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Swedish gothic/doom band Draconian are searching for a new female singer following the departure of Lisa Johansson in November of 2011. The band posted the following on its official Facebook Page:

"Since Lisa left the band we are as you know searching for a new brilliant singer to take her place. If you think you're woman enough to fill her shoes or if you know someone who could, please contact us. As we live and rehearse in Säffle in Sweden it's necessary that you either live close by or don't have a problem with traveling. ; ) This is a serious question so please, only serious suggestions. Hails!"

The band's latest LP "A Rose for the Apocalypse" was released in June 2011 through Napalm Records

TheSutras exclusive information indicates that Joey ”Fingers” Lombard, bassist for Pennsylvania-based death metal  act Incantation, has committed suicide. Sources have made no indication how or why Lombard took his own life, but do confirm a funeral is to take place on Sunday.

Incantation has issued no official statement yet regarding this sad news.

Great news for metalhead... Check this out a soundtrack from Homefront game and it's limited for 25,000 copies digital download. Band listed below;

1. War Ensemble - As I Lay Dying
2. Fight the Power - The Dillinger Escape Plan feat. Chuck D
3. Uprising - iwrestledabearonce
4. War Pigs - The Acacia Strain
5. One - Periphery
6. Fortunate Son - The Ghost Inside
7. For What It's Worth - Winds of Plague
8. Us and Them - Misery Signals
9. Masters of War - Arsonists Get All the Girls
10. War - Oceano
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday - Veil of Maya

This interview took on Metal Messiah Radio earlier this morning our time (Malaysia +0800 GMT)... wow.... cool... so it was 26 February our time here and 6 am.. hahaha..i was there..

Former Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore was found dead in a hotel room in Spain yesterday (06.02.11).
Guitarist Gary Moore has died at the age of 58.

The former Thin Lizzy rocker was found dead in his hotel room in the early hours of yesterday morning (06.02.11) by his girlfriend and it is thought he died after chocking on his own vomit after knocking back champagne and brandy while holidaying in the Costa del Sol.

An ambulance source told The Sun newspaper: "We believe the deceased had been drinking heavily."

Thin Lizzy's management said of the sad news: "Our thoughts go out to Gary's family at this time. Our memories of Gary and his contribution to Thin Lizzy and music in general will live on forever."

As well as starring in the band famous for such hits as 'The Boys Are Back In Town' and 'Whiskey In The Jar', he also had an illustrious solo career.

The Northern Irish-born star first started out at the age of 16 when he joined group Skid Row, which featured Phil Lynott as lead vocalist.

He then joined Thin Lizzy with Phil before moving on to pursue a successful solo career as a blues artist, releasing the hit albums 'Grinding Stone' and 'Lynott'.

Eric Bell, who Gary replaced in Thin Lizzy said he was "in shock" over his death.

He added: "I still can't believe it. He was so robust, he wasn't a rock casualty, he was a healthy guy. He was a superb player and a dedicated musician."

Scott Gorham - who is in the band's current line-up - said: "Playing with Gary during the Black Rose era was a great experience, he was a great player and a great guy. I will miss him."

Throughout his career he performed on stage with a range of major artists and in the late 1970s made a brief return to Thin Lizzy.

He leaves behind two sons and a daughter.

It’s been a while since we mentioned Bad For Lazarus, the excellent band fronted by Rich Fownes, ex-Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster guitarist and shortest serving member of Nine Inch Nails. They’ve gone and decided to give away a free 2-track EP as a Christmas gift for anyone that cares to download it.

The first of the two tracks, ‘Minnie The Moocher’, which we mostly remember as being that song out of The Blues Brothers. Now clearly this isn’t a Christmas song per se, but it sounds pretty festive to us. Then again, maybe that bottle of “festive” schnapps we’ve been swigging all week has finally started to get to us.


You can skip all this hullabaloo and download the entire EP yourself – just click on the link below and it’ll take you to Bad For Lazarus’ official bandcamp page where you can get both songs in a variety of high-quality lossless format, for the combined price of diddly-squat. They’re not even asking for your email address of anything like that. Bonus!

Download Bad For Lazarus’ FREE Good For Jesus….Bad For Lazarus EP

The other track the band are giving away is a cover of ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of my Life’, which is of course nothing to do with Christmas either. So what? They’ve roped in Rodeo Death Burger (who may or may-not have split up now? Who knows? Their MySpace page is confusing) to help out, too.

Since it’s the season of goodwill and everyone’s giving each other gifts, can someone please buy us some Christmas presents? Or better yet, buy us some food? Or some beer. We’re properly broke after buying presents for our friends and family. No more schnapps though, please.

Despite former drummer/founder Mike Portnoy's wishes that his departure would only be a hiatus, prog metal giants Dream Theater have selected a new drummer.

"I know that the big question is, 'Who is the new Dream Theater drummer?' I also realize that some people are getting frustrated waiting for the news," guitarist John Petrucci said in statement, holding back any hints about the new Dream Theater drummer's identity.

He continued, "Well, auditions went great and we do have someone but we are spending some time getting everything in order before making an official announcement. Let me just say that we are all incredibly excited about our choice and just bursting at the seams to let the world know!"

With a new drummer in tow, Dream Theater are slated to begin recording their follow-up to 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings' in January.

Flamecult Records is currently offering the "Flamecult Records Presents: The Underground Alliance Vol I" compilation album as a free download in here. Flamecult Records also issued the following statement about the release:

"Flamecult Records Presents: The Underground Alliance Vol I represents a collective of ambitious, intelligent and hard working bands or studio projects from all over the world! From full on black metal, war metal, doom metal, grind metal, death metal and hybrid metal, a full spectrum of the metal underground is showcased in this great compilation. Hosted by Flamecult Records, all the musicians involved in The Underground Alliance Vol I are talented and very respected in their underground circles, have a history of DIY albums and splits and many shows, and represent what the underground metal world is all about: Strength, Honor and Integrity."

The track listing is as follows:

1. Coils of the Serpent - Defeat Remix
2. Zebulon Kosted - Between This World And The Next
3. Volksmerink - Calloused
4. Throne of Malediction - Ceremonial Blood
5. Bodies in Barbwire - The Vile CorpseKing/Nailgun Dissection
6. Nephilim Rising - Torn/Elegy (Etxalar)
7. Chalice Of Doom - Endless Prison
8. br1hatecrew - Burden of Damnation
9. Styg'ian Altar - The Legion Decrees
10. Warseid - Voyager/Winter Legions
11. Death Chant - Delirium
12. ZDD - Zombie Death Dance
13. Throne of the Mammoth King - Sacred Club Of Spikes

Christmas is coming soon, so it is time for the first of  70000TONS OF METAL surprises to be revealed: Five prominent heroes of the Northern metal-scene have joined forces to pay endless tribute to the dignified Swedish cult-combo Bathory.

As TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, Alan Nemtheanga (Primordial), Nick Barker (ex-Dimmu Borgir, ex-Cradle Of Filth), Blasphemer (ex-Mayhem), Frode Glesnes (Einherjer) and Patrik Lindgren (Thyrfing) will open the history-books to honor the fabulous legacy of master Quorthon 6 years after his tragic death.

The confirmed 35 out of 40 70000TONS OF METAL bands are:

Agent Steel
Amon Amarth
Blackguard
Blind Guardian
Cripper
Dark Tranquillity
Death Angel
Ensiferum
Epica
Exodus
Fear Factory
Finntroll
Forbidden
Gamma Ray
Iced Earth
Korpiklaani
Marduk
Moonspell
Obituary
Rage
Raven
Saxon
Sabaton
Sodom
Sonata Arctica
Swashbuckle
Testament
Trouble
TÝR
Twilight of the Gods
Uli Jon Roth
Unleashed
Witchburner

70000TONS OF METAL will sail Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean “Majesty of the Seas” from Miami FL to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011. 70000tons.com has more.

OPETH will be entering the studio in January 2011 to start proceedings on recording a new album, which will be out later in the year. OPETH will begin recording album #10 in Stockholm on January 31. Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree will produce.

Swedish melodic death metal act Dark Tranquillity has posted its stage projection clip for its song "The Fatalist" online. You can view the 2010 world tour backdrop imagery below:


Dark tranquillity - The fatalist (video projection) from nsundin on Vimeo.

Former TROUBLE drummer Jeff "Oly" Olson has issued the following statement about the passing of original Saint Vitus drummer Armando Acosta:

"Sadly, it has been confirmed that the original drummer for Saint Vitus, Armando Acosta, passed on Thanksgiving Day (November 25) at the age of 58. I had scheduled an interview with Henry Vasquez (current Saint Vitus drummer) for this Monday's show before anyone had known of the passing. Therefore, this Monday's (December 6th) edition will be a memorial for the late Armando Acosta. The interview with Vasquez will be re-scheduled for a later date."

