Passing On
Witold ‘Vitek’ Kieltyka, the 23-year-old drummer for Polish extreme metal band Decapitated passed away November 2, from serious head injuries sustained in a vehicle accident between the band’s tour bus and a truck carrying wood. It happened in Gomel, on the Russia / Belarus border. Band mate/vocalist Adrian ‘Covan’ Kowanek also sustained serious injuries but is making progress in his slow recovery…
Heavy metal journalist Bob Muldowney passed away on November 5, after a long battle with cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease). Muldowney was best known for his fanzine/magazine Kick*Ass which helped expose, support and feature such bands as Raven, Motorhead, Venom, The Rods, Tank, Exciter and Riot as well as the exploding underground thrash scene. He had the first coverage of bands such as Slayer, Megadeth, Medieval, Overkill and Anthrax. He was also one of the first journalists to expose the death metal scene in its infancy, offering early press to Sodom, Hellhammer / Celtic Frost, Destruction and Bathory.
It was Muldowny who delivered a demo tape from an unknown California band by the name of Metallica into the hands of record store owner, Jonny Z. Later on, Z became the boss at Megaforce Records and advertised in Kick*Ass. Muldowney was 44-years-old.

Quotable “To master an instrument requires suffering.” Obituary guitarist, Ralph Santolla

Tours
Canadian progressive metal extremist Into Eternity will be part of the Symphony X tour, which rolls into the Ridglea Theater April 27… King Diamond’s spring North American tour has been cancelled. The legendary vocalist, who resides in a Dallas/Fort Worth suburb, has been suffering from a herniated disc in his spine for several months and has not recovered to a satisfactory level… Coming to the Ridglea next year are: Exodus (January 25), Nile (March 16) and German metal queen Doro (April 12)… In what could be the band’s final D/FW show, Ministry plays The Palladium on April 17…

Studio
Texas Metal Alliance (which features Rigor Mortis vocalist Bruce Corbitt, Gammacide guitarists Rick Perry and Scott Shelby, Gammacide/Devilfist bassist Alan Bovee and Demonseed drummer Joe Gonzalez) entered the studio Nov. 24 to begin recording its first original material… Into Eternity is hard at work on a highly-anticipated, upcoming release - their first conceptual album. No other information is available…

Releases
Testament’s 1997’s Demonic and 1999’s The Gathering will be reissued through Prosthetic Records on January 8. The two discs were previously released through Spitfire Records and are currently out of print… Regain Records has released a two-song, live mini-CD from Gorgoroth titled Bergen 1996… The Esseness Project, which features guitarist Steve Smyth (Nevermore, Dragonlord, Testament, Vicious Rumors), will release its debut album November 5, through Smyth’s own Two Louder Music label…. Dimmu Borgir’s latest, In Sorte Diaboli, has been certified gold (over 15,000 copies) in the band’s home country of Norway, the first metal band in Norway to do so. As for American soil, the release has moved 50,000 units since its release

Personnel
Sweden’s Face Down, which features former The Haunted vocalist Marco Aro, has parted ways with guitarist Joacim Carlsson… Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia has done the same with Danish singer Monika Pedersen due to musical differences… Florida’s The Absence has announced the addition of former Yeti drummer Chris Pistillo.

Otep Shamaya Photo: Travis Tutwiler Five Finger Death Punch Photo: Misty Johnson

Visually Disturbing
Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation, Cradle of Filth and Suffocation are among the artists whose album covers have made the Dallas Observer’s slideshow of 20 of the Goriest Album Covers…

Other
Guitar Hero III grossed more than $100 million in its first seven days of sale in North America… The Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League will be sporting Metal Blade Records warm up jerseys for the season, to be worn during pre-game warm ups. This isn’t the first time Metal Blade and the CHL have teamed up in a sponsorship… In Flames has signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast Records covering all territories outside North America. The group’s new CD (currently being recorded at IF studios in Gothenburg, Sweden) is tentatively scheduled for release next April.

Pathetic
Former Iced Earth guitarist Ernie Carletti has been convicted for kidnapping and raping a University of Delaware student in 2003. Carletti joined Iced Earth in June 2006 but never appeared on any of the band’s releases and never performed live with the band. The jury acquitted him on a weapons charge.

Otep - Palladium Ballroom, 11/21/07
On the heals of their new release, The Ascension, Otep made a stop in Dallas and heated up the Palladium Ballroom on this winter night. Taking the stage donned in masks reminiscent of the movie V For Vendetta, the show was equal parts music and theatrics. Otep Shamaya (vocals) was full of energy and made use of a fishnet mask, black veil, top hat and a gunny sack over her head to convey meaning to her madness. Joined by Evil J (bass), Brian Wolff (drums) and Aaron Norstrom (guitars), Otep delivered a memorable performance with new songs “Confrontation” and “Ghostflowers,” as well as a cover of the Nirvana’s “Breed,” dedicated to the late Kurt Cobain. For closing number, “Warheads,” Otep was draped in the American Flag and made a dedication to the men and women of the Armed Forces, along with calling for the resignation of President Bush - which drew thunderous applause from the crowd. (Travis Tutwiler)

