NEVERMORE's Van Williams will record the drums for the band's new album, "The Obsidian Conspiracy", between August 7 and August 14 in the band's hometown of Seattle with producer (and SOILWORK guitarist) Peter Wichers (who previously worked with NEVERMORE vocalist Warrel Dane on Dane's solo debut, "Praises to the War Machine"). The rest of the instruments will be tracked at Wichers' studio in North Carolina. Longtime friend and collaborator Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD) will once again be handling mixing duties.

The follow-up to 2005's "This Godless Endeavor" is tentatively due in early 2010 via Century Media Records.

Commented Dane: "These s ...

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Jon Chattman of The Huffington Post recently conducted an interview with DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

The Huffington Post: What do you think of the state of rock?

Portnoy: Well, the state of the "music industry" is at its most fragile that it's ever been since rock music became corporate business 50 years ago and in that respect, I'm happy to see a lot of artists are finally "getting their music back" (by default) after been getting it stuck to them by unfair record company deals for all these years. As far as the state of "rock," it's actually pretty sad actually. When the new DREAM THEATER CD entered the Billboar ...

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Former EMPEROR vocalist/guitarist Ihsahn has set "After" as the title of his third solo album, tentatively due in early 2010 via Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records. More information about the CD will be made available during the coming months.

Ihsahn played his first-ever concert as a solo artist, supporting OPETH at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway on March 10.

Video footage of the "Scarab" performance can be viewed below.

Ihsahn stated about the gig, "I felt well prepared for the show, and luckily all technical aspects worked out to our advantage, so that the overall experience for me and my band was extremely positive. The feedback from the audience was ...

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EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's official web site has been updated with a brand new interview with the singer/songwriter about the forthcoming album from his AVANTASIA project. The question-and-answer session follows below.

Q: Tobias, how are things going in the studio?

Sammet: I am pretty damn busy, there's a lot of work to be done. I've been working on this forthcoming material for more than two years on and off. But the material will be worth the wait. We got quite many songs, and it ranges from epic ballads to metal opera. From pop to hard rock to folk to speed metal. My best friend, who co-wrote the story of "The Metal Opera" back then, just listened to some of the ...

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Vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH has posted a lengthy update on the band's MySpace blog. A couple of excerpts from the entry follow below.

"The video for 'The Death Of Love' is now finished [and can be viewed below]. The premise for this track is very much along the same lines as the lyrics for the song, featuring a defiant Joan of Arc and a brooding Gilles De Rais slung about an evocative dungeon band performance. There is definitely a very sinister vibe to the proceedings and some people have already compared it to 'Her Ghost In The Fog' for its eerie cinematography.

"On the live front, this last month or so has found COF playin ...

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Chicago's PELICAN is in the studio putting the finishing touches on its fourth studio album, entitled "What We All Come To Need". Described by guitarist Laurent Lebec as "the most perfect synthesis of everything we've done to date, sonically," the CD is "a giant step forward within the complex, intricate, beautiful and crushing sound PELICAN is famous for," according to a press release. The album features more guests than have ever appeared on a PELICAN album before: Greg Anderson of SUNN O))), Aaron Turner of ISIS, Ben Verellen of HARKONEN and Helms Alee and Allen Epley from THE LIFE AND TIMES and SHINER. Content-wise, Lebec says "there is a current of inspiration that feels particular to e ...

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Former MAYHEM frontman Maniac (also of SKITLIV, SEHNUCHT, BOMBEROS) has teamed up with Andrew Liles (CURRENT 93, NURSE WITH WOUND, SEHNSUCHT) and Czral (VIRUS, VED BUENS ENDE, AURA NOIR, DØDHEIMSGARD) to release an album that he and Czral began working on in 1996. The 14-track LP will have the title "Det Skjedde Noe Når Du Var I Belgia" (English translation: Something Happened While You Were In Belgium) and will be made available on the U.K.'s Dirter label.

Commented Maniac: "It wasn't something we expected to do at all. Czral and I had recorded the original material all those years ago but other commitments had meant that we were never able to get round to finishing it off and ...

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Sweden's KATATONIA has set "Night Is the New Day" as the title of its long-awaited new album, due in Europe on October 19 and in the U.S. on October 27 via Peaceville Records. 13 tracks were reportedly laid down for the follow-up to 2006's "The Great Cold Distance" (out of which 11-12 songs will make it onto the final CD), with the new material being described by the band as "our most varied, diverse and possibly strongest shit all together on one and the same album."

"The Great Cold Distance" was released in 2006 via Peaceville. The follow-up to 2003's "Viva Emptiness" was recorded at Fascination Street studios in the outskirts of Örebro, Sweden and was mastered at the Cutting R ...

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Century Media Records has set an October 26 European release date for "Where Death Is Most Alive", the new concert DVD/CD from Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY. The set will be issued as a limited-edition 2DVD+2CD set, as well as a double DVD and double CD.

"Where Death Is Most Alive" will contain footage of DARK TRANQUILLITY's October 31, 2008 headlining concert in Milan, Italy. The band was joined during the show by THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Nell Sigland for renditions of the songs "The Mundane And The Magic" (a track that had never before been played live) and "Insanity's Crescendo".

Fan-filmed video footage of the Milan concert can be viewed below. ...

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Sweden's BURST has announced plans to disband following a "best-of" performance in the group home country in the fall.

Commented BURST: "Following a band meeting at the end of June, we have decided that it is time to let BURST sleep.

"We will honor our commitments, play the planned No Budget fest in Larissa, Greece as well as the U.S. tour, and a possible best-of show in Sweden in late fall. But after that and for the foreseeable future, BURST will lay down its arms. Whether it is definite or indefinite, we can't say. Thus, in accordance with modern Internet heavy metal news site lingo, we'll call it an 'indefinite hiatus.'

"BURST have made music in this con ...

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