Releases
Six Feet Under’s new CD, Commandment, is slated for an April 17 release date... Vital Remain’s new disc will be Icons of Evil... Impaled Nazarene’s Nihil has been officially banned in Germany… Annihilator’s Metal will be released April 16 in Europe through SPV Records… Earache recording artist Mortis is set to release a remix album titled Some Kind of Heroin reworking material from The Grudge. It’s due out April 16.
Dimmu Borgir has pushed up the release date of their new album, In Sorte Diaboli, on Nuclear Blast Records to April 24… Sanctuary Records has set a March 26 U.K. release date for reissues of Sabbat’s History of a Time to Come (1988) and Dreamweaver (1989)… Nile has entered Sound Lab Studio in Columbia, South Carolina, to begin recording their fifth, full-length album and first through Nuclear Blast.

Well Said Quotable “At my age, I’m not too old to listen to Slayer.” – Tom Araya of Slayer

Tour Dates
Supreme symphonic black metal kings Dimmu Borgir return to Dallas on Friday, May 25 at the House of Blues... The Haunted, Dark Tranquility, Into Eternity and Scar Symmetry will team up for the “Metal for the Masses” tour… Benediction will tour the states for the first time in 13 years with an Oct. 11 date slated for Dallas. No other details available... Celtic Frost will join Type O Negative and Brand New Sin for an American tour. As of yet, there’s been no Dallas date announced.

Personnel
British/Norwegian black metal project Code has announced the addition of vocalist Simen Hestnaes (a.k.a. Vortex from Dimmu Borgir) to the group’s ranks… Michael Laughlin has rejoined Cattle Decapitation. And, speaking of drummers, John Longstreth has rejoined Origin…
Former Ancient vocalist Lord Kaiaphas has launched a new black metal solo project called Thokkian Vortex. It’s in the vain of classic Darkthrone, Limbonic Art, Gorgoroth, Satyricon and Burzum - laced with orchestral and symphonic elements…
Nightrage has announced the addition of guitarist Constantine to the group’s ranks… Swedish metalers Construcdead have parted ways with drummer Erik Thyselius and bassist Viktor Hemgren.

D/FW News
The Dallas Fort Worth based Texas Metal Alliance has officially solidified their line up with Scott Shelby (Gammacide, Hammer Witch, Rotting Corpse) and Rick Perry (Gammacide, Puncture) on lead guitars; vocalist Bruce Corbitt (Rigor Mortis); bassist Alan Bovee (Gammacide) and the recently crowned fastest feet - Hensley Souryavong (Irreverence, Demonseed) on drums.

Metal Media
The highly anticipated thrash metal documentary Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal will have its North American premiere on Sunday, March 11 at 8 PM as part of the 2007 Texas Rock Fest at The Wave in Austin. For more information, visit www.texasrockfest.com...
Author Garry Sharpe Young’s latest written effort, Metal: The Definitive Guide, will be published on April 28 by Backbeat Books with Rob Halford (Judas Priest) providing the foreword…
SPV has launched a YouTube channel, which will feature clips from bands on the label’s roster such as Sepultura, Moonspell, Metal Church, Kreator, Kamelot and Beyond Fear.

Love, No Lost Love and No Love at All
Not surprising but Children of Bodom has been voted Band of the Year at the Finnish Metal Awards…. Horricane and Swedish record label Black Mark AB have parted ways in their business relationship…
Selected writers from around the world chosen by Blogcritics, a German online magazine, have bestowed Top Ten homely honors to Gene Simmons (Kiss) and Lemmy (Motorhead), as well as other ugliness not worthy of mention.

