Dimmu Borgir: Mystery Announcement Coming On Tuesday?

A countdown has been launched on DIMMU BORGIR's MySpace page to what is apparently a mystery announcement that will be made on Tuesday, July 6 at 2:00 a.m. EST.

As previously reported, DIMMU BORGIR will launch the first leg of its "Darkness Reborn World Tour" by supporting KORN in Europe in September.

DIMMU BORGIR recently announced its collaboration with Norwegian composer and Berklee College of Music summa cum laude alumnus Gaute Storaas, the 51-member KORK (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra) and the 38-member Schola Cantorum Choir for the band's new album.

To date, over 101 musicians have lent their talents to the making of the CD.

DIMMU BORGIR's ninth studio album will be released in Germany on October 1, in the rest of Europe on October 4, and in North America on October 12 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Earlier in the year, guitarist Silenoz told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to 2007's "Il Sorte Diaboli", "The words that come to mind, if we should even try and attempt at describing [the new material] at this point, would be something like: grand, huge, epic and primal," he said. "It has this eerie and haunting feel to it. Atmosphere and ambience!

He continued, "It's hard to say anything distinct or speak objectively about the new material when you're in the middle of the writing process — we're too close to it at this stage — but we'd be lying if we said it's not good. We're very confident in the new material and we believe it'll raise a few eyebrows. We might even have to trim our own!"

Regarding why the wait between albums seems to be getting longer for DIMMU BORGIR, Silenoz said, "Because we want the next album to be a better and stronger one. We're more critical of each process and we take the time it needs. Quality is, at the end of the day, in the eye of the beholder, but once we start rushing things, like trying to write music while on tour to speed things up — forget about it. We've tried it before and it didn't work. We focus 110 percent on one thing at a time. Plus, if we'd release an album every year, where would the expectation be? Where would the excitement be?"

Hatesphere Announces New Singer

Danish thrashers HATESPHERE have recruited Esben "Esse" Hansen of AS WE FIGHT as the group's new vocalist. In addition, the band has parted ways with bassist Mixen Lindberg and has temporarily replaced him with returning HATESPHERE member Mikael Ehlert (who will remain with the group until the end of 2010).

Commented Esben "Esse" Hansen: "It didn't take me much time to decide that I wanted to be the new singer of HATESPHERE. Besides making some of the best metal music on Danish soil, HATESPHERE is one of the coziest bands in Denmark. And I'm very excited to be a permanent part of it all. Looking forward to screaming my lungs out for you on stage!"

Added guitarist Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen: "After having searched up and down and in between, we're honored to present Esse as new frontman in HATESPHERE. He's got the qualities that we have been looking for but which have shown very hard to find. He's got a brutal varied voice that will be a pleasure to hear in HATESPHERE. He's got the necessary experience you will only get by playing tons of shows in front of big and small crowds. He knows what he is getting into — and last but not least, he's a great guy! Welcome to HATESPHERE — we look forward to kicking major ass!"

HATESPHERE will take part in a six-week North American tour in September-November alongside headliners NEVERMORE and WARBRINGER and MUTINY WITHIN.

HATESPHERE's latest album, "To The Nines" entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 36. The CD was recorded over a nine-day period at Antfarm Studio in Aarhus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST).

Behemoth: 'Alas The Lord Is Upon Me' Video Trailer Available

Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH recently shot a video for the song "Alas The Lord Is Upon Me", taken from the band's latest album, "Evangelion". The clip was produced and directed by Dariusz Szermanowicz and Grupa 13, which previously helmed BEHEMOTH's videos for "Ov Fire And The Void" and "At The Left Hand Ov God".

A trailer for the "Alas The Lord Is Upon Me" video can be viewed below.

Commented BEHEMOTH guitarist/vocalist Adam "Nergal" Darski: "First of all, we've overcome ourselves with this new video clip. Period. It's something we've wanted to do for a very long time. Pretty much no digital intervention, no blue boxes, no fake shit this time, but great filming, good acting, and a fuckin' awesome storyline. It's disturbing, crazy, and evil. We've had over 70 people working for us on this video so we can easily say it was the biggest production so far. We are beyond excited! Wait and see…"

The director of the video, Dariusz Szermanowicz, commented: "This time we decided to make something different. We'd like to make a video in 'cinematic' style without so many VFX like in last two videos. We found a great location, we had dozen of actors and extras and awesome stylizing. 16 hours of hard work resulted with best video we've ever made!"

Check out photo stills from the new video below.

In other news, Metal Blade Records will release BEHEMOTH's early EPs, "Conjuration" and "Slaves Shall Serve", this fall as a double-disc set for North America. The same release will be out in Europe on Peaceville Records.

BEHEMOTH was honored in the "Album Of The Year (Heavy Metal)" category at this year's Fryderyk Awards, Poland's most prestigious music award ceremony. Awards were presented in over 20 pop, classical and jazz categories at the event, which was held on April 19 in Warsaw, Poland.

Commented Darski: "There are different priorities we care about and hunt for and awards is the last on this list, I can assure you. However, we are happy that someone noticed our hard work and determination and this award is proof that [BEHEMOTH's latest studio album] 'Evangelion' definitely made a statement! We couldn't be more proud of this record. Thank you for voting."

The Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV), comprised of nearly 800 performing artists, record industry professionals, and music journalists, acts as the jury for the Fryderyk Awards. It was founded in December 1999 at the initiative of ZPAV members to honor artists nominated to the Fryderyk Awards.

BEHEMOTH was nominated in five categories at this year's Fryderyk Awards:

* Production Of The Year

* Best Album Artwork

* Album Of The Year (Heavy Metal)

* Band Of The Year

* Video Of The Year ("Ov Fire And The Void")

Full "Album Of The Year (Heavy Metal)" nominees were as follows:

* AMETRIA - Nowy dzien

* BEHEMOTH - Evangelion

* HUNTER - Hellwood

* TURBO - Straznik swiatla

* VADER - Necropolis

Trailer:

Behind the scenes:

Captures:

Image1 Image2 Image3

Image4 Image5 Image6

Image7 Image8 Image9

Soilwork Streaming New Song From Upcoming Album "The Panic Broadcast"

Sweden's melodic metallers Soilwork are currently streaming a track from their upcoming album "The Panic Broadcast" via their myspace page. The song is titled titled "Delieverance is Mine."

"The Panic Broadcast" is scheduled for release on July 13th, 2010 in North America and July 2nd in Europe through Nuclear Blast Records.

Hatebreed Announces Canadian Tour Dates With Straight Line Stitch

Long running hardcore act Hatebreed have just announced a series of concerts set to take place throughtout eastern Canada. Support on the tour will come from label mates Straight Line Stitch. The tour will also mark the band's first appearances in the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Canadian tour dates:

September 6 — The Blind Dog — Windsor, Ont.

September 7 — The Music Hall — London, Ont.

September 8 — Phoenix Concert Theatre — Toronto, Ont.

September 9 — Club Soda — Montreal, Que.

September 10 — The New Capital Music Hall — Ottawa, Ont.

September 11 — Illot Fleurie Park — Quebec City, Que.

September 13 — Oxygen Nightclub — Moncton, N.B.

September 14 — The Cunard Centre — Halifax, N.S.

Behemoth Frontman Nergal's Blasphemy Case Dismissed

The District Court for Gdynia has dismissed the investigation against Behemoth frontman Adam Darski (pseudonym/nickname Nergal) accused of an offence against religious feelings (sec. 196 of polish Criminal Code). The case was filed against Darski after a tore up a bible on stage at a Behemoth concert in September 2007.

