ARCH ENEMY have now settled on Fredrik Åkesson as a replacement for Chris Amott (guitar) for the continued "Doomsday Machine" touring campaign.

Commented ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott: "This guy, he just simply kills on the axe! Rhythms and leads — he's really got a shredding and musical style. He was down here rehearsing with us last week and we had a great time playing music and hanging out. We are eagerly looking forward to hitting the road again, this time with Fredrik on board the good ship ARCH ENEMY."

Fredrik Åkesson, born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden first picked up the guitar at the age of ...

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A brand-new OLD MAN'S CHILD track, entitled "Enslaved and Condemned", has been made available for download at this location (MP3, 4 MB).

"Enslaved and Condemned" comes off the Norwegian band's upcoming album, "Vermin", due in Europe on October 18 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2003's "In Defiance of Existence" was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden and features a guest appearance by TESTAMENT/DRAGONLORD guitarist Eric Peterson. Artwork was handled by Set<'H>.

Andi from Germany's Metal1.info webzine conducted an exclusive itnerview earlier today with MNEMIC guitarist Mircea Eftemie. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal1.info: [On] Monday, September, 12th, we heard that your singer Michael [Bøgballe] left the group due to personal/family-related reasons. Please tell us, how you reacted [to] that. Did you already know it for some time, or came it as suddenly as for the fans to the rest of the band?

Mircea: "Well, Michael told us like one and a half week in advance that he was going to leave ...

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The following is posted at www.jonoliva.net:

It is with deep regret and disappointment that we announce that the Canadian goverment would not allow the bands to enter into their country and so we are forced to cancel both the Toronto show this evening and the Montreal show on Tuesday night.

We would like to thank the promoters, Stefan and Noel, for all their help in getting these shows together and we'd also like to apologize to the fans for any inconvenience that this may have caused. We look forward to re-scheduling these shows in the next couple of weeks.

The Metal Insurgence Tour 2005 — featuring JON OLIVA'S PAIN, CHRIS CAFFERY'S FACES (solo proj ...

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Long-running Swedish metallers ENTOMBED have amicably parted ways with guitarist Ulf Cederlund. The band's official statement on the matter reads as follows: "We want to inform everyone that Uffe Cederlund is no longer in the band and that the split is definite and amicable. We wish him all the best!" ENTOMBED will continue as a four-piece and are currently finishing up the "Inferno" tour. The band will shortly start work on their new studio album, which is tentatively expected in in early 2006 via Threeman Recordings. Previously announced songtitles, "The Fiery Father", "I Need Hell", "Radarslave" and "Burn the Flag", ha ...

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The cover artwork for HELLOWEEN's long-awaited new album, "Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy", has been posted online at Helloween.org.

"Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy" is scheduled for release in Europe on October 31 via Steamhammer/SPV (November 8 in the U.S ...

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Greetings from the Deep!

The newly designed site is now online at http://www.alowerdeep.com in conjunction with the release of Trinity. Check out new photos, interviews and ton more. Also, there is another full length track from the new album online entitled A Grief Observed. Also mp3 from Parable of the Thorn, and from our debut demo from 2002 that haven't been available online.

In an effort to keep cost to a minimum, for a limited time, we are foregoing wide distribution and offering Trinity exclusely through alowerdeep.com. The price is just $10.00 per CD and that includes shipping worldwide. We won't be able to do this indefinitely so order soon at http://www.alowerdeep.com/merchandise/merchandise.html

Keep an eye on alowerdeep.com for Trinity reviews, tour dates and much more coming soon.

Thanks so much for your support of A Lower Deep and Keep It Metal!

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RUSH will be releasing the highly anticipated "R30" DVD in late fall 2005. "R30" will feature the sold-out concert that RUSH played in Frankfurt, Germany in October 2004 during their 30th anniversary tour.

In other news, RUSH drummer Neil Peart is currently working on the follow-up to his instructional drum video, "A Work In Progress". The new video will be issued as a DVD and is set for release in late fall 2005. The new DVD is produced by Hudson Music and is entitled "Anatomy of Drum Solo".

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Italian epic metal band RHAPSODY will be releasing their first live album ever in November. The recordings will be based on performances made during leg one of MANOWAR's "Demons, Dragons and Warriors World Tour" where RHAPSODY appeared as the special guests in spring 2005.

This recently completed first leg of the tour was highly acclaimed for its stripped down and performance-oriented arrangements, which allowed the band to prove that the music is the message. No track list has yet been released, but RHAPSODY's record label, Magic Circle Music, announced the songs played during the shows included old favorites and tracks from their lates ...

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Guitarist Allen West has announced his departure from OBITUARY. West's exit from the group comes on the eve of OBITUARY's U.S. tour with NAPALM DEATH and Allen feels that the fans deserve no surprises when they don't see the band that they were expecting. Allen will concentrate fully on LOWBROW, whose revamped lineup consists of founding members West, Curtis Beeson (NASTY SAVAGE) and Richard Hornberger, along with new bassist Jon Fronza. LOWBROW will continue without former members Ben Meyer (NASTY SAVAGE, ACHERON) and Richard Bateman (AGENT STEEL, NASTY SA ...

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