...SINCH will release their new CD, “Clearing the Chanel,” on March 22nd. For more information, check out http://www.sinch.net... 

...WITH HONOR has signed with Victory Records. For more information, check out www.the-forecast.net... 

...KHZ, will release their new CD "Reality On A Finer Scale;" on March 22nd...

...LAMB OF GOD will release their new DVD, “Killadelphia,” on Apirl 19th. The DVD features the live concert recorded last fall at the Trocadero in Philadelphia. The band will also re-release their first CD, under their original moniker BURN THE PRIEST, on March 22nd with a re-release of their best-selling “Ashes of the Wake” in the DualDisc format on March 29th. The band is on tour with SLIPKNOT. Click here for tour dates...

...Kelly McLauchlin, founding member and lead guitarist for UNHOLY GHOST, has left the band in order to continue on with PESSIMIST and other musical interests. The band will announce a replacement guitarist soon...

...SOILWORK will release their sixth full-length CD, “Stabbing the Drama,” on March 8th. The band will tour with HYPOCRISY, MNEMIC and DARK TRANQUILLITY in support of the new CD. Click here for tour dates...

...The home of three members of THE ESOTERIC has burned to the ground, taking the band’s equipment, merchandise and recording gear with it. Donations can be made to the now homeless bandmembers on their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/theesoteric... 

...GORY BLISTER have signed with the Dutch label Mascot Records. The band’s first release, is scheduled for release in late Summer 2005...

...NOBLE SAVAGE have announced the title of their new CD, “Killing for the Glory.” for more information, check out www.noblesavage.it... 

...VALKIJA have opened their website at www.valkija.com... 

...BEYOND THE FLESH have signed with Screaming Ferret Wreckords/Escapi Music...

...NO-FEAR have released their new CD, “Looking for the Truth.” For more information, check out www.no-fear.it... 

...EVIL MASQUERADE will release their new CD, “Theatrical Madness,” on April 25th...

...April 25th will also mark the release of “Out in the Cold” by HARTMANN and “Lady MacBeth” by LANA LANE...

...Former LIEGE LORD guitarist PAUL NELSON is a featured guitarist on the Grammy-nominated JOHNNY WINTER CD, “I’m a Bluesman.” For more information, check out www.paulnelsonguitar.com... 

...BLINK-182 has announced an “indefinite hiatus,” with no plans to re-unite. In a release, the band has stated they want to "spend some time enjoying the fruits of their labors with loved ones" and that, "while there is no set plan for the band to begin working together again, no one knows what tomorrow may bring”...

...KORN guitarist Brian HEAD Welch has left the band, choosing to rededicate his life to God. On its official Web site (http://www.korn.com), Korn's remaining members said they respect The band’s official website states that they hope "he finds the happiness he is searching for." A new KORN CD is due in September of this year...

...ACETATE will release their new CD, “This Band Makes Me Feel,” on March 22nd...

...LIFE OF AGONY will release “Broken Valley,” their new CD, on May 31st. Says singer Keith Caputo: "Personally, I think it's the best album we've ever done. It's super-raw and aggro and has an energy all its own. It's amazing that we've been able to come together after all these years and make an album like this."...

...KATAGORY V have announced the following live performances: 
March 5th, 2005
Opening for ANTIX
The Palms Club - Salt Lake City, UT
145 Pierpont Ave. downtown

April 9th, 2005
Chicago Powerfest 2005
JJ Kelly's - Lansing, IL
www.ChicagoPowerfest.com 

May 28th,2005
"Growl at the Ralley"
Evanston, WY

...CIANIDE has released their new CD, “Hell’s Rebirth”...

...MITCH PERRY has signed with Z Records and will release his new CD later this month...

...SPIDER ONE has released the following statement regarding what's up with POWERMAN 5000:

O.K., so here's a long overdue update. First off, the new record is just about done. We still have to track a bit more and then mix, but I'm pretty sure we are done writing. Although who knows... No official release date yet because we are exploring all the options in terms of getting this thing into your grubby little hands. What is it going to sound like? Well, let's just say if you like calculated, bloated Hoobastank ballads or radio friendly nu metal or over produced, auto tuned, cookie cutter rock then you will hate the new Powerman 5000 record. Now, I'm NOT going to say the standard bullshit like, "this is our heaviest, most brutal record yet." That's so boring and predictable. Not to mention, not true. I will say that, this record is raw and real. My goal on this one was to put together a bunch of songs that were meant to be played live. The kind of songs you could jam on with your friends in a garage band. I don't know... it is what it is. Rock 'n Roll, punk rock, metal, whatever... it's PM5K. I'm digging it!!! 

