CANDLEMASS - No South American dates - yet
Despite
rumors stating the contrary, Swedish doom kings CANDLEMASS have NOT made
definite plans to tour the Latin American continent. "Some fake tour dates
are being advertised in South America at the moment," the band write on
their web site. "Please notice that the only official and confirmed
CANDLEMASS shows are taking place in Europe in November/December. A tour of
South America is under consideration, but nothing is booked yet."
CANDLEMASS are the latest confirmed act for 2006's installment of the
Headbangers Open Air festival on July 14-15, Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany.
***
DESASTER live battles
26.11.05
D Lörrach - SAK Altes Wasserwerk (w/ PUNGENT STENCH among others)
02.12.05
NL Rotterdam - Baroeg (w/ Pentacle, Izegrim)
03.12.05
NL Rijssen - Lucky (w/ Pentacle)
16.12.05
D Mainz -Uni Mainz (w/ Paimon, Obscurity, Compulsive slaughter)17.12.05 D Bonn
- Klangstation (w/Braindeadz)
04.02.06
UK London- Camden The Underworld (w/ Nifelheim, Adorior and more)
11.02.06
D Leipzig - "Scheddel" Moritzbastei (w/ Holy Moses and more)
03.03.06
SWE Stockholm - Club666 (w/ Devil Lee Rot)
04.03.06
SWE Sandviken - Rockklubben (w/ Devil Lee Rot)08.04.06 D Trier Exhaus
"Tales from the Underground" Festival
21.04.06
D Bamberg Live Club (w/ Delirium Tremens and.more)
29.04.06
D Wesseling -Aula Gartenstr. "Voll auf die Ohren Festival" (w/
Tankard, Blood Red Angel, Guerilla, Jack Slater, Hexenhammer, Scornage and
more)
Desaster- website re-launched!!
www.total-desaster.de
***
DIMMU BORGIR - #45 in the UK
Congratulations
are in order this week to NUCLEAR BLAST and DIMMU BORGIR for the release
»Stormblåst 2005«, which reached #45 in the Top 50 Official UK Independent
Albums Chart!
***
SONATA ARCTICA - Touring Europe with Doro
Finnish
melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA will join German hard rock singer DORO PESCH
(Ex-WARLOCK) on her European tour in April/May 2006.
In addition, SONATA ARCTICA have announced several headlining shows without
DORO in Holland, France and Switzerland. The group's itinerary is shaping up as
follows:
Apr. 15 - Herne, GER @ Gysenberghalle
Apr. 16 - Nuremberg, GER @ Löwensaal
Apr. 18 - Vienna, AUT @ Planet Music
Apr. 19 - Munich, GER @ Georg Elser Halle
Apr. 21 - Stödtlen, GER @ Springtime Festival
Apr. 22 - Kaiserslautern, GER @ Kammgarn
Apr. 23 - Stuttgart, GER @ Longhorn
Apr. 24 - Pratteln, SWI @ Z7*
Apr. 26 - Osnabrück, GER @ Hyde Park
Apr. 27 - Hamburg, GER @ Fabrik
Apr. 28 - Helmond, NETH @ Plato*
Apr. 29 - Aalst, BEL @ Oktoberhallen
Apr. 30 - Paris, FRA - TBA*
May 02 - Montpellier, FRA @ Rockstore*
May 04 - Porto, POR @ Hard Club
May 05 - Madrid, SPA @ Aqualung
May 06 - Barcelona, SPA @ Razzmatazz 2
May 07 - Bergara, SPA @ Jam
***
SECRET SPHERE - Support King Diamond
SECRET
SPHERE have been confirmed as the opening act for the Scandinavian part of the
upcoming tour of KING DIAMOND, including gigs in Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Finland and other countries.
***
AMORPHIS - Samples from new album posted
Audio
samples from the upcoming AMORPHIS album, "Eclipse", have been posted
online at the Nuclear
Blast Musicshop.
"Eclipse" is scheduled for release on February 10. The follow-up to
last year's "Far from the Sun" was recorded at Sonic Pump studios in
Helsinki with engineer Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE). The production duties were
handled by the band and Marco Hietala (NIGHTWISH) for vocals. The mixing was
taken care of by Mikko Karmila (who previously worked with the group on their
"Am Universum" CD) at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki.