Five Finger Death Punch - The Ridglea, 11/5/07
The name for 5FDP (a heavy metal band filtered with “core” elements), evolved from the five-point exploding heart technique in the Kill Bill Vol. 2 movie. These guys certainly pull serious fans, with the performance shadowed by mosh pits on every song. The Ridglea erupted like lava spewing from a volcano when “Salvation” and “White Knuckles” were played.
Unfortunately, members Ivan (vox), Zoltan (lead guitar), Jeremy (drums), Matt (bass) and Darrell (guitar) were all less than enthusiastic. Their grueling tour schedule on Family Values (and then going straight back out on the road) may have played a factor in the lack of energy. Nonetheless 5FDP played seamlessly tight, and the crowd more than made up for the lost energy. Check out the band’s new CD, The Way of the Fist.
Openers Oblige and The Destro were also heavy hitters for the night. (Misty Johnson)

Within Chaos, The Destro - Ridglea Theater, 11/9/07
If you felt the earth shaking on this night, attribute it to the tag-team show featuring two of the Metroplex’s finest – The Destro and Within Chaos. Igniting the stage like a Molotov cocktail, The Destro kicked off their set with the crushing “Rivers Bottom,” featuring the machine-gun, double bass drums of Jono Garrett and equally pounding bass lines from Steven Nottingham. Guitarist Nick Emde delivered his heavy, groove-laden riffs on “Bridges Will Burn” and “Sever The Ties,” while Eric Daughtry’s in-your-face vocals were delivered with brute force on “Beast Burden.” A video of the song recently premiered on Headbanger’s Ball.
Not giving the crowd any time to recover, Within Chaos came out the gates firing on all cylinders, treating the crowd to a healthy dose of songs from their recently released Koch Records debut, Virulent. The mosh pit worked overtime, as the band cranked out the heavy hitting “Curveball,” “Buried Alive” and “What Doesn’t Kill You.” Jason Huggett (guitars), Danny Reid (vocals), Travis Dunham (drums) and Jim Taylor (bass) sounded tight and really enjoyed interacting with the crowd. (Travis Tutwiler)

Enthroned - Tetra Karcist, Napalm Records
On this new release from Belgium black metal quartet Enthroned, the gates of hell have opened to a fury of severe guitar riffs, blazing fast drum beats and demonic barking vocals with the occasional growl. With hints of chanting monks, the blasphemous offering includes the ominous “The Seven Ensigns Of Creation,” the supersonic “Through The Cortex” and “The Burning Dawn.” Other highlights include “Pray” and “Vermin.” Not a bad offering, but the drums seem to overshadow the music and even on songs with slower tempos, the drums continue to fire like an out-of-control machine gun. Vocals are also a little rough at times but, overall, Enthroned delivers a decent black metal release in Tetra Karcist.
(Travis Tutwiler)

Dark Funeral - Attera Orbis Terrarum Part I, Regains Records DVD
Swedish black metal tyrants, Dark Funeral, have served up a two-disc DVD set of visual darkness that will appeal to new and longtime fans alike. The first disc features two, full-length, professionally filmed concerts from the 2005 Metalmania show in Poland and the 013 show in the Netherlands.
Disc two offers another full-length, professionally filmed show - La Locomotive in Paris, France, in 2006; the video for “Atrum Regina” and the highlight - 40-minutes of fan shot amateur footage ranging from 1994 – 1997. Included in this previously unreleased footage is the band’s legendary first performance of “My Dark Desires” from their debut show in Oslo, Norway, on May 14, 1994. Other highlights from the fan footage are live covers of Bathory’s “Equimanthorn” from 1996 and Von’s “Satanic Blood” from 1996.
(Travis Tutwiler)

sHEAVY - The Machine That Won The War, Dallas Tarr Records
If you like old Black Sabbath and the stoner rock of some modern groups, then add sHEAVY to your list. Hailing from Canada, these rockers know how to serve it up to make you feel like you’ve gone back in time. Tommy Boland and Dan Moore (guitarists) have plenty of riffs to go around, and aren’t afraid to show they can play. Steve Hennessey has an incredible voice and strikes a strong resemblance to a younger, better Ozzy from the early Sabbath days. Song highlights include the groove heavy “The Sleeping Assassin,” stoner vibe of “Demon Soldiers,” the slow funk of “Here Falls The Shadow” and rocking track “The Gunfighters.” With a bonus live DVD, this Canadian import is a great addition to any CD collection.
(Travis Tutwiler)

Self Torture - Dead Center, Angerepidemic Records
Hardcore/death metal is alive and well in Ankara, Turkey, thanks to Self Torture. On their third release, Dead Center, the quartet throws down a vicious mix of speed, thrash and hardcore ranging from the likes of Hatebreed to the Bay Area Thrash scene.
Mehment Stevenson (vocals) shows off his lethal pipes on “Hate Anger Fury,” while guitarist Cenker Yilmaz weaves and winds his way around the fretboard. Semih Ornek (drums) and Enegin Kamarot do a nice job of mixing up the rhythm to keep things fresh. Highlights include the pounding “Capable,” sludge-groove “Water” and high octane “Elsewhere.” Dead Center is a grinding slab of metal that will hit you like a freight train.
(Travis Tutwiler)

Arise And Ruin - The Final Dawn, Victory Records
The Final Dawn is a riff-fest of pulverizing metal delivered by Canadian metalcore outfit Arise And Ruin. The tempos are fast, and the breakdowns are brutal courtesy of Ben Alexis (bass) and Derek Prince (drums). Singer Ryan Buchman spits out lyrics with attitude and ferocity. Guitarists Brent Munger and Greg Richmond offer up plenty of killer riffs on “In Life” and “The Final Dawn.” Other standouts are the sonic assault of “Bound By Blood,” the driving “End Of The Road” and crushing “To The Grind.” Arise And Ruin has delivered a strong statement on the metal scene, showing they’re a true force to be reckoned with.
(Travis Tutwiler)