As They Sleep (Solid State Records) will be heading out on the road this June and July with Damien Deadson (Ex-Demon Hunter) providing direct support for the entire run. Rounding out the tour will be The Burial (Facedown Records) and Hope For The Dying (Facedown Records) on select dates. The tour will begin June 16th in Chicago and end July 24th in Indiana. In promotion of this tour, Infamous Empire is giving away eight CDs, eight shirts, and a iPad 3 over at http://www.facebook.com/Infamousempirebattlegrounds. The tour dates are as follows…

TOTAL CARNAGE TOUR
JUNE
16th Chicago, Illinois
17th Toledo, Ohio
18th Cleveland, Ohio
19th Buffalo / Rochester, New York
20th Albany, New York
21st Manchester, New Hampshire
22nd Portland, Maine
23rd TBA, Massachusetts
24th Providence, Rhode Island
25th Hartford, Connecticut
26th NYC, New York
27th Allentown, Pennsylvania
28th Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
29th Beckley, West Virginia
30th Covington, Kentucky

JULY
1st   Evansville / Bloomington, Indiana
2nd   St Louis, Missouri
3rd   Springfield, Missouri
4th   Tulsa, Oklahoma
5th   Dallas, Texas
6th   San Antonio, Texas
7th   Odessa / Midland, Texas
8th   El Paso, Texas
9th   Albuquerque, New Mexico
10th Phoenix, Arizona
11th Las Vegas, Nevada
12th LA, California
13th Bakersfield, California
14th Fresno, California
15th Redding, California
16th Eugene / Portland, Oregon
17th Seattle, Washington
18th Spokane, Washington
19th Boise, Idaho
20th salt Lake City, Utah
21st Denver, Colorado
22nd TBA, Nebraska / Kansas
23rd TBA, Iowa
24th Steger, Illinois
24th   Ft Wayne / South Bend, Indiana

CATTLE DECAPITATION wants to start you week with a kick in the teeth. Check out new in-studio video footage from the Monolith of Inhumanity sessions — specifically adventures in vocal tracking and additional CATTLE-related fun — at THIS LOCATION.

Comments vocalist Travis Ryan: “”Kids always ask me how I do my vocals and here it is… the vocals studio report for our new album Monolith of Inhumanity. As you can see, polar bear pajama pants and a really stupid haircut really help me achieve those pitches needed to push the melodic high vocals over the top. You will also find there actually are no ‘pirate’ influences in the studio. Nor any ninjas, vampires, zombies or Chuck Norris paraphernalia in there either so sit down, shut up and smell the farts… there’s at least two of ‘em in there if you listen closely…”

In related news, CATTLE DECAPITATION will sever souls on this Summer’s Shockwave Festival Tour 2012, announced earlier this month. The band will be joined by Fear Factory, Voivod, Misery Index, Revocation, Havok, Dirge Within, Last Chance To Reason, Vildhjarta, The Browning and Forged In Flame. Tickets are on sale NOW at THIS LOCATION.

In the meantime, the band is currently bringing their hostility to the stage on the Occupation Domination 2012 tour alongside Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings Of Saturn, Battlecross and more!

CATTLE DECAPITATION – Occupation Domination 2012
w/ Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings Of Saturn, Battlecross [remaining dates]
5/14/12 In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
5/15/12 The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
5/16/12 People’s Court – Des Moines, IA
5/17/12 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
5/18/12 The Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS

CATTLE DECAPITATION – Shockwave Festival Tour 2012 Presented By Full Metal Jackie
w/ Fear Factory, Voivod, Misery Index, Revocation, Havok, Dirge Within, Last Chance To Reason, Vildhjarta, The Browning, Forged In Flame
7/06/2012 Studio Seven ? Seattle, WA [TICKETS]
7/07/2012 Vogue Theatre ? Vancouver, BC [TICKETS]
7/09/2012 The Republik ? Calgary, AB [TICKETS] ***
7/11/2012 Pyramid Cabaret ? Winnipeg, MB [TICKETS]
7/12/2012 Station 4 ? St Paul, MN [TICKETS]
7/13/2012 The Rave ? Milwaukee, WI [TICKETS]
7/14/2012 Kool House ? Toronto, ON [TICKETS]
7/15/2012 The Armouries – Windsor, ON [TICKETS] ***
7/17/2012 Imperial Theater ? Quebec City, QC [TICKETS]
7/18/2012 National ? Montreal, QC [TICKETS]
7/20/2012 Northern Lights ? Clifton, NY [TICKETS]
7/21/2012 Town Ballroom ? Buffalo, NY [TICKETS]
7/22/2012 Reverb ? Reading, PA [TICKETS]
7/25/2012 Palladium ? Worcester, MA [TICKETS]
7/27/2012 Empire ? West Springfield, VA [TICKETS]
7/29/2012 Tebala Shrine ? Rockford, IL [TICKETS]
8/02/2012 Nakai Hall ? Window Rock, AZ [TICKETS]
8/03/2012 The Marqee Theater ? Tempe, AZ [TICKETS]
8/04/2012 House Of Blues ? Hollywood, CA [TICKETS]
*** – New Date Added