"Eclipse" track listing:
01. Two Moons
02. House of Sleep
03. Leaves Scar
04. Born from Fire
05. Under a Soil and Black Stone
06. Perkele (The God of Fire)
07. The Smoke
08. Same Flesh
09. Brother Moon
10. Empty Opening
11. Stonewoman (bonus track)
***
BLEED THE SKY - Equipment stolen, seek help
While
on tour with AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE, BLEED THE SKY had their trailer with all of
their equipment stolen from a residence in Mableton (suburb of Atlanta) Georgia
the night of November 13, or the early morning of November 14. They were scheduled
to play shows through the end of this month.
The band has issued the following statement:
"We're in a rough spot and we're asking for help from anyone that can
identify with where we're at. The support we’ve experienced so far from
friends, family, fans, other bands, sponsors and within our record label etc.
has been great, which we're eternally grateful for.
"As a message to our fans, be sure that this will in no way keep us from
doing what we have been doing, we've built this band in the face of adversity,
and rebuilding from what we lost will only make us stronger than we we're
before."
The band is scheduled to begin a European tour with HATEBREED on December 2 in
support of their debut album, "Paradigm in Entropy", and is asking
for any information or help in leading to the recovery of their stolen
equipment. The dollar value lost is estimated to be around $25,000 to $30,000.
BLEED THE SKY are also accepting donations via PayPal and mail from their
website at www.bleedthesky.com.
The band will be doing two or threee local shows (Southern California) before
they leave to Europe to raise money. These dates will be announced within the
next two days.
The stolen equipment includes:
2 Basson 4X12 cabs
1 Ampeg SVT Classic bass amplifier
1 6 X 10 SWR bass cab
1 black M-1000 LTD guitar (with case)
1 see through black MH-1000 Guitar (with case)
1 red Viper LTD guitar (with case)
1 see through black Viper deluxe LTD guitar (with case)
2 B-405 See through black LTD basses (with cases)
1 Sure wireless system
2 Beta 58 A microphones
1 Line 6 extended floorboard
1 black 5tf by 2 ft flight case with stand containing the following:
- 1 (one) Boss SP-505 Sampler
- 1 (one) Korg Kaos Pad
- 1 (one) Korg Microkorg keyboard
1 Tama Rockstar drum kit (with cases, hardware, and various cymbals)
2 sets of Tama Iron Cobras
1 black 6 space rack including:
- 1 Line 6 POD xt Pro
- 1 furman power conditioner
- 1 Rocktron Hush Super C
- 1 Boss NS-2 noise suppressor
2 (two) 5150 II guitar heads.
1 blue custom rack flight case including:
- 1 Korg rackmount tuner
1 Boss NS-2 noise suppressor
1 Furman power conditioner
200 CDs
2 large boxes of merchandise (shirts, hats etc)
1 (one) 10 ft. by 10 ft. banner
***
ANTHRAX - Charlie's photo diary
ANTHRAX's
official web site has been updated with drummer Charlie Benante's photo diary
from this fall's tour with JUDAS PRIEST. Check out part one of the diary at this
location.
ANTHRAX's live "Alive 2 (2005)" CD and DVD packages,, which document
the group's summer 2005 reunion tour, will be released in Europe on November 18
via Nuclear Blast and in Japan on November 30 via JVC. The European release
features "bad-ass expanded packaging and the Japanese release comes in a
killer Judge Dredd shell," reads a posting on the band's web site.
The "Alive 2 (2005)" DVD captures the actual meeting in which the
five members came together for the first time in over 10 years. Along with band
rehearsals and behind-the-scenes footage, the DVD also spotlights 13
performances on the group’s triumphant reunion tour. The "Alive 2
(2005)" CD reprises the audio for 11 of those songs "Madhouse"
and "I'm the Man" are only on the DVD): "Among the Living",
"Caught In A Mosh", "I Am The Law", "A.I.R.",
"N.F.L.", "Deathrider", "Medusa", "In My
World", "Indians", "Time" and "Be All, End
All" — and adds "Antisocial". In a unique twist, the booklets
from the DVD and CD releases form an exclusive poster.
***
CANDLEMASS - No South American dates - yet
Despite
rumors stating the contrary, Swedish doom kings CANDLEMASS have NOT made
definite plans to tour the Latin American continent. "Some fake tour dates
are being advertised in South America at the moment," the band write on
their web site. "Please notice that the only official and confirmed
CANDLEMASS shows are taking place in Europe in November/December. A tour of
South America is under consideration, but nothing is booked yet."
CANDLEMASS are the latest confirmed act for 2006's installment of the
Headbangers Open Air festival on July 14-15, Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany.