We are getting back on the road soon. I'm sure most of you have seen a handful of west coast gigs popping up. There will be more to come. We will be touring a little differently this year. Instead of long drawn out runs, we will be doing shorter regional blasts. So, we will be hitting the East and the Mid West and the South. Just not right in a row. We will let you know when all dates are confirmed. 

Who the fuck can you expect to see on stage?! With the revolving door in this band, sometimes I'm not even sure myself. I'm pretty certain I'll be there. Mr. 7 and Siggy will be there. Adam, sadly will not be joining us for this run of west coast dates. He is active in the writing and recording of the new record, but is opting out of the live performance end of things (at least for right now). Hitting the stage on guitar will be ex Alien Ant Farm guitarist Terry Corso and ex Halfcocked guitarist Johnny Rock. I must tell you the rehearsals with these guys have been blazing!!

As I always say, "don't be afraid of the future"... Well, that's enough for you to chew on for now.
THANX for being the coolest fans around, see you on the road.

Spider

...BLACK ZODIAC out of Southern Florida have signed with DaSBro Enterprise, a full-service entertainment agency based in New York City, for bookings, management and publicity. The band was formed in 2002 and is comprised of Mayelin (vocals), Aaron Robinson (bass/guitar) and Jay Browning (drum). The band says that their name “represents all the different personalities of the zodiac with the darkness behind them.” “Psychotic Hatred,” the band’s debut CD, was released last May. More as it becomes available...

...Century Media have released three early albums by BLIND GUARDIAN: “Battalions Of Fear,” “Follow The Blind” and “Forgotten Tales,” previously unavailable in the U.S. The first two CDs feature bonus tracks...

...BLOODBATH have announced they will play the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. For more information, check out the band’s website at http://www.bloodbath.biz... 

...ORPHANED LAND are currently on their first Latin America tour which will eventually take them from Mexico, to Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia...

...OCEAN LAND have released a video clip from their album, “Mabool,” on their website at http://www.orphaned-land.com/download.php?id=1005... 

...UNHEARD, the new band formed by ex-ATHEIST/NEUROTICA singer/guitarist Kelly Shaefer and former BURIAL frontman Mike Callahan, have completed work on their debut record at Southern Sound Studios in Florida. The 10-song CD will initially be released this spring through the band's web site (via the group's own Starrfactory Records) while distribution is sorted out. Says Shaefer of the CD: "The guitars are just fucking nasty and in your face. The music is just huge!! The vocals are like no one I have ever heard. Callahan did an amazing job. I would not have stepped off the mic to guitar if he was not the shit!"...

...SILVERSTEIN have signed Cameron Webb to produce their next CD. Recording begins at Maple Studios in Orange County on March 1st with the new CD due out this summer...

...OLIVER HARTMANN, rock opera performer extraordinaire, will release his solo CD “Out in the Cold,” on April 25th. Hartmann says about the new CD: “For me it's a kind of permanent step to compose and produce for my solo releases. Although the material is maybe a little different compared to what I've done in the past, I'm really looking forward to my solo works. This is the first time I was taking care of being the songwriter and main musician of this project. So I had the possibility to combine my own musical roots with different influences without being limited by a bands or a project style.”...

...The following tragic news has been placed on the NASUM website at www.nasum.com. 

Today - Thursday, February 17, 2005 - we recieved a confirmation that Mieszko Talarczyk died in the Tsunami Disaster December 26, 2004. His body has been identified and will be transferred to Sweden shortly.

His closest family and friends are in our thoughts right now. Mieszko will be missed by many.

nasum.com will be closed for at least a month. You know why. There will be a slight update in a couple of days with some information about the future of Nasum along with some personal words about Mieszko.

Thanks a lot for your support and your thoughts. Now a new time begins, a time we must spend alone. Please respect this wish.

Sincerely,
Anders and Nasum.

...Megaforce Records will re-released two classic albums by ANTHRAX, "Fistful of Metal" and "Armed & Dangerous" - both on on CD - on February 22. "Fistful of Metal" features the band's original singer, Neil Turbin, and the classic song "Metal Thrashing Mad." "Armed and Dangerous," the band's second CD, was the first to see vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello in the mix. New artwork and liner notes from the band are also included...

...FROM BEHIND, featuring ex-SAMSON/MAMMOTH singer Nicky Moore and Swedish guitarist Janne Stark, among others, are negotiating with a label for a record contract and will start recording their debut album in late March 2005. The working title for the new CD is "Size Doesn't Matter." Rumor has it the band will record a VENOM tune as part of the new CD...

...In support of their new CD, "Lost and Found" (due in stores on April 12th), MUDVAYNE are hitting the road with LIFE OF AGONY, AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE and BLOODSIMPLE. Click here for the first tour dates...

...200 additional tickets will go on sale Friday, February 18th for the DIMEBAG DARRELL Memorial benefit concert headlined by DISTURBED and featuring ANTHRAX, DROWNING POOL and SOIL. The tickets will be available at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, check out http://www.disturbed1.com...

