Metal Online Media

Release date: June 6
Genres: Progressive Death Metal
Label: Roadrunner

Around the time when Opeth signed with Roadrunner, I recall being very amused by the reaction of some fans who feared their rightfully beloved band would pass “go” and collect an obscene amount of money. Obviously that did not happen -- “Ghost Reveries” was released mixing their trademark “dark & light”-approach and all was as it should be. Opeth have always shown small hints of progression between their albums, incorporating a few new colours to their already broad palette. The progression this time is definitely incorporating influences from the '70s prog-rock scene, along with some more technical passages. In all fairness, neither of the new ingredients should alienate any fan of their previous couple of releases. Opeth have set themselves a very high standard and are hands down one of the most reliable bands around, without turning stale for that matter. “Watershed” somewhat surprisingly opens with the soft and beautiful “Coil”, only to go headfirst into “Heir Apparent”, which as far as I can recall features some of Åkerfeldt's darkest and deepest growling to date. The first proper taste of the new more progressive and technical ingredients are found in “The Lotus Eater”. It's not often that my jaw drops these days, but the first time I heard the band get to that jam-ish sounding section around the 6-minute mark, I had to hear it again. And again. And again. But as we all know, a funky section does not a great album make. Luckily, there're quite a few good tunes left after the third song.

However, an inherent problem for me with Opeth seems to be that while I can't classify any of their albums as less-than-good, I have a hard time considering any of them better-than-very-good, which would be around 8-8.5/10 for those of you hungry for numbers. Like many of their albums, “Watershed” is without any really obvious flaw, but it just starts to drag towards the end. I'm not overly crazy about “Hessian Peel” or “Porcelain Heart”, but neither of them are bad by any means. They just don't hit the spot, and I can't really point out a valid reason. Maybe it's just too much of the same, as amusing as that may sound since we're dealing with very progressive music. Perhaps I'm not meant to ever hear an Opeth album that pushes all my buttons, but I suppose “Watershed” isn't a bad fit after all. After all, it's a really good album and will probably make my Top 10 by the end of the year.

Decrepit Birth
...And Time Begins



Track Listing

* Prelude To The Apocalypse
* Condemned To Nothingness
* Thought Beyond Infinity
* The Infestation
* Rebirth Of Consciousness
* Shroud Of Impurity
* Concepting The Era
* Of Genocide
* ...And Time Begins



Here is one sick album, you simply do not want to miss. Decrepit Birth's 2003 release "...And Time Begins" Is one really sick piece of technical death metal. Some say death metal peaked in the 90s, but don't tell Decrepit Birth. They follow in the paths forged by the best of the 90s death metal pioneers, but manage to turn the intensity level up several notches and establish their rightful place amoung the greats that went before them. So just when you start thinking "So they sound like Suffocation, huh ?" put on "...And Time Begins", and prepare to be blown away.

The palm-mutted riffing is unbelievable fast, and there is no shortage of blast beats here. Bassist Derek Boyer is astounding, managing to keep the bass interesting amoung the devastating drumming of Tim Yeung. Make no mistake about it, this album is a mainline shot of adrenaline and ounce of freebase cocaine rolled into one. Real grit your teeth and grab your gun type music.

And the vocals are great too. Sure they are done in the classic "cookie monster" style, but if you don't like that go listen to Michael Bolton or something you fag. These are some of the sickest, deep, disturbing growls you've ever heard.

Although I didn't get this album right away when it came out, this is definitely one of the best new Death Metal to have come out recently. I highly recommend it.

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Slayer - "Still Reigning" DVD

Allright, I know the last time that I started to review this DVD, I ended up buying and reviewing The Wretched Spawn / Worm Infested Limited Edition instead, but before you start messaging me that I screwed up Slayer is not death metal, let me assure you that this DVD is highly worthwhile anyway. This is the original Reign In Blood era Slayer lineup playing what is probably the greatest thrash album ever recorded completely live. Kick Ass ? Hell Yes.

Original drummer Dave Lombardo returns to Slayer for this live performance and shows just exactly why he is regarded as the master of thrash drumming, influencing nearly every thrash and death metal drummer since including Paul of Cannibal Corpse. Right from the very first few seconds of "Angel Of Death", its obvious. Hold on this is gonna be intense! And intense it is, its hard to imagine any thrash album that was ever as relentlessly aggressive as Reign In Blood, and live Slayer is in their true element.