"Armando was one of my dear friends from Saint Vitus. The last time I saw Armando was when he ate dinner at my house after a Saint Vitus show in Chicago. He had a very kind heart and was funny. I'm saddened by this news. He will be very missed by so many. May he rest in peace."

"Heady Metal With Jeff Olson" airs on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. EST exclusively for Metal Messiah Radio with the podcasts available the following day at the show's website. The encore runs on Saturdays from 8 to 10 a.m.

British heavy metal band Judas Priest, one of the most influential and most popular heavy metal bands of all time, has announced that they are to perform one more world tour and then retire as a band. The band will be performing at several European festivals next year, including Graspop, Wacken and High Voltage. More dates and statements from band members are to be released soon.

Some of us agree with this and some don’t. Why? Let us look at all those bands around us including the crowds attending any gigs. Some of them don’t want to mix with other group of people. For example, A is a black metal fan, and A doesn’t want to mix with B a death metal fan. Same goes with B who doesn’t want to mix with C, a hardcore and thrash metal fan.

They stand with their ideology isn’t it? I admit that I’m a progressive/ Industrial/Death/Thrash/Hardcore and Doom metal fan but I still can listen to other kind of genre and still can get along with some others freaks at the gig. I don’t want to show my narcissistic idea here. It’s only an example.

Let us get back to the main idea of this post, the story of A, B and C. What do you think of it? The most popular tagline amongst DIY undergrounders is they are fascist. Prejudice on others and try to bring down others in any form. We can’t escape this mentality in this world. Everywhere we go, we still can find this kind of attitude. Do we want this to happen everyday? I don’t think so. You might say, I don’t want! Yeah, correct, you don’t want that, you just voice out your choice.

How about racism? Is it happen? Same like fascism, it still happens. For example, a white power band like Vaginal Jesus considers a white power band. What is white power? White power where the white people try to rein supreme on ideas and anything. Also some twats here in Asia just created an Asian Force blablabla. It just a racist idea. Why don’t try to bring together Earth Force blablabla? Maybe they have their own agenda on it or maybe later they will bring it together with other region in this world. Who knows?

I saw some of undergrounder (or maybe “underwater” because they never buy fanzine and demo or follow the true undergrounder attitude) like to cynically in prejudice way about other races during gig. Hey dude! I know you not going for long in this scene, please stop that. Honestly, I had been in the scene for more than 10 years and listening to metal like nearly 20 years. Good God… that’s quite long but I never getting bored on this kind of music I only found lots of shitty sounds and greater sounds in this music.

The diversity of sounds really made me want to explore more. It’s only a budget problem if I want to order more stuff from any band out there. I still buying some demo although there’s an mp3 technology that we can download anywhere in the internet. Why we don’t stand together? Like the old days (which I missed a lot), we all gigging together and did havoc, moshing like crazy with all people even we don’t know each other but we feel it fun. And we still greet each other with “HI”, everywhere when we meet.

I just plan to start seriously on this blog to be the webzine and will doing many interviews on band, individual, DIY project and many more. Anyone interested, they can be the contributor on this project. The aim, we want to spread the great music among the entire listener who thirsts for good music out there. This music always accept any kind of good music whether they are Satanist, Punkers, Thrashers, Gay-right or Lesbian-right (I like) movement and a cucumber. We always welcome that.

Doesn’t matter if you have tattoo, wearing black, wearing hoodie under the hot of the sun (our region consider more warmer climate), metal-stars look-alike, great knowledge can make you totally true in the scene. If you’re poseur or trend follower, you will remain that way and will be stuck in the ring of stupidity. For example in Heavy Metal music, Architects don’t wear all-black, Akercocke’s Jason Mendonca wears tweed, David Draiman doesn’t have any tatts, Herman Li has an anorak (find the meaning in dictionary!), Henry Rollins has a military-style buzz-cut and Enslaved boys Cato and Grutle go fishing style.

Many more gig announcement will be appear on this blog. Remember, a greatest “FUCK YOU” in the scene, a racism and fascism. Why don’t we say “FUCK OFF” to any form of R&F activities if we found one? Ignore them because we don’t need narrow minded people inside our scene.