Fist Full of War, Stir the Silence, Determination, Amoricide - Ridglea Theater, 2/2/07
With the two-day notice cancellation of Metal Church [See HB’s Feb. Metal Majors], alternatives were needed to round out the billing, which originally featured local bands Amoricide and Stir the Silence as opening acts. With a few phone calls and local band willingness, Determination and Fist Full of War were added, completing what could have been a night of cluster.
For a short notice show with two additional acts, the night ran relatively smooth. Three-piece Amoricide stood out, thrashing via old school with a stage accented in blinking tombstones, skull-topped columns, flaming cauldrons and a bat-winged skeleton. Determination followed yielding the shortest set of the night, with Stir the Silence and Fist Full of War back to normal sets, concluding the early night at the Ridglea Theater. (Brian McLean)

Unleashed, Krisiun and Belphegor - Ridglea Theater, 2/24/07
This was an extreme metal show of the highest order. For Unleashed, it was the Swedish band’s first performance in D/FW since 1991, while Austria’s Belphegor was making their first Metroplex visit. As for South America’s Krisiun, their return was marked by a few years.
Even though each act brought to the stage its own style and differed culturally, the male-dominated crowd unanimously approved with rhythmic chants of “Un-leashed,” deathly growls and numerous thanks from fans uniting under metal‘s international flag. With no barricade in place, Belphegor’s front man/guitarist Helmuth was able to dominate by crouching down on one knee - giving a new meaning to “in-your-face metal.” The turn out was disappointing but those in attendance were rewarded with a perfect tour package. (Brian McLean)

Lapse of Sanity - Escaping from the Asylum, Self Release
Grand Prairie’s Lapse of Sanity was shooting for a big metal sound with their self released, three-song disc, Escaping from the Asylum. The elements are there in the song writing and vocals as each member makes a solid contribution. It will be interesting to see what this trio produces in the coming months. (Brian McLean)

Otep - The Ascension, Capital Records
Otep is without a doubt the best female-fronted heavy metal group today, and latest disc The Ascension proves it. The album is loaded from top to bottom with rip roaring rockers such as “March of the Martyrs,” “Noose and Nail,” “Eat The Children” and “Ghostflowers.” The latter, a great video, is getting a lot of rotation on Fuse and MTV’s Headbangers Ball. There are groove–driven ditties such as “Confrontation” and “Milk of Regret,” but the biggest surprise is the sing-along ballad “Perfectly Flawed,” with the radio friendly possibility of becoming a Billboard top ten hit, (which would be so cool). There’s also a nice kick-ass cover of Nirvana’s “Breed.” This is a welcomed heavy-duty masterpiece.
(Angus MacMannus)

Solitude Aeturnus - Alone, Locomotive Records
The eight-year hiatus for Texas doom metal has finally come to an end with the release of Alone from Arlington’s Solitude Aeturnus (Locomotive Records). Available in Europe since Nov. 2006 on Massacre Records, the nine-track disc with bonus track “Embrace,” is no doubt the finest work SA has created over their 15-plus year career.
Alone showcases frontman Robert Lowe’s finest work to date as well as stellar songwriting from the Solitude Aeturnus unit. Whether it’s the slow lingering doom from the nine-minute “Scent of Death” or heavy riffing on “Sightless,” “Waiting for the Light” or “Tomorrow’s Dead,” the residents and supporters of the heavier, slower sound persuasion will proudly say they hail from Texas - the birth place of Solitude Aeturnus.
(Brian McLean)

Machine Head - They’re Baaaack!

Machine Head - The Blackening, Roadrunner Records
Machine Head’s career has been a tumultuous one since the band burst on the scene in 1994. The group’s musical direction drifted after their first album, alienating some of their hardcore fans. From the beginning of opener, “Clenching The Fists Of Dissent,” Machine Head clearly is using this record to scream, “WE’RE BAAAACK!!!!”
This disc is punishing. It is brutal. It is powerful. It is great. Tracks like “Slanderous,” “Wolves” and the highlight, “Aesthetics Of Hate,” solidify this as one of the best metal releases this year. There’s just no room to ever hit fast forward, as each movement pounds itself into the next. The Blackening should not only win old fans back, but birth a new legion as well.
(Kevin White)