Zimmers Hole drop out of Soilwork Euro Tour

Zimmmers Hole have had to pull out of the upcoming European Tour in support of Soilwork. They have released an official statement through their website http://www.legionofflames.com

AS OF TODAY ZIMMERS HOLE IS NO LONGER A PART OF THE UPCOMING EUROPEAN TOUR WITH SOILWORK.

DRUMMER GENE HOGLAN HAS SUFFERED A DEATH IN HIS FAMILY.
FROM OUR HEARTS, WE SEND GENE AND THE ENTIRE HOGLAN FAMILY ALL OF OUR LOVE, AND DEEPEST CONDOLENCES AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
THE HOGLAN FAMILY IS THE 'FIRST FAMILY OF METAL', AND WE ARE ALL DEEPLY SADDENED.

ALSO, BASSIST BYRON STROUD IS NURSING A BROKEN HAND.
BYRON IS NOT ONLY OUR BASSIST, HIS DUTIES ALSO INCLUDE BAND MANAGER, AND ROAD MANAGER. HE IS VITAL TO US.

WHILE BYRONS INJURY WAS UNTIMELY, HE FELT HE COULD BE READY IN TIME FOR THE TOUR.
WITH THE SAD NEWS FROM THE HOGLAN FAMILY, THERE WAS NO WAY WE COULD DO THIS AND BE FOCUSSED IN ANY WAY.

APOLOGIES GO OUT TO ALL OF OUR EUROPEAN FANS AND AGENTS. WE'LL MISS YOU.
WE ASK FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING AT A VERY TOUGH TIME FOR ALL OF US.

WITH LOVE

ZH

Soilwork are to dedicate the tour to Gene and his family in their time of grief.

Peter Wichers Rejoins Soilwork!

Oh yes, some excellent news (in my opinion) on the Soilwork front, with former guitar genius Peter Wichers rejoining the band. (Ok, that sounds very biased doesn't it?)

For full information, head to the Soilwork Myspace page:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=11970182&blogID=434118592&indicate=1

As you may have guessed, I am pretty excited about this news. Peter is a fantastic song writer, and after leaving Soilwork, he wrote the Out Of The Dark album as part of Nuclear Blast's 20th anniversary, which starred a number of guest musicians from the label. It's a fantastic album, and highlighted how good a writer he is (and perhaps indicated the reason why Soilwork's latest album lacked compaired to previous releases). I'm glad to see the return of such a fantastic musician to the band!

Soilwork European Tour Dates 2008

Swedish metallers Soilwork have announced tour dates for the end of 2008 around Europe. The dates are as follows:

06.11. D Hamburg - Grünspan
07.11. NL Amsterdam - Melkweg
08.11. NL Dordrecht - Blebelot
10.11. UK Manchester - Club Academy
11.11. UK Bristol - Thekla
12.11. UK Oxford - Zodiac
13.11. UK Newport - TJ´s
14.11. UK Exeter - Lemongrove
15.11. UK Birmingham - Academy 2
16.11. UK Glasgow - Cathouse
18.11. UK Nottingham - Basement
19.11. UK Norwich - Waterfront
20.11. UK London - Islington Academy
21.11. B Vosselaar - Biebob
22.11. F Paris - Le Trabendo
23.11. F Strassbourg - La Laiterie
25.11. E Bilbao - Café Anzokia
26.11 E Madrid - Sala Live
27.11. E Barcelona - Razzamataz 2
28.11. F Lyon - Transbordeur
29.11. CH Basel - Z7
30.11. IT Milan - Alcatraz
02.12. A Wien - Szene
03.12. HU Budapest - A 38
04.12. CZ Prag - Futurum
05.12. D Leipzig - Conne Island
06.12. D München - Backstage
07.12. D Karlsruhe - Substage
08.12. D Köln - Underground
10.12. S Stockholm - Debaser Medis
11.12. S Göteborg - Brewhouse
12.12. S Malmö - KB