..."Seventeen Days," the new CD by 3 DOORS DOWN, opened at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, selling over 200,000 copies. Says the band's Brad Arnold: "It's very exciting and we're especially thankful to our fans for their support. We were tentative on how people would react because we put our hearts into this one- and now our fans are saying they love this record and that feels great-that's all we care about."...

...AMBER TIGHT, a band formed by nine members of the 1st Cavalry Division based at Ft. Hood, TX while stationed in Iraq, will head into the studio to record a CD together before some of the members are reassigned or discharged from  the Army as their military service comes to an end...

...ARMOR FOR SLEEP will play a series of free acoustic in-store performances in support of their upcoming CD, "What to Do When You Are Dead," available on February 22nd. Click here for dates or click here for more information: http://www.armorforsleep.com...

...CRISIS has released the following statement: "CRISIS will not be doing 2 weeks worth of shows with 3 Inches Of Blood as previously reported. Our bass player Gia and his wife are expecting a baby girl early February and we've decided against touring without him. CRISIS will still go to Japan and continue touring the States in the spring"...

...Congratulations to the following Grammy winners:
Best Hard Rock Performance 
"Slither" by Velvet Revolver 

Best Metal Performance 
"Whiplash" by Motörhead

Best Rock Album 
"American Idiot" by Green Day

...SINCH will release their new CD, “Clearing the Channel,” on March 22nd...

...IKE REILLY ASSASSINATION is going on tour in support of their new CD, “Sparkle In The Finish.” Click here for tour dates or visit http://www.ikereilly.com for more information...

...FULLY LOADED will play Hollywood’s CLUB VODKA on February 17th at 11:30 PM. Tickets are $12.00. For more information, check out www.fltheband.com... 

...TRASH LIGHT VISION, featuring MURDERDOLLS guitarist Acey Slade, will take over as employees at Bats Retail shop at the Arcade in Manchester, U.K. on Wednesday, April 6th from 2PM on, prior to their performance that evening at Rock World. The band’s “wages” will go to support the NSPCC, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. According to Acey: "When Trashlight Vision was set to play Manchester on our last tour, the promoter fouled things up and we found ourselves without a venue. We did an in store signing at Bats and put word out to the fans that the show for the next day was cancelled. Then, right before our eyes, all the fans pulled together their resources and started calling clubs they knew and people in bands to find us an alternative venue. Within 4 hours our fans had found us a new club for us to play the following night. In celebration, Trashlight Vision went out to see what Manchester Nightlife had to offer. We had a great time and Manchester know how to party better then anywhere. But I did find one thing disturbing. Some of the fans' that had helped us find a gig were out with us. The verbal abuse and taunts I saw them experience throughout the night was disheartening. These kids were intelligent enough, and determined enough to pull together a rock concert on a internationally touring band level, and they were being mocked for being ‘different.’ So I wanted to do something special for Manchester on this tour. A thank you to the city that took us in when we didn't have any place to go, literally!" For more complete UK tour dates and other information, check out www.trashlightvision.com... 

...LANA LANE will release her new studio album, “Lady MacBeth,” in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of her first CD. A concept album based on the classic Shakespeare play, “Lady MacBeth” tells the story from the perspective of Lady MacBeth. The new CD is due on April 25th...

...ZION has completed its new CD, due this summer...

...The almighty MOTORHEAD will join forces with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY for a Spring 2005 tour. Celebrating their 30th anniversary and their first Grammy win (after three nominations), Motorhead will hit the road beginning March 9th. Says Lemmy: "Corrosion Of Conformity are a fine band as everybody knows. Also, they must be one of the few bands who have been going as long as Motorhead! Still, we'll give them a run for their money!" Click here for tour dates...

...Speaking of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, the band’s new CD, “In the Arms of God,” will be released on April 5th. The band is expected to present material from the new CD for the first time on the upcoming Motorhead tour. Click here for the first tour dates...

...REDLIGHT HALO have announced their new bass player, Chris, and will perform the following dates in the Southern California area to celebrate: 

Wed, February 9th - 8:00pm
@ 14 BELOW
1348 14th St, Santa Monica, CA
w/ Human Barbeque, Every Day, False Alliance
$3 / 21+ (or 14 and below)

Sat, February 12th - 9:00pm
@ Fitzgerald's
19171 Magnolia St, Huntington Beach, CA
w/ Wax Apples, The Politicians
$5 / 21+

...CANDLEMASS have almost completed recording of their self-titled CD...

...EXODUS have announced their new singer. Rob Dukes, a “virtual unknown,” has already recorded a few demos with the band, including the working titled “Shovel Headed Kill Machine,” described as one of the fastest Exodus songs ever...

