“However, my life has taken a new turn lately, and I am also getting married this year, thus my priorities in life lie somewhere else.I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our fans for their amazing support during all the 15 years I’ve been with the band. And I would also like to thank my brothers in DARK FUNERAL for all these years together. Lord Ahriman and I have managed to raise DARK FUNERAL from the deepest abyss, when we have confronted problems before. And there is no doubt in my mind, that DARK FUNERAL, without me, will raise once more, stronger than ever…Thus I have spoken, thus shalt it be…… — Horns up, Masse Broberg A.K.A Emperor Magus Caligula”

Added guitarist Lord Ahriman: “Ave everyone! Caligula and I have shared some 15 kick ass years together and I would naturally like to thank my brother for the amazing work he has done for DARK FUNERAL over all these years. It’s been a pleasure indeed working together. You will be missed deeply! But as with everything else, I understand when people change course and get new priorities in life. And I fully respect that. Life moves on after all, and so will DARK FUNERAL.

“In the meantime, and while we’re searching for a new vocalist, the most logical thing for us to do, is obviously enter writing mood. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing. From now on and until we have found and installed a new killer vocalist, we begin to work on a new full-length. However, you can rest assured that as soon as we have found a new vocalist, we’ll set full force, and continue to tour the world in usual DARK FUNERAL manner.

“THIS STATEMENT ALSO SERVES AS AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH FOR A NEW VOCALIST!

“Naturally, our demands on a new vocalist will be very high, but I/we are fully confident that there are some amazing vocalists out there that would fit us like a hand in glove. So if you do believe that you have what it takes to blow us away with your vocal skills, and to replace Caligula, don’t hesitate to send us some AUDIO/DVD files of your vocal performance! Send to: vocalist@darkfuneral.se. Since the show at the Summer Breeze Festival will be the very last show we will do with Caligula behind the mic, you can be sure that we’ll prepare a very special pyro show. See you there! — Lord Ahriman and DARK FUNERAL“

“Ghost Town” immediately brings back memories of DEATH’s The Sound Of Perseverance as Richard Christy executes a timely drum intro, and starts to blast away with his unique drumming style. Fretless bass master Steve DiGiorgio’s bass lines immediately draw your attention, and when Ripper‘s first notes hit, the listener knows that this is nice slab of classic heavy metal melted together with great musicianship. So many bands these days forget how to write “songs”, but this all-star group writes a few excellent and memorable tracks, as “From The Abyss” showcases the heavy metal sound with catchy riffs and solos that even extreme metal enthusiasts can enjoy. The entire album is a throwback album paying tribute to traditional heavy metal and reminding youngsters how to write metal songs, with catchy hooks, choruses, excellent leads, and superb drumming without resorting to overused blast beats, generic vocals and mindless solos. Christy can out drum any of the so-called “technical” death metal drummers, but he chooses to be clean, basic, and solid, while adding his own technical flair, much like his days with DEATH and ICED EARTH.

“Blood On Wood“, as with a large chunk of the album, has a lot of NWOBHM and JUDAS PRIEST influence, and while the songs are on the short side, the length works out well as the tracks range mostly in the 3-4 minute mark. A track like “Manifestations” is one of those heavy metal tracks you can sing along to without feeling cheesy and just have fun belting out a long Ripper scream. “The Darkest Eyes“, the pinnacle of the album, showcases Christy‘s perfect and synchronized drumming, with Suecof‘s melodic solos and breakdowns which compliment Ripper‘s sing-a-long chorus and screams amazingly well.