The Reign In Blood segments clock in at under half an hour, but its not like you are going to feel shorted. By the time the Blood falls down on the band during the finale "Raining Blood" you need a chance to catch your breath. There is plenty of bonus material on the DVD as well, but I think you will be content to watch Slayer rip through their entire Reign In Blood masterpiece a few thousand times before you'll feel the need to see something else. This is one of those rare performances that you just don't get bored from watching again and again.

One other thing that really stands out about this DVD is that the cinematography is absolutely excellent, probably the best production job ever done on a live metal performance. There must have been a hundred cameras used to record this performance because every time Dave breaks down another insane rhythm, Kerry and Jeff trade solos, or Tom goes for one of his trademark screams there is a camera right there to catch the action. Thats probably another reason that this video has such staying entertainment value, there is so much going on between the music, the wild camera shots, and the crowd, ( not to mention the hundreds of gallons of theatrial blood pouring down ) that it is difficult to truly appreciate this DVD in entirety in less than 20-30 viewings. You're going to watch it again and again.

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Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel: Covenant
Morbid Angels's Covenant ranked number 14 in the Top 100 Death Metal Albums of all time

Morbid Angel: Covenant - With this album, it is another new direction for the band. They are on Giant Records and the band line-up consists of only David Vincent, Trey Azagthoth and Pete Sandoval. The road of progression continues from the band. Not to worry because all of the basic elements of the band are all retained along with creativity, dynamics and musicianship but the material hits the listener in the heart, at least to some extent because of the atmosphere. So this is the third major milestone in the dark craft of Morbid Angel. So get the album and be a part of the covenant.

Choice Cuts: Rapture, World Of Shit (The Promised Land), Blood On My Hands, Sworn To The Black, Nar Matteru and God Of Emptiness

Altars Of Madness
Buy It
Morbid Angel: Altars Of Madness
Morbid Angels's Altars Of Madness ranked number 25 in the Top 100 Death Metal Albums of all time

Morbid Angel: Alters Of Madness - This one of the most important death metal albums of all-time and it is one that all death metal heads should have. This also one of the first death metal albums in the early beginning stages of death metal because it was released in 1989. So this album is legendary.

The music here is nothing short of dark, evil, satanic, hellish, heavy, brutal death metal officially approved by Satan himself. The vocals are very dark. Even through the material is very early; all of the elements that make Morbid Angel what it is are still here but will improve immensely from the next album until the current one and so forth for the improvement will never end. As for this album, it's just another major milestone in the dark craft of Morbid Angel. So get it an enjoy death metal from the dark side.

Choice Cuts: Immortal Rites, Visions From The Darkside, Maze Of Torment, Lord Of All Fevers And Plague, Chapel Of Ghouls, Blasphemy and Evil Spells.

There is a Morbid Angel album out there called Abomination Of Desolations. This is an album that features early recordings of tracks that appear on Alters Of Madness, a couple from Blessed Are The Sick, 1 from Covenant and 1 from Formulas Fatal To The Flesh. This band line-up features Mike Browing (ex-Nocturnus, ex-Acheron, now in After Death and Lisa The Wolf). For those who want a copy of Abomination Of Desolations, it's available through Earache Records and places like Amazom.com.

Blessed Are The Sick
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Morbid Angel: Blessed Are The Sick
Morbid Angels's Blessed Are The Sick ranked number 32 in the Top 100 Death Metal Albums of all time

Morbid Angel: Blessed Are The Sick - With this album, it is an entirely new direction for the band because it is the start of progression. Not to worry because the band still retained all of the basic elements that have made them who they are. All of the death metal aggression, heaviness, brutality and evil are still here but with amazing musicianship, dynamics and creativity added into the mix. All this is present throughout the album. There are also instrumentals. There is Doomsday Celebration which sounds like something out of a Conan The Barbarian-type movie. Next is Desolate Ways which his an instrumental that consists of acoustic guitar playing. Lastly, there is In Remembrance which is piano playing. So all in all, this is the second major milestone in the dark craft of Morbid Angel. So get this album and get blessed.

