Savdski thrash manijaki Dune predstavljajo single Refuge s prihajajočega EP-ja Years Of Chains. Izšel naj bi 31. maja in bo zajemal te komade:

Sieve
Reject
Insidious
Refuge

Iz tabora hrvaških doom metalcev Old Night sporočajo, da jih je zapustil vokalist in kitarist Matej Hanžek. Vrzel v zasedbi bo na vokalu tako zapolnil njegov brat Ivan, na kitari pa se je zasedbi pridružil Rafael Cvitković (Nekroza). Spodaj lahko preberete celotno izjavo banda:

»This is a post I write with a heavy heart, yet full of hope and with a bright look on the future. After eight years with us as our lead singer and frontman, earlier this year Matej decided to step down from his duties within Old Night. I know you are hoping for some gossip or a sassy story, but there was no drama involved. He just wants to focus on other things in life and at this point, music is not a priority for him. Having said that, I wish to thank him on our behalf for everything he has done for us, all the great times we shared on stage and backstage, but also for all the long hours he has put in working on our first three records. It was a privilege and you'll always be a part of our family. Obviously, this news has taken us aback and we had to figure out how best to proceed. We took some time to see what our options were, as this is an important role we needed to fill. After much deliberation we figured out we need not look outside our band for a perfect candidate as we have one in our midst. Ivan has been singing all the backing vocals from day one and from now on he will be handling all the lead vocals. No need to worry, he’ll remain our lead guitarist as well.

The only piece of the puzzle left to figure out was who’ll play the rhythm guitars? Without further ado, we welcome Rafael Cvitković, from the Croatian death metal machine Nekroza, as our new guitarist. If you attended our concerts, you might have already seen him filling in on sound checks or working on our merch booth. Nekroza just released their debut album on InsArt Records – you can check them out and show them your support.

With our line-up complete, we will continue working on our new record and we hope we’ll have some news in that regard soon. In a couple of weeks, we’ll have our first concert with the new line-up and we can’t wait to present you the New Old Night.«

Italijanska zasedba Lacuna Coil predstavlja nov single In The Mean Time. Pri komadu je sodeloval tudi Ash Costello (New Years Day). Ali je single tudi predhodnik novega albuma, pa bomo videli kmalu.

Organizatorji dogodkov Hangtime Agency sporočajo, da je nedeljski koncert zasedb Grima in Ultar v zagrebškem klubu Močvara odpovedan. Odpovedana sta tudi koncerta v Beogradu in Novem Sadu ter tudi 40 drugih nastopov skupin po Evropi. Zapletlo se je namreč pri vizah. Izjava banda:

»Dear followers of the Grima cult, sometimes even the biggest and oldest spruce tree can't withstand (in)human acts. There is a point where we have to bow down and accept what cannot be changed.
After 4 months of non-stop efforts from everyone involved behind the scenes, the best we got is a 30 days stay in the Schengen area. We have applied for a 90 days arts science visa, which we have been granted in past years, but not this time, the reasons have not been communicated to us.
We did everything we could do, Asgaardian Events and even Les Acteurs de L'Ombre Productions helped us as much as possible, but all we got are these 30 days for now, which we shall use to the fullest.
Our first show will be on the April 25 in Switzerland and the last one will be on the May 22 in Paris. Any other show will be cancelled. There will be no further rescheduling. We will be happy to see each one of our cultists at these shows. We won't have any other Central European tours in the near future, except a few festivals next year, which we are already negotiating with.«

Deathcorovci Chelsea Grin sporočajo, da je vrzel na bobnarskem stolčku zapolnil Josh Miller. Zasedba se je pred kratkim razšla z bobnarjem Pablom Viverosom in tako je nov polnopravni član zasedbe postal Josh. Izjava banda:

»We hope everyone has been doing well; we have some updates. We have parted ways with our fill-in drummer, Nathan Pearson. We sincerely value his friendship, as well as his devotion to furthering his craft and bringing his all to the stage. We truly look forward to watching his drumming career continue to blossom and advance, and value his time with us.

Furthermore, the band and Pablo have mutually agreed to separate. Pablo is one of our oldest friends, the life of the party, a masterful player, and a powerful creative. After Pablo spent some years away from the band, we all came together and realized that personal visions had diverged through time. We will always wish the very best for him, and seriously value all that he brought not only to the band, but to our lives. Nothing but tremendous love for him, always. We also encourage everyone to show support for him, Jaek and Alex’s new band, Ameonna.

Moving forward, we are proud and excited to announce that Josh Miller will be joining Chelsea Grin. It goes without saying that the future is bright – you will hear it in our music and witness it in our performances.

We keep very much to ourselves at this stage in our lives, but when we check in we want each of you to know that you are deeply and sincerely valued – we are so grateful for the opportunity to do what we love. We cannot wait to bring more of our vision to you all. Thank you for the years of support and love, and we will see you on our current tour supporting Fit For A King.«

V sklopu turneje »25 years of Latin Metal« se bodo Ill Niño ustavili v Sloveniji in bližini. V družbi Ektomorf in Mind Incision se bodo 31. avgusta ustavili v Budimpešti (A38), dan kasneje v Ljubljani (Orto Bar), 3. septembra pa na Dunaju (Viper Room).

