NEEDLEMOUTH, the new band featuring Bobby Thomas (ex-MORGION, SHIVA), D-Hauz (ex-20 DEAD FLOWER CHILDREN) and Shomo (ex-VYNEGAR), have begun recording their first four-song demo in Anaheim, California. The music on the demo, which is being co-produced by the band, is said to be a cross of FEAR FACTORY and ORGY with a good amount of electronic elements. Look for a late 2004/early 2005 release.

Due to "printing errors," Threeman Recordings (the Swedish label owned by the members of ENTOMBED) have been forced to postpone the release date of the THE MIGHTY NIMBUS debut album to November 15. The U.S. will receive the CD on February 8, 2005 via Candlelight Records USA.

"The Mighty Nimbus" track listing:

01. Everything I See
02. I'll Never Weep (mp3)
03. Broken Hoof
04. Drinkin On A Pile Of Skulls
05. Fenrir
06. Raising The Mammoth
07. Impose My Will
08. Sacrament Of The Sick
09. Eclipse
10. Born Too Late (Bonus Track)

THE MIGHTY NIMBUS is:

Andy Campbell (ex-CHAOS WITCH) - Drums
Dinis deCarvalho (ex-ELECTRIC CHAIR HORROR) - Bass
Erik Larson (ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY, ex-AVAIL) - Guitar
Minnesota Pete Campbell (SIXTY WATT SHAMAN) - Lead Guitar
Dan Soren (SIXTY WATT SHAMAN) - Vocals

FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell recently spoke to Icons of Fright about his love of the horror genre, comics, the band's soundtrack contributions and what films inspire him and the rest of the group. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Icons of Fright: What do you consider some of your favorite horror films and why?

Burton C. Bell: "Wow. Um, well again, 'Nosferatu'. The original. It's still the top film for me. Because the cinematography and the bleak, dark imagery still freaks me out. I love it. That's probably my number one horror film. Um, the original 'Alien' is still up there. It's fantastic. With the H.R. Giger beast and the story itself and the fact that Ridley Scott did it was just amazing. I like the original 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. You've got something somewhat based upon a true story, a legend. Great costumes and film work. Great movie. I even enjoyed the American remake of 'The Ring'."

Icons of Fright: Do horror films, or films & art in general have any influence on your songwriting process?

Burton C. Bell: "I'm influenced in many ways. By books, by films, by stories. And films have always been a large factor in the influencing of my writing, in the ideas & the concepts of a FEAR FACTORY song. For instance, the movie 'The Terminator' was a big influence early on with the records 'Demanufacture'. 'Fear Is The Mindkiller'. That kind of thing. 'The Book Of Dune' had a big influence. 'Blade Runner' had a HUGE influence on me. There's so many more ideas that come from movies and the concepts of films. So, yea. I do get inspired not just by horror or sci-fi, but by films in general.

"The movie 'Contact' had a big influence in the writing of the record 'Obsolete'. The idea of loneliness and humanity reaching out. Carl Sagan wrote the book 'Contact' and the movie was made, and it totally inspired me. Movies get my ideas and thought process rolling. I see them and they spark something inside me to get me to create something. I get inspired by films of ALL genres."

Read Burton C. Bell's entire interview with Icons of Fright at this location.

Rod Smallwood, IRON MAIDEN's manager from 1979 to present day, and theoretically their seventh member, recently spoke to the Greek Metal Hammer about the group's upcoming "The History Of Iron Maiden – Part 1: The Early Years" DVD, which covers the band's course from its first days, back in the mid-'70s up until 1983 when MAIDEN went on their first major world tour. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Metal Hammer: How many DVDs will be issued until MAIDEN's history is covered completely?

Rod Smallwood: "It depends on how much we last as a band. If we break up next year, we won't need more than 3-4 DVDs, if though we continue for the next 20 years, we will need twice that number (laughs). We haven't decided yet how many DVDs there will be or exactly what they will contain. There is a great volume of footage, though, that we want to use. At this moment, I don't even know what our next release will be. At this period, [Steve] Harris is working on the mix of a DVD, which will contain footage from the 'Dance Of Death World Tour'. This might be issued first, followed by the next studio album and later by the second part of the band's history series — or the opposite may happen. Anyway, the most possible scenario is that the second part will reach until 'Seventh Son…' or 'Fear of the Dark'. We'll see…"

Metal Hammer: Which is, in your opinion, the most interesting period in the band's history?

Rod Smallwood: "Surely the first years that are being covered by the first DVD have the biggest interest, because, during that time, the band started from zero and went to realizing large world tours. Many members changed, many and crucial decisions were made and I believe there is great interest for the fan to witness the impressive evolvement of the band from pubs to the biggest arenas in the world. After that the situation might be a little dull… You go to places you've been before, see people you've seen before, things seem to repeat themselves. For example, the first time we were in Greece it was very nice, to see the Parthenon for the very first time is something very impressive, the second time though it's not the same…"

Metal Hammer: You have been the band's manager for the last 25 years. Could you say which was the most difficult period for you, in relation to the decisions you had to take in relation to the band?

Rod Smallwood: "Hmmm, it was never easy, not in the beginning and not now. In the beginning you have the stress to accomplish to be distinguished and now you have the stress to manage to stay at the top. The truth is that as time goes by thing become increasingly more difficult, because you have to find ways to keep the old fans and then to reach new ones. Steve and the rest of the boys write the music and, as you most probably know, they are quite opinionated as far as their direction is concerned. We at the management though are the people who must give this music to the people. To return though to your question, I'd say that one of the most difficult times was when we had to stick together in a period during which we went from playing in front of 150 people in the Ruskin Arms to playing four consecutive nights at a filled to the brim Long Beach Arena in Los Angeles. Everything then was happening at great speed, which we had to master."

Read the entire interview at this location.

(Thanks: MaidenFans.com)

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons is among the members of the music community that have joined together to organize a fund-raising event in honor of late musician Jeff Reid (SR-71). Simmons has generously donated a few KISS-related items with his signature for the benefit auction. All proceeds will go to St. Agnes Cancer Center in Baltimore, MD, which cared for Reid during his illness. Visit www.honoramongfriends.com for details on the auction and the event.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne attended the 10th Anniversary National Television Awards 2004, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 26. Check out pictures from Film Magic, Abaca, Wire Image (arrivals / pressroom), Yahoo (page1 / page2).

German prog-metallers SCENES, now featuring Alex Koch (ex-SPIRAL TOWER, POWERGOD) on vocals, have inked a two-album deal with Escapi. The group's full-length debut, "Call Us At the Number You Provide", will be released on January 24, 2005.

The album was recorded at Sub Zero studio in Backnang and was mixed and mastered in September by Tommy Newton (HELLOWEEN, CONCEPTION, ARK, UFO) at his Area 51 Studio.

"Call Us At the Number You Provide" track listing:

01. So-Father
02. You Walk Away
03. My Own Life
04. Start Again
05. Deep Inside My Heart
06. I Will Stay
07. The Light
08. Such A Shame
09. Nothing Left To Say (Unforgiven)

Upcoming SCENES shows:

Nov. 06 – Leonberg, GER – Bassbox
Nov. 09 – Ludwigsburg, GER – Rockfabrik Club 2

DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott, joined by wife Kristina, presented a guitar at the official opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Dublin, Ireland on October 27. Check out pictures from Wire Image.

As previously reported, LEPPARD's "Best of", a European-only compilation album of featuring the band's greatest hits plus one new song (a cover of THE KINKS' "Waterloo Sunset") entered the U.K. album chart at No. 6 for week ending October 31, 2004. The collection is due to receive a U.S. release in 2005.

Israeli death/black metallers SALEM have posted their video for the track "Flames" at their official web site.

"Flames" comes off the group's 1998 album "A Moment of Silence". Live footage from a show at the City Hall in Haifa has been integrated into the clip although it is not a "live" video.

SALEM's most recent CD, "Collective Demise", was released in September 2002 via Germany's KMG/System Shock Records. A DVD, entitled "Live Demise", came out earlier this year.

Italian female-fronted quartet EXILIA have been confirmed as the support act on RAMMSTEIN's entire European tour. The trek, which kicked off on Monday (Nov. 1) in Mannhein, Germany, is scheduled to hit Rotterdam, Holland on Thursday (Nov. 4).

EXILIA are touring in support of their debut album, "Unleashed", which was released in May via G.U.N./BMG Records. Audio of the album track "I Guess You Know" can currently be streamed via the band's official web site: Windows Media, Real Audio.

Melodic black metal band REQUIEM AETERNAM, originally from Uruguay but currently based in New York, will release their new album, "Philosopher", in North America on December 1 through ICorp. A South American release on December 15 via Rawforce Productions is expected.

"Philosopher" was recorded at Big Blue Meenie studios and features a guest appearance by drummer Alex Hernández (IMMOLATION). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Rectitude", "Wisdom", "Liberty", "Logos", "Antichrist", "Desperation" and "Philosopher" (mp3). The "Philosopher" artwork can be viewed at this location.

Contrary to a posting on CONVERGE's official web site, MASTODON will NOT be touring Japan with CONVERGE and ISIS in February 2005, a spokesperson at MASTODON's management company has informed BLABBERMOUTH.NET. No further information is available at this time.

British metallers AREA 54 recently spoke to Holland's Metal Maidens magazine about the group's split with Dream Catcher Records and tehir future plans, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Metal Maidens: Your first album, "No Visible Scars", came out on Dream Catcher Records. What happened, they dropped you after this release?

Lakis Kyriacou (guitar/vocals): "It just wasn't working because they wanted something different. They wanted us to sound like KORN or something but obviously we don't. They even took the piss out of the bands we liked…They also insisted we leave our jobs as they were going to pay to keep us going so that we could work on the band full time — they insisted. Then they paid us nothing and I watched as I got myself in serious financial debt waiting for them to do what they kept on promising was around the corner. It was a joke from start to finish and that was the wake up call to how it really is in this disgusting industry."

Laura Salmon (bass): "Nothing happened, that was the problem. They made promises they didn't keep. They didn't promote us and wouldn’t give us money to tour or any adverts or support slots having promised us new equipment and tours of Japan etc. For the recording they sent us to someone that was so clueless about how to record a complex metal band such as ourselves, it defies belief. When you're new to it all you have no choice but to trust those you work with. In this case we got let down. A different engineer confirmed he had done things badly in the recording. We should have been given a fair introduction to the public. As every band does, we learnt that you can only rely on things never going smoothly!"

Metal Maidens: You're still a relatively new name for a lot of people outside the U.K., what makes you different from all the other "new" metal bands?

Laura: "We like to put on a good live show and we like to be visually appealing as well as musically. I love playing live soaking up the volume and energy. Our riffs are often complex and we go through texture and time changes in our songs. For lots of bands, musical ability seems to be way down the list of qualifying factors. Image seems to be more important. I love having a strong image on stage, but as musicians we hold our own and we're just doing what we want to do. I think that’s quite different."

Read the entire interview at this location.

German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR have posted the following message on their official web site:

"Don't worry, we're still alive! We started with the songwriting for the new — so far unnamed — album and things are going very well. We recieved a lot of mails with questions about the last news posting. Well, we will be still the same band with the same guys. The eagle will be on the cover of the new album and we're working very hard on the hopefully best songs of our career. We nearly finished the songwriting for the first two tracks and we really like the titles 'Mind of a Killer' and 'Presumed Dead'. We will give 200% sweat and heart to take this production to the next level. The schedule gives us enough to time to write a lot of songs we can choose for the final recordings this time. Our negotiations with some well-known engineers and a new studio crew is close to be signed. We plan to record the tracks in Europe (April/May) and mix the album oversees or somewhere else in Europe in June 2005. Watch out for more news in the next days! In other news Tom played lead guitar on a song of the forthcoming PARADOX album and Stefan played guitar on a song of the new VICTOR SMOLSKI [RAGE] album!"

ARCH ENEMY vocalist Angela Gossow recently spoke to Holland's Lords of Metal webzine about the cancellation of the group's tour with MACHINE HEAD earlier in the year and the band's upcoming album, among other topics. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

On the cancellation of the MACHINE HEAD U.S. tour:

"I was surprised to see how unprofessionally MACHINE HEAD handled the incident. It was not me who actually stopped the tour, but another person who had a big problem in the band, and they obviously didn't have enough respect to let it go and say they were sorry. We were sorry and said so, it was very shitty for both bands. They lost some people coming to the shows and it sucked for us because we lost a hell lot of money, we had to pay for the tour bus that whole tour, you know. At the end of the day it is a business and you might meet that band you are talking shit about again. It always comes back to you. Rob Flynn actually lost his voice later that tour, hahaha. I was disappointed really, but I do not have hard feelings in any way towards MACHINE HEAD."

On the new material:

"At the moment it is very complex stuff. It is typical ARCH ENEMY but very much the 'nobody else can play riff' stuff, hahahaha. It is going to be a bit more like 'Wages Of Sin' with lots of melody and more complex. We are not going for the mainstream thing, which people think we are. It is going to be more extreme and brutal. This new stuff has blast beats all over the place!"

On whether the band's commercial success was expected:

"No, this was unexpected. I think, when you are in a metal band you don't think in terms of success anyway. It is the fun that is important. Who can actually make a living out of travelling the world? Only a few bands make it that big, but most of the bands I know or people who play in them work a normal day job as well. We just take it step by step. Now we sold some more records and hopefully the next one will sell some more and tour bigger places. If you are planning on success you should play fucking rap, hahahahah."

Read Angela Gossow's entire interview with Lords of Metal at this location.

Danish "freestyle hardcore bruisers" BARCODE will enter the studio in early December to begin recording their Nuclear Blast Records debut, tentatively due in April/May 2005. Recordings will take place at Jailhouse, Smart'n'Hard and Antfarm studios with producer Dr. J and the mixing/mastering duties will be handled by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MNEMIC, DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER). "Start getting your hopes high for this release," the band write in a press release. "The world ain't gonna be the same after this!"

For more information on BARCODE, visit the band's official web site.

Drummer Wayne "Doobie" Fabra of legendary Lousiana hardcore/metal pioneers GRAVEYARD RODEO has confirmed to NolaUnderground.com that the band have reformed and are currently rehearsing with a view towards playing a few reunion shows in the New Orleans area (as first reported here on Oct. 18). The current lineup of the group includes Fabra, Tommy Scanlan on bass and Perry McAuley on vocals, all of whom appeared on the band's classic 1993 debut, "Sowing Discord In the Haunts of Man".

Although GRAVEYARD RODEO broke up shortly after a European tour in support of "Sowing Discord In the Haunts of Man", founding member Scanlan eventually recruited a mostly new lineup for the "On the Verge" album (1994), and the band retired for good soon afterwards. Vocalist Mark Brignac, who appeared on "On the Verge", has since joined forces with Kirk Windstein (DOWN, CROWBAR) and Sid Montz (ex-CROWBAR) in VALUME NOB.

PAINMUSEUM, the new band featuring guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak (TESTAMENT, ex-HALFORD), drummer Bobby Jarzombek (ICED EARTH, ex-HALFORD, RIOT), bassist Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, SADUS, DEATH, VINTERSORG) and newcomer singer Tim Clayborne (HATRED), have signed a long-term deal for Europe and Japan with the U.K. independent label Demolition Records. The Demolition press office comments: "We've been admirers of Mike Chlasciak's work for a long time, and have in the past worked with Tim Claybourne's previous band HATRED, so when the opportunity arose to sign PAINMUSEUM, we jumped at the chance. They're an awesome metal act who will be one of the 'big' players in a very short period of time!!" PAINMUSEUM's debut album, "Metal For Life", produced by Roy Z. (JUDAS PRIEST, BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD, HELLOWEEN) and mastered by James Murphy (TESTAMENT, DEATH, DISINCARNATE), has an official European release date of December 6, with the Japanese release on December 15.

Major and independent record labels today announced the first-ever retail availability of the much anticipated DualDisc — a two-sided disc made up of a CD player side and a DVD player side. A broad range of titles have begun to hit retail shelves in the first wave of products that will continue throughout the holiday season and into next year with releases from EMI Music, Silverline Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.

DualDisc is a new music product that combines audio and video content on a single disc. In addition to a full album on the CD player side, the DVD player side provides the full album in enhanced sound (such as Surround Sound and/or DVD-Audio or LPCM stereo), and also includes a wide range of special features and exclusive content such as music videos, interviews, photo galleries, web links, concert footage and lyrics.

Momentum has been building for DualDisc since the major and independent labels previewed the product for retailers at the National Association of Retail Merchandisers conference in San Diego in August.

"We are encouraged about the prospect of delivering a new type of music product that will offer fans an even richer music experience, and we believe that DualDisc will help to further drive traffic to retail," said Sue Peterson, Senior Buyer for the Music Department at Target. "I am hopeful that the record labels and artists will support new releases in DualDisc."

Music fans have also been anticipating the arrival of DualDisc. In test markets conducted earlier this year, consumers were overwhelmingly positive about the product. Some 90 percent said they would recommend DualDisc to a friend and 82 percent said they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with DualDisc.

Following are some of the DualDisc titles being released this Fall and early next year:

AC/DC – "Back in Black" (Epic Records)
AUDIOSLAVE - "Audioslave" (Epic Records)
BRIDES OF DESTRUCTION - "Here Come The Brides" (Silverline Records)
BRUCE DICKINSON - "Balls To Picasso" (Silverline Records)
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY - "America's Volume Dealer" (Silverline Records)
DOKKEN - "Erase The Slate" (Silverline Records)
GARY MOORE - "Back To The Blues" (Silverline Records)
GENE SIMMONS – "Asshole" (Silverline Records)
GEOFF TATE - "Geoff Tate" (Silverline Records)
JOEY RAMONE - "Don't Worry About Me" (Silverline Records)
LIVING COLOUR - "Collideoscope" (Silverline Records)
MINISTRY - "Animositisomina" (Silverline Records)
MINISTRY - "Sphinctour" (Silverline Records)
NINE INCH NAILS - "The Downward Spiral" (Interscope Records)

CONVERGE, ISIS and MASTODON will be teaming up for a Japanese tour that will kick off in February 2005. Exact cities and dates will be announced soon.

French black/death metallers BLOODY SIGN will support KRISIUN, BEHEMOTH, INCANTATION and RAGNAROK on November 10 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland.

BLOODY SIGN's Ilmar Uibo is currently filling in for INCANTATION drummer Kyle Severn, who was unable to tour with the group due to the recent death of his mother.

BLOODY SIGN's debut album, "Vana Vigala Loits", was recently released through Ibex Moon Records. A South American tour is tentatively planned for next summer.

Former MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee has spoken to MTV.com about the reports that a CRÜE reunion tour is currently being planned and is scheduled to kick off in early 2005. "I did get together with Nikki [Sixx, CRÜE bassist] and record a couple of tracks," Lee said. "But as far as all four of us being in a room together and deciding to go on a tour, that's just a rumor. We haven't decided that yet. Mick [Mars] just got hip-replacement surgery; he's been really ill for a while. So no, we haven't been able to do that."

