Havok Vocalist Breaks His Wrist

Havok vocalist/guitarist David Sanchez has broken his wrist and the band will be forced to miss several dates on the current tour with Crowbar, Revocation, Fit For An Autopsy and Armed for Apocalypse.

The band will rejoin the tour in California in early October with Revocation's Dan Gargiulo will be filling on guitar while Sanchez returns on vocals.

Here's more in Sanchez's own words:

While hiking in Boulder, Colorado, I took a pretty nasty fall and ended up shattering my left wrist. Since I'm currently unable to play guitar, our friend Dan Gargiulo from Revocation has offered his 6-string services and will be laying down the riffage for the rest of our stint in the USA. I will still be doing vocals on the remainder of the upcoming shows and I cannot wait to get back on the road!

I'd like to apologize to anyone that was looking forward to seeing HAVOK in these coming days. We will definitely make it up to you. In times like these, one must remember the ancient American proverb, "Shit happens." See you on the road!!

One last thing! Here is some good news for a change. Pete's mom is making a full recovery from her recent accident and that means Pete Webber will be back behind the kit rejoining the tour in California. We want to thank Marshall Wieczorek from Wretched for stepping in on drums and doing an awesome job on such short notice.

The latest Havok tour dates are as follows:

"Symmetry in Black" tour dates feat. HAVOK w/ CROWBAR, REVOCATION, FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE
Oct. 2 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
Oct. 3 - Santa Ana, CA - Observatory
Oct. 4 - Los Angeles, CA - Los Globos
Oct. 5 - Tempe, AZ - Club Red
Oct. 6 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
Oct. 8 - Dallas, TX - Gas Monkey
Oct. 9 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
Oct. 10 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's

HAVOK live in Mexico
Oct. 11 - Ciudad Juarez - Hysteria Bar
Oct. 12 - Chihuahua - Club Bolivar
Oct. 16 - Durango - Fir
Oct. 17 - Monterrey - Morfos Bar
Oct. 18 - Mexico DF - Eyescream Metal Festival
Oct. 19 - San Luis Potosi - Bunker Bar
Oct. 23 - Queretaro - Black Flag
Oct. 24 - Aguascalientes - Seven Sins
Oct. 25 - Mexico DF - Hell & Heaven

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Deserted Fear Posts New Song

"Kingdom of Worms," the new album from German death metal juggernaut Deserted Fear, will be released October 24th through FDA Rekotz. The vinyl LP version will be released on November 21st.

Thuringia's Deserted Fear previously graced the scene with its 2012 debut "My Empire." "Kingdom of Worms" was recorded in June/July 2014 at Eisensound Studio in Eisenberg under the knife of guitarist Gitarrist Fabian Hildebrandt.

Mixing and mastering duties have been handled by Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath, etc.), who put the finishing touches on "Kingdom of Worms" in his very own Unisound Studio. The dark and atmospheric artwork was once again created by Thomas 'Necromaniac' Westphal fits the music perfectly.

Hear Rock Hard's exclusive stream of album track "Mortal Reign" at this location, and below in the player.

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Arroganz Debuts Track

FDA Rekotz will unleash "Tod & Teufel" from German death metal horde Arroganz on November 11th. "Tod & Teufel" was recorded at The Dark Depths of Cottbus Studio, mixed by Timo Rotten (Spitfire Productions), and mastered by Lasse Lammert (LSD Studio).

The artwork for the ten-track album was created by Misanthropic Art, and is featured below the player. Album track "One Death" is streaming below.

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Whore Of Bethlehem Posts Video

Austin, TX blackened death metallers Whore Of Bethlehem released the ten-song excursion "Upon Judas' Throne" earlier in the year, a release that you may now stream digitally below. A video the band did for the title track also follows.

Whore Of Bethlehem will be performing on October 16th with Suffocation and Kataklysm, and on October 29th with Deicide and Septic Flesh. Both shows are at the Dirty Dog Bar in Austin.

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Horrendous Debuts New Track

East coast death metal trio Horrendous has unleashed, via Stereogum.com, another new track from its sophomore release "Ecdysis." Check out the exclusive world premiere of "The Stranger" at this location.

Picking up where the band's 2012 debut "The Chills" left off, "Ecdysis" is set for an October 14th worldwide release on CD, vinyl and digital formats via Dark Descent Records. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Subterranean Watchtower Studios, with cover art for the album provided by Brian Smith.

