EXTREME METALLERS BYFROST REVEAL ARTWORK FOR UPCOMING “BLACK EARTH” ALBUM

Cover artwork by Christian Sloan Hall, famed for his work with bands such as TESTAMENT, DIMMU BORGIR, SLAYER etc., was revealed today for the upcoming album from Norwegian Extreme Metallers BYFROST. Titled “Black Earth” the eight-track album, which will be the first full-length release from band, is due to appear on Painkiller Records in the spring. Track listing for “Black Earth” as follows:

1. Horns to the Sky

2. Black Earth

3. Night of Damnation

4. Lord Victorious

5. Desire

6. Wings of the Angel of Death

7. Evil Arise

8. Skull of God

Merging cold, dark, riffs with a touch of the melodic, BYFROST was formed in 2007 by HeavyHarms and R.I.P Meister, and the band’s debut release, the EP “Byfrostmetal”, appeared in 2008, when the band was still a four-piece. Today’s line up features HeavyHarms on vocals and guitars, R.I.P Meister on five-string bass, and Alkolust (HELLISH OUTCAST) on drums. A member of the prolific Bergen music scene, BYFROST recently teamed up with UK based manager Patricia Thomas, who works with some of the legends of the Black and Extreme metal scene, as well as some of the upcoming bands of today.

“Black Earth” was recorded at the Conclave and Earshot Studios in Bergen, and the album was produced by Herbrand Larsen (ENSLAVED) and Bjørnar E. Nilsen (VULTURE INDUSTRIES, BLACK HOLE GENERATOR), who jointly own the studios together with ENSLAVED/AUDREY HORNE guitarist Arve Isdal. Isdal himself makes a guest appearance on the track “Desire”.

More information about BYFROST, together with the track “Desire” and teasers from “Black Earth” can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/byfrostmetal

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

MySpace: www.myspace.com/byfrostmetal

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BYFROST

Twitter: www.twitter.com/byfrostmetal

ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/byfrost

Band Contact: byfrost@live.no

Management/Booking/Interviews: patriciathomas@btinternet.com

Painkiller Records Website: http://www.apollonrecords.nl/

RARE INTERVIEW WITH SLAGMAUR IN HIEROPHANT NOX - THE ONLY IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH

As some will be aware, except for two occasions Norwegian black metallers SLAGMAUR have always declined to be interviewed. One of those rare occasions was for an extremely detailed and in depth interview in Norwegian for Norway Rock Magazine.

That interview has now been translated into English and has been published in its entirety in the Hierophant Nox webzine, and it is the ONLY place anywhere where you can read the complete interview in English.

The band has no intention of giving anymore interviews for a long time, so, if you are interested in what motivates SLAGMAUR, how they work, and something about their history and philosopy, then here's where you can find it all http://hierophant-nox.com/Issue16/slagmaurinterview.htm

You might also like to read the review of "Von Rov Shelter" http://hierophant-nox.com/Issue16/slagmaurreview.htm

And glasses raised to Hierophant Nox editor Ellen Simpson who was one of the first people to notice SLAGMAUR back when they started out, and who has placed "Von Rov Shelter" in her top albums of 2009.

SLAGMAUR INFORMATION
Slagmaur on MySpace:
www.myspace.com/slagmaur
Slagmaur Web Site:
www.slagmaur.com
Management: Patricia Thomas
www.myspace.com/viewfromthebacksofmirrors

TROLLFEST OSLO DATE ANNOUNCED

The following statement in Norwegian and English regarding the band’s upcoming appearance at the Rock In, Oslo, on the 30th March was issued by TROLLFEST:

“At long last we are proud to be able to announce a concert in our own country, and what’s more, it’s a concert in TrollfesT’s neck of the woods. Slap bang on our own doorstep in fact. In Oslo, that mystical town that we like to call home! Playing host to TrollfesT’s particular brand of madness will be none other than the Rock In, a place that is often frequented by us Trolls during our drunken sprees. And the icing on top of the cake, or the froth on top of the beer if you prefer, is the date of the event because it’s scheduled to take place on Tuesday 30th March, which makes it a pre-party to the Inferno Festival.