***
EDGUY - "Rocket Ride" tracklist and cover
German
melodic metallers EDGUY have finalized the track listing for their new album,
"Rocket Ride", due on January 20, 2006.
"Rocket Ride" (view cover here)
track listing:
01. Sacrifice (8:01)
02. Rocket Ride (4:47)
03. Wasted Time (5:48)
04. Matrix (4:09)
05. Return To The Tribe (6:06)
06. The Asylum (7:38)
07. Save Me (3:47)
08. Catch Of The Century (4:03)
09. Out Of Vogue (4:36)
10. Superheroes (3:19)
11. Trinidad (3:28)
12. Fuc*ing With Fire (4:22)
EDGUY will support DRAGONFORCE on six U.K. dates while the rest of the European
tour EDGUY will headline, with DRAGONFORCE as support. In addition, EDGUY have
confirmed SAVAGE CIRCUS (the new band featuring former BLIND GUARDIAN drummer
Thomen Stauch and PERSUADER members Jens Karlsson and Emil Norberg) as the
support act for their previously announced three Japanese dates in March.
***
HAMMERFALL - Oscar writes from France
HAMMERFALL
guitarist Oscar Dronjak has posted the following message on the group's
official web site:
"We're currently in Lyon, France, after having spent the better part of a
week in Spain. This tour has been one of the very best ever for us! I really
think we have a tremendous package that attracts people and leaves them
satisfied. The audience numbers and reactions is a testament to this, literally
everywhere we go. It feels grrrrrreat!
"As some of you long-time web-followers might have noticed, there is a
lack of the regular tour diary I usually do. This is because I have been asked
by the biggest magazine in Sweden, Sweden Rock magazine, to do a comprehensive
diary of the entire tour. In addition to this, Anders is writing something for
Metal Hammer in Germany, so I thought it would be a bit of overkill to have one
on the web as well. I think you understand."
"Lastly, the Swedish award Rockbjörnen is coming up in January, and as
usual it’s up to you, the people to decide. Please be sure cast your votes
quickly, because the finalists move on to the next round in a matter of days.
We thank you for your support! Cheers!"
HAMMERFALL's latest album, "Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken",
was released in March.
***
CANDLEMASS - Tour pics posted
Swedish
doomsters CANDLEMASS have uploaded a number of photos from their current
European tour with German thrashers DESTRUCTION. Check them out at this location.
***
CLAWFINGER - Add dates to Euro tour
Sweden's
crossover legends CLAWFINGER have added three more dates to their touring
schedule for January/February 2006.
CLAWFINGER live
presented by Metal Hammer, Metal Heart, InYourFace.de
11.01. D Hamburg - Logo
12.01. D Cologne - Prime Club
13.01. CH Fribourg - Frisson
14.01. CH Zurich - X-Tra
16.01. A Vienna - Planet Music
17.01. A Graz - Orpheum
18.01. HR Zagreb - Tvornica
19.01. H Budapest - Petofi Csarnok
20.01. CZ Prague - Abaton
21.01. PL Warsaw - Stodola
19.02. D München - New Backstage NEW
20.02. D Saarbrücken - Garage NEW
02.03. D Berlin - SO36 NEW
***
VARIOUS ARTISTS - A movie about Nuclear Blast!
A
brand-new documentary focusing on Nuclear Blast Records, one of the world's
most successful independent heavy metal record companies, and its founder,
Markus Staiger, is scheduled to air on February 2, 2006 on the European channel
Arte. Dubbed "Heavy Metal on the Countryside", the film's synopsis
reads as follows:
"Donzdorf on the edge of the Swabian mountains in Southern Germany. A
village just like any other, with a pointed church spire, a supermarket and a
new housing estate. But Donzdorf is the seat of Nuclear Blast Records, one of
the world's most successful independent heavy-metal record companies. The
company's boss, Markus Staiger, grew up with heavy metal, like many young
people in rural areas, and has turned his enthusiasm into an empire with
branches in Los Angeles and other major cities. Housewives from the village
work for the mail-order department, sending out bloody skulls to every
conceivable place in the world. Listening sessions are held in the village pub,
where the offerings are commented on by the regulars as critically as by
international journalists.
"The film takes a look at the occasionally comical interaction of the
tranquil village inhabitants with the rather crude hard rock scene. But
traditional positions have shifted: whereas heavy metal once stood for
rebellion against provincial traditions and conventions, it has today, far
removed from urban subcultures, long become a firm and established part of life
in the country."
