Polish death metallers VADER have inked a deal with Nuclear Blast Records.

Commented the band: "We are very glad that after so many years VADER finally joined one of the biggest metal labels in the world. We really believe in their potential, experience and famous German reliability. We are pretty confident that the cooperation will be successful both for the band and the record label. Now VADER is ready to explode! We have been waiting for such a solid record deal for sooo long so it's safe to say that the new era in VADER's career has just begun!"

Added guitarist/vocalist Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek: "This is absolutely amazing, that VADER is now a part of Nuclear Blast family!!! Can't find words how proud we are!!! Only great things may happen when traditions meet together... I so much believe, that VADER will give one more Blast to this Nuclear history of metal!!! Let start the fire — TOGETHER!!!"

Jaap Wagemaker, A&R Nuclear Blast, stated: "VADER have a history of almost 25 years of releasing death metal highlights and have built up a reputation of being one of the hardest touring bands in the scene! After many attempts both parties have finally come together and VADER have found a new home at Nuclear Blast! This summer VADER will release their new album Necropolis, which will not only be their debut for Nuclear Blast, but also another chapter in the history of the band with a totally renewed line up! Watch out for the new VADER as they will only return stronger than ever! VADER is still improving after all these years, so it is safe to say that the best of these death metal kings is still to come, so we, at Nuclear Blast are looking forward to start the propaganda machine!"

VADER recently entered Hertz studios in Bialystok, Poland with the Wieslawski Bros. to begin recording their next studio album, Necropolis, tentatively due in late August. Tue Madsen, who previously worked with such bands as MOONSPELL, CATARACT, HEAVEN SHALL BURN and many more, will mix the CD at his Antfarm Studios in Denmark.

The first in a series of video reports documenting the making of Necropolis can be viewed here.

Songtitles set to appear on the new CD include:

Anger
Dark Heart
When We Arrive
Devilized
We Are Horde
Rise Of The Undead
Impure

Check out photos from the studio at this location.

Necropolis will mark the recording debut of VADER's new lineup:

Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek (guitar, vocals)
Reyash (bass)
Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka (DECAPITATED) (guitar)
Pawel Jaroszewicz (SOUL SNATCHER) (drums)

Famous Polish artist Jacek Wisniewski (who created the art for previous VADER albums Black To The Blind, Revelations and The Beast) will take care of the album artwork and design.

Commented Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek: "The title of the album — which is the very first VADER song ever — is chosen not by chance. It will be connected with recordings like 'De Profundis' or 'Litany' with themes of forgotten worlds, mythos or ancient powers still living in humans subconsciousness."

In early September, VADER will kick off a tour of their home country in support of Necropolis. The Polish leg of the tour will consist of approximately 12-13 shows in some of the country's biggest cities. Every concert will be preceded by a fan meet-and-greet at the EMPik chain of stores. The trek will be a continuation of VADER's Blitzkrieg tour formula from the previous years. At the end of September, VADER will invade the rest of the European continent as part of a two-month tour with Swedish black metallers MARDUK.

Silenoz and Galder of Norway’s DIMMU BORGIR have worked with ESP Guitars to create the latest additions to the company’s LTD Signature Series line: the LTD Okkultist and the LTD Shadow.

Silenoz comments on his signature LTD Okkultist:

“We’ve both had our customs for almost 2 years now.  We’ve played them on the last couple of tours and they’re fucking awesome.  They can withstand the amount of rape the road give them as well, which, of course, is a very important thing!  The locations of the inlay, pick-ups, volume knobs and toggle switches, they were to our exact specifications.  And I mean exact in every sense of the word.  That’s why it was a pleasure to finally play it once it was done… realizing it was exactly what I had asked for and imagined it to be like.  The playability, the shape and look, not to mention the sound & response/attack it gives with those bad ass pick-ups and it being a string-through body guitar!  My model has a mahogany body, maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, 42 mm standard nut, thin U neck contour, 22 XJ frets, black nickel hardware, ESP locking tuners, Tonepros locking TOM, Seymour Duncan Metal AHB-2 (B) / AHB-1 (N) active pick-ups, and a metallic, deep red burgundy finish.  People will know the presence of this monster.  Once they try it, it’ll be self explanatory.  It’s the arsenal from the abyss!”

