Frontman Dave Wyndorf: “I’m really looking forward to joining the roster at Napalm Records and working with them on future endeavours. Our plan is to record our next studio album with Matt Hyde starting in January, for a release early this summer. And with a new album comes a new run or two of live shows! Stay tuned – we’re comin’ to your town!”

Black Tusk are currently rounding out a run of dates with Black Cobra in the eastern US. Photos from the band’s recent New York show can be viewed here. Upon returning home, the band will begin writing for their Relapse debut for an expected spring 2010 release date.

The band is currently featured in the December 2009 issue of Spin Magazine (on newsstands now) along with label-mates Baroness as part of a story on Savannah’s burgeoning metal scene.

“Growing up on thrash and speed metal, Kreator was always on the top of my playlist. I would call them the European Slayer! Well all of us in Kataklysm are fans so I can’t express how happy we are to have been offered this tour with this legendary band! It’s safe to say that we will be bringing a strong and heavy hitting set list. Let there be blood!”

Kataklysm are confirmed for the following dates. More shows will be announced shortly:

KREATOR, KATAKLYSM, EVILE, LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH, LAZARUS A.D.

3/18 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
3/19 – Vancouver, BC @ Ricksaw Theater
3/20 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
3/21 – San Fransisco, CA @ Slim’s
3/23 – West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
3/24 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
3/25 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
3/27 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
3/28 – Houston, TX @ Meridian
3/30 – Orlando, FL @ The Club at Firestone
3/31 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade

Tickets go on sale today (Tuesday, November 24) exclusively through EnterTheVault.com until December 17, at which point they will be made available through all normal ticketing systems.

Morse, who got his start in the Dixie Dregs in the 1970s, has enjoyed a fruitful career, earning himself a reputation as a “musician’s musician.” He’s spent the last sixteen years shredding for the legendary Deep Purple, in addition to fronting his own band. On this entirely instrumental album, Morse joins forces with bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Van Romaine to pound out un-tethered creativity.

Buy the album on iTunes today!

Track Listing:
1.) Name Dropping
2.) Brink Of The Edge
3.) Here and Now and Then
4.) Relentless Encroachment
5.) John Deere Letter
6.) More To The Point
7.) Time Junction
8.) Unnamed Source
9.) Flight Of The Osprey
10.) Baroque ‘N Dreams
11.) Rising Power (Live)

North American Tour Dates:
10/15/09 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage
10/16/09 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony
10/17/09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel

Confirmed bands for the Orange County festival include The Cult, The Damned, Buzzcocks, Face to Face and The Headcat (featuring Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead and Slim Jim Phantom from Stray Cats).

Motorhead frontman and bassist Lemmy Kilmister says, “Just as long as I don’t have to play on a skateboard and buy a Jack Daniels, I’m there.”

This year, the festival is expanding to Dallas and the bands confirmed so far include Old 97’s, Shooter Jennings, Lucero, Roger Alan Wade and many more to be announced.

Tickets are only $30.00 in Orange County and $25.00 in Dallas. The Dallas tickets will go on sale at Ticketmaster beginning this Saturday, November 14 at 9:00 AM EST.

Wed 17 Feb – U.K., Newport @ Newport Centre
Mon 22 Feb – U.K., Leeds @ Leeds Academy
Thu 25 Feb – U.K., Newcastle @ Newcastle Academy
Sun 28 Feb – Ireland, Dublin @ Olympia
Mon 01 Mar – Ireland, Belfast @ Georges Market

Fan presale links for tickets will be made available on Wednesday, November 25, general public ticket sales begin on Friday, November 27th.

SMNnews wonders if they’ll play anything from this album:

Help by donating anything you can afford to www.oneloveforchi.com

The footage below is taken from the first night and features Deftones performing “Passenger” from their White Pony album along with Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato on vocals.

Disc 1: “Under A Serpent Sun -- The Story of At The Gates”

A brand new documentary with a running time of over two hours, detailing the band’s entire career with exclusive interviews and footage, filmed and directed by guitarist Anders Björler.

Disc 2: “Purgatory Unleashed -- Live at Wacken”

A 75-minute live set from the band’s reunion set at the Wacken festival in 2008 in front of 100,000 people.

