Nizozemski simfoniki Within Temptation bodo 21. junija izdali že sedmi live plošček. Tokratni bo nosil naslov Worlds Collide Tour – Live in Amsterdam. Tracklista:

Our Solemn Hour
Faster
Paradise (What About Us?)
Stand My Ground
Angels
Iron
Raise Your Banner
Entertain You
The Reckoning
Supernova
Don't Pray for Me
All I Need
Ice Queen
Mother Earth

Nemški progresivci Disillusion so remasterizirali in ponovno izdali svoj prvenec Back to Times of Splendor. Ta je izšel s štirimi bonus komadi:

And the Mirror Cracked
Fall
Alone I Stand in Fires
Back to Times of Splendor
A Day by the Lake
The Sleep of Restless Hours
The Porter (bonus)
Eternal Duality (bonus)
And the Mirror Cracked (live bonus)
Alone I Stand in Fires (live bonus)

Avstralski progresivni metalci Teramaze predstavljajo video za prvi single Standing Ovation s prihajajočega albuma Eli – A Wonderful Fall From Grace, katerega izid je napovedan za 24. maj pri založbi Wells Music.

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.«

Avstralski progresivci Teramaze so napovedali enajsti album Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace. Ta je konceptualno nadaljevanje predhodnikov Her Halo (2015) in Sorella Minore (2021) in s tem tudi zaključek te trilogije. Tracklista:

A Place Called Halo
The Will of Eli
Step Right Up
I Mantissa
Madam Roma
Standing Ovation
Hands Are Tied
A Wonderful Fall From Grace

Kot smo januarja poročali, je v 78. letu starosti umrl Tony Clarkin, kitarist, ustanovitelj britanskih veteranov Magnum. Že takrat se je šušljalo, da to pomeni tudi konec za zasedbo, ki je to zdaj tudi uradno potrdila. Izjava vokalista Boba Catleyja:

»Hello, everybody. Bob here. All right. I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but I really can't carry on with Tony not here anymore. Please forgive me, and I hope you can understand how I feel. I've been thinking about it a lot lately.
Since we lost Tone, we lost our guiding light, the magnum force behind the band, our songwriter, our producer, our guitar player. He was everything to the band. He was everything to me. For the last 50 years, we never went anywhere without each other. On tour, in the studio, I was at his side constantly, working on stuff with him. I had a wonderful life with Tony. But now it's all too much for me, people. I can't carry on without Tony.
I may pop up in some other shape or form in the near future – you never know – but I can't keep going on like this. It's far too sad; it's all too sad.
So, I hope you understand. You've been fantastic – the best audience ever. You kept this band going year after year, album after album, and we thank you for that.
So, be good. Keep Tony's music in your heart always. I know I will. I will always carry MAGNUM inside me. And I will always have Tony Clarkin beside me wherever I go.
I love you. You've been brilliant. But it's time for me to bow out now. It's my last curtain call, okay? I'll see you sometime. Be good. Cheers. Bye-bye.«

Brutalne death metalke Emasculator so podpisale za založbo New Standard Elite, kjer bodo še letos izdale EP z naslovom The Disfigured and the Divine. Ta bo nasledil demo Depraved Disfigurement iz leta 2022.

Grški power metalci Firewind bodo danes ob 16. uri premierno predstavili videospot za komad Fallen Angel, ki je del prihajajočega albuma z naslovom Stand United. Tracklista:

Salvation Day
Stand United
Destiny Is Calling
The Power Lies Within
Come Undone
Fallen Angel
Chains
Land of Chaos
Talking in Your Sleep
Days of Grace

Progresivni death metal duet Iapetus sporoča, da je podpisal pogodbo z založbo Willowtip Records. Band je trenutno v fazi priprave materiala za tretji album, spodaj pa lahko preberete izjavo banda ob začetku sodelovanja z novo založbo:

»We are honored, humbled, and thrilled to announce our partnership with Willowtip Records - to join their incomparable roster, both past and present, and to stand alongside so many incredible bands that we have long admired both as fans and peers.Willowtip is and has always been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of metal - to championing the off-beat and the unfamiliar - and so we feel resolutely at home beneath their legendary, ever-innovative banner. This partnership is, for us - and in so many ways - a perfect fit. We could not be more excited for the endeavors ahead.

