Swedish metallers WOLF have announced the departure of bassist Mikael Goding. His final appearance with the band will take place at the Headbangers Open Air festival, set to take place July 12-14 in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany.

Commented Mikael: "To put it simple: too much business and mini-van, and [too little] music. The reason we started the band was that we wanted to create great new wave of British

Legendary British/American heavy metal trio RAVEN has set "Walk through Fire" as the tentative title of its new album. The band is scheduled to return to the stu ...

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SPV has set the following release dates for ICED EARTH's new studio album, "Framing Armageddon - Something Wicked Part I":

Germany: September 7
Rest of Europe: September 10
North America: September 11

"Framing Armageddon - Something Wicked Part 1" (cover artwork) expands the "Something Wicked" storyline first introduced in the trilogy of the same name appearing on the 1998 release, "Something Wicked This way Comes". "Framing Armageddon" will be followed in February/March 2008 by the band's ninth full-length studio release, tentatively titled " ...

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Greek melodic metal sensation FIREWIND has released the video for its new single "Breaking the Silence" in the following formats: Windows Media,

Finnish metallers KALMAH are currently writing material for their fifth studio album, tentatively due next spring. "Right now we have about seven songs ready and will enter studios in October to record the next swamp metal masterpiece. I guess the new material will represent heavier and even more riff-oriented KALMAH but the melodies and basic KALMAH sound has not been forgotten. The writing process has been firm and there has been no 'run-and-piss' hurry. There was a compulsory month break in the beginning of summer since Antti [Kokko, guitar] broke his wrist. The wrist has shaped up well and it seems there will be no permanent injury."

KALMAH's latest CD, "The Black Waltz", entered the Finnish national album chart in March 2006 at position No. 38.

The follow-up to 2003's "Swampsong", "The Black Waltz" marked the group's recording debut with keyboardist Marco Sneck (POISONBLACK).

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SOILWORK guitarist Ola Frenning and drummer Peter Wildoer have finished mixing the group's new album, due later in the year via Nuclear Blast Records. "All I can say, it sounds excellent... great sound, great playing and a good mix of songs," Ola writes on the band's web site. "I'm very happy to have an album in my CD collection that no one else has... yet!"

The vocals for the new CD were recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with the help of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD mastermind Devin Townsend. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "Your Beloved Scapegoat", "Light Discovering Darkness", "The Snare Broken"

According to Brazil's Bizz magazine, the as-yet-unnamed new project featuring SEPULTURA founding members and brothers Max and Igor Cavalera will enter a Los Angeles studio in July to begin recording its debut album for a late 2007/early 2008 release via Roadrunner Records. Although it has not yet been confirmed, it is rumored that production duties on the CD will be handled by former MACHINE HEAD/SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader, who worked with SOULFLY on their cover of

NEVERMORE frontman Warrel Dane is scheduled to enter the studio in early August to begin recording his solo debut, tentatively due in early 2008. "As of now I have written about eight [tracks] together [with Dane], and Warrel is also collaborating with Matt Wicklund [ex-HIMSA guitarist] for a few songs," former SOILWORK guitarist-turned-producer Peter Wichers says.

In a September 2006 interview with Metal-Rules.com, Dane stated about the upcoming solo CD, "I've been working on it for like the last year off and on, just writing songs with Peter Wichers, and at some point we'll finish them then go in the studio ...

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Crowgrrl's Perch e-zine recently conducted an interview with KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Perch: It's been awhile since "In The Arms of Devastation" came out. Are you working on material for a follow-up yet?

Maurizio: We've been working on material for a follow-up. We've been really well inspired to do "In The Arms of Devastation". But when we finished it, there was still a lot more to say, a lot to write. We had more ideas. We did a quick European tour for it right after the album came out, but then we took a break ...

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Portuguese metallers MOONSPELL will enter the studio in early July to record a very special project. The recording sessions will be held at the Denmark's Antfarm Studios with Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, ROB HALFORD) co-producing with the band. This release will consist of re-recordings of the band's legendary "Under the Moonspell" (1994) but also going back as far as their first demo "Anno SatanÆ" and their sole track as MORBID GOD, "Serpent Angel". All the songs will be re-arranged and revamped in order to "underline their revered distinction as underground classics but now with a mature dark energy and ...

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