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED is finally a “supergroup” that lives up to its name and isn’t just a quick cash grab, like EX-DEO or OV HELL. This project can be comparable to a more traditional heavy metal version of CONTROL DENIED, but CHARRED WALLS definitely holds its own. Fans of any of these amazing musicians should dig this release, as would any heavy metal or metal fan in general. Do not overlook this band just because of the horrible name or cover art, because this album may very well be the surprise album of the year. (Metal Blade Records)

In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall is set for a September 21st release through Roadrunner Records, and will be available in three configurations…

–Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set (double DVD set, four 180-gram LP’s, numbered lithograph with art designed by Mikael Åkerfeldt and Travis Smith, 20-page booklet, more)
–5-disc set (2 DVDs, 3 CDs)
–Double DVD set

Recorded April 5th, 2010, the performance includes two sets–the first consisting of the band’s Blackwater Park album in its entirety, and the second, a chronologically arranged set from OPETH‘s entire catalog.

Set 1:
1. “The Leper Affinity”
2. “Bleak”
3. “Harvest”
4. “The Drapery Falls”
5. “Dirge For November”
6. “The Funeral Portrait”
7. “Patterns In The Ivy”
8. “Blackwater Park“

Set 2
1. “Forest Of October”
2. “Advent”
3. “April Ethereal”
4. “The Moor”
5. “Wreath”
6. “Hope Leaves”
7. “Harlequin Forest”
8. “The Lotus Eater“

Immediately, AEON takes no prisoners with “Forgiveness Denied“, with CANNIBAL CORPSE as a huge and obvious influence in the song structure and drumming. Once again, AEON continues to hammer the same old, and somewhat cheesy anti-Christian lyrics, along with very average death metal vocals. This time around however, the musicianship has vastly improved, with a few nice guitar licks and more intense drumming being displayed. With a few SUFFOCATION mosh riffs and quick NECROPHAGIST style arpeggios thrown in, “Kill Them All” and “Inheritance” says that while the band can be seen as a one trick pony, they are at least improving at their craft.

“Total Kristus Inversus” is an acoustic interlude with a Middle Eastern vibe, which breaks up the monotony of all the brutality, and actually fits nicely as a precursor to “Of Fire“. As one of the best tracks on the album, “Of Fire” provides an intense mix of keyboards in the background meshing with fast footwork and double bass, which as a result, sounds very MORBID ANGEL influenced. If the listener wasn’t aware of what album they were listening to, “I Will Burn” and “Suffer The Soul” could be mistaken as CANNIBAL CORPSE tracks, as the low/high vocals replicates Corpsegrinder’s style mixed with the pinch harmonics as perfected by CANNIBAL axeman Pat O’Brien. “Liar in the name of God” has a solo that NECROPHAGIST would be proud of, and chugs along towards the end. “God of War” rounds out the decent but bland disc, with a movie-like soundtrack sequence, similar to EX-DEO samples.

With AEON, no gimmicks are involved, as it’s no secret that these guys love CANNIBAL CORPSE, and like their heroes, AEON is no nonsense, straight forward death metal. Their song titles and lyrics can be juvenile at times, but Path of Fire shows maturity and better songwriting. While there is huge potential for this upcoming band, whether they evolve or release the same albums determines to be seen. (Metal Blade Records)

For upcoming touring events, the band has recruited FIREBALL MINISTRY‘s Johny Chow, who also plays with SOULFLY‘s Max Cavalera in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.

Visit the band’s website for all the latest touring information: http://www.soulfly.com/tourdates

“Death’s Cold Dark” continues the formula that made Sworn to the Dark so successful with the blasts, double bass, and dirty raspy vocals inspired by bands such as DISSECTION and NIFELHEIM. An obvious nod to DISSECTION‘s “The Somberlain“, the dual guitars in “Malfeitor” begins eerily similar, and of course the production is top notch with the Swedish death/thrash distortion well in tact. The long-awaited single, “Reaping Death“, includes a catchy hook, but the end of the album is where the real magic is located. Just as HYPOCRISY has their love for aliens, WATAIN continues their infatuation with wolves on “Wolves Curse“, and the band dedicates the song to the legions of WATAIN fans around the world.

