MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 9)

Another month has passed. The fall season is approaching — unless you live in Los Angeles, which is pretending that it’s Phoenix in August. Fuck is up with that? It’s like that town has been placed in a cosmic microwave and the user likes his burritos very well done.

On the other hand, we’ve had way too many grey, chilly days in Seattle this September, which is traditionally one of the best months of the year. The weather gods have clearly dropped acid over the last 30 days and forgotten which end is up. But eventually they will get themselves straight, remember which season is approaching, and get ready to just blast the fuck out of our whole country with a vicious winter. Won’t that be fun?

No, it won’t be fun. It will suck like a new-born piglet at dinner time. But one pleasant constant will remain true — there will be new metal, regardless of how foul the weather becomes. And that brings us to another monthly installment of  METAL IN THE FORGE, a forge being the old name for a place where a blacksmith heats metal and works it into the shape of something useful.

And that’s what we’re interested in — new metal that will be useful in scrambling our brains, or uplifting us to a place where it really doesn’t matter what the fucking weather is doing.

What we do in this series of posts is update the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs from other sites, or from press releases, about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Perhaps needless to say, these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site — the kind that would like to tear your head off.

So, after the jump, in alphabetical order, you’ll find our list of cut-and-pasted items from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases.

ABRAXAS: “ABRAXAS, the new death metal band featuring Makoto Mizoguchi (PYREXIA, INTERNAL SUFFERING, HATE ETERNAL) on guitar and bass, Mike Hrubovcak (MONSTROSITY, VILE, DIVINE RAPTURE, I.C.E., AZURE EMOTE) on vocals and Lance Wright (VILE, QUINTA ESSENTIA, TEMPLE OF BLOOD) on drums, has completed work on its debut album, Damnation, due later in the year.”

AGALLOCH: “Pacific Northwest band AGALLOCH will release its new album, Marrow Of The Spirit, on November 23 via Profound Lore Records. . . . At over an hour in length, Marrow Of The Spirit is AGALLOCH’s darkest, bleakest, most dense, detailed and aggressive album to date and in turn is the most accomplished album of their career.”

ATHEIST: “On November 9th, 2010, after 17 years the progressive aggressive forefathers reemerge more massive than ever. Atheist delivers Jupiter, a landmark return to earth of supersonically gargantuan proportions. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, this band, alongside fellow Floridians Death and Cynic, handcrafted the sub-genre that spawned bands such as Meshuggah, Between The Buried And Me, and Mudvayne.”

BURNING THE MASSES: After multiple delays, Burning the Masses will release their new album, Offspring of Time, on November 9.

CHILDREN OF BODOM: “CHILDREN OF BODOM recently entered Finland’s Petrax Studios to begin work on their as-yet-untitled seventh studio album. The band has enlisted famed rock producer Matt Hyde (SLAYER, MONSTER MAGNET) to oversee the new recording and will remain in the studio through late September. The new record will see release in early 2011.”

CHROMIUM: “South African metallers CHROMIUM will enter Sonic Precision studios later in the year with producer/guitarist Jared Gunston (KNAVE, WAKE TO WONDER, VAN DIENS AF) to begin recording their third album for an early 2011 release.”

THE DAMNED THINGS: “According to Rock Sound and Metal Hammer, THE DAMNED THINGS — the new band featuring members of FALL OUT BOY (Joe Trohman, Andy Hurley), ANTHRAX (Scott Ian, Rob Caggiano) and EVERY TIME I DIE (Keith Buckley, Josh Newton) — will release its debut album in the U.K. on December 13. A U.S. release date for the effort has not yet been announced.”

DEICIDE: “DEICIDE‘s new album, To Hell With God, is being produced by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CHIMAIRA) at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida and is scheduled for an early 2011 release via Century Media Records.”

DESECRASY: “Finnish death metallers DESECRESY have inked a deal with Xtreem Musicfor the release of their recently completed debut album, Arches Of Entropy. Due in November/December, the CD was recorded between January and August 2010 and ‘perfectly captures the darkness and heaviness of the 10 songs there included, resulting in one of Finland’s heaviest albums ever,’ according to a press release. DESECRESY was formed in 2009 by Tommi Grönqvist (all instruments) and Jarno Nurmi (vocals), both whom previously played with the now-defunct Finnish act SLUGATHOR.”