...MESHUGGAH have finished mixing and mastering their new CD, “Catch 33.” The new CD has been described as being one 47-minute song divided into 13 parts and as “musically the opposite” of the band’s “I” EP...

...DEW-SCENTED have been confirmed for this year's Minneapolis Mayhem 2 festival, set to take place on May 6-7 at Star Central in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Also on the bill are SODOM, SADUS, AVENGER OF BLOOD, SUMMON, THE CHASM and THROCULT. For more information, check out http://www.minneapolismayhem.com... 

...TREMULUS have made two new songs available on their website at http://www.tremulus.com/music. Download “Mass Induced” or “Nothing Left” there...

...DROWNING POOL has made “Think,” a track from their great new CD “Desensitized,” available on their website. To download it, visit www.drowningpool.com... 

...DIRTY AMERICANS will release their new CD, “Strange Generation,” later this year...

...Liquor and Poker Music (you gotta love that name) will release “Tinnitus” by THE BACKYARD BABES on April 5th. The band is currently on tour with SOCIAL DISTORTION. Click here for tour dates...

...Victory Records has signed SINAI BEACH and will release the band’s sophomore album, “Immersed” in mid-2005...

...HATEFRAME has signed with Rising Realm Records. The band’s full-length CD, “Sign of Demise” will be released in Spring/Summer 2005...

...MADSIDE have released “Enemy,” the first single, from their new CD. For more information, check out www.madside.com... 

...DANZIG will tour North America in support of their new CD, “Circle of Snakes.” Click here for tour dates...

...25 Ta Life/Blitzspeer project RESURGE has stepped up their search for a strong front man with a wide range of power harmonies and melodies and writing. The band has already generated label interest. For more information and .mp3s, check out the band's website at www.resurgemusic.com. Contact information follows:

RESURGE Management 
Brodsky & Associates
2 West 46th Street, Suite 307 
New York, NY 10036
Tel (212) 561-9053
Fax (917) 386-2542
info@nycmusiclawfirm.com 

...LAMB OF GOD have released the following, chilling press release:

For Immediate Release 2/2/05

The Banning of the Lambs!!! 

LAMB OF GOD is BANNED from performing at the Forum in Los Angeles!!!

Lamb Of God is being forced to step aside from one of their arena concerts on the upcoming Subliminal Verses Tour with Slipknot, because of their name Lamb Of God and former moniker Burn The Priest. 

The venue, The Forum in Los Angeles, is owned by The Faithful Central Bible Church who decided to impose a ruling to BAN LAMB OF God’s performance at their venue.

Lamb of God have come off of several extremely successful headline runs through L A in the last year, so this move comes completely unexpected for the band and the tour as a whole. Los Angeles is and has always been a huge market for the band, building steadily with each one of their releases and tours as well as and exploding with the bands current CD, 'Ashes of the Wake' (Epic 8/04). 

In deciding to BAN LAMB OF GOD's performance, The Faithful Central Bible Church are imposing on the publics freedom of speech, choice and assembly; the bands art along with the bands ability to conduct commerce.

Drummer Chris Adler clearly states, "The "situation" in LA can only be described as ridiculous. It's already been a huge waste of energy trying to turn this around. The powers that be aren't interested budging - or doing their research apparently - and we've never been a band to placate anyone to get our way, smooth things over or make anyone feel better. They have made it clear that they don't want us because of our name, our show and our crowd - because of that ignorance, LAMB OF GOD is not being permitted to appear on the Subliminal Verses Concert in LA. It's truly a shame for the show overall, especially for our friends and fans in LA that are being forced to miss our part of the show. Trust that this was not our decision, we'd love to kick some ass in LA, but apparently the word from the powers that be is that LAMB OF GOD is not the wholesome family fun that the good people of Los Angeles deserve."

...IMPALED will release their new CD on March 8, 2005. The new album will be entitled “Death After Life”...

...OVERLOADED out of Detroit invite you to check them out online at www.purevolume.com/overloaded... 

...BLACKFOOT has reunited and scheduled several tour dates. For more information, check out www.blackfootrocks.com... 

...New demos by PHANTOM-X have been uploaded to the band’s website at www.phantom-x.net. The band’s new CD is due in Spring of this year...

...STARBREAKER, the new band fronted by TNT’s Tony Harnell, will release their new CD on March 21st on Frontiers Records. Says Harnell, "I am convinced that this album will turn heads, shatter ears and crush hearts. This is probably the most special thing I have been involved with for years. It is a blend of traditional and contemporary hard rock/metal that has never been done like this before. It’s heavy, epic, majestic and hugely melodic. I am a big fan of this music, this is an album I would probably buy myself!" For samples of the new CD, please visit http://www.frontiers.it/starbreaker_liesedit.mp3...