According to a posting on their website (www.behemoth.metalkings.com), BEHEMOTH have begun working on new material under the working title Demigod, due out in late 2004 through Regain Records (Europe), Century Media (North America and South America) and Mystic (Poland).

The follow-up to 2002's Zos Kia Cultus - Here And Beyond will feature the following lineup: Nergal- guitars and vocals, Inferno - drums and Seth - bass, guitars.

"2003 was probably the most hard working period in band's history," Nergal commented. "Especially the US leg of Zos Kia tour, more than 60 shows that we played, was a breaking point for Behemoth. We took a very short break after last shows, and now we focus totally on writing."

"I'm very excited about new songs" says Nergal. "We've just started working on new songs, and developing ideas and riffs I've been working on for the last few months. It's just insane, I can tell you. This new stuff is going to be so much ahead of what we've done before. We've never reached such an intense point. The working title for our seventh album is Demigod and this should tell you everything about what it will sound like. With no doubt it's gonna be the most devastating, technical and crushing record we've ever come up with! New riffs just flow, the working atmosphere is just perfect. We've got so much new inspiration lately. It will all have strong impact on what you will hear on Demigod."

Behemoth is also planning to finally complete mixing of their first official DVD.

"Well, it's highly possible that we will release long time planned DVD this year," Nergal adds. "We have some labels interested in putting it out. We have hours and hours of materials, two professionally filmed shows, video clips and tons of really extreme stuff to be featured. It's gonna be the quality, great DVD material, totally authorized by the band, unlike the shitty DVD, The Art Of Rebellion, that we consider as a bootleg release."

In other news, before Behemoth enter the studio in April, they will invade Israel and do one exclusive show for the first time ever. In March they will be playing two shows in Greece with CARPATHIAN FOREST.

Band profile:

Behemoth

After 15 years in the business as one of the reigning heavyweight champs of death metal, Florida's legendary DEICIDE have shot their very first music video.

For this historic occasion, the band chose to immortalize the title track off their forthcoming Earache Records debut, "Scars Of The Crucifix" ? a song which brutally sums up what DEICIDE is all about.

Bone-rattling riffage, firestorm drumming, and vocals from the pit of hell combine to make "Scars" one of the most venomous anthems DEICIDE has ever recorded.

Shot in Nottingham, U.K. by acclaimed director Pete Bridgewater (THE HAUNTED, DECEMBER), the "Scars Of The Crucifix" video shows DEICIDE in rare form.

The "Scars Of The Crucifix" video is now in the post-production stages. Look for this video, coming soon to Earache.com and a TV near you.

"Scars Of The Crucifix" was recorded at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida with producer Neil Kernon (CANNIBAL CORPSE, NEVERMORE) and was mixed at Sonic Ranch studios in Tornillo, Texas. A February 24, 2004 release through Earache Records is expected.

Band profile:

Deicide

SODOM, VANDEN PLAS, POWERGOD and DARK AGE are among the bands confirmed to appear at the 7th Annual Rock Station Festival, a three-day event set to take place March 19-21 in Ankara, Turkey.

The complete list of acts currently scheduled to perform at the festival is as follows:

SODOM (GER)
VANDEN PLAS (GER)
POWERGOD (GER)
DARK AGE (GER)
CADAVEROUS CONDITION (AUS)
CENOTAPH (TUR)
WYKKED WYTCH (USA)
KNIGHT ERRANT (TUR)
GUN BARREL (GER)
657 (TUR)
KARAKEDI (TUR)
NOTWITHSTANDING (TUR)
SELF TORTURE (TUR)
COURTYARD (TUR)
ABEA (TUR)
SOUL SHRED (TUR)
ZARDANADAM (TUR)
MELATONIN (TUR)

For more information, visit the festival's official web site at www.rock-station.org.

Band profile:

Sodom

DESTRUCTION frontman Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer recently gave the group's official web site more information about the German thrash metal band's upcoming live DVD, "Live Discharge - 20 Years Of Total Destruction".

