Metallian Heavy Emre Tufekcioglu is the new drummer in DRUGS OF FAITH. The band is recording a new album……The debut full-length of New York City’s “omnisexual” death/grind band, COPREMESIS, entitled Muay Thai Ladyboys, is set to be released on Paragon Records this month……CARCASS vocalist/bassist Jeff Walker will be making a guest appearance on the upcoming CYPHER album, which is due next winter through Rusty Cage Records……ILLDISPOSED’s latest album The Prestige has made it onto the Danish charts……One-time SKINLESS singer Sherwood Webber has a new band called ENEMY REIGN……INTO ETERNITY has announced that its next album is a conceptual one and is named The Incurable Tragedy…UNLEASHED will release its ninth full-length album, Hammer Battalion, through SPV Records in June……RESURRECTION’s Mistaken For Dead is due at the end of June through Massacre Records. A tour of America and Europe will follow……EXUMER has reformed and working on new music and summer shows. The band last played live in 2001. Singer Mem V. Stein will continue with his band, SUN DESCENDS……CIRCLE OF DEAD CHILDREN is recording an album called Psalm Of The Grand Destroyer. The band is signed with Willowtip Records……Nuclear Blast has just issued TESTAMENT’s The Formation Of Damnation album. The band will tour North America with HEAVEN AND HELL, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD……Singer and founder Thomas Gabriel Fischer has unexpectedly left CELTIC FROST. The band has once again gone on hiatus and cancelled previously announced shows. The breakup seems to be the results of personal tensions within the band. Fischer has indicated he will record music again……Drummer Rasmus Schmidt of TORCHIA and DOWNLORD has joined CORPUS MORTALE……AVULSED drummer Ricky suffered blood loss and became unconscious last month leading to cancelled shows until his health has improved……Relapse Records has reissued the first three albums of BLOOD DUSTER. The MCD Yeest is packaged with Fisting The Dead, while Str8outtanorthcote and Cunt will come with bonus material……The MONSTROSITY/GRAVE tour of the USA has been cancelled after GRAVE dropped off……Bassist Michael Hambloch has replaced Ufo Walter in ASSASSIN. The band was hitting South America in June until the tour got cancelled……Johan Edlund has left APOSTASY. While looking for a label the band has recruited bassist Patrik Wall……Guitarist Blasphemer has left MAYHEM in order to focus on his own band, AVA INFERI. The Portuguese band will issue its next album, Blood Of Bacchus, through Season Of Mist……GOREROTTED has changed its name to THE ROTTED. The band believes the new name is more suitable for the material written for the band’s new album……Sweden’s CRAFT has recruited Per “Dirge Rep” Husebø (ORCUSTUS and GEHENNA) to drum on the forthcoming Void album……AT WAR will issue a DVD called Live At The Norva this summer. The band is also touring Mexico……UNANIMATED has reformed and signed with Regain Records. The band will reissue its two albums……Former DESTRUCTION drummer Sven Vormann has joined ABANDONED. The band had issued a 2007 album called Thrash You in 2007……DETONATION has announced a parting of ways with drummer Thomas Kalksma who was one of the original founders of the band and had been part of DETONATION for over ten years……Metal Mind Productions has announced the release of a new live DVD by FLOTSAM AND JETSAM. The material entitled Once In A Deathtime features the show recorded at the 2008 edition of the Metalmania Festival……John of ALLFADER has taken over the guitar following the departure of guitarist Per. The former man had reportedly suffered from a lack of motivation and had hampered the band’s activities……Metal Mind Productions is “proud” to announce the release of ARTILLERY’s first DVD entitled One Foot In The Grave, The Other One In The Trash. The DVD features a gig ARTILLERY gave at Metalmania Festival 2008……J.J. Hrubovcak (VILE and DIVINE RAPTURE) will fill in on bass guitar on HATE ETERNAL’s European tour this month……LAMB OF GOD has signed with Roadrunner Records and will issue a DVD in July……A Louisiana band called PSYCHOMETRY has recruited SUFFOCATION drummer Mike Smith to record on its upcoming album, The Four Points…   
  
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Metallian HardCarl Dixon of the ‘80s Canadian band CONEY HATCH sustained massive injuries recently in Australia following a collision in Australia. He spent three days in a coma, but is said to be recovering now......RUSH has just issued a new album called Snakes & Arrows Live...RIDE THE SKY has thrown in the towel following a tepid response to its first album, which was issued on Nuclear Blast Records......MÖTLEY CRÜE's new album, Saints Of Los Angeles, will be issued in June following which the band will tour North America......ADAGIO has lost singer Gus Monsantoi who will focus on his own band THE LIGHTSEEKERS. He has also joined TAKARA. Finnish singer Christian Palin (ESSENCE OF SORROW) has replaced Gus......CELESTY has signed a worldwide deal with Spinefarm Records. The band was previously on Dockyard 1......Guitarist Stefan Elmgren has quit HAMMERFALL to concentrate on his career as a pilot. Pontus Norgren (of TALISMAN and GREAT KING RAT) has replaced him......CANDLEMASS is hitting the North American tour circuit in May and June. This is the band’s first tour of that continent in 17 years. Support comes from DAYLIGHT DIES......L.A. GUNS, FASTER PUSSYCAT and BANG TANGO have banded together for a US tour this July......MEKONG DELTA’s Lurking Fear is out now through AFM/Locomotive Records. The band is bassist Ralf Hubert, singer Leo Szpigiel (ANGEL DUST), guitarist Peter Sjöberg (THEORY IN PRACTICE and drummer Uli Kusch (ex-MASTERPLAN and HELLOWEEN)...HALLOWS EVE has picked The Never-Ending Sleep as the title for its new demo, which is due in August......ATTACKER and singer Bob Mitchell have had a falling out and parted ways......Y&T is touring the UK this September......Former IRON MAIDEN singer Blaze Bayley will issue The Man Who Would Not Die album on July 7th through his own label......GLENN HUGHES’ First Underground Nuclear Kitchen (F.U.N.K.) album is now out through Frontiers Records......BREAKER singer Jim Hamar has cancelled his participation in the band’s Bang Your Head!!! summer festival after his doctor discovered defective polyps in his vocal cords. Greg Wagner (SHATTER MESSIAH, H.A.T.E.) will replace him. The band was recording a new album as well......CLOVEN HOOF has been rejoined by guitarist Mick Powell......JUDAS PRIEST will issue its next album, Nostradamus, on June 17th through Epic. The double-disc is the band’s first concept album. It was recorded from 2006 to 2007 at Old Smithy Studio in the U.K......Goth pop band THERION (essentially Christofer Johnsson) has released all its musicians in order for guitarist Johnsson to retain even more control......WARREN APPLEBY’s Pennsylvania Gothic CD is out now through CD Baby......EMANCER’s Twilight And Randomness album is now out through Naga Productions......Newly remastered CD reissues of three JOSHUA albums have been issued through www.joshuaperahia.com. The Hand Is Quicker Than The Eye (originally released on Enigma Records in 1983), Surrender (Originally released on Polydor in 1985 and featuring Jeff Fenholt on vocals), and Chapter One (originally released on Long Island Records in 1998) are all now out......Candlelight Records has issued a BURZUM compilation called Anthology featuring material from the man’s six albums...CONQUEST OF STEEL has begun working on its third album. The record, a concept album named Storm Sword is a tale of a dystopian future set in a medieval past…CINDERELLA, WARRANT and LYNCH MOB will tour the USA this summer…CYNIC has signed with Season Of Mist. A new album from the band is expected in October……VOIVOD’s performance this June in Montreal and Calgary will feature original bassist Blacky and MARTYR guitarist Dan Mongrain. Jason Newsted is said to still be a member of the band……Former CRADLE OF FILTH guitarist James McIlroy and ex-BIOMECHANICAL drummer Matt C. are in a new band called CHAOSANCT……GOTTHARD bassist Marc Lynn will sit out the band’s upcoming tour as a result of an injury sustained in a motorcycleaccident. An Italian bassist will replace Marc until he is able to play again……BULLET BOYS has signed with Chavis Records. An album is expected this summer……Singer Tommy Cummings has been fired from DIVINE HERESY. Cummings had become agitated onstage on April 26th in Poughkeepsie, New York when he wanted to end the show early and was blocked by his band-mates……  
  
Metallian DemosHANDS OF DEATH/MANKILLSMAN – Split CD  
Montreal’s Hands of Death is a brutal band in the vein of Carcass with the dual-vocal system that goes with it. Mankillsman is grating and harsh, but has a more complex and involved sound. The layered vocals and screams come fast and furious, although not with the same discipline as Hands Of Death, which features Louis the former editor for Sang Frais on one of the vocal spots. While both bands fall squarely within the grasp of the underground wishmaster HOD is more grinding while Mankillsman is more ambient. Take your pick, but the bands obviously hope you choose both. – One can alternately write to theband@mankillsman.com and sang_frais@hotmail.com. - Anna Tergel   
  
REVENANT DEAD – IMPERIAL RAPE MARCH  
Sure there is metal here, there are doomy riffs, the reek of hard guitar and screamed vocal agony, but I still wanted to not like Revenant Dead. Why? The smell of Marilyn Manson and Cradle Of Filth permeates this demo. Mostly it is West, the singer, who just like a vocal chameleon, changes pitch to fit his mood. The grooves are also uncannily mallcore here, there and again somewhere, which do not help. Still, the Rape March takes on a regular metallic guise often enough to render it interesting. Hell, the lizard-vox are enough to make the whole thing scary. The same cannot be said of the crummy drum machine. If the band would cut out the crooning and the tuneless chords and concentrate on hard rock on its subsequent releases the quartet would be a serious contender. Either visit www. Revenantdead.com or write to saenz.pr@sbcglobal.net. - Anna Tergel