Horrendous has also posted a couple of upcoming live dates:

Oct. 3 @ TBA - Detroit, Mich. w/ Prosanctus Inferi & FaithXtractor
Oct. 4 @ Beat Kitchen - Chicago, Ill. w/ Deceased, FaithXtractor, Terminate & Blood of the Wolf

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Overcharge Posts Entire New Album

Italian punk/speed metallers Overcharge are streaming their entire new album "Accelerate" over on bandcamp, which we have for you below in the player. That album is set to drop on September 30th via Unspeakable Axe records. Stream all ten tracks.

Overcharge just played the Tutto Torna Al Fuoco fest Vol. 2 and will next make a live appearance on Friday, October 3rd along with Swiss stoner/crust band Irrsinn and Cancer Spreading at the Iqbal Masih in Bologna.

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Sempiternal Dusk Streaming Album Tracks

"Upon the Gallows at Perihelion" and three other tracks from Sempiternal Dusk's upcoming self-titled debut are streaming at bandcamp, the site Last Rites, and also below in the player. The album will be released September 30th on Dark Descent Records.

After a doom/death demo assault in 2012, the Portland band is once again making their presence known across the underground with this self-titled, five track, forty-seven minute affair.

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Mausoleum Gate Posts New Track

"Lost Beyond the Sun" from Mausoleum Gate's upcoming self-titled debut is now streaming exclusively at Bravewords.com. Cruz Del Sur Music will release the album on October 7th in North America. Stream "Lost Beyond the Sun" here.

Inspired by the late 70s/early 80s metal sound, these Finnish lads have been invited next April to play at the German Keep It True 2015 edition of the festival.

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Third Ion Posts "Zero Mass" Video

Prog metal outfit Third Ion, featuring former members of The Devin Townsend Band and Into Eternity, has announced a string of dates that saw the band hitting six Canadian cities in September.

Third Ion has also posted a full studio performance video of the song "Zero Mass," which is playing below. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on its debut full-length, "13/8Bit," for which it recently posted the lead single "Capitol Spill."

Third Ion is the product of a mutual love of prog, video games, and science. The debut album will contain eight to ten songs, including the title track which is written entirely in 13/8 time signature. 8-Bit musical renditions of every song will be released as well, to pay homage to their 1980s classic gaming inspirations.

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Zero Down Reveals Cover Artwork

Seattle trad-metallers Zero Down have signed to Minotauro Records and a fall/winter release is set for the release of their fourth album, tentatively titled "No Limit to the Evil." Tentatively titled "No Limit To The Evil," it will feature ten new cuts. Stay tuned for the release date.

Having releasing its last CD independently, Zero Down is now set to once again reunite with Martin Feveyear (Qotsa, Screaming Trees, Duff McKagan's Loaded, etc) at Jupiter Studios in Seattle to lay down this release. Packaging will include artwork by the master of metal art, Ed Repka (Megadeth, 3 Inches Of Blood, Death, Misfits, etc). The cover artwork follows below.

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Nephren-Ka Posts New Video

French death metallers Nephren-Ka have just unleashed their brand new music/lyric video hybrid for "Praise Shaï-Hulud." The video can be viewed below.

The song is taken from the band's 2013 debut full-length, "The Fall of Omnious" on Kaotoxin Records. The video was directed and edited by Xirod Media and features the band performing with lyrics included.

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Convent Guilt Streaming Songs

Australian rock/metal band Convent Guilt has released the first couple of songs off its upcoming album "Guns for Hire," which will be released on vinyl by Cruz Del Sur Music on October 10th (Europe) and October 7th (rest of the world).

Check out "Angels in Black Leather" and "Don't Close your Eyes" below in the player.

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Interview

Interview With Polyptych

Polyptych's second full length "Illusorium" is one of the most interesting extreme metal recordings of 2014 as it exudes a unique kind of frantic ferocity and epic scope.

Mixed at the legendary Tampa's Morrisound Studios, its sonic and musical pedigree definitely stands alone. If you haven't heard much about it before, please don't blame yourself. You should blame the circumstances surrounding its release. After all, the Chicago-based band wasn't able to find a proper label that could help to expose the new genre-blending juggernaut to the metal masses out there.

MetalUnderground.com wants to help to change that. We spoke with the band's bassist/vocalist, Frank Lato, about the creation of this commanding 10-track journey and the complexities of working as true independent artists in the already saturated underground scene.

Oscuro: It's been 2 years since your fierce debut "Panels Engraved." It's a relatively short period between albums having in mind that you basically are an independent band.

Frank Lato: Polyptych was initially conceived as a studio project only, and has never had a stable lineup until the inception of “Illusorium.” When “Panels” was written and recorded, the band only consisted of [guitarists/vocalists] Young Werther and Scott Skopec, with Matt Kaminsky providing session drums. Following the release of "Panels," I joined the band, and “Illusorium” quickly came together. Having a third member allowed our songs to develop much differently than they did on “Panels” because there was an extra person on which ideas could be bounced. Once the album was written, we decided that Matt would also be a great fit for this new material, so Matt once again recorded drums for the album.

Oscuro: The previous album was more straight forward Death/Black Metal with a lot of Scandinavian influences. However, "Illusorium's" musical scope is broader, with richer textures and atmospheres, more complex rhythmic patterns and occasional dissonant riffing. Is this a sign of musical 'maturity' for Polyptych; maybe as a consequence of the growth you've experienced as musicians during your 6 years-career?

Frank Lato: It is definitely a combination of all those things. As you grow older and play your instruments longer, you develop as a songwriter, and you acquire new musical influences. We knew with “Illusorium” that we did not want to repeat ourselves, so we made it a conscious point that this new album would be more varied, dense, and complex, while allowing it to retain a very specific atmosphere.

Also, as mentioned before, the addition of a full time bass player helped the band to develop ideas more fully, and "Illusorium" has bass lines that either complement or counter what the guitars are doing – something that is not present on “Panels.” Frank also helped introduce some other textures not present on “Panels” such as extra vocal parts, synths, and fretless bass. Frank would compose synth parts, and then as a band, we would decide where they should go, how frequently they should be used, etc. Due to this new focus on the band writing music as opposed to individuals, “Illusorium” took the shape that it did.

More...

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ZOM Readying Debut Album

Irish blackened death metallers ZOM will release their full-length debut album, "Flesh Assimilation," on November 24th in the U.S. via Dark Descent Records on CD, vinyl and digital formats. ZOM will tour as main support to Greece's Dead Congregation to promote "Flesh Assimilation" in December 2014/January 2015. Confirmed dates are as follows:

25/12 Hamburg (De)
26/12 Brussels (Be)
27/12 Paris (Fr)
28/12 TBA
29/12 TBA
30/12 TBA
31/12 London (Eng)
01/01 France TBA
02/02 Zurich (Swi)
03/01 Oberhausen (De)
04/01 Berlin (De)
05/01 Copenhagen (Dk)

While awaiting the full-length, check out ZOM's two releases over on bandcamp - "Demo MMXI" and another release from them in July, "Multiversal Holocaust" (streaming below).

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Process Of Guilt Streaming Split Release

With the official release of the split 12” LP that unites Portuguese industrial doomsters Process Of Guilt with Swiss sludge/black-metal bruisers Rorcal now just two weeks away, today Cvlt Nation offers up the exclusive stream of the release in its entirety. Listen to the entire split album at this location.

Fully comprised of new material from both bands, this new 12” LP sees Process Of Guilt dominating the Side A with a crushing blend of gargantuan doom riffage with industrial, otherworldly atmospheres, while Rorcal takes over Side B with caustic and abrasive sludgy black metal.

Musically, Process Of Guilt and Rorcal are quite different bands, but as this record demonstrates they complement each other really well, with Rorcal’s filthy, corrosive sounds balanced out by Process Of Guilt’s oppressive and intriguing atmospheres.

In conjunction with the split's October 10th release date, both bands will embark on a small tour throughout Spain and Portugal set to commence on October 15th. Check out the full dates below:

15/10 Évora (pt) - SHE* / Avignon (fr) - Théâtre des Italiens**
16/10 Madrid (sp) - La Boite
17/10 Porto (pt) - Hard Club
18/10 Lisboa (pt) - Musicbox
19/10 Malaga (sp) - Velvet Club
20/10 Barcelona (sp)- Rocksound

* Only with Process Of Guilt / ** Only with Rorcal

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Eleanor Streaming Bonus Track

Japanese melancholy metal band Eleanor is currently streaming the "In Gloom" bonus track online, which can be heard below or over at the band's website here.

Originally part of the 2008 debut album "A Circle Of Lament," the track was re-recorded with new lyrics and new arrangements to match the band's current musical style. The track will also be distributed to free for everyone who purchases the CD “A Circle Of Lament” or “Breathe Life Into The Essence.” More...

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Thornafire Streaming New Video

Chilean death metal horde Thornafire has just released its fourth full-length, "Magnaa," on FDA Rekotz. With "Magnaa," the band presents 11 classically-inspired technical death metal compositions (plus intro, intermezzo and outro).

The album was mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken at Soundlodge Studio (Keitzer,Slaughterday), with album artwork for "Magnaa" created by Misanthropic Art. The official music video for track three, "La Esencia Invisible," is streaming below.