According to Schmier, "this DVD features DESTRUCTION material from all eras including myself on vocals. The fans themselves did vote for those tunes, so we hope your favorite is not missing out. We did try to catch that energy of a thrash show rather than just recording the most perfect, clean and flawless concert. This is also one of the reasons why you will find three different events in our LIVE section . . . Together with the backstage and 'on the road' footage you will get a nice extra look behind the curtain of a DESTRUCTION show.

"This is ain't fake! We are living our music to the max and you will surely have your 'nice' entertaining moments.

"The bonus material includes our two first ever video clips: 'Desecrators' and 'The Ravenous Beast', an Australia tour special done by the OZ Metal Warriors, an intense interview - history, some leftovers from other shows (like older cuts with Sven on the drums) and of corpse some very old, glorious footage from the '80s!"

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Band profile:

Destruction

STRAPPING YOUNG LAD will film their first-ever DVD on Friday, January 16 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, British Columbia. The as-yet-untitled disc, due later in the year through Century Media Records, will contain lots of outtake footage recorded over the past decade and is a precursor to the new STRAPPING YOUNG LAD CD, which is set to be recorded late summer.

In other news, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD mainman Devin Townsend has posted the following message on his official web site:

"I will release two website-only records in late February (the albums go to the layout place Jan 13th). These records are fun and not meant to be taken very seriously. 'Fan-only' records, but both of them are excellent and at least 72 minute long. I did the art and layout as well...(Haha!!!)

"One is 'Ass-sordid II' with all the old demos from my early bands NOISESCAPES and GREY SKIES as well as a whole whack of lost songs from the early days. A full 72-minute CD worth!

"The second album is called 'Devlab', and in a explosion I assembled together all my year-long laptop workings when I got home from the SYMPHONY X tour. I wanted to make a completely fucked record that compliments schizophrenia or flu symptoms...

"Honestly, some people will absolutely HATE it, so I don't recommend it to everyone. Just people who want to hear what a Devin Townsend 72-minute long ambient record would be like. (and even them I strongly caution)

"That being said, I LOVE it, but just so I don't kill my career, I'll only make it available through the site. There's a bit of writing in the booklets as well. Just descriptions and ramblings. Lots of pretentious shit...either you like it or you don't... If not, buy MESHUGGAH, OPETH, DIMMU, and WEEN instead. They fucking RULE!"

Band profile:

Strapping Young Lad

Swedish progressive dark metallers EVERGREY are the latest band confirmed for this year's Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 19-12, 2004 in Abtsgmünd, Germany.

The complete list of acts currently scheduled to appear at the festival is as follows (in alphabetical order):

BRAINSTORM
BUSTA HOOTA
CRIMINAL
DEADSOUL TRIBE
DIE HAPPY
DISILLUSION
ENSIFERUM
EVERGREY
FLESHCRAWL
FRAGMENTS OF UNBECOMING
GODDESS OF DESIRE
GOREROTTED
HATESPHERE
HONIGDIEB
LAKE OF TEARS
MENHIR
MNEMIC
PARAGON
PRIMORDIAL
PSYCHOPUNCH
SALTATIO MORTIS
SCHANDMAUL
SIX FEET UNDER
SLEEPINGODSLIE
SODOM
TANKARD
THE DUSKFALL
U.D.O.
VOMITORY
XANDRIA

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Band profile:

Evergrey

German doom/gothic metallers LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE have set "Ave End" as the title of their sixth album, tentatively due in the summer through Austria's Napalm Records.

The recordings for the follow-up to 2002's "Fall, I Will Follow" will begin in February. Among the tracks set to appear on the CD are "Sarah Lou", "Phantom Ballad" and "To Bleed Or Not To Be".

Band profile:

Lacrimas Profundere

Metal Storm earned 6th position in best webzines in the latest top10 published in the French magazine Metallian.

The site is above other well-known metal pages such as www.metalreviews.com to name one.

So keep up supporting us guys, we have a strong team and we are heading toward number one!

