Reunited death metal legends OBITUARY have posted the following message on their official web site:

"WE ARE DONE! We are all done with the mixing of the new CD and we are now going to sit on it for about a week and make sure we are totally happy before mastering, which should be sometime next week! It has been so awesome to be back in the studio and we are really pumped about the new songs. Can't wait to get out and play them live!

"Allentown, PA get ready because we are coming! We will be playing at this year Louder-Harder-Faster Festival on June 4th at the Crocodile Rock Cafe. We have not been in PA in sometime and it will be good to see all of you!"

Sweden's IN FLAMES may be touring with JUDAS PRIEST and preparing to release a DVD at the end of March. But that has not kept them from already getting some tunes together for a new album.

Singer Anders Fridén told Nuclear Blast magazine, "Nine or ten songs are written, and the drums will be recorded drums in two and a half weeks." As for the direction of the album, Fridén stated that "it will be more uptempo" and feature "more guitar harmonies." Most of the songs have titles by now, but the frontman declined to name them, especially since he was still writing lyrics will travelling in support of JUDAS PRIEST. The tour ended on Mond ...

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OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth recently spoke to MetalEater.com about the group's new album, "ReliXIV", and the current state of the metal scene. An excerpt from the interview follows:

MetalEater.com: Recent reunions by bands like PRIEST and MÖTLEY CRÜE...any thoughts on those?

Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth: "You know, I'm a little sick of the reunion. I think that in many cases it's for the sake of, as opposed to, adding something to music. What I mean by that is, "We're going to have a reunion because everybody else is having a reunion." It's j ...

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MONSTER MAGNET mainman Dave Wyndorf has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"I'm announcing with deep regret that Phil Caivano, guitarist, singer and my longtime friend, has decided to 'move on' from MONSTER MAGNET.

"Phil joined the band in 1998 and has been a solid contributor since day one. No one I know has ever been more dedicated to his craft. He is a unique and talented individual who excels at everything he does and I wish him all the best.

"Phil himself will let you know what he's doing in his own good time, but for the record, this is an amicable split.

"Needless to say, there ...

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KAMELOT's video for the track "March of Mephisto", featuring a special appearance by DIMMU BORGIR frontman Shagrath, has been posted online at the group's official web site.

The clip, the group's second off the group's upcoming album "The Black Halo", was shot by Swedish director Patric Ullaeus (DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES) of Revolver Films. KAMELOT had previously shot a video for the track "The Haunting" with Ullaeus. That clip also includes an appearance by EPICA singer Si ...

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Former EMPEROR and current SCUM drummer Bård "Faust" Eithun has officially joined Italy's ABORYM as a a full-time member. "I am gonna go to Rome at the end of April to record the fourth album of these cyber black metallers," Faust said in a statement. "I am very excited to hear the result since this is the first time that ABORYM will combine acoustic, organic drums with the electronic beats they have used so far. Should be interesting I think."

In other news, Faust has joined the Norwegian "punk noisers" BOMBEROS, featuring former MAYHEM singer Maniac. "This is a nice break off to the metal music I normally play ...

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CANNIBAL CORPSE have posted the following message on their official web site:

"We'd like announce that Rob Barrett, who as you all know played guitar with CANNIBAL CORPSE from 1993 to 1997 and appeared on 'The Bleeding' and 'Vile' albums, will be rejoining the band for our performance at the Northwest Death Fest in Seattle on April 3rd.

"Whether or not Rob will be staying with the band permanently after that show is still not certain, but so far we're very happy to have Rob back in the fold. We'll post an update when we know for sure if Rob is permanently rejoining or not.

"We also would like to say thank you to Jeremy Turner for doing an amazing job playing guitar with us on 'The Wretched Spawn' tour in 2004. Jeremy really helped us out in a tight spot, and we wish him the best in his future musical endeavors."

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Magic Circle Music has signed an exclusive worldwide distribution deal for MANOWAR with SPV.

Magic Circle Music spokesman and MANOWAR management team member Hinrich Stuerken commented, "With their professional attitude and international structure, SPV won out over all the other major and independent record companies in negotiations that lasted more than a year."

MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio added: "We are proud that our past with Nuclear Blast was a success that ultimately brought them their first gold record in their home territory of Germany. However, since the formation of our own label Magic Circle ...

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DREAM THEATER have completed work on their eighth full-length studio album, entitled "Octavarium", tentatively set for release through Atlantic Records on June 7. The track listing is as follows:

01. The Root of All Evil
02. The Answer Lies Within
03. These Walls
04. I Walk Beside You
05. Panic Attack
06. Never Enough
07. Sacrificed Sons
08. Octavarium

DREAM THEATER began writing and recording their latest album last November at the Hit Factory studios in New York City. The follow-up to 2003's "Train of Thought" will hold the distinction of being the very last ...

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CRADLE OF FILTH drummer Adrian Erlandsson and singer Dani "Filth" Davey recently spoke to Tartarean Desire about the group's current European tour, their new touring bassist, and the possibility of an AT THE GATES reunion, among other topics. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow: On the possibility of an AT THE GATES reunion: Adrian: "Earlier on it has been like, 'No way'. I live in England and there was this show when THE HAUNTED and NIGHTRAGE played together [December 17, 2004 at the Forum in London] with ARCH ENEMY [and DARK TRANQUILLITY]. I talked to both Tompa [Tomas Lindberg] and the twins [Anders and Jonas Björler] and we decided that we will do a couple of shows some ...

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