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SLAYER Returns To Studio To Record New Album

Manos Spanos
SLAYER has returned to the studio to resume recording its new album for a tentative early 2015 release. The effort will make SLAYER history as it will be released on Nuclear Blast Records through the band's own label imprint, closing out a 28-year relationship with Rick Rubin and American Recordings. It will also be SLAYER's first album without the group's co-founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". A photo from the latest studio sessions can be seen below. SLAYER's follow-up to 2009's "World Painted Blood" will include the song "Implode", which was made available as a free download as a "thank you" to the band's fans for their continued support following SLAYER's surprise performance at this past April's Revolver Golden Gods awards in Los Angeles. The track was recorded in April at Henson Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Terry Date and co-produced by Greg Fidelman. "I never go online and see what people are talking about because people are ten foot tall behind a computer screen, you know?!" SLAYER guitarist Kerry King told ARTE Concert at this month's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. "But, you know, a lot of [the reaction to 'Implode'] was positive, a lot of people said, 'For anybody that was worried about what SLAYER was gonna sound like post-Hanneman, don't worry about it.'" He continued: "I know people are gonna think that [we can't make another quality album], people are gonna expect us to fail because it's the first record without Jeff; I get it. But I'm also very proud of what of we've done so far towards new material. It's fast, the slow stuff's heavy. I mean, it's… Everything that people liked SLAYER for in the past is on this record." In the February 2014 issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Kerry was asked if he has found himself tempted to write the kind of songs that Jeff might have contributed to an album, Kerry said: "I think that would be shooting myself in the foot. I can't pretend to be Jeff. We both learned from each other in 30 years of writing together. As far as going out of my way to write something that Jeff might've done? I won't do that. If it happens to end up sounding that way, good for me!" At the time of the Metal Hammer interview, it was still undecided as to whether any of Hanneman's previously unused ideas would make it to the next SLAYER album. "There was a song we finished on the last record, but I know for a fact [Jeff] wanted to rewrite the lyrics on, so that one got to deconstruct and make better," Kerry said. "I've said, and I'll continue to say, that if we use any of Jeff's songs, I don't want it to come out just because Jeff wrote it. I want it to come out because it's awesome," he added. "We've just got to put out something that I think Jeff would be proud of." Regarding what fans can expect from the new SLAYER material, King told Metal Hammer: "I've got a surprising amount of heavy stuff for me. I do tend to lean on the fast side, but I have some exceptionally heavy tunes, Like, 'Wow, man, where did that come from?' I expect my stuff to be angry and fast, but it's all over the map. I'm stoked. We'll have enough so we can pick great stuff whether we use any of Jeff's material or not. It should add up to as good a record as we can hope for with one of our original songwriters being gone." Joining King and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya during the sessions for SLAYER's new album are returning drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced Dave Lombardo last year, and guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS), who has been filling in for Hanneman on tour for the past four and a half years. Asked if Holt will play on the new SLAYER album, Kerry told Canada's Metro in an October 2013 interview: "I've told Gary that I'd like him to play some leads, just to keep it interesting. "We've always been a two-guitar attack, so if you're looking to have a segment like the 'Angel Of Death' lead trade-off, you can't do that with one guitar. "As far as Gary being a contributing writer, number one, fans aren't ready for it, and number two, that's like throwing somebody to the wolves. "I think if there's another record after this one and Gary is still with us at that point, I think that will be a time where I say, ‘Hey dude, feel free to throw any riffs my way if you're interested'." King told Metal Hammer about SLAYER's current touring lineup: "Not to toot my own horn, but we sound fucking great right now. It's a juggernaut. Paul's a machine. He always has been. Also he's been here before, so that made this transition as easy as it could be as well as for the fans because I think they always felt he was part of the band, even though he wasn't for many years." Bostaph was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band — the gold-certified "Divine Intervention" (1994), the 1996 punk covers album "Undisputed Attitude", "Diabolus In Musica" (1998), "God Hates Us All" (2001) that received a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance", as well as the DVD "War At The Warfield" (2001), also certified gold. In addition to SLAYER, Bostaph has been a member of FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, SYSTEMATIC and TESTAMENT. Original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX).
07 min read

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Bassist TIM ‘RAWBIZ’ WILLIAMS Dies