Unlike most bands, the title track of the album is an instrumental, which feels more of a jam session with some nice lead guitar work. Songs such as “Hymn To Qayin” and “Kiss Of Death” unleash the entire Swedish repertoire, and are heavily influenced by the first two DISSECTON masterpieces. However, WATAIN set themselves apart with “Waters Of Ain“, one of the most epic tracks any band has written in recent history. This final track starts off with a beautiful acoustic beginning – the music paints a picture of a watery grave to the other side, and the song serves as a deathly tribute to fallen comrades. The band’s amazing songwriting is in full effect and captures a powerful and memorable ending with a perfect riff and heavy metal solo to conclude the new album.

The album clocks in at well over an hour, so there is plenty of music to appreciate and digest. While Lawless Darkness is nowhere near the brilliance of Casus Luciferi, the hype and praise that WATAIN is receiving is justified. WATAIN can be seen as the path in which DISSECTION should have continued in, instead of going in the direction of the controversial Reinkaos album, and along with NECROPHOBIC, WATAIN leads the pack in the blackened death metal genre. (Season of Mist)

Check it out:

Tour dates:
08/23 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
08/24 – New York, NY @ Nokia Theatre
08/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale
08/27 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
08/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
08/30 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
08/31 – St. Louis, MO@ Pageant
09/01 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
09/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave.
09/04 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
09/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
09/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
09/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia Live
09/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Grand Ballroom at Regency
09/11 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

DIR EN GREY pre-sale tickets: http://tixx1.artistarena.com/direngrey/

“We’ve had this idea for a tour that was mostly comprised of California bands for quite a while now. I don’t know, there was just something about the term ‘California love’ (popularized by Tupac Shakur) that never quite sat right with us so we came up with something a little more fitting, considering the level of brutality that California has always had under its belt. From the seedy sewers in the big cities to the ‘Cowshwitz’ communities of central CA to the inhospitable depravity of the dry desert, we decided it was time to show the rest of the US that CaliGOREnia is not just about hippies, silicone bodies and marijuana dispensaries (not that there’s anything wrong with that, haha!)”

Tour dates as follows:
09/29 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse w/ CONDEMNED
09/30 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
10/04 – Fort Worth, TX @ Ridglea Theatre
10/05 – Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
10/06 – Little Rock, AR @ Downtown Music
10/07 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
10/08 – Metairie, LA @ The High Ground
10/09 – Tampa, FL @ The Brass Mug
10/10 – Stuart, FL @ Cruiser’s
10/12 – Orlando, FL @ Back Booth
10/13 – Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
10/14 – Spartanburg, NC @ Ground Zero
10/15 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
10/16 – Wilmington, DE @ Mojo 13
10/17 – Patchogue, NY @ Karma
10/18 – New York, NY @ Santo’s Party House
10/19 – Poughkeepsie, NY @ The Chance
10/20 – Buffalo, NY @ Club Paradise
10/21 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
10/22 – Detroit, MI @ Harpo’s
10/23 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
10/24 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
10/25 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
10/26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
10.27 – Boise, ID @ The Venue
10/28 – Seattle, WA @ Studio 7 w/ SLAUGHTERBOX
10/29 – Portland, OR @ Satyricon w/ SLAUGHTERBOX
10/30 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside w/ SLAUGHTERBOX
10/31 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Farm
11/01 – Hesperia, CA @ The Seen
11/02 – West Hollywood, CA @ The Whisky*
* = No DEVOURMENT

“On My Shield” will be limited to 3000 copies, and be available in three different colors. Side A will feature the “On My Shield” song, while side B will feature a laser etching.

The EP will be available exclusively through the following:

• Color #1 (limited to 1000): Direct from the band on their “Axe to Fall” European tour
• Color #2 (limited to 1000): Through the official CONVERGE Estore (available after the tour)
• Color #3 (limited to 1000): Vinyl retailers can purchase this wholesale via Deathwish Direct Distribution

Visit the band’s official website for up-to-date tour dates for their European tour: http://www.convergecult.com/