Does it get better than this? Of course it does. This is TrollfesT after all. So if you fancy coming to hear us play and raise a few glasses with us, the first fifty people to give money to the man at the door will be in for a surprise treat - and we’re not saying what it is because it wouldn’t be a surprise then would it! What we can guarantee though is that everyone will be in for a night of substantial quantities of alcohol and True Norwegian Balkan Metal”.
More information about TROLLFEST can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/trollfest ;

“Etter langt om lenge og lenger enn langt, har vi den ære å kunne annonsere en konsert i eget land og mer spesifikt, en konsert i TrollfesTs del av de dype skoger. Ja, på vår egen dørterskel til og med. Den mystiske byen for denne begivenheten blir altså Oslo, som også er byen vi pleier å kalle vår hjemby. Vertskap for TrollfesTs særegne former for musikalsk- og annen galskap blir ingen ringere enn Oslos metal pub, Rock In. Et sted flere av oss Troll har vært å finne under fuktige utflukter. Vi har ennå ikke kommet til rosinen i pølsa, eller skummet på toppen av ølet, om du foretrekker; datoen for herligheten er satt til tirsdag 30. mars, som gjør denne kvelden til det perfekte vorspiel til Inferno Festivalen.
Kan det bli stort bedre enn dette? Visst kan det det. Vi snakker tross alt om TrollfesT. Så om du kunne tenke deg å ta turen, høre oss spille og ta et par øl med oss, så vil de femti første som gir mannen i døra penger få med en overraskelse på kjøpet. Og nei, vi skal ikke si hva overraskelsen er. Det ville ikke blitt rare overraskelsen om man visste hva overraskelsen var, ville det? Det vi samtidig kan garantere alle som kommer, er en natt full av betydelige mengder alkohol og en solid dose True Norwegian Balkan Metal”.

BLACK METALLERS PROFANE PRAYER INTERVIEWED IN HIEROPHANT NOX

PROFANE PRAYER guitarist G was recently interviewed by Ellen Simpson for Hierophant Nox. You can read the complete interview with the band that Ellen describes as a "snarling, swaggering black metal act" at http://hierophant-nox.com/Issue16/profaneprayerinterview.htm.

You can also download PROFANE PRAYER's "Bloodred Fullmoon" demo for free from Misantrof AntiRecords at http://profaneprayer.misantrof.net/

MySpace: www.myspace.com/profaneprayer
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profaneprayer

ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/profaneprayer

MISANTROF ANTIRECORDS VENTURES INTO VINYL WITH RELEASE OF TÖXIK DEATH ALBUM

Misantrof ANTIRecords, the self-styled “Anti” label founded and headed by CARPATHIAN FOREST bass player Daniel Vrangsinn, has branched out into the field of vinyl with the release of TÖXIK DEATH’s ”Happy Fukking Holocaust” in a 12”collectors gatefold limited edition. Track listing for the six-track album as follows:

Side Fukk
Fukking Whore
Die Poser Die
Human Trash

Side Holocaust
Sergeant of the Wasteland
Töxik Death
You Will Fukking Die

Based in Stavanger, Norway, and playing punked-up thrash metal with elements of old school death and some black metal, TÖXIK DEATH sprang to life in 2003 when guitaris Anders Thrashöle and vocalist Mikael Vomit started the band. With the addition of Alf Morten Taaken on drums and Thomas Rodriguez on bass in 2006, the band recorded a demo and started to play gigs around Norway. The following year TÖXIK DEATH came into contact with Daniel Vrangsinn, a meeting that was eventually to lead to the release of ”Happy Fukking Holocaust” on Misantrof, whose policy it is to make all its releases available for free download. The EP proved so popular that it was decided to make it Misantrof’s first release on vinyl. Originally recorded at L54 studios by Arvid Tjelta, the vinyl version was mastered by Vrangsinn.

TÖXIK DEATH are currently looking for a permanent drummer to replace the recently departed Taaken, and work has begun on the band’s first full-length album. Session drums on the album, which will be titled ”Speed. Metal. Punx”, will be provided by Anders Kobro (CARPATHIAN FOREST, DEN SAAKALDTE, NEONGOD, IN THE WOODS). More information about TÖXIK DEATH can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/toxikdeath

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Band MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/toxikdeath
Band Misantrof Download Page: http://toxik.death.misantrof.net/
Band Contact: toxik.death.norway@gmail.com
Misantrof AntiRecords: http://www.misantrof.net

ESP GUITARS AND MORLEY PEDAL ENDORSEMENTS FOR PANTHEON I GUITARISTS

Both guitarists from the Norwegian extreme metal band PANTHEON I have received endorsement deals from ESP Guitars and Morley Pedals. Guitarist Sagstad (TROLLFEST, SARKOM), who plays guitars from the ESP range commented, “Anyone who has played an ESP guitar will understand perfectly when I say that we wanted the best and we got the best”. Guitarist/Vocalist Kvebek (DEN SAAKALDTE, ex 1349) has this to say about his guitars of choice: “To hold an ESP guitar in your hands is the musical equivalent to holding a Gatling gun during a battle. It will crush everything in its path and strike fear in the weak”.

Regarding the endorsement from Morley Pedals front man Kvebek, never one to mince words, commented, “I use the Wah Pedals and I can say that I will never go back to using lesser products. When I step on the Wah it gives me the feeling and the sound of stomping on everything I despise”. Last year both musicians also announced agreements with Mesa Boogie Amps.