Choice Cuts: Fall From Grace, Doomsday Celebration, Day Of Suffering, Blessed Are The Sick, Thy Kingdom Come, Unholy Blasphemies, Abomination, Desolate Ways and The Ancient Ones

Morbid Angel: Domination
Morbid Angels's Domination ranked number 36 in the Top 100 Death Metal Albums of all time

Morbid Angel: Domination - With this album, it is another new direction for the band. This is the first album with Eric Rutan (of Hate Eternal) in the band. However, he will not be with the band on the next album which is Formulas Fatal to the Flesh but he will join the band again on the following album which is called Gateways To Annihilation. This album is also the last album with David Vincent in the band. After this, David will record a live album called Entangled In Chaos with the band along with Eric in the fold. After this, he will go on to join The Genetorturers with his wife Gen. For those who want to know what that band sounds like, they are a Nine Inch Niles-type band with a sort of an S&M/gothic look.

Anyway, on with the review for the album. All of the basic elements of the band along with musicianship, dynamics and creativity are all here. The material however is a bit more sinister and angrier. So are the vocals. They are also two instrumentals. One of the major highlights of the album is Hatework. That song is a masterpiece because it is a mix of all the elements of the band. It's got plenty of death metal heaviness and brutality but mixed with keyboards and scary sound effects giving the song a really colossal doomsday sound. So all in all, this is another major milestone in the dark craft of Morbid Angel. So get it and get dominated.

Choice Cuts: Dominate, Where The Slime Lives, Dawn Of The Angry, This Means War!, Caeser's Palace, Inquisition (Burn With Me) and Hatework

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Cannibal Corpse “Vile Live” DVD Review

As requested, I have composed an in-depth review of the latest live DVD offering by Cannibal Corpse entitled “Vile Live”. This DVD was included with the 2007 remastering of Cannibal Corpse’s fifth studio album “Vile”. This live DVD/ remastered album 2 disk set was released in 2007 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Cannibal Corpse’s longtime record label Metal Blade Records.

A set list of 18 live songs comprises the content of this DVD. These 18 tracks were recorded live at “The Berkeley Square” in Berkeley, California. Interestingly enough, they 18 tracks were recorded over a two day, two gig period. Fourteen out of the eighteen tracks were recorded on February 3, 1997 and the final four tracks were recorded on February 4, 1997. These gigs were a part of the headlining portion of the “Monolith of Death” tour.

For an introduction, the DVD begins by showing various video clips from the DVD of each Cannibal Corpse member playing live in slow motion. As you see these clips, your ears are treated to the Cannibal Corpse tune “Devoured By Vermin” which plays in the background accompanying the clips. The band lineup for the two performances featured on the DVD is as follows. The vocal duties are fulfilled by longtime Cannibal Corpse front man George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher and appearing behind the drum kit is none other than Paul Mazurkiewicz. Death metal prodigy, bassist Alex Webster supplies the bone crushing bass lines and solos during each gig, and the skull crushing duo of Rob Barrett and (now former member) Jack Owen shred away mercilessly on their guitars. During this introduction as each band member appears on screen, their name appears on screen as well written in dripping blood lettering. After this, the main DVD menu appears with 3 available options to choose from. The available options are Play, which plays the entire December 3rd gig uninterrupted from start to finish The Select option, which allows the viewer to scroll down through a list and choose which of the 14 tracks from the December 3rd gig they wish to see. And finally one can select the Extras option, which is where the 4 tracks from the February 4th gig are found. Ironically, the 4 tracks from the February 4th gig do NOT have a menu that viewers can select which track they want to watch. For example this means that when viewing the February 4th gig, if you wish to see the closing track “Hammer Smashed Face” you must sit through the 3 previous tracks before it appears. While die hard Cannibal Corpse fans may have no problem sitting through and watching 4 straight songs, casual fans of the band may find the lack of a song menu for the December 4th gig somewhat irritating. Despite the omission of a song menu for the December 4th gig, as a longtime Cannibal Corpse fan I found the layout of this DVD to be downright superb.

Opening credits and menus aside it is time to talk about the actual content of the DVD itself. From a listener’s perspective, the sound quality of the DVD is good but it is not without its’ flaws. Instrumentally, is where the sound quality on this DVD really shines. The guitar, bass, and drum tracks are all recorded very well, allowing the viewer to hear every riff, solo, bass line, and drum beat with no difficulties. As a result fans will have the privilege of hearing two amazing Cannibal Corpse concerts recorded ALMOST flawlessly. Both of these gigs ooze with so much instrumental fury that some viewers may start to think that they themselves are deep in the mosh pits of “The Berkeley Square”, when in reality that are at home watching the mayhem through their television screens. And that my friends, is downright amazing.