During the preparatory proceedings the defender filled the application, which was entirely accepted by the Court. The defendant’s behaviour wasn’t recognised as a crime. Moreover the Court acknowledged no causal connection/cause-and-effect relationship between Adam Darski’s behaviour and the consequence in a form of outrage of religious emotions.

Trailer Park Massacre Offering Demo As Free Download

Swiss deathcore act Trailer Park Massacre has issued the following announcement about offering the band's 2010 demo as a free download:

"Hi peeps! Our three-track demo is now out and available for free! Just steal it and spread it if you like it so we can get some gigs! We also hope you guys will share your impressions with us and, of course, tell us what's your favorite song, so we can play it live!

"The demo has been recorded and mastered at Conatus Studios with Vladimir Cochet, thank you for such a great job! The other great news is that we found our new guitarist! His name is Fabio and he's currently working really hard on our tunes to get prepared for shows! Stay hard! (in your mind, not your pants)"

Shadows Fall To Release 'Madness In Manila' DVD

Massachusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL will release a new concert DVD, "Madness In Manila: Shadows Fall Live In The Philippines 2009", on August 24 via Everblack Industries/Ferret Music. The disc will include footage that was shot on April 30, 2009 at the Pulp Summer Slam in Manila, Philippines.

SHADOWS FALL's "Bark At The Moon" cover was featured on the deluxe version of the band's latest album, "Retribution", which came out on September 15, 2009. The deluxe CD also included bonus covers of NUCLEAR ASSAULT's "Critical Mass" and CRO-MAGS' "Age Of Quarrel", along with a companion DVD, featuring making-of-the-album footage, live material, lessons, interviews and more.

"Retribution" sold around 13,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released via Everblack Industries, the label SHADOWS FALL created in conjunction with Warner Music Group's ILG, Ferret Music and ChannelZERO Entertainment.

"Retribution" was produced by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, MUNICIPAL WASTE), with vocal production by Elvis Baskette (INCUBUS, ALTER BRIDGE). The cover artwork was created by Sons of Nero (UNEARTH, EVERY TIME I DIE, BRING ME THE HORIZON).

Kittie Posts New Music Video For "Cut Throat" Online

Kittie has posted the music video online for their song "Cut Throat," which is from the upcoming album "In The Black." The video clip can be viewed below. "In The Black" is scheduled for a September 15th release date.

Acheron Posts Video Blog Commenting On Upcoming Album "The Final Conflict: Last Days Of God"

Vincent Crowley of Ohio metallers Acheron has posted a video clip online discussing the band's upcoming album "The Final Conflict: Last Days of God," which will be released through Displeased Records. The video clip can be viewed below.

Ex-DIMMU BORGIR Bassist/Vocalist VORTEX Says MUSTIS Was Band's 'True Creative Force'

ICS Vortex (real name: Simen Hestnæs), the former bassist/clean vocalist for the Norwegian symphonic black metal band DIMMU BORGIR, has released the following statement regarding his departure from the group:

"I've really enjoyed the ride; the DIMMU years have been awesome. I look forward to concentrating fully on my own project now, and the opening possibility to resurrect a band or three.

"A special thanks to all the crazy and lovely people I have met on the road with DIMMU over the years, for the support from so many of you, and for the continuing interest in my musical projects. I will always treasure the albums and the brotherhood as it was before the cabin-fever music industry and greed went METALLICA on our asses.

"My support goes to Mustis [former DIMMU BORGIR keyboardist; real name: Øyvind Mustaparta], the true creative force in DIMMU for the last ten years, and his rightful legal chase."

Simen will meet his LAMENTED SOULS bandmates in mid-September to plan a new release and a few gigs in Norway. He is also planning to get together with the rest of ARCTURUS to discuss the group's future and a possible reunion.

The remaining members of DIMMU BORGIR issued a statement on Monday (August 31) confirming Vortex's and Mustis' departures from the group. The statement also downplayed the impact the lineup changes will have on the sound of DIMMU BORGIR next album, insisting that "the creative force in the band is highly intact, perhaps even more so than ever."