Commented the film's director, Andreas Geiger: "I met Markus Steiger
eighteen years ago. We used to live in the same neighborhood in Donzdorf. Back
then I helped him with the shipping and handling of 2,000 vinyl records of his
first two releases. One of them — a sampler with hardcore bands from America —
was called 'Senseless Death'. Almost unbearable noisy roars was just what we
wanted to listen to.
"Last year at a Donzdorf visit, I discovered a new, large building in the
industrial area. The logo looked familiar: Nuclear Blast was still using the
symbol of radioactivity, neon green and reminding me of our adolescence and the
nuclear weapons that were stationed close to our village. The
mailorder-company-from-home had grown into an imperium. I found that quite
interesting: Was this a crude heavy metal UFO in a village idyll, a foreign
body on the outskirts of a rural society? Or — on the contrary — was this
village, with all the peace and quiet of life in the countryside, the ideal
location for a after all quite conservative musical genre?"
With a running time of 52 minutes, "Heavy Metal on the Countryside"
will receive its world premiere on January 12, 2006 in Donzdorf, with a second
showing scheduled for January 13 in Stuttgart. The Arte broadcast is slated for
February 12 at 10:21 p.m.
For more information, visit www.filmtank.de
***
MNEMIC - Report from the US
MNEMIC
guitarist Mircea Gabriel Eftemie has posted the following tour report on the
group's official web site:
"So we're back! I dont know how to put this, but the MESHUGGAH tour is
unfortunately over.
"The last week or so has been nothing but fragments of memories merging
into one big pile of imagery. If we rewind a bit, I remember St. Louis; we
played a venue called Pops. A humongous place which could hold at least 2000
peeps, and the place was packed. It was MESHUGGAH, MNEMIC, and a dozen of local
support acts. Both bands had the best time on the whole tour on that stage, at
Pops. The crowd was into every band, and the moshpit looked like something I
haven't seen in a long long time. Once again fists and elbows smashing into
everybody and people stagediving and getting in trouble with the security, it
was beautiful.
"Once our set was done, we were about to watch MESHUGGAH, as we did every
night (this time from the balcony). Jens [Kidman, MESHUGGAH vocalist] came up
to Tony [Jelencovich, MNEMIC/ex-TRANSPORT LEAGUE frontman] with his video cam,
asked if he could film their show (he'd just taped our show). It wasn't long
before I snatched the cam out of Tony's hands and ran down at the side of the
stage to tape the whole thing — it was one of the best gigs I have seen with
MESHUGGAH. Just like every other night, these non-humans were pouring their
energetic soundwaves through the speakers, crushing the audience with extreme
musical precision — simply jaw-dropping and mindblowing, I sh*t you not!
"Anyways, moving on, the day after we hit Virginia, but this time at one
of the best venues in the country. The backstage had a jacuzzi, four individual
showers, a big ass gaming room, with vending machines and pool tables, and a
chef that kicked serious ass when it came to food and drinks — and we really
needed that. The night was good, and I even managed to finally take some photos
of MESHUGGAH which you can view right at my website.
"The day after we drove to N.Y. Poughkeepsie. A sh*tty day indeed, cold,
rainy and depressive, just like back home in Denmark. Perfect day to end the
tour.
"This band [MESHUGGAH] has nothing but inspired me since day one, and it
has been a dream come true to tour with this fine act, great guys, great
personalities, and great music.
"MNEMIC would like to thank Jens, Mårten [Hagström, guitar], Tomas [Haake,
drums], Fredrik [Thordendal, guitar] and Dick, plus their crew, Mikey B (yeaaah
booii), Larry, Fredrik and Brian Griffin for an awesome memory, which we will
never forget! (And to all the Blabbermouth bashers, go listen to 'As I Died
Trying Eating A Dozen Donuts'! In the famous words of MOLOTOV:
MESHUGGAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
"At the end of the night, after we said a way-too-short farewell to
everybody, we got picked up by our management, and had to drive for one hour,
in which eventually became 5 hours, due to a few wrong turns. We even managed
to drive by Sleepy Hollow — yes, it's a city, not just a darn movie"
"Since it was a five-hour drive, we got to the hotel at 4:45 in the
morning, and at 5 I had to take a cab to LaGuardia Airport to leave for
L.A...The other guys stayed in N.Y. for 2 days, and hooked up with our friends
in FEAR FACTORY, SOILWORK and DARKANE. On a more important note, they met Devin
Townsend, and chilled out with him and the rest of the guys. I unfortunately
had to do business in L.A., so I didn’t get to meet our great hero
Devin....hopefully next time"
"After the two days of chillin out, I flew to Arizona where I hooked up
with the rest of the guys, and from there we hooked up with Sharlee and ARCH
ENEMY for the 'Doomsday Tour', had a great show, and went back to L.A. at the
House of Blues. The place was PACKED and sold out! It was crazy, we did a good
set, and everybody seemed to be enjoying them selves. Our dressing room was
next to a private bar at the HoB, where we got to meet Brigitte Nielsen — she
got surprised once our drunk asses started to speak Danish to her — she was
cool, down to earth, tall and with big jugs... and part of Hollywood."