Kot smo januarja poročali, je v 78. letu starosti umrl Tony Clarkin, kitarist, ustanovitelj britanskih veteranov Magnum. Že takrat se je šušljalo, da to pomeni tudi konec za zasedbo, ki je to zdaj tudi uradno potrdila. Izjava vokalista Boba Catleyja:

»Hello, everybody. Bob here. All right. I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I really can't carry on with Tony not here anymore. Please forgive me, and I hope you can understand how I feel. I've been thinking about it a lot lately.
Since we lost Tone, we lost our guiding light, the magnum force behind the band, our songwriter, our producer, our guitar player. He was everything to the band. He was everything to me. For the last 50 years, we never went anywhere without each other. On tour, in the studio, I was at his side constantly, working on stuff with him. I had a wonderful life with Tony. But now it's all too much for me, people. I can't carry on without Tony.
I may pop up in some other shape or form in the near future – you never know – but I can't keep going on like this. It's far too sad; it's all too sad.
So, I hope you understand. You've been fantastic – the best audience ever. You kept this band going year after year, album after album, and we thank you for that.
So, be good. Keep Tony's music in your heart always. I know I will. I will always carry MAGNUM inside me. And I will always have Tony Clarkin beside me wherever I go.
I love you. You've been brilliant. But it's time for me to bow out now. It's my last curtain call, okay? I'll see you sometime. Be good. Cheers. Bye-bye.«

Sporočamo, da je umrl Dennis Cornelius, vokalist in kitarist doom metalcev Memory Driven. Naj počiva v miru. Izjava banda:

»It is with indescribable melancholy that words cannot express in which I make this announcement. Dennis Cornelius, our long time musical brother, in this band, and in life, has passed away. We cannot begin to process this immense loss, as we just send love and prayers to his family and loved ones. Thank you for so many years of such passionate and inspirational music. It has been such an honor to be a part of this journey with you. Thank you sooooo much for sharing that with us all, Dennis. You and Jyme are together again. We love you, Dennis, our brother.«

Alexey Polyansky se je po desetih letih vrnil k domačim progresivcem Seventh Station. Tako pravi band: »Please give a warm welcome-back shout-out to Alexey for coming back to the band after 10 years of absence. Alexey is a very gifted musician and he will fill up the missing gap in the band in the bass guitar role. Alexey was also the co-founder of Seventh Station and we are so happy to see him come home.«

Avtor fotografije je Valeriy Lapshov.

Švedski black metal titani Marduk so med nominiranci za letošnje švedske grammyje. Podelitev najpomembnejših glasbenih nagrad na Švedskem bo letos že 41. po vrsti, in sicer 8. maja v areni Annexet v Stockholmu. Marduk so z albumom Memento Mori nominirani v kategoriji »Hard Rock/Metal album of the Year«, nominiranci pa so tudi Eradikated (album Descendants), Ghost (album Phantomime), In Flames (album Foregone) in Tribulation (album Hamartia).

Folk metalci TrollfesT so posneli videospot za pesem Smoldering Failure, ki je del prihajajoče kompilacije z naslovom 20 Years in The Wrong Lane.

Iz tabora finskih metal čelistov Apocalyptica je odjeknila vest, da se je band razšel z dolgoletnim bobnarjem Mikkom Sirénom. Spodaj lahko preberete celotno izjavo banda:

»Some of you may have already seen us playing without our drummer Mikko Siren in Brasil and Mexico earlier this year...or have heard rumors to this effect. We are very sorry to have to inform you that we have amicably parted ways with Mikko after 20 years. Recording our forthcoming album was our last collective achievement. Also, we want to reassure all of you that we – Eicca, Perttu and Paavo – will continue as APOCALYPTICA. We wish Mikko happiness and success in everything he aims for in all his future endeavors!!«

Pred dnevi pa smo tudi poročali, da se Apocalyptica septembra odpravljajo na turnejo po Evropi.

Avtorica fotografije je Saša Krajnc.

Prejšnji mesec smo poročali, da so niški death/doom metalci The Bloody Earth izdali EP Crnoslovlje. Sedaj pa band predstavlja tudi besedilni video za komad Rise From the Earth, Father.

Avstrijski black metal šamani Anomalie sporočajo, da so zaključili snemanje novega celovečerca. Kdaj bo album ugledal luč sveta, še ni znano. Izjava banda:

»A few minutes ago we tracked the very last vocal takes for the new Anomalie album which is now ready to get mixed by V. Santura during the upcoming months.
We gave our absolute all and can't wait to share some music with the world later this year!«

Blaze Bayley predstavlja nov single Rage s prihajajočega albuma Circle of Stone. Tudi tokrat je Blaze izdajo singla podkrepil z videospotom, ki si ga lahko ogledate spodaj, album pa bo izšel 23. februarja. Znana pa je tudi že tracklista:

Mind Reader
Tears in Rain
Rage
The Year Beyond This Year
Ghost in the Bottle
The Broken Man
The Call of the Ancestors
Circle of Stone (feat. Niklas Stålvind)
Absence
A Day of Reckoning
The Path of the Righteous Man
Until We Meet Again