Mustis issued a statement on Sunday (August 30) claiming that his dismissal from DIMMU BORGIR was caused by his efforts to "address the fact that many songs written by me had not been registered properly under my name in their credits. Without naming every single track, let us just say that a good majority of albums like 'Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia' and 'In Sorte Diaboli' would have been vastly different had I not composed and created as much as I actually did," he said. "Sadly, based on terrible gaps in the communication process and a failure to find logical rationale for why this had been done this way found me hitting wall after wall as opposed to finding a professional and reasonable solution to the problem. My inquiries and investigation into the issues which I wished to resolve and move on from would in the end find me being fired from the group. No discussions about it, just 'goodbye' (via text message)."

Last year's "Blackest Of The Black" tour with DANZIG helped support DIMMU's latest DVD titled "The Invaluable Darkness", which debuted at No. 5 on the Top Music Videos chart in mid-October. It was also the band's last North American tour promoting their eighth studio album, "In Sorte Diaboli", which debuted on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart at No. 2, and on The Billboard 200 chart at No. 43.

Dimmu Borgir Splits With Bassist Vortex And Keyboardist Mustis

Norwegian black metal group Dimmu Borgir has announced that they have parted ways with their bassist, Vortex, and their keyboard player, Mustis. A message from the band reads as follows:

"We regret to inform you that we have parted ways with both (bassist) Vortex and (keyboardist) Mustis. However, we do want to make it perfectly clear that the creative force in the band is highly intact, perhaps even more so than ever. With that being said, we're currently working on our next album and are excited to start a new chapter in the legacy that is Dimmu Borgir."

Dark Funeral: New Album Title Announced

Swedish black metallers DARK FUNERAL have set "Angelus Exuro pro Eternus" as the title of their new album, tentatively due on November 18. Guitarist Lord Ahriman states, "Peter Tägtgren [HYPOCRISY, PAIN] is currently mixing our new album at his Abyss Studios [in Pärlby, outside Ludvika, Sweden]. Once we have approved the final mix, Jonas Kjellgren [SCAR SYMMETRY] will be mastering it."

He adds, "By listening to the rough mix, the final production will kill totally, no doubt! Can't wait to blast the final result in the stereo!

"We decided to go for a bit rawer sound this time, and not as crystal clear and perhaps polished as our last album ('Attera Totus Sanctus'), but no worries. The production still holds the high quality that you would come to expect from us. We haven't done 'a METALLICA,' so to say!"

DARK FUNERAL shot a video for one of the new tracks, "My Funeral", over the August 21-23 weekend at the Abyss Studios. Lord Ahriman says, "The video was shot in and outside an old and closed mental hospital. The environment was just killer. And besides, it suited the video theme perfect!

"The video is currently under editing by Standard Film Team. And within the next two-three weeks it should be ready for world premiere. However, due to the graphic violence and somewhat gory nature of the video, I would assume that we will be forced to edit two versions, one soft and one hard core version. Exactly how and where we'll release them is yet to be decided though."

Check out photos from the video shoot at this location.

DARK FUNERAL released "Attera Orbis Terrarum - Part II", the second DVD recorded during the band's world tour in support of the "Attera Totus Sanctus" album, on October 20, 2008.

Released in 2005, DARK FUNERAL's latest album, "Attera Totus Sanctus", was recorded and mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (MESHUGGAH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, IN FLAMES, BEHEMOTH) and Örjan Örnkloo at Dug-Out studios in Uppsala, Sweden. Mastering duties were handled by Tomas Eberger at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Sweden. The album features a guest appearance by former MESHUGGAH bassist Gustaf Hielm.

Video footage of DARK FUNERAL performing at this year's edition of the Party.San Open Air festival — which was held August 6-8, 2009 in Bad Berka, Germany — can be viewed at this location. One of the clips can be viewed below.