Check out MNEMIC's pictures from the road at this location.
MNEMIC's sophomore album, "The Audio Injected Soul", was released in
September 2004 via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2003's
"Mechanical Spin Phenomena" was recorded at AntFarm Studios in
Aarhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen.
***
SOILWORK - Speed writes in
SOILWORK vocalist
Björn "Speed" Strid has posted the following message on the band's
official web site:
"Sitting in a very dark and cold dressing room in Houston at the Meridian.
I got very surprised when I got up this morning and felt how cold it was
outside... Is it usually as cold as this in Texas?! I know it's going towards
the end of November but still... Anyways, still having a lot of fuc*ing fun on this
tour, had a day off in New Orleans yesterday. We saw all the devastation when
we drove into the city, boats lying in the middle of the road, fragments of
what used to be a peaceful community.. it was scary to see the terrible outcome
after Katrina passed by, just two months earlier (as you might remember, we
were in Memphis that day). What I could also see was that the city is after all
getting back on its feet again (which of course made us very happy) so we
decided to go downtown to support the nightlife and spend some money on
bar-hopping (at least something, right!?). Had a good time down there drinking
the all time classic Handgrenade and went to see some awesome live bands. I
hope they will start up the House of Blues soon again so that we can come down
again and play some of that Swedish metal once again. Also a big hail to DAMIEN
STORM for hanging out with us, had a blast!!
"Other than that not much to say. A really great tour so far, sh*tloads of
people and great circlepits every night. Thanks for rocking out people and keep
em coming."
SOILWORK are continuing to tour in support of their latest CD, "Stabbing
the Drama", available now on Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to
2003's "Figure Number Five" was recorded at Fascination Street
studios in Örebro and Dug-Out Productions in Uppsala, Sweden with producer
Daniel Bergstrand MESHUGGAH, IN FLAMES, STUCK MOJO).
***
CANDLEMASS - Tour report from Leif
CANDLEMASS
mainman/bassist Leif Edling has posted the following message on the band's official
web site:
"We still live and breathe after a week on the road [with German thrashers
DESTRUCTION]. It's been good and a bit bad too.
"The bad things first: Had to cancel two shows: Oslo (Norway) and Oulu
(Finland). Oslo because of sh*tty ticket sales. The presale was 250 tickets 5
days before [the gig] at a place that holds 1,800. So maybe the advance could
have been 300 in the end and 500 people would [have] attend[ed] in all. Not too
bad, but at the Centrum it would be [bad], because of the size of the place.
And Rockefeller, the main (and great club) 500 people would be totally cool,
but it was booked for something else that day. We always get good crowds in
Oslo, and we love to play there so this was very disappointing.
"We also had to cancel Oulu. But because of a totally different reason. No
bus and no gear!! Storm on the Baltic sea! We drove through Polen from Berlin
towards the Tallinn ferry to get to Helsinki. All car ferries were in shore
because of the bad weather. We took a passenger ferry instead to make the show
in Helsinki, only with some clothes and a guitar in each hand. The backline was
provided in Helsinki by the promoter 'cause ours was still on the bus we had to
leave in Tallinn. The Helsinki gig was awesome. Lots of people that went
completely nuts to us and DESTRUCTION. The support acts DEATHCHAIN and AFTER
ALL had great gigs too.
"Heard that a good crowd was waiting in Oulu, apparently a metal city in
Finland. But we had no backline!! Ours was still on the bus and the gear in Helsinki
had to be driven to Oulu. The promoter tried to get somebody to drive it up to
Oulu — a 10-hour drive — and it was too late. The backline would not arrive in
time for the gig. The distance to Oulu is too long. Bummer!! [We] really
apologize about this to all you fans out there in Oslo and the Oulu area. We
had no power over this and hopefully we can make it up later.