Disc 3: “Only the Dead Are Smiling”

26 rare and archive live performances of the band playing in locations around the globe from 1991 to 2008.

A statement from Jordan of Church of the 8th Day, the promoters for the show:

“Since everyone has been asking, what and where the Royal Hall is, I wanted to explain, and send something out to clear things up. The Key Club canceled the show, about two weeks ago, leaving us just a few weeks to move it. Since we had two stages worth of bands booked, it was near impossible to move the show to anywhere in Hollywood, at a reputable club, as everything was already booked. We found a place in downtown, which is a banquet hall, and we are going to build it into a venue from the ground up, with two full stages and great sound, full bar, and a BBQ. There have been numerous events held there, including the Bestial Legion Fest. If you purchased tickets through one of the local bands, your tickets will still be valid at the new venue. If you purchased your tickets through TicketMaster, you should be receiving your refund any day. The Key Club said they will be issuing refunds, but they haven’t been responding to us about the progress of it, so if you’d like to call and find out, go ahead. You can now purchase tickets exclusively through our new ticketing website, 8thDayTix.com. We’re sorry about the confusion, and hope to see everyone there.

More information can be found at www.churchofthe8thday.com.”

The legendary Floridian extreme metal act, Morbid Angel’s second album, Blessed Are the Sick was originally released in 1991 and is widely regarded as one of the most important death metal releases of all time. The Massive follow up to Altars of Madness surpassed the high expectations set after their first album’s original release. It has now been remastered on CD and includes the bonus video ‘Blessed Are The Sick’, liner notes by Trey Azagthoth and an hour long documentary DVD.

The DVD contains interviews with the band and producer Tom Morris. Also interviewed are management, roadies, crew and various people who were in and around the band at the time, as they discuss the recording and release of the album and highlight the band’s rise from underground heroes to worldwide flag-bearers for the death metal scene.

You can buy the newly expanded CD/DVD special edition of Blessed Are the Sick, as well as the import digipack edition of it HERE.

NOT featured on the list:

As always, Goatwhore will be equipped with their always tight, always furious, engaging live show, led by Ben Falgoust’s commanding presence and Sammy Duet’s one-man guitar attack. Zack Simmons‘ on drums and new addition, James Harvey on bass, provide one of the tightest and most caustic rhythm sections in metal. This will be a tour not to miss.

GOATWHORE
Bound By The Road
Tour w/ DeviDriver, Suffocation
01/07 Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse
01/08 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
01/09 Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theater
01/11 Portland, OR @ Peter’s Room at Roseland Theater
01/12 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
01/13 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
01/15 Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater & Club
01/16 Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theater
01/18 Maplewood, MN @ The Rock
01/19 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave

More dates are TBA soon

Written by Jackie Kajzer–host and developer of nationally syndicated metal radio show “Full Metal Jackie”–with Roger Lotring, the book features classic photos by renowned rock photographer Mark Weiss and a foreword written by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth

“The idea to focus on lyrics for this book came from preparing my radio show each week,” says Kajzer. Many of the songs I played were never edited for radio and had profanities. I make edits for my show so metal fans finally get a chance to hear the songs on commercial radio.  When I read the lyrics to many of these songs, I got an even greater sense of how powerful these songs really are, and I wanted to share that insight with other metal fans.”

Pre-order the book here.

Tracklist
01. “Find the Arise”
02. “On the Floor”
03. “Chooped in Half”
04. “Turned Inside Out”
05. “Forces Realign”
06. “Insane”
07. “Face Your God”
08. “Dethroned Emperor”
09. “Evil Ways”
10. “Drop Dead”
11. “Contrast the Dead”
12. “Second Chance”
13. “Stand Alone”
14. “Slow Death”
15. “Slowly We Rot”
+ bonus features

Live Xecution – Party.San 2008 DVD will be released in the US in January 2010 via Regain Records.

The dates for the European tour are as follows:
11/27     Doornroosje- Nijmegen , Netherlands
11/28     Minus One- Gent , Belgium
11/29     White Rabbit- Plymouth UK
11/30     Ivory Blacks- Glasgow UK
12/1       Coporation- Sheffield, UK
12/2       Underworld- London, UK
12/3       Eddies-  Birmingham,  UK
12/5       Hard Rock Hell- Prestatyn Sands, UK
12/8       Exhaus- Trier, Germany
12/9       Hafenklang- Hamburg, Germany
12/10     Loppen- Denmark, Copenhagen
12/11     Cassiopeia- Berlin,  Germany
12/12     Eastclub- Bischofswerda,  Germany
12/13     Wagon- Wrcoclaw, Poland
12/14     007- Prague, Czech Rep
12/15     Feierwerk- München, Germany
12/16     Soundcheck- Arcene (Bergamo), Italy
12/17     Abart- Zürich, Switzerland
12/18     Steinbruch Theatre- Darmstadt , Germany
12/19     Turock- Essen, Germany

Prosthetic Records has posted an interview with the band from their in-store appearance at Vacation Vinyl in Hollywood on October 11th. This is the second installment of the label’s new Prosthetic TV webisode series. The footage can be viewed here HERE.

Track listing:
‘In Venere Veritas’
‘Scared To Death’
‘Heartkiller’
‘Dying Song’
‘Disarm Me (With Your Loneliness)’
‘Love, The Hardest Way’
‘Katherine Wheel’
‘In The Arms Of Rain’
‘Ode To Solitude’
‘Shatter Me With Hope’
‘Acoustic Funeral (For Love In Limbo)’
‘Like St. Valentine’
‘The Foreboding Sense Of Impending Happiness’

Check out the drama here.

“A Step into the Void” takes epic to this whole new level, and introduces us to the beast that is WAY TO END.  With a complete shock to the senses, the band’s disharmonic execution slays its dark path upon the listener.  The guitar tones are incredible as they sneak into the night, and step into the void.  Wow oh wow, I cannot get enough of these riffs.  Well good news, Desecrated Internal Journey has plenty more hidden treasures.  “The Worm” is in all ways epic as fuck!  The intro guitar riff weaves a delicate and spine tingling mood, and while you can see the black metal vibrations, you’re also going to see how unique WAY TO END is.  As “The Worm” progresses, the reflections of darkness come out strong with their obscure structures, mysterious rhythms, and in the depths of it all, you can tell they have an appreciation for the darker classical music from way back when.  “The Worm” and its near flawless composition show WAY TO END at their best, and with Desecrated Internal Journey, WAY TO END already has such a mastered sound!

Hands down this could be my favorite black metal release of 2009, for it’s definitely one of the most creative of the year.  Go buy it now!  With a musical direction as deep as the abyss, I believe WAY TO END are going to keep expanding their sound until they are the chosen leaders.  All hail WAY TO END, and their future is going to be BIG!

Rating: 9.5/10
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Website: http://www.myspace.com/waytoendmetal

By Alex Gilbert

• Rafał Piotrowski – Vocals
• Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka – Guitars
• Filip “Henrich” Hałucha – Bass
• Kerim “Krimh” Lechner – Drums

States DECAPITATED guitarist / songwriter / founding member Vogg:

“I am really happy to announce this short message for all DECAPITATED fans: As you all know, two years after the tragedies we had to suffer, I decided to continue the band. There’s no sense in stopping this amazing thing we built up so many years ago together with Witek [Witold Kieltyka, drummer, R.I.P.] , Sauron [Wojciech Wisowicz, the band’s first lead singer], Martin [Marcin Rygiel, the band’s first bassist] and Covan [Adrian Kowanek, second vocalist, still recovering from injuries]. We chose to do our first tour in the U.K. because we have only good memories from this place and we are sure that you guys will support us… We need you!!  I am very pleased to announce the new killer line-up of DECAPITATED: Kerim ‘Krimh‘ Lechner on drums – he’s a new blood, very talented and used to playing in bands like THORNS OF IVY and TONE INTIMACY; amazing Rafał Piotrowski comes from bands like KETHA and FORGOTTEN SOULS and will take over vocal duties; masterous Filip “Heinrich” Hałucha from VESENIA, ROOTWATER, UNSUN and MASACHIST will be destroying the bass!  See you all soon!  We honestly can’t wait!”