AVENIE is a Melodic Death metal band from Tampere, Finland. After doing some line-up changes, they are now working on their second album and we’re eager to hear how it’s going! We got a chance to interview Avenie’s guitarist Matti Auerkallio.
1.First things first. Tell us about your summer?
Well, as far as Avenie is concerned, we’ve been pretty calm on the surface. Underneath, we spent some time getting the new guys into shape so we wouldn’t completely embarrace ourselves in the Sauna Open Air afterparty gig we did. We also immediately dug into the new material, I see no point in learning all the old songs after changes like these within the band.
The reactivated MINISTRY, SCORPIONS, HAMMERFALL, AMON AMARTH and GAMMA RAY are the newly confirmed bands for next year’s edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 2-4, 2012 in Wacken, Germany. Also scheduled to appear are U.D.O. and CRADLE OF FILTH.
MINISTRY‘s “farewell” tour, the “C-U-LaTour”, started its North American leg on March 26, 2008 and concluded in Chicago on May 12, 2008. The final date on the trek took place on July 18, 2008 at the Tripod in Dublin, Ireland. During the performance, MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen repeatedly reaffirmed that it would indeed be the last-ever MINISTRY show. Due to a large demand for tickets, an extra gig was added at the Tripod on July 19, 2008. “Adios… Puta Madres”, a live album featuring material culled from MINISTRY‘s “final” tour, was released in 2009 on CD and DVD.
When asked in a 2007 interview prior to “C U LaTouR 2008” if there would ever be a big MINISTRY reunion in 15 years, Jourgensen said, “I don’t think so, my friend. First of all, who am I gonna get to reunionize with? I’m the fucking band. So unless I make a reunion with myself… Whatever, no. I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on. Literally, I’m booked solid for the next 15 months. I know exactly what I’m doing for the next 15 months, plus I’ve got a record label [Thirteenth Planet Records], I’ve got a lot of other bands I need to baby-sit for. There would be no time, need, or inclination to every get some kind of redundancy going on.”
Vocalist Jens Broman has decided to leave Swedish thrashers DARKANE. His replacement is Lawrence Mackrory, who sang on the band’s debut album, “Rusted Angel” (1999), and made a guest appearance on the song “Chaos vs. Order” on DARKANE‘s 2002 effort “Expanding Senses” (2002).
Lawrence will make his live comeback with DARKANE on September 20 in Strasbourg, France at the opening show of the group European headlining tour, with support from DESTINITY and DEVASTATING ENEMY.
Commented Broman: “[My leaving DARKANE] has to do with personal issues. At the moment my life is in a phase where I’m unable to find inspiration for new adventures with DARKANE and therefore it’s best for me to pass on the mic. I will miss you all, the tours, all you dedicated fans and most of all my band mates. But know that DARKANE have found a superb replacement in Lawrence Mackrory. Good luck and stay metal!”
Added Mackrory: “It is with great pleasure I can finally announce my return to DARKANE. I have been waiting for this opportunity to appear and finally the time was right for me to continue what we started 13 years ago. Both Andreas and Jens have done a tremendous job with the band, which will keep me on my toes while performing live, for sure.
“The first time I met Peter, Christofer, Klas and Jörgen was when they arrived at the studio in my hometown in Uppsala to record the debut album, ‘Rusted Angel’. We had only spoken on the phone before and yet there I was, ready to record an album with them. After my departure, we remained good friends but didn’t really see much of each other since we lived in different parts of the country. Now the chemistry between the five of us is more vibrant than ever and I can’t wait to go on tour and perform songs from all five albums.
“The new DARKANE album is already in the works and I can guarantee that all fans, both old and new, will enjoy this record. So far the demos sound awesome, let’s just leave it at that.
I’m looking forward to finally meeting all DARKANE fans on the road.”
Commented DARKANE: “We are all very excited about the future, and are also working hard on the new album. We recently finished building the studio that we’ve been working on over the last 18 months, and we are very satisfied.”
Mackrory‘s new gig with DARKANE with not affect his position in F.K.Ü. and he will remain an active member of both bands.
New rehearsal footage of DARKANE with Mackrory on vocals can be seen below. Source: Blabbermouth.net
IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson has slammed Anders Breivik, the man responsible for killing 77 people in Norway, as an “asshole.”
Breivik, a white native Norwegian, was described by the Guardian as “a Christian fundamentalist with a deep hatred of multiculturalism, of the left, and of Muslims.”
During IRON MAIDEN‘s concert last night (Friday, August 5) at the O2 Arena in London, England, Dickinson introduced the song “Blood Brothers” by saying, “[IRON] MAIDEN is not just about [playing in places like] this now — MAIDEN is about everywhere in the world.
“There’s something [in our music and message] that unites people, and it doesn’t matter what color they are or what religion they are, or whether they are male or female or somewhere in between.
“We were in Belfast the other night [where you hear] all the bullshit about Protestant, Catholic, this and that and the other. And I just said, ‘Look, this is a safe house, this is our house, this is MAIDEN‘s house, everybody’s fucking welcome and we don’t turn anybody away, no matter who they are. Except maybe… We were in Oslo the other week [where] the most recent, bullshit, appalling atrocity wasn’t committed by a Muslim, it was committed by somebody who called themselves a Christian — the asshole over there, really. Unbelievable.”
Fan-filmed video footage of Bruce‘s speech can be seen below. Source: Blabbermouth.net
Empires of Eden creator and guitarist Stu Marshall is featured on the upcoming track to support cancer research. The track will be available soon.
From Stu: “Cancer has touched my family and devastates the lives of thousands. It’s a small contribution we can make but something the metal community can get behind.”
The project is created by Richard Ososki (Ofsoski) and features: SINGERS: Henrik Flyman (Evil Masquerade) : Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica, Northern Kings) : Mats Leven (Therion, Yngwie Malmsteen) : Apollo Papathanasio (Evil Masquerade, Firewind, Spiritual Beggars): Snowy Shaw (Therion, Mercyful Fate, Dream Evil): Tony Mills (TNT, Shy): Silvio Masaro (Vanishing Point): Richard Ofsoski (Ofsoski, Sedition)
BASS GUITAR: Mat Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner, Voodoo Circle, Rock Meets Classic)
GUITARS: Henrik Flyman (Evil Masquerade) : Stu Marshall (Empires Of Eden, Dungeon ) : Glen Drover (Megadeth, Testament, Eidolon)
The organizers of the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise are planning another metal cruise in the fall of 2012. Billed as “the world’s most extreme metal cruise,” Barge To Hell will set sail from Miami, Florida to the Bahamas and back. A total of 40 thrash, death and black metal bands will perform during the event, which will have an expected attendance of 2,000. More information will be made available on the official Barge To Hellweb site on August 8.
Check out a trailer for Barge To Hell below. Source: Blabbermouth.net
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Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 