"Otherwise the tour has been great. All the bands get along superbly and
the gigs have been great. Ludwigsburg and Berlin... not so many people as
expected but I think CANDLEMASS have done great gigs anyway. We play different
sets every night. Each person in the band choses a personal setlist every
night. Jan started because he’s first in the alphabet, then Lars, then me,
Mappe, and Messiah last. Very democratic. We play all the songs from the new
album (not every night of course) and we got all the classics in the song pot
as well plus things like 'Demons Gate' and 'Crystal Ball' some nights."
CANDLEMASS's latest album, simply titled "Candlemass", was released
earlier this year via Nuclear Blast. Six back-catalog items from the group —
"Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", "Ancient Dreams",
"Doomed for Live", "Nightfall", and "Essential Doom"
— will be issued in the U.S. via Candlelight in February 2006.
***
BLEED THE SKY - First Euro headline tour
US
Metalcore hopefuls BLEED THE SKY will embark on their very first European
headliner trek dubbed the "Demotivation tour"!
BLEED THE SKY + BRIDGE TO SOLACE
Presented by Metal Heart
13.12. H Budapest - Kultiplex
14.12. A Graz - Musichouse
15.12. D München - Backstage
16.12. CH Vevey - The Rocking Chair
17.12. D Hamburg - Markthalle @ Fu*k X-MassFest
18.12. B Tournai - Le Bierstube
19.12. UK London - Underworld
20.12. UK Stroke O Trent - The Glebe
21.12. UK Manchester - Satans Hollow
22.12. UK Northampton - Racehorse
23.12. NL Arnhem - Goudvishal
Please note the venue changes in Graz and London.
***
EXODUS - Play Bang Your Head!!! 2006
Veteran
san Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS have been confirmed for next year's
installment of the Bang Your Head!!!
festival, set to take place June 23-24, 2006 in Balingen, Germany. The festival
billing is shaping up as follows in alphabetical order):
COUNT RAVEN
EUROPE
EXODUS
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM
FOREIGNER
JON OLIVA'S PAIN
L.A. GUNS
LEATHERWOLF
POWERWOLF
RIK EMMETT
VICTORY
Y&T
EXODUS are continuing to tour in support of their latest album, "Shovel
Headed Kill Machine".
***
GOREFEST - Coping with the snow
GOREFEST
guitarist Boudewijn Bonebakker has posted the following report at the band's
official website on how they coped with the recent snowstorm that ripped
through their native Holland during rehearsals and effectively immobilized the
country for a couple days:
"When I rode my bike to the pick up point thought, what a lovely yellow
the leaves of the beech trees have today. Yes, it was a bit windy and some rain
drops made my jeans wet, but other than that I thought it was nice autumn
weather. Me and Ed were being picked up at the railway station by Pieter (our
sound guy) and his drum kit stuffed van.
Frank would be arriving later and JC came directly to the rehearsal studio by
car. We set up our gear and the drum kit and rearranged the studio several
times to make the cramped space workable. JC and I got in the car at half past
three to pick up Frank. There were some snowflakes coming down and we thought
that was kind of cute. When we got back with Frank we started working our bones
through the immense set Ed had thought out for us. Every four songs or so we
stopped to have a coffee break. Eventually, by 19:00, we'd managed to play most
of the songs on the list. It was time to have yet another trip to the railway
station to get home for the night. Little did we know. When we got out, Holland
was white all of a sudden and because of that, traffic was completely
congested. The trip that normally takes about 15 minutes was now taking us more
than an hour. At the station I got on my bike only to be thrown off immediately
by the wind. Ed tried several ready waiting trains only to find out that none
of them would actually bring him home. JC and Frank had, considering the
circumstances, a fairly easy ride only to reach a stand still several
kilometers before home (it eventually took them a total of four hours to get
there).
Next day everything seemed back to normal again. Ed had slept over at my place
and after some nice coffee and warm rolls with cheese we got in the car a bit
late to go to the rehearsal studio once again. At the studio we found JC and
Frank completely frozen up in their car waiting for us, because we had the key
to the studio in our possession. Some cursing and bickering later we picked up
our guitars and drum sticks and got at it again.
The songs started to sound a bit better and we drank less coffee than the day
before.
At night things went a bit smoother. Ed caught a train home and Frank
anticipated his never getting home that night by sleeping over at JC's again.