Writing for our next album has been ongoing for years, and is still well underway - while it's still too far-off for specific details, we can promise that it will be our darkest record yet - an 80+ minute conceptual rumination on hopelessness, mortality, and meaning in an uncaring cosmos. More news will become available as the album progresses.

And, as always, our unending gratitude for the continual support of our fans across the globe - if you haven't already, check out some of our new, outstanding labelmates - An Abstract Illusion, Countless Skies, Hath, Slugdge, The Anchoret, and more!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!«

Organizatorji Inferno Metal Festivala 2024 so obelodanili razpored po dnevih za naslednjo edicijo festivala. Ta je takšen:

ČETRTEK:
Kampfar
Candlemass
Nordjevel
Cattle Decapitation
Keep of Kalessin
Konvent
Crypta
Signs of the Swarm
Orm
200 Stab Wounds
Forcefed Horsehead
Nakkeknaekker
Vomit Forth
H.P. Doomcraft

PETEK:
At the Gates
Sólstafir
Carpathian Forest
Vltimas
Arthur Brown
Mantar
Extermination Dismemberment
Umbra Conscientia
Automaton
Vorga
Celestial Scourge
Deception
Visegard
Deathbarrel

SOBOTA:
Dimmu Borgir
Borknagar
Me And That Man
Orbit Culture
Saor
Khold
Jo Quail
Madder Morten
Dwaal
Void ov Voices
Tilintetgjort
In Twilight’s Embrace
Befouled
Shaving The Werewolf
Imbalance
Horrifier
Deathbarrel

NEDELJA:
Taake
Finntroll
Cynic
Winterfylleth
Misþyrming
Koldbrann
Bell Witch
Dödsrit
Phantom Fire
Zustand Null
Tusmørke
Inchiation
Blodkvalt
Selvforakt
Terminal

Inferno Metal Fest je z zadnjimi potrditvami za naslednje leto dobil končno podobo. Med 28. in 31. marcem bodo v Oslu nastopile te zasedbe:

Dimmu Borgir, Taake, At the Gates, Kampfar, Candlemass, Borknagar, Sólstafir, Finntroll, Me and That Man, Carpathian Forest, Cattle Decapitation, Cynic, Nordjevel, Orbit Culture, Winterfylleth, Keep of Kalessin, Vltimas, Arthur Brown, Misþyrming, Saor, Mantar, Koldbrann, Konvent, Khold, Crypta, Signs of the Swarm, Bell Witch, Extermination Dismemberment, Dödsrit, Madder Mortem, Dwaal, Void ov Voices, Jo Quail, Orm, Phantom Fire, Tilintetgjort, Umbra Conscientia, In Twilight’s Embrace, 200 Stab Wounds, Automaton, Befouled, Vorga, Zustand Null, Forcefed Horsehead, Shaving the Werewolf, Tusmørke, Visegard, Imbalance, Nakkeknaekker, Celestial Scourge, Deception, Vomit Forth, Horrifier, H.P. Doomcraft, Inchoation, Terminal, , Blodkvalt, Selvforakt, Deathbarrel.

Vstopnice so že na voljo.

Me And That Man, dark blues/folk band Adama Nergala Darskega (Behemoth), bodo naslednje leto nastopil na znamenitem Inferno Metal Festivalu.

Poleg Me And That Man so nove potrditve naslednje: Mantar, Befouled, Zustand Null in Visegard.

Inferno Metal Festival 2024 se bo odvijal med 28. in 31. marcem 2024.

Norveški black metalci Taake so po razkritju singla Et Uhyre av en Kniv objavili še njegov video. Single je del prihajajočega albuma Et Hav av Avstand.

Dansko-ameriški thrasherji Terminalist bodo 8. septembra pri založbi Indisciplinarian izdali svoj drugi album The Crisis as Condition. Ta bo vseboval sedem komadov:

Life Won't Last
The Crisis as Condition
A Future to Weave
Last Remains
Frenetic Standstill
Mutating Fractures
Move in Strife

Italijanski doom metal trio Bottomless predstavlja nov single The Great Unknown s prihajajočega albuma The Banishing, ki izide 25. avgusta pri Dying Victims Productions.