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Insomnium reveal new album title

Finnish melodic death metallers Insomnium have announced that the recording work for their new album is now complete. The CD will be called One For Sorrow and should be released somewhere in October. One For Sorrow was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden with sound engineer Daniel Antonsson (also known as the bassist of Swedish legends Dark Tranquillity). The album will be mixed by Samu Oittinen at Fantom Studio in Tampere, Finland in the next couple of weeks and should be completed by the end of the month.

Riju Dasgupta quits Workshop

Mumbai based metal band Workshop has just announced that Riju Dasgupta aka The Rijunator has quit the band. The note reads: “It is with great sadness that we announce the departure or our longtime bass player, founding member of Workshop and close friend Riju from the band. After 3 years with Workshop Riju has decided to pursue a different path. We’ve had an amazing journey together and all good things in life do come to an end so we wish Riju a lot of success in his musical journey ahead. While it is almost impossible to imagine Workshop without him we have decided to carry on and will soon be auditioning bass players.” Riju also released a note explaining the reason for quitting the band: “Dear fans and friends, In what has been a very difficult decision, I’ve decided to step down as the bassist of Workshop. Difficult not only because I’ve had a total blast playing before you fuckers across the country, but because Sahil and Hamza are two of the best friends I’ve ever had. From making an absolute fool of myself on national TV to making an absolute fool of myself off TV, from getting all excited about Bunty Aur Mallika Sherwath video stats to watching you all scream ‘Do Bade Bubbley’ when we played the song, from the madness onstage and in the jamroom to the food we stuffed ourselves with post the jams; the journey’s been nothing short of fucking awesome. And now you ask, why then dost thou quit? As of now I’m focused on my main project Albatross and it’s a full time commitment. I wish Workshop all the best; as I know they’ll keep kicking ass without me and I pledge my support to whatever they decide to do. And to conclude here’s thanking everyone who’s ever been part of the Workshop clan- Sahil, Hamza, Raj, Devesh, Shome, Zain, Mrudul, Jared, Deepti, Mikhail, Basrur, Bipro, Eshaan, Santhosh, Aditya, Demonic Resurrection, Coshish, Channel [v], every fucking gig organiser who’s invited us for their fest, everyone we’ve shared the stage with, everyone who’s ever interviewed us, everyone who’s made these last 3 years really special. Love you all. So long and thanks for all the bukkake, The Rijunator”

Gene Hoglan, Chris Adler on new Testament album

Testament has just entered the studio with British producer Andy Sneap (of Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Nevermore and Machine Head fame) to begin recording their new album for a late 2011 release. Drummer Paul Bostaph will be unable to participate in the recordings due to a “serious injury,” but will rejoin Testament for future touring activities. And here’s the best part. Playing drums on the follow-up to 2008’s ‘The Formation Of Damnation’ will be Gene Hoglan (ex-Dark Angel, Fear Factory, Dethklok) with Lamb of God’s Chris Adler set to make a special guest appearance on a couple of bonus tracks. Hoglan previously played drums on Testament’s 1997 album, ‘Demonic’, but didn’t stick around long enough to do any touring with the band. Regarding the musical direction of the new Testament material, the band’s vocalist, Chuck Billy, stated in a 2010 interview, “The new album will most likely be a culmination of ‘The Gathering’ and ‘The Formation of Damnation’, but we’re definitely not going to forget who we are or our roots. I think we’ve found a comfortable spot in our writing style.” Courtesy: Blabbermouth.net

Winners: Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2011

Here are the list of winners for the (very controversial) Rolling Stone Metal Awards that took place on the 19th of June in Mumbai: Best Metal Keyboardist– Jonathan (Slain) Best Metal Bassist- Rohit Bhattacharya (Guillotine) Best Metal Drummer- Yuvraj Sengupta (Undying Inc.) Best Metal Vocalist- Shashank Bhatnagar (Undying Inc.) Best Album Artwork– ‘Engravings’ (IAFWAY) Best Metal Guitarist– Prashant Shah (Exhumation) Popular Choice Awards: Best Metal Song– “Theories of Lies and Negation” (Zygnema) Best Metal Album– ‘A gods lie’ (Devoid) Best Metal Band- Zygnema Critics Choice Awards: Best Metal Song– “23” (Noiseware) Best Metal Album– ‘Aggressive World Dynasty’ (Undying Inc.) Best Metal Band– Bhayanak Maut Let the war of comments begin!

Yamaha Asian Beats 2011

‘Asian Beat’ is one of the biggest amateur band contests held throughout many regions in Asia. It starts out from Area Heat in participating countries and regions. Each winner at Area Heat finals can proceed onto the Grand Final, where they will perform together on the same stage and compete to be the top of amateur bands in Asia. Yamaha Corporation started this event as “Band Alert” in 1998, renamed to “Asian Beat” in 2001. In the past years, worldwide famous players were the judges such as Nathan East, Wes Borland, Tommy Aldridge, Sonny Emory, Billy Sheehan and James LoMenzo. The upcoming fourteenth Asian Beat competition-Asian Beat 2011 will take place in 10 countries. The finalists shall meet in Korea in November for the Grand Finale. The audience will have the chance to hear 11 bands in competition -the 10 Asian Beat finalists and the one Brazilian band from “Brazilian Beat” as a special guest. Participating countries in Asian Beat 2011 are Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, Mexico, India Asian Beat 2011 Grand Final Date : November 13, 2011 (Sunday) Entry fee : Free Participants : 10 bands from Asian Beat 2011 + 1 band from Brazilian Beat Venue : AX Hall (Seoul, Korea) Special guest/judge : Akira Jimbo (Drummer) To register your band, send an email to asianbeat@yamahamusicindia.com with: i. An mp3 file of the band’s original song recording (restricted to maximum of 10MB size and 6 minutes duration) ii. An excel file with the band details. For F.A.Q.’s and other details, visit the official website.

The Mighty Riff!

Metalheads one and all, we introduce you to- The Mighty Riff. The Mighty Riff is a series of gigs which will kick off with the first one in Bangalore, on the 16th of July. The line-up for that is as follows: Bevar Sea Inner Sanctum Culminant Pillbox 666 Venue: Alliance Francaise Date: July 16th 2011 (Saturday) Tickets: Rs. 99 ONLY! More details will be announced shortly, so watch this space. Also, here’s a special mention for that kickass poster. Design by Deepak Raghu, with due credits to the legendary artist, Mike Mignola. The Mighty Riff ‘reaper’ logo art is by Rahul Chacko. Follow The Mighty Riff on Facebook!

Warbringer announce new album title and track listing

Los Angeles thrashers Warbringer have completed work on their third album, “Worlds Torn Asunder”, for a September release via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Steve Evetts (Symphony X, Sepultura, Hatebreed) and marks the recording debut of the band’s new drummer, Carlos Cruz (Hexen), who has “had a lot of input into the new material,” according to a press release. Said frontman John Kevill: “With this record, we were trying to do two things — to make something that progressed in new directions from our previous work, but also to keep all the speed and intensity at the forefront. I really think we’ve pulled that off with this record. “We have a great and diverse batch of songs. Musically I think we have songs on this record that move forward from the styles of both our previous records, and some that go in completely new directions that the band has never done before.” Track listing : 01. Living Weapon 02. Shattered Like Glass 03. Wake Up… Destroy 04. Future Ages Gone 05. Savagery 06. Treacherous Tongue 07. Echoes From The Void 08. Enemies Of The State 09. Behind The Veils Of Night (instrumental) 10. Demonic Ecstasy