Next day Ed called me on the phone to say that no trains were coming in or out
of Rotterdam so he couldn't make it. Being the swell guy that I am I got in the
car and drove the one and a half hour drive to his home and back. We got to the
studio, made some coffee and waited for Frank and JC to drop in. They were some
minutes behind us completely hung over from the night before. They went and
watched Green Lizard play in Den Bosch. After a good rehearsal session where
the smell of alcohol residue oozing out the pores of sweaty men infested the
studio more and more, we all went our way with a fairly confident attitude
towards the up coming club shows…
I haven't heard from them since so I'm guessing they all got home this
time."
***
DARKANE - Film shows for possible DVD
DARKANE
drummer Peter Wildoer has posted the following tour report on the band's
official web site:
"First of all, I have to say that this tour has been far more better than
I could ever have expected. We've done and seen so many cool things that the
memories will last a lifetime. The crowds at the gigs have been awesome and
it's soo cool that people show up early to see us, thanks! It's nice to meet
all the fans afterwards at the merch booth and talk to them. I've written soo
may autographs that I actually do the same one from time to time now! I guess
we've made lots of new fans on this tour and that's the whole reason with the
tour, of course also to play for the ones that already know us. Even though we
get to play a very short set I enjoy every second of it.
"For me it's an honor and a huge inspiration to play the same stage as the
other drummers every day. They freakin' batter their kits soo hard every day,
great work guys! The first 12 days we shared bus with STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and I
got to spend time with my biggest metal drumming influence Gene Hoglan. When I
saw Gene live for the first time in 1993 I could not in my wildest imagination
think that we ever would sit in a tour bus together, crazy! I think that a drummer
coming to a show on this tour will not be disapointed seeing these unique
drummers. One thing is for sure, I have to work on my double bass drumming
after seeing the other three drummers blast their way through their songs.
"When we were in Florida and swimming in the pool in the wonderful
sunshine we got the news that our loved ones at home had gotten the first snow.
Not looking forward to that weather when we get home. Prefer the warmth as we
right now are rolling into Las Vegas for a day of and Byron's STRAPPING YOUNG
LAD and FEAR FACTORY) wedding. Looking forward to spend some time in this world
known city.
"A big congratulations to the couple that got engaged during our set in
Houston, TX. They surely looked happy afterwards, good luck!
"We also spent a day off in New Orleans. It looked like a warzone when we
drove into town. Poor people that got hit by this horrible hurricane. We went
to the French quarters which were beautiful and dangerous because of their Hand
Granade drinks. I got way beyond drunk much because of the SOILWORK guys,
thanks... ;-) We surely had a great time there, I think?
"We are planning to film the gigs in L.A. (Anaheim and Hollywood) for a
possible future DVD. We'll do a few different songs on the two shows to get as
many songs filmed as possible. So be sure to go to both shows to get more of
DARKANE!
"Well, that's it for now. We're in Las Vegas right now and here we will
spend all our million dollars we've earned soo far on DARKANE..."
DARKANE are touring in support of their fourth album, "Layers of
Lies".
***
KATAKLYSM - Rough mix of new song posted
A
rough-mix version of a brand-new KATAKLYSM track, entitled "Like Angels
Weeping (The Dark)", has been posted online at this location. The song comes off
the Canadian death metallers' upcoming album, "In the Arms of
Devastation", due on February 20, 2006 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD
was mixed in Denmark by acclaimed producer Tue Madsen.
As previously reported, KATAKLYSM have tapped director Maurice Swinkels from
LowlifeMedia (EXODUS, ABORTED, GOREFEST) to film the band's video for the track
"Crippled & Broken", from the upcoming album. The conceptual clip
will be shot in Amsterdam, Netherlands in early March, shortly prior to the
band's European co-headlining tour as part of the No Mercy festival.
Upcoming KATAKLYSM shows:
Dec. 15 - Quebec City, QUE @ Kashmir
Dec. 16 - Toronto, ONT @ The Marquee
Dec. 17 - Trois-Rivieres, QUE @ The Manchester
***
CANDLEMASS - Temporarily play as 4-piece
According
to an online posting by CANDLEMASS mainman/bassist Leif Edling, the group were
forced to play the last three shows (Göteborg, Malmö and Osnabrück) on their
current European tour with German thrashers DESTRUCTION as a four-piece after
guitarist Mats "Mappe" Björkman went back home to Stockholm, Sweden
"for family reasons." Says Leif: "[Playing as a quartet is] not
fun at all but what can you do? You just strap on, distort the bass as fu*k,
and smile. The show must go on. Hopefully Mappe will come to London [on Nov.