However the auditory flaws make their presence known in the form of a few of the vocal performances on this DVD. For instance, during the song “Bloodlands” the beginning of the first verse sounds extremely muffled. Fortunately the sound qualities of the vocals executed by vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher improve during the course of this song. Songs such as “Covered With Sores”, “Hammer Smashed Face”, as well as the first verse of “Staring Through The Eyes of The Dead” all suffer from these same vocal inaudibility problems. Fortunately these problems are relatively minimal, only lasting one verse or a few seconds depending on the song. In conclusion though, despite these slight vocal flaws the brutality of these songs strongly remains.

Speaking of vocal brutality, in my opinion the “Vile Live” DVD contains some of vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s best live performances to ever be recorded. Shining examples of this include his vocal delivery on “Puncture Wound Massacre”, “Mummified in Barbed Wire”, as well as the opening scream of “Devoured by Vermin”. Considering the fact that these 3 songs which I have just mentioned are from 2 separate gigs (one night apart), fans can see that Fisher is nothing short of a legend in the field of Death metal vocals. The level of power, energy, aggression, and night after night consistency that he possesses vocally is envied by many in the Death metal realm, and after viewing this DVD I think it is highly obvious why that is.

Of course what good are the throat splitting vocals of George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher without a good setlist of songs to accompany them? To answer that question, Cannibal Corpse plays nothing but 18 classic tracks from their (then 7 year) career during this DVD. While 11 out of the 18 tracks present here are from the Chris Barnes era of Cannibal Corpse, rest assured that seven tracks from the “Vile” album (which signaled the beginning of the Fisher era) are included here. A few key tracks featured on this DVD include “Stripped, Raped and Strangled”, the epic “Hammer Smashed Face”, as well as “Monolith” and “Orgasm Through Torture”. Even underrated fan favorites such as “Force Fed Broken Glass”, “Addicted to Vaginal Skin”, and “Shredded Humans” make their appearances, making “Vile Live” a DVD that will definitely please any Cannibal Corpse fan whether they are seasoned Cannibal Corpse veterans (from the “Eaten” days) or newfound fans.

And now to discuss the most crucial aspect of this DVD. This aspect is of course, the music. As mentioned earlier in this review, a key aspect to the sheer brilliance of the “Vile Live” DVD is the musicianship. From the amazing riff combinations preformed by guitarists Jack Owen and Rob Barret on the opening track “Perverse Suffering”, to the final bass line and drumbeat preformed by bassist Alex Webster drummer and Paul Mazurkiewicz, everything on “Vile Live” flows together beautifully. A few key highlights which demonstrate the superior talent and musicianship of the Cannibal Corpse entourage include Jack Owen’s solo during “Addicted to Vaginal Skin”, the opening bass lines of “Bloodlands” preformed by Alex Webster, as well as the skull busting solo preformed by Rob Barret during “Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead”. Keeping the beat through each song is of course none other than drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, who blasts through each song with sheer force, speed, talent, and aggression. In conclusion, the combined technicality and musical skill of these 4 Death metal legends combined with the vocal fury of George Fisher can only mean one thing. A bone crushing, neck breaking, performance by these Death metal pioneers. On “Vile Live” that is exactly what we (the fans) get.

Speaking of fans, the crowd is also a major aspect of this DVD. Every great performance artist regardless of genre knows one thing. They know that the level of enthusiasm demonstrated by their fans can either make or break their live careers. The members of Cannibal Corpse need not to worry though, as their fans never fail to disappoint them. The level of enthusiasm exhibited by fans throughout both gigs on this DVD is quite superb. As the band progresses throughout each song, their many enthusiastic fans head bang, stage dive, and mosh right along with them. One key song that comes to my mind when discussing crowd enthusiasm is “A Skull Full Of Maggots”. For years this song has been a fan favorite and after watching “Vile Live” one can definitely see why that is. The crowd reacts to this song energetically as always, but the intensity does not stop there. While singing the song, George holds out his microphone to the audience prompting them to yell “MAGGOTS” during the chorus, and yell this, they certainly do. The results of course, are explosively amazing. After viewing this one can truly see the level of excitement that goes on at a Cannibal Corpse concert. And this of course is an unmatched level of extreme excitement that sees no sign of stopping in the band’s now almost 20 year career.

