Swedish progressive metallers OPETH have been forced to cancel their previously announced April 13 concert at the Theatre Club in Tel Aviv, Israel "due to the fact that it became logistically impossible to deliver gear and backline to Israel and have it clear customs in time for the show," according to a posting on the group's web site. "The band hopes to be able to play in Israel later in the year when their schedule is less heavy time-wise, allowing sufficient time for freighting necessary equipment."

OPETH were the featured musical guests on February 9, 2009 on the "Nyhetsmorgon" program on Sweden's TV4. The band's two-song performance included the live debut of the track "Coil ...

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Anthony Chowanec of All Metal Music conducted an interview with drummer Aaron Weaver of Pacific Northwestern black metal eco-terrorists WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM on Wednesday, March 4. The chat is now available for streaming in two parts below.

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM will release its new album, "Black Cascade", this month via Southern Lord Recordings. The track listing for the effort is as follows:

01. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
02. Ahrimanic Trance
03. Ex Cathedra
04. Crystal Ammunition

It has been five years since WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM emerged from the rain-soaked Cascadian underground with a singular musical alchemy. The band's pre ...

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The Pulse of Radio reports: KORN and LIMP BIZKIT toured together several times during the late '90s, most notably on the first edition of KORN's Family Values tour, and the two bands were right at the forefront of the "nu-metal" movement at the time. But now that LIMP BIZKIT is reuniting after being on hiatus for several years, KORN frontman Jonathan Davis told The Pulse of Radio that his relationship with singer Fred Durst has been strained for a while. "I'm happy that they're gonna play, but I just hope Fred just isn't an ass like he usually is," he said. "We'll see what happens. Hopefully Fred's got it together, 'cause there was one time when Fred was a really cool guy. The fame hit and w ...

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Italian metallers SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE have completed work on their third album, tentatively titled "Mothra", at Planet Red Studios in Richmond, Virginia with producer Andreas Magnusson (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, THE AGONY SCENE, SCARLET, DUFRESNE, BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE, SPITFIRE, TWELVE TRIBES). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Forever, Works Just in Songs", "A Full View On Heaven", "Gamera I: Death Worship Era", "Gamera II: The So Called Northern Half", "What a Rockin' Heavy Metal Get-Up, Dude!"." The album will feature a guest appearance by BURY YOUR DEAD frontman Myke Terry on the track "Dim Shape In A Black Hole Life".

SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE last fall parted ways w ...

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STRYPER singer Michael Sweet's wife Kyle Rae Sweet passed away on March 5, 2009 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was only 52 years old.

Michael and Kyle met when she was hired to do makeup for STRYPER's first video, "You Know What To Do". They married in 1986 and had two children — Michael Jr. and Ellena — who are now 22 and 18 years old, respectively.

In message posted on his web site a few days before Kyle's death, Michael wrote about his wife, "Kyle was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in February of 2007. Standing by her side and seeing her physically and emotionally face this horrible disease, I've realized that not only is she the love of ...

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Grau Records has announced the tour dates for MOURNING BELOVETH and LONGING FOR DAWN:

09 april Rouen,Le Bateau Ivre (FR)
10 april Rouen,Le Bateau Ivre (FR)
11 april Rotterdam,The Baroeg (NL)
12 april Hamburg,Bambi Galore (DE)
14 april Tampere,Club Hellä (FI)
15 april Helsinki,Dante`s Highlight (FI)
16 april Tallinn,Rockclub Tapper (EE)
17 april Riga,Melna Piektdiena (LV)
18 april Moscow Doom Fest,Plan B (RU)
19 april Vilnius,Muse (LT)
20 april Lublin,Tektura (PL)
21 april Poznan,U Bazyla (PL)
22 april Wodzislaw Slaski,Art Café(PL)
23 april Prague,Black Pez (CZ)
24 april Zapfendorf,Top Act (DE)
25 april Eindhoven,Dynamo (NL)
26 april Antwerp,De Rots (BE)

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Metal Reviews now has a functional MySpace page again! You can access it here. Feel free to drop by, 'friend' us and comment!

We also have a Facebook group, so be sure to drop by if you have an account there.

Spread the fire!

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German power metallers BLIND GUARDIAN have finished writing eight new songs for the band's forthcoming album. Vocalist Hansi Kürsch states: "What can I say about these songs? They rule, of course. You want a more precise description? Impossible. All I can say is that each and every song is 100% BLIND GUARDIAN, which, naturally ,means there is a wild bunch of different things going on from time to time (always?). According to atmospheres: we have everything from the more 'Nightfall'-ish 'Curse My Name', to the 'Script'-ish 'Wheel Of Time'. In comparison to 'A Twist In The Myth', the lyrical direction will be more on the fantasy side as you most probably can figure out by these titles. The so ...

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Norway's TRAIL OF TEARS will release its sixth album, "Bloodstained Endurance", this spring via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded and mixed over a six-week period at Sound Suite Studio in Marseille, France with producer Terje Refsnes. Mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Finland.

"Bloodstained Endurance" release dates:

May 27 - Finland, Spain
May 29 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, France, Italy, Sweden
Jun. 01 - Rest of Europe
Jun. 02 - USA, Canada

The cover artwork for the album, which was designed by acclaimed artist Travis Smith (AMORPHIS, OPETH, NEVERMORE) can be viewed below.

Commented ...

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DORNENREICH/AGALLOCH (+Mely):
20.03.'09 D - Würzburg / Posthalle
21.03.'09 AT - Henndorf bei Salzburg / Wallerseehalle (Spring Metal-Festival)
22.03.'09 IT - Brescia / Covo Antico
23.03.'09 CZ - Prague / Exit Chmelnice
24.03.'09 D - Berlin / K17
25.03.'09 FR - Paris / Glazart
26.03.'09 GB - London / Underworld
27.03.'09 BE - Vosselaar / Biebob
28.03.'09 D - Hamm / Alfred-Fischer-Halle (Tomahawk festival)
29.03.'09 NL - Den Bosch / W2 (afternoon show)

DORNENREICH:
17.-18.04.'09 D - Lichtenfels / Stadthalle (Ragnarök festival)
29.04.'09 PO - Barrosselas / SWR warm up (acoustic gig)
30.04.'09 PO - Barrosselas / SWR MetalFest XII (metal gig)

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