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Long-running Venice Beach, California thrash/punk band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has released the following statement: "It's with complete sadness that we have to announce the passing of bassist Tim 'Rawbiz' Williams. "Tim played bass for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES for almost four years until recently. "Tim was a monster on bass, running around on stage in the pit, giving his all, even when his body wasn't at its best. We will always remember him and appreciate all the kind words by those that were touched by his bass playing and him personally." Williams is credited with playing bass on only one song on SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' latest album, "13", which came out in March 2013. The first studio CD in 13 years from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES sold around 3,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 187 on The Billboard 200 chart. In addition to playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES since 2011, Williams has worked with everyone from Toni Braxton to BOYZ II MEN to Keyshia Cole. According to Billboard, he also appeared on Sean "Diddy" Combs' 2009 reality show "Making His Band", which documented the hip-hop mogul's search for Diddy's backing group.
02 min read

GODSMACK Cancels Show Over Production Issues

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According to The Pulse Of Radio, GODSMACK canceled its headlining performance at the Mount Airy, Pennsylvania date of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival tour on Saturday night (August 23), citing "unforeseen production/technical issues." The band wrote at its Facebook page that "none of the main stage acts on Rockstar Uproar Fest were able to play today on the main stage due to unforeseen production/technical issues with that stage itself." However, 10 other bands, including main-stage acts POP EVIL, ESCAPE THE FATE and BUCKCHERRY did manage to perform their sets. SKILLET ended up as the evening's default headliner, closing out the day with a 45-minute set that ended just before 7:00 p.m. GODSMACK later responded to negative feedback from fans by writing, "I guess that's what we get for bringing back all the pyro and drum duel after everyone was askin' for it back. Findin' out after it's too late to re-work the whole stage and set sucks . . . We wish we didn't find out last minute today as we were setting up." GODSMACK singer Sully Erna told The Pulse Of Radio that he always felt the music was more important to the band's live show than a big production. "We know that this band holds up live, we know that this band has great songs that we deliver," he said. "It's very interactive with the audience. There's a lot of sing-alongs, things like that, and so we don't really need that stuff. We'd just done it because we were always a fan of that kind of big show, and we grew up with AEROSMITH and IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST." GODSMACK is on the road behind its new album, "1000hp" (One Thousand Horsepower), which debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 3 earlier this month.
02 min read

Ex-IRON MAIDEN Singer PAUL DI’ANNO Scraps ‘Retirement’ Plans, Launches New Band ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ

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Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno has scrapped his retirement plans and is in the process of recording a new album with his new band called ARCHITECTS OF CHAOZ (also featuring members of Paul's longtime German touring backing group THE PHANTOMZ). Due to a number of health issues, including a knee problem, Di'Anno announced in July 2012 that he would stop touring in 2013. His farewell tour had since been extended to 2014. Asked in a brand new interview with "The Metal Voice"about his "farewell" tour, Di'Anno interjected (hear audio below): "It's not a farewell tour. I was gonna retire because of a bad knee. And it was really pissing me off. What it is, I've got a knee replacement, 'cause it's all damaged; I've had a couple of motorcycle accidents. I thought about quitting — not because I wanted to, but I thought, 'This could get worse. I'm doing more damage to it.' But then I thought, it doesn't make a difference; it's about the voice. So it's not the farewell tour. And I spoke to the wife and she said, 'Oh, my God. If you stay home for two months, I'll probably murder you.' So I decided in the end, 'Fuck it.' Doing all these things is great, but I actually wanna be part of a band." Paul Di'Anno's April 9 performance at Lizard Club in Krakow, Poland as part of the Doładowanie festival was professionally filmed for an upcoming DVD, titled "The Beast Arises", to be released on October 6 in Europe through Metal Mind Productions and October 7 in North America via MVD. "The Beast Arises" will also be made available on CD, digital and vinyl. The setlist for Di'Anno's concert in Krakow included some of the best IRON MAIDEN tracks from the period when Di'Anno was the band’s lead singer, as well as KILLERS and Di'Anno solo tracks. The DVD will also contain bonus features such as an interview with Di'Anno, a photo gallery and more. Di'Anno recorded two classic albums with IRON MAIDEN before being fired and replaced by Bruce Dickinson. He went on to front a number of other bands, including KILLERS and BATTLEZONE, and released several solo records. Asked why he thinks his two LPs with MAIDEN became timeless and iconic in the rock history, Di'Anno told Spotlight Report: "I think because when we started, the whole punk thing was so bloody huge, which I loved and still love punk to this day, and the heavier music just became so distant; they called it dinosaur rock back in the day." He continued: "When we got signed and the whole New Wave Of British Heavy Metal started, that's what really kicked off what we have today. If it wasn't for MAIDEN and bands like SAXON, MOTÖRHEAD, etc., you would never have had bands like METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX. If you didn't have those bands, you would never have had SEPULTURA, MORBID ANGEL and then PANTERA, etc. So at the time, they were just bloody good albums, but in the history of things, they really kicked off what started for anything today that has heavy guitar. And yeah, they are timeless. Those albums still sell millions. You don't see the crap that was around then still selling shit, like SHAKIN' STEVENS or SPANDAU BALLET, do ya?"
04 min read

SLASH: Reunion Of Classic GUNS N’ ROSES Lineup Is Not ‘In The Cards’

Manos Spanos
Mistress Carrie of the Worcester/Boston, Massachusetts radio station WAAF recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Slash. You can now watch the chat in four parts below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On whom he would like to play him if a movie is ever made about his life: Slash: "I hope they never do that. The thing about rock movies is that they never give the reality of rock and roll, they never do it justice, it always turns out to be a parody. Even the best rock movies are laughable. [Unless they're intended to be a parody] and then they're funny. 'Spinal Tap' was great, but I think 'Spinal Tap' got under everybody's skin and we haven't been able to get rid of it since. But very few rock movies are really credible. So when you're doing a story like that, artistic license and so on, it makes me very nervous." On the never-ending barrage of questions he gets about a possible reunion of the classic GUNS N' ROSES lineup: Slash: "It's a subject I just avoid. 'Cause I've tried all different approaches on this particular subject. The thing is it's been dead in the water since 1996. I'm not gonna joke about it. Anything I ever said that led anybody to believe that there might be any kind of a reunion was just me being nice. No one's ever considered it. It's not really in the cards. And the thing with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was that was the closest we got to it, or could have gotten to it, and it didn't happen. And I said, 'You know what?! Let's just close the books. That was a very public event, and hopefully everybody gets it.'" "World On Fire", the third album to be made available under the Slash solo banner, will be released on September 15 via Slash's own label Dik Hayd International distributed through Roadrunner Records (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America). A total of 17 songs, including one instrumental, were laid down for the follow-up to 2012's "Apocalyptic Love" with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette (ALTER BRIDGE, FALLING IN REVERSE, INCUBUS).
03 min read

ACCEPT’s ‘Blind Rage’ Tops German Chart

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"Blind Rage", the new album from German/American metallers ACCEPT, has topped the official German chart. Comments Nuclear Blast owner Markus Staiger: "We are proud and thankful to be part of ACCEPT's rebirth in 2010. With a No. 1 position in the German chart, they climbed the to the top of Mt. Olympus. This is the reward of the consequent hard work of the band, their manager Gaby Hoffmann and Deville Schober and the whole Nuclear Blast team. Together we stand strong!" Adds ACCEPT in a statement: "Four years ago we decided to start ACCEPT anew. Of course we hoped to reach the fans of heavy metal and leave a few more marks in its history. None of us would have thought that we could reach No. 1 in the official German charts. 'We would like to thank our team, our label partner Nuclear Blast, Warner distribution and Brainstorm Music Marketing, all of who gave us enormous strength and the will to continue in order to make this happen." "Blind Rage" was released on August 15 via Nuclear Blast. Like its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", the new effort was helmed by British producer Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, EXODUS, TESTAMENT, ARCH ENEMY and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. The cover artwork was created by Daniel Goldsworthy. The "Stampede" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed on location in the high desert of California at the Devil's Punchbowl (a rock formation that looks like it's from another world) with director Greg Aronowitz ("Batman & Robin", "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", "The Lost World: Jurassic Park"). ACCEPT will promote "Blind Rage" with a European headlining tour which will kick off on September 19 in Copenhagen, Denmark. In a recent interview with Metal Assault, guitarist Wolf Hoffmann stated about the musical direction of "Blind Rage": "I think what we have here is really a collection of totally typical ACCEPT songs with the classic feel, and, of course, as always, there's an overriding theme of aggression and rage in all our music. I mean, otherwise it wouldn't be metal. "People call our music at this point 'classic metal,' I believe, and we just fell in love with the title 'Blind Rage' and the artwork. Interestingly enough, we don't even have a song called 'Blind Rage'. We just have a collection of songs that to me all feel totally 100 percent classic ACCEPT." Regarding the songwriting and recording process for "Blind Rage", Wolf said: "Andy is such a good partner now, we couldn't even imagine working without him on this album. He's such a natural fit and he did a great job on the last two albums. The only thing that we did way different this time from 'Stalingrad' is, we really took our time. 'Stalingrad' was really made almost in a rush, to be honest, because we had so many commitments right before we went to the studio to do the album and right after. Basically, by the time we started working on that album, we already knew when it had to be finished and what gigs we had booked. So that put us under enormous pressure, but this time, we really made sure it's right before it's ever released. We didn't work excessively long, we just took a little more time to make sure that we were in a little more comfortable place. These last few weeks we've just refined and tweaked little things that we normally wouldn't have the time to do." Speaking to Metal Wani ACCEPT singer Mark Tornillo stated about what fans can expect to hear on "Blind Rage": "You can expect more of the same, but you can also expect, on this album, a little more diversity, I think. And the way I see it, some of the songs sound more classic than the stuff that we've done. I mean, there are songs, I think, when I hear the opening riff, I go, 'Wow! That could be on 'Balls To The Wall'.' So you're gonna get a few different… I mean, we're not searching for a direction at this point. We're writing to please ourselves and to please our fans… We're not changing horses in the middle of a stream. I mean, if something works for us, we're gonna stick with it. We're certainly not gonna change direction, but I think we're not afraid to step out a little bit. We're also not afraid to go back and be what the band was in the '80s, which is what we've really strived for." On the topic of the vibe in ACCEPT during the songwriting process for "Blind Rage", compared to how it was for its two predecessors, 2010's "Blood Of The Nations" and 2012's "Stalingrad", Tornillo said: "The vibe is good. We're, I think, more relaxed at this point. 'Blood Of The Nations' was… We really had no idea where we were going at that point; we didn't even have a record deal when we wrote that record. We had no idea what was gonna happen and where it was gonna go, and we had a lot of time to do it. And then the response came, and we set the bar pretty darn high with that record. And then when we went back to do 'Stalingrad', we didn't have that luxury of time; they gave us a deadline, that they wanted the record by such and such a time, and it was a little more hectic. There was a lot more pressure than [there was on 'Blood Of The Nations']. Plus we had 'Blood Of The Nations' out there, and we had to try to top it, if possible, or at least try to get to where that record was. This one, we've had a little more time. This past year, all we did was festivals, which was nice, which gave us time to write on the road. And when we were done touring, we had a good three or four months to complete everything, which is a nice time frame."
07 min read

KILLER BE KILLED: ‘Snakes Of Jehovah’ Video Released

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"Snakes Of Jehovah", the new video fromKILLER BE KILLED, the new band comprised of Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, ex-SEPULTURA), Greg Puciato (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), Troy Sanders (MASTODON) and Dave Elitch (ex-THE MARS VOLTA), can be seen below. The clip was shot by renowned director Thomas Mignone of Doom Inc. (SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, CRADLE OF FILTH, MUDVAYNE, SUICIDE SILENCE). "Snakes Of Jehovah" is taken from KILLER BE KILLED's self-titled debut album from KILLER BE KILLED, which sold around 5,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart. "Killer Be Killed" was released on May 13 (one day earlier internationally) via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The CD was produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur, whose credits include work with GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ESCAPE THE FATE, P!NK and STEVE EARLE. Cover art and packaging was executed by Ryan Clark of Invisible Creature Design, the Grammy-nominated design firm whose clients include ALICE IN CHAINS, FOO FIGHTERS, CHRIS CORNELL, DEVILDRIVER, MONSTER MAGNET, WOLFMOTHER and DEMON HUNTER. "He's a Polish worker in the back of a dark truck, but he looked like a criminal to me," explained Clark about his choice for the cover's image. "Multiplying his face seemed to give him a sort of split personality/schizophrenic vibe, which feels like a good mesh. Not just for the band name but the idea of a (for the lack of a better term) supergroup." "Killer Be Killed" track listing: 01. Wings Of Feather And Wax 02. Face Down 03. Melting Of My Marrow 04. Snakes Of Jehovah 05. Curb Crusher 06. Save The Robots 07. Fire To Your Flag 08. I.E.D. 09. Dust Into Darkness 10. Twelve Labors 11. Forbidden Fire 12. Ghosts Of Chernobyl (vinyl-only bonus track) "Killer B
05 min read

SLIPKNOT To Release ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ In October

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SLIPKNOT's fifth album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", will be made available on October 21 via Roadrunner. The CD will include 14 songs, plus two bonus tracks for the deluxe edition. ".5: The Gray Chapter" track listing: 01. XIX 02. Sarcastrophe 03. Aov 04. The Devil In I 05. Killpop 06. Skeptic 07. Lech 08. Goodbye 09. Nomadic 10. The One That Kills The Least 11. Custer 12. Be Prepared For Hell 13. The Negative One 14. If Rain Is What You Want 15. Override (bonus track) 16. The Burden (bonus track) The official ".5: The Gray Chapter" pre-order can be found at this location. You can see the cover artwork below. "The Devil In I", the official first single from ".5: The Gray Chapter", can be streamed below. The disc follows up 2008's "All Hope Is Gone" and is the band's first without founding bassist Paul Gray, who died in 2010, and drummer Joey Jordison, who was let go late last year. "The Devil In I" is more melodic and features cleaner vocals from frontman Corey Taylor, who told The Pulse Of Radio what the song is about. "'The Devil In I' is really about the war inside yourself," he said. "Trying not to give into defeatism, trying not to give into negativity, trying not to give up basically. It's a struggle. It's one of the hardest thing you can do, is to give in to that side of yourself." SLIPKNOT issued and quickly fulfilled a casting call earlier in the month for fans — also known as "maggots" — to appear in the new video for "The Devil In I". The call for extras to appear as "human maggots," requiring that applicants be between 20 and 35 years old and "comfortable to be shooting in barefoot," was issued the weekend of August 16-17 and was no longer accepting submissions by August 18. The shoot was scheduled to take place on either Friday (August 22) or Saturday (August 23) in the Los Angeles area. Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that the band's remaining members pulled closer together in the studio following Gray's passing. "It was almost like getting to know each other again," he said. "We were all kind of grieving in our own way and dealing with things in our own way, and knowing that we had to be healthy to go in, we had to be creative to go in, and knowing that we were gonna have to fill this huge void, we just kind of took it upon ourselves to make up for that emptiness by being a little bit of Paul. Like we were all a little bit of Paul in our own way." Asked what has been most fulfilling about working on new SLIPKNOT music that he never experienced before, Corey told Full Metal Jackie: "This one, it just feels, there's something weird about this one. Obviously this is the first album we're making without Paul. "After everything we went through, there's a catharsis that comes with this, being able to throw all the emotion and aggression out that we've been holding onto. At the same time, getting to be creative again. Feeling that juice coming back into us. It's been a real positive experience just from an artistic standpoint, a lyrical standpoint. "We're making an album that's not just a reflection. Let's just get new music out there. There's something very vital with what we're trying to do. There's something very visceral with the emotion we're playing with and trying to tell the story of a band that's gone through hell, and yet we're back. It's been really fulfilling." Corey recently described the musical direction of the new SLIPKNOT material as "a great mesh of [2001's] 'Iowa' and [2004's] 'Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)'." He explained: "You've got the gorgeous melodies and the artistic direction of 'Vol. 3' and then you've got the absolute brutality of 'Iowa'. And I think people are gonna lose their minds when they hear it." Reports have suggested that SLIPKNOT has recruited drummer Jay Weinberg to play on the new album and tour. Weinberg is the son of Max Weinberg, longtime Bruce Springsteen and the E STREET BAND drummer. There are also rumors that SLIPKNOT is no longer working with Donnie Steele, the group's original guitar player who has been playing bass for SLIPKNOT since the band resumed touring in 2011. SLIPKNOT announced in December 2013 that it had parted ways with Jordison. The band has not disclosed the reasons for Jordison's exit, although the drummer issued a statement in January saying that he did not quit the group. The video for "The Negative One", w
06 min read

Defunct Post-Metal Rock Band ISIS Changes Name Of Facebook Page After Being Mistaken For Terrorist Group

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According to ABC News, defunct post-metal rock band ISIS has changed the name of its Facebook page from "ISIS" to "Isis the band" to avoid being confused with the militant Islamic group ISIS. The rockers, which have been inactive as a band for the past four years, recently began getting "off-color comments" on their Facebook page from individuals who believe the musical act's ex-members are associated with the Islamic terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for beheading American journalist James Foley. ISIS — which refers to itself as the Islamic State — has been described in a New York Times editorial as "a Sunni Muslim group [which] practices a perverted, nihilistic version of Islam that does an extreme disservice to millions of Muslims, both Sunnis and Shiites, pursuing more peaceful and purposeful lives." "It certainly caught us off guard," Aaron Harris, the band's former drummer, told ABC News. "Fans have emailed us that they're reluctant to wear our T-shirts now and we've also gotten some off-color comments," he added. "Just like our fans, we've been watching the news in disbelief. We haven't commented on it because we haven't been an active band since 2010, even though our music does live on. We maintain our Facebook page to keep people up to date on our current musical projects." Former ISIS members Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide and Clifford Meyer partnered with Chino Moreno (DEFTONES) to form PALMS, whose debut album was released last year via Ipecac. ISIS' final studio album was "Wavering Radiant", released by Ipecac in April 2009.
02 min read

Dimlight’s Singer Sanna Salou left the band

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We present you the official statement from Dimlight's facebook page: "Dear friends, we find ourselves in the unpleasant position to announce that Sanna decided to leave the band due to personal reasons. All these years Sanna has been a special member of Dimlight. From the depths of our hearts we thank her and wish all the best in her personal life and musical career. When a chapter ends, another begins...? "
00 min read