To end this review, I would just like to say what an honor it has been to have been able to own, witness, the “Vile Live” DVD. Speaking from both a devoted Cannibal Corpse fan’s perspective as well as from an aspiring music journalist’s perspective, this DVD is a must own for any Cannibal Corpse fan or for any fan of Death metal in general. So don’t delay, run out and purchase this “Vile Live” 2 disk remastering of the “Vile” album and sit back and prepare to be Cannibalized.

Highlight Tracks Include: “Addicted To Vaginal Skin”, “Perverse Suffering”, “Shredded Humans”, “A Skull Full Of Maggots”,
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Death - Leprosy


This is probably my least favorite Death album. Needless to say, Death is kick ass; always have been and always will be, but this album just felt awkward to me. It seemed to lack a bit of the personal touch that you can usually feel in Chuck Schuldiner's music. The line up on Leprosy kind of bothered me. Rick Rozz and Bill Andrews don't really impress me, but Terry Butler is okay on this album.


I'm not 100% sure, because to me it seems like Chuck was trying to decide on whether he should stay on the hardcore death metal path, or move more into a melodic death with more personal lyrics type of music. The best way I can describe the music on this album is to take the heaviness of Scream Bloody Gore and the speed of Spiritual Healing and mesh a bit of each album together, and you get Leprosy. Leprosy is more technical than Scream Bloody Gore, but Scream Bloody Gore had its more personal moments, I think. Leprosy just doesn�t seem to know where it stands on the lyrical and musical level. I think part of the other thing that makes this album a bit of a less than great album is the fact that the riffs are kind of repetitive.

For me, the few highlights on this album are Leprosy,Pull the Plugand Left To D. Just for the sake of sealing the review, Ill go over all of the songs now.

Track 1: Leprosy

This is probably my favorite song on the CD. It opens heavy with Chuck and Ricks crushing guitar power. The lead after the opening is pretty cool and gives more to lead to the main riff. The main riff is okay; its simple, but still sounds great. The drumming sounds a bit hollow and franticly random on this song, but it doesn�t bother me too much.

Rozz kind of pisses me off, but Chucks presence more than makes up for it. Terry Butler�s bass is out there and easy to hear, which pleases me. Chus intro scream is very nice too...it really sets the mood of the hopelessness he's about to describe, pertaining to the horrible disease - Leprosy.

Track 2: Born Dead

The song starts off kind of heavy, but boring. Eventually it begins to interest me about thirty seconds after the song starts. The only thing is that it sounds too typical and similar to a lot of the other songs on the album. Around the 1:11 mark it begins to get much more interesting with the melodic guitars, but then it falls apart into the boring heavy riffs again. s an average song, and not really a favorite of mine.

Track 3: Forgotten Past

Now things are starting to look up a bit after hearing 'Born Dead'. It starts of better than Born Dead although the beginning is kind of similar to that of track two. There is a much more planned out rhythm and lead roll in this song. It's fast, but still heavy. It's still not better than Leprosy in my opinion though. 's one of the slightly above average songs on the album.

Track 4: Left To Die

Great opening with the speedy hammer on and offs followed up by a brutal scream from Chuck. I like when Chuck screams out 'God won't make this go away. The lyrics are good for death metal indeed. This seems kind of like an angry song. Chuck's guttural screams are really great on this song. The drums always sound the same, but the guitar and bass sound good on this song. I can hear more speed and melody than just chunk riffing.

Track 5: Pull The Plug

This is a classic Death song, and also one of the best highlights on the CD. Chuck seemed to go more personal with this song than to go down the lyrical path of gore and violence. The music really gives a feeling of hopelessness and fear of being left alive as a vegetable, or in a coma. The solo is earth shattering, as if Chuck is screaming to the world with his guitar. The drums are much more interesting on this song, as they aren't as random and bland as on most of the tracks.

Track 6: Open Casket

Eh, the song itself is okay, but it sounds too much like everything else on Leprosy. It's good for an occasional listen. It has its good parts all together, but it didn't move me that much.

Track 7: Primitive Ways

Again, sounds like everything else on Leprosy. At this point it seems like Chuck is either rushing or running short of ideas at the moment. Possibly both.

