Organizatorji dogodkov Hangtime Agency sporočajo, da je nedeljski koncert zasedb Grima in Ultar v zagrebškem klubu Močvara odpovedan. Odpovedana sta tudi koncerta v Beogradu in Novem Sadu ter tudi 40 drugih nastopov skupin po Evropi. Zapletlo se je namreč pri vizah. Izjava banda:

»Dear followers of the Grima cult, sometimes even the biggest and oldest spruce tree can't withstand (in)human acts. There is a point where we have to bow down and accept what cannot be changed.
After 4 months of non-stop efforts from everyone involved behind the scenes, the best we got is a 30 days stay in the Schengen area. We have applied for a 90 days arts science visa, which we have been granted in past years, but not this time, the reasons have not been communicated to us.
We did everything we could do, Asgaardian Events and even Les Acteurs de L'Ombre Productions helped us as much as possible, but all we got are these 30 days for now, which we shall use to the fullest.
Our first show will be on the April 25 in Switzerland and the last one will be on the May 22 in Paris. Any other show will be cancelled. There will be no further rescheduling. We will be happy to see each one of our cultists at these shows. We won't have any other Central European tours in the near future, except a few festivals next year, which we are already negotiating with.«

Francoski brutal death metalci Benighted so posneli videospot za komad Metastasis. Gre za tretji single z desetega albuma Ekbom, ki ga bodo 12. aprila izdali pri založbi Season of Mist. Tracklista:

Prodome
Scars
Morgue
Le vice des entrailles
Nothing Left to Fear
Ekbom
Metastasis
A Reason for Treason
Fame of the Grotesque
Scapegoat
Flesh Against Flesh
Mother Earth, Mother Whore

Nemški heavy metalci The Night Eternal sporočajo, da je band iz osebnih razlogov zapustil Jones Nühlen.

»Unfortunately we have to inform you that Jones decided to part ways with The Night Eternal due to personal reasons. We‘re still good friends, so there‘s no bad blood and we respect his decision. Being a founding member, Jones was notorious for his catchy bass lines through all of our releases so far and we want to thank him sincerely for the great times we had.
There‘s a last chance to catch The Night Eternal with its original line-up on stage at Endzeit Festival on January 27th, so give Jones the honor and get your tickets!
For THE SATANIC PANIC TOUR starting on February 1st, our good friend Jannik will take over the bass duties.«

Nemška zasedba Paradox se vrača z napovedjo novega albuma Mysterium. Album naj bi izšel še letos pri založbi AFM Records, točen datum izida pa še ni znan. Spodaj pa si lahko preberete izjavo Charlyja Steinhauerja:

»Friends and fans,
I had a dream. I wanted to start together with AXEL BLAHA, with whom I founded PARADOX in 1981, and end together again at some point. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible because he has said goodbye to this world.
In all these years, AXEL was the only musician who worked with me the way you have to, to achieve a goal. We never danced around at multiple weddings and were always loyal to one band. PARADOX! This was the only way the two classics “PRODUCT OF IMAGINATION” and “HERESY” were possible.
I miss him very much and it is very difficult for me to move on without him, but anyone who knows me knows that giving up is not an option for me.
Not even after 43 years and that's why I can tell you, that I have composed a new PARADOX album, which will hopefully be released worldwide this year via AFM RECORDS. The album will be called “MYSTERIUM” and will contain all the trademarks a Paradox fan wants.
The special thing about “MYSTERIUM” is that I composed all the songs and played all the instruments myself, because I will never again work with project-hungry musician whores who play a few notes on an album but otherwise have nothing to do with PARADOX, or none maintain contact with his colleagues. Unfortunately, this runs like a common thread through the entire career and is the main reason why PARADOX was never able to really get off the ground. To do this you need musicians who work together and pursue a common goal.
It should also be a warning to all young musicians and new bands who want to achieve something with their band. You can find out more about this in the numerous interviews for the new album. You should definitely read this!
I will also be responsible for the mix and the entire production.
The lyrics are written by ACHIM “DAXX” HOEMERLEIN (ex-Vendetta), who also wrote the lyrics for “TALES OF THE WEIRD” and “PANGEA”.
TRAVIS SMITH (Opeth/Nevermore etc) is currently working on the artwork.
“MYSTERIUM” is a very heavy album and contains 10 songs with a playing time of 51 minutes. Dedicated to AXEL BLAHA, my best friend and co-founder of PARADOX!
Cheerz!
Charly«

Ameriški death metalci Morta Skuld v novem besedilnem videu predstavljajo komad We Rise We Fall s svojega sedmega albuma Creation Undone, ki bo izšel 23. februarja pri Peaceville Records. Album obsega naslednje naslove:

We Rise We Fall
The End of Reason
Painful Conflict
Unforeseen Obstacles
Perfect Prey
Soul Piercing Sorrow
Into Temptation
Self Destructive Emotions
Oblivion
By Design

Španski melodični death metalci Eternal Storm predstavljajo komad A Dim Illusion s prihajajočega albuma A Giant Bound to Fall, ki ga bodo izdali 16. februarja pri Transcending Obscurity Records. To bo njihov drugi studijski album po vrsti, obsega pa naslednje naslove:

An Abyss of Unreason
A Dim Illusion
There was a Wall
Last Refuge
Eclipse
Lone Tree Domain
The Sleepers
The Void
A Giant Bound to Fall

Italijanski simfonični metalci Reasons Behind so v obliki videospota razkrili single The Flame Inside, ki je del prihajajočega albuma Architecture of an Ego. Ta bo izšel 26. maja pri Scarlet Records. Tracklista:

Zero Dawn
The Fall of Human Race
A New Breed
Into the Break of a Better Day
Heart Begins to Break
The Phantom Pain
Seas of Grey
I3 (feat. Steva/Deathless Legacy & Grace Darkling/Nocturna)
The Flame Inside
Letter to the Last of Us

Organizatorji legendarnega festivala Bang Your Head sporočajo, da se je ta za vedno poslovil. Več podrobnosti lahko preberete v izjavi organizatorja:

THAT WAS IT! Hello friends, it is with a heavy heart that we are writing these lines. But there is no other way. We really gave and did everything we could to finally catch up with celebrating the big BANG YOU HEAD!!! anniversary in 2023, and eagerly anticipated this summer like no other. But: We alone, unfortunately, did not have control over creating the circumstances needed to set up an event of this caliber with the requirement to quality connected to the name BANG YOUR HEAD!!! and actually make it happen. A lot changed in the past three years and not a lot of it was and is good. All in all, it can and must be said: The whole scene changed, and the preconditions for organizing an open-air event in Balingen are completely different in 2023 than they were in 2019 – also from an economic perspective. All in all, we thus come to the conclusion, even if it is incredibly sad, that there are too many factors and forces working against us, and pushing through to organize an event at any cost would cause more losses for us and others involved than putting an end to it now. And this is how it is now: The BANG YOUR HEAD!!! 2023 can and will NOT take place. Due to the abovementioned reasons which we can’t describe in further detail due to reasons that are hopefully understandable, there is no viable path that we can take responsibility for aside from calling off the big anniversary party in Balingen. We hope for your understanding and thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts that supported us, believed in us, and kept their tickets or even bought new ones. Especially for you we tried everything to finally raise the BANG YOUR HEAD!!! flag again over the Swabian Alb, but it seems like it was not meant to be. And to make sure to avoid any potential misunderstandings: There will be no more BANG YOUR HEAD!!! festivals in the future. This was it. Because we know that many of you waited for the BYH!!! this year with immense anticipation, we intensely tried to come up with a way to marginally make up for the cancellation of the event. So, we had an idea for a ticket exchange to the ROCK OF AGES festival 2023 which you can read up on in the detailed statement on www.bang-your-head.de. Of course, we will also reimburse the purchasing price to everybody who would like to return their tickets – irrespective of which of the past years the tickets for 2023 were purchased. We will inform you about the detailed process shortly through our channels. We want to thank you once again for your support at all 24 festivals and we would be thrilled to greet you as part of the LOYAL ONES in Seebronn on 28th June! Stay heavy! Horst and the BANG YOUR HEAD!!!-Team

Ameriški hard rokerji Shallow Side so objavili video za skladbo You're The Reason.

Italijanski moderni simfonični metalci Reasons Behind so včeraj razkrili single Heart Begins To Break, ki je del njihovega prihajajočega albuma Architecture Of An Ego. Ta bo izšel 26. maja pri Scarlet Records.