AQUILON, Dark death metal band for south of France is the signature of Adipocere. After an excellent self-produced MCD titled "Les ombres de quatre murs", the band will start the recording of its debut in march, at the "Studio des Milans" with the sound-engineer of GOJIRA ! Expect a early april release....

ELLIPSIS has started the recording of its second album "From Beyond Thematics" in early november at the Sound Suite Studio with producer Terje Refsnes (Nightmare, Carpathian Forest, Penumbra, Tristania...). The last part of the recording and the mix will be done later, at the beginning of february. The album will feature 11 news songs and Khallys, the "new" keyboard player of the band. More news soon...

FORGOTTEN TOMB will be back in january 2004 at the Tommy Tagtgren's Abyss Studio - Sweden in order to record their third opus.

FURIA has some surprises for you... There's a lot of concerts everywhere in France, they has just shot a video under the direction of their keyboard player Medhi, but the band is also preparing a 2 Cds box for the end of the year titled "La Source Noire". This box will contain the remastered version of their first opus "A La Quête Du Passé" and a DVD of a full concert filmed by 8 cameras. You will find also inside some stickers and a 200 pages book (sorry, it will be only in french) with the whole story of the band's concept.

NEHËMAH has finished the recording of their third album "Requiem Tenebrae" !! Here the track listing of this one hour long album : "The great old ones", "The elder Gods", "In the mist of orion's sword", "Conciousness in evil", "Taken away by the torn blackshroud" et "Through the dark nebula". The band has recorded it with producer Ludo Tournier in a new studio and they've mastered it at "l'Autre Studio", in Paris !! The release is planned for the end of january 2004...

BENIGHTED has recorded during the summer its third opus titled "Insane Cephalic Production". The recording took place in Germany with producer-engineer Christian Kholemannsleiner (Agathodaimon, Ad Inferna?) who has recorded also the last album of Destinity. The release is planned for the beginning of 2004...

DESTINITY, is writting song their next album wwhich will be record at the FURIA's personal studio in january. The band is also preparing a spring tour with label mates BENIGHTED and a headlining european band. It will be titles" IN ECXELSIS DEMENTIA" and will contain 10 tracks of the most extreme Metal with both Black Metal & Death Metal influences, epics parts and amazing blast-beats !!! The album should be released in march 2004 and the 500 first copies will be an hand-numeroted limited edition digi-pack !

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TESLA will release their eagerly anticipated new studio album, "Into the Now", on Sanctuary Records on March 9, 2004. The original lineup of vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarist Frank Hannon, guitarist Tommy Skeoch, bass guitarist Brian Wheat and drummer Troy Luccketta spent more than two years writing and recording "Into the Now". TESLA co-produced the album with Michael Rosen.

"Into the Now" track listing:

01. Into the Now
02. Look @ Me
03. What a Shame
04. Heaven Nine Eleven
05. Words Can't Explain
06. Caught In a Dream
07. Miles Away
08. Mighty Mouse
09. Got No Glory
10. Come to Me
11. Recognize
12. Only You

Band profile:

Tesla

Holland's EPICA (formerly SAHARA DUST), the new group formed by ex-AFTER FOREVER guitarist Mark Jansen, ex-CASSIOPEIA guitarist Ad Sluijter and keyboardist Coen Janssen, have announced the details of their new single, "Feint", due on Thursday, January 8.

The complete track listing for the single is as follows:

01. Feint
02. Feint (previously unreleased piano version)
03. Triumph of Defeat (previously unreleased instrumental track)
04. Seif al Din

"Feint" and "Seif al Din" are both taken from EPICA's debut album, "The Phantom Agony", which was released last June through Transmission Records. The CD was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany under the expert guidance of the renowned producer and technician Sascha Paeth (RHAPSODY, KAMELOT, ANGRA).

As previously reported, EPICA will be playing a show with AFTER FOREVER on March 21 at Tivoli in Utrecht, Holland.

Band profile:

Epica

NOTRE DAME, the Swedish band featuring drummer Snowy Shaw (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, DREAM EVIL), will release their new album, "Demi Monde Bizarros", in February and not on April 1, as erroneously posted on the web site of the group's label, Osmose Productions.