Track 8: Choke On It

I was fairly bored with this song until it hit the 1:20 mark, then it started to sound kind of groovy. It kind of sounds like early Morbid Angel at some parts. 2:35 is a real interesting part as well. The speed picks up, but the drums don't suck. Magnificent guitar works in some places. I'd put it above average on the CD.

Don't think that I'm saying this is a bad album, because it's not. It's good, but compared to other Death albums it doesn't rank high for me. I still think that Chuck was trying to figure out at this point where he wanted to go on the musical path. I can't say he made a bad choice for the future, because most of it is much better than Leprosy. Leprosy is worth buying, but it gets dull kind of fast if you listen to it too long. Good to pull out when you want some good old heavy death metal.

Swedish melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity have posted their video for the song "Focus Shift" on YouTube.com. The clip was directed by Roger Johansson, who previously worked with the group on the "Lost to Apathy" and "The New Build" videos from the 2005 release "Character" [2005]. The "Focus Shift" video will be featured on the limited-edition version of the upcoming Dark Tranquillity album, "Fiction".
Due in April via Century Media Records, "Fiction" was mixed by the acclaimed Tue Madsen (Himsa, The Haunted) and encompasses all of the elements on which the band built their career: thought-provoking lyrics, shredding guitar work, captivating melodies and sheer brutality. This offering is perhaps best compared to a modern-day version of the group's revered classics "The Gallery" and "The Mind's I", only with more intensity behind it.
Niklas Sundin (guitar) previously stated about the new album: "Tue Madsen did a fantastic job with the sound, and the result is diverse and exciting enough to satisfy even the most critical of listeners. The 10 songs are extremely varied and showcase all facets of the D.T. experience while breaking new ground as well as reviving some elements that haven't been featured in D.T. songs since the early years."
Dark Tranquillity holds the esteemed distinction as being one of the bands responsible for founding an entirely new genre of death metal in the early '90s, which came to be known as "the Gothenburg sound." Their previous album, "Character", was hailed by critics and fans alike as the group's most savage and dynamic offering yet.
In late March 2007, Dark Tranquillity kick off the touring cycle for "Fiction" with a massive co-headlining U.S. run with The Haunted and Into Eternity followed by European summer festivals and a full length tour in autumn, revitalizing the genre they helped to create and further cementing their status as one of the scene's most influential metal bands.
"Fiction" track listing:
01. Nothing To No One

02. The Lesser Faith

03. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)

04. Blind At Heart

05. Icipher

06. Inside The Particle Storm

07. Empty Me

08. Misery´s Crown

09. Focus Shift

10. The Mundane And The Magic

11. A Closer End (Japan bonus track)

12. Winter Triangle (instrumental) (Australia bonus track)

The limited album version will include a bonus DVD with live songs, behind-the-scenes footage, last album's "The New Build" promo video and the brand-new "Focus Shift" clip. Cover artwork was once again created by the band's guitarist Niklas Sundin.

Release dates:
North America: Tuesday, April 17Sweden: Wednesday, April 18Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: Friday, April 20U.K., France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Rest Of Europe: Monday, April 23Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, April 25

Cavalera Conspiracy, the new project featuring Sepultura founding members Max (guitar, vocals) and Igor Cavalera (drums), alongside Gojira's Joe Duplantier (bass) and Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo, have recently uploaded their cover of Possessed's classic song "The Exorcist". Check out the song here.
The band will hit the road this summer with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Throwdown, Bury Your Dead and Incite. Confirmed dates are as follows:
* 7/17 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory* 7/18 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium* 7/19 - New York, NY - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza* 7/20 - New York, NY - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza* 7/21 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live* 7/23 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre* 7/24 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room* 7/25 - Toronto, ON - Toronto Island Wakefest* 7/26 - Calgary, AB - Monsters of Rock* 7/27 - St. Paul, MN - Myth* 7/29 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theater* 7/31 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore* 8/2 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues* 8/5 - Hollywood, CA - House of Blues

