(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album from Orange County’s Bleeding Through, which is out now on Rise Records.)

Anyone who was around when the metalcore explosion was happening and followed its development should know who Bleeding Through are.  Their revolutionary (and unmatched to this day) combination of hardcore brawn, black metal venom, thrash metal fanaticism, and death metal brutality — all with symphonic overlays courtesy of the only female keyboardist in metal worth a living fuck — has yet to get old for me.

I remember when people were pronouncing Bleeding Through’s demise when founding guitarist Scott Danough left the band after The Truth and thought they would start sucking, but Bleeding Through has been proving everyone wrong ever since, writing their best material on their last two albums, Declaration (2008) and Bleeding Through (2010), which showed that Scott apparently didn’t have much to do with the song-writing process at all.  So what’s the verdict on this band’s new album The Great Fire?

This is their most brutal yet most experimental effort yet.

This is a much faster, much more visceral and frantic Bleeding Through than we’ve ever heard before.  At the same time, this is also the oddest Bleeding Through, mainly due to Marta Peterson’s new-found sense of adventurism in the keyboard and symphonic department.  Adding instruments and sounds that were begging to be incorporated into Bleeding Through’s music — organs, harpsichords, fucking electronic-as-all-get-out pad sounds that are lo-fi as shit — she has helped create a much more blackened atmosphere than has been heard before.

On another odd note though, her more blackened inclusions are counterpointed by the rest of the band, who focus on a much more death metal bent.  It’s an interesting contrast that in this case works where perhaps it shouldn’t.

This is a relatively short album even by the band’s standards — 14 songs that clock in at just barely 39 minutes.  Bleeding Through has decided to emphasize their hardcore roots in their composition; most of the songs are one- to two-minute blitzkrieg-caliber assaults full of transitions and twists and turns.  The relative brevity of most songs makes the longer ones stand out though. “Final Hours”, for example, is fucking vicious.  When the main riff of the song comes back, after a small symphonic bridge, it makes me want to kill things.

Thankfully for all kvrmvdgeons in the audience, this album really goes light in the clean singing department, much as the self-titled album did.  It’s refreshing to see a band who, instead of “progressing and expanding”, has decided to stop fucking around and, for the most part, inflict a full-on rage explosion.

I’m not sure that much else really needs to be said.  Bleeding Through is a kick-ass band, always has been.  The album is great, but at the same time it’s essentially Bleeding Through doing what Bleeding Through does — you are either one of the people who digs that or one who doesn’t.  I’m in the former camp: This band deserves support for soldiering on as excellently as they do.  I’ll post a few songs, but the whole album is actually streaming up on the Rise Records YouTube channel.

November is done, and the countdown begins to the end of 2011 and he beginning of the New Year. We’ve been so focused this week on the year behind us, since 2011 Listmania is now in full swing, that we almost forgot that there is a future, and it will be filled with metal.

So, here’s the deal:  In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, we collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month (November) about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, we cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album before November, we wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier.

This month’s list begins right after the jump. As usual, this list is half-assed rather than comprehensive. So, feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what we missed when we put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that  you’re stoked about!

A BAND OF ORCS: “A BAND OF ORCS, the fantasy-themed heavy metal band from Santa Cruz, California, has entered Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producer Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD) to begin recording their new concept album about killing giants. The artwork is being created by Chuck Lukacs.”

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: “American black metal outfit ABIGAIL WILLIAMS has put the finishing touches on its new album, “Becoming”, for a January 24, 2012 release via Candlelight Records. Mixed by vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron with Michael Keene (The Faceless), “Becoming” contains over 60 minutes of new material and features art by Metastazis (Morbid Angel, Watain, Ulver).”

AUTOPSY: “Legendary San Francisco Bay Area gore grind act AUTOPSY has completed work on its new collection, “All Tomorrow’s Funerals”, for a February 28 release via Peaceville Records. This monstrous 22-track effort will contain all of AUTOPSY‘s EPs remastered by the bandmembers themselves, as well as new cuts.”

BLEEDING THROUGH: “Bleeding Through is currently wrapping up the recording process for their next album, now titled “The Great Fire.” The effort is expected to hit stores in early-2012 via Rise Records.”

BONE5: “Drummer Pasi Pasanen (ex-SWALLOW THE SUN, PLUTONIUM ORANGE) has joined the Jyväskylä, Finland-based rock/metal band BONE5. The group’s new album, “From The Ashes”, will be released on December 7.”

CALIBAN: “German modern metal force Caliban is proud to announce the release of their eighth studio album, I Am Nemesis on February 28, 2012 via Century Media Records. After spending 10 months writing new material, the band is very excited to get the record out to fans. ‘It was important to us to have an elaborate album without any fillers,’ says lead guitarist Marc Görtz. ‘Additionally, the sound of the album is the best we’ve ever had by far: it is heavy and brutal without being chaotic.’”

CATTLE DECAPITATION: “In November 2010, Cattle Decapitation returned home from headlining The California Blood Tour and decided to take the next year off and immediately began writing the follow up to their critically-acclaimed 2009 release The Harvest Floor.The band has been holed up in the confines of their rehearsal studio in National City, California ever since and are preparing to unleash a new slab of human-dissecting carnage for a Spring 2012 release via Metal Blade Records. The band will be recording in January/February in Denver, Colorado”

DEATH: “The next chapter in Relapse Records’s Death reissue campaign is Vivus!, a deluxe 2CD collection compiling two separate Death concerts. Each recorded in 1998, Disc One features the band at the height of their prowess tearing the roof off of the infamous Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles while Disc Two is a brilliant recording of the band on the festival stage at Dynamo Open Air.
Vivus! is set for a February 28th North American release date, March 2nd in the Benelux / Germany, and March 5th in the UK and rest of Europe.”

EMMURE: “Emmure has spent a good portion of November in New York City writing material for their next album. The band will enter the studio in January with producer/engineer Joey Sturgis (We Came As Romans, The Devil Wears Prada) to begin tracking the effort. Sturgis also recorded the band’s last release, Speaker of the Dead.”

EPHEL DUATH: “Formerly Italian, currently US based band EPHEL DUATH, known as a modern mixture of avant-garde metal and progressive rock with jazz-fusion and hardcore punk elements, has inked a worldwide deal with Agonia Records for the release of an EP and two full-length albums. Under the leading role of talented guitarist and songwriter Davide Tiso, the machine of EPHEL DUATH is ready to send out a new musical impulse, with the artistic contribution of a new line-up of well-known special session musicians, soon to be announced. The upcoming spring release EP is going to be recorded in January 2012 at Sharkbyte Studios (Machine Head, Exodus, High On Fire) in Oakland, California. Erik Rutan will do the mixing at his Mana Recording Studio (Cannibal Corpse, Hate Eternal, Goatwhore, Agnostic Front) in San Petersburg, Florida. Alan Douches will master the material at West West Side Music (Death, Swans, Mastodon, Converge, Baroness, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Clutch) in New York.”

GOD OF ATHEISTS: “Former DIMMU BORGIR and current BORKNAGAR member ICS Vortex(real name: Simen Hestnæs) will handle the lead vocals on the upcoming debut album from GOD OF ATHEISTS, the Norwegian extreme metal project led by Asgeir Mickelson (SARKE, SPIRAL ARCHITECT, BORKNAGAR, TESTAMENT). Drums on the CD were recorded by Trym (EMPEROR, ZYKLON, ENSLAVED), while the rhythm guitars were laid down by Mickelson.”

KING GIANT: “Taking the dark tales of their Appalachian folk forefathers to contemporary Southern doom territory, Northern Virgina-based quintet KING GIANT have wrapped up the final details on their sophomore full-length release, Dismal Hollow, and are preparing to self-release it just after the kickoff of the new year. Dismal Hollow will be available worldwide on January 31, 2012 — a split release between KING GIANT’s band-operated imprint Graveyard Hill Records and The Path Less Traveled Records, part of the MRI Group, with distribution by RED, Code 7 and Plastichead — and will be available in CD, LP and digital download formats.”

LIBERTEER: “Relapse Records is extremely proud to announce the signing of California anarcho-grinders Liberteer. The creation of Matthew Widener (Cretin, Citizen), Liberteer is a manifestation of total anarchy, driven by an incendiary lyrical message designed to burn the system down! The band’s debut album, entitled Better To Die on Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees, will see it’s release on January 31st of 2012.”

LIFELESS: “German traditional death metal machine LIFELESS has signed with FDA Rekotz for the release of the band’s as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2010′s“Beyond The Threshold Of Death” (Ibex Moon Records). The new album is currently slated for a spring 2012 release.”

MISERY SIGNALS: “Fans of Misery Signals know that the group hasn’t released a new album in several years. Said fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer though, as the group is currently working on material for their next full-length. Misery Signals tentatively plans to enter the studio in early-2012 to commence tracking, though neither a studio nor producer have been selected thus far. Notably, this will be the band’s final album under their current contract with Ferret Music.”

NAGLFAR: “Fans of Swedish black metal take heed: five years have passed since the release of mighty Naglfar’s last album Harvest, but now the band is back in the studio again, finishing-up their sixth album, Téras! Expect nothing less than another prime example of infernal, melodic black metal from the vanguards of the scene. Diehard Naglfar fans will also be pleased to hear that prior to the release of Téras, the band will release a very limited-edition 7″ EP featuring one track from the upcoming album and an exclusive second track that will only be available on this vinyl. Téras will ascend from hell’s blackest voids in spring/summer 2012.”

NAPALM DEATH: “As leaders of extreme music and one of the hardest working bands around, the legendary Napalm Death is currently putting the final touches on their 14th studio album (excluding the cover album Leaders Not Followers). This new piece of brutality is entitled Utilitarian, and it will hit stores on February 27th in Europe and February 28th in North America via the band’s long time partner, Century Media Records.”

NORMA JEAN: “Following their just-announced “Pizza Riot 2011″ Tour, Norma Jean will be hitting the studio to record their sixth full-length album. The band is currently writing material for the effort and will head into the studio with producer Jeremy Griffith in January 2012.”

NOTHNEGAL: “Maldives-based death/black metallers NOTHNEGAL will release their full-length debut, “Decadence”, on January 20, 2012 (January 24 in the U.S.) via Season Of Mist. The CD was mixed by Greg Reely (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, DEVIN TOWNSEND) and Ahti Kortelainen (SENTENCED, SONATA ARCTICA).”

NUFUTIC: “Drummer Romain Goulon (NECROPHAGIST) and vocalist Trevor Sadist (SADIST) have joined NUFUTIC, the fusion-metal project founded by Dutch bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling (PESTILENCE, ex-OBSCURA) and Italian guitarist/keyboardist Tommy Talamanca (SADIST).”

OBITUARY: “OBITUARY is currently writing material for the follow-up to the “Darkest Day” full-length CD, released in 2009 via Candlelight Records. “Our goal is to be in the studio by January or February and to release the album in May or June of 2012,” said guitarist Trevor Peres.”

OBSCURA: “The wildly-progressive German metal quartet OBSCURA has announced their first ever demo collection, entitled ‘Illegimitation‘ and set to be released independently by the band this March.  The collection will include ten never-before-heard tracks, including the band’s earliest recordings from 2003, unreleased songs from the Cosmogenesis sessions of 2006, and brand new cover songs with the newest line-up from 2011.”

OPERA IX: ““Strix Maledictae In Aeternum”, the new album from the Italian symphonic black metal band OPERA IX, will be released on January 24, 2012 in Europe and February 28, 2012 in North America via Agonia Records.”

PARADISE LOST: “British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST have entered The Chapel studios in Lincolnshire, England to begin recording their new album,“Tragic Idol”, for an April 24, 2012 release via Century Media Records. Commented Gregor Mackintosh: “The [new CD] will again be produced by Jens Bogren and is influenced by classic doom metal and classic metal. I would say it is more melodic than the last record whilst retaining the heaviness.”

PERIPHERY: “Maryland progressive metal outfit Periphery enters the studio today to begin tracking a new full-length. Recording will take place with engineer Taylor Larson (I The Breather) and a spring release via Sumerian Records is expected.”

PRIMER 55: “Atlanta-based band PRIMER 55 — featuring Bobby Burns (guitar, bass, vocals), The DRP (vocals), Heath Shaw (drums), and Mattytime (bass) — has signed a worldwide distribution deal with THC:Music/Rocket Science Ventures. The group’s's self-titled LP will be released on March 13. The effort will be preceded on February 14 by “The Big F.U.”, a retrospective B-sides and rarities collection, featuring nearly 20 tracks from PRIMER 55‘s classic lineup.”

PSYCROPTIC: “Aussie technical death metal outfit, Psycroptic, has announced that its fifth studio album, The Inherited Repression, will hit stores on February 7 in North America and February 10 in Europe. The upcoming nine-track full-length will mark the band’s second release on Nuclear Blast Records. Commented Psycroptic guitarist, Joe Haley, “The Inherited Repression is far and away my favorite Psycroptic album thus far – all of us in the band think this. It’s the age-old cliché from bands when they talk about their current album as being the best of their career, blah, blah, but I have to say it because it’s true.”

SLAYER: “Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo has revealed that the band is currently writing material for a new album. Details are sparse, with Lombardo offering only the following: “Slayer is writing a new record.”

SPAWN OF POSSESSION: “Swedish tech-death assassins SPAWN OF POSSESSION have completed their highly anticipated third full-length album, Incurso, and are preparing it for release upon the helpless masses this Spring (on Relapse records).”

3 INCHES OF BLOOD: “Metal veterans 3 Inches Of Blood will soon be entering the studio to begin tracking their fifth full-length album, planned for release in 2012 via Century Media Records. The band will be working out of Vogville Studios and Profile Studios in Vancouver with engineer and producer Terry Sho Murray, who also worked on the band’s last 7″.

UNLEASHED: “The legendary Swedish Viking Death Metal outfit UNLEASHED have started the recordings of their 11th studio album. The album name is still a secret – but you’d better get ready for another classic album. With their blend of melody and brutality UNLEASHED includes to the founder of the Viking death metal. Their riffs are pure shrapnel, but their choruses are epic, melting uncompromising brutality with anthemic odes to the Odin. The new album will be released in spring 2012 via Nuclear Blast.”

WORMED: “Willowtip Records is excited to announce the official signing of Madrid, Spain’s “Sci-Fi Death Metal” band Wormed. The group is currently in the writing stage of a new full-length album that will be released in the spring of 2012. Prior to the new album, Willowtip will be reissuing Wormed’s previous two releases: 2010′s Quasineutrality EP and 2003′s Planisphaerium CD. Both reissues will be released in early 2012.”

We’re now almost two months into 2010, and it’s already time for our second update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1.  (See the original list here and the first update here.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases that we didn’t know about on January 1 or at the time of our last update about a month ago — and there’s a lot of them.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources over the last month about forthcoming new releases:

1349: “Prosthetic Records will release the brand new album from Norwegian black metal legends 1349 in North America via an agreement with Indie Recordings. The new CD, which promises ‘a return to the band’s more traditional, raw-yet-technical black metal sound,’ is due on April 13. In support of the yet-to-be-titled record, 1349 will embark on a North American tour in April and May as the support act for CANNIBAL CORPSE (alongside SKELETONWITCH and LECHEROUS NOCTURNE).”

ABACABB: “ABACABB are currently out on the road headlining the Hot Dice On Black Ice Tour featuring Upon A Burning Body!. The tour just hit Texas and will be in California this weekend. Following the tour ABACABB will enter the studio with producer Will Putney at Machine Shop in New Jersey and will have a new album to be released sometime this summer.”

AEON: “Swedish death metallers AEON have set Path Of Fire as the title of their third album, due later in the year via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded in September 2009 at Empire Studio in Östersund, Sweden and was mixed the following month at Mana Recording Studios in St, Petersburg, Florida by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The mastering was handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (CONVERGE, HATEBREED, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) in New Windsor, New York.”

AMORPHIS: “AMORPHIS will release its first-ever live DVD, Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes, in early June via Nuclear Blast, in time for the band’s 20th anniversary. The filming took place on November 20, 2009 at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland, where AMORPHIS was supported by STRATOVARIUS and BEFORE THE DAWN. In addition to the full-length live show, the anniversary DVD will include plenty of bonus material documenting the band’s impressive career.”   (much more after the jump . . . )

ANTERIOR: “Welsh metallers ANTERIOR have announced the addition of drummer James Cook to the group’s ranks. ANTERIOR is planning to enter the studio in early 2010 with producer Scott Atkins (SYLOSIS, ROMEO MUST DIE, MADMAN IS ABSOLUTE) to begin recording the follow-up to 2007′s This Age Of Silence for a late 2010 release via Metal Blade Records.”

ARMA GATHAS: “The eminent metal outfit ARMA GATHAS has just signed an exclusive worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records. The band’s debut, Dead To This World, will be released the 23rd/26th of April in Europe and the 27th of April in North America. Arma Gathas, consisting of former Cataract guitarist Simon Fülleman, ex-Born From Pain singer Ché Snelting, Machinemade God and ex-Cornelius guitarist Marc Niedersberg, ex-Disloyal drummer and talented drum student Max van Winkelhof and Alex Härtel on bass, recorded their debut album Dead To This World in November 2009 at the Barracs Studios together with Sky Hoff as a producer, who worked with Caliban in the past. Mastering was done by the legendary Alan Douches at the West West Side Studio in New York together with Simon in early-December.”

BLACK ANVIL: “New York’s BLACK ANVIL recently entered Mark “The Animal” Mendoza‘s (TWISTED SISTER) studio in Long Island with engineer “General” George Fullan (THE ROLLING STONES, DREAM THEATER) to begin recording its sophomore album. Entitled Triumvirate, the follow-up to Time Insults The Mind will include the tracks “The Evil Of All Roots”, “What Is Life If Not Now!”, “Angels To Dust”, “Ultimate Reality”, “With Transparent Blood” and “Dead and Left”. . . . A late spring release via Relapse Records is expected.”

BLEEDING THROUGH: “Orange County, California’s BLEEDING THROUGH will release its new self-titled album on April 13 via the Portland, Oregon-based independent record label Rise Records. The CD was recorded at Planet Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts with producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who has previously worked with MUNICIPAL WASTE, AGNOSTIC FRONT and HATEBREED, among others.”

BRAIN DRILL: “In preparation for their recently completed, second full-length album Quantum Catastrophe, Santa Cruz, CA technical death metallers BRAIN DRILL have completely redesigned their MySpace page to feature the cover art created by Par Olofsson(www.parolofsson.se). In addition to the complete overhaul of the band’s page, BRAIN DRILL have also posted the new track “Monumental Failure”. Quantum Catastrophe will be available everywhere on May 11th.”

BURNING THE MASSES: “California metal band BURNING THE MASSES has officially added vocalist Cameron Argon (aka “Big Chocolate”) to their line-up. Argon replaces David Montenegro, who parted ways with the group in December. The group’s new album, Offspring Of Time, will hit stores this summer via Mediaskare Records.”

CANCER BATS: “Canada’s hardcore/metal band CANCER BATS has posted a brand new track titled “Scared To Death” on the group’s MySpace page. The song is taken from CANCER BATS‘s forthcoming album, Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones, which will be released in the United States and Canada on April 13. CANCER BATS has also announced that it will issue a digital EP ahead of the album release. The EP will contain “Scared To Death” and the band’s take on the BEASTIE BOYS classic “Sabotage”. It will be available from iTunes as of March 1.”

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY: “Former SEPULTURA members Max (guitar, vocals) and Igor Cavalera (drums) will return to the studio in April 2010 to begin recording the follow-up to CAVALERA CONSPIRACY‘s 2008 debut album, Inflikted. A late 2010 release via Roadrunner Records is expected.”

DAATH: “Atlanta-based extreme metal quintet DAATH has commenced work on the follow-up to last year’s The Concealers for a late 2010 release via Century Media Records. Commented the band: ‘Unpredictability and chaos are two themes defining the times we live in. Everything about DAATH‘s career has been married to these themes. We’ve accepted them as beautiful and have learned to love the ride. Despite the chaos there is one thing that is for certain: we will always be pushing the boundaries of what we do. This fall we will bring you a record you are not expecting to hear from us. This venture will have more to offer than our previous efforts.’”

DARKTHRONE: “The unrelenting Norwegian duo, DARKTHRONE, will welcome a new decade with a new album, to be released on Peaceville Records. Circle The Wagons, a creative feast of metal and punk, will initially be released on vinyl on March 8th, through the Peaceville Records webstore, as an exclusive taster for the legions of metal supporters out there who still care about great music delivered the classic way.  The vinyl will also include a link to download a digital version of the album, which will be available when the regular and special edition CD versions of the album are released on April 6th.”

DEAD BEYOND BURIED: “U.K. death metallers DEAD BEYOND BURIED will release their second album, Inheritors Of Hell, on April 5 through Siege Of Amida Records. The CD was recorded and a produced by the bandmembers themselves and was mastered by Tim Turan (BEHEMOTH, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The cover artwork was designed by Khaosart (MORBID ANGEL).”

DEAD SHAPE FIGURE: “Finnish modern thrash/death-influenced metal band DEAD SHAPE FIGURE will perform material from its recenty completed second album, The Disease Of St. Vitus, for the first time on March 26 at Vernissa in Tikkurila, Finland. . . . The Disease Of St. Vitus is scheduled for release in late April via Dynamic Arts Records.”

DEMON HUNTER: “The World Is A Thorn, the new album from Seattle-based Christian metallers DEMON HUNTER, is scheduled for release on March 9. The band’s fifth album follows the landmark documentary 45 Days, last year’s Live In Nashville collection and a catalog of landmark releases that have made the band one of the most important in the genre.”

EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT: “EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT have just finished recording their newest full length titled Vivid Interpretations of the Void. The new release will feature 8  songs recorded by engineer Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios. To catch a sneak peek of new music, head to their MySpace where the band has posted 2 of the new tracks – ‘Militarized Reptoids’ and ‘Darken Thy Fluids’.”

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: “Rome, Italy-based death metal band FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE has completed work on a new EP entitled Mafia at 16th Cellar Studios in the group’s hometown with producer Stefano “Saul” Morabito. The CD will be released on June 8 via Willowtip Records.”

THE FUNERAL PYRE: “California death metal/black metal outfit THE FUNERAL PYRE is currently recording their next album. The group has issued the following update: ‘We have eight songs tracked (drums only) and are shooting for the end of this week to wrap all of the drums up. Then, we’ll start the guitars and proceed from there. I can give you two song titles, one of which we’ve played live, “Vultures” and “Monolith” are two tracks that will be on the record. We’re still mulling over what the name of the record will be.’ The effort is expected to surface this summer via Prosthetic Records.”

GUS DRAX: “22-year-old Greek guitarist Gus Drax (BIOMECHANICAL, PARADOX) has posted two songs — “Kiss Of Life” and “In Loving Memory” — from his upcoming solo album, In Search Of Perfection. The CD will feature guest appearances by keyboardist/guitarist Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND,OUTLOUD) and Steve Smyth (FORBIDDEN, ex-NEVERMORE,TESTAMENT).”

KALMAH: “Finnish metallers KALMAH will film a video for the song “12 Gauge” later this week. The clip will make its online debut in late February/early March. “12 Gauge” is the title track of KALMAH‘s sixth album, which is scheduled for release on March 3 via Spinefarm Records. The CD, which which will be made available in Japan on February 24, was recorded between June and August 2009 at Tico Tico studio in Kemi, Finland and was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden.”

KATATONIA: “Swedish masters of melancholy KATATONIA will release a new EP, The Longest Day, on March 15 via Peaceville Records. In addition to the album cut “The Longest Year”, the EP features the previously unreleased song “Sold Heart”, “Day And Then The Shade” (remix), and an alternative version of “Idle Blood”.”

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR: “Emerging from the caustic burrows of Chicago comes the monolith of metal known as LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR, a sonic ‘fuck you’ to the current trends and sub-genres of metal who carry the torch of metal’s roots (CELTIC FROST, SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD) with a death breath of fresh air, and spitting gas on the flames. The Greek mythology-inspired carnage continues on LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR‘s upcoming fourth full-length, Evil Power. The CD and digital download will be released on April 13, 2010 on The Grind-House Records.”

LEVY/WERSTLER: “DAATH‘s Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler will unleash their new collaboration, Avalanche Of Worms, on April 20 via Magna Carta Records. Both accomplished guitarists, their interplay allows Levi’s compositional style and Werstler’ virtuosic guitar abilities to compliment each other fully; this unique alchemy prevents this album from being classified under any one genre. ‘We work in metal but the vibe of this is just coming from somewhere else,’ Werstler says. ‘It’s hard to put your finger on what it is. . . . Drummer Sean Reinert (CYNIC, ex-DEATH) proves yet again to be unparalleled in his intensity and musicality.’”

M.A.N.: “M.A.N — the group formed out of the ashes of Sweden’s TRANSPORT LEAGUE (featuring former MNEMIC frontman Tony Jelencovich) — has posted a new song, “Logocide”, on the band’s MySpace page. The track comes off M.A.N‘s third album, Massive Audio Nerve, which will be released on March 26 via the German label Tiefdruck Musik.”

OBLIGE: “OBLIGE is proud to announce the addition of bassist Mike Bodkins (ex-Suicide Silence) and rhythm guitarist Greg Pewthers (ex-Impending Doom).  The band has been extremely busy finishing up their new album, with plans to record and release this year. A pre-production track has been premiered online, and can be found over at www.myspace.com/oblige. In addition, OBLIGE has also respectfully parted ways with former label Stillborn Records.”

THE ORDER OF APOLLYON: “THE ORDER OF APOLLYON, the new black/death metal project featuring current/former members of ABORTED, AKERCOCKE and CRADLE OF FILTH, has inked a three-album deal with Listenable Records. The band’s debut album, The Flesh, is scheduled for release in April.”

OV HELL: “The Underworld Regime, the debut album from OV HELL — the new black metal project featuring DIMMU BORGIR vocalist Shagrath and ex-GORGOROTH bassist King — will be released in North America on April 13 via Prosthetic Records. . . . The Underworld Regime was released in Europe on February 8 via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded at Earshot Studio and features Shagrath on vocals, King on bass, Frost (SATYRICON) on drums, Ice Dale (ENSLAVED) on guitar and Teloch (NIDINGR, GOD SEED) on guitar.”

PATHOLOGY: “Recently signed to Victory Records, San Diego ’s PATHOLOGY will enter Doubletime Studios today to record their label debut. The band feels very comfortable there with producer/engineer Jeff Forrest, having worked together on the group’s previous recordings. Doubletime has been going for 20 years and has a great and diverse client list including As I Lay Dying, Atreyu and Bleeding Through. Upon completion of the tracks, the album will be mixed in March by Hate Eternal guitarist Erik Rutan at his Mana Studios (Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains) for an anticipated early summer release.”

PURIFIED IN BLOOD: “Norwegian metallers PURIFIED IN BLOOD have set Under Black Skies as the title of their sophomore full-length album, tentatively due this spring. The CD was mixed in Seattle, Washington mixing with Matt Bayles (MASTODON, ISIS, BOTCH).”

SLUMBER: “Swedish melodic doom/death metallers SLUMBER have finished recording the instrumental parts for their new album, entitled Resonance, at Panic Room Studios in Skara, Sweden for a tentative late spring release.”

SOLUTION .45: “Swedish/Finnish progressive metal “supergroup” SOLUTION .45, which features in its ranks former SCAR SYMMETRY vocalist Christian Älvestam and Jani Stefanovic (MISERATION, ESSENCE OF SORROW), will release its debut album, entitled For Aeons Past, on April 9 in Europe via AFM Records.”

SOREPTION: “Swedish death metallers SOREPTION have had their album release date for Deterioration Of Minds pushed back to March 10. To offset the delay, two new clips from the album are up for prelistening on their MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/soreption. More clips from the album will be posted closer to the release.”  (Yeah, we already included these dudes in one of the earlier “forthcoming” lists, but we’re so hot for the full-length we thought we’d include this update here — bummer though it is.)

SUFFOKATE: “SUFFOKATE will release its new album, “No Mercy, No Forgiveness”, on February 23 via Mediaskare Records. . . . SUFFOKATE has amassed a rabid and extremely loyal following since releasing the band’s self-financed debut in 2004. Since then, the group has refined its lineup and sound to an amalgamation of angst-ridden hardcore, fused with a Bay Area thrash backbone.”

SHINING: “SHINING has completed work on its seventh album, “Shining VII – Född Förlorare” (English translation: “Born Loser”), for a March/April release via Indie Recordings. . . . According to vocalist Niklas “Kvarforth” Olsson, “Shining VII – Född Förlorare” will see SHINING ‘tak[ing] a deep dive into the darkest of all musical genres you could imagine.’”

THE SWORD: “THE SWORD entered the studio earlier in the month [February] with producer Matt Bayles (MASTODON, ISIS, MINUS THE BEAR) to begin recording its third album for a late 2010 release via Kemado Records.”

THULCANDRA: “THULCANDRA — the reactivated German black/death metal band featuring members of OBSCURA, DARK FORTRESS and HELFAHRT — has tapped Kristian Wåhlin (a.k.a. Necrolord; AT THE GATES, DISSECTION, EDGE OF SANITY, EMPEROR, DARK FUNERAL, SACRAMENTUM) to create the artwork for the group’s new album, Fallen Angels Dominion. The CD was recorded at Woodshed Studios with producers V. Santura and Steffen Kummerer for a 2010 release via Napalm Records.”

TRIDENT: “TRIDENT, the Swedish death metal band formed by guitarist Johan Norman (DISSECTION, SOULREAPER), will release its long-awaited debut album, World Destruction, on March 22 via Regain Records. The CD was recorded at Andy La Rocque‘s (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden. . . . Three songs from the CD — “Slaves To Anguish”, “World Destruction”and “Jaws Of Satan” — are available for streaming on the group’sMySpace page.”

WORLD UNDER BLOOD: “WORLD UNDER BLOOD, the melodic death metal side project featuring CKY guitarist/vocalist Deron Miller alongside Tim Yeung (DIVINE HERESY, VITAL REMAINS, HATE ETERNAL) on drums, Risha Eryavec (DECREPIT BIRTH) on bass, and Luke Jaeger on guitar, is continuing work on its debut album, “Tactical”, for a tentative July release via Nuclear Blast Records.”