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Nader Sadek Reveals EP Details

Multi-media artist Nader Sadek's new four-song EP "The Malefic: Chapter III" will be released as a free CD insert this November and December via Decibel Magazine (#122), Terrorizer Magazine in the UK (#254) and Legacy Magazine in Germany (#94). The Decibel release has a different mix and master from the UK and German versions. The album will also be released digitally in December.

Returning to the fold are main songwriters Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy fame, composer and guitarist Rune Eriksen of black thrashers Aura Noir and ever-rising, multi-voiced growler Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation. Bobby Koelble, who collaborated on Death's "Symbolic," brings a fresh flare into the sound.

Depending mostly on what sounds like millions of notes being touched at ungraspable speed, Koelble is best known for his work with genre creating band DEATH, as he collaborated in creating their most revered record, "Symbolic." Lastly, the solos of Brazilian guitarist Andreas Kisser from Sepultura, introduce a wicked counterpoint to Koelble's style. Shimmering on the surface are the angelic sirens of Carmen Simoes, formerly of Ava Inferi and current Moonspell backing vocalist, who conjures a sense of depth to the song "Descent." More...

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Annihilated Streaming New Album's Title Track

The California-based extreme death metal perpetrators in Annihilated - featuring current and former members of Abysmal Dawn, Grotesque, Excretion, and Arkaik -- will spread their sonic sickness across the lands this October 28th with the release of debut full-length, "XIII Steps To Ruination," via Unique Leader Records.

"XIII Steps To Ruination" was produced by drummer Scott Fuller (Abysmal Dawn) and boasts eleven pounding, methodically-crafted tales of torment bedecked in hailstorm riff sequences, homicidal blasts, maniacal vocal onslaughts, and strategically composed percussive syncopation all fueled, conceptually, by political/corporate disgust and societal revulsion.

As an added bonus, the album features guest appearances by Sven De Caluwe (Aborted), Monte Pittman (Prong), Peter Truax (Vesterian, Eyes Of Fire) and Eric Stobel (Plaguereaper, P.O.R.).

Comments drummer Scott Fuller of Annihilated's union with Unique Leader: "We are psyched to be a part of the Unique Leader family. With such a notable roster of brutal death metal bands and awesome releases, we feel right at home."

Check out a lyric video for the title track below, courtesy of Revolver Magazine. The full album's track listing is as follows:

1. Global Enslavement
2. Eyes In The Sky
3. This Fear I Speak Of
4. XIII Steps To Ruination
5. Eradication Profits
6. Divide Distract Deceive
7. For The Ignorant
8. Wastelands
9. Creations Of Man
10. Throne Of Eternity
11. Putrifacation More...

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Der Blaue Reiter Announces New Album

Following the release of the "Nuclear Sun" long player, Barcelona-based neoclassical darkwave project Der Blaue Reiter returns from the pillars of oblivion with a new collection of mirthless hymns centered on post-apocalyptic desolation.

Titled "Le Paradis Funèbre II - L' Adieu Du Silence," the near hour-long opus boasts eleven haunting compositions inspired by a tragic vision of a world governed by secret societies, warfare, disease, and the last days of mankind.

This album is considered to be the second chapter of Der Blaue Reiter's 2004 debut, "L'enver Du Tristesse/Le Paradis Funebre." A teaser video is available below, and the album's track listing will be as follows:

1. Underworld Dreams II
2. Anthem For Doomed Youth
3. Conquest Of Glory
4. L' Adieu Du Silence Part I
5. Il Tempo La Disperazione
6. The Beginning Of The End
7. Under Deadly Rain
8. Requiem For A Dying World
9. The New World Order
10. Conspiracy
11. L' Adieu Du Silence Part II More...

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Bahal Posts Album Trailer

Italy's Bahal is gearing up to release the band's fifth studio album "Shahat" on the 29th of September, 2014. A preview clip is available below, and the track listing is as follows:

1. Ombre
2. Megiddo
3. Io Leggo Il Cosmo
4. Vanitas
5. La Città Silenziosa
6. Canto dell'Abisso
7. Metamorfosi
8. Shahat

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Frozen Dawn Posts New Music Video

Spanish black/death band Frozen Dawn has launched a killer new video clip for the song "Banished, The Everlasting Confinement."

The track is ttaken from sophomore album "Those of the Cursed Light" released back in March through Xtreem Music. The label comments:

"Those of the Cursed Light is undoubtedly one of the best and most talked about death/black metal releases of the year!!

"Those who are still missing this great album, they simply live in another world ruled by big label's bullshit and big magazine's trend control based on commercial interests, but if you're really into bands like Necrophobic, Watain, Dissection, Naglfar... and you still haven't even given a chance to this album, then you're definitely missing a true gem here!! Wake up and check out FROZEN DAWN!!" More...

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