24]. That would be totally great. It's an important show and....... WE MISS
MAPPE!!!! . . . We play more or less the same set now when Mappe is gone, to
have some stability and it works very well. Same new stuff and loads of old
favorites. The crowd have been good and nobody has complained so far. With
Mappe back I'm sure we'll crush in London. I really look forward to that one.
Some friends are coming over from Stockholm, we'll have a party!!!"
***
THE DUSKFALL - Video posted
Swedish
metallers THE DUSKFALL have uploaded their video for the song "Shoot It
In" at this
location. The clip was shot in Helsinki, Finland and was directed by Juha
Niska.
"Shoot It In" comes off the group's third album, "Lifetime
Supply of Guilt", available now on Nuclear Blast Records.
***
ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET - Audio sampled of new song
posted
ONE
MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET, the new Swedish band featuring former THE
CROWN vocalist Johan Lindstrand, have uploaded an audio sample from their debut
album, "21st Century Killing Machine", at their official web site.
Check out the song "Devil on the Red Carpet" at this
location.
"21st Century Killing Machine" (view cover here)
was recorded at Bohus studio and is due in Europe on January 6, 2006. The
album's projected track listing is as follows:
01. Killing Machine
02. Public Enemy No. 1
03. No Apparent Motive
04. Devil on the Red Carpet
05. Behind the Church
06. Hell Is for Heroes
07. The Sweetness of Black
08. When Hatred Comes to Life
09. Bulldozer Frenzy
10. Branded by Iron
11. So Grim So True So Real
12. Mary's Raising the Dead
ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET will be supporting CHILDREN OF BODOM on a
European tour beginning in late December. Also appearing on the bill will be
Hungarian hardcore/thrash metallers EKTOMORF. Click here
for a list of dates.
ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET had previously recorded a promotional CD,
entitled "When Hatred Comes To Life", at Deadline studios with
engineer Valle Adzic.
***
Metal Blade signs Machinemade
God
Metal Blade Records is more than happy to announce the signing of
German metal act MACHINEMADE GOD.
MACHINEMADE GOD is a five-piece hailing from the Rhine/Ruhr-area
in Germany. Formed in early 2003, MACHINEMADE GOD have been able to showcase
their energetic stage performance supporting numerous renowned national and
international acts from both the Metal and HC genres (e.g. God Forbid, Caliban,
Heaven Shall Burn, As I Lay Dying, etc…).
After releasing just one demo, MACHINEMADE GOD went to Denmark to
record their much anticipated debut album titled “The Infinity Complex” in
April/May 2005. For producer they chose no one less than Jacob Bredahl of
Hatesphere, knowing he was the right person to achieve the uncompromising sound
they were aiming for. His mixing expertise, combined with the mastering skills
of Ziggy at ZigZound Studios, made this effort one hell of a brutal metal
record.
Comments from the band about their signing with Metal Blade
Records: “It’s hard to put into words what we’re feeling and thinking right
now. This deal is of a caliber that you don’t just acknowledge and move on with
your life. In fact, it has sweeped us pretty much off of our feet.
One thing is for sure, we are very excited about working with
these guys because they have welcomed us with open arms and have made us feel
extremely comfortable right from the start.
We are honored being from now on considered a part of the Metal
Blade family. In return, we believe that Metal Blade is the right partner on
our side to evolve as a band and give us the support and possibilities that
we’re looking for from a label. Once again, we’re very excited about the future
and are glad that we have found a home!”
MACHINEMADE GOD is:
Flo Velten – vocals
Holger Kiparski – guitar
Sky Hoff – guitar
Sven Luppus- bass
Max Kotzmann – drums
MACHINEMADE
GOD´s debut album “The Infinity Complex” will be released by Metal Blade
Records Europe in February of 2006!
Listen to the new song “Bleeding From Within” (NOT the final
version!), which will be available for a short time at this URL: Sample
Upcoming MACHINEMADE GOD shows:
16/12/05 @ Kultopia,Hagen,GER
18/12/05 @ Baracke,Münster,GER
22/12/05 @ Underground,Cologne.GER
07/01/06 @ Druckluft,Oberhausen,GER
17/02/06 @ Jul.Leb.Haus,Essen,GER
http://www.machinemadegod.com/
http://www.myspace.com/machinemadegod