The band, whose line up also includes classically trained cellist Live Julianne, TRS (1349, TYRANN, DEN SAAKALDTE) on bass, and Mads G (THE ALLSEEING I) on drums, are currently in the pre-production stage of their fourth full-length album, which will be a follow up to 2009’s “Worlds I Create”, an album that was very well received by both fans and critics alike. For the new album, PANTHEON I will part company with Candlelight Records and will be searching for a new label. “We are all extremely committed musicians and always put everything we have into our work”, commented Kvebek, “and with the new album we believe we have exceeded even that, having grown both as writers and performers, and we are looking forward to working with a label that will do it justice”.

PANTHEON I will appear at this year’s Summer Breeze Festival in Germany in August, and are scheduled to play a handful of dates with DEN SAAKALDTE in the spring. Dates confirmed so far are as follows:

Fri 19 March: Pitch Black, Niederkruchten, Germany
Sat 20 March: Azjinfabriek, Roermond, Netherlands
Fri 09 April: Dante’s Highlight, Helsinki, Finland

More information about PANTHEON I can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/pantheoni

TROLLFEST IN THE STUDIO TO RECORD FOURTH ALBUM

TROLLFEST, the Oslo-based black metallers who describe their music as True Norwegian Balkan Black Metal, recently entered the Strand Studio in Oslo to record the band’s fourth full-length album and have released an update on the proceedings via a video. In what has become something of a tradition with TROLLFEST, the whole recording process is once again being filmed by Manskow Productions and the first update contains interviews with various band members, as well as clips from the studio that give a taste of what can be expected from the new album. The band will be looking for a new label to release the album. The video can be seen on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/trollfest

With a line up that includes musicians from bands as varied as URGEHAL, PANTHEON I, UNTIME, MELCH, HALLUCINATIONS, POWERSWORD and SARKOM, TROLLFEST’s members bring with them not only a wealth of experience and the skill to make use of instruments like the accordion, the banjo and the saxophone, but also a sense of diversity that allows the band to create a sound that is distinctly its own. Whilst “True Norwegian Balkans Black Metal” goes some way towards describing the TROLLFEST sound - hinting as it does at the extreme end of metal, with a good pinch of local traditional folk - it doesn’t really go the whole way towards capturing the sense of fun and sheer exuberance with which the band tackles everything it does, whether it involves playing in the studio or performing live.

Commenting on the new album, guitarist Mr Seidel said: “As things stand now, and of course baring any unexpected inspiration that might come to us during the consumption of large quantities of alcoholic beverages, the new album will consist of nine tracks. Tracks, which, incidentally, we consider to be the most exotic tunes we’ve produced to date, and which, needless to say, will bear the all hallmarks of the usual over-the-top madness that the fans have come to love and expect from TROLLFEST!”

More information about TROLLFEST can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/trollfest

SCULPTOR SPACEBRAIN STREAMS TRACK FROM SUCHTHAUS PROJECT FEATURING MANIAC ON GUEST VOCALS

Better known for his work as a sculptor and as the designer of some of the startling stage sets used by bands such as MAYHEM, Spacebrain (René M. Hamel) has continuing to develop his role as musician with his own project SUCHTHAUS, a band with close links to the Industrial genre, but one, which its founder insists, is impossible to categorise, as it encompasses aspects from many genres. As Spacebrain explains “I like to listen to a variety of music, and I didn’t really want to restrict myself to composing and playing in a narrowly defined style. SUCHTHAUS gives me the freedom to sculpt a piece of music in much the same way as I would sculpt a piece of art, but using sound instead of metal or other tangible materials”.

Spacebrain’s career as a musician started as bass player with SKITLIV, the Blackened Doom band of former MAYHEM vocalist Maniac. Although he eventually left SKITLIV when his own project SUCHTHAUS started taking up more of his time, Spacebrain continues to work with Maniac on a video for SKITLIV, whilst Maniac has provided vocals for the SUCHTHAUS track “Downtown Train”, which is now streaming on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/suchthaus

Aside from Spacebrain on what he likes to call “holy bass”, SUCHTHAUS’ line up includes Die Stimmen on vocals, Sick Barrett on guitars and DJ Flashback on “electric Lucifer”. SKITLIV guitarist Ingvar Magnusson has been known to make a guest appearance, and David Tibet (CURRENT 93) allowed the use of some of his work on the track “Indian Run” which can also be heard on MySpace.

Permanently based in Norway, Spacebrain is also the owner of the Spacebunker, the Oslo venue where music and sculpture mix. Originally starting life as his studio, the venue is decorated with some of Spacebrain’s unique sculptures and, appropriately enough, items from his stage sets.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Suchthaus: http://www.myspace.com/suchthaus
Spacebrain: http://www.myspace.com/spacebrainartfromhell
The Spacebunker: http://www.myspace.com/spacebunker
Höllen Engel: http://www.myspace.com/putsatanachia