DIMENTIANON: “Paragon Records will unleash the third album from DIMENTIANON, New York’s masters of chaotic metal, on October 19. Entitled Collapse The Void, the CD epitomizes the turbulent mixture of black, death and doom metal that has become the band’s trademark style.”

EMMURE: “Directly following their Canadian tour this month, Emmure will enter the studio to begin recording their next album. The effort will be tracked by producer/engineer Joey Sturgis (The Devil Wears Prada, Miss May I) and is expected to surface this winter via Victory Records (this is the final release of their current Victory contract).”

EVOCATION: “Swedish death metallers EVOCATION will release their third album, Apocalyptic, on October 29 via Cyclone Empire Records. The cover artwork was created by Xaay (BEHEMOTH, NILE, VADER) and it ‘fit[s] both the title, Apocalyptic, and our musical achievements just perfect,’ says the band. ‘We are blown away by the effort and feeling [Xaay] gave it.'”

GENERAL CHAOS: “German metallers GENERAL CHAOS have inked a deal with Cyclone Empire Records. The band’s debut album, Calamity Circus, will be released on November 12. According to a press release, the CD ‘comes as a beautiful digipak with an awesome poster booklet and an artwork that shows a band and their love for detailed, humorous and cool artworks that never cross the border to all ludicrous or clownish crab and are 100% without any touch of stereotypes!'”

GOD DETHRONED: “Dutch death metallers GOD DETHRONED have finished recording their ninth album, Under The Sign Of The Iron Cross, at the Soundlodge Studios in Leer, Germany. . . . Under The Sign Of The Iron Cross will be released on November 23 (one day earlier internationally) via Metal Blade Records.”

GWAR: “Metal Blade Records has set a November 9 U.S. release date for GWAR‘s ‘newest and sickest’ album yet, Bloody Pit of Horror.”

HORNED ALMIGHTY: “Danish black metallers HORNED ALMIGHTY will release their new studio album, Necro Spirituals, in Europe on October 25 via Candlelight Records. Recorded in May-June 2010 and mixed and mastered by Jacob Bredahl (HATESPHERE, KOLDBORN) at Dead Rat Studios, the CD is ‘comprised of the strongest and most fierce material written in the band’s eight-year existence,’ according to a press release. ‘Yet again, crushing all doctrines and rules with their ‘don’t-give-a-shit’ take on black metal, as a testament to all that is extreme.'”

THE INIQUITY DESCENT: “Vocalist Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmåns of Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL has launched a brand new extreme-metal project called THE INIQUITY DESCENT. The band recently spent time in the studio recording 11 songs, four of which will make up the group’s debut release. THE INIQUITY DESCENT will return to the studio in late October to begin mixing the material. In the meantime, you can check out rough-mix audio samples of three of the tracks on the band’s MySpace page.”

MESSENGERS: “Strike First Records has announced the signing of the Texas-based hardcore band MESSENGERS. The group’s debut EP, Anthems, will be released on November 9.
MESSENGERS pulled no punches this year when it charged onto the Dallas heavy music scene. In the band’s own words, they ‘just want to be heard,’ and playing music in the vein of CROWBAR, PANTERA and AGNOSTIC FRONT will get the job done.”

MIRROR OF DECEPTION: “Germany’s ‘doom metal kings’ MIRROR OF DECEPTION will release their fourth album, A Smouldering Fire, on October 15 via Cyclone Empire. It will be available in two versions: a regular CD and a digipack containing the The First 2 Decades bonus CD.”

NEBULAS FROST: “German/Swedish black metal combo NEBULAS FROST has uploaded its two-song ‘promo 2010’ to the band’s MySpace page. Recorded at various locations and studios around the world, the tracks were mixed and mastered by Swedish multi-instrumentalist/producer Dan Swanö at hisUnisound Studio in Sweden. NEBULAS FROST is recording its debut album for a 2011 release via the newly formed Mechanix Records (Sweden) and distributed throughout Europe by Sound Pollution. The CD will will once again be mixed and mastered by Swanö, ensuring that ‘this new monster will come with a powerful outfit,’ according to a press release.”

OCEANO: “‘Precursor To Enslavement’, a brand new song from Chicago deathcore heavyweights OCEANO, is available for streaming at AltPress.com. The track comes off the band’s forthcoming sophomore album, Contagion, which is scheduled for release on November 9 via Earache Records.”

PHOBIA: “Phobia will see the release of a brand new EP, titled Unrelenting, this fall via Relapse Records. Unrelenting is seventeen new Phobia tracks clocking in at just over 14 minutes. The EP will be available on CD, LP, and digitally starting November 23rd in North America. A track taken from Unrelenting, “Out Of Control,” can be heard now via the band’s MySpace page.”

SHADOWS FALL: “Massachusetts metallers SHADOWS FALL will release a new concert DVD, Madness In Manila: Shadows Fall Live In The Philippines 2009, in October via Everblack Industries/Ferret Music. The set will include over 60 minutes of footage that was shot on April 30, 2009 at the Pulp Summer Slam in Manila, Philippines as well as a live audio CD.”

SLIPKNOT: “Spain’s Rock Metal TV / MSN has premiered SLIPKNOT‘s live video for the song “Psychosocial”, recorded at last year’s Download festival in the U.K., where the band performed a parade of hits in front of 80,000 screaming fans. The clip comes off SLIPKNOT‘s (sic)nesses DVD, which will land on retail shelves on September 28 via Roadrunner.”

SODOM: “Veteran German thrashers SODOM have completed work on their new album, In War And Pieces, for a November 23, 2010 release (one day earlier internationally) via SPV/Steamhammer. The CD was produced by Waldemar Sorychta, who has previously worked with TIAMAT, MOONSPELL, LACUNA COIL and SENTENCED, among many others. The cover artwork was created by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.”

THE SORROW: “Austrian metallers THE SORROW will release their third, self-titled album in Europe on October 29 via Drakkar Records and in North America on December 7 through Artoffact Records. The follow-up to 2009’s Origin Of The Storm was recorded at Principal Studios (DIE TOTEN HOSEN, IN EXTREMO) in Senden, Germany with producer Toni Meloni and was mixed by Sky van Hoff. Mastering duties were handled by Jens Dreesen.”

SUICIDAL ANGELS: “Greek thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS will release their third album, Dead Again, on November 19 via NoiseArt Records. The winners of the Rock The Nation awards 2009, which was presented by magazines from all over Europe, the quartet has found itself a perfect home as the label is a division of Rock The Nation, which also serves as the band’s booking agency.”

SWEDEN UNITED: “A number of Swedish metal musicians came together to record and release a song as a way of raising awareness and taking action on the topic of bullying and harrassment in schools. Members of such renowned metal bands as MESHUGGAH, NIGHTWISH, SOILWORK, EVERGREY and CLAWFINGER have joined forces in SWEDEN UNITED, a one-off project whose new single, “Open Your Eyes”, will be made available on October 11 via Supernova Records.”

TIMES OF GRACE: “TIMES OF GRACE, the brand new project featuring KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE vocalist Jesse Leach, has tapped director Robby Starbuck (AUGUST BURNS RED, SILVERSTEIN, A STATIC LULLABY, A SKYLIT DRIVE) to helm the video for the song “Strength In Numbers”. The track comes off TIMES OF GRACE‘s debut album, The Hymn Of A Broken Man, which is scheduled for release on November 9 through Roadrunner Records.”

UNLOCKED: “Three songs from from the upcoming debut album by UNLOCKED, the band featuring members of PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT, VISCERAL BLEEDING, GORGOROTH and ENTHRONED, are available for streaming on the group’s MySpace page. Check out the tracks “Bloodcult”, “The Puppeteer” and “Dysphoros” at this location. The CD, which features a guest appearance by lead guitarist Peter Huss (SHINING, ex-SINERGY), was recorded at Blackout studios in Brussels, Belgium for a late 2010 release via Crossfirecult Records.”

THE WRETCHED END: “An e-card for Ominous, the debut album from THE WRETCHED END, the new Norway-based band featuring guitarist Samoth (EMPEROR, ZYKLON) and bassist Cosmo (MINDGRINDER) alongside Swedish drummer Nils Fjellström (DARK FUNERAL, IN BATTLE, AEON), is available at this location. Ominous will be released on October 25 through Samoth‘s own imprint label, Nocturnal Art Productions, and marketed and distributed worldwide by Candlelight Records.”