Monolith Of Inhumanity was released on May 8, 2012 via Metal Blade Records. Produced by Dave Otero of Denver’s Flatline Audio, Monolith Of Inhumanity sees the band investigating inventive new techniques in songwriting without abandoning their signature formula of confrontational audio wreckage. Conceptually, the record revolves around a potent distaste for contemporary civilization and the damage wrought in the name of progress. In addition,Monolith Of Inhumanity features a host of guests including Mike Majewski of Devourment (guest vocals on “Projectile Ovulation”), Lenard Leal of Cephalic Carnage (backing vocals by on “A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat”), The Cephalic Carnage Community Men’s Choir, consisting of all current Cephalic members and alumni Jawsh Mullen and Zac Joe (gang choir vocals on “The Carbon Stampede”), and ambient and noise interludes by Los Angeles’ most extreme decimator of sound, John Wiese.

Virginia’s speed metal punks MUNICIPAL WASTE are bringing their space terror back to North America beginning May 27th on a 2-leg headlining run presented by SCION A/V!  The first leg features Black Tusk as support; second leg features 3 Inches Of Blood as direct support & openers Black Tusk. The band is out spreading the word about their upcoming new album, The Fatal Feast,available now on Nuclear Blast.   

Tour dates are:
5/25: Las Vegas, NV @ Country Saloon – (Punk Rock Bowling Fest)

1st Leg – MUNICIPAL WASTE with Black Tusk
5/27: Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox Laundro-Lounge
5/28: Atlanta, GA @ 529
5/29: Orlando, FL @ The Social
5/30: Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
6/1: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk / Chaos In Tejas Music Fest  ***MW ONLY***
6/2: Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
6/3: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
6/5: Tempe, AZ @ 910 Live

2nd Leg – MUNICIPAL WASTE with 3 Inches Of Blood & Black Tusk
6/11: Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
6/12: Hollywood, CA @ The Key Club
6/13: Oakland, CA @ Oakland Metro Operahouse
6/15: Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s Crystal Ball Reading Room
6/16: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
6/18: Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
6/19: Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theatre
6/21: Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
6/22: Columbus, OH @ Screaming Willies
6/23: Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
6/24: Albany, NY @ Bogie’s
6/25: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
6/26: New York, NY @ Santo’s Party House 

Fans can order The Fatal Feast CD, deluxe digi-pak, or super limited edition pop-up vinyl gatefold here.   

View the official video for “The Fatal Feast” on YouTube. 

View the official video for “Repossession” on YouTube.

Run to the hills / run for your life at:
www.FACETHEWASTE.com
www.facebook.com/MUNICIPALWASTE
www.myspace.com/MUNICIPALWASTE
YouTube.com/MUNICIPALWASTE
Twitter.com/MUNICIPALWASTE 

Nuclear Blast feels honored to welcome Swedish doom metal kings WITCHCRAFT to the family!

After a 5 year hiatus, the band is currently recording the follow up to 2007′s The Alchemist with renowned producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios (KREATOR, OPETH, AMON AMARTH, PARADISE LOST,KATATONIA).

The albums working title at the moment is Legend and will feature the bands new guitarists Simon Solomon and Tom Jondelius along with new drummer Oscar Johansson.
Furthermore, band leader Magnus Pelander will from now on focus on his unique vocals without playing guitar anymore.Commented Pelander: “There’s magic going on in the studio and we can hardly wait to eventually give something back to our loyal fans! We know you guys have been waiting for this!“

For more info visit: www.witchcrafthome.com

IRON FIRE
Interview with Martine Steene
By Nicholas Pendergast

Since the turn of the millennium, IRON FIRE has been one of the lesser-known forces in the underground metal community. Consecutively putting out power metal true to the roots and performing with classic bands like SAXON and ACCEPT, founding member UDO has kept them relevant on the map. With the release of Voyage of the Damned on Napalm Records, IRON FIRE vocalist Martine Steene says that this is the album that will show some of their other metal influences and break the traditional power metal mold.

How long have you been playing in the style of power metal?
Well we’ve been playing since 1995; growing up listening to power metal bands made me want to play that style of music. The first album came out in 2000, so we’d been together for a while before that.

Was there a certain point where you thought about giving up?
We’re not really a big band; we have work and other such things so this is really a hobby to us. We do it because we love power metal.

Okay, let’s talk a bit about the new album. How long have you been working on it?
We started the new album two years ago; we had been in the process of writing during the Metalmorphosized period. It gave us a lot of time to think about new ideas for our songs.

You said new ideas, what are you trying to incorporate into the new album that’s different from your other releases?
We had a lot of old school thrash influences too growing up, so we wanted to play them on the album. We’ve been playing the same style for a long time, and we just wanted to play in a way that would still be true to IRON FIRE. There’s a lot of metal out there, it’s such a vast genre, and as we’re getting older we wanted to make an album that we can really push for the new generation of power metal.

Even the artwork is different from your other albums.
[Laughs] Yeah, we had a lot of difficulty with the record company to get that. They wanted a warrior, but I was looking for something more science fiction. I had the idea of a more alien futuristic approach. They forced us to put a guy on it with a spear.

How about the appearances by old school metal musicians?
Dave Ingram (BENEDICTION) and I got in touch through different people and he just happened to be available to record with us. I was staying in Norway for a while and that’s how I ended up meeting up with Nils from PAGAN’S MIND. We’re really fortunate to have him and Dave on the album.

The Ruins of Edom is the title of the new split release between two of the heavily inspiring Occult Black Metal acts: ACHERONTAS from Grecce and NIGHTBRINEGR from the US.
The split is set to be released June 26th in Europe and August 16th in North America and the cover artwork is attached below.

On The Ruins Of Edom both bands continue to travel the previously selected path of mystical elegance, presenting the specific, magical atmosphere and darksome melodies they’re are known for. At the same time the cooperation of the two outfits falls outside of the recording process. ACHERONTAS (and also Acrimonuis) members in the shape of Cain Letifer, Acherontas V.P.9 and C.Docre will empower NIGHTBRINEGR through handling guitars and drums as session musicians during band’s European tour. Furthermore, ACHERONTAS will join the tour for few selected dates, so far including:

01.07.2012 -  Black Metal Is Rising Festival (Paris, France)
06.07.2012 - Under The Black Sun Festival (Bernau, Germany)

The new split will be available as special & limited editions only, therefore we encourage enthusiasts of both bands to place their orders fast. The formats are as follows: limited to 1000 copies 3-panel digipack CD with 8 pages booklet and limited to 300 copies 12″ vinyl (250 black vinyls and 50 cyan blue vinyls available via Agonia Records Webstore exclusivelly).

www.facebook.com/pages/Nightbringer/173562699366139?ref=pb

www.facebook.com/pages/Acherontas/144671698890576 

I, Omega’s debut EP “The Ravenous” is out everywhere on Bullet Tooth TODAY!  Technical melodic metal out of Los Angeles for fans of Protest The Hero and Periphery. Listen to the title track for free right now at SoundCloud.

You can buy the CD at MerchNow for only $6, or CD with an exclusive tee shirt for $18. You can also download it at Itunes, Amazon, Google Play, eMusic, or stream it at Last.FM or Spotify.

Coming out of the Los Angeles area, I, Omega have been busy playing Southern California and writing songs for “The Ravenous” EP.  Blending technical melodic metal with bursts of progressive rock in the realm of Protest The Hero or Periphery, they will no doubt make their mark on the scene in 2012. Watch their announcement video on YouTube, a brand new feature at Highwire Daze, and a new video interview with live footage at PunkWorldViews.

Commenting on the recent signing to Bullet Tooth, I, Omega vocalist Clay Nevels said, ”Josh’s genuine enthusiasm for our music and our vision for this release is a breath of fresh air in a stale/apathetic industry. We are confident in Bullet Tooth‘s ability to help us spread our music to all corners of the globe and we look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship between us and them.”

Bassist  Calvan Christ also commented, ”I’m very excited to be working with the guy that brought us bands like Hopesfall, Poison The Well, Bleeding Through, and Throwdown. I can’t wait to see where this will take I, Omega.” while guitarist Ryan Cano said, ”I feel very privileged to work with people who have brought me so much enjoyment and inspiration in past years through the bands they’ve put on the map. I feel blessed that they see something in us that they saw in all of those bands. I’m hoping for a long and mutually fruitful relationship with Bullet Tooth.”

I, Omega is a progressive metal quintet from the Los Angeles area, dead set on creating a sound that is bold and unique, as well as easily digestible. Shredding guitars with fast, upbeat drumming, beefy bass lines, and vocals ranging from angelic to devilish, all with a punk rock attitude.  Their sound is heavy and complex, but also leaves room for rhythmic grooves and catchy choruses. I, Omega‘s music conjures up emotions crossing the spectrum of the listener’s scope, from menacing and technical wizardry, to tasteful and subtle harmony that’s sure to sway even the harshest of listeners. I, Omega is here to make a difference and defend the right to be different.

Stay tuned for tour updates and more from I, Omega!

I, Omega ”The Ravenous” Track Listing:
01. Butchers
02. Heretics
03. Martyrs
04. Cannibals
05. The Ravenous

For More Info:
www.Facebook.com/IOmegaBand
www.Twitter.com/IOmegaMusic
www.YouTube.com/IOmegaMusic
www.KillerTours.com/IOmega