GOATWHORE Sets Release Date

GOATWHORE will release their new studio album, entitled Blood For The Master, on February 14th in North America via Metal Blade Records. The album was recorded at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, FL with Erik Rutan who produced the band's previous two albums.

DARKEST HOUR Parts With Drummer

Washington D.C. based metallers DARKEST HOUR have posted the following lineup news:

"Yes it is true, Darkest Hour has parted ways with drummer Ryan Parrish. We wish him well (you will see him rocking in many projects no doubt please check them out, they will all rip!).

For now his duties have been filled by drummer Timothy Java (DEAD TO FALL). Tim did an amazing job on our recent European tour with MACHINE HEAD.

As for the future that's open for discussion - no permanent decisions have been made in any way."

NAGLFAR Unveils New Lineup

Sweden's NAGLFAR has now revealed some additional news on the current status of the band and their upcoming studio album, Téras:

"So...It's been quite some time since our last update, and there have been some changes that need to be addressed. For various reasons we won't discuss in public, NAGLFAR is today a three-piece band. The current line-up is as follows:

Kristoffer W. Olivius - Vocals
Marcus E. Norman - Guitars
Andreas Nilsson - Guitars

Due to this, the writing and recording process had been delayed. We have however finally completed a new album entitled Téras. Drums have been recorded by Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork). Téras will be released on Century Media Records in March 2012. More info about this beast will follow soon."

In anticipation of Téras' release, NAGLFAR is now giving fans a preview of their new album with the debut of its first single, "Pale Horse". To listen to the track, please head over to the band's official Facebook

CHIMAIRA Releases Free 'The Age Of Remix Hell' Digital EP

Cleveland, Ohio metallers CHIMAIRA have released a free digital EP, "The Age Of Remix Hell", via Reckoning Hour
The track listing for the effort which, as the title suggests, contains remixed versions of songs from CHIMAIRA's latest album, "The Age Of Hell" is as follows:

01. Year Of The Snake (Dubba Jonny Mix)
02. Clockwork (Hunter Mix)
03. Year Of The Snake (Allinaline Mix)
04. Losing My Mind (Allinaline Mix).

AMORPHIS IN THE STUDIO

Finnish melancholic rockers AMORPHIS - who have just released the retrospective "Magic & Mayhem - Tales from the Early Years" - are in the studio again to record the follow-up to 2009`s "Skyforger"! The release of the yet untitled tenth AMORPHIS album is planned for May 2011.

DROID SINGER JAMES EASON ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE FROM BAND

EMBARKING ON NEW MUSICAL ENDEAVORS

DROID singer James Eason has announced that he has left the band and is currently exploring other projects in the music world. His statement on his departure can be read below.

I have spent the last 10+ years in the band DROID so this is no easy decision for me. To make it simple the past 10 years in DROID have had their great and memorable moments and their not so memorable moments.

I have chosen to move on in positive direction... This being said, my # 1 Priority has and always will be to make music and give 100% commitment of myself to my music. Music is my #1 priority and always has been...I stand strong in my commitment. My #1 regret is that the DROID fans have had to wait soooooooooooooo long for a 2nd record, and then receive this news. Where ever I end up I promise to make up for their super long wait. You can count on that, I will always stay true to my word&

I am looking for musicians who are driven, focused and hungry - these are the kinds of musicians I am looking for to play with as of now&

Any interested musicians or bands please feel free to contact me; I can be reached at droidmetal@yahoo.com.

Hosting Issues

As you may have noticed, we've experienced serious problems with our former host in the past few months. Despite our numerous complaints about the site's performance, they wouldn't do diddly squat and blamed us for having too much traffic and content for their puny "servers", so it became apparent that we had to move on.

Unfortunately, the douchebags made it as hard as possible for us to switch smoothly, and we are still recovering. Thankfully, we have a full backup, and everything should be back to normal shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

BRAND NEW METAL FEST

HEADLINED BY FORMER IRON MAIDEN VOCALIST BLAZE BAYLEY

Just when it seemed time to sheath the long sword and nurse your tender livers back to health, JB's in Dudley are set to host the inagural Dudley Metalfest.

Running from September 25th - 27th, the indoor event is to be headlined by such prestigious acts as former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley (Solo), German power metal overlords Primal Fear and Swedish progresters Evergrey.

The complete festival line up is - Touchstone, Eastern Front, Hellfighter, Warpath, Brainstorm, Marshall Law, Circus Maximus, Power Quest, Xandria, Swallow The Sun, Primordial, E-Force, Northland, Kalmah, Dragonland, Elvenking, Omnium Gathering, Vision Divine, Holy Moses, Fairyland, Hanging Doll and Metalfest competition winners Ascension.