Ukrajinska post/black metal zasedba White Ward je bila zaradi situacije v Ukrajini žal primorana odpovedati vse načrtovane nastope in turneje. Spodaj lahko preberete izjavo banda:

»Dear friends,

With a heavy heart, we need to inform you that our April tour is canceled. Last 2 weeks we fought for the fate of the tour. We tried all the possible ways, but the system proved to be stronger.

So, let's make it clear about what happened and about the reasons for the cancellation.

Right now “wartime” restrictions are applied in Ukraine, and they include limitations for men in ages 18-60 to cross the border, because it is a range when men are available for military service. So, there is a need to get special permission from state authorities to travel out of Ukraine. During the year 2022 the Ministry Of Culture helped Ukrainian musicians and different artists and assisted in acquiring such permits (for a limited time) and that is why we, and many other bands, were able to play in Europe last year.

But a working algorithm that allows to control the “way back” was not created and responsibilities related to the violations of the permission terms - were nowhere written. And that is why some impudent people just used this opportunity to run out of Ukraine and decided not to come back. Very few cases are known, but after the last one, which raised a lot of noise and dissatisfaction in the media, the Ministry Of Culture decided to implement immediate changes and new rules, even for artists who have already sent a request for permit weeks before an accident - we have sent such request on February, 20th. That is the reason why many Ukrainian bands like Schizogen, Bezlad, The Hypnotunez, Kazka, and many more have already canceled or almost canceled their tours. Some bands were affected when they were already at the border and shows should take place the next day, but due to new rules, they were not allowed to leave Ukraine!

The new rules suppose some additional documents to a request. In our case, every member of the band has his own difficulties in acquiring that, even with an immediate start - there is no guarantee that the process will be successful and accomplished in time. Also, that is anyway not a guarantee that the request will be approved - our colleagues` request was refused even with all the requested documents. So, we just can't get this permission and it is over.

We have tried everything, and the media noise was our last hope. But it hasn’t worked, unfortunately. Months of work, preparations, money - all this is now in vain.
We sincerely apologize to our fans, promoters, and everyone who helped us with this tour. We hope that one day we will make this tour real, and you will wait for us. We will still try to figure something out before Hellfest and August festivals, but no new tour announcements till the end of the war will be made.

But, the one and only responsible for this is russia. They broke everything by invading our country, killing our children, bombing our cities, destroying our culture, and applying all fascist methods to destroy us and we will never forget what they DID and are still DOING!«

Italijanski simfonični power metalci Reasons Behind napovedujejo izid novega albuma Architecture of an Ego. Album naj bi izšel 26. maja pri založbi Scarlet Records in bo zajemal naslednje komade:

Zero Dawn
The Fall of Human Race
A New Breed
Into the Break of a Better Day
Heart Begins to Break
The Phantom Pain
Seas of Grey
I³ (feat. Steva/Deathless Legacy & Grace Darkling/Nocturna)
The Flame Inside
Letter to the Last of Us

Finski death/doom metalci Infirmum so posneli besedilni video za svoj najnovejši single Sleep of Reason.

Iz tabora nemške zasedbe In Extremo sporočajo, da so bili zaradi prevelikega finančnega tveganja in povišanih stroškov primorani odpovedati evropsko turnejo. Celotno izjavo lahko preberete tukaj:

»Dear friends,

an unbelievably eventful year is behind us: We were allowed to play a multitude of unbelievably beautiful and beautiful shows, which once again reminded us how lucky we are and what value music has not only for us but also for you. A year like this brings fresh wind into the sails and we look forward to what lies ahead. Unfortunately, it is also the case that we are still living in extraordinary and challenging times, which is reflected in our specific case in the fact that we have to cancel the upcoming European tour for 2023. According to the current status, this tour unfortunately involves too many financial risks, which, as in some places, is not least due to the extreme price developments.
Nevertheless, that shouldn't be a reason to despair, because we're taking the upswing that gave us this year and will use the time in the studio to show you another chapter in the new year.

The tickets for the tour can of course be returned where they were bought.

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones and see you soon!

your 6«

Čilenski enočlanski melodični black/doom metal band Winds Of Tragedy s singlom Living a Lie napoveduje album Hating Life. Ta bo izšel 17. februarja pri Tragedy Productions. Seznam pesmi:

Living a Lie
I Choose to Die
Hating Life
No Reason to Go On
Wake Me Up From This Act
Death Love
Remember We Died