We’ve had a weakness for Seattle’s own Demon Hunter since, well, forever. We can hear you saying, “What the fuck? Weren’t these NCS whackjobs gushing about Rotting Christ just a couple days ago? And isn’t this site called NO CLEAN SINGING?”

Yes and yes, guilty as charged. And to pick a few more polar opposites, we’ve also written about how much we like Living Sacrifice and Gaza. When it comes to metal, we don’t have an ideological litmus test. We listen, and we like or we don’t like. And while we mostly can’t stand clean singing, we’ve said from the beginning that we make allowances for Exceptions to the Rule.

We might be guilty of some local prejudice in Demon Hunter’s case (you can barely make out Puget Sound in the background of that photo above). We might also be influenced by the fact that although Demon Hunter almost never tours, they do play in Seattle from time to time and we’ve seen them on stage a couple times — and they know how to put on a kick-ass live show.

Yes, it’s true that on most Demon Hunter songs, vocalist Ryan Clark mixes clean singing along with harsh, hardcore vocals. But DH’s songs are so damned infectious that we can’t help but be seduced by the music despite the clean singing.

Having said that, what’s got us particularly interested in the band’s forthcoming (March 9) release of its new album, The World Is A Thorn, are a few songs from the new album that have been streaming on the band’s MySpace site that are heavy as shit. (more after the jump, including a brand new video of a particularly infectious new Demon Hunter song . . .)

The title track blasts along at thrash pace and features no clean singing at all.  In fact, it includes some very credible death-metal style gutturals. “Tie This Around Your Neck” is another blistering piece of hammering fury guaranteed to get your head banging. And then there’s the song up on MySpace called “Collapsing”. It showcases Demon Hunter’s talent for blending memorable melody with some hard-driving riffs and machine-gun rhythms. It’s already on the candidate list for our second annual year-end run-down of the year’s Ten Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs.

Which brings us to the reason for this post: Demon Hunter has now posted a performance video of “Collapsing”.  You can watch it here. And you should.

Demon Hunter – “Collapsing”

Demon Hunter | MySpace Music Videos

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.”

Resurrected death/thrash band Living Sacrifice has just released a new single, “Rules of Engagement” in advance of their forthcoming CD, The Infinite Order, due for release on January 26. It’s streaming on the band’s MySpace page, it’s available on iTunes, and it kicks ass.

This Arkansas band originally formed in 1988, broke up in 2002, and reunited in 2008 with a six-week US tour (“Stronger Than Hell”) headlined by Seattle metalcore band Demon Hunter. I had lost sight of the band during their hiatus and had not paid any serious attention to them even before the break-up — frankly, because of preconceptions based on their categorization as Christian metal. But I caught the “Stronger Than Hell” tour when it passed through Seattle, and their performance that night was one of the best I saw that year.  Hell, one of the best in many years. They totally tore up the place, and a worshipful packed crowd at El Corazon went crazy over them. So did I.

When Demon Hunter’s set began, frontman Ryan Clark paused to explain how influential Living Sacrifice had been, not only to Demon Hunter but to a whole generation of Christian-focused extreme metal bands, and it became clear that Demon Hunter had organized the tour in part as a coming out party for the reunited Living Sacrifice.

As I later learned, the band’s influence extended beyond the Christian metal sub-genre. Just a little web-surfing turned up lots of praise from a wide range of metal bands who identify Living Sacrifice as a powerful, groundbreaking influence — a band that early on combined thrash, death, and groove metal into a potent attack.  To pick one example from Throwdown frontman Dave Peters:

“You would be hard pressed to find bands who started during the time Living Sacrifice did that are still around making albums at all, let alone timeless and relevant metal. Their musicianship is unreal, but I’ve always been blown away by the band’s songwriting ability. They never fail to make their songs tell a story but without following any kind of predictable formula or spinning off into tangents. And they are a riff factory!”

The new song is a worthy addition to the band’s catalogue. It’s an in-your-face, riff-laden assault with a compulsive groove. Bruce Fitzhugh has got one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in death metal and it shows to good effect on “Rules of Engagement.” Definitely makes me even hungrier for the new release.

Living Sacrifice released their first CD in 1991 and went on to release 5 more, plus a 2005 “best of” CD, In Memoriam (that also included 3 new songs). After the reuniting in 2008, the band self-released a digital-only CD Death Machine. The forthcoming CD has been mixed by Andy Sneap, who has done the same for the likes of Megadeth, Machine Head, and As I Lay Dying.