Roadrunner Records U.K. has announced the signing of leading Norwegian black metal band SATYRICON into the fold for all territories, excluding North America and Norway.

SATYRICON is centered around the backbone of band members Satyr and Frost, who formed the band in the early '90s. Their progressive and creative outlook has enabled SATYRICON to push the boundaries of the black metal genre, setting a new standard and developing the field beyond its traditional parameters. As a result, SATYRICON are now one of the most respected and influential bands in black metal.

Their last album, the acclaimed "Volcano" (2002), received the Norwegian Grammy for "Best Metal Album", th ...

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Jason will be meeting with In Flames at their show in Montreal at the Medley on February 19th to ask various questions about the band in general and their upcoming release. In Flames have always been a hot topic of discussion and therefore we are giving you the opportunity to ask those questions you've just been dying to ask. Only the best questions will be selected and all of them are to be made in the Interviews section of the forums titled "In Flames Interview Questions". Cheers!

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Audio samples of the tracks from the new RAGE album, entitled "Speak of the Dead", have been posted online at this location.

The follow-up to 2003's "Soundchaser" (SPV), "Speak of the Dead" was recorded at the VPS studios in Hamm, Germany and is tentatively due this spring via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Speak of the Dead" (view cover here) track listing:

01. Mortituri te Salutant
02. Prelude of Souls< ...

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SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery will be entering the studio in New York City on February 8 to begin the recording his next solo CD, entitled "Pins and Needles". An October release via Greece's Black Lotus Records is expected. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "The Temple", "S.A.D", "Worms", "Mettle Eastern", "The Sign of The Crossed" and the title track, "Pins and Needles".

Commented Caffery: "This time around I am going to musically punch everyone in the face for about an hour...no concept, single CD, just straight forward blistering metal agression! A few twists and turns, but would you expect anything different?"

Caffery's backing band on the CD will include once again Jeff Plate on drums, Paul Morris on keyboards, Nick Douglas from DORO on bass and some very special guests.

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The track "Warrior's Quest" from Finnish folk-influenced melodic death metal band ENSIFERUM, now featuring in its ranks NORTHER frontman Petri Lindroos, is available for streaming at this location. The song comes off the group's new EP, "Dragonheads", due on February 15 via Spinefarm Records. The mini-CD was recorded and mixed in November at Sonic Pump studios in Helsinki by Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE) and was mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios. It will contain one new track, new studio recordings of several old demo songs, and a coupl ...

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n a recent interview with MTV News, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser said he's heard all the rumors about SEPULTURA reuniting with founding member and current SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera for a spot on this summer's Ozzfest. He's even heard the one that involves the band's "plans" to perform three different sets from the main stage — one featuring SOULFLY material, a second of just "Roots" and "Chaos A.D." tracks, and the last consisting of songs off the band's upcoming CD, "Dante XXI". But at this point he said they're nothing more than rumors, period.

"Nothing is really set," he told MTV News. " ...

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THE SWORD have announced a U.S. tour in support of their acclaimed debut album, "Age of Winters". The dynamic, Austin, Texas-based quartet will team up with PRIESTESS and EARLY MAN to launch a six-week U.S. tour beginning February 1 at the Khyber in Philadelphia, PA. The tour is scheduled to conclude March 11 in Hoboken, NJ with additional dates pending.

THE SWORD will issue "Age of Winters" on February 14 via Kemado Records. The album has been hailed as "the new classic-BLACK SABBATH platter you have been waiting forever for the old SABS to make" by Rolling Stone, and the band has been named as one of Billbo ...

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Finland's FINNTROLL have issued a statement regarding their recent split with frontman Tapio Wilska (SETHIAN, ex-WIZZARD, former session vocalist for NIGHTWISH). The statement reads as follows:

"We have reached a situation in which we find it impossible to continue FINNTROLL with our singer Wilska. This decision was very hard to make, but after long talks and deep conversations we finally came to the conclusion that if we were to continue FINNTROLL, we had to let Wilska go.

"We thank Wilska for the past three years.

"FINNTROLL is now actively searching for a new singer, and will continue worki ...

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Season of Mist has announced the signing of veteran San Francisco Bay Area thrashers HEATHEN.

As many fans will recall, HEATHEN were one of the most unique bands to rise from the Bay Area thrash explosion of the '80s/'90s, having released a groundbreaking debut album, "Breaking the Silence", in 1987 went on to sell close to 100,000 copies worldwide.

Reborn five years ago, the band are now looking to rise up once more and reclaim the throne of thrash metal. HEATHEN recently completed a European tour playing 16 dates in 6 countries and reaffirmed their status as one of the world's best thrash metal bands.

HEATHEN's current line-u ...

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JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton told Greg Prato of Billboard.com that the band will reconvene next month to begin writing the follow-up to 2005's "Angel of Retribution", which was the band's first album with singer Rob Halford since 1990's "Painkiller".

"We've had a break — we've been out for almost two years," Tipton said. "We all decided to take January off, and then we're going to start writing the new album in February. We are doing a charity show for the Teenage Cancer Trust at [London's] Albert Hall in April, and we are talking about some summer festivals [in Eur ...

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