here is a statement from Todd Smith, lead singer of Dog Fashion Disco: More...
Cold World Signs To Deathwish
Deathwish have announced Cold World as their latest signing.
Wilkes Barre PA's COLD WORLD garnered world wide praise with their now classic "Iced Grillz" release on Lockin' Out in 2005. COLD WORLD have toured both in the U.S. and Europe, bringing their brand of urban influenced metallic hardcore (think early Life Of Agony and Madball with an early Hip Hop/soul addiction) to everyone within earshot.
COLD WORLD will be entering the studio in early 2K7 to record their new full length for Deathwish. More news on when and where soon. blame you. You can hear a new COLD WORLD demo song and mix from Nick COLD WORLD on the new Deathwish Podcast, which now available on ITunes. You can hear more material from the band on their MySpace page.
COLD WORLD are heading off on a West Coast tour next week. Here are the tour dates:
12/8: San Francisco CA @ Gilman St w/ Iron Age
12/9: Ventura CA @ Alpine w/ Iron Age
12/10: Anaheim CA @ Chain Reaction w/ Iron Age
Other dates:
12/16: Kingston PA @ Backstage Enterprises w/ Strength For A Reason, Meltdown, War Hungry, Pulling Teeth
12/17: Rosedale MD @ State Of Confusion w/ Ruiner, Pulling Teeth, War Hungry, Surroundings
12/31: Montreal QUE @ 4584 Paipineau w/ War Hungry, Final Word, and more
Watch Converge's "No Heroes" Video Online
Converge have posted the video for "No Heroes." The band had this to say about the video:
"This ambitious performance/animated video was created by Los Angeles area director, Ryan Zunkley. Using dramatic texture, lighting, and kinetic movement, Ryan assembled a vivid visual world for what the song and album represents. Successfully capturing the song's thematic battle between negative and positive."
You can check out the video here. The song is the title track on the band's recent release No Heroes.
10 Years Give Studio Update
10 Years posted a bulletin on MySpace recently about how they're coming along with their new album:
"We are about 2 months away from officially starting to record our second album and with around 10-12 songs under our belt already we couldn't be feeling any better. We are reaching places with these new songs that we have never been and it feels really, really good. There is a new and really refreshing energy surrounding the new material and these songs really feel like they were made to play in front of people.
Being home around family, friends, and even our pets has really been inspiring. More updates to come......keep checking back."
Staind Taking A Break
It's going to be awhile before there's a new Staind album in record stores according to front-man Aaron Lewis. In an interview with Billboard he said,
"Everybody needs some time off. I like to try to make sure the surface is clean. You've got to let all the build-up from being on tour and playing the same songs over and over again go away and have a clean slate to start over with so we don't repeat ourselves.
We've kept a pretty rigorous schedule from the word go in our career. We've been around for 10 years and made five records; that's a pretty serious work schedule. I don't think there's anything wrong with slowing that down just a little bit and giving people a little bit of an opportunity to miss what we have to offer."
When asked about the idea of a solo album he said,
"It's there in concept and thought, but there's a lot of things that have to fall into place for me to bring it to the table."
He hopes that recording on his own will give Staind the chance to recapture the head-banging reputation that's been overshadowed by the bands more mellow hits.
While Staind are playing a string of dates in early December, Lewis will kick off a solo tour on December 27th that currently stretches into 2007. More...
Los Angeles Murderfest 3.0 Announced
Los Angeles Murderfest 3.0 will take place on March 24th and March 25th at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, CA. The event will feature over 40 bands on two stages. Both Brutal Truth and Pig Destroyer have been confirmed to appear thus far. Additional bands will be revealed in the coming weeks. A single day pass is $30 in advance, while a while a two-day pass is $50 in advance.
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