Lee also confirmed that two songs — one heavy, one mellow — that he originally wrote for BACKSTREET BOYS singer Nick Carter's now-aborted solo album will end up on his own solo CD. Lee has also just laid down tracks with Butch Walker and SOMETHING CORPORATE's Andrew McMahon for the album, due out early next year, on which he's also hoping to work with Dave Grohl, Lenny Kravitz and Nikka Costa. "I just love to collaborate," Lee said. "It's going to be fun."

The new band formed by ex-SKINLAB guitarist Glen "Glenny" Telford and ex-40 GRIT members Chris Anderson (guitar), Ryan Healy (bass) and Andy Green (drums) are searching for a name and a singer. "Thanks to all the demos we recieved from all you guys out there, we are still waiting it out in search of the guy we want!" Telford said. "We got alot of cool vocals sent back to us, and we appriciate the response! We have a total of seven songs now, and there are getting heavier and heavier! We are going back to Trident Studios with Juan Ortega behind the controls (SKINLAB, VILE, 40 GRIT) in the very near future to capture more tunes, as the band is evolving and finding its sound. We are having a hell of a time thinking of a name for this project, any input would be rad! Thanks again to all you sik-ass singers out there. Check out one the of first songs we wrote at this location. Any interested singers please email Glenny at gle_nny@yahoo.com."

NERVECELL, the deathcore act from the United Arab Emirates, have a new CD available to order via their web site. The CD, which was released through Nerve Damage Productions, was recorded, mixed and mastered in Dubai, UAE, by Kiran Sequeira and co-mixed by Rami Mustafa.

"Human Chaos" track listing:

01. Signs of the End (3:51)
02. Vast lands Of Abomination (5:55)
03. The Darkened (4:19)
04. Human Chaos (7:05)
05. Demolition (5:21)

NERVECELL's recording lineup on "Human Chaos" consisted of the following:

Rajeh "James" Khazaal - Lead vocals, backing vocals and all bass
Barnaby "Barney" Ribeiro - Rhythm guitars and acoustic guitars
Rami Mustafa - Rhythm guitars, all lead guitars and acoustic guitars
Alan Madhavan – Session drummer

The band are expected to play a couple of gigs in the UAE before negotiating some deals to play abroad. A sound sample from "The Darkened" can be downloaded from Phride.com.

(Thanks: Joseph Akkawi / Phride.com)

JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the new band led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, have announced the venue details for the Greek portion of their upcoming tour, which is scheduled to take place in December. The dates are as follows:

Dec. 18 – Thessaloniki, GRE @ Hydrogios
Dec. 19 – Athens, GRE @ Rodon Live!
Dec. 20 – Athens, GRE @ AN club (acoustic show)

It is important to note that the all-acoustic show (Dec. 20) will a completely different performance from the two electric shows. Fans can expect to hear most of the new album, "'Tage Mahal", as well as feast of old-school SAVATAGE. Support at the shows will come from WHEELRUNNER. A possibility exists that a second support act to the bill.

As previously reported, JON OLIVA'S PAIN will perform a hometown show at Boomerz Boiler Room in Seminole, FL on December 11.

JON OLIVA'S PAIN's debut album, "'Tage Mahal", was released in Europe on October 25 through SPV Records. The U.S. release date is set for January 2005. More information is available at www.jonoliva.net.

Swedish melodic metallers CLOUDSCAPE have shot a video for the track "Under Fire" with director Rainer Holmgren, who has previously filmed videos for PAIN OF SALVATION ("Ashes") and NASTY IDOLS, among others. The video, which was shot "in various places both outdoors and indoors on stage," will be featured on the limited-edition version of CLOUDSCAPE's self-titled debut album, due in Europe on January 29, 2005. A Japanese release through Marquee/Avalon is expected on December 21, 2004.

In other news, CLOUDSCAPE have scheduled a reelase party for their upcoming debut album on January 29, 2005 at The Tivoli in Helsingborg, Sweden. CLOUDSCAPE will hit the stage around 9:30 p.m. European and Japanese tours are tentatively planned as well.

The CD, which contains 12 songs and one bonus track for Asia, was recorded at RoastingHouse Studios in Malmö, Sweden with producers Anders "Theo" Theander (PAIN OF SALVATION, LAST TRIBE, PATHOS) and Pontus Lindmark. Acclaimed guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (SECTION A) contributes a guest solo to the album's opening cut, "As the Light Leads the Way". MP3 clips can be found at this location.

AFM Records has set a December 6 release date for an EDGUY "best of" collection, entitled "Hall of Flames". The double album contains all of the group's "hits," chosen personally by the band, and digitally remastered (CD 1), as well as lots of rare and previously unreleased material (CD 2). Additionally, there will be a multimedia section enclosed as well as two video clips (CD 2). The total playing time is about 130 minutes. The first edition will come as a noble digibook with liner notes and a 24-page-booklet containing lots of photos.

The following are notable heavy metal/hard rock U.S. sales debuts for the week ending November 2, 2004, as reported by Nielsen SoundScan (The Billboard 200 chart position included, where applicable):

GWAR - "War Party": 2,481
POWERMAN 5000 - " The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Vol. 1": 340
SCUM OF THE EARTH - "Blah…Blah…Blah…Love Songs for the New Millennium": 793

Italian death metallers NATRON shot a video for the song "House of Festering" late last month. The video shoot took four hours and the clip "fits perfectly with the song we made it for," the band write on their web site.

The "House of Festering" video will be included on NATRON's fourth full-length album, "Livid Corruption", due on November 22 through Holy Records.

The follow-up to 2000's "Bedtime For Mercy" was recorded at Jolly Roger studios in Italy and was mixed at Starstruck studios in Denmark with Anders Lundemark (KONKHRA). The mastering session took place in Paris, France. "This is going to become the fastest and most violent album NATRON ever released," the band write on their web site.

"Livid Corruption" (view cover here) track listing:

01. House Of Festering
02. Livid
03. Red Creeps
04. One Step In Murder
05. Hatemonger (mp3)
06. Flatline
07. White Worms
08. Nyctophobic
09. The Dead Rise Above

Finnish metallers MY FATE have set "Kill the Light" as the title of their sophomore album, tentatively due in Finland sometime next spring. A worldwide release will follow a short time later.

MY FATE will enter the studio on November 8 to begin recording the CD, which will be "massive-sounding, diverse, dark and heavy as hell," according to the band.

01. Sacrilegehymn
02. Cold Hive Of Death
03. Distinction
04. Dead Man
05. Baneflow Cycle
06. The Claw
07. I Buried You
08. Totalitarian
09. Dim The Light
10. Embody Me
11. The Darkness Beckons

Commented MY FATE guitarist Jaakko Järvensivu: "Our songwriting method is based on developing good ideas, which saves us from making songs that eventually end up in the garbage can. We try to add character to each song, so that it sounds like MY FATE but doesn't exactly sound like any other of our songs. Up to now, every song we have written is released on some of our records, so our method has been effective. For example, 'Circumstance', 'Sinking' and 'Silent Cries', which appear on [the debut album] 'Happiness Is Fiction', have been a part of our live set from the very first gig.

"A clear difference between 'Happiness Is Fiction' and the new one is that the new one is going to be more like an album, not just ten songs in a row. The debut consisted of songs from our early days and songs from two years later, it was actually almost like a compilation. The songs were mostly written with the same formula, so there were very few surprises.

"When we wrote songs for the second album, we wanted to change the song structures a little and bring in some new influences. The riffs and beats have become more challenging. A clearly new thing is that we have some cool guitar harmonies there, and though the songs are filled with hooks, they're not so obvious. We have been influenced by thrash and even death metal, but the dark and soulful parts are still present. They're just darker and more soulful than before. The guitars leave more space to the bass, and the vocals are more diverse and brutal than on 'Happiness Is Fiction'. The songs are arranged way better and they really challenge the listener. The album will also be much faster than it's predecessor."