Tickets are on sale now, with Friday tickets are priced at £10, Saturday and Sunday tickets are £30 each and weekend tickets cost only £50. Tickets can be purchased from , the venue directly or their website jbsdudley.co.uk.

Doors open at 6pm Friday and 12pm Saturday and Sunday. JB's can be found at 15 Castle Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4QF  For directions, check the website or contact the venue.

"After five years of countless cold calls, innumerable bounced emails and literally hundreds of hours spent transcribing interview tapes, we bring you this definitive collection of untold stories from these genre-defining landmarks. Now go get your dork on.from the Introduction

Precious Metal

Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces
Edited by Albert Mudrian

July 28, 2009 (Da Capo Press) - Edited by Albert MudrianEditor-in-Chief of Decibel magazinePrecious Metal takes you inside the recording studios where the most intense heavy metal albums of all time were created, providing background on the savage guitar sounds and bloodcurdling screams that have defined a musical genre.

To compile this book, Mudrian pored through Decibelrenowned for its metal Hall of Fame interview seriesand expanded its interviews to bring you face-to-face with each and every band member who contributed to twenty-five immortal albums. Revealing the operatic scope of each bands vision and their uphill battles to lay down tracks that would endure, the pieces offer a fly-on-the-wall look at three decades of rocking out. Highlights include:

• Ozzy Osbournes devastating departure from Black Sabbathand their reinvention with Heaven and Hell, which captured a new generation of metal fans.
• The quick rise and fall of Diamond Head, whose proto-thrash classic Lightning to the Nations (a one-week recording demo) catapulted them into the pantheon.
• Sleeps 52-minute one-track release, Jerusalem, and the 1.316-second song You Suffer that earned Napalm Death a world record.
• A double arrest for Emperorthe guitarist for arson, the drummer for murderthat threatened the completion of In the Nightside Eclipse.
• The grotesque, taboo-shattering lyrics of Cannibal Corpseand the shocking Tomb of the Mutilated cover art that decimated the limits of zombie pornography.

Delving deep into the bands diverse influencesranging from the usual suspects like Led Zeppelin to Wagnerian opera (Kyuss) and reggae (Napalm Death)Precious Metal celebrates the legacy of their landmark albums and amplifies the risks taken along the way.

To celebrate the books release, on Friday, July 31st at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Decibel is holding a special book release show. Grindcore legends Repulsion will kick off our with a once-in-a-lifetime performance of their Hall of Fame-inducted classic Horrified in its entirety! Pig Destroyer and Brutal Truth will be there to tear the venue a new one, too. A few tickets are still available and can be purchased here.

Albert Mudrian is the Editor-in-Chief of Decibel magazine and the author of the cult classic Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

August 1, 2009 $18.95 Paperback Original 368 Pages Music ISBN: 978-0-306-81806-6

The Most Hardcore Metal Musicians, in Their Own Words&

I guess I was never a real Satanistit was just a pose.
Nicke Andersson
Entombed, Left Hand Path

It felt so good to play liveit felt like you were killing somebody.
Josh Homme
Kyuss, Welcome to Sky Valley

The blood, the guts and the gorethats what its all about.
Bob Rusay
Cannibal Corpse, Tomb of the Mutilated

Everythings an experiment, you know? Thats the beauty of art.
David Vincent
Morbid Angel, Altars of Madness

Eyehategod was started as a way to piss people off. All the heavy music around here was fast, thrashy stuff, so Eyehategod slowed it down as much as possible&And it worked, man. People fuckin hated em.
Brian Patton
Eyehategod, Take as Needed for Pain

"[There were songs about] making dog food out of humans&I just thought it was turning things upside down.
Michael Amott
Carcass, Necroticism

We rehearsed in the dark, so we could play the songs without looking, which is fucking stupid.
Mikael Åkerfeldt
Opeth, Orchid

Every stereo Ive seen has a volume knob, but for some reason, people seem to demand that their records be obscenely loud.
Kurt Ballou
Converge, Jane Doe

You can be as pretentious as you want if youre growling lyrics&You could be the death metal Poet Laureate if you wanted to.
Nick Holmes
Paradise Lost, Gothic

When I eventually got sobered up, which was three years later, I listened to Heaven and Hell, and, to this day, I cannot remember doing some of the songs. I cant remember what studio it was. I cant remember playing it at all. I have no memory.
Bill Ward
Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell