Sweden's IN FLAMES are currently working on a DVD, entitled "A Night In Flames", featuring the band on their 2004 world tour. The last stop on the trek is the special IN FLAMES show in London (Carling Apollo Hammersmith) on December 27, whre the group will be joined by LACUNA COIL, CHIMAIRA and CALIBAN. The show will be filmed with several cameras and a seven-meter long crane. "The IN FLAMES material looks great and I'm very exited about finishing these concerts," director/producer Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Films said.

"A Night In Flames" is scheduled for release in June 2005.

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METALLICA, CRADLE OF FILTH, SLIPKNOT, HATEBREED, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and MOTÖRHEAD are among the nominees in 107 categories announced Tuesday for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, to be presented Feb. 13 in Los Angeles. The hard rock and metal nominees are as follows:

Best Hard Rock Performance:

INCUBUS – "Megalomaniac"
METALLICA - "Some Kind of Monster"
NICKELBACK - "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good"
SLIPKNOT - "Duality"
VELVET REVOLVER - "Slither"

Best Metal Performance:

CRADLE OF FILTH - "Nymphetamine"
HATEBREED - "Live For This"
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - ...

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Acclaimed German producer/engineer Charlie Bauerfeind (SAXON, HAMMERFALL, RAGE, BLIND GUARDIAN) has posted the following update at his official web site:

"Finally we started the pre-production phase of the next HELLOWEEN record about a week ago. The guys are already in songwriting and rehearsal mode since [last] month and are working very hard to shape up some truly great songs. I joined them for the first time on 24th of November in their rehearsal room and got some great vibes. Sascha (Gerstner, guitar) and Stefan (Schwarzmann, drums) seem to be solidly integrated now into HELLOWEEN and everything was ...

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In a recent interview with MetalUndereground.com, CRADLE OF FILTH bassist Dave Pybus was asked about the group's participation in last year's Ozzfest. "The thing about Ozzfest is it's good in the crowd, playing-wise. But I would never want to do it again," he admitted. Asked to elaborate, Pybus said, "Personal reasons. I didn’t really want to earn the Osbournes any money while I spend ten weeks dying. We were the only English bands on there and they never once came to our tours. They're from Birmingham. So it was like 'Fuck you.' I'm a normal person. I take thi ...

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IRON MAIDEN fan site MaidenFans.com report that in a recent interview drummer Nicko McBrain spoke about the band's future in America. Says Nicko, "Well, to be honest, we don't like playing in America. It's not good, and it's not me that has the major problems in the band since I live in America, but we have a real problem with American's attitude". Nicko didn't say specifically that Maiden won't play in America anymore, but from this it's pretty clear that if that's the case it'll be just a few dates, like on the Dance Of Death tour last winter.

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The following message has been posted at Rob Halford's (JUDAS PRIEST) official web site:

"Here we go HALFORD fans!! Rob Halford is preparing to enter the recording studio with his solo band late 2005; in preparation for the band's fourth release.

"For an intense challenge, The Metal God will select 1 (one) vocalist; 1 (one) guitarist; 1 (one) bassist; and 1 (one) drummer to participate in an elite recording environment whereabouts a ferocious, new HALFORD-penned track will be recorded for 'EXCLUSIVE BROADCAST' right here on www.RobHalford.com.

"Yeah, The Metal God is looking for the most driven muthas out there, for you' ...

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Kathy McCabe of the Herald Sun is reporting that DEEP PURPLE's "Smoke On The Water" has been voted the best rock 'n' roll riff ever played in a poll conducted by the Australian Musician magazine.

The poll of more than 300 professional and amateur musicians also named AC/DC the best Australian band — whose album "Back In Black" — also took out its category.

Editor Greg Phillips said "Smoke On The Water" was a surprising winner against METALLICA's "Enter Sandman", NIRVANA's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and GUNS ' ...

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In a lengthy interview published in the "Xmas 2004" issue of Metal Hammer magazine, ex-PANTERA/curent SUPERJOINT RITUAL frontman Philip Anselmo spoke extensively about the breakup of his previous band and the status of all of his musical projects, among many other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

On Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul's claim that Philip left PANTERA without telling them he was leaving:

"Well, they have phones as well. And they weren't communicating with me. Their way of communication was through, so they would send ...

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SATYRICON drummer Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad recently spoke to Ferrante's Power Equipment about the origins of the black metal genre and the band's musical influences, among other topics. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

Ferrante's Power Equipment: Who are some of your personal favorite bands, drummers, or musicians? What do you like about each of them?

Frost: "I feel most like mentioning a few of my favorite bands. It must be a few; I cannot mention all of them: VENOM, BATHORY and HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST must all be mentioned because ...

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Taipei Times is reporting that a Mongolian heavy metal group called HURD (photo) had their scheduled three-day tour of China cancelled after the local police got nervous and sent riot policemen and trucks to surround the college campus where the group was to play. They checked identity cards, detained four people overnight and dispersed about 2,000 frustrated concertgoers into the autumn night.

Described as "long-haired Mongolian men in black, whose office decor features a wolf pelt, a portrait of Genghis Khan and a music store poster of Eminem," HURD's tour was to culminate Nov. 1 with a performance in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Read more.

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