Galder checks in about his LTD Shadow:

“When we decided to [work with ESP], it all went pretty fast and it all happened within a few months.  I have different ideas for guitars, so at the end of the day, I had to decide which direction to take spec- and finish-wise, so I got all I wanted.  I have a mahogany body and a maple neck with ebony fingerboards.  At first I wanted to go crazy with the design, but at the last moment [I] decided to calm it down a bit.  I’m very happy about the way it turned out.  It’s a proper metal guitar!”

The Okkultist and Shadow signature guitars can be viewed here.  Both guitars were played during the filming of the band’s latest DVD, The Invaluable Darkness.



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According to Nielsen SoundScan, the new album from Swedish melodic metallers HAMMERFALL, No Sacrifice, No Victory, has sold over 1,500 copies in the United States and has debuted at no. 38 on the Heatseekers (Top New Artist Albums) chart, which tracks the best selling albums by new and developing artists defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of the Billboard 200.

No Sacrifice, No Victory recently achieved gold status in Sweden for sales in excess of 20,000 copies.  The album has registered the following first-week chart positions in Europe:

no. 2 – Sweden
no. 7 – Germany
no. 20 – Switzerland
no. 21 – U.K. (Indie Albums chart)
no. 25 – Austria
no. 46 – Norway
no. 95 - France

Recorded in part at Andy La Rocque's (King Diamond) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden, No Sacrifice, No Victory includes an instrumental written by the group's newest member, guitarist Pontus Norgren, as well as a song entitled "One of a Kind," which was composed as a collaboration between HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak and In Flames axeman Jesper Strömblad (who was a member of HAMMERFALL in the band's earliest incarnation).  Cover artwork was created by Sam Didier. 

The band just finished the first leg of their European tour and will launch the 2nd leg on April 7th in Slovenia.  Read guitarist Oscar Dronjak’s tour blog here.



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KORPIKLAANI will headline Pagan Fest America: Part II alongside Ireland's PRIMORDIAL, Finland's MOONSORROW, Canada's BLACKGUARD (formerly known as PROFUGUS MORTIS) and New Jersey's own crazy pirate metal drunks SWASHBUCKLE.

Confirmed dates are as follows:
04/28/09 The Opera House - Toronto, ON - CANADA
04/29/09  Le Medley – Montreal, QC - CANADA
04/30/09  Imperial - Quebec City, QC - CANADA
05/01/09  The Palladium - Worcester, MA
05/02/09  Crocodile Rock Café – Allentown, PA
05/03/09  Jaxx- Springfield, VA
05/04/09  Irving Plaza - New York, NY
05/05/09  Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
05/06/09  The Mad Hatter - Covington, KY  (Near Cincinnati, OH)
05/07/09  Chicago Powerfest (at The Pearl Room) - Mokena, IL
05/08/09  Station 4 - St. Paul, MN
05/09/09  The Zoo – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
05/10/09  The Exchange – Regina, SK - CANADA
05/11/09  Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB – CANADA
05/12/09  Warehouse – Calgary, AB – CANADA
05/13/09  The Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC - CANADA
05/14/09  Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
05/15/09  Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
05/16/09  DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
05/17/09  House of Blues – Hollywood, CA
05/18/09  The Jumping Turtle – San Marcos, CA (Near San Diego, CA)

Purchase tickets to the upcoming shows at www.myspace.com/paganfestamerica



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Norway’s ENSLAVED has checked in with the following:

"The time has come to do what Bergen artists do: give their Spellemannspriser (Norwegian Grammy Award) to their local pub Garage. And yes, this time we'll be bringing two of them. Last time around, the men's room got a new door knob (pardon the pun); this time we've aimed for the top of the beer taps. The award for Ruun have been marinating on shelves since 2007, waiting for local brew to return to the mentioned taps. Some waiting was added after this year's price for Vertebrae due to the challenges with mounting the bronze harps. We hope everybody with an opportunity takes a trip down to Garage for a double celebration with scandals. Real men and women don't mind firing it up on a Wednesday."

ENSLAVED won a Spellemann Award for Best Metal Album in 2008 with their latest offering, Vertebrae, Best Metal Album in 2006 with Ruun, and in 2004 with Isa. 

Tour dates for ENSLAVED’s upcoming North American trek with Opeth can be viewed online at www.myspace.com/ENSLAVED and at www.ENSLAVED.no.

View the video for “The Watcher” – directed by Norwegian Grammy Award winner Patric Ullaeus (Dimmu Borgir, Keep Of Kalessin, In Flames) - here.  Watch the behind-the-scenes video here.



