Swedish black metallers MARDUK have been forced to push back the European release date of their much-anticipated DVD, "Funeral Marches And Warsongs", to late February. The disc will surface in the U.S through The End Records and South America through Hellion Records.

According to a posting on the band's web site, the delay was caused by "problems with the printer."

Signed copies of the DVD can be obtained through the group's own Blooddawn Productions at this location:http://www.marduk.nu/marduk/news/News.htm#

The long-delayed disc includes, among other features, a live show recorded in Paris on the European leg of the "World Funeral" tour as well as footage of the band's reunion with former vocalist Joakim Göthberg during their appearance at the Party.San Open Air festival in Germany in August 2003.

"Funeral Marches And Warsongs" (view cover here) track listing:

Live at La Loco in Paris, France, Paris - April 9, 2003:

01. Blackcrowned
02. With Satan and Victorious Weapons
03. Azrael
04. Wolves
05. World Funeral
06. Hearse
07. Bleached Bones
08. Of Hells Fire
09. Darkness It Shall Be
10. Fistfucking Gods Planet

Live in Katowice, Poland - April 5, 2003:

01. Blackcrowned
02. With Satan and Victorious Weapons
03. Azrael
04. Wolves
05. World Funeral
06. Hearse
07. Bleached Bones
08. Of Hells Fire
09. Darkness It Shall Be
10. Fistfucking Gods Planet

Live at Party.San Open Air festival in Bad Berka, Germany - August 7, 2003:

01. Jesus Christ Sodomized
02. Baptism by Fire
03. The Black
04. Still Fucking Dead

Video clips:

01. Hearse (recorded April 2003)
02. World Funeral (recorded April 2003)

Band profile:

Marduk

G3, featuring YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, STEVE VAI and JOE SATRIANI, will release a tour DVD, entitled G3 Live In Denver, through Epic on February 24th. Epic will also release a G3 CD, Live: Rockin' In The Free World, on the same date.

Those pre-ordering these items through the online Sony Store, located at http://www.sonymusicstore.com/store/catalog/MerchandiseDetails.jsp'selectionId=075421 will receive a free G3 autographed DVD booket (for DVD orders) or CD booklet (for CD orders). Orders will ship to be received on or around February 24th.

The DVD, G3 Live In Denver, features among its contents, the following tracklisting: 'Satch Boogie', 'The Extremist', 'Starry Night', 'Midnight', 'The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing', 'I Know You're Here', 'Juice', 'I'm The Hell Outta Here', 'Evil Eye', 'Baroque And Roll', Acoustic Guitar Solo, 'Adagio', 'Far Beyond The Sun', 'Rockin' In The Free World', 'Little Wing' and 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)'. Also featured is a Play Concert Set List, Audio Select and bonus features.

The CD, G3 Live: Rockin' In The Free World, features the following tracklisting: CD1 - 'The Extremist', 'Crystal Planet', 'Always With Me, Always With You', 'Midnight', 'The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing', 'You're Here', 'Reaping', 'Whispering A Prayer', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Trilogy Suite Op. 5', 'Red House', 'Fugue' and 'Finale'. CD2 - 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)', 'Little Wing' and 'Rockin' In The Free World'.

OPETH main songwriter and guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt recently spoke to Wichita's F5 about the group's recently released live DVD, "Lamentations - Live At Shepherds Bush Empire". Asked what he thought the first time he saw the finished product, Mikael said, "I was nervous. I thought it was going to be shit. But I was happily surprised. I was surprised about the way it looked and just the way I looked. I didn't look like a fat blob as I expected. I think it's a very good DVD, especially compared to some low-budget DVDs by extreme metal bands such as ourselves. I think it fully represents us."

With regards to whether he was also nervous about the detailed documentary about the making of "Deliverance" and "Damnation", Mikael said, "Not so much. It's a friend of mine who did that documentary. I've known him since I was a kid and talking with him was ... we're such good friends that there was nothing weird about talking about intimate details. He was there, he knew all about all the stuff that went on. It was pretty easy and I like the fact that we exposed ourselves in a deeper way than many other bands."

Band profile:

Opeth

Dreamaker the band formed by the ex-Dark Moor members: Elisa C. Martín (vocals), Albert Maroto (guitar) and Jorge Sáez (drums) will release their debut album "Human Device" in March 2004. "Human Device" should not be described as a Power Metal album. The unique style of Elisa¹s voice is the bridge between Dark Moor and Dreamaker but Dreamaker prefers to offer a more direct music based on a powerful guitar sound and ambient keyboards, but persevering the good melodies in the vocal lines. "Human Device" could be called as a new step in the metal genre.

"Human Device" tracklist:
1. Dream Machines
2. The Eye Of War
3. Nightmares Factory
4. Without Angels
5. Killing
6. Enemy
7. Forever In Your Arms
8. Alone Again
9. Welcome To My Hell
10. Eternal Love
11. Crystaline Eyes
12. Awakening

Some song sample can be heard here:~
Killing - http://www.arisemetal.com/dreamkilling.mp3

Without Angels - http://www.arisemetal.com/dreamwith.mp3

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Band profile:

Dark Moor

Dan Slaughter, drummer of the Swedish "raw, bestial death metallers" DEATHWITCH, has issued the following statement regarding the group's most recent CD, "Violence Blasphemy Sodomy":

"I have received a lot of negative reactions from journalists and press because of a line on our promo CD of our latest album 'Violence Blasphemy Sodomy' released by Earache Records/Wicked World. The line is 'Note to Journalists: DEATHWITCH don't give a FUCK what you think."

"This was written by some one working for Earache/Wicked World and was NOT approved by me or the band. I didn't know a FUCK about this line until I got reactions on it and finally got the promo my self. So that line do not comes from the band! We hate it and of course we care about journalists and especially the underground scene. I think it's a very stupid thing to write on a promo CD. Then why send promos???

"So FUCK this shit and hail the metal of morbid death!"

Swedish black metallers MARDUK and former IRON MAIDEN singer PAUL DI'ANNO are the latest bands confirmed for this year's Rock The Nations Open Air Festival, scheduled to be held July 3-4 in Istanbul, Turkey. Also set to appear are U.D.O., PAIN OF SALVATION, AMON AMARTH and ASAFATED SOLITUDE. More confirmations will be announced soon.

Band profile:

Marduk

Swedish grindcore merchants NASUM won the Manifest award in the "Best Hard Rock/Punk" category for their most recent album, "Helvete".

The band beat out such impressive competition as ARCH ENEMY ("Anthems of Rebellion"), KATATONIA ("Viva Emptiness"), CULT OF LUNA ("The Beyond") and BURST ("Prey On Life").

The award ceremony took place at Debaser in Stockholm Thursday night (January 29).

The Manifest Awards are held by SOM (Svenska Oberoende Musikproducenter) (Swedish Independent Musicproducers), an organization that consists of over 100 record labels.

Last Friday (January 23), NASUM won the "P3 Guld" award from radio station P3 in the "Best Rock/Metal Album Of The Year" category. That award ceremony took place in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Band profile:

Nasum

GRIP INC., the forward-thinking metal outfit featuring Dave Lombardo (SLAYER, FANTOMAS), will release "Incorporated", their fourth studio album, on March 16 in the U.S. through SPV Records. The GRIP INC. lineup is rounded out by guitarist/composer/in-demand producer Waldemar Sorychta (LACUNA COIL, MOONSPELL) and vocalist Gus Chambers.

The track listing for "Incorporated" is as follows:

01. Curse (Of the Cloth)
02. The Answer
03. Prophecy
04. Endowment of Apathy
05. Enemy Mind
06. Skin Trade
07. (Built to) Resist
08. The Gift
09. Privilege
10. Blood of Saints
11. Man With No Insides

Sweden's KATATONIA have been confirmed for Athens Open Air 2004 festival in Athens, Greece. The one-off concert will take place on July 6.

Upcoming KATATONIA tour dates:

Feb. 04 - Klubi - Tampere, FIN
Feb. 05 - Lutakko - Jyväskylä, FIN
Feb. 06 - Loop - Oulu, FIN
Feb. 07 - Tavastia - Helsinki, FIN
Feb. 19 - John Dee - Oslo, NOR
Feb. 20 - Byscenen - Trondheim, NOR
Jun. 04 - BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend - Cleveland, OH
Jul. 06 - Athens Open-Air 2004 - Athens, GRE
Aug. 20 - Summer Breeze Open Air - Abtsgmünd, GER

As previously reported, KATATONIA have set a February 23 release date through Avantgarde Records for their two-disc compilation of all of their previously out-of-print mini-CDs, plus sampler tracks from old full-length albums and one unreleased track.

Titled "Brave Yester Days", the double CD will feature artwork by Agni Kaster and will be released in a digipack format together with a 16-page booklet.

KATATONIA are currently editing their first DVD, due later in the year. A Polish Cracow gig from April 2003 will be the main attraction of the disc, but there will also be more exclusive bonus footage to go along with it. In addition, one or two of the unreleased tracks from the "Viva Emptiness" sessions will also show up on the DVD.

Band profile:

Katatonia

Former DEATH/TESTAMENT guitarist James Murphy has reportedly secured a deal with Holland's Mascot Records for his upcoming all-star tribute to album being put together in memory of DEATH mainman Chuck Schuldiner.

The CD, said to be titled "Within The Mind", is tentatively scheduled to include contributions from SLIPKNOT guitarist Mick Thomson and bassist Paul Gray, MALEVOLENT CREATION/ex-SUFFOCATION drummer Dave Culross, ex-MALEVOLENT CREATION vocalist Brett Hoffmann and CKY guitarist Deron Miller. A late 2004 release is expected.

Band profile:

Death

Everybody, please go vote at http://www.onlinemetalawards.com/ , the vote will be closed on January 31st, so do what you can to promote your favourite metal website We need your help, so go and vote metalstorm as best website for 2003...

Thank you all...

Former STRATOVARIUS vocalist Timo Kotipelto has finalized the track listing for his second solo album, "Coldness", due this spring through Century Media Records.

Joining Timo during the recording sessions for the follow-up to 2002's "Waiting For The Dawn" (which was issued under the KOTIPELTO banner) were the following world-class musicians:

Janne Wirman (CHILDREN OF BODOM - keyboards)
Jari Kainulainen (STRATOVARIUS - bass)
Mirka Rantanen (THUNDERSTONE, TUNNELVISION - drums)
Mike Romeo (SYMPHONY X - guitars)
Juhani Malmberg (TUNNELVISION - guitars)

"Coldness" track listing:

01. Seeds Of Sorrow
02. Reasons
03. Around
04. Can You Hear The Sound
05. Snowbound
06. Journey Back
07. Evening's Fall
08. Coldness Of My Mind
09. Take Me Away
10. Here We Are

The recording sessions for "Coldness" were completed this fall/winter under the production guidance of Kotipelto. Mikko Karmila mixed the effort at Finnvox studios in Helsinki. The album's first single/video, "Reasons", will precede the full-length CD sometime this spring.

Saying that he doesn't like the term "solo album" because "I'm not playing any fucking solos ? it's just album of heavy metal!" Kotipelto added: " 'Coldness' sounds more modern compared to my first album. Of course, you can hear my early influences (IRON MAIDEN, BLACK SABBATH, QUEENSR?CHE) here and there, but I still absolutely think it sounds like my album.

"Musically, it's again traditional heavy metal ? not power metal or something like that. I also sing slightly differently compared to the way I did on the STRATOVARIUS albums. On my new album, my voice doesn't reach falsetto ."

Regarding the lyrics on the CD, Kotipelto said, "It was always my dream to release a concept album... I couldn't do that with STRATOVARIUS, so I fulfilled that dream with my first album, 'Waiting For The Dawn'. As some of you might know, it was the album about the Egyptian culture and so on. But the new lyrics on 'Coldness' are very far away from the 'warmness' of Egypt. I would say that new album's feeling is absolutely 'freezing' and it reflects my not-so-warm feelings from the past months and weeks."

"Of course, the cover art of the 'Coldness' and the pages of the CD booklet are all connected to the album title. The cover is 'freezing' and there is snow and things like that. Not such a typical heavy metal album cover ? there are no swords, fire or things like that."

Spanish death metallers AVULSED have inked a deal with Metal Age Productions.

According to an official press release, "after summer 2003 the band was pretty disappointed with AvantGarde's work and decided to break their contractual obligations with them and started to search for a new label. Four options were seriously considered (Crash, Blackend, Code666 & Metal Age) and after meticulously thinking about it, AVULSED decided to sign a deal with Slovakian label Metal Age Productions for the release of the band's fourth album. This decision might surprise everybody, since this label is the smallest one of the four considered, but at the same time it's the most involved one in the underground and has a vast experience with over 50 titles released so far and a growing and very promising future in front!!

"Actually, the band feels stronger than ever and after the big success of their latest work 'Yearning For The Grotesque', AVULSED is now working on 11 new songs to be recorded in July 2004 for an scheduled September release through Metal Age Productions. The new stuff is sure the most brutal, fastest and intense material ever done by AVULSED!! Shorter and more direct songs, but with the killer melodies that always characterized the band's style."

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Band profile:

Avulsed

The surviving members of the Norwegian black metal band WINDIR have issued a statement confirming reports that vocalist Terje "Valfar" Bakken was found dead on Saturday, January 17.

"Terje left his home Wednesday , when he did not return his family got worried and contacted the police. Saturday our greatest fear was confirmed. Terje was found dead at Reppastølen in the Sogndal valley. It seemed as if Terje was on his way to the family cabin at Fagereggi. Due to the cold weather and deep snow the trip became much harder than Terje expected. When he realized that he would not be able to reach the cabin, he tried to make his way back down. Unfortunately he did not make it. Terje was found just above Reppastølen. Forensic evidence says that Terje died of hypothermia. This tragic accident has made these times extremely difficult for his family, band members and friends.

"Terje was buried at Stedje church Tuesday .

"We hope you will respect his memory and let Terje's closest mourn in peace.

"A great man has passed away, but his music lives forever.

"Hváll, Steingrim, Sture, Strom & Righ."

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ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer recently spoke to Russia's Darkside e-Zine about the group's split with vocalist Matt Barlow during the recording sessions for their new album, "The Glorious Burden". Asked about Matt's official statement announcing his departure band ? in which he cited the tragic events of September 11, 2001 as a major factor in his decision ? Schaffer said, "I think that was really more of an excuse. There's no doubt that September 11 had a profound effect on all of us, but I think that was more of an excuse than anything. Things were going down for a few years with Matt, he was figuring out that he was not really comfortable with who he was pretending to be. Obviously that does not make for a strong partnership, which is the big difference between Tim and Matt. Tim is who he is, he is very comfortable with who he is, the life that he has chosen, he likes what he does, that's big difference. Matt was never like that, he was a pretty insecure person. Basically, I almost stopped after 9/11, I almost said, 'Fuck this!' The music business is a big fucking lie, it's a gigantic lie, that's what it is. It's an illusion, it's all bullshit, all this rock star fucking crap, the guitar hero crap, whatever, that's all it is. If you look at it from that standpoint, that is like, 'OK, yeah, that is just a big lie to meet the market that sells somebody's image or somebody's concept of the band or his own vision of the band, it's not very fulfilling.' To me, I decided that the whole reason that I do this is because I'm a songwriter, and my songs have had a profound impact on a lot of people's lives. I talk to the fans and they've told me about it. Let's put it this way: if I was just a guitar player, if I was just a performer, I would not do this, because there's nothing very gratifying about the music business. And as the songwriter, I get something out of it. I don't take the guitar very seriously, guitar is just a tool to write songs, ICED EARTH is a vehicle for my songs, that's all it's ever been from the beginning. So I decided, 'You know what? I'm gonna keep it going, because I have the songs.' Matt didn't have that, he wasn't a songwriter, he knew he wasn't a songwriter, he didn't have it in him. Matt didn't even come up with vocal melodies in the band, it was always me. So when you go out on stage and you're playing this rock star guy, it's a pretty shallow way of life. A lot of people may go, 'Oh, this is so great!' It's not so great, you know. You live out on the suitcase, you work hard, it's not easy and it's not always fun. If you're not getting anything out of it like that creative drive or creative outlet of being a songwriter, I wouldn't do that easier.

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Band profile:

Iced Earth