Aussie Update - 22/03/08

Tours 2008

Kataklysm
23rd March - Metalstock Festival, Sydney ALL AGES
25th March - Amplifier Bar, Perth 18+ - The Furor, Arterial Hemorrhage
27th March - Fowlers Live, Adelaide ALL AGES - Double Dragon, Grotesque
28th March - Club Phoenix, Brisbane 18+ - Dawn Of Azazel, Grotesque, The Dead
29th March - East Brunswick Club, Melbourne 18+ - Dawn Of Azazel, Grotesque, Aphotic Dawn

Porcupine Tree
25th April - The Metro, Melbourne
26th April - The Enmore, Sydney
27th April - The Tivoli, Brisbane
www.myspace.com/porcupinetree

Saxon 2008:
30th April - Japan, Tokyo at East
1st May - Japan, Nagoya at Club Quattro
2nd May - Japan, Osaka at Club Quattro
5th May - Australia, Brisbane at The Arena w/ LORD
6th May - Australia, Melbourne at Billboard w/ LORD
7th May - Australia, Sydney at The Forum w/ LORD

Soilwork Aussie tour:
13th May - Brisbane: The Arena
14th May - Sydney: The Manning Bar
15th May - Melbourne: Hi-Fi
17th May - Adelaide: Night Train
18th May - Perth: Metro Fremante

Mayhem Touring Australia Here are the OZ/NZ Tour Dates:
17th May - Auckland: The Transmission Room, supported by NAZXUL
20th May - Melbourne: Billboard The Venue, supported By NAZXUL
22nd May - Sydney: The Metro Theatre, (All ages) supported by NAZXUL & LYCANTHIA
23rd May - Brisbane: The Arena, supported by NAZXUL & PORTAL
24th May - Adelaide: Fowler's Live, (All ages) supported by Nazxul
25th May - Perth: The Amplifier Bar, supported by Nazxul

Children of Bodom Australia / New Zealand Tour
20th June - Brisbane - The Arena (all ages)
22nd June - Melbourne - The Palace Theatre
24th June - Sydney - The Enmore Theatre (all ages)
26th June - Auckland - The Transmission Room (all ages)
28th June - Adelaide - Fowler's Live (all ages)
30th June - Perth - Capitol Theatre

Cog Sharing Space Tour with Jakob
15th May 2008 - Palace Theatre (formally Metro) MELBOURNE, Victoria
16th May 2008 - Enmore Theatre (Licensed all ages) SYDNEY, New South Wales
17th May 2008 - The Tivoli Brisbane, Queensland
22nd May 2008 - Hotel Great Northern BYRON BAY, New South Wales
23rd May 2008 - Coolangatta Hotel COOLANGATTA, Queensland
24th May 2008 - Powerhouse TOOWOOMBA, Queensland
25th May 2008 - Sands Tavern MAROOCHYDORE, Queensland
28th May 2008 - Wollongong Uni Bar WOLLONGONG, New South Wales
29th May 2008 - Uni of Canberra CANBERRA, Australian Capital Territory
30th May 2008 - Newcastle Panthers NEWCASTLE WEST, New South Wales
31st May 2008 - Sawtell RSL SAWTELL, New South Wales
5th June 2008 - Wrest Point Showroom HOBART, Tasmania
6th June 2008 - Siroccos BURNIE, Tasmania
7th June 2008 - Batman Falkner LAUNCESTON, Tasmania
8th June 2008 - Batman Falkner (all ages) LAUNCESTON, Tasmania
11th June 2008 - The Pub BENDIGO, Victoria
12th June 2008 - The Gov (Licensed all ages) HINDMARSH, South Australia
13th June 2008 - The Gov (Over 18s only) HINDMARSH, South Australia
14th June 2008 - The Edge Hotel BURONGA, New South Wales
17th June 2008 - Bundy Sugarland BUNDABERG, Queensland
18th June 2008 - Great Western ROCKHAMPTON, Queensland
19th June 2008 - McGuires Hotel MACKAY, Queensland
20th June 2008 - Bombay Rock TOWNSVILLE, Queensland
21st June 2008 - Brothers Leagues MANUNDA, Queensland
www.myspace.com/cogrockmusic

Creech
March 29th - Musicland Fawkner, Victoria
June 13th - The Enigma Bar Adelaide, South Australia
June 20th - The Barwon Club Geelong, Victoria
June 27th - The Excelsior Hotel Sydney, New South Wales
June 5th - The Bandroom Bendigo, Victoria
July 19th - Federation Square Melbourne, Victoria
www.myspace.com/creechband

Local Gigs - New South Wales

Local metal band DRED will be playing their 1st show for 2008 at The Harp Hotel, 900 Princes Hwy, Tempe with Ironwood and Bane of Isildur this Saturday, the 29th of March 2008. Starts at 8:00 PM, Cost is $10.

Sabretung, Aeturnus Dominion, The Dark Gift and Indisperse.
10 April - Cambridge Hotel Newcastle West, New South Wales
$5 entry
www.myspace.com/aeturnusdominion
www.myspace.com/sabretung

SLAUGHTER IN THE LEWISHAM 2008
Saturday May 10th - 1PM. $12 entry
Featuring:

DRED
HERRATIK
KILLRAZOR
Sword Toward Self
Head Hammer
Intrepid
Mother Eel
Stimulust
Daemon Featol Harvest
Anotnomasia

794 Parramatta rd Lewisham 2049
Lewisham Hotel

www.myspace.com/rockfeastlewisham

Grim Demise, Sabretung, Black Asylum and Darker Half
31st May - Cambridge Hotel (2 Shows, one All Ages, one 18+) Newcastle, New South Wales
$10 entry

Local Gigs - Victoria

The Central Club
29 March - 283 Swan St., Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria
Cost : 15.00
Be'lakor
Nevetherym
Black Like Vengeance
Leicohtica
Darkest Dawn Kightmare

Mammal:
29th March - Calder Park Raceway/ Crusty Demons of Dirt Melbourne, Victoria
4th April -The Peninsula Lounge w/Sleep Parade Moorooduc, Victoria
5th April - Eastbank Centre - nleash The BeastShepparton, Victoria
10th April - The Evelyn Hotel Melbourne, Victoria
www.myspace.com/mammaltheband

Lord
26th April - The Corner Hotel Melbourne, Victoria with; Crimsonfire, Divine Ascension, and Vampora.
www.myspace.com/lordaus

Local Gigs - South Australia

Mammal
11th April - Electric Light Hotel w/BUSHIDO ADELAIDE, South Australia
12th April - Off the Tracks Festival (ALL AGES) Streaky Bay, South Australia

That's all for now, more to come soon!
Mat

Mental Infestation's Myspace Recommendations! Pt 1

I'm sure most people that use Myspace have at one point got sick of all the band friend requests
and most will have probably banned them from being able to add them. However, there are some great artists to be discovered on Myspace, so here are some of my favourites that I think you should check out!

SubVerSi0N

SubVerSi0N are probably my favourite unsigned Myspace band of the moment. Currently they're a two piece looking for more band members to complete the line up, but if they sound this good with 2, I just can't wait to hear what they sound like when they're a complete unit.

They're so good, that when I listened to their latest track on Myspace, the earth moved! It measured 5.2 on the richter scale.

Recommended Track: Te Odio

Peter Wichers

Peter Wichers formally of Soilwork fame has his own page for his latest musical projects on Myspace. He wrote the music for the Nuclear Blast Allstars second release Out Of The Dark, with a whole bunch of vocalists from the label. A fantastic song writer, I'm desperate to hear what else he has up his sleeve!

Recommended Track: The Dawn Of All

Smokescreen

Smokescreen are one of the most exciting metal acts in the UK at the moment, having played with the likes of Prong, Mendeed, Breed 77 and Panic Cell! They're about to head out on an English tour in the next few weeks, so make sure you check them out!

Recommended Track: Hatred Comes

Drag The Lake

Drag The Lake are the best thing out of Nottingham since Robin Hood! If you like your metal with a bit of extra bite, then these guys will do the job, and do it well! Another band who have a few tour dates coming up in England, so make sure you get yourself along!

Recommended Track: Among Nettles And Broken Earth

Blinded Colony

Blinded Colony are one of my favourite new artists out of Sweden. There are a lot of really good bands continuing to come out of Scandinavia, and these are definitely one of the best! After downloading Bedtime Prayers, I instantly went out and bought the album, which I listen to on a regular basis!

Recommended Track: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Warrel Dane

Nevermore vocalist Warrel Dane has teamed up with ex-Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers, Matt Wickland, formally of Himsa, Nevermore bassist Jim Sheppard and Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren to create what is Warrel Dane's debut solo album. The album, which is titled Praises to The War Machine, is to be released through Century Media Records in Europe on April 29, and in North America (and presumably the rest of the world) on May 13.

It is compiled of 12 tracks, including a cover of a song by The Sisters of Mercy, and a Paul Simon cover aswell as one song featuring the one and only Jeff Loomis of Nevermore and another featuring James Murphy, who is known for his work with Death, Obituary and Testament, amongst others.

Here's the track listing:
01. When We Pray
02. Messenger (featuring Jeff Loomis)
03. Obey
04. Lucretia My Reflection (The Sisters of Mercy cover)
05. Let You Down
06. August
07. Your Chosen Misery
08. The Day The Rats Went to War (featuring James Murphy)
09. Brother
10. Patterns (Paul Simion cover)
11. This Old Man
12. Equilibrium

I must admit, I didn't find out about this today, and being a fan of Nevermore and Warrel Dane's vocals, I am rather interested in hearing how this goes and the type of music it has produced.. But, of coarse, it's yet another album to wait for, so hopefully it'll be one worth the wait. The Warrel Dane Myspace is void of any songs or previews it seems (only having Nevermore songs up to tease us), but hopefully it'll give us some insight into how the album will sound sometime in the future. Otherwise, this is a release I may just pick up and either love it, or hate it.

Soilwork Parts Ways With Guitarist Ola Frenning

This statement comes from their Myspace blog:

"Swedish metallers Soilwork, who recently completed the Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage U.S. tour in support of their new album Sworn to a Great Divide, have decided to part ways with guitarist Ola Frenning.

It was felt that Ola resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled.

Sworn To A Great Divide is Soilwork's fastest seller and the live demand for the band is growing. They intend to play everywhere and fulfill the album's potential.

Vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid says: "It was a very difficult decision to make because Ola has been our friend and bandmate for a very long time."

The decision will not affect any of Soilwork's plans. Guitarist David Andersson will fill in on their upcoming Finnish/Baltic tour as well as the "Scum Of The Earth" U.S. tour with Throwdown. The band will then tour Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia before returning to Europe for festivals and a headlining U.S. tour in the fall.

Ola Frenning comments: "After 10 years, seven albums and several world wide tours, we've realized that we have developed in different directions and have a different set of values, profession wise. The disagreements have reached their peak and it has become an untenable situation. The band's solution is that I part ways with them so that I won't be in the way for the future plans of Soilwork. However, since I'm not gonna be on the road (at least for a while), I will now be able to continue with my songwriting and producing at another level. For further information, visit www.myspace.com/olafrenning. The page will be updated in the near future. Cheers to ya all... And thanks for making these 10 years with the band memorable.""

So is this the end of the mighty Soilwork? I doubt it. It may be the second departure in as many albums, but there are many bands who have constant line up changes that survive. If anything, the departure of Peter Wicher was a more significant shift for the band, since he was pretty much their backbone being the main songwriter.

I personally want to wish Ola the best of luck in the future, and I'm really looking forward to hearing what he does next!

Bloodstock Open Air (BOA) 2008

Bloodstock Open Air Festival (BOA) is now into its 3rd year out in the open, and 7th year as one of the best metal festivals in the UK. The first 4 years were indoor events, but as the festival has gained momentum, it has moved from the darkness into the light of day! The festival takes place on the 15th, 16th and 17th of August at Catton Hall, Derbyshire.

This is the metal festival to go to if you want to hear the more brutal and underground artists playing in the UK (if you want mainstream, get yourself to Download).

The line up has yet to be completed, but from the artists already announced, it looks like it will be one hell of an event! So far, the bands confirmed for BOA 2008 are:

COMMUNIC

EVILE
OPETH
SAINT DEAMON
ELUVEITIE
HELLOWEEN
PRIMAL FEAR
TYR
PRO-JEKT
AT THE GATES
DIMMU BORGIR
MOONSORROW
SWALLOW THE SUN
CLOUDSCAPE
MOB RULES
SOILWORK
KATAKLYSM
OVERKILL

I would kill to get along to this event (and trying my hardest to make sure I can)! I'm most excited about Opeth, Soilwork and Swallow The Sun, and can't wait to see what the full line up looks like!

Personally, I would love to see Bloodbath, Blinded Colony, Paradise Lost, Novembre and Sonic Syndicate playing this year. The last three I'd love on the bill are playing the German festival Summer Breeze in the same week, so I'm keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that they all confirm for BOA too!

For more information, check out their website:

http://www.bloodstock.uk.com

Or their Myspace profile:

http://www.myspace.com/bloodstock

Release/Recording/Tour News

Opeth are due to release a totally re-vamped mix if their classic album Still Life. Re-mixed by Jens Borgen at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden, who has previously worked with Katatonia on a few occasions aswell as Opeth, Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, Paradise Lost, Soilwork and several other well-known bands. The release is set to be a 2 disc special edition including a DVD with a 5.1 mix of the album. Although Release information is a little unclear, some sites say 31st of March while others say April 1st, It's certain to be released sometime around then.

As Mikael Åkerfeldt says on the official Opeth forum regarding the album, "It's actually a completely new mix in 5.1. It was very wierd listening to it. There were leads in there I've never heard before that are on the mastertapes but I can't hear them on the album, until now."

And for those of you living under a rock, Opeth are also set to release their latest studio effort, named Watershed. Also under construction at Fascination Street Studios, it's due out on Roadrunner in late May for some countries and early June for others. With a new member, Fredrik Åkesson on board to replace the duties of the departed Peter Lindgren.
The albums contins 7 original works, one b-side was recorded along with 3 covers.


Bloodbath are soon to release a DVD of their 2005 Wacken Open Air concert. Set for release on April 21st! The lineup for the gig including Anders and Jonas of Katatonia, as always, Dan Swanö, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Martin 'Axe' Axenrot.

Unleashed

Unleashed are currently working on their 9th studio album, named Hammer Battalion! Info on release dates and song titles are yet to be released.


Night Eternal will be the title of the new Moonspell album. Recorded in January 2008, due for release in May, no exact dates have been set yet. Tue Madsen, who has previously worked with the band on the Under Satanae project, will be producing Night Eternal.

From Moonspell's official site "Night Eternal will be a quite intense album itself, darkly atmospheric yet really heavy and catchy. In Night eternal expect nothing but great guitar riffs, breathtaking songs and epic atmospheres."


Swedish Doom metal band Candlemass have confirmed a bunch of American tour dates for May and june '08. Check out http://www.candlemass.se for more details.


My personal thoughts on the releases, well, more or less I am bloody excited!!! I was sceptical at first about the Still Life re-master, but it sounds like it could be very interesting from Mikael's comments on it, and I have also been anticipating a new Opeth album since just after the release of Ghost Reveries. Same goes for Unleashed and Moonspell basically. They're all bands that just keep getting better in my eyes.