According to Shaw, the forthcoming CD features songs "about sex, Satan and sadomasochism."

The complete track listing for "Demi Monde Bizarros" is as follows:

01. Munsters!
02. The Ride
03. The Stripper
04. My Ride Into Afterlife
05. Bon Voyage Mutherfucker
06. Hitmusic For Hitmen
07. Verbal Diarrhoea
08. Beyond The Threshold Of Pain
09. S/S Hellride
Bonus live tracks:
10. These Boots Are Made For Walking
11. The Wurld Is Sick

Finnish folk-influenced melodic death metal band ENSIFERUM have parted ways with singer/guitarist Jari Mäenpää. According to a posting on the band's official web site, "the reason why this happened is that Jari's solo project (WINTERSUN) is a priority in Jari's musical interests. If Jari had stayed in the band, ENSIFERUM had to cancel their most important (European) tour with FINNTROLL which starts in April, soon after the release of the second album. Also the other touring would have been decreased to minimal which would lead to the boredom and eventual break-up in the band."

Jari's official statement on the matter is as follows:

"I'm out of ENSIFERUM. The thing is that my and ENSIFERUM's schedules got fucked up and I couldn't be in two places at the same time.

"Here's my side of the story: I have made my own music aside of ENSIFERUM and even before I joined the band in '96. And it has always been more important thing for me. Since I am not the main songwriter in ENSIFERUM and ENSIFERUM has this one 'style' of music, I couldn't satisfy my musical needs and dreams. I'm very creative person and it was just matter of time, before I had to get my own material out inside of me.

"Last year I signed a deal with Nuclear Blast. I booked the studios last summer for March-April 2004 to record my album. I told the guys and our record company Spinefarm that I needed a break from ENSIFERUM to do my thing. (I would have probably needed a break anyway, 'cause I was very sick for months and stressed out in the ENSIFERUM's 'Iron' recordings.) Then Spinefarm booked a tour in April on top of my studio time and told me that I would have to move or cancel my studios. That wasn't possible and I wouldn't have done it anyway, if it would have been possible. Because I felt in my heart that I couldn't do anything, before I would have recorded my album, it had been boiling under for too long.

"So the rest of the guys and me had to make some difficult choices. The guys thought they wouldn't wait for me and they had to go on this tour, even without me. So they decided to try to find a replacement and kick me out of the band. I can understand their decision and I hold no grudge. I'm just sad that things had to go this way. I would have chosen both ENSIFERUM and my music, but since that wasn't possible, my choice was clear.

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Band profile:

Ensiferum

According to the STRATOVARIUS fan site www.truemetal.org/stratovarius, "Klaus Flaming, the host of the weekly Finnish metal radio show 'Metalliliitto' had a brief chat with Timo Tolkki at the afterparty of Sirkkelirock, the Finnish metal awards . Timo mentioned that the new vocalist is a good-looking and talented FEMALE. Interesting... I'd however take the comment with a grain of salt as it sounded as if Timo was a bit drunk while making it."

Read more ››

Band profile:

Stratovarius

Polish death metallers VADER have commenced work on the material for their sixth full-length album, tentatively titled "Spiritual Disease", for a May/June release through Metal Blade Records. Among the tracks set to appear on the CD are "Out Of A Deep" and "Lead Us!"

The follow-up to 2002's "Revelations" will be recorded in February 2004 at PR Studio in Gdañsk with producer Piotr Lukaszewski and will mark the group's final release for Metal Blade under the terms of their present contract with the label.

In other news, PANZER X, the solo project of VADER vocalist/guitarist Peter, are in the middle of recording their promotional CD at Studio X in Olsztyn, Poland. Titled "Steel First", the CD will feature "four pieces plus two cover songs and something extra," according to a posting on VADER's web site. "Steel First" is being engineered by Szymon Czech and produced by Peter himself. Wojtek Blasiak, the artist who recently did some graphics work for MOONSPELL, will take care of the "Steel Fist" artwork and layout.

Band profile:

Vader