Photo by Mirjam Vikingstad

Norwegian extreme progressive metal band ENSLAVED have launched a worldwide fan video contest for the track “Ethica Odini” off their new album, Axioma Ethica Odini, due out in North America on September 28th.

“We wanted to do something else for the album video this time around,” states ENSLAVED guitarist Ivar Bjørnson. “The track ‘Ethica Odini’ opens the album and stood out as the choice for making a video. Earlier, we have done videos more or less by ourselves (’Isa’), semi-professionally (’Path To Vanir,’ ‘Essence’), and all-the-way-glossy-pro (’The Watcher’). Now we are really curious to see what our listeners can conjure up out there: an entire new angle and blank sheets is always a good thing in the ENSLAVED universe! This is a way to interact directly with our listeners, which feels very right – as we seem to have the most involved listeners in the first place. We can’t begin to express the appreciation for the support we have been shown through the run-up to this release! May the best director win!”

Interested fans can obtain details here. Contest ends Thursday, September 30th.

FIRST PLACE

· Video will be uploaded to ENSLAVED’s YouTube channel and branded as an “official” video for “Ethica Odini.”
· ENSLAVED will use the video in a live setting.
· Winner will receive ALL VERSIONS of Axioma Ethica Odini, including the limited edition wooden box, autographed by the band.
· Two guest list spots + a Meet & Greet session with ENSLAVED at a live concert nearest to the winner’s city of residence.
· Band merchandise.
· A special “thank you” video from ENSLAVED sent directly to the winner.

SECOND PLACE

· Video will be uploaded to ENSLAVED’s YouTube channel and branded as an “official” video for “Ethica Odini.”
· A special “thank you” video from ENSLAVED sent directly to the winner..
· Two guest list spots + a Meet & Greet session with ENSLAVED at a live concert nearest to the winner’s city of residence.
· Band merchandise.

THIRD PLACE

· Video will be uploaded to ENSLAVED’s YouTube channel and branded as an “official” video for “Ethica Odini.”
· A special “thank you” video from ENSLAVED sent directly to the winner..
· Band merchandise.

Singapore grinders WORMROT have been forced to postpone their New York City show tonight (September 2) with labelmates Order of Ennead at Santo’s Party House. According to a press release, the band has postponed the start of the “Abusing U.S.” tour due to visa delays. WORMROT will now be arriving in the USA on September 4 and will be kicking off the tour on September 6 in Cleveland, Ohio. The New York show will be rescheduled for a later date.

Commented WORMROT frontman Arif Rot: “I’m off to the airport this Friday night to catch our early-as-fuck flight to the States the next day. Everything has been prepared and we are pumped as fuck to start abusing the USA. LET’S FUCKING GO!”

For more information, visit WORMROT’s official MySpace.

Heavy rock warriors SLOUGH FEG have posted two new tracks over at Stereogum. “The 95 Thesis” and “Free Market Barbarian” will be featured in their forthcoming full-length, The Animal Spirits, which is due out this fall through Cruz Del Sur Music.

The Animal Spirits track listing:

01. Trick the Vicar
02. The 95 Thesis
03. Materia Prima
04. Free Market Barbarian
05. Lycanthropic Fantasies
06. Ask the Casket
07. Heavyworlder
08. The Tell-Tale Heart
09. Kon-Tiki
10. Second Coming
11. Tactical Air-War (Feat. Bob Wright of Brocas Helm)

NWOBHM underdogs TANK will release a brand new studio album, entitled War Machine, via Metal Mind Productions on October 25th in Europe and December 7th in the US (via MVD). The production was handled by Pedro Ferreira and the recording was done at Steve Harris’ Barnyard Studios. A demo version of a new song, “Judgement Day,” is available for streaming on their MySpace.

The latest incarnation of TANK, featuring Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans on guitar alongside new recruits Doogie White, Chris Dale and Dave ‘Grav’ Cavill, are back in action and ready to establish themselves once more as one of Britain’s finest bands. The band’s seventh studio album is currently in the pre-production stage and the band states: “We think it’s going to be our best album so far.”

Due to the changed line-up, War Machine will combine all the influences and experience of individual band members. Says Cliff Evans: “We intend to make this a classic British rock/metal album that every fan should have in their collection.”

Full details on the artwork and tracklist to be announced soon.

America’s biggest metal party of the year, MARYLAND DEATHFEST, has announced three more bands to its already impressive line-up. Grindcore supergroup Lock Up, featuring vocalist Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Disfear), bassist Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Venomous Concept, Brujeria) and drummer Nick Barker (Old Man’s Child); Norway’s blackened thrashers Aura Noir and reactivated doom rock group Goatsnake will be performing at the three day festival in Baltimore, set to take place May 27 – 29, 2011. Other bands set to perform include Exhorder, Cripple Bastards, Repugnant and Neurosis.

For more information, visit the official Maryland Deathfest website.

Seminal New York avant-garde group SWANS will be headlining Holland’s Roadburn Festival, set to take place April 14 – April 17, 2011. Featuring band members Michael Gira (original SWANS), Norman Westberg (original SWANS), Christoph Hahn (mid-period SWANS and most Angels of Light ), Phil Puleo (final SWANS tour and most of Angels of Light), Chris Pravdica (Flux Information Sciences / Services/ Gunga Din) and Thor Harris (Angels of Light, currently Shearwater), SWANS will headline Roadburn on Saturday, 16 April 2011.

Comments the festival organizers: “Roadburn Festival regards SWANS as the single biggest influence on the burgeoning doom/sludge/drone scene aside from the obvious likes of Black Sabbath. SWANS‘ canon of work can be heard and felt throughout the entire festival and in most of the bands invited to perform. It is a massive understatement to say that we are looking forward to the formidable and brutal sonic waves and the extreme volume levels that SWANS will bring to the festival. We are still pinching ourselves that the fever dream of this highly anticipated resurrection has become a reality.”

For more information on Roadburn, visit their official website.

West Coast heavy sludge act Kowloon Walled City have just announced that they’ll be terrorizing the East Coast this fall with Brooklyn’s BATILLUS.

KWC are also about to release a 3-way split with FIGHT AMP and LADDER DEVILS. For more info and to hear a sample of KWC particular brand of brutality, go to inthewalledcity.com.

Also, to discover KWC’s favorite beer and gear, check out this video GEAR TOUR at Guitar World.

EAST COAST TOUR WITH BATILLUS:
Sat 9/18 NYC – Cake Shop w/Riff Cannon (early show)
Sun 9/19 Boston, MA – Great Scott w/Disappearer, Riff Cannon
Mon 9/20 Providence, RI – AS220 w/Tongue Dynasty, Witch King
Tue 9/21 Baltimore, MD – Hexagon w/Salome, Oak
Wed 9/22 Pittsburgh, PA – Garfield Artworks
Thu 9/23 Knoxville, TN – The Pilot Light w/New Brutalism
Fri 9/24 Atlanta, GA – Eyedrum – Forward to the Apocalypse Fest
Sat 9/25 New Orleans, LA – Koenji House (2608 Magazine @ 3rd) w/Thou
Sun 9/26 Baton Rouge, LA – Rachel Haus w/Thou
Mon 9/27 Birmingham, AL – Magic City Wholesale w/Black Hole Kids
Tue 9/28 Raleigh, NC – DIVEbar Raleigh w/Machete! (free!)
Wed 9/29 Chapel Hill, NC – The Reservoir w/Machete!
Thu 9/30 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter w/Lord of Fire
Fri 10/1 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie w/Fight Amp, Ladder Devils
Sat 10/2 Brooklyn, NY – The Acheron w/Liturgy

Nergal in New York City. (Photo by Jimmy Hubbard)

Behemoth’s guitarist/vocalist Nergal, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, has just found out he needs a marrow transplant to fight this disease. The guitarist is currently being treated at the hematology division of the Gdansk Medical University Hospital.

As a result of his illness, all of the band’s previously announced shows, including those in Russia and the Baltic states in September/October and the U.S. tour with Watain in November, have been canceled.

Behemoth’s record label Metal Blade has released the following statement: "In light of this he wants to remind everyone about the need to be on the marrow registry. The more people get tested and donate, the more of a chance for life there is for him and people in the same situation. Behemoth and Metal Blade would like to thank everyone for their support and well wishes during this difficult time. The best thing we can all do right now is learn about the marrow donation process, not only help save one of metals leaders, but to also help save countless others out there struggling with the same disease."

To learn more about how you can register to donate marrow check out:
http://www.marrow.org.

Fans wanting to help out, register for the marrow program, or have questions on running a marrow drive may contact the organization Music Saves Lives by email at iCare@musicsaveslives.com or visit Music Saves Lives at http://www.musicsaveslives.org.

Bonded By Blood

This past August, Pomona, California’s young thrashers Bonded By Blood unleashed their crushing sophomore full-length, Exiled to Earth (Earache). The 11-song, 42-minute album displays the Bonded by Blood’s ever-growing musical maturity, as the band—vocalist Jose Baralles, guitarists Alex Lee and Juan Juarez, drummer Carlos Regalado and bassist Jerry Garcia—rose to the occasion and wrote Exiled to Earth as a concept album. The story revolves around the struggle of human beings in the future against an alien species known as the Crong, who’s main goal is to exterminate humans and use their bodies to sustain their own lives.

We were curious to find out where a bunch of young longhairs looked for inspiration for such an ambitious project. So we asked guitarist Alex Lee to list five of his favorite concept albums.

“What really interests me about all these albums is the fact that they are all original stories,” says Lee. “What makes them even better is how they construct each song to go with the story. That’s the main idea of a good concept album: a good story, good music to accompany it and good overall construction. If you have the elements of all these things, then you’re bound to have a good concept album.” —Henry Yuan

Queensrÿche – Operation Mindcrime, 1988 (EMI)
“I like the fact that it’s so original; and it’s one of the first concept albums to pop up. With a story dealing with a drug addict joining an assassination society and discovering his true love and all, it’s an original metal opera story.”

Dream Theater – Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, 1999 (Elektra)
“Being an instrumental/progressive [metal] fan, this had to make my top. Its story involves a man discovering his past life through (more…)

Arild M. Torp (left) and Sindre Solem; Photo by Return to the Pit

To lead up to our forthcoming coverage of this year’s epic Hole in the Sky Festival in Bergen Norway, where Obliteration will be sharing the stage with the likes of Venom, Autopsy and Cathedral, MetalKult reached out to Obliteration guitarists Arild M. Torp and Sindre Solem (who also handles vocals) to list the five albums that influenced them the most. Read on to discover the source of Obliteration’s unconventional and necro riffing.

Autopsy – Mental Funeral, 1991 (Peaceville)
“The most ‘obvious’ album on our list. It’s no secret that we in Obliteration are hugely inspired by Autopsy and Eric Cutler/Danny Coralles’ extremely sick and twisted guitar styles. Their guitar sound is just about perfect, the leads are filled with horror but yet they’re epic and bluesy at the same time. Their variation of soulful doomy riffs, razor fast obscenities and just plain weirdness is priceless and unlike anything we’ve heard—ever. All hail!”

Darkthrone – Goatloard, 1996 (Moonfog Productions)
“Darkthrone’s weirdest album for sure, with highly original riffs and structures. We enjoy the version without vocals the best so we can worship the twisted and spacey riffs to the max [This version is featured in the band's Frostland Tapes compilation released in 2008]. Darkthrone’s death metal era was unique in many ways; (more…)