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Jackson Guitar’s Gothenburg-based rep Henric Carlsson reports that MNEMIC guitarists Mircea Gabriel Eftemie and Rune Stigart have officially joined the Jackson Bloodline family.

“Danish metal dynamite MNEMIC came into the metal world with a bang in 2003 and has since then released quality album after quality album,” Carlsson said. “They’re now working on their new album, Sons Of The System, with their new Jackson seven-string models. We’re happy to work together with them on their upcoming endeavors.”

“I have always loved the slender and elegant look of the Jackson guitars, and can proudly say that I am grateful to be included in the Bloodline family,” Eftemie stated. “Both guitarists in MNEMIC make use of seven-string guitars, and with this said, I hope we will add extra depth of tone, alongside the many other artists to be included in the Bloodline in the future. Be prepared for seven-string hell from Jackson Guitars!”

View MNEMIC’s artist page on the Jackson Guitars website here.



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DARKANE guitarist Christofer Malmström has issued the following band update:

"We're back in Sweden from a what we believe was a very successful tour in North America together with Soilwork, Warbringer and Swallow the Sun.   Thanks a lot to the other bands, crew, and all the fans that showed up and made us feel welcome. Playing 50 shows in 52 days was kinda tough, but we’re very happy we managed to pull it through without any bigger issues.   Now we are focusing on writing new material for the next album but before that, we played a show at The Tivoli in our home town Helsingborg on Saturday April 4th, and then we have the Roskilde and Nuclear Assault festivals booked for this summer, and hopefully more will show up. Next week, [DARKANE drummer] Peter Wildoer will head out on a European tour with Pestilence for three weeks.

I am also very proud to announce that I am now officially endorsed by Steve Clayton guitar picks. I have been using Clayton pics (1.26 mm) since the middle of the nineties. Since DARKANE’s music is based on accurate playing I need a pick that feels steady and that I can count on when I hit my strings very hard. With the Clayton picks, I get a very good and reliable grip allowing me to alter between fast and rhythmic playing without having to think about what my right hand is doing.

See you out there!"



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THREAT SIGNAL, THE AGONIST, THY WILL BE DONE and FLATLINE will team up for the "The Road To Revision Tour" in June.


Confirmed dates are as follows:

Jun. 03 - Danbury, CT - Billy Baloneys
Jun. 04 - New York, NY - The Studio at Webster Hall
Jun. 05 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
Jun. 06 - Pittsburgh, PA - 31st Street Pub
Jun. 07 - Allentown, PA - The Sterling Hotel
Jun. 08 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Jun. 09 - Nashville, TN - The Muse
Jun. 11 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
Jun. 12 - Orland Park, IL - Mojoe's
Jun. 13 - Detroit, MI - Blondie's

THREAT SIGNAL has finished recording its sophomore album, tentatively due later in the year via Nuclear Blast Records.

According to vocalist Jon Howard, "I finished tracking my vocals a few days ago and all 13 songs have been sent away for mixing and mastering. The all mighty Greg Reely will be twisting the knobs for this badboy. We expect to have the album completely finished by the end of the month. I'll have the album artwork, track listing, release date and album title for you veeery soon. May/June USA and Canada dates [have been scheduled] as well. We'll be playing half of the new record live! Come check it out."

Some of the songtitles that are set to appear on the new THREAT SIGNAL album include "Through My Eyes," "Severed," "United We Stand," and "The Beginning Of The End."

THREAT SIGNAL uploaded a demo version of a new song, entitled "Beyond Recognition," on the group's MySpace page.

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Finnish dark metallers AMORPHIS will release a new single, "Silver Bride," in Finland on April 22. The "radio edit" version of the track is now available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.
 

"Silver Bride" comes off the band's new album, Skyforger, which is scheduled for release on May 29, 2009 (Europe) and June 16, 2009 (North America) via Nuclear Blast Records.


The follow-up to the Eclipse and Silent Waters albums, both of which were certified gold in the band's native Finland, was recorded at Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki.

Skyforger Track List:

01. Sampo
02. Silver Bride
03. From The Heaven Of My Heart
04. Sky Is Mine
05. Majestic Beast
06. My Sun
07. Highest Star
08. Skyforger
09. Course Of Fate
10. From Earth I Rose
11. Godlike Machine (U.S. Bonus Track)



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