Testament's forthcoming album, "The Formation of Damnation", is due in North America on April 29 via Nuclear Blast Records.
The band recorded the effort in part with producer Andy Sneap at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.
"The album is very traditional-sounding," guitarist Eric Peterson recently told Decibel magazine. "The ideology of what we're doing is like 'The Legacy' [1987]. But the musicianship's a lot better, so it's like 'The Gathering' [1999]. As most bands record their first, second and third albums, they're developing, developing, developing… until they've got their sound. Then they get worse. As a rule, you get good when you're starving and start slipping as soon as you're eating well. We never really made it to the big time. But, then again, we didn't fail. Because we've always been on that borderline, we've never had to make the kinds of compromises that end up killing so many bands. As we see it, we're better off doing what we do best, especially since things seem to have turned full circle. Kids even have long hair again."
Testament recently recruited Paul Bostaph (Slayer, Ecodus, Forbidden) to play the drums on new CD. The group was previously rehearsing and writing new material with British drummer Nick Barker (Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir), but Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and international work visa issues have prevented Barker from continuing to be involved in the project.
Bostaph, who was a member of Testament for a brief period starting around February 2004, had previously played several live dates with the group in 1992 and appeared on the band's 1993 live EP, "Return to the Apocalyptic City". He also toured with Testament in 2006.
"The Formation of Damnation" track listing:
01. For The Glory Of

02. More Than Meets The Eye

03. The Evil Has Landed

04. Formation Of Damnation

05. Dangers of The Faithless

06. The Persecuted Won't Forget

07. Henchman

08. Killing Season

09. Afterlife

10. F.E.A.R.11. Leave Me Forever

EMI Records are proud to announce the release of the Double Disc DVD of Live After Death, the legendary recording of Maiden's four night stand at Long Beach Arena, California, in 1984. In the shops 4th February 2008 (5th in the US), the release will coincide with the start of the band's "Somewhere Back In Time World Tour" on which they will recreate many of the aspects of this original and spectacular show.
Disc one contains the recording of this full 90 minute concert. Originally filmed on 35mm, the footage comes alive on DVD resulting in a visually stunning film that far outstrips the usual live video of the '80's. The disc carries two sound options - the original concert audio specially mixed into 5.1 Surround Sound by Kevin Shirley, Maiden's producer since 1999, plus the original stereo sound track by Martin Birch, the band's producer from 1981 to 1993.
Disc two has Part 2 of the 'History of Iron Maiden', continuing on the Maiden story from "The Early Days" DVD, along with rare and unseen bonus footage in the form of Behind The Iron Curtain, Rock In Rio '85, and 'Ello Texas, all in all giving a total running time of well over three hours. Plus of course the photo galleries, relevant promo videos, artwork galleries, tour dates, tour programme and other features which all combine to make Maiden DVDs a very special and utterly comprehensive treat for their fans.
Manager Rod Smallwood explained:
"The original video of Live After Death has not been readily available for a long time so its good that we finally got around to this. lt was one of the first full concerts to be filmed after the advent of video and of course the live album, recorded on a different night to the video, has long been considered to be one of the seminal Metal live albums and has sold millions since. Fans have been begging us to do this DVD for some time now but we wanted to wait until we were able to recreate that whole tour to go with it and also to make it part of a series of DVDs that we are putting together around the band's history. And of course we are making sure that now we have got to it we will be giving the fans everything we can find from that period!!"
FULL LIST OF CONTENTS
Disc 1 -- LIVE AFTER DEATHLive After Death concert with Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio (90 minutes)
Disc 2 -- DOCUMENTARY / BONUS CONCERT FOOTAGE
1.The History of Iron Maiden -- Part 2 (60 mins) -- Documentary.Band members, crew, friends and associates talk about the period in the band's career which saw the writing, recording and release of the Powerslave album, and later Live After Death, and the subsequent massive touring. And not just the serious side!!
2. Behind the Iron Curtain ( 57 mins approx) Documentary and Live -- shot during Maiden's historic tour of Poland and other parts to the Eastern Bloc in 1984 featuring interviews, live and offstage footage capturing the atmosphere of this remarkable journey behind the Wall at the height of the Cold War.
3. Live Footage - Rock in Rio '85 (50 mins approx)The full Maiden set supporting Queen on the first day of the first Rock in Rio in front of 300,000 manic metal fans. A bloody and stirring performance!!Songs performed include Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Trooper, Revelations, Powerslave, Iron Maiden, Run To The Hills, Running Free
4. Ello Texas -- 15 minutes -- Interview and live. Caught by a film crew in 1983 at the Alamo and sound checking their show in San Antonio.
5. Artwork Gallery, Tour Programme, Tour dates and photo gallery
6. Promotional clips for Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight