“In light of Kampfar’s cancelation of the show at the Fireblade Force Festival in Liechtenstein, Germany, on October 11, we feel the need to publish this explanation. This show was supposed to be the last show of our Tordenstorm tour. Unfortunately, our tour ended at the side of the road in the Alps, only a few hours before we were supposed to hit the stage. Our tour bus was stopped by the Austrian police due to a mechanical problem. The bus was taken to a garage for inspection, and it was not possible to repair the problem at the time. By the time we realized that we could not continue it was too late to find an alternative solution to take us the remaining distance. Hence, we had to make the difficult decision to call off our show at Fireblade Force. On behalf of Elite, our crew, the festival, and ourselves, we are very sorry that this was the outcome. We have come to an agreement with the organisers of the festival, and will be working together in the future.”

Firebox Metal Fest 2009 - http://www.fmf.fi
Time: 17-18. April 2009
Place: Rytmikorjaamo - http://www.rytmikorjaamo.fi/
City: Seinäjoki - http://www.seinajoki.fi/
Country: Finland - http://virtual.finland.fi/

First confirmed bands:
Evoken (Usa, I Hate Records)
http://www.myspace.com/evoken
Forgotten Tomb (Ita, Avantgarde Music)
http://www.myspace.com/darknessinstereo
Shining (Swe, Osmose Productions)
http://www.myspace.com/shininghalmstad
The Eternal (Aus, Firebox Records)
http://www.myspace.com/theeternalband

Next bands to be confirmed in December.

Necrophobic is from now on a 5 piece strong legion! During 2008 the band did a number of shows as a 5 piece with Erik Danielsson (Watain) as a session member. This made Necrophobic come to think of continue on a new path and develop the live performances as the new live impression was much better. Necrophobic is now proud to present the new bass player, Alex Friberg, 26. He possesses demonical skills on the bass and fits the band perfect both musically and mentally.
Q: How does it feel to be the "new" warrior in such a long running band?
Alex: I'm very honered and proud to be fully trusted with this task.
Q: What can you tell us about your background?
Alex: I have listened to metal for as long as I can remember, and picked up the bass giutar at the age of 10. I have played with numberus of bands, but it was all a warm-up for Necrophobic, hehe..
Q: What are your feelings towards the new material for the upcoming album?
Alex: Total destruction! Also a total killer for me to be a part of the making process in an early stage.

A video of Tom recording a guest solo for Architect, the international project featuring Gus Monsanto (ex-Adagio), Joost van de Broek (After Forever, Ayreon etc.) has been posted on YouTube. Check it out:



NB. This may or may not be the take used on the final recording.

Dark the Suns' The Dead End EP hit the 16th place on the Official Finnish Singles Chart on its first sales week! The band have started to record their second full-lenght album, All Ends in Silence. The album will be released in the beginning of 2009 by Firebox Records. The band are now recording the guitars and keyboards in their own homestudio. While from 7th of November onwards the band will record vocals, bass and drums at Studio Watercastle. This album is also going to be mixed in Studio Watercastle as well.

Legendary Death/thrash metal masters Opprobrium (formerly known as Incubus from Louisiana, USA) is back again with their brand new album "Mandatory Evac" (2008), their follow up new album in 8 years, after "Discerning Forces" (2000/2008 Metal Mind Productions/Nuclear Blast Records). A soon to be another classical record in the band's history!
"Mandatory evac" is another onslaught master piece album by Opprobrium, which remains true to their brutal, yet technical death/thrash metal album, with fantastic riffs, guitar solos and vocals, once again by the two Brazilian borne brothers Francis (Vocals, Guitars), and powerful and technical drumming by his brother Moyses (Drums).

SBB, a legend of Polish music scene, returns with a new studio album entitled “Iron Curtain”. The band, compirised of the phenomenal composer Józef Skrzek, the excellent guitarist Apostolis Anthimos and the flawless drummer Gabor Nemeth, plans to support the release with a tour.
SBB’s previous album “The Rock”, released in 2007, was highly acclaimed by both fans and music media. As the title suggests, the band's music on that album is as powerful as a rock. On their forthcoming album “Iron Curtain” the band will show an even rockier side. The new material will also include some more expanded tracks, which are so distinctive of SBB. Józef Skrzek: “The pressure of the modern world is the reason for human oblivion. We are the generation that destroyed the myth of Europe’s ‘iron curtain’. The new sound of SBB is like a mirror of the lives of the barriers’ breakers...” The title of the forthcoming album can be interpreted in many different ways. Józef Skrzek is convinced that the iron curtain still exists, not only as a border between the East and the West, the poor and the rich, but also in the media, which promote so called artists, who are actually far from the real artists who genuinely live their art.
“Iron Curtain” will be released by Metal Mind Productions on 26th January 2009.

Chilean thrash mafia Criminal have uploaded a brand new demo track to their MySpace page. Comments Criminal mastermind Anton Reisenegger (guitar/vocals): “The song in question is 'The Infidel', and it's about – you probably guessed it – religious dogmas and intolerance, and the right to stand up for the fact that THERE IS NO GOD. Musically speaking, it's pretty straight-forward thrash/death with some obvious Slayer influences, but I feel it has enough of our own ideas to make it really original and 100% Criminal! Anyways, this is just one little appetizer, as the material for the record is incredibly varied, ranging from really technical stuff with odd time signatures, to crushing groove monsters, to all-out death metal and everything in between, so be prepared for one hell of a rollercoaster ride!
We might post another demo track within the coming weeks or months just to give you a broader idea of what the new album is going to sound like, but we don't want to give too much away either.”

On January 5th, 2009 Swedish Death Metal masters Vomitory will enter Leon Music Studios in Karlstad/Sweden to begin recordings for their seventh (yet untitled) album. Studio owner Rikard Löfgren will once again engineer, partially produce, mix and master the new album like he did with it´s predecessor 'Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize'!
The new album is scheduled for a May 2009 release through Metal Blade Records in Europe. The release date for the US and the rest of the World is not set yet.

'Killing Art of Self-Deception', the new album by finnish thrashers Reprisal Scars can now be streamed for one week at the band's myspace site.
'Killing Art of Self-Deception' will be released by Violent Journey Records on the following dates:
Finland & Sweden: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
UK: Monday, November 17, 2008

Prior to kicking off the Suffer And Die! European tour with Neaera and Textures, death metal butchers Aborted, who released the highly acclaimed “Strychnine.213” album on Century Media this year, present you their contribution to the label’s 20th anniversary 2CD compilation “Covering 20 Years Of Extremes”, which is available in stores NOW! Century Media will share tracks from this special release with you in weekly turns until the end of the year. Check out Aborted’s devastating version of “Playing Dead” by legendary Pennsylvanian hardcore act Turmoil at: www.myspace.com/centurymediaeurope Witness